***************************************************************** 12/03/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.285 ***************************************************************** 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 Greg Palast- Found: Saddam's Weapon of Mass Destruction 2 Guardian Unlimited: Turkish PM to Meet With Iranian Leader 3 RIA Novosti: Iran should suspend uranium work to continue talks - Iv 4 AFP: Divided UN powers to meet for Iran talks on Tuesday - 5 Guardian Unlimited: Korean Nukes Linked to Japanese Pinball 6 IHT: Reports: South Korea, US agree to draw up contingency plans 7 Korea Times: Allies to Draw Up Contingency Plans on North 8 AFP: US urges NKorea to close nuke facilities before talks - 9 AFP: Direct US, North Korea talks give new glimmer of hope - 10 UPI: Report: 2008 deadline for N. Korea nukes 11 Xinhua: U.S. to continue with new nuclear weapons program 12 AFP: India, US to resume nuclear pact talks next week 13 Guardian Unlimited: Blair warned over Trident debate 14 The Observer: Blair plans new generation of nuclear subs 15 Guardian Unlimited: There is no defence for renewing Trident 16 Guardian Unlimited: Trident is a weapon of mass deception | 17 London Times: We’re not top dog ... but we don’t have to be a poodle 18 BBC NEWS: Ministers 'to back nuclear arms' 19 Independent: Blair 'will need Tory support on Trident' 20 AFP: Blair to signal possible cuts to nuclear fleet - FT 21 AFP: Blair faces backlash over nuclear deterrent replacement - 22 Scotsman.com: Blair seen backing renewal of nuclear arsenal 23 Japan Times: Kazakh nuke controls to be viewed NUCLEAR REACTORS 24 Nuclear Power Not Panacea For Energy Supply, But It Certainly Helps 25 Sydney Morning Herald: Inquiry backs nuclear power - report - 26 Sydney Morning Herald: Shedding light on the great power debate - 27 US: San Luis Obispo Tribune: Agency wants PG to preserve land 28 US: Detroit Free Press: Park at ex-nuke site on hold 29 B92: Macedonian PM thanks Bush for support 30 US: The Advocate: Nuclear rods watched as Connecticut Yankee is deco 31 US: courant.com: Connecticut Yankee To Leave A Legacy 32 Cesk‚Noviny: Suits over Temelin to be filed with European Court 33 The Tribune: N-deal law this month 34 IAEA: New Countries Interested in Nuclear Power Meet In Vienna 35 US: BCTAT: Nuclear power plant should withstand air attack 36 SNA: Bulgaria's FM: EU Cash Not Enough to Compensate for Nukes Closu NUCLEAR SECURITY 37 The Herald: A victory over secrecy 38 MNNA: Japan To Send Inspectors To Kazakhstani Atomic Facilities 39 US: Guardian Unlimited: Libby Trial May Discuss Terror, Nukes NUCLEAR SAFETY 40 [NYTr] Poisoned Russian Spy: Plot Thickens, Europe Hysterical 41 [NYTr] Was Poisoned Spy Litvinenko a Blackmailer? 42 Radiation Poison Reportedly Found in 2nd Man 43 The Litvinenko case: unanswered questions 44 4 Airplanes Checked for Radiation 45 Guardian Unlimited: Litvinenko affair: now the man who warned him po 46 Guardian Unlimited: Spy expert at centre of storm 47 Guardian Unlimited: Ex-spy death probe to widen - Reid 48 Guardian Unlimited: Poison spy probe moves to Moscow 49 London Times: Putin wanted Blair to gag poisoned spy - 50 CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Poisoning of ex-spy illustrates how Cold War ling 51 US: Arizona Daily Star: Navajos find allies at uranium forum 52 BBC NEWS: Spyfinder Scaramella in spotlight 53 BBC NEWS: Speculation over ex-spy continues 54 The Herald: NHS told to reveal data on cancer in children 55 AFP: Radioactive poison probe in second week amid health, diplomatic 56 AFP: Litvinenko probe to spread to Europe - 57 Guardian Unlimited: Ex-KGB Agent Says He Named Spy Suspect 58 globeandmail.com: Polonium is costly, undetectable, trillion times m 59 antiwar.com: Polonium-210, Fiction and Fact - 60 Guardian Unlimited: Alpha particles have devastating effect on human 61 UPI: Report: Broad Russian spying in Britain NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 62 Nevada Appeal: Still skeptical even though West has leadership in Co 63 US: Bradenton Herald: Tallevast group not seeking appeal 64 Las Vegas SUN: Reid's rise to power may be bad news for Yucca backer 65 US: Deseret News: 'Ground Up' discusses history of Utah mining 66 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Russia's tight grip on energy fuels fears in 67 US: Pasadena Star-News: Tackling a messy cleanup 68 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Keep your poisons 69 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Miller defends arena name switch 70 US: SGVTribune.com: Water safety panel a fabrication? 71 US: Whittier Daily News: Group hits perchlorate study tactics 72 US: UCS: DOE Proposes Nuclear Waste Dumps for 11 Communities 73 US: PE.com: Pickets demand groundwater cleanup 74 US: AU ABC: Inquiry expected to recommend uranium mine ban rethink. PEACE 75 Eureka Reporter: Planning, nuclear commissions to meet 76 US: UCS: Major Plutonium Study Eliminates Rationale for New Nuclear US DEPT. OF ENERGY 77 CONTRA COSTA TIMES: With rich past, lab sets bold course 78 SF New Mexican: Nuclear weapons: NNSA nearing decision on design of 79 Hanford News: Fluor named top company for safety 80 Hanford News: Hanford contracts could steer cleanup for next 10 year 81 Hanford News: Sisters seek benefits for ill workers: Petition filed 82 washingtonpost.com: New Nuclear Weapons Program To Continue - 83 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Keeping a foot in the door with GNEP 84 KnoxNews: Sites under consideration for new nuclear tests 85 Inside Bay Area: New nukes, no testing, no problem 86 Inside Bay Area: Officials: We can build new nukes 87 Strategic Security Blog: Jason Releases Summary of Long-awaited Plut 88 Times Union: Bechtel puts its move on hold ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Greg Palast- Found: Saddam's Weapon of Mass Destruction Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 14:32:51 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Greg Palast- Found: Saddam's Weapon of Mass Destruction By Greg Palast [Washington] December 3, 2006 This photo of condemned Iraqi ex-strongman Saddam Hussein amid exotic weapons of mass destruction, taken just before the liberation of Iraq, was released Saturday by the White House. [cid:18072525-19768] Proclaiming that the long-awaited evidence of Saddam's deadly weaponry was now irrefutable, Presidential spokesman Tony Snow displayed the picture of Saddam with bow and arrows [read the original NY Times article] at a special briefing for the Washington press corp. "These are 'dirty' arrows, capable of delivering radioactive material wherever shot," said Snow. While conceding that there was as yet no evidence that Saddam had the capability to 'nuclearize' these warheads, sources close to the Office of Special Plans at the Pentagon stated that, "The purpose of a 'dirty arrow' is not to kill but to spread destructive mass panic." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added "Imagine the deadly effect if one of these babies was shot into the goal post at the Super Bowl game during Shakira's half-time show." Administration defense policy advisor Richard Perle, speaking from the American Enterprise Institute, noted that Saddam clearly had the means to greatly multiply the deadly panic effect of a dirty arrow attack by use of a "war whoop," which Perle demonstrated by repeatedly placing the closed fingers of one hand against his lips while intoning, "whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo." The discovery of hard evidence of Saddam's dirty arrow program vindicates the claims of Iraqi exile leader Ahmad Chalabi that Saddam had concealed large caches of war paint and battle feathers. During a scheduled impromptu chat with the press held at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, the President said, "Well, this should put an end to my critics and the nay-sayers and the cutters and runners who said we were fibbing about Saddam's WMDs." Because of the extreme danger to the American public of such arrows, Mr. Bush said his father, the former president, had given him for his recent birthday a bow and arrows "with these little rubber suction thingies on the end." Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, reached in Baghdad, when asked about the new dirty arrow revelations said, "You're kidding me, right?" General Powell was in Iraq to continue the hunt for the biological weapons laboratories whose photos he displayed to the United Nations in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion. "Hey, a picture's worth a thousand words -- or fifty thousand lives," said the General, laughing hysterically as he locked himself inside one of Saddam's "mobile laboratories" filled with nothing but sand. ------------------------------------ Greg Palast is the author of the bestseller, "Armed Madhouse: Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf? and other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War." Donate $75 or more to the Investigative Fund (tax-deductible) and receive a signed copy of Armed Madhouse (hardbound). Gifts can be personalized (give us the name of the recipient in the "message box"). "Armed Madhouse is great fun. Palast, detective style, provides ... pieces of the secret puzzle." - The New Yorker A New Statesman book of the year. You may change your email address or unsubscribe from the newsletter member page. (If you don't have a password for the member page, you can have one sent to you.) --- [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 312591748_6edea01af4_o.jpg] ***************************************************************** 2 Guardian Unlimited: Turkish PM to Meet With Iranian Leader [UP] Sunday December 3, 2006 5:31 AM ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left for Tehran on Saturday, where he said he would meet Iran's president to discuss how their two countries can help stabilize the Middle East. Erdogan said discussions with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would touch on the situations in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. He denied suggestions that he would be passing along a message from Washington about Iran's nuclear program. U.S. officials believe Iran's nuclear program is intended to produce a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies. Turkey has repeatedly called on Iran to be more transparent and to allay Western concerns by cooperating more fully with international inspectors. ``Our thoughts on this subject are clear and in the open. Our Iranian friends also know this,'' Erdogan said, calling the nuclear issue one of ``great importance for the region.'' Erdogan is also scheduled to meet with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ``This visit is being made at a time when tensions and clashes are increasing and negatively affecting peace and stability in the region,'' Erdogan said before leaving. Turkey is a member of NATO. The country is also 99 percent Muslim and enjoys friendly relations with Iran, with which it shares a long border. Turkey's energy minister and a small group of legislators were accompanying the prime minister on the trip. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 3 RIA Novosti: Iran should suspend uranium work to continue talks - Ivanov 03/ 12/ 2006 TEHRAN, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - Iran should suspend its uranium enrichment activities to continue talks with the international community, the Russian defense minister said Sunday. Iran has been at the center of international concerns over its uranium enrichment program, which some countries suspect is a covert program to develop nuclear weapons. But Tehran has consistently denied the claims and says it needs nuclear energy for civilian needs. The suspension of uranium enrichment activities by Iran to continue talks with the international community is a strategic way out of the complex situation, Sergei Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister, said in an interview with the Al-Jazeera TV channel broadcast by the Russian Vesti-24 TV channel. At the same time, Ivanov said Iran currently had neither nuclear weapons nor weapons-grade plutonium nor weapons-grade uranium. Each country has the legitimate right to benefit from civilian nuclear energy but the international community must be absolutely certain that no country, except for the nuclear club members, is engaged or plans to be engaged in any programs that could allow it to acquire military nuclear technologies, Ivanov said. The Russian defense minister said control over fuel meant for nuclear power stations could be an effective measure. "Russia is building the Bushehr nuclear power station in Iran. But fuel delivery has nothing to do with military programs. This fuel is of a completely different enrichment nature and cannot be used for military purposes," Ivanov said. According to Ivanov, this fuel will be delivered to Iran under full control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and after this fuel is spent, it will be returned to Russia for recycling. "This means that not a single gram of even civilian peaceful atom will be stolen," Ivanov said. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 4 AFP: Divided UN powers to meet for Iran talks on Tuesday - December 2, 11:01 PM By Conor Humphries [Sergei Lavrov] MOSCOW (AFP) - A meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany to discuss a UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program will go ahead Tuesday, after Russia withdrew a statement saying it had been called off due to disagreements. "The meeting of political directors of the six (countries) will take place on Tuesday," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on arrival in Moscow from talks in Egypt, Russian news agencies reported. On leaving Egypt hours earlier, (Advertisement) [Click Here!] [ src=] the same agencies reported Lavrov as saying that the meeting had been cancelled because some of the participants were "avoiding continuing the job." He gave no indication of which countries had voiced reservations, or whether he had been in touch with any of Russia's partners during the flight. He said it was still not certain where it would take place, saying it would likely be held "somewhere in Europe, probably in Paris." A foreign ministry spokesman in Paris confirmed that the meeting would take place "early next week" but was unable to name the venue. Amid the confused signals, there was little sign that the so-called P5-plus-one group -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- was any closer to bridging wide disagreements on the issue. The six have been trying for weeks to agree on what sanctions to impose on Iran for its refusal to comply with an earlier UN resolution requiring it to freeze a uranium enrichment program. While all six states have agreed in principle to impose some sanctions until Iran agrees to suspend the enrichment and enter into negotiations on its nuclear program, Russia and China have balked at the terms of a draft resolution drawn up by Britain, France and Germany. The United States and its European allies are seeking sanctions under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which legally obliges all UN members to comply with the punitive measures. In an apparent warning to Moscow and Beijing, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the United States might try to force through a United Nations resolution imposing sanctions without their support, although she still hoped to obtain agreement among the six. "Obviously we'd like to keep the unity of the P5-plus-one, but unity is not an end in itself," Rice said after talks with Arab officials in Jordan. A draft resolution circulated by Britain, France and Germany would have barred trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and slapped financial and travel restrictions on persons and agencies involved in the sectors. But Russia and to a lesser extent China, which have extensive economic and energy ties with Iran, have tried to water down the resolution. "We will proceed from the principle that the goal of this document will not be to punish Iran," Lavrov said Saturday, RIA Novosti reported. On Friday the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei threw his weight behind a flexible approach in dealing with Iran. "You can use sanctions but sanctions alone as we know by experience will not resolve issues. You need to use incentives and disincentives. AFP ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: Korean Nukes Linked to Japanese Pinball From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday December 3, 2006 7:01 PM By CARL FREIRE Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - Gambling at pachinko was a lot more fun for Reiko Kuzuhara until she began to wonder whether maybe - just maybe - her losses were helping North Korea build nuclear weapons. Pachinko, a form of pinball deeply loved in Japan, is an industry run by ethnic Koreans, and experts have long believed that the revenues are a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished regime in North Korea. Now, as Kim Jong Il's nuclear weapons program gathers pace, Japan's attitude is hardening, and that includes shutting out the ferry on which money is believed to be hand-carried from Japan to North Korea. ``I really don't like that the money I spend could be helping them with those sorts of things,'' said Kuzuhara, 55, who works in the printing industry and was interviewed on a Tokyo street near several pachinko parlors. ``It's making me think twice and cut back on how often I play.'' The pachinko connection is facing increased scrutiny as tensions rise following North Korea's ballistic missile tests in July and its first test of a nuclear device on Oct. 9. Pachinko is an upright pinball game played at tens of thousands of brightly lit parlors across the country. Success is measured in little steel payoff balls, which can be exchanged for cash or other prizes. The machines rake in over $200 billion a year, some of which finds its way to North Korea. Official figures put the sum of remittances from sources in Japan at $25.5 million, but the bookkeeping is murky and some think the sum is closer to $850 million a year. No one knows how much of it derives directly from pachinko. ``It's very difficult to say how much cash is actually going from Japan to the North,'' said Toshio Miyatsuka, a North Korea specialist at Yamanashi Gakuin University in central Japan who has written a book about the pachinko industry. ``But it does seem certain that a lot of it is winding up in the hands of the North Korean government and military, and that includes money earned from drugs and pachinko,'' he added. The Ministry of Finance only requires sums going to North Korea to be reported if they top $2.55 million in wire transfers or $85,120 in hand-delivered cash. Japanese government records show that of $25.5 million sent from Japan to North Korea during the 2005 fiscal year, more than 90 percent was hand-delivered. The banning of the Mangyongbong ferry from Japanese ports in July has almost certainly put a crimp in the cash flow. Government officials, however, say it's hard to track money delivered through third countries, in person or through bank accounts. Cash from the drug trade traveling through Japan's underworld is likewise hard to monitor. Officials in the pachinko industry say North Korea's image problems and the sanctions have not been a business issue. While ethnic Koreans may worry about how relatives in the North are faring without the cash they used to take to them, their main concerns as businessmen lie elsewhere. ``Yes, there are a lot of ethnic Korean operators, but the industry is not at all concerned about the sanctions issue,'' said Takaaki Sasaki, spokesman for Zennichiyuren, an industry organization. ``We're not hearing about anyone losing business because of the missiles or the nuclear test.'' Still, the connection between pinball revenues and North Korea makes some Japanese pachinko players uneasy. ``I used to play frequently, but I don't go so often anymore,'' Kuzuhara said. ``I really don't want North Korea using my money for bombs.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 6 IHT: Reports: South Korea, US agree to draw up contingency plans against North Korea - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: December 2, 2006 SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea and the United States have agreed to draw up contingency plans against North Korea in case of emergencies, news reports said Saturday. During their annual security meeting in October in Washington, the two allies signed a strategic guideline calling for completion of a concept plan dubbed "CONPLAN 5029," the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said. Details were not immediately available, but the guideline focuses on measures to prevent rebels from stealing the North's weapons of mass destruction or leaking those weapons to other countries, the newspaper said citing unnamed sources. Key issues were which country's military would advance to the North, or which country would be in charge of the North's weapons of mass destruction — including nuclear weapons — in case of emergencies, Yonhap news agency said, citing an unidentified government official. Seoul and Washington hope to wrap up the plan by the end of next year, Yonhap said. A spokesman for South Korea's Defense Ministry declined to comment on the reports. Seoul and Washington had earlier been pushing to draw up an operation plan called "OPLAN 5029-05," but last year South Korea's National Security Council rejected it, citing a possible infringement on Seoul's sovereignty, said the Chosun. The move comes as South Korea-U.S. alliance is being transformed, with Washington reducing its military presence in the country and making arrangements with Seoul to hand over wartime command of South Korean troops to their government. About 29,500 U.S. troops are now stationed in South Korea, but their number is set to decrease in coming years. In October, the U.S. and South Korea agreed that Seoul will retake full wartime operational control of the South's forces from the U.S. sometime between 2009 and 2012. South Korea voluntarily transferred control of its forces to a U.S.-led United Nations command during the 1950-53 Korean War. Seoul regained peacetime control of its troops in 1994, but the U.S. is still supposed to control South Korean forces if renewed war breaks out. The two Koreas remain separated by the world's most fortified border, since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, leaving them technically at war. All rights reserved [IHT] ***************************************************************** 7 Korea Times: Allies to Draw Up Contingency Plans on North Hankooki.com > The Korea Times By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States agreed to finalize detailed scenarios for contingency situations in North Korea next year, a government source said yesterday. The agreement was made during their annual security meeting in October in Washington, D.C., when the defense chiefs of the two countries signed a strategic guideline calling for formulating scenarios for a concept war plan, codenamed CONPLAN 5029, the source said on condition of anonymity. South KoreaˇŻs Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) are moving to wrap up the plan by the end of next year, he said. The Defense Ministry neither confirmed nor denied the reports, citing the importance of military secrets. CONPLAN 5029, established by the CFC in 1999, laid out military responses to various levels of internal trouble in the communist North. Details were not immediately available, but the agreed guideline focuses on measures to prevent PyongyangˇŻs weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) from being smuggled out of the North while the regime is involved in a domestic crisis or if the regime suddenly collapses, the source said. Other contingency situations include a mass defection of North Koreans, a civil war provoked by revolt or coup, South Korean hostages being held in the North following political problems between the two Koreas and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, according to defense officials. Which countryˇŻs military would advance into the North and which country would be in charge of the NorthˇŻs WMDs, including nuclear weapons, are key issues to be worked out, they said. In the case that WMDs are smuggled out, special forces from the two nations, including U.S. Navy SEALs, would be deployed to North Korea, according to reports. The concept plan, however, has not been developed into a full-fledged operational plan because of the administrationˇŻs objection to it. Early last year, the presidential National Security Council (NSC) demanded that the CFC stop formulating the 5029 CONPLAN. It was worried that the plan could infringe on the countryˇŻs sovereignty and that the U.S. military could conduct unilateral military action against the North and cause a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula. A military source told The Korea Times that drawing up specific contingency plans against North Korea ``will not be so easyˇŻˇŻ given the alliesˇŻ differing views on the Kim Jong-il regime. ``The two sides will try their best to make joint contingency plans in accordance with changing security situations around the peninsula, following the NorthˇŻs first-ever nuclear test in October,ˇŻˇŻ the source said, asking not to be named. ``But scenarios regarding revolt or coup in the regime or civil war would be dealt with in a careful manner because they could provoke neighboring countries as well as the North.ˇŻˇŻ About 29,500 U.S. troops are now stationed in South Korea, but their number is set to decrease in coming years. 12-03-2006 19:01 ***************************************************************** 8 AFP: US urges NKorea to close nuke facilities before talks - Sat Dec 2, 3:25 AM ET TOKYO (AFP) - , told his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan that the North must satisfy four conditions before coming back to the talks, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said, citing Japanese and US government sources. During the meetings in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, the negotiators discussed laying the groundwork for the next six-party talks, to which Pyongyang agreed to return under heavy international pressure and UN sanctions condemning the nuclear test. But a restart date has proved elusive. As conditions for the North to return to the multilateral nuclear disarmament talks, Hill demanded the communist state report all of its nuclear facilities and programs, and accept inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency, Yomiuri said. He also demanded the North close its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and completely bury the underground nuclear test site, it said. Kim told Hill he will take the conditions back to Pyongyang and discuss them with the North Korean leadership, Yomiuri said. The sources said leaders from Japan, South Korea" /> South Koreaand the United States decided on the conditions when they met in Hanoi last month, the newspaper said. "Before resuming the talks, North Korea" /> North Koreamust accept the conditions to show that it will not aggravate the current situation. After that, we will start discussing specific measures for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula," a government official was quoted as saying. The six-party talks, which started in 2003, broke down late last year when North Korea walked out over separate financial sanctions imposed on it by the United States for money laundering and counterfeiting. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 AFP: Direct US, North Korea talks give new glimmer of hope - by P. Parameswaran Sun Dec 3, 4:57 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - One month after North Korea" /> North Koreaagreed to return to multilateral nuclear talks following its defiant atomic weapons test, the six-nation dialogue remains stalled. But few are complaining. This is because the United States and North Korea, the key parties of the four-year nuclear standoff, are engaged in face-to-face talks on crunch issues that some believe are more productive that the six-party process including China, South Korea" /> South Korea, Russia and Japan. Top US negotiator Christopher Hill met his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan in Beijing last week, their second meeting in a month, to explore how North Korea should consider disbanding its atomic weapons network in return for security, diplomatic and energy guarantees. Experts noted that their 15 hours of marathon talks brokered by China over two days were wide-ranging and tackled critical issues. "One of the things to note is that there had been extensive talks this time between the North Koreans and the United States," said Daniel Pinkston of the California-based Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "Proposals were exchanged and discussions were held and that means diplomacy is underway, and so whether or not the six-party meeting is held may be irrelevant," he said. The six-party talks have been stalled since November 2005 and few expect them to resume before the end of the year. The administration of President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushhas been under pressure to hold direct talks with North Korea since the hardline communist state defied the international community and tested a nuclear bomb two months ago. Washington has always emphasized that the rare direct talks between US and North Korean negotiators in Beijing are part of the six-party process hosted by China and not considered official bilateral discussions. At the Beijing talks last week, North Korea reportedly told the United States to lift the financial restrictions on a Macau-based bank which Washington alleges was used by Pyongyang to commit financial crimes. The United States, for its part, demanded the communist state report all of its nuclear facilities and programs, and accept inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun daily in Japan. Citing Japanese and US government sources, it said Hill also demanded that the North close its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and seal off underground nuclear facilities from where it conducted the atomic test. Kim has taken the conditions, reportedly agreed upon by the other five parties, back to Pyongyang for consultations with the North Korean leadership. Hill would only say that he shared some "ideas" with the North Koreans. "They heard them for the first time from us, and so they are going to take them back to Pyongyang and study them. And we hope to hear from them soon," he said. Experts say it is hard to tell at this stage whether North Korea, with its de facto nuclear power status following its October 9 test explosion, would just abandon its atomic weapons arsenal. "It's important to make the North Koreans choose between the survival of their regime and having nuclear weapons," said Robert Einhorn, who directed nonproliferation matters at the State Department from 1999 to 2001. "If they believe that keeping nuclear weapons will over the long term jeapordise the survival of their regime then perhaps they would have incentives for giving up those weapons," said Einhorn, who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. North Korea agreed in principle during the six-party talks in September 2005 to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for concessions but boycotted the talks two months later after US sanctions led to a freeze in North Korean accounts in Macao-based Banco Delta Asia. Pyongyang only agreed about a month ago to return to the six-party talks after testing its nuclear bomb and drawing UN Security Council sanctions. But Washington said it would not resume the six-party talks until a concrete outcome is ready to be put on the table, fearing North Korea would use the meeting as a stalling tactic to expand its nuclear arsenal. "The North Koreans have said they'll come back to the talks. That's a done deal. But we don't want to just have people come back to the talks," said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Rice. "It really is what are the expectations of this next round and that may take some time. And it may take further discussions," she said. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 UPI: Report: 2008 deadline for N. Korea nukes United Press International - NewsTrack - 12/2/2006 10:14:00 AM -0500 WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The United States and other countries are demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear programs by the end of 2008, it was reported Saturday. The Bush administration also threatened to impose additional sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang refuses to accept the demand, the Kyodo News Agency quoted sources as saying Saturday. This latest demand is a major pillar of proposals the United States and other countries made to North Korea this week in an effort to bring tangible results to the next round of the six-nation disarmament talks. Specifically, the latest proposals call for North Korea to discontinue operations at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, where North Korea produced the plutonium for its first nuclear test. The proposals also call for North Korea to accept International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, halt nuclear testing and publicly identify all its nuclear-related facilities, the sources said. In return, the countries promise to assure North Korea's safety and improve its economy, while letting it normalize relations with the United States, the news agency said. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 Xinhua: U.S. to continue with new nuclear weapons program www.chinaview.cn 2006-12-03 01:12:55 WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Council plans to continue developing a new nuclear weapons program even though recent studies suggested that existing stockpiles are in better condition than had been thought, The Washington Post reported Saturday. The announcement by the council, consisting of senior Defense Department and National Nuclear Security Administration officials, came Friday, two days after the release of studies by the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories showing that plutonium triggers in currently stockpiled weapons will remain reliable for 90 to 100 years, the report said. A major reason for starting the new weapons program - known as the Reliable Replacement Warhead - was the belief that highly radioactive plutonium would degrade so much within 45 years that it could affect the reliability of the weapons in the current stockpile, many of which were built in the late 1960s. The Nuclear Weapons Council determined that competing designs submitted by both national labs could result in reliable warheads "without underground testing," a key requirement of the program, the report said. The council members are expected to choose one of the two designs in the next few weeks and to develop cost estimates. Moving to the next phase of warhead development will require the approval of Congress. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said earlier this week that the plutonium used to trigger U.S. nuclear warheads and bombs will remain reliable for about 100 years, far longer than had been believed, the Post reported Thursday.ˇˇ Editor: Mu Xuequan ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: India, US to resume nuclear pact talks next week Fri Dec 1, 8:59 PM ET NEW DELHI (AFP) - The United States and India will resume talks on a landmark nuclear energy cooperation deal which was passed by the US Senate last month, a report said. The US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns is likely to arrive in the Indian capital December 7, a day after the joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate meets, the Press Trust of India reported. Burns will hold talks with Shyam Saran, Indian pointman on the agreement reached last year between the two countries during a visit here by US President George W. Bush" /> , it said. The US official will also meet Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon for talks, the news agency quoted unnamed government officials as saying. The agreement is the centrepiece of India's new relationship with Washington after decades of Cold War chill and is part of the import-dependent nation's bid to increase its energy sources to sustain its booming economy. Nuclear power supplies around three percent of the fuel needs of the country of more than one billion people, but India hopes the figure will rise to at least 20 percent within two decades. India's top official in the nuclear establishment, meanwhile, warned Delhi will not do business in atomic energy with the US unless American lawmakers take on board its concerns while finalising legislation linked to the deal. "We expect all our concerns to be addressed and unless the US rules are modified to take care of our country's interest, the business between the two countries is not possible," Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said. The military and sections of India's political establishment have expressed fears the deal could hurt the defence capability of the country, which has fought three wars with nuclear rival Pakistan. The nuclear watchdog chief said the final legislation should address India's requirements. "The final legislation to be made by the US should be such that it is acceptable to India if business has to be done with them --- as a real cooperation," Kakodkar said in Mumbai, India's commercial capital. The accord has been seen as controversial because the US Congress had to exempt New Delhi from the requirements of the US Atomic Energy Act, which bans nuclear sales to countries outside the Non Proliferation Treaty, such as India. US weapons experts also warn that such a deal would make it harder to enforce rules against nuclear renegades Iran" /> and North Korea" /> and set a dangerous precedent for other nations with nuclear ambitions. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 Guardian Unlimited: Blair warned over Trident debate Press Association Sunday December 3, 2006 3:58 PM Tony Blair has been warned that the replacement of Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent was a potentially "explosive issue" for the Labour Party. The Prime Minister is expected to announce plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines which carry the Trident missiles, enabling the deterrent to continue to the middle of the century. Ministers have promised MPs a Commons vote on whether to go ahead early next year. However, with many Labour MPs deeply opposed to a replacement, former defence minister Peter Kilfoyle has urged Mr Blair not to rush to a decision on what he acknowledged was an "explosive issue" for the party. "Politically, it is extremely sensitive," he told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. "I think it is a very inopportune moment to be replacing Trident. I think it sends out entirely the wrong message. We don't even know the putative enemy that these things will be pointed at in the future. It was a weapon that was designed for the Cold War and it is not necessarily appropriate in the future. We need a full and protracted debate. We don't need to rush to some kind of decision over the next few months as appears to be the Government's wish." Mr Kilfoyle is the latest prominent Labour figure to question the need for a decision now, following interventions from former home secretary Charles Clarke and deputy leadership contender John Cruddas. Ministers have said that a decision is necessary as the current submarine fleet starts coming to the end of its life from 2020 and the replacements will take 14 years to design and build. Shadow defence minister Julian Lewis said that it was "highly probable" that the Conservatives would back the Government in the Commons vote. "We have said all along that our policy is that Britain should retain the existing nuclear deterrent and replace it when necessary," he told The World This Weekend. However Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey said that he believed that the Government had several years before it needed to make a final decision. "I think Tony Blair is pushing this politically because he believed he saved the Labour Party from unilateralism with the whole New Labour project and he wants one of his last deeds to be shackling them into the nuclear business for another generation," he said. © Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 14 The Observer: Blair plans new generation of nuclear subs Long-awaited announcement will defy critics who say cash is needed elsewhere Ned Temko Sunday December 3, 2006 The Observer Tony Blair will announce plans tomorrow to invest in a leaner, more high-tech British nuclear arsenal, challenging his critics' claims that the money could better be spent. In an effort to blunt backbench reistance to his long-awaited decision on the country's nuclear deterrent, the Prime Minister will couple the decision to commission a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines with a pledge to look at replacing the existing four-boat fleet, armed with Trident missiles, with only three new subs. Downing Street sources said he would also pledge a further reduction in the total number of stockpiled warheads, already cut by 30 per cent to slightly under 200 since Labour came to power. But in launching a 40-page white paper, the sources said, he would categorically reject the 'false choice between necessary updating of Britain's nuclear defence and investment in other areas such as the fight against terrorism or climate change'. In a speech last week, the former Home Secretary Charles Clarke became the most senior Labour MP to raise doubts about the need to replace the country's ageing weapons system. He suggested the nuclear force was a Cold War relic not appropriate to dealing with current security threats faced by Britainsuch as 'terrorism, organised crime and people-trafficking'. Another Labour MP, John Cruddas, a candidate for the deputy leadership, said yesterday he also had serious doubts about the need to replace the nuclear weapons and called for a wide debate on the issue within the party. Downing Street said last night that Blair would insist that 'despite the end of the Cold War, there has not been a change in the fundamental logic of nuclear deterrence'. He would argue that with the prospect of states like North Korea and Iran joining the nuclear weapons club, for Britain in effect to take a step towards unilateral disarmament would be dangerous. The centrepiece of the Prime Minister's announcement - which follows a series of cabinet meetings in which it was decided to defer specific decisions on the number and type of warheads until a later stage - will be a decision to build a new nuclear-armed fleet to replace the current Vanguard submarines. Some critics have argued it would be cheaper and more prudent to invest in extending the life of existing submarines. But the Downing Street source said: 'Even if we extend Vanguard, that would take us to the early 2020s. Besides the cost of doing so, we'd risk ending up with a fleet that was technologically outdated.' The white paper will be followed by a three-month consultation period and then a vote in the House of Commons. Cabinet ministers have voiced confidence the Prime Minister will win the support of the great majority of Labour MPs. They pointed out that retaining the nuclear deterrent had been part of the party's manifesto. The Tories favour retaining the nuclear deterrent, and their shadow defence spokesman Liam Fox told The Observer they were likely to back Blair's proposal. The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said last week his party favoured extending the life of the current submarines, cutting the number from four to three and radically reducing the number of operational warheads to 100. Campbell added: 'It would be unwise at this time for Britain to abandon its nuclear weapons altogether.' Useful links British Energy Department of Trade and Industry British Nuclear Fuels Ltd Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Greenpeace Come Clean WMD awareness programme UK atomic energy authority National Radiological Protection Board Friends of the Earth World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Transport Institute Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 15 Guardian Unlimited: There is no defence for renewing Trident Sunday December 3, 2006 The Observer Tomorrow the government publishes a white paper advocating that Britain renew Trident, its submarine-based nuclear deterrent. Unlike earlier commitments on Britain's military nuclear capacity, there are to be three months of consultation and debate. That is to be welcomed. It means that it is not too late for the government to realise it has got its argument wrong. It has misdiagnosed Britain's strategic threat. There is no enemy in any quarter against whom a submarine-based nuclear force is the only conceivable deterrent. Britain is not about to fight an all-out nuclear war against China. Moreover, the spread of new satellite technologies means the submarines may soon be detectable from space, rendering them strategically obsolete. Worse, arguing for the possession of a weapon whose impracticality is obvious to the rest of the world undermines our diplomacy when trying to limit nuclear proliferation. By renewing Trident we would be embracing the idea of nuclear weapons as national vanity projects while asking Iran and North Korea to refrain from following our example. Our diplomatic position would be much stronger if we took a different course. That does not mean disarmament. It means better use of the money - at least Ł25bn - that Trident would cost. For that we could build up a large, well-paid, well-equipped army and the infrastructure to allow it to react quickly to overseas threats. It takes 17 years to build nuclear submarines, and, unlike nearly every other form of technology, their cost in real terms has gone up, not down. One argument is that Britain needs Trident for military independence. But it is hard to imagine Britain ever taking unilateral nuclear action. In any case, the Trident system depends on data from US satellites. A more valuable card to play at the global security table is having the industrial capacity to support a number of small-scale military endeavours. That means helicopters, armoured cars and light tanks. States have declined throughout history because their leaders were wedded to outdated military technologies. Venice did not abandon the galley for the sailing ship; Spain did not abandon the pike for the musket. Trident submarines were made for the Cold War. Now Britain must equip itself for new threats. The government, clinging to rhetoric of security with its call to renew Trident, risks blowing the defence budget and making Britain less secure. Useful links British Energy Department of Trade and Industry British Nuclear Fuels Ltd Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Greenpeace Come Clean WMD awareness programme UK atomic energy authority National Radiological Protection Board Friends of the Earth World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Transport Institute Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 16 Guardian Unlimited: Trident is a weapon of mass deception | Comment Blair's legacy could be that Britain led the world in non-proliferation; instead, he wants to spend billions on a new generation of missiles Mary Riddell Sunday December 3, 2006 The Observer The self-help industry is a marker on how Britain has changed in 25 years. Now, books on personal growth or beefed-up golf swings tell you how to enhance your life. Then, survival manuals were about hanging on to it. Here's an excerpt from a yellowing Cold War primer instructing citizens on what to do, should Armageddon come to Ponders End. A sketch shows a man curled in a sandbagged cupboard. 'Hiding under the stairs may sound ridiculous,' the caption reads. 'But it could give protection if the house remained standing.' Obviously, chipboard has limited potential to deflect a multi-megaton nuclear warhead. You might as well try evening primrose oil as an antidote to polonium 210. Even so, government advised stockpiling Rice Krispies and filling baths with water. Duck and cover. Protect and survive. We were, quite possibly, going to die. Public fear has billowed since then. If the terrorist does not get us, the home-grown hoodie might. A nation once braced for mass annihilation is now so panic-stricken after the poisoning of the Russian defector, Alexander Litvinenko, that a whiff of radiation on an inflight blanket seems like Hiroshima revisited. But, in an age of phobia, one terror has been expunged. No one fears a state-led nuclear strike. And yet, the Prime Minister will tomorrow deliver a White Paper ushering in a replacement for the Trident missile system. The timetable for this Quixotic move was always rushed; now it looks frantic. There has been none of the informal discussion that preceded other contentious issues, such as tuition fees. Tony Blair may rue testing the patience of several Cabinet dissenters who are uneasy, or incandescent, about his likely preferred option: new submarines that may be fitted, in time, with souped-up, GPS-guided US missiles. The tennis game of disarmament is familiar. Angela Carter, the novelist, concurred with Blair only insofar as she thought debate superfluous. For her, the sole question was: 'Do you really want your loved ones to be fried alive?' Carter preferred to think of Goya's 'black' pictures in the Prado, with their swollen, muddy faces and skies the colour of a bruise. His landscapes, 'incoherent with devastation', seemed to her to prefigure nuclear holocaust. What was left to say? Quite a lot, if only parliamentary time permitted. A bill of Ł25bn (possibly up to Ł76bn) could save millions of malnourished children, meet Britain's carbon emission targets, or cover a minimum of eight cost-busting Olympic Games. When the defence budget cannot run to helicopters and even body armour, why reinvent a system that will have less place in modern conflict than slingshots and boiling lead? Trident Two, detectable by the tracking devices of future foes, will be obsolete before it hits the water. But gross waste of money is not the main issue. Nor, even, is the bold case made by Charles Clarke, who thinks, quite rightly, that national security is ill-served by 'building weapons to fight the last war'. Some have anointed him a likely rebel-leader in the Commons. They may be disappointed. Clarke, for now, is chiefly arguing that resources would be better spent on countering terrorism, people-trafficking and organised crime. He may not see Trident as the cathartic issue on which to pin his political future. When cost and fitness for purpose are not the clinching arguments, what is? Only this. The world is at stalemate. Old institutions, such as the UN and Nato, grow weak. Terror convulses tracts of the world and fear of it paralyses the rest. Among the embers of western military supremacy, a new nuclear arms race catches light. In what Kofi Annan called 'a cascade of proliferation', up to 30 nations could build a weapon within a decade. In this nuclear Wal-Mart, every aspiring dirty bomber can hope for crumbs. If ever there was a time for Blair to weave his legacy, this is it. Britain could be a world leader again. It could argue for the UN to widen the Security Council, rather than restricting permanent places to the five powers of 1945. That move alone would crush the notion that the bomb, a 'prestige' item, is as vital to a top-table nation as a Louis Vuitton handbag to a WAG. Britain, if it wished, could lead negotiations to revitalise the creaking Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). The pact's rule - that only those who renounce the bomb should get help with civilian nuclear power - is being wrenched apart, and not just by Iran. America demands that India must get nuclear arms on the odd grounds that, like Pakistan and Israel, it never bothered signing up to the NPT. Just when Britain should be promoting compliance, it risks embarking on a course that, lawyers say, will flout the international code. It would be mad to suggest that British good example would instantly disarm the nuclear gurus of Tehran and Pyongyang. But the unspoken reasons for a new-generation bomb are madder still. We must not upset the arms industry or displease America. Why not, if the decision is right? We must have all the French have. But we get by without the Eiffel Tower or the recipe for Brie. Anyway, a cash-strapped, post-Chirac France may become less welded to its force de frappe Here, there are halfway measures. A decision could be delayed, or stockpiles reduced. Scientists could keep up with technology and maintain a 'virtual' weapon, as the think-tank Basic suggested last week. But Japan, South Africa, even Belarus, are among the majority who have shunned the bomb or renounced it. Britain now has its last best chance to walk away, towards a safer world. In the bloody opening chapter of this century, Trident Two may seem threatless. It would be, by definition, unusable since 'deterrence' fails in the moment a warhead is unleashed. Yet nuclear bombs, artefacts in the museum of conflict, are also a nemesis-in-waiting. 'They [vicious states] can be absolutely confident that, in the right conditions, we would be prepared to use our nuclear weapons.' Not a dirty bomber's fantasy, but Geoff Hoon's vision, as Defence Secretary, of liberal intervention. Bravado, maybe. Few think that Britain ever would, or could, unleash any strike. But neither is it safe to pre-write history in a time of nuclear boom and blighted reason. The world moves on, new dangers multiply and the government refights the Cold War. We are not stockpiling corned beef and sandbagging the garden shed. So why, exactly, are our leaders replacing Trident? The clock is running on one of the gravest decisions this government will take. Parliament has a few weeks to mount a revolt. From Goya's bruised skies to the memorials of Nagasaki, there are no good omens for any nuclear tomorrow. It is not too late to cancel this one. mary.riddell@observer.co.uk Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 17 London Times: We’re not top dog ... but we don’t have to be a poodle The Sunday Times - Comment December 03, 2006 Michael Portillo After a US State Department analyst had described his country’s relationship with Britain as “totally one-sided”, his government issued a quick denial, asserting that the relationship “is indeed a special one”. The problem with that riposte is that it lacks any tangible examples. The Americans cannot argue that Tony Blair succeeded in persuading them to accept a major role for the United Nations in Iraq. Nor that he convinced the president to restart the roadmap peace discussions between Israel and the Palestinians. Our extradition treaty with America is wildly unequal and there are few British companies with contracts to “rebuild” an Iraq still in the process of being destroyed. The prime minister has sacrificed his career by supporting George W Bush. He has humiliatingly offered to fly around the world preparing the way for Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state. British body bags continue to arrive back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Blair has nothing to show for it. Kendall Myers, the State Department analyst, with ironical kindness added that Blair had hardly set a precedent since Britain had been an American poodle since the days of Winston Churchill. Of course, he disguised it well because he was a colossus although his country had ceased to be. But even Churchill had limited influence on President Franklin Roosevelt as America and Russia divided Europe in the last months of the second world war. The post-war Labour government spent vastly more on defence than on the welfare state, partly in an attempt to give Britain influence. While it was deciding whether the UK should also develop an independent nuclear deterrent, Ernest Bevin, the foreign secretary, arrived back from demeaning negotiations in Washington. “I never wish to be spoken to like that by an American again,” he said. “Britain must have the bomb.” (Similar hubristic arguments are made for renewing the deterrent today.) Britain accepts the role of poodle because successive governments have believed that that is better than playing no part at all. Politicians assume that voters would be unhappy if we did not sit at some real or imagined top table. Again the metaphor is applied to nuclear weapons: if we did not have them, we might lose our seat on the UN security council. There is no evidence that Irish people or Luxembourgeois are unhappier than Britons because their country is never thought about in world affairs. Presumably with an enormous GDP per head they feel just fine. But status matters to the British because we still have a residual feeling we should be top dog. That sense of national destiny must by now be genetic since most people alive today cannot recall the glory days of a Royal Navy whose writ ran throughout the world, and a map largely coloured red. But the British clearly resented it when under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan our influence in the world slipped fast. Evidently when Margaret Thatcher restored Britain’s sense of “mattering”, she was on to an election winner. Her example has been a powerful influence on Blair. I imagine him peering in the mirror each morning to ask himself: “In this situation what would Thatcher have done?” But she was both more skilful and luckier than Blair. With just two brief wars, the Falklands and the liberation of Kuwait (which she initiated before being deposed by her party), she established Britain’s place in world affairs. Blair has slogged it out in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, and in protracted engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq. She was more skilful because she gave the illusion of being in charge. As a British battleaxe she appeared to call the shots with President Reagan. With masterful spin she inverted the reality of British weakness and American strength when she told President Bush Sr that it was “no time to go wobbly” (when responding to Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait). But Blair has been unlucky to come up against the combination of George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. Rarely has an administration been so gripped by an ideology as this one by the neoconservative view of foreign policy. Its certainties have left little room for outside, let alone foreign, influences. Would any other president and defence secretary have embarked on a war without a plan, indeed without even thinking they needed one? Maybe the critical difference between Thatcher and Blair is that while both are fired by messianic self-confidence, Thatcher believed in Britain and Blair does not. Everything in her upbringing taught her that Britain was best, and what we lacked in military power she could make up for with a swing of the handbag. Blair is from the generation that found British pretensions absurd. To the limited extent that Blair was interested in British history, there was much in it that would embarrass him. Just last week he was expressing his “deep sorrow” about the slave trade. It was Dean Acheson, formerly President Truman’s secretary of state, who in 1962 famously said that Britain had lost an empire but not yet found a role. Because the Americans still perceive us as old-fashioned imperialists they care little for our advice, although one quick look at American troop deployments around the globe tells us who the imperialists are today and why our ideas might be useful. The Acheson remark is still often quoted in Britain because it hurt so much. We really are too sensitive. America has been more uncertain of its role than we have. It has veered from isolationism to interventionism and back again. Sometimes it is the exponent of the pure power play (Nixon and Reagan), and sometimes of foreign policy mysticism (Carter and Clinton), and at other times of both simultaneously (this administration). Bush invaded Iraq to show Islam who was boss, and also to bring the wonders of American-style democracy to benighted peoples. By contrast, British post-war foreign policy has generally been pragmatic and can be defined in a phrase: never choose between America and Europe. The policy perfectly suits our geography and culture. Anthony Eden clashed with America over Suez and it finished him. Ted Heath galloped towards Europe, and Thatcher in her last years galloped away from it, and neither was a good experience. Blair has been the most faithful exponent of the "don't choose" policy, but ironically one of the least successful. Lacking Thatcher's national self-confidence, he never presses home his demands with Bush, a failure readily leaked to the press by civil servants. In Europe, Blair has lost his influence not so much because he is regarded as pro-American, but because he carries no influence with the Americans. The bridge that we are meant to provide between America and Europe is "disappearing before our eyes" (as Myers said) not because the policy is ill-conceived or bankrupt, but because of exceptional obtuseness in Washington and unprecedented fawning from Downing Street. In fairness I should add that continental Europe's unprecedented irresponsibility has been a big factor too. Germany and France are the woodworm in Nato. After 9/11 they offered America full support, including in Afghanistan. Today the Nato operation there is under European command as they would wish. But they will not allow their soldiers to do any real fighting. In a war where one side (the Taliban) has huge numbers willing to die, while the other (the Europeans) has small numbers mainly unwilling to die, the result cannot be long in doubt. As both Gordon Brown and David Cameron distance themselves from Bush, both know nonetheless that closeness to America is "the only game in town". The estrangement of America from Europe is a global catastrophe for which Blair is less culpable than most national leaders. His successors must not abandon his policy of closeness with America. They must just lift Britain off its knees. Copyright 2006 Times Newspapers Ltd. ***************************************************************** 18 BBC NEWS: Ministers 'to back nuclear arms' Last Updated: Sunday, 3 December 2006, 15:29 GMT [ src=] [ [HMS Vanguard] Trident is due to become obsolete by 2024 A new generation of nuclear weapons is expected to be backed in a government white paper to be published on Monday. Ministers will outline their preferred option for Britain's nuclear arms capability. The lifespan of the current Trident missile system ends in 2024. The Observer reported that Tony Blair would pledge to consider reducing both submarines and warheads, in a gesture to Labour's nuclear critics. The white paper will be followed by a three-month consultation and MPs' vote. Ministers say a decision is needed now on Trident's future, to ensure any replacement is ready by 2024. Trident 'essential' Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown, widely tipped as his successor, have both indicated they support replacing Trident. Mr Blair has said the system - 64 missiles based on four nuclear submarines - is an essential part of Britain's ability to defend itself. TRIDENT MISSILE SYSTEM [Trident] Missile length: 44ft (13m) Weight: 130,000lb (58,500kg) Diameter: 74 inches (1.9m) Range: More than 4,600 miles (7,400km) Power plant: Three stage solid propellant rocket Cost: Ł16.8m ($29.1m) per missile Source: Federation of American Scientists [ src=] How Trident works The Observer on Sunday reported that Mr Blair would pledge to consider scaling down the submarine fleet to three and to reduce the number of nuclear warheads - to appease opponents of nuclear weapons within the Labour Party. But former defence minister Peter Kilfoyle told the BBC it was a "very inopportune moment" to replace Trident. "Politically, it is extremely sensitive," he told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. "We need a full and protracted debate. We don't need to rush to some kind of decision over the next few months as appears to be the government's wish." The white paper will give the various options and why they are considered acceptable or not, and MPs will vote on a single recommendation. Strange messages Options could include whether to keep a submarine-based system, change to a land-based or aircraft-based system, or possibly to overhaul, rather than replace, the submarine fleet to extend its lifespan further. Supporters argue Trident is needed to deter any threat - particularly at a time when countries like North Korea and Iran harbour their own nuclear ambitions. Former head of the Royal Navy Admiral Sir Alan West said it would be foolhardy to give up the deterrent of nuclear weapons in an "extremely dangerous" world. "The messages we would give, I think, by giving it up would be very strange," he told the BBC. But critics say the estimated Ł10-25bn cost would be better spent elsewhere and Trident was designed for the Cold War, not modern threats of international terrorism. The Conservatives support retaining nuclear weapons while the Liberal Democrats have said the number of nuclear warheads should be halved to 100. Anti-nuclear campaigners say they fear the government has already decided to go ahead with replacing Trident. ***************************************************************** 19 Independent: Blair 'will need Tory support on Trident' By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent Published: 04 December 2006 Tony Blair has been warned that he will have to rely on Conservative votes to press through plans to be announced today for the replacement of Britain's nuclear deterrent. Mr Blair is likely to face one of his last parliamentary showdowns when MPs vote on the plans next year. Analysis of parliamentary motions suggest that enough MPs are strongly opposed to replacing Britain's ageing Trident nuclear missile system to wipe out Mr Blair's working majority, forcing him to fall back on the Opposition when MPs vote on the proposals. Mr Blair will unveil the long-awaited White Paper on nuclear defence this afternoon in a personal statement to the Commons. It is expected to recommend that Britain replace Trident with a new submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile system, when the current deterrent reaches the end of its life around 2024. It is likely to float the idea of reducing Britain's stockpile of nuclear warheads and include the possibility of cutting the country's fleet of nuclear missile submarines from four to three to minimise the anticipated Ł30bn cost of the new deterrent. However, 63 Labour MPs have signed parliamentary motions calling on the Government not to replace Trident, and many more have signed motions calling for a full debate about Britain's nuclear deterrent before the vote. Fifty-three Labour backbenchers signed a motion in February warning that replacing Trident would breach the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while 55 signed another motion last year calling on ministers to "abandon" any plan to replace the missile system. The strength of opposition was shown by a poll of MPs yesterday which found 39 per cent of Labour MPs - and 31 per cent of MPs from all parties - believe Britain should not maintain a nuclear deterrent "for the forseeable future". The poll by Communicate Research found 36 per cent of Labour MPs believed that "the international security outlook makes a UK nuclear deterrent unnecessary." Professor Philip Cowley, of Nottingham University, the leading analyst of backbench rebellions, said 117 Labour MPs had signed motions about Trident, although many simply called for consultation and a vote on the issue. But he warned: "I cannot see a way this will get through if they don't rely on opposition support." Gordon Prentice, the Labour left-winger, said he planned to send a letter to Labour's national executive after today's statement demanding a full consultation with all constituency Labour branches and trade unions. He said: "There is no doubt that the Government will have to rely on Conservative votes. There are two issues, the substantive question of Trident itself and the process. What is the point of having a consultation if there is a predetermined outcome." Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, has been pressing for Labour officials to hold a special meeting of the party's National Policy Forum to discuss the issue. Jon Cruddas, the Labour deputy leadership hopeful, will today launch a consultation run by the left-leaning Compass group to feed views from the party to MPs before the final vote. The White Paper will be approved by the Cabinet this morning and start a three-month consultation . Anti-nuclear campaigners will deliver an "alternative" White Paper to 10 Downing Street today. Also in this section © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 20 AFP: Blair to signal possible cuts to nuclear fleet - FT Fri Dec 1, 10:42 PM LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair is prepared to concede on cuts to Britain's nuclear deterrent when his government publishes plans on the ageing missile system's future, the Financial Times said. The business daily said that, as expected, Blair would commission a straight submarine-based replacement for the US-built Trident weapons system when the plans are announced on Monday. But he will say that the number of Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines that carry the missiles could be reduced from the current four to three and that Britain will cut the 200 nuclear warheads stockpiled. Blair will not give specific figures for the potential warhead reductions and not make a firm commitment to reducing the size of the nuclear fleet, the FT said without quoting sources. A decision on cutting the number of submarines could be taken at a later date while such a reduction in vessels and warheads could reduce the costs of replacing the whole system, the newspaper said Blair will argue. Blair faces a fight from within his governing Labour Party on Trident, which will become obsolete in the mid-2020s and potentially cost up to 25 billion pounds (37 billion euros, 46 billion dollars) to replace. Scrapping nuclear weapons and atomic power were key pledges of left-wing Labour, particularly throughout the 1980s, but the policy was dropped when Blair became party leader in 1994 and took the party to the centre ground. Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn are reportedly against Trident and about 120 backbench Labour lawmakers have lobbied the prime minister to rethink. The plans will be published after a cabinet meeting on Monday and government members have already been briefed "in detail" by Defence Secretary Des Browne and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, Blair's office said Thursday. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the matter in the new year. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 AFP: Blair faces backlash over nuclear deterrent replacement - Sat Dec 2, 11:09 PM LONDON (AFP) - Atomic weapons are back on the agenda in British politics with a vengeance, as the government prepares to outline its plans to replace the country's US-built Trident missile nuclear deterrent. But Prime Minister Tony Blair has a fight on his hands to push through the measures, faced with a groundswell of opposition from within his governing Labour party and a reinvigorated Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). By Saturday evening, more than 3,600 people had signed an online petition on Blair's own own website urging him to "champion the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, by not replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system". That follows a series of polls for CND suggesting a majority of Britons are against replacing Trident and want any decision to be made by parliament alone amid fears the government will simply try to rubber-stamp the plans. A parliamentary vote is due in the new year, but the vote is likely to be "whipped" -- where lawmakers are told to toe the party line rather than follow their consciences in a free vote. Between now and then, CND, whose push for unilateral nuclear disarmament at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s was also Labour party policy, promises to lead the public debate. CND's chairwoman Kate Hudson told AFP their 32,000-strong membership has been bolstered by an extra 1,000 in recent months, directly over concern about Trident. "What's really remarkable is how the debate has developed and many people who thought nuclear weapons were necessary during the Cold War now think they're not," she said. "There's been a big shift in public and political opinion." CND's fight begins soon after the government's plans are published on Monday morning, with the delivery of its alternative proposals to Blair's Downing Street office in central London. His administration has had early warnings of the strength of feeling. Scrapping Trident was one of the issues at a march involving tens of thousands of people in Manchester, northwest England, before Labour's annual conference in September. At the conference itself, there was outrage among Labour left-wingers and trade unionists and claims the party hierarchy was trying to gag opponents by refusing to allow grassroots delegates to discuss Trident at all. On October 1, protesters began a year-long peaceful blockade of the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine base in Faslane, western Scotland, where a peace camp has been based since 1982. And just last week, protesters blockaded the country's main atomic weapons base accusing Blair of hypocrisy for opposing the nuclear ambitions of countries like Iran while pushing Britain's own. Blair and the man tipped to succeed him before September next year, finance minister Gordon Brown, favour replacing Trident, with the government line that a nuclear deterrent is a key "insurance policy" in an uncertain world. Campaigners reject that assertion, arguing instead that Britain should take the lead on nuclear disarmament to prevent proliferation in states like North Korea and Iran. The estimated 25 billion pounds (37 billion euros, 46 billion dollars) it could cost to replace Trident could instead be channelled into health and social care programmes as well as the fight against global warming, they argue. The missiles, which are due to become obsolete in the mid-2020s, are carried on four Royal Navy Vanguard class submarines, one of which is always on patrol. There are signs, though, that Blair is aware of the potential backlash and he could concede some ground. Saturday's Financial Times said the prime minister would indicate that the number of submarines and 200 or so stockpiled warheads could be cut in the future, to reduce the potential replacement costs. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 Scotsman.com: Blair seen backing renewal of nuclear arsenal >Sun 3 Dec 2006 By Adrian Croft LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to defy anti-nuclear members of his Labour Party on Monday by committing to a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines but promising to cut the country's nuclear warheads. Blair will announce the government's decision on the future of the nuclear deterrent to parliament on Monday afternoon after the Cabinet signs off on the policy at a special meeting in the morning. Blair will opt for a new generation of nuclear ballistic-missile submarines at a cost of up to 20 billion pounds ($39 billion), several newspapers reported. But in a concession to anti-nuclear members of his party, who see renewing the nuclear arsenal as unnecessary and a waste of money, Blair is expected to say the government will consider cutting the nuclear submarine fleet from four to three. He will also pledge to cut operational nuclear warheads by a fifth to about 160, The Sun and the Guardian newspapers said on Monday. Blair's office declined comment on the nuclear decision. Britain's nuclear defence consists of Trident missiles carried aboard four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarines, but it will reach the end of its life in 2024. The government says it must decide now on replacing Trident because of the time needed to design and build new submarines. However, Blair faces a battle convincing some in his own party that there is a need for a costly new nuclear deterrent now the Cold War has ended. HEATED DEBATE Blair's announcement and the publication of a policy document will signal the start of weeks of heated debate, culminating in a parliamentary vote early next year. Blair is expected to be able to win the vote with the support of the Conservatives despite signs of a growing Labour rebellion. Labour member of parliament Peter Kilfoyle told BBC radio on Sunday that Trident was "designed for the Cold War and it is not necessarily appropriate in the future." Former interior minister Charles Clarke also voiced scepticism last week about the case for replacing Trident. Some in Labour say Blair is trying to rush through a decision before he steps down next year. The issue is sensitive for Labour, which was committed to unilateral nuclear disarmament until former leader Neil Kinnock scrapped the pledge in the late 1980s. In recent weeks, government officials have said terrorist groups are seeking the know-how for nuclear attacks against Britain. They say there is also a growing threat from states in unstable regions. North Korea recently carried out a nuclear test and the West accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, although Tehran denies it. Nuclear weapons opponents say the money could be better spent on public services, or by improving Britain's conventional or counter-terrorism forces. (c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1794072006 Last updated: 04-Dec-06 01:23 GMT 2006 Scotsman.com| contact| terms & conditions ***************************************************************** 23 Japan Times: Kazakh nuke controls to be viewed Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006 Kyodo News Japan said Friday it will send a fact-finding mission to Kazakhstan in mid-December to assess the control of nuclear materials there as part of Tokyo's efforts to make sure they do not find their way into terrorists' hands, government sources said. The decision came after the two countries exchanged a memorandum in August on jointly developing uranium mines and providing processed uranium to Japan when then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Central Asian country. Kazakhstan boasts the world's second-largest reserves of uranium, and Japan, which depends on nuclear plants for roughly one-third of its energy supply, intends to confirm the country's strong management of atomic materials and secure stable uranium supplies, the sources said. The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 24 Nuclear Power Not Panacea For Energy Supply, But It Certainly Helps - UN Atomic Chief Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 15:34:28 -0500 NUCLEAR POWER NOT PANACEA FOR ENERGY SUPPLY, BUT IT CERTAINLY HELPS – UN ATOMIC CHIEF New York, Dec 1 2006 5:00PM Nuclear power is not the only answer but looks to be an important part of the future energy mix in Asia and other parts of the world, according to the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2006/dg_asia.html">IAEA), who is an official visit to Japan, Viet Nam, China, and Indonesia. Director General Mohamed ElBaradei noted in Tokyo, where he met with Japanese governmental and industry representatives, that the latest world energy projections show a 53 per cent increase in global energy consumption by 2030 if current policies hold. “Two aspects of this analysis are especially interesting,” he said. “The first is the expectation that 70 per cent of the coming growth in demand will be from developing countries. The second is that... the increased use of nuclear power would help to meet the increase in energy demand, enhance the security of energy supply and mitigate carbon emissions... “Nuclear energy alone is not a panacea, but it is likely in the near future to have an increasing role as part of the global energy mix,” he added. Japan has the largest nuclear power programme in Asia, and the third largest worldwide. Only France and the United States have more nuclear generating capacity. In his remarks in Tokyo, Mr. ElBaradei also addressed issues of nuclear security and safeguards, saying he was glad at the recent agreement to resume the six-party talks in Beijing regarding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programme. “The IAEA stands ready to work with the DPRK and with all others towards a solution for this issue that would make use of the Agency’s verification capability to assure the international community that all nuclear activities in the DPRK are exclusively for peaceful purposes,” he declared. “Equally, this solution would seek to address the security, economic and other concerns of the DPRK,” he said of the Beijing talks between China, DPRK, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and the US. 2006-12-01 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 25 Sydney Morning Herald: Inquiry backs nuclear power - report - www.smh.com.au December 4, 2006 - 6:44AM Another parliamentary inquiry has come down on the side of a nuclear future for Australia, a newspaper has reported. The House of Representatives industry and resources committee is expected to conclude that nuclear power is the only means of substantially cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian newspaper said the report would show Australia had a moral responsibility to increase its supply of uranium globally in the face of climate change. "To ensure Australia remains world-competitive, mining companies should be given a tax offset to encourage a new wave of uranium exploration, the cross-party inquiry has found," the paper said. It said the report would find that nuclear power offered at least three economic advantages over coal and other energy sources. © 2006 AAP Brought to you by [aap] Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 26 Sydney Morning Herald: Shedding light on the great power debate - Opinion - smh.com.au www.smh.com.au December 4, 2006 As the wave of hot weather rolled across the state last month, there was another round of warnings from the doomsayers about NSW running out of electricity. It was led by the former chairman of TransGrid, Philip Higginson, who in the wake of his sacking by the Treasurer, Michael Costa, accused the Government of "fiddling round the edges while Rome burns". If he is right, then we should be alarmed. The clear implication of what Higginson said was that NSW was running out of electricity and that the five gas-fired plants now in the pipeline would not be sufficient to meet demand. The Opposition quickly joined the bandwagon. "Regardless of [Energy Minister] Joe Tripodi's day-to-day excuses on blackouts, this is now an emerging systemic failure," its energy spokeswoman, Peta Seaton, said. "Labor's 12 years of underinvestment, underresourcing, mismanagement and excuses means the lights are now going out in NSW." Seaton highlighted a recent cluster of blackouts, sidestepping the fact that two had been caused by bushfires and another by extreme winds blowing a branch onto power lines at Hornsby. So does the Opposition have a case that there has been underinvestment? Are there serious problems in electricity akin to water? The answer is yes, and no. Let's start with the distribution network - the high-voltage power cables, substations and lines. Failures in the distribution network are the overwhelming cause of blackouts. The Government belatedly acknowledged underinvestment when it announced state-owned electricity companies were applying to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to add an average $10 a year to power bills, so they could spend an extra $1.6 billion over five years to upgrade substations and other critical infrastructure. Over the past decade the tribunal had regularly shaved requests by the electricity retailers for bigger capital spending, even though they presented data showing that up to 10 per cent of their substations were classified as critical. So the Opposition is probably right on this score. But it also accused the Government of "a stealthy tax grab" by allowing the price rise and called on it to stop taking dividends from its power companies, even though these are at levels similar to the dividends the Federal Government extracts from its trading enterprises. But let's move to the scarier issue: could we be facing a catastrophic failure of the electricity system in five or 10 years because there is just not enough power to go around? The job of ensuring NSW has enough power does not really fall to anyone because in the new national market the idea is that the private sector will identify opportunities and meet them. The National Electricity Market Management Company runs the electricity market and each year produces a statement of opportunities. The most recent statement, which came out six weeks ago, shows NSW has enough power until at least 2011-12. The forecast did not include a peak-load plant at Munmorah, on the Central Coast, that has just been approved, or three others that are in the planning stages. These peak-load plants are cheap to build but expensive to run, which is why they work well for part-time use, when the weather is very hot or cold. But will these additional plants be enough and for how long? Trying to find an impartial expert is difficult, but the chief executive of Babcock & Brown Power, Paul Simshauser, thinks NSW has six to eight years before it needs to consider a new base-load power station - which would almost certainly be coal-fired. "Of the coal-fired power stations in the eastern states, the NSW plants are at around 60 to 70 per cent of their capacity, compared to 90 per cent in Victoria and 80 per cent in Queensland. There is still spare capacity," he says. And he warns there are risks in investing too soon. A privately built base-load power station built too early would cannibalise the business of the state-owned power stations until demand caught up to supply. That in turn would harm profits and dividends to the Government. "It's a really bad and dangerous conversation," he warns. There are environmental reasons for waiting as long as we can before building another coal-fired base-load power station. The longer we delay, the greater the chance there will be breakthroughs in clean coal technology. Or perhaps we will go down the path opened up by the Prime Minister, John Howard, of a nuclear power station. Neither option would be palatable. Anne Davies is the Herald's state political editor. Sydney Morning Herald ***************************************************************** 27 San Luis Obispo Tribune: Agency wants PG to preserve land 12/02/2006 | By David Sneed dsneed@thetribunenews.com The state Coastal Commission wants Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to preserve 9,750 acres around Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in exchange for permission to replace eight failing components at the facility. In a report released late Friday, Coastal Commission staff said the land conservation would offset the damage that the continued operation of the plant would do to the ocean environment and water quality. Also on Friday, PG officials announced they are willing to conserve 620 acres around the Point San Luis Lighthouse in an effort to augment an earlier offer to spend more than $1.5 million to improve access to the historic light station. "We think it is a very generous offer," PG spokesman Pat Mullen said. However, commission staff is recommending that the utility also conserve the bulk of the 12,000 acres of security buffer land around the plant. The only exceptions would be 772 acres immediately surrounding the plant as well as 2,269 acres in the hills behind Port San Luis, which have been leased to a land development company for nearly the next 200 years. Permission from the Coastal Commission is the final regulatory hurdle PG must overcome before it can replace the plant’s eight steam generators. The commission will consider the project when it meets Dec. 14 in San Francisco. Mullen said the utility will discuss the commission staff recommendations when it makes its presentation at the San Francisco meeting. The staff recommendations are liable to renew a debate before the Coastal Commission about the long-term effects of the steam generator replacement. PG argues that the replacements are a $700 million maintenance project that will have no additional impact on coastal resources and the environment. However, anti-nuclear groups maintain that the replacements set the stage for PG to apply to renew the plant’s licenses for an additional 20 years of operation past their current expiration in 2025. One of the plant’s main environmental impacts is the death of millions of fish and crab larvae each day as two billion gallons of ocean water pass through the plant’s cooling system. The steam generators transfer heat from the plant’s two nuclear reactors to the electrical generators. The steam generators are deteriorating faster than expected. Replacement work is scheduled to begin in 2008. The plant will have to close in 2014 if the generators are not replaced. Port San Luis Harbor District owns the lighthouse. Steve McGrath, the facilities manager with the district, said the harbor commission favors preserving land around the historic light station. "We haven’t discussed it too much at the commission level, other than it’s something we’d be pleased to look at," he said. Morgan Rafferty with the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace said the prospect of preserving more than 9,000 acres around the plant is welcome news. However, the nuclear watchdog group also wants the rest of the PG land behind Port San Luis protected from development. Mothers for Peace is one of the groups that appealed the project to the Coastal Commission. If the land were ever developed, traffic congestion in the area would increase and make evacuating the area in the event of a radiation release from the plant more difficult. "The idea of anything going into that area so close to the plant is unacceptable," she said. PG needs permission from the Coastal Commission to do the replacement work because it needs to erect five temporary support buildings in the coastal zone as well as make temporary modifications to the plant’s cooling water intake cove where the 330-ton steam generators would be unloaded. Reach David Sneed at 781-7930. ***************************************************************** 28 Detroit Free Press: Park at ex-nuke site on hold [liPublished]: December 02. 2006 3:00AM Funding request pulled, but idea not dead BY TINA LAM FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER The state Department of Natural Resources withdrew its request Friday for $3 million from a state public trust fund to help buy the former Big Rock nuclear plant site near Charlevoix for a park, an official said Friday. But the park idea isn't dead. The proposal had drawn criticism from environmental groups, who dubbed it Plutonium State Park and said the land has residual contamination from 35 years of operation, including a containment area with 441 highly radioactive spent fuel rods, which will stay there until at least 2020. "We're very comfortable we could offer this property for public use," said Mindy Koch, the department's resource management deputy. But the request was withdrawn because of lingering questions, Koch said. "We're certainly not shutting the door," she said. "We absolutely believe this property should be in public hands." In fact, Koch said, the DNR has a request for $3 million in federal funding pending before Congress. The department will apply for another $6 million from that program. The price of the 450 acres was pegged at $19.3 million earlier this week. Sam Washington, chairman of the trust fund board, said Friday the price was not certain. "We have a policy not to put public money out there in limbo since we don't know if they would need to come back to us for more," he said. The trust fund board had expected to vote Wednesday on the state request for $3 million. The DNR could come back next year and request money once the issues are resolved. Jackson-based Consumers Energy, which owns the land, will continue to work with groups who want to buy the site, spokesman Tim Petrovsky said. The plant closed in 1997. "It's really disappointing to hear," said Joanne Beemon, a Charlevoix resident and former anti-nuclear activist who supports the park concept. "I think some of the questions are valid and they will be answered." But others, including the Michigan Environmental Council, say the state has better options for trust fund dollars. The trust fund comes from state oil and gas royalties. "We're pleased that other deserving proposals -- ones without nuclear waste and liability issues -- will now have a better chance to get funded," said Hugh McDiarmid Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council. Contact TINA LAM at 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com. The DNR is screaming that they are broke. They can't afford to maintain the facilities they have now, do not have nearly enough field officers to even begin to enforce game laws, and are proposing to increase hunting/fishing licenses by up to 300% to help cover the shortfall. Why in the hell would they even consider spending $19,300,000 to purchase a chunk of property that may end up costing taxpayers another hundred million - or more - for abatement, development and maintenance?? Face it, Michigan is BROKE and cannot afford another fee-good white elephant. As far as the nuke waste on the property goes - This stuff is homeless. The proposed repository in Nevada is years or decades away from ever being a reality. I say "proposed" because the Yucca Mountain project is wrought with problems. The site is not even being developed - it is still being studied for feasibility. Currently, they have not been able to design storage containers that will last more than a few hundred years in the damp enviroment inside the volcano. Oh, did I forget to mention that Yucca Mountain is a volcano that is riddled with fault lines that are seismically active. Since 1976, there have been over 621 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 2.5 within a 50-mile radius of Yucca Mountain. Hell, the DOE cannot even figure out how to transport nuke waste to the site, once it opens - if ever. Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:37 pm "the land has residual contamination from 35 years of operation, including a containment area with 441 highly radioactive spent fuel rods, which will stay there until at least 2020." That sounds pretty serious to me. I am not a Green Peace flake, but I wouldn't want my kids running around there if it was contaminated. Consumers should be required to clean the place up before it is sold. Maybe that's what the real issue is, Consumers is trying to get rid of the property so they don't have to clean it up or accept responsibility for any problem with contamination. If that's even close to the true situation, Consumers should be paying US to take it off their hands. Why aren't private investors interested in the property? Something fishy about this whole deal, I think it is best to wait this one out awhile. [Arrow] [Laughing] Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:27 pm Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc. ***************************************************************** 29 B92: Macedonian PM thanks Bush for support 3 December 2006 | 11:43 | Source: MAKFAX SKOPJE -- Nikola Gruevski expressed his gratitude to U.S. president George Bush for continuous support for Macedonia. "Me personally, and on the behalf of the Macedonian people, I would like to extend gratitude to you and the American people for the continuous support to our aspirations for becoming a fully-fledged member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization", says Gruevski's letter. Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski also recalled the U.S. recognition of Macedonia under its constitutional name. "By recognizing the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia and the clear political message of support to our aspirations to join the Alliance in 2008 you spelled out at the Riga Summit, you showed that the greatness of an individual relies not on the geographic size of the country he is from, but on sincerity, honesty and having visionary standpoint in making decisions", Gruevski said. "Republic of Macedonia appreciates highly the friendship and strategic partnership with the United States of America, and will continue to give its contribution in securing peace, freedom and safety anywhere in the world", reads the letter the Macedonian prime minister sent to the U.S. president. Sunday, 3 December 2006 © 1995 - 2006 , B92 | Contact | About us | Impressum | Write us B92 Wap RSS news service ***************************************************************** 30 The Advocate: Nuclear rods watched as Connecticut Yankee is decommissioned Associated Press Published December 3 2006 HADDAM, Conn. -- More than 1,000 spent nuclear fuel rods will remain stored in steel-reinforced concrete casks when the Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant's physical decommissioning is completed this month. It could be decades before the federal government removes the highly radioactive material while an advisory panel monitors the situation. The Connecticut Yankee Fuel Storage Advisory Committee will replace the Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee, which was established in 1997 to monitor decommissioning activities. The nine-member advisory committee will be activated in January, charged with keeping the public informed about the storage facility and status of efforts to remove the contaminated material. The group also will be responsible for investigating and responding to community concerns. Members of the old Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee have been invited to serve on the new commission, which must meet at least twice a year and serve as a liaison to Connecticut Yankee, the community and state and federal regulators. Under the panel's charter, Connecticut Yankee will be responsible for keeping the advisory panel updated periodically with relevant or significant developments. The charter says panel members should include representatives from the state Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the 2nd Congressional District and the district's state representative. The commission also includes the first selectman or someone else designated by Haddam, a Haddam Neck resident who is designated by the board of selectmen, residents of East Haddam and East Hampton, a member of a citizens group and the president or someone designated by Connecticut Yankee or its successor. Connecticut Yankee stopped producing electricity in 1996. Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 31 courant.com: Connecticut Yankee To Leave A Legacy Fuel Rods Will Remain Behind December 3, 2006 By GARY LIBOW, Courant Staff Writer HADDAM -- When the Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant's physical decommissioning is completed this month, 1,000-plus spent nuclear fuel rods will remain in Haddam Neck stored in steel-reinforced concrete casks. It could be decades before the federal government removes the highly radioactive material. Meanwhile, there will be an advisory panel charged with monitoring the situation. The Connecticut Yankee Fuel Storage Advisory Committee will replace the Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee, which was established in 1997 to monitor decommissioning activities. The new nine-member advisory committee will be activated in January, charged with keeping the public informed about the storage facility and the status of efforts to remove the contaminated material. The group will also be responsible for investigating and responding to community concerns. Members of the old Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee have been invited to serve on the new commission, which is charged with meeting at least twice a year and serving as a liaison to Connecticut Yankee, the community and state and federal regulators. Under the panel's charter, Connecticut Yankee will be responsible for keeping the advisory panel updated periodically with relevant or significant developments. The core nine-member panel will be composed of representatives serving two-year terms. The charter says panel members should include representatives from the state Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the 2nd Congressional District, and the district's state representative. The commission also includes the first selectman or designee from Haddam; a Haddam Neck resident, designated by the board of selectmen; residents of East Haddam and East Hampton; a member of the Citizens Awareness Network; and the president or designee of Connecticut Yankee or its successor. Connecticut Yankee ceased producing electricity in 1996. Contact Gary Libow at glibow@courant.com. courant.com is Copyright © 2006 by The Hartford Courant ***************************************************************** 32 Cesk‚Noviny: Suits over Temelin to be filed with European Court Czech Happenings Vienna- Austrian opponents of the Czech Temelin nuclear power plant, as well as the Czech Republic plan to bring suits with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg over Temelin, the Austrian daily Die Presse reported. On Sunday, Austrian anti-atom activists are toblock Czech-Austria border crossings to protest against Temelin, south Bohemia, and legal suits are planned in the weeks after the blockade, the paper adds. The Czech Republic allegedly plans to file a complaint with the European Court of Justice due to restricting free movement of goods at the border by the Austrian authorities that approved the border blockade on Sunday. A trustworthy diplomatic source in Vienna, however, denied it, telling CTK that Prague does not intend to bring a suit, and moreover the European Court of Justice is not authorised to decide in such a dispute. Austria also wants to turn to the European Court of Justice to complain against putting Temelin into regular commercial operation after its approval for use was issued in early November, Die Presse says. Temelin opponents claim that the Czech Republic has thereby violated the Melk agreement, in particular the paragraph on exchange of information and on clear efforts to provide safety of Temelin before it is put into regular operation. The Austrian daily admits that the alleged necessity to prove safety measures in the power plant is an apparent weak side of the anti-atom activists'arguments. Austrian politicians who criticise Temelin have never officially said where Vienna should file a possible suit. Situated 60 kilometres from the borders of Austria and Bavaria, Temelin is sharply criticised by activists in Austria, Bavaria as well as the Czech Republic who say it is not safe because it combines Soviet design and western fuel and safety technology. These doubts were repeatedly dismissed by the Czech Republic. Die Presse noted that 58-year-old Czech-born Austrian citizen [Josef Vesely] could be the first to complicate the situation of the Temelin operator as the man claims he owns part of the plot where the power plant is built. The man who fled from the Communist Czechoslovakia after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 is still striving for the return of his land, allegedly an area of 56 square metres that could not be expropriated over unclear data in the land registry. Consequently, the piece of land is still owned by Vesely and his brother. Closely to this plot, the planned semi-store of burnt-out fuel from the power plant is to be constructed, Die Presse says. In the past few years, Vesely did not succeed in his dispute with Czech authorities as he had no Czech citizenship. Die Presse also quotes both parties in the dispute - Czech State Authority for Nuclear Safety (SUJB) head Dana Drabova and Upper Austrian governor Josef Puehringer, one of the major opponents of Temelin. Drabova confirmed her long-term opinion that safety measures and the protection level in the nuclear plant meets international regulations and practice. "However, we reckon with further power outages in the next two, three years," she admitted, referring to unplanned or early shut-downs of individual blocks of the Temelin plant. "I am no expert myself. I take experts' professional opinions for granted. Their comments are clear. There are pieces of evidence [on shortcomings in Temelin's safety]," Puehringer told Die Presse. He added that though he feels understanding for border blockades, some steps should be taken primarily by the Austrian government. Author: ČTK. 14:14 - 02.12.2006 (c) 1995-2006 Neris s.r.o. Ochrana osobních dat [ Titulní strana ***************************************************************** 33 The Tribune: N-deal law this month Chandigarh, India - Main News Rajeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 2 There is a strong likelihood of the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement becoming a US law in a couple of weeks. Once this camel’s hump is crossed, the India-US strategic relations will reach the next level and the two countries will become the first in the world to have such a comprehensive nuclear cooperation mandated by the two governments. The two chambers of the US Congress — House of Representatives and the Senate — are scheduled to begin the process of reconciling the two Bills on December 4. The reconciliation process, which essentially entails rafting a uniform Bill, is likely to be over within a couple of days. After the draft uniform Bill is ready, the two chambers of Congress are to vote on it, separately. The last stage of the long and protracted process would be President George W. Bush signing the Bill and amending the American law of 1954, which debarred any US entity to have nuclear commerce or any kind of cooperation with India. The House will take up voting first. The voting by the two chambers is expected to take place on December 7 or 8. The current lame-duck session of Congress is scheduled to close on December 8. This means that the Bush Administration has only five working days left to translate the July 18, 2005, understanding reached between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into a US law. If the US congressional nod does not come by December 8, it will mean that the entire process will have to start all over again next year. South Block mandarins are having butterflies in their stomach already in view of the short-fuse situation. Both governments have made huge political investment in the nuclear deal. Indian concerns are two-fold: if the nuclear deal will be passed by Congress in the lame-duck session and whether the reconciliation exercise will introduce any obnoxious clause to the Bill. Any clause that seeks to deprive India of full nuclear fuel-cycle utilisation, or seeks to make the deal non-permanent with periodic certification requirement will not be acceptable to New Delhi. So will be any putative nuclear apartheid. It is against this backdrop that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has dashed off a letter to her country’s lawmakers urging them not to impose unacceptable conditions to the nuclear deal that could end up in the deal having to be renegotiated. In view of this, the Bush Administration has decided to dispatch its key diplomat, Mr Nicholas Burns, to India in the second half of next week. The exact dates of Mr Burns’ India visit are yet to be finalised. However, he is likely to be here within the brief window of December 5 night to December 9. ***************************************************************** 34 IAEA: New Countries Interested in Nuclear Power Meet In Vienna Issues for the Introduction of Nuclear Power, a technical workshop to be held 4-6 December 2006. Some 28 countries that currently do not operate nuclear power plants will attend the three-day workshop; to examine what is required should they opt to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix."/> + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] Staff Report 1 December 2006 [Night Shot, New York] There is renewed interest in the application of nuclear energy for electricity production. (Photo credit: R. Quevenco/IAEA) + Story Resources + Workshop on Issues for the Introduction of Nuclear Power + Strengthening National Nuclear Power Infrastructures + IAEA Division of Nuclear Power Countries expressing an interest in nuclear energy for electricity production are meeting at the IAEA´s Vienna headquarters to examine Issues for the Introduction of Nuclear Power, a technical workshop to be held 4-6 December 2006. Some 28 countries that currently do not operate nuclear power plants will attend the three-day workshop; to examine what is required should they opt to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix. "There is growing interest in the application of nuclear power for electricity and water desalination in many countries that currently do not operate nuclear power plants," Head of the IAEA´s Department of Nuclear Energy Yuri Sokolov said. "The rate of introduction of nuclear power in developing countries will depend to a large extent on the adequacy of the national infrastructure," Mr. Sokolov said. "The decision by a State to consider embarking on a nuclear power programme should be based upon the State´s needs and requires commitment to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, in a safe and secure manner. This workshop is a timely opportunity to exchange information on the infrastructure issues that need to be addressed and to build up international confidence," he said. A key area of the IAEA´s current work is to help countries assess their energy needs, resources and options. The workshop will extend this by providing information on the necessary legal, regulatory and safety frameworks required for a nuclear power programme. The agenda includes: + Energy needs and planning considerations + Nuclear security and safeguards + Physical infrastructure, current and future reactor technology + Experience in developing nuclear programmes + Human resource requirements + Public perception After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, the growth in nuclear energy was significantly curtailed. Since the mid 1980s it has steadly provided 16% of the world´s electricity each year with improving economic performance and trends in safety records over this time. In recent years expectations for nuclear power have been rising. New nuclear plants are most attractive in countries where energy demand is growing and resources are scarce and where energy security, air pollution and greenhouse gasses are priorities, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei points out. All told there are 442 operating nuclear power plants around the world, with current expansion centred in Asia. The US has the most with 103. France is next with 59, followed by Japan with 55 plus one under construction, and Russia with 31, and four more under construction. Most recent expansion is heavily centred in Asia. Seven of the world´s 28 reactors under construction are in India, which plans a 10-fold increase by 2022. While China has four reactors under construction and plans a five-fold expansion in the next 15 years. "Each country must make it own energy choices. Clearly one size does not fit all. But for those countries interested in making nuclear power part of their sustainable development strategies, it is important that the nuclear power options be kept open and accessible," Mr. Alan McDonald, a senior officer in the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy said. Over 40 countries will attend the meeting in Vienna next week, co-sponsored by the Governments of Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and United States of America. Speakers from 10 countries with operating nuclear power plans will provide their experiences in introducing nuclear power and many of the related issues. This workshop is intended to provide information to help ensure that countries considering the introduction of nuclear power gain a full understanding of the commitments and obligations that it would then need to adopt. 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: ***************************************************************** 35 BCTAT: Nuclear power plant should withstand air attack Beaver County Times Allegheny Times - Bill Vidonic, Times Staff 12/02/2006 The Times/LUCY SCHALY Steam rises from one of the cooling towers at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission assured the public that a nuclear power plant, including the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport, could withstand a hit from a passenger jet. Yet, in recent months, a 1982 study has come to light that showed that an impact from a Boeing 707 or a larger plane could cause devastating damage that could result in the release of radiation, or even cause a meltdown of the plant’s core. And a Washington, D.C.-based nuclear safety engineer believes that while plants have been made safer from ground attacks, they are still vulnerable to an attack from the skies. Dave Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists points to a 1982 study that describes — in great detail — what parts of a nuclear plant are most vulnerable if a plane would smash into it. That report is available to the public through libraries throughout the country, according to a recent NBC News investigation, though it is not available at any Beaver County library. Lochbaum said that it’s “highly likely” that if a plane hit at a vulnerable point including a plant’s control room, employees there would lose control of the plant, and radiation would be released into the air. “With months and years of training” similar to what the hijackers of Sept. 11 underwent, Lochbaum said, “plants are vulnerable” to an air attack. Dave Dillon of FirstEnergy, which owns the Shippingport nuclear facility, said that the plant is “designed with multiple layers of protection,” and that employees there coordinate with state, local and federal officials. However, Dillon said Thursday he couldn’t be specific on what security measures are in place because, “We don’t want to tip our hands to the bad guys.” After Sept. 11, 2001, the NRC ordered security upgrades at nuclear power plants across the United States. It also removed what it considered to be sensitive documents from its Web site and ordered some documents removed from repositories around the country. Among those repositories were 86 community libraries close to the nuclear facilities, according to the U.S. House Committee on Science. In recent months, employees of NBC News visited 25 libraries that contained the information. There, according to MSNBC’s Web site, employees were able to obtain documents that the NRC had declared sensitive and had removed from its Web site. Lochbaum said that earlier this year, his scientists group obtained a collection of NRC documents that were being stored at a Massachusetts library near a decommissioned nuclear plant. The NRC didn’t want the collection of 20,000 documents, Lochbaum said, and the library gave it to his group on the condition that the entire collection would be available to the public. Among the collection, Lochbaum said, is a document titled “Evaluation of Aircraft Crash Hazards Analyses for Nuclear Power Plants,” written by researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory at the University of Chicago. Though Lochbaum didn’t want to get too specific about what areas of nuclear power plants were considered vulnerable, he did acknowledge that the study said that an impact of a Boeing 707 could cause enough damage to cause a core meltdown or a fire that would spew radiation into the air. The larger the airplane, Lochbaum said, the more severe the damage could be, and he’s concerned that plants aren’t prepared for danger from the skies. “They’re assuming zero percent chance of an air attack,” Lochbaum said Thursday. According to an NRC statement dated Nov. 24, the federal agency said it took steps to limit sensitive documents available to the public, though it acknowledged that “a limited amount of information continues to exist in the public domain.” However, the NRC said, the agency doesn’t think the information is useful because of changes in security and technology. “We would not have left this material in local public document rooms or public libraries had there been concern that it could aid adversaries,” the release stated. “We can assure the public that information directly related to the security programs and protection of nuclear power plants is not in the public domain.” Lochbaum said of the NRC’s statement, “That’s a nice thing to say, but there’s no truth in it.” The only Beaver County repository for the documents was at the B.F. Jones Memorial Library in Aliquippa. According to library director Mary Elizabeth Colombo, the NRC decided several years ago that it wouldn’t store documents in Aliquippa and pulled those that were considered sensitive. The rest of the documents, Colombo said, were left there by the NRC, and library employees were told they could do whatever they wanted with them. Colombo said the documents weren’t widely read anyway, so the library threw them out. Dillon said FirstEnergy wasn’t concerned about the issue, since the Aliquippa library doesn’t have the documents. Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com. THE DANGER In the event of a release of nuclear radiation: l Exposure to heavy doses of radiation could cause death within a few days or months. l Exposure to lower doses could lead to an increased risk of developing cancer and other health problems. In the event of a core meltdown: l A huge amount of thermal energy and radiation is released into the environment. Sources: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Encyclopedia Britannica ©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006 ***************************************************************** 36 SNA: Bulgaria's FM: EU Cash Not Enough to Compensate for Nukes Closure Mon 4 Dec 2006 "Sofia News Agency - www.novinite.com USD 1.476770 [ width=] EUR 1.955830 [ width=] Sofia Morning News On EU Doorstep: 2 December 2006, Saturday. The amount of money Bulgaria will receive as aid from the European Commission to compensate the closure of Units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is half the lost benefits the country will suffer, Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin said. Talking to Darik News, Kafin explained that while the EC believes that EUR 500 M will cover the losses of the forced shutdown, experts estimate the real sum at over EUR 1 B. The money from the Union is hardly enough, the Minister pointed out. Bulgaria has the political and economical ground to want the continuation of the financial aid program until after 2009, Kalfin said. Bulgaria has already shut down its Kozloduy NPP Units 1&2 and it will have to close Units 3&4 before January 1, 2007, as stated in the country's Accession Treaty. Despite EP rapporteur Geoffrey van Orden's urge fore a more flexible approach on the issue out of fear of an electricity crisis in the whole region, the Parliament didn't even pay attention to the remark on Thursday. novinite.com All Rights Reserved © Novinite Ltd., 2001-2006 - Copyright Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish ***************************************************************** 37 The Herald: A victory over secrecy Web Issue 2695 December 02 2006 Editorial Comment December 02 2006 The birthday present was slightly premature but no less welcome for that. Scotland's freedom of information (FoI) regime has been in place only since January 1, 2005. Despite its youth, it has just faced, and successfully stood up to, its biggest test. In the first case of its kind to reach the Court of Session, three senior judges yesterday upheld a decision by Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, to order a public body to release figures it wanted kept secret. Three cheers should go to Lords Hamilton, Nimmo Smith and Marnoch, who delivered the landmark ruling; Mr Dunion, who stood his ground; and the Greens, who made the FoI request. Criticism should be directed at the Common Services Agency of the NHS, which had argued that releasing records of leukaemia in children in Dumfries and Galloway, by census ward, could lead to their identification. That, in turn, would have breached a right to personal privacy under the Data Protection Act. The Greens' FoI request was legitimate, to find out if there was a link between childhood cancers and Chapelcross nuclear plant or a military range which fired depleted uranium shells. Mr Dunion offered a compromise which would have released the information in a meaningful way while guaranteeing the children's anonymity. This was rejected by the CSA on a technicality which, fortunately and rightly, held little sway with the court. The ruling is a victory for FoI. It sends out a clear message that a culture of "we know best", still apparently evident in some public bodies, will not wash. The CSA, and every public body and authority to which FoI applies, should heed Lord Marnoch's opinion that the law should be interpreted as liberally as possible, so long as the safeguards are in place. They were in this case. The CSA would be unwise to appeal. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permissionis prohibited. Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 38 MNNA: Japan To Send Inspectors To Kazakhstani Atomic Facilities Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA December 02, 2006 12:05 PM TOKYO, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- Japan has decided to send inspectors to atomic energy facilities in Kazakhstan, a governmental official said in Tokyo on Friday. Quoting the official, Russian news agency, Itar-Tass, reported that the major purpose of the inspection is to make sure that nuclear materials are protected from terrorists. The mission will start its work in mid-December. The inspections will be held in compliance with the accords reached during the August bilateral summit in Astana. The accords envisage the joint development of Kazakhstani uranium deposits and further uranium enrichment in Japan, whose energy demands are met by nuclear power plants at one-third. Tokyo also plans to conclude with Astana an agreement on peaceful use of atomic energy. But, first it will make sure that the deliveries of radioactive components from Kazakhstan are stable and secure, the official said. Kazakhstan has the world's second largest uranium resources after Canada. It has 1.5 million tonnes of appraised uranium reserves. In terms of uranium production, Kazakhstan occupies the world's third place. The country plans to increase the uranium production to 15,000 tonnes by 2010. The Japanese inspection team will include five specialists, who already have an experience in the sphere of control, distribution and storage of nuclear materials. They plan to inspect a nuclear fuel plant in northern Kazakhstan, the official said. Presumably, that would be the plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Japan is ready to offer technical and financial aid if the inspections reveal any shortcomings. Moreover, Tokyo will call on Kazakhstan to joint the "Additional Protocol" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which gives the right to sudden inspections. -- BERNAMA We provide (subscription-based) news coverage in our Newslink service. Copyright © 2006 BERNAMA. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 39 Guardian Unlimited: Libby Trial May Discuss Terror, Nukes From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday December 2, 2006 1:46 AM AP Photo NY115 By MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House aide I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby says that during the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity he was preoccupied with terrorist threats, Iraq's new government and emerging nuclear programs in Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. Court records released Friday offered the first glimpse of the type of classified information Libby wants to share with jurors at his upcoming perjury and obstruction trial. Libby, the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, is accused of lying to investigators and a grand jury about his conversations with journalists regarding former CIA operative Valerie Plame. Libby plans to testify that he had other, more weighty issues on his mind and simply misspoke or forgot when interviewed by the FBI and the grand jury. Among those issues were the 2003 rise of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, a diplomatic crisis in Turkey, the ousting of Liberian President Charles Taylor and the role of the Iraqi military after the fall of Saddam Hussein. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled last month that Libby must have access to some classified information at trial but, until Friday, the topics were sealed. A redacted copy of Walton's opinion revealed that Libby wants to use 129 classified documents. Walton said Libby could discuss documents that fell on or near key dates in the case, such as when the aide spoke to reporters and investigators. Libby's bid for classified information is significant for two reasons. If the government decides the material Walton orders released cannot safely be made public, the case could be dismissed. If the case goes forward and the evidence is allowed, the trial could offer a behind-the-scenes look at the White House in the early months of the war in Iraq. Exactly what Libby may say about the classified topics is unclear. Prosecutors and defense attorneys continued to argue those issues behind closed doors this week. Walton said he tried to balance national security concerns with Libby's right to a fair trial. The judge stressed that pre-approving classified evidence ``requires a court to play the role of Johnny Carson's character Carnac the Magnificent by requiring it to render rulings before knowing the exact context of how those rulings will coincide with other evidence that has actually been developed at trial.'' Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has said he may appeal Walton's ruling, a move that could delay a trial scheduled to begin next month. Cheney and White House aide Karl Rove could be called as witnesses. Libby is the only person charged in Fitzgerald's three-year investigation into whether the White House revealed Plame's identity as retribution for her husband's criticism of the Bush administration's prewar intelligence on Iraq. Nobody has been charged with the leak. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 40 [NYTr] Poisoned Russian Spy: Plot Thickens, Europe Hysterical Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 13:34:44 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Times of India - Dec 2, 2006 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Rest_of_World/Italy_on_alert_as_hysteria_grips_Europe/articleshow/689361.cms Italy on alert as hysteria grips Europe LONDON: European hysteria may have reached epic proportions over the whodunit involving a radioactive isotope-poisoned former Russian spy, 12 radioactive London locations, five allegedly contaminated British Airways craft and a mysterious Italian posing as an "academic" with claimed links to an Indian university. The British government's emergency planning committee, Cobra, met late on Friday night just hours after it was announced that Italian Mario Scaramella had become the second person linked to former KGB colonel, Alexander Litvinenko, to test positive for the rare and highly toxic metal Polonium 210. Scaramella was one of the last people to have met the former spy before his death. Meanwhile, one of Britain's leading security experts, Professor Anthony Glees of the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at Brunel University said that the secret and illegal import of Polonium 210 into Britain put a whole new complexion on stringent post-9/11 security measures. Glees said, "the fact that you could get it onto planes despite all the security measures that we all go through every time we fly, is causing very serious disquiet". Litvinenko's wife, Marina, has also tested positive for traces of Polonium 210, taking the radioactive toll to three people, at least a dozen locations in the British capital including one hotel near London and and an international flight operated by British Airways. British nuclear experts said on Saturday that the Litvinenko saga made the Russian the first person in the world to die by Polonium 210 poisoning and the quantities he ingested had the effect of a "nuclear explosion" on his body. Scientists at Aldermarston, the British establishment that provides warheads for the UK's nuclear deterrent and is one of the largest high technology research, design development and production facilities in the country, said the Polonium 210 ingested by Litvinenko had been identified as probably from a Russian nuclear reactor. The poison that killed Litvinenko has been credibly identified as "man-made", a description that has convulsed Britain and Europe with suspicions about the Putin Kremlin's alleged dirty-tricks brigade, which is said to exist solely to liquidate dissidents, protestors and rebels. British government officials have already said that Scaramella's movements in the UK and Italy during the crucial period in which Litvinenko was poisoned and fell fatally ill meant "there is another (Italian) trail". In a widening continent-wide arc of innuendo and intrigue, which has revived painful European memories of Cold War-era dirty tricks, the officials said the Italian authorities had already been alerted because "they may now need to take steps". But on Saturday, officials at the London hospital treating Italian Mario Scaramella clarified he showed no signs of "radioactive toxicity". Even so, health experts said Scaramella, who met Litvinenko on the day he was fatally poisoned, may develop cancer because of the quantity of Polonium 210 he ingested. The Italian, who claims academic links with institutions as diverse as Tamil Nadu university, Greenwich university and Stanford, is thought to be yet another unexplained bit of the puzzle surrounding a Russian spy story with echoes of John le Carre and James Bond. Scaramella, who variously described himself as academic and security expert, is known to have previously been involved in an Italian parliamentary inquiry into KGB activity in his country. Scaramella served on the Mitrokhin commission set up by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, allegedly to scout for left-wing, Russiann-leaning sympathizers amongst politicians on the Italian left including current prime minister Romano Prodi. *** The New York Times - Dec 1, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/01/world/europe/01cnd-spy.html Radiation Poison Reportedly Found in 2nd Man By SARAH LYALL LONDON, Dec. 1 - One of three men who last met the former K.G.B. officer Alexander V. Litvinenko before he fell fatally ill with radiation poisoning was himself admitted to a London hospital on Friday, the authorities said, after tests showed that he had a significant amount of radioactive material in his body. The hospitalization of the man, an Italian investigator named Mario Scaramella, adds a further layer of confusion to the puzzle surrounding the death of Mr. Litvinenko, a vocal critic-in-exile of the Russian government. Although tests have been conducted on dozens of people who came into contact with Mr. Litvinenko after he fell ill - including the doctors who treated him - Mr. Scaramella is so far the only one to show more than a negligible amount of radiation in his body. The Health Protection Agency, which deals with public health issues in Britain, also said yesterday that "an adult member of Mr. Litvinenko's family" who was in close contact with him during his illness - a description that apparently applies only to his wife - had tested positive for low levels of radiation exposure. But the agency added, "The levels are not significant enough to result in any illness in the short term." Mr. Scaramella has said all along that he felt fine, that he was suffering from none of the debilitating symptoms that characterized Mr. Litvinenko's illness and that earlier tests for polonium 210, the isotope that killed Mr. Litvinenko, had turned up negative. University College Hospital, where he was admitted on Friday, said that Mr. Scaramella was "currently well and shows no symptoms of radiation poisoning." Dr. Keith Patterson, a consultant hematologist at the hospital, said that while tests had shown the presence of polonium 210 in Mr. Scaramella's body, they were "at considerably lower levels than Mr. Litvinenko." The health agency would not say how much radiation Mr. Scaramella had ingested, only that he had "a significant quantity" of polonium 210 in his body. Mr. Scaramella's lawyer, Sergio Rastrelli, said in Rome that his client was undergoing more tests. Mr. Litvinenko's body underwent an autopsy today at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, a hospital spokeswoman said. The autopsy, which might help reveal how the radiation entered his system and in what quantities, was presided over by a forensic pathologist appointed by the Home Office. An independent pathologist was also present, as well as a third who had been hired by Mr. Litvinenko's family. The results of the autopsy may not be available until next week. All the pathologists wore protective clothing. Alex Goldfarb, a close friend of Mr. Litvinenko who has emerged as a family spokesman, said that he had been told that his friend's body would have to be sealed in an airtight container and that it was so contaminated with radiation that it could not be cremated for 22 years. With each new development, there are more mysteries to be solved in the case, which has still not been characterized as a murder by the London police. Who gave Mr. Litvinenko the polonium 210? Where did they get it? How much was he given? How did he ingest it? What is the significance of the traces of radiation that have been found in at least a dozen places, including on two British Airways jets? Two Russian men who also met with Mr. Litvinenko on the day he fell ill had traveled on the planes. Mr. Scaramella's role is also something of a mystery. Mr. Scaramella was a consultant for a Parliamentary commission in Italy looking into reported connections between the K.G.B. and Italian politicians. In the process, the group - the Mitrokhin Commission, which had been created during the premiership of Silvio Berlusconi - created dossiers on a number of opponents of Mr. Berlusconi, including the present prime minister, Romano Prodi. It was disbanded earlier this year. Mr. Litvinenko also worked for the Mitrokhin Commission, Mr. Goldfarb said, and had known Mr. Scaramella for a decade. The two met regularly in London. Their last meeting took place at the Piccadilly branch of the Itsu sushi restaurant on Nov. 1, the day Mr. Litvinenko became sick. Flanked by bodyguards in Rome last month, Mr. Scaramella told reporters that during the meeting - in which he drank water and Mr. Litvinenko ate sushi and soup - he presented Mr. Litvinenko with e-mailed documents showing their names on a list of people whose lives were in danger from Russian criminals. Mr. Scaramella said the same criminals had killed Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative journalist, in Moscow in October. Mr. Scaramella has been in London for the last week. He said that he and Mr. Litvinenko were friends and that he was not a suspect in his poisoning. Mr. Litvinenko himself said on his deathbed that he believed forces working for the government of President Vladimir V. Putin were responsible, a charge the Kremlin has dismissed. Mr. Goldfarb said that his friend was certain he had been poisoned during one of two meetings on Nov. 1 - either the one at Itsu, or another, with the two Russian men, at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. "It's mystery over mystery over mystery," he said. Of the news that Mr. Scaramella had tested positive for radiation, Mr. Goldfarb said, "Obviously he received a much lower dose than Alexander. He might have been an innocent bystander; he might have been a target; he might have been someone who the perpetrators contaminated after the fact, or he may himself be involved. Nobody knows." *** The Times of London - Nov 30, 2006 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2479825,00.html The Litvinenko case: unanswered questions Daniel McGrory explains what we know so far of the tangled case of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy poisoned in London Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb said today that all the roads are leading to Moscow. Is he right? Family and friends of Alexander Litvinenko say that the discovery of traces of polonium-210 on two British Airways planes serving Moscow is damning proof that the source of the radioactive isotope and the assassin both came from the Russian capital. Investigators cannot say for sure when the first traces of polonium-210 were left on board: on a flight from Moscow to London or a return journey. Police are trying to check the travel itinerary of a number of Russians and the journeys they have made from October 25th. Government officials in Westminster stress even if the poison plot is found to have originated in Russia this does not automatically implicate the Kremlin. So what are the main unanswered questions for Scotland Yard? Mindful of the diplomatic sensitivities of this case, detectives are being extraordinarily cautious. Some in the Yard argue they are being too reticent. Police still won't officially say this is a murder. Of course, unofficially, officers recognise this is the first case in the world of a man being killed by the acute effects of alpha radiation. The priority for the police is to determine where, when and how the polonium-210 was given to Litvinenko. They are trying to retrace his entire journey from the time he left his Muswell Hill home on the late morning of November 1, to detect the first place he began to emit signs of radioactive poisoning. So far the earliest location is the Itsu sushi bar in Piccadilly. Police say they also want to identify the source of the isotope before they seriously begin to consider the many, many theories as to who wanted to harm Litvinenko How could you explain the fact that so many aircraft appear to have been contaminated - and that John Reid says even more might need to be checked? A number of characters based in Moscow who are being checked as part of this investigation made numerous flights to and from London from late October to the end of November. Police still have no idea how many people were involved in this alleged conspiracy. They are also checking the movements of Russians who admitted to meeting Litvinenko on November 1. These men would have a plausible explanation for how they carried infinitesimal amounts of the substance on board as they shook hands and embraced Litvinenko during their visit together at the Millenium Hotel. How much credibility are investigators giving to the Kremlin's line that anti-Putin forces are responsible? They have not ruled out any group. They are perplexed by the incredible number of allegations that have been made as to the motive for this death. The man implicated by Russian MPs and Kremlin sources in the affair is Boris Berezovsky, the London-based oligarch, Putin critic and friend of Litvinenko. But he has mourned the death of the former spy, describing him as an ally and a close friend who saved his life. After radiation was found in his offices, Mr Berezovsky said he had complete faith in the police investigation. What is emerging is that Litvinenko had a formidable list of friends and foes. How is the alleged poisoning of Yegor Gaidar, the former Russian PM, tied in to the Litvinenko case? Police say they are "interested" in developments. There may well be no link. One of the men that Litvinenko met on November 1 used to be the personal bodyguard of the Prime Minister during his days in the Kremlin. Are the Russian authorities co-operating with the inquiry as they have promised? Thus far they are offering every technical assistance possible, particularly in relation to the examination of planes and the passenger manifest lists. The Public Prosecutor's office in Moscow has gone on record to say that Yard detectives are welcome to visit the city and question anyone they want. That spirit of co-operation has yet to be tested. Can we expect to learn more from tomorrow's post-mortem? The experts hope that the post mortem examination might reveal what other elements were ingested by Litvinenko. They are looking for thalium and bismuth. The hope is that they may be able to say for sure whether this poison originated from a reactor or some other nuclear installation. The findings may be used in any future criminal enquiry. * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 41 [NYTr] Was Poisoned Spy Litvinenko a Blackmailer? Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 17:54:21 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit The Observer - Dec 3, 2006 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1962759,00.html Revealed: Litvinenko's Russian 'blackmail plot' * Poison victim 'had intelligence files' * FBI probe KGB agent over new claims by Mark Townsend, Jamie Doward, Tom Parfitt in Moscow and Barbara McMahon in Rome The FBI has been dragged into the investigation of Alexander Litvinenko's death after details emerged that he had planned to make tens of thousands of pounds blackmailing senior Russian spies and business figures. The Observer has obtained remarkable testimony from a Russian academic, Julia Svetlichnaja, who met Litvinenko earlier this year and received more than 100 emails from him. In a series of interviews, she reveals that the former Russian secret agent had documents from the FSB, the Russian agency formerly known as the KGB. He had asked Svetlichnaja, who is based in London, to enter into a business deal with him and 'make money'. Litvinenko also handed a series of pictures of himself to Svetlichnaja that are published by The Observer today. One shows him with murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another serving as an army officer in an elite Russian army unit two decades ago and the third draped in the Union flag celebrating getting his British passport just before he was poisoned. We can also reveal that Scotland Yard officers involved in the investigation travelled to Washington to interview a former KGB agent, Yuri Shvets, who said he had vital information. He was a contact of Mario Scaramella, the Italian security consultant being treated at London's University College Hospital after having been found to have been contaminated with polonium. His doctors said yesterday that he did not appear to be suffering from radiation poisoning. 'I believe I have a lead that can explain what happened,' Shvets confirmed last week before he was interviewed as a witness in the presence of FBI agents. Shvets, who lives in Virginia and is now apparently in hiding, declined to elaborate. However, a business associate of Shvets, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Observer that Litvinenko had claimed in the weeks before his death that he possessed a dossier containing damaging revelations about the Kremlin and its relationship with the Yukos oil company. The associate claimed that Shvets compiled the dossier. Yukos was once owned by the oligarch Mikhail Khordorkovsky, who is serving seven years in a Russian jail for tax evasion. His supporters say he was convicted as a result of a show trial orchestrated by the Kremlin. The claims that Litvinenko had a dossier containing damaging information about the Kremlin echo separate claims he made to Svetlichnaja, who interviewed the former KGB agent earlier this year for a book she is writing about Chechnya. In today's Observer, Svetlichnaja, a politics student at the University of Westminster, says Litvinenko claimed he had access to Russian intelligence documents containing information on individuals and companies that had fallen foul of the Kremlin. 'He told me he was going to blackmail or sell sensitive information about all kinds of powerful people, including oligarchs, corrupt officials and sources in the Kremlin,' she said. 'He mentioned a figure of #10,000 that they would pay each time to stop him broadcasting these FSB documents. Litvinenko was short of money and was adamant that he could obtain any files he wanted.' Litvinenko's access to such documents could have made him an enemy of both big business interests and the Kremlin. However, his claims are almost impossible to verify and some political analysts have gone as far as to dismiss him as a fantasist. Shvets, 53, emerges as yet another character in an espionage saga linking Britain, Italy, the US and Russia. Like Litvinenko, Shvets worked for the Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, whom the Kremlin has tried unsuccessfully to extradite from Britain. Shvets was a KGB major between 1980 and 1990, during which time he worked undercover in Washington as a correspondent for the Russian news agency, Tass. He emigrated to the US in 1993 and wrote a book about his experiences. Shvets met Scaramella in Washington last year to discuss the Italian's role as a consultant to the Mitrokhin commission, set up by the Italian government to investigate Russian infiltration during the Cold War. It has been alleged that Scaramella discussed with the commission's chief, Paolo Guzzanti, whether they should look for evidence that Romano Prodi, Italy's Prime Minister, was linked to the KGB. Prodi denies any link. Last night another link connecting the worlds of Italian politics and Russian intelligence emerged. Gerard Batten, an MEP for the UK Independence Party, confirmed Litvinenko had told him a man called 'Sokolov', who worked undercover as a Russian agent in the Seventies as a reporter for Tass, was the key link between senior Italian politicians and the KGB. This week Scotland Yard will interview two Russians who met Litvinenko on the same day he had lunch with Scaramella. Andrei Lugovoy, a former agent with the FSB, and Dmitry Kovtun met Litvinenko in the Millennium Mayfair hotel. Traces of polonium have been found on the planes on which they are believed to have travelled between London and Moscow. (c) Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 42 Radiation Poison Reportedly Found in 2nd Man Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 09:11:27 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/01/world/europe/01cnd-spy.html?hp&ex=1165035600&en=397af4f08e16a748&ei=5094&partner=homepage NY Times Radiation Poison Reportedly Found in 2nd Man By By SARAH LYALL Published: December 1, 2006 LONDON, Dec. 1 - One of three men who last met the former K.G.B. officer Alexander V. Litvinenko before he fell fatally ill with radiation poisoning was himself admitted to a London hospital on Friday, the authorities said, after tests showed that he had a significant amount of radioactive material in his body. The hospitalization of the man, an Italian investigator named Mario Scaramella, adds a further layer of confusion to the puzzle surrounding the death of Mr. Litvinenko, a vocal critic-in-exile of the Russian government. Although tests have been conducted on dozens of people who came into contact with Mr. Litvinenko after he fell ill - including the doctors who treated him - Mr. Scaramella is so far the only one to show more than a negligible amount of radiation in his body. The Health Protection Agency, which deals with public health issues in Britain, also said yesterday that "an adult member of Mr. Litvinenko's family" who was in close contact with him during his illness - a description that apparently applies only to his wife - had tested positive for low levels of radiation exposure. But the agency added, "The levels are not significant enough to result in any illness in the short term." Mr. Scaramella has said all along that he felt fine, that he was suffering from none of the debilitating symptoms that characterized Mr. Litvinenko's illness and that earlier tests for polonium 210, the isotope that killed Mr. Litvinenko, had turned up negative. University College Hospital, where he was admitted on Friday, said that Mr. Scaramella was "currently well and shows no symptoms of radiation poisoning." Dr. Keith Patterson, a consultant hematologist at the hospital, said that while tests had shown the presence of polonium 210 in Mr. Scaramella's body, they were "at considerably lower levels than Mr. Litvinenko." The health agency would not say how much radiation Mr. Scaramella had ingested, only that he had "a significant quantity" of polonium 210 in his body. Mr. Scaramella's lawyer, Sergio Rastrelli, said in Rome that his client was undergoing more tests. Mr. Litvinenko's body underwent an autopsy today at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, a hospital spokeswoman said. The autopsy, which might help reveal how the radiation entered his system and in what quantities, was presided over by a forensic pathologist appointed by the Home Office. An independent pathologist was also present, as well as a third who had been hired by Mr. Litvinenko's family. The results of the autopsy may not be available until next week. All the pathologists wore protective clothing. Alex Goldfarb, a close friend of Mr. Litvinenko who has emerged as a family spokesman, said that he had been told that his friend's body would have to be sealed in an airtight container and that it was so contaminated with radiation that it could not be cremated for 22 years. With each new development, there are more mysteries to be solved in the case, which has still not been characterized as a murder by the London police. Who gave Mr. Litvinenko the polonium 210? Where did they get it? How much was he given? How did he ingest it? What is the significance of the traces of radiation that have been found in at least a dozen places, including on two British Airways jets? Two Russian men who also met with Mr. Litvinenko on the day he fell ill had traveled on the planes. Mr. Scaramella's role is also something of a mystery. Mr. Scaramella was a consultant for a Parliamentary commission in Italy looking into reported connections between the K.G.B. and Italian politicians. In the process, the group - the Mitrokhin Commission, which had been created during the premiership of Silvio Berlusconi - created dossiers on a number of opponents of Mr. Berlusconi, including the present prime minister, Romano Prodi. It was disbanded earlier this year. Mr. Litvinenko also worked for the Mitrokhin Commission, Mr. Goldfarb said, and had known Mr. Scaramella for a decade. The two met regularly in London. Their last meeting took place at the Piccadilly branch of the Itsu sushi restaurant on Nov. 1, the day Mr. Litvinenko became sick. Flanked by bodyguards in Rome last month, Mr. Scaramella told reporters that during the meeting - in which he drank water and Mr. Litvinenko ate sushi and soup - he presented Mr. Litvinenko with e-mailed documents showing their names on a list of people whose lives were in danger from Russian criminals. Mr. Scaramella said the same criminals had killed Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative journalist, in Moscow in October. Mr. Scaramella has been in London for the last week. He said that he and Mr. Litvinenko were friends and that he was not a suspect in his poisoning. Mr. Litvinenko himself said on his deathbed that he believed forces working for the government of President Vladimir V. Putin were responsible, a charge the Kremlin has dismissed. Mr. Goldfarb said that his friend was certain he had been poisoned during one of two meetings on Nov. 1 - either the one at Itsu, or another, with the two Russian men, at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. "It's mystery over mystery over mystery," he said. Of the news that Mr. Scaramella had tested positive for radiation, Mr. Goldfarb said, "Obviously he received a much lower dose than Alexander. He might have been an innocent bystander; he might have been a target; he might have been someone who the perpetrators contaminated after the fact, or he may himself be involved. Nobody knows." ***************************************************************** 43 The Litvinenko case: unanswered questions Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 09:40:13 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2479825,00.html Times/UK Times Online November 30, 2006 The Litvinenko case: unanswered questions Daniel McGrory explains what we know so far of the tangled case of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy poisoned in London Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb said today that all the roads are leading to Moscow. Is he right? Family and friends of Alexander Litvinenko say that the discovery of traces of polonium-210 on two British Airways planes serving Moscow is damning proof that the source of the radioactive isotope and the assassin both came from the Russian capital. Investigators cannot say for sure when the first traces of polonium-210 were left on board: on a flight from Moscow to London or a return journey. Police are trying to check the travel itinerary of a number of Russians and the journeys they have made from October 25th. Government officials in Westminster stress even if the poison plot is found to have originated in Russia this does not automatically implicate the Kremlin. So what are the main unanswered questions for Scotland Yard? Mindful of the diplomatic sensitivities of this case, detectives are being extraordinarily cautious. Some in the Yard argue they are being too reticent. Police still won't officially say this is a murder. Of course, unofficially, officers recognise this is the first case in the world of a man being killed by the acute effects of alpha radiation. The priority for the police is to determine where, when and how the polonium-210 was given to Litvinenko. They are trying to retrace his entire journey from the time he left his Muswell Hill home on the late morning of November 1, to detect the first place he began to emit signs of radioactive poisoning. So far the earliest location is the Itsu sushi bar in Piccadilly. Police say they also want to identify the source of the isotope before they seriously begin to consider the many, many theories as to who wanted to harm Litvinenko How could you explain the fact that so many aircraft appear to have been contaminated - and that John Reid says even more might need to be checked? A number of characters based in Moscow who are being checked as part of this investigation made numerous flights to and from London from late October to the end of November. Police still have no idea how many people were involved in this alleged conspiracy. They are also checking the movements of Russians who admitted to meeting Litvinenko on November 1. These men would have a plausible explanation for how they carried infinitesimal amounts of the substance on board as they shook hands and embraced Litvinenko during their visit together at the Millenium Hotel. How much credibility are investigators giving to the Kremlin's line that anti-Putin forces are responsible? They have not ruled out any group. They are perplexed by the incredible number of allegations that have been made as to the motive for this death. The man implicated by Russian MPs and Kremlin sources in the affair is Boris Berezovsky, the London-based oligarch, Putin critic and friend of Litvinenko. But he has mourned the death of the former spy, describing him as an ally and a close friend who saved his life. After radiation was found in his offices, Mr Berezovsky said he had complete faith in the police investigation. What is emerging is that Litvinenko had a formidable list of friends and foes. How is the alleged poisoning of Yegor Gaidar, the former Russian PM, tied in to the Litvinenko case? Police say they are "interested" in developments. There may well be no link. One of the men that Litvinenko met on November 1 used to be the personal bodyguard of the Prime Minister during his days in the Kremlin. Are the Russian authorities co-operating with the inquiry as they have promised? Thus far they are offering every technical assistance possible, particularly in relation to the examination of planes and the passenger manifest lists. The Public Prosecutor's office in Moscow has gone on record to say that Yard detectives are welcome to visit the city and question anyone they want. That spirit of co-operation has yet to be tested. Can we expect to learn more from tomorrow's post-mortem? The experts hope that the post mortem examination might reveal what other elements were ingested by Litvinenko. They are looking for thalium and bismuth. The hope is that they may be able to say for sure whether this poison originated from a reactor or some other nuclear installation. The findings may be used in any future criminal enquiry. ***************************************************************** 44 4 Airplanes Checked for Radiation Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 11:23:48 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/12/01/001.html Friday, December 1, 2006. Issue 3552. Page 1. 4 Airplanes Checked for Radiation By Carl Schreck, Catherine Belton and David Nowak Staff Writers Mikhail Metzel / AP Security officers guarding a grounded British Airways jetliner at Domodedovo Airport on Thursday. A minivan for radiation specialists is parked nearby. British authorities said Thursday that they suspected at least four aircraft of being contaminated with radiation, including planes that made trips between Moscow and London, in the latest twist in the death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko. The planes included three British Airways Boeing 767s and one unidentified plane. Two of the British Airways planes, based at London's Heathrow Airport, were found to have low levels of radioactive materials, the airline said in a statement. The third plane was grounded at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport and was being examined Thursday, the Federal Protection Service said. A Boeing 737 operated by the Russian carrier Transaero was initially suspected of contamination but was later cleared, Transaero spokesman Sergei Bykhal said. "The foreign secretary spoke to the Russian foreign minister on Wednesday, the 29th of November, and requested all necessary assistance with the public health aspects of the incident," British Home Secretary John Reid said Thursday in an address to the British Parliament, referring to Britain's Margaret Beckett and Russia's Sergei Lavrov. "In addition," Reid continued, "she formally requested all necessary cooperation with the ongoing investigation. The Russian foreign minister assured her this cooperation would be forthcoming." Reid's comments followed Litvinenko's Nov. 23 death. The former security services operative is believed to have been poisoned with polonium-210. Traces of the radioactive isotope, which can be lethal if ingested, inhaled or injected, were found in his urine. He ultimately died in a London hospital of heart failure. British Airways is calling on some 33,000 passengers, including those on more than 20 flights between Moscow and London from Oct. 25 through Nov. 29, to contact a hotline it has set up for those with questions about potential health risks. But authorities in Britain and Russia said the radioactive material was unlikely to pose a serious health risk. In his remarks to the parliament, Reid said police had found trace levels of radioactive material at 12 of the 24 locations being checked in connection with Litvinenko. Reid added that the threat to public health might not be contained. "There may be other airplanes of which we don't at this stage know," he said. Litvinenko was a one-time employee of Kremlin critic and oligarch Boris Berezovsky. His case continued to baffle doctors up to the very end. British detectives were believed to have flown to Moscow earlier this week as part of their investigation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered few details about British officials' investigation. "We can't say anything for now because there is too little information," Peskov said. "All we can do is to confirm our readiness again to supply any information that our British colleagues might need and, if necessary, receive our colleagues from Scotland Yard." Peskov said that as of Wednesday there had been no request from Scotland Yard for further help or information, but added that he was unaware of where things stood Thursday. Peskov noted that the contaminated planes had been in other cities recently. A Scotland Yard spokesman, reached by telephone Thursday, referred all questions regarding the contaminated planes to British Airways. British Airways spokeswoman Maria Shlyakhtova would not comment Wednesday on reports that a team of British forensics experts were traveling to Moscow to inspect the grounded British Airways plane. But she did say the plane would remain at Domodedovo until British authorities had granted permission for it to be flown back to London. "In that case, the return flight would be noncommercial," Shlyakhtova said. "It would be an empty flight." Russian officials, meanwhile, are conducting their own investigation. Gennady Onishchenko, head of the Federal Consumer Protection Service, announced Thursday that his agency was conducting forensics tests to gauge radiation levels at the airport. "They are inspecting every possible surface that passengers may have come in contact with: the baggage area, passport control, ticketing, the aircraft -- everywhere," said Onishchenko's spokeswoman, Lyubov Voropayeva. Results from those tests are expected Friday, Voropayeva said. The Transportation Ministry issued a directive Thursday to all international airports in Russia to increase radiation checks on international flights, ministry spokesman Timur Khikmatov said. The radiation scare appears to have had little effect on British Airways passengers. Jennifer Howard, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Moscow for nearly 10 years, said she had flown on two of the planes, on Nov. 7 and Nov. 18, now being inspected for radiation contamination. Howard said she was planning to contact British Airways to ask whether there was any reason to be concerned. "But I'm still not terribly worried," she said. British Airways passengers checking in at Domodedovo on Thursday afternoon were either unaware or unfazed by the situation. "I am not worried about getting on this particular flight," said David Moore, a British businessman. "I guess I'll find out if it's radioactive when I get back to London." Tamping down fears is the tenuous connection, if any, that some Russian experts see between Litvinenko's death and the contaminated aircraft. Lev Fyodorov, head of the Union for Chemical Safety in Moscow, said the radiation detected on the British Airways planes could not have stemmed from polonium-210. Fyodorov told Ekho Moskvy radio that the radiation that had been detected on the contaminated aircraft should not be cause for concern. A former KGB agent speculated that three or four agents working for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, had been dispatched to Britain carrying polonium-210. "It's sloppy to take a substance on an airplane and go through airport security," said the ex-spy, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. "It's sloppy, but to be expected. Remember what happened in Qatar." Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was killed in 2004 in a car blast in Qatar's capital, Doha. Qatar authorities arrested and convicted two Russian security service officers for the killing. The officers were later extradited to Russia. Among those who have caught the attention of authorities is former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi. Lugovoi, one of two Russians who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 3, the day he is believed to have been poisoned, told Kommersant he flew from London to Moscow on one of the aircraft that had been identified as contaminated with radiation. Lugovoi has denied any role in the poisoning. The former KGB agent, who speculated that FSB agents had transported polonium-210 to Britain, said he did not think Lugovoi himself poisoned Litvinenko but that he might have been involved in some way. "He wasn't the only one," the former agent said. "There may have been two or three other agents involved. It looks like the substance may have leaked while they were carrying it, or they have become contaminated by it." Lugovoi, who worked for Berezovsky in the 1990s as the head of security for ORT television, now Channel One, has said he and an associate, Dmitry Kovtun, had met with Litvinenko to discuss business. Lugovoi could not be reached for comment. A coroner in northern London on Thursday opened and formally adjourned the inquest into Litvinenko's death at the St. Pancras coroners' court, a spokesman for the council of the London Borough of Camden said in a telephone interview. "The inquest will reopen at a date to be fixed following investigations by the Metropolitan Police," said the spokesman, who asked that his name not be used. The spokesman said the coroner had also issued a burial order, meaning Litvinenko's family could instruct a funeral parlor to take possession of the body upon completion of the autopsy and with permission from Britain's Health Protection Agency. President Vladimir Putin has faced a barrage of criticism in the Western media since the 43-year-old Litvinenko issued a deathbed statement accusing the president of the "barbaric and ruthless murder." Putin dismissed the accusation. Facts about Radiation Q: What is radiation? A: Radiation is the transfer of energy. There are two basic types of radiation: ionizing radiation (X-rays, infrared light, gamma rays) and non-nuclear emissions (ultraviolet light, microwave radiation, mobile phone waves). It is usually only ionizing radiation that concerns health officials. Q: Why is ionizing radiation dangerous? A: Ionizing radiation has the potential to change molecules in living cells, including their genetic makeup. Q: What are the symptoms of radiation sickness? A: Radiation can cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss and burns. Q: How is radiation detected? A: A Geiger counter usually is used to detect radiation. Q: What is polonium? A: Polonium is an extremely rare, radioactive heavy metal found in uranium. It can also be manufactured artificially in nuclear reactors. Q: Is polonium dangerous? A: As long as polonium does not penetrate the human body, it is not dangerous. Polonium is only lethal when inhaled or ingested. Q: Is it possible that trace amounts of radiation were left by Alexander Litvinenko after he was poisoned? A: Yes. Theoretically, Litvinenko could have excreted small amounts of polonium through perspiration. Trace amounts of polonium radiation will still be detectable on surfaces for approximately 260 days -- more than eight months -- after they are left. Q: Is there a public health risk to people who were in areas found with traces of radioactive material? A: The public health risk to people who might have come into contact with trace amounts of radioactive material is thought to be extremely low. --The Associated Press ***************************************************************** 45 Guardian Unlimited: Litvinenko affair: now the man who warned him poisoned too | Ian Cobain, Ian Sample and Mark Rice-Oxley in Moscow Saturday December 2, 2006 The Guardian The unknown assassin who killed Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy, appeared last night to have claimed a second victim after tests revealed that one of the dead man's associates had been poisoned with the same radioactive isotope, polonium-210. Mario Scaramella was found to have ingested a potentially fatal dose of the substance and was being treated at a London hospital last night. The Italian self-styled security consultant says he flew to London last month to warn Mr Litvinenko that both their lives were at risk. At a meeting at a West End sushi restaurant he claimed he gave the Russian a document which named five people on a hitlist allegedly drawn up by Russian intelligence officers. Mr Scaramella's urine was tested after he returned to London this week following Mr Litvinenko's death. The Guardian has been told that the amount of polonium-210 found in the Russian's body could have killed him 100 times over, and would have cost as much as Ł20m to acquire. Last night it emerged that Mr Litvinenko's wife, Marina, had also tested positive for polonium-210. Tests showed that she had ingested a small amount, which posed no immediate health risk and a "very small" long-term risk. While the amount detected in Mr Scaramella's body is considerably less than was found in Mr Litvinenko's, it presents a grave threat to his health. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said "high quantities" of polonium-210 had been found. "The quantities are such that they are likely to be of concern for his immediate health," a spokesman said. Mr Scaramella was last night being treated at University College Hospital, where Mr Litvinenko died nine days ago. The hospital released a statement last night saying that Mr Scaramella was "currently well" and showed "no symptoms of radiation poisoning". Scientists advising police believe it is possible he was poisoned at the same time as the former spy, who complained of feeling ill shortly after the meeting at the Itsu sushi restaurant in Piccadilly on November 1. Mr Litvinenko ate fish, while the Italian only drank water. Since his voluntary return to the UK last Monday, Mr Scaramella, 36, has been under the protection of Scotland Yard and has been having a debriefing at Ashford Park Hotel near Forest Row, East Sussex, part of which was sealed off last night. When he spoke to the Guardian by telephone shortly after 1pm yesterday, he said he had been cleared of any wrongdoing, and hoped to be back in Italy by the weekend. He also said he had been undergoing tests, adding: "I'm clear of contamination." Less than an hour later he was learning that he had, in fact, suffered potentially fatal radiation poisoning. At another London hospital yesterday three pathologists donned protective suits to carry out a postmortem examination on Mr Litvinenko's body. Police have found traces of polonium-210 at a dozen locations in London, including Mr Litvinenko's home in Muswell Hill, two luxury hotels, and two British Airways 767s, which had been flying to and from Moscow. By examining hotel records, immigration files and CCTV images - and by discovering traces of radioactivity at address which Mr Litvinenko did not visit - police are believed to have built up a detailed picture of how the isotope may have been smuggled into the country. British officials say the perpetrators were probably former Russian security agents, or members of a criminal gang linked to them. They also say that only a "state" institution would have access to polonium-210. They insist there is no evidence of the involvement of the Russian government, which has issued repeated denials and said it is prepared to cooperate fully with Scotland Yard. The Kremlin's deputy spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the Guardian yesterday that Russia produced polonium at only one city, which is closed to foreigners, and kept strict controls on the eight grammes it exports to American companies each month. "It is completely impossible for nuclear materials to be stolen and smuggled," he said. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European commission, voiced his concern about the case yesterday. "We have a problem with Russia. In fact, we have several problems. Too many people have been killed and we don't know who killed them." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 46 Guardian Unlimited: Spy expert at centre of storm Barbara McMahon in Rome Saturday December 2, 2006 The Guardian Mario Scaramella, the second person to test positive for polonium poisoning, is an incongruous figure at the centre of the Litvinenko mystery. A self-styled security consultant, he claims to be an expert in espionage and nuclear weapons and also refers to himself as an academic but has no current affiliations to any university or institution. Until becoming involved in the Litvinenko case, he was best known in Italy as a consultant to the Mitrokhin commission, set up by Silvio Berlusconi's former government to investigate the infiltration of Italy by KGB spies during the cold war. Mr Scaramella was introduced to Mr Litvinenko three years ago and has said he did not eat anything during the meeting with Mr Litvinenko on November 1 because he had eaten earlier in the day, and only drank from a glass of water. After Mr Litvinenko became ill, Mr Scaramella went to hospital in Rome and was checked by medics given the all-clear. He told reporters in Italy that he had gone voluntarily to the British embassy in Rome to speak to the authorities about his relationship with Mr Litvinenko. Since then, a number of accusations have been hurled at him. La Repubblica newspaper accused him of telling lies in connection with his activities at the Mitrokhin commission and questioned his credentials. They have queried his CV, which lists affiliations with institutions as diverse as Rosario University in Colombia, Stanford and Greenwich universities in the US, and Tamil Nadu University in India, as well as his claims to have written a paper for Nasa. One leftwing former member of the Mitrokhin commission claimed that Mr Scaramella's CV was questioned by the panel "so he promptly presented a second, completely different one, which was accepted". Italy's Corriere della Sera has reported that Mr Scaramella and Mitrokhin commission chief Paolo Guzzanti, a senator with Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, discussed digging up evidence to prove that Romano Prodi, Italy's prime minister, was "a KGB man". The commission was wound up in March without exposing any leftwing figures - despite months of press speculation led by the Berlusconi family newspaper Il Giornale. Mr Prodi has since said that he may take court action in connection with the charges. Mr Scaramella is being investigated in Italy on two counts of breaching secrecy rules in the Mitrokhin affair and possible involvement in arms trafficking, in a case involving stolen uranium that he himself reported to the authorities. Italian reports have also said that he had made regular visits to the FSB in Moscow and was a close associate of Viktor Kolmogorov, deputy head of the FSB. Mr Scaramella claims that his Moscow visits were connected to his work for the Mitrokhin commission, and that far from working for the FSB he believed he was as a target. Mr Scaramella, who is divorced and has two children, was due to return to Rome tomorrow but the diagnosis may mean that he will remain in Britain. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 47 Guardian Unlimited: Ex-spy death probe to widen - Reid Press Association Sunday December 3, 2006 11:13 AM The investigation into the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is set to widen over the next few days, Home Secretary John Reid said. Mr Reid said that detectives were prepared to go outside the United Kingdom to carry out interviews as the inquiry continues to grow. He said that he would be raising the death of Mr Litvinenko - who died apparently after ingesting or inhaling radioactive polonium 210 - with European interior ministers at a meeting on Monday in Brussels. British health officials were also liaising with their counterparts overseas, he added. "Over the next few days I think all of these things will widen out a little from the circle just being here in Britain," he told Sky News' Sunday Live programme. "The police will follow wherever this investigation leads inside or outside Britain. That will continue over the next few days. The police will talk to anybody they need to inside this country or outside this country." Mr Reid refused to be drawn on whether the Kremlin was implicated in the death of Mr Litvinenko, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, as the former spy claimed before he died. Mr Putin has strongly denied any involvement by the Russian state. "The worst thing we can do is speculate. We will end up with egg on our face. This isn't a game of Cluedo," Mr Reid said. He insisted that there was no cause for public concern over the radioactive traces that have been found at various places during the course of the inquiry. "People shouldn't be worried. We are tracking this and we are putting information into the public domain for the purposes of honest reassurance," he said. "If I thought there was any risk to people arising out of some of these contamination sites we would immediately put that out." © Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 48 Guardian Unlimited: Poison spy probe moves to Moscow [UP] Press Association Sunday December 3, 2006 7:43 PM Detectives investigating the death of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko are planning to fly to Moscow in their hunt for clues into the dissident's poisoning, sources confirmed. It has also emerged that anti-terror police from Scotland Yard have already taken the investigation to the USA where they are thought to have interviewed a key figure behind the Ukrainian "Orange Revolution" of 2004. Mr Litvinenko, a fierce critic of president Vladimir Putin, died of radiation poisoning last month, convinced that he had been the victim of a Russian murder plot. A second man has tested positive for the deadly radioactive substance polonium 210 which is believed to have killed Mr Litvinenko. Doctors treating Italian academic Mario Scaramella said that he continued to show no symptoms of poisoning. But London's University College Hospital said that further tests were being carried out on Mr Scaramella, who met Mr Litvinenko at the Itsu sushi bar in Piccadilly on November 1, the day he fell ill. With the spy's death set to be raised with European interior ministers in Brussels, Home Secretary John Reid said that the investigation was likely to "widen out" beyond Britain. "The police will follow wherever this investigation leads inside or outside of Britain. That will continue over the next few days," he told Sky News. "The police will talk to anybody they need to inside this country or outside this country." Police sources confirmed that a team of detectives would be going to Moscow within days, although the situation was described as "too fluid" to say for certain when the officers would be flying out. Among those they may want to interview is former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi - whose visit to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on the day he met Mr Litvinenko is thought to be behind a radiation search at the football ground. © Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 49 London Times: Putin wanted Blair to gag poisoned spy - The Sunday Times - Britain December 03, 2006 David Cracknell, Mark Franchetti and Jon Ungoed-Thomas THE Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has expressed his anger at Britain’s failure to gag Alexander Litvinenko in the final hours of his life, the cabinet has been told. Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, told ministers that the Russian government had “taken exception” to the poisoned former spy’s deathbed letter accusing the Putin regime of murdering him. This weekend a potential suspect — Andrei Lugovoi — admitted he had been contaminated with the radioactive poison polonium-210 but insisted: “I’ve been framed.” Beckett, who spoke to her Russian counterpart before Thursday’s cabinet meeting, said the Russians had “seemingly failed to understand” that Litvinenko was under police supervision rather than in custody. Amid signs that his death could cause a diplomatic row, Tony Blair concluded the cabinet meeting by saying “the most important issue” was likely to be Britain’s long-term relationship with Moscow. Another minister present said: “It caused some alarm that this case is obviously causing tension with the Russians. They are too important for us to fall out with them over this.” Putin’s aides see Litvinenko’s letter, in which he described the Russian president as “barbaric and ruthless”, as a carefully orchestrated public relations stunt, timed to coincide with the leader’s appearance at the Russia-European Union summit in Helsinki. Foreign Office officials yesterday confirmed the Russians had raised the issue of Litvinenko’s letter with Beckett and British diplomats. Until now, the government has admitted only that the Russians had agreed to assist Scotland Yard with its inquiries. John Reid, the home secretary, told the cabinet “not to make assumptions” about Litvinenko’s death, pointing out that the former spy had been “involved with” organised crime as well as the KGB, Chechens and exiled Russian oligarchs. With more than 200 people tested for suspected radiation contamination and 3,000 calls handled by NHS Direct, Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, said there was a risk the NHS could be “overloaded”. Reid said the contamination by polonium-210 — a highly radioactive isotope, which has so far been found at 12 sites in London — could have come from more than one person. The potential suspect Lugovoi told The Sunday Times he was the mystery businessman who had visited locations across London since tested positive for radioactivity, including the Sheraton Park Lane hotel. According to other sources, he also went to the offices of Boris Berezovsky, the dissident Russian billionaire. The radioactive trail suggests that Lugovoi, also a former spy, was contaminated with polonium-210 as early as October 25, about a week before Litvinenko was poisoned, probably at a sushi bar in Piccadilly. Lugovoi denied he and two business associates, Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko, were involved in any plot. All three men met Litvinenko on November 1, the day he was poisoned. “We suspect that someone has been trying to frame us,” said Lugovoi. “Someone passed this stuff onto us . . . so as to point the finger at us and distract the police.” He also suggested they could have been contaminated by Litvinenko. Lugovoi, who has been in contact with Scotland Yard, said he had flown to London from Moscow on October 25, checking into the Sheraton Park Lane. It may explain how the hotel was contaminated, as Litvinenko did not visit it on November 1. During a second trip to London to watch the Arsenal-CSKA Moscow football match, Lugovoi, Kovtun and Sokolenko met Litvinenko at the Millennium hotel in Mayfair. Yesterday police mounted a search for polonium in the part of the Emirates stadium where Lugovoi had been sitting and gave it the all-clear. By the time of the meeting at the Millennium hotel, Litvinenko is thought to have already eaten at the Itsu sushi bar with Mario Scaramella, an Italian security expert. Yesterday the bar's manager was contacted by police for a second time. Litvinenko fell seriously ill shortly after this meeting with Scaramella. As he lay dying, he said he believed Lugovoi was a key suspect. Alexander Goldfarb, Litvinenko's friend, said: "He obviously suspected Lugovoi. He suspected Scaramella too, but he suspected Lugovoi more. That is why when he was ill, he never put that meeting with Lugovoi and his associates into the public domain. He wanted to lure him back to London when he got better." Scaramella was yesterday at University College hospital after he tested positive for radioactivity. He was said to have no symptoms of radiation sickness, but Sergio Rastrelli, his lawyer, said: "The doctors have told him polonium always has potentially lethal effects. He either inhaled or ingested polonium. He was not contaminated by Litvinenko." Litvinenko's wife, Marina, who has also been contaminated, is showing no sign of illness and her level of radiation is described by police sources as "absolutely minimal". Police sources confirmed the dose administered to Litvinenko was "at least 100 times" the amount needed to kill somebody. The sushi bar is the most likely place that Litvinenko and Scaramella were poisoned, but detectives do not know how the radioactive material was administered. They are not ruling out the possibility that the two men were poisoned separately elsewhere. Detectives have told ministers they are closing in on a suspect. They say he is a businessmen who travelled from Moscow to London before November 1 but refuse to say whether Lugovoi is the suspect. Times and The Sunday Times. ***************************************************************** 50 CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Poisoning of ex-spy illustrates how Cold War lingers Commentary :: December 3, 2006 This is a case for George Smiley, author John Le Carre's British master spy, who has a nose for ferreting out Russian espionage plots. The case does seem more fantastical than real, and it would be right up the fictional Smiley's alley. Last month, a former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, travels to London from Moscow, ostensibly to meet with an Italian man and two Russians, one a former contact from the KGB. Days later, Litvinenko is dead, poisoned by a radioactive agent, polonium-210. In the hours before he dies, Litvinenko whispers that his killing was ordered by none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also says he had been investigating the death of muckraking Moscow journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who had recovered from a poisoning only to be shot dead in her apartment building. Both journalist Politkovskaya and Litvinenko were harsh critics of the Putin regime. Politkovskaya had done groundbreaking work on the war in Chechnya. British police have found traces of polonium-210 all over London: on two British Airways Boeing 767s that frequently fly between London and Moscow; in a five star hotel Litvinenko visited, and at other places he traveled within the city. Meanwhile, Yegor T. Gaidar, a former Russian prime minister, has also been diagnosed with poisoning during a stay in Ireland. The story is playing out like one of those Russian nesting dolls: Pull one doll apart and you find another. In fact, the final message seems to be: Cross Putin and you'll pay. Take the case of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who was poisoned with dioxin on the eve of his country's elections. He had not been Putin's choice for Ukrainian president, even though Ukraine is now separate from the Soviet orbit. In Moscow, the rumors are abounding. "Conspiracy theories in Moscow about who killed Mr. Litvinenko have reached a pitch of dialecticism that is scarcely intelligible to outsiders," the Economist magazine noted. "It was done by either Mr. Putin, or to discredit him; to promote one of his possible successors as president, or to force him to stay in office. The polonium was either an intentional warning or a cock-up. Mr. Litvinenko was murdered by the same forces who killed Anna Politkovskaya in October; or somebody saw her shooting as an opportunity to settle other scores. Mr. Putin's allies point the finger at Boris Berezovsky, a renegade Russian oligarch who lives in London . . . . His alleged goal? To disgrace Mr. Putin and ultimately force his clique from power." All of this would certainly keep spy Smiley very busy. One thing is certain about life in Russia: Dissent is impossible. Putin is a bully who has taken over the television stations in Moscow and successfully quelled his detractors in parliament and the courts. He has muzzled his civilian critics and rid the country of its oligarchs, and he has purposefully worked against American interests by cozying up to its enemies. The democracy that was expected to take hold after the breakup of the Soviet Union remains a reach. In many ways, the cold war Smiley intrigued against continues unabated. suntimes.com: © Copyright 2006 Sun-Times News Group | User Agreement and ***************************************************************** 51 Arizona Daily Star: Navajos find allies at uranium forum | www.azstarnet.com ® [AzStarNet] The Associated Press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.03.2006 WINDOW ROCK — Some 300 people from more than a dozen countries have gathered here for the Indigenous World Uranium Summit, and Navajo officials hope to join forces with them to keep the sprawling reservation off-limits to future uranium mining. President Joe Shirley Jr. said during his welcoming address Thursday that the job of protecting land, water and people from the harmful effects of uranium mining begins with people from all corners of the world coming together to learn from each other. "As Dine people, we're also looking for friends to help us defend ourselves against those who would break our laws to get at the uranium ore underneath our lands," he said. Dine is the Navajos' word for themselves. A focal point of the summit is the Dine Natural Resources Protection Act, which banned uranium mining and processing within the reservation. It spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Despite the law, the tribe has said several companies have expressed interest in bringing uranium mining back to the Navajo Nation or to land adjacent to the reservation. While there's more uranium to be had on the Navajo Nation, Shirley said it should remain buried to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. "In times past, they've already killed many of us with their encroachment upon our lands to mine the ore," he said. "As we meet this week, more Dine people are dying from having been poisoned by uranium ore." Hazel James, an organizer of the summit, said the key point of the gathering is to raise awareness of the continuing problem posed by uranium mining and the contamination it leaves behind. "The importance of this is to keep the land preserved and the water and the people for future generations," she said. The three-day summit, which ended Saturday, included a tour of former mining sites and the abandoned United Nuclear Corp. milling and tailings disposal facility near Church Rock, N.M. ***************************************************************** 52 BBC NEWS: Spyfinder Scaramella in spotlight Last Updated: Saturday, 2 December 2006, 13:18 GMT [ src=] [Mario Scaramella] Mr Scaramella has said there are Soviet missiles in the Bay of Naples Italian Mario Scaramella, 36, has been a significant figure in an Italian espionage probe. He has advised the Italian Senate's Guzzanti committee, examining claims by Soviet defector Alexander Mitrokhin about KGB operations in the country. As consultant to the committee the former environmentalist came into contact with Mr Litvinenko. The pair would exchange information about Soviet-era activities in Italy. Mr Litvinenko would also pass on information about what he thought his former spying colleagues were up to nowadays in Western Europe. Mr Scaramella headed a body called the Environmental Crime Prevention Programme (ECPP), an organisation which tracked dumped nuclear waste, including Soviet nuclear missiles left over from the Cold War. Between 2000 and 2002, Mr Scaramella was secretary general of that body. Sensational tales In 2003 he made the unusual move from environmentalist to KGB expert for the Guzzanti committee's probe into post-World War II Soviet spying in Italy. Many of his claims have been headline grabbing - including one in March 2005 when he said 20 Soviet nuclear warheads had been dumped by a USSR submarine in the Bay of Naples during the Cold War. And last year he tipped off Italian police after saying he had been offered a suitcase of nuclear material for sale by a Ukrainian national. story from a spy novel BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner At the time Mr Scaramella said he was investigating the activities of former KGB officers in the tiny Adriatic coast republic of San Marino. He said he had been passed a document saying there were former KGB men in San Marino looking at selling nuclear military material. A garage in Rimini was raided and four men arrested. He also said a tip-off from Mr Litvinenko helped prevent a potential attempt on the life of Paolo Guzzanti, a member of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party who is heading the probe into the Mitrokhin material. The BBC's security expert Frank Gardner said: "The Scaramella file resembles a story from a spy novel. "He is a 'self-styled' security expert - a change from being an environmentalist. He has been specialising in investigating the Russian intelligence service in Italy." The Italian government has officially denied that Mr Scaramella works for Italy's secret service SISMI. ***************************************************************** 53 BBC NEWS: Speculation over ex-spy continues : Sunday, 3 December 2006, 07:16 GMT The many strands of the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko dominate the front and inside pages of Sunday's newspapers. The Sunday Times claims President Putin has "expressed his anger" at Britain's failure to gag him. More than 30 Russian spies are operating in the UK, claims the Sunday Telegraph, which likens the complicated story to the novels of John Le Carre. The Independent on Sunday also notes the "exotic cast of characters". Speaking out Former head teacher and government consultant Des Smith is the first person to be held in connection with the loans for peerages affair. Mr Smith tells the Mail on Sunday he was taken from his bed in a police raid and spent a day in the cells surrounded by violent criminals. Meanwhile, the News of the World claims the MI5 thinks terrorists are planning a big attack on Britain's energy plants.   The Times says MPs are pressing for a 60% pay rise to Ł100,000. First anniversary As David Cameron prepares to mark his first anniversary as Conservative leader, the papers assess his progress. "Not bad for Year One", is the verdict from one group of floating voters brought together by the pollster, Frank Luntz, according to the Telegraph. But the Sunday Express rather bluntly tells its readers Mr Cameron must "drop his 'hug a hoodie' philosophy and start talking like a proper Tory". The Independent headline reads: "Cameron's first year - not bad, Dave". Compensation culture In a bid to tackle growing numbers of people who are obese, the Independent reports the National Health Service will provide dance classes. GPS will prescribe "sedentary" people with activities like street dancing. Meanwhile, not even a funeral is safe from the compensation culture sweeping Britain, according to the Mail. The paper claims pallbearers are being asked by funeral directors to sign waiver forms in case they hurt their backs carrying the coffin into church. ***************************************************************** 54 The Herald: NHS told to reveal data on cancer in children Web Issue 2695 December 02 2006 TOM GORDON, Scottish Political Correspondent The NHS was yesterday ordered to hand over details of childhood leukaemia cases around a nuclear power plant after a landmark ruling on Scotland's freedom of information laws. In the first case of its kind to reach the Court of Session, three judges upheld a decision by the freedom of information watchdog to order a public body to release hitherto secret data. The decision could now pave the way for campaigners against environmental blights, such as landfills or chemical works, to obtain local health statistics. The legal bill for taxpayers is expected to exceed five figures. The case centred on a request by Andrew Collie, a researcher for Green MSP Chris Ballance, to the NHS's Common Services Agency. In January 2005, Mr Collie asked for records of all incidents of leukaemia in under-15s between 1990 and 2003 in Dumfries and Galloway, broken down by the 47 local census wards. The aim was to discover any cancer clusters by Chapelcross nuclear plant or the Dundrennan military range, where depleted uranium shells are fired. The CSA confirmed there were 15 such cases, but refused to release any more details in case the children were identified. Mr Collie then made the first ever complaint to Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, who agreed the information should be released. Mr Dunion said the CSA could prevent identification by applying a statistical make-over to the raw data called "barnardisation". But the CSA again refused and appealed Mr Dunion's ruling to the Court of Session, where the case was heard last month by the Lord President, Lord Hamilton, and Lords Nimmo Smith and Marnoch. In court, the CSA argued Mr Collie's request was only for information it already held  but barnardisation would mean the creation of new data. The judges said the CSA could convert the data with little effort, and the results would not identify anyone. Lord Marnoch said he thought the freedom of information statute "should be construed in as liberal a manner as possible ... I do not see why the Commissioner should not be accorded the widest discretion in deciding the form and type of information which should be released." Mr Dunion said it was a "landmark decision", confirming public bodies should not take a narrow view of what data to disclose. Mr Ballance said considerable time and money had been spent on a fruitless attempt to block the Commissioner's efforts, but worried communities could now "seek detailed health related statistics which will help them understand if their concerns have a basis in fact". The CSA said it was considering a final appeal to the House of Lords as it appeared it was being ordered to disclose information that could lead to the identification of children diagnosed with leukemia. The agency added its own study of childhood leukaemia along the Solway Firth found no significant evidence of an excess risk. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permissionis prohibited. Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 55 AFP: Radioactive poison probe in second week amid health, diplomatic fears - by Phil Hazlewood Sun Dec 3, 2:19 AM ET LONDON (AFP) - An Italian contact of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who was apparently poisoned by radioactivity was said to be "well" in hospital, despite exposure to the same substance. But as the police probe into Litvinenko's agonising death entered its second week amid reports London fears a long-term diplomatic fallout with Moscow from the affair, new claims of blackmail, political and financial skullduggery emerged. The immediate focus was on Italian Mario Scaramella's health, however, following his admission to the same central London hospital as Litvinenko after positive tests for the highly radioactive isotope polonium 210. "Scotland Yard and the British health authorities told me that I had been poisoned with polonium 210," the Italian academic wrote Saturday in a letter to his lawyer, Sergio Rastrelli, cited by the Italian news agency ANSA. "Despite a deep anxiety... I currently feel well. I have no symptoms." Tests on his urine had revealed "traces of a dose of polonium significantly lower than that used against Litvinenko... but this dose... is nevertheless considered to be potentially deadly," Scaramella wrote. The self-styled security expert met Litvinenko in a central London sushi bar on November 1. The exiled former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent and Kremlin critic fell ill shortly afterwards. Earlier Saturday, a University College Hospital London (UCHL) spokesman also said that Scaramella was "well" and that preliminary tests had shown "no evidence of radioactive toxicity". The Italian health ministry in Rome indicated that Scaramella could be out of hospital as early as Monday. Elsewhere, concern over possible radiation exposure increased, with British public health officials revealing Saturday that nearly 3,000 people had called a special hotline by midnight Friday. But only one of the 68 urine tests conducted so far had shown exposure to polonium 210. Family members have confirmed that was Litvinenko's wife, Marina, but the long-term health risks are negligible. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) again sought to reassure the public that the risk of radiation exposure was low. But British Nuclear Group confirmed late Saturday that health physics specialists from its Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in northwest England had been called in to help monitor radioactivity levels. The extent of the testing spread to Greece. The authorities there confirmed that four people who frequented the same sushi bar and a central London hotel where Litvinenko met three contacts on the same day had been tested. The Greek Atomic Energy Commission said it expected that number to rise in the coming days. On the aviation front, the three British Airways planes feared to have been contaminated with radiation were given the all-clear, as was an easyJet plane that Scaramella took from London to Naples two days before meeting Litvinenko. Meanwhile, theories into how Litvinenko came to have large quantities of polonium 210 in his body and who was responsible again dominated Britain's Sunday newspapers. The Sunday Times said British Prime Minister Tony Blair" /> had told senior ministers the Litvinenko affair was currently "the most important issue" in bilateral relations with Moscow. A report in the News of the World tabloid said that anti-terrorist officers from Britain's Metropolitan Police were to fly to Moscow Sunday to interview the three Russians who met Litvinenko on November 1. The paper did not name the men but according to the Sunday Times, they are likely to be Andrei Lugovoi and his two business associates Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko. Lugovoi -- himself a former KGB man -- denied involvement in any plot against Litvinenko, telling the newspaper: "We suspect that someone has been trying to frame us. "Someone passed this stuff onto us... so as to point the finger at us and distract the police." The Observer and the Mail on Sunday both suggested a possible link between Litvinenko and the Russian oil company Yukos, which has seen a series of deaths and accidents involving those associated with it. The first said the US Federal Bureau of Investigations ( FBI" /> ) had accompanied Scotland Yard detectives during questioning of another Russian exile, former KGB agent Yuri Shvets, in Washington. Shvets -- who has links to dissident Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky -- reportedly compiled a file Litvinenko had in his possession containing potentially damaging revelations about Moscow and the state takeover of Yukos. It also quoted a London-based Russian academic as saying Litvinenko wanted to blackmail senior Russian intelligence, business figures and "corrupt officals and sources in the Kremlin" with that secret information. That could have made him an enemy not just of big business but of the Kremlin, too, it suggested. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 56 AFP: Litvinenko probe to spread to Europe - by Robin Millard Sun Dec 3, 2:34 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - British Home Secretary John Reid said the probe into the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko would extend across Europe as police prepared to visit Russia in the hunt for the truth behind his death. Police sources confirmed that counter-terrorism officers were expected to leave for Moscow "very soon", though a spokeswoman at Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police, declined to comment. The BBC said nine officers could travel to Russia as early as Monday. A report in the News of the World newspaper, Britain's biggest-selling weekly tabloid, said they were to interview the three Russians who met Litvinenko on November 1, shortly before he fell ill. Reid said he was confident London was getting the necessary assistance from Moscow over what happened to the former Russian spy. But as the police probe into Litvinenko's mysterious radiation poisoning entered its third week, reports said Britain feared a long-term diplomatic fall-out with Russia from the affair. Reid, who was to meet European counterparts in Brussels over Monday and Tuesday, vowed that all information would be followed up wherever it lead. "Over the next few days, I think all of these things will widen out a little from the circle just being here in Britain," he told Sky News television. "Tomorrow I will be at the European Council and I will certainly be sharing information, getting what we can from European counterparts; the health authorities have already started to liaise with their European colleagues and the police will follow wherever this investigation leads -- inside or outside of Britain." Italian academic Mario Scaramella, the contact of Litvinenko who tested positive for the radioactive isotope polonium-210 which poisoned the former agent, was said to be "well" in hospital. Self-styled security expert Scaramella met Litvinenko in a London sushi restaurant on November 1, shortly before the former spy first felt ill. The Italian "remains well, the results of his pathology tests to date remain normal," said a spokesman for University College Hospital, where Litvinenko died on November 23. Scaramella's lawyer Sergio Rastrelli said his client had either "ingested or inhaled" the polonium and had not been contaminated by Litvinenko. The Sunday Times newspaper said the men British police were likely to interview in Russia were Andrei Lugovoi and his two business associates Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko. Former KGB man Lugovoi denied involvement in any plot against Litvinenko, telling the broadsheet: "We suspect that someone has been trying to frame us. "Someone passed this stuff onto us... so as to point the finger at us and distract the police." The weekly also reported that British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had told senior ministers that Russian President Vladimir Putin" /> had expressed his anger at Britain's failure to gag Litvinenko after he was poisoned. The former Russian agent wrote a letter on his death-bed which pointed the finger directly at Putin, whom he described as "barbaric and ruthless". Foreign Office officials later confirmed that Russia had raised the letter with Beckett. The Observer newspaper said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had accompanied Scotland Yard detectives during questioning of another Russian exile, former KGB agent Yuri Shvets, in Washington. Shvets -- who has links to London-based dissident Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky -- reportedly compiled a file Litvinenko had in his possession containing potentially damaging revelations about Moscow and the state takeover of Russian oil company Yukos. Amid speculation that polonium-210 was brought in from Russia after traces of a radioactive substance were found on British Airways planes operating the London-Moscow route, Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said that British airports "do have methods by which we can identify radioactive materials". "We have a layered system of security at our airports, some of which are visible to the public -- some of those layers appropriately are not visible," he told BBC television. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 57 Guardian Unlimited: Ex-KGB Agent Says He Named Spy Suspect From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday December 3, 2006 8:31 PM AP Photo LSU106 By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) - Britain's senior law enforcement official said Sunday an inquiry into the death of a former KGB agent had expanded overseas, and a U.S.-based friend of the former agent said he told police the name of the person he believes orchestrated the poisoning. Yuri Shvets said had known the poisoned ex-spy, Alexander Litvinenko, since 2002 and spoke with him on Nov. 23, the day Litvinenko died following his exposure to a rare radioactive element, polonium-210. ``The truth is, we have an act of international terrorism on our hands. I happen to believe I know who is behind the death of my friend Sasha and the reason for his murder,'' Shvets said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press by telephone from the United States, referring to Litvinenko by his Russian nickname. Shvets, also a former KGB officer, declined to confirm the name of the person he believed was behind Litvinenko's death because of concern it could disrupt the investigation. He also declined to offer details on a document he said he had given to the British officers. ``This is firsthand information, this is not gossip. I gave them the firsthand information that I have,'' Shvets told the AP. Shvets said he was questioned by Scotland Yard officers and an FBI agent in Washington last week. A police official in London, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case, confirmed officers had interviewed Shvets. Home Secretary John Reid said Sunday the inquiry would go wherever ``the police take it.'' ``Over the next few days I think all of these things I think will widen out a little from the circle just being here in Britain,'' Reid told Britain's Sky News television. The British police official said police were expected to travel to Russia in coming days to interview a number of people, including Andrei Lugovoi. Lugovoi is another former Russian spy who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day Litvinenko fell ill. The Sunday Times newspaper quoted Lugovoi as saying he had also been contaminated with polonium-210, but he did not say whether he had fallen ill. He denied that he and two business associates who accompanied him to the Nov. 1 meeting were involved in Litvinenko's death. ``We suspect that someone has been trying to frame us,'' the Times quoted Lugovoi as saying. ``Someone passed this stuff onto us ... to point the finger at us and distract the police.'' Repeated attempts by the AP to reach Lugovoi in Moscow through a business associate have been unsuccessful. Litvinenko said in interviews from his deathbed that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning. Putin has dismissed the accusation as ``nonsense.'' Meanwhile, another person who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the Italian security consultant Mario Scaramella, underwent hospital tests Sunday after he showed lower levels of the same radioactive substance that was found in Litvinenko's body. University College Hospital said in a statement he was well and showing no external symptoms. In an interview with Italy's RAI TG1 television news, Scaramella said doctors told him that his body contains five times the dose of polonium-210 considered deadly. ``So my mood isn't the best,'' he told the channel. At their meeting on Nov. 1, Scaramella told Litvinenko that an e-mail he received from a source named the purported killers of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down on Oct. 7 at her Moscow apartment building. The e-mail reportedly said that he and Litvinenko - a friend of the reporter - were also on the hit list. In the interview with the AP, Shvets said he also knew Scaramella, having met him in the U.S. at Litvinenko's insistence. Shvets, who has worked at the Center for Counterintelligence and Security Studies in Washington, said he was currently traveling in the U.S. on vacation, but would not confirm his precise location because of concern for his personal security. ``I want to survive until the time we have a criminal case in relation to Sasha's death brought before a court in London,'' Shvets told the AP. In a separate statement issued through Tom Mangold, a former British Broadcasting Corp. reporter and his friend of 15 years, Shvets denied claims published Sunday in Britain's Observer newspaper that he had been involved in the drafting of a dossier on Russian oil company Yukos. Former Yukos shareholder Leonid Nevzlin, a Russian exile living in Israel, told the AP last week that Litvinenko had given him a document related to Yukos and said he believed the agent's killing was tied to his investigations into the company. Mangold said Shvets had denied the newspaper report, which said he had examined charges filed by Russian prosecutors against Yukos officials and shareholders and had given his findings to Litvinenko. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 58 globeandmail.com: Polonium is costly, undetectable, trillion times more toxic than cyanide POSTED ON 02/12/06 ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ The bizarre assassination of spy-turned-whistleblower Alexander Litvinenko has drawn attention to a mysterious radioactive element, polonium. Ingested or inhaled, it is extraordinarily lethal, even in microscopic doses. It's no new-age ingredient --polonium was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie, who named it after their Polish homeland. What's new is that Mr. Litvinenko appears to be the first person who has ever been deliberately poisoned with the it. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Peter Zimmerman, a physicist at King's College London, described the choice of polonium-210, the isotope that killed Mr. Litvinenko, as the result of "perverse genius." That's because polonium is 5,000 times as radioactive per gram as radium and, according to one science writer, a trillion times more toxic than cyanide. Prof. Zimmerman says Mr. Litvinenko must have suffered horribly because "it was as if his internal organs received a severe sunburn and peeled." The Health Physics Society says that three millicuries of polonium is enough to kill. (A millicurie is the amount of radiation given off by one-thousandth of a gram of radium). "Because polonium's radioactivity is so high," says Prof. Zimmerman, "one millicurie of polonium would weigh only 0.2 millionths of a gram." United Nuclear Scientific Supplies distributes radio-isotopes over the Internet, including polonium-210. But in a recent statement posted on its website, United Nuclear said the only isotopes it sells are an "exempt quantity" amount, meaning the quantities are so small (and they are electroplated on the inside eye of a needle) that they are not considered hazardous by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. United Nuclear does not carry any stock, and any orders it receives are sent to the NRC-licensed reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn. It says that one would need about 15,000 of its polonium-210 needles, at a cost of about $1-million U.S., to have a toxic amount. "If you really wanted to poison someone, you would of course have to come up with a way to remove the invisible amount of material from the exempt sources, which is about physically impossible, and combine them together." Perhaps that is one reason why news reports speculate that British investigators are looking to nuclear facilities in Russia as the source of the polonium that killed Mr. Litvinenko. Sergei Kiriyneko, head of Russia's state atomic energy agency Rosatom, told the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta yesterday that Russia produces about eight grams of polonium a month but that it is strictly controlled. Polonium-210 does not stick around for very long. It has a half-life of 138 days, which means its radioactivity will be reduced by 50 per cent in that time. According to one environmental radiochemist, that suggests the dose that killed Mr. Litvinenko was produced recently. One advantage of polonium to assassins is that, properly stored in a vial, it is undetectable. "You could carry it around in a box, and no one would know you had any by the radiation," Yale University geophysics professor Karl Turekian told The National Interest online. "It would get warm if you had a lot of it, but no one could detect it if you had a vial surrounded by sawdust." However, once it is released, as in Mr. Litvinenko's body, its captured properties can give clues to investigators about where it was manufactured. © Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 antiwar.com: Polonium-210, Fiction and Fact - by Gordon Prather December 2, 2006 According to Seymour Hersh, in early 2004, John Bolton, who was then the Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control, privately conveyed to International Atomic Energy Agency officials his suspicions that Iran was conducting research – at Parchin, the center of Iran’s Defense Industries Organization – into "the intricately timed detonation of conventional explosives" needed for implosion-type nuclear weapons. But, even if Bolton’s suspicions were true, if no nuclear materials proscribed by the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons had been used in the alleged Iranian tests, then Iran would not have been in willful violation of its NPT-associated IAEA Safeguards agreement. In that case, what the Iranians had done or were doing at Parchin was literally none of the IAEA’s business. So, at a press conference held in Paris on 3 February, 2005, by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (a US State Department designated"terrorist organization") Mohammad Mohaddessin, the self-styled Chairman of their Foreign Affairs Committee, made certain specific chargesabout Iran’s ongoing nuclear programs. "Brigadier General Dr. Seyyed Ali Hosseini Tash, deputy Defense Minister, is the official in charge producing weapons of mass destruction in the Ministry of Defense. He is, among other things, responsible for producing the neutron initiator for the nuclear bomb. The production of Beryllium and polonium-210 is being carried out under the supervision of Hosseini Tash. He has all the capabilities of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization at his disposal. "By irradiating Bismuth metal, Iranians have succeeded in transmuting it into Polonium-210. Tehran has lied to the IAEA that it has not produced Polonium-210 in the past 12 years, since 1993. It has also failed to offer convincing explanation as to why it had produced Polonium-210 in the early 1990s. "Despite such denials, Tehran is now producing Polonium-210 at Lavizan II military site, which I first revealed in November. That site is affiliated with the Defense Ministry's Center for New Technology, headed by Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who reports directly to Hosseini Tash. Dr. Fereidoon Abbasi is the deputy to Fakhrizadeh." Polonium-210 is a NPT proscribed nuclear material. Here’s why: From a formerly Top Secret descriptionof the Soviet Union’s first implosion-type nuclear weapon – "Construction of the bomb: "The element 94 [Plutonium], without any uranium-235, is the active material of this bomb. The so-called initiator, namely a beryllium-polonium source of alpha particles, is inserted into the centre of a ball of plutonium. (The plutonium is surrounded by 50 pounds of tube-alloy [U-238],* which is the 'tamper.') "All this is placed in an aluminum shell of thickness 11 cm. This aluminum shell in turn is surrounded by a layer of the explosive 'pentalit' or Composition C (Composition B according to other information) with wall thickness 46 cm. "The casing of the bomb into which this explosive is inserted has an inner diameter of 140 cm. The total weight of the bomb including the pentalit, the casing, etc. is about 3 tonnes. "It is anticipated that the force of the bomb explosion will be equal to the explosive force of 5000 tonnes of TNT. (The efficiency is 5-6%.) The fission count equals 75 x 10exp24." Now, hardly anyone would use a PoBe initiator in a modern implosion-type nuke. Here’s why. Polonium-210 is produced in quantity by irradiating Bismuth with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. And if the reactor is IAEA Safeguarded, the Polonium-210 becomes subject to the IAEA Safeguards and Physical Security system. But the Polonium-210 half-life is only 138 days. Hence, if the nuke is not to be a dud, the Polonium-210 used to fabricate the PoBe initiator for a nuke needs to be produced a mere 10-12 months before the nuke is actually used. Now, at the time the NCRI official made the charges about Iran, as best the IAEA could determine – after more than a year of extremely intrusive on-the-ground inspections, conducted in conjunction with a full-scope Additional Protocol to Iran’s Safeguards Agreement – there was "no indication" that any nuclear materials proscribed by the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons had ever been produced for – much less diverted to – a "military purpose." Nevertheless, according to Hersh, in response to the NCRI allegations, in November of 2005, an IAEA inspection team was allowed to single out a specific site at Iran’s super-secret Defense Industries Organization, and then was granted access to a few buildings at that site. According to Hersh’s IAEA source, "We found no evidence of nuclear materials." That didn’t deter our erstwhile UN Ambassador, John Bolton, who seized on these allegations to strong-arm first the Brits-French-Germans (who were negotiating, allegedly on behalf of the European Union, a package of "objective guarantees" from Iran that its nuclear programs were strictly for peaceful purposes) into demanding that Iran suspend indefinitely all its uranium-enrichment activities. When Iran – understandably – concluded that such a demand was inconsistent with the terms of so-called Paris Accord, which constituted the basis for the negotiations, Iran resumed some of the IAEA Safeguarded uranium-enrichment activities it had voluntarily suspended more than two years before. Well, Bolton went Bonkers. He then strong-armed the IAEA Board of Governors – who were not involved in any way in the Paris Accord negotiations – into demanding that Iran re-suspend those Safeguarded uranium-enrichment activities, provide the IAEA Board information that under its Statute it had no right to request (much less "demand") and return to the Paris Accord negotiations. Ultimately, Bonkers Bolton even strong-armed the UN Security Council into passing UNSCR 1696, which "called" upon Iran to acquiesce to the IAEA Board’s demands. Or else. Or else what? Well, as of this writing, nothing much. Meanwhile, a large quantity of Polonium-210 – apparently produced within the past year at some un-safeguarded nuclear reactor – has been used to poisonsome former Russian spy in London. "According to Israel Inside, Leonid Nevzlin, former CEO of the oil giant Yukos and current chairman of the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, said the former Russian spy had come to Israel in the weeks before his murder with classified documents on Yukos that might be damaging to Russian leaders. Nevzlin estimated that Litvinenko’s death had been connected with this information, which he had handed to London police investigators of the murder." Perhaps it isn’t significant, but most Russian nuclear reactors are subject to IAEA Safeguards. None of Israel’s are. Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. Copyright 2006 Antiwar.com ***************************************************************** 60 Guardian Unlimited: Alpha particles have devastating effect on human tissue | The poison Ian Sample, science correspondent Saturday December 2, 2006 The Guardian Experts said last night it was very unlikely that Mario Scaramella was contaminated with polonium-210 through social contact with the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Investigators cannot rule out the possibility that he was poisoned sometime after Mr Litvinenko. But they believe the most likely scenario is that Mr Scaramella was poisoned at the same time as Mr Litvinenko when they met in a sushi bar on November 1. Although Mr Litvinenko is known to have received an enormous dose of polonium, Mr Scaramella is believed to have ingested a lower dose. This suggests that he may have eaten or drunk something contaminated with the poison. He could not have picked it up from shaking Mr Litvenenko's hand, or from conversation across the table. Tests conducted on all staff at the restaurant have found no traces of polonium-210. If he was poisoned on November 1 - the day he met Mr Litvinenko - the polonium-210 would still be in his system. Due to its radioactivity polonium-210 emits alpha particles when it decays and it has a relatively short half-life of 138 days. Experts said last night the substance has different effects on different people, and it is possible that Mr Scaramella is more resistant to the poison than his friend. Sources close to the investigation confirmed the amount of polonium-210 in Mr Scaramella's body was substantial, and it had been detected in his urine. Hospital tests will check his white blood cell count for signs of radiation sickness. Polonium poisoning would initially affect bone marrow, killing off white blood cells. Mr Scaramella may not have felt ill as a result, although he may have felt slightly fatigued. Officials expect Mr Scaramella's bone marrow to recover from the dose, but while it is impaired, he will be susceptible to infections and he is expected to be moved from the hospital as soon as he is cleared to avoid picking up an infection. Dr Mark Little, an expert in epidemiology and public health at Imperial College, said: "It is possible it could have been a separate incident and have nothing to do with Mr Litvinenko but the fact that he was at a restaurant on November 1 when Mr Litvinenko was possibly poisoned, it just seems to me that it possibly happened then. "If you are sitting opposite someone and this is being sprayed on their food, it is likely you are going to get some. Some people would die from this but it would take you a much longer time - possibly three months." This is what happened to survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb on Hiroshima. At first they appeared fine but "within two months their bone marrow collapsed and they died from infections and other things", said Dr Little. Mr Scaramella is the first person to test positive since Mr Litvinenko's death sparked a radiation alert. Experts from the Health Protection Agency have been advising University College Hospital, where Mr Scaramella was admitted last night, on the dose that the Italian received. Although relatively unusual, polonium occurs naturally and is present in the environment at very low levels. It has many isotopes, all of which are radioactive, but polonium-210 is the most widely available. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 61 UPI: Report: Broad Russian spying in Britain United Press International - NewsTrack - 12/3/2006 10:39:00 AM -0500 LONDON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Russian network of more than 30 spies is monitoring Russian emigres and opponents of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Britain, it was reported Sunday. The sophisticated ring represents the greatest espionage threat facing Britain, government officials told London's Sunday Telegraph. Only the United States has more Russian agents operating on its soil, the newspaper said. The Russian spies in Britain are also involved in a widespread operation targeting businessmen, members of Parliament and scientists in an attempt to steal commercial and state secrets, the government officials said. The sources claim Russian agents are as active today as they were at the height of the Cold War, despite the fact that the Kremlin is now one of Britain's major allies in the war on terrorism. Former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who died 10 days ago, was "most probably" murdered with radioactive polonium-210 by "state-sponsored" assassins, the newspaper quoted intelligence sources as asserting. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 Nevada Appeal: Still skeptical even though West has leadership in Congress Opinion Guy W. Farmer December 3, 2006 Special to the Appeal When the newly elected Congress reconvenes early next month, Western Democrats will be in charge in both the Senate and the House - Nevada's own Harry Reid will take over as Senate majority leader and San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi will become the first female speaker of the House. Nevertheless, I have mixed feelings about this change in congressional leadership. On the positive side of the ledger, I'm delighted that Reid will continue to lead the fight against the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which is on life support if it isn't already dead. Pelosi, who worked against Yucca Mountain four years ago when she was the house minority whip, will be a strong ally in Nevada's campaign against the ill-considered nuclear waste dump. Shortly after the Nov. 7 mid-term election, Reid pledged that no Yucca Mountain bill will reach the Senate floor as long as he is majority leader, and promised to strangle the doomed project by cutting off its funding. Nevertheless, the Bush administration and nuclear energy industry lobbyists continue to throw millions of taxpayer dollars down that particular political rat hole. Only last Monday, the U.S. Energy Department unveiled a far-fetched proposal to ship nuclear waste through downtown Reno. "If this route were selected it would channel all of the nation's nuclear waste through the Interstate 80 corridor and would affect more Nevada cities and towns than any other (route)," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency. That plan is a non-starter despite the Bushies' continuing efforts to jam highly toxic nuclear waste down our throats. But while I'm optimistic that Reid and Ms. Pelosi will keep Yucca Mountain on the back burner, I'm concerned about their benign approach to another hot-button issue, illegal immigration, because I fear they'll cave-in and endorse Bush's massive amnesty plan for millions of illegal immigrants. Ironically, the president's dangerous plan has more support on the Democratic side of the aisle than it does among his fellow Republicans. After the president's mid-term election defeat, he claimed victory on the immigration issue. "I think we have a good chance (of passing 'comprehensive' immigration reform) ..." he said. "It's an important issue and I hope we can get something done on it." The moderately conservative Weekly Standard, which backs the president's flawed proposal, said the Democratic victory meant that the Republicans lost on immigration. I disagree, however, because Iraq was the most important issue in the November election, not immigration. Here in Nevada, voters elected three Republicans who are tough on illegal immigration - Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons, Congressman-elect Dean Heller and Sen. John Ensign - and like-minded candidates who back an enforcement-first approach on immigration reform won elsewhere in the Mountain West and Southwest. Meanwhile, in a stunning bit of overkill, the Pahrump Town Board passed an English-only ordinance and banned the flying of foreign flags in public. Readers who've never heard of Pahrump should go back to California. President Bush and the new Congress will be at odds on other major issues like Iraq and the economy. On Iraq, both the president and Congress will hide behind the Baker Commission report, due out on Wednesday, as they search for a graceful way out of an increasingly violent Middle Eastern quagmire. Although the president insists that there won't be a U.S. withdrawal any time soon, some of his political allies are talking about troop "redeployments." In any case, the November election clearly showed that the American people want our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible. There'll be a pitched battle over the economy with the president pushing for permanent tax cuts and Democrats attempting to revoke cuts for wealthy taxpayers. Beyond the Democrats' planned 100-hour blitz to pass their legislative agenda, Sen. Reid and Speaker-elect Pelosi have pledged to restore ethical and fiscal discipline to Congress. Ms. Pelosi got off to a promising start last week by rejecting a bid by Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida, a former federal judge who was impeached on corruption charges, to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In January, senators will clash over whether to ratify the feisty and outspoken Ambassador John Bolton (who I support) as our permanent representative to the United Nations. In summary, I hope the new Democratic Congress will get us out of Iraq and bring higher ethical standards to our federal government. BODINE'S: Yet another out-of-state developer wants to put a casino on the old Bodine's property at the busy corner of 395 South and Old Clear Creek Road. Despite what they say, any self-respecting casino operator will want to pave-over the adjacent Carson City Fair grounds for parking. And that's why city supervisors should declare the Fuji Park/Fairgrounds complex off-limits to casino gaming. Enough is enough! • Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City. All contents © Copyright 2006 nevadaappeal.com Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701 ***************************************************************** 63 Bradenton Herald: Tallevast group not seeking appeal 12/02/2006 | Community leaders say DEP should address concerns with cleanup DONNA WRIGHT Herald Staff Writer Tallevast leaders decided Friday not to challenge the state's acceptance of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s assessment of the plume of contamination under their community. Leaders of FOCUS, a residents' advocacy group, chose not to appeal because they believe the door is still open to challenge Lockheed's data, said Jeanne Zokovitch Paben, an environmental attorney who facilitated the dialogue between Tallevast and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP confirmed late Friday that the 5 p.m. deadline to challenge the state's decision had passed without word from Tallevast. Tallevast's decision to pass on the appeal means the DEP and Lockheed can move forward to design a plan to clean up the plume of contamination that has been traced back to the former Loral American Beryllium Co. plant at 1600 Tallevast Road. As owner of the plant when the plume was discovered six years ago, Lockheed has the responsibility for cleaning the mess up. Laura Ward, FOCUS president, said the community has received assurances that more tests will be required of Lockheed, and that FOCUS would have other opportunities to raise objections during the approval process of the final cleanup plan. In several meetings over recent weeks, Zokovitch Paben asked DEP to document in writing its acknowledgement of the community's concerns with Lockheed's data. Among those concerns is FOCUS leaders' belief that Lockheed failed to adequately define the extent and risk of the plume. FOCUS bases its concerns on independent reviews of Lockheed's data by Tim Varney and Michael Graves, technical advisers for Tallevast, as well as Wilma Subra, an environmental scientist who analyzed the data for The Herald. All three found Lockheed had not done enough testing to adequately define the extent and depth of the contamination or how the toxins are moving through groundwater. Larry Morgan, DEP's deputy general counsel, acknowledged in letters dated Nov. 15 and 23 specific steps the state will take to make sure Lockheed's final cleanup plans address those issues. The state will require Lockheed to do further tests to better define both the depth of the plume and the hydrologic factors that influence how the contamination is moving underground, Morgan said. Furthermore, the private well data collected by FOCUS and its consultants must be included in Lockheed's explanation of the effectiveness of their remedial action plan, Morgan said. More details on what DEP will require of Lockheed can be found in Morgan's letters to Zokovitch Paben, which are posted on The Herald's Web site at . FOCUS has also asked DEP to make sure local decision makers, including county planning staff, know that the community's decision not to appeal does not mean FOCUS has accepted Lockheed's plume map. "We don't want the county to think that we have signed off on the plume map and given the go-ahead for development," Ward said. "We are trying to work with DEP to get some assurances that they will not lead the county or anyone else to believe that the plume has been delineated." FOCUS leaders met with Tallevast residents Thursday night to alert the community that it may decide not to appeal, given DEP's assurances the community's concerns would be addressed. "No one felt strongly that we should," she said. "The community accepts that FOCUS speaks for Tallevast and they were willing to go along with our decision." Ward said the community will have to wait and see if DEP keeps its word. "In the past we have been told things and they haven't happened," said Ward. "It is a matter of things being followed through. We have a lot of our concerns in writing and we can refer to those letters." Ward praised Zokovitch Paben, an attorney with WildLaw Inc., a nonprofit environmental justice group that helps communities threatened by contamination. "She has been most instrumental in bringing this together," Ward said. "She was prepared to go ahead with the appeal if we chose to do so. She has been very useful in bringing this to a bit of closure." DEP said in a prepared statement that it is willing to work with Tallevast. "The Department looks forward to continuing to work with FOCUS, as we move forward with the remediation design, which is the next step in this process," the DEP said. Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 ***************************************************************** 64 Las Vegas SUN: Reid's rise to power may be bad news for Yucca backers Today: December 03, 2006 at 9:57:48 PST By Lisa Mascaro Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON - When pro-Yucca Mountain advocates called on Senate Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid to step aside from the nuclear waste debate, some saw it as an act of desperation over the stalled project. After the Democrats' victory in last month's elections, efforts to build the nation's first nuclear waste repository seem to be at a crossroads. Reid's new position all but halts legislative efforts to "fix Yucca" and seriously jeopardizes its continued funding. The looming presidential race, with its early Democratic caucus in Nevada, means contenders likely will have little appetite to support a project unpopular with Silver State voters. Plans for establishing interim waste storage elsewhere continue to be floated as options. And the Department of Energy faces a 2008 deadline to present the project for approval - a milestone that has been blown twice before. Michele Boyd, legislative director for energy policy at Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group that opposes Yucca Mountain, said all bets are riding on that deadline. "It really is at the make-or-break point right now," she said. The day after Democrats took control of Congress in last month's midterm elections, Reid told Nevada reporters that his new position did not mean he could single-handedly kill Yucca Mountain. Plenty of Reid's fellow Democrats backed the original plan to send waste to Nevada and continue to support it. But as leader, Reid can decide what bills come to the Senate floor, and he could have a heavy hand in slashing Yucca Mountain's annual $450 million budget, essentially starving the project of the money it needs to progress. Reid has long called for storing the waste where it is now, at dozens of nuclear power sites around the nation. His impending power as Senate majority leader prompted leaders of a pro-Yucca Mountain coalition last week to call on Reid to step aside, arguing that he should not abuse his leadership position for parochial interests. "Sen. Reid is now the majority leader, and he has to lead for the country," said LeRoy Koppendrayer, chairman of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Council, which represents states now holding waste at local nuclear power plants. "The majority of this country is in favor of nuclear energy." While the pro-Yucca coalition doubts Reid will try to eliminate funding for Yucca - the government sends $300 million to Nevada each year for the project, funding 1,400 jobs - it expects that he will simply try to starve it to dissolution. "He should remove himself from this debate because I do believe he is in a conflicted situation," said Jack Edlow, a founding member of the U.S. Transport Council, a waste-hauling advocacy group. Some saw those comments as a naive understanding of the way Washington works. Others viewed it as a provocative attention-grabber, one from which some in the industry distanced themselves. Because of Reid's ascension and other factors, Nevada's clout is much enhanced from what it was in 1987, when Congress chose Yucca Mountain over other potential sites for the waste repository. The government has spent $9 billion on Yucca Mountain, and costs could rise well above the projected $58 billion price tag. The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., has said he would like to hold oversight hearings on the costs. Last week, the Energy Department's project director, Edward "Ward" Sproat, said the recently announced 2017 opening date - already nearly 20 years behind schedule - was probably ambitious by about three years, due to expected lawsuits. Still, the nuclear industry remains confident that as the new Democratic Congress tackles the global warming issue, Yucca Mountain will remain on track. Some environmentalists believe nuclear power is a key component of the climate change debate because it is a cleaner energy source. And if you go nuclear, you need a place to store the waste. "The timely death of Yucca Mountain has been predicted many times - and it's not dead yet," said Craig Nesbit, spokesman for Exelon, which operates the nation's largest nuclear fleet and represents 20 percent of the country's nuclear industry capacity. With as many as 30 new applications expected to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year, some believe nuclear energy is poised for a renaissance. But after President Bush leaves office at the end of 2008, it is unclear whether a new administration would continue the push for a new nuclear era. The Nuclear Energy Institute has turned its sights to storing waste at some of the dozen sites nationwide that the Energy Department announced last week had received seed money to develop proposals for nuclear recycling facilities - a controversial, long-term plan to one day recycle spent nuclear fuel. "Maybe the best place to do it may be sites where you develop those," said the institute's Steven Kraft. "We've said that makes a lot of sense." Boyd, from the watchdog group, has been shopping a proposal to beef up security for the waste now stored at existing nuclear power plants. She said sooner or later, something's got to give. "I promise we will be here for another 20 years if we stay on this hamster circle ¦ unless somebody stands up and says this is not working," she said. "One can only hope there's only so much patience Congress has." Lisa Mascaro can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 65 Deseret News: 'Ground Up' discusses history of Utah mining [deseretnews.com] Sunday, December 3, 2006 By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News FROM THE GROUND UP: THE HISTORY OF MINING IN UTAH, edited by Colleen Whitley, Utah State University Press, 506 pages, $34.95 Mining has had an enormous impact on the social, cultural and economic history of Utah — yet there has never been one good book written on it. That has been corrected with this interesting, inclusive volume containing essays from a number of writers, most of them historians, some of them geologists and one journalist. Such prominent scholars as Thomas G. Alexander, Marti Bradley-Evans, Brigham D. Madsen and Allen Kent Powell treat such important topics as General Patrick Connor (the father of Utah mining), coal, uranium, beryllium, Iron County, Bingham Canyon, Silver Reef, Alta, the Cottonwoods and American Fork, Park City — even San Francisco. Madsen portrays the fascinating General Connor, "the prime mover in the start of mining operations in Utah Territory." His soldiers established the first large-scale mining districts in the early 1860s. He also recruited miners from the California gold camps who thought of themselves as miners first and soldiers second. Marti Bradley-Evans tells about the San Francisco mountain range, about 15 miles west of Milford, Utah. The mining district was established in 1871 and became an important source of silver, gold, lead and zinc. Frisco Peak, at 9,660 feet high, is one of Beaver County's most majestic physical features. Bradley-Evans notes that despite Brigham Young's admonitions to avoid mining for riches, many Mormon farmers succumbed to the temptation. The mineral veins in the San Francisco Mountains were so rich that Beaver became one of the most important mining centers in the West. Deseret Morning News writer Carma Wadley discusses some of the legendary stories miners told, such as superstitions regarding whistling underground, explosions and cave-ins, ghosts, dwarf-like creatures and many other mysterious incidents. She also tells of the strike-it-rich stories of miners whose "mules kicked up rocks that contained pieces of gold," those who threw away their picks in disgust only to have them land in rich veins — or the stirrup of a saddle breaking off a valuable piece of rock. To come to grips with the physical impact of mining in Utah, one can only gaze to the west of the modern Salt Lake Valley to what is called "the largest open-pit mine in the world," which today serves as a tell-tale example of what happens when people rape the land. E-mail: dennis@desnews.com © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 66 Salt Lake Tribune: Russia's tight grip on energy fuels fears in West By George Jahn The Associated PressArticle Last Updated:12/02/2006 11:29:34 PM Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with European Union Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Chief Javier Solana with Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, center, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Helsinki last month. + »For the West, the threat from Moscow was supposed to end with the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago. But Russia's growing energy clout is generating renewed cause for anxiety. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, set up in the early days of the Cold War to keep Soviet-led forces in check, has begun speaking out about the potent new energy lever being wielded by the Kremlin in the international struggle for influence. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that energy security was high on the agenda at its summit last week in Riga, Latvia. He noted that there was ''added value to NATO discussing energy and security policies.'' The main issue is natural gas. Russia is an oil giant, second only to the Saudis in exports. Europe depends on it for a quarter of the crude it consumes. But oil supplies can be diversified because shipping is easy, while the most efficient way of distributing gas is through pipelines. With Russia as the world's largest gas exporter, European dependency has grown to the point that the EU now counts on Moscow for nearly half of its gas needs. Moscow's control of pipelines that deliver not only gas from Russia but from much of central Asia is stoking Western unease. ''With gas, control over pipelines is crucial,'' says energy expert Michael Klare. ''Once you put oil on a tanker you cannot control it, but gas is different; whoever controls the pipelines controls the flow.'' Like NATO, U.S. officials also are warning of the dangers of allowing Russia a free hand in monopolizing gas shipments. And the European Union is trying - without success so far - to pry open the Russian grasp on gas and gas pipelines supplying EU member countries. Just last month, Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom announced it would develop the huge Shtokman gas field without foreign partners, in a fresh setback to Western oil companies looking to exploit the nation's vast hydrocarbon riches. At the same time, companies like BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA are fighting back-tax bills or threatened license annulments - apparently another reflection of the Kremlin's push to ensure that the state has a major role in all key energy projects. The two sides appeared to come no closer at an EU-Russia summit in Helsinki two week ago. Speaking to reporters Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin restated his opposition to giving foreign companies easy access to his country's energy sources or breaking up oil and gas state monopolies. Western concerns reflect a growing understanding that in the 21st century control of energy has become more than ever before a weapon of geopolitical advantage. Klare, author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency, says the world already has entered ''a new era, where energy has replaced nuclear weapons as the medium of superpower rivalry.'' ''Vladimir Putin believes that,'' says Klare, ''and he is moving to accumulate as much energy power as he can.'' As in the Cold War, Europe is the most vulnerable. It imports just over half of its energy needs but will depend on outside suppliers for 90 percent of its oil and 80 percent of its gas within 20 years. Moscow insists market forces are driving its price policy. But its allies, like Armenia, pay much less than its critics, like Georgia. Other surveys also draw worrying conclusions. A recently leaked confidential study by NATO economic experts warned Russia may be seeking to build a gas cartel, which includes Algeria, Qatar, Libya, the countries of central Asia and perhaps Iran, and cautioned that kind of OPEC-like near monopoly would strengthen Moscow's leverage over Europe. Russian bear's big paw A look at Russia's expanding control of pipelines and its use of natural gas as a political lever. * The Russian energy monopoly OAO Gazprom runs the only transit route for gas to Europe from Turkmenistan, the second-biggest gas producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia. * The Russians also either control most pipelines in other central Asian former Soviet republics or are trying to establish majority ownership.\\ * Russia recently increased natural gas prices for former Soviet republics - and temporarily shut off the flow last winter to Ukraine. Because 80 percent of the EU's gas deliveries flow through Ukraine, that led to brief but massive shortages in many EU nations, underlining Europe's dependency. Privacy Policy | MNG Corporate Site Map ***************************************************************** 67 Pasadena Star-News: Tackling a messy cleanup pasadenastarnews.com Launched:12/02/2006 06:05:07 PM PST IT'S a dirty little secret that environmental decisions are based on health and money. And we're convinced both are in play regarding the state Department of Health Services' future decision on how clean is clean when it comes to perchlorate. We can't say we blame the state on this one. Because any move by the state to drop the action level of 6 parts per billion (that's billion with a "b") to 4 ppb or 2 ppb will add millions and millions of dollars to the price tag for cleanup. Who will pick up this tab? Ratepayers, who already are seeing spikes in utility bills. A DHS move down to 4 ppb would mean many more wells delivering water will be shut and required to install cleanup equipment that costs $500,000 to $2 million per well. It's an expensive move. Already, the chemical additive perchlorate is found in concentrations above 6 ppb in 400-500 wells in the state. Here in the San Gabriel Valley area, the current price tag for cleaning up shut-down wells in polluted portions of the aquifer is $400 million. That's $400 million the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority, the agency in charge of the cleanup, does not have. In other words, we already have a Christmas list with no piggy bank to help fill it. Adding to the already unfunded mandate for ridding wells of minute amounts of this chemical, found in rocket fuel, road flares and other propellants, only compounds the problem. In fact, the result could be more delays in cleanup and more red tape. No, now is not the time to lower the cleanup threshold for perchlorate. Such a move would make things worse for the Valley's polluted aquifer. Instead, the state should be part of the solution by forking over funding for cleaning polluted wells to non-detectable levels of perchlorate. As it stands, the state has done more regulating and navel-contemplating than actual cleanup. The feds, on the other hand, thanks to local congressmen David Dreier and Adam Schiff, have delivered more than $70 million for local well cleanup. Also, the WQA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, local water producers and local water districts, have made strong headway in the cleanup, in part by dragging responsible parties (i.e. polluters) to the party and also by leading the way with treatment plants paid with up-front money. Recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has made tremendous progress in cleaning up ground water in downstream Pasadena and Altadena wells. The perchlorate problem - like the overall polluted groundwater - will not be going away any time soon, however. Not unless the San Gabriel Valley receives a Christmas gift of $400 million. So why complicate things more and make it much more expensive by changing the perchlorate "action level" in drinking water from the current 6 parts per billion? Until more study can show that 2more parts per billion (2 ppb is equal to one teaspoon of the chemical additive in an Olympic-size swimming pool) makes a difference to the public's health, the standard should not be changed. Funding cleanup of existing wells closed from perchlorate contamination should be the No. 1 agenda item for the state DHS. Copyright © 2006 Pasadena Star-News Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 68 Salt Lake Tribune: Keep your poisons Public Forum LetterArticle Last Updated:12/02/2006 01:53:50 PM MST Kevin J. Carney (Forum, Nov. 28) advised readers to find out about radioactivity. Radioactivity is the process of splitting up (decay) of the heavier isotopes of such elements as uranium, plutonium, iodine, sulfur and others. During decay, an isotope radiates - hence the name "radioactive" - alpha and beta particles and high-energy gamma rays. For uranium and other elements, radiation may last for thousands of years, penetrating human tissues and causing cancer, fetal deformity, miscarriage, brain tumors and other diseases. Mr. Carney mentions reaping "benefits." Utah has no nuclear power plant, so Utahns never reap any benefit. Utahns are victims. Ask downwinders. Former Gov. Olene Walker and Gov. Jon Huntsman are against dumping nuclear wastes on Utah. There are known alternatives to dumping on Utah. Put the poison in lead containers, stash them in a deep tunnel under a mountain. Stop nuclear power. It is energy-negative considering the energy for mining, uranium enrichment, transportation and waste management and monitoring for hundreds of years. States that produce poisons should keep them in-state. We don't. Nothing said here is a secret except the hidden greed of profiteers. Sam Ghosh Salt Lake City © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 69 Salt Lake Tribune: Miller defends arena name switch Paul Beebe and Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake TribuneArticle Last Updated:12/02/2006 02:10:47 AM + Delta Center's out, EnergySolutions Arena is inSANDY - Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller defended the new name on his basketball arena - and EnergySolutions' business practices - this week, saying he researched the company and nuclear waste handling. Miller said the low-level radiation stored by EnergySolutions is "not a real threat to you." He also confirmed an escape clause for "extreme situations" permits either side to end the deal, which changed the Delta Center in Salt Lake City into the EnergySolutions Arena. Environmental groups and Jazz fans have criticized associating the arena with a company that transports and stores nuclear waste. Miller said he had expected criticism. "What people don't want to give us credit for, the ones that are the detractors, is that we've gone in and looked at what they do," he said, "what kind of business citizens they are, how they conduct business, what kind of jobs they create and what kind of risks they create." His conclusion? "There's a lot of stuff on our roads, our highways and our railroads that are more dangerous" than low-level nuclear radiation. "You wouldn't want to build your house on it, but it's not a real threat to you in the way higher levels of nuclear waste would be," Miller said. "And that's all they intend to deal with." He declined to elaborate on what would constitute an "extreme situation" that could end the deal, announced Nov. 20. Miller spoke about the naming agreement Thursday at the dedication of the state's new police academy, to which he and his wife, Gail Miller, donated $21 million. EnergySolutions and Miller have not said what the storage firm paid for the 10-year agreement. Miller again declined to give a figure Thursday, saying only that the sum is more than his academy donation. Steve Creamer, EnergySolutions' CEO, said the move is part of a campaign to educate the public that disposing of low-level radioactive waste is not dangerous. While considering the offer, Miller said, his entertainment business received information from EnergySolutions and sought to verify it with independent sources. Miller also received written input from scientists, he said. Miller said he has heard complaints from Utahns, but when he asks them about nuclear waste and storage, they cannot provide answers. "I would ask them before they just hit a panic button when they hear the word 'nuclear waste' that they at least understand what it is that's done there, stored there, what that business is about," he said. He later added: "I want to listen and learn and see what [people have] got to say if it's rational." HEAL Utah, which demonstrated as Jazz fans entered the arena Wednesday, wants to take Miller up on that offer. Vanessa Pierce, executive director of the Salt Lake City-based environmental group, argues the name appears to be an invitation to the world. "We might as well hang a big arrow over the state that says, 'Dump your nuclear waste here,' " Pierce said. She also questioned Miller's research. "Getting the facts about nuclear waste from them is like getting the facts about tobacco from Philip Morris," she said. Other opposition has included an Internet petition at www.dontdumpthejazz.com. Site founder Ryan Steffes, a 24-year-old Utah Valley State College student, said he dislikes having the arena associated with a company bringing waste into Utah. A secondary issue: "It sounds terrible for a sports arena," Steffes said. Steffes acknowledges he is not well educated about nuclear waste - but he questioned whether Miller's research was aimed only at justifying the name. "It just seems like they're covering their bases," Steffes said. The new name has inspired nicknames that include "The Tox Box," "The Melt-A Center" and "The Dump." Miller, who made much of his fortune owning auto dealerships, said he's concerned about American dependence on oil and wants the country to seek alternatives, such as ethanol, solar and wind power. "I think nuclear energy has to be considered as a relevant energy source for the next 100 years and beyond, and at some point we develop the other technologies," Miller said. The arena had been named for Delta Air Lines since it opened in 1991. The airline wanted to extend its naming rights until it finished bankruptcy proceedings in one or two years, Miller said. But Delta never specified a contract length or payment amount, he said. "Maybe" two other companies were serious bidders, Miller added. pbeebe@sltrib.com, ncarlisle@sltrib.com ***************************************************************** 70 SGVTribune.com: Water safety panel a fabrication? By Fred Ortega Staff Writer An environmental organization claims that a group funded by manufacturing and aerospace companies - including one found liable for contaminating the San Gabriel Valley Water Basin - used misleading research and tobacco industry-style lobbying to influence the debate on the effects of perchlorate. In a report released last week, Los Angeles-based Environment California says that more than half of all studies on the health effects of perchlorate published between 1995 and 2005 were funded by the Perchlorate Study Group. During that same period, the National Institutes of Health funded only 10 percent of the research. The Perchlorate Study Group was founded in response to efforts to regulate the potentially dangerous chemical in drinking water. It was bankrolled by companies including Kerr McGee Chemical Corp., Lockheed Martin and Aerojet-General Corp. Aerojet has already paid millions to help build a groundwater treatment plant in Baldwin Park to help remove pollutants introduced into the water table at its former plant in Azusa. The company has also been sued in federal court to clean up pollution allegedly leaked from its old facilities in South El Monte. Medical studies on human exposure to perchlorate, a primary ingredient in rocket fuel, have suggested it has an adverse effect on thyroid function and that high doses could be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children. The report quotes internal Aerojet documents suggesting that the Perchlorate Study Group was formed to give the federal government a "scientific based argument" to justify a higher "safe dose" in drinking water. That would reduce the amount of the chemical the company would be forced to clean up at its sites. The Perchlorate Study Group has lobbied for maximum contaminant levels of 200 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water, much higher than the 24.5 ppb threshold favored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the 6 ppb limit being considered by the state of California. One part per billion is equivalent to about a half-teaspoon in an Olympic-size swimming pool. The report also accused the study group of hiring the public relations firm APCO - the same company hired by Phillip Morris to fight anti-tobacco regulations - to help undermine the case for thorough perchlorate cleanup. Officials for Aerojet did not return multiple calls seeking comment for this story. The Environment California report criticized the Perchlorate Study Group's use of so-called ecological studies in nearly half of the studies it sponsored. Ecological studies look for direct evidence of adverse health effects in communities with perchlorate contamination. "It is a general principle of epidemiology that these types of studies have limitations and cannot prove that exposure to a chemical has no effect," wrote Sujatha Jahagirdar, one of the authors of the report. While she acknowledged the usefulness of ecological studies, USC researcher Dr. Wendy Cozen said the method is a type of short cut used by many researchers. "One of the problems is that when you are looking at a large area, how do you know the people in all those homes are actually drinking that water, or that they don't strictly rely on bottled water?" said Cozen, an associate professor at USC's Keck School of Medicine and an epidemiologist with the university's Cancer Surveillance Program. For a study with concrete proof, Cozen said a case-controlled study would be needed. "That is where you actually go in and ask people who are sick or not sick, exposed or not exposed, to see if there is a connection between the disease \," she said. An official for the state agency tasked with recommending perchlorate limits in drinking water said that his office reviewed all studies available on perchlorate to reach its decision, including those funded by the Perchlorate Study Group. "But when we evaluate them, we look at the actual data produced by the study, with less regard to the interpretation of the data by the study authors," said Dr. George Alexeef, deputy director of scientific affairs for the Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment. Alexeef noted that his office stuck to its 6 ppb recommendation over the recommendations of some of the study group's representatives, who argued for 200 ppb during public hearings held recently in Sacramento. "In our reports we did discuss many of the limitations on these ecological epidemiologic studies," Alexeef said. "Many times you are less likely to see an effect in those types of study designs." (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2306 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 71 Whittier Daily News: Group hits perchlorate study tactics Misleading data alleged By Fred Ortega Staff Writer An environmental organization claims that a group funded by manufacturing and aerospace companies - including one found liable for contaminating the San Gabriel Valley Water Basin - used misleading research and tobacco industry-style lobbying to influence the debate on the effects of perchlorate. In a report released last week, Los Angeles-based Environment California says that more than half of all studies on the health effects of perchlorate published between 1995 and 2005 were funded by the Perchlorate Study Group. During that same period, the National Institutes of Health funded only 10 percent of the research. The Perchlorate Study Group was founded in response to efforts to regulate the potentially dangerous chemical in drinking water. It was bankrolled by companies including Kerr McGee Chemical Corp., Lockheed Martin and Aerojet-General Corp. Aerojet has already paid millions to help build a groundwater treatment plant in Baldwin Park to help remove pollutants introduced into the water table at its former plant in Azusa. The company has also been sued in federal court to clean up pollution allegedly leaked from its old facilities in South El Monte. Medical studies on human exposure to perchlorate, a primary ingredient in rocket fuel, have suggested it has an adverse effect on thyroid function and that high doses could be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children. The report quotes internal Aerojet documents suggesting that the Perchlorate Study Group was formed to give the federal government a "scientific based argument" to justify a higher "safe dose" in drinking water. That would reduce the amount of the chemical the company would be forced to clean up at its sites. The Perchlorate Study Group has lobbied for maximum contaminant levels of 200 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water, much higher than the 24.5 ppb threshold favored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the 6 ppb limit being considered by the state of California. One part per billion is equivalent to about a half-teaspoon in an Olympic-size swimming pool. The report also accused the study group of hiring the public relations firm APCO - the same company hired by Phillip Morris to fight anti-tobacco regulations - to help undermine the case for thorough perchlorate cleanup. Officials for Aerojet did not return multiple calls seeking comment for this story. The Environment California report criticized the Perchlorate Study Group's use of so-called ecological studies in nearly half of the studies it sponsored. Ecological studies look for direct evidence of adverse health effects in communities with perchlorate contamination. "It is a general principle of epidemiology that these types of studies have limitations and cannot prove that exposure to a chemical has no effect," wrote Sujatha Jahagirdar, one of the authors of the report. While she acknowledged the usefulness of ecological studies, USC researcher Dr. Wendy Cozen said the method is a type of short cut used by many researchers. "One of the problems is that when you are looking at a large area, how do you know the people in all those homes are actually drinking that water, or that they don't strictly rely on bottled water?" said Cozen, an associate professor at USC's Keck School of Medicine and an epidemiologist with the university's Cancer Surveillance Program. For a study with concrete proof, Cozen said a case-controlled study would be needed. "That is where you actually go in and ask people who are sick or not sick, exposed or not exposed, to see if there is a connection between the disease \," she said. An official for the state agency tasked with recommending perchlorate limits in drinking water said that his office reviewed all studies available on perchlorate to reach its decision, including those funded by the Perchlorate Study Group. se types of study designs." (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2306 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 72 UCS: DOE Proposes Nuclear Waste Dumps for 11 Communities November 30, 2006 The Union of Concerned Scientists condemned yesterday's decision by the Department of Energy (DOE) to award $16 million in grants to 11 U.S. communities to begin studying their suitability for hosting two dangerous new nuclear facilities. The plan is part of the administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and if realized, would pose serious health, safety and environmental risks to the communities where the plants are located. The plan also would make it far easier for terrorists to gain access to materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons or potent dirty bombs. "Any community accepting one of these facilities is also accepting a de facto nuclear waste dump in their midst," said Dr. Edwin Lyman, senior staff scientist at the UCS Global Security Program. "People living near these proposed new nuclear sites have the right to know the truth and should have a say about the dangerous facilities that some of their elected officials want to bring into their communities." The first of the two planned facilities is a treatment center where spent fuel from nuclear plants around the country would be brought for long-term storage and then reprocessed to extract plutonium and other highly radiotoxic materials. Plutonium can be used to build nuclear weapons and less than 20 pounds are needed to build a simple nuclear weapon. "Reprocessing is dirty, dangerous and expensive," Dr. Lyman explained. "Reprocessing plants generate large quantities of highly radioactive waste in easily dispersible and potentially explosive forms, making them attractive targets for terrorists seeking to disperse radiation throughout the area. They also routinely release radioactive garbage into the environment, contaminating air and water. Extracting the plutonium makes it easier for terrorists to get their hands on the materials needed to make a nuclear weapon." A small fraction of the material extracted in the treatment center would be fabricated into fuel for use in the second facility, an "advanced burner reactor" (ABR). The ABR is an experimental type of nuclear reactor far riskier than the "light-water" nuclear reactors used today. "Fast reactors like the ABR are much more dangerous than conventional light-water reactors because they have a much higher risk of experiencing a runaway nuclear chain reaction that could lead to an explosion like the Chernobyl accident," Dr. Lyman added. "The last thing you want is an explosion in a reactor with tons of plutonium in the core." Even after reprocessing, all the highly radioactive fission products and most of the plutonium and other actinides will remain stored at the site until final disposal plans are developed and implemented. Given the major obstacles to locating a final disposal site, any community hosting the treatment center will likely remain a nuclear waste storage site for the indefinite future. "Members of the public in these areas would be wise to reject DOE's dirty millions and avoid this toxic legacy," said Dr. Lyman. Reporters: Join our notification listto receive breaking news from UCS. For general media inquiries, please call our press office at 202-331-5420. Press Contacts: EMILY ROBINSON Press Secretary 202-331-5427 erobinson@ucsusa.org AARON HUERTAS Assistant Press Secretary 202-331-5458 ahuertas@ucsusa.org RICH HAYES Media Director 202-331-5437 rhayes@ucsusa.org © Union of Concerned Scientists Page Last Revised: 12/01/06 ***************************************************************** 73 PE.com: Pickets demand groundwater cleanup Inland Southern California | Inland News PERCHLORATE: A firm that did rocket testing 45 years ago is accused of downplaying health risks. 10:00 PM PST on Friday, December 1, 2006 Massiel LadróN De Guevara The Press-Enterprise About 20 Rialto residents, a city councilman and representatives of nonprofit organizations gathered with signs in front of the Goodrich Corp. facility in Riverside on Friday, demanding that the corporation clean up perchlorate contamination in groundwater. The protestors claimed Goodrich and other corporations have funded extensive efforts to downplay the health risks associated with perchlorate and have refused to clean up groundwater they polluted with the chemical. "Goodrich has denied they had a plant where they tested rockets in Rialto. Yet several years ago, under one of our schools, a rocket manufactured in Rialto around 1960 with Goodrich's name on it was found," said City Councilman Ed Scott. Gail Warner, director of media relations for Goodrich, said in a statement that the company conducted research and development in Rialto, with some production of missiles, from about 1957 to 1963. The company reached an interim agreement in 2003 to begin water treatment on public water wells in Rialto, Colton and Fontana, she wrote. In 2005, Goodrich entered an interim settlement agreement with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to schedule further investigation of contamination and is continuing to work with the board, she wrote. Rialto and its public utility sued Goodrich and 41 other agencies and companies in January 2004 over perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate is a component of rocket fuel and fireworks that is believed to interfere with thyroid function and brain development. Fetuses and newborns are most at risk. The chemical has contaminated six of Rialto's wells. The Environmental California Research and Policy Center published a report that claims Goodrich and other corporations accused of contaminating the groundwater have tried to mislead the public and decision makers about the health risks associated with the chemical. Narene Deischer said she was protesting because she drank the city's tap water during two pregnancies in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, before residents had information about perchlorate contamination. "One child died nine days after being born and the other child has several illnesses on the list of problems perchlorate can cause," Deischer said. She said her children who were born in Los Angeles don't have those problems. Reach Massiel Ladrón De Guevara at 909-806-3054 or mdeguevara@PE.comMore headlines... 2006, The Press-Enterprise Company ***************************************************************** 74 AU ABC: Inquiry expected to recommend uranium mine ban rethink. 04/12/2006. ABC News Online Inquiry expected to recommend uranium mine ban rethink A federal parliamentary inquiry is today expected to recommend that the state bans on new uranium mines should be lifted. The committee has taken extensive evidence on Australia's uranium resources. It is understood the call for more mines will be endorsed by the three Labor members of the committee but they will reject any nuclear power or uranium enrichment. The Labor Party will vote on changes to its uranium policy at next year's national conference. ***************************************************************** 75 Eureka Reporter: Planning, nuclear commissions to meet 12/2/2006 Arcatas Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and Peace Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Arcata City Managers Conference Room in City Hall, 736 F St. Agenda items include the banned vendors list, purchase orders for the past three months, the commissions annual report to the City Council, budget priorities and fundraising, Community Action Day 2007 plans, participation in the season of nonviolence and a subcommittee report on the brochure for Arcata GIs. Also on Tuesday, at 7 p.m., the Planning Commission will meet in the Arcata City Council Chamber, City Hall, to review the draft Land Use Code. Finally, the study session between the Arcata City Council and Transportation Safety Committee scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date. For more information on any of these meetings, phone the City Managers Office at 707-822-5953. Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 76 UCS: Major Plutonium Study Eliminates Rationale for New Nuclear Weapons Push "Union of Concerned Scientists November 30, 2006 Statement by Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund, Co-Director, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists "New findings on the aging of plutonium in nuclear warheads, which were released today by the Department of Energy (DOE), demonstrate that current warheads will remain dependable for many decades to come. This research eliminates a major rationale for two DOE nuclear weapons initiatives: the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Program, under which all current U.S. nuclear warheads would be replaced with newly designed warheads over the next two to three decades; and the Complex 2030 proposal to rebuild the U.S. nuclear weapons complex by 2030. "The plutonium aging studies released today find that the plutonium cores (or pits) for nuclear weapons have minimum lifetimes of at least 85 years and, in most cases, at least 100 years. DOE has previously argued that new RRW warheads were necessary to address concerns about the potential degradation in weapon performance over time due either to the aging of the plutonium metal or to small changes resulting from the manufacturing process if the plutonium pit was remanufactured to compensate for plutonium aging. The studies make clear such concerns are unwarranted. "Under the RRW program, several different new warheads would be designed and produced, and these would be fielded without nuclear explosive testing. The Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories have each submitted a new RRW design, and by the end of this year DOE is scheduled to choose one of these for development and production. It is now clear that moving forward with an RRW design is unnecessary. "DOE's Complex 2030 proposal should also be put on hold, since it is premised on the need to develop and produce several different types of RRWs. "Rather than needing new nuclear weapons or a new weapons complex, the United States needs a thorough review of its outdated nuclear weapons policy. U.S. nuclear policy has experienced little change since the Cold War and the United States still maintains thousands of nuclear weapons on high alert. A full discussion of the purpose and structure of the U.S. nuclear arsenal must precede any new investments in nuclear weapons." Contact Reporters: Join our notification listto receive breaking news from UCS. For general media inquiries, please call our press office at 202-331-5420. Press Contacts: EMILY ROBINSON Press Secretary 202-331-5427 erobinson@ucsusa.org RICH HAYES Media Director 202-331-5437 rhayes@ucsusa.org © Union of Concerned Scientists Page Last Revised: 12/01/06 ***************************************************************** 77 CONTRA COSTA TIMES: With rich past, lab sets bold course Posted on Sat, Dec. 02, 2006 By Betsy Mason [The dome of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory under construction in this undated photo.] Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory The dome of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory under construction in this undated photo. More photos + Timeline of Lawrence Berkeley Lab BERKELEY - The National Laboratories system comprises 17 labs in 12 states with a combined budget near $10 billion, and it all started with the small but ambitious lab that Ernest Orlando Lawrence built. This year, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the birth of the first national lab in a small wooden building on the UC Berkeley campus where a visionary young man built the first circular particle accelerator. Lawrence's 5-inch-diameter cyclotron would pave the way for a series of ever larger accelerators, a Nobel Prize for Lawrence, and the construction a decade later of a 184-inch cyclotron in the hills above campus. It was a machine like no other, and it changed the face of physics forever. "In a way, we are really celebrating the birth of our National Laboratory system," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman at an anniversary celebration in Berkeley earlier this month. "Over the 75 years, this laboratory's contributions to discovery and scientific progress have been nothing short of extraordinary." Today, Berkeley lab's goals are no less lofty than those of its namesake. Ten more Nobel laureates and tens of major discoveries and groundbreaking innovations later, the lab is bursting at the seams with ambition. Building on the lab's traditions, scientists are poised to address some of the most pressing scientific and technological challenges facing the country and the world, including global warming, alternative energy, cancer and the malaria epidemic, to name a few. Steve Chu, the lab's sixth director and a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, has grand plans for Berkeley lab's future and the Lawrencian wherewithal and gumption to bring those plans to fruition. In addition to the Molecular Foundry, the nation's premier nanoscience facility, which opened in March, Chu envisions state-of-the-art facilities growing up all over the lab's cramped 200-acre campus. On the hillside just below the Molecular Foundry, the seeds have been planted for an energy research program dubbed "Helios" for its focus on developing inexpensive solar energy technology. Once just a wish-list item, the Helios facility is on its way to becoming reality thanks largely to Chu's determination. Through fundraising efforts reminiscent of Lawrence's push to get his $1.4 million cyclotron built, Chu has collected expressions of support for nearly $100 million. "Groups of scientists, both at the lab and on campus, have really become energized to see what we can do to harness the energy of the sun and also to turn this energy into the most precious form of energy we use today: transportation fuel," Chu said. UC Berkeley and the lab are also competing for a $500 million, 10-year grant from BP to create a bioenergy institute. The winner will be announced in late December. The lab's centerpiece for more than a decade has been the Advanced Light Source, a football-sized X-ray machine known as a synchrotron that attracts scientists from around the world. The 35 X-ray beams, each a hundred million times brighter than those at a dentist's office, can be used for everything from studying internal workings of cells to unraveling the solar system's history by analyzing grains of interplanetary dust. Although the light source will evolve to be a useful facility for years to come, Chu is already busy thinking bigger or, more aptly, faster. A proposal is being drawn up for a 350-meter-long tunnel through the hillside to hold a free-electron laser that could deliver concentrated pulses of electrons at a rate of 100,000 per second. This superfast laser could capture the motions of individual atoms that take place in a few hundred attoseconds, or billionths of a billionth of a second, much like a fastball pitch is frozen by a camera with a fast shutter speed. Testing of a prototype laser is scheduled to start before the end of the year. In addition to big thinking about new facilities, Lawrence's spirit lives on at Berkeley lab in other ways. As soon as he had a working cyclotron that could boost the energy of atoms and fling them at a target to smash open their nuclei, Lawrence began recruiting some of the best physicists, chemists and engineers in the world, several of whom would win Nobel Prizes for their work with the cyclotrons. Lawrence's team included Glenn Seaborg and Edwin McMillan, who shared a Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery of several elements, including plutonium and seaborgium. Luis Alvarez received a Nobel for discovering short-lived particles in the nucleus of atoms known as resonance states and later discovered that an asteroid impact caused the dinosaurs to go extinct. And Emilio Segrč shared the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the antiproton. Berkeley lab continues to attract world-class scientists and added an eleventh Nobel Prize-winner this year for George Smoot's discovery of irregularities in the radiation emitted by the big bang that eventually gave rise to the stars and galaxies of today. And Chu believes there may be a few more Nobels brewing at the lab, including one for Saul Perlmutter's discovery of dark energy and the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. "If I had to sum up the 75 years of Berkeley lab, it would be the people," said Robert Dynes, the president of the University of California, which manages the lab for the Department of Energy. Another of Lawrence's legacies is the emphasis on multidisciplinary research. He wasn't satisfied with just physics and chemistry, so early on, he invited physicians to the lab to study radioisotopes. These radioactive forms of elements -- produced by bombarding the elements with neutrons in the cyclotron -- can be used for diagnosis and treatment of disease. Today, around a quarter of the lab's $500 million budget goes to medical, biological and environmental research. Biologist Jay Keasling is an example of the top-notch life science researchers at Berkeley lab. Keasling heads the lab's synthetic biology department and was selected as Discover magazine's scientist of the year. His work on the genetic engineering of microbes to mass produce drugs is a promising weapon in the fight against malaria, which kills as many as 3 million people each year. Now Keasling has set his sights on engineering plants for ethanol and other biofuels. "We intend to make the Bay Area the synthetic biology capitol of the world," Keasling said at a scientific symposium to mark the anniversary earlier this month. Mina Bissell's discovery that the environment outside the cells in the breast play a critical role in determining whether those cells will grow into breast cancer has opened the doors to a whole new field of research she hopes will pave the way for a new class of cancer treatments. "Why does it make so much sense to do cell and cancer biology at a national lab? Complexity," said the Berkeley lab chemist. "To understand how at any given time your billions of cells know what to do and why will take multidisciplinary interaction between biologists, chemists, physicists, engineers, bioengineers, theoretical biologists and all those who think outside the box." Berkeley lab continues to work on science and technology that can be applied to challenges facing the world. But the lab also fosters the kind of fundamental science that is becoming increasingly difficult to do outside the national laboratory system. Many of the lab's researchers say the freedom to pursue science for the sake of science is critical to the nation's place as a scientific leader, and to the future of science in general. Many of the lab's great discoveries were made by scientists given the time, space and funding to pursue their interests and to think big like Lawrence did. Smoot credits his Nobel Prize in part to this aspect of the lab. "It was a place where I was not only given the freedom and the resources to do the research, but shown the style of how to do the research," he said after winning his prize in October. "It was: Pick out the best science you can do and do it. That was so liberating. "That was the thing that really made it so that I could think about science that was out of the ordinary and into a new field," he said. Energy Secretary Bodman called the lab sacred ground for American science and engineering. "I truly revere what you have accomplished and expect more from you in the future," he said. If he were alive, Lawrence would heartily second that sentiment. Betsy Mason covers science and the national laboratories. Reach her at 925-847-2158 or bmason@cctimes.com. Some comments posted below may be reviewed before they are displayed, including submissions with hyperlinks or with language that our word filters flag. The Contra Costa Times ***************************************************************** 78 SF New Mexican: Nuclear weapons: NNSA nearing decision on design of warhead By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican December 2, 2006 Domenici supports program; Bingaman questions its necessity Top military leaders have given the green light to the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, aimed at providing a new warhead design for the country's nuclear weapons. But Congress must agree to build the warhead, and New Mexico's senators already have issued differing opinions on the matter. The decision to go forward with the Reliable Replacement Warhead as a strategy was made by the Nuclear Weapons Council, which includes chairman Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense; Linton Brooks of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and others. The council is looking at two competing designs for the warhead, including one from Los Alamos National Laboratory and one from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. No decision was made on the winning design, but one is expected in the next few weeks, the NNSA reported Friday. "The Nuclear Weapons Council showed confidence in our weapons laboratories, including LANL, and I believe that confidence is well placed," said U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. The program is about designing a weapon that's safer to store and defend and less expensive to make and maintain, Domenici said. He also recommended the council, at its next meeting, pick one lab to complete the design and develop the first warhead. "From there, the three nuclear weapons laboratory directors should provide recommendations on the inclusion of the best features from each design to improve the margins, reduce risk and increase safety and security to the weapon," Domenici said. U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has said a new report confirms the country's weapons do not need new plutonium pit manufacturing. Pits are the triggers for the weapons. And regarding the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program, Bingaman wants the Senate to look at whether it's needed. "Senator Bingaman very much wants hearings in the Armed Services Committee as early as possible next year to study the report and to see what the right policy is for the country," spokeswoman Jude McCartin said. The design competition between Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore began more than a year ago. The goal is "to determine whether a replacement warhead could enable long-term confidence in the performance of the current stockpile without a return to underground nuclear testing," the NNSA said in a news release Friday. Once a decision is reached on a winning design, the Department of Defense and NNSA will study detailed cost estimates for the program. "A move to the engineering development and production engineering phase will require Congressional approval," NNSA said. Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com. Terms of Use | ©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, ***************************************************************** 79 Hanford News: Fluor named top company for safety This story was published Friday, December 1st, 2006 By the Herald staff Fluor Corporate and Fluor Hanford were jointly named one of America's Safest Companies for 2006 by Occupational Hazards magazine in a list of 10. The 3,500 employees of Fluor Hanford and its subcontractors at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site are engaged in one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the world. Since 2002, Occupational Hazards magazine, a monthly publication of Penton Media, has been recognizing safe companies across America. The program is open to companies that demonstrate their safety process includes support from management, employee involvement, innovative solutions to safety challenges, injury and illness rates lower than average for their industries, comprehensive safety-related educational programs for employees, and good communication with workers about the value of safety. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 80 Hanford News: Hanford contracts could steer cleanup for next 10 years This story was published Friday, December 1st, 2006 By Shannon Dininny, Associated Press Writer YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Energy is getting ready to bid out three contracts at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation - nothing new in terms of the federal government's long-running environmental cleanup at the former weapons facility. But these contracts - worth potentially billions of dollars - would be among the largest at Hanford and could steer cleanup at the highly contaminated site for the next 10 years. "Very significant," Todd Martin, chairman of the Hanford Advisory Board, said when asked to describe the importance of the new contracts. "These will be very important in determining whether cleanup ultimately is successful over the next few years." For 40 years, the Hanford reservation made plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal, beginning with the top-secret Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb. Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Cleanup costs are expected to total as much as $60 billion, with the work to continue until 2035. The contracts to go out to bid are substantial as well. Fluor Hanford currently holds the contract to retrieve and dispose of waste from Hanford's central plateau. Among other things, the contract requires monitoring and remediation of contaminated groundwater and cleanup of the Plutonium Finishing Plant, which was the last stop in converting plutonium nitrate solutions into pure plutonium "buttons" for atomic bombs. Through September 2006, the five-year contract with a five-year extension was valued at $7.87 billion. The Energy Department further extended the contract by as long as 24 months for $1.3 billion while it accepts bids for a new contract to start in 2008. Meanwhile, CH2M Hill Hanford Group since 2000 has managed Hanford's 177 underground tanks, which hold a stew of toxic and radioactive waste. Many of the tanks have leaked into the aquifer, threatening the groundwater and the nearby Columbia River. The contract was valued at $2.7 billion through September 2006, with a $500 million extension of up to 24 months. The Energy Department has now added a third contract to the mix, reassigning some of the duties currently covered under Fluor's contract. These so-called "mission support" duties include safety and security, information technology and road work. "The main thing we're trying to look at with these contracts is to make sure there's no disconnects between contractors," said Ken Niles, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Energy, which makes recommendations to the federal agency. "Over the years, that has been one of the problems with Hanford cleanup - there have been gray areas in terms of contractor responsibilities." Niles, whose agency is preparing comments for the Energy Department's draft request for proposals, also raised concerns that only companies with an insider-knowledge of Hanford could attempt to bid on the contracts. "It's always positive to maybe take a new look at something that has had some struggles," he said. "The drawback to that, though, is it almost always means lost time and added costs. You'd have the new folks trying to find their way. "There's a little bit of good and little bit of bad in both," he said. Washington state generally doesn't get involved with the Energy Department's contracting process, said Joye Redfield-Wilder, spokeswoman for the state Department of Ecology. "Our main concern is that the Energy Department hire contractors that can conduct a quality cleanup and that they are in compliance with the milestones - that the work in no way is hampered or slowed down," she said. Others are already raising concerns about the Energy Department's draft request for proposals. Gerry Pollet, executive director of the Seattle-based Hanford watchdog group Heart of America Northwest, criticized the short time frame for comments - they're due Dec. 22 - for such a massive project. He also faulted the incentive-laden contracts that often steer contractors to completing work that might not be most crucial or time-sensitive. "Contractors are like anyone else - they do what they're paid to do, and out of what they're paid to do, they choose to do the things they have the highest profit from," Pollet said. The last large contract the Energy Department awarded took two years to resolve following disputes among bidders, workers and the department itself. The agency eventually awarded the $1.9 billion contract to clean up the 210-square-mile Columbia River Corridor to Washington Closure LLC in March 2005. The Energy Department also is in the process of renegotiating its contract with Bechtel, the company hired to build a massive waste treatment plant that has been mired in cost overruns and delays, and is accepting bids for the contract to manage the nearby Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. With all of that going on, the latest bidding process is almost certain to result in delays in cleanup, Martin said. "There is absolutely no doubt that this system is not very nimble when it comes to these large contracts and awarding them in an efficient manner and then transitioning to a new contractor," he said. "Changing of the letterhead can take a lot of money and a lot of time." © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 81 Hanford News: Sisters seek benefits for ill workers: Petition filed that may make it easier for Hanford workers to get OK for payments This story was published Friday, December 1st, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Two retired sisters have filed a petition that might make it easier for Hanford workers to be approved for compensation for cancers potentially caused by exposure to radiation. The petition has been qualified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, which means the agency agrees that all required information has been provided. NIOSH now has 180 days to evaluate the petition. The petition covers all Hanford employees from 1942 through 1990 - which includes the nuclear reservation's plutonium production years - who developed any of 22 cancers. They or their survivors would be eligible for $150,000 in compensation from the federal government and coverage of medical expenses. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., urged the agency Thursday to give the petition a thorough and fair review. "Too many of these workers have waited years for help," Cantwell said in a statement. "We need to get them the help they deserve without any further delays." Now, Hanford workers and their survivors receive compensation for radiation-related cancers only if the federal government determines there is at least a 50 percent chance that radiation exposure at work caused the cancer. However, certain workers at other sites, such as the Nevada Test Site, don't have to meet the 50 percent threshold. The federal government has determined that it's not feasible to determine whether radiation likely caused their illness, often because monitoring was inadequate or radiation records are not available. Rosemary Hoyt, of Lyle, and her sister, Mary Ann Carrico, believe their father's death at the age of 47 likely was caused by working at Hanford. He did construction and maintenance work at the nuclear reservation from 1942 until 1961, when he could no longer pass the physical because of colon cancer, Hoyt said. She and her sister applied for compensation, but have twice been denied.When their father's estimated dose of radiation was compiled using availablehistorical records, the government decided the chance of the cancer being caused by Hanford radiation exposure was just41 percent. The family does not have a history of cancer, Hoyt said. Before the sisters filed their petition for Special Exposure Cohort status, Carrico traveled to Richland and contacted people they had known growing up in Richland and others they'd heard about through word of mouth. "My sister interviewed people and came up with heartbreaking stories," Hoyt said. The children of one deceased worker shared a memoir he'd written that described workers being coerced into falsifying records, Hoyt said. Workers kept their own monitoring records and if they met the radiation limit, they were sent home without pay, according to the memoir. But the petition finally qualified for review not on descriptions from individual workers, but on grounds raised in an 2005 audit prepared by S. Cohen and Associates. It looked at a case history compiled for Hanford to help the government determine which individual cases of cancer might be linked to work at Hanford. Cantwell is urging NIOSH to consider whether the findings of the audit suggest that insufficient data on worker radiation exposure between 1944 and 1968 may lead to ill workers unfairly being denied compensation. The audit found potentially significant exposures of reactor workers to unmeasured neutrons and unplanned airborne releases of radionuclides, according to Cantwell's staff. The report noted inconsistencies over time in recording worker radiation exposure and insufficient measurements taken for internal exposure to recycled uranium, her staff said. To date, 496 Hanford workers or their survivors have received the $150,000 payment because they developed cancer or berylliosis, a rare lung disease. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 82 washingtonpost.com: New Nuclear Weapons Program To Continue - By Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 2, 2006; Page A07 The Nuclear Weapons Council, made up of senior Defense Department and National Nuclear Security Administration officials, said yesterday that they plan to continue developing a new nuclear weapons program even though recent studies suggested that existing stockpiles are in better condition than had been thought. The announcement comes just two days after the release of studies by the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories showing that plutonium triggers in currently stockpiled weapons will remain reliable for 90 to 100 years. A major reason for starting the new weapons program -- known as the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) -- was the belief that highly radioactive plutonium would degrade so much within 45 years that it could affect the reliability of the weapons in the current stockpile, many of which were built in the late 1960s. The Nuclear Weapons Council determined that competing designs submitted by both national labs could result in reliable warheads "without underground testing," a key requirement of the program. The council members are expected to choose one of the two designs in the next few weeks and to develop cost estimates. Moving to the next phase of warhead development will require the approval of Congress, which will be controlled by Democrats next year. Some members of Congress have said the plutonium studies raised questions about the need for the RRW program. (R-Ohio), considered the father of the RRW program, said yesterday that, based on the plutonium studies, "they should take a breath because there are lots of demand for money." He added: "Congress is not going to be as robust about this though there is a need to have some scientific work done." Yesterday, Jr. (D-S.C.), the incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee, said it may be time to review not only the RRW program but also the Bush administration's 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which established the underlying need for nuclear weapons over the next 20 years. (R-N.M.) yesterday hailed the council decision to proceed with RRW, saying it could lead to "a weapon that is safer to store and defend, more reliable, and less costly to manufacture and maintain." Domenici, whose state is home to the Los Alamos laboratory, is currently chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that handles funds for the NNSA. Robert W. Nelson, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that based on the recently released plutonium studies, the submarine-launched warhead up for replacement under the RRW program, the W-76, has a minimum age for reliability of about 85 years. Production of the W-76, the warhead for the Trident I and Trident II sub-launched missiles, began in 1978 and ended in 1987, during which time about 3,000 were turned out. The Trident I can carry up to eight warheads, the Trident II up to 14. The Bush NPR contemplated reducing deployed warheads, then totaling about 3,800, to a level of 1,700 to 2,200 by 2012. At the same time there would be a non-deployed stockpile of 2,000 to 3,000 more weapons and a capability to resume underground testing and production of new warheads within a reasonable time. The RRW program envisions the initial production of new warheads almost 20 years from now. Meanwhile, an ongoing program to refurbish the nonnuclear components in currently stockpiled warheads and bombs will continue, giving them an estimated 20 to 30 years of additional reliability. Administrator Linton F. Brooks of the National Nuclear Security Administration described the RRW program yesterday as providing "the tools we need to build on the president's vision of maintaining the smallest nuclear stockpile that is consistent with national security requirements." The Washington Post Company: ***************************************************************** 83 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Keeping a foot in the door with GNEP Launched:12/02/2006 08:52:21 PM MST This week, the Department of Energy announced that the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance is one of 11 entities selected to receive up to $16 million total in grants to conduct detailed siting studies for integrated spent fuel recycling facilities under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership initiative. Right now, it is just a site study. A piece of land almost exactly between Hobbs and Carlsbad is being offered as one of a number of potential locations, nationally, for the possible development of a consolidated fuel treatment center and an advanced burner reactor. At this point, there is no certainty that any of the 11 site studies will ultimately become such a location, much less the spot between Carlsbad and Hobbs. The community where such facilities are eventually located will, of course, benefit from hundreds of jobs. Even more significantly, such a community will play an essential role in reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil. This all remains on the distant horizon. It's a long, long way before such facilities are set up anywhere. Still, the accomplishments of the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance so far should not be overlooked. Among other things, the alliance should be credited for its strong show of teamwork and communication. The alliance involves two municipalities — Carlsbad and Hobbs, and two counties — Eddy and Lea. The group is also working with two private businesses. Together, they provided an excellent example of diverse groups working together for mutual gain. They also provided a good example of governmental entities moving fairly quickly. Without much time, the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance put together an effective proposal that may become a cornerstone of the economy for decades. The next step in GNEP will be largely up to the federal government. With the Democratic Party taking control of both houses, it is almost certain that the face of GNEP, in terms of scope and timetables, will change somewhat. The overall increased interest in nuclear energy, however, is very likely to remain unchanged. Politicians of all varieties certainly see the potential. The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance did exactly what it needed to do at this point in the game — it got its foot in the door. Kudos to the Alliance for a job well done. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 84 KnoxNews: Sites under consideration for new nuclear tests By LAUNCE RAKE December 2, 2006 The federal government is looking for a place to resume what it stopped doing 17 years ago at its notorious Rocky Flats facility in Colorado: manufacturing the metal cores at the heart of nuclear weapons. The sites under consideration are Southern Nevada, and outside Amarillo, Texas; Los Alamos, N.M; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and Aiken, S.C. The chosen site will be used for decades for above- and below-ground test detonations of nuclear bombs. Intrinsic to the process is the manufacturing of plutonium - a task that is both industrial and high-tech that would bring jobs and educational opportunities to the region. It also conjures up memories of environmental nightmares and, opponents argue, unnecessarily escalates the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. The weapon cores, called "pits," are manufactured from an isotope of plutonium - a toxic metal formed by exposing uranium to radiation in a nuclear reactor, then chemically or mechanically isolating the metal. The federal government got into the business of making plutonium pits during the Manhattan Project in World War II. The research, design and manufacture of nuclear weapons continued over the next five decades at 16 sites scattered around the United States - many of which have left legacies of serious ongoing environmental problems. Rocky Flats, outside Denver, was the primary manufacturing plant for all nuclear weapons, employing 10,000 people during the height of production in the mid-1980s. In 1989 a combined raid by the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency shut down the 6,500-acre plant because of charges of environmental mismanagement and cover-ups, leaving the government only limited production at other sites. The collapse of the Soviet Union, treaties with the Soviets and their successors and a changing geopolitical situation meant that the U.S. military did not need all of the more than 20,000 nuclear weapons already stockpiled. But the senior Bush administration wanted flexibility to design, test and potentially use new and different nuclear weapons - requiring a new, modernized manufacturing site. The government has been holding meetings around the country to discuss proposed changes to its weapons-production system, and is accepting comments on it until Jan. 17. A draft environmental impact statement is expected this summer. A decision on the system overhaul, including the location of a new plutonium plant, will come in fall 2008, officials say. A primary issue being analyzed by the government in where to site the facility is its proximity to population. Another factor is the existing ability to handle the dangerous materials. The biggest factor in the decision, says Theodore Wyka, a manager in the Energy Department's effort, is the ability to work within the larger effort of modernizing the nuclear-weapons production system. "We need to have a nuclear weapons complex in place to support the nuclear weapons policy decisions" of the president, whoever that is, and whatever those decisions are, says Wyka, who represented the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration at the meeting on the modernization program Tuesday in Las Vegas. "We have to have the infrastructure in place to meet the national security requirements in terms of numbers and types of nuclear weapons." The so-called Consolidated Plutonium Center planned by the Bush administration could manufacture 125 new warheads a year and conduct research and development for the weapons industry. Additionally, it will continue to monitor the reliability of plutonium pits and the hundreds of components in the weapons already in the stockpile. Wyka says the environmental issues at Rocky Flats and other sites can be avoided at a new manufacturing site. When Rocky Flats and other weapons sites were selected and built - spanning World War II through the Cold War - environmental effects were not widely considered. The federal government spent $7 billion to clean up the Rocky Flats plant, much of which today is a wildlife refuge. Spills of highly toxic chemicals involved in purifying the explosive metal and the spread of radioactive materials led to widespread contamination throughout the plant structures, the ground and water in and around the plant. The government removed more than 3 million square feet of contaminated structures and shipped enough radioactive waste to fill a string of railcars 90 miles long in the massive cleanup effort. The Energy Department won't repeat its environmental sins of the past, says Darwin Morgan, a National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman. Decontamination and decommissioning of the plants are now planned for the beginning of a plant's development, Morgan says. Terrie Barrie, a founding member of the Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups, hopes that the environmental problems associated with manufacturing plutonium pits can be avoided. She says her husband, George, suffers numerous health problems she associates with his work at Rocky Flats from 1982 until the plant closed in 1989. George Barrie, 51, is completely disabled, she says. Several thousand ex-workers and residents near the urban plant are seeking compensation because of health problems they blame on it. Most have cancer or, like George Barrie, have chronic lung diseases. Health issues aside, "the big controversy is whether we need this (plutonium manufacturing) at all," says Robert Nelson, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national nonprofit group that has been critical of the Bush administration. Nelson noted that a government-commissioned review of the plutonium pits in the existing stockpile of nuclear weapons - including 900 bombs stored at Nellis Air Force Base, an estimate from the nonprofit group Natural Resources Defense Council - shows that they will remain reliable bomb triggers for decades. Energy Department officials don't say they need the new manufacturing site to replace the aging, existing plutonium in the stockpile, but to be ready if new bombs are needed. And Nelson takes that to mean the government is planning a new generation of bombs that could lead to the resumption of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. "We think it's a bad idea to build new warheads that will need to be tested," he says. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.) © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 85 Inside Bay Area: New nukes, no testing, no problem Labs: We can build devices without exploding them By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated:12/02/2006 02:53:23 AM PST Federal nuclear weapons officials declared Friday that building the first nuclear warheads for a new U.S. arsenal without ever testing them is feasible. That determination by the Nuclear Weapons Council, a panel of top Defense and Energy department weapons officials, is highly controversial but took few by surprise. Administration officials have made wholesale replacement of existing, Cold War-era bombs and warheads into a centerpiece of the presidents nuclear weapons legacy. As early as next week, the council is expected to select one of two warheads designed by competing teams at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore weapons labs, with one lab winning the right — and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars — to carry thebomb through prototyping to manufacture. The policy, known as the "reliable replacement warhead" program, has struck a few obstacles, including the ire of the program's leading champion in Congress and a report this week that plutonium in existing hydrogen bombs lasts at least 85 years and in most cases more than 100 years. Earlier Bush administration proposals for a nuclear bunker buster and exploratory new "advanced concepts" weapons died in Congress. "I think they're nervous," said Robert Nelson, a physicist and weapons policy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The unexpected longevity of plutonium, he said, "has undermined this basic issue of reliability that they have tried to plant in the minds of Congress by calling it the 'reliable replacement warhead.' Now they're going to have to explain to us again what's the point." Traditionally, scientists cleared a nuclear explosive for production only after raising several mushroom clouds over the Pacific or blasting giant glass caverns under the Nevada desert. Over the decades, nuclear explosives surprised their designers dozens of times with overblown yields, fizzles and outright duds. But top-ranking weapons physicists at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories have pitched two competing warhead designs that the scientists say are so hardy and conservative that the warheads never need testing. U.S. presidents and adversaries for decades would trust them to work. By declaring the new RRWs feasible, the weapons council decided that new bombs both did not need testing and posed advantages in weapons safety, security and maintenance. The existing bombs are complicated beasts that are costly to maintain, with thousands stored in reserve as insurance against failure. The new bombs, the argument goes, are simpler, cheaper to maintain and can be made on demand, eliminating the need for a large reserve force. But federal lawmakers already have asked JASON, an outside panel of scientists who advise the government on defense issues, to weigh in more detail the feasibility of deploying new warheads and bombs without testing. According to Raymond Jeanloz, a University of California, Berkeley, planetary physicist who is a JASON member, the details matter. If a bomb is a minor modification of an earlier, well-tested bomb, then exploding it may not be necessary. But if scientists create a new design that changes the nuclear explosive package, testing could be needed. "To me I don't know how to implement a truly new design without testing," Jeanloz said. Scientists might settle on a list of design changes that need testing and others that don't, he said. "It's also possible that some reasonable people could get in a room and agree to disagree about these things. I don't think it's necessarily straightforward." Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.comor at (510) 208-6458. © 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 86 Inside Bay Area: Officials: We can build new nukes By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITERArticle Last Updated:12/03/2006 02:41:02 AM PST Federal nuclear weapons officials declared Friday that building the first nuclear warheads for a new U.S. arsenal without ever testing them is "feasible." That determination by the Nuclear Weapons Council, a panel of top Defense and Energy department weapons officials, is highly controversial but took few by surprise. Administration officials have made wholesale replacement of existing, Cold War-era bombs and warheads into a centerpiece of the president's nuclear weapons legacy. As early as next week, the council is expected to select one of two warheads designed by competing teams at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore weapons labs, with one lab winning the right — and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars — to carry the bomb through prototyping to manufacture. The policy, known as the "reliable replacement warhead" program has struck a few obstacles, including the ire of the program's leading champion in Congress and a report this week that plutonium in existing hydrogen bombs lasts at least 85 years and in most cases more than 100 years. Earlier Bush administration proposals for a nuclear bunker buster and exploratory new "advanced concepts" weapons died in Congress. "I think they're nervous," said Robert Nelson, a physicist and weapons policy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The unexpected longevity of plutonium, he said, "has undermined this basic issue of reliability that they have tried to plant in the minds of Congress by calling it the 'reliable replacement warhead.' Now they're going to have to explain to us again what's the point." Traditionally, scientists cleared a nuclear explosive for production only after raising several mushroom clouds over the Pacific or blasting giant glass caverns under the Nevada desert. Over the decades, nuclear explosives surprised their designers dozens of times with overblown yields, fizzles and outright duds. But top-ranking weapons physicists at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories have pitched two competing warhead designs that the scientists say are so hardy and conservative that the warheads never need testing. U.S. presidents and adversaries for decades would trust them to work. By declaring the new RRWs feasible, the weapons council decided that new bombs both did not need testing and posed advantages in weapons safety, security and maintenance. The existing bombs are complicated beasts that are costly to maintain, with thousands stored in reserve as insurance against failure. The new bombs, the argument goes, are simpler, cheaper to maintain and can be made on demand, eliminating the need for a large reserve force. But federal lawmakers already have asked JASON, an outside panel of scientists who advise the government on defense issues, to weigh in more detail the feasibility of deploying new warheads and bombs without testing. According to Raymond Jeanloz, a University of California, Berkeley planetary physicist who is a JASON member, the details matter. If a bomb is a minor modification of an earlier, well-tested bomb, then exploding it may not be necessary. But if scientists create a new design that changes the nuclear explosive package, testing could be needed. "To me I don't know how to implement a truly new design without testing," Jeanloz said. Scientists might settle on a list of design changes that need testing and others that don't, he said. "It's also possible that some reasonable people could get in a room and agree to disagree about these things. I don't think it's necessarily straightforward." Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.comor at (510) 208-6458. © 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 87 Strategic Security Blog: Jason Releases Summary of Long-awaited Plutonium Aging Report A project of the Federation of American Scientists *****************************************************************