***************************************************************** 07/26/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.176 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Guardian Unlimited: Iran warns the west: ignore us at your peril 2 IRNA: Speaker: Iran will stop cooperation with IAEA once it finds 3 IRNA: Iran says Europe incentives package "a good base" for talks - 4 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Ahmadinejad, Putin hold phone talk 5 AFP: Putin, Ahmadinejad discuss Mideast violence, Iran nuclear probl 6 Guardian Unlimited: Nations Closer on Iran Resolution Deal 7 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Wants Meeting if N. Korea Boycotts 8 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Says It Will Bolster Nuke Program 9 AFP: China 'seriously concerned' over North Korea stalemate 10 AFP: Hopes rise for North Korea nuclear talks 11 AFP: NKorea vows 'do-or-die resistance' over its missile tests 12 AFP: China, South Korea meet on North Korea at forum 13 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Town meeting on climate 14 US: AFP: House poised to take up US-India nuclear energy bill - 15 Guardian Unlimited: First trial over Libya'a nuclear bomb plan colla 16 San Francisco Chronicle: Stumbling into war in the Middle East 17 AFP: Rice confronts new crises at Southeast Asian meeting NUCLEAR REACTORS 18 [NukeNet] Chernobyl 20th - Letter to the Editor - The Roy 19 US: [NukeNet] Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Public Demands 20 US: [NukeNet] APP July 26 Oyster Creek faces new challenges 21 US: ENS: Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Create Office of New React 22 US: ENS: Hearing Set for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant License Renewa 23 RIA Novosti: Russia removes 3 kg of uranium from research reactor in 24 US: APP.COM: Oyster Creek faces new challenge | 25 GAZETA.KZ: Kazakhstani PM and CEO of "Rosatom" discuss establishment 26 US: NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, FirstEnergy Nuclear 27 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find 28 Mos News: Russia, Kazakhstan Sign 3 Nuclear JV Deals Worth $10Bln - 29 US: AFP: House takes up US-India nuclear energy bill 30 SMN: Bulgarian Nuke Wants Units' Licences Switched NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 31 US: NRC: NRC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule Reflecting Expand 32 US: Guardian Unlimited: US compensation for British nuclear test vet 33 The Hindu: `Radium girls' saved workers in nuclear industries 34 RIA Novosti: Russia says no pollution after feed-water leak on nucle 35 US: APP.COM: NRC should use taxpayer funds to protect public 36 US: Longview News-Journal: Burned radioactive material no danger, Le NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 37 US: Sydney Morning Herald: Labor has uranium waste and mine plans 38 US: Bradenton Herald: Lockheed takes offensive stance 39 US: SLO Trib: Concern on waste storage resurfaces at Diablo Canyon n 40 BBC: First report on Dounreay clean-up 41 Gristmill: Democratic caucuses and Yucca Mountain | 42 Comment is free: What a (nuclear) waste 43 US: The Dispatch: $25M for Contaminated H2O Cleanup Efforts 44 csmonitor.com: Spent nuclear fuel edges closer to Yucca | 45 Reid: REID, ENSIGN PRESS FOR RELEASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ON YUCC 46 US: AU ABC: Garrett opposes change to uranium mining policy 47 US: AU ABC: Catania backs plan for ALP uranium review. 48 US: AU ABC: Uranium shortage forces commodity price up. 49 US: AU ABC: Conference hears uranium companies 'blinded by greed'. 50 US: Australian: Local enrichment industry 'still 10 years off' 51 US: Australian: ALP woos union to back uranium mining PEACE 52 US: Minot Daily News: Trial date set for nuclear protesters US DEPT. OF ENERGY 53 DOE: Secretary Bodman Joins Congress to Celebrate One-Year 54 DOE: DOEs Idaho National Lab Issues Request for Proposals for 55 DOE: DOE Distributes Energy-Saving Tools to Help Manufacturers Save 56 DOE: Energy Department Early Career Scientists and Engineers Honored 57 SF New Mexican: Los Alamos lab director seeks budget cuts to pay for 58 Hanford News: DOE files notice of appeal in Idaho nuclear waste ruli 59 Hanford News: Study links Hanford, disease 60 Boise Weekly: Active Today, or Radioactive Tomorrow 61 Knox News: Munger: Award recalls Auxier's work under the mushroom cl ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: Iran warns the west: ignore us at your peril Tehran predicts summit failure as UN observers die in Israeli airstrike Simon Tisdall and Ewen MacAskill Wednesday July 26, 2006 The Guardian [Israeli soldiers holding up the yellow Hizbullah flag as they roll back across the border from southern Lebanon into northern Israel] Israeli soldiers holding up the yellow Hizbullah flag as they roll back across the border from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. Photograph: David Furst/AFP Iran warned the west yesterday that attempts to broker a Lebanon peace deal at today's Rome summit are destined to fail and it predicted a backlash across the Muslim world unless Israel's military forces were immediately reined in. Senior government officials said the exclusion from the summit of Iran, Syria and their Lebanese ally Hizbullah meant that no lasting settlement was possible. Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman in Tehran, said: "They should have invited all the countries of the region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace. How can you tackle these important issues without having representatives of all countries in the region?" The Rome conference is to be attended by the US, Canada, Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, as well as the UN and the World Bank. It is due to publish a statement setting out the broad outlines of a possible deal, including the injection of a muscular international stabilisation force which Hizbullah rejected yesterday. But the mood in Rome was soured last night when an Israeli air strike hit a UN monitoring post in south Lebanon, killing four UN peacekeepers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, immediately demanded that Israel investigate the direct hit that he said was "apparently deliberate". "This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post ... occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," Mr Annan said. Israel expressed regret, and promised an investigation, but denied it had targeted the post. Fears that the conflict could spread across the region intensified yesterday. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a normally placid US ally, warned that "if the option of peace fails as a result of Israeli arrogance, then the only option remaining will be war, and God alone knows what the region would witness in a conflict that would spare no one". Tony Blair's official spokesman, confronting criticism that the prime minister had failed to call for an immediate ceasefire, insisted he had been working "on a daily, almost hourly basis" for more than a week on the details of a Rome deal. Responding to yesterday's Guardian ICM poll reflecting widespread unease over the closeness of Mr Blair to George Bush, the spokesman said the findings were contradictory, wanting him to distance Britain from the US while demanding he use his influence on the US to bring about a ceasefire. The ceasefire, a prisoner exchange and the new international force are expected to comprise the main elements of the Rome deal. The US is also thought to be ready to offer Lebanon the return of the contested Shebaa farms region occupied by Israel since 1982 as part of the package. But Iran claims that no amount of western effort can bring a breakthrough, with key parties shut out of the negotiating room. A senior Iranian official, speaking by phone from Tehran, said: "Iran and Syria should be involved [in peace negotiations], not because they are sponsors of Hizbullah, but because they are regional powers. If Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are involved, then Iran and Syria should be as well, if they are looking to be successful." The official added that a continuing failure to halt the fighting and reach a just settlement would "certainly spark a backlash" across the Muslim world. He said that public opinion was increasingly outraged by the destruction of Lebanon. Last night, Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said his group's missiles would start hitting targets deeper into Israel, and warned he would not accept a "humiliating" ceasefire. Another Hizbullah leader hinted that the group had not expected such a ferocious response from Israel, as previous border incidents have usually played out in low-key fashion. The US, Britain and Israel blame mainly Iran and, to a lesser extent, Syria for the bloodshed in Lebanon, claiming they supply missiles and money to Hizbullah and say that Iran is seeking to deflect attention from UN moves to take punitive action over its nuclear programme. But Iranian and Hizbullah officials say they suspect Israel's action against Hizbullah is part of a wider US-inspired tactic. Mr Nasrallah said the US-Israeli "assessment" had identified obstacles to their vision of a "new Middle East" and had set out to eliminate them. He said Israel had been looking for a pretext to launch an offensive; the abduction of two of its soldiers two weeks ago gave it the perfect excuse. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said UN inaction was not helping. "Upon hearing the slightest criticism against the Zionist regime, they issue dozens of resolutions. But now, 13 days after that regime's massive attack against Lebanon, using most fatal weapons, they even refrain from asking for a truce," he said. Britain has been criticised for aligning itself too closely with the US, and last night the Foreign Office was looking into a report that a British airport was used as a staging post last weekend by US planes transporting bunker busting bombs to Israel. "If the Americans have done something wrong, then we will raise it with them," a spokesman said of the report in the Daily Telegraph. An official involved in preparations for the summit lowered expectations for the Rome meeting: "It's going to be a talking shop," he said. He added: "Iran and Syria are definitely protagonists and people will need to speak to them as this goes on. But this meeting will not find the silver bullet." [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 2 IRNA: Speaker: Iran will stop cooperation with IAEA once it finds cooperation against national interests Tehran, July 25, IRNA Iran-Majlis-IAEA Majlis speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel here Tuesday said that once Majlis finds out that continued cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog have no benefit for Iran, it will disapprove it under the present situation. He made the remark while talking to domestic and foreign reporters at a press conference. If Iran's nuclear dossier is reported to the United Nations Security Council and the negotiators involved in the matter use the language of threat instead of dialogue, Majlis will revise its approach to the issue. "Any type of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) such as continuing NPT membership and cooperation within the framework of the Additional Protocol will depend on Majlis approval," he added. Stating that such an approach is just an idea and suggestion, he said that Iran prefers the issue to be followed up through talks. "Given that our call is rational, it is possible to get a result by holding talks," he added. Turning to the possible prevention of talks on the country's nuclear issue by the US, he said that Iran and Europe still insist on holding talks on Iran's nuclear activities for peaceful purposes. ***************************************************************** 3 IRNA: Iran says Europe incentives package "a good base" for talks - Orumiyeh, July 26, IRNA Iran-Package-Nuclear Iran regards a package of incentives offered by the world six powers (Group 5+1) as an appropriate base for negotiations, an official said here Wednesday. Deputy Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Gholam-Reza Rahmani Fazli, made the above remark in is talks with IRNA. "We should first study problems and ambiguities of the proposed package and then give our response. We should prepare ground for negotiations," he said. On June 6, the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana offered a package of incentives on behalf of the UN Security Council's five permanent members -- Russia, China, US, UK and France -- plus Germany (Group 5+1) to Iran to settle the dispute over the country's nuclear program. "We are surprised why senior European and US officials are in such a hurry. How is it possible for them to reach a conclusion during just one session and announce that Iran is not ready to hold talks?" Rahmani Fazli said. "These are pretexts made by the West. Europeans have a quite political outlook towards Iran's nuclear case and intend to misuse the case in their own interest to achieve their political goals. "If ambiguities of the proposed package are removed, the two sides can reach a good summing-up at an appropriate time," he added. He stated, "The issues of sending Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council, imposing sanctions on Iran, deterrent measures and political and diplomatic pressures are unprincipled and irrational measures adopted by the West. "We will define and implement necessary policies in accordance with their approaches and attitudes. Iran will show reaction with respect to policies they are going to adopt." He stressed that Iran would accept just legal cases of the West's offer, saying, "We will not withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but will make decisions based on existing circumstances and necessities of time." ***************************************************************** 4 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Ahmadinejad, Putin hold phone talk 2006/07/26 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks late Tuesday on the Zionist regime's attacks on Lebanon and the Iranian nuclear issue, the Kremlin said. "The crisis in Lebanon was at the center of the talks," the Kremlin press service said, adding that "various aspects of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue were also discussed." "In both cases Vladimir Putin stated Russia's principal position," the press service said. Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 5 AFP: Putin, Ahmadinejad discuss Mideast violence, Iran nuclear problem - Wed Jul 26, 4:45 AM ET MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's President Vladimir Putin " /> Vladimir Putinand his Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmadinejad held telephone talks on violence in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear problem, the Kremlin said. "The crisis in Lebanon was at the center of the talks," the Kremlin press service said, adding that "various aspects of resolving the Iranian nuclear problem were also discussed." "In both cases Vladimir Putin stated Russia's principal position," the press service said, adding that the telephone talks were initiated by Tehran. Russia earlier said it could agree to sanctions against Iran " /> Iranif the Islamic Republic fails to answer proposals for resolving the current nuclear crisis. The proposals put to Iran were presented by the five permanent members of the United Nations " /> United NationsSecurity Council plus Germany in June. They offer trade, political and economic incentives. The lack of response from Iran has led to renewed discussion of the issue in the Security Council. The United States has led calls for Iran to suspend sensitive nuclear fuel cycle work, suspecting that Tehran's stated desire for peaceful nuclear energy is a cover for a weapons programme. Russia is a close ally of Iran and is building the Islamic Republic's first nuclear power station at Bushehr, a project the US has said should be halted. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Nations Closer on Iran Resolution Deal From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday July 26, 2006 4:46 AM By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States and key European nations moved closer to agreement with Russia Tuesday on a Security Council resolution that would give Iran about a month to suspend uranium enrichment or face economic and diplomatic sanctions. During two negotiating sessions, the two sides narrowed their differences and the six participants sent the new text to their capitals for final approval of the changes. Another meeting of the five permanent council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and Germany was scheduled on Wednesday. The resolution is a follow-up to a July 12 agreement by the foreign ministers of the six countries who have been the main players on the Iranian nuclear issue to refer Tehran back to the Security Council for not responding to an offer of incentives to suspend enrichment. The ministers asked that council members adopt a resolution making Iran's suspension of enrichment activities mandatory. Tehran said last week it would reply Aug. 22 to the Western incentive package, but the council decided to go ahead with a resolution and not wait for Iran's response. ``We are close to an agreement,'' said France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, the current council president. ``We are making progress.'' Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin agreed that the six countries were ``much closer'' to agreement. ``I just want to keep my fingers crossed, but I think we have been making good progress,'' he said. The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is purely peaceful and aimed at generating electricity, not a bomb. The original draft resolution, proposed by Britain, France and Germany and backed by the U.S., would make binding earlier demands from the council and the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, that Iran stop uranium enrichment. If Iran did not comply, the council would follow up under Article 41 of Chapter 7 in the U.N. Charter, which allows punishments that do not involve the use of armed force, such as economic sanctions, banning air travel or breaking diplomatic relations. De La Sabliere said the current text makes mandatory ``the suspension of all related enrichment activities including research and development.'' It then says that ``after a period of time, around one month ... if Iran doesn't comply with the resolution ... then measures will be taken under Article 41 of Chapter 7,'' he said. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton started out the day warning that the differences with the Russians were so great that they might have to be referred to foreign ministers of the six countries. But he was much more optimistic after the second negotiating session ended late Tuesday. ``The words that are in there now, to our satisfaction, make clear that Iran is bound mandatorily to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities,'' Bolton said. ``I think we're at a very propitious moment, and we'll know for sure tomorrow.'' --- Associated Press Writer Nick Wadhams contributed to this report from the United Nations. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 7 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Wants Meeting if N. Korea Boycotts From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday July 26, 2006 6:16 PM AP Photo KL128 By JAE-SOON CHANG Associated Press Writer KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A top American diplomat said Wednesday the United States would try to hold a regional security meeting in Malaysia if North Korea continues to boycott six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. But if North Korea is willing, ``we could have a six-party informal'' meeting on the communist state's disputed nuclear weapons program, said Christopher Hill, chief U.S. negotiator on the issue. ``If they don't want (to) ... we will have some kind of multilateral meeting to discuss security issues in Northeast Asia. But it won't be discussing six-party talks. It will be discussing broader and more future-type issues.'' The United States and others have been urging North Korea to end its nine-month-old boycott of negotiations intended to offer Pyongyang security assurances and aid in exchange for giving up its nuclear program. They hoped that the talks between the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia could be held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting Thursday and Friday. The communist state has boycotted the talks since November to protest a U.S. crackdown on its alleged financial wrongdoing. Washington has imposed sanctions on Macau-based Banco Delta Asia and several North Korean companies it said were involved in counterfeiting, money laundering and funding weapons proliferation. The Bank of China since has frozen North Korean assets, earning praise from the White House. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday the United States was encouraged that China ``really has now accepted some responsibility for the situation, as has South Korea.'' ``And you've seen both countries starting to assert pressure on the government in Pyongyang because they want them to return (to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks),'' Snow said. Pyongyang is demanding that the United States lift the financial restrictions against it before rejoining the six-party talks. Hill said there are few signs that North Korea would relent. ``I hate to use the word 'optimism' and North Korea in the same sentence,'' Hill said. ``One does have the impression that they look for all kinds of excuses, they look for all kinds of reasons, to pull back.'' The meeting in Malaysia, being hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marks the first time the six countries have gathered at the same venue since North Korea test-fired seven missiles on July 5. The tests prompted fresh calls for resuming the six-party talks in hopes of persuading the communist regime to disarm in exchange for economic aid and security assurances. ``Everybody would like a six-party informal, all five of us want a six-party informal,'' Hill said. ``But one of us hasn't answered yet and that's the DPRK,'' he said, referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. ``We think it's time for Northeast Asia to have more discussions about what kind of future architecture we can have in Northeast Asia,'' Hill said. ``So, we don't want North Korea to be able to veto that kind of meeting.'' ``We will probably have some additional countries, including host Malaysia,'' he said. He did not say if North Korea would be invited for the broader meeting. Earlier, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official it did not identify as saying that Malaysia, Australia and Canada might be invited to join the talks. ``It's a flexible situation, where it could be a nine-party (meeting) if North Korea takes part; if not, an eight-party,'' Yonhap quoted the official as saying. ``China is of a position that it will agree to talks as long as it's not a five-party (meeting).'' Also Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and his Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, agreed to seek dialogue with North Korea at the ASEAN meeting. ``We agreed that it's necessary for the participants of the six-party talks to meet in a six-way or other formats on the sidelines of'' the ASEAN conference, Ban told reporters. ``North Korea is now at a crossroad,'' said South Korea's top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo, after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei. Chun indicated that further punitive measures could be taken against Pyongyang if it still refused to return to talks, following a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned the missile tests and ban missile-related dealings with North Korea. North Korea's delegation, led by its Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun, is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and likely will meet with Chinese and South Korean officials. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 8 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Says It Will Bolster Nuke Program From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday July 26, 2006 6:46 PM AP Photo XLEE101 By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's defense minister said his country will strengthen its nuclear weapons program in response to U.N. sanctions and American hostility, the North's official news agency reported Wednesday. North Korea will upgrade its arsenal ``in every way by employing all possible means and methods'' and will greet any aggressors with ``all-out do-or-die resistance and unprecedented devastating strikes,'' Kim Il Chol said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim said such a move is necessary to counter the United States' ``extremely hostile act and the irresponsibility of the U.N. Security Council.'' Kim spoke at a gathering to mark the 53rd anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. North Korea fired seven missiles in early July, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. International condemnation prompted the Security Council to adopt a resolution sanctioning North Korea and banning member states from missile-related dealings with the communist country. The defense minister warned that the U.N. resolution will not force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. North Korea ``can survive without sweets, but not without bullets,'' he said. Separately, a South Korean civic group said the North is readying its forces for conflict. Artillery units have been armed and civilian forces, composed of laborers and farmers, have been outfitted with uniforms, the Seoul-based Good Friends group said in a statement Wednesday. Drills are being held for both active duty and civilian forces, and civilians have been issued vehicles covered with camouflage netting, Good Friends said without citing sources for its information. Previous reports by the South Korean group of activities in the isolated North later were confirmed. But a spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry dismissed the report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 9 AFP: China 'seriously concerned' over North Korea stalemate by Jun Kwanwoo and Verna Yu Wed Jul 26, 1:19 PM ET KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - China said it was "seriously concerned" about the situation on the Korean peninsula as it campaigned for North Korea" /> to rejoin stalled six-nation talks on its nuclear program. The chief US negotiator on North Korea, Christopher Hill, said Pyongyang had given no sign it would agree to attend proposed discussions on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Malaysia. However, hectic diplomatic efforts led by China and South Korea" /> were under way here to bring all six countries together and restart the talks that the North left in November in protest over US sanctions. "As North Korea's neighbour, China is seriously concerned about the emergence of new, complex elements in the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula situation," said Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. "This is caused by many reasons. Among them, there has been long-term enmity between some major parties and it has led to serious mistrust," he said in comments relayed to the media by foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu. However Li later said there was still hope reclusive North Korea would rejoin the talks. "We are keeping our fingers crossed that, with good conditions, we can have the six-party talks resume," he told reporters after meeting Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers and his counterparts from Japan and South Korea. The US envoy was gloomier, saying that Pyonyang wanted to remain isolated and adding that he would "hate to use optimism and North Korea in the same sentence." "North Korea has made it very clear they don't want any multilateral talks right now," Hill said ahead of meeting South Korean deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-Woo. China raised hopes on Tuesday when it said that a session of the six-way talks grouping the two Koreas, China, Japan, the United States and Russia, had been provisionally scheduled for Friday. North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> are due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday for the 26-nation ASEAN Regional Forum security meeting the following day. The only word from Pyongyang on Wednesday was a defiant vow from Defence Minister Kim Il-Chol, carried on state media, that his country would wage "all-out, do-or-die resistance." Meanwhile negotiations going into the night showed up differences over what to do if North Korea shuns the talks, with Hill saying they should go ahead with the remaining five and China and South Korea insisting they should not. Chinese diplomats said the six-way format could collapse if the talks proceed without Pyongyang. One South Korean official suggested there could be a multilateral meeting which also groups Malaysia, Australia and Canada. China is seen as the biggest influence on North Korea, although the hermit state snubbed Beijing's appeals earlier this month and launched a volley of ballistic missile tests that inflamed tensions in the region. China's foreign minister is due to meet his North Korean counterpart on Friday, an official indicated. South Korea is also pushing for bilateral talks with its neighbour, diplomats said. Japan's negotiator on the talks meanwhile called for all six parties to use the opportunity to meet. Tokyo led efforts to have UN sanctions imposed on North Korea after the missile tests. Reclusive North Korea raised the stakes ahead of Friday's forum when it described Rice as a "political imbecile" for criticising the July 5 missile launches. "This is an example of the totally unacceptable and unprofessional types of comments we see from DPRK state-run media," Hill retorted Wednesday, adding that it made it more difficult for the world to take North Korea seriously. Separately Syed Hamid Albar, the foreign minister of ASEAN chair Malaysia, urged all sides to curb their rhetoric. "It does not help in resuming the six party talks," he said. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: Hopes rise for North Korea nuclear talks by Jun Kwanwoo and Verna Yu Wed Jul 26, 4:27 AM ET KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Hopes rose for a breakthrough in efforts to disarm North Korea" /> as China and South Korea" /> made a united push to bring Pyongyang back to stalled six-nation talks on its nuclear ambitions. North Korea has stayed silent on whether it will respond to the flurry of diplomacy and join its dialogue partners on the sidelines of a regional security conference, which the issue is expected to dominate. But in a sign of the growing optimism, Chinese deputy foreign minister Wu Dawei said late Monday that a session of the six-way talks had been provisionally scheduled for Friday in Kuala Lumpur. "The time currently being planned is the afternoon of the 28th, but it is still under negotiation," he said. "At the moment, all sides are still making efforts but whether it will happen or not, nobody can tell yet." China is seen as the biggest influence on North Korea, although the hermit state snubbed Beijing's appeals earlier this month and launched a volley of ballistic missile tests that inflamed the region. "We have agreed that we will encourage together the resumption of six-party talks," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Tuesday after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-Moon. "We both feel that we should treasure the consensus reached at the six-party talks. That is, the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and its peace and stability. That is the aim of our joint efforts." The alliance of China and South Korea represents a new strategy in attempts to get communist North Korea to the talks, which was derailed in November after Pyongyang objected to a US-ordered freeze on its bank accounts. "Even if North Korea launched missiles to create tensions and difficult situations, South Korea and China have closely cooperated to maintain the situation properly," Ban told Li at the meeting. North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday for the 26-nation ASEAN Regional Forum security meeting the following day. Both China and South Korea rejected the possibility of going ahead with a five-way discussion without North Korea. The nuclear talks group the two Koreas, China, Japan, the United States and Russia. "We think six-party talks are more important," Li told reporters ahead of a meeting between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea. South Korea's Ban added that he was "not optimistic" about five-way ministerial talks. "I understand the Chinese government has reluctance to do so because it could be seen isolating and presurring North Korea. We respect the Chinese government's position," he said. Ban also held open the prospect of talks involving chief negotiators instead of ministers, involving up to seven or eight "interested" countries. Top US envoy on North Korea Christopher Hill said however that the five countries should get "together to talk about the way ahead" if North Korea refused to take part here. "We don't want to have North Korea determining whether the rest of us meet and talk about this," he told reporters after arriving in Kuala Lumpur late Tuesday. But he added that a meeting between the US and North Korea here was unlikely if it remained unwilling to restart six-nation talks. North Korea raised the stakes ahead of Friday's ASEAN Regional Forum, describing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> , who is due to attend, as a "political imbecile" for criticising the tests. Officials said there was also likely to be a two-way meeting between China and North Korea on Friday while South Korea is also pushing for bilateral talks with its neighbour. The talks would help to reduce tensions caused by North Korea's defiant July 5 test firing of seven missiles. The incident provoked a Tokyo-sponsored United Nations" /> condemnation and sanctions. ASEAN has offered to host the talks if they go ahead and on Wednesday it again urged North Korea to join. Syed Hamid Albar, the foreign minister of current ASEAN chair Malaysia, said the six countries should "take the opportunity to have a meeting among themselves." Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: NKorea vows 'do-or-die resistance' over its missile tests Wednesday July 26, 12:53 PM SEOUL (XFN-ASIA) - North Korea's defense minister said his country would wage 'all-out, do-or-die resistance' after criticism from the United States and the UN Security Council over its missile tests. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Defense Minister Kim Il-Chol also said North Korea would employ 'all possible means and methods, not bound by anything' in dealing with the situation. North Korea test-fired seven missiles on July 5, earning a rebuke in a Security Council resolution. It has claimed to have nuclear weapons and has repeatedly said it needs a vigorous defense to deter the US. 'It is a stark reality in the DPRK (North Korea) that it can survive without sweets but not without bullets,' Kim said in the statement, which KCNA said was issued at a meeting of top army, government and communist party officials. North Korea rejected the UN resolution and vowed to push ahead with its missile program. Kim said North Korea would bolster its military deterrent 'in every way by employing all possible means and methods, not bound to anything, to cope with the serious situation created on the Korean Peninsula due to the US' extremely hostile act and the irresponsibility of the UN Security Council.' North Korea will 'deal deadly blows at the enemies' moves for aggression with all-out do-or-die resistance and unprecedented devastating strikes,' he said. Copyright © 2006 AFP AFX. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: China, South Korea meet on North Korea at forum Wed Jul 26, 12:35 AM ET KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - China and South Korea " /> met to discuss how to bring North Korea " /> back to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks on the sidelines of Asia's top security forum here. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-Moon for a one-hour bilateral meeting, part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at reviving the multilateral talks. "We think six-party talks are more important," Li told reporters when asked about whether five-way negotiations would proceed if China's close ally North Korea refuses to join. "I hope it (North Korea) will participate ... this will be good for all sides. I hope all sides will create conditions as soon as possible for returning to the negotiating tables." China and South Korea are the two most active players pushing to hold the six-way talks on the North's nuclear ambitions at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur, where the issue promises to dominate the agenda. "Even if North Korea launched missiles to create tensions and difficult situations, South Korea and China have closely cooperated to maintain the situation properly," Ban told Li at the meeting. China has tentatively scheduled the proposed informal talks between the six countries' foreign ministers here Friday afternoon. China, Japan, the two Koreas, the United States and Russia are the parties involved in the talks. Officials said there was also likely to be a two-way meeting between China and North Korea on Friday. But plans have yet to be finalized with North Korea giving no guarantee of participating in the proposed six-way meeting. North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. "I'm not optimistic about the prospect of having five-way ministerial talks," Ban said after a one-hour bilateral meeting with Li. "I understand the Chinese government has reluctance to do so because it could be seen isolating and pressuring North Korea. We respect the Chinese government's position." Ban said South Korea preferred the full six-nation talks, but said North Korea's boycotting of the talks should not block a multilateral meeting. "The most desirable process is to have a six-party ministerial meeting, if not ministerial then at the level of chief negotiators," Ban said. "If it is difficult to have five-party talks, we can have seven- or eight-way talks involving interested countries. I understand China has no discord about this idea." North Korea has boycotted the three-year-old nuclear disarmament talks since November in protest at US financial sanctions. Tensions rose after Pyongyang's July 5 test-firing of seven ballistic missiles in defiance of international appeals. UN condemnation and sanctions followed. On its own diplomatic front, Ban said he was also pushing for a separate bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart Baek on the sidelines of the regional forum. The embassies of the two Koreas were working on the inter-Korean foreign ministerial meeting, which he said has to be fixed in the next few days. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 13 Salt Lake Tribune: Town meeting on climate Article Last Updated: 07/26/2006 01:13:10 AM MDT By Heather May The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is hosting a town hall meeting about climate change Friday at the Main Library auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Anderson will give a presentation, followed by an open public forum. Ice cream will be served at 6 p.m. "All members of the community are invited to learn about and discuss the challenges of climate change, and the threat it poses to our community and the world," says the meeting announcement. The woman behind Mayor Rocky Anderson's rise to national prominence on environmental matters is quitting her City Hall post. Lisa Romney, Anderson's environmental adviser, is leaving after more than five years on the job, saying it's time to move on. Hers is one of the longest tenures under Anderson. "Professionally, I need to gain new experiences," said Romney, 29. "The most successful people know when they need to move on." Anderson and Romney, who doesn't have another job lined up, like to joke that she has been responsible for everything from dog waste to nuclear waste. Indeed, she's worked on creating dog parks in the city. And she wrote testimony Anderson gave the U.S. Senate against storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. As head of Salt Lake City Green, Romney has overseen energy conservation, alternative fuels, pedestrian and bicycle initiatives, the push for sustainable construction of city buildings and a program that promotes green, local businesses. The city has now reached, and even surpassed, its goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 21 percent from a 2001 baseline. It was accomplished by buying wind power, purchasing alternative-fuel vehicles, phasing out some SUVs from the city fleet, capturing methane at the landfill for reuse and installing energy-efficient traffic signals. Such measures have given Anderson a national - and sometimes international - platform on environmental issues. He's spoken at numerous conferences about Salt Lake City's programs, and won awards from the Sierra Club and Environmental Protection Agency. The city also won a World Leadership Award for the environment last year. Romney recalls her first day on the job in June 2001: She looked at the incandescent light bulbs above her desk and decided to convert City Hall to the more-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Other "common sense" changes flowed from there. "I'm very proud of my role of making Salt Lake City one of the greenest cities in the country," said Romney, who rides her cruiser bicycle or walks to work. "I will always look back with of fond memories of everyone I have worked with and what I have accomplished. We are just an incredibly green city and continuing every single day to become greener." Anderson also gives Romney credit. Hse hasn't found her replacement. "She's been the person who works on these matters on a daily basis. Salt Lake City really is in the lead among municipalities for the environmental work we have done, particularly our climate protection campaign. It would never have been possible without good staff support like Lisa [and others]." Romney said her departure is amicable, though she and the mayor have had their disagreements. At one point last year, Anderson apologized for how he had been treating her. "This office can be the stuff best-selling novels are made of," Romney said Tuesday. "I'm moving on for my own professional reasons." hmay@sltrib.com © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 14 AFP: House poised to take up US-India nuclear energy bill - Wed Jul 26, 12:19 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The House of Representatives takes up a hotly debated US-India civilian nuclear energy deal, which backers say will form the cornerstone of a new, closely-knit partnership between the two powers. Democratic and Republican leaders in both houses of Congress have expressed strong support for the bill, which received easy committee approval in the House. But some lawmakers have expressed doubts about extending civil nuclear technology to India, which is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Under the deal, the United States will aid the development of civil nuclear power in India in return for New Delhi placing its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency " /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) inspections. Supporters greet the deal as a sign of a geopolitical re-alliance following the Cold War, one which allows India to jump-start its quest for alternate energy, as its economy booms. Detractors however say they are not yet convinced that India can be trusted to safeguard critical atomic secrets, or to refrain from using atomic material to seek to procure a nuclear edge over neighboring rival power, Pakistan. "We are deeply concerned that this proposal, in its current form, will blow a hole in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, allow India to greatly increase the size of its nuclear arsenal, and potentially spark a nuclear arms race in Asia," House Democrat Ed Markey told a press conference Tuesday. Markey said the bill would allow India to dramatically increase its production of nuclear weapons. "The agreement would create a huge exemption for India from US nonproliferation laws and international norms," he said. "By shipping India fuel for its civilian reactors, this legislation potentially frees up their entire supply of domestic uranium for use in weapons." He added: This will result in a bonanza of newly-available nuclear material for weapons, which experts estimate could allow them to increase their nuclear weapons production from seven warheads a year to 40-50 warheads a year. Critics also fear the bill could ratchet up the arms race in Asia. "Just yesterday the world learned that Pakistan is building a huge new plutonium-production reactor which will allow them to increase their weapons production from 2-3 weapons a year to 40-50," Markey said. "If you think that Pakistans new reactor and this nuclear deal with India arent related, youre fooling yourself." The US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 currently prevents the United States from trading nuclear technology with nations that have not signed the NPT. It has to be amended for the deal to be effective. A dozen nuclear experts this week also had doubts about the accord. They sent a letter to IAEA director-general Mohamed ElBaradei criticizing his statements of support for the Indian-US nuclear deal. The experts called ElBaradei's promotion of the deal "surprising and disappointing" because it requires breaking with existing US and international nuclear trade rules, and undermines global efforts to stop the spread and build-up of nuclear arms, according to a press release from the Arms Control Association (ACA). "ElBaradei has been a long-time champion for nuclear disarmament and an outspoken critic of nuclear double standards, which is why his endorsement of the Indo-US deal is so puzzling and upsetting," said Daryl Kimball, ACA executive director and one of the letter signatories. India tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998 and, as a result, is currently banned by the United States and other major powers from buying fuel for atomic reactors and other related equipment. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 15 Guardian Unlimited: First trial over Libya'a nuclear bomb plan collapses Ian Traynor Wednesday July 26, 2006 The Guardian The international effort to get to grips with the world's worst nuclear proliferation racket suffered a serious setback today when the first criminal trial of an alleged top figure collapsed. A judge in the south-west German town of Mannheim threw out the prosecution case against Gotthard Lerch, a German engineer, four months into his trial on charges of helping Libya clandestinely build a nuclear bomb. Judge Peter Seidling said there was a danger of Mr Lerch not receiving a fair trial as the prosecution had withheld evidence. The collapse of the proceedings is a major setback to the international attempt to close down the proliferation network of disgraced Pakistani metallurgist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was exposed in 2003-4 as the supplier of nuclear technology, bomb blueprints and scientific expertise to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The outcome is a disaster for the German prosecution service, and came as the climax to a series of prosecution blunders. Mr Lerch, 63, had been charged with violations of Germany's arms and exports laws for allegedly trafficking components for centrifuges for enriching uranium to Libya for Muammar Gadafy's since abandoned nuclear bomb programme. The prosecution alleged Mr Lerch was paid €8m for the contracts. He faced up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. The state prosecutor, Peter Lintz, said that Mr Lerch was among Mr Khan's four main associates, also said to have included British businessman Peter Griffin - who testified in May against Mr Lerch. Mr Griffin has denied any witting role in the scheme to turn Libya into a nuclear power. Mr Lerch also denied the charges. Judge Seidling has yet to rule on whether there will be a retrial. The accused has been in German custody for more than a year and his defence team, which maintains that he was a fall guy for a western intelligence plot, is demanding his release. The defence team has regularly complained it was denied access to evidence, including German intelligence material. The Lerch case was being closely monitored by international investigators since it was the first time that any suspect from the Khan network had been put on trial. Mr Khan admitted running the nuclear racket in February 2004 and was instantly pardoned by the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf. Useful links Libya: news and views Al Fajer al Jadeed (English) [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 16 San Francisco Chronicle: Stumbling into war in the Middle East Robert Scheer, Creators Syndicate, Inc. Wednesday, July 26, 2006 THE BUSH FOREIGN policy, from coddling Pakistan's nuclear bomb-making to cheerleading Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, is in a freefall of such alarming consequence that it may be difficult to grasp. Certainly that is the case for President Bush, who has been reduced to helplessly hoping the United Nations can get Syria "to stop doing this s -- -," and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who blithely announced Monday that we are just watching the "birth pangs of a new Middle East." By Rice's logic, Hurricane Katrina was just the labor contractions of the "new" New Orleans. All the Mideast needs now, apparently, is a nice epidural and some ice chips to suck on. The mass media similarly has lost the thread, treating the downward spiral of violent madness in the world as little more than an exciting -- and profitable -- war story, demanding slick logos and montages of explosions set to rock music. It's also convenient to the neoconservatives, who prattle on about this being World War III, allowing them to silence critics, justify torture and invade privacy while conveniently covering for the failure of their Iraq invasion to produce the U.S.-friendly democracies they promised. Any hope that Rice's ascendance in the Bush administration signaled a more sensible direction for U.S. foreign policy has been exposed as wishful thinking. "I have no interest in diplomacy for the sake of returning Lebanon and Israel to the status quo ante. I think it would be a mistake," she told journalists. "What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East and, whatever we do, we have to be certain that we're pushing forward to the new Middle East, not going back to the old one." Funny how the new Middle East looks suspiciously like the old one: It is as if Rice doesn't know Israel has already tried invading southern Lebanon, in 1982, with Hezbollah being the reactionary development to the Israeli Defense Force's 18-year-long occupation. Similar feelings of déjŕ vu surround the latest visit to Washington from a new Iraqi "government" leader who, practically speaking, rules nothing. The White House will cite the arriving Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a living example of the "new" Middle East being fostered by Saddam Hussein's overthrow. Never mind that the prime minister is a militant Shiite, long-sheltered in Syria and given political tutelage by the mullahs of Iran -- or that he has pointedly attacked "Israeli aggression" in Lebanon, a position endorsed unanimously by the Iraqi parliament. After all, what choice does Bush have? His nation-building experiment has led to the destruction of the Sunni power elite, which was once embraced by U.S. leaders such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a boon ally against radical Shiite Iran. The Sunnis are, of course, quite upset that Bush has perversely managed to extend the arc of Shiite fanaticism from Lebanon to Iraq. Last week, Iraq's top elected Sunni politician, Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashadani, denounced the "U.S. occupation" of his country as "butcher's work under the slogan of democracy and human rights and justice." Apparently not content to spark both conventional and ethnic-cleansing wars in the region, Bush is also heightening the risk of a nuclear war. On Monday, the Washington Post reported that our war-on-terror ally Pakistan is completing work on a secret reactor that can produce enough plutonium for 40-50 nuclear weapons ... a year. The Bush administration apparently didn't tell Congress this little tidbit, perhaps embarrassed that its decision after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to lift sanctions imposed on Pakistan because of its nuke bomb tests had backfired so dangerously. Not only does this development threaten to accelerate a nuclear-arms race among Pakistan, India and China, it further likens the possibility of nuclear proliferation to rogue nations. After all, it was Pakistan -- not Hussein's Iraq -- that, by its own admission, was the source of nuclear technology and fuel for North Korea, Libya and Iran. Don't expect the utter failures of Bush's policies to humble its neoconservative authors, however. Not content with having shattered the fragile peace of the Mideast, potential 2008 GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his ilk are now pushing for a dramatic escalation of U.S. militarism sold under the self-fulfilling banner of World War III. Describing all this suffering as a necessary step on the path to a glorious future is a devilishly convenient strategy for excusing, in an election year, a reckless foreign policy which, so far, has been nothing short of disastrous. But aside from a few million hapless civilians caught in the middle, who really cares, right? E-mail rscheer@truthdig.org Page B - 9 The San Francisco Chronicle] ***************************************************************** 17 AFP: Rice confronts new crises at Southeast Asian meeting Wed Jul 26, 4:21 PM ET ROME (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Ricemeets with southeast Asian leaders confronting a crisis over missile tests by North Korea" /> North Korea, which has labelled her a "political imbecile". After resisting pressure to demand an instant ceasefire in the Middle East at a conference in Rome, Rice headed to another daunting meeting at a top regional security forum in Kuala Lumpur. The US Secretary of State will face renewed pressure on the Middle East in Asia even as she canvasses support for US positions on North Korea, Myanmar and Iran" /> Iran's nuclear ambitions. Foreign ministers from China, Japan, South Korea" /> South Koreaand the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc Wednesday promised to raise with Rice their dismay at Israel" /> Israel's "apparently deliberate targeting" of a UN post in Lebanon. The air raid in southern Lebanon, which Israel has vowed to investigate, killed four UN observers including one from China. Rice, who caused dismay in the Asian region last year by skipping the regional meeting and sending her deputy, meets ASEAN ministers in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and joins the broader ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) the next day with counterparts from key players including China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. North Korea, whose official media Monday described Rice as a "political imbecile" for criticising seven missile tests that Pyongyang conducted on July 5, is set to dominate the security talks. China and South Korea said Tuesday they were pushing at the forum to restart six-nation talks on dismantling the North's nuclear program. Despite doubts that Pyongyang would agree, China said Tuesday that informal discussions had been scheduled on the sidelines of the forum for Friday. The discussions would tentatively involve all six nations -- the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- party to the three-year-old disarmament talks that the North boycotted in November in protest over US sanctions. South Korea confirmed the initiative but said it was not sure North Korea was interested. North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun is due to arrive in the Malaysian capital on Thursday. The United States and South Korea have shown interest in holding five-way talks if the North refused to join, but China has warned this would only lead to greater difficulty in engaging Pyongyang. Rice hopes to "further the international response to North Korea's missile launches and pursuit of nuclear weapons (and) Iran's nuclear programs," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack last week. She also wants Asian allies to tackle the "lack of progress toward real democracy and national reconciliation in Burma (Myanmar)," he said. However ASEAN foreign ministers on Tuesday released a watered-down version of a statement on Myanmar which did not mention detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The statement said the ministers "expressed concern on the pace of the national reconciliation process" in Myanmar and called for "tangible progress" towards democracy in the country. Even in the heat of a blistering tour of world crises, which began in bomb-shaken Beirut, Rice looked set to get a short musical interlude. Diplomats and reports said Rice, an accomplished pianist, would perform a piano recital at the annual gala of the security meeting. Following her visit to Malaysia, Rice is due in Vietnam. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 18 [NukeNet] Chernobyl 20th - Letter to the Editor - The Roy Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:50:54 -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-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61 X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) Chernobyl 20th Anniversary Pictures NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) WARNING! Contains Graphic Pictures! Not For the Faint of Heart! ---------- The church bells in the Ukraine are ringing in remembrance of Chernobyl. I am trying to buy the award winning documentary "Chernobyl Heart" Why is it so hard to find ? However, these pictures is all one needs to see. I ask you to PLEASE take the time..... and weep. Every member of Congress should watch the following film before authorizing another nuclear power plant. http://todayspictures.slate.com/inmotion/essay%5Fchernobyl/?GT1=8019 click play after the first few pictures. --------------------------- Letter to the Editor, The aim of nuclear power is spent fuel rods (nuclear waste) from which weapons are made. Atom bombs, easier are dirty bombs, so-called depleted uranium ordinance, not electricity, That is why 40 sovereign countries have nuclear power. Dr. John Gofman says there is no safe dose of man-made ionizing radiation. We should not add to it with new nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is the most dangerous form of electricity. It is the heat which makes steam that powers electric generators. Albert Einstein once said, "Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water". Liability is paid by the tax payer under the Price/Anderson Act. Electric rate payers subsidize nuclear power and waste disposal. There is big money and political power in nuclear waste, in killing people, in a toxic regime. Nuclear power pollutes the environment and will not stop global warming according to studies. http://members.cox.net/theroyprocess http://nuclearwaste-theroyprocess.blogspot.com/ Dennis F. Nester 4510 E. Willow Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85032-6447 602-494-9361 -------------------- THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Sunday, November 4, 1979 Process may kill radiation threat By CLARENCE W. BAILEY Copyright, 1979. The Arizona Republic TEMPE -- An internationally recognized Arizona State University physicist disclosed Saturday that he has discovered a method for treating nuclear reac­tor and other highly dangerous radioactive wastes so they will be harmless. The procedure was conceived by Dr. Radha R. Roy professor of nuclear physics who is the designer and former director of nuclear-physics research fa­cilities at the University of Brussels In Belgium. and at Pennsylvania State Uni­versity. Roy said the process “very roughly can be described in part as a reversal of phenomena that occur during a nuclear fission chain reactions. The scientist said the process is the culmination of many years research “Theoretical analysis and mathematical calculations confirm the process is highly effective and that any level of radio activity, from weak to strong. Can be reduced to harmless state in a short period of time,” Roy said. The thing that is so encouraging is that the method can cancel radioactivity rapidly enough for it to be of r real practical value in disposing of dangerous wastes in storage and as they are being produced, Roy said. One treatment-plant design which Roy has devised could reduce the radioac­tivity of even the most dangerous wastes with half-lives or 15,000 to 40,000 years to a level where they would be essentially harmless in about 20 days. A half-life is the time required for a quantity of radioactive material to lose one half of its radioactive strength. Roy, who left his native Calcutta, India. to do advanced nuclear- physics re­search at the University of London during World War II, said all the necessary theoretical and quantum electrodynamical work on the process has been completed. “There remains perhaps as much as a years work in calculating parameters and preparing data that will he needed for the engineering design of a pilot radio­active waste-treatment plant’ he said. Roy is known internationally among scientists for his many advanced research contributions in the field of nuclear fission fragments and as the author of de­finitive graduate and post-doctoral textbooks used in universities all over the world. “During the 37 years since the first fission chain reaction there has been no progress whatever toward the development of a method of deactivating radioactive waste or even for storing it safely,” he said. “The collections of dangerous nuclear wastes in this country alone have now reached a total of at least 75 million gallons, and it is growing daily.” He estimated an operational nuclear waste-treatment plant could cost $40 mil­lion or more. By contrast, he noted, Congress last summer appropriated $80 million just to build more concrete storage bunkers to hold only a part of the growing accumulation of nuclear wastes. “Since it is so very dangerous to ship strongly radioactive materials it would certainly be sensible to build a treatment plant for each reactor so radioactivity could be killed out before the waste is transported anywhere" the scientist said. Roy said that the national danger from nuclear waste is "extremely serious" and urged the federal government to build treatment plants near established nuclear waste storage areas. Other treatment plants should be constructed to kill out the radioactivity in the wastes from the nation's weapons programs and from its educational, industrial, medical and experimental research facilities he said. Roy warned that waste containing plutonium 239 is "critically dangerous" because of its extremely high radioactivity and also because it is the essential ingredient in an atomic bomb. The treatment process not only will render plutonium 239 harmless in a remarkably short time, he said, but also will keep deactivated plutonium from ever being reprocessed to make an illegal atomic weapon. Roy further warned that the United States not only is exporting nuclear energy when it sells reactor technology to foreign nations, but also is sending overseas the potential for making illegal bombs out of plutonium from reprocessed nuclear wastes. The treatment method will guarantee to foreign countries that use nuclear fission energy that they can maintain an environment free from radioactivity, and it also could guarantee to the world that there will be no reuse of plutonium in an unauthorized weapon, he said. Careful theoretical and mathematical analysis have assured him that the nuclear waste- treatment process will function reliably and with rapidity and high efficiency, he said. "But the existence of this promising nuclear waste-treatment procedure should not be construed in any sense to mean that nuclear fission power reactors are safe" Roy said. The contractor who built Three Mile Island's reactor-like those who built the other 71 reactors now operational in the United States -- expected that plant to function normally for 30 years in total safety without event .But the fact is that it went out of control and nearly created a meltdown which could have destroyed a large part of the human habitat of east-central Pennsylvania,'' Roy said. --------------------- Neutralize & Eliminate Nuclear Waste For Good The Roy Process Brief Description from the web site: http://members.cox.net/theroyprocess Is there a safe process to get rid of nuclear waste? One possible solution is a process invented by Dr. Radha R. Roy, former professor of Physics at Arizona State University, and designer and former director of the nuclear physics research facilities at the University of Brussels in Belgium and at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Roy is an internationally known nuclear physicist, consultant, and the author of over 60 articles and several books. He is also a contributing author of many invited articles in a prestigious encyclopedia. He is cited in American Men and Women of Science, Who`s Who in America, Who`s Who in the World and the International Biographical Centre, England. He has spent 52 years in European and American universities researching and writing recognized books on nuclear physics. He has supervised many doctoral students. Roy invented a process for transmuting radioactive nuclear isotopes to harmless, stable isotopes. This process is viable not only for nuclear waste from reactors but also for low-level radioactive waste products. In 1979, Roy announced his transmutation process and received international attention. The Roy process does not require storage of radioactive materials. No new equipment is required. In fact, all of the equipment and the chemical separation processes needed are well known. What`s the basis for the Roy Process? If you examine radioactive elements such as strontium 90, cesium 137 and plutonium 239, you will see that they all have too many neutrons. To put it very simply, the Roy process transmutes these unstable isotopes to stable ones by knocking out the extra neutrons. When a neutron is removed, the resulting isotope has a considerably shorter half-life which then decays to a stable form in a reasonable amount of time. How do we knock out neutrons? By bombarding them with photons (produced as x-rays) in a high- powered electron linear accelerator. Before this process, the isotopes must be separated by a well-known chemical process. It is feasible that portable units could be built and transported to hazardous sites for on-site transmutation of nuclear wastes and radioactive wastes. To give an example, cesium 137 with a half-life of 30.17 years is transformed into cesium 136 with a half-life of 13 days. Plutonium 239 with a half-life of 24,300 years is transformed into plutonium 237 with a half-life of 45.6 days. Subsequent radioactive elements which will be produced from the decay of plutonium 237 can be treated in the same way as above until the stable element is formed. ----------------------- From the Patent application claim: http://members.cox.net/theroyprocess/additional-uses-royprocess.html Dr. Roy released his Roy Process to the press in 1979. Scientists of a large company saw the Patent application under non- disclosure agreements and said the Roy Process was "entirely feasible". Dr. Roy was offered millions of dollars for the patent rights. NOT to develop it...but to shelve it. Dr. Roy refused. Then Ronald Reagan signed the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act which made "geologic isolation" (burial) of nuclear waste, federal policy, putting viable alternatives in scientific limbo. Now after wasting hundreds of billions of tax payers money on junk science, nuclear waste has leaked into our precious ground water. Dr. Roy was right. There IS only one way to totally eliminate high level nuclear waste and that is to transmute and denature it for good. ----------------------- Patent Examiner Comments on the Roy Process Invention http://fredtalk.fredericksburg.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=604817&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=2&fpart=1 Re: Yucca Mt. Is Not The Answer for Nuclear Waste As a patent examiner, the explanation as to why the Roy process was not patented makes perfect sense and is not paranoid at all. There is no reason to get a patent unless you have the money to defend it in court. Large corporations are notorious for stealing them. Also, patent applications in 1979 were held confidential until they were issued as patents. The inventor requiring a non-disclosure agreement of a corporation to view the application is also perfectly reasonable. It is niave to believe that Reagan was not encouraged by large corporations to change the law regarding acceptable nuclear waste disposal methods to benefit them in order to squash any new method like the Roy process. These kinds of things happen all the time. As to the merits of the Roy process, it seems to me on it's face to have potential to change nuclear waste into something less dangerous. I don't know enough about nuclear physics to really give an detailed response, but I do know that nuclear accelerators do change atomic structure and that bombarding nuclear waste would certainly change it into something else. ---------------------- (excerpt by Russell Hoffman) At each step, an "inconsequential" (so they say) loss occurs, which ends up in our air and water, and then in our lungs and in our guts and brains. You are a filter for your environment. If your environment is polluted, YOU will be polluted. Do you feel clean? You aren't. Your body is already poisoned with billions of radioactive atoms, courtesy of a corrupt and arrogant government and industry. Each individual atomic decay event is always much, much stronger than your own body's chemical and molecular bonds. Each radioactive decay can lead to cancer, leukemia, heart disease, deformities in your children, and a thousand other ailments. Do you feel victimized, or has the odorless, colorless, tasteless, microscopic (and, often, delayed) nature of the assault fooled you? If so, you are not alone. POISON FIRE USA: An animated history of major nuclear activities in the continental United States: http://www.animatedsoftware.com/poifu/poifu.swf Learn about The Effects of Nuclear War here (written with Pamela Blockey-O'Brien): http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/no_nukes/tenw/nuke_war.htm ------------- WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF NUCLEAR ATTACK! PDF VERSION FOR BEST PRINTED COPY - http://www.ki4u.com/guide.pdf E-MAIL THIS LINK TO YOUR LISTS - http://ki4u.com/guide.htm Geiger Counters http://www.geigercounters.com/ (Posted for educational and research purposes only, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107). _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://mail.energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 19 [NukeNet] Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Public Demands Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:50:58 -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-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61 X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/nuclear-regulatory-commission.html July 20, 2006 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Public Demands to Stop Water Contamination Backroom Deal with Industry Group Alleged WASHINGTON, DC, July 20—The Union of Concerned Scientists today filed formal opposition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to ignore the growing problem of radioactive tritium leaks from nuclear power plants into water sources. The appeal was made after learning the NRC based its decision on an industry "promise" to monitor the leaks voluntarily. Today's opposition was filed on behalf of the 25 national, state, and local organizations that petitioned the NRC in January 2006 to address the leaks. "It is outrageous that the NRC would shirk its duties to protect public safety and rely—sight unseen—on an undocumented promise from an industry with a long track record of broken promises," said David Lochbaum, Director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists and lead author of the coalition's petition and appeal. "The NRC should reverse this bad decision." Last fall, it was revealed that millions of gallons of tritium-laden water had leaked from the Braidwood nuclear plant in Illinois into nearby water sources. Smaller leaks have been reported at nuclear facilities in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, and Virginia. On June 28 of this year, the NRC proposed denying the coalition's petition based on a promise allegedly made by a nuclear industry lobbyist to provide information on tritium leaks on a voluntary basis. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), a lobby group that only promotes industry interests, presented a sketchy outline of this voluntary initiative to the NRC on July 12—two weeks after the NRC proposed denying the petition. "How can industry be trusted to monitor itself when many of the leaks occurred for months, perhaps even years, before finally being found?" asked Lochbaum. "Most NRC-licensed facilities haven't looked to see if they also have ongoing leaks, so an already serious problem will only get worse." In its proposal to deny the petition, the NRC pointed out that nuclear plant owners had a contractual obligation to NEI to provide the information as promised. In today's appeal, the coalition provided the NRC with an abridged list of 10 times over the past decade where nuclear plant owners were sanctioned by the NRC for violating federal regulations by providing incomplete and/or inaccurate information to the NRC. The coalition questioned whether information provided to the NRC by the industry under a contractual obligation to its own trade group will be likely to be more complete and accurate than this proven track record strongly suggests. "Apparently, the NRC can't spare the time to worry itself about a public health matter," said Lochbaum. "Move over FEMA, the NRC is about to join you in the penalty box." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." Bush, June 18, 2002 "War is Peace" Big Brother in George Orwell's 1984 Molly Johnson 6290 Hawk Ridge Place San Miguel, CA 93451 Cell: 805 296-0524 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://mail.energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 20 [NukeNet] APP July 26 Oyster Creek faces new challenges Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:52:13 -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-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61 X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) 1993 Tests have failed to back up AmerGen's claims that Epoxy paint has arrested the liner rust .They are faulty. Oyster Creek faces new challenge Activists file barrier safety concerns to judges Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/26/06 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN STAFF WRITER Commitments on how the operator of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant will monitor a corroded radiation barrier have been deemed inadequate by a coalition of activist groups opposed to a renewed license for the Lacey reactor. The assessment was part of a legal argument submitted Tuesday to a three-judge panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that will decide whether Oyster Creek could be run safely during a proposed 20-year license extension. If the panel accepts the new contention, it could call an administrative law hearing and eventually force plant operator AmerGen Energy Co. to strengthen its monitoring program for the barrier as a condition of a license renewal. At issue is the thickness of a portion of the barrier called the drywell liner. Shaped like a light bulb, the 100-foot-tall metal structure surrounds the reactor vessel, a container in which atoms are split to make heat. During a serious emergency, the liner would be expected to prevent highly pressurized and highly radioactive steam and gas from entering the environment. AmerGen spokeswoman Rachelle Benson said company officials received a copy of the filing Tuesday afternoon and needed more time to review it before commenting. Both AmerGen and NRC staff now have an opportunity to file a response with the panel. In the contention, the six environmental and anti-nuclear activist groups that make up the coalition say AmerGen's monitoring program might not work because the company does not know what safety margins exist today. The most recent measurements of the liner's thickness were taken in 1996, but AmerGen has promised to conduct new ones in October and every two years thereafter. "In a nutshell, AmerGen is putting the cart before the horse," the activists wrote. AmerGen has also promised regulators that it would measure certain areas of the liner. But in the filing, the activists wrote that AmerGen should measure additional sections to provide a more comprehensive sampling area. Plant opponents have been concerned about the liner because water leaks from an upper floor of the plant caused the liner to rust and thin before then-operator GPU Nuclear discovered the damage in the early 1980s. AmerGen maintains that an epoxy coating applied to the corroded areas in 1993 prevented further damage and continues to work today. Nicholas Clunn: (732) 643-4072 or nclunn@app.com ***************************************************************** 21 ENS: Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Create Office of New Reactors Environment News Service (ENS) AmeriScan: July 26, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 2006 (ENS) - To prepare for the nuclear industry’s interest in licensing and building new nuclear power plants in the near term, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reorganizing its Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to create an Office of New Reactors. The NRC is expecting several applications for new nuclear power plants in late 2007 and early 2008, with initial construction activities soon thereafter. NRG Energy, Inc. has plans to build two new nuclear plants at the site of its South Texas Project nuclear facility. The facility is located on the Gulf Coast near Wadsworth, Texas, about 90 miles southwest of Houston. NRG is the first company to announce that it will build a new nuclear plant, although several utilities are considering nuclear generating stations in other states - including Florida Power &Light Company, Duke Power, Santee Cooper and the South Carolina Electric &Gas Company. The nuclear regulatory agency is also adding a new organizational unit, headed by a Deputy Regional Administrator for Construction in its Atlanta office, to oversee inspections related to expected new construction of nuclear facilities. “This change will ensure we maintain our focus on the safe and secure operation of existing nuclear power plants, while enhancing our effectiveness in processing the anticipated new plant licensing workload,” said Executive Director for Operations Luis Reyes. The new Deputy Regional Administrator position and organizational unit in Atlanta will focus on the agency’s Construction Inspection Program, which was announced earlier this year. This program will be responsible for the agency’s oversight of any new nuclear power plant construction for the entire country. The reorganized Region II office will be better equipped to carry out construction inspection activities while maintaining its focus on ensuring safe operation of nuclear power plants in Region II. The Office of New Reactors should be established by January 2007. The Office of New Reactors will have full responsibility for licensing and program oversight of new reactor activities. The Nuclear Reactor Regulation Office will retain full responsibility for licensing and program oversight for activities related to the current operating reactors. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2006. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 ENS: Hearing Set for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant License Renewal Environment News Service (ENS) AmeriScan: July 26, 2006 Hearing Set for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant License Renewal WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 2006 (ENS) - An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel will hear oral argument on requests for a hearing on the Vermont Yankee license renewal application on Tuesday, August 1, and, if needed, on Wednesday, August 2, in Brattleboro, Vermont. The ASLB is a quasi-judicial arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that deals with licensing matters. Entergy, the owner and operator of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, submitted an application for a 20-year license extension on January. 25. The current NRC operating license for the plant, which is located in Vernon, Vermont, is set to expire on March 21, 2012. Requests for an evidentiary hearing on the application were submitted by the states of Vermont and Massachusetts; the New England Coalition, a nuclear watchdog organization; and the Town of Marlboro, Vermont. The ASLB panel will hear oral argument on the admissibility of some of the issues raised in these filings and determine, at a later date, whether a hearing should be granted. The August 1st session is scheduled to begin at 9 am in the multi-purpose room at Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Road in Brattleboro. If needed, the oral argument will continue starting at 9 am on August 2 at the same location. The sessions are open for public observation, but participation will be limited to the parties involved in the proceeding. Early arrival is suggested to allow for security screening for all members of the public interested in attending. Attendees are requested to refrain from bringing any unnecessary hand-carried items, such as packages, briefcases, backpacks and other items, that might need to be examined for security purposes. Documents related to the Vermont Yankee license renewal application are available on the NRC website . Documents pertaining to the ASLB proceeding are available in the agency’s electronic document library . More information about the ASLB can be found . Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2006. All Rights ***************************************************************** 23 RIA Novosti: Russia removes 3 kg of uranium from research reactor in Libya 26/ 07/ 2006 MOSCOW, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia removed Tuesday three kilograms of high-enriched uranium from a research nuclear reactor in Libya for processing in Russia, the country's nuclear agency said. The uranium removed from the Tajura research reactor will be reprocessed in Russia into low-enriched uranium and later will be used as fuel for reactors at nuclear power plants. The program for transferring research reactors to low-enriched fuel is designed to reduce the potential threat of the use of radioactive materials for terrorist goals. Russia is removing high-enriched uranium and spent nuclear fuels from its research reactors in other countries under the Russian-U.S. intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the repatriation of spent nuclear fuel from research reactors signed on May 27, 2004, and has already removed 188 kilograms, including spent nuclear fuel from Uzbekistan. In December last year Russia delivered 14 kg of reprocessed low-enriched uranium for the Tajura reactor, which is expected to be put in operation with new low-enriched fuel within the next few months. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 24 APP.COM: Oyster Creek faces new challenge | Asbury Park Press Online Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Activists file barrier safety concerns to judges BY NICHOLAS CLUNN STAFF WRITER Commitments on how the operator of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant will monitor a corroded radiation barrier have been deemed inadequate by a coalition of activist groups opposed to a renewed license for the Lacey reactor. The assessment was part of a legal argument submitted Tuesday to a three-judge panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that will decide whether Oyster Creek could be run safely during a proposed 20-year license extension. If the panel accepts the new contention, it could call an administrative law hearing and eventually force plant operator AmerGen Energy Co. to strengthen its monitoring program for the barrier as a condition of a license renewal. At issue is the thickness of a portion of the barrier called the drywell liner. Shaped like a light bulb, the 100-foot-tall metal structure surrounds the reactor vessel, a container in which atoms are split to make heat. During a serious emergency, the liner would be expected to prevent highly pressurized and highly radioactive steam and gas from entering the environment. AmerGen spokeswoman Rachelle Benson said company officials received a copy of the filing Tuesday afternoon and needed more time to review it before commenting. Both AmerGen and NRC staff now have an opportunity to file a response with the panel. In the contention, the six environmental and anti-nuclear activist groups that make up the coalition say AmerGen's monitoring program might not work because the company does not know what safety margins exist today. The most recent measurements of the liner's thickness were taken in 1996, but AmerGen has promised to conduct new ones in October and every two years thereafter. "In a nutshell, AmerGen is putting the cart before the horse," the activists wrote. AmerGen has also promised regulators that it would measure certain areas of the liner. But in the filing, the activists wrote that AmerGen should measure additional sections to provide a more comprehensive sampling area. Plant opponents have been concerned about the liner because water leaks from an upper floor of the plant caused the liner to rust and thin before then-operator GPU Nuclear discovered the damage in the early 1980s. AmerGen maintains that an epoxy coating applied to the corroded areas in 1993 prevented further damage and continues to work today. Nicholas Clunn: (732) 643-4072 or nclunn@app.com Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 GAZETA.KZ: Kazakhstani PM and CEO of "Rosatom" discuss establishment of atomic JV 26.07.2006 Kazakhstan today MOSCOW. Danial Akhmetov, Prime Minister of RK, and Sergey Kirienko, CEO of "Rosatom," at a meeting in Aktau discussed co-operation between Russia and Kazakhstan in atomic energy development, "Rosatom" press service has informed Kazakhstan Today. At the meeting Mr. Akhmetov stated that Russia and Kazakhstan "must have a unitary energy policy in all areas, in particular, in the atomic industry and the atomic energy. Talking about the energy co-operation, we started a number of projects in the hydrocarbon energy. But we believe that prospects of development of the co-operation with the Russian Federation lie in the atomic area," - he observed. "I know that specialists prepared a number of issues. First of all it is related with uranium production, organising a joint uranium enrichment venture. And designing new generation reactors with a consequent access to the markets of other countries is the most promising issue," - Mr. Akhmetov said. He meant a project of a nuclear power station with three VBER-300 reactor plants, the newest invention of the Mechanical Engineering Experimental Development Bureau named after Afrikantov, Nizhniy Novgorod. According to experts, in the case that a first nuclear power station with such reactors is built in Kazakhstan, the market can be already entered with such reference. Earlier Kazakhstan has repeatedly stated its intentions to develop its own peaceful atom programme together with Russia. Copyright © Internet Department of PH "Alma-Media", 2000-2006 ***************************************************************** 26 NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, FirstEnergy Nuclear FR Doc E6-11918 [Federal Register: July 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 143)] [Notices] [Page 42421-42422] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy06-117] Generation Corp., Ohio Edison Company, The Toledo Edison Company, Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Notice of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued Amendment No. 275 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-66 and Amendment No. 156 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-73 issued to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee), which revised the Technical Specifications (TSs) and licenses for operation of the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (BVPS-1 and 2) located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The amendments are effective as of the date of issuance. The amendments modified the TSs and licenses to increase the maximum authorized rated thermal power from 2689 megawatts thermal (MWt) to 2900 MWt for each unit. Additionally, the amendments approved full implementation of an alternative source term in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50.67, using the guidance in Regulatory Guide 1.183, ``Alternative Radiological Source Terms for Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants.'' The amendments also approved deletion of the power range neutron-flux high-negative rate trip, removal of the boron injection tank boron concentration and renaming the boron injection flow path for BVPS-1, the addition of a footnote to Table 3.3-3 for BVPS-1, and correction of an inconsistency regarding a referenced permissive for BVPS-1. The application for the amendment complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment. Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Opportunity for a Hearing in connection with this action was published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2005 (70 FR 48443). The supplemental letters dated February 23, May 26, June 14, July 8 and 28, August 26, September 6, October 7, 28, and 31, November 8, 18, and 21, December 2, 6, 9, 16, and 30, 2005, and January 25, February 14 and 22, March 10 and 29, May 12, and July 6, 2006, provided additional clarifying information that did not expand the scope of the initial application as published in the Federal Register. No request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene was filed following this notice. The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to the action and has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement. Based upon the environmental assessment, the Commission has concluded that the issuance of the amendment will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (71 FR 40162). For further details with respect to the action see (1) the application for amendment dated October 4, 2004, as supplemented by letters dated February 23, May 26, June 14, July 8 and 28, August 26, September 6, October 7, 28, and 31, November 8, 18, and 21, December 2, 6, 9, 16, and 30, 2005, and January 25, February 14 and 22, March 10 and 29, May 12, and July 6, 2006, (2) Amendment No. 275 to License No. DPR-66, (3) Amendment No. 156 to License No. NPF-73, (4) the Commission's related Safety Evaluation, and (5) the Commission's Environmental Assessment. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to [[Page 42422]] ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC Public Document Room Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of July 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Timothy G. Colburn, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-11918 Filed 7-25-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 27 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding FR Doc E6-11919 [Federal Register: July 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 143)] [Notices] [Page 42422-42423] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy06-118] of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 09-10672-03, for Unrestricted Release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Buildings 15, 16 and 17 in Gulf Breeze, FL AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Hammann, Health Physicist, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 337-5399; fax number (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: sth2@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 09- 10672-03. This license is held by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the Licensee), for its Gulf Ecology Division Facility, located at 1 Sabine Island Drive in Gulf Breeze, Florida (the Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Buildings 15, 16 and 17, which are part of the Facility, for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated March 14, 2006. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR Part 51). Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register. II. Environmental Assessment Identification of Proposed Action The proposed action would approve the Licensee's March 14, 2006, license amendment request resulting in release of Buildings 15, 16 and 17 for unrestricted use. License No. 09-10672-03 was issued on November 2, 1992, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. License No. 09-10672-03 superceded License No. 09- 10672-02 which was issued in 1965 for this Facility. This license authorized the Licensee to use sealed and unsealed byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods. Buildings 15, 16 and 17 have a total of 2,690 square feet and consist of office space, laboratories, and storage space. The Buildings are located in a mixed residential/commercial area. The Licensee has not conducted licensed activities in Buildings 15, 16 and 17 since 1997. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the condition of the Buildings, the Licensee determined that only routine decontamination activities, in accordance with its NRC-approved, operating radiation safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved for routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of Buildings 15, 16 and 17 and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that they meet the criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release. Need for the Proposed Action The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at Buildings 15, 16 and 17 and seeks the unrestricted use of this portion of the Facility. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Buildings 15, 16 and 17 shows that such activities involved use of the following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of Buildings 15, 16 and 17 affected by these radionuclides. The Licensee conducted a final status survey on March 5, 2006. This survey covered Buildings 15, 16 and 17. The final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated March 14, 2006. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee used the radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs), developed there by the NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status survey results were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are acceptable. Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the (ML042330385). The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from the use of radioactive material in Buildings 15, 16 and 17. The NRC staff reviewed the docket file records and the final status survey report to identify any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the environment surrounding the Buildings. No such hazards or impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative environmental impacts. The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of Buildings 15, 16 and 17 for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. The Licensee will continue to perform licensed activities at other parts of the Gulf Ecology Division Facility, and must ensure that the decommissioned area does not become recontaminated. Before the license can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to show that the entire Facility, including previously-released [[Page 42423]] areas, complies with the radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity in Buildings 15, 16 and 17, and concluded that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action, its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's final status survey data confirmed that Buildings 15, 16 and 17 meet the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. Additionally, denying the amendment request would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative are therefore similar, and the no-action alternative is accordingly not further considered. Conclusion The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the quality of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed action is the preferred alternative. Agencies and Persons Consulted NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the Florida Bureau of Radiation Control for review on April 4, 2006. On April 4, 2006, Florida Bureau of Radiation Control responded by electronic mail. The State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and otherwise had no comments. The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. III. Finding of No Significant Impact The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate. IV. Further Information Documents related to this action, including the application for license amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS accession numbers. 1. Amendment request and Final Status Survey Results for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, Florida, dated March 14, 2006 [ADAMS Accession No. ML060810415]; 2. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;'' 3. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, ``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;'' 4. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions;'' 5. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC- Licensed Nuclear Facilities''. If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this 18th day of July 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. James P. Dwyer, Chief, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I. [FR Doc. E6-11919 Filed 7-25-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 28 Mos News: Russia, Kazakhstan Sign 3 Nuclear JV Deals Worth $10Bln - - MOSNEWS.COM Created: 26.07.2006 12:18 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:08 MSK MosNews On Tuesday, July 25, Russia and Kazakhstan signed documents for establishment of three nuclear power joint ventures that will be occupied in design of new reactors, uranium production and enrichment. The documents were signed during a session of a working group on the development of Kazakhstan’s nuclear energy chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov and Russian nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko. Kiriyenko, the head of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency (Rosatom), said the signing of these documents was an important stage of cooperation in the nuclear sphere and a “real step toward the joint development of uranium production and enrichment in Russia.” He also added that the total cost of three Russian-Kazakh nuclear JVs will be $10 billion. Akhmetov said the first venture on designing new reactors was the most important and Kazakhstan was planning to export products of joint ventures. Techsnabexport, Russia’s state-controlled uranium supplier and provider of uranium enrichment services, already holds a 49.33 percent stake in a joint venture set up in 2004 in the south of mineral-rich Kazakhstan. It is exploring a uranium ore deposit with estimated reserves of 19,000 metric tons of uranium in Zarechnoye near the border with Central-Asian neighbors Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kiriyenko said July 15 that the first international uranium enrichment center would be established in Angarsk in southeast Siberia’s Irkutsk Region. “One of the elements of convergence [in the initiatives] is the idea to create international centers. We will begin with an international center for uranium enrichment,” he said, quoted by RIA Novosti. “Together with the program on the nuclear development, which we [Russia] worked out, the establishment of the joint ventures with Kazakhstan will solve the issue of uranium provision for nuclear energy,” Kiriyenko said. Kiriyenko added that the new project would produce 5,000-6,000 metric tons of uranium a year while Russia’s annual output at the moment totaled slightly over 3,000 tons. He said the ventures should be registered by September 30, and working groups should present their feasibility studies by November 30. Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 29 AFP: House takes up US-India nuclear energy bill by Stephanie Griffith Wed Jul 26, 5:57 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Congress opened debate on a controversial US-India civilian nuclear energy deal, which supporters see as the cornerstone of a new strategic alliance between the two countries. A vote on the measure is likely in the House of Representatives late Wednesday. The bill emerged from a deal forged last year between US President George W. Bush " /> President George W. Bushand Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Democratic and Republican leaders in both houses of Congress have expressed strong support for the bill. If it becomes law, the measure would reverse some three decades of US policy to restrict access to nuclear technology. The United States has withheld its civilian nuclear know-how from India since 1974, when it conducted its first nuclear test. India tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998 and, as a result, is currently banned by the United States and other major powers from buying fuel for atomic reactors and other related equipment. But some lawmakers have expressed doubts about extending civil nuclear technology to India, which is not a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, without first putting the most stringent of safeguards in place. "We must continue to strengthen our relationship with India while still protecting our security interests at home and abroad," Democrat Ike Skelton said. "Congress must exert strong oversight over any nuclear agreement between our two nations to ensure that we do not enable India to increase its nuclear weapons arsenal." Under the deal, the United States will aid the development of civil nuclear power in India in return for New Delhi placing its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency " /> International Atomic Energy Agencyinspections. Supporters greet the deal as a sign of a geopolitical re-alliance following the Cold War, one which allows India to jump-start its quest for alternative energy, as its economy booms. Detractors say, however, they are not convinced that India can be trusted to safeguard critical atomic secrets, or to refrain from using atomic material to gain an edge over neighboring rival power, Pakistan. "We are deeply concerned that this proposal, in its current form, will blow a hole in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, allow India to greatly increase the size of its nuclear arsenal, and potentially spark a nuclear arms race in Asia," House Democrat Ed Markey told a press conference Tuesday. Markey said the bill would allow India to dramatically increase its production of nuclear weapons. "The agreement would create a huge exemption for India from US non-proliferation laws and international norms," he said. "By shipping India fuel for its civilian reactors, this legislation potentially frees up their entire supply of domestic uranium for use in weapons." He added: "This will result in a bonanza of newly available nuclear material for weapons, which experts estimate could allow them to increase their nuclear weapons production from seven warheads a year to 40-50 warheads a year." Critics also fear the bill could ratchet up the arms race in Asia. "Just yesterday the world learned that Pakistan is building a huge new plutonium-production reactor, which will allow them to increase their weapons production from two to three weapons a year to 40-50," Markey said. "If you think that Pakistans new reactor and this nuclear deal with India aren't related, you're fooling yourself." Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 30 SMN: Bulgarian Nuke Wants Units' Licences Switched >www.novinite.com Sofia News Agency "Sofia Morning News Business: 26 July 2006, Wednesday. Bulgaria's only nuclear power plant has asked for a change in the licenses of the plant's Units 1 and 2 that were shut off in the beginning of 2003. The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Agency Sergey Tsochev announced Wednesday that Kozloduy NPP have requested their work on dismantling the equipment to be included in the licence. This had nothing to do with the safe storage of waste fuel, Tsochev pointed out. The Agency has six months to decide on the plant's request. Bulgaria had to decommission the first two units of its nuclear power plant as agreed with the EU. Units 3 and 4 will also be closed in the end of 2006, leaving the plant with just two operational units. novinite.com All Rights Reserved © Novinite Ltd., 2001-2006 - Copyright &Disclaimer - Privacy Policy ISO 9001:2000 Certified Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish ***************************************************************** 31 NRC: NRC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule Reflecting Expanded Authority Over Other Radioactive Material News Release - 2006-09 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: No. 06-098 July 26, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comments on a proposed rule to incorporate newly added radioactive byproduct material into its regulatory framework as mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Act expands the definition of byproduct material, thereby placing additional radioactive material under NRCs jurisdiction. The Act mandates that final regulations are to be issued by February 7, 2007. The proposed rule would establish the regulatory framework for regulating certain discrete sources of radium-226, accelerator-produced radioactive material (ARM), and certain discrete sources of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). The proposed rule would revise the definition for byproduct material, add a definition for discrete source, amend existing regulations to include radium-226 and certain accelerator-produced radioisotopes, and add provisions to the regulatory framework for overseeing the newly added byproduct material. Although the NRC has not regulated ARM or NORM in the past, most states have regulatory programs for such material. Other federal agencies, states, and affected personnel from the commercial, industrial, and medical communities have been involved in the rulemaking process that included interactive discussion at a Nov. 9, 2005, roundtable public meeting. To enhance cooperation and improve efficiency in rulemaking, the NRC provided a preliminary draft of the proposed rule to the states and the Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of Isotopes for an early opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations; their comments were considered in finalizing this proposed rule. Specifically for the proposed rule, the NRC seeks comments on the issuance of general licenses and exemption provisions for certain items containing radium-226, provisions for exemptions and grandfathering certain products involving ARM or NORM, and the compatibility designation of the proposed regulations for state programs. The proposed rule also contains an implementation strategy, including: (1) the use of a transition plan to lay out NRCs plan for waiver termination and for regulatory transition, (2) the plan to have Agreement States continue to carry out their regulatory programs until each state certifies, and the NRC agrees, that its regulatory program adequately covers ARM and NORM, and (3) the inclusion of specific regulatory provisions instead of using enforcement discretion that would allow individuals to continue using ARM and NORM provided that these individuals comply with other applicable requirements while waiting for an NRC licensing decision. The NRC is planning to hold a public meeting on the proposed rule Aug. 22 at the agencys William Olmstead High-Level Waste Hearing Facility, in Pacific Enterprise Plaza, Building 1, in Las Vegas, Nev. A meeting notice will be published separately from the proposed rule in the Federal Register. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the proposed rule within 45 days of publication in the Federal Register, expected shortly, to guarantee consideration by the NRC. Comments submitted later than this date may be considered if practical. Comments can be mailed to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Comments can be hand-carried to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on federal work days, or they can be faxed to 301-415-1101. E-mail comments can also be sent to . In addition, comments can also be submitted through the NRCs eRulemaking Portal at . The entire proposed rule will also be available at that Web location. Last revised Wednesday, July 26, 2006 ***************************************************************** 32 Guardian Unlimited: US compensation for British nuclear test veteran Rob Evans Wednesday July 26, 2006 The Guardian A critically ill British ex-serviceman who was exposed to radiation in weapons tests has been awarded compensation by the United States, even though his own government has refused to give him any money. Roy Prescott, 66, has been awarded $75,000 (Ł40,000) by the American government, which recognised that his lung cancer was caused by radiation released in the tests. Earlier this year the same claim was rejected by the Ministry of Defence, which said there was insufficient evidence to show he was contaminated with harmful doses of radioactivity during the trials. In the 1950s and 60s, the British government exploded a series of atomic weapons in Australia and on Pacific islands as it was seeking to produce a nuclear arsenal. More than 20,000 servicemen and civilians helped to organise and run the cold war tests. Many of them have claimed that their health has been damaged as a result - a claim rejected by the MoD. Mr Prescott, from Burton on Trent, was a member of the Royal Engineers who was seconded to the US military when it was testing its nuclear bombs off Christmas Island in the Pacific. He spent months on the island on engineering tasks. Now he is in hospital, and his family say his health is deteriorating fast. Yesterday he said: "I am a casualty of the cold war and, whilst I am pleased that I am receiving compensation and recognition from the US government, it really galls me lying here, a critically ill man, that the British government continue to fail in their duty of care towards me and thousands of other nuclear test veterans by denying that we were exposed to radiation during service." An MoD spokesman said: "We are sorry Mr Prescott is unwell and are pleased that he has been successful with his claim in the US." He added that the American compensation scheme was less stringent than the British one which requires "those claiming compensation to show a reasonable link between their service and their illness". Useful links British army Royal Navy RAF Ministry of Defence Nato United Nations [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 33 The Hindu: `Radium girls' saved workers in nuclear industries Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 IT WAS reported by The Waterbury Connecticut Republican American newspaper that Ms Mae Keane, the last surviving `radium girl' celebrated her 100th birthday on May 28 this year. A closer scrutiny of records showed that she is only one of the surviving `radium girls.' Disfigurement, death During 1919-27, the Waterbury Clock Co. employed young girls to paint dials of watches with radium-containing paint. Dial painting factories sprang up in many cities such as New Jersey, Ottawa. A few hundred grams of radium caused over a hundred deaths among these workers. Several workers suffered disfigurement. The study of radium girls which formed the basis to prescribe radiation protection standards for radio-nuclides such as plutonium saved the lives of nuclear workers. The numbers on the watches were tiny. The company chose young girls as they had steady hands and small fingers. The girls swallowed large amounts of radium as they sharpened the brushes more often with their lips to paint the dials faster. At eight US cents a dial, the pay was good. Job lost, life saved Mae Keane did not `lip paint,' as the paint tasted bitter. The company fired her because of low productivity. She was lucky. Loss of job saved her life. She worked for about two months, long enough to loose her teeth! When the dial painters blew their noses, their hand-kerchiefs glowed in the darkCurrently no one uses radium to make luminous compounds. In 1927, Eben Byers a well-known millionaire injured his arm during a train journey. To cure his condition, he drank 1400 bottles of `Radiothor' (each bottle containing one micro curie each of Radium-226 and Radium-228) which William Bailey, a quack, promoted as an elixir of life. Schubert and Lapp in their eminently readable book titled "Radiation, what it is and how it affects you" quote thus from the journal Radium (1916): "Radium has absolutely no toxic effects, it being accepted as harmoniously by the human system as is sunlight by the plant". No wonder physicians prescribed radium for acne, hypertension. sexual impotence, ulcers, gouts, diabetes and the like. Nobody knew about the risks from radium. Byers' body decomposed due to the massive amounts of radium. He died in 1932. Careless dial painters suffered grievously. Their teeth fell out and bones turned brittle. Some suffered spontaneous fractures. In Waterbury alone fifteen painters died during the 1920s and 30s. The Center for Human Radiobiology at the Argonne National Laboratory identified 6675 people containing radium; among them, 3161 were dial painters. They studied 1575 of them. Hundred and twelve dial painters died due to radium-induced cancers. Scientists had decade long observations of 27 persons who were internally exposed to radium. They had measured the radium content in their body accurately. They observed that the body has to retain one microgram of radium to produce harmful effects. Tolerance level After considering a safety factor of ten, Robley Evans, an eminent MIT Professor, proposed a tolerance level of 0.1microgramme for radium. This served as the cornerstone to prescribe radiation protection standards for radio-nuclides such as plutonium. Specialists suggested a working lifetime limit of five micrograms (0.3 micro curie) for plutonium, as the alpha particle emission from 5 micrograms of plutonium would deposit energy at the same rate as 0.1 microgram of radium. Curie is a unit of radioactivity; the activity of one gram of radium is one Curie. But as animal studies showed that plutonium is more toxic, they reduced the plutonium limit by five to 0.06 micro curie. Since the nuclear industry enforced this standard, not even a single worker died due to internal contamination from plutonium. K. S. PARTHASARATHY Former Secretary , AERB, Mumbai (ksparth@yahoo.co.uk) The Hindu Group: Home| About Us | Copyright | Archives | Comments to : thehindu@vsnl.com Copyright © 2006, The Hindu ***************************************************************** 34 RIA Novosti: Russia says no pollution after feed-water leak on nuclear sub 26/ 07/ 2006 MOSCOW, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - A small feed-water leak has occurred at a power reactor on board a Northern Fleet nuclear submarine, but the radiation level remained within the norm, a Navy spokesman said. Igor Dygalo said the incident occurred on Wednesday at the Vidyayevo base in the Murmansk Region (northern Russia) when one of the submarines was undergoing scheduled repairs. ďż˝The incident was dealt with quickly,ďż˝ Dygalo said. ďż˝Radiation levels within the submarine and outside remain normal. No environmental pollution has been registered.ďż˝ Vidyayevo was the home base of the now lost K-141 Kursk (an Oscar-II class). Naval radioactive waste storage facilities are also located at the base. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 35 APP.COM: NRC should use taxpayer funds to protect public Asbury Park Press Online Wednesday, July 26, 2006 BY PEGGI STURMFELS We are running out of time. Every year, the public goes without safeguards to protect them against the effects of a nuclear accident at the Oyster Creek plant in Lacey. Every season, climate changes take their toll on the aging metal and concrete of Oyster Creek. Every month, the officials charged with overseeing our safety stall or obviate our ability to get answers to questions regarding this plant. Every day, they pray we will just go away. This is the cat-and-mouse game we have been relegated to play with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission in our efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our families, our neighbors and the residents of New Jersey. Set on a course of pro-nuclear energy at any cost, the NRC has sided with the profit-making mega-energy companies at taxpayer expense. Taxpayer dollars fund their agency. Taxpayer dollars pay for extra security required at the nuclear facilities. Taxpayer dollars pay for tax abatements and host community remunerations. Taxpayer dollars are given to the private nuclear companies to fight off pesky citizen groups that question their operations. And taxpayer dollars will pay for the massive clean-up and medical costs incurred if disaster strikes. Taxpayer dollars should be spent in a variety of ways that would give New Jerseyans safer, cleaner and affordable energy. The NRC should use our taxpayer money to fund new environmental impact studies by independent scientists for every site up for license renewal. Thirty-year-old studies and data are unacceptable in determining the environmental health of a region. That's especially so when the cumulative effect of plant operations on the environment in terms of emissions and discharge is measured for only one year of operation and not the succeeding 25. The NRC should use our taxpayer dollars to regulate and demand that towns and regions that host nuclear power plants and accept tax dollars to do so not overdevelop, thus placing everyone at risk. Local, county and state governments, who are responsible for the safety of the citizens, should not allow roadways and evacuation routes to be overtaxed. By turning a blind eye to the real threats of over-population around a nuclear power plant, they have placed all in jeopardy. To continue to do so is criminal. The NRC should spend taxpayer money on allaying the very real fears of the public it serves, not dismissing the public's very real fear as another annoying impediment to keep decrepit nuclear plants running. The issue should not be whether the public has a right to be afraid of a terrorist attack that experts predict could produce radioactive contamination that is worse than Chernobyl. It should be when is the government going to heed its own warnings and protect the public by closing vulnerable nuclear plants. This would eliminate soft targets that invite evildoers and cause genuine and justifiable fear among the public. The combination of risk of accident, risk of terrorism and need for ongoing taxpayer handouts means that time has now run out for Oyster Creek. The state and even the NRC must realize that the time has come for the plant to close. The citizens of New Jersey have made clear that nothing less is tolerable. We are tired of waiting and hoping. The time has come for decisive action from the governor and the NRC. Peggi Sturmfels is program organizer of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, Belmar. Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 Longview News-Journal: Burned radioactive material no danger, LeTourneau says Cleanup won't disrupt work at Longview plant By JO LEE FERGUSON Wednesday, July 26, 2006 LeTourneau Inc. said its employees and the public faced no danger from what was a small amount of a radioactive material that went through the furnace in the Longview plant's steel mill. Company officials were meeting with employees Tuesday to inform them of the incident and offer assurances from an outside expert that there was no risk. "The big thing people need to know is it's not a danger," said Dave Blazek, vice president and general manager of the steel group at LeTourneau. LeTourneau produces equipment for the drilling, mining and timber industries. LeTourneau reported that the radioactive material it detected in its dust collection system is cesium, a material commonly used in various types of equipment gauges. The cesium was contained in a lead box. Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Health, said cesium is a low-level radioactive material. He said it does not pose a threat to the public because of the manner in which it was incinerated during processing at the plant. "The source of the cesium is believed to have been from the use of scrap metal melted in the steel mill," LeTourneau reported in a prepared statement. "Further, it is believed that a very small amount of cesium was most likely contained in a very small item of scrap metal." Blazek and Butch Brooks, LeTourneau's vice president of human resources, said there was no danger to employees or the public as the material was melted because the furnace is enclosed. There were no emissions to the air; the cesium was vaporized and any residue was captured and contained in the dust collection system, they explained. The radioactive material was discovered during the company's normal method of disposing of dust that is the usual byproduct of the furnace. Blazek said LeTourneau contracts with a Tennessee company that collects and recycles that kind of dust from all over the country. That company separates heavy metals such as zinc and cadmium from the dust and sells it, while taking the remaining dust to the landfill. "What they did was basically call and alert us to the fact that this truckload of material did not meet their standards," Blazek said. "They sent the truck back to us." The truck is designed specifically for hauling dust. The material has been isolated in the truck trailer, and the trailer has been isolated at the LeTourneau site where no one can get to it, Blazek said. It will be cleaned when the affected area of the plant is cleaned. LeTourneau was notified Friday and spent the weekend verifying the material. The dust collection system captured and contained the residue, the company reported. The plant does work to screen scrap metal for radioactive material. A detector system is used on arrivals of scrap metal, Blazek said. A Geiger counter also is used on samples of the melted scrap metal. That wouldn't have detected the cesium, though, because it vaporized when it was melted and didn't get into the steel, Blazek said. "Although the dust collection system has captured and contained the residue of the cesium, designated areas of the steel mill will be temporarily disrupted while the system is cleaned of this residue," the company reported. "The company currently is determining the date for the cleaning; however, the steel mill can safety operate until the enclosed system is cleaned without causing any health risks to its employees. The system cleaning is expected to be scheduled in the next few weeks. Displaced workers will be utilized in other areas of the company." An outside company will be hired for the cleanup, Blazek said. He said there would be a period when no melting would take place, but it would be short and would not affect the company. LeTourneau employs about 1,050 people, including 160 people in the steel group. "Our intent is to keep everybody working through this thing. There's plenty of product downstream that still needs to be processed to meet schedule," he said. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported that the Texas Department of Health would be responsible for assessing the situation and overseeing cleanup, while the environmental quality commission would ensure proper disposal rules are followed. Cox Newspapers, L.P. - The News-Journal - Our Partners ***************************************************************** 37 Sydney Morning Herald: Labor has uranium waste and mine plans www.smh.com.au July 27, 2006 - 6:34AM A Labor document on uranium mining hints at storing nuclear waste in Australia and identifies sites in Queensland and Western Australia for new mines. Labor resources spokesman Martin Ferguson created the party briefing in March, before party leader Kim Beazley this week announced a push to scrap Labor's no-new-mines policy. The Australian newspaper has obtained a copy of the briefing note which, it says, aimed in March to win support for overturning Labor's restriction on uranium mining from the powerful Australian Workers Union (AWU). The lure for the AWU was the promise of dominant coverage for an expanding industry over the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union. The document hints that nuclear waste that started as ore from local mines might be stored in Australia, or become the nation's responsibility under a "cradle to grave" plan, according to the report. The document also nominates sites where mines could be developed in Queensland and Western Australia. Queensland state law bans uranium mining, and its premier, Peter Beattie, and Western Australia's Premier Alan Carpenter oppose increased uranium mining. On Wednesday, Mr Ferguson confirmed his office had prepared the document specifically for Queensland. But he refused to say whether other states had received similar, tailor-made briefings. "I can recall some time ago there was discussion about putting down some ideas about this debate," he told The Australian. © 2006 AAP | Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 38 Bradenton Herald: Lockheed takes offensive stance 07/26/2006 | Posted on Wed, Jul. 26, 2006 email this print this The government's dodgy dossier on energy represents missed opportunities on a scale that is hard to understate. Jeremy Leggett July 26, 2006 05:05 PM | I have belatedly found time to scan the government's energy review, published earlier this month. The experience was not good for my blood pressure. The review joins a growing list of dodgy dossiers published by the Blair government in support of its growing catalogue of policy misjudgments. The real energy review, of course, was published in 2003, after lengthy consultations, which were genuine. Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state of the day, described that review as one of the most exhaustive consultations ever conducted by a government. I witnessed this process close to, as a representative of one of the 60-plus energy companies that took part. The final review, reflecting a remarkable consensus across the energy sector - nuclear industry excepted - concluded that we should cut emissions deeply, with renewables and energy efficiency, and put nuclear on the shelf, not to be reconsidered for five years at least. But for last-minute manoeuvring by the DTI, the outcome could easily have been an outright rejection of nuclear. Three years on, the UK remains in the doldrums on renewables, and instead of the "urgent action" promised by the new secretary of state in the foreword to the review, we have the promise of further consultations. The review concludes that new nuclear can make a "significant contribution" to the UK's energy requirements but writes about renewable energy with a strange absence of targets, timetables and concrete policy steps to meet them. The media, by and large, seem to have fallen for the government line that a 20% renewables target by 2020 is a major new commitment, when it should more accurately be read as confirmation of what we were told in the February 2003 energy white paper. There is also no firm guarantee in the wording of the review that the renewables obligation, the requirement on energy providers to include a particular percentage mix of renewables in their supply, will definitely increase from 15% to 20% by 2020. For micro-renewables, the review amounts to a restatement of the threadbare "key policies" announced in the micro-generation strategy, including such essential policy drivers as "a review of communications activity" and "a new power for parish councils to promote micro generation in their own parishes". The review does confirm the government's intention to extend the energy efficiency commitment to include all micro-renewables and to review permitted development rights, but these hardly amount to "new" promises. It is difficult to understate the seriousness of the missed opportunities here. As Europe burns up in another heatwave, and the evidence points ever more clearly to catastrophic global warming ahead, this energy review can be likened to a government paper in the late 1930s recommending that we focus our limited resources enthusiastically on cavalry and cannons while shunting Spitfires and Lancasters into the sidings. About webfeeds Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006. Registered in England and Wales. No. 908396 Registered office: 164 Deansgate, Manchester M60 2RR ***************************************************************** 43 The Dispatch: $25M for Contaminated H2O Cleanup Efforts Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Morgan Hill - A Senate bill that could pump $25 million into groundwater cleanup efforts in Santa Clara County and parts of Southern California could become law later this week after passing the House floor Monday. While the bill doesn't specifically mention perchlorate - the notorious industrial byproduct that's turned Olin Corporation into a household name among South County well drinkers - portions of it reflect language drafted by Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein to apply for ongoing perchlorate remediation efforts in Santa Clara County as well as in the Santa Ana Watershed. If approved, S-203 would authorize $25 million in federal funding to clean up contaminated groundwater in the service area of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Santa Ana Watershed. It would provide grants equaling 65 percent of total funding for clean-up projects, requiring a 35 percent match from state and local agencies - or the private sector. Alleged polluters such as Olin would not be eligible for federal matching funds. Pombo Press Secretary Lucas Frances said the intent of the bill is to provide extra money for widespread environmental problems. "This is just a way of speeding up the process, ensuring additional clean up gets done," Frances said. "We worked with the (Santa Clara Valley) Water District to ensure they would be able to request funds." Pombo, chair of the House Resources Committee, first introduced the bill last year. The legislation failed, but portions of it are now included in a hodgepodge bill called the "National Heritage Areas Act of 2005." If approved, the bill would create a fund administered by the Secretary of the Interior, working through the Bureau of Reclamation, to help pay for groundwater remediation. Municipalities within the water district would have access to the funds, which could be applied retroactively. Federal funds would be available for 10 years. Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes, who has been following the bill from afar, said he was eager to learn whether the City of Morgan Hill could be reimbursed for some of the $3 million spent on municipal well head treatment over the last three years. Olin is not responsible at this time for cleaning up groundwater in Morgan Hill. Instead, residents pay a 15 percent surcharge on their water bills for filtration systems on municipal wells. San Martin resident Sylvia Hamilton, chairwoman of the Perchlorate Community Advisory Group, said the bill could set a national precedent if passed by the Senate and signed by President George W. Bush. "This shows the federal government is beginning to recognize that this is a problem that needs to be addressed," she said. "We cannot bury our heads in the sand and wait. Perchlorate, once it gets down in the ground, moves quickly." The 9.5-mile perchlorate plume in South County water table has taken years to map out. Olin's engineers are still attempting to fully investigate the scope of the pollution before proposing a state-mandated clean-up plan later this summer. The plume stretches south from a now-closed road flare plant on Tennant Avenue. Perchlorate is a type of salt that can conflict with healthy thyroid activity if consumed at high volumes. Water officials say concentrations of perchlorate have dropped within safe levels in most parts of South County, but Olin is still responsible for cleaning the watertable. Water District Spokesman Mike DiMarco said the idea of the legislation is to get federal help for clean-up tasks that Olin might not be required to do, such as enhancing groundwater recharge operations and implementing municipal well head treatment. Gilroy, he said, which is interested in keeping the perchlorate plume from spreading further westward into city limits, could use the funds for digging sentry wells, for example. "We don't know what Olin's final clean-up plan will be," DiMarco said. "It may not be adequate. That's where the value of outside money comes in. If there are community needs not met by the cleanup plan, it could help bridge the gap." Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tburchyns@morganhilltimes.com. ***************************************************************** 44 csmonitor.com: Spent nuclear fuel edges closer to Yucca | from the July 27, 2006 edition AT THE MOUNTAIN: Pete Vavricka conducts an underground train. The Nevada laboratory facility at the site currently employs about 2,000 scientists and staff. ISAAC BREKKEN/AP/FILE The Department of Energy has announced a timeline for the nuclear-waste site, as opposition intensifies in Nevada. By Matt Bradley | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor What weighs a total of about 50,000 tons, is scattered among 31 states, and scares the daylights out of almost everybody? For the congressional delegation of Nevada - home to the much-debated, much-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste site - the answer could be headed their way a little too soon. It was over their protests that the Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that Yucca will begin accepting the nation's spent nuclear fuel by 2017. True, this is about 19 years later than the department originally promised. But these days, nuclear power is on an upswing, thanks to climbing gas prices, concerns about climate change, and an increasing desire to diminish America's dependency on foreign oil. Despite the shifting economic and political winds, however, policymakers and others are still wrestling with questions about spent nuclear fuel. For its part, the DOE says its new dumping date is still a best-case scenario. But the new timetable, and a new political will for the project, have hardly swayed the senators of Nevada from their opposition. The timeline "is a wish list by the people who are trying to turn the state of Nevada into the nation's nuclear dumping ground," says Jon Summers, a spokesman for Sen. Harry Reid (D) of Nevada. The new date comes as several pieces of legislation seek to address the decades-old issue of handling spent nuclear fuel. One such proposal, tacked onto an appropriations bill by Sen. Pete Domenici (R) of New Mexico, would empower the Energy Department to designate "interim" waste sites for up to 25 years, or until Yucca is complete. Most likely, the sites would designate existing or decommissioned power plants, where radioactive materials are already stored. However, the DOE has already acknowledged major bureaucratic challenges to granting speedy, temporary storage licenses for some 31 facilities. For supporters of Yucca Mountain, the proposal for interim sites smacks of diversionary tactics. "Senator Reid wants to make sure that the nuclear waste doesn't come to his state," says Charles Pray, a nuclear safety adviser for the state of Maine. "Even though the licensing is [for] 25 years, we're afraid that once it's there, it will be a long time before it moves out of the state." Many states, including Maine, are suing the department for failing to remove their spent fuel by 1998 as originally promised. Maine expects a decision on its case later this year, and total damages against the federal government are expected to climb into the tens of billions of dollars. The DOE has so far doled out about $150 million in damages to commercial nuclear utilities. The DOE has thrown its support behind legislation that would speed Yucca's progress by "streamlining" some remaining regulatory hurdles. "People on both sides of the aisle are seeing the need for an expansion of nuclear energy," says Craig Stevens, a spokesman for the department. "We're just looking at [the political dialogue] as a positive development in the discussion as we're moving ahead with the nuclear renaissance in this country." After all, Yucca is widely touted as the world's most studied piece of real estate. The Nevada laboratory facility currently employs about 2,000 scientists and staff - a research effort that has already cost the government about $8 billion. Energy officials are convinced of the facility's safety. But opponents of Yucca, particularly Nevada's powerful congressional delegation, blame the DOE for what they call politically motivated science. Some environmental groups say the proposed Yucca facility, as well as its location about 90 miles from Las Vegas, is unsafe. The office of Sen. John Ensign (R) of Nevada cites the threat of terrorism as a primary argument against a centralized waste site. "There's a larger problem with putting [nuclear waste] on trucks and trains and shipping it all over the country to Nevada," says Jack Finn, communications director for Senator Ensign. "What's done in other countries is reprocessing on site, where waste is produced. That's an option Senator Ensign thinks we should pursue more vigorously." Nuclear reprocessing, which is essentially a form of recycling for spent nuclear fuel, also forms the centerpiece of President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership project. Mr. Bush's proposal would fund an expansion of nuclear energy facilities in the United States and abroad. The project would also reclaim spent fuel for reprocessing in order to reduce waste and prevent the still-radioactive materials from falling into the hands of militant groups. "If you were to take fuel rods, you could put them back, theoretically, into a nuclear reactor and burn that down even more," says Mr. Stevens. But even if scientists perfect reprocessing for widespread use - so far, it has only been shown to work in a lab - Yucca Mountain remains the closest thing to a long-term waste solution, Stevens says. "We see nuclear power as the single environmentally clean, base-load source of electricity. Period. Yucca Mountain is the place, by science and by law." csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science ***************************************************************** 45 Reid: REID, ENSIGN PRESS FOR RELEASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ON YUCCA MOUNTAIN: 07/26/2006 US Senator Harry Reid for Nevada Analysis of Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act Consequences Overdue July 26, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a joint letter sent Wednesday, U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada strongly urged the Council on Environmental Quality to release the long-overdue and legally mandated environmental impact analysis of the Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act, the proposal for dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the completion and public release of an environmental analysis of such legislation so the full environmental consequences of the bill can be examined before Congress acts. The Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act was first presented to Congress on April 5, 2006, nearly four months ago. "We are talking about the most dangerous substance known to man. The people of Nevada need to know, and have a right to know, about the dangers associated with storing 77,000 tons of nuclear waste in our state, including the potential environmental impact." said Reid. "It would be irresponsible to rush to build a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain and transport so much dangerous material across the country without the public being informed of the public health and environmental hazards.” “The CEQ must provide this analysis to Congress,” said Ensign. “The people of Nevada have a legal right to know the environmental impact of storing the most hazardous substance known to mankind in our backyard.” The Senators sent the letter in advance of a hearing that will be held next week regarding the Yucca Mountain proposal. Both senators are urging the Council on Environmental Quality to release its report in time for the hearing to enable a thorough discussion of the Yucca Mountain proposal. The full text of the letter is below. ### James L. Connaughton Chairman Council on Environmental Quality The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Chairman Connaughton: We are writing to request the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ’s) environmental impact analysis of the Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act, S. 2589, that Senators Domenici and Inhofe introduced by request of the Administration. As stated in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 102(C) (43 U.S.C. 4332(C)): “The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent possible: (1) the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with the policies set forth in this Act, and (2) all agencies of the Federal Government shall – . . . (C) include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on – (i) the environmental impact of the proposed action, (ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented, (iii) alternatives to the proposed action, (iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and (v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented[.]” CEQ’s analysis must be presented to Congress and the public prior to any action on the Administration’s proposal. CEQ’s analysis is necessary for members of Congress and the public to understand the impact and parameters of the proposal. The administration’s bill was presented to Congress on April 5, 2006, nearly four months ago, yet Congress has not received the CEQ’s analysis as required by law. As we are confident that this is just an oversight of CEQ, we request that the analysis be provided to Congress by COB July 26th. We look forward to reviewing your analysis. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this request, please contact Sandra Schubert at 224.3542 or Pam Thiessen at 224.6244. Sincerely, United States Senator Harry Reid United States Senator John Ensign Cc: United States Senator Pete Domenici, Chairman, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senator Jeff Bingaman, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senator James Inhofe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senator James Jeffords, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Reno Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse & Federal Bldg 400 S. Virginia St, Site 902 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-686-5750 Fax: 775-686-5757 [ /] Las Vegas Lloyd D. George Building 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: 702-388-5020 Fax: 702-388-5030 [ /] Carson City 600 East William St, #302 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-882-REID (7343) Fax: 775-883-1980 [ /] Washington, DC 528 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7327 Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) [ /] [ /] [ /] [ /] ***************************************************************** 46 AU ABC: Garrett opposes change to uranium mining policy AM - Wednesday, 26 July , 2006 08:20:00 Reporter: Gillian Bradford TONY EASTLEY: The former Midnight Oil frontman and Labor MP, Peter Garrett, has weighed into the uranium debate, saying he'll be pressing the party's leader Kim Beazley not to change the ALP's current policy on uranium mining. Mr Garrett says Australia has gone as far down the nuclear path as it should, and until the ALP's next national conference he'll be trying to convince his colleagues that the current ban on new mines should remain. But Mr Garrett says he won't desert Labor if it does change its policy, even though some of his supporters might think he's selling out. Peter Garrett has been speaking to Gillian Bradford in Canberra PETER GARRETT: Well, I'm not convinced that expanding uranium mining is in the best interests of the country and the best interests of the environment, Indigenous people, the security framework which has got tatters in it at the moment. So I'll be arguing very strongly that we ought to consider that as not the road to take at the present point in time. GILLIAN BRADFORD: How far will you stick your neck out between now and the national conference next April? PETER GARRETT: I'm going to be like other members of the caucus and the party, taking the opportunity, as I think we ought to, to engage in reasonable debate. It's not a case of people sticking their neck out, it's a case of speaking out for the issues that are important to you and discussing policy in a rational manner. I mean, one of the interesting things about this debate is that people look from the outside and the media sometimes says oh, look, you know, there's a party split or there's some kind of schism. What nonsense. This is the democratic process of engagement on a policy issue. Everybody knew that this was coming, that we were going to have a debate. I'll conduct myself, with my colleagues, in as reasonable and good and positive a way that I think we should, and we'll continue to have that discussion as we go on. GILLIAN BRADFORD: Can you stay inside the Labor tent on this one of the policy is changed? PETER GARRETT: Well, of course I'm in the Labor tent for good, and I'll discuss and put very strongly my own views to colleagues, up to conference, like any other member would. But any suggestion that someone in my situation is going to pick up their bat and go home, simply because there's a possibility that a decision is made by the conference that he personally doesn't disagree with, that's not what I'm here for. I'm here to make a contribution to the party, to make a contribution to political debate in the country, and I intend to stick around and do that. GILLIAN BRADFORD: But your political persona, more than any other person in the Federal Parliament, is attached to the anti-nuclear campaign. Where does that leave you if that policy no longer exists in the Labor Party? PETER GARRETT: Well, let's have a debate. I mean, that's the whole point of what Kim has actually allowed for in his comments of last night. He's actually said I'm putting my personal view as leader, and I'm opening up a debate, and I expect there to be quite a bit of discussion from my colleagues, and not all my colleagues agree with me. And he's absolutely right about that. So I'm going to take up that invitation, like other members would, and we'll have a proper, good, constructive debate. That's what the stuff of democracy is about, and I'm going to be a part of it. GILLIAN BRADFORD: Do you seriously think, though, you have a chance of changing Kim Beazley's mind? PETER GARRETT: Well, what I do know is that I've got a chance to contribute fully in a debate within a political party that welcomes debate. And I think that's fantastic, and that's necessary, and that's good. GILLIAN BRADFORD: Do you think your supporters, though, will think you've sold out, if you accept a party change on this issue? PETER GARRETT: Well, look, I don't spend a lot of time second-guessing what people think about what I'm doing. My conviction about us being as far into nuclear as we ought to be is strong. My reservations about expanding the nuclear industry and all parts of it remain, and I will have a strong debate in the party, and I'm looking forward to it. TONY EASTLEY: Labor MP Peter Garrett speaking there with Gillian Bradford. ***************************************************************** 47 AU ABC: Catania backs plan for ALP uranium review. 26/07/2006. ABC News Online A Labor Member for Western Australia's Mining and Pastoral Region has supported Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley's decision to review the party's policy on uranium mining. Vince Catania says Mr Beazley's decision will give his colleagues and the community plenty of time to debate the issue before Labor's national conference next year. He says Mr Beazley's comments do not put him at loggerheads with Premier Alan Carpenter, who has consistently stated he does not support uranium mining in WA. Mr Catania says it is a responsible move by the federal leader. "When we hold such a major resource and that is 40 per cent of the world's known reserves in Australia ... the right thing to do is review that policy," he said. ***************************************************************** 48 AU ABC: Uranium shortage forces commodity price up. 26/07/2006. ABC News Online As Australia debates the merits of opening up new uranium mines, analysts say a global shortage of the commodity is pushing up prices. The spot price for uranium has jumped $US2 in the past week to $US47.25 per pound. ANZ Bank commodity analyst Andrew Harrington says half of the world's nuclear power is currently sourced from recycled nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War. He says Australia's massive reserves of uranium are in high demand for nuclear powered plants, because recycled uranium is running out. "Mostly it was to do with the renewed interest in uranium as a commodity, because the recycled uranium from nuclear weapons is starting to decline, so the primary source of uranium coming from mines needs to make up for that shortfall," he said. "Currently ... about half of the market comes from decommissioned weapons and since the Cold War ended that supply is quickly running out". ***************************************************************** 49 AU ABC: Conference hears uranium companies 'blinded by greed'. 26/07/2006. ABC News Online An anti-nuclear campaigner has told a uranium industry conference in Perth that a nuclear arms race is emerging in Asia and companies which want to export uranium need to realistically consider the consequences. James Courtney of the Anti-Nuclear Alliance says conference delegates are focussed on the economic benefits of uranium but have not stopped to consider their social responsibilities. Mr Courtney says the nuclear non-proliferation treaty does not work and there is no guarantee exports of Australian uranium would only be used for peaceful purposes. "I'm frightened that they've been blinded by greed, if they can't see that we've got a globally worsening security situation, that we're on the brink of an Asian nuclear arms race, and these fellows are all standing around slapping each other on the back saying how much money they're going to make by exporting uranium overseas," he said. He says exporting uranium to China will damage the prospect of long term security in the region. "The first thing that industry and government can do, can actually realistically and factually look at the problems that we have and start figuring out how we can address them. "Because in a situation like today's conference for instance, nobody is speaking about Chinese uranium exports, we're in a grave regional nuclear situation." ***************************************************************** 50 Australian: Local enrichment industry 'still 10 years off' Joseph Kerr July 27, 2006 THE company at the forefront of uranium enrichment technology in Australia believes it could be a decade before a local industry is up and running. Michael Goldsworthy, chief executive of Silex Systems - which has struck a multi-million-dollar deal to supply US giant General Electric with innovative enrichment technology - said there were no immediate prospects for enrichment here. But "in the longer term, there is nothing, in principle, stopping Australia developing a nuclear industry, including an enrichment industry, providing there is the political will and economic justification", Dr Goldsworthy said. Australia would have to first develop appropriate regulatory and industrial infrastructure, "which would take some years". Apart from the costs involved in those regulatory structures, he did not think Government financial support would be needed. Once that was done, "an enrichment plant could be set up probably within 10 years", Dr Goldsworthy said. While raising the prospect of a more open attitude to uranium mining, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley does not support an Australian enrichment industry. But John Howard signalled this month he did, arguing it seemed strange not to process the material in Australia. The general manager of the Uranium Information Centre, Ian Hore-Lacy, said developing an Australian enrichment industry would require government to support the idea and investors to think they could make a good return over the longer term. He said any decision would be affected by the nuclear superpowers, in light of US President George W. Bush's global nuclear energy partnership scheme, which aims to stop the spread of nuclear technology by requiring nuclear powers to carry out front-end enrichment for client countries. ***************************************************************** 51 Australian: ALP woos union to back uranium mining Cath Hart July 27, 2006 LABOR resources spokesman Martin Ferguson courted the powerful Australian Workers Union to support overturning the party's restriction on uranium mining with the suggestion it could get dominant coverage for an expanding industry. A briefing note created in March by Mr Ferguson to like-minded advocates for change outlines opportunities for Labor and the unions if the ban on new mines is lifted. It also hints that nuclear waste that started as ore from local mines might be stored in Australia or become the nation's responsibility under a "cradle to grave" plan. The document, obtained by The Australian, says changing Labor policy would also "allow unions like the AWU to pursue coverage and ensure mines are world class". The AWU is the dominant union in Queensland but competes with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union for coverage at mineral and coal mines. Queensland state law bans uranium mining and Premier Peter Beattie remains equivocal about whether he will allow any uranium mines should Labor end its 30-year restriction on uranium mining at next year's national conference. Kim Beazley announced on Monday that he would push for the scrapping of the "no new mines" policy at the April conference. The document also nominates sites where mines could be developed in Queensland and Western Australia, despite opposition to increased uranium mining from Mr Beattie and fellow premier Alan Carpenter. Mr Ferguson last night confirmed his office had prepared the document specifically for Queensland but refused to say whether other states had received similar, tailor-made briefings. "I can recall some time ago there was discussion about putting down some ideas about this debate," he said. The cradle-to-grave concept is used by the nuclear industry to describe stewardship of uranium from mining of ore to storage of waste at the end of the nuclear cycle. Anti-nuclear advocates last night warned that any moves to adopt a cradle-to-grave policy could lead to Australia becoming a "high-level radioactive waste dump". "A change in policy could ... allow state and territory governments to consider, subject to strict safety and environmental criteria, the development of mines like Summit Resources' Valhalla deposit near Mt Isa in Queensland and Rio Tinto's Kintyre deposit or Redport's Lake Maitland deposit in Western Australia," it says. In addition to the suggestion that Australia should be "stewarding uranium from cradle to grave", the document says changing Labor policy would also "allow unions like the AWU to pursue coverage and ensure mines are world class". The document does say there are presently no plans to change Labor opposition to nuclear power in Australia and to the "importation of nuclear waste from overseas". Mr Ferguson was insistent that the cradle-to-grave concept was not about "importation of nuclear waste from overseas". "I can tell you in no uncertain terms that cradle to grave is what the industry wants, it's what the Labor Party wants, it's what the community wants to guarantee whatever yellowcake is produced in Australia can be tracked and its peaceful use absolutely guaranteed," Mr Ferguson said. Opponents of the change to Labor policy are concerned about storing uranium waste products in Australia. Under the US Global Nuclear Energy Partnership cradle-to-grave arrangements, used fuel would be returned to the nation that sold it. Terms © The Australian ***************************************************************** 52 Minot Daily News: Trial date set for nuclear protesters BISMARCK – A trial has been set for Sept. 13-15 in U.S. District Court in Bismarck for three nuclear protesters who allegedly unlawfully entered a missile site in McLean County last month. Greg Boertje-Obed, 51, and Michael Walli, 57, both of Duluth, Minn., and Carl Kabat, 72, St. Louis, each face a charge of destruction of government property. The charge, a Class C felony, carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and or a $250,000 fine. The men were arraigned in federal court in Bismarck before Magistrate Charles Miller last week. They entered pleas of not guilty, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Hochhalter. There was also a charge of destruction of national defense property in the complaint but it was not in the indictment, Hochhalter said. Chief Judge Daniel Hovland will preside over the trial. Boertje-Obed, Walli and Kabat were arrested June 21 at a Minuteman III missile launch facility in the White Shield area. Minot Air Force Base officials said the men cut a lock to enter the facility, hammered on exterior components, spray-painted graffiti and hung signs. The three are being held in the Burleigh County Jail in Bismarck. – Eloise Ogden ***************************************************************** 53 DOE: Secretary Bodman Joins Congress to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 July 26, 2006 Secretary Bodman Joins Congress to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 WASHINGTON, DC  U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today joined Chairman Pete Domenici and Chairman Joe Barton on Capitol Hill to celebrate the upcoming first anniversary of the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), the first comprehensive energy legislation signed into law in more than a decade. Thanks to the Energy Policy Act we are seeing greater energy efficiency and diversity, a healthier environment, a stronger energy infrastructure, and enhanced energy security, Secretary Bodman said. President Bush has long recognized the importance of energy policies that plan for our future and in the years to come, this Energy Bill will continue to transform the ways we use and produce energy as more people and businesses are able to take advantage of it. Since EPAct was signed into law more than a year ago, 27 new ethanol plants have broken ground and more than 400 E-85 pumps have been installed that offer home-grown fuel to Americans across the country. There are 25 new nuclear reactors under consideration, and five new or expanded liquefied natural gas terminals have been approved for construction. There has also been an increase in the use of both wind and solar energy, and 15 appliance efficiency standards have been implemented. DOE is also in the process of finalizing three additional important requirements of EPAct. The Energy Department will issue guidelines for loan guarantees that will facilitate private efforts, bringing the most promising clean energy technologies to market. And the Department will outline a new risk insurance program to guard against bureaucratic hurdles in getting new nuclear power plants up and running. DOE will also release a report identifying the most critical areas of electricity transmission congestion. EPAct was passed by Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President Bush on August 8, 2005. Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General ***************************************************************** 54 DOE: DOEs Idaho National Lab Issues Request for Proposals for Engineering and Design on NGNP July 26, 2006 Services Will Guide R&D on Next Generation Reactor WASHINGTON, DC. - In an important step forward for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project, the U.S. Department of Energys Idaho National Laboratory today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for engineering services in support of development of NGNP. This RFP is for pre-conceptual engineering and design services to assist in focusing the technical scope and principles of research and development on the next generation reactor, and to provide a basis for subsequent development of the technical and functional specifications for the prototype facilities. Having industry involvement in NGNP is critical to success of the program because industry will be the ultimate customer for the next generation of reactors, DOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon said. Their involvement will help establish the appropriate agenda for reactor research and development within our national laboratories. The NGNP concept is a gas-cooled nuclear system with the capability to produce very high temperature process heat, electricity, and hydrogen. This very high temperature nuclear system is supported by research and development activities within the DOEs Generation IV nuclear energy systems initiative. The RFP has been provided to selected candidate companies and/or groups of companies that have been determined to have the potential to provide the necessary technical and management capabilities for this important work. Candidates receiving RFP invitations were identified from Expressions of Interest submitted in mid-July. The candidate companies receiving the RFP are AREVA NP, Bechtel, Burns and Roe Enterprises, General Atomics, MPR Associates and Westinghouse Electric Company. Written proposals are due by August 21, 2006, and the requested pre-conceptual design work is anticipated to be completed by May 2007. For more information on DOEs nuclear programs, visit: . For more information on the INL, visit: . The Idaho National Laboratory is managed by Battelle Energy Alliance. Media contact(s): John Walsh, (208) 526-8646 Cell: (208) 520-6253 U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General ***************************************************************** 55 DOE: DOE Distributes Energy-Saving Tools to Help Manufacturers Save Energy July 26, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has distributed Save Energy Now CD-ROMs containing energy-saving information and software to 3,500 large industrial plant managers across the nation as part of a DOE initiative to help cut excessive energy use at industrial facilities across the nation. The CDs bring together  in a single product  a compendium of tip sheets, case studies, technical manuals and software tools to help plants assess energy-saving opportunities. President Bush has called on all Americans to be more energy efficient, and private industry, along with the federal government, are taking aggressive measures to reduce excessive energy consumption, DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner said. These Energy Department CD-Roms, packed with energy-saving information, offer valuable information and energy-saving tools to enable plant managers to reduce their energy costs, and alleviate price pressure nationally. DOE is also helping manufacturers by performing no-cost energy assessments of 200 large industrial facilities energy systems. As an example of completed assessments initial savings, eight plants have reported a total of $1 million in immediate savings in the first 30 days of implementing DOE recommendations. The first 61 energy-saving assessments of industrial facilities have identified, in aggregate, nearly $200 million per year in potential energy cost savings and could reduce natural gas consumption by over 22 trillion Btu per year, equivalent to the natural gas consumed by more than 300,000 homes annually. Approximately 3,500 plants were contacted based on publicly available data that DOE used to identify the most energy-intensive plants in the United States. This fall, DOE will be offering another round of Energy Saving Assessments for industrial facilities. Energy Saving Teams will again visit selected large industrial facilities to assess their steam or process heating systems. For more information on the Save Energy Now CD ROM, and to order one, visit: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow/cd_rom.html. For news on the upcoming round of assessments, application forms, results of ongoing work, and other resources for saving energy, visit: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow/, or contact the EERE information Center at (877) 337-3463. Media contact(s): Chris Kielich, (202) 586-5806 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General ***************************************************************** 56 DOE: Energy Department Early Career Scientists and Engineers Honored July 26, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC  At a White House ceremony today, seven early career researchers, funded by the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Office of Science and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), were honored for their work ranging from the study of elements produced by exploding stars, to the validation of computer simulations in support of the nations nuclear stockpile stewardship program. DOEs scientists are among 56 researchers supported by nine federal departments and agencies who received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The Presidential award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers. Each Presidential award winner received a citation, a plaque and a commitment for continued funding of their work from their agency for five years. Dr. John Marburger, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, presented the awards. All of us here at the Energy Department are very pleased that these individuals are being recognized by the President for the intellectual rigor, relevance and high technical standards of their work, Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. We are proud to honor these seven awardees as a means of encouraging promising young scientists and engineers to pursue work in areas of importance to the Department of Energys energy research and national security missions. After the White House awards ceremony, the seven researchers described their work at a ceremony at DOE headquarters hosted by DOE Under Secretary for Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach and NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Thomas P. D'Agostino. At the DOE event, four of the scientists from its national laboratories were also presented DOE's Office of Science Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award. The winners are: Daniel W. Bardayan (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) For innovative precision nuclear spectroscopy measurements clarifying the production of elements and radioisotopes in exploding stars, and for mentoring undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral associates as well as organizing a summer school for graduate students to explore exotic beam physics. Todd Munson (Argonne National Laboratory) For pioneering developments in algorithms, software, and problem-solving environments for the solution of large-scale optimization problems, and for mentoring students in the summer student program and conducting tutorials to graduate students on numerical optimization. Wynne K. Schiffer (Brookhaven National Laboratory) For pioneering work in integrating neurobiology, chemistry, physics, and instrumentation in order to translate multi-disciplinary discoveries and new knowledge into advances in human health, and for providing educational outreach on brain imaging and drug abuse to educators and the public. Yanwen Zhang (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) For internationally recognized, seminal contributions to the fields of ion-beam physics and ion-solid interactions in materials, including the development of a novel approach for measuring electronic stopping, and for mentoring high school, undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students and providing Chinese translation of scientific information. At the same time, three university researchers received the Office of Defense Programs Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award. NNSAs national security laboratories nominated the recipients in recognition of their work in support of the administration's national security mission. The winners are: Christopher J. Roy (Auburn University) For the development of verification and validation methodologies critical to improving accuracy and building confidence in computational science and engineering simulations, for the development of unsteady hybrid turbulence models for fluid dynamics simulations, and for providing high quality educational opportunities for the next generation of American scientists and engineers. Wendelin Wright (Stanford University) For research into the deformation and failure of metals and polymers under dynamic loading using high-speed and spatially-resolved infrared measurements of temperature, for guidance and leadership of fellow researchers, and for her exceptional ability to communicate difficult technical concepts to colleagues and students. Michael A. Zingale (Stony Brook University) For advancing the detailed simulation of turbulent combustion and demonstrating parallel, multi-physics methods used in national security-related applications, for pioneering collaborations with fellow researchers, and for training students in computational astrophysics. Biographical information on the winners and their award citations are available on the Web site. Media contact(s): Jeff Sherwood, (202) 586-5806 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General ***************************************************************** 57 SF New Mexican: Los Alamos lab director seeks budget cuts to pay for new costs By ASSOCIATED PRESS July 26, 2006 LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio has asked lab employees to estimate how much the lab needs to save to make up for costs under the lab's new operating contract. Anastasio _ who is also chief executive officer of the lab's new manager, Los Alamos National Security, LLC _ said he's looking for a couple hundred million dollars more in savings over the next fiscal year and 10 percent reductions in "indirect budget targets." "All of us need to examine how we do work and apply LANL's trademark creativity to finding smarter ways to further science and accomplish our mission in a safe and secure manner," Anastasio said. The LANS consortium, which includes the University of California, Bechtel Corp. and two other companies, took over the lab's management contract June 1. The budget cuts are based on two assumptions, that there will be no reduction in staff and no increase in overhead, Anastasio said. The lab director had said earlier this month that state gross receipts taxes would cost the lab an extra $50 million. UC, the lab's previous manager, had not been required to pay the taxes because it was a nonprofit entity. Anastasio also mentioned compensation to additional upper-level managers, pay increases to new and continuing executives and funding employee benefit programs as adding to the new costs to LANS. The Department of Energy has not had to budget for pensions in recent years, because UC, the previous manager of the lab, offered a pension that was self-funding for a number of years. Comments By Matt Anderson (Submitted: 07/26/2006 5:16 pm) ( Report this comment ) Anastasio also mentioned compensation to additional upper-level managers. He must be referring to the $850k/ year all twenty of them get, oh, and the $1.35 million he gets/year. Search engine optimization and website marketing provided by Trafficdeveloper ©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. Opinions ***************************************************************** 58 Hanford News: DOE files notice of appeal in Idaho nuclear waste ruling This story was published Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Writer BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The U.S. Department of Energy has filed a notice of appeal of a federal court ruling that ordered it to abide by a 1995 agreement to remove all high-level radioactive waste stored at the Idaho National Laboratory. The Justice Department filed the notice on behalf of the Energy Department in U.S. District Court on Monday, the last day allowed under court deadlines. Officials would not say whether an actual appeal would be filed, though it appeared likely. In May, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge rejected DOE's argument that the agreement signed with then-Gov. Phil Batt only covered waste such as rags, tools, gloves and dirt contaminated with radioactive material that had been stored in barrels on asphalt pads at the southeastern Idaho compound since 1970. The federal government had claimed it was not required to dig up and remove other rotting containers of waste that was indiscriminately dumped into open pits and buried before 1970. DOE officials have said that not moving that waste is safer than trying to dig it up for removal. State officials don't want the waste left in place, however, because some studies have shown that buried radioactive material is seeping toward the underground aquifer that feeds the Snake River, which runs almost the entire length and width of Idaho. In his ruling, Lodge found that the words "all transuranic waste" in the 1995 agreement meant the removal of all nuclear waste, not just some of it. In court documents, Barclay Samford with the Justice Department wrote only a general statement on what would be raised if an appeal were filed: Whether the district court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous, and whether the court erred in interpreting the settlement. "The state is disappointed that the Department of Energy has elected to appeal the decision," said Darrell Early with the Idaho attorney general's office. "We will await the next steps and vigorously defend the judgment we obtained at trial." While the case continues, the DOE will work on cleaning up the INL waste and on "the continued shipment of transuranic wastes out of the state under the 1995 agreement," spokeswoman Megan Barnett said in a statement. "We intend to continue to work in partnership with the state of Idaho to ensure the safe cleanup of our Idaho site." © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. y ***************************************************************** 59 Hanford News: Study links Hanford, disease This story was published Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Men who grew up near the Hanford nuclear reservation in the '40s and '50s have a small increased risk to develop one type of thyroid disease, according to a new government study. Women in the study did not show a similar risk, according to the findings of the Hanford Birth Cohort study by the Centers for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The results of the study may provide the strongest potential link to date between radioactive emissions from Hanford and disease in those who lived downwind of the plant. About 2,000 people are suing the federal government in a 15-year-old case, claiming that radioactive releases from Hanford damaged their health. An earlier and larger study, the Hanford Thyroid Disease Study, failed to find increased thyroid disease in those who lived downwind of Hanford. When plutonium was produced for the nation's nuclear weapons program at Hanford, radioactive iodine was released from processing plant stacks to drift with the wind. As it fell to the ground around Hanford and downwind to the northeast, people consumed it in contaminated produce and in milk from cows that grazed on contaminated grass. Radioactive iodine concentrates in the thyroid, and children are believed to be particularly susceptible to developing disease, sometimes decades later, as a result. "We found a statistically significant increase in thyroid disease in men next to Hanford," said Greg Thomas, of ATSDR's Seattle office. The increase was in underactive thyroids, or Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a condition in which the thyroid produces too little thyroid hormone. However, the study did not link the increase to iodine 131, Thomas said. Although study participants reported some health problems more often than the general population, other factors such as diet, lifestyle and work history make it difficult to determine if exposure to radiation caused the findings, according to a statement from ATSDR. Thomas also pointed out it was a relatively small study of a small number of people. People who are concerned about the study's findings should discuss them with their doctor, he said. Thyroid disease can be detected early and treated for the best outcomes, he said. The study collected health information from people who were born in Washington between 1945 and 1951 and lived in Adams, Benton or Franklin counties for at least one year. Those years are believed to have had the largest radioactive iodine releases from Hanford. The information was compared with that of people who were born and lived in Mason, San Juan or Whatcom counties - far from Hanford - at the same time. The study included 1,160 people from all six counties. They were among 4,190 people randomly selected from birth records who proved eligible and could be interviewed. They included 291 men living near Hanford. ATSDR found that 10 of the men who lived near Hanford had underactive thyroids, compared with 4 of 385 men in the counties far from Hanford. Among women, they found 10 cases of underactive thyroids among 185 women who lived near Hanford, compared with 23 cases among 275 women who lived in the other counties. Underactive thyroids are much more common in women than men nationwide. The study was conducted to address concerns among those who grew up downwind of Hanford that radiation releases may have caused autoimmune or heart disease. Because of the earlier Hanford Thyroid Disease Study, it was not looking specifically for a link to thyroid disease. But the only autoimmune disease that showed up at a statistically significant level was hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, in men. There was no increase in heart disease or other autoimmune disease among those living close to Hanford. Among health conditions the study checked for were chronic fatigue syndrome, heart attacks, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and stroke. The finding of an increase among men of underactive thyroids is consistent with the scientific evidence presented during the initial downwinder trials that radiation doses of any amount can cause harm to cells and lead to thyroid disease, said Roy Haber, of Eugene, an attorney who represents some of the plaintiffs in the downwinder lawsuit. Plaintiff attorneys in the case have argued the $22 million Hanford Thyroid Disease Study completed earlier was flawed. It estimated a dose of radiation for people who lived downwind of Hanford and then considered whether they developed thyroid disease. In the first of the claims to be heard in the case, a jury awarded $550,000 combined to two people who lived downwind of Hanford as children and developed thyroid cancer. Juries rejected a third thyroid cancer claim and also failed to award any money for three people who believed their underactive thyroids were caused by living downwind of Hanford. "There have been a number of Hanford health impact studies over the years finding no adverse links from Hanford to health effects," said Karen Lutz, a spokesman for the Department of Energy in Richland. DOE will be interested in learning more about how the new study was conducted, she said. A town meeting is planned Wednesday to discuss the study. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 Boise Weekly: Active Today, or Radioactive Tomorrow JULY 26, 2006 A day at the Idaho National Laboratory BY TONY EVANS Jeremy Maxand of the Snake River Alliance Tony Evans ALSO IN NEWS Battle Over Ustick Heats Up Juvenile Patients "Riot" at Intermountain Hospital Rogue Wave More (220)... ALSO IN NEWS THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE • I'M LOSING IT • MY SPELL WORKED! • THE MAGIC VAGINA • YOU HAVE ONE "GET OUT OF WAL-MART FREE" CARD • HANDS OFF, CREEP CIEDRA: On to the Senate Henry Krewer More (802)... On a blazing summer day in Idaho one might think solar power is an energy solution just looking for a problem.But the trouble with solar is that it's worthless when it comes to making nuclear weapons. After the first usable electricity was generated by nuclear power in Idaho in 1951, Idaho National Laboratory (formerly INEEL) designed and tested more than 50 state-of-the-art nuclear reactors, lending expertise to every nuclear reactor ever designed. The lab also played a major role in the nuclear weapons program during the Cold War, enhancing the destructive capacity of warheads from kilotons to megatons and helping to put "assured" in the official policy of "mutually assured destruction." Unfortunately, the INL also became a burial ground for all things radioactive. The list of buried items includes 750,000 barrels, boxes and crates of nuclear waste, mostly from the nuclear trigger production facility at Rocky Flats near Denver, Colorado. But what was once cloaked in Cold War secrecy is now on open display at the INL. Last week's Snake River Alliance Tour of INL began at 9 a.m. at the Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-1) site, which is a National Historic Landmark and museum, housing 1950's-era nuclear reactor parts, as well as a prototype of an atomic jet engine that would have carried an aircraft 30,000 miles without landing. The project was canned during the Kennedy administration due to high levels of radioactivity. A prototype once exploded during tests and contaminated 1,500 acres of Idaho desert. At EBR-1, tour attendees were each given identification badges and a wallet-sized device was attached to attendee Paul Bernstein, to measure radiation safety levels along the way. Alan Jines, spokesman for the Department of Energy, and Radioactive Waste Management Complex Manager Steve Lopez joined the group for a drive-by of the Subsurface Disposal Area, an 88-acre field of trenches, pits and disposal facilities constructed by various U.S. and British contractors over the years to handle the nuclear waste clean-up, including Lockheed Martin. Jines pointed from a hill at the overall complex where he investigated disposal leaks for 12 years while working at DOE. "We've gotten a lot better at what we are doing out here," he said. Within the waste management complex, Rick Vonfeldt manages the Accelerated Retrieval Project. What was unceremoniously dumped from trailers into unlined pits in the 1950's and 1960's is now being exhumed and picked over by remote-controlled heavy equipment under air-locked warehouses monitored by closed-circuit TV cameras. Contaminated vapors beneath the pits are sucked out around the clock. But it was too late to control a flow, one kilometer in diameter, of nuclear and organic waste, which has been seeping toward the Snake River Aquifer for decades. Much of the waste at INL will be radioactive for several thousand years. According to Jines, some of it is already showing up in the aquifer. "Isn't this a bit of a publicity problem for you, that you still bury in un-lined pits?" asked Snake River Alliance director Jeremy Maxand. According to INL's Risk Assessment Manager, Brandt Meagher, the practice is safe, since the new burials do not include the organic volatile compounds, machine oils and other solvents from nuclear weapons facilities, which enable the transport of radioactive materials into the underlying aquifer. Maxand and Vanessa Crossgrove Fry of the Alliance insisted that the surrounding ground was already soaked with enough organic compounds to eventually mix with the waste and pose a continuing threat. Meagher assured the group that despite this possibility, the continued dumping of radioactive waste into unlined pits and trenches was quite safe. The alliance's cleanup goals got a boost in May, when District Court Judge Edward Lodge issued a court order against the Department of Energy requiring the removal of "all buried transuranic waste," rather than the stuff stored conveniently above ground. Despite recent plutonium fires, trucking accidents and years of bad PR about the INL, clean-up managers were eager to share their latest techniques for removal 36,000 cubic meters of highly radioactive waste. The material will head to New Mexico's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; the project is scheduled for completion in 2012. While workers remove debris from various unlined pits, a fortified crater 200 meters wide and about 80 feet deep, designed to be secure for a thousand years, is also being filled with plastic-wrapped tanks and concrete cannisters of nuclear waste from around the facility. According to Maxand, "There is a lot more stuff out there that doesn't fit the 'transuranic' category, that we still need to get out of the ground." Some of the material includes the core fragments from the Three Mile Island melt-down, contaminated soils and debris, millions of gallons of liquid waste, nuclear reactor parts and entire buildings scattered around the INL's site, which covers 850 square miles. A few miles distant, we visited another site known as The Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility (IDCF), a crater near the Idaho Nuclear Reactor Testing and Engineering Center where contaminated soils and other items are being treated in evaporation ponds and various radioactive debris are being packaged in concrete, tractor trailers and tanks, wrapped in plastic and stored underground; the wstew ill be safe for a thousand years, according to Jack Simonds, the IDCF project manager. The IDCF is adjacent to the location of injection wells which were used to send 13 million gallons of liquid waste into the ground during the "dilution is the solution" policy days at INL, which continued until 1982, a policy the officials at INL are living to regret. One of INL's recent high-profile projects was the assembly of Plutonium 238-powered "space batteries" for NASA's New Horizon's Space probe, which was launched this year and is proceding toward Pluto, 2.8 billion miles from the sun. Most of NASA's space probes rely on solar collectors for fuel, but dim little Pluto is beyond the strength of solar radiation. So, the probe has been equipped with little thermo-coupled bundles of Plutonium 238, enough to power two light bulbs, one space probe, or radiate parts of the earth's atmosphere in the event of an explosion during take-off. Come to think of it, I never saw any readouts from Bernstein's radiation detector before leaving. We just have to trust that they know what they are doing. Copyright 2006, Boise Weekly - Not Your Everyday Newspaper ***************************************************************** 61 Knox News: Munger: Award recalls Auxier's work under the mushroom cloud By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com July 26, 2006 As I recall, John Auxier didn't much like it when I called him a nuclear daredevil. That was back in 1990. I wrote a column that detailed some of his research exploits during the Cold War. Here's an excerpt: "Auxier is a nuclear daredevil, the likes of which we probably won't see again. "Of course, he'll try to convince you that he's a cautious sort and has a healthy respect for radioactivity. He will swear that he's a sane and rational scientist, a health physicist dedicated to improving our means of radiation protection. "But don't let him turn your head. Back in the 1950s and '60s, Auxier used to chase research results under the mushroom clouds left by atomic bombs bursting on the Nevada desert. For many people, racing through a nuclear dust storm on the way to ground zero would be the ultimate nightmare. To Auxier it was an adventure." Indeed, Auxier was a daredevil. The research he and his colleagues did at the Nevada Test Site required them to retrieve radiation detectors from sites near the bomb blast as soon as the shock waves had passed. That meant driving vehicles on makeshift desert roads with the risk of getting sand-stuck in the high-radiation environment. The reward was in the science that helped researchers better estimate the radiation doses received by Japanese victims of the A-bombs dropped during World War II. The work contributed to the overall understanding of radiation dosimetry. Auxier recently received the 2006 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the Health Physics Society, recognizing his bomb work and other accomplishments in radiation protection. It was an extraordinary honor in an extraordinary career, which included 28 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other roles before and since as a scientist, consultant and teacher. Congratulations, Dr. Auxier. Here are some short items of recent interest: The Department of Energy inspector general conducted a special inquiry into a computer-hacking incident that compromised the Social Security numbers and other information about 1,500 nuclear workers, including about 100 at the Y-12 warhead facility in Oak Ridge. Linton Brooks, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has admitted he blew it by not reporting the matter to his superiors - such as Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman - or doing anything to alert the affected workers. An unclassified version of the IG report termed the Department of Energy's handling of the matter as "largely dysfunctional." A report circulated that a compact disc containing potentially sensitive files from Duratek (a nuclear firm recently absorbed into EnergySolutions) had surfaced at the ORNL Federal Credit Union. Credit union officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment or info, but Greg Hopkins, the EnergySolutions VP for communications, tracked it down and said there was "no issue on our end." The CD contained no files of interest, only the software package for setting up a PC, he said. An incident at the M waste-processing facility in Oak Ridge resulted in one of the firm's workers being sent to the hospital for evaluation. Larry McNamara, the chief operating officer for Perma-Fix, the parent company, said a discharge - "it wasn't a fire, it wasn't an explosion" - from a processing unit pushed the worker up against a rod or something. The night-shift worker was not hurt seriously and returned to the hazardous-waste facility at about midnight, McNamara said. As if the Y-12 nuke plant wasn't enough of a fortress, workers are installing more barriers - presumably to deter terrorists. Concrete barriers are being lined up inside the fence along Bear Creek Road, and new stop-gate security barriers, similar to those at railroad crossings, have been installed on the plant's main entrance road. Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com. 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************