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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [southnews] Iran Must Get Ready to Repel a Nuclear Attack
2 [NYTr] IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe
3 Guardian Unlimited: Bolton: U.S. Following Flawed Iran Plan 
4 Guardian Unlimited: Olmert Calls for Action Against Iran 
5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Receives Russian Defense Missiles 
6 Guardian Unlimited: Israel tries to cut off Tehran from world market
7 AFP: Netanyahu urges trial for Iran leader, fearing new Holocaust -
8 AFP: Iran deems risk of US attack 'very weak' - 
9 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Agency Defers N. Korea Programs 
10 Reuters: UN program makes major changes for N.Korea aid
11 Korea Times: Song in Beijing to Boost Mood for Nuke Talks 
12 AFP: SKorea says North summit depends on talks 
13 UPI: China's oil shipments to N.Korea unchanged
14 US: Las Vegas SUN: Coal crashing party for clean energy sources 
15 US: Platts: US FTC schedules April meeting to review US, world energ
16 Guardian Unlimited:  UK must retain nuclear deterrent, says Browne 
17 Guardian Unlimited: Russia, India Cement Nuclear Ties 
18 Pakistan News: Two petitions filed for AQ Khan’s release   
19 Scotsman.com: Browne in defence of nuclear capability
20 AFP: China's satellite destruction spurs US space policy debate -
21 UPI: Putin expands Russia trade with India
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
22 US: [NukeNet] Why NRC, DOE Can't Be Trusted
23 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Federal Register Notice
24 US: reviewjournal.com: No litmus test for NRC choices, senator promi
25 Toronto Star: Critics warn of nuclear risks Critics warn of nuclear 
26 Platts: GE interested in building nuclear plant in Lithuania
27 Platts: French presidential candidate Royal favors closure of Fessen
28 US: toledoblade.com: Improvements at Davis-Besse given spotlight at 
29 US: Rutland Herald: Public can comment on Vt. Yankee draft EIS
30 Sofia Echo: HIGHER COMPENSATION DEMANDED IF BULGARIA'S REACTORS REMA
31 Xinhua: Bulgaria forms union for restarting closed reactors   
32 guelphmercury.com: Nuclear impact study demanded
33 US: MyWestTexas.com: Reactor project could be fully funded this spri
34 Brunei Times: Coming of an Asian nuclear age 
35 US: NRC:  PSEG Nuclear Llc, Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice o
36 US: NRC: NRC Enforcement Policy; Proposed Plan for Major Revision
37 AFP: Global warming more dangerous than nuclear weapons - Blix -
38 US: MSNBC.com: Nuclear power's French connection - Power Play - 
39 AFP: Putin seeks stake in Indian energy, military market - 
40 AFP: Putin promises India more nuclear power, but business ties lag 
41 SMN: Bulgaria: Bulgaria Introduces Action Plan for Kozloduy NPP
42 SMN: Bulgaria: Bulgaria Plans One Event per Month to Save Nukes
43 SMN: kozloduy: Piebalgs Waters Down Bulgaria's Kozloduy Hopes
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
44 Guardian Unlimited: Georgian Sting Seizes Bomb Grade Uranium 
45 Guardian Unlimited: Russian jailed for trying to sell weapons-grade 
46 RIA Novosti: Russian gets eight years in Georgian prison for uranium
47 BBC: Georgia and US foil uranium plot
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
48 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting Feb. 1 on Draft Environmental As
49 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Guv pledges Strake battle
50 US: Deseret News: Utah crowd rallies to oppose Strake
51 US: SUU Journal: Downwinders cautious of test - Matthew Montgomery
52 US: New West Network: Utahns Speak Out at Divine Strake Hearing 
53 Olive Press: The day the H-Bombs came to Andalucia part one - 
54 US: ABC4.com: Utahns express strong opposition for bomb test in Neva
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
55 Guardian Unlimited: Residents' fears of radioactive waste on site of
56 reviewjournal.com: Radioactive waste chief defends Yucca
57 US: Guardian Unlimited: Russia Silent on Georgian Uranium Sting 
58 Gristmill: Nuclear: A great choice for uniformly competent groups of
59 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP acceleration funds being sought for
60 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP receives first shipment of RH waste
61 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Bill would let regulators decide on EnergySol
62 The Herald: No-one knows what is left in the Dounreay waste shaft
63 US: NRC:  Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning a
64 US: Deseret News: EnergySolutions bill passes Senate committee
 
                           PEACE
 
65 BBC: Five charged over nuclear protest
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
66 SF New Mexican: LANL: Waste poses big risk   
67 Planet JH: Local environmental group files suit against the D.O.E.| 
68 Chillicothe Gazette: Officials: No harmful radiation at Piketon site
69 Rocky Mountain News: Former Flats worker makes his final plea
70 Knox News: Safety forum to focus on new regulation Jan. 31 
71 KnoxNews: Reactor at Sequoyah plant shuts down
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 [southnews] Iran Must Get Ready to Repel a Nuclear Attack
 
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:27:22 -0600 (CST)

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X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

In the overall flow of information coming from the Middle East, there 
are increasingly frequent reports indicating that within several months 
from now the US will deliver nuclear strikes on Iran. For example, 
citing well-informed but undisclosed sources, the Kuwaiti Arab Times 
wrote that the US plans to launch a missile and bomb attack on the 
territory of Iran before the end of April, 2007. The campaign will start 
from the sea and will be supported by the Patriot missile defense 
systems in order to let the US forces avoid a ground operation and to 
reduce the efficiency of the return strike by "any Persian Gulf country".

Iran Must Get Ready to Repel a Nuclear Attack

By Leonid Ivashov

Global Research, January 24, 2007
Strategic Cultural Foundation (Russia)

In the overall flow of information coming from the Middle East, there 
are increasingly frequent reports indicating that within several months 
from now the US will deliver nuclear strikes on Iran. For example, 
citing well-informed but undisclosed sources, the Kuwaiti Arab Times 
wrote that the US plans to launch a missile and bomb attack on the 
territory of Iran before the end of April, 2007. The campaign will start 
from the sea and will be supported by the Patriot missile defense 
systems in order to let the US forces avoid a ground operation and to 
reduce the efficiency of the return strike by "any Persian Gulf country".

"Any country" mostly refers to Iran. The source which supplied the 
information to the Kuwaiti paper believes that the US forces in Iraq and 
other countries of the region will be defended from any Iranian missile 
strikes by the frontier Patriots.

So, the preparations for a new US aggression entered the completion 
phase. The executions of S. Hussein and his closest associates were a 
part of these preparations. Their purpose was to serve as a "disguise 
operation" for the efforts of the US strategists to deliberately 
escalate the situation both around Iran and in the entire Middle East.

Analyzing the consequences of the move, the US did order to hang the 
former Iraqi leader and his associates. This shows that the US has 
adopted irreversibly the plan of partitioning Iraq into three warring 
pseudo-states - the Shiite, the Sunnite, and the Kurdish ones. 
Washington reckons that the situation of a controlled chaos will help it 
to dominate the Persian Gulf oil supplies and other strategically 
important oil transportation routes.

The most important aspect of the matter is that a zone of an endless 
bloody conflict will be created at the core of the Middle East, and that 
the countries neighboring Iraq - Iran, Syria, Turkey (Kurdistan) - will 
inevitably be getting drawn into it. This will solve the problem of 
completely destabilizing the region, a task of major importance for the 
US and especially for Israel. The war in Iraq was just one element in a 
series of steps in the process of regional destabilization. It was only 
a phase in the process of getting closer to dealing with Iran and other 
countries, which the US declared or will declare rouge.

However it is not easy for the US to get involved in yet another 
military campaign while Iraq and Afghanistan are not "pacified" (the US 
lacks the resources necessary for the operation). Besides, protests 
against the politics of the Washington neocons intensify all over the 
world. Due to all of the above, the US will use nuclear weapon against 
Iran. This will be the second case of the use of nuclear weapons in 
combat after the 1945 US attack on Japan.

The Israeli military and political circles had been making statements on 
the possibility of nuclear and missile strikes on Iran openly since 
October, 2006, when the idea was immediately supported by G. Bush. 
Currently it is touted in the form of a "necessity" of nuclear strikes. 
The public is taught to believe that there is nothing monstrous about 
such a possibility and that, on the contrary, a nuclear strike is quite 
feasible. Allegedly, there is no other way to "stop" Iran.

How will other nuclear powers react? As for Russia, at best it will 
limit itself to condemning the strikes, and at worst - as in the case of 
the aggression against Yugoslavia - its response will be something like 
"though by this the US makes a mistake, the victim itself provoked the 
attack".

Europe will react in essentially the same way. Possibly, the negative 
reaction of China and several other countries to the nuclear aggression 
will be stronger. In any case, there will be no retaliation nuclear 
strike on the US forces (the US is absolutely sure of this).

The UN means nothing in this context. Having failed to condemn the 
aggression against Yugoslavia, the UN Security Council effectively 
shared the responsibility for it. This institution is only capable to 
adopt resolutions which the Russian and also the French diplomacy 
understands as banning the use of force, but the US and British ones 
interpret in exactly the opposite sense - as authorizing their aggression.

Speaking of Israel, it is sure to come under the Iranian missile 
strikes. Possibly, the Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance will 
become more active. Posing as victims, the Israelis will resort to 
provocations to justify their aggression, suffer some tolerable damage, 
and then the outraged US will destabilize Iran finally, making it look 
like a noble mission of retribution.

Some people tend to believe that concerns over the world's protests can 
stop the US. I do not think so. The importance of this factor should not 
be overstated. In the past, I have spent hours talking to Milosevic, 
trying to convince him that NATO was preparing to attack Yugoslavia. For 
a long time, he could not believe this and kept telling me: "Just read 
the UN Charter. What grounds will they have to do it?"

But they did it. They ignored the international law outrageously and did 
it. What do we have now? Yes, there was a shock, there was indignation. 
But the result is exactly what the aggressors wanted - Milosevic is 
dead, Yugoslavia is partitioned, and Serbia is colonized - NATO officers 
have set up their headquarters in the country's ministry of defense.

The same things happened to Iraq. There were a shock and indignation. 
But what matters to the Americans is not how big the shock is, but how 
high are the revenues of their military-industrial complex.

The information that a second US aircraft-carrier is due to arrive at 
the Persian Gulf till the end of January makes it possible to analyze 
the possible evolution of the war situation. Attacking Iran, the US will 
mostly use air delivery of the nuclear munitions. Cruise missiles 
(carried by the US aircrafts as well as ships and submarines) and, 
possibly, ballistic missiles will be used. Probably, nuclear strikes 
will be followed by air raids from aircraft carriers and by other means 
of attack.

The US command is trying to exclude a ground operation: Iran has a 
strong army and the US forces are likely to suffer massive casualties. 
This is unacceptable for G. Bush who already finds himself in a 
difficult situation. It does not take a ground operation to destroy 
infrastructures in Iran, to reverse the development of the country, to 
cause panic, and to create a political, economic and military chaos. 
This can be accomplished by using first the nuclear, and subsequently 
the conventional means of warfare. Such is the purpose of bringing the 
aircraft carrier group closer to the Iranian coast.

What resources for self-defense does Iran have? They are considerable, 
but incomparably inferior to the US forces. Iran has 29 Russian Tor 
systems. Definitely, they are an important reinforcement of the Iranian 
air defense. However, at present Iran has no guaranteed protection from 
air raids.

The US tactics will be the same as usual: first, to neutralize the air 
defense and radars, and then to attack aircrafts in the air and on land, 
the control installations, and the infrastructure, while taking no risks.

Within weeks from now, we will see the informational warfare machine 
start working. The public opinion is already under pressure. There will 
be a growing anti-Iranian militaristic hysteria, new information leaks, 
disinformation, etc.

At the same time all of the above sends a signal to the pro-Western 
opposition and to a fraction of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's elite to get ready 
for the coming developments. The US hopes that an attack on Iran will 
inevitably result in a chaos in the country, and that it will be 
possible to bribe some of the Iranian generals and thus to create a 
fifth column in the country.

Of course, Iran is very different from Iraq. However, if the aggressor 
succeeds in instigating a conflict between the two branches of the 
Iranian armed forces - the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the army 
- the country will find itself in a critical situation, especially in 
case at the very beginning of the campaign the US manages to hit the 
Iranian leadership and delivers a nuclear strike or a massive one by 
conventional warfare on the country's central command.

Today, the probability of a US aggression against Iran is extremely 
high. It does remain unclear, though, whether the US Congress is going 
to authorize the war. It may take a provocation to eliminate this 
obstacle (an attack on Israel or the US targets including military 
bases). The scale of the provocation may be comparable to the 9-11 
attack in NY. Then the Congress will certainly say "Yes" to the US 
President.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole 
responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the 
Centre for Research on Globalization.

To become a Member of Global Research

The CRG grants permission to cross-post original Global Research 
articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not 
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publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms 
including commercial internet sites, contact: crgeditor@yahoo.com

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has 
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For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com

) Copyright Leonid Ivashov , Strategic Cultural Foundation (Russia) , 2007

The url address of this article is: 
www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=4581
____________________________________________________________________
*****************************************************************
 2 [NYTr] IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe
 
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:59:40 -0600 (CST)

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Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Reuters via Yahoo - Jan 25, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070125/wl_nm/davos_iran_dc_4

IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe

By Stella Dawson

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - An attack on Iran would be catastrophic and
encourage it to develop a nuclear bomb, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general
of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Thursday.

"It would be absolutely counterproductive, and it would be catastrophic,"
ElBaradei said at a discussion on nuclear proliferation at the World
Economic Forum.

The Bush administration in recent weeks has toughened its stance against
Iran, which the West has accused of seeking to secretly build an atomic
bomb, raising fears among political and business leaders that the U.S. plans
an attack.

President George W. Bush has moved an additional aircraft carrier into the
Gulf and told Iran that he would not allow it to provide weapons and support
to insurgents in Iraq.

Israel has refused to rule out pre-emptive military action against Iran on
the lines of its 1981 air strike against an atomic reactor in Iraq, although
many analysts believe Iran's nuclear facilities are too much for Israel to
destroy alone.

The United Nations imposed sanctions in December to prevent Iran using its
nuclear energy program for military weapons, and Iran this week banned 38
IAEA nuclear inspectors.

ElBaradei, head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, has been engaged in meetings
here at the gathering of world political and business leaders. He said
diplomacy is the only way forward, and talk of military action can only
backfire.

"This strengthens the hands of those in Iran who say 'let's develop a bomb
to protect ourselves," he said.

The Bush administration has said it wants a diplomatic solution and that it
is not preparing to attack either Iran or Syria.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also warned against an attack, while
Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami urged calm to reduce tensions over
Iran's nuclear program.

"If there is military action, it will have catastrophic results, not only in
the region, but the whole world," Aziz said.

"I hope they would be good enough in managing the situation. We deeply need
patience and understanding and not to get too emotional," Khatami said.

ElBaradei said force should not be ruled out, but past experience has shown
that it should not be used with haste, citing Iraq where no evidence of
nuclear weapons was found after the U.S.-led invasion.

"I am convinced that the only way forward in Iran is engagement," ElBaradei
said. "We have to invest in peace," he said, adding that if the
international community failed to do that "the consequence will be 10 times
worse."

"I hope we will stop speaking about a military option and focus on finding a
solution," ElBaradei said.

Iran says it needs nuclear power to generate electricity but the West fears
it is secretly seeking an atom bomb. In December, the United Nations imposed
sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology to
try and stop enrichment work that could produce bomb material.

Copyright ) 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
       
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 3 Guardian Unlimited: Bolton: U.S. Following Flawed Iran Plan 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 1:16 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton says the
United States may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring
nuclear weapons because the Bush administration is following a
flawed diplomatic strategy. 

In an interview with Fox News airing Wednesday night, Bolton
said that contrary to administration claims, the U.N. Security
Council resolution against Iran that was approved last month is
``very weak.'' 

Bolton stepped down in December after serving as U.N. ambassador
for 16 months. He was the point man for the administration in
the diplomatic debate over the resolution. 

The former envoy said the diplomatic means chosen by the
administration to halt Iran's nuclear program may not achieve
the desired ends. 

``The disjunction between that objective and the diplomacy we
have been pursuing is ultimately going to be a problem for the
president,'' Bolton said. 

He added that the administration placed too high a priority on
achieving unity in the council. 

``Pursuing the goal of unity detracts from the substantive goal
of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons,'' Bolton said. 

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Bolton and his
U.N. team should take ``great pride'' in winning the 15-0
council vote against Iran. He said the U.S. would have preferred
a stronger resolution but noted that compromise is a central
element of international diplomacy. 

On Dec. 24, after two months of debate, the council voted
unanimously to punish Iran for refusing to suspend uranium
enrichment. 

The resolution orders all countries to stop supplying Iran with
materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear
and missile programs. It also freezes Iranian assets of 10
companies and 12 individuals related to those programs. 

``Is it a good, strong resolution? Yes,'' McCormack said. ``And
is it having real effects on Iran and their ability to develop
nuclear weapons? I would argue yes to right now, and I think
probably even more down the road if they continue down the
current line of behavior.'' 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 4 Guardian Unlimited: Olmert Calls for Action Against Iran 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 12:01 AM

AP Photo ASC104 

By STEVEN GUTKIN 

Associated Press Writer 

HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert devoted one
of his most important policy speeches of the year Wednesday to a
single topic - Iran - saying Israel will respond to a nuclear
threat ``with all the means at our disposal.'' 

Addressing an annual security conference in this seaside city,
he said the international community has no choice but to act
forcefully against Iran and its president, Mahmoud Ahmedinajad,
who has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. 

``When the leader of a country announces, officially and
publicly, his country's intention to wipe off the map another
country, and creates those tools which will allow them to
realize their stated threat, no nation has the right to even to
weigh its position,'' Olmert said. 

``It is the obligation of every country to act against this with
all its might.'' 

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful
purposes, but Israel believes its goal is to build nuclear
weapons that could threaten the Jewish state's existence. 

Olmert has made similar declarations before. But Israel has been
vague about whether it would be willing to carry out military
strikes against Iran, though it has not ruled them out. 

``The Jewish people, with the scars of the Holocaust fresh on
its body, cannot afford to allow itself to face threats of
annihilation once again,'' Olmert said. 

``Anyone who threatens us, who threatens our existence, must
know that we have the determination and capability of defending
ourselves, responding with force, discretion and with all the
means at our disposal,'' he added. 

Olmert said Israel supports using diplomacy to thwart Iran's
nuclear ambitions and said there is still time for international
pressure to work. 

``As serious as the Iranian threat is, the threat of nuclear
attack on Israel is by no means imminent,'' he said. 

``The Iranian issue preoccupies me and my thoughts constantly,''
Olmert said. 

Olmert's speech diverged from a precedent set by his
predecessor, Ariel Sharon, who used the Herzliya gathering as a
forum for setting out new policies, like Israel's unilateral
withdrawal from Gaza. 

Olmert's decision to devote the high-profile speech to Iran
reflected his country's growing concern over the issue. The
four-day security conference at Herziliya was overwhelmingly
about Iran. 

Before launching into the Iranian issue, however, Olmert offered
a few sentences about Israel's embattled president, Moshe
Katsav. 

Olmert called on Katsav to resign after the attorney general
announced his intention to press criminal charges, including
rape, against him. 

``Under these circumstances, there is no doubt in my mind that
the president cannot continue to fulfill his position and he
must leave the president's residence,'' Olmert said. 

Olmert's call for Katsav to step down came minutes after the
president finished an emotional address to journalists,
insisting that he would not resign unless he is actually
indicted. 

Olmert himself is under a legal cloud. Police are investigating
his role in the 2005 sale of one of Israel's largest banks by
the government after allegations that he tried to skew the
tender in favor of supporters. 

His speech at the Herzliya conference was coolly received, with
no breaks for applause, reflecting his loss of popularity
because of the inconclusive results of last summer's war in
Lebanon. 

Outside the hall, a handful of demonstrators called on Olmert to
resign because of that war. 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Receives Russian Defense Missiles 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 1:01 AM

AP Photo VAH110 

By NASSER KARIMI 

Associated Press Writer 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian officials said Wednesday that they
have taken delivery of advanced Russian air defense missile
systems - weapons intended, according to one Russian news
agency, to defend Tehran's major nuclear facilities. 

Announcement of the delivery of the Tor-M1 mobile missile
launchers came as Iran launched three days of military
maneuvers, its first since the U.N. Security Council approved
sanctions against Iran on Dec. 23. 

``We have had constructive defense transactions with Russia and
we purchased Tor-M1 missiles that were recently delivered to
us,'' the official Web site of Iranian state television quoted
Minister of Defense Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as saying. 

Najjar did not say how many missiles were delivered or when they
arrived. Previously Moscow said it would supply 29 of the mobile
surface-to-air missile systems to Iran under a $700 million
contract signed in December 2005, Russian media has reported. 

In New York, spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United
Nations, Richard Grenell, called the development ``troublesome
given that Iran is the leading state sponsor of terror in the
world.'' 

``It certainly isn't an appropriate signal to be sending a
government which is under U.N. sanctions for trying to develop a
nuclear weapon,'' Grenell said. 

According to Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency, the weapons were
expected to be used to protect major government and military
installations such the nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Bushehr,
Tehran and in eastern Iran. 

ITAR-Tass on Tuesday quoted Sergei Chemezov, the head of the
country's state-run weapons exporter as saying that the Tor-M1
missiles had been delivered before the end of December 2006. 

It is not clear whether the sale was completed before the
Security Council vote. Russian officials have repeatedly said
the sale would not violate any international obligations. 

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, current president of
the Security Council, did not explicitly confirm the handover.
But he said ``whatever deliveries may have been carried out,''
they had ``nothing to do'' with the U.N. sanctions on Iran over
its uranium enrichment. 

The United States last year called for a halt to international
arms exports to Iran, and for an end to nuclear cooperation with
Iran to pressure it to stop uranium enrichment. Israel has also
criticized arms deals with Iran. 

Iran denies U.S. accusations that it is using its nuclear power
program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. On Monday, Tehran
conducted missile tests and said it had barred 38 U.N. nuclear
inspectors from entering the country. 

--- 

Associated Press writer Justin Bergman at the United Nations
contributed to this report. 	 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 6 Guardian Unlimited: Israel tries to cut off Tehran from world markets 

David Hearst in Herzliya

Friday January 26, 2007

Israel is launching a campaign to isolate Iran economically and
to soften up world opinion for the option of a military strike
aimed at crippling or delaying Tehran's uranium enrichment
programme.

Pressure will be applied to major US pension funds to stop
investment in about 70 companies that trade directly with Iran,
and to international banks that trade with its oil sector,
cutting off the country's access to hard currency. The aim is to
isolate Tehran from the world markets in a campaign similar to
that against South Africa at the height of apartheid.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to be pursued in
international courts for calling the Holocaust a myth, and
saying Israel should be wiped off the map. The case will be
launched under the 1948 UN convention on the prevention and
punishment of the crime of genocide, which outlaws "direct and
public incitement to genocide".

Before flying to London to spearhead the mission to sell the
sanctions, the Likud party leader, Binyamin Netanyahu, said: "A
campaign to divest commercial investment from Iran, beginning
with the large pension funds in the west ... either stops Iran's
nuclear programme or it will pave the way for tougher actions.
So it's no-lose for us."

In December the UN ordered a ban on the supply of materials that
could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programme, and an
asset freeze on Iranian companies and individuals. But it
stopped short of a full travel ban.

Israeli defence sources claim that Iran is close to the point of
no return in its uranium enrichment programme using gas
centrifuges.

A senior official said: "They currently have problems but if the
programme is allowed to continue without interruptions we
estimate they will have mastered the technology this year. We
expect a declaration from them in the next month, possibly on
February 21, the day of the Islamic Revolution, that they have
reached significant achievements.

"It will be a bluff, but it will have the potential of marketing
Iran as a regional superpower. If they do it, a nuclear Iran
will cast a long shadow over the whole of the Middle East; we
will have Hizbullastan in Lebanon, Hamastan here, and Shiastan
in Iraq."

Military analysts speaking at an annual conference in Herzliya,
near Tel Aviv, claimed that Israel was facing an "existential
threat" from the Iranian uranium enrichment programme, which
Tehran has consistently claimed was for a civilian nuclear fuel
cycle. The only division of opinion was over the imminence of
this threat.
 
[UP] 

    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 7 AFP: Netanyahu urges trial for Iran leader, fearing new Holocaust -
    
 Thu Jan 25, 5:18 AM ET 		 	 

LONDON (AFP) - Former Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin 
Netanyahuhas called for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to 
be put on trial to prevent what he warned could be a new 
Holocaust by a nuclear-armed Iran Iran. 

Comparing events in Iran to those of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, 
Netanyahu told BBC radio Thursday he was here as part of efforts 
to raise international support for such a trial.

Both Britain's ruling Labour Party and opposition Conservative 
MPs "are trying to drum up support here in Britain, a country ... 
that finally stood up against another hateful apocalyptic, 
hateful fanatic sect and ended up stopping it," he said.

He added he was also trying to drum up support within the United 
States for a trial.

"Right now people have to understand that the combination of 
unbridled fanaticism of the militant Islamic government of Iran 
and its attempts to arm itself with nuclear weapons as it 
prepares another Holocaust, as it denies the previous Holocaust, 
is something unconscionable," he said.

"Men and women of conscience have to stop it," Netanyahu said.

"One of the ways of stopping it is to bring Ahmadinejad to trial 
because he has expressly violated a 1948 convention against 
genocide which outlaws not only the action of genocide but the 
incitement to genocide," he said.

When asked why Iran should
comply with UN resolutions when 

When asked why Iran should comply with UN resolutions when Israel 
has flouted those concerning the Palestinians, Israel's 
former ambassador to the United Nations replied that 
"the UN General Assembly resolutions are that the world 
is flat.

Israel has flouted those concerning the Palestinians, Israel's 
former ambassador to the United Nations United Nationsreplied 
that "the UN General Assembly resolutions are that the world is 
flat. 

"These are not binding international conventions," he said. 

Netanyahu left the door open for Israel to take unilateral action 
against Iran, but only after diplomacy and eventual economic 
sanctions are given "a chance." 

"I think those have to be tried before stiffer action is 
required," he said. 

Asked how long he would give for diplomacy and economic sanctions 
to work, he replied: "The real timetable that you have to ask is 
when does Iran develop nuclear bombs." 

He cited estimates by Israel's domestic intelligence agency 
Mossad that Iran could develop nuclear weapons in three years. 

Diplomats in New York said Tuesday that the United States is 
circulating at the UN General Assembly a proposed resolution 
condemning any denial of the Holocaust as increasing the risk 
that such a terrible historic event could be repeated. 

According to several diplomats, the draft resolution, which does 
not name any country, was inspired by the behavior of Iran, where 
Ahmadinejad has publicly denied repeatedly that the Holocaust 
occurred. 

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 8 AFP: Iran deems risk of US attack 'very weak' - 

 Thu Jan 25, 9:08 AM ET 		 	 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> Iran's top national security official, 
Ali Larijani, has assessed as "very weak" the possibility of a 
pre-emptive US strike on his country's nuclear facilities. 

"The possibility of this is very weak and it's more a matter of 
psychological warfare," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted 
Larijani as saying Thursday.

"However, Iran is always ready to confront threats."

Earlier this month, US President George W. Bush ordered a second 
US aircraft carrier battle group to the Gulf and announced the 
deployment of Patriot anti-missile missiles to the region." />

President George W. Bush ordered a second US aircraft carrier 
battle group to the Gulf and announced the deployment of Patriot 
anti-missile missiles to the region. 

Washington was the most outspoken champion on the Security 
Council of its adoption of the first ever UN sanctions against 
Iran over its refusal to heed calls for a suspension of its 
uranium enrichment programme. 

Iran insists that its nuclear activities are aimed solely at
producing power for civilian needs, but the United States backs
its Israeli ally in accusing the Islamic republic of covertly
seeking to develop an atomic bomb. 

Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar issued a similar
message of defiance, vowing that Iran would repulse any strike,
of whatever size. 

"The Islamic republic's armed forces are in a state of complete
readiness and are monitoring everything in order to give a
crushing response to even the smallest aggression or threat,"
the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying. 

"I advise Mr Bush and his advisors to be rational and think
about their own nation's interest." 

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 9 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Agency Defers N. Korea Programs 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 10:46 PM

AP Photo XED105 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Development Program agreed
Thursday not to approve new projects in North Korea until an
external audit addresses U.S. allegations that the agency has
funneled millions of dollars to the communist regime in
violation of United Nations rules. 

U.S. deputy ambassador Mark Wallace alleged Friday that the
UNDP's North Korea operation had been run ``in blatant violation
of U.N. rules'' for years. He demanded an outside audit focusing
on concerns that development funds had been used by Pyongyang
for ``its own illicit purposes.'' 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the audit Monday. 

UNDP assistant administrator Ad Melkert said the agency also
agreed to end cash payments to the North Korean government and
local suppliers and to stop hiring staff recruited by Pyongyang.
The United States had complained about both practices. 

The UNDP also agreed it will be responsible for implementing all
North Korean projects, addressing U.S. complaints that
authorities in the North had been responsible for carrying out
certain initiatives. 

The U.S. welcomed the new steps. 

``We're pleased with the approach that the UNDP administrator
has laid out,'' said acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff. 

Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said Monday the audit will
initially focus on UNDP spending in North Korea and then be
expanded to other U.N. agencies. 

The agency said it welcomed the external audit, stressing it was
committed to operating in a transparent manner. 

U.S. officials said they first received indications there might
be irregularities in UNDP's North Korea program last year. They
raised concerns the cash might be misused, possibly for
Pyongyang's nuclear program. 

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea on
Oct. 14 for conducting a nuclear test. 

Wallace has made several allegations in letters to senior UNDP
officials, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
He has said that UNDP's local staff is dominated by North Korean
government employees who managed the agency's programs and
finances in violation of UNDP rules. 

The U.S. cited three other violations of U.N. rules - the
government's insistence that UNDP pay cash to North Korean
government suppliers, and UNDP's failure to oversee projects it
funds in the country or to audit its programs. 

On Monday, the agency sought to refute the allegations,
insisting the North Korean program followed UNDP financial
rules. UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis said there is ``no
justification for the extreme allegations'' made by Wallace,
adding that UNDP was ``doing its best in very difficult
circumstances.'' 

UNDP spokesman David Morrison said the agency has spent about $3
million annually in the last 10 years on programs in
impoverished North Korea, in addition to about $600,000 in
office costs, which include local salaries and supplies. The
programs focus on food production, rural and environmental
sector management, economic management and social sector
management. 

Morrison said UNDP international staff have visited nearly all
their project sites in the past two years to ensure funds are
being used appropriately. 

The UNDP has conducted three internal audits of its North Korean
program in the last eight years, the last in 2004. Another
internal audit was scheduled for this year, Morrison said. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 10 Reuters: UN program makes major changes for N.Korea aid
         
Thu 25 Jan 2007 6:38 PM ET                                      

By Evelyn Leopold

 UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. Development Program, 
under attack by the United States, decided on Thursday to revamp 
its operation in North Korea and make sure Pyongyang does not 
hire staff for its program.

 In practice, this means suspending by March eight of its 20-odd 
projects that need North Korean staff. But hiring them without 
government help will be difficult since there is no private labor 
market in the communist country. The changes were approved by 
UNDP's 36-member executive board.

 The board, which includes North Korea and the United States, 
also called for a new audit and delayed any new programs for 
North Korea until it was complete and UNDP put forward proposals 
in March.

 Ad Melkert, the deputy UNDP administrator, earlier announced
the agency would end cash payments to the North Korean
government and local suppliers. Instead everyone would be paid
in won, the local currency. But hard currency would still be
spent in North Korea in exchanging money at the country's
central bank.

 Mark Wallace, the U.S. envoy for U.N. financial management,
accused UNDP earlier this month of violating rules by hiring
North Korean government officials to carry out its work and by
paying salaries in cash through the government. He demanded an
outside audit and voiced concerns that funds had been used by
North Korea for "its own illicit purposes."

 In turn, North Korea accused the United States and Japan of
being politically motivated in rejecting a UNDP program that had
been approved in September and was aimed at improving the life
of ordinary citizens.

 But its envoy, Jang Chun Sik, said he accepted the board's
decision but would reject any aid "with political conditions."

 "The United States has been actively mobilizing its mass media
to distort" the programs that have been operating since 1979,"
Jang said. He told the board it was "ridiculous" to even imply
that the monies had been used for nuclear programs.

 AWAIT AUDIT

 UNDP's projects in North Korea, mainly training for food
management and other tasks, cost about $4 million although it
has spend less than that annually. The suspension of projects,
as of March 1, amount to about $1.7 million, officials said.

 UNDP's annual budget is close to $5 billion, much of it from
voluntary contributions.

 UNDP has some 16 North Koreans and four international staff.
The agency said North Korea handled just $337,000 of UNDP funds
over two years.

 The World Food Program and UNICEF, the U.N. Children's Fund,
both headed by Americans, operate under similar restrictions in
North Korea and have said they have no plans to change their
methods.

 "We're pleased with the approach that the UNDP administrator
has laid out," acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told
reporters.

 "In the meantime, until we get the results of that audit and
the program is reviewed, we would defer approval of the new
program for" North Korea. He said the United States had withheld
UNDP funds for North Korea.

 Japan's representative, Kofi Tsuruoka, said that North Korea's
rejection of Security Council resolutions to halt its nuclear
arms program should disqualify it for any U.N. funds except
those of "a humanitarian nature directly delivered to the
people."

 "It is unthinkable for the United Nations to reward the
authorities of such a member state by providing it with funds,"
he told the board meeting.

 But Russia, as well as Cuba, warned of letting politics
determine a neutral program. Russian envoy Dmitry Maksimychev
told the board meeting the North Korean situation was an
"undesirable example of politicization and is an example of
selective treatment of one of the country programs."

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 11 Korea Times: Song in Beijing to Boost Mood for Nuke Talks 

Hankooki.com > The Korea Times   

By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter

Song Min-soon
   
China's State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said in Beijing on Thursday
that his government plans to resume the six-party talks on North
Korea's nuclear weapons program before Lunar New Year's Day that
falls on Feb. 18. 

His remarks came at a meeting with South Korea's Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon. 

Tang also showed Beijing's willingness to get tangible results
this time by saying that the talks could go on without a rest
during the holidays, officials in Seoul said. 

China, the host of the multilateral dialogue, is expected to
announce the opening date soon, officials in Seoul said. 

Later in the day, Song also met his Chinese counterpart, Li
Zhaoxing, to discuss ways to move forward with the six-party
talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. 

``The two ministers talked intensively about ways to produce an
agreement for the first-step measures that are designed to begin
the implementation of the joint principle statement (reached in
September 2005),'' the ministry said in a press release. 

Officials in Seoul have declined to say exactly what the
first-step measures are. 

But they explained that the United States presented North Korea
with ``ways to live without nuclear weapons'' to persuade
Pyongyang to agree with the initial steps, such as freezing
operations at its reactor in Yongbyon, reporting all nuclear
programs and accepting the U.N. nuclear watchdog's inspections. 

``I think we've paved a solid foundation over the past weeks to
bring out some kinds of result this time,'' Song told reporters
in Seoul. 

A day after holding a telephone conversation with his U.S.
counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, Song discussed cooperative
measures to resolve the nuclear standoff by phone with his
Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, hours before heading to Beijing. 

``The two ministers shared understanding that the implementation
of the joint statement could resolve matters of common concerns
as well as individual concerns,'' South Korea's foreign ministry
said in a press release. 

Japan used to make use of the denuclearization talks as a chance
to raise the issue of its nationals who were abducted by North
Korean agents. In reaction, the North Korean delegates have
avoided holding bilateral sessions with their Japanese
counterparts on the sidelines of the six-party talks. 

A Seoul official said Song planned to contact his Russian
counterpart by phone but failed to do so due to the time
difference. 

During their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in
Beijing, Song and Li also discussed ways to enhance bilateral
relations that mark the 15th anniversary of diplomatic
relations, officials in Seoul said. 

A pledge to cooperate for joint researches designed to review
the possibility of a bilateral free trade agreement was also
included on the agenda, they said. 

Song asked for Li's cooperation in increasing the number of
South Korean diplomats in Shenyang in northeastern China as well
as Beijing's help in safely bringing home South Koreans who
after being abducted by the North had escaped into China,
officials in Seoul said. 

China restricts the number of South Korean diplomats in the
Shenyang consulate to no more than four. Seoul officials
declined to clarify the reasons for China's restriction. 

But China is believed to have made the rule in consideration of
its communist neighbor, given that the city is a popular
stopover for many North Korean refugees seeking to enter South
Korea. 

Seoul has been criticized for neglecting its duties after nine
North Koreans, family members of three South Korean prisoners of
war, were found to have been repatriated by China late last
year. 

Song plans to hold meetings on Friday with Premier Wen Jiabao
and Wang Jiarui, head of the international department of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party. 

Song returns home on Saturday after holding a meeting with South
Korean diplomats in China to discuss measures to enhance
consular services, ministry officials said. 

The ministry has recently apologized twice for the behavior of
its officials in the consulate general in Shenyang. 

The first apology came after news reports revealed early this
year that the South Korean diplomatic mission inappropriately
reacted to a request for help from a South Korean fisherman, who
had escaped from the North after being detained there for 31
years. 

Two part-time officials accused of ``unkind'' behavior during
telephone calls from Choe Uk-il, the fisherman, were recently
sacked. Choe returned to Seoul on Jan. 16. 

The second came a week later when it was found that nine
relatives of three South Korean POWs who escaped the North and
sought for the consulate's help were repatriated in October. 

im@koreatimes.co.kr01-25-2007 17:51
*****************************************************************
 12 AFP: SKorea says North summit depends on talks 

 Wed Jan 24, 11:30 PM ET 		 	 

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea" /> South Koreahas ruled out any summit 
with rival North Korea" /> North Koreauntil it agrees to scrap 
its nuclear weapons programme. 

The two sides held a landmark summit in 2000 but relations have 
cooled in recent years because of the communist state's missile 
launches and nuclear weapons test. <BR><BR>

"An inter-Korean summit will be difficult for the time being,: 
President Roh Moo-Hyun told a New Year news conference."

"Only after the conclusion of the six-party talks would 
inter-Korean issues be fully tackled." 

The six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, China, Japan,
Russia and the United States, aim to persuade the North to
dismantle its nuclear programme in return for energy and
economic aid and security guarantees. 

The next round is expected early next month and Seoul said
Wednesday it expects some progress amid signs of flexibility
from Washington and Pyongyang. 

Roh's government has pursued a "sunshine" policy of engagement
with its neighbour. There has been media speculation Roh may
seek a summit with the North's leader Kim Jong-Il to boost the
prospects of his preferred candidate in the December 2007
presidential election. 

Roh also said he does not know if the North will go ahead with a
second nuclear weapons test following its first in October. 

"I don't know if it's possible or not ... but we're fully
prepared for any unexpected situation," he said. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that Seoul would
strengthen surveillance of the North's nuclear activity this
year and build up defences. 

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 13 UPI: China's oil shipments to N.Korea unchanged
     
  United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 

1/25/2007 6:59:00 AM -0500

TOKYO, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- China's oil shipment to North Korea
remained flat in 2006 compared with a year earlier despite
U.N.-backed sanctions, according to a Japanese news report. 

The communist patron exported around 524,000 tons of oil to the
energy-starved neighbor from January to December, up 0.2 percent
from a year earlier, Kyodo news agency said Thursday, citing
China's General Administration of Customs. 

China's total oil exports in 2006 totaled some 6,337,216 tons,
down 21.4 percent from the previous year, it said. 

China, Pyongyang's main ally, suspended oil exports to the North
in September in the wake of its missile test in July. But it
increased shipments since October, compensating for the
September cutoff. 

The country has provided some 90 percent of North Korea's oil
and more than one-third of its imports and food aid, according
to officials.

© Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 14 Las Vegas SUN: Coal crashing party for clean energy sources 

 Photo: Former Mohave Generating Station 

Today: January 25, 2007 at 8:25:34 PST 

Nuke power takes a back seat in environmentalists' nightmares in
Nevada

 [Proposed coal generation plants] 

By Lisa Mascaro Las Vegas Sun

WASHINGTON - Suddenly, coal - not nuclear power - looks like the
more worrisome environmental threat to Nevada. 

In just a few days this week, that dirtiest of fuel sources,
responsible for one-third of the emissions from the U.S. that
contribute to global warming, has taken center stage. 

President Bush said in his State of the Union address Tuesday
that alternative fuels, such as those from coal-liquefaction
plants, which convert coal to vehicle fuels, can help reduce the
country's gasoline consumption by 20 percent by 2017. 

One day earlier, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons talked up the same
technology in his State of the State speech. Gibbons said Nevada
should consider building a coal-liquefaction plant. 

The idea comes as Nevada faces higher carbon dioxide pollution
from as many as four new coal-fired power plants. Separately,
the owners of the legendary "smog monster" - Laughlin's closed
Mohave Generating Station - are considering restarting the
plant. It was blamed for decades for dirtying the air at Grand
Canyon. 

Environmental activists noted Wednesday that the
coal-liquefaction idea comes as the nation seems poised to
embrace clean renewable energy: wind, solar and geothermal
energy. 

"The irony is Nevada is one of the most renewable-rich states in
the union," said Dan Geary, a member of the state's renewable
energy task force. "That we're moving forward so aggressively
with coal-fired power plants just seems to be on the wrong
track." 

Congress has been rolling out its energy agenda with legislation
that gives Nevada's renewable energy companies a financial break
with the kinds of tax breaks oil, coal, gas and nuclear have
enjoyed for years. 

The push for coal comes as Bush gave just passing mention to
nuclear power during his address to the nation, drawing
complaints from nuclear energy advocates, who note that just a
year ago the president was calling for a nuclear power
renaissance. 

Then, the prospect of more nuclear plants increased pressure on
the federal government to move ahead with a long-delayed nuclear
waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. But today, problems
with the project and growing national opposition make it less
likely that a Yucca dump will ever open. 

Instead, coal is ascending. 


  Liquefaction: Turning solid coal into a gas, and then into a
liquid
 
In Nevada, applications are pending before the state Public
Utilities Commission for four coal-fired power plants. White
Pine County, which is bankrupt, has welcomed two of them as a
potential source of jobs and economic development. Another
plant, in Eureka County, is under construction. A fourth plant
is planned in Lincoln County. A fifth, near Gerlach in Washoe
County, has been delayed by protests from residents. 

Nevada Power says coal is needed to reduce its dependence on
natural gas, which affects consumers mightily as prices soared
in recent winters. 

The company plans to give its portfolio a flip - swapping a
portion of natural gas production for coal. By the time the
first phase of Nevada Power's $3.2 billion Ely Energy Project is
completed in 2013, Nevada Power will have gone from getting 70
percent of its energy from natural gas and 30 percent from coal
and other sources to 40 percent from coal, 40 percent from gas
and 20 percent from renewables. 

The power company says it would like to use more renewables, but
they cost too much and are not as readily available. 

Wind, solar and geothermal sources can play a role in meeting
the state's energy needs, but "cannot replace some of our
conventional sources," said Nevada Power's Roberto Denis, vice
president for energy supply. 

The Mohave Generating Station outside of Laughlin shut down in
2005 because the utility's owners did not want to spend the $500
million needed to comply with a court-ordered consent decree to
clean up emissions. One of those owners, the Phoenix-based Salt
River Project, is seeking new partners to buy a share of the
plant and reopen it. 

In his national address, Bush refused to call for strict limits
on carbon-producing power plants, preferring a voluntary
approach. Since 1992, carbon emissions have increased more than
30 percent despite an array of voluntary programs, according to
the National Environmental Trust. 

Congress is determined to consider emission caps as part of
global warming legislation. Europe and much of the
industrialized world have agreed to caps as part of the Kyoto
Protocol, and chief executives from some of the nation's leading
energy companies suggested it's time for caps the day before
Bush's speech. 

Denis said even with potential caps and fees, coal would be
cheaper. 

Scot Rutledge of the Nevada Conservation League said coal would
not be so cheap if not for the subsidies it enjoys. Why not give
some of those economic benefits to the renewable industry
sector? 

"Why don't we not go back to coal?" he said. "If Nevada's going
to be a part of the solution as part of carbon emissions and
creating really clean affordable energy, then we need to stop
talking about pulverized coal-fired plants and turning coal into
fuel. There are other solutions." Lisa Mascaro can be reached at
(202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com. 


 All contents © 1996 - 2007 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 15 Platts: US FTC schedules April meeting to review US, world energy issues
 
Washington (Platts)--25Jan2007
 
The US Federal Trade Commission has scheduled a three-day 
conference in Washington beginning April 10 designed to "explore 
a range of energy issues of importance to American consumers and 
to the United States and world markets." 
 
    The agency on Wednesday said the conference, "Energy Markets 
in the 21st Century: Competition Policy in Perspective," will 
bring together experts from the government, energy industry, 
consumer groups and academia to exchange ideas about issues 
related to energy development, transportation, marketing, and 
use. 

     "Few issues are more important to American consumers and 
businesses than the decisions being made about current and future 
energy production and use," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras 
said in a statement. "Among a number of government agencies 
involved in law enforcement and oversight of the US energy 
sector, the FTC plays a key role in maintaining competition and 
protecting consumers in energy markets. This conference will 
provide a forum for informed discussions and data sharing that 
will assist in fact-based decision-making."

     Majoras said the meeting will explore topics relevant to 
maintaining competition and protecting consumers in energy 
markets. The conference will address issues arising in a number 
of energy sectors, potentially including petroleum, natural gas, 
biofuels (such as ethanol and biodiesel), coal, nuclear, electric 
power and others. 

     The agency said panelists will discuss, among other topics, 
the current implications of the world energy situation for US 
energy supplies, whether the nation is more vulnerable today to 
energy supply and demand shocks.

Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
 [The McGraw-Hill Companies]       
*****************************************************************
 16 Guardian Unlimited:  UK must retain nuclear deterrent, says Browne 

Matt Weaver and agencies

Thursday January 25, 2007
Guardian Unlimited 		 

Nuclear weapons are not inherently evil, the defence secretary, 
Des Browne, insisted today as he set out the arguments for 
upgrading Trident in the face of mounting criticism of the 
policy.

In a speech at King's College London, Mr Browne said there is no 
realistic prospect of a world without nuclear weapons in the 
foreseeable future. And he rejected the argument of some church 
leaders who have challenged the morality of retaining nuclear 
weapons.

"I do not believe it makes sense to say that nuclear weapons are 
inherently evil. In certain circumstances, they can play a 
positive role - as they have in the past. But clearly they have a 
power to do great harm," he said.

"Are we prepared to tolerate a world in which countries which
care about morality lay down their nuclear weapons, leaving
others to threaten the rest of the world or hold it to ransom?"

Mr Browne argued there is no reason to believe that any move by
Britain to give up its nuclear deterrent will encourage other
nuclear powers to do the same.

His comments come as the government is preparing for a crucial
Commons vote in March on its decision to acquire a new
generation of nuclear missile submarines to maintain the Trident
deterrent into the middle of the century.

The move has deeply angered many Labour MPs who remain strongly
opposed to nuclear weapons.

But in his speech, Mr Browne argued that the concept of nuclear
deterrence "works" and that Britain needs to retain Trident as a
safeguard against future threats.

"While right now there is no nuclear threat, we cannot be sure
that one will not re-emerge at some point over the next 50
years," he said.

"There is no reason to believe that if instead of maintaining
our deterrent we allowed it to lapse, or even dismantled it
tomorrow, this would make it any more likely that other
countries would abandon their nuclear weapons or their ambitions
to develop them."

Mr Browne emphasised that Britain would never use its nuclear
arsenal as a means of "provoking or coercing" other countries.
He said Trident was not intended for use during a military
conflict.

Last year Tony Blair insisted it would be "unwise and dangerous"
for Britain to give up its nuclear arsenal. He says the Ł15bn to
Ł20bn investment is "crucial" to national security but has told
critics the nation's stockpile of missiles will be reduced.

But the proposals have sparked vocal protests, especially in
Scotland where the nuclear submarine fleet is based.

Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm quit the Scottish government after
voting with the Scottish National party against the renewal of
the Clyde-based fleet.

And yesterday, police charged five anti-Trident protesters and
cautioned three more for allegedly blocking a road near a
nuclear weapons factory.

The eight chained themselves together on the A340 outside the
Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, Berkshire.

Also yesterday the government's decision to replace Britain's
nuclear submarine fleet was labelled "highly premature".

Richard Garwin, one of the architects of the first hydrogen
bomb, questioned Tony Blair's claim that work must start soon on
replacing the ageing Vanguard-class submarines.

He told the defence select committee the submarine's working
life could be extended to 45 years or more, putting off the need
for a replacement into the late 2030s or beyond.

A former defence chief said there was a "strong case" for
delaying the decision and keeping non-nuclear options under
review.

Crossbench peer and former chief of the defence staff, Field
Marshal Lord Bramall, also spoke out in a debate on Trident in
the House of Lords.

He asked: "Can we afford the nuclear deterrent, considering what
we are likely to get out of it?"

He added: "If the British deterrent comes to be seen more in the
nature of a status symbol such as an American Express gold card,
rather than as a serious military weapon of war, then Ł25bn
would be a great deal to pay for something so nebulous and
doubtful."
 
Email your comments for publication to:
politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk

[UP] 

    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 17 Guardian Unlimited: Russia, India Cement Nuclear Ties 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 1:01 PM

By NIRMALA GEORGE 

Associated Press Writer 

NEW DELHI (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on
Thursday to build four new nuclear reactors for energy starved
India, cementing his country's as its main nuclear benefactor. 

A memorandum of understanding on the plants was signed by the
heads of the Russian and Indian nuclear agencies after a meeting
between Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

Putin arrived in India on Thursday, hoping to use the two
nations' decades-long friendship to push for deals in civilian
nuclear cooperation, military hardware and trade expansion. 

Russia has been eager to reassert its traditional role as the
chief supplier of nuclear technology and know-how to India in
the wake of a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal between
New Delhi and Washington last year that appeared to give U.S.
companies a strong position in India's nuclear market. 

Russia is now helping India build two 1,000-megawatt nuclear
reactors in the southern town of Kudankulam. 

The document said that the four new reactors would be built at
Kudankulam and at other sites, but did not give a timetable or
other specifics. 

Russia in the past has supplied India with reactors and fuel,
even as it was denied Western technology for its refusal to sign
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. 

Speaking after their meeting, Singh said nuclear energy was
emerging as the most important aspect of India and Russia's
``strategic partnership.'' He also thanked Russia for its
support ``in lifting international restrictions on nuclear
cooperation and assisting India in the expansion of our nuclear
energy program.'' 

Energy cooperation is vital for India, which has struggled to
supply adequate power to its burgeoning economy that has been
growing annually at more than 8 percent in recent years. Despite
India's rapid recent development, power cuts remain frequent
across the country. 

Putin, who will be the guest of honor at India's Republic Day
celebrations on Friday, came to India looking to cash in on Cold
War ties that bound the two countries for years - but then
slackened as India's burgeoning market attracted other players. 

India and Russia also signed a series of agreements on
scientific, space, aviation and economic cooperation, including
giving India access to Russia's satellite navigation system,
GLONASS. 

India and Russia also signaled their intent to forge ahead with
military ties with two new arms deals. One agreement will allow
the licensed production of Russian aircraft engines in India,
and another is for the joint development of a military transport
plane. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 18 Pakistan News: Two petitions filed for AQ Khan’s release   

Friday, January 26, 2007, Muharam 6, 1428 A.H.        

Editor-in-Chief: Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman    

  By our correspondent

LAHORE: Two identical petitions challenging the detention of
renowned scientist and national hero Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan have
been moved in the superior courts of the country for his
release. 

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) as per decision
taken by it in its resolution in November last, has invoked
Article 184(3) of the Constitution saying that the architect of
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons was under house arrest since 2004 and
all was done only to please America. 

“He has developed life-threatening ailment and his life is in
danger. The nation suspects that he is being slow poisoned. It
will be a great loss not only for the nation, but for the entire
Muslim world, if he dies under incarceration,” said LHCBA. 

The LHCBA added that AQ Khan was a national pride, but he had
been kept under illegal detention without any lawful
justification and reasons. 

As per the petition, the dictators executed founder of nuclear
programme Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, gave life imprisonment to Mian
Nawaz Sharif and later he was sent in exile for conducting
nuclear blasts. 

The petition said that General Musharraf toppled the elected
government of Mian Nawaz Sharif in 1999 and later dismissed AQ
Khan from the chairmanship of Khan Research Laboratory in March
2001 on the advice of US. 

In the second writ petition, Iqbal Jafri, advocate, challenged
the AQ Khan’s detention, converting his house into sub-jail. 

*****************************************************************
 19 Scotsman.com: Browne in defence of nuclear capability
 
[Scotsman.com News]             

Friday, 26th January 2007

GERRI PEEV POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT 

IN A further clash between church and state yesterday Des
Browne, the Defence Secretary, made a direct challenge to
religious leaders by saying Britain had a moral imperative to
retain its nuclear deterrent. 

He claimed the weapons were needed to safeguard the country from
being held to ransom by a dictator with nuclear arms. 

His remarks, in a keynote defence in London, are in stark
contrast to the Catholic Church, which has urged its followers
to oppose the renewal of Trident. 

But Mr Browne denied nuclear weapons were "inherently evil",
arguing that they had played a "positive role" in preventing war
between the world's major powers. 

He directly challenged church leaders such as the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who said the ability to threaten
"mass slaughter of the innocent" through the possession of
nuclear weapons was not "morally acceptable". 

Addressing academics and students at King's College, London, Mr
Browne said moral critics of Britain's nuclear deterrent needed
to say how they would respond to the threat of a dictatorship
which had nuclear weapons. 

His comments came as the Government prepares for a crucial
Commons vote in March on its decision to acquire a new
generation of nuclear-missile submarines to maintain the Trident
deterrent into the middle of the century. 

1. Ted / 1:54am 26 Jan 2007

"The more direct action there is against nuclear weapons in
Britain, the greater the freedom a Labour government will have
to get rid of them." - Peter Hain (1983)

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket
fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who
hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This
world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the
sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes
of its children." - Dwight Eisenhower (1953) 

2007 Scotsman.com| contact| terms &amp; conditions
*****************************************************************
 20 AFP: China's satellite destruction spurs US space policy debate -
     
 by Jerome Bernard Thu Jan 25, 4:04 AM ET 		 	 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China's confirmation that it tested an 
anti-satellite weapon is refueling debate in the United States 
between proponents of space regulation and those who insist on 
Washington's absolute free rein. 

's administration for international treaties. 

The code-of-conduct approach "is feasible when mutual interests
are defined," she explained at a conference organized by the
George Marshall Institute in Washington this week. 

The Outer Space Treaty, in force since 1967, bans only nuclear
arms and other weapons of mass destruction in space. 

Since the 1960s, more and more nations have operations in space
and today 41 countries have satellites orbiting Earth, Hitchens
said. 

The United States's superiority in space is currently unequalled
but China could threaten it in the coming years, she said. 

Bush last year adopted a new space strategy, which some say is
highly unilateralist. The policy declares freedom of action by
the United States, giving Washington the right to bar from
space, if necessary, any country hostile to US interests and to
reject any treaty forbidding arms in space. 

"A code of conduct can increase freedom of action for
responsible actors by restricting harmful actions and
behaviors," Hitchens said. 

For proof she points to the question of space debris, an issue
that has resulted in consensus to limit such debris in satellite
launches. 

But other American experts oppose regulation and argue that US
superiority in space should not be shackled in the face of the
Chinese threat. Their concern has been bolstered by the fact
that the US military in increasingly dependent on satellites for
combat operations. 

"The United States must be prepared to defend its sovereign
rights by any means necessary," said Baker Spring, an expert at
the Heritage Foundation think tank. 

He said the US government "should use its diplomatic strength to
convince its allies to support in principle the use of military
force to counter attempts to deny any state these rights of
passage" in space. 

Jeff Kueter, the president of the George Marshall Institute,
said the United States "should reject any international
agreement that would further restrict the use of space to
protect national security satellites." 

Kueter dismissed diplomatic approaches, such as adoption of a
multilateral code of conduct, as "largely camouflage for
unverifiable arms control agreements." 

"Absent the ability to enforce compliance or punish offenders, a
code-of-conduct rule regime may be weak and, more likely than
not, ineffectual," he said. 

Philip Meek, associate general counsel and director of space law
for the US Air Force General Counsel, expressed concern about
the idea of international treaty negotiations. 

"What is going to be the objective of the other nations in any
kind of arms control? The objective is going to bring the United
States down to their level," he said. 

Meeks said an "informal cooperation" already exists between
countries in space. "The issue is how formalized it should be,"
he said. 	 		 			

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 21 UPI: Putin expands Russia trade with India
     
  United Press International - NewsTrack - 

1/25/2007 11:55:00 AM -0500

NEW DELHI, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin
began a 2-day visit to India Thursday with talks on trade,
energy and arms topping the diplomatic agenda. 

Before Putin left Moscow, a Kremlin source told the Novosti news
agency the two countries have formed a research group to develop
economic cooperation, with the goal of boosting bilateral trade
to $10 billion by 2010. 

Russia is already building two nuclear reactors in India, which
in turn has invested $1 billion in Russia's Sakhalin 1 Siberian
oil exploration program. 

India walks a fine diplomatic line in its warm relations with
Russia and also the United States, but junior Commerce Minister
Jairam Ramesh told the International Herald Tribune there was no
cause for either of the countries to be concerned. 

"Our relationship with Russia is not directed against the United
States, and our relationship with the United States is not at
the expense of our continued engagement with Russia," Ramesh
said.

© Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 22 [NukeNet] Why NRC, DOE Can't Be Trusted
 
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:01:02 -0800

X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (192.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
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<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)



   http://www.mothersalert.org/blanche.html

   For More On NRC, DOE "Behavior/Public
Protection" See:
http://www.mothersalert.org/bertell.html

    http://www.mothersalert.org/rickover.html

   More Revelations on TMI
   Below is a letter to Dr. Rosalie Bertell from
Paul Blanche,
   a noble whistlebower who concurs with Dr.
Bertell's
   summation of what really happend at Three Mile
Island in 1979.



--------------------------------------------------
----------------------------

   Dr. Bertell:

   You don't know me but may have read about me in
the Time magazine cover story in February 1996 and
also the front page of the Wall Street Journal in
March 1998. I am a prominent whistleblower who
uncovered major corruption within the NRC and my
employer Northeast Utilities. As a result of
events I uncovered at Millstone, Northeast
Utilities was almost bankrupted, and the NRC
extremely embarrassed.

   I was one of the expert witnesses at the TMI
litigation and agree with you there was a major
cover-up of vital information. The presidential
commissions, the NRC and the DOE are all aware of
this cover-up. As an expert witness, I had access
to the all the original records. I have documented
evidence, which I have given to the NRC, that the
primary containment was breached shortly after the
hydrogen explosion that occurred on March 30,
1979.

   This breach occurred at a time when the
radioactivity in the containment was close to its
peak. Preliminary estimates indicate that as many
as 40 million curies may have been released during
the following hours. The NRC and the licensee
estimated the maximum of 10 million curies of
releases.

   Not one of the studies ever even questioned the
data that was readily available as it could have
alarmed members of the general public. Contact me
if you have any questions.

   Paul M. Blanch
   135 Hyde Rd.
   West Hartford, CT 06117



--------------------------------------------------
----------------------------

   Mothers' Alert Home | More Information | Actions
| News


_______________________________________________________________________
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*****************************************************************
 23 NRC: Sunshine Act Federal Register Notice
 
                         FR Doc 07-337 
[Federal Register: January 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 16)] 
[Notices] [Page 3431] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25ja07-79]                         
 
AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETINGS: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
DATE: Week of January 29, 2007.
 
PLACE: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.
 
STATUS: Public and closed.
 
ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED Week of January 29, 2007 
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 1:30 p.m. Discussion of Security Issues 
(Closed--Ex. 1). * * * * * * The schedule for Commission meetings 
is subject to change on short notice. To verify the status of 
meetings call (recording)--(301) 415-1292. Contact person for 
more information: Michelle Schroll, (301) 415-1662.
 
* * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the 
Internet at: 
http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html. * * * 
* * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with 
disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable 
accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need 
this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from 
the public meetings in another format (e.g., braille, large 
print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator, 
Deborah Chan, at 301-415-7041, TDD: 301-415-2100, or by e-mail at 
DLC@nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable 
accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
 
* * * * * This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred 
subscribers; if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like 
to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the 
Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301-415-1969). In addition, 
distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is 
available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission 
meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic 
message to dkw@nrc.gov. Dated: January 22, 2007.
 
R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary.
 
[FR Doc. 07-337 Filed 1-23-07; 12:53 pm] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 24 reviewjournal.com: No litmus test for NRC choices, senator promises
 
  Jan. 25, 2007

Reid to submit candidates for nuclear panel      

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday he 
is considering candidates to sit on the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission but will not insist that the person he picks oppose a 
nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. 

Reid said he is weighing a successor to Edward McGaffigan on the 
five-member NRC, which regulates the nuclear industry and the 
handling of nuclear materials and nuclear waste. 

McGaffigan, 58, announced early this year he is suffering from
an aggressive cancer and will resign when a replacement is
confirmed by the Senate. 

President Bush makes the nomination, but McGaffigan occupied a
Democrat slot on the commission. That gives Reid, D-Nev., the
opportunity to submit candidates to the president. 

Reid said several senators have suggested candidates to him,
"but none of them sounded that good to me personally." He did
not say who they were or why they were unacceptable. 

"I would hope we could have somebody who is a scientist and
somebody who has some government experience, so they are not in
the dark as to how government works," Reid said. 

But Reid said a candidate's views on the Yucca Mountain
repository will not determine his choice. 

"I don't think that is something I will get into with them. I
think it would be inappropriate," Reid said. "I am not going to
litmus test. If somebody is a good scientist and understands
government that will speak for itself." 

The NRC commissioners will play a role in licensing a nuclear
waste site that Reid and most elected leaders in Nevada have
argued will be unsafe and have battled for years. 

In 2004, when he was in the Senate minority, Reid blocked action
on 175 White House appointments until reaching a deal with
President Bush to appoint Gregory Jaczko to the NRC. 

Jaczko was Reid's science adviser and chief aide on Yucca
Mountain matters. 

Jaczko, initially opposed by Senate Republicans and the nuclear
industry in 2004, was reconfirmed in May. 

Regarding Reid's current stance, "we can do nothing more than
take the senator at his word," said Patricia Conrad, a
spokeswoman for the Nuclear Energy Institute. 

Political science professor Eric Herzik said Reid "is saying
exactly the right thing" by stating Yucca Mountain politics will
play no role in his selection. 

"He is being statesmanlike," said Herzik, who teaches at the
University of Nevada, Reno. 

"Reid has taken some forceful positions against Yucca, but by
the same token, he is in a position now where he has to show
evenhanded treatment. He isn't just a Nevada senator." 

But, Herzik said, "if a person has worked for the nuclear
industry or has written work praising Yucca Mountain, that
person might expect to get a lot of questions." 

The Senate is expected to debate NRC nominees later this year. 

McGaffigan's replacement probably will be considered at the same
time as a successor to departing NRC commissioner Jeffrey
Merrifield, who occupies a Republican seat. 	   
    
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
*****************************************************************
 25 Toronto Star: Critics warn of nuclear risks Critics warn of nuclear risks

Groups demand impact-study on possible terror target,
radiation before approval is signed on four aging reactors

 January 25, 2007 Peter Calamai 

STAFF REPORTER

OTTAWAA multibillion-dollar plan to keep four aging Pickering
nuclear reactors running until mid-century shouldn't go ahead
without studying the potential impact on Toronto from
catastrophic accidents or terrorist attacks, environmental
groups have urged Canada's nuclear safety watchdog.

"In our post-Chernobyl and post-Sept. 11th world, it would be
unacceptable to build Pickering where it is today," said Tristan
Cheery, a spokesperson for a York University student group that
champions off-grid electricity.

Greepeace's Shawn-Patrick Stensil said that the environmental
impact study must include damage assessment from a terrorist
assault should an aircraft be used to crash into the aged
Pickering reactors, which are concrete shielded, or into the
unprotected control room.

Staff at the commission had earlier rejected that view,
concluding that security issues "do not warrant special
consideration in the environmental assessment." But official
documents reveal the commission is demanding new nuclear power
reactors in Canada be built to withstand an aircraft crash.

"Theirs is obviously a double standard when it come to terrorism
standards for older reactors," Stensil told the hearing.

On Monday, Greenpeace filed a petition asking the environment
commissioner in the federal auditor general's office to
investigate the apparent double standard.

The groups also complained yesterday that the Pickering plan is
being rushed through without a full-fledged hearing permitted
under the federal environmental protection law.

"You're spinning the public around in circles," Stensil told the
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

The overhaul can't start until the commission accepts study
findings on the environmental impact of keeping reactors running
for 30 years beyond original shutdown dates.

An environmental study would likely take a year but has not yet
started. The arguments before the commission centred on the
study's limited scope  conditions that were largely hammered out
between OPG officials and commission staff. 

The seven commissioners who direct the federal regulatory agency
must decide whether to approve the proposed guidelines for the
environmental impact study, amend them or instruct their staff
to renegotiate. Their decision isn't expected until next month
at the earliest, judging by past practice. 

The key issue was whether Toronto should automatically be
included in the environmental impact study. The current study
zone covers Pickering and surrounding region but extends west
only up to Scarborough. Commission staff and OPG officials
defended the limited boundaries.

"Should the community identify significant concerns, we would of
course extend the boundary into Metro Toronto to address those
concerns," said Laurie Swami, an OPG licensing specialist Laurie
Swami.

But the province's response plan in the event of radiation
release already covers up to 50 kilometres from the Pickering
reactor site, taking in all of Toronto, said Joe Verderami, an
official with Emergency Management Ontario told the hearing.

He said the provincial agency considers people that far away
might need preventative treatment if substantial radiation was
released from the reactors.

Toronto Star online since 1996
*****************************************************************
 26 Platts: GE interested in building nuclear plant in Lithuania
 
Stockholm (Platts)--24Jan2007
 
General Electric wants to bid on building a new Lithuanian 
nuclear plant, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas's office said in 
a statement January 23, after he met with representatives from 
the US company. 

Lithuania hopes to have a plant operating around 2015, which 
would be jointly owned by the three Baltic countries and Poland. 

The size of the plant will depend on the number of investors; if 
Poland participates, as much as 3,200 MW of capacity could be 
built.



														Terms & Conditions 
Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved

 [The McGraw-Hill Companies]       

*****************************************************************
 27 Platts: French presidential candidate Royal favors closure of Fessenheim
 
London (Platts)--24Jan2007
 
French presidential candidate Segolene Royal favors closure of 
Fessenheim "as soon as possible," Royal told the association Stop 
Fessenheim in a letter dated January 15 and made public January 
23 by the regional newspaper Est Republicain. 

A spokesman for the Socialist Party, which elected Royal as its 
candidate last month, told Platts Royal had said that with 
implementation of energy efficiency and energy savings, she 
considered it "possible and desirable to proceed as soon as 
possible with the definitive closure" of the two 900-MW-class 
PWRs. 

Royal, the spokesman said, is "concerned about the safety" of the 
reactors, France's oldest, which "have already been operated 
beyond their initially planned lifetime." 

Fessenheim-1 began operation in 1977 and will undergo its third 
decennial outage in the near future. Electricite de France has 
applied to continue operation of the two units. In principle, 
French nuclear regulators issue permission for a decade's forward 
operation. 

EDF has said studies indicate all 58 of its reactors are good for 
at least 40 years' operation.

Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
 [The McGraw-Hill Companies]       

*****************************************************************
 28 toledoblade.com: Improvements at Davis-Besse given spotlight at NRC meeting
 
Article published Thursday, January 25, 2007

By BLADE STAFF WRITER
 
The plant has become the envy of FirstEnergy's other nuke plants
 
AKRON - For once, Davis-Besse isn't FirstEnergy Corp.'s
headache. Yesterday the beleaguered Ottawa County nuclear plant
shone as the star of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. during a
3 1/2-hour meeting of utility executives and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.

 FENOC is the nuclear division of Akron-based FirstEnergy, one
of the nation's largest utilities.

 NRC officials heard how outside evaluators, many hired with the
government agency's approval, have documented improvements in
both Davis-Besse's overall worker morale as well as the
performance of its engineers and operators.

 Government regulators also heard how Davis-Besse has led the
way in FirstEnergy's nuclear division by whittling away its
backlog of nonemergency work by an astounding 95 percent since
January, 2004.

 They heard how fatigued and outdated metal parts were being
replaced at Davis-Besse and how the plant, in some ways, has
become the envy of FirstEnergy's other nuclear plants because of
the new equipment and focus it has received since undergoing the
nuclear industry's largest probes twice in the last 25 years.

 The first came after a potentially catastrophic loss of reactor
coolant in 1985. That event was followed by the near-rupture of
Davis-Besse's old reactor head in 2002. Both are considered next
in line to the nation's worst accident at a commercial-sized
nuclear reactor, the 50 percent core meltdown of Three Mile
Island Unit 2 near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979.

 FENOC convened yesterday's meeting to give NRC officials its
third annual update about the strengths and weaknesses of its
fleetwide approach to managing Davis-Besse and the company's two
other operating nuclear plants, the Perry plant east of
Cleveland and the twin-reactor Beaver Valley complex west of
Pittsburgh.

 The utility began cross-training employees and managing the
three sites as a fleet in the fall of 2004, months after it
restarted Davis-Besse following a record two-year outage that
stemmed from the near-rupture of the plant's old reactor head,
plus long-overdue fixes to safety-related design flaws.

 FirstEnergy's 2004 goal was to cut jobs, operate more
efficiently, and be more competitive.

 The NRC, which expressed some reservations at the time, has no
power to step in unless proof of danger arises.

 Problems continued to be identified at Perry and Beaver Valley,
albeit not nearly as severe as the ones that haunted Davis-Besse
in the past.

 Perry remains in heightened oversight because of performance
issues there, although it has been allowed to continue operating.

 A year ago this month, federal prosecutors, in conjunction with
NRC investigators, announced a $28 million fine against
FirstEnergy for lying to the government about the state of
Davis-Besse's reactor head in the fall of 2001.

 That fine, to settle the government's criminal probe into
Davis-Besse, continues to be the largest in U.S. nuclear history.

 Prior to that, the largest had been a $5.5 million fine the NRC
imposed on FirstEnergy a year earlier for civil sanctions at
Davis-Besse.

 Two former plant employees and a longtime Davis-Besse
contractor are awaiting trial on criminal charges of withholding
information.

 Davis-Besse's turnaround has been strong enough that
consultants now urge FirstEnergy to "take a moment to celebrate"
its successes in order to keep up morale, Mark Bezilla,
Davis-Besse vice president, said.

 Gary Leidich, FENOC president and chief nuclear officer, told
The Blade after the meeting that he's relieved Davis-Besse is on
the mend. "This is not the FENOC of five to seven years ago," he
said.

 But while he said the utility has learned from past lessons, it
was recently criticized by the NRC for a slip-up a few months
ago when it concealed information about a contractor's falsified
inspections at Beaver Valley that nearly eluded officials.

 The problem, caught by a clerk, was reported to the NRC by the
company. The NRC let FirstEnergy off with a warning.

 "You're always going to have some things," Mr. Leidich said. "A
setback would have been if there had been [a pattern] of others."

 Beaver Valley was cited by the NRC in December for a
calculation error with its emergency preparedness plan.

 Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com or 419-724-6079.

 The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, 
OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000
*****************************************************************
 29 Rutland Herald: Public can comment on Vt. Yankee draft EIS

Rutland Vermont News & Information
 	 	 	 	 	 
 January 25, 2007

By DANIEL BARLOW Herald Staff   

BRATTLEBORO — Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two
public comment sessions Jan. 31 in Brattleboro to collect
feedback on the draft environmental impact statement that gave
preliminary approval to extend the operating license of Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.

The meetings will be held at the Latchis Theater in downtown
Brattleboro and will be the first time residents living near the
Vernon reactor can sound off on the NRC's assessment that
Yankee's operation until 2032 will have only a minor
environmental impact.

Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC, said staff from the
federal agency will begin the two sessions — the first at 1:30
p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. — by spending an hour explaining
the process of license extension and how they made the decisions
leading to the December 2006 draft EIS.

The testimony, questions and concerns raised by residents at the
meeting will be considered as NRC staff members prepare the
final environmental impact statement, which is due in August.

"Feedback at this stage can have an impact," Sheehan said, who
said recently during hearings for a plant in New Jersey some
potential negative impacts of a license extension were given
more significance in the final report than in the draft version.

The December 2006 draft environmental report found that none of
the possible implications of operating Vermont Yankee until 2032
were outweighed by the benefits of extending the license. That
decision was based on a report by plant owner Entergy Vermont
Nuclear, NRC staff inspections at the plant and a public meeting
in Brattleboro last summer.

Anti-nuclear activists are expected to raise the issue of
on-site spent fuel storage at Yankee as a potential
environmental disaster. Raymond Shadis, a technical advisor for
the New England Coalition, a Brattleboro-based nuclear watchdog
group, said he can't attend, but will be filing a response.

Shadis said he will question why the NRC allegedly does not
address some comments made at the meeting last summer. He's also
planning to question why the agency dismissed concerns from the
state of Massachusetts regarding the possibility that spent fuel
storage could be a terrorist target.

Entergy Vermont Nuclear, the corporation that owns Vermont
Yankee, applied for a license extension of 20 years in January
2006, kicking off a lengthy NRC review of the safety and
environmental implication of operating the 43-year-old reactor
beyond 2012.

A safety report on the license extension, which will look at the
effect of continued operation on aging parts of the plant, is
also being prepared by the NRC for August release. That report
will then reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards, a third-party group of academics and scientists.

Sheehan said NRC staff will be available to talk one-on-one for
an hour before each of the sessions. Speakers during the public
participation portion of the meeting may only have a few minutes
to speak depending on the size of the turnout.

Anyone interested in speaking can preregister by calling NRC
senior project manager for the Vermont Yankee application,
Richard Emch Jr., at (800) 368-5642, ext. 1590, or by sending an
e-mail message to by June 24.

The draft environmental impact statement can be read at 

Written comments on the draft can be sent by mail to the Chief,
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative
Services, Mail Stop T-6 D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 or by e-mail to .

Comments will be accepted until March 7.
*****************************************************************
 30 Sofia Echo: HIGHER COMPENSATION DEMANDED IF BULGARIA'S REACTORS REMAIN CLOSED- OVCHAROV - 

:18 Thu 25 Jan 2007 

In case Bulgaria fails in the negotiations for the re-opening of 
third and fourth units of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP), the 
country would demand from EU higher compensation for the closure, 
Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said. 

On January 25 Ovcharov tabled in Cabinet an action plan for the 
re-opening of the two units, Focus news agency reported. 

The issue was of international rather than purely local 
importance, said Ovcharov. Serious diplomatic involvement was 
needed to get the European Commission change its requirements on 
the work of the power plant, he said. 

Expert analyses saying that the reactors were safe also needed
to be re-confirmed, Ovcharov said. 

The action plan was no guarantee of success, Ovcharov said. It
only presented a strategy, which might not work, said he.  				
				 				 				 				 	 	 	 [Printer friendly version]      		 
  Web     www.sofiaecho.com   

*****************************************************************
 31 Xinhua: Bulgaria forms union for restarting closed reactors   
    
  www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-25 19:03:00   

    SOFIA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A union for restarting the third
and fourth reactors of Bulgaria's nuclear power plant in
Kozloduy was established on Wednesday, local media reported on
Thursday. 

    The union, led by composer Nayden Andreev, was joined by
experts, intellectuals, workers, celebrities and ex-leaders of
the atomic station as well as the mayor of the city Kozloduy,
according to the report. 

    The union is not related to any political organizations or
governments and is open to any new members and social groups,
according to Andreev. 

    According to public reports, the goal of the union is to
call on all Bulgarians so that they can concern themselves with
fate of the two reactors, and to explain to the public why they
need to get restarted. 

    He also said that he hopes Bulgaria unites with other Balkan
countries, which are affected by a deficit of electricity due to
the closure of the two reactors. 

    The Kozloduy nuclear plant is the biggest of its kind in the
Balkans. Owing to security concerns, the European Union (EU)
strongly demanded that Bulgaria shut down four of its six
reactors as part of Bulgaria's commitment to join the EU. 

    The Bulgarian government already shut down two of its
oldest, Soviet-type reactors in December 2002, and closed the
third and fourth reactors on Dec. 31, 2006, hours before it
entered the EU.   

  Editor: Liu Dan   
*****************************************************************
 32 guelphmercury.com: Nuclear impact study demanded

 | INSIDER | 

OTTAWA (Jan 25, 2007) 

A multi-billion-dollar plan to keep four aging nuclear reactors
at Pickering running until mid-century shouldn't go ahead
without studying the potential impact on Toronto from
catastrophic accidents or terrorist attacks, environmental
groups have urged Canada's nuclear safety watchdog.

The groups also complained yesterday that the Pickering plan is
being rushed through without a full-fledged hearing permitted
under the federal environmental protection law.

"You're spinning the public around in circles," Shawn-Patrick
Stensil of Greenpeace told the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission.

The federal regulatory body must approve all stages of the
proposed overhaul of the four Pickering-B reactors, originally
built starting in the mid-'70s. The first reactor would be shut
down no earlier than 2012 and an overhaul of the last reactor
done by 2025, said officials of Ontario Power Generation, the
utility that operates the station.

Pickering A and B have eight reactors, one of the world's
biggest concentrations so close to a major city. Two Pickering-A
reactors are mothballed because of equipment failures.

The four newer B reactors slated for overhaul produce more than
2,000 megawatts of power, enough for a city the size of Ottawa.
OPG officials said they had no cost estimates for the overhaul
but Stensil estimated the bill at more than $5 billion.

But the overhaul can't start until the commission accepts study
findings on the environmental impact of keeping reactors running
for 30 years beyond original shutdown dates.

An environmental study would likely take a year but has not yet
started.

The seven commissioners who direct the federal regulatory agency
must decide whether to approve the proposed guidelines for the
environmental impact study, amend them or instruct their staff
to renegotiate. Their decision isn't expected until next month
at the earliest, judging by past practice.

The key issue was whether Toronto should automatically be
included in the environmental impact study.

The current study zone covers Pickering and surrounding region
but extends west only up to east end Toronto.

© 8-14 Macdonell St. Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1H 6P7 
519-822-4310 

  [Torstar Digital] [Metroland Media Group Ltd.]   
*****************************************************************
 33 MyWestTexas.com: Reactor project could be fully funded this spring
 		 			 	 	 
Ruth Campbell Staff Writer

Midland Reporter-Telegram                       

01/25/2007

Announcement could come in March or April.                                                      

The source is a private donor, which could not be revealed at 
this time. 

Wright would not disclose who the source is until it's a done 
deal, but said an announcement is likely in March or April. 

"It will come from a single, private entity. That's all I can 
say," Wright told a meeting of the Environmental Study Group of 
the Society of Petroleum Engineers Wednesday at the Advanced 
Technology Center. 

Project cost for the state-of-the-art, helium-cooled nuclear
research facility is $546,772,000, including a 20 percent 
contingency, Wright said. Total cost of construction and U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing is $455,643,000. 

Project officials have started the NRC licensing process and 
Wright expects that to be completed in three years. Because it is 
a research and testing facility, the reactor would get a 
construction and operating license all at once. 

For the first time outside of the university, Wright showed an 
overall site plan for the facility. 

The reactor, which should be finished by November 2012, will sit 
on a 1.5-square-mile site in Andrews County, most likely on 
acreage owned by University of Texas Lands. Within that acreage 
will be a "nuclear island," including 37 structures such as 
offices, labs, wastewater treatment and disposal and waste 
storage. 

From top to bottom, the reactor services building would be 12 1/2 
stories with half of it above and half below ground, Wright said. 
The modular helium reactor is designed so it cannot melt, even at 
temperatures up to 1,500 degrees centigrade. 

It would be used to help develop the next generation of nuclear 
reactor to help reduce dependence on foreign oil. China and Japan 
each have one of the same type, Wright said. It could be used for 
electric generation and be available for coal and hydrogen 
gasification. 

Major project partners include the cities of Midland, Odessa and 
Andrews and Andrews County, University of Texas of the Permian 
Basin, General Atomics of San Diego and the UT System. 

Also involved are UT Austin, UT Dallas, UT El Paso, Midland, 
Odessa, Andrews, Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, 
N.M. and Thorium Power. 

Wright said the project satisfies the University of Texas System 
mission of education, research and development and regional 
economic development. It also will help the school develop a 
college of engineering and programs like nuclear physics, 
chemistry and multifaceted world-class experiment facilities, 
Wright said. 

Director of Midland College's Petroleum Professional Development 
Center Hoxie Smith said there is a lot of synergy between the 
HTTR and FutureGen projects. And politically, things are looking 
up. 

A site near Penwell in Ector County is being considered for the 
$1 billion FutureGen plant, which would use state-of-the-art 
clean coal-burning technology with near-zero emissions to produce 
275 megawatts of electricity and serve as a research facility for 
storing -- and ultimately using -- the carbon dioxide and 
hydrogen generated by the coal gasification. 

Along with Penwell, other sites under consideration include 
Jewett in East Texas and two sites in Illinois -- Tuscola and 
Mattoon. Smith said site selection would be announced in 
September, although it could be as early as August. 

"We are trying to develop best value (to set Penwell part from 
the other sites). We are still the site to beat. New Mexico is on 
board with this. (U.S.) Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, chairs 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Bill 
Richardson (New Mexico's governor) is running for president," 
said Smith, who is regional coordinator of FutureGen Texas. 

He added U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, who represents the district that 
includes Jewett, also has lost his House Committee on Energy & 
Commerce chairmanship. 

"We're looking at desalinization of the Capitan Reef," to use as 
a water source of the plant, he said, adding this water would be 
"three times" better than sea water. 

HT3R timeline 

The project started with preliminary discussions between Project 
Manager Jim Wright, UTPB President David Watts and John Ben 
Shepperd Public Leadership Institute Director Jack Ladd in June 
2005. 

In July 2005, Watts and Wright reached an agreement for Wright to 
work part time on the project. At the same time, Wright and 
former General Atomics Chief Executive Officer Harold Agnew 
started the connection between the school and San Diego, 
Calif.-based company. 

Wright once worked for Agnew at Los Alamos National Laboratories 
in New Mexico. 

In September 2005, General Atomics and UTPB signed a memorandum 
of understanding that the reactor would be near Odessa and 
operated by UTPB. Before it began, General Atomics said it wanted 
$3 million raised for a preconceptual design for the project. It 
was raised from local sources including the cities of Midland, 
Odessa, Andrews and Andrews County. 

The company and university signed a teaming agreement in February 
2006, and in December 2006, the technical and design plan was 
released. 

Wright said high-temperature teaching and test reactor officials 
are in the process of creating a memorandum of understanding with 
Idaho National Laboratories, which would have a prototype reactor 
of the same type. 

Source: High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor Project 
Director Jim Wright 

©MyWestTexas.com 2007                                   
*****************************************************************
 34 Brunei Times: Coming of an Asian nuclear age 

Robyn Lim

25-Jan-07

CHANGES in the post-Cold War global strategic order are leading 
to a faster pace of nuclear proliferation in some key regions of 
the world. The Middle East is one such region and Northeast Asia 
is another.

In Northeast Asia, Japan remains the only non-nuclear great
power. But Japan may become less willing to rely on America for
its nuclear security because Japan is feeling less secure than
it did during the Cold War. 

Thus an emerging nuclear balance in Northeast Asia now exists.
Moreover, tensions generated in the China-Japan-Korea core
region have repercussions further south, where the
Australia-Indonesia nexus is a sub-region of security. The
consequences of the spread of nuclear weapons in Northeast Asia
could be that both Indonesia and Australia decide they needed
nuclear weapons for their security.

In Northeast Asia, the main drivers of strategic change are the
steady pace of China's force modernisation and North Korea's
nuclear and missile brinkmanship. China's development of nuclear
weapons reflected the circumstances of the Cold War _ the
imperative to deter both nuclear-armed superpowers. 

The resolution of the Cold War left China free to apply its
nuclear weapons to other interests. India's acquisition of a
nuclear deterrent was mainly a response to China's becoming a
nuclear weapons power. In turn, India's proliferation has its
own consequences.

So China's greater strategic latitude is setting up a fresh set
of dynamics in which states most affected may respond to China's
possession of nuclear weapons by developing their own weapons as
a counter to China, and for other purposes as well. To this
heady mix is added North Korea, which has acquired nuclear
weapons to compensate for its acute weakness and vulnerability. 

Since the end of the Cold War, the North Korean threat to Japan
has been growing steadily, but the United States lacks credible
means of bringing military pressure to bear on Pyongyang. 

In these circumstances, North Korea is giving Japan reason to
acquire offensive capabilities. Those capabilities could be used
against China, without Japan's needing to say so. Critically,
how long would such offensive capabilities remain non-nuclear? 

Japan might think conventional offensive capabilities would
suffice to deter North Korea. But it would probably not be long
before Japan came to think that the only answer to Chinese and
North Korean nuclear weapons was a Japanese nuclear weapon.

America is seeking to convince Japan that it remains a reliable
ally and it hopes that extended deterrence (the nuclear
umbrella) plus missile defence will be enough to convince Japan
that it can still depend on the US. But will this be enough to
reassure Japan?

And will the US be willing to do as much as it did in the past
to assure Japan's strategic protection, when the US relationship
with China is so different from America's previous relationship
with the USSR? Does the US alliance suit Japan's interests as
well as it used to, given changed strategic circumstances? We do
not know the answers to these questions. But they are likely to
manifest themselves sooner rather than later if North Korea
continues its brinkmanship, as presumably it will. 

So what are the potential knock-on effects elsewhere of the
emerging nuclear balance in Northeast Asia especially in the
Australia-Indonesia security subset?

Australia, including for reasons of distance, can afford to rely
more than Japan does on extended deterrence in relation to both
China and North Korea. But it may not elect to do so if in
future Indonesia decided it required its own deterrent. 

The steady pace of China's force modernisation, especially its
growing maritime and missile capabilities, will have an impact
on Indonesia as well as India. Probably, if Indonesia decided it
needed nuclear weapons, it would be responding to events
unrelated to Australia. But any Indonesian action in this regard
would influence Australia. Australia would have to take account
of Indonesian capabilities, not just current perceived
intentions. 

It does not follow automatically that Indonesia's acquisition of
a nuclear deterrent would require Australia to pursue a nuclear
capability of its own. Australia might well prefer to continue
to rely on extended US deterrence. Still, Australia needs to
hedge. At a minimum, it needs to prevent its option to enrich
uranium from being permanently closed off.

Thus for security as well as economic reasons, Australia is
successfully resisting aspects of President Bush's Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) that would see Australia
required to permanently to give up the enrichment option. 

Announced in February last year, the GNEP focuses on the fear
that terrorists will acquire fissile material. Thus the US aims
to close off enrichment options for countries that do not
currently have fully functioning facilities for their nuclear
power plants. 

Countries with existing enrichment facilities would guarantee
security of supply to those countries that either lack the
option to enrich uranium, or choose not to do so.

But Australia, which has 38 per cent of the world's known
low-cost uranium reserves, will not remain content to be among
the have nots. And even though Australia currently exports only
uranium oxide (yellowcake) and has no nuclear power plants,
times are changing rapidly as the global nuclear power industry
enjoys a revival. 

The Australian prime minister, John Howard, can use the issue of
climate change to divide his domestic opponents. Nuclear energy
would become far more economic if the price of coal were raised,
for example, by the use of clean coal technology necessary to
reduce carbon emissions believed to be the main cause of global
warming.

Howard is also exposing the absurdities of the anti-nuclear
stance of the opposition Labor Party, demonstrating that his
government has the employment interests of workers at heart.
Moreover, Howard is showing that he is willing to stand up to
America on an issue of national interest. 

Responding to Australian concerns, the Bush administration
became willing to contemplate a special status for Australia
(and Canada) in the GNEP. Mr Dennis Spurgeon, US Assistant
Secretary for Nuclear Energy, said in August that special rules
would apply to Australia and Canada. The reason for this
exception, he said, was that the two countries had the bulk of
global economically recoverable uranium resources.

That concession did not sit well with some proliferation experts
in the US. They worry that exceptions to the GNEP would
encourage enrichment ambitions on the part of Brazil, Argentina
and South Africa. Australia fully shares US fears of the
consequences of Islamic terrorists acquiring fissile material.
But even the closest of allies do not always see things the same
way. 

That may be especially so when it comes to nuclear weapons
because they represent survival interests. Thus Australia will
continue to keep its uranium enrichment options open, not least
because it lives in an unpredictable region where a new nuclear
power balance is emerging. 

Robyn Lim is professor of international politics at Nanzan
University, Nagoya, Japan.OpinionAsia

*****************************************************************
 35 NRC:  PSEG Nuclear Llc, Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of 
 
                         FR Doc E7-1087 
[Federal Register: January 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 16)] 
[Notices] [Page 3427-3429] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25ja07-76]                         
 
Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating 
License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration 
Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-70 
issued to PSEG Nuclear LLC (the licensee) for operation of the 
Salem Nuclear Generating Station (Salem), Unit No. 1, located in 
Salem County, New Jersey.
 
The amendment request proposes a one-time change to the Technical 
Specifications (TSs) regarding the steam generator (SG) tube 
inspection and repair required for the portion of the SG tubes 
passing through the tubesheet region. Specifically, for Salem 
Unit No. 1 refueling outage 18 (planned for spring 2007) and the 
subsequent operating cycle, the proposed TS changes would limit 
the required inspection (and repair if degradation is found) to 
the portions of the SG tubes passing through the upper 17 inches 
of the approximate 21-inch tubesheet region.
 
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; 
(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 has provided its analysis of the issue 
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below: 1. Does the change involve a significant increase in the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated? 
Of the accidents previously evaluated, the proposed changes only 
affect the steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) event evaluation 
and the postulated steam line break (SLB) accident evaluation.
 
Loss-of- coolant accident (LOCA) conditions cause a compressive 
axial load to act on the tube. Therefore, since the LOCA tends to 
force the tube into the tubesheet rather than pull it out, it is 
not a factor in this amendment request. Another faulted load 
consideration is a safe shutdown earthquake (SSE); however, the 
seismic analysis of Model F steam generators has shown that axial 
loading of the tubes is negligible during an SSE.
 
At normal operating pressures, leakage from primary water stress 
corrosion cracking (PWSCC) below 17 inches from the top of the 
tubesheet is limited by both the tube-to-tubesheet crevice and 
the limited crack opening permitted by the tubesheet constraint. 
Consequently, negligible normal operating leakage is expected 
from cracks within the tubesheet region.
 
For the SGTR event, the required structural margins of the steam 
generator tubes will be maintained by the presence of the 
tubesheet. Tube rupture is precluded for cracks in the
 
[[Page 3428]] hydraulic expansion region due to the constraint 
provided by the tubesheet. Therefore, the performance criteria of 
NEI [Nuclear Energy Institute] 97-06, Rev. 2, ``Steam Generator 
Program Guidelines'' and the Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.121, ``Bases 
for Plugging Degraded PWR [pressurized-water reactor] Steam 
Generator Tubes,'' margins against burst are maintained during 
normal and postulated accident conditions. The limited inspection 
length of 17 inches supplies the necessary resistive force to 
preclude pullout loads under both normal operating and accident 
conditions. The contact pressure results from the hydraulic 
expansion process, thermal expansion mismatch between the tube 
and tubesheet and from the differential pressure between the 
primary and secondary side. Therefore, the proposed change does 
not result in a significant increase in the probability or 
consequence of a[n] SGTR.
 
The probability of a[n] SLB is unaffected by the potential 
failure of a SG tube as the failure of a tube is not an initiator 
for a[n] SLB event. SLB leakage is limited by leakage flow 
restrictions resulting from the crack and tube-to-tubesheet 
contact pressures that provide a restricted leakage path above 
the indications and also limit the degree of crack face opening 
compared to free span indications. The leak rate during 
postulated accident conditions would be expected to be less than 
twice that during normal operation for indications near the 
bottom of the tubesheet (including indications in the tube end 
welds) based on the observation that while the driving pressure 
increases by about a factor of two, the flow resistance increases 
with an increase in the tube-to-tubesheet contact pressure. While 
such a decrease is rationally expected, the postulated accident 
leak rate is bounded by twice the normal operating leak rate if 
the increase in contact pressure is ignored. Since normal 
operating leakage is limited to 0.10 gpm [gallons per minute] 
(150 gpd [gallons per day]), the attendant accident condition 
leak rate, assuming all leakage to be from indications below 17 
inches from the top of the tubesheet would be bounded by 0.187 
gpm. This value is bounded by the 0.35 gpm leak rate assumed in 
Section 15.4.2, ``Major Secondary System Pipe Rupture'' of the 
Salem Unit 1 Updated FSAR [Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR)].
 
Based on the above, the performance criteria of NEI-97-06, Rev. 2 
and draft RG 1.121 continue to be met and the proposed change 
does not involve a significant increase in the probability or 
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
 
2. Does the change create the possibility of a new or different 
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated? The 
proposed change does not introduce any changes or mechanisms that 
create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident. 
Tube bundle integrity is expected to be maintained for all plant 
conditions upon implementation of the limited tubesheet 
inspection depth methodology. The proposed changes do not 
introduce any new equipment or any change to existing equipment. 
No new effects on existing equipment are created nor are any new 
malfunctions introduced.
 
Therefore, based on the above evaluation, the proposed changes do 
not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated.
 
3. Does the change involve a significant reduction in a margin of 
safety? The proposed change maintains the required structural 
margins of the steam generator tubes for both normal and accident 
conditions. NEI 97-06, Rev. 2 and RG 1.121 are used as the basis 
in the development of the limited tubesheet inspection depth 
methodology for determining that steam generator tube integrity 
considerations are maintained within acceptable limits. RG 1.121 
describes a method acceptable to the NRC staff for meeting 
General Design Criteria 14, 15, 31, and 32 by reducing the 
probability and consequences of an SGTR. RG 1.121 concludes that 
by determining the limiting safe conditions of tube wall 
degradation beyond which tubes with unacceptable cracking, as 
established by inservice inspection, should be removed from 
service or repaired, the probability and consequences of a[n] 
SGTR are reduced. This RG uses safety factors on loads for tube 
burst that are consistent with the requirements of Section III of 
the ASME [American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and 
Pressure Vessel] Code.
 
For axially oriented cracking located within the tubesheet, tube 
burst is precluded due to the presence of the tubesheet. For 
circumferentially oriented cracking, Reference 1 [Westinghouse 
Report WCAP-16640-P, ``Steam Generator Alternate Repair Criteria 
for Tube Portion Within the Tubesheet at Salem Unit 1,'' August 
2006] defines a length of non-degraded expanded tube in the 
tubesheet that provides the necessary resistance to tube pullout 
due to the pressure induced forces (with applicable safety 
factors applied). Application of the limited tubesheet inspection 
depth criteria will not result in unacceptable 
primary-to-secondary leakage during all plant conditions.
 
Plugging of the steam generator tubes reduces the reactor coolant 
flow margin for core cooling. Implementation of the 17[- ]inch 
inspection length at Salem Unit 1 will result in maintaining the 
margin of flow that may have otherwise been reduced by tube 
plugging.
 
Based on the above, it is concluded that the proposed changes do 
not result in any reduction of margin with respect to plant 
safety as defined in the [UFSAR] or bases of the plant Technical 
Specifications.
 
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 
50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to 
determine that the amendment request involves no significant 
hazards consideration.
 
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,
 
[[Page 3429]] 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 
bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged 
facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which 
the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the 
hearing. The petitioner/requestor must also provide references to 
those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner is 
aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to establish 
those facts or expert opinion. 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. The contention must be one which, if proven, 
would entitle the petitioner to relief. 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, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to 
intervene, 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 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 of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 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) through (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 to Jeffrie J. 
Keenan, Esquire, Nuclear Business Unit--N21, P.O. Box 236, 
Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038, attorney for the licensee.
 
For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated January 18, 2007, 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 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 
19th day of January, 2007.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 
I-2, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E7-1087 Filed 1-24-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 36 NRC: NRC Enforcement Policy; Proposed Plan for Major Revision
 
                         FR Doc E7-1088 
[Federal Register: January 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 16)] 
[Notices] [Page 3429-3431] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25ja07-77]                         
 
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of proposed revision; solicitation of written 
comments.
 
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is examining its 
Enforcement Policy (Enforcement Policy or Policy) and plans a 
major revision to clarify use of enforcement terminology and 
address enforcement issues in areas currently not covered in the 
Policy, including, for example, the agency's use of Alternative 
Dispute Resolution (ADR) in enforcement cases. The NRC requests 
comments on (1) what specific topics, if any, should be added or 
removed from the Policy; and (2) what topics currently addressed 
in the Policy, if any, require additional guidance. The NRC is 
soliciting written comments from
 
[[Page 3430]] interested parties including public interest 
groups, states, members of the public and the regulated industry, 
i.e., both reactor and materials licensees, vendors, and 
contractors. This request is intended to assist the NRC in its 
review of the Enforcement Policy; NRC does not intend to modify 
its emphasis on compliance with NRC requirements.
 
 
DATES: The comment period expires March 26, 2007. This time 
period allows for the public to respond to the specific questions 
posed above in this notice as well as the opportunity to provide 
general comments on the revision of the Policy. 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: Comments on this proposed revision 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 information such as social security numbers or 
other sensitive personal information in your submission. You may 
submit comments by any one of the following methods: Mail 
comments to: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and 
Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, Mail Stop: T6D59, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
 
E-mail comments to: .
 
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852, between the hours of 7:45 am and 4:15 pm, Federal 
workdays.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria E. Schwartz, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555; , (301) 415-1888.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY BACKGROUND: I. Background The NRC Enforcement 
Policy contains the enforcement policy and procedures that the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) uses to initiate and 
review enforcement actions in response to violations of NRC 
requirements. The primary purpose of the Enforcement Policy is to 
support the NRC's overall safety mission, i.e., to protect the 
public health and safety and the environment, and to assure the 
common defense and security. Because it is a policy statement and 
not a regulation, the Commission may deviate from this statement 
of policy as appropriate under the circumstances of a particular 
case.
 
The Enforcement Policy was first published in the Federal 
Register on October 7, 1980 (46 FR 66754), as an interim policy. 
The Commission published a final version of the Policy on March 
9, 1982 (47 FR 9987). The Enforcement Policy has been modified on 
a number of occasions to address changing requirements and 
additional experience and on June 30, 1995 (60 FR 34381), a major 
revision of the Policy was published. The NRC maintains the 
Enforcement Policy on its Web site at ; select What We Do, 
Enforcement, then Enforcement Policy.
 
The goal of the Policy is to support the NRC's safety mission by 
emphasizing the importance of compliance with regulatory 
requirements, and encouraging prompt identification, and prompt, 
comprehensive correction of violations. Revisions to the Policy 
have consistently reflected this commitment: For example, in 
1998, the NRC changed its inspection procedures to address the 
Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) initiative. This has been 
reflected in the Policy's use of risk insights to assess the 
significance of violations whenever possible. While this may 
result in fewer Notices of Violation being issued (because of a 
greater emphasis on the use of non-cited violations), it has not 
reduced the agency's emphasis on the importance of compliance 
with NRC requirements. Another example involves the NRC's 
development of a pilot program in 2005 which focuses on the use 
of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for certain kinds of 
enforcement cases.
 
The NRC enforcement staff has used ADR to resolve reactor, fuel 
facility, and materials enforcement cases. While the use of ADR 
in enforcement raises unique issues, it emphasizes creative, 
cooperative approaches to handling conflicts in lieu of 
adversarial procedures.
 
The NRC is again considering a major revision of its Enforcement 
Policy. As discussed above, since it was first published in 1980, 
sections of the Policy have been updated and additional sections 
have been included. Terms used under conventional enforcement are 
now associated with the significance determination process (SDP) 
performed under the ROP as well; therefore, the use of these 
terms must be clarified. In addition, there are areas that are 
not directly addressed in the Supplements of the Enforcement 
Policy, such as the enforcement issues associated with combined 
licenses for the proposed new reactors and the construction phase 
of proposed fuel facilities as well as recently promulgated 
requirements in the safeguards and security area. These areas 
must be addressed either by adding them to the text of the 
existing Policy and Supplements or by revising the Policy and 
developing new Supplements. Finally, the format of the 
Enforcement Policy may need to be reorganized to reflect the 
changes that have been made to it.
 
II. Proposed Plan The NRC envisions revising the Enforcement 
Policy so that the policy statement and Supplements addressing 
conventional enforcement would be followed by sections addressing 
the enforcement processes that differ in some way from 
conventional enforcement. For example, currently the discussion 
in the Policy addressing Predecisional Enforcement Conferences 
(PECs) contains information regarding attendance by a whistle 
blower. In fact, third party (whistle blower) invitations are 
unique to discrimination cases and could reasonably be addressed, 
along with all of the other unique discrimination issues, in a 
self-contained section addressing discrimination enforcement 
cases. Providing self-contained sections would make it easier to 
add (and potentially delete) them in the future, if necessary. 
Under this approach, the ROP would be the first ``variation'' on 
conventional enforcement. If the agency takes this approach, 
Sections IV through VII or VIII of the current Enforcement Policy 
could be combined in the conventional enforcement process which 
would be followed by the NRC's policy regarding the use of the 
ROP in enforcement, etc.
 
The following draft Table of Contents would be consistent with 
the approach outlined above: Preface Background and Definitions 
I. Introduction and Purpose. II. Statutory Authority and 
Procedural Framework. III. Responsibilities. IV. The Enforcement 
Process. A. Assigning Severity Level (Remove section IV.5 which 
discusses ROP).
 
B. Severity Level vis-a-vis Activity Areas. C. Predecisional 
Enforcement Conferences (Remove discussion involving 
discrimination cases).
 
D. Disposition of Violations (Remove section VI.A.1 and combine 
reactor non-cited violations (NCVs) with all other NCVs such that 
there is one discussion of NCVs. Put the reactor cases associated 
with ROP in the ROP section.) 1. Wrongdoing. 2. Inaccurate and 
Incomplete Information. E. Formal Enforcement Sanctions. 1. 
Notices of Violation. 2. Civil Penalties. 3. Orders.
 
[[Page 3431]] F. Administrative Enforcement Sanctions. 1. Demands 
for Information. 2. Confirmatory Action Letters. 3. Letters of 
Reprimand. G. Exercise of Enforcement Discretion. 1. Escalation 
of Enforcement Sanctions. 2. Mitigation of Enforcement Sanctions. 
3. Notices of Enforcement Discretion (NOEDs) for Power Reactors 
and Gaseous Diffusion Plants.
 
4. The Use of Discretion During the Adoption of New Requirements.
 
H. Public Disclosure of Enforcement Actions (existing Sections 
XII).
 
I. Reopening Closed Enforcement Actions, (existing Section XIII).
 
V. Enforcement and the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP): Operating 
Reactors.
 
VI. Enforcement Actions Involving Individuals (Incorporate 
existing Section XI, ``Referrals to the Department of Justice'' 
into this Section.) VII. Discrimination. VIII. Alternative 
Dispute Resolution (ADR). IX. Follow up with any additional 
subject areas that may warrant a few paragraphs segregated from 
the main policy discussion, e.g., security/safeguards, the lost 
source policy, interim enforcement regarding certain fire 
protection issues.
 
X. Supplements. A. Health Physics. B. Reactors. 1. Operating 
reactors. 2. Part 50 Facility Construction. 3. Part 52 Combined 
Licenses. 4. Fitness for Duty. C. Facility Security and 
Safeguards-- 1. Physical Protection of Plants and Materials. 2. 
Facility Security Clearance and Safeguarding of National Security 
Information and Restricted Data.
 
D. Fuel Cycle and Materials Operations. 1. Gaseous Diffusion 
Plants. 2. Gas Centrifuge Uranium Recovery Facilities. 3. Mixed 
Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility. E. Materials Safeguards. 
F. Emergency Preparedness. G. Transportation. H. Waste Disposal. 
I. Miscellaneous Matters. The Commission is aware that 
enforcement actions deliver regulatory messages. Based on this 
tenet, the goals of this revision are to ensure that the 
Enforcement Policy (1) continues to reflect the Commission's 
focus on safety, i.e., the need for licensees to identify and 
correct violations, to address root causes, and to be responsive 
to initial opportunities to identify and prevent violations; (2) 
appropriately addresses the various subject areas that the NRC 
regulates; and (3) provides a framework that supports consistent 
implementation, recognizing that each enforcement action is 
dependent on the specific circumstances of the case.
 
Dated at Rockville, MD this 17th day of January, 2007.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Cynthia A. Carpenter, Director, Office of Enforcement.
 
[FR Doc. E7-1088 Filed 1-24-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 37 AFP: Global warming more dangerous than nuclear weapons - Blix -
                           
 by Paul Schemm Thu Jan 25, 12:53 PM ET 		 	 

CAIRO (AFP) - Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix warned that 
global warming was a greater threat than weapons of mass 
destruction, and advocated promoting peaceful nuclear technology 
around the world. 

 did not have weapons of mass destruction. 

After leaving the United Nations" /> , he was commissioned in
2003 by the Swedish government to lead a 14-member international
commission to study how to end the presence of weapons of mass
destruction in the world. 

His remarks on Thursday came as the nuclear temperature in the
Middle East was rising over Iran" /> 's decision to continuing
enriching uranium in its own nuclear programme -- a move the US
fears will result in the development of nuclear weapons. 

Last month both Egypt and Jordan also asserted their right to
develop peaceful nuclear technology, prompting fears of a
regional nuclear arms race. 

"The (nuclear non proliferation) treaty is under strain, but I
think it is an exaggeration to say it is falling apart," Blix
said, while admitting that Iran obtaining nuclear weapons would
create "a long-term domino effect which would be very serious
for this part of the world." 

"The region would be much less tense if they didn't enrich their
own fuel," Blix said, while conceding that Iran had the right to
do so to support civilian nuclear technology. "But you don't
need to exercise every right." 

Instead he urged Iran to buy enriched uranium, as most countries
with much large civilian nuclear programmes do, while calling
for a system that would ensure Iran did so. 

Blix also dismissed the notion that the United States would use
the pretext of nuclear weapons to justify a strike on Iran, as
it did against Iraq in 2003. 

"I think after Iraq and Lebanon, the US public are increasingly
against military measures," he said. 

Blix singled out countries with nuclear weapons for not holding
up their side of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and not
reducing their weapons stocks or helping other countries develop
civilian nuclear technology. 

"Disarmament has been dead for several years," he said,
referring to the lack of progress over the past decade at UN
nuclear disarmament talks in Geneva as well as in the UN General
Assembly. 

"Nuclear weapon states have not fulfilled their part of the 
bargain," Blix said, explaining that if Russia, the United States 
and other countries eliminated their weapons, non-treaty 
adherents such as Israel" /> , India and Pakistan would gradually 
get rid of their own as well. 

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 38 MSNBC.com: Nuclear power's French connection - Power Play - 

Ambitious Areva is second to none at American-style power
politics
  
  [NUCLEAIRE-ENVIRONNEMENT-EPR-MANIFESTATION]   

  Mychele Daniau / AFP

A protester plays dead during an October demonstration against 
Areva's plans to build one of its new reactors at Flamanville in 
northern France. Areva hopes to build similar plants in the 
United States through its Unistar venture with Constellation 
Energy. 

Mike StuckeySenior news editorMSNBC

With help from the allies it funds in Congress and legions of
highly paid lobbyists, the U.S. nuclear power industry won
billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies for its promised
"renaissance." But the biggest winner of all could be a French
firm that most Americans have never heard of. 

That's because Areva, an atomic energy giant owned by the French
government, appears to be better positioned than any of its
competitors to benefit from growth in the U.S. nuclear industry
and increased federal spending on it. 

With 59,000 employees, facilities in 40 countries, operations in
more than 100 and revenue of more than $6.6 billion in the first
half of the current fiscal year, the firm brags in its annual
report that it is "the only group to be active in every stage of
the nuclear cycle," referring to divisions that cover everything
from uranium mining to reactor construction to handling waste. 

Areva's U.S. operations already employ 5,000 people and generate
$2 billion in revenue, but the company is hoping to add to that
total. One of its largest potential sources of business here
would be the sale and operation of a U.S. version of its new
"evolutionary power reactor" now under construction in Finland.
And as the world's main player in the reprocessing of spent
nuclear fuel, Areva could profit substantially from the Bush
administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. 

"Our U.S. facilities and people will contribute significantly to
Areva's international business and, as with all international
companies, that growth prospect is important to Areva," the
company said in a statement in response to questions from
MSNBC.com. 

Areva, which fields an impressive stable of lobbyists in
Washington, had strong ties to President Bush's energy
transition team before the administration took office. 

Energy task force members land jobs

Later, after the Bush administration hammered out its energy
policy in a series of private meetings of a task force led by
Vice President Dick Cheney, the company gave top posts to two
senior members of the group - former Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham and the task force's executive director. When the task
force's work passed through Congress and was signed by President
Bush as the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it contained $13 billion
in government subsidies for the nuclear power industry. 

Areva told MSNBC.com that neither it "nor any associates
participated in any task force work" and that it "did not
request any effort to be made on its behalf" by its associates
on the transition team. Abraham concurred: "I am personally
unaware of any efforts or contacts by Areva or its predecessor
companies to me or the task force in general." 

"Areva is a great company with good people who are visionary and
who adhere to the highest ethical standards," Abraham told
MSNBC.com in a written response to questions about his work for
the firm. 

The firm makes no secret of its ambitions to continue the rapid
growth it has experienced under its charismatic and capable CEO
Anne Lauvergeon. 

Led by 'Atomic Anne'
Called "Atomic Anne" by the French press, the 47-year-old
Lauvergeon in recent years become one of the world's most
powerful evangelists for nuclear power, championing it as the
answer to global warming. Her success in delivering that message
has made her one of the highest-profile businesswomen on the
planet, as evidenced by her move from No. 53 on Forbes
Magazine's 2004 list of the "100 Most Powerful Women" in the
world to No. 8 last year. 

  [08/31/2006. Third day of the MEDEF (French employer's union)
summer forum on the campus of the HEC School of Management in
Jouy-en-Josas, near Paris.]   
  De Malglaive Etienne / GammaAreva CEO Anne Lauvergeon merged
two predecessors to create the nuclear giant. 

Lauvergeon's training as a physicist, and experience in
government - she served as an aide to the late French President
Francois Mitterrand - and industry helped her consolidate
France's nuclear interests with breathtaking speed after she was
appointed in 1999 as CEO of Cogema, France's state-owned nuclear
fuel reprocessing and services company. By 2001, Lauvergeon had
merged Cogema with Framatome, France's nuclear-engineering and
uranium-mining company, to create Areva. 

France long ago established its prowess in the nuclear field.
While the expansion of the use of nuclear energy stalled in the
U.S. in the 1970s and '80s, France forged ahead and achieved
global domination of several key sectors of the industry. Today,
France gets nearly 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear
power while the United States is far down the list at 20
percent. In its latest annual report, Areva claims to be the
world leader in construction and servicing of nuclear reactors,
with 30 percent of the market; fuel reprocessing, 80 percent;
and spent fuel treatment, 70 percent. It also controls large
shares of the world's uranium mining and enrichment operations.
The company's stated goal is to "capture one-third of the world
market by 2010" across all sectors of the industry. 

While Areva sees potential for growth in Europe and Asia, its
most recent annual report is peppered with references to new
opportunities in the United States. The 2005 energy bill, which
lavished subsidies and tax credits on the nuclear industry, is
mentioned frequently. Areva created Unistar, a joint venture
with the U.S. firm Constellation Energy to sell and operate new
reactors in the United States, soon after the passage of the
energy bill, and its sponsors claimed the creation of the new
firm was a direct result of the legislation.

Prototype reactor delayed
A prototype of the new reactor, currently under construction in 
Finland, has run into delays that will bite deeply into the 
firm's profits this year, but Areva says U.S. customers will only 
benefit from what it learns there.

Areva is "dedicated to supporting the U.S. nuclear industry," 
which can benefit greatly from its years of experience at 
building scores of reactors elsewhere, it said. That experience 
has led to a proven, standardized reactor, which "features four 
separate, redundant safety systems," costs 10 percent less to 
operate than other modern nuclear plants and uses 15 percent less 
uranium to generate the same amount of electricity.

Critics, however, have long questioned Areva's record on a number 
of fronts. And some find it unseemly for a firm owned by the 
French government to be competing for billions of dollars in 
subsidies offered by the U.S. government.
Story continues below  advertisement

"Just like any of the others (Areva is) ... basically trying to 
get their nose in that trough of money ... in that energy bill," 
said Jim Riccio, a nuclear policy analyst with the anti-nuclear 
environmental group Greenpeace. But this case also is special, he 
said: "They're trying to get a federal government subsidy handed 
over to a French (government-owned) corporation to build reactors 
here in the United States."

As the world's top player in nuclear fuel reprocessing, Areva 
warmly embraces the new U.S. initiative on that front, the Global 
Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP, which it also sees as an 
opportunity for new business.

That support, coupled with the secrecy surrounding the work of 
Cheney's energy task force, has led some critics, including 
Michelle Boyd of the staunchly anti-nuclear group Public Citizen 
to conclude that Areva lobbying "is behind this new push by the 
Bush administration to start reprocessing nuclear waste."

Company denies role in GNEP
Areva denies that. "The administration developed and announced 
the GNEP program without input from Areva," the company said. 
"However, Areva believes that recycling will ultimately be the 
correct approach for reasons of resource conservation and waste 
management."

Areva is not a new player on U.S. soil. For years, the company 
has provided fuel for U.S. reactors and serviced them, and it 
says it currently derives 15 to 20 percent of its revenue from 
U.S. sales.

One of Areva's largest customers is the U.S. Department of 
Energy, which has awarded the company and its subsidiaries 
contracts worth millions of dollars to perform work on fuel 
fabrication, nuclear waste and site cleanup. Areva also has a 
five-year standing contract with the General Services 
Administration to perform a long list of services for many 
federal agencies.

The firm also has shown American savvy in Washington. An 
MSNBC.com examination of Senate lobbying disclosure forms shows 
that from 1998 through 2005, Areva used no fewer than eight 
Washington lobbying firms to push its interests. In addition, the 
company ran its own well-staffed in-house lobbying departments.

All told, at least 24 men and women were registered to lobby on 
Areva's behalf from 1998 through 2005 at a cost of more than $4.5 
million, according to Senate records. Among them were former 
Sens. J. Bennett Johnston and Alan Simpson, and key former 
executive and legislative staffers.

The company's lobbying expenses have kept pace with action on 
nuclear issues in Washington, topping $1 million in 2005.

"They spent twice as much lobbying in 2005 as in 2004 and the 
reason for that is because of this interest in starting 
reprocessing," said Boyd. "They looked across the pond and saw . 
tons of spent nuclear fuel and wanted a piece of that action."

Areva said its lobbying expenses have increased in recent years 
because, "although our affiliates have a long U.S. history, we 
opened our Bethesda, Md., office in 2002 and have since increased 
our commitment to appropriate participation in the federal public 
policy arena."

Campaign contributions for key players
Areva also has ramped up its campaign donations, with employees 
and its political action committee doling out more than four 
times as much to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle - 
$116,227 - as it did in 2004. Among the beneficiaries of its 
largesse were lawmakers who were instrumental in the energy 
bill's passage.

The company stated that "we did not form a PAC until 2003, and 
the support of our employees for this transparent participation 
in the political process has gradually increased since then."

In lobbying and campaign donations, Areva has lots of company. 
Since 1998, two dozen firms involved in efforts to build the 
first new, subsidized reactors in the United States have spent 
over $330 million trying to influence federal candidates, 
lawmakers and bureaucrats.

In addition to lobbying lawmakers and donating to their 
campaigns, Areva employs Potomac Communications, a high-powered 
Washington, D.C., public relations firm, to spread its message. 
Potomac, which does work for a host of nuclear industry concerns 
and the Department of Energy, was caught in 2004 ghost-writing 
pro-nuclear op-ed pieces in newspapers that were signed and 
submitted as if they were written by the academics beneath whose 
bylines they appeared.

But perhaps Areva's greatest coup was attracting a troika of 
Washington's most influential energy policy players - two men who 
were present when the Bush administration's energy policy was 
forged by the Cheney energy task force and another who helped 
push it through Congress as the 2005 energy bill.

Hiring a troika of energy stars
In addition to Abraham, they are Andrew Lundquist, who served as 
the executive director of Cheney's task force, and Alex Flint, a 
prot‚g‚ of Congress' chief nuclear cheerleader, Sen. Pete 
Domenici, R-N.M.

IMAGE: SPENCER ABRAHAM

Former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he draws a "very 
modest" salary as chairman of Areva's U.S. board of directors.
After helping to draft the energy policy with its plums for the 
nuclear industry, Abraham, who received thousands of dollars in 
campaign contributions from nuclear interests while serving as a 
U.S. senator representing Michigan from 1995 to 2001, left the 
administration in early 2005. A little over a year later, he 
signed on as the chairman of Areva's U.S. board of directors, a 
position he still holds. He declined to tell MSNBC.com how much 
he is paid in that role but called it "very modest by industry 
standards."

Abraham is not troubled by possible appearances of conflict over 
having helped formulate policies that could benefit a firm for 
which he now works. "The federal government has strict guidelines 
regarding post-employment restrictions for Cabinet members. I 
have followed those guidelines to the letter of the law," he 
said.

Lundquist, who left the White House in 2002, also served on 
Areva's U.S. board after his work on the energy plan, but has 
since left the post. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Flint, a member of the Bush-Cheney energy transition advisory 
team along with fellow Areva lobbyist Johnston, Areva 
lobbyist-to-be William Martin and Areva executive Steve Kadner, 
book-ended his lobbying for Areva with two stints as a staffer 
for Domenici. The six-term senator, who has been honored by the 
French and lauded by Lauvergeon as a champion of nuclear power, 
credits Flint with pushing him nearly a decade ago to call for a 
U.S. nuclear expansion.

Ex-lobbyist helped shepherd energy bill
Flint parlayed his clerkship of Domenici's appropriations 
subcommittee into a $400,000-a-year lobbying gig in which he 
represented Areva predecessor, Cogema, among other clients. He 
returned to the Senate, at a drastic cut in pay, to work as 
Domenici's staff director on the Energy Committee in 2003 and 
remained until after the energy bill became law. Last year, he 
took a job as the top lobbyist with the Nuclear Energy Institute, 
which counts Areva as a prominent member.

Flint declined a request for an interview through an NEI 
spokesman.

Areva said it had no particular strategy to attract such 
high-profile players. "We respect the knowledge, talent and 
integrity of each individual you named, and are proud that they 
worked with us," the company said, adding that "we follow the 
letter and spirit of the law in the area of government ethics."

Boyd said she has no objection to a foreign-owned company playing 
the Washington lobbying game so skillfully, but she takes 
exception to Areva because of its involvement in the reprocessing 
of spent nuclear fuel.

"They are interfering with our foreign policy," she said. ". 
Reprocessing has a huge impact on our foreign policy because it 
sends the wrong message internationally."

Seeing reprocessing as a threat to spread nuclear weapons, the 
U.S. banned it for years to set an example to other nations. 
Anti-nuclear activists believe that policy should still be 
followed despite the fact that France and other nations have long 
engaged in reprocessing.

French nuclear work draws criticism on other fronts as well. In 
2005, a top French court ruled that Areva was illegally storing 
nuclear fuel at its La Hague plant. In 2000, Greenpeace alleged 
that the same plant was discharging more radiation than permitted 
by law into the sea, which the company denied.

Indiscretions in Iraq

In the 1970s, the company's predecessors in the French 
state-owned nuclear industry also helped Saddam Hussein's effort 
to acquire nuclear weapons by supplying highly enriched uranium 
and the Osiraq reactor near Baghdad, which was bombed in a 
pre-emptive strike in 1981 by Israel.

Such efforts were not confined to the French. The Bush 
administration's energy point man, Vice President Dick Cheney, 
was at the helm of Halliburton while it did business through 
French subsidiaries with Iraq, Libya and Iran despite U.S. 
anti-terror sanctions in place at the time against those nations. 
(General Electric, a big player in the nuclear industry and the 
parent of NBC, which is a partner in MSNBC.com, also did business 
with Iraq during the sanction period through French companies.)

The French today distance themselves from such past 
indiscretions, shying away, for instance, from proposals to help 
Iran gain world acceptance of elements of its nuclear program. 
And Areva says that it has become the leading global player in 
the nuclear industry simply by being a well-run international 
business.

"Our U.S. facilities and people will contribute significantly to 
Areva's international business and, as with all international 
companies, that growth prospect is important to Areva," the 
company told MSNBC.com.

But Greenpeace's Riccio says he's not certain that the company's 
U.S. prospects are so hot, given the problems with the reactor in 
Finland and what he vows will be a tough fight against 
reprocessing by environmentalists.

"I think they've positioned themselves well," Riccio said of 
Areva's groundwork in Washington. "I don't necessarily think it's 
going to pan out for them."

c 2007 MSNBC Interactive
*****************************************************************
 39 AFP: Putin seeks stake in Indian energy, military market - 

 by Stephen Boykewich Thu Jan 25, 2:27 AM ET 		 	 

NEW DELHI (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin" /> of Russia has 
flown to India on a mission to rejuvenate ties with Moscow's 
former Cold War ally and push for multi-billion dollar energy and 
weapons deals. 

, France and elsewhere for its colossal defence equipment needs. 

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs,
said that while "military cooperation still very much
dominates," both India and Russia want to move on to a broader
economic relationship. 

Putin expressed his hope Wednesday to triple bilateral trade to
10 billion dollars by 2010, the Press Trust of India reported. 

The Russian president set an identical target during his last
visit to New Delhi in December 2004, but bilateral trade has
languished since then. 

"Big problems have arisen because Indian businessmen who want to
work in Russia have a very hard time understanding the rules of
Russian business," Lukyanov told AFP. 

Another Russian target named in December 2004 and repeated in
recent days -- to win an Indian tender for 126 fighter jets --
had made no progress as the tender has not yet been floated, an
Indian defence official told AFP. 

Putin will also be making a pitch for nuclear energy contracts. 

"We intend to help India directly in construction of atomic
energy facilities for peaceful use," he said in an interview
with the Press Trust of India (PTI). 

The passage last year of a landmark US-Indian deal allowing New
Delhi access to civilian nuclear technology after decades of
isolation has unleashed an international race to supply
energy-hungry India's atomic energy market. 

Any contracts, however, still have to await the approval of
dealings with India by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group,
which regulates the international nuclear energy trade. 	 		 			

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 40 AFP: Putin promises India more nuclear power, but business ties lag -
     
 by Stephen Boykewich Thu Jan 25, 7:40 PM ET 		 	 

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin" /> Vladimir 
Putinpromised energy-hungry India nuclear reactors and power 
plants after arriving on a mission to rejuvenate ties with 
Moscow's former Cold War ally. 

But at a meeting with Indian business leaders, Putin heard 
expressions of disappointment over the slow growth of bilateral 
trade and frustration at difficulties in cracking the Russian 
market.

India, which is racing to secure new sources of fuel to sustain 
its booming economy, welcomed Russian moves to help "in the 
expansion of our nuclear sector," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 
said after a signing ceremony.

"We appreciate Russian support," Singh said after the two 
countries inked a memorandum of understanding in which Russia 
promised four more nuclear reactors for a flagship nuclear plant 
it is building in Kudankulam in southern Tamil Nadu -- a state 
that already has two 1,000-megawatt Russian reactors.

The symbolic highlight of Putin's two-day visit will be Friday, 
when he is guest of honour at India's Republic Day celebrations 
-- designed to show a close friendship even as New Delhi grows 
closer to the United States and other Western governments.

Putin, on his fourth visit to India since becoming president, 
also promised to co-operate in building atomic energy stations 
"at new locations in the Indian republic."

The passage last year of a landmark US-Indian deal allowing New 
Delhi access to civilian nuclear technology after decades of 
isolation has unleashed an international race to supply the 
Indian civilian nuclear energy market.

Western nations have also been jostling for a slice of India's 
lucrative civilian nuclear energy market, although any contracts 
with india still must await approval by the 45-nation Nuclear 
Suppliers Group, which regulates the global nuclear energy trade.

Outside of nuclear

and military cooperation -- which brought a 250-million-dollar 
contract Wednesday for the joint production of fighter jet 
engines -- India's business elite painted a less than rosy 
picture of relations with Russia.

"We have to seek an answer to the question why, despite strong 
political ties between two time-tested friends, bilateral trade 
and business ties remain low," Habil Khorakiwala, president of 
Indian business association FICCI, said.

Addressing Putin during a meeting with other Indian and Russian 
businessmen, Khorakiwala said it was "time to put words into 
practice and transform the willingness into actual cooperation."

Minutes after Putin said bilateral trade ties had jumped an 
estimated 20 percent in 2006 to reach 3.8 billion dollars, 
Khorakiwala put the number at just 2.75 billion.

Indian businessmen have long complained of difficulties in 
receiving Russian visas, which Russia has tied to alleged 
problems with illegal Indian immigration, an Indian government 
official told AFP.

Still, Thursday brought agreement between India's state-run Oil 
and Natural Gas Corp and Russian state oil giant Rosneft to 
jointly bid for exploration and refining projects in India, 
Russia and other countries.

ONGC and Rosneft will build on their existing partnership in 
Russia's vast Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field, the two companies 
said in a joint statement.

The two sides also signed a 250-million-dollar deal for a 
Russian-built hydroelectric power station in northern Uttar 
Pradesh, as well as a joint venture to produce titanium products 
in eastern Orissa.

Moscow and New Delhi were allies throughout the Cold War, 
agreeing to billions of dollars' worth of arms deals, but the 
ground has shifted as India has turned to the US and other 
Western countries for arms and investment.

Putin has said he hoped the countries would triple bilateral 
trade to 10 billion dollars per year by 2010.

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 41 SMN: Bulgaria: Bulgaria Introduces Action Plan for Kozloduy NPP

Sofia Morning News
     
Bulgaria in EU: 25 January 2007, Thursday.

Bulgaria's energy minister is expected to introduce an action
plan for the saving of Kozloduy NPP's units 3 and 4 on Thursday.
 
Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov is supposed to bring in the plan
on Wednesday's meeting of the council of ministers. 

The plan is part of the measures, which the country is set to
adopt for the reopening of the two nuclear units. The plan
includes political and technical measures, meetings with the
energy ministers of the countries in the region and talks with
key authorities in Brussels.


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 42 SMN: Bulgaria: Bulgaria Plans One Event per Month to Save Nukes
     
Sofia Morning News

Bulgaria in EU: 25 January 2007, Thursday.

Bulgaria's "action plan" for saving Units 3&4 of the Nuclear
Power Plant in Kozloduy includes one big event per month,
Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov said Wednesday.
 
The fact that Bulgaria is dwelling hard on into the issue
doesn't mean that we will automatically reopen the two nukes,
Ovcharov said, adding that he wouldn't want to create illusions.
 
The minister introduced the plan to the Council of Ministers for
discussion. It states that each monthly event would e supported
by the state, EU institutions and representatives from the
neighbouring Balkan countries that would suffer energy
shortages. These countries have already started to feel the
shortage, Ovhcarov said. 

I hope that our efforts eventually lead to the revival of the
nukes, the minister added. Otherwise, the country would have to
push for plan B, which involves huge compensations for Bulgaria
for the closure of the units.

Click here to receive realtime news about this topic in the
future.


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&Disclaimer - Privacy Policy
ISO 9001:2000 Certified

[''] Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - 
www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news 
provider in English that informs its readers about the latest 
Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online 
newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - 
www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the 
latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in 
Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in 
Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. 
*****************************************************************
 43 SMN: kozloduy: Piebalgs Waters Down Bulgaria's Kozloduy Hopes
     
"Sofia Morning News

Politics: 25 January 2007, Thursday.

The European Commissioner for Energy recommended that Bulgaria 
bury hopes for reopening two decommissioned units of its only 
nuclear power plant at Kozloduy.
 
At a press conference in Brussels Andris Piebalgs said a
reopening of Kozloduy's units 3&4 could be "a bad signal for
investors and citizens of the EU, as the country entered the
Union on certain conditions and then the same conditions would
be changed".
 
He was skeptic over the successful outcome of such a step from
Sofia, because a possible decision to reopen the units must be
regulated with an amendment in the Accession Treaty of Bulgaria
and then ratified by all 26 member states.
 
"Personally, I would not recommend the reopening of the two
units. I do not want to see Kozloduy back on the agenda," he
said.
 
The EU energy chief's comments came in response to voices from
Sofia that the current energy demands of the Union and the
electricity needs on the Balkans call for review of the units'
decommissioning.

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[''] Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency -
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provider in English that informs its readers about the latest
Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily
online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News
Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish
*****************************************************************
 44 Guardian Unlimited: Georgian Sting Seizes Bomb Grade Uranium 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 11:16 AM

By DESMOND BUTLER 

Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - It was one of the most serious cases of
smuggling of nuclear material in recent years: A Russian man,
authorities allege, tried to sell a small amount of nuclear-bomb
grade uranium in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket. 

The buy that took place last summer, it turned out, was a setup
by Republic of Georgia authorities, with the help of the CIA.
Their quiet sting operation - neither U.S. nor Georgian
officials have publicized it - is an unsettling reminder about
the possibility of terrorists acquiring nuclear bomb-making
material on the black market. 

No evidence suggests this particular case was terrorist-related. 

``Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an
improvised nuclear explosive device, even small numbers of
incidents involving HEU (highly enriched uranium) or plutonium
are of very high concern,'' said Melissa Fleming of the U.N.'s
International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Details of the investigation, which also involved the FBI and
Energy Department, were provided to The Associated Press by U.S.
officials and Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. 

Authorities say they do not know how the man acquired the
nuclear material or if his claims of access to much larger
quantities were true. He and three Georgian accomplices are in
Georgian custody and not cooperating with investigators. 

Merabishvili said Georgian attempts to trace the nuclear
material since the arrest and confirm whether the man indeed had
access to larger quantities have foundered from a lack of
cooperation from Russia. 

Merabishvili said he was revealing the story out of frustration
with Russia's response and the need to illustrate the dangers of
a breakdown in security cooperation in the region. 

A message left with the press office of the Russian Embassy was
not returned. A duty officer at the Russian Foreign Ministry
told The Associated Press that there was no one authorized to
comment Wednesday night. 

In Moscow, the Interfax news agency cited an unidentified source
at Russia's nuclear agency as saying Georgian authorities had
given Russia too small a sample to determine its origin and had
refused to provide other information. 

Russia has tense relations with Georgia, like Russia a former
Soviet republic. Georgia has been troubled by Russia's support
for separatists in two breakaway Georgian border regions,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 

The sting was set up after Georgian authorities uncovered
extensive smuggling networks while investigating criminal groups
operating in the breakaway republics, Merabishvili said. 

``When we sent buyers, the channels through Abkhazia and South
Ossetia began to expand, and we started seeing a huge flow of
materials,'' he said. ``Sometimes it was low-grade enriched
materials, but this was the first instance of highly enriched
material.'' 

According to his account, during an investigation in South
Ossetia, a Georgian undercover agent posing as a rich foreign
buyer made contact with the Russian seller in North Ossetia,
which is part of Russia. 

After the Russian offered to sell the sample, the agent rebuffed
requests that the transaction occur in North Ossetia, insisting
the Russian come to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. 

At a meeting in Tbilisi, the man pulled out from his pocket a
plastic bag containing the material. 

``He was offering this as the first stage in a deal and said he
had other pieces, Merabishvili said. ``We don't know if that was
true.'' 

Uranium has a low level of radioactive emission and can be
transported more safely than other radioactive materials. 

The man was arrested and sentenced to eight to 10 years in
prison on smuggling charges. His accomplices were sentenced on
lesser charges. 

Russian authorities took a sample of the material but failed to
offer any assistance despite requests for help from the
Georgians, Merabishvili said. 

``We were ready to provide all the information, but
unfortunately no one arrived from Russia, not even to interview
this person,'' Merabishvili said. ``It is surprising because it
is in Russian interests to secure these materials. There are
terrorist organizations in Russia who would pay huge amounts of
money for this.'' 

The Georgians asked for U.S. assistance. Agents from the FBI and
the Energy Department took the material back to the United
States, where it was tested by the Energy Department's National
Nuclear Security Administration. 

``The material was analyzed by agency nuclear experts and
confirmed to be highly enriched uranium,'' said Bryan Wilkes, a
spokesman for the agency. 

Fleming, of the IAEA, said the agency was aware of the Tbilisi
seizure and was expecting formal notification from Georgia soon. 

The CIA would not comment on the case, and the FBI confirmed its
involvement in the investigation but nothing more. 

Merabishvili, who was visiting Washington this week, said he did
not have some details of the investigation, including the exact
date the arrest was made or the full name of the suspect.
Further efforts to clarify with the Georgian Embassy were not
successful. 

None of the U.S. officials would confirm the weight of the
seizure or its quality, but Merabishvili said it was about 100
grams (3.5 ounces) of uranium enriched by more than 90 percent. 

Uranium enriched at 90 percent is weapons grade. 

A nuclear bomb of a design similar to the one exploded over
Hiroshima in 1945 would require about 50 kilograms (110 pounds)
of uranium enriched at over 90 percent, according to Matthew
Bunn, a senior research associate who focuses on nuclear theft
and terrorism at Harvard University's Kennedy School of
Government. Bunn said that a more sophisticated implosion type
nuclear bomb would require 15 to 18 kilograms (33 to 40 pounds). 

According to an IAEA database, there have been 16 previous
confirmed cases in which either highly enriched uranium or
plutonium have been recovered by authorities since 1993. 

In most cases the recoveries have involved smaller quantities
than the Tbilisi case. But in 1994, 2.72 kilograms (6 pounds) of
highly enriched uranium intended for sale were seized by police
in the Czech Republic. In 2003, Georgian border guards using
detection devices provided by the United States caught an
Armenian man with about 170 grams (5 ounces) of HEU, according
to the State Department. 

Fleming said examples of stolen or missing bomb-grade nuclear
material, including highly enriched uranium and plutonium, are
rare and troubling. 

David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and head of the
Washington-based Institute for Science and International
Security, said that lacking help from Russia, the CIA may be
looking to other allies to help identify who has access to lost
nuclear material. 

``Russian cooperation in answering these questions is critical,
but it has not been forthcoming,'' he said. ``One way to
identify who is active in trading these materials is to conduct
sting operations.'' 

--- 

Associated Press Writer Katherine Shrader contributed to this
report. 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 45 Guardian Unlimited: Russian jailed for trying to sell weapons-grade uranium for $1m

Luke Harding in Moscow

Friday January 26, 2007
The Guardian 		 

[Two bags which the Georgian interior ministry says contains 
about 100 grams (4oz) of enriched uranium] Two bags which the 
Georgian interior ministry says contains about 100 grams (4oz) of 
enriched uranium. Photograph: Reuters 
 
 The safety of Russia's vast nuclear arsenal was called into
question yesterday after Georgia said it had arrested a man
trying to sell weapons-grade uranium hidden under his jacket.
Officials in Tiblisi said Oleg Khintsagov had been captured
after smuggling the uranium into the country. Agents posing as
members of a radical Islamist group arrested the Russian
businessman in a sting operation.

Mr Khintsagov, 50, had offered to sell 100 grams of enriched
uranium for $1m, officials said. After producing a sample, he
told agents he had a further two or three kilograms of uranium
at his home in Vladikavkaz, in neighbouring southern Russia -
enough to make a small nuclear bomb.

According to the New York Times, FBI officials later confirmed 
that the uranium was 90% enriched. But they said they did not 
know where it had come from. Yesterday Russia's federal atomic 
energy agency, Rosatom, also admitted that the uranium was 
genuine. But it said it could not identify its origin and accused 
Georgia of failing to cooperate.

"This is a dangerous amount of uranium - enough to build a
modest nuclear bomb," said Lev Fyodorov, a nuclear expert with
Russia's Chemical Safety Union. "Uranium is easy to smuggle. It
doesn't harm the person who carries it."

He added: "There are several places in Russia it could have come
from. Either Russia's intelligence agency is not doing enough to
stop this sort of thing from going on, or there is a campaign
under way to suggest that Russia is the kind of state where
nuclear components disappear."

Russia's vast stocks of nuclear weapons have been a source of
international concern since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia
says its nuclear facilities are well guarded.

Officials in Moscow cast doubt on the timing of yesterday's
revelation by Georgia - pointing out that Mr Khintsagov was
arrested in December 2005. He was jailed for eight-and-a-half
years at a secret trial in Tblisi.

Officials said they did not reveal the operation earlier because
they did not want to compromise their investigation.
 
Useful links
Itar-Tass news agency
Moscow Times
Russia Today
St Petersburg Times
Caucasian Knot

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 46 RIA Novosti: Russian gets eight years in Georgian prison for uranium sale
 
25/ 01/ 2007

TBILISI, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - A Georgian court sentenced a
Russian citizen to eight years in prison for attempting to sell
100 grams of high-enriched uranium in the ex-Soviet republic, an
Interior Ministry official said Thursday.

 Shota Utiashvili, the head of the ministry's analytical
department, said Oleg Khiltsagov, who was born in the Russian
North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia, and three Georgian
citizens were arrested in early 2006 and their trial was held
last summer.

 "We have deliberately not released any information, as the
investigation was trying to identify other suspects involved in
the case. Moreover, we wanted to determine where the uranium was
stolen from," Utiashvili said, without specifying whether the
investigation was successful.

 He said Georgia was cooperating with Russian colleagues, and
had sent them samples of the enriched uranium for verification
and testing.

 "We received the test results from Russian specialists,"
Utiashvili said. "They confirmed that the substance was
high-enriched uranium, but did not say anything about its
origin."

 Utiashvili said that three Georgian citizens in the case were
also convicted and sentenced to between four and six years in
prison.

© 2005 RIA Novosti   
*****************************************************************
 47 BBC: Georgia and US foil uranium plot
 
Last Updated: Thursday, 25 January 2007
 
[Map]                                                                                           

A Russian man who tried to sell a small piece of weapons-grade 
uranium has been arrested in Georgia, officials say. 

The man was detained in the Georgian capital Tbilisi last summer 
in a sting operation involving US agents, the Georgian interior 
minister said. 

Vano Merabishvili said he was giving details now because Russia 
had failed to co-operate over the case. 

The Russian was carrying 100g (3.5oz) of uranium, but had offered 
more. A US test confirmed it was highly enriched. 

Experts at the US Department of Energy examined the sample and 
concluded it was powerful enough to fuel part of a nuclear 
weapon. 

The man was able to transport it in a plastic bag in his pocket, 
the Associated Press reported, because uranium has a low level of 
radioactive emission. 

He has been identified as Oleg Khintsagov, from the southern 
Russian region of North Ossetia. 

The BBC's Matthew Collin, in Georgia, says the case raises new 
concerns about militants gaining access to nuclear material, 
particularly in conflict zones in the former Soviet Union where 
the rule of law is weak and corruption is widespread. 

Important arrest 

According to Mr Merabishvili, the Russian said the uranium was 
just a sample of a much larger amount he had available to sell. 

But these claims were never substantiated, US and Georgian 
officials indicated. 

Even a small number of incidents involving highly enriched 
uranium are of very high concern            

Melissa Fleming International Atomic Energy Agency      

Mr Merabishvili said Russia had not yet responded to an offer by 
Georgia to hand over information about the case. 

Georgian efforts to trace the nuclear material since the arrest 
and confirm whether the man did have access to larger quantities 
have foundered from a lack of cooperation from Russia, he said. 

"We were ready to provide all the information, but unfortunately 
no-one arrived from Russia, not even to interview this person," 
Mr Merabishvili said. 

"It is surprising because it is in Russian interests to secure 
these materials. There are terrorist organizations in Russia who 
would pay huge amounts of money for this." 

Concern 

Relations between Russia and Georgia have been tense in recent 
months, following a row about alleged spying by Russians and 
Moscow's expulsion of Georgian illegal workers. 

A spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency, Melissa 
Fleming, said the arrest was of vital importance. 

"Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an 
improvised nuclear explosive device, even small number of 
incidents involving HEU [highly enriched uranium] or plutonium 
are of very high concern," she said. 

Georgia said it became aware of the smuggling plot while 
investigating crime in the breakaway republics of South Ossetia 
and Abkhazia.                                                    

*****************************************************************
 48 NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting Feb. 1 on Draft Environmental Assessment for Proposed
Hawaiian Irradiator

News Release - Region IV - 2007-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY 
COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-07-002           
January 25, 2007 CONTACT:     Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 
E-mail:   

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting in
Honolulu on Feb. 1 to seek public comment on a draft
environmental assessment for a proposed irradiator to be built
and operated adjacent to the Honolulu International Airport.
Based on the draft assessment, the NRC concludes that there
would be no significant environmental impact from the proposed
facility. 

The meeting will be held at the Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson
Dr. The NRC staff will be available to meet informally with
members of the public beginning at 6 p.m., followed by a formal
meeting from 7 - 9 p.m. 

During the meeting NRC staff will describe the process it used
to develop the draft environmental assessment for the
application filed in June 2005 by Paina Hawaii, LLC for the
irradiator license. The public will have an opportunity to
comment on the environmental assessment during the formal part
of the meeting. Members of the public can also listen to the
meeting via a special telephone line by calling 1-800-638-8081,
and entering passcode 1883# at the prompt. 

The irradiator would be used primarily to kill harmful bacteria,
insects and parasites on fresh fruit and vegetables bound for
the United States mainland from the Hawaiian Islands and produce
imported to Hawaii, as well as sterilize cosmetics and
pharmaceutical products. It would also be used for research and
development projects and to irradiate a range of other approved
items. 

The NRC staffs environmental assessment considered potential
impacts to the health of the public and workers at the facility,
transportation of the radioactive material, socioeconomics,
ecology, water quality, and the effects of aviation accidents
from the nearby airport and natural phenomena. 

The draft environmental assessment is available on the NRCs Web
site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials.html by selecting Paina
Irradiator in the Key Topics box. Additional information on
irradiators is available at: 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/commerc
ial-irradiators.html.   
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------


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 Thursday, January 25, 2007 	   
*****************************************************************
 49 Salt Lake Tribune: Guv pledges Strake battle

By Judy Fahys 

The Salt Lake Tribune 

Article Last Updated: 01/25/2007 02:45:03 AM MST

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., energized by the public outpouring at a
hearing he called Wednesday, pledged to take the fight against
the Divine Strake test explosion to Washington. 

    “This is the power of the people,” he said, after addressing
a packed Capitol hearing room. “I am going to bring their
message to Washington and get something done.” 

    The Republican governor called the public hearing as an
alternative to the widely derided “information sessions” held
earlier this month by the federal Defense Threat Reduction
Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration, the
federal agencies behind the huge, non-nuclear test. 

    Hundreds of Utahns have panned the federal meetings, saying
they did not provide an essential public forum. They wanted to
say they don't want new nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site,
where Divine Strake is planned. And they don't want a new
generation of Downwinders, people who blame exposure to past
atomic tests for illnesses and death. 

    So, as speaker after speaker stepped up Wednesday to attack
the federal proposal, Huntsman won thank you after thank you.
When the first few finished their presentations at the hearing,
he stepped up, shook their hands and shared a few words with
them. 

    “This is exactly what the state ought to be doing,” he told
the crowd. “And we'll have an impact.” 
    
 The Divine Strake plans involve detonating 700 tons of
conventional explosives at the Nevada Test Site. The federal
agencies say the explosion will help them better understand how
to use non-nuclear and nuclear bombs to destroy the kinds of
deep, underground bunkers being used by the nation's foreign
enemies. 

    The current round of Divine Strake meetings, including
Huntsman's two public hearings and four federal information
sessions, were offered to gather comments on an environmental
assessment the agencies completed last month. The comment period
closes Feb. 7. Huntsman said he will have the public hearing
comments transcribed and include them in the state's formal
comments on the environmental review. 

    What the comments will not be able to capture, though, is
the spirit of outrage, fear and defiance that pervaded
Huntsman's hearings. 

    Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson echoed Huntsman on the
necessity of challenging the federal government's assertions
that the test will not hurt Utahns or their environment. 

    “We will not allow another public health catastrophe, caused
by the federal government, to devastate the lives of our good,
hardworking citizens," he said. 

    Other political leaders who addressed the crowd of about 200
included Salt Lake City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, Utah Senate
President John Valentine of Provo and state Sen. Dennis Stowell,
R-Parowan. 

    Darlene Phillips of Bountiful, like many speakers, told a
personal story of illness blamed on exposure to past Nevada Test
Site explosions and how she fears she exposed her own children
to contamination through milk. She said Utahns were scared into
silence about the 928 nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. 

    “We've also drunk the milk,” she said. “We've also breathed
the air. We've swallowed the lies, and this time I will not be
silent again.” 

    fahys@sltrib.com 
    
© Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. 
*****************************************************************
 50 Deseret News: Utah crowd rallies to oppose Strake
 
[deseretnews.com] 

Thursday, January 25, 2007                               

Hundreds of Utahns attended a public hearing Wednesday night — 
the governor, professors, activists, politicians and grandmothers 
— some near tears, many angry and nearly all of them opposed to 
the planned Divine Strake explosion.

       A state official estimated that by the second hour of the
three-hour state hearing, between 250 and 275 people were
present, with 75 offering statements for the record. Their
subject was the explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and
fuel oil, proposed by the Defense Department for the Nevada Test
Site.

       The session was the second of two called by Gov. Jon
Huntsman Jr. in response to the federal government's refusal to
hold hearings on the subject. Instead, the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security
Administration had "public information" meetings where experts
answered questions and a court reporter took oral comments.

       Huntsman, through the Utah Department of Environmental
Quality, held the hearing Wednesday and said comments would be
transcribed and sent to the federal government as part of his
official statement.

       "Divine Strake is a 700-ton conventional explosion,
located over a tunnel within one mile of radioactive
contamination from past nuclear tests," Huntsman said. It would
be upwind of people who know all too well the suffering and
death that came from open-air nuclear tests at the Nevada Test
Site.
 			  		 		   
© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
 51 SUU Journal: Downwinders cautious of test - Matthew Montgomery

University Journal: 

Matthew Montgomery

 Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: News                              

Media Credit: Richard Payson and Jennifer Fernandez
  													
Potential convential weapons testing at a location formerly used
for nuclear testing is receiving public attention from local
government officials and citizens.

Divine Strake is a planned large-scale, open-air explosive
detonation scheduled to take place this year at the Nevada Test
Site 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Development began on the
test in response to a request in 2002 from then-Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

According to Utah History to Go at www.historytogo.utah.gov,
downwinders, specifically in reference to southern Utah are
individuals who were irradiated by nuclear testing performed at
the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s.

G. Michael Stathis, professor of political science, said Utahns
were affected heavily by such nuclear testing.

"People in Utah had to pay such a heavy price," he said. "It's
real - it's flesh and blood."

Cedar City Mayor Gerald R. Sherratt said he and other officials
are concerned about the effect Divine Strake could have on Cedar
City's citizens.

"We're greatly concerned by anything they do down there that
might affect us in Cedar City," he said.

Sherratt said he is troubled with radiation from past nuclear
tests being spread downwind.

"We had the fallout that happened before; some of it came
through Cedar City," he said. "The residue from atomic blasts
stays in the soil for a long time." 

John Howell, associate professor of political science, said he
thinks caution should be exercised in the testing, but the
testing would benefit the nation.

"The downwind effects are determined by the conditions of the
day," he said. "It should be a calm day."

Jim Eardley, Washington County Commission chairman, said there
was a test similar in composition but twice the size of Divine
Strake in 1993 that was less of an issue.

"What's interesting is that there was a test done on Sept. 22,
1993," he said. "There wasn't much brouhaha over it."

Eileen McCabe, national delegate for the Desert Greens, or the
Green Party of Utah, and policy adviser with the Blue Sky
Institute, said she believes the test has effects that the
government is not openly acknowledging.

"I am concerned, with this latest test, that there is either
rampant incompetence or deliberate deception," she said. "It
concerns me that our government could commit such deception and
get away with it." 			 			 		 		 			 			 				 					 				

Howell said he thinks the nation needs to test weaponry.

"I believe we absolutely need weapon testing," he said. "Having 
up-to-date weaponry benefits the country."

Eardley said we need to be able to defend ourselves.

"I'm not in support of Divine Strake," he said. "I'm in support 
of a nation-state prepared to defend ourselves."

Eardley said he thinks technologically-strong weapons will 
benefit the country's defense.

"What seems to have been most effective at holding (our enemies) 
at bay is the technology of our weapons system," he said. "I hope 
that continues to be a priority."

McCabe said the test is sensitive because of the past situation 
of the downwinders in southern Utah.

"There was bombardment from nuclear radiation from the Nevada 
Test Site," she said. "People feel like they were lied to then 
and they're being lied

to now."

Eardley said he thinks there should be definite studies done 
before the test can go through.

"We expect there will be a complete environmental impact study 
done before any such test is done," he said. "Those studies 
should be made available to the public for comment and review."

There have been two public hearings on Divine Strake in St. 
George in January. The National Nuclear Security Administration 
conducted one while the other was conducted by the Utah 
Department of Environmental Quality.

McCabe said she rejects the notion that the public hearings are 
providing information to the public.

"The public information sessions don't provide any new 
information," she said. "They're just sales pitches."

© 2006 University Journal 
*****************************************************************
 52 New West Network: Utahns Speak Out at Divine Strake Hearing 

By Tracy Medley, 1-25-07 				 									 					

So, how do you get citizens living in the most conservative
state in the nation to talk about their extreme distrust of the
United States government in public? Apparently all you have to
do is threaten to detonate a 700-ton ammonium nitrate bomb in
their back yard, which would kick up a 10,000 ft. mushroom cloud
and potentially radioactive dust left behind from earlier
nuclear testing. 

Utahns have come out of the box so to speak- with their
absolute opposition to the governments planned Divine Strake
test in northern Nevada. Last months public information
meeting debacle held by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and
the National Nuclear Security Administration left most Utahns
cold; including the Sen. Orrin Hatch, Rep. Jim Matheson and Gov.
John Huntsman Jr. Citizens who attended that meeting were left
surprised and angry that they were not allowed to speak openly.
After the federal governments failure to allow public dialogue
on the subject, Gov. Huntsman and the Utah Department of
Environmental Quality organized another meeting, which took
place on Wednesday night. 

Between 250 and 275 people attended the hearing offering
statements, some emotional, mostly expressing their opposition
to the controversial test. Many who spoke expressed both outrage
and distrust for the federal governments assurance of the
tests safety; offering story after story of deaths and
illnesses in their families caused by the earlier tests. 

According to reports in both The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret
Morning News, Gov. Huntsman himself pledged to take the concerns
of Utahs citizens directly to Washington. This is the power of
the people, Huntsman said to the crowd. I am going to bring
their message to Washington and get something done. 

© 2006 NewWest, All Rights Reserved 				
*****************************************************************
 53 Olive Press: The day the H-Bombs came to Andalucia part one - 

The Olive Press

Jan 25, 2007 at 01:03 PM

by Bob Maddox 

Forty one years ago last week, a mid air collision between two
US Air Force planes during refueling led to four nuclear bombs –
each 100 times more powerful than that which flattened Hiroshima
- falling on the fishing village of Palomares in Almería.

 AT 10.20 am on January 17, 1966, Francisco Simo Orts, a
fisherman from the Almerian village of Palomares, lay five miles
offshore aboard his shrimp boat, Manuela Orts. It was a
beautiful Mediterranean morning, with perfect visibility under
an azure sky and Orts was preparing to raise his shrimp nets.

 At 31,000 feet above him, Major Larry Messinger of the US Air
Force, was involved in a somewhat trickier operation –
maneuvering a 220 ton B52 Stratofortress into place beneath the
belly of KC 135 Stratotanker in preparation for a scheduled
mid-air re-fuelling over eastern Spain. The B52 was on the
return leg of a journey that had taken it from Seymore Johnson
Air Force Base, North Carolina, out over the Atlantic Ocean and
across Europe, to touch the borders of the Soviet Union. The
year was 1966; the Cold War was at its height and U.S. nuclear
deterrence at the time hinged about an operation codenamed
Chrome Dome. In practice, this meant at any given moment, day
and night, a fleet of B52 bombers, armed with nuclear weapons,
were prowling around the borders of the Soviet Union, ready to
deliver Armageddon to the heart of the enemy.

 Critics of Chrome Dome had long pointed out the dangers
involved in this and, in particular, the potential for an
accident involving “live” nuclear weapons. As Simo began to tend
his nets, events were taking place in the sky above him which
would trigger the most expensive search in history and change US
defence policy forever.

 As the giant bomber nuzzled into place beneath the
Stratotanker, something went wrong with the manoeuvre. The B-52
rammed the underbelly of the tanker, splitting it open and
showering the bomber with its contents – 40,000 gallons of
flammable aviation fuel. As the fuel was sucked in by the huge
engines of the B-52, a series of explosions were triggered that
tore both planes into pieces; killing the KC-135’s crew of four
and three men in the tail section of the B-52.

 Four others, Captains Charles Wendorf and Ivens Buchannan,
Lieutenant Richard Rooney and Messinger himself, ejected from
the stricken bomber and began the long, slow fall towards
Palomares. All four were later picked up safely.

 In a bizarre twist of irony, five of the dead crewmen fell to
earth inside Palomares village cemetery and the remaining two
just a stones throw away.

 Hispanic Hiroshima

 But they were not alone. Also falling through the Adalucian sky
that morning were four Type B28RI nuclear weapons; H-Bombs.
Equipped with warheads of 1.45 megatons, each bomb packed around
100 times the punch of the bomb that destroyed the Japanese city
of Hiroshima in August 1945.

 From his boat, Simo Orts saw the explosions; an orange fireball
against the sky which trailed flaming debris; fingers of black
smoke pointing down at the village of Palomares. Minutes later,
he was startled to see a parachute falling near his boat
trailing what he later described as “…a dead man.” To Orts’
distress this hit the water and disappeared, before he could
race to recover the body. The “dead man” was in fact the only
one of the released nuclear weapons to have drifted out to sea
on its parachute. As Simo raced towards the spot, the B28RI was
already sliding down towards the dark bed of the Mediterranean,
2,850 feet below.

 Paradoxically, a hydrogen bomb is one of the safest devices
ever devised. In each bomb a primary trigger, in this case
plutonium, is surrounded by a precisely shaped sphere of
conventional high-explosive lenses. For a nuclear explosion to
occur, these high explosive lenses must be detonated
simultaneously, sending a precisely shaped shock wave inwards to
squeeze the plutonium and trigger a chain reaction. This, in
turn, triggers a thermonuclear reaction which in effect turns
the bomb into a miniature star many times hotter and brighter
than the sun. Bang.

 However, this is extremely high-tech stuff and highly unlikely
to happen in an accident. Good news for Andalucía and for the
people of Palomares in particular, since three of these bombs
were now on the way down to pay them a surprise visit.

 The crash itself was witnessed by several villagers. The
refueling operations were a daily occurrence and villagers often
paused to watch the delicate aerial ballet taking place high
above them. Maria Badillo was preparing lunch when her little
daughter ran into the house screaming “Mama! The sky is raining
fire!” Grabbing her three children, Maria took refuge as huge
sections of American nuclear bomber crashed around her house.

 One hydrogen bomb fell directly in front of 83-year-old Pedro
de la Torre Flores and his two young grandnephews who were busy
watching flaming plane debris shower down around them. Its
parachute had failed and as the bomb crashed into the ground at
135 feet per second, its high explosive trigger detonated on
impact, throwing all three to the ground. Attracted by the
commotion, Pedro’s nephew, José López Flores ran to help. The
bomb was now on fire and José, fearful of more explosions, began
to stamp out the flames with his feet. In doing so, he may have
become perhaps the only person in history to have actually
danced on a hydrogen bomb.

 A second bomb was found on the other side of Palomares by
Alfonso Flores Serrano. Although there had been no explosion
this time, Alfonso noticed the bomb’s casing had cracked open on
impact, spilling a brown dust, but otherwise, he left the weapon
alone.

 Bomb number three landed in the nearby Cabezo Negro Hills. Like
the first, it had detonated its high explosives, flinging debris
and a black-brown cloud of plutonium dust over a wide area.

 Search

 By 10.22am, it was all over. Astonishingly, no one on the
ground had been hurt as pieces of the two giant aircraft and
their deadly cargo crashed to earth in fiery ruin across
Palomares. The two explosions had released plutonium dust over a
wide area, which was then further scattered by the wind,
seriously contaminating crops and agricultural land. But
radioactive tomatoes were the least of the problems now facing
the U.S. Air Force.

 Over the next few days as hundreds of U.S. soldiers began to
comb the countryside for bomb number four, it became
increasingly apparent a rather embarrassing situation was
developing. The United States had lost a large hydrogen bomb in
a very public fashion in someone else’s country – and it had
absolutely no idea where to begin looking for it.

 U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was about to signal the start of
the biggest, most expensive and most frantic hunt in history;
and a simple Andalucian fisherman named Simo Orts was about to
become world famous.

© 2006 The Olive Press

The Olive Press - Granada Province's Fortnightly News
*****************************************************************
 54 ABC4.com: Utahns express strong opposition for bomb test in Nevada Desert
          
Last Update: 1/24/2007 10:57:31 PM 		 		 	 	 		 		 	 	 		 			

[Video]  Watch This Video   

An overflow crowd in a state capitol hearing Wednesday night
voiced strong, emotional opposition to the Pentagon's plans to
explode a huge bomb in the Nevada Desert. 

The plan for the 700-ton bomb test, called Divine Strake, brings
up memories of Nevada nuclear tests in the 1950's and 1960's
which lead to a sharp increase in cancer deaths downwind in Utah.

The government has determined the test is safe and has held only
public information hearings.  Wednesday night an unofficial
hearing was the second and last of two called by Governor
Huntsman to give Utahns a voice.

"People have died because of nuclear tests at the Test Site,"
says Huntsman, "and those in southern Utah who have lived and
survived are more vulnerable to testing. There has been
considerable impact to their health and well-being."

Although Divine Strake is a non-nuclear test, those at the
hearing fear it will release contaminant radioactive soils at
the test site.  And most of those speaking, because of past
experiences,  no longer trust the government when they say such
tests are safe.

"Two weeks and a day ago my sweet wife died of radioactive
poisoning," television weatherman Bob Welti told the crowd. 
"She remembers them telling her 'don't worry, it's safe'.  It
wasn't.  If they really believe this stuff is safe, why don't
they set it off in Washington D.C.?"

A cancer survivor Mary Dickson testified, "In the neighborhood I
grew up in I can count 45 people who have died of fallout
related illnesses.  During those years our government assured
us over and over there is no danger."

Hunstman says he will have the testimony transcribed and will
take it to Washington to continue the state's fight to stop the
test.

news@abc4.com   

 2007 Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc. 
*****************************************************************
 55 Guardian Unlimited: Residents' fears of radioactive waste on site of Olympic village

Ian Griffiths

Friday January 26, 2007

The Guardian             

Residents on a housing estate that will be demolished to make way 
for the Olympic village are seeking a court injunction to stop 
tests being carried out to assess the dangers from radioactive 
waste dumped beneath the site. They are concerned that the 
process of testing the ground may disturb any radioactive 
material buried below and pose a health risk, and want testing 
stopped until they are rehoused this summer.

Documents seen by the Guardian say waste contaminated by an 
isotope of thorium, a nuclear fuel which can cause cancer, was 
dumped on the site in east London in 1959.

Last month engineers working for the London Development Authority 
began drilling test boreholes in a location to the south-west of 
the original dumping site on the Clays Lane housing estate. Earth 
has been extracted from below ground and scanned with Geiger 
counters to monitor radiation.

A radiological survey of the area carried out by the consultants
WS Atkins in 1993 revealed "the presence of elevated levels of
[radiation] activity above the general background level for that
area". Levels of radioactivity three times the normal background
level were identified close to where local government records
suggest the waste was dumped, in a cesspit which had served a
row of now demolished terrace houses on Temple Mill Lane.

A later subsurface survey carried out by Atkins in 1994 to
assess levels of radioactivity beneath the ground in what became
a landfill site known as the West Ham tip was inconclusive.

An LDA spokesman said: "The site investigation work is unrelated
to the issues that the 1994 report considered. Site
investigations to test ground conditions are ongoing across the
Olympic Park and the latest investigations took place at Clays
Lane. No intrusive investigation work will be carried out on the
areas referred to in the Atkins report until all of the
residents have moved from Clays Lane. If we then need to disturb
the area as part of the site's preparation, then we will consult
the Health and Safety Executive and other regulatory bodies so
that a safe method of working is employed."

The Guardian has seen three separate documents covering a period
of over 30 years which suggest that the biggest risk of
contamination is if the waste material is disturbed.

An internal memorandum written by the Lee Valley Regional Parks
Authority valuer and estates surveyor in 1972 recommended that
the ground over the waste should not be disturbed without
further tests. A letter sent by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of
Pollution to Atkins in 1994 said: "Only if contaminated material
is disturbed would there be potential for an authorisation to be
required."

The HSE also told Atkins: "In the event of any further
disturbance of buried radioactive material, notification of the
work and of the appointment of a radiation protection adviser
may be necessary." But lawyers representing one Clays Lane
resident have been thwarted in their attempts to halt the
current testing because they have been refused legal aid to
finance their pursuit of an injunction against the LDA.

Bill Parry-Davies, of the east London solicitors Dowse &Co,
said: "The LDA's work to extract sub-soil carries the risk that
radioactive material could be unearthed on the estate. Although
the works have created an obvious potential for contamination
and a tragedy for local residents, the Legal Service Commission
[has] unquestioningly accepted the authority's claims to be
using 'best practice' and [has] refused to fund any independent
investigation of the risks involved and back an injunction to
stop the work until our client is rehoused.

"We have challenged that decision because our client is trapped
in the path of the Olympic steamroller and abandoned by a legal
aid system established to protect the vulnerable."

John Large, an independent nuclear consultant, said that the
real problem with the Olympic village site is that no one knows
exactly what waste might have been dumped there in the late
1950s and early 1960s. The Radioactive Substances Act of 1960
tightened significantly the laws on dumping nuclear waste. But
there was a five-year period, before the act was enabled in
1965, in which waste could still be dumped under the old rules.

"It was not uncommon in those days, when a suitable site was
identified by one business with material to dispose of, for
others to follow suit resulting in unrecorded waste also being
dumped," said Large. "If you go by what the paperwork says, the
waste may be manageable. But what is actually down there is not
always what the ledger says."

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 56 reviewjournal.com: Radioactive waste chief defends Yucca
 
  Jan. 25, 2007

He counters NRC member's assertion that project should be scrapped         

By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The nation's radioactive waste chief on Wednesday countered 
remarks made earlier this week by veteran Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission member Ed McGaffigan, who told reporters the Yucca 
Mountain project in Nevada is deeply flawed and should be 
scrapped. 

Ward Sproat, director of the Energy Department's Office of 
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, said McGaffigan expressed 
similar concerns to him last year. Though he agreed with some of 
McGaffigan's assertions about past leadership problems tied to 
politics and setbacks that could have been avoided with quality 
assurance and the cultural mind-set, the effort to license and 
build a repository in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las 
Vegas, should not be abandoned for some other site. 

"Commissioner McGaffigan had a lot of valid points. Some of
those will need to be addressed for long-term success," Sproat
told a nuclear waste oversight panel that was meeting in Las
Vegas. 

After his presentation to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review
Board, a nonpartisan panel of presidential appointees, Sproat
said McGaffigan's comment to reporters Monday in Washington,
D.C., that "it may be time to stop digging" at Yucca Mountain,
wasn't a valid point. 

"The site is Yucca Mountain. That decision was made in 2002. The
next step is, can you license a repository at that site. That's
where we are now," Sproat said during a break in Wednesday's
meeting. "I believe we can license that site." 

McGaffigan has said the Energy Department has "no chance" to get
Congress to fix the Yucca Mountain program with legislation and
that agency officials knew years ago there would be problems
with land withdrawals, water rights and exemptions for toxic
waste handling. He said Monday he also favors forming a
government-chartered corporation to run the project and bring in
long-term managers instead of letting political appointees
command the program. 

But Sproat said, "I'm not convinced that's the right way to go." 

He acknowledged there has been "discontinuous leadership" that
has resulted in some setbacks. "The program, the way it is set
up, is subject to the political process," he said. 

Sproat stressed that he still intends to meet his goal of
submitting a license application for the NRC to review on or
before June 30, 2008. "We are on that schedule and we're going
to meet it," he said. 

"My approach is working within the legalities and organization
that exists and to make sure the program has the right people,
right skills set, right processes and right culture to make it
work right," Sproat said. 

After seven months at the helm, he said he needs to spend a lot
more time improving the organization of the Yucca Mountain
program so that it will be more streamlined to overcome the
technical hurdles in submitting a defensible license
application. Data that is needed from past scientific endeavors
should be available with the push of a button and not take five
days and five people to retrieve. 

In addition, he said, "I recognize the need to work with this
new Congress and establish credibility." 

In his presentation to the board, Sproat said, "I can tell you
there is bipartisan support for this program" on Capitol Hill.
The problem, he said, has been that "the Department of Energy
has not given them confidence in that it will be carried out.
That's where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time in the
coming year." 	   

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
*****************************************************************
 57 Guardian Unlimited: Russia Silent on Georgian Uranium Sting 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Thursday January 25, 2007 9:46 PM

AP Photo MOSB109 

By HENRY MEYER 

Associated Press Writer 

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia responded with silence Thursday after
Georgia revealed a foiled effort by a Russian man to sell
weapons-grade uranium, an episode that appeared to cast doubt on
the nation's ability to halt the black market trade in nuclear
materials. 

The origin of 3.5 ounces of highly enriched uranium seized early
last year in the former Soviet republic remains unclear, and
some experts accused Georgia of trying to embarrass Russia at a
time of strained relations between Moscow and Washington. 

The Russian government said nothing publicly about the inquiry.
An unidentified official at the nuclear agency Rosatom, quoted
by the Interfax news agency, denied Georgian accusations that
Russia was not cooperating with an investigation of the case. 

U.S. and Georgian officials told The Associated Press that
Georgian authorities, aided by the CIA, set up a sting operation
that led to the arrest last year of a Russian citizen who tried
to sell a small amount of uranium enriched to about 90 percent
U-235, suitable for use in an atomic bomb. 

Georgian officials said attempts to trace the source of the
nuclear material, and to investigate the man's claim that he had
access to larger quantities of highly enriched uranium, failed
because Russia did not cooperate. 

The Rosatom official was quoted as saying that Georgian
authorities had given Russia too small a sample to determine its
origin, and had refused to provide other information. 

Georgian Interior Ministry official Shota Utiashvili identified
the detained man as Oleg Khinsagov, a resident of Vladikavkaz in
North Ossetia, a region of Russia that borders Georgia. 

Utiashvili said Georgian authorities had thwarted an earlier
smuggling attempt also involving a small amount of highly
enriched uranium in 2003, but gave no further details. 

Russia's Federal Security Service, Interior Ministry and Rosatom
did not respond to requests for comment. 

Officials from Rosatom and the Federal Security Service attended
an early interrogation of the suspect, and Russian authorities
were given a small sample of the nuclear material, the Rosatom
official said, according to Interfax. But Georgia offered no
further cooperation, the unidentified official was quoted as
saying. 

The account appeared to be aimed at deflecting accusations that
Moscow has not kept its nuclear materials locked up, and has not
cooperated fully in efforts to halt trade in these materials.
Russia says it is working actively in both areas with other
nations, including the United States. 

Alexander Pikayev, a Moscow-based defense analyst who is
co-chairman of the Committee of Scientists for Global Security,
said there have been thefts of nuclear material from Russian
facilities in the past. 

``If this uranium did come from Russia, the Russian authorities
need to take this problem very seriously,'' he said. ``There is
work going on in this direction but this incident shows that all
is not well.'' 

Russia retains a sprawling nuclear weapons production complex
and large stocks of weapons-grade fissile material left over
from the Soviet era. 

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a U.S.
non-governmental organization devoted to nonproliferation
issues, Russia now has between 735 and 1,365 metric tons of
weapons grade-equivalent highly enriched uranium and between 106
and 156 tons of military-use plutonium. 

In a 2006 report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said
there were 16 confirmed incidents of trafficking in highly
enriched uranium or plutonium globally from 1993 to 2005. In
seven cases, the nuclear material was thought to originate in
Russia or a former Soviet state. 

The U.S. and Russia have worked with other former Soviet states
- including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan - to improve security for
these stockpiles, but they have not been eliminated. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced last month it
had shipped almost 590 pounds of highly enriched uranium from a
former East German research reactor to what are regarded as
secure facilities in Russia. 

A U.S.-financed program has helped increase security at many
Russian weapons facilities with the installation of
closed-circuit cameras and other safeguards. However, the
program has seen regular disputes between the two countries,
independent military expert Pavel Felgenhauer said. Russia has
allowed the U.S. access to nuclear research facilities, but has
kept some weapons manufacturing sites off-limits, he said. 

The smuggling incident is not the first for the poor, former
Soviet republic of Georgia whose breakaway regions of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia have had de facto independence since the
early 1990s. In both places, weapons, alcohol and other illicit
and contraband goods are trafficked, sometimes openly. 

In 1993, up to 4.4 pounds of highly enriched uranium vanished
from a nuclear research facility in Abkhazia, according to
Georgian officials and foreign experts. 

In Washington, Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said
he disclosed the story of last year's thwarted uranium sale out
of frustration with Russia's response and to illustrate the
dangers of a breakdown in security cooperation in the region. 

Russian ties with Georgia have soured badly. Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili has sought to decrease Russian influence and
move closer to the West, and Tbilisi regularly protests Russian
support for separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 

According to Merabishvili, a Georgian undercover agent working
in Georgia's South Ossetia made contact with the Russian seller
in the Russian region of North Ossetia. 

After the Russian offered to sell the sample, the agent rebuffed
requests that the sale take place in North Ossetia, insisting he
come to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. At a meeting there, the man
pulled a plastic bag containing the metal from his pocket. 

The man was arrested and sentenced to eight to 10 years in
prison on smuggling charges. Three Georgians tried as
accomplices were sentenced on lesser charges. 

Uranium is more or less harmless to carry around because, like
plutonium and polonium, it is an alpha-emitting radioactive
material that does not penetrate the skin - though it will
irradiate internal organs if ingested. 

The radioactive emissions of highly enriched uranium are so low
that detectors often fail to pick them up if they are contained
in a simple lead container. While highly enriched uranium is not
normally handled casually, research laboratories do not use the
same precautions in dealing with it that they employ with other
radioactive materials. 

Anton Khlopkov, deputy director of Moscow's PIR Center, which
specializes in nonproliferation issues, noted that the quantity
seized was reported to be small - a fraction of what was needed
to make a nuclear weapon. He also said it was not certain if it
came from Russia. 

``Why was this information released now? It looks like an
attempt, by Georgia or the United States, to build up an image
of Russia as a nuclear market,'' Khlopkov said. ``Georgia wants
to get political capital out of this.'' 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 58 Gristmill: Nuclear: A great choice for uniformly competent groups of people

| Gristmill: The environmental news blog | Grist
 
Posted by David Roberts at 3:47 PM on 25 Jan 2007 
		

The longest-serving member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
is retiring. about Yucca Mountain: 

Ed McGaffigan, a veteran member of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, said Monday that the Yucca Mountain program is
deeply flawed and that the Nevada nuclear waste site should be
scrapped.
 
"It may be time to stop digging, and it may be time to rethink,"
McGaffigan said in a critique of the Energy Department program
as he prepares to retire from the five-member commission that
regulates nuclear safety.
 
...
 
"I think Yucca Mountain has been beset by bad law, bad
regulatory policy, bad science policy, bad personnel policy, bad
budget policy throughout its history," McGaffigan said. "Every
time somebody has done something to try to speed things up, it
has backfired." 

This reminds me of an argument against nuclear that's worth
reiterating: the consequences of an accident at a reactor or
waste-holding facility are enormous. It may be possible to
design systems that make such an accident extremely unlikely,
but all those systems, in the end, rely on the competence of
everyone from regulators to managers to low-level employees. 

Relying on the uniform competence of large groups of people to
prevent catastrophe doesn't strike me as a particularly wise
strategy. Part of what's attractive about a decentralized
renewable energy system is that it degrades gracefully; the
consequences of individual screw-ups, accidents, or wrongdoing
are relatively localized. 

  Proof by assertion

 "The consequences of an accident at a reactor or waste-holding
facility are enormous" -- except when they're not, i.e., every
accident to every waste-holding facility ever, and every
accident to every western commercial design of reactor ever.
Roberts' argument amounts to wishing away all the historical
good nuclear news, and also wishing away all the past oil and
gas disasters that would have been more numerous but for nuclear.

 It is also true that natural environmental inventories of
radioactivity are very large; if it were possible to dissolve
every spent fuel rod now in existence in the ocean, its
radioactivity would be only fractionally changed. Four billion
tonnes  of uranium does a lot of radiating, and marine
radiopotassium, the principal isotope by which living creatures
self-irradiate, does several times more.

 --- G. R. L. Cowan, boron combustion fan
 

Grist: Environmental News and Commentary
 [a beacon in the smog (tm)] ©2007. Grist Magazine, Inc. All
*****************************************************************
 59 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP acceleration funds being sought for biodiesel project 

By Stella Davis

Article Launched: 01/24/2007 07:01:57 PM MST

CARLSBAD — Carlsbad Mayor Bob Forrest said that although he is 
confident a $1.4 million request for WIPP acceleration funds for 
the private construction of a biodiesel plant will receive the 
green light from the city council on Friday, he believes there 
are still more questions that need to be answered. 

A local private company is proposing to build a biodiesel plant 
that will commercially produce biodiesel fuel. The council will 
hold a special session to further discuss the $1.4 million 
request and whether to approve it. 

During this month's Carlsbad Department of Development meeting, 
the CDOD board voted to petition the city of Carlsbad for $1.4 
million in WIPP acceleration funding to assist a private company 
with developing a biodiesel company. 

WIPP acceleration funds are awarded on a year-by-year basis from 
the federal government to help offset the economic impact of the 
nuclear waste repository closing at the conclusion of its mission 
in anticipation that it will be ahead of schedule in processing 
the nation's nuclear waste. 

Cetane Energy was formed by the Walterscheid family to build the 
estimated $2.8 million plant to process algae oil and other 
biodiesel feedstocks in Carlsbad. The family told city officials 
it is putting $1.7 million of its own money into the venture. 

"Would you settle for $1.1 million?" Forrest asked Ronnie 
Walterscheid, spokesman for the family. 

"One point four million dollars would be ideal, but we will take 
whatever we are offered," Walterscheid replied. "The extra would 
help." 

Forrest said that, although he is 100 percent behind the 
production of biodiesel fuel in Carlsbad and the entities that 
are working toward that goal, the city should proceed with 
caution when it comes to WIPP acceleration funds. He noted that 
the city has been burned before in luring new business to 
Carlsbad with the promise of WIPP acceleration funds, only to see 
nothing in return and the businesses left town. 

"Mistakes have been made," Forrest conceded. "We don't want to 
repeat them. There are several questions that should be asked 
that include who will be fiscal agent for the WIPP money? Will it 
come through the city or the Carlsbad Department of Development? 
We need to talk about maximizing the benefits to the city and the 
Walterscheids from this project, and we need to make sure that 
the project meets the federal requirements for WIPP funds before 
they are given, not after," Forrest said. 

Councilwoman Louise Tracy agreed with Forrest, but added that she 
feels confident the Walterscheids will do well. She said they 
have deep roots in Carlsbad and have successful businesses 
grossing over $8 million in sales and a staff of 60 employees.

She said, as with their other businesses, she believes they will 
also make the biodiesel plant a successful venture through their 
partnership with the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials 
Management, which is researching growing the algae for the 
extraction of its oil. 

Forrest also raised the question of whether Cetane, if successful 
in obtaining some state funds for training new workers, will 
return the state funded portion back to the city or the Carlsbad 
Department of Development. 

"If you get the $1.4 million in WIPP money, will you return a 
portion of it if you get the state funding?" Forrest asked 
Walterscheid. "If you get $600,000 from the state, then you 
actually would only have to use about $500,000 in WIPP money." 

Walterscheid answered that his company would return a portion of 
the WIPP funds if that is a condition of receiving the funds. 

Ned Elkins, Carlsbad mayor pro tem, and head of Los Alamos 
National Laboratory's Carlsbad Operations Office which has been 
working with CEHMM in developing reusable fuels, said he is 
confident that all the questions will be addressed by Friday. 

Elkins praised the efforts of the Center of Excellence for 
Hazardous Materials Management and its proposed partnership with 
the Walterscheids. 

He said that he has met with the Department of Energy several 
times about the CEHMM's work in the development of algae oil as 
biodiesel fuel, and there is a lot of support from the DOE for 
the project. 

However, he stressed that the project must be within the 
framework of the DOE's WIPP acceleration fund criteria. 

"We are dealing here with a business (Cetane) and a nonprofit 
agency (CEHMM). This project has to be put forward as a 
demonstration of capability. It has to show that the algae oil 
produced by CEHMM and processing and selling it as biodiesel by 
Cetane is a successful venture and will bring economic benefits 
to the community," Elkins said. 

He said he believes that the funds will be awarded to CEHMM, 
which in turn will give the money to Cetane. 

Elkins said he is confident that the project will be successful, 
putting CEHMM and Carlsbad on the map as national leaders in 
producing the biodiesel and renewable fuels. 

In his presentation to the council, Walterscheid said that, while 
the biodiesel plant won't create a large number of jobs, it will 
bring a lot of money into the local economy and city coffers. 

Doug Lynn, CEHMM interim director, said the economic impact of 
algae oil production from a 2,000-acre commercial algae farm 
could bring in 20 million gallons of oil per year and $30 million 
in sales. The impact of biodiesel production of 20 million 
gallons per year at the biodiesel plant will generate about $60 
million in sales a year. He said that the city will benefit from 
the gross receipts and property taxes the production of the 
biodiesel fuel will bring. 

Richard Aves, a chemical engineer and a member of the 
Walterscheid family, said that the new facility his family plans 
to build will create about 10 new high-paying jobs with an 
estimated payroll of about $600,000. 

He said the benefits to Carlsbad from the venture is that 
Carlsbad has a homegrown industrial partner with CEHMM, a 
commercialization outlet for ongoing scientific feedstock 
research from CEHMM that includes algae oil — that has a higher 
yield of oil per acre — and winter canola, which can be grown by 
local farmers.

  Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group 
Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
 60 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP receives first shipment of RH waste 

 WIPP receives first shipment of RH waste 

By Kyle Marksteiner

Article Launched: 01/24/2007 07:01:43 PM MST

  + »CARLSBAD — The first shipment of remote-handled transuranic
waste arrived at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad
Tuesday night, according to the Department of Energy. 

The shipment originated at Idaho National Laboratory and was
transported inside a shielded RH-72B shipping cask, according to
a press release. It consisted of three 30-gallon drums of
radioactive debris waste that resulted from research activities
and testing of nuclear materials. The shipment arrived at the
WIPP site at around 10:30 p.m. to a gathering of between 50 and
75 WIPP employees, who cheered as the truck arrived, according
to some employees who attended the event. 

RH waste, according to the DOE, produces a higher radioactive
dose rate than contact-handled waste at the surface of the
disposal container, but when transported the shipments all have
the same dose limit due to lead shielding. RH and CH waste both
consist of tools, rags, protective clothing, sludge, soil and
other materials contaminated with radioactive elements that have
atomic numbers greater than uranium. 

"This important shipment was completed safely and uneventfully," 
said Dr. David Moody, DOE Carlsbad Field Office manager. "This 
has been a team effort from the beginning. This is truly a 
momentous occasion, the culmination of months and years of 
planning, negotiations with stakeholders, training, operational 
safety reviews, equipment checks and checking and double checking 
everything." 

Moody noted that when he first joined the Carlsbad Field Office
he stressed how much he valued a team approach and would seek to
encourage a culture of pulling together to accomplish goals. 

"This first RH shipment speaks loudly to what can be
accomplished through teamwork," he said. "I am truly proud of
our WIPP staff and our colleagues at Idaho. I want to take this
opportunity to thank our WIPP neighbors, the citizens of
Carlsbad, Hobbs and surrounding communities who voiced
overwhelming support for this program during the public hearing
in Carlsbad and Santa Fe. We appreciate your continuing
endorsement of the WIPP program." 

The RH shipment actually left Idaho Thursday, but the arrival at
WIPP was delayed due to weather concerns. 

"We went into safe parking at an Air Force base along the route
in Colorado," Moody said. "That was until this severe winter
warning was lifted." 

Safe parking is also part of the regular safety procedure for
contact-handled waste, a DOE spokesman said Wednesday. 

Moody said attempting to wait for ideal weather along the entire
corridor between Idaho and New Mexico would have been difficult. 

"The key at this time of year is getting a clean window, and
weather all the way down is not necessarily an easy feat to
achieve," he said. "We may be clear here, but then all the
interstates north may be snowed in." 

Don Hancock, with the Southwest Research and Information Center
in Albuquerque, expressed concern over the decision to ship the
waste this week. 

"It would be better if shipments don't leave Idaho when there's
bad weather," Hancock said. "Besides the transportation risks,
the public's concern is that the very dangerous RH wastes be
handled properly, in full compliance with the EPA certification
and WIPP permit." 

The Department of Energy does not publicize shipments in
advance, but state police are notified. The DOE cleared the
final few hurdles allowing for the shipment of RH waste over the
past few weeks. During hearings in the fall, some DOE officials
speculated that the first RH shipments might take place in
March. 

"It had to do with when everything was ready," Moody said about
the factors used to determine when the first shipment would take
place. "We had gone through our contractor operational readiness
review and it had gone very well. We then went through our
Department of Energy operational readiness review and got final
approval to initiate remote handled operations." 

Disposal of RH-TRU waste has long been part of the WIPP mission.

In 1992, Congress authorized the disposal of both CH and RH-TRU
waste at the facility. In October 2006, the New Mexico
Environment Department issued a revised hazardous waste facility
permit for WIPP, which helped clear the way for RH shipments. 

In the past few months, WIPP has also completed a number of
operational reviews to demonstrate readiness to manage and
dispose of RH waste. A team of experts from DOE, NMED, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Defense Nuclear
Facility Safety Board participated in the reviews. The EPA and
NMED must also approve the site's procedures for
characterization — the process for determining the physical and
chemical characteristics of the waste — to ensure the waste is
suitable and approved for disposal at WIPP. 

"This first shipment of RH-TRU waste is particularly significant
to DOE," DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management
James Rispoli said in a prepared statement. "WIPP is now
positioned to complete its entire mission. The safe, efficient
disposal of all transuranic waste, including remote-handled
material, is vital to our national clean-up strategy." 

The RH-72B shipping cask, Moody said, provides the same low
exterior radiation levels as the TRUPACT-II's contact-handled
waste that has been shipped to WIPP since 1999. The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission certified the lead-lined cask for use in
2000. Because of the weight of the lead shielding, only one RH
cask is loaded per trailer, compared to up to three TRUPACT-IIs
used for contact-handled TRU waste. An RH shipment contains
three drums of waste, while a CH shipment can include up to 42
drums. 

The RH waste shipments resemble a "dog bone" some DOE officials
have said, because of two impact limiters, which are designed to
act as shock absorbers. 

The RH waste that arrived at WIPP Tuesday was first generated at
Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago in 1993 and shipped to
Idaho National Laboratory for storage. Inter-site shipments of
remote handled waste have taken place in the past. 

Transportation routes for RH and CH waste are the same, and are
designated in cooperation with states and tribal nations,
according to the DOE. Shipments are tracked by satellite. Only
about four percent of the total volume of waste received at WIPP
is expected to be RH. The total volume of waste anticipated at
WIPP is 175,570 cubic meters. 

RH waste at WIPP will be placed into boreholes drilled into the
walls of WIPP's underground disposal rooms. CH waste barrels and
boxes are then stacked in rows on the floor of the same rooms. 

When the waste arrives at the WIPP site, Moody said, it is
inspected and then proceeds into the parking area. The impact
limiters are then removed, and the canister is taken into a
processing area. A heavy shield door closes, and the canister is
removed — by a remote device — from the shipping container and
loaded into a facility cask. The shielded materials are then
brought underground and equipment pushes the canister out of the
facility cask and into the boreholes. A shield plug is inserted
in front of the hole. 

"We'll take readings. If required, more shielding is added,"
Moody said. "At that point in time, we are ready to move the
cask back up the stairs to receive the next shipments." 

Moody said the first RH waste will likely be placed into Panel
4, Room 6. CH waste will soon be placed in Panel 4, Room 7. 

"We will fill up Panel 4, Room 7 with contact handled waste
while placing remote handled waste in Panel 4, Room 6," Moody
said. "When we have filled up Room 7, we will have drilled holes
in the wall in room 5." 

RH waste will therefore be one room ahead of CH waste. 

The DOE plans to start with one RH shipment a week, Moody said. 

"We'll maintain that for a couple of months, then move up to
two, then four," he said. "Some time toward the end of FY 2007
we'll seek to achieve our maximum of six per week." 

The RH "fleet" consists of 12 units. The shipping casks that
will be used are the RH-72B and the CNS 10-160B. The 10-160B can
hold up to 10 drums and won't be used as often as the other
cask. Most initial shipments will come from Idaho, but the DOE
is working on moving forward in the process with Los Alamos and
other communities. 

Outreach efforts — an attempt to provide information to
residents along the corridor between Idaho and Carlsbad — are
also planned. 

"We have a tremendous need to do that," Moody said. "We will
start that process this winter or spring." 
WIPP, located about 26 miles outside of Carlsbad, received its
first waste shipment in March 1999. The site has received more
than 5,000 shipments of contact-handled transuranic waste.

  Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group
Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
 61 Salt Lake Tribune: Bill would let regulators decide on EnergySolutions

Waste landfill expansion

By Judy Fahys 

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 01/25/2007 01:06:33 AM MST

Lawmakers showed strong support Wednesday for an effort to
clearly put state regulators - not elected political leaders -
in charge of decisions about the amount of waste allowed at
EnergySolutions' existing hazardous and radioactive waste
landfill. 

    The Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Agriculture
Committee unanimously approved the bill, despite critics
warnings it will help EnerySolutions' Tooele facility grow
without adequate oversight by policy makers. 

    Sen. Darin Peterson's SB155, if enacted, will allow the
company to grow as much - and as high - as it wants within its
current mile-square footprint as long as the company does not
accept hotter waste. The Nephi Republican says his bill
clarifies Utah's 1990 waste-site law. 

    But opponents say the measure will allow EnergySolutions to
sidestep a possible legal fight that has been brewing for months
over when it must get approval from the governor and Legislature
to expand. Regulators in the past 19 years have granted more
than 80 license amendments. 

    The Radiation Control Division is still reviewing 666
comments from individuals, interest groups and businesses on the
latest expansion request, to nearly double the height of the
disposal piles from 45 to 85 feet. If SB155 passes, critics
could not challenge the expansion on grounds that it should have
undergone more thorough public and political scrutiny. 
    
Committee members approving the bill say the public has plenty
of opportunities to weigh in on expansions during the regulatory
review. 

    "This bill does not have any impact on the regulatory
process," said Tim Barney, EnergySolutions' vice president for
government relations. 

    But Radiation Control Board member Patrick Cone said the
measure "seemed to wipe the slate clean" on the law. "I don't
see how that serves the public," he said. 

    EnergySolutions is the largest commercial radioactive
landfill in the nation, and with the wording change, company
officials have said the site could take as much as 30 million
cubic yards of waste, about 4 times the current amount. 
    
   SB155 

   Would specify that EnergySolutions does not need elected
leaders' OK to expand its waste landfill within existing
boundaries. 

    Next step: moves to the full Senate

© Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. 
*****************************************************************
 62 The Herald: No-one knows what is left in the Dounreay waste shaft

Web Issue 2741

January 25 2007  

Officials at Dounreay yesterday admitted they do not know what
is in the Caithness plant's notorious waste shaft. 

With decommissioning work on the shaft now under way, one of the
problems facing those charged with isolating and retrieving 20
years' worth of nuclear and chemical waste there is a number of
small drums at the bottom. 

The drums, containing sodium, were dumped there in 1959 but
nobody knows whether they are intact or not.continued... 

There was unsupervised fly-tipping into the shaft and workers
firing rifles into it to sink polythene bags floating on water,
with no regard to the shaft's hazardous contents. 

Now it will take those at Dounreay at least another 20 years and
more than Ł200m before the story of the shaft can be brought to
an end, and only if the financially troubled Nuclear
Decommissioning Agency (NDA) can provide enough financial
support. 

As it is, the NDA is facing a shortfall of Ł160m in its Ł2.2bn
budget and there are fears that as many as 500 jobs could be
lost from Dounreay's decommissioning programme. 

But Simon Middlemass, Dounreay's acting director, said yesterday
that it was highly unlikely there would be any delay in the
first phase of the shaft project as a result of the NDA's search
for savings.

  We don't know exactly what's down there or what condition it
is in  
  Steve Efemey  

Nothing more was deposited in the shaft after there was an
explosion in 1977, which was thought to have been caused by
sodium and potassium wastes reacting to water. 

The first task is to isolate the 65-metre shaft and work has now
started drilling up to 400 boreholes round it. A specially
developed grout will then be injected through the boreholes into
any fracture in the surrounding rock, creating a giant
containment barrier in the shape of a boot around the shaft. 

Some 12,000 tonnes of concrete have already been poured to
create a working platform at the top of the shaft. 

In total the isolation phase should cost around Ł27m but could
be completed by the end of next year. 

Warren Jones, Dounreay's shaft isolation project manager, said
yesterday: "Decommissioning the waste shaft is one of the
biggest clean-up challenges in the world today, so I am
delighted that we have now commenced this phase of work to clean
it out." 

But the next stage, the actual retrieval and treatment of the
shaft's contents, will be even more complex and costly (Ł180m
before anything is actually removed from shaft) and may yet be
subject to delay if the NDA's funding problems persist. Dounreay
would only say that the timescale and funding of the retrieval
was the subject of discussion with regulators and the NDA. 

Concepts for removing the waste are still being developed, but
it is known that remotely operated equipment will perform the
actual withdrawal of the shaft's contents, which will be treated
in new purpose-built plants. 

Steve Efemey, who is in charge of the retrieval and treatment
phase, said yesterday: "We don't know exactly what's down there
or what condition it is in as there are different degrees of
degradation. That's the challenge. 

"The worst-case scenario is that the sodium drums are still
intact. But that is unlikely after 50 years and 1500 tonnes of
waste on top of them." 

But systems would be in place to absorb any explosion. 

The retrieved waste would be put through a shredder which is
capable of cutting a car engine block. The liquid and solid
wastes would be separated, encased in cement and stored in
drums. 

© All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without
is prohibited. 

  Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
*****************************************************************
 63 NRC:  Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning and 
 
                         FR Doc E7-1086 
[Federal Register: January 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 16)] 
[Notices] [Page 3431] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25ja07-78]                         
 
Procedures; Notice of Meeting The Advisory Committee on Nuclear 
Waste (ACNW) will hold a Planning and Procedures meeting on 
February 15, 2007, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, 
with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel 
matters that relate solely to internal personnel rules and 
practices of ACNW, and information the release of which would 
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
 
The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Thursday, 
February 15, 2007--8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. The Committee will discuss 
proposed ACNW activities and related matters. The purpose of this 
meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and 
facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as 
appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee.
 
Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or 
written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, 
Mr. Antonio F. Dias (Telephone: 301/415-6805) between 8:15 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. (ET) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so 
that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings 
will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that 
are open to the public.
 
Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by 
contacting the Designated Federal Official between 8:15 a.m. and 
5 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to 
contact the above named individual at least two working days 
prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes in 
the agenda.
 
Dated: January 18, 2007.
 
Antonio F. Dias, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW.
 
[FR Doc. E7-1086 Filed 1-24-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 64 Deseret News: EnergySolutions bill passes Senate committee
 
[deseretnews.com] 

Thursday, January 25, 2007                               

Utah Legislature

By Joe Bauman

Deseret Morning News                                          

A bill allowing EnergySolutions to change operations on its 
square mile without specific approval of the governor and 
Legislature advanced in the Senate Wednesday.

       SB155 was approved without dissent by the Senate Natural
Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee. It would allow
the state's only disposal facility for low-level radioactive
waste to stack material higher, or make other changes on its
square-mile Section 32, without going to the Legislature or
governor for approval.

       However, state regulators would still need to review and
decide whether to allow any amendments to EnergySolutions'
license.

       EnergySolutions is seeking to raise its disposal cell
from the current 54 to 83 feet, and environmentalists have
objected to that. Supporters say it is a better solution to have
material piled safely in a smaller footprint, than to spread it
around in a larger site.

       Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the bill's
co-sponsor, said he was a member of a state hazardous and
radioactive materials task for 2 1/2 years. When the task
force's recommendations were transformed into law, he said, a
provision was inadvertently removed. SB155 was drafted to return
that rule, he said.

       If EnergySolutions wants to expand beyond its present
operations on Section 32, he said, that is not a matter covered
by the bill. The bill facilitates its present operations.

       "This bill does not have any impact whatsoever on the
regulatory process," said Tim Barney, representing
EnergySolutions.

       David Litvin, president of the Utah Mining Association,
said the group supports the measure.

       The bill would "strip away all political accountability
for nuclear waste expansion" at Section 32, charged Christopher
Thomas, policy director for the Healthy Environment Alliance of
Utah. It would "eviscerate" a 1990 requirement by the
Legislature that required heightened attention to such actions,
he said.

       If SB155 passes, Thomas added, nobody will ever be say
that "enough is enough to further expansions at the existing
EnergySolutions site."

       Class A waste may sound benign, he said, but one form of
it — containerized Class A — is so hot that an EnergySolutions
employee could not directly sample it. A close contact without
the container could be equivalent to 20,000 chest X-rays per
hour, he said.

       He called for the committee to turn down SB155.
       Minority Whip Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, said SB155
simply says that if EnergySolutions wants to use a dump truck in
a different part of its compound, it doesn't need the approval
of the governor and Legislator. That's because they are working
within the area regulated by the Department of Environmental
Quality, he said.

       Patrick Cone, a former Summit County commissioner and a
member of the state's Radiation Control Board, said the bill
would result in "really no public oversight, no elected
accountability, and nothing from the Legislature" about what
happens on Section 32.

       Tooele County's three commissioners were present to
support the bill, and legislators said they were impressed by
that.

       Davis said the DEQ has responsibility to oversee all
waste streams in Utah. "We also have a Radiation Control Board,
more public oversight right there. Appointed officials," he said.

       If red flags are raised through the permitting process,
he added, it's up to the board to "run those red flags up" and
take the concerns to the Legislature. "You have a responsibility
to let us know what's going on."

       Davis noted that the bill would not allow importation of
any hotter waste than already disposed by EnergySolutions.

       Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, said it doesn't scare him
to have Class A waste at the site. "I think it's better that we
go higher than move to a new site."

       Bramble summarized, "The intent of this bill is to
restore the (inadvertently eliminated) grandfathering clause and
to offer clarity what the legislative intent has been."

E-mail: bau@desnews.com
			  		 		   
© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
 65 BBC: Five charged over nuclear protest
 
Last Updated: Thursday, 25 January 2007
 
[Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment]                              

AWE is the headquarters of Britain's nuclear development 
programme

Five people have been charged and three cautioned over a protest 
outside a nuclear weapons factory. 

On Tuesday, eight protesters chained themselves together on the 
A340 outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site at 
Aldermaston, Berkshire. 

Campaigners are angry over plans to develop a replacement for 
Trident, the UK's nuclear defence system. 

Three men and two women, all from Scotland, were charged with 
wilfully obstructing a highway. 

The people, aged between 19 and 32, will appear before 
magistrates in Newbury on 1 February. 

Two men, aged 20 and 26, and a 37-year-old woman received adult 
cautions. 
*****************************************************************
 66 SF New Mexican: LANL: Waste poses big risk   

 Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:38 pm   							 						

By ASSOCIATED PRESS             

Safety board calls for expedited shipments, 'urgent' security
improvements

LOS ALAMOS -- A independent federal agency that oversees safety
at nuclear weapons facilities says high-risk radioactive waste
at Los Alamos National Laboratory needs to be moved soon or
stored more safely.

Several hundred drums of the highest-risk waste sit amid 20,000
drums of less radioactive waste in temporary aboveground storage
domes, said A.J. Eggenberger, chairman of the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety board. About 320 drums contain about a third
of the radioactivity in the inventory, he said.

Accident scenarios involving the drums would have "very high
consequences because of their significant radioactive material
inventory, the proximity of the storage area to the (lab)
boundary and the lack of robust engineered controls to mitigate
or prevent these scenarios," he wrote Energy Secretary Samuel
Bodman on Jan. 18.

His letter asked for an outline of the Department of Energy's
plan to expedite shipments of the highly radioactive drums.

Failing that, he said, Los Alamos lab should take "urgent 
actions" to improve the safety of the storage at its radioactive 
waste dump site, Area G.

The DOE is still working on a plan to ensure Los Alamos will
safely handle the waste, said Megan Barnett, a department
spokeswoman. The DOE hopes to begin moving the waste this
summer, she said.

Watchdog groups say delays add to the risks.

"How long is this going to languish?" said Joni Arends of
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. "What is going on with
the management at LANL that this can't get done?"

Lab officials had hoped to finish sending the most radioactive
waste to the DOE's underground nuclear dump, the Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, by the end of 2006.

However, lab environmental managers said last summer that the
program -- already two years behind schedule -- would be delayed
an additional year because Los Alamos lacked adequate facilities
to package the highest-risk waste for shipment.		 	   	 	 	 		
 		   			 		   	 
  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use | ©2007, Santa Fe New Mexican
*****************************************************************
 67 Planet JH: Local environmental group files suit against the D.O.E.| 

Thursday, January 25, 2007
 
By Ben Cannon 

On Monday, a coalition of environmental interest groups and
individuals, supported by Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, a
Jackson-based non-profit, filed suit in Federal District Court
against the United States Department of Energy (DOE). 

In the suit, the group alleges that the DOE's Idaho district has
failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act with
regard to the nuclear reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL).  

The group “is seeking to shut the facility down until its
safety can be assured,” according to a press release.
Recently, the issue has become a hot-button cause for Idaho and
Western Wyoming environmental advocacy groups because of the
INL’s proposed implementation of the Advanced Test Reactor
Life Extension Program (LEP).   

Now nearly 40 years old, the ATR would face a ten-year, $200
million revamping to extend its life through the year 2040. The
lawsuit alleges that the DOE failed to follow NEPA guidelines by
not doing an environmental impact study, among other alleged
shortcomings. 

According to NEPA’s website, the watchdog agency “requires
federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their
decision making processes by considering the environmental
impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to
those actions.”  

These ideas are actualized through Environmental Impact
Statements, and the comments on those prepared by other
agencies. “The Department of Energy does not comment on the
specifics of ongoing litigation,” said Tim Jackson, a
spokesman of the DOE’s Idaho Operations Office. 

“However,” he added, “it is important to note that the
Advanced Test Reactor has an outstanding record of safe
operation over the years...the [DOE] intends to assure that ATR
continues to operate safely now and in the future.”

Planet Jackson Hole, Inc. 2004/2007, all rights reserved.      
*****************************************************************
 68 Chillicothe Gazette: Officials: No harmful radiation at Piketon site

www.chillicothegazette.com - Chillicothe, OH

Thursday, January 25, 2007         

 Residents still are asking for more information
 
By LOREN GENSON Gazette Staff Writer 

Radiation is indeed present in and around the Piketon uranium 
enrichment plant site, but the state Environmental Protection 
Agency said there's not enough of it to do any harm.

"The Ohio EPA concluded that the radiation source was Probably 
uranium and not radon," said Timothy Christman, professional 
engineer with the EPA. "Uranium sources include coal, soil and 
the uranium enrichment process."

At a public meeting Wednesday night at Piketon High School, EPA
officials released results of tests which concluded although
there is a presence of radioactive material, the levels are low
enough to meet safety standards, Christman said. "The levels are
extremely low," Christman said. "Black shale in Ohio also
contains uranium and that's naturally occurring."

It's impossible to completely eradicate radiation sources since
they are present in the natural environment, Christman said.

"Radiation comes from the sun, you'll get more radiation
exposure traveling in the airplane," he said. "The radiation
you'd get living here is lower than what you'd get from visiting
the dentist's office."

Although the Department of Energy has spent more than $1 billion
to clean up the plant site, it still continues to slowly leak
contaminants from it southern point. Deep water "plumes," or
wells beneath the ground, contain contaminants carried through
Gallia sand and gravel. Barriers stopped the flow of other
contaminated plumes on the site, but the south end continues to
leak, said Groundwater Specialist Doug Snyder, a geologist with
the Ohio EPA.

"We've put a clay barrier in to contain the leak, because water
doesn't travel very well through the clay," Snyder said. "But
some contaminants have migrated to the west of that barrier."

The leak moves slowly, however, giving scientists more time to
contain it.

"For the water to travel from here to the back of the room
(about 40 feet) it would take months, possibly years," Snyder
said. "We do have a little bit of radioactivity in that south
plume, but we have time to contain it."

Neighbors of the Piketon plant said no levels of radioactivity
in or near their properties can be safe.

"They've all acknowledged that there is radioactivity present,
but they haven't answered why we have a high reading," said Vina
Colley, who said she worked at the plant for five years. "When I
worked there we cleaned uranium contaminated cells and we dumped
it all down the drain. I got sick, and I've had three tumors."

The EPA acknowledges there was nuclear waste handled on the site
and possibly was not disposed of properly. When operations began
at the plant in the 1950s, laws regarding handling of nuclear
waste were non-existent, said Maria Galanti, site coordinator
for the EPA.

"This site had poor management practices," Galanti said. "All
the facilities like this had poor practices, but this plant
poses some of the most serious technical problems from a
clean-up standpoint."

Many people present at the meeting also had concerns about the
future of the site, many of which the EPA was unable to answer.

"We can't really speak or speculate on decisions regarding the
future of the plant," Mary McCarron, a spokesperson for the EPA.
"Many of these questions should be directed to the DOE."

The future of the site has been the subject of controversy. A
proposal by the Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative
for use of the plant as a site for recycled nuclear waste
products have been met with a heated response from some
residents, who said having such a site jeopardizes their health
and safety.

The Department of Energy plans to discuss the future of the site
at a private meeting scheduled for March 8.

(Genson can be reached at 772-9369 or via e-mail at )

 Copyright ©2007 Chillicothe Gazette
 All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 69 Rocky Mountain News: Former Flats worker makes his final plea

Cancer victim presents his case for compensation 

An incision arcs across Charlie Wolf's scalp after surgery to 
remove a tumor he claims is tied to his nuclear weapons work. 

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News                                                

January 25, 2007                                                                                                

Former Rocky Flats engineer Charlie Wolf had just one hour 
Wednesday to persuade a federal hearing officer to reverse her 
colleagues' decision and rule that Wolf's nuclear weapons work 
was responsible for his brain cancer. 

Wolf, who lives in Highlands Ranch, has a 6-inch surgery scar 
curving across his bald head where a tumor is making its third 
attempt to kill him. 

The 46-year-old father of three struggles with the damage it has 
done. During the hearing, he needed help verbalizing simple words 
like "cluster" - as in "cluster of brain cancers found in Rocky 
Flats workers." 

Wolf pointed to missing records of his radiation exposure and 
places in the calculations where doses had been subtracted 
instead of added. He also brought along experts in 
radiation-caused cancer to testify. 

Still, Wolf doesn't hold out much hope that the decision on his 
appeal will be favorable. 

Wolf is one of 1,330 former Rocky Flats workers with major 
illnesses who have been denied $150,000 in federal compensation 
and medical care. To collect, they must prove their illnesses 
were caused by exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals on the 
job. 

Wolf's "final adjudication hearing" Wednesday offers a glimpse at 
just how difficult that is. 

With 12 people crammed into a tiny conference room on the 16th 
floor of a downtown Denver high-rise, Department of Labor hearing 
officer Sandra Vicens- Pecenka was apologetic about the space, 
and the rush. 

"I have another person waiting, just like you, and another after 
that," she explained to Wolf. 

Even before the hearing, Wolf, who supervised the demolition of a 
Rocky Flats plutonium building from 1995 to 2000, figured he was 
in trouble. That's because he never received key records he'd 
requested to prepare his case. 

From the documents he did receive, it appeared his case had been 
decided without a review of Wolf's radiation exposure during his 
14 years at the Savannah River nuclear weapons plant in South 
Carolina. 

He also was unable to find out which co-workers, companies and 
other witnesses were interviewed about his case, or the number of 
other atom bomb workers with brain tumors who have received or 
been denied compensation. 

Wolf's neuro-oncologist, Dr. Edward Arenson, of Littleton, 
testified that "there is no question" that Wolf's highly 
malignant tumor was caused by his exposure to radiation and toxic 
chemicals on the job. He compared the department's denial of 
compensation with looking at an elephant and seeing a zebra. 

In contrast, the Labor Department's records showed it paid a 
cardiologist $300 an hour for three hours to decide that the 
medical literature did not show any correlation between radiation 
and Wolf's type of brain tumor. When Wolf asked for the materials 
checked by the cardiologist, he was sent a search from WebMD.com 
- a source generally aimed at patients, not experts. 

The cardiologist's report directly contradicted one of the 
documents he reviewed: a calculation from the National Institute 
of Occupational Safety and Health, which ruled that on-the- job 
radiation was 24 percent likely to have caused Wolf's brain 
tumor. 

Still, that was short of the 50 percent required for 
compensation, so Wolf was denied. 

Dr. Jim Ruttenber, a University of Colorado epidemiologist who 
has studied the high number of brain cancers at Rocky Flats for 
decades, testified that NIOSH should have counted the likelihood 
as two to four times higher. 

Wolf's wife Kathy, also a former Rocky Flats engineer, said after 
the hearing that even though officials compiled a huge document 
listing the dangerous chemicals used at Rocky Flats, toxic 
chemicals weren't considered in her husband's case. That's 
because there are no records of individual exposures to the 
chemicals, she said. 

"You'd have to be doused with benzene" (a chemical that can cause 
leukemia) for officials to consider it, she said. 

Vicens-Pecenca said she will give Wolf a month to add written 
testimony to his case file. Then, she'll send a record of the 
hearing and the file to a Labor Department health physicist for 
his input. After that, she'll make a final decision. 

2006 © The E.W. Scripps Co. and 
*****************************************************************
 70 Knox News: Safety forum to focus on new regulation Jan. 31 

Anderson / Blount briefs: Jan. 25   

January 25, 2007                                                                

OAK RIDGE - A group of Oak Ridge businesses will hold a safety 
forum Jan. 31, with an emphasis on a new federal regulation that 
applies to Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors. 

The Oak Ridge Business Safety Partnership's forum is open to the 
public with no charge. It will begin at 8 a.m. at the American 
Museum of Science &Energy on Tulane Avenue. 

The purpose of the quarterly forums is to raise awareness on 
safety issues. 

The topic of the Jan. 31 meeting is a new federal regulation (10 
CFR 851) and DOE order that requires contractors to provide 
workers with a safe and healthy environment by establishing the 
appropriate training, standards and management oversight. 

The business partnership is sponsored by the Energy Technology 
and Environmental Business Association and includes 
representatives from DOE, the National Nuclear Security 
Administration, BWXT, Bechtel Jacobs, Oak Ridge Associated 
Universities, UT-Battelle, Wackenhut and labor organizations.
				 				   				 				 				   				 				 		 		 	 		 		 				  
>    © 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel
*****************************************************************
 71 KnoxNews: Reactor at Sequoyah plant shuts down

Air supply line severed from steam generator system
				
By ANDREW EDER, edera@knews.com 

January 25, 2007                                                                

A reactor at TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., 
automatically shut down Tuesday when an air supply line severed 
from a steam generator system. 

TVA spokesman John Moulton said the plant systems functioned as 
designed and the shutdown posed no danger to employees or the 
public. 

About 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, the air supply line came unfastened 
from a valve that controls water flow to one of the plant's four 
steam generators, causing the valve to close. Sequoyah's Unit 2 
reactor then shut down automatically. 

Moulton said staff at the plant will review the cause of the 
incident and bring the unit back online "in the near future." He 
said return-to-service information is competitive and TVA does 
not release predictions on the timing of a restart, although the 
federal utility will confirm when the reactor is running again. 

The incident was reported Wednesday on the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission's Web site. Spokesman Ken Clark said the NRC's onsite 
inspectors at Sequoyah would monitor TVA's efforts to remedy the 
problem and restart the reactor. 

Moulton said the unit had been online for 28 days and operating 
at 100 percent capacity. He said the severed air supply line was 
located in the turbine building, a separate structure from the 
one that houses the nuclear reactor. 

Unit 1 of the two-reactor plant near Chattanooga was unaffected 
by Tuesday's incident, Moulton said. 

Sequoyah's two Westinghouse pressurized-water reactors generate 
enough electricity to supply about 1.3 million homes a day, 
according to TVA. 

Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318.

      © 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel
    
*****************************************************************

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material is distributed without profit or payment to those who 
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for 
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information go to: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
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