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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 AFP: Bush rejects Iraq report's key proposals, unveils Mideast initi
2 UPI: Commentary: Iraq exit via Iran -- Act II
3 washingtonpost.com: No Sanctions on Iran -
4 UPI: Iran group prez welcomes Baker report
5 Korea Herald: U.S. demands N.K. show 'good faith'
6 YONHAP NEWS: U.S. reaffirms no nuclear weapons in South Korea
7 Economic Times: China accuses US of double standards-
8 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korean President Undaunted by North
9 Korea Times: Roh Shows Confidence in Military Power Against NK
10 AFP: US still hopes for NKorea nuclear talks this month -
11 UPI: North Korea takes no action on U.S. offer
12 AFP: Japan's former PM weighing nuke talks in NKorea
13 MSNBC.com: U.S.-bound ships to get nuke once-over - U.S. Security
14 US: UPI: U.S. Trident missile passes routine test
15 DailyIndia: "AQ Khan could not have acted without Pak Govt's knowled
16 Guardian Unlimited: Israel Stands by Vague Nuclear Policy
17 AFP: Israel to keep mum on nuclear weapons capacity
18 UPI: Russia joins ex-spy's poisoning probe
NUCLEAR REACTORS
19 US: [NYTr] Bush Pulls a Fast One: New Nukes Factory
20 The Hindu: Menon: nuclear deal a stand-alone arrangement
21 CNN-IBN: N-deal will be through in 36 hrs
22 The Hindu: As `hold' is lifted, nuclear bill clears another hurdle
23 WP: Rising Interest in Nuclear Power Brings New Life to Uranium Mini
24 US: NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Monticello Nuclear Generat
25 US: NRC: Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, Noti
26 US: The Advocate: Operator of nuclear plant replacing old system
27 US: Hudson Valley News: NRC should hold off on Indian Point relicens
28 US: AFP: US Congress completes final legislation for Indian nuclear
29 US: Guardian Unlimited: Lawmakers Agree on U.S.-Indian Nuke Bill
NUCLEAR SECURITY
30 US: New London Day: Dominion To Install Warning Sirens
NUCLEAR SAFETY
31 [du-list] Khiam bomb crater tests positive for uranium
32 BBC: Asbestos clean-up
33 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. to Check for Radiation in 6 Ports
34 Platts: Po-210 'fingerprint' unlikely, Russian and Western officials
35 AFP: Moscow opens murder probe, new poisonings emerge
36 UPI: Poisoned spy's visitor ill, in coma
37 Guardian Unlimited: Hotel bar staff poisoned with polonium-210 |
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
38 US: China News: Australia to export uranium to China
39 US: CourierPost: Newfield residents question storage of radioactive
40 US: ITAR-TASS: Russia, Kazakhstan create JV for uranium transportati
41 US: Monticello Times: NRC's nuclear storage decision gets challenged
42 US: VNS: National nuclear waste to be tackled by Vanderbilt-led mult
43 US: AFP: Russian-Kazakh uranium company aims to dominate market -
44 US: PRN: Perma-Fix Announces Sixth Annual Nuclear Waste Treatment Fo
45 reviewjournal.com: Senator vows to pursue Yucca
46 US: Gallup Independent: Corporation wants to drill on Mt. Taylor
PEACE
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
47 [NYTr] Help Stop Bombplex 2030!
48 Knox News: Oak Ridge PCBs not at unsafe levels
49 DOE: Secretary Bodman To Travel to Japan, Korea, and China to
50 SF New Mexican: Many question need for new trigger factory
51 DenverPost.com: Whistle-blower's case to be decided in spring
52 Inside Bay Area: Berkeley lab recalls humble start 75 years ago
53 Tennessean: Secret weapon linked 2 WWII participants -
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 AFP: Bush rejects Iraq report's key proposals, unveils Mideast initiative -
Thursday December 7, 11:17 PM
By Olivier Knox
[Tony Blair]
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush rebuffed key
recommendations from the Iraq Study Group but announced a new
Middle East peace push after talks with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
A day after receiving the heavyweight US commission's report on
Iraq, Bush said that Blair would soon travel to the region for
talks with Israel and the Palestinians, and promised "concerted
efforts to advance the cause of peace."
The prime minister's visit was to set the stage for US Secretary
(Advertisement)
[Click Here] [ src=] of State Condoleezza Rice, in early 2007,
to make her eighth trip in two years to Israel and the
Palestinian territories, her spokesman said.
"By moving this forward we send a very strong signal not just to
the region, but to the whole of the world, that we are
even-handed and just in the application of our values," said
Blair.
Bush, giving a cool reception to two key proposals by the Iraq
Study Group, kept tight conditions on any talks with Iran and
Syria and refused to endorse the panel's call for withdrawing
most US combat troops by early 2008.
"I've always said we'd like our troops out as fast as possible,"
he said, while insisting on the need to be "flexible and
realistic" and tying any change in troop level to advice from US
military commanders, as he has in the past.
Bush initially described soaring violence in Iraq, which the
report warned may spiral into a regional war even with a US
strategic overhaul, as merely "unsettling" -- but revised his
diagnosis when a reporter challenged him.
"It's bad in Iraq. That help?" he countered. "You want
frankness? I thought we would succeed quicker than we did. And I
am disappointed by the pace of success."
Bush lavished praise on the Iraq Study Group, calling its report
"worthy of serious study," declaring that "the American people
expect us to come up with a new strategy to achieve the
objective," and stressing: "We need a new approach."
But he cautioned that the panel's review, led by former
secretary of state James Baker and former representative Lee
Hamilton, was one of many, citing pending reviews by the defense
and state departments and the National Security Council.
Bush said he would make a speech outlining his strategy "after I
get the reports," a move the White House says will come in weeks.
"I don't think Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton expect us to accept
every recommendation," he said. "I know they expect us to
consider every recommendation; that we ought to pay close
attention to what they advise."
The report, which warns that the situation in Iraq is "grave and
deteriorating," called for most US combat troops to be withdrawn
by early 2008, more talks with Iran and Syria, and a new Middle
East peace effort.
Bush said Damascus and Tehran might be welcome if they renounce
support for extremists and pledge support for Baghdad's
fledgling government, otherwise "they shouldn't bother to show
up."
Bush also reiterated his longstanding condition that Iran freeze
sensitive nuclear work before any direct talks.
"Should they agree to verifiably suspend their (uranium)
enrichment, the United States will be at the table with our
partners," he said, telling Tehran: "There's no need to continue
this obstinance."
Bush and Blair also had been expected to discuss efforts to
boost NATO troop levels in Afghanistan, plans to shore up an
international peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur province and
trans-Atlantic relations, US officials said.
The meeting followed the November 7 US legislative elections, in
which Bush's Republican Party lost control of Congress to the
opposition Democrats, and the departures of Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld and UN Ambassador John Bolton -- both Iraq war
hawks.
AFP
*****************************************************************
2 UPI: Commentary: Iraq exit via Iran -- Act II
United Press International - Intl. Intelligence -
12/7/2006 9:56:00 AM -0500
By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE UPI Editor at Large
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The audience at the Arab World
Strategy 2006 conference in Dubai suddenly parted like the Red
Sea. Iran's national security adviser and chief nuclear
negotiator Ali Larijani strode through the throng of Gulf
notables like a visiting head of state. But what Larijani had to
say from the rostrum was not only unambiguous -- but also
frightening. His harsh message left nothing to the imagination.
Some in the audience even suggested it sounded like an ultimatum
from the Gulf's dominant power.
The time has come to expel the U.S. military from the region,
Larijani said. And after that, Gulf Arab states -- the six Gulf
Cooperation Council members -- must form an alliance with Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran is presumably speeding up its nuclear timetable.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad already sees himself the
way the late Shah did in the early 1970s; inter alia, the Gulf's
dominant power. Despotism tempered by assassination seems to be
Iran's magic potion.
Gulf statesmen -- there are no women among them yet -- say
privately they are deeply concerned about the Iranian military
buildup in the Gulf. They have spent scores of billions of
dollars on defense since the 1973 oil embargo, but they also
know they could not put up a credible defense without the United
States. And this at a time when the United States is under great
domestic pressure to cut its losses in Iraq where the
Baker-Hamilton bipartisan commission of ten notables now
concedes Iran is the dominant power, more influential than the
United States.
Larijani's offline corridor conversations with an American
journalist and a visiting Harvard professor exuded charm and
reasonableness. If the Americans set a timetable for leaving
Iraq and Washington then opted for a new strategy of
interdependence that recognized Iran's primacy in the region,
then Iran would, for starters, help stabilize Iraq as well as
its other neighbor Afghanistan. Presumably, this would not be
one of the cherries President Bush decides to pick from the 79
recommendations made by Baker-Hamilton.
It would also prove indigestible. The president's neocon
supporters would see this as another Munich. A prominent neocon
columnist, speaking privately at one of Washington's
pre-Christmas bashes, said, "we should bomb their nukes before
they nuke Israel."
With Bob Gates ensconced at the Pentagon, the military option
against Iran's facilities, while still on Mr. Bush's table,
seems highly unlikely. The neocons call the commission's
160-page report a recipe for a U.S. surrender to its self-avowed
enemies. They still have one of the president's ears through
Elliott Abrams, deputy assistant to the president and deputy
national security adviser for democracy strategy. The other ear
is now listening more attentively to Bush 41's perennial wisemen
headed by James A. Baker III and Brent Scowcroft, who tried but
failed to stop the invasion of Iraq. So more plausible now is
what Time described as the biggest U-turn of the president's
political life.
Iran is making clear to friend and foe it could no longer be
contained. Even Lee Hamilton was saying Iran has more influence
in Iraq than the United States. It is, he said to a worldwide
audience as the commission's report was unveiled, "a grave and
deteriorating situation," which has cost the U.S. taxpayer so
far the staggering sum of $400 billion. Which could even rise to
over $1 trillion, according to Hamilton.
Iraq already has an Iran-leaning Shiite government. Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for a regional conference with
Iraq's neighbors, but rejected U.N. chief Kofi Annan's idea that
it be held outside Iraq. Iraqi ministers are frequent fliers to
Tehran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards are also frequent fliers to
Iraq where they supervise, fund and equip two powerful Shiite
militias -- the Badr Brigade and the Mahdi Army, which Maliki
says he would like to disarm, but is powerless to do so.
Mahdi Army chief Muqtada al-Sadr, who holds 30 swing votes and
hates America, got consigleri Nasar al-Rubaie to collect
signatures in parliament for a petition that calls on Maliki to
draft a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. He got 115
to sign on out of 275 parliamentarians, not quite a majority.
Syria, the connecting conveyor belt for Iranian missiles and
rockets to Hezbollah, is also on the Commission's roster of bad
guys the United States must talk to. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has
paralyzed Beirut with up to half a million anti-government
demonstrators who are demanding a larger share of government
power. The pro-Western government is totally isolated by
Hezbollah and there is much speculation about a resumption of a
15-year civil war that ended in 1990 with neither victor nor
vanquished.
Syria could conceivably be weaned away with a deal with Israel
that would return the Golan Heights to Syrian control. But the
multiple traumas of the evacuation of Gaza only to be shelled in
return, the election victory of Hamas that refuses to recognize
Israel, and more recently the 34-day war with Hezbollah which
ended in a Mexican standoff, have left Israel in a pessimistic
mood about the future. Not exactly conducive to more territorial
concessions in occupied Palestinian lands.
Yet the Baker-Hamilton Commission made clear U.S. goals would
remain elusive until the U.S. uses diplomatic heft to deliver
what President Bush pledged would be "a viable and contiguous
Palestinian state." On a scale of one to ten, that's a two.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
3 washingtonpost.com: No Sanctions on Iran -
What the Iraq Study Group Neglected To Study
Thursday, December 7, 2006; Page A30
Regarding the Dec. 1 news story "U.S. May Pursue Iran Sanctions
Even if Russia Balks":
The United States should not be allowed to impose its will on
the United Nations.
Instead of bullying other nations to endorse illegal sanctions
on Iran -- which has no nuclear weapons program and is simply
exercising its lawful rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty
to fabricate fuel for its power plant under full inspections by
the International Atomic Energy Agency -- the U.S. government
should recognize Iran's rights and lift its sanctions.
The world has learned what happens when the United States is
allowed to manipulate the U.N. Security Council without due
consideration of international law.
On what legal basis is the United States seeking U.N. sanctions
on Iran when the IAEA has repeatedly concluded that there is no
evidence of military diversion? Why should Iran be denied its
own nuclear fuel cycle when so many other nations enjoy this
right unimpeded?
The fact that has so far evaded the media's attention is how the
American government manipulates the issue of Iran's nuclear
program to justify its interventionist policies in the region
around Iran, notwithstanding Iran's steadfast opposition to
those policies.
M.A. MOHAMMADI
Press Officer
Iranian Mission to the United Nations
New York
*****************************************************************
4 UPI: Iran group prez welcomes Baker report
United Press International - Security &Terrorism -
12/7/2006 12:41:00 PM -0500
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A prominent Iranian American
Thursday welcomed the Iraq Study Group report as " a welcomed
air of realism in Washington."
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council,
said in a statement Thursday that the ISG report, chaired by
former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former
Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, that the report was correct in its
recommendation that the United States should initiate a dialogue
with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"The Iraq Study Group's assessment of the situation in Iraq and
its recommendation to open talks with Iran is a welcomed air of
realism in Washington," Parsi said.
"Just as the 'stay the course' strategy has failed in Iraq, so
it has in Iran," he said. "Over the past few years, the Bush
administration has squandered numerous opportunities to
negotiate with Tehran to advance American interests, including
winning Iranian cooperation in Iraq. Each time, the refusal to
engage has worked to America's own detriment."
"But just as the administration must now recognize the debacle
in Iraq, it should heed the recommendations of the Iraq Study
Group and recognize the failure of its Iran policy as well,"
Parsi said.
"Tehran has progressed with its nuclear program precisely
because of the lack of negotiations," he said. It is not talks,
but the absence of talks, that has helped advance Iran's nuclear
program and undermined the United States' position.
"Direct talks with Iran cannot only help stabilize Iraq -- the
study asserts that Iran has more influence in Iraq than any of
Iraq's other neighbors -- engagement can also help advance the
cause of democracy and human rights in Iran," Parsi said.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
5 Korea Herald: U.S. demands N.K. show 'good faith'
The United States has relayed to North Korea the need for
"good-faith actions" in order to see significant progress during
the next six-party talks, the U.S. State Department said
yesterday.
The same operating principle of good-faith actions in return
for good-faith actions was really the underlying message that
U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill had conveyed to
North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan, State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack said at a daily press briefing in
Washington.
McCormack explained that the talks between Hill and Kim in
Beijing last month were not negotiations nor "detailed packages
or proposals" but a "discussion."
North Korea agreed to return to negotiations in October after
its nuclear test the same month. The United States has agreed to
discuss the issue of financial sanctions on the sidelines of the
multilateral talks.
A deep-rooted distrust between Washington and Pyongyang is
considered the ultimate stumbling block to solving the nuclear
problem on the Korean Peninsula.
"I think that there was a general discussion on both sides as
to how they could move forward using the Sept. 19, 2005, joint
declaration as the basis for moving forward and touching on
those issue areas," McCormack said.
The next round of the six-party talks is most likely to be held
early next month as preparations between the key members
continue to drag on.
The United States and its allies are determined to level out
primary commitments before starting negotiations.
McCormack said the latest talks with Kim were a discussion to
"better prepare for the next round of six-party talks and that
each of the different parties has a rational expectation of what
they might expect."
He refused to comment on what initial steps the North might
take before tackling the Joint Statement on denuclearization
principles agreed at last year's negotiations.
News reports have speculated that the United States gave a set
of proposals to Kim for Pyongyang to review before resuming the
six-party talks.
The New York Times reported yesterday that the United States
has offered a detailed package of economic and energy assistance
in exchange for North Korea's dismantlement of nuclear programs,
quoting unidentified officials.
The paper said the incentives would hinge on North Korea's
agreeing to begin dismantling some of the equipment it is using
to expand its nuclear arsenal, even before returning to
negotiations.
It reported that the incentives and demands were the focus of
the latest meeting between Hill, Kim and Wu Dawei of China in
Beijing.
Quoting a senior administration official, it said the
incentives offered by the United States include food aid from
the United States, Japan and South Korea.
The incentives package also includes a pledge by the United
States to work with North Korea toward finding a way to end the
financial restrictions on Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, the NYT
reported. BDA is believed to have been engaging in money
laundering for North Korea.
The North Korean side "listened intently" to the proposals,
according to the quoted official.
(angiely@heraldm.com)
By Lee Joo-hee
2006.12.08
*****************************************************************
6 YONHAP NEWS: U.S. reaffirms no nuclear weapons in South Korea
Friday, December 08, 2006
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- The United States reaffirmed
Thursday that it has no nuclear weapons deployed in South Korea
and has no intention of attacking North Korea.
The affirmation came in response to Russia's Itar-Tass report
quoting a North Korean official who claimed that the U.S. still
has atomic weapons in the South and that Pyongyang will not give
up its own nuclear arms without a security guarantee.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack referred to the Sept.
19 agreement last year that addresses the issue.
"We've signed up to the statement that says the United States
affirms that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula
and has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear
or conventional weapons," he said at the daily briefing.
"And that statement still stands," he said.
DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea.
The Sept. 19 agreement was signed by members of the six-party
talks -- South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and
Japan -- with Pyongyang pledging to abandon its nuclear weapons
and programs in return for a wide range of incentives from other
countries.
After a year of boycott, Pyongyang said in October it will come
back to the negotiating table. While the initial hope was to
resume the session within this month, no date has yet been set
despite back-to-back preparatory talks in Beijing last week.
Itar-Tass quoted an unnamed North Korean official as saying
that Pyongyang "has practically no doubts" that there still are
U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea.
Former U.S. President George Bush had declared in 1991 that
there were no such weapons in South Korea. Seoul and Pyongyang
had signed a denuclearization pact between them in 1991 as well.
On the prospects of the six-party talks restarting within this
year, McCormack said the U.S. was "not ready to throw in the
towel at this point."
"We would still hope that we could get some discussions, get a
new round of talks going this month."
ldm@yna.co.kr
(END)
*****************************************************************
7 Economic Times: China accuses US of double standards-
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2006 03:26:17 AM]
NEW DELHI: China on Thursday made its opposition to the
Indo-US nuclear deal known saying it smacked of double
standards in the efforts to rein in nuclear proliferation .
While it has brought to the fore the uneasy Indo-Sino equations
something Chindia enthusiasts have been glossing over in the
recent months indications are that there would be some tough
negotiations ahead at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
While many blame the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
(DPRK) and Iran for frustrating international efforts on nuclear
non-proliferation, the double standards adopted by some Western
countries on nuclear issues could also be said to add to the
problem, for their stance has undermined the authority of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the state-run Xinhua
news agency said.
While these two states drew much flak on nuclear
non-proliferation, the nuclear doublespeak by Western countries
has added to the concern of the international community over the
spread of weapons of mass destruction.
The Indian government, which was not confident of Chinas
backing for the deal at the NSG, did not take up the issue at
the meeting with President Hu Jintao when he came calling. The
joint declaration firmed up subsequently was also silent on the
deal.
The Chinese agency said the nuclear agreement would torpedo
non-proliferation efforts. The double standards are manifested
in another case India, a country which has detonated nuclear
bombs, but refused to sign the NPT, the 2006 Xinhua year-ender
on non-proliferation noted.
It pointed out that US President George W Bush agreed in March
2006 on a civil nuclear cooperation deal under which New Delhi
is allowed to buy foreign nuclear technology for the first time
in 30 years.
These approaches would inevitably diminish the NPTs authority
among countries that have not acquired nuclear weapons, it
commented, debunking external affairs minister Pranab
Mukherjees claim that Beijing had endorsed the Indo-US civilian
nuclear pact during Hus visit.
Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
8 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korean President Undaunted by North
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday December 7, 2006 12:46 PM
AP Photo TOK202
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's president said Thursday
that North Korea's nuclear test has not shaken the military
power balance between the two sides, and that the North cannot
defeat the South even with atomic bombs, a news report said.
``South Korea's military strength is enough to balance'' North
Korea's, the Yonhap news agency quoted President Roh Moo-hyun as
saying during a meeting with South Koreans living in Sydney,
Australia.
``We can say that we have an edge in the balance,'' Roh, who was
on a visit to Australia, was quoted as saying.
He said the United States provides South Korea with a nuclear
deterrence, and that relations between the two allies are good.
Roh has made similar comments before, in an apparent effort to
dispel security concerns after North Korea tested a nuclear
device Oct. 9.
``North Korea cannot win if it goes to war with South Korea.
Even if it has nuclear weapons, it may inflict fatal damage, but
cannot win,'' Roh was quoted as saying. ``A country doesn't go
to war with a country that it cannot defeat.''
Roh wrapped up his three-day state visit to Australia later
Thursday, then headed for New Zealand to begin a four-day visit
there.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
9 Korea Times: Roh Shows Confidence in Military Power Against NK
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun said on Thursday that South Korea
maintains a superior edge over North Korea in military power
despite the Stalinist country¡¯s possession of nuclear weapons.
In a meeting with South Korean residents in Australia, Roh said
that North Korea would never win a war against South Korea even
if it uses a nuclear weapon to inflict serious damage on the
South.
Roh is currently on a four-nation trip.
``North Korea may possess some nuclear weapons, but South Korea
can maintain a sufficient edge in terms of military power,¡¯¡¯
he said.
He added the United States, a strong ally, has promised to
guarantee deterrence against the use of nuclear weapons by the
North. ``We are maintaining relations with the United States in
that direction.¡¯¡¯
After wrapping up his three-day state visit to Australia, Roh
arrived in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, later in the
day on the third leg of his 11-day tour, which started in
Indonesia and will conclude in the Philippines.
Roh will meet with New Zealand¡¯s Prime Minister Helen Clark in
a summit on Friday to discuss ways to boost bilateral
cooperation, especially in IT and biotechnology, South Korean
officials said.
After the summit, Roh and Clark will sign a joint declaration
on a partnership for the 21st century between the two nations,
according to the officials. Officials from the two sides will
also sign several pacts, including an IT agreement.
During his four-day visit to New Zealand, Roh is scheduled to
hold a forum with business leaders from the two countries and
visit Auckland, the largest city there, to meet with South
Korean residents there.
On Sunday, Roh will move to Cebu, a resort city in the
Philippines, to attend the three-day ASEAN+3 summit, a gathering
of the leaders from 10 Southeast Asian countries, and South
Korea, China and Japan.
Scheduled from Dec. 11 to 13, this year¡¯s summit will focus on
peace, prosperity and progress, which the proposed East Asian
Community (EAC) will pursue as its primary goals, presidential
spokesman Yoon Tai-young, said in a press briefing.
Roh is also scheduled to hold other bilateral and trilateral
talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN+3 summit, including a
three-way meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
The North Korea nuclear problem will be the top agenda item in
the trilateral talks, while cooperation between the three
Northeast Asian nations will also be dealt with, according to
the aides. Roh is to return home on Dec. 13.
12-07-2006 21:27
*****************************************************************
10 AFP: US still hopes for NKorea nuclear talks this month -
Thu Dec 7, 4:07 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it had not "thrown in
the towel" on efforts to resume nuclear disarmament negotiations
with North Korea" /> this month, but admitted it could still take
weeks to organize the talks.
"We would still hope that we could get some discussions, get a
new round of talks going this month," State Department spokesman
Sean McCormack said.
"We're not ready to throw in the towel at this point," he added
after preliminary meetings between US, North Korean and Chinese
diplomats in Beijing last week failed to overcome obstacles to a
resumption of broader negotiations also involving South Korea"
/> , Japan and Russia.
But the State Department official said Washington was "also not
going to try to push to get something done in December if that
means those talks aren't as well prepared as they possibly can
be".
"If it's a matter of slipping things a few weeks, then so be it,
we will," he said.
"The key is to get back to the table in a timely manner and in a
way in which the conditions have been created so you can make
some progress," he said.
McCormack was responding to reported comments by an unnamed
North Korean diplomat who told the Russian news agency Interfax
that formal negotiations could not resume this month as hoped.
"The renewal of the talks process in December 2006 is not
possible nor is it -- without changes in the American position
-- in the foreseeable future," Interfax quoted the diplomat as
saying after the latest round of talks in Beijing.
North Korea agreed in principle in October to return to the
six-party negotiations after being hit with UN sanctions for
having carried out its first test of a nuclear bomb earlier in
the month.
The six-party talks began in late 2003 but Pyongyang walked away
from the process a year ago after Washington imposed financial
sanctions on the country that were not directly related to the
nuclear issue.
A possible easing of those sanctions is one of the carrots being
offered by Washington if Pyongyang will return to negotiations
on the basis of a September 2005 agreement under which it
pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program.
According to Interfax, the North Korean diplomat said he
government was demanding as a condition for renewed negotiations
"the removal of American nuclear weapons from South Korea and
other countries of the region".
McCormack reaffirmed the US position, reaffirmed in the
September 2005 pact with North Korea, that the United States
"has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no
intention to attack or invade the DPRK (North Korea) with
nuclear or conventional weapons."
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
11 UPI: North Korea takes no action on U.S. offer
United Press International - NewsTrack -
12/7/2006 3:07:00 PM -0500
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- North Korea has taken no official action
on a U.S, request for "good faith actions" in dismantling its
nuclear programs, an official in Seoul said.
Further, the official said, if North Korea does not agree to
return to the six-party negotiating table by next week, chances
of reopening talks on its nuclear programs this year are "really
slim."
Kim Gye-gwan, North Korea's top diplomat to the denuclearization
talks, returned to Pyongyang a week ago with a promise to
thoroughly review the latest U.S. request, the Korea Times
reported.
An unnamed senior North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang could not
accept Washington's request.
The diplomat also said that Washington should withdraw all of
its nuclear weapons deployed on the Korean Peninsula as well as
at other U.S. military bases in Japan and Guam, if it wants to
see Pyongyang dismantle its nuclear programs.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
12 AFP: Japan's former PM weighing nuke talks in NKorea
December 7, 02:57 PM
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is
weighing a third visit to North Korea to persuade the communist
regime to give up its nuclear ambitions, public NHK broadcaster
reported.
"It's plausible to think about my visiting Pyongyang for the
third time," Koizumi was quoted as telling fellow lawmakers late
Wednesday.
"I want to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,
which is an absolute must, although I don't interfere with Prime
Minister (Shinzo) Abe's policy management."
Koizumi, whom Abe succeeded as prime minister in September,
visited North Korea in 2002 and again in 2004 for talks with its
leader Kim Jong-Il.
Abe, who accompanied Koizumi on his first visit, rose to
prominence as a hardliner on North Korea.
Abe's government slapped a sweeping ban on North Korean imports
after Pyongyang tested a nuclear bomb on October 9.
Koizumi had resisted imposing sanctions on North Korea, warning
against further isolating the impoverished regime.
In his remarks on a potential visit to Pyongyang, Koizumi said
he stood by his two-front strategy of dialogue and pressure.
"We can't abandon dialogue," Koizumi said according to NHK,
whose source was lawmaker Taku Yamasaki, a longtime confidante
of the former premier.
The first Koizumi-Kim summit in 2002 produced the Pyongyang
Declaration in which they agreed to "comply with all related
international agreements aimed at an overall resolution of the
nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula."
"It's necessary to ensure that the Declaration is valid, and
it's plausible to think about my visiting North Korea for the
third time," Koizumi said, as quoted by NHK.
"I want to revitalize the declaration, and I don't mind visiting
Pyongyang for this end," he added.
But Koizumi, Japan's longest-serving premier in three decades,
failed at his avowed goal to normalize relations with North
Korea before leaving office, in part due to an emotionally
charged row over kidnappings.
At the 2002 summit, Kim admitted that North Korea had abducted
Japanese civilians in the past to train the regime's spies. He
later allowed five kidnap victims and their families to return
home.
Abe has led calls for tough action unless North Korea comes
clean on other victims allegedly being kept under wraps.
North Korea has repeatedly demanded Japan's exclusion from
six-nation talks which are slated to resume on ending
Pyongyang's nuclear program.
"It is quite obvious that Japan will do nothing but bad at the
talks even if it is allowed to attend them," the North's
official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday.
Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
13 MSNBC.com: U.S.-bound ships to get nuke once-over - U.S. Security
Under Homeland Security program, overseas ports to look for nuke
hazards
[IMAGE: Customs and Border Protection officer]
James Tourtellotte
A Customs and Border Protection officer inspects a truck at a
port for radioactive material. Cargo containers bound for the
United States from six foreign seaports will be screened for
dangerous nuclear materials.
Pete WilliamsJustice correspondentNBC News
Beginning early next year, cargo containers bound for the United
States from six foreign seaports will be screened for dangerous
nuclear materials, the first phase in a program intended to
expand the scrutiny of shipments before they reach American
ports.
"No weapon of mass destruction is more formidable than a nuclear
device or a radiological dirty bomb. It's critical to see that
they don't make it into the U.S.," said Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff in revealing details of the program
Thursday.
Cargo containers destined for American ports will be driven on
flatbed trucks past sensitive radiation monitors to detect
possible nuclear hazards. And powerful X-ray machines will
search for potential shielding intended to conceal radiological
hazards.
When the detectors find potential nuclear materials, video
images of the scans will be transmitted instantly to Homeland
Security's National Targeting Center just outside Washington,
D.C., for further analysis. If a physical search of the suspect
container does not resolve the concern, it will be barred from
U.S.-bound ships.
"When in doubt, we pull it out. Then we'll open it up and look,"
Chertoff said.
The devices will screen all U.S.-bound cargo at three of the six
ports - Southampton, England; Puerto Cortes, Honduras; and Port
Qasim in Pakistan.
At the other three - the port of Singapore; Port Salalah, Oman;
and Port Busan in South Korea - only some U.S.-bound cargo will
be screened for radiological material, "due to limitations
imposed by the size and complexity of those ports," Homeland
Security officials said.
Taken together, the deployments at the six ports will subject
about 7 percent of U.S.-bound cargo to nuclear screening, they
said.
"We are eager to expand this program as rapidly as possible,"
said Homeland Security's deputy secretary, Michael Jackson.
"This is just one piece and one layer of a much larger system."
Sticking points: Money and permission
Homeland officials say two factors constrain expanding the
screening program more rapidly -money and permission from the
countries where the ports are located. The six-port pilot
program will cost $60 million.
As for the diplomatic aspect, a State Department official said
discussions are under way with "a number" of foreign nations to
get permission to install more detectors.
Cargo is also scanned for radioactive material when it arrives.
Figures from the department's Customs and Border Protection
agency, which administers the program, said the screening rate
is 81 percent at U.S. seaports and 94 percent at land borders,
with a goal of raising both figures to 100 percent by the end of
2007.
Thursday's announcement was attended by representatives of
foreign ports and shipping companies who support the enhanced
security inspections.
Asked why foreign shippers would agree to adding another step in
the shipping process, a U.S. official said, "They know what the
consequences would be if something dangerous slips through and
creates a tragedy here. Worldwide commerce would come to a halt
and would be very hard to restart."© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
| © 2006 MSNBC.com
*****************************************************************
14 UPI: U.S. Trident missile passes routine test
United Press International - Security &Terrorism -
12/7/2006 3:03:00 PM -0500
CAPE CANAVERAL, Calif., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. submarine nuclear
missile capabilities appeared to be up to snuff after a live
test launch last month off the U.S. coast.
A pair of unarmed Trident II D5 missiles was launched from the
Eastern Range by the USS Maryland in routine test to confirm the
reliability and readiness of the nuclear mainstay. Lockheed
Martin said in a news release Thursday the Nov. 21 launch marked
the 117th consecutive launch of the weapon since 1989.
"The Navy's rigorous testing program helps to ensure the
reliability and credibility of this critical national security
asset," said Lockheed Vice President Tory Bruno.
The Trident II D5 is carried aboard Ohio-class subs and packs a
payload of multiple re-entry vehicles. The three-stage,
solid-fuel missile is made of lightweight materials and has a
range of about 4,000 miles. Each Ohio boat carries two dozen
missiles.
The missile is also used by Britain's Royal Navy and has been at
the center of a row in London over Prime Minister Tony Blair's
desire to invest in a new class of Trident-capable submarines.
Blair says the Trident deterrence must be maintained as the
world's nuclear club gets larger; however opponents bridle at
the anticipated cost and impact the move might have on Britain's
treaty commitments to non-proliferation.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
15 DailyIndia: "AQ Khan could not have acted without Pak Govt's knowledge"
Washington, Dec 7 (ANI): A new report prepared by Swedish
Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission has said that Pakistan
nuclear scientist AQ Khan's network could not have carried out
its activities "without the awareness of the Pakistani
government".
Headed by former IAEA chief Hans Blix, the Commission said that
nuclear weapons had never been stolen or transferred from
arsenals of states. The threats posed by existing nuclear
weapons relate in the first place to the risks of deliberate
use, the Daily Times quoted the report as saying further.
Addressing the possibility of terrorists acquiring nuclear
weapons, the body said nobody that could make a nuclear weapon
without fissile material and the technical knowledge to design
and manufacture a device. The first task is more difficult than
designing a weapon.
It further said that high representatives of nuclear-armed
states have recently alluded in "precisely calculated ambiguity"
to a readiness actually to use nuclear weapons. Additional
dangers could arise as a result of accidents, miscalculations,
faulty intelligence and theft of unauthorised use.
The basic information to design a crude nuclear device is
publicly available. To produce the plutonium or highly enriched
uranium needed to make a nuclear weapon is difficult and
expensive. It requires the kind of infrastructure that is likely
to be available only to states. There is a risk that security
weaknesses could allow terrorists to steal enough material,
added the report. (ANI)
Copyright © 2004-2006 | | |
*****************************************************************
16 Guardian Unlimited: Israel Stands by Vague Nuclear Policy
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday December 7, 2006 10:16 PM
AP Photo DCDA128
By MARK LAVIE
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel held firm Thursday to its policy of not
admitting it possesses nuclear weapons, in the face of an
acknowledgment from the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary that
Israel has the bomb.
In his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Robert Gates
explained Iran's motivation to acquire nuclear weapons.
``They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons - Pakistan
to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the
west and us in the Persian Gulf,'' he told the Senate committee.
Although Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear weapons
arsenal, it has stuck to its policy of ambiguity on the subject,
insisting against all the evidence that it will not be the first
to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.
Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin told The Associated Press
``there is no direct Israeli comment'' on Gates' remarks.
Experts played down the importance of the comments.
Retired Israeli Gen. Shlomo Brom, who was once in charge of
strategic planning for the military, said Israel was no longer
trying to convince anyone that it has no nuclear arsenal.
He said similar statements came out of Washington during the
first Gulf War in 1991 and did not lead to a change in Israeli
policy.
``This is nothing really new,'' he told the AP. ``It doesn't
change anything.''
Israel Radio gave the story prominence in Thursday morning, and
one of Israel's three television stations ran a report about the
United States' traditional cooperation in the ambiguity policy
on its evening newscast.
In 1986, experts concluded that Israel had a sizable nuclear
arsenal, ranking it sixth in the world, after Mordechai Vanunu,
a former technician at Israel's main nuclear reactor, gave
pictures and documents to the London Sunday Times. Vanunu served
an 18-year prison term for his disclosures.
``The fact is that for a long time, Israel's policy of ambiguity
has been not a matter of people thinking we don't have any
(nuclear weapons), just that Israel doesn't admit it,'' Brom
said.
Analyst Yossi Alpher said Israel's ambiguity allows Israel's
neighbors ``to assume that even if Israel had nuclear weapons,
this was not a threat to them.''
But he said Israel could acknowledge having the weapons if Iran
acquires an atomic bomb.
``It's very possible that if and when Iran goes nuclear in the
military sense, Israel will have to consider ending its policy
of ambiguity,'' he said.
At a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert responded to Gates' explanation of Iranian
motives for acquiring nuclear weapons. He did not refer to the
reference to Israel's nuclear potential.
``I don't think anyone in the U.S. thinks there is justification
for Iran's achieving nuclear (weapons) capability,'' he said.
``We are not indifferent, cannot be indifferent, and won't be
indifferent to efforts that appear serious to us, to develop
capabilities that could be used as a springboard to build a
(nuclear) bomb,'' he added.
Gates told the Senate committee that the U.S. could not
guarantee that Iran would not attack Israel with a nuclear
weapon if it acquired it.
``I don't think that anybody can provide that assurance,'' he
said.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
17 AFP: Israel to keep mum on nuclear weapons capacity
Thursday December 7, 12:54
By Jean-Luc Renaudie
[Shimon Peres]
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel will continue to keep mum on whether it
has atomic weapons, officials have said after the incoming US
defense secretary described the Jewish state as a nuclear power.
"Israel won't say, or not say, whether we have nuclear weapons,"
Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told public radio Thursday.
"It suffices that one fears that we have them and that fear in
itself constitutes an element of dissuasion."
The Jewish state is widely considered to be the Middle East's
(Advertisement)
NPower Media Test Acquisition Nov 2006 MPU, advert_format=Flash
MPU, advert_id=9241, site=yahoo_news -->[''] [ src=] sole
nuclear armed power, but has never confirmed or denied the
suspicions, and continues to campaign against arch-foe Iran's
nuclear program.
"Israel is the only country threatened with destruction. Israel
does not threaten any other state," Peres said.
"These statements change nothing fundamental," he said,
referring to comments by Robert Gates Tuesday, a day before he
was approved by the Senate to replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense
secretary.
During his confirmation hearing, Gates referred to Israel as one
of the region's nuclear powers, along with Pakistan and Russia.
Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a member of
Israel's influential security cabinet, also reaffirmed the need
for Israel to maintain a "policy of ambiguity" in regard to the
nuclear issue.
"I have no idea why Gates made those remarks," he told public
radio. "But we have to continue to stick to the policy of
ambiguity, which has nothing but advantages as it contributes to
our power of deterrence."
Foreign experts estimate that Israel has up to 200 long-range
nuclear warheads.
Israel and the United States claim that Iran is covertly seeking
to develop atomic weapons, an allegation repeatedly denied by
Tehran which insists it wants only to generate energy.
In a documentary aired on Israeli television in 2001, Peres said
that France agreed in 1956 to provide Israel with "a nuclear
capacity" as part of secret negotiations ahead of the invasion
of Egypt known as the Suez crisis.
Under the scheme, Britain, France and Israel colluded in an
elaborate plan under which the Jewish state attacked Egypt, and
France and Britain sent paratroopers to "separate the
belligerents" but in practice to secure the canal.
The failed offensive, aimed at seizing the Suez canal back from
then Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser after he nationalized
the strategic waterway, ended with the withdrawal of troops
after the Soviet Union threatened to intervene.
Thanks in part to French support, Israel launched a nuclear
reactor at Dimona in the southern Negev desert in 1964. Its
activities remain classified.
Israel's nuclear program came to the international fore in 1986,
when Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at Dimona was
kidnapped, covertly shipped back to the Jewish state, and jailed
after lifting the lid on the inner workings of the plant to
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper.
He was released in 2004 after serving an 18-year term, but has
been repeatedly banned from foreign travel.
He became something of an international cause celebre during his
time in prison, while widely reviled at home, in part for
converting to Christianity shortly before he was seized.
AFP
*****************************************************************
18 UPI: Russia joins ex-spy's poisoning probe
United Press International - NewsTrack -
12/7/2006 1:41:00 PM -0500
MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Russian prosecutors announced they were
joining the investigation into the radioactive poisoning death
of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Scotland Yard has nine investigators in Moscow questioning --
under Russian police supervision -- colleagues and associates of
Litvinenko.
Litvinenko, 43, was a former Russian agent who defected to
England and was an outspoken critic of Russian President
Vladimir Putin. He died Nov. 23 and on his deathbed, reportedly
blamed his poisoning with the rare radioactive element
polonium-210 on Putin, which the Kremlin immediately denied.
The Russian Novosti news agency said the Prosecutor General's
Office decided Thursday to also launch a criminal investigation
but did not elaborate on why.
Litvinenko was also a close associate of exiled Russian
millionaire Boris Berezovsky, another critic of Putin whom
Moscow has been unsuccessfully demanding Britain extradite to
Russia.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
19 [NYTr] Bush Pulls a Fast One: New Nukes Factory
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 12:59:59 -0600 (CST)
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Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by Jane Franklin
Peace Action West - Dec 7, 2006
http://www.peaceactionwest.org>
Speak Out Against a New Nukes Factory
The Bush administration is trying to pull a fast one this December. Its
holding a legally mandated public comment period about its plans for a new
nuclear weapons factory in the thick of the holiday season, when most
Americans are busy with family and friends. Theyre hoping you and I wont
have the time to voice our opposition to this reckless and wasteful
proposal.
Will you help prove them wrong and send your comments about this plan to the
administration before the January deadline? You can send them here:
http://ww2.peaceactionwest.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5864
This proposal for a new weapons factory, called Complex 2030, marks a key
decision point for the United States: what is the future of our nuclear
weapons arsenal? We at Peace Action West believe the U.S. must reduce and
eventually eliminate its current nuclear stockpile, not build an entirely
"new and improved" one. According to recent polls, the majority of
Americans agree new nukes arent needed, and many support getting rid of the
weapons altogether.
Hearings on this proposal have already occurred across the country, and
concerned citizens like you have turned out in large numbers to denounce the
administrations plans. As one activist at a recent hearing in New Mexico
put it, No one spoke in favor of Complex 2030.
Together, we can make sure the written comments match the sentiments at the
hearings. Submit your comments today, and well make sure both the
administration and your senators get the message.
Thanks for helping block this misguided plan.
Sincerely,
Erin Sikorsky-Stewart
Peace Action West
*
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20 The Hindu: Menon: nuclear deal a stand-alone arrangement
Friday, Dec 08, 2006
We will keep our commitments, says Nicholas Burns
— PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN
HOPE OF NEW ERA: U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political
Affairs Nicholas Burns with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon
prior to their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on
Thursday.
NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Thursday
described the civilian nuclear deal with the United States as a
"stand-alone arrangement," which recognised India's unique and
responsible role as a player in nuclear affairs.
His comments came at a press conference here with the visiting
U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas
Burns, who expects Congress to pass "today or tomorrow" a
consolidated Bill for civilian nuclear cooperation with India.
Both Mr. Menon and Mr. Burns, who held talks through the day
(and were joined by Special Envoy Shyam Saran), chose not to
comment on the specifics of the nuclear deal, saying the final
text of the Bill was not yet available.
Asked about the Bush administration's position on India
reprocessing or sending back spent nuclear fuel, the U.S.
official said he could not answer the question in the absence of
a final version of the Bill. It would not be wise to guess what
the Bill might contain.
Asked whether New Delhi would have been considered
"irresponsible" had it voted against the U.S-backed
International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions on Iran, Mr.
Burns said "nobody" in the executive or legislative arm of the
U.S. Government wanted to infringe on India's right to make
sovereign decisions.
On the "fallback safeguards" in the Senate version of the Bill,
which amount to an additional layer of safeguards for India, Mr.
Menon said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had articulated New
Delhi's position in Parliament on August 17. "The rest is
hypothetical."
He described India's engagement with the U.S. as
"unprecedented," but asked a correspondent not to compare this
new relationship with the one New Delhi enjoyed with the Soviet
Union.
"Please don't compare this with what we have done before. ...
The world has changed, we have changed."
Asked whether the U.S. would ensure uninterrupted nuclear fuel
supplies, including a strategic reserve, Mr. Burns said it
intended to keep the commitments made to India on July 18, 2005,
and March 2, 2006.
In colourful language, Mr. Burns said the nuclear deal agreed to
by President George W. Bush and Dr. Singh was an act of
"liberation" — it put Indian scientists on a par with their
counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
*****************************************************************
21 CNN-IBN: N-deal will be through in 36 hrs
US : Indo-US, nuclear agreement, bush : IBNLive.com :
Thursday , December 07, 2006
[LAST HURDLE: The House and Senate versions of the Bill were
reconciled late on Tuesday night.] LAST HURDLE: The House and
Senate versions of the Bill were reconciled late on Tuesday
night.
--> New Delhi: The United States on Thursday expressed hope that
the final Bill on the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation will be
through in the Congressional process in the next 36 hours.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting with Foreign
Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, US Under Secretary of State
Nicholas Burns said that it will then be within the parameters
of the agreement reached between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and President George W Bush.
After two days of crucial detailed discussions on the Bill, the
US Congress has now agreed upon one Bill for the deal.
Burns said the agreement would set out technical details of
nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
He also said that he anticipates a successive and supportive
Nuclear Bill. He stated the Bill would fall within parameters of
the Indo-US understanding adding that the agreement is
tremendous achievement for both nations.
"Though I haven’t seen the final text of the Bill but I am
optimistic that India and US will soon be a part of global
effort on Iran. I don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons and
I hope that India will support US on this," said Burns.
Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said "US will
meet all commitments made to India on the nuclear deal,
including fuel assurances."
The House and Senate versions of the Bill were reconciled late
on Tuesday night at Capitol Hill, clearing what is being seen as
the last hurdle for the deal to come into effect.
Sources say most of India's concerns have been addressed in the
final version and once the Bill is passed by the Congress, it
will allow India and United States to begin trading nuclear
technology, despite the fact that India is not a signatory to
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
President Bush is expected to sign the Bill into a law as early
as Saturday.
While the final version of the Bill is still to be officially
announced, sources have also told CNN-IBN that the language of
the Bill has been watered down significantly and amendments have
been refined to suit India’s demands. [ title=] [
*****************************************************************
22 The Hindu: As `hold' is lifted, nuclear bill clears another hurdle
Friday, Dec 08, 2006
WASHINGTON: The landmark Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal took a
major step on Thursday towards getting the legislative stamp
with a Republican lawmaker failing in his attempt to attach
unrelated issues to the bill, clearing the decks for its
submission to the Rules Committee.
The process is on for getting the signatures of the nine
Conferees of the House and the Senate so that the Conference
Report can be filed in the Rules Committee.
Report signed
The Ranking Member of the House International Relations
Committee and Incoming Chair of the powerful panel has signed
the Conference Report, a senior official told PTI.
Word from Capitol Hill
The word from the Capitol Hill is that the legislation has moved
forward with the ``hold'' by the lawmaker having been lifted.
After submission to the Rules Committee, the final legislation
will then be ready to be moved in the floor of the House of
Representatives. On its passage here, the Senate will take up
the legislation soon thereafter.
The vote on the legislation on the House floor is expected
sometime during the day. The House and the Senate are expected
to formally adjourn on Friday. — PTI
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
*****************************************************************
23 WP: Rising Interest in Nuclear Power Brings New Life to Uranium Mining -
washingtonpost.com
Firm's Boom Helps Namibian Town, Worries Environmentalists
By Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Page A16
ARANDIS, Namibia -- This sandy little company town, with its
tree-lined streets and concrete homes set amid a vast,
forbidding desert, had all the signs of terminal decline just a
few years back. Both banks closed. The only gas station shut off
its pumps. And employable young men, realizing the bleak future
of the giant uranium mine that gave Arandis life, began drifting
away.
But something unexpected happened on the way to the funeral for
Arandis: The nuclear industry, stagnant for two decades,
reversed its fortunes at a time of rising oil prices and growing
realization that burning fossil fuel caused global climate
change. Nuclear went from being seen as a dirty source of energy
to a comparatively clean, efficient one.
From that shift in perception, mainly in the minds of Westerners
thousands of miles away, the fate of this remote African town
went from doom to boom.
"The future was very dark," said the energetic mayor of Arandis,
Daniel Muhuura, who like hundreds of residents here has spent
his entire professional life working for Roessing Uranium Mine.
"Now the future is very bright."
Dramatic turnarounds have happened across the continent as a
quest for mineral riches, similar to the one that helped fuel
the 19th century's "Scramble for Africa," has become a hot
economic story of the decade. Decisions in boardrooms around the
world have sent prices soaring for copper in Zambia, coltan in
Congo and oil in Angola, Nigeria and Sudan.
From rising demand for these commodities, sub-Saharan Africa's
economic growth has hit rates not seen in three decades.
Perhaps no renaissance, however, has matched that of the uranium
industry's.
Roessing Uranium Mine opened in 1976 during nuclear power's
heyday. But the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and Chernobyl
in 1986 caused a profound political backlash that nearly halted
new reactor construction. Uncertainty about how to handle the
dangerous radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants also
contributed to its unpopularity.
By 2001, the price for uranium oxide had fallen to about $7 a
pound, one-sixth of its peak. Two years later, facing massive
losses, Roessing announced plans to close.
Under that plan, the mine was to cease operations in 2007 after
having dug 1 billion tons of rock out of a jagged, bleached
landscape often compared to the surface of the moon. Instead,
oil prices soared and global warming became the stuff of
newspaper headlines and Hollywood movies. Interest in building
new nuclear reactors grew, and the price of uranium oxide rose
to $62.50 a pound.
Roessing, which recently made its first delivery to an
increasingly energy-hungry , has decided to continue mining
until at least 2016, mine officials say.
They expect to end this year with Roessing's first substantial
profit, and tax bill to the Namibian government, in five years.
And the mine, whose workforce dropped from 3,800 in the 1970s to
860 last year, has begun hiring again.
"It is definitely a dramatic change," said company spokesman
Rehabeam Hoveka. "It is good news for Arandis. It is good news
for Namibia, too."
Crisis in Darfur
More than 2 million civilians have fled their homes and hundreds
of thousands have died in the Sudan conflict.
A second uranium mine, meanwhile, is slated to open nearby soon.
Three others within 60 miles are in various stages of
development. So where Arandis was once going to be a mining town
without a mine, soon there could be five in the area.
The boom in uranium mining has caused grumbling from the tourism
industry, which fears the loss of pristine landscapes, and
environmentalists, who fear damage to the fragile biodiversity of
the Namib, regarded as the driest and oldest desert in the world.
Some environmentalists also are concerned about the renewed
growth of an industry they still regard as dangerous despite
industry claims of safety improvements since the Chernobyl
disaster.
"They cannot tell us that they are safer than before," said
Bertchen Kohrs, head of Earthlife Namibia, speaking from
Windhoek, the capital. "It starts here with mining uranium, the
whole cycle starts. Who says that some day we won't have to take
back the nuclear waste here in Namibia?"
Roessing mine is a massive, dun-colored canyon two miles long,
nearly a mile wide and more than 1,000 feet deep. From its lip,
the giant dump trucks that haul uranium ore from the mine floor
look like children's toys.
Several crushing machines pulverize the rock into sand, then
powerful acids extract the traces of uranium. The end product,
after processing, is a fine gray powder that leaves the mine in
steel drums weighing 900 pounds. Mine officials say each holds as
much potential energy as 40,000 barrels of oil.
All of Roessing's uranium oxide is used by civilian reactors,
mine officials say, and is exported only to countries approved by
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The government of Iran owns 15 percent of Roessing, a legacy of
early investment in the 1960s by the shah there. Mine officials
say no shipment of uranium has ever been made to Iran, and the
country has no right to the mine's product. Roessing's majority
owner is Rio Tinto, a global mining conglomerate.
Officials in Arandis say they hope to use the unexpected revival
of the mine to secure the future of their town, which already
has, by African standards, an enviable infrastructure, including
paved roads, a soccer stadium, a library, streetlights and steady
sources of electricity and clean water. Two small clothing
factories and a technical college provide some jobs not directly
affiliated with the mine.
The banks have not resumed operations, but one recently opened a
cash machine in Arandis, and work on a new gas station is to
begin this month, said Muhuura, the mayor. With population on the
rise again, the town recently made a deal with a builder to
construct 50 homes.
The mine also has donated one of its dump trucks to Arandis,
where it sits massively, with giant rubber wheels twice the
height of most men, in the center of town. It is the first piece
of what town officials hope is an eventual mining museum, part of
the plan to help the town survive the next big downturn in
uranium demand, whenever it comes.
"We want to turn around to show the world that this town will
never be a ghost town," Muhuura said.
The Washington Post Company:
*****************************************************************
24 NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Monticello Nuclear Generating
FR Doc E6-20751
[Federal Register: December 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 235)]
[Notices] [Page 70996-70997] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07de06-95]
Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact Introduction The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
is considering issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, Part 50 (10 CFR 50), Appendix J, for
Facility Operating Licenses No. DPR-22, issued to Nuclear
Management Company (NMC) for operation of the Monticello Nuclear
Generating Plant (MNGP), located in Wright County, Minnesota.
Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt NMC from requirements to include
main steam isolation valve (MSIV) leakage in (1) the overall
integrated leakage rate test measurement required by Section
III.A of Appendix J, Option B; and (2) the sum of local leak rate
test measurements required by Section III.B of Appendix J, Option
B. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated September 15, 2005, for exemption and amendment
to the operating license (the latter action is not the subject of
this notice).
The Need for the Proposed Action Section 50.54(o) of 10 CFR Part
50 requires that primary reactor containments for water-cooled
power reactors be subject to the requirements of Appendix J to 10
CFR Part 50. Appendix J specifies the leakage test requirements,
schedules, and acceptance criteria for tests of the leak-tight
integrity of the primary reactor containment and systems and
components which penetrate the containment. Option B, Section
III.A of Appendix J requires that the overall integrated leak
rate must not exceed the allowable leakage (La) with margin, as
specified in the Technical Specifications (TS). The overall
integrated leak rate, as specified in the Appendix J definitions,
includes the contribution from MSIV leakage. By letter dated
September 15, 2005, the licensee requested an exemption from
Option B, Section III.A, requirements to permit exclusion of MSIV
leakage from the overall integrated leak rate test measurement.
Option B, Section III.B of Appendix J requires that the sum of
the leakage rates of Type B and Type C local leak rate tests be
less than the performance criterion (La) with margin, as
specified in the TS. The licensee's September 15, 2005, letter,
also requests an exemption from this requirement, to permit
exclusion of the MSIV contribution to the sum of the Type B and
Type C tests.
The above-cited requirements of Appendix J require that MSIV
leakage measurements be grouped with the leakage measurements of
other containment penetrations when containment leakage tests are
performed. The licensee stated that these requirements are
inconsistent with the design of the MNGP facilities and the
analytical models used to calculate the radiological consequences
of design-basis accidents. At other nuclear plants, the leakage
from primary containment penetrations, under accident conditions,
is collected and treated by the secondary containment system, or
would bypass the secondary containment. However, at MNGP, the
leakage from the MSIVs is collected and treated via an
alternative leakage treatment (ALT) path having different
mitigation characteristics. In performing accident analyses, it
is appropriate to group various leakage effluents according to
the treatment they receive before being released to the
environment, i.e., bypass leakage is grouped, leakage into
secondary containment is grouped, and ALT leakage is grouped,
with specific limits for each group defined in the TS. The
proposed exemption would permit ALT path leakage to be
independently grouped with its unique leakage limits.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The proposed action
will not significantly increase the probability or consequences
of accidents. The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the
proposed exemption and associated amendment and finds that the
calculated total doses remain within the acceptance criteria of
10 CFR 50.67 and General Design Criterion 19, and there is no
significant increase in occupational or public radiation
exposure. The NRC staff thus concludes that granting the proposed
exemption would result in no significant radiological
environmental impact.
The proposed action does not affect non-radiological plant
effluents or historical sites, and has no other environmental
impact. Therefore there are no significant non-radiological
impacts associated with the proposed exemption.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental
[[Page 70997]] impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternative to the Proposed Action As an alternative to the
proposed action, the NRC staff considered denial of the proposed
action (i.e., the ``no action'' alternative). Denial of the
exemption would result in no change in current environmental
impacts. Thus, the environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources This action does not involve the use
of any resources not previously considered in the MNGP Final
Environmental Statement dated November 1972, as supplemented on
August 31, 2006 (Generic Environmental Impact Statement for
Nuclear Plants for License Renewal, Regarding MNGP).
Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated
policy, on October 5, 2006, the NRC staff consulted with the
Minnesota State official, Mr. Steve Rakow, regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. Mr. Rakow had no
comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the
environmental assessment, the Commission concludes that the
proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality
of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for
the proposed action.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
licensee's letter dated September 15, 2006. Documents may be
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document
Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area
O-1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from
the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR
Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737,
or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland,
this 29th day of November, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch
III-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-20751 Filed 12-6-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
25 NRC: Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, Notice of
FR Doc E6-20753
[Federal Register: December 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 235)]
[Notices] [Page 70997-70999] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07de06-96]
Opportunity for Hearing, and Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct the Scoping Process
for Facility Operating License No. NPF-42 for an Additional
20-Year Period; Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation; Wolf
Creek Generating Station, Unit 1 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or the Commission) is considering an application
for the renewal of operating license NPF-42, which authorizes the
Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC), to operate the
Wolf Creek Generating Station (WCGS), Unit 1, at 3565 megawatts
thermal. The renewed license would authorize the applicant to
operate the WCGS, Unit 1, for an additional 20 years beyond the
period specified in the current license. WCGS, Unit 1, is located
in Burlington, Kansas, and its current operating license expires
on March 11, 2025.
On October 4, 2006, the Commission's staff received an
application from WCNOC, to renew operating license NPF-42 for
WCGS, Unit 1, pursuant to title 10, part 54, of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 54). A notice of receipt and
availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was
published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2006 (71 FR
61512).
The Commission's staff has reviewed the LRA for its acceptability
and has determined that WCNOC has submitted sufficient
information in accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23,
and 51.53(c), and that the application is acceptable for
docketing. The Commission will retain the current Docket No.
50-482, for operating license NPF-42. The docketing of the
renewal application does not preclude requests for additional
information as the review proceeds, nor does it predict whether
the Commission will grant or deny the license.
Before issuance of the requested renewed license, the NRC will
have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations.
In accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed
license on the basis of its review if it finds that actions have
been identified and have been or will be taken with respect to:
(1) Managing the effects of aging during the period of extended
operation on the functionality of structures and components that
have been identified as requiring aging management review; and
(2) time-limited aging analyses that have been identified as
requiring review, such that there is reasonable assurance that
the activities authorized by the renewed license will continue to
be conducted in accordance with the current licensing basis
(CLB), and that any changes made to the plant's CLB will comply
with the Act and the Commission's regulations. In addition, the
Commission must find that applicable requirements of subpart A of
10 CFR part 51 have been satisfied, and that matters raised under
10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed.
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal
Register notice, any person whose interest may be affected by
this proceeding and who desires to participate as a party in the
proceeding must file a written request for a hearing or a
petition for leave to intervene with respect to the renewal of
the license. Interested parties must file requests for a hearing
or a petition for leave to intervene in accordance with the
Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing
Proceedings and Issuance of Orders'' described in 10 CFR part 2.
Those interested should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309,
which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room through the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have
access to the Internet or who encounter problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR reference
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or via
e-mail at PDR@nrc.gov. If a request for a hearing or a petition
for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the
Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or
by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request and/or petition,
and the Secretary or the Chief
[[Page 70998]] Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an
appropriate order. If no request for a hearing or petition for
leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the NRC
may, upon completion of its evaluations and upon making the
findings required under 10 CFR parts 51 and 54, renew the license
without further notice.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner
in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the
results of the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited
scope of matters that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR parts
51 and 54. The petition must specifically explain the reasons why
intervention should be permitted with particular reference to:
(1) The nature of the requester/petitioner's right under the Act
to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent
of the requester/petitioner's property, financial, or other
interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any
decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding on the
requester/petitioner's interest. The petition must also set forth
the specific contentions that the petitioner/requester seeks to
have litigated at the proceeding.
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the
requester/petitioner shall briefly explain the bases of each
contention and concisely state the alleged facts or the expert
opinion that supports the contention on which the
requester/petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at
the hearing. The requester/petitioner must also provide
references to those specific sources and documents of which the
requester/petitioner is aware and on which the requester/
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert
opinion. The requester/petitioner must provide sufficient
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the
applicant on a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions
shall be limited to matters within the scope of the action under
consideration. The contention must be one that, if proven, would
entitle the requester/petitioner to relief. A
requester/petitioner who fails to satisfy these requirements with
respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to
participate as a party.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- \1\ To the extent that the application contains
attachments and supporting documents that are not publicly
available because they are asserted to contain safeguards or
proprietary information, petitioners desiring access to this
information should contact the applicant or applicant's counsel
to discuss the need for a protective order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- The Commission requests that each contention be given
a separate numeric or alpha designation within one of the
following groups: (1) Technical (primarily related to safety
concerns), (2) environmental, or (3) miscellaneous.
As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more
requesters/petitioners seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose
substantially the same contention, the requesters/petitioners
must jointly designate a representative who shall have the
authority to act for the requesters/ petitioners with respect to
that contention.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding,
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to
intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the
conduct of the hearing. A request for a hearing or a petition for
leave to intervene must be filed by either (1) first class mail
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier,
express mail, and expedited delivery services to the Office of
the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking
and Adjudications Staff; (3) e-mail addressed to the Office of
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
hearingdocket@nrc.gov; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff at
301-415-1101 (verification number is 301-415-1966).\2\
Requesters/petitioners must send a copy of the request for
hearing and petition for leave to intervene to the Office of the
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; copies should be transmitted either by facsimile
to 301- 415-3725 or via email to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov.
Requesters/petitioners must also send a copy of the request for
hearing and petition for leave to intervene to the attorney for
the licensee, Mr. Warren B. Wood, Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating
Corporation, P.O. Box 411, Burlington, Kansas 66839.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- \2\ If the request/petition is filed by e-mail or
facsimile, an original and two copies of the document must be
mailed within 2 (two) business days thereafter to the Secretary,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- Untimely requests and/or petitions and contentions
will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission,
the presiding officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
that the petition, request and/or contentions should be granted
based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR
2.309(a)(1)(i)-(viii). In addition, this notice informs the
public that the NRC will be preparing an environmental impact
statement (EIS) related to the review of the LRA and provides the
public an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping
process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In accordance with 10 CFR
51.95(c), the NRC will prepare an EIS that will be used as a
supplement to the Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants'' (GEIS), dated May 1996. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.26, and as
part of the environmental scoping process, the NRC staff intends
to hold a public scoping meeting. In addition, as outlined in 36
CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy
Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA).
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, WCNOC
prepared and submitted the environmental report (ER) as part of
the LRA.
The LRA and the ER are publicly available at the NRC's PDR,
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from ADAMS. The ADAMS accession
numbers for the LRA and the ER are ML062770308 and ML062770305,
respectively. The public may also view the LRA and the ER on the
Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati
ons.html. In addition, the LRA and the ER are available to the
public near WCGS, Unit 1, at the Burlington Library, 410 Juniatta
Street, Burlington, Kansas 66839.
Alternatives to the proposed action include no action and
reasonable alternative energy sources. The NRC is required by 10
CFR 51.95(c) to prepare a supplement to the GEIS in connection
with the renewal of an operating license. This notice is being
published in accordance with 10 CFR 51.26. The NRC staff will
first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS
and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the
scoping process by members of the public and local, State,
tribal, and Federal Government agencies is encouraged. As
[[Page 70999]] described in 10 CFR 51.29, the NRC staff will use
the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS to accomplish
the following: a. Define the proposed action which is to be the
subject of the supplement to the GEIS.
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify
the significant issues to be analyzed in depth.
c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that
are peripheral or insignificant.
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part
of, the scope of the supplement to this GEIS.
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action.
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the
preparation of the environmental analyses and the Commission's
tentative planning and decision-making schedule.
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate,
allocate assignments for preparation and schedules for completing
the supplement to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating
agencies.
h. Describe how the NRC will prepare the supplement to the GEIS
and any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, WCNOC. b. Any Federal agency that has
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any
environmental impact involved, or that is authorized to develop
and enforce relevant environmental standards.
c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental
standards.
d. Any affected Indian tribe. e. Any person who requests or has
requested an opportunity to participate in the scoping process.
f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave
to intervene.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS
may include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant
issues related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope
of issues to be addressed in an EIS. The NRC will hold public
meetings for the WCGS, Unit 1, license renewal supplement to the
GEIS, at the Burlington Library, 410 Juniatta Street, Burlington,
Kansas 66839 on Tuesday, December 19, 2006. There will be two
identical meetings to accommodate interested parties. The first
meeting will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30
p.m., as necessary. The second meeting will convene at 7:00 p.m.
and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. Both meetings will
be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview by the NRC staff
of the NRC's license renewal review process; (2) an overview by
the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the
proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed
review schedule; and (3) the opportunity for interested
government agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit
comments or suggestions on the environmental issues or the
proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS. Additionally, the
NRC staff will host informal discussions 1 hour before the start
of each session at the same location. The staff will not accept
formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the
GEIS during these informal discussions. For comments to be
considered, persons must provide them either at the transcribed
public meetings or in writing, as discussed below.
For more information about the proposed action, the scoping
process, and the EIS, interested persons should contact the NRC
Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Christian Jacobs, at Mail Stop
O- 11F1, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852; by telephone at 1-800-368-5642,
extension 3874; or via e-mail at CJJ@nrc.gov. Persons may
register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on
the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Jacobs. Members of
the public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15
minutes of the start of each meeting. Individual oral comments
may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of
persons who register. Members of the public who have not
registered may also have an opportunity to speak, if time
permits. The NRC will consider public comments in the scoping
process for the supplement to the GEIS. If members of the public
need special equipment or accommodations to attend or present
information at the public meeting, they should contact Mr. Jacobs
no later than December 5, 2006, so that the NRC staff can
determine if it can accommodate the request.
Members of the public may send written comments on the
environmental scope of the WCGS, Unit 1, license renewal review
to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of
Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop
T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number
of this Federal Register notice. The public may also deliver
comments to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop
T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during Federal
workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written
comments should be postmarked by January 29, 2007. Electronic
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at
WolfCreekEIS@nrc.gov, and should be sent no later than January
29, 2007, to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will
be available electronically and accessible through ADAMS.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the
GEIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the
proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Matters
related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope of
matters to be discussed at this public meeting.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached,
including the significant issues identified, and will send a copy
of the summary to each participant in the scoping process. The
public may also view the summary in ADAMS. The staff will then
prepare and issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS,
which will be the subject of separate notices and separate public
meetings. Copies will be available for public viewing at the
above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per request will be
provided free of charge, to the extent of supply. After receipt
and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a final
supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public
viewing.
Information about the supplement to the GEIS, and the scoping
process may be obtained from Mr. Jacobs at the telephone number
or e- mail address given previously.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of November 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Acting Director, Division of License Renewal,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-20753 Filed 12-6-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
26 The Advocate: Operator of nuclear plant replacing old system
Associated Press
Published December 7 2006
WATERFORD, Conn. -- The 24-year-old siren warning system for
the Millstone nuclear power plant is being replaced.
Dominion, the owner of Millstone Power Station, has begun
replacing the region's warning system with sophisticated sirens
that can carry tones farther and handle live voice messages.
The company this week began replacing 16 sirens in a first phase
and will replace all 159 sirens over the next three years with a
total of 80 to 85 new ones.
Dominion spokesman Pete Hyde said the sirens sit on poles
throughout the communities surrounding the nuclear power complex,
but are also available for use by local and state public safety
officials in emergencies.
The reason fewer sirens are needed is because the technology has
advanced, and the sirens' six, low-frequency tones can travel
farther than tones emitted by the old sirens, Phil Kurze, vice
president of Whelen Engineering Co. in Chester, said Wednesday.
Whelen, the company that is replacing the old system, has been
making sirens since 1974.
Tones can be assigned to specific types of emergencies, like a
nuclear, hazardous materials, or hurricane emergency; or a public
address can be carried live over the sirens, Kurze said.
All sirens are on battery power and have solar power as a backup
to charge the batteries, so in a true emergency, when power is
out, they can still function, Kurze said.
"They're always in a ready state," Kurze said. "They're designed
to work when all else fails."
---
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
© 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
27 Hudson Valley News: NRC should hold off on Indian Point relicensing, says Hall
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Washington Congressman-Elect John Hall has called for a delay
in approving a new license for the Indian Point nuclear power
plants in Buchanan until all questions are answered.
Halls comments come after a petition by Westchester County
Executive Andrew Spano to change the criteria by which Indian
Point could be re-licensed was rejected by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
Hall said questions of leaks must be addressed first. I would
suggest to the NRC that they table the application until the
location of the leak of strontium 90 and tritium from the spent
fuel cooling ponds is located and stopped, he said. They are
contaminating the groundwater and the Hudson River, and until
they are addressed, the application should not be considered,
the incoming lawmaker said.
Spano blasted the NRC for its stance that the criteria for
license renewal was put in place in 1991 and clarified in 1995.
They continue to insist that nothing has changed since that
time, he said. I guess they dont remember September 11, nor do
they think that a county whose population has increased by
100,000 since the plant was first sited makes any difference.
HEAR today's news on , the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio
news report.
*****************************************************************
28 AFP: US Congress completes final legislation for Indian nuclear deal
Thu Dec 7, 7:56 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Congress completed final legislation
for a landmark civilian nuclear deal with India, removing
contentious provisions objected by the US and Indian governments.
The legislation reconciled separate bills passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives aimed at implementing a nuclear
agreement reached between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushlast
year.
It is expected to be passed by the House and Senate on Friday
before Bush signs it into law.
Lawmakers said key provisions objected by the administrations of
Bush and Singh were "watered down," including one that initially
virtually compelled India to back US efforts to contain New
Delhi's traditional ally Iran" /> Iran's nuclear program.
"This latest step in a long and sometimes arduous legislative
process has resulted in a satisfying consensus," said Tom
Lantos, the incoming head of the powerful House international
affairs panel.
The final legislation "strikes the right balance between giving
the President the necessary flexibility to negotiate the best
agreement possible with New Delhi, while at the same time
preserving Congressional oversight," he said.
Under the deal, India, a non-signatory of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), will be given access to civilian
nuclear technology in return for placing its atomic reactors
under global safeguards.
The pact was seen as controversial because the US Congress had
to create a rare exception for India from some of the
requirements of the US Atomic Energy Act, which currently
prohibits nuclear sales to non-NPT signatories.
In addition, US weapons experts warned forging such an agreement
with non-NPT member India could make it harder to enforce rules
against nuclear renegade North Korea" /> North Koreaand set a
dangerous precedent for other nations with nuclear ambitions.
Singh and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza
Ricepersonally lobbied US lawmakers to remove "problematic"
provisions seen as going against the spirit of the nuclear
agreement signed by Bush and the Indian prime minister in July
last year.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
29 Guardian Unlimited: Lawmakers Agree on U.S.-Indian Nuke Bill
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday December 7, 2006 10:31 PM
By FOSTER KLUG
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers reached agreement Thursday on
allowing U.S. shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to India,
clearing the way for overturning decades of American
anti-proliferation policy.
After several days of talks, congressional negotiators signed
off on the measure, which reconciles separate versions
previously endorsed overwhelmingly by the House and the Senate.
Both chambers of Congress must now vote again on the bill before
sending it to President Bush to sign into law. The House was
expected to consider the bill Friday, with the Senate acting
after that. Details of the final bill were not immediately
available.
The bill's passage would hand a rare victory to Bush, who has
seen his popularity tumble and who will have to deal in January
with a Democratic-controlled Congress after his Republican Party
was defeated in recent elections.
Senior lawmakers from both parties promoted the India plan as a
major shift in U.S. policy toward a country that is
strategically an important Asian power, one that has long
maintained what the United States considers a responsible
nuclear program.
The bill would carve out an exemption in American law to allow
U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India in exchange for Indian
safeguards and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear plants;
eight military plants would remain off-limits. Congressional
action is needed because U.S. law bars nuclear trade with
countries, such as India, that have not submitted to full
international inspections.
``We now have the opportunity to achieve a geo-strategic
realignment of India with the United States,'' said Rep. Tom
Lantos of California, the top Democrat on the House
International Relations Committee. ``This will be of immense
importance to global security and economic development, while at
the same time furthering our interests in limiting the spread of
nuclear weapons.''
Critics say the extra nuclear fuel the deal would provide could
free India's domestic uranium for use in its weapons program.
India developed its nuclear weapons outside the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it has refused to sign.
Although Bush's signature would change U.S. law, several hurdles
loom before India and the United States could begin civil
nuclear trade, including another congressional vote once
technical negotiations on an overall U.S.-India cooperation
agreement are settled.
On Thursday, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and his
Indian counterpart, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon,
expressed confidence that each side would be satisfied with the
outcome of Congress' work.
The final bill ``will be, in my judgment, well within the
parameters of the deal made between our two leaders,'' Burns
said, referring to agreements struck in July 2005 and March 2006
by Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Burns called
the nuclear deal a ``liberation'' act for India's nuclear
program.
Among the potential sticking points in congressional
negotiations was language in the Senate version of the bill
requiring Bush to determine that India is cooperating with
U.S.-led efforts to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions before he
could allow nuclear cooperation with India. The Bush
administration and the Indian government have urged lawmakers to
remove the condition.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
30 New London Day: Dominion To Install Warning Sirens
theday.com
Company Replacing 24-year-old System
By Patricia Daddona Day Staff Writer\, Millstone\/business
trends E-mail: p.daddona@theday.com Phone No.: (860) 701 - 4324
Published on 12/7/2006 in Region » Region News
Dominion, the owner of Millstone Power Station in Waterford, is
replacing the region's warning system with sophisticated sirens
that can carry tones farther and handle live voice messages.
The company this week began replacing 16 sirens in a first phase
and will replace all 159 sirens over the next three years with a
total of 80 to 85 new ones, said Dominion spokesman Pete Hyde.
They sit on poles throughout the communities surrounding the
nuclear power complex, but are also available for use by
municipal and state public safety officials in emergencies, he
said.
The reason fewer sirens are needed is because the technology has
advanced, and the sirens' six, low-frequency tones can travel
farther than tones emitted by the old sirens, said Phil Kurze,
vice president of Whelen Engineering Co. in Chester. In average
weather conditions, the sirens can be heard over a mile away,
Kurze said.
The existing sirens are 24 years old, Hyde said.
Tones can be assigned to specific types of emergencies, like a
nuclear, hazardous materials, or hurricane emergency; or a
public address can be carried live over the sirens, Kurze said.
The sirens can also be tested on frequencies with a tone that
humans can't hear, and the results of the test can be radioed
back to an operations center and printed out, Kurze said.
All sirens are on battery power and have solar power as a backup
to charge the batteries, so in a true emergency, when power is
out, they can still function, Kurze said.
They're always in a ready state, he said. They're designed
to work when all else fails.
Whelen has been making sirens since 1974 and markets them
internationally. Sixty engineers and electrical and acoustic
experts are always striving to come up with innovations, Kurze
said.
Our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq use them, and Denmark
bought 1,400 for use in a national warning system, he added.
Our sirens are in the deserts of Kuwait and the frozen tundras
of Greenland.
If sirens are heard, residents should follow instructions about
what to do in the emergency booklets Dominion sent out this week
to homes in the region, Hyde said. The booklet is updated
regularly.
The whole idea is just to upgrade the system and provide new
technology to make sure we have as comprehensive a system as we
can, he said.
Neither Hyde nor Kurze would discuss the cost of the new warning
system.
Privacy Policy | Contact Us at 1 (860) 442-2200 | New London,
CT | © 1998-2006 The Day Publishing Co. [Beacon Locator] ~ 01
*****************************************************************
31 [du-list] Khiam bomb crater tests positive for uranium
Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:56:05 -0800
X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
X-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61
X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST
Khiam bomb crater tests positive for uranium
http://www.dailystar.com.lb:80/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=77463
BEIRUT: Tests carried out on samples taken from a bomb crater in the
southern region of Khiam following the summer war with Israel showed the
presence of uranium, Chris Busby, the British scientific secretary of the
European Committee on Radiation Risk, told Environment and Development
magazine for its December issue.
"The analysis was accurate and showed the presence of depleted uranium,"
Busby said in a telephone interview with Environment Hotline, an
environmental research team affiliated with the magazine.
Busby said in late October that samples taken from a bomb crater in Khiam
had been sent for analysis to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire,
southern England. He added, at the time, that "samples thrown up by Israeli
bombs showed elevated radiation signatures resulting from a new
experimental weapon used by Israel."
"There is no way the signs of uranium found in Khiam were the result of
natural or industrial materials ... Their only source is nuclear reactors,"
Busby said.
The magazine says Busby's statements in October spurred the Lebanese Atomic
Energy Commission to take more samples from Khiam for analysis.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which has been studying
ecological damage in Lebanon after the war, had also sent another team to
gather samples from Khiam, a statement said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
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32 BBC: Asbestos clean-up
Last Updated: Thursday, 7 December 2006
[Chapelcross]
A specialist team has been called in to the Annan plant
A specialist team has been brought in to clear up asbestos
lagging which fell off a heat exchanger at the Chapelcross
nuclear plant in Dumfriesshire.
About 20kg of the material crashed onto a staircase after
becoming waterlogged during the weekend storms.
Air samples showed levels of asbestos remained within safe limits
but the area was sealed off as a precaution.
The plant stopped producing electricity in 2004 and is currently
going through the decommissioning process.
All decommissioning work in the vicinity of the incident has been
suspended.
Serious effects
Specialist contractors have been drafted into the Chapelcross
site to clear up the affected area.
The work is expected to be complete within the next few weeks.
The remaining asbestos lagging on the plant's heat exchangers is
scheduled to be removed next year as part of the site clean-up
programme.
Asbestos fibres - if inhaled - can have very serious effects on
health.
*****************************************************************
33 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. to Check for Radiation in 6 Ports
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday December 7, 2006 10:31 PM
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S.-bound cargo at six overseas ports will be
screened for nuclear and radiological material in an expanded
effort to prevent terrorist bombs from entering American waters,
federal officials said Thursday.
The Homeland Security Department said it would scan all
containers bound for the United States in the ports of Qasim,
Pakistan; Puerto Cortes, Honduras; and Southampton, England.
Radiological scanning will also be done at Port Salaleh in Oman,
the Port of Singapore, and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in
Korea, though not every container will be screened, officials
said. Officials said thehad undergone closer scrutiny this time.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called the effort
part of a strategy to ``secure the global supply chain and cut
off any possibility of exploitation by terrorists.''
The program was created by Congress in September, but the agency
said it was going beyond the legislation's requirement of
screening in three foreign ports.
The Homeland Security and Energy departments will split the
nearly $60 million cost of the detection equipment, ranging from
large portals to handheld scanners.
The screening will be done by local port officials, but data
from the sensors will be given instantly to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection officers working in the overseas ports.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., whose amendment to ports
legislation created the program, said he wants the program to
grow to further ports.
``It makes sense to focus this program on the ports that present
the greatest risks, and we'll continue to fight to expand this
program to ports around the world,'' Schumer said.
As for the agreement with Dubai Ports World, Schumer said ``they
have undergone significant scrutiny to join this program, unlike
what we experienced in the first episode.''
---
On the Net:
Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
34 Platts: Po-210 'fingerprint' unlikely, Russian and Western officials caution
It is not likely that UK investigators will find a radiochemical
fingerprint identifying the origin of the polonium-210 that
fatally poisoned Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian
intelligence officer, in London on November 23, Russian and
Western officials said at the end of November.
The amount of Po-210 suspected to have been involved in the case
may be quite large for polonium but too small for most
conventional forensic techniques used to obtain chemical
signatures for transuranic elements, Western officials said.
UK investigators have not disclosed the amount of Po-210 they
have calculated was involved in the Litvinenko case. Po-210, 250
billion times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide, is naturally
present only in extremely tiny amounts. The maximum human body
burden for Po-210 is only about 4 trillionths of a gram. A
lethal dose of incorporated Po-210 might be measured in
millionths of a gram. In the Litvinenko case, one scientist
said, "a single gram of Po-210 would be a huge amount."
The amount involved in the case is large enough, however,
investigators told Platts, to suggest it was not diverted from a
known civilian application by black marketeers but was removed
directly from a government-supervised nuclear establishment, and
that the perpetrators were to some extent familiar with the
challenges of handling it.
Litvinenko's contacts before and after his death, as well as
Litvenenko himself as his health failed, accused Russian
security agency FSB and Russian President Vladimir Putin of
poisoning him. The accusations have prompted intense speculation
that the Po-210 that caused Litvinenko's death came from a
Russian facility.
On November 29, Sergey Kirienko, head of the Federal Atomic
Energy Agency, or Rosatom, told reporters that no Po-210 had
been, or could be, diverted from Russia. Yevgeny Velikhov, head
of the Kurchatov Institute, agreed. Rosatom said it exports
about 8 grams of Po-210 per year, none of it to the UK.
UK investigators, led by Scotland Yard, include UK intelligence
and counterintelligence agencies. They continue to probe the
possibility that the Po-210 was brought to the UK from Russia.
UK authorities said traces of Po-210 have been found on
passenger jet aircraft that had touched down in Moscow as well
as at other destinations in recent weeks.
In the UK, investigators have identified about 130 locations
where Po-210 has been used for commercial and scientific
research purposes, but none of the carefully regulated
inventories has been found to be missing. Nearly all of these
inventories are smaller than the amount of Po-210 that
investigators calculate may have been involved in the Litvinenko
poisoning, according to investigative sources.
The amount of Po-210 involved in this case prompts the
conclusion that "whoever did this, at least to some extent, knew
in advance what they were dealing with," one UK investigator
said.
If the Po-210 was imported into the UK, experts said, it could
have been smuggled past conventional gamma detectors only if it
were highly pure. Any gamma-emitting impurities would likely be
detected by such equipment, they said.
UK investigators told Platts that the relatively large amount of
Po-210 detected so far also strongly suggests that the
perpetrators of the poisoning were equipped to manage the high
thermal energy it would generate. Alpha radiation from a single
curie of Po-210 can be detected by the naked eye in the dark as
a blue haze surrounding the sample. A curie of Po-210 radiates
about 30 calories per hour. A single gram emits about 140 watts
of heat. "They had to be prepared to handle the heat," one
investigator said.
Investigators also suggested that advance preparation was
required because the high specific activity of the Po-210 would
quickly decompose most organic solvents if a solution were to be
administered as poison.
But investigators said environmental sampling campaigns so far
that revealed trace amounts of Po-210 at various locations
suggest the perpetrators may not have succeeded in completely
containing the material. A few milligrams would suffice for
alpha radiation to cause conventional glass or silicon
containers to fracture.
Po-210 occurs naturally but only in extremely tiny quantities
through the decay of uranium-238. By far most of the world's
artificial Po-210 is generated by irradiating bismuth-209
targets in high-flux reactors. A large percentage of this
output, experts said, has been used for alloying with beryllium
to produce neutron initiators for nuclear weapons. When the IAEA
learned in 2004 that Iran had conducted some experiments to
produce Po-210, it voiced concern because Po-210 has so few
civilian uses.
The only common civilian use of Po-210 is in static eliminators.
But, according to IAEA Tecdoc/1344, on classification of
radioactive sources, this application requires just tenths of
curies or, in most cases, hundredths of curies -- far less than
the amounts calculated by UK investigators to be involved in the
Litvinenko case. "It would be nearly inconceivable that whoever
did this collected the polonium from thousands of static
eliminators," one investigator said.
Another possible application of Po-210 is for radioisotope
thermal electric generators. But when Iran told the IAEA in 2004
it aimed to produce Po-210 for this purpose, the IAEA replied
that this application had elsewhere been abandoned by the
mid-1970s.
This is an excerpt. To see the full length feature, contact .
Created: December 7, 2006
Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
[The McGraw-Hill Companies]
*****************************************************************
35 AFP: Moscow opens murder probe, new poisonings emerge
by Stephen Boykewich Thu Dec 7, 3:03 PM ET
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian prosecutors said they were opening their
own murder inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko as a
funeral was held for the former Russian spy at a central London
mosque.
A spate of new poisonings added further intrigue to the affair,
including that of a private Russian security agent Dmitry Kovtun
who met Litvinenko last month in London, according to Russian
officials.
Kovtun "has also been found to have an illness connected with
poisoning with a radioactive nuclide," the Russian prosecutor
general's office said in a statement.
Seven staff at the Millenium Hotel in London where Kovtun met
Litvinenko for business talks on November 1, the day Litvinenko
fell ill, also tested positive for radiation on Thursday,
British public health officials said.
British investigators, who arrived in Moscow on Monday, met with
Kovtun this week in the clinic where he has been undergoing
tests for the same radioactive substance that resulted in
Litvinenko's death on November 23.
A spokeswoman for the Russian prosecutor's office said a Russian
investigation team may also head to London to probe the death,
as well as the suspected attempted murder of Kovtun, Interfax
news agency reported.
The case has strained ties between London and Moscow with
Litvinenko's relatives accusing the Kremlin -- and in particular
President Vladimir Putin" /> -- of having him murdered.
The Kremlin has vigorously denied the claim as "nonsense".
In London, family and friends, including fugitive Russian
oligarch Boris Berezovsky, paid their respects to Litvinenko at
a funeral ceremony Thursday, preceded by a memorial at a London
mosque.
A black hearse topped with white wreaths led a funeral
procession of about 10 cars to Highgate cemetery in north London
-- final resting place of Karl Marx -- for the
non-denominational burial.
"It is Putin who killed my son," said Litvinenko's father,
Valter.
Another Russian who was at the meeting with Kovtun and
Litvinenko, a former Kremlin bodyguard who has come forward as a
key witness, has said he is undergoing medical checks at a
Moscow clinic but is ready to meet police.
On the same day as his meeting with Lugovoi and Kovtun,
Litvinenko also met an Italian contact, Mario Scaramella, who
has since tested positive for the same radioactive substance,
polonium-210, that killed the ex-spy.
In France, a Russian claiming to be a contact of Scaramella told
AFP on Thursday that he feared for his life and wanted to meet
British or Italian police probing the case.
Yevgeny Limarev said he had made a statement to French police
regarding information he gave Scaramella.
"My name has been brought up in the case along with Litvinenko
and Scaramella," Limarev said. "And I really fear something
might happen to me."
Limarev said he had worked previously as a freelance for the
Russian secret service and gave Scaramella information he had
accumulated.
Russian prosecutors meanwhile said they had opened their own
murder investigation into Litvinenko's death, as well as
investigating Kovtun's poisoning.
"It has been established that Litvinenko died as a result of
poisoning by a radioactive nuclide," the prosecutor general's
statement said Thursday.
Both Kovtun and Lugovoi currently work in private Russian
security firms.
British counter-terror officers arrived in Moscow on Monday to a
somewhat frosty reception from Russian Prosecutor General Yury
Chaika who made it clear that they not be allowed to question
witnesses directly.
Chaika also said that possible Russian suspects would not be
extradited.
Some 100 people attended Litvinenko's memorial ceremony at the
Regent's Park mosque in central London, including leading
Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, who has been granted asylum
by Britain.
One of Litvinenko's sons, aged about 20, also took part in the
prayer, which was given in Arabic and English by the local imam.
The ex-KGB agent had requested a Muslim ceremony before he died.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
36 UPI: Poisoned spy's visitor ill, in coma
United Press International - NewsTrack -
12/7/2006 6:59:00 PM -0500
MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A witness in the case of poisoned
Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko fell into a coma in Moscow with
similar symptoms Thursday, a report said.
Dmitry Kovtun, a Russian who met with Litvinenko in London in
October, was reported in critical condition at a Moscow
hospital.
Authorities said Kovtun gave "important testimony" to Russian
and British investigators before slipping into a coma, Interfax
said. Afterward, Russian officials opened criminal proceedings
in the case.
Earlier, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor general's office said
Russian prosecutors "had every reason to believe" that Kovtun
and Litvinenko were poisoned with radioactive nuclides."
Litvinenko died in a London hospital two weeks ago.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
37 Guardian Unlimited: Hotel bar staff poisoned with polonium-210 |
Business associate who met murdered ex-spy in London falls into
coma
Ian Cobain, Jeevan Vasagar and Ian Sample
Friday December 8, 2006
Concern that hundreds of members of the public may have been at
risk of radioactive poisoning during the killing of Alexander
Litvinenko were raised last night by the discovery that seven
hotel workers have consumed polonium-210.
Health officials say they are anxious to test around 250 people
who went into the bar of the London hotel where the Russian
ex-spy is thought to have been exposed to a massive dose of the
toxic isotope on November 1.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) also wants to track down and
test hundreds more guests who drank in the Pine Bar of the
Millennium Hotel on the days either side of the attack.
In another startling development yesterday, one of the three
Russian businessmen who met Mr Litvinenko in the bar was
reported to have fallen into a coma shortly after being
questioned in the presence of British police officers.
The condition of Dmitri Kovtun, 41, was said to be critical, and
Russian authorities were reported as saying that they suspected
he too had suffered radioactive poisoning. Interfax news agency,
quoting medical sources, said Mr Kovtun had suffered "damage to
his vital organs, in particular his liver and kidneys, caused by
radioactive nuclides". However, a lawyer close to the case later
denied the report.
Fears that significant numbers of innocent bystanders may have
been poisoned followed the return of urine tests yesterday which
showed that all seven of the Pine Bar's staff had ingested the
substance in sufficient quantities to slightly increase their
risk of contracting cancer.
More test results disclosed by the HPA suggest that the
polonium-210 may have been smuggled into the country as much as
two weeks before Mr Litvinenko was poisoned. Traces of the
material have also been found at the Parkes Hotel, where another
businessman Andrei Lugovoi was a guest in mid-October - and
where he also met Mr Litvinenko. The tests on the hotel, in
Knightsbridge, were carried out last Monday but the HPA did not
disclose the positive result until last night.
Meanwhile, Mr Litvinenko was buried in a carefully sealed coffin
yesterday after prayers were said at Regent's Park mosque. He
was said to have converted to Islam shortly before his death.
With one person who was in the Pine Bar on the afternoon of
November 1 now dead, a second reported to be gravely ill, and
seven more shown to be poisoned, detectives are convinced that
this was the scene of the attack which was to claim Mr
Litvinenko's life three weeks later.
Mr Kovtun said last week that he and Mr Lugovoi, a business
associate, drank tea and gin in the Pine Bar, but that he could
not recall whether Mr Litvinenko had a drink or not.
Scientists supporting the police said yesterday that the
polonium could have been dissolved in liquid before it was
slipped to Mr Litvinenko. HPA officials say bar staff could have
inhaled it when it evaporated while Mr Litvinenko was being
poisoned. This could mean that anyone in the vicinity also
inhaled the substance.
Dr Michael Clark, science spokesman for the HPA, said: "If it
was some sort of liquid, it could have been - as in James Bond -
a little magic capsule."
The Yard has all but ruled out the Itsu restaurant, a few
hundred metres away in Piccadilly, as the scene of the
poisoning. Although one person who met Mr Litvinenko at the
sushi bar is known to have ingested large amounts of
polonium-210, the restaurant staff have been given the
all-clear. That person, Mario Scaramella, is said to be showing
no ill-effects and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
Scotland Yard detectives in Moscow will now be even more anxious
to interview Mr Lugovoi, a KGB bodyguard-turned-businessman. He
too was in hospital last night, although his lawyer indicated he
was merely undergoing tests.
They will also want to question the so-called Third Man,
Vyacheslav Sokolenko, a business associate of Mr Lugovoi, who
was also at the Pine Bar. Mr Sokolenko was quoted last week as
saying that when he met Mr Litvinenko he "shook hands out of
politeness". Apparently backtracking yesterday, he was quoted as
saying: "Actually I never met him."
There are thought to be a small number of other Russians who
travelled to London around the time of the November 1 meeting
who are of interest to police. Detectives are also known to be
interested in a group, which included Mr Lugovoi, which flew to
London on British Airways flight BA875 a week earlier and stayed
at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel. Tests have shown that the
aircraft and five rooms at the hotel have been contaminated.
It emerged last night that some 250 of the Millennium Hotel's
guests, who contacted NHS Direct following an appeal by the HPA
more than a week ago, were not tested because the focus of the
police inquiry was on the sushi bar, whose staff and customers
were thought to have been at greater risk. The HPA is now
contacting each of them to arrange urine tests.
The news was broken to the seven bar staff from the Millennium
yesterday after tests showed their bodies contained levels of
polonium-210 approaching the dose found in Mr Litvinenko's
widow, Marina, last week. Staff working elsewhere in the hotel
are unaffected.
Pat Troop, chief executive of the HPA, said: "All of them are
very low, some are lower than others. It doesn't affect them
having children. There could be a very small increase, long-term
risk of cancer. I appreciate that it is quite hard for them to
take in."
Mark Little, a radiation expert at Imperial College London said:
"This amount of radiation would mean tiny amounts of polonium
were involved and the increase in long-term cancer risk is going
to be very small."
The hotel was open for business last night, though the Pine Bar
had been closed. A hotel spokesman said: "The health and
wellbeing of all our employees and guests is of paramount
importance to us. We continue to work closely with the HPA."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
38 China News: Australia to export uranium to China
Updated: 2006-12-07 09:03
Australia will sell uranium to China starting next year under
an export deal approved yesterday by a parliamentary committee
that ensured international safeguards would be met.
Australia, which holds 40 per cent of the world's recoverable
uranium, reached agreement in April to begin exporting uranium
to China, a move that should double annual revenue from exports
of the nuclear fuel to US$1 billion.
Lawmakers on the parliamentary treaty committee, who needed to
approve the deal, concluded it was in Australia's national
interest.
China is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"The safeguards agreement offers adequate assurance that China
will use Australian uranium and technology for peaceful purposes
only," committee Chairman Andrew Southcott said.
Some experts expect China's nuclear power generating capacity to
increase eightfold over the next 25 years.
"Estimates available to the committee suggest that, at a current
price of 100 dollars (US$78) a kilogram, with Australia selling
an estimated 2,500 tons of uranium to China, this would earn
Australia 250 million dollars a year," Southcott said.
China, with a huge appetite for energy, is banking on nuclear
power to meet its needs and cut greenhouse emissions from fossil
fuels.
Despite its huge reserves, Australia accounts for only 23
percent of global uranium production, in part because of mining
bans associated with fears over the safety of nuclear waste and
proliferation.
*****************************************************************
39 CourierPost: Newfield residents question storage of radioactive material
Thursday, December 7, 2006
By MEG HUELSMAN Gannett New Jersey NEWFIELD
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials faced more than
100 frustrated, concerned and determined residents at a public
meeting to explain plans to cap a low-grade radioactive rock
pile for 1,000 years at a polluted industrial site.
The NRC first must determine if the plan submitted by
Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp., is safe, practical and feasible
for the site.
Christine Luscko was near tears as she expressed concern for
her children, the future of the borough and residents who live
near the site at Tuesday's hearing at Edgarton Memorial School.
Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Washington Township, wanted to
know what financial assurance the company would provide to make
sure the capped pile would be maintained for 1,000 years.
"What's a dollar worth in 1,000 years?" Moriarty asked. "What
is the financial equation to figure out how much money will be
needed in 1,000 years?"
The plan submitted by Shieldalloy -- which would not be
finalized until 2012, according to an NRC timeline -- calls for
several permanent structures. First, the pile would be
consolidated and capped by a specially engineered cover. The
bottom of the pile would be lined to prevent groundwater
contamination, and the mound would be covered with material that
could withstand rain, floods, winds and 1,000 years of natural
and man-made effects, officials said.
Grass and dirt would cover the mound, and a fence would
surround the area, which would be deemed "restricted," meaning
no buildings could be placed on the site and children would not
be allowed to play on the mound.
It was unclear how much of the 67.7-acre site would be
"unrestricted," but officials said much of the site could be
developed.
Shieldalloy estimates the capping project would cost $5 million.
Additionally, the company would set aside $5 million in a trust
fund to pay for maintenance of the mound.
According to the report, the cost of an alternative plan -- to
move the rock pile to a Utah-based disposal facility -- would
cost upward of $50 million, although the disposal company said
in a previous interview that the cost would be about $35 million.
Officials appeared flustered and frustrated at times as dozens
of residents and elected officials fired questions.
"I'm sorry if I seem emotional," NRC official Larry Camper told
the crowd. "There are 100 sites just like this. We are using the
same process here that we will use for them. We have made no
determination yet."
Cindy Brooks, a North Vineland resident, moved her family out
of a home hooked to a private well because of groundwater
contamination she claims originated from Shieldalloy.
"If you have grown up under the water tower of Shieldalloy
Metallurgical Corp., you'll know the sins of this company are
extensive," she said. "What long-term health evaluations are
going to be considered due to the leaching of soluble metals
from this industry?"
Copyright 2006 CourierPostOnline.com. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
40 ITAR-TASS: Russia, Kazakhstan create JV for uranium transportation
07.12.2006, 15.40
CHIMKENT, December 7 (Itar-Tass) - The chief of Russia’s
exporter company Tekhsnabexport, Vladimir Smirnov, and head of
Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom atomic industry agency, Mukhtar
Dzhakhishev, have signed a memorandum on the creation of a joint
venture in Russia territory that will build and operate a
transport and logistics facility.
The chief of Russia’s atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko,
told the media earlier on Thursday “Russia and Kazakhstan’s
joint projects in the uranium sphere provide for the production
of 6,000 tonnes of uranium a year.”
The yet-to-be created joint venture will be responsible for
delivering the products to consumers, Prime-Tass reports.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed with the CEO of the
Eurasian Development Bank, Ivan Finogenov.
The bank’s public relations director, Mikhail Mzarsulov, has
announced that under the memorandum the bank’s financing of the
Zarechnoye uranium mining venture over a period of five years
will total 60 million dollars. The Bank’s board is still to
approve of this project.
The Eurasian Development Bank plans to participate in financing
other projects in the atomic energy sphere.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
41 Monticello Times: NRC's nuclear storage decision gets challenged
www.monticellotimes.com
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Environmentalists ask the commission to reconsider
By Kathleen Ostroot News Editor
The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) and Fresh
Energy asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Tuesday,
Nov. 14, to reconsider a September decision to permit Xcel
Energy to store 30 highly radioactive nuclear waste concrete
casks at the nuclear power plant in Monticello. The $55 million
proposal is to build a storage building that would hold the
casks. The utilities commission will review the request
Thursday, Dec. 14.
According to MCEA communications director Chuck Laszewski, the
MCEA and Fresh Energy argue that the casks will be permanent,
not temporary, and pose a substantial risk from either leaks or
as a target for terrorists.
"There are cheaper and cleaner alternatives to the Monticello
nuclear plant," he said.
Monticello's 40-year operating license expires in 2010, at which
time the plant will need to store the spent rods in casks. For
that reason, Xcel sought permission from the federal government
to extend the operating license of the power plant another 20
years, which would not be possible unless the storage plan is in
place.
Nevertheless, the environmentalists argue that these casks could
become permanent, since no federal site for nuclear waste
disposal has been established and even if the Yucca Mountain
storage site eventually is permitted, it may be full before it
could accept Monticello's nuclear waste. The state of Nevada is
protesting further development of the storage facility.
According to Laszewski, Minnesota has been through this before.
In the early 1990s, Xcel Energy (then called Northern States
Power Company) sought permission for casks at its Prairie Island
nuclear power plant. He said that the decision was based on a
premise that the federal government would open its Yucca
Mountain site by 2004 and take the wastes.
"That didn't happen, and, in fact, an administrative law judge
at the time said those casks should be considered permanent," he
said.
The life of the concrete casks is estimated to be between 50 to
100 years.
"Xcel has not calculated the true costs of long-term storage and
hasn't established a plan for maintenance and upkeep for the
casks in the future or how that upkeep would be paid for,
according to the environmental groups. The request said that
having such a plan is crucial because Xcel may not exist in 50
years and there would be dire consequences from a cask breaking
down on the banks of the Mississippi River," Laszewski said.
The groups asked that the permit for the casks be denied and
Xcel should work on shutting down the plant in 2010 and
replacing its power.
The request asked that alternatives for the power; primarily
increased energy efficiency and using more wind power, stating
that those alternatives are cheaper than the long-term storage
and maintenance of the casks.
Xcel Energy's Jim Alders said these concerns were already
expressed at previous hearings before the commission approved
the request for on-site storage Thursday, Sept. 28.
"They didn't raise any new issues; these are the same as what
was at the hearings," he said. "The commission approved our
plant as ready to handle the storage facility."
Alders added that without the additional storage Xcel would not
be able to operate the Monticello plant past 2010.
The item could be before the Legislature in 2007, if they chose
to review it. No building can take place until after that,
Alders said.
Copyright 2006, Monticello Times
*****************************************************************
42 VNS: National nuclear waste to be tackled by Vanderbilt-led multi-university team
12-7-2006
Vanderbilt News Service
615-322-NEWS * Fax: 615-343-7708 * After Hours: 615-322-2706 *
news@vanderbilt.edu Baker Building * 110 21st Ave S, Suite 802 *
Nashville, TN 37203" /> + + + + + + +
Charles Powers and David Kosson NASHVILLE, Tenn. Nuclear power
might be green power, but only if nuclear waste can be managed
properly.
Vanderbilt is leading a multi-university consortium in a major
effort to improve the nations efforts to deal with nuclear waste
safely and effectively.
The consortium, originally formed to advise the and its
stakeholders on ways to manage the nations military nuclear
wastes, consists of engineers and scientists who have
participated in efforts in the last decade to clean up nuclear
weapons production sites and to dispose of nuclear wastes
safely. Now, these nuclear waste experts hope to leverage their
knowledge to help the U.S. find safe ways to effectively manage
nuclear waste from civilian nuclear power as well. They see this
effort as critical if the nation is to accept expanded nuclear
power-generating capacities.
We cannot move into the future of expanded nuclear power
generation without cleaning up the legacy wastes of the past,
said co-principal investigator , Vanderbilt professor of
environmental engineering. We must first solve nuclear waste
management issues that have plagued defense and civilian nuclear
waste management programs.
The multi-university Consortium for Risk Evaluation with
Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) will be funded by a DOE
cooperative agreement initially of $6 million per year for the
next five years. The group will continue to work with DOE and
its stakeholders on how to clean up legacy wastes from the
nuclear arms race and extend its efforts to help establish a
solid technical foundation for safe management of nuclear waste
from a wide range of sources.
Vanderbilts partners in CRESP include faculty members from , , ,
, , and The team will kick off their collaborative effort with a
meeting at Vanderbilt Dec. 7-8.
"CRESP has proven its capability and usefulness to the nation in
investigating and recommending solutions to nuclear risk
management challenges, said , Vanderbilt professor and chairman
of and co-principal investigator of CRESP.
Since 1995, CRESP has been researching ways to advance
cost-effective cleanup of the nations nuclear weapons production
waste sites and test facilities. Although CRESP focuses on site
remediation, its work requires engineers and scientists to
understand the complete life cycle of nuclear power generation,
weapons production and environmental impacts from nuclear
weapons tests.
Vanderbilt will lead the organization into a new phase of
development designed to improve the clarity of the technical
standards for nuclear waste management based on experience
developed earlier by CRESP to help guide both nuclear weapons
sites remediation and safe management of wastes produced by
nuclear power plants.
Powers noted that, even without nuclear power generation
expansion plans, there is much remaining to be done to handle
the nuclear waste that already has been created. Cleanup of the
U.S. nuclear complex has already cost more than $70 billion,
with future costs projected to exceed $150 billion. On the
civilian side, spent nuclear fuel is currently stored in 39
states at some 122 sites, awaiting final disposition. Plans to
use Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the national nuclear waste
repository have been sidetracked by a variety of technical and
political challenges, and despite nearly $6 billion spent to
develop the facility, no firm date has been set for completion.
The proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership raises additional
nuclear management issues, Kosson said. The DOE plan to reduce
waste management problems and to promote non-proliferation
through this partnership depends in large measure on spent fuel
reprocessing, which presents a variety of new challenges for
nuclear waste management.
There is great overlap technically between the remediation of
former nuclear weapons residuals and the effective and safe
management of peaceful nuclear power operations, so CRESPs
expertise will be made available to help integrate solutions for
nuclear waste management, he said.
Media contacts: Vivian F Cooper, (615) 343-6314
David F. Salisbury, (615) 343-6803
Copyright 2005 Vanderbilt University Division of Public
Affairs.
*****************************************************************
43 AFP: Russian-Kazakh uranium company aims to dominate market -
Thu Dec 7, 1:07 PM ET
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) - A Russian-Kazakh mining company said
it aimed to dominate the world uranium market after producing its
first ton of the radioactive metal.
The new Zarechnoye company is to mine 1,000 tons of uranium per
year from 2009 as part of a target by Kazakhstan, which boasts
20 percent of the world's uranium reserves, to overtake
Australia and Canada to become the largest uranium producer.
"It's not that we aim to reinforce, with our Kazakh partners,
our position in the market. We aim to dominate the market," said
Sergei Kirienko, head of Russia's atomic energy agency.
The annual mining target of 1,000 tons could be reached as early
as 2008, Kirienko said, according to the Interfax-Kazakhstan
news agency.
An agreement between Astana and Moscow calls for the creation of
two other uranium companies, aiming for an annual total
production of 6,000 tons.
Once extracted, the uranium is to be enriched in Russia.
Uranium, a white heavy toxic metal, is used to fuel nuclear
reactors and build atomic bombs.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
44 PRN: Perma-Fix Announces Sixth Annual Nuclear Waste Treatment Forum
PR Newswire
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Perma-Fix
Environmental Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: PESI; BSE: PESI; Germany:
PES.BE) - today announced it will hold its sixth annual Nuclear
Waste Treatment Forum December 11-14, 2006 in Nashville,
Tennessee. This year's forum theme is how a small business can
find big solutions to the complex waste management issues facing
the nation's nuclear industry. With renewed national interest in
nuclear power and the possibility of the United States return to
reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, there is great interest in
ensuring that complex waste streams can be properly and safely
managed. Perma-Fix is an innovator in finding solutions for many
of the wastes that have been generated from nuclear power and
nuclear weapons development by working closely with waste
generators to solve their problems.
The Nuclear Waste Treatment Forum is a venue where many of
the nation's waste management experts can work together to share
lessons learned and their experiences for dealing with waste
streams and successful completion of clean- up projects. This
year's conference brings together an exciting lineup of speakers
to discuss innovations in nuclear waste treatment, regulatory
issues, and how to cope with competing priorities and shrinking
budgets. The last day of the three-day forum will include tours
for two of the Company's Tennessee treatment facilities.
Dr. Louis F. Centofanti, Perma-Fix chairman and chief
executive officer said, "Each year our Treatment Forum has grown
in popularity. This year we will have nearly 200 experts from
around the U.S. and Canada sharing their experience in dealing
with the most challenging waste management issues for the nuclear
industry. We have been successful in working with our customers
to safely treat large volumes of their legacy waste streams, and
as we move into the future we will deal with newly generated
wastes that pose new challenges for Perma-Fix and other
commercial companies in our industry."
Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. is a national
environmental services company, providing unique nuclear waste
and industrial waste management services. The Company has
increased its focus on the Nuclear services segment, which
provides radioactive and mixed waste treatment services to
hospitals, research laboratories and institutions, numerous
federal agencies, including DOE and the U.S. Department of
Defense, and nuclear utilities. The Industrial services segment
provides hazardous and non- hazardous waste treatment services
for a diverse group of customers including, Fortune 500
companies, numerous federal, state and local agencies and
thousands of smaller clients. The Company operates nine major
waste treatment facilities across the country.
Please visit us on the World Wide Web at
http://www.perma-fix.com.
SOURCE Perma-Fix Environmental Services, In
Related links:
+ http://www.perma-fix.com/
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
45 reviewjournal.com: Senator vows to pursue Yucca
Dec. 07, 2006
Republican says Reid can't make repository proposal 'go away'
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- An Idaho senator said Wednesday he is uncowed by
incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, and plans
to reintroduce a bill in the next Congress that would speed
nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.
"Harry in his wildest dreams wishes it would go away but it is
not going to go away," Sen. Larry Craig, a Republican member of
the Senate energy committee, said of the proposed nuclear spent
fuel repository.
Speaking to reporters following a speech to a nuclear industry
conference, Craig said the Department of Energy will have the
necessary money to continue toward repository licensing.
Reid will have to deal with Yucca Mountain despite his
opposition to the project and expectations he will block any
progress on it as the incoming Senate majority leader, he said.
"This is an issue that cannot be avoided by Harry Reid," said
Craig, a leading nuclear energy supporter. "The Congress has
been increasingly friendly to nuclear and they don't want to
build impediments."
"I will not let a single senator create a trip wire that will
slow the energy progress of this country," Craig said.
Craig's remarks could set a combative tone for debate in the
upcoming Congress over Yucca Mountain.
They also suggest that although Reid stands to wield power on
nuclear waste matters, some pro-nuclear senators may confront
him on the issue.
"Some think a bit differently than I do about how we deal with"
Reid, Craig said. "This is a political issue and the politics of
this will play out on Capitol Hill over the next few years."
But Craig said he was "not sure" ultimately how to get around
Reid, who could use his powers to prevent bills from reaching
Senate floor votes.
A Yucca Mountain bill might be "sweetened" with other provisions
to build support, or perhaps tagged onto more popular bills, he
said.
Reid spokesman Jon Summers said the Nevadan plans to stand firm.
He said repository backers are trying to isolate Reid,
overlooking that "plenty of senators and congressional
representatives are on our side."
"There is no way that Senator Reid will agree to interim storage
at Yucca Mountain," Summers said.
"Some of what is being said sounds more like last-ditch efforts
to breathe life into this thing. At the end of the day, Yucca
Mountain is going to die."
Reid will continue to promote his own bill that would require
the Department of Energy to keep nuclear waste stored at power
reactors, and to manage it there until alternatives to
underground disposal can be developed, Summers said.
Craig told nuclear industry executives he plans to reintroduce a
bill that would allow military nuclear waste to be shipped to
Yucca Mountain starting in 2010, and commercial spent fuel to be
stored there in above-ground casks a year later.
Under the process in law now, Department of Energy officials
have projected to open an underground repository in 2017 at the
earliest, and perhaps three or more years later, at the Yucca
site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006
Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement
*****************************************************************
46 Gallup Independent: Corporation wants to drill on Mt. Taylor
December 6, 2006:
By Zsombor Peter Staff Writer
GALLUP — After drilling six exploratory holes by Mt. Taylor
earlier this year in search of uranium, the Western Energy
Development Corporation is asking for state and federal
permission to drill 47 more.
The Canadian-based resource company submitted its plans to the
U.S. Forest Service late last month for approval. The New Mexico
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is expecting
the company to request a state permit soon.
It will make Western Energy the latest in a new wave of
companies rushing to confirm their New Mexico reserves in the
face of rising uranium prices. Several groups fighting this
trend fear the mining will scar the land, contaminate their
ground water and desecrate a sacred Native American site.
The Natural Resources Department has already granted two
exploratory mining permits near Grants this year one of them to
Western Energy and has three more under consideration. Western
Energy's latest request will make four.
Because the company is proposing to drill in a national forest,
it needs permission from more than just the state. The Forest
Service will be studying Western Energy's plans to make sure
they don't threaten to leave any residual radiation behind. It's
also accepting public comment on the plans until Jan. 2.
While the Forest Service can saddle Western Energy with
mitigation and reclamation demands, it can't actually stop the
company from drilling.
The last company to petition the Forest Service for permission
to drill some exploratory holes also near Grants was
Nevada-based Urex Energy. Cibola National Forest Minerals
Program Manager Rod Byers, the man responsible for collecting
the public's comments, said only one person wrote it, but more
to complain about uranium mining in general than about Urex's
specific plans. He expects the company to start drilling by late
December or early January.
Western Energy also hopes to start drilling by early 2007. Like
Urex, it wants to find out exactly how much uranium it's sitting
on. Past property owners have drilled the area already,
according to the Forest Service, but Western Energy can't find
the records.
So Western Energy may not know exactly how much uranium it's
sitting on, but it knows there's something there. For one thing,
the company's property sits in the Grants Mining District, one
of the most prolific in the country according to industry
reports. For another, it will be drilling not far from a mine
that was known to produce uranium from 1957 until it was
abandoned 14 years later.
To find out what it's got, Western Energy wants to drill up to
47 holes between 1,000 and 1,500 feet deep. It plans to build a
mud pit by each to hold the water the drills will need and lay
an additional 670 feet of road to get to them.
The application comes on the heels of last week's Indigenous
World Uranium Summit in Window Rock, an effort to united the
world's indigenous people against all nuclear activity from
mining to waste disposal on native lands. The sites near Grants
would be legally safe, sitting on federal land, except that they
ring Mt. Taylor, one of the four sacred mountains for the Navajo
that outline their ancestral lands.
"We're responsible to preserve and protect the sacred lands
because the mountain protects us," said Hazel James of the Dineh
Bidziil Coalition fighting the new mining wave. "It's here for
our future."
They fear that mining the mountain and its surroundings would
desecrate it. But just as worrying for the anti-mining groups
are the new techniques the companies are proposing to use.
Western Energy's Web site calls its Grants District claims
potentially "amenable" to in situ leach mining, a relatively new
technique that injects chemicals into underground rock to
dissolve the imbedded uranium, then brings the mix to the
surface for processing.
Industry executives say it's safer than past mining techniques,
but American Indian communities still living with the
radioactive legacy of the country's last uranium mining boom
aren't convinced. They fear the technique could contaminate
underground water supplies.
The Southwest Research and Information Center, an Albuquerque
group helping those communities fend off the miners, worry about
the cumulative effect all these permits will have if approved.
It fears the government is missing the big picture.
"The uptick in the number of permits has caught our attention,"
said Sarah Cottrell, a policy advisor for Gov. Bill Richardson.
Cottrell said the state had adequate policies in place to handle
individual permit requests, but would not comment on whether the
governor was working on a broader state policy on uranium mining
in New Mexico. She suggested asking Bill Hume, Richardson's
director of policy and planning, who could not be reached.
The Forest Service is asking the public to send its comments on
Western Energy's plans to Rod Byers at 2113 Osuna Rd. NE,
Albuquerque, NM 87113-1001.
Gallup Independent
*****************************************************************
47 [NYTr] Help Stop Bombplex 2030!
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 16:24:15 -0500 (EST)
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X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by Kevin Martin, Peace Action (activ-l) - Dec 7, 2006
Help Us Stop Bombplex 2030!
First, my thanks to the thousands of you who responded to last weeks call to
send comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) opposing Complex 2030, or as
we call it Nuclear Bombplex 2030, Bushs insane nuclear weapons forever
scheme.
On December 14, the last of a series of public hearings on this reckless and
dangerous plan will take place at DOEs headquarters right here in Washington
DC and Peace Action will be there to represent you.
You may not be able to attend this or other hearings the DOE has planned, but
you can make your presence felt by helping Peace Action organize effective
opposition to Bushs plans for building new nuclear weapons - before this
insane plan gets off the ground.
Click here to help support our campaign against Nuclear Bombplex 2030.
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/Peaceact/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2050
At a time when the international community is uniting around efforts to keep
Iran and North Korea from building their own nuclear arsenals, its impossible
to imagine any way that Bushs plans for building new nuclear weapons (up to
125 warheads a year!) will help such non-proliferation efforts. Rather, it is
more likely to push these and other nations toward acquiring what the U.S. has
and refuses to give up. And it will only add to the massive public health
problems and environmental destruction that is a tragic legacy of nuclear
weapons production here in the United States.
Peace Action members in New Mexico and California, where 6 of the 12 hearings
are taking place, have been especially active in turning out citizens to make
it clear to the DOE that public opposition is already in place. A strong
showing at the DOE headquarters in the nations capital preceded by a press
conference that Peace Action is helping to organize will signal this
opposition is just beginning.
Your support now will build this campaign, and help make that opposition grow.
As 2006 winds to a close, the work in front of us comes more sharply into
focus. While I look forward to working with a new Congress one that is not
merely a rubber stamp for Bushs imperial presidency I am acutely aware that
the quagmire in Iraq, the threat of military action against Iran (or even
North Korea) and Bushs plans for building new nukes will not be resolved
simply because the Democrats are taking control in Congress. Only an informed,
active and organized citizenry can grapple with these issues, and compel our
government to do what needs to be done.
Our challenge is to shape the debate on these issues and make sure the new
Congress is true to its constitutional responsibility: to stand as a check
against an administration so willing to abuse its power, and to represent the
will of the American people, and the mandate for peace that we delivered at
the ballot box last month.
Your year end contribution to Peace Action can help us meet that challenge.
Thank you for supporting our work, and for helping to make a difference, with
all that you do for peace and justice.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action
P.S. Political insiders are acknowledging the growing effectiveness of online
advocacy, calling it the net-roots. In the past year, our network has doubled
in size and it continues to grow increasing the number of people prepared to
take a stand. Your generous year end contribution to Peace Action will help
build effective opposition to the Bush agenda in the year ahead.
*
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48 Knox News: Oak Ridge PCBs not at unsafe levels
Consumption of some fish should be limited, however, study says
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
December 7, 2006
OAK RIDGE - A new federal study says polychlorinated biphenyls in
the Oak Ridge area do not pose a public health hazard, but it
recommends that people limit their consumption of certain types
of fish from local waterways.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease registry issued the
report on PCB exposures this week.
"Based on the levels of PCBs detected in fish, geese and turtles,
it is safe to eat up to one meal of any type of fish per month,"
the agency said in a press statement.
The study evaluated local waterways that have received
contamination from Oak Ridge Department of Energy operations,
including the Clinch River, East Fork Poplar Creek, Poplar Creek
and Watts Bar Lake. Fish advisories are already in effect for
most of the waterways.
The authors said it's safe to consume an unlimited amount of
sunfish, but recommended that adults eat no more than three meals
of largemouth bass per week. They also said the amount of
catfish, striped bass, white bass and hybrid bass should be
limited to one meal a week for adults and one meal a month for
children.
"Turtle meat is safe to eat in any amount," the report said, "but
no one should eat turtle fat, turtle eggs and turtle organs."
PCBs are toxic chemical compounds widely found in the environment
because of historic uses as a coolant and lubricant in electrical
transformers and other electrical equipment. The Oak Ridge
operations used large amounts of electrical power, and "oily PCB
fluids were spilled onto the ground and released into nearby
creeks and ponds," the report said.
The study is the latest in a series of public health assessments
on the effects of pollution released by the Department of
Energy's operations. Previous studies were done on uranium
releases at Y-12, chemical contamination in groundwater and
radioactive materials in White Oak Creek and downstream of Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
The report is available in public libraries in Oak Ridge,
Harriman and Kingston. For more information, visit the ATSDR Web
site at: www.atsdr.cdc.gov.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
© 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel
*****************************************************************
49 DOE: Secretary Bodman To Travel to Japan, Korea, and China to
Advance International Energy Cooperation
December 7, 2006
In Beijing Bodman to Highlight Role of Energy Security in
Growing Economy
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman next
week will travel to Japan and Korea and hold bilateral
discussions with his Japanese and Korean counterparts before
arriving in Beijing, China for the inaugural meeting of the U.S.
China Strategic Economic Dialogue and the Five-Party Energy
Ministerial with China, Japan, Korea and India. During his
three-nation visit, Secretary Bodman will promote global energy
security, encourage greater international cooperation in
advancing clean energy technologies, and urge adherence to
market principles.
These four nations plus the United States represent about half
of the worlds energy consumption. A strategic focus of the
trip will be to find common ground on improving our energy
security through increasing the supply of diverse energy
resources and employing more energy efficient measures.
In order to sustain the economic growth and prosperity of the
United States and Asia-Pacific nations, energy will play an
increasingly critical role, Secretary Bodman said. I look
forward to meeting with my counterparts in Asia to discuss the
promise of new sources of energy and new technologies in meeting
the challenges of the global energy market.
Japan
On December 12, 2006 Secretary Bodman will begin his five-day
trip to Asia in Japan and meet with Japanese government
officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology to discuss our joint efforts in
advancing science and technology, energy security, and
nonproliferation. Secretary Bodman will also meet with U.S.
business leaders and later tour the TEPCO Electric Energy
Museum. TEPCO supplies Tokyo and its vicinity with clean energy
from thermal electric, nuclear, and hydroelectric production.
Japan is a key international partner of the United States in
advancing our common energy security objectives, Secretary
Bodman said. My visit to Tokyo will provide an opportunity to
strengthen our ties in advancing science and technology
partnerships in carbon sequestration, nuclear, and hydrogen and
meeting the growing demand for energy in our countries through
active participation in global energy markets."
Korea
Secretary Bodman will then stop in Korea on December 13, where
he will meet with Korean government officials from the Ministry
of Science and Technology and Ministry of Commerce, Industry,
and Energy. Secretary Bodman will highlight our cooperation on
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and
FutureGen initiatives as well as joint efforts to advance energy
security in the region. Secretary Bodman will also participate
in an event to highlight clean energy use in Seoul with U.S.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
South Korea and the United States are allies in advancing the
use of cleaner, safer, and healthier clean energy technologies,
Secretary Bodman said. To advance our energy security and
economic growth, we must continue our joint efforts to develop
and deploy new technologies, diversify our energy supplies and
suppliers beyond petroleum based sources, and encourage an open
and transparent investment climate in the Asia-Pacific region.
China
In China Secretary Bodman will participate in the inaugural
meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) on December
14-15 aimed at furthering the U.S.-China bilateral economic
relationship. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is leading
the U.S. Delegation to Beijing following the announcement of the
SED earlier this fall by President Bush and Chinese President
Hu. Secretary Bodman will lead a discussion on the role of
energy security in sustainable economic development, the
benefits of full and consistent participation in global energy
markets, and the importance of joint efforts to develop and
deploy new clean energy technologies. During his visit,
Secretary Bodman will also meet with senior Chinese government
officials.
As the economies of our nations continue to flourish, the
United States and China must encourage full and consistent
participation in global markets to meet the growing demand for
energy in our countries, Secretary Bodman said. Our
cooperative efforts to secure energy security will pave the way
for economic growth so vital to our future prosperity."
Following the SED Secretary Bodman will participate in the
Five-Party Energy Ministerial with China, India, Japan and South
Korea. In the sessions, Secretary Bodman will stress the
importance of market principles and encourage the nations to
work together to promote a stable and transparent investment
climate in resource-rich nations. At the Ministerial, Secretary
Bodman will also highlight the importance of diversification of
supplies and suppliers, improved energy efficiency, and the use
of strategic oil reserves.
Through the Five-Party Ministerial, the United States and
Asia-Pacific nations of Japan, Korea, China, and India must
build on initiatives to advance science and technology and
foster investment in the development of clean energy sources,
Secretary Bodman said. I look forward to discussing with my
counterparts the importance of strategic oil reserves as a key
resource for severe supply disruptions that can and have been
used to benefit the global market leading to the long term
global energy security of our nations."
Media contact(s): Anne Womack Kolton, (202) 586-4940 Megan
Barnett, (202) 586-4940 [ ]
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403
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50 SF New Mexican: Many question need for new trigger factory
Thu Dec 7, 2006 10:01 pm
By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican
The prospect of a new plutonium pit factory in Northern New
Mexico and other concerns drew about 100 people to a public
meeting Wednesday evening to hear officials with the National
Nuclear Security Administration describe their vision for the
future.
Much of the crowd appeared to favor nuclear disarmament, judging
from the applause for citizens who suggested the U.S. dismantle
its arsenal.
Agency leaders came to the Genoveva Chavez Community Center to
lay out their vision and seek public input for Complex 2030, a
plan that would generally reduce the overall size of the
country's nuclear-weapons complex. The effort also aims to make
the weapons complex more efficient, secure and modern.
But that could mean building a new plutonium pit factory located
at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The lab is among five places
around the country that could be home to the Consolidated
Plutonium Center, which could make about 125 pits a year. Pits
are the triggers for nuclear warheads.
"This is a big deal," Ed Wilmot of NNSA said. "This is an
opportunity for all of us to participate in a nationwide decision
process."
The plan could change significantly what happens at Los Alamos,
he added.
The supplemental environmental impact statement for the Complex
2030 plan is not done yet. Public comment will be accepted
through Jan. 17.
Ted Wyka of NNSA said the agency seeks to consolidate plutonium
production and other work into one center; consolidate special
nuclear materials, like plutonium; and consolidate or eliminate
duplicate jobs around the complex, which includes 11 labs, test
sites or plants around the country.
The current weapons complex is not responsive, Wyka said. The
agency's job is to make sure the country's weapons are safe and
reliable.
"The components will continue to age and continue to wear out,"
Wyka said. "We must be able to fix these problems."
But speakers like Kip Corneli of the local Veterans For Peace
chapter said the plan should be put on the back burner. "This
plan will ramp up nuclear weapons production," he said.
Corneli mentioned a recent government report that shows that pits
last longer than previously believed. "I hope we will not try to
rush too fast toward 2030," he said.
Penelope McMullen of the Sisters of Loretto, a religious group,
said replacing the pits is not necessary. And she questioned why
other alternatives were not in the supplemental environmental
impact statement.
"There is the alternative of nuclear disarmament," McMullen said.
Or the lab could gather great minds to work on renewable energy,
she said.
Others, like Chad Twitchell, said NNSA is on the right track. "I
believe that this nation needs a nuclear deterrent," he said.
Public comment on Complex 2030 will be accepted through Jan. 17.
Contact Wyka at U.S. DOE/NNSA, Office of Transformation NA-10.1,
1000 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C., 20585. Comments by
e-mail and fax are acceptable also.
For more information, go to www.Complex2030peis.com.
Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or
alenderman@sfnewmexican.com.
Santa Fe New Mexican.
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51 DenverPost.com: Whistle-blower's case to be decided in spring
Supreme Court to hear of Rocky Flats informant
By Christa Marshall Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:12/06/2006 11:51:31 PM MST
A seemingly divided U.S. Supreme Court will decide early next
year whether a Rocky Flats whistle-blower can share in a federal
jury award against a contractor accused of wrongdoing at the
former nuclear- weapons plant.
Justices on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that began in 1989
when Colorado engineer James Stone filed a civil lawsuit
claiming that a Rocky Flats contractor, Rockwell International
Corp., lied to the federal government about its handling of
waste at the now-demolished trigger plant north of Golden.
Stone sued under the Federal Claims Act, which requires
whistle-blowers seeking compensation to be the "original source"
of information leading to a jury verdict. The Energy Department
joined the lawsuit.
In 1999, a federal court ruled Stone was entitled to a third of
the $4.2 million award against Rockwell. An appeals court
agreed, causing Rockwell - now owned by the Boeing Co. - to
appeal to the Supreme Court.
At Tuesday's Supreme Court session, Rockwell attorney Maureen E.
Mahoney argued that Stone could not be an "original source"
because the jury award centered on contaminated water leaking
through concrete, while Stone's complaint focused on defective
pipes at Rocky Flats.
Stone's attorney, Maria Vullo, countered that her client exposed
general architectural flaws at Rocky Flats and a pattern of
misconduct by Rockwell relevant to the final verdict.
Initially, a majority of justices appeared skeptical of
Rockwell's argument, saying the purpose of the act was to
prevent fraud by the government.
"If he (Stone) makes an allegation and the government
investigates it, he gets no credit for that?" asked Chief
Justice John Roberts.
Yet Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia, who dominated much of
the questioning, joined the court's conservative members in
castigating Vullo's argument.
"How is it possible to say that he (Stone) had direct knowledge
of events that occurred after he left Rockwell?" Scalia said.
A decision in the case, Rockwell International Corp vs. United
States, is expected in the spring.
Denver & the West
All contents Copyright 2006 The Denver Post
*****************************************************************
52 Inside Bay Area: Berkeley lab recalls humble start 75 years ago
By Betsy Mason,
MEDIANEWS STAFFArticle Last Updated:12/07/2006 02:41:33 AM PST
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 at the University of California, Berkeley, where
a visionary built the first circular particle accelerator.
Lawrence's 5-inch-diameter cyclotron would pave the way for a
series of 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.
"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 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 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 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 the 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' extinction. And
Emilio Segro shared the Nobel Prize for discovering the
antiproton.
The 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.
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 diseases.
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 capital 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 plays 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.
Contact Betsy Mason (925) 847-2158 or .
Insidebayarea.com |
© 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers |
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53 Tennessean: Secret weapon linked 2 WWII participants -
Nashville, Tennessee - Thursday, 12/07/06 - Tennessean.com
Thursday, 12/07/06
One helped build atomic bombs; the other nearly died delivering
them
By CHANTAL ESCOTO Gannett Tennessee
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Sixty-five years ago today, Hubert Barnett
was listening to big-band music on the radio when he heard that
Japanese planes had made a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor,
destroying much of the Pacific fleet and killing more than 3,000
American servicemen.
Filled with patriotism, Barnett tried to join the Marines, but
he was rejected. Later, he became convinced that the work he did
on the home front was important enough to make up for not
getting his chance to fight.
Barnett helped build the atomic bombs that ended the war.
Edgar Harrell was just a teenager the day Pearl Harbor was
attacked. He joined the Marines later in the war and played a
part in its ending and in one of its most tragic episodes.
Harrell was on the USS Indianapolis when it secretly delivered
the atom bombs to Tinian Island, base of the B-29s that dropped
the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As the ship returned from delivering the bombs, it was sunk by
Japanese torpedoes. Harrell endured more than four days in
shark-infested waters before he was rescued. Hundreds of his
shipmates died.
The two Clarksville-area residents recently shared their stories.
Building the bomb
As an employee of Remington Arms in Bridgeport, Conn., with an
engineering degree, Hubert Barnett was recruited in 1943 to help
build the K-25 plant at Oak Ridge.
"My first day I was given two books. One was on nuclear physics
and the other on the theoretical design of the plant," said
Barnett, now 89.
His main job was to help organize and manage the maintenance
department and parts needed for the operation.
The massive facility and the town that grew up around it were
kept secret, as much as was possible for a project that big. The
plant, called K-25, used a gaseous diffusion process to make the
weapons-grade uranium, U-235, used in the bomb.
Of the 11,000 people who worked at the plant, only about 100
really knew what was going on with the top-secret Manhattan
Project.
"I was one of them," Barnett said.
The words "uranium," "coolant" and "liquid nitrogen" were never
spoken but were given code names, like C-616 and L-28.
"Where we really discussed what was going on over there was in
our carpool," Barnett said about those who held a top security
clearance as they made the key component in the bomb called
"Little Boy."
Besides talking about politics and religion, his co-workers made
a bet when the U.S. would drop the bomb.
"I was a month off," he said. "I thought it was going to be in
September, but it was in August."
The U-235 that Barnett helped process was taken to Los Alamos,
N.M., where the bombs were assembled and tested. "Little Boy"
was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6. A second bomb, "Fat Man,"
was dropped on Nagasaki three days later.
Barnett said he had no regrets about his part in building the
bomb.
"I took the position of how many lives we saved. There would
have been more than a million casualties had we gone into Japan
as planned. I don't advocate violence, but Pearl Harbor started
the war and (the bombs) stopped it."
The Indianapolis
On July 16, 1945, the USS Indianapolis left San Francisco Bay
for Pearl Harbor carrying the major components for the atomic
bombs.
Harrell didn't think much about the special packages that he was
ordered to guard, but he did notice a lot of high-ranking
officers acting nervous.
"The ominous canister contained Uranium-235, accounting for
approximately half the fissionable material possessed by the
U.S., valued around $300 million," Harrell says in Out of the
Depths, a book he and his son, David Harrell, wrote about his
experiences.
After making it to Pearl Harbor in record time, the next stop
was Tinian Island, 100 miles north of Guam. The small strip of
land was close enough to Japan for B-29s to bomb the home
islands.
Four days after the drop-off, the Indianapolis crew thought they
were in safe waters. Harrell had just finished his guard shift
and was resting under the anti-aircraft guns.
"All of a sudden there was a massive explosion," Harrell said.
"The first one (torpedo) cut off the bow of the ship. We knew
then the ship was doomed."
Harrell managed to grab a lifejacket. He was horrified as he
watched crewmen emerge from below decks badly burned and reeling
in pain.
Twelve minutes later, the Indianapolis went down. Harrell could
hear the screams and cries through the darkness.
"I was just a 19-year-old boy — scared to death," he said.
The next few days would test Harrell's faith in God and his will
to live. He stayed afloat with his water-logged lifejacket and a
crate of rotten potatoes until the survivors were spotted by a
U.S. plane and rescued.
Harrell didn't talk much about what happened until 9/11. After
that attack, he wrote the book because he wanted to tell the
story of the men who gave their lives delivering the bombs that
ended the war.
"None of us knew that God was using the crew of the Indianapolis
to accomplish His purposes in bringing the war to an abrupt and
terrifying end," Harrell said.
To read more about the USS Indianapolis or to buy Harrell’s
book, go to www.indysurvivor.com.
Chantal Escoto covers military affairs and can be reached by
telephone at 245-0216 or by e-mail at
chantalescoto@theleafchronicle.com.
Copyright © 2006, tennessean.com. All rights reserved.
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