***************************************************************** 01/09/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.7 ***************************************************************** 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 Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy 2 Olmert heads to China focusing on Iran nuclear plan 3 [NYTr] Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy 4 [NYTr] Nuking Iran 5 UPI: Analysis: Middle East, explosive as ever 6 Guardian Unlimited: Government Moves Against Iranian Bank 7 AFP: Iran warns again on nuclear cooperation 8 Korea Herald: Nuke talks likely to resume next month 9 YONHAP NEWS: N. Korea, U.S. likely to discuss financial sanctions on 10 AFP: Blair backs Japan over hardline stance on North Korea 11 UPI: Japan's Abe to spread nuke warning in U.K. 12 Guardian Unlimited: General: N.Korea May Conduct Nuclear Test 13 UPI: Russian blames U.S. for sub collision NUCLEAR REACTORS 14 US: NIRS: 100+ Groups Call on Congress to Oppose 15 US: Vermont Guardian: Vermont Yankee, Vernon settle property tax dis 16 BBC: MSP launches 'anti-nuclear' bill 17 Independent: Germany may end anti-nuclear policy 18 US: Arizona Republic: Palo Verde hires top nuclear troubleshooter 19 US: APP.COM: Oyster Creek performs efficiently without polluting the 20 CBC.ca: Four Alberta companies express interest in buying nuclear po 21 globeandmail.com: Husky mulls nuclear option in oil sands 22 US: Honolulu Advertiser: Irradiation meeting set - 23 US: NRC: Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation; Notice of Completio 24 US: NRC: Monticello License 25 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Arizona Public Servi 26 IHT: EU: Days of secure, cheap energy are over - 27 IHT: Merkel says Germany should lessen dependence on Russian energy 28 B92: Minister: Nuclear power vital to Slovenia 29 Prague Daily Monitor: Refusal from nuclear energy possible in future 30 Scotsman: German U-turn on nuclear energy as oil supply doubts grow 31 SPIEGEL ONLINE: Europe's Energy Worries: Merkel, EU's Barroso Condem 32 Japan Times: U.S. nuclear plant trade insurance eyed | 33 NewsRoom Finland: Finnish employers, energy lobby and unions call fo 34 AFP: US, Japan agree to develop landmark civil nuclear action plan - 35 UPI: Chinese nuclear power plant goes on line 36 Deutsche Welle: Merkel Puts Germany's Nuclear Phase-Out in Question NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 37 [NYTr] Update: US Nuke Sub Collision w/Japanese Oil Tanker 38 AFP: US nuclear sub collides with Japanese oil tanker 39 UPI: U.S. sub, Japanese tanker collide NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 40 US: 100+ groups oppose radwaste dump plan in Ohio 41 US: ENS: Senators Want Drinking Water Standard for Perchlorate 42 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: NMED satisfied with WIPP investigation r 43 This Is Oxfordshire: Nuclear Waste Firm Plans New Depot (from Oxford 44 RedOrbit: What a Waste ; Lights Out for Yucca Mountain? 45 US: ENS: U.S. Moves to Become Global Nuclear Fuel Supplier PEACE 46 BBC: Trident demo politicians arrested US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 SF New Mexican: Domenici: Blend labs' designs for new nuke 48 SF New Mexican: State satisfied with DOE investigation into Idaho sh 49 Tri-City Herald: DOE to track uranium plume 50 WPW: Will DOE Shakeup Change U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policies? 51 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Savannah 52 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford 53 Tracy Press: Uranium a big threat to Tracy ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 07:36:23 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=38000 Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy TEHRAN: Iranian reformist parliamentarians on Saturday blamed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government for failing to prevent United Nations sanctions. The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Dec 23 to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material that could be used in bombs. Iran says it wants nuclear power to generate electricity. Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami suspended Iran's nuclear work for more than two years in an effort to build confidence and avoid confrontation with the West, but resumed uranium enrichment in February last year. "The only way to pass the crisis is to build confidence ...but a holding Holocaust conference and financing the Hamas government creates mistrust and tension," Noureddin Pirmoazzen, the spokesman of parliament's reformist faction, told Reuters. Ahmadinejad's government hosted a conference in Tehran in December, where participants questioned the Holocaust. It also granted $250 million in aid to the Palestinian Hamas government after Western donors withheld funds. After two election landslides that brought Khatami to office in 1997 and 2001, Iran's reformers suffered a series on poll setbacks with voters disillusioned at their inability to carryout their policies due to conservative opposition. The culmination of the reformers' defeats came in 2005 when voters elected the Ahmadinejad who promised to use Iran's large oil revenues to help the poor. But the reformers made a strong showing at local council elections in December, with many voters worried about Iran's increasing diplomatic isolation and economic problems. Pirmoazzen said that two UN resolutions against Iran in the first 18 months of the government's term in office showed the foreign ministry was incapable of looking after Iran's national interests. "We hope to witness a return to the manner of Khatami's government and see the crisis is solved in the next 60 days, or else we will have no alternative but to impeach Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki," Pirmoazzen said. Any request to impeach a minister needs to be signed by at least 10 lawmakers. Pirmoazzen said that even without the support of majority conservative deputies, the 42-memberreformist faction had enough votes to call an impeachment debate. But the impeachment motion would be unlikely to succeed. In a separate bid, reformist lawmakers also want Ahmadinejad to come to parliament to answer questions on his government's domestic and foreign policies. But there was little chance of the motion succeeding as it would need 72 lawmakers to sign it. "Although some 150 lawmakers may have questions from Ahmadinejad, it does not mean that the same number of signatures can be collected to support the plan," Akbar Alami, the lawmaker who has launched the plan, said. ***************************************************************** 2 Olmert heads to China focusing on Iran nuclear plan Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 07:36:21 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/810810.html Last update - 10:58 08/01/2007 Olmert to head to China for visit focusing on Iran nuclear plan By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will depart for China on Monday evening on an official visit whose main purpose will be to further efforts to counter Iran's nuclear program. During his meetings with China's President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Olmert will express Israel's appreciation of Beijing's support for a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for sanctions against Iran. Olmert will express Israel's view that while UN Resolution 1731 is an important step in blocking Iran's nuclear program, it is insufficient. In an interview to a Chinese media outlet in preparation of his visit, Olmert said that Iran's development of nuclear weapons is contrary to Chinese interests, "and proof of that [realization] is the Security Council vote. We see eye to eye," on the issue. China has sought a "balanced policy" on Iran's nuclear program, and prior to Olmert's visit hosted Ali Larijani, head of Iran's National Security Council and the leading figure in talks with the West on nuclear matters. According to an official Chinese statement, President Hu told the visiting Iranian official that Tehran should "respond seriously" to the Security Council resolution, which called on Iran to cease enriching uranium or face sanctions. Hu reiterated the Chinese position that the crisis with Iran must be resolved through "diplomatic means." For his part, Larijani warned that Iran may develop a military nuclear program "if it is threatened." "We believe the Chinese," political sources in Jerusalem said, "when they say they are opposed to a nuclear-armed Iran. But China has a traditional stance that opposes sanctions, and thus prefers a diplomatic solution." In countering Iran, China opted to go along the route fashioned by Russia, in delaying and softening the sanctions, avoiding a leading role in international meetings on the issue. China imports approximately 12 percent of its energy needs from Iran, and has close ties with Tehran. This will be the fifth and final permanent member of the Security Council Olmert will visit in his international efforts to stem the development of the Iranian nuclear program. The political sources in Jerusalem stress the economic and growing international importance of China and say that in spite of a number of crises, having to do with Israeli contracts to furnish Beijing with defense technologies - vetoed by the United States - bilateral relations remain "excellent." In the past 18 months, high-level delegations from China visited Israel, in great part driven by interest in civilian technologies available here. Agriculture is a field in which Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs have met with great success in China, and Olmert is scheduled to pay a visit to a model farm set up by Israelis near Beijing. The prime minister will also visit the Wall and the Forbidden City in the Chinese capital. Olmert will announce that Israel plans to open a consulate in the province of Guangzhou, which is home to high-tech parks. Chinese officials recently expressed their wish to double bilateral trade, currently standing at $3 billion, in four or five years. ***************************************************************** 3 [NYTr] Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 15:42:03 -0500 (EST) X-Sender-Host-Name: olm.blythe-systems.com X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Michael Givel (activ-l) - Jan 9, 2007 The News (Pakistan) http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=38000 Iran's reformists slam govt's nuclear policy TEHRAN: Iranian reformist parliamentarians on Saturday blamed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government for failing to prevent United Nations sanctions. The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Dec 23 to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material that could be used in bombs. Iran says it wants nuclear power to generate electricity. Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami suspended Iran's nuclear work for more than two years in an effort to build confidence and avoid confrontation with the West, but resumed uranium enrichment in February last year. "The only way to pass the crisis is to build confidence ...but a holding Holocaust conference and financing the Hamas government creates mistrust and tension," Noureddin Pirmoazzen, the spokesman of parliament's reformist faction, told Reuters. Ahmadinejad's government hosted a conference in Tehran in December, where participants questioned the Holocaust. It also granted $250 million in aid to the Palestinian Hamas government after Western donors withheld funds. After two election landslides that brought Khatami to office in 1997 and 2001, Iran's reformers suffered a series on poll setbacks with voters disillusioned at their inability to carryout their policies due to conservative opposition. The culmination of the reformers' defeats came in 2005 when voters elected the Ahmadinejad who promised to use Iran's large oil revenues to help the poor. But the reformers made a strong showing at local council elections in December, with many voters worried about Iran's increasing diplomatic isolation and economic problems. Pirmoazzen said that two UN resolutions against Iran in the first 18 months of the government's term in office showed the foreign ministry was incapable of looking after Iran's national interests. "We hope to witness a return to the manner of Khatami's government and see the crisis is solved in the next 60 days, or else we will have no alternative but to impeach Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki," Pirmoazzen said. Any request to impeach a minister needs to be signed by at least 10 lawmakers. Pirmoazzen said that even without the support of majority conservative deputies, the 42-memberreformist faction had enough votes to call an impeachment debate. But the impeachment motion would be unlikely to succeed. In a separate bid, reformist lawmakers also want Ahmadinejad to come to parliament to answer questions on his government's domestic and foreign policies. But there was little chance of the motion succeeding as it would need 72 lawmakers to sign it. "Although some 150 lawmakers may have questions from Ahmadinejad, it does not mean that the same number of signatures can be collected to support the plan," Akbar Alami, the lawmaker who has launched the plan, said. * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 4 [NYTr] Nuking Iran Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 16:17:36 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Counterpunch - Jan 8, 2007 http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts01082007.html Nuking Iran Are Bush's Wars Winding Down or Heating Up? By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS Most Americans believe that Bush's Iraqi misadventure is over. The occupation has lost the support of the electorate, the Congress, the generals and the troops. The Democrats are sitting back waiting for Bush to come to terms with reality. They don't want to be accused of losing the war by forcing Bush out of Iraq. There are no more troops to commit, and when the "surge" fails, Bush will have no recourse but to withdraw. A little longer, everyone figures, and the senseless killing will be over. Recent news reports indicate that this conclusion could be an even bigger miscalculation than the original invasion. On January 7 the London Times reported that it has learned from "several Israeli military sources" that "Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons." The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report. The Times reports that "Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack." In other news reports Israeli General Oded Tira is quoted as follows: "President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure." General Tira gives the Israel Lobby the following tasks: (1) "turn to Hilary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they support immediate action by Bush against Iran," (2) exert influence on European countries so that "Bush will not be isolated in the international arena again," and (3) "clandestinely cooperate with Saudi Arabis so that it also persuades the US to strike Iran." Israel's part, General Tira says, is to "prepare an independent military strike by coordinating flights in Iraqi airspace with the US. We should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of air bases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran." British commentators report that "the British media appears to be softening us up for an attack on Iran." Robert Fox writing in The First Post (January 6) says, "Suddenly the smell of Britons being prepared for an attack on Iran is all pervasive." On January 7 the Jerusalem Post reported that Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Israeli newspaper that "iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable" and that "the use of force against Teheran remained an option." The Jerusalem Post notes that "Hoyer is considered close to the Jewish community and many Israeli supporters have hailed his elevation in the House." Hoyer was the Israel Lobby's first victory over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who preferred Rep. John Murtha for the post. Murtha was the first important Democrat to call for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. On November 20 the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported that President Bush said he would understand if Israel chose to attack Iran. Bush showed that he was in Israel's pocket when he blocked the world's attempt to stop Israel's bombing of Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure. Many commentators believe that the failure of the neoconservatives' "cakewalk war" has destroyed their influence. This is a mistaken conclusion. The neoconservatives are long time allies of Israel's right-wing Likud Party and are part of the Israel Lobby in the US. The Israel Lobby represents the views of only a minority of American Jews but nevertheless essentially owns both political parties and most of the US media. As the neoconservatives are an important part of this powerful lobby, they remain extremely influential. The Lobby works to increase the neoconservatives' influence. To appreciate the Lobby's influence, try to find columnists in the major print media and TV commentators who are not apologists for Israel, who do not favor attacking Iran, and who support withdrawing from Iraq. Recently, Billy "One-Note" Kristol, a rabid propagandist for war against Muslims, was given a column in Time magazine. Why would Time think its readers want to read a war propagandist? Could the reason be that the Israel Lobby arranged for Time to receive lucrative advertising contracts in exchange for a column for Kristol? Neoconservatives have called for World War IV against Islam. In Commentary magazine Norman Podhoretz called for the cultural genocide of Islamic peoples. The war is already opened on four fronts: Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iran. The Bush administration has used its Ethiopian proxies to overthrow the Somalian Muslims who overthrew the warlords who drove the US from Somalia. The US Navy and US intelligence are actively engaged with the Ethiopian troops in efforts to hunt down and capture or kill the Somalian Muslims. US Embasy spokesman Robert Kerr in Nairobi said that the US has the right to pursue Somalia's Islamists as part of the war on terror. For at least a year the Bush administration has been fomenting and financing terrorist groups within Iran. Seymour Hersh and former CIA officials have exposed the Bush administration's support of ethnic-minority groups within Iran that are on the US State Department's list of terrorist organizations. Last April US Representative Dennis Kucinich wrote a detailed letter to President Bush about US interference in Iran's internal affairs. He received no reply. The Israeli/neoconservative plan, of which Bush may be a part or simply be a manipulated element, is to provoke a crisis with Iran in which the US Congress will have to support Israel. Both the Israeli government and the American neoconservatives are fanatical. It is a mistake to believe that either will be guided by reason or any appreciation of the potentially catastrophic consequences of an attack on Iran. US aircraft carriers sitting off Iran's coast are sitting ducks for Iran's Russian missiles. The neoconservatives would welcome another "new Pearl Harbor." The US media is totally unreliable. It cannot go against Israel, and it will wrap itself in the flag just as it did for the invasion of Iraq. The American public has been deceived (again) and believes that Iran is on the verge of possessing nuclear armaments to be used to wipe Israel off the map. The fact that Americans are such saps for propaganda makes effective opposition to the neoconsevatives' plan for WW IV practically impossible. Large percentages of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attack. Recent polls show that 32% still believe that Iraq gave substantial support to al-Qaeda, and 18% believe that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in the 9/11 attack. WXIA-TV in Atlanta posted viewers comments about Hussein's execution on its web site. Atlantan Janet Wesselhoft was confident that Saddam Hussein is "the one who started terrorism in this country, he needs to be put to rest." Even the London Times is in the grip of Israeli propaganda. In its report of Israel's plan to attack Iran with nuclear weapons, the Times says that Iranian president "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that 'Israel must be wiped off the map.'" It has been shown by a number of credible experts that this quote is a made-up concoction taken completely out of context. Ahmadinejad said no such thing. In a world ruled by propaganda, lies become truths. The power of the Israel Lobby is so great that it has turned former President Jimmy Carter, probably the most decent man ever to occupy the Oval Office and certainly the president who did the most in behalf of peace in the Middle East, into an anti-semite, an enemy of Israel. The American media, from its "conservative" end to its "liberal" end did its best to turn Carter into a pariah for telling a few truths about Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinians in his book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. If truth be known, there is nothing to stop the Israeli/neoconservative cabal from widening the war in the Middle East. As I previously reported, the neoconservatives believe that the use of nuclear weapons against Iran would force Muslims to realize that they have no recourse but to submit to the Isreali/US will. The use of nuclear weapons is being rationalized as necessary to destroy Iran's underground facilities, but the real purpose is to terrorize Islam and to bring it to heel. Until the US finds the courage to acquire a Middle East policy of its own, Americans will continue to reap the evil sowed by the Israel Lobby. [Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts@yahoo.com] * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 5 UPI: Analysis: Middle East, explosive as ever United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 1/9/2007 10:01:00 AM -0500 By CLAUDE SALHANI UPI International Editor WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The Middle East, it seems, has always been sitting on the edge of a disaster. If a report published by the London Sunday Times carries any water, yet another disaster may be in the making. The paper, citing official Israeli (unnamed) sources, raises the possibility that Israel might deploy tactical nuclear weapons against the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to thwart its nuclear ambitions. The lengthy and in depth article by the London Sunday Times reported that the Israeli air force -- to whom the job of eradicating Iran's nuclear threat would befall -- has been practicing dry runs for several weeks now. Israeli pilots have been flying practice missions as far as Gibraltar, about an equal distance from Israel that the Natanz and Arak facilities in Iran are from the Israeli's air force base in the Negev. The probability that Israel would become the first nation to use nuclear weapons since the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan at the close of World War II is indeed a very frightening one. The political implications of such an act would be as lethal as the fallout from the nuclear weapons deployed. (Although some experts believe the fallout would be minimal.) Imagine the anger, frustration and growing hate such an act would generate. It is worth recalling that it took a war that gave the Arabs a partial victory, though a great morale booster, before peace negotiations with Israel could become a reality. It required another war -- the October 1973 war -- to wash away the humiliating defeat of the Arab armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan suffered in the June 1967 war launched by Israel as a preemptive measure, before Egypt, and in its wake Jordan, could look the Israelis in the eyes and sit down to negotiate peace as equals. The deployment of a nuclear device by Israel against a Muslim country -- albeit one run by a Shiite theocracy, and for which their Sunni neighbors would shed no tears -- would set the stage for the Middle East conflict to continue for another several more generations. Unless of course the information concerning Israel's potential tactical nuclear attack on Iran was not a "leak," but rather a "plant." Why? Because it serves two purposes. First, it sends a serious message to Iran's mullahs that Israel will not, under any circumstances, accept to live under the constant shadow of Iran's nuclear Sword of Damocles. Particularly when the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, continues to deny the existence of the Holocaust and continues to imply that the state of Israel will one day disappear along with the United States and Great Britain. The logic behind "leaking" such sensitive information serves also to let Iran become aware of Israel's preparedness and ability to carry out such a raid. Can Israel carry out such an attack? Chances are it can. Will it carry out such an attack? Again, chances are it will, if the security of the state of Israel is at stake. The second reason for Israel to advertise what should otherwise be top secret plans is to let the Americans know that it is taking the matter very seriously, and possibly praying that the United States act first. Will the fallout from the Arab and Muslim streets be any softer if it were the United States rather than Israel that attacked Iran? Probably not. The damage in terms of world public opinion would shift even more, further isolating both the United States and Israel. Should Iran suddenly come to lose its nuclear program, its Sunni neighbors -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey -- would in private be elated. A good portion of their citizens however, would see matters through a very different perspective. Al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates would become even more empowered. What is needed is a major political offensive running parallel with a surge in the covert field of intelligence. The CIA came about through the very efficient beginnings of its predecessor, the OSS. Maybe it would be beneficial for the CIA to look back and revisit the best of the OSS. The alternative would plunge the region into another round of disaster. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Government Moves Against Iranian Bank From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday January 9, 2007 5:46 PM By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration, tightening the financial vise on Tehran, moved Tuesday to block the assets of a major Iranian bank suspected of helping spread weapons of mass destruction. The action against Bank Sepah, Iran's fifth-largest state-owned financial institution, means any banks accounts or other financial assets belonging to the bank found in the United States must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the financial institution. ``Bank Sepah is the financial linchpin of Iran's missile procurement network and has actively assisted Iran's pursuit of missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction,'' said Stuart Levey, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. The Treasury Department also added to its terror-blocking list Bank Sepah International Plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank Sepah, and Ahmad Derakhshandeh, chairman and director of Bank Sepah. The department alleges that Bank Sepah provides financial support and services to Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization as well as to two Iranian missile firms - Shahid Hemmat Industries Group and the Shahid Bakeri Industries Group. The United States has previously accused all three of helping to spread weapons of mass destruction. The government said that Bank Sepah is the ``bank of choice'' - at least since 2000 - for Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, that oversees all of Iran's missile industries and is the overall coordinator of Iran's missile program. Bank Sepah ``has provided a variety of critical financial services to Iran's missile industry, arranging financing and processing dozens of multimillion dollar transactions'' for Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization and its affiliates, Levey said. The government also alleged that the bank has facilitated business between the Aerospace Industries Organization and North Korea's chief ballistic missile-related exporter, KOMID, which the government says has provided Iran with missile technology. ``The financial relationship between Iran and North Korea, as represented by the business handled by Bank Sepah, is of great concern to the United States,'' Levey said. Levey said Tuesday's action applies to all branches of Bank Sepah, including those in Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, its wholly-owned subsidiary in London, as well as more than 290 branches based in Iran. The bank's Rome branch, he said, conducted a ``great deal'' of the transactions the United States is concerned about. The department has the power to act against Bank Sepah under an executive order issued by President Bush in June 2005. It marked the United States' latest move against Iran, a country the United States accuses of fostering terrorism and whose nuclear ambitions have drawn international rebuke. Last year, the Treasury Department moved to cut off from the U.S. financial system Bank Saderat - a big Iranian state-owned bank. The government said Iran used the bank to transfer money to terrorist groups, including Hezbollah. Last month, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose economic sanctions on Iran. It did so because the country has refused to end a uranium enrichment program that the United States says is aimed at building nuclear weapons. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 7 AFP: Iran warns again on nuclear cooperation Wednesday January 10, 06:23 AM TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran warned it was still prepared to reduce cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog as two conservative papers criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's handling of the nuclear issue. Jomhuri Eslami called Ahmadinejad's rhetoric in speeches on Iran's nuclear programme "aggressive," while the daily Hamshahri complained of the "soaring cost" to Iran. The unusual editorials came as top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Iran would cut its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if it had to. "We hope that they (the Western powers) do not do something that makes us lower our cooperation with the Agency," the ISNA student news agency quoted him as saying. Iran would only take such a step "if they force us to," he said, without specifying what this would involve. Parliament last month passed a bill obliging the government to "revise" its cooperation with the IAEA in retaliation for UN Security Council sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear programme. However Larijani's comments indicated that the government remains flexible on how to interpret the law. "There are many ways for reconsideration and it does not mean that it is either zero or 100" percent cooperation, said Larijani. Indicating that Iran does not intend to pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said: "We consider the principle of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to be useful." The UN Security Council voted unanimously in December to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment work despite Western fears the process could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is peaceful. Ahmadinejad has insisted in a series of fiery speeches that Iran will not back down on its nuclear programme, and has also launched virulent verbal attacks on Western countries. "The Iranian people is determined to defend its right and will resist with a great will and determination," he said in his latest comments on Tuesday. "The resolution voted by the enemies aims at allowing certain internal elements to weaken the will of the people and create a climate of fear and intimidation." He said that Iran's enemies were wrong to think that they could "use certain internal elements to deprive the Iranian people of its rights." However his approach came under fire Tuesday from the two conservative newspapers, who joined reformists in suggesting there were better ways to defend Iran's national interests. "The tone in which the nuclear issue is treated is aggressive and implies to listeners that there is a kind of stubbornness in our nuclear drive, while our nuclear path, with our leader's wisdom, is a sure and thoughtful one," wrote Jomhuri Eslami. "Propagating the nuclear issue in your speeches implies that you are using it to cover up some of the government's shortcomings," it told Ahmadinejad. "Is there is a need for the president to talk about these issues in his speeches? One day he announces we will have 3,000 centrifuges and a few days later he talks about 60,000," it added. Hamshahri said that "diplomacy has been formed in parallel to our innovative nuclear policy and even overshadowed it and endangered its results. "The hot speeches of the president brought about two UN resolutions against us, although the designers of this diplomacy saw it coming. "The sensitivities are such that high-ranking Iranian officials have to come up with an efficient strategy before it is too late to bring about more unity in the country, and secondly to stop the soaring cost." Save to MyWebEmail storyPrintable view Copyright © 2007 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 8 Korea Herald: Nuke talks likely to resume next month The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are likely to resume by early next month, officials from Seoul, Washington and China said yesterday. The talks recessed in December without making any progress. China's State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan was quoted as saying that the six-party talks could resume in the "not too distant future" during a meeting with Japan's New Komeito party leader Akihiro Ota. The U.S. State Department also reiterated that the denuclearization talks could open as early as this month. "We are still hopeful that we can have these discussions in January, but we still have to come to a closure with the North Koreans on exact dates as well as the location," he told reporters. The separate discussions on Washington's financial sanctions against Banco Delta Asia are slated to open around the week of Jan. 22. It is likely that the members of the six-party talks will gather again following the BDA talks, government sources said. Considering the Lunar New Year holiday for China begins on Feb. 18, it is probable that negotiations reopen before the period, they said, while requesting anonymity. With the risk of North Korea testing another nuclear device hovering over the Korean peninsula, the United States and its allies are awaiting a change of stance from North Korea. The North Korean delegation, led by Kim Kye-gwan, left the last round of the nuclear talks with a detailed first-stage implementation proposal offered by the United States that includes a nuclear facility freeze in return for incentives. But whether North Korea, which already tested its first nuclear device last October, is committed to denuclearization remains questionable. Department spokesman McCormack said on Friday last week said that the nuclear talks could resume this month citing "signals" on such a possibility. "We hope that in the next round, which again could convene as early as this month, although a date has not yet been set, that we can come to a closure on some of the concrete steps that can move the process forward," the spokesman said. Financial officials from Washington and Pyongyang met on the sidelines of the six-party talks last month in Beijing and agreed to meet again in January in Washington. (angiely@heraldm.com) By Lee Joo-hee 2007.01.10 ***************************************************************** 9 YONHAP NEWS: N. Korea, U.S. likely to discuss financial sanctions on Jan. 22 : Chinese official 2007/01/09 22:26 KST TOKYO, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- A Chinese diplomat said Tuesday that the United States and North Korea may hold talks on Jan. 22 to discuss financial sanctions imposed on North Koreae, according to Japanese media reports. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in his Beijing meeting with Taku Yamasaki, former secretary general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, that although a date has not been set, the two countries will probably hold the financial talks in New York on Jan. 22, according to the reports. The talks, if held, will come after negotiators at the six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs were unable to reach a major breakthrough in Beijing last month. The U.S., South Korea, and Japan, along with China and Russia, are members of the six-nation talks with North Korea that began in 2003. The North ended a yearlong boycott lodged in protest against U.S. financial sanctions over its alleged currency counterfeiting and other illegal activities. The U.S. and the communist country met there on the sidelines of the six-party talks, but failed to narrowed differences regarding Washington's financial restrictions on Banco Delta Asia (BDA) for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering by North Korea. The U.S. blacklisted the Macau-based bank, which resulted in the freezing of about US$24 million worth of funds in North Korea accounts at the BDA. Wu was quoted by Japan's public broadcaster NHK as expressing hope that the six-nation talks would resume soon after the U.S.-North Korea sanctions talks. (END) ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: Blair backs Japan over hardline stance on North Korea Tue Jan 9, 2:52 PM LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair threw his weight behind Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe's call for a more hardline stance on North Korea, after the two men held talks in London. The isolated communist country's nuclear ambitions were high on the agenda, at the start of a four-day European tour by Abe which will also take him to Germany, France, and NATO headquarters in Brussels. "We express our grave concern over the recent developments on the Korean Peninsula including the missile launch and the proclaimed nuclear test and urge North Korea to comply" with United Nations demands, the two men said in a joint statement. "We intend to cooperate more closely to strengthen counter-proliferation efforts, including through enhanced consultation and co-ordination" over both North Korea and Iran, they added. Blair used the summit talks to voice fulsome praise for Japan's growing role on the global political stage -- and explicitly backed Tokyo's ambitions for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. "The membership of the UN Security Council of Japan is an important change and reform. I believe the moment is right for this to happen... it is now much overdue," said Blair at a joint press conference at his Downing Street office. Together with India, Brazil and Germany, Japan has sought but failed to gain a privileged permanent seat in the Security Council. Fearing its influence on the Security Council would fade as its two-year non-permanent seat expired last year, Japan still hopes to strengthen ties with Council members. "In political terms, Japan is emerging to take its proper place on the world stage," said Blair, calling the country a "crucial strategic partner" for Britain. Japan is one a participant in the so-called six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear programme, also involving the United States, Russia, China and South Korea. In an interview with the BBC ahead of his London visit, Abe said Japan could not tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea. Pyongyang announced in October last year that it had carried out its first atom bomb test, to worldwide condemnation. He also defended his plans to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. "If the North Koreans are to possess nuclear weapons, that may lead to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said. Besides North Korea, Abe also sought British help to maintain a European ban on arms exports to China. The United States and Japan fear the lifting of the arms embargo would break the military balance in the Taiwan Strait. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be eventually reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary, even though the island has been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949. On climate change, the two leaders agreed on further cooperation aimed at building an international framework to cut greenhouse gases, eyeing Japan's presidency of the Group of Eight in 2008, where any achievements since the 2005 Gleneagles summit in Britain would be reported. Abe, meeting Blair for the first time since replacing Junichiro Koizumi last September, was also set to meet finance minister Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed Blair later this year. While in London, Abe will also meet main opposition Conservative leader David Cameron, before leaving London on Wednesday for Berlin to have talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 UPI: Japan's Abe to spread nuke warning in U.K. United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/9/2007 10:01:00 AM -0500 TOKYO, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a warning of dire consequences to London on Tuesday over North Korea's nuclear program. In an interview with the BBC before he departed, Abe said the ongoing standoff by Pyongyang had the potential to become a global crisis. "If the North Koreans are to possess nuclear weapons, that may lead to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said. "That could fundamentally undermine the non-proliferation regime, which may then lead to more problems regarding Iran for example." Japan is one of the countries involved in on-again, off-again talks with North and South Korea, China, Russia and the United States. Abe is to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss Japan's growing role in participating with NATO missions and then fly to Berlin, Paris and Brussels for more discussions with NATO leaders, the report said. "By deepening the partnership between Japan and NATO member countries we shall be able to address various problems, conflicts and also peace-building," Abe said. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Guardian Unlimited: General: N.Korea May Conduct Nuclear Test From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday January 9, 2007 1:16 PM AP Photo SEL106 By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The top U.S. general on the Korean Peninsula said Tuesday he believes North Korea might conduct another nuclear test. U.S. Army Gen. B.B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the communist regime - which conducted its first nuclear test on Oct. 9 - is capable of testing another such device, but he didn't elaborate on recent media reports that the North was preparing to do so. ``There is no reason to believe that at some time in the future, when it serves their purposes, that they won't test another one. So I suspect someday they will,'' Bell said at a news conference in Seoul. Concerns about North Korea heightened abruptly last week in Asia after ABC News reported Pyongyang might be preparing for another test. Citing unnamed U.S. defense officials, the network said the moves were similar to steps taken before the October blast. Top U.S. and South Korean officials dismissed the speculation, saying there was no indication such a development was imminent. During talks on its nuclear program in 2005, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and aid, but no progress has since been made in implementing the accord. The U.S. - along with China, Japan, South Korea and Russia - held talks with North Korea in December to try to work out initial steps toward implementation of the breakthrough deal but they failed to produce any progress. The talks - which also involve South Korea, China, Russia and Japan - ended in a deadlock over the U.S. financial restrictions imposed on the North over its alleged counterfeiting of $100 bills and money laundering. The U.S. and the North have provisionally agreed to hold the next talks on the financial dispute in the week starting Jan. 22, according to South Korea's foreign minister, Song Min-soon. The previous talks - held on the sidelines of the main nuclear talks in Beijing - ended without any breakthrough. North Korea says the sanctions are evidence of Washington's ``hostile policy'' and indicate its intention to overthrow the regime, and the North therefore needs nuclear weapons for protection. About 29,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against a North Korean invasion, a legacy of the Korean War. That conflict ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 13 UPI: Russian blames U.S. for sub collision United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 1/9/2007 1:30:00 PM -0500 MOSCOW, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A Russian naval expert has blamed a U.S. sub captain for a collision with a Japanese oil tanker near the Straits of Hormuz. No one was injured when the nuclear submarine USS Newport News struck the Japanese ship, the Mogamigawa, on Monday night. Both vessels suffered minor damage. There have been no reports or alerts about any oil spills from the tanker or any radiation leak from the submarine. "The incident involving the American submarine and the Japanese vessel in the Arabian Sea was due to intensive traffic of vessels in this region, which demands a high level of caution from captains of navy vessels, in particular from captains of nuclear submarines," an unidentified Russian naval analyst told the RIA Novosti news agency. "Most likely, the captain of the American vessel inadequately assessed the underwater and surface situation while the submarine was surfacing." RIA Novosti noted that the incident wa snot the frist of its kind "between a U.S. submarine and a Japanese vessel. In February 2001, U.S. nuclear submarine Greenville ran into and sunk a Japanese fishing vessel near Hawaii, killing all nine people on board the Japanese boat." © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 NIRS: 100+ Groups Call on Congress to Oppose Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:16:58 -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 > >NEWS from NIRS > >Nuclear Information & Resource Service > >6930 Carroll Ave, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD >20912 301-270-NIRS www.nirs.org >For Release: Tuesday January 9, 2007 > >Contact: Mary Olson, NIRS Southeast Office 828-675-1792 > > Kevin Kamps, 301-270-6477 > >100+ Groups Call on Congress to Oppose > >High-Level Radioactive Waste Dumping Plan in Ohio > >Washington DC In a letter delivered to congressional leaders, 106 national >and grassroots organizations expressed opposition to any temporary >centralization of irradiated fuel from commercial nuclear power operations >in the United States, specifically focusing concern on the Piketon, Ohio >site where apparently preparations are already underway for an interimdump. > >The letter summarizes concerns that preparations for storage of high-level >nuclear waste in the Southern Ohio Scioto Valley are proceeding under the >guise of the Administrations Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, but are >running ahead of that programs official timeline. The letter also states >the signersopposition to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in entirety >a program that would attempt to revive the failed technology of reprocessing. >Many organizations signing the letter have been active in opposing >centralized interim storage of commercial high-level waste in both Nevada >and Utah. A key issue for many groups is the potential impact of the >transportation of the waste. Security of high-level radioactive waste >should be the number one prioritysaid Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste >specialist at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. We do not think >the irradiated fuel is secure today at the reactor sites, but it is more >secure there than it will ever be on a truck or a train traveling through >our inner cities and prime farm lands. > >Once again folks are being told the lie that nuclear waste is economic >development,said Mary Olson, Director of the NIRS Southeast Office. The >Piketon area has lost a lot of jobs so they are interested in new ideas. >People dont realize that becoming the nations high-level nuclear waste >dump creates only a handful of jobs. The US Department of Interior stated >that a similar facility the Private Fuel Storage initiative -- was not >appropriate economic development for the small Skull Valley Goshute >reservation in Utah, and denied a lease to that plan. That is why they >need a new site, and also why many Piketon folks are saying no!Olson concluded. > >Many other groups signed this letter specifically out of concern for the >sacred Native American earthworks and archaeological resources integral to >the area of the Piketon site. It seems that once again, the US Department >of Energy and the commercial nuclear industry are targeting an area of >vital Native American legacy for this most deadly of radioactive wastes. >The 106 signers call on Congress to investigate this situation and oppose >any change to current law that would enable this site to go forward. The >107 organizations signing the letter to Congress effectively endorse the >position taken by 900 local residents who have signed a petition opposing >any importation of spent nuclear fuel to southern Ohio. The petition drive >is organized by the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group, based in Piketon. >The letter can be accessed at: > >http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/congactions/01-08piketonsign-onlettersignatures.pdf ***************************************************************** 15 Vermont Guardian: Vermont Yankee, Vernon settle property tax dispute January 9, 2007 Headlines | VERNON The Vernon selectboard and Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee announced today that they have reached a settlement agreement a property tax dispute that h ad already landed in court. As a result of the settlement, Entergy and the Town have agreed to jointly dismiss both lawsuits without the need for further litigation. Entergy had filed two lawsuits, one in Windham County and the other in federal district court in Burlington. The settlement agreement results in a new Tax Stabilization Agreement between Entergy and the town that will run through 2012. "The Selectboard worked very hard to craft a new tax stabilization agreement that will meet the needs of the town, said Peter Deyo, the board chairperson. The certainty that the new agreement provides will help the town undertake some of the projects which have been deferred due to lack of funding. We are very pleased with how the negotiations were handled by both parties and we feel strongly the new Agreement is a good deal for the town." Deyo said town officials held numerous meetings with Entergy since the company appealed the value placed on its nuclear plant earlier in the year. The power plant was valued at $320 million in FY 2001, steadily decreasing in value to $180 million as of FY 2006. Under the new arrangement, the plant will be valued at nearly $275 million in each of the next two years, and then increase to $300 million by the end of FY 2012. In 2005, Entergy paid about $1.2 million in taxes. Company and town officials did not say what the company will pay each year under the new agreement. The town valued the plant at a higher level once its power uprate was approved, and was producing 20 percent more power. The negotiations were led, in part, by Rep. Patty O'Donnell, R-Vernon, who is also a Selectboard member. Entergy is a good corporate citizen and we look forward to a continued positive relationship with the town, said Patricia Galbraith, Entergy's tax officer. The Selectboard approved the new agreement Monday night Vermont pension funds to divest from terror-linked countries MONTPELIER Vermonts $3 billion in pension funds will no longer invest in companies and governments linked to terrorist or genocidal activities, the state treasurer announced Monday. The policy is intended to ensure that Vermonts pension investments do not support governments or companies that engage in terrorism or genocide, and to reduce associated risks to our investment portfolio, said State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, who chairs the Vermont Pension Investment Committee. The new policy prohibits investments in governments identified as state sponsors of terrorism, or in companies whose activities contribute to terrorism or genocide or that pose a national security risk, as identified by the U.S. government. The Vermont Pension Investment Committee will also seek to avoid investing in companies that supply military equipment to terrorist-linked governments or government-associated groups. The committee will also seek to avoid investing in companies that consistently refuse engagement with investors or humanitarian organizations about the steps the companies could take to play a positive role in a country where they operate and that has been identified as a sponsor of terrorism or genocide. The policy does not ban all investments in companies operating in countries like Sudan or North Korea. It targets governments specifically, as well as those companies that are known to aid governments or government-related groups engaged in terrorist or genocidal activities, Spaulding said. Syria and Iran would Spaulding said the new policy will not have a negative impact on the investment returns for the pension funds. There are examples where terror-free investment funds have actually performed slightly better than their non-terror-free counterparts, and there is increasing evidence that companies that partner with terrorist-sponsoring countries can be negatively affected in stock price and image, Spaulding said. The treasurers office has notified pension fund investment managers of the new policy and has asked them to identify any securities they hold for Vermont that could reasonably be construed to be in conflict with this policy. Spaulding expects the Vermont Pension Investment Committee will consider whether any stocks should be sold at is February meeting. Posted January 9, 2007   | | Northern Vermont: PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404 Southern Vermont: 139 Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT 05301 Contact: 802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382 (toll-free) ©2005 Vermont Guardian | Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com This document can be located online: www.vermontguardian.com/dailies/012007/010907.shtml ***************************************************************** 16 BBC: MSP launches 'anti-nuclear' bill Last Updated: Tuesday, 9 January 2007 [Trident protest] The bill would support attempts to stop Trident being replaced A Nationalist MSP has launched a bill which would criminalise Scottish ministers who prepare the way for the use of nuclear weapons. Michael Matheson's bill aims to prevent the replacement of the Trident nuclear submarines at the Faslane nuclear base on the Clyde. It comes a day after a number of MSPs, including SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, picketed the base. John Mayer, one of Scotland's top advocates, helped draft the bill. Mr Matheson, the SNP MSP for Central Scotland, claimed Mr Mayer had confirmed that Holyrood had the power to pass the law outlined in his proposal. "My bill will seek to criminalise those responsible for the preparations needed to use nuclear weapons based in Scotland, while protecting the rights of Scottish workers at the Faslane base," he said. Moral responsibility "It's time for members of the Scottish Parliament to stand up for Scotland's interests and oppose weapons of mass destruction based on the Clyde. "MSPs have a moral responsibility to oppose the proliferation of new nuclear weapons in Scotland." The bill will now go out for consultation and Mr Matheson said he was looking forward to working with all interested parties, including churches, elected politicians and members of the public. There has been a growing protest at plans for a £20bn upgrade of the Trident submarine, with academics and politicians from across Europe joining other protesters as part of Faslane 365 campaign, which seeks to stage a year-long blockade. ***************************************************************** 17 Independent: Germany may end anti-nuclear policy By Tony Paterson in Berlin Published: 10 January 2007 The continuing disruption of Russian oil supplies to Europe has prompted Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to openly question her country's commitment to stop using nuclear power by the early 2020s. In a television interview yesterday, Mrs Merkel said the stoppages served as a warning about becoming too dependent on single energy sources. Russia supplies Germany with 20 per cent of its oil. "We have to save energy, we have to develop sources of renewable energy," she said. "And of course we have to consider what consequences there will be if we shut down nuclear power stations." It was the first time the conservative Chancellor has questioned Germany's pledge to phase out the country's 17 nuclear power plants since she became head of a coalition government of conservative Christian Democrats and Social Democrats in 2005. The anti-nuclear policy was agreed by former chancellor Gerhard Schröder's coalition of Social Democrats and Greens in 2000 and has been a key element in Germany's drive to develop alternative energy sources. The policy has been dismissed by the nuclear lobby and conservatives as "pure ideology". Yesterday Social Democrats tried to quash any notion that Germany plans to end its anti-nuclear stance. Ulrich Kleiber, the SPD deputy parliamentary leader, said: "Somebody who uses oil supply bottlenecks as an argument in favour of nuclear energy isn't capable of grasping the issue." © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 18 Arizona Republic: Palo Verde hires top nuclear troubleshooter [azcentral.com] Mark Shaffer Jan. 9, 2007 05:12 PM Arizona Public Service Co. on Tuesday turned to one of the nuclear power industry's top trouble shooters to try to shape up Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Randy Edington, 53, was picked as the utility giant's chief nuclear officer only a week before a key Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing about Palo Verde's future. That hearing likely will decide whether the nation's largest nuclear power plant will fall into the category of most regulated plant in the country because of lax oversight of backup emergency systems. Edington comes to APS from Entergy Corp., for whom he has been managing Cooper Nuclear Generating Station in Brownville, Neb. Edington took that job in late 2003 after Cooper had dropped to the NRC's most-regulated category. But the company recovered its well-performing status with federal regulators after two years of Edington's leadership. "Technically, the equipment at Palo Verde seems to be in good shape, unlike the situation we had at Cooper where we had to build a lot of turbines and intake structure," Edington said. "It seems at Palo Verde the main thing is getting people back to working the fundamentals." Edington said he has kept abreast of issues at Palo Verde over the years but that he couldn't comment on specific problems at the nuclear plant, located 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix. "It's going to take me a good month on the ground and a lot of long hours to get a handle on it," Edington said. Palo Verde currently is in a precarious position with the NRC. The nuclear plant was knocked down to Category 3, or "degraded cornerstone" status after a series of problems. Those problems started with NRC investigators finding a so-called dry pipe in 2004 that could have disrupted the flow of water to the emergency-core cooling system. Last year, federal regulators found that Palo Verde employees had been using a bad chemical mix in emergency cooling ponds for more than a decade that had created a residue on tubes and pipes and had affected heat transfer. But last month, the NRC decided not to cite for anything more than a minor violation concerning the chemical mix problems. The outcome could be different next Wednesday when officials from the NRC and Palo Verde meet in Arlington, Texas, about an emergency diesel generator problem in Unit 3 found at the plant during inspections last July and September. If Palo Verde is cited for anything above a minor violation for that, it will drop into the category of most monitored nuclear plant in the country. NRC officials have said that could cost millions of extra dollars in repairs at the plant. "That certainly would add a level of complexity because you have to deal with the regulators on a more formal basis and provide more documentation," Edington said. Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the NRC, said he could not comment on Palo Verde's decision to hire Edington. In addition to the Nebraska nuclear plant, Edington also managed Entergy's River Bend nuclear station in Louisiana and two of the corporation's nuclear power units in Arkansas. Edington said he developed his interest in nuclear power during a stint working on submarines in the Navy after graduating from high school. He later earned a bachelor's degree in physical science from Arkansas Technical University and a master's degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas. Reach the reporter at or (602)444-8057. Copyright © 2007, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 19 APP.COM: Oyster Creek performs efficiently without polluting the air | Asbury Park Press Online :Tuesday, January 9, 2007 BY JAMES MCGOVERN The Oyster Creek nuclear plant is plagued with problems, at least that's what you're likely to hear from anti-nuclear activists and some politicians and pundits. But what's rarely mentioned in the debate over Oyster Creek is its excellent operating performance. The power the Lacey plant provides is delivered at high levels of safety and reliability to everyone in the area — to schools, businesses and homes. If its operating license is renewed, Oyster Creek will help keep the wheels of New Jersey's economy turning and the standard of living continuing to improve. There are many reasons for Oyster Creek's continued operation, but a big factor is its outstanding performance. In recent years, its operational efficiency has improved significantly. It is now among the top performing nuclear plants in the United States. That doesn't just lead to lower-cost power; it is also a great indicator of plant quality and safety. There are 103 U.S. nuclear power plants. From 2002 to 2005, plant capacity factor (the fraction of a power plant's potential around-the-clock capacity that it actually generates) for operating reactors reached record levels. The average U.S. capacity factor during those three years was 90 percent, compared to 58 percent in 1980 and 66 percent in 1990. Oyster Creek's average capacity factor during the same three-year period was even higher — 95.1 percent. This meant Oyster Creek was able to generate more electricity than most comparably sized reactors, and substantially more than power plants burning coal or natural gas. In addition, Oyster Creek has helped improve air quality. Nuclear plants do not emit air pollution or gases that heat the environment. Last year, New Jersey's three nuclear power plants — Oyster Creek, Hope Creek and Salem — avoided the emission of 230,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, which leads to the formation of acid rain. In addition, they avoided the emission of 45,600 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 27.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Do the arithmetic: The U.S. nuclear power fleet is indispensable in the battle against global warming. For all the help that Oyster Creek and other nuclear plants provide in holding down U.S. greenhouse emissions, it's not enough. We're continuing to use more and more energy, and the great majority of it still comes from coal, oil and gas — fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases. The Energy Information Administration estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from our nation's energy use will rise 30 percent by 2030. So we're going to need a lot more clean power generation, including additional nuclear power capacity, if we hope to meet the growing demand for electricity and still reduce carbon dioxide emissions. And more nuclear power would improve our local air quality as well. Currently, all but two counties in New Jersey are not meeting the Environmental Protection Agency's eight-hour ozone standard. Ozone contributes to smog, which can lead to asthma attacks and respiratory problems in young children and the elderly. The great advantage of nuclear energy is its ability to provide large amounts of electricity around the clock without releasing pollutants to the air. By comparison, two other sources of emission-free energy, solar and wind, are subject to weather conditions. We can't get all of the emissions-free power we need with only one or two of those sources; we need all three — nuclear, wind and solar together, along with increased energy efficiency. For now, the focus in New Jersey should be to keep Oyster Creek operating for another 20 years, so we can benefit from its 619 megawatts of electricity without having to burn more fossil fuels. No wonder we're seeing a revival of nuclear power. All of the safety-related indicators tracked by the nuclear industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission demonstrate high levels of excellence at nuclear power plants around the country. Unplanned shutdowns are on the decline. Forced outage rates, worker radiation exposures, events with safety implications, lost-time accident rates: They're all down. Because of the high-quality operation and our pressing need for emissions-free energy sources, nuclear power is back. New Jerseyans are better off economically and environmentally because of nuclear power — and, yes, Oyster Creek. James McGovern, Ocean Township, is an energy consultant to government and industry. Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 CBC.ca: Four Alberta companies express interest in buying nuclear power Published: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 | 7:24 PM ET Canadian Press: JUDY MONCHUK CALGARY (CP) - A consortium including the research arm of the Alberta government expects proposals by the end of January looking at the feasibility of using nuclear power and other alternate energy sources to develop the booming oilsands. Meanwhile, four companies have expressed interest in using energy from nuclear reactors in three Alberta locations - including two in the oilsands, says Wayne Henuset of Calgary-based Energy Alberta Corp. Henuset said Tuesday that greenhouse gas concerns have pushed nuclear power in Alberta from a pie in the sky concept to a viable alternative. "It's becoming more of an essential need because of global warming," he said, adding that a $3 billion Candu reactor could be operational in Alberta in 2015. "They can't be using the atmosphere as a dumping ground anymore - societies won't allow it. It's the world changing, not because of some scientist talking about global warming: people just look outside and see the effects." Almost all of Canada's 20 nuclear power plants operate in Ontario, with one each in Quebec and New Brunswick. Oilsands operators currently use natural gas to fuel boilers that produce vast amounts of steam that is pumped underground to melt thick oilsands deposits so they can be extracted to the surface using gathering pipelines. So-called stream assisted gravity drainage technology has allowed for development of smaller, cheaper oilsands projects in addition to the far more costly megaprojects that involve open-pit mining and refinery upgrading of surface deposits. Although natural gas prices are currently fairly low, the long-term supply in northern Alberta won't last through the lifetime of the oilsands megaprojects expected to come onstream over the next decade. The feasibility study is designed to look at other options, while acknowleging that any new energy sources are likely years off. The Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), the federal government and several unnamed companies have expressed interest in the feasibility study, said project co-ordinator Soheil Asgarpour. A nuclear power plant would require approval from provincial and federal regulators. No nuclear plant has ever been built in Western Canada and Asgarpour admits it could be a longshot. "Usually reactors are much, much larger than we need for oilsands projects," said Asgarpour, director of heavy oil and upgrading at Energy INet, a research organization which works with indistry and stakeholders. "A typical oilsands insitu (underground) project that produces approximately 30,000 barrels of oil a day (doesn't) need a huge reactor," he said. A nuclear plant would be used to produce steam that would be pumped underground to separate bitumen - thick, tar-like crude oil - from the oilsands. But Asgarpour stresses that discussions of alternate technologies are at a very early stage. He says coal gasification is a very viable option that requires more study. It's also possible to burn bitumen, but that would create problems with greenhouse gas emissions. "Our objective is to develop a matrix where you could compare all of these options together and decide which one really makes sense," he said. "We may find different solutions for different places." Proposals are expected by late January and a feasibility study is expected to be complete late in the summer, he said. At this point, no government or industry group has committed to paying for the study. The move comes amid pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and burgeoning development in northern Alberta which has companies such as Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) and Total SA of France looking at alternatives to natural gas. Husky CEO John Lau said Tuesday his company is exploring nuclear as an option, but Total is not interested and has never actively considered nuclear power for oilsands development, said spokeswoman Christianne Wile. "The company is very aware of the oilsands dependance on natural gas and we are actively looking at ways to reduce our energy consumption," said Wile. © The Canadian Press, 2007 Copyright © CBC 2007 ***************************************************************** 21 globeandmail.com: Husky mulls nuclear option in oil sands POSTED ON 09/01/07 ENERGY Eyes alternatives to pricey natural gas DAVID EBNER CALGARY -- Nuclear power is one of the alternatives to natural gas being considered by Husky Energy Inc. to fuel its proposed 200,000-barrel-a-day oil sands project called Sunrise. Husky is the second major company after Total SA of France to openly discuss nuclear as an option for the oil sands. Last summer, a Calgary company called Energy Alberta Corp. began to market the nuclear option to oil sands companies in a partnership with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Husky is working on Sunrise's engineering plans, and the major push is to reduce reliance on expensive natural gas to power the generation of steam. Steam would be injected into wells at Sunrise to recover raw bitumen from below ground because the oil is too deep to be mined. While nuclear is an idea on Husky's table, the chief executive officer isn't sure the timing is right. "[Nuclear] is workable but it depends on government," John Lau, Husky CEO, said in an interview in the company's boardroom yesterday. "In Alberta, once you talk about nuclear, people tend to put their antennae up. "Whether it's the right time or the wrong time, I still don't know. You have to be very cautious about nuclear. We even talked about nuclear 10 years ago and then we stopped." Politicians in Alberta had been vehemently against nuclear power, but last year former premier Ralph Klein said it had to be considered. In December, federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said nuclear in the oil sands is a matter of when, not if, adding it could "play a very significant role. . . . I'm very, very keen." More immediate options to reduce Husky's reliance on natural gas include burning part of the bitumen extracted to power the whole process, similar to the strategy chosen by Nexen Inc. and OPTI Canada Inc. The partners are using OPTI technology to cut gas usage at their Long Lake project, which begins operations this year. Mr. Lau is worried about the price and availability of gas if the oil sands expand as predicted. "If everybody uses gas, where does that gas come from?" he said. "That is one of the major areas that we are looking for front-end engineering, what fuel we are going to use, and what technology we are going to use." A decision on technology is slowing the Sunrise project somewhat, he said. Husky had said first production at Sunrise would happen in the 2010-12 window, a time frame Mr. Lau now sets at 2012-15. Husky wants to have front-end engineering completed this year, as well as a decision on where to process the bitumen. The company has held talks with refiners in the United States including Marathon Oil Corp., and last year it was close to buying a stake in the large Lyondell refinery in Texas. Another partner could be BP PLC's Chicago refinery. Husky may also still build a facility in Alberta, though Mr. Lau has questioned the costs to do so. Last October, EnCana Corp. signed a deal with ConocoPhillips Co. to move bitumen to the United States for upgrading and refining. On the East Coast, Husky is in talks with the Newfoundland government to expand production at the White Rose offshore project to 140,000 barrels a day and "maybe even more" from an official level of 100,000. The operation has already hit peak rates of 125,000. Husky has made two discoveries around White Rose from which it believes it could extract an additional 190 million barrels of oil -- almost doubling the initial reserves. The company also has several trillion cubic feet of natural gas at White Rose and is waiting for Newfoundland to publish rules on taxes and royalties. Mr. Lau said he'd be willing to let the government become an equity partner in a gas project in exchange for other breaks such as lower taxes. "Everything is possible," he said. "If they reduce one thing, we can talk about the other thing." Mr. Lau, 64, has been CEO of Husky since 1993. A year ago, Husky hired Robert Peabody as chief operating officer, suggesting to many observers Mr. Lau was set to retire, but yesterday Mr. Lau said he was not planning to retire this year, adding that succession is a board of directors decision and no fixed timeline has been set. The company has enjoyed tremendous success under Mr. Lau's direction, with stock of Husky outpacing most of its large rivals over the past year, as well as the past three and five years. Sale of the company, which is majority owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong and his Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. conglomerate, has been the subject of rumours for years. Mr. Li last August said he in fact might increase his stake, adding that while he had been approached by potential buyers, he had no plans to sell. "I can only repeat that," Mr. Lau said. "I cannot make a sale, he's the one. I feel Husky's doing so well. Year after year, we increase shareholder value. Where is he going to reinvest his money?" Search Search Archives © Copyright 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. globeandmail.com and The Globe and Mail are divisions of CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc., 444 Front St. W., Toronto, ON  Canada M5V 2S9 Phillip Crawley, Publisher ***************************************************************** 22 Honolulu Advertiser: Irradiation meeting set - Tuesday, January 9, 2007 By Advertiser Science Writer PUBLIC MEETING Feb. 1, 6-9 p.m., Ala Moana Hotel For information, call NRC staffer Matthew Blevins (310) 415-7684 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled an evening meeting Feb. 1 at the Ala Moana Hotel on its environmental assessment of Pa'ina Hawai'i LLC's proposal to build a cobalt 60 irradiation plant near Honolulu Airport. The assessment concludes that there would be no significant environmental impact of building the plant, but project opponents who fought for the environmental review say it ignores some risks and inadequately assesses others. Pa'ina proposes a facility in space leased from the state at the end of Lagoon Drive near the reef runway, where a radioactive cobalt source would be installed in an 18-foot-deep pool of water. Products such as fruit, cosmetics and medical supplies would be immersed in the pool, where the radiation would kill fruit fly larvae and disease-causing organisms. Cobalt 60 is used in a number of processes besides food irradiation, including laboratory and industrial applications and sterilization of medical gear. The compound is also used in a variety of nuclear bombs. The environmental assessment concludes that there is a minuscule risk that the radioactive material, which would be encased in steel containers, could be ruptured by events such as a tsunami, earthquake or even an aircraft crash. And in the case of an aircraft crash, it calculates the probability of a crash into the facility as one accident in 5,000 years. "Based on the best-available information, the potential is negligible for natural phenomena or an aircraft crash to result in a loss of control of radioactive material to an extent sufficient to have an adverse impact on public health and safety," says a technical report attached to the environmental assessment. Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who represented Concerned Citizens of Honolulu in seeking the environmental study, said the assertions worry him. "It strains credibility to suggest that a airplane fully loaded with fuel slamming into this thing would cause no possible radiation leaks," he said. He also challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision not to even consider the potential of terrorism. "I think there is no question that it would be a potential target of terrorists," he said of the facility, which would be licensed to contain up to 1 million curies of cobalt 60. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at . © COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of . Inc. Use of this site indicates your agreement to the and (updated 6/7/2005) ***************************************************************** 23 NRC: Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation; Notice of Completion of FR Doc E7-73 [Federal Register: January 9, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 5)] [Notices] [Page 1032-1033] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09ja07-67] Decommissioning of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation Site, Tulsa, OK ACTION: Notice of Completion of Decommissioning of the Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation (Kaiser) Tulsa Site. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the completion of decommissioning activities at the Kaiser Tulsa Site located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Background The Kaiser plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was built by the Standard Magnesium Corporation (SMC) in the early to mid-1950s to manufacture magnesium products. SMC received a source materials license from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in March 1958, authorizing possession and title to magnesium-thorium alloy with up to 4 percent thorium content for processing. Scrap magnesium-thorium alloy was smelted along with other magnesium materials to recover the magnesium. Thorium alloy material comprised a small fraction of the total magnesium refined on site. Kaiser purchased the facility in 1964. Kaiser's license was terminated in 1971, by the AEC at Kaiser's request. The Kaiser facility was placed on the Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) list in 1994, after the NRC detected surface contamination on, and adjacent to, the Kaiser property in 1993. Kaiser elected to remediate the site in two phases. In Phase 1, Kaiser remediated the land adjacent to the Kaiser property. In Phase 2, Kaiser remediated the Kaiser property itself. Kaiser conducted off-site remediation activities from October 2000, through May 2001. Remediation activities primarily involved excavating affected soil and moving it onto Kaiser's property. A final status survey (FSS) was performed following completion of remediation/ excavation in each survey unit to demonstrate that post-remediation radiological conditions satisfied the SDMP Action Plan criteria for unrestricted release as specified in the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan (DP). Following successful remediation, excavations were backfilled. In March 2002, NRC informed Kaiser that the adjacent land areas met NRC's criteria for unrestricted release. Kaiser submitted the Phase 2 DP on May 25, 2001, [with revisions on May 31, 2003, October 6, 2003, May 5, 2005, September 8, 2005 and March 21, 2006] and DP Addendum on May 9, 2002, with a revision on May 31, 2003. NRC approved these documents on June 8, 2003, January 7, 2004, June 22, 2005, and October 3, 2005. Although Kaiser is not a licensee, it agreed to perform remediation activities in accordance with 10 CFR Part 40. Kaiser conducted decommissioning activities at the site in accordance with its approved DP from June 2003 to June 2006. In accordance with the DP, Kaiser conducted FSSs to demonstrate that the facility and site meet the criteria for unrestricted release as defined it its DP. Details of the FSS results were submitted to the NRC in six separate FSS reports (FSSRs). On September 14, 2006, Kaiser notified NRC that it had completed decommissioning and FSSs of the Tulsa, Oklahoma site, and that the FSSs demonstrate that the site meets the criteria for decommissioning and release for unrestricted use. NRC conducted a number of independent confirmatory surveys to verify FSS results obtained by Kaiser. Confirmatory surveys consisted of surface scans for beta and gamma radiation, direct measurements for total beta activity, collection and analysis of soil samples for thorium, and collection of smear samples for determining removable radioactivity levels. The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) Radioactive material above release limits has been properly disposed; (2) reasonable effort has been made to eliminate residual radioactive contamination; (3) submitted FSSRs and associated documentation, demonstrate that the facility and site are suitable for release in accordance with the criteria for decommissioning in 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E; and (4) records required by 10 CFR 40.61(d) and (f) have been received. Therefore, the Kaiser Tulsa Site is suitable for unrestricted release. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: See the letter dated September 14, 2006, and the Safety Evaluation Report dated December 29, 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 Agency- wide 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 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML062700322, and ML062360251). 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 29th day of December, 2006. [[Page 1033]] For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Keith I. McConnell, Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs. [FR Doc. E7-73 Filed 1-8-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 24 NRC: Monticello License FR Doc E7-74 [Federal Register: January 9, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 5)] [Notices] [Page 1030-1032] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09ja07-66] Nos.; DPR-22, DPR-20 DPR-24; DPR-27, DPR-42, DPR-60; EA-06-178] In the Matter of Nuclear Management Company, Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, Point Beach Nuclear Plant Units 1 & 2, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Units 1 & 2; Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately) I Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC or Licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-20, DPR-42, and DPR-60 and renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-22, DPR-24, and DPR-27 issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50 on, February 21, 1991, April 5, 1974, October 29, 1974, November 8, 2006, December 22, 2005, and December 22, 2005, respectively. The licenses authorize the operation of Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, Point Beach Nuclear Plant (PBNP), and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in accordance with conditions specified therein. The facilities are located on the Licensee's sites in Monticello, Minnesota; South Haven, Michigan; Two Rivers, Wisconsin; and Red Wing, Minnesota. II On March 18, 2005, the NRC's Office of Investigations (OI) began an investigation to determine whether a senior reactor operator (SRO) at the PBNP was the subject of employment discrimination in violation of 10 CFR 50.7, ``Employee protection.'' In OI Report No. 3-2005-010, OI concluded that an SRO was discriminated against by PBNP management, in part, for raising safety concerns using the Licensees' corrective action program (CAP). By letter dated August 22, 2006, the NRC identified to the Licensee an apparent violation of 10 CFR 50.7, and offered NMC the opportunity to provide a written response, attend a predecisional enforcement conference, or to request alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in which a neutral mediator with no decision-making authority would facilitate discussions between the NRC and NMC and, if possible, assist the NRC and NMC in reaching an agreement. NMC chose to participate in ADR. On October 31, 2006, the NRC and NMC met in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in an ADR session mediated by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's Institute on Conflict Resolution. III This Confirmatory Order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR process. Specifically, NMC agreed to the following: 1. By no later than nine (9) months after the issuance of this Confirmatory Order, NMC agrees to review, revise, and communicate to NMC employees and managers its policy relating to the writing of corrective action program (CAP) reports, and provide training to NMC employees and managers to clarify management's expectation regarding the use of the program with the goal to ensure employees are not discouraged, or otherwise retaliated or perceived to be retaliated against, for using the CAP. 2. By no later than June 30, 2007, NMC agrees to communicate its safety culture policy (including safety conscious work environment (SCWE)) to NMC employees, providing employees with the opportunity to ask questions in a live forum. 3. By no later than nine (9) months after the issuance of this Confirmatory Order, NMC agrees to train its employees holding supervisory positions and higher who have not had formal training on SCWE principles within the previous two years of the Confirmatory Order. NMC agrees to use [[Page 1031]] a qualified training instructor (internal or external) for such training. NMC shall review and enhance, if necessary, its refresher SCWE training consistent with NMC's refresher training program and provide such refresher training to its employees. New employees holding supervisory positions and higher shall be trained on SCWE principles within nine (9) months of their hire dates unless within the previous two years of their hire dates, they've had the same or equivalent SCWE training. 4. By no later than March 30, 2007, NMC agrees: To develop action plans to address significant issues identified as needing management attention in the NMC 2004 and 2006 Comprehensive Cultural Assessments at PBNP; to conduct focus group interviews with Priority 1 & 2 organizations to understand the cause of the survey results; and to review and, as appropriate, reflect nuclear industry best practices in its conduct of focus groups and action plans to address the issues at PBNP. NMC has agreed that this Confirmatory Order shall include the commitments noted above, and NRC has agreed it will not pursue any further enforcement action for this issue and will not count this matter as previous enforcement for the purposes of assessing potential future enforcement action civil penalty assessments in accordance with Section VI.C of the Enforcement Policy. On December 20, 2006, NMC consented to the NRC issuing this Confirmatory Order with the commitments, as described in Section IV, below. NMC further agreed in its December 20, 2006, letter that this Confirmatory Order is to be effective upon issuance and that it has waived its right to a hearing. The NRC has concluded that its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Order. I find that the Licensee's commitments as set forth in Section IV are acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments the public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the foregoing, I have determined that the public health and safety require that the Licensee's commitments be confirmed by this Confirmatory Order. Based on the above and the Licensee's consent, this Confirmatory Order is immediately effective upon issuance. NMC is required to provide the NRC with a letter summarizing its actions when all of the Section IV requirements have been completed. IV Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, it is hereby ordered, effective immediately, that license nos. DPR-22, DPR-20, DPR-24, DPR- 27, DPR-42, and DPR-60 are modified as follows: 1. By no later than nine (9) months after the issuance of this Confirmatory Order, NMC shall review, revise, and communicate to NMC employees and managers its policy relating to the writing of corrective action program (CAP) reports, and provide training to NMC employees and managers to clarify management's expectation regarding the use of the program with the goal to ensure employees are not discouraged, retaliated against, or perceived to be retaliated against, for using the CAP. 2. By no later than June 30, 2007, NMC shall communicate its safety culture policy (including safety conscious work environment (SCWE)) to NMC employees, providing employees with the opportunity to ask questions in a live forum. 3. By no later than nine (9) months after the issuance of this Confirmatory Order, NMC shall train its employees holding supervisory positions and higher who have not had formal training on SCWE principles within the previous two years of the confirmatory order. NMC agrees to use a qualified training instructor (internal or external) for such training. NMC shall review and enhance, if necessary, its refresher SCWE training consistent with NMC's refresher training program and provide such refresher training to its employees. New employees holding supervisory positions and higher shall be trained on SCWE principles within nine (9) months of their hire dates unless within the previous two years of their hire dates, they've had the same or equivalent SCWE training. 4. By no later than March 30, 2007, NMC shall develop action plans to address significant issues identified as needing management attention in the NMC 2004 and 2006 Comprehensive Cultural Assessments at PBNP; to conduct focus group interviews with Priority 1 & 2 organizations to understand the cause of the survey results; and to review and, as appropriate, reflect nuclear industry best practices in its conduct of focus groups and action plans to address the issues at PBNP. As part of the development of the action plans, NMC shall also assess and address any legacy issues identified in prior safety culture assessments (i.e. CAP report AR00510074 and Synergy Safety Culture Assessment) that impact the safety culture at PBNP. The executive summary, analysis, and contemplated action plans shall also be submitted to the NRC. 5. By no later than December 31, 2008, NMC shall perform another survey at PBNP comparable to the 2004 and 2006 surveys to assess trends of the safety culture at the site and the overall effectiveness of corrective actions taken in response to prior year assessments (i.e. CAP report AR00510074 and 2006 Synergy survey). 6. By no later than 3 months after the receipt of the next cultural survey results at PBNP, NMC shall submit the executive summary, analysis of the results, and the contemplated corrective actions to the NRC. 7. NMC shall continue to implement a process which ensures that adverse employment actions are in compliance with NRC employee protection regulations and principles of SCWE. .8. In the event of the transfer of the operating license of any NMC operated facility to another entity, the commitments shall survive for the NMC fleet generally and PBNP specifically. 9. Any reference to NMC employees includes all NMC employees fleet wide. The Director, Office of Enforcement, may relax or rescind, in writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by the Licensee of good cause. V Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. Any request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, Lisle, IL 60532-4352, and to the Licensee. Because of potential disruptions in delivery of mail to United States [[Page 1032]] Government offices, it is requested that requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to and also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to . If a person requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f). If the hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions specified in Section IV shall be final 20 days from the date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of times for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. A request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order. Dated this 3rd day of January, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Cynthia A. Carpenter, Director Office of Enforcement. [FR Doc. E7-74 Filed 1-8-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Arizona Public Service Company on Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station News Release - Region IV - 2007-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-07-001 January 9, 2007 CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a regulatory conference with Arizona Public Service Co. officials on January 16 to discuss the results of a special inspection at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Conferees will discuss the significance of inspection findings regarding the plants emergency diesel generators. Palo Verde, which is operated by APS, is located 55 miles west of Phoenix. The meeting, which will be open to public observation, will begin at noon in NRCs 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 extension 472. The NRC staff will discuss with APS the inspection finding and two associated apparent violations of NRC requirements involving the failure of an electrical relay that left an emergency diesel generator at Unit 3 in an unreliable condition for approximately 40 days, and non-functional for approximately 18 days during 2006. 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 two apparent violations was greater than green, meaning they involved more than very low safety significance. No decision on the final significance, the apparent violations 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 Tuesday, January 09, 2007 ***************************************************************** 26 IHT: EU: Days of secure, cheap energy are over - International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: January 9, 2007 BRUSSELS, Belgium: The days of secure, cheap energy for Europe are over, the European Commission will warn Wednesday as it moves to wean itself off oil imports and slash the carbon emissions blamed for global warming. Surging world demand for limited stocks of oil and gas will send prices — and the EU's energy import costs — spiraling in future decades, the EU's executive arm predicts as it sets out a three-year plan to tackle its energy crisis. Europe got a reminder of the high-risk future it faces this week when shipments of Russian oil via a pipeline running through Belarus were disrupted by a trade dispute between the two former Soviet republics — a year after a similar Russian row with Ukraine temporarily shut off Europe's natural gas supply. It is "not acceptable" for energy transit or supplier countries to halt deliveries without consultation, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday. But such risks are growing, the EU will warn, saying it is not certain that major oil and gas producers such as Russia will make the needed investments and commitments to guarantee Europe's supply. Europe has to look at alternatives, it said: using more renewable energy such as wind power and biofuels. Officials will suggest setting a new target for renewable power by 2020, with a binding target for biofuels to replace oil in vehicles. It says that biofuels could take up 14 percent of that market by 2020. "Major investment" in renewable energy is needed to create the economies of scale that would make it viable, the EU said, acknowledging that many EU nations will fail to meet existing goals to draw 12 percent of all EU energy from renewable sources by 2010. But this can only help cut into Europe's growing hunger for power — and imported oil and gas. Electricity generation will be "heavily dependent" on natural gas in the near future, it said, warning a number of countries reliant on one main supplier that they should diversify, choosing a wider range of sources, suppliers, transit routes and methods. It also suggests that current plans to cut back nuclear power — which it calls "one of the cheapest sources of low carbon energy" — will endanger the goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It does not, however, explicitly endorse nuclear power, calling that a decision for each EU nation. Vast amounts of money also are needed to upgrade Europe's electricity network, with some ¬900 billion (US$1.17 billion) just to provide more power generation alone in the next 25 years as demand grows. Antitrust regulators will also highlight serious problems with the way the electricity and gas markets work at the moment, pointing to the control huge energy companies have over energy production and sales that led to overcharging, underinvestment and little competition. [ width=] Back to top Home > All rights reserved [IHT] ***************************************************************** 27 IHT: Merkel says Germany should lessen dependence on Russian energy - International Herald Tribune Published: January 9, 2007 BERLIN: Russia's unannounced oil pipeline cutoff was "not acceptable," Germany's chancellor said Tuesday, also talking pointedly about diversifying sources of energy to reduce dependence on any one big supplier. Angela Merkel joined EU President Jose Manuel Barroso in admonishing Russia for Monday's cutoff of the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline from Russia across Belarus and Poland to Germany. Barroso used the identical "not acceptable" phrase. The cutoff presents no immediate threat to Germany's oil supplies, but has unsettled European policymakers by underscoring doubts about Russia's long-term reliability as a major source of the natural gas and oil that keeps Europe's economy running and its homes heated and lit. "It is not acceptable when there are no consultations about such actions," Merkel said after talks with Barroso in Berlin. "That always destroys trust and no trusting, undisturbed cooperation can be built on that." "We will certainly say to our Russian partners but also to Belarus that such consultations are the minimum when there are problems, and I think that that must become routine, as it would be within the European Union," said Merkel, whose country took over the rotating EU presidency Jan. 1. Barroso said the cutoff added "urgency" to the EU's search for energy security: "It's not acceptable, we believe, for either a supplier or transit countries to take measures that impact on the partners without consultations." Merkel said she would travel to Moscow on Jan. 21 to discuss a new EU-Russia cooperation agreement with President Vladimir Putin that she hopes will include provisions on energy cooperation. On Monday, Russia stopped pumping oil to Europe via the pipeline that crosses Belarus, accusing its neighbor of siphoning off oil. Both countries are locked in a dispute over a Russian decision to impose hefty duties on oil exports to Belarus; Belarus retaliated with a transit fee on Russian oil headed for Europe. It follows a similar cutoff of natural gas to Ukraine last year. On Wednesday, the EU will unveil a new energy policy that will include proposals that large national oil and gas companies be separated from distribution networks. EU officials will need support from European governments for any changes and some are reluctant to slice up large homegrown success stories despite the EU claiming that these companies are abusing their monopoly power by overcharging and underinvesting. "The status quo is not an option. We have to change the status quo," Barroso said. In an interview broadcast earlier Tuesday on ARD public television, Merkel said it was "smart not to be one-sidedly dependent on one supplier." "Therefore one will also think about liquid gas, for instance the building of a large terminal near Wilhelmshaven, one must conserve energy, one must use renewable energy, and therefore one must also consider well what consequences there would be if we shut down nuclear power plants," she said. The German utility E.On AG is planning a liquid natural gas terminal at the northern port of Wilhelmshaven, where liquid gas could be brought by ship from suppliers in the Middle East and North Africa instead of Russia. Germany gets a third of its natural gas from Russia. A planned joint German-Russian pipeline under the Baltic Sea would bring gas from Russia's Arctic fields straight to Germany without passing through other countries such as Belarus or Poland, but will not come on line for several years. Merkel sought to reassure Poland, an EU member since 2004 with an edgy relationship with Russia, that Germany "must also think about whether we develop the possibility to send gas back to Poland out of what we receive in Germany." "And I would also advocate that there be a tight network in Europe, so that in case of bottlenecks, there would be the possibility that European countries could help each other in certain situations." Merkel's tentative remark about nuclear power — which stopped short of actually calling for lengthening the lives of Germany's reactors — could bring her in conflict with her coalition partners, the Social Democrats, who share power with her conservatives. Germany is in the process of closing its 17 nuclear power plants over the next 14 years, and a 1974-vintage plant at Biblis is set for shutdown this year, while one at Neckarwestheim will go in 2008, with two further plants to be shut down in 2009. Merkel and Barroso voiced support for EU plans for a new union-wide energy policy to be unveiled Wednesday that includes proposals that large national oil and gas companies be separated from distribution networks. Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved [IHT] ***************************************************************** 28 B92: Minister: Nuclear power vital to Slovenia 9 January 2007 | 10:42 | Source: STA LJUBLJANA --Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak says Slovenia can't meet its electricity needs in the long run without nuclear energy. The construction of a second reactor of the Krško nuclear power plant is therefore a serious alternative, the minister said in an interview published in the daily Finance. However, Vizjak said the construction could not be launched before several issues had been tackled, such as finding a solution for a depository for radioactive waste. The minister is confident the N-plant would be capable to fund the construction of a new reactor itself. Moreover, he believes the site by the plant would be the right option for the depository. A temporary one is situated in Krško, while the permanent location should be approved in 2008. According to Vizjak, Slovenia is currently short of 500 megawatts of installed power. In ten years the shortage will rise to 1,000 megawatts if economic growth and consumption continue at the present pace. The needs can be met with the nuclear power plant, Vizjak told the business daily. Asked about the price of electricity this year, Vizjak said prices for households would definitely not go up by more than 10% on the average. They will however differ for three different types of consumers, considering the voltage power. Meanwhile, the price for industry is formed by the market. Vizjak also promised that the Economy Ministry would draw up within this month the necessary legislative changes required to open up the electricity market. This will allow households to choose their supplier freely. © 1995 - 2007 , B92 | Contact | About us | Impressum | ***************************************************************** 29 Prague Daily Monitor: Refusal from nuclear energy possible in future-Kuchtova - www.praguemonitor.com Vienna/Prague, Jan 8 (CTK) - Dana Kuchtova, Green Party candidate for education minister in the new Czech government and former head of the South Bohemian Mothers environmental group, ruled out in an interview with CTK today that she talked about the shutdown of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the near future in an interview with the Austrian daily Neues Volksblatt. "It is politically unrealistic," she told CTK. The regional daily today quotes her as saying that the Greens will insist on the closure of Temelin, if Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's cabinet keeps power for the entire four-year term. Kuchtova told CTK that the Greens respected the coalition agreement according to which the new government would not plan the construction of new nuclear reactors. Kuchtova said that she considered this formulation as a success of the Greens and added that she was aware that it is impossible to achieve more at present. The negotiators of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens also agreed to establish an expert group that will open a discussion on the future of the Czech energy industry. In it, the Greens intend to discuss the refusal from nuclear energy in the future. "The Green Party will not push for the shutdown of Temelin in the current election term," Greens chairman Martin Bursik told CTK today. He said that he considered the article published in the Austrian paper a misunderstanding. The Greens are sceptical regarding nuclear energy due to the risk of a nuclear disaster, abuse of nuclear fuel and mainly due to the still unsettled question of the storage of spent nuclear fuel for the period of several hundred thousand years, Bursik said. The Green Party´s medium-term goal is the Czech Republic´s refusal of nuclear energy, he said. The Greens are of the view that Prague has failed to observe the "Melk Protocol" concluded between Austria and the Czech Republic, Neues Volksblatt quoted Kuchtova as saying today. Kuchtova said that the Greens had scored a success as their coalition agreement with the ODS and the KDU-CSL contains the clause that the construction of another Temelin reactors would not be pushed through, although this was planned by the national power distributor CEZ. "As the ODS, which is close to the industrial lobby, has signed that it abandons further reactors in Temelin, it is a victory and a step toward the closure," Kuchtova said. However, if the Greens are to push through their objective, they must have four years in the government at their disposal, she added. "It may happen that it will be fast as there are technological and legal problems in Temelin," Kuchtova said. The Greens believe that the Czech Republic does not fulfil the Melk Protocol. She stressed that Temelin had been approved for use without any safety precautions last year. She said that it was difficult to halt Temelin in the Czech Republic due to a differing consciousness of industrial development in Austria and the Czech Republic. "In the Austrian Empire, the Czech Lands were a country with industrial traditions. It was refuted in Austria long ago that nuclear energy is a technology of the future, while it still a generally held opinion in the Czech Republic," Kuchtova said. The agreement, which was signed in Melk, Austria, by Czech and Austrian prime ministers, Milos Zeman and Wolfgang Schuessel, six years ago, provided for various additional measures to increase the safety of Temelin. The agreement was later signed in Brussels under the EU auspices. Situated about 60 km far from the border of nuclear-free Austria, Temelin was originally designed and constructed according to a Soviet model. After the fall of communism it was provided with western-made equipment, a combination challenged by environmentalists in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria, and also by some politicians, mainly in Austria. The Prague Daily Monitor ***************************************************************** 30 Scotsman: German U-turn on nuclear energy as oil supply doubts grow 10th January 2007 ALLAN HALL AND CONOR SWEENEY GERMANY'S conservative-led coalition government is poised for a U-turn on a national commitment to phase out nuclear power within the next two decades. The reconsideration has come in the light of energy scares, most recently the ongoing disruption of oil supplies to Europe's largest economy caused by the dispute between Russia and Belarus. The socialist-Greens administration of Gerhard Schröder took the decision seven years ago to shut down Germany's nuclear plants under pressure from environmentalists. Now that policy is seen as too narrow and restrictive in an economy heavily reliant on energy imports. As senior Belarusian officials arrived in Moscow yesterday for crisis talks with Russia regarding the oil row, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, stressed the need for diversifying energy resources. "We must think about the consequences of shutting down nuclear power plants," Mrs Merkel said on Tuesday in an interview with Germany's public broadcaster, ARD. Insiders at her cabinet say that a public renunciation of the go-green policy may come within weeks. According to Mrs Merkel the latest incident regarding the transit of Russian oil supplies through Belarus demonstrated "that we need a comprehensive, balanced energy mix in Germany". Mrs Merkel did not directly criticise Moscow but said Berlin would engage in "intensive discussions" about the energy issue. Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), have been divided over nuclear power. While conservatives near Mrs Merkel have repeatedly demanded that Germany slash a scheduled nuclear energy phase-out, the SPD remains in favour of the plan to close nuclear power plants. "Those who use oil shortages in order to propagate nuclear energy are not capable of intellectually comprehending the topic of energy supplies," said Ulrich Kelber, the deputy president of the SPD parliamentary bloc. Members of the opposition Greens also protested the idea of making changes to the nuclear phase-out. "With uranium, you can neither heat your homes nor fuel your cars," said Jürgen Trittin, a Greens politician. But industry wants nuclear power to stay and, in the world's third largest economy, the views of big business carry weight. Meanwhile, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, intervened last night to try and restart the flow of oil supplies to Europe as his country's energy row with Belarus over the Druzhba "Friendship" pipeline deepened. Until now, president Putin has distanced himself from the row in the hope it could be solved at official level. Russia said Belarus had taken oil from the pipeline to secure payment in kind for a transit tariff imposed last week. Russia had earlier slapped an oil export duty on Belarus to staunch annual losses of up to $4 billion it says it was suffering because Belarus has been refining duty-free oil at a steep profit, in violation of their customs union. Yesterday, Mr Putin told his government "to discuss with Russian companies the possibility of reducing oil output in connection with the problems arising from transit through Belarus". RUN-IN OVER UKRAINE GAS THE latest problems over Russian oil come a year after Moscow cut off Ukraine's natural gas supply during a price dispute. That also led to brief shortages of Russian gas, which is pumped to several European Union nations. That incident led to calls for energy diversification - Russia currently supplies a quarter of the EU's oil and more than two-fifths of its gas. This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=46942007 Last updated: 10-Jan-07 01:17 GMT ***************************************************************** 31 SPIEGEL ONLINE: Europe's Energy Worries: Merkel, EU's Barroso Condemn Russian Pipeline Shut-Off - Feedback January 09, 2007 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso have criticized Russia for shutting down a pipeline pumping oil to Europe. Russia's move has dented its image as a reliable energy supplier, said Merkel. She also hinted that Germany may reconsider its phaseout of nuclear power. [A tap and meter shows zero level pressure on the Druzhba oil pipeline.] REUTERS A tap and meter shows zero level pressure on the Druzhba oil pipeline. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who holds the rotating European Union presidency, said Russia's move to halt oil supplies to Europe pumped through Belarus was "unacceptable." "That hurts trust and it makes it difficult to build a cooperative relationship based on trust," Merkel told a news conference. Will Russia remain a reliable energy partner for Europe? Her remarks came in reaction to Russia's decision to shut off the Druzhba ("Friendship") pipeline running to western Europe on Monday over a dispute with Belarus. Russia has accused Belarus of illegally siphoning off crude oil and the two countries have imposed punitive oil levies on each other. The pipeline is the source of 20 percent of Germany's oil imports. Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been affected by the shutdown. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, on a visit to Berlin, said: "While there is no immediate risk to supply, it is not acceptable for suppliers or transit countries to take measures without consultation. Of course this is a matter for concern." An EU statement said European oil experts were due to meet on Thursday to discuss the implications of the shutdown and "to possibly explore measures in the case of any shortage of oil products." An oil refinery near the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Belarusian town of Mozyr, 350 km south-east of Minsk." title="An oil refinery near the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Belarusian town of Mozyr, 350 km south-east of Minsk." An oil refinery near the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Belarusian town of Mozyr, 350 km south-east of Minsk. Merkel is due to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month. Putin said on Tuesday Russia may trim output, signalling his determination to force Belarus to climb down. Earlier, Merkel indicated that Germany may rethink its plan to phase out nuclear power generation in the wake of the pipeline closure. She said Germany must avoid becoming too dependent on single energy sources. "We therefore have to save energy, we have to develop sources of renewable energy, and of course we have to consider what consequences there will be if we shut down nuclear power stations," she told the ARD public television channel on Monday night. Vulnerable Europe The interruption highlighted western Europe's vulnerability to tension between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbors. "This has not caused any acute threats to our energy supply," Merkel said. "But there have been transit problems again and again over the past few years. We need legal protection, and we need contract security." Merkel's coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), are bitterly opposed to halting the planned phase-out of the country's 17 nuclear power plants by the early 2020s. The decision to stop using nuclear power was made six years ago by the previous government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who belongs to the SPD. Mindful of the SPD's stance, Merkel has in the past agreed to stand by the nuclear power plan. Her latest comment marks a distinct shift in tone and drew a swift rebuke from the SPD. Ulrich Kelber, deputy leader of the SPD's parliamentary group, said that the conservatives were just interested in ideology. "Someone who uses oil supply bottlenecks as an argument in favor of nuclear energy isn't capable of intellectually grasping the issue of energy supply," he said. Former environment minister Jürgen Trittin of the Green Party also criticized Merkel's comments. "You can't use uranium to heat homes and factories and fuel cars," he said. The Druzhba pipeline carries two-fifths of Russia's total oil exports and supplies Germany with about a fifth of its annual needs. It has a capacity of over 2 million barrels per day (bpd), of which some 1.4-1.6 million bpd go directly to consumers in the EU, representing about 12.5 percent of oil consumption in the 27-nation bloc. © SPIEGEL ONLINE 2007 ***************************************************************** 32 Japan Times: U.S. nuclear plant trade insurance eyed | Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007 WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Japan and the United States have agreed that Tokyo will provide trade insurance to help Japanese companies take part in the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S., sources said Sunday. The insurance is designed to compensate companies in the event of a loss related to exports or direct investment overseas. Private-sector companies are reluctant to provide cover for nuclear power plants because of their high costs and the environmental and political risks they entail. In addition to the insurance, the U.S. government hopes to encourage companies to build plants by providing guarantees for loans they take out to finance construction, the sources said. The basic agreement will be formalized in a meeting Tuesday between visiting Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, the sources said. U.S. utilities are planning to build a number of new nuclear plants as higher crude prices raise production costs for oil-fired power plants. Tokyo wants Japan's reactor makers to play a part in the U.S. nuclear plant business. The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 33 NewsRoom Finland: Finnish employers, energy lobby and unions call for sixth nuke 9.1.2007 at 13:17 The Finnish Energy Industries and the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) said Monday they wanted the next government to make the construction of a sixth nuclear power station possible. A report drafted by a dozen power industry organisations recommends the securing of an affordable energy supply by raising environmentally friendly generating capacity, including hydroelectric power. Unions from all three central confederations back the recommendations. Matti Viialainen, the deputy head of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), said the trade unions had a good reason to be involved in the development of the country's power supply. "The end total of the energy bill directly affects wage-earners' purchasing power. In a cold and dark country, it also affects the industry's capability to create jobs," Mr Viialainen said. /STT/ © Copyright STT 2007 News from Finnish News Agency STT © 1995 – 2005, Virtual Finland Produced by: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Department for Communication and Culture/Unit for Promotion and Publications ***************************************************************** 34 AFP: US, Japan agree to develop landmark civil nuclear action plan - by P. Parameswaran Tue Jan 9, 4:37 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States and Japan agreed to develop a joint civil nuclear energy action plan that would include setting up new atomic power plants in the United States with Japanese financing. The landmark agreement was reached between US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman" /> Samuel Bodmanand Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari during talks in Washington. "The agreement that we have reached today on energy cooperation between Japan and the United States has become an important turning point in the global history of energy policy," Amari told reporters with Bodman by his side. The plan is to be completed by April. Details "will be not announced and worked out for another two or three months," Bodman said. But Amari said Japan would provide financial backing for putting up the new nuclear power plants in the United States. More than 30 such plants are reportedly under consideration following a policy change by President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bush's administration promoting their construction. "We are now considering providing public financing, including export credit, for the construction of new power plants in the United States," Amari said. The Japanese government will also provide trade insurance for firms that join in the construction, Japanese newspapers have reported. Trade insurance would compensate firms for losses suffered from overseas investment and trading. The US government will provide debt guarantees under the agreement, the reports said. US financial institutions are said to be reluctant to extend loans for nuclear construction projects to American companies which they said lacked experience in the field. Bodman and Amari said in a joint statement that the action plan "will provide a framework for collaboration" between the world's top two richest countries and energy consumers. It would focus on research and development activities under the so-called Global Nuclear Energy Partnership initiative built upon the "significant" civilian nuclear energy technical cooperation already underway," they said. It would also involve "collaboration on policies and programs that support the construction of new nuclear power plants and regulatory and non-proliferation-related exchanges, they said. "We expect that to involve largely technical efforts to make use of the considerable skills of Japanese scientists and engineers to work on various aspects of the global nuclear energy partnership," Bodman said. Bodman said the United States expected significant cooperation from Japan as "they have considerable skills to bring to bear in a number of those areas." The joint statement also called on China and India, which are building up their strategic oil reserves, to "align" with the International Energy Agency in emergency response measures such as a stock drawdown and a demand for restraint at the time of any supply disruption. With Venezuela clearly in their mind, the United States and Japan also expressed concern about "impediments" in energy-producing countries to the significant new investment needed to meet worldwide growing energy demand. Leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced plans to nationalize major oil facilities in a move that could hit US businesses hardest. Venezuela, which produces mostly heavy crude, relies on foreign companies, mainly from the United States, to refine much of its oil. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 UPI: Chinese nuclear power plant goes on line United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/9/2007 9:34:00 AM -0500 LIANYUNGANG, China, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- China's $3.3 billion, Russian-built Tianwan nuclear power plant became fully operational Tuesday, two years after its planned start date, officials said. The plant, in the eastern Chinese port city of Lianyungang, is expected to enter commercial service in the next five months, the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported. Chinese nuclear experts confirmed the plant, consisting of two pressurized-water nuclear reactors, was ready for full operation after completing a two-day security check. The reactors, built by Russia's Atomstroyexport nuclear-export monopoly, will undergo 83 additional tests in the near future, the news agency said. The plant, which has generated more than 800 million kilowatt-hours since beginning a trial operation last May, originally scheduled to go online in 2005. No reason was given for the delay. China plans to increase its nuclear capacity as the nation's demand for energy to fuel its booming economy soars. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 Deutsche Welle: Merkel Puts Germany's Nuclear Phase-Out in Question | 09.01.2007 DW-World.de Deutsche Welle [A German nuclear power plant near Hameln] Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Angela Merkel believes that Germany needs to diversify its energy resources As senior Belarusian officials arrived in Moscow Tuesday for crisis talks with Russia regarding disrupted oil transit through Belarus, German Chancellor Merkel stressed the need for diversifying energy resources. "We must think about the consequences of shutting down nuclear power plants," Merkel said on Tuesday in an interview with Germany's public broadcaster ARD. The gradual shutdown of all Germany's nuclear power plants was agreed upon in 2000 by the government of former Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his coalition partners at the time, the Greens. [Merkel in front of a European Union flag] Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Merkel said she is against the EU getting too much energy from one source According to Merkel, however, the latest incident regarding the transit of Russian oil supplies through Belarus demonstrated "that we need a comprehensive, balanced energy mix in Germany." Merkel did not directly criticize Moscow but said Berlin would engage in "intensive discussions" about the energy issue. "I will travel to Moscow on Jan. 21 and will discuss this issue with the Russian president," Merkel added. The German chancellor, who is presiding over Germany's six-month EU presidency, said Berlin would play a key role in EU talks with Moscow regarding a new Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with Russia. A divided coalition [Greenpeace activists adjusting a makeshift inflatable giant nuclear bomb] Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Nuclear energy is a contested topic in Germany Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), have been divided over nuclear power. While conservatives near Merkel have repeatedly demanded that Germany slash a scheduled nuclear energy phase-out, the SPD remains in favor of the plan to close nuclear power plants. "Those who use oil shortages in order to propagate nuclear energy are not capable of intellectually comprehending the topic of energy supplies," said Ulrich Kelber, deputy president of the SPD parliamentary bloc. Members of the opposition Greens also protested the idea of making changes to the planned nuclear phase-out. "With uranium, you can neither heat your homes nor fuel your cars," said Green politician Jürgen Trittin. Belarus ready to negotiate [ Oil-refining plant located in Belarus's town of Mozyr, some 300 km south-east of Minsk] Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Russian oil exports to Europe via neighboring Belarus were halted on Monday Meanwhile, a delegation headed by Belarus' deputy prime minister, Andrei Kobyakov, joined other officials, including Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Naidunov, who arrived in Moscow late Monday, the Belarus embassy told the AFP news agency. Belarus says it is ready to negotiate over a demand that Russia pay $45 dollars (35.50 euros) per ton transit fees on oil sent through its territory to EU countries. Moscow has refused to pay and on Monday supplies to Germany, Poland and Slovakia were interrupted. Russian officials have not yet confirmed they are ready to negotiate and insist that the transit tax is illegal. Belarus has long maintained close ties with its giant eastern neighbor Russia. The two countries have officially been building a "union state," and Moscow has seen Belarus as a buffer against the expansion of the NATO military alliance. Strained relations [Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko ] Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: They wanted a political union, but now they have a trade war: Putin (left) and Lukashenko But recently relations have become strained, particularly since Moscow decided to double the price it charges Belarus for natural gas from the start of this year. Russia also introduced a tariff on oil exports to Belarus, which refined the cheap oil and sold it to Western countries. In retaliation, Belarus imposed the oil transit tax. The Russian newspaper Gazeta voiced sympathy for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, saying that the introduction of the oil transit fee was a "symmetrical" step in response to "severe political pressure" from Moscow. The paper noted however that Lukashenko lacked the Western backing given to another Russian neighbor, Ukraine, during an energy dispute last year, and said, "It would be better for everyone if the war finished" on Wednesday, when, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky is due in Moscow. Germany's reliance on Russian energy [A pressure gauge at an oil pipeline receiving station] Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Russia is becoming increasingly involved in energy disputes with its neigbors The Druzhba pipeline supplies about 20 percent of Germany's annual oil imports, or 23.4 million tons in 2005, according to the German oil industry federation (MWV). Russia has reduced the amount of oil it transits through western neighbors Belarus and the Baltic states, preferring to send oil via a new terminal near Saint Petersburg as well as around the coast of Norway -- in spite of less favorable climatic conditions. Meanwhile on Monday the energy-rich state of Azerbaijan said it had stopped exporting oil to southern Russia due to a natural gas price dispute with the Russian gas giant Gazprom. Mukhtar Babayev, an official with Azerbaijan's state oil firm SOCAR, said Azerbaijan was using oil previously exported to Russia -- about 4.2 million tons in 2006 -- to fuel power stations that could no longer run on Russian natural gas following a breakdown in the pricing talks. DW staff (tt) 1. © 2007 Deutsche Welle ***************************************************************** 37 [NYTr] Update: US Nuke Sub Collision w/Japanese Oil Tanker Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 16:19:47 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit US Nuke Sub Hits Japanese Tanker Submarine USS Newport News crashed into Japanese Tanker Mogamigawa Tokyo, Jan 9 (Prensa Latina) The US nuclear submarine USS Newport News crashed into the Japanese Tanker ship Mogamigawa, which was carrying 280,000 tons of oil in the Persian gulf, official sources in this capital reported on Tuesday. The USS Newport News was coming from the US Navy base in Bahrein and ran into the stern of the Japanese ship south of the Straight of Ormuz, which joins the Persian Gulf with the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean, said the sources. The Mogamigawa was carrying 280,000 tons of oil from Saudi Arabia to Singapore, and belongs to the Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha company. The Japanese ship suffered minor damage and dropped anchor in a port of the United Arab Emirate, with a crew of six Japanese and 16 Philipinos. The Japanese Foreign Ministry reported no wounded or huge losses of oil, and there were no leaks of radiation in the accident. ln ajs mne mf PL-7 * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 38 AFP: US nuclear sub collides with Japanese oil tanker Tue Jan 9, 6:13 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US Navy nuclear-powered submarine collided with a Japanese oil tanker in one of the world's busiest seaways but no injuries were immediately reported. The USS Newport News was underwater when it hit the oil tanker Mogamigawa late Monday in the Strait of Hormuz in the Arabian Sea, said a US navy spokeswoman in Bahrain, Lieutenant Denise Garcia, on Tuesday. The strait is located between Iran" /> and Oman and is one of the busiest routes for oil tankers. The Newport News is part of a US carrier group that is on anti-terrorism duties in the region. But the US military said it is investigating the cause of the accident, which Garcia said happened at about 10:15pm (2015 GMT) on Monday. "Overall damage to the USS Newport News is being evaluated. The propulsion plant was unaffected by this collision," Garcia said. In Tokyo, the Japanese foreign ministry said the submarine's bow collided with the stern of the oil tanker. "Apparently, there were no injuries on the submarine or the tanker," the ministry said in a statement, citing US government information. The tanker was operated by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, or K Line, according to a spokesman for Showa Shell Sekiyu, which contracted the vessel. "We have learned there were no injuries and or oil leak," he told AFP. Japan's Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba also told reporters there appeared to have been no oil leakage from the tanker. "The ship was able to navigate on its own, and apparently no one was injured," he said. After the accident, the tanker was headed to the nearest port in the United Arab Emirates, the Japanese foreign ministry said, adding that Japan had asked the United States to investigate the cause of the incident. The Newport News, a 110-meter (360-foot) long, Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, carries a crew of 127 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia. The submarine is part of the carrier group supporting the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, an aircraft carrier. The group is deployed in the Gulf region. In a statement from the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Manama, officials said the incident "is currently under observation." The USS Newport News "is currently on a regularly scheduled deployment" conducting maritime security operations, which help "deny international terrorists use of maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material," the statement read. On February 9, 2001 the nuclear-powered US submarine Greenville sank the Japanese fisheries training ship Ehime Maru during a rapid ascent off the coast of Hawaii, killing nine people on board, including four teenage students. Commander Scott Waddle, who commanded the Grenville and was hosting civilian guests at the time of the accident, accepted responsibility for the fiasco and was reprimanded, then allowed to retire from the navy. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 39 UPI: U.S. sub, Japanese tanker collide United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/8/2007 11:07:00 PM -0500 TOKYO, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine and a Japanese tanker have collided in the Arabian Sea, but no injuries were reported. The Kyodo news service said the collision was confirmed by a Japanese government source and a Japanese shipping company. The news service said Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. reported that the ship in the collision was the tanker Mogamigawa, which is operated by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. In a separate report, CNN identified the U.S. vessel as the USS Newport News, and said that although there were no injuries, there was some damage. The U.S. vessel is listed as a Los Angeles-class submarine with 110 officers and crew aboard. There was no immediate word on the type of damage, but CNN quoted a source as saying neither vessel was "in extremis." The report said the collision was confirmed by a senior U.S. Navy official. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 100+ groups oppose radwaste dump plan in Ohio Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 13:51:35 -0500 X-Sender-Host-Name: X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Michael – would you add the NEWS from NIRS header here

NEWS from NIRS

Nuclear Information & Resource Service

6930 Carroll Ave, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912    301-270-NIRS   www.nirs.org

 

For Release: Tuesday January 9, 2007

Contact: Mary Olson, NIRS Southeast Office 828-675-1792

              Kevin Kamps, 301-270-6477

 

100+ Groups Call on Congress to Oppose

High-Level Radioactive Waste Dumping Plan in Ohio

 

Washington DC – In a letter delivered to congressional leaders, 106 national and grassroots organizations expressed opposition to any temporary centralization of irradiated fuel from commercial nuclear power operations in the United States, specifically focusing concern on the Piketon, Ohio site where apparently preparations are already underway for an “interim” dump.

 

The letter summarizes concerns that preparations for storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Southern Ohio Scioto Valley are proceeding under the guise of the Administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, but are running ahead of that program’s official timeline. The letter also states the signers’ opposition to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in entirety – a program that would attempt to revive the failed technology of reprocessing.

 

Many organizations signing the letter have been active in opposing centralized interim storage of commercial high-level waste in both Nevada and Utah. A key issue for many groups is the potential impact of the transportation of the waste. “Security of high-level radioactive waste should be the number one priority” said Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste specialist at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “We do not think the irradiated fuel is secure today at the reactor sites, but it is more secure there than it will ever be on a truck or a train traveling through our inner cities and prime farm lands.”

 

“Once again folks are being told the lie that nuclear waste is economic development,” said Mary Olson, Director of the NIRS Southeast Office. “The Piketon area has lost a lot of jobs so they are interested in new ideas. People don’t realize that becoming the nation’s high-level nuclear waste dump creates only a handful of jobs. The US Department of Interior stated that a similar facility – the Private Fuel Storage initiative -- was not appropriate economic development for the small Skull Valley Goshute reservation in Utah, and denied a lease to that plan. That is why they need a new site, and also why many Piketon folks are saying no!” Olson concluded.

 

Many other groups signed this letter specifically out of concern for the sacred Native American earthworks and archaeological resources integral to the area of the Piketon site. It seems that once again, the US Department of Energy and the commercial nuclear industry are targeting an area of vital Native American legacy for this most deadly of radioactive wastes. The 106 signers call on Congress to investigate this situation and oppose any change to current law that would enable this site to go forward. The 107 organizations signing the letter to Congress effectively endorse the position taken by 900 local residents who have signed a petition opposing any importation of spent nuclear fuel to southern Ohio. The petition drive is organized by the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group, based in Piketon.”

 

The letter can be accessed at: 

http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/congactions/01-08piketonsign-onlettersignatures.pdf

 

 ***************************************************************** 41 ENS: Senators Want Drinking Water Standard for Perchlorate Environment News Service (ENS) AmeriScan: January 8, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC, January 8, 2007 (ENS) - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who serves as the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, has introduced two bills to protect people from drinking water contaminated by the toxic chemical perchlorate. One bill would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to promptly establish a health advisory, followed by a drinking water standard, for perchlorate. The standard would have to protect the health of pregnant women and children. The second bill would assure that tap water is tested for perchlorate and that the public be notified when drinking water is contaminated. Solid perchlorates are very reactive chemicals that are used mainly in fireworks, explosives, and rocket motors. People may be exposed to perchlorate from contaminated drinking water, food, and milk. High levels of perchlorate can affect the thyroid gland, which in turn can alter the function of many organs in the body. Developing organisms can be especially susceptible, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances. Perchlorate is found in the drinking water supplies of over 20 million Americans and particularly threatens pregnant women, infants and children. The EPA reports that perchlorate has been found in 40 of the nation's 1,547 Superfund sites. “We must do everything within our power to make drinking water safe for every American family,” Senator Boxer said. “Perchlorate threatens the health of those most vulnerable, and these bills will go a long way toward protecting them.” Senator Boxer was joined in introducing the bills by Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. Lautenberg is the incoming chairman of the Water Quality Subcommittee. "Rocket fuel should be reserved for rockets, not our nation's drinking water," said Senator Lautenberg. "The Bush administration has failed to protect the public's drinking water and warn people of potential health threats. This legislation is an important step forward to provide Americans with the health protections they demand." * * * Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 42 Carlsbad Current-Argus: NMED satisfied with WIPP investigation related to liquid By Kyle Marksteiner Article Launched: 01/08/2007 10:08:51 PM MST CARLSBAD — The New Mexico Environment Department is satisfied with the Department of Energy's investigation into a waste stream that had been suspended from shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. The initial suspension, which took place Nov. 26 at Idaho National Laboratory, was initiated by the DOE after liquid was found in a waste drum in excess of what is allowed. INL is in the process of sending 23,000 total drums of transuranic waste to WIPP. The suspension did not halt all shipments from Idaho to WIPP, just from the specific waste stream. A waste stream involves similar types of waste from similar types of processes. The DOE examined the radiography records of 193 drums in the waste stream, and no additional liquid was found. The department authorized INL to restart shipments from the waste stream in December. Later in the week, however, the shipments were voluntarily again put on hold pending a review by the NMED. This Monday, James Bearzi, the NMED's chief of the Hazardous and Radioactive Materials Bureau, said a letter was being sent out indicating the state's satisfaction with the DOE's subsequent investigation into the issue. "The letter is basically saying that the waste that is in place has been adequately characterized, you've given us all the information, and you are good to go." Bearzi said. The DOE examined the radiography records of all 193 drums of waste in the particular waste stream that had been delivered to WIPP or were about to be delivered to WIPP since a permit modification went into effect on Oct. 17. No additional liquid was found. One change in the Oct. 17 permit modification included an alteration in how tests determining the contents of waste containers at sites that ship to WIPP would be conducted. There are already 2,945 drums of waste from the particular stream at WIPP that were shipped before the permit modification went into effect, Bearzi noted. "It turns out there's a provision that had been in the permit forever to do (double-checks on) one percent of all waste received," Bearzi said. Prior to Oct. 17, the DOE had actually double-checked the characterization of 336 of the 2,945 drums, which is about 11 ½ percent. After recent discussions with the NMED, the Energy Department examined the radiography records of another 100 drums from the stream. The information presented to the state was statistically satisfactory, Bearzi said. "We looked at the statistics and how they developed it, and we are satisfied that they have conducted a thorough evaluation of the waste that has been in place," he said. "They (the DOE) will have confidence that they did a thorough evaluation and are in compliance with the permit." Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 43 This Is Oxfordshire: Nuclear Waste Firm Plans New Depot (from Oxford Mail) By Ellie SimmondsComment A rail company which specialises in transporting nuclear waste and other freight is planning to set up a depot in Bicester. Direct Rail Services is advertising for train drivers, maintenance fitters and other staff for its planned new operation in the town. Spokesman Eva Foran said the plans were subject to new business contracts.Advertisement continued... She said: "It's not cast in stone yet. It would be a small operational depot." Direct Rail Services is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and was established in 1995 to provide the parent company, then British Nuclear Fuels, with a rail transport service. Since then it has branched out into other areas of business, including commercial freight and clearing leaves from railway lines. Ms Foran said although 70 per cent of the company's work was transporting nuclear fuel, the most likely use of the new depot would be commercial freight services. She added she could not reveal how big the depot would be, where it would be located, or which rail line it would connect to. Direct Rail Services already has depots in Carlisle, Crewe, Sellafield and Scotland, as well as a 24-hour control centre and engineering support network. Environmental group Greenpeace believes transporting nuclear waste is dangerous. It said spent nuclear fuel was routinely transported by train from nine nuclear power stations around the country for reprocessing or storage at Sellafield in Cumbria. But Direct Rail Services said used nuclear fuel had been transported in this country since 1962, travelling more than eight million miles in total without an incident involving the release of radioactivity. 9:03am Tuesday 9th January 2007 © Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company ***************************************************************** 44 RedOrbit: What a Waste ; Lights Out for Yucca Mountain? Las Vegas was an appropriate setting for such a meeting, since this small but willful clique of legislators is gambling with America's energy future. Their "success" will be a setback for the nation as a whole, if it stymies a much-needed revival of nuclear energy and leaves these highly radioactive materials scattered at more than 126 temporary locations in 39 states, where they are more vulnerable to terror attacks. Yucca Mountain may not be the perfect solution, but it's the best that we have at the moment. And the failure to build a safe and secure waste repository could further discourage new investment in nuclear power plants, leaving a 20 percent electricity deficit as aging reactors begin to shut down. We haven't seen opponents of Yucca Mountain offer a viable alternative; nor has enough thought been given to the security and public safety implications of leaving these materials scattered around the country, in temporary storage. Reid and others are proposing we leave the waste where it is. But these facilities aren't designed to last thousands of years, as Yucca Mountain is. Many are nearing or exceeding storage capacity. Many are located relatively close to, or in the midst of, population centers, whereas Yucca Mountain is 100 miles from the nearest city (Las Vegas), on the remote and secure Nevada Test Site. The first time these less-secure sites become targets for terrorists, sleep-walking Americans will wake up screaming, demanding to know why nuclear waste isn't buried in the relative safety of Yucca Mountain. We hope they grab their pitchforks and torches and head for Harry Reid's congressional office. Pulling the plug on the project now would also mean an estimated $8 billion, and 20 years of planning and study, have gone for nought. It also opens the federal government to billions of dollars in potential settlement payments, as the companies that have paid the federal government $18 billion for construction of a nonexistent storage facility attempt to recoup those costs, plus damages. Estimates vary as to how much the 60 pending lawsuits might cost taxpayers, with some experts predicting as much as $56 billion. The Department of Energy says it will cost just $2 billion or $3 billion -- but how does one put a price tag on possibly killing off an industry that supplies 20 percent of the nation's electricity? County takes stand for open government For supporters of open government, and who wouldn't be, El Paso County had an early Christmas present last week when it announced it was partnering with the Pikes Peak Library District to air county commission meetings on the library's cable channel. We don't believe Hiro Nakamura and the rest of Monday night's "Heroes," or the cast of "CSI" on Thursdays, have much to worry about ratings wise, but it's good to see the commissioners moving forward to provide more access to the county's decision-making process. Ron Kale, the county's director of public communications, said, "This is a way to show people how decisions are made, what kind of presentations the Board of County Commissioners receives -- all of the stuff that helps to demystify county government." The broadcasts of taped commissioner meetings will allow residents who are unable to attend the 9 a.m. meetings on Mondays and Thursdays to follow the decision-making process and get more information on how the commissioners arrive at their decisions. And best of all, according to the story in The Gazette, this will be accomplished without raising taxes or cable fees to pay for the service. The commissioners have been looking for a way to do that and, according to Commissioner Wayne Williams, this agreement does that. Kudos to all involved in making government more open and accountable in El Paso County. (c) 2006 Gazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. © 2002-2006 redOrbit.com. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 45 ENS: U.S. Moves to Become Global Nuclear Fuel Supplier Environment News Service (ENS) WASHINGTON, DC, January 8, 2007 (ENS) - The Bush administration is pressing forward with plans to recycle spent nuclear fuel in the United States and supply nuclear fuel to other countries that refrain from building nuclear enrichment or recycling facilities to make their own nuclear fuel. The U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, announced Thursday that it intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Initiative, GNEP, promoted by President George W. Bush. Under the GNEP, the Energy Department proposes to design, build, and operate three facilities in the United States. A nuclear fuel recycling center would be constructed to separate spent nuclear fuel into reusable and waste components and then manufacture new nuclear fast reactor fuel using the reusable components. An advanced recycling reactor would be built to destroy long-lived radioactive elements in the new fuel while generating electricity. And an advanced fuel cycle research facility would be built to explore spent nuclear fuel recycling processes and other advanced nuclear fuel cycles. Introducing the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, PEIS, on Thursday, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon said, “Our need for nuclear power - a safe, emissions-free and affordable source of energy - has never been greater and GNEP puts us on a path to encourage expansion of domestic and international nuclear energy production while reducing nuclear proliferation risks.” [Spurgeon] U.S. Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon (Photo courtesy The World Nuclear Association) Before he joined the Department of Energy, Spurgeon was executive vice president and COO of the publicly traded company USEC Inc. With headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, this global energy company is a supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Through its subsidiary, the United States Enrichment Corporation, USEC operates the only two uranium enrichment facilities in the United States, the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio. Uranium enrichment is a key step in the production of nuclear fuel used by nuclear power plants worldwide to generate electricity. The GNEP also includes two international initiatives. First, the United States would supply nuclear fuel services to other countries that decide not to build their own nuclear enrichment or recycling facilities to make nuclear fuel. The program also would develop proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors for use in developing economies. Speaking in Vienna September 19, 2006 at an event called "Assurances of Nuclear Supply and Nonproliferation" hosted by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, Spurgeon said the United States does not intend to impose its nuclear fuel services upon other countries. "Of course," he said, "each state is free to make its own decisions with respect to nuclear energy policy, consistent with its international obligations." "Our intent is not to infringe on the sovereignty of states in making those decisions, but to provide alternatives that secure energy supplies and promote our shared nonproliferation goals," said Spurgeon. [Paducah] The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant where uranium is enriched. In 1988, the Kentucky Radiation Control Branch found the radioactive material technetium-99 in private drinking water wells near the plant. In 2003, Kentucky and the Department of Energy signed an agreement to promote accelerated cleanup at the plant. (Photo courtesy KRCEE) As part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, the GNEP encourages expansion of domestic and international nuclear energy production. At the same time, the Energy Department says, the program will help to minimize proliferation risks, and reduce the volume, thermal output, and radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel before disposal in a geologic repository. The Bush administration is still pressing forward to develop the nation's first geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, despite opposition from the Nevada Congressional Delegation, which includes Senator Harry Reid, the new Senate majority leader, who has vowed that the facility will never be built. Support is growing for the renewed development of the nuclear industry in the United States. In October 2006, the Progressive Policy Institute, which is affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council, issued a report on the energy sources it supports for the 21st century. Along with support for homegrown biofuels, a cap on carbon emissions and more wind, solar and clean coal, the report, "A Progressive Energy Platform," states, "Expand nuclear power, which produces no greenhouse gas emissions. New plant designs can produce power more safely and economically than first-generation facilities." Many environmentalists are still opposed to nuclear development. "To call nuclear reactors clean and safe is the height of hypocrisy," said Greenpeace USA spokesman Jim Riccio last April on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. "Unfortunately, nuclear energy will not address our addiction to oil and therefore, it isn’t a viable solution to global warming," said Riccio. The GNEP Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement will consider a wide range of potential impacts from releases of radioactivity and other hazardous materials to the general population and workers. The PEIS will consider impacts to air and water quality, as well as to plants and animals near the proposed facilities. [Savannah River] The Department of Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina is being considered to host one or more of the GNEP facilities. (Photo courtesy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) The PEIS will consider the potential impacts from transportation of the radioactive materials and waste across the United States and around the world and the potential impacts from the treatment, storage, and disposal of these materials. The potential impacts from accidents, acts of terrorism or sabotage also will be evaluated. The PEIS will consider adverse effects on low-income and minority populations and the cultural and achaeological concerns of Native Americans. Also under consideration are the short and long-term land use impacts, long-term health and environmental impacts, site suitability, consumption of natural resources and energy, pollution prevention and waste management practices, as well as potential impacts from decontamination and decommissioning of facilities at the end of their useful lives. The PEIS will consider 13 sites as possible locations for one or more of the proposed GNEP facilities. At this time, the following DOE sites are under consideration for the location of a nuclear fuel recycling center and/or an advanced recycling reactor: + Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho + Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky + Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio + Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina + Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee + Hanford Nuclear Site, Richland, Washington In addition, five non-DOE sites also are under consideration for the location of a nuclear fuel recycling center and/or an advanced recycling reactor: + Atomic City, Idaho + Morris, Illinois + Hobbs, New Mexico + Roswell, New Mexico + Barnwell, South Carolina DOE is proposing that the advanced fuel cycle research facility be located at a DOE site. Sites under consideration include: + Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho + Argonne National Laboratory, DuPage County, Illinois + Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico + Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina + Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee + Hanford Nuclear Site, Richland, Washington To further define the PEIS and identify key issues, the Energy Department is inviting the public to comment on the proposed scope during the 90-day comment period that began December 27, 2006 continues through April 4, 2007. All comments received during the public scoping period will be considered in preparing the GNEP Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. To encourage public participation in the GNEP PEIS process, the Energy Department will host scoping meetings: + February 13 Oak Ridge, Tennessee + February 15 North Augusta, South Carolina + February 22 Joliet, Illinois + February 26 Hobbs, New Mexico + February 27 Roswell, New Mexico + March 1 Los Alamos, New Mexico + March 6 Paducah, Kentucky + March 8 Piketon, Ohio + March 13 Pasco, Washington + March 15 Idaho Falls, Idaho + March 19 Washington, DC To see the locations and times for the scoping meetings and to read the Federal Register Notice for the GNEP Draft PEIS, click here. The Energy Department plans to publish the GNEP Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement in 2007 and the GNEP Final PEIS in 2008. Once it is approved, the Energy Department will announce the availability of the GNEP Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register and hold public hearings to solicit comments on the GNEP Draft PEIS from federal, state, and local governments, Native American tribes, industry, other organizations, and members of the public. These comments will be considered and addressed in the GNEP Final PEIS. The Energy Department will issue one or more Records of Decision at least 30 days after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability of the GNEP Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. For more information on the lease agreement and patent license, access http://www.gnep.gov/. news@ens-news.com Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All Rights Reserved. The ENS website is maintained by HKCR LLC ***************************************************************** 46 BBC: Trident demo politicians arrested Last Updated: Monday, 8 January 2007 [Politicians at protest] A number of politicians were involved in the protest Several politicians have been arrested during a protest against the renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system. About 30 politicians had gathered to continue demonstrations outside the Faslane submarine base on the Clyde. SSP MSPs Rosie Kane, Carolyn Leckie and Frances Curran were escorted from the base after a protest at about 1100 GMT. Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly member Leanne Wood, Green MEP Caroline Lucas and Dutch socialists MP Krista Van Velzen were also removed by police. Plaid Cymru's Jill Evans MEP was also understood to have been arrested. They were continuing protests made by the Faslane 365 which said renewing Trident at a cost of £20bn would be anti-democratic, illegal and unethical. This is a day for the elect representatives to come here and make their thoughts known [ src=] Nicola Sturgeon MSP SNP Police had been monitoring the protest from early in the morning, which was attended by various elected representatives including SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon and SSP national convener Colin Fox. Officers moved in after a small number of politicians lay down outside the entrance to the naval base. The UK Parliament is due to formally decide this March on whether to give the renewal of Trident the go-ahead. As she was led away, Ms Kane denied that protesters were wasting police time. "It's important to take a stand here," she said. "We are not the ones wasting police time here, it is the nuclear weapons on the Clyde that are wasting everyone's time and everyone's money." TRIDENT MISSILE SYSTEM [Trident missile] Missile length: 44ft (13m) Weight: 130,000lb (58,500kg) Diameter: 74 inches (1.9m) Range: More than 4,600 miles (7,400km) Power plant: Three stage solid propellant rocket Cost: £16.8m ($29.1m) per missile Source: Federation of American Scientists How Trident works Ms Evans said: "We have taken part in the blockade today to reflect the views of the majority of people in Wales who oppose and have protested against Trident." Earlier SNP Holyrood leader Nicola Sturgeon had reiterated her party's stance against the renewal of Trident. "This is a day for the elected representatives to come here and make their thoughts known," she said "I think the majority of people in Scotland are opposed to the billions of pounds that are going to be spent on these nuclear weapons. "People oppose it on economic grounds as well as political and moral grounds." However, Labour MSP Jackie Baillie told BBC Radio Scotland she thought the protests were directed at the wrong place. "It is in fact Westminster that make the decision," she said. "While I'm thankful we live in a democracy, and people have the right to protest, I do wish they would focus on those who are making the decision - those in the House of Commons." ***************************************************************** 47 SF New Mexican: Domenici: Blend labs' designs for new nuke Tue Jan 9, 2007 5:47 pm By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican A decision on which national lab has won the competition to design the next-generation nuclear warhead -- Los Alamos National Lab or Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California -- might be announced soon, federal officials said Monday. Both nuclear weapons labs have submitted their designs for the so-called reliable replacement warhead to the Nuclear Weapons Council. But instead of one winner, why not two? The New York Times reported Saturday that President Bush's administration will propose combining parts of each design. New Mexico's congressional delegation and the agency that oversees the weapons stockpile was unable to confirm that report Monday. But last month, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., suggested that approach. Domenici suggested the weapons council, which consists of top military leaders, choose one lab to finish the design and develop the first warhead. The lab directors "should provide recommendations on the inclusion of the best features from each design to improve the margins, reduce risk and increase safety and security to the weapon," Domenici said in December. The Nuclear Weapons Council already has endorsed the reliable replacement warhead as a strategy, a decision also announced in December. The program is about making a weapon that's safer to store and defend, make and take care of, Domenici has said. The warhead also will have the capability to stop unauthorized use, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal agency that oversees the nuclear arsenal for Department of Energy. But Congress has to approve and pay for the project, NNSA reports. U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has questioned the need for the program. "Congress has supported preliminary research and design work, but we're now getting to a stage where we either commit substantial funding or hold off," Bingaman said Monday. "Before any decision is made, we need to answer many questions, including how much this will cost, how long it will take and how we draw down the existing stockpile to meet our treaty obligations. I hope the Senate Armed Services Committee holds hearings soon so we can get some answers." Also last month, the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory listed the new warhead design among the lab's accomplishments. "I think our team did a great job," director Michael Anastasio told employees in a December speech. At least two watchdog groups in New Mexico -- Nuclear Watch New Mexico and the Los Alamos Study Group -- are opposed to the project, saying it will further nuclear proliferation. Greg Mello of the study group said the program is primarily about keeping the nuclear weapons complex alive. Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com. Terms of Use | ©2007, Santa Fe New Mexican ***************************************************************** 48 SF New Mexican: State satisfied with DOE investigation into Idaho shipments Tue Jan 9, 2007 5:47 pm By ASSOCIATED PRESS CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - The state is satisfied with the U.S. Department of Energy's investigation into whether nuclear waste shipments from Idaho to the federal government's underground dump near Carlsbad were adequately checked before being sent out. James Bearzi, head of the state Hazardous and Radioactive Materials Bureau, said Monday the state would send a letter indicating that its concerns had been addressed. "The letter is basically saying that the waste that is in place has been adequately characterized, you've given us all the information, and you are good to go," he said. The DOE on Nov. 26 suspended shipments of certain radioactive waste from Idaho National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant while the state Environment Department reviewed the situation. The DOE halted the shipments after liquid was found in what was supposed to be a dry drum. The problem was discovered while the drums were being prepared for shipment to WIPP, which is not allowed to accept liquid waste because of the risks of leaks or potentially explosive materials. The DOE examined records of 193 drums of waste and found no additional liquid. It authorized the Idaho lab to resume the shipments to WIPP in December, but put a hold on the shipments a week later pending the Environment Department's review. The Energy Department, after discussions with the state agency, examined the records of 100 additional waste drums. "We looked at the statistics and how they developed it, and we are satisfied that they have conducted a thorough evaluation of the waste that has been in place," Bearzi said. "They (the DOE) will have confidence that they did a thorough evaluation and are in compliance with the permit." Idaho National Laboratory plans to send a total of about 23,000 drums of waste to WIPP. / Terms of Use | ©2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, ***************************************************************** 49 Tri-City Herald: DOE to track uranium plume Published Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Department of Energy will dedicate 1 million hours of supercomputer processing time to better understand the movement of the uranium plume in the ground water at the Hanford nuclear reservation just north of Richland. Monday, DOE announced 45 projects that have been awarded time at supercomputers at four sites, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. About 96 acres of ground water beneath the 300 Area of Hanford near the Columbia River are polluted with uranium. The area once was used to fabricate uranium fuel for the production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. The supercomputer project, which will be done on a computer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, will provide a model of how the uranium contamination is moving and changing. It also will be an opportunity for researchers to advance the techniques used to simulate ground water flow and contaminant transport, said Glenn Hammond, a PNNL senior research scientist on the project. Researchers from four national laboratories and the University of Illinois will work on the project. By using a larger computer, researchers will be able to consider increased detail in the model. That will include layering of different soil types in the subsurface of the 300 area, different chemical reactions such as radioactive decay and how much of the uranium is likely to attach to soil. The 1 million hours of supercomputing time assigned to the project would take 114 years on a single-processor desktop computer. Completing the project will require an additional 7 million hours. Researchers also have been working on creating the computer code for the project with a DOE five-year grant of about $4 million. "I'm confident we can get a more accurate picture" of the behavior of the uranium contamination, Hammond said. That should be useful as DOE considers how to clean up the contamination to protect the Columbia River. DOE had expected the plume to naturally dissipate, but that has not happened. Scientists may be able to determine what characteristics of the contaminants and contaminated area make a difference, leading to better information about what characterization data is important and what is not. PNNL also is involved in two other supercomputing time awards announced Monday. Steven Ghan of PNNL, in collaboration with researchers from several other institutions, is working on future climate predictions based on changes in energy policies. The project was awarded 5.5 million hours on Oak Ridge supercomputers. The PNNL supercomputer will dedicate 750,000 processor hours to a Corning Inc. project that will investigate the flow and deformation of dense suspensions. The project has applications in many industrial processes, ranging from ceramics to polymers and from the food industry to pharmaceuticals. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 50 WPW: Will DOE Shakeup Change U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policies? World Politics Watch] Richard Weitz | Bio | 09 Jan 2007 World Politics Watch Exclusive Recent prominent changes in the Bush administration's war leaders and Iraq policy have overshadowed an important personnel shift in the Department of Energy (DOE). On Jan. 4, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced his decision to dismiss Ambassador Linton Brooks as head of the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Congress established the NNSA in 2000 as a semi-autonomous agency within the DOE charged with managing the use of U.S. nuclear energy for military purposes. Its responsibilities include maintaining the safety, security, and reliability of U.S. nuclear weapons, countering nuclear proliferation, developing nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy, and responding to nuclear-related emergencies throughout the world. The immediate reason for Ambassador Brooks' removal was his failure to end the continuing security problems at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities. In June 2006, someone stole a computer containing sensitive personal data for 1,500 workers from an NNSA facility. In October 2006, local police discovered hundreds of pages of classified nuclear weapons-related documents at the residence of a woman who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. There have also been recurring reports of lost keys to classified storage areas, transmissions of classified data on less secure e-mail systems, and poor tracking of nuclear materials and information. In December, the DOE Inspector General reported that, despite these repeated problems and the millions of dollars spent on upgrades, security procedures at Los Alamos remained "nonexistent, applied inconsistently, or not followed." Brooks' removal could have a major impact in areas beyond the safety and security of nuclear weapons. In particular, the leadership change within the DOE could facilitate implementation of plans to restructure the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. At the end of 2006, the Defense Science Board (DSB) published a report warning that current U.S. nuclear policies and weapons, largely unchanged from those inherited during the Cold War, would not guarantee an effective U.S. nuclear deterrent in the 21st century. The members of the DSB Task Force that wrote the report call for urgent initiatives to address a number of fundamental problems with U.S. nuclear capabilities. Such problems include underdeveloped long-term plans for managing the national nuclear stockpile and its supporting infrastructure, insufficient attention to overcoming countermeasures against planned U.S. strategic ballistic missile defenses, inadequate progress in building non-kinetic strike capabilities, and a general lack of human and financial resources devoted to the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise. The task force members believe that these problems partly result from the poor organization of the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise. In particular, they call for the replacement of the NNSA, which they consider structurally dysfunctional, with a new National Nuclear Weapons Agency that would work closely, though maintaining considerable autonomy, with the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Homeland Security as well as the U.S. intelligence community. They also argue that the United States should devote less effort toward sustaining the current stockpile of legacy warheads and more towards developing new nuclear weapons with greater margins in terms of safety, security, and performance. They also favor developing nuclear weapons tailored to deal with the most probable contemporary and future adversaries -- from today's rogue states and terrorists groups to a more aggressive Russia or China. The DSB authors acknowledge that Americans currently disagree, often sharply, over what nuclear capabilities the United States needs now that the Cold War is over. One part of the population believes that the fewer nuclear weapons, the better -- and that zero nuclear weapons would be best of all. According to this perspective, as long as the United States maintains nuclear weapons, thereby underscoring their value, other states will seek them as well. Adherents of this view also consider improvements in U.S. nuclear capabilities a wasteful diversion of resources because they believe their indiscriminate nature makes nuclear weapons unsuitable for warfighting. They argue that the sole possible function of nuclear weapons (until their abolition) is to deter other countries from using them. According to this view, a minimal nuclear force would adequately fulfill this mission since no national government would risk suffering the devastation that would ensue from even a single nuclear detonation on its territory. The other perspective, shared by the DSB task force, argues that whatever the theoretical merits of a nuclear-free world, its realization is impossible given the present diffusion of nuclear weapons technologies and knowledge. For reasons of domestic politics, prestige, or in order to compete better with potential adversaries, many foreign governments will continue to develop nuclear weapons regardless of U.S. polices. From this perspective, the United States needs credible and sustainable nuclear capabilities to deter potential adversaries from employing weapons of mass destruction against the United States or its allies. Advocates of this view argue that, besides deterrence, nuclear weapons could also prove uniquely effective in destroying certain types of targets (e.g., deeply buried and hardened targets) invulnerable to existing conventional weapons. In addition, a robust U.S. nuclear capacity should dissuade certain governments from pursuing WMD. Finally, this group argues that U.S. nuclear forces help assure the security of allied and friendly countries, thereby discouraging their governments from pursuing independent nuclear deterrents. Although the NNSA's security problems led to Ambassador Brooks' removal, his departure provides an opening for the administration to restructure the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure along the lines advocated by the DSB report. Next week, the Nuclear Weapons Council will announce the administration's vision for building the first new U.S. nuclear warheads since the end of the Cold War. This proposal, along with the Congressional response, will clarify to what extent the United States will proceed to implement the DSB Task Force's recommendations. Richard Weitz is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. © 2006, World Politcs Watch LLC. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 51 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Savannah FR Doc E7-86 [Federal Register: January 9, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 5)] [Notices] [Page 963-964] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09ja07-41] River Site AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Savannah River Site. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Monday, January 22, 2007, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ADDRESSES: Crowne Plaza, 130 Shipyard Dr., Hilton Head, SC 29928. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerri Flemming, Closure Project Office, Department of Energy Savannah River Operations Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802; Phone: (803) 952-7886. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities. Tentative Agenda Monday, January 22, 2007 1 p.m. Combined Committee Session 5 p.m. Adjourn Tuesday, January 23, 2007 8:30 a.m. Approval of Minutes, Agency Updates 9:45 a.m. Public Comment Session 10 a.m. Chair and Facilitator Update 10:45 a.m. Strategic & Legacy Management Committee Report 11:45 a.m. Public Comment Session 12 p.m. Lunch Break 1 p.m. Nuclear Materials Committee Report 1:30 p.m. Waste Management Committee Report 2 p.m. Public Comment Session 2:15 p.m. Facility Disposition & Site Remediation Committee Report 3 p.m. Administrative Committee Report 4 p.m. Adjourn If needed, time will be allotted after public comments for items added to the agenda and administrative details. A final agenda will be available at the meeting Monday, January 22, 2007. Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements [[Page 964]] pertaining to agenda items should contact Gerri Flemming's office at the address or telephone listed above. Requests must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments. Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public review and copying at the U.S. Department of Energy's Freedom of Information Public Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, 20585 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will also be available by writing to Gerri Flemming, Department of Energy Savannah River Operations Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802, or by calling her at (803) 952-7886. Issued at Washington, DC, on January 4, 2007. Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7-86 Filed 1-8-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 52 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford FR Doc E7-87 [Federal Register: January 9, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 5)] [Notices] [Page 964] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09ja07-42] AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Hanford. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Thursday, February 1, 2007, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, February 2, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ADDRESSES: Red Lion Hanford House, 802 George Washington Way,Richland, Washington. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Olds, Federal Coordinator, Department of Energy Richland Operations Office, 2440 Stevens Drive, P.O. Box 450, H6-60, Richland, WA 99352; Phone: (509) 376-8656; Fax: (509) 376-1214. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities. Tentative Agenda Columbia River Toxic Program Budgets and Contracts Committee advice on Hanford's Request for Proposals Public Involvement and Tank Waste Committees update from the workgroup covering the Tank Closure and Waste Management Hanford Advisory Board Charter Changes Change of Advisory Board Chair Advice from the Health, Safety and Environmental Protection Committee on worker compensation Advice from the Public Involvement Committee on the 2009 budget involvement process Agency Updates Committee Updates Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements pertaining to agenda items should contact Erik Olds' office at the address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments. Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public review and copying at the U.S. Department of Energy's Freedom of Information Public Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will also be available by writing to Erik Olds' office at the address or telephone number listed above. Issued at Washington, DC, on January 4, 2007. Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7-87 Filed 1-8-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 53 Tracy Press: Uranium a big threat to Tracy Tuesday, 09 January 2007 Gary Mansfield, a health physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, claimed in his Dec. 27 commentary that the use of depleted uranium in explosives testing at Site 300 presents no risks to the public. Balderdash. Uranium-238, sometimes called depleted uranium, poses a serious health threat, especially if inhaled in finely divided particles like those created by open-air explosives testing. Because of its properties, uranium-238 is a triple threat to human health. Its properties as a heavy metal create health damage once inside the body. Its properties as a hazardous chemical catalyst cause additional health risks. And its properties as a radioactive material offer a third route to cellular and DNA damage, illness and premature death in humans and animals. Uranium-238 has a radioactive half-life of more than 4 billion years. It is an alpha emitter, which means that it is particularly damaging if lodged inside the body. Uranium-238 decays with an energy of 4 million electron volts per alpha particle. The energy emitted tears up surrounding cells and may initiate a whole bunch of negative health outcomes, including, but not limited to, cancers. Mansfield asked readers to look at the labs Sitewide Environmental Impact State-ment, although he neglected to provide any reference point in its approximately 2,000 pages. Let me remedy that. On page S-30, the document states that the planned activities at Site 300 will increase the surrounding communitys exposure to radiation nearly fourfold, from 2.5 person-rem per year to 9.8 person-rem per year. The actual exposures are likely to be even more severe. I do not write as one who is unfamiliar with either the Livermore lab or nuclear materials. I have conducted experiments with radioactive elements for the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies since the late 1940s, and I capped my career with 18 years as a staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. As a scientist, it pains me when lab employees seek to understate the very real health risks that stem from inhalation of radioactive and toxic materials, including those used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratorys Site 300 high explosives testing range on Corral Hollow Road. Marion Fulk is a retired staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was involved with the Manhattan Project. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************