***************************************************************** 01/19/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.15 ***************************************************************** 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 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Jordan King Wants Nuclear Peace 2 First Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran! - The Israel Lobby Trips and Tilt 3 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Cheney Rejected Iran Concessions 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Takes Tough Stand Over Nuclear Row 5 New York Times: Rebuke in Iran to Its President on Nuclear Role - 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI to continue its progress-Speaker 7 AFP: US firm on nuclear condition for Iran talks 8 UPI: Hard-line papers chide Iran's president 9 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Reportedly Set for Talks With U.S. 10 Guardian Unlimited: Democrats Warn Bush Not to Attack Iran 11 [NYTr] N.Korea: Deal Reached in US Nuke Talks 12 [NYTr] DPRK Nuke Talks: Progress (BBC) or Confusion (Al Jazeera)? 13 Secretary-general Ban Urges Redoubling Of Efforts On Denuclearizing 14 Korea Herald: U.S. denies Berlin talks are policy shift 15 Korea Herald: 'Negotiation fatigue' in six-party talks? Remember Nag 16 Korea Times: US Denies Any Nuclear Deal With North Korea 17 AFP: North Korea, US agree to resume nuclear talks soon - US envoy - 18 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea: Deal Reached in U.S. Nuke Talks 19 US: Public Citizen: New Executive Order Is Latest White House Power 20 Guardian Unlimited: Rice gets the road map out again 21 Daily India: Indian atomic scientists alarmed over Indo-US nuke deal NUCLEAR REACTORS 22 Helsingin Sanomat: Finnish expert says Sweden losing nuclear energy 23 Jordan News Agency: King: We will promote nuclear power for peaceful 24 US: NRC: NRC Finds No Significant Environmental Impacts from Extende 25 CNEWS - Science: Renner wants more facts on nuke plan 26 RIA Novosti: Duma passes bill on nuclear sector reform 27 RIA Novosti: Russian nuclear chief to visit NPP in India Jan.22 28 US: TomPaine.com: Paying For Nuclear Power 29 US: Heartland Institute: Democrat Group Calls for More Nuclear Power 30 US: Rutland Herald: Yankee notified of turbine issue at similar plan 31 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY told to watch out for mechanical proble 32 Business Gazette: County holds up n-plant plan 33 US: NRC: Nebraska Public Power District; Notice of Consideration of 34 US: NRC: Massachusetts Attorney General; Receipt of Petition for Rul 35 VietNamNet Bridge: Upgrading Da Lat Nuclear Reactor 36 ITAR-TASS: Duma approves law on establishing state nuclear holding 37 UNIAN: EU says Lithuania must shut down Soviet-era reactor 38 Indo Asian News Service: Read fine print of n-deal, caution experts 39 US: UPI: Analysis: Diablo case shakes nuke industry 40 times and star: County holds up n-plant plan 41 Guardian Unlimited: Paper: Jordan King Wants Nuclear Program NUCLEAR SECURITY 42 Navhind Times: N-mishaps: India, Pak to sign pact on risk reduction NUCLEAR SAFETY 43 Columbian: In Our View: Columbia Cleanup 44 US: Spectrum: SG City Council gives thumbs-down to Divine Strake 45 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Downwind again 46 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Hearing like a rally as Utahns rail against D 47 US: The Spectrum: Opposition mounts 48 US: ABC4: Utah "Downwinders" Testify at Hearing on Divine Strake - 49 Pakistan Times: Pakistan-India to ink pact on reducing nuke accident 50 US: IDAHO MOUNTAIN EXPRESS: Divine Strake meeting set for Boise NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 51 US: NRC: Exemption From the Requirement for a Specific License To Im PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 52 Courier News: Fermilab could close down for a month 53 DOE: DOEs National Science Bowl Kicks Off This Month 54 DOE: Statement by Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman on House 55 DOE: Secretary Bodman Celebrates Clean Up Completion of Three 56 Tri-City Herald: Bills seek to revise Hanford initiative 57 The Enquirer: Fernald hosts closing ceremony 58 Knox News: Oak Ridge lab's budget in doubt, awaits funding decision 59 lamonitor.com: LANL faces new investigations ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Jordan King Wants Nuclear Peace From the Associated Press [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 5:01 PM By MATTI FRIEDMAN Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper his country wants its own atomic program, a development he said came in response to desires expressed by other countries in the region to become nuclear powers. In an interview with the daily Haaretz published Friday, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power ``for peaceful purposes'' and was already discussing its plans with Western countries. ``The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region,'' the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desires for nuclear programs for peaceful purposes. Though Jordan would prefer for the Middle East to remain nuclear-free, he said ``every desire we had on this issue has changed.'' The king's remarks came as Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear program despite international protests and U.N.-imposed sanctions. The region's Arab nations have expressed concern over the disputed nuclear program, which Iran insists is for peaceful purposes. Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Strategic Studies, said the Jordanian king was probably trying to make the point that if Iran is allowed to become a nuclear power, a regional nuclear race will be unavoidable. ``Abdullah might be saying that if the Iranians aren't prevented from getting a nuclear program, Jordan and everyone else will want one of their own,'' said Brom, who is also the former head of strategic planning for the Israeli military. He said Abdullah was likely not serious about developing a nuclear program. ``The Jordanians don't have the resources,'' Brom said. It was the first time Abdullah spoke openly about desires for a Jordanian nuclear program. ``The Egyptians are looking for a nuclear program. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are looking at one, and we are actually looking at nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes,'' he told Haaretz. In Washington, the State Department indicated it had no objection to a peaceful Jordanian nuclear program. Deputy spokesman Tom Casey, without mentioning Jordan by name, said every country that adheres strictly to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ``has the right to develop civilian nuclear power for the benefit of their people.'' Abdullah echoed those sentiments in his interview, saying any country acquiring nuclear facilities should adhere to international regulations and submit to inspections. ``What's expected from us should be a standard across the board. We want to make sure this is used for energy. What we don't want is an arms race to come out of this,'' he added. Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, declined to comment on Abdullah's remarks. Israel fears Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government says is for civilian purposes, is actually intended to produce nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has said Israel should be ``wiped off the map.'' Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its own, but has never officially confirmed that it does. Last month, the oil-rich Arab states on the Persian Gulf said they would consider starting a joint nuclear program for peaceful purposes. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, said in a statement it had commissioned a study on setting up ``a common program in the area of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,'' which would abide by international standards and laws. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, told reporters the group did not want to be ``misunderstood,'' saying its aim ``is to obtain the technology for peaceful purposes, no more no less.'' The Arab states around the Persian Gulf have not previously pursued nuclear power because they possess substantial oil resources and have lacked the scientific know-how, but their statement said they will look into the uses of atomic energy. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 2 First Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran! - The Israel Lobby Trips and Tilts Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 01:32:57 -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 January 20/21 2007 Counterpunch Weekend Edition www.counterpunch.org First Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran! The Israel Lobby Trips and Tilts By ALEXANDER COCKBURN Suppose the movers and shakers in the Israel lobby here -- Abe Foxman, Alan Dershowitz and the rest of the crew -- had simply decided to leave Jimmy Carter's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid alone. How long before the book would have been gathering dust on the remainder shelves? Suppose even that Dershowitz had rounded up his unacknowledged co-authors in all their tens of thousands and sallied forth to buy up every copy of Carter's book and toss each one into the Charles River, would not that have been a more successful suppressor than the blitzkrieg strategy they did adopt? Of course it would. For weeks now the lobby has hurled its legions into battle against Carter. He has been stigmatized as an anti-Semite, a Holocaust denier, a patron of former concentration camp killers, a Christian madman, a pawn of the Arabs who "flatly condones mass murder" of Israeli Jews. (This last was from Murdoch's New York Post editorial, relayed to its mailing list by the Zionist Organization of America.) Any day now I expect some janitors at the Carter Center to resign, declaring that they can no longer in all conscience mop bathrooms that might have been used by the former President, their letter of protest duly front-paged by the New York Times, just like the famous fourteen members of the Carter Center's Board of Councilors. Actually there were, at the time of resignations, 224 people on this board, where membership is mostly a thank you for a financial donation to the center. So the headlines could be saying, "Nearly 95 per cent of Carter Center Board Members Back Former President." But the assault on Carter is all to no avail. With each gust of abuse, Carter's book soars higher and higher on the bestseller lists, reaching number 4 on Amazon itself. This doesn't prove the lobby has no power. It proves the lobby can be dumb. Adroit lobbying consists in preventing unpleasing material reaching the light of day. Lobbying thrives in furtive darkness: slipping language into a bill at the last moment, threatening to back a campaign opponent, making quiet phone calls to the Polish embassy. Pressure is now being exerted on Farrar, Straus and Giroux to abandon its impending publication of Mearsheimer and Walt's attack on the lobby. The Israel lobby retains its grip inside the Beltway, but it's starting to lose its hold on the broader public debate. Why? You can't brutalize the Palestinian people in the full light of day, decade after decade, without claims that Israel is a light among the nations getting more than a few serious dents. In the old days, Mearsheimer and Walt's tract would have been deep-sixed by the University of Chicago and the Kennedy School long before it reached its final draft, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux wouldn't have considered offering a six-figure advance for it. Simon & Schuster would have told President Carter that his manuscript had run into insurmountable objections from a distinguished board of internal reviewers. But once a book by a former president with weighty humanitarian credentials makes it into bookstores, it's hard to shoot it down with volleys of wild abuse. The trouble with the lobby and the Christian zealots who act as its echo chamber is that they believe their own propaganda about Israel's equitable social arrangements and immaculate political and legal record in its relations with the Palestinians. Use the word apartheid and they howl with indignation. The shock is about thirty years out of date. Israeli writers have used the word apartheid to describe arrangements in the occupied territories for years. Hundreds of prominent South African Jews issued a statement six years ago making the same link. As in so many things, conventional elite opinion lives in a bubble, believing mere assertion and ranting about anti-Semitism will carry the day. The New York Times featured a spectacularly disingenuous hatchet job by its deputy foreign editor, Ethan Bronner, and another assault by former Clinton-era Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross. The latter rolled out the ritual accusations about Arafat's rejection of Clinton's proposals in December 2000, which is nonsense, as Ross surely knows. Clinton himself acknowledged in 2001 what later historians have substantiated, that both sides accepted his proposals in principle, while filing reservations. (Israel's amounted to 20 single-spaced pages.) The Times' attacks were matched in the Washington Post by Jeffrey Goldberg, formerly of the IDF and a notorious trafficker in fictions, such as the supposed terror ties between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Amazon ran his vulgar ravings under the "Editorial Reviews" heading-a space usually reserved for short blurbs from Publishers Weekly and the like. But if the lobby is fighting rearguard and increasingly futile actions to suppress all discussion here of what Israel is doing to Palestinians, it continues to exercise very serious clout in such enclaves of timidity as the U.S. Congress. Bush was not foolish in singling out Iran for threats in his January 10 address. The Democratic reaction to Bush's escalation against Iraq and Iran has mostly been confined to nervous talk of "symbolic votes." This temperate posture is surely not unconnected to the fact that the lobby's prime foreign policy task, joined by Israeli hawks like Bibi Netanyahu, has been to rally support for an assault on Iran. What an irony! Desperate for an end to the war, the voters hand Congress to the Democrats. Barely more than two months later Bush is kidnapping Iranian diplomats from in their consulate in Irbil, Iraq -- a calculated provocation arousing scant tumult here. Bush is also deploying a larger naval force to the Persian Gulf, as Israel plants stories about its possible recourse to nuclear weapons. Some provocation, maybe a seizure by the U.S. of an Iranian tanker, is easy to imagine in February. In the Congress, there's barely a whimper out of the Democrats amid these terrifying prospects. It may have made a mess of its war against Carter's book, but as a ferryman across the Styx toward Armageddon the lobby is doing a competent job. ======== http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn01202007.html ======== ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Cheney Rejected Iran Concessions [UP] Thursday January 18, 2007 10:46 PM AP Photo WX111 LONDON (AP) - An Iranian offer to help the United States stabilize Iraq and end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas was rejected by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003, a former top State Department official told the British Broadcasting Corp. The U.S. State Department was open to the offer, which came in an unsigned letter sent shortly after the American invasion of Iraq, Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, told BBC's Newsnight in a program broadcast Wednesday night. But, Wilkerson said, Cheney vetoed the deal. ``We thought it was a very propitious moment'' to strike a deal, Wilkerson said. ``But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the vice president's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil' ... reasserted itself.'' A spokesman for the State Department said Thursday he wasn't aware of any letter from the Iranians to the U.S. government in 2003. ``Far as I know, there's never been an offer from the Iranian Government on those kinds of concerns,'' said Tom Casey, the state department's deputy spokesman. Wilkerson said that, in return for its cooperation, Tehran asked Washington to lift sanctions and to dismantle the Mujahedeen Khalq, an Iranian opposition group which has bases in Iraq. Iran also offered to increase the transparency of its nuclear program, according to Wilkerson. Wilkerson has been a frequent critic of the Bush administration in general and Cheney in particular, holding the vice president responsible for the mistreatment of detainees and the failure of Iraq's postwar planning. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Takes Tough Stand Over Nuclear Row [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 2:16 AM AP Photo ANK110 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed back over the U.S. military buildup in the Gulf, saying Thursday that Iran is ready for any possibility in the standoff over its nuclear program. The president made clear he was not backing down in his tough rhetoric toward the United States, despite criticism at home. Conservatives and reformists alike have openly challenged Ahmadinejad's nuclear diplomacy tactics, many saying his fiery anti-Western remarks are doing more harm than good. Ahmadinejad said their calls for compromise echo ``the words of the enemy.'' At the same time, Ahmadinejad's top national security official, Ali Larijani, sharply denounced U.S. policy in Iraq, saying Washington is fueling Shiite-Sunni hatred. Washington has accused Iran of backing militants fueling Iraq's violence, increasing tensions amid the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S. says aims to produce nuclear weapons. The United States sent an aircraft carrier to the Gulf this week - the second to deploy in the region - a buildup that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said was intended to impress on Iran that the four-year war in Iraq has not made America vulnerable. In an apparent reaction to the deployment, Ahmadinejad vowed Thursday that Iran would not back down over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is being developed only to produce energy. ``Today, with the grace of God, we have gone through the arduous passes and we are ready for anything in this path,'' state-run television quoted the Iranian leader as saying. The U.N. Security Council recently imposed limited sanctions to punish Iran for defying a resolution demanding that it suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce material to fuel nuclear reactors or, at purer concentrations, the core of nuclear weapons. In Paris, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he was concerned the sanctions could escalate Iran's standoff with Western powers. ``I don't think sanctions will resolve the issue ... Sanctions in my view could lead to escalation on both sides,'' he warned. ElBaradei said the pressure has failed to break a consensus in Iran that the oil-rich nation needs to master the complex process of uranium enrichment. Iran this week said it is moving toward large-scale enrichment involving 3,000 centrifuges, which spin uranium gas into enriched material. A diplomat and a U.N. official in Vienna said Thursday that much, but not all, of the hardware needed for the installation of the centrifuges was now in place at the Natanz facility designated to house Tehran's industrial-scale enrichment program. The two - who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss confidential information - emphasized that the facility had been ready for some time, and there was no sign that actual work on putting in the centrifuges would begin at any particular date. ElBaradei called for a resumption of talks with Tehran, including the possibility of a French negotiator. ``My worry right now is that each side is sticking to its guns,'' the International Atomic Energy Agency chief said. ``We need someone to reach out.'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week that now is not the time for the United States to talk to Iran, adding that Tehran does not appear ready to accept a conditional U.S. offer to join European talks over its nuclear program. ElBaradei warned that only applying pressure could prompt the Islamic republic to follow the path of North Korea, which kicked out U.N. inspectors and pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 and then conducted its first nuclear weapons test last October. ``My priority is to keep Iran inside the system,'' he said. An Iranian Foreign Ministry delegation arrived in North Korea on Thursday, the communist nation's media reported. North Korea, like Iran, is facing intense international pressure to give up its nuclear weapons programs. In Iran, two newspapers have pointedly criticized the president's handling of the nuclear issue. ``Your language is so offensive and contains not very nice words that inculcates that the nuclear issue is being dealt with a sort of stubbornness,'' the conservative paper Jomhuri-e-Eslami said in a recent editorial. Last Saturday, the reformist newspaper Aftab-e-Yazb said the nuclear policy was hurting Iran's ability to gain nuclear technology. It added: ``Some current leaders act as if any person criticizing (the government) is an agent of the enemy.'' Larijani, the top national security official, kept up criticism of the United States in an interview with journalists from several Lebanese papers. Larijani, who was in Lebanon on a tour of Arab nations seeking to build alliances with Iran, accused Washington of ``stirring up Sunni-Shiite disputes'' and ``inciting Arab-Iranian discord.'' The papers said Larijani was ``encouraged'' by his visit to Saudi Arabia - a pro-American, predominantly Sunni Arab kingdom considered a rival of overwhelmingly Shiite Persian Iran. Ahmadinejad said he had sent a message to Saudi King Abdullah proposing the countries cooperate in trying to ease the violence in Iraq - a message apparently delivered by Larijani. Saudi officials have not commented on the message. --- Associated Press Writer George Jahn contributed to this report from Vienna, Austria. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 5 New York Times: Rebuke in Iran to Its President on Nuclear Role - By NAZILA FATHI and MICHAEL SLACKMAN Published: January 19, 2007 TEHRAN, Jan. 18 Irans outspoken president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears to be under pressure from the highest authorities in Iran to end his involvement in its nuclear program, a sign that his political capital is declining as his country comes under increasing international pressure. Just one month after the United Nations Security Councilimposed sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear program, two hard-line newspapers, including one owned by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the president to stay out of all matters nuclear. In the hazy world of Iranian politics, such a public rebuke was seen as a sign that the supreme leader who has final say on all matters of state might no longer support the president as the public face of defiance to the West. It is the first sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad has lost any degree of Ayatollah Khameneis confidence, a potentially damaging development for a president who has rallied his nation and defined his administration by declaring nuclear power Irans inalienable right. It was unclear, however, whether this was merely an effort to improve Irans public image by lowering Mr. Ahmadinejads profile or was signaling a change in policy. The presidency is a relatively weak position with no official authority over foreign policy, the domain of the supreme leader. But Mr. Ahmadinejad has used his post as a bully pulpit to insert himself into the nuclear debate, and as long as he appeared to enjoy Ayatollah Khameneis support, he could continue. While Iran remains publicly defiant, insisting that it will move ahead with its nuclear ambitions, it is under increasing strain as political and economic pressures grow. And the message that Irans most senior officials seem to be sending is that Mr. Ahmadinejad, with his harsh approach and caustic comments, is undermining Irans cause and its standing. The Security Council passed a resolution on Dec. 23 with sanctions intended to curb Irans uranium enrichment program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but the United States and some European nations contend is for the purpose of creating nuclear weapons. The measure bars the trade of goods or technology related to Irans nuclear program. Enriched uranium can be used for making nuclear fuel but also for making nuclear weapons. The president dismissed the Security Council resolution as a piece of torn paper. But the daily Jomhouri-Eslami, which reflects the views of Ayatollah Khamenei, said, The resolution is certainly harmful for the country, adding that it was too much to call it a piece of torn paper. The newspaper added that the nuclear program required its own diplomacy, sometimes toughness and sometimes flexibility. In another sign of pressure on the president to distance himself from the nuclear issue, a second newspaper, run by an aide to the countrys chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, also pressed Mr. Ahmadinejad to end his involvement in the nuclear program. Mr. Larijani also ran for president and was selected for his post by the supreme leader. They want to minimize the consequences of sanctions now that they have been imposed, said Mohammad Atrianfar, an executive at the daily Shargh, which was closed last fall, and a reformist politician. But they dont have clear strategy, and they are taking one step at a time. Mr. Ahmadinejad took office more than a year ago as an outsider, the mayor of Tehran who promised to challenge the status quo, to equally distribute Irans oil wealth and to restore what he saw as the lost values of the Islamic revolution. His was a populist message, centered on a socialist economic model and Islamic values. He found opposition from the right and the left, in Parliament and among so-called pragmatists. That pressure has continued, and the criticism now seems to have gained more credibility in the face of the sanctions and Irans troubled economic standing. The United States increased pressure on Iran over its role in Iraq has also raised concerns in Tehran and may be behind efforts to restrain the president, political analysts in Tehran said. The resolution has decreased Irans political credibility in the international community, and so other countries cannot defend Iran, said Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist politician and a former legislator. Although the Security Council sanctions were limited to Irans nuclear program, they have started to cause economic disruptions. About 50 legislators signed a letter this week calling on the president to appear before Parliament to answer questions about the nuclear program. They need at least 22 more signatures. In another letter, 150 lawmakers criticized the president for his economic policies, which have led to a surge in inflation, and for his failure to submit his annual budget on time. The Iranian stock market, which was already in a slump, continued to decline falling more rapidly in the past month as buyers stayed away from the market. The daily Kargozaran reported last week that the number of traders had decreased by 46 percent since the Security Council resolution was passed. The resolution has had a psychological effect on people, said Ali Hagh, an economist in Tehran. It does not make sense for investors not to consider political events when they want to invest their money. Kargozaran reported that a group of powerful businessmen, the Islamic Coalition Party, met with Mohammad Nahavandian, a senior official at the Supreme National Security Council, and called for moderation in the countrys nuclear policies to prevent further damage to the economy. In the past year, several major European banks have severed their business ties with Iran. Economists say the banks actions will also lead to an increase in inflation because importers must turn to complicated ways to finance purchases. The nuclear issue has paved the way for other forms of pressures on Iran, Mr. Shirzad said. Despite Mr. Ahmadinejads harsh language since the resolution was passed, Ayatollah Khamenei has not referred to it directly and only once said that Iran would not give up its right to pursue its nuclear program. Mr. Larijani has said that Iran will not quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or bar international inspectors despite earlier threats to do so. Nazila Fathi reported from Tehran, and Michael Slackman from Cairo. Tips To find reference information about the words used in this article, hold down the ALT key and click on any word, phrase or name. A new window will open with a dictionary definition or encyclopedia entry. ***************************************************************** 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI to continue its progress-Speaker 2007/01/19 Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said Thursday that despite all pressures and threats, Iran's material and spiritual progress will continue. Speaking at a gathering of people in the provincial city of Qaen, the Speaker said that Iran has been under sanction since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution. "Meanwhile, various threats were hatched against our ruling system and even our assets were frozen. However, the honorable Iranian nation continued resistance against the enemies," he added. Underlining that the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue making progress in all fields, he said that in the domain of science and technology the attempts of Iranian youth has resulted in considerable advancement in recent years. "Though we have developed such technology ourselves, the enemies continue threatening us with sanction," he added. Elsewhere in his remarks, Haddad-Adel referred to the current situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that Iran will continue its own policy, which is based on ethics, religion and spirituality in this chaotic era. Turning to the brilliant history of Iran's Islamic Revolution over the past 28 years, he said that the Iranian nation has always been grateful in this regard and that this is manifested by the wide public turn out at the recent twin elections. The Speaker pointed to the common border between southern Khorassan province and Afghanistan and said, "The level of security in this border province is very high, so that no crisis likely to undermine the Islamic Revolution has ever taken place in the a rea." M.H.Z Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 7 AFP: US firm on nuclear condition for Iran talks Fri Jan 19, 2:28 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States stuck by its demand that Iran" /> Iranfreeze sensitive nuclear activity before any bilateral talks, after Iraq" /> Iraq's president said Tehran was ready to discuss several key disputes. "As soon as the Iranians stop their nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will sit down with them for discussions," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told AFP. Earlier, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks published in the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat that Iran was ready to reach an understanding with the United States on issues ranging from Afghanistan" /> Afghanistanto Lebanon. The White House also took a dim view of proposed legislation, backed by lawmakers of both major US political parties, requiring US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushto get congressional approval for using military force against Iran. "I'm puzzled about that," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "There seems to be fanning of flames where there's no fire." US officials have made clear that "our focus is on Iraq, that if there is targeting or intelligence that says that there will be harm to our troops or to Iraqi civilians or Iraqi troops by Iranian influence, that we are going to deal with that," she said. "We'll deal with that inside of Iraq." Talabani told Al-Hayat that, during a visit to Tehran last November, Iranian officials "said they are prepared to reach an understanding with America from Afghanistan to Lebanon and they are ready to talk in order to arrive at results satisfactory to both sides." Talabani, who met Iran's supreme leader and its president during the visit, said he was continuing efforts to broker meetings between US and Iranian officials to resolve differences over Iraq after two such attempts failed. "Obviously, we do not wish US-Iranian relations to degenerate into a conflict played out on Iraq's territory," he said. Talabani, currently in Syria" /> Syria, said both Tehran and Damascus "have started to help the Iraqi government in a good way" to curb the sectarian violence plaguing the country. The United States, whose forces are battling insurgents in Iraq, accuses both Iran and Syria of fomenting violence there. It also suspects Iran is secretly trying to build a nuclear bomb, but Tehran rejects the charges. Copyright 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 UPI: Hard-line papers chide Iran's president United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/19/2007 1:40:00 AM -0500 TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- An Iranian newspaper owned by Ayatollah Ali Khameini has called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to drop his nuclear ambitions. The stand taken by the newspaper and another hard-line publication signal that Khameini, the country's supreme leader, has stopped supporting Ahmadinejad, The New York Times reported. But the newspaper also suggested that the government could be engaged in a public relations maneuver. Ahmadinejad holds an office with little power, although he has become a major figure nationally and internationally through his oratory and his backing of Iran's nuclear program. Jomhouri-Eslami, the daily tied to Khamenei, said the president overstepped when he called the U.N. sanctions resolution "a piece of torn paper." "The resolution is certainly harmful for the country," the newspaper editorialized. Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Reportedly Set for Talks With U.S. [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 10:46 PM By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - President Jalal Talabani said in remarks published Friday that the Iranians were ready to meet with the U.S. for talks about security issues - part of an apparent effort by Talabani to encourage a dialogue between two nations that are increasingly at odds, and vital to Iraq. Talabani's comments, in an interview with the respected pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. In recent weeks, the U.S. has built up naval forces in the Persian Gulf and raided an Iranian liaison office in northern. Iran meanwhile has stepped up military operations along its border, Iranians arriving in Iraq say. ``During my last visit to Tehran, I discussed the matter with Iranian officials who said they are ready to meet the Americans but they said that the Americans should publicly announce their readiness,'' Talabani said in the interview. He was last in Iran in late November. Talabani, currently on a visit to Syria, said ``the Iranians showed flexibility. I will say it for history that they said they are ready for an understanding with America from Afghanistan to Lebanon. They are ready for discussions in order to reach results that please both sides.'' Talabani's office confirmed the accuracy of the quoted comments. Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment because Friday is the holy day in the Muslim world. The United States accuses Iran of helping Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in Iraq, and of trying to build a nuclear weapons program. Washington has also asked Tehran to end support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian group Hamas. In his interview, Talabani described two failed efforts by U.S. and Iranian officials to hold secret talks last year. At one point last year, Talabani said, the Iranians proposed a three-way meeting with U.S. and Iraqi officials, and the Americans accepted. The talks were to be held in the town of Dokan, in Iraq's northern Kurdish area. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Talabani told the newspaper, traveled to Dokan a day before the scheduled meeting. But the Iranians boycotted, Talabani said, because they thought the secrecy of the meeting had been compromised. The Iranians proposed another meeting before Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government took office in May, Talabani said, but the Americans wanted to wait until the Cabinet was formed. The Iranians ``considered that procrastination and canceled the meeting,'' he said. Earlier this week, Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003 rejected an Iranian offer to help the United States stabilize Iraq, and for Tehran to end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas. State Department deputy spokesman Tom H. Casey on Thursday said he had no knowledge of the offer. But he said the U.S. is open to talks with Tehran. Meanwhile, Iranian reinforcements were reported along the Iraqi border in the northern Kurdish region in response to what residents said was an intensification of over-flights by U.S. warplanes in recent days. Travelers arriving in Iraq's northern Sulaimaniyah province said they saw dozens of Revolutionary Guards with vehicles carrying 106 millimeter cannons. They chanted ``death to American. Death to Israel.'' Mamosta Aziz, a senior official at the Kurdistan Ministry of Peshmerga, or militias, said Iranian forces had remained on their side of the border. Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told state-run television Friday that Iran will file a formal complaint with the U.N. Security Council over the U.S.'s detention of five Iranians in northern Iraq. The U.S. military stormed an Iranian government office in the Kurdish-controlled city of Irbil on Jan. 11 and arrested the Iranians, whom it accuses of links to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard faction that is allegedly supporting insurgents. Iran says the arrested men were diplomats and the office a consulate, but the U.S. disputes this. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 10 Guardian Unlimited: Democrats Warn Bush Not to Attack Iran From the Associated Press [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 8:31 PM AP Photo DCMC107 By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic leaders in Congress lobbed a warning shot Friday at the White House not to launch an attack against Iran without first seeking approval from lawmakers. ``The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization,'' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the National Press Club. The administration has accused Iran of meddling in Iraqi affairs and contributing technology and bomb-making materials for insurgents to use against U.S. and Iraqi security forces. President Bush said last week the U.S. will ``seek out and destroy'' networks providing that support. While top administration officials have said they have no plans to attack Iran itself, they have declined to rule it out. This week, the administration sent another aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf - the second to deploy in the region. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the buildup was intended to impress on Iran that the four-year war in Iraq has not made America vulnerable. The U.S. is also deploying anti-missile Patriot missiles in the region. The U.S. has accused Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran would not back down over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is being developed only to produce energy. Reid made the comments as he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke to the National Press Club on Democrats' view of the state of the union four days before Bush addresses Congress and the nation. His remarks were the latest Democratic display of concern about the possibility of military action in Iran and Bush's power to launch it. Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del., challenged the president's ability to make such a move. In a letter to Bush, Biden asked the president to explain whether the administration believes it could attack Iran or Syria ``without the authorization of Congress, which does not now exist.'' Meanwhile, Lee Hamilton, the Democratic co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday that the U.S. must try to engage Iran and Syria in a constructive dialogue on Iraq because of the countries' influence in the conflict. The Bush administration, and several members of Congress, say they oppose talks with Iran and Syria because of their terrorist connections. Bringing the two countries into regional talks aimed at reducing violence in Iraq was one of the study group's recommendations. ``Do we have so little confidence in the diplomats of the United States that we're not willing to let them talk with somebody we disagree with?'' Hamilton asked. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 11 [NYTr] N.Korea: Deal Reached in US Nuke Talks Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:42:13 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Despite what the USA's Chief Liar at the United Nations, blustering Bolton, said on Wednesday, there is apparently progress in the nuclear talks with the DPRK. The Koreans say there is a deal, and a US spokesperson has~ expressed optimism about the progress. Two days ago, Bolton was claiming the talks had failed and railed against North Korea's right to exist. (See second item below.) -NY Transfer] AP - Jan 19, 2007 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KOREAS_NUCLEAR?SITE=CACHI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT N.Korea: Deal Reached in U.S. Nuke Talks By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea said it reached an agreement with the U.S. during talks this week on its nuclear program, and the top U.S. nuclear envoy expressed optimism Friday that progress could be made when wider arms negotiations reconvene. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said three days of talks in Berlin between U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and North Korea's main nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan had been held "in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there." No further details were given. Hill said the talks laid the foundation for progress when six-nation nuclear negotiations resume and that he had agreed with his North Korean counterpart "on a number of issues." He also declined to elaborate. "I am pretty convinced that we have the basis for a good session of the six-party talks," Hill told reporters in Seoul after meeting South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo. "I feel we do have a chance of making some progress at the next round, absolutely," he said. In Washington, the State Department offered a more muted assessment of the Berlin talks, saying no issues had been resolved. The talks involved an exchange of information designed to "prepare the way for real negotiations" once the six-nation negotiations resume, deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. The last round of six-nation talks in Beijing in December - two months after the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test in October - ended without any breakthroughs. The negotiating countries, which include South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia, had been seeking to outline how to implement a September 2005 agreement in which the North pledged to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. But North Korea refused to discuss its arms program and again demanded the U.S. lift its blacklisting of a Macau bank. The U.S. had accused the bank of being complicit in the communist country's alleged counterfeiting and money laundering, leading the bank to freeze North Korean assets worth about $24 million. The North did not directly mention the financial dispute in its statement Friday, but said progress was made in overcoming obstacles to the six-nation talks. "We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the (North) and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue," the North's ministry said in the statement, released by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. A South Korean news report said the six-nation arms talks could resume early next month due to progress made at the Germany meetings. Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed diplomat in Seoul, said Thursday there is a high possibility the talks would resume in Beijing the week of Feb. 5. On arriving in Seoul earlier Friday, Hill said he hoped six-nation talks would be held again before the Lunar New Year holiday celebrated across Asia that falls this year on Feb. 18. "It's up to the Chinese (hosts) but I would think we'll have a six-party meeting pretty soon," he said. The U.S. is holding separate negotiations with North Korea on the financial dispute, but the last session that was held alongside the nuclear talks in December made no progress. Hill said the next financial talks could take place as early as next week, but added a location had not yet been decided. The U.S. had proposed the two sides meet in New York, while the North wants to hold the talks in Beijing. [Associated Press reporters Kwang-tae Kim and Bo-mi Lim contributed to this report.] ) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. *** AP - Jan 17, 2007 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JAPAN_NKOREA_BOLTON?SITE=CACHI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-01-17-04-41-32 Bolton Wants N.Korean Regime to Collapse By JOSEPH COLEMAN Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) -- The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program have failed and the world should push the impoverished regime toward collapse, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday. John Bolton, who left the U.N. in December, said the United States and Japan should enlist China and South Korea in efforts to put further pressure on North Korea, which he said has no intention of verifiably giving up its nuclear weapons program. "The only answer ... is the collapse of the North Korean regime and the hopefully peaceful reunification of Korea, and that should be our objective," Bolton, now a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told reporters. The latest round of the six-party talks - including the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia - ended in December with no agreement on disarmament or a new date for further talks. Bolton said the North's missile tests in July and its first nuclear test, in October, showed the communist regime was determined to develop a weapon and greatly embarrassed its top ally, China. Even if North Korea were to promise to give up its weapons program, Bolton said it was highly unlikely the regime would submit to invasive verification of its nuclear sites to make sure it was not cheating. "If my conclusion that the six-party talks have failed is correct ... that means we have to switch to a new policy," he said at the Japan National Press Club. Bolton said China and others could be persuaded to further tighten sanctions on North Korea, cut off Pyongyang's access to banks, and shut down shipments of any materials useful to its weapons programs. Bolton, an arms control expert, also called for further U.N. Security Council action against Iran for failing to stop its uranium enrichment program. The former diplomat, who was admired as a skilled negotiator but became increasingly unpopular among fellow envoys for his abrasive style, resigned last month as his temporary appointment as U.N. ambassador was about to expire. He was in Tokyo on a weeklong visit at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry. ) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 12 [NYTr] DPRK Nuke Talks: Progress (BBC) or Confusion (Al Jazeera)? Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:20:07 -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-VERY Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit BBC News - Jan 19, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6277551.stm 'Progress' in N Korea-US talks North Korea and the US say they have had positive talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. But the US denied reports from the North that an agreement was reached when chief negotiators for the two sides met in Berlin this week. US envoy Christopher Hill has arrived in South Korea to prepare the ground for the next round of six-party talks. He told reporters he hoped they would begin before the Lunar New Holiday, which starts in mid-February. The talks ended inconclusively in December, having resumed after a break of more than a year. Unusually positive Mr Hill and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, ended three days of unprecedented talks on Thursday. Talks in December made no real breakthrough The Berlin meeting took place "in a positive and sincere atmosphere, and a certain agreement was reached there", a spokesman for the North was quoted as telling state news agency KCNA. Mr Hill called the talks "very useful" but, when asked about North Korea's talk of an agreement, appeared puzzled, telling reporters: "I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what he's referring to." The BBC correspondent in Seoul, Charles Scanlon, says the North's statement is unusually positive. He says the North is clearly encouraged by signs of growing flexibility in Washington's position, just four months after it tested its first nuclear device. For years the US rejected demands for direct bilateral talks, but this week Mr Hill was allowed by his government to sit down for discussions with Mr Kim. The US is also holding direct talks with the North on the financial sanctions it imposed in 2005, which it said at the time was a question of law enforcement and was non-negotiable. These sanctions prompted the North to walk away from the negotiations for more than a year. Preparatory talks But while Pyongyang may see the talks as "direct dialogue held by the [North] and the US", Washington views the situation rather differently. "This is not an instance of bilateral negotiations," White House spokesman Tony Snow told Reuters news agency. "What you had ...this week in Berlin were talks with Chris Hill and a North Korean representative as preparations for the six-party talks". Mr Hill echoed that view, saying that while discussions between rounds of talks were useful, "the negotiations for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula take place at the six-party talks". >From Seoul, Mr Hill will travel to Beijing and Tokyo to prepare the ground for the new round of talks, which bring together North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US, and are aimed at persuading Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear ambitions. *** Al Jazeera English - Jan 19, 2007 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1D9DB048-4442-4BEF-8D06-94396200E2EF.htm Confusion over N Korea 'agreement' The chief US envoy to nuclear negotiations with North Korea has cast doubt on a statement from the North's foreign ministry reporting an "agreement" between the two sides at recent talks in Berlin. "I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what he's referring to," Christopher Hill told reporters shortly after arriving in South Korea on Friday morning. The North Korean statement, carried on the KNCA news agency, gave few details other than to say the two sides had reached "a certain agreement", hinting at a possible way forward for stalled nuclear talks. It said the three days of talks had taken place "in a positive and sincere atmosphere." Appearing puzzled at the North Korean statement, Hill said the meetings with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, had produced "very useful discussions." Hill was expected to spend much of Friday briefing South Korean leaders on the talks. 'Knotty problems' The North's statement made particular mention of the bilateral talks that the North has long sought but Washington has steadfastly avoided. "We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the DPRK and the US in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue," it said. However, the Bush administration has denied that the rare meetings signal a break with its long-standing refusal to negotiate bilaterally with North Korea. The meetings have fueled speculation in some Washington circles that President Bush, eager to secure some foreign policy success, is willing to offer certain diplomatic incentives over North Korea's nuclear programme. But, US officials insisted on Thursday that this was not the case, saying the bilateral talks broke no new ground. Their talks "certainly don't represent anything particularly new or different from what we've done before," Tom Casey, the State Department deputy spokesman, said. His comments were echoed by Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, who told reporters: "We have not had bilateral talks. What you had ... this week in Berlin were talks with Chris Hill and a North Korean representative as preparations for the six-party talks." He added: "This is not an instance of bilateral negotiations on the side." On Wednesday, in the midst of talks with North Korea, Hill suggested that the real brokering should take place in the six-party format, which involves the two Koreas, the US, Japan, China, and Russia. "It's very important that any negotiating or deal-making needs to be done in the six-party process," he said. Those broader talks are aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for security guarantees and normalised relations with Washington, as well as economic aid. Several rounds of six-party talks have failed to produce significant results. The last round in Beijing in December broke down with North Korea insisting that financial sanctions be lifted before negotiations on disarmament could proceed. 'Coercion' The lack of progress has caused patience to wear thin among some quarters in Washington. William Perry, the former US defence secretary under President Bill Clinton, said on Thursday that the US should consider military action if South Korea and China do not take a tougher line against North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Speaking to a congressional hearing on Thursday Perry said possible action could include a strike against a large reactor under construction in North Korea capable of producing material for up to 10 nuclear bombs a year. "If China and South Korea do not agree to applying coercion, the United States might be forced to military action which, while it certainly would be successful, could lead to dangerous unintended consequences." NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS 2003 August: First round of six-party talks in Beijing. North Korea issues plan to help reduce tensions, but talks fail to produce an agreement 2004 February: Second round of talks make no significant progress June: Third round of talks discusses scope, time, and method of verification for disarming North Korea. Again no agreement is made 2005 September: At a fourth round of talks all parties agree plan of action under which North Korea would end its nuclear programme in exchange for aid and security guarantees North Korea subsequently demands a civilian light-water reactor; a demand rejected by the US and Japan 2006 October 9: North Korea conducts first nuclear weapon test December: Fifth round of talks end in deadlock. North Korea insists US financial sanctions end as a precondition to disarmament talks Source: Agencies * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 13 Secretary-general Ban Urges Redoubling Of Efforts On Denuclearizing Korean Peninsula Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:01:23 -0500 SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN URGES REDOUBLING OF EFFORTS ON DENUCLEARIZING KOREAN PENINSULA New York, Jan 19 2007 5:00PM Welcoming the recent discussions between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and United States negotiators in Berlin over the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm10846.doc.htm">called on all sides involved in the six-party process discussing the issue to redouble their efforts. The Secretary-General welcomes reports of active preparations for the next round of the six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He is encouraged in particular by the recent positive discussions in Berlin between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and United States negotiators, Mr. Bans spokesperson said. As consultations continue with other countries participating in the six-party talks, the Secretary-General calls on all involved to redouble their efforts toward implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, she added, referring to a commitment to denuclearize the peninsula that has so far not been acted upon. The talks involve the DPRK, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States and have been going on sporadically in Beijing for several years, but have so far failed to end nuclear weapons on the peninsula. The DPRK carried out its first proclaimed nuclear test in October, after which the Security Council imposed various sanctions on the country. 2007-01-19 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 14 Korea Herald: U.S. denies Berlin talks are policy shift U.S. officials denied Thursday that a rare series of bilateral meetings between chief nuclear negotiators of the United States and North Korea this week marked a break with the Bush administration's long-standing refusal to negotiate directly with the Stalinist regime. "We're not going outside the six-party framework to bilateralize our discussions with the North Koreans," Rice said Thursday in Berlin, according to a State Department transcript. "We will use bilateral contacts with the North Koreans when they are useful to prepare for the six-party talks and we've done that several times before." Hill and Kim met in Berlin for several hours between Wednesday and Thursday in their first one-on-one sessions held outside of a multi-party format in Beijing since Bush came to office in 2001. The meetings fueled speculation that Bush, mired in the Iraq crisis and in dire need of a foreign policy success, had loosened the reins on his diplomats so they could deal more directly with North Korea. But Tony Snow, President George W. Bush's spokesman, denied. "This is not an instance of bilateral negotiations," he said. Snow and other officials insisted the Berlin contacts broke no new ground and were part of an ongoing set of six-party negotiations launched in 2003 and resurrected in December after a year-long boycott by the North Koreans. Hill met with Kim in hopes of organizing another round of the broader talks later this month or early next month in the Chinese capital, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. Their talks "certainly don't represent anything particularly new or different from what we've done before," Casey insisted. North Korea has long sought direct bilateral dealings with the United States as a way to boost its status internationally and avoid linkages with other issues involving Washington's regional allies. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have refused, pointing to failed denuclearization negotiations carried out with Pyongyang by the previous administration of President Bill Clinton as proof that two-way talks with the erratic North Koreans cannot work. They argue that the combined pressure of the multi-party format, notably including North Korea's primary benefactor, China, is needed to ensure Pyongyang honors any future agreements. Bush and Rice similarly have refused calls to engage directly with Iran and Syria as part of the administration's latest push to stabilize Iraq and resolve crises in Lebanon and between Israel and the Palestinians. Their stance has been widely criticized by the opposition Democrats who gained control of Congress in November as well as by leaders of Bush's own Republican party and former officials from both political camps. Democratic lawmakers on Thursday called the Bush administration's North Korea policy a failure, saying more efforts to directly engage the North were needed to rid the country of its nuclear weapons. Rep. Tom Lantos, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said during a hearing that North Korea's October nuclear test appeared to signal that "Pyongyang has already made the strategic decision to delay serious negotiations until the next president is on the job" and that a nuclear disarmament "deal may not be in the offing." Lantos praised talks by the Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China as "smart policy" but noted that, "until recently, the administration seemed satisfied with sending an American delegation who read canned talking points instead of engaging in a meaningful dialogue." Lantos also said he planned to travel to the North this spring for talks with officials. Eni Faleomavaega, a Democratic nonvoting delegate representing the U.S. territory of American Samoa, asked, "What is the administration afraid of? There's no harm in talking" with the North. Lantos said he was encouraged by Hill's comments Wednesday that Washington wants a "normal relationship" with North Korea, provided Pyongyang renounces nuclear weapons. 2007.01.20 ***************************************************************** 15 Korea Herald: 'Negotiation fatigue' in six-party talks? Remember Nagasaki and Hiroshima [ANALYSIS &FEATURE] NAGASAKI, Japan - When chief negotiator for the United States, Christopher Hill, describes his ambitions for the six party talks, quite often he does not hide his frustration at their lack of progress. He is tired of discussions, now rekindled, that do not result in concrete agreements. He did not come all this way "just to talk." His exhaustion is echoed in the sentiments expressed by conservative elements in South Korea who call for discipline in dealing with the North's belligerence and question the wisdom of continuing the engagement oriented Sunshine Policy and humanitarian aid. Similarly, Japan, like the United States, calls for a hard-line strategy in negotiating, or not, with the recalcitrant regime of Kim Jong-il. These views are countered by more liberal engagement favoring perspectives on the issue that dominate those currently in power in South Korea and in China, perhaps Pyongyang's only "ally." One need not be reminded that it was during the hiatus in talks that North Korea made its most significant progress to enrich uranium and conducted a nuclear test. "Donor fatigue" refers to the recent difficulty relief agencies are having in maintaining funding when the public is inundated with such a daunting list of worthy causes they feel overwhelmed. In this case, it is "negotiation fatigue" that seems to be affecting those advocating a hard-line approach and disengagement however limited progress is achieved in the six-party talks. But there are some people, genuine experts on the nuclear issue, and authorities beyond doubt, who have not tired in some 60 plus years of trumpeting their cause. They are the residents of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Nagasaki's teenage students do not tire of that subject and do not wait for the anniversary to press home their concern upon the world stage. On Jan. 5, 2007 three such students launched a renewed campaign to petition the United Nations with 10,000 signatures of high school students from around the world. They ask the international community to unite to help create a world free of nuclear weapons, resolve disputes diplomatically, and understand the horror of the bombings and the plight of the Hibakusha, its victims. Youth in both cities work year in and year out on campaigns to raise awareness concerning these issues. At the Nagasaki Peace Park with three Korean classmates, exchange students at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, 20-year-old Lee Eun-hyu from Seoul attributed her visit to the desire to know about Japanese history. She said she heard more news about North Korea in Japan. "After coming to Nagasaki I feel nuclear weapons should be abolished," she said. Near the Peace Park is the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum which provides a detailed account of a disaster "unprecedented in human history." One descends a long and circular walkway to find the artifacts, photographs, film and victims testimonials down below. "There was a sudden flash of light. I thought I was about to die ... I lost consciousness. I did not open my eyes and sit up until my fellow Korean worker Mr. Han shook me and called my name ... the more I heard the more a feeling of anger over the situation and affection for my countrymen welled up inside me," describes Li Ki-sang. About 10,000 Koreans, most of them slave laborers, were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Urakami Cathedral, the largest church in the orient was destroyed, Father Saburo Nashida and ten parishioners, of some 14,000 many of whom surely also died, were crushed to death by falling debris. A replica of a portion of the side wall is one of the museums largest exhibits. Although the bomb was intended to hit the industrial port center of the city, after released, it drifted north, detonating some 600 meters above an area populated with two primary schools, one middle school and a medical college. Heat generated within a few seconds of the blast carbonized the bodies and vaporized the internal fluids of people out of doors and within 1.2 kilometers of the hypocenter. Testifies one survivor of the aftermath, nine years old at the time of the bombing, "What on earth has happened," said my mother, holding her newborn baby tightly in her arms. "Is it the end of the world?" Another then ten year old recalls, "My (trapped) sister peered up with fear stricken eyes ... the fires were approaching quickly ... My mother slid her shoulder under the beam and heaved with all her strength and my sisters legs came free. My mother sank to the ground. She had been out in the field picking eggplants for lunch when the bomb exploded. Her skin was burning and festering all over her body .... blood was spurting out ... she died that night." In Nagasaki 73,884 died and 74,909 people were severely injured by the atomic bomb. The Hiroshima bomb three days earlier was similarly devastating. After visiting the museum any concern that the possession and proliferation of nuclear weapons will change geo-political dynamics in the world, or that Kim Jong-il's arsenal could threaten and blackmail neighboring countries is exponentially amplified by the recognition of the suffering that the explosion of even one nuclear bomb can inflict upon humanity. In this vault of record all viewers are made mute. It is too late for talk here. This message from the people of Nagasaki is clear: "1945.8.9 We must never forget what happened on that day." Even more poignant right now are these words which open the Hiroshima Peace Virtual Museum: "Nobody talks: Nothing changes." Now we need talk. (franksmith@heraldm.com) By Frank Smith 2007.01.20 ***************************************************************** 16 Korea Times: US Denies Any Nuclear Deal With North Korea Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said Friday that he expected six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program to resume soon but denied that any agreement was reached in discussions this week with the communist country, according to a media report. Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman as saying that three days of talks between Hill and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-Gwan, in Berlin had produced a ``certain agreement. The spokesman did not elaborate, but Hill quickly dampened any hopes of an unexpected breakthrough. ``I'm sorry. Im not really sure what he's referring to, he told reporters when asked about the statement on his arrival in South Korea, the first stop of a regional tour aimed at restarting full-scale six-party negotiations. AFP quoted Hill as saying that he expects those discussions to resume before the Lunar New Year holiday, which is from Feb. 17-19 in South Korea. The agency said the U.S. envoy was upbeat about his discussions in Berlin with Kim, including one session that lasted six hours. While he denied that an agreement was reached, he said the tone of the reporting by North Korea's official media was encouraging in itself. The foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the North's state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), said the Berlin talks took place ``in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there. ``We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue," the spokesman said. Hill reportedly stressed that negotiations should take place in the six-nation forum. The six-party talks began in 2003 and are aimed at persuading the reclusive communist country to scrap its nuclear program in return for economic and energy benefits and security guarantees. ``But we've always felt it useful to have discussions between rounds of six-party talks, he said. ``Certainly the discussions with the DPRK, I would say, were very useful and what we now have to do is to see how those discussions can be folded into the six-party process, whether those discussions can help lead to some progress in Beijing. ``I am pleased to see that KCNA, which is not always positive about everything, actually felt that those discussions were also useful and positive. After spending 24 hours in Seoul, Hill will travel Saturday to Tokyo to meet with his counterpart Kenichiro Sasae and then to Beijing for talks with Chinas lead negotiator, Wu Dawei, late Sunday. 01-19-2007 18:14 ***************************************************************** 17 AFP: North Korea, US agree to resume nuclear talks soon - US envoy - by Park Chan-Kyong Fri Jan 19, 12:44 PM ET SEOUL (AFP) - US negotiator Christopher Hill said North Korea" /> and the United States had agreed to resume six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program soon and would meet separately to discuss financial sanctions. Hill, on the first stop of a regional tour, said he expects nuclear discussions to restart before the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on February 17 in Korea, and financial talks as early as next week. "We certainly had an agreement on getting the six-party talks going soon and had an agreement on continuing the BDA (Banco Delta Asia) talks which we expect to take place even as early as next week," he said after meeting South Korean officials. The bank in Macau has been blacklisted by Washington following accusations of illicit dealings on behalf of Pyongyang, and contains about 24 million dollars in frozen funds. Hill dampened hopes of an unexpected breakthrough after a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said three days of talks between the US envoy and his Pyongyang counterpart in Berlin had produced a "certain agreement." "I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what he's referring to," he said. But the US envoy was upbeat about his discussions in Berlin with Kim Kye-Gwan, including one session which lasted six hours. "I am hopeful the next session can be more productive than the last session," he said. "I also feel we do have a chance of making progress at the next round." He said the "positive tone" of reporting by North Korea's official media was encouraging. The foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the North's state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), said the Berlin talks took place "in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there." No details were given. "We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the DPRK (North Korea) and the US in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue," the spokesman added. Hill stressed that negotiations should take place at the six-nation forum, which began in 2003 and is aimed at persuading the reclusive communist country to scrap its nuclear programme in return for economic and energy benefits and security guarantees. "But we've always felt it useful to have discussions between rounds of six-party talks," he added. "Certainly the discussions with the DPRK (in Berlin), I would say, were very useful and what we now have to do is to see how those discussions can be folded into the six-party process, whether those discussions can help lead to some progress in Beijing." He added: "We had very useful discussions and I think the positive tone of the KCNA statement reflects that. "I am pleased to see that KCNA, which is not always positive about everything, actually felt that those discussions were also useful and positive. "I hope we kind of pick up the pace in the next session." After spending 24 hours here, Hill will travel Saturday to Tokyo to meet with counterpart Kenichiro Sasae and then to Beijing for talks with its lead negotiator Wu Dawei late Sunday. Along with the United States and Russia, they are the countries involved in the negotiations with the North. The talks were suspended in late 2005 after the North walked out in protest at US financial sanctions. They resumed last month -- after North Korea carried out its first nuclear test on October 9 -- but made no apparent progress. The North insisted that the sanctions be lifted before it discusses nuclear disarmament. The United States agreed to hold parallel discussions on the two issues, and a first round took place on the sidelines of the main negotiations in Beijing in December. "The BDA issue is important to them certainly. That's why we set up this mechanism for dealing with it," Hill said. He said a tentative date has been set for the next financial round. "I think we are actually working on the location of those talks so I would assume those negotiations would go forward." Asked whether the six-party process could resume before Lunar New Year, he replied: "Again it's up to the Chinese (who host the six-nation talks) but I would think we'll have a six-party meeting pretty soon. "I would hope that would be before that (New Year)." Copyright 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea: Deal Reached in U.S. Nuke Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 7:31 PM AP Photo NYONL971 By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said it reached an agreement with the U.S. during talks this week on its nuclear program, and the top U.S. nuclear envoy expressed optimism Friday that progress could be made when wider arms negotiations reconvene. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said three days of talks in Berlin between U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and North Korea's main nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan had been held ``in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there.'' No further details were given. Washington, however, played down talk of an agreement. ``I think it's premature to say there is an agreement - premature to say the least,'' deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino said Friday. Hill said the talks laid the foundation for progress when six-nation nuclear negotiations resume and that he had agreed with his North Korean counterpart ``on a number of issues.'' He declined to elaborate. ``I am pretty convinced that we have the basis for a good session of the six-party talks,'' Hill told reporters in Seoul after meeting South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo. The last round of six-nation talks in Beijing in December - two months after the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test in October - ended without any breakthroughs. The negotiating countries, which include South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia, had been seeking to outline how to implement a September 2005 agreement in which the North pledged to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. But North Korea refused to discuss its arms program and again demanded the U.S. lift its blacklisting of a Macau bank. The U.S. had accused the bank of being complicit in the communist country's alleged counterfeiting and money laundering, leading the bank to freeze North Korean assets worth about $24 million. The North did not directly mention the financial dispute in its statement Friday, but said progress was made in overcoming obstacles to the six-nation talks. ``We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the (North) and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue,'' the North's ministry said in the statement, released by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. A South Korean news report said the six-nation arms talks could resume early next month due to progress made at the Germany meetings. Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed diplomat in Seoul, said Thursday there is a high possibility the talks would resume in Beijing the week of Feb. 5. On arriving in Seoul earlier Friday, Hill said he hoped six-nation talks would be held again before the Lunar New Year holiday celebrated across Asia that falls this year on Feb. 18. ``It's up to the Chinese (hosts) but I would think we'll have a six-party meeting pretty soon,'' he said. The U.S. is holding separate negotiations with North Korea on the financial dispute, but the last session that was held alongside the nuclear talks in December made no progress. --- Associated Press reporters Kwang-tae Kim and Bo-mi Lim contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 19 Public Citizen: New Executive Order Is Latest White House Power Grab Jan. 18, 2007 Move Will Give Radical NomineeDudleyPower to Squelch Protections Enacted by New Congress and Put Public at Risk WASHINGTON, D.C.  The White House today released a new executive order that will threaten the ability of the federal government to protect and inform the public, Public Citizen said today. The order amends a series of previous executive orders that culminated in Executive Order No. 12,866, which the White House has used to give itself the power to review regulations before they can be officially published in the Federal Register. The new order applies the review power not just to regulations but also to what it calls significant guidance documents. This order is just the latest in a series of unacceptable power grabs by the Bush administration, said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. President Bush is asserting the right to change the law by executive fiat. Public Citizen identified three major problems with the new executive order: First, it requires agencies to get White House approval of many important kinds of guidance for the public, which would allow the White House to create a bureaucratic bottleneck that would slow down agencies ability to give the public information it needs. Agencies use guidance to let the public know how they intend to enforce the laws and regulations on the books. By requiring White House approval of important guidance, the White House will insert its political agenda and pro-business bias into every level of agency policy, so that our federal government will handcuff itself instead of the companies that violate the law and put the public in danger, said Robert Shull, Public Citizens deputy director for auto safety and regulatory policy. Second, the new order stresses the concept of market failure in its revised command for agencies to state justifications for new regulations for public health, privacy, safety, civil rights and the environment. Market failure is an economics term describing situations in which private markets, left to themselves, fail to bring about results that the public needs. This order, however, will be enforced by Susan Dudley, the radical extremist that the White House is setting up for a recess appointment to become the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Based on an evaluation of Dudleys record in a report released last year, Public Citizen has concluded that in her hands, the market failure provision will become a barrier to the protections that the public needs. Third, the order requires agencies to develop annual plans for upcoming rulemakings that identify the combined aggregate costs and benefits of all & regulations planned for that calendar year to assist with the identification of priorities. This new requirement will make cost/benefit analysis the central factor in setting priorities for needed protections of the public interest. These cost/benefit analyses are notoriously biased against regulation, especially long-term goals such as preventing global warming or cancers that manifest years after exposure to toxic substances, said Claybrook. The upshot of this whole executive order is that the White House is already working to undermine not just agencies but also the new Congress ability to protect the public. The White House is amending the Administrative Procedure Act by decree, claiming power that belongs to Congress alone. It is an appalling arrogation of power and a slap in the face to the new Congress, said Shull. Congress must immediately arrange hearings to hold the president accountable for this affront to the rule of law. ***************************************************************** 20 Guardian Unlimited: Rice gets the road map out again Simon Tisdall Thursday January 18, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Suddenly everybody has a Middle East peace plan. After six futile, blood-filled years of maintenance diplomacy, the Bush administration is finally injecting a little energy into its mediation efforts. And Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, who holds the EU presidency, has succeeded in resuscitating the so-called Quartet - the negotiations oversight group comprising the UN, the US, Russia and the EU. It will meet in Washington early next month. The Saudis are pushing a new version of their 2002 initiative. Linking Arab assistance in stabilising Iraq to progress in Palestine, the proposal has been cynically dubbed Iraq for land", mimicking the old formula of land for peace. Israels embattled Labour party leader and defence minister, Amir Peretz, meanwhile has his own ideas. He and his deputy, Ephraim Sneh, have unveiled what they term the new road map", calling for final status negotiations with the Palestinians within six months. Egypt and Jordan have also proposed fast-forwarding the process. Just to confuse matters further, France, Italy and Spain jointly produced their own five-point blueprint last month. It appears to seek to fudge the previously unanimous western demand that Hamas, Palestines ruling party, recognise Israels right to exist. But like French president Jacques Chiracs aborted bid to launch a unilateral diplomatic opening to Iran, this attempt at Mediterranean moderation is not going anywhere. That is because, as ever, only one country exercises decisive leverage over Israels government and only one country has a real chance of ensuring that any future peace plan, however it is eventually formulated, will actually work: the US. Tony Blair, who undertook his own regional peace mission in December and is said to view progress there as a key personal legacy issue, understands that better than most. His meeting in Downing Street today with Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is his latest opportunity to urge Washington to greater efforts. After neglecting the issue to all practical intents and purposes since she succeeded the equally ineffectual Colin Powell at the state department, Ms Rice seems to have come up with a game plan at last. Now her daunting task is to bring all the other parties and players into line. Speaking in Berlin at the end of her latest Middle East tour, she said she would host a summit with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert. That would take several weeks to prepare and needs as much international support as possible, hence the value of reconvening the Quartet. There are a lot of ideas floating around about how we might get the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track," she said. I think to get together and talk about how those ideas relate to each other will be very useful thing ... I did find the parties very desirous of making progress. But Ms Rice is already struggling to keep eyes focused on the diplomatic ball. During an earlier stop in Riyadh, she suggested that an idea promoted by some European countries of a grand, international peace conference, similar to that in Madrid in 1991, was on the backburner for now. She also stressed that the old 2003 road map, routinely dismissed as moribund, if not dead, still underpinned the overall process. Ms Rices efforts so far have elicited suspicion in the Arab world, partly because little has come of such initiatives in the past. But the scepticism is principally because the main purpose of her trip was not Israel-Palestinian peacemaking at all but the rallying of Sunni Muslim regimes in Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf behind George Bushs new way forward" in Iraq and his more confrontational stance vis--vis Iran. The tacit quid pro quo for Arab solidarity in the face of continuing anti-Sunni sectarianism in Iraq and this weeks attempt by Tehran to woo the Saudis is concrete progress towards Palestinian statehood. Among many other potential obstacles to peace, two stand out. One is the possibility that Mr Olmert, battered by a bank scandal and the resignation of the army chief of staff, may not last much longer as Israels prime minister - and that ensuing, prolonged political turmoil will deny the Palestinians a partner for peace. The other, more frightening scenario, discussed by commentator Aluf Benn in the Haaretz newspaper, is that Mr Olmert might order the assassination of Hizbullahs leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in Lebanon, or the bombing of Irans nuclear facilities, as a way of restoring his leadership". Mr Benn believes these options will probably prove too risky to be attempted. Fingers crossed. [UP] Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 21 Daily India: Indian atomic scientists alarmed over Indo-US nuke deal Kalapakkam (Chennai), Jan 18 (ANI): The nuclear scientists in the country reiterated concerns over the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation deal on Thursday, and contended that India should get things written legally on advisory, non-advisory and mandatory provisions with the US in tune with the July 18, 2005 joint statement. These apprehensions were voiced at a seminar hosted at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research here. "I strongly believe that we should not be carried away by their (the US) assurances, but our concerns should be clarified as to what is advisory, what is not advisory, what is not mandatory, these are some of the things which should be put down in the 123 Agreement formally in writing," said Dr. A.N Prasad, former Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He said that provisions against stockpiling of uranium, perpetual safeguards and nuclear test in the law recently signed by US President George W. Bush are some of the serious concerns.However, the present BARC Director Dr Srikumar Banerjee was of the view that it was just a law in the US and it has got nothing to do with the Indian scientists. "How and what it will emerge, we don't really know because it's only a law. They have made a law in their country and we have nothing to do in that. Let us see that how exactly Government of India agrees on what points and that we will see. Obviously in that, there will be a consultation of scientists," said Dr. Banerjee. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had recently said the negotiations on the 123 Agreement with the US Administration would begin "very shortly". The 123 Agreement, the conclusion of which would led to the operationalisation of the nuclear energy cooperation, will be negotiated by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, who is also the special representative for the nuclear deal, and US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. On December 18, 2006 US President George W Bush signed the US-India Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, 2006 that lent a legal status to the bilateral nuclear deal. However, in India different groups have raised many concerns on the deal. While both the opposition BJP and the Left parties have objected to different clauses in the US law regarding, curbing India's right to go for another nuclear test, the nuclear scientists have also voiced their concern over it. Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Anil Kakodkar recently had said that the deal in no way should impinge India's autonomy on Research and Development in the field of nuclear energy. The Prime Minister have already assured the nation that the nuclear deal with the US will not be acceptable to India if it deviates from the July 18, 2005 Statement and March 2, 2006 Separation Plan. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, recently, rejected the notion that India would agree to any legal binding, which would curb its right to conduct a nuclear test in future. "There is no question of signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)," Narayanan had said, and added, "On nuclear testing, we have our voluntary moratorium. That position remains." (ANI) Copyright 2004-2007 | | | ***************************************************************** 22 Helsingin Sanomat: Finnish expert says Sweden losing nuclear energy know-how Saturday 20.1.2007 In the view of Jukka Laaksonen, director-general of Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), recent reports of shutdowns of Swedish commercial nuclear reactors because of security problems suggest that there has been a "deterioration of expertise", in nuclear power in that country. Laaksonen says that he sector no longer attracts gifted young people, ever since Sweden decided to give up nuclear powers. Experts in the field, who are actually quite skilful, have been recruited from various countries such as Vietnam and the former Soviet Union. Speaking at an event launching the latest safety study on Finnish nuclear power plants on Thursday, Laaksonen said that Swedish officials are also losing touch. He noted that things are different in Finland: more nuclear energy is being built, and the field interests gifted young people. At Lappeenranta Technical University alone, 200 students are studying it. He also feels that Finnish officials are very much in touch with the situation. STUK has kept a tight rein on the builders of the new reactor at Olkiluoto. "We have maintained German expertise by training 1,000 experts from that country in connection with the Olkiluoto 3 project", Laaksonen said. The facility is being built by a German-French joint venture. Safety research is very extensive in Finland, even if the layperson might think that the nuclear sector has already been comprehensively researched. The first Finnish power plant, Loviisa I, was taken into use 30 years ago. Laaksonen says that continued research is necessary for the safe operation of nuclear power plants. SAFIR, a four-year national research programme on nuclear energy, has just been completed at a cost of EUR 20 million, most of which was financed by mandatory contributions from the nuclear operators TVO and Fortum. SAFIR studied security in six special areas. No significant problems were found, or at least none were reported in the presentation. However, the results gave plenty of additional information which will be needed in extending the lifetime of nuclear reactors. STUK is currently studying an application for the extension of the lifetime of the two units at Loviisa to 50 years. The two existing reactors at Olkiluoto have been given operating licences for 40 years, and applications for extensions are expected. There are also safety considerations in raising the output of the reactors. The output of both of the Loviisa units have been raised by nearly ten per cent. The reactors, originally built for an output of 660 megawatts, now generate 860 megawatts. Safety technology at the Loviisa plant in particular is at a significantly higher level than in the early stage of its operations. The improvements are the result of action by the utility, and energy officials, and not the manufacturer, which no longer exists. The Loviisa plant now has equipment to help it deal with serious accidents, such as a core meltdown. A project for upgrading the automation system is also beginning. SAFIR is also studying the safety of nuclear power plants against a terrorist attack. In one test in a cellar at the Helsinki University of Technology in Espoo, a pressure gun was used to fire two water-filled 100-kilo shells at a concrete wall at about the speed at which a passenger plane flies. The aim was to simulate events such as the 9/11 attacks in New York and make sure that the power plant can withstand the impact of a hijacked plane. Laaksonen says that the results indicate that the walls of Olkilioto III, which is now being built, will be so thick that "nothing can get through". No equivalent reinforcements are planned for the old reactors. Officials have sought to secure the nuclear power plants against terror attacks also by enlarging the no-fly zone around the power plants. Their radius was doubled last autumn to four and a half kilometres. Security research linked with nuclear energy is to continue after the SAFIR project. In the next four-year period, another EUR 20 million is earmarked for the purpose. At the same time, about EUR one million is a year to be spent on the storage of nuclear waste. Helsingin Sanomat --> 19.1.2007 - TODAY ***************************************************************** 23 Jordan News Agency: King: We will promote nuclear power for peaceful purposes Amman, Jan. 19 (Petra)-- His Majesty King Abdullah II said that finding solution for the Palestinian cause will give us a room to deal with the other issues, stressing that the two-state solution will insure the future of all sides. In an interview with Akiva Eldar, reporter of Israeli Newspaper Haaretz, His Majesty said the establishment of a Palestinian state will let us think about how to move economically, socially and even politically. The king warned that if the Palestinians did not put their disputes aside, they will lose the future of Palestine, affirming that what is needed eventually is the strong leadership to be able to negotiate on the future of Palestine. Regarding the Iranian issue, King said the rules have changed on the nuclear subject throughout the whole region. He pointed out that the Egyptians are looking for a nuclear program, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are looking at one, and we, in Jordan, are actually looking at nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes. We've been discussing it with the West. "I personally believe that any country that has a nuclear program should conform to international regulations and should have international regulatory bodies that check to make sure that any nuclear program moves in the right direction, His Majesty said. Following is the full text of the interview.. 19/01/2007 17:46:40 ***************************************************************** 24 NRC: NRC Finds No Significant Environmental Impacts from Extended Operation of Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant News Release - 2007-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 07-008 January 19, 2007 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final environmental impact statement on the proposed renewal of the operating license for the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. The report contains the NRCs finding that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation. The Oyster Creek plant is located nine miles south of Toms River, N.J. The current operating license expires April 9, 2009. AmerGen Energy Co., LLC, submitted an application for renewal of the license July 22, 2005. As part of its environmental review of the application, the NRC held public meetings near the plant to discuss the scope of the review and the draft version of the environmental impact statement. Comments were received and considered from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and federal agencies. The Oyster Creek Final Environmental Impact Statement is available on the NRCs Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437 /supplement28/index.html. Copies are also available for inspection at the NRCs Public Document Room at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md; and at the Lacey County Public Library located at 10 East Lacey Road, Forked River, N.J. NRC news releases are available through a free list server subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. Last revised Friday, January 19, 2007 ***************************************************************** 25 CNEWS - Science: Renner wants more facts on nuke plan January 19, 2007 By DARCY HENTON-- Edmonton Sun Not so fast with the nukes, says Alberta's environment minister. Rob Renner says he's not against using nuclear power to turn bitumen into black gold in the oilsands, but he'll have to be convinced it's good for the environment and good for Alberta. "I am on the record as saying I am at this point going to reserve judgment," he told the Sun. "I am not prone to dismiss it out of hand, but before I jump onto the bandwagon, I need to be sure the issues with respect to waste disposal have been dealt with adequately and I don't know where we stand on that." Renner noted that no specific proposals for safe disposal have yet come forward, but nuclear waste is highly radioactive with a half-life of thousands of years "and we have to deal with it." Earlier this week, federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn suggested Alberta could employ nukes to power the oilsands. He was announcing federal plans to pump $230 million over four years into researching sources of clean energy. Canadians aren't afraid of change Right now, the environment is hot. Literally and figuratively. Much of North America has hardly had a winter this year, and the media and politicians have finally caught on to the fact that Canadians now cite environmental issues as among their biggest concerns. Full Column Columnist DAVID SUZUKI ***************************************************************** 26 RIA Novosti: Duma passes bill on nuclear sector reform 19/ 01/ 2007 MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, passed in its third and final reading Friday a presidential bill to reform the country's nuclear power sector and facilitate its development. The bill was supported by 351 deputies, with 226 votes required for passage. Fifty-seven MPs voted against, with three abstentions. The document stipulates establishing a state-controlled holding company, Atomenergoprom, using the sector's civilian assets, and to subsequently allow other Russian corporate entities to possess non-weapons-grade nuclear materials, nuclear installations and nuclear storage facilities. Exclusive federal ownership of nuclear materials, nuclear installations and nuclear storage facilities is currently a major impediment to the development of the nuclear power sector. "The state will retain the entire system of control over nuclear materials in the country," Russia's civilian nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko told journalists. The head of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power said the reform is also aimed at generating cheaper electricity and reducing natural gas consumption in the country. The document specifies that any equity carve-out or trust-management deals involving the holding, its subsidiaries and associated companies is valid pending the Russian president's approval. Atomenergoprom, which will be wholly controlled by the government, is expected to be a large full-cycle corporation engaged in activities ranging from uranium extraction, fuel fabrication and electric power generation, to the construction of nuclear power plants, both domestically and abroad. The new corporation will also include nuclear engineering units, as well as design and research institutes. Kiriyenko earlier said there was no need at the current stage to include spent nuclear fuel processing and disposal facilities into the new corporation. The new holding company is set to be established in two stages. In the initial stage, Russia's nuclear fuel producer and supplier, TVEL, will become a subsidiary of Atomenergoprom, with 100% of its shares to be assigned to the charter capital of the new corporation, while nuclear enriching entities will join the parent company of the new nuclear holding, as requested by the defense ministry. 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 27 RIA Novosti: Russian nuclear chief to visit NPP in India Jan.22 19/ 01/ 2007 MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's top civilian nuclear official will visit a nuclear power plant Russia is helping build in India on January 22 during a three-day routine visit to the country, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power said Friday. Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, has been building the Kudankulam NPP in the southern province of Tamil Nadu since 2002, in line with a 1988 agreement between India and the Soviet Union and an addendum signed in 1998. When complete, it will have capacity of 2,000 MW. After visiting the construction site, Sergei Kiriyenko will meet with the head of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission to discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation in the civilian nuclear sector. Russia has offered India a government loan on favorable terms for the Kudankulam NPP project. REDTRAM.COM 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 28 TomPaine.com: Paying For Nuclear Power TomPaine.com Readers January 19, 2007 Re: Rupert Cromwell's otherwise meaningful January 17th Independent report (on the Doomsday Clock), to which you have provided a link, unfortunately also perpetuates a dangerous myth: That "Civil nuclear power"... "produces no greenhouse gases." Little could be further from the truth, and yet various members of the media continue to repeat this nuclear industry propaganda First, the mining, extraction, concentration and transport of the radioactive ore concentrates from which fuel-pellets are produced, requires the consumption of huge volumes of fossil fuels and fossil-fuel-generated electrical power. Figures have been established showing that the first 15 to 20 years of power generation from any nuclear power facility is simply trying to replace the conventional energy consumed to initially fuel it! And all of that initial conventional fuel consumption releases greenhouse gasses, just as a fossil-fuel power plant would. (By comparison, photovoltaics replace the energy required for their manufacture in under 3 years!) Further, additional MAJOR greenhouse gas release results from the construction of nuclear plants: the building of each such plant necessitates the manufacture and use of many thousands of tons of cement for concrete for containment, shielding and protection (from earthquake and terrorism), as well as the foundations to disperse its massive concentrated loads. And the production of cement results in over a ton of fossil-carbon release for each ton of cement produced. Cement is made primarily fromfrom which fossil-carbon CO2 is burned off. This is CO2 which was previously locked up in the earth for millions of years and is now released to corrupt the atmosphere. Current professional estimates are that between seven and 10 percentof ALL new CO2 released into the atmosphere each year is as a direct result of the manufacture and use of portland cement! This is not a trifling figure.... So these aspects of the nuclear equation should not be overlooked in laying out the truth of the very dirty nuclear cover-up. And as editors, showcasing articles from other sources, I feel it is your responsibility to provide caveats regarding the words of these writers, when they, intentionally or through lack journalistic rigor, perpetuate such dangerous and profit-serving misinformation. Sincerely, Don Stephens TomPaine.com.] ***************************************************************** 29 Heartland Institute: Democrat Group Calls for More Nuclear Power - by James Hoare - HEARTLAND INSTITUTE 19 South LaSalle Street Suite 903 Chicago, IL 60603 312.377.4000 "[T]he report encourages Democrats to take action now to remove regulatory hurdles that slow the development and construction process." Environment News February 2007 Publication Date: February 1, 2007 Nuclear power offers a safe and economical way to meet anticipated growth in American energy demand, according to an October 2006 report by the Progressive Policy Institute, a policy arm of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). The report, "A Progressive Energy Platform," praises nuclear power as a key weapon against asserted global climate change and air quality concerns. "Nuclear power holds great potential to be an integral part of a diversified energy portfolio for America," the report states. "It produces no greenhouse gas emissions, so it can help clean up the air and combat climate change." New Technological Advances Key to the DLC's support for nuclear power are technological advances that substantially improve on an already impressive safety and environmental record. "New plant designs promise to produce power more safely and economically than first-generation facilities," the report explains. "For example, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified three new designs that would use significantly fewer pumps, pipes, valves, and cables than first-generation facilities. "That will reduce the plants' complexity, making them easier to inspect and maintain," the report continues. "From a safety perspective, the new plants rely on natural forces such as gravity, natural circulation, and condensation, assuring safe shutdown even in the event of an accident." The report also notes further advances in nuclear plant design. "In addition to these three new approved designs," the report adds, "at least four other designs may soon win NRC approval. Among these is the promising modular, 'pebble bed' reactor design. As the name suggests, these smaller plants would use hundreds of thousands of uranium pebbles rather than large cores to generate power. As researchers at MIT recently concluded, these pebbles burn more completely than their traditional counterparts." Deregulation Needed The report stresses, however, that technological advances such as pebble bed reactors require a great deal of time to navigate through regulatory processes and actually get built. As a result, the report encourages Democrats to take action now to remove regulatory hurdles that slow the development and construction process. "It will take time to bring these next-generation facilities online. Progressives should support efforts to expedite the process," the report urges. "We certainly welcome the Progressive Policy Institute support," Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman Steve Kerekes said. "It reflects the fact that there is considerable bipartisan support for nuclear energy and there has been such support for a long time. "We anticipate this report will have a positive impact among Democrats and among citizens as a whole," Kerekes added. "Support for clean, safe, and economical nuclear power continues to build all across America." Political Landscape in Flux The DLC's support for nuclear power may undermine efforts by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to block completion of the Yucca Mountain storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. On December 7 Reid's clerk, Drew Wilson, told attendees at a nuclear power conference that Reid "is not going to change" his opposition to Yucca Mountain and that he will do whatever he can to block legislation that would assist completion of the facility. "It won't be moving for long if the majority leader is controlling the agenda," Wilson said of any proposed Yucca Mountain legislation. While the project "is not proceeding at the pace we would like," Kerekes said, he expects DLC support for nuclear power to minimize Reid's influence in blocking Yucca Mountain progress. "Harry Reid has acknowledged in the past that he alone cannot kill the program," said Kerekes. "There is broad public support for nuclear power," Kerekes continued. "And until Yucca comes online, used fuel must be stored in many places around the country, against the wishes of citizens who desire one safe, centralized storage facility." James Hoare () is an attorney practicing in Syracuse, New York. ***************************************************************** 30 Rutland Herald: Yankee notified of turbine issue at similar plant Rutland Vermont News & Information January 19, 2007 By Herald Staff BRATTLEBORO A significant problem at one of Vermont Yankee's "twin" plants in Minnesota prompted federal regulators Thursday to put Yankee and three other nuclear reactors on notice that there could be a problem in their turbine rooms. A spokesman for Entergy Nuclear said the company sent an engineer to Minnesota last weekend to investigate the problem. The company also said Vermont Yankee had a more "robust" design than the damaged component at the Monticello, Minn., plant. The Monticello plant, which opened in 1970, is owned by Xcel Energy. It recently received federal approval to operate for another 20 years. It also plans on boosting power production, as Vermont Yankee did a year ago. "Ours is a more robust design, a different design," said Robert Williams, Entergy Nuclear spokesman. Williams said Vermont Yankee's component that holds the intricate control system for the turbine was set on top of an I-beam and welded in place. In the Monticello case, the heavy metal framework was welded onto a support structure, said William Sherman, nuclear engineer for the Department of Public Service. "We looked into it for any similarities here, but ours is different and we've satisfied ourselves that ours is not subject to that kind of failure," Williams said. But Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the root cause of the problem was still under investigation. And Sherman said the state of Vermont was concerned about the issue of component fatigue and that such a problem wasn't discovered before it caused the emergency shut down. In Monticello's case, the problem was discovered after the plant went into an emergency shut down. Plant workers traced the problem back to the 35,000-pound framework, which had fallen eight to 10 inches onto a large steam line pipe. While the fall did not rupture the steam line, which contained low-level radioactivity, it did upset the plant's steam line valves. All of the plant's safety systems worked correctly, according to Sherman. Williams said Vermont Yankee was in constant contact with plants with similar containment designs. "We always share information. We share information daily and we're already very familiar with the people out there," he said of the Minnesota plant. Raymond Shadis, a consultant with the anti-nuclear group New England Coalition, said the larger issue was the lack of oversight for an aging nuclear reactor, which until it shut down last week was setting records for continuous operation. "Failing components should not be a surprise, since the industry is running them longer and harder without the normal surveillance and maintenance," Shadis said. Monticello had been in continuous operation for more than 600 days, he noted. Until recently, the nuclear industry standard was 12 to 18 months between refueling and maintenance outages. Vermont Yankee has also been working on setting a record, Shadis noted, since it had been in operation in excess of 430 days since its last shut down. Shadis said aging components was a significant issue that New England Coalition finally convinced the NRC to take a look at when it considers relicensing Vermont Yankee. "Those extended power uprates don't come without a price," Shadis said, referring to the 20 percent boost in power initiated at Yankee last year. Entergy Nuclear has asked for another 20-year license to continue to operate Vermont Yankee; in fact a special inspection team from the NRC is due in Vermont next week to look at the plant, according to the state nuclear engineer. Sherman said that while the Monticello problem did not appear "to be a Vermont problem," it raises the issue of aging and metal fatigue. "I don't know the answer of why it failed, I would assume it was an aging mechanism," Sherman said. The inspection will also address why the problem welds were not discovered earlier, he said. Contact Susan Smallheer ***************************************************************** 31 Brattleboro Reformer: VY told to watch out for mechanical problems By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff Friday, January 19 VERNON -- A mechanical failure that caused a nuclear power plant in Minnesota to be shut down indefinitely couldn't happen here, said Rob Williams, a spokesman for Vermont Yankee. "We have a different design that's not subject to that type of failure," he said. On Jan. 10, a one-unit, boiling water reactor in Monticello, Minn., automatically shut down after valves controlling the flow of steam to the plant's turbine locked into the full-open position. According to Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it appeared welds holding a 35,000 pound box broke, causing the box to fall 8-12 inches. Sheehan said the fall might have caused the valves to stick open. The box contains the valve control actuators that open and close the valves. "The plant did what it was supposed to do," said Sheehan. "It shut down." After the scram, as an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor is called, the NRC notified the operators of four other nuclear power plants -- Vermont Yankee, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Nine Mile Point in New York and Pilgrim in Massachusetts -- with a similar design. The Monticello reactor went on line in 1970 and received a 12 percent uprate approval last year, from 603 megawatts to 684. It had also received a 20-year license extension in November and, like Yankee, permission to expand on-site waste storage in dry casks. Sheehan said the notification was for informational purposes, not a warning. He said the NRC is not recommending that the four plants be shut down to look at their actuator boxes. "We don't have any information at this point that it affects Vermont Yankee," said Sheehan. "It could be just faulty welds in Minnesota." Williams said the actuators in Yankee's control box are similar to those found in the Vernon plant, but the box itself rests on the structure, and not on support beams, as at the Monticello plant. David Lochbaum, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said it's not entirely clear whether the fall caused the valves to jam open, or if the oil-controlled valves themselves caused something to happen that broke the welds. "You could have an oil system fluctuation," he said. "They have acted weird at a number of plants." Until engineers are allowed to tear down the box though, they won't know for sure what caused the event. Lochbaum said a fluctuation is not necessarily a serious problem. "Years ago, Vermont Yankee went through that as well," he said. "Each system has its own peculiarities." One local activist said the problem with the welds in Monticello is the rule, and not the exception. "The public needs to understand that faulty welding is common and has plagued Vermont Yankee and its sisters since 1972," said Diana Sidebotham, founder and board member of the New England Coalition, an organization pushing for the closure of Vermont Yankee. A turbine specialist was sent packing to Monticello the morning after the scram, said Williams. Because of the steam temperature and radiation, engineers can't enter the steam tunnel unless the plant is powered down or turned off completely. Williams said a scheduled outage this spring for refueling will allow VY technicians to take a look at the control valves. "We have a full-time staff that reviews operations at other plants to see what we can learn," said Williams. The NRC has a separate process of notification in cases such as this. "The individual plants share information on all aspects of plant quality and performance," said Williams. "That's one reason why these plants have vastly increased reliability over the years." Yankee and Pilgrim are both owned by Entergy, which is in the process of relicensing both plants. Recently, Entergy received the OK to push more power out of its Vernon facility, from 540 megawatts, in five percent increments, to 648 megawatts. Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.comor (802) 254-2311, ext. 273. New England Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 Business Gazette: County holds up n-plant plan PLANS for a nuclear waste site at Lillyhall have have been held up by the county council. Studsvik UK, a waste treatment company, is proposing to build a plant on Joseph Noble Road which will decontaminate radioactive metal from Sellafield and other sources around the country. But a council spokesman said its application had not been accepted and a environmental statement would be needed. John Pell, development control manager for the environmental unit at the council, said: “We have received an application from Studsvik but we have not accepted it as valid at the moment. The company is aware of our position and they are looking at the issues we have raised.” The plans have caused fierce objection from local business owners including Gates Tyres, SB Engineering, JR Dixon haulage and sportswear manufacturer Wulfsport International. Owners claim the plant would make the area less attractive to new businesses and are concerned about the health risks. Alan Dawson, founder metalwork company Alan Dawson Associates, next to the proposed plant, said: “The perceptions of people will change when you see the facility protected by an intimidating security fence, barbed wire and signs displaying the risk of nuclear contaminants on the site. “The image a lot of people have of West Cumbria is Sellafield and this is extending the boundary of what is frightening many people.” Other local business owners, such as Keith Thomas of Motor Engineers Ltd ,were concerned the plant would have a negative impact on property prices in the area. However, Mark Lyons, president of Studsvik UK Ltd, said: “The low level contamination of the metal to be treated and recycled back into the international metal market means that workers handling it would only need to wear standard overalls and gloves. “There will be no significant radioactive emissions from our recycling activities and no long-term storage or disposal of radioactive waste on the site which would be regulated by the Environment Agency.” He added: “Since submitting our main planning application to Cumbria County Council in late December we have been informed that it requires a ‘design and access’ statement, a new government requirement, before it can be considered by planners.” He denied claims that the plant would negatively affect the area and said it would improve the existing site. The plans will be re-submitted in the next few weeks. 20 January 2007 ***************************************************************** 33 NRC: Nebraska Public Power District; Notice of Consideration of FR Doc E7-699 [Federal Register: January 19, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 12)] [Notices] [Page 2560-2562] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19ja07-92] Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-46, issued to Nebraska Public Power District (the licensee), for operation of the Cooper Nuclear Station located in Nemaha County, Nebraska. [[Page 2561]] The proposed amendment would revise the Cooper Nuclear Station Technical Specification (TS) 4.3.1.1.c by adding a new nominal center- to-center distance between fuel assemblies for the new storage racks, and would revise TS 4.3.3 by increasing the capacity of the spent fuel storage pool from 2,366 assemblies to 2,651 assemblies. Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee had provided its analysis of the no significant hazards consideration determination, which was presented in the Biweekly Federal Register Notice. The Biweekly Federal Register Notice--Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for Hearing, was published in Federal Register on December 5, 2006 (71 FR 70561). The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination. Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60- day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30- day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently. Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene is discussed below. Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating license and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR Part 2. Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the following general requirements: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding. Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support the requestor's/petitioner's position on the issue and on which the petitioner intends to rely at the hearing, together with references to those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner intends to rely at hearing. The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under consideration and must raise issues material to the findings the NRC must make to support the action that is involved in the proceeding. A petitioner/requestor who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party. Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing. If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves no significant hazards [[Page 2562]] consideration, the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment. Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the presiding officer that the petition, request and/or the contentions should be granted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (3) E-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at (301) 415-1101, verification number is (301) 415-1966. A copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be transmitted either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. A copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent Mr. John C. McClure, Nebraska Public Power District, Post Office Box 499, Columbus, NE 63602-0499, attorney for the licensee. The Commission hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an application for a license amendment falling within the scope of section 134 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), 42 U.S.C. 10154. Under section 134 of the NWPA, in certain contested proceedings the Commission, at the request of any party to the proceeding, must provide an opportunity for oral argument with respect to ``any matter which the Commission determines to be in controversy among the parties.'' Section 134 provides for oral argument on matters in controversy, preceded by discovery under the Commission's rules and the designation, following argument of only those factual issues that involve a genuine and substantial dispute, together with any remaining questions of law, to be resolved in an adjudicatory hearing. Actual adjudicatory hearings are to be held on only those issues found to meet the criteria of section 134 and set for hearing after oral argument. The Commission's rules implementing section 134 of the NWPA are found in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart K, ``Hybrid Hearing Procedures for Expansion of Spent Fuel Storage Capacity at Civilian Nuclear Power Reactors.'' Under those rules, any party to the proceeding may invoke the hybrid hearing procedures by filing with the presiding officer a written request for oral argument under 10 CFR 2.1109. To be timely, the request must be filed together with a request for hearing/petition to intervene, filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309. If it is determined a hearing will be held, the presiding officer must grant a timely request for oral argument. The presiding officer may grant an untimely request for oral argument only upon a showing of good cause by the requesting party for the failure to file on time and after providing the other parties an opportunity to respond to the untimely request. If the presiding officer grants a request for oral argument, any hearing held on the application must be conducted in accordance with the hybrid hearing procedures. In essence, those procedures limit the time available for discovery and require that an oral argument be held to determine whether any contentions must be resolved in an adjudicatory hearing. If no party to the proceeding timely requests oral argument, and if all untimely requests for oral argument are denied, then the usual procedures in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L apply. For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment dated October 17, 2006, which is available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of January, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Carl F. Lyon, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-699 Filed 1-18-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: Massachusetts Attorney General; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking; Reopening of Public Comment Period [Docket No. PRM-51-10] FR Doc E7-712 [Federal Register: January 19, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 12)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 2464] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19ja07-10] AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; reopening of public comment period. SUMMARY: On November 1, 2006 (71 FR 64169), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking, dated August 25, 2006, which was filed with the Commission by Diane Curran on behalf of the Massachusetts Attorney General. The petition was docketed by the NRC on September 19, 2006, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-51-10. On December 15, 2006, several external stakeholder groups requested a 60 day extension of the public comment period owing to the importance of the rulemaking, the voluminous technical documents that require careful review, and the occurrence of major national events (elections) and holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years celebrations) during the comment period which limits the time available for stakeholders to comment. The NRC is reopening the comment period on the petition for an additional 60 days from the original January 16, 2007 deadline. The comment period closes on March 19, 2007. DATES: The comment period has been reopened and now expires on March 19, 2007. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this petition by any one of the following methods. Please include PRM-51-10 in the subject line of your comments. Comments on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. E-mail comments to: . If you do not receive a reply e- mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us directly at 301-415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at . Address questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail . Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal . Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Federal workdays. Telephone number 301-415-1966. Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-1101. Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web site at . Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at . From this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to . A paper copy of the petition may be obtained by contacting Betty Golden, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone 301-415-6863, toll-free 1-800-368- 5642, or by e-mail . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone 301-415-7163 or toll free 1-800- 368-5642. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of January 2007. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. E7-712 Filed 1-18-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 35 VietNamNet Bridge: Upgrading Da Lat Nuclear Reactor 17:18' 19/01/2007 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – According to the Department of Nuclear Radioactivity Supervision and Safety (Ministry of Science and Technology), the nuclear reactor in Da Lat has been dismantled for upgrading purposes. The whole neutron measuring and control signal processing system will be replaced. The current control system was installed in 1983, and first upgraded at the beginning of 1993. This second upgrade is being funded by 2 sources: 243,000 USD from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and 400,000 USD from the government budget for scientific research. In March 2007, domestic and international experts will inspect and standardise the whole system. After the inspection, the Department of Nuclear Radioactivity Supervision and Safety will consult the Minister of Science and Technology about the issuance of a permit for the Da Lat Nuclear Reactor. (Source: VNE ) ***************************************************************** 36 ITAR-TASS: Duma approves law on establishing state nuclear holding 19.01.2007, 11.59 MOSCOW, January 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The State Duma approved the third reading of the draft law on peculiarities of management and possession of property and shares of organizations, which are specialized in the use of atomic energy. Under the new law the nuclear industry in Russia will be reformed and divided in the defence and civil sectors, meanwhile, enterprises of the civil sector will be subject to corporatization. One of the major innovations is the establishment of a unified state nuclear holding the major joint stock society, all stock of which will be in federal possession. Head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency Sergei Kiriyenko earlier noted that the holding will be managed as the gas giant Gazprom or the Russian Railways Company do. The draft law stipulates the state property of the holding, and there will be no any privatization, Kiriyenko pledged. Russian juridical persons, who have licenses for the right to operate in the use of atomic energy, will be permitted to possess nuclear materials, which are not designed for weapons, nuclear plants and nuclear material storage depots. The State Duma also approved an amendment, under which the government should inform the Duma about the reform in the nuclear industry. ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 37 UNIAN: EU says Lithuania must shut down Soviet-era reactor [19.01.2007 11:23] The European Union said it won`t allow Lithuania to operate a Soviet-era nuclear reactor beyond its scheduled shutdown in 2009, potentially curtailing power supplies to the Baltic nation and surrounding countries, according to Bloomberg. They have to close the plant by the agreed date, EU energy spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny said in a phone interview. This is not subject to discussion. The Lithuanian parliament is undeterred. Yesterday, it voted unanimously to request EU permission to delay closing the Ignalina plant, repudiating a pledge Lithuania made to join the European community in 2004. The former Soviet state is lobbying for a delay that would help it cope with scarce domestic energy sources. A new nuclear plant to replace Ignalina won`t be operating before 2015, meaning energy supplies will be strained. Lithuania relies on the 1,500-megawatt reactor to generate enough power for the nation and to export it to neighboring countries. The planned reactor will be built by Lithuania, its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, and Poland to diversify their energy sources and ease dependence on imported natural gas from Russia. The 19-year-old plant uses the same reactor as the Chernobyl nuclear station in Ukraine. It was upgraded with new safety technology after the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the world`s worst nuclear-reactor disaster, which contaminated parts of Europe with radiation. The plant`s 1,500-megawatt capacity is enough to supply about 3 million average European homes, although though the EU wants potentially unsafe reactors closed. Lithuania signed an agreement that has been ratified by all member states to close Ignalina, Tarradellas Espuny said. Ignalina, named for the nearby city of the same name, closed one of its two reactors two years ago. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas criticized the parliament`s plans to renegotiate the closing, saying Lithuania should concentrate on building a new nuclear plant instead, in an interview broadcast January 16. 2001 - 2007 UNIAN.NET All Right Protected. ***************************************************************** 38 Indo Asian News Service: Read fine print of n-deal, caution experts Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Jan 18 (IANS) Unhappy with the final shape the India-US civil nuclear energy deal is taking, two leading scientists have cautioned the government to act before it is too late and take the concerns of the scientific community into account. 'While in New Delhi political and economic considerations are taken into account, it was time the scientific community should stand up and make its concerns known to the government,' said A.N. Prasad, a former director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). 'It is already late and the Hyde Act is through, (but) at least before the 123 Agreement the government must take into account concerns of the scientific community,' Prasad said Thursday while delivering the inaugural address at a two-day symposium at BARC's Kalpakkam campus, 80 km south of Chennai. 'It is we, the scientists, who have to finally deliver (the technology) and it is the scientists who suffer the denial of technology and barriers to research,' he said. The P-5 countries (the US, Russia, China, France, and Britain) have about 217 nuclear reactors between them and only a dozen of these are open to international inspection, Prasad said, adding the July 2005 agreement between President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh places 'as many as 14 reactors from one single country (India) under inspection'. 'Can any scientist work with someone breathing down his neck?' he asked, adding: 'It is because of our (scientists') contributions that India is able to talk to a superpower. 'The deal gives the nuclear industry in the US an opportunity to revive and make some money, sell fuel and reactors to India. With the deal, we may get some uranium in fits and starts and be able to import a few reactors, open to inspection and making us dependent on technology received.' He also favoured complete freedom for India's innovative reactor programme, an emerging technology concept. 'If the deal allows us imports, it should also allow us to export our own indigenously developed technologies, but as you all know the Hyde Act controls this,' Prasad added. 'Supposing our security perception changes... Weapons design too is subject to change and our requirements may change. 'We have to go by past experiences with the US and remember what happened in 1993, when an act set aside an agreement,' Prasad said, referring to the stoppage by the US of the promised U-fuel supply to the Tarapur reactor after Pokharan-I test with retrospective effect. 'Before the 123 Agreement, the government must ensure that the assurances addressing each of our concerns - what is mandatory, what is advisory, what is exempt from inspection - the small print in the deal is completely clarified and in writing and made legally binding,' he said. His views were echoed by M.R. Srinivasan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, who delivered the Nani A. Palkhivala memorial lecture in Chennai Wednesday. With the Hyde Act 'India will be denied the option of a nuclear test for all time to come,' Srinivasan said, adding that New Delhi had been put in 'an indefensible position' by the deal as the Hyde Act called for a moratorium on the production of fissile material. Copyright Indo-Asian News Service ***************************************************************** 39 UPI: Analysis: Diablo case shakes nuke industry United Press International - Energy - 1/19/2007 6:38:00 PM -0500 By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court decision Tuesday not to hear an appeal by a California nuclear company means federal regulators will have to decide how to factor in terrorist attacks when evaluating environmental impacts of nuclear waste storage. In denying Pacific Gas &Electric's appeal of a June 2 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the high court may have forced the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to address the threat of terrorist attacks on nuclear facilities like it hasn't in the past. The appellate court said the NRC violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it didn't include a terrorist attack in an environmental impact report for an application to create dry cask storage at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. PG, which owns Diablo Canyon, was granted the license and is constructing the storage for waste that will soon accumulate beyond can be contained in the cooling pool, where newly spent nuclear fuel is immediately placed. The environmental impact report was part of the license. The NRC maintains the terrorist threat should be addressed under the Atomic Energy Act, not NEPA. The commission said it will now decide to what extent it needs to address terrorism in environmental reports, while keeping the door open to challenge the court ruling in the future. Opponents of New Jersey's Oyster Creek nuclear plant had hoped the ruling would help their attempt to block the plant's license renewal. The NRC, in a statement Friday, said "there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal." NRC officials said the report was completed prior to the Supreme Court's ruling. The commission's environmental impact statement for Oyster Creek's renewal had no mention of terrorism, though opponents raised the issue numerous times in public hearings. "Basically, since we didn't know how the Supreme Court would come down, we couldn't really be planning in advance of that," said David McIntyre, spokesman for the NRC. "And now that they have come down and said they're not going to review the case, we need to wait for the commission to decide. I don't think they're going to waste a lot of time on this," he said. "They're going to decide fairly soon." Until then, the NRC will continue with business as usual. Opponents of the license renewal of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant plan to raise the terrorism issue at a Jan. 31 hearing on a draft environmental impact report. If the commission determines the court's ruling demands terrorist threats be included, McIntyre said it will be included in a final report. While nuclear opponents add the ruling to their tool belt, the nuclear industry is in a wait and see mode now. "The ball's in the NRC's court and we're looking to them to tell us what needs to be done, what issues need to be resolved to address the ninth circuit's concerns," said Jeff Lewis, a PG spokesman. "We'd like to make sure that the issues are resolved in time for us to have the scheduled loading, which is now set for early 2008." Beyond creating new space for storing nuclear waste -- which the federal government is supposed to take possession of anyway, alleviating the dry cask storage issue -- the ruling cold be interpreted to mean any serious changes to a nuclear plant, any license renewal applications or applications for a new reactor could have to pass the test of how a terrorist attack could affect the surrounding environment. Nuclear plants aren't required to be designed to ward off or protect against terrorist attacks like an airplane crash or bomb, said Tom Christopher, chief executive officer of Areva Inc. But the Diablo Canyon ruling now forces that concern on the nuclear regulators and, in turn, possibly the nuclear industry. "It makes it more difficult for operating plants in the future," Christopher said. "Once you have questioned whether terrorists ought to be included in the storage area out there for your spent fuel storage, what's next?" "You will run the risk in the years to come that the threat will be continuously reevaluated," he added, thus making nuclear plants more expensive to build and operate. "I think that this decision will probably have a larger influence in those states where nuclear power plants are politically contentious," said Christopher Lapp, an independent nuclear and environmental expert. Lapp said nuclear plants and waste storage are designed to protect a plane or bomb attack as well as mitigate the affects to the community around it. The NRC had said the chance of terrorist attack wasn't great enough to warrant its inclusion in the Diablo Canyon environmental review. On Thursday, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection officials said it needed to read the Oyster Creek ruling before commenting. The day before they were hopeful the Diablo Canyon case set precedent for them. Vermont Yankee opponents say they'll "absolutely" bring up terrorism, again, when pressing the NRC at the Jan. 31 environmental review hearing, though they think it should be pushed back until the commission decides how to interpret the appellate court decision. "I think it has to be postponed, it has to be put on hold while the NRC is accountable to the 9th circuit and the Supreme Court in terms of revising its rules," said Deb Katz, executive director of the Citizens Action Network. And if the NRC's rules are perceived too lenient to the industry, "they could wind up back in court on this," Katz said. (Comments to energy@upi.com) Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 times and star: County holds up n-plant plan Published on 19/01/2007 PLANS for a nuclear waste site at Lillyhall have have been held up by the county council. Studsvik UK, a waste treatment company, is proposing to build a plant on Joseph Noble Road which will decontaminate radioactive metal from Sellafield and other sources around the country. But a council spokesman said its application had not been accepted and a environmental statement would be needed. John Pell, development control manager for the environmental unit at the council, said: “We have received an application from Studsvik but we have not accepted it as valid at the moment. The company is aware of our position and they are looking at the issues we have raised.” The plans have caused fierce objection from local business owners including Gates Tyres, SB Engineering, JR Dixon haulage and sportswear manufacturer Wulfsport International. Owners claim the plant would make the area less attractive to new businesses and are concerned about the health risks. Alan Dawson, founder metalwork company Alan Dawson Associates, next to the proposed plant, said: “The perceptions of people will change when you see the facility protected by an intimidating security fence, barbed wire and signs displaying the risk of nuclear contaminants on the site. “The image a lot of people have of West Cumbria is Sellafield and this is extending the boundary of what is frightening many people.” Other local business owners, such as Keith Thomas of Motor Engineers Ltd ,were concerned the plant would have a negative impact on property prices in the area. However, Mark Lyons, president of Studsvik UK Ltd, said: “The low level contamination of the metal to be treated and recycled back into the international metal market means that workers handling it would only need to wear standard overalls and gloves. “There will be no significant radioactive emissions from our recycling activities and no long-term storage or disposal of radioactive waste on the site which would be regulated by the Environment Agency.” He added: “Since submitting our main planning application to Cumbria County Council in late December we have been informed that it requires a ‘design and access’ statement, a new government requirement, before it can be considered by planners.” He denied claims that the plant would negatively affect the area and said it would improve the existing site. The plans will be re-submitted in the next few weeks. ***************************************************************** 41 Guardian Unlimited: Paper: Jordan King Wants Nuclear Program From the Associated Press [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 12:31 PM AP Photo AMM104 By MATTI FRIEDMAN Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper Friday that his country wants its own nuclear program. In an interview with the daily Haaretz, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power ``for peaceful purposes'' and was already discussing its plans with Western countries. ``The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region,'' the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desire for a nuclear program. Though Jordan would rather see a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, he said, ``every desire we had on this issue has changed.'' It was the first time Abdullah spoke openly about desires for a Jordanian nuclear program for peaceful purposes. ``The Egyptians are looking for a nuclear program. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are looking at one, and we are actually looking at nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes,'' he told Haaretz. Abdullah said any country acquiring nuclear facilities should adhere to international regulations and submit to inspection. ``What's expected from us should be a standard across the board. We want to make sure this is used for energy. What we don't want is an arms race to come out of this,'' he added. Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, would not comment. Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies and former head of strategic planning for the Israeli military, said Abdullah was likely not serious about developing a nuclear program. ``The Jordanians don't have the resources,'' Brom said. Brom said the Jordanian king was probably trying to make the point that if Iran, which is moving ahead with its nuclear program despite international protests and U.N.-imposed sanctions, is allowed to become a nuclear power, then a regional nuclear race will be unavoidable. ``Abdullah might be saying that if the Iranians aren't prevented from getting a nuclear program, Jordan and everyone else will want one of their own,'' Brom said. Israel fears that Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government says is for civilian purposes, is actually intended to produce nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has said Israel should be ``wiped off the map.'' Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its own, but has never officially confirmed that it does. In the Haaretz interview, Abdullah said Iran, through its support for the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas, had established a role for itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite its geographical and cultural distance. ``Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue,'' he said. ``As a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound.'' Abdullah said that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was key to broader Middle East stability and should take precedence over the unresolved dispute between Israel and Syria. ``Solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem allows us to tackle the other issues around us. All of us are looking at Iraq with concern, we don't know what's going to happen in Lebanon, although we hope that they're moving in the right direction,'' he said. ``Whether people like it or not, the linchpin is always the Israeli-Palestinian problem.'' Abdullah said the Palestinian issue could help make other issues easier. ``Syria seems to be of tremendous interest in the Israeli public opinion, but I think that the priority, if you want to get the guarantees that Israel wants for a stable future, the core issue takes the priority. We have to launch the Palestinian process and then hope that things will go easier with the other players.'' Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 42 Navhind Times: N-mishaps: India, Pak to sign pact on risk reduction on the Web: India PTI New Delhi, Jan 18 In a significant decision, India today announced that an agreement on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons will be signed with Pakistan next month. The agreement reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons will be signed during the visit of the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri here for the joint commission meeting. The decision was taken at a meeting of cabinet committee on security chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh here, the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee told reporters. The dates for Mr Kasuris visit are being worked out through diplomatic channels. Mr Mukherjee said the issue had been under discussion with Pakistan for quite some time and now the two countries were ready to sign it. The two countries had reached an understanding on signing the agreement in November during the foreign secretary-level talks here but a cabinet approval was required for it. India and Pakistan already have an arrangement for informing each other about their nuclear installations and facilities to be insulated from any attack from the other. Under the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, which came into force in 1991, the two countries exchange lists of their nuclear installations and facilities on January 1 every year. The two countries also have an agreement for pre-notification of ballistic missile tests, operational since 2005. Meanwhile, India today said its relations with Pakistan cannot be circumscribed or held hostage by a single issue like Kashmir and the two countries should address together global challenges being faced by them. We would not wanted to see our relations with Pakistan, a very important neighbour, are circumscribed to one issue or held hostage, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Mr Satyabrata Pal told a media get-together at the South Asian Free Media Association Islamabad. He said the two countries face very serious and much broader global challenges and they can work together. Mr Pal said the two countries made efforts to resolve Kashmir which is self-evidently a very important issue. Discussions are taking place. ... We hope eventually through these discussions and others we will come to peaceful resolution of problems that confronted or bedeviled the bilateral relationship. While doing so the two countries meanwhile could collectively address global challenges faced by them, he added. Friday, January 19, 2007 Copyright Navhind Papers & Publications Ltd. All rights ***************************************************************** 43 Columbian: In Our View: Columbia Cleanup Columbian.com - Serving Clark County, Washington Friday, January 19, 2007 Columbian editorial writers With its status as 'Great Body of Water' comes great attention on its pollution In "Washington's History," author Harry Ritter describes the steamboat era of the 19th century and writes: "Before railroads, water was the best highway and Washington boasted two great waterways -- the Columbia-Snake River system and Puget Sound." A century and a half later, those same two waterways share a distinction of being among just seven entries on the Nation's Great Water Bodies list from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Everglades and Long Island Sound. It's great that they are Great Water Bodies, but they also are in need of the EPA's attention for water quality restoration and protection. The agency last September ratcheted up the level of urgency for the cleanup of the Columbia and notified Congress of its plans. For that, we can be encouraged and grateful. Wednesday, as reported by The Columbian's Erik Robinson on Thursday, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council met in Vancouver and was briefed on the Columbia River's problems and the plans to work on those problems over the next several years. The council usually makes news in connection with hydroelectric dams and efforts to restore salmon runs, but not this time. This time, the members heard about crayfish caught just upstream of Bonneville Dam that had so much toxic chemicals in their bodies, Robinson reported, "the creatures had to be hauled away for special disposal." The concerns extend well beyond the health of crayfish, most notably to include radioactive waste seeping into the river at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland. While the EPA report on the health of the Great River of the West is cause for hand-wringing, the EPA's plan of attack deserves cheers, encouragement and, yes, federal dollars, considering that the Columbia is a national treasure, draining parts of seven states and British Columbia. According to a Northwest Power and Conservation Council memorandum, the EPA, states, tribes, local governments and others are developing a strategy to remove contaminated sediments, bring back native anadromous fish and restore water quality and habitat. For example, the EPA plans to filter and break down chemical pollutants on thousands of acres of riverside wetland and upland habitat and clean contaminants from the landfill above Bonneville Dam. It even set benchmarks, including a 10 percent reduction in certain contaminants in water and fish tissue. "We're going to show some accountability on moving toward toxics reduction," said Mary Lou Soscia, the EPA's Columbia River cleanup coordinator. "We're saying this is important and we're going to do work to have some demonstrated success." ©2007 Columbian.com. All Rights Reserved - ***************************************************************** 44 Spectrum: SG City Council gives thumbs-down to Divine Strake www.thespectrum.com - The Spectrum, St. George, UT Friday, January 19, 2007 By SCOTT DAVID JOHNSON ST. GEORGE Assurances that Divine Strake will pose no risk to the public sound too familiar to a city that has already suffered "incalculable loss" from previous weapons tests, said St. George Mayor Daniel D. McArthur. The mayor and city council broke their silence on the Pentagon's planned 700-ton non-nuclear, open-air test, reading a statement in opposition to Divine Strake and "any related testing" at the Nevada Test Site. "The City of St. George has a unique history due to its proximity to the Nevada nuclear test site during the atomic age," McArthur said before a public meeting. "Thousands of early deaths of those living in Southern Utah and the surrounding areas have been attributed to nuclear testing during the 1950s and '60s at the site." McArthur spoke on behalf of a unanimous City Council. Scarcely a mile away Thursday night, residents at a hearing scheduled by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality were commenting for the record on a Divine Strake environmental assessment released in December. The study acknowledges that the massive blast could sweep radiation from previous nuclear tests into the atmosphere, to be carried by wind to populated areas. But the "radiological dose" would not exceed that of background radiation or require further environmental scrutiny, the study said. For more, please see tomorrow's edition of The Spectrum &Daily News. Originally published January 19, 2007 Print this article Copyright 2007 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 45 Salt Lake Tribune: Downwind again Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 01/18/2007 07:47:50 PM MST The Defense Department plans to detonate at the Nevada Test Site conventional explosives preliminary to resuming nuclear testing there. The first test, "Divine Strake," now postponed, uses massive amounts of conventional explosives. Nevertheless, the proposed testing risks resuspending dangerous fallout radioisotopes from previous nuclear tests and spreading them downwind to Utah. Although some radioisotopes like I-131 that were spread over the Nevada Test Site by earlier nuclear tests had half-lives measured in a few days and are mostly decayed, Neptunium 237, one of the radioisotopes in fallout, has a half-life of 2.1 million years, and if dispersed in dust by a conventional explosive, could still cause cancer over most of Utah and other downwind states. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voted millions of dollars to refurbish and operate the NTS, thus making possible the potential cancer deaths caused by "Divine Strake." For the sake of the people of Utah, I respectfully request that our senators reverse their prior positions and seek a moratorium on "Divine Strake" and further nuclear testing of any type. Zell A. McGee, M.D. Member, Physicians for Social Responsibility Salt Lake City © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 46 Salt Lake Tribune: Hearing like a rally as Utahns rail against Divine Strake test By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 01/19/2007 12:37:46 AM MST ST. GEORGE - Southern Utah residents welcomed the opportunity Thursday to speak their piece about the proposed Divine Strake explosion test. Person after person stepped to the microphone during the first of Gov. Jon M. Huntsman's two Divine Strake public hearings. Many of the same people derided information sessions held last week by the federal agencies behind the explosion test. Unlike the federal hearings, the governor's was not subject-limited to technical issues. The hearing was more like a political rally, where outrage, grief and frustration spilled out from about five dozen people who blame atomic testing in the 1950s at the nearby Nevada Test Site for a grim litany of illnesses and deaths. The non-nuclear Divine Strake blast also will take place at the Nevada Test Site. "It always surprises me we have to fight this," said Claudia Peterson, whose family has been plagued with cancer that she believes is caused by the atomic testing. "I don't think we should have to fight so hard to have a happy, healthy life." But a fight is exactly what all but one speaker insisted state leaders should do. They doubt the federal government's assertion the test will not send a mushroom cloud of radiation-tainted litter into Utah, like the earlier atomic tests did. They also want Divine Strake stopped to ensure that the U.S. government does not begin testing and using nuclear weapons once again. Department of Environmental Quality Director Dianne Nielson, representing the Republican governor, listened for more than two hours in a packed Dixie State College auditorium. Physicist Raymond H. Cyr urged Nielson to "be all over the measures" if the tests do go forward, since radiation from the atomic tests could be seen as far away as New York. "Distrust and verify," he said. Richard Andrews complained about lies from the federal government over the impacts of past tests. "I don't know about anyone else," he said, "but I don't trust them." Applause roared from the audience of more than 200 after his remarks, as they did many times after speakers talked about the lingering impacts of past tests. Two agencies, the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, say that Divine Strake (the name, they insist, has no meaning) will help the government learn more about destroying underground bunkers being used by U.S. enemies. Their plan is to detonate 700 tons of ammonium nitrate, a non-nuclear explosive, to measure the likely impact of both conventional and nuclear explosions. To many people, including Michelle Thomas, the federal government's studies and assurances mean nothing. "They can send me booklets up the yin-yang and I won't believe them," she said. St. George resident Carl Palmer was the sole speaker in support of the tests as a necessary tool for securing national security - and he was booed for it.s He noted that he watched the atomic test explosions when he was a boy growing up in Cedar City, and hundreds of people like himself suffered no ill effects. He said the remarks made Thursday represented "a lynch-mob mentality." Palmer's comments, like those of his critics, will be included in the state's official statement to the federal agencies on their environmental assessment. fahys@sltrib.com About the public hearings Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr.'s Divine Strake public hearing in Salt Lake City will take place in the West Capitol Office Building, Room 135, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration will continue to take comments on their environmental assessment of Divine Strake through Feb. 7. More information, is available at www.dtra.mil. © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 47 The Spectrum: Opposition mounts www.thespectrum.com - Spectrum, St. George, UT Friday, January 19, 2007 + St. George residents gather at DSC to debate Divine Strake test BY PATRICE ST. GERMAIN patrices@thespectrum.com ST. GEORGE - When Carl Palmer, of Cedar City, spoke in support of Divine Strake, he got booed. About 200 people attended an emotional public hearing at Dixie State College on Thursday evening to voice their opinions on the proposed Divine Strake test. The comments will become part of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s response to the environmental assessment on the test. The three-plus hours of public comment were filled with poignant stories and family histories of death because of downwind-related cancers, personal feelings and thoughts of Southern Utah's past, present and future. Divine Strake is a 700-ton fuel oil and ammonium nitrate bomb that is proposed to be detonated at the Nevada Test Site, only a mile from where nuclear testing was conducted beginning in the 1950s. Dianne Nielson, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, was the moderator for the evening and a similar meeting is scheduled in Salt Lake City next week. Springdale Mayor Pat Cluff read a letter that the town council voted unanimously at a meeting this month to send to the National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Site Office in response to the draft environmental assessment that was released last month. Cyril Noble, with the Washington County Democratic Party, called the 700-ton bomb muck and asked why a bomb so big needed to be tested, considering that a bomb that size could not be lifted by air. Downwinder Michelle Thomas said she was pleased to see so many people at the meeting and said it showed her that there are people who care. Speaking about the comment period on the environmental assessment and the meeting last week, Thomas said environmental impact statements have already been done. "We have done environmental impact statements. They're called our cemeteries all over Utah," Thomas said. Lois Iverson spoke of losing her two sons and her husband to downwind-related cancers and about the testing that took place during the 1950s when her son Norman was a scout in Primary when he and 11 other boys used to go and watch the bombs go off after camping out. "I don't think they ever missed an explosion," Iverson said. "Oleta Nelson, the teacher, was among the first to die of radiation cancer. Our oldest, Norman, passed away at the age of 42 from esophagus cancer. At my last count, 11 of the 12 boys had died from cancer." Another comment was made about the explosion that has taken place in the area in the last few weeks - an explosion of love and connectivity because everyone in the area would be impacted if the test takes place. Several people mentioned health issues as a major concern - not only for people in Southern Utah and across the country but others as well, asking why we would want to use such a powerful blast against other countries. Palmer, who spoke about halfway through the meeting, said he didn't know if people were going to boo him because he was from Cedar City or because he was for the test and said he was probably the only person there for the test. "I always wondered what it would feel like to be with a lynch mob," Palmer said. "I feel like I'm with one tonight and the government is the victim." Several comments were hollered out at Palmer until someone stood up and hollered at the audience to show Palmer some respect. Palmer said he was for the test and said he hoped the engineers, attorneys, scientists and technicians make the decision to go ahead with it. Divine Strake EA Comments PO Box 98518 Las Vegas, NV 89193-8518 divinestrake@nv.doe.gov Fax - 702-295-0625 Photos by Jud Burkett / The Spectrum Jud ABOVE: Downwinder Michelle Thomas expresses her objections to the Divine Strake test proposed for the Nevada Test Site during a public hearing on the matter Thursday on the campus of Dixie State College. BELOW: Wayne Eckman holds up a sign in objection to the Divine Strake test proposed for the Nevada Test Site during a public hearing on Thursday. BELOW RIGHT: Stenographer Rory Johnson takes down the official record of objections to the Divine Strake test. Richard Spotts voices his objections to the Divine Strake test proposed for the Nevada Test Site during a hearing on the matter Thursday on the campus of Dixie State College. Copyright 2007 The Spectrum. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 48 ABC4: Utah "Downwinders" Testify at Hearing on Divine Strake - ABC4.com Last Update: 1/18/2007 11:17:02 PM [Video] Watch This Video It all sound eerily familiar to the people of Southern Utah. The federal government is assuring them that a surface explosion as big as a low yield nuclear weapon but non-nuclear and the fallout from it will be harmless. Divine Strake, the government says, is a necessary to test the militaries capability to take out hardened bunkers and tunnels deep underground. The government made similar assurances during open air nuclear testing in Nevada during the 1950's. Then the treat was communism. Then the clouds of smoke and ash that passed over southern Utah were seen as symbols of freedom and the power to protect it. School classes would hike the red mountains to get a better look at the distant blast, eat lunch and then watch the fallout drift over them. They and many others became known as "downwinders". Many of those downwinders died of a variety of cancers at rates much higher than the general population. Now there's fear of another generation of downwinders not from a nuclear blast, but from the detonation of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate. The explosion is expected to launch a mushroom cloud 10,000 feet into the air and filled with radioactive dust from all those old nuclear tests. The feds have already hosted "open houses" on Divine Strake in both Utah and Nevada. But many who attended were dissatisfied with the lack of opportunity for input. So Utah governor Jon Huntsman asked the Department of Environmental Quality to hold two additional hearings. The first was held Thursday night on the Dixie State College campus in St. George. The 2nd will be January 24 from 5:30p 8:30p at Utah State Capitol, West Building, room 135. © 2007 Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc. | ***************************************************************** 49 Pakistan Times: Pakistan-India to ink pact on reducing nuke accident Risk [Pakistan Times (PakistanTimes.net | DailyPakistanTimes.com)] 'Pakistan Times' Foreign Desk NEW DELHI (India): Pakistan and India will next month sign an agreement on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons, it was announced here Thursday. The agreement on "Reducing the Risk from Accidents Relating to Nuclear Weapons" was cleared at a meeting of the cabinet committee on security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The issue had been under discussion with Pakistan "for quite some time and now the two countries are ready to sign it", External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting. The pact will be signed during the visit here in February of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri for the India-Pakistan Joint Commission Meeting. Mukherjee will sign from the Indian side. The exact dates for Kasuri's visit were "being worked out through diplomatic channels", Mukherjee said. India and Pakistan had reached an understanding on signing the agreement in November 2006 during the foreign secretary-level talks here and cabinet approval was awaited. [ ] [ ] Copyright 2002-2007 TIMES Group of Publications All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 50 IDAHO MOUNTAIN EXPRESS: Divine Strake meeting set for Boise Updated: January 19th, 2007 8:37 AM By :REBECCA MEANY A public information session on the Divine Strake experiment in Nevada will be held Sunday, Jan. 28, in Boise. The Idaho Congressional Delegation has won a commitment from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Security Agency Administration/Nevada Site Office to hold the meeting, according to a news release issued by Sen. Mike Crapo's office. Some Idahoans are concerned about how the experiment will affect radioactive contamination from atmospheric nuclear tests conducted during the 1950s and 1960s at the Nevada Test Site and how it could affect residents outside the experiment site. "Clearly, Idahoans need more answers concerning the Divine Strake experiment, in large part because past tests at the Nevada Test Site have led to the downwinder effects of radiation," Crapo said in the release. "While there is no definitive proof that this non-nuclear test will result in the scattering of radioactive material, I cannot support the Divine Strake test until I see evidence that it will not bring harm to Idahoans." The time and location for the meeting will be announced as soon as arrangements have been made. ***************************************************************** 51 NRC: Exemption From the Requirement for a Specific License To Import FR Doc E7-713 [Federal Register: January 19, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 12)] [Notices] [Page 2562-2563] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19ja07-93] Radioactive Waste Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.70(C) ``Public notice of receipt of an application,'' please take notice that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the following request for either a specific import license or an exemption from the requirement for a specific import license. Copies of the request are available electronically through ADAMS and can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html at the NRC Homepage. The NRC intends to issue an exemption from the requirement for a specific license and authorize use of the NRC general license after determining that the import described below: Is authorized by law; Is not inimical to the common defense and security of the United States; and Will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the public health and safety. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. Information concerning the exemption from the requirement for a specific import license is as follows. [[Page 2563]] NRC Exemption From the Requirement for a Specific Import License ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Name of applicant, Date of Description of material application, Date received, ---------------------------------------- End use Supplier Application No., Docket No. Material type Total quantity ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- AREVA NP Inc., October 31, 2006, Packing materials The quantity and The packing Zircatec Precision November 7, 2006, IW020, from containers characteristics materials will be Industries, 11005660. used to ship low of packing dispositioned as Canada. enriched uranium materials waste generated dioxide powder to returned will be by AREVA in Canada as consistent with accordance with authorized by NRC those used for applicable U.S. export licenses. AREVA's exports requirements. to Canada. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Dated this 10th day of January 2007 at Rockville, Maryland. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Margaret M. Doane, Deputy Director, Office of International Programs. [FR Doc. E7-713 Filed 1-18-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 52 Courier News: Fermilab could close down for a month January 19, 2007 By ANDRE SALLESSTAFF WRITER BATAVIA -- A freeze on federal funding may result in a monthlong closure at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and could hamper the lab's efforts to secure a major new particle collision device. In a letter to employees earlier this month, Fermilab Director Pier Oddone explained the situation in which the lab finds itself. In December, Congress approved a continuing resolution for nine federal budgets, which means that those federal programs are being funded at 2006 levels. That includes the Department of Energy, which owns and operates Fermilab. The DOE had requested $4.1 billion for its science division, to continue to fund research into nuclear and fusion energy, as well as particle physics, among other endeavors. That would have meant an 8 percent increase for Fermilab, money that won't be coming in unless Congress approves the increase by Feb. 15. Funding at the 2006 level maintained for the full year "would amount to a cut in funding, due to inflation, at a time when increased support is called for," Oddone wrote in his letter to employees. The DOE's science office actually expected a 14 percent increase for 2007, under President George W. Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative. Instead, Fermi's budget is frozen at its 2006 level of about $315 million. Oddone's letter goes on to announce the lab's contingency plan -- a possible monthlong temporary layoff of all personnel except those needed for safety and essential activities. The lab also has instituted a hiring freeze, removing about 70 job postings from its Web site, and has cut back on purchasing new equipment. Oddone emphasized that the furlough is a last resort. Fermi spokesman Kurt Riesselmann said the funding problem "could not have hit at a worse time," because the Tevatron experiments have been moving closer to finding a particle called Higgs' boson, considered among the greatest mysteries in particle physics. The scientists at Fermilab are in a race against time -- the Large Hadron Collider, a machine that dwarfs Fermi's own Tevatron, is set to come online at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland this year. Riesselmann said that even that collider may take a couple years to find the elusive boson, but the odds of finding it with a larger machine are much greater. There's another wrinkle to the story as well, and it's called the International Linear Collider, a proposed 20-mile-long particle accelerator. The device is expected to take a decade or more to build and is being designed and funded by an international team of physicists. But the question of where to build it has not been resolved. Fermilab is the Department of Energy's choice, should the International Linear Collider be located in the United States. Without the collider, Fermilab would face obsolescence in the particle physics field, and lab officials are aware of how much a cut in government funding may affect the decision to locate it there. "This may take away some momentum," Riesselmann said. "It may send a bad signal to our international partners. It will certainly cause some eyebrow-raising." Riesselmann described the mood at the lab as cautiously optimistic. He mentioned a letter circulating among legislators now, written by U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman, a D-N.M., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and signed by, among others, Sen. Barack Obama. The letter comes down strongly in support of full funding to the Department of Energy. couriernewsonline.com: Feedback | Contact Us | About Us | Copyright 2007 Sun-Times News Group ***************************************************************** 53 DOE: DOEs National Science Bowl Kicks Off This Month January 18, 2007 Americas Youngest Scientists and Engineers Show What They Know WASHINGTON, DC  More than 17,000 middle school and high school students from 42 states begin a journey this month that they hope will take them to the National Finals of the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) National Science Bowl. The National Science Bowl tests teams in all areas of science and math using a fast-paced question and answer format similar to Jeopardy. It is the only educational event and academic competition of its kind that is sponsored by a federal agency. The National Science Bowl is an important part of DOEs effort to encourage Americas best and brightest young students to begin thinking about careers in science and engineering, said Secretary Samuel W. Bodman. These young people represent the next generation of scientists. Soon, we will be looking to them to solve the great questions facing our nation and our world and to keep America at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness. To reach the National Finals, teams  consisting of four students, an alternate and a teacher/coach  must win their regional championship. The National Science Bowl for high school students features 67 regional competitions all over the country. The high school National Finals scheduled are for April 26-30 in Washington, DC. The National Science Bowl for middle school students features 31 regional competitions, with the middle school National Finals set for June 21-24 in Denver, CO. Each regional championship team receives an all-expense-paid trip to the National Finals. The high school national championship team will win its choice of three science-related trips, which include a trip to France and a trip to Australia. The middle school national champion will win a cash prize and several sponsor-supplied prizes. Participating teams practice for months before the competition, with many teams testing their knowledge against scientists at major corporations, colleges and universities, or DOE National Laboratories. These scientists and professors volunteer their time to help students prepare for the challenging competition. Middle school teams are quizzed on a variety of science disciplines including earth, physical, life, general science and math. High school teams are quizzed on all science disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, earth science and astronomy, as well as math. Most high school questions are so challenging that many scientists would have trouble finding an answer. In addition to the Jeopardy-style contest, teams at many of the middle school competitions as well as both the high school and middle school National Finals will participate in a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge sponsored by DOE and General Motors. This contest challenges students to design, build, and race model cars. Supervised by engineers from DOE sites and General Motors, students will learn what it will take to make their car designs a reality. Designers of winning cars receive cash prizes for their schools and the prestige of winning a DOE national competition. Corporate sponsors of DOEs National Science Bowl include General Motors, AREVA, Inc., Bechtel Corporation, IBM, and Texas Instruments. Regional sponsors range from small companies to the Fortune 1000. The National Science Bowl is managed by DOEs Office of Science. More information about DOEs National Science Bowl, including the list of regional science bowl competitions, is available at http://nationalsciencebowl.energy.gov. About the National Science Bowl The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the National Science Bowl competition in 1991 to help develop the workforce that America requires to remain at the forefront of scientific advances, technological innovation and economic competitiveness. Over the past 17 years, the National Science Bowls high school competition has grown from 18 regional events to 67 regional events involving more than 12,000 students this year. The National Science Bowls middle school competition, which began in 2002, has grown from seven regional events to 31 regional events involving more than 5,000 students this year. DOEs Office of Science administers the National Science Bowl program to encourage students to excel in science and mathematics and pursue careers in those fields. About the Office of Science DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation and ensures U.S. world leadership across a broad range of scientific disciplines. The Office of Science also manages ten world-class national laboratories with unmatched capabilities for solving complex interdisciplinary problems, and it builds and operates some of the nation's most advanced R&D user facilities, located at national laboratories and universities. The Office of Science Web site address is www.science.doe.gov. Media contact(s): Ed Greenberger, (202) 466-7391, x132 Jeff Sherwood, (202) 586-5806 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 54 DOE: Statement by Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman on House Passage of H.R. 6  Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for The Nation Act January 18, 2007 Im pleased that the new Congress is joining us in taking our nations energy security seriously. And I look forward to working with the Congress as it works on this and other energy legislation over the next two years. Since his first days in office, President Bush has worked to expand the use of cleaner, affordable, and more reliable domestic energy sources and, to date, his Administration has invested nearly $12 billion to develop new energy technologies. Energy is a bipartisan issue and together we can work to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy while expanding our nation's economy. We can accomplish this by increasing our investments in new energy technology and also in the further development of our nations natural energy resources. We support the bills effort to repeal some of the unnecessary oil and gas incentives from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). In addition, we would ask that Members consider repealing other unneeded incentives contained in EPAct, such as federal funding for oil and gas research and development. While there are areas of agreement in this legislation, there are also areas of disagreement. Among them is a provision requiring companies that signed favorable oil development leases with the Department of the Interior in 1998 and 1999 to renegotiate those leases. While I agree that the leases are out of line with prior and current policy, the bigger issue is protecting the sanctity of contracts. I often talk with leaders around the world about the valuable expertise and capital that U.S. businesses can bring to their energy sectors. As part of that discussion, I also impress upon them the importance of two things: transparency and respecting contracts. Contracts are a fundamental principle of the rule of law and a functioning economy. To renege on the government's agreements is unfair and sets a bad example for nations around world. I would ask Congress to closely review this provision as the bill moves forward. In addition, we can continue our work to invest more in clean energy technology today. So I am again asking that Congress fully and immediately support the President's $2.1 billion Advanced Energy Initiative. This 22 percent increase in funding for projects in vehicle technology, solar and wind research, nuclear energy, and clean coal projects would kick start the development and eventual deployment of these new clean energy technologies and allow us to more quickly wean our dependence from foreign sources of energy. Also, I encourage the Congress to fund the Presidents American Competitiveness Initiative. This multi-billion investment is important to advance basic science research, which can lead to revolutionary discovery and ultimately greater energy independence. Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 55 DOE: Secretary Bodman Celebrates Clean Up Completion of Three Former Weapons Research and Production Sites in Ohio January 19, 2007 Over 1,100 Acres in Fernald, Columbus and Ashtabula Restored CROSBY TOWNSHIP, OH  U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today certified that environmental cleanup is complete at three former weapons research and production facilities in Ohio. In a ceremony at the Fernald site, Secretary Bodman, joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and U.S. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), commemorated the efforts of thousands of workers for their contributions at the Fernald Closure site in Crosby Township, the Columbus Closure site at the Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Ashtabula Closure Project at the Reactive Metal Inc. (RMI). As part of the cleanup and restoration effort, workers safely demolished hundreds of contaminated buildings, treated and disposed of millions of tons of waste, and performed extensive soil and groundwater remediation. Today we honor the rich past of these sites that played a critical role in the Cold War and celebrate the efforts to restore their environmental health, Secretary Bodman said. The Department of Energy has cleaned up over 1,100 acres in Ohio and, due to the many lessons learned at these sites, we are on track to safely clean up five additional sites across the nation in the next two years. The Fernald facility cleanup embodies the Bush Administrations commitment to turning problem properties back into local resources, EPA Administrator Johnson said. Together with our state and community partners, we have transformed a Cold War relic into an environmental asset. The Departments declaration of closure today follows the completion of regulatory certifications from the State of Ohio and EPA. DOE will return 31 acres at the Columbus site to Battelle Memorial Institute and 42 acres at the Ashtabula site to Reactive Metals Incorporated for unrestricted industrial reuse. At Fernald, DOE will manage the long term protection of the 1,050 acre site as an undeveloped nature and wildlife reserve through monitoring and sampling of the 180 wells and groundwater. In addition, DOE will operate a Groundwater Treatment Facility to safely pump and treat water to the Great Miami Aquifer. DOE will open an education center at Fernald later this year that will offer members of the community and visitors a place to learn about the rich history of the Fernald site. The Fernald site is a former uranium processing facility located 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio, that produced uranium metal for use throughout the nuclear weapons complex during the Cold War era. After nearly four decades of operations, the Department and its contractors in 1991 began restoration of the contaminated site which included clean up of six waste pits, soil and groundwater remediation, waste treatment and disposal, demolition of over 300 buildings, and ecological restoration of 900 acres of the site to be used as a future nature reserve. Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI) performed atomic energy research and development from 1943 through 1986 for DOE and its predecessor agencies, at its two laboratory facilities in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Since the late 1980s, DOE has demolished contaminated buildings and shipped nearly 1.7 million metric tons of waste out of Ohio. The Departments Ashtabula site, from 1962 through 1988, received uranium products from Fernald for processing under a contract with DOE and its predecessor agencies. In Ashtabula, over the past ten years, DOE has safely transported over 1.1 million metric tons of waste to off-site commercial facilities. During the ceremony Secretary Bodman, Administrator Johnson, and U.S. Senator George Voinovich (OH) unveiled a plaque that reads: Dedicated to the communities of Fernald, Columbus and Ashtabula, Ohio in commemoration of the cleanup of Department of Energy activities at these sites and of the critical contributions made to Americas national and environmental security. With the closure of the Fernald, Columbus, and Ashtabula sites, DOE has restored 84 sites that played a role in the Cold War era mission across the nation. In the past two years, DOE has safely cleaned up nine sites and is on track to close five more by 2009. Media contact(s): Megan Barnett, (202) 586-4940 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 56 Tri-City Herald: Bills seek to revise Hanford initiative Published Friday, January 19th, 2007 By Chris Mulick, Herald Olympia bureau OLYMPIA -- Bills introduced in the Legislature on Thursday would essentially rewrite Heart of America's 2004 Hanford cleanup initiative, scaling it back to try to satisfy the courts. Tri-City legislators are op-posing the new bills on the same grounds as they op-posed the initiative, which generally sought to prevent the federal government from importing more nuclear wastes to Hanford until existing wastes are cleaned up. Opponents feared it would encourage other states to adopt the same restrictions, keeping at Hanford wastes that otherwise would be shipped elsewhere. And they believe the bills create uncertainty, giving Congress and the Department of Energy reasons to avoid adequately funding cleanup. "They are going to be getting tired of this stuff, and they're not going to give us the funding we need," said Rep. Shirley Hankins, R-Richland. "That's the bottom line. We've got to stop trying to tell the federal government how to manage their project." There are other issues too, including the future of the Hanford Advisory Board, which the bills attempt to shore up, and the perceived use of public money to finance Heart of America, an environmental watchdog group. Initiative 297 was approved by 69 percent of voters in 2004, passing in all counties but Benton and Franklin. Heart of America attempted to amend the law in 2005 to make it more legally defensible. Tri-City lawmakers thwarted that bill, aiming to leave the initiative vulnerable to the court challenge. The strategy worked. A federal judge ruled last year that I-297 violated the Supremacy, Commerce and Contract clauses of the U.S. Constitution. That decision is being appealed. In the meantime, initiative supporters prepared scaled-back bills, Senate Bill 5393 and House Bill 1419. They believe the new bills address concerns that the initiative would have curtailed economic activity involving radioactive materials. Besides Hanford wastes, McDonald ruled the initiative also affected Battelle, which imports radioactive materials needed for its contracts, and Richland's Areva NP, which manufactures fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants. Sen. Adam Kline, a Seattle Democrat sponsoring the Senate bill, said the bills specify the law would not apply to wastes imported for reprocessing so they could be shipped out and wouldn't inhibit such business activity. "There's no more argument that it's going to cut out jobs," Kline said. "The environmentalists are being pragmatic here." Asked if he felt the bill would withstand another constitutional challenge, he said, "Oh boy, am I." Kline also noted the bill strips out specific language that initiative opponents feared would provide stable "public participation" money to Heart of America. The bills face uncertain prospects in both chambers. Kline's 2005 bill passed the Senate but was killed in the House, due largely to Hankins' good standing with Democratic leaders. Those leaders remain in place. In the Senate, the Water, Energy and Telecommunications Committee is now led by Sen. Erik Poulsen, a Seattle Democrat who co-sponsored Kline's bill this year. "I signed on to the bill as a courtesy to indicate I'd like to look at the issue and nothing more," he cautioned. "If people from your community have anything to say, now's the time." He said he'll likely schedule a hearing on the bill but probably not for several weeks. That will leave plenty of time for advocates and opponents to chew on what the bill would really do. Opponents say it won't stand constitutional muster and question whether it'll still attempt to regulate non-Hanford wastes. Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, suggested Kline meet with the Tri-City Development Council so both could hear each other out. Delvin also said it would be better to wait for a final legal decision on I-297 before seeking to change the law. "Let's let that play out," he said. Further, Hankins and Rep. Larry Haler, R-Richland, said by attempting to force the government to fund the Hanford Advisory Board, the bill guarantees Heart of America director Gerald Pollet a bully pulpit they believe he should not be afforded. In fact, both say HAB should be dissolved. Haler called the bills "nothing more than a veiled attempt to keep funding Heart of America." "They need to get rid of that board," Hankins said. That view is not universally held in the Tri-Cities. TRIDEC, which holds a seat on the board, would oppose dissolving it. But Executive Director Carl Adrian, in Olympia on other matters Thursday, said that the bills before the Legislature overstate the threat that the federal government will cut off funding for HAB. Pollet could not be reached for comment Thursday. 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 57 The Enquirer: Fernald hosts closing ceremony Last Updated: 9:43 pm | Friday, January 19, 2007 OFARRELL | POFARRELL@ENQUIRER.COM CROSBY TWP. Lisa Crawford glowed. Im speechless, the Crosby Township woman said, looking around at the hundreds of former workers, neighbors and environmental regulators gathered Friday to celebrate the formal closure of a 10-year, $4.4 billion project to clean up the Fernald uranium foundry site. Its been a long road. Crawford and others traded memories and hugs and listened to speeches from U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson commemorating the end of cleanup work at the old Cold War uranium foundry. Bodman and Johnson praised the hard work of production workers who manned the foundry to purify and process uranium ore for use in nuclear weapons and power plants. Gene Branham, president of the Fernald Atomic Trades and Labor Council, said the recognition was well-justified for the thousands of men and women who worked at the site over the years. This accomplishment should be celebrated. Twelve years ahead of the original schedule and $8 billion under the original budget, thats something. I attribute the success of the project to the workers here, he said. Copyright 1995-2007 ***************************************************************** 58 Knox News: Oak Ridge lab's budget in doubt, awaits funding decision By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com January 19, 2007 OAK RIDGE - The worst-case budget scenario for Oak Ridge National Laboratory would result in 900 layoffs this year and disrupt some of the lab's top research projects, including a joint effort with Cray to develop the world's fastest supercomputer, ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth said Thursday. Wadsworth said Oak Ridge officials are hopeful that Congress will take action within the next few weeks to avert severe effects on the nation's science programs. In the meantime, they are preparing assessments of various 2007 spending plans and providing those to decision-makers in Washington, D.C., he said. "You can certainly create a very disturbing scenario," the ORNL director said. ORNL's biggest concern is that Congress may pass a yearlong budget resolution that strictly enforces federal spending at last year's levels, with no new starts or spending adjustments. Wadsworth and other lab officers have traveled to the nation's capital on multiple occasions recently to plead their case. The uncertainty is tied to the change in political power, as the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate decide how to deal with the unfinished budget situation they inherited. More than 20 percent of ORNL's planned budget for 2007 is at risk, the lab director said. As reported last week, a mandate that restricts spending to 2006 appropriations would shut down operations at the newly constructed Spallation Neutron Source. The SNS is vulnerable because it didn't have a full operating budget last year when construction of the $1.4 billion research center was being wrapped up. Wadsworth said he's equally concerned about other lab programs, such as the supercomputing initiative that was supposed to be funded at $80 million - up from last year's $50 million. Reduced funding would force ORNL to abrogate the contract signed earlier with Cray, which is building a series of high-performance supercomputers for the lab. The current plan is to have a machine capable of one petaflop - 1,000 trillion calculations per second - by 2008. "Even though the money is appropriated annually, we have to make long-term assertions and aspirations," Wadsworth said of ORNL's relationship with the Cray. "When these changes happen, you can really leave companies stranded." Wadsworth said it's difficult for many people to appreciate the devastating effects of a sudden budget shift. It takes a national laboratory 5-10 years to put together a world-class research team, and if reduced funding causes a breakup it can take that long to put a team back together, he said. "You can kill a team in a weekend," Wadsworth said. "They're all highly employable. They can go elsewhere." ORNL officials hope that Congress passes a spending bill at proposed levels or authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy, the lab's chief funding source, to redirect some of its budget allotment to meet top priorities, Wadsworth said. A decision is anticipated before Feb. 15, when a temporary spending resolution expires, but Wadsworth said it's not at all clear what will happen. "It's that uncertain," he said. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who supported a big increase in science research last year, is circulating a letter among fellow senators urging that the DOE's science budget not be cut. "Even during times of tight budgets, we need to make this pro-growth investment in scientific research to grow new jobs and keep them from being shipped overseas," Alexander said in a statement released Thursday. "The work at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory must move ahead at full steam if we are to keep our competitive edge in this global economy." Senior Writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 59 lamonitor.com: LANL faces new investigations The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor Los Alamos National Laboratory is likely to be called on the carpet for security lapses that were uncovered last fall. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the new chairman of the Oversight and Investigation subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, plans to investigate LANL among the first hearings of the subcommittee. Stupak has announced that he will delve into the LANL security problem that was cited by Energy Secretary Bodman as a factor in his decision to replace the national nuclear weapons chief, Linton Brooks, in the first week of the year. The incident came to light on Oct. 17 when Los Alamos County police investigators found classified electronic and hardcopy information in a mobile home of a former employee of a laboratory contractor, not far from laboratory property. Three portable jump-drive memory devices and hundreds of pages of laboratory documents were found as the police followed up on a search warrant related to drug use. After investigating the affair, the Department of Energy Inspector General found that laboratory policy in a number of key areas was "nonexistent, applied inconsistently or not followed; critical cyber security internal controls and safeguards were not functioning as intended; and monitoring by both laboratory and federal officials was inadequate." LANL is a familiar subject for the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, which brought in several senior officials of the Department of Energy and the chairman of the Nuclear Safety Facility Board to discuss safety problems that resurfaced, shortly after a lengthy shutdown at the laboratory that was supposed to fix safety and security weaknesses in May 2005. Stupak was among the most critical interrogators of laboratory failures at the time and went beyond curing the problem to questioning the need for its existence. "Why do we have to have this lab?" he asked Jerry Paul, principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration at the time. "How are you going to fix it?" he asked again later. "What is going to change with the new manager?" Paul's somewhat tentative answers that referred to future consolidation plans and the need for a cost-benefit analysis, so angered Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. that he complained about it to Bodman shortly after the hearing. Paul later stepped down from his position to return to private life. "What is so special about Los Alamos?" Stupak asked. "Why do we need Los Alamos? What can't be transferred someplace else?" In a telephone interview shortly after that hearing, Stupak compared LANL to a military base up for closing under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. "We hear the same arguments, but yet we've had to do it," he said about having to close down a base in his district where cruise missiles were tested. He said there was nothing unique about one base or nuclear lab that made it indispensable. He said at the time that he had been on the committee for 12 years and had been dealing with the same laboratory for all that time. "For a lot of us, the string is starting to run out," he said. Stupak credited himself for using the term "culture" to describe the lab's problem and said he was gratified when he started hearing even the witnesses make use of the same term. "Where's the accountability?" he asked. In a statement last week upon being named chairman of the subcommittee, Stupak recalled that he had "spearheaded" several investigations, "including an examination of security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory." The oversight and investigations subcommittee is vested with subpoena powers and swears in its witnesses. 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************