***************************************************************** 11/16/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.272 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI one step closer to N-climax 2 AFP: Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for 'final nuclear step' - 3 IAEA: Report on Iran Nuclear Safeguards Sent to IAEA Board 4 UPI: Ahmadinejad firm on nuclear program 5 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Cautious About North Korea Talks | World La 6 Guardian Unlimited: Joint Korean team talks get back on track 7 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Tells N. Korea: Be Ready to Deal | 8 Korea Herald: [HERALD INTERVIEW]DJ calls for direct U.S.-N.K. dialog 9 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Seoul concedes, will condemn North on rights 10 BBC: France searches N Korean vessel 11 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: China says oil still goes to the North 12 AFP: Rice demands 'concrete step forward' on NKorea nuclear talks - 13 washingtonpost.com: Democrats Blast Bush Policy on N. Korea - 14 AFP: French authorities inspect North Korean ship in Indian Ocean - 15 Korea Times: North Korea May Have 6 to 8 NukesˇŻ 16 UPI: NKorea seen as proud of nuclear test 17 Guardian Unlimited: Bush Warns N. Korea on Nuclear Transfers 18 Guardian Unlimited: Reid: Not 'Brokeback' Close With Senator 19 TomPaine.com: Blow Up This Nuclear Deal 20 AFP: India PM discusses nuclear deal with US president Bush 21 UPI: Outside View: Russia reacts to U.S. nukes 22 [NYTr] India, Pakistan: Nuke Rivals to Share Intel 23 Guardian Unlimited: Blair begins push for Trident replacement 24 IRNA: Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable Hataf-V missile - 25 AFP: Pakistan fires nuclear-capable missile 26 Daily Times: IAEA asks Pakistan to develop N-database 27 UPI: Lawmakers worried about India nuclear pact NUCLEAR REACTORS 28 [NYTr] Indian PM Hopes US Will Approve New Nuke Deal 29 US: TMI Alert: TMI-Alert Opposes Relicensing of PPL Nuclear Plant 30 US: [NYTr] Bush Nuclear Deal w/India Wins Senate Backing 31 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Arizona Public Servi 32 US: newsobserver.com: Nuclear violation downgraded 33 US: Platts: NRC releases final rulemaking package on the design basi 34 US: NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Honors Edward Mcgaffigan for 35 Prague Post: Battle over nuclear plant heats up 36 Sofia Echo: CLOSURE OF BULGARIA'S NUCLEAR UNITS TROUBLES BALKAN COUN 37 US: NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Monticello Nuclear Generat 38 US: NRC: Nuclear Management Company; Palisades Nuclear Plant; Notice 39 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th 40 US: NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc.; Calvert Cliffs Nu 41 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Nureg-0725, Revision 14, ``Public 42 Prague Daily Monitor: Temelin to shut down unit last for two months 43 US: New London Day: Millstone Replaces Inspector NUCLEAR SECURITY 44 US: Guardian Unlimited: Airport Arrest Turns Up Nuclear Info 45 US: VeriTainer Corporation: Test of Radiation - Nuclear Weapon NUCLEAR SAFETY 46 US: [du-list] Piketon 47 US: SFNM: 'Mushroom cloud' blast destined for Nevada desert, not Whi 48 US: toledoblade.com: Feds detect no signs of sensitivity to berylliu 49 Al-Ahram Weekly: Did Israel use uranium munitions in Lebanon, and if 50 Countercurrents.org: Depleted Uranium, Another Gift From The Imperia 51 US: Rocky Mountain News: Ex-Flats workers with cancer hit brick wall NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 52 reviewjournal.com: Reid pledges to 'do good things' for Nevada 53 Lahontan Valley News: Editorial: Fallon should weigh Yucca rail rout 54 BBC: Blair pays visit to nuclear 55 US: Salt Lake Tribune: N-dump handed break on fund 56 US: Village Soup: (Augusta) Governor opposes proposed interim nuclea 57 US: NRC: Criticality Control of Fuel Within Dry Storage Casks or 58 KVBC: A new timeline for Yucca Mountain 59 KVBC: Public safety leaders meeting to discuss Yucca Mountain 60 Whitehaven News: 1 million pay-off? British Nuclear Group chief exec 61 US: Deseret News: Haz-waste fund rejected PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 62 Hanford News: Hanford facilities may find new use 63 washingtonpost.com: Stephen Barr - Energy Department Pulls Plug on B 64 Salt Lake Tribune: New Mexico out; Nevada most likely site for test 65 DDN: Our View: Clean up Ohio's old nuclear mess before putting new p 66 lamonitor.com: LANL recaps recent events ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI one step closer to N-climax 2006/11/16 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Kurdestan province on Wednesday that IRI is today one step ahead with the passage of each minute and just one step remains to nuclear climax. Addressing a group of locals in Kamyaran, Ahmadinejad told the ill-wishers of Iran to get depressed and back down instead. "We advise them to choose friendship with the Iranian nation, otherwise they should know that humiliation and abasement is ahead. He said that the Iranian nation is the pioneer of dignity and independence, wishing dignity and independence for whole the world but the bullying powers are moving in an opposite direction to that of the messengers of god and are against development, pro sperity and dignity of human beings. "They want nations to live in humiliation, poverty and backwardness and that's why they are opposing us; they do not wish to see progress of our nation and due to the same reason they are preventing us from acquisition of nuclear sciences," he said. The President said the powers want to use nuclear energy as a lever to dominate over nations. "Our nation is today wishing good for all mankind; our children are children of monotheism and justice and our children want justice for all people," he noted. He hoped that this year would be the year of steadfastness, victory, work, endeavor and construction. mk Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 2 AFP: Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for 'final nuclear step' - by Stuart Williams Thu Nov 16, 3:24 PM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that Iran" /> is ready to take the "final step" in its nuclear programme as world powers remained deadlocked over imposing UN sanctions against Tehran. "The enemies of the Iranian people must know that the Iranian people have taken their decision and will resist until the end," the semi-official Mehr agency quoted him as saying in a speech in Baneh in Kurdestan province. "In the nuclear case we are ready to take the final step and I hope that by the end of the year (Iranian year to March 2007) we will be able to hold the great celebration of Iran's nuclear right," he said. Ahmadinejad, who has made a string of similar comments in recent days, did not specify where the step would take Iran's nuclear programme. However Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the short-term goal of Iran's nuclear programme is to install some 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium at its plant in Natanz by March 2007. This would in itself represent a massive step from the two cascades of 164 centrifuges apiece it currently has at its Natanz plant to enrich uranium on a research scale. Ahmadinejad said earlier this week that Iran wanted ultimately to have 60,000 centrifuges working in Natanz, easily enough to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel on an industrial scale. "Today we are victorious in nuclear and thanks to God we will accomplish the final step to completely master nuclear energy," he added in a later speech in the town of Saghez. Enrichment is carried out in lines of centrifuges called cascades and is used to make the fuel for civilian nuclear reactors. But in highly enriched form, the uranium can be used to make a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it has every right to the full nuclear fuel cycle, rejecting US accusations that its civilian energy drive masks a programme to make an atomic weapon. The United States is leading a drive to impose UN sanctions against Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, But the moves have hit stalemate amid opposition from China and Russia to a European-proposed draft resolution urging nuclear industry and ballistic missile-related sanctions against Iran. US national security advisor Stephen Hadley" /> however dismissed the differences between the world powers as mere "sausage making" and said they were discussing what aspects should be saved for a further resolution. "These are largely tactical considerations, but the strategy, I think, there is agreement on," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "It's a little bit like sausage making: it's not pretty, and a lot of it spills out into the public," he said. "But I think the international community has held together on this issue and I think we will again." US President George W. Bush" /> , on his way to a summit in Asia, discussed the Iran nuclear crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin" /> during a brief stopover in Moscow. Meanwhile, UN ambassadors from the world powers discussed the European-proposed draft for the sixth time on Wednesday but US ambassador John Bolton admitted afterwards that "we did not make any progress." "We'll meet again in the near future," said Bolton, without saying exactly when. Israel" /> , which Iran does not recognise, has been looking for an even tougher line from Washington against Iran's nuclear ambitions and on Thursday Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres slammed Ahmadinejad as a "Persian version of Hitler". Israeli officials have not ruled out a preemptive military strike against Iran and Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar reaffirmed Tehran's warning of a "destructive" response to such a move. "In the case of any unwise move by the fake regime of Israel, Iran's response will be so destructive and quick that this regime will regret its move for ever," he said according to the Fars news agency. Israel is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East to have a nuclear arsenal, estimated at 200 warheads, although it has never formally confirmed or denied it holds such weapons. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 IAEA: Report on Iran Nuclear Safeguards Sent to IAEA Board Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its circulation is restricted, and unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise, the Agency can not authorise its release to the public."/> + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] Staff Report 15 November 2006 + Story Resources + Media Advisory: Press Arrangements + IAEA Board of Governors + IAEA & Iran + August 2006 Report [pdf] + IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has circulated his latest report to the upcoming meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on the Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its circulation is restricted, and unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise, the Agency can not authorise its release to the public. The report focuses on activities since 31 August 2006, the date of the Director General´s previous report. On 31 July, 2006 the Security Council (in resolution 1696) requested "by 31 August a report from the Director General of the IAEA primarily on whether Iran has established full and sustained suspension of all activities mentioned in this resolution, as well as on the process of Iranian compliance with all the steps required by the IAEA Board and with the above provisions of this resolution, to the IAEA Board of Governors and in parallel to the Security Council for its consideration. The November report was circulated to the Agency´s Member States on 14 November 2006. The IAEA Board is scheduled to consider the implementation of safeguards in Iran at meetings beginning 23 November 2006 at the Agency´s headquarters. See Story Resources for more information. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: ***************************************************************** 4 UPI: Ahmadinejad firm on nuclear program United Press International - NewsTrack - 11/16/2006 3:59:00 PM -0500 TEHRAN, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday his country will not retreat "an iota" from its nuclear program despite international objections. Speaking in the northwestern border city of Baneh, Ahmadinejad said, "Resistance is the key to victory," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. IRNA quoted him as saying "the enemies" are putting obstacles in the way of Iranians' progress in the field of peaceful nuclear energy and that "they want to keep their monopoly" on nuclear energy. "However, they should know that the people of Iran will resist and will defend their legitimate right," he said. He repeated his earlier comment that Iran is close to completing its nuclear program, saying it "is only one step away from celebrating victory in its peaceful nuclear program." © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Cautious About North Korea Talks | World Latest | From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday November 16, 2006 11:46 PM AP Photo APEC134 By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - New disarmament talks with North Korea should wait until it is clear the North is ready to deal, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday. ``I think it doesn't make sense for us to have talks unless we think that it's going to be fruitful,'' Rice told reporters traveling with her at a Pacific Rim economic forum. ``It certainly doesn't make sense to go back just to talk.'' Rice sounded cautious about North Korean motives in agreeing to return to six-nation talks Pyongyang has boycotted for a year. The North carried out a nuclear test last month, unnerving the world and upping the ante in the country's traditional brinksmanship to gain aid and security guarantees. ``I do think that after having set off a nuclear test that the North Koreans need to do something to demonstrate that they actually are committed to denuclearization that goes beyond words,'' Rice said. ``Because after having set off a nuclear test there's some skepticism about that.'' The United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have offered impoverished North Korea a package of economic, political and energy incentives if it gives up its nuclear weapons. The North agreed to the vaguely worded deal in September 2005, but backed away before any hard details were worked out. The skepticism Rice said she heard from other foreign ministers Thursday arises from worries that the North does not intend to give up its weapons, or might do so only with sweeter incentives than those now on the table. Diplomats say the North's agreement to return to talks may be a tactic to roll back sanctions the United Nations applied days after the Oct. 9 explosion. The international effort to counter North Korea's nuclear threat is high on the agenda of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which President Bush joins Friday. The Bush administration is seeking a tough line with Pyongyang after its nuclear test. The United States is also pressing for harsher U.N. Security Council penalties for Iran, which stands accused of secretly trying to build nuclear weapons. Russia and China, also attending the APEC summit, have agreed in principle to apply U.N. sanctions on oil-rich Iran, but Russia wants only lenient measures as a first step, and U.N. talks have bogged down. ``There is willingness to have a Security Council resolution,'' Rice said. ``The question is what is that resolutions going to say, and how broad is it going to be.'' A-Z index | About this site Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Joint Korean team talks get back on track By Jon Herskovitz SEOUL, Nov 16 (Reuters) - North Korea has proposed resuming talks on a joint team with the South for the Beijing Olympics which had been suspended due to friction over Pyongyang's defiant missile test in July, an official said on Thursday. The two Koreas have long sought to form a joint 2008 Olympic team but the North halted talks on co-operation projects in anger at Seoul's decision to suspend regular food aid after the North defied international warnings and test-fired missiles. North Korea's nuclear test on Oct. 9 further chilled relations. The head of North Korea's Olympic committee sent a letter to the South's committee on Nov. 10 asking for the resumption of talks on a joint team for Beijing Games, Cho Yong-nam, a Unification Ministry official in charge of cultural exchanges, told reporters. Cho said no date has been set for resuming talks, adding that Seoul was reviewing the offer. "We are looking at the proposal positively," said a ministry official who asked not to be named. The two Koreas agreed just over a year ago that they would form a joint team for the 2006 Asian Games and the Beijing Olympics. They held a series of discussions. The North proposed in its letter forming a unified delegation for next month's opening of the Asian Games. The two Koreas would then compete as separate teams. Still technically at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with a truce and not a peace treaty, North and South Korea first considered competing as a joint team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, but years of acrimony and military tensions have prevented the idea from coming to pass. In September, the International Olympic Committee brought officials from the team Koreas together in Switzerland to help get their talks back on track for forming a joint team. Pyongyang wants equal representation of athletes from the North and South, while Seoul says selection should be on merit to create the most competitive team. South Korea has a larger population and better funded sport associations than its northern neighbour. North and South Korea have marched together at past Olympics, including this year's Winter Games in Turin, but competed as separate teams. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 7 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Tells N. Korea: Be Ready to Deal | From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday November 16, 2006 7:01 PM AP Photo APEC133 By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that North Korea must come to new disarmament talks ready to deal, or there is no point in holding the session. ``I do think that after having set off a nuclear test that the North Koreans need to do something to demonstrate that they actually are committed to denuclearization that goes beyond words,'' Rice said. ``Because after having set off a nuclear test, there's some skepticism about that.'' North Korea's rogue nuclear program is high on the agenda for an Asian economic summit this week, although the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum appeared divided over what to say publicly. North Korea and Iran dominated discussion at a security conference among foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and Australia, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. Speaking shortly after Rice's remarks, President Bush told an audience at the National University of Singapore that ``for the sake of peace, it is vital that the nations of this region send a message to North Korea that the proliferation of nuclear technology to hostile regimes or terrorist networks will not be tolerated.'' The North's nuclear weapons test on Oct. 9 has had a chilling effect across the region, raising the stakes in the country's traditional brinksmanship to gain aid and security guarantees. The nuclear threat from Iran is also a topic at the summit, which President Bush will attend this weekend. Bush and Rice are using the forum to press their case for tougher United Nations sanctions against Iran with the two holdout nations, Russia and China, whose votes will be essential. Rice and other delegates at the forum conferred on the North Korean nuclear issue. The informal breakfast gathering was a substitute for a smaller and more structured session that the United States and Japan had hoped to hold on the sidelines of the APEC meeting. China, which chairs six-nation talks aimed at shuttering Pyongyang's nuclear program, strongly opposed holding a session that excluded the North, which does not participate in APEC. ``The nuclear test has meant that we have turned a new chapter,'' Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said following a meeting with Rice. ``There's no going back. As one minister said, the egg cannot be unscrambled. So we take it from there. Pressure must be put on the North Koreans. It must be made crystal clear to them that what they are doing is not acceptable.'' The United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have offered impoverished North Korea a package of economic, political and energy incentives if it gives up its nuclear weapons. The North agreed to the vaguely worded deal in September 2005, but backed away before any hard details were worked out. The skepticism Rice said she heard at breakfast arises from worries that the North may be using an agreement to hold talks to stall for time and better footing in the six-way negotiations. North Korea announced on Oct. 31 that it was prepared to return to the negotiating table after a one-year boycott. Host China wants to hold that session in December, but Rice indicated that timetable could slip. Although committed to holding the talks, the United States wants to know ahead of time that North Korea is prepared to take real steps toward dismantling its nuclear program, Rice said. In return, the five nations bargaining with North Korea are ready to provide economic and other incentives. ``I think it doesn't make sense for us to have talks unless we think that it's going to be fruitful,'' Rice told reporters traveling with her. ``It certainly doesn't make sense to go back just to talk.'' On Iran, Rice said she remains confident that the U.N. Security Council will approve sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear program, although negotiations have bogged down. ``There is willingness to have a Security Council resolution. The question is what is that resolutions going to say, and how broad is it going to be. I think we just have to keep working through it.'' Washington's U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, said Wednesday there were still ``wide gaps'' between the Russians and European nations leading the diplomatic effort. Asked whether there had been any progress since the talks began, Bolton said, ``Well, we didn't make any progress today - let's leave it at that.'' Oil-rich Iran has claimed it has a right to a nuclear program it says is aimed at producing energy. But the United States suspects Tehran has ambitions to make nuclear weapons. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Wednesday the West will gradually back down in its standoff with Iran and eventually accept its nuclear program. ``While the West tries to thwart the progress of our nation, time is on our side,'' Ahmadinejad told a crowd in Sanandaj, the capital city of Iran's Kurdistan province. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 8 Korea Herald: [HERALD INTERVIEW]DJ calls for direct U.S.-N.K. dialogue Former president criticizes Bush for failed foreign policy By Lee Joo-hee Former President Kim Dae-jung urged the United States to engage in direct talks with North Korea to resolve the nuclear stand-off. He said the two sides should take more flexible, simultaneous actions with Pyongyang disarming and Washington offering a security guarantee and economic benefits. "The solution to the problem is already there. North Korea must give up its nuclear program and submit to thorough inspections. The United States must give a security guarantee and lift economic sanctions. They must take the actions concurrently as they do not trust each other," Kim said in a recent conversation in Seoul with Hong Jung-wook, chairman and publisher of Herald Media. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to deliver a speech at the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit hosted by the Asia Society this weekend. Kim has recently increased his public exposure to defend the government's conciliatory policy towards the North which is a continuation of his administration's epochal "sunshine policy." Kim urged the United States and North Korea to talk directly. "There will be success when one gives what needs to be given and receives what must be received." The members of the six-party talks are getting ready to resume negotiations after the United States and North Korea agreed to discuss the financial sanctions issue on the sidelines of the general meeting. Kim bluntly criticized the George W. Bush administration and its foreign policy. "This election proved that the Bush administration did not tell the voting public the truth about the Iraq war. It brought about public distrust and criticism by claiming there were weapons of mass destruction." Kim, in particular, condemned the Bush administration for refusing to talk with North Korea. "It doesn't make sense to refuse dialogue," Kim said, adding that Bush's predecessors all chose to talk directly with their counterparts such as former President Richard Nixon with China, and Ronald Reagan with the former Soviet Union. "When looking at the past history of communism, there has never been a successful case when the United States or the Western world pressured or sanctioned the communists into giving up." Kim said the success of the Democrats in the midterm elections would influence the future of the North Korea problem. Kim defended the sunshine policy that has been under scrutiny recently after North Korea's defiant nuclear test last month. "The sunshine policy is the right way to go. It is a policy that has seen success, although at a limited pace for the moment," he said. Critics of the sunshine policy and the Roh administration's engagement policy argue that the lenient approach to the North has actually aggravated the situation and led the public to grow complacent to the security threat posed by the North. "We must not only maintain this tone but get in deeper into North Korea if we can. It (the sunshine policy) must, in fact, be expanded," Kim said, explaining that a suspension of inter-Korean projects would lead North Korea to solely depend on China. "If we try harder and cooperate, we can keep the balance with China. Our power can even reach as far as the Amnok (Yalu) River." Kim and Hong also discussed the free trade agreement negotiations with the United States. "Especially in terms of agriculture, we cannot keep the door closed forever in this era of globalization. In fact, the local farming sector could be going through this hard time because we have kept the door closed and failed to reform," Kim said. During Kim's presidency between 1998 and 2003, his administration secured Korea's first FTA deal with Chile. Kim urged the government to better promote its FTA negotiations to the public, and called on critics to listen to the government before deciding to protest. While talking about the increased role of women in various fields, Kim specifically touched on the low birthrate. "The biggest problem is childcare. Large businesses especially must build in day care centers for mothers. The disadvantages of having children must be eradicated." South Korea currently suffers from one of the world's lowest birthrates at 1.08. Throughout the interview, Kim refused to comment on internal politics. "I am also turning down requests from figures who are being dubbed as potential presidential candidates who wish to visit me because of the negative media speculation," he said. Suspicions spread earlier this month over a dinner between President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim. The meeting came at a sensitive time when Roh's Uri Party declared it was planning major changes to its structure, including an alliance with other parties. The main opposition Grand National Party criticized the president for engaging in domestic political maneuvering. Kim still exerts significant influence in the southwestern region and in the minor opposition Democratic Party. In the hour-long interview, Kim also highlighted the approaching era of Asian power. "Asia, in particular, is diverse in religion such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam. But unlike the Western world, we have no conflict. That is an extremely strong point. We can cooperate peacefully." South Korea could play a leading role in the effort, Kim said, as one of the first Asian countries to secure democracy, advanced economically and technologically, not to mention being able to maintain peace despite the standoff with North Korea. He said the lack of a regional structure in Asia was due to a lack of enthusiasm from leaders. "Politicians will move if it will bring votes. You must take advantage of that," Kim said with a smile. Kim pointed to the latest problems in the housing market as the most imminent task the administration must work on. "It is important for the government to provide sufficient housing for ordinary citizens. The government must supply enough rented and low-priced housing and take measures to minimize their burden of involvement." Kim said it would be desirable to let the market move itself based on supply-and-demand. He said those speculators who seek to profit from the market can been tackled with tax. (angiely@heraldm.com) 2006.11.17 ***************************************************************** 9 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Seoul concedes, will condemn North on rights November 17, 2006 KST 15:24 (GMT+9) Unification aides are overruled; ˇ®yes' by South would be a first November 17, 2006 ¤Ń After a bitter internal debate, the South Korean government said yesterday that it would break with tradition and support for the first time a United Nations resolution condemning North Korean human rights practices. The vote is expected today. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued by its spokesman, "The decision was reached because doing so will help to improve human rights, a universal value, and we hope that this will be a catalyst for sparking consultations between North Korea and the international community on human rights, something that has become even more necessary after the North's nuclear test." The decision to fall in line with much of the rest of the world in condemning Pyongyang's human rights practices was made in the context of a refusal by Seoul earlier this week to stay out of the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, a loose multinational grouping aimed at interdicting international trade in missiles and mass weapons. Since 2003, Seoul has either abstained or not appeared for UN votes on North Korea human rights practices, arguing that making an issue of rights in North Korea would be counterproductive. The earlier measures, however, have drawn strong support from much of the rest of the UN membership. The tipping point in the conflict between the Foreign Ministry on one side and the Unification Ministry and Blue House staff on the other may have been the election of Ban Ki-moon as UN secretary general. The Foreign Ministry argued that Seoul and Mr. Ban faced international criticism and embarrassment for continuing to avoid taking a stand on human rights. The Unification Ministry, having won the battle on the proliferation initiative, was forced to cede this round to the diplomats. "It was a give and take thing," a government official said yesterday. Asking not to be named, he described the internal debate as "tense," and added that the Unification Ministry opposed voting to condemn North Korea until the final decision was made by President Roh Moo-hyun. "We don't think that this changes the grand picture of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. It's still a very symbolic gesture," the official said. A Unification Ministry official said yesterday that the reversal of Seoul's policy should not be seen as a change in Seoul's overall policy towards the North. Most political parties welcomed the government's decision yesterday, but reaction inside the Uri Party was mixed. The party's spokesman, Woo Sang-ho, said, "We understand the administration's decision. Nevertheless, we would like to point out that if the resolution is being interpreted as aiming to bring the collapse of the North Korean regime, this could act as an obstacle to the international community's efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through the six-party talks." The key articles of the proposed resolution "strongly urge" Pyongyang to grant full and unimpeded access to the country by the UN's special envoy, and asks the UN secretary general to submit a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the North. That UN rights envoy has been ignored by North Korea when he has asked to visit the nation. Unification Ministry officials have, like some Uri Party members, said that open criticism of the North would hurt the nuclear six-party talks. Pyongyang indeed has reacted strongly to earlier UN rights resolutions. Late last year, when a similar resolution was adopted, North Korea said the decision would strengthen its resolve to increase its nuclear deterrence force and called the resolution a further attempt by Washington to isolate it. Scattered pickets appeared in front of the South Korean UN mission offices in New York earlier this week protesting Seoul's past record on such votes. by Brian Lee africanu@joongang.co.kr> Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms ***************************************************************** 10 BBC: France searches N Korean vessel Last Updated: Thursday, 16 November 2006 [A North Korean ship (file pic)] North Korean ships can be searched in territorial waters French officials in the Indian Ocean have inspected a North Korean ship under the terms of UN Security Council sanctions adopted against Pyongyang. The ship was examined on the island of Mayotte, but there were no reports it was carrying any illegal cargo. It is believed to be the first time a North Korean vessel has been inspected under Security Council Resolution 1718. The resolution imposed sanctions on North Korea after it carried out a nuclear test in October. The measures are aimed at preventing North Korea from acquiring or spreading nuclear technology. UN SANCTIONS ON N KOREA Bans sale to, o export from, N Korea of military hardware Bans sale or export of nuclear and missile related items Bans sale of luxury goods Freezes finances and bans travel of anyone involved in nuclear, missile programmes Allows inspection of cargo to and from N Korea Stresses new resolution needed for further action Key stances on sanctions Customs officials carried out a "thorough and complete inspection" of the ship, its crew and its contents, a spokesman for France's foreign ministry said. "We are exercising particular vigilance regarding cargo transported by North Korean ships, and all ships starting from or heading to North Korea," he said. The Associated Press news agency quoted a customs official as saying that no weapons, drugs or other prohibited material had been found on the ship or the 45-strong crew after a search "from bow to stern and top to bottom". Nuclear crisis North Korea carried out a nuclear test on 9 October. The test brought swift and widespread international condemnation, including criticism from China, seen as close to Pyongyang, and the US. [Yongbyon plant, North Korea] North Korea does not allow inspection of its nuclear sites. The UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1718 on 14 October. Six-nation talks on the continuing crisis - also involving South Korea, Japan and Russia - are expected to resume soon. The talks broke down last year when North Korea opposed financial sanctions imposed by the US. However, Japan has signalled its opposition to any talks held while North Korea still retains nuclear weapons. US intelligence estimates suggest that North Korea may have a "handful" nuclear weapons, although any bombs are not thought to be small enough to be delivered by missile. ***************************************************************** 11 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: China says oil still goes to the North November 17, 2006 ¤Ń WASHINGTON - China has not cut off oil supplies to North Korea, nor will it stop oil and food assistance to its ally as a means of exerting political pressure, Chinese officials were quoted as telling a group of U.S. scholars. The Americans in the group also said Wednesday that Chinese officials seemed to have a different understanding from the North Koreans about how U.S. financial sanctions would be dealt with at the next round of six-nation talks. The Chinese reportedly said they were "surprised" that Pyongyang had told the group it expected those sanctions to be lifted. Siegfried Hecker, a visiting professor at Stanford University, said he asked Chinese foreign ministry officials if Beijing had cut off heavy fuel oil to North Korea as reported. "The answer was that China did not cut off heavy fuel oil to North Korea. That's the direct answer that we received," he said at a news conference. Mr. Hecker was part of a four-member delegation that was in Pyongyang Oct. 31-Nov. 4. He is a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a U.S. nuclear weapons center, and has visited North Korea three times. The other members of the team were Jack Pritchard, former U.S. point man on North Korea policy and now head of the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, D.C.; Robert Carlin, a former North Korea analyst now at the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization; and John Lewis, a Stanford University professor. There was speculation that Beijing had ended the fuel aid to the North in September, when Pyongyang showed signs of preparing for its first nuclear test. The aid suspension was believed to be China's way of pressing its ally to forgo the test. Mr. Hecker said Chinese officials were clear that Beijing did not and would not stop fuel and food donations, arguing that North Korea would only "grow stronger" if pressured. The team arrived in North Korea on the day the communist regime, after a year's boycott, agreed to return to the six-nation nuclear talks that also involve South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. Pyongyang left the table to protest punitive measures taken by the U.S. Treasury against Macao's Banco Delta Asia for allegedly laundering money for the North. North Korean officials told the American visitors that they expected discussions and a conclusion of the sanctions issue at the next six-party talks, according to Mr. Pritchard. But Chinese officials, when told of Pyongyang's position, "expressed some surprise," Mr. Hecker said. "They indicated, obviously, differences of opinion as to what was agreed on," he said. Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms of Use ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: Rice demands 'concrete step forward' on NKorea nuclear talks - Thu Nov 16, 4:14 AM HANOI (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned that North Korea has to do more to show it was committed to resuming crunch talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons drive. "We need a concrete step forward," Rice said after joining ministers for talks dominated by the North Korean crisis on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Other foreign ministers also kept up the pressure on the Stalinist regime, saying the negotiations had to show real progress when they restarted, or the world community would quickly lose faith in the process. "I do think after having set off a nuclear test the North Koreans need to do something to demonstrate they actually are committed to denuclearization that goes beyond words," Rice told reporters after the meeting. "I think there is some scepticism about that." Rice said the key was first to ensure the talks would be well prepared when they did resume, and then to focus on setting a date as soon as possible. "It does not make sense for us to have talks unless we think it is going to be fruitful. It does not make sense just to go back," she added. The US secretary of state, who arrived in Hanoi overnight ahead of a weekend summit of APEC leaders, joined Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and other ministers at a breakfast meeting early Thursday. "Return to six-party talks as soon as possible, that's our suggestion," Li said as he left that meeting. The talks, which group the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, have been in limbo since last November, after Pyongyang walked out in protest at US financial sanctions. However, the North agreed two weeks ago to return to the talks amid fierce international condemnation -- including from closest ally China -- of its October 9 nuclear test. US chief negotiator Christopher Hill met here Wednesday with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts and said they would propose several dates to the Chinese for when negotiations could restart, hopefully in early December. Li said: "I think we should create the conditions for everyone to work hard to return to the six-party talks as soon as possible, in order to achieve the objective of a nuclear-free peninsula at an early date." Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said any resumed negotiations had to lead to North Korea taking "real and verifiable steps". He added: "There is a view expressed by some that the six-party talks have to go somewhere, or else the international community and the public in the world will just lose faith in the six-party process." Downer said China was pivotal to the process, having been "dealt with very badly" by the North twice this year -- in July when it test-fired missiles and again with last month's test. "The Chinese government tried to talk them out of doing both these things, and I think North Korea has been quite shocked by how China has gone along with (UN Security Council) resolution 1718. "I think this agreement by North Korea to come back to the six-party talks before the end of the year is significantly a response to the anger of China." New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters described the informal meeting as "fruitful and valuable", saying Li's speech to his counterparts had "added very much to the discussions, gave us a view of China's perspective, and that is very significant, particularly on the issue of the six-party talks". Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 washingtonpost.com: Democrats Blast Bush Policy on N. Korea - By Glenn KesslerWashington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 16, 2006; Page A21 The Bush administration came under fierce attack yesterday from Democrats for its North Koreapolicy, with the incoming chairman of the House International Relations Committee saying that change is "long overdue" and that the United States should allow its chief nuclear arms negotiator to visit Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. Meanwhile, a group of experts returning from talks with top North Korean officials offered a pessimistic report on the prospects of reaching a deal when the long-stalled six-nation talks resume later this year. North Korean officials told the experts that they would take a much tougher stance when Pyongyang returns to the negotiating table, believing it is on "equal footing" with the United States now that it has tested a nuclear weapon. DIPLOMACY &DETERRENCE Charles L. "Jack" Pritchard, a former top State Department negotiator on North Korea, said that country's officials seem more interested in returning to the talks to make short-term gains, such as relief from a U.S. campaign to end North Korean counterfeiting of U.S. dollars or to patch up a damaged relationship with China. "They're not in this to give up their nuclear weapons," said Pritchard, now president of the Korean Economic Institute. North Korea conducted its first nuclear test Oct. 9, after refusing to return to the talks for nearly a year. The U.N. Security Council quickly condemned the test and imposed sanctions, and on Oct. 31 Pyongyang announced that it would return to the talks after the United States agreed to address its concerns about the financial crackdown. At a hearing yesterday on the administration's preparation for the talks, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) faulted the administration's exclusive reliance on the six-nation negotiating framework, arguing that substantial bilateral contacts are necessary to reach any deal. China, Japan, Russiaand South Koreaalso participate in the talks, a format that some experts have said is cumbersome for difficult negotiations. In the aftermath of the test, "it is now abundantly clear to the world that our current policies have failed," said Lantos, who will wield the gavel when the new Congress convenes in January. "I look forward to leading the efforts in Congress to keep North Korea on the front burner and to pushing the administration to resolve the feuds within its own ranks which have hobbled North Korea policy." Lantos charged that Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill has been undercut in his diplomacy by "hard-liners lodged in the office of the Vice President and the Defense Department." Hill had lobbied to travel to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean officials shortly after North Korea agreed in principle in September 2005 to dismantle its nuclear programs. But the trip never took place, and then the talks stalled over the Treasury Department action. "Ambassador Hill must also make a stopover in Pyongyang on his way back from the six-party talks, not to negotiate a new and separate deal, but rather to demonstrate to Pyongyang our peaceful intent," Lantos said. "The administration's refusal to allow visits by American diplomats to North Korea must end, and it must end now." Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns noted that U.S. officials, including Hill, have met bilaterally with North Korean officials in Beijing and New York. "Some people are insisting that the United States should negotiate with North Korea solely on a bilateral basis," he said. "But the North Korean problem, especially its pursuit of nuclear weapons, is a regional problem, it's not just a bilateral issue, because this problem poses a threat to all of its neighbors." Lantos won support for his position from several other Democrats, as well as from Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), who lost his reelection bid. "I believe you set up a bit of a straw-man argument," Leach told Burns. "I know of no serious commentator or observer of North Korea that favors solely bilateral discussions, which is the way you phrased it." But, he said, the problem with the administration's approach is that Hill can meet only with North Korean diplomats who are not really the decision-makers. ***************************************************************** 14 AFP: French authorities inspect North Korean ship in Indian Ocean - Thu Nov 16, 11:49 AM ET PARIS (AFP) - Authorities in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte are carrying out a "complete and thorough" inspection of a North Korean ship under sanctions adopted against Pyongyang, the foreign ministry said. "The customs services are currently proceeding with the complete and thorough examination of the cargo and crew of a North Korean ship which called at Mayotte," spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said Thursday. He said the inspection was being carried out under UN Security Council Resolution 1718 declaring an arms embargo on North Korea" /> North Koreain the wake of its October 9 nuclear test. "We particularly exercise vigilance towards cargo transported by North Korean ships, as well as those coming from or going to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," he said. "France immediately took restrictive measures regarding the DPRK on visas and bilateral cooperation" after the nuclear test, Mattei said. "This inspection shows France's determination in the area of surveillance of proliferation activities," added a French diplomat, requesting anonymity. "This applies to North Korea as well as to other countries." The diplomat said that the inspection of the North Korean freighter could last "a very long time". Neither gave details of the vessel or its cargo. The French foreign ministry underlined that the European Union" /> European Unionwas soon due to adopt a "common position" on restrictive measures being taken against North Korea. Mayotte is the only island of the Comores archipelago that remained French after the former colony gained independence in 1975. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 15 Korea Times: North Korea May Have 6 to 8 NukesˇŻ Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter North Korea has four to eight kilotons of plutonium, enough to make six to eight nuclear weapons, an American nuclear expert who visited Pyongyang from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 said. Siegfried S. Hecker, an honorary director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and a professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), also said that the Stalinist state's Oct. 9 nuclear test was not perfect but ``successful.'' He confirmed through the Chinese government that Chinese officials were informed two hours before the test when and where the test would be conducted with about four kilotons of plutonium. Charles L. Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) who accompanied Hecker, said that North Korean officials said that sanctions against the North should be lifted in return for the country returning to the six-party talks. Citing a North Korean official's remark, Pritchard said that ``things will be different'' unless the sanctions are lifted. Since the North's missile test on July 5 and the nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council and the United States have imposed sanctions, including an embargo on the trade of missiles, military hardware and luxury goods. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, reaffirmed that Washington would maintain the sanctions after the North's return to the talks. ``We believe the best way to achieve these ends is for the United States to continue to adhere to our dual-track strategy by implementing fully the U.N. sanctions to penalize and isolate the North Korean regime and keeping the door open to discussions and a return to the six-party talks,'' Burns said. On Oct. 31, Christopher Hill, top U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, and Kim Gye-gwan, his North Korean counterpart, agreed that the reclusive North would return to the talks in one or two months. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, however, said that the talks might not come quickly, the Associated Press reported. Assisted by Kim Se-jeong, a contributing writer in Washington, D.C. _ ED. 11-16-2006 17:51 ***************************************************************** 16 UPI: NKorea seen as proud of nuclear test United Press International - NewsTrack - 11/16/2006 12:12:00 PM -0500 WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A group of U.S. experts who recently visited North Korea, say Pyongyang officials are proud of their Oct. 9 nuclear test and may not agree to end the program. Speaking in Washington after ending their visit Nov. 4, the experts said they were surprised to see the capital Pyongyang crowded with cars and even motorcycles, McClatchy Newspapers reported. "There were also well-dressed people on the streets like I hadn't seen before," said Robert Carlin, a former U.S. intelligence analyst, who has made numerous trips to the North. Siegfried S. Hecker, nuclear scientist and former head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said his group, led by Stanford University Professor John W. Lewis, met with the head of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear center but weren't allowed to visit the center, the report said. The delegation was assured that North Korea remains committed to the Sept. 19, 2005, agreement to end the nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees, but Hecker said he felt it would now be difficult to make the Koreans meet their pledge. Hecker told McClatchy he believes the North has enough plutonium for nine nuclear weapons, the report said. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 17 Guardian Unlimited: Bush Warns N. Korea on Nuclear Transfers From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday November 16, 2006 11:16 PM AP Photo SGPD111 By TERENCE HUNT AP White House Correspondent SINGAPORE (AP) - Hurt by election losses back home, President Bush tried to exert his authority on the world stage Thursday by warning a nuclear-armed North Korea against peddling its weapons and vowing the United States would not retreat into isolationism. Bush's declaration came on the eve of his arrival in Vietnam for a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders and individual meetings with a handful of them - all curious about whether election setbacks had unsettled him. Striking moments for Bush in Hanoi will include a visit Friday to Communist Party headquarters for talks with the party's general secretary. Bush directly challenged newly empowered Democrats in the U.S. who are demanding a fresh course in Iraq and are fearful that free-trade agreements could cost American jobs. ``We hear voices calling for us to retreat from the world and close our doors to these opportunities,'' the president said in a speech at the National University of Singapore. ``These are the old temptations of isolationism and protectionism, and America must reject them.'' Bush will turn to personal diplomacy in meetings Saturday and Sunday with Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Hu Jintao, Japan's Shinzo Abe and South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun. All are partners with the United States in talks aimed at persuading a defiant North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. While North Korea's recent nuclear test has been widely condemned, the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum appeared divided over what to say publicly. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who went to Hanoi a day ahead of the president seeking a consensus, said Thursday that North Korea must come to new disarmament talks ready to deal - or there is no point in holding such a session. ``I do think that after having set off a nuclear test that the North Koreans need to do something to demonstrate that they actually are committed to denuclearization that goes beyond words,'' Rice said. ``Because after having set off a nuclear test, there's some skepticism about that.'' Bush said the transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to others would be ``a grave threat to the United States and we would hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such action.'' ``For the sake of peace,'' he said, ``it is vital that the nations of this region send a message to North Korea that the proliferation of nuclear technology to hostile regimes or terrorist networks will not be tolerated.'' Bush's visit to the one-time wartime capital of Hanoi brought inevitable comparisons between Iraq and the divisive war fought and lost in Vietnam more than three decades ago. Like Vietnam, the United States faces a determined insurgency in Iraq; both wars have demonstrated the limits of U.S. power. ``Historic parallels of that kind are, I think, not very helpful and I don't think they happen to be right,'' Rice told reporters on the way to Vietnam. ``This is a different set of circumstances with different stakes for the United States in a different kind of war.'' Bush is the fourth U.S. president to visit Vietnam, where communist forces prevailed over the United States in a conflict that claimed more than 58,000 American lives. The others were Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Bush's message in Asia was clear: The United States has been influential there for more than six decades and isn't about to pull back now. Many nations in the region are nervous about the rise of China and how Washington will react. Despite Bush's tough talk, he was unable to deliver a promised agreement to normalize trade with Vietnam. The accord was held up by a House still in Republican hands, sending a bad signal across Asia about Bush's clout and the future of trade-liberalizing bills in the Democratic Congress taking power in January. ``In this new century,'' Bush said, ``America will remain engaged in Asia, because our interests depend on the expansion of freedom and opportunity in this region.'' He said the United States sees its role in Asia, a region with a history of colonialism, as one of ``partnership, not paternalism.'' In Singapore, the president met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He paid a courtesy call on acting President J.Y. Pillay and lauded Singapore's success at integrating its many ethnicities and religions by visiting its Asian Civilisations Museum. Lee, who often has advised Bush on how to improve the U.S. image, particularly in the Muslim world, seemed pleased with the president's focus. ``Singapore is very happy that America has a stake in the region, and is growing the stake in the region,'' Lee said. With another foreign-policy priority pending on Capitol Hill - a civilian nuclear pact with India - Bush spoke by telephone from Singapore with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The agreement has been approved by the House, and Bush told Singh that Republican Senate leaders have assured him they will act soon. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Reid: Not 'Brokeback' Close With Senator From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday November 16, 2006 4:46 AM AP Photo DCMC111 By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Nevada's senators - both winning leadership posts in opposite parties - pledged Wednesday to stay close on issues of mutual interest, but not too close. ``He and I just like each other, and I think we set a good example here in the Senate,'' Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid said of colleague John Ensign, who was chosen Wednesday by Senate Republicans to head their campaign fundraising operation. ``He's a Republican, I'm a Democrat, we work together on issues that are important to the state of Nevada. And I wish other people had the same nonaggression pact we have,'' Reid told reporters. ``It's not a 'Brokeback Mountain' situation,'' he added, referring to last year's film about two gay cowboy lovers. Ensign and Reid went head-to-head in a 1998 Senate race that Reid won by 428 votes. Ensign was elected to the state's other seat in the Senate two years later. Since then, the two men have cooperated to stymie the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada, co-sponsored public lands bills and co-hosted constituent breakfasts. ``Their relationship will not be affected,'' Jack Finn, a spokesman for Ensign said of the dueling leadership roles. ``It is a genuine friendship and a genuinely positive working relationship, and most importantly the relationship is too vital for the good of the state to allow it to be compromised.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 19 TomPaine.com: Blow Up This Nuclear Deal Leonor Tomero November 16, 2006 Leonor Tomero is a nonproliferation policy analyst at the  and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for International Law and Politics at Georgetown University. Despite having pursued a covert nuclear weapons program for decades while most countries foreswore the right to acquire nuclear weapons, India is out of the nuclear dog house. In the few legislative days left in the 109th Congress, the lame-duck Republican Senate is expected to vote on the Bush administrations proposed nuclear deal with India, creating an exception in long-standing U.S. laws to allow nuclear trade with India. Cooperation between the United States and Indiatwo world powers that share broad common goalsacross many sectors is crucial and beneficial to both countries. However, cooperation based on nuclear exports to India would have long-lasting negative consequences for the United States ability to maintain a strong and viable norm against the spread of nuclear weapons, especially given the challenge of the recent North Korean nuclear weapon test and escalating tensions with Iran. This proposed deal fails to bring India under the nonproliferation treaty umbrella, torpedoes nonproliferation efforts, risks causing an arms race in South Asia, and all the while fail to address Indias energy needs effectively and fulfill U.S. strategic goals. The legislation under consideration modifies laws established in 1978 as a direct response to Indias 1974 nuclear explosive tests in which India misused a reactor and heavy water provided by the United States and Canada in 1959 for peaceful purposes (the misuse continues to this day). The proposed change would allow the United States to engage in nuclear trade with India even though India does not submit all its facilities to inspection and still remains well outside the nuclear nonproliferation mainstream. Under the agreement, India could continue to increase its nuclear weapons capability, and India refuses to undertake meaningful steps such as signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and stopping the production of material for nuclear weapons, as the five recognized nuclear weapon statesUnited  States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Chinahave done. In fact, by enabling India to import uranium fuel for its nuclear power plants, the agreement would allow India to free up its limited supplies of indigenous uranium (which India currently must divide between its weapons production and electricity generation) for dedicated use in its military program. According to estimates by a former Indian intelligence official and by the International Panel on Fissile Material among others, India could boost its nuclear weapons production from its current production capability of six to 12 weapons a year to 40 to 50 weapons a year with the agreement. Thus, if the agreement allows India to significantly expand its nuclear weapon arsenal, Indias promise to open 14 of its reactors to inspection (with no guarantee of placing future reactors under safeguards) becomes irrelevant. In addition, by separating plutoniuma weapons-usable materialfrom the nuclear waste resulting from the fuel provided to India under the agreement as India intends to do, India would be able to build up stockpiles of plutonium and expertise that it could use later for its weapons if it violates or abrogates the agreement. Under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), one of the key benefits reserved for non-nuclear weapon states in good standing is access to nuclear cooperation for electricity production. In exchange for this benefit (added to the assurance that most countries will not pursue nuclear weapons) over 180 non-nuclear weapon countries under the NPT promised to give up forever the right to acquire nuclear weapons. Since the current proposed legislation will allow India to reap the benefits of nuclear cooperation while not only retaining its nuclear weapon arsenal but moreover acquiring the capability to expand its nuclear weapons production, the deal will significantly undermines the global nonproliferation framework. The NPT has been the worlds primary line of defense against the spread of nuclear weapons for over 35 years, keeping the number of countries with nuclear weapon arsenals under ten. Therefore, creating an exception for India creates a dangerous double-standard that may prove extremely deleterious for the delicate balance of benefits and obligations that underpin the NPT and its global nonproliferation framework. Additionally, creating an exception for India may open the door to further dangerous exceptions. The perception that India will gain increased nuclear weapons capability as a result of the deal risks leading Pakistan to further ramp up its nuclear weapons production. Pakistan has already approached China for a similar deal. Also U.S. leadership has already contributed to Russia and China halting some of their questionable nuclear exports that undermined the norm against non-proliferation. However, now Russia and France, which are best placed to benefit from this new market for nuclear trade, are eager to export nuclear material and technology to India; and China may be more inclined to help Pakistan under a similar exception. The timing of the deal is also questionable. Several Indian companies and nuclear scientists have been sanctioned for transferring missile and sensitive technology and knowledge to Iran. In July, the administration announced new sanctions against two additional Indian companies, just days after the House of Representatives voted to approve its version of the nuclear cooperation deal, unaware of the impending sanctions. In addition, India has conducted tests of nuclear-capable missiles in July and most recently again in October. More importantly, the deal comes at a critical juncture for negotiations with Iran and North Korea. Allowing an exception for India on one hand, while on the other requiring that Iran give up its nuclear ambitions and North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, undermines international leverage in the on-going negotiations with these two problem states. While Indias booming population entails obvious growing energy needs, focusing U.S. assistance on non-nuclear energy sources would be a cheaper and more effective alternative than providing India with assistance for nuclear power. Indias ability to meet its ambitious nuclear power goals seems overly optimistic given its prior record of failing to meet its objectives and given Indias lack of institutional experience with private investment in the nuclear sector. Regardless, India will continue to depend on coal and oil. Investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, distributed energy and modernizing Indias electric grid hold far more promise for efficient results.   While the Bush administration hopes that this deal with result in a geo-strategic partnership to strengthen India in the face of perceived U.S. rivals China and Iran, this outcome is unlikely given Indias growing economic ties with those countries. China is expected to rival the United States soon as Indias largest trading partner, and Iran and India signed a $40 billion, 25-year contract with Iran to import natural gas and are planning a $7 billion natural gas pipeline from Iran to India. Therefore, with so much at stake for nonproliferation, the Senate should be wary of passing a sweeping exception for India without more careful examination. Given the fruitful alternatives for continuing to strengthen our cooperation with India and the long-term costs of this proposed nuclear deal for U.S. and international security, Congress and the administration should seek to bring India into the nuclear nonproliferation framework in a way that strengthens international law and nuclear nonproliferation rather than undercuts these vital norms that underpin U.S. security. + November 16, 2006 TomPaine.com.] ***************************************************************** 20 AFP: India PM discusses nuclear deal with US president Bush Thu Nov 16, 7:53 AM ET NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's premier Manmohan Singh discussed a landmark civilian nuclear deal with US President George Bush" /> George Bushafter the pact's approval by the US Congress was delayed by US mid-term elections. "The prime minister expressed appreciation for President Bush" /> President Bush's commitment to the passage of the legislation," a statement from Singh's office said. During the telephone conversation, Singh raised India's concerns over the fate of the accord after the Democrats gained control of both houses of the US Congress this month in the midterm polls. The prime minister "hoped that the bill in its final form will accommodate India's stated concerns", the statement said on Thursday. The two leaders also "expressed satisfaction at the state of bilateral relations between Indian and the United States", the statement added. The nuclear agreement had been clinched during Bush's visit to New Delhi in March. On Wednesday, the US Senate began debating the agreement under which India, a non-signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), would be allowed access to long-denied civilian nuclear technology in return for placing its atomic reactors under global safeguards. To facilitate the deal, the US Congress has to create an exception for India from some of the requirements of the US Atomic Energy Act, which currently bans nuclear sales to non-NPT signatories. The US House of Representatives gave its thumbs-up to the deal in July but a Senate vote was delayed due to legislative elections last week that resulted in Democrat control of both chambers of the new Congress from January. Analysts say it is unclear how the current Republican-controlled Senate will vote on the legislation this week, even though leaders of both Republican and Democrat parties have called for its approval. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 UPI: Outside View: Russia reacts to U.S. nukes United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 11/16/2006 12:36:00 PM -0500 By SERGEI KORTUNOV UPI Outside View Commentator MOSCOW, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Since the U.S. State Department, three months after Sept. 11, 2001, said America was going to quit the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty -- which it did half a year later -- Moscow's response has been conspicuous by its nearly total absence. At that point, no one among Russia's political elite offered a viable perspective of a future international nuclear arms control regime, heavily undermined by the U.S. unilateralism. Then, on May 26, 2002, the Russian and U.S. presidents signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, a move that sent a very clear signal -- at least, to security experts' community -- that bilateral and probably multilateral nuclear arms control, in its previous shape, was history. From that point on, a new national nuclear strategy has been a most urgent imperative. Similarly to what we witnessed four years ago, we can see now that the Bush administration is apparently not going to have its hands tied by any arms limitation or reduction treaties whatsoever. The U.S. military policies are being significantly reshaped -- not so much by the war on terror but for other, deeper reasons. The Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, like the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, has not been ratified. Now both look completely forgotten. The Pentagon gets nearly $100 billion more a year than before. A recently adopted U.S. nuclear doctrine includes the upgrade of strategic offensive arms, the development of small nuclear munitions to be used together with smart weapons, and a premise that Washington might resort to nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state. Many Russian experts believe the recent changes to the U.S. military policy do not mean that Russia's national security is going to be under threat, at least for 10 to 15 years to come, when the full deployment of the national missile defense system is expected. However, the abandonment of the ABM Treaty, in combination with other changes, puts the international arms control regime under question and probably sets the stage for a new international arms race. The United States is making strategic moves that -- naturally -- call for strategic nuclear responses. In fact, the new U.S. strategy says that unprecedented terrorist attacks and a new prioritization of threats may well lower the go-nuclear threshold, which means that a nuclear capability, once used, can easily spiral out of control. The continuing proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction, as well as of means of delivery, and growing regional instability add little comfort. Amid utterly unpredictable political momentum, the United States has chosen to further upgrade its nuclear force, to retain the means to quickly build up its nuclear capability in time of need, and to effectively put off the table any binding and verifiable agreements with Russia on the inconvertible reduction of strategic offensive arms. On the other side of the equation, recent tests and general U.S. technological potential suggest that a workable and consistently upgradable missile defense system could be deployed already in the medium term. All this demonstrates that the only option for Russia is to retain a great nuclear power status for at least 15 to 20 years to come -- which means to rethink its nuclear plans. What we have right now was drawn up on the assumption that both START II and ABM would be in place, and that the naval and air legs, like in the U.S. nuclear triad, will grow, while the ground component will be largely reduced. The new strategic reality suggests that Russia should instead maintain its ground nuclear force as long as possible, while shaping the naval and air legs so that they could fulfill both nuclear and conventional tasks. Old plans, drawn up in response to radically different challenges, are no more viable -- economically as well as militarily. In his State of the Nation Address earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin radiated confidence on a new nuclear reality. Let's hope it is really there. (Sergei Kortunov is chairman of Russia's Foreign Policy Planning Committee. This article is reprinted by permission of the RIA Novosti news agency. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent the opinions of the RIA Novosti editorial board.) (United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.) © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 22 [NYTr] India, Pakistan: Nuke Rivals to Share Intel Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 12:32:33 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Simon McGuinness (Could the absence of a credible superpower be the key ingredient in overcoming decades of antagonism between India and Pakistan? The USA has yet to understand the fallout from the illegal invasion of Iraq, but the surrounding countries are already establishing the architecture of a post-US world. Far from birth pangs, the baby is growing up - and it doesn't speak American. -SMcG) The Irish Times - Nov 16, 2006 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2006/1116/1163060678222.html Nuclear rivals to share intelligence by Rahul Bedi in New Delhi INDIA: Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have agreed to set up a panel to share intelligence on terrorism and have approved a pact to reduce the risk of nuclear weapon "accidents". The announcements yesterday came at the end of two days of talks in New Delhi between the top diplomats of the neighbouring countries, who resumed peace negotiations stalled by July's train bombings in the western port city of Bombay (also called Mumbai) that killed almost 300 people. India blamed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate for masterminding the train blasts, which Islamabad vehemently denies. Pakistan's foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan led the talks with his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon. He said both countries had been victims of terrorism and needed to work together. "It would be a dangerous folly for either country to try to destabilise the other," the Pakistani diplomat told a news conference. Mr Khan said the "finger-pointing" at Pakistan after the Bombay bombings had been counter-productive and the proposed panel would be a better forum to discuss such issues. The two countries, which have fought three wars and engaged in an 11-week border skirmish since independence 59 years ago, also agreed on the "early signing" of an agreement to reduce the risk of "accidents relating to nuclear weapons". However, they declined to offer a specific timeframe or details that may emerge when peace talks continue in Islamabad in February 2007. Both countries, which carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998, also "expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the [earlier] agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles". The peace talks, which began in January 2004 and have completed several rounds, are aimed at ending bitter disputes between the countries after the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 by the colonial administration. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 23 Guardian Unlimited: Blair begins push for Trident replacement Patrick Wintour, political editor Friday November 17, 2006 The Guardian Tony Blair told the cabinet yesterday that he plans to launch a controversial debate on the replacement of the Trident nuclear missile programme as early as next week, in a sign that he wants to secure agreement on a multibillion replacement before he leaves Downing Street. He told ministers that a decision had to be taken quickly. The defence secretary, Des Browne, has started one-to-one meetings with colleagues before the imminent publication of a white paper supporting retention of an independent deterrent. He is to promise the Commons a vote on the principle of replacement of Trident. Cabinet members admitted yesterday that the debate would have to be carefully managed to avoid deep fissures opening up inside the party at the time of leadership and deputy leadership elections. Some cabinet ministers, including the Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain, have recently underlined to Mr Blair that the decision should be taken after a Commons vote and a real engagement with the Labour party. Sceptics are also calling for a full Treasury economic assessment of the options. Estimates have varied widely on the cost of replacement, depending on the nature of the decision, but mainstream estimates suggest Ł20bn over 30 years. The chancellor, Gordon Brown, has said he supports retention of a British nuclear deterrent, but he has not spelt out in what form. It is understood that he regrets signalling his support for maintenance of a British deterrent as an aside in his June Mansion House speech and accepts that a fuller debate is necessary. The government faces four options: unilateral disarmament; extending the in-service life of the existing Vanguard submarine and Trident 11 D5 missiles; buying a direct replacement for the Trident system in line with the current US UK agreement; or procuring a new submarine or air-based capability. Some senior party figures, including the influential former cabinet minister Charles Clarke, have expressed scepticism about the case for replacing Trident. Wider public opinion, according to the latest polls, narrowly supports retention of a deterrent, but this support in some polls turns into overall opposition if voters are told the cost is likely to be Ł25bn, or the equivalent of building 1,000 new schools. The Tories are almost certain to support retention of a British deterrent, ensuring there is a strong parliamentary majority for the retention of a nuclear weapon system of some form. Nevertheless, at its September congress the TUC voted to reject Trident, even though some believe the long-term future of the British submarine industrial base depends on replacing the deterrent. Many Labour MPs, and some legal opinion, argues that replacement would represent a breach of Britain's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty. Until the mid-80s, and a policy change engineered by Neil Kinnock, Labour supported unilateral disarmament. The Trident system entered service in late 1994 and has a projected life span of approximately 25 to 30 years. A replacement would need to enter service in the mid-2020s and, given the long procurement process, decisions have to be taken imminently. The debate comes at a difficult time for supporters of a replacement, with the intelligence services emphasising the national security threat from individual terrorists, or al-Qaida, rather than from other nuclear weapon states. The Foreign Office, possibly in preparation for next week's debate, this week briefed that it believed al-Qaida was seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 24 IRNA: Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable Hataf-V missile - Islamabad, Nov 16, IRNA Pakistan-Missile-Test-fire Pakistan on Thursday successfully launched its intermediate range ballistic missile Hatf 5 (Ghauri), the military said. The Ghauri missile has a range of 1300 kilometers, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said. The launch was carried out by troops of the Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC) during the culmination phase of a training exercise held to test the operational readiness of a Strategic Missile Group (SMG) equipped with Ghauri missiles, it said. It may be recalled that President General Pervez Musharraf had handed over the highly accurate Ghauri missiles to the ASFC at an impressive ceremony a few years back. Today's launch exercise was witnessed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ahsan Saleem Hyat besides a large number of senior military officers, scientists and engineers of the strategic organizations, the statement said. The prime minister congratulated the officers and other ranks of the ASFC on completion of their high-standard training as reflected in the successful launch and accuracy of the missile in reaching its target. He said that Pakistan can be justifiably proud of its defence capability and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence. He said Pakistan believed in peace that comes from a position of strength and operational readiness and that the defence of the country was non-negotiable. The prime minister made it clear that Pakistan's nuclear capability had matured and has been consolidated as a fully operationalized capability in the last seven years. The three services had effectively raised the strategic forces' ability to handle the nation's nuclear capability in all dimensions and were equipped to handle strategic assets in the field. The National Command Authority and the Strategic Plans Division, which oversee Pakistan's Strategic Programme, are fully alive to the regional security situation and has developed adequate response options to meet any contingency, he said. ***************************************************************** 25 AFP: Pakistan fires nuclear-capable missile Thu Nov 16, 3:07 AM ET ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan has test fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile, a day after concluding peace talks with India where the South Asian rivals agreed to fresh atomic safety measures. The medium-range Hatf V, or Ghauri missile, which can strike targets 1,300 kilometers (812 miles) away, was fired from an undisclosed location and the test was successful, the Pakistani military said. "The missile is already in service and the test was conducted to check technical parameters," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz witnessed the launch along with defence chiefs, scientists and engineers from Pakistan's missile programme, a military statement said. "Pakistan can be justifiably proud of its defence capability and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence," the statement quoted Aziz as saying. Aziz said Pakistan "believed in peace that comes from a position of strength and operational readiness. The defence of the country was non-negotiable". The premier added Pakistan's nuclear capability had now "matured". The Ghauri missile is named after a 12th-century Muslim conqueror of India, who came from Afghanistan" /> Afghanistan. It was test fired as part of a training exercise and hit its target, the statement said. Regional rivals Pakistan and India have routinely conducted missile tests since carrying out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in May 1998, alarming the world. Top Indian and Pakistani diplomats concluded two days of talks in New Delhi Wednesday where they agreed to create a panel to share intelligence on terrorism and move to cut the risk of nuclear weapon "accidents". The talks rekindled a peace process put on hold since July's Mumbai train bombings, where 189 people died. Indian officials said Pakistan's spy agency was linked to the blasts. The two countries "expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles" at the talks, they said. They also agreed on the "early signing" of an agreement to reduce the risk of "accidents relating to nuclear weapons", without giving a specific time frame. The two sides are to meet next in Islamabad in February. Pakistan, an Islamic republic, and mainly Hindu India have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Two of those conflicts, plus a major skirmish in 1999, have been over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir" /> Kashmir, which India and Pakistan control in part, but claim in its entirety. The Delhi talks failed to make any headway on the Kashmir issue. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 26 Daily Times: IAEA asks Pakistan to develop N-database Leading News Resource of Pakistan November 16, 2006 MANIPAL: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has asked Pakistan to develop a nuclear database for power reactors and contribute to the IAEA information base. “Since Pakistan has nuclear power reactors and will soon be acquiring another six from China, it is important that Pakistan takes the initiative to evolve its nuclear data to keep at par with its neighbour India and contribute to the world body’s website,” Dr Alan Nichols, head of the IAEA nuclear data section, said at a two-day meeting on “atomic and nuclear data for next generation medicine and technologies” organised by the UNESCO peace chair at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, on Tuesday. Dr Nichols said that the IAEA had also asked Russia, China and Europe to improve their compilation and evaluation work on nuclear data. “China and Russia should be encouraged to do more. Although China established its nuclear database centre in 1975, data collection is disappointing and now with several power reactors being built in China, it is for their own benefit and for the future generation that the process be increased,” he said. online Daily Times - All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 27 UPI: Lawmakers worried about India nuclear pact United Press International - NewsTrack - 11/15/2006 7:34:00 PM -0500 WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on a nuclear trade accord with India, lawmakers said the pact may undermine efforts to stop nuclear programs elsewhere. The legislation, which the White House said it hopes the Senate considers Friday, would reverse U.S. policies designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the Washington Post said Wednesday. The bill would create an India-specific exception to laws barring nuclear trade with countries -- such as India -- that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Post said. Legislators and arms control experts said they were concerned that the deal would hinder U.S. efforts to halt nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, adding that the White House plan would allow India to rapidly increase its nuclear arsenal. The administration said the pact is part of a strategy to hasten India's becoming a counterbalance to China, the Post said. Administration officials said nuclear capability in India would not pose a threat to the United States. Congressional leaders requested months ago a secret intelligence assessment of India's nuclear program and the country's ties to Iran, the Post said. They said they haven't received it, the newspaper said. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 28 [NYTr] Indian PM Hopes US Will Approve New Nuke Deal Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:44:27 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [It would appear that the Indian PM is a bit concerned that last week's US elections could endanger the back-room deal Bush made with India last year, which violates the spirit of the Nuclear Nonproliferation agreement. The US seems to want to deal only with those powers that have NOT signed onto the NPT, like India and Israel. Why does the see-no-evil, think-no-evil, hear-no-evil, do-nothing spineless Congress THINK North Korea and Iran are keeping their options open? IMPEACH THESE BASTARDS. -NY Transfer] People's Daily Online - Nov 16, 2006 http://english.people.com.cn/200611/16/eng20061116_322299.html Indian PM calls Bush for nuclear deal Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called [on] U.S. President George W. Bush Thursday for legislation of India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, Indian Ministry of External Affairs said. The ministry said in a press release that the two sides discussed the legislation relating to the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Cooperation understanding in the five-minute telephone's call on Thursday afternoon. Singh hoped "the Bill in its final form will accommodate India's stated concerns," the press release said. The bill on India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation has been handed over to the U.S. Senate. The Senate will debate on it and might vote on later Thursday. India has stressed for several times that the bill should not deviate from the joint statement issued when Singh visited Washington on July 18 last year. India will separate its civilian and military nuclear projects and put civilian ones under international safeguards while the United States will lift the ban on exporting nuclear fuels and technologies to India, which has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to joint the statement. But according to reports, Democrats plan to introduce nine amendments to the present bill during the debate, including one item to prevent the technologies and fuels from being diverted to India's military projects. If the Senate passes the bill, both Houses of the U.S. Congress will go into a conference for a final legislation that Bush can then sign into law. Both Indian and the U.S. governments hoped the legislation will finish and law be changed before the new Democrat-led Congress takes over in January 2007. Source: Xinhua * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 29 TMI Alert: TMI-Alert Opposes Relicensing of PPL Nuclear Plant Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:49:11 -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 Three Mile Island Alert, Inc. PRESS RELEASE: November 15, 2006 Contact: Eric Epstein (717)-541-1101 ericepstein@comcast.net TMI-Alert to Oppose Relicensing of the Susquehanna Nuclear Plant (Berwick, Pa) - Three Mile Island Alert*, Inc. (TMIA) announced its decision to oppose PPLąs premature request to relicense the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES) to operate for 20 more years. PPL has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for permission to run the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station until 2043 [Unit-1] and 2045 [Unit-2]. Eric Epstein, the groupąs chairman stated, "TMI-Alert will vigorously oppose relicensing until PPL pays its back taxes, secures radioactive waste, and proves it has the financial resources to decommission the plant.˛ Mr. Epstein has sued the NRC, FEMA and the Department of Justice, łto compel PPL to provide radiological emergency plans that include nursery schools, day care facilities, and senior citizen residences." TMI-Alert believes PPLąs application is premature. łIt would be irresponsible for federal regulators to begin a relicensing process 17 years before the original license expires. PPL wants to secure an extension to preempt public challenges over additional safety problems, which tend to increase as plants age.˛ * TMI-Alert is a safe-energy organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and founded in 1977. TMIA monitors Peach Bottom, Susquehanna, and Three Mile Island nuclear generating stations. tmia.com 9 Reasons Why TMI-Alert Opposes Early Relicensing of the Susquehanna Nuclear Plant 1. PPL has failed to provide workable emergency plans for łspecial needs˛ populations living within ten miles of the SSES. Mr. Epstein, Chairman of TMI-Alert, sued FEMA, the NRC and the Department of Justice to compel all Pennsylvania nuclear utilities to provide emergency planning for the most vulnerable populations living near reactors. The Pennsylvania Attorney General referred the case to the United States Government Accountability Office on September 14, 2006. 2. Tax break for the rich: PPL pledged that tax revenues would increase for local communities after deregulation. In fact, the opposite has occurred. The łold version˛ of the plant was valued at $800 million in 1998 and 1999. The łnew˛ SSES valuation in 2001 was approximately $160 million. The actual valuation of the plant, or the amount PPL is paying taxes one, is $56 million. Yet, PPL is collecting $2.97 billion in rate recoveries for cost overruns associated with the construction of Susquehanna. There is no replacement revenue for local governmental bodies and schools, and local property owners are paying for PPLąs tax breaks. 3. Financial Stability: PPL can not predict with any degree of confidence how much it will cost to clean up the rad waste site after the plant closes. Projected costs for nuclear decommissioning of Susquehanna have increased by at least 553% between 1981 and 2003. In 1981 PP&L predicted that its share to decommission SSES was between $135 and $191 million. By 1985 the cost estimate had climbed to $285 million. And by 1991, the cost in 1988 dollars for the łradioactive portion˛ of decommissioning, was $350 million. The Companyąs contractor conducted a site-specific study which projected that the cost of decommissioning would be $725 million in 1993 dollars. The 1994 cost estimate remained steady at $724 million, but the market value of securities held and accrued in income in the trust funds declined, and thus the estimate reflected another increase in decommissioning costs (PP&L Base Rate Case, Page, 1016, Lines 7-27 and Page 1017, Lines 1-24.) By 2006 PPL projected costs to decommission Susquehanna to be almost $1 billion. 4. Safeguards and terrorism: Since 9-11, nuclear plants have been recognized as terrorist targets, but Susquehanna is unprepared. There are measures that could mitigate risks of various attacks by air, water and ground, but the industry has lobbied NRC not to adopt them, in order to keep costs down. 5. Uprates for shareholders: PPL has requested permission to amp up the capacity of the plant, even though they believe itąs worth only $56 million. Last time PPL announced it was planning to increase capacity, shareholders hit the jackpot. In a Petition to the NRC to increase capacity by 100 megawatts PPL said łThe $120 million in improvements at the Susquehanna plant are expected to add earnings as soon as they go into operation˛ (PPL, April 23, 2001). 6. Water supplies: The magnitude of the amount of water used at a nuclear power plant is readily evidenced at the SSES every day. The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station loses 14.93 million gallons of water per unit daily as vapor out of the cooling tower stack. Eleven million gallons per day are returned to the river as cooling-tower basin blow down. On average, 29.86 million gallons per day are taken from the river and not returned; even during periods of drought! (PPL, Pennsylvania Environmental Permit Report.) 7. No permanent storage of waste: The Susquehanna nuclear power plant produces approximately 30 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste per year per reactor. The nuclear garbage has no forwarding address. In reality, the SSES is a de facto high-level radioactive waste site on the Susquehanna River. There is no solution in sight for disposal of highly radioactive łspent˛ fuel rods, although the National Academy of Sciences and other technical experts argue that moving all radioactive waste into hardened, dry storage would reduce the risks associated with current high-density cooling pools at each plant. Susquehanna is one of 21 nuclear power plants where used reactor fuel pools have reached capacity. 8. Age-related safety problems will increase: Susquehanna was designed to last for 40 years, but many systems and components are already being stressed by radiation, high heat and pressures, and other factors. U.S. plants are suffering from corrosion, large component failures, original design flaws and other unresolved safety issues. At least a dozen U.S. plants have recently discovered radioactive tritium leakage into groundwater from pipes or cooling pools. 9. NRCąs industry-driven relicensing process limits public involvement, and disallows debate over factors involving a plantąs safety and security record. PPL is applying for the license renewal so early due to the rubber-stamp approach by the Bush administrationąs NRC. PPL wants to secure an extension to preempt public challenges over additional safety problems, which tend to increase as plantąs age. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.14.5/534 - Release Date: 11/14/2006 ***************************************************************** 30 [NYTr] Bush Nuclear Deal w/India Wins Senate Backing Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:53:58 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit The New York Times - Nov 17, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/washington/17nuke.html Nuclear Deal With India Wins Senate Backing By THOM SHANKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 The Senate gave overwhelming approval late Thursday to President Bushs deal for nuclear cooperation with India, a vote expressing that a goal of nurturing India as an ally outweighed concerns over the risks of spreading nuclear skills and bomb-making materials. Skip to next paragraph By a vote of 85 to 12, senators agreed to a program that would allow the United States to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The agreement, negotiated by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India in March, calls for the United States to end a long moratorium on sales of nuclear fuel and reactor components. For its part, India would divide its reactor facilities into civilian and military nuclear programs, with civilian facilities open to international inspections. Critics have been unwavering in arguing that the pact would rally nations like North Korea and Iran to press ahead with nuclear weapons programs despite international complaints and threats. Opponents of the measure also warned that the deal would allow India to build more bombs with its limited stockpile of radioactive material, and could spur a regional nuclear arms race with Pakistan and China. Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Indiana Republican who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, hailed the measures passage as one more important step toward a vibrant and exciting relationship between our two great democracies. His endorsement was significant, coming from a senator respected for efforts in nonproliferation and whose name is part of a sweeping program to secure nuclear bomb-making materials in the former Soviet Union. He also expressed thanks for a truly bipartisan effort to Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Delaware Democrat set to become Foreign Relations chairman in the new Congress. While advocates of the measure said it would be an incentive for India to refrain from nuclear tests, denunciations came quickly from a minority of senators who opposed it, as well as from critics in the House. It is a sad day for U.S. national security when the Senate passes a sweeping exemption to our nonproliferation laws that will allow India to increase its annual bomb-production capacity from 7 to over 40 bombs a year, said Representative Edward J. Markey, co-chairman of the House Bipartisan Taskforce on Nonproliferation. He said the measure sends the wrong signal at a time when the world is trying to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. After the vote, the White House issued a statement from President Bush praising passage of the bill. The United States and India enjoy a strategic partnership based upon common values, the statement said. The U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement will bring India into the international nuclear nonproliferation mainstream and will increase the transparency of Indias entire civilian nuclear program. The Senate rejected several amendments that sponsors said would clarify or narrow the deal, including one that would have required India to halt all military relations with Iran. The legislation, as passed, does contain a new provision that requires the president to declare that India has joined multinational efforts to contain Irans nuclear program before the United States-India nuclear deal moves forward. The Senate legislation now must be matched to the House version, which passed in July by a vote of 359 to 68; both chambers then must approve the final language. Even with Senate approval, the package will not move forward until both houses agree to specifics of a nuclear-cooperation accord with India. A complementary deal between India and the International Atomic Energy Agency also must be reached. When the plan was announced, India pledged to classify 14 of its 22 nuclear reactors as civilian facilities. That would put those reactors under international inspections for the first time. But other reactors would remain under Indian military jurisdiction, and not open to inspectors. After India and Pakistan conducted surprise nuclear tests about eight years ago, the Clinton administration imposed economic sanctions on both countries. But the Bush administrations effort to enlist allies for its global antiterrorism campaign brought an end to those sanctions. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 31 NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Arizona Public Service Co. on Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station News Release - Region IV - 2006-02 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-06-025 November 16, 2006 CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a regulatory conference with Arizona Public Service Co. officials on Nov. 20, to discuss the results of a special inspection at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Conferees will discuss the significance of an inspection finding regarding the plants emergency spray ponds. Palo Verde, which is operated by APS, is located about 55 miles west of Phoenix. The meeting, which will be open to public observation, will begin at 9 a.m. in NRC Region IV offices in Arlington, Texas. The public will have an opportunity to observe and ask questions of NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. Members of the public can listen to the meeting via a special telephone line by calling 1-800-952-9677, and requesting ext. 474. The NRC staff will discuss with APS the inspection finding and an associated apparent violation of NRC requirements identified in an inspection report issued on Sept. 28. In 1994, APS began adding a chemical to the sites emergency spray ponds, which serve as a source of cooling water for safety-related equipment. The additive contributed to a buildup of chemical deposits on the essential cooling water heat exchangers, which provide cooling to safety-related systems. One heat exchanger may have become inoperable during a six-month period during 2003. The NRC evaluates regulatory performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color coded process which classifies regulatory findings as either green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance. The NRCs preliminary evaluation determined that the safety significance of the problem was greater than green, meaning that the violation involved more than very low safety significance. No decision on the final significance, the apparent violation or any contemplated enforcement action will be made during the conference. Those decisions will be made by NRC officials at a later time. NRC news releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site. Last revised Thursday, November 16, 2006 ***************************************************************** 32 newsobserver.com: Nuclear violation downgraded Thursday, November 16, 2006 Raleigh · Durham · Cary · Chapel Hill From Staff Reports RALEIGH - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission lowered the severity level of an equipment malfunction this summer at Progress Energy's Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County. One of the nuclear plant's two chillers failed to start during a routine test in June. The chillers are part of the plant's air conditioning system, which is necessary to prevent damage to the plant's emergency water pumps. In September, the NRC ranked the malfunction as "low to moderate safety significance." But after a conference with the company last month, the NRC downgraded the severity level to "very low safety significance." Progress Energy has acknowledged that it violated its maintenance procedures and has undertaken a corrective action plan. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner. © Copyright 2006, The News & Observer Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 33 Platts: NRC releases final rulemaking package on the design basis threat Washington (Platts)--15Nov2006 NRC released the final rulemaking package November 14 to revise the design basis threat, or DBT. The amendments to the DBT regulations, 10 CFR 73.1, would codify security measures imposed by the agency in April 2003 orders. The DBT defines the minimum characteristics and capabilities that reactor licensees must use to devise defensive strategies for protecting their plant. The public comment period for the proposed rule ended in mid-January but was extended for a month after a request was made by an industry organization. NRC said it received 919 comments. The revised rule will require licensees to consider cyber threats. The rulemaking package is available electronically through NRC's document system Adams under accession number ML062130289. Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Honors Edward Mcgaffigan for Leadership and Longest Tenure News Release - 2006-14 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-142 November 8, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission honored Commissioner Edward McGaffigan today at its Rockville, Md., headquarters in a ceremony recognizing his exemplary public service, leadership and tenure as the longest serving Commissioner in the agencys history. McGaffigan was first appointed to his position on August 28, 1996, and has been reappointed for an unprecedented two additional five-year terms. Chairman Dale Klein presented the Distinguished Service Award before a crowd of NRC colleagues, staff and invited guests. Commisioners Merrifield, Lyons and Jaczko also made presentations, and several Congressional leaders sent their congratulations. Among other accolades, Klein cited McGaffigan for working tirelessly to protect the independence of the NRC, help establish an effective license renewal process, inaugurate the improved Reactor Oversight Process and increase security at nuclear facilities. Prior to his first appointment to the agency, McGaffigan served as a legislative assistant, then legislative director, and finally senior policy advisor to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). He had previously served as a member of the Foreign Service and as a senior policy analyst and then assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Earlier in his career, McGaffigan worked on Japanese science and technology at the RAND Corporation, and on strategic arms control issues at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. His complete biography is found at: http://www.nrc.gov/who-we-are/organization/commission/mcgaffigan. html. Commissioner McGaffigans leadership and contributions to protecting public health, safety and the environment are recognized throughout government, Klein said. His contributions to the mission of the NRC reflects the highest ideals of public service. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NRC news releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site. Last revised Thursday, November 09, 2006 ***************************************************************** 35 Prague Post: Battle over nuclear plant heats up Temelín gets official approval amid waves of protest from NGOs By Staff Writer, The Prague Post November 15th, 2006 Despite loud opposition, the Temelín nuclear plant in South Bohemia received an official stamp of approval Nov. 3, meaning that the period of limbo since construction on the plant finished in 2000 has finally come to an end — or has it? Two Czech anti-nuclear organizations have vowed to appeal the decision, saying the approval process for the controversial nuclear facility was riddled with flaws. Technical troubles have dogged the plant since its inception, and one unit has been shut since September due to fueling issues. Projects constructed in the Czech Republic are required to apply for kolaudace, or building approval, after completion, meaning that all aspects have passed muster and the property is legitimate in the eyes of the law. The stamp of approval was finally given last week after a two-year process, six years after the plant began operating and nearly two decades after construction began. While that approval process dragged on, Temelín was already up and running, providing about 15 percent of the country's electricity needs. "I can't understand how this approval could have been issued in the first place," said Vladimír Halama from the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Zone. His list of allegations is long: A portion of the land still belongs to two private owners; safety checks were bypassed; members from his and another nongovernmental organization (NGO), the South Bohemian Mothers, were barred from the process. "The public is being convinced that everything is in order with Temelín, but that's not true," he said. Jan Zahradník, head of the South Bohemia Regional Office that granted the approval, denies there was anything improper about the process. "The NGOs have launched a media campaign against the decision, giving the impression that there is something strange going on," he said. The office has dug its heels, dismissing the threat of the appeal. "We are ready to defend our decision in court," said office spokeswoman Maria Ptá ková. A plan for a nuclear plant in South Bohemia was devised in 1979, and construction began in 1987. The plant was completed in 2000, and trial operating periods on the two units were launched in 2002 and 2003. The kolaudace procedure was launched in 2004, but dragged on for two years because of opposition. "The NGOs were the main obstacle in completing the approval," said plant spokesman Milan NebesáY. Concern has also come from abroad. Austria, whose border is just 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Temelín, has long opposed the plant. On Nov. 8, Austrian representatives in Prague sent a letter of protest to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, complaining of not being officially informed of the verdict in advance. This breach violated a 2000 bilateral treaty on resolving nuclear disputes signed in Melk, Austria, according to the letter. The ministry rejected the claim, saying Austria was verbally informed of the decision during a meeting. Austrian Environmental Minister Josef Pröll said Nov. 13 that his government would study the approval documents and then consider pursuing legal charges. Despite the controversy, the decision spells little change for the plant's day-to-day operations, NebesáY said. "This approval only means that the trial period of operation has ended. Temelín will continue to function just as it did before." Petr Kaapar contributed to this report. The Prague Post Online ***************************************************************** 36 Sofia Echo: CLOSURE OF BULGARIA'S NUCLEAR UNITS TROUBLES BALKAN COUNTRIES - Bulgaria Abroad news :02 Thu 16 Nov 2006 A number of Balkan countries were concerned about the consequences of the closure of two units of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP). Bulgaria has to shut down two reactors on December 31 to meet European nuclear safety requirements. Countries among which Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro relied on electricity export from Bulgaria to meet their energy needs, report of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) shows. European Parliament members from Hungary and Romania also said that the closure of the NPP units was worrying. They called for a temporary delay in the closure. A delay is unlikely to occur. Kozloduy will have the same fate as other old NPPs in Southeastern Europe, the report said. All such power plants were shut down, once the countries from the region became EU members. Some Balkan countries expect energy crisis and electricity prices are to increase. Since energy consumption has gone up, only Bulgaria, Bosnia and Romania maintain their energy independence. All other Balkan countries rely mainly on electricity import. The closure of Kozloduy units would decrease by 40 per cent the amount of electricity needed to cover the energy shortage in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro, the report said. [Printer friendly version] Web www.sofiaecho.com ***************************************************************** 37 NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Monticello Nuclear Generating FR Doc E6-19362 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 66806-66807] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-110] Plant; Notice of Issuance of Renewed Facility; Operating License No. DPR-22; Record of Decision for an Additional 20-Year Period Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has issued Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR- 22 to Nuclear Management Company, LLC (licensee), the operator of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP). Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 authorizes operation of MNGP by the licensee at reactor core power levels not in excess of 1775 megawatts thermal (600 megawatts electric) in accordance with the provisions of the MNGP renewed license and its Technical Specifications. This notice also serves as the record of decision for the renewal of Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for MNGP, Unit 1. As discussed in the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for MNGP, dated September 2006, the Commission has considered a range of reasonable alternatives that included generation from coal, natural gas, oil, coal-gasification, new nuclear, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, wood waste, municipal solid waste, other biomass-derived fuels, fuel cells, delayed retirement, utility-sponsored conservation, a combination of alternatives, and a no-action alternative. This range of alternatives was discussed in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal, Supplement 26 regarding Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. After weighing the environmental, economic, technical and other benefits of the facility against environmental costs and considering available alternatives, the Commission found that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal would be unreasonable. The Commission also has taken all practicable measures within its jurisdiction to avoid or minimize environmental harm in its decision to renew Facility Operating License No. DPR-22. No license conditions are imposed in connection with mitigation measures. The MNGP plant is a Boiling Water Reactor located in Monticello, MN. The application for the renewed license complied with the standards and [[Page 66807]] requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. As required by the Act and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, the Commission has made appropriate findings, which are set forth in the license. Prior public notice of the action involving the proposed issuance of the renewed license and of an opportunity for a hearing regarding the proposed issuance of the new license was published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2005 (70 FR 25117). For further details with respect to this action, see (1) Nuclear Management Company, LLC's license renewal application for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, dated March 16, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated through August 18, 2006; (2) the Commission's safety evaluation report (NUREG-1865), dated October 2006; (3) the licensee's updated safety analysis report; and (4) the Commission's final environmental impact statement (NUREG-1437, Supplement 26, for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, dated September 19, 2006). These documents are available at the NRC's Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, and can be viewed from the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Copies of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22, may be obtained by writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Director, Division of License Renewal. Copies of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Safety Evaluation Report (NUREG-1865) and the final environmental impact statement (NUREG-1437, Supplement 26) may be purchased from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22161 (http://www.ntis.gov), (703) 605-6000, or Attention: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 (http://www.gpoaccess.gov ), (202) 512-1800. All orders should clearly identify the NRC publication number and the requestor's Government Printing Office deposit account number or VISA or MasterCard number and expiration date. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of November 2006. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Frank P. Gillespie, Division Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-19362 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 38 NRC: Nuclear Management Company; Palisades Nuclear Plant; Notice of FR Doc E6-19363 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 66805-66806] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-109] Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Facility Operating License and Conforming Amendment and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the transfer of Facility Operating License No. DPR-20 for Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades) currently held by Consumers Energy Company (Consumers) and Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC), as licensed operator of Palisades. The transfer would be to Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC (Entergy Nuclear Palisades). The Commission is also considering amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. According to an application for approval filed by Consumers, NMC, Entergy Nuclear Palisades, and ENO, Entergy Nuclear Palisades would acquire ownership of the facility following approval of the proposed license transfer, and ENO would possess, use, and operate Palisades. No physical changes to the Palisades facility or operational changes are being proposed in the application. The proposed amendment would replace references to Consumers and NMC in the license with references to Entergy Nuclear Palisades and ENO to reflect the proposed transfer, and revise paragraph 1. B to be consistent with paragraph 2 regarding the disposition of the Provisional Operating License. Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed transferee is qualified to hold the license, and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto. Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the [[Page 66806]] Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission has determined that any amendment to the license of a utilization facility which does no more than conform the license to reflect the transfer action involves no significant hazards consideration. No contrary determination has been made with respect to this specific license amendment application. In light of the generic determination reflected in 10 CFR 2.1315, no public comments with respect to significant hazards considerations are being solicited, notwithstanding the general comment procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91. The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer application, are discussed below. Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any person whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action on the application may request a hearing and, if not the applicant, may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing proceeding on the Commission's action. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart C ``Rules of General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, Availability of Documents, Selection of Specific Hearing Procedures, Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing Management for NRC Adjudicatory Hearings,'' of 10 CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1), unless good cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an untimely request or petition should address the factors that the Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be served upon Douglas E. Levanway, Wise, Carter, Child, and Caraway, P.O. Box 651, Jackson, MS 39205, 601-968-5524, facsimile: 601-968-5593, e-mail: DEL@wisecarter.com, and Sam Behrends, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20009, 202-986-8108, facsimile: 202-986-8102, e-mail: Sbehrend@llgm.com; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 (e-mail address for filings regarding license transfer cases only: OGCLT@NRC.gov); and the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302 and 2.305. The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and served on the parties to the hearing. As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to intervene, within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments should be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. For further details with respect to this action, see the application dated August 31, 2006, available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (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, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of November, 2006. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. L. Mark Padovan, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-19363 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 39 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the FR Doc E6-19365 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 66803-66804] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-107] Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of public comment. SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Revision. 2. The title of the information collection: ``Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material.'' 3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 4. How often the collection is required: On occasion. Applications for package certification may be made at any time. Required reports are collected and evaluated on a continuing basis as events occur. 5. Who will be required or asked to report: All NRC specific licensees who place byproduct, source, or special nuclear material into transportation, and all persons who wish to apply for NRC approval of package designs for use in such transportation. 6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 850 responses (600 + 250 recordkeepers). 7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 250 licensees. 8. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 42,896 hours (37,304 hours for reporting requirements and 5,592 for recordkeeping requirements). 9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13 applies: N/A. 10. Abstract: NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 71 establish requirements for packing, preparation for shipment, and transportation of licensed material, and prescribe procedures, standards, and requirements for approval by NRC of packaging and shipping procedures for fissile material and for quantities of licensed material in excess of Type A quantities. [[Page 66804]] A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer listed below by December 18, 2006. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to comments received after this date. Sarah P. Garman, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0008), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be e-mailed to Sarah_P._Garman@omb.eop.gov or submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650. The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of November, 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services. [FR Doc. E6-19365 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 40 NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc.; Calvert Cliffs Nuclear FR Doc E6-19370 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 66804-66805] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-108] Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Exemption 1.0 Background Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (the licensee), is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-53 and DPR-69, which authorize operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2), respectively. The license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors located in Calvert County in Maryland. 2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 50, Section 50.46, ``Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power reactors,'' requires, in part, that ``each boiling or pressurized light-water nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium oxide pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or ZIRLO cladding must be provided with an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) that must be designed so that its calculated cooling performance following postulated loss-of-coolant accidents [LOCAs] conforms to the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.'' Appendix K, ``ECCS Evaluation Models,'' to 10 CFR Part 50 requires, in part, that the rate of energy release, hydrogen generation, and cladding oxidation from the metal/water reaction shall be calculated using the Baker-Just equation. The Baker-Just equation assumes that the cladding material is composed of either zircaloy or ZIRLO. By letter dated January 19, 2006, the licensee requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50 to allow the use of fuel rods clad with advanced zirconium- based alloys from Westinghouse Electric Company and M5 alloy from Framatome ANP, Inc. The advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloys are proprietary alloys and are chemically different from zircaloy or ZIRLO fuel cladding materials, which are approved for use. The licensee has requested the exemption to support the re- insertion of up to four lead fuel assemblies (LFAs) in the core of either Calvert Cliffs 1 or Calvert Cliffs 2 during the next operating cycle, which is cycle 19 for Unit 1 and cycle 17 for Unit 2. The NRC staff has previously approved the irradiation of 8 LFAs for 2 operating cycles (cycles 15 and 16) in Calvert Cliffs 2, as documented in NRC letter dated April 11, 2003. The licensee has indicated that the LFAs placed back in the core for a third cycle will not exceed the peak fuel rod burnup limitation of 60,000 MWD/MTU and will meet all applicable reload design criteria. The LFAs will be placed in low duty cycle locations on the core periphery to assess the grid-to-rod fretting performance. The other four LFAs will be discharged to the spent fuel pool for detailed post-irradiation examinations. Because the core design is not complete yet, the licensee indicated that, if the Calvert Cliffs 2 cycle 17 core cannot accommodate the LFAs, then the planned alternative is to design the Calvert Cliffs 1 cycle 19 core so that the LFAs can be inserted. In summary, 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K make no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than zircaloy or ZIRLO. Since the material specifications of the advanced zirconium- based and M5 alloys differ from the specification for Zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific exemption is required to support the use of the four LFAs in Unit 1 or 2. 3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, when (1) the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present. Under Section 50.12(a)(2), special circumstances include, among other things, when application of the specific regulation in the particular circumstance would not serve, or is not necessary to achieve, the underlying purpose of the rule. Authorized by Law This exemption would allow the licensee to re-insert up to four LFAs, which contain some fuel rods clad with advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloys that do not meet the definition of Zircaloy or ZIRLO as specified by 10 CFR 50.46, in either Calvert Cliffs 1 or 2. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.46 is to establish acceptance criteria for ECCS performance. Previously, the Westinghouse safety evaluation (WCAP-15874-NP, Revision 0, ``Safety Analysis Report for Use of Improved Zirconium-based Cladding Materials in Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 Batch T Lead Fuel Assemblies,'' dated April 2002) and approved Framatome ANP topical report (BAW-10227P-A, ``Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural Material (M5) in PWR Reactor Fuel,'' Framatome Cogema Fuels, February 2000) demonstrated the acceptability of [[Page 66805]] the advanced zirconium-based and M5 cladding under LOCA conditions. The unique features of the LFAs were evaluated for effects on the LOCA analysis. The results showed that the LFAs would not adversely affect the ECCS performance. Since the current four LFAs will be located at non-limiting core locations, the licensee concludes that the LOCA safety analyses will remain bounding for these LTAs for Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2. Paragraph I.A.5 of Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50 states that the rates of energy, hydrogen concentration, and cladding oxidation from the metal-water reaction shall be calculated using the Baker-Just equation. Since the Baker-Just equation presumes the use of zircaloy clad fuel, strict application of the rule would not permit use of the equation for the advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloys for determining acceptable fuel performance. The underlying intent of this portion of the Appendix, is to ensure that analysis of fuel response to LOCAs is conservatively calculated. The Westinghouse safety evaluation and approved Framatome ANP topical report show that due to the similarities in the chemical composition of the advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloys and zircaloy, the application of the Baker-Just equation in the analysis of the advanced zirconium-based and M5 clad fuel rods will continue to conservatively bound all post-LOCA scenarios. Thus, application of Appendix K, Paragraph I.A.5 is not necessary for the licensee to achieve its underlying purpose in these circumstances. Based on the above, no new accident precursors are created by the exemption to allow use of advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloy clad fuel, thus, the probability of postulated accidents is not increased. Also, based on the above, the consequences of postulated accidents are not increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk [since risk is probability x consequences] to public health and safety. Consistent With Common Defense and Security The proposed exemption would allow the use of LFAs with advanced cladding materials. This change to the plant core configuration has no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by this exemption. Special Circumstances Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular circumstances is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50 is to establish acceptance criteria for ECCS performance. The licensee stated that the wording of the regulations renders the criteria of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K inapplicable to the advanced zirconium-based cladding, even though the Westinghouse safety evaluation and the approved Framatome ANP topical reports show that the intent of the regulations are met. Therefore, since the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50 is achieved with the use of the advanced zirconium-based cladding, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) for granting of an exemption from 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K exist. 4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the licensee an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K with respect to the use of LFAs with advanced zirconium-based alloy cladding (already irradiated for two cycles at Calvert Cliffs 1 during cycle 19 or Calvert Cliffs 2 during cycle 17). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (71 FR 64747). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of November 2006. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Catherine Haney, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-19370 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 41 NRC: Notice of Availability of Nureg-0725, Revision 14, ``Public FR Doc E6-19371 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 66807] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-111] Information Circular for Shipments of Irradiated Reactor Fuel'' AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of Availability. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has updated NUREG-0725, ``Public Information Circular for Shipments of Irradiated Reactor Fuel.'' This document provides information on shipments of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel) that are subject to regulation by the NRC. ADDRESSES: Copies are available in the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR) located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738. This document may be accessed through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs or using the NRC Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides both text and image files of NRC public documents at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession Number ML061780640. 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 at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Susan Bagley, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Mail Stop T-4D8, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, telephone 301-415- 5378, and e-mail shb@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Information Circular for Shipments of Irradiated Reactor Fuel The NRC staff has updated NUREG-0725 to provide a brief accounting of spent fuel shipment safety and safeguards requirements of a general interest, a summary of data for 1979-2005 highway and rail shipments and a listing, by State, of recent and expired highway and railway shipment routes. The enclosed route information reflects specific NRC approvals that the agency has granted in response to requests for shipments of spent fuel. This publication does not constitute authority for licensees, carriers or other persons to use the routes to ship spent fuel, other categories of nuclear waste, or other radioactive materials. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of November, 2006. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Patricia K. Holahan, Director, Division of Security Policy, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response. [FR Doc. E6-19371 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 42 Prague Daily Monitor: Temelin to shut down unit last for two months in 2007 - Prague, Nov 15 (CTK) - An extraordinary shutdown of the Temelin nuclear power plant's first unit will take place early next year because of problems with fuel, production manager Jiri Borovec said Wednesday. During the shutdown, which will last 55 days, some of fuel assemblies will be replaced with modified ones to restrict the effect of geometric changes in fuel, said Borovec. He said problems with fuel have no impact on safety. Tests have shown that the unit can be running without limitations, he added. The shutdown is a piece of bad news for shareholders, said Global Brokers analyst Tomas Kanka. "A one-day shutdown of Temelin's unit costs some CZK 12 million, with an overall loss at nearly CZK 750 million," said Kanka. CEZ has already sold this electricity at auction, and will have to use power produced in more expensive coal-fired power plants, or will have to buy it abroad, he said. "This would be very disadvantageous," Kanka said. CEZ representatives, however, said today the loss would be offset with a further decrease in prices of emission allowances. "We have calculated the costs but would not disclose the figure," said Borovec, but added that the company's results would be affected markedly by the shutdown. There will be three shutdowns at Temelin next year to replace some fuel assemblies with new ones. Temelin has 163 fuel assemblies with 92 tonnes of fuel in total in one reactor. A quarter of the fuel, or roughly 23 tonnes, is replaced every year. Fuel assemblies for the Russian-made reactors in Temelin are supplied by US firm Westinghouse. They have to be exchanged more often, which causes more frequent shutdowns. Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) wrote some time ago that a long-term shutdown in 2007 could raise tension on the electricity market because CEZ has already sold all its output for next year. Pavel Vlcek, the head of a civic initiative for environment protection, said the fuel should have been exchanged much earlier. The fuel should have been tested before launching the power plant, he said. Environmentalists say that problems with fuel are one reason why CEZ changed the fuel assemblies' supplier. Temelin has a contract with Westinghouse until 2010, after which the supplies will be made by Russian firm TVEL. The value of the contract stands at several billions of crowns. The contract is for supplies for both units for 10 years. During that time, TVEL is to supply Temelin with some 400 tonnes of fuel. The company is a long-term fuel supplier also for the second Czech nuclear power plant, Dukovany in South Moravia. This story copyright 2006 CTK Czech News Agency. ***************************************************************** 43 New London Day: Millstone Replaces Inspector theday.com By Patricia Daddona Day Staff Writer\, Millstone\/business trends E-mail: p.daddona@theday.com Phone No.: (860) 701 - 4324 Published on 11/16/2006 in Business » Business Local The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has hired a new resident inspector at Millstone Power Station in Waterford to oversee plant safety and contact with the public. Ricardo Fernandes started work two weeks ago, he said Wednesday, replacing Silas Kennedy, who was promoted to senior resident inspector at the Calvert Cliffs, Md., plant. Rick Fernandes has the experience and commitment to safety that will help the NRC ensure that Millstone conducts operations with the highest safety standards to protect public health and safety, said NRC Region 1 Administrator Samuel J. Collins. Region 1 covers commercial reactors in the Northeast. Each U.S. commercial nuclear plant has at least two NRC resident inspectors, who serve as eyes and ears of the federal agency at reactor sites, conducting inspections, monitoring major work projects and interacting with plant workers and the public. Fernandes joins two other resident inspectors, Stephen Schneider and Jamie Benjamin, at the site, which operates two reactors and oversees maintenance of a third, closed reactor. He applied for his new position after working for the NRC for 10 years, most recently at the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response in Rockville, Md., he said. Before joining the federal agency, he worked for General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division in Connecticut, as a shift test engineer, project engineer and steel trades supervisor. He holds a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Good so far, was his assessment of his first two week. Nothing of note yet. Millstone resident inspectors can be reached at 860-447-3170. p.daddona@theday.com New London, CT | © 1998-2006 The Day Publishing Co. [Beacon Locator] ~ 01 ~ ***************************************************************** 44 Guardian Unlimited: Airport Arrest Turns Up Nuclear Info From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday November 16, 2006 9:31 PM DETROIT (AP) - A man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after officials say they found him carrying nearly $79,000 in cash and a laptop computer containing information about nuclear materials and cyanide. Sisayehiticha Dinssa, an unemployed U.S. citizen, was arrested Tuesday after a dog caught the scent of narcotics on cash he was carrying, according to an affidavit filed in court. When agents asked him if he had any cash to declare, he said he had $18,000, authorities said. But when agents checked his luggage, they found an additional amount of about $60,900. When they scrolled through his laptop, they said they found the mysterious files. At a court hearing Wednesday, Dinssa was ordered held in custody until at least until Monday at the request of prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonid Feller argued Dinssa was a potential risk to the community and federal agents want to get a warrant to search his computer more thoroughly, The Detroit News reported Thursday. U.S. Magistrate Donald Scheer approved Feller's request to detain him. Dinssa, who is from Dallas, arrived in Detroit from Nigeria by way of Amsterdam and was headed for Phoenix, Feller said. He is charged with concealing more than $10,000 in his luggage, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the Detroit Free Press reported. A message seeking comment was left Thursday with his lawyer, Leroy Soles. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 45 VeriTainer Corporation: Test of Radiation - Nuclear Weapon Detection Equipment at the Port of Oakland Pilot Project With VeriTainer Corporation Will Test Sensitivity to Potentially Harmful Radiation OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- VeriTainer Corporation, with state, local and national agencies, will implement a test program designed to scan for harmful radiation or nuclear weapon technology in shipping containers at the Port of Oakland. The test will be held in cooperation with SSAT and the Matson Navigation Company at the Charles P. Howard marine terminal at the Oakland seaport, the fourth busiest container port in the United States. The 60-day test starting January 2007 will utilize the VeriTainer "VeriSpreader" scanning technology which is mounted on cranes and moves over container cargo in about one minute as it scans for potentially dangerous radiation that may be hidden in cargo containers. A press conference announcing this test will be held adjacent to the Port of Oakland headquarters on November 15th at 10:30am. Federal, state and local agencies will be monitoring this test to validate recent findings that show that the VeriTainer device meets specifications to certify the technology as a Qualified Anti-Terrorist Technology (a "QATT") for use in ports and shipping areas around the U.S. Federal agencies that are closely monitoring the results of such test projects include; Customs and Border Patrol part of the US Department of Homeland Security. "The Port of Oakland works closely with our local and federal security agencies on a daily basis. We consider seaport security of paramount importance and applaud companies like VeriTainer that are working on developing and testing new security technologies which may prove to enhance seaport security," stated Port of Oakland Deputy Executive Director of External Affairs Harold Jones. Previous Test Showed Scanning is Effective and Efficient A similar pilot project (test) was conducted by VeriTainer on Aug. 14 -- Oct. 25, 2005 at the Port of Oakland Ben. E. Nutter terminal on a smaller scale. During that test 6,529 containers were scanned, and each scan took less than 100 seconds. This effective and efficient method of scanning maintains the flow of commerce. The scanning program is being evaluated for use under new homeland security legislation being considered by the U.S. Congress. This new legislation calls for 100% scanning of all container traffic coming into the U.S. by 2010. The VeriSpreader technology also offers significant benefits that are being requested by port operators such as: minimal impact on the flow of commerce; zero radiation exposure from equipment for dockworkers and Customs personnel; and smart software that detects shielding, provides manifest comparisons and ensures landside container security. This second test is designed to verify previous findings of the sensitivity and accuracy of the VeriTainer technology. The test will extend over a 60-day period under various conditions, involving different types of shipments and other important potential variables. "It is an extremely important opportunity to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of our VeriTainer technology at the Port of Oakland under the supervision and guidance of the Department of Homeland Security," stated John Alioto, CEO and Chairman. "The safety and security at our nation's ports is of vital importance. This multi-faceted test will help us demonstrate that VeriTainer has the necessary tools to scan for harmful radiation quickly and cost effectively." ABOUT VERITAINER VeriTainer Corporation develops technology to detect radiation in shipping containers to protect the world's ports and shipping areas. VeriTainer was formed on June 23, 2003 by John I. Alioto in the wake of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Mr. Alioto became alarmed at the vulnerability of the world's population centers to a potential nuclear attack delivered by shipping container. As a result, he assembled a team of leading scientists and engineers and created VeriTainer's patented technology that will ultimately allow for radiation scanning of 100% of shipping containers that move into US ports. The patented VeriSpreader technology allows for rapid scanning without disrupting the flow of the shipping process. ABOUT THE PORT OF OAKLAND The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport and 19 miles of waterfront. The Oakland seaport is the 4th busiest container port in the U.S.; Oakland International Airport offers more than 200 daily non-stop flights to 39 domestic and international destinations; and the Port's commercial real estate includes Jack London Square, Oakland's premier entertainment spot along the waterfront. The Port of Oakland was established in 1927 and is an independent department of the City of Oakland. Copyright © 1996-2003 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved. A United Business Media company. ***************************************************************** 46 [du-list] Piketon Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:51:19 -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 Thanks to Jim for posting http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/14/mj 11 1406pkwaste.html Groups fear Piketon will become dumping ground By Lynn Hulsey, Tom Beyerlein Staff Writers November 14, 2006 PIKETON ??" Over 50 years, as three U.S. plants churned out enriched uranium for atomic bombs and nuclear reactor fuel rods, workers wheeled giant metal cylinders full of radioactive waste into open-air factory yards where they sat. And multiplied. As the cylinders containing depleted uranium hexafluoride accumulated at enrichment plants in Piketon, Ohio; Paducah, Ky.; and Oak Ridge, Tenn., other kinds of nuclear material piled up at federal weapons plants in Ohio and Washington state. Meanwhile, a different waste product ??" dangerous, highly radioactive spent fuel rods ??" collected at more than 100 American nuclear reactors. With plans stalled for a deep-burial nuke graveyard at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, there is no permanent place to put them. All of these problems converge at the Energy Department's Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon. ??? Construction is under way at Piketon on a facility to convert 20,000 cylinders of old enrichment waste, known as DUF6, to a more benign chemical form. Without conversion, the corroding cylinders could unleash poison clouds if breached. ??? The plant is home to the Uranium Management Center, a storage site for 4,500 metric tons of radioactive metals, powders and fuel pins. Much of the material came from federal cleanup projects at the Feed Materials Production Center near Fernald and the Hanford weapons plant in Washington. The Energy Department contends that the material is valuable, but so far nobody has stepped forward to buy it. ??? A Piketon-based company is pursuing a federal grant to study building a plant that would remove plutonium from highly radioactive spent fuel rods for reuse in an advanced burner reactor. The spent rods, from across the United States and perhaps overseas, would be stored at Piketon. For many in jobs-starved Appalachian Ohio, these activities translate to the kind of middle-class employment the atomic plant provided for generations. "Anything that'll bring in good-paying jobs, we'll accept," said Pike County Commissioner John Harbert. "The plant, it's just been a standard here since the 1950s." The president of a plant workers' union said it makes sense to consider other nuclear-related reuses for the contaminated grounds. "It's a nuclear facility. I don't think it's going to be a fun theme park in the near future," said Dan Minter of United Steelworkers Local 5689. But at least two local watchdog groups have raised concerns that Piketon will become a new dumping ground, even as work progresses on a massive cleanup of radioactive and chemical waste from old uranium enrichment work. Piketon even was a stopping point for radioactive material from Libya's dismantled nuclear program. "Piketon has been a sacrifice zone. We have become a national dump site," said Vina Colley, a former plant worker and president of the watchdog group Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security. "How can they say we cleaned up the Piketon site and then make a dump out of it again with tax dollars? Seems crazy to us." The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which has battled the Energy Department over a number of issues, doesn't want a waste dump at the site. "We are very much opposed to them bringing in materials from other places," said Brian Blair, environmental supervisor for the Ohio EPA's southeast office. "This is not an appropriate facility to be a regional waste disposal area." But the Ohio EPA can do nothing to stop the Energy Department from transferring radioactive material unless it is mixed with other hazardous waste. The Energy Department is responsible for ensuring that the radioactive material is handled safely. William E. Murphie, plant site manager for the Energy Department, denied Piketon is a dumping ground. He said the Fernald/Hanford material and the 20,000 depleted-uranium cylinders eventually will be shipped elsewhere. Conversion will take time, money Before the depleted uranium cylinders can be shipped anywhere, they have to be converted to something less dangerous. The cylinders ??" most from Piketon, some shipped in from Oak Ridge, Tenn. ??" weigh up to 14 tons and contain radioactive "depleted" uranium hexafluoride so corrosive it could eventually eat through the metal and release a toxic gas. Even now, access to the storage yards is limited because the cylinders emit radioactive gamma rays, subjecting nearby workers to radiation. The material is commonly called "tails." The Energy Department hired Uranium Disposition Services LLC of Lexington, Ky., to convert the material so that the cylinders can be safely hauled away. UDS is building plants for this task at both Piketon and Paducah, which has a backlog of 40,000 cylinders. It'll cost taxpayers an estimated $2.9 billion to convert it all. The conversion process creates hydrofluoric acid and uranium oxide. The hydrofluoric acid will be sold for industrial use and the uranium oxide will likely be shipped to Utah or Nevada for disposal. The Piketon conversion plant is slated to open in 2008. Government officials estimate it will take until 2026 to convert the existing backlog of cylinders. But the number of cylinders piling up there will multiply if the American Centrifuge gets off the ground. The proposed plant, scheduled to go on line in 2011, would generate 41,000 cylinders of waste over 30 years, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With new enrichment facilities in the works, "the problem of these vast amounts of depleted uranium has suddenly become a huge environmental issue," said Arjun Makhijani, who heads the anti-nuclear Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Takoma Park, Md. Makhijani said converting depleted uranium hexafluoride is "very important for the public safety." Uranium is waiting, but no buyers are emerging The Energy Department is offering metal ingots and uranium billets for sale to qualified buyers, but so far none have emerged. Most of the radioactive material was shipped from Fernald and Hanford to meet cleanup deadlines at those facilities. Maria Galanti, the Ohio EPA site coordinator at Piketon, said shipping dangerous material between plants just shifts the burden from one community to another. "It's kind of a shell game, more or less," she said. The Uranium Management Center, which opened in 2000, is billed as a secure warehouse for radioactive material awaiting sale to industry. None of the material is high-enriched or weapons-grade. A sales catalog offers descriptions of the excess materials, which include 55-gallon drums filled with powdered uranium dioxide, described as "virgin material, not containing transuranics or fission products." Transuranics and fission products are highly radioactive elements formed in a nuclear reaction. "It's not waste," Murphie said of warehouse inventory. "It's material that is an asset." One potential customer, Nuclear Fuel Services of Tennessee, evaluated samples and determined at least 40 percent of the stockpile is useless, according to executive vice president Steve Schutt. "In essence, the (Piketon) nuclear material is orphaned," he said. "Too expensive to dispose of and, with no value to buyers, it has nowhere to go." Murphie acknowledged that some of the material "has less economic value than others." The Energy Department rejected Schutt's company's offer to haul away the material for a fee. Marketing all of the saleable material will take until at least 2023, according to the department. 'They think we're dumb' The Bush administration and some lawmakers are touting reprocessing as the solution to the main stumbling block to nuclear power: what to do with plutonium-contaminated spent fuel rods. Plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years. The Energy Department hopes to build a plant that would remove the plutonium from spent fuel rods, allowing utilities to reuse them. The recovered plutonium would then fuel an advanced burner reactor. The Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative (SONIC) has applied for a $5 million federal grant to study building the reprocessing plant and burner reactor at Piketon. Fourteen groups are in the running for grants. As many as 5,000 jobs could be created, said SONIC founder Gregory Simonton. He said SONIC doesn't want to turn the site into a dump; the goal is safe reindustrialization. SONIC officials say they would also consider other uses for the site, including a next-generation nuclear reactor or a coal-fired power plant. "It's really important to us that we do a good job, a responsible job, to ensure that any job we do is safe," Simonton said. U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, is leading the reprocessing effort in Congress as chairman of the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. He said the work is "not unsafe" and would provide good jobs, but the decision on whether to seek a plant is ultimately up to the residents of Piketon. "I want to see what they want to do," Hobson said. "I don't want to push it on them, because they'll push back." Some of them already are. "They think we're dumb because we're poor and they can just pull anything over on us they want," said Tressie Hall, whose home is about a half-mile from the plant. "They always have." Hall is a founding member of the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group, which is launching an aggressive fight against the reprocessing proposal. Geoffrey Sea, also a founder of the group, says members have gathered 1,000 signatures on petitions with the heading, "NO NUCLEAR DUMP AT PIKETON." The group doesn't buy SONIC's assurances that the plant would be safe. And they say they have another concern: terrorism. "Where does that put us on the terrorist hit list now?" Teresa Mahan of Beaver asked federal officials at a Sept. 27 public meeting in Piketon. "Are we going to be in the top 10, the top three, second to the White House? What are you doing to us?" Others have raised pollution concerns. The nation's only commercial fuel reprocessing facility closed in West Valley, N.Y., in 1976, leaving behind a mess that has cost $1 billion so far to clean up. Energy Department spokeswoman Meg Barnett said high-level radioactive waste will remain there until the federal government opens Yucca Mountain, now scheduled for 2017 at the earliest. "(Reprocessing) has always been far more expensive and far more polluting than they anticipated," said Ivan Oelrich, vice president for strategic security programs for the Federation of American Scientists. Pike County's top development official also is leery of Energy Department plans for the site, particularly if those plans include storing highly radioactive spent fuel rods. "I know this is being marketed as temporary, but we know DOE's 'temporary' is like 100 years," said Jennifer Chandler, Pike County community and economic development director. "Their temporary turns into permanent." =============================================== [DOEWatch] List is for news and learning about energy issues related to DOE, energy, and industry. Fluoride and metal synergism's are top issues for energy production and health. Subscribe via email, send Email to: DOEWatch-subscribe@topica.com or via the Web page at: http://www.doewatch.com The [downwindersII] list is the companion discussion list to [DOEWatch]. (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.) --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: vcolley@earthlink.net EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1doZ6.b4XU6Z.dmNvbGxl Or send an email to: doewatch-unsubscribe@topica.com For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^---------------------------------------------------------------- Vina Colley To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. ***************************************************************** 47 SFNM: 'Mushroom cloud' blast destined for Nevada desert, not White Sands, N.M. senator says Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:07 pm Santa Fe New Mexican By KEN RITTER | Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) - If the government goes ahead with plans for a non-nuclear explosion to test bunker-buster bombs it will be in Nevada, not in New Mexico. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has decided not to conduct the "Divine Strake" test at the White Sands Missile Range, according to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He said DTRA "prefers" a plan to conduct the test at the Nevada Test Site, a vast Energy Department reservation north of Las Vegas where plans for the blast have been stalled by a federal lawsuit. Domenici did not identify a date for the test, which a government lawyer recently told a federal judge won't take place until after Feb. 1. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency would not directly address Domenici's claim. The agency issued a statement saying Director James Tegnelia met Wednesday with the Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and members of Utah's congressional delegation "about the need for the experiment, the alternate sites considered and ensuring the safety of the experiment." The agency said an environmental assessment was being revised in preparation for the test and the public would have a chance to comment before a test is scheduled and conducted. Agency spokeswoman Irene Smith in Fort Belvoir, Va., declined further comment. The explosion, first scheduled June 2, was postponed after Western Shoshone tribe members and "downwinders" in Utah and Nevada sued in federal court in Las Vegas. Defense Threat Reduction Agency officials identified other sites around the nation that were being considered, including a southern Indiana limestone quarry and the White Sands Missile Range. The owner of the Indiana quarry said in August that site won't be used. A spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which operates the Nevada Test Site, said Wednesday the Nevada site remained under consideration. Comments are not allowed on this story at this time. Please check the open for comments page for details. I want to read comments posted on this story | ©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. Opinions expressed by readers do not ***************************************************************** 48 toledoblade.com: Feds detect no signs of sensitivity to beryllium Article published Thursday, November 16, 2006 18 residents tested from Elmore area ELMORE — Brush Wellman Inc. said yesterday it was pleased that a federal health agency found no indication of blood sensitization to beryllium during a recent round of testing. Samples were drawn in the summer from 18 Elmore-area residents who voluntarily agreed to have their blood analyzed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a sister agency of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A pool of 200 people who lived or worked near the Brush Wellman facility in Elmore were eligible to participate. Results were to be released by the agency last night. It would not disclose them in advance. Its spokesman, Loretta Bush, was not available for comment. According to Brush’s prepared statement, there were no major issues identified. The Ottawa County company, which employs 600 people, said the results reaffirm findings of a 2002 report which showed no public health hazard existed then. The agency said beryllium sensitization is a kind of allergic response to beryllium exposure. People whose immune systems have been sensitized to beryllium are at higher risk for chronic beryllium disease, it said. The National Institutes of Health’s Web site says 1 to 3 percent of those exposed to beryllium develop chronic beryllium disease which, over time, can cause respiratory distress and other health problems, such as anorexia, fever, and chest pain. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 49 Al-Ahram Weekly: Did Israel use uranium munitions in Lebanon, and if so what are the potential hazards? In Beirut, Serene Assir reports on a controversial scientific debate 16 - 22 November 2006 Issue No. 820 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 A Lebanese bulldozer demolishes a building damaged by Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese village of Hannawiye As seen from Lebanon, it's been an intriguing few weeks in the debate on radiation. Questioning intensified regarding what kind of weapons Israel had used during its massive summer bombing campaigns in Lebanon, and whether that list included any illegal weapons. All throughout, chief amongst the concerns were the use of uranium-based munitions. Pending the release of a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the effects of the recent 34-day war on the Lebanese environment -- expected to detail, for instance, the magnitude of the now notorious oil spill from the Jiyye power plant -- very little information has been imparted by the agency on its findings. But after the London Independent newspaper published the findings, on 30 October, of a top radiation scientist, Chris Busby, British scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, indicating it was likely that uranium-based -- possibly enriched uranium -- weapons had been used, UNEP responded by issuing a statement in which it indicated that its team had found no evidence of any such thing. "The samples taken by the UNEP scientists show no evidence of penetrators or metal made of DU [Depleted Uranium], nor enriched uranium nor higher than natural uranium content in the samples," reads the 7 November statement, attributable to UNEP Executive Director and UN Undersecretary General Achim Steiner. It also indicates that all remnants of weapons found by the UNEP team visiting Lebanon were of well-known design. "The team had 32 samples analysed at a reputable laboratory in Switzerland," it adds. Both Busby and Lebanese radiation safety officer at the American University of Beirut Azmi Imad warn that for a thorough, conclusive investigation into whether or not uranium-based munitions have been used in a given area, time is required. "Teams doing this kind of investigation need at least three months," said Imad. On this point, worthy of note is the fact that the team's work in Lebanon began 30 September and was completed 21 October, according to the UNEP statement. "Teams also require sophisticated equipment, lots and lots of samples, and, crucially, they need to know where to get them from. In Kosovo, for instance, maps were provided to search teams by those who had fired them, enabling searches to be focused," added Imad. In this case, the likelihood of such maps being provided is extremely small, given the fact that Israel has denied reports of the use of uranium-based weapons in Lebanon. As it is, it took Israel almost three months to admit it used white phosphorus weaponry in Lebanon -- though, given the nature of burns in casualties in south Lebanon, the matter had become almost blindingly obvious. Farmers interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly -- for instance in Aayta Shaab -- regularly point out areas where rockets filled with phosphorus powder were used, weeks before any admission was made by Israel. UNEP's statement indicates that Israel did indeed use phosphorus weapons. For lack of more leads perhaps, following information imparted by a wartime Daily Star article claiming that a uranium- containing bomb had been used in Khiam, Busby's team indeed found a soil sample taken from the very same bomb crater containing "significant amounts of enriched uranium". His preliminary report, co-authored by Dai Williams adds that "enriched uranium is not natural and does not exist in the environment, unless it has been put there by human activity." According to Imad and Busby, while uranium is found in the environment, it is the ratio of different uranium isotopes to each other in a given sample or area that determines an anomaly. "The existence of a high amount of total uranium and the enrichment signature in the sample LS6 [taken at Khiam] must be a consequence of its use in the weapon that made the crater," Busby's report reads. As for the mutually contradictory nature of the information on the possible use of uranium-based weaponry in Lebanon, UNEP's communications department declined to answer further questions on the matter pending the release of the final report due in mid-December. According to Imad, the problem may be related to scientific approach. "My son was asked in science class not long ago whether, if he found dead cells on another planet, he could assume there was life on the planet. He answered by saying he would need more time to investigate before being able to conclude," he said. "The teacher told him he was wrong. He had wanted him to focus on the fact that the cells were dead to say that there was no life on the planet." Perhaps the second approach -- the teacher's approach -- is comparable to UNEP's, not because it hasn't found samples containing abnormal uranium isotope ratios, but rather because it has chosen to make conclusions based on a fieldwork study that lasted less than a month. Unlike cluster munitions or even phosphorus, part of the problem with uranium is that it is invisible, and that any effects it may have in future will take time to surface. For Busby, "It is normal in military related science to have such contradictions since the contamination of civilians, if proved, would lead to massive political repercussions and possible war crimes trials and at the least litigation." Should uranium in unnatural quantities be found in areas of south Lebanon and not cleared, then the likelihood of it causing eventual serious damage to civilians living in the vicinity of where a given rocket has launched could be great. A World Health Organisation report (dating to 2001), says that depleted uranium would have to be ingested in very large quantities for it to cause any harm, "The report is fairly accurate," says Imad, "but it needs to be understood that people living in the vicinity of high uranium radioactivity should be concerned because the longer you are exposed to it day in day out, the greater the health hazard." In Kosovo, a clean-up followed detection. In Lebanon, a clean-up, which is all the more expensive for a country lacking the necessary facilities, is unlikely if no further international pressure is brought to bear on the matter. The continued existence of questions is, in this case, simply unacceptable when so much material indicating a likely link between elevated levels of cancer and birth defects in Iraq and heavy United States and British use of DU bombs there in 1991, for instance -- never mind the possibility of new, untested weapons based at least in part on enriched uranium. It would surely do Israel good too to request the file be reopened internationally, given that dust particles of uranium don't tend to respect borders and would, if they have indeed been dropped in Lebanon in bomb form, readily be swept back across, southwards with the wind. © Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 50 Countercurrents.org: Depleted Uranium, Another Gift From The Imperialists By Pauline Paulinson 16 November, 2006 Depleted uranium (DU) is cheap toxic waste from nuclear power plants and bomb production. However, uranium is one of earth's heaviest elements and DU easily smashes through tanks, buildings and bunkers spontaneously catching fire and burning people alive. The radioactivity lasts over 4,500,000,000 years and causes cancer, leukemia, brain damage, kidney failure, and extreme birth defects. The blueprint for DU weapons is in a 1943 declassified document from the Manhattan Project. Harvard President and physicist James B. Conant developed poison gas in WW I and recommended the development of poison gas weapons from the radioactive trash of the atomic bomb project in WW II. At that time, it was known that radioactive materials dispersed in bombs from the air, from land vehicles or on the battlefield produced very fine radioactive dust which would penetrate all protective clothing, gas masks, filters or the skin contaminating the lungs and blood, thereby killing or causing illness very quickly. It was also recommended as a permanent terrain contaminant, which could be used to destroy populations by contaminating water supplies and agricultural land with radioactive dust. The first DU weapons system was developed for the Navy in1968. DU weapons have since been sold by the US to 29 countries. Dr. Jawad Al-Ali, director of the Oncology Center at the largest hospital in Basra, Iraq stated at a 2003 medical conference in Japan: Two strange phenomena have come about in Basra which I have never seen before. The first is double and triple cancers in one patient. The second is the clustering of cancer in families&Children in particular are susceptible to DU poisoning. They have a much higher absorption rate&Cancers&rarely been seen before the age of 12 is now also common. The Japanese began studying DU effects in southern Iraq in 2003. During their visit, a local hospital was treating up to 600 children per day, many of whom suffered symptoms of internal poisoning by radiation. Dr. Yuko Fujita, assistant professor at Keio University, Japan: As a result of the Iraq war, the situation will be desperate in some 5-10 years. Award-winning scientist, Dr. Rosalie Bertell led UN medical commissions and has studied 'low-level' radiation for 30 years. She found that DU damages DNA and causes cell mutations which lead to cancer. Moreover, these particles are absorbed by body fluids and travel through the body damaging more than one organ. Also, she found that this particular type of radiation can cause the body's communication systems to break down, leading to malfunctions in many vital organs of the body. Dr. Alim Yacoub of Basra University conducted a study into incidences of malignancies in children in the Basra area bombed with DU during the first Gulf War. He found from 1990-1999, there was a 242% rise. That was before the recent invasion. Because conditions now are so chaotic in Iraq, only a small fraction of both cancer and birth defects due to DU are being reported. There are, however, many photos of infants born without brains, with their internal organs outside their bodies, without sexual organs, without spines, with terribly shortened limbs, with huge bulging tumours where their eyes should be, or with a single eye, or without eyes, or without limbs, and even without heads. Such birth defects are now commonplace. Doctors are making comparisons to the birth defects that followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII. As a special advisor to the WHO, the UN, and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Dr. Ahmad Hardan has documented the effects of DU in Iraq from 1991-2002: I arranged for a delegation from Japan's Hiroshima Hospital to come and share their expertise in the radiological diseases we are likely to face over time. The delegation told me the Americans had objected and they decided not to come. Similarly, a world famous German cancer specialist agreed to come, only to be told later that he would not be given permission to enter Iraq. Ross B. Mirkarimi, a spokesman at The Arms Control Research Centre stated: Unborn children of the region are being asked to pay the highest price, the integrity of their DNA. Apparently, over 30% of Iraqis already have cancer, and there are lots of kids with leukemia. The depleted uranium left by the U.S. bombing campaign has turned Iraq into a cancer-infested country. For hundreds of years to come, the effects of the uranium will continue to wreak havoc on Iraq and its surrounding areas. Planet Earth the Latest Weapon of War by Rosalie Bertell, Public Health Disaster For The People Of Iraq and Afghanistan By Douglas Westerman 05/01/06 US forces admit to using over 300 tons of DU weapons in 1991. The actual figure is closer to 800. Also the US used 200 tons more in Baghdad alone during the recent invasion with a total of 1500 tons in all of Iraq. And this time it wasn't limited to anti-tank weapons but was extended to guided missiles, large bunker busters and big 2000-pound bombs used in Iraq's cities. This means that Iraq's cities have been blanketed in lethal particles. Japanese professor, Dr. Yagasaki, calculated that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity equivalent of 83,000 Nagasaki bombs. The US has used more DU since 1991 than the atomicity equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. The "smog of war" from the 1991 Gulf War was found in deposits in South America, the Himalayas and Hawaii. In addition, the use of DU in huge bombs which throw the deadly particles higher and wider in huge plumes of smoke means that billions of deadly particles have been carried high into the air swept worldwide by the winds. In June 2003, the WHO announced in a press release that global cancer rates will increase 50% by 2020. In 1997, while citing experiments in which 84% of dogs exposed to inhaled uranium died of lung cancer, Dr. Asaf Durakovic, then Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington said: The US Veterans Administration asked me to lie about the risks of incorporating depleted uranium in the human body. Dr. Durakovic's UMRC (Uranium Medical Research Center) research team also conducted a 3 week trip to Iraq Oct/03 in 10 cities, including Baghdad, Basra and Najaf. He said preliminary tests showed that the air, soil and water samples contained hundreds to thousands of times the normal levels of radiation. Durakovic told The Japan Times: They are hampering efforts to prove the connection between DU and the illness. Since then, Dr. Durakovic was warned to stop his work, then he was fired from his position, then his house was ransacked, and he has also repeatedly received death threats. www.sfbayview.com/du After Gulf War I, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) came up with estimates for the potential effects of the DU contamination left by the conflict. It calculated that "this could cause "500,000 potential deaths". The AEA's calculation was made in a confidential memo to the privatized munitions company, Royal Ordnance, in Apr/91. This study was made prior to the more recent invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq where DU munitions were used on a larger scale in and near many of the most populated areas. Since 1991, the US has staged four nuclear wars using DU. Vast regions in the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with radiation. Extrapolating the UK AEA estimate with this recent amount gives a figure of potentially 3 million extra deaths from inhaling DU dust in Iraq alone, not including Afghanistan. Dr. Dan Bishop, a chemist for IDUST feels that this estimate may be low, if the long life of DU dust is considered. With now over 10 trillion doses of DU in Iraq and Afghanistan, it comes as no surprise that widespread field studies in Afghanistan point to the existence of a large scale public health disaster. UMRC is the first independent research organization to find DU in the bodies of US, UK and Canadian Gulf War I veterans and following Operation Iraqi Freedom, they found DU in the water, soils and atmosphere of Iraq as well as in Iraqi civilians. In May/02, the UMRC examined hundreds of people with acute symptoms characteristic of radiation poisoning along with chronic symptoms of internal uranium contamination including deformity in newborns. Two additional scientific study teams were sent to Afghanistan in June/02 and Oct/02. The teams found that in both Jalalabad and Kabul, DU was causing high levels of illness with tests showing radiation concentrations 400% to 2000% above normal; amounts not recorded in civilian studies before. Without exception, at every bombsite investigated, people are ill. In Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, UMRC lab results indicated high concentrations of Non-Depleted Uranium, with concentrations much higher than in DU victims from Iraq. Afghanistan was used as a testing ground for new bunker buster bombs containing high concentrations of other uranium alloys. The Pentagon/DOD, UN regulatory agencies (WHO, UNEP, IAEA, CDC, DOE, etc) and the military and the weapons industry have all interfered with UMRC's ability to have its studies published by managing a persistent misinformation program in the press against UMRC and destroy the reputation of its scientific staff, physicians and laboratories. UMRC is not alone. Ingested DU particles can cause up to 1,000 times the damage of an X-ray", said Mary Olson, a nuclear waste specialist and biologist at the Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington DC. Also, a 2001 study of DU's effect on DNA done by Dr. Alexandra C. Miller for the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute shows DU causes 1 million times more genetic damage than from its radiation effect alone. Just 467 US personnel were wounded in the 3 week Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. However, out of 580,400 soldiers who served, 11,000 are now dead, and by 2000 there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability. This means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served in Gulf War I now have medical problems. DU is also in the semen of soldiers. In a group of 251 soldiers from a study group in Mississippi who all had normal babies before the Gulf War, 67% of their post-war babies were born with severe birth defects. The Department of Veterans Affairs has stated they do not keep records of birth defects occurring in families of veterans. The American Free Press (2005) reported that 40% of the soldiers in a unit that served in 2003 have developed malignancies in just 16 months. Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist retired from the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab and formerly involved with the Manhattan Project, interprets the new and rapid malignancies in soldiers from the 2003 war as spectacular ... and a matter of concern& I would say that it [DU] is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people. Writes Leuren Moret, another DU researcher, & Inhalation of nano-particles of depleted uranium is the most hazardous exposure, because the particles pass through the lung-blood barrier directly into the blood& through the nose& directly into the brain& Many Gulf era soldiers have brain tumours, brain damage and impaired thought processes. John Hanchette, a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure University, and one of the founding editors of USA TODAY told Moret that he had prepared news-breaking stories about the effects of DU on Gulf War soldiers and Iraqi citizens but each time he was ready to publish, he received a phone call from the Pentagon asking him not to print the story. He has since been replaced as editor of USA TODAY. Dr. Keith Baverstock, WHO chief expert on radiation and health for 11 years and author of an unpublished study has charged that his report on the cancer risk to civilians in Iraq from breathing uranium contaminated dust was also deliberately suppressed. San Francisco Bay View March/05 Depleted Uranium: A Death Sentence Here and Abroad by Leuren Moret A medical doctor reported being trained by the Pentagon months before Gulf War II to diagnose and treat soldiers returning from the 2003 war for mental problems only. Medical professionals treating returning soldiers were threatened with $10,000 fines and with jail if they talked about the soldiers or their medical problems. Reporters have also been prevented access to the thousands of medically evacuated soldiers since the 2003 war who are in the Walter Reed Hospital near Washington DC. In 1996 and 1997 UN Human Rights Tribunals condemned DU weapons for illegally breaking the Geneva Convention and classed them as 'weapons of mass destruction'. Since then, following leukemia in European troops in the Balkans and Afghanistan (where DU was also used), the EU has twice called for DU weapons to be banned. Yet, far from banning DU, the US and Britain stepped up their denials. The British authorities have even abolished military hospitals so that specialized research on the effects of DU and treating DU among the soldiers is impossible. The current House of Commons briefing paper on DU hazards says it is judged that any radiation effects from possible exposures are extremely unlikely to be a contributory factor to the illnesses currently being experienced by some Gulf war veterans. Over a quarter of a million sick and dying US and UK vets are called 'some'. In the days before the UK and the US first used DU, its hazards were no secret. One US 1990 study said DU was 'linked to cancer when exposures are internal, [and to] chemical toxicity-causing kidney damage'. Another study openly warned that exposure to these particles under battlefield conditions could lead to cancers of the lung and bone, kidney damage, non-malignant lung disease, neuro-cognitive disorders, chromosomal damage and birth defects. Indeed, one must take heed of the Union of Concerned Scientists (more than 60 scientists including 20 Nobel laureates) who have issued a statement asserting that the Bush administration has systematically distorted scientific fact in the service of policy goals on the environment, health, biomedical research and nuclear weapons at home and abroad. www.wagingpeace.org/articles, www.gulflink.osd.mil/du, Horror Of US Depleted Uranium In Iraq Threatens World By James Denver Apr/05, The International Herald Tribune Feb/2004. ***************************************************************** 51 Rocky Mountain News: Ex-Flats workers with cancer hit brick wall in seeking aid By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News November 16, 2006 Former Rocky Flats workers with cancer are being stymied in their attempt to win compensation because a federal official is blocking an inquiry into whether their radiation records are missing or falsified, Congress was told Wednesday. Contract auditor SC&A said it could not finish its work because the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is limiting its access to workers' claims. A NIOSH official responded that he restricted the auditor's access to enforce the Privacy Act. But a watchdog group says it's an attempt to limit compensation to the sick workers for budget reasons. Since 2000, officials have rejected 70 percent of the claims for aid filed by tens of thousands of sick nuclear weapons workers, said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. Workers must prove their cancer and other illnesses were caused by radiation and toxic chemical exposure on the job to collect $150,000 in compensation plus medical care. Former workers at the Rocky Flats atom bomb plant outside Denver say they can't prove their cases because radiation records are missing or wrong. On these grounds, they've petitioned for all former Rocky Flats workers with cancer to be grandfathered into the aid program. Their petition has been in front of a federal advisory board all year, while more workers die without help. The board, which is to rule on the petition, asked its contractor, SC&A, to figure out if the workers are correct about the missing and incorrect records. SC&A pulled about a dozen random workers' claim records for Rocky Flats, and "they found enormous gaps in data," some years long, said Richard Miller of the Government Accountability Project in an interview. Miller said NIOSH, which is doing radiation dose calculations for the workers' claims, then yanked SC&A's access to the records. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims on Wednesday, SC&A's John Mauro said he could no longer do his job investigating the Rocky Flats claims of "significant gaps, falsifications and deliberate destruction of records" if he didn't have access to the records. Larry Elliott, head of that section of NIOSH, said in an interview that he is merely following the Privacy Act, ensuring that SC&A sees only specified claims. "They can't just look at any claim they want while they are there," he said. Elliott denied allegations made in the hearing that his department is setting up the Rocky Flats petition for denial as a cost-saving measure. Jackson Lee called the Rocky Flats allegation "one of the harshest" she heard in a variety of complaints about the aid program Wednesday. "A fact-finder can't be a fact-finder without access to documents," she said. The Privacy Act specifically allows for government contractors like SC&A to be treated as government employees with authority to review private records as part of their work. Miller said SC&A staff members have signed Privacy Act agreements not to reveal patient-specific information to the public. Miller suggested to the committee that Congress order full access to the records. He said this could be done in a rider to an appropriations bill before January. --> Subscribe | | Electronic edition | | 2006 © The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 52 reviewjournal.com: Reid pledges to 'do good things' for Nevada Nov. 16, 2006 By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada said Wednesday that demands of his new job as Senate majority leader prompted him to give up other posts that were helpful to promote Nevada interests. But, the Senate's top Democrat said his new responsibilities will not keep him from obtaining federal money for the state or from continuing his vigilance against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. "The question is, can I do good things for the state and the answer is yes," Reid said. "We will do better than we have ever done." In an effort to show he will not forget his constituents as he moves into an expanded role as Senate manager and national party spokesman, Reid met with Nevada reporters a day after he was elected Senate majority leader. Republicans engineered the defeat of Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota in 2004 in part by accusing him of losing touch with his state. Reid earlier this year beefed up his Nevada staff, seeking to avoid being defined by critics in the same way. "I want everyone to understand I am the senator from Nevada," Reid said Wednesday. At the meeting, Reid also shrugged off a report that convicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff was implicating him in an ongoing corruption investigation. ABC News reported on its Web site that Abramoff has told prosecutors that Reid agreed to help him on Indian gaming matters, and that $30,000 in campaign contributions from his clients "were no accident and were in fact requested by Reid." The network attributed the report to an unnamed source. "As I understand, he (Abramoff) is on his way to jail," Reid said. "This is an old story. Some anonymous source is what this story is about." Reid's office further issued a written response stating that information in the report had been discredited previously and that Reid's activities on Indian gaming have been legal and proper. Reid said neither he nor members of his staff have been contacted by authorities investigating Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. On his promotion to majority leader, Reid moved to explain why he dropped off the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. Reid had been on the committee since 1986. While there has been growing criticism of earmarked "pork barrel" spending, Reid without apology utilized the seat to steer millions of dollars in earmarked spending to the state while arranging budget cuts for Yucca Mountain. Previously, Reid gave up seats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Aging Committee as he climbed Senate leadership. "It is not fair to the institution or the country or certainly the state of Nevada for me to be on things that I don't have time to do a decent job on," Reid said. But being majority leader "allows me sway," Reid said. "I control what we take up on the floor." "I have a full-time person working on the environment committee and I have plenty of coverage on the appropriations committee," he said. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006 ***************************************************************** 53 Lahontan Valley News: Editorial: Fallon should weigh Yucca rail route Opinion November 16, 2006 With a renewed interest in an alternative rail route to Yucca Mountain, local residents must now wrestle with the possibility of nuclear waste passing through Churchill County. The U.S. Department of Energy is currently gathering feedback on the Mina rail corridor, a 280-mile route to transport nuclear waste by train from Wabuska, south of Silver Springs, to Yucca Mountain while passing near the towns of Hawthorne, Luning, Mina and Goldfield. Trains hauling nuclear waste could access that route from the north via rail lines near Hazen. But before offering a snap judgment about the proposed route, we urge residents to research it to see any possible benefits or detriments it may bring to the community. Even if the project isn't derailed and the Mina route is chosen, rail cars won't be hauling waste through Churchill County anytime soon. According to the DOE, 2017 is the "best achievable schedule" for shipments of nuclear waste to begin arriving at Yucca Mountain, which assumes many of the funding and political hurdles to the project disappear. A big hurdle at this time appears to be Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who as incoming Senate majority leader has pledged to prevent the project from seeing fruition. That date brings forth a number of questions: What will Churchill County look like in 2017? Would the line impact the proposed Matthews Ranch and Great Basin Industrial Park development planned for Hazen? Would the rail line construction bring jobs to the community, or would it just be one-time commerce? Will local personnel be trained and could they adequately handle an accident? Where will training and security resources come from? We intend to ask these questions, and we hope that the answers will assist government and Fallonites in forming their opinions. Wednesday's meeting at the Fallon Convention Center offered residents a chance to offer input on the Mina route. The comment period on the route lasts until Dec. 12. We urge residents to study the map and offer input by calling 1-800-967-3477 or visiting on the Internet. With at least 10 years until nuclear waste could possibly start passing through, a thoroughly researched endeavor will produce better results than shoot-from-the-hip responses. All contents © Copyright 2006 lahontanvalleynews.com Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard - 562 North Maine Street - Fallon, NV 89406 ***************************************************************** 54 BBC: Blair pays visit to nuclear Last Updated: Thursday, 16 November 2006 [Tony Blair at Sellafield] Mr Blair visited Sellafield at the invitations of the unions Workers at the Sellafield plant in Cumbria have told the Prime Minister that they should be at the centre of a new nuclear future for Britain. Tony Blair visited the plant on Tuesday, at the invitation of the Sellafield Trades Unions, following a meeting at the GMB annual congress. He toured the site, addressed the workforce and met community leaders and trade union officials. Union bosses also asked him to support the building of two new reactors. 'Centre of excellence' They also requested a public inquiry on discharge levels from Sellafield to help the site win reprocessing work. Gary Smith, GMB national officer, told Mr Blair that Sellafield should manufacture the next generation of nuclear fuel. He said: "It should burn that fuel in these new reactors and should reprocess spent fuel as well as being the core centre of excellence for decommissioning existing nuclear power stations in Britain and overseas." Around 10,000 jobs are likely to go at Sellafield in the next 10-15 years as the decommissioning process comes to an end. ***************************************************************** 55 Salt Lake Tribune: N-dump handed break on fund Not needed, say lawmakers By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:11/16/2006 01:07:05 AM MST Lawmakers decided Wednesday to scrap a proposal to buffer taxpayers against future catastrophes at two Utah hazardous waste facilities. While the state advisory boards that deal with hazardous and radioactive waste recommended requiring the companies to beef up the long-term funds, members of the Interim Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee instead decided that the funds were unnecessary and a burden for the two affected companies. Reps. David Ure, R-Kamas, and Mike Noel, R-Kanab, said that the two affected companies have secured sufficient money to close and monitor the sites. At EnergySolutions' national radioactive and hazardous waste site about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, the perpetual care funds would be used to address problems such as a defective cover that might allow radioactivity to be released into the air after the site is closed and after a 100-year monitoring period had passed. The Radiation Control Board suggested a $93 million fund for perpetual care. For Clean Harbors' Grassy Mountain hazardous waste landfill, 90 miles west of Salt Lake City, the fund would be used to deal with problems that surface beginning 30 years after the site closes. The Solid and Hazardous Waste Board recommended creating a perpetual care fund that would total about $2.6 million. Besides creating the fund for Grassy Mountain and increasing the sum already collected for EnergySolutions, the boards had suggested creating a “lock box” so future lawmakers could not tap into those funds and clarifying whether the state or federal government owns the radioactive waste site once the private owners are gone. Since EnergySolutions has a $58 million bond to ensure cleanup and 100 years of monitoring, and since hotter Class B waste is now banned in Utah, lawmakers said there is no reason to require a perpetual care fund. “Personally, I don't care what happens 750 million years from now,” said Ure. Only Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, voted against eliminating the fund that EnergySolutions has been paying $400,000 a year into for the past five years. A representative of Clean Harbors testified against the perpetual care fund. So did Tim Barney, senior vice president for EnergySolutions. In the end, Barney said he was pleased with the outcome of Wednesday's meeting. “We think it's the correct decision.” The 2007 Legislature now will have to take up a bill to eliminate the perpetual care fund. Lawmakers created the fund in 2001 and applied it only to EnergySolutions. This year the company pumped nearly $190,000 into state elections, with the two checks of $25,000 apiece going to the Utah Republican Party, whose members control the Utah House, Senate and governor's office. fahys@sltrib.com © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 56 Village Soup: (Augusta) Governor opposes proposed interim nuclear waste storage plan - Belfast Maine By Staff (Nov 16): Gov. John Baldacci joined an effort Thursday by the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and other U.S. states to oppose a federal legislative initiative to establish interim nuclear waste storage sites across the country. They said the provision, Section 313 in the current version of the U.S. Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, is a step backward in the long-standing federal policy to establish a permanent disposal facility. “Leaving high-level nuclear waste in thirty-one states is not a viable option,” said Gov. Baldacci. “Temporary nuclear waste storage facilities pose significant safety and security issues in Maine and other states that have or have had commercial nuclear power plants. This proposal takes away a state’s ability to reject a storage site within its borders. Additionally, Maine ratepayers have been assessed payments for the federal Nuclear Waste Funds, and we expect the federal government to comply with its mandate to safely remove these dangerous materials; not to divert funds for the national repository for construction of interim facilities.” In July, Gov. Baldacci wrote to Sen. Pete Dominici, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, to oppose any such plan to temporarily store high-level radioactive nuclear waster on site at current and decommission nuclear facilities. Baldacci requested expedition completion of the nation’s permanent repository site at Yucca Mountain. “In today’s world, the security concerns of Americans are not well served by having thousands of metric tons of nuclear waste left in facilities in 31 states, including Maine,” wrote Baldacci in July's correspondence. “Our best interests will be served by consolidating these materials in a facility selected for its remoteness and for its ability to be secured.” In late September, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found in favor of Yankee Atomic against the U.S. Department of Energy for the federal department’s failure to meet the statutory obligation to remove radioactive nuclear material from Maine Yankee and other facilities. In that decision, Yankee Atomic was awarded nearly $76 million in damages. The federal DOE is expected to appeal the decision. “The current federal mandate is clear,” said Gov. Baldacci. “The federal government needs to hold to its agreement to move nuclear waste from Maine and other states to a permanent national facility. The interim storage facility provision in the current Senate appropriations bill runs counter to that goal.” Based in Belfast, Editor Beth Staples can be reached at 207-338-0484 or by e-mail at bstaples@villagesoup.com. ***************************************************************** 57 NRC: Criticality Control of Fuel Within Dry Storage Casks or RIN 3150-AH95 FR Doc E6-19368 [Federal Register: November 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 221)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 66705-66706] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16no06-24] [[Page 66705]] Transportation Packages in a Spent Fuel Pool AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that govern domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities so that the requirements governing criticality control for spent fuel pool storage racks would not apply to the fuel within a spent fuel transportation package or storage cask when a package or cask is in a spent fuel pool. These packages and casks are subject to separate criticality control requirements. This action is necessary to avoid applying two different sets of criticality control requirements to fuel within a package or cask in a spent fuel pool. DATES: The comment period for this proposed rule ends on December 18, 2006. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure only that comments received on or before this date will be considered. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. Please include the following number RIN 3150-AH95 in the subject line of your comments. Comments on rulemakings submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including personal information such as social security numbers and birth dates in your submission. Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If you do not receive a reply e- mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher at (301) 415-5905; e- mail cag@nrc.gov. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays [telephone (301) 415-1966]. Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-1101. Publicly available documents related to this rulemaking may be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, can be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George M. Tartal, Project Manager, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-0016, e-mail gmt1@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the information provided in the direct final rule of the same title, which is found in the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register. Because the NRC considers this action non-controversial, we are publishing this proposed rule concurrently as a direct final rule. The direct final rule will become effective on January 30, 2007. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on the direct final rule by December 18, 2006, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments received in response to the proposed revisions in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period for this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn. List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 50 Antitrust, Classified information, Criminal penalties, Fire protection, Intergovernmental relations, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Radiation protection, Reactor siting criteria, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. For the reasons set forth in the preamble and under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR part 50. PART 50--DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES 1. The authority citation for part 50 continues to read as follows: Authority: Secs. 102, 103, 104, 161, 182, 183, 186, 189, 68 Stat. 936, 937, 938, 948, 953, 954, 955, 956, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2236, 2239, 2282); secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note). Section 50.7 also issued under Pub. L. 95-601, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 2951 (42 U.S.C. 5841). Section 50.10 also issued under secs. 101, 185, 68 Stat. 955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2131, 2235); sec. 102, Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.13, 50.54(dd), and 50.103 also issued under sec. 108, 68 Stat. 939, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2138). Sections 50.23, 50.35, 50.55, and 50.56 also issued under sec. 185, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2235). Sections 50.33a, 50.55a and Appendix Q also issued under sec. 102, Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.34 and 50.54 also issued under sec. 204, 88 Stat. 1245 (42 U.S.C. 5844). Sections 50.58, 50.91, and 50.92 also issued under Pub. L. 97-415, 96 Stat. 2073 (42 U.S.C. 2239). Section 50.78 also issued under sec. 122, 68 Stat. 939 (42 U.S.C. 2152). Sections 50.80-50.81 also issued under sec. 184, 68 Stat. 954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2234). Appendix F also issued under sec. 187, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2237). 2. Section 50.68 is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: Sec. 50.68 Criticality accident requirements. * * * * * (c) While a spent fuel transportation package approved under Part 71 of this chapter or spent fuel storage cask approved under Part 72 of this chapter is in the spent fuel pool: (1) The requirements in Sec. 50.68(b) do not apply to the fuel located within that package or cask; and (2) The requirements in Part 71 or 72 of this chapter, as applicable, and the requirements of the Certificate of [[Page 66706]] Compliance for that package or cask, apply to the fuel within that package or cask. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of October, 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. William F. Kane, Deputy Executive Director for Reactor and Preparedness Programs, Office of the Executive Director for Operations. [FR Doc. E6-19368 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 58 KVBC: A new timeline for Yucca Mountain Inside Yucca Mountain Public safety leaders meeting to discuss Yucca Mountain Energy officials say the Yucca Mountain Project has a new timeline which could have the nation's nuclear waste delivered to Nevada within 11 years. Yucca Mountain is about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. While the Department of Energy is pushing forward, some Nevada leaders believe the project will eventually go away. At least that's what they hope. This debate over where to store the nation's nuclear waste has been going on for years. Many in Washington have concluded Yucca is the best place for it. But some say the safety risks are too great and they're hoping new leadership in the Senate, specifically, can help stop it. The initial plan called for operations to begin in 1998, but budget shortfalls and regulatory obstacles set the project back. Now the Department of Energy is releasing a new timeline. If all goes as planned, a decision on construction of a rail line will happen by 2008. The rail would be completed by 2014 Construction of the repository itself would be completed by 2016 and Yucca would begin receiving waste by 2017. This week in Las Vegas, public safety leaders from across the country met to discuss, among other things, the safety and security of Yucca Mountain shipments. "Our greatest concern here at the local level is the security of that transport vessel if it comes through our region," said Tim McAndrew of Las Vegas Emergency Management. "We believe at this point there's probably no amount of security that makes us comfortable." And many believe even with planing and precaution, the project may still crumble, at least according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "The Yucca Mountain Project is a dying beast. By blocking funding for the project and any legislation that supports it, I plan on leveraging my position as the leader of the Senate to protect Nevada and make sure the dump is never built." Senator Reid recently admitted there's no way he can stop the project altogether, but says he's going to do everything he can to slow it down as well as continue to explore other options. The transportation rail line under consideration by energy officials would run 240 miles through Nevada and would cost approximately $1 billion to build. .gif"> All content © Copyright 2000 - 2006 WorldNow and KVBC. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 KVBC: Public safety leaders meeting to discuss Yucca Mountain For years now, the federal government has talked about making Nevada a dump for the nation's nuclear and radioactive waste. Public safety leaders from across the country are meeting in Las Vegas to talk about the safety and security concerns surrounding the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. The Department of Energy says the new projected start date for accepting nuclear waste shipments is now March of 2017. The Yucca Mountain repository was originally scheduled to begin operation back in 1998, but legal challenges, environmental concerns, and budget shortfalls are among the reasons for the major delay. The proposed facility is approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Ninety percent of the waste proposed for disposal at the Yucca Mountain facility consists of spent nuclear fuel. The remaining 10 percent consists of high level radioactive waste, which is produced mainly from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Some opponents of the proposed repository are concerned that nuclear waste will escape into the ground water and the air. Some are also concerned about the waste being shipped through more than 40 states. For his part, newly announced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says he'll use his new position to help further delay plans for Yucca Mountain while looking for alternate ways to store nuclear waste. Wednesday's round table discussion brought together experts from Clark County, as well as others from Los Angeles and Broward County, Florida. The meeting was held at the Orleans Hotel and Casino from 2 to 5 PM. The proposed Yucca Mountain facility is a geologic repository, meaning that it will store packaged waste deep below the earth's surface in an underground tunnel. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2006 WorldNow and KVBC. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 Whitehaven News: 1 million pay-off? British Nuclear Group chief executive Lawrie Haynes Garden leave’ for BNG boss Published on 16/11/2006 executive Lawrie Haynes By Alan Irving LAWRIE Haynes, the chief executive of British Nuclear Group, is on “gardening leave” amid speculation he is set to leave the company with a ÂŁ1million-plus pay off. Rumours suggest Mr Haynes is preparing to leave BNG after failing to persuade his company, or the government, that it should be sold as a separate entity, which was the wish of the nuclear unions. BNG yesterday said it could not comment as the chief executive had not submitted any resignation. At Sellafield, Prospect union chairman Peter Clements declared: “I don’t think Lawrie Haynes can stay – his position is untenable. “About a year ago he stood up in front of a Prospect meeting and promised us that BNG would be sold as a single entity, and now we know it’s not going to be the case. “Mr Haynes is not in favour of the current decision and we have heard he is on leave. At the end of the day he hasn’t been able to deliver what he promised, whether or not it was taken out of his hands, and this must make things very difficult for him.” It is understood Mr Haynes and the three other board members are entitled to bonuses of up to 150 per cent of their salaries for breaking up BNG and selling it piecemeal. www.whitehaven-news.co.uk ***************************************************************** 61 Deseret News: Haz-waste fund rejected Thursday, November 16, 2006 By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News A legislative committee rejected a proposal Wednesday to fund perpetual oversight of hazardous waste sites in Utah and voiced support to revoke an existing perpetual care fund for the state's only radioactive waste dump. "So, we don't care about the future of this material, that it's not taken care of?" asked Steve Erickson, director of the advocacy group Citizens Education Project. "That's a head-scratcher." Erickson was perplexed by the decision of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee, which rejected a recommendation by state environmental regulators to have hazardous waste disposers pay for perpetual care of their sites, and to increase the existing $400,000 annual fee EnergySolutions pays for its site. Utah's hazardous waste and radioactive waste disposal sites are all in Tooele County's zoned Hazardous Waste Corridor. Three of the first type are in the zone, all operated by Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc. The single radioactive waste disposal facility is operated by EnergySolutions, based in Salt Lake City. All are complying with rules that require funding for closure operations and for a "post-closure" period. For hazardous waste, that's 30 years after closure and for radioactive material, it's 100 years after the site closes. Under discussion Wednesday was perpetual care, going on forever after the post-closure period. EnergySolutions contributes $400,000 a year to such a fund, amounting to more than $2 million by now, and no such fund exists for hazardous waste sites. State officials recommended perpetual care for hazardous waste sites. They said the EnergySolutions fund should be adjusted in case the company uses up all its disposal cells earlier than expected — if it closed early, the fund would have much less than intended. Christopher Thomas, policy director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, said after the meeting, "I think that the perpetual care fund makes sense for Utahns. It safeguards them" against possible future problems, he added. But Phillip Retallick, senior vice president for compliance and regulatory affairs with Clean Harbors, testified against imposing a perpetual care requirement on the company. "Any additional costs ... have to be passed on and paid for by our clients," he said. Most of these clients for the three sites in Tooele County are from Utah. The company has about $45 million earmarked for closure and the following 30 years, he said. Because of the scant groundwater, which is briny, and the arid conditions, he added, "there are no pathways of exposure" to the hazardous material. Tim Barney, senior executive vice president of EnergySolutions, said the perpetual care fee was outdated since it was created with the intent that the company wanted to import B and C waste. But those hotter levels of waste are now banned from Utah, based on legislation that EnergySolutions supported. Barney cited a statement by a recently retired expert from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, saying perpetual care beyond 100 years is not needed for facilities such as EnergySolutions' site. Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, moved that the committee not accept either proposal and that it go on record favoring revocation of the $400,000 perpetual care fee paid yearly by EnergySolutions. Ure's motions passed the committee with little debate. Only Rep. Jackie Biskupski, R-Salt Lake, voted against both, and the sole legislator to join her to defend the EnergySolutions fee was Rep. John G. Mathis, R-Naples. E-mail: bau@desnews.com © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 62 Hanford News: Hanford facilities may find new use This story was published Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Pacific Northwest National Laboratory could continue to use some buildings in Hanford's 300 Area for up to 20 years, according to options considered in a Department of Energy draft environmental assessment. No decision has been made, but the document lays out a scenario that calls for building in phases a new government-owned Physical Sciences Facility for research using radiological materials. The initial building, to be completed by 2010, would be 240,000 square feet and could be expanded to 332,000 square feet to house about 480 scientific and support staff. It's one of four new facilities planned for the national laboratory in Richland to replace about 560,000 square feet of space now used by workers in the southern end of Hanford. DOE planned to have the 300 Area buildings leveled when it awarded the contract to Washington Closure Hanford to clean up the nuclear reservation along the Columbia River. The area is contaminated with radioactive and hazardous chemical waste from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. But as it became evident that a planned 325,000-square-foot building could not be built with desired features for the budgeted $210 million, DOE began considering keeping some 300 Area buildings. At the smaller initial size, the building would house ultra-trace, radiation detection and materials science and technology research programs. It would be built near the Battelle campus just north of Horn Rapids Road outside Richland city limits. The ultra-trace module would include specialized labs and instrumentation for developing and testing methods for treaty verification related to nuclear and chemical weapons. The radiation detection module would include a paved track outside the building for testing the detection of radiological materials in vehicles and containers. The materials science and technology module would include laboratories for processing radioactive material samples to study their performance in high-radiation and high-temperature conditions. Work would help evaluate the aging of materials in nuclear power plants and the development of radiation-resistant building materials for reactors. Later construction phases would include space for shielded operations to protect workers doing research with radiological materials, plus chemistry and processing, subsurface science and certification and dosimetry programs. "These capabilities could remain in existing 300 Area facilities for a span of 20 years," the environmental assessment said. "They would be relocated if DOE decides to construct additional (Physical Sciences Facility) modules in the future." There is not a budget or schedule for the additional construction. DOE has discussed the possibility of retaining four buildings in the 300 Area, including the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory; the Radiological Calibrations Laboratory; a shop building and the 331 Building, a 1970s laboratory and office building with an addition added 10 years ago. The Radiological Processing Laboratory is a Nuclear Hazard Category 2 facility. But the shielded operations module that eventually could replace it under the phased building approach would be a Category 3 facility. Projects relocated from the 300 Area are expected to require a smaller total inventory of radioactive materials that would be covered under Category 3, according to the environmental assessment. The shielded operations module that eventually could replace the Radiological Processing Laboratory could include space for programs related to fusion energy, tritium production, instrumentation for use in high-radiation environments, the production of medical isotopes and the analysis of spent nuclear fuel. The chemistry and processing module would have hoods, glove boxes and shielded facilities to support fundamental research in radionuclide chemistry as well as other projects. The subsurface science module would be used to support fundamental research on the mobility and degradation of compounds, and the certification and dosimetry module would provide capabilities to certify the performance of radiation detection instruments. A decision on whether to use a phased construction plan could be made in early 2007. DOE will accept comments on the environmental assessment until Dec. 13 at psfea@pnso.science.doe.gov. The environmental assessment is posted at http://pnso.oro.doe.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=97. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 63 washingtonpost.com: Stephen Barr - Energy Department Pulls Plug on Bonuses - By Stephen BarrThursday, November 16, 2006; Page D04 The squeeze on spending has started. The Energy Department this week suspended bonuses and discretionary pay raises for employees until it gets a handle on what kind of budget to expect for fiscal 2007. Other agencies have quietly informed managers to tighten up on spending and embrace frugality for the next few weeks. Transcript Federal Diary Live Stephen W. Gammarino, senior vice president for national programs at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, joins The Post's Stephen Barr, who writes the Federal Diary column, to answer your questions about health insurance for federal employees and retirees. The budget squeeze can be traced back about six weeks, to when Congress failed to complete 10 of the 12 appropriations bills by Oct. 1, the start of the 2007 fiscal year. As a result, lawmakers placed many agencies on interim spending, known as a continuing resolution, sometimes at funding levels lower than their fiscal 2006 budgets. As time passes, agencies find it harder to make ends meet, especially when certain offices or programs take budget cuts and funding cannot be reprogrammed. That seems to be the case at the Energy Department. Energy put a hold on bonuses Tuesday in hopes of avoiding layoffs or placing employees on unpaid leave as it waits for Congress to finish its fiscal 2007 budget, according to a memo sent to senior officials by Jeff T.H. Pon, the department's personnel chief, and Michael C. Kane, the management chief at the department's National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. Many Energy employees will be disappointed by the delayed bonuses, which usually show up in late December and early January paychecks. Energy bonuses are given at managers' discretion and vary by office and rank. The typical bonus for rank-and-file workers is $1,000 to $4,000, said Dave Schoeberlein, president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 213. But Energy officials think they've made a prudent decision. The department's administrative budget, which covers the secretary's office and other management-related offices, was cut by $26 million, to $225 million, on the House floor. The president's budget had recommended that the account receive $278 million. In weighing his options, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman decided that if the administrative offices had to give up bonuses to avoid layoffs, it was only fair to defer bonuses on a department-wide basis, said Craig Stevens, the department's spokesman. Pon and Kane, in their memo, said the continuing resolution's funding "for certain department offices could, if extended into the future, potentially result in reductions in force or furloughs." Given current circumstances, they wrote, "it would not be prudent to pay performance awards that could, in only a few weeks, place the very jobs of co-workers at risk." Pon and Kane said departmental leaders "believe it would not be equitable to delay the payment of performance awards for employees in the many affected offices, while employees of other offices received their awards as if the department was operating in a business as usual manner." Schoeberlein said union lawyers will ask for data verifying the department's claim that budget woes are behind the bonus suspension. "We're going to go in and drain this swamp," he said. Budget relief for Energy and other parts of the government may be weeks away. With little progress being made in the lame-duck session, Congress plans to extend the interim funding restrictions, due to expire tomorrow, through Dec. 8. Some congressional aides predict that Congress will lump most appropriations bills into an omnibus measure next month, which might make it easier to flout budget rules and hide overspending. Other aides paint what one called "the doomsday scenario" -- a long-term continuing resolution to finance the government through February or March. The decision to punt spending decisions to the next Congress happened in 2003 and 2004, according to the Senate Budget Committee. As a result, federal workers received retroactive pay raises in 2004 and 2005. Hoyer vs. Murtha Transcript Federal Diary Live Stephen W. Gammarino, senior vice president for national programs at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, joins The Post's Stephen Barr, who writes the Federal Diary column, to answer your questions about health insurance for federal employees and retirees. Federal employees rarely have a stake in congressional leadership races, but they may this year. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), a longtime advocate for federal workers, is in a bruising race to become House majority leader. Incoming House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is backing Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) for majority leader in the next Congress, when the Democrats take control. Hoyer is the chief architect of the 1990 federal law that created locality pay and has proposed legislation to bring down the cost of health-care premiums for federal employees and retirees. He is widely considered the key player in the annual pay-raise fight with the White House and in recent years has won a higher raise for federal employees. House Democrats should reach a decision by this afternoon on whether to elevate Hoyer or Murtha to the No. 2 job in the next Congress. Stephen Barr's e-mail isbarrs@washpost.com Copyright 1996- The Washington Post Company | User ***************************************************************** 64 Salt Lake Tribune: New Mexico out; Nevada most likely site for test explosion Divine Strake By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:11/16/2006 01:07:42 AM MST Pete Domenici New Mexico senator + »WASHINGTON - A massive explosion designed to help develop bunker-busting weapons won't be conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, leaving the Nevada Test Site as the most likely location, a New Mexico senator said Wednesday. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency informed Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., that environmental studies needed to move the Divine Strake test to the New Mexico missile range would delay the test too long. Domenici said DTRA informed him the test will not be moved to a location other than Nevada. A spokeswoman for the agency could not be reached. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency proposes detonating 700 tons of explosives above a tunnel on the test site to help it make computer models to predict ground shaking and tunnel damage to perfect bunker busting weapons. “I understand that keeping these tests in Nevada is the best choice from a technical perspective,” Domenici said. “Moving the test to White Sands would have taken years and delayed development of an ability to predict damage to deeply buried targets like tunnels and bunker busters. Both are increasingly being used by our potential adversaries.” The test was originally scheduled at the Nevada Test Site last June but was postponed until next spring at the earliest after concerns were raised about the safety of the detonation. Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Jim Matheson raised concerns that soil contaminated by past nuclear tests could become airborne and spread downwind. A Nevada American Indian tribe and a group of Utah Downwinders - individuals sickened by their exposure to fallout from Cold War tests - have sued to block the test. “We're in the process of working on completing the environmental assessment, which will tell us if the test site . . . can be a safe location for the experiment to be conducted,” said Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the Nevada Test Site. Morgan said he did not know when the analysis would be available for public comment. The explosive mixture would be similar to the chemicals used to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building, only 280 times larger. It would be nearly 50 times larger than the biggest known U.S. conventional weapon and comparable to small nuclear weapons. Originally, Defense Department budget documents said that the test would help war planners choose the smallest possible nuclear weapon to destroy buried and fortified targets, but the Pentagon later said that the inclusion of the word "nuclear" in the document was a mistake. © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 65 DDN: Our View: Clean up Ohio's old nuclear mess before putting new production work at Piketon plant DaytonDailyNews.com EDITORIAL Feds can't be trusted on new project By Dayton Daily News Wednesday, November 15, 2006 The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon could once again become a major staging ground for the most sensitive and dangerous kinds of atomic production work. The plant was built in the 1950s to help fight the Cold War by enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. Now the sprawling facility is seen as a potential worldwide center for recycling spent nuclear fuel rods. The details of this history and these prospects were spelled out this week in the Dayton Daily News' three-day series Ohio's nuclear legacy: troubled past, uncertain future. Staff writers Tom Beyerlein and Lynn Hulsey reported how, when the federal government privatized the uranium-enrichment operation in 1998, it left behind a contaminated facility and chronically ill workers. Both situations were the result of lax management and a checkered safety history, followed by a multibillion-dollar clean-up program that's still in progress and that has been erratic at best. Meanwhile, the federal system to provide health care and compensation to injured employees has been sluggish and arbitrary, with claims languishing as workers are dying not just in Piketon, but also at sister facilities such as the old Mound Laboratory in Miamisburg and elsewhere. The implications of this are clear: The federal government has not shown itself to be competent to manage or regulate any expansion of the Piketon facility. Ohioans and their representatives in Congress should vigorously oppose any further use of the Pike-ton facility until the relevant federal agencies keep their promise to make the site safe and bring relief to injured workers. Federal agencies and the nuclear-power industry have huge incentives to turn things around. The accumulated waste from the world's atomic plants has reached crisis proportions. The problems that creates aren't limited to potentially devastating environmental damage. If not adequately contained and secured, the material can fuel nuclear-weapons proliferation. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address this year put Ohio at the center of the controversy. The president announced an "advanced energy initiative," which includes creating a "Global Nuclear Energy Partnership." The partnership's mission includes recycling nuclear waste from around the world. The idea is to develop technologies for burning spent nuclear rods, not only for use as fuel, but so they ultimately can be disposed of without resorting to deep geological burial sites, such as the controversial Yucca Mountain project in Nevada. Enter the Ohio entrepreneurs. Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative a consortium with players from the private and public sectors is pushing to use a former nuclear-production site for this purpose. Specifically, it made Piketon the subject of a secret proposal submitted to the Department of Energy in August. The argument may be that the facility is large, remote, already contaminated and currently serving as a storage site for nearly 20,000 canisters containing atomic waste. What's more, USEC Inc., the last operator at the now-closed enrichment plant, is working toward regulatory approval of a new uranium-enrichment plant there, which could be operating as soon as 2011. On paper, this may make the Piketon site appear to be a plausible candidate for a recycling project. In reality, the project carries huge additional environmental risks. The federal government simply can't be trusted to undertake any new initiative at Portsmouth without first cleaning up the old messes it created. Copyright ©2006 Cox Ohio Publishing, Dayton, Ohio, USA. All rights reserved. By using DaytonDailyNews.com ***************************************************************** 66 lamonitor.com: LANL recaps recent events The Online News Source for Los Alamos DARRYL NEWMANlareporter@lamonitor.comMonitor Staff Writer An over-publicized security breach at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a pending fire contract agreement with the county were two items presented to the county council in an update Tuesday night. In a regular update to the county, LANL Deputy Director John Mitchell spoke to an incident in which several computer jump drives containing sensitive information were discovered at the home of a former lab subcontract employee. "Recent security events at the lab have had too much publicity and have been reported both accurately and inaccurately by the media, " Mitchell said, but commended the FBI on its cooperation with LANL. "The lab has had interactions with the FBI in the past, but this time their cooperation was unprecedented as they incorporated us in the process." Security efforts at the lab have taken a turn since the incident, Mitchell said, with certain oversight provided by LANS corporate members. "A number of changes have been made in respect to policies and practices," he said. "We have teams from our corporate parents providing us with reviews. It's a tough business and things happen whether you'd like them to or not." Mitchell mentioned that the DOE inspector general has visited LANL since the incident. "We were lucky to have this happen during a two-month review," he said. "We gave them things to work on." Mitchell later reported that LANL raised $700,000 in its United Way of Northern New Mexico campaign efforts. "We're extremely pleased with the generosity of the employees," he said mentioning that the lab matched the total dollar amount raised by employees. Councilor Jim West posed the first of several questions, asking why an agreement has not been reached regarding the laboratory's portion of funding of the emergency operations center which opened in September of 2005. "The county has had an agreement with the lab over staffing measures and the county has kept its commitment," West said. "The lab has not made a move to keep its end of the bargain." Mitchell replied that there would be progress made "no later than Dec. 5." "This is an arrangement with the government, not us," Mitchell clarified. "We've explored the process with county staff. Instead of telling you why it hasn't moved ahead, let me tell you how we're going to fix it. If an agreement can't be met, then we'd have a small group of senior staff, two of whom are in this room, and we will come before you and hammer the plan out." Council Chair Mike Wheeler asked for the latest in policies relating to possible pit production at LANL. "We really know nothing different in a substantial way," Mitchell said citing uncertainties in Washington. "I'd be a fool to tell you when I'd know when we have more about it. The EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) process is still ongoing and I don't know what else to add." © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************