***************************************************************** 09/13/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.217 ***************************************************************** 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 US: New York Times Corrects WMD History 2 Secretary-general Encouraged By 'slight Shift' In Iran's Position On 3 Guardian Unlimited: Solana, Larijani to Meet Over Iran Nukes 4 Guardian Unlimited: 6 Powers Can't Agree on Iran Statement 5 Reuters: Iran atom talks set Thursday; powers split at IAEA 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Khatami, Annan discuss int'l issues 7 IRNA: Report: Europe ready for compromise on Iran nuclear issue 8 AFP: Diplomatic choice still open to Iran - US 9 AFP: EU, Iran to hold new talks to end nuclear crisis 10 AFP: World powers differing over Iran 11 AFP: EU, Iran to hold new talks to end nuclear crisis 12 AFP: Iranian leader in Senegal to discuss nuclear programme 13 AFP: Annan urges negotiations to settle Iran nuclear issue, achieve 14 UPI: Annan makes Iranian nuclear program appeal 15 UPI: EU softens on Iranian nuclear talks 16 IRNA: Iran not to yield to bullying powers - Speaker 17 UPI: State: War in Iraq does not help Iran 18 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Says U.S. Departure Would Calm Iraq 19 Guardian Unlimited: Iran and European Union Postpone Talks 20 Guardian Unlimited: SKorea: U.S. Had Offered Talks With NKorea 21 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Rebuffs U.S. Offer to Talk 22 Korea Herald: Roh, Bush won't discuss extra N. Korea sanctions 23 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Roh vs. Bush 24 BBC: US envoy 'made N Korea offer' 25 AFP: US, partners, seek 'proper way' on NKorea 26 BBC: Nuclear sub sails 27 IAEA: International Nuclear Safety Group Holds Forum in Vienna 28 IRNA: EU-Pakistani senator/Interview /WRD/ Pakstani senator optimist NUCLEAR REACTORS 29 Brazil, Argentina go nuclear: Straightgoods.com 30 HS: Russians plan up to six new reactors for nuclear plant near Finl 31 Times of India: 'US will honour civilian nuclear agreement' 32 RIA Novosti: Russia set for massive increase in nuclear power invest 33 The Hindu: Nuclear programme will continue - Kakodkar 34 US: NRC: NRC Bars Research Reactor Operator from NRC-Regulated Work 35 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find 36 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc.; James A. Fitzpatrick Nucle 37 Financial express: American firms eyeing Indian nuke market 38 Baltic Times: Lithuanian President discusses energy projects 39 US: theday.com: State Orders Investigation Into Whistleblower's Case 40 AFP: US arms experts seek more restrictions on Indian nuclear deal - 41 US: UPI: Nuclear energy rules knocked as outdated NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 42 [NYTr] UK: A cautionary tale of nuclear danger 43 US: NRC: NRC Proposes $3,250 Civil Penalty for West Virginia Firm Ov 44 US: Spectrum: Divine Strake fight not over 45 US: courant.com: Whistleblower's Old Job Not Reinstated NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 46 US: Bismarck Tribune: Uranium mine study brings back uncertain testi 47 US: AU ABC: China to invest in SA uranium mine 48 NRC: NRC Issues Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Gas Centrifuge 49 US: MST: Xcel's effort to store wastes in Utah is halted 50 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP receives 5,000th shipment 51 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Recycling rule getting fresh look 52 US: PRN: Nuclear Industry Leader Voices Support for H.R. 5360, Urges 53 OnPoint: N Waste: Nevada's Bob Loux calls DOE "virtually incompetent 54 US: Daily Herald: A big win for Utah 55 US: MPR: Xcel spent $23 million on scuttled nuclear storage plan 56 US: Mos News: Russia Promises Tenfold Increase in Uranium Extraction 57 US: UPI: China eyes Aussie uranium PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 58 Hanford News: Cleanup at Oregon uranium mine to be complete by Octob 59 Hanford News: Reactor to stand at least until '09 60 EA: Continuous, real-time analysis of radioactive waste achieved at 61 HDTV - Contaminated Well Water Found Near Pantex 62 KnoxNews: Admiral gets firsthand look at Navy's nuke-fuel supply ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 New York Times Corrects WMD History Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:08:31 -0500 (CDT) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2958 ACTIVISM UPDATE: New York Times Corrects WMD History 9/13/06 After FAIR issued an action alert (9/8/06) pointing out the New York Times' revision of recent Iraq War history, the Times published a correction (9/12/06) on its website. The correction read: "An article that appeared on NYTimes.com for part of the day on September 5 incorrectly described President Bush's statements about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Mr. Bush said it was Iraq's possession of those weapons that was the main justification for the invasion, not the possibility that the weapons could be developed." FAIR is pleased that the Times corrected the record. The correction's characterization of the article as appearing "for part of the day on September 5" is inaccurate; the article remained on the Times site in its uncorrected version even after the correction was published. A follow-up inquiry from FAIR alerted the Times to the error, and the article has now been removed from the website. The New York Times has a curious policy of replacing its online corrections each day, with no apparent archive of previous corrections, so there does not seem to be any permanent record of the Times' correction. FAIR thanks the activists who wrote in response to our alert. See the original alert here: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2957 ****** Our subscriber list is kept confidential. To unsubscribe from this list at any time, visit our web at: http://www.demaction.org/fair/unsubscribe.jsp and follow the instructions. Or send an email to fair@democracyinaction.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Feel free to respond to FAIR ( fair@fair.org ). We can't reply to everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate documented examples of media bias or censorship. And please send copies of your email correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to fair@fair.org. Your donation to FAIR goes a long way. Help us hold mainstream media accountable. Make a difference -- support FAIR today! http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=103 If you would prefer to receive these messages in HTML format, please visit our website to change your Email Preferences. Go to: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/fair/signUp.jsp?key=708. SUBSCRIBE TO EXTRA! AND GET FAIR'S NEW BOOK FOR FREE: The Oh Really? Factor http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=114 FAIR SHIRTS: Get your "Don't Trust the Corporate Media" shirt today at FAIR's online store: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=110 FAIR produces CounterSpin, a weekly radio show heard on over 130 stations in the U.S. and Canada. To find the CounterSpin station nearest you, visit http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=115 FAIR (212) 633-6700 http://www.fair.org/ E-mail: fair@fair.org /*Your email ID. --*/ ***************************************************************** 2 Secretary-general Encouraged By 'slight Shift' In Iran's Position On Nuclear Talks Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:00:16 -0400 SECRETARY-GENERAL ENCOURAGED BY ‘SLIGHT SHIFT’ IN IRAN’S POSITION ON NUCLEAR TALKS New York, Sep 13 2006 5:00PM Secretary-General Kofi Annan today <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=940">called for renewed efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the impasse over Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme, noting that he detected a “slight shift” in the country’s position. Iran now appeared to be softening its earlier refusal to suspend nuclear activities during the talks, Mr. Annan said, but he added that it was important for both sides to negotiate in good faith. “I do note there is a slight shift – I wouldn’t say it’s a major shift – a slight shift in the sense that they are now saying that, ‘Let’s negotiate.’” He said it is a question of “focusing on the issue at hand and what it takes to settle it without artificial deadlines.” The Secretary-General held what he characterized as “very good and constructive” talks with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials last week in Tehran during an intensive diplomatic tour of the region. Mr. Annan said that a significant degree of mistrust remained between both sides, posing a formidable obstacle to reaching any resolution. “The West will tell you the Iranians have been stringing along the negotiations in order to continue with their enrichment,” he said. “When you talk to the Iranians, they believe that they have been deceived. They were at the table for two years, were prepared to do all sorts of things, and nothing happened and suddenly they were before the G-8 and the Security Council.” The Council has threatened sanctions if Iran does not suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and take steps to assure the world that it is not developing nuclear arms. The Secretary-General said that current discussions between the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Union for Common Foreign and Security Policy, appeared to be going well. 2006-09-13 00:00:00.000 ________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Solana, Larijani to Meet Over Iran Nukes From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 10:46 AM BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union's foreign policy chief will meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator on Thursday, an EU spokeswoman said. It will be the second meeting in a week between the EU's Javier Solana and Iran's Ali Larijani. Officials from delegations familiar with the first meeting said Iran had made an unofficial, tentative offer to freeze nuclear enrichment for up to two months. The Bush administration on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that Iran might enact such a suspension. The location of Thursday's meeting was not set, said the spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: 6 Powers Can't Agree on Iran Statement From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 4:16 AM 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. The White House dismissed the suggestion on Tuesday, saying ``there's been no change in the Iranian position.'' 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 with veto power 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 weekend talks between European Union top foreign policy official Javier Solana and senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. It was revealed by officials from delegations familiar with the outcome of those talks. Expanding on the Iranian overture Tuesday, those same officials told 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 Bush administration on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that Iran might suspend uranium enrichment for up to two months. ``To the best of my knowledge there has been no Iranian proposal,'' State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. ``There's been no change in the Iranian position.'' Casey said the Bush administration was proceeding with discussions with other nations on pursuing sanctions against Iran in the U.N. Security Council. He said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will take up the sanctions issue with other diplomats attending the special session of the U.N. General Assembly next week in New York. Casey's comments came a day after Rice left the door open to pursuing a possible compromise with Iran, based on reports that Tehran had proposed a temporary enrichment suspension. But Rice said she had not had a chance to learn all the details of the Iranian suggestion. 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 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. 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. 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 ***************************************************************** 5 Reuters: Iran atom talks set Thursday; powers split at IAEA Wednesday September 13, 7:41 PM VIENNA (Reuters) - The EU will resume crunch talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear work on Thursday, officials said, as world powers at an atomic watchdog meeting remained divided over whether to crack down on Tehran. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was likely to try to pin down Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani on what EU diplomats said was a tentative offer from him to consider temporarily halting enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel. The United States, Iran's arch-adversary and spearheading a campaign to draw up punitive U.N. sanctions against Tehran over suspicions it is secretly trying to build atom bombs, has said it has no knowledge of any such offer. "It's Thursday. (The meeting) will be somewhere in Europe, not in Brussels," said Solana spokeswoman Cristina Gallach, adding the aim of the meeting was "to prepare the conditions in order if possible to start negotiations." The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted an "informed source" as saying the talks could be held in Paris. Solana and Larijani last round of talks was in Vienna on Saturday and Sunday. Western leaders condemned Iran's disregard of an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which Iran insists is meant only to make electricity. The Islamic Republic, while indicating openness to negotiate on a timing and duration of suspension, refuses to take that step before negotiations on a big power offer of trade incensitves not to develop nuclear fuel. Washington says Iran's defiance should trigger steps to sanctions. The U.S., British, French, German, Russian and Chinese foreign ministers will meet on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week to discuss proceeding to sanctions if there has been no diplomatic breakthrough by then. BIG POWER DISSENSION AT NUCLEAR MEETING But Washington's fellow veto-holders on the Council, China and Russia, as well as Germany and France and other EU nations are wary of cornering the world's No. 4 oil exporter and, to varying degrees, want more time to find a diplomatic compromise. Such dissension has hobbled efforts to rein in Iran, which aims to expand its pilot enrichment operation and has evaded International Atomic Energy probes into the programme, and it showed on the sidelines of an IAEA governing board meeting. Diplomats said the six major powers failed to agree on language for a joint statement to the 35-nation board, betraying continued divergences between Washington, with its push for sanctions, and the others who prefer continued dialogue. One EU diplomat said Britain, Washington's staunchest ally, was to some extent fence-sitting between the two options. A majority on the Vienna-based IAEA's board, which includes the major powers, many EU states, Russia, China and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) developing nation leaders like India and South Africa, were expected in debate on Wednesday to champion talks with Iran to defuse the stand-off over its nuclear work. Board members from the NAM, which includes Iran, were likely to stress its right to a domestic nuclear fuel industry but also encourage Iran to cooperate towards a peaceful solution. (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Brussels and Louis Charbonneau in Berlin) Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Khatami, Annan discuss int'l issues 2006/09/13 Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami held talks with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan here Tuesday on key regional and international developments and avenues for promoting the dialogue among Civilizations'. Khatami also stressed Iran's inalienable right to pursue nuclear activities for peaceful purposes and hoped its nuclear case would be settled peacefully. He said the standoff over Iran's peaceful nuclear program has aroused in Iranians a sense of national identity. Annan, for his part, expressed support for promotion of the 'dialogue among Civilizations' and praised Khatami for his initiative. 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 IRNA: Report: Europe ready for compromise on Iran nuclear issue Brussels, Sept 13, IRNA EU-Iran-Media Europe is poised to compromise on Iran's nuclear program in a step that could break the year-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the European daily Financial Times reported in its main first-page story Wednesday. A deal, floated by Tehran at a weekend meeting in Vienna, would rein in the most sensitive part of the program as soon as formal negotiations begin with the West, said the paper, which is printed and distributed simultaneously in several European cities including Brussels. In response, the European Union is watering down its insistence that a suspension of enrichment activities must come before talks. But European diplomats stress that they will require Iran to allow United Nations inspectors to carry out spot checks on its nuclear facilities to ensure that the Islamic Republic has kept its side of the bargain, said the report. The remaining issue of nuclear inspections will be at the center of a meeting between European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani scheduled for Thursday. Both sides said the meetings held by the two officials over the weekend was "constructive." "The dynamics have changed," a European diplomat told the paper. "The key is the inspectors." But the compromise on the Iranian offer would be hard for Washington to accept, raising the possibility that the US and Europe could be split on the issue. Some European diplomats warned that the US would be "isolated" if it held out against Tehran's initiative to halt enrichment work if talks got underway, added the paper. ***************************************************************** 8 AFP: Diplomatic choice still open to Iran - US Wed Sep 13, 11:49 AM ET VIENNA (AFP) - The United States urged Iran" /> Iranto "make the right choice and avoid the consequences" of UN action as the diplomatic track is still open, in a statement to the UN nuclear watchdog. US ambassador Gregory Schulte told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency"the diplomatic track is still open to Iran." "It knows what needs to be done," he said, referring to "Iran's refusal to suspend" uranium enrichment. "Iran can still make the right choice and avoid the consequences of further UN Security Council action," Schulte said. "The positive choice is for Iran's leaders to cooperate and take tangible steps to assure the international community that their nuclear program is peaceful." He said Iran's refusal to suspend enrichment and cooperate with IAEA investigations will "bring no reward but result in further isolation and sanctions." "The United States remains committed to a diplomatic solution. But the world cannot accept a nuclear-armed Iran. "If Iran crosses the threshold of perfecting uranium enrichment, our task will be even more difficult," Schulte said. "The world is united in its resolve to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability." Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 9 AFP: EU, Iran to hold new talks to end nuclear crisis by Michael Adler Wed Sep 13, 8:27 AM ET VIENNA (AFP) - The European Union" /> is to issue new calls to Iran" /> to suspend uranium enrichment, after the six world powers trying to strike a nuclear deal with Tehran failed to agree on a joint statement at a UN atomic agency meeting here. In another development on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana scheduled new talks with Tehran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani for Thursday in a bid to end the crisis, a spokeswoman said in Brussels. 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" /> sanctions against Iran for failing to honor a UN resolution that set an August 31 deadline for Tehran to halt the strategic nuclear fuel work. Finland, speaking for the 25 European Union states, was to urge Iran at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> (IAEA) in Vienna to suspend enrichment not as "a voluntary confidence-building measure, but as an international obligation," according to a copy of a statement seen by AFP. The EU statement also mentions the possibility of sanctions if Iran does not comply and "notes with concern" that Iran has failed to cooperate fully with an almost four-year-old IAEA investigation that has been unable to rule that the Iranian nuclear program is strictly peaceful. The so-called EU-3 group of Britain, Germany and France, which have led negotiations with Iran since 2003, also agreed on a joint statement calling on Iran to suspend enrichment, diplomats told AFP Wednesday. But it was not clear if the Iranian debate, expected to begin at the IAEA in the afternoon, would wrap up or extend into Thursday. Meanwhile, Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach said in Brussels: "We can confirm the meeting (with Larijani) for tomorrow, and we will confirm the venue this afternoon or tomorrow morning." Solana is talking with the Iranians in the name of the six major powers -- the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany -- to convince Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment as a way to start talks on the benefits package. The six failed to agree Tuesday on a joint statement at the IAEA meeting because "the United States was too tough," a Western diplomat told AFP. Larijani had offered to consider a temporary halt in uranium enrichment in talks with Solana in Vienna at the weekend and this has raised hopes that a negotiated solution can be found, diplomats said. But they noted that this was only an offer to consider a halt, not to implement it, and that there were conditions attached, such as the UN ceasing action against Iran, which made it unacceptable to the West. The US State Department Tuesday denied reports of an Iranian offer, with a spokesman saying "they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time." US ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte told AFP that the six world powers remained 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." Schulte said that if Iran does not suspend, "the Security Council has already made it clear its intention to move forward with sanctions." A Western diplomat said 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. Non-aligned countries sitting on the IAEA board were set to issue a statement backing Iran's right to peaceful use of uranium enrichment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Russia, like China a key trading ally of Iran, warned Tuesday against rushing to punish Tehran. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: World powers differing over Iran by Michael Adler Wed Sep 13, 2:28 AM ET VIENNA (AFP) - Divisions between world powers on how to crack down on Iran" /> Iran's atomic program were visible at a UN nuclear agency meeting as they failed to issue a joint statement. 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. The divisions came as the EU was set Wednesday to tell Tehran it has an international obligation to suspend uranium enrichment, the process that makes nuclear reactor fuel but also atom bomb material. Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have offered Iran talks on trade and other benefits if Tehran will first suspend enrichment. 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 to consider a temporary halt in uranium enrichment, in talks with European Union" /> European Unionforeign policy chief Javier Solana in Vienna that are set 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. 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. 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, was 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. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei was 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 ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: EU, Iran to hold new talks to end nuclear crisis by Michael Adler Wed Sep 13, 2:16 PM ET VIENNA (AFP) - The United States and Europe have urged Iran" /> Iranto choose negotiations over sanctions ahead of a fresh round of EU-Iran talks on Tehran's contested nuclear programme. Iran should "make the right choice and avoid the consequences" of UN action should it continue to refuse demands to suspend nuclear enrichment activities, US ambassador Gregory Schulte told a meeting of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) in Vienna. "The diplomatic track is still open," Schulte said. British ambassador John MacGregor, speaking for the three nations -- Britain, France and Germany -- which have led the EU negotiations, said Iran had not taken up a nuclear deal offered by six world powers. "Yet it is still not too late to do so," MacGregor said. "We continue to extend an open hand to Iran," he said, in a statement that did not mention the word sanctions. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is scheduled to hold new talks with Tehran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani Thursday in a bid to end the crisis, a spokeswoman said in Brussels. The meeting will probably be in Paris. 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 UN sanctions against Iran for failing to honor a UN resolution that set an August 31 deadline for Tehran to halt the enrichment acitivity. Finland, speaking for the 25 European Union" /> European Unionstates at the IAEA, said Iran had to suspend enrichment, not as "a voluntary confidence-building measure, but as an international obligation". The EU statement mentioned the possibility of sanctions if Iran did not comply and noted with "concern" that Iran had failed to cooperate fully with an almost four-year-old IAEA investigation that has been unable to rule that the Iranian nuclear program is strictly peaceful. The six nations failed to agree Tuesday on a joint statement on Iran at the IAEA meeting because "the United States was too tough" and Russia and China did not want the word "sanctions" mentioned, a Western diplomat told AFP. However, Schulte told AFP that the six remained united in seeking "a full and verified suspension and that means that we would expect all the enrichment activities to be suspended". If Iran does not comply, "the Security Council has already made it clear its intention to move forward with sanctions," he added. Larijani had offered to consider a temporary halt in uranium enrichment in talks with Solana in Vienna last Saturday, raising hopes that a negotiated solution could be found, diplomats said. But they noted that this was only an offer to consider a halt, not to implement it, and that there were conditions attached -- such as the UN ceasing action against Iran -- which made it unacceptable to the West. The US State Department Tuesday denied reports of an Iranian offer, with a spokesman saying "they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time." A Western diplomat said Russia and China want to see how the Larijani-Solana talks play out. Non-aligned countries sitting on the IAEA board, meanwhile, issued a statement backing Iran's right to peaceful use of uranium enrichment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: Iranian leader in Senegal to discuss nuclear programme Wed Sep 13, 2:32 PM ET DAKAR (AFP) - Iran" /> 's hardline leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Senegal for talks with his counterpart Abdoulaye Wade expected to focus on his country's nuclear programme and on bilateral ties with the West African country. Ahmadinejad was received at the capital's international airport by Wade. A Senegalese presidential source told AFP that the controversial nuclear question would feature on the two leaders' agenda. Faced with a barrage of Western threats over Iran's nuclear programme, Ahmadinejad is expectedly seeking backing from a fellow Muslim country as he will from his other Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) allies at an upcoming summit in Cuba. The trip comes amid continuing efforts to resolve a protracted international standoff over Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes but the United States believes is aimed at building nuclear weapons. Wade has already urged the West to change its approach to Iran's nuclear program by starting talks without any conditions. "My own role as a Muslim yet unabashedly pro-Western intermediary between the European Union" /> and Iran makes me think there is a better way: drop the preconditions to opening negotiations," he wrote in a letter to the Financial Times in late August, cited by IRNA agency. Negotiations "would allay Western suspicions that Iran is trying to buy time. I urge the West to let negotiations begin. What have you got to lose?" he asked. The two heads of state are also to discuss bilateral energy cooperation following Wade's visit to Tehran in June, according to an Iranian diplomatic source in Dakar. Among the projects being considered by the two is the construction of a 380 million euro oil refining plant in Senegal. Ahmadinejad, who was in West Africa during the African Union summit in Gambia in July, is due to leave Dakar late Wednesday for Havana where the NAM summit starts on Friday. After that he will proceed to Venezuela for talks with one of Tehran's fiery anti-US allies, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has backed Iran on its nuclear programme and refusal to recognise Israel" /> . His 10-day global tour ends at the United Nations" /> in New York for this year's General Assembly. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 13 AFP: Annan urges negotiations to settle Iran nuclear issue, achieve Mideast peace - by Gerard Aziakou Wed Sep 13, 2:40 PM ET UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN chief Kofi Annan" /> warned that the Middle East "cannot afford another crisis' and again urged Iran" /> to "lift the cloud of uncertainty" surrounding its nuclear ambitions. "We cannot afford another crisis in this region," he told a wide-raging press conference. "I appeal to the Iranians to ...lift the cloud of uncertainty surrounding their (nuclear) program, so hopefully this will be done." He noted that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Tehran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani held constructive talks last Saturday and said he hoped their next meeting "will be equally fruitful." The next Solana-Larijani gathering had been scheduled for Thursday but the two men decided Wednesday that only their "representatives" would meet Thursday in Paris. "The representatives need to do some more work," Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach said, and then Solana and Larijani would speak again to decide when they could meet. "I don't think confrontation is in anyone's interest," Annan, who recently toured the Middle East, told reporters here. "The best solution is a negotiated one." Solana is negotiating with the Iranians in the name of six major powers -- the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany -- to coax Tehran to accept political and economic incentives to suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the UN Security Council. Annan said the main problem was a lack trust between Iran, which has refused to comply with the demand for a uranium enrichment freeze, and the West, which suspects Tehran is seeking a covert nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the charge and maintains that its nuclear program is strictly civilian and solely designed to generate electricity. Annan also said that last month's war between Israel" /> and the Hezbollah militant militia was a "wake-up call" for the Middle East that highlighted the need to tackle other pressing regional issues. He threw his weight behind plans to hold a Security Council ministerial session here next week on a comprehensive peace in the broader Middle East. "Lebanon was a wake-up call," Annan said, adding that a proposal by the Arab League to hold the ministerial session next week, despite opposition by the United States and Israel, "should not bother anyone." He said he had been told by the current president of the Security Council, Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, that the meeting, tentatively set for September 21, was not "quite settled" although "the vast majority of council members want it." "I don't think the intention is to come up with concrete solutions but really to discuss the issue and raise awareness of the urgency of tackling outstanding peace issues in the region as well as perhaps asking the council to come up a mechanism or commission a report that will make recommendations as to how to proceed in the future." Annan also said he was encouraged by the seriousness with which Lebanon and Israel were pressing ahead with implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 aimed at shoring up last month's truce that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Asked what Middle East leaders had told him about their views of the consequences of the US-led war in Iraq" /> , he said: "Most of the leaders I spoke to felt that the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath have been a real disaster for them...They believe it has destabilized the region." He added that many leaders wanted the Americans to stay in Iraq until the security situation improves, pointing out that "having created the problem they cannot walk away." Other leaders, notably in Iran, felt that "the presence of the US is a problem and that the US should leave, and if the US were to decide to leave they would help them," Annan said. "So in a way the US finds itself in a position where it cannot stay and it cannot leave". Turning to strife-torn Darfur, the UN chief reiterated his appeal to Khartoum to reconsider its opposition to the deployment of a 20,000-strong UN force in the Sudanese western region. He said the issue was "complicated one" that would take time to resolve. Commenting on his at times testy relations with Washington, notably soured by his opposition to the Iraq war, Annan said he worked "very well" with US President George W. Bush" /> and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> . "My relations with the (US) administration is good," he noted. "I cannot say my relations with everybody in Washington is good." The secretary general said he had no plan to stay on when his second five-year term expires at the end of December. He encouraged UN member states to find a successor "as soon as possible." Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 14 UPI: Annan makes Iranian nuclear program appeal United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/13/2006 2:08:00 PM -0400 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed to Iranian officials to work with the international community regarding its nuclear enrichment program. Annan, speaking at a news conference Wednesday at the United Nations, said he was heartened by talks between Iranian and EU officials that have been termed "constructive and fruitful." Those talks are scheduled to continue Thursday. Western countries are concerned about Iran's nuclear program and the possibility it could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction. Tehran has insisted the program is for peaceful purposes. "I can also say that in the region there was lots of anxiety about this issue, with leaders telling me, 'We cannot afford another crisis in this region,'" Annan said. "And I appeal to the Iranians to really work with the international community and lift the cloud of uncertainty surrounding their program, so hopefully this will be done." Story Tools: --> Del.icio.us | Digg it | RSS © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 15 UPI: EU softens on Iranian nuclear talks United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/13/2006 7:29:00 AM -0400 LONDON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The European Union is willing to drop its demand that Iran stop enriching uranium as a condition for resuming nuclear talks, the Financial Times reports. The news follows a series of weekend meeting by EU officials but comes with the condition Tehran allow international inspectors to conduct spot-checks, the newspaper said. The European compromise is directly at odds with the Bush administration's insistence no talks can be held until enrichment stops. So far, it has expressed only slight interest in a proposal floated that Iran would suspend enrichment for two months to enable talks to begin, as the U.N. Security Council has already demanded Iran halt uranium enrichment. Thursday, the issue of nuclear inspections will be the basis of a meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Ali Larijani, Iran's senior nuclear security official. Iran claims it has a sovereign right to enrich uranium for the production of electricity and denies allegations it has a goal of nuclear weapons. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 16 IRNA: Iran not to yield to bullying powers - Speaker Tehran, Sept 13, IRNA Armenia-Iran-Speaker Visiting Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said in Yerevan, Armenia, on Tuesday that the Iranian government, with a strong mandate from the nation, will never yield to the will of bullying powers. Haddad-Adel, who arrived in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Monday on the first leg of a two-nation visit, made the remarks during a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. Referring to the Iran nuclear issue, the speaker said that Iran had always stressed negotiations to settle the issue. He praised Armenia's logical stance on the issue and regretted that certain big powers were using pretexts to evade a reasonable solution, but "we have always stressed a logical solution to the nuclear standoff." "The United States has never been happy with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (in 1979) because it has been an obstacle to US hegemonic ambitions. "Twenty-seven years since the victory of the revolution, the US still speaks of toppling the regime in Iran." Haddad-Adel said that the US desires to rule the world on the pretext of defending human rights, fighting terrorism and nuclear disarmament." Pointing to the deep-rooted bonds linking the Iranian and Armenian peoples, he stressed the need to further bolster bilateral ties by increasing parliamentary interaction. While in Yerevan, the Iranian speaker held talks with senior Armenian officials on ways of further bolstering relations as well as recent regional and international developments. Tuesday night he wound up his Armenia visit and left for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Armenian President Kocharyan paid an official two-day visit to Iran at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation on July 5. ***************************************************************** 17 UPI: State: War in Iraq does not help Iran United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 9/13/2006 4:32:00 PM -0400 WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A top State Department official told Congress Wednesday he believes the Iraq war has not increased Iran's power or its influence over Iraq's Shiites. "I do not believe our actions in Iraq have contributed to a strengthening in Iran," said Amb. David Satterfield, the senior adviser on Iraq to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Satterfield told the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security that the State Department "very strongly" rejects the view that Iraqi Shiite loyalties are with Iran. "They're loyalty is to Iraq," he said. Bush administration officials have complained vociferously about the influence Iranian government agents may have over increasingly violent Shiite "death squads" in Iraq, as well as the appearance in the last year of Iranian-built roadside bombs specifically designed to pierce U.S. armor. National security adviser Stephen Hadley said in March that Iran "is giving comfort and, in some case, equipment to terrorists that are killing Iraqis and killing coalition forces. And that is what we have made very clear is unacceptable." Despite Iran's alleged meddling in Iraqi internal politics, there have not been any direct discussion between Iran and the United States to discourage such actions. Rice approved those contacts -- with the caveat that they not be a negotiation of any sort -- at the request of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Kalmay Khalilzad in March, Hadley told reporters then. "No such discussions have been conducted," Satterfield acknowledged Wednesday. "We are intent on addressing Iranian behavior in Iraq at the appropriate forum at an appropriate time." The United States has taken a hard line against any discussions with Iran because of its refusal to give up its uranium enrichment program. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Says U.S. Departure Would Calm Iraq From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 9:01 PM AP Photo VAH101 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the visiting Iraqi prime minister Wednesday that the way to end instability in Iraq is for U.S. forces to withdraw. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was on the second day of his first visit to Iran since he taking office in May, looking to a close ally of his Shiite-led government for help in calming the violence tearing apart Iraq and in developing Iraq's troubled oil industry. He told Khamenei the Iranian governments must stop outside influences that are having a ``negative'' impact on Iraq's security, the Iraqi leader's spokesman said. With Iraq torn by sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, as well as a Sunni-led insurgency, the United States has frequently accused the Iranian regime of interfering in Iraqi politics and allowing insurgents to cross the border. Tehran denies that. Khamenei told al-Maliki that Iran ``considers it an obligation to support the Iraqi government in practical ways,'' Iran's state news agency said. But Khamenei - who holds the final word in all political matters in Iran - made clear Iran wants to see the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which he blamed in part for the turmoil plaguing Iraq. ``Part of (Iraq's) sufferings have been due to the actions of the former regime and part is due to the presence of occupiers in Iraq,'' Khamenei told al-Maliki, according to the Iranian state news agency and state television. ``We hope a day will come when the Iraqi people reach the stage they deserve and that, by cutting the hands of the foreigners, its wealth will come to serve the Iraqi people,'' Khamenei said. State TV quoted al-Maliki as saying instability was Iraq's biggest challenge and he blamed the violence mainly on supporters of Saddam's old regime. No public mention was made of outside meddling in Iraqi affairs. In Baghdad, however, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said al-Maliki underlined that Iraq wants good relations with Iran, but also that ``we don't want interference in our internal affairs.'' Al-Dabbagh suggested money was flowing from elements in Iran to groups in Iraq, which he did not identify. It is believed some Shiite parties with militias accused of involvement in sectarian killings have support from groups in Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation. Those parties are also allied to al-Maliki's government, which has struggled to rein in the militias. ``There is interference coming from neighboring countries and it has negative implications for the situation in Iraq,'' al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Baghdad. ``We want to bar financing for certain parties.'' ``Iran has shown it will help, and we want to see implementation of that,'' he added. The comments reflect the complex relationship between Iran and Iraq, which is backed by the United States - Tehran's top enemy. Al-Maliki's Dawa Party is closely allied with Iran as are other Shiite parties in his government, and al-Maliki lived in Iran for part of his long exile during Saddam's rule. In a meeting with Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, al-Maliki thanked Iran for giving haven to Iraqi leaders opposed to Saddam's rule. ``Iraq is Iran's natural ally,'' state TV quoted Larijani as telling al-Maliki. In the latest sign of increasing cooperation, the two countries reached a deal for jointly developing oil fields straddling their border, and eventually Iraq will send crude oil to refineries in Iran for processing, Iraq's Oil Ministry said Wednesday. Iran is also helping Iraq in its chronic shortages of petroleum products. Under a deal reached last month, Iraq will sell crude oil to its neighbor, which will sell back kerosene, and an Iranian-Turkish company will deliver gasoline, Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told AP. --- Associated Press writer Qassem Abdul-Zahra in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 19 Guardian Unlimited: Iran and European Union Postpone Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 10:31 PM AP Photo VIE107 By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's top nuclear negotiator on Wednesday abruptly postponed talks on easing tensions over the refusal of the Tehran regime to suspend uranium enrichment. Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy official Javier Solana, did not say what prompted the decision to downgrade Thursday's meeting in Paris to the level of aides to Solana and Ali Larijani, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator. But the decision of the two principals to stay away from what would have been their third meeting in a week suggested snags had developed from their direct contacts over the weekend. The absence of Solana and Larijani was bound to dampen high expectations for the meeting. Their two sessions in Vienna had been described by both men as making progress toward solving the impasse over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council that it freeze enrichment. Members of delegations familiar with the outcome of the talks Saturday and Sunday had said Iran suggested it was ready to consider suspending enrichment for up to two months. But the officials also told The Associated Press that Iran continued to refuse pressure to stop enrichment before talks with a six-nation alliance meant to resolve the nuclear standoff, even though those nations conditioned starting negotiations on a freeze. Oil-rich Iran says it needs uranium enrichment to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that would generate electricity. Enrichment can also create material for atomic bombs, however, and the United States and other nations suspect that is Tehran's real goal. Gallach said the results of the meeting Thursday would be reported to Iran's capital and EU headquarters before a decision on scheduling further talks between Solana and Larijani. In a telephone call from the EU offices in Brussels, Belgium, Gallach said the two aides meeting Thursday - EU negotiator Robert Cooper and Javad Vaeidi, deputy head of Iran's powerful National Security Council - had also held talks in Vienna on Tuesday. Different interpretations of what was achieved at the weekend talks were reflected earlier in the day. In moderate language, Britain, France and Germany only alluded to the threat of Security Council sanctions if Iran continues to enrich uranium and called on the Tehran regime to negotiate the dispute with the international community. The United States, in contrast, said it was time for the council ``to back international diplomacy with sanctions.'' The relatively soft tone of the European statement at a meeting of the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency appeared focused on keeping confrontation low a day ahead of what then was still thought to be a Solana-Larijani meeting. Diplomats accredited to the IAEA meeting, who agreed to discuss the matter only if granted anonymity, said that while France and Britain favored a tougher approach, Germany wanted a more toned-down text. The need for bargaining among the Europeans - and the sharper tone of the U.S. statement - reflected uncertainties about Iranian intentions after Tehran suggested during the talks Sunday that it was ready to consider a short-term enrichment freeze. ``We continue to extend an open hand to Iran,'' the European statement said. It added that if Iran met the demand on enrichment, ``we will ask to suspend action in the Security Council.'' The three said the Solana-Larijani meetings had ``helped clarify some misunderstandings.'' But the chief U.S. delegate, Gregory L. Schulte, accused Iran of ``a history of deception, lack of transparency, provocative behavior and disregard for its international obligations.'' ``The time has come for the Security Council to back international diplomacy with international sanctions,'' he said. In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will take up the sanctions issue with other diplomats when the U.N. General Assembly meets next week in New York. The five permanent members of the Security Council - the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China - along with Germany have offered Iran economic and political rewards if it agrees to consider a long-term moratorium on enrichment and commits to an enrichment freeze before talks to discuss details of their package. Reflecting differences over how to deal with Tehran, they gave up an attempt to jointly criticize Iran's defiance Tuesday, after China and Russia refused to endorse U.S.-backed tough language, diplomats said. Those two countries have resisted U.S.-led efforts to move to sanctions quickly, despite the passing of the Security Council's Aug. 31 deadline for Iran to freeze work on developing enrichment technology. They favor continued negotiations. --- Associated Press writer Palma Benczenleitner contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 20 Guardian Unlimited: SKorea: U.S. Had Offered Talks With NKorea From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 7:31 AM SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's vice foreign minister on Wednesday confirmed reports that the United States had offered one-on-one talks with North Korea over the communist nation's nuclear program, but was rejected. South Korea's Yonhap news agency and other media reported Tuesday 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. The North did not accept the offer, the reports said. ``I understand that Assistant Secretary Hill made such a gesture on his own initiative in an effort to resume'' six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, South Koream Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a news briefing. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 21 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Rebuffs U.S. Offer to Talk From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday September 13, 2006 5:31 PM AP Photo SEL105 By JAE-SOON CHANG Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's vice foreign minister said Wednesday he understood the United States had offered one-on-one talks with North Korea on the communist nation's nuclear program, but was rejected. However, a U.S. official said in Washington that no new offer of direct talks had been made to Pyongyang. South Korea's Yonhap news agency and other media reported Tuesday that the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, proposed a meeting with his North Korean counterpart during a recent stop in China. The North did not accept the offer, the reports said. ``I understand that Assistant Secretary Hill made such a gesture on his own initiative in an effort to resume'' six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a news briefing. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing process, reiterated, however, that the United States would only see the North as part of meetings with other countries, such as the nuclear negotiations. In South Korea, a Foreign Ministry official said Hill sent a ``message'' to the North saying he could meet North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan during a trip to China last week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy, and did not offer any more details. Efforts to restart the disarmament talks have gained greater urgency in recent weeks as leaders worry about a potential North Korean nuclear weapons test and considering the North's decision to test launch seven missiles in July. Nuclear talks - among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States - were last held in November, when negotiators failed to make progress on implementing a September agreement in which the North pledged to give up its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees. North Korea has refused to attend the six-party talks since last year in anger at U.S. efforts to choke off the North's access to international banking over its alleged currency counterfeiting and other wrongdoing. Hill and Kim met in July 2005 in Beijing to negotiate the North's return to the nuclear talks, ending a previous boycott. In April, Hill refused to meet privately with Kim in Tokyo, where all chief delegates to the six-nation talks had gathered for a private security conference, citing the North's refusal to return to the table. The two countries also have maintained communications through the North's mission to the United Nations in New York. Washington says the channel is only for communication purposes, not negotiation. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 22 Korea Herald: Roh, Bush won't discuss extra N. Korea sanctions WASHINGTON/SEOUL - Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush will not be discussing any additional sanctions on North Korea at the summit talks scheduled for Thursday, a high-ranking government official said yesterday. "The two sides will probably confirm the broader principles for resolving the North Korean standoff, but won't go into details, namely Washington's sanctions on North Korea," he said. "The two summits will also reconfirm their positions to sustain the talks on transferring the wartime control command of South Korea," the official, who is accompanying Roh, said on condition of anonymity. Government officials in Seoul said prospects for any immediate breakthrough in the nuclear standoff were dim. "The current situation makes it hard for us to forecast whether the six-party talks will resume soon or not," said First Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan at a weekly press briefing yesterday. "It is difficult to find common ground between Washington and Pyongyang, which both continue to cling to their positions," Yu said in response to a question on whether there would be any significant progress made during the summit talks. President Bush is believed to be considering further financial sanctions on Pyongyang on the back of a United Nations resolution that was passed this summer condemning North Korea's July missile launch. The Roh government has ruled out sanctions discussions because it has already agreed to the U.N. resolution. Meanwhile, Washington's move - spearheaded by Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence - to further isolate the North by blocking foreign exchange channels is gaining speed. Levey said last week that a total of 24 international banks have voluntarily halted business with North Korea so far. Greater urgency has recently been added to the disarmament talks on signs that North Korea may be preparing a nuclear weapons test, but the six involved nations have yet to reach a consensus. While Washington is hard-nosed, Seoul is taking a relatively softer approach resembling that of Beijing, one of Pyongyang's staunchest allies. As he nears the end of his term, the president has been under escalating crossfire from local conservatives who fear his persistent engagement policy toward Pyongyang could jeopardize the alliance with Washington. Adding to the worries are Seoul's ambitions to regain full control over its troops in wartime, a notion that right-wingers - including former diplomats and defense ministers - vehemently oppose on the grounds that the country is unprepared for that kind of control. Officials expect neither Roh nor Bush to broach the wartime control issue at this time as it is only a small part of the alliance and an issue they claim to have settled. The government said only the final details, including an appropriate timeframe for wartime operational control handover, are remaining. The two countries are expected to reach a consensus during an annual meeting of bilateral defense ministers next month. Washington, in contrast to Seoul's 2012 deadline, has suggested 2009 as the year for handing full wartime operational control over. This would entail the dismantling of the combined command system. Dismissing conservative concerns, Seoul maintains that new dimensions in the alliance with the United States show that relations are changing, but for the better. It was on countless occasions that Roh stressed the alliance needs adjustment to better reflect South Korea's economic and political development. Prominent U.S. officials, including former troop commanders and ambassadors, have so far supported his logic, which complies with Washington's global troop realignment for trimming its overseas troops. Meanwhile, the free trade agreement talks are expected to be revived by Roh's visit. The two sides are looking to strike a deal by early next year before President Bush's trade negotiation authority expires in July 2007, although the previous three rounds of talks have been fruitless. Roh is scheduled to stop over in San Francisco before departing for Seoul on Friday. (jemmie@heraldm.com) (angiely@heraldm.com) By Kim Ji-hyun and Lee Joo-hee 2006.09.14 ***************************************************************** 23 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Roh vs. Bush President Roh Moo-hyun will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington today. The two leaders have many good reasons to meet at this particular moment. The tension over North Korea's military threat has further heightened since it test-fired missiles in July, which led to a U.N. Security Council resolution. With U.S. patience apparently running out, there is talk of additional sanctions on the Pyongyang government, which, for its part, is doing nothing to stem rumors of a possible nuclear test. In addition, the South Korea-U.S. military alliance is facing its most serious challenge in recent years in part because of Roh's push for wartime operational command of the Korean military from the United States. The ongoing negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement between Seoul and Washington also require a boost from the two leaders. If the five previous summits between them are any guide, it is easy to expect the two leaders will wrap up the talks with statements sweetened by such words as reconfirmation of the alliance, a joint stance on North Korea, and the acceleration of the free trade negotiations. That will ring hollow since we all know that Roh and Bush have deep differences over those issues, not least on North Korea. It is common knowledge that Bush has a skeptical view of North Korea, while Roh is fond of appeasing the communist regime led by Kim Jong-il. To a degree, Roh has succeeded in persuading Bush to seek a diplomatic solution to the North's nuclear threat, as evidenced by the launch of the six-party talks three years ago. But the multilateral process has been stalled for one long year, and it is unlikely to resume anytime soon. Now U.S. officials are publicly discussing the imposition of additional sanctions on North Korea over its weapons of mass destruction programs and other illegal activities, including counterfeiting the U.S. currency. The recent U.S. Missile Defense exercise aimed at intercepting a North Korea-fired missile illustrates how seriously the Bush administration perceives the threat from weapons in the hands of Kim Jong-il. In contrast, Roh is sticking to a naive view of the North. Roh said last November that the North has some reason to argue that it is developing nuclear arms in self-defense. As recently as last week, Roh said the North's missile launches did not pose a military threat, and it was merely a politically motivated action. With Roh and Bush so wide apart, it may be difficult for them to narrow the gap, let alone find common ground on how to handle North Korea. In view of the recent developments, however, they do not have the luxury of pretending to speak in unison when they get together, and calling for different approaches once they are apart. The most essential thing is to devise ways to keep the tension from escalating further, and persuade or pressure the North to return to the six-nation talks. The transfer of wartime operational control also requires a flexible approach from both sides. Coupled with tension over the North's missile and nuclear threats, the issue has been raising concern in the South over its own security and the future of the military alliance with the United States. The best option should be not to fix a timeline on the transfer. The five-decade-long alliance between the two countries is too precious, not only for their respective national interests, but also for stability in this part of the world. It should not be put in jeopardy by two whimsical leaders who will be retiring in one and a half years. 2006.09.14 ***************************************************************** 24 BBC: US envoy 'made N Korea offer' Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 September 2006 [Christopher Hill talks to journalists in Shanghai on 11 September] Mr Hill offered the meeting during his recent visit to China A senior US nuclear negotiator offered a bilateral meeting with North Korean officials but was turned down, South Korean officials said. Christopher Hill proposed talks with North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan during his recent visit to China, a Foreign Ministry official said. But there was no response from the North Koreans to the rare US offer. The move comes amid a deadlock in talks on the North's nuclear ambitions and tensions over its recent missile tests. Pyongyang tested seven missiles, including a new long-range weapon capable of hitting the US, on 5 July, sparking international concern. There has also been speculation that North Korea may be planning what is thought to be its first nuclear test. 'Own initiative' Officials from the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Mr Hill had sent a message to North Korea offering a one-to-one meeting with his counterpart during his six-day visit to China. "I understand that Assistant Secretary Hill made such a gesture on his own initiative to try to resume the six-party talks," said South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan. North Korea has repeatedly asked for direct negotiations with the US, but Washington says all talks must take place within the multilateral framework. Mr Hill's meeting would have taken place on this basis, Mr Yu said. The US and North Korean negotiators held a direct meeting in July 2005, but in April this year Mr Hill reportedly rejected a private meeting with Mr Kim in Tokyo. News of the offer came ahead of a meeting on Thursday in Washington between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and US President George W Bush. South Korean media have suggested the two sides are apart on how to handle North Korea. Seoul is said to be seeking a softer approach towards Pyongyang, while the US is reportedly eyeing further economic sanctions. ***************************************************************** 25 AFP: US, partners, seek 'proper way' on NKorea Wed Sep 13, 5:44 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States and its allies are looking for "the proper way" to proceed with diplomatic efforts to end North Korea" /> North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, the White House said. "Nobody wants a nuclearized peninsula. That's well-recognized. And people are still trying to figure out the proper way to proceed on it," spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. Snow, briefing reporters one day before US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushand South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun were to meet here, said it was up to North Korea whether stalled six-country talks resume for that purpose. "The North Koreans need to come back to the table," said Snow. "The United States has worked with its allies and made clear to the North Koreans that they have obligations." South Korea" /> South Koreahas been pressing the United States to show greater flexibility in efforts to restart the six-party nuclear disarmament talks, which also include Russia, China and Japan. "There are incentives awaiting the government if it behaves well. That remains the proper approach. And it also remains the proper approach to say to those in the neighborhood, 'You're closest; you have the most influence; you need to step up as well.'" At a meeting last September, the impoverished North agreed in principle to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid and security and diplomatic guarantees. But Pyongyang boycotted the talks two months later to protest US sanctions on a Macau-based bank accused of laundering and counterfeiting money for the North. In July, it test-fired seven missiles, sparking condemnation from the UN Security Council which imposed sanctions related to the missile programme. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 26 BBC: Nuclear sub sails Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 September 2006 [HMS Sovereign ] HMS Sovereign on her final voyage after 33 years service One of the Royal Navy's longest-serving submarines sailed into British naval history after 33 years of service. HMS Sovereign flew her decommissioning pennant as she sailed from her base near Helensburgh for the last time. The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, was at HM Naval Base Clyde to bid a personal farewell to HMS Sovereign, a hunter killer submarine. Sir Jonathon was on a three-day visit to assess the navy's multi-million pound investment in Scotland. He said: "I have been to Glasgow to see the Daring work, I have been to Rosyth to see the carrier and frigate upgrading - I couldn't miss HM Naval Base Clyde for Sovereign's last sailing - and what a change we have here. "Scotland and the Royal Navy have imperishable links and plans are in place to maintain those links long into the future." The First Sea Lord was joined on the jetty by HM Naval Base commander, Commodore Carolyn Strait. She said: "We were all delighted that the First Sea Lord could attend the departure of HMS Sovereign. It also gave us a chance to show him the major improvements around the base." ***************************************************************** 27 IAEA: International Nuclear Safety Group Holds Forum in Vienna + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] Staff Report 12 September 2006 [Richard Meserve] INSAG Chairman Richard Meserve (right) will head a panel discussion at the Forum in September. At left is Mr. Ken Brockman, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA) + Story Resources + INSAG Forum Agenda [pdf] + INSAG at Work + Strengthening Global Safety Regime + INSAG Membership + IAEA General Conference + Nuclear Power Plants Worldwide Global experts in nuclear safety are meeting at the IAEA 18 September 2006, the day the Agency´s General Conference of Member States opens in Vienna. The International Nuclear Safety Group (INSAG) includes top nuclear safety officials from 14 countries and organizations. The INSAG Forum will examine issues related to the infrastructure for nuclear safety that is needed by countries with emerging and mature nuclear power programmes. The agenda includes national presentations from the Republic of Korea, Turkey, United States, India, Argentina, and Germany, followed by a panel discussion chaired by INSAG Chairman Richard Meserve. INSAG is a group of experts with high professional competence in the field of safety working in regulatory organizations, research and academic institutions and the nuclear industry. It is convened under the auspices of the IAEA with the objective to provide authoritative advice and guidance on nuclear safety approaches, policies and principles. In particular, INSAG will provide recommendations and opinions on current and emerging nuclear safety issues to the IAEA, the nuclear community and the public. See Story Resources for the Forum agenda. The Forum takes places at the Austria Center, Hall E, beginning at 15:30 hrs on Monday, 18 September. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Official.Mail@iaea.org ***************************************************************** 28 IRNA: EU-Pakistani senator/Interview /WRD/ Pakstani senator optimistic over EU initiative to resolve Iran's nuclear case , Sept 13, IRNA Chairman of the Pakistan Senate's Foreign Relations Committee and Secretary-General of the Pakistan Muslim League Mushahid Hussein has called for a peaceful resolution to the Iran nuclear issue without the use of force or threat of the use of force or sanctions. "Iran has repeatedly said that they do not want nuclear weapons and we accept that," Hussein told IRNA in Brussels in an interview. "There should be a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue. There should be no use of force or threat of the use of force or sanctions because these are counter-productive, he said. The Pakistani senator, who is currently visiting Brussels as part of the delegation of Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, is on his first visit to the European Parliament (EP). "There should not be any double standards on this issue. Iran should be treated the same way as other countries are being treated. It should not be singled out for punishment," he stressed. Replying to a question on the ongoing EU-Iran nuclear negotiations, Hussein said "this is a very positive initiative." "This initiative, in my view, shows that the international community, the EU would like the issue to be resolved through diplomatic means, and I am optimistic that both sides are keen for a resolution." Commenting on ties between Iran and Pakistan, he said they are "very positive and strong," adding that they have been reinforced during the tenures of President Musharraf, President Khatami and President Ahmadinejad. "We have close interaction. We are trying to build a pipeline. We have cooperation and similar interests in Afghanistan. We share similar views on Muslim world issues. We have very close cooperation and coordination," he told IRNA. The Pakistani senator also participated in a conference on Kashmir called `Global Discourse on Kashmir' which was inaugurated by Musharraf in the EP on Tuesday. The two-day meeting is organized by the All Party Group For Kashmir in the EP and the Brussels-based Kashmir Centre. ***************************************************************** 29 Brazil, Argentina go nuclear: Straightgoods.com Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:50:04 -0500 (CDT) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY from: http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature6.cfm?REF=527 The Latins go nuclear Brazil, Argentina have relaunched nuclear energy programs. Dateline: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 by Alvaro Vargas Llosa While the world was concentrating on Iran's nuclear drama, some Latin American nations were going nuclear too. Argentina and Brazil have relaunched their nuclear energy programs big time and in Chile, despite President Michelle Bachelet's initial skepticism, officials are beginning to consider that option. In the case of Brazil and Argentina, it's all about an old rivalry so bitter that cross-border jokes run something like this: A Brazilian tells an officer that he has run over an Argentine visitor and neglected to inform the victim's family. "Well done, you might have caused a war if you had told them. You are a pacifist," the officer replies. "But when I buried him, he shouted that he was alive," explains the contrite Brazilian. "Don't worry," comes the response, "they all lie." Brazil, which has the world's sixth-largest reserves of uranium, recently inaugurated a couple of centrifuges in its enrichment facility at Resende. This plant will feed the country's two nuclear reactors. At present, those reactors provide 4 percent of the nation's electricity but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's plan will significantly expand the nuclear component of the energy matrix with seven new plants to be built over the next 15 years. Argentina also has two reactors providing 9 percent of the nation's electricity. But President Nestor Kirchner has announced a $3.5 billion program that includes a third plant, conducting feasibility studies for a fourth, and reopening a uranium enrichment facility at Pilcaniyeu that was closed after a nuclear weapons program was revealed at the end of military rule in 1983. Both countries say their intentions are benign. Brazil's centrifuges will only enrich uranium to 3.5 percent U-235, well below the 90 percent concentration needed for weapons. However, military establishments in both countries have a history with nuclear weapons and delivery systems. In the 1970s, Brazil secretly transferred its technology to a military program known as Solimoes. The program was scrapped in 1990 under foreign pressure. In Argentina, the military developed "Condor" strategic missiles until they were decommissioned in the 1990s. Since then, both countries have signed, and complied with, nonproliferation treaties, and military leaders are no longer in power. I call attention to this because there is no economic logic behind the relaunching of the nuclear programs. It is all about national pride and regional power politics. The energy problems could easily be solved in more economic ways and prevent future tensions..... whole article at: http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature6.cfm?REF=527 Penney Kome, author and journalist http://penneykome.ca Editor, Straight Goods, http://straightgoods.com ***************************************************************** 30 HS: Russians plan up to six new reactors for nuclear plant near Finland Helsingin Sanomat - Thursday 14.9.2006 Russia plans to build up to six new reactors at the Sosnovyi Bor nuclear power plant on the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg, says Viktor Opekunov, the chairman of the Energy Committee of the Russian Duma. Opekunov was speaking in Helsinki on Tuesday on energy relations between Russia and the European Union. The new reactors are to replace the existing four old ones. Each time one new reactor comes on line, an old one will be shut down. In addition to the four replacements of the old reactors, Opekunov says that an additional two more might also be built. Construction of the first of the new reactors is to begin in 2008, and they should be ready to go on line in 2011-2012, at about the same time that proponents of a proposed controversial 1,000 megawatt undersea electricity cable to link the power plant with the Finnish electricity grid would be complete. Opekunov says that the project has been studied in Russia, and seen as both profitable and feasible. He adds that the project has the support of the government, the Duma, and President Vladimir Putin. The construction of new reactors at Sosnovyi Bor is expected to launch an extensive programme of investment into nuclear energy in Russia, leading to the construction of dozens of new reactors by 2030. The proportion of nuclear power in Russia’s energy mix is expected to rise from the present 15 percent to 25 percent. Rosenergoatom, the company that operates Russia’s nuclear power plants, is completely under state control. Therefore, financing would come from the state budget. Helsingin Sanomat 13.9.2006 - TODAY ***************************************************************** 31 Times of India: 'US will honour civilian nuclear agreement' 13 Sep, 2006 1535hrs ISTPTI NEW DELHI: The US on Wednesday said it will honour the agreement that has been reached between New Delhi and Washington on civilian nuclear cooperation and stressed that the goalposts with regard to the deal were not being moved. "The goalposts are not being moved. The civilian nuclear agreement when finally implemented will mark a new level of trust and cooperation in our partnership," US Ambassador David Mulford said in his address to the third Indo-US Economic Summit here. "We will honour the agreement that has been reached," Mulford said. Procedural moments and debates in American politics were often baffling to our friends around the world; he said referring to controversies sought to be generated during the ratification of the nuclear agreement by the US Congress. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service ***************************************************************** 32 RIA Novosti: Russia set for massive increase in nuclear power investment-1 13/ 09/ 2006 MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) - The state will increase investment in the nuclear energy industry from 18 billion rubles ($660 mln) in 2007 to more than 80 bln rubles ($3 bln) in 2009, Russia's economic development and trade minister said Wednesday. "In 2007, state investment in the nuclear energy sector will be 18 billion rubles ($660 mln), in 2008, 53 billion rubles ($2 bln), and in 2009, over 80 billion rubles ($3 bln)," German Gref said. He said earlier the ministry had forecast a 2.5% increase in electricity consumption in the first half of the year, but it had grown more than 5% in the reporting period. Gref said the investment sources had yet to be determined, but added that funds could be raised by Russia's electricity monopoly Unified Energy System from the sale of its power-generating assets. Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, said Tuesday nuclear energy must replace the share of natural gas in Russia's energy balance. Russia's reserves of coal and natural gas could be depleted in fifty years. But with around 8% of the world's uranium output, Russia is planning to mine 60-70% of its uranium needs by 2015, with the remainder coming from joint ventures in former Soviet republics, particularly Kazakhstan, which holds 25-30% of the world's uranium reserves. "There is no alternative to the development of nuclear power in Russia, which must replace power generated using natural gas," he said. Russia has the world's largest reserves of natural gas and has become a crucial exporter, particularly for Europe. But the nuclear agency head lauded his sector, saying it was growing regardless of military projects, as market-economy mechanisms were playing an increasingly important role. Some European governments, in particular the United Kingdom, have decided to look toward atomic energy to provide for their future needs despite environmental activists' protests. And Kiriyenko said the revival of the nuclear sector in his country had been caused by growing energy consumption, a lack of new energy sources in the foreseeable future and unjustified hopes that energy-saving mechanisms could solve an energy deficit. Russia currently has 10 operational nuclear power plants with 31 reactors, but Kiriyenko said Russia would need another 300 gigawatts from new plants to cover a projected energy deficit in the next 30 years. Kiriyenko highlighted several key areas in the nuclear industry's development: the division of the industry into the military and civilian branches, budget spending on the construction of nuclear power plants to ensure a 2 GW annual increase, the adoption of a nuclear and radiation security program, the establishment of a single mining company, international centers for nuclear cycle services, the development of fast-neutron reactors and a serial construction of new power units. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 33 The Hindu: Nuclear programme will continue - Kakodkar Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 Staff Reporter Bangalore: The Indian nuclear programme will continue whether or not the deal with the U.S. comes through, Anil Kakodkar, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and Department of Atomic Energy Secretary, said on Wednesday. He was speaking to presspersons after inaugurating an Emergency Response Centre at the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research. Dr. Kakodkar said the two countries had held wide-ranging discussions on the modalities of the deal, including discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency. India's nuclear programme was linked to three factors — sustaining fossil fuel reserves, heavy pricing of hydrocarbons, and global climatic problems. There was global interest in its nuclear programme as India was an advanced nuclear technology country. Nuclear technology could contribute to world energy requirements, and India was known to be a safe and responsible nuclear player. "We have identified a separation plan, which has been discussed and agreed upon by the two countries. We are close to getting approval of the deal. However, the U.S. Congress will have to amend its laws to pass a guideline with regard to nuclear fuel suppliers, so that nuclear cooperation between the two countries can begin," he said. There would be no changes in the framework of the deal. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has spelt out all the elements in his statement in Parliament." India would look after its interest of carrying on with domestic research and development programmes, as the country was keen on opening up its three-stage nuclear programme to its full potential. "We should be able to carry out our strategic programme, especially with regard to national security, as has been recognised in the July 18 agreement. However, we are also keen on international civil nuclear cooperation to ensure that we get additional energy resources through nuclear power," Dr. Kakodkar said. On recycling spent fuel, he said spent fuel could not remain so in perpetuity. The country had adopted a close nuclear fuel cycle model, which was getting broader world recognition as the correct strategy for managing spent fuel. As for the controversy over uranium mining in Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Kakodkar said that by and large there was support for mining. "Only a small section is opposed to the uranium mining, probably because it is misinformed or inadequately informed." Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: NRC Bars Research Reactor Operator from NRC-Regulated Work Due to Unauthorized Alteration to Reactor Controls News Release - 2006-10 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-109 September 13, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued an order to a former senior reactor operator at Reed College in Portland, Ore., prohibiting him from working in any NRC-regulated activities for three years after the operator deliberately modified the schools research reactors control rod drive circuit without authorization. The NRCs Office of Investigations determined that on May 10, 2005, Nicholas A. Chaimov deliberately removed a jumper on the control rod drive circuit of the Reed College Reactor. Without the jumper, reactor operators would be unable to remove control rods to allow the reactor to start. There was no threat to public health and safety, and the problem was discovered during a routine pre-startup check. The NRCs Order, which is effective immediately, requires Chaimov to cease any involvement in NRC-licensed activities. His deliberate actions raise serious doubts as to whether he could be relied upon to comply with NRC requirements. Consequently, the NRC staff determined an Order prohibiting Chaimovs involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period of three years is appropriate. Chaimov has 20 days to respond to the Order in writing, and he may request a hearing. Last revised Wednesday, September 13, 2006 ***************************************************************** 35 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding FR Doc E6-15132 [Federal Register: September 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 177)] [Notices] [Page 54099-54100] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13se06-123] of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Source Materials License No. SUB-834, To Authorize Disposal, in Accordance With 10 CFR 20.2002, of Contaminated Military Vehicles by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center Facility, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health Physicist, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone (610) 337-5040; fax number (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: exu@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance of a license amendment to Source Materials License No. SUB- 834. This license is held by the Department of the Army Aberdeen Test Center (the Licensee), for its facility located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. License No. SUB-834 was issued to the Army on April 11, 1961, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 40, and has been amended periodically since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to use uranium and thorium for purposes of conducting research and development activities with military equipment. In accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002 and 10 CFR 40.14, issuance of the license amendment would authorize the transfer and off-site disposal of two M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles which are contaminated with depleted uranium. As discussed further below, the two vehicles would be disposed of at U.S. Ecology, a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility in Idaho. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated September 13, 2005. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR Part 51). Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register. II. Environmental Assessment Identification of Proposed Action The proposed action would approve the Licensee's September 13, 2005, license amendment request that transfer of its two M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to U.S. Ecology's disposal facility be authorized. In addition to granting the licensee's license amendment request, the proposed action would also grant, pursuant to 10 CFR 40.14, an exemption to U.S. Ecology from 10 CFR Part 40 licensing requirements. 10 CFR 40.14 provides that the Commission may, upon application by an interested person, ``or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions'' from the 10 CFR Part 40 requirements ``as it determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public interest.'' Under the exemption granted to U.S. Ecology any depleted uranium on the two vehicles would, upon their receipt at U.S. Ecology's disposal facility, no longer be subject to NRC regulation and would no longer be NRC licensed material. The 10 CFR 40.14 exemption in this case is equivalent to (1) prior EA determinations on 10 CFR 20.2002 requests in which disposal of depleted uranium at RCRA hazardous waste disposal facilities were approved; and (2) previous related exemptions to the effect that the materials at issue were exempt from further Atomic Energy Act and NRC licensing requirements. Need for the Proposed Action The Licensee needs this license change in order to dispose of the two M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles that are contaminated with hazardous wastes at an appropriate facility. The two vehicles also have low-level contamination from depleted uranium, specifically, less than 800 microcuries total depleted uranium on a total mass of 58,000 pounds in 2,800 cubic feet of material. NRC is fulfilling its [[Page 54100]] responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to make a timely decision on a proposed license amendment that ensures protection of public health and safety and the environment. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC staff has reviewed the evaluation performed by the Licensee to demonstrate compliance with the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal criteria. Under these criteria, a licensee may seek NRC authorization to dispose of licensed material using procedures not otherwise authorized by the NRC's regulations. A licensee's supporting analysis must show that the radiological doses arising from the proposed 10 CFR 20.2002 disposal will be as low as reasonably achievable and within the 10 CFR part 20 dose limits. The disposal of the military vehicle debris containing less than 800 microcuries of depleted uranium will result in a dose of less than 1 millirem to a member of the public. Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected environment and environmental impacts associated with the proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of any effluents that may be released off site, and there is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Based on its review, the NRC staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the disposal site. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative environmental impacts, and concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action Due to the very small amounts of radioactive material involved, the environmental impacts of the proposed action are small. Therefore, the only alternative the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment request. This denial of the application would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative are therefore similar and the no-action alternative is accordingly not further considered. Conclusion The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action will not significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and that the proposed action is the preferred alternative. Agencies and Persons Consulted NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the State of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for review on May 10, 2006. On July 28, 2006, the State responded by letter. The State agreed with the health and safety conclusions of the EA, but provided comments as to NRC jurisdiction of the material at U.S. Ecology. The NRC revised the EA to explain that pursuant to the proposed exemption, the material, upon its receipt at U.S. Ecology's disposal facility, would no longer be NRC licensed material and would thus no longer be subject to NRC regulation. The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. III. Finding of No Significant Impact The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate. IV. Further Information Documents related to this action, including the application for license amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS accession numbers. (1) Letter dated September 13, 2005, with Attachment 1 ``Aberdeen Proving Ground Request for Approval of Proposed Procedures in accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002'', Enclosure 2, ``MicroShield Exposure Rates for Hypothetical Transportation Worker, Members of the General Public, and Disposal Facility Workers'', and Enclosure 3, ``RESRAD Computer code Summary Report Resident Farmer'' [ADAMS Accession No. ML052870504]. (2) Technical Review of Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 20.2002 Request by Aberdeen Test Center [ML060310247] and Safety Evaluation Report: 10 CFR 20.2002 Request By Aberdeen Test Center [ML060310257]. (3) Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against Radiation.'' (4) Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions''. If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 1st day of September 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. James P. Dwyer, Chief, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I. [FR Doc. E6-15132 Filed 9-12-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 36 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc.; James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear FR Doc E6-15133 [Federal Register: September 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 177)] [Notices] [Page 54100-54101] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13se06-124] Power Plant; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption from the requirements of part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' issued to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee), for the operation of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant (JAF) located in Oswego County, NY. [[Page 54101]] Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action: The proposed action would allow the usage of the Hemyc fire barrier wrap installed in the West Cable Tunnel to protect a safe shutdown power cable. The licensee stated that recent tests indicate the Hemyc fire barrier lacks sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it meets the acceptance criteria for a rated 1 hour fire barrier. But the licensee states that the Hemyc fire barrier will provide a reasonable level of resistance to fire due to the fact that the area where the fire barrier wrap is located has no significant ignition sources other than cables, has available manual suppression capability, is equipped with automatic fire suppression and fire detection, and administrative controls limit the presence of transient combustible materials and transient ignition sources. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated July 27, 2005, as supplemented on May 17, 2006. The Need for the Proposed Action: The proposed exemption from 10 CFR part 50, Appendix R, III.G.2.c, is needed in response to NRC Information Notice 2005-07. The information notice provided licensees the details of Hemyc electrical raceway fire barrier system (ERFBS) full-scale fire tests conducted by the NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. The test results concluded that the Hemyc ERFBS does not provide the level of protection expected for a 1 hour rated fire barrier, as originally designed. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the configuration of the fire zone under review provides reasonable assurance that a severe fire is not plausible and the existing fire protection features are adequate. The details of the staff's evaluation will be provided in the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the exemption to the regulation. Based on the presence of area-wide smoke detection; the presence of automatic area and in-tray fire suppression and manual fire suppression; fire barrier protection at the boundaries of the fire zone; the existing Hemyc configuration in the fire zone; implementation of transient combustibles controls including proposed revisions for hot work in the vicinity of the Hemyc configuration; and the absence of significant combustible loading and ignition sources, the NRC staff finds that the use of this Hemyc fire barrier in this zone will not significantly increase the consequences from a fire in this fire zone. The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be released off site. There is no significant increase in the amount of any effluent released off site. There is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non- radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action: As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar. Alternative Use of Resources: The action does not involve the use of any different resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, dated March 1973. Agencies and Persons Consulted: In accordance with its stated policy, on August 9, 2006, the NRC staff consulted with the New York State official, John Spath, of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action. For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee's letter dated July 27, 2005, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number ML052210382, as supplemented on May 17, 2006, ADAMS accession number ML061530108. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, . Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800- 397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to . Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of September 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Patrick D. Milano, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-15133 Filed 9-12-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 37 Financial express: American firms eyeing Indian nuke market Thursday, September 14, 2006 ARUN S NEW DELHI, SEPT 13 : With bright chances of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal becoming a reality, several US companies want to become early movers and cash in on the nuke deal’s commercial prospect. Chief of Staff of the Idaho government John A Sandy, who is currently on visit to India, told FE that Idaho was one key state of the US with expertise in nuclear technology and added that some Idaho-based companies in the nuclear sector were closely monitoring the developments and started exploring the opportunities in India. Talking about his state’s reputation in the nuclear sector, Sandy said the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a research centre for nuclear technology, was the first to generate electricity from a nuclear reactor in 1951. He also said that INL had designed and constructed 52 rectors since it was set up in 1949, and for many years, it was the site of the largest concentration of nuclear reactors in the world, the official said. The INL could provide technological know-how regarding civilian nuclear energy to Indian or foreign companies, he added. Trade specialist of the Idaho government Damien Bard told FE that leading Idaho-based companies looking at investment opportunities in the nuclear sector in India are Washington Group International (involved in nuclear power generation), Premier Technology (making shielding equipment for nuclear reactors) and Scientech Company (offering nuclear safety pollution control services). Bard added that Washington Group International, which is currently aggressive as far as its investments in China are concerned, had begun training its sights on India. New venture • US companies ready to play the role of sub-contractors to large Indian companies or MNCs • Indian companies like L&T, Tatas and Anil Ambani group reportedly waiting to enter the nuclear sector These companies, possessing world-class know-how in the nuclear technology, is also looking at possible openings in the medical application of nuclear technology in cancer treatment using radio isotopes, Bard added. He also said these companies would be playing the role of sub-contractors to large Indian companies or foreign multi-national companies with interest in the sector. The Centre has, however, not made any changes in the Atomic Energy Act to give clarity regarding the participation of foreign and domestic companies in the civilian nuclear sector till now. Indian companies like L, GMR, Mahindra and Mahindra, the Thapar group, Vedanta, Tatas and the Anil Ambani group are also reportedly waiting to enter the nuclear sector. © 2006: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All ***************************************************************** 38 Baltic Times: Lithuanian President discusses energy projects Sep 13, 2006 By TBT staffVILNIUS - The projects of a power bridge to the West and a new nuclear power plant were discussed during the meeting between Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Economy Minister Vytas Navickas today. According to presidential spokeswoman, the president said that an impulse for the construction of a power bridge had been given during a visit of the Polish president to Lithuania last week and now implementation of the project had to be started. During the meeting, the president also stressed that the energy strategy had to be updated as soon as possible. “The document should evaluate the consequences of the closure of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) and the construction of a new reactor, envisage Lithuania's integration into the European energy market,†said Adamkus However, Navickas said that a meeting of a Lithuanian-Polish task force in charge of implementation of the power bridge project should be held in Vilnius next week. A document stating that the implementation of the power bridge project is being started should be signed by Lithuanian and Polish economy ministers during Adamkus' visit to Warsaw on Sept. 29. by Julius Nalivaiko (c) Copyright 2006 Baltic News Ltd. [Hosted by DEAC] ***************************************************************** 39 theday.com: State Orders Investigation Into Whistleblower's Case Millstone worker says he was fired after reporting concerns By Patricia Daddona Day Staff Writer\, Millstone\/business trends E-mail: p.daddona@theday.com Phone No.: (860) 701 - 4324 Published on 9/13/2006 by Kate Gardiner Sham Mehta a Millstone Power Station employee who reported employee concerns with Millstone's security listens to the public forum with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Dominion Nuclear Connecticut Wednesday Mar. 29, 2006 at the Millstone visitor's center in Waterford. A state agency is taking seriously a whistleblower's complaint that he lost his position at Millstone Power Station because of the concerns he raised. The agency has recommended pursuing a full investigation after finding that questions remain as to whether the company retaliated against the worker. The state Department of Public Utility Control issued a draft decision Tuesday stating that too many unresolved questions exist to close the case. The station owner, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, has not demonstrated that the job lost at Millstone a year ago by whistleblower Sham Mehta of East Lyme was unconnected to his reporting of concerns about a security fence at the nuclear complex, three state commissioners found. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has intervened on Mehta's behalf, hailed the decision to pursue a full investigation but criticized the state agency for stopping short of reinstating Mehta in his old position. This case is about more than one whistleblower, Blumenthal stated. It concerns the safety and security of the entire state. We cannot create a culture where nuclear power plant employees are silenced by fear of losing their livelihood. In its draft decision, the DPUC recommended the nuclear station provide Mehta, who is on paid leave, with an office, computer and telephone pending the outcome of its investigation. The commissioners took the position that Mehta cannot be given his old job because it was eliminated in a reorganization. The commissioners accepted the conclusion of its prosecutorial unit that Mr. Mehta unquestionably raised safety concerns to (Dominion) management. The panel wrote that it was unconvinced that Mr. Mehta's protected activity had no impact on the hiring process and the employment decision. They want to see more information about the hiring procedure and the restructuring of Mehta's department. Dominion officials declined to comment. Under state law, a whistleblower is protected from adverse action like losing his job or being demoted if it is found that the worker reported substantial improper or unlawful conduct or failure to act and was discharged relatively soon afterward. The burden is on the employer to establish by clear and convincing evidence that there is no connection between the job elimination and the raising of concerns. Whether the misconduct alleged by the worker proved true or not is of no consequence in deciding whether retaliation took place. Even if the state probe continues, it will provide no new information about the validity of Mehta's charges that security at the plant was compromised. That is because the state agency has no jurisdiction to evaluate the security aspect of Mehta's complaint. That issue is being investigated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to DPUC spokeswoman Beryl Lyons and NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. As a worker who investigates employees' concerns, Mehta had reported to Millstone owner Dominion that a security fence alarm system was routinely disabled because of repeated false alarms. Within a year, Mehta found his position eliminated in a reorganization of his department, and he was not rehired by the company. In its tentative decision to conduct further inquiry, the three commissioners found that the state law designed to protect whistleblowers does apply to this case, despite Dominion's argument that he merely relayed the concerns of others. They also found the time frame of a year within which Mehta reported security concerns and lost his job could be interpreted as retaliation unless clear and convincing evidence to the contrary is provided by the company, said Lyons. Mehta is happy about the proposed decision, said his lawyer, Hank Murray. It's what we've been asking for all along. The fact that Dominion reorganized the employee concern department and didn't find a position for him in the company ... (implies) that the real reason is that he was retaliated against for engaging in protected activity. We're looking forward to the full investigation. The U.S. Department of Labor recently found that Mehta's raising of security concerns did not influence Dominion's hiring and firing decisions. Mehta's appeal of the labor decision is scheduled for an Oct. 24 hearing. Commissioners propose giving Mehta the title of nuclear technical specialist III and having human resources in Waterford and at the parent company in Virginia treat him as a current employee. Murray plans to challenge those recommendations. It's pretty clear the law reinstates you in your position or an equivalent, and they say Dominion doesn't have an equivalent position available, added Murray. If the department upholds this decision on Sept. 27 following oral arguments on Sept. 22, the state's investigation would proceed and could include a hearing, Lyons said. Anti-nuclear activist Nancy Burton has called on state Sen. Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, president pro tem of the Senate, and others to launch a high-profile legislative inquiry into Mehta's case. Burton said that by not addressing the security issues surrounding Mehta's complaint of alleged retaliation, state officials are simply stepping in to protect and shield Dominion from public outrage. Lyons responded: The department cannot overstep the boundaries of its jurisdiction, and it is clear that nuclear safety is the purview of the NRC. The Atomic Energy Act gives the NRC exclusive jurisdiction to handle security and safety matters, said Sheehan, the NRC spokesman. Williams could not be reached for comment. Contact Us at 1 (860) 442-2200 | New London, CT | © 1998-2006 The Day Publishing Co. [Beacon Locator] ~ IF ~ ***************************************************************** 40 AFP: US arms experts seek more restrictions on Indian nuclear deal - by P. Parameswaran Wed Sep 13, 1:32 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - US weapons experts are calling on the US Senate to tighten provisions of a landmark civilian nuclear deal with India despite warnings by New Delhi that it cannot accept any more restrictions. The experts want legislation to have an up-front declaration that India has stopped production of fissile material -- plutonium and highly enriched uranium -- for nuclear weapons and an annual certification that the deal does not fuel New Delhi's nuclear weapons program. They also want measures prohibiting the United States from providing nuclear aid directly or through other suppliers to India if it breaks commitments made under a July 18, 2005 accord reached between US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushand Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh has made clear that India would not accept any conditions that went beyond the agreement with Bush and a plan they endorsed in which New Delhi would have 14 of its 22 nuclear reactors placed under international safeguards. India particularly does not want to accept any US moratorium on the production of fissile material. But the US weapons experts said the measures were necessary because India had not joined the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a global accord to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. "In our view, these are responsible actions and steps the (US) Congress should take to ensure that the deal does not create what we would consider to be adverse and damaging proliferation problems," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told AFP. Kimball was among 17 experts who sent a joint letter to Senate Tuesday with a set of recommendations ahead of a likely vote by the chamber on the nuclear deal this fall. Under the deal, Washington will aid development of civil nuclear power programs in India in return for New Delhi placing its atomic facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) safeguards India tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998 and is currently banned by the United States and other mostly industrialized nations from buying fuel for atomic reactors and other related equipment as a result. In July, the US House of Representatives adopted the deal only after ensuring that even after it is passed by the Senate and becomes law, the nuclear cooperation agreement would come under full oversight authority by Congress. The House had demanded periodic reporting from President Bush" /> President Bushon Indias compliance with key US objectives in the region as well as on issues of non-proliferation. Bill Frist, the Republican leader in the Senate, is consulting with colleagues on when and how best to bring the legislation to the floor for debate and vote, his office said. "It is something that he wants to get done this month," Carolyn Weyforth, spokeswoman for Frist, told AFP. Congress will have to adjourn by October 6 ahead of key mid-term elections. Despite Indian criticisms, excessive tinkering of the legislation at this stage carries the risk that the carefully crafted bill will lose the strong US bipartisan support it now enjoys, said Lisa Curtis of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. A former staff member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee" /> Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Curtis said tensions between the Bush Administration and Congress had been palpable since the deal was first announced more than a year ago. The deal also could face possible delay in the Senate over the inclusion to the legislation of a plan for IAEA inspections on US nuclear facilities. It was included in part to show good faith on the part of the United States as India had to subsequently adhere to IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities, Curtis said. Some senators are wary about the plan for "national security reasons" even though the United States, a recognized weapons state, does not require its nuclear facilities used for national security purposes to be subject to IAEA inspections, she said. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 41 UPI: Nuclear energy rules knocked as outdated United Press International - NewsTrack - 9/13/2006 3:21:00 PM -0400 WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The nuclear energy industry wants Washington to respond to an emerging renewal of atomic generating plants with updated regulations and policies. The Nuclear Energy Institute said Wednesday in testimony before a congressional panel that as many as 30 nuclear power plants could be built in the United States in the next two decades. Among areas that need attention are unduly restrictive construction finance rules, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's new-plant licensing process and centralized interim storage of used nuclear fuel pending development of the Yucca Mountain, Nev., repository, said Frank L. "Skip" Bowman, the NEI's president and chief executive officer. Many existing policies reflect a time when there was no perceived premium on clean power generation, as their is today. Bowman told lawmakers that his industry is investing well over $1.5 billion in design and engineering work, licensing and procurement of long-lead equipment like reactor pressure vessels and steam generators. "The first wave of these plants could begin site preparation by the end of 2008, move in to full-scale construction in 2010 when they receive their construction and operating licenses, and be ready for commercial operation in the 2014 to 2015 time frame," Bowman said. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 42 [NYTr] UK: A cautionary tale of nuclear danger Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 12:52:39 -0400 (EDT) X-Sender-Host-Name: olm.blythe-systems.com X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Tim Murphy (activ-l) The Guardian - Sep 12, 2006 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1870199,00.html 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. See http://www.monbiot.com ] * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 43 NRC: NRC Proposes $3,250 Civil Penalty for West Virginia Firm Over Temporary Loss of Nuclear Gauge News Release - Region I - 2006-05 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-06-052 September 12, 2006 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is proposing a $3,250 fine for a firm based in Morgantown, W.Va., for two violations of agency regulations involving maintaining proper control of a nuclear gauge. The gauge in question belongs to Triad Engineering, Inc. It contains small amounts of NRC-licensed radioactive material and is used for such industrial purposes as measuring the density of soil at construction sites. NRC inspectors identified the violations during a special inspection on May 8 and June 14 at Triad Engineerings offices in Winchester and Purcellville, Va. The inspection was performed in response to an event on March 14. On that day, a Triad Engineering employee was transporting a portable nuclear density gauge in an open-bed pickup truck from the companys Purcellville office to a temporary job site. The gauge was stored in a locked transport container. The container had not been secured to the truck and the vehicles tailgate was not closed. As the truck turned onto a public roadway from the facilitys driveway, the container fell off the vehicle onto the roadway. The Triad employee did not realize this had occurred until two members of the public working nearby alerted him. The citizens also notified local police, who in turn contacted the local fire marshal. After recovering the nuclear gauge and returning it to the field office, company personnel performed checks and determined that the container and the gauge were not damaged. The event did not result in radioactive exposures to any members of the public. Triad Engineering discussed the violations with NRC staff during a predecisional enforcement conference on Aug. 9. Based on information gathered during the inspection and provided by the company during the Aug. 9th meeting, the NRC has identified two violations of agency requirements. They are: A failure by the authorized gauge user to properly secure the gauge to the bed of the truck and close the tailgate; and a failure to control and maintain constant surveillance of a gauge containing NRC-licensed radioactive material that was in an unrestricted area and not in storage. Although the (radioactive) source in this case remained in the shielded position at all times, these violations could have caused unnecessary radiation exposure to members of the public, NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins wrote in a letter to the company explaining the enforcement action. The company is required to provide the NRC with a written reply within 30 days. Last revised Wednesday, September 13, 2006 ***************************************************************** 44 Spectrum: Divine Strake fight not over St. George UT- www.thespectrum.com - The staunch opposition that won out over Private Fuel Storage's plight to store high-level nuclear waste in Utah's west desert needs to be as ardent against any future nuclear-type testing at the Nevada Test Site. Getting caught up in triumph, while well-deserved and worthy of praise, does not mean other battles are abandoned. Putting a stop to the detonation of conventional and nuclear bombs created to destroy deep tunnels where weapons of mass destruction are assumed to be buried is a cause that must maintain continuum. Divine Strake, the 700-ton ammonium nitrate and fuel oil bomb originally planned for a 35-foot open-air pit dug into a limestone ridge at the Nevada Test Site, is by far extinguished. Though a lawsuit, public outcry with petitions and Nevada and Utah Congressional delegations objected emphatically, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency is pursuing setting the low-yield blast off in mid to late 2007. Where it will happen does not rule out our arid neighbor approximately 85 miles from Las Vegas because it already possesses monitoring and diagnostic equipment needed to study the explosion. It will be a costly expenditure to duplicate that somewhere else. Irene Smith, a spokesman from the DTRA, mentioned an alternative location in Mitchell, Ind., where a limestone quarry was home to smaller tests involving 3,000-pound batches of explosives in 2004 and 2005. According to DTRA, that is not going to happen and never intended for it to occur in Indiana. What is going to happen? That is the looming question that remains unanswered by the Department of Defense. Since it is clearly avoided, vigilance in getting a response is essential to find out where in the process the $23 million test is now. Utah has won one battle that will keep the Goshute Tribal lands free of radioactive waste storage, but it simply cannot rest on its laurels in its fight to win over an explosion that has yet to prove it will not pose health risks to the local population from toxic materials released and dispersed by a predicted 10,000-foot mushroom cloud. While discovering ways to root out enemies and weapons hidden in limestone tunnels is understandable, it should not be done by experimentation at the expense of innocent American civilians. Southern Utah has been down that road before and refuses to tread that path again. When the constant threat of nuclear weapons testing is more than temporarily postponed, it will definitely be a victory worth celebrating. September 13, 2006 Copyright ©2006 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 45 courant.com: Whistleblower's Old Job Not Reinstated CONNECTICUT NEWS September 13, 2006 By GARY LIBOW, Courant Staff Writer NEW BRITAIN -- The state Department of Public Utility Control has ordered the owner of the Millstone nuclear power plant to provide a whistleblower - whose job was axed during a corporate restructuring - office space until he accepts another post within the company. The Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, which wanted Sham Menta reinstated to his old job of recording employee concerns, was highly critical of the DPUC. "DPUC is required by state law to protect nuclear whistleblowers," Nancy Burton, coalition president, said in a prepared statement. "In today's decision, DPUC let a courageous Millstone employee down." In a draft decision issued Tuesday, the DPUC ordered Dominion Nuclear Connecticut to treat Menta as an active employee of the Waterford-based nuclear plant. The anti-Millstone coalition is urging state legislators to investigate the DPUC's draft decision and alleged flaws in Millstone's security system. Menta, on paid administrative leave since Jan. 31, had his old job eliminated by Dominion. Menta filed a report in 2004 raising safety and security concerns at the plant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Menta alleged that Millstone officials deactivated the plant's electronic security system to avoid false alarms. He claims Dominion retaliated by reorganizing his old department and giving him poor performance reviews. The crux of the DPUC's decision, agency spokeswoman Beryl Lyons said, is that Menta is a whistleblower whose employment with Dominion is protected. Lyons, noting it's impossible to reinstate Menta to a job that no longer exists, said the DPUC's draft decision is scheduled to be finalized Sept 27. Contact Gary Libow at glibow@courant.com. An Associated Press report was included in this story. courant.com is Copyright © 2006 by The Hartford Courant ***************************************************************** 46 Bismarck Tribune: Uranium mine study brings back uncertain testing results Bismarck, North Dakota September 14, 2006 www.bismarcktribune.com .com/elements/modules/weather/wxno SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Abandoned uranium mines in northwestern South Dakota are polluting nearby streams, but a new study doesn't determine if that's caused cancer and other health problems miles downstream. Creeks flowing out of the northern Cave Hills, west of Ludlow, contain elevated levels of uranium and arsenic, said engineering professor James Stone of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. Some residents of Harding County and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation say they suspect dust and water from the mines is causing an unusual number of illnesses, including cancer. But the water is not used for drinking, and state data shows cancer rates in the area are normal. The new study shows that although uranium and arsenic are escaping the mine sites, it dissipates as it flows downstream, becoming undetectable less than 10 miles away. "It doesn't appear that these mine sites are a source, from a surface water standpoint," Stone said. That's based on his team's analysis of 22 water samples at 14 sites near a set of ponds that is supposed to block pollution from the sites. Stone and others continue to work on studies of contamination in stream sediment and dust. The advocacy group Defenders of the Black Hills has argued that the mines are causing health problems on Standing Rock. Charmaine White Face, of Rapid City, coordinator for the group, said dust and floods still could be carrying uranium much farther east - as far as Bullhead in Corson County 100 miles downstream. The state Health Department said Harding County had 89 cancer deaths between 1969 and 2002, lower than the statewide rate of 187 per 100,000 people. Corson County had 242 deaths, a rate that is higher but not statistically different from the state rate, Epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger said. Comments Harold One Feather wrote on September 13, 2006 4:19 PM:"I was there when Dr. Albrecht Schwalm, a scientist involved in the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology study, stated that the readings faded to background radiation levels and when asked what the background radiation levels were, he stated 25 micrograms per liter. Then when asked why he didn't see this as being dangerous since this is twice the EPA Clean Water Act levels for recreation and fish consumption, he added that they were contracted to study how far the radioactive contamination travelled downstream and once it matches background radiation levels, they quit studying that part of the stream reach. Then when questioned whether they were aware that the study was being conducted during a severe drouth period and that could cause a very misleading interpretation of the study's findings, he replied that to study the hydrologic regime to include a longer time period, they would need more money. After his discussion, the South Dakota Dept of Environment and Natural Resources made their presentation concerning their summerlong river basin radiological sampling of all western South Dakota rivers. This highest reading was near Buffalo, SD on the Grand River with a peak level at 47 micrograms per liter which is 4 times the EPA Clean Water Act standard for swimming and fish consumption. They also added that their findings indicate that the radionuclides have combined with the water and aren't suspended in the sediments, meaning that the water itself is contaminated with radionuclides. Basically after watching this situation develop for nearly 10 years, I must conclude that all parties (Federal and State agencies) are being negligent in their duties to protect the health of our communities and the environment, but at least the SD state personnel said that they were going to continue to sample the Grand River and White River since these rivers have Native Americans using these rivers for fishing and swimming and from these surveys, issue health advisories not to swim or fish in either river. I can only say that how much more millions must be wasted until these problems are solved realistically as the State of North Dakota did with its abandoned uranium mines in Belfield, ND; it didn't wait for the EPA to declare the mining and processing areas as Superfund sites to receive federal funding to protect the communities' health and the environment." Copyright © 2006 Bismarck Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises. ***************************************************************** 47 AU ABC: China to invest in SA uranium mine ABC West Coast SA | Local News | Story Thursday, 14 September 2006. 06:39 (AEDT)Thursday, 14 September A state-owned Chinese company is to invest $30 million in a uranium mine in South Australia's north-east. Sinosteel Corporation and the mining company PepinNini have agreed to develop and operate the Crocker Well-Mount Victoria uranium project. Under the deal, Sinosteel will become a shareholder in PepinNini and will also invest an additional $6 million over two years for the exploration of other minerals. Sinosteel has also agreed to buy the entire output of the uranium deposit, if a feasibility study proves successful. The deal will be the first of its kind between the two countries if it is approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). PepinNini director Rebecca Holland-Kennedy says Sinosteel's expertise will benefit the project. "The uranium that we have there, the type of ore that it is, traditionally doesn't have a very high recovery rate when you process it and take it out and get the uranium out," she said. "But they are processing this type of ore and are aware of how to do it in the best way." She says the deal was the best one available. "The deal that they were offering, with the cash injection and the expertise that they could offer and the exposure to the Chinese market, there really just wasn't another offer on the table," she said. "We have had offers from a couple of different Chinese companies but this really was the most attractive." ***************************************************************** 48 NRC: NRC Issues Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant in Ohio News Release - 2006-10 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-108 September 12, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its Safety Evaluation Report for the American Centrifuge Plant, proposed to be built in Piketon, Ohio. The report concludes that the plant, as described, would operate safely and would not pose an undue risk to the health and safety of workers or the public. USEC Inc. submitted its license application for the American Centrifuge Plant on Aug. 23, 2004. USEC proposes to use a design based on gas centrifuge technology developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to enrich uranium for use in fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors. The plant is to be built at DOEs Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon. The Safety Evaluation Report documents the NRC staffs review and safety and safeguards evaluation of USECs application. The review evaluates the facilitys potential adverse impacts on worker and public health and safety, under both normal operating and accident conditions. The review also considers physical protection of special nuclear material and classified matter, material control and accounting of special nuclear material, as well as the management organization, administrative programs and financial qualifications provided to ensure the facilitys safe design and operation. The Safety Evaluation Report is the second of two major reports in the NRC staffs review of USECs license application. An Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-1834) was published in April. That study concluded that there would be no significant adverse impacts that would preclude granting a license. The license review process is scheduled for completion in February, following an adjudicatory hearing by the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board. The Safety Evaluation Report (NUREG-1851) will be available soon on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/. Last revised Wednesday, September 13, 2006 ***************************************************************** 49 MST: Xcel's effort to store wastes in Utah is halted Nuclear wastes from Minnesota and elsewhere will not be going cross-country anytime soon. The Department of Interior has rejected a lease with an Indian reservation. Tom Meersman, Star Tribune Last update: September 12, 2006 9:15 PM Xcel Energy has suffered a major setback in its efforts to ship highly radioactive wastes to an Indian reservation in Utah until a permanent federal repository is available. The Interior Department brought the project to a halt last week by rejecting the lease that Xcel and other utility companies had signed with the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes in Utah -- after Xcel had spent $23 million on the proposal since 1997, according to company officials. That lease would have allowed as much as 44,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel to be shipped to Goshute land about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. There, it would have been stored for as many as 25 years with the option for another 25, or until a federal site for burying the wastes becomes available at Yucca Mountain in Nevada or elsewhere. The wastes will remain dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years. Charles Bomberger, general manager of nuclear assets for Xcel, said he was disappointed with the Interior Department's decision because the utility has been trying for years to move its nuclear wastes out of Minnesota. Xcel led the effort in the mid-1990s to recruit nuclear utilities across the country into Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a company formed to search for private storage away from nuclear plants where wastes have accumulated during the past three decades or more. For their part, the Goshutes would have benefited significantly from the project with lease payments and jobs. Bomberger said Xcel spent significantly more than the other utility partners because it feared that its Minnesota nuclear plants at Prairie Island and Monticello might be forced to shut down prematurely if out-of-state space for the wastes was not available. That concern lessened, he said, after the 2003 Legislature passed a law allowing Xcel to expand its on-site storage of wastes well into the future, subject to state review and approval. Nevertheless, Bomberger said, Xcel and other utilities would like to have private storage available in Utah or elsewhere in case a permanent federal repository is delayed further or not approved. Potential problems In a 46-page document, two Interior Department divisions objected to the PFS proposal. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) said that storing nuclear wastes on an "interim" basis on tribal land might easily turn out to be permanent because federal efforts to build a national burial site have been plagued with uncertainty and missed deadlines. The BIA also said that the nuclear wastes could become a terrorist target and that federal, tribal and local law enforcement is inadequate to protect the site. The Bureau of Land Management said that the rail line to the proposed storage site could not be built because it would cross a newly established wilderness area and that loading the wastes from rail to trucks would cause traffic problems and expose too many workers to radiation. Relief and frustration Utah officials, including Sen. Orrin Hatch and Gov. Jon Huntsman, both Republicans, hailed the Interior Department decision as a victory. The other members of Utah's congressional delegation also have opposed storage at the reservation. "We just wanted to put a spike right through the heart of this project, and this does it," Hatch said in a statement. However, Leon Bear, chairman of the Goshute Band, said it's premature to call the project dead. Utilities have spent "millions and millions" on the proposal, he said, including engineering studies, an application for a federal license that was approved in February, a six-volume environmental impact study and legal costs to respond to a constant stream of appeals and litigation from the state of Utah. "This issue is not going to go away," Bear said. "We've been fighting too long to get it here." Some of the controversy has occurred within the band, and Bear acknowledged that a "small minority" of its 125 members have opposed the plan. Bear was especially upset with the BIA and said it was "paternalistic" for officials in Washington to reject the lease with the utilities. The action raises serious questions about tribal sovereignty, he said. "For the BIA to second-guess our decision without even a consultation is amazing," he said. The band has not decided whether to appeal the decision. PFS officials are reviewing the decision, according to a spokeswoman. However, Bomberger said Xcel will not fund the review or any possible utility appeal. Tom Meersman • 612 673-7388 • meersman@startribune.com Star Tribune. All rights reserved. |||||||||| 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488 (612) 673-4000 mailto:meersman@startribune.com'] Tom ***************************************************************** 50 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP receives 5,000th shipment From The Current-Argus CARLSBAD The U.S. Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has reached a major milestone toward cleanup of the nation's defense-related transuranic waste. The WIPP received its 5,000th waste shipment Sept. 10, according to a press release. "This has been a real team effort. Everyone involved in the cleanup, transportation and final disposal of this waste is to be congratulated for making safety the priority," said Dr. Dave Moody, DOE Carlsbad Field Office manager. "Each phase performs a service to this nation, and I'm proud to be part of it." The 5000th waste shipment originated from Idaho National Laboratory. Waste disposal operations began at WIPP on March 26, 1999. At the heart of WIPP's safe transportation system are some of the nation's most experienced and well-trained drivers, according to the release. The DOE has contracts with two companies that provide trucking services to transport waste to WIPP: CAST Transportation, based in Henderson, Colo., and Tri-State Motor Transit Company, headquartered in Joplin, Mo. The milestone shipment was delivered to WIPP by a team of Tri-State drivers. When shipments to WIPP began in 1999, an average of one or two shipments per week arrived at WIPP. That average has significantly increased through the years, reaching as high as 33 shipments during a single week in February, 2006. WIPP drivers have traveled more than 11 million miles to assist the national clean-up effort. In the past seven years, the WIPP program has removed all legacy transuranic waste from 13 sites around the country. So far, Colorado's Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site has shipped the most waste the last of its 2,045 shipments arrived at WIPP in April 2005 as part of a massive cleanup and site closure project. Idaho National Laboratory is next with more than 1,700 shipments to date. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 51 Salt Lake Tribune: Recycling rule getting fresh look Environmental Concerns By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Southeastern Utah environmentalists have been pushing for years for a fresh look at the raw materials used by the White Mesa uranium plant, and now the state Radiation Control Board has agreed to it. The panel cleared the way on Friday for the Glen Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club to challenge the "alternate feed" rule that allows the International Uranium Corp. mill to recycle material that environmentalists insist is dangerously contaminated waste. The Moab-based group is fighting the Blanding facility's latest state permit, which would allow it to extract uranium from the discards of an Oklahoma metal plant cleanup. "We are very pleased that the Board decided to formally hear our concerns and fulfill its responsibility to the citizens of Utah to carefully oversee uranium processing and disposal in Utah," said Sarah M. Fields, the Sierra Club's White Mesa watchdog. The radiation board's decision is silent on whether the Sierra Club's position is right and only opens the door for the group to continue fighting a Utah Radiation Control Division permit the environmentalists say is wrongheaded. Kent Bradford, chairman of the radiation board, noted that the board vote was unanimous to hear more about the Sierra Club's concerns. Another factor is that this is the first time the state's handling of "alternate feed" has been up for consideration. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversaw operations at the White Mesa plant until August, 2004, when the state took over that responsibility. Alternate feed can be any radioactive material that's been processed before and that can be reprocessed to concentrate the uranium into yellowcake. The yellowcake is processed still further to make nuclear reactor fuel. Material from the Fansteel FsMRI cleanup in Oklahoma is the leftovers of 33 years of metals processing. Fields has said the Oklahoma material is not "alternate feed." It contains high radium concentrations - as much as 85 times the concentrations federal and state laws allow - so International Uranium should be regulated like a radioactive waste disposal site, she said. The material also contains large quantities of highly toxic contaminants - including cyanide, lead and tin - that require the site to be regulated as a hazardous waste facility, she said. The company disputes environmentalists' claim that the facility should be regulated as a radioactive or hazardous waste site. fahys@sltrib.com © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 52 PRN: Nuclear Industry Leader Voices Support for H.R. 5360, Urges DOE to Move Used Fuel From Reactor Sites Wednesday September 13, 4:10 pm ET WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A Bush Administration legislative proposal to facilitate management of used nuclear fuel is strongly supported by the nuclear energy industry and would be "a major milestone" on the road to proper environmental stewardship of this material, an industry leader told the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality today. DTE Energy Chairman and CEO Anthony Earley Jr. -- chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute's board of directors -- also said there are additional provisions that Congress should consider in comprehensive legislation that could be undertaken in parallel with development of a federal government repository planned for Yucca Mountain, Nev. "To realize fully the benefits that nuclear power offers, the country must resolve outstanding issues related to the ultimate disposal of used nuclear fuel," Earley said. The focus of the House energy panel's hearing was nuclear waste storage and disposal, including the administration's Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act (H.R. 5360). Key provisions of the bill would: * articulate the government's confidence in the safe and secure disposal of used nuclear fuel as a matter of national policy; this would eliminate the need for a determination of "waste confidence" by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as part of individual plant licensing actions; * remove the artificial 70,000-metric ton capacity limitation on the amount of commercial used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs that can be placed into the Yucca Mountain repository, and * assure that there will be adequate funding for the Department of Energy's used fuel management program by changing the budget treatment for the federal Nuclear Waste Fund, yet maintaining congressional oversight of the use of the fund. Billions of dollars from electricity customers have been paid into the fund but only a fraction of that money has been spent for its intended purpose. "Enactment of H.R. 5360, with the amendments we advocate, is the critical prerequisite to implementing our national policy for used fuel management," Earley said. "A viable used fuel management strategy is necessary to retain long-term public confidence in operating existing nuclear power plants and in building new nuclear power plants to meet our nation's growing electricity needs, and to fuel our economic growth." The industry also supports movement of used nuclear fuel on an expedited basis and guidance from Congress on prospective Department of Energy contracts for used-fuel management at new nuclear power plants. Developments that have occurred since the contracts for existing power plants were executed in the 1980s warrant this new guidance from federal lawmakers. Earley expressed the industry's support for "an active and constructive role for Nevada in the development of Yucca Mountain to help ensure the safety of its citizens" and for compensation for the state to address the program's socioeconomic impact. "The industry is encouraged by the steps DOE has taken to work with affected local governments in the state, and we further encourage DOE to expand its interactions with Nevadans interested in constructive engagement in the project," Earley said. One hundred and three commercial reactors in 31 states provide electricity to one of every five homes and businesses. The used nuclear fuel that results from the production of nuclear power is housed in 12-foot-long fuel assemblies that are stored in steel-lined concrete pools and, increasingly, in dry storage containers at plant sites as fuel pools reach their capacity. Federal law required the Department of Energy to begin disposing of used nuclear fuel in 1998, but the government has defaulted on its obligation, and dozens of utility lawsuits against the government are pending in federal court. DOE's revised schedule for the Yucca Mountain repository envisions the facility opening in 2017 at the earliest. "The industry's top priority is for the federal government to meet its statutory and contractual obligation to move used fuel away from operating and decommissioned reactor sites. Further delays in federal movement of used nuclear fuel and defense waste products will only add to utility damage claims," Earley said. The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available at http://www.nei.org. Source: Nuclear Energy Institute ***************************************************************** 53 OnPoint: N Waste: Nevada's Bob Loux calls DOE "virtually incompetent" regarding Yucca Mountain 09/13/2006 -- With the House and Senate both addressing the issue of a nuclear waste repository, the Department of Energy is facing major opposition from the state of Nevada regarding Yucca Mountain. During today's OnPoint Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Projects Office talks about why Nevada will not, under any circumstances, accept a repository. Loux also discusses the safety issues and health risks associated with a nuclear repository. Click here to watch this episode. Transcript Mary O'Driscoll: Welcome to OnPoint. I'm Mary O'Driscoll. Our guest today is Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Projects Office. Welcome to the show Bob. Bob Loux: Thank you Mary. It's good to be here. Mary O'Driscoll: Good. You represent the state of Nevada in the debate over the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which of course the state of Nevada opposes and has opposed for many years. A lot of people would like to see this 20 year long debate though, they'd like to see it, this fight, just kind of get over with. They're looking at, Congress is already designated Yucca Mountain as the site where repository is going to be. DOE has been studying the site for years and people are saying, you know, enough already. Nevada's opposition, you're throwing up legal roadblocks, funding roadblocks, regulatory roadblocks. It's keeping the nuclear industry from being able to build new nuclear power plants because they need a place to put the waste before they can build the plants. How do you respond to this kind of thing? Bob Loux: Well, I would respond by saying that I don't think Nevada is doing anything any other state wouldn't be doing in a similar situation. The real fundamental problem with the whole program is that you have a bad site. It won't do what they want it to. It will leak. It will contaminate Nevada's groundwater, you couple that with an agency that's virtually incompetent. The Department of Energy has never built a facility that's contained radioactive materials anywhere in the country. According to GAO they own and operate 127 facilities that handle these materials, 124 have completely failed and the other three have partially failed. So there's no confidence and no trust whatsoever in DOE. And the fact that they're promoting a scientifically defective site only adds to that skepticism. Mary O'Driscoll: Well, how can it be scientifically deceptive if they've been studying it for 20 years? How long does it take for them to determine whether the site is good or bad? I mean this has been a pretty long process. Bob Loux: Well, they certainly could have determined it in about 1992 when they first discovered that water moves through it much faster than they thought. And previous statements by DOE said if water moves that fast at a site, we don't have a site. Since then it has been more or less a case of momentum. It's not about whether the site meets scientific standards; it's about how we can maybe engineer it to work. So it's clearly past the threshold of setting safety standards and finding the site that meets that. We're now saying, well, this is the site, and we're going to alter any health and safety standard we need to to get this thing on. The idea from the Department of Energy is that all things nuclear, and nuclear waste included, is totally, inherently safe, so all of these health and safety regulations, in their mind, are not needed. They're an obstruction, in their mind. But in this country we developed health and safety regulations to protect a certain level of public health, and Yucca Mountain won't fit that need. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. At a hearing shortly before the August recess, a Senate hearing, Senator Larry Craig of Idaho, said, from the dais, told you flat out that you have no credibility before the committee because you represent the state of Nevada that just flat out opposes the repository. And your job is to kill the repository period. How do you respond to that? And what does that tell you about the state of the debate on Yucca Mountain? Bob Loux: Well, it tells me that it's still very much contentious, as we all know. If I was the only one in the room getting paid to have a specific view about Yucca Mountain, and we're going to eliminate everyone else who had the same, I mean the hearing wouldn't, everybody in that room is paid to have a specific agenda. And I don't think promoting Yucca Mountain is any different than opposing it. And so I would question the credibility, according to Mr. Craig's standard, of everybody else who's in there. The problem is that it really shows his lack of understanding and his lack of diplomacy to sort of lash out at someone like myself and single me out after he asked me the question, which I responded to. So I would match my credibility against Senator Craig's any day of the week. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. DOE and Senator Domenici are working on legislation, coming back to work this month and working on legislation that will jumpstart the Yucca Mountain process, to speed it up, to try to get things moving, streamline the process. DOE says it needs this legislation in order to get the repository licensed. What's Nevada's view of the legislation? Bob Loux: Well, in our view there's nothing in the legislation that in fact promotes or helps DOE file a high-quality license application with the NRC. DOE seems to believe the problems with the program are all external to them. For example, they want to be able to have the Secretary of Energy exempt Yucca Mountain shipments from any transportation regulation by anybody, Federal Government or the states. So clearly, that tells you a lot about the project. If it requires these extraordinary measures, wiping off transportation regulations, DOE being allowed to deposit hundreds of millions of pounds of heavy metals that would never be allowed to be used in land disposal anywhere else, if that's what it takes to get Yucca Mountain going, then that tells you everything you need to know about the poor quality of the site and the incompetency of department. The fact is that all these problems are occurring of the department's own making. A case in point, their failure to actually correctly certify their record before the NRC is a prerequisite to filing a license application. And they screwed that up, not the state of Nevada, not the NRC or anybody else. So very little in this bill does anything for getting a high-quality license application submitted to the NRC. In fact, nothing does. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Well, a lot of people say that this is just a NIMBY situation. That Nevada otherwise enjoys the federal largess. You're getting the money. You're getting the jobs at the site and that you're enjoying that, but yet you're still fighting the repository itself. What is your response to that? Bob Loux: Well, first of all, there's not any jobs at the site that actually mean anything to Clark County economy where Yucca Mountain, Las Vegas is located, adjacent to Yucca Mountain. If creating 3000 to 5,000 new jobs a month, so the idea that we have 200 or 300 people or even a thousand people working out there is not even a blip on the screen. So it's not like there's some big economic benefit. And then the money we get is to oversee and evaluate the program and tell people our view of it, and that's what the law requires and that's what we perform under, so none of these things are "benefits" per se. Nevada would love to see this project go away. I'm sure any other state in the same position would like it to go away and not be in their state as well. They're frustrated with, I think, our effectiveness in opposing this site, our ability to challenge them on health and safety issues, and they're very upset with that. And I can understand the frustrations of people like Senator Craig, who, once again, believes all nuclear things are safe. We really don't need any health and safety regulations. Just go build it. Ignore NEPA and the environmental laws, none of that stuff matters. And when you raise those issues about, wait a second, we have laws. Well, then we're obstructionists. We're just trying to get the government to follow the law. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Now there's a defense angle to this as well, because the site itself is in a little tiny corner of the Nevada test site and it involves the Nellis base, the big Air Force training range that they have out there. And that there has been some concern that building Yucca Mountain and taking the land away would affect training there at Nellis. But that now DOE says it's a very small portion. We're only going to affect four cubic miles, I guess, four miles of air space. It's going to be a very small piece. What is actually the concern out there? Bob Loux: Well, when we talked to the Air Force people at the Nellis Air Force Range, they believe restricting air access to the gunnery range, by restricting the airspace over Yucca Mountain, would be very inhibiting to their mission. The Secretary of Air Force has written previously to the Congress and saying anything that interferes in any way with our mission, they would be opposed to. So it's not about the number of acreage, what it is about is right over Yucca Mountain has been the entrance and the exit for all these fighter jets, with live ordinance, coming in and out of this gunnery range. And also the Air Force tells us that the new fighters coming online, the F-22s, require even more space. And that the southern southwestern corner of the gunnery range, which is where we're talking about, where Yucca Mountain is, is one of the critical components of areas that they need to have to be able to do their training. So I think there's a conflict coming. The Air Force tells us there is no understanding or agreement with DOE. They will not sign off on any flight restrictions over that area, like a no-fly zone. In contrary to the remarks by the DOE people, there is not in agreement and I don't think there will be. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. Now this all kind of ignores the crucial fact about transportation of waste to the site. I guess it's supposed to be rail, yet there's no spur that actually gets to the site itself, and this is a bone of contention with the state of Nevada as well. What can you tell me about that? Bob Loux: Well, first of all, we're in litigation with them over the selection of the so-called Caliente route, which is a 319 mile proposed route right through the heart of central Nevada to get waste to Yucca Mountain from the eastern side of the state. Now we repeatedly told them this is probably the most difficult, the most expensive route they could pick. They even now agree that the route, the cost of this would be over $2 billion. There are several big mountain ranges to go over. And we don't think that an adequate comparison has been done to other, more reasonable alternatives for getting waste to Yucca Mountain, assuming that it even happens. So we're concerned with the selection of the Caliente route. We think that it is inappropriate and, moreover, we believe that the wrong agency is in charge. Under federal law this EIS and this selection of these routes should be done by the Surface Transportation Board that has exclusive jurisdiction over new rail construction in this country and not DOE. Since the Nuclear Waste Policy Act says that the transportation regulations and authorities of any other entities, including the Surface Transportation Board or even the state of Nevada shall not be compromised by this program. DOE will follow the rules. Yet they're turning around, in this legislation, and saying we should be exempt from all transportation regulations. We should be self-governing. And if DOE had a good track record in handling these materials, once again, people might be willing to believe that. But the fact that they don't only reinforces more that we need the regulations on the books. Mary O'Driscoll: Is there any circumstance under which the state of Nevada would accept a repository within its borders? Bob Loux: No, in a word. Mary O'Driscoll: Even if it can be proven safe? Bob Loux: No, in a word. We believe it would be very harmful to our gaming economy. There are lots of studies out there by the gaming industry, as well by the state, that indicates that even if it was operating exactly as planned with no leaks, no accidents, perfectly, that we'd still see between a ten and twenty percent drop-off in gaming because people just don't want to visit places where they have these ongoing nuclear activities, in particular nuclear waste. Mary O'Driscoll: Well, if you're talking about nuclear activities doesn't that mean the Nevada test site would be a problem? Bob Loux: Well, because those activities are no longer going on and I think there's a vast difference sort of between some of the other activities going on out there and some proposed for Yucca Mountain. Some of it has been in place for so long that it's almost been institutionalized. Yet a new nuclear facility in Nevada, at least according to most of the work we've done and the industry has done, would be very harmful to tourism, gaming, business relocation, retirement, all of those things. In fact, Clark County itself, the county adjacent to Yucca Mountain, sees a $3 billion a year negative impact to their economy simply from Yucca Mountain going forward. Mary O'Driscoll: OK. We'll have to end on that note. I'd like to thank Bob Loux of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Projects Office for joining us today, and thank you for joining us. I'm Mary O'Driscoll. See you next time on OnPoint. [End of Audio] ***************************************************************** 54 Daily Herald: A big win for Utah Utah appears to have won its fight against nuclear waste storage on the Goshute reservation in Skull Valley. The U.S. Department of the Interior rejected Private Fuel Storage's plans to operate there. The consortium had sought the department's approval for a land lease and rights of way, either for a rail spur to the proposed dump or for a transfer facility that would switch casks from trains to trucks for the last 26 miles of the trip. The department found plenty of reasons to reject the concept: The newly designated Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area blocks a railroad spur to the site. Oversized, lumbering waste trucks would cause traffic problems on Skull Valley Road, a narrow, two-lane highway that already services a busy landfill on the Goshute reservation. PFS spent too much time talking about how it would move waste into Skull Valley while putting little thought into the plan for removing the 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel when the facility eventually closes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs official who granted conditional approval of the lease was not authorized to do that, nullifying the tribe's agreement. Neither the Tooele County Sheriff's Office nor the BIA has the resources needed to provide police protection for the site. On the strength of those and other problems, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne pulled the plug. The sheer number of objections cited in the 46-page report suggests that this time the war is really over. Even though PFS says it is reviewing the matter and examining its options, it is unlikely that the plan will suddenly revive like a horror movie monster. After eight years of defeats in the courts and at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, we can start breathing a little easier. We don't have to worry that nuclear waste shipments will put Utahns at risk of radiation exposure in an accident or terrorist attack. Nor do we have to worry that the "temporary" waste site will become permanent if Yucca Mountain fails to open. As we celebrate victory, however, let's not forget the Goshutes. The impoverished tribe saw nuclear waste as a ticket to prosperity, so this is a setback in the view of some. With waste off the table, the tribe's desire to work with the state on economic development may improve -- which would be a good thing. But the well of possibilities is admittedly not deep. Government needs to make a genuine effort to help the Goshutes develop new sources of income. This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6. Copyright © 2006 Daily Herald and Lee Enterprises ***************************************************************** 55 MPR: Xcel spent $23 million on scuttled nuclear storage plan +Minnesota Public Radio] September 13, 2006 A sign identifies the border area of the Goshute Indian Reservation (Indian name is spelled as 'Gosiute') in Utah. About halfway between the mountains in the background and this sign was the proposed temporary above-ground site for about 40,000 tons of a high-level nuclear waste. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) Minneapolis  (AP) Xcel Energy says it spent $23 million on its efforts to ship its nuclear waste to an Indian reservation in Utah, a project that may well be dead. The Interior Department scuttled the project last week by rejecting the lease that Xcel and other utilities had signed with the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. That lease would have allowed the utilities to ship as much as 44,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel to Goshute land about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, where it would have been stored for up to 25 or 50 years, or until a permanent federal repository becomes available, either at Yucca Mountain in Nevada or elsewhere. Charles Bomberger, general manager of nuclear assets for Xcel, said he was disappointed with the decision because the utility has been trying for years to move its nuclear wastes out of Minnesota. Xcel led the effort in the mid-1990s to recruit nuclear utilities across the country into Private Fuel Storage, a company formed to search for a private storage site. The Goshutes would have benefited from the project with lease payments and jobs. Bomberger said Xcel spent significantly more than its other utility partners in PFS because it feared that its nuclear plants at Prairie Island and Monticello would have to shut down prematurely if out-of-state space for the wastes was not available. Xcel's concern eased, he said, after the 2003 Legislature passed a law allowing Xcel to expand its on-site storage of wastes well into the future, subject to state review and approval. Still, Bomberger said, Xcel and other utilities would like to have private storage available in Utah or elsewhere in case a permanent federal repository is delayed further or not approved. Leon Bear, chairman of the Goshute Band, said it's premature to call the project dead, but the band has not decided whether to appeal the Interior Department decision. PFS officials are reviewing the decision, according to a spokeswoman. However, Bomberger said, Xcel will not fund the review or any possible utility appeal. Two Interior Department divisions outlined their objections to the PFS proposal in a 46-page document. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said storing nuclear wastes on an "interim" basis on tribal land might easily turn out to be permanent because federal efforts to build a national burial site have been plagued with uncertainty and missed deadlines. The BIA also said the nuclear wastes could become a terrorist target and that federal, tribal and local law enforcement was inadequate to protect the site. The Bureau of Land Management said the rail line to the proposed storage site could not be built because it would cross a newly established wilderness area, and that loading the wastes from rail to trucks would cause traffic problems and expose too many workers to radiation. Utah officials, including Sen. Orrin Hatch and Gov. Jon Huntsman, strongly opposed the project. Bear said a "small minority" of his 125 members opposed it as well. Minnesota Public Radio ©2006 All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 56 Mos News: Russia Promises Tenfold Increase in Uranium Extraction Investments - MOSNEWS.COM Sergei Kiriyenko / Image by MosNews Created: 13.09.2006 12:18 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:24 MSK Russia will increase spending on uranium extraction tenfold over the next two years, the country’s top nuclear official Sergei Kiriyenko was quoted as saying on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Kiriyenko’s words are the latest evidence of a major effort to expand the nation’s nuclear energy sector. Russia has already vowed to build several dozen new nuclear reactors between now and 2030. Annual investment in finding and extracting uranium will be raised from its current level of 100 million rubles ($3.7 million) to 1 billion rubles ($37 million) by 2008, RIA Novosti quoted the head of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency as saying. He said spending would rise fivefold in 2007 and then be doubled in 2008, according to the reports. “There is no alternative to the development of atomic energy in the Russian Federation. It should replace gas (power) generation in Russia,” Kiriyenko said. He added that electricity use has been growing faster than planned. 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 TVEL, suggesting little mining has been done. The agencies also reported that Kiriyenko said it would be profitable for Russia to mine new uranium deposits, which he said currently costs about $60 to $85 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.” Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin is chairman of TVEL, a main springboard for the prospective renaissance of Russia’s nuclear industry. Kiriyenko said TVEL and state-owned nuclear materials and services exporter Tekhsnabexport, or Tenex, would be subsumed into a single, new company that soon would be registered. RIA Novosti quoted Tekhsnabexport’s director, Vladimir Smirov, as saying that creating the new company would show that “Russia is moving toward the restoration of uranium prospecting and mining on its territory and elsewhere in the world.” Write us: info@mosnews.com Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 57 UPI: China eyes Aussie uranium United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 9/13/2006 4:47:00 PM -0400 CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- China has made a move to secure an Australian source for nuclear energy supplies by starting negotiations to buy a major uranium deposit field. The proposed US$23 million transaction by Sinosteel for a 60 percent stake in the Crocker Well uranium field in South Australia would allow it to import supplies directly if and when mining of the field begins, The Australian reported in its Thursday edition. "There's a national interest test to be applied here and one of the problems is that there is no clear definition of the national interest," an opposition Labor Party's spokesperson said in calling for a government review of the purchase. "Perhaps it's time some serious attention was turned to that, given there is a global race to lock up energy supplies." Full details of the proposed sale to Sinosteel by the Sydney-based company PepinNini were not immediately available. But the report said a memo of understanding had already been signed in Beijing between the two entities and negotiations would be held on a full agreement. Sinosteel is no stranger to investment in Australian resources. It currently owns a 40 percent stake in an iron ore deposit in Western Australia. The Australian government said in April that China would be allowed to buy uranium from Australia under strict controls to ensure the uranium would not be used for non-weapons purposes. China's modernization has made it a major consumer of energy supplies, a factor in higher oil prices earlier this year around the world. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 58 Hanford News: Cleanup at Oregon uranium mine to be complete by October This story was published Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 by The Associated Press LAKEVIEW, Ore. (AP) - Cleaning up two former uranium mines near Lakeview should be complete by October - about 40 years after the mines closed, officials say. The latest cleanup effort at the former White King and Lucky Lass mine sites about 17 miles northwest of Lakeview started last summer. The mines are about a mile apart on private and Fremont-Winema National Forest lands. "They're moving along well," said Bill Adams, project manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "It's been a good season." Officially known as the White King-Lucky Lass Superfund site, the area was added to the EPA's national priorities list in April 1995. The $8 million cleanup is being done by Tronox, an independent, publicly traded company that spun off from Kerr-McGee in March. Tronox and Kerr-McGee are successors to the Lakeview Mining Co., formed by Lakeview-area residents in the 1950s. Mining in Lake County began in 1955 when the federal government needed uranium for the military. Uranium production was controlled and exclusively used by the Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor to the U.S. Department of Energy, to build the nation's nuclear arsenal for national defense. Between 1955 and the mid-1960s, when mining stopped, the sites were contaminated with arsenic and radionuclides. Hazardous substances were found at water-filled excavation pits and stockpiled mineralized waste rock and materials. Adams said the stockpile area spans 5 to 6 acres while a pond covers 13 acres. A series of wetlands are being created. When work is completed, the area will pretty well blend in with the natural contours, although some areas will be fenced to keep out cattle, he said. The work has consolidated stockpile material, which is being covered with a clay-like material. A 2-foot soil cover has been placed on top and is being replanted with native grasses. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 Hanford News: Reactor to stand at least until '09 This story was published Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Hanford's B Reactor has escaped another date with the wrecking ball. The Department of Energy has delayed the release of the historic reactor to a cleanup contractor until 2009. The reactor was scheduled to be turned over for cleanup after the end of fiscal year 2006, which ends this month, absent a plan to save it. In addition, a new analysis of preserving the reactor has been ordered. And it will soon get a new roof. B Reactor was the world's first full-scale plutonium production reactor, built in just 13 months during the race to win World War II. It produced the plutonium used in the world's first nuclear explosion, the Trinity Test in New Mexico, and plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, that helped end the war. It continued to produce plutonium for the Cold War until the late 1960s. It's one of nine plutonium-production reactors that line the Columbia River at the Hanford nuclear reservation. Work is under way in a process called cocooning to tear down the other reactors to little more than their radioactive cores and seal them up to let radiation decay during the next 75 years. Washington Closure Hanford, which is cleaning up Hanford sites along the river for DOE, also will be instructed to cocoon B Reactor if plans to save it as a museum are not successful. The delay until 2009 will give the National Park Service time to complete a study of whether B Reactor and Manhattan Project sites in New Mexico and Tennessee should be preserved, wrote Keith Klein, manager of DOE's Hanford Richland Operations Office in a letter to Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. "I'm pleased that the National Park Service and the Department of Energy are working together to safeguard the potential for the B Reactor to be preserved as the study is completed," Hastings said in a statement Tuesday. "The B Reactor has the potential to help teach future generations about a work force who contributed to our nation's defense for many years." In addition, DOE Deputy Secretary Clay Sell has requested a DOE analysis of the possible preservation and public access to B Reactor and other Manhattan Project sites, Klein said in the letter. It will be done by DOE's chief historian/federal preservation officer. In the short term, one of B Reactor's most pressing needs has been a new roof to keep it in sound enough repair to allow it to be used as a museum. DOE has authorized Washington Closure Hanford to move ahead with that work. Bids on the project are due this week and the contractor could announce the award of the bid as early as next week. DOE asked the National Park Service to review the work plans to ensure the project does not inadvertently affect progress on its study or its outcome, according to Klein. Hastings had earlier requested the park service involvement, wanting to make sure the historic integrity of the building is preserved during maintenance work. Hastings also had asked earlier this year for assurances that there was no intention to demolish the ventilation stack or other components of B Reactor. Klein said DOE was not considering any such work. B Reactor now looks much like it did when it was operating, from the control room to the face of the reactor's core where uranium fuel was inserted. The B Reactor Museum Association has collected and labeled artifacts and created displays there to explain its history. But the public is rarely allowed inside the reactor. It's in the secure area of the nuclear reservation and tours require escorts by officials from DOE or its contractor and must be preceded by hours of airing out the building because radon can build up when it is closed. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 EA: Continuous, real-time analysis of radioactive waste achieved at PNNL EurekAlert! 13-Sep-2006 Contact: Geoff Harvey Geoffrey.Harvey@pnl.gov 509-372-6083 DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Continuous, real-time analysis of radioactive waste achieved at PNNL Monitoring system capable of working in complex, harsh environments SAN FRANCISCO – An improved monitoring system for providing continuous analysis of high-level radioactive waste has been developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers and reported at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. The system features on-line Raman spectroscopy that quickly generates real-time data and analysis. PNNL researcher, Samuel Bryan, says the monitoring system is capable of simultaneously and continuously quantifying the levels of all the chemically-significant anions within the waste, such as nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, carbonate, chromate, hydroxide, sulfate and aluminate. The total sodium ion concentration was determined independently by modeling inputs from on-line conductivity and density meters. The system is adaptable to monitoring in a variety of harsh environments. Bryan notes that system components and analytical tools of the process monitor can be tailored to monitor a variety of complex mixtures such as pulp and paper processing liquids, electroplating solutions, as well as radioactive tank wastes. ### Samuel Bryan will make his presentation at the 232nd ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA, Wednesday, September 13, at 8:30 a.m., at the Moscone Convention Center in Room 252/254. EurekAlert! ***************************************************************** 61 HDTV - Contaminated Well Water Found Near Pantex Amarillo, Texas 09.12.06 Chromium Found in Water Near Pantex Contaminated water has reportendly been found by a landowner living near the Pantex Plant. Lab tests show was found two miles east of Pantex in a private well. The landowner addressed Pantex officials last night at a public meeting....and presented them with the data. Pantex officials tell us the results show a very small amount of chromium in the water, not enough to harm anyone who drinks it. Pantex officials say they will continue to investigate to make sure the water is safe for those in the area. "We're more than happy to go sit down with those landowners and work with them on those results, how sampled, collected, what the analyis was...and we'll help them understand what those results really mean." -Dennis Huddleston, Manager of Environmental Development BWTX Pantex. Pantex officials say they understand the well has a new stainless steel pump- which they say, releases some hexavalent chromium. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2006 WorldNow and KFDA. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 KnoxNews: Admiral gets firsthand look at Navy's nuke-fuel supply By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com September 13, 2006 One of the missions at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant is to supply the U.S. Navy with highly enriched uranium to fuel its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. A four-star admiral visited the Oak Ridge plant Aug. 31, attracting plenty of attention and, according to at least one employee, creating a bit of a "pucker factor." Admiral Kirkland Donald is the National Nuclear Security Administration's deputy administrator for naval reactor programs, a position he's held since 2004. He got a first-hand look at the nation's storehouse of highly enriched uranium, which Y-12 maintains for weapons production and other uses, including the nuclear Navy. Ted Sherry, the Y-12 site manager for NNSA, got a special kick out of the Donald's visit because he spent an early part of his career in the nuclear Navy. According to Sherry, Y-12 has a 50-year commitment to supply the Navy with the uranium needed for its nuclear fleet. That agreement was signed back in 2002, he said. The long-term commitment is necessary in order to manage the inventory of special nuclear material for national defense needs. The United States has not produced any weapons-grade uranium - more than 90 percent U-235 - since the early 1960s. In the post-Cold War years, the U.S. Department of Energy has declared tons of the material as excess, allowing it to be "down-blended" to eliminate its weapons capability and then converted to fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. The reactors that power the Navy vessels require fuel at the high enrichment, but most commercial reactors use uranium fuel with only about 4 percent U-235. ORNL slammed the competition recently in the latest round of SciDAC (Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing) awards. The Oak Ridge lab has become a national leader in using supercomputers for scientific simulations to help produce top research results in areas such as global climate change and fusion energy. The latest round of awards funded projects for the next five years, and ORNL apparently did better than anyone could reasonably expect in going up against the best research labs in the country. DOE's science director, Ray Orbach, announced the awards last week. In a memorandum to the lab's leadership team, Thomas Zacharia - ORNL's scientific computing chief - couldn't restrain his excitement. "I want you to know how successful our (principal investigators) have been in this round of competition. Seventeen of our proposals were funded as part of this announcement. Three additional proposals (in biology, nuclear physics and accelerator physics) are still being negotiated with (DOE headquarters), and I am confident will be funded All told, 22 of the 63 proposals that we submitted are being funded, a remarkable 33 percent success rate! We can rest assured that our leadership in computational science will be continued for the next several years." + ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth added to his already impressive publications list recently with the cover story in a prestigious scientific journal. Of course, I hardly understood a word of it. It might as well have been written in Chinese. Oh, wait. It was written in Chinese. His article, titled "Ancient Steels and Carbon Dating," was published in the Chinese Journal of Nature. Congrats - I think. + During ORNL's United Way kickoff, Walter Mitty (aka lab communications czar Billy Stair) got a chance to talk to University of Tennessee Football Coach Phil Fulmer and share his daydream of being offensive coordinator for the Vols. Fulmer reportedly squelched that fantasy in short order, firmly informing Mr. Mitty that the window of opportunity was last year, not this year. Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at . This column is also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com. © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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