***************************************************************** 08/13/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.191 ***************************************************************** 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 IRNA: Language of threat ineffective regarding Iran's N-case - envoy 2 RIA Novosti: Iran says loses confidence in Europe to settle nuclear 3 Xinhua: Iranian MP slams West's "unstable approach" towards nuclear 4 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Iran, Iraq discuss energy coop 5 AFP: Iran seeking to use Iraq for leverage on nuclear program - US e 6 AFP: Iran insists on nuclear right, threatens to quit IAEA 7 AFP: Yemen supports Iran's right to peaceful nuclear programme - 8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran likely to defy UN on nuclear package 9 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Threat to security 10 AFP: US, SKorea to resume trade talks after drugs breakthrough 11 IPS: SOUTH KOREA: 'Yankee Don't Go Home, Yet' 12 Times of India: 'PM should not accept any change in N-deal' NUCLEAR REACTORS 13 US: Fredericksburg.com: Gearing up for a nuclear reaction Hearings 14 India Defence: China to build six nuclear reactors in Pakistan 15 US: Wilmington, NC Star-News: Nuclear plant shuts down reactor 16 SahilOnline English Daily: Security tightened at Kaiga power plant 17 STUFF: NZ considered nuclear plant 18 The Times of India: Nukes R not us NUCLEAR SECURITY 19 Sunday Herald: Revealed: nuclear security rules broken 39 times in p NUCLEAR SAFETY 20 US: [NYTr] Boston Globe Finally Covers Dangers of Depleted Uranium 21 BBC NEWS: Workers tested for contamination 22 BBC NEWS: Dounreay particle found on beach 23 Green Left Weekly: TAHITI: Nuclear cover-up stokes tension with Fran 24 US: SignOnSanDiego.com: Are depleted uranium weapons, America's NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 25 US: Green Left Weekly: PM's nuclear dreaming: enriching Australia? 26 US: WTGN: Romney unveils plan to reduce energy demands 27 US: Concord Monitor: A nuclear dump is not really a dump at all 28 Spectrum: Nuclear option is no option 29 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Energy chairman defends temporary N-storage s 30 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI will never suspend enrichment 31 US: Columbus Telegram: NPPD funds nuclear fuel storage 32 US: Odessa American Online: Enrichment plant discussed at meeting 33 US: PE.com: Water-quality board under fire 34 US: Scripps News: Deadly nuke rods piling up in California | 35 US: Bradenton Herald: FOCUS: Data of plume delayed 36 US: Deseret News: Lobbying tally climbs in nuclear waste debate 37 US: Deseret news: Nuclear-waste decisions put on hold PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 38 KnoxNews: ORNL specialists help move Poland uranium to Russia 39 Carlsbad Current-Argus: DOE requests proposals for facilities ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 IRNA: Language of threat ineffective regarding Iran's N-case - envoy - Kuala Lumpur, Aug 12, IRNA Iran-Thailand-Nuclear Iranian Ambassador to Thailand Mohsen Pak-Ayeen said in Bangkok on Friday that use of threatening language would not be effective in achieving desired goals in Iran's nuclear case. "Tehran is determined to study in detail Europe's package of incentives," Pak-Ayeen said during a meeting with members of the Iran-Thailand Trade Council. He said Iran welcomes continuation of talks on the nuclear issue, and added that only "negotiations based on mutual respect and taking into account the rights of both parties" will solve the problem. He further said that recognizing a country's inalienable right to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes will enhance the reputation and standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and international community. He said Iran is determined "to continue its cooperation with the IAEA and take added measures to build confidence." Referring to the victory of Hamas in Palestine and the increasing political role of the Lebanese Hezbollah, the envoy said that the Zionist regime's attacks on Lebanon are intended "to cover up its failures in domestic policy and increasing international isolation." He assessed as "illogical" the Zionist plan backed by the US to disarm Hezbollah, saying the "Lebanese people and government are counting on the presence of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to safeguard their country's territorial integrity." The ambassador expressed his regret over the long period of time it took the international community to act on Israel's devastating war on Lebanon and stressed the importance of an immediate ceasefire. "The military attacks on the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples should end at the earliest and an unconditional ceasefire should immediately take effect." Go Top [Go Top] ***************************************************************** 2 RIA Novosti: Iran says loses confidence in Europe to settle nuclear issue 13/ 08/ 2006 TEHRAN, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Iran said Sunday it had lost confidence in Europe's intentions to settle its nuclear problem peacefully. The five permanent UN Security Council members, including Russia and China, voted July 31 in favor of a resolution to set August 31 as a deadline for Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment activities. If Iran fails to fulfill the UN's demands, economic and diplomatic sanctions may be imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the Islamic Republic was surprised by the Europeans' behavior (the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution on Iran) and now did not believe in Europeans' good intentions to solve its nuclear issue by way of negotiations. Iran's nuclear program has been a source of major controversy since the beginning of the year, as many countries suspect the Islamic Republic of pursuing a covert weapons program under the pretext of civilian research, despite its claims to the contrary. Asefi also said the Iran nuclear problem must be solved by diplomatic efforts and warned the West against threats and tough actions in relation to the Islamic Republic. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 3 Xinhua: Iranian MP slams West's "unstable approach" towards nuclear case www.chinaview.cn 2006-08-12 19:59:57 Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian member of the parliament warned Saturday that the West may demand more concession from Iran even if the Islamic Republic agrees to suspend its uranium enrichment, local Fars News Agency reported. "In case Iran accepts to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities, our country would be deprived of its other international rights too," Reza Talayee Nik was quoted as saying. "Considering the West's unstable approach towards Iran's nuclear case, there is no guarantee that the Western states would stop seeking excuses after Iran suspends its uranium enrichment activities," he said. Nik, who is also a member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that while Iran was ready to attend nuclear talks with the West, Tehran may not accept to suspend its enrichment activities. Accepting suspension as a prerequisite to talks with the West would be a big error for Iran and such a move could end in the "demolition of its nuclear technology," Nik said. The Iranian parliamentarian also warned that the United States was targeting Iran as it was seeking to dominate the region and the world. "In fact, Washington intends to deprive Iran of its right of independence. This actually constitutes a part of the U.S. hegemonic policies," he said. The U.N. Security Council on July 31 adopted a resolution urging Tehran to "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development" by Aug. 31 or face the prospect of sanctions. Due to insistence of council members such as Russia and China, the resolution dropped the threat of immediate sanctions and required the council to hold further discussions before sanctions are considered. Iranian officials have recently expressed indignation over the U.N. demand, warning the United Nations against taking acrimonious measures to force Iran to comply or Iran would quit the NPT and stop cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IDEA). The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by Tehran which says that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Enditem Editor: Pan Letian ***************************************************************** 4 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Iran, Iraq discuss energy coop 2006/08/12 Iraqi Oil Minister, Hossein al-Shahrestani discussed with his Iranian counterpart Kazem Vaziri Hamana Saturday the two countries' cooperation in energy sector. The two sides discussed how to supply Iraq's needed kerosene and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), agreeing form to an expert committee to review execution of the project and brief the two countries' oil ministers. Pointing to the two countries' historical and religious relations, Iranian Oil Ministerexpressed hope that the Iraqi government would establish stability and prepare grounds for the development and reconstruction of the country. For his part, Iraqi oil minister stressed exchange of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) of the Iraqi city of Basra with kerosene and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and called for carrying of oil products via border terminals. Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. ***************************************************************** 5 AFP: Iran seeking to use Iraq for leverage on nuclear program - US envoy - [Zalmay Khalilzad] WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States expressed concern that Iran is influencing unrest in Iraq to gain leverage in the mounting international dispute over its nuclear program. "I believe that Iran is seeking to increase its ability to impact us here, and that the nuclear issue might be the issue that will trigger increased Iranian pressure against the coalition and against those who are working with the coalition to build this new Iraq," US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told CNN television's "Late Edition" program. "The concern that we have is not only with regard to the activities so far, but also that as the situation with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue gets focused on, that they might escalate the pressure against the Iraqi government and against the coalition," the US envoy said. He renewed US charges that Iran is playing a key role in ratcheting up sectarian violence in Iraq. "We are concerned Iran is playing a role in the sectarian violence that is taking place here," Khalilzad told CNN. "It is providing arms, training and money and other support to groups involved in sectarian violence, including militias that have death squads associated with them," the US diplomat said. The UN Security Council passed a resolution on July 31 which gave Iran until August 31 to comply with demands to freeze its uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities that have raised western suspicions that it is seeking an atomic bomb. If it fails to comply, the United States says it will press the UN Security Council to pass a resolution ordering sanctions against Iran. Iran has denied that it wants nuclear weapons. + (AFX UK Focus) 2006-08-13 18:16 GMT: Iran, Iraq sign oil ***************************************************************** 6 AFP: Iran insists on nuclear right, threatens to quit IAEA Sun Aug 13, 4:28 AM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran " /> repeated its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities as called for in a UN resolution, threatening instead to withdraw from the International Atomic Energy Agency " /> . "Iran doesn't accept suspending its uranium enrichment," the official IRNA agency quoted parliamentary speaker Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel as telling parliament. "If the result of our being part of international organisations and the IAEA is to be deprived of our absolute right (in nuclear matters), there is no reason for us to continue to be part of such organisations," he said. The UN Security Council has given Iran until August 31 to halt enrichment and reprocessing activities or face possible sanctions. The resolution was pushed through after Iran ignored a previous non-binding deadline and failed to respond to an international offer of incentives in exchange for a moratorium on nuclear fuel work. Iran has repeatedly insisted its nuclear programme is for civil purposes only despite Western concerns that it may be cover for an attempt to develop the bomb. The Islamic republic is due on August 22 to reply to a package of incentives offered by the big powers and aimed at suspending uranium enrichment. But the head of Iran's supreme national security council and chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said on August 6 that Iran would not suspend uranium enrichment. Asked about Iran's reply on August 22, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Sunday that, "the date does not have any significance. What is important is the climate and the conditions for a dialogue." "We do not trust Europeans any more," he said, referring to the so-called EU-3 of Britain, France and Germany that have been leading negotiations on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. "Unfortunately, the Europeans changed their path," he added, referring to the adoption of the United Nations " /> Security Council's ultimatum. "Iran will choose another path," other that of cooperation, if the Europeans, "continue their own path," he said, without elaborating. After more than two year of nuclear negotiation with the European troika, Iran started uranium conversion -- a prerequisite for uranium enrichment -- thus breaking the talks. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 7 AFP: Yemen supports Iran's right to peaceful nuclear programme - Sat Aug 12, 3:15 PM ET SANAA (AFP) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly said Yemen supports Iran's right to enrich uranium for "peaceful purposes." "Iran and any other Islamic state has the right to own nuclear energy to use for peaceful purposes," the official news agency Saba quoted Saleh as saying in talks with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Sanaa. On Thursday, Iran again rejected an end-of-the-month UN Security Council deadline to suspend sensitive nuclear fuel work, saying it would not accept "illegal international obligations." The Security Council has given Iran until August 31 to halt uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities or face possible sanctions. The resolution was passed after Tehran ignored a previous non-binding deadline and failed to respond to an international offer of incentives in exchange for a moratorium on nuclear fuel work. Iran has repeatedly insisted its nuclear program is for civil purposes only, despite Western concerns that it may be a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Mottaki also delivered a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Saleh on "developments in the region, mainly the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples," Saba said. Iran slammed Friday's unanimous UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending the month-long conflict between Israel " /> and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah as biased and serving only interests of the Jewish state. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran likely to defy UN on nuclear package Simon Tisdall in Tehran Saturday August 12, 2006 The Guardian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to confront the US and the UN security council over Iran's nuclear activities, partly to divert attention from the country's worsening economic problems, Tehran sources say. Iran's hardline government said it would respond by August 22 to a western compromise package designed to defuse the dispute over its nuclear activities. But diplomatic sources said that while expressing readiness to continue negotiations, Mr Ahmadinejad was opposing concessions on the issue, which has become crucial to maintaining his support following his disputed election victory a year ago. "People say it's Ahmadinejad who's the problem," a western diplomat said yesterday. "Even the supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] favours some kind of deal. But this is Ahmadinejad's flagship issue. People like the way he has stood up to the Americans and he isn't going to throw that away." Leila, a Tehran resident who, like other interviewees, asked not to be identified, said: "If the US had not made such a big thing of the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad would have been in big trouble by now. He could have been overthrown. He's achieved nothing in the past year. The economy is very bad. Everyone is poor." Ali, a graduate in part-time employment, said it was difficult for young people to find good jobs in a country where two-thirds of the 70 million population are under 30. "Ahmadinejad promised to do all sorts of things," he said. "But he hasn't done anything. He promised to share out the oil revenue. Look at the price of oil now! Where's all that money going? There's no economic management in this country. It's inefficient. It's corrupt." He added: "Ahmadinejad loves all the international attention. He's making the most of the nuclear issue to distract attention from the failures of the economy." A recent poll by US research firm Zogby International and Reader's Digest, conducted by telephone from outside Iran, found strong public support for the government's position that Iran has an "inalienable right" to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Sixty-seven percent also agreed with Mr Ahmadinejad that the state of Israel should not exist, with only 9% disagreeing. But 41% said making the economy more efficient was more important than nuclear capabilities or regional issues, with 27% disagreeing. The economy is coming under increasing public scrutiny despite official controls on newspapers and restricted internet access. An estimated 80% of economic activity is under government control or managed via trusts known as bonyads, often dominated by well-connected clerics. Critics say US sanctions, which have discouraged foreign investment and technology transfers, cannot be wholly blamed for Iran's economic backwardness. There are also complaints that taxpayers' money allegedly being sent to Hizbullah would be better spent at home. Particular concern is focusing on oil-rich Iran's lack of refining capacity. It has a petrol shortfall of 30m litres a day, which is made up by expensive imports. "We need to change the status quo," the finance minister, Davood Danesh-Jafari, said this week, promising that privatisations ordered in 2004 would be speeded up. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 9 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Threat to security The intensifying debate over President Roh Moo-hyun's push to reclaim wartime operational control of the Armed Forces from the United States raises yet another question about Roh as the commander-in-chief who is responsible for safeguarding national security. Roh and his aides insist that "some media outlets" are using the debate to create public unease about security and give the impression that the transfer of wartime control will cause a fissure in the military alliance with the United States. Then how can they explain the fact that as many as 17 former defense ministers, including one who served in his own administration, are challenging the plan with one voice? You also hear an increasing number of Roh's former security and foreign policy aides, as well as independent experts, questioning the plan, and more broadly, his policy on the United States and North Korea. In fact, it is Roh who added fuel to the controversy, subjecting himself to this backlash. After the former ministers raised concerns about the transfer plan, he used an exclusive interview with the Yonhap News Agency to rail against his critics. Roh may have hoped that the interview, in which he even said South Korea could actually exercise wartime operational control of its armed forces right away, will make his plan a "fait accompli," and thus stifle opposition. If so, he is mistaken, as seen by the fact that public opposition to the transfer plan is growing rapidly to the degree where his impeachment is being suggested. Roh's comment that South Korea can exercise wartime operational control at any given time shows how far from reality his perception of the important security issue is. You don't need to be an expert to suppose that any such transfer will take years of meticulous preparation on both South Korean and U.S. sides. We have become used to seeing Roh making temperamental attacks on his critics and using language hardly fit for a chief executive. Roh's first ambassador to Washington, Han Seung-joo, has even coined the term "loudspeaker diplomacy" regarding the administration's U.S. policy. Previously, Roh picked up the same loudspeaker to ask, "What's wrong with anti-Americanism?" and "Should the Korean president always say yes to the United States?" Such comments show that he has a questionable view of the United States, which may be part of the reason he is so impatient and preoccupied with the transfer of wartime operational control. Roh insists that the military alliance with the United States remains as strong as in the past. Few people with good knowledge of the current political and security relations between the two countries believe he is telling the truth. Roh's misguided U.S. policy has something to do with his underestimation of the security threat posed by North Korea. Despite eight years of engagement policy toward the North, which Kim Dae-jung started and Roh inherited, there has been no change in the military standoff between the two Koreas. On the contrary, the North's nuclear and missile development programs have heightened tensions on the peninsula. Any change to the security status quo on the peninsula must be preceded by a settlement of the North's ambitions to develop weapons of mass destruction and a reduction of its menacing conventional arms. If not, any drastic alteration to the South Korea-U.S. alliance, like a premature transfer of wartime operational control, disbandment of the Combined Forces Command and a further reduction of U.S. presence in the South, can threaten our security. National security is an area in which any misjudgment should never be allowed. It is sad we have to be more watchful of our commander-in-chief than of the heavily-armed Peoples' Army to the north. 2006.08.14 ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: US, SKorea to resume trade talks after drugs breakthrough Sunday August 13, 02:31 PM WASHINGTON (XFN-ASIA) - The US government has said it has unblocked a dispute with South Korea over pharmaceuticals to allow talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) to resume next month. But chief US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler denied that the administration has caved into South Korea's plan to introduce a new system to reimburse patients on its state healthcare scheme. 'We're not, quote unquote, accepting it,' she told reporters on a conference call on Friday, as both countries announced the FTA talks will resume in Seattle over Sept 6-9. 'I'm just pleased to report that we have agreed on a way forward on the pharmaceutical issue,' Cutler said, explaining that the drugs issue will be taken up by negotiators at a special meeting in Singapore on Aug 21-22. South Korea is the United States' seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at 72 biln usd in 2005. Cutler said the aim remains to conclude a draft deal by the end of this year, well before the US administration loses its 'fast-track' negotiating authority granted by Congress next July. 'Our objective is to bring home a high-quality, comprehensive deal that will be supported by our stakeholders and by our Congress,' she said. The second round of the FTA talks in Seoul ended in stalemate last month after US negotiators walked out in protest at South Korea's new medical policy. Under the new system, the government will only reimburse patients for medicines that are on a pre-approved or 'positive' list adopted by South Korean health authorities. Washington argues that would discriminate against 'innovative' US drug companies whose pharmaceuticals have not yet made it on to the list. 'We are now prepared to negotiate with Korea on the basis of the positive list,' Cutler said. But she stressed that South Korea has promised to work with the US side on making the list transparent and on adopting an independent appeals process for drug companies that are shut out of the new system. As a result of the pharmaceuticals breakthrough, Cutler said, each side will present offers on tariffs for agricultural and industrial goods 'early next week' to give plenty of time for review before the Seattle round. Any progress on key disputes such as South Korean restrictions on imports of rice and cars will have to depend on the tariff offers, the official said. Cutler also said that the United States hoped for an early resumption of US beef exports to South Korea, which have been banned since late 2003 over fears of mad-cow disease. South Korean agricultural inspectors are due to pay a return visit to US meat plants shortly, 'and we're hopeful this market will be reopened by the time of the third round (in Seattle) or shortly thereafter', she said. The two sides also remain at odds over the treatment of goods produced in an industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong. Seoul wants the goods labelled as 'made in South Korea' and so eligible to be covered by the FTA. But US officials suspect that Pyongyang has used the hard currency earned from Kaesong to build up its nuclear and missile programs. Copyright © 2006 AFP AFX. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 11 IPS: SOUTH KOREA: 'Yankee Don't Go Home, Yet' Inter Press Service News Agency Monday, August 14, 2006 01:53 GMT Ahn Mi Young SEOUL, Aug 12 (IPS) - South Korea may have serious problems with the United States' tough stance towards North Korean nuclear and missile antics but balks at any reduction of U.S. troops stationed in this country, or dilution of the 50-year-old military relationship. The announcement by a U.S. defence official, at the beginning of the week, that as part of an overhaul of military ties, Seoul will be handed back wartime operations command over its own troops by 2009 has triggered a round of harsh criticism of President Roh Moo Hyun's nationalist policies. Since 1994, Seoul has assumed peacetime command of its 650,000 troops but U.S.-led United Nations forces retain overall command of wartime operations as part of defence arrangements dating back to the 1950-1953 Korean war. Currently, the U.S. maintains 30,000 troops on the South Korean part of the peninsula but this is due to be whittled down to less than 25,000 by the end of 2008. This move has dismayed military experts. But Roh has repeatedly said that it is a matter of national integrity to retain wartime control of its troops. "We are the world's 11th economic power and the world's sixth largest military power in military units. Therefore, retaining operational control is a key to keeping our independence and this is something that we must have at any cost." "My dear Mr. President," asks Koo Sang-Chan, lawmaker and vice spokesman of the opposition Hanara party in his homepage, "Does it mean that you think that we have handed over our national football team to the Dutch people when we recruited the former Dutch football coach Mr. Hiddink to train our football players?" Vice-foreign minister Yu Myung-hwan has sought to allay suggestions in newspapers that the changes in command structure and troop reduction would lead a pullout of U.S. troops, leaving the country vulnerable to an attack from North Korea. "It is far from the truth to claim that the return of wartime operations command will lead to a pullout of U.S. forces,'' said the minister. In an editorial on Wednesday, the influential Chosun Ilbo demanded an explanation from the government what the changes mean and accused it of trying to ‘'topple one of the pillars of national security''. Taking direct control would only make the South Korean military ineffective and slow, said some military experts and former defence ministers. "It is common to place all of your forces under one single authority, in order to make a prompt decision and ensure effective operation. This has been proven in the case of the command structure of NATO. This holds true, in particular, when North Korea's 1.2 million-strong military power is only 40km away from Seoul, capital city of South Korea," said a military expert. Roh said: "Our country has grown up strong enough to deserve to retain its own operational control over our own military forces. Likewise, our military forces have also grown up strong enough to be able to control its operation. Having our own operational control won't affect our alliance with the US." But even Roh had suggested 2012 as the start year to retain wartime operational control over its forces. On Wednesday, North Korea broke the silence it maintained, after its Jul. 5 missile tests, to resume contact with the Seoul government and ask for food aid to feed its flood-hit people, a day when the South Korean media was full of debates on the command restructuring. Many supported Roh's position and asserted that the South Korean military was strong enough to take on North Korea. "South Korea is in particular ahead of its ability to collect information. North Korea is almost at the deaf level when it comes to its intelligence. If there is something South Korea's military power is lacking, it is not its hardware capabilities but its soft areas such as self-confidence or motivation to defend itself," said an editorial in the country's liberal online media portal ‘OhmyNews'. What truly shocked analysts here was the U.S. willingness to hand over to South Korea primary responsibility for defence in the event of war. "As the adjustment takes place, there will be a reduction in the number of U.S. forces located in the Republic of Korea beyond the level of 25,000 we've currently agreed to," said the defence official. Such readiness is interpreted by experts as a sign of a weakness in the alliance and a result of differences over how to deal with North Korea. "Under the U.S.-South Korea alliance, the U.S. would discuss with our government key regional issues such as how to deter North Korea or how to curtail the Japan's move to rearm itself. However, if the alliance fails, the U.S. would bypass us and talk to Japan or China. If this happens, our diplomacy level will be dangerously downgraded," said Song Dae-Sung, a senior researcher at Sejong Research Institute. Roh's supporters do not agree. "Washington has no reason to relax its alliance with South Korea, because of the new command arrangementà that is something it is also happy with and that fits its strategic need," said the OhmyNews editorial. Handing over operational control to South Korea is a part of Washington's strategic scheme to reduce its heavy burden of defending South Korea as a deterrence to the North, and instead it wants to ‘'take a new wing of the strategic flexiblity that stretches into a broader regional coverage,'' OhmyNews said. Paik Hak-Soon, a researcher at the Sejong Research Institute said:"It seems that Washington believes it has nothing to lose even if it returns operational control to South Korea earlier than South Korea asksà as long as it intends it will keep its troops in South Korea even after the two Koreas are reunited, and as long as there are American forces in South Korea, they have enough mobility and agility to confront China." South Korea's opposition parties worry that North Korea's provocative actions have had the effect of brining Japan closer to the U.S. and that Washington has distanced itself from Seoul because it is less inclined to discipline North Korea. Roh's opponents believe that by taking an overtly nationalistic stance he has made a serious diplomatic blunder which may cede the country's strategic position to Japan. Korean military experts point to the U.S.-Japan alliance's reshuffle plan, which involves a combined operational headquarters for the U.S. Third Army Corps in the Kanakawa-hyun prefecture with a four-star U.S. general in charge. In contrast, as South Korea gets operational control, the U.S. will replace the current four-star general in Seoul with a three-star one. (END/2006) Copyright © 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Times of India: 'PM should not accept any change in N-deal' [ 13 Aug, 2006 1657hrs ISTPTI ] LUDHIANA: Asserting that the US is deviating from the original parameters of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI-M on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should ensure that the country should not accept any new conditions or changes to the deal that could harm the national interests. "We have a lot of doubts about the Indo-US nuke deal and concerns about changes being made by US in it. We demand from the prime minister that India should not accept any changes in this deal which could be detrimental to the national interests or nuclear sovereignty," CPI-M polit bureau member Sitaram Yechury told reporters. Yechury said the US had now imposed a fresh condition that India could not re-use or reprocess the thorium extracted from the uranium. "The condition that India will not have the right to reprocess thorium as a fuel for our scientific purposes is clearly a deviation made by the US in the deal. If India accepts it, then we would wholly depend upon the US and work as per the terms laid down by the US," he said. The Prime Minister should have the "sense of the House" on the any change in the parameters of the deal, he asserted. Yechury urged the Centre to immediately stop the purchase of weapons from Israel. "The buying of military equipment from Israel amounts to support for the killing of innocent people in Lebanon as a result of the war launched by Israel," he said. He also demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against RIL and Bhim Singh, both of whom were named as beneficiaries of the Iraqi oil-for-food scam by the Volcker Commission. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 13 Fredericksburg.com: Gearing up for a nuclear reaction Hearings scheduled on North Anna plan Sun, Aug. 13, 2006 THE FREE LANCE–STAR Public hearings will be held Tuesday and Wednesday nights to discuss a third nuclear reactor at the North Anna plant By ELLEN BILTZ Area residents have a chance at two hearings this week to weigh in on plans for a third nuclear reactor at Dominion's North Anna power station. A forum sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Louisa County Middle School on Tuesday starts at 7 p.m. and concludes at 10 p.m. The session includes an overview of the NRC review of a revised cooling plan for the reactor, but the majority of time will be available for the public to raise questions or make statements. The public is also invited to an informal discussion for an hour before Tuesday's meeting in Louisa. Meanwhile, opponents of nuclear energy in Virginia have asked the state Department of Environmental Quality to hold a public hearing Wednesday at 7 p.m., also at Louisa Middle School. The groups hope to rally opposition to the reactor plans. They support initiatives for renewable alternative energy sources. Among the groups gathering to oppose Dominion's plan are the People's Alliance for Clean Energy, the Virginia Sierra Club, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Public Citizen. Wednesday's meeting is being held as part of DEQ's review of the potential impact of additional reactors on local and regional water sources. The DEQ has not yet completed its evaluation of Dominion's proposal. The NRC issued a draft recently stating that minimal environmental harm would come from the additional reactor sought by Dominion. Jack Cushing, senior environmental project manager for the NRC, said concerns might be raised at Tuesday's public forum that hadn't been raised in the past. "We evaluate opinions and sometimes we change the draft if someone brings up a point," he said. "That's just part of the process." This is not the first time the NRC has hosted a meeting to discuss a third reactor at Lake Anna, which forms the boundary between Spotsylvania and Louisa counties. Water from the 13,000-acre lake cools the two reactors already producing electricity there. When the manmade lake was built in the early 1970s, there were plans for up to four reactors. At an earlier public meeting, concerns arose that a third reactor would lower the water level in the lake too much. Dominion then revised its plan for the reactor to use a combination of wet and dry cooling towers. The NRC has since said the new plan is environmentally sound. "We've issued a supplement to the draft because Dominion changed their cooling system," Cushing said. "And we just thought it was a substantial enough change to get opinions again." Richard Zuercker, spokesman for Dominion, said the utility welcomes the input from the community. "We believe, from what we've heard, that people are mostly positive about this," he said. "You always have people who aren't happy for one reason or another, but overall, I think most people will be OK with it." Gary Voelker, a member of the Lake Anna Civic Association who has a background in nuclear energy issues, said he will go to the hearing out of curiosity about the reactor proposal. Voelker said that while he supports nuclear power, he wants to make sure that it's used in the safest way possible. "I think the first two reactors are fine and I think the community will probably allow this third one," he said. "But if they go for the fourth, that's really going to be pushing it." Although Voelker said he had no plans to speak at Tuesday's meeting, he did say that he doesn't think the public is aware of some of the side effects of Dominion's new proposal. "Because of the cooling tower, there will be a cloud of water vapor you can see from a ways away. But I guess that's better than freezing in the dark," he said. Zuercker said there's nothing to worry about when it comes to the impact of the cooling tower. He said that Dominion is committing an extra $200 million to put in the cooling tower and to meet the requests of DEQ as well as of residents in the area. "We originally proposed using Lake Anna for the reactor like the first two, but we changed our approach based on comments," he said. "We did that to be responsive to the community." To reach ELLEN BILTZ: + 540/374-5000, ext. 5710 + Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com/ Date published: 8/13/2006 (Sunday, 01:45, The Free Lance-Star) Copyright 2006, The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. of Fredericksburg, Va. ***************************************************************** 14 India Defence: China to build six nuclear reactors in Pakistan Dated 12/8/2006 Pakistan and China are close to finalising a landmark deal on nuclear energy cooperation, through which Islamabad will acquire upto six reactors of 300 megawatts each from China. The accord, which exposes Pakistan playing its so called 'China card' to beat the Indo-US nuclear energy deal now undergoing legislative processes in the US, is expented to be signed during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Pakistan this November, The Nation said quoting an unnamed official. 'Negotiations on nuclear energy cooperation between Pakistan and China are in final stages and the deal is most likely to be reached during the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao in November this year,' said the official Friday. He disclosed that Pakistan also wanted to acquire a nuclear power reactor of 600 megawatts from China, but the Chinese have just started using its first such reactors; hence its provision to Pakistan would take some time. Pakistan has been lobbying for a nuclear deal with the US ever since the US offered one to India. After the US rejections, President Pervez Musharraf tied up with China when he was there to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. 'The nuclear energy cooperation deal with China has brought great solace to Pakistan, as the US is unwilling to extend such cooperation to Islamabad despite the months' long talks between the allied nations in war on terror,' the newspaper observed. With Chinese cooperation, Pakistan would build six new nuclear reactors in next 10 years having capacity of 2,000 megawatts, the official said. This was part of Pakistan's plan to increase the capacity of nuclear power generation to over 8,000 megawatts by 2025, he added. China has already helped Pakistan build a nuclear reactor of 350 megawatts at Chashma and it was currently building one more at the same place with the same capacity. (Further reporting Daily India) strikes Copyright © 2006 India Defence | All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 15 Wilmington, NC Star-News: Nuclear plant shuts down reactor | StarNewsOnline.com | The turbine generator is essential to power prod By Ken Little Staff Writer An unspecified problem with a giant generator at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant near Southport prompted an unscheduled shutdown of Unit 1 early Friday. The turbine generator is essential to power production. Steam created when water passes through the reactor is directed through a line to the main turbine, causing it to turn the turbine generator, which creates electricity. "There are certain pieces of equipment like the main generator that have no backup," plant spokesman Mike McCracken said. "There were indications that we had some issues with that generator. It wasn't exactly as it should be and the right business decision is to shut this unit down and fix this problem." The issue was discovered Thursday and plant officials gradually powered down until Unit 1 was disconnected from the power grid about 4 a.m. Friday, McCracken said. "At this point, we're not really sure how long we will be out," he said. "We don't expect anything too long." Neighboring Unit 2 on the 1,200-acre plant property at the mouth of the Cape Fear River continues to run at 100 percent capacity. Even with the continuing high demand for electricity spurred by sweltering temperatures, utility customers won't notice any difference when the reactor is offline because Progress Energy can draw on its other power generating facilities, McCracken said. Technicians are inspecting the Unit 1 generator. "Once in a while, we need to perform maintenance on something and this is the case," McCracken said. The plant's two boiling water reactors generate 1,875 megawatts of electricity, enough power to light about 1 million average-size homes. In June, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended Unit 1's operating license until Sept. 8, 2036. The license for Unit 2 was extended until Dec. 27, 2034. Unit 1 was licensed for commercial operation in 1976. Unit 2 went online in 1974. The 30-year NRC operating licenses for the two reactors would have expired in 2016 and 2014, respectively. Ken Little: 343-2389 ken.little@starnewsonline.com ***************************************************************** 16 SahilOnline English Daily: Security tightened at Kaiga power plant S.O. News service, Karwar, 12 Aug. Security arrangements at Kaiga were reviewed on Saturday following the threat of terrorist attack on Kaiga Nuclear Power generating station, Karwar. Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) along with the local police are maintaining tight security in and around Kaiga, sources said. A 150-strong commando force arrived at Kaiga power plant on Friday night. The personnel would inspect each spot in Kaiga, including the hills surrounding the project, and a keep strict vigil. The proposal of deploying the Army had been dropped in view of the fact that the thickly wooded Western Ghats range around Kaiga would provide natural security to the project, it is said. Superintendent of Police Ravi S. said the police force had been augmented and it was functioning along with CISF in Kaiga. Special police check posts have been established in Mallapur, Kadra, Yellapur and Sadashivgad. A mobile police squad had been deployed to keep watch round the clock. The security of Kadra, Kodsalli and Supa dams is managed by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited with its own security force. The local police have also provided assistance to the security staff of the KPCL. Water level in the Kadra Reservoir reached the full reservoir level of 34.5 meters on Saturday. Two crest gates were opened to a level of 0.5 meters and 4,400 cusecs of water was released, according to sources. At the same time, 22,225 cusecs of water was discharged through the generators after generating electricity. Authorities have alerted people living in the down stream of the Kali have been alerted to move to safe places. Managing Editor: Inayatullah Gawai Editor: Aynaz Sattar Supporting Editor: Fauzan Patel, A K Jeelani Mohtesham Chief Advisor: S M Syed Khaleelurrahman Legal Advisor: Naushad Kasimji --> SAHILONLINE.ORG ***************************************************************** 17 STUFF: NZ considered nuclear plant 12 August 2006 The British Government offered to help New Zealand build a small nuclear reactor according to declassified government papers. The papers show New Zealand began exploring the possibility of building a small graphite pile reactor in the mid 1940s, as one of a series of nuclear plants being built by Commonwealth countries, the New Zealand Herald reported today. Canada and Australia were considering large-scale plants for energy generation, but New Zealand was more interested in a smaller facility to generate isotopes for medical, industrial and scientific purposes. Because of the short half-life of many useful radioactive isotopes they could not be shipped to New Zealand, hence having a small reactor in the country was considered desirable. Despite enthusiasm for the project by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Prime Minister Peter Fraser was far from convinced. The New Zealand Government wrote to British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1948 asking whether it was regarded as being in the Commonwealth's interest for a reactor to be built here. Attlee replied in a letter to Fraser that he considered the project would be an advantage to the Commonwealth. Britain would be happy to offer its assistance, Attlee said. The newspaper said that letter was the final document in the file, leaving the question of why the reactor never went ahead unanswered. ***************************************************************** 18 The Times of India: Nukes R not us Ashis Nandy, sociologist What India did right We, The People: India has managed to create a thriving participatory democracy — that, too, with one billion people from diverse cultures. This is a singular achievement. Grey Matter: It is laudable that our country, despite having an iffy record in education, has a vibrant intellectual community. Culture counts: India has retained elements of its cultural traditions in a much more livelier form than other countries. It has not lost touch with its past and as a result of this, modern art, classical dance as well as artisans are still thriving. What India did wrong Nationalism overdose: In a global survey, India has been ranked the most overtly nationalist country in the world. From the composition of the cricket team to militarisation, we bring nationalism into everything. We should remember what Gandhi had said: 'Armed nationalism is the same as Imperialism'. Power hungry: Our country's hunger to get a great power status has wasted the lives of at least two generations. Examples of this range from lobbying for membership of the UN security council to the way we treat our neighbouring countries. This has not only made our neighbours suspicious of us, but also introduced the concept of terrorism in the sub-continent. Nukes R Us: The act of nuclearisation has taken away energy, resources and goodwill that could have been better utilised elsewhere. Our nuclear status has only given us a false sense of parity with Pakistan and nothing else. What has to be done — NOW Riots roko: There should be an attempt to make it difficult for anybody to perpetrate acts of communal violence. Institutions should be put in place, which diminish, if not destroy the ability of the state or any other organisation to sponsor or support communal violence. Let's get transparent: All government activities — education, human rights, culture — are cloaked in a passion for secrecy, which is destroying our democracy. We need to get out of this control freak mentality and have more transparency. Babu burden: There is no need for our country to have such a large bureaucratic set-up, which has become more a liability than an asset. Bureaucrats should be appointed on renewable contracts so that there is more accountability and better performance. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 19 Sunday Herald: Revealed: nuclear security rules broken 39 times in past year By Rob EdwardsEnvironment Editor THE British nuclear industry has reported 39 lapses in security against terrorism in the past year, including laptop thefts, internet misuse, a power cut and lightning strikes. The failings are revealed in a report from the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), the government watch dog responsible for ensuring nuclear power stations and radioactive waste facilities are protected from terrorist attacks. The revelations have disturbed experts and environmentalists, who are calling for security to be tightened. The OCNS has itself warned of complacency on leaks of sensitive nuclear information. According to the OCNS report, eight breaches in information security were reported in the year to March 31. They included the theft of laptops from parked vehicles and inappropriate transmission of restricted information over the internet, the report said. Assessments suggest that no major damage had occurred, but the fact that they continue to happen reinforces the enduring need to combat complacency. The information security inspector continues to work closely with security managers within the industry to raise the standard of personal security awareness. OCNS also expressed concern about additional security challenges posed by the growing use of wireless computer networks and portable e-mail devices like the Blackberry. OCNS has devoted considerable effort working with the industry and central security authorities to minimise the security risks, it said. Nuclear plant operators reported a further 26 breaches of site security to OCNS last year. They included a failure of mains power at a control room, lightning causing alarm faults and spoil being placed too close to a perimeter fence. Five security lapses in nuclear transports were reported, though they were described as minor. In total, OCNS oversaw 2100 movements of nuclear materials during the year. Overall, OCNS director Roger Brunt nevertheless concluded that civil nuclear security was satisfactory. I am satisfied that the security of nuclear material has not been prejudiced, he said. But this hasnt reassured everyone. As the threat from terrorism continues to grow, these incidents are disturbing, said Friends of the Earth Scotlands chief executive, Duncan McLaren. They may appear trivial to some, but if they are not acted upon the nuclear industry is literally leaving the door open for those who might wish to deliberately do mischief, or worse. Pete Roche, a nuclear consultant based in Edinburgh, questioned whether dangerous nuclear technology was compatible with an open and democratic society. Isnt it time we stopped exacerbating the problems we have already created for ourselves by planning even more reactors and potential terrorist targets? he said. The risks of nuclear terrorism have also been highlighted in a new study on the security of industrial radioactive sources in Iran. More than 80 sources of material capable of being made into dirty bombs were discovered to be outwith regulatory control or vulnerable to theft. Outside hospitals and the nuclear industry, radiation is used in some 500 factories and universities across Iran to measure and test materials. Scientists from the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority sampled 48 of them to check how well the sources were looked after. In the latest issue of Radiation Protection Dosimetry, the researchers reported 39 lost or abandoned sources at five sites. They said a further 49 radio active sources were vulnerable to theft or damage. According to Dr Frank Barnaby, a nuclear security consultant with the Oxford Research Group, there was a real risk of radioactive sources being stolen and combined with conventional explosives to make a dirty bomb. Its absolutely amazing that this hasnt been done already, he told the Sunday Herald. Im surprised that those who plotted the latest airline attack didnt go for dirty bombs. It would have been easier for them to get away with. 13 August 2006 © newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 20 [NYTr] Boston Globe Finally Covers Dangers of Depleted Uranium Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:24:21 -0500 (CDT) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [The issue of Depleted Uranium is nothing new to NY Transfer News readers; we have been distributing the information on its effects on the health of US veterans of Gulf War I, and especially on Iraqi civilians, since the first Iraq War more than 15 years ago. But it's now come to the attention of more and more mainstream, right-wing, and libertarian US citizens, as well as veterans' and peace movement groups. Here, Don Stacey sends two reports, once from this week's Boston Globe and the other from the November, 2004 issue of "Vanity Fair," which was a mess when it arrived; we've reformatted it as best we could. -NY Transfer] sent by Don Stacey - Aug 13, 2006 [Over the past two or more years, I have repeatedly emailed reporters and editors of main stream newspapers urging them to report on the tragic use of Depleted Uranium in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our leaders are nuking our own troops as well as innocent women and children in those countries by wholesale use of uranium weaponry. The only response to the dozens of messages to reporters and editors was from one reporter who said that he had no proof that DU was dangerous. When Vanity Fair published an article about the horrific practice of using uranium weaponry and its horrendous effect upon our troops, I sent it to newspapers around the nation. There was no response. Now, almost two years after the Vanity Fair article appeared, the Boston Globe finally runs an article on the use and effects of Depleted Uranium on page 25. Do not depend upon the media to keep you informed on a timely basis of important issues that affect your life. They just don't do it! -Don Stacey] The Boston Globe - Aug 13, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/08/13/sickened_iraq_vets_cite_depleted_uranium/ Sickened Iraq vets cite depleted uranium By Deborah Hastings AP National Writer NEW YORK --It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills -- morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves. Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done. Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil. There is something massively wrong with Herbert Reed, though no one is sure what it is. He believes he knows the cause, but he cannot convince anyone caring for him that the military's new favorite weapon has made him terrifyingly sick. In the sprawling bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, he has many caretakers. An internist, a neurologist, a pain-management specialist, a psychologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a dermatologist. He cannot function without his stupefying arsenal of medications, but they exact a high price. "I'm just a zombie walking around," he says. Reed believes depleted uranium has contaminated him and his life. He now walks point in a vitriolic war over the Pentagon's arsenal of it -- thousands of shells and hundreds of tanks coated with the metal that is radioactive, chemically toxic, and nearly twice as dense as lead. A shell coated with depleted uranium pierces a tank like a hot knife through butter, exploding on impact into a charring inferno. As tank armor, it repels artillery assaults. It also leaves behind a fine radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Depleted uranium is the garbage left from producing enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and energy plants. It is 60 percent as radioactive as natural uranium. The U.S. has an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of it, sitting in hazardous waste storage sites across the country. Meaning it is plentiful and cheap as well as highly effective. Reed says he unknowingly breathed DU dust while living with his unit in Samawah, Iraq. He was med-evaced out in July 2003, nearly unable to walk because of lightning-strike pains from herniated discs in his spine. Then began a strange series of symptoms he'd never experienced in his previously healthy life. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C, he ran into a buddy from his unit. And another, and another, and in the tedium of hospital life between doctor visits and the dispensing of meds, they began to talk. "We all had migraines. We all felt sick," Reed says. "The doctors said, 'It's all in your head.' " Then the medic from their unit showed up. He too, was suffering. That made eight sick soldiers from the 442nd Military Police, an Army National Guard unit made up of mostly cops and correctional officers from the New York area. But the medic knew something the others didn't. Dutch marines had taken over the abandoned train depot dubbed Camp Smitty, which was surrounded by tank skeletons, unexploded ordnance and shell casings. They'd brought radiation-detection devices. The readings were so hot, the Dutch set up camp in the middle of the desert rather than live in the station ruins. "We got on the Internet," Reed said, "and we started researching depleted uranium." Then they contacted The New York Daily News, which paid for sophisticated urine tests available only overseas. Then they hired a lawyer. Reed, Gerard Matthew, Raymond Ramos, Hector Vega, Augustin Matos, Anthony Yonnone, Jerry Ojeda and Anthony Phillip all have depleted uranium in their urine, according to tests done in December 2003, while they bounced for months between Walter Reed and New Jersey's Fort Dix medical center, seeking relief that never came. The analyses were done in Germany, by a Frankfurt professor who developed a depleted uranium test with Randall Parrish, a professor of isotope geology at the University of Leicester in Britain. The veterans, using their positive results as evidence, have sued the U.S. Army, claiming officials knew the hazards of depleted uranium, but concealed the risks. The Department of Defense says depleted uranium is powerful and safe, and not that worrisome. Four of the highest-registering samples from Frankfurt were sent to the VA. Those results were negative, Reed said. "Their test just isn't as sophisticated," he said. "And when we first asked to be tested, they told us there wasn't one. They've lied to us all along." The VA's testing methodology is safe and accurate, the agency says. More than 2,100 soldiers from the current war have asked to be tested; only 8 had DU in their urine, the VA said. The term depleted uranium is linguistically radioactive. Simply uttering the words can prompt a reaction akin to preaching atheism at tent revival. Heads shake, eyes roll, opinions are yelled from all sides. "The Department of Defense takes the position that you can eat it for breakfast and it poses no threat at all," said Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center, which helps veterans with various problems, including navigating the labyrinth of VA health care. "Then you have far-left groups that ... declare it a crime against humanity." Several countries use it as weaponry, including Britain, which fired it during the 2003 Iraq invasion. An estimated 286 tons of DU munitions were fired by the U.S. in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. An estimated 130 tons were shot toppling Saddam Hussein. Depleted uranium can enter the human body by inhalation, the most dangerous method; by ingesting contaminated food or eating with contaminated hands; by getting dust or debris in an open wound, or by being struck by shrapnel, which often is not removed because doing so would be more dangerous than leaving it. Inhaled, it can lodge in the lungs. As with imbedded shrapnel, this is doubly dangerous -- not only are the particles themselves physically destructive, they emit radiation. A moderate voice on the divisive DU spectrum belongs to Dan Fahey, a doctoral student at the University of California at Berkeley, who has studied the issue for years and also served in the Gulf War before leaving the military as a conscientious objector. "I've been working on this since '93 and I've just given up hope," he said. "I've spoken to successive federal committees and elected officials ... who then side with the Pentagon. Nothing changes." At the other end are a collection of conspiracy-theorists and Internet proselytizers who say using such weapons constitutes genocide. Two of the most vocal opponents recently suggested that a depleted-uranium missile, not a hijacked jetliner, struck the Pentagon in 2001. "The bottom line is it's more hazardous than the Pentagon admits," Fahey said, "but it's not as hazardous as the hard-line activist groups say it is. And there's a real dearth of information about how DU affects humans." There are several studies on how it affects animals, though their results are not, of course, directly applicable to humans. Military research on mice shows that depleted uranium can enter the bloodstream and come to rest in bones, the brain, kidneys and lymph nodes. Other research in rats shows that DU can result in cancerous tumors and genetic mutations, and pass from mother to unborn child, resulting in birth defects. Iraqi doctors reported significant increases in birth defects and childhood cancers after the 1991 invasion. Iraqi authorities "found that uranium, which affected the blood cells, had a serious impact on health: The number of cases of leukemia had increased considerably, as had the incidence of fetal deformities," the U.N. reported. Depleted uranium can also contaminate soil and water, and coat buildings with radioactive dust, which can by carried by wind and sandstorms. In 2005, the U.N. Environmental Program identified 311 polluted sites in Iraq. Cleaning them will take at least $40 million and several years, the agency said. Nothing can start until the fighting stops. Fifteen years after it was first used in battle, there is only one U.S. government study monitoring veterans exposed to depleted uranium. Number of soldiers in the survey: 32. Number of soldiers in both Iraq wars: more than 900,000. The study group's size is controversial -- far too small, say experts including Fahey -- and so are the findings of the voluntary, Baltimore-based study. It has found "no clinically significant" health effects from depleted uranium exposure in the study subjects, according to its researchers. Critics say the VA has downplayed participants' health problems, including not reporting one soldier who developed cancer, and another who developed a bone tumor. So for now, depleted uranium falls into the quagmire of Gulf War Syndrome, from which no treatment has emerged despite the government's spending of at least $300 million. About 30 percent of the 700,000 men and women who served in the first Gulf War still suffer a baffling array of symptoms very similar to those reported by Reed's unit. Depleted uranium has long been suspected as a possible contributor to Gulf War Syndrome, and in the mid-90s, veterans helped push the military into tracking soldiers exposed to it. But for all their efforts, what they got in the end was a questionnaire dispensed to homeward-bound soldiers asking about mental health, nightmares, losing control, exposure to dangerous and radioactive chemicals. But, the veterans persisted, how would soldiers know they'd been exposed? Radiation is invisible, tasteless, and has no smell. And what exhausted, homesick, war-addled soldier would check a box that would only send him or her to a military medical center to be poked and prodded and questioned and tested? It will take years to determine how depleted uranium affected soldiers from this war. After Vietnam, veterans, in numbers that grew with the passage of time, complained of joint aches, night sweats, bloody feces, migraine headaches, unexplained rashes and violent behavior; some developed cancers. It took more than 25 years for the Pentagon to acknowledge that Agent Orange -- a corrosive defoliant used to melt the jungles of Vietnam and flush out the enemy -- was linked to those sufferings. It took 40 years for the military to compensate sick World War II vets exposed to massive blasts of radiation during tests of the atomic bomb. In 2002, Congress voted to not let that happen again. It established the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses -- comprised of scientists, physicians and veterans advocates. It reports to the secretary of Veterans Affairs. Its mandate is to judge all research and all efforts to treat Gulf War Syndrome patients against a single standard: Have sick soldiers been made better? The answer, according to the committee, is no. "Regrettably, after four years of operation neither the Committee nor (the) VA can report progress toward this goal," stated its December 2005 report. "Research has not produced effective treatments for these conditions nor shown that existing treatments are significantly effective." And so time marches on, as do soldiers going to, and returning from, the deserts of Iraq. Herbert Reed is an imposing man, broad shouldered and tall. He strides into the VA Medical Center in the Bronx with the presence of a cop or a soldier. Since the Vietnam War, he has been both. His hair is perfect, his shirt spotless, his jeans sharply creased. But there is something wrong, a niggling imperfection made more noticeable by a bearing so disciplined. It is a limp -- more like a hitch in his get-along. It is the only sign, albeit a tiny one, that he is extremely sick. Even sleep offers no release. He dreams of gunfire and bombs and soldiers who scream for help. No matter how hard he tries, he never gets there in time. At 54, he is a veteran of two wars and a 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, where he last served as an assistant warden at the Riker's Island prison. He was in perfect health, he says, before being deployed to Iraq. According to military guidelines, he should have heard the words depleted uranium long before he ended up at Walter Reed. He should have been trained about its dangers, and how to avoid prolonged exposure to its toxicity and radioactivity. He says he didn't get anything of the kind. Neither did other reservists and National Guard soldiers called up for the current war, according to veterans' groups. Reed and the seven brothers from his unit hate what has happened to them, and they speak of it at public seminars and in politicians' offices. It is something no VA doctor can explain; something that leaves them feeling like so many spent shell rounds, kicked to the side of battle. But for every outspoken soldier like them, there are silent veterans like Raphael Naboa, an Army artillery scout who served 11 months in the northern Sunni Triangle, only to come home and fall apart. Some days he feels fine. "Some days I can't get out of bed," he said from his home in Colorado. Now 29, he's had growths removed from his brain. He has suffered a small stroke -- one morning he was shaving, having put down the razor to rinse his face. In that moment, he blacked out and pitched over. "Just as quickly as I lost consciousness, I regained it," he said. "Except I couldn't move the right side of my body." After about 15 minutes, the paralysis ebbed. He has mentioned depleted uranium to his VA doctors, who say he suffers from a series of "non-related conditions." He knows he was exposed to DU. "A lot of guys went trophy-hunting, grabbing bayonets, helmets, stuff that was in the vehicles that were destroyed by depleted uranium. My guys were rooting around in it. I was trying to get them out of the vehicles." No one in the military talked to him about depleted uranium, he said. His knowledge, like Reed's, is self-taught from the Internet. Unlike Reed, he has not gone to war over it. He doesn't feel up to the fight. There is no known cure for what ails him, and so no possible victory in battle. He'd really just like to feel normal again. And he knows of others who feel the same. "I was an artillery scout, these are folks who are in pretty good shape. Your Rangers, your Special Forces guys, they're in as good as shape as a professional athlete. "Then we come back and we're all sick." They feel like men who once were warriors and now are old before their time, with no hope for relief from a multitude of miseries that has no name. Photo Caption: Herbert Reed, 52, a veteran of Iraq, sits at the kitchen table of his home with the medicines and medical records that he keeps with him Wednesday, May 17, 2006, in Columbia, S.C. Reed was exposed to radioactive depleted uranium while serving a few months with the 442nd Military Police out of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain) Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company *** Here is article that was published by Vanity Fair in November, 2004: WEAPONS OF SELF-DESTRUCTION Heroic soldiers returning from Iraq seem to be prey to the same debilitating, potentially fatal illnesses that first became known as Gulf War syndrome and then afflicted veterans of Bosnia and Kosovo. Critics point to the U.S.'s own ammunition made of toxic, radioactive depleted uranium-an explanation the Pentagon is resisting By David Rose When he started to get sick, Staff Sergeant Raymond Ramos's first instinct was to fight. "I had joint pains, muscle aches, chronic fatigue, but I tried to exercise it out," he says. "I was going for runs, working out. But I never got any better. The headaches were getting more frequent and sometimes lasted all day. I was losing a lot of weight. My overall physical demeanor was bad." A 20-year veteran of the New York National Guard, Ramos had been mobilized for active duty in Iraq in the spring of 2003. His unit, the 442nd Military Police company, arrived there on Easter, 10 days before President Bush's MISSION ACCOMPLISHED appearance on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. A tall, soft-spoken 40-year-old with four children, the youngest still an infant, Ramos was proud of his physique. In civilian life, he was a New York City cop. "I worked on a street narcotics team. It was very busy, with lots of overtime-very demanding." Now, rising unsteadily from his armchair in his thickly carpeted living room in Queens, New York, Ramos grimaces. "The shape I came back in, I cannot perform at that level. I've lost 40 pounds. I'm frail." At first, as his unit patrolled the cities of Najaf and al-Diwaniyya, Ramos stayed healthy. But in June 2003, as temperatures climbed above 110 degrees, his unit was moved to a makeshift base in an abandoned railroad depot in Samawah, where some fierce tank baffles had taken place. "When we first got there, I was a heat casualty, feeling very weak," Ramos says. He expected to recover quickly. Instead, he went rapidly downhill. By the middle of August, when the 442nd was transferred to Babylon, Ramos says, the right side of his face and both of his hands were numb, and he had lost most of the strength in his grip. His fatigue was worse and his headaches had become migraines, frequently so severe "that I just couldn't function." His urine often contained blood, and even when it didn't he would feel a painful burning sensation, which "wouldn't subside when I finished." His upper body was covered by a rash that would open and weep when he scratched it. As he tells me this, he lifts his shirt to reveal a mass of pale, circular scars. He was also having respiratory difficulties. Later, he would develop sleep apnea, a dangerous condition in which he would stop breathing during sleep. Eventually, Ramos was medevaced to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Doctors there were baffled and sent him on to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. There, Ramos says, one neurologist suggested that his condition could have been caused by some long-forgotten head injury or might just be "signs of aging." At the end of September 2003, the staff at Walter Reed ordered him to report to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where, he says, a captain went through his record and told him "I was clear to go back to Iraq. I got the impression they thought I was faking it." He was ordered to participate in a long-distance run. Halfway thruugh, he collapsed. Finally, on July 31, 2004, after months of further examinations, Ramos was discharged with a medical disability and sent home. "I WORKED ON A STREET NARCOTICS TEAM," SAYS RAMOS. "THE SHAPE I CAME BACK IN, I CANNOT PERFORM AT THAT LEVEL. I'M FRAIL." Symptoms such as Ramos's had been seen before. In veterans of Operation Desert Storm, they came to be called Gulf War syndrome; among those posted to Bosnia and Kosovo in the l990s, Bal kans syndrome. He was not the only member of the 442nd to suffer them. Others had similar urinary problems, joint pains, fatigue, head-aches, rashes, and sleep apnea. Today, some scientists believe that all these problems, together with others found in war-zone civilians, can be traced to the wide-spread use of a uniquely deadly form of ammunition. In the ongoing Iraq conflict, just as in the Gulf War of 1991 and in the Balkans, American and British forces have fired tens of thousands of shells and cannon rounds made of a toxic and radioactive material called depleted uranium, or D.U. Because D.U. is dense - approximately 1.7 times as dense as lead-and ignites upon impact, at a temperature of about 5,400 degrees. it can penetrate armor more effectively than any other material. It's also remarkably cheap. The arms industry gets its D.U for free from nuclear-fuel processors, which generate -large quantities of it as a by-product of enriching uranium for reactor fuel. Such processors would otherwise have to dispose of it in protected, regulated sites. D.U. is "depleted" only in the -. sense that most of its fissile U-235 isotope has been removed. What's left- mainly U-2 38-is still radioactive. Three of the main weapons systems _ still being used in Iraq-the M-l Abrams tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the A-10 Warthog attack jet-use D.U. ammunition. A 120-mm. tank round contains about nine pounds of solid D.U. When a D.U. "penetrator" strikes its target, up to 70 percent of the shell's mass is flung into the air in a shower of uranium-oxide fragments and dust, some in the form of aerosolized particl es less than a millionth of a meter in diameter. When inhaled, such particles lodge in the lungs and bathe the -surrounding tissue with alpha radiation, known to be highly dangerous internally, and smaller amounts of beta and gamma radiation. Even before Desert Storm, the Pentagon knew that D.U. was potentially hazardous. Before last year's Iraq invasion, it issued strict regulations designed to protect civilians, troops, and the environment after the use of D.U. But the Pentagon insists that there is little chance that these veterans' illnesses are caused by D.U. The U.S. suffered only 167 fatal combat casualties in the first Gulf War. Since then, veterans have claimed pensions and health-care benefits at a re.ord rate The Veterans Administration reported this year that it was paying service- related disability pensions to 181,996 Gulf War veterans-almost a third of the total still living. Of these, 3,248 were being compensated for "undiagnosed illnesses." The Pentagon's spokesman, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of its Deployment Health section, says that Gulf War veterans are no less healthy than soldiers who were stationed elsewhere. Those returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are also beginning to report illnesses in significant numbers. In July2004, the VA disclosed that 27,571 of them-16.4 percent of the total-had sought health care. Of that group, 8,134 suffered muscular and skeletal ailments; 3,505 had respiratory problems; and 5,674 had "symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions." An additional 153 had developed cancers. The VA. claims that such figures are "typica1 of young, active, healthcare-seeking populations," but does not offer figures for comparison. There is also evidence of a large rise in birth defects and unprecedented cancer rates among civilians following the first Gulf War in the Basra region of southern Iraq, where the heaviest fighting took place. Dr. Kilpatnck says, "I think it's very important to try to understand what are the causes of that high rate of cancer and birth defects. There has to be a good look at that, but if you go to the M. D. Anderson hospital, in Houston, Texas, you're going to find a very high rate of cancer. That's because people from all over the country with cancer go there, because it's one of the premier care centers. Basra was the only major hospital in southern Iraq. Are the people there with these different problems people who lived their entire lives in Basra, or are they people who've come to Basra for care?" It is possible, he says, that some other environmental factor is responsible for the illnesses, such as Saddam's chemical weapons or poor nutrition "I don't think anything should be taken off the table." In October 2004, an early draft of a study by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' illnesses, a scientific panel run by the V.A., was leaked to The New York Times. According to the Times, the panel had concluded that there was a "probable link" between veterans illnesses and exposure to neurotoxins, including a drug given to troops in 1991 to protect them from nerve gas, and nerve gas itself which was released when U.S.-led forces destroyed an Iraqi arms depot. Asked why there was no mention of D.U. in the report, Dr. Lea Steele, the panel's scientific director, says that her group plans to address it in a later report "We've only just begun work on this topic. We are certainly not ruling it out" D.U.'s critics, meanwhile, say it's entirely possible that both neurotoxins and D.U. are responsible for the widespread sickness among veterans. Members of the 442nd have vivid memories of being exposed to D.U. Sergeant Hector Vega, a youthful-looking 48-year-old who in civilian life works in a building opposite Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum, says he now struggles with chest pains, heart palpitations, headaches, urinary problems, body tremors, and breathlessness-none of which he'd ever experienced before going to Iraq. He recalls the unit's base there: "There were burnt-out Iraqi tanks on flatbed trucks 100 yards from where we slept. It looked like our barracks had also been lit, with black soot on the walls. It was open to the elements, and dust was coming in all the time. When the wind blew, we were eating it, breathing it. It was everywhere." (The Department of Defense, or D.O.D., says that a team of specialists is conducting an occupational and environmental health survey in the area.) Dr. Asaf Durakovic, 64, is a retired U.S. Army colonel and the former head of nuclear medicine at a veterans' hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Durakovic reports finding D.U. in the urine of 18 out of 30 Desert Storm veterans, sometimes up to a decade after they were exposed, and in his view D.U. fragments are both a significant cause of Gulf War syndrome aind a hazard to civilians for an indefinite period of time. He says that when he began to voice these fears inside the military he was first warned, then fired: he now operates from Toronto, Canada, at the independent Uranium Medical Research Centre. In December 2003, Dr. Durakovic analyzed the urine of nine members of the 442nd With funds supplied by the New York Dailv News, which first published the results, Durakovic sent the samples to a laboratory in Germany that has some of the world's most advanced mass-spectrometry equipment He concluded that Ramos, Vega, Sergeant Agustin Matos, and Corporal Anthony Yonnone were "internally contaminated by depleted uranium (D.U.) as a result of exposure through (the] respiratoty pathway." The Pentagon contests these findings. Dr. Kilpatrick says that, when the D.O.D. conducted its own tests, "our results [didl not mirror die results of Dr. Durakovic." "Background" sources, such as water, soil, and therefore food, frequently contain some uranium. The Pentagon insists that the 442nd soldiers' urinary uranium is "within normal dietary ranges," and that "it was not possible to distinguish D.U. from the background levels of natural uranium." The Pentagon says it has tested about 1,000 vets from the current conflict and found D.U. contamination in only five. Its critics insist this is because its equipment is too insensitive and its testing methods are hopelessly flawed At a briefing before the Iraq invasion in March 2003, Dr. Kilpatrick tried to reassure reporters about D.U. by citing the cases of about 20 Desert Storm vets who had D.U. shrapnel in their bodies. "We have not seen any untoward medical consequences in these individuals," he said. "There has been no cancer of bone or lungs, where you would expect them." It appears that he misspoke on that occasion: one of these veterans had already had an arm amputated for an osteosarcoma, or bone tumor, at the site where the shrapnel entered. Dr. Kilpatrick confirms that the veteran was treated by the V.A. in Baltimore, but says his condition may not have been linked with the shrapnel: "Osteosarcomas are fairly common." Studies have shown that D.U. can begin to move through the body and concentrate in the lymph nodes, and another of the vets with shrapnel has a form of lymphatic cancer. But this, Dr. Kilpatrick says, has "no known cause." He concedes that research has not proved the negative, that D.U. doesn't cause cancer. But, he says, "science doesn't in 2004 show that D.U. causes any cancer." It does, however, show that it may. Pentagon-sponsored studies at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, have found that, when D.U. was embedded in animals, several genes associated with human tumors underwent "aberrant activation," and oncoproteins of the type found in cancer patients turned up in their blood. The animals' urine was "mutagenic," meaning that it could cause cells to mutate. Another institute project found that D.U. could damage the immune system by hastening the death of white blood cells and impairing their ability to attack bacteria. In June 2004 the U.S. General Accounting Office (G.A.O.) issued a report to Congress that was highly critical of government research into Gulf War syndrome and veterans' cancer rates. The report said that the studies on which federal agencies ware basing their claim that Gulf War veterans were no sicker than the veterans of other wars "may not be reliable" and had "inherent limitations," with big data gaps and methodological flaws. Because cancers can take years to develop, the G.A.O. stated, "it may be too early" to draw any conclusions. Dr. Kilpatrick dismisses this report, saying it was "just the opinion of a group of individuals." Yet another Pentagon-funded study suggested that D.U. might have effects on unborn children After finding that pregnant rats transmitted D.U. to their offspring through the placenta, the study concluded: "Fetal exposure to uranium during critical prenatal development may adversely impact the future behavioral and neurological development of offspring." In September 2004, the New York Daily News reported that Gerard Darren Matthew, who had served in Iraq with the 719th Transportation Company, which is based in Harlem, had tested positive for D.U. after suffering migraines, fatigue, and a burning sensation when urinating. Following his return, his wife became pregnant, and their daughter, Victoria Claudette, was born missing three fingers. Ultimately, critics say, the Pentagon underestimates the dangers of D.U.because it measures them in the wrong way: by calculating the average amount of D.U. radiation produced throughout the body. When we meet, Dr. Kilpatrick gives me a report the Department of Defense issued in 2000. It concludes that even vets with the highest exposures from embedded shrapnel could expect over 50 years to receive a dose of just five rem, "which is the annual limit for [nuclear industry] workers." The dose for those who inhaled dust from burned-out tanks would be "far below the annual guideline (0.1 rem) for members of the public." "DUST WAS COMING IN ALL THE TIME," SAYS SERGEANT VEGA. "WE WERE EATING IT, BREATHING IT. IT WAS EVERYWHERE." But to measure the effect of D.U. as a whole-body radiation dose is meaningless, Asaf Durukovic says, because the dose from D.U. is intensely concentrated in the cells around a mote of dust The alpha particles D.U. emits-high-energy clumps of protons and neutrons-are harmless outside the body, because they cannot pass through skin. Inside tissue, however, they wreak a havoc analogous to that of a penetrating shell against an enemy tank~ bombarding cell nuclei, breaking chains of DNA, damaging fragile genes. Marcelo Valdes, a physicist and computer scientist who is president of Dr. Durakovic's research institute, says the cells around a D.U. particle 2.5 microns in diameter will receive a maximum annual radiation dose of 16 rads. If every pocket of tissue in the body were to absorb that amount of radiation, the total level would reach 7 trillion rads-millions of times the lethal dosage. In the potentially thousands of hot spots inside the lungs of a person exposed to D.U.dust; the same cells will be irradiated again and again, until their ability to repair themselves is lost. In 1991, Durakovic found D.U. in the urine of 14 veterans who had returned from the Gulf with headaches, muscle and skeletal pain, fatigue, trembling, and kidney problems. "Immediately I understood from their symptoms and their histories that they could have been exposed to radiation," he says. Within three years, two were dead from lung cancer: "One was 33, the other 42. Both were nonsmokers, in previously excellent health." D.U. he says, steadily migrates to the bones. There it irradiates the marrow where stem cells, the progenitors of all the other cells the body manufactures in order to renew itself, are produced. "Stem cells am very vulnerable," Durakovic says. "Bombarded with alpha particles, their DNA will fall apart, potentially affecting every organ. If malfunctioning stem cells become new liver cells, then the liver will malfunction. If stem cells are damaged, they may form defective tissue. If D.U. is as dangerous as its critics allege, it can kill even without causing cancer. At her home in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Susan Riordon recalls the return of her husband, Terry, from the Gulf in 1991. Terry, a security captain, served in intelligence during the war: his service record refers to his setting up a "safe haven" in the Iraqi "theatre." Possibly, Susan speculates, this led him behind enemy lines and exposed him to D.U. during the long aerial bombing campaign that preceded the 1991 invasion. In any event, "when he came home, he didn't really come home," she says. At first, Terry merely had the usual headaches, body pain, oozing rash, and other symptoms. But later be began to suffer from another symptom which afflicts some of those exposed to D.U.: burning semen. "If he leaked a little lubrication from his penis, it would feel like sunburn on your skin. If you got to the point where you did have intercourse, you were up and out of that bed so fast-it actually causes vaginal blisters that burst and bleed." Terry's medical records support her description. In England, Malcolm Hooper, professor emeritus of medicinal chemistry at the University of Sunderland, is aware of 4,000 such cases. He hypothesizes that the presence of D.U. may be associated with the transformation of semen into a caustic alkali. "It hurt [Terry] too. He said it was like forcing it through barbed wire," Riordon says. "It seemed to burn through condoms; if he got any on his thighs or his testicles, he was in hell." In a last, desperate attempt to save their sex life, says Riordon, "I used to fill condoms with frozen peas and insert them [after sex] with a lubricant" That, she says, made her pain just about bearable. Perhaps inevitably, he became impotent "And that was like our last little intimacy gone." By late 1995, Terry was seriously deteriorating. Susan shows me her journal-she titled it "The Twilight Zane"-and his medical record. It makes harrowing reading. He lost his fine motor control to the point where he could not button his shirt or zip his fly. While walking, he would fall without warning. At night, he shook so violently that the bed would move across the floor. He became unpredictably violent: one terrible day in 1997 he attacked their 16-year-old son and stated choking him. By the time armed police arrived to pull him off, the boy's bottom lip had turned blue. After such rages, he would fall into a deep sleep for as long as 24 hours, and awake with no memory of what had happened. That year, Terry and Susan stopped sleeping in the same bedroom. Then "he began to barricade himself in his room for days, surviving on granola bars and cartons of juice." As he went downhill, Terry was assessed as completely disabled, but there was no diagnosis as to why. His records contain references to "somatization disorder," post-traumatic stress, and depression. In 1995 the army doctors even suggested that he had become ill only after reading of Gulf War syndrome. Through 1998 and 1999, he began to lose all cognitive functions and was sometimes lucid for just a few hours each week. Even after he died, on April 29, 1999, Terry's Canadian doctors remained unable to explain his illness. "This patient has a history (of] 'Gulf War Syndrome' with multiple motor- sensory and emotional problems" the autopsy report by pathologist Dr. B. Jollymore, of Yarmouth, begins. "During extensive investigation, no definitive diagnosis has been determined.... Essentially it appears that this gentleman remains an enigma in death as lie was in life." Not long before Terry's death, Susan Riordan had learned of Asaf Durakovic, and of the possibility that her husband absorbed D.U. His urine-test results-showing a high D.U. concentration eight years after he was presumably exposed- came through on Monday, April 26: "Tuesday be was reasonably cognitive, and was able to tell me that he wanted his body and organs to go to Dr, Durakovic," she remembers. "He knew it was too late to help him, but he made me promise that his body could help the international community. On the Wednesday, I completed the purchase of this house. On Thursday, he was dead. "It was a very strange death. He was very peaceful. I've always felt that Asaf allowed Terry to go: knowing he was positive meant he wasn't crazy anymore. Those last days he was calm. He wasn't putting the phone in the microwave; he had no more mood swings." After Riordon's death, Dr. Durakovic and his colleagues found accumulations of D.U. in his bones and lungs. Dr. Dumkovic suspects the military of minimizing the health and environmental consequences of D.U. weapons, and suggests two reasons it may have for doing so: "to keep them off the list of war criminals, and to avoid paying compensation which could run into billions of-dollars." To this might be added a third: depleted uranium, because of its unique armor-penetrating capabilities, has become a defining feature of American warfare, one whose loss would be intolerable to military planners. In 1991, the U.S. used D.U. weapons to kill thousands of Iraqis in tanks and armored vehicles on the 'highway of death" from Kuwait to Basra. The one-sided victory ushered in a new era of "lethality overmatch"-the ability to strike an enemy with virtual impunity. A Pentagon pamphlet from 2003 states that a central objective of the American military is to "generate dominant lethality - overmatch across the full spectrum of operations," and no weapon is better suited to achieving that goal than D.U. The value of depleted uranium was spelled out more simply in a Pentagon briefing by Colonel James Naughton of the army's Materiel Command in March 2003, just before the Iraq invasion: "What we want to be able to do is strike the target from farther away than we can be hit back.... We don't want to fight even. Nobody goes into a war and wants to be even with the enemy. We want to be ahead, and D.U. gives us that advantage." If the Pentagon is right about the risks of D.U., such statements should not be controversial. If it is wrong, says retired army colonel Dr. Andras Korenyi-Both, who headed one of the main field hospitals during Desert Storm and later conducted some of the first research into Gulf War syndrome, the position is less clear-cut. "You'd have to deal with the question of whether it's better not to use D.U. and have more of your soldiers die in battle or to use D.U. and lose very few in the field-but have them get sick and die when they get home." One desert morning in the early spring.- of 1991, while sitting in his office at the Eskan Village military compound near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lieutenant Doug Rokke was shown a memorandum. Rokke, a health physicist and training specialist; was a reservist and had recently been ordered to join the Third U.S. Army's depleted-uranium-assessment team, assigned to clean up and move American vehicles hit by friendly fire during Operation Desert Storm. The memo, dated March 1, came from a senior military officer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico. During the Gulf War, it said, "D.U. penetrators were very effective against Iraqi armor." However, "there has been and continues to be a concern regarding the impact of D.U. on the environment. Therefore, if no one makes a case for the effectiveness of D.U. on the battlefield, D.U. rounds may become politically unacceptable and thus, be deleted from the arsenal.... I believe we should keep this sensitive issue at mind when after action reports are written." Rokke says: "I interpreted the memo to mean: we want this stuff-don't write any thing that might make it difficult for us to use it again" Rokke's assignment was dangerous and unpleasant. The vehicles ware coated with uranium-oxide soot, and dust lay in the sand outside. He wore a mask, but it didn't help. "We could taste it and smell it," he says of the D.U. "It tasted very strong and unmistakable." Years later, he says he was found to be excreting uranium at 5,000 times the normal level. Now 55 he pants during ordinary conversation and says he still gets a rash like the one Raymond Ramos of the 442nd suffers from. In addition, Rokke has joint pains, muscle aches, and cataracts. In 1994, Rokke became director of a Pentagon project designed to learn more about D.U. contamination and to develop training that would immunize its risks. "I'm a warrior, and warriors want to fulfill their mission," Rokke says. "I went into this wanting to make it work, to work out how to use D.U. safely, and to show other soldiers how to do so and how to clean it up. This was not science out of a book but science done by blowing the shit out of tanks and seeing what happens And as we did this work, slowly it dawned on me that we were screwed. You can't do this safely in combat conditions. You can't decontaminate the environment or your own troops." Rokke and his colleagues conducted a series of experiments at the US Department of Energy's Nevada nuclear test site. They set fire to a Bradley loaded with D. U. rounds and fired D.U. shells at old Soviet tanks. At his remote, ramshackle farmhouse amid the rural flatlands of central Illinois, Rokke shows me videos of his tests. Most spectacular are those shot at night, which depict the fiery streak of the D.U. round, already burning before impact, followed by the red cascade of the debris cloud. "Everything we hit we destroyed," he says. "I tell you, these things are just.fantastic." The papers Rokke wrote describing his findings are more sobering. He recorded levels of contamination that were 15 times the army s permissible levels in tanks hit by D.U., and up to 4.5 times such levels in clothing exposed to D.U. The good news was that it was possible, using a special Department of Energy vacuum cleaner designed for sucking up radioactive waste, to reduce contamination from vehicles and equipment to near official limits, and to "mask" the intense radiation around holes left by D.U. projectiles by sealing them with layers of foam caulking, paint, or cardboard. (Such work, Rokke wrote, would naturally have to be carried out by teams in full radiological-protection suits and respirators.) "IT WAS A VERY STRANGE DEATH. HE WAS VERY PEACEFUL. KNOWING HE WAS D.U. POSITIVE MEANT THAT HE WASN'T CRAZY ANYMORE." When it came to clothes, however,D.U. particles "became imbedded in the clothing and could not be removed with brushing or other abrasive methods." Rokke found that even after he tried to decontaminate them the clothes were still registering between two and three times the limit "This may pose a significant logistics impact," Rode wrote, with some understatement. The elaborate procedures required to decontaminate equipment, meanwhile, would be almost impossible to implement in combat. "On a real battlefield, it's not like there's any control," Rokke says. "It's chaos. Maybe its night. Who's going to come along and isolate contaminated enemy tanks? You've got a pile of rubble and mess and you're still coming under fire. The idea that you're going to come out in radiological suits and vacuum up at a building or a smashed T-72 [tank]-it's ridiculous." Large amounts of black D.U.-oxide dust were readily visible within 50 meters of a tank hit by penetrators and within 100 meters of the D.U.-packed Bradley that was set on fire. But less obvious amounts were easily detected at much greater distances. Worse, such dust could be "resuspended" in the atmosphere "upon contact, if wind blew, or during movement." For American troops, that meant that "respiratory and skin protection is warranted during all phases of recovery." For civilians, even ones at considerable distances, it meant they might be exposed to windblown D.U. far into the future. After Rokke completed the project, be was appointed head of the lab at Fort McClellan where it had been based. He resigned the staff physicist post he'd held for 19 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and moved south with his family. Early in 1996, after he began to voice the conclusions he was drawing about the future viability of D.U.weapons, he was fired. 'Then I remembered the Los Alamos memo," he says. "They'd wanted 'proponency' for D.U. weapons, and I was giving them the opposite". I ask Dr. Kilpatrick, the D.O.D. spokesman on D.U., about Rokke's test firings. His reply: "One, he never did that. He was in Nevada as an observer. He was not part of that at all. At that time he was working in education at an army school, and his assignment was to develop educational materials for troops." Rokke, he says, may have spent a few days observing the tests but he did not organize them. Documents from Rokke's service record tell a different story. His appraisal from December 1, 1995, written by Dr.Ed Battle, then chief of the radiation laboratories at Fort McClellan, describes Rokke's mission as follows: to "plan, coordinate, supervise and implement the U.S. Army. depleted uranium trraining development project." He continued: Captain Rokke has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to function well above his current rank and is as effective as any I have known." He had directly participated in "extremely crucial tests at n-the Nevada Atomic Test Site" and his achievements had been "absolutely phenomenal." Rokke was awarded two medals for his works The citation for one commended him for "meritorious service while assigned as the depleted uranium project leader. Your outstanding achievements have prepared our soldiers for hazards and will have a vast payoff in the health, safety, and protection of all soldiers." Rokke's work in Nevada helped persuade the military that D.U. weapons had to be dealt with carefully. On September 16,2002, General Eric Shinseki, the U.S. Army chief of staff, signed Army Regulation 700-48, which sets forth strict rules for handling items, including destroyed or disabled enemy targets, that have been hit and contaminated by D.U. "During peacetime or as soon as operational risk permits," it states, local commanders must "identify, segregate, isolate, secure, and label all RCE [radiologically contaminated equipmentj. Procedures to minimize the spread of radioactivity will be implemented as soon as possible." Under pre-existing regulations, damaged vehicles should be moved to a collection point or maintenance facility, and covered and wrapped with canvas or plastic tarp to prevent spread of contaminants with loose items placed in double plastic bags. Soldiers who carry out such tasks should wear protective equipment The burned-out tanks behind the 442nd s barracks in Samawah may not have been the only D.U.contaminated pieces of equipment to be left where they lay. In the fall of 2003, Tedd Weyman, a colleague of Dr. Durakovic's, spent 16 days in Iraq, taking samples and observing the response of coalition forces to General Shinseki's directive. "When tanks shot up by D.U. munitions were removed, I saw no precautions being taken at all," he says. "Ordinary soldiers with no protection just came along and used chains to load them onto flatbeds, towing them away just as they might your car if it broke down on the highway. They took them to bases with British and American troops and left them in the open" Time after time, Weyman recorded high levels of contamination--so high that on his return to Canada he was found to have 4.5 times the normal level of uranium in his own urine. A Pentagon memo, signed on May 30,2003, by Dr. William Winkenwerder, an assistant defense secretary, says that any American personnel "who were in,on, or near combat vehicles at the time they were struck by rounds," or who entered such vehicles or fought fires involving D.U. munitions, should be assissed for possible exposure and receive appropriate health care.This category could be said to include any soldier who fought in, or cleaned up after, battles with Iraqi armor. "WE DON'T WANT TO FIGHT EVEN, SAID COLONEL JAMES NAUGHTON. "WE WANT TO BE AHEAD, AND D.U. GIVES US THAT ADVANTAGE" Still, the Pentagon insists that the risks remain acceptably small. "There isn't any recognized disease from exposure to natural or depleted uranium," Dr. Kilpatrick says. He tells me that America will mount a thorough cleanup in Iraq, disposing of any D.U. fragments and burying damaged vehicles in unpopulated locations, but that, for the time being, such an operation-is impossible. "We really can't begin any enviromnental assessment or cleanup while there's ongoing combat." Nevertheless, he says, there's no cause for concern."I think we can be very confident that what is in the environment does not create a hazard for those living in the environment and working in it." As this article was going to press, the Pentagon published the findings of a new study that, according to Dr. Kilpatrick, shows D.U. to be a "lethal but safe weapons system." In his Pentagon briefing in March 2003, Dr. Kilpatrrck said that even if D.U. weapons did generate toxic dust, it would not spread. "It falls to the ground very quickly-usually within about a 50-meter range," he said. "It's heavy. It's 1.7 times as heavy as lead. So even if it's a small dust particle it stays on the ground." Evidence that this is not the case comes; from somewhere much closer than Iraq-; an abandoned D.U.-weapons factory in. Colonie, New York, a few miles from Albany, the state capital. 'In 1958, a corporation called National Lead began making depleted-uranium products at a plant on Central Avenue, surrounded by houses and an Amtrak line. In 1979, just as the plant was increasing its production of D.U. ammunition to, meet a new Pentagon contract, a whistleblower from inside the plant told the county health department that N.L. was releasing large amounts of D.U. oxide into the environment. Over the next two years, he and other workers testified before both the New York State Assembly and a local residents' campaign group. They painted a picture of reckless neglect D.U. chips and shavings were simply incinerated, and the resulting oxide dust passed into the atmosphere through the chimneys. "I used to do a lot of burning," William Luther told the governor's task force in 1982. "They told me to do it at night so the black smoke wouldn't be seen." Later, many of the workers were found to have inhaled huge doses into their lungs, and some developed cancers and other illnesses at relatively young ages. In January 1980 the state forced N.L. to agree to limit its radioactive emissions to 500 microcuries per year. The following month, the state shut the plant down. In January alone, the D.U.-chip burner had released 2,000 microcunes. An official environmental survey produced horrifying results. Soil in the gardens of homes near the plant was emitting radiation at up to 300 times the normal background level for upstate New York. Inside the 11-acre factory site, readings were up to five times higher. The federal government has been spending tax dollars to clean up the Colonie site for the past 19 years, under a program called FUSRAI'-the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. Today' all that is left of the Colonie plant are enormous piles of earth, constantly moistened with hoses and secured by giant tarpaulins to prevent dispersal, and a few deep pits. In its autumn 2004 bulletin to residents, the FUSRAP team disclosed that it had so far removed 125,242 tons of contaminated soil from the area, all of which have been buried at radioactive-waste sites in Utah and Idaho. In some places, the excavations are more than 10 feet deep. FUSRAP had also discovered contamination in the neighboring Patroon Creek, where children used to play, and in the reservoir it feeds, and had treated 23.5 million gallons of contaminated water. The cost so far has been about $155 million, and the earliest forecast for the work's completion is 2008. Years before FUSRAP began to dig, there were data to suggest that D.U. particles- and those emitted at Colonie are approximately the same size as those produced by weapons-can travel much farther than 50 meters. In 1979, nuclear physicist Len Dietz was working at a lab operated by General Electric in Schenectady, 10 miles west of Colonie. "We had air filters all around our perimeter fence," he recalls. "One day our radiological manager told me we had a problem: one of the filters was showing abnormally high alpha radiation. Much to our surprise, we found D.U. in it. There could only be one source: the N.L. plant" Dietz had other filters checked both in Schenectady and at other G.E. sites. The three that were farthest away were in West Milton, 26 miles northwest, and upwind, of Colonie. All the filters contained pure Colonie D.U. "Effectively," says Dietz, "the particles' range is unlimited." In August 2003, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry published a short report on Colonie. On the one hand, it declared that the pollution produced when the plant was operating could have increased the risks of kidney disease and lung cancer. Because the source of the danger had shut down, however, there was now "no apparent public health hazard." Thus there was no need to conduct a full epidemiological study of those who had lived near and worked at the factory-the one way to produce hard scientific data on what the health consequences of measurable D.U. contamination actually are. The people of Colonie have been trying to collect health data of their own. Sharon Herr, 45, lived near the plant for nine years. She used to work 60 hours a week at two jobs-as a clerk in the state government and as a real-estate agent. Now she too is sick, and suffers symptoms which sound like a textbook case of Gulf War syndrome: TANKS SHOT UP BY D.U. MUNITIONS WERE REMOVED," WEYMAN SAYS, "I SAW NO PRECAUTIONS BEING TAKEN AT ALL." "Fourteen years ago, I lost my grip to the point where I can't turn keys. I'm stiff, with bad joint and muscle pain, which has got progressively worse. I can't go upstairs without getting out of breath. I get fatigue so intense there are days I just can't do much. And I fall down-I'll be out walking and suddenly I fall." Together with her friend Anne Rabe, 49, a campaigner against N.L. since the 1980s, she has sent questionnaires to as many of the people who lived on the streets close to the plant as possible. So far, they have almost 400 replies. Among those who responded were people with rare cancers or cancers that appeared at an unusually young age, and families whose children had birth defects. There were 17 cases of kidney problems, 15 of lung cancer, and 11 of leukemia There were also five thyroid cancers and 16 examples of other thyroid problems - all conditions associated with radiation. Other people described symptoms similar to Herr's. Altogether, 174 of those in the sample had been diagnosed with one kind of cancer or another. American women have about a 33 percent chance of getting cancer in their lifetimes, mostly after the age of 60. (For men, it's nearly 50 percent.) Some of the Colonie cancer victims are two decades younger. "We have what look like possible suspicious clusters," says Rabe. '~A health study here is a perfect opportunity to see how harmful this stuff really is." On June 14,2004, the army's Physical Evaluation Board, the body that decides whether a soldier should get sickness pay, convened to evaluate the case of Raymond Ramos of the 442nd Military Police company. It followed the Pentagon's approach, not Dr. Durakovic's. The board examined his Walter Reed medical-file summary, which describes his symptoms in detail, suggests that they may have been caused by serving in Iraq, and accepts that "achieving a cure is not a realistic treatment objective." But the summary mentions no physical reason for them at all, let alone depleted uranium. Like many veterans of the first Gulf War, Ramos was told by the board that his disability had been caused primarily by post-traumatic stress. It did not derive "from injury or disease received in the line of duty as a direct result of armed conflict." Instead, his record says, he got "scared in the midst of a riot" and was "emotionally upset by reports of battle casualties." Although he was too sick to go back to work as a narcotics cop, he would get a disability benefit fixed at $1,197 a month, just 30 percent of his basic military pay. On the day we meet, in September 2004, his symptoms are hardly alleviated. "I'm in lots of pain in my joints. I'm constantly fatigued- I can fall asleep at the drop of a dime. My wife tells me things and I just forget. It's not fair to my family." For the time being, the case against D.U. appears to remain unproved. But if Asaf Durakovic, Doug Rokke, and their many allies around the world are right, and the Pentagon wrong, the costs-human, legal, and financial-will be incalculable. They may also be widespread. In October, the regional health authority of Sardinia, Italy, began hearings to investigate illnesses suffered by people who live near a U.S. firing range there that tests D.U. weapons. In 2002 the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights declared that depleted uranium was a weapon of mass destruction, and its use a breach of international law. But the difference between D.U. and the W.M.D. that formed the rationale for the Iraqi invasion is that depleted uranium may have a boomerang effect, afflicting the soldiers of the army that fires it as well as the enemy victims of "lethality overmatch." The four members of the 442nd who tested positive all say they have met soldiers from other units during their medical treatment who complain of similar ailments, and fear that they too may have been exposed. "It's bad enough being sent out there knowing you could be killed in combat," Raymond Ramos says. "But people are at risk of bringing something back that might kill them slowly. That's not right." * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 21 BBC NEWS: Workers tested for contamination Last Updated: Friday, 11 August 2006, 17:04 GMT 18:04 UK [ [Dounreay Nuclear Power Plant] The two workers from Dounreay are waiting the results of tests Two workers at Dounreay are undergoing tests following concerns they have been exposed to a radioactive metal. The checks follow the results of routine biological samples taken from individuals who work in the nuclear site's fuel cycle area. One works for site operator the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the other for a contractor. A Dounreay spokesman said it could take some time before follow-up test results for plutonium were known. The suspected intake of plutonium has been reported to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive. ***************************************************************** 22 BBC NEWS: Dounreay particle found on beach Last Updated: Sunday, 13 August 2006, 17:12 GMT 18:12 UK [ Dounreay particle found on beach [Beach testing for radioactive particles ] Radioactive particles have been traced in the sea and the shore Another radioactive particle has been recovered from the public beach at Sandside near the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness. It is the 67th hotspot to have washed ashore from the nearby UK Atomic Energy Authority site. The metallic fragments of reprocessed reactor fuel are linked to a rogue historic discharge from the plant. The particle, found on the west side of the beach, has been taken back to a laboratory at Dounreay for analysis. The particles have been discovered on the seabed and beaches near Dounreay over the past two decades. Last week, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it had submitted reports to the procurator fiscal over the finds. UKAEA declined to comment on the threat of legal proceedings. ***************************************************************** 23 Green Left Weekly: TAHITI: Nuclear cover-up stokes tension with France Norm Dixon Oscar Temaru, the pro-independence president of the Tahiti Nui (Temaru’s preferred name for the French colony known as French Polynesia), dropped a political bombshell in the Pacific country’s parliament on July 28. Temaru released a letter from a respected government health expert in Paris that officially confirmed for the first time what most Tahitians have long known and France has always denied: that French nuclear explosions in their territory have increased cancer rates throughout the Tahitian islands. The revelation has further strained tensions between the Temaru-led coalition government and Tahiti’s colonial masters in Paris. During the budget session of the French Polynesia Assembly, Temaru read out a letter by Florent de Vathaire, head of cancer epidemiology at the Gustave-Roussy Institute in Paris, which is part of the French Institute of Health and Medical Research. The letter, dated July 17, had been sent to Jurien de la Graviere, the French defence ministry’s representative in Tahiti. According to the letter, a study conducted between 2002 and 2005 of thyroid cancer sufferers in Tahiti who had been diagnosed between 1984 and 2002 established a “significant statistical relationship” between cancer rates and exposure to radioactive fallout from French nuclear tests. “Thus, we now consider as established fact that the atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by France contributed to increasing the incidence of thyroid cancer in French Polynesia”, de Vathaire’s letter stated. Between 1966 and 1974, France exploded at least 43 nuclear weapons, including five hydrogen bombs, in the atmosphere at sites on the tiny Fangataufa and Moruroa atolls, which are situated some 1200 kilometres south-east of Tahiti’s capital Papeete. Between 1975 and 1996, another 140 or so underground blasts were conducted on or within the lagoons of the fragile coral atolls. The French government disregarded the opposition of the local people, and condemnation from the wider Pacific region. For 40 years, the French government and military have steadfastly refused to admit that the nuclear blasts in the Pacific have had any detrimental effects. However, de Vathaire’s letter confirms that this stance could only be maintained by a systematic cover-up directed from the highest levels in Paris. De Vathaire’s letter also reinforces the findings of unofficial studies and research over the years. On January 24, a commission of inquiry appointed by the French Polynesia Assembly reported that radioactive fallout from French atmospheric nuclear explosions reached most of the Tahitian archipelago, including Papeete. The committee charged that Tahiti’s high cancer rates are directly linked to the blasts and accused France of deliberately covering this up. Committee chairperson Tea Hirshon lashed out at Paris for its refusal to cooperate with the committee in any way, even to the extent of refusing to acknowledge the receipt of letters from the committee. Official agencies, from the French nuclear establishment to the health and weather services, did not respond to requests for information. A request by the committee to visit Moruroa and Fangataufa went unanswered. “We are scandalised by the absence of cooperation and the contempt shown by the defence ministry and state officials towards the elected representatives of Polynesia”, Hirshon said. However, the commission was able to publish 25 secret French military documents dating from 1966 and 1967 that had been leaked to the anti-nuclear journal Damocles in April 2005. These contained clear evidence that the French military, under orders from Paris, lied to local inhabitants when they claimed that no radioactive fallout reached the populated islands. In fact, the documents showed that every test conducted in 1966 and 1967 resulted in significant fallout reaching populated Tahitian islands. “How can we be surprised that today in Polynesia we have a thyroid cancer rate that is among the highest in the world? How can we be surprised that today ... certain leukemia, considered to be induced by radioactivity, such as acute myeloid leukemia, are four times more common in Polynesia than in the rest of the world?”, Hirshon asked. Faced with this evidence, Jurien de la Graviere calmly stated, “I don’t believe things had been hidden at the time, I would rather think they have not been said”. He added that the French defence ministry urged that the nuclear debate in Tahiti be “less passionate”. Paris did not get its wish. On July 2, President Oscar Temaru held a ceremony in Papeete to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first French atmospheric nuclear explosion at Moruroa. Temaru unveiled a memorial “dedicated to the victims of nuclear tests in the Pacific”. The ceremony was preceded by a two-day conference that brought together representatives of people affected by British and US nuclear tests in other parts of the Pacific, as well as survivors of the US nuclear attacks on Japan in 1945. The French high commissioner (governor), Anne Broquet, issued an “open letter” in response to Temaru’s action, in which she referred to, among others, the Tahiti government’s memorial to the “presumed victims” of French nuclear tests as an “unfriendly” gesture. Temaru countered on July 17 with his own “communique”, in which he pointed out that “the unfriendly gesture was to have imposed the nuclear tests on a small population without defence”, Tahitipresse reported on July 20. Temaru went on to state that Paris kept Tahiti’s people ignorant about the dangers of the tests and they have yet to tell them of the consequences of the nuclear blasts for the people and the environment. Following the release of de Vathaire’s candid letter, Temaru’s thin majority in the Assembly on July 31 held a minute of silence on behalf of the victims of France’s nuclear tests, much to the outrage of the pro-French opposition parties. From Green Left Weekly, August 16, 2006. Visit the Green Left Weekly home page. Authorised by K. Miller, 23 Abercrombie St, Chippendale, NSW ***************************************************************** 24 SignOnSanDiego.com: Are depleted uranium weapons, America's newest armaments, sickening U.S. troops? By Deborah Hastings ASSOCIATED PRESS 9:15 a.m. August 12, 2006 NEW YORK  It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills  morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves. Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done. Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil. There is something massively wrong with Herbert Reed, though no one is sure what it is. He believes he knows the cause, but he cannot convince anyone caring for him that the military's new favorite weapon has made him terrifyingly sick. In the sprawling bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, he has many caretakers. An internist, a neurologist, a pain-management specialist, a psychologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a dermatologist. He cannot function without his stupefying arsenal of medications, but they exact a high price. I'm just a zombie walking around, he says. Reed believes depleted uranium has contaminated him and his life. He now walks point in a vitriolic war over the Pentagon's arsenal of it  thousands of shells and hundreds of tanks coated with the metal that is radioactive, chemically toxic, and nearly twice as dense as lead. A shell coated with depleted uranium pierces a tank like a hot knife through butter, exploding on impact into a charring inferno. As tank armor, it repels artillery assaults. It also leaves behind a fine radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Depleted uranium is the garbage left from producing enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and energy plants. It is 60 percent as radioactive as natural uranium. The U.S. has an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of it, sitting in hazardous waste storage sites across the country. Meaning it is plentiful and cheap as well as highly effective. Reed says he unknowingly breathed DU dust while living with his unit in Samawah, Iraq. He was med-evaced out in July 2003, nearly unable to walk because of lightning-strike pains from herniated discs in his spine. Then began a strange series of symptoms he'd never experienced in his previously healthy life. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C, he ran into a buddy from his unit. And another, and another, and in the tedium of hospital life between doctor visits and the dispensing of meds, they began to talk. We all had migraines. We all felt sick, Reed says. The doctors said, 'It's all in your head.'  Then the medic from their unit showed up. He too, was suffering. That made eight sick soldiers from the 442nd Military Police, an Army National Guard unit made up of mostly cops and correctional officers from the New York area. But the medic knew something the others didn't. Dutch marines had taken over the abandoned train depot dubbed Camp Smitty, which was surrounded by tank skeletons, unexploded ordnance and shell casings. They'd brought radiation-detection devices. The readings were so hot, the Dutch set up camp in the middle of the desert rather than live in the station ruins. We got on the Internet, Reed said, and we started researching depleted uranium. Then they contacted The New York Daily News, which paid for sophisticated urine tests available only overseas. Then they hired a lawyer. Reed, Gerard Matthew, Raymond Ramos, Hector Vega, Augustin Matos, Anthony Yonnone, Jerry Ojeda and Anthony Phillip all have depleted uranium in their urine, according to tests done in December 2003, while they bounced for months between Walter Reed and New Jersey's Fort Dix medical center, seeking relief that never came. The analyses were done in Germany, by a Frankfurt professor who developed a depleted uranium test with Randall Parrish, a professor of isotope geology at the University of Leicester in Britain. The veterans, using their positive results as evidence, have sued the U.S. Army, claiming officials knew the hazards of depleted uranium, but concealed the risks. The Department of Defense says depleted uranium is powerful and safe, and not that worrisome. Four of the highest-registering samples from Frankfurt were sent to the VA. Those results were negative, Reed said. Their test just isn't as sophisticated, he said. And when we first asked to be tested, they told us there wasn't one. They've lied to us all along. The VA's testing methodology is safe and accurate, the agency says. More than 2,100 soldiers from the current war have asked to be tested; only 8 had DU in their urine, the VA said. The term depleted uranium is linguistically radioactive. Simply uttering the words can prompt a reaction akin to preaching atheism at tent revival. Heads shake, eyes roll, opinions are yelled from all sides. The Department of Defense takes the position that you can eat it for breakfast and it poses no threat at all, said Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center, which helps veterans with various problems, including navigating the labyrinth of VA health care. Then you have far-left groups that ... declare it a crime against humanity. Several countries use it as weaponry, including Britain, which fired it during the 2003 Iraq invasion. An estimated 286 tons of DU munitions were fired by the U.S. in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. An estimated 130 tons were shot toppling Saddam Hussein. Depleted uranium can enter the human body by inhalation, the most dangerous method; by ingesting contaminated food or eating with contaminated hands; by getting dust or debris in an open wound, or by being struck by shrapnel, which often is not removed because doing so would be more dangerous than leaving it. Inhaled, it can lodge in the lungs. As with imbedded shrapnel, this is doubly dangerous  not only are the particles themselves physically destructive, they emit radiation. A moderate voice on the divisive DU spectrum belongs to Dan Fahey, a doctoral student at the University of California at Berkeley, who has studied the issue for years and also served in the Gulf War before leaving the military as a conscientious objector. I've been working on this since '93 and I've just given up hope, he said. I've spoken to successive federal committees and elected officials ... who then side with the Pentagon. Nothing changes. At the other end are a collection of conspiracy-theorists and Internet proselytizers who say using such weapons constitutes genocide. Two of the most vocal opponents recently suggested that a depleted-uranium missile, not a hijacked jetliner, struck the Pentagon in 2001. The bottom line is it's more hazardous than the Pentagon admits, Fahey said, but it's not as hazardous as the hard-line activist groups say it is. And there's a real dearth of information about how DU affects humans. There are several studies on how it affects animals, though their results are not, of course, directly applicable to humans. Military research on mice shows that depleted uranium can enter the bloodstream and come to rest in bones, the brain, kidneys and lymph nodes. Other research in rats shows that DU can result in cancerous tumors and genetic mutations, and pass from mother to unborn child, resulting in birth defects. Iraqi doctors reported significant increases in birth defects and childhood cancers after the 1991 invasion. Iraqi authorities found that uranium, which affected the blood cells, had a serious impact on health: The number of cases of leukemia had increased considerably, as had the incidence of fetal deformities, the U.N. reported. Depleted uranium can also contaminate soil and water, and coat buildings with radioactive dust, which can by carried by wind and sandstorms. In 2005, the U.N. Environmental Program identified 311 polluted sites in Iraq. Cleaning them will take at least $40 million and several years, the agency said. Nothing can start until the fighting stops. Fifteen years after it was first used in battle, there is only one U.S. government study monitoring veterans exposed to depleted uranium. Number of soldiers in the survey: 32. Number of soldiers in both Iraq wars: more than 900,000. The study group's size is controversial  far too small, say experts including Fahey  and so are the findings of the voluntary, Baltimore-based study. It has found no clinically significant health effects from depleted uranium exposure in the study subjects, according to its researchers. Critics say the VA has downplayed participants' health problems, including not reporting one soldier who developed cancer, and another who developed a bone tumor. So for now, depleted uranium falls into the quagmire of Gulf War Syndrome, from which no treatment has emerged despite the government's spending of at least $300 million. About 30 percent of the 700,000 men and women who served in the first Gulf War still suffer a baffling array of symptoms very similar to those reported by Reed's unit. Depleted uranium has long been suspected as a possible contributor to Gulf War Syndrome, and in the mid-90s, veterans helped push the military into tracking soldiers exposed to it. But for all their efforts, what they got in the end was a questionnaire dispensed to homeward-bound soldiers asking about mental health, nightmares, losing control, exposure to dangerous and radioactive chemicals. But, the veterans persisted, how would soldiers know they'd been exposed? Radiation is invisible, tasteless, and has no smell. And what exhausted, homesick, war-addled soldier would check a box that would only send him or her to a military medical center to be poked and prodded and questioned and tested? It will take years to determine how depleted uranium affected soldiers from this war. After Vietnam, veterans, in numbers that grew with the passage of time, complained of joint aches, night sweats, bloody feces, migraine headaches, unexplained rashes and violent behavior; some developed cancers. It took more than 25 years for the Pentagon to acknowledge that Agent Orange  a corrosive defoliant used to melt the jungles of Vietnam and flush out the enemy  was linked to those sufferings. It took 40 years for the military to compensate sick World War II vets exposed to massive blasts of radiation during tests of the atomic bomb. In 2002, Congress voted to not let that happen again. It established the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses  comprised of scientists, physicians and veterans advocates. It reports to the secretary of Veterans Affairs. Its mandate is to judge all research and all efforts to treat Gulf War Syndrome patients against a single standard: Have sick soldiers been made better? The answer, according to the committee, is no. Regrettably, after four years of operation neither the Committee nor (the) VA can report progress toward this goal, stated its December 2005 report. Research has not produced effective treatments for these conditions nor shown that existing treatments are significantly effective. And so time marches on, as do soldiers going to, and returning from, the deserts of Iraq. Herbert Reed is an imposing man, broad shouldered and tall. He strides into the VA Medical Center in the Bronx with the presence of a cop or a soldier. Since the Vietnam War, he has been both. His hair is perfect, his shirt spotless, his jeans sharply creased. But there is something wrong, a niggling imperfection made more noticeable by a bearing so disciplined. It is a limp  more like a hitch in his get-along. It is the only sign, albeit a tiny one, that he is extremely sick. Even sleep offers no release. He dreams of gunfire and bombs and soldiers who scream for help. No matter how hard he tries, he never gets there in time. At 54, he is a veteran of two wars and a 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, where he last served as an assistant warden at the Riker's Island prison. He was in perfect health, he says, before being deployed to Iraq. According to military guidelines, he should have heard the words depleted uranium long before he ended up at Walter Reed. He should have been trained about its dangers, and how to avoid prolonged exposure to its toxicity and radioactivity. He says he didn't get anything of the kind. Neither did other reservists and National Guard soldiers called up for the current war, according to veterans' groups. Reed and the seven brothers from his unit hate what has happened to them, and they speak of it at public seminars and in politicians' offices. It is something no VA doctor can explain; something that leaves them feeling like so many spent shell rounds, kicked to the side of battle. But for every outspoken soldier like them, there are silent veterans like Raphael Naboa, an Army artillery scout who served 11 months in the northern Sunni Triangle, only to come home and fall apart. Some days he feels fine. Some days I can't get out of bed, he said from his home in Colorado. Now 29, he's had growths removed from his brain. He has suffered a small stroke  one morning he was shaving, having put down the razor to rinse his face. In that moment, he blacked out and pitched over. Just as quickly as I lost consciousness, I regained it, he said. Except I couldn't move the right side of my body. After about 15 minutes, the paralysis ebbed. He has mentioned depleted uranium to his VA doctors, who say he suffers from a series of non-related conditions. He knows he was exposed to DU. A lot of guys went trophy-hunting, grabbing bayonets, helmets, stuff that was in the vehicles that were destroyed by depleted uranium. My guys were rooting around in it. I was trying to get them out of the vehicles. No one in the military talked to him about depleted uranium, he said. His knowledge, like Reed's, is self-taught from the Internet. Unlike Reed, he has not gone to war over it. He doesn't feel up to the fight. There is no known cure for what ails him, and so no possible victory in battle. He'd really just like to feel normal again. And he knows of others who feel the same. I was an artillery scout, these are folks who are in pretty good shape. Your Rangers, your Special Forces guys, they're in as good as shape as a professional athlete. Then we come back and we're all sick. They feel like men who once were warriors and now are old before their time, with no hope for relief from a multitude of miseries that has no name. San Diego Union-Tribune | About the Union-Tribune | Site Index ***************************************************************** 25 Green Left Weekly: PM's nuclear dreaming: enriching Australia? August 16, 2006. Jim Green Recently, the prime minister has become fond of likening a domestic industry for enriching uranium to building factories to knit garments from Aussie wool. It’s a cosy argument for value-adding, but it masks the security and environmental threats of a domestic uranium enrichment industry. Unlike enrichment plants, garment factories don’t generate large volumes of radioactive waste in the form of depleted uranium, and they don’t have the potential to destabilise the region. We can safely assume that the Lucas Heights nuclear plant in Sydney never operated a secret program to knit woollen garments. But in 1965, Lucas Heights, then known as the Atomic Energy Commission, did begin a secret uranium enrichment program. It was known as the “Whistle Project”, so named because workers would whistle as they walked past Building 64, where the basement housed the secret enrichment program. There can be no doubt that the Whistle Project had a military agenda. Indeed, in the archives of the University of New South Wales, you can find hand-written notes by the then chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, Sir Philip Baxter, in which he calculates how many nuclear weapons could be produced if the enrichment work proceeded as he hoped it would. As it happens, the enrichment work was publicly revealed in the 1967-68 Annual Report of the Atomic Energy Commission, and the project proceeded in fits and starts until the Hawke Labor government put an end to it in 1984. Other countries proceeded with their “peaceful” uranium enrichment programs. More precisely, they proceeded to build nuclear weapons using highly enriched uranium from their “peaceful” enrichment programs. This is how Pakistan and South Africa developed their arsenals of nuclear weapons. The Iraqi regime was pursuing uranium enrichment until its nuclear weapons program was terminated during and after the 1991 Gulf War. North Korea claims to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons which use enriched uranium as their fissile material. There is enormous controversy over the current uranium enrichment program in Iran. The simple fact is that “peaceful” enrichment plants can produce low-enriched uranium for power reactors, and they can produce highly-enriched uranium for weapons of mass destruction. Further, the depleted uranium tailings waste produced in large volumes at enrichment plants can be used in munitions, such as those used by the US and NATO in Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan. Australia could not credibly oppose uranium enrichment programs in North Korea or Iran if it had the same capacity to produce fissile weapons material. Nor could it credibly oppose Indonesia’s current plans to build facilities for the production of plutonium — oops, I mean peaceful power reactors. In the June 6 Bulletin, Max Walsh discusses the “elephant in the room” in the current nuclear debate — the possibility that it is being driven by a military agenda. Could it be that PM John Howard is interested in uranium enrichment precisely because of its military potential? Does Howard subscribe to the “fortress Australia” views that led former Liberal prime minister, John Gorton, to approve the construction of a facility for plutonium production, or reactor, at Jervis Bay in the late 1960s? The PM is undoubtedly aware of widespread concern that the international non-proliferation regime could collapse because of the recalcitrance of the major nuclear weapons states and the ambitions of would-be weapons states. As the UN Secretary-General’s 2004 report “High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change” noted: “We are approaching a point at which the erosion of the non-proliferation regime could become irreversible and result in a cascade of proliferation”. The PM has argued that in the emerging nuclear world order, countries supplying nuclear fuel might also take responsibility for spent nuclear fuel disposal. If Australia is to supply not just raw yellowcake but enriched uranium or fuel rods, the pressure to host an international high-level nuclear waste dump will continue to build. As Professor John Veevers from Macquarie University wrote in the Australian Geologist in August 1999, when Pangea Resources was attempting to foist a nuclear dump on Australia, such a dump would pose serious public health and environmental risks. “[T]onnes of enormously dangerous radioactive waste in the northern hemisphere, 20,000 kms from its destined dump in Australia where it must remain intact for at least 10,000 years. These magnitudes — of tonnage, lethality, distance of transport, and time — entail great inherent risk.” Instead of pursuing his nuclear dreaming, the PM should focus on adding value to benign and clean energy resources. Australia was once a leader in solar power, an industry that his government has left to wither on the vine as capital and brains take flight overseas. In May, a confidential CSIRO report was released which argued that solar thermal technology “is poised to play a significant role in baseload generation for Australia” and will be cost-competitive with coal within seven years. But this potential won’t be realised unless the federal government can be persuaded to shift its nuclear ambitions from enrichment plants and power reactors to the nuclear fusion power supplied by the sun at a safe distance of 150 million kilometres. An expanded renewable energy target, like those recently announced in Victoria and South Australia, would provide jobs and energy security while cutting greenhouse emissions. And it won’t upset the neighbours. [Dr Jim Green is an anti-nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth.] Authorised by K. Miller, 23 Abercrombie St, Chippendale, NSW ***************************************************************** 26 WTGN: Romney unveils plan to reduce energy demands Worcester Telegram &Gazette News Saturday, August 12, 2006 State facilities must conserve; award lottery proposed By Glen Johnson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The alternative is power plants, with additional cost, with additional pollution. Gov. Mitt Romney BOSTON— Trying to stave off power shortages and high electricity costs, Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday unveiled a plan to reduce demand and increase supply in Massachusetts. Within the next month, Romney will require more efficient energy use in state buildings, increased use of biofuels in the state automobile fleet and the creation of a lottery awarding prizes to consumers who buy energy-efficient equipment. Romney also plans to seek market-based electricity pricing, in which consumers would pay more for running appliances and other electrical devices at peak periods, while paying less at off-peak times. Overall bills would not rise, he said, but consumers would have an incentive to consume power during lower-cost periods. Through a mix of executive orders and legislation he will request from the House and Senate, the governor will seek to establish a “negawatts” program in which utility companies pay customers who reduce their energy use, support the establishment of “selective” wind power projects and work with businesses and universities to create deep-water offshore wind farms. The governor said the plan is necessary to avoid rolling blackouts in the future, such as those recently experienced in California, and to ensure the state’s electricity demand does not exceed its capacity, which is predicted to occur in 2013. Romney said adopting the proposal could help the state avoid paying subsidies the federal government has threatened to charge to boost power company revenues and encourage them to build more plants in Massachusetts. The companies have been reluctant to build new plants because the state’s relatively low electricity prices mean insufficient returns. The subsidies have been projected at $10 billion over the next 10 years, but reducing demand would eliminate the need for new plants, Romney said. “The alternative is power plants, with additional cost, with additional pollution, with a long permitting process and the potential of higher and higher electric rates in Massachusetts,” Romney said at a Statehouse news conference. During the fall, Massachusetts will request proposals for wind and biomass power-generation facilities at state buildings and on state land, convene a summit on advanced energy technologies and seek a decision on siting offshore LNG receiving terminals. Romney opposes an onshore facility proposed for Weaver’s Cove in Fall River, but he has voiced support for a plan to create an offshore terminal on Outer Brewster Island at the edge of Boston Harbor. The governor opposes the Cape Wind plant proposed for Nantucket Sound, which he says is a pristine, nationally known tourist destination. But he supports similar projects in Princeton, Hull and other Massachusetts locations. A spokesman for MassPIRG, a public advocacy group that focuses on state power issues, did not immediately return calls or an e-mail seeking comment on the Romney plan. Sue Reid, a staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, called for swift implementation of Romney’s proposal. “To effectively confront the climate-change crisis and meet our energy needs, we need to do everything the governor is proposing on efficiency, conservation, clean energy and more,” she said. In rolling out such a large-scale proposal only five months before he leaves office, Romney conceded he will not be around to see all of it enacted. Indeed, in answering a question about the plan, the potential Republican presidential candidate indicated he has been thinking about energy issues elsewhere in the country. The Romney plan does not call for the construction of any new, conventional power plants, but the governor said “the nation is going to have to explore nuclear power sources again.” The problem, he said, is disposing of the waste, an issue that has plagued President Bush after Nevadans accused him of flip-flopping on a campaign promise to bar storage of nuclear waste at the federal government’s Yucca Mountain facility. Romney said seeking a safe way to dispose nuclear waste dovetails with his plan, which calls for greater cooperation between the state, private industry and local universities to develop alternate energy supplies and clean forms of energy disposal. “I’m hopeful that as we invest in this energy sector, that here in Massachusetts we’ll find ways to dispose of, or to reuse, the waste that comes from nuclear power plants,” the governor said. © Worcester Telegram &Gazette Corp. ***************************************************************** 27 Concord Monitor: A nuclear dump is not really a dump at all - Concord, NH 03301 August 13, 2006 , WILLIAM KLAPPROTH, Concord - Letter For the Monitor I n his "My turn" ("We don't need another radioactive dump,"Monitor, July 27, Robert B. Williams Jr. takes exception to my promoting more nuclear power plants in New England. Which would he prefer to have in his own neighborhood: The kind of real dump that a coal-fired power plant generates, with over 300,000 tons of ashes every year, and with a fly-ash lagoon nearby, both leaching toxic materials into the local groundwater and blowing toxic dust into the neighborhood? Or what is not really a dump at all, at a nuclear power plant, where there is nothing to be seen out in the open, everything in the so-called dump is sealed in zircoloy tubes, kept under water in a vault from which nothing leaves the environs of the plant? Call it the Judd Gregg Memorial High Level Waste Dump at Seabrook if you wish, but it is actually the neatest, cleanest, most environmentally-friendly dump in the state. You need not worry about radiation: It is well shielded, and you wouldn't be allowed near it anyhow. All of the other 103 nuclear power plants around the country also have such a spent fuel retaining pool (aka dump), and in the 30-plus years of their existence, nothing untoward has happened except for a few people working themselves up into a tizzy because of their existence. Now, since the price of natural gas recently increased several-fold, the only economic alternative to nuclear power for the essential base-load supply of electricity is a coal-fired plant, the source of many pollutants: global-warming carbon dioxide, toxic mercury, acid rain-forming sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and fly-ash dust containing more uranium than escapes from a nuclear power plant. Being a scientist concerned about the environment, I choose the nuclear option. WILLIAM KLAPPROTH Concord . Concord Monitor Online, P.O. Box 1177, Concord NH 03302 Phone: 603-224-5301 ***************************************************************** 28 Spectrum: Nuclear option is no option St. George Ut- www.thespectrum.com - County commissioners in Clark County, Nev., have given Peggy Maze Johnson $84,000 to get out of town. And, it's all because of her politics. Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, an activist group based in Las Vegas, is using that money to travel a route that nuclear waste will travel to get to a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain - basically a cave in southeastern Nevada. "My frustration is that people across the country think it (nuclear waste) is going to magically disappear from where they are and appear here," Johnson says. Not the case. That highly toxic waste will travel through 43 states before it arrives at Yucca Mountain. Johnson applied for a few grants three years ago to help awaken the public to the problem. It wasn't until she hooked up with Rory Reid, the Clark County Commission Chairman and son of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., that she got the money. Part of the message, of course, is the danger of moving this waste across the country. The other, however, is a more global look at nuclear waste, nuclear power and the environment. And, Johnson is definitely a friend of the environment. "What people have to understand is that nuclear power is not your friend," she said. "If we go at the rate we are now, we're going to need 22 repositories the size of Yucca Mountain for all of the waste. So, where are they going to put this stuff?" Good question. The problem is we have some immediate concerns. There's this little thing called global warming that is beginning to have an impact on our climate and we're being told that nuclear energy is the answer. Not true. While we wait for people to realize that there are such renewable energy sources like solar or wind power, we can turn to liquefied gas and gassified coal, which are not ideal, but better alternatives for the short-term - probably the next 20 or 30 years - until we get our arms around viable alternatives. They will contribute to a bit of pollution and foul the environment, but not as badly as nukes, which last forever. And, make no mistake, we are in a world of hurt if we don't come up with viable alternatives. Forget about the trouble in the oil-rich Middle East, oil is a disappearing resource. No matter how you politicize it, there is a finite amount. When it's gone, it's gone. For decades our leaders, from both sides of the aisle, have given lip service to developing fuel alternatives. With disappearing glaciers, odd temperatures and weather conditions cropping up in strange corners of the world and other phenomena, we have no other choice than to finally do something, whether it's on the agenda of Exxon or not. Call Ed Kociela, City Editor of The Spectrum, at 674-6237. E-mail is ekociela@thespectrum.com. For additional commentary, go to southernutahblog.com. Originally published August 12, 2006 Copyright ©2006 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 29 Salt Lake Tribune: Energy chairman defends temporary N-storage sites Article Last Updated: 08/12/2006 01:08:25 AM MDT Not in Utah or Nevada: Senator wants a solution that promotes Yucca Mountain, safely deals with waste in the interim By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune WASHINGTON - Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici defended a plan to create temporary nuclear waste storage sites - while prohibiting the waste from coming to Utah - as a key piece of a nuclear waste strategy. The Coalition of Northeastern Governors sent Domenici, R-N.M., a letter last week arguing that storing waste in as many as 31 states would be more expensive and less secure than a plan to bury it permanently at Yucca Mountain, Nev. But Domenici argued that Yucca Mountain, which is 19 years behind schedule, won't open until 2017, and it will take another 23 years to move existing waste to the site. There needs to be, he wrote in a letter to the governors, a practical interim solution. "I am interested in a solution that will keep the Yucca Mountain project moving, but also acknowledges the need to safely deal with spent fuel until the project is completed," he wrote. Interim storage would also give the Energy Department time to develop technology to recycle nuclear waste, reducing the amount of waste that will have to be buried at Yucca Mountain, Domenici wrote. Domenici's proposal, backed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, is included in an energy spending bill pending in the Senate. It would create temporary storage sites but would require that the waste stay in states that generate nuclear power. Regional sites are also on option under the plan. The plan also prohibits storage in Nevada or Utah, which would scuttle plans by Private Fuel Storage to park 44,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation, about 50 miles from Salt Lake City. The Northeastern states are the largest consumers of nuclear generated power. For example, nuclear reactors produce more than 70 percent of the electricity in Vermont, and more than half in New Jersey. © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 30 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI will never suspend enrichment 2006/08/13 The Islamic Republic of Iran will not accept suspension of uranium enrichment at all, said Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel on Sunday. He described the UNSC's recent resolution over I.R. of Iran's nuclear issue illogical. "Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had admitted that no deviation has been seen in Iran's peaceful nuclear programs towards nulcear military activities, so depriving the country from its peaceful activities is unjustifiable," he added. "If membership in the international organizations and the IAEA deprive Iran from its inalienable right, there would be no reason for Tehran to continue its membership in these organizations," Hadda-Adelo said. He urged the Europeans to settle the current problems through negotiations, the speaker concluded. mk Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 31 Columbus Telegram: NPPD funds nuclear fuel storage 2006/08/13 By ADRIAN SANCHEZ Telegram Staff Writer COLUMBUS The Nebraska Public Power District board of directors approved funding for the first phase of a project to safely store used nuclear fuel at Cooper Nuclear Station. Also on Friday, the board heard results of a cost of service study and the proposal for a potential rate increase needed in 2007. NPPD management asked its board to consider a 3.5 percent average wholesale rate increase starting in 2007. They cited rising fuel costs, equipment and power plant upgrades, as well as the need for additional transmission lines and substations to support increasing electrical de mand from electric-well irrigation, ethanol plants and t he state's growing economy. Projects can cost in the millions of dollars, and NPPD is cognizant of its mission to keep rates low while still providing reliable energy, according to a press release issued by NPPD. However, rate increases can become necessary as past, present, and future projects emerge, such as the dry-cask nuclear fuel storage system. According to the press release, "a dry-cask nuclear fuel storage system will maintain the safe and efficient storage of the (CNS's) used nuclear fuel and involves the transfer of some used fuel from wet storage (a fuel pool) to dry storage in secure, concrete and steel casks." Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel, that has already been cooled in the spent fuel pool for at least one year. The fuel is surrounded by inert gas inside a large container. The dry cask fuel storage project will be conducted in two phases, according to the press release. The first phase, at an approximate cost of $19.7 million, will include the design, engineering and key components of a dry-cask nuclear fuel storage system at CNS. Beth Boesch, the corporate communications and public relations manager for NPPD, said the NPPD board is expected to vote on funding for the second phase, estimated at $25.3 million, in 2007. "The funding will go toward construction of the facil ant modifications needed, training ... and other quality assurance costs," Boesch said. The total cost of the project is estimated at $45 million and is expected to be completed by September 2008. The board also voted in favor of a $5.7 million project to increase or "uprate" the capacity of the 778-megawatt nuclear power plant by installing high-accuracy monitoring equipment. The new equipment is expected to increase the capacity of the plant an additional 12 megawatts . Ron Asche, NPPD president and CEO, said these are important investments for not only NPPD, but the communities impacted by CNS. "Cooper plays an important role in NPPD's generation mix and helps support the economy of communities in southeast Nebraska," Asche said. "Pursuing this dry fuel storage system and the power uprate complements investments the board has made in such projects as license renewal, training facilities, and the replacement of various generator equipment assets." columbus telegram.com ***************************************************************** 32 Odessa American Online: Enrichment plant discussed at meeting Saturday, August 12, 2006 Major structure to be completed by 2008 BY GEOFF FOLSOM Odessa American LEA COUNTY, N.M. Residents here were given a chance Thursday to see how federal inspections of a $1.2 billion gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant would be conducted. Staff from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Atlanta office discussed the procedures that will be used in conducting inspections. During the plants construction stage, inspections will be conducted by civil and electrical engineers and concrete supervisors, along with nuclear experts, commission spokesman Ken Clark said. Once the plant is online, Cohen said inspections would continue on a regular basis. Among the issues discussed were what would happen in case of an emergency at the plant. "The NRC would send a team to the plant, and we would be in close communication with state officials and county officials," Clark said. The construction process is under way for Louisiana Energy Services National Enrichment Facility near Eunice. Major structure construction is expected to be completed by 2008, company vice president Marshall Cohen said. The first grouping of centrifuges is expected to be operational by 2008, with groupings being added until completion in 2012 or 2013, Cohen said. Louisiana Energy officials are ready for the inspections, Cohen said. We know its coming, he said. Theres a lot of interaction in overseeing everything we do. We look forward to working as closely with them as we can. Commission officials visited the construction site while in Eunice, Clark said. While there, they took dirt samples. The first official inspection of the construction site is tentatively set for the week after Thanksgiving, Clark said. Cohen said that Louisiana Energy has addressed concerns about the disposal of nuclear waste. Along with a deconversion facility, an off-site location will be used to dispose of separated depleted uranium. A location near Andrews is among the possible sites for the disposal location, Cohen said. Efforts to reach Lee Cheney, founder of the citizens group that opposed the project, were unsuccessful Friday, as were attempts to reach Eunice Mayor Matt White and John Parker of the New Mexico Environmental Departments Radiation Control Bureau. Louisiana Energy was rejected in previous efforts to construct the plant at sites in Louisiana and Tennessee. But Cohen said that Eunice did well in the companys grading system and that Louisiana Energy is happy to be there. Its a long process, he said. We dont just pick out a plot of land. American Online: c /o Odessa American 222 E. 4th Street P.O. Box 2952 Odessa, TX 79760 Copyright © 1999-2006 Odessa American. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 33 PE.com: Water-quality board under fire Inland Southern California | San Bernardino Metro PERCHLORATE: Three appointees will face a state panel as criticism arises over area cleanup efforts. 10:00 PM PDT on Friday, August 11, 2006 By JENNIFER BOWLES The Press-Enterprise Three regional water-quality board members appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger will undergo further scrutiny after a state senator complained the board has done little to clean up perchlorate contamination in a key Inland drinking water source. The three members will take the rare step of going to Sacramento on Aug. 21 to answer questions posed by the Senate Rules Committee, in addition to the standard process -- handing in written responses and speaking to committee members over the telephone, Nettie Sabelhaus, the committee's appointments director, said Friday. The Senate Rules Committee reviews gubernatorial appointments that require Senate confirmation, and then issues its recommendations to the full Senate. The appointments, announced by Gov. Schwarzenegger in December, were Mary Cramer, of Anaheim, and Deborah Neev, of Laguna Beach, who already have been serving on the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. Carole Beswick, a former Redlands mayor, was reappointed. She has served on the board since 2000 and is currently its chair. Based in Riverside, the water board regulates pollution in the Santa Ana watershed that sits in parts of San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, requested the in-person meetings, saying in her letter to committee chairman, Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, that the board has "performed dismally" regarding the contamination of perchlorate, a rocket-fuel ingredient, in the San Bernardino Valley. Beswick has responded to community complaints at board meetings by saying that the perchlorate contamination is the board's top priority. The underground plume stretches several miles, and has invaded some 20 drinking water wells in Rialto, Fontana and Colton. Levels reaching as high as 10,000 parts per billion have been discovered in groundwater below the suspected source -- an industrial site in north Rialto where fireworks and defense contractors used perchlorate. California's Department of Health Services has set a public health goal at 6 parts per billion as it decides how much of the chemical should be allowed in the state's drinking supplies. In sufficient amounts, perchlorate can interfere with the thyroid gland's ability to make hormones that control metabolism and guide neurological development in growing bodies. The water board's staff, in a letter to the rules committee, said that one of two companies alleged to have caused much of the pollution continues to fight their efforts to get a cleanup under way. A two-day hearing had been scheduled for mid-July to prove that Emhart Industries Inc., is tied to a company that existed at the site in 1950s. That company made explosive cartridges, photoflash cartridges, flares and other incendiary devices containing perchlorate. Officials at Emhart, a subsidiary of Black & Decker, have been "using all means possible" to block hearings attempting to hold them accountable, the letter said. Reach Jennifer Bowles at (951) 368-9548 or jbowles@PE.com 2006, The Press-Enterprise Company ***************************************************************** 34 Scripps News: Deadly nuke rods piling up in California | By KEAY DAVIDSON Thousands of tons of deadly radioactive rods of spent nuclear fuel and waste have accumulated at three California nuclear power plants because the federal government has failed to open a permanent nuclear burial site in Nevada that was supposed to be ready eight years ago. And the delay is only getting worse: The Department of Energy says the nuclear dump site won't open until 2017 _ almost two decades past the original 1998 inauguration target and five years beyond the most recent scheduled opening date. The latest delay climaxes a yearlong debacle at the Yucca Mountain Project in Nevada _ a debacle during which staff scientists were suspected of fraud, federal investigators blasted the project's management, and project officials announced plans to revamp the operation and redesign the burial site. On July 14, according to news reports, officials said they'd lay off up to 500 employees as part of the planned reorganization. The Energy Department estimated in 2001 that the facility would cost $60 billion. But in February, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman admitted at a conference of nuclear power industrialists that there's no trustworthy cost estimate. Energy Department officials say the facility will offer a permanent solution to the nation's deadliest waste, protecting the environment from the radiation of spent nuclear fuel for 10,000 years or longer. Critics say the computer models the Energy Department used to make such predictions are unreliable. To its harshest critics, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository looks dead in the water. "The Yucca Mountain nuke dump has been riddled with scientific, health and safety problems from the beginning," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a statement. "I don't believe the dump will ever open." But project defenders are confident they'll get their act together and overcome long-standing technical objections to the site _ especially fears that the super-hot nuclear fuel and wastes could leak into groundwater and spread for miles far faster than anyone dreamed when the project was proposed in the 1970s. Someday "Yucca Mountain will open," Paul Golan, deputy director of the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, told The Chronicle. "We're going to demonstrate that we have good science, good process, good engineering. We have good quality standards in place. This (repository) is certainly a challenge that this country can solve _ and can solve credibly." Utility officials in California and across the nation are not pleased to be stuck with growing mountains of spent fuel and waste that the Energy Department had promised to take off their hands long ago. Nationwide, more than 50,000 tons of poisonous, super-hot rods of spent nuclear fuel are sitting in cooling ponds and dry casks at atomic power plants awaiting the day when they will be shipped to Yucca Mountain. Several utilities have sued the department to recover costs of on-site storage and won; more suits are planned. PG&E officials, who run the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant and the now-defunct Humboldt Bay reactor, are among the litigants. They have demanded $100 million in damages and say they expect a court decision in September. So far, the Diablo Canyon plant has accumulated more than 1,000 tons of spent fuel and waste; the much smaller Humboldt Bay plant, which closed in the 1970s, has almost 30 tons. Southern California Edison spokesman Ray Golden told The Chronicle that the utility is reviving legal action against the Energy Department, which had been temporarily delayed, for its failure to take spent fuel and waste now accumulating at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego. A pool at that plant stores 3,000 tons of spent fuel; an additional 300 tons is stored in dry casks. Utility officials insist that it's safe to store the fuel and nuclear waste on site. But anti-nuclear activists fear the spent fuel and waste storage facilities could become juicy targets for terrorists _ say, a pilot flying a plane filled with explosives. On June 2, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, responding to a lawsuit by the anti-nuclear activist group San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, ordered the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to study the possibility of a terrorist attack at Diablo Canyon. Nearly a half-century has passed since the National Academy of Sciences recommended burying spent fuel from nuclear power plants at an underground site, and it's been two decades since Congress designated Yucca Mountain as that site. Nothing else like the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, which would be operated by the Energy Department, has been built. The facility some 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas would consist of a series of tunnels 1,000 feet underground, where spent fuel rods from the nation's nuclear plants would be permanently buried. Published: Sunday, 13 August 2006 Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service » full article| email ***************************************************************** 35 Bradenton Herald: FOCUS: Data of plume delayed | 08/12/2006 | DONNA WRIGHT Herald Staff Writer TALLEVAST - Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have violated the legal agreement governing the clean-up of the Tallevast plume, community leaders said Friday. The residents' advocacy group, FOCUS, or Family Oriented Community United Strong, is demanding a community meeting be held within 30 days to find out why. The letter sent via e-mail from Laura Ward, FOCUS president, to Bill Kutash of DEP demands to know why FOCUS and its independent consultant are being excluded from planning and technical meetings, as required by law. Ward also says FOCUS is not getting reports and data on the plume in a timely manner. Kutash is taking Ward's concerns seriously and will respond directly to FOCUS, said Pamala Vasquez, DEP spokeswoman. "FOCUS has asked us to e-mail them on all correspondence, which we do," Vasquez said. "We have been working very closely with FOCUS to make sure they get everything they have requested from us." Gordon Dyer, a Lockheed spokesman, said his company "has complied and will continue to comply with all the terms of the consent order we signed with the FDEP. We remain committed to restoring the Tallevast's residents' faith in their land and water." Ward makes the following specific allegations in her letter to Kutash: • DEP and Lockheed Martin have failed to furnish multiple hard and electronic copies of all documents to FOCUS and the Tallevast community. • DEP has failed to timely review and respond to technical comments provided by FOCUS's technical experts as required under the consent order. • DEP and Lockheed Martin have disregarded the spirit of the consent order and recorded agreements between all parties by failing to provide notice to FOCUS of all meetings regarding the consent order. The consent order governs how a plume of toxic waste, now known to cover more than 200 acres surrounding Tallevast, shall be cleaned up. Lockheed, as former owner of the beryllium company identified as the source of the contamination, is responsible for cleaning the mess up under the supervision of DEP. Kutash oversees that process, and the consent order identifies FOCUS as the contact group for the community though which all reports are data are to be delivered to residents. "DEP and Lockheed Martin stated both verbally and written that Tallevast would be represented in meetings, planning/development sessions, etc.," Ward states. But that has not happened, said Ward and Tim Varney, an independent scientist selected by Tallevast residents and paid by Lockheed, as required in the consent order, to advise the community on the plume clean-up. Neither Varney nor FOCUS were included in a July 14 meeting between DEP and Lockheed Martin to discuss critical independent reviews of the latest plume data, Ward said. Those critical reviews included one submitted by Varney, a second by Michael Graves, a geologist hired by lawyers for Tallevast residents to review Lockheed's data and comments made by Wilma Subra, an independent scientist who reviewed the data for the Herald. The plume of toxic waste - including industrial solvents known to cause cancer - was been traced back to the former Loral American Beryllium Co. plant, which Lockheed owned when the toxic spill was discovered in 2000. Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@HeraldToday.com. HeraldToday.com Go to our Web site to read more about the Tallevast investigation and to view important documents. ***************************************************************** 36 Deseret News: Lobbying tally climbs in nuclear waste debate [deseretnews.com] Saturday, August 12, 2006 By Suzanne Struglinski Deseret Morning News WASHINGTON — The state of Utah paid a lobbyist $45,000 last year to help battle nuclear waste while the consortium of companies looking to bring waste to Utah has spent more than $1 million on lobbying since 1998. The extra attention — and money — paid by both sides of the nuclear waste debate show how serious each is about its objective and how tense the legislative negotiations were at the end of last year. "Keeping high-level nuclear waste out of Utah is a high priority for Gov. Huntsman, and we feel it is important to take any and all steps necessary to do it," said Mike Mower, spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. The state had a $45,000 contract with Dukto Worldwide lobbyist William Simmons, a former aide to former Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah. Simmons' 2005 lobbying disclosure report said he was hired to "assist/advise client on issues related to high level nuclear waste." Mower said it was awarded through a competitive bidding process. Simmons helped coordinate efforts to push a major roadblock for Private Fuel Storage through Congress last year. Huntsman renewed it through 2006 for another $45,000, Mower said. It has not been decided if the contract will be renewed for 2007, Mower said. Simmons said he met with staff on relevant committees and followed appropriations bills and other energy policy legislation that made its way through Congress, including the Defense Authorization bill. Meanwhile, Private Fuel Storage has paid more than $1 million since 1998 for its own lobbyist in Washington, according to lobbying records and the Center for Public Integrity. This includes a $40,000 contract for 2005 with MGN Inc. The 2005 lobbying disclosure forms specifies that its work revolved around the Defense Authorization bill. Steve Barringer and Nils Johnson from MGN Inc. moved to another firm, Holland &Hart, in April. Neither Barringer nor Johnson could be reached for comment as to what they are working on for PFS this year, if anything. PFS wants to store nuclear waste on the Goshute Indian Reservation in Tooele County until the government opens the planned federal storage site at yucca Mountain in Nevada. The state strongly opposes the idea but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a license earlier this year to PFS. The consortium is now looking for customers to invest in constructing the storage site and to move waste there, but has also asked the Energy Department to pay for waste storage there. Mower said the "extra set of hands" worked with the congressional delegation to watch various pieces of legislation and represent the governor on the issue. "It was so pressing at the time, it was an 'all hands on deck' situation," Mower said. After the state lost its effort to block the commission from giving PFS its license, it filed a case appealing the license in federal court but legislative options also remained. Before he left office, Hansen had initiated a bill that would create a federal Wilderness Area to protect the Utah Test and Training Range used by Hill Air Force Base but also blocked PFS from building a rail line designed to ship waste to the Goshute site. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, resurrected the idea and introduced a slightly different but similar bill. Congress eventually approved the Defense Authorization bill with Bishop's provision, causing the delegation and the state to declare a big victory in the PFS fight. But the victory did not come easy. As House and Senate negotiators finished up the final version of the Defense Authorization bill there was an almost hour-by-hour change as to whether it would include a Bishop provision until all those involved ultimately agreed to let it pass. Julius Hobson, an adjunct associate professor of political management at George Washington University, said it is not unusual for a state to hire a lobbyist for some extra help on an issue and that it should be viewed no differently than a company hiring a lobbyist. "The delegation is stretched over a number of issues," Hobson said. "They have their committee assignments and a huge number of constituents." He said a lobbyist can concentrate on one single issue and go at it "full-force." "It's like a rifle shot," Hobson said. "Others do it and you would be remiss if you didn't. (Hiring a lobbyist) is part of doing everything you can possibly do on an issue, a 'leaving no stone unturned.' " Nuclear waste continues to be a hot topic this session and a compromise between similar storage provisions in the House and Senate energy and water spending bill may not be worked out until the 11th hour this year as well. The Senate bill contains $10 million to start a federal temporary storage program until yucca opens. The Senate bill specifically disqualifies Utah from getting a federal site because Private Fuel Storage already has a license to store waste in Skull Valley. But the bill does not prohibit companies from using PFS instead of a government waste facility. The Senate has not yet taken up the bill. The House passed its version of the energy and water spending bill, which contained $30 million for the temporary storage of nuclear waste, saying the government could consider private sites as well as federal facilities to store it. Action on the Senate bill is not likely to take place until after the November election and lobbyists on both sides are the issues will be watching the debate closely. E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 37 Deseret news: Nuclear-waste decisions put on hold [deseretnews.com] Friday, August 4, 2006 Yucca official urges speedy passage of Senate energy bill By Suzanne Struglinski Deseret Morning News WASHINGTON — Congress and the Energy Department are still not quite sure how to deal with the temporary storage of nuclear waste, and details may be pushed off until after the August recess and possibly after the November mid-term election. Any decision on interim storage could affect Private Fuel Storage's plan to store nuclear power plant waste on Goshute Indian land in Tooele County, and long-term plans to store waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain could potentially bring hundreds of shipments of nuclear waste through Utah. At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing Thursday, the Energy Department's top Yucca Mountain project official, Edward Sproat, told members that without passage of a pending bill that makes several changes to nuclear-waste policy, there is no way the department can achieve its new goal of opening Yucca by 2017. "The probability of making that schedule without this legislation is zero, that's how important it is," said Sproat, who has held his position a little more than a month. But committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said the longer it takes Yucca to open, the longer the nuclear waste will stay onsite at commercial reactors all over the country because the department can ship only so much waste to Nevada at a time. "May I repeat, for those who don't think we need to address temporary storage: If everything goes perfectly, it will take over 30 years, longer than I have been in the Senate, to eliminate the existing backlog of spent fuel," Domenici said. "In light of that, it only makes sense to look for additional ways for the government to meet its obligations." The Senate has yet to act on the pending energy and water spending bill that contains $10 million to start a federal temporary storage program until Yucca opens. The Senate bill specifically disqualifies Utah from getting a federal site because Private Fuel Storage already has a license to store waste in Skull Valley. But the bill does not prohibit companies from using PFS instead of a government waste facility. Utah and its congressional delegation have been fighting the PFS plan for years. The House passed its version of the energy and water spending bill, which contained $30 million for the temporary storage of nuclear waste, saying the government could consider private sites as well as federal facilities to store it. Once the Senate passes its bill, certain House members and senators will work together to iron out differences between the two. Congress is about to go on its August recess, leaving legislative work behind for a month to head back to home districts to meet with constituents — or most likely to work on campaigns. This leaves the spending bills and other nuclear-waste legislation in limbo until the lawmakers come back to allow them to advance. Any bill left at the end of this session would need to be resubmitted at the beginning of the new Congress that starts in January. Domenici told reporters after the hearing that he may introduce another, simpler Yucca bill he would hope to get through Congress while tackling the temporary storage issue in the spending bill only. Sproat said temporary storage is something that needs to be discussed because "there is not one solution here that fits all." "There is no one answer," Sproat said, adding that there are legal, political and financial matters affecting any decision to open or locate a temporary nuclear-waste storage site. He is not quite convinced that the country needs interim storage but said the department would follow what Congress says. Sproat also told the panel that working on temporary storage sites, if the responsibility fell to his office, could take management responsibility and time away from working on Yucca. At this time, the Energy Department itself is not asking for temporary storage policy or anything to be built but Yucca Mountain. PFS has told the Energy Department it is open to the idea of working with the government by using federal money to ship and store nuclear waste in Utah, but the department has yet to respond to the request. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has consistently said that PFS is not part of the department's waste-manage- ment plan. © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 38 KnoxNews: ORNL specialists help move Poland uranium to Russia By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com August 12, 2006 OAK RIDGE - Nuclear specialists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory participated in a project that removed about 90 pounds of weapons-usable uranium from Poland to a safe location in Russia, a lab official said Friday. "ORNL personnel were involved both in the initial assessment which took place over six months ago and in the removal, which occurred earlier this week," Larry Satkowiak, the laboratory's director of nuclear nonproliferation programs, said in an e-mail response to questions. The Oak Ridge experts were part of a team put together by the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Global Threat Reduction. The U.S. government is actively working with other countries to secure nuclear materials that are in vulnerable locations. In a statement released to the news media this week in Washington, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman lauded the work in Poland. "This is another example of the international community working collectively to reduce the threat of terrorism," Bodman said. The uranium removed from Poland was the highest amount secured under the program launched two years ago. Satkowiak said the highly enriched uranium fuel was a particular concern because the material's form would be "highly desirable for weapons use in an improvised nuclear device." Analysts say that nuclear terrorists, if they gained access to fissile material such as highly enriched uranium, could quickly assemble a crude weapon and detonate it on the spot - with potentially catastrophic results. The uranium fuel was relocated from Poland to Dimitrovgrad, Russia, "for temporary safe storage," Satkowiak said. ORNL personnel earlier were involved in a project that upgraded the safeguards and security at the storage facility at Dimtrovgrad, he said. The nuclear material was returned to Russia because that's where it originated, officials said. The uranium fuel will be blended down with other stocks to reduce its enrichment - the percentage of U-235 - and eliminate the material's weapons capability, Satkowiak said. "ORNL also provides many of the monitors (who) oversee the blend-down of this type of material at Dimitrovgrad," he said. The Oak Ridge laboratory is playing an "extended role" in a number of projects that support the federal Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Satkowiak said. In recent months, ORNL workers have assisted the relocation of uranium from vulnerable sites in Libya and Uzbekistan to Russia. In another project earlier this year, uranium experts from the Y-12 National Security Complex worked with counterparts in Argentina to relocate uranium fuel from a reactor in Buenos Aires to a storage facility in Oak Ridge. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 39 Carlsbad Current-Argus: DOE requests proposals for facilities By Kyle Marksteiner Current-Argus Staff Writer CARLSBAD The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a request for proposals asking for entities interested in hosting DOE Global Nuclear Energy Partnership facilities, according to a DOE press release. The RFP, issued Aug. 3, announced $20 million to conduct detailed siting studies for the project. Entities could qualify to receive up to $5 million per site. Eddy and Lea counties have already filed a joint expression of interest asking to participate in the project. The DOE also recently announced that it is seeking expressions of interest from industry for two potential commercial projects, a consolidated fuel treatment facility and an advanced burner reactor. A consolidated fuel treatment center would include spent nuclear fuel recycling and transmutation fuel fabrication capabilities, according to a DOE notice. An advanced burner reactor would convert transuranic waste into shorter-lived radioisotopes, while producing electricity. Site studies will describe potential locations to host one or both anticipated GNEP facilities. Communities selected to perform a siting study won't necessarily be selected for a facility. The project was originally going to have two stages. Now, the DOE plans to eliminate a stage that would have only demonstrated technology and immediately accept proposals for a fuel treatment facility and advanced burner reactor from private industry. According to a press release on the DOE's Web site, the decision to skip the technology demonstration was based on feedback. "Based on international and private sector response to GNEP, the Energy Department believes there are advanced technologies available to recycle used nuclear fuel that may be ready for deployment in conjunction with those currently under development by the DOE," the release stated. "In light of this information, DOE is investigating the feasibility of accelerating development and deployment of advanced recycling technologies by proceeding with commercial demonstrations of the technologies." At a Carlsbad Department of Development board meeting Thursday, member Cliff Stroud updated the board on GNEP issues. Stroud said the area's goal should be to cross the finish line, not simply attempt to obtain money for the siting study. The large projects would bring thousands of jobs to the area, he said. He praised the involvement of private industry, noting that nuclear solutions may now be present for board members' children instead of grandchildren. Three companies, Stroud said, have expressed interest in working with Eddy and Lea counties to bring the site study to the area. Two of the companies, Areva and Washington Group International, are willing to work together. But both groups are unwilling to work with a third company, Energy Solutions. Energy Solutions, meanwhile, has indicated that it would be willing to work with the other two companies. Stroud said Saturday no agreement was reached Friday afternoon with the prospective business partners. Negotiations are ongoing, and representatives from Eddy and Lea counties plan to meet again Monday. Businesses who may wish to submit expressions of interest for the fuel treatment center and/or the burner reactor are asked to attend an Aug. 14 meeting. The deadline for submissions is in early September. Proposals for the site study are also due in early September. Expressions of interest typically are accepted before a request for proposals is issued. For more information, visit: http://www.gnep.energy.gov/ ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************