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Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Guardian Unlimited: Former CIA Officer Sues Cheney Over Leak
2 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Shrugs Off Threat of Referral to U.N.
3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran referred to security council as nuclear row
4 IRNA: President: Iran attempts to solve nuclear issue peacefully
5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 5+1 buckle under America's pressure
6 IRNA: Syrian VP: We defend Iran's nuclear right in intl' communities
7 AFP: Bush: Iran coalition won't fracture
8 AFP: Bush, Merkel together on Middle East, Iran
9 AFP: Iran threatens to quit nuclear treaty
10 AFP: Lavrov calls Iran sanctions 'hypothetical'
11 AFP: Defiant Iran threatens to quit nuclear treaty
12 Guardian Unlimited: China, Russia Present N. Korea Resolution
13 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea shuns Chinese diplomacy
14 AFP: NKorea vows to hold SKorea to account for collapsed talks -
15 AFP: North Korean missile diplomacy collapses
16 AFP: UN Security Council in eleventh-hour bid for compromise on Nort
17 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Grapples With Iran, North Korea
18 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Wants Quick U.N. Vote on N. Korea
19 Fix the U.S.- India Nuclear Deal – FCNL
NUCLEAR REACTORS
20 US: [NukeNet] NRC represents nuclear industry
21 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings about the Diablo Canyon Nuc
22 Guardian Unlimited: Industry backs new-generation nuclear power
23 Guardian Unlimited: Letters: Finding the energy to power the future
24 US: NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet in Rockvill
25 Sydney Morning Herald: Cyber attack 'a risk' for nuclear power -
26 US: ENS: Nuclear Power Industry Planning Seven New Reactors
27 BBC: Your energy questions answered
28 US: POAC: Scientist: Old Oyster Creek data led to faulty conclusion
29 US: APP.COM: Oyster Creek environmental impact argued |
30 US: Detroit Free Press: State considers purchase of former nuclear p
31 US: NRC: Southern California Edison Company; Notice of Withdrawal of
32 Scotsman.com: Shouldn't propaganda be a bit less obvious?
33 Baltic Times: Ignalina generator shuts down
34 Reuters: G8 draft highlights deep split over nuclear energy
35 Telegraph: Grid 'will pay Ł1.4bn extra' for N-stations
NUCLEAR SECURITY
36 US: Guardian Unlimited: Nuclear Materials 'Dangerously Vulnerable'
37 The Australian: Expert warns of nuclear attack risk | |
NUCLEAR SAFETY
38 US: People's Weekly World: Locomotive engineers cite safety concerns
39 US: Appleton Post-Crescent: Truck carrying radioactive material burn
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
40 US: Guardian Unlimited: Wash. Seeks to Bar More Waste From Site
41 US: Nevada Appeal: Bush should listen to people on nuclear waste
42 UPI: U.S., Russia sign new plutonium waste deal
43 US: Dayton Daily News: Trucks haul last radioactive waste from Mound
44 Las Vegas City Life: Unsound science
45 Scoop: Greedy grab for profits drives nuclear waste dump
46 US: TownOnline.com: Radiation regs to tighten
47 Whitehaven News: BNG to help Russia deal with waste
48 US: Houston Chronicle: Ceradyne Enters Nuclear Waste Business
PEACE
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
49 Seattle Times: State appeals ruling tossing Hanford ban
50 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: State appeals ruling tossing Hanford ini
51 DOE: U.S. and Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Disposing of Weapon-Grad
52 DOE: Deputy Secretary Leads U.S. Delegation to Turkey
53 Idaho Statesman: DOE says it's prepared for wildfires on nuclear sit
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Guardian Unlimited: Former CIA Officer Sues Cheney Over Leak
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 9:31 PM
AP Photo KYER101
By TONI LOCY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA officer whose identity was leaked to
reporters sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide
and presidential adviser Karl Rove on Thursday, accusing them
and other White House officials of conspiring to destroy her
career.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her
husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused
Cheney, Rove and I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby of revealing Plame's
CIA identity in seeking revenge against Wilson for criticizing
the Bush administration's motives in Iraq.
Several news organizations wrote about Plame after syndicated
columnist Robert Novak named her in a column on July 14, 2003.
Novak's column appeared eight days after Wilson alleged in an
opinion piece in The New York Times that the administration had
twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify going to war.
The CIA had sent Wilson to Niger in early 2002 to determine
whether there was any truth to reports that Saddam Hussein's
government had tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger to
make a nuclear weapon. Wilson discounted the reports, but the
allegation nevertheless wound up in President Bush's 2003 State
of the Union address.
The lawsuit accuses Cheney, Libby, Rove and 10 unnamed
administration officials or political operatives of putting the
Wilsons and their children's lives at risk by exposing Plame.
``This lawsuit concerns the intentional and malicious exposure
by senior officials of the federal government of ... (Plame),
whose job it was to gather intelligence to make the nation safer
and who risked her life for her country,'' the Wilsons' lawyers
said in the lawsuit.
Specifically, the lawsuit accuses the White House officials of
violating the Wilsons' constitutional rights to equal protection
and freedom of speech. It also accuses the officials of
violating the couple's privacy rights.
Libby is the only administration official charged in connection
with the leak investigation. He faces trial in January on
perjury and obstruction-of-justice charges, accused of lying to
FBI agents and a federal grand jury about when he learned
Plame's identity and what he subsequently told reporters.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald told Rove's lawyer last month
that he had decided not to seek criminal charges against Rove.
The lawsuit alleges that Cheney, Libby and Rove used Plame to
punish Wilson for his public statements about the
administration's portrayal of the intelligence on Iraq.
``As their chief method of punishment, the White House officials
destroyed (Plame's) cover by revealing her classified employment
with the CIA to reporters,'' the lawsuit said.
Instead of confronting Wilson on the issue, the lawsuit said,
the White House officials ``embarked on an anonymous 'whispering
campaign' designed to discredit ... (the Wilsons) and to deter
other critics from speaking out.''
According to court filings in Libby's case, Cheney played a key
role in a White House effort to counter Wilson's charges.
Cheney cut out Wilson's New York Times article and scribbled on
it, ``Have they done this sort of thing before? Send an
ambassador to answer a question? Do we ordinarily send people
out pro bono to work for us? Or did his wife send him on a
junket?''
Libby told a grand jury that Cheney was so upset about Wilson's
allegations that they discussed them daily after the article
appeared. ``He was very keen to get the truth out,'' Libby
testified, quoting Cheney as saying, ``Let's get everything
out.''
The charges against Libby grew out of conversations he had with
three reporters: former New York Times reporter Judith Miller,
Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and NBC's Tim Russert.
A key aspect of Libby's defense is whose memory is accurate:
Libby's or the reporters'.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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2 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Shrugs Off Threat of Referral to U.N.
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 2:01 PM
By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday
shrugged off a decision by world powers to refer Iran to the
U.N. Security Council over its atomic program, saying Tehran
would never abandon its ``right to exploit peaceful nuclear
technology.''
The permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany
agreed on the referral Wednesday, saying they had given Iran
long enough to respond to a package of incentives intended to
persuade it to abandon uranium enrichment - a process that can
lead to the production of nuclear weapons.
The powers said in Paris they would seek a resolution requiring
Iran to suspend its enrichment activities.
``The people of Iran will not give up their right to exploit
peaceful nuclear technology,'' Ahmadinejad said in the
northwestern town of Mineh, according to state television.
``They are not intimated by the arrogant uproar and propaganda
today.''
Ahmadinejad added that Iran would continue to negotiate over the
direction of its nuclear program, ``but that doesn't mean blind
obedience to the West.''
He reiterated that Iran plans to respond to the incentives
package in August.
``We are interested in seeing this issue resolved peacefully.
But if they (the West) create tension, then the outcome would
affect the Europeans. The tension would primarily harm them,''
Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.
He said Iran might revise its nuclear policy, but he did not
elaborate.
Later, Ahmadinejad said resolving the case would take time.
``A several years-old case is not solvable in only a few months.
In a nuclear case, two, three, four months is not a remarkable
time,'' he said in the neighboring town of Sarab.
The package was presented June 6 and the world powers had wanted
Iran to respond before the G-8 summit that opens Saturday in St.
Petersburg, Russia. The United States and the other nations
wanted Iran to say whether it would meet terms to begin
negotiations on the economic and energy incentives in exchange
for at least a short-term end to Tehran's program to enrich
uranium.
Diplomats said recent meetings with Iran's nuclear negotiator
have gone nowhere and it was clear Tehran hoped to play for time
or exploit potential divisions among the six powers that have
offered new talks.
``I truly think they are trying to wait us out,'' President Bush
said in Stralsund, Germany, at a news conference with Chancellor
Angela Merkel. ``And I think they are going to be sorely
mistaken. I think they are going to be disappointed, that this
coalition is a lot stronger than they think.''
Said Merkel: ``The door has not been closed but Iran must know
that those who have submitted this offer are willing ... to act
in concert and to show this clearly through their action in the
Security Council.''
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Iran should respond
more quickly to the proposals to end the standoff, but he also
cautioned against rushing to punish Tehran.
``We believe that the situation should not be brought to a
deadlock to deteriorate it,'' Putin told German TV broadcaster
ZDF, according to the Kremlin transcript.
``We of course would like Iran react quicker. But we also have
negative examples of how haste in seeking solutions to other, no
less sensitive or difficult issues, also in the same region, led
to a situation that no one knows how to get out, that is
emerging, say, in Iraq.''
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted by the
Islamic Republic News Agency as saying he hoped to have a
comprehensive answer on the issue in coming days, but did not
elaborate.
At U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton
said Wednesday that the Security Council's first step will be
``to make the requirement that Iran suspend all uranium
enrichment activities mandatory.'' He said he expects the
council to give Iran ``a limited, fixed period of time to do
that.''
If Iran fails to comply, Bolton said economic penalties would be
the next step.
With consultations on a resolution going ahead among council
members, ``We hope to move as quickly as possible, possibly
within the next few days, but realistically early next week,''
Bolton told reporters.
Though Russia and China signed on to Wednesday's statement, the
two traditional commercial partners of Iran previously have
opposed imposition of the toughest of sanctions.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency said in a commentary
that the decision by Europe was a contribution to Washington's
one-sided approach.
``The decision will not bear any fruit except feeding mistrust
and tension. ... Europe should understand that resorting to
threats will complicate the issue, and they will be responsible
for any delay in solving Iran's nuclear case,'' it said.
The U.S. accuses Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a
cover to build weapons. Tehran has denied the charges, saying
its nuclear program is geared merely toward generating
electricity.
Although details of the Western package have not been made
public, diplomats have said it includes economic incentives and
a provision for the United States to offer Iran some nuclear
technology, lift some sanctions and join direct negotiations.
---
AP Diplomatic Writer Anne Gearan in Paris and Mike Eckel in
Moscow contributed to this report.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran referred to security council as nuclear row flares
Simon Tisdall
Thursday July 13, 2006
[The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a press
conference in Shanghai. Photograph: Elizabeth Dalziel/AP] The
Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Photograph: Elizabeth
Dalziel/AP
The smouldering international confrontation over Iran's nuclear
programme flared into life last night after Russia and China
agreed to back a US-led move to refer Tehran to the UN security
council, a process that could lead to the imposition of punitive
sanctions and a sharp escalation of the crisis.
Foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the security
council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus
Germany agreed to the referral at a meeting in Paris ahead of
this weekend's Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg.
"We have no choice but to return to the security council and
continue the process suspended two months ago," said Philippe
Douste-Blazy, the French foreign minister. "The Iranians have
given no indication at all that they are prepared to engage
seriously on the substance of our proposals."
The decision by the group of countries, known as the P5+1,
followed inconclusive talks in Brussels on Tuesday between
Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy tsar, and Ali Larijani,
Iran's top nuclear negotiator and chairman of the country's
supreme national security council.
At the meeting Mr Larijani reiterated Iran's previously stated
position that it would not offer a formal response to a package
of incentives proferred by the west until it was ready, and
possibly not before August 22. Western countries had demanded an
answer before the G8 summit, which is now likely to be dominated
by the two nuclear-related disputes with Iran and North Korea.
"We should have more time, be patient, and try to negotiate," Mr
Larijani said after the Solana meeting. He added that Iran was
still seeking clarifications and guarantees concerning some of
the west's proposals, and that its response would be formulated
only after three parliamentary committees in Tehran had
completed their assessment.
The western package, which is understood to include
technological and economic incentives, is dependent on Iran
agreeing to suspend all its uranium enrichment activities
indefinitely. The US and other countries believe Iran is
pursuing enrichment in order to gain the capability to
manufacture nuclear weapons. Tehran flatly denies the charge,
saying it wants nuclear technology solely for civil power
generation purposes.
Iranian officials have warned in the past that referral to the
security council could lead to a complete breakdown in talks
with the west, a refusal of further cooperation with the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency, and even Iran's withdrawal
from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Russia and China are opposed to the imposition of sanctions,
saying such action may only exacerbate the situation. While
their objections still stand, they appeared to have agreed at
the Paris meeting to allow an initial UN resolution requiring
Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. If Iran does not comply
further measures, including sanctions or other punishment, will
have to be the subject of a separate, possibly more contentious
resolution.
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said before the
Paris meeting that Iran's response to the western package had
been "disappointing and incomplete" and that the US was not
prepared to wait any longer.
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
4 IRNA: President: Iran attempts to solve nuclear issue peacefully
, East Azarbaijan Prov, July 13, IRNA
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Thursday that Iran is
doing its best to have a constructive approach to the nuclear
issue and solve it peacefully, but that the US intends to create
tension.
Addressing a huge crowd of local residents of Sarab, the chief
executive warned that any problem created for Iran in the region
will be detrimental to everyone.
The president condemned the crimes of Zionist regime and called
on the leaders of the countries supporting the Zionists to
declare their approach to the crimes committed by Israel.
Ahmadinejad's current provincial visit is his 16th to various
provinces of the country since the start of his initiative of
bringing the government closer to the people.
He and his cabinet have already visited the provinces of South
Khorasan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ilam, Qom, Hormuzgan, Bushehr,
Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari, Lorestan, Golestan, Kohkilouyeh and
Boyer Ahmad and Khorassan Razavi, Zanjan, Markazi, Qazvin and
Hamedan.
*****************************************************************
5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 5+1 buckle under America's pressure
2006/07/13
Ministers of foreign affairs of the five UN Security Council
veto wielding powers, plus Germany, during the course of a
meeting in Paris on Wednesday night bowed to America's pressures
and returned Iran's nuclear case to UNSC once again.
The hurried and hasty decision of the Europeans was declared
despite assertions by the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council, Ali Larijani, that the doors were still open
to negotiations and that patience was needed for solving the
matter through diplomatic channels.
The EU's decision to bounce Iran's nuclear dossier to the UNSC,
keeping in mind the previous similar experience, and the tough
current conditions that make holding any talks useless, is in
fact holding tight to a rope extended by Washington in order to
delve into the depths of an abyss.
The move is meanwhile observing serious double-standards in an
effort aimed at demolishing the absolute right of a nation that
has on hundreds of occasions emphasized its nuclear program is
merely aimed at absolutely peaceful purposes.
Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center.
E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir
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6 IRNA: Syrian VP: We defend Iran's nuclear right in intl' communities -
, July 13, IRNA
Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Shara said Wednesday Syria will
insist on Iran's inalienable rights to use nuclear technology in
international communities and in the meeting with Arab and
foreign officials.
In a meeting with Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security
Council Ali Larijani, al-Shara said, efforts to gain access to
nuclear technology for peaceful use is a natural and lawful
right of the countries and based on international regulations.
He also emphasized the necessity of international
organizations' efforts to make Middle East a region free from
mass destruction weapons, especially destruction of Israeli
atomic arsenal, and blamed imposing double standards on the
regional issues.
The Syrian VP called Iran's policy toward nuclear issue and
interaction with the West "successful" and added the
jurisdiction of international regulations in dealing with
countries' efforts to access advanced technology is necessary.
Larijani, who is in Damascus, explained Iran's latest stance on
nuclear dossier and the outcome of negotiations with Western
officials.
The two officials also discussed the latest developments in the
region, especially invasion by Israel's occupying army of the
Gaza Strip and considered insecure situation in Iraq.
Iran's Ambassador to Damascus Mohammad hassan Akhtari and
political advisor of Syrian VP also attended the meeting.
The two sides stressed on maintaining national unity in Iraq,
establishment of security and tranquility in the country and
thwarting of conspiracies among the Iraqi nation.
Supporting Iraqi permanent government would return tranquility
to the region and takes the pretext of the US for continuation
of occupation, Larijani said.
Iran's secretary of SNSC and accompanying delegation arrived in
Damascus from Brussels on Wednesday morning.
The Iranian delegation scheduled to meet with senior officials
of Syria and Palestinian Islamic Resistance leaders and return
to Iran on Wednesday night.
*****************************************************************
7 AFP: Bush: Iran coalition won't fracture
Thu Jul 13, 10:15 AM ET
STRALSUND, Germany (AFP) - US President George W. Bush" />
President George W. Bushsaid he saw solid international consensus
behind possible UN Security Council action against Iran" />
Iranover Tehran's nuclear programs.
"I truly think they're trying to wait us out. They think it's a
matter of time before people lose their nerve," Bush said after
talks here with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a key US partner
in the atomic dispute.
"I think they're going to be sorely mistaken. I think they're
going to be disappointed that this coalition is a lot firmer
than they think," the US president said.
His comments came as a defiant Iran, facing possible UN Security
Council sanctions over its nuclear ambitions, refused to freeze
sensitive activity that the West fears could lay the groundwork
for obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Some US officials say that Tehran is counting on Moscow and
Beijing -- which have been skeptical of Washington's charge that
Iran seeks nuclear weapons -- to resist efforts to impose
sanctions on the Islamic republic.
"The Iranians must understand that they can't wait us out and
can't hope to split a coalition -- and so the first step is to
go to the United Nations" /> United Nationsand speak with as
common a voice as possible," said Bush.
The US president said that Iran still had a chance to come to
the table after failing to give a firm answer on a package of
incentives meant to ensure that it does not get nuclear weapons.
"We said, 'reasonable period of time,' 'weeks, not months.'
That's what we explained to the Iranians. They evidently didn't
believe us. And so now we're going to go to the Security
Council, and we're united in doing that," Bush said.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
8 AFP: Bush, Merkel together on Middle East, Iran
by Olivier Knox Thu Jul 13, 1:21 PM ET
ROSTOCK, Germany (AFP) - US President George W. Bush" />
President George W. Bushand German Chancellor Angela Merkel have
called for restraint in the Middle East, UN action on Iran" />
Iran, and urged Russia to stick with democratic reforms.
Side by side in Merkel's Baltic home city of Stralsund, the two
leaders celebrated an increasingly close friendship Thursday
symbolically cemented here with a gift of herring to Bush and a
shared barbecue of roast boar.
"I bring a message from the American people: We're honored to
call the German people friends and allies," the US president
said in remarks on the Old Market Square. "America and Germany
stand side by side."
"We share common values and common interests. We want to work
together to keep the peace. We want to work together to promote
freedom. There's so much we can do, working together," he said.
On arriving in Stralsund, Bush kissed a beaming Merkel on both
cheeks, shook hands with smiling Germans in the crowd, then
accepted a small ceremonial barrel of herring and jokingly mimed
eating one of the fish.
"This is a very good opportunity, indeed, to say a word of
thanks," said Merkel. "We owe you a big debt of gratitude for
being able to finally live within one country in peace and
freedom; one country -- Germany."
At a joint public appearance later, the two leaders accused the
Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement of sparking some of the worst
Middle East violence in 10 years by abducting Israeli soldiers
and firing rockets at targets inside Israel" /> Israel.
Bush pointedly defended Israel's "right to defend herself" but
urged restraint, saying that "whatever Israel does should not
weaken" the fragile government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora.
"My biggest concern is whether or not actions taken will weaken
the Siniora government," he said. "Democracy in Lebanon is an
important part of laying a foundation for peace in that region."
"The attacks did not start from the Israeli side, but from
Hezbollah's side," said Merkel. "We call on the powers in the
region to seek to bring about a de-escalation of the situation."
The two leaders jointly warned Iran that they were taking the
dispute over Tehran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council
and urged the Islamic republic to freeze sensitive atomic
activities as a precondition for talks.
"I truly think they're trying to wait us out. They think it's a
matter of time before people lose their nerve," Bush said. "I
think they're going to be disappointed that this coalition is a
lot firmer than they think."
"We have waited patiently and we have had no workable response
from Iran. We have to see what the next steps will be if Iran
continues to remain silent," said Merkel. "This may include
sanctions."
The meeting came a day before Bush was to head to Russia for
weekend talks with President Vladimir Putin" /> Vladimir
Putinand the July 15-17 Group of Eight summit of industrialized
nations.
Bush said he would not lecture Putin publicly when they meet on
what Washington says is Moscow's backsliding from democracy, but
stressed that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must be
allowed to operate in Russia "without intimidation" from the
Kremlin.
"Nobody really likes to be lectured a lot. And, therefore, if
you want to be an effective person, what you don't do is scold
the person publicly all the time," the US president said.
"I'll be firm in my beliefs in certain democratic institutions,
I'll be firm in my belief about the need for there to be an
active civil society, and NGOs should be allowed to function in
Russia without intimidation," he said.
Merkel urged Russia to ratify the International Energy Charter
giving greater access to pipelines and energy supplies, which
she said would provide "greater security" to world energy
supplies.
"We have different ideas about how a pluralist society, a
democratic society ought to work; that there ought to be a
strong opposition is certainly one of the realities of life,"
said Merkel.
The press conference was not all serious: in response to one
reporter's questions about Middle East violence and Iran's
nuclear program, Bush joked about plans for an evening barbecue.
"I thought you were going to ask me about the pig," he said.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
9 AFP: Iran threatens to quit nuclear treaty
[President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that
Tehran could halt UN inspections and quit the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty if subjected to increased pressure over
its disputed nuclear programme.
The threat came the day after world powers referred the crisis
back to the Security Council -- which could impose sanctions --
over a failure by the Islamic republic to respond to demands it
suspend work that could lead to the production of nuclear
weapons.
"Up to now the Iranian people have acted within the framework of
the NPT and the IAEA," the president asserted in reference to the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the UN's International
Atomic Energy Agency.
"But if they reach the conclusion that Western countries do not
have goodwill and sincerity... they (the Iranian people) will
revise their policy," he said in comments carried by the website
of Iranian state television.
Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make reactor fuel,
and rejects accusations that it wants to acquire the capacity to
make weapons.
But on Wednesday the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council plus Germany decided they had lost patience with Iran.
"The Iranians have given no indication at all that they are
ready to engage seriously on the substance of our proposals,"
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in a
statement agreed with his colleagues from the United States,
Britain, Germany, Russia and China.
Iran had been offered trade, diplomatic and technology
incentives as well as multilateral talks -- involving the United
States -- if it agreed to a suspension.
"We express profound disappointment over this situation. We have
no choice but to return to the United Nations Security Council,"
Douste-Blazy said.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said he hoped the
Security Council would be able to take action "early next week"
on a draft resolution that would make a halt to Iran's uranium
enrichment mandatory.
"China has agreed, Russia has agreed" on the steps to be taken,
a senior US official also said, but added the specific sanctions
had not yet been decided.
But Ahmadinejad told the world powers to "be patient and not
disturb the current climate", arguing that Iran was still
looking into the offer.
"We will try to conduct a positive examination (of the offer)
and will give our reply at the end of Mordad," the Iranian month
that ends on August 22, he was quoted as saying.
"We want to solve the problem calmly," he asserted, rejecting
Western accusations that Iran's hardline leadership was merely
trying to buy time and exploit international divisions.
But the president also repeated that "we will not renounce our
absolute right to use peaceful nuclear technology" -- in yet
another signal the country was unwilling to freeze enrichment.
Iran resumed enrichment in January, and has already ignored a
non-binding Security Council demand for the work to stop pending
the result of a three-year-old and still inconclusive IAEA
investigation.
Iranian leaders have already moved to limit IAEA inspections,
and have in the past threatened to follow the path of North
Korea by abandoning the NPT -- the cornerstone of the global
effort against the spread of nuclear weapons.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! UK Limited. All rights reserved.
AFP
*****************************************************************
10 AFP: Lavrov calls Iran sanctions 'hypothetical'
Thu Jul 13, 8:00 AM ET
MOSCOW (AFP) - Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has defended
Russia's military and nuclear ties with Iran" /> Iranand said
talk of economic sanctions on Tehran was only "hypothetical" at
present.
"This is at present a pretext for speculation and hypothetical
questions," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency
as he returned to Moscow after talks on Iran with counterparts
from other top powers in Paris.
"Russia's military-technical cooperation with Iran is no reason
for any kind of sanctions and takes place in full respect for
international norms for this type of activity," Lavrov said.
The talks Wednesday in Paris ended with a statement approved by
Russia and the other four permanent UN Security Council members,
as well as Germany, that referred the Iran nuclear issue back to
the United Nations" /> United Nationsand made clear that
sanctions could follow if Tehran did not cooperate.
Russia, the United States and many other countries fear Iran may
use a civilian nuclear power program to hide development of
nuclear weapons, but have differed on how to alleviate those
fears. Russia is helping Iran build its first nuclear power
station at Bushehr.
"No one regards the Bushehr power plant as a threat," Lavrov
said, "and the entire plan for its construction, including the
return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia, is seen as an example of
development of cooperation in this area with Iran."
Lavrov said Russia was "concerned" that Iran had still not
responded fully to the proposal from Western countries designed
to persuade Tehran to drop uranium enrichment but said talk of
economic sanctions on Iran was premature at the moment.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
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11 AFP: Defiant Iran threatens to quit nuclear treaty
by Stefan Smith Thu Jul 13, 12:39 PM ET
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned
that Tehran could halt UN inspections and quit the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty in retaliation against mounting
international pressure on the country.
The threat came the day after world powers referred the crisis
over Iran" /> Iran's disputed nuclear drive back to the Security
Council -- which could impose sanctions -- after Iran failed to
respond to demands it suspend work that could lead to the
production of nuclear weapons.
"Up to now the Iranian people have acted within the framework of
the NPT and the IAEA," the president asserted, in reference to
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the UN's International
Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency.
"But if they reach the conclusion that Western countries do not
have goodwill and sincerity... they (the Iranian people) will
revise their policy," he said in comments carried by the website
of Iranian state television.
Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make reactor fuel,
and rejects accusations that it wants to acquire the capacity to
make weapons.
But on Wednesday the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council plus Germany decided they had lost patience with Iran.
"The Iranians must understand that they can't wait us out and
can't hope to split a coalition -- and so the first step is to
go to the United Nations" /> United Nationsand speak with as
common a voice as possible," US President George W. Bush" />
President George W. Bushsaid after talks in Germany with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Iran had been offered trade, diplomatic and technology
incentives as well as multilateral talks -- involving the United
States -- if it agreed to a suspension.
"We said, 'reasonable period of time,' 'weeks, not months.'
That's what we explained to the Iranians," Bush said. "They
evidently didn't believe us. And so now we're going to go to the
Security Council, and we're united in doing that."
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said he hoped the
Security Council would be able to take action "early next week"
on a draft resolution that would make a halt to Iran's uranium
enrichment mandatory.
"China has agreed, Russia has agreed" on the steps to be taken,
a senior US official also said, but added the specific sanctions
had not yet been decided on.
But Ahmadinejad told the world powers to "be patient and not
disturb the current climate" and insisted Iran was still
studying the offer.
"We will try to conduct a positive examination (of the offer)
and will give our reply at the end of Mordad," the Iranian month
that ends on August 22, he was quoted as saying.
"We want to solve the problem calmly," he asserted, rejecting
accusations that Iran's hardline leadership was merely trying to
buy time and exploit international divisions.
But the president also repeated that "we will not renounce our
absolute right to use peaceful nuclear technology" -- in yet
another signal the country was unwilling to freeze enrichment.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meanwhile insisted he
remained willing to discuss the nuclear issue, but he repeated
Iran would not accept an enrichment freeze as a precondition to
talks.
"Why do we make artificial words sacred when we want to reach
great goals, and make all discussion impossible," Larijani said
of the fact that an enrichment freeze remains the Security
Council's central demand.
"We should not set preconditions that make negotiations
pointless," he said.
Iran resumed enrichment in January, and has already ignored a
non-binding Security Council demand for the work to stop pending
the result of an IAEA probe.
The Vienna-based agency still says that -- after more than three
years of inspections -- it is still not in a position to say
whether Iran is seeking nuclear energy or weapons.
Iranian leaders have already moved to limit IAEA inspections,
and have in the past threatened to follow the path of North
Korea" /> North Koreaby abandoning the NPT -- the cornerstone of
the global effort against the spread of nuclear weapons.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
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12 Guardian Unlimited: China, Russia Present N. Korea Resolution
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 6:16 AM
AP Photo XIN101
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - China and Russia introduced a resolution
Wednesday deploring North Korea's missile tests but dropping
language from a rival proposal that could have led to military
action against Pyongyang.
Japan and the United States welcomed the draft but said it had
major deficiencies and they would still press for a Security
Council vote on their resolution - though no date has been set.
``There is no change to our view that the resolution
incorporating sanctions should be voted on promptly,'' Japanese
Chief Cabinet Shinzo Abe said in Tokyo on Thursday. ``We cannot
be pushed around by intentions to diminish or delay'' action
against North Korea.
The Japanese resolution's supporters have delayed a vote to wait
for the outcome of a high-level Chinese visit to North Korea
which began on Monday.
China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said the delegation, which
will return Friday, delivered a message from China's top leaders
expressing concern over the missile tests ``and also what we
considered the North Koreans should do to make diplomacy
succeed.''
``So far we have not received any feedbacks from the North Korea
leadership,'' he said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said
Washington was likely to give China's diplomatic efforts only a
few more days before pushing for a tough U.N. resolution. He
accused the North of failing even to respond to Chinese
overtures.
``My sense is we're down to a number of days,'' Hill said
Thursday during a visit to Beijing.
``The Chinese are as baffled as we are,'' he added. ``China has
done so much for that country and that country seems intent on
taking all of China's generosity and then giving nothing back.''
Wang confirmed that he had been instructed to veto the Japanese
resolution and expressed hope that through negotiations in the
next few days ``we can find a way and the language that could
unify the whole council.''
He said the Chinese-Russian proposal would calm the situation in
northeast Asia and ``be beneficial for peace and stability in
the region.''
Wang previously said Beijing objected to three key elements in
the Japanese draft: the determination that the missile tests
threatened international peace and security, authorizing action
under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which can be enforced
militarily, and mandatory sanctions aimed at curbing North
Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
The Chinese-Russian draft resolution drops these three elements,
which Japan and the United States consider crucial.
The Chinese-Russian draft ``strongly deplores'' North Korea's
multiple missile launches and calls on Pyongyang to re-establish
a moratorium on missile tests.
It requests - but does not demand - that all U.N. member states
``exercise vigilance in preventing supply of items, materials,
goods and technologies that could contribute'' to North Korea's
missile program. It also calls on all members ``not to procure
missiles or missile-related items'' or technology from the
North.
By contrast, the much stronger Japanese resolution would ban
North Korean missile tests and prevent the reclusive communist
nation from acquiring or exporting missiles and missile
technology or weapons of mass destruction and their components.
It also demands that North Korea immediately stop developing,
testing, deploying and selling ballistic missiles.
Both resolutions strongly urge the North to immediately return
to six-party talks on its nuclear program without preconditions.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Beijing and Moscow
would have preferred a presidential statement, which is weaker
and not legally binding, but agreed to a resolution to respond
to the wishes of other council members.
``I think the initial response of Security Council members was
quite encouraging,'' he said. ``I don't want to sound too
optimistic but I think that the ground is there for a successful
outcome of this process.''
Japan's U.N. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima called the Chinese-Russian
draft ``a move in the right direction'' and U.S. Ambassador John
Bolton said ``we view this as a significant step and think it's
important.''
But both envoys made clear it had serious deficiencies.
``A quick glance shows that there are very serious gaps on very
important issues,'' Oshima said of the Chinese-Russian draft.
Bolton cited the Chinese-Russian draft's elimination of Chapter
7 and the declaration that the tests constitute a threat to
international peace, and its use of the weaker words ``calls
upon'' rather than the Japanese text's ``decides'' which is an
order.
``As of now, we're prepared to proceed at an appropriate time
with a vote on the draft resolution,'' Bolton said. ``We're
going to study this draft that the Russians and Chinese have
submitted, but if they vote no, that's their perfect right under
the (U.N.) Charter, and everyone can draw their conclusions.''
---
Associated Press Writers Joe McDonald and Audra Ang in Beijing
contributed to this story.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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13 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea shuns Chinese diplomacy
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Thursday July 13, 2006 The Guardian
[A tourist walks past a display of North and South Korean
missiles at a war memorial in Seoul. Photograph: Chung
Sung-Jun/Getty Images]
Hopes for an early end to the North Korean missile crisis were
dashed today after China reportedly failed to persuade its ally
to stop test-firing missiles and return to six-party talks on its
nuclear weapons programme.
Talks between South and North Korea also ended in failure, with
Seoul's top negotiator returning home a day earlier than planned.
Attention is now expected to turn to the UN security council,
whose permanent members are split on a Japanese motion calling
for sanctions against North Korea.
North Korea caused international uproar last week when it
test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including a
long-range ballistic missile thought to be capable of striking
the US mainland.
The US assistant secretary of state, Christopher Hill, said
Chinese negotiators were "baffled" by North Korea's refusal to
respond to diplomatic overtures from its biggest aid donor and
closest ally.
"Through this all, we have sought to speak with one voice and
make a clear signal on what [the North Koreans] need to do," Mr
Hill told reporters in Beijing today. "So far they don't seem to
be interested in listening, much less doing anything to address
the situation.
"I think the Chinese are as baffled as we are. China has done so
much for that country and that country seems intent on taking
all of China's generosity and then giving nothing back."
The UN security council had agreed to postpone a vote on
sanctions to give more time to China's chief negotiator, Wu
Dawei, who is due to return to Beijing tomorrow.
Wang Guangya, China's ambassador to the UN, said North Korea had
yet to respond to Chinese concerns over the tests.
China and Russia oppose Japan's call for a ban on the transfer
of money, technology and materials that could be used for North
Korea's missile programme and have tabled a resolution that
"strongly deplores" the missile tests but which does not mention
punitive measures.
The resolution is being interpreted as a sign that Russia and
China are taking a harder line against North Korea; last week
they called on the security council only to issue a presidential
statement on the tests.
But Japan's UN envoy, Kenzo Oshima, said it would be "very
difficult" to accept the Russian and Chinese resolution in its
present form.
Mr Hill said he was confident the security council's permanent
members could reach agreement. "These are tense times, these are
difficult times," he said. "There will be a very strong, very
clear message to North Korea."
China, meanwhile, accused Japan of "pouring oil on the fire"
after Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Shinzo Abe, said his
country should look into the possibility of pre-emptive military
strikes against North Korean launch sites. There are question
marks over the legality of pre-emptive strikes as Japan's
constitution forbids it from using military force to resolve
international disputes.
Jiang Yu, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said of Mr
Abe's comments: "This practice is extremely irresponsible and
incomprehensible and it will only seriously disrupt
international diplomatic efforts and accelerate tensions in
north-east Asia."
Mr Abe repeated Japan's determination to push for a security
council vote on sanctions now that China's diplomatic efforts
appear to have failed. "We can't be twisted around by any
attempts to buy time to water down the strong resolve of the
international community over the firing of the missiles."
Talks between the two Koreas broke up early after South Korea
refused its neighbour's demand for 500,000 tonnes of rice,
saying it would suspend all food aid in response to the tests.
The US and South Korea are reportedly considering resuming
multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme,
even in its absence. "In the event of the North's continued
refusal [to attend], a five-party meeting could be an
alternative," the Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean
diplomat as saying.
North Korea walked away from the talks, last held in November.
It has asked repeatedly for the release of funds in a
Macao-based bank frozen by the US Treasury.
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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14 AFP: NKorea vows to hold SKorea to account for collapsed talks -
Thursday July 13, 07:55 AM
- (Updating with comment from North Korea, amending wording
from 'punish')
BUSAN, South Korea (XFN-ASIA) - North Korea has vowed to hold
South Korea to account after high-level talks between the two
Koreas broke down amid a stalemate over recent missile tests.
'We will bring the South to account thoroughly for causing the
talks to collapse,' the North Korean delegation said in a
statement.
It accused the South of betraying its Northern 'brother' and
siding with its Western allies in the confrontation over
Pyongyang's missile launches last week and on its nuclear weapons
program.
Copyright © 2006 AFP AFX. All rights reserved. Republication or
redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly
prohibited without the written consent of AFX
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15 AFP: North Korean missile diplomacy collapses
by Cindy Sui Thu Jul 13, 5:03 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - Diplomatic efforts to defuse the North Korean
missile crisis have collapsed, as a Chinese mission to Pyongyang
failed to produce a breakthrough and talks between the two Koreas
ended in acrimony.
The failure set the stage for a showdown at the United Nations"
/> United Nations, where the United States and Japan are pushing
for tough action against the secretive state after it launched
seven missiles in Japan's direction last week.
The top US negotiator on North Korea" /> North Korea,
Christopher Hill, said during a visit to Beijing that the regime
could now expect a "very strong" message after China's efforts
to lower tensions in the region failed.
"I have talked as much as I can with the Chinese to see what's
going on with their mission in Pyongyang. From what I
understand, we don't have any breakthroughs in Pyongyang," Hill
said before departing for Washington.
"So far (the North Koreans) don't seem interested in listening,
much less in doing anything to address the situation," said the
American diplomat, who has been shuttling among Asian capitals
since the tests rattled the region.
The United Nations had put off action at the Security Council on
North Korea pending the outcome of the Chinese mission to
Pyongyang.
Japan and the United States have been promoting a tough Security
Council resolution calling for missile-related sanctions against
North Korea, but have fielded an alternative draft that would
not make sanctions mandatory.
"I'm confident there will be a very strong, very clear message
for the DPRK (North Korea)," Hill said.
"Nobody is supporting the North Korean (position) ... that they
have a right to do this ... that it's their legal right."
China is considered the country with potentially the most
leverage on the isolated North Korean communist regime due to
its shared political ideologies and considerable food and fuel
aid.
"The Chinese are as baffled as we are. China has done so much
for that country. That country seems intent on getting that
generosity and giving nothing back," Hill said.
The other major diplomatic initiative, cabinet-level talks
between North and South Korea" /> South Korea, also ended in
failure when they were cut short Thursday a day earlier than
scheduled.
South Korea has been trying to press the North into giving an
assurance that it would stop firing off any more missiles and
return to six-nation talks which it has boycotted since last
November.
But its efforts to wrest a commitment from North Korea to return
to dialogue on ending its nuclear weapons drive and missile
tests made little progress, Unification Ministry spokesman Yang
Chang-Seok said.
Pyongyang reacted angrily, warning of "disastrous" consequences
for inter-Korean ties as it blamed the South for the collapse of
the talks.
"We will bring the South to account thoroughly for causing the
talks to collapse," the North Korean delegation said in a
statement.
"The South will have to pay before the Korean people for leading
the high-level talks to a collapse and causing unpredictable and
disastrous consequences to inter-Korean ties," it said.
It accused the South of betraying its northern "brother" and
siding with its Western allies in the confrontation over
Pyongyang's missile launches last week and on its nuclear
weapons program.
In New York overnight, China and Russia circulated a text at the
Security Council that they hoped would form the basis for a
united response to last week's North Korean missile tests.
The new text urges North Korea to suspend its nuclear program
but stops short of mandatory sanctions as favored by Japan, the
United States and European powers.
It was swiftly criticized by Japan for having "very serious
gaps" and also got a cool reception from the White House, which
restated US support for the Japanese draft.
Japan on Thursday urged "swift" approval of its draft UN
resolution.
"There is no change in our stance of pursuing a swift vote of a
UN resolution which includes possible sanctions," said Chief
Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the government's chief spokesman.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
16 AFP: UN Security Council in eleventh-hour bid for compromise on North Korea -
by Gerard Aziakou Thu Jul 13, 7:11 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council pressed an
eleventh-hour bid for common ground on how to respond to the
North Korean missile tests before the G8 summit in Russia this
weekend as a Chinese mediation apparently failed to yield
results.
Key members of the UN Security Council met throughout the day to
try to reconcile rival proposals aimed at censuring recalcitrant
North Korea" /> North Koreaahead of a vote they hope to have by
the end of week.
The talks between the envoys of the five veto-wielding members of
the council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United
States -- and Japan focused on two competing draft resolutions.
The first, drafted by Japan and co-sponsored by the United States
and its European allies on the council, would mandate
missile-related sanctions against Pyongyang under Chapter Seven
of the UN charter, which can authorize sanctions or even the use
of force.
A rival watered-down text, championed by China and Russia, would
slam last week's missile tests but would not make sanctions
mandatory nor invoke Chapter Seven.
"We have identified some areas where we can find language that
would be mutually acceptable, although there's still a long, long
way to go," said US Ambassador John Bolton, who expressed hope
for "a vote very soon".
"The G8 summit is approaching," Japanese Ambassador Kenzo Oshima
said, referring to the Group of Eight meeting opening in Saint
Petersburg, Russia on Saturday. "Our position is to have the
council decision at any rate by the end of the week."
But his Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin cautioned that "we
don't have any deadline."
"We have a better understanding of each other's position," said
Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya. "I hope we can come up with a
unified position by the council."
Yet he restated what Beijing views as "red lines": no use of
Chapter Seven, no reference to the North Korean missile tests "a
threat to international peace and security" and no mandatory
sanctions.
But despite Wang's explicit threat to veto the Japanese text if
those lines were crossed, Oshima stuck to a hard line.
"We stick firmly to the positions that we have presented in our
draft," he said. The text would mandate that all member states
block the transfer of items to North Korea that could be used in
missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.
"To maintain the unity of the Security Council is more important
than maintaining our own resolutions," Wang warned. "I do hope
that people will show a spirit of compromise."
Recalling that a vote on the Western-backed draft was deferred
pending the outcome of a high-level Chinese mission to
Pyongyang, Bolton said Wang reported that "there was no news at
all" from the Pyongyang talks.
"It looks to me like Pyongyang's intransigent attitude remains
unchanged," Bolton said, adding that under those circumstances
the United States and Japan would push for "a vote sooner rather
than later."
But Wang insisted that "our mission in Pyongyang will be
successful."
And he stressed that irrespective of the outcome of the
Pyongyang talks, "the Security Council has to react in a
responsible way."
China and Russia fear that tough punitive action against the
isolated Stalinist regime in Pyongyang would further inflame
tension in northeast Asia and could set back prospects for
resuming six-party talks on getting the North to abandon its
nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic and security
incentives.
In Beijing, the top US negotiator on North Korea, Christopher
Hill, said that Pyongyang could now expect a "very strong"
message after Chinese efforts to lower tensions in the region
failed.
"I have talked as much as I can with the Chinese to see what's
going on with their mission in Pyongyang. From what I
understand, we don't have any breakthroughs in Pyongyang," Hill
said before departing for Washington.
"So far (the North Koreans) don't seem interested in listening,
much less in doing anything to address the situation," said the
US diplomat, who has been shuttling among Asian capitals since
the tests rattled the region.
China is considered the country with potentially the most
leverage on the isolated North Korean communist regime due to
its shared political ideologies and substantial food and fuel
aid.
"The Chinese are as baffled as we are. China has done so much
for that country. That country seems intent on getting that
generosity and giving nothing back," Hill said.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
17 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Grapples With Iran, North Korea
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 6:46 PM
AP Photo XUN301
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The Security Council finds itself having
to grapple simultaneously with two threats to the spread of
weapons of mass destruction - Iran's refusal to stop enriching
uranium and North Korea's nuclear arms program and missile
tests.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton says the council's response will be
a test of its effectiveness in dealing with rogue states with
nuclear ambitions and protecting innocent civilians.
Key council members met Thursday for more discussions on both
countries, but took no actions.
North Korea and Iran landing on the council's agenda at the same
time is a coincidence, but Bolton said Wednesday that ``they are
certainly watching each other, and they are watching how the
Security Council performs.''
North Korea declared in 2004 that it has nuclear weapons, but it
was Pyongyang's July 4 test launch of ballistic missiles capable
of being equipped with nuclear warheads that put the reclusive
communist nation at the top of the council's agenda.
The U.N. nuclear agency first referred Iran to the Security
Council in March over fears it is seeking nuclear weapons. Iran
ended a freeze on uranium enrichment in January, saying it wants
to produce nuclear fuel to generate electricity - but the U.S.,
Britain and France suspect Tehran's aim is to produce highly
enriched uranium that can be used for nuclear warheads.
When the council took up Iran, however, the Chinese and Russians
balked at U.S., British and French efforts to put a resolution
demanding that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment under Chapter 7
of the U.N. Charter, a move that would allow the order to be
enforced militarily.
That led to ministerial meetings of the five veto-wielding
council nations and Germany, producing an agreement on a package
of economic and energy incentives that were offered to Iran if
it agreed to suspend uranium enrichment.
The foreign ministers of the six nations set Wednesday as a
deadline and concluded at a meeting in Paris that the Iranians
had given ``no indication at all that they are ready to engage
seriously on the substance of our proposals.''
Therefore, they referred the matter back to the Security Council
and will seek a resolution making the suspension of Iran's
uranium enrichment mandatory. If Iran doesn't comply, the six
powers agreed to adopt nonmilitary sanctions that could include
economic or diplomatic measures.
Bolton told reporters he expected the council to adopt a
resolution giving Iran ``a limited, fixed period of time'' to
suspend all enrichment activities.
``We hope to move as quickly as possible, possibly within the
next few days, but realistically early next week,'' he told
reporters.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya cautioned Thursday that the
council should act ``prudently'' and said whether to put a
resolution under Chapter 7 had to be discussed.
Getting agreement on a resolution on North Korea could prove
more difficult.
Japan, which worries about being a target of Pyongyang's
missiles, has proposed a resolution and is pressing for a vote
this week.
The Japanese draft, backed by the U.S., Britain, France and four
other council members, would impose sanctions on North Korea's
missile and nuclear programs under Chapter 7, and declare that
Pyongyang's recent missile tests were a threat to international
peace and security.
But China and Russia have objected. Wang said he would use his
country's veto to block its adoption.
On Wednesday, China and Russia introduced a rival resolution
that drops mandatory sanctions, Chapter 7, and the declaration
that the missile launches threatened international peace.
While Bolton and Japanese Ambassador Kenzo Oshima welcomed China
and Russia's decision to back a resolution rather than a weaker
council statement, they criticized the new draft for eliminating
crucial elements.
They said that they want a vote on the Japanese draft - even if
China casts a veto - but they also would give a Chinese
diplomatic mission, which is in Pyongyang until Friday, a chance
to persuade the North Koreans to change course.
The Americans and Japanese said they want to see if North Korea
agrees to accept a moratorium on missile tests, return to
international talks on its nuclear program, and commit to
implementing an agreement signed last September. In that accord,
North Korea agreed to get rid of all nuclear weapons and abandon
its nuclear program.
Oshima told reporters Thursday that the differences between
China and Japan are ``very, very difficult ones.'' But he said
Japan wants a council decision by the weekend, when the leaders
of the Group of Eight powers - including Japan - meet in Russia.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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18 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Wants Quick U.N. Vote on N. Korea
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 4:31 PM
AP Photo XUNBM101
TOKYO (AP) - Japan on Thursday urged a prompt U.N. Security
Council vote on sanctions against North Korea, rebuffing a
milder Chinese- and Russian-sponsored resolution on the North's
missile tests.
``There is no change to our view that the resolution
incorporating sanctions should be voted on promptly,'' top
government spokesman Shinzo Abe told reporters.
``I will not give a deadline now, but there should be a vote as
early as possible,'' Abe said. ``We cannot be pushed around by
intentions to diminish or delay'' action against North Korea, he
said.
Backers of Japan's proposed resolution have postponed a vote as
China, North Korea's main ally and aid donor, tries to use its
influence to stop the North from more tests and to draw the
isolated regime back to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.
However, China and Russia have introduced a rival resolution
that cuts mandatory sanctions, along with language in the
Japanese measure that some believe could lead to possible
military action against North Korea.
Later Thursday, though, an unidentified senior Foreign Ministry
official said Japan planned to adjust the wording of its
resolution based on the counterproposal, suggesting that Tokyo
may be mulling a compromise, a news report said.
``What is important is to adopt a binding resolution,'' the
official said anonymously, Kyodo reported. Negotiations on the
text's wording were to begin Thursday New York time, it quoted
the official as saying.
The comments followed news reports that two of the seven
missiles the North fired last week may have been newly developed
long-range Scuds that could reach Japan.
Joint analysis by Washington and Tokyo suggests the new missiles
have a range of 600-1,000 kilometers (370-620 miles), said
Japan's largest newspaper, the Yomiuri.
Japan is about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the missile
launch site in southeast North Korea.
The missiles tested on July 5 all apparently landed between the
two countries in the Sea of Japan.
Signals thought to come from the missiles differed from those of
conventional Scuds - tactical ballistic missiles first developed
by the Soviet Union - which only have a range of 300-500
kilometers (185-310 miles), the Yomiuri said.
It said the new missiles had transmitters that sent base data
such as flight distance and how much fuel remained.
The newspaper cited an unidentified Japanese defense official as
saying the new missiles could reach Japanese territory and
presented a direct threat to the country.
Meanwhile, Libya's National Oil Corp. chief Shukri Ghanem - a
former prime minister - has urged North Korea to give up its
program of developing weapons of mass destruction, Japanese
public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.
``The development of weapons of mass destruction would squander
money and only result in causing external problems. In effect,
there is nothing to gain,'' Ghanem said in an interview taped
the previous day.
Ghanem was Libya's prime minister in 2003, when the country's
leader, Moammar Gadhafi, swore off terrorism and announced plans
to dismantle programs for weapons of mass destruction.
Ghanem was in Tokyo on a weeklong visit, hoping to garner more
Japanese investment in Libya's oil industry.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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19 Fix the U.S.- India Nuclear Deal – FCNL
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:14:27 -0500 (CDT)
X-Sender-Host-Address: 127.127.127.127
X-Sender-Host-Name: sshtunnel-receive
The House is about to approve a nuclear cooperation agreement with
India that would enable that South Asian nation to increase production
of nuclear weapons and dangerously undermine the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We expect this legislation, H.R. 5682,
to pass with a strong majority. Read more about this legislation at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=8879976.
But Congress can still amend the agreement to ensure that it doesnt
destroy the core elements of the NPT. Rep. Howard Berman (CA) and other
legislators have proposed amendments that would enable the U.S. to
expand cooperation with India without eroding years of work in which
the U.S. and other countries strengthened the NPT. One amendment would
require India to halt production of fissile material, the main
component needed to make nuclear weapons, in exchange for greater
nuclear cooperation with the United States. A second important
amendment would prevent India from transferring nuclear enrichment
technology to other countries.
Two key congressional committees approved H.R. 5682 the week of June
26. This legislation will likely come to the floor of the House for a
vote the week of July 24. Several nonproliferation amendments have good
chances of winning, especially if representatives hear from their
constituents that this issue concerns them.
*Take Action*
Please contact your representative today. Urge her or him to support
nonproliferation amendments offered by Rep. Howard Berman (CA) and
others when the House considers the U.S. - India nuclear deal. These
amendments would require India to agree to stop producing nuclear
weapons materials and sign the NPT before the U.S. would agree to
cooperate with that country.
You can find a sample message and contact your representative directly
through FCNLs website at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8906881&type=CO.
*Background*
Congress is considering dangerous legislation that would undermine the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an international agreement that
prohibits the transfer of nuclear technology to countries that dont
agree to international inspections of their nuclear programs. The NPT
has been signed by 188 countries (including the U.S.), but India has
not signed.
The Indian government asserts that it needs this expanded cooperation
to address the countrys growing energy needs and to improve the
quality of life for its population. Improving relations with India and
helping that country to address its energy needs are important.
However, Congress could work to improve relations with India without
providing the Indian government with the capacity to increase
production of nuclear weapons by up to 500 percent. Congress should
insist that before the U.S. signs any nuclear cooperation agreement,
India should agree to:
-stop production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium
fissile materials used in the production of nuclear weapons. All five
acknowledged nuclear weapons states have halted production of fissile
materials;
-sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and
-sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Supporters of the deal argue that roughly 65 percent (14 out of 22) of
Indias nuclear reactors will face international inspections for the
first time under this new agreement. That number is accurate but
misleading. Under the proposal, India could build as many military
nuclear reactors as it wanted, and those reactions would not face
international inspections. This deal would also, indirectly at the
least, allow India to build more nuclear weapons. By providing India
with nuclear fuel and technology under the new agreement, the U.S.
would free Indias domestic uranium for use to produce more nuclear
weapons. Under this deal, India would be able to produce up to 50
nuclear weapons per year. (Currently, it can produce six to 10 per
year.)
Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford
and George H.W. Bush; former Sen. Sam Nunn; and dozens of other
prominent officials have spoken out against this deal. The New York
Times and other newspapers have also editorialized against the
agreement. Read some of the comments at
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1848&issue_id=54.
See a timeline of congressional action on this deal:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1946&issue_id=2
Find out more about the U.S. - India nuclear deal:
http://www.fcnl.org/nuclear/index.htm
Read FCNL's letter of condolence to the people of India following the
Mumbai bombings:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1960&issue_id=40
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20 [NukeNet] NRC represents nuclear industry
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:56:19 -0700
X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
NRC represents nuclear industry
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 06/30/06
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060630/OPINION/606300303/1032
A legal precedent was recently set when residents living within 50 miles
of a California nuclear power plant, fearing a potential attack,
instituted legal action against additional storage of waste on site. Three
judges of the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously disagreed with the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's finding that "an attack was remote and
speculative and therefore unnecessary to consider."
Again and again, we see the NRC representing the nuclear industry rather
than protecting the public. The NRC's primary focus is to allow the plants
to continue operating, with scarce thought to potential problems such as
terrorism, aging equipment failure and environmental degradation.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration and Congress are promoting the
construction of a new round of nuclear plants and, in order to expedite
them, claim that the industry is overregulated.
Perhaps it is time to get rid of this Congress, forge a sane energy bill
not written by the boiler industry, and replace the NRC with a consortium
from the National Academy of Scientists.
If you agree, check out your congressman's voting record on this matter,
then in November vote accordingly. We are the people who put them there.
They need to know we can get rid of them.
Thomas J. Cervasio
CHAIRMAN
ENVIROWATCH
BERKELEY
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"If sunbeams were weapons of war, we would have had solar energy centuries
ago": Sir George Porter, quoted in The Observer, 26 August 1973
"The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military
service": Albert Einstein
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence
of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible
for evil to triumph": Haile Selassie
Molly Johnson
6290 Hawk Ridge Place
San Miguel, CA 93451
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21 NRC: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings about the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant on July 25
News Release - Region IV - 2006-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-06-016 July
12, 2006 CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail:
opa4@nrc.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings
on July 25 to discuss issues regarding the Diablo Canyon nuclear
plant, located near San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The NRC staff will meet with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
officials at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the NRCs annual assessment of
safety performance at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant during
2005, then hold a Town Hall style meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Both meetings will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 333
Madonna Road, in San Luis Obispo.
Both meetings are open to the public but have different
purposes. The public is invited to observe the afternoon meeting
and will have one or more opportunities to communicate with the
NRC after the business portion, but before the meeting is
adjourned. The Town Hall meeting is specifically tailored to
maximize public participation. NRC staff from Region IV as well
as specialists from NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Md. will be
available to answer questions on the plants safety performance,
as well as the agencys role in ensuring safe plant operation.
Each year, the NRC assesses the performance of all of the
nations commercial nuclear power plants, said Region IV
Administrator Bruce S. Mallett. The afternoon meeting gives us
an opportunity to discuss our findings with the company, local
officials and members of the public. Later that same evening, we
will hold a Town Hall style public meeting. This type of meeting
has worked well in the past in fostering dialog between members
of the public and the NRC. We look forward to meeting with
members of the community and answering questions they may have
regarding issues related to Diablo Canyon.
A letter sent from the NRC Region IV Office to plant officials
addresses the performance of the plant during 2005 and will
serve as the basis for the afternoon discussion. It is available
on the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/diab_2005q4.pdf
.
Overall, Diablo Canyon operated safely during 2005. Some decline
was noted during the second and third quarters of 2005 in the
area of emergency preparedness drill and exercise performance.
PG&E successfully addressed the issue by providing additional
training and conducting numerous drills which were evaluated as
successful.
The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance
indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors
start with green and then increase to white, yellow or red,
commensurate with the safety significance of the issues
involved. The NRC is conducting the baseline (or routine) level
of inspections during 2006. Routine inspections are performed by
two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by
inspection specialists from the Region IV Office in Arlington,
Texas.
Current performance information for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 is
available on the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB1/diab1_chart.html.
Information for Unit 2 is available at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB2/diab2_chart.html.
The NRC plans to make video broadcasts of the Town Hall meeting
available on SLO-Span, the San Luis Obispo County government
cable access channel.
Last revised Thursday, July 13, 2006
*****************************************************************
22 Guardian Unlimited: Industry backs new-generation nuclear power
Terry Macalister
Thursday July 13, 2006 The Guardian
The government said today that its energy review had won support
for a multi-billion-pound nuclear programme despite scepticism
from some power companies.
But the growing optimism within Whitehall was shaken by a warning
from the biggest nuclear union that it was prepared to take
industrial action to save the pension position of its members
threatened by privatisation.
Speaking at the sidelines of an energy conference organised by
the Institute of Directors in London, the energy minister Malcolm
Wicks said he was "very encouraged" by the response from
companies to proposals laid out in the policy document on
Tuesday. "I think there will be new nuclear power stations. The
people coming forward will be very large-scale companies and not
ones that have all their eggs in the nuclear basket."
The energy review met a mixed reaction this week with the
Association of Electricity Producers saying if they were going to
invest they needed action not "frothy" words.
Alistair Darling, the industry secretary, had played down the
role of atomic power in the energy review, saying it was just
part of a mix of different possibilities and would happen only
if the private sector wanted it. This approach was criticised by
the shadow industry secretary, Alan Duncan, who mocked the
review as not only "carbon-free but content-free".
Mr Duncan was forced to backtrack at the IoD conference when a
straw poll of delegates voted by a big majority in favour of a
motion suggesting a new generation of nuclear plants would
definitely be built. He admitted he too thought the industry
would probably be revived but only after a lot of horse-trading
with government over the financial and regulatory regime.
Mr Wicks insisted there would be no subsidies - direct or
indirect - but a number of industry speakers made clear their
view that the pricing environment would need to be clarified.
Michael Parker, chief executive of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd,
said he was convinced that new nuclear "is viable" but much
would depend on the carbon pricing mechanism for all low-carbon
producers.
He admitted past reactor building programmes in Britain had a
"chequered History" with cost overruns and delays. The nuclear
leader believed a standardised international reactor design
should avoid many of these problems this time round.
The government and Conservatives have both argued the need for a
consensus to win political and public backing for a project that
many believe could see six reactors constructed.
Among the companies at the forefront of the drive to nuclear is
likely to be EDF Energy, which has experience of operating a
broad range of power plants - from nuclear to renewables. This
is the kind of company Mr Wicks is believed to have been
referring to when he argued there would not be a repeat of the
problems that forced British Energy to the brink of bankrupcy.
Meanwhile Mr Darling meets trade unions leaders from Prospect at
Sellafield tomorrow to try to hammer out a national agreement on
an industry-wide pension arrangements covering those employed by
Westinghouse and British Nuclear Group, which are being sold by
BNFL.
"If the government does not meet our concerns, this is one issue
on which industrial action across the board is a certainty,"
said Mike Graham, national secretary of Prospect.
In a separate move, Mr Wicks gave his blessing to a
controversial move by London's mayor Ken Livingstone to put the
congestion charge up from Ł5 to Ł25 for the biggest cars. The
energy minister said as a Londoner and a London MP he would back
Mr Livingstone for trying to "discourage irresponsible motoring".
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
23 Guardian Unlimited: Letters: Finding the energy to power the future
Letters
Thursday July 13, 2006
The case against nuclear power is well known, but in recent weeks
the arguments have coalesced around the economics. Simon Jenkins
(Comment, July 12) does not believe "a word that the 'renewables'
industry ... say, because they want to get at Ł1bn of public
funds". Since 1974 the UK has spent Ł6.8bn on research and
development into nuclear fusion, which is still no nearer, while
in the same period it has spent only Ł540m on renewable power
research.
Nowhere in the world is nuclear power entirely self-financing,
but the energy review claims the private sector will "fund,
construct and operate new nuclear plants and cover the cost of
decommissioning and their full share of long-term waste
management".
But we have yet to see a single nuclear power station come in on
budget. The review dismisses energy price guarantees and expects
private partners to cover the costs of waste. If the government
sticks by its word it is implausible that the private sector
will invest - why should they when the risks of securing a
profit are so high?
On economic criteria alone, nuclear power still fails to make
the grade. By putting in place an ill-considered framework and
then saying the rest is up to the market to deliver, the
government has failed to take the necessary steps toward a
sustainable and secure future energy supply.
Keith Taylor
Principal speaker, Green party
I wanted to clarify the role of the Committee on Radioactive
Waste Management (CoRWM), following your leader column (July 12).
You are correct to say that CoRWM is looking at geological
disposal as one of the options for managing radioactive waste.
Later this month we will announce our final recommendations for
a long-term waste strategy.
What the committee will not be doing is recommending specific
sites where any facility should be located. Instead, we will be
outlining a process we think the government should follow to
find suitable sites. We believe strongly that neither CoRWM nor
the government should identify sites.
Instead, potential host communities need to express a
willingness to participate in negotiating the terms on which
they would host a facility. They should also have an equal
footing in any decision-making.
Professor Gordon MacKerron
Chair, CoRWM
If Tony Blair is genuinely serious about efficiency, he could
start by promoting - rather than obstructing - European
legislation in this area. In recent years, his government has
delayed implementation of the energy performance of buildings
directive, and failed to set binding targets for energy demand
reduction under the energy services directive - hardly an
impressive record for a prime minister who apparently believes
climate change is the greatest environmental threat we face.
Dr Caroline Lucas MEP
Rapporteur on aviation and climate change, European parliament
In all the sound and fury about nuclear power, scant attention
has been given to the fact that millions of families are
currently unable to heat or light their homes adequately, having
to deal with the blight of fuel poverty - a problem which has
been exacerbated by the dramatic increase in energy prices,
which shows no signs of stopping.
We were therefore disappointed to see that there are no
substantial additional measures or finance to support low-income
or vulnerable households. Only those over 70 (who are more
likely to live in fuel poverty) are singled out for attention
with vague commitments to working with energy suppliers and
local authorities, without setting new goals for these agencies.
The promise to come up with a recipe for jam tomorrow is no
protection for those dealing with fuel poverty now.
Lesley Davies
Chair, National Right to Fuel Campaign
Your leader rightly states that "substantial spending on
efficiency, especially overhauling Britain's energy-profligate
housing stock, will repay itself many times over". But because
this would "take time", you argue that "renewing the nuclear
base will provide that" breathing space.
The government's energy review makes plain that, even by the end
of the next decade, the most optimistic assumption is that only
a single new nuclear power plant could be operating, delivering
just over one million tonnes of carbon saving ( but only if it
replaces an existing fossil fuel station). In contrast,
elsewhere in the review it states that saving energy in our
businesses and households "could save around 25 million tonnes
of carbon through cost-effective energy efficiency measures" by
2020.
Of course, such cost-effective energy savings still have to be
realised. By 2020 the Germans will be three-quarters of the way
to completing their systematic programme of upgrading all
pre-1978 housing to contemporary energy saving levels. Berlin is
now offering grants and tax incentives for home energy
improvements worth more than 1.3bn per year. In contrast, our
own low-carbon buildings programme runs at just Ł10m pa.
Andrew Warren
Director, Association for the Conservation of Energy
The Danish people would certainly dispute the claim by Simon
Jenkins that wind turbines are "near-useless". Denmark produces
20% of its electricity from wind power. It is also investing
heavily in wave technology.
Cllr Alexis Rowell
Chair, Camden Sustainability Taskforce
If we produced for human need and not for profit there would be
no energy crisis, no need for nuclear power and no danger of
climate change.
J Owens
London
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
24 NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet in Rockville, Maryland, July 17-20
News Release - 2006-09 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office
of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC
20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-094 July 12, 2006
The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on Nuclear
Waste (ACNW) will meet July 17-20 in Rockville, Md., to discuss,
among other items, revised International Commission on
Radiological Protection recommendations and drilling conducted
in the Yucca Mountain region related to volcanic hazard
analysis. Tuesday will be dedicated to an ACNW working group
meeting on cementitious barriers. Thursdays session will include
discussions of the Department of Energys Advanced Fuel Cycle
Initiative and a pilot risk assessment of a dry cask system at a
nuclear power plant.
The Committee reports to and advises the Commission on all
aspects of nuclear waste management.
The session on Monday will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays
working group meeting will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Wednesdays session will also run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
although the session from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. will be
closed to the public due to the sensitivity of the information
being discussed. Thursdays meeting will run from 8 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. The meeting will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agencys Two
White Flint North Building, at 11545 Rockville Pike.
Anyone requiring the use of video teleconferencing to observe
the meeting should contact Theron Brown, at 301-415-8066 to
ensure availability.
A complete agenda will be available on the NRCs Web site at this
address:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/agenda/2006/.
Individuals interested in making statements or those seeking
more information should contact Antonio Dias at 301-415-6805.
Last revised Wednesday, July 12, 2006
*****************************************************************
25 Sydney Morning Herald: Cyber attack 'a risk' for nuclear power -
www.smh.com.au
July 13, 2006 - 1:29PM
Computer networks in any Australian nuclear power plant would
need to be isolated from the outside world because of the danger
of a cyber attack, a new study warns.
Robert Anderson, a computer security specialist at the RAND
group security think tank in the US, said an explosion or
release of radioactive material would be the worst case outcome
of a cyber attack.
He said in most cases the consequences of a major cyber attack
directed against critical infrastructure would be akin to a
major flood or cyclone - bad but manageable.
"Australia currently does not operate nuclear electric power
generation facilities," he said in an article in the latest
Kokoda Foundation publication Security Challenges.
"However if it ever does, such a facility's information and
control systems should be very carefully isolated from outside
information networks because triggering a release or explosion
in such a facility is the worst cyber-related event that this
author can envisage."
Mr Anderson said the potential danger was illustrated by an
incident at a US nuclear plant in 2003 when a computer worm
disabled a safety monitoring system for five hours. Plant staff
believed their network was completely protected by a firewall.
He said society was increasingly dependent on computer systems
and the internet for everything from health services to social
security and banking.
However, the fundamental systems, undergirding all others, are
those providing power and telecommunications, he said.
Mr Anderson said studies showed there could be a threat to an
information system if it was critical to some vital organisation
of society function, if it featured vulnerabilities and if
someone knew of those weaknesses and could gain access and had
the technical ability and motivation to mount an attack.
But their studies had concluded too much emphasis was placed on
software flaws and virus attacks and not enough on other
fundamental vulnerabilities.
Mr Anderson said many critical information processing centres
were located on the ground floors of normal office buildings
where they were vulnerable to physical attack such as a vehicle
bomb.
Many organisations possessed backup sites which could be found
by anyone who knew what to look for.
"We are greatly concerned about simultaneous coordinated attacks
on both the primary and secondary sites of such systems because
terrorists have repeatedly shown the ability to plan and execute
simultaneous attacks," he said.
Mr Anderson said there was one other serious threat - the
malevolent insider.
That was the employee who knew the inner workings of a system
and who was motivated by a grudge, a need for money or even
blackmail by outsiders.
"One must pay special attention to the insider threat as one of
the most serious to be guarded against," he said.
© 2006 AAP
Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ![]()
Fri 14 Jul 2006
LOUISA PEARSON
Horizon: Nuclear Nightmares, BBC2
Truly Madly Deeply, Channel 4
I don't know about you, but most of my childhood fears came into
being via the TV screen. It began with mildly disturbing
characters - the mean witch Fenella in Chorlton and the
Wheelies, Zelda in Terrahawks. Then as the years went by, it was
disasters on a grand scale that kept me awake at night. I still
can't face the idea of getting on a cruise liner, having been
traumatised by The Poseidon Adventure. But worst of all was an
animated film about an old couple whose lives would have been
unremarkable, had it not been for the fact a nuclear bomb had
recently dropped in their vicinity. Raymond Briggs's When the
Wind Blows left me with a lifelong ambition to build a bunker in
the garden and keep it well stocked with tinned goods, just in
case a nuclear winter should descend upon us.
New nuclear power stations might be getting built south of the
Border while we smugly admire our wind turbines, but isn't the
threat of death, destruction and radiation sickness as real as
ever? According to Horizon, radiation might just be something we
should embrace rather than run screaming from. I almost choked
on my tinned mandarin segments when I heard this. Was this
really Horizon, or some sort of wacky spoof? Before you could
say "take a hedgehog from Chernobyl out of the deep freeze and
hold a Geiger counter against it to prove how healthy it was
while living in the exclusion zone", we were being sold a very
strange story indeed.
Horizon took us on a journey from the 1920s, when radium was
celebrated for its illusory health-giving properties all the way
to Chernobyl. The focus was on the connection between radiation
exposure and ill health. Distinguished-looking scientists
explained the basics, in particular a graph which has been used
since the late 1950s to predict the risks from exposure. It
transpired that one segment of this graph had been extrapolated
rather than proven. The upshot is that low doses of radiation
might not be as dangerous as scientists imagined. For instance,
9,000 people were expected die as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster; recent figures apparently suggest there have only been
56 deaths.
The "facts" were presented in a clear manner, but it felt like
we were being spoon-fed half the story at best. Maybe people
living in areas with high natural radiation do paradoxically
have a lower incidence of cancer, but surely the phenomenon
warrants much more investigation before drawing conclusions? The
idea that small amounts of radiation stimulate the cells that
protect against cancer sounds feasible to those of us with zero
knowledge of the subject, but on such a controversial issue,
surely Horizon owed it to us to feature some scientists who
didn't agree with the neat theory?
Call me paranoid as I head back into the bunker for the night,
but isn't it possible that Tony Blair personally commissioned
this programme? The message seemed to be "don't panic if the
nuclear power station down the road has a meltdown. The ensuing
radiation will leave you looking and feeling better than ever."
Hmmmm. I'll keep my nuclear fears in place just for the time
being, thanks.
Back in the real world, Truly Madly Deeply had me feeling
nervous. This documentary explored Stars in the Skies, a dating
agency set up for adults with learning difficulties. I was
nervous in case the film turned out to have a mean streak. After
all, it sounded like we were about to meet some easy targets -
Micky with ADHD who produced a condom just minutes into a speed
dating session and Raymond who talked about feeling horny
without any blushes. In fact, this was a funny and refreshing
film, whose subjects were a little more open and honest than
we're used to seeing onscreen. From first-date nerves to lovers'
tiffs, Truly Madly Deeply captured a picture of modern romance
in an engaging manner without ever being patronising. It was
almost enough to make you forget about impending nuclear doom.
Almost.
This article: http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1022852006
Last updated: 13-Jul-06 00:08 BST
©2006 Scotsman.com| contact
*****************************************************************
33 Baltic Times: Ignalina generator shuts down
Jul 13, 2006
By TBT staffVILNIUS - A turbo-generator in Ignalina Nuclear
Power Plant’s second unit mysteriously stopped Wednesday
night, officers reported.
“The turbo-generator switched off at 8:17 p.m. on Wednesday
after the unit alarm was triggered. The commission is currently
investigating whether it was the result of human error or faulty
equipment,” Viktoras Sevaldinas, INPP CEO, told the Baltic
News Service.
The generator has been switched back on and is again running, he
added. “The equipment is operating regularly, and we expect
the unit to achieve full capacity by the end of the day.”
The incident did not effect Ignalina’s whole unit, which was
operating at a capacity of 750 MW July 13.
(c) Copyright 2006 Baltic News Ltd. [Hosted by DEAC]
*****************************************************************
34 Reuters: G8 draft highlights deep split over nuclear energy
13 Jul 2006 19:03:54 GMT13
Source: Reuters Printable view | Email this
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, July 13 - A draft G8 communique on
"Global Energy Security", expected to be approved at a summit in
Russia this weekend, highlights a deep split on the issue of
nuclear energy among the world's most powerful economies.
The 5,500-word draft statement, given to Reuters by a senior
official from one of the Group of Eight nations, was still being
revised before the arrival on Saturday of the leaders of the
United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Canada, France,
Britain and the European Union in St. Petersburg.
Although the United States and Russia would have liked the G8
statement to back the global revival of nuclear energy, Germany
and, to a certain extent Italy, oppose this, G8 diplomats said.
The draft text clearly highlights this rift.
"We recognise that G8 members pursue different ways to achieve
energy security and the goals of climate protection," it said.
"Those of us who have or are considering plans relating to the
use and/or development of safe and secure nuclear energy believe
that its development will contribute to global energy security,
while simultaneously reducing harmful air pollution and
addressing the climate change challenge."
It adds something that German officials said was important to
Berlin, which has committed to an early phase out of nuclear
energy by the early 2020s: "We are committed to further reduce
the risks associated with the safe use of nuclear energy."
Nuclear energy, which is making a comeback worldwide, above all
in Asia, produces no greenhouse gases and has been hailed by
some environmentalists as a good way of protecting the climate
while meeting growing demand for electricity.
Critics, however, say there is no good solution for the storage
of dangerous nuclear waste. They also say that nuclear power
plants are vulnerable to terrorist attacks and result in an
increased risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.
SECURITY, GROWTH, ENVIRONMENT
The bulk of the statement focuses on the general themes of what
it calls the "three Es" -- energy security, economic growth and
environmental protection.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is hosting the summit,
has resisted European pressure to sign the Energy Charter Treaty
and open his country's energy sector to foreign firms.
The G8 draft, however, gives support to the principles in the
treaty, which EU officials see as a step forward.
"We support the principles of the Energy Charter and the
efforts of participating countries to improve international
energy cooperation," the text said.
The text also uses language that appears to call on Russia and
the EU to open up their markets to investment in each other's
companies. Russia has complained about not being able to acquire
stakes in EU energy firms, while Europe wants more access to
Russian pipelines and infrastructure.
"We will work to reduce barriers to energy investment and
trade. It is especially important that companies from energy
producing and consuming countries can invest in and acquire
upstream and downstream assets internationally in a mutually
beneficial way," the text said.
The text also calls for heavier reliance on and more investment
in renewable energy sources and says more attention should be
paid to the energy needs of the developing world. (Additional
reporting by Jeff Mason in Brussels)
*****************************************************************
35 Telegraph: Grid 'will pay Ł1.4bn extra' for N-stations
[telegraph.co.uk]
By Stephen Seawright (Filed: 13/07/2006)
It will cost up to Ł1.4bn to upgrade Britain's electricity
network if a new fleet of nuclear power stations is built, says
the National Grid.
The power network operator believes the extra investment is
essential if the UK's electricity system is to cope.
[Sizewell B]
New plants are likely to be built at current sites
The news follows the Government's announcement that it will ease
the way for the construction of new nuclear power plants to
replace the existing ageing ones.
New nuclear plants are likely to be built at or near current
sites where there is existing infrastructure and planning
approvals are easier to obtain. Despite this, National Grid has
calculated that there will still be significant extra costs
associated with upgrading the transmission networks to cope with
the new nuclear plants.
It estimates investment of Ł850m to Ł1.4bn would be needed in
the networks, assuming all Britain's 12 nuclear stations are
replaced.
Of Britain's 12 existing nuclear stations, 11 are scheduled to
close by 2023.
Nick Winser, the National Grid director for UK and US
transmission, said: "We antici-pate that probably the new breed
of reactors, if they are deployed, will be larger than the
existing ones. That means we will need to reinforce those sites
from a transmission network perspective."
National Grid's estimates are based on new nuclear plants
ranging from 1,100MW (1.1GW) to 3,200MW (3.2GW). The largest
plant today provides only 1,250 MW. British demand for
electricity is about 65,000 MW.
National Grid would have to pay for the most of the extra
investment, as it owns the transmission networks in England and
Wales. In Scotland, where there are two nuclear plants, Scottish
Power and Scottish & Southern Energy own the transmission
assets. The two Scottish companies declined to comment on
National Grid's estimates last night.
Investment in transmission networks to cope with any new nuclear
power stations would most likely be made after 2012 as new
plants are unlikely to be built by then.
National Grid and the two Scottish companies are currently in
discussions with Ofgem, the energy regulator, about the level of
investment in electricity and gas transmission networks over the
five years to 2012, to ensure new renewable energy and gas
import projects can be connected.
Ofgem has proposed investment be almost doubled to a maximum of
Ł5bn for the five years to 2012, but the three transmission
companies had lobbied for total investment of Ł6.7bn for the
five years to 2012. Ofgem is sceptical that quite so many
electricity and gas projects will need connected, and believes
there is scope for cost-savings in the proposed investments.
The transmission companies have an incentive to propose higher
levels of investment as the regulator sets a fixed rate of
return. Ofgem will announce its final proposals in November.
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006. | Terms &
*****************************************************************
36 Guardian Unlimited: Nuclear Materials 'Dangerously Vulnerable'
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 10:46 PM
AP Photo XSP105
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite progress on security, tons of nuclear
material are ``dangerously vulnerable'' to theft by terrorists
across the globe, a private group contends.
World leaders have failed to provide money promised for or to
pay strict attention to securing materials that could be used
for a nuclear device or ``dirty'' bomb, the Nuclear Threat
Initiative said Thursday.
As leaders of the Group of Eight industrial powers, including
President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meet this
weekend, NIT reports note that only a fraction of the $20
billion those leaders pledged four years ago to secure nuclear
materials has been spent.
``This threat is not being treated as an urgent, front-burner
security threat by the United States, by Russia or by the
world,'' said former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., co-chairman of the
group that focuses on nuclear nonproliferation.
The organization commissioned the two reports to assess the
G-8's response to safeguarding nuclear materials. One was by the
Managing the Atom Project at Harvard University; the other came
from researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic
and International Studies.
In a related development, the Energy Department said Thursday it
had reaffirmed in an agreement with Russia the 2000 commitment
by each country to dispose of 34 tons of excess plutonium. The
joint effort had stalled in recent years with talk that it was
falling apart because of disagreements between the two nations
on how to proceed.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman called Thursday's joint statement
``a clear sign of our mutual commitment to keeping dangerous
nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists.''
Russia plans to begin burning some of the plutonium in a
fast-neutron reactor in the 2010-12 timeframe, the statement
said. The Bush administration wants to build a plant to convert
its plutonium into a mixed-oxide fuel with construction
beginning in the fall at the Savannah River complex in South
Carolina.
The department also announced Thursday it had finished a
two-year project with Russian officials that removed 8.8 tons of
highly enriched uranium from the Krylov Shipbuilding Research
Center in St. Petersburg, Russia, to a nuclear complex in
Dmitrovgrad where it will be converted for use in nuclear power
plants. Officials said this is part of efforts to consolidate
material to improve security.
The Harvard report cited progress in securing the material in
Russia. But security upgrades are not completed at nearly half
the sites and ``only modest progress'' has been made in
consolidating the materials, the report said.
``In the rest of the world there is even less good news,'' the
report said. ``At many sites around the world, weapons-usable
nuclear material remains dangerously vulnerable to either
outsider or insider theft.''
The United States has worked to improve security globally, but
outside the former Soviet Union, ``U.S.-sponsored security
upgrades have barely begun or are not yet even on the agenda,''
the report said.
``There are still major gaps in our efforts to keep the
essential ingredients of nuclear weapons out of terrorists'
hands,'' said Matthew Bunn, co-author of the Harvard study.
Material that could be used to make a nuclear device or dirty
bomb can be found in more than 40 countries, the researchers
said.
At their 2002 summit, G-8 leaders committed to spend $20 billion
over a decade to secure weapons of mass destruction. But that
effort, the researchers said, appears to have lost steam even as
the risk of terrorists obtaining the material ``has only grown
more acute.''
Despite pledges of $17.5 billion, most came in the first year
and, nearly halfway into the 10-year program, only $3.5 billion
has been spent, said Robert Einhorn, co-author of the CSIS
report and a former assistant secretary of state for
nonproliferation.
^---
On the Net:
Nuclear Threat Initiative: http://www.nti.org.
Managing the Atom Project report:
http://www.nti.org/securingthebomb
Center for Strategic and International Studies:
http://www.csis.org
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
37 The Australian: Expert warns of nuclear attack risk | |
This story is from our news.com.aunetwork Source: AAP
July 13, 2006
COMPUTER networks in any Australian nuclear power plant would
need to be isolated from the outside world because of the danger
of a cyber attack, a study warns.
Robert Anderson, a computer security specialist at the RAND
group security thinktank in the US, says an explosion or release
of radioactive material would be the worst case outcome of a
cyber attack.
He said in most cases the consequences of a big cyber attack
directed against critical infrastructure would be akin to a
serious flood or cyclone bad but manageable.
"Australia currently does not operate nuclear electric power
generation facilities," he says in an article in the latest
Kokoda Foundation publication Security Challenges.
"However if it ever does, such a facility's information and
control systems should be very carefully isolated from outside
information networks because triggering a release or explosion
in such a facility is the worst cyber-related event that this
author can envisage."
Mr Anderson says the potential danger is illustrated by an
incident at a US nuclear plant in 2003 when a computer worm
disabled a safety monitoring system for five hours. Plant staff
believed their network was completely protected by a firewall.
He said society was increasingly dependent on computer systems
and the Internet for everything from health services to social
security and banking.
However, the fundamental systems, undergirding all others, are
those providing power and telecommunications, he says.
Mr Anderson says studies show there could be a threat to an
information system if it was critical to some vital organisation
of society function, if it featured vulnerabilities and if
someone knew of those weaknesses and could gain access and had
the technical ability and motivation to mount an attack.
But their studies had concluded too much emphasis was placed on
software flaws and virus attacks and not enough on other
fundamental vulnerabilities.
Mr Anderson says many critical information processing centres
are on the ground floors of normal office buildings where they
are vulnerable to physical attack such as a vehicle bomb.
Many organisations possessed back-up sites which could be found
by anyone who knew what to look for.
"We are greatly concerned about simultaneous coordinated attacks
on both the primary and secondary sites of such systems because
terrorists have repeatedly shown the ability to plan and execute
simultaneous attacks," he says.
Mr Anderson says there is one other serious threat the
malevolent insider.
That was the employee who knew the inner workings of a system
and who was motivated by a grudge, a need for money or even
blackmail by outsiders.
"One must pay special attention to the insider threat as one of
the most serious to be guarded against," he says.
*****************************************************************
38 People's Weekly World: Locomotive engineers cite safety concerns
Author: Press Associates Inc.
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 07/13/06 16:16
Safety concerns on the trains they run dominated the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen’s conference in Las Vegas
in late June. Topping the list were railroads’ plans to cut the
crew members per train down to one and the issue of
transportation of nuclear waste.
BLE delegates, whose union is now part of the Teamsters Rail
Conference, took the rail safety issues to the following IBT
convention in Las Vegas. Oregon BLE Legislative Chairman Scott
Palmer told delegates “a serious threat” looms to both workers
and communities from transportation of spent nuclear fuel from
U.S. reactors to the Energy Department’s deep underground
storage site in Yucca Mountain, Nev. Virtually all of that spent
fuel will come by rail.
Palmer said rail workers do not receive proper training to
handle spent fuel and do not receive the same protections given
to other nuclear industry workers. And DOE has no program to
track rail workers’ exposure to potential radiation from the
shipments. The federal agency contends the reinforced cement
containers carrying the spent fuel will protect the workers and
the public from radiation releases.
“It’s our goal to not only track but to lower exposure levels
and keep them as low as possible,” Palmer said. “Right now, no
(rail) carrier even has a program that will protect pregnant
workers from radiation. If you show up to work, you cannot turn
down a train of radioactive material. Rail is the way they’re
going to move it. It’s going to be dedicated trains, and it’s
going to be 210 feet behind you.”
BLE is also leading a crusade against railroads’ schemes for
engineerless freight locomotives in train yards — especially
since the carriers, with Bush Federal Railroad Administration
approval, liberally interpret the word “yard.” Thirty years ago,
there were five crew members on a freight train. Now, Burlington
Northern-Santa Fe is experimenting with running freight trains
out of Galesburg, Ill., with just the engineer. Much of the
actual operation will be turned over to remote computer control.
Dozens of cities, counties, towns and labor bodies have
protested this practice, citing fatal accidents and safety
threats.
The engineer-only freight trains were thrown into current
bargaining between the nation’s freight railroads, which want
them, and the Teamster-led union coalition representing rail
workers. Chicago is the nation’s largest freight rail hub,
followed by Kansas City.
E-mail: pww@pww.org Editorial Office: 3339 S Halsted St.
Chicago IL 60608 ph: 773-446-9920 fax: 773-446-9928
Business Office: 235 West 23rd Street New York NY 10011 ph:
212-924-2523 fax: 212-229-1713
*****************************************************************
39 Appleton Post-Crescent: Truck carrying radioactive material burns
Posted July 13, 2006
WRIGHTSTOWN — The driver of a medical equipment truck carrying
radioactive material escaped injury Wednesday afternoon after his
brakes locked and started a semitrailer on fire.
The incident happened about 3:30 p.m. on the U.S. 41 northbound
off-ramp at County U, which is the dividing line between
Outagamie and Brown counties.
Vandenbroek-Kaukauna Fire Chief Ron Diedrick and Sgt. David
Spaeth of the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department said the
truck was carrying portable X-ray equipment.
Radioactive material was in a lead container, and the Appleton
Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit checked the area with
meters to make sure the fire had not penetrated the lead.
The driver of the truck, Gary M. Bembenek, 50, of Rosholt, was
not injured.
The truck is owned by Shared Medical Services of Madison.
Contact us at 920-993-1000. postcrescent.com is a
Gannett Companywebsite.
*****************************************************************
40 Guardian Unlimited: Wash. Seeks to Bar More Waste From Site
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday July 13, 2006 2:46 AM
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The state is appealing a ruling that
struck down a voter-approved initiative barring the federal
government from accepting more radioactive waste at the Hanford
nuclear site.
U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald ruled last month that the
initiative was unconstitutional. It would bar the government
from accepting more nuclear waste at Hanford until what's
already there has been cleaned up.
State attorneys filed a notice of appeal Wednesday with the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
``We are not content to let this decision rest with a single
district court judge,'' Attorney General Rob McKenna said in a
statement.
The judge ruled that the initiative is unconstitutional because
it violates federal authority over nuclear waste, as well as the
Constitution's interstate commerce clause.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative in 2004. The
federal government immediately sued to overturn it.
Hanford was built in the 1940s as part of the top-secret
Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. It produced
plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal for 40 years.
Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.
Cleanup costs are expected to total as much as $60 billion, with
the work to be finished by 2035.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
41 Nevada Appeal: Bush should listen to people on nuclear waste
Opinion
July 13, 2006
It seems residents of Nevada and Russia have something in
common - they don't want to be repositories for spent nuclear
waste, and the Bush Administration doesn't seem to care.
The administration continues to push for completion of the Yucca
Mountain site despite its many problems, and is now throwing
support behind Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is planning
to make his country into a nuclear waste repository to
permanently store waste from several countries.
That's despite polls in Russia that show 90 percent of the
Russian population opposes the plan.
It's unlikely that even if the plan is approved any waste from
this country would end up in Russia. Instead, it would take
nuclear waste from countries such as Japan and Taiwan. That
nuclear fuel originated in the United States, which means Bush
would have to give approval before it can be sent to Russia.
Putin's motivation is the billions of dollars his country could
make from storing nuclear waste. Reportedly, the Bush
Administration sees it as an opportunity to expand nuclear
energy around the world. But it also needs to take security of
the waste into consideration, and Russia has never been a stable
country.
The administration should also keep in mind that democracy works
best when it does the will of the people. And the will of the
people in Russia, and in Nevada, is to not become dumping sites
for nuclear waste.
All contents © Copyright 2006 nevadaappeal.com
Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701
*****************************************************************
42 UPI: U.S., Russia sign new plutonium waste deal
United Press International - Security &Terrorism -
7/13/2006 6:14:00 PM -0400
WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- The United States and Russia have
signed a new non-proliferation agreement to get rid of Russian
waste-grade plutonium from nuclear reactors.
U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman and Sergey Kiriyenko, the
director of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, have signed a
joint statement reaffirming their commitment to dispose of 34
metric tons of excess weapon-grade plutonium by irradiation in
nuclear reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy announced
Thursday.
"This statement is a clear sign of our mutual commitment to
keeping dangerous nuclear material out of the hands of
terrorists. We look forward to working together with the
Russians to ensure that this important nonproliferation project
moves forward in both Russia and the United States," Bodman
said.
The joint statement noted Russian plans to begin early
disposition of plutonium using a BN-600 fast reactor in
2010-2012. The United States plans to begin construction this
fall of a mixed oxide, or MOX fuel fabrication facility in South
Carolina to prepare U.S. plutonium for use in nuclear power
plants, the DOE said.
"By signing this statement the Russian Federation is showing
that it remains committed to the 2000 agreement to dispose of
excess weapon-grade plutonium," said Linton F. Brooks, head of
the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration. "We have put
in place a procedure for addressing remaining technical issues
in the Russian program. We will continue to work with the
Russians to ensure that this important nonproliferation project
moves forward in both countries."
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
43 Dayton Daily News: Trucks haul last radioactive waste from Mound
By Timothy R. Gaffney Staff Writer
MIAMISBURG | The last truckload of radioactive waste left the
Mound on Thursday morning, marking the end of an era for the
former nuclear weapons plant.
It also marked the last of 10.5 million cubic feet of soil and
debris shipped from the site by CH2MHill Mound Inc. under an
Energy Department contract.
Only two barrels of sealed radioactive sources were in the long
tractor-trailer that pulled out of the 305-acre hilltop site at
8:45 a.m. on a trip to a radioactive burial ground on the Nevada
Test Site.
Warning placards declared the truck's radioactive contents, but
a company official said the cargo isn't dangerous.
The sources contained radioisotopes in amounts less that used in
home smoke detectors, said Jeffrey Bradford, CH2M Hill's deputy
site manager and chief operating officer.
It was the 412th truckload of waste hauled from the site. The
project also removed 3,916 rail cars of contaminated soil and
debris to a disposal site in Utah, officials said.
The Energy Department is turning over the land and nine
buildings to local authorities for commercial reuse. One cleanup
project remains, the removal of an old landfill. Bill Taylor,
manager of the Energy Department's Ohio Field Office, said his
office plans to issue a task order for the work by Sept. 30.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or
tgaffney@DaytonDailyNews.com. Read his "Air City" blog and more
DaytonDailyNews.com: Contact Us | Advertise | | RSS | Customer
Copyright ©2006 Cox Ohio Publishing, Dayton, Ohio, USA. All
*****************************************************************
44 Las Vegas City Life: Unsound science
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Co-editor of new book on Yucca Mountain says the DOE's research
is flawed
Allison Macfarlane, co-editor of the new book, Uncertainty
Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation's High-Level Nuclear
Waste
BY MATT O'BRIEN
The Yucca Mountain project seems to be on especially shaky
ground -- and we're not just talking geologically.
The Department of Energy, which oversees the project, has been
wracked by turnover. It's being besieged by lawsuits. It can't
decide on transportation routes. It can't even seem to put
together a proper licensing application.
And now a damning new book, Uncertainty Underground: Yucca
Mountain and the Nation's High-Level Nuclear Waste, has been
released by the MIT Press. Consisting of more than 20 scientific
papers, each its own chapter, the book paints the Yucca Mountain
project as scientifically flawed.
Of course, the Energy Department will probably ignore
Uncertainty Underground. It has done its own "research," its
representatives have said. We, however, refuse to ignore the
book. We recently sat down with co-editor Allison Macfarlane, a
research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
CityLife: How did the idea for the book come about?
Allison Macfarlane: It came about when [co-editor] Rod Ewing and
I were really disturbed by the lack of geology in the
decision-making about Yucca Mountain. There wasn't much
geological input. We first got together at a major conference.
At that meeting, we said we should do a book on the subject. We
actually sketched an outline on a napkin.
CL: How were the chapters chosen?
AM: We approached the authors. Everything in the book was peer
reviewed multiple times. Everything in the book is probably more
reviewed than work in most regular peer-review journals. If
somebody's paper didn't pass peer reviews -- and there were a
couple that didn't -- they were rejected.
CL: There aren't a whole lot of Nevadans on the contributors
list. Why is that?
AM: We looked for people who had expertise in particular areas.
And some people we approached said they couldn't contribute
because it was a conflict of interest, so we went to people in
academia. We went to people at national labs. There are a couple
of people who work for the DOE. There are people under contract
with the DOE. There are a variety of people, viewpoints and
institutions represented in the book.
CL: What's the standout chapter?
AM: The chapter on climate change [chapter nine]. It's a new
take on the DOE's climate-change analysis. The important thing
at Yucca Mountain, because the repository is above the water
table, is how much water would get to the repository. And to
understand how much water is going to get to the repository, you
have to know how much precipitation is going to fall to the
ground. Therefore, you have to have some kind of concept about
what the climate's going to be like over the period of time the
standard covers. First, the standard was 10,000 years. Now, it
looks like it's going to be a million years. Well, what the DOE
did was look at the last 400,000 years of climate in this area.
What they didn't do was take into account the potential for
climate change over the next few hundred years.
CL: What's the most damning piece of evidence in the book?
AM: I think the utility of the book is that it shows that
there's lots of uncertainties in a lot of different areas. I
wouldn't say there's one smoking gun. It's more like death by a
thousand cuts.
CL: Is there anything in the book that makes a good case for
Yucca Mountain?
AM: There are a couple of chapters that say, "Look, we can live
with this and we think we can know this." There's a contributor
named [G. S.] Bodvarsson who works at the Lawrence Berkeley lab.
He's convinced it's a decent and reasonable site. That's what he
argues in his chapter.
CL: What do you think should be done with nuke waste?
AM: I think it should go into a geologic repository. I'm just
not sure Yucca Mountain is the right place for it. I'm not one
of these people who say, "Leave it aboveground. Or interim
storage is the answer. Or let's wait until we are smart enough
to figure out the right thing to do with it." I think we have an
ethical responsibility to deal with it now, because -- and
people laugh at me when I say this -- we have no idea what's
going to happen in terms of political change in this country.
There's a possibility that things could get quite ugly and we
could have a Soviet-style system, for instance, or a fascist
system, where the government doesn't care about the people and
doesn't care if they're exposed to massive amounts of radiation.
That's what happened in the Soviet Union. They exposed their
citizens to tons of stuff. They just treated their environment
like a big trash heap.
CL: What's the message of the book?
AM: That there's a lot of uncertainty in nuclear waste disposal
and Yucca Mountain is a very complex place geologically.
CL: What do you think will happen with the Yucca Mountain
project?
AM: I think it could go either way. The Department of Energy's
program is not in good shape. There are a number of people who
are pro-nuclear who are worried that this will collapse. But at
the same time, there's a lot of political pressure to make it
happen.
Matt O'Brien is CityLife's news editor. He can be reached at
871-6780 ext. 350 or mobrien@lvcitylife.com.
Copyright © , Las Vegas CityLife
*****************************************************************
45 Scoop: Greedy grab for profits drives nuclear waste dump
Thursday, 13 July 2006, 8:54 pm
Press Release: Australian Green Party
Greedy grab for profits drives nuclear waste dump push: Greens
A greedy grab for cash is driving the push to turn Australia into
the world's nuclear waste dump, Australian Greens energy
spokesperson Senator Christine Milne said today.
"The latest advocate of this ill-conceived proposal, Reserve Bank
board member and former WMC chief executive Hugh Morgan, claims
that Australia can improve its international standing by taking
the world's high-level nuclear waste," Senator Milne said.
"This is nonsense. Hugh Morgan and the other cheerleaders for a
nuclear waste storage industry in Australia are trying to dress
up a greedy grab for cash with the respectable clothing of
international reputation. In truth, they simply want to dump on
Australia.
"Far from improving Australia's international standing, a global
nuclear waste dump in Australia would simply show that the nation
is prepared to condemn Indigenous communities and future
generations of Australians to exposure to waste so toxic that it
has to be managed for a quarter of a million years.
"Perhaps Hugh Morgan and fellow cheerleader former Prime Minister
Bob Hawke don't appreciate that Australia's global standing is
already besmirched by its treatment of refugees, failure to
defend David Hicks' legal rights, and its war on Iraq.
"Pulling the rug from under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
through nuclear fuel leasing and a high-level waste dump would
just be the latest case in a long history of the Australian
government thumbing its nose at international law and standards.
"Mr Morgan's arrogance is evident in his reported comment that
'there's no better use to which I can think you can put the
country' in South Australia than a nuclear waste dump.
"Nuclear waste is an unacceptable legacy to future generations.
There are alternative forms of energy that are safe and
ecologically sustainable.
"The federal government must rule out the development of a
uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel leasing industry to ensure
that Australia does not become a global nuclear waste dump.
Australia needs a smart industry development strategy; storing
nuclear waste doesn't measure up."
*****************************************************************
46 TownOnline.com: Radiation regs to tighten
Dover-Sherborn Press
By John Hilliard/ Metrowest Daily News
Thursday, July 13, 2006
HOLLISTON - Health officials continued work last week on plans to
tighten radioactive waste and handling practices at a local
trash-hauling station.
"We need to make sure theres enough safeguards [and] theres
no public health hazard coming from radioactive waste," Board of
Health member Anita Ballesteros said of Casella Waste Systems
Washington Street facility.
The board is developing a new radiation control plan for
Casellas operation to replace an existing process imposed earlier
this year.
Officials said the new scheme would tighten regulations on
how the company handles radioactive waste, including a gated
radiation screening area, personal detectors for employees,
radiation record keeping for every vehicle, plus town
notification if radioactive waste is found.
Radioactive waste was found at least three times at the
station in the past year.
But board members were concerned with a potential conflict
between a town bylaw banning the storage of radioactive waste and
state radioactive waste regulations.
Despite the bylaw, the state Department of Public Health can
order radioactive trash stored at the Casella property overnight
before its trucked out of town. In the past, the DPH has ordered
radioactive waste kept at the station until it was deemed safe
enough for transport out of town.
Health board Chairwoman Elizabeth Theiler said the board
needs the advice of Building Inspector Peter Tartakoff on how the
bylaw relates to state and federal radioactive waste-handling
regulations.
Ballesteros noted some common household products such as
thermometers carried in stores contain some radioactive material.
She questioned how the town bylaw, as its understood, affects
those businesses. "The bylaw has to apply to everyone," said
Ballesteros. "To some degree, this is problematic."
Theiler said the bylaw refers only to radioactive trash.
"You cant call the smoke detectors in the hardware store
radioactive waste," said Theiler.
Another concern is Casellas weekend operations, which could
include limited Saturday business under a proposed arrangement
with the Planning Board.
Health officials were concerned state public health officials
may not be available during the weekend if radioactive waste is
found at the station.
"You could catch something in an outbound [load]," said
Christopher Martel, the boards radiation consultant.
Ballesteros said town Fire Chief Michael Cassidy is certified
as a radiation control specialist and could also be called upon
in case of radiation trouble at the property.
Resident Andy Bell, who has criticized the company in the
past, doubted Casella would follow a radiation plan established
by the Board of Health.
"I think these are people incapable of being trained on
something as complex as a Geiger counter," said Bell.
John Hilliard can be reached at 508-626-4449 or
jhilliar@cnc.com.
call 1.800.982.4023
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47 Whitehaven News: BNG to help Russia deal with waste
Published on 13/07/2006
By Alan Irving
SELLAFIELD’s present operators, BNG, and Fluor Ltd – one of
the favourites to eventually take over the running of Sellafield
– have joined forces to help decommission Russia’s retired
nuclear-powered naval fleet.
The contract will also see the pair deal with associated spent
nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management near the Barents
Sea ports of Murmansk and Archanelsk.
“This will provide us with a crucial strategic foothold in the
clean-up of Russia’s nuclear legacy, an emerging market that
is expected to be worth millions of pounds,” said a joint
statement.
The two companies will work alongside the Russian government
organisation, Rosatom, in developing a programme to clean up the
former Soviet Navy’s nuclear legacy.
BRITISH Nuclear Group is set to award contracts worth
£90million for servicing Sellafield – on and off the site.
Subject to the deal being finalised, the lucrative work covering
facilities management will be offered to and split between two
major national companies and spread over five years.
Involved is a huge range of operations, including maintenance
and building management services to support the day-to-day
running of Sellafield. Cleaning, catering in all the Sellafield
canteens and postal services are also included, along with
Summergrove and Sella Park House, the two hospitality facilities
at Keekle and Calderbridge.
Two preferred suppliers have been selected to carry out the work
and directly employ around 500 staff. Deals have been struck, in
principle, with the companies but contracts have still to be
signed.
BNG says it will encourage the big national firms to give some
of the work to smaller local companies.
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48 Houston Chronicle: Ceradyne Enters Nuclear Waste Business
Chron.com |
COSTA MESA, Calif. - Ceradyne Inc. said Thursday it bought an
industrial facility, a new product line and manufacturing
equipment for $14.1 million, as part of a nuclear waste
containment project.
The company, which makes durable ceramic products for military
and industrial uses, said it bought an 86,000-square-foot
facility in Quebec, Canada.
In a separate transaction, the company acquired a boron carbide
and aluminum cladding product line called Boral, as well as
manufacturing equipment and inventory from AAR Manufacturing Inc.
Ceradyne intends to manufacture the nuclear waste containment
materials under an agreement with Canadian aluminum producer
Alcan Inc.
Chief Executive Joel Moskowitz in a statement called the
acquisitions "part of our diversification strategy."
Ceradyne's products include armor for military helicopters,
diesel engine components and orthodontic brackets.
Ceradyne closed down $1.67 at $51.54 in Wednesday trading on the
Nasdaq.
copy; 2006 The Associated Press
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49 Seattle Times: State appeals ruling tossing Hanford ban
Thursday, July 13, 2006
By The Associated Press
SPOKANE Washington state has appealed a judge's ruling that
struck down a voter-approved initiative barring the federal
government from accepting more radioactive waste at Hanford,
Attorney General Rob McKenna said Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald ruled last month in Yakima
that Initiative 297, now called the Cleanup Priority Act, was
unconstitutional. The initiative would bar the government from
accepting more nuclear waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation
until the waste already there has been cleaned up.
Attorneys representing the state Department of Ecology filed a
notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
San Francisco on Wednesday.
Voters approved I-297 by a nearly 70 percent margin in 2004. The
federal government immediately filed suit to overturn it.
Sponsors of the initiative applauded the state's action
Wednesday and pledged to work with McKenna and Gov. Christine
Gregoire in moving the appeal forward.
However, Energy Department spokeswoman Megan Barnett said in an
e-mail from Washington, D.C., "We believe the district court
correctly ruled that I-297 is unconstitutional and that the
court's ruling will be upheld on appeal." McDonald ruled that
the initiative is unconstitutional because it violates federal
authority over nuclear waste, as well as the Constitution's
interstate commerce clause.
He also found that the initiative impairs the Tri-Party
Agreement, a consent-enforcement order signed by Ecology, the
U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency to govern cleanup at Hanford.
"Given the high level of public interest and the importance of
this issue, the state of Washington's perspective needs to be
reviewed by the Ninth Circuit," McKenna said.
His office had argued that the state has authority to regulate
hazardous wastes, including radioactive materials.
The state also argued that the federal government could not
strike down a law without first seeing how it would be applied.
Hanford was built in the 1940s as part of the top-secret
Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. It continued to
produce plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal for 40 years.
Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.
Cleanup costs are expected to total as much as $60 billion, with
the work to be finished by 2035.
Last July, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled that parts
of the initiative could stand even if a federal judge found
other parts unconstitutional.
McDonald, however, struck the measure down in its entirety.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
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50 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: State appeals ruling tossing Hanford initiative
[seattlepi.com]
Thursday, July 13, 2006
I-297 would bar nuclear waste transfer
By JOHN K. WILEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPOKANE -- Washington state has appealed a judge's ruling that
struck down a voter-approved initiative barring the federal
government from accepting more radioactive waste at Hanford,
Attorney General Rob McKenna said Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald ruled last month in Yakima
that Initiative 297, now called the Cleanup Priority Act, was
unconstitutional.
The initiative would bar the government from accepting more
nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation until the waste
already there has been cleaned up.
Attorneys representing the state Department of Ecology filed a
notice of appeal Wednesday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco.
"We respectfully disagree with the federal district court's
conclusion that Initiative 297 is unconstitutional, and we are
not content to let this decision rest with a single district
court judge," McKenna said in a news release from Olympia.
Voters approved I-297 by a nearly 70 percent margin in 2004. The
federal government immediately filed suit to overturn it.
Sponsors of the initiative applauded the state's action
Wednesday and pledged to work with McKenna and Gov. Christine
Gregoire in moving the appeal forward.
McDonald ruled that the initiative is unconstitutional because
it violates federal authority over nuclear waste, as well as the
Constitution's interstate commerce clause.
He also found that the initiative impairs the Tri-Party
Agreement, a consent enforcement order signed by Ecology, the
U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection
Agency to govern cleanup at Hanford.
[advertising] "Given the high level of public interest and the
importance of this issue, the state of Washington's perspective
needs to be reviewed by the Ninth Circuit," McKenna said.
Hanford was built in the 1940s as part of the top-secret
Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. It continued to
produce plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal for 40 years.
Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.
Cleanup costs are expected to total as much as $60 billion, with
the work to be finished by 2035.
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA
98119 (206) 448-8000
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
©1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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51 DOE: U.S. and Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Disposing of Weapon-Grade Plutonium
July 13, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman and
Sergey Kiriyenko, the director of Russias Federal Atomic Energy
Agency, have signed a joint statement reaffirming their
commitment to dispose of 34 metric tons of excess weapon-grade
plutonium by irradiation in nuclear reactors.
This statement is a clear sign of our mutual commitment to
keeping dangerous nuclear material out of the hands of
terrorists. We look forward to working together with the
Russians to ensure that this important nonproliferation project
moves forward in both Russia and the United States, Secretary
Bodman said.
The statement notes Russian plans to begin early disposition of
plutonium using a BN-600 fast reactor in 2010-2012. The United
States plans to begin construction this fall of a mixed oxide
(MOX) fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina to prepare
U.S. plutonium for use in nuclear power plants.
By signing this statement the Russian Federation is showing
that it remains committed to the 2000 agreement to dispose of
excess weapon-grade plutonium, said Linton F. Brooks, head of
DOEs National Nuclear Security Administration. We have put in
place a procedure for addressing remaining technical issues in
the Russian program. We will continue to work with the Russians
to ensure that this important nonproliferation project moves
forward in both countries.
Full Text of Joint Statement (pdf 23 KB)
Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940 Bryan Wilkes,
NNSA, (202) 586-7371 [ ]
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General
Contact
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52 DOE: Deputy Secretary Leads U.S. Delegation to Turkey
July 13, 2006
Hails International Cooperation on BTC Pipeline Completion
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Energy Deputy Secretary Clay Sell today
led a United States delegation to the official completion
ceremony of the Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in
Ceyhan,Turkey. The BTC pipeline, now operational, carries
one-million barrels of Caspian oil daily to the global markets
faster in an environmentally safe manner. The completion of the
pipeline signifies substantial cooperation between the nations
of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan and strong efforts by a
private sector consortium to implement this project.
The United States congratulates the leaders of Turkey, Georgia,
and Azerbaijan - as well as the private sector partners - for
their dedication to this project, which increases the amount of
oil exported from the region to supply the global oil market,
Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell said. The BTC pipeline is
a noteworthy example of international cooperation that provides
both economic and political benefits to producing and transit
nations.
The BTC pipeline, noted for its technical complexity, transports
crude oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunesli oil field in the Caspian
Sea to the Mediterranean Sea for distribution to international
oil and gas markets. The pipeline provides the Central Asian
region with significant export infrastructure and will allow oil
exports from the region to grow substantially. President Bush's
National Energy Policy recommended providing international
assistance to open the BTC pipeline.
Deputy Secretary Sells participation in the official completion
ceremony of the BTC marks the second of a three day trip to
Turkey. On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary Sell held energy
discussions with President of Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev,
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Turkish Minister for
Energy and Natural Resources Mehmet Hilmi Guler, and Energy and
Mineral Resources Minister of Kazakhstan Baktykozha
Izmuhkambetov.
In meetings with senior officials, Deputy Secretary Sell
discussed the importance of cooperation among the Central Asian
nations on the development of oil and gas resources and the
requisite transport infrastructure. Deputy Secretary Sell also
encouraged the nations to support economic and regulatory
reforms that attract investment, stimulate competition, and are
market-based, which include recognizing the sanctity of
contracts and providing for predictable tax and regulatory
structures.
On Friday, Deputy Secretary Sell will meet with U.S. and Turkish
business leaders to discuss short and long term goals and
objectives for increasing trade relations between the U.S. and
Turkey. The U.S. delegation will also tour the Bosporus
Straits, one of the worlds busiest waterways and a major export
route for oil production.
Media contact(s): Megan Barnett, (202) 586-4940 [ ]
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General
Contact
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53 Idaho Statesman: DOE says it's prepared for wildfires on nuclear sites
07-13-2006
Christopher Smith The Associated Press
In the summer of 2000, wildfires raged across nuclear compounds
in the West, destroying buildings, forcing the evacuation of
highly secure labs and creating a health panic over harmful
radioactive contaminants being dispersed by smoke.
After five quiet fire seasons, U.S. Department of Energy fire
officials say they are better prepared as the potential for a
fiery summer sequel increases.
"Our training has improved, we're more focused on restricting
potential human sources and we've completed the evaluation of
our areas of soil contamination, so we have a better
understanding of what the potential effects would be if a fire
burns through one of those," said Eric Gosswiller, fire marshal
for the 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory, a DOE nuclear
research compound in Idaho's high southeastern desert.
Three huge wildfires roared across INL in July 2000, scorching
nearly 100 square miles inside the secure federal site, coming
close to a test reactor and forcing emergency evacuations.
That same season, an out-of-control wildfire burned 40 percent
of the 586-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation in the
sagebrush of south-central Washington state and briefly
threatened a nuclear waste warehouse, while the Cerro Grande
fire burned 7,500 acres of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
site in New Mexico, prompting an 11-day evacuation.
A subsequent federal investigation found the Energy Department
was unprepared for large-scale firefighting and the unique
hazards that fires on nuclear sites present.
"We learned a lot of lessons complex-wide," Gosswiller said
Wednesday during a gathering of DOE fire and environmental
monitoring officials at INL.
Armed with mobile water cannons and off-road fire trucks that
shoot streams of foam, INL crews now have detailed site maps
showing areas where the soil has higher-than-background levels
of radiation, where volatile or hazardous waste was dumped or
spilled, and the locations of large amounts of unexploded World
War II ordnance left over from the period when the Navy used INL
as a gunnery test range.
Recent Western fire seasons haven't matched the scorching summer
of 2000. But the potential this season is high.
IdahoStatesman.com|
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