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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [NYTr] The "Gaps" in US Intel on Iran
2 [southnews] US built major Iranian nuclear facility
3 [NYTr] Bush Made Sure Iran's Offer Would be Rejected
4 [NYTr] Iran queries details of nuclear deal
5 [NYTr] Iran Tells West to Chill Out on Nuke Hysteria
6 [NYTr] Juan Cole: Iran's Nuclear "Threat"
7 Guardian Unlimited: EU to Query Iran on Lukewarm Response
8 MaximsNews Network: In the Middle East much is at stake 
9 Payvand's Iran News: Nuclear compromise with Iran possible - Kissing
10 IRNA: Larijani considers Iran's nuclear response as positive 
11 SF Chron: Iran's diplomacy in action
12 IRNA: Iranian delegation visits Kaliniskaya nuclear plant - Irna
13 Xinhua: EU to respond to Iran's answer by end of August   
14 IRNA: Cleric warns UNSC against any hasty decision on Iran 
15 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: MP urges Europe back to negotiations 
16 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Sanctions against Iran inexpedient 
17 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: UNSC warned against any hasty decision 
18 AFP: Chirac, Merkel: Iranian nuclear response lacks detail - 
19 AFP: Iran rejects 'language of force' over nuclear programme 
20 AFP: Former Iranian president defends nuclear program 
21 AFP: Iran rejects 'language of force' over nuclear program
22 AFP: Iran heads for showdown in nuclear row 
23 Bellona: Iran ready to talk – but mixed signals remain on its uran
24 IRNA: Elham: Iran soon to announce new nuclear achievements 
25 IRNA: Top German expert urges more EU concessions on Iran's nuclear 
26 Deutsche Welle: Germany, France Say Iranian Reply Not Enough 
27 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korea, China Fight N. Korea Nuke Test
28 Hankyoreah: S. Korea, China agree on efforts to prevent N.K. nuclear
29 Hankyoreh: N.K. missile tests not designed to draw U.S. into direct 
30 Korea Times: Pyongyang Has Nuclear Bombs - Defense Minister 
31 AFP: Neighbours warn N Korea of 'grave consequences' for nuclear tes
32 US: Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Energy needs leadership 
33 Pravda: USA may stand up against every country developing nuclear te
34 Washington Post: Early Warning
35 The Hindu :"Bush dedicated to moving forward on nuclear deal" 
36 RIA Novosti: Russia, U.S. need no new strategic arms control deals
37 IRNA: Khatami, Japanese premier confer 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
38 [NYTr] Mexico Planning New Nuke Plant
39 US: AP: Small tritium spill at Prairie Island highlights problem
40 US: Star Tribune: Small tritium spill at Prairie Island highlights l
41 US: The Herald: Proposals for new nuclear power stations   
42 Pravda.Ru: Argentina expands nuclear program to catch up with Brazil
43 The Local: Power firms stung by cost of nuclear shutdown
44 US: Rutland Herald: Entergy challenges nuke plant's value
45 US: WVEC.com: Wisconsin governor defends administration's Dominion m
46 US: UPI: Analysis: NRC hires expecting nuke boom
47 US: NRC: Omaha Public Power District, Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; 
48 Buenos Aires Herald: The nucleus of thequestion                     
49 US: Los Angeles Times: Risk from plant is unacceptable - 
50 US: ajc.com: Nuclear power makes sense on all levels 
51 SABCnews.com: Nuclear industry in SA important - Sonjica
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
52 AFP: Japan executives arrested over weapons-linked exports 
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
53 [DU Information List] Local Iraq Vet Say he has 'New Agent
54 [du-list] Officials dispel charges over uranium ignition at
55 US: Knight Ridder: Veterans exposed to atomic radiation lose court r
56 US: Eureka Reporter: Bill for depleted- uranium screening passes Sen
57 US: IEER: Shifting Radioactivity Risks [Fernald]
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
58 US: [du-list] Spent nuclear could in up in Piketon, Ohio
59 NRC: NRC Takes Regulatory Oversight of USEC Lead Cascade, Authorizes
60 US: Reading Eagle: Santorum says funding reserved for NGK study 
61 US: Deseret News: Energy demands may strain coal mines
62 US: The Dispatch: Olin Clean Up Misses the Mark
63 EurekAlert!: Paleoseismology of Yucca
64 US: cantonrep.com: Pike County in running for nuclear waste recyclin
65 AU ABC: Federal Labor warns of NT nuclear dump. 
66 US: PRN: LES to Break Ground on National Enrichment Facility 
67 US: MetroWestDailyNews.com: State sets limits for perchlorate
68 News & Star: Bid to build recycling plant and create jobs 
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
69 UPI: San Franciscans build nuclear detector
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 [NYTr] The "Gaps" in US Intel on Iran
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:52:59 -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 Guardian via Truthout - Aug 24, 2006
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082406C.shtml

"Significant Gaps" in American Intelligence on Iran

By Julian Borger
The Guardian UK

A congressional report yesterday warned that the US was facing
"significant gaps" in its intelligence on Iran that could be as serious
as the shortcomings in its prewar knowledge about Iraq, leaving
Washington ill-prepared to assess Tehran's military capabilities.

The warning came as the Bush administration struggled to hold
together an international coalition to force Iran to give up its nuclear
programme. On Tuesday, Iran rejected a UN security council ultimatum to
give up uranium enrichment by the end of this month, responding instead
with a 21-page proposal for "serious talks". US diplomats said yesterday
they were consulting their European allies on how to treat the proposal,
in the face of Russian and Chinese reluctance to impose strong
sanctions.

"We acknowledge that Iran considers its response as a serious offer,
and we will review it," state department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said
in a statement. "The response, however, falls short of the conditions
set by the security council, which require the full and verifiable
suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. We are
consulting closely, including with other members of the security
council, on next steps."

A new report by the staff of the House of Representatives
intelligence committee suggested that the administration was
ill-equipped to drive a hard bargain. It found "significant gaps in our
knowledge and understanding of the various areas of concern about Iran"
and said "policymakers will need high-quality intelligence to assess
Iranian intentions to prepare for any new round of negotiations".

Iran, by contrast, is widely considered to be in a strong
negotiating position. Analysis published yesterday by the Royal
Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House said there was
"little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on
terror in the Middle East".

The report said Iran had gained from the defeat of two of its most
immediate regional rivals, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in
Afghanistan.

"The US-driven agenda for confronting Iran is severely compromised
by the confident ease with which Iran sits in its region," it said.
"Iran views Iraq as its own backyard and has now superseded the US as
the most influential power there."

The month-long war between Hizbullah and Israel has strengthened
Iran's regional influence further, because the Arab world perceived the
US as uncritically backing Israel. Hizbullah, backed by Iran, saw its
status soar in Arab public opinion for its ability to survive Israeli
attacks.

UN diplomats said any concerted response to Iran's offer of talks
would only come after a report on its nuclear programme by the
International Atomic Energy Agency at the end of this month.
       
                                *
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 2 [southnews] US built major Iranian nuclear facility
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:33:28 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY

In the heart of Tehran sits one of Iran's most important nuclear 
facilities, a dome-shaped building where scientists have conducted 
secret experiments that could help the country build atomic bombs. It 
was provided to the Iranians by the United States.

U.S. built major Iranian nuclear facility

By Sam Roe
Tribune staff reporter

August 23, 2006, 9:56 PM EDT

In the heart of Tehran sits one of Iran's most important nuclear 
facilities, a dome-shaped building where scientists have conducted 
secret experiments that could help the country build atomic bombs. It 
was provided to the Iranians by the United States.

The Tehran Research Reactor represents a little-known aspect of the 
international uproar over the country's alleged weapons program. Not 
only did the U.S. provide the reactor in the 1960s as part of a Cold War 
strategy, America also supplied the weapons-grade uranium needed to 
power the facilityfuel that remains in Iran and could be used to help 
make nuclear arms.

As the U.S. and other countries wrestle with Iran's refusal this week to 
curb its nuclear capabilities, an examination of the Tehran facility 
sheds light on the degree to which the United States has been complicit 
in Iran developing those capabilities.

Though the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' 
nuclear watchdog, has found no proof Iran is building a bomb, the agency 
says the country has repeatedly concealed its nuclear activities from 
inspectors. And some of these activities have taken place in the 
U.S.-supplied reactor, IAEA records show, including experiments with 
uranium, a key material in the production of nuclear weapons.

U.S. officials point to these activities as evidence Iran is trying to 
construct nuclear arms, but they do not publicly mention that the work 
has taken place in a U.S.-supplied facility.

The U.S. provided the reactor when America was eager to prop up the 
shah, who also was aligned against the Soviet Union at the time. After 
the Islamic revolution toppled the shah in 1979, the reactor became a 
reminder that in geopolitics, today's ally can become tomorrow's threat.

Also missing from the current debate over Iran's nuclear intentions is 
emerging evidence that its research program may be more troubled than 
previously known.

The Bush administration has portrayed the program as a sophisticated 
operation that has skillfully hid its true mission of making the bomb. 
But in the case of the Tehran Research Reactor, a study by a top Iranian 
scientist suggests otherwise.

After a serious accident in 2001 at the U.S.-supplied reactor, the 
scientist concluded that poor quality control at the facility was a 
"chronic disease." Problems included carelessness, sloppy bookkeeping 
and a staff so poorly trained that workers had a weak understanding of 
"the most basic and simple principles of physics and mathematics," 
according to the study, presented at an international nuclear conference 
in 2004 in France.

The Iranian scientist, Morteza Gharib, told the Tribune that management 
of the facility had improved in the past three years. When asked whether 
sloppiness at the reactor might have contributed to some of Iran's 
troubles with the IAEA, Gharib wrote in an email: "It is always 
possible, for any system, to commit infractions inadvertently due to 
lack of proper bookkeeping."

Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at Harvard University, said 
bungling might be to blame for some infractions, but the Iranians 
clearly concealed major nuclear activities, such as building a facility 
to enrich uranium. "This was not an oversight," he said.

Another overlooked concern about the Tehran reactor is the weapons-grade 
fuel the U.S. provided Iran in the 1960sabout 10 pounds of highly 
enriched uranium, the most valuable material to bomb makers. It is still 
at the reactor and susceptible to theft, U.S. scientists familiar with 
the situation said.

This uranium has already been burned in the reactor, but the "spent 
fuel" is still highly enriched and could be used in a bomb. Normally, 
spent fuel is so radioactive that terrorists cannot handle it without 
causing themselves great harm. But the spent fuel in Iran has sat in 
storage for so long that it is probably no longer highly radioactive and 
could be handled easily, the U.S. scientists say.

The fuel is about one-fifth the amount needed to make a nuclear weapon, 
but experts said it could be combined with other material to construct a 
bomb.

In an interview, Linton Brooks, head of the National Nuclear Security 
Administration, an arm of the U.S. Energy Department, said the U.S. 
would like to retrieve the U.S.-supplied fuel, but the top priority has 
been to get Iran to suspend its enrichment efforts.

Under the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has the 
right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. But the UN Security 
Council, saying Iran has failed to prove it is not building weapons, has 
demanded Iran stop enrichment by Aug. 31 or face economic sanctions. 
This week, Iran offered "serious talks" on its nuclear activities but 
did not promise to stop enriching uranium.

While Brooks downplayed the proliferation risk of the Tehran Research 
Reactor, some experts believe the facility is so important to Iran's 
nuclear program that it would be targeted in a U.S. military strike on Iran.

"Its purpose is mainly advanced training and producing a cadre of 
nuclear engineers," said Paul Rogers, an arms control expert at the 
University of Bradford in England. "So it's one of the facilities that 
is really quite significant."

Exactly how significant is unclear. The Tehran reactor provided the 
foundation for Iran's nuclear program, but that program now consists of 
numerous other facilities as well. And over the years, Iran has obtained 
nuclear aid from various sources, including Russia and the black market 
network of Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan. China also has supplied 
research reactors.

Most of the world's nuclear research reactors, which train students or 
produce radioisotopes for medicine, fall under IAEA restrictions. Agency 
inspectors have visited the Tehran facility several times in recent 
years. Iran says its nuclear program, including the U.S.-supplied 
reactor, is solely for peaceful purposes.

When arguing for tough penalties on Iran, U.S. officials have pointed to 
activities in the U.S.-supplied reactor.

In 2004, John Bolton, the State Department's senior arms control 
official at the time, told a congressional panel that Iran's covert 
nuclear weapons program was marked by a "two-decades-long record of 
obfuscation and deceit." He cited experiments in the reactor as part of 
the evidence.

Several months later, Bolton told another congressional panel that Iran 
had received technological assistance from companies in Russia, China 
and North Korea in an attempt to develop missiles capable of delivering 
nuclear weapons.

Countries that provide Iran such weapons-of-mass-destruction technology 
"ought to know better," said Bolton, now the American ambassador to the 
United Nations. If foreign companies aid Iran, the U.S. "will impose 
economic burdens and brand them as proliferators."

What Bolton didn't note: America's role in Iran's nuclear program.

That role has complicated U.S. efforts to gain support for greater 
restrictions on Iran. For instance, the U.S. wants Russia to take a 
firmer stance on Iran's nuclear program and has been critical of Russian 
efforts to help Iran build a nuclear power plant.

But Russia has noted the U.S. had no problem providing Iran a research 
reactor and highly enriched uranium when it was politically expedient.

Those who defend the U.S. say it should not be faulted for aiding Iran 
in the past. "It's not the international community's fault for helping 
Iran exercise its rights in the past" to develop nuclear energy for 
peaceful uses, said Lewis, the Harvard expert. "It's Iran's fault for 
not living up to its safeguards obligation."

Iran's nuclear program can be traced to the Cold War era, when the U.S. 
provided nuclear technology to its allies, including Iran. In 1953, the 
CIA secretly helped overthrow Iran's democratically elected prime 
minister and restore the shah of Iran to power.

In the 1960s, the U.S. provided Iran its first nuclear research reactor. 
Despite Iran's enormous oil reserves, the shah wanted to build numerous 
nuclear power reactors, which American and other Western companies 
planned to supply.

Yet today, the U.S. argues that Iran does not need to develop nuclear 
power because of those same petroleum resources.

In 1979, when the shah was overthrown and U.S. hostages taken, America 
and Iran became enemies; Iran's nuclear power program stalled.

The U.S. refused to give Iran any more highly enriched uranium for its 
reactor, and Iran eventually obtained new fuel from Argentina. This fuel 
is too low in enrichment to be used in weapons but powerful enough to 
run the facility. To this day, the reactor runs on this kind of fuel 
from Argentina.

In papers filed with the IAEA, Iran states that before the 1979 
revolution it gave the U.S. $2 million for additional highly enriched 
uranium fuel for its American-supplied reactor but the U.S. neither 
provided the fuel nor returned the $2 million.

In 2003, shortly after IAEA officials inspected the U.S.-supplied 
reactor, Iran acknowledged it had conducted experiments on uranium in 
the reactor between 1988 and 1992activities that had not been 
previously reported to the agency.

The IAEA rebuked Iran for failing to report these experiments and 
expressed concern about other activities in the reactor. These included 
tests involving the production of polonium-210, a radioisotope useful in 
nuclear batteries but also in nuclear weapons.

Inspectors also were curious why some uranium was missing from two small 
cylinders. Iran said the uranium probably leaked when the cylinders were 
stored under the roof of the research reactor, where heat in the summer 
reached 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

When inspectors took samples from under the roof, they indeed found 
uranium particles. But inspectors did not think Iran's explanation about 
leaking cylinders was plausible.

Eventually, Iran acknowledged the missing uranium had been used in key 
enrichment tests in another facility. __
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/chi-060823iran,0,5236288,print.story

_________________________________

Israel feels US will not attack Iran

YAAKOV KATZ, HERB KEINON and NATHAN GUTTMAN, THE JERUSALEM POST 	Aug. 
24, 2006

There is growing consensus within the defense establishment that the 
United States will not attack Iran, and that Israel might be forced to 
act independently to stop the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear 
weapons, a high-ranking defense official told The Jerusalem Post on 
Thursday.

According to sources within the defense establishment, the Bush 
administration does not have political support for launching a strike 
against Iran's nuclear sites. "America is stuck in Iraq and cannot go 
after Iran militarily right now," the official said.

The defense official blasted the US for "not doing enough" to stop 
Teheran's race to the bomb. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he 
said, was leading the State Department in the direction of "appeasement."

"The only way, besides military action, to stop Iran is through tough 
economic sanctions," the official said. "But the only way to do that is 
for the US to overcome Russian opposition in the Security Council and to 
pass a resolution calling for sanctions against Iran."

Israel, meanwhile, was carefully watching international reaction to 
Iran's failure earlier this week to react positively to the incentives 
offered to discontinue uranium enrichment. In recent days, sources in 
Jerusalem have said Israel "could not abide" a nuclear Iran and might 
have to act to disrupt Teheran's nuclear program if the international 
community did not act.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, on a visit to Nahariya, said Israel "must be 
prepared for every scenario." It was not clear whether the reference was 
to another round of fighting with Hizbullah or to some future 
confrontation with Iran.

There is no consensus among policymakers on whether the US will act 
militarily against Teheran, with some ruling out the possibility, and 
others saying that US President George W. Bush doesn't want to leave the 
world stage in 2009 with the legacy of a nuclear Iran.

According to sources in Jerusalem, among the key lessons the country 
needs to learn from the war against Hizbullah was how to better prepare 
the home front to deal with rocket attacks.

One senior source, asked whether he thought the IDF could take on Iran 
alone, said it was not necessarily a matter of choice. A nuclear Iran 
represented an existential threat, he warned, and Israel might have no 
choice but to prepare for long-range missile attacks from Iran.

Another official warned of the consequences of a nuclear Iran even if 
Israel was not bombed. "We would have our hands tied," the official 
said. "They would constantly be threatening us with their nuclear 
weapons and we would not be able to initiate military operations against 
Hamas in Gaza or Hizbullah in Lebanon."

Military analysts say the US, whose military is finding it more and more 
difficult to assemble the forces needed in Iraq, would prefer to avoid a 
military confrontation with Iran. At the same time, a new report 
suggests that the US lacks sufficient intelligence on Iran's intentions 
and nuclear abilities.

This week, the US decided to call 2,500 Marines back to active service, 
to fill the troop shortfall in Iraq. "It is no secret that we are very 
busy," said US Gen. Michael Barbero, referring to the move.

The US has not formally ruled out military action against Iran if 
negotiations fail to put an end to Teheran's nuclear program, but senior 
administration officials have been stressing for months the need to 
focus on diplomacy and the US is putting all its effort into building an 
international coalition that would act diplomatically against Iran.

A report compiled by the US House of Representatives' Intelligence 
Committee and made public Wednesday stresses that if Iran is allowed to 
arm itself with nuclear weapons, Israel might decide to take on Iran 
militarily. "A nuclear armed Iran would likely exacerbate regional 
tensions. Israel would find it hard to live with a nuclear armed Iran 
and could take military action against Iranian nuclear facilities," the 
report states.

It also says that "a deliberate or miscalculated attack by one state on 
the other could result in retaliation, regional unrest and an increase 
in terrorist attacks."

The report pointed to "significant gaps" in the information the US has 
on Iran and its nuclear ambitions and called on the American 
intelligence community to improve the quality of the information about 
Iran it provides to policy makers.

"The United States lacks critical information needed for analysts to 
make many of their judgments with confidence about Iran and there are 
many significant information gaps," the report reads. It pointed to 
weapons of mass destruction and Iran's support for terrorism as issues 
on which the US should have better intelligence.

"American intelligence agencies do not know nearly enough about Iran's 
nuclear weapons program," the report concluded. It calls on US 
intelligence agencies to acquire more information from sources in Iran 
and to recruit more Farsi speakers to try and decipher Iran's intentions 
and capabilities.

The scathing report draws conclusions similar to those US committees 
have reached regarding the Iraq war - a lack of reliable intelligence 
and over-reliance on electronic information gathering instead of human 
intelligence.

Such criticism, especially in light of America's intelligence failures 
in Iraq, may further dissuade US policymakers from taking military 
action against Iran if the diplomatic track proves unfruitful.

     * ) 1995 - 2006 The Jerusalem Post. All rights reserved.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/jpost01.html
______________________________________________________

Threat of military action hangs over escalating tensions with Iran

By Ron Hutcheson
Posted on Thu, Aug. 24, 2006
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The escalating confrontation over Iran's nuclear program 
raises an unsettling question: Is Iran the next target for U.S. military 
action?

Some analysts think so. The focus is on diplomacy for now, but President 
Bush hasn't ruled out the use of force to stop Iran from building a 
nuclear weapon. Tensions are likely to ratchet up a notch next Friday 
if, as expected, Iran ignores a U.N. Aug. 31 deadline to abandon its 
uranium-enrichment program.

Armed conflict isn't imminent or inevitable, and it wouldn't necessarily 
take the form of a full-scale invasion. Airstrikes alone might be the 
choice. But the possibility of military action lurks on the sidelines of 
the diplomatic dance that will play out over the coming months at the 
U.N. Security Council.

"We are creating a situation where everything we're going to try short 
of military force is going to fail," said Ilan Berman, an Iran expert at 
the American Foreign Policy Council, which favors an aggressive 
approach. "By the spring of next year, we're going to be looking at very 
serious discussions about next steps, including military options."

The steps to war could follow the same path that led to the invasion of 
Iraq: The U.N. passes a resolution demanding an end to Iranian 
nuclear-weapons development, then fails to enforce it. Bush prods the 
U.N. to support words with action. The U.N. dithers. Bush unleashes the 
U.S. military.

"If George Bush is serious about denying Iran nuclear weapons and Iran 
doesn't respond to our diplomacy, then we're headed to a conflict," said 
Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a 
research center with strong ties to the "neo-conservatives" who shaped 
Iraq policy in the Bush administration.

However, even if the president is leaning toward military action, he 
faces several constraints. The military is already strained by Iraq and 
Afghanistan. Iran could strike U.S. forces in Iraq, incite Shiite Muslim 
militias there to do it or simply unleash Shiite chaos that ends Bush's 
dream of a stable, pro-U.S. Iraq. Iran also could encourage Hezbollah 
attacks on Israel.

"There exists a very real possibility that, if the U.S. attacks Iran, 
then Iran will inflict a devastating defeat upon the U.S. in Iraq, and 
also take the fight to the U.S. across the Middle East," concluded an 
analysis Wednesday by Chatham House, a respected British research center.

A unilateral U.S. strike probably would inflame world opinion anew 
against America. It could send global oil prices over $100 a barrel and 
tip the world into recession. And U.S. voters weary of war could punish 
Bush and his Republican Party in 2008 - as might Congress in the 
meantime if Democrats win control of it in November.

Some analysts think the risks of war will convince the president to 
forgo it.

"When all the political and strategic pros and cons of an American 
military strike on Iran are taken into account, there is good reason to 
believe that the U.S. will stick to diplomacy," Philip Gordon, a foreign 
policy specialist at the Brookings Institution, a center-left research 
center, concluded in a recent article. "I know of almost no one who ... 
sees it as anything other than a last resort."

Still, Gordon added, "it would be foolish" to completely dismiss the 
idea that "Washington is getting ready to bomb Iran."

There are other possible scenarios. Iran might cave to international 
pressure and give up its uranium-enrichment programs. A diplomatic 
stalemate might leave the issue unresolved through Bush's term. The 
international community might be able to force Iran's cooperation by 
imposing tough economic sanctions.

That's the American game plan for the moment. U.S. diplomats are trying 
to come up with a package of sanctions that could win Security Council 
approval, but Russia and China oppose tough measures and each holds veto 
power. Both have strong economic ties to Iran.

Many experts think the right mix of sanctions could work. Despite the 
windfall it's reaped from skyrocketing oil prices, Iran's economy is 
shaky. Although Iran is the second-largest exporter of Middle East oil, 
behind Saudi Arabia, it imports about 40 percent of its refined 
gasoline. The government has drafted plans for fuel rationing.

"The mullahs have terribly mismanaged the economy. They're economically 
vulnerable," said Peter Brookes, an Iran specialist at the Heritage 
Foundation, a conservative research center. "The hard part, when you're 
talking about sanctions, is getting the Europeans to do it and getting 
the Chinese and the Russians not to oppose it at the Security Council."

The Security Council passed a resolution in July demanding that Iran 
shut down its uranium-enrichment program, but Russia and China blocked 
American efforts to include an automatic trigger for sanctions if Iran 
failed to comply.

Iran says it wants enriched uranium for nuclear power plants, not bombs, 
but few accept that. U.S. intelligence officials think Iran is on track 
to produce a nuclear weapon over the next four to nine years.

"If they get the bomb, all bets are off," Berman said. "We don't want 
the leading state sponsor of terrorism to have a finger on the trigger."

Berman said the best-case scenario would be a regime change within Iran. 
Earlier this year, Bush asked Congress for $75 million to encourage 
internal dissent, but there are no indications that the Iranian regime 
is close to collapsing.

Iran's leaders show no sign of backing down on the nuclear issue. Their 
prestige in the region is on the rise, as Iranian support for Shiite 
militias in Iraq and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has expanded 
Tehran's influence.

If diplomacy fails and the Iranian regime presses ahead with its nuclear 
program, Bush could order airstrikes, although Iran's nuclear facilities 
are hidden and scattered. Or he could let Israel do it; in 1981, Israel 
bombed a nuclear plant in Iraq to prevent it from being used to develop 
weapons. It's the nation most at risk from a nuclear Iran.

Alternatively, Bush could let diplomacy drag out through the end of his 
term in January 2009.

"Political reality may force him to punt it. His credibility is, in a 
sense, shot internationally. Domestically, there's no appetite for a 
military confrontation," said Thomas Alan Schwartz, who teaches 
diplomatic history at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. "He 
might be faced with the issue of whether he wants to go out with a bang, 
so to speak, or leave it to his successor."

Brookes of Heritage, who agrees with Bush's zero-tolerance policy toward 
a nuclear-armed Iran, suggested that events may force a compromise.

"We may have to live with a nuclear Iran," he said.

The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ 
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 3 [NYTr] Bush Made Sure Iran's Offer Would be Rejected
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:53:27 -0500 (CDT)

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InterPress Service - Aug 25, 2006
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34425

Bush Ensured Iran Offer Would Be Rejected

Analysis by Gareth Porter*

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (IPS) - Even before Iran gave its formal counter-offer
to ambassadors of the P5+1 countries (the U.S., Britain, France, Germany,
Russia and China) Tuesday, the George W. Bush administration had already
begun the process of organising sanctions against Iran. 

Washington had already held a conference call on sanctions Sunday with
French, German and British officials, the Washington Post reported.
Thus ends what appeared on the surface to be a genuine multilateral
initiative for negotiations with Iran on the terms under which it would
give up its nuclear programme. But the history of that P5+1 proposal shows
that the Bush administration was determined from the beginning that it
would fail, so that could bring to a halt a multilateral diplomacy on
Iran's nuclear programme that the hard-liners in the administration had
always found a hindrance to their policy.

Britain, France and Germany, which had begun negotiations with Tehran on
the nuclear issue in October 2003, had concluded very early on that Iran's
security concerns would have to be central to any agreement. It is has been
generally forgotten that the Nov. 14, 2004 Paris Agreement between the EU
and Iran included an assurance by the three European states that the
"long-term agreement" they pledged to reach would "provide...firm
commitments on security issues."

The European three had tried in vain to get the Bush administration to
support their diplomatic efforts with Tehran by authorising the inclusion
of security guarantees in a proposal they were working on last summer. In a
joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in
July 2005, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy referred to the
need to "make sure...that we discuss with [the Iranians] the security of
their country. And for this, we shall need the United States..."

The European three and the Bush administration agreed that the P5+1
proposal would demand that Iran make three concessions to avoid Security
Council sanctions and to begin negotiations on an agreement with positive
incentives: the indefinite suspension of its enrichment programme,
agreement to resolve all the outstanding concerns of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and resumption of full implementation of the
Additional Protocol, which calls for very tight monitoring of all suspected
nuclear sites by the IAEA.

That meant that Tehran would have to give up its major bargaining chips
before the negotiations even began. The Europeans wanted security
guarantees from Washington to be part of the deal. Douste-Blazy said on May
8 if Iran cooperated, it could be rewarded with what he called an
"ambitious package" in several economic domains as well as in "the security
domain."

The European 3 draft proposal, which was leaked to ABC News and posted on
its website, included a formula that fell short of an explicit guarantee.
However, it did offer "support for an inter-governmental forum, including
countries of the region and other interested countries, to promote dialogue
and cooperation on security issues in the Persian Gulf, with the aim of
establishing regional security arrangements and a cooperative relationship
on regional security arrangements including guarantees for territorial
integrity and political sovereignty."

That convoluted language suggested there was a way for Iran's security to
be guaranteed by the United States. But the problem was that it was still
subject to a U.S. veto. In any case, as Steven R. Weisman of the New York
Times reported on May 19, the Bush administration rejected any reference to
a regional security framework in which Iran could participate.

Rice denied on Fox News May 21 that the United States was being "asked
about security guarantees", but that was deliberately misleading. As a
European diplomat explained to Reuters on May 20, the only reason the
Europeans had not used the term "security guarantees" in their draft was
that "Washington is against giving Iran assurances that it will not be
attacked."

In light of these news reports, the public comment by Iran's U.N.
Ambassador Javad Zarif May 27 is particularly revealing. Zarif declared
that the incentive package "needs to deal with issues that are fundamental
to the resolution" of the problem. "The solution has to take into
consideration Iranian concerns."

Zarif seems to have been saying that Iran wanted to get something of
comparable importance for giving up its bargaining chips in advance and
discussing the renunciation of enrichment altogether. That statement, which
departed from Iran's usual emphasis on its right to nuclear technology
under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, suggested that Tehran was at least open
to the possibility of a "grand bargain" with Washington such as the one it
had outlined in a secret proposal to the Bush administration in April 2003.
The partners of the United States in the P5+1 made one more effort to
convince Rice to reconsider the U.S. position at their final meeting in
Vienna Jun. 1 to reach agreement on a proposal. As Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov revealed in a talk with Russian media the following day, the
issue of security guarantees for Iran was raised by the negotiating
partners of the U.S. at that meeting.

But the Bush administration again rebuffed the idea of offering positive
security incentives to Iran. In the final text of the proposal, the
European scheme for a regional security system was reduced to an anodyne
reference to a "conference to promote dialogue and cooperation on regional
security issues".

The Europeans, Russians and Chinese knew this outcome doomed the entire
exercise to failure. In the end, only the United States could offer the
incentives needed to make a bargain attractive to Iran. A European official
who had been involved in the discussions was quoted in a Jun. 1 Reuters
story as saying, "We have neither big enough carrots nor big enough sticks
to persuade the Iranians, if they are open to persuasion at all."

Despite the desire of other members of the P5+1 for a genuine diplomatic
offer to Iran that could possibly lead to an agreement on its nuclear
programme, the Bush administration's intention was just the opposite.
Bush's objective was to free the administration of the constraint of
multilateral diplomacy. The administration evidently reckoned that, once
the Iranians had rejected the formal offer from the P5+1, it would be free
to take whatever actions it might choose, including a military strike
against Iran. Thus the Jun. 5 proposal, with its implicit contempt for
Iran's security interests, reflected the degree to which the administration
has anchored its policy toward Iran in its option to use force.

As Washington now seeks to the clear the way for the next phase of its
confrontation with Iran, Bush is framing the issue as one of Iranian
defiance of the Security Council rather than U.S. refusal to deal seriously
with a central issue in the negotiations. "There must consequences if
people thumb their noses at the United Nations Security Council," Bush said
Monday.

If the European three, Russia and China, allow Bush to get away with that
highly distorted version of what happened, the world will have taken
another step closer to general war in the Middle East.

[*Gareth Porter is an historian and national security policy analyst. His
latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War
in Vietnam", was published in June 2005.] 

Copyright ) 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
       
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 4 [NYTr] Iran queries details of nuclear deal
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:32:44 -0500 (CDT)

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sent by Simon McGuinness

The Irish Times - Aug 25, 2006
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2006/0825/1156401006292.html

Iran queries details of nuclear deal

by Mark Heinrich in Vienna
 
IRAN: Iran's reply to a big-power offer of incentives to end sensitive
nuclear work asks for a timeline to implement the package and specifics
on security arrangements, two Iranian experts said in a website report
yesterday.

The account by the Iranian academics, one of whom has had good
connections to Iranian officialdom, appeared the first to detail some of
the 100 questions Iran posed in a response to end a stand-off with the
West.

Washington said on Wednesday that Iran's request for talks fell short of
a UN Security Council demand that it stop enriching uranium by August
31st or risk sanctions. But it said Iran saw its reply as serious and
that major powers would study it further.

Academics Abbas Maleki and Kaveh Afrasiabi said Iran's response asked
for a definite timeline for the promised trade and technology
incentives.

They said Iran wanted a brief reference in the incentives package to a
possible Iranian role in a regional security arrangement - a critical
concern for the Islamic Republic given US hostility to its current
leaders - to be fleshed out. Iran also asked, they said, why the package
mentioned Iran's obligations to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but
not to an NPT article pertaining to a country's "inalienable right" to
acquire nuclear technology.

Further, Iran had requested firm guarantees on offered nuclear
technology assistance, as well as a nuclear fuel supply from abroad.

"Iran also seeks clarity on the status of [ existing] US sanctions that
prohibit offers of nuclear and technology assistance to Iran - is the US
willing to lift some if not all of those sanctions?" Maleki and
Afrasiabi said. They said Iran further asked for specifics in a promise
of a co-operation accord between Iran and Euratom, a EU treaty dealing
with issues of nuclear energy.

"By agreeing to put the issue of suspension on the table and commence
talks immediately," the two Iranian experts wrote, "Iran has sent a
strong signal that the internal debate between power centres in Iran's
leadership has ended in favour of voices of moderation seeking a
mutually satisfactory resolution of the nuclear standoff." 

Additional Reporting : Reuters 
C The Irish Times 
       
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 5 [NYTr] Iran Tells West to Chill Out on Nuke Hysteria
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:54:40 -0500 (CDT)

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Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Iran: West Chill Out on N-Issue

Tehran, Aug 25 (Prensa Latina) The secretary of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council, Ali Lariyani, said on Friday that Teheran is working to
dispel western countries concerns in relation to the counter-proposal made
by his country on the nuclear dispute.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is willing to make serious and constructive
negotiations to reach an agreement, without yielding its inalienable rights
and principles," stressed Lariyani.

In an interview with local IRNA news agency, the Iranian official noted
that Iran had responded within the10-day term agreed by the UN Security
Council, plus Germany, and did it with a positive vision in each of the
presented points.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator said that the counter-proposal includes a
fair and clear approach to Iran s rights and commitments with the Non
Nuclear Proliferation Agreement.

Lariyani emphasized that they offered their points of view concerning the
economic, technical, and energy security cooperation with Europe for a long
term.

Regarding regional security, Lariyani said that due to the delicate
situation in the area, his country is willing to look for a solution to
stabilize the region.

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 6 [NYTr] Juan Cole: Iran's Nuclear "Threat"
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:54:40 -0500 (CDT)

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CounterPunch - Aug25, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/cole08252006.html

Iran's Nuclear "Threat"

"Folks, We Are Being Set Up Again!"

By JUAN COLE

Here is what the professionals are saying about the Republican-dominated
Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy report on Iran that slams US
intelligence professionals for poor intelligence on Iran: The report
demonstrates that these Republicans have poor intelligence... on Iran.
What follows is summaries of things I've seen from other experts but I
can't identify them without permission..

First of all, former CIA professionals Larry Johnson and Jim Marcinkowski
point out that the Republicans have a lot of damn gall. It was high members
of this Republican administration who leaked to the Iranians and the whole
world the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative who spent her
professional career combatting the proliferation of WMD and was, at the
time she was betrayed by Traitor Rove and his merry band, working on Iran.
Had it not been for these Republican figures, none of whom has yet been
punished in any way for endangering US national security, we might know
more about Iran.

It is being said that the staffer who headed the report is Frederick
Fleitz, who was a special assistant to John Bolton when Bolton was
undersecretary of state for proliferation issues. Fleitz was sent to the
unemployment line when Condi wisely exiled Bolton to the United Nations,
where there is a long history of ill-tempered despots who like to bang
their shoes on the podium. So this report is the long arm of Bolton popping
up in Congress. It is Neoconservative propaganda.

I repeat what I have said before, which is that John Bolton is just an
ill-tempered lawyer who has no special expertise in nuclear issues or in
Iran, and aside from an ability to scare the bejesus out of young gofers
who bring him coffee and to thunderously denounce on cue any world leader
on whom he is sicced, he has no particular qualifications for his job.

Nor do the Republican congressmen know anything special about Iran's
nuclear energy program. They certainly know much less than the CIA agents
who work on it full time, some of whom know Persian and have actually done
.. intelligence work.

We are beset by instant experts on contemporary Iran, like the medievalist
Bernard Lewis, who wrongly predicted that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad would attack Israel on August 22, based on Lewis's weird
interpretation of his alleged millenarian beliefs. Once the
Neoconservatives went so far as actually to make fun of reality in the
hearing of a reporter, their game was up.

Pete Hoekstra, who is the chair of this committee, has a long history of
saying things that are disconnected from reality. Like when he made a big
deal about some old shells with mustard gas found in Iraq left over from
the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, and claimed that these were the fabled and
long-sought Iraqi WMD over which 2600 of our service people are six feet
under and another 8000 in wheelchairs. Nope.

Bolton at one point was exercised about an imaginary Cuban biological
weapons program, which even his own staffers wouldn't support him on, and
at one point he was alleging that Iranian mullahs were sneaking into Havana
to help with it.

This congressional report is full of the same sort of wild fantasies.

On page 9, the report alleges that "Iran is currently enriching uranium to
weapons grade using a 164-machine centrifuge cascade at this facility in
Natanz."

This is an outright lie. Enriching to weapons grade would require at least
80% enrichment. Iran claims... 2.5 per cent. See how that isn't the same
thing? See how you can't blow up anything with 2.5 percent?

The claim is not only flat wrong, but it is misleading in another way. You
need 16,000 centrifuges, hooked up so that they cascade, to make enough
enriched uranium for a bomb in any realistic time fame, even if you know
how to get the 80 percent! Iran has... 164. See how that isn't the same?

The report cites the International Atomic Energy Agency only when it is
critical of Iran. It does not tell us what the IAEA actually has found.

By the way, here is what IAEA head Mohamed Elbaradei said in early March,
2003, about Iraq:

'After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no
evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons
programme in Iraq.'

At the same time, Republicans like Donald Rumsfeld were saying he knew
exactly where Iraq's WMD was!

Elbaradei was right then, and Fleitz was wrong. Can't get fooled again.

And here is what the IAEA said about Iran just last January:

  "Iran has continued to facilitate access under its Safeguards Agreement
  as requested by the Agency, and to act as if the Additional Protocol is
  in force, including by providing in a timely manner the requisite
  declarations and access to locations."

Last April Elbaradei complained about the hype around Iran's nuclear
research, and said that there is no imminent threat from Iran.

The only thing that the IAEA knows for sure is that Iran has a peaceful
nuclear energy research program. Such a program is not the same as a
weapons program, and it is perfectly legal under the Nonproliferation
Treaty, which Iran, unlike Israel, has actually signed.

The report allegedly vastly exaggerates the range of Iran's missiles and
also exaggerates the number of its longer-range ones, and seems to think
that Iran already has the Shahab-4, which it does not. It also doesn't seem
to realize that Iran can't send missiles on other countries without
receiving them back. Israel has more and longer-range missiles than Iran,
and can quickly equip them with real nuclear warheads, not the imaginary
variety in Fleitz's fevered brain.

Folks, we are being set up again.

[Juan Cole is President of the Global Americana Institute. This article is
extracted from Juan Cole's website "Informed Comment" at http://www.juancole.com]
       
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 7 Guardian Unlimited: EU to Query Iran on Lukewarm Response
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday August 25, 2006 7:46 PM

AP Photo WX106 

By ROBERT WIELAARD 

Associated Press Writer 

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union said Friday it will
prod Iran to clarify questions about its lukewarm response to a
package of economic incentives designed to get the country to
suspend uranium enrichment. 

Tehran's response, contained in a 20-page document presented
Tuesday, was judged insufficient by the United States and some
of the five other major nations that drew up the package. 

French President Jacques Chirac on Friday termed Iran's answer a
``little ambiguous, notably on whether it would eventually
suspend sensitive activities.'' 

Iran didn't even mention the demand of the U.N. Security Council
that it stop uranium enrichment by Aug. 31, moving it closer to
possible economic and diplomatic sanctions. 

Although there was no comment from Iran's government Friday,
hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said Iran was open to negotiations
but would not bow to threats. 

``The spirit of Iran's response is 'yes' to logical dialogue
without precondition. No one can talk to Iran with the language
of threats,'' Khatami said during his Friday sermon broadcast on
Iran's state radio. 

He urged Russia and China, which also joined in the incentives
offer, not to ``fall in the trap of the U.S.'' 

Russian Vice Premier Sergei Ivanov said Friday that his
government continued to pursue a political resolution of the
dispute, saying that ``talk about sanctions is premature.'' 

Iran insists its nuclear program has the peaceful goal of
generating electricity. But the United States and many of its
European allies suspect Iran wants enriched uranium for use in
nuclear bombs. 

Javier Solana, the EU's foreign affairs chief, told reporters he
would seek talks with the Iranian leaders to discuss their
response. ``We have to work to understand it properly,'' he
said. 

Solana said he had held two telephone conversations since
Tuesday with Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, but
needed more talks ``before we can come out with a complete
response'' to Iran's views. 

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said
Iran wants guarantees that it won't face U.N. sanctions before
it agrees to restart negotiations over its nuclear program and
the offer of economic incentives. He called that condition
unacceptable. 

``I have always said that we must begin negotiations without
preconditions. ... That is why Iran must understand we cannot
come to the negotiating table when every day new centrifuges are
being constructed,'' Steinmeier told reporters. 

After talks in Paris with Chirac, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel complained that Iran's message had no reference to the
demand for a suspension of uranium enrichment. ``But the door is
open,'' she said. ``We want Iran to clearly recognize the offer
it was presented.'' 

Germany and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council - the United States, China, Britain, France and Russia -
drafted the incentives package in hopes of persuading Iran to
return to negotiations on increasing international oversight of
its nuclear program. 

Steinmeier welcomed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to
visit Iran in the coming days and said he hoped Annan would make
it clear the international community expected Iran to come back
to negotiations without conditions. 

``I hope that the U.N. secretary-general can make that once
again clear in Tehran,'' Steinmeier said. 

In Tehran, Iranian lawmaker Hamid Reza Hajbabaei urged the West
not miss an opportunity for talks, saying the imposition of
sanctions would bolster Islamic hardliners and cause greater
tension in the Middle East. 

``America's adventurist policy in seeking sanctions against Iran
simply is harmful to all. In Iran, it will even strengthen the
voice of extremists who want Iran's withdrawal from the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty and weaken the voice of moderates,'' he
said. 

--- 

Associated Press writer Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran,
contributed to this report. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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 8 MaximsNews Network: In the Middle East much is at stake 

and much seems to be played the wrong way.

for the United Nations and the International Community]    
  
MaximsNews.com
  
MaximsNews Columnist Hans Blix 

HansBlix@MaximsNews.com

UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com
      
UN/ - 25 August 2006 -   

 
Moves calculated to achieve a specific aim receive unexpected
responses and after bloody conflicts parties involved realize
that all have lost.   

Vice-President Cheney seems to have thought that American forces
in Iraq would be received with flowers and Pentagon chief
Rumsfeld believed that a shock and awe invasion would suffice to
bring Iraq under control.  

President Bush saw the occupation as a chance to make Iraq a
model for democracy in the Middle East .   

Are the calculations how to get Iran to stay away from enriching
uranium based on equally good judgment?  

Led by its five permanent great power members the U.N. Security
Council has urged Iran to abstain from uranium enrichment and
offered talks.  

Strangely, the five seem to think that Iran will be ready to
stop current enrichment activities even before the talks in
which ending the enrichment program would be the most important
point.   

Do they not make a monumental miscalculation if they think that
Iran would be prepared to do away with its best card without
having received precise knowledge of what it will receive in
return, e.g., guarantees against bombardment of the kind Lebanon
has experienced.  

Do they intend to escalate threats if Iran rejects an approach
that seems humiliating? Or, are they prepared to bury prestige,
sit down with Iran and talk about both sides of the deal?   
In the case of the war in Lebanon it may be safe to assume that
none of the interested parties had aimed at the result.  

It is harder to discern what they really sought to achieve.
First, what did the Gaza Palestinians and the Hezbollah groups
aim for, when they kidnapped Israeli soldiers?   

Some have maintained that the aim was to provoke Israel and
bring about a war for the destruction of Israel , in line with
Hamas� political program and the speeches of the Iranian
President.   

However, those who planned the kidnappings could hardly have
calculated to cause such a brisk and steep escalation as the one
which took place.  

As suggested by ex-president Carter it seems more probable that
� as many times before � the kidnappings aimed at securing an
exchange of prisoners. If so, the calculation was evidently
wrong.  

A relatively inexperienced Israeli government rejected any
exchanges, chose to strike hard and to escalate. Perhaps in the
end there will be an exchange of prisoners but Hisbolla could
hardly have foreseen that it would need to pay for it by leaving
their positions in South Lebanon .   

What role has Iran played in Lebanon ?  

It seems unlikely that even militant leaders in Iran sought to
initiate a war to destroy Israel . On the other hand,  it seems
probable, that they gave green light and backing to Hezbollah in
Lebanon with the aim of showing the U.S. what Iran �s Shia
friends could do � not least in Iraq � if the U.S. were to use
force against Iran to stop the enrichment program.  

Was this a successful calculation?  Hezbollah, to be sure, has
shown strength and even their enemies in the Arab world are
forced by their public opinion to support the movement when it
stands up against Israel and the U.S.  

However, in the end Iran �s Shia friends are forced to retreat
from positions which they controlled and from which their
rockets rained over Northern Israel . Hardly a victory for Iran
.   

Lastly: what was the Israeli government�s aim when it responded
to the kidnappings by rapidly escalating retribution, which
caused death or injury to many soldiers and civilians and forced
many more to leave their home.  

There is no doubt that both Israel and the U.S. wanted to turn
an operation for the release of hostages and retribution into an
action to destroy Hezbollah.  

Prime Minister Olmert felt this aim had strong support in
Israeli public opinion and in the U.S. government, which was
pleased to see Israel showing both Iran and its Hezbollah
friends in Lebanon what they may be exposed to.  

However, the cost in lives and suffering on the Israeli side
increased and so did the awareness that Israel would not be able
to destroy Hezbollah � only force it to move further away from
the border to Israel.   

Dare we hope that the end of the Lebanon war, which we may be
seeing and in which no one of the interested parties has
achieved what they seem to have aimed for, will in the future
increase their readiness to enter into talks without first going
through a phase of suffering, death and destruction?  

Iran �s enrichment of uranium will be the first test.   

         HansBlix@MaximsNews.com      
~~~      MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the U.N.,
provides commentary and analysis from leading world figures:
King Abdullah II (Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger, Shashi Tharoor,
Kerry Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen. Timothy
E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Barbara Crossette, Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Mehri Madarshahi, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Rory O'Connor, Genevieve
Stamper, Max Stamper and others.  
                                
*****************************************************************
 9 Payvand's Iran News: Nuclear compromise with Iran possible - Kissinger
 
  8/24/06   
  

TEHRAN, Aug. 23 () -- In an interview with Germany's Die Welt
newspaper, former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger has
said that it is possible to reach a deal with Iran on its
nuclear program, the Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday. 

The United States should hold constructive talks with Iran, he
said, adding, "Tehran's security concerns should be addressed." 

Kissinger said that there are several ways to defuse Iran's
nuclear impasse but the best option is to pursue negotiations. 

China and Russia can play a key role in settling the nuclear row
in view of their close nuclear cooperation with the Islamic
Republic, he stated.   
  


� Copyright 2006 
(All Rights Reserved)   
*****************************************************************
 10 IRNA: Larijani considers Iran's nuclear response as positive 

Tehran, Aug 24, IRNA

Iran-Larijani-Nuclear 

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said here Thursday
that Iran submitted its positive response to the package of
proposals of the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council plus Germany (5+1 group) on the specified deadline.

 He told IRNA that the submitted response aimed to eliminate the
concerns of the other party and protect Iran's rights to nuclear
energy at the same time.

 Larijani added that Iran is prepared to enter into serious and
constructive talks on the issue to reach understanding.

 "As was declared earlier, we are ready to hold talks with our
European negotiators and still expect to hear their views on
executive procedures for start of negotiations," he said.

 In response to a question about the content of Iran's response
to European proposal, he said that all the major points included
in the package were examined and responded accurately and
fairly, including Iran's rights and duties within the NPT
framework, confidence-building and transparency.

 "Iran's response partly deals with the favorite topic of the
5+1 group, namely the security arrangements of the region.

 "Given the present sensitive conditions of the region, Iran is
prepared to assist promote sustainable peace in the region," he
added.

 Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Larijani,
presented Iran's response to the proposed package of the 5+1
group on August 22, to the group's representatives in Tehran, as
previously promised.

 Ambassadors of Germany, Russia, France, Britain and China as
well as Switzerland -- as caretaker of US interests in Iran --
representing the 5+1 group in a meeting with Larijani on August
22 received Iran's response to the group's package of proposals.
*****************************************************************
 11 SF Chron: Iran's diplomacy in action

OPEN FORUM
 				 
Abbas Maleki, Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, Agence Global 
Friday, August 25, 2006

After months of delay in responding to the package of incentives
offered by the U.N. Security Council's Permanent Five plus
Germany, Iran finally submitted a detailed and comprehensive
response on Tuesday that put the diplomatic ball squarely back
in the court of the major powers and the United Nations. The
initial reaction from the United States and other major powers
was to reject Iran's request for further talks as inadequate to
meet the U.N. Security Council's demand for a halt to uranium
enrichment by Aug. 31, but that further study of the Iranian
response was needed. 

While rejecting the U.N.'s demand for a stop to its
uranium-enrichment activities, Iran's lengthy reply still leaves
the door open for serious negotiations, and perhaps an
acceptable resolution of the nuclear showdown for all parties. 

By agreeing to put the issue of suspension of enrichment
activities on the table and to begin talks immediately, Iran has
sent a strong signal that the internal debate between power
centers in Iran's leadership has ended in favor of voices of
moderation seeking a mutually satisfactory resolution of the
nuclear standoff with the West. It will be a pity if Washington
overlooks this opportunity for a fair negotiation with Iran,
especially considering the details of Iran's response. 

Iran has, expectedly, sought clarification on a number of
issues, including the following: 

-- The incentive package mentions respecting Iran's rights under
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), yet the only NPT
articles mentioned are Articles I and II, pertaining to
non-proliferation, and not Article IV, pertaining to a country's
"inalienable right" to acquire nuclear technology; 

-- Iran wants firm guarantees on the proposed offers of nuclear
assistance, such as the sale of lightwater reactors to Iran, as
well as a secured nuclear-fuel supply; 

-- Iran seeks clarification on the status of U.S. sanctions,
which prohibit those offers of nuclear and technological
assistance to Iran: Is the United States willing to lift some,
if not all, of those sanctions? 

-- The package's promise of an Iran-European Atomic Energy
Community cooperation agreement needs to be fleshed out; 

-- The package's brief reference to security and its hint of
Iran's participation in a "regional security" arrangement needs
further clarification; and, 

-- The timeline on the promised incentives, including the
economic incentives, has to be made specific. 

Furthermore, Iran's response indicates that the nation is
willing to re-adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency's
Additional Protocol and to take the steps toward legislating it
as part of a final agreement. 

Meanwhile, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has
declared Iran's willingness to use its influence in Lebanon for
an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoners' exchange, reminding the world of
Iran's stabilizing role. 

Clearly, given the tight interplay between the nuclear issue and
Iran's political identity, no one should be surprised that
Iran's leaders have opted against committing political suicide
by giving in to international pressure and suspending the
nuclear-fuel cycle. But, far from rejecting this demand, Iran's
response makes clear its feasibility as a result of the proposed
talks, which Iran is willing to commence immediately,
particularly if Iran's abstract rights under Article IV of the
NPT are explicitly recognized. 

In light of the rights-sensitive Iranian public, Tehran will
seriously entertain suspending the fuel cycle if -- and when --
it feels vindicated, as a matter of principle, in a manner which
creates conditions conducive to the idea of suspensions. A
face-saving solution appears in which Iran could decide against
implementing as an abstract right hitherto thwarted by the U.N.
Security Council and Germany. 

Now the U.N. Security Council, which had given Iran until the
end of August to halt its nuclear-fuel cycle, has a unique role
to play to put the genie of Iran's nuclear crisis back in the
bottle. Already U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is directly
involved in intense negotiations with Tehran. 

Should the United States and its U.N. envoy, John Bolton, decide
to ignore this opportunity and push for U.N. sanctions against
Iran, despite the positive dimensions of Iran's offer, the stage
will be set for a full-scale international crisis. 

Abbas Maleki is the director of the International Institute for
Caspian Studies in Tehran and a senior research fellow at
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Kaveh L.
Afrasiabi is a political scientist and author of "Iran's Nuclear
Program: Debating Facts vs. Fiction" (BookSurge Publishing,
2006). 				
Page B - 11 			

The San Francisco Chronicle] 

*****************************************************************
 12 IRNA: Iranian delegation visits Kaliniskaya nuclear plant - Irna
 
Moscow, Aug 25, IRNA

Iran-Russia-Nuclear Delegation 

An Iranian delegation headed by Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization (IAEO) Vice-President Mahmoud Jannatian visited
different parts of Russia Kalininskaya nuclear plant north of
Moscow.

 The Atomstroiexport state company announced Friday that the
head of Bushehr nuclear plant Alireza Moradian and the Russian
Company's department responsible for manufacturing Bushehr plant
Vladimir Pavlov accompanied the delegation.

 The Iranian delegation got familiarized with the third unit of
Kalininskaya nuclear plant which its VVER-10 reactor is similar
to that of Bushehr nuclear reactor as well as the second reactor
and studied the advanced technologies being applied by them.

 After the visit, Jannatian described it as interesting and
expressed hope for expansion of ties between IAEO and
 Atomstroyepxport.

 The Kalininskaya nuclear power plant is located in northern
Tver region, 330 kilometers from Moscow.

 The Iranian delegation on Friday visits the research center for
safety of nuclear power plants in Electrogorsk city to get
familiar with operation of the automated systems for atomic
technologies being used in Bushehr nuclear plant.

 The Iranian nuclear delegation began its visit to Russia on
August 22 and so far has discussed issues of mutual interest
with Atomstroiexport top officials and experts.

*****************************************************************
 13 Xinhua: EU to respond to Iran's answer by end of August   
    
  www.chinaview.cn 2006-08-26 04:59:55   

Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis   Iran replies to six-nation
proposal     

    BRUSSELS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) would
make a response to Iran's answer on the nuclear issue by the end
of August, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said here on
Friday. 

    Telling a briefing after the EU emergency foreign ministers'
meeting, Solana said Iran's answer to the six-state package of
proposals is "over 20 pages" in length and it contains some "new
elements," and it would take time to study. 

    Solana said he would continue to talk with Iran's top
nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani "in the coming days," and he
hoped that the EU would make formal response by the end of
August. 

    Earlier on Aug. 22, Iran presented a written response to the
package of proposals of the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council plus Germany. The United States later
threatened to push quickly for economic sanctions against Iran
in the UN Security Council if it fails to heed demands for a
freeze of its uranium enrichment activities. Enditem   

Editor: Mu Xuequan   
*****************************************************************
 14 IRNA: Cleric warns UNSC against any hasty decision on Iran 

Tehran, Aug 25, IRNA

Iran-Prayers-Khatami
 
Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran Hojjatoleslam Ahmad
Khatami on Friday warned the UN Security Council against any
hasty decision on Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

 Addressing multitudes of Friday prayers worshipers,
Hojatoleslam Khatami called on Russia and China, the two
veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council, not
to fall in trap of the US.

 Delivering his second Friday prayers sermon, the cleric said
Iran is ready for logical, fair and unconditional dialogue on
its peaceful nuclear program.

 "The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been welcoming
logical, fair and unconditional dialogue and the world people
should bear in mind that the Iranian nation will successfully
pass the test too," said the Expert Assembly member.

 He said the superpowers should know that they can not speak to
the Iranian nation with the language of force. "Such a practice
would not an unskillful but a foolish job."
 Khatami then criticized Europeans for their "dastardly"
behavior towards Iran with regards to the proposed nuclear
package.

 Elsewhere in his remarks, Hojatoleslam Khatami said the great
`Blow of Zolfaqar' maneuver, staged in 16 Iranian provinces over
recent days, is a message of peace and friendship for the
neighbors and of Iran's strength and vigilance to the enemies.

 Referring to martyrdom or injury of a number of pilgrims in
Iraq over recent days, Khatami said the crimes serve wishes of
the US statesmen to portray the popular Iraqi government as
incompetent.

 "Such crimes couldn't take place without greenlight of the Iraq
occupiers."

 The cleric also praised unity and solidarity among the Lebanese
people and Hizbollah in their 33 days of war with Israel, saying
the victory proved that the sophisticated weapons and force are
ineffective in the face of divine faith.

 He also warned the US and Israel against getting the UN
Security Council's permission to disarm Hizbollah.

 He recalled arrest and imprisonment of about 60 Palestinian
statesmen by the Zionist occupiers, saying Israel wants to do
the same with the Lebanese people by disarming Hizbollah.
*****************************************************************
 15 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: MP urges Europe back to negotiations 

  2006/08/24   
  
A member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy
Commission, Reza Talaei-Nik, described Islamic Republic of
Iran's response to the proposals package of Group 5+1 as
logical. 

He also urged the Europeans to come back to negotiation table
with Iran on nuclear issues. 

He reiterated that Iran kept its promise and gave a logical
answer to the European package. 

"Iran has given a new chance to renew negotiations," he said,
adding that some parts of the EU and the United Nations Security
Council demands will be met if negotiations resume. 

Referring to the proposals of some countries about nuclear
cooperation with Iran, Talaei-Nik said the grounds have been
prepared for cooperation with Europe in enriching uranium. 

"Without resumption of negotiations, serious problems will be
created for all negotiating parties," he warned. 

Talaei-Nik noted that new restrictions will be imposed on the
International Atomic Energy Agency's inspections of Iranian
nuclear sites if the UN Security Council adopt an "illogical and
non-peaceful" resolution. 

Elaborating on this, he added that proportionate with the
deterioration of Iran's nuclear case in security terms, "Iran
should prevent probable security misuses by reducing the number
of IAEA inspections." 

"Regional countries and many western nations will harm, if the
UN Security Council imposes sanctions on Iran," he stressed. 

FK   

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 16 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Sanctions against Iran inexpedient 

2006/08/25   
  
Russia believes it would be inexpedient to impose any sanctions 
on Iran in response to its declared intention to go ahead with 
uranium enrichment work in its territory, Russian first Deputy 
Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Friday 
. 

"In any case Russia will keep pressing for a political and 
diplomatic settlement coupled with full and strict observance of 
all non-proliferation regimes," Ivanov told reporters. 

According to the Russian Minister, "contemplating sanctions now 
would be at least premature and inexpedient." 

FK   

  

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 17 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: UNSC warned against any hasty decision 

  2006/08/25   
  
Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran Hojjatoleslam Ahmad
Khatami on Friday warned the UN Security Council against any
hasty decision on IRI's peaceful nuclear program.
 
Addressing multitudes of Friday prayers worshipers, Hojatoleslam
Khatami called on Russia and China, not to fall in trap of
America.
 
Delivering his second Friday prayers sermon, the Friday prayers
leader said IRI is ready for logical, fair and unconditional
dialogue on its peaceful nuclear program.
 
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been welcoming logical,
fair and unconditional dialogue and the world people should bear
in mind that the Iranian nation will successfully pass the test
too," said the Expert Assembly member.
 
He said the superpowers should know that they can not speak to
the Iranian nation with the language of force.
 
"Such a practice would not an unskillful but a foolish job."
 
Hojjatoleslam Khatami then criticized Europeans for their
"dastardly" behavior towards IRI with regards to the proposed
nuclear package.
 
Hojatoleslam Khatami said the great stroke of Zolfaqar'
maneuver, staged in 16 Iranian provinces over recent days, is a
message of peace and friendship for the neighbors and of IRI's
strength and vigilance to the enemies.
 
Referring to martyrdom or injury of a number of pilgrims in Iraq
over recent days, he said the crimes serve wishes of America
statesmen to portray the popular Iraqi government as incompetent.
 
"Such crimes couldn't take place without greenlight of the Iraq
occupiers."
 
Friday prayers leader also praised unity and solidarity among
the Lebanese people and Lebanese Islamic Resistance Movement
Hizbollah in their 33 days of war with the Zionist regime,
saying the victory proved that the sophisticated weapons and
force are ineffective in the face of divine faith.
 
He also warned America and the Zionist regime against getting
the UN Security Council's permission to disarm Lebanese Islamic
Resistance Movement Hizbollah.
 
He recalled arrest and imprisonment of about 60 Palestinian
statesmen by the Zionist occupiers, saying the Zionist regime
wants to do the same with the Lebanese people by disarming
Lebanese Islamic resistance Movement Hizbollah.
 
M/D   
  
  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 18 AFP: Chirac, Merkel: Iranian nuclear response lacks detail - 

 Fri Aug 25, 8:44 AM ET 		 	 

PARIS (AFP) - France and Germany have said Iran" /> Iran's 
response to incentives aimed at ending a standoff over its 
nuclear program lacked crucial details, and urged it to seize the 
opportunity to resolve the crisis. 

The leaders of the two countries made their comments Friday as
France said "technical contacts" could take place with Iran in
the coming days in a bid to clarify some aspects of its
response. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran's response lacked
"important elements" but that the door remained open. 

Speaking at a joint press conference with French President
Jacques Chirac" /> President Jacques Chiracin Paris, Merkel said
Tehran had to grasp the package of incentives it was being
offered in return for suspending uranium enrichment. 

"We want Iran to recognise clearly the offer that was made," she
said, adding that "Iran has to be able to seize every
opportunity" in the international community's offer for the sake
of the Iranian people. 

Chirac said the pair had agreed during talks Friday that Iran's
response was "ambiguous". 

The Iranian response "is a bit ambiguous... especially on the
means of the eventual suspension of the sensitive activities
that was requested by the international community," he said. 

Meanwhile France's foreign ministry said "contact" with Iran
could be established in the next few days. 

"It is not ruled out that, perhaps, technical contacts could be
established with the Iranians," spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei
told a press briefing. 

"It is a possibility in the coming days, if we believe it is
seen as useful on both sides. There could be technical contacts
to clarify certain aspects of the dossier sent by the Iranians." 

Iran on Tuesday called for talks after giving a written response
to a deal aimed at ending a long-running nuclear standoff. 

Western nations have reacted coolly to Iran's response to the
offer by the five permanent United Nations" /> United
NationsSecurity Council members plus Germany of incentives in
return for a halt to uranium enrichment. 

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 19 AFP: Iran rejects 'language of force' over nuclear programme 

 by Siavosh Ghazi Fri Aug 25, 8:47 AM ET 		 	 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> is ready for unconditional talks over its 
nuclear programme but rejects the West's "language of force" over 
the issue, one of the Islamic republic's religious leaders has 
said. 

 Iran also said Friday that it would soon announce new nuclear
successes in its quest for nuclear power that the West fears is
aimed at acquiring atomic weapons. 

"Iran is favourable toward negotiations that are just, logical
and without preconditions, but refuses the language of force,"
Ahmad Khatami said in a Friday sermon broadcast on state radio. 

"Using the language of force with Iran is a foolish and clumsy
attitude," said Khatami, who is a member of Iran's Assembly of
Experts, which supervises the work of supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei. 

The United States and other world powers have reacted coolly to
Iran's response to a package of incentives offered by the five
permanent Security Council members and Germany in return for a
moratorium on sensitive uranium activities. 

"During the war in Lebanon, the Security Council showed that it
acted as the United States' valet ... We advise Russia and China
not to fall into the Americans' trap," he said. 

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham also announced that
Iran would soon unveil some fresh successes in its nuclear
programme. 

"In the nuclear domain, we have made progress and obtained new
scientific successes which will be announced soon," government
spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said, also during Friday prayers,
without elaborating. 

Iran said on Wednesday that it would soon announce an atomic
breakthrough. 

"This great scientific achievement is the fruit of a long-term
research project ... It will be formally announced by a top
official," the semi-official Mehr agency had quoted an informed
source as saying. 

"The announcement will highlight Iran's mastery of different
areas in nuclear science and will reinforce Iran's position as a
nuclear country," the report said. 

Amid a fanfare of publicity, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
announced in April that Iran had successfully enriched uranium
to 3.5 percent and mastered the nuclear fuel cycle. 

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Friday that
sanctions against Iran after its response to the world powers'
demand to freeze uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities
was as yet "premature". 

Iran is suspected by the West of trying to build nuclear weapons
under cover of a civilian nuclear power program. Tehran has
consistently rejected this suspicion and has insisted it has the
right to its own nuclear power program. 

France meanwhile said that "technical contacts" could take place
with Iran in the coming days in a bid to clarify some aspects of
its response to the international offer. 

"It is not ruled out that, perhaps, technical contacts could be
established with the Iranians," foreign ministry spokesman
Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. 

"It is a possibility in the coming days, if we believe it is
seen as useful on both sides. There could be technical contacts
to clarify certain aspects of the dossier sent by the Iranians,"
he told a press briefing. 

French President Jacques Chirac" /> earlier Friday said he and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that Tehran's response
was "ambiguous". 

The Iranian response "is a bit ambiguous ... especially on the
means of the eventual suspension of the sensitive activities
that was requested by the international community," he said,
referring to uranium enrichment. 	 		 			

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 20 AFP: Former Iranian president defends nuclear program 

 Fri Aug 25, 10:50 AM ET 		 	 

TOKYO (AFP) - Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami" /> 
Mohammad Khatamidefended his nation's right to the peaceful use 
of nuclear power, insisting that the Islamic republic had no 
desire to build an atomic bomb. 

 "We are seeking a peaceful kind of use of nuclear technology,"
Khatami told a seminar at the United Nations" /> United
NationsUniversity in Tokyo, speaking through a translator. 

"Iran doesn't want to get access to nuclear weapons. Not at all.
We do not need them," said Khatami, a reformist who was
president from 1997 to 2005 and has since been replaced by the
more hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

Khatami reiterated Tehran's view that it has "the legitimate
right" to produce energy from nuclear technology as other
countries do. 

"If they are very much concerned about nuclear weapons, we are a
member of NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) and we have
signed the protocol," said Khatami, who was in Japan for a
conference on religion and peace in Kyoto. 

Khatami on Thursday met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi and warned against possible UN sanctions on Iran" />
Iranover its disputed nuclear program, foreign ministry
officials said. 

Western nations have reacted coolly to Iran's response to an
offer by the five permanent Security Council members and Germany
of incentives in return for a halt to uranium enrichment. 

The standoff over Iran's nuclear program has to be resolved
through negotiations, Khatami told Koizumi. 

Koizumi said that Japan -- a major importer of Iranian oil --
wants Tehran to take a cooperative stance toward the
international community and to suspend uranium enrichment. 

The Security Council adopted a resolution last month giving Iran
until August 31 to freeze its uranium enrichment programme or
face possible sanctions. 

Khatami later said in an interview with Japan's public
broadcaster NHK that he hoped to visit the United States to
encourage dialogue. 

"No matter what position I have, I will speak with the same
words," he said. "I will speak on peace and friendship." 

Washington has said it is considering a visa application by
Khatami to visit the capital next month. 

He would be the most senior Iranian to visit the United States
since the termination of diplomatic relations following the
Islamic revolution and takeover of the US embassy in Tehran in
1979. 

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 21 AFP: Iran rejects 'language of force' over nuclear program

 by Siavosh Ghazi Fri Aug 25, 2:45 PM ET 		 	 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> Iranis ready for unconditional talks over 
its nuclear program but rejects the West's "language of force" 
over the issue, one of the Islamic republic's religious leaders 
said. 

Iran also said that it would soon announce new nuclear successes
in its quest for nuclear power that the West fears is aimed at
acquiring atomic weapons. 

"Iran is favourable toward negotiations that are just, logical
and without preconditions, but refuses the language of force,"
Ahmad Khatami said in a Friday sermon broadcast on state radio. 

"Using the language of force with Iran is a foolish and clumsy
attitude," said Khatami, who is a member of Iran's Assembly of
Experts, which supervises the work of supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei. 

The United States and other world powers have reacted coolly to
Iran's response to a package of incentives offered by the five
permanent Security Council members and Germany in return for a
moratorium on sensitive uranium activities. 

"During the war in Lebanon, the Security Council showed that it
acted as the United States' valet... We advise Russia and China
not to fall into the Americans' trap," he said. 

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham also announced that
Iran would soon unveil some fresh successes in its nuclear
program. 

"In the nuclear domain, we have made progress and obtained new
scientific successes which will be announced soon," government
spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said, also during Friday prayers,
without elaborating. 

Iran said on Wednesday that it would soon announce an atomic
breakthrough. 

"The announcement will highlight Iran's mastery of different
areas in nuclear science and will reinforce Iran's position as a
nuclear country," the semi-official Mehr agency quoted an
informed source as saying. 

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Friday that
sanctions against Iran after its response to the world powers'
demand to freeze uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities
was as yet "premature." 

Iran is suspected by the West of trying to build nuclear weapons
under cover of a civilian nuclear power program. Tehran has
consistently rejected this suspicion and has insisted it has the
right to its own nuclear power program. 

France meanwhile said that "technical contacts" could take place
with Iran in the coming days in a bid to clarify some aspects of
its response to the international offer. 

"It is a possibility in the coming days, if we believe it is
seen as useful on both sides. There could be technical contacts
to clarify certain aspects of the dossier sent by the Iranians,"
foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. 

French President Jacques Chirac" /> President Jacques
Chiracearlier Friday said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
agreed that Tehran's response was "ambiguous." 

The Iranian response "is a bit ambiguous... especially on the
means of the eventual suspension of the sensitive activities
that was requested by the international community," he said,
referring to uranium enrichment. 

British ambassador to the United Nations" /> United NationsEmyr
Jones Parry went further, describing Iran's response as
"inadequate" and "short" of Security Council requirements. 

"Our capitals are working on our response to the inadequate
response we've received from Iran," he told reporters. 

"We need to give a measured consideration to what has been sent
to us by Iran, but quite clearly something which is short of
what the Council is looking for." 	 		 			

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 22 AFP: Iran heads for showdown in nuclear row 

 by Pierre Celerier Fri Aug 25, 4:38 AM ET 		 	 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> appeared headed for a showdown at the UN 
Security Council next week over its nuclear program, facing the 
threat of sanctions after refusing to freeze sensitive fuel cycle 
work. 

 Western nations reacted coolly to Iran's response to an offer
by the five permanent Security Council members and Germany of
incentives in return for a halt to uranium enrichment. 

Iran's approach was based on "removal of the other side's
concerns along with preservation of Iran's rights," chief
Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by official
media Thursday. 

"We are ready to reach an understanding in constructive and
serious talks." 

The United States has already said the initial response fell
short of UN demands, Germany described it as unsatisfactory and
France insisted Tehran immediately suspend nuclear activities. 

In contrast, China and Russia have appealed for a peaceful
solution to the standoff. 

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami" /> on Friday defended
his nation's right to the peaceful use of nuclear power,
insisting that the Islamic republic had no desire to build an
atomic bomb. 

"We are seeking a peaceful kind of use of nuclear technology,"
Khatami told a seminar at the United Nations" /> University in
Tokyo, speaking through a translator. 

"Iran doesn't want to get access to nuclear weapons. Not at all.
We do not need them," said Khatami, a reformist who was
president from 1997 to 2005 and has since been replaced by the
more hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

Khatami reiterated Tehran's view that it has "the legitimate
right" to produce energy from nuclear technology as other
countries do. 

"If they are very much concerned about nuclear weapons, we are a
member of NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) and we have
signed the protocol," said Khatami, who was in Japan for a
conference on religion and peace in Kyoto. 

The Security Council adopted a resolution last month giving Iran
until August 31 to freeze its uranium enrichment program or face
sanctions. 

The US State Department said Washington was consulting with
fellow Security Council members after Tehran declined to
announce a moratorium on enrichment. 

"We acknowledge that Iran considers its response as a serious
offer, and we will review it," spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said. 

"The response, however, falls short of the conditions set by the
Security Council, which require the full and verifiable
suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing
activities," he said. 

On Thursday, IRNA quoted Larijani as saying: "We have responded
to all the important issues proposed in the package with a
serious and just attitude, including Iran's duties and rights
under the NPT" or nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which
Tehran has adhered. 

The United States and other powers suspect the nuclear program
is a smokescreen for an attempt to produce a bomb. Enrichment
can make fuel for nuclear power stations or be extended to
create the core of atomic weapons. 

However, Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, insists
it is purely for peaceful power generation and that it has the
right to the technology as an NPT signatory. 

In Paris, an Iranian opposition group announced that Tehran has
assembled and is testing 15 so-called P2 centrifuges, which can
speed up enrichment. 

Mohammad Mohadessin, of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran, told a press conference the test site was off a main road
northeast of Tehran. 

In Tehran, Larijani said Iranian officials had addressed
regional security concerns by the six world powers and was now
waiting in turn for their response. 

"Considering the critical conditions of the region, Iran is
ready to help with stable peace in the region under a just
mechanism," he said. 

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham declined on Wednesday
to say whether Iran might accept a short-term suspension of its
nuclear program. 

"Nothing has changed. We will continue our research activities,
but we want understanding and dialogue," he had said. 

The Islamic republic has also been flexing its military might
during nationwide war games it says demonstrate it can respond
to "any threat." 

France insisted future talks would depend on a freeze. 

"Our hand is still extended. The Iranians know the rules of the
game: first a suspension of sensitive nuclear activities,"
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "we are still reviewing
(Iran's response) but from everything I hear we cannot be
satisfied with it. 

"It does not state what we expect -- namely 'we are suspending
uranium enrichment, coming to the negotiating table and will
speak about the opportunities and possibilities for Iran'. That
is unfortunately not the case." 

Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear power plant at
Bushehr, said it would continue to press for a political
solution and wanted to keep the UN nuclear watchdog -- not the
Security Council -- at the centre of the process. 

China's special envoy to the Middle East, Sun Bigan, said
Beijing sought a "peaceful settlement rather than resorting to
force or threatening sanctions." 

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan" /> was expected to travel to
Tehran next week. 

As the Security Council deadline neared, International Atomic
Energy Agency" /> inspectors were in the final stages of
preparing a report on Iran's uranium enrichment work. 

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to report back to the Security
Council on Iran's compliance and if it is deemed to have failed,
the Council will consider adopting "appropriate measures" under
Article 41 of Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which sets out
enforcement powers. 

But an Iranian news agency reported that Iran would soon
announce a breakthrough which would "highlight its mastery of
different areas in nuclear science and reinforce Iran's position
as a nuclear country." 

In Washington, a congressional committee warned of "significant"
gaps in US intelligence on Iran, a scenario it said precluded
confident assessments on Tehran's suspected weapons of mass
destruction programs. 	 		 			

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 23 Bellona: Iran ready to talk – but mixed signals remain on its uranium enrichment programme
 
+ Minatom Chief in America to Lower Pulses Over Iranian Nuke Plant

Iran said Tuesday it was ready for “serious negotiations'” on 
its nuclear programme, offering a new framework to resolve a 
crisis with the West, while a semiofficial Iranian news agency 
said the Tehran was unwilling to abandon uranium enrichment - the 
key US demand in the standoff – international agencies 
reported. 

Charles Digges,

23/08-2006 

Iran delivered its written response to a package of incentives
offered by the United States and five other world powers to
persuade Iran to roll back on its nuclear program - and
punishments if it does not, the Associated Press reported
Tuesday. The world powers, the five permanent UN Security
Council members plus Germany, have given Iran until August 31st
to accept the package.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said
Washington will `study the Iranian response carefully'' but was
prepared to move forward with sanctions against Tehran if it was
not positive, a statement issued by Boltons office said. The
White House held off commenting until it had studied the text.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said
the document was extensive'' and required a detailed and careful
analysis.''

Iran tests short-range missiles

The Iranian response comes amid increased bellicosity from
Tehran regarding its missile programme, which some western
diplomats are concerned can deliver nuclear war heads on a short
range basis. On Sunday, the Islamic republic tested 10
short-range Sagaheh missiles, with a range of 80 to 190
kilometres, the official ISNA news agency reported. 

Iranian Navy seizes Romanian oil platform

In a similar development, the Iranian Navy fired on and seized a
Romanian oil rig located in the Persian Gulf Tuesday, according
to the Bloomberg news agency. A spokesman for Grup, which owns
the oil rig, said 26 oil workers were still on the platform. 

Tehran remains tight-lipped about response  but UN Security
Council divided

Meanwhile, Iranian officials offered no details of the response
they sent to the UN Security Council and Germany, but it is
apparently geared at enticing those countries into further
negotiations by offering a broad set of proposals vague enough
to hold out hope of progress in resolving the standoff.

If the Iranians leave the door open to halting enrichment as
talks progress, that would drive a wedge in the Security Council
between the Americans, British and French on one side and the
Russians and Chinese on the other. Last month, Russia said the
Council was in no rush to pressure Iran in an effort to strike a
more conciliatory tone than the United States.

Proposal first sign of progress in a year

Tuesday's announcement was the latest development in the
yearlong standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran says it
wants to master the technology to generate nuclear power, AP
reported. At present, Russia is helping Iran build a light-water
reactor in the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr, with the promise of
some five more power reactors to come. But critics of the
apparent nuclear power programme say Iran is interested in
uranium enrichment because it can also be used to make the
fissile core of nuclear weapons.

The current crisis is playing out against the background of the
conflict between pro-Iranian Hezbollah guerillas and Israel,
which has bombarded sites in Lebanon for the past 34 days and
emboldening Tehran in the uranium showdown with the United
States, which is mired in its own war in neigbouring Iraq. There
has also been speculation in the West that Iran encouraged
Hezbollah to provoke the Israelis to distract attention from its
nuclear ambitions, international news agencies reported.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads confrontational nuclear posture

Iran has pursued a confrontational stance on the nuclear issue
since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year.
The hard-line president has used the nuclear issue to encourage
a sense of national pride among Iranians by standing up to the
United States and other Western countries.

On Tuesday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani,
hand-delivered his government's response to ambassadors of
Britain, China, Russia, France, Germany and Switzerland - which
represents U.S. interests - nine days before a Security Council
deadline for Iran to halt uranium enrichment or face economic
and political sanctions, AP reported.

Larijani refused to disclose whether the response included an
offer to suspend uranium enrichment. But the semiofficial Fars
news agency reported that Iran rejected calls to suspend nuclear
activities'' - or uranium enrichment - and instead has offered a
new formula to resolve the issues through dialogue,'' AP quoted
the Fars as reporting. 

The state-run television quoted Larijani as telling the
diplomats that Iran is prepared as of August 23rd (Wednesday) to
enter serious negotiations'' with the countries that proposed
the incentives package.

The IRNA official news agency reported that Larijani said Iran's
answer has logically, fairly and constructively addressed
demands of the proposed package, recommending the P5+1 group to
return to the negotiation table immediately despite the false
atmosphere created against Iran that it was buying time.''

The Western incentives package has not been made public but some
details have leaked. They include an offer to lift a ban on
sales of Boeing passenger aircraft, providing Iran with some
nuclear technology to build reactors for civilian purposes and
guaranteeing a supply of nuclear fuel.

Last month, the Security Council set an August 31st deadline for
Iran to halt uranium enrichment or face economic and political
sanctions. Iran called the resolution illegal'' but had said it
was willing to offer a multifaceted response'' to an incentives
package that the six powers offered in June, AP reported.

Iranian officials offering a new formula

Iranian officials said Tehran offered a "new formula" to resolve
the dispute, saying that Iran has provided a comprehensive
response to everything said in the western package. Officials
additionally indicated that Iran, in its formal response, has
asked some questions of its own. Officials would provide no
further details, AP reported. 

But the Iranians have been vociferously signaling they are not
prepared to abandon uranium enrichment as a precondition to
talks. Last month, a senior Iranian lawmaker said the country's
parliament was preparing to debate withdrawal from the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty if the U.N. Security Council adopts a
resolution to force Tehran to suspend enrichment, the London
Guardian reported. 

Conflicting signals about halting uranium production from
supreme leadership

  Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  
  IRNA news agency  

On Monday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said
the Islamic Republic has made its own decision and in the
nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will
continue its path,'' Iranian news agencies quoted him as saying. 

Iran's former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who is now a
top adviser to Khamenei, said Iran's national interests, not the
West's demands, should be the basis for Iran's decision.

"What we have achieved in nuclear technology is worth more than
the pressures against us at the international stage,'' the
semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency quoted Velayati as
saying Tuesday.

In February, Iran for the first time produced its first batch of
low-enriched uranium, using a cascade of 164 centrifuges.

In the last few weeks, Iran prevented UN nuclear agency
inspectors from inspecting an underground site meant to shelter
its uranium enrichment programme from attack, diplomats said
Monday.

 
Copyright © Bellona -- Reprint and copying is recommended if 
source is stated ﻿ Support Bellona's work for the environment - 
Phone +47 23 23 46 00 | E-MAIL: info@bellona.no 
*****************************************************************
 24 IRNA: Elham: Iran soon to announce new nuclear achievements 

Tehran, Aug 25, IRNA

Iran-Nuclear-Elham 

Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said here Friday that
Iran has gained fresh achievements in its peaceful nuclear
activities and will soon announce them.

 "In the nuclear domain, we have made progress and obtained new
scientific successes which will be announced soon," Elham said
as he was speaking as a pre-sermon lecturer at this week's
Friday prayers congregation.

 He said Iran has recorded progress in other areas of science
and technology as well.

 "This great scientific achievement is the fruit of a long-term
research project ... It will be officially announced by a top
official," he added.

 He said the achievement proves success of the government in
materialization of its platforms.

*****************************************************************
 25 IRNA: Top German expert urges more EU concessions on Iran's nuclear program - 

Berlin, Aug 25, IRNA

Germany-Iran-EU

A leading German Mideast expert called on the European Union to
make additional concessions on Iran's nuclear program in an
effort to settle the ongoing dispute.

 "The European strategy has failed," the head of the renowned
Hamburg-based Orient Institute, Udo Steinbach told the daily Der
Tagesspiegel on Thursday in a report made available ahead of
Friday's publication.

 He added it was wrong from the beginning to link the western
incentives' package to a demand for a full or even temporary
uranium enrichment stop, since this issue has become a "question
of national prestige" in Iran.

 Steinbach stressed that Tehran should be allowed to have a full
nuclear fuel cycle in return for international controls.

 The scholar pointed also out that Iran is not being intimidated
by the threat of western sanctions.

*****************************************************************
 26 Deutsche Welle: Germany, France Say Iranian Reply Not Enough 

| Germany |
                   

25.08.2006

DW-World.de
 
[Merkel: The decisive sentence is missing] Gro�ansicht des
Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Merkel: The decisive sentence
is missing 

 Germany and France have joined the US in voicing displeasure 
with Iran's response to an offer from six world powers of 
negotiations on trade, technology and security benefits if Iran 
freezes its nuclear program.

After mulling Iran's response to the offer from world powers,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that it was
unsatisfactory. 
  
"It does not state what we expect -- namely 'we are suspending
uranium enrichment, coming to the negotiating table and will
speak about the opportunities and possibilities for Iran.' That
is unfortunately not the case," Merkel said in a television
interview. 
  
"The decisive sentence is missing and this needs to be
addressed." 
  
Germany is part of the sextet that offered the package of
incentives to Tehran to stop nuclear fuel work, along with the
United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. 
  
On Friday, France also said that the Iranian response fell
short. However, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
said it was important to avoid an escalation of the conflict
with Iran. 
  
"For the moment it is not satisfactory," he told RTL radio. "But
the worst thing would be to escalate into a confrontation with
Iran on the one hand, and the Muslim world with Iran, and the
West. That would be the clash of the civilizations that France
today is practically alone in trying to avoid." 
  
On Tuesday, Iran offered to start serious talks over its nuclear
program but there was no sign that it had agreed to a United
Nations Security Council demand that it freeze uranium by Aug.
31 or face the prospect of sanctions. 
  
Academics offer details of Iranian response 
  
Iran is seeking time guarantees on getting benefits -- such as
light-water reactors -- with its response to the international
offer, according to a report published on the Internet by two
Iranian academics, one of whom has close ties to the government. 
  
"Iran wants firm guarantees on the proposed offers of nuclear
assistance, such as the sale of light water reactors to Iran, as
well as a secured nuclear fuel supply," Abbas Maleki and Kevah
Afrasiabi said on the AgenceGlobal.com Web site. 
  
They said Iran's response was moderate in tone and encouraged
the Western powers to engage it rather than rush to sanctions. 
  
[Some powers favor continuing diplomatic efforts rather than
resorting to sanctions ] Bildunterschrift: Gro�ansicht des
Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Some powers favor continuing
diplomatic efforts rather than resorting to sanctions 
Maleki, director of the International Institute for Caspian
Studies in Tehran, and Afrasiabi, a political scientist who has
also taught in Tehran, added that if there is a move towards
sanctions after Aug. 31 "despite the positive dimensions of
Iran's offer, the stage will be set for a full-scale
international crisis." 
  
Russia: No need to discuss sanctions 
  
On Friday, Russia said that international concerns over Iran's
nuclear program did not warrant any discussion of sanctions at
the moment. 
  
"I know of no instances in world practice and previous
experience in which sanctions have achieved their aim and proved
effective," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said. "Russia
stands for further political and diplomatic efforts to settle
the issue." 
  
The US State Department said on Thursday that there was still
time for Iran to comply with the Aug. 31 deadline. 
  
"We obviously encourage Iran to make the right choice," said
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos. "If Iran doesn't
comply, the resolution makes very clear that the UN Security
Council will then adopt appropriate measures under Article 41,
Chapter 7 (of the UN charter) providing for sanctions."  
DW staff (dc) 

  1. � 2006 Deutsche Welle

*****************************************************************
 27 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korea, China Fight N. Korea Nuke Test
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday August 25, 2006 8:46 PM

AP Photo SEL801 

By BURT HERMAN 

Associated Press Writer 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea and China have agreed to
cooperate to prevent a possible nuclear test by North Korea amid
increasing reports citing suspicious activity in the communist
nation, Seoul's presidential security adviser said Friday. 

A nuclear test by the communist North would be ``a grave
situation of a different level from missile launches,'' Song
Min-soon said after returning from a two-day trip to China,
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. 

``South Korea and China have agreed to continue cooperation not
to let that situation occur,'' Song was quoted as saying. He did
not elaborate on how the two countries would cooperate. 

South Korea and China, along with Japan, Russia and the United
States, have tried to convince the North to abandon its nuclear
program at six-party negotiations that have been on hold since
November. 

The North stoked regional tensions on July 5 by test-firing
seven missiles, drawing U.N. Security Council sanctions, and
concerns are growing that it could be preparing for a nuclear
test. 

Japan's Kyodo News agency reported late Thursday that vehicles
were seen in recent days at what is thought to be a nuclear
testing site in northeastern North Korea. 

Kyodo quoted an unidentified government official as saying it
was unclear whether any nuclear tests by the North were
imminent, but that Japan was closely monitoring the situation. 

The Japanese government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Shinzo Abe, declined Friday to confirm the report, saying he
could not comment on what Japan knows because of intelligence
reasons, but urged North Korea to return to stalled six-nation
talks on its nuclear disarmament. 

``If North Korea does carry out its nuclear experiment, it will
pose a grave threat to the peace and security of Japan,
Northeast Asia, and the international community,'' Abe said in
Tokyo. ``It will be absolutely unacceptable.'' 

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Seoul was
``closely monitoring North Korea's movements'' in cooperation
with the U.S. and other countries. 

Ban warned other countries against backing North Korea into a
corner while seeking to stop its nuclear weapons aspirations. 

``We need to exhibit resolve in denouncing North Korea's bad
behavior whilst having the wisdom not to corner North Korea into
a dead end with no way out,'' Ban told foreign correspondents in
Seoul. 

Meanwhile, South Korea's defense minister said Friday that North
Korea is believed to have one or two nuclear weapons. 

The comments by Yoon Kwang-ung to a parliamentary meeting were
seen as a change in South Korea's assessment of the North's
nuclear forces, with Seoul previously saying only that the North
had the ``capability'' to build one or two nuclear weapons. 

North Korea has claimed it has nuclear weapons, but hasn't
performed any known test to confirm it. Many experts believe the
North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half a
dozen nuclear weapons. 

Talks on the North's nuclear program have been deadlocked since
November, when negotiators failed to make headway in
implementing a September agreement in which the North agreed to
drop its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security
guarantees. 

North Korea has since refused to attend the six-nation talks
until Washington stops blacklisting a bank where the communist
regime held accounts, a restriction imposed over alleged
counterfeiting and money laundering. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 28 Hankyoreah: S. Korea, China agree on efforts to prevent N.K. nuclear test - International 

The Hankyoreh

South Korea and China have agreed to try to dissuade North Korea 
from conducting any nuclear test which could "lead to a serious 
situation," a top presidential security adviser said Friday.
 
"South Korea and China shared the view that a North Korean 
nuclear test should not take place," Song Min-soon, President Roh 
Moo-hyun's chief security adviser, told reporters here upon 
returning from Beijing.
 
The two countries will continue to cooperate in an effort to 
prevent such a situation, he said.
 
During his two-day stay in Beijing, Song met with Chinese Foreign 
Minister Li Zhaoxing and other top officials to discuss the North 
Korean missile and nuclear issues.
 

Song said he had a broad discussion with Lee regarding Korean 
Peninsula issues, especially the dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear 
weapons ambitions, and how to work closely to find a settlement.
 
He made the trip amid growing concerns the communist state may be 
preparing its first test of an atomic bomb.
 
When asked whether he requested China to pressure North Korea not 
to conduct any nuclear test, Song said, "This is not a matter of 
pressure but cooperation."
 
North Korea has claimed it has nuclear weapons, but it is not 
known if the isolated country has performed any tests to confirm 
its claims. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive 
material to build at least half a dozen nuclear weapons.
z Concerns about a possible test flared after the U.S. TV network 
ABC reported last week that U.S. intelligence has detected 
"suspicious" movements at alleged underground nuclear test sites 
in North Korea, hinting that it may be preparing to conduct an 
underground test of a nuclear bomb.
 
The United States, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas had 
their last talks on the North's nuclear weapons program in 
November, and Pyongyang is now boycotting the talks to protest 
Washington's crackdown on the communist nation's alleged 
financial crimes including the counterfeiting of U.S. dollars.
 
As for ways to resume the negotiations, Song said the 
participating countries will continue to make efforts "to open 
wider the door for resolving the issue" through various 
diplomatic contacts.
 
Incheon, Aug. 25 (Yonhap News)
 
� 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 29 Hankyoreh: N.K. missile tests not designed to draw U.S. into direct talks - paper 

North Korea's missile tests last month were mainly aimed at
bolstering its self-defense posture against possible U.S.
aggression, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Friday,
refuting criticism that the launches were meant to draw the U.S.
into direct talks.
 
"The views and analyses that consider the missile tests a
'brinkmanship policy' or a form of 'bluffing diplomacy' to draw
the U.S. into the field of direct talks, and that question the
launches' effectiveness, overlook the fundamental nature of
DPRK-U.S. confrontations," the Chosun Sinbo said in a
commentary. 

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the
North's official name.
 
"The public view in the DPRK is that the missile tests were the
extension of the North's resolve to protect the DPRK's peace to
the last," said the paper, which often represents Pyongyang's
official position. 


On July 5, North Korea test-launched seven missiles into the
East Sea, despite repeated international warnings not to do so.
 
The missile tests prompted the U.N. Security Council to adopt a
resolution slapping weapons-related sanctions on the North.
 
The North said the missile tests were part of its military
exercise, saying it has the right to test weapons at its own
discretion.
 
Many analysts, however, said Pyongyang's missile tests were part
of its efforts to force Washington to hold bilateral talks with
it. The U.S. has said it can only meet the North on the
sidelines of six-party nuclear talks.
 
The six-nation talks, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China,
Russia and Japan, have been stalled since November due to a
North Korea boycott. The North has taken issue with U.S.-imposed
sanctions on it for alleged counterfeiting, money-laundering and
other financial irregularities. 

"For the DPRK, the main theme is peace, and the missile launches
had nothing to do with the six-party talks," the paper said.
 Seoul, Aug. 25 (Yonhap News) 

Aug.26,2006 13:02 KST 		   	 	
 		     	 	
� 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 30 Korea Times: Pyongyang Has Nuclear Bombs - Defense Minister 

Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation   

Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung
   
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said Friday Seoul has no doubt 
that North Korea possesses nuclear weapons.

 ``The government believes North Korea has one or two nuclear 
bombs," the minister told the National Assembly Defense 
Committee.

 Asked by an opposition member of the committee whether the 
communist state has developed or manufactured nuclear weapons, 
Yoon said the government has no doubt that Pyongyang possesses an 
atomic bomb.

 Washington has long believed Pyongyang may have manufactured six 
to 12 atomic bombs, but Seoul has been reluctant to call the 
North a nuclear state.

 North Korea announced it possessed nuclear weapons in a Foreign 
Ministry statement released in February last year, but South 
Korean officials, including former Unification Minister Chung 
Dong-young, claimed the North cannot be called a nuclear power 
until it is ``scientifically proven.����

 The defense minister's remarks are expected to raise concerns 
here that Pyongyang may be trying to scientifically prove its 
possession of nuclear arms through an underground test of an 
atomic bomb. 

jckim@koreatimes.co.kr 08-25-2006 20:26         

*****************************************************************
 31 AFP: Neighbours warn N Korea of 'grave consequences' for nuclear test
     
 Fri Aug 25, 4:49 AM ET 		 	 

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea" /> has been warmed by both South 
Korea" /> and Japan not to carry out nuclear testing as to do so 
would be seen as a "grave threat to the region. 

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon warned Pyongyang of
"grave consequences" and a severe international response and
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a news
conference: "If North Korea carries out a nuclear test it would
be a grave threat to the peace and stability of our country,
Northeast Asia and the international community," . 

"We can never accept that," said Abe, the top government
spokesman and front-runner to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi next month. 

Foreign Minister Taro Aso separately said Tokyo was stepping up
the collection of information on North Korea's nuclear
activities amid news reports that the communist state may be
preparing for an underground nuclear bomb test. 

Seoul would take unspecified counter-measures if communist North
Korea, widely condemned for test-firing missiles last month,
sets off a nuclear device, Ban said. 

"The government is reviewing and will review measures befitting
such an incident," Ban told reporters. 

"If North Korea carries out nuclear testing, it would bring
about much more grave consequences than its missile launch in
July. 

"It would create a very serious situation, shaking the global
non-proliferation regime to its foundation." 

South Korea has stepped up monitoring of North Korea's nuclear
activities amid news reports that the communist state may be
preparing for an underground nuclear bomb test. 

The United States and South Korea -- both parties to stalled
six-way nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, along with
China, Japan and Russia -- have both issued previous warnings to
Pyongyang against any nuclear tests. 

The North, which says it has developed nuclear weapons,
test-fired seven missiles on July 5, drawing the ire of the
international community and criticism from the UN Security
Council. 

Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 32 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Energy needs leadership 

Today: August 25, 2006 at 7:22:5 PDT 

Nevada has more than enough natural resources to craft a plan to 
rival any in the nation

Illinois has 76,000 farms covering nearly 80 percent of the
state's land area, according to its Agriculture Department. Most
of the 28 million acres of farmland is used to grow corn and
soybeans - crops that can be used for fuel as well as for food. 

The abundance of corn and soybeans is at the center of an energy
plan announced this week by the state's governor, Rod
Blagojevich. He proposed spending $1.2 billion over the next 10
years on a "homegrown" approach to energy needs. His plan
includes state investments in new ethanol, biodiesel and coal,
and feedstock gasification plants. 

"It means that if we make the right investments now, within 10
years, we'll be able to produce enough energy from our own
natural resources to cut (Illinois') dependence on foreign
energy in half," the governor, a Democrat, said of his plan. 

We are impressed with the ambitious proposal, which takes
advantage of resources that Illinois has at its disposal in
plentiful supply. His vision has an uphill battle, as Democrats
do not have the three-fifths majority they need in the Illinois
Legislature to approve spending bills. 

Nevertheless, the proposal represents a bold idea emanating from
the governor's office, something Nevada has lacked for some
time. Granted, the governor of Illinois is running for
re-election, and his plan takes some of the wind out of the
sails of the energy plan of his Republican opponent, who has
said she wants to make Illinois "the clean-energy capital of the
nation." 

Even still, the plan is exciting, perhaps doubly so given that
both candidates are promoting a new direction for their state
that would address the national energy crisis while recharging
their state's economy. Blagojevich says his plan would create
10,000 permanent jobs and an additional 20,000 construction
jobs. 

We would like to see Nevada's gubernatorial candidates come up
with a plan this bold. In 1993, during a short-lived push to
make Nevada a center for hydrogen production, using power from
the sun, an analyst with the American Hydrogen Association told
the Sun, "Nevada is among only about a half-dozen sites in the
world where the solar radiation and land mass is ideal for
solar-hydrogen production." 

Supposing there had been enough political will at the time to
get this industry moving? Nevada would be sitting pretty, with
the energy crisis that was predicted at the time now fully upon
us. We obviously don't have enough corn and soybean crops to
form the basis of an energy plan, but we do have sun, land, wind
and geothermal resources. 

With the right leadership, we, too, could be making national
news for our plan to help reduce this country's dependence on
foreign oil. 

All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 33 Pravda: USA may stand up against every country developing nuclear technologies - 

Pravda.Ru
 
26 August 2006         

  25.08.2006     Source:     

The US political elite has split over the Iranian nuclear 
program. The White House, the Congress and US special services 
are breaking the lance over the USA�s future politics regarding 
Teheran. The time given to Iran by the UN Security Council to 
suspend the nuclear research is elapsing in a week. It seems that 
the Bush�s administration does not know what to do with the 
disobedient country afterwards. 

  Iran splits US political establishment   

All the emotions have been expressed on 29 pages of the report
exposed Wednesday by the Intelligence Committee of the US
Congress. The report runs that Iran poses a strategic threat to
the USA and its allies. The authors of the document criticize
Teheran for its aspiration to possess nuclear weapons and
provide financial support to terrorist groups in Lebanon,
Palestine and other territories. Furthermore, the repot says,
Iran�s National Security Service actively supports Iraqi
guerrillas. 

US congressmen believe that Iran will become a much larger
threat to the USA if it eventually develops nuclear weapons.
They particularly believe that the Iranian administration is
certain that A-bombs will guarantee protection against
retaliation strikes. In this case a possibility for Iran to use
nuclear weapons against US troops and their allies in the region
increases considerably, US officials said. On the other hand,
Israel may consider it impossible to get accustomed to a nuclear
neighbour. The Israeli government may decide to conduct a
military operation against nuclear objects in Iran. US
law-makers think that it will definitely exacerbate the
situation in the region. 

It is worthy of note that US intelligence services have found
themselves unequal to the occasion. They are unable to make a
detailed representation of the threat coming from Iranian
nuclear activities. National Intelligence Director John
Negroponte said that Iran would be able to develop nuclear
weapons not earlier than in the beginning or in the middle of
the next decade. US congressmen believe this information is
wrong. They reminded that the government of Iran promised to
build the cascade of 3,000 centrifuges already in the beginning
of 2007. The system will allow to produce the inner content for
one A-bomb a year. Once they build another complex to fuel
centrifuges from light-water reactors (which Russia is currently
building in Bushehr), the term will be cut to only two months.   

  C 1999-2006. �PRAVDA.Ru�. When reproducing our materials in
*****************************************************************
 34 Washington Post: Early Warning

William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security
+ 	 		
Paving the Way to War with Iran
 	 	 
U.S. intelligence -- duh -- to assess Iran's nuclear program and
intentions, a House Intelligence Committee report says. 

The op-ed pages are filled with hard-line and dovish advice on
what to do about Iran. 

on Iraq, arguing that things could get worse; the "strategy" for
victory seems to have become just surviving until the 2008
election. 

The sage conclusion being pushed in Israel -- and being repeated
in Washington -- is that Iran was the big winner in Lebanon, and
that if we are not careful, Iran will also score in Iraq, and
then with nuclear weapons, well you know the story. 

I don't believe in conspiracies, and I think it is that the
United States -- or Israel -- -- has some timetable for
"attacking" Iran.   

But in the ways of Washington, the pieces are all fitting
together so nicely. 

Iraq is increasingly a partisan issue, which means that most
"experts" steer clear of judgments.
 
Iran is tomorrow's problem.  So it's open season on speculation
regarding possible courses of action without any real cost (at
least for now).  And Iran has the weapons of mass destruction
appeal, which means that though experts may dicker about tactics
for dealing with Tehran, they are unanimous regarding what
eventually will have to be done. 
In April, in these pages, the "threat" provoking fantasists of
imminent U.S. (and Israeli) attacking was Iran's nuclear
weapons, and the image created by the crisis du jour that Iran
was somehow weeks or months away from acquiring the bomb. 

The "crisis" abated, and Iraq's civil war loomed, and then came
the Israeli-Hezbollah war, which again increased Iran's profile
as the world's no. 1 trouble-maker.  argue post-Lebanon not only
that Iran "ordered" Hezbollah to attack, but that Lebanon is a
new Iranian "front" against Israel.  "From Iran's standpoint,
the region had been ignited too early, before its nuclear
program was ready," says Israeli reserve Brig. Gen. Shimon
Shapira. 

Shapira says that Iran's strategy is "Building an Islamic
society in Lebanon in the image of Iran, one loyal to the Imam
Khameini."  This will require political change and power to
Hezbollah, he says, so that when Iran's nuclear program is
ready, full jihad against Israel can be waged. 

A nuclear Iran.  Of course then it's curtains. 

But devilish, diabolical Iran has become the new bipartisan
whipping boy.  Take the "debate" between Sen. Joseph Lieberman
(D-CT) and challenger Ned Lamont in the New York Times
yesterday.  Lieberman says that he sees Iranian danger in U.S.
withdrawal from Iraq, with Iran moving in.  "We've got to wake
up to this.  It is the test, unfortunately, of not just this
generation of American leaders, but of the next generation as
well, because this enemy ain't going away." 

Lamont's response?  "The invasion of Iraq has had one big winner
and thats Iran," he argues.  Iran is the real threat, Lamont
says, and the war in Iraq has made the United States weaker in
dealing with the new devil. 

Writing in today's Wall Street Journal, George Perkovich, vice
president and director of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Program
at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, speaks the
bipartisan line, that virtually anything must be done to stop
Iran from getting the bomb: "With nuclear weapons, Iranian
Revolutionary Guards and other militant actors would supply more
and better weapons to Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and
stimulate their campaigns against Israeli and American targets,
confident that their nuclear weapons would deter major
counterattacks against Iran." 

The parallels to pre-Iraq ARE scary: Iran is a sponsor of
terrorism.  Iran has weapons of mass destruction.  Iran
threatens its neighbors. 

The Bush administration doesn't even need to do the heavy
lifting here: It is the WMD-obsessed ambulance-chasers, those
"experts" who can not see how they beat the drum for war in
their pursuit of "peace," who craft the final consensus. 

And then there's the "liberal" Democrat (Lamont) position on
Iran: "Win" the partisan Iraq debate by trumpeting the Iran
threat.  It is such a trap. 

As I said, all of the pieces nicely fall into place. 

The experts serve up fabulous detail about centrifuges and
uranium enrichment, recounting inspection results and the
eyelashes of difference in Iran's latest maneuver.  Others
recite the history of Shiite versus Sunni, and speak of the
Shiite "crescent" and the Quds brigades and the Iranian Guards
Corps controlling al-Sadr militias in Iraq, hiding in foreign
embassies pulling strings. 

Because I know the habits and behavior of the experts, their
ulterior motives, and their sorry track-record, what they have
to say about Iran has to be filtered and discounted. 

Similarly, though those who criticize the intelligence agencies
do so mostly because they WANT a tougher policy towards Tehran,
I can't help but conclude that the agencies have done so little
to engender confidence.  Look at Iraq today: everyday the CIA
and military intelligence proves that they do not to have a clue
about what is really happening, and that's in a country that
they actually occupy. 

In the absence of expert opinion that is neither myopic nor
bought, in our earning for an explanation as to why the world is
such a mess and in our patriotic duty not to see ourselves as
responsible, in our myopia about WMD, in our polarized partisan
grossness,  we have unfortunately paved the way for war with
Iran. 

Hey, Bush and Lamont agree.  I don't know about you, but that
make me very nervous. 	
                
By William M. Arkin |  August 24, 2006; 10:31 AM ET                                             

Blogs That Reference This Entry
 

TrackBack URL for this entry:
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� 2006 The Washington Post Company                                                                                                              
*****************************************************************
 35 The Hindu :"Bush dedicated to moving forward on nuclear deal" 

 Saturday, Aug 26, 2006     

T.S. Subramanian 

  Our legislature is actively engaged as your legislature: U.S.
official   

+ Agreement not [merely] between two leaders but a lasting
agreement between two countries 
+ "Beauty of democracy is that we have debate" 
+ Hydrogen economy: U.S. committed to providing $7 billion 

CHENNAI: United States President George W. Bush "is dedicated to
moving forward" on the nuclear agreement with India "on its
[agreement's] terms," according to James L. Connaughton,
Chairman, Council on Environment Quality, U.S. 

Asked about the extraneous conditions introduced in the Bill
passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, which were not in
the Joint Statement of July 18, 2005 by Mr. Bush and Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and the agreement of March 2, 2006 on
the separation of military nuclear facilities from their
civilian counterparts in India, Mr. Connaughton said: "We are
working very closely with our legislature to achieve the
broadest possible support so that this agreement is not [merely]
between two leaders but a lasting agreement between two
countries. Our legislature is actively engaged as your
legislature, and it is a very positive and powerful development.

And as they [the legislature of India and the U.S] understand
the needs of the two countries, we are confident that a strong
legislative package will be produced." 

Mr. Connaughton's choice was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on
June 14, 2001 and appointed by Mr. Bush four days later to serve
as Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality. In this
capacity, he serves as the senior environmental, energy and
natural resources adviser to the U.S. President. He is also
director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy,
which coordinates interagency implementation of environmental
programmes. He was here on August 23. 

Asked about the possibility of the U.S. Senate retaining the
conditions in its Bill because many Republican Senators differ
with Mr. Bush on the issue, he said: "The beauty of democracy is
that we have debate, we have understanding and we usually
address our problems." 

Hydrogen economy 

On the stress laid on a hydrogen economy by the Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate and whether this
would be possible in a couple of decades, he said: "First, we
already know how to produce a lot of hydrogen. The challenge is
in how to make effective use of that hydrogen in energy-using
systems such as small industrial parks, homes, consumer goods
and transportation." 

There was a global effort to make hydrogen available for these
applications on a commercial scale as early as possible. This
was being done through the International Partnership on Hydrogen
Economy. The U.S. was committed to providing $7 billion over
five years to this and the amount was being matched by Asian and
European companies and others. 

Mr. Connaughton said he had driven several hydrogen-powered
vehicles. The technology is available but expensive. Reliability
must be examined for wide-scale use of hydrogen as a fuel. He
denied that a hydrogen economy would remain a dream. "We are not
working on a dream. We are working on a present reality on a
technology that can be used." 

Copyright � 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of
*****************************************************************
 36 RIA Novosti: Russia, U.S. need no new strategic arms control deals
 
25/ 08/ 2006                                  

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Neither Russia nor the United
States is interested in new deals on controls over strategic
offensive weapons, a representative of the Russian Defense
Ministry said Friday.

 President Vladimir Putin proposed in late June that talks be
opened with Washington on replacing the START-I treaty, which
was signed at the end of the Soviet era and which expires in
2009, with a new arms deal.

 "I doubt that either the Americans or we are ready for this or
need it," the source said.

 He said the countries would be unable to work out a new deal
similar to START-I with mechanisms of strict control and
verification of strategic potentials and nuclear warheads. "I
don't see the point of doing so now that nuclear warheads are
not and will not be counted," he said.

 START-I was followed by START-II, which banned the use of
multiple re-entry vehicles but never entered into force.

 The source said that although old agreements were ineffective,
general rules had been fixed in the Strategic Offensive
Reductions Treaty, signed on May 24, 2002 by Vladimir Putin and
George W. Bush in Moscow.

 SORT, which expires on December 31, 2012, limited both
countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,700-2,200 warheads each. The
treaty has been criticized for a lack of verification provisions
and the possibility of re-deploying stored warheads.

 According to latest inspection reports, Russia possesses 927
nuclear delivery vehicles and 4,279 nuclear warheads for
strategic offensive weapons, whereas the United States had 1,255
and 5,966 respectively.

 The source said 1,500-2,000 warheads would be enough for Russia
and that even 400-500 warheads were a substantial force against
an enemy with an arsenal five times as large.

 The spokesperson added that neither of the parties was eager to
dispose of enriched plutonium or uranium, which are nuclear
components of the weapons, because huge funds had been spent on
enrichment programs.
 
� 2005 RIA Novosti   
*****************************************************************
 37 IRNA: Khatami, Japanese premier confer 

, Aug 25, IRNA

-- 

Former President, Mohammad Khatami, met here on Thursday with
Japan's Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and reiterated the
importance of dialogue among civilizations and better
understanding among cultures.

 Khatami, who heads the International Foundation of Dialogue
Among Civilizations, said the world today is in dire need of
dialogue and every other solution will lead to escalation of
violence.

 "Cultures, civilizations and religions have many things in
common for reaching consensus," he said, adding that the world
should take into consideration the important role of dialogue
among civilizations.

 Referring to the specific situation of Japan in East Asia and
Iran in West Asia, Khatami said the two nations can make due
efforts to establish the culture of peace in the international
community.

 "Violent policies of some powers against Middle Eastern nations
and the world of Islam will step up tension and violence," he
said.

 Commenting on Iran's nuclear case, former President Khatami
said Iran is seeking to build confidence in the regional and
international levels while it is the right of every nation to
have access to peaceful nuclear know-how.

 He hoped Europeans and other negotiation parties could reach
consensus on Iran's nuclear case.

 Japanese Premier Koizumi, for his part, underlined the
necessity for following up the dialogue among civilizations
initiative, saying that dialogue among cultures and
civilizations is present world's pressing necessity.

 Koizumi said that Iran-Japan relations are developing.

 He stressed Iran's great role in West Asia and the Middle East.

 On the nuclear issue, he said it is the natural right of
nations to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

*****************************************************************
 38 [NYTr] Mexico Planning New Nuke Plant
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:57:11 -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
 
Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Mexico Planning New Nuke Plant

Mexico, Aug 25 (Prensa Latina) Mexican experts are planning a new
electronuclear station with a 1,200-megawatt capacity, which will begin to
operate in 2015, the Energy Secretary s Office announced.

That entity s Electricity Sub Secretary Jose Acevedo asserted that the
station will be able to ameliorate the high prices of natural gas. Thus, it
is economically feasible to have another plant of that kind, but they will
need at least two years to plan it.

Acevedo said they should have a contract to start building from five to six
years, which means a long period before undertaking the project.

The official said the government will define the financial plan for the
mentioned investment, because since it is a legal nuclear energy project,
it can not be assumed by a private company, as those previously developed
by the Electricity Federal Commission.

ef/iom/crc/mf
       
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*****************************************************************
 39 AP: Small tritium spill at Prairie Island highlights problem

 Associated Press 

duluthsuperior.com

Posted on Fri, Aug. 25, 2006 

RED WING, Minn. - Radioactive tritium spilled earlier this month 
at the Prairie Island nuclear plant, according to federal and 
company officials. 

Federal and company officials said the incident didn't threaten 
public health or safety - but it highlights issues with tritium. 
About 20 plants in the nation have had problems with the 
chemical. 

According to the report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, workers at Prairie Island spilled 168 gallons of 
contaminated water onto gravel outside the plant on Aug. 5 as 
they were cleaning heating equipment. 

The amount of radioactivity in the water was slightly below 
federal drinking water standards. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Scott Burnell said
there's no indication the spill got into groundwater. 

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It accumulates in
reactor coolant water. 

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
*****************************************************************
 40 Star Tribune: Small tritium spill at Prairie Island highlights larger problem
                                
SPILL082506                              

 An incident at the Prairie Island nuclear plant illustrates
growing national concerns about spills and leaks of radioactive
liquids. 

Tom Meersman, 

Last update: August 24, 2006  10:02 PM 

WHAT IS TRITIUM? 

Tritium is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when
cosmic rays strike air molecules. Tritium is also produced as a
byproduct in reactors producing electricity and in special
production reactors. More about tritium from the U.S.

Enviromental Protection Agency is at www.startribune.com/a1678 
Local
 
Water contaminated with radioactive tritium was spilled at the 
Prairie Island nuclear plant in Red Wing, Minn., this month, said 
company and federal officials, but the incident did not threaten 
public health and safety.

The plant is one of about 20 in the nation to have problems with
tritium, ranging from relatively minor spills to major leaks
that have sometimes contaminated groundwater in nearby
communities.

According to the report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, workers at Prairie Island spilled 168 gallons of
contaminated water onto gravel outside the plant on Aug. 5 as
they were cleaning some heating equipment. 

The amount of radioactivity in the water was slightly below
federal drinking water standards, said Scott Burnell, spokesman
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"We're talking about a very small volume of water that was
spilled," he said. "There's no indication that the spill made it
into groundwater on the site."

Arline Datu, spokeswoman for the Nuclear Management Co., which
manages the Prairie Island plant, said there was no need to
clean up the gravel or soil because the radioactivity levels
were low. The company also notified state and local officials,
she said.

Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, accumulates in
reactor coolant water, said Burnell, and utilities are typically
allowed to dilute and discharge it once or twice a year into
lakes and rivers under controlled conditions. However, the
uncontrolled and sometimes inadvertent release of tritium has
become a significant concern recently for the nuclear industry,
which is trying to build public confidence in plant safety.

Last year it was revealed that the Braidwood nuclear plant in
northeast Illinois leaked 6.2 million gallons of contaminated
water over nine years, and had contaminated nearby residential
wells. Tritium also has been detected, mostly in groundwater,
beneath nuclear plants in at least eight other states.

Federal officials established a task force in March to study the
issue, and the industry adopted a voluntary initiative that
advised utilities to report all tritium spills or other leaks.

David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the
Union of Concerned Scientists, spearheaded an effort by two
dozen environmental groups to petition federal officials to
require stricter reporting by utilities and more extensive
groundwater monitoring. Their request was denied, but, Lochbaum
said, it increased public attention and industry concern.

"Not that anyone has been harmed yet, but we don't need to wait
for that day," he said.

Tom Meersman � 612 673-7388

Tom Meersman � meersman@startribune.com 

Star Tribune. All rights reserved. |||||||||| 425 Portland Av. 
S., Minneapolis, MN 55488 (612) 673-4000 Tom Meersman
*****************************************************************
 41 The Herald: Proposals for new nuclear power stations   

Web Issue 2602     August 25 2006      

  Your Letters     August 25 2006   
    
  YOUR article and leader (August 23) on the potential
environmental assessment of new nuclear power stations are
entirely misleading. 

Any proposal to build a new nuclear power station should be
reflected in the relevant development plan. This would require
to be subject to strategic environmental assessment with a full
discussion of the other options considered and their
environmental consequences. There must be full public
consultation on this assessment and an explanation of how public
comments have been taken into account. In addition, any
site-specific request for permission to build a nuclear power
station would require to undergo an environmental impact
assessment.

 It is wrong to suggest that there is some loophole because the
stage of the planning process which requires an environmental
impact assessment does not require a strategic environmental
assessment. That was never the intention. Our intention is to
have strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact
assessment working at different levels of the process. Strategic
environmental assessment received wide parliamentary support, on
the basis of strengthening scrutiny of public strategies,
programmes and plans.

 I think it would be disingenuous for political parties to
suggest they were not aware of the range of strategic
environmental assessment. There is no loophole and it is quite
wrong of the Greens to suggest that there is. 

Ross Finnie, MSP, Minister for Environment and Rural
Development, Scottish Executive, Edinburgh.
  
 SO JOHN A Douglas was displeased on seeing windmills spoiling
the scenery for tourists at Doune as he came up the M9 to
Stirling (April 19). Fair enough, but perhaps when they have
"bedded in" over time they will be accepted and may even become
a tourist attraction.

 Did he not notice the scars across the countryside caused by
concrete bridges, tarmac, interchanges and numerous road signs,
which together are the M9? Did he give thought to his car, which
on average will spew out four times its own weight in pollutants
this year and contribute to the deaths of several thousand
asthmatic people?

 What of the Forth Rail Bridge? A magnificent tourist attraction
or an obscene visual intrusion? At present, it is a rusty mess
thanks to neglect since privatisation. Viewed from the road
bridge it looks held together by giantic pieces of sticking
plaster.

 The Trossachs may be a prime tourist attraction, but that has
resulted in all of us turning Loch Lomond into pretty much a
disaster area. Try a visit on a sunny weekend!

 The wider picture is no better: dilapidated farm buildings,
factories (Victorian wrecks and an assortment of
twentieth-century "cheapo" buildings alike), "zombie" council
estates and "egg carton" shopping centres, among others.

 Thomas R Burgess, 53 St Catherine's Square, Perth
   
  Copyright � Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
Reserved   
*****************************************************************
 42 Pravda.Ru: Argentina expands nuclear program to catch up with Brazil -
           
  25.08.2006     Source:     

Buenos Aires says it would invest up to $3.5 billion on peaceful
purposes 

Almost four years after Brazil announced its intentions to
launch a new nuclear program, the other South American nation
that has developed such technology, Argentina, Wednesday
confirmed it would invest about $3.5 billion over eight years to
update its power plants and possibly resume uranium mining. The
announcement came as a government response to rising energy
demands in the country, whose power supplying system has proved
to be uncapable to meet the requirements of a recovering
economy. 

  The Atucha I power plant in central Argentina   

At a Government House news conference, Planning Minister Julio
de Vido said the plan calls for increasing the life span of the
aging Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plants and completing
construction by 2010 on the long-stalled Atucha II plant.Two
decades of delays have hampered completion of the Atucha II
project, located some 75 miles northwest of the capital of
Buenos Aires. 

"When this government took office in 2003, the nuclear energy
sector was reactivating," De Vido said. "Today we come to
establish a strategic plan for the Argentine nuclear energy
sector for the coming years." 

In an attempt to sort out doubts over the intentions of the
Argentine authorities, De Vido and other top Argentine officials
confirmed that the nuclear program pursues peaceful purposes
only. 

�The Argentine nuclear development will fulfill with all
international legal standards for the peaceful use of the atomic
energy�, said Minister De Vido. However, who is considered as
one of the most powerful members of the Argentine cabinet, did
not comment on press reports that Argentina might revive a
uranium enrichement program shut down in 1983 due to budget
restrictions. 

According to the Argentine daily Clarin, Mr. De Vido admitted
that Argentina is trying to reactivate is uranium enrichement
program to catch up with neighbour Brazil that has inaugurated a
uranium enrichment center capable of producing nuclear fuel to
meet the increasing regional and international demand last May.

Enrichment provides the fuel needed to operate such nuclear
plants, but can also be a central to building nuclear weapons. 

Argentina is one of the leading Latin American nations in
nuclear power generation, but has faced potential energy
shortfalls in recent years. As early as in the fifties,
Argentina created the National Commission for Atomic Energy,
which put into function the Atucha I power plant in the
mid-1970�s in conjunction with the Embalse plant in center of
the country. 

Despite periodic financial crisis, Argentina has never halted
its nuclear researches. Buenos Aires has sold its nuclear
technology to Australia and Algeria, as well as signed
cooperation deals with Canada, the US and Russia. 

Along with Brazil, Argentina is seeking new energy sources to
counter crude oil prices that have passed $70 a barrel, along
with soaring prices in natural gas and other fuels. 

Hernan Etchaleco 
Pravda.Ru

  C 1999-2006. �PRAVDA.Ru�.
*****************************************************************
 43 The Local: Power firms stung by cost of nuclear shutdown
           
[The Local: Sweden's news in English]   

Published: 25th August 2006 19:42 CET

Online: http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=4700 

The shutdown of the nuclear reactors at Forsmark and Oskarshamn
after an incident at Forsmark on July 25th has so far cost the
plant owners 600 million kronor.

Following a blackout caused by a short circuit two of four
backup diesel generators in the Forsmark 1 reactor failed to
start automatically, revealing other faults in the power
station's electrical system.

Four reactors - two in Forsmark and two in Oskarshamn - were
switched off for safety reasons. 

The month-long stoppage has cost the Oskarshamn plant's owners,
EON and Fortum, around 300 million kronor.
 
The financial blow to Vattenfall Norden, which owns 66 percent
of Forsmark, is around 265 million kronor so far. On top of that
is another few million in lost income for other smaller owners.
 
How long it will be before the Swedish nuclear power
inspectorate (SKI) approves Forsmark 1 and the other three
reactors is still unclear.
 
First, SKI is investigating what happened at Forsmark 1 -
described earlier in the week as the "country's worst nuclear
incident". Then a decision will be made over what steps must be
taken before the other reactors are switched back on.
 
SKI has demanded that the Oskarshamn plant demonstrates by
September 6th that the same fault cannot happen there. The
reactors will not come back online before then. 

Local � The Local Europe AB 2006
*****************************************************************
 44 Rutland Herald: Entergy challenges nuke plant's value

Rutland Vermont News & Information
 	 	 	 	 	 
August 25, 2006 

By DANIEL BARLOW Southern Vermont Bureau   

VERNON � Entergy Vermont Nuclear filed two lawsuits on Wednesday
against the town of Vernon in the ongoing battle over the true
property value of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

The lawsuits, filed in courts in Newfane and Burlington,
contests a decision by officials in Vernon earlier this year to
appraise the value of the nuclear power plant at $274 million �
an increase in value of $109 million over the previous year.

The lawsuit filed at Windham Superior Court in Newfane appeals
the latest ruling by the Vernon Board of Civil Authority, which
upheld an earlier decision on the plant's value by Vernon
listers, according to court documents.

The second lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington,
asks a judge to order the town to uphold a 10-year tax
stabilization agreement that was to last until 2010, according
to court documents. The town has argued that the agreement is no
longer valid due to the plant's recent 20 percent power boost.

"An actual controversy exists in this matter given that the town
has unilaterally declared the [agreement] void and the town has
reappraised Entergy's property in violation of the [agreement],"
the four-page motion seeking declaratory judgment filed in
Newfane Wednesday reads.

The town reached a tax stabilization agreement with AmerGen
Energy Co., a Pennsylvania corporation that nearly purchase the
Vernon plant six years ago, in 2000. The agreement had the
plant's value drop slightly each year until the agreement ends
in 2010, according to information from the Vernon Lister's
office.

But town officials believe Vermont Yankee's so-called uprate
earlier this year, during which they boosted power production by
20 percent, voids the original agreement. Officials reassessed
the value of the plant at $239.4 million and the value of fuel
stored on-site at $35 million earlier this year.

The change in Vermont Yankee's value coincided with a townwide
reappraisal mandated by the state because the town's common
level of appraise fell below 80 percent, the town's lister
office said Thursday.

Earlier this year, the plant owners unsuccessfully appealed the
decision to the listers and then the board of civil authority.
Vermont Yankee is among the town's largest property owners and
in 2005 paid $1.2 million in taxes.

Burlington lawyer Marc Heath, who is representing Entergy in the
cases, directed questions to an Entergy spokesman Thursday.
Richard Carroll, a Brattleboro lawyer representing Vernon, did
not return a call for comment.

Entergy Spokesman Rob Williams said the company is adamant that
the now 6-year-old agreement still stands. He said the lawsuits
were the "next step in the process" of appealing the decision by
local officials.

"Our viewpoint has always been that the tax stabilization
agreement remains in effect," Williams said. "Agreements such as
these are beneficial to both parties."

*****************************************************************
 45 WVEC.com: Wisconsin governor defends administration's Dominion meetings 

News for Hampton Roads, Virginia | Virginia News


08/25/2006 

By RYAN J. FOLEY  / Associated Press 

Gov. Jim Doyle said Friday he properly met with executives from
Virginia's Dominion Resources Inc. seeking to buy a nuclear
power plant whose sale is now the subject of a joint
state-federal investigation. 

Doyle told reporters he met with executives of the Richmond,
Va., utility when the company was seeking to purchase the
Kewaunee plant. The governor described the meeting as one of
many he has had during his first-term with utility executives
and completely appropriate. 

State and federal investigators are looking into whether Doyle's
administration had any role in influencing state regulators to
approve the sale of the plant. 

"They were thinking of buying a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin
and so one of the things that they would do was come and talk to
the governor of the state," Doyle said. "I would think people
would be pretty darned concerned if the governor of the state
wasn't meeting with the utilities." 

Doyle said he has never tried to influence state utilities
regulators. 

The investigators, led by U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic in
Milwaukee, are reviewing whether $43,650 in donations to Doyle's
re-election campaign by executives with the two utilities trying
to sell the Kewaunee plant influenced regulators to approve the
sale. 

The Public Service Commission voted 2-1 to reject the sale in
November 2004. After Dominion and the plant's owners  Wisconsin
Public Service Corp. and Wisconsin Power &Light Co.  made
changes to the proposal in response to concerns of the two Doyle
appointees on the commission, the PSC allowed the sale to
proceed. 

Dominion executives donated $2,000 to Doyle's campaign in
January 2004 when the sale was pending, campaign records show.
Doyle spokesman Matt Canter said the administration was still
trying to pinpoint the date Friday. 

The governor said his chief of staff, Susan Goodwin, also met
with Dominion executives while the purchase was pending in
February 2004. She spoke with then-PSC Chairwoman Burnie Bridge
after the meeting about an unrelated matter, Doyle said. 

Bridge has said allegations "about improper influence in the
Kewaunee case are absolutely untrue and deeply offensive." 

Doyle said there was nothing inappropriate about the meetings. 

"The thought that a company that was seeking to purchase a power
plant in the state of Wisconsin and they wouldn't talk to the
governor's office would be ludicrous," he said. "I saw a
headline today that said, 'Gov.'s aide speaks with utility'. I
said well, stop the presses." 

Bill Lipscomb, a spokesman for Biskupic, said he could not
comment on the investigation. 

Dominion Resources provides electricity and natural gas to more
than 6 million residential, commercial and industrial customers
in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. 

Its Virginia Power electric utility has more than 2 million
residential and business customers in Virginia and North
Carolina. Dominion Resources is also the biggest electric
generator in New England. 

� 2006 WVEC Television, Inc. 
*****************************************************************
 46 UPI: Analysis: NRC hires expecting nuke boom
     
United Press International - Energy - 

8/25/2006 1:05:00 PM -0400                                                                                                                       

 By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission has been on a hiring spree in anticipation of
applications for new nuclear reactors, reactor permit renewals
and the nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain. 

"For at least the past year we've been looking to seriously ramp
up the agency's research personnel," said NRC spokesman Scott
Burnell. 

That includes more than 300 hires over the past year, a trend
expected to continue for the next few years. This has put the
agency in a space crunch, too, converting conference rooms in
its Rockville, Md., headquarters into cubicles. "Regional
offices are tight on space" as well, Burnell said. 

While active reactors head into the twilight years of their
original permit and begin applying for renewal, and the NRC
braces itself for the beast of a job that is regulating the
proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site, "a large
percentage" of the new staff is dedicated to new reactor
applications, Burnell said. 

Burnell said there are 13 prospective applicants totaling "19
possible applications, based on companies that have come to us
so far and laid out specific plans," which he estimates to be
about 27 new reactors. He expects the first new reactor
application by late next year. 

Ron Hagen, a nuclear energy analyst with the U.S. Energy
Department's data arm, the Energy Information Administration,
says he thinks there may be even more potential new nuclear
sites than the NRC is letting on, and talk from within the
industry points to increased chances at the first approval of
nuclear power plant since 1978. 

"What you're seeing is a gradual warming up to the idea," said
Hagen, referring to companies getting in line for various
supplies necessary to begin the building process, partly fueled
by tax incentives in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 

The World Nuclear Association, in a recent review of U.S.
nuclear industry, expects new reactor construction by 2010, in
operation by 2014, largely because of "regulatory initiatives,"
including Early Site Permit and Combined Construction-Operation
Licensing that are partially funded by the Energy Department. 

Nearly 789 billion kilowatt hours of electricity was generated
by U.S. nuclear power in 2004, the most ever for the country and
the fifth record set since 1998 despite no new nuclear plants
coming on line since 1996. 

Alan Beamon, director of EIA's coal and electrical power
forecasting division, said a now nearly year-old long-term
forecast predicts by 2030 U.S. nuclear capacity will increase by
9,000 megawatts -- 3,000 mw in upgrades to existing plants and
6,000 mw in new plants. 

He said that estimate may be low now, after the full effects of
recent energy legislation are known, including Internal Revenue
Service rulings on the extent the tax breaks can be applied. 

"It looks to us like the incentives in the Energy Policy Act of
2005 should be large enough to stimulate new nuclear
construction," Beamon said, adding one hurdle will be the
anti-nuclear groups who will surely contest the projects. 

Criticism of the industry aside, it has been a steadily
efficient source of energy, Beamon said. 

"Nuclear power plants over the last decade, 20 years or so, have
dramatically improved their performance and their output," up
from 66 a percent capacity factor in 1990 to 90 percent now. 

For the new plants, "the issue is then whether they can build
those new units, and build them at a cost that makes further
units attractive and whether they can overcome waste disposal
concerns," he said. 

The latter is the ongoing debacle that is the Energy
Department's determination to open up a geological reservoir in
Nevada's Yucca Mountain to store spent nuclear fuel. Its latest
estimate is to have an application into the NRC by 2008 and open
its doors by 2017, but doubts on the tight timeframe linger,
spurred by history -- Yucca Mountain was supposed to open by
1998. 

The NRC has opened an office in nearby Las Vegas, where Burnell
says a full-time, devoted staff awaits the application. In the
meantime it can be used for other regulatory work. 

And there are seven nuclear plant license renewal applications
being reviewed by NRC now, and 22 letters of intent to renew
have been issued. 

(Comments to energy@upi.com)


*****************************************************************
 47 NRC: Omaha Public Power District, Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; 
 
                        FR Doc E6-14106 
[Federal Register: August 25, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 165)] 
[Notices] [Page 50475-50477] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au06-131]                         
 
Exemption 1.0 Background The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD, 
licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-40 
which authorizes operation of the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1 
(FCS). The license provides, among other things, that the 
facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, Commission) now or hereafter 
in effect.
 
The facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor located in 
Washington County, Nebraska.
 
2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) 50.46, ``Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling 
systems for light- water nuclear power reactors,'' requires, 
among other items, that ``[e]ach boiling or pressurized 
light-water nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium oxide 
pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or ZIRLO cladding must be 
provided with an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) that must 
be designed so that its calculated cooling performance following 
postulated loss-of-coolant accidents [(LOCAs)] conforms to the 
criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.'' Appendix K 
to 10 CFR Part 50, ``ECCS Evaluation Models,'' requires, among 
other items, that the rate of energy release, hydrogen 
generation, and cladding oxidation from the metal/water reaction 
shall be calculated using the Baker-Just equation. The 
regulations of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, make 
no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than 
zircaloy or ZIRLO. Since the chemical composition of the M5 alloy 
differs from the specifications for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a 
plant-specific exemption is required to allow the use of the M5 
alloy as a cladding material or in other assembly structural 
components at FCS.
 
 
[[Page 50476]] Therefore, by letter dated August 11, 2005, as 
revised by letter dated November 8, 2005, and as supplemented on 
April 12, 2006, the licensee requested the use of the M5 advanced 
alloy for fuel rod cladding and other assembly structural 
components at FCS.
 
3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon 
application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, 
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1) 
the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the 
common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances 
are present.
 
Authorized by Law This exemption results in changes to the 
operation of the plant by allowing the use of the M5 alloy as 
fuel cladding material or for other assembly structural 
components in lieu of zircaloy or ZIRLO. As stated above, 10 CFR 
50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 
10 CFR Part 50. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the 
licensee's proposed exemption will not result in a violation of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's 
regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.
 
No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety The underlying purposes 
of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, are to ensure 
that facilities have adequate acceptance criteria for the ECCS, 
and to ensure that cladding oxidation and hydrogen generation are 
appropriately limited during a LOCA and conservatively accounted 
for in the ECCS evaluation model, respectively. Topical Report 
(TR) BAW-10227P, ``Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural 
Material (M5) in PWR [pressurized-water reactor] Reactor Fuel,'' 
which was approved by the NRC on February 4, 2000, demonstrated 
that the effectiveness of the ECCS will not be affected by a 
change from zircaloy to M5. In addition, TR BAW-10227P 
demonstrated that the Baker-Just equation (used in the ECCS 
evaluation model to determine the rate of energy release, 
cladding oxidation, and hydrogen generation) is conservative in 
all post-LOCA scenarios with respect to the use of M5 advanced 
alloy as a fuel rod cladding material or in other assembly 
structural components. Based on the above, no new accident 
precursors are created by using M5 advanced alloy, thus, the 
probability of postulated accidents is not increased. Also, based 
on the above, the consequences of postulated accidents are not 
increased. In addition, the licensee will use NRC-approved 
methods for the reload design process for FCS reloads with M5. 
Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and safety due 
to using M5.
 
Consistent With Common Defense and Security The proposed 
exemption requested results in changes to the operation of the 
plant by allowing the use of the M5 alloy as fuel cladding 
material or in other assembly structural components in lieu of 
zircaloy or ZIRLO. This change to the fuel material used in the 
plant has no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common 
defense and security are not impacted by this exemption request.
 
Special Circumstances Special circumstances, in accordance with 
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present whenever application of the 
regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the 
underlying purpose of the rule. In this circumstance neither 10 
CFR 50.46 nor 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, explicitly allows the 
use of M5 as a fuel rod cladding material or in use of other 
assembly structural components.
 
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 is to ensure that 
facilities have adequate acceptance criteria for the ECCS. On 
February 4, 2000, the NRC staff approved TR BAW-10227P in which 
Framatome demonstrated that the effectiveness of the ECCS will 
not be affected by a change from zircaloy to M5. The analysis 
described in the TR also demonstrated that the ECCS acceptance 
criteria applied to reactors fueled with zircaloy fuel rod 
cladding are also applicable to reactors fueled with M5 fuel rod 
cladding.
 
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, paragraph 
I.A.5, is to ensure that cladding oxidation and hydrogen 
generation are appropriately limited during a LOCA and 
conservatively accounted for in the ECCS evaluation model. 
Appendix K requires that the Baker-Just equation be used in the 
ECCS evaluation model to determine the rate of energy release, 
cladding oxidation, and hydrogen generation. In TR BAW- 10227P, 
Framatome demonstrated that the Baker-Just model is conservative 
in all post-LOCA scenarios with respect to the use of the M5 
advanced alloy as a fuel rod cladding material or in other 
assembly structural components, and that the amount of hydrogen 
generated in an M5 core during a LOCA will remain within the FCS 
design basis.
 
The M5 alloy is a proprietary zirconium-based alloy comprised of 
primarily zirconium (~99 percent) and niobium (~1 percent). The 
elimination of tin has resulted in superior corrosion resistance 
and reduced irradiation-induced growth relative to both standard 
zircaloy (1.7 percent tin) and low-tin zircaloy (1.2 percent 
tin). The addition of niobium increases ductility, which is 
desirable to avoid brittle failures.
 
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's advanced cladding 
material, M5, for PWR fuel mechanical designs as described in TR 
BAW- 10227P. In the safety evaluation for TR BAW-10227P dated 
February 4, 2000, the NRC staff concluded that, to the extent 
specified in the NRC staff's evaluation, the M5 properties and 
mechanical design methodology are acceptable for referencing in 
fuel reload licensing applications. Therefore, since the 
underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix 
K, paragraph I.A.5 are achieved through the use of the M5 
advanced alloy as a fuel rod cladding material or in other 
assembly structural components, the special circumstances 
required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) for the granting of an 
exemption from 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, 
exist. Summary The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's request 
to use the M5 advanced alloy for fuel rod cladding and in other 
assembly structural components in lieu of zircaloy or ZIRLO. 
Based on the NRC staff's evaluation, as set forth above, the NRC 
staff concludes that the exemption is authorized by law, will not 
present an undue risk to public health and safety, and is 
consistent with the common defense and security. In addition, the 
NRC staff concludes that the underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.46 
and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, are achieved through the use of 
the M5 advanced alloy. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), 
the NRC staff concludes that the use of the M5 advanced alloy for 
fuel rod cladding and in other assembly structural components is 
acceptable and the exemption from 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 
50, Appendix K, is justified.
 
4.07 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, 
will not present an undue risk to
 
[[Page 50477]] the public health and safety, and is consistent 
with the common defense and security. Also, special circumstances 
are present. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants OPPD an 
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 
50, Appendix K, for the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1.
 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will not have a significant impact on 
the quality of the human environment (71 FR 46927; published on 
August 15, 2006). This exemption is effective upon issuance. 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of August 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Catherine Haney, Director, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E6-14106 Filed 8-24-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 48 Buenos Aires Herald: The nucleus of thequestion                                                                                                                                                        ENGLISH VERSION

Saturday, August 26

OP:

HERALD STAFF                                                  
                                                                        
Yet Kirchner�s nuclear drive is largely fuelled by domestic
needs, both genuine and political � namely, Argentina�s looming
energy bottlenecks and Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido�s
relentless empire-building (of which the latest example is
placing the Fabricaciones Militares military-industrial complex
under his portfolio when FM was nominally under the Economy
Ministry and should be under the Defence Ministry). These two
needs by no means overlap, as can be seen from the hapless
performance of the new Enarsa state energy holding until now.

There can be no doubt that the government is taking energy
shortages seriously with this plan but it also needs to answer
some questions if it wishes to banish any suspicions of a new
slush fund in the making. We are given to understand that the
plan entails the investment of 3.5 billion dollars over the next
eight years in pursuit of five specific objectives � namely,
lengthening the Embalse nuclear reactor�s useful life by a
further 25 years, expanding heavy water production at Arroyito,
completing the construction of the Atucha II nuclear reactor
(already 80 percent constructed) by 2010, carrying out
feasibility studies for a possible 4th reactor (on top of the
two Atuchas and Embalse) and renewing the uranium enrichment
programme. The first two objectives are to cost 600 million
dollars while a similar sum (1.8 billion pesos) was announced
for the completion of Atucha II. This leaves a huge grey area of
over two billion dollars for a possible 4th reactor and uranium
enrichment � the former might well arouse suspicions of a new
Yacyret� at home while the latter could stir even worse
anxieties abroad.

Alternative sources of energy are certainly needed but why must
they be nuclear (Ukraine celebrated the 15th anniversary of its
independence yesterday without being able to forget Chernobyl) �
why does not Kirchner think of his own windy Patagonia, for
example?

 				   			 			
S.A. The Buenos Aires Herald Ltd. All rights reserved   Pol�tica
de Privacidad 												 										   										 									
*****************************************************************
 49 Los Angeles Times: Risk from plant is unacceptable - 

11:03 PM PDT, August 25, 2006

Opinion : Letters
  
August 25, 2006                        

 Re "Groundwater Reveals Radiation Leak at San Onofre," Aug. 18

Unacceptable. That's the only way to describe the leaks of
cancer-causing tritium at the San Onofre nuclear power plant. 

The possibility of contaminated drinking water is just one of the 
reasons nuclear power plants are not worth the risks they pose to 
public health, safety and the environment. 

California should not trust the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nor 
the plant's owners to properly protect the public. Illinois sued 
one of its nuclear plant owners after a similar leak contaminated 
drinking water there. California should take the same type of 
strong action. 

EMILY RUSCH
Energy Advocate
CalPIRG
Los Angeles

California Student Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG) is a
statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan advocate for the public
interest.

I was shocked to read that the San Onofre plant is dumping the
contaminated water into the ocean. Who gave the owners
permission to do this? Do they think the ocean is their ocean?
Don't they know it is our ocean?

ALISA SMITH

Los Angeles

 
*****************************************************************
 50 ajc.com: Nuclear power makes sense on all levels 

| Thinking Right (wing)

 Not Wrong. Not Left. Right. Common sense conservativism. Read
Jim's biography. 	


The entry titled "Nuclear power makes sense on all levels," and
any of the comments about it. 	 	 	 	 	
 	 		
  + realclearpolitics.com
  + instapundit.com
  + powerlineblog.com
  + americanthinker.com	 	
 	 	 	
By Jim Wooten |    Friday, August 25, 2006, 07:20 PM                                                       
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 	 				 	 	 		 	 	 	

Drive through a pine thicket in rural Burke County and two
markings suddenly appear, spray-painted in bright
surveyors-tape green, a few feet apart. If all goes well, this
spot of ground on 3,150 acres near Augusta will within a decade
be the epicenter of a third nuclear reactor, a key element in
Americas drive for energy independence. 

Nearby will be a fourth  if the numbers work and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission approves the application by Southern Co.s
nuclear power subsidiary, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., to
construct two reactors a short distance from the two that have
operated safely at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro for almost 20
years. 

To jump-start the industry, which has been skittish for decades
because of concern about regulatory obstacles and the
willingness of the investment community to take risks on nuclear
energy, especially when natural gas appeared to be readily
available and cheap, Congress offered incentives. The first two
nuclear plants constructed will be eligible for generous tax
credits, loan guarantees and insurance protection against delays
caused by litigation or the licensing process. The next four
would qualify for lesser subsidies. 

Theres a reason there are 25 nuclear applications on the table
today when there were six a year ago, said U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) during a visit to this newspaper
Wednesday. And it is that you can do things by reducing the
regulatory burden and by offering incentives that attract
private capital. Theres no emissions, no global warming, no
side effects to it, its equally safe and per kilowatt hour is
as cheap or cheaper than alternatives, so capital will flow
there once we reduce the regulatory burden. 

Part of the skittishness, too, is that Vogtle was under
construction when the partial meltdown occurred at
Pennsylvanias Three Mile Island in 1979. As a result of
shutdowns, design changes prompted by new regulations and other
delays, construction stretched to some 14 years and the costs
ballooned to $8.87 billion. Its projected cost before Three Mile
Island was $600 million. The two units at Plant Hatch near
Baxley came on line in 1975 and 1979 and cost about $1 billion. 

In the decades since Three Mile Island, design and technology
have changed. As one example, the partial meltdown there
occurred because several water coolant pumps failed, causing the
reactor to overheat. Now, gravity drops the cooling water,
replacing the pumping system that failed at Three Mile Island. 

Design and construction now are much more standardized, and
while as many as 13,000 construction workers were employed in
building Vogtle, now about 30-40 percent of the proposed new
facilities would be built in modules off site and shipped in,
reducing the on-site work force to 1,500 to 2,000. 

Safety, though, has not been a question for some time. The issue
has been permanent disposal of spent fuel, which is now stored
underwater on site at Vogtle. The obvious site is Yucca Mountain
in Nevada, where it could be stored a thousand feet below
ground. The site has been studied since 1978, and because of
objections by environmentalists and politicians, its not
scheduled to begin accepting spent fuel from the 104 operating
nuclear plants until 2017. 

Its the most studied piece of real estate known to man, says
Lou Long, technical support vice president of Southern Nuclear
in Birmingham. Utilities customers have paid $20 billion  $90
million by Georgia Power customers alone  to develop Yucca
Mountain for storage, $14 billion of which has been spent on
studies. 

Clearly the nation does need to move promptly to get back into
the nuclear power business in a major way. In France, 78.1
percent of electricity comes from nuclear. Its cheap, clean,
safe and efficient. According to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, Belgium gets 55.1 percent, Japan 29.3 and the
United States 19.9. About three-fourths of this nations
emission-free power generation comes from nuclear. 

Georgia Power adds 40,000 customers per year, and thats about
half the new customers coming online in Georgia yearly. The two
1,200-megawatt reactors at Vogtle alone generate about 11
percent of its electric-power needs. 

The nation has been timid too long. Company officials have made
no decision yet on whether to add the two reactors at Vogtle.
The correct decision, for Georgia and for the nation, is yes.
Build. 	 	 				 	 	 		

  � 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution| Customer care|
*****************************************************************
 51 SABCnews.com: Nuclear industry in SA important - Sonjica

South African Broadcasting Corporation Copyright � 2000 - 2005 
SABC

August 25, 2006, 21:15

The nuclear energy industry in South Africa was important
although relatively small, Buyelwa Sonjica, the minerals and
energy minister, said today.
 
Speaking at the launch of the SA Young Nuclear Professionals
Society in Midrand, Sonjica said: "It employs approximately 3
500 people and accounts for sizeable foreign exchange earnings
mainly through the export of uranium oxide by the Nuclear Fuels
Corporation of South Africa and medical isotopes and
fluorochemical products by the South African Nuclear Energy
Corporation."
 
She said the Koeberg nuclear power station near Cape Town also
contributed about 6% to the country's electricity.
 
"Clearly there is potential in this country and this continent
for us to look at ways of increasing the role nuclear technology
plays in our economies," said Sonjica.
 
Nuclear future
 She said the trend worldwide was that the expansion of peaceful
uses of nuclear energy was becoming more and more irreversible.
 
Sonjica believed that nuclear energy would play a significant
role in fulfilling the world's energy needs.
 
"It is my view that by 2030 South Africa should have added at
the very least another 5 000MW of nuclear energy to fulfil our
electricity needs. This is not an insignificant task taking into
account that this means building between 4 and 6 new nuclear
reactors," said Sonjica.
 
She said although South Africa had a good foundation for
excellence in its nuclear institutions, it was important to
retain the talent and to attract and rapidly develop young
talent in the industry. - Sapa
*****************************************************************
 52 AFP: Japan executives arrested over weapons-linked exports 

 Thu Aug 24, 11:46 PM ET 		 	 

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese police have arrested five executives of a 
precision instrument maker on suspicion of exporting devices that 
can be converted for use in manufacturing nuclear weapons, a 
report says. 

 Mitutoyo Corp. exported two measuring devices to Malaysia
without a license, the Kyodo news agency reported, quoting
unnamed police sources. 

One ended up in Libya before the former pariah state renounced
in 2003 a previously secret programme to build weapons of mass
destruction, it added. 

It was discovered at a Libyan nuclear facility during an
inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency" />
International Atomic Energy Agencyfrom December 2003 to March
2004, Kyodo quoted the sources as saying. Police declined any
official comment. 

Metropolitan Police Department officials, who also raided
Mitutoyo's head office in Kawasaki, west of Tokyo, suspect that
the company also illegally exported devices to Iran" /> Iran,
the report said. 

Export of such devices requires authorization by the Japanese
minister for economy and trade because of their potential
application for military use. 

The head office and plants of Mitutoyo had already been searched
in February over allegations that the company exported a
three-dimensional (3D) gauge each to China and Thailand without
Japanese government clearance. 

	 		 			
Copyright � 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 53 [DU Information List] Local Iraq Vet Say he has 'New Agent
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:27:13 -0700

X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
X-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61
X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

<x-flowed>


Local Iraq Vet Says He Has 'New' Agent Orange


WESH.com

August 24, 2006

OCALA, Fla. -- Chuck Hubert of Ocala fought in Iraq, and he said he 
believes he is suffering from the "new" Agent Orange.

The government said it used millions of gallons of herbicides -- which was 
called Agent Orange -- in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to remove unwanted 
plant life that provided cover to enemy forces.

Returning veterans reported various health problems after they returned 
home, which they attributed to Agent Orange, WESH 2 News reported.

Hubert said he and thousands of others who have returned from the Iraq war 
are battling the effects of inhaling depleted uranium yet no one's listening.

"I just want answers. I mean simple answers," Hubert said.

What happened in the deserts of Iraq caused Hubert to fear for his life on 
American soil

"I'm only 33 years old. I want to live to see 70," he said.

As a medic aboard Blackhawks in 2003, Hubert was living his dream.

"I was going to be a lifer. I was going to stay in my 20," he said.

Dreams of a continued Army career turned to dust. Hubert was medically 
discharged, strange symptoms emerged and he was nauseated and dizzy all the 
time.

"That's when they determined I had Grave's Disease," he said.

"He's an expert supposedly on depleted uranium," his wife, Monica, said.

She has done plenty of research and found so many other families suffering 
from strange medical symptoms. They believe uranium that rubs off from 
bullets and even tanks triggers illnesses when it's inhaled.

"If a bullet is coated with depleted uranium it will pierce further. It 
will hit harder," Monica Hubert said.

The family said it wants to know if Chuck Hubert has the new Agent Orange 
and they want to know why the government won't test him.

"It could be as simple as trying to hide something," he said.

The Huberts said they hope someone will hear their cry for help.

Hubert works but can only perform certain duties because of his ongoing 
medical condition. The government pays some disability but he said it's not 
enough to support a family of five.

:: Article nr. 26084 sent on 25-aug-2006 03:49 ECT
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 54 [du-list] Officials dispel charges over uranium ignition at
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:26:39 -0700

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Officials dispel charges over uranium ignition at Urals plant

16:38
|
08/ 08/ 2006

MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's nuclear agency said Tuesday
environmentalists' claims that they had been barred from taking
measurements near a nuclear plant in Urals after a fire broke out there
in early July were untrue.

Ecodefense, which comprises environment activists from several
countries, and Norway-based Bellona said Monday that they had been
barred from conducting soil tests in the town of Lesnoi, home to the
military plant Elektrokhimpribor, where an incident of uranium
self-ignition occurred July 3.

Plant managers and the Federal Service for Nuclear Power said the fire
was extinguished in two hours and one worker was hospitalized, but he
returned to work after medical examination. Authorities also said the
local population had nothing to be concerned about.

But independent experts said at least 200 kg of uranium-238 caught fire
and it took two and a half hours to extinguish the blaze. Given the
amount of the substance, they said, the fire could have led to major
radioactive emissions.

Sergei Novikov, agency press secretary, said the agency made a proposal
to Ecodefense head Vladimir Slivyak in mid-July, after receiving
complaints from the two organizations, to organize a trip to Lesnoi to
measure background radiation.

Novikov said he had warned environmentalists that soil tests were out
of question because of the Lesnoi facility was off-limits.

"The agency is interested in cooperation with environmental
organizations: somebody has to perform an alarm function, but we
disapprove of an irresponsible alarmism," Novikov said.

Novikov added that environmentalists had not even bothered to measure
radiation, which he said was a further proof that it was within the
norm.

But Ecodefense's Web site says alpha-ray, rather than gamma-ray,
radiation was to be measured as uranium-238 emits weak gamma rays, but
its alpha particles, although they are less penetrating than other
forms of radiation, pose increased health risks if inhaled or ingested.
Uranium, they said, is also chemically toxic.

The organization also accused the nuclear agency and plant officials of
barring its experts from talking to workers and claimed the worker
remained in hospital.



I think the monitor at Aldermarston needs to go live online.
If not,  then let's get our own monitors live online.

db




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






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*****************************************************************
 55 Knight Ridder: Veterans exposed to atomic radiation lose court ruling

Posted on Fri, Aug. 25,

 By Michael Doyle McClatchy Newspapers 

        WASHINGTON - Radiation exposure took Alice Broudy's 
husband a generation ago. 

This week, a court ruling sliced away at her bid for redress. 

In a quiet ruling that nonetheless resonates nationwide, a 
federal appellate court rejected efforts by Broudy and others 
seeking claims on behalf of "atomic veterans." The same court 
simultaneously rejected bids by other veterans exposed to 
biological and chemical agents. 

Taken together, the dual rulings by the D.C. Circuit Court of 
Appeals will likely impede many veterans hoping for compensation. 
At the very least, it will complicate future claims. 

"It's a significant ruling," Washington-based attorney David 
Cynamon, who represented veterans in both cases, said Friday. 
"Unfortunately, it's a significantly bad ruling." 

A Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman couldn't be reached to 
comment. 

Broudy, a resident of California's Orange County, has long been 
seeking full compensation for the death of her husband, a Marine 
major who was repeatedly exposed to radiation. She has company. 

George Woodward, who lives north of Wichita, Kan., in the town of 
Miltonvale, was exposed to radiation during a 1955 test blast. 
Kathy Jacobovitch, a resident of Vashon Island, Wash., lost her 
father through exposure to contaminated ships in Puget Sound. 
Ernest Kirchmann, a 62-year-old Navy veteran who lives south of 
Minneapolis in tiny West Concord, who's filed a separate lawsuit, 
was exposed during a 1964 nuclear submarine accident. 

"It isn't just my personal case," Broudy said Friday. "It's the 
entire veterans community. It makes me so angry." 

Broudy married her husband, Charles, in 1948. Three years 
earlier, he'd walked the war-poisoned streets of Nagasaki. Within 
a decade, he was facing radiation in the Nevada desert. He died 
of lymphatic cancer in 1977. Though she has since received 
partial compensation, Broudy has been confronting the federal 
government for more. She has now lost three separate lawsuits. 

"This closes the door," Cynamon said of the latest appellate 
court ruling, which was issued Wednesday. "It will make it very 
difficult, if not impossible, for individuals who are victimized 
by government cover-ups." 

All told, an estimated 220,000 U.S. soldiers were allegedly 
exposed to radiation in the 1940s and 1950s. Some, such as 
William Yurdyga of Sacramento, Calif., claimed in an earlier 
lawsuit that they were exposed following the Hiroshima or 
Nagasaki atomic blast. Others claimed exposure during Cold War 
testing. 

The three-member appellate panel wasn't ruling on whether the 
atomic veterans deserve compensation. A 1988 law provides that. 
To succeed, though, veterans must prove they were present at a 
radioactive site and that they contracted a radiation-related 
illness or were exposed to a cancer-causing radiation level. 

Required military test records can be elusive. A 1973 fire 
destroyed many veterans' records, and veterans consider 
alternative "dose reconstruction" estimates inaccurate. 

"You send a Freedom of Information Act request," Broudy said, 
"and you wait and you wait and you wait, and then maybe you get a 
piece of it, or you get nothing at all because they say it's 
classified." 

The latest lawsuit sought to force Pentagon officials to release 
all relevant records. In the opinion written by Appellate Judge 
Thomas Griffith, appointed by President Bush last year, the court 
panel agreed unanimously that atomic veterans couldn't compel a 
massive release of all the Pentagon's relevant documents. 

Instead, individual veterans must file individual claims. 

If the Pentagon is "covering up records of medical tests that 
describe the amount of radiation to which these veterans were 
exposed, FOIA (the Freedom of Information Act) provides a 
potential remedy," Griffith wrote. 

A new study by Melinda Podgor for the Elder Law Journal found 
that 18,275 atomic veterans had filed for compensation as of 
October 2004. Only 1,875 claims were granted. 

On a separate but related legal track, veterans such as Columbia, 
S.C., resident John Goricki and Homestead, Fla., resident Richard 
B. Holmes were pursuing claims following exposure during the 
Shipboard Hazard and Defense project of the 1950s and 1960s. 

Project SHAD allegedly exposed up to 10,000 soldiers and sailors 
to biological and chemical agents. Like the atomic veterans, SHAD 
survivors claim that the Pentagon clings to secret information. 
Like the atomic veterans, they couldn't persuade the appellate 
court to order the release of all relevant documents. 

The veterans "can still seek, through FOIA, the documents they 
believe they need to pursue their benefits claims," the appellate 
panel ruled. 

krwashington

*****************************************************************
 56 Eureka Reporter: Bill for depleted- uranium screening passes Senate            

Fri. Aug. 25, 2006

by Rebecca S. Bender, 8/25/2006               
 		      	 	
California veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces are one 
signature away from having mandated access to health screenings 
to determine their exposure to depleted uranium.

SB 1720, the Veterans Health and Safety Act of 2006, passed with 
the unanimous approval of the state Senate on Wednesday and is 
headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggers desk. The bill, which 
establishes outreach programs as well as screening tests for 
veterans, was introduced by state Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) in 
February of this year. It passed the state Assembly with a 61-13 
vote on Tuesday.

We feel its going to be a great benefit to the many veterans 
who have been unknowingly exposed, local Veterans for Peace 
member Steve Sottong said Thursday. Were extremely pleased and 
very hopeful that the governor will sign it.

Were very excited, because people up here in the far north
started this bill, VFP member Fred Hummel added. And its
great to know that we have representatives up here who will go
to bat for us.

Chesbro worked closely with the VFP Humboldt Bay Chapter 56 in
developing the bill, Hummel observed. 

The effort has gained national attention and support from other
veterans groups, including the American Legion and Vietnam
Veterans of America.

Recognizing the Armed Forces extensive use of depleted uranium
in both munitions and armor since the first Gulf War and the
health risks associated with it — including lung and kidney
damage, cancer and genetic mutations — the bill extends
screenings to all service members who were in an area where
depleted uranium was known to be used or that was designated as
a combat zone by the U.S. president after 1990.

The purpose, it states, is to safeguard the health of
Californias veterans by assisting them in obtaining federal
treatment services, including best practice health screening
tests capable of detecting low levels of depleted uranium.

An outreach effort will be implemented through the California
Department of Veterans Affairs and will include information on
veterans possible exposure to depleted uranium, the associated
health risks and available federal screening services.

These people have served their country, theyve served well,
and they deserve better than to be left without better health
notification to what theyve been exposed to, Sottong said.

If the bill becomes law, Hummel said, VFPs next move will be to
work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that the
mandated outreach efforts are effective and meaningful.

The original text of the bill had a provision for an annual
report to legislative committees on the efficacy of the
militarys pre- and post-deployment training on depleted uranium
exposure, but that clause was removed from the final version.

Sottong observed that removing the clause and other minor
revisions that minimized the cost associated with the bill made
it likely that Schwarzenegger would sign it.

It seems to be a bill that pretty much everybody can get
behind, Sottong noted. We hope California can become a model
for other states on this.   	 

Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka                                                        
Reporter. All rights reserved.                                                                                                                        
*****************************************************************
 57 IEER: Shifting Radioactivity Risks [Fernald]
 
IEER| Publications Shifting Radioactivity Risks:
                                 
A Case Study of the K-65 Silos and Silo 3 Remediation and Waste 
Management at the Fernald Nuclear Weapons Site Annie Makhijani 
Arjun Makhijani 
                                
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research 
                                
August 2006 
                                
Download full report[PDF 800kB, 88 pages] 

Table of Contents 

Acknowledgements 

Main Findings and Recommendations
 	      Main Findings
 	      Recommendations 

1. Introduction 

2. Legal framework and DOE�s remediation commitments 

3. Status of the remediation and potential long-term
contamination problems 

4. Operable Unit 4
 	      4.1. Waste classification and disposal issues
 	      4.2. Radioactivity comparison between the K-65 waste and
uranium mill tailings 	from 0.2% uranium ore
 	      4.3. The scientific reasons for disposing the K-65 waste
in a deep repository
 		            4.3.1 Properties of radium-226
 		            4.3.2 Conclusion
 	      4.4. Risks posed by the waste and pre-ROD remedial
efforts
 	      4.5. DOE�s legally binding commitments the selected
remedies for Operable Unit 4
 	      4.6. Abandonment of initial remediation strategy for OU4
 		            4.6.1 Abandonment of Silo 3 vitrification program
and final disposal
 		            4.6.2 Abandonment of Silos 1 and 2 vitrification
program and final disposal
 	      4.7. Radiation dose consequences of changes in silo
waste management
 		            4.7.1 Silos 1 and 2 long term dose estimates and
compliance conclusions
 		            4.7.2 Silo 3 long term dose estimates and
compliance conclusions
 	      4.8 Conclusions regarding Silos 1, 2, and 3
 	      4.9 IEER�S proposal for the waste management of the K-65
silos� waste 

5. Operable Unit 5
 	      5.1 DOE�s legally binding commitments for OU5
 	      5.2 Status of the work 

6. Legacy management 

7. Community and State oversight 

8. References 

Appendix -- Ohio Attorney General�s Office letter 

RESRAD Runs (This data is not included in the report) -- will be
posted soon   

        Available at EggheadBooks: Nuclear Wastelands: A Global 
Guide to Nuclear Weapons Production and Its Health and 
Environmental Effects MIT Press, 2000   

Institute for Energy and Environmental ResearchComments to
Outreach Coordinator: ieer at ieer.org
 Takoma Park, Maryland, USA

 Posted August 24, 2006 
*****************************************************************
 58 [du-list] Spent nuclear could in up in Piketon, Ohio
 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:27:11 -0700

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  Publication: Dayton Daily News;      Date: Aug 24, 2006;      Section:
News;      Page: 1


Spent nuclear fuel could end up in south Ohio

Proposal to reprocess radioactive fuel near Piketon already drawing
criticism.

By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer

DAYTON � Highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from across the country, and
possibly the world, could come to southern Ohio under a plan being pushed
by a public-private development partnership.

     In a proposal already drawing criticism from environmentalists, the
Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative, or SONIC, envisions building
a spent fuel storage and reprocessing plant and an advanced,
plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor on federal land near Piketon, 100 miles
southeast of Dayton. The idea is part of a federal plan to recycle nuclear
fuel and reduce waste.

     �This is extremely important. It is important for America,� said Dan T.
Moore, SONIC�s Cleveland-based chief executive.

     SONIC is applying for a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of
Energy to study putting the operation at the department�s Portsmouth
Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which enriched uranium for nearly 50 years before
closing in 2001, said Gregory Simonton, executive director of the Southern
Ohio Diversification Initiative, a SONIC partner in Piketon.

     SONIC is one of 41 entities to have given the government a formal
�expression of interest� in the plant.

     Simonton said the area desperately needs the jobs the development would
bring, but added that seeking the study grant doesn�t mean officials have
decided to definitely pursue the operation.

     �Quite frankly, given the history of our site it makes sense to look at
any opportunity,� he said. �But just because we do the evaluation doesn�t
mean it fits community values.�

� Site would be part of larger

     U.S. initiative Article on A8


  Publication: Dayton Daily News;      Date: Aug 24, 2006;      Section:
Local;      Page: 8


Nuclear facilities could be part of U.S. initiative

Some residents oppose partnership seeking grant to have federal land near
Piketon.

By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer



     The high-technology nuclear facilities being considered for federal
land near Piketon would be part of a larger U.S. government initiative to
increase the use of nuclear power, reduce nuclear waste and contain the
global proliferation of dangerous technology.

     But some local activists want nothing to do with it. They say the U.S.
Department of Energy has already polluted the proposed site � the
now-closed Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant � and the community has borne
its full share of the country�s nuclear legacy.

     They oppose the idea of building a storage and reprocessing plant for
highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods � a process that would allow the
rods to be reused � and an advanced burner-reactor that would produce
electricity by burning plutonium, a nuclear waste that would be extracted
from the rods.

     �I think it�s terrifying. To think that people in our community are so
desperate for jobs that they would take plutonium, the fuel rods, any type
of waste,� said Vina Colley, president of Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for
Environmental Safety and Security. �They�re sacrificing this community.�

     Pat Marida, central Ohio chair of the Sierra Club, said the facility
would make Ohio the �dump site of the nation.�

     There is also the possibility of spent fuel rods coming from other
countries. Part of President Bush�s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership plan
is to offer other countries nuclear fuel and recycling services if they
agree to not pursue those technologies themselves.

     Department of Energy spokesman Craig Stevens said the origin of the
spent fuel is not yet decided.

     Sara Perkins, spokeswoman for a U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield,
said, �It is our understanding that the U.S. is not going to take foreign
fuel before taking care of the fuel we have here at home.�

     It may be a good idea for the United States to handle spent nuclear
fuel from countries where it is not well-safeguarded, said U.S. Rep. Jean
Schmidt, R-Loveland, whose district includes Piketon.

     But she said she�ll support the proposed facility for Piketon only if
the community wants it.

     The plan is very preliminary. The Department of Energy has $20 million
to offer in grants for communities to study possible sites for the
facility. Grants will be awarded this fall, with studies to be completed
early next year.

     A partnership is seeking a study grant for Piketon.

     Pike County�s top development official is a bit leery of the project,
although in a region of high unemployment, she said the community needs the
jobs.

     �Storage of spent nuclear fuel is probably not one of the best things
that we could�ve thought of,� said Jennifer Chandler, county community and
economic development director.

     But considering how limited the development options are at the old
uranium enrichment plant, the latest proposal might be a good fit if the
community supports it, she said.

     Blaine Beekman, executive director of the Pike County Chamber of
Commerce, said he has been assured by supporters that spent fuel rods would
only be stored temporarily while they await reprocessing.

     If the idea wins community and government approval, there would have to
be rules in place so shipments of the rods would be limited to an amount
that could be handled in a reasonable time, said Gregory Simonton of the
Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative.

     His public- and privately funded development group formed a company
with a Cleveland firm to bring the new facilities to the site of the old
Piketon plant.

     For nearly five decades the government-owned plant enriched uranium,
first for weapons and then for nuclear reactors. It closed in 2001 and the
DOE is in the midst of a major cleanup of radioactive contaminants and
hazardous chemicals.

     The site is home to two new nuclear missions. USEC Inc. is building a
pilot uranium enrichment centrifuge facility while awaiting federal
approval for a commercial enrichment plant. The DOE is building a plant to
recycle some 20,000 cylinders of uranium enrichment waste that accumulated
over the years.



-- 
Lynn Hulsey
Reporter
Dayton Daily News
(937) 225-7455


Vina Colley








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 59 NRC: NRC Takes Regulatory Oversight of USEC Lead Cascade, Authorizes Processing of Radioactive Material
 
News Release - 2006-10 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office 
of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 
20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-104     August 24, 2006   

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has assumed regulatory
oversight responsibility of USEC Inc.s American Centrifuge Lead
Cascade Facility in Piketon, Ohio, and has authorized USEC to
process uranium at the facility. 

The transition of regulatory oversight to the NRC from the U.S.
Department of Energy was finalized in a letter to USEC signed
today by Robert Pierson, director of the NRCs Division of Fuel
Cycle Safety and Safeguards, and Larry Clark, director of DOEs
Office of Nuclear Fuel Security and Uranium Technology. The
transfer becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 25. The NRC-DOE
letter implements a memorandum of understanding between the two
agencies signed March 24, 2004. 

The NRC issued USEC a five-year license for the Lead Cascade
centrifuge demonstration facility on Feb. 24, 2004. The Lead
Cascade is located at DOEs Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
site in Piketon, and is based on DOEs centrifuge technology for
enriching uranium for use in producing fuel for nuclear
reactors. The Lead Cascade consists of up to 240 full-scale
centrifuges, which will recycle the enriched and depleted
uranium; the only withdrawals of uranium from the cascade will
be small samples for quality control analysis. 

Inspectors from NRCs Region II office in Atlanta conducted an
operational readiness review of the Lead Cascade over the past
several months. They concluded that USEC has met all conditions
spelled out in the NRC license and that the facility has been
constructed and will be operated safely and securely according
to NRC regulations and the requirements of the license. 

The Lead Cascade is separate from the American Centrifuge Plant,
a full-scale commercial enrichment plant USEC proposes to
construct at the same location. The NRC is currently reviewing
USECs application for the full-scale plant, and expects to issue
its Safety Evaluation Report in the coming weeks. 

In the attached photograph [PDF icon] , Robert Pierson, NRC
Director of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards (left) signs the
letter transferring regulatory oversight of the Lead Cascade
facility to the NRC, while Phil Sewell, Senior Vice President of
USEC (center) and Larry Clark, Director of DOE's Office of
Nuclear Fuel Security and Uranium Technology (right), look on.
Photo by NRC, Aug. 24, 2006.   



  


 	Last revised Friday, August 25, 2006 	   
*****************************************************************
 60 Reading Eagle: Santorum says funding reserved for NGK study 

http://www.readingeagle.com

From our news staff 


U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said Thursday that he has set aside
$200,000 for a study to determine the best use for the NGK
Metals Corp. in Muhlenberg Township.

Santorum said he selected the site at 150 Tuckerton Road as one
of 10 projects in the state to receive a $200,000 grant.

�It was obvious from the input we received from the township,
the county commissioners, the Berks County Community and
Economic Development and NGK that this project is important to
the community,� Santorum said.

The Environmental Protection Agency finished a $10 million
cleanup of the 65-acre site in November.

NGK Metals, with headquarters in Tennessee, still faces more
than 30 lawsuits from people claiming to suffer
beryllium-related illnesses.

The Muhlenberg factory produced beryllium from 1937 to 2000, and
environmental officials said soil and groundwater was
contaminated by production waste.

NGK bought the plant in 1986 from Cabot Corp. The factory closed
in 2000.

Beryllium is a metal used with copper to make a variety of
alloys and other products.

During the summer, the EPA finished the cleanup of 11 acres of
beryllium contamination along Tuckerton Road to prevent it from
spreading.

The agency continues to monitor groundwater there.

The amount of demolition and any further cleanup will depend on
how the site is developed, township engineer Douglass S.
Didyoung Sr. said.

�If we put an office or retail complex in here, we'll have a lot
more people exposed to the site, and that might require more
cleanup,� Didyoung said.

 
� 2006 Reading Eagle Company, All Rights Reserved
 Serving the Berks County community and surrounding areas for
*****************************************************************
 61 Deseret News: Energy demands may strain coal mines
 
[deseretnews.com] 

Friday, August 25, 2006                                  

By Dave Anderton

Deseret Morning News                                          

PARK CITY � America's voracious appetite for energy will put 
tremendous pressure on the nation's coal industry, according to 
Steven Leer, chief executive officer of Arch Coal, which owns 
three coal mines in Utah and is the state's largest coal 
producer.

       Today, about 50 percent of the nation's electricity is
produced by coal-fired power plants. Leer said that market share
will grow by another 7 percent in coming years. In fact,
projections show that by 2030 the nation will need 700 million
tons of coal more than what is being produced today, a 68
percent increase.

       "That is a huge number," Leer said Thursday at the Utah
Mining Association's annual convention. "It's going to be a
challenge to every man and woman in this room.

       "Our nuclear plants are running at full capacity. When
you look at the utility base in the United States, today they
are building coal-fired power plants. Five years ago it was all
natural gas, but natural gas was $2.50 to $3 per thousand cubic
feet. Natural gas this morning was above $7 again. (Natural gas
plants) are simply totally uneconomic in today's environment."

       Leer said no new hydropower plants are on the drawing
board. And renewable sources of energy, he said, will only grow
as long they are subsidized.

       Renewable energy makes up less than 2.5 percent of the
total electric generation today, Leer said, and he expects
renewables could make up as much as 5 percent to 10 percent of
generating capacity.

       "But the bulk of it is going to be on the coal industry,"
Leer said. "We have the resource. What we have to do is have the
will."

       He said the next big coal find is Wyoming's Powder River
Basin, where coal seams run 70 to 100 feet thick. Arch Coal's
Black Thunder coal mine, located northeast of Casper, Wyo., is
considered the biggest mine in North America.

       "It produces more energy per day than the Alaskan
pipeline in terms of BTUs," Leer said. "We load around 30 to 35
miles of trains every 24 hours. We're one mine. There are
several of them out there."

       Still, more coal is needed, according to David Litvin,
president of the Utah Mining Association. He says 65 percent of
Utah's remaining coal reserves are locked away in the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 1.7 million acres set
aside in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton.

       "Mining has to take place where the ore body is located,"
Litvin said. "You can't move the ore body. If we can't mine in
the United States then mining will take place elsewhere in the
world. Then Utah would lose those mining jobs. You would lose
the tax base of those jobs and from the operation."

       Litvin said he supports carving out the coal reserves
from the monument.

       One man who is fighting the monument is William Perry
Pendley, chief legal officer of Mountain States Legal
Foundation, based in Denver.

       In 1996, the foundation, on behalf of Kane and Garfield
counties, filed suit in Utah federal district court, charging
Clinton had violated several federal statutes in creating the
monument.

       Just last month, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that that the foundation did not properly challenge the
monument. Pendley said the foundation is still considering
whether to continue the fight.

       "Clinton created the Utah monument because he was
frustrated that Congress had failed to designate wilderness
areas in Utah and because he wanted to prevent a coal mine from
beginning operation in southern Utah," Pendley said. "It is
clear the court did not want to rule in this matter."

E-mail: danderton@desnews.com
			  		 		   
� 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
 62 The Dispatch: Olin Clean Up Misses the Mark

 Friday, August 25, 2006

Tony Burchyns Staff Writer

Morgan Hill - City officials are fed up with Olin Corporation,
the company that polluted groundwater in and around Morgan Hill.
So they are taking their case to the state, where water
officials will hear arguments that the company's cleanup
feasibility study misses the mark. It fails to identify how much
pollution the company has allegedly caused to the South County
water basin and how much contaminated water appears to be
seeping into Morgan Hill's municipal wells, city officials said.

The latter argument has been made by Morgan Hill city officials
for more than three years, ever since perchlorate was first
detected in one of the city's public wells after widespread
pollution by Olin had been reported. The potentially harmful
chemical - the Olin plant reportedly used 150,000 pounds of it
annually for decades to make road flares - has now been detected
at four city wells, resulting in ratepayers spending more than
$900,000 since 2003 to clean it up. While those costs cannot be
recovered from Olin, the city has hinted at future litigation.

All in all, officials say, the city has spent $3 million
outfitting wells with filters and hiring consultants and
attorneys to make the case that perchlorate contamination in
Morgan Hill stems from Olin. 

Still, the state's water board has held back in pinning blame on
Olin for perchlorate detected northeast of its former Tennant
Avenue site, stating there could be other sources of the
pollution - based on theories most groundwater flows south in
the valley - including runoff from bleach used to clean
equipment at mushroom farms. 

It's an argument City Manager Ed Tewes, now freshly informed by
new data from the city's consulting engineers, simply doesn't
buy. For three years he's attended water board meetings arguing
the city's 37,000 water customers deserve more consideration in
the ongoing Olin debacle. 

On Sept. 7, Tewes will go before the state water board once more
when it convenes in Monterey. Joined by Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis
Kennedy, he will amplify the city's urgent request to be
included among the areas - they're all south of Tennant Avenue -
designated for cleanup by the state water authorities. 

"We believe there is one basin, there is one major source of
perchlorate, and that (Olin) should be held responsible for
cleaning it up," Tewes said in what amounted to a rehearsal of
his presentation Wednesday at the Morgan Hill City Council
meeting. 

In a letter to Regional Water Quality Control Board Executive
Director Roger Briggs dated Aug. 17, Tewes outlined a
three-prong argument: that there is evidence that Morgan Hill
wells have been contaminated with perchlorate; that there is
hydraulic "communication" between city wells and the Olin site;
and that there is northeasterly flow in the deepest aquifers.
The evidence backing these claims, according to Tewes' letter,
comes from the very data collected by Olin under instruction
from the state board.

Olin spokesman Rick McClure did not return phone calls seeking
comment before press time.

Thea Tryon, an engineer at the Regional Water Quality Control
Board, said Olin has been "proactive" in suggesting further data
should be gathered in the area east of the Olin site and north
of Tennant Avenue. In July, the water board concurred and
ordered Olin to continue monitoring wells in that area to
confirm any upward trends in perchlorate concentrations found
earlier. Based on those results, water officials stated in their
written order they will determine whether additional evaluations
are necessary.

Morgan Hill Director of Public Works Jim Ashcraft said there is
no need to wait to see that traces of Olin's perchlorate is
being sucked into Morgan Hill's water system.

"We've been yelling at the regional board those things exist,"
Ashcraft said, referring to the pervious monitoring results. 

Rosemary Kamei, District 1 representative for the Santa Clara
Valley Water District, will also attend the water board meeting
Sept. 7 to speak on behalf of the Perchlorate Work Group. The
group consists of representatives from Morgan Hill, Gilroy,
Santa Clara County and the water district. 

Kamei said she plans to roundly criticize Olin's cleanup
feasibility study submitted June 30 to state water officials.
The document does not identify a "background" level of
perchlorate for the South County water table, nor does it
propose a clear cleanup solution. Instead, Olin suggests more
monitoring of the water table is needed before taking any action.

"I call it the 'unfeasibility report,' " Kamei said. "They have
this wait-and-hope philosophy that is not acceptable."

Olin argues that because the state's public health goal is 6 ppb
perchlorate for drinking water, and widespread testing shows the
concentration of perchlorate to have dropped below that level in
most areas of the designated cleanup zone, it should not have to
continue cleaning groundwater. The company used this rationale
in June to cancel state-mandated delivery of bottled water to
San Martin residents whose private wells plunge into the
perchlorate plume. Other tests on alternative sources of
perchlorate in the valley are pending. Olin representatives
think determining the level of contamination before the factory
started operating in 1955 will be extremely difficult, if not
impossible.

"State law requires polluters to clean up their mess," Kamei
said. "Olin has taken a stand to do nothing. We have
opportunities to apply for grants to compliment the clean-up
they would be doing, but we can't plan anything until they have
their strategy to clean it up."

*****************************************************************
 63 EurekAlert!: Paleoseismology of Yucca

September GEOLOGY and GSA TODAY media highlights
 
25-Aug-2006

 Contact: Ann Cairns acairns@geosociety.org 303-357-1056 
Geological Society of America September GEOLOGY and GSA TODAY 
media highlights


Boulder, Colo. - Topics include: paleoseismology of Yucca
Mountain, Nevada; impact of magnetic anomalies in Earth's
oceanic crust on plate tectonics; evidence of episodic regional
and possibly global glaciation during the Neoproterozoic;
insights into Paleocene-Eocene global warming; impact of
subduction on Earth's surface characteristics; records of
environmental change in Black Coral specimens; and geology's
place in the Scientific Revolution. The GSA TODAY science
article addresses Hurricane Katrina sediment deposits and
hydraulic conditions associated with the flooding. 	

Highlights are provided below. Representatives of the media may
obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Ann Cairns
at acairns@geosociety.org. Please discuss articles of interest
with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and
please make reference to GEOLOGY and the Geological Society of
America in articles published. Contact Ann Cairns for additional
information or other assistance. 	

Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and
Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org	


 The effects of urbanization on watershed hydrology: The scaling
of discharge with drainage area 	

Joshua C. Galster, Lehigh University, Earth and Environmental
Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, USA;
et al. Pages 713-716. 	

 Earthquake and volcano clustering via stress transfer at Yucca
Mountain, Nevada 	

Tom Parsons, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
94025, USA; et al. Pages 785-788. 	

Paleoseismologists discovered a remarkable series of events that
happened about 80,000 years ago at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site
of the proposed U.S. high-level nuclear waste repository.
Trenches across three faults showed volcanic ash from the
Lathrop Wells cone at the bottom of earthquake fissures,
indicating that volcanic and earthquake events were tightly
clustered in space and time. Parsons et al. use numerical Earth
models of Yucca Mountain faults and volcanic intrusions to
determine the influence that these processes have on one
another. They found that each was mutually reinforcing. That is,
an earthquake could encourage volcanic events, and a volcanic
event could encourage earthquakes. In their model, slip on the
faults in the central Yucca Mountain block tended to favor
volcanic intrusions about 15 km south of the proposed
repository. 	


Geological Society of America
 3300 Penrose Place-Box 9140
 Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA
 	www.geosociety.org 	

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 64 cantonrep.com: Pike County in running for nuclear waste recycling facility

Friday, August 25, 2006 

WASHINGTON (AP) � Community developers have proposed dusting off
a former uranium enrichment facility in southern Ohio to build a
nuclear waste recycling center.

 A private-public partnership has applied for one of at least
four U.S. Energy Department grants to study if temporary storage
and a demonstration project for recycling spent nuclear fuel
rods can be built at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The
facility, near Piketon, produced enriched uranium for 50 years.

 The partnership, the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative,
is one of 41 applicants vying for site study grants of up to $5
million. The application deadline is Sept. 7 and the Energy
Department will choose award winners in October.

 The program is part of President Bush�s initiative to develop
new technology for safely and efficiently reusing nuclear power.
Similar proposals for facilities in Washington state and New
Mexico estimated they could create more than 5,000 new jobs,
said Greg Simonton, head of the partnership applying for the
grant.

 The federal government�s nuclear programs are nothing new in
Pike County, but the top local development official said it�s
too early to tell if the latest proposal is worth the risk.

 �I know our community doesn�t want to become a highly
radioactive waste storage facility,� said Jennifer Chandler,
Pike County�s community and economic development director.

 Chandler said the county has a double-digit unemployment rate,
making the project intriguing, but only if more information can
be gathered.

 Simonton said he still needs to find out what technology would
be used to stabilize the fuel rods and where the nuclear
materials would come from.

 �Obviously, safety would be a very important concern,� he said.
�I don�t think we would embrace anything that wouldn�t have a
certain degree of comfort and assurance.�

 But Simonton also said the Pike County site stands out because
it already has two nuclear projects under way � the Energy
Department is building a uranium recycling facility and USEC
Inc. has a pilot uranium enrichment plant. USEC got the go-ahead
Friday to start operating under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.

 The Energy Department also is considering bringing nuclear
waste from other countries to the site that�s finally chosen.

 That worries Chandler, who said the Energy Department ignored
community requests that no outside uranium be brought into the
old facility, instead delivering two to three cylinders of the
weakly radioactive element each day from Oakridge, Tenn.

 �I just hope this time will be different,� she said.

 The area�s Republican congresswoman, Jean Schmidt, is willing
to back the project, including the handling of foreign nuclear
waste, if the community is behind it. Her chief of staff, Barry
Bennett, said Thursday the community is already comfortable with
having nuclear material in its backyard.

 The Energy Department said in a statement that it is looking
for welcoming communities when deciding how to distribute its
$20 million in site review grants.

 Piketon is about 64 miles south of Columbus.

 On the Net:
 Department of Energy�s site study grant program:
 http://www.gnep.gov/gnepPRs/gnepPR080306.html

        The Repository 500 Market Ave. S. Canton, OH 44702     
August 25, 2006 �2006 The Repository Have a 
*****************************************************************
 65 AU ABC: Federal Labor warns of NT nuclear dump. 

25/08/2006. ABC News Online
 	
Federal Labor says moves to investigate the prospect of a local
uranium enrichment industry could lead to a high-level
radioactive waste dump being built in the Northern Territory. 

Members of the Country Liberal Party will vote this weekend on
whether to formally investigate the viability of enriching
uranium. 

Labor science spokeswoman Jenny Macklin says it is a dangerous
move while the Prime Minister is investigating nuclear power
options.

 "What he's not prepared to do is tell us where the nuclear
waste dumps are going to go," she said.

 "He won't tell us where the uranium enrichment plants are going
to go, he won't tell us where the reactors are going to go and
now we have the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory
opening this up."

 She says waste and enrichment go hand-in-hand. 

"That's the big danger is that that's what will be required if
they go down the track of uranium enrichment," she said.

 "They'll be required to take the waste and that is the big
concern that many, many people have and certainly, many people
in the Northern Territory are worried that will be the result." 

*****************************************************************
 66 PRN: LES to Break Ground on National Enrichment Facility 

    EUNICE, N.M., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The first major 
commercial nuclear project licensed in more than 30 years and the 
first ever to be awarded a combined construction and operating 
license will break ground on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 just 
outside Eunice as Louisiana Energy Services (LES) begins 
construction of the National Enrichment Facility (NEF)

    "A lot of people in the company and in the community have 
worked very hard to make this moment happen, and we want to share 
our excitement with Lea County and our neighbors in Texas," said 
Jim Ferland, LES President.

    LES is planning two-days of events around the ceremony. The 
ceremony will feature guests and speakers from around the world 
with the Governor Bill Richardson, Lieutenant Governor Diane 
Denish, Senator Domenici, Representative Pearce, and the Under 
Secretary for Nuclear Energy David Garman from the U.S. 
Department of Energy speaking. (A full list of speakers follows)

    Following the ceremony on Tuesday evening, the public is 
invited to a community celebration featuring Hobbs native and 
Nashville Start contestant Jared Ashley. Tickets to the 
celebration may be obtained at the LES Public Information Offices 
in Hobbs and Eunice.

    "Since this facility would not have been licensed without the 
support of the community, this celebration is for them as much as 
us," said Ferland.

    When construction is complete, the NEF will operate the 
nation's most advanced uranium enrichment facility and provide a 
secure domestic enrichment supply source to the U.S. nuclear 
energy companies that provide 20% of the electricity used in the 
United States.

    The $1.5 billion NEF project will provide close to 300 
fulltime and contract jobs and more than 1,000 multi-year 
construction jobs in Southeast New Mexico. It will use a proven 
technology that has operated safely in Europe for 30 years.

    LES is a U.S. limited partnership formed to license, 
construct, and operate the NEF. As of March 3, 2006 Urenco is the 
general partner.

National Enrichment Facility Groundbreaking Ceremony August 29, 
2006 Lea County, New Mexico 

Copyright � 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights 
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 67 MetroWestDailyNews.com: State sets limits for perchlorate

 By Jon Brodkin/ Daily News Staff

 Friday, August 25, 2006 

Massachusetts last month became the first state in the nation to 
set drinking water limits for perchlorate, a chemical used in 
fireworks and other explosives that can harm children and 
developing fetuses.

    Humans can be exposed to perchlorate if they drink 
contaminated water or water used to make beverages like coffee 
and tea, according to the state Department of Environmental 
Protection.

    The DEP on July 28 issued regulations limiting the amount of 
perchlorate in drinking water to 2 parts per billion, and 
requiring most water systems to test for the chemical regularly. 
The 2 parts per billion standard will also apply to waste site 
cleanups.

    "Our goal from the beginning of this effort was to protect 
the health of our citizens, especially pregnant women and 
children," DEP Commissioner Robert W. Golledge, Jr., said in a 
news release when the regulations were announced.

    Perchlorate has been detected in 11 public water systems in 
Massachusetts. The first perchlorate finding came in April 2002 
at the Bourne Water District. Bourne officials asked the DEP for 
guidance because the federal government has not set any drinking 
water standard for the chemical.

    In 2004, the DEP analyzed a site at the University of 
Massachusetts Dartmouth to see if 10 years worth of fireworks 
displays left traces of perchlorate. The agency said it found 
levels as high as 560 parts per billion in soil and 62.2 parts 
per billion in wells.

    Perchlorate is used as an oxidizer in rockets, missiles, 
fireworks and other explosives. Perchlorate exposure may cause 
impairments in physical development, behavior, movement, speech, 
hearing, vision and intelligence, according to the DEP.

    In addition to fetuses, infants and children, people with low 
levels of thyroid hormones are also vulnerable to perchlorate's 
effects, the DEP said.

    Jon Brodkin can be reached at 508-626-4424 or 
jbrodkin@cnc.com.

� Copyright of GateHouse Media and <font color=#C0C0C0>Herald
  
*****************************************************************
 68 News & Star: Bid to build recycling plant and create jobs 

Published on 25/08/2006

By Andrea Thompson
 
DOZENS of new jobs will be created in west Cumbria if plans for
a metal recycling facility at Lillyhall get the go-ahead.
 
International nuclear services company Studsvik UK Limited wants
to open a plant which would decontaminate and then recycle steel
and scrap metal from Sellafield and other UK nuclear sites.
 
The plant would create as many as 30 high-quality jobs in the
first 12 months.
 
Gateshead-based Studsvik says it will also be using local
contractors to create the multi-million pound facility.
 
The firm has stressed that the plant will not be a nuclear waste
dump or a nuclear licensed site. It is keen to allay fears that
radioactive waste would be stored there and that there would be
more nuclear transports through west Cumbria.
 
Its work would significantly reduce the amount of contaminated
scrap which is ultimately dumped at the low level waste
repository at Drigg.
 
The proposed facility on the Lillyhall Industrial Estate, would
be solely for the recycling of low level radioactive metallic
scrap originating from the UK nuclear industry.
 
About 60 per cent would come from Sellafield and Chapelcross
with the rest coming from other nuclear plants the Government is
to decommission.
 
Studsvik says the metal to be treated will be so slightly
contaminated that workers at the plant will just need to wear
regular overalls and gloves when handling it.
 
Mark Lyons, president of Studsvik UK Ltd, said: “What we are
proposing at Lillyhall is a modern, environmentally-friendly
industrial recycling facility based on proven technology.
 
“Studsvik has a proven environmental record in Sweden, the USA
and also here in the UK with tried and tested industrial
processes for treating and recycling steel and other metals that
have been slightly contaminated with low-level radioactivity.”
 
The facility could be operational by the late summer of 2007 if
planning and regulatory permissions are granted. It would be
fitted with state-of-the-art controls and monitoring systems and
is expected to be regulated by the Environment Agency.
 
Scrap would be brought in by sea through Workington Port, by
rail and by road in containers. The vast majority would be
cleaned up on site and then recycled to the global steel
industry. 

A small minority of metal that may need further treatment will
be transported overseas to Studsvik’s facilities in Sweden.
 
Residues of low-level radioactivity removed from the metal would
be sent to Drigg for safe disposal.
 
Because the scrap metal will be cleaned and recycled the total
volume of waste that would normally be sent to Drigg would be
hugely reduced – removing hundreds of lorry journeys from the
county’s roads.
 
Studsvik says it could divert 96 per cent of containers of scrap
metal away from Drigg each year – so only the equivalent of
seven out of 130 containers would have to go to the repository
for storage.
 
No scrap metal from countries outside the UK, or hospital waste,
would be treated by Studsvik at Lillyhall.
 
The company said: “Our policy is and has always been to be
open to the public and we hope to be able to reassure everyone
living in Allerdale and west Cumbria that this is a positive
investment for the area with lots of economic and environmental
benefits for the UK and local population.”
 
AThompson@cngroup.co.uk
 
www.newsandstar.co.uk
*****************************************************************
 69 UPI: San Franciscans build nuclear detector
     
United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 

	8/25/2006 10:49:00 AM -0400 	 	 				 				 					 

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A San Francisco group led by
physicist and Sandia Lab weapons subcontractor Stanley Glaros
has built a boat-mounted radiation scanner for about $12,000. 

Wired News reported Aug. 22 that the Department of Homeland
Security in July announced plans to bolster U.S. port defenses
with radiation scanners. The $1.5 billion program is primarily
intended to detect nuclear weapons smuggled by terrorists in
shipping containers but won't be completed until 2011. 

The boat-mounted scanner can reliably spot radiation spikes in
container ships at sea from nearly a mile away. The team's
detector has been operational for eight months. 

Glaros said: "Can we detect hazardous material at a distance?
Yes, easily." 

According to the DHS in February, 75 percent of American ports
had no ability to screen for nuclear weapons and only 5 percent
of the 11 million containers going through American ports each
year were inspected at all. 

Oakland port currently uses 14-foot, $180,000 pillars to detect
gamma rays and high-energy neutrons when container-laden trucks
drive between them. Glaros said, "Have you been over and seen
that operation? Absolutely f-ing worthless." 

Glaros' team is now testing a homemade detector using a sodium
iodide crystal, custom grown by Saint Gobain, a subsidiary of
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain headquartered in Paris. A Glaros
collaborator said: "The crystal is like Frodo's sword. It starts
to glow when the bad stuff's around, kind of a blue
fluorescence." 

The sodium iodide crystal's blue glow is picked up by an Ortec
Digibase photo-multiplier, collected into dynodes, converted to
an electrical signal and then sent through a multi-channel
analyzer to identify radiological signatures, which are compared
on a laptop running a Maestro 32 computer program, which
compares the readings against an isotope database.

� Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
    
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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: 
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