***************************************************************** 09/12/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.216 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Still Refusing to Halt Enrichment 2 Reuters: Nuclear watchdog debate to urge Iran atom talks 3 IRNA: First day sessions of IAEA Board of Governors end in Vienna - 4 Reuters: U.S. says there is no Iran suspension offer 5 AFP: NAM summit calls for unconditional negotiations on Iranian nucl 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Iran N-activities are quite peaceful 7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Larijani-Solana talks, positive 8 IRNA: Iranian nation winner in N-case - Haddad-Adel 9 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 1st IAEA's session ends in Vienna 10 AFP: US denies Iran offered temporary suspension of uranium enrichme 11 AFP: World powers differing over Iran 12 AFP: Iran sets conditions on enrichment suspension - 13 Guardian Unlimited: 6 Powers Can't Agree on Iran Statement 14 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Still Refusing to Halt Enrichment 15 Guardian Unlimited: Official: U.S. Moves to Sanction N.Korea 16 Korea Herald: U.S. can strike North alone, says think tank 17 Korea Herald: U.S. 'deeply skeptical' of N.K.'s intentions 18 Korea Herald: [KOREA-U.S. SUMMIT]Asia, Europe leaders urge North Kor 19 RIA Novosti: Moscow unaware of nuclear research in N. Korea - Putin 20 Korea Times: US Concludes North Korea Has No Will to Talk 21 Guardian Unlimited: Feds: We're Cutting Off Terror Money 22 IRNA: Indian foreign secretary heading for N-talks with US 23 REGNUM: Kiriyenko: Establishing a guaranteed reserve of nuclear fuel 24 Daily News: VP Rangel dismisses use of uranium for belligerent purpo NUCLEAR REACTORS 25 Monbiot: UK - A cautionary tale of nuclear danger 26 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting Notice 27 Guardian: Dounreay's catalogue of idiocy is a cautionary tale of nuc 28 Reuters: Chubu Elec:turbines likely caused nuclear shutdown 29 SA: Star: Nuclear power risk pales against benefits 30 US: Times Argus: NRC to hear testimony on Vermont Yankee's ability t 31 US: Pine Magazine: Nuclear Power in these United States 32 US: The Advocate: More inquiry seen for Millstone worker's whistlebl 33 Prague Daily Monitor: Vienna fears plane attacks against Czech, Slov 34 US: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Whistle-blowers need protection 35 ITAR-TASS: 6th unit of Zaporozhye N-plant disconnected by safety sys 36 US: PRN: Thorium Power Receives Endorsement from International Exper 37 US: UPI: New Jersey criticizes the NRC NUCLEAR SECURITY 38 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Firm Said Suspect in Export Scam 39 US: UPI: Industry opposes full cargo screening 40 US: UPI: Lobby groups fight security reforms NUCLEAR SAFETY 41 US: heraldsun.com: Duke research lab catches fire 42 RIA Novosti: Russia set to dismantle 5 nuclear submarines by 2010 43 globeandmail.com: Two cancers soar in young adults 44 Bellona: Japan to begin dismantling 5 subs under a Moscow-Tokyo deal 45 US: FOXNews.com: VA Study Doubts Gulf War Syndrome - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 46 US: RIA Novosti: Russia nuclear chief cautious over IAEA uranium res 47 US: BusinessWeek: Russia to boost spending on uranium 48 OnPoint: Nuclear Power: CASEnergy's Whitman says Yucca issues should 49 US: ITAR-TASS: Russia to increase investment in uranium prospecting 50 US: Mos News: Russia Calls IAEA's Reserves of Low-Enriched Uranium 51 Discovery Channel: Study: Yucca Mountain Once a Rowdy Place PEACE 52 US: [du-list] High level waste could be comming though many US DEPT. OF ENERGY 53 Hanford News: Hanford Advisory Board wants more federal money 54 Hanford News: A synopsis of what a terrorist alert could look like 55 Hanford News: Security still tight in Mid-Columbia 56 Hanford News: Board tells DOE to clarify cleanup 57 Hanford News: PNNL research jumps after 9/11 58 POGO: Los Alamos Safety Down the Tubes 59 UPI: Black light, cold conditions find uranium 60 Knox News: No iodine danger - now ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Still Refusing to Halt Enrichment From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 12:46 PM AP Photo VIE108 By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran still refuses to suspend nuclear enrichment before the start of talks on its nuclear program - a key demand by the six nations locked in a diplomatic standoff with the Islamic republic, officials said Tuesday. Tehran offered over the weekend to suspend enrichment, which can produce fissile material for nuclear warheads, for up to two months. The willingness to consider such a halt was seen as an important opening. But officials from delegations familiar with the outcome of the weekend's negotiations between Iranian and European negotiators said Tuesday that Iran had also made clear it would not halt enrichment before broader, six-power talks aimed at persuading Iran to agree to a long-term moratorium. They demanded anonymity in exchange for divulging confidential information. Iran faces the threat of U.N. sanctions if those talks fail. The officials spoke to The Associated Press as the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board reconvened at a session that would focus on Iran, likely on Wednesday. Tehran already is in violation of an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to freeze enrichment. The five permanent council members plus Germany made clear that negotiations with Iran that could give it economic and political rewards for halting enrichment would not take place without Tehran agreeing to a freeze before the talks started. Iran could still have civilian nuclear power, within some limits, under the deal. Tehran has said it would not give up its right to the full range of nuclear technology and expertise, including enrichment, which it says it needs to develop to meet future nuclear power needs. After the meeting between European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, diplomats said they considered the proposal of even a temporary pause significant because it could de-escalate the nuclear standoff Iran's oil minister, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, told reporters at an OPEC conference in Vienna on Tuesday that progress in talks between Iran and the EU had eased the crisis. ``Many points are now clear,'' Hamaneh said, adding: ``I don't see a standoff'' any longer. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not specifically rule out accepting Tehran's terms, but predicted that U.N. sanctions would follow ``if this does not work out.'' Rice suggested, however, that Washington still wanted suspension before talks, telling reporters Monday: ``The question is, are they prepared to suspend verifiably so that negotiations can begin.'' The United States has led the drive to haul Iran before the security council to face economic or other sanctions if it does not roll back its nuclear program. Russia and China - both veto-holding council members - are reluctant to move toward sanctions. Uranium enrichment can also make fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, and IAEA inspectors have been unable to determine the intent of Iran's program, begun in secret two decades ago. The West, and the U.S. in particular, say an enrichment pause is essential to preventing Tehran from making progress on building a weapon. Iran voluntarily suspended its uranium activities during two years of negotiations with European nations, but those talks fell apart last year without a deal. In the meantime, there are signs that European allies are not eager to begin the sanctions discussion either, perhaps moving closer to Moscow and Beijing in seeking a way out. Expanding on the terms of a possible Iranian compromise, a diplomat familiar with the issue said Tehran was seeking guarantees it would not be attacked by the United States during any negotiations. ``They are essentially seeking assurances that they would not be bombed while they are talking,'' the diplomat told the AP. Another diplomat said Iran is also seeking a guarantee that its right to enrichment is recognized, despite any temporary freeze. In exchange, it would offer IAEA inspectors increased inspection rights of its nuclear facilities and guarantee that it would not leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - as it has threatened. --- Associated Press writers Anne Gearan in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and William J.Kole in Vienna, Austria, contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 2 Reuters: Nuclear watchdog debate to urge Iran atom talks Tuesday September 12, 11:12 PM VIENNA (Reuters) - Most members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's governing board, a barometer of world sentiment on Iran, are likely in a debate to champion last-gasp talks to defuse a stand-off over Iran's atomic work, diplomats say. Weekend talks in which diplomats said Tehran offered to consider temporarily halting uranium enrichment, and U.S. hints of openness to such a compromise, have revived hopes of averting sanctions with the risk of economic and security repercussions. Most members of the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency board were expected to tread cautiously when they debate the Iran nuclear issue now poised between diplomatic progress and volatile confrontation. "Nobody wants to provoke anybody. Low-key statements are expected, calling on Iran to seize this negotiating opportunity, not much more," said a diplomat from one of the "EU3" powers -- Germany, France, Britain -- at the forefront of Iran diplomacy. The debate was to be held later on Tuesday or Wednesday. The West believes Iran's fledgling nuclear programme, which Tehran says is just to generate electricity, is a veiled attempt to produce atom bombs and has condemned its disregard of an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to stop enriching uranium. While the IAEA debate was expected to urge diplomacy continues, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday Washington would move forward on possible sanctions if Iran kept refusing to shelve enrichment. "We are going to pursue, and pursue actively, the road of sanctions within the U.N. Security Council ... That's the path that we're on," Rice said during a trip to Canada. Regarding a timetable, she said the big powers' foreign ministers would meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York starting next week. But Rice also held out the possibility on Monday that Washington might join talks with Iran if it temporarily suspends its nuclear programme, and chose not to flatly reject talk of a shorter-term enrichment freeze by Tehran. Previously, the United States said Iran must stop nuclear enrichment-related work for a longer, indefinite period. MORE TALKS PLANNED Iran still rejects suspending enrichment before negotiations to implement an offer of trade benefits from the powers, suggesting it could bar IAEA inspectors if hit with sanctions. But indications the two sides might be able to compromise on timing and duration of suspension emerged from weekend talks between Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, representing the six powers. An EU diplomat said the two men were expected to meet again sometime between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, and a senior Solana aide met Iranian officials to prepare the meeting. Solana had briefed all six foreign ministers and would speak to Rice again before reconvening with Larijani, probably in Vienna, the diplomat said. Diplomats at the IAEA board said most statements planned for the pending debate on Iran would probably stress the value of a diplomatic solution given widespread reluctance to isolate the world's No. 4 oil exporter and Middle East strategic giant. It was unclear whether the six powers would speak as one at the IAEA as Russia and China, while also saying Iran must not be allowed to acquire atom bombs and must prove to the world it is not trying to do so, have opposed U.S. pressure for sanctions. Board members from the Non-Aligned Movement that groups developing nations including Iran, were likely to stress its right to a domestic nuclear fuel industry but also encourage Iran more than before to cooperate to find a peaceful solution. "We may still get strong statements from the United States and Iran. But the dialogue of real consequence is going on elsewhere -- and given the stakes, none of the players here are going to make any friends in their respective capitals by saying anything rash," a senior IAEA diplomat told Reuters. The text of Iran's Aug. 22 reply to the incentives offer from the five permanent Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- made public on Monday left room for a possible suspension but was not conclusive. It also set terms that are likely non-starters for the West, such as cancellation of Security Council involvement in Iran's case and a final halt to IAEA investigation if no proof of an arms programme has been found. None has so far. Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 IRNA: First day sessions of IAEA Board of Governors end in Vienna - , Sept 11, IRNA The morning and evening sessions of the first day of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors' regular meeting ended here on Monday. During the first day meetings of the UN nuclear watchdog, the members of the IAEA Board of Governors first listened to a report presented by the IAEA Chief Muhamed ElBaradei and then started exchanging ideas on its various aspects. ElBaradei in his report focussed on such issues as the nuclear technology, nuclear security, the current status of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), implementing the articles of the IAEA's NPT in the Middle East, management issues, and a new framework for supervision over the production of the nuclear fuel cycle. The IAEA Secretary General also in some paragraphs of his report referred to the latest developments on Iran's nuclear issue. Meanwhile, in a meeting with the press on the sidelines of the Board of Governors' Monday morning session, he said, "All engaged sides are involved in efforts aimed at reaching a consensus over Iran's nuclear program." Pointing out that "The favorable opportunities are not long-lasting", he said, "The agency and I are ready for promoting any effort aimed at clearing the remaining ambiguities in the dossier and for paving the path for the return of the negotiating sides to the negotiation table." The ongoing meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors would continue in Vienna till upcoming Friday. The Board of Governors would probably discuss Iran's case at their Tuesday evening, or Wednesday morning session, judged by the priority the IAEA Secretary General has given it in his comprehensive report. 2329/1771 ***************************************************************** 4 Reuters: U.S. says there is no Iran suspension offer Wednesday September 13, 4:11 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran has not offered to temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment program as part of an effort to launch nuclear negotiations with six major powers, despite reports it had shown flexibility, the State Department said on Tuesday. Indications that Tehran and the major powers might be able to compromise on a nuclear suspension emerged from weekend talks between Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, representing the six powers. An EU diplomat said Larijani offered to consider suspending enrichment activity while the two sides discuss incentives for Iran's nuclear cooperation, which he said would take at least two months. But State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey dismissed reports of "some alleged Iranian offer" and said: "To the best of my knowledge, there's been no Iranian proposal; there's been no change in the Iranian position, meaning they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time that I'm aware of." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday seemed to suggest Washington might join talks with Iran if it temporarily suspends the nuclear program, and she chose not to flatly reject talk of a shorter-term enrichment freeze by Tehran. Previously, the United States said Iran must stop nuclear enrichment-related work for a longer, indefinite period. But Rice seemed to harden her line on Tuesday, telling reporters on a trip to Canada the major powers had set a "mandatory standard (for Iran) ... not a voluntary standard about suspension of their enrichment and reprocessing activities." Iran has not met that standard and if it does not, "then we are going to pursue, and pursue actively, the road of sanctions within the U.N. Security Council," she said. Casey insisted there was no contradiction in the U.S. position. "Iran needs to suspend, and suspend in a verifiable way, and then discussions (with the six major powers) can begin. That's what the secretary said yesterday, and that's where we are," he said. "Unfortunately, what we haven't seen is any indication from the Iranian government that they would be willing to, in fact, suspend their uranium enrichment activities so that we could, in fact, move on to this positive package and proposal that's been put forward." The United States and its partners -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- have accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons but Tehran insist its activities are aimed at producing electricity to meet growing energy needs. Iran's nuclear program. Delegates at the six-day Non Aligned Summit (NAM) also lashed out at Israel" /> Israel, but dropped a proposed demand it be punished for "war crimes." While the Middle East was high on the agenda, with the expected arrival of the Syrian and Lebanese presidents, the gathering was also the scene of rival lobbying by Venezuela and Guatemala for a seat on the UN Security Council. Caracas claimed it had locked in the voted to get a seat. As senior officials met for a second day, it was still unclear whether Cuban President Fidel Castro" /> Fidel Castro, 80, would show up in the summit in what would be his first public appearance since he underwent intestinal surgery in July. The officials hammered out separate resolutions on Iran and the Palestinian territories, while also fine-tuning a draft final document the heads of state and government are to adopt on Saturday. Issues such as terrorism, Iran and the Middle East were hotly debated at the closed-door meetings, participants said. The 118-strong NAM includes staunch foes of the United States, such as North Korea" /> North Korea, Iran, Syria" /> Syriaand Venezuela, but also many of its close allies. On Iran, the officials essentially updated a resolution adopted by a NAM meeting in May, but added a paragraph stating the need for an "unconditional resumption of dialogue," the head of a prominent delegation said, speaking privately. The statement adopted at the May gathering in Putrajaya, Malaysia insisted any country had the right to use nuclear energy, and welcomed what it said was Iran's "voluntary confidence-building efforts" aimed at resolving the issue. The delegates also worked on a document demanding that Israel withdraw from the West Bank" /> West Bank, stop its "aggression" in Gaza, and release jailed Palestinian officials. "When that happens it will open the door for the resumption of the political process," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations" /> United Nations. But a senior official said the delegates dropped a proposed paragraph that called the Israeli actions "war crimes for which the perpetrators must be held accountable and brought the justice." Mansour said statements by the NAM would add to the pressure on the Security Council to implement its resolutions on the Palestinian territories. "We hope the Security Council will begin the process of standing up to its responsibility," he told AFP. Several delegations also engaged in intense lobbying to garner support for specific issues. Venezuela insisted it now had secured enough votes to win a seat on the UN Security Council. "We can assure the world that Venezuela will have a position on the Security Council as a non-permanent member," the Venezuelan vice foreign minister, Jorge Valero, told journalists. Guatemalan officials for their part said they had secured 102 of the 121 votes needed. The six-day gathering brings together leaders from about 50 developing nations, and high-level representatives from dozens more. The leaders will meet on Friday and Saturday following two days of talks at the ministerial level. Castro has said he would meet some of the dignitaries, but it was unclear whether he would do so from his bedside or at the summit. The communist leader was included in an agenda of public events released by summit organizers on Sunday, but Cuban authorities later backtracked and admitted they had no clue whether he would actually show up in public. The lower-profile Raul Castro, 75, would make his international-stage debut if he presides over top-level public summit proceedings. The younger Castro is officially Cuba's acting president while his brother recovers from surgery. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Iran N-activities are quite peaceful 2006/09/12 Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad-Ali Hosseini Monday said that recent remarks of some officials from Persian Gulf littoral states on Iran's peaceful nuclear program are against the realities of the region and the atmosphere of friendly relations among regional states. He said that combining non-genuine and doubtful concepts with each other is against regional interests. Underlining that Iran's nuclear activities are quite peaceful, the Spokesman said, "Fulfilling our commitment to NPT regulations, continuous inspection of our nuclear installations by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and IAEA confirmation that Iran has not deviated from peaceful course are the best guarantee of the peaceful nature of our nuclear activities." Turning to the tour of a number of representatives of regional media to Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant over the past year, he said, "Our major policies on multifaceted cooperation with the regional states prove Iran's humanitarian intention to promote regional stability and security of the highly sensitive and important Persian Gulf area." Hosseini hoped that the current atmosphere will further be expanded. mk Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Larijani-Solana talks, positive 2006/09/12 Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh Tuesday said that both sides in recent talks on the Iran nuclear issue consider its outcome to be positive. He made the remarks while talking to reporters on the sidelines of 3rd OPEC international conference. In response to a question about the talks between Iran's top negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, he said that during the talks some ambiguities were clarified. Vaziri Hamaneh said that negotiations on the issue will continue next week. The Minister hoped that the talks will lead to more positive outcomes soon given the peaceful use of nuclear technology by Iran. The 3rd OPEC international conference opens in Vienna today and continues until Wednesday. It will be attended by 500 ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC member states as well as a number of senior experts from oil companies. SM Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 8 IRNA: Iranian nation winner in N-case - Haddad-Adel Tehran, Sept 12, IRNA Armenia-Iran-Nuclear The Iranian nation will emerge winner in the nuclear standoff, visiting Iranian Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said in Yerevan on Monday. Haddad-Adel, who arrived in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Monday on the first leg of a two-nation visit, met with staff of Iran's embassy in Armenia and their families. Following his visit to Armenia, he will next pay a visit to Kyrgyzstan. "If the bullying powers impose sanctions against Iran, our nation will not yield to them and give up its rights," he said. He added that joy and hope have been created in Iran for the country's development in all fields, saying "Iran will achieve success in economic areas day by day." The speaker said Iran took steps for its development and growth, stressing the nation has an optimistic view of the future. He noted that Iran had become self-sufficient in the production of wheat and said the country is currently self-sufficient by 90 percent in the production of agricultural goods. The speaker stressed the importance of making use of the two countries' potentials to further promote bilateral relations. ***************************************************************** 9 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 1st IAEA's session ends in Vienna 2006/09/12 The morning and evening sessions of the first day of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors' regular meeting ended on Monday. During the first day meetings of the UN nuclear watchdog, the members of the IAEA Board of Governors first listened to a report presented by the IAEA Chief Muhamed ElBaradei and then started exchanging ideas on its various aspects. ElBaradei in his report focussed on such issues as the nuclear technology, nuclear security, the current status of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), implementing the articles of the IAEA's NPT in the Middle East, management issues, and a new framework for supervision over the production of the nuclear fuel cycle. The IAEA Secretary General also in some paragraphs of his report referred to the latest developments on Iran's nuclear issue. Meanwhile, in a meeting with the press on the sidelines of the Board of Governors' Monday morning session, he said, "All engaged sides are involved in efforts aimed at reaching a consensus over Iran's nuclear program." Pointing out that "The favorable opportunities are not long-lasting", he said, "The agency and I are ready for promoting any effort aimed at clearing the remaining ambiguities in the dossier and for paving the path for the return of the negotiating sides to the negotiation table." The ongoing meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors would continue in Vienna till upcoming Friday. The Board of Governors would probably discuss Iran's case at their Tuesday evening, or Wednesday morning session, judged by the priority the IAEA Secretary General has given it in his comprehensive report. SM Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: US denies Iran offered temporary suspension of uranium enrichment - Tue Sep 12, 5:02 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States denied reports that Iran" /> Iranhad offered to temporarily suspend its enrichment of uranium as part of a deal designed to avoid UN sanctions. "I'm afraid that whoever was the source of those stories didn't seem to have an accurate read of the situation," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman. "To the best of my knowledge, there's been no Iranian proposal (and) there's been no change in the Iranian position, meaning they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time," he said. On Monday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Riceleft open the possibility that Washington could be satisfied with a temporary suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program, which the United States believes is part of an effort to develop nuclear weapons. But she stressed that any such suspension would have to be verifiable and take place prior to any negotiations on improving relations with the regime in Tehran. According to diplomats in Europe, Iran's main nuclear negotiator, Ari Larijani, offered the conditional two-month suspension of the enrichment program in weekend talks with European Union" /> European Unionforeign policy chief Javier Solana. Solana is trying to convince Iran to accept a deal put forward by the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany offering a series of economic and diplomatic incentives if Tehran will end its uranium enrichment. The UN Security Council demanded Iran suspend uranium enrichment activities by August 31 or face the prospect of sanctions. Tehran has so far rejected the resolution, insisting its nuclear program is for the peaceful production of energy and not to make weapons. In parallel with the Solana-Larijani talks, the United States continued this week to press its partners to move ahead with a new series of UN resolutions imposing a graduated set of sanctions against Iran. Casey said senior diplomats from the six countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- discussed the issue Tuesday by telephone and that Washington was pressing for additional talks this week at the United Nations" /> United Nations. Rice said she would also meet with her counterparts from the six countries on the sideline of the UN General Assembly next week in New York. When asked on Monday about the reported Iranian offer of a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment, Rice did not reject the notion out of hand, as US officials have in the past. "As to time limitations, I haven't heard any Iranian offer so I don't know what to make of that," was all she said. Rice also voiced support for Solana's efforts to bring the Iranians into line with the UN demands, despite earlier and repeated US statements that the time for talking with Tehran was past and that it was now essential to move ahead with sanctions. The slight softening in tone appeared aimed at trying to avoid opening a rift between Washington and its five partners, who have shown less enthusiasm than the United States for going ahead with the sanctions against. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: World powers differing over Iran by Michael Adler Tue Sep 12, 6:53 PM ET VIENNA (AFP) - World powers were struggling to agree on joint statements on Iran" /> Iranat a UN nuclear agency meeting, with diplomats saying this showed divisions in how to crack down on Tehran. The six nations which are trying to work out a nuclear deal with Iran "couldn't agree on a statement" at the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors because "the United States was too tough," a Western diplomat told AFP. Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have offered Iran talks on trade and other benefits if Tehran will first suspend uranium enrichment, the process that makes nuclear reactor fuel but also atom bomb material. The United States, which charges that Iran is hiding secret work to make nuclear weapons, is pushing for United Nations" /> United Nationssanctions against Iran for failing to honor a UN resolution that set an August 31 deadline for Tehran to halt the strategic nuclear fuel work. But top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani offered over the weekend for Iran to consider a temporary halt in uranium enrichment, in talks with European Union" /> European Unionforeign policy chief Javier Solana in Vienna that are to continue later this week. However the US State Department Tuesday denied the reports of an Iranian offer to temporarily suspend enrichment. "To the best of my knowledge, there's been no Iranian proposal (and) there's been no change in the Iranian position, meaning they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman. The Western diplomat told AFP that Russia and China want to see how the Larijani-Solana talks play out. "This is what Iran wants with its tactics, to divide the international community," the diplomat said. But US ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte told AFP the six world powers were united. The six all "want to see a full and verified suspension and that means that we would expect all the enrichment activities to be suspended. "And we would want to have the IAEA verify that the suspension is in fact taking place," Schulte said. He said the six were very clear on this and that if Iran does not suspend, "the Security Council has already made it clear its intention to move forward with sanctions." Meanwhile, the so-called EU-3 group of Britain, Germany and France, which have led negotiations with Iran since 2003, were also having trouble agreeing on a joint statement, with Britain backing the American hard line but Germany and France not fully agreeing, the diplomat said. A second diplomat confirmed that there were "disagreements" among this group but said they were still working on a joint statement. The EU-3 have issued joint statements at previous board meetings, while the six world powers have not. And Finland, speaking for the 25 EU states, is to call Wednesday on Iran to suspend enrichment not as "a voluntary confidence-building measure, but an international obligation," according to a copy of a speech seen by AFP. The speech makes clear that the Security Council intends to "adopt appropriate measures," meaning sanctions if Iran does not suspend enrichment. In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac" /> President Jacques Chiracheld talks at the Elysee palace Tuesday with Hashemi Samareh, a special envoy of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his office said. In Helsinki on Monday Chirac said he hoped that "dialogue will succeed" in the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme. Russia, like China a key trading ally of Iran, warned Tuesday against rushing to punish Tehran. Kremlin foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko said there was no hurry to decide. "What is our aim: sanctions or a result? If we aim for the result, then let's be a little patient," he told journalists in Moscow. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will present a report Wednesday to his board that documents how Iran failed to heed the UN deadline to suspend enrichment. But the IAEA is not expected to take any action on Iran in order to leave room for the diplomatic initiatives which are unfolding. "Right now, no one is going to do anything unexpected," an EU diplomat said about the work at the IAEA board. "I guess everybody is going to give Solana a chance to find a way to get Iran to the negotiating table." Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: Iran sets conditions on enrichment suspension - by Michael Adler Tue Sep 12, 7:26 AM ET VIENNA (AFP) - Iran" /> Iranis open to discussing the suspension of uranium enrichment but has rejected US demands to do so ahead of talks with six world powers seeking an end to the nuclear crisis. A text of Tehran's 21-page response to an incentives package -- offered by the five permanent UN Security Council members Britain, France, Russia and the United States, as well as Germany -- ruled out any freeze ahead of negotiations. Iran's confidential response was given in Tehran on August 22 to diplomatic representatives of the six nations and was posted Monday on the web site of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Riceon Monday reiterated Washington's insistence that any suspension of enrichment activity be in place and verifiable before negotiations on resolving the deadlock over Iran's disputed nuclear program begin. ISIS president David Albright said in a statement that he was making the Iranian document public since the enrichment issue was to be discussed at a meeting this week in Vienna of the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA). Albright said the good news was that "Iran is at least open to negotiating the status of its enrichment program." But Iran has made even talking about a possible enrichment freeze conditional on the issue being taken off the table of the UN Security Council, which has threatened possible sanctions. In the text of its response, Tehram demanded "simultaneous steps by the other party" to include "termination of Iran's dossier in the (UN) Security Council and returning it to the IAEA". It also called on the six-nation group "as a show of goodwill to abandon all restrictions that they practice beyond the legal international norms in different areas" -- a possible allusion to US sanctions against Iran now in effect. Albright said: "What looks at first glance to be an important step ... is undermined by a series of qualifying statements that are highly critical of the UN Security Council's actions on Iran and demand that it end consideration of the matter." Iran also demanded security guarantees, including "the commitment to disarm the Zionist regime ( Israel" /> Israel) from weapons of mass destruction (WMD)" if Tehran is to give assurances that "it would not use its nuclear capability for other than peaceful applications". Iran does offer to allow for more intensive IAEA inspections under an Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but only if the Security Council, and its punitive powers, are no longer a threat. Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani set much the same conditions when he met in Vienna over the weekend with European foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was representing the six world powers, a Western diplomat told AFP. "Larijani said the Iranians would consider, consider not actually carry out, a two-month halt in enrichment. It was all very conditional," the diplomat said, in relating a briefing from Solana. The Iranian offer first revealed Sunday had raised hopes of a breakthrough in the international standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions. But the diplomat said that Larijani's conditions dashed these hopes as they would guarantee Tehran the right to sensitive nuclear fuel work and protect it from any punitive UN action. Iran has defied a Security Council August 31 deadline for it to freeze the strategic nuclear fuel work or face possible sanctions. The United States is expected to begin work on a sanctions resolution as early as this week. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 13 Guardian Unlimited: 6 Powers Can't Agree on Iran Statement From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 7:46 PM AP Photo VIE107 By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Six world powers abandoned attempts Tuesday to issue a joint statement criticizing Iran's nuclear defiance after China and Russia refused to endorse U.S.-backed tough language, diplomats said. The split, at a 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board, reflected indecision on how to react to Tehran's weekend suggestion that it might temporarily suspend uranium enrichment - but only on its own terms. Russia and China have both signed off on U.N. sanctions as a way to punish Iran for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, which was first requested and then demanded by the U.N. Security Council. Russia and China are both permanent council members and part of the six-nation coalition trying to pressure Tehran to give up enrichment. Both, however, have resisted U.S.-led efforts to move to sanctions quickly, despite the expiration of an Aug. 31 deadline for Iran to freeze work on developing the technology, which can be used to help make nuclear arms. Instead, they favor continued negotiations with Tehran. Diplomats accredited to the IAEA, who demanded anonymity in exchange for sharing confidential information with The Associated Press, said Iran's readiness to consider a temporary enrichment freeze appears to have exacerbated differences over U.N. sanctions. Iran's offer of a freeze for up to two months was unofficial and tentative, made during talks between European Union top foreign policy official Javier Solana and Ali Larijani, Tehran's senior nuclear negotiator and revealed by officials from delegations familiar with the outcome of those talks. Expanding on the Iranian overture Tuesday, those same officials told the AP that Tehran was willing to freeze enrichment temporarily once it begins talks with the six powers that are meant to defuse the nuclear crisis. The six are formally demanding a stop to enrichment before such talks. The IAEA's chief U.S. delegate, Gregory L. Schulte, said America welcomed ``the open channel'' Solana had established, but emphasized that Iran had yet to make a formal offer on freezing enrichment. ``We would like very much to hear ... that Iran is suspending,'' Schulte told the AP. ``But in the meantime, the intention is to move forward with the (Security Council) sanctions package.'' Still, the failure of the six powers to come up with a common Iran statement at the board meeting indicated that some preferred to wait on tough punishment until Iran offered more details about its suggestion. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested Monday that Washington still wanted Iran to suspend its enrichment program before talks start. ``The question is, are they prepared to suspend verifiably so that negotiations can begin,'' she told reporters. The six-power talks are aimed at persuading Iran to agree to a long-term moratorium on enrichment. But Tehran has said it would not give up its right to the full range of nuclear technology and expertise, including enrichment, which it says it needs to develop to meet future nuclear power needs. Still, Tehran's readiness to consider even a temporary pause is significant because it could de-escalate the nuclear standoff if the six powers agree that Iran's terms on enrichment and other conditions are acceptable for a start to negotiations. Iran's oil minister, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, told reporters at an OPEC conference in Vienna on Tuesday that progress in talks between Iran and the EU had eased the crisis. ``Many points are now clear,'' Hamaneh said. ``I don't see a standoff'' any longer. The United States has led the drive to haul Iran before the Security Council to face economic or other sanctions if it does not roll back its nuclear program. Slow diplomatic work to do that began after Iran missed the Aug. 31 deadline. The West, and the U.S. in particular, says that pause is essential to prevent Iran from gaining ground toward a weapon if that is its hidden aim. Iran voluntarily did suspend uranium activities during two years of negotiations with European nations, but those talks fell apart last year. The latest offer, with the added inducement of face-to-face talks with Iran's old enemy the United States, would give trade, aid and political benefits to Iran if it scales back its program and answers the West's concerns. Iran would still be able to develop civilian nuclear power. The diplomatic coalition against Iran has appeared ragged at times, but so far has held together. The issue may finally be at a turning point if the Security Council takes up sanctions, a step that not only Russia and China but some European allies of Washington are reluctant to take. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 14 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Still Refusing to Halt Enrichment From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 6:01 PM AP Photo VIE102 By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran still refuses to suspend uranium enrichment before the start of talks on its nuclear program - a key demand by the six nations locked in a diplomatic standoff with the Islamic republic, officials said Tuesday. Tehran said over the weekend that it was considering suspending enrichment, which can produce fissile material for nuclear warheads, for up to two months. The willingness to consider such a halt was seen as an important opening. But officials from delegations familiar with the outcome of the weekend's negotiations between Iranian and European negotiators said Tuesday that Iran had also made clear it would not halt enrichment before broader, six-power talks aimed at persuading Iran to agree to a long-term moratorium. They demanded anonymity in exchange for divulging confidential information. Iran faces the threat of U.N. sanctions if those talks fail. The officials spoke to The Associated Press as the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board reconvened at a session that would focus on Iran, likely on Wednesday. The IAEA's chief U.S. delegate Gregory L. Schulte said America welcomed ``the open channel'' European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana had established, but emphasized that Iran had yet to make a formal offer on freezing enrichment. ``We would like very much to hear ... that Iran is suspending,'' Schulte told the AP. ``But in the meantime, the intention is to move forward with the (Security Council) sanctions package.'' Tehran already is in violation of an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to freeze enrichment. The five permanent council members plus Germany made clear that negotiations with Iran that could give it economic and political rewards for halting enrichment would not take place without Tehran agreeing to a freeze before the talks started. Iran could still have civilian nuclear power, within some limits, under the deal. Tehran has said it would not give up its right to the full range of nuclear technology and expertise, including enrichment, which it says it needs to develop to meet future nuclear power needs. After the meeting between Solana and chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, diplomats said they considered the proposal of even a temporary pause significant because it could de-escalate the nuclear standoff Iran's oil minister, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, told reporters at an OPEC conference in Vienna on Tuesday that progress in talks between Iran and the EU had eased the crisis. ``Many points are now clear,'' Hamaneh said, adding: ``I don't see a standoff'' any longer. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not specifically rule out accepting Tehran's terms, but predicted that U.N. sanctions would follow ``if this does not work out.'' Rice suggested, however, that Washington still wanted suspension before talks, telling reporters Monday: ``The question is, are they prepared to suspend verifiably so that negotiations can begin.'' The United States has led the drive to haul Iran before the security council to face economic or other sanctions if it does not roll back its nuclear program. Russia and China - both veto-holding council members - are reluctant to move toward sanctions. Uranium enrichment can also make fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, and IAEA inspectr to Moscow and Beijing in seeking a way out. Expanding on the terms of a possible Iranian compromise, a diplomat familiar with the issue said Tehran was seeking guarantees it would not be attacked by the United States during any negotiations. ``They are essentially seeking assurances that they would not be bombed while they are talking,'' the diplomat told the AP. Another diplomat said Iran is also seeking a guarantee that its right to enrichment is recognized, despite any temporary freeze. In exchange, it would offer IAEA inspectors increased inspection rights of its nuclear facilities and guarantee that it would not leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - as it has threatened. --- Associated Press writers Anne Gearan in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and William J.Kole and Palma Benczenleitner in Vienna, Austria, contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 15 Guardian Unlimited: Official: U.S. Moves to Sanction N.Korea From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 10:01 AM AP Photo SEL107 By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The United States is moving to impose sanctions on North Korea for test-launching a series of missiles in July, a senior South Korean official said Tuesday. South Korea's main news agency reported, meanwhile, that the North had rejected an offer for direct talks with the U.S. over its nuclear program. The U.S. could slow its move toward sanctions if North Korea returns to deadlocked six-nation talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear program, the official, who is deeply involved in the talks, told The Associated Press. The Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified source, reported that the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, proposed a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan during a recent stop in China but that the North rejected it. South Korean officials said they couldn't confirm the report. North Korea has demanded direct talks with the U.S., but Washington had refused, saying it would only speak to the North in meetings with the other countries involved in the talks. Washington eased a half-century of economic sanctions against North Korea in 1999 in exchange for Pyongyang establishing a moratorium on long-range missile tests, one year after the North stunned the world by launching a long-range missile over Japan. The North broke that self-imposed moratorium with its July launches, which included a long-range missile believed potentially capable of reaching parts of the U.S. The missile exploded shortly after takeoff. The launches drew international objections and prompted the U.N. Security Council to unanimously adopt a resolution condemning its actions. The resolution bans all member states from transactions with North Korea involving material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction. It also says that countries should take steps to prevent the transfer of any financial resources that could be connected to the North's weapons programs. The South Korean official's statements Tuesday were the first indication that the U.S. was moving toward sanctions. ``The United States will slap sanctions on the North,'' the official said. He added that Washington has already advised countries including South Korea that they should implement the U.N. resolution by enacting sanctions. South Korea, which had voiced its opposition to sanctioning its northern neighbor and largely maintained a policy of engagement, will ``do what it needs to do,'' the official said, indicating Seoul will join the sanctions. On Monday in Seoul at the end of his Asian tour, Hill proposed a meeting of North Korea's neighbors and other regional powers on the sidelines of the upcoming meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, South Korean officials said. The U.S. has moved to sever North Korea's connections to international banks, alleging any transactions by the Pyongyang regime are suspect and could be connected to illegal activity - including counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and money laundering related to the sales of weapons of mass destruction. Those restrictions prompted the North to boycott the six-nation nuclear talks since last year and demand the U.S. retract the measures. Washington has refused and said the issue is unrelated to the nuclear standoff. South Korea's main spy agency has said the communist regime could test a nuclear device at any time. South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told a parliamentary meeting Monday that a nuclear test by the North remains a possibility. He didn't elaborate. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen nuclear weapons. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 16 Korea Herald: U.S. can strike North alone, says think tank The United States could conduct independent military operations in the event of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula after wartime operational control of South Korean troops is returned to the Seoul government, a researcher at a government-affiliated think tank said in a report yesterday. "It is likely that the United States would independently intervene in the Korean crisis in accordance with several operation plans the U.S. Pacific Command has developed," said Nam Man-kwon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. KIDA is a security think tank affiliated to the Defense Ministry. Nam argued that the United States would not limit its military operations on the peninsula to only a supporting role to the South Korean military after the allies' combined war plan, OPLAN 5027, is annulled along with the disbandment of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. The U.S. military could mobilize forcible measures against North Korea under independent contingency plans OPLAN 5026 and OPLAN 5030, Nam said. The U.S. Pacific Command has established both plans, which will be operated by subordinate units such as the U.S. 7th Air Force stationed in Korea and U.S. 5th Air Force and 7th Fleet in Japan, he explained. OPLAN 5026 is aimed at striking North Korean nuclear facilities in case of heightened crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. In 1993, amid mounting tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korean pursuit of nuclear weapons, the U.S. military attempted to operate OPLAN 5026 to conduct surgical strikes on North Korean nuclear facilities. The plan was canceled due to strong opposition from Seoul. Meanwhile, OPLAN 5030 is designed to contain and isolate North Korea with naval and aerial forces. Other operation plans - similarly codenamed OPLAN 50xx - have also established for joint U.S.-Japan operations in emergencies on the Korean Peninsula, Nam said. The United States maintains OPLAN 5028 to prevent incidental events on the peninsula from expanding to full-scale war and OPLAN 5029 to proactively intervene in emergencies inside North Korea including the regime collapse, said Nam. "We should prepare for a possible U.S. independent military campaign after the transfer of wartime control," Nam said. Some veterans separately added yesterday that the United States could also operate multinational troops under the U.N. flag, noting that the commander of U.S. Forces Korea heads the United Nations Command. "If South Korea and the United States continuously differ over North Korean issues, Washington could move the multinational U.N. troops, shutting out South Korean voices," Park Seh-jik, president of Korea Veterans Association, said in line with arguments by conservatives. Conservatives say the U.S. intention for an independent military campaign has been restrained under the allies' strong CFC system. But dismantlement of the CFC and establishment of two separate commands linked with weakened joint bodies will increase U.S. discretion on the matter, they say. Retired generals and conservative civic groups yesterday began a signature-collecting campaign, calling on the government to scrap the plan to take wartime operational control back from the United States. They aim to acquire signatures from 5 million people who oppose the plan. (davidpooh@heraldm.com) By Jin Dae-woong 2006.09.13 ***************************************************************** 17 Korea Herald: U.S. 'deeply skeptical' of N.K.'s intentions The United States is "deeply skeptical" of North Korea's intentions to dismantle its nuclear program, and is thereby set on starting full-fledged sanctions against the reclusive regime, sources said yesterday. Efforts to revive the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are fast approaching their limit as Pyongyang continues to defy international calls to back down. "If the North does not return to the six-party talks, there is no way to stop the dynamics of each country's move to sanction the North based on the U.N. resolution," a senior government official here said on condition of anonymity. In Seoul on Monday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill suggested the countries hold another round of talks with or without North Korea on the sidelines of this week's U.N. general assembly. The suggestion was seen as an apparent move to further seclude the North. The comment would also highlight Washington's "diplomatic efforts" in case it needed to dodge criticism that could follow stronger sanctions against the communist regime. Both South Korea and China remained hesitant to hold such multilateral talks. "There will be no value added by holding such talks at the United Nations when there is no development," the senior government official said. Seoul believes that without North Korea, discussing the matter would contribute little to improving the situation. A total of 10 countries, excluding North Korea, had gathered on the sidelines of the Asia Regional Forum in July, but the meeting was considered more of a diplomatic gesture towards the North. North Korea has been boycotting the nuclear talks - which include South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia - since the end of last year. Washington's skepticism is growing as North Korea continues to boycott the talks over U.S. financial sanctions imposed last year which resulted in some $24 million of North Korean assets being frozen. If North Korea suspends the first stage of its nuclear program, it would be given 500,000 tons of heavy oil, amounting to approximately $200 million. If the entire nuclear program is dismantled, it could be given $1 billion worth of electricity transmission on a yearly basis. To Washington, it makes no sense that North Korea is willing to give up a total of over $1.2 billion in aid for a relatively meager $24 million, Seoul officials explained. The United States reads this as an indication that North Korea has no intention of dismantling its nuclear program. The Seoul government, on the other hand, believes that North Korea is acting more on a short-term perspective based on its peculiar and out-of-date diplomatic style. It said it will continue to urge Washington to give it time and engage the regime through dialogues. The United States' relatively flexible negotiator Hill has failed so far to bring the stubborn state back to talks. Reports yesterday said Hill had suggested meeting his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan while he was in China last week. But the North reportedly refused, leaving Washington with little choice. Such a staunch attitude by the North has left the United States on the verge of shelving the option of negotiating with the North, reports said. But Seoul officials reiterated the United States remains committed to dialogues. South Korea has repeatedly told the United States that sanctioning the North will not bring about a solution. It also urged the United States that it must "invest its diplomatic capacity" to match the scale and urgency of the problem with the North. (angiely@heraldm.com) By Lee Joo-hee 2006.09.13 ***************************************************************** 18 Korea Herald: [KOREA-U.S. SUMMIT]Asia, Europe leaders urge North Korea to return to talks HELSINKI - Asian and European leaders wrapped up their two-day summit in Helsinki on Monday with calls for North Korea to return to the six-party talks aimed at resolving the dispute over the communist state's nuclear weapons program. The leaders and top officials from 39 Asian and European nations, including South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun, also expressed support for the world's efforts to peacefully settle the dispute in a chairman's statement issued at the end of the meeting. They stressed that "any action that might further aggravate the situation should be refrained from, and urged the DPRK (North Korea) to return immediately to the six-party talks without precondition," the statement said. The six-party talks, involving the United States, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas, have been stalled since November due to North Korea's refusal to attend. Pyongyang has openly complained about U.S. financial sanctions against it. In the statement for the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting, participants expressed serious concern over the recent test-firing of seven ballistic missiles by Pyongyang, which they said "jeopardized peace, stability and security in the region." "Leaders shared the view that, reflecting the European experiences of successfully transforming their mistrust and confrontation into dialogue and cooperation, promoting multilateral security cooperation in Northeast Asia would enhance mutual understanding and confidence among the countries in the region and thereby lay the foundation for greater peace and common prosperity in Northeast Asia," the statement said. Speaking in a news conference held before the closure of the meeting, Roh showed his appreciation for the European and Asian nations' support for Seoul's efforts to peacefully resolve the North Korea nuclear issue and make progress in inter-Korean relations. Along with the chairman's statement, the leaders adopted two joint declarations on efforts to tackle global warming and develop ASEM as a more productive forum in dealing with global affairs. The leaders agreed on Sunday to allow in Bulgaria, Romania, India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as new members. The next ASEM summit is scheduled for October 2008 in Beijing. President Roh on Sunday proposed setting up a multilateral security regime for Northeast Asia similar to confidence-building actions in Europe. In a keynote speech Roh emphasized that the European experience can be useful in coping with pending issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula. He said challenges confronting Northeast Asia include lingering Cold War-like tensions, concerns over the spread of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and environmental protection. He also said there are uncertainties on the possible realignment of power among Northeast Asian actors. "The European system that laid the foundation for the successful integration of Europe is a valuable role model for Northeast Asia," he said. The chief executive said that any future multilateral framework should compliment existing security arrangements, indicating he did not support drastic changes to military alliances including the one between Seoul and Washington. He said any multilateral security system in Northeast Asia will aim for cooperative and comprehensive security arrangements as well as ensure safety for the people of the region. "The multilateral framework will initially focus on terrorism prevention, environmental protection, disaster relief, crime prevention and health issues transcending national borders," Roh said. He added this could be later being expanded to political, economic and military affairs. South Korean officials accompanying the president said it would be premature to discuss details on this particular matter with efforts still underway to arrange the next round of six-way talks to resolve North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The negotiations aimed at defusing the standoff over the communist country's atomic weapons program are attended by the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia. "The important thing about the latest ASEM announcement is that Roh officially commented on the issue for the first time," a spokesperson for the president said. Besides the futuristic security system, the South Korean leader called on ASEM to transform itself from a gathering for discussing outstanding issues to an organization that handles challenges confronting the world. He said the issues that can be handled include efforts to reduce the widening information gap and education. 2006.09.13 ***************************************************************** 19 RIA Novosti: Moscow unaware of nuclear research in N. Korea - Putin aide 12/ 09/ 2006 MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow has no additional or new information about any intensification of nuclear research or production in North Korea, a Russian presidential aide said Tuesday. "Personally, I have no extra or new information about [nuclear] research or industrial work in North Korea," Sergei Prikhodko said. "But that does not mean the six-party talks should be stopped or slowed down." The six-nation talks, which involve North and South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States, opened in 2003, but stalled last November. In early July, North Korea, which claims it has nuclear weapons, conducted test launches of ballistic missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2, which many countries qualified as an attempt to force the international community, especially the U.S., to make concessions during nuclear talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg later in July that China, which has emerged as a major figure at talks with the North, briefed G8 leaders on the results of negotiations with the country, and expressed cautious optimism that the problem could be resolved through diplomacy. But media in the U.S. cited in mid-August a senior military official as saying U.S. intelligence observed suspicious vehicle movements at a North Korean test site. An unidentified senior State Department official later said the U.S. intelligence community considered a test to be a real possibility. The U.S., which has also accused North Korea of making counterfeit dollars and laundering money through foreign banks, has pressed the Macao bank to freeze North Korean accounts. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 20 Korea Times: US Concludes North Korea Has No Will to Talk Hankooki.com > The Korea Times By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Washington intends to slap more sanctions on North Korea as it has concluded that Pyongyang has no willingness to negotiate with its six-party talks partners, an official in Seoul said on Tuesday. He said the United States has already notified South Korea and China of its intention to impose more pressure on the North under a recently adopted U.N. Security Council resolution unless Pyongyang returns to the talks. ``Washington concluded that it will not make more efforts to persuade North Korea because Pyongyang has not reacted at all to Washington's various proposals for dialogue,'' he said, asking not to be named. The U.N. resolution requires all member states, in accordance with their national legislation, to prevent the procurement of missiles or missile related-items, materials, goods and technology from North Korea, and the transfer of any financial resources in relation to the North's programs for weapons of mass destruction. The Seoul official predicted that the U.S.-led international efforts to put restrictions on North Korea will likely materialize soon. In particular, Washington is moving to restore the list of sanctions that were lifted during the Clinton administration, sources said. In 1999, Washington eased sanctions against North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang's moratorium on long-range missile tests. ``If the North declares its return to the talks, it will create a new dynamic,'' the official said. ``But without Pyongyang's return, it would be difficult to ask for a delay of sanctioning or other punitive measures.'' A day earlier, Christopher Hill, the U.S. point man on North Korea's nuclear programs, visited Seoul to exchange opinions about the U.S. intention with his South Korean counterpart Chun Yung-woo and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan. The South Koreans stressed that diplomatic efforts to resume the talks are as necessary as international society's efforts to put pressure on the North, the Seoul official said. During his stay in China Sept. 5-10, Hill proposed a meeting with Kim Gye-gwan, Pyongyang's chief delegate to the six-party talks, but the North Korean refused the offer, the official said. As he failed to draw the North back to the negotiating table, Washington is expected to strengthen its efforts to hold another multilateral dialogue during the U.N. General Assembly later this month. In late July, 10 foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Kuala Lumpur to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The official said the government does not oppose the meeting in New York, but he questioned the effectiveness of talks that are not participated in by North Korea. ``We have no reason to oppose it because the North's nuclear program is an international issue,'' he said. ``But it is difficult to expect a breakthrough from the meeting.'' He also said Seoul does not think the New York meeting's purpose is to set the timeline of putting pressure on the North as other states such as China and Russia will oppose such a move. The North violated its self-imposed moratorium with the missile launches in July, which included the blast-off of a long-range missile that is allegedly capable of reaching parts of the United States. Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile programs, however, are in question as Pyongyang does not have a satellite that is necessary to guide its missile in space to the target area. im@koreatimes.co.kr 09-12-2006 17:28 ***************************************************************** 21 Guardian Unlimited: Feds: We're Cutting Off Terror Money From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 3:16 PM By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States has made progress in the last five years in trying to shut down avenues for terrorists to raise and move money but challenges remain, Bush administration officials told Congress Tuesday. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Treasury Department official Daniel Glaser underscored the importance of the United States working closely with international allies to share information. The goal, he said, is to thwart terrorist financiers and improve coordination of this information among agencies. Glaser said authorities must stay ahead of terrorist financiers who not only try to use the traditional banking system to move money but also other methods, including cash couriers, trafficking of drugs, weapons and precious metals and jewels. ``We must adjust the development and application of our financial tools as terrorists and other threats adapt their financing methods and as we continue to learn how to improve our efforts,'' said Glaser, Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. The remarks came one day after observances for the 5th anniversary of the terror attacks on New York and Washington. Since the attacks, the United States has designated a total of 460 people and entities as providing financial support for terrorists, Treasury officials said. Those actions mean that any bank accounts or financial assets found in the United States belonging to them are frozen and Americans are barred from doing business with them. Glaser and other Treasury officials testifying at the hearing also told lawmakers about the government's efforts to financially clamp down on Iran and North Korea - two countries with nuclear ambitions. The United States says that Iran is a big source of funds for terrorist groups, including Hezbollah. At times over the last five years, the Treasury Department had come under criticism for its efforts to combat terrorist financiers. The government, however, did get high marks for its efforts from the 9/11 commission. More recently, some lawmakers expressed concerned that they weren't briefed early on about a secret program, started shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which gives the government access to a massive international data base of financial information. The existence of the program was revealed by news organizations in late June, a disclosure that the administration said could hobble future efforts to nab terrorist financiers. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 22 IRNA: Indian foreign secretary heading for N-talks with US New Delhi, Sept 12, IRNA India-US-Nuclear With the working deadline for the Indo-US nuclear deal to materialize barely three to four months away and with this in sight, both sides are looking forward to resuming talks between their principal negotiators when Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran goes to New York accompanying Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the UN General Assembly's upcoming annual session. On the other hand, France has conveyed that it is prepared to enter into a similar agreement with India. Saran's counterpart on the N-deal, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, will be in New York then and both officials are trying to work out meetings in an effort to give a fresh impetus to the negotiations on the crucial 123 bilateral cooperation agreement, an English daily, Indian Express, reported here today. The two are expected to thrash out a strategy for the next few months and remove any obstacle to completing their negotiations on the bilateral cooperation agreement. Anticipating a positive vote on the enabling legislation in the Senate, both sides want to ensure there is no delay in stitching up other elements of the deal. While the negotiations continue, France has sensed that the completion of all legislative requirements in the US is only a matter of time. National Security Advisor M K Narayanan is in Paris for talks with Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, diplomatic advisor to French President Jacques Chirac, amid indications that Paris wants to go ahead with negotiations on finalizing a bilateral agreement for cooperation in civilian nuclear energy. Discussions on the subject were put on hold in order to see how the deal is received in the US Congress. But with an easy passage predicted in the House of Representatives, sources said France did not want to waste time and wanted to ink the agreement soon. France is willing to work towards an agreement as are the US and India so there would be no delay in starting trade after obtaining the necessary clearances. An IAEA meeting is also on the cards, which will involve senior officials from the Department of Atomic Energy meeting senior IAEA officials and allowing them an opportunity to deliberate on the details of the safeguards agreement. Similarly, the Nuclear Suppliers Group will hold an important consultative meeting soon and, in this context, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meetings in Brazil as part of the IBSA initiative will add to the effort. Both Brazil and South Africa are members of the NSG and had rolled back their nuclear weapons program to join the NPT. y ***************************************************************** 23 REGNUM: Kiriyenko: Establishing a guaranteed reserve of nuclear fuel under IAEA auspices dangerous for world economy - Russian News - 08:24:11 ¤ September 13, 2006 Subscribe Foundation of a guaranteed nuclear fuel reserve under IAEA auspices might be dangerous for world economy, Head stated on September 12 at seminar ‘Role of Russia’s Fuel Cycle in World Atomic Energy Renaissance’ in Moscow. As a correspondent informs, at the same time, Kiriyenko names the idea to establish a guaranteed reserve of low-enriched uranium to be an interesting one; however, he explains that the mechanisms are not defined, under which the reserves will be unsealed. At the same time, Sergey Kiriyenko reminded on proposal, released by the Russian state, to found a joint venture to enrich uranium in the Russian territory. According to him, the idea has advantages over the proposal to found a guaranteed nuclear fuel’s reserve under IAEA auspices. © 1999-2006 REGNUM News Agency Registration certificate No. El 77-6430 of the 6th August, 2002 ***************************************************************** 24 Daily News: VP Rangel dismisses use of uranium for belligerent purposes eluniversal.com Caracas, Tuesday September 12 , 2006 Vice-President José Vicente Rangel has denied any works on uranium in Venezuela. Reference was made to the recent remarks by Colombian ex Defense Minister and current ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) Camilo Ospina, who claimed that Venezuela has two "front" plants to extract uranium. "Venezuela is not working on uranium or anything like that. Sure enough, there is uranium in the country, as it may be in Colombia and Brazil. It is part of natural resources over there. In the event of working with uranium, it would never have a belligerent connotation or an arms-race intention." Rangel explained that Colombian officials clarified the incident and called it an academic statement. "Let us accept it this way in order not to delve into any other matter. We cannot forget that Colombians have the imagination of (author Gabriel) García Márquez." Copyright @ Diario El Universal C.A. 2005 ***************************************************************** 25 Monbiot: UK - A cautionary tale of nuclear danger Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:36:22 -0500 (CDT) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY September 12, 2006 The Guardian www.guardian.co.uk Dounreay's catalogue of idiocy is a cautionary tale of nuclear danger One thing would have prevented decades of radioactive pollution in the far north of Scotland: open government By George Monbiot It is as far out of sight, and as far out of mind, as any place on the British mainland could be. From the point of view of our political leaders, this is just as well. If the perennial farce at the Dounreay nuclear site, on the north coast of Scotland, were any closer to the surface of public consciousness, we would be hounding and haranguing them wherever they go. A report in this weekend's Sunday Times suggests that the agencies charged with cleaning the site up have, in effect, conceded defeat. Dounreay - or the area surrounding it - cannot be wholly decontaminated. Nuclear pollution from the site will last for as long as the fissile metals remain radioactive. Perhaps we should not be surprised to discover that, when the experimental reactor at Dounreay was commissioned, no thought was given to the problem of how it might be dismantled. In 1954 the nuclear industry, shielded from public scrutiny by the Official Secrets Act, behaved as if it were based on an uninhabited planet. The cold war and the prospect of electricity too cheap to meter seemed to justify almost any kind of corner-cutting. Nor, sadly, is there anything unusual about the plant's later cock-ups. Last month, for example, Dounreay was fined #2m for spilling radioactive waste. Last year its regulators reported that 250 safety failures had taken place since 1999. Among them was Dounreay's generous gift to the community of containers used to store low-level radioactive waste. They were to be turned into a Santa's grotto for local children. Another report showed that fissile waste was being stored in paint tins or simply left where it had been found. One former employee claimed that samples from Dounreay's radioactive effluent tanks were collected for analysis with a Wellington boot on a piece of string, as the proper equipment had rusted up. Incidents of this kind have taken place at several nuclear sites around the UK. But there are two special features at Dounreay that distinguish the running of this plant from the ordinary catalogue of hazards. Before the first reactor at Dounreay was completed, the operators - the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) - bored a tunnel under the seabed, through which its liquid effluent would be discharged. In order to remove the spoil, UKAEA dug a 200-ft shaft a few yards behind the cliffs. Though this hole was unsealed, though groundwater could flow in and out, and though coastal erosion could pull the whole thing down into the sea within 100 years, in 1959 the British government gave UKAEA permission to use this shaft as a dump for radioactive materials. In 1977 the shaft exploded, blowing the lid off and scattering hot particles. It would not be strictly true to say that the incident was covered up. After rumours of the accident reached the press, UKAEA issued a news release entitled "Minor incident at solid waste facility". The word "explosion" was not mentioned. The full story did not emerge until 1995. The hole had been used to dispose of everything from rubber gloves to fissile waste. It is not hard to see why this dirty bomb went off: sodium and other reactive chemicals had been dumped with the radioactive materials. One estimate suggests that around 2.2kg of plutonium and 81kg of uranium-235 ended up there. But the auditing was patchy. Some of the disposals were never recorded; some of the records later disappeared. In 1998, the Guardian discovered that a second hole had been dug, and was still in use despite the demands by government inspectors that it be closed. This one was slightly safer, as it was lined with concrete. But it contained a similar mixture of fissile materials and reactive chemicals, which had not been kept apart. Underground fires had already broken out. Though it has been out of use since the explosion in 1977, UKAEA began sealing off the first hole from the groundwater only last week. It must now build robots that can start removing the contents. Isolating and clearing it will cost at least #180m, and take until 2025 to complete. But this is the least of Dounreay's problems. I mentioned that the shaft was dug to build a tunnel taking nuclear effluent out to sea. In theory, only the liquids drained off the top of Dounreay's settling tanks would flow down this tunnel. But the waste did not settle properly. As well as the liquid, perhaps hundreds of thousands of pieces of fuel rod were also washed out. There is now a plume of radioactive particles on the seabed to the north of Dounreay covering hundreds of square kilometres. The public knew little of this until 1997, when two fragments of fissile material were found on Sandside beach, 3km away. Sandside is visited by thousands of people every year. Sixty-eight particles have been detected there so far, but the man who owns it - Geoffrey Minter - claims that this represents a small fraction of the contamination, as UKAEA's robots have been scanning the beach only once a month and only to a depth of around 10 centimetres. In 2003 a Scottish court found that UKAEA had failed in its duty of care to local people by releasing the particles into the environment. But Mr Minter alleges that, even since that ruling, its detection of particles and removal of them from the beach has been inadequate. The sampling exercise, he claims, "has degenerated into a public relations stunt intended merely to give people the impression that the UKAEA was tackling the underlying hazard". UKAEA insists that it is complying with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's rules. So what can be done to prevent particles from washing up on the shore? The answer now appears to be nothing. The Dounreay Particles Advisory Group has just sent a report to the Environment Protection Agency suggesting, according to the Sunday Times, that the best way of removing the particles from the seabed is by sending down divers. This is a counsel of despair. Of the hundreds of thousands of particles believed to be sitting on or in the seabed, UKAEA's divers have managed to remove only 900 since 1983. Complete decontamination using dredgers, the UKAEA claims, would cost some #70bn, which is another way of saying it can't be done. What should we conclude from this story? The catalogue of idiocy at Dounreay is not necessarily an indictment of all nuclear installations: nuclear power stations built today couldn't get away with practices like this. But it shows that when things go wrong, they can be incredibly hard to redress. Dounreay's story also reflects the fact that corner-cutting is a constant temptation, as disposing of waste properly is difficult and expensive. It also provides a powerful argument in favour of the precautionary principle. This is the much-maligned idea that those intending to do something potentially hazardous should first demonstrate that it will not present a significant risk to the public. But perhaps above all it is another argument for open government. None of this could have taken place if Dounreay's operations had been open to public scrutiny. The disasters there happened for the same reason as the disasters in Iraq: the government used "security" as its excuse for hiding the truth from the public. --- George Monbiot's book Heat: How To Stop the Planet Burning is published this month by Penguin www.monbiot.com ========= http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1870199,00.html ========= ***************************************************************** 26 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting Notice FR Doc 06-7603 [Federal Register: September 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 176)] [Notices] [Page 53715] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12se06-87] Date: Weeks of September 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16, 2006. Place: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Status: Public and closed. Matters to be Considered: Week of September 11, 2006 Monday, September 11, 2006 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). 1:30 p.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1 & 3). Tuesday, September 12, 2006 9:30 a.m. Meeting with Organization of Agreement States (OAS) and Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) (Public Meeting) (Contact: Shawn Smith, 301-415-2620). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address--http://www.nrc.gov . 1 p.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). Week of September 18, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of September 18, 2006. Week of September 25, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of September 25, 2006. Week of October 2, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of October 2, 2006. Week of October 9, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of October 9, 2006. Week of October 16, 2006--Tentative Monday, October 16, 2006 9:30 a.m. Briefing on Status of New Reactor Issues--Combined Operating Licenses (COLS) (morning session). 1:30 p.m. Briefing on Status of New Reactor Issues--Combined Operating Licenses (COLS) (afternoon session). (Public Meetings) (Contact: Dave Matthews, 301-415-1199). These meetings will be webcast live at the Web address--http://www.nrc.gov . Friday, October 20, 2006 2:30 p.m. Meeting with Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) (Public Meeting) (Contact: John Larkins, 301-415-7360). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address--http://www.nrc.gov . The schedule for Commission meeting is subject to change on short notice. To verify the status of meetings call (recording)--(301) 415- 1292. Contact person for more information: Michelle Schroll, (301) 415- 1662. The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html. The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g. braille, large print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator, Deborah Chan, at 301-415-7041, TDD: 301-415-2100, or by e-mail at DLC@nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred subscribers: if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301-415-1969). In addition, distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov. Dated: September 7, 2006. R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 06-7603 Filed 9-8-06; 9:57 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M ***************************************************************** 27 Guardian: Dounreay's catalogue of idiocy is a cautionary tale of nuclear danger Comment | One thing would have prevented decades of radioactive pollution in the far north of Scotland: open government George Monbiot Tuesday September 12, 2006 The Guardian It is as far out of sight, and as far out of mind, as any place on the British mainland could be. From the point of view of our political leaders, this is just as well. If the perennial farce at the Dounreay nuclear site, on the north coast of Scotland, were any closer to the surface of public consciousness, we would be hounding and haranguing them wherever they go. A report in this weekend's Sunday Times suggests that the agencies charged with cleaning the site up have, in effect, conceded defeat. Dounreay - or the area surrounding it - cannot be wholly decontaminated. Nuclear pollution from the site will last for as long as the fissile metals remain radioactive. Perhaps we should not be surprised to discover that, when the experimental reactor at Dounreay was commissioned, no thought was given to the problem of how it might be dismantled. In 1954 the nuclear industry, shielded from public scrutiny by the Official Secrets Act, behaved as if it were based on an uninhabited planet. The cold war and the prospect of electricity too cheap to meter seemed to justify almost any kind of corner-cutting. Nor, sadly, is there anything unusual about the plant's later cock-ups. Last month, for example, Dounreay was fined £2m for spilling radioactive waste. Last year its regulators reported that 250 safety failures had taken place since 1999. Among them was Dounreay's generous gift to the community of containers used to store low-level radioactive waste. They were to be turned into a Santa's grotto for local children. Another report showed that fissile waste was being stored in paint tins or simply left where it had been found. One former employee claimed that samples from Dounreay's radioactive effluent tanks were collected for analysis with a Wellington boot on a piece of string, as the proper equipment had rusted up. Incidents of this kind have taken place at several nuclear sites around the UK. But there are two special features at Dounreay that distinguish the running of this plant from the ordinary catalogue of hazards. Before the first reactor at Dounreay was completed, the operators - the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) - bored a tunnel under the seabed, through which its liquid effluent would be discharged. In order to remove the spoil, UKAEA dug a 200-ft shaft a few yards behind the cliffs. Though this hole was unsealed, though groundwater could flow in and out, and though coastal erosion could pull the whole thing down into the sea within 100 years, in 1959 the British government gave UKAEA permission to use this shaft as a dump for radioactive materials. In 1977 the shaft exploded, blowing the lid off and scattering hot particles. It would not be strictly true to say that the incident was covered up. After rumours of the accident reached the press, UKAEA issued a news release entitled "Minor incident at solid waste facility". The word "explosion" was not mentioned. The full story did not emerge until 1995. The hole had been used to dispose of everything from rubber gloves to fissile waste. It is not hard to see why this dirty bomb went off: sodium and other reactive chemicals had been dumped with the radioactive materials. One estimate suggests that around 2.2kg of plutonium and 81kg of uranium-235 ended up there. But the auditing was patchy. Some of the disposals were never recorded; some of the records later disappeared. In 1998, the Guardian discovered that a second hole had been dug, and was still in use despite the demands by government inspectors that it be closed. This one was slightly safer, as it was lined with concrete. But it contained a similar mixture of fissile materials and reactive chemicals, which had not been kept apart. Underground fires had already broken out. Though it has been out of use since the explosion in 1977, UKAEA began sealing off the first hole from the groundwater only last week. It must now build robots that can start removing the contents. Isolating and clearing it will cost at least £180m, and take until 2025 to complete. But this is the least of Dounreay's problems. I mentioned that the shaft was dug to build a tunnel taking nuclear effluent out to sea. In theory, only the liquids drained off the top of Dounreay's settling tanks would flow down this tunnel. But the waste did not settle properly. As well as the liquid, perhaps hundreds of thousands of pieces of fuel rod were also washed out. There is now a plume of radioactive particles on the seabed to the north of Dounreay covering hundreds of square kilometres. The public knew little of this until 1997, when two fragments of fissile material were found on Sandside beach, 3km away. Sandside is visited by thousands of people every year. Sixty-eight particles have been detected there so far, but the man who owns it - Geoffrey Minter - claims that this represents a small fraction of the contamination, as UKAEA's robots have been scanning the beach only once a month and only to a depth of around 10 centimetres. In 2003 a Scottish court found that UKAEA had failed in its duty of care to local people by releasing the particles into the environment. But Mr Minter alleges that, even since that ruling, its detection of particles and removal of them from the beach has been inadequate. The sampling exercise, he claims, "has degenerated into a public relations stunt intended merely to give people the impression that the UKAEA was tackling the underlying hazard". UKAEA insists that it is complying with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's rules. So what can be done to prevent particles from washing up on the shore? The answer now appears to be nothing. The Dounreay Particles Advisory Group has just sent a report to the Environment Protection Agency suggesting, according to the Sunday Times, that the best way of removing the particles from the seabed is by sending down divers. This is a counsel of despair. Of the hundreds of thousands of particles believed to be sitting on or in the seabed, UKAEA's divers have managed to remove only 900 since 1983. Complete decontamination using dredgers, the UKAEA claims, would cost some £70bn, which is another way of saying it can't be done. What should we conclude from this story? The catalogue of idiocy at Dounreay is not necessarily an indictment of all nuclear installations: nuclear power stations built today couldn't get away with practices like this. But it shows that when things go wrong, they can be incredibly hard to redress. Dounreay's story also reflects the fact that corner-cutting is a constant temptation, as disposing of waste properly is difficult and expensive. It also provides a powerful argument in favour of the precautionary principle. This is the much-maligned idea that those intending to do something potentially hazardous should first demonstrate that it will not present a significant risk to the public. But perhaps above all it is another argument for open government. None of this could have taken place if Dounreay's operations had been open to public scrutiny. The disasters there happened for the same reason as the disasters in Iraq: the government used "security" as its excuse for hiding the truth from the public. · George Monbiot's book Heat: How To Stop the Planet Burning is published this month by Penguin www.monbiot.com#comments { font-size:70%; font-family:Geneva, Email your comments for publication to: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 28 Reuters: Chubu Elec:turbines likely caused nuclear shutdown Tuesday September 12, 5:27 PM TOKYO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc. said on Tuesday that turbine problems were the likely cause of an unplanned June shutdown of one of its nuclear power units but the company did not immediately assign blame. The turbines were designed by Hitachi Ltd. . Chubu, Japan's third-biggest utility, briefed media on its continuing investigation into cracks found in low-pressure turbines at its No. 5 nuclear unit at its Hamaoka plant. Chubu said that random swirling currents inside the turbines and the flashback reverse steam flow were two possible causes that contributed to the problem. "We have almost narrowed down the causes to the two possibilities," Takahiro Kumazaki, a Chubu official told reporters. "But it's still too early to say it was due to a mistake in the design, or talk about seeking damages." Chubu said it did not know when the investigation would be over or when the No. 5 unit would restart. A Hitachi spokeswoman said it was still investigating the shutdown with Chubu and declined to comment further. The No. 5 Hamaoka unit southwest of Tokyo has remained closed ever since it shut down automatically on June 15 because of turbine vibrations, leading Japan's No. 3 utility to more than halve its profit forecast for this business year. If Chubu sues Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics group could face more than 100 billion yen ($850 million) in damages, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily last month. Hitachi forecasts a 10 billion yen net loss for the first fiscal half to end-September, and 55 billion yen in net profit for the full year. Japan's No. 5 utility Hokuriku Electric Power Co. Inc. also discovered cracks in August in all three Hitachi-made turbines in a nuclear power generator in Shiga prefecture, western Japan. Hitachi, which has been seeking to expand its nuclear power business overseas, won a $5.2 billion contract with General Electric Co. from U.S. power company NRG Energy Inc. in June to build nuclear power facilities starting in 2009. (additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi) Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 SA: Star: Nuclear power risk pales against benefits September 12, 2006 Edition 1 The September 4 article on Earthlife Africa's response to the energy minister's speech on uranium enrichment refers. Firstly, it is imperative that due processes are allowed to unfold. Then, as a country, we will be able to make informed decisions. Secondly, despite the commercial nuclear power industry's impressive safety record and the thorough engineering of reactor structures and systems, which make a catastrophic radioactive release from any reactor extremely unlikely, there are those who simply don't want to run any risk of this. This fear must then be weighed against the benefits of nuclear power, in the same way that some people's fear of plane crashes must be balanced against the utility of air transport for the rest of the population. Ultimately, balancing risks and benefits is not simply a scientific exercise. Many countries with huge natural wealth lose much of the full value to outsiders. The best way to capture the most value from a resource is to pursue activities as far along the value chain towards the final product. This also creates jobs. When the apartheid government was involved in uranium enrichment, it was not for peaceful purposes and they carried out their programme irrespective of the cost. That era is gone. We are now part of the international community and will not have to re-invent the wheel, as it were. Furthermore, there has been considerable advancement in nuclear technologies, which makes the argument that uranium enrichment is very costly unfounded. Much has been written about the environmental implications of the nuclear industry. But the fact remains that the only realistic and economical way to reduce global warming and reduce fossil fuel dependence without curtailing electricity supply is to build nuclear power stations. Many governments are beginning to reluctantly accept this, which is reflected in the number of nuclear power stations being built or planned. Since 88% of this country's electricity is generated by coal-fired power stations, it would be ecologically responsible for South Africa to take advantage of its uranium resources rather than adding to global warming. International good practice should be followed to avoid incidents such as Chernobyl. The minister said: "The expansion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy worldwide is looking more and more irreversible." There are 440 reactors currently operating around the world; 24 reactors are under construction; 41 reactors are planned; and 113 reactors have been proposed. This translates to about 65 000 tons of uranium currently required. The additional reactors under construction, planned or proposed will require about 25 000 tons of uranium. A cost-benefit analysis will help us in telling whether this is our best option. Renewable energy sources for electricity are diverse, from solar, tidal and wave energy to hydro, geothermal and biomass-based power generation. Apart from hydro power in the few places where it is very plentiful, none of these is suitable, intrinsically or economically, for large-scale base-load power generation. Because of their diffuse nature (making them difficult to harness efficiently) and their intermittent availability (giving rise to the need for storage or back-up from other sources), their role in meeting electricity demand on any significant scale will always be limited. All the various means of generating electricity have a role to play in meeting the country's rapidly increasing demand. Fossil fuels, particularly coal and gas, will remain important. Nuclear electricity is one part of the solution for the future, particularly in the light of concerns about carbon dioxide emissions. Without nuclear power the world would have to rely almost entirely on fossil fuels, especially coal, to meet demand for base-load electricity production. This has significant environmental, and particularly greenhouse gas, implications. Shane Motlhaloga Star & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 30 Times Argus: NRC to hear testimony on Vermont Yankee's ability to shutdown swiftly Vermont News & Information September 12, 2006 Associated Press NEWFANE — More than six months after Vermont Yankee nuclear plant won permission to boost its power output by 20 percent, regulators are set to hear questions about how the change will affect its ability to shut down suddenly. A hearing set for Sept. 20 before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will offer a group critical of Vermont Yankee a last chance to argue against the license amendment that allowed the power boost. The watchdog group, New England Coalition, will offer sworn testimony, as will Vermont Yankee representatives and NRC staff, on how well Vermont Yankee would perform in a sudden shutdown, or "transient." "If you think you can run this plant safely, prove it by stepping on the brakes from full power," said the coalition's technical adviser, Raymond Shadis. Vermont Yankee spokesman Robert Williams said the plant, which was allowed to increase its rated capacity from 540 to 650 megawatts, had already demonstrated its ability to shut down suddenly under the new conditions. "We'll present to the ASLB our view that the New England Coalition is wrong in their interpretation of NRC regulations regarding transient tests," Williams said. The hearing, to be held in the Windham County Courthouse, will be held Wednesday and continue Thursday and Friday, if necessary. The sudden-shutdown issue is the last of several raised by the coalition and the state Department of Public Service during a three-year review of Vermont Yankee's request to increase power. The plant, which is located in Vernon, won approval for the power increase last winter, and slowly ascended to the new power level in March and April. The state had questioned Vermont Yankee's ability to cool the reactor core in an emergency under the new power level, but dropped two challenges related to that issue in May. The coalition dropped another issue it had raised concerning the likely performance of a plant cooling tower, leaving just the sudden-shutdown question standing. Vermont Yankee's power boost, or "uprate," comes after four Midwestern plants of similar design developed cracking in a key plant component after increasing power levels. The state Public Service Board asked for an extra level of NRC review as it considered whether the power boost would hurt Vermont Yankee's reliability. The result has been extra scrutiny applied to Vermont Yankee's request to increase power, said Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the NRC's Northeast regional office. "This is the most extensive uprate review conducted by the NRC," Screnci said. ***************************************************************** 31 Pine Magazine: Nuclear Power in these United States This diagram demonstrates the nuclear fuel cycle. Wasted potential, or potential waste? By Lucas Power and Holly Lang Posted: 09/12/2006 On Aug. 8, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced a plan to provide over $2 billion in federal insurance incentives to companies willing to build the first new nuclear plants inside the United States in thirty years. Bodman made the announcement in Atlanta, after touring Georgia Power and speaking with its employees. Georgia Power has been one of the first to show interest in the program. They have already filed paperwork in anticipation of another reactor at the Vogtle Plant near Waynesboro, Ga., just 30 miles south of Augusta. There are already 17 existing plants throughout the southeast. Alabama and Georgia could see the first of the new, proposed plants. According to the Associated Press, the Southern Company's nuclear group asked for federal regulators to approve a site in eastern Georgia that would hold two new reactors, nearly double Vogtle’s output of 2,430 megawats. The company hasn’t released information as to the cost of the project, though experts say that the reactors alone cost $4 billion. The AP quotes Southern Company spokeswoman Carrie Phillips as saying the plant's owners haven't made a final decision whether to develop the new reactors. She said a permit would give the owners 20 years to decide. The process of building a new plant is understandably arduous. First there is formal application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Then there’s public approval, regulatory scrutiny, financing, and engineering. The high cost associated with construction, as well as the near meltdown of Three Mile Island in 1979 has kept the United State from adding to its arsenal of 103 plants. Recently, however, nuclear power is regaining some of its credibility as an alternative to fossil fuels. With the rising cost of energy, some argue nuclear power is a viable, sustainable source of energy with less impact on the environment than its alternatives. Supporters of nuclear power show up in unlikely places, such as , who argues that nuclear power is an option whose benefits far outweigh its potential risks. "In 40 years, used fuel has less than one-thousandth of the radioactivity it had when it was removed from the reactor .... Imagine if the ratio of coal to nuclear were reversed so that only 20 percent of our electricity was generated from coal and 60 percent from nuclear," Moore and former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman wrote in a recent Washington Post editorial. Others argue that while nuclear plants may give off fewer pollutants, they create the threat radioactive contamination, as well as produce waste that remains deadly for thousands of years. A large nuclear reactor produces 25-30 tons of spent fuel each year. This spent fuel does have marginal utility, and Regan legalized reprocessing in the 1980s. The spent nuclear fuel will no longer pose a threat to public health and safety after tens -- even hundreds -- of thousands of years. Waste is currently stored on site at both operating and decommissioned plants, more than 55,000 tons of it. The spent fuel rods are stored in steel lined pools or concrete casks, awaiting a final resting place. They are transferred and shuffled around to and from these various sites by rail and by truck. Moving solid nuclear waste happens all the time. More than most realize. The real concern is not that it’s being moved, but where it’s being moved to. Namely: Nowhere. The best guess on the part of the government is to store most of the waste in a vast repository underneath Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. The Yucca Mountain Repository was scheduled to open in 1994. "It's the most studied piece of real estate known to man," says Lou Long, technical support vice president of Southern Nuclear in Birmingham in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. According to that article, "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." After construction delays and suspicion of scientific forgery, the facility won’t be ready until as early as 2017. In addition, the Department of Energy wants the limit of 77,000 tons removed so that the repository might eventually take more than 115,000 tons of used fuel, and it wants Congress to order the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assume that waste disposal is not a problem when it considers licenses for future power plants. This is all still up in the air. In the meantime, the spent fuel from our nuclear plants sits. Yucca Mountain is located on federally protected land within the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. It is 100 miles away from Las Vegas. In 1983, a ten-year study resulted in the DOE selection of nine locations in six states for consideration as potential repositories. The nine sites were then studied and results were reported in 1985. President Reagan approved three sites for intensive scientific study. The three sites were Hanford, Washington; Deaf Smith County, Texas; and Yucca Mountain. In 1987, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and directed DOE to study only Yucca Mountain. The Act provided that if, at any time, Yucca Mountain is found unsuitable, studies will be stopped immediately. If that ever happens, the site will be restored and DOE will seek new direction from Congress. On July 23, 2002, George W. Bush signed House Joint Resolution 87, allowing the DOE to take the next step in establishing a safe repository in which to store nuclear waste of USA. The Department of Energy is currently in the process of preparing an application to obtain the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to proceed with construction of the repository. In March 2005, the Department of Energy and Department of the Interior revealed that several U.S. Geological Survey hydrologists had exchanged e-mails discussing possible falsification of quality assurance documents on water infiltration research. On July 18, 2006 the DOE agreed upon March 31, 2017 as the date to open the facility and begin accepting waste. The present prime contractor for the project is Bechtel SAIC Company, LLC. There is vocal opposition from citizens in Nevada toward housing the waste. While this is written off by some nuclear proponents as a case of not wanting radioactive waste in my backyard, it does cause one to wonder, who does? Dr. Daniel Sprau, Associate Professor & Program Director for Environmental Health Sciences at East Carolina University thinks there’s a better solution than burying radioactive waste for 100,000 years. “Reprocessing can make far better use of spent fuel,†he said. “Smaller, local plants are another.†Smaller plants produce less waste and reprocessing can account for up to 90% of spent fuel. Other uses include desalinization, useful for those in coastal regions, and sterilization of medical instruments. Dr. Sprau, a proponent of nuclear power overall, also pointed out that sources of radiation from medical facilities pose a greater health risk than nuclear plants. Within the past several weeks, reports that the Tennessee Valley Authority's three nuclear power plants leaked a radioactive form of hydrogen called tritium into the groundwater were released to the public, as documented in TVA papers and Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials. TVA provides electricity to approximately 8.5 million homes in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. NRC officials quoted in The Chattanooga Times Free Press claimed the leaked tritium has not moved beyond TVA property and is not a public health hazard. According to an Associated Press article, NRC spokesman Kenneth Clark said if the leaked tritium reaches the Tennessee River, that body of water would dilute the substance until its concentration would not be a "health and safety issue for the public.'' Despite lacking a long term plan for spent fuel rods, Dr. Sprau remains optimistic about nuclear power. His recent trip to the site of the Chernobyl disaster actually bolstered his confidence. In Russia, he saw evidence of arrogant engineering and a lack of adequate containment in the RBMK (a Russian acronym for Reactor Bolshoi Moschnosti Kanalynyi "Channelized Large Power Reactorâ€) design. In his opinion, the US infrastructure is more advanced and far stronger. Support for this argument can be found in the outcome of the Three Mile Island incident, where virtually all radiation was retained inside the containment building, despite considerable melting of the fuel. Ironically, Three Mile Island is still a flag for many opponents of nuclear power. For instance, work at the Vogtle Plant was just underway when the Three Mile Island incident occurred. Construction was immediately postponed so that changes to plans could be made. Environmental impact is cited on both sides of nuclear power debate. On one hand nuclear plants can provide energy to communities at a cheaper rate and with less carbon dioxide emission. On the other, more reactors mean more opportunity for meltdown or even terrorist attacks. Depending on whom you ask, we can’t afford to risk expanding nuclear power, or we can’t afford not to. That seems to be the real argument. Not whether or not there is a potential for disaster, but whether or not it’s worth the gamble. Don't even try to step to our skills of telling some truths. But if you think you can, let us know at opine@pine-magazine.com. We're very interested in nuclear combatants. 2006 Pine Magazine ***************************************************************** 32 The Advocate: More inquiry seen for Millstone worker's whistleblower complaint Associated Press Published September 12 2006 WATERFORD, Conn. -- The state agency looking into a whistleblower's complaint at Millstone Power Station has recommended continuing the investigation after questions remain about whether the company retaliated against the worker. The state Department of Public Utility Control issued a draft decision Monday saying that "too many unresolved questions" persist to close the case. The company has not demonstrated that the job lost by whistleblower Sham S. Mehta of East Lyme at Millstone a year ago was not linked to his reporting of security concerns at the nuclear complex, the state agency said. Mehta is on paid leave. The agency ordered Dominion, Millstone's Richmond, Va.-owner, to provide Mehta with an office, computer and telephone at Millstone pending the outcome of its investigation. Mehta investigates safety questions raised by employees. He reported to Dominion that a security fence alarm system was routinely disabled because of repeated false alarms. Within a year, Mehta's job was eliminated in a reorganization of his department and he was not rehired. Dominion said its reorganization of Mehta's office was a legitimate decision that cannot be undone by the state. The security aspect of Mehta's complaint is being evaluated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the Department of Public Utility Control upholds the decision on Sept. 27 the investigation would proceed and could include a hearing, said Beryl Lyons, a spokeswoman for the state agency. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who intervened on behalf of Mehta, urged the Department of Public Utility Control to require Dominion to restore Mehta. --- Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 33 Prague Daily Monitor: Vienna fears plane attacks against Czech, Slovak nuclear plants www.praguemonitor.com Vienna/Dukovany, South Moravia, Sept 11 (CTK) - Austria fears possible terrorist attacks against nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, the Austrian daily Oestereich writes today. An attack against some of the nuclear stations located near the Austrian border would have dramatic consequences for Austria, the paper says. It cites expert Wolfgang Kromp who says that four power plants are not strong enough to stand a crash by passenger aircraft, in particular Dukovany, south Moravia, Mochovce and Jaslovske Bohunice, both in west Slovakia, and the Hungarian Paks. The Austrian Health Ministry therefore established six large secret storage areas for medicines and vaccines in case of a possible nuclear disaster. Dukovany power plant spokesman Petr Spilka said that the plant posed the same danger as other plants in Europe as they were constructed to resist a crash by military aircraft, not by passenger aircraft. But Spilka said that passenger planes would collide with the cooling towers as they cannot come down in a nosedive. He also said that the air space over the plant is guarded by the army. Czech Defence Ministry spokesman Andrej Cirtek said that no aircraft is allowed the enter the space above Czech nuclear plants. If any aircraft deflected from its planned route, two Jas-39 Gripen fighters would pursue it, he said. "The fighters can get to any transport plane in a few minutes," Cirtek said. If the crew does not react or there is any serious danger, a ministry top representative must decide to shoot the plane down. Cirtek pointed out that the system was the same in all NATO countries. First-generation power plants do not have a reinforced ferroconcrete containment around their reactor. The nuclear power plant in Temelin, located in south Bohemian near the Austrian border, on the other hand, has this containment. Austrian activists criticise Temelin for a long time, saying it is not safe because it combines Soviet design and western fuel and safety technology. These doubts were repeatedly dismissed by the Czech Republic. This story copyright 2006 CTK Czech News Agency. ***************************************************************** 34 Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Whistle-blowers need protection | ajc.com Opinion Published on: 09/13/06 Whistle-blowers who expose government or corporate misdeeds are often unlikely candidates for employee of the month, but they have an invaluable role in safeguarding the public. That's why recent efforts to dismantle or ignore special protections extended to whistle-blowers under federal law are so disturbing and dangerous. For instance, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee in Atlanta was granted whistle-blower status by an administrative law judge in a dispute with superiors over a contract to clean up a toxic waste site in Mississippi. When EPA lawyers appealed the judge's decision, the U.S. Attorney General's Office filed a supporting opinion claiming the government had "sovereign immunity" that exempted it from provisions of the federal Clean Water Act that give protection to whistle-blowers. The employee in this case kept her job. But as a result of the attorney general's opinion and recent policy shifts within EPA, thousands of other public employees responsible for enforcing the nation's environmental laws could be discouraged from speaking out because of fear they lack protection against retribution. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 that whistle-blowers basically forfeit their First Amendment rights to free speech, even if they speak out about fraud or abuses while acting in an official capacity without the express approval of their superiors. And last year, a contracting specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was demoted after openly criticizing a $7.5 billion no-bid contract awarded to Halliburton, the Houston-based oil services company, and a subsidiary, to repair infrastructure in Iraq. The case is still being appealed. Fortunately, Congress is working to restore and strengthen some of the whistle-blower protections whittled away by judicial and legal fiat. As part of a larger defense spending bill, House and Senate conferees are expected to approve a bill that would lift gag orders on whistle-blowers who disclose unclassified information, extend whistle-blower protection to all private workers paid with public funds and to provide them with fairer access to jury trials as opposed to administrative hearings. Passing those measures will demonstrate that lawmakers are serious about uncovering corruption and that whistle-blowers have nothing to fear from those who violate the public trust. Lyle V. Harris, for the editorial board © 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Customer care| ***************************************************************** 35 ITAR-TASS: 6th unit of Zaporozhye N-plant disconnected by safety system 11.09.2006, 23.55 KIEV, September 11 (Itar-Tass) - Sixth unit of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was disconnected from the national power grid by the plant’s energy safety system at 14:40 on Monday, Prime Tass economic news agency said quoting information of the national Energoatom agency. The causes of the disconnection are being examined, Prime Tass said. At present, the fourth power unit is operating. The fifth power unit is under scheduled repairs and fuel reloading till October 31. Currently, the nuclear power plant’s combined capacity is about 3,985 megawatt. There are no violations of safety standards. The radiation and environmental situation inside and outside the nuclear power plant are normal, Prime Tass said. Currently, eleven out of fifteen power units are working at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 36 PRN: Thorium Power Receives Endorsement from International Experts PR Newswire Source: Novastar Resources Ltd. Tuesday September 12, 9:10 am ET World Nuclear Association says thorium 'is a key factor in the sustainability of nuclear energy.' MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novastar Resources Ltd. (OTC Bulletin Board: NVAS- News) has today announced that its pending acquisition of Thorium Power, Inc. has received an important boost from the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and leading international experts. The 31st annual meeting of the WNA concluded last week in London. Among the informational papers highlighted by the WNA is detailed analysis of recent thought on the feasibility of applying the thorium fuel cycle to existing and future reactors, including the near term use of Thorium Power's technology for the disposition of Russian weapons-grade plutonium. The WNA notes: "Since the early 1990s Russia has had a program to develop a thorium- uranium fuel, which more recently has moved to have a particular emphasis on utilization of weapons-grade plutonium in a thorium-plutonium fuel. The program is based at Moscow's Kurchatov Institute and involves the US company Thorium Power and US government funding to design fuel for Russian VVER-1000 reactors. Whereas normal fuel uses enriched uranium oxide, the new design has a demountable centre portion and blanket arrangement, with the plutonium in the centre and the thorium (with uranium) around it." (see full report at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.htm) The Thorium Power delegation attending the World Nuclear Association conference was led by President and CEO Seth Grae and Chairman of the Board Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. The delegation met with representatives of U.S. and foreign governments and international industry participants. CEO Grae noted, "Interest in thorium technology in general and Thorium Power in particular continues to grow. The advantages of thorium are becoming ever more apparent as demand builds for innovative proliferation resistant fuels and our proprietary technology is many years more advanced than other solutions." The numerous advantages of the Thorium Power fuel design were spelled out in a comparison the WNA report made between thorium and another technological approach, known as Mixed Oxide (MOX). "The thorium-plutonium fuel claims four advantages over MOX: proliferation resistance, compatibility with existing reactors -- which will need minimal modification to be able to burn it, and the fuel can be made in existing plants in Russia -- hence it could be used from 2006. In addition, a lot more plutonium can be put into a single fuel assembly than with MOX, so that three times as much can be disposed of as when using MOX. The spent fuel amounts to about half the volume of MOX and is even less likely to allow recovery of weapons-useable material than spent MOX fuel, since less fissile plutonium remains in it." Thorium Power remains committed to developing and implementing advanced fuel designs that result in more efficient and more proliferation resistant, yet less expensive, nuclear fuels. The Company has long-established ties with industry leaders and expects to successfully deploy its thorium-based fuels at a future time. About Thorium Power, Inc. Thorium Power, Inc. is a privately-held nuclear technology development company, founded in 1992 to develop technology invented by Alvin Radkowsky, the first chief scientist of the U.S. Naval Reactors Program and lead designer of the first commercial nuclear power plant. Thorium Power develops nuclear fuel technologies to stop the production of weapons-usable plutonium and eliminate existing plutonium stockpiles. In order to achieve these objectives, Thorium Power collaborates with leading experts in nuclear energy and non-proliferation in the U.S. and abroad, including scientists at Russia's leading nuclear research center, the Kurchatov Institute. About Novastar Resources Ltd. Novastar Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded company within the commercial mining sector and is a commercial mining firm engaged in the exploration of thorium, a naturally occurring metal that can be used to provide nuclear energy, with non-proliferation, waste and economic advantages, in comparison to standard uranium fuels. Novastar Resources' stock is traded and quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "NVAS". In February 2006, the company announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Thorium Power, Inc. Upon consummation of the merger, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies, Thorium Power will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Novastar Resources. The combined company will operate under the name Thorium Power, Ltd. Further information is available on Novastar Resources' Website at www.novastarresources.com. For more information: Dennis Hays Novastar Resources Ph: (703) 918-4904 Email: ir@thoriumpower.com Source: Novastar Resources Ltd. PR Newswire (Tue Aug 22) Copyright © 2006 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 37 UPI: New Jersey criticizes the NRC United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/12/2006 11:06:00 AM -0400 TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- New Jersey officials are criticizing U.S. plans to clean radioactive sites, saying the federal proposals are deficient and might endanger the public. At issue are sites formerly operated by the Shield Alloy Metallurgical Corp. and H. Hovnanian Industries, both of which accumulated a massive pile of radioactive material during 30 years of manufacturing, The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported. Both companies are going out of business and the dispute centers on what is to be done with the radioactive wastes they leave behind. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine says the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission apparently is ready to accept inadequate decontamination plans at both places. Corzine is trying to quash the NRC plans, the newspaper reported, and assume regulation of the radioactive material. "These are good examples of the kinds of problems that come up because of what we believe is the NRC's lack of good oversight," Lisa Jackson, New Jersey Environmental Protection commissioner, told the Star-Ledger. The NRC, however, says it never accepts plans that are not safe. Corzine wants his state to assume regulation of sources of radioactivity, as do 34 other states. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 38 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Firm Said Suspect in Export Scam From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday September 12, 2006 9:16 AM TOKYO (AP) - Police are investigating a Japanese company on suspicion of illegally exporting to the United States hundreds of high-tech measuring devices that can be used in the development of nuclear weapons, a news report said Tuesday. Investigators worry that the devices may have ended up in an unnamed third country for use in a weapons program, the report said. Mitutoyo Corp. is suspected of understating the specifications of more than 1,600 of the devices sent to the U.S. so they would be exempted from examinations that would have revealed the company did not have permission to export them, the national Sankei newspaper reported, citing unidentified police officials. U.S. authorities have inquired about the case because some of the devices are missing and may have been re-exported to a country suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction, the newspaper said. The report did not name that third country, say who in the U.S. received the devices, or which U.S. agency made the inquiries. Mitutoyo officials declined to comment, saying the investigation is continuing, and police said they could not confirm the report. The devices measures cylinders with great precision and can be used on centrifuges employed in uranium enrichment, a process that can produce civilian nuclear fuel or fissile material for a nuclear weapon, officials say. The national Asahi and Yomiuri newspapers have said police also suspect that Mitutoyo exported similar equipment to a company connected with Iran's nuclear program. Kyodo News agency has reported that the Iranian trading company is suspected of exporting measuring and other devices that can be used to make nuclear weapons to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, Ministry of Defense, and Armed Forces Logistics between 1984 and 1992. Mitutoyo's then-president, Kazusaku Tezuka, and four other executives and employees were arrested last month on suspicion of violating foreign trade control laws by illegally exporting two of the high-tech measuring devices in 2001 to a subsidiary in Malaysia. Sankei said Tuesday that police also plan to charge four Mitutoyo officials, including Tezuka, with illegally exporting such a measuring device to Singapore. Japanese news reports said that the International Atomic Energy Agency discovered machinery manufactured by Mitutoyo at nuclear-related sites in Libya during inspections in December 2003 and January 2004. Malaysian police cleared SCOPE of knowing the parts were bound for Libya, or intended for nuclear use. The company says it thought they were destined for the oil and gas industry in Dubai. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 39 UPI: Industry opposes full cargo screening United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 9/12/2006 6:37:00 PM -0400 WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Port industry executives said Tuesday they oppose Senate Democratic efforts to require screening of all seagoing cargo containers. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Sen. Robert Menendez -- both of New Jersey -- and New York. Sen. Charles Schumer announced Tuesday they would propose an amendment to the port security bill in front of the Senate requiring 100 percent of the containers that enter American ports to be inspected. Currently, only 6 percent of cargo containers are inspected with x-rays or other scanners, and only 5 percent of those are hand inspected. Other measures are taken to try to assure the integrity of cargo containers, but they are a known vulnerability for the shipment of terrorists, weapons, and nuclear materials. Those concerns, however, are to be weighed against the economic impact that 100 percent cargo screening would have, both in possibly slowing the movement of containers and therefore the speed of ships, as well as the billions that would have to be invested in x-ray or gamma screeners and thousands more personnel to both conduct the searches and analyze the images. The port in Hong Kong has conducted a pilot program to inspect 100 percent of cargo containers with gamma screeners. Program champions say the cargo has not been slowed by the inspections. Those associated with the business side of shipping disagree. "One-hundred percent container proposals purport to be a cheap and effective way to ensure security. They are neither," said World Shipping Council President Christopher Koch in a press statement Tuesday. The Rand Corp. issued a report this year that says as the risk of a serious terrorist attack rise, so does the benefit of 100 percent screening. According to the report, 100 percent inspection is worth it if there is a 14 percent chance of an attack that costs the economy $10 billion or more, or an 80 percent chance of a $1 billion attack. A 10-day port lockout on the West Coast last year cost between $500 million and $19 billion, according to various estimates. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 40 UPI: Lobby groups fight security reforms United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/12/2006 12:46:00 PM -0400 WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Farming, retail and television lobbyists in Washington are opposing recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission and proposed laws to improve security. Lobbyists representing broadcasters, including the U.S. television network ABC, are fighting a plan to turn over a portion of the broadcast frequency used by stations to emergency responders next year, ABC News reported Tuesday. The broadcasters are pushing for the program to begin in 2009, claiming at least 75 stations would lose significant amounts of viewers who do not use cable or digital-ready televisions. U.S. Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said lobbyists for the American Farm Bureau have blocked a proposal to require background checks and registration for anyone seeking to purchase chemical fertilizer ammonium nitrate, which can be used to create bombs. Lobby groups representing major retail chains, including Wal-Mart, have been opposing proposed regulations that would require all shipping containers to be searched for radiological or nuclear material, ABC reported. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 41 heraldsun.com: Duke research lab catches fire By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun bdopart@heraldsun.com Sep 11, 2006 : DURHAM -- Access to a Duke research lab will be restricted through this morning while the university works to ensure radioactive materials were not released in an early morning fire Monday. The Nanaline H. Duke Building on Research Drive was unoccupied when a fire alarm sounded on the second floor at 6:17 a.m., according to Assistant Fire Marshal Eddie Reid. Although an investigation into the cause of the fire has not yet been completed, Reid said investigators determined the fire was not intentionally set. Freezers containing "compounds with low levels of radioactive materials" had been stored in the lab and sustained some heat damage, Duke Police spokeswoman Leanora Minai said, but were removed from the lab before catching fire. Wayne Thomann, director of Duke's Occupational & Environmental Safety Office, determined that no radioactivity had been released, Minai said. Samples taken from the lab area came up negative for contamination, although officials will continue to "monitor and evaluate" the building, she added. Thomann was not available for comment. "The Occupational & Environmental Safety Office is very comfortable that there is just no [possibility of contamination]," Minai said. The approximately 1,000-square-foot lab sustained extensive damage and will likely require renovation, according to Minai. Smoke and water also damaged rooms adjacent to and below the lab, she said. The Nanaline H. Duke Building has endured at least one blaze in the past, according to the university. In 1998, the third floor of the building caught fire after a coffee machine was left on over a holiday vacation. Constructed in 1968, the 33,000-square-foot building houses several of the university's science departments. Although Monday's fire was quickly doused, Research Drive was closed for several hours in the aftermath of the blaze. ***************************************************************** 42 RIA Novosti: Russia set to dismantle 5 nuclear submarines by 2010 12/ 09/ 2006 VLADIVOSTOK, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will scrap five nuclear submarines decommissioned from the Pacific Fleet by 2010 under a joint project with Japan, a Japanese deputy foreign minister said Tuesday. The Victor class vessels will be dismantled under the Star of Hope program for the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines in Russia's Far East, which was adopted in 2003 during a visit of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Shintaro Ito told a news conference in Vladivostok, where the headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet are located, that Japan had allocated 20 billion yen (about $171 mln) for the project. The diplomat, who will be in Russia until Friday, said the dismantling of the first decommissioned Victor I nuclear submarine under the project would start in the near future at the Zvezda Shipyard, in a suburb of Vladivostok, and would take about 10 months. During the dismantlement process spent nuclear fuel is removed from the submarine's reactors and sent to storage, the hull is cut into three sections, and the bow and stern sections are removed and destroyed. The reactor section is sealed and transferred to storage. There are about 30 decommissioned nuclear submarines moored at various ports in the Russian Far East. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 43 globeandmail.com: Two cancers soar in young adults POSTED AT 9:02 AM EDT ON 12/09/06 MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Canadian researchers conducting the most comprehensive study in the world on the changes in cancer rates among young adults have found a dramatic surge in the incidence of thyroid cancer in Canadian women and a sharp increase in testicular cancer among men. The study, based on cancer trends among those aged 20 to 44, estimated that the rate of thyroid cancer in women rose by 156 per cent between 1983 and 2005, while the rate of testicular cancer was up 54 per cent during the same period. The reasons for the huge increases remain unclear, according to the study, which was compiled by Cancer Care Ontario, the provincial government research agency, along with the federal Public Health Agency of Canada, and is being publicly released today. The study is a rare look at one of the least researched aspects of cancer -- the rates of the often deadly disease among young adults who are struck in their prime of life by an ailment that more typically develops in elderly people. + 13 reader comments | Join the conversation Most research on cancer has focused on how the disease afflicts the aged, yet about 10,000 cases are diagnosed annually in young adults in Canada and about 2,000 people will die from it. Young women are far more likely to have cancer than are men, accounting for about two-thirds of the total number of cases, a high prevalence due to the link between sex hormones and many female cancers. And although it is not well known, cancer is the leading cause of premature death among young women in Canada and the No. 3 cause for young men, after accidents and suicides. "This report is the most sweeping study ever undertaken, we believe, of cancer in this important age group," says Loraine Marrett, who headed the national working group that compiled the study, titled Cancer in Young Adults in Canada. Cancer in young adults has not been studied comprehensively anywhere in the world, but Canada's excellent statistical database for the disease made it easy for researchers to comb through the incidence figures across the country, searching for trends. The work is considered important because it will help guide researchers in future efforts of looking for genetic clues or the exposures to specific carcinogens that would help explain why some cancer rates are increasing. The overall incidence of cancer among young adults in Canada is about double what it is in a poor, developing country, such as India, according to data in the study. Although the overall rate of cancer for both young men and women in Canada has not changed dramatically during the past two decades, this stable trend has masked huge fluctuations for individual types of the disease. Among men, for instance, the incidence rates of melanoma, and lung and colorectal cancers have been in a long-term downtrend, falling steadily since the early 1980s. Because of the links between smoking and lung cancer and early childhood exposure to sunshine and melanoma, researchers can explain why some headway is being made in the battle against these diseases. But other cancers are enigmas, and those with rising rates are offsetting the progress being made elsewhere against a disease that is probably the most feared medical diagnosis. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men, and is rising rapidly. This has prompted speculation that the rising incidence is due to environmental factors, such as the widespread exposure to many man-made chemicals, such as plastics, drugs and pesticides, that mimic human sex hormones. But the study said it could not explain why young men living now face a 54 per cent higher incidence of the cancer than their fathers. "There is no accepted explanation for the increasing trend," it said. The study speculated that the rise in testicular cancer may be due to boys entering puberty at an earlier age than in previous generations. But the researchers said accurate data on the onset of male puberty are lacking, so it couldn't make a definitive pronouncement. There has been a huge rise in thyroid cancer in both males and females -- the most dramatic of the 18 types of the disease reviewed in the study -- but the increase in young women has been much more pronounced. Researchers do not have a clear understanding of what is causing the trend. Exposure to radiation, such as medical X-rays and emissions from nuclear power plants, are known causes of thyroid cancer. Recently, researchers have found that the brominated flame retardants commonly used in computers, mattresses and many other consumer products can disrupt thyroid hormone function. The study also found that for the first time, more young women than young men are being diagnosed with lung cancer, a trend due to increased smoking among females. According to the study, Canada is among the Western countries with the world's highest rates of breast cancer among younger women. Breast cancer rates rose about 0.3 per cent a year from 1983-1999, but the increase was entirely due to a rise in incidence among women in their 40s. Rates for even younger women declined slightly over the period. ***************************************************************** 44 Bellona: Japan to begin dismantling 5 subs under a Moscow-Tokyo deal + Northern Fleet accidents and incidents --> Geographical September 2006 [15.09.2006 00:00] Third Pursuant to a deal struck between Japan and Russia in November of last year, Tokyo inked an agreement to begin the demolition of five Victor class I nuclear submarines from the Russian Pacific Fleet in a project expected to be completed by 2010, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday. 12/09-2006 The subs will be dismantled under the Star of Hope programme for the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines in Russias Far East. The Star of Hope programme was inaugurated during a 2003 visit to Russia by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the Mosnews website reported. The international Star of Hope programme is oriented on the disassembly and dismantlement of Pacific Fleet Submarines that have been taken out of service with the financial support of the government of Japan, a Naval source familiar with the project told Russias RIA Novosti news agency. Deputy Foreign Minister Shintaro Ito told a news conference in Vladivostok, where the headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet are located, that Japan had allocated 20 billion yen (about $171 million) for the project, said Mosnews. Ito, who will remain in Russia until Friday, said the dismantling of the first decommissioned Victor I class sub under the project would start in the near future at the Far East shipyard of Zvezda, near Vladivostok, and would take some 10 months to complete, Russian news agencies reported. During the dismantlement process spent nuclear fuel is removed from the submarines reactors and sent to storage. The hull is then cut into three sections, and the bow and stern sections are removed and destroyed. The reactor section is sealed and transferred to storage. There are some 30 to 40 decommissioned nuclear submarines moored at various ports over a vast area in the Russian Far East. Print Notify a friend 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 ***************************************************************** 45 FOXNews.com: VA Study Doubts Gulf War Syndrome - Tuesday, September 12, 2006 By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON — The unexplained symptoms that afflict thousands of Gulf War veterans don't constitute a single illness, a federally funded study concludes. Even though U.S. and foreign veterans of the 1991 war report more symptoms of illness than do soldiers who didn't serve in the Persian Gulf, there is no such thing as Gulf War syndrome, according to the Veterans Affairs-sponsored report released Tuesday. Nearly 30 percent of all those who served in the brief war have reported problems. "There's no unique pattern of symptoms. Every pattern identified in Gulf War veterans also seems to exist in other veterans, though it is important to note the symptom rate is higher, and it is a serious issue,"said Dr. Lynn Goldman, of Johns Hopkins University, who headed the Institute of Medicine committee that prepared the report. The report did find evidence of an elevated risk of the rare nerve disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, among Gulf War veterans. They also face an increased risk of anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse, it said. The VA contracted with the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, to review scientific studies and probe the issue at the direction of Congress. Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman Phil Budahn said the VA would not comment until it had a chance to study the report. Tuesday's report is the latest in the important series, which the VA will rely on to determine whether Gulf War veterans are eligible for special disability benefits if they are found to suffer from illnesses that can be linked to their service. Veterans can now claim those benefits only by making an undiagnosed illness claim, said Steve Robinson, a Gulf War Army veteran and government relations director for Veterans for America. "They keep saying it over and over, every year. We know that _ we know that there is no single thing that made veterans sick. We know this thing is likely a combination of various exposures,"Robinson said in pushing for new studies he hopes will find what ails tens of thousands of his fellow vets. However, the report's confirmation that Gulf War veterans are sicker may actually help them secure government benefits, said Shannon Middleton, assistant director of health policy for the American Legion. A member of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans'Illnesses, also chartered by Congress, called the report the"first step"in cataloging the studies done on veterans of the conflict. "But the most prevalent problems in Gulf War veterans are the multisymptom illness/Gulf War syndrome-type problems that still affect a sizable proportion of those who served in the war. I am disappointed that the IOM report does little to analyze what these studies collectively tell us about the nature and causes of these conditions,"said Lea Steele, a Kansas State University epidemiologist who is the committee's scientific director. Soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf following the Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait in August 1990 have reported symptoms that include fatigue, memory loss, muscle and joint pain, rashes and difficulty sleeping. The variety of symptoms has complicated efforts to pinpoint their cause, according to the report. Nearly 700,000 U.S. soldiers, along with troops from 34 other countries, took part in the Gulf War. Once in the region, those soldiers were exposed to a wide array of toxins and other potential health hazards, including smoke from hundreds of oil well fires, pesticides, depleted uranium ammunition and possibly the nerve agent sarin, released during the demolition of a munitions dump. Inadequate screening of soldiers before deployment in the Gulf War, coupled with a lack of environmental monitoring during the conflict, have hindered efforts to determine whether exposure to those contaminants is linked to any illness, the report also notes. For years, the government denied the mysterious illnesses were linked to the war. It now acknowledges that at least some were due to wartime service. The government is no longer pointing to stress as the likely reason, as some federally funded studies had suggested. ___ On the Net: Institute of Medicine:http://www.iom.edu/ Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This FOXNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 46 RIA Novosti: Russia nuclear chief cautious over IAEA uranium reserve proposal 12/ 09/ 2006 MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's civilian nuclear chief said Tuesday a proposal made by the International Atomic Energy Agency to create guaranteed reserves of low-enriched uranium was interesting, but dangerous. The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, recently proposed a voluntary mechanism based on the Concept for a Multilateral Mechanism for Reliable Access to Nuclear Fuel submitted to it on June 12 by the six nations that now provide the bulk of enriched uranium: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. But Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, gave the initiative a cautious welcome. "This mechanism is interesting, but dangerous, because it could destroy the economic functioning of the global market," he said. Under the proposal, reserves of enriched uranium, held nationally or by the IAEA, will serve as a "last resort" fuel reserve. The agency would determine eligibility based on a country's compliance with IAEA safeguards, and acceptance of nuclear safety standards, as well as its renunciation of uranium enrichment or spent-fuel reprocessing. Kiriyenko, whose country produces around 6% of the world's uranium but plans a dramatic increase in spending on surveying and production in the next two years, said it was unclear what rules would be applied to allow the use of this reserve and for what price it could be sold. "It is important to maintain stability on the global uranium market," he said. The agency head said a Russian proposal to create a joint uranium enrichment venture under the aegis of the IAEA was a suitable alternative to the reserve proposal. President Vladimir Putin put forward the initiative for an international center on Russian soil at the height of the Iranian nuclear crisis at the start of the year. Delegations from 140 countries will meet at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on September 19-20 in an attempt to encourage countries to forgo uranium-enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, two critical technologies that could lead to the production nuclear weapons, while ensuring that they receive civilian nuclear fuel. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 47 BusinessWeek: Russia to boost spending on uranium Business Week: SEP. 12 6:08 A.M. ET Russia will increase spending on uranium extraction tenfold over the next two years, Russian news agencies quoted the nation's top nuclear official as saying Tuesday, the latest evidence of a major effort to expand the nation's nuclear energy sector. Annual investment in finding and extracting uranium will be raised from its current level of 100 million rubles (US$3.7 million; euro2.9 million) to 1 billion rubles (US$37 million; euro29 million) by 2008, RIA-Novosti and ITAR-Tass quoted Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko as saying. He said spending would rise fivefold in 2007 and then be doubled in 2008, according to the reports. With the public backlash against nuclear power fading as the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster recedes into the past, Russian officials have made ambition plans to develop the nuclear power industry. Kiriyenko said earlier this year that Russia would commission at least two nuclear reactors a year beginning in 2010. "Russia has uranium reserves, but we haven't been involved with them in many years," ITAR-Tass quoted Kiriyenko as saying at a party celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of Russian nuclear fuel producer OAO TVEL, suggesting little mining has been done. According to RIA-Novosti, Kiriyenko said it would be profitable for Russia to mine new uranium deposits, which he said currently costs about US$60 (euro47) to US$85 (euro67) per kilogram extracted. He also said, "We are ready to participate in the extraction of uranium with any partners in the world, where it is profitable," ITAR-Tass reported. Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin is chairman of TVEL, the springboard for the prospective renaissance of Russia's nuclear industry. [Associate Press] Copyright 2006, by The Associated Press. All BusinessWeek ***************************************************************** 48 OnPoint: Nuclear Power: CASEnergy's Whitman says Yucca issues should not halt discussion about benefits 09/11/2006 -- ['Electric Drive Transportation Association -- www.electricdrive.org' title='Electric Drive Transportation Association -- www.electricdrive.org' As Congress continues to debate the issue of nuclear repositories, nuclear energy activists are touting this technology as a viable source of clean energy. During today's OnPoint, Christie Todd Whitman, co-chair of Clean And Safe Energy (CASEnergy) explains why she thinks it is important to begin talking to Americans about nuclear energy. She also discusses the licensing issues facing nuclear facilities and talks about nuclear technology as a way to solve the global warming issue. Mary O'Driscoll: Welcome to OnPoint. I'm Mary O'Driscoll. Our guest today is Christine Todd Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey and EPA administrator, who has now helped found an organization of utilities, labor unions, interest groups, businesses, and universities in support of new nuclear power plants. Welcome to the show. Christine Todd Whitman: It's a pleasure, Mary. Mary O'Driscoll: You helped form this group called Clean and Safe Energy, or CASEnergy for short, with Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore, showing that the case can be made, on an environmental basis, for new nuclear power plants. Now everyone knows, pretty much, that nuclear power doesn't emit any greenhouse gases. Yet it does create a significant amount of nuclear waste that has to be separated from the environment, separated from the public. It's now stored in dry casks at nuclear power plant sites, has no permanent repository to call home. So in light of that, a lot of people wonder, how can nuclear power be so environmentally friendly? Christine Todd Whitman: Well, for several reasons. The first of all, you're right. And let me just say, that CASEnergy is about more than just the environmental arguments for nuclear. It's really about getting an intelligent discussion going about nuclear that includes everything, all the benefits, the upside, downside, and answering these kinds of questions. And clearly a national repository is something that has got to be dealt with. But it's important to understand that the on-facility storage, the holding tanks for the rods, were designed to hold them for a hundred years. So they really are very safe there at the moment. There is a big push, as I think is very appropriate, to start looking at recycling, because 95 percent of the energy is still there, you ought to be able to recapture it after one use. And you see a lot of that recycling research going on in Europe now. There's a great deal of it happening. It's starting to happen in other places around the world. We should be taking a look at that too. New nuclear facilities are producing now, instead of rods, pellets, so they're easier to deal with. There are a host of things that are coming to fruition that give us some hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel on this. And right now the safety issue is one, where they are now it is safe for the foreseeable future. It's not the permanent and never was designed to be the permanent home for the spent rods, and we do need to deal with that. But to refuse to talk about the potential good side of nuclear because of this issue alone, doesn't, I think, make a lot of sense. And what we really should be doing is saying how do we solve this problem? How do we deal with this issue? Or do you just want to take nuclear off the table when you have the Department of Energy that estimates that there's going to be a 45 percent increase in demand, from where we are today, by 2030. And we already have twenty percent of our energy is from nuclear and those are facilities that some of which are going to be closing down in the future. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Well, you touched on several interesting topics. I wanted to start out with the environmental one. You know, talking about greenhouse gas emissions, the big push now is because they produce no emissions. At EPA you took heat from the White House and from your fellow Republicans for your position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet a fellow Republican, Arnold Schwarzenegger, over in California, has just cut a deal with the legislative Democrats over there to cap emissions in California. Christine Todd Whitman: Right. Mary O'Driscoll: And, interestingly, there's a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in that state. So I just raised a couple questions. Christine Todd Whitman: No, and that's very good, and it's something that the governor is going to have to look at. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Christine Todd Whitman: Because you can't have it both sides, and if you look at California's problems, air emission problems, a lot of them actually are from mobile sources. So California really has to deal with their issue of cars. That's one of their biggest problems from their perspective. So that's where he's going to be trying to get at his greenhouse gases. But ultimately, for their power increases and their power demands, I think they're going to start to look there. I mean you have even countries like France, which are eighty percent nuclear, but very environmentally sensitive. They're expanding their nuclear base. It's happening around the world because they don't produce any of the currently regulated gases. They don't produce greenhouse gases. The footprint of a nuclear facility is actually very small, so that there is a lot that can happen around them that is good for nature because while the footprint of the facility is small, you have a bigger perimeter for safety and security reasons that are totally undeveloped in there. So it's something that we're going to have to have the kind of common-sense approach that says how do we see our way through? And it's precisely because you have initiatives like Governor Schwarzenegger's, which I applied by the way. I mean I think that's a very good initiative. We actually now have some 40 initiatives in 29 states and localities aimed at capping greenhouse gases. And, in fact, even when I was governor back in 1997, we put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions in the state. We started bringing them down. So it's been going on for a long time. But that kind of patchwork quilt is a nightmare for any kind of a business. And so there's going to be pressure on Congress to come up with some kind of a national standard. And when that happens it's going to make other forms of energy - it's going to make nuclear much more competitive with other forms of energy in the start up. That's where nuclear, from a financial point of view, is more expensive. It's just the start up. Once it's online it's much more efficient. And, in fact, is much less expensive than other forms of energy. Mary O'Driscoll: Do you think what California did will make it easier for the states and for interest groups to say, listen Congress, look what's going on, where California goes, so goes the rest of the country with ... Christine Todd Whitman: Absolutely. And I think ultimately, again, nuclear isn't the answer. It's not going to be all nuclear and that's what we want to see. It's just got to be a bigger part of the solution than people are willing to talk about today. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. And you think then that California will have to abandon its nuclear moratorium? Christine Todd Whitman: I wouldn't be at all surprised if they didn't start to reconsider that, because they have got serious grid problems. They've got serious energy demand problems, and they want to continue to grow. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. All right. There appears to be growing interest among utilities in building new nuclear power plants. And Congress, last year, provided in the energy policy act, significant financial and regulatory incentives for the industry to go out and get them licensed and to get them built. And just recently NRC said about 19 companies have signed letters of intent for, I think, 27 reactors, which is more than what they had said in previous years and months. But the real deep interest doesn't appear to be kind of there yet. Constellation Energy is the only company that's actually announced that it's out there looking to buy parts. You have other companies, other utilities, like PP&L, saying that they are going to clean up the emissions from their existing coal plants. So, you know, in light of all of that, I mean did last year's energy bill actually do anything? Was it a significant move? You know, in light of kind of this, there seems to be churning, but no one really taking that first step. Christine Todd Whitman: Well, next years when you're going to see the change, and that's because of the energy bill and the way they set it up. But next year you will probably see about a dozen consortiums or individual companies come forward with permit requests, or start to get in the pipeline, for permits and licensing for some 17 to 20, as you point out, facilities. It will probably get down to maybe a hard half a dozen. The next step after that is they have to get on that queue that you mentioned, which most people don't recognize is there. For some parts of nuclear reactors, they're only made by one company in one place in the world. And so there is becoming more and more pressure, people want to buy that particular part. So you have to get in line, and you have to buy your place in line and hold that. Then you start to go through the permitting process, and after that, once they have gotten the license, that's when the final decision will be made. When companies will decide what do the economics look like? What does the growth pattern in the area look like? What is the mix of energy that's right and does this make sense to me, for me and my company? But certainly around the Southeast, where you see the biggest projected growth in the near future, there's a lot of interest in nuclear from the states themselves, from some of the communities themselves, as well is from the industries that are located there. And so I think you will see some real action. They will start to move forward. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. It's kind of interesting, you're seeing where there's a lot of nuclear down in the south right now. And that it looks kind of like the way that the LNG plants, you know, where people know the LNG plants, the liquefied natural gas import terminals in the Gulf of Mexico. That's where all the new ones are being built. They're not being built in the areas where the demand really is, in the Northeast or California. Do you see ... is there a danger of that kind of a scenario kind of evolving with nuclear power plants? Christine Todd Whitman: Well, that's really what CASE is all about, because one of the things that's interesting is they did a study early on, did a survey, that shows that basically the American people, about 58 percent of the American people are comfortable with nuclear. You start talking to them about nuclear and giving them answers to the questions and that goes up to 76 percent very, very quickly. The strongest support for nuclear is in that area closest to the nuclear facility, because they live there. They know them. They know they're safe. They know what they can bring to the community. They know about the high paying jobs and what it does and all of that. And as you get further away from the plant is where you start to get more confusion and less knowledge. But if you can bring some of the knowledge, answer some of the questions, get into a real dialogue with people, then they get much more comfortable much faster. And then it's up to them to decide, yeah, I really am comfortable. Or, no, I still think that there are issues there that mean I don't want to see it in my community. But you're far more likely to get people to be willing to accept a nuclear facility, actually want a nuclear facility, see it as a viable alternative to some of the fossil fuels that we have or many more. I mean coal will always be an important part of our energy mix. That's a given. But people will be much more likely to be accepting of nuclear when they have the facts. And that's what CASE is really about. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. The new combined construction and operating license, the process it's going to go through, is that an important element of what's going on? Christine Todd Whitman: It really is because one of the big detriments or big obstacles for nuclear, for a facility, for a company to bring nuclear on is just the cost, the time and the cost. Time is money. The permitting process has been so long and taken so long that it can go up to 10 or 20 years. That's money - by the time you get through that process the whole world has changed around you and you may no longer want it. So to put those two things together, A, it makes sense. You're not short-cutting any safety by doing that. And it means that you are shortening, tightening up the process, not skipping any of the steps, but you're tightening the process for the company. And that means it becomes a much more attractive investment to make. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. And then not only is it the people who are nearby and the whole licensing, but you've also got to satisfy Wall Street. And Wall Street is very risk averse. Christine Todd Whitman: Oh, yeah. Mary O'Driscoll: And when you got something that's as big as a nuclear power plant that has a payoff over many years and is front-end loaded with a lot of, you know, you've got a lot of upfront expenses that aren't going to be paid off for a long time, compared to the quicker, easier licensing for a gas or coal plant. How do you square that? Christine Todd Whitman: Well, I'm not sure it's so much quicker and easier for coal-fired or LNG facilities. There haven't been a lot of those built, particularly in the Northeast, as you point out, where there's a lot of demand, because people are afraid of what might happen, having one of those lines located near them in one of those facilities near them. As we get more concerned about the quality of our air and about climate change, coal-fired fossil fuel facilities become a little more problematic. I mean people are starting to look at everything that comes with a facility, an energy facility of any sort. But we're very good in this country at saying no. And we've got to get over that. I mean we say no to new coal. We don't want any new exploration. We don't like being dependent on foreign oil and what that does to us from a policy point of view, as well as a security point of view. We won't talk about nuclear. Even the environmentalists aren't all thrilled on wind power. Hydropower only works when you don't have a drought. And when you have a drought it affects the fish. So we keep saying no, no, no, and yet we all want our power the instant we want it. Mary O'Driscoll: Right. Christine Todd Whitman: And so we're going to have to step back and say, look, it's always going to be a mix. There is no one panacea. There's no one form of power that's going to be the solution to everything. But when you have the opportunity to have one that, once it's up and running, you know provides some of the most reliable, it's the most efficient, most reliable, low cost, least environmentally harmful form of energy. It's something we really ought to take a look at. Mary O'Driscoll: Well, the $64,000 question then, what about the uncertainty over Yucca Mountain and the timeline? A lot of people point to that as you don't have Yucca Mountain. That's a real problem. The industry doesn't know where they're going to be putting the waste on a long-term basis. Is that a major concern here when you're looking at it? Christine Todd Whitman: That clearly is a concern, there's no question about that. A national repository is something that everyone wants. But again, everyone wants, the industry certainly would like to have it. But right now, as I say, the spent rods are stored on-site, in holding ponds that were designed to hold them for a hundred years, and none of them are close to that time frame. So we do have some time to solve that problem. But it's clear the problem has got to be solved, and it needs to be addressed. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Well, that's all we have time for today. Thank you Christine Todd Whitman for joining us. Christine Todd Whitman: My pleasure. Mary O'Driscoll: And thank you for joining us. We'll see you next time on OnPoint. © 1996-2006 E&E Publishing, LLC • ***************************************************************** 49 ITAR-TASS: Russia to increase investment in uranium prospecting - Kiriyenko 12.09.2006, 11.09 MOSCOW, September 12 (Itar-Tass) - Russia will increase investment in uranium prospecting ten times, the Federal Agency of Atomic Energy’s chief Sergei Kiriyenko said. He said at celebrations of the ten-year jubilee of TVEL corporation on Tuesday that “initially it will be a five time increase since 2007 and then, since 2008, two times more”. He said “there are uranium reserves in Russia, but they have not been attended to for many years”. “We are ready to participate in the uranium output with all partners in the world where it is profitable,” Kiriyenko said. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 50 Mos News: Russia Calls IAEA's Reserves of Low-Enriched Uranium "Interesting but Dangerous" MOSNEWS.COM Created: 12.09.2006 13:02 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:02 MSK MosNews The head of Russia’s Federal Nuclear Power Agency Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko said on Tuesday, Sept. 12, that a proposal made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to create guaranteed reserves of low-enriched uranium was interesting but dangerous. The IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, recently proposed a voluntary mechanism based on the Concept for a Multilateral Mechanism for Reliable Access to Nuclear Fuel. The Concept was submitted to it on June 12 by the six nations that now provide the bulk of enriched uranium: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. But Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Rosatom, gave the initiative a cautious welcome. “This mechanism is interesting, but dangerous, because it could destroy the economic functioning of the global market,” he said, quoted by RIA Novosti. Under the proposal, reserves of enriched uranium, held nationally or by the IAEA, will serve as a “last resort” fuel reserve. The agency would determine eligibility based on a country’s compliance with IAEA safeguards, and acceptance of nuclear safety standards, as well as its renunciation of uranium enrichment or spent-fuel reprocessing. Russia currently produces around 6 percent of the world’s uranium, but plans a dramatic increase in spending on surveying and production over the next two years. Kiriyenko said it was unclear what rules would be applied to allow the use of this reserve and for what price it could be sold. “It is important to maintain stability on the global uranium market,” he said. The agency head said a Russian proposal to create a joint uranium enrichment venture under the aegis of the IAEA was a suitable alternative to the reserve proposal. President Vladimir Putin put forward the initiative for an international center on Russian soil at the height of the Iranian nuclear crisis at the start of the year. Delegations from 140 countries will meet at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on September 19-20 in an attempt to encourage countries to forgo uranium-enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, two critical technologies that could lead to the production nuclear weapons, while ensuring that they receive civilian nuclear fuel. Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 51 Discovery Channel: Study: Yucca Mountain Once a Rowdy Place Sept. 12, 2006 It may be quiet now, but about 80,000 years ago the land just 10 miles from the proposed U.S. High-Level Nuclear Waste Depository at Yucca Mountain, was rocking and rolling with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, says a government geologist. By digging trenches through three Yucca Mountain faults in Nevada and studying the rocks within, paleoseismologist Tom Parsons of the U.S. Geological Survey and his colleagues have been able to gather data and study the upheavals of the past with a computer model. They found evidence that earthquakes and eruptions tend to conspire in the Yucca Mountain area, making for a sometimes geologically rowdy scene. What we kind of stumbled over is some volcanic ash at the bottom of earthquake fissures, says Parsons, describing the initial key discovery. [advertisement] [line] The fissures are shallow cracks in the ground that can form during strong quakes, and then fill up with sediments in pretty short order. Days or weeks, we cant tell for sure, he said of the refilling. That these fissures had ash in them is startling because it means either the nearby 80,000-year-old Lathrop Wells volcanic cinder cone was spewing ash into the air at the same time as the earthquake, or that the eruption had occurred just days or weeks before the quake. Before this discovery, geologists had tended to think of the quakes and eruptions in the Yucca Mountain area as separate and largely unrelated events. With this new tantalizing clue to the clustering of at least the Lathrop Wells eruption and earthquakes, Parsons and his colleagues set about making a model to simulate how the gradually spreading crust of the Earth in the Yucca Mountain region might create the troublesome coincidence. The whole area is being stretched, said Parsons. Faults that cut through the region allow blocks of crust to slide alongside each other in all sorts of directions and help the crust to stretch the same way books on a shelf can cover more of the shelf when they are tilted and sliding along each others covers. Every now and then magma has found a conduit through the sliding blocks and erupts on the surface. Over the last eight million years there have been about 30 such eruptions in the region - the latest being at Lathrop Wells. In their simulation of the Yucca Mountain area, Parsons and his team tried applying pressure to the crust in different ways to see what happened. Their work paid off when they let the simulated central Yucca Mountain faults slip. When that happened, which would have created strong quakes; there were also eruptions at Lathrop Wells - just like in the real world. As for how this contributes to the controversy about whether Yucca Mountain is the right place to store high level nuclear waste for 10,000 years, volcanologist Chuck Connor of the University of South Florida claims it doesn't. Connor, who sits on a Department of Energy panel studying the volcanic risks of Yucca Mountain, explains scientists now have to assess the risk that this kind of activity could occur over the next 10,000 years. "It's a question of whether it's safe enough for the site," said Connor. Parson's work is helpful, said Connor, for assessing this risk. Before Parsons, no one had a mechanism to explain the eruptions and quakes in the Yucca Mountain area, said Connor. Without a mechanism, it's pretty hard to make any meaningful assessment of the risk. "Parsons' paper begins to provide a mechanism for it," Connor said. "It's going in the right direction, for sure." ***************************************************************** 52 [du-list] High level waste could be comming though many Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:58:40 -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 Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion plant located in Piketon, Ohio EDITOR: It is almost beyond belief that our city leaders would be pushing to bring spent nuclear power plant fuel rods into our community for any reason, let alone to produce plutonium. These are not "low level" radioactive, but are extremely high-level radioactive materials. Risks include widespread contamination from leaks, spills, emissions, during transportation and processing. There would also be high-level radioactive waste generation and storage. Leaks and accidents with these fuel rods would not be like they are with the lower-level radioactive materials generally handled at the site now. Such accidents and leaks would have the potential to render many square miles uninhabitable and the river unusable. This is why the state of Nevada is thus far successfully fighting to keep these spent fuel rods out of the Yucca Mountain storage facility due to environmental and health concerns. Yet according to DOE, the Yucca Mountain facility is the perfect location for storing these rods. If the "perfect facility" isn't safe, why is a facility that is in a severe earthquake zone, near a major river, and in a residential neighborhood, all of a sudden OK? If the community leaders think they have a hard time now getting progressive, clean industries locating here, just wait until we become the nation's dump for the nuclear power industry's high-level waste. . Those of us who have been working on the nuclear issue know that the proposed "reprocessing" of spent fuel rods is an insane idea; this was tried once many years ago at West Valley, New York and resulted in an environmental disaster that the people of that area are still suffering from and still paying for. This proposal which is erroneously being called "recycling" actually compounds the problem of nuclear waste and does nothing to reduce the waste, on the contrary it makes us more vulnerable and much more waste. Yes, we need jobs but not at the expense of our lives. We did recycle the fuel from West Valley New York and other places at Piketon and that is why the EEOICPA compensation bill is in place for sick and dying workers. Workers are dying from cancer and other illnesses from the past recycling and production at the Piketon Plant. Many community residents also have cancer and other illnesses. We had an earthquake here that was around 5.7 on the richtor scale. Tornados have touched down around the plant and flooding has occurred in this area. Money would be better spent on clean up, and the sick and dying. PRESS stands for: Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security. Phone numbers 740-353-2275 Vina Colley To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. ***************************************************************** 53 Hanford News: Hanford Advisory Board wants more federal money This story was published Saturday, September 9th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Hanford Advisory Board is asking the Department of Energy for more money in the coming year. For three years, the board has had a flat budget of $471,000. In the fiscal year that ends this month, some meetings had to be curtailed as the board ran short of money. In addition, the board said it has sometimes been unable to promptly respond to requests for input on Hanford cleanup matters because of a lack of money. The board is requesting an increase of at least $100,000 for fiscal year 2007. The board is made up of a broad representation of Northwest interests in cleanup of the Hanford site, ranging from environmentalists to Hanford workers who make recommendations on Hanford policy. The board was formed in 1994 with a budget that was $600,000 more than the current annual budget. Initially, it held 12 meetings a year. There now are five or six board meetings per year, and committee meetings now are held primarily in the Tri-Cities. But the board continues to hold meetings away from Hanford a couple of times each year, and meetings next year are planned in Portland and Seattle. "The board has made good faith efforts for many years to do more with less," according to a paper of talking points prepared by board members. "However, the current level of funding has reached a crisis stage and will likely render the board inefficient and ineffective." The board's workload is high due to cleanup challenges at the Hanford nuclear reservation, board members said. In the coming year, the board plans to focus primarily on helping the Department of Energy and its regulators, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency, restore credibility and accountability to the $12.2 billion vitrification plant that's under construction, according to the board. It also wants to help with plans for retrieval and disposal of radioactive waste in Hanford's underground tanks. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 54 Hanford News: A synopsis of what a terrorist alert could look like This story was published Sunday, September 10th, 2006 By the Herald staff The following scenario is make-believe in reference to a terrorist threat. But the technologies described are in fact being developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the interest of homeland security. DAY ONE A technology called SIFT (for sensor-information fusion and triage) helps the team discover an unusual situation with traces of radiation in the atmosphere. By sorting through several databases that include wind directions and radiation hot spots around the globe, team members focus on Pakistan. On a hunch, the team uses a different data-mining technology called Starlight to identify terrorist groups with ties to Pakistan. Finally, a third technology that can analyze isotopes is used to identify samples of known sources of radiation locations. This will help the team tie back to a location when the recent radiation source is identified. DAY TWO A PNNL software called Fusion helps winnow thousands of documents and identify individuals in terrorists networks, while an information technology program called KANI (for knowledge associates for novel intelligence) extracts data of interest and tests for possible hypotheses involving terrorist groups. Another information management technology called CLUE (for consolidated look up engine) narrows the possibilities to four suspects after searching through U.S. Immigration records based on results produced by KANI. DAY THREE Intuitively, the team uses sensor information fusion and triage to search the world for other unusual events involving materials that might have value to a terrorist, and learns of an outbreak of a particularly virulent bacteria known as Y.Pestis in India. A bioforensics analysis by PNNL of a sample of that bacteria confirms it was made in a laboratory. Coincidentally, a routine health department monitoring of a lake in King County detects the same bacteria. A handheld biodetection device developed at PNNL for the U.S. Air Force in identifying pathogens is used to trace the trail of the Y.Pestis bacteria from the lake back through sewer lines to a building where one of the four suspects is found and arrested. Another portable PNNL instrument, designed for the Department of Homeland Security, confirms that someone was making biotoxin in the building. DAY FOUR Knowing that there was a possible chemical attack being planned, the team uses an information analysis tool called Inspire to sort through massive sets of text documents in search of other suspicious activity that may fit into the emergency scenario. They learn of a recent theft of medical isotopes in Canada. Further analysis confirms the bacteria found in the lake and the suspect building matches with the bacteria involved in the event in India. Report of the recent theft of a sarin canister at the Umatilla Chemical Depot suggests the possibility of an inside job involving a U.S. citizen. That triggers a data search on privacy analysis. The team also uses a simulation tool developed as part of PNNL's Homeland Security work to explore possible smuggling scenarios involving Canada. The analysis identifies possible vehicles that could have been involved in the theft in Canada. DAY FIVE Investigation of a building fire using an aerosol collection and detection system developed at PNNL hits on traces of sarin, which alerts law enforcement to focus on a vehicle found near the fire. A radiological analysis of materials found in the vehicle using a technology that collects information in nanoscale confirms it carried rad materials. The team uses the sensor information technology to tie a partial license plate with a rental car tied to a recent theft of stolen explosives. More analysis confirms one of the four suspected individuals rented the car. A PNNL program called vehicle ontology, which sorts by converting visual features received by video into a series of yes-no-maybe text answers, helps find possible matches to the rented vehicle by analyzing images recorded at parking lots, highway interchanges, and ferries in the Seattle area. DAY SIX Possible suspect vehicle is found on a ferry, and arrest is made. The team relies on the analytical and information technologies used to confirm traces of stolen isotope in the rented vehicle, and evidence of sarin and rad materials found in the backpacks of the two suspects seen leaving the vehicle. The operation is considered a success. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 55 Hanford News: Security still tight in Mid-Columbia This story was published Sunday, September 10th, 2006 By Chris Mulick, Herald Olympia bureau Five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks forced large-scale improvements to security at potential Mid-Columbia targets, there are only traces of evidence that the restrictions have been relaxed. For one, the government again has begun allowing public road tours of Hanford, which were canceled in 2002 and 2003. The tours have returned on a limited basis and space on buses has been in high demand. And roadways over several regional dams that were closed after 9/11, have been re-opened but with ample restrictions. Lower Granite and Little Goose dams have re-opened to traffic in the last three years and the roadway over Lower Monumental Lock and Dam was re-opened on a six-month trial basis June 1. But otherwise, security measures introduced since the attacks have stayed constant and in some cases have continued to tighten. That's certainly true at Hanford, where security was elevated following 9/11 and remains so, said DOE spokeswoman Colleen French. Changes include a beefed-up security force and new K-9 units. Access to the federal site for workers continues to change depending on national threat levels and includes more rigorous checks, including random inspections at checkpoints when conditions merit. In addition, Hanford recently became one of the first DOE sites to graduate a class of security officers to meet new elite-force standards. The standards required advanced training in special weapons, hand-to-hand combat and other areas in a 16-week course that lasted about four weeks longer than standard training programs. Little has changed at the Federal Building in Richland in recent years, where security was already tightened after the Oklahoma City bombing. Metal detectors and screening equipment for purses and briefcases inside the building are routine. Elsewhere, virtually nothing has changed since security was heightened at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot, where destruction of the Army's stockpile of chemical weapons has commenced. The security force has been increased, security systems have been improved and all public tours have been canceled. None of the changes have been rolled back. "The current state of world events, if anything, helps us keep focused on the security task," said depot spokesman Bruce Henrickson. Energy Northwest closed its visitor center after the attacks and has no plans to re-open it. The public power consortium that operates the nuclear power plant north of Richland erected a five-mile wall of concrete barriers around the Columbia Generating Station, reconfigured the plant entrance and added security officer stations. The size of the security force was increased, officers now carry semi-automatic weapons and their skills and physical abilities are tested more often. Federal regulators have methodically increased standards over the past five years rather than in one dramatic swoop. "It does seem that every year we see additional requirements levied upon us," said Energy Northwest spokesman Brad Peck. As with other locales, security upgrades at the Tri-Cities Airport took a while to fully implement. Federal agents were brought in to screen passengers and a second security checkpoint was added a little more than a year after 9/11, and new equipment to screen bags for explosives eventually was added. But a remodel of the lobby area to make room for the changes wasn't completed until 2004. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 56 Hanford News: Board tells DOE to clarify cleanup This story was published Sunday, September 10th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Pull together a credible plan for getting radioactive waste out of Hanford's underground tanks and converting it to a safe form for disposal, the Hanford Advisory Board has advised the Department of Energy. "The program is in sufficient chaos to require an overall assessment," said board Chairman Todd Martin. DOE is emptying radioactive waste from leak-prone underground tanks, some dating to World War II, into newer double-shell tanks. It is then to be transferred from the double shell-tanks to the Waste Treatment Plant, or vitrification plant, and turned into a sturdy glass form for permanent disposal. But because the Waste Treatment Plant, or vitrification plant, may not begin operating until 2019, waste will remain in underground tanks longer than planned. By the time the waste is treated, even Hanford's newest tanks will be older than their design life, Martin said. In addition, questions remain about how some of the waste will be treated. The vitrification plant is designed to treat only 50 percent to 60 percent of it, including all of the most radioactive waste and some of the low-activity waste. At meetings Thursday and Friday, board members also were concerned about the slower-than-expected progress in emptying the single-shell tanks. Although pumpable liquids have been transferred to the newer tanks, removing the sludges and solids is taking longer than planned. DOE also faces the problem of where to put the waste. Double-shell tanks will be full before all the single-shell tanks will be empty. Delays in building the vitrification plant will mean delays in starting to empty wastes from the newer tanks for treatment, creating more space for the single-shell tank waste. A clear, credible, integrated path forward is needed to generate support across the Northwest, the board said in advice to DOE. "This plan is necessary to maintain public and congressional confidence," the board wrote. The plan also could provide a basis for preventing more tank leaks and contaminant spread into the soil above Hanford ground water that moves toward the Columbia River, it said. DOE is preparing a new baseline for tank farm work. However, the board does not expect it to cover all the options the board wants in an assessment of tank waste retrieval and treatment. DOE's baseline is expected to assume that bulk vitrification will be used as a supplemental technology to treat millions of gallons of low activity waste. However, DOE still is determining whether that will be economically and technically feasible. Construction on a pilot plant to test the process has been temporarily halted and may not resume until 2008. The board is calling for an assessment of other alternatives for treating some of the waste, such as expanding the main vitrification plant's capabilities to treat low-activity waste and considering whether that part of the plant could be opened earlier than 2019. The schedule for retrieving waste from single-shell tanks was based on the vitrification plant being ready to treat waste in 2011. Delays in operating the plant should not be allowed to cause additional delays in retrieving waste, the board said. It also said the delay in getting waste out of the double-shell tanks might require the construction of more new tanks, which would compete for funding with construction of the vitrification plant. "Retrieval, treatment and disposal of tank waste should be completed as close to the 2028 deadline in the Tri-Party Agreement as feasible," the board wrote in its advice. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 57 Hanford News: PNNL research jumps after 9/11 This story was published Sunday, September 10th, 2006 By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer Helen Kreuzer was teaching a college biology class in North Carolina on Sept. 11, 2001. And Heather Edberg was at home in Seattle, trying to complete her doctoral dissertation when the World Trade Center towers fell. Both women, now scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, are among hundreds of researchers whose work has since has become intimately tied to 9/11 and the cause of homeland security. Kreuzer's forte is bioforensics and isotope ratio analysis - that's tech talk for detecting and decoding the materials a living organism eats and drinks. Edberg works to make biodetection - methods for detecting toxins and pathogens - faster and more sensitive. The events of Sept. 11 five years ago brought Kreuzer and Edberg to PNNL, where research for Homeland Security has become the fastest-growing part of the lab's business. Department of Homeland Security funding for the lab went from zero in 2002, when the federal agency didn't exist, to $32.4 million the first year and $130 million in fiscal 2006, says Mike Kluse, associate director for the national security directorate at the lab. All the national security work at PNNL, which includes Homeland Security, amounted to $271 million in 2003, compared with $400 million this year. And Homeland Security's part of that pie has grown from approximately 14 percent three years ago to more than 34 percent, Kluse noted. "After 9/11 happened, we didn't know the Department of Homeland Security would be formed, but we knew there would be new opportunities for the lab," Kluse said. "I remember sitting in a conference room with my guys, and we knew we had something to offer." Kluse said the lab launched a Homeland Security initiative on its own after 9/11, and immediately started building on existing research that would become the basic platform for future Homeland Security work. When the Department of Homeland Security was announced, PNNL already was poised to work with the fledgling agency's leaders. Kluse notes that 15 years ago half of the lab's activities focused on environmental issues at Hanford related to nuclear waste cleanup. Homeland Security research was nonexistent. Today, Homeland Security work constitutes half of what the lab does, and it continues to expand. Much of the $130 million dedicated to Homeland Security work this year is for the radiation monitoring that uses mobile and fixed monitoring stations to scan ports of entry for concealed nuclear materials. Edberg is tinkering in nanoscale science, trying to step up the efficiency and sensitivity of technology for detecting pathogens. She is looking for ways to find the bad things a terrorist might try to put into everything from bottled apple juice to drinking water. "We develop technologies to clean up detected pathogens and toxins, and do the detection," she said. Such technologies have been around for years, but Edberg wants to make them faster and better. After 10 months of effort, Edberg has reduced the turnaround time from days to an hour or less. "If you are trying to warn or prevent, then time is your enemy," she said. Edberg is scheduled to report on the progress and success of her work Monday - the fifth anniversary of 9/11 - before the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. Kreuzer's work in isotopic signatures is equally important. She left a college teaching job in 2001 to accept a research position in Salt Lake City with a company that needed her expertise in isotopic analysis. She came to PNNL a year ago, bringing that knowledge to the bioforensic lab in Richland. Kreuzer has learned that every living thing has an isotopic signature that can reveal what that organism has been eating and drinking. By testing microorganisms, Kreuzer can tell if an anthrax spore found in one place came from the same batch as an anthrax spore taken as a sample from another faraway place. "We are developing methods in microbial forensics. We want to know how do you interrogate these organisms? Where, when were you produced and who produced you?" Kreuzer said. Homeland Security issues have spawned many other research programs at the Richland lab. One that doesn't involve test tubes and nanomaterials is all about informational analytics. Ryan Hohimer, a senior researcher in knowledge sciences, is leading a project that's trying to perfect a way for computers to process images of vehicles so analysts can sort and locate one particular vehicle. The technology attempts to convert visual characteristics into a text-based query system. Once a vehicle of the right color, wheelbase, height to length ratio, window configuration and motion is located, the computer will have answered the query correctly and found the vehicle in question. "It is a fusion of text analysis and visual analysis," Hohimer said. "We are basing it on human perception technologies," he explained. Kluse said the lab's capabilities in fundamental sciences and in knowledge sciences are what make it especially suited as a national lab to do Homeland Security work. PNNL also conducts Homeland Security work at its marine facilities near Sequim where the goal is to establish a coastal security institute. Kluse said the institute would be responsible for port and harbor security programs, guarding the lateral zone in the ocean and supporting coastal intelligence monitoring. PNNL's broader goals for Homeland Security involve being a regional leader to help build a network on security issues combining law enforcement, the ports and universities. "We want to help pull together resources to address the problems," Kluse said. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 58 POGO: Los Alamos Safety Down the Tubes The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog: Though Los Alamos county in New Mexico has the highest per capita concentration of PhDs in the nation, truly stupid moves are often made by the Lab's management, which anchors the surrounding community, and by the Energy Department which owns it. The latest regression deals with castration of Los Alamos National Laboratory's safety oversight. It's been gutted by moving outside, at least somewhat independent safety oversight from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the part of DOE that manages the nuclear weapons complex, to the Lab--so that it now oversees itself. And Los Alamos safety will be also weakened because of retaliation against one of its finest, safety official Christopher Steele, who was moved into a national safety training position because of his whistleblowing. This information was revealed in our_press_releasetoday which leads with the University of California exempt from paying a $1.1 million fine--which would have been "the largest civil penalty ever" issued under the Energy Department's nuclear enforcement program. UC has been exempt from paying fines for violations because of its non-profit status, which we have argued has removed an incentive for the behemoth University system to better manage the Lab. However, with UC now partnered with the for-profit Bechtel corporation to manage Los Alamos, the Lab will have to pay fines for future violations. -- Nick Schwellenbach September 12, 2006 in Energy & Environment, Nuclear Security, ***************************************************************** 59 UPI: Black light, cold conditions find uranium United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/12/2006 4:07:00 PM -0400 RICHLAND, Wash., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have long known uranium salts glow in ultraviolet light; now they're using that quirk and low temperatures to find hidden uranium. Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory say uranium salts glow with an eerie greenish-yellow light when exposed to ultraviolet emissions. In fact, it was that phenomenon that led to Henri Bequerel's discovery of radioactivity a century ago. It's also known now the resolution of that spectral fingerprint becomes sharper as the temperature falls. So the scientists say they are freezing contaminated soil and then exposing it to black light. Zheming Wang, a staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's laboratory in Richland, Wash., is applying a technique called cryogenic fluorescence spectroscopy to uranium in contaminated soil at a former nuclear fuel manufacturing site. By cooling the sediments to minus 267 degrees Celsius, Wang and colleagues also discovered other spectra absent at room temperature displayed when frozen. That enabled them to distinguish different forms of uranium from one another, including uranium-carbonate that moves readily underground and threatens water supplies. The study was reported in San Francisco during the American Chemical Society's annual national meeting. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 60 Knox News: No iodine danger - now Effect on OR youth in '40s, '50s by substance that can cause thyroid cancer unclear By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com September 12, 2006 OAK RIDGE - Oak Ridge National Laboratory's historic releases of radioactive iodine do not pose a current or future health threat to local residents because most of the iodine-131 - known to cause thyroid cancer - would have decayed, a new federal study concluded. However, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said it could not reach a "definitive conclusion" about the health effects on young people living in the Oak Ridge area back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the largest amount of radioactive iodine was discharged. The agency recommended some additional soil samples to get a better handle on how much of the iodine went beyond the boundaries of the federal facilities here. Although the radioactive I-131 would have decayed since then, the soil could be analyzed for iodine-129, a decay product, to evaluate the fallout from airborne discharges, the report said. Of all the pollutants released historically at the government's Oak Ridge nuclear operations, the radioactive iodine has often been characterized as the most worrisome. An extensive study conducted in the late 1990s, under state oversight, concluded there could have been as many as 150 "excess" cases of thyroid cancers in the area as a result of iodine releases at ORNL, known as X-10 in its early years. The iodine was discharged during chemical processing of fuel slugs from the Graphite Reactor. The Oak Ridge work was part of the so-called "RaLa project," an urgent effort to obtain radioactive lanthanum needed for nuclear weapons research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Persons most at risk would have been those younger than 18 who drank goat's milk or unprocessed milk from cows on farms near the X-10 operations. "Individuals living near the (government site) and were at least 21 years of age during the initial years of RaLa processing would not be expected to develop thyroid diseases resulting from exposures to I-131 from the X-10 site," the report's summary said. The report said there is considerable uncertainty in determining the "population that truly received exposure doses" great enough to have caused thyroid cancer. The report said newly discovered air-monitoring data and information obtained from deer thyroids suggest that an earlier report may have overestimated the contamination caused by releases from the RaLa project in Oak Ridge. The public health assessment by the ATSDR, a sister agency of the Centers for Disease Control, is available for review at public libraries in Oak Ridge, Kingston and Rockwood. Also, members of the public with questions about the health study may contact specialists at a toll-free number: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636). The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has conducted a number of health assessments regarding Oak Ridge pollutants, such as uranium, polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************