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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [NYTr] The Coming War Against Iran
2 [NYTr] UK on Nukes: No to Iran, Yes to Brits
3 Irna: Blair challenged to correct myths about Iran - 
4 Guardian Unlimited: US troops authorised to kill Iranian agents in I
5 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Says Iran Plans Nuclear Development
6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IAEA violator inspectors are barred 
7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI can reject IAEA inspectors 
8 AFP: UN nuclear chief calls for 'timeout' over Iran 
9 AFP: UN nuclear agency asks Iran to back off on rejection of 38 insp
10 AFP: US warns Iran of global wrath if it cranks up nuclear capacity 
11 Comment is free: Fearing Iran
12 AFP: Iran ready to launch satellite, raising arms alarm - report -
13 AFP: US soldiers authorized to kill Iranians in Iraq - report
14 UPI: Report: U.S. detains Iran agents in Iraq
15 Korea Herald: Song talks nuke issue, defectors with China   
16 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Koreas' Nuclear Talks to Resume 
17 Korea Times: Retired Generals Slam Roh on NK Propaganda 
18 AFP: SKorea to expand business with North 
19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., N. Korea Continue Financial Talks 
20 UPI: U.N.: Full audit of UNDP in North Korea
21 UPI: Seoul rules out cash diversion in N.Korea
22 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Agency Defers N. Korea Programs 
23 US: [NYTr] US Reveals Newly Designed Nuclear Warheads
24 IAEA: IAEA Chief at World Economic Forum in Davos
25 Guardian Unlimited: Russia, India Cement Nuclear Ties 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
26 [NukeNet] The Ethical Funds Company says nuclear power is too
27 Toronto Star: Nuclear power looms 21 years after Chernobyl 
28 US: ENS: U.S. Senators Tackle Economic Impacts of Warming Bill
29 BBC: Nuclear research centre unveiled
30 BBC: Demand sparks India's power play
31 US: Platts: NRC plans major revision of its enforcement policy
32 US: Vermont Guardian: No time to waste 
33 US: MarketWatch: Exelon CEO says market competition, carbon rules ke
34 Duke: Chronicle: Study looks at Chernobyl effects 
35 Daily Record: 40-YEAR NUCLEAR CHARGES 
36 UPI: Analysis: Renewables and climate change
37 US: UPI: UPI Poll: Leery of companies on nuke power
38 US: UPI Poll: Safety of nuclear power
39 US: UPI: Analysis: Americans favor nuclear energy
40 News & Star: £20m NUKE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
41 Whitehaven News: Plans for nuclear centre unveiled
42 Bulgaria: Bulgaria's N-Plant Insists on Electricity Hikes
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
43 Guardian Unlimited: Russia Official Decries Man's Detention 
44 IAEA: Georgian Authorities Report Seized Illicit Nuclear Material
45 ITAR-TASS: Georgia seeks coop with Russia in fight against uranium s
46 Guardian Unlimited: Russia Silent on Georgian Uranium Sting 
47 Guardian Unlimited: Russian: Georgia Uranium Was Weapons-Grade
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
48 US: KCPW: Politicians Speak Out Against Divine Strake - 
49 US: Tracy Press: Something is missing
50 US: ABC4.com: "Downwinder" opposition grows against Divine Strake - 
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
51 reviewjournal.com: Official: Yucca Mountain rail to have little effe
52 US: Bradenton Herald: Still in the dark (Tallevast contamination)
53 BBC: Olympics site toxic waste fears
54 RGJ.com: Reid: Nuclear Energy Institute 'backing off'
55 RGJ.com: School Board also seeks Mina Rail Corridor meeting in count
56 US: NRC: final rule: spent fuel racks
57 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting
58 PhysOrgForum: Book Assails Unrealistic Mathematical Models (Yucca)
59 US: UPI Poll: Store nuke waste in one spot
60 AAEA: Yucca Mountain Must Be Opened Sooner
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
61 Unclassified Sandia annual report not released 
62 Inside Bay Area: Bio-lab could bring millions
63 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah
64 Oak Ridger: Worst-case layoff scenario discussed
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 [NYTr] The Coming War Against Iran
 
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:53:13 -0600 (CST)

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Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
[This was posted as one long huge paragraph. We've broken it up onto
paragraph-sized chunks for improved readability.]

Information Clearing House Blog - Jan 26, 2007
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/108/2/

The Coming War Against Iran

Given the presence of four American submarines off the coast of Iran,
Eduard Baltin, former commander of the Russian fleet, reasons that the U.S.
is planning to attack Iran.

By Daan de Wit

Bush and Cheney have less than two years to go in their current role and
want to go down in the history books as the heroes of the Pax Americana, as
the men who managed to conquer the Middle East and its oil, as the men who
took full-spectrum dominance seriously, while in their own country booking
successes through exorbitant profits for the military-industrial complex and
the realization of radical legislation. The prelude was long and the path
was full of obstacles, but the goal of a third great war - a war with Iran -
is increasingly within sight.

Dan Plesch in The Guardian sums it up in one sentence: 'All the signs are
that Bush is planning for a neocon-inspired military assault on Iran'.

'Americans don't have much time to realize this and to act before it is too
late. Bush's "surge" speech last Wednesday night makes it completely clear
that his real purpose is to start wars with Iran and Syria before failure in
Iraq brings an end to the neoconservative/Israeli plan to establish hegemony
over the Middle East', writes Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury under Ronald Reagan. 'Commenting about the briefing on MSNBC after
Bush's nationwide address, NBC's Washington bureau chief Tim Russert said
"there's a strong sense in the upper echelons of the White House that Iran
is going to surface relatively quickly as a major issue -- in the country
and the world -- in a very acute way"', writes Robert Parry.

Given the presence of four American submarines off the coast of Iran, Eduard
Baltin, former commander of the Russian fleet, reasons that the U.S. is
planning to attack Iran. Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, himself a
presidential candidate for 2008, says: '"The President is clearly trying to
provoke Iran," he said, adding that the Bush administration is "treading on
the thinnest ice it has ever been on".'

ING Wholesale Banking warns in their report [PDF] Attacking Iran that the
financial markets could be in for 'a heavy shock' in the event of a
preemptive attack on Iran. The report is practical as well; under the
heading 'Top trades in the event of an attack on Iran', advice for buying
and selling can be found, such as: 'Buy Oil and Gold, Sell industrial
commodities'. Meanwhile the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is letting
it be known that he disposes over the same devotion as his adversary Bush:
'"Today, with the grace of God, we have gone through the arduous passes and
we are ready for anything in this path," state-run television quoted
Ahmadinejad as saying Thursday'.

Speculation over the beginning of the attack on Iran

In reference to the American raid on an Iranian consulate in Irbil, Northern
Iraq, in which five Iranians were taken into custody, John Pike of Global
Security points to the presence of two aircraft carriers in the Gulf (other
warships are steaming in that direction) and to the surge-speech by George
W. Bush, in which he announced that Patriot missiles would be deployed in
member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), like Kuwait and
Saudi-Arabia. 'Iran has denounced the Patriot deployment as part of U.S.
plan to turn Arab countries into a front line of protection for Israel',
writes Associated Press. Bush: 'We will interrupt the flow of support from
Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing
advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.' Pike speaking to
CNN: '[...] It's looks to me like the United States is, at least, raising
its capabilities in preparation for possible military confrontation with
Iran."' Pike considers it a strong possibility that this confronation will
take place this year, and has even published a 'Countdown time line' with
potential dates on which an attack is likely.

In Pike's opinion, February of 2007 is a genuine possibility for a strike on
Iran. February is also the month in which Ahmadinejad will be announcing
progress with their nuclear program, and will also mark the end of the
sixty-day period given to Iran in UN resolution 1713 [PDF] to bring an end
to their nuclear program. On February 21st, the IAEA will deliver a report
on Iran, something which Israel and the U.S. will again be able to seize
upon when pointing to Iranian negligence.

The editor-in-chief of the Arab Times is expecting an attack before April:
'U.S. might launch a military strike on Iran before April 2007, Kuwait-based
daily Arab Times released on Sunday said in a report. The report, written by
Arab Times' Editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Jarallah citing a reliable source, said
that the attack would be launched from the sea, while Patriot missiles would
guard all Arab countries in the Gulf.' The Arab Times is basing its opinion
on only one source.

ING Wholesale Banking writes [PDF] in the preface to their report on Iran:
'We outline a scenario in which Israel attacks 5 or 6 of Iran's nuclear
facilities in late February or March 2007, with strikes that may be
completed within hours, days or at most weeks.'

What could also hasten an attack on Iran are two divergent realities, namely
that the announced Tor-M1 air defense system is now being delivered to Iran,
and that Bush's comrade-in-arms Tony Blair will be stepping down this year.
In a recent announced that he wants to make more money available for the
British army.

Banks putting Iran under pressure

The latest news doesn't portend anything good, but those who read between
the lines can see that other preparations are also being made. Comparable to
an extent with the No Fly Zone War, which preceded the latest war against
Iraq, Iran is being softened up in advance: 'While people are concerned with
Iraq and the gathering armada in the Persian Gulf, United States has been
quietly carrying out a not so covert economic war against Iran', writes Dr.
Abbas Bakhtiar. 'The attack on Iranian economy started in earnest in early
2006. United States began putting considerable pressure on international
banks and financial institutions to cut their ties with Iran. Countries also
were pressured to reduce their economic contact with Iran. [...]
Governments, companies and financial institutions are under intense pressure
to terminate all dealings with Iran. But so far Iran has managed to sustain,
albeit with great difficulty, its oil industry and financial institutions
functioning.'

Little by little banks are severing their ties with Iran: '"The reason: oil
transactions are in dollar assets. To the extent that any banks have to
convert their assets into dollars, they must use U.S. facilities and can be
subject to U.S. sanctions", says Stuart Eizenstat, former American Under
Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs to
Michael Hirsh, who writes: 'Recently the Iranians have countered,
threatening to do business in Euros, but one by one, European banks are
falling under U.S. pressure as well. On Wednesday The Wall Street Journal
reported that Commerzbank, Germany's second largest, will stop handling
dollar transactions for Iran--making it the last European bank to agree to
do so.'

Anti-Iranian propaganda

An argument often used against Iran concerns the aggressive pronouncement by
its leader Mahmoud Ahmadinjehad that he would like to wipe Israel off the
map. Jonathan Steel, columnist for The Guardian, has subjected this
statement and the translations thereof to further investigation. He has
inquired with the BBC, among others. Steel: 'As a result of my inquiry and
the controversy generated, they [the BBC] had gone back to the native
Farsi-speakers who had translated the speech from a voice recording made
available by Iranian TV on October. Here is what the spokesman told me about
the "off the map" section: "The monitor has checked again. It's a difficult
expression to translate. They're under time pressure to produce a
translation quickly and they were searching for the right phrase. With more
time to reflect they would say the translation should be "eliminated from
the page of history". [...]

So there we have it. Starting with Juan Cole, and going via the New York
Times' experts through MEMRI to the BBC's monitors, the consensus is that
Ahmadinejad did not talk about any maps. He was, as I insisted in my
original piece, offering a vague wish for the future.' Steel makes it clear
that Ahmadinejad expressed a wish for a different government in Israel, not
the destruction of Israel; 'He was not making a military threat'. The Jewish
community in Iran isn't itching to flee either: only 152 of the 25,000
responded to calls from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Then there is also the statement by Ahmadinejad in which he denies the
Holocaust, that the Holocaust would be a myth. Kein Krieg! checked into it
and it appears that Ahmadinejad is critical of the exploitation of the
Holocaust. So the subject of his feelings on this is not the Holocaust
itself, but rather what he sees as the exploitation thereof. From his
statements it would be more proper to infer that he acknowledges the
Holocaust - not that he denies it. This is the complete inverse of his
words, which was corrected by Kein Krieg!, but has already done its
propagandistic job in the minds of the public at large.

And speaking of propaganda: 'The American Jewish Committee took out a full
page ad [PDF] in The New York Times showing Iran in the center of concentric
circles, including all the Middle East and beyond, asking: "Can anyone
within range of Iran's missiles feel safe?"' Ex-Premier and leader of the
Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu: "The year is 1938 and Iran is Germany," said
Netanyahu, reiterating his message from last month in Los Angeles.' Whereby
it was noted: 'Except that 2003 was also 1938, when Natanyahu said the same
thing about Iraq. [...] And while he's calling Mahmoud Ahmadinjad Hitler
these days, in the past he had bestowed that honor on Saddam Hussein and
Yasser Arafat.' Cheney is operating on the same wavelength as Netanyahu:
'"So the threat that Iran represents is growing," he [Cheney] said, in words
reminiscent of how he once built a case against Mr. Hussein', writes The New
York Times with subtlety.

Criticism of the neoconservative plans for Iran

Should it come to war, then the advice of Paul Craig Roberts, the former
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Ronald Reagan, could end up being
heeded. He is pleading for the impeachment of Bush as a way to prevent the
war. Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a presidential candidate for
2008, is threatening impeachment if Bush declares war on Iran. The criticism
by Roberts is in line with that of Republican Rep. Ron Paul, who warns that
Bush could order a 'Gulf of Tonkin type situation', i.e. a false-flag
operation, as an excuse to attack Iran.

The Republican Senator Chuck Hagel: '"I will do everything I can to stop the
president's policy as he outlined it (last) Wednesday night"', who together
with two Democrats and a Republican has introduced a resolution opposing the
plans of President Bush.

The White House even dragged Al Qaida into it in order to take the sting out
of the criticism. Bush: 'Asked if Congress could stop him from surging
21,500 troops into Iraq, Bush on 60 Minutes brushed aside Congress as
irrelevant. "I fully understand [the Congress] could try to stop me from
doing it. But I've made my decision. And we're going forward." Asked if he
had sole authority "to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress
wants to do," Bush replied, "In this situation I do, yeah."'

Republican Rep. Walter Jones is determined to carry through on his
resolution H.J. Res 14: 'Our constitution states that--while the Commander
in Chief has the power to conduct wars--only Congress has the power to
authorize war', to which The Nation adds: 'Such a basic expression of the
separation of powers should be obvious. But with the Bush Administration,
one never knows.' The Wall Street Journal sees the seething criticism of
Bush's plans as well and writes: 'Of more concern to U.S. lawmakers is the
potential that these U.S. actions against Iran could escalate. Under one
possible scenario, U.S. forces could cross into Iran or Syria in pursuit of
suspected insurgents or their allies, or use alleged Iranian activities
inside Iraq as a pretext for a wider assault on Iran. The fear is that any
such military activities could ignite a wider conflict." The potential for
sparking a wider conflict is great," said Trita Parsi, an Iran analyst and
president of the National Iranian American Council in Washington. "I think
that if we're going for a confrontation with Iran, the pretext will be
Iraq."'

Nicholas Burns sees it from a different perspective: 'Nicholas Burns,
undersecretary of state for political affairs, said the administration is
seeking to counter Iranian provocations across the region as part of a
broader strategy. "Iran needs to learn to respect us," he said. "And Iran
certainly needs to respect American power in the Middle East."'

War against Iran: Bush and Cheney have nothing to lose.

The decisions that Bush announced in his speech followed the replacement of
the generals who were critical of some of the Bush policies, John Abizaid
and George Casey, and John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence.
This makes it clear that the neoconservative wind, after all the scandals
and the dramatic turn of events in the war in Iraq, hasn't died down yet.
Mainstream critic Keith Olbermann writes [video]: 'Only this president could
look out over a vista of 3,008 dead and 22,834 wounded in Iraq, and finally
say, "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me" -
only to follow that by proposing to repeat the identical mistake ... in
Iran.' He compares Bush to the drunk who, beaten to the ground, asks who the
next one is that wants a beating.

Bush and Cheney are again determined to defy the criticism in order to carry
out an almost endless War against Terrorism: '"This is an existential
conflict," Cheney said. "It is the kind of conflict that's going to drive
our policy and our government for the next 20 or 30 or 40 years. We have to
prevail and we have to have the stomach for the fight long term', says
Cheney. War is not a means but an end in itself. Insurgents in Iraq aren't
the problem, but those who oppose the war certainly are. But those critics
are out of the way now: The critical generals have been replaced and the
voice of the people along with the the opinions of the soldiers in Iraq are
being ignored; discussions with Iran and Syria are being rejected; Patriot
missiles are on their way and could intercept an Iranian counterattack
following an Israeli and/or American attack; the warships in the Gulf could
respond to these attacks by bombing Iraq with full force; the announced
troop escalation in Iraq could eliminate Iran's potential trump card -
attacks on Americans in and around the Iraqi Green Zone; the Bush
administration and the government of Prime Minister Olmert (following the
debbcle in Lebanon) are doing very poorly in the opinion polls, thus a
spectacular attack by Israel, followed by America, could likewise render
spectacular results for the status of both heads of state. Bush and Cheney
have taken a beating, but they have not been defeated. Moreover, they have
nothing to lose.

The Coming War Against Iran - Part 1 - 14
http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/407.html

Copyright ) 2005 - 2007 Information Clearing House Blog.

                            ***

Information Clearing House Blog - Jan 25, 2007
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/104/2/

Congress' unanimous vote to nuke Iran

By Jorge Hirsch 

What is going on in America today is equivalent to the following fictitious
news story:

Jan. 31, 2007: By unanimous vote, the two Houses of Congress passed today a
joint "sense of Congress" resolution directing President Bush to "launch
nuclear strikes against any non-nuclear-weapon state that undertakes
military programs or operations that threaten US interests or those of
allies and friends".

The passage of the joint resolution followed a series of appropriation
bills enacted by Congress to fund the development, building and deployment
of nuclear earth penetrators (so-called "bunker busters") of a wide range
of yields, with the ability to destroy targets of adversary non-nuclear
nations that are "able to withstand non-nuclear attack" , particularly
UGF's ("underground facilities for military purposes").

The text of the resolution emphasizes the importance ascribed by Congress
to launch strikes as soon as possible, to "demonstrate US intent and
capability to use nuclear weapons to deter adversary use of WMD".

"The reason we restricted the bill to non-nuclear-weapon-state targets is
simple", explained the House and Senate speakers in a joint press
conference: "launching a nuclear strike against a nuclear nation would
invite nuclear retaliation against us, and that is not something the
American people would stand for."

The bill points out that "integrating conventional and nuclear attacks will
ensure the most efficient use of force", remarked the Chair of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, and the Chair of the Budget Committee added:
"Americans want to know that their hard-earned tax dollars are not used in
wasteful ways".

Several Congressmembers emphasized that the urgency in passing the bill
stemmed from the desire of Congress that President Bush launches nuclear
strikes against Iran at the earliest possible time. "We know that Iran is a
non-nuclear-weapon state, it has been certified by the International Atomic
Energy Agency", explained the speaker of the House. "So it falls under our
resolution, hence there is no reason whatosever for the President to wait
any longer."

The new law incorporates the provisions of H.R. 6198 passed last year, "To
hold the current regime in Iran accountable for its threatening behavior
and to support a transition to democracy in Iran". "We passed that Act to
encourage the President to follow the same path as he did with Iraq, what's
taking him so long?", complained the House minority leader. "Vice-President
Cheney said recently "There's no reason in the world why Iran needs to
continue to pursue nuclear weapons", so our resolution will ensure that
Iran stops."

"What we are asking the President is to act preemptively in exercising our
inherent right of self defense", added the Senate whip. "There will always
be some uncertainty about the status of hidden programs, and we cannot
remain idle while dangers gather. The reasons for our actions will be
clear, the force measured, and the cause just."

Added the House speaker: "The President has said ' The United States will
not resort to force in all cases to preempt emerging threats'. Congress
disagrees, we and the American people feel there should be no exceptions.
That's why we have taken it upon ourselves to exercise our constitutionally
assigned duties to legislate this issue for the national interest."

A beaming President Bush signed the joint resolution into law, and added
the following signing statement: "Every one of the provisions of this law
was already covered in the Nuclear Posture Review that I submitted to
Congress in 2001, in the 2005 Pentagon Doctrine for Joint Nuclear
Operations that Secretary Rumsfeld produced under my direction, in the
National Security Strategy that I proclaimed in 2002 and 2006, and in a
myriad of Presidential Directives that I issued over the past 6 years
including the deployment of B61-11 nuclear bunker busters. I have publicly
announced that the the option of a nuclear strike against Iran is on the
table, and that the diplomatic effort vis-a-vis Iran must succeed if
confrontation is to be avoided, and have carried out all necessary steps,
including refusing to talk to Iran, capturing Iranian diplomats, increasing
the deployment of our military forces in the Persian Gulf and securing UN
sanctions against Iran's activities allowed by the NPT, to ensure that the
diplomatic effort will fail. Consequently there was absolutely no need for
Congress to pass this resolution. If Congress had disagreed with any of my
actions they should have passed a different bill. Nevertheless, I am happy
to know that it provided an excuse for Congressmembers to feel they earned
their paycheck".
 
This resolution was not passed by Congress, but President Bush has the
legal authority to carry out its provisions without consulting Congress. If
Congressmembers do not believe such actions are in the best interest of the
American people they purportedly represent, they should pass legislation to
make the actions described in this resolution an impeachable offense.
Ask your Congressperson to pass legislation as proposed in
http://www.geocities.com/jorgehirsch/nuclear/nuclearbill.html
 
[Jorge Hirsch is a Professor of Physics at the University of California at
San Diego, a fellow of the American Physical Society, and organizer of a
recent petition, circulated among leading physicists, opposing the new
nuclear weapons policies adopted by the US in the past 5 years. He is a
frequent commentator on Iran and nuclear weapons. Email to:
jorgehirsch@yahoo.com]

Copyright ) 2005 - 2007 Information Clearing House Blog.
       
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 2 [NYTr] UK on Nukes: No to Iran, Yes to Brits
 
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:55:34 -0600 (CST)

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Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

UK on Nukes: No to Iran,Yes to British

London, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) While vehemently demanding the end of Iran s
nuclear program the British government tried Friday to justify an
escalation in its nuclear arsenal, a plan causes strong controversy in the
country.

Forced to recognize that the United Kingdom is far from confronting a
threat of attack by weapons of mass destruction Defense Minister Des Browne
nevertheless pointed out that no one knows what might happen in the next 50
years.

Since December 2006, when Prime Minster Tony Blair s Labor Cabinet decided
to pass a 22 billion dollar plan to replace the Trident systems before
2020, the initiative has been accompanied by intense debate.

Nuclear deterrence would seem to be a priority for London, which together
with Berlin and Paris, make up the European Troika demanding Teheran stop
uranium enrichment, believing that process is headed to obtain material to
prepare atomic weapons.

However, the United Kingdom possesses at least four strategic submarines
with 96 nuclear warheads each, while the Islamic Republic insists its
nuclear development is peaceful.

London keeps its nuclear warheads, each with a potency eight times greater
than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in the submarines anchored
off Glasgow.

hr ccs gdb to

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 3 Irna: Blair challenged to correct myths about Iran - 
 
London, Jan 26, IRNA

UK Blair-Iran 

Prime Minister Tony Blair was challenged Friday to make "a
rational and unbiased judgment" that takes into account all the
myths and misconceptions that surround the development of Iran's
peaceful nuclear programme.

 A report, 'Answering the Charges,' delivered to the Prime
Minister's Office by a group of MPs and academics, sets out 21
of the most popular allegations levelled against Iran and
dispels each in turn by relying on factual information.

 The study, drafted by Campaign Iran, challenges the accuracy of
the key claims that have orchestrated much of the hysteria being
propagated under false pretensions.

 Professor Abbas Edalat of Imperial College London said that the
allegations being generated were unjustified, counterproductive
and ould have disastrous consequences not only for the region
but the world.

 "The case against Iran is being built on insinuation,
accusation and misinformation," said the professor of computer
science and mathematics, who helped to found the Campaign
Against Sanction and Military Intervention in Iran back in
December 2005.

 "Despite the stories that fill the news, we have yet to see any
evidence that Iran poses a real and imminent threat to any
nation, least of all Great Britain," he said.

 Edalat said that there was also no evidence whatsoever about
claims Iran is engaged in the development of nuclear weapons or
that it has breached any of its international treaty obligations
regarding nuclear proliferation.

 "We have yet to see any evidence that the Iranian government is
supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq or harbouring terrorists
within its borders," he said in answering other allegations.

 The report sets to right numerous inaccurate statements about
Iran that have been made by politicians and which have been
repeated uncritically in the media.

 With regard to allegations that Iran is developing nuclear
weapons, it found that there was "absolutely no proof" and had
been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency carrying
out over 2,200 hours of inspections over the past three years.

 Factual information also showed that Iran has being fully
complying with the IAEA, including voluntarily signing the
Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT).

 With regard to the contention over Iran enriching uranium, the
report pointed out that this was an "inalienable right" under
the NPT.

 The country's enrichment programme was believed to have reached
the 3.5 per cent level, enough for use as nuclear fuel but
nowhere near the 90 per cent enrichment, which the CIA has said
would take at least 10 years, required in quantity to make a
single bomb.

 There was also no basis found for UN Resolution 1737 under
international law. Instead its passing by the UN Security
Council to impose sanctions against Iran was seen as the result
of "political pressure."
 The report also disputed claims that the Security Council
represents the international community's view, given that 56
countries signed the Baku Declaration last June, calling for
unconditional negotiations as the only way to resolve the issue.

 It also disproved other fallacies that have been propagated,
including allegations that Iran is a threat to regional
stability, given that the only war it has fought was in defence
of Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1980.

 Edalat said he hoped the report provides people with "the facts
that they need in order to make a rational and unbiased judgment
on the current situation with regards to Iran."
 "We also hope that it may help to calm some of the hysteria
that is building around the need for military intervention
against Iran," he said.		 				 		 			
*****************************************************************
 4 Guardian Unlimited: US troops authorised to kill Iranian agents in Iraq

[UP] 

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington and Ian Black
Saturday January 27, 2007
The Guardian 		 

President Bush has authorised US forces in Iraq to kill or
capture Iranian agents as part of a campaign aimed at countering
Tehran's influence in the Middle East, the White House said
yesterday.

In a further indication of concern in Washington at Iran's
influence in Iraq, White House officials confirmed a decision to
take more rigorous measures against Iranian agents in Iraq,
accused by the US of arming and training insurgents.

"The president and his national security team over several
months have continued to receive information that Iranians were
supplying IED [improvised explosive device] equipment and or
training that was being used to harm American soldiers," the
national security council spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said.

"As a result American forces, when they receive actionable
information, may take the steps necessary to protect themselves
as well as the population."

The new rules of engagement, authorising US forces to kill or
capture any member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard or intelligence
agents working with militia, were approved by Mr Bush last
autumn, said the Washington Post.

The more robust approach is part of a strategy aimed at curbing
Tehran's influence, and weakening its resolve to push ahead on
its nuclear programme. The newspaper said the administration had
been pressing military commanders to use lethal force against
Iranian agents although some , including the secretary of state,
Condoleezza Rice, were concerned about triggering a wider
confrontation between US and Iranian forces.

However, Mr Bush told reporters yesterday the tougher stand was
necessary to curb outside influence in Iraq. "Our policy is
going to be to protect our troops. It makes sense," he said.

Over the past few months the Bush administration has grown
increasingly concerned that Tehran was exploiting the chaos in
Iraq to its own advantage, and fuelling sectarian violence by
arming and training Shia militias. The US Central Command
estimates there are 150 Iranian agents active in Iraq.

In London meanwhile, an Iranian opposition movement claimed that
Tehran was paying regular salaries to 31,690 Iraqis under the
command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Al-Qods corps.

The National Council of Resistance provided what it said was a
"top secret" list of all the names, including Iranian aliases
and positions held, that was obtained by its sources in Iran.

Most were affiliated with the Badr Brigade of the Supreme
Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

It named the commanders of Iranian units operating inside Iraq
and described detailed procedures for the delivery of cash and
weapons across the border, mostly from Ahwaz in southern Iran.

The Headquarters for the Reconstruction of Iraqi Holy Sites was
a regular channel for funds and ammunition, the NCR said.

The group makes no secret of its fierce opposition to what it
calls "the mullahs' regime" and its forces fought with Iraq
against Iran during the first Gulf war. But it was credited with
providing accurate information about Iran's secret nuclear
programmes long before the international community seized on the
issue.

In the past five weeks US forces in Iraq have arrested at least
eight Iranians in separate raids. Five remain in custody. The US
ambassador to Baghdad, Zalmay Khalizad, told reporters this week
that one of the men was a leading operative in the Revolutionary
Guard.

However, it is believed the Bush administration has been
responding to warnings by Saudi Arabia and its other allies in
the Middle East that its focus on Iraq has allowed Iran an
opening in the region. Such fears were deepened by the war
between Hizbullah and Israel last summer.

In his State of the Union address this week President Bush in
effect redefined the very nature of the war on terror from a
fight against the Sunni militants of al-Qaida to all Islamist
extremists, no matter their sect. "The Shia and Sunni extremists
are different faces of the same totalitarian threat," he said.

"They want to kill Americans, kill democracy in the Middle East
and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale."

Despite increasing opposition from Congress, Mr Bush has
betrayed no doubts about the wisdom of deepening America's
military commitment in Iraq, or of taking a more confrontational
approach to Iran. The president was briefed about the idea of an
air strike on Iran within the last few weeks, a military
official said.

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 5 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Says Iran Plans Nuclear Development
   
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 10:16 PM
 	
AP Photo VM122 
By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer 

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) - Iran plans to begin work next month on
an underground uranium enrichment facility, as part of a plan to
create a network of tens of thousands of machines turning out
material that could be used to make nuclear arms, U.N. officials
said Friday. 

The officials' comments were the first concrete confirmation
that work on the facility would begin in February. A senior U.S.
State Department official warned the move would be a ``major
miscalculation'' by Iran. 

``If Iran takes this step, it is going to confront universal
international opposition,'' said Undersecretary of State
Nicholas Burns. ``If they think they can get away with 3,000
centrifuges without another Security Council resolution and
additional international pressure, then they are very badly
mistaken.'' 

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, meanwhile,
accused the U.S. of acting like a bully, with the ultimate aim
of forcing Iran to ``abandon nuclear energy.'' In a sermon in
Tehran, he said a U.S. military buildup in the Gulf and the
announcement that U.S. forces would seek to capture or kill
Iranian agents in Iraq were aimed Iranian nuclear programs. 

``Today our enemies have come with several issues against us
while having supporters in the world communities,'' Rafsanjani
told worshippers Friday. ``This is bullying.'' 

Also Friday, the Iranian government said it would bar all U.N.
inspectors from countries that voted in favor of a U.N. Security
Council resolution last month that imposed sanctions on Iran for
its nuclear program. Iran said it had rejected 38 names from a
list of inspectors from the U.N. International Atomic Energy
Agency. 

Iranian officials have said repeatedly that work would start
soon on the uranium enrichment facility at its Natanz
underground plant. There had been speculation the leadership
might launch the project next month to celebrate the 28th
anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that brought the clerical
leadership to power. 

But the timing of the work may in part be a gesture of defiance.

The Security Council's 60-day deadline for Iran to suspend
uranium enrichment runs out next month, paving the way for
further sanctions. 

``I understand that they are going to announce that they are
going to build up their 3,000 centrifuge facility ... sometime
next month,'' IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters at the
World Economic Forum. 

U.N. officials, who demanded anonymity because the information
was confidential, emphasized that Iran had not officially
announced plans to embark on the assembly of what will initially
be 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz. But they said senior officials
have informally told the IAEA that the work would begin next
month. 

Iran ultimately plans to expand its program to 54,000
centrifuges, which spin uranium gas into enriched material. 

Iran says it aims to produce nuclear fuel to generate
electricity. But if Iran chose, it could use the massive array
of centrifuges to make enough weapons-grade material for dozens
of nuclear warheads a year. 

Diplomats briefed on the IAEA's findings said this month that
the Iranians recently finished pre-assembly work at the Natanz
facility, which is underground as protection against attack. 

In enrichment plants, centrifuges are linked in what are called
cascades. For now, the only known assembled centrifuge cascades
in Iran are above ground at Natanz, consisting of two linked
chains of 164 machines each and two smaller setups. 

The two larger cascades have been running only sporadically to
produce small quantities of non-weapons grade enriched uranium,
while the smaller assemblies have been underground ``dry
testing'' since November, IAEA inspectors have reported. 

A U.N. official cautioned against assuming that the new work at
Natanz would result in thousands of centrifuges spinning anytime
soon, suggesting Tehran might do nothing more than put together
another 164-machine cascade underground. 

A diplomat with access to much of what is known about Iran's
enrichment program said Tehran may not be technologically
advanced enough to put together thousands of centrifuges in
series - work that would take months even for more developed
countries. Additionally, he said, Iran might be ``drawing a new
line in the sand'' by embarking on - and then pausing - its
underground assembly work. 

Even a symbolic start of underground installations at Natanz
would sharply escalate the conflict between Tehran and world
powers over its nuclear program. 

In another example of Tehran's hardball tactics, diplomats in
Vienna, where the IAEA is headquartered, said Iran had demanded
the removal of a senior official linked to agency inspections of
the Iranian nuclear program. Iran barred the official, Chris
Charlier, from visiting last year. 

ElBaradei suggested Thursday that one way to defuse tensions
would be a ``simultaneous time-out'' - with Iran suspending
enrichment activities and the Security Council suspending
sanctions so the matter could ``go to the negotiating table.'' 

In an indirect slap at the U.S. and Israel, ElBaradei also said
anyone advocating military action against Tehran was
``bonkers,'' because such a move would force Iran ``to go
underground.'' 

Israel and the United States have both suggested a strike on
Tehran's nuclear facilities was not off the table. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IAEA violator inspectors are barred 

  2007/01/26   

An Iranian diplomat said on Friday that the IAEA inspectors who
refuse to do their main and legal jobs and carry out
unprofessional measures are denied the entry to the country.
 
He said not only the Islamic Republic of Iran, but other members
of the International Atomic Energy Agency do not accept such
acts.
 
The diplomat made the remarks in response to a letter issued by
the IAEA on Wednesday, calling IRI to reconsider its decision
for banning entry of 38 IAEA inspectors to its territory.
 
The IAEA has introduced over 200 inspectors to inspect IRI's
nuclear facilities, recalled the official, adding that the
country reserves the right to ban entry of some of inspectors at
any time and any stage.
 
IRI is fully cooperating with the IAEA on inspection and
safeguards supervision, he said.
 
M/D   

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI can reject IAEA inspectors 

  2007/01/26   
  
Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali
Larijani said on Thursday that according to the safeguard
agreement, the Islamic Republic of Iran is naturally entitled
either to accept or reject some of the UN nuclear watchdog's
inspectors.
 
Larijani made the remark, in a joint press conference with his
Saudi counterpart, Bandar Bin Sultan, at Mehrabad international
airport.
 
He underlined that IRI and every other country has the right to
reject any of the IAEA inspectors.
 
The SNSC Secretary called on the media not to be over-sensitive
on the issue, adding that this is a natural matter based on
international treaties.
 
Stressing that `the issue of Lebanon is resolvable', he said
that the any solution should meet the demand of the majority of
Lebanese people and return tranquility to the country.
 
M/D   

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 8 AFP: UN nuclear chief calls for 'timeout' over Iran 

 by Michael Adler Fri Jan 26, 4:20 PM ET 
		 	 
VIENNA (AFP) - The United Nations  United Nationsnuclear chief 
called for a "timeout" in the showdown over Iran Iran's nuclear 
ambitions, with the UN suspending sanctions and Tehran halting 
uranium enrichment at the same time. 

 "Iran should stop enriching uranium and the international 
community should take a timeout from implementing sanctions," 
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic 
Energy Agency  International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), said in 
Switzerland.
 
Speaking at the World Economic Forum  World Economic Forumin 
Davos, ElBaradei proposed a face-saving solution in which the two 
steps take place simultaneously instead of in sequence.
 
He added that an escalation of the crisis, and possible war, must 
be avoided, in comments reported to AFP at IAEA headquarters in 
Vienna.
 
"We need to reverse course because we are heading into a crash 
course," ElBaradei told reporters. "The idea that there's a 
military solution is absolutely bonkers."
 
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions to get Iran to stop 
uranium enrichment, which makes fuel for civilian nuclear 
reactors but also the explosive core of atom bombs.
 
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate 
electricity but the United States claims Tehran is hiding work on 
developing atomic weapons.
 
The Security Council has said that if Iran freezes enrichment, 
then sanctions could be lifted.
 
But Iran is planning to increase its enrichment capacity by 
installing 3,000 centrifuges, the machines which enrich uranium, 
at an underground facility in Natanz, where it is already running 
two pilot cascades of 164-centrifuges each at a pilot site 
above-ground.
 
ElBaradei is to report to the Security Council by February 21 on 
whether Iran has suspended enrichment.
 
If it has not, sanctions could be tightened and there is 
increased speculation that either the United States or Israel 
Israelcould eventually decide to bomb Iran in order to stop it 
from making nuclear weapons.
 
ElBaradei has repeatedly said the crisis must be resolved through 
negotiation, with Iran guaranteeing that it is not an atom bomb 
threat and the West taking into consideration Tehran's legitimate 
security concerns.
 
ElBaradei said Friday: "There is no reason for Iran to feed 
nuclear material into enrichment cascades. They can take time out 
to build confidence.
 
"We have three to eight years (before Iran can build an atom 
bomb), which gives us a lot of time to reflect."
 
Iran's face-off with the IAEA went up a notch this week when the 
agency sharply answered Iran, asking it in a letter to reverse 
its ban on 38 IAEA inspectors from working in the country, a 
spokeswoman told AFP.
 
A diplomat said the IAEA was "pushing back" as "no country has 
ever de-designated so many inspectors in one go."
 
The strong IAEA response came even as Iran sent a letter of its 
own to the agency asking for the removal of the official 
overseeing the IAEA's inspection of the Iranian nuclear program, 
diplomats told AFP.
 
Iran had banned Christian Charlier, who is Belgian, last April 
from entering the country in retaliation for alleged leaks to the 
press. 

Iran now wants Charlier no longer even to see reports on Iran at 
the agency's safeguards division, a diplomat said. The IAEA 
"received a letter from Iran, which has not been revealed to the 
press, vehemently protesting that Charlier is still responsible 
for Iran's nuclear file," another diplomat said. 

This diplomat said Charlier was "known for his strict and firm
attitude regarding Iran and he is frustrating Iran's efforts to
conceal everything that concerns advancing the nuclear project." 
The letter was confirmed by another diplomat who said Iran had
sent it last week. 

But IAEA officials told Iran that while it "has the right not to 
give visas, the IAEA decides what it does in Vienna," the 
diplomat said.
 	 		 			
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 9 AFP: UN nuclear agency asks Iran to back off on rejection of 38 inspectors - 

 by Michael Adler Thu Jan 25, 11:08 PM ET 
		 	 
VIENNA (AFP) - The UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency 
International Atomic Energy Agencyhas sharply answered Iran Iran, 
asking it to reverse its ban on 38 IAEA inspectors from working 
in the country, a spokeswoman told AFP. 

 The IAEA "requested Iranian authorities to reconsider their 
decision," agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said Thursday, in 
the international standoff over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons 
program.
 
A diplomat said despite the diplomatic language it still meant
the IAEA was "pushing back" as "no country has ever
de-designated so many inspectors in one go.
 
"This is not the type of action that facilitates resolving
issues," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named due to the
sensitivity of the matter.
 
The United States had Monday denounced Iran's barring some
inspectors as an attempt to "dictate terms" to the international
community, in comments by State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack.
 
Fleming said the IAEA sent a letter Wednesday calling for all 38
inspectors to be reinstated after an announcement in Iran Monday
that the Islamic Republic was blocking them from entering the
country.
 
The strong IAEA response comes even as Iran has sent a letter to
the agency asking for the removal of one of the most senior
officials overseeing the IAEA's inspection of the Iranian
nuclear program, diplomats told AFP.
 
Iran says the program is a peaceful effort to generate
electricity but the United States claims Tehran is hiding work
on developing atomic weapons.
 
Iran had banned Christian Charlier, who is Belgian, last April
from entering the country in retaliation for alleged leaks to
the press.
 
Iran has in recent months said it wants Charlier no longer even
to see reports on Iran at the agency's safeguards division at
IAEA headquarters in Vienna, a diplomat said.
 
The Iranians do not want Charlier "to see anything on Iran,
period," the diplomat said.
 
The IAEA "received a letter from Iran, which has not been
revealed to the press, vehemently protesting that Charlier is
still responsible for Iran's nuclear file," another diplomat
said.
 
This diplomat said Charlier is "known for his strict and firm
attitude regarding Iran and he is frustrating Iran's efforts to
conceal everything that concerns advancing the nuclear project."
 
The letter was confirmed by yet another diplomat who said Iran
had sent it over the past few months and had repeated the
request with personal appeals to ElBaradei.
 
But IAEA officials told Iran that while it "has the right not to
give visas, the IAEA decides what it does in Vienna," the
diplomat said.
 
In December 2006, the Iranian parliament had adopted a bill
requiring the government to revise its cooperation with the IAEA
in retaliation after the UN Security Council that month passed a
resolution imposing sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend
uranium enrichment work.
 
Fleming had Monday said there remained however "a sufficient
number of inspectors designated for Iran and the IAEA is able to
perform its inspection activities" under the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters on
Monday that "any country had the right to refuse admission to
inspectors", a position confirmed by IAEA diplomats. 
Last July, ElBaradei said that 200 inspectors were charged with
investigating Iran's nuclear activities, but did not stay
permanently in Iran. 

Iran has already caused problems for inspectors by delaying some
visas and restricting access to certain nuclear installations. 
A diplomat close to the IAEA said that only "a few" of the 38
inspectors banned this week "are actually working on Iran, the
rest are not." 

The banned inspectors are from Britain, France, Germany -- the
three EU countries which have led nuclear talks with Iran -- as
well as Canada and the United States, the diplomat said. 

The diplomat said the ban "certainly hurts the IAEA's
flexibility about using its resources to the maximum as there is
a potential restriction in its numbers."
 	 		 			
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 10 AFP: US warns Iran of global wrath if it cranks up nuclear capacity -
     
 by P. Parameswaran Fri Jan 26, 7:18 PM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States warned Iran  Iranof 
"universal" opposition if it proceeds with plans to beef up its 
nuclear capacity by installing at least 3,000 centrifuges at a 
key atomic plant. 

Already facing UN sanctions over its sensitive nuclear program,
Tehran announced recently it wanted to install "even more" than
3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium at its Natanz underground
facility.
 
"This would be a major miscalculation and mistake by the Iranian
government," US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said. "If
Iran takes this step, it is going to confront universal
international opposition.
 
"And if they think that they can get away with 3,000 centrifuges
without another Security Council resolution and additional
international pressure then they're very badly mistaken," Burns
said.
 
In December, the UN Security Council passed 15-0 a resolution
imposing sanctions on Iran for its repeated refusal to cooperate
fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency International 
Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), the UN atomic energy watchdog, or to 
suspend uranium enrichment.
 
"They've already had China and Russia and all of the European
countries and the United States oppose them. They've also had
India and Egypt and Brazil oppose them a year ago at the IAEA
Board of Governors," Burns said.
 
Another defiant move would "solidify the international
opposition to Iran," he said, emphasizing again "it's a
miscalculation."
 
An Iranian government spokesman said earlier this month that
Iran would be making a major announcement on the "completion" of
Iran's nuclear program during the 10-day anniversary
celebrations for the Islamic revolution in February. He did not
go into details.
 
The Islamic republic has so far declared the installation of two
cascades of 164 centrifuges at the plant in Natanz and the
installation of 3,000 centrifuges would mark a major step
towards industrial enrichment.
 
The machinery is used to enrich uranium, a highly sensitive
process that can be used both to make nuclear energy and a
nuclear bomb.
 
It has so far shown no sign of caving into the Security Council
resolution that imposed the first ever UN sanctions against Iran
over its failure to suspend enrichment.
 
Iran, which insists that its nuclear program is entirely
peaceful, this week banned 38 IAEA inspectors from working in
the country.
 
It also sought removal of the official overseeing the IAEA's
inspection of the Iranian nuclear program.
 
"It's outrageous," said State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack. "They're inspector shopping."
 
He said that "the tone of those kinds of actions are indicative
of their continued defiance.
 
"And this is not what the international system is looking for
or, frankly, what it was hoping for in terms of Iranian
behavior."
 
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to report to the UN Security
Council by February 21 on whether Iran has suspended enrichment.
 
If it has not, sanctions could be tightened and there is
increased speculation that either the United States or Israel
 Israelcould eventually decide to bomb Iran in order to stop
it from making nuclear weapons.
 	 		 			
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 11 Comment is free: Fearing Iran

[Toby Greene] 

Israeli concern about Iran's intentions has begun to overshadow
the long-running Palestinian conflict.
 
January 26, 2007 08:30 AM | 

Yesterday, which saw the eyes of most Israelis fixed on the
scandal engulfing the country's president, also saw the
concluding session of the . It is an occasion that has no
equivalent in Britain. Members of the country's political,
academic and military elite gather in one hall and talk in
public for four days about Israel's strategic challenges. They
do not run short of things to talk about. 

Each year the conference concludes with an address by the prime
minister. Comparing Ehud Olmert's words this year, with his
speech from a year ago starkly reveals the extent to which
Israel's strategic priorities have shifted due to the events of
the last 12 months. 

Whereas a year ago the prime minister focused on the need to
separate from the Palestinians for the sake of Israel's
democratic legitimacy, yesterday the Palestinian issue was
barely even mentioned. Instead his focus was the existential
threat posed by Iran. This was not just the prime minister's
priority, but was the dominant theme for all four days of the
conference. 

In the last 12 months Israel has fought a war with the
Iranian-backed Hizbullah on its northern border, seen the
election of Iranian-backed Hamas in the Palestinian Territories
and watched the growing influence of Iran in Iraq. All the while
Iran keeps up its threatening rhetoric against Israel and the
Jewish people and pursues nuclear weapons capability with
contempt for united international opposition.
 
As a result, a rising tide of anxiety at the Iranian threat is
afflicting Israelis at all levels. When Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad states his desire to see Israel wiped off
the map, Israelis take him at his word. It is of limited comfort
to Israel that it rests on its own undeclared nuclear deterrent. 

Whereas mutually assured destruction may have kept the cold war
from going hot, Israel fears that the religious and messianic
zeal among the leaders of the Iranian regime may override any
such rational decision making. Israeli leaders also sleep ill,
knowing Iran has 10 times Israel's population, nearly 80 times
Israel's landmass, and 10% of the world's oil.
 
Even if Iran is developing a nuclear option without the
immediate intention of using it on Israel, a situation in which
Iran might have the choice, at any moment, to push the button,
would enhance its ability to undermine Israel's security. Even
today, Iran buys its veto on the Arab-Israeli peace process
through its funding to Hizbullah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and
Hamas and its close relationship with Syria. Israel fears an
Iranian bomb will only enhance Iran's confidence to shape the
future of the region as it likes. 

It is quite clear, listening to Israel's leaders discuss the
issue that they do not want the situation to end in military
action against Iran. They know that such action carries no
guarantees of success and that whoever were to carry it out, it
is Israel which is most vulnerable to reprisals. But there is a
growing determination that a nuclear armed Iran is simply not an
acceptable option. That being the case, Israelis looking to
global powers to increase the diplomatic and economic pressure
on Iran. 

Mr Olmert has just completed a tour of UN security council
permanent members - a series of meetings in which Iran was top
of the agenda. Last night he stressed that there was still time
to stop Iran. He asked for international diplomatic steps to be,
"sharper, more significant, clearer and more vigorous", and
warned that "dragging our feet" now would make harsher action
more difficult to avoid in the future.
 
Israel is also weighing its regional relationships. Some see an
opportunity to build alliances with Sunni Arab states who also
fear the growing power of Iran. Upgrading Israel's relations in
the west was also debated and Lord Guthrie, former chief of the
UK defence staff, was among the international delegates
advocating that Israel join Nato.
 
Sadly, the growing menace of Iran threatens to overshadow the
urgent need to resolve the Palestinian conflict. Whilst Israel's
defence minister, Labour party leader Amir Peretz, did present a
plan to advance to final status negotiations in the next two
years, with the fear of Iran so dominant, long-term progress
will require the Palestinians to reject the radicalism of Hamas
and thereby decisively distance themselves from the regime in
Tehran.
 
  Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007. 
Registered in England and Wales. No. 908396
 Registered office: Number 1 Scott Place, Manchester M3 3GG
*****************************************************************
 12 AFP: Iran ready to launch satellite, raising arms alarm - report -

 Thu Jan 25, 11:37 PM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iran  is poised to launch a satellite into 
space, a step that could herald a new dimension in Tehran's 
strategic capabilities, Aviation Week and Space Technology has 
said. on its website. 

A recently assembled, 30-ton ballistic missile-turned space 
launcher could also be used for testing longer-range missile 
strike technologies, according to the report which the weekly 
magazine said would appear in its January 29 issue.
 
The US Defense Department did not immediately respond to an AFP
request for comment on the report.
 
The Iranian space launcher "will liftoff soon" with an Iranian
satellite, said Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian
parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission,
according to the weekly.
 
Boroujerdi made his announcement during a speech to religious
students and clerics in Qom, where Iran has conducted some of
its ballistic missile tests, said the magazine without
indicating when he spoke.
 
Iran's new launch capabilities come at a time of heightened
Western concern over Iran and North Korea
 's nuclear programs, and follows only by weeks a reported
missile test by China that destroyed a satellite in space.
 
Iran's new launcher also highlights close technological ties
between Iran and North Korean missile programs, the magazine
said, citing US intelligence agencies.
 
Iran's space launcher raises concerns in the West that it could
eventually lead to an Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile
(ICBM) with a range of nearly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles),
putting central Europe, Russia, China and India within its
range, Aviation said.
 
US intelligence agencies, said the weekly, believe the Iranian
launcher is a derivation of Iran's Shahab 3 missile, which has a
range of 1,300-1,600 kilometers (800-1,000 miles).
 
Analysts with GlobalSecurity.org think tank, said Aviation Week,
believe the new modified missile could be a stepping stone to an
Iranian clone of the North Korean Taepodong 2C/3 ballistic
missile that failed in a launch attempt last July in North Korea.
 
The US Defense Intelligence Agency has said Iran could have the
capability of developing a 4,800-kilometers (3,000-mile) range
ICBM by 2015, the weekly said.
 
"But ultimately, their space program aims to orbit
reconnaissance satellites like Israel
 's 'Ofek,' using an Iranian satellite launcher from Iranian
territory," Uzi Rubin, former head of the Israel Missile Defense
Organization, said in a report for The Jerusalem Center for
Public Affairs, according to the weekly.
 
The planned satellite launch, besides demonstrating Iran's
technical prowess, "would be a potent political and emotional
weapon in the Middle East," the Aviation Week article said.
 
"Orbiting its own satellite would send a powerful message
throughout the Muslim world about the Shiite regime in Tehran,"
it said.
 
Iran's reported space launch capability also coincides with the
United States's planned deployment in Poland and the Czech
Republic of a missile defense system designed to intercept
missile attacks from Iran and North Korea.
 
The United States already has a network of monitoring satellites
and detection radars, as well as missile interceptors in Alaska
and California. It wants to deploy a radar and 10 additional
interceptors in Europe by 2011.
 
Iran is under fierce international criticism for its uranium
enrichment program, which critics suspect masks a nuclear weapons 
program. Tehran insists it is aimed at generating electricity.
 
The United Nations
 Security Council approved in December a resolution imposing
sanctions on Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs,
after the Islamic Republic refused a UN demand that it suspend
uranium enrichment.
 	 		 			
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 13 AFP: US soldiers authorized to kill Iranians in Iraq - report

 Fri Jan 26, 1:39 AM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US soldiers have been authorized to kill or 
capture Iranian operatives found in Iraq " /> Iraq, the 
Washington Post has reported, citing US government and 
counterterrorism officials. 

The authorization covers Iranian Revolutionary Guard and 
intelligence officers found in Iraq, but not Iranian civilians or 
diplomats, the Post reported.
 
The newspaper describes the policy as "part of an aggressive new
strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and
compel it to give up its nuclear program."
 
For more than a year US forces have been secretly holding dozens
of suspected Iranian agents for up to four days in a "catch and
release" policy designed to intimidate them while avoiding
escalation.
 
Before being released US forces collected DNA samples from some
of the Iranians, took retina scans of others, and fingerprinted
and photographed all of them.
 
In mid-2006 top US government officials concluded they needed to
be more confrontational.
 
"There were no costs for the Iranians," an unnamed senior
administration official told the Post. "They are hurting our
mission in Iraq, and we were bending over backwards not to fight
back."
 
President George W. Bush
" /> President George W. Bushauthorized the new "kill or
capture" program in the fourth quarter of 2006, the Post
reported.
 
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 14 UPI: Report: U.S. detains Iran agents in Iraq
     
  United Press International - NewsTrack - 
1/26/2007 12:51:00 AM -0500
 
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has
authorized killing and detaining Iranian agents in Iraq, the
Washington Post reported. 

The newspaper cited sources involved in counterterrorism. Up
until last summer, U.S. forces had a "catch and release" policy
toward Iranians suspected of fomenting hostilities in Iraq,
holding them for three or four days and then letting them go. 

"There were no costs for the Iranians," one senior
administration official told the Post. "They are hurting our
mission in Iraq, and we were bending over backwards not to fight
back." 

U.S. officials said they believe about 150 Iranian intelligence
agents, as well as members of the Revolutionary Guard Command,
are in Iraq. They are suspected of involvement in training
Shiite militias and insurgents, not in direct attacks on U.S.
forces.

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 15 Korea Herald: Song talks nuke issue, defectors with China   
        
Foreign Minister Song Min-soon flew to China yesterday and met
his counterpart to discuss several topics including bilateral
issues and North Korea's nuclear problem.

 In his first trip to China as the foreign minister, Song
visited State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and held a bilateral
meeting with his counterpart Li Zhaoxing, who also hosted a
dinner on behalf of Song.

 The discussions centered around North Korea's nuclear issue as
well as how to manage the increasing number of North Korean
defectors in China wishing to come to South Korea.

 Giving a hopeful outlook on the upcoming nuclear talks, Tang
told Song that China was willing to continue the negotiation
into the Lunar New Year holiday (Feb. 18-19) when necessary.

 The host country's willingness to sacrifice its much-celebrated
holiday season shows China's determination to reach a
breakthrough in the N.K. nuke stalemate, observers said.

 The negotiations are considered most likely to resume between
the second and third week of February.

 In the ministerial-level talks later in the evening, Song and
Li agreed that the nuclear talks process was developing and
pledged to continue closely cooperating at the next round of
talks.

 Song also requested for closer cooperation from his Chinese
counterpart in protecting abducted South Koreans escaping to
China in attempts to return to South Korea.

 To enhance visa issuance operation at South Korea's consulate
general in Shenyang, the two ministers agreed to look into the
possibility of increasing the staff quota that is currently
limited to 16. Other topics included encouraging academic
exchanges and fostering investment.

 During his three-day stay, Song will meet Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao and Wang Jairui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's
international department.

 Song will also preside over the general conference for Korean
diplomats in China from Friday to Saturday.

 In related news, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
gave a cautiously optimistic outlook on the nuclear talks.

 "We believe that these have been a good set of consultations in
the run-up to what we hope is a new round and that the proof
will be in the pudding in terms of negotiating in the six-party
format," McCormack said in a daily press briefing, referring to
the past week of heavy diplomatic contacts among the six-party
talk negotiators. 

"I think what you're seeing from the North Korean side is a
response to some of the ideas - not a formal response, but an
idea of how they would respond to some of the ideas that were
put forward during the last round of the six-party talks," he
said.

 North Korea returned from the bilateral meeting with the United
States in Berlin last week and showed its satisfaction by saying
there has been a "certain agreement."

 McCormack acknowledged there was progress but said it was
important to draw out a concrete agreement at the negotiation. 

(angiely@heraldm.com)

By Lee Joo-hee

2007.01.26
*****************************************************************
 16 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Koreas' Nuclear Talks to Resume 

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 4:01 PM
 	
AP Photo SEL801 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's foreign minister says
the next round of international talks on North Korea's nuclear
program should resume early next month, a news report said
Friday. 

Foreign Minister Song Min-soon made the comments to South Korean
correspondents in Beijing, according to Yonhap news agency, a
day after he met with his Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, and
State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan. 

The nuclear disarmament talks - which consist of the United
States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia - should be held
before Feb. 10, Song said without elaborating. 

In Tokyo, the Kyodo news agency reported that the participants
are considering resuming their next meeting in Beijing beginning
Feb. 8, citing unidentified officials. 

The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Russia's nuclear envoy, Deputy
Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, as saying the most likely
dates for resumption of the talks are Feb. 5-8, but the
participants must still reach agreement on ``concrete details of
the agenda.'' 

A Japanese Foreign Ministry official said he was aware of the
reports but denied the date has been decided. 

The latest talks in December - the first since the North's
nuclear test in October - ended with no apparent progress due to
a dispute over the U.S. financial restrictions on the North over
its alleged counterfeiting of $100 bills and money-laundering. 

Song said an agreement on action plans should be made in the
next round of talks to implement a 2005 pact in which North
Korea pledged to disarm in return for aid and security
guarantees. 

Song and Li agreed to cooperate in seeking a ``new
breakthrough'' at the next round of nuclear talks, South Korea's
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing multiple diplomats in
Beijing. China, the host of the talks, is North Korea's only
major ally. 

The breakthrough would involve a list of initial steps for
implementing a 2005 pact, the newspaper said. The Chosun Ilbo
newspaper and Yonhap carried similar reports. 

Song met with Li and Tang on Thursday and discussed
``cooperation between South Korea and China for a peaceful
resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue,'' South Korea's
Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He was to return home
Saturday. 

No date has been set for the next round of nuclear talks, but
officials have said they hope to hold them before the Lunar New
Year holiday, which falls on Feb. 18. 

Hopes have increased that substantial progress can be achieved
at the next session because North Korea has shown a positive
response to a set of U.S. concessions offered during bilateral
talks in Berlin last week 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 17 Korea Times: Retired Generals Slam Roh on NK Propaganda 

Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation   

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
  
A retired general, on the rostrum, who belongs to the Korea
Retired Generals and Admirals Association reads a statement , in
Seoul, Friday, calling on the Roh Moo-hyun government to speak
up against North Korea's efforts to influence the Dec. 19
presidential election./Korea Times   

A group of retired generals Friday called on the government to
speak out against the efforts it said North Korea is making to
influence the South��s Dec. 19 presidential election. 

In a statement, the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals
Association criticized the Roh Moo-hyun administration for
taking a lukewarm attitude toward Pyongyang��s alleged
interference in domestic politics and its development of nuclear
weapons. 

The association Sungwoohoe represents more than 2,000 retirees,
including former defense ministers. 

In a newspaper editorial published Jan. 1, the Stalinist state
expressed worries over the governing Uri Party��s possible loss
in the presidential race. It described the main opposition Grand
National Party (GNP) as an ultra-conservative force making
``traitorous attempts���� to regain power in cooperation with
the United States. 

The group urged the government to stop its suspected attempts to
hold an inter-Korean summit, which they said is ``useless����
unless the North scraps all of its nuclear weapons programs.

 In recent months, several Cabinet ministers, including
Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, hinted that Seoul is making
efforts to hold a second summit with Pyongyang by dispatching a
special envoy to the North. The GNP called it a politically
charged move to solicit support in the election. 

The retired generals also slammed the government��s plan to
reduce the military service period by six months, saying it
would compromise national security. 

They reiterated that the transition of wartime operational
control of South Korean troops from the U.S. military to Seoul
should be halted until the nuclear crisis is resolved. 

Seoul and Washington agreed last year to implement the transfer
of operational control between 2009 and 2012 and to dismantle
the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. 


 gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr01-26-2007 20:17         
*****************************************************************
 18 AFP: SKorea to expand business with North 

 Fri Jan 26, 2:23 AM ET 
		 	 
SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea " /> South Koreaadmitted it would 
expand business cooperation with North Korea " /> North Koreaas a 
way to bring peace to the peninsula, and denied that the proceeds 
help its communist neighbour to build nuclear weapons. 

 Economic cooperation is "a short cut to maintain peace on the 
Korean peninsula," Unification Minister Lee Jae-Joung told the 
European Chamber of Commerce in Korea in a speech.
 
Lee, who handles relations with the North, likened the process to 
the post-war creation of the European Coal and Steel Community -- 
which paved the way for the eventual establishment of Europe's 
common market.
 
Two South Korean-funded projects in the North -- the Kaesong 
industrial estate and the Mount Kumgang resort -- came in from 
criticism after the North's October nuclear test.
 
Including a huge down payment, they have made almost one billion 
dollars for the North since Kumgang opened in 1998. Critics say 
the money could fund weapons programmes in a nation still 
technically at war with the South since their 1950-53 conflict.
 
But Lee said such claims were merely assumptions. He said annual
cash payments to the North through the projects totalled about
20 million dollars, 1.4 percent of its estimated foreign
currency earnings of 1.4 billion dollars.
 
"In the future, the South Korean government plans to expand and
deepen inter-Korean economic cooperation," Lee said.
 
He said construction of Kaesong had fallen behind schedule but
would go ahead as planned. It would be able to host 300
companies hiring up to 70,000 people when new power and water
supply grids were completed in the first half of the year.
 
Currently about 11,200 North Koreans work with 800 Southerners
at various light industries in Kaesong, just north of the
heavily fortified border.
 
The minister denied allegations that the North Korean workers'
wages, an average 57.5 dollars per month, are being taken by the
North's authorities.
 
"It was confirmed that the North Korean workers are given
necessities worth their wages. As there is a lack of daily
commodities in North Korea, the North Korean authorities
purchase them abroad with the wages paid and deliver them to the
workers," he said.
 
North Koreans were learning about a market economy and such
cooperation was crucial for eventual reunification, Lee said.
 
"Gradually reducing the gap between the two Koreas' economies is
the most effective means to minimise the fallout from sudden
unification."
 
In response to a question, the minister dismissed the
possibility of North Korea carrying out a second nuclear test
following its first last October.
 
"Actually there are no signs of North Korea preparing a second
nuclear test," he said.
 
"Since North Korea is well aware that if a second nuclear test
were to occur, efforts for dialogue would be switched to more
powerful sanctions including some strong actions, it would be
careful to avoid taking steps that would aggravate the current
situation."
 
Copyright � 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., N. Korea Continue Financial Talks 

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 6:16 PM
 	
AP Photo XIN101 
By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States and North Korea will resume
talks next week in Beijing on financial restrictions that have
been a sticking point in separate negotiations about the
communist-led regime's nuclear program. 

Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant
secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, plans to
meet next Tuesday with his North Korean counterparts, the
department said Friday. The new round of talks will follow up on
previous discussions in December that were also held in Beijing. 

The United States in 2005 moved to financially clamp down on
North Korea, a move that angered Pyongyang and had - until
recently - kept the country away from six-nation nuclear arms
talks. The talks are aimed at persuading North Korea to
dismantle its atomic weapons program. 

The six-nations - North Korea, South Korea, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia - did meet in December, but they ended
with no apparent progress due to the dispute over the U.S.
financial restrictions on North Korea and its alleged
counterfeiting of $100 bills and money laundering. Another round
of arms discussions is expected soon. 

South Korean's foreign minister, Song Min-soon, said the second
round of arms talks may be held before Feb. 10, according to a
news report on Friday from the Yonhap news agency. 

The financial action that the United States took in 2005 that so
angered North Korea was against a bank - Banco Delta Asia SARL -
in Macau, a special administrative district of China. The United
States alleged that the bank helped North Korea distribute
counterfeit currency and engage in other illicit activities. The
bank had provided financial services for more than 20 years to
North Korean government agencies. 

As a result of the U.S. clampdown, some $24 million in North
Korean accounts has been frozen at the bank. 

Glaser's talks next week will touch on a range of financial
matters including the ``international community's concerns about
illicit financial conduct'' involving North Korea as well as
``financial measures taken by the United States to combat
illicit financial flows,'' the department said. 

The United States has accused Pyongyang of spreading weapons and
missile technology to other countries, counterfeiting U.S.
currency and trafficking drugs. The United States has taken
various actions to financially incapacitate the country. 

A news report Friday quoted South Korea's foreign minister, Song
Min-soon, as saying the next round of international talks on
North Korea's nuclear program should resume early next month. 

He made the comments to South Korean correspondents in Beijing,
according to Yonhap news agency, a day after he met with his
Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, and State Councilor Tang
Jiaxuan. 

Song said an agreement on action plans should be made in the
next round of talks to implement a 2005 pact in which North
Korea pledged to disarm in return for aid and security
guarantees. 

Song and Li agreed to cooperate in seeking a ``new
breakthrough'' at the next round of nuclear talks, South Korea's
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing multiple diplomats in
Beijing. China, the host of the talks, is North Korea's only
major ally. 

Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 20 UPI: U.N.: Full audit of UNDP in North Korea

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 

1/26/2007 7:03:00 AM -0500

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.N. Development Program
officials say there will be a full, external audit of programs
in North Korea, after allegations last week money was siphoned. 

"I think it's a good day for the United Nations," said Ad
Melkert, associate administrator of UNDP, after an executive
board meeting Thursday. "It's a good day for UNDP, because the
agenda of transparency led by (Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon)
will be brought further." 

Reforms will be implemented before more projects are approved in
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said Melkert. 

The UNDP will no longer hire domestic workers through the North
Korean government; instead it will hire workers directly, based
on merit. It will also stop making payments in hard currency to
the North Korean government, and will step up inspections of
U.N.-funded projects, said Melkert. 

He did not respond to questions about whether projects in North
Korea should be put on hold until the audit is completed by the
External Board of Auditors. 

The secretary-general called for the audit immediately after
allegations were raised by the U.S. Mission to the United
Nations that UNDP money was being used by North Korea for its
nuclear program. 

The U.S. refuses to fund UNDP projects in North Korea, so it
withholds a portion of its UNDP disbursement. 

Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, acting U.S. permanent representative
to the United Nations, said the United States supports the
audit. 

"Our expectation is this is going to be a real, full, thorough,
independent investigative audit to get to the bottom of the
program and some of the concerns that we've had," said Wolff.
"We hope to see the results, and that's what we're going to
expect."

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 21 UPI: Seoul rules out cash diversion in N.Korea
     
  United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 

        1/26/2007 7:31:00 AM -0500

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- South Korea is denying that North Korea
has diverted cash payment from the South for its communist
neighbor's nuclear weapons programs. 

In a speech to European businesspeople in Seoul Friday,
Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said the amount of cash the
North earns from joint projects with the South is just 1.4
percent of the North's total cash earnings of $1.4 billion a
year. 

South Korea pays some $20 million to the North to run the two
cross-border projects of the industrial park in Kaesong and the
North's mountain resort of Kumgang, said Lee, Seoul's pointman
on North Korea. 

The North earns such money "in a transparent and legal manner,"
he said, vowing to expand and inter-Korean economic cooperation
as a way to ensure peace and stability on the peninsula.

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 22 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Agency Defers N. Korea Programs 

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

        Friday January 26, 2007 3:16 AM
 	
AP Photo XIN101 
By ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press Writer 

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.'' 

The audit, announced Monday by U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, is expected to last three months. 

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, which
Melkert said would stop by March 1. 

The UNDP said 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,'' acting U.S. Permanent Representative Alejandro
Wolff told reporters. 

North Korea said it would accept the steps, though it condemned
them as an attempt to ``politicize the system'' of the UNDP - a
stance echoed by the representatives of Russia and Cuba. 

Japan, however, applauded the agreement and went a step further.
It said the U.N. should stop providing aid to North Korea except
for humanitarian assistance ``directly delivered to the people''
because Pyongyang had defied Security Council demands that it
end its nuclear program. 

Wolff said the Japanese argument was ``compelling'' and that the
U.S. would consider it. 

U.S. officials said the United States already withholds its
contributions to the UNDP and other U.N. agencies that provide
funds to North Korea. 

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. 

North Korean delegate Jang Chunsik called the U.S. allegations
``nonsense,'' insisting the UNDP's activities in his country had
been ``conducted in a transparent way.'' 

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. 

--- 
Associated Press Writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed to this
report. 
		 	 	   
    Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 23 [NYTr] US Reveals Newly Designed Nuclear Warheads
 
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:55:22 -0600 (CST)

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Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
[These are the hybrid designs that are completely untested and seem to have
been chosen by committee to accommodate pork barrel contract requirements
more than anything else. Another Bush Losers, Unltd. special project.-NYTr]

Radio Havana Cuba
http://www.radiohc.cu

U.S. Reveals Newly Designed Nuclear Warheads

Washington, January 26 (RHC)-- The George W. Bush administration is
expected to soon announce new, improved nuclear warheads -- what is being
called "a major step forward in the building of the country's first new
nuclear warhead in nearly two decades." It will propose combining elements
of competing designs from two weapons laboratories in an approach that some
experts argue is untested and risky.

In an article published in The New York Times, it is revealed that the new
weapon would not add to but replace the nation's existing arsenal of aging
warheads, with a new generation meant to be sturdier, more reliable, safer
from accidental detonation and more secure from theft by terrorists.

The announcement, to be made by the interagency Nuclear Weapons Council,
avoids making a choice between the two designs for a new weapon, called the
Reliable Replacement Warhead, which at first would be mounted on
submarine-launched missiles.

The effort, if approved by the U.S. president and financed by Congress,
would require a huge refurbishment of the nation's complex for nuclear
design and manufacturing, with the overall bill estimated at more than $100
billion.

But the council's decision to seek a hybrid design, combining well-tested
elements from an older design with new safety and security elements from a
more novel approach, could delay the weapon's production. It also raises
the question of whether the United States will ultimately be forced to end
its moratorium on underground nuclear testing to make sure the new design
works.

Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration
of the Energy Department, said the government would not proceed with the
Reliable Replacement Warhead "if it is determined that testing is needed."
But other officials in the administration, including Robert Joseph, the
under secretary of state for arms control and international security, have
said that the White House should make no commitment on testing.

Congress authorized exploratory research for the weapon three years ago,
and has financed it at relatively low levels since. But now the costs will
begin to increase.

The New York Times says that if Bush decides to deploy the new design, he
could touch off a debate in a Democrat-controlled Congress and among allies
and adversaries abroad, who have opposed efforts to modernize the arsenal
in the past. While proponents of the new weapon said that it would replace
older weapons that could deteriorate over time, and reduce the chances of a
detonation if weapons fell into the wrong hands, critics have long argued
that this is the wrong moment for Washington to produce a new nuclear
warhead of any kind.

At a time when the administration is trying to convince the world to put
sanctions on North Korea and Iran to halt their nuclear programs, those
critics argue, any move to improve the American arsenal will be seen as
hypocritical, an effort by the United States to extend its nuclear lead
over other countries. Should the United States decide to conduct a test,
officials said, China and Russia -- which have their own nuclear
modernization programs under way -- would feel free to do the same.

Both administration officials and military officers like Gen. James E.
Cartwright, head of the Strategic Command, which controls the nation's
nuclear arsenal, argue that because the United States provides a nuclear
umbrella for so many allies, it is critical that its stockpile be as
reliable as possible.

General Cartwright said that the United States "will not 'un-invent'
nuclear weapons, and we will not walk away from the world." The head of the
Strategic Command said in a recent interview: "Right now, it is not the
nation's position that zero is the answer to the size of our inventory."

The current schedule, which is subject to change, would call for the
president to make a decision in a year or two and, if approved, to begin
engineering development by fiscal year 2010 and production by 2012.

The two teams competing to design the weapon, one at Los Alamos in New
Mexico, the other at the Livermore National Laboratory in California,
approached the problem with very different philosophies, nuclear officials
and experts said. Livermore drew on a single, robust design that, before
the testing moratorium, was detonated in the 1980s under a desolate patch
of Nevada desert. The weapon, however, never entered the nation's nuclear
stockpile.

The Los Alamos team drew on aspects of many weapons from the stockpile and
pulled them together in a new design that has never undergone testing.

A winner of the competition was to have been announced in November. But
federal officials said they had a hard time choosing between the two
designs, because they like them both so much.
       
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*****************************************************************
 24 IAEA: IAEA Chief at World Economic Forum in Davos
 
+ [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] 
 
Dr. ElBaradei Participating in Sessions on Security,
Non-Proliferation
 
Staff Report
 25 January 2007 [Mohamed ElBaradei] 
IAEA Head ElBaradei is among world leaders participating at the
World Economic Forum in Davos. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA) 

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is among top leaders
from international organizations participating in sessions at
the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week. Dr. ElBaradei
will be meeting with members of the international press corps in
Davos on Friday, 26 January, on nuclear issues, including Iran�s
nuclear programme and the UN Security Council resolution
concerning it. 

Nearly 2500 participants from 90 countries are at the WEF in
Davos, including Heads of State or government, Cabinet
Ministers, and leaders of international and non-governmental
organizations, business, and the media.
 
At the WEF, Dr. ElBaradei is participating in sessions on global
security and vulnerabilities, and on stopping the spread of
nuclear weapons. Questions on the table revolve around the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has served as a
framework to limit the number of nuclear weapon States, but now
is being seriously tested. Discussions will focus on steps to
reenforce the NPT regime; incentives for a country not to
acquire a nuclear capability; the role of sanctions against
violators; and measures to ensure that terrorists do not obtain
nuclear weapons or material.
 
Background:
 
Other heads of international organizations at the WEF include
those with whom the IAEA cooperates in various fields. Among
them are Paul D. Wolfowitz, President, World Bank, Washington
DC; Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
Paris; Achim Steiner, Executive Director, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi; Heizo Takenaka, Director,
Global Security Research Institute, Keiko University, Japan;
Richard Feachem, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, Geneva; Pascal Lamy, Director-General,
World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva; Peter Piot, Executive
Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),
Geneva; and Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, United Nations
Children�s Fund (UNICEF), New York.
 Copyright �, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100,
Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria 
Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: 
*****************************************************************
 25 Guardian Unlimited: Russia, India Cement Nuclear Ties 

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 3:31 AM
 	
AP Photo MOSB111 
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press Writer 

NEW DELHI (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin offered
Thursday to build four nuclear reactors for India and give it
broader access to Moscow's energy riches, as the old Cold War
allies sought to reinvigorate their friendship. 

Putin, who will be the guest of honor at India's Republic Day
celebrations on Friday during his two-day visit, met Thursday
with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and officials from
the two nations signed several deals on energy, scientific and
space cooperation. 

``Although there has been a sea change in the international
situation during the last decade, Russia remains indispensable
to India's foreign policy interests,'' Singh said afterward. 
On Friday, thousands of security personnel, including snipers,
were deployed across India's capital and some metro rail
services were suspended to prevent any militant attacks during
the national celebrations, officials said. 

Rusian and India's close ties during the Cold War - when Moscow
was the principal arms supplier to New Delhi - waned after the
Soviet Union collapsed and India opened its markets to the rest
of the world. The nonmilitary trade has slackened, but the two
leaders vowed to give it a boost. 

``We hope the high level of political trust should be converted
into economic opportunity. We hope to harmonize the political
and economic aspects of our relationship,'' Putin said. 

Singh said energy cooperation was at the center of the new
``strategic partnership.'' 

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 opened the door to U.S.
companies' prospective expansion in India's nuclear market. 

Russia is building two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors in the
southern town of Kudankulam, and a memorandum of understanding
signed Thursday said that the four new reactors would be built,
but did not outline a timetable or other specifics. 

In the past, Russia has stood by India, supplying it with
reactors and fuel even as it was denied Western technology for
its refusal to sign the international Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty. 

However, the reactor deal would depend on the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, a 45-member coalition of countries that regulate the
world's atomic trade, lifting its restrictions on India's access
to nuclear technology, the two countries said in a joint
statement. 

Putin also promised to give India a broader access to Russia's
vast hydrocarbon wealth. 

On the sidelines of Putin's visit, India's state-owned Oil
&Natural Gas Corp. signed a deal with Russia' state-controlled
OAO Rosneft to jointly bid for exploration and refining
projects, ONCG said in a statement. 

``We will strongly support that, as well as cooperation with
other Russian oil companies,'' Putin told a Russian-Indian
business forum. 

India is already a shareholder via the state-run ONGC Videsh
Ltd. in the Sakhalin-1 oilfields, which have started production,
and Putin said it could be offered a share in the prospective
Sakhalin-3 project. 

Energy cooperation is vital for India, which has struggled to
supply adequate power to its burgeoning economy that has been
growing at more than 8 percent in recent years. Despite India's
rapid recent development, power cuts remain frequent across the
country. 

In a separate deal Thursday, India also was given access to
Russia's satellite navigation system, GLONASS. The two nations
signaled their intent to forge ahead with military ties with two
new arms deals: an agreement allowing the licensed production of
Russian aircraft engines in India, and another for the joint
development of a military transport plane. 

India also agreed to join Russia in building a next-generation
fighter plane which is to take to the air in 2009 and compete
with the U.S. F-35 in global markets. Mikhail Pogosian, the head
of Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker, which is building the plane,
told reporters Thursday that the project envisages a shared
funding and joint research. 

Signifying the importance India attaches to Russia, Singh broke
with protocol to personally welcome Putin and his wife,
Lyudmila, as well as officials and a delegation of high-profile
Russian business leaders at the airport - an honor previously
given only to President Bush and Saudi King Abdullah. 

``This has been a significant visit both for its symbolism and
for its substantive content,'' said C. Uday Bhaskar of the
Institute for Defense and Strategic Analyses, a New Delhi-based
think tank. ``A resurgent Russia and a more confident India are
reiterating their decades-old relationship.'' 
----- 
Associated Press Writer Nirmala George contributed to this
report. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 26 [NukeNet] The Ethical Funds Company says nuclear power is too
 
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:43:31 -0800

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<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)

The Ethical Funds Company says nuclear power is too risky<?xml:namespace 
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

<http://www.ethicalfunds.com/do_the_right_thing/about_ef/newsroom/2007_articles/01_19_07.asp>http://www.ethicalfunds.com/do_the_right_thing/about_ef/newsroom/2007_articles/01_19_07.asp 


Vancouver, BC � January 19, 2007 � Nuclear power carries too many risks to 
qualify as a sustainable investment, according to a new report published by 
The Ethical Funds Company, Canada�s leading manager of socially responsible 
mutual funds.

The Ethical Funds Company has published its review of major nuclear risks 
in One is Too Many: Considering Nuclear in a Time of Climate Change.

�We were motivated to conduct this review by recent claims that nuclear 
power can serve as a primary strategy for fighting climate change,� said 
Bob Walker, Vice President, Sustainability, at The Ethical Funds Company. 
�In our view, these claims do not take into account the significant 
environmental, social and political challenges and risks associated with 
nuclear power.�

The Ethical Funds Company�s case for excluding nuclear power from its 
investment portfolios is based upon five issues:

1. Financial sustainability. The electricity industry is currently moving 
towards privatization of power generation. In order to attract investment 
on the open market, nuclear power plants will need to compete with other 
kinds of electricity generation. Cost analysis indicates that despite 
decades of government support � and in the absence of future subsidies � 
nuclear power cannot compete with coal, natural gas or some renewable 
sources of electricity.

2. Nuclear power safety. Analysis indicates that with an expanded industry 
we can expect as many as four nuclear �core� damage incidents by 
mid-century. Examples of this type of incident include Three Mile Island in 
1979 and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Chernobyl in 1986. One 
accident, in our view, would be unacceptable.

3. Waste disposal. After 20 years of study, the nuclear power industry has 
not yet resolved the issue of nuclear waste disposal. One of the world�s 
most advanced sites, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, has been delayed on 
technical grounds and because of local opposition.

4. Nuclear weapons proliferation. Nuclear weapons capability is connected 
to nuclear power capability. Governments and nuclear strategists 
acknowledge that an expanded nuclear industry increases the risk of nuclear 
weapons proliferation. This is a risk, society and future generations 
should not be asked to bear.

5. There are better options. A multi-strategy approach to climate change is 
now gaining traction among academics, business leaders and policy-makers. 
This strategy involves using a combination of conservation initiatives, 
existing renewable energy technologies and carbon capture and storage. 
Nuclear power need not be part of our future energy mix.
�There are technically achievable, more sustainable and less risky options 
for fighting climate change,� said Walker. �Massive investment in nuclear 
power could divert resources from these options and leave us with 
environmental and social challenges for our children and grandchildren to 
clean up. All these factors continue to make nuclear power as unacceptable 
to us now, as it was 20 years ago.�

About The Ethical Funds Company
Launched in 1992, The Ethical Funds Company is Canada�s leading manager of 
socially responsible mutual funds. In addition to evaluating all 
investments according to their financial, social and environmental 
performance and outlook, The Ethical Funds Company promotes corporate 
accountability � making good companies better � and gives investors a voice 
in encouraging sustainable business practices.

For more information, please contact:
Bob Walker
Vice President, Sustainability
The Ethical Funds Company
Tel: 604.714.3833
<http://www.ethicalfunds.com/>www.ethicalfunds.com
Jane Mitchell
Public Relations
The Ethical Funds Company
Tel: 604.714.3843
<http://www.ethicalfunds.com/>www.ethicalfunds.com
�Ethical, and The Ethical Funds Company are registered marks owned by 
Ethical Funds Inc.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation. 
Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships. That is a 
necessary evil. I would sink them all. I am not proud of the part I played 
in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country. 
That's why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of 
war. Unfortunately limits� attempts to limit war have always failed. The 
lesson of history is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use 
whatever weapon it has available." Further remarking: "Every time you 
produce radiation, you produce something that has a certain half-life, in 
some cases for billions of years. I think the human race is going to wreck 
itself, and it is important that we get control of this horrible force and 
try to eliminate it." Adm. Rickover - testimony before Congress

Molly Johnson
6290 Hawk Ridge Place
San Miguel, CA 93451


TV dinner still cooling?
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=49979/*http://tv.yahoo.com/>Check out 
"Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV.
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*****************************************************************
 27 Toronto Star: Nuclear power looms 21 years after Chernobyl 

TheStar.com - Business - 

 January 26, 2007 

Belarus, hardest hit by the Chernobyl nuclear accident that 
released 400 times the radiation of the Hiroshima bomb, will 
expedite its nuclear power program as President Alexander 
Lukashenko seeks alternatives to Russian fuel.

 Lukashenko demanded the country's top officials work without 
pause to offset the $3.5 billion (U.S.) Belarus will lose this 
year in energy subsidies from neighbouring Russia. Alternative 
power and energy efficiency will be key to plugging the gap, 
Lukashenko said on a visit to OAO Naftan, the country's biggest 
oil refinery.

 "There's no time for a warm-up," Lukashenko said.


� Copyright Toronto Star online since 1996   Privacy Code  
*****************************************************************
 28 ENS: U.S. Senators Tackle Economic Impacts of Warming Bill
     
Environment News Service (ENS)
 
By J.R. Pegg 

WASHINGTON, DC, January 26, 2007 (ENS) � A global warming bill
drafted to attract broad bipartisan support would have little
impact on the U.S. economy but would do little to curb the
nation's greenhouse gas emissions, experts told the Senate
Energy Committee Wednesday. The hearing illustrated the
difficulty Congress could have in constructing legislation to
address global warming, despite the growing consensus that
action is needed. 

"I am aware that many in the scientific community are warning us
that something needs to be done," said Senator Pete Domenici, a
New Mexico Republican and ranking member of the committee. "We
still have a lot of questions before us, though � and it is
clear to me that the development of a system of mandatory
controls on carbon emissions could be a daunting task." 

The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, emits
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The most prevalent of
these emissions is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps
solar radiation and warms the planet. 

[power plant] Indiana's coal-fired Rockport power plant emits
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. (Photo courtesy AEP)
Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat,
convened the hearing to discuss recent analysis of his global
warming bill by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA. 

Bingaman said that he is committed to developing bipartisan
climate change legislation that can pass the Congress this year. 

His plan would impose an annual economy-wide emissions cap based
on reductions in greenhouse gas intensity - defined as emissions
per dollar of Gross Domestic Product. 

[Bingaman] Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, a Democart,
chairs the Senate Energy Committee. (Photo courtesy Office of
the Senator) The Bingaman bill includes an emissions trading
program to lower compliance costs and aims to reduce greenhouse
gas intensity by 2.6 percent annually between 2012 through 2021
and three percent per year beginning in 2022. 

This measure of emissions reduction differs from that of the
Kyoto Protocol, which requires 35 industrialized countries and
the European Union to an absolute cut in the amount of
greenhouse gases emitted of at least five percent from 1990
levels in the commitment period 2008-2012. 

Based on a plan developed by the bipartisan National Commission
on Energy Policy, NCEP, the Bingaman bill also includes a safety
valve that allows companies to delay making reductions if costs
are too high. 

Analysis of bill by the EIA shows will cost the U.S. economy
less than one percent of annual GDP by 2030 and will lead to
modest increases in energy prices. 

But emissions will continue to rise by nearly 25 percent between
now and 2030 under the plan, according to the EIA's analysis. 

Daniel Lashof, a climate expert with the Natural Resources
Defense Council, said the bill's targets are too timid. 

[Lashof] Daniel Lashof is a senior scientist with the Natural
Resources Defense Council. (Photo courtesy Congressman John
Olver) "Faster and deeper emission reductions are essential to
prevent dangerous global warming," Lashof told the panel. 

NCEP Executive Director Jason Grumet told members of the
committee that the intent of the plan is cut emissions without
harming the economy, but acknowledged that it may be too modest. 

"There are opportunities to strengthen some aspects of the
legislation while meeting the requirement not to harm the
economy," Grumet said. 

But he cautioned that a more stringent approach could prove
politically difficult and could mean "everybody goes back to
their Kyoto corners and yells at each other for another decade." 

Anne Smith, an economist and vice president of the economics
consulting firm CRA International, said the economic impact of
the proposal is still significant, especially given the limited
reductions in heat trapping emissions. 

"If this is all the draft bill would accomplish does it make
sense to even incur this small cost?" Smith asked. "It has the
cart, but not the horse." 

[traffic] Traffic congestion in Boston, Massachusetts. Vehicles
burning gasoline and diesel emit greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. (Photo by Ian Britton courtesy
FreeFoto) Smith criticized the proposal's provision to use the
proceeds from auctioning some of the carbon allowances to set up
a trust fund for research and development of technologies to cut
greenhouse gas emissions. 

The provision fails to establish incentives that "align the
motivations of researchers with finding the most cost-effective
carbon emissions reductions," she told the panel. "It attempts
to pick winners, an approach to research and development funding
that has a long history of waste and failure." 

But the proposal received support from Jeff Sterba, president
and CEO of PMN Resources, a New Mexico-based energy holding firm
and one of 10 major U.S. companies to join with environmental
groups this week in calling for national legislation to limit
carbon emissions. 

The proposal is not perfect, Sterba said, but it is a realistic
framework that sets up mechanisms to accelerate reductions as
technology advances. 

"More than any other proposal the draft recognizes the limits of
today's commercial technology and the economic risks currently
associated with addressing climate change for my industry and
our ratepayers," Sterba told the panel. "It should be the focal
point of the climate debate in the Senate." 

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, questioned
whether the bill's targets are "commensurate with the magnitude
of the threat." 

"We all want a strong economy," Sanders said."But on the other
hand we don't want to see a planetary catastrophe." 

[Sanders] Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders (Photo courtesy )
Sanders has introduced legislation calling for an 80 percent cut
in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 - several other bills have
been authored by lawmakers keen to see quicker reductions than
those in the Bingaman proposal. 

The flurry of global warming legislation is more politics, than
substance, according to Senator Larry Craig, an Idaho
Republican. 

"The sense of urgency is the '08 election for a good many
people," said Craig, who also raised concerns about Bingaman's
proposal. 

"I'm not sure that I'm willing to accept a nose under the tent
approach to cap and trade when it gets us so short a distance,"
he told colleagues. 

"I'm not surprised with [Lashof's] testimony that we need to do
more," Craig added. "We probably do. But I am not going to shut
down this economy to accomplish it and I'm not going to create
an artificial market where there are winners and losers."   

Questions or Comments: 
news@ens-news.com

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2006. All Rights
Reserved. 

The ENS website is maintained by HKCR LLC
*****************************************************************
 29 BBC: Nuclear research centre unveiled
 
Last Updated: Friday, 26 January 2007
 
Plans are being unveiled for a multi-million pound nuclear 
research and development centre in Cumbria. 

The facility will be based at the West Lakes Science and
Technology Park, near Whitehaven and is backed by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA). 

The �20m costs are being shared between the NDA and the Dalton
Institute, part of Manchester University. 

Officials say the facility will boost the area's reputation as a
leader in nuclear decommissioning. 

'Mammoth task' 

NDA chief executive Dr Ian Roxburgh said: "We have been given
the task of the safe clean up of Britain's nuclear legacy by
government. 

"A central element of that task is to understand the impact of
decommissioning on our communities and to work with partners to
develop the initiatives and skills that will enable those
communities to take advantage of the multi-billion pound
decommissioning programme." 

University of Manchester vice chancellor Alan Gilbert added: "We
all recognise that there is a vital and mammoth task ahead in
decommissioning existing nuclear sites and making the
environment safe for generations ahead. 

"Among other things, this involves a major research agenda in
which the University of Manchester and its partners are
delighted to be engaged." 

*****************************************************************
 30 BBC: Demand sparks India's power play
 
Last Updated: Friday, 26 January 2007
 
[Karishma Vaswani] 
                  
By Karishma Vaswani Business correspondent, BBC News, Mumbai   

Russia has agreed to build four nuclear reactors in Southern 
India as the country tries to feed a voracious demand for power 
and energy that is outstripping current supplies. 

It is estimated that in 15 years time India will need three times 
as much energy as its using today. 

[Trupti Yashwant Rao studying by candlelight] 
Studying in low light is common for many Indian children                        
			   		
Evening comes, and darkness descends on Sangam Village. 

The lights are on here for just a few hours a day - that's
despite the fact that this village is only a two hour drive from
Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital - where the
lights are on all of the time. 

For 13-year-old Trupti Yashwant Rao and her brother, studying by
the light of a kerosene lantern is a daily reality. 

Her father, a principal at a local school, has taught her this
way since she can remember. 

The reason for the blackouts is that the state of Maharashtra,
where her village lies, is in the midst of a power shortage
brought about by the rapacious demand for energy as India's
economy expands rapidly. 

We have power cuts here already for at least 8 hours a day              

 Chandrakant Yashwant Rao        

'Real burden' 

Now, there are reports that Maharashtra could see more power
cuts - up to 14 hours a day. Villagers in Sangam are horrified. 

"We have power cuts here already for at least 8 hours a day, and
it is really difficult," Chandrakant Yashwant Rao, Trupti's
father, says as he adjusts the kerosene lamp on his desk. 

"No farming work can get done because there's not enough power
for irrigation of the land. 

"The children here all study by lantern light, making it hard on
them too. It's a real burden for us." 

Stumbling about in the darkness outside of Chandrakant's home - 
you are struck by the deep blackness of the night. 

There is not a light to be seen for miles around; just small, 
tiny dots of fire and lanterns in the distance. 

It is hard to believe that this is barely off the main highway 
that takes you back to Mumbai 

[Chandrakant Yashwant Rao]                              
Regular power cuts make life difficult                                                             

But this is a problem that is not isolated to Sangam Village. 

A few hundred miles away, in the Maharashtran village of Palshi
in the Amravati district, it is reported that farmers have
threatened to commit suicide unless they get uninterrupted
supplies of power. 

They also say it is impossible for them to do any farming
without the power to fuel their irrigation. 

Struggle 

Additional capacity is needed to keep pace with existing 
consumers of electricity - as well as future consumers                

 Martin Daniell Platts          

"As with many developing Asian economies, India has the same
growth problems when it comes to power," says Martin Daniell of
energy analysts Platts. 

"Most areas in the country don't have enough electricity - not
enough constant supplies of electricity. 

"The problem lies in the fact that now these areas are also
seeing economic growth. 

"Additional capacity is needed to keep pace with existing
consumers of electricity - as well as future consumers." 

India's power crunch is proving to be problematic not just for
its population, but also for its economic growth. 

Power plants across the country are struggling to keep up with
the pace of demand. 

At Reliance Energy outside of Mumbai, power production is
already at a peak. 

The coal-powered plant supplies the majority of the electricity
for Mumbai's homes and factories. 

[PK Majumdar, vice president, Reliance Energy]                                         

  We're at peak production point - and it will be very difficult 
to produce more electricity here if the demand keeps growing             

 PK Majumdar Reliance Energy         

"Coal is responsible for the creation of two thirds of India's
electricity," says plant manager PK Majumdar. "The rest comes
from hydroelectricity." 

"India has one of the lowest costs of production of electricity
in the world - because of large and accessible coal reserves,"
he adds. 

Alternative needed 

Unfortunately those coal supplies are running out and demand is
rising quickly. 

Mumbai alone has seen an annual rise in demand for electricity
of between 5% and 10% in the past few years, according to
Reliance Energy. 

"As the demand for electricity grew, we grew our capacity along
with it," says Mr. Majumdar. 

"But now we're at peak production point - and it will be very
difficult to produce more electricity here if the demand keeps
growing. 

"We would need an alternative source of power - more power in
some other form." 

This then is India's challenge: finding an alternative source of
energy - and fast. 

According to recent reports, India's economy will become the
second largest in the world by 2050. 

But in order to keep its economic engine growing, it needs to
fuel its factories, its machines, its homes and schools with
some form of power. 

Locating another source of energy is crucial for India's
economic development. 

Otherwise India's power crunch could turn the lights out on the
country's growth. 		 	 		 	 	 

*****************************************************************
 31 Platts: NRC plans major revision of its enforcement policy
 
London (Platts)--26Jan2007
 
NRC said it is planning a major revision of its enforcement 
policy, chiefly to clarify the use of terms and enforcement 
issues that have changed or did not exist when the agency's 
policy was first published in 1980. 

In a January 25 Federal Register notice, NRC said it also is 
considering removing material from the policy that is no longer 
applicable.

The enforcement policy is not a regulation, but it has been 
updated several times.

NRC said it wants to update terms that were originally crafted 
for conventional enforcement and that are now also used for the 
significance determination process under NRC's reactor oversight 
process. 

NRC said it wants to consider enforcement issues associated with 
the construction phase of new reactors and new requirements in 
relation to safeguards and security. 

Public comments are due by March 26.

Copyright � 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
 [The McGraw-Hill Companies]       
*****************************************************************
 32 Vermont Guardian: No time to waste 

Posted January 26, 2007 

Federal officials will take on the issue of whether the rules
governing spent fuel pools at nuclear power plants should be
changed to take into account terrorist attacks. If changed, the
rules could impact Entergys application to extend the license to
operate Vermont Yankee. 

This argument would never be taken up by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) if it werent for the Massachusetts attorney
general. 

Thats right, not because of Vermont officials, the home state of
the power plant in question, but of a neighboring state that
understands the growing danger that long-term storage of spent
nuclear fuel presents to the general public, including the case
of a terrorist attack. 

Why? 

Why is it that the attorney general of another state takes such
an interest in this, while our attorney general is off chasing
pharmaceutical and cigarette companies, and making sure that we
keep the Abenaki in their place  unrecognized and invisible as
they have been for generations. 

In a 10-page ruling Jan. 23, the five-member panel that oversees
the NRC said it would take up the issue raised by the
Massachusetts attorney general, who had argued that the generic
environmental impact statement (GEIS) filed to support the
relicensure of Vermont Yankee was flawed because it did not take
into account problems with overloaded spent fuel pools, or the
effect of a terrorist attack on the fuel pool. 

They know, as perhaps our attorney general and state officials
dont know, that VYs spent fuel pool is stored high in the
containment vessel, where protection is less. 

The five-member NRC rejected the attorney generals appeal to
have their contention heard by the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board. Instead, the panel ruled that rulemaking changes were the
appropriate venue to air these concerns. 

If the NRC were to change rules, they would apply to the Vermont
Yankee application and its GEIS, as well as its sister plant 
Pilgrim  in Massachusetts. 

[D]epending on the timing and outcome of the NRC staffs
resolution of the Mass AGs rulemaking petition, it is possible
that the NRC staff could seek the commissions permission to
suspend the generic determination and include a new analysis in
the Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee plant-specific environmental
impact statements, the NRC ruling stated. 

The ruling comes in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last
week that upheld a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling
that said the NRC had to evaluate the impact of such a scenario
when it reviewed long-term, dry cask storage plans at a plant in
California. The NRC fought this ruling tooth and nail, and
believes it only applies in the California case, and not across
all applications. 

Vermont could change the NRCs tune by joining Massachusetts in
raising concerns over the spent fuel pool and dry cask storage
in general, as both an environmental threat and terrorist
target. 

Attorney General Bill Sorrell has until March 19 to make the
states comments known on this matter. Its time that Vermont
officials stand up to the NRC, which is always quick to decide
in favor of the nuclear power industry. 

Urge the attorney general to focus on a real threat in our
backyard, the threat of radioactive waste with nowhere to go for
tens of thousands of years.

 That is an environmental legacy we can afford to live without. 

Northern Vermont: PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404 Southern 
Vermont: 139 Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT 05301 
Contact: 802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382 
(toll-free)

 �2005 Vermont Guardian | 

Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com
 This document can be located online:
www.vermontguardian.com/commentary/012007/Jan26Editorials.shtml 
*****************************************************************
 33 MarketWatch: Exelon CEO says market competition, carbon rules key in 2007 -
             
By Matthew Dalton

Last Update: 2:18 PM ET Jan 24, 2007
				 	 
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Advocating for electricity market 
competition and new rules to limit carbon dioxide emissions will 
be top priorities for Exelon Corp. (EXC) in 2007, the company's 
chief executive said Wednesday.

The two issues are linked and will be key to expanding the 
company's profitability in the coming years, CEO John Rowe said 
during a conference call with investors and analysts.

"Competition is crucial to addressing climate change," Rowe said. 
"Exelon is uniquely positioned with our large nuclear fleet to 
continue our earnings performance in a carbon constrained world."

European
countries' experience with regulatory schemes to cap carbon
dioxide emissions shows that in countries with competitive
electricity markets, the price of carbon dioxide is almost
completely passed through into the price of electricity. This
means nuclear power plants can sell their product at this higher
price but pay none of the corresponding cost of carbon
regulations, because nuclear plants emit almost no carbon
dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

Chicago-based Exelon owns the largest fleet of nuclear plants in 
the U.S., with all the plants located in states that have adopted 
competitive electricity markets. That may mean fatter margins for 
Exelon's plants if some of those states or the federal government 
create penalties for emitting carbon dioxide.

Despite the appeal of owning nuclear plants, Rowe said the
prospect of building new ones doesn't make sense without a plan
from the federal or state government to store the radioactive
waste. Now that Democrats control both houses of Congress, and
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada is majority leader in the Senate,
congressional approval for a nuclear waste storage site at Yucca
Mountain in Nevada could be difficult, Rowe said.

"The election has made it virtually impossible for there to be a 
project (at) Yucca Mountain in the near future," Rowe said.

Exelon has proposed building a nuclear plant in Texas. Asked if 
he was worried about losing out to other companies that are 
proceeding with new nuclear plants in the state while Exelon 
waits to resolve the waste issue, Rowe said: "I would stand by 
with great cheer if there are those who are braver than I."                                         

While public sentiment is shifting strongly in favor of
regulating carbon dioxide emissions, it's arguably moving the
other way on the issue of electricity market competition.
                                         
"Increasingly, we hear a chorus of naysayers," Rowe
acknowledged, but he pledged to defend the competitive model
against action by states and potentially by courts to overturn
laws and regulations that make the competitive markets possible.

"We will redouble our advocacy for the competitive model, both at 
the federal level and at the states," he said.

The issue of whether there ought to be a competitive
market for electricity became controversial in 2006. Soaring
electricity prices in states that recently completed their
transition to deregulated electricity service caused a public
outcry and legislative action to block these increases.
                         
The concern over competition came to a head in September when 
Exelon abandoned its plan to buy Newark, N.J.-based Public 
Service Enterprise Group (PEG) after an impasse with New Jersey 
regulators. State officials worried that the combined company 
would own so many power plants in and around New Jersey that it 
could raise prices without fear of competition. This concern has 
been reflected in deregulated states across the country by 
critics who say that a true competitive market for electricity 
hasn't developed.
                 
Now that Democrats control Congress, they may be more inclined to 
take action to address these concerns. Consumer advocacy groups 
that are critical of deregulation say they are discussing the 
issue with congressional committees. In addition, the U.S. Court 
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is set to hear a 
legal challenge by several states and the group Public Citizen 
about whether the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has 
been adequately overseeing the nation's power markets. -Contact: 
201-938-5400 [End of Story]                   

>Copyright � 2007 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 34 Duke: Chronicle: Study looks at Chernobyl effects 
 	 			 			 	 					 						 							
By: Rebecca Wu

 Issue date: 1/26/07 Section: News                              

The city of Pripyat, located three kilometers from Chernobyl, 
Ukraine, may seem frozen in time, but thousands of workers are 
once again descending upon the infamous nuclear power plant that 
exploded in 1986. 

Duke researchers-in collaboration with RTI International, the
University of North Carolina at Asheville and the Ukraine
Research Center for Radiation Medicine-will study the health
effects of radiation exposure by monitoring workers who are
building a new radiation-containment system in Chernobyl, called
the New Safe Confinement Shelter.

"This is a tremendous and unique opportunity to systematically
study and hopefully understand the impact of radiation
exposure," said John Chute, associate professor of medicine. "To
do it in a prospective way is a great opportunity for the entire
scientific community."

The project, known as the International Consortium for Applied
Radiation Research, is scheduled to begin collecting initial
data March 1, 2007, said Geoffrey Ginsburg, director of the
Center for Genomic Medicine at the Duke Institute for Genome
Sciences and Policy.

Ginsburg said the Chernobyl explosion, like the bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was an occasion on which people were
ill-prepared to handle and study the manifestations of radiation.

"Data from those kinds of studies have been rather fragmented,
and we've been left with many questions about ionizing
radiation's effect on people's health," he said.

Ginsburg said he hopes the research project will help develop
diagnostics and treatments that could protect the public,
particularly in the case of a bioterrorist attack.

"Many people might be exposed to ionizing radiation, and the
public will need a way to rapidly assess if people have been
exposed," he said. "If they have been, we would have a robust
way to triage them and determine whether they need intense
medical attention to follow therapy or not."

Robert Cook-Deegan, director of the IGSP's Center for Genome
Ethics, Law and Policy, who focuses primarily on legal and
ethical concerns, is another researcher on the project. He said
there is more under consideration in the study than scientific
research. Cook-Deegan also said Chernobyl's original containment
structure is leaking, and it poses a health hazard to workers at
the Chernobyl site. 			 			 		 		 			 			 				 					 				

"It's a question of making sure we minimize the risks and harm 
that come out of this process," he said. "It's a matter of 
informed consent and accurately calculating risks-it's about 
transparency."

Cook-Deegan said there are a number of relevant concerns that 
require careful regulation, including the use of economic 
incentives to convince workers to engage in hazardous behavior.

"People are only supposed to work for a certain amount of time, 
but there are examples of people who've done things like cheated 
on their time cards and swiped in twice to make extra money, 
which is hazardous to their health," said junior Sarah Wallace, 
who is working with Ginsburg on the Chernobyl project. "We have 
to make sure that doesn't happen," she added.

Ginsburg said he set two major goals for the research project: to 
provide medical services to radiation victims in the Ukraine and 
to assess the environment's effect on workers' genome content.

"Our goal is to use... circulating white blood cells as a 
biological measure of radiation exposure. We want to follow 
individuals for several years and correlate biological 
information with what happens to them," he said. "Do they develop 
neurological or heart diseases? We want to see what 
manifestations can be attributed to radiation exposure and 
associate biological measures with these outcomes."

The research aspect will revolve around collecting peripheral 
blood samples from workers at the Chernobyl site, Chute said. 
Researchers will then analyze gene expression in order to 
determine whether and at what levels a person has been exposed to 
radiation. In addition, Ginsburg said researchers were hoping to 
find alternatives to "thermolucent dosimeters," the current 
standard for measuring radiation exposure.

"Ultimately, we would like to develop a tool to clinically assess 
one's exposure to radiation in the absence of thermolucent 
dosimeters," he said.

One of the major drawbacks to TLD is that they neglect to reveal 
anything about the biological responses, Ginsburg said.

"All of us have different genetic backgrounds, and if exposed to 
radiation, we could have very heterogeneous responses, 
biologically," he said.

� 2007 The Chronicle | Powered by College Publisher

*****************************************************************
 35 Daily Record: 40-YEAR NUCLEAR CHARGES 
              
26 January 2007         

THE operators of the Dounreay nuclear plant have been charged 
over alleged radioactive offences stretching back more than 40 
years. 

An investigation by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency 
has resulted in four charges under the Radioactive Substances Act 
1960. 

They relate to the alleged disposal of radioactive waste at a 
landfill dump on the site between 1963 and 1975. 

The UKAE are also accused of releasing nuclear fuel particles 
from the site into the surrounding area between 1963 and 1984. 

The case will be called at Wick Sheriff Court next month. 

The reactor was closed down in 1993 with the site concentrating 
on reprocessing nuclear materials. 



*****************************************************************
 36 UPI: Analysis: Renewables and climate change
     
 United Press International - Energy - 

1/26/2007 8:43:00 AM -0500

 By STEFAN NICOLA UPI Energy Correspondent

BERLIN, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A new Greenpeace study on climate
change calls for an immediate global push of renewable energy
sources to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change. 

The report "energy (r)evolution," compiled by Greenpeace, top
scientists from around the world, and the European Renewable
Energy Council, an industry group, was launched Thursday in 22
countries. It urges the world's governments to act fast if the
average temperature increase compared to the Earth's 1990 value
is to be kept below 3.6 degrees, the cap above which
"catastrophic" effects of global warming would devastate the
globe. 

Together with energy-efficiency measures, renewable energy
sources are able to account for half of the world's total energy
needs, the report says. That would also result in a bisection of
the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, which are widely
believed to cause global warming, and prevent its catastrophic
effects. 

"Renewable energy sources will become much cheaper, and fossil
fuel sources more expensive," Germany's EREC head Oliver
Schaefer said Thursday at the report's launch in Berlin. "That's
a fact." 

The study was launched a week before a report from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due, and will
likely hand a hefty wake-up call to the world, the head of the
panel, Rajendra Pachauri, said recently. The current global
warming stands at roughly 1.4 degrees, but observers say the
IPCC report will publish more dramatic numbers. 

"Climate change is coming faster than expected," Joerg Feddern,
a Greenpeace energy expert, said Thursday. "Time is running out
-- we have to act now." 

Pachauri wrote the foreword to the Greenpeace report, which he
praised as providing "stimulating analysis on future scenarios
of energy use." 

The report presents an alternative outlook than the
business-as-usual scenario from the Paris-based International
Energy Agency, which expects a doubling of global energy demand
by 2050. Eighty percent of that demand would be met by fossil
fuels, meaning that the amount of CO2 would also double -- the
3.6 degree-limit could not be reached. 

The report instead offered a "road map" out of the problem,
Greenpeace said. First, energy efficiency measures needed to be
pushed: Cars made from lighter materials could reduce energy
consumption by 24 percent. In Germany, average car fleet fuel
consumption is at roughly 2 gallons per 60 miles -- "it's no
problem to halve that by 2020," Feddern said. 

Better insulation standards for houses could save 13 percent,
while the industry could cut consumption by 11 percent by using
more efficient machinery. Another 5 percent could be saved by
changing old lights to more efficient bulbs. 

That way, the energy (r)evolution scenario would reduce primary
energy demand from the current 435,000 Peta Joules per year to
422,000 Peta Joules in 2050, while under the IEA's reference
scenario, the amount of energy consumed would nearly double. 

The report found that 50 percent of that reduced primary energy
demand in 2050 can be met with renewable energy sources, mainly
by pushing biomass, but also solar, wind and hydro energy.
Natural gas would become the dominant fossil fuel source, as it
produces significantly less CO2 emissions than coal, an energy
source to be phased out. 

Because of problems with end storage and due to Greenpeace's
traditional opposition against the energy source, nuclear
energy, while producing no greenhouse gas emissions, is also to
be phased out. 

Oil is to be used only in the transportation sector, as the
study does not expect biofuels to be fully perfected by then. 

Experts agreed that to make the scenario come true, concrete
political measures had to be taken. 

First of all, Schaefer said, the world's governments had to
formulate "binding worldwide targets for the share of renewable
energy sources," in a country's energy mix. As of now, however,
it doesn't look that good for such plans, as only very few
governments are willing to go down that road. 

Nuclear and fossil fuel energy subsidies, which the United
Nations estimates at over $320 billion, are to be abolished or
at least significantly reduced, Schaefer said, while the world's
greenhouse gas emitters are should be held accountable for their
dirty outpourings: Companies that blow CO2 into the atmosphere
would have to pay a tax based on the level of emissions, that
way guaranteeing governments additional means of income while
protecting the environment. 

All in all, the scenario is economically viable, the report
says. The study expects a ton of CO2 in 2050 to cost $50, as
opposed to the current $4,50. Oil, now at roughly $55, in 2050
will cost $100, the study forecasts. 

Based on these numbers, the energy (r)evolution model is even
cheaper than the business-as-usual scenario by the IEA. While
the Paris-based organization expects energy costs to quadruple
in 2050, the Greenpeace scenario would only triple costs. 

Saving the world while saving money -- it almost seems too good
to be true. Yet Schaefer backs that vision. 

"This report is not based on fantasies," Schaefer said. "There
are no technical or economical barriers that would stop this
change. It's only a question of political will." 

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 37 UPI: UPI Poll: Leery of companies on nuke power
     
   United Press International - NewsTrack - 

        1/26/2007 12:01:00 PM -0500

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. respondents to a UPI-Zogby
International poll said they are most leery of energy companies
when it comes to assuring nuclear safety. 

The 6,909 participants in the Jan. 16-18 interactive poll, which
had a margin of error of 1.2 percentage points, were asked whom
they trusted regarding the safety of nuclear energy: the energy
industry, the U.S. government or state and local governments.
Respondents gave their answers on a scale of 1-5, with 1 meaning
"do not trust" and 5 representing "trust completely." 

The industry -- with 7.4 percent -- actually was the highest in
the "trust completely category" but also was first in "do not
trust (30.7 percent). It scored a combined 46.5 percent on the
two lowest answers. The federal government was second in that
combined percentage (39.7 percent), with local governments third
(32.8 percent) 

Totally the three highest answers put local governments clearly
ahead with 65.3 percent, followed by the U.S. government (58.7
percent) and the energy industry (51.9 percent).

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 38 UPI Poll: Safety of nuclear power

  United Press International - NewsTrack - 

        1/26/2007 11:00:00 AM -0500

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A solid majority of U.S.
respondents to a UPI-Zogby International poll said they believe
nuclear power is safe. 

Some 27.5 percent of participants in the poll strongly agreed
with the statement that "nuclear power is safe." Another 35.2
percent said they somewhat agree with the statement. A total of
30.3 percent gave responses of either "somewhat disagree (18.5
percent) or "strongly disagree" (11.8 percent). 

Data collected by Zogby through an interactive poll Jan. 16-18
of some 6,909 U.S. residents indicated conservatives were more
likely to trust the safety of nuclear power than liberals, with
55.6 percent of self-described very conservative respondents
strongly agreeing and 30.2 percent of progressives strongly
disagreeing. 

Women were much more likely to be distrustful of the safety of
nuclear power. 13.5 percent of females asked strongly agreed the
energy source was safe compared to 42.6 percent of male
participants. 

The data carry a margin of error or 1.2 percent percentage
points.

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 39 UPI: Analysis: Americans favor nuclear energy

 United Press International - Energy - 

1/26/2007 6:19:00 PM -0500

 By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A new UPI/Zogby International
interactive poll found most Americans support more nuclear
plants to power the country, but President Bush only mentioned
nuclear power once in a State of the Union address that was
heavy on energy. 

Proponents of increasing nuclear capacity in the United States
wanted more but were optimistic for the future. 

A prominent nuclear opponent, however, says nuclear power is
both dangerous and expensive and will detract from renewable
energy. 

Of the 6,909 U.S. adults surveyed Jan. 16-18, 61.8 percent
either "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that new nuclear
plants should be built. Another 29.1 percent either "somewhat
disagree or strongly disagree" and 9.1 percent were "not sure."
The poll, released Tuesday, had a 1.2 percent margin of error. 

Of those who agreed new plants should be built, 63.1 percent
said they would "support" a plant build in their community, 14.4
would "oppose" a plant in their community and 22.5 percent were
not sure. 

There are 103 nuclear reactors at 65 nuclear plants feeding
about 20 percent of U.S. electricity demand. There has not been
a new reactor licensed since 1979 and with U.S. energy demand
increasing, nuclear's share will decrease if new plants aren't
built. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects about
seven new reactor applications in 2007, eight in 2008 and a
total of more than 30 in the coming half decade, though stagnant
funding could push the review process back an entire year. 

"As the U.S. gets back into the building of commercial nuclear
power plants, which we think is an inevitability, we want to see
that result in more than just new reactors being built," said
John Kotek, executive director of the American Council on Global
Nuclear Competitiveness. "We want to see that result in the
creation of American jobs, American factories." 

This has a stronger chance of happening than in recent years,
especially with new federal government programs and incentives.
And nuclear power is being looked at while the somewhat
turbulent oil and natural gas prices reached record highs
recently and the threat of climate change has become more widely
accepted. 

"We thought it was great the president reaffirmed his commitment
to nuclear energy as part of meeting the future's energy needs,"
Kotek said about Bush's address, though the U.S. Senate's most
ardent nuclear fan thought it was too weak. 

"I think that the important thing is what sort of proposals is
the admin putting forward to advance the use of nuclear energy?"
Kotek said. 

As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the nuclear industry
was given federally backed insurance against regulatory process
delays and indemnification from nuclear incident liability, tax
credits, and federal loans for the first applications to
traverse the NRC's new combined construction and license
permitting process. 

Nuclear Power 2010 and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership are
also two Bush programs designed to spur the U.S. industry. 

"There's a pretty strong suite of programs this administration
is carrying forward," Kotek said, "so we've been pretty pleased
about that." 

But 50 percent of those polled gave Bush's energy policy a
"poor" rating and 63.1 percent either "somewhat disagree" or
"strongly disagree" it "will meet our needs in the coming
decades." 

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said in a statement after Bush's
address he was "disappointed" by the lack of attention given to
nuclear energy. 

"I've been telling people for the last couple of years that if
they were to take a poll it would show the people are moving
rapidly in favor of nuclear power," Domenici said in a follow-up
interview with United Press International. He said a growth in
nuclear has been stymied by bureaucracy and "enemies and those
who are against nuclear power." 

Michelle Boyd is one of them. The legislative director for
Public Citizen's energy program said nuclear power neither
addresses climate change nor dependency on fossil fuels. 

"It's pretty hard to call an energy source clean when it makes
radioactive waste that's dangerous for hundreds of thousands of
years," Boyd said. (While the federal government has been
fumbling for decades trying to open a deep geologic repository
to store the radioactive byproduct of nuclear power, 40 percent
of those polled said it should be sent to an underground
location and, of those people, 42.7 percent said they'd "accept"
it in their state.) 

Boyd cites a 2000 report by the Renewable Energy Policy Project
that said nuclear energy received $145.4 billion of the $151
billion in federal subsidies doled out to
"electricity-generating technologies (excluding hydropower)"
between 1943 and 1999. 

Wind, solar and other renewable energy sources can't compete,
Boyd said. 

"Nuclear power has received an inordinate amount of subsidies
that the federal government has put into energy sources," she
said. "Nuclear power got off the ground because we were building
nuclear bombs...It wasn't like the industry built it from
scratch." 

"It's not a question of can we do it," Boyd said of increasing
the amount of energy demand met by renewable sources, "but a
question of can we level the playing field." 

The poll found 62.7 percent "somewhat agree" or "strongly agree"
nuclear power is safe, though most trust state and local
governments (which have little safety oversight) more than the
federal government to ensure nuclear plants are safe. The energy
industry received the lowest marks. 

-- 

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 40 News & Star: £20m NUKE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
 						
Published on 26/01/2007

Its a deal: The facility will be built at Westlakes Science and 
Technology Park

By Anika Bourley
 
A £20 MILLION new nuclear research facility is coming to west 
Cumbria, it was announced today.
 
The multi-million pound centre will be built on the Westlakes 
Science and Technology Park, near Whitehaven, after a deal was 
struck between The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear 
Institute and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. 

They have signed an initial agreement which will see both 
organisations invest £10m over a seven-year period.
 
The money will be used to provide specialist research equipment 
and facilities and to drive forward research into radiation 
sciences and engineering decommissioning.
 
The new facility will include accelerators and experimental 
equipment to study the irradiation damage and effects on 
materials and chemical systems used in nuclear environments, as 
well as cutting-edge computational modelling and simulation 
tools. 

The centre will also have close links with the existing British 
Technology Centre (BTC) at Sellafield.
 
It is expected the new centre will see 60 staff including about 
40 PhD students researching specialist areas for three or four 
years.
 
And it is hoped the continued turnover of students will see 
future investment in the area, with the researchers wanting to 
stay working close to the nuclear industry.
 
Professor Simon Pimblott has been recruited from America to head 
up the research into radiation science.
 
He said: “The scale of the investment is a major indication of 
both parties’ commitment to establish one of the world’s 
leading research groups in the field.”
 
NDA’s head of technology and skills Dr Ian Hudson said the 
announcement was an important part of the NDA’s skills 
initiative and will deliver a world class operation of high 
quality research.
 
He said: “It will also make an important contribution to the 
economy of west Cumbria. Alongside other related developments 
such as the National Nuclear Laboratory and the National Nuclear 
Skills Academy these new facilities will play an integral part in 
our aspiration to see the UK and west Cumbria as an 
internationally recognised centre of excellence for the nuclear 
industry.”
 
Copeland MP Jamie Reed believes the facility will develop into 
one of international importance.
 
He added: “In addition to unlocking our local potential, it 
will also attract some of the best scientists from around the 
world, boost our economy and have a fundamental and 
transformational effect on higher education in west Cumbria. Our 
ambitions are now being met with investment and the foundations 
of our future prosperity are being laid.”
 
Today’s announcement signals another new era for the nuclear 
industry in the county, and will further enhance west Cumbria’s 
reputation as an international centre of nuclear excellence. 

In October Education Secretary Alan Johnson gave the green light 
for a £17m National Nuclear Skills Academy to be built at 
Lillyhall near Workington.
 
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling also announced the 
creation of a National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield.
 
*****************************************************************
 41 Whitehaven News: Plans for nuclear centre unveiled
 						
Published on 26/01/2007

PLANS are being unveiled for a multi-million pound nuclear 
research and development centre in Cumbria. 

The facility will be based at the West Lakes Science and 
Technology Park, near Whitehaven and is backed by the Nuclear 
Decommissioning Authority. 

The £20m costs are being shared between the NDA and the Dalton 
Institute, part of Manchester University. 

Officials say the facility will boost the area's reputation as a 
leader in nuclear decommissioning. 

NDA chief executive Dr Ian Roxburgh said: "We have been given the 
task of the safe clean up of Britain's nuclear legacy by 
government. 

"A central element of that task is to understand the impact of 
decommissioning on our communities and to work with partners to 
develop the initiatives and skills that will enable those 
communities to take advantage of the multi-billion pound 
decommissioning programme." 

University of Manchester vice chancellor Alan Gilbert added: "We 
all recognise that there is a vital and mammoth task ahead in 
decommissioning existing nuclear sites and making the environment 
safe for generations ahead. 

"Among other things, this involves a major research agenda in 
which the University of Manchester and its partners are delighted 
to be engaged."                                                                                                                                                       

View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital 
reproduction, just like the printed copy at 
www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/digitalcopy Other stories from this 

*****************************************************************
 42 Bulgaria: Bulgaria's N-Plant Insists on Electricity Hikes

www.novinite.com"
 				 			   		 	
Business: 26 January 2007, Friday.

Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant, which saw another two of
its units closed last year, demands that electricity prices
increase. 

"Electricity prices may rise by 24% in the summer unless a 18%
hike is not introduced now," Kozloduy Executive Director Ivan
Genov told the national radio. 

If the prices remain the same, the plant's incurred losses will
amount to BGN 50 M by the middle of the year. 

The other alternative is to reduce the profit of the electricity
distribution companies, Genov added.


 All Rights Reserved � Novinite Ltd., 2001-2007 - Copyright
&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 
*****************************************************************
 43 Guardian Unlimited: Russia Official Decries Man's Detention 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 9:46 PM
 	
By MIKE ECKEL Associated Press Writer 

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's foreign minister on Friday denounced the
detention of a Russian man who allegedly tried to sell highly
enriched uranium to Georgian agents, calling it a
``provocation.'' 

A government scientist, meanwhile, confirmed that a sample of
the uranium sent to Russia was weapons-grade but said it was too
small to determine its origin, news agencies reported Friday. 
Igor Shkabura, deputy director of the Bochvar Inorganic
Materials Institute, said the uranium sent by Georgia ``could be
used for military productions, including nuclear weapons,''
according to ITAR-Tass. 

It was the first public comment by a named Russian official to
claims by Georgia that it arrested and jailed a Russian man last
year for trying to sell weapons-grade uranium to an agent posing
as a rich foreign buyer. 

The reports that emerged Wednesday, confirmed by U.S. officials,
renewed concern about security at Russia's array of nuclear
facilities. They aggravated already-high tensions between Russia
and Georgia. Both countries have been at odds for years over the
status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two renegade regions of
Georgia seeking either independence or absorption into Russia. 

Georgian officials say their agent made contact with the man
selling contraband uranium in South Ossetia, which is widely
seen as a regional epicenter for smuggling. 

Georgia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement late Thursday
saying the uranium sting highlighted the need for international
observer missions in both regions, a proposal that Tbilisi has
been pushing in recent months. Russia has peacekeepers in both
regions, which have been under the control of unrecognized
separatist governments since fighting ended in the mid-1990s. 
The ministry statement said ``Georgia is far from politicizing
these questions.'' 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, criticized
the man's detention. 

``On the basis of the facts that I have at my disposal, I can
say that this was a provocation,'' Lavrov was quoted by Interfax
and RIA-Novosti as saying. ``We would prefer that this very
problem had been resolved by experts. 

``Enriched uranium ending up in the hands of a private
individual who was beginning to sell it is a serious incident,''
he was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying. 

In December, a Georgian legislator suggested that a physics
institute in Abkhazia could have been the source of the
radioactive isotope polonium-210 that was used to fatally poison
exiled Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in
November. 

The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, one of Russia's most widely
circulated, suggested Friday that ``Georgia and the United
States are playing together against Russia and its allies.'' 

The newspaper offered the theory that Georgia and the United
States decided to publicize the arrest now, even though it took
place last year, because of the likelihood in the near future of
a final proposal on the status of the Serbian province of
Kosovo. 

Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have said
that if the international community approves independence for
Kosovo, it would be a precedent supporting Abkhazia and South
Ossetia formally splitting off from Georgia. 

Russia, meanwhile, criticized security in Georgia's remote
Pankisi Gorge region, claiming that small groups of rebels from
neighboring Chechnya were sheltering there in preparation for
new fighting in that Russian republic. 

``Even though during the past three years we have not noted a
breakthrough of Chechen rebels from Pankisi across the national
border into Russian territory, we do not consider that such a
possibility can be excluded,'' said Lt. Gen. Anatoly Zabrodin,
deputy head of the Russian border guard service, according to
ITAR-Tass. 	 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 44 IAEA: Georgian Authorities Report Seized Illicit Nuclear Material
 
+ [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] 
 
Authorities Recover Grams of Weapons-Grade Enriched Uranium
 
Staff Report
 25 January 2007 [A vehicle-mounted radiation detector] 
A vehicle-mounted radiation detector used in a survey in the
Republic of Georgia (Georgia, June 2002). (Photo: P.
Pavlicek/IAEA ) 

Authorities in the Republic of Georgia have reported the seizure
of illicit nuclear material, according to the Associated Press.
The IAEA has been notified of the case, which remains under
investigation by officials in Georgia and the United States,
which aided the seizure. 

Authorities said the seized material was about 100 grams (3.5
ounces) of uranium enriched by more than 90 percent, a level of
enrichment considered to be weapons-grade. It was recovered
during a "sting operation" in Georgia during the summer of 2006
that involved energy and law enforcement authorities from
Georgia and the United States, AP reported.
 
Over the past several years, the IAEA has been assisting Georgia
in the effective monitoring, control, and recovery of nuclear
and radioactive materials. The IAEA also maintains a database of
reported illicit trafficking incidents. It shows there have been
16 previous confirmed cases in which either highly enriched
uranium or plutonium have been recovered by authorities in
Georgia and other countries since 1993.
 
See Story Resources for more information.
 Copyright �, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100,
Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria 
Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: 
*****************************************************************
 45 ITAR-TASS: Georgia seeks coop with Russia in fight against uranium smuggling

CIS and the BALTICS
           
26.01.2007, 15.08

 TBILISI, January 26 (Itar-Tass) - Georgian Prime Minister Zurab
Nogaideli said on Friday Georgia plans to cooperate with Russia
and other countries in fight against uranium smuggling. 

He pointed out that Tbilisi �does not want to politicise� the
detention of a Russian citizen, who smuggled 100 grams of
uranium to Georgia. 

�If we would like to politicise this theme, we made it last
year, when the Georgian Interior Ministry seized uranium and
detained those responsible for illegal actions,� Nogaideli said. 

�The fight against uranium smuggling is a very serious and
important theme that requires cooperation between countries,
mainly between Russia and Georgia, and some other countries,� he
said. 

On Thursday, a Georgian Foreign Ministry official confirmed mass
media reports that last February Georgian police detained a
person (the Georgian authorities say a resident of Vladikavkaz,
southwest Russia, was arrested � Itar-Tass) who �smuggled 100
grams uranium to Georgia and tried to sell this material.� 

�Together with a citizen of Russia police arrested three
citizens of Georgia, who were criminally connected with the
detainee,� the official said. 

A closed court in Tbilisi sentenced the Russian citizen to eight
years in prison, his two accomplices � to five years and one �
to four years. 

�The samples of seized uranium were sent for laboratory tests to
the U.S. and Russia. The two countries gave one answer � it is
enriched uranium,� the official said. 

� ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
 46 Guardian Unlimited: Russia Silent on Georgian Uranium Sting 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 6:46 AM
 	
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. 

Rosatom declined to comment, and the Federal Security Service
and the Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for
comment. 

Rosatom and Federal Security Service officials 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
*****************************************************************
 47 Guardian Unlimited: Russian: Georgia Uranium Was Weapons-Grade

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday January 26, 2007 11:01 AM
 	
AP Photo MOSB109 
By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press Writer 

MOSCOW (AP) - A top official at a Russian state scientific
institute confirmed Friday that Georgia had sent Russia a sample
of uranium allegedly seized in a sting operation and that it was
weapons-grade, Russian news agencies reported. 

However, Igor Shkabura, deputy director of the Bochvar Inorganic
Materials Institute, said the size of the sample provided by
Georgia was too small to determine its origin, the RIA-Novosti
and ITAR-Tass news agencies said. 

Shkabura's statement was the first public comment by a named
Russian official to claims by Georgia that it arrested and
jailed a Russian man last year for trying to sell weapons-grade
uranium to an agent posing as a rich foreign buyer. 

The reports that emerged Wednesday, confirmed by U.S. officials,
raised renewed concern about security at Russia's array of
nuclear facilities. Shkabura said the uranium sent by Georgia
``could be used for military productions, including nuclear
weapons,'' according to ITAR-Tass. 

The reports aggravated already-high tensions between Russia and
Georgia. The two countries have been at odds for years over the
status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two renegade regions of
Georgia that seek either independence or absorption into Russia. 

Georgian officials say their agent made contact with the man
selling contraband uranium in South Ossetia, which is widely
seen as a regional epicenter for smuggling. 

The Georgian Foreign Ministry late Thursday issued a statement
saying the uranium sting highlighted the need for international
observer missions in the two regions, a proposal that Tbilisi
has been pushing in recent months. 

Russia has peacekeeper contingents in both regions, which have
been under the control of unrecognized separatist governments
since fighting ended in the mid-1990s. 

The ministry statement said ``Georgia is far from politicizing
these questions.'' 

But Abkhazia's separatist foreign minister Sergei Shamba
denounced the Georgian statement as ``an attempt to compromise
our republic and present it as a region that threatens peace and
stability,'' the Interfax news agency reported. 

    Guardian Unlimited � Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 48 KCPW: Politicians Speak Out Against Divine Strake - 
 
Jan 25, 2007 by Eric Ray

 (KCPW News) Last night's "Divine Strake" hearing at the State
Capitol was intended to allow public comment about the proposed
blasts at the Nevada Testing Site. However several high-powered
Utah politicians wanted their voice heard as well.
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Junior says people who live in
Southern Utah are already at risk because of weakened immune
systems from previous testing. He says the impacts have not been
acknowledged or resolved by the federal government and "Divine
Strake" could pose a significant impact to the health and well
being of residents.

Meanwhile Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson quoted an old
military magazine that called this part of the west - quote - "a
damn good place to dump used razor blades." Anderson said he
won't stand for that denigration again.

Governor Huntsman organized the hearing along with the Utah
Department of Environmental Quality. Huntsman plans to send a
letter, accompanied by tapes and transcripts from last night's
speakers, to the federal government.


Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2007 KCPW
*****************************************************************
 49 Tracy Press: Something is missing
 
Friday, 26 January 2007                                                                         

 Letter from Daniel Wells

EDITOR, 

Gary Mansfield, in his Jan. 16 commentary titled, Site 300
radiation rise miniscule, discusses overall radiation dosage
facts and limits, but he fails to disseminate some rather
important information regarding the different types of radiation
and their different hazards. 

Mansfield compares the radiation from a typical chest X-ray to
that given off by explosions of depleted uranium. A chest X-ray
involves electromagnetic radiation  photons, or particles of
light. As one progresses through the electromagnetic spectrum
from TV and radio waves to thermal radiation and through the
visible light spectrum to ultra-violet, X-rays and gamma rays,
the frequency and the energy of the radiation increases, and
along with it, the damage it can do.
 
Then we have nuclear radiation that involves massive particles,
not massless photons, and as common sense would suggest, the
bigger and more massive the particle, the more damage that can
be done to the target of that particle. Within the realm of
nuclear radiation there are basically two types (until you get
to very high energies): beta radiation (electrons), and alpha
radiation (protons and neutrons). The latter, while moving more
slowly, are nearly 2,000 times as massive, so you can imagine
the difference in the amount of damage that can be inflicted by
a bombardment of such particles.
 
For a self-proclaimed radiation safety scientist to ignore such
a major parameter in his discussion of radiation is more than a
little striking.
 
Daniel Wells, Tracy
 
*****************************************************************
 50 ABC4.com: "Downwinder" opposition grows against Divine Strake - 

Last Update: 1/26/2007 4:52:57 PM 		 		 	 	 		 		 	 	 		 			

[Video]  Watch This Video   

Story by: Larry Warren news@abc4.com 

Plans to explode a huge bomb in the Nevada desert's old nuclear
testing range is stirring anger and opposition in Utah because
of what a previous generation experienced after Nevada atomic
testing of the the 1950's and 60's. The Pentagon wants to
develop new bombs which can destroy underground terrorist
bunkers and hideouts, and plans to set 700 tons of explosives
off in one massive blast. 

"Its history repeating itself," a Bountiful grandmother, Darlene
Phillips told ABC4 News. Phillips was among dozens who testified
at a Wednesday night hearing called by Governor Jon Huntsman to
let Utahns be heard on the subject. The military planners have
held only information open houses--not formal public hearings.
Phillips and many other Utahns call themselves
"Downwinders"--citizens who were exposed to nuclear fallout from
the open air atomic tests in Nevada decades ago. She blames a
lifetime of immune system disorders on the tests. One specialist
who examined her told her the only other people with her
specific disorders lived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan--the
only cities ever bombed with atomic weapons. 

"I know that the new generation needs to know this stuff, but it
makes me sad that they need to know this stuff," Phillips said.
"We have a generation of people who haven't been exposed to
bombs and haven't been exposed to the fallout and haven't
watched nuclear tests." 

Another Utah grandmother, who suffers similar immune system
problems, echoes Phillips. "I think we do need a reminder and I
think that's what happened at this hearing," Trent Alvey told
ABC4 News. "People have died and they've just gone on with their
lives and families, I think for a lot of them, the pain is so
great that they don't really want to talk about it and they'll
subdue it." 

But Utahns are turning out to protest Divine Strake, something
they did not do all through the atomic testing era. Although
this test will use non-nuclear explosives, those living downwind
fear the blast will raise radioactive soils which have have sat
undisturbed on the desert floor since treaties banned nuclear
testing in the 1960's. 

"There's no such thing as friendly fallout," Phillips says. "It
doesn't matter who sets it off, if you get it you inhale it. If
you ingest it, it goes to your bones and you get something."   

*****************************************************************
 51 reviewjournal.com: Official: Yucca Mountain rail to have little effect nationally
 
  Jan. 26, 2007
	 
By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL
	
Regardless of which Nevada rail route is chosen to haul nuclear 
waste to the planned Yucca Mountain repository, the effect 
nationally will be small, a federal transportation planner this 
week told a panel overseeing the disposal project.
 
"It really doesn't make much difference nationally on the number 
of shipments a state will see," Gary Lanthrum, director of the 
project's Office of Logistics Management, told the Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board at its meeting Wednesday in Las Vegas.
 
He was referring to the options for building a rail line to the
mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Among the top
candidates are a north-south route through the rural community
of Mina and a corridor that runs generally west to the mountain
from Caliente.
 
Bob Halstead, transportation consultant for Nevada's Nuclear
Projects Agency, reacted to Lanthrum's comment by saying
Thursday, "That's totally absurd."
 
Lanthrum "has no basis saying that because he hasn't modeled
that," said Halstead, in a telephone interview from Wisconsin.
"Supposedly we'll see some analysis when they come out with the
draft (environmental impact statement) later."
 
Halstead said the "absolute minimum impact" of the Mina route
would double the rail shipments of deadly, metal-encased spent
nuclear fuel assemblies that would go through California. 

Double means 10 percent of the nation's overall nuclear waste
shipments.
 
As many as half of the rail shipments planned for delivery
nationwide to Yucca Mountain could pass through California under
a maximum-impact scenario, Halstead said.
 
In his presentation to the board Wednesday, Lanthrum showed a
schedule that calls for a final Nevada rail design in 2008 with
construction on the selected rail line to start in 2009.
 
The route would become operational in 2014, about three years
before the Department of Energy expects to open the Yucca
Mountain repository where 77,000 tons of highly radioactive
spent fuel and defense waste would be entombed in a maze of
tunnels.
 
Halstead said such a schedule is "really optimistic."
 
"I don't think any sports books in the state would be interested
in any bets there. It's very unlikely," he said.
 	   
Copyright � Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement
*****************************************************************
 52 Bradenton Herald: Still in the dark (Tallevast contamination)

01/26/2007 | 

Tallevast residents last to know of new threat

In learning the latest development in the Tallevast pollution
scandal, we can only shake our heads in disbelief. 

What do Tallevast residents have to do to be included when
officials get new information about the contaminant plume
beneath their community? How many times must they be ignored
when decisions about the plume are made that affect their health
and property values? 

For six years the residents of Tallevast have been marginalized
in nearly every decision about the plume of toxic chemicals that
apparently leaked from the former American Beryllium Co. plant
in the south Manatee community. For three years they weren't
even told the plume existed, even as they continued to drink,
wash with and cook with well water potentially contaminated with
the toxins and garden, dig in and build on soil potentially
contaminated with close-to-the-surface pollutants. 

Now, four months after the Florida Department of Environmental
Regulation learned that the owner of an adjacent tract outside
the plume map had found evidence of contamination and intended
to challenge DEP's findings, Tallevast residents finally learned
about it last week. A DEP spokeswoman said the omission occurred
because "we weren't looking through their (residents') lens. . .
. We want them to trust us. We didn't on purpose leave them
out." 

How could residents not believe otherwise? After all, the land
in question, at Tallevast Road and U.S. 301, was being prepared
for development by owner Trey Desenberg into The Forum
retail-office center - a project residents opposed because it
meant bringing earth-moving equipment and heavy traffic to
disturb soil they feared was contaminated. 

DEP officials knew last September that Desenberg intended to
challenge their map, even even as residents were deciding
whether they should appeal the DEP's plume map as the November
deadline for such appeals neared. They ultimately decided not
to, though their decision doubtless would have been different if
they had known of Desenberg's challenge. Even as residents spent
four hours with DEP officials in early November to address the
lack of communications and breakdown of public trust between
residents, DEP and officials of Lockheed Martin, the company
responsible for cleaning up the pollution, failed to mention
Desenberg's challenge. 

And they wonder why residents don't trust anything they say. 

Remember, last June an analysis of the data by the Bradenton
Herald's independent expert, chemist Wilma Subra, concluded that
DEP still had not adequately defined the plume's dimensions nor
assessed its health threat to residents. DEP and Lockheed's
experts dismissed those findings. Lockheed said Subra didn't
have access to all of the company's documents so her conclusions
were not justified. 

Because Desenberg said his tests confirmed that the plume
affects a portion of his land, east of the boundaries previously
defined by DEP, everything is on hold: development of a clean-up
plan, Desenberg's project, and residents' hopes for definitive
answers about their future. 

Thus a pattern continues of trying to limit the clean-up to the
smallest area possible, instead of trying to learn its true
dimensions. It began with assurances by Lockheed that the plume
was confined to the old American Beryllium plant site. Later
that area was expanded outside the plant property to encompass
50 acres. Then after more wells were drilled the polluted area
was expanded to 131 acres. Still more testing showed last April
that it affected 200 acres. 

Where it will end now is not clear. One thing ought to be clear,
however: Why Tallevast residents don't trust anything DEP or
Lockheed officials say. 

Talk back 

What do Tallevast residents need to do to get respect they're
due for pollution threat beneath their homes? Share your views
below. 
*****************************************************************
 53 BBC: Olympics site toxic waste fears
 
Last Updated: Friday, 26 January 2007
 
[Site of borehole]                              

Boreholes have been drilled close to homes on the estate                                                            

People living on a housing estate which will become part of the 
Olympic village want a halt to tests for toxic waste amid fears 
of a leak. 

Soil tests are being carried out across the area in Stratford, 
east London, where a quantity of radioactive material was dumped 
in 1972 and 1994. 

Up to 150 residents still waiting to be moved from the area want 
the tests stopped until they have been re-housed. 

The London Development Agency (LDA) said the residents were in no 
danger. 

Solicitor Bill Parry-Davies said he was not sure why the LDA was 
pressing ahead, "given that there is an apparent risk and the 
residents would like to be moved before further work is done". 

He said it was possible the LDA had a "strict timetable" to which 
it had to stick, to assess the ground and the budget for clearing 
the area before building work started on the village. 

Andrew Gaskell, of the LDA, reassured people that they had 
nothing to fear. 

"There is no danger to the people living there from this 
contamination. We have been very careful that this is the case," 
he said. 
*****************************************************************
 54 RGJ.com: Reid: Nuclear Energy Institute 'backing off'

U.S. Senator Harry Reid, D-NV, on Wednesday held a press
conference call with area reporters and after joking easily for
a few minutes with the press, talked mainly about the issue of
nuclear waste and his reaction to President George Bush's State
of the Union address.

"It's good news that the Nuclear Energy Institute is backing
off, and for the first time the industry is saying what we've
been saying for a long time now," said Reid. "Yucca Mountain is
in trouble here and that's good."

According to Reid, he is not opposed to nuclear power, but the
issue of disposal of the waste is the problem that must be
solved. "On-site storage is the solution," he said.

In addressing the President's speech to the country Tuesday
night, Reid said that President Bush is good at identifying
problems and did a good job in his seventh State of the Union
address. "Unfortunately," said Reid, "his track record is not
good at solving these problems. I was happy to see finally the
words global warming came out of his mouth."

According to Reid, there are currently over 500 coal fire power
generating plants being proposed or built across the country.

In regard to the Democratic Party's response to the president's
speech, Reid said he believed that Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) did a
good job addressing the president's comments. For the most part,
Reid said he was pleased with the president for covering the
issues that most needed to be discussed.

Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, said he was dismayed over the
new plans for Iraq, saying that plans for escalation would be
"hard for him to accept" when he remembers the huddled masses
who have been forgotten in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

On a local topic, Reid said that the work being done on the
Walker River is going well and the government is currently
obtaining contracts for the settlement project. There will be a
meeting in Nevada in February to address the issue and the
Senator said he will attend.

"I feel better today than I ever have. I was able to get quite a
bit of money through the ag bill that people didn't think I was
going to get. We are going to save that lake," he said. 

">� Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a
Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
 55 RGJ.com: School Board also seeks Mina Rail Corridor meeting in county
 
KEITH TROUT 

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL -->

Posted: 1/26/2007 

With limited discussion, the Lyon County School District Board
of Trustees voted to write a letter to the federal Department of
Energy asking that a public hearing/scoping meeting be conducted
in Lyon County about the Mina Rail process being considered to
potentially transport nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.

It was indicated the letter would be similar to one the Lyon
County Board of Commissioners had approved to be sent on the
same subject to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as the
proposed rail routes would travel through Lyon County in
Fernley, Silver Springs and Mason Valley.

The DOE is looking at transportation options and routes for
nuclear waste if the Yucca Mountain repository site is approved
and implemented.

Concerns with the rail line deal with safety issues due to the
potential for a railroad car overturn that could spill some of
the nuclear waste.

LCSD Superintendent Nat Lommori said, "Fernley is terribly
exposed," adding the rail line in Fernley travel near the
downtown area and are pretty close to several Fernley schools
(high school is farthest away).

He also noted the DOE had contacted Lyon County about meeting
with officials on Feb. 7 (but it was indicated it was a staff
meeting, not a public meeting) to discuss the Mina Rail
proposal, with Lyon County personnel expected to attend.

The Lyon County Commissioner on Dec. 7 had directed staff to
write a letter on this topic.

The letter drafted by County Manager Donna Kristaponis began,
"The Lyon County Board of Commissioners had directed me to
communicate their displeasure with the Department of Energy's
EIS Scoping process," noting some of the track passes through
several areas of the county.

Scoping meetings were held in Fallon and in Reno but not in Lyon
County and the letter noted some DOE officials at a meeting in
Reno attended by Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jeff
Page expressed surprise the proposed route passed through Lyon
County.

Kristaponis wrote, "Because scoping meetings were held in other
affected jurisdictions, the general public, their elected
officials, and their first responders were given an opportunity
locally to be informed and make their decisions based upon the
information."

She continued, "Lyon County requests that a Scoping Meeting be
held in Lyon County prior to any further decisions being made in
regards to the Mina Corridor.

"Lyon County resident, elected officials, and first responders
should be afforded the same opportunity as other affected
jurisdictions." 

� Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a
Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
 56 NRC: final rule: spent fuel racks
                         FR Doc E7-1260 
[Federal Register: January 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 17)] 
[Rules and Regulations] [Page 3705-3706] From the Federal 
Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] 
[DOCID:fr26ja07-1]                         

Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory 
documents having general applicability and legal effect, most of 
which are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal 
Regulations, which is published under 50 titles pursuant to 44 
U.S.C. 1510. The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the 
Superintendent of Documents. Prices of new books are listed in 
the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each week.

[[Page 3705]]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 50 RIN 3150-AH95
 
Criticality Control of Fuel Within Dry Storage Casks or 
Transportation Packages in a Spent Fuel Pool; Confirmation of 
Effective Date

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Direct final rule: 
Confirmation of effective date.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming 
the effective date of January 30, 2007, for the direct final rule 
that was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2006 
(71 FR 66648). This direct final rule amended the NRC's 
regulations that govern domestic licensing of production and 
utilization facilities so that the requirements governing 
criticality control for spent fuel pool storage racks do not 
apply to the fuel within a spent fuel transportation package or 
storage cask when a package or cask is in a spent fuel pool. 
These packages and casks are subject to separate criticality 
control requirements. This action is necessary to avoid applying 
two different sets of criticality control requirements to fuel 
within a package or cask in a spent fuel pool.

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of January 30, 2007, is 
confirmed for this direct final rule.

ADDRESSES: Documents related to this rulemaking, including 
comments received, may be examined at the NRC Public Document 
Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852. These same documents may also be viewed and 
downloaded electronically via the rulemaking Web site 
(http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). For information about the 
interactive rulemaking Web site, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher 
(301) 415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George M. Tartal, Project 
Manager, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 
415-0016, e-mail gmt1@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 16, 2006 (71 FR 66648), 
the NRC published a direct final rule amending its regulations in 
10 CFR Part 50 so that the requirements governing criticality 
control for spent fuel pool storage racks do not apply to the 
fuel within a spent fuel transportation package or storage cask 
when a package or cask is in a spent fuel pool. In the direct 
final rule, NRC stated that if no significant adverse comments 
were received, the direct final rule would become effective on 
January 30, 2007. The NRC did not receive any significant adverse 
comments on the direct final rule, as described below. Therefore, 
this rule will become effective as scheduled.

    The NRC received two comments during the public comment 
period. The first comment, submitted by the Nuclear Energy 
Institute on December 15, 2006, endorsed this rule change to 10 
CFR 50.68 without further comment. Since the comment does not 
oppose the rule, this comment is not considered a significant 
adverse comment.

    The second comment, submitted by Carolina Power & Light 
Company, a.k.a. Progress Energy Carolinas Inc. (PEC), on December 
18, 2006, supported the rule language, commenting that ``the rule 
wording is acceptable and technically justified, and that the 
Direct Final Rule should be made effective on January 30, 2007, 
assuming no significant adverse comments are received.'' However, 
an additional PEC comment suggested revision or clarification to 
the rulemaking technical basis, presented in Appendix A to the 
direct final rule. More specifically, the commenter questioned 
the NRC staff's interpretation of 10 CFR 72.124(c), which states 
in part, ``Underwater monitoring is not required when special 
nuclear material is handled or stored beneath water shielding.'' 
The commenter also questioned the use of area radiation monitors 
(ARMs) as a means of complying with this regulation.

    The thrust of the PEC comment is on implementation issues 
with the criticality safety requirements of 10 CFR 72.124(c). 
These requirements are used as part of the technical 
justification for providing adequate criticality safety under 10 
CFR Part 72. The commenter discusses technical issues with the 
use of ARMs as a means of complying with the regulations set 
forth in 10 CFR 72.124(c). The NRC staff's position regarding 
compliance with 10 CFR 72.124(c) continues to be that ARMs may be 
used as the criticality monitors required by 10 CFR 72.124(c) if 
it can be demonstrated that the radiation monitoring system is 
capable of detecting any possible criticality events due to spent 
fuel movement to or from a dry storage cask or transportation 
container. The PEC comment deals with implementation of 10 CFR 
72.124(c). These requirements, although used in the technical 
basis in this direct final rule, do not change as a result of 
this direct final rule.

    The NRC staff reviewed the comment to determine whether it 
should be considered a significant adverse comment. First, the 
commenter specifically endorses the rule language, as presented 
in the direct final rule, without further comment. Second, the 
commenter states that the rule is adequately supported by the 
technical basis presented as Appendix A in the direct final rule. 
The comments provided do not specifically oppose the rule as 
written, but rather request that the NRC provide clarification on 
implementation considerations with the requirements of 10 CFR 
72.124(c). The commenter questioned the use of ARMs to comply 
with this regulation. The rulemaking did not require, state, or 
imply that licensees must or should use ARMs as criticality 
monitors. The direct final rule does reference the 10 CFR 
72.124(c) requirement for criticality monitoring and how 
criticality monitors support the technical basis for the 
rulemaking. However, neither the direct final rule, nor the 
technical basis, nor other portions of the statements of 
consideration rely on a specific method for how a licensee may 
choose to meet the requirement for criticality monitoring. 
Further, as stated in the paragraph above, it is the licensee's 
responsibility to ensure, if ARMs are used to comply with 10 CFR 
72.124(c), that the ARMs are capable of performing the intended 
function. On this basis, the NRC staff concluded that this 
comment

[[Page 3706]]

was outside the scope of the rulemaking change to 10 CFR 50.68. 
In addition, as a result of this comment, the NRC staff was not 
required to revise the rule language, technical basis, or 
statements of consideration for the rulemaking nor does it cause 
the staff to revise its regulatory position on compliance with 10 
CFR 72.124(c). Therefore, the comment is not considered a 
significant adverse comment.

    The NRC staff's responses to the public comments received 
provide the clarification the commenter requested. This action 
completes the record for this rulemaking.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of January, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Michael T. Lesar, 
Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration. [FR Doc. 
E7-1260 Filed 1-25-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 57 NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting
 
                         FR Doc E7-1266 
[Federal Register: January 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 17)] 
[Notices] [Page 3879-3880] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26ja07-148]                         
 
The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold its 
176th meeting on February 13-15, 2007, Room T-2B3, 11545 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
 
The schedule for this meeting is as follows: Tuesday, February 
13, 2007 ACNW Working Group on the Igneous Activity White Paper 
(Open) Day 1: Discussion of the Nature and Probability of Igneous 
Activity 8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks and Introductions 
(Open)--The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the 
conduct of today's sessions. ACNW Member Dr. Bill Hinze will 
provide an overview of the first day of the Working Group 
Meeting, including the meeting purpose, scope, anticipated 
results, and introduce invited subject matter experts.
 
8:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m.: Representatives from University of Bristol, 
England, Battelle Corporation, University of South Florida, 
University of Nevada-Las Vegas, NRC staff and Department of 
Energy--Yucca Mountain Project Operations (YMPO) will discuss the 
global view of igneous activity and general challenges associated 
with estimating volcanism recurrence and the current state of the 
science. During this Session, panel discussions by Committee 
members and invited subject matter experts will take place.
 
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ACNW Working Group on the Igneous 
Activity White Paper (Open) Day 2: Discussion of Consequences of 
Igneous Activity 8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks and 
Introductions--The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks 
regarding the conduct of today's sessions. ACNW Member Dr. Bill 
Hinze will provide an overview of the second day of the Working 
Group Meeting, including the meeting purpose, scope, anticipated 
results, and introduce invited subject matter experts.
 
8:45 a.m.-5:45 p.m.: Representatives from Johns Hopkins 
University, University of California-Los Angeles, NRC staff, 
University of Utah, Clark County, Nevada, and Electric Power 
Research Institute (EPRI) will discuss magma/repository/canister 
processes in both eruptive and intrusive scenarios and 
implication for risk from igneous activity at the proposed Yucca 
Mountain repository. During this Session, panel discussions by 
the Committee members and invited subject matter experts will 
take place. A round table wrap up discussion will follow, when 
all participants will be able to provide their comments. 
Committee members will discuss their impressions of the WGM and a 
possible letter report to the Commission.
 
Thursday, February 15, 2007 10 a.m.-10:05 a.m.: Opening Remarks 
by the ACNW Chairman (Open)-- The Chairman will make opening 
remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions.
 
10:05 a.m.-11 a.m.: Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) 
Workshop on Cementitious Materials Used in Waste Determination 
Activities (Open)--The Committee will be briefed by a 
representative from Penn State University on the SRNL workshop on 
cementitious materials for waste treatment, disposal, remediation 
and decommissioning, which was held in Aiken, SC on December 
12-14, 2006.
 
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Semi-Annual Briefing by the Office of Federal 
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) 
(Open)-- The FSME Office and Division Directors will brief the 
Committee on recent and future activities of interest within 
their respective programs.
 
1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Briefing on International Conferences on 
Decommissioning and Low Level Waste Subjects (Open/Closed)--FSME 
representatives will brief the Committee on their participation 
in (1) The
 
[[Page 3880]] International Conference on Lessons Learned from 
the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities and the Safe 
Termination of Nuclear Activities, December 2006, Athens, Greece 
and (2) a Technical Meeting on a Safety Guide on Classification 
of Radioactive Waste at the IAEA, in November and December 2006 , 
Vienna, Austria.
 
[Note: A portion of the session briefing may be closed to discuss 
IAEA confidential information.] 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m.: Possible use 
of Moderator Exclusion for Transportation Packages 
(Open)--Representatives from the NRC Office of Nuclear Materials 
Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation (SFST), will brief the Committee on preliminary 
views surrounding the development of a Commission Paper 
addressing both technical and regulatory issues for allowing 
Moderator Exclusion for transportation packages.
 
4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will 
discuss matters related to the conduct of ACNW activities and 
specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, 
as time and availability of information permit. Discussions may 
include the ACNW Action Plan as well as future Committee 
Meetings.
 
Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACNW meetings 
were published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2006 (71 FR 
60196). In accordance with these procedures, oral or written 
statements may be presented by members of the public. Electronic 
recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the 
meeting that are open to the public. Persons desiring to make 
oral statements should notify Mr. Antonio F. Dias (Telephone 
301-415-6805), between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, as far in advance 
as practicable so that appropriate arrangements can be made to 
schedule the necessary time during the meeting for such 
statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras 
during this meeting will be limited to selected portions of the 
meeting as determined by the ACNW Chairman. Information regarding 
the time to be set aside for taking pictures may be obtained by 
contacting the ACNW office prior to the meeting. In view of the 
possibility that the schedule for ACNW meetings may be adjusted 
by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the 
meeting, persons planning to attend should notify Mr. Dias as to 
their particular needs. In accordance with Subsection 10(d) Pub. 
L. 92-463, I have determined that it may be necessary to close a 
portion of this meeting noted above to discuss IAEA confidential 
information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4). Further information 
regarding topics to be discussed, whether the meeting has been 
canceled or rescheduled, the Chairman's ruling on requests for 
the opportunity to present oral statements and the time allotted, 
therefore can be obtained by contacting Mr. Dias. ACNW meeting 
agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available 
through the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) at pdr@nrc.gov, or by 
calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available 
Records System component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) which 
is accessible from the NRC Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & 
collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas).
 
Video Teleconferencing service is available for observing open 
sessions of ACNW meetings. Those wishing to use this service for 
observing ACNW meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACNW 
Audiovisual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 
p.m. ET, at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the 
availability of this service. Individuals or organizations 
requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line 
charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they 
use to establish the video teleconferencing link. The 
availability of video teleconferencing services is not 
guaranteed.
 
Dated: January 22, 2007.
 
Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer.
 
[FR Doc. E7-1266 Filed 1-25-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 58 PhysOrgForum: Book Assails Unrealistic Mathematical Models (Yucca)

www.physorg.com

Using equations to forecast the specific behavior of complex 
natural processes such as beach erosion and long-term nuclear 
waste storage creates a false sense of security, according to a 
new book by a retired Duke University geologist and his geologist 
daughter. 

In a preface to "Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists 
Can't Predict the Future," Orrin Pilkey and Linda Pilkey-Jarvis 
write that relying on such mathematical models has �done tangible 
damage to our society in many ways." 

Among their examples, the pair charge that faulty mathematical
models contributed to the collapse of a prime North American
fishery. They say such models also are predicting unreachable
margins of safety at a planned national U.S. high-level
radioactive waste repository and have given coastal communities
overly optimistic expectations about the endurance of beach
nourishment projects. 

"We make this point again and again: if your basic assumptions
are wrong, it doesn't matter what the math does," said Pilkey, a
retired professor at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment
and Earth Sciences. 

"Since scientists now have computers on their desks that can do
all kinds of sophisticated calculations, they have been saying
'give us enough money and we'll come up with a good model,' " he
added. "And they have failed miserably. We scientists have to
hang our heads in shame. We should have, long ago, admitted our
weaknesses." 

The authors focus their criticisms on quantitative mathematical
models, which they define as those attempting to make specific
predictions about natural outcomes by answering the questions
"when," "where" and "how much." 

In the case of the now-collapsed Grand Banks cod fishery, the
authors argue that Canadian scientists used unrealistic
quantitative models of total allowable catch to determine
harvesting levels. "According to these models, the Grand Banks
should still be full of fish," they write. 

In its assessments of the unfinished Yucca Mountain high-level
nuclear waste site in Nevada, the U.S. government has used a
"pyramid" of hundreds of quantitative mathematical models to
predict the repository's long-term behavior, according to the
authors. Those flawed models, they write, predict a questionable
10,000 years of certainty that natural processes will not cause
the repository to leak radiation. 

"Of all the examples of quantitative models that I looked at, the 
worst is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers� modeling of the 
behavior of beaches," said Pilkey, who has also assailed those 
models in previous books on coastal development. "There is no 
truth in those models at all." 

State and local governments use Corps models to guide engineering 
projects to "nourish" eroded beaches with imported sand. To 
receive federal funding, the government agencies must predict in 
advance the life span of the beach nourishment projects in order 
to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs, and project 
supporters typically use modeling to make such predictions, the 
geologists write. But, they added, some of those beaches have 
been replenished more than 20 times since the early 1960s. 

"Agencies that depend upon project approvals for their very
survival (such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) can and
frequently do find ways to adjust models to come up with correct
answers that will ensure project funding," the book adds. 

While condemning quantitative modeling, the book is more
supportive of qualitative models that predict only direction and
magnitudes of natural phenomena while accepting the possibility
of being "imprecise or wrong to some degree.� As examples of
good modeling, the authors cite hurricane-tracking forecasts and
global climate models. 

Pilkey, the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Geology at the
Nicholas School, began Duke�s Program for the Study of Developed
Shorelines, which is now a joint program with Western Carolina
University. An expert in the geology of deep ocean plains, he
has also written numerous books on how ocean forces and human
development jointly affect beaches. 

Pilkey-Jarvis is a geologist and expert on oil spills for the
state of Washington's ecology department. 

Source: Duke University 
				 							 				
																			Application Notes 																			Material
  + � PhysOrg.com 2003-2007 							 		 						 							 								
*****************************************************************
 59 UPI Poll: Store nuke waste in one spot

  United Press International - NewsTrack - 

        1/26/2007 2:00:00 PM -0500

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A plurality of respondents to a
UPI-Zogby International poll said waste from nuclear plants
should be sent to an underground location. 

Asked whether the waste should be kept on-site of the plant that
produced it or shipped to a central location and stored
underground, 40 percent of poll participants opted for the
underground storage. 

Another 23.3 percent chose the production site option and 36.7
percent said they weren't sure. 

More than half -- 50.3 percent of self-described Republicans --
favored the underground storage while 17.7 wanted it kept
on-site. However, 29.8 percent of Democratic respondents went
with the underground location selection and 30.3 said to keep
the waste at the production site. 

There was a narrow plurality of respondents -- 42.7 percent --
who said they'd accept such an underground nuclear waste storage
site in their own state. However, 39.3 percent said they
wouldn't want such a facility in their home state. 

The Jan. 16-18 Zogby interactive poll involved 6,882 U.S.
participants, giving the data a margin of error of 1.2
percentage points.

� Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 60 AAEA: Yucca Mountain Must Be Opened Sooner

  African American Environmentalist Association: 

Dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing human, animal
and plant ecologies, promoting the efficient use of natural
resources and increasing African American participation in the
environmental movement.
 	 
Thursday, January 25, 2007
 
 The Achilles heel of nuclear power is nuclear waste because
opponents say there isn't a solution for it. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In fact, spent fuel from commercial
nuclear power plants can be reprocessed and reused. Global
warming and smog are prevented using nuclear power and these are
the most important environmental issues facing us today.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Energy says it cannot open
the national repository for nuclear waste, Yucca Mountain in
Nevada, until 2017. This is unacceptable. There is no good
reason to take this long to get a permit to open the repository.
We understand that litigation, objections from NIMBY Nevadans
and funding funny business are impediments. There is also the
matter of this being the home state of the new Senate majority
leader. However, the stakes for the planet are simply too high
for America to move slowly on this project. We must assure an
adequate and dependable allocation of funding from the Nuclear
Waste Fund to accelerate permitting and operation of the site.

We believe nuclear waste should be placed in an agency that has
the sole function of managing nuclear waste. We are promoting
the establishment of a Nuclear Waste Mangement Agency () to
centralize and accelerate the opening and operation of Yucca
Mountain. We believe the facility could be operating no later
than 2012. The NWMA would also manage reprocessing of spent
nuclear fuel. America should reprocess spent nuclear fuel at
Yucca and other locations. The NWMA would give this important
and challenging operation the singular attention needed to
properly develop recycling and disposal of nuclear waste.
Picture: AAEA President Norris McDonald at Yucca Mountain at
five-mile tunnel exit. 

Copyright © 2006, African American Environmentalist
Association. All Rights Reserved 					
 
*****************************************************************
 61 Unclassified Sandia annual report not released 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS             

January 26, 2007                                

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The federal government has not released 
the annual performance report for Sandia National Laboratories 
even though the document is unclassified.

In the past, the annual review was made public immediately on 
request. But the Albuquerque Journal reported in a copyright 
story Friday that policies implemented in 2003 gave the National 
Nuclear Security Administration widespread discretion to mark 
documents "official use only," delaying or stopping the release 
of documents once routinely available.

The NNSA's report on Sandia is unclassified _ meaning it
contains no secrets about nuclear weapons or other security
matters and is not legally secret.

Congressional investigators reported last year that the U.S.
Department of Energy, the parent agency for the NNSA, had "many
millions of pages" of such documents.

Tami Moore, an NNSA spokeswoman in Albuquerque, said Thursday
the annual performance report, completed Nov. 2, was under
review to see what could be made public. She could not say when
that would be finished.

The NNSA agreed to review the document for possible release after 
the Journal and others requested copies this month.

Agency officials spent more than two months reviewing last
year's annual report before releasing it to the Journal with
substantial parts blacked out.

Any DOE employee can mark a document off-limits. Citizens have
little recourse except for filing formal Freedom of Information
Act requests, which can take years to process.

Such designations have "escalated sharply over the last several
years," said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy
policies who works for the Washington, D.C.-based Federation of
American Scientists.

"It impedes the flow of government information to the public,"
Aftergood said.

Federal officials defend the practice.

It's necessary "to control sensitive unclassified information
and protect it from inappropriate disclosure," Glenn Podonsky,
director of security for the DOE, told a congressional hearing
last year on the issue.

Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based anti-nuclear
group, has gone to court to get documents that once were
routinely published on the Internet, said the group's director,
Jay Coghlan. Documents on nuclear weapons sites had been marked
off limits but were released once Nuclear Watch sued.

According to DOE guidelines, "official use only" means the
information "has the potential to damage governmental,
commercial or private interests if disseminated to persons who
do not need to know the information to do their jobs."

To make such a designation, a government worker also must
believe the information has the potential to be exempt from
freedom of information laws.

The congressional investigation found, however, that the DOE
lets anyone mark a document "official use only," requires no
training and has no accountability to ensure documents are
legitimately withheld.		 	   	 	 	 		
 		   			 		   	 
  Comments are not allowed on this story at this time. Please
check the open for comments page for details.

  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use | �2007, Santa Fe New Mexican,
*****************************************************************
 62 Inside Bay Area: Bio-lab could bring millions
 
Tracy staff report says research project could generate $800 
million

By Mike Martinez , STAFF

WRITERArticle Last Updated: 01/26/2007 02:41:52 AM PST

TRACY � A report compiled by city staff shows that if a proposed
agro-bio research facility were built in the hills above Tracy,
it could inject more than $800 million in a 
75-mile area around the site. 

The amount was calculated using the same economic impact model
the city recently used to determine the effect a proposed
educational facility on the corner of Chrisman Road and 11th
Street would have on the area, the 
report said. 

This economic analysis does not, however, include the impact
from annual expenditures of the bio-lab, the document says. As
such, the figures are more conservative with regard to
additional induced benefits to the economy. 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has proposed a National
Bio- and Agro-defense Facility be built at Site 300. The
facility, funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
would research and develop cures for life-threatening diseases
affecting humans and animals, such as the Marburg and Ebola
viruses. 

It would be one of a handful of biosafety level 4 labs � the
highest level of containment in the country � and provide upward
of 
300 jobs, lab officials said. 

In August, the federal government named Site 300 � located in
the hills above Tracy and straddling the border between San
Joaquin and Alameda counties � as one of 17 finalists for the
facility. 

A short list of finalists is expected to be announced sometime
before June. 

Officials from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which 
operates Site 300, said construction of the facility will 
generate about $450 million in direct investment and secondary 
benefits will provide an additional $315 million within the 
region, according todocuments prepared by the citys Economic 
Development Department. 

The proposed lab would support, initially, 300 employees, and
staff estimated annual salaries to be $30 million for the
report. Private enterprise would create an estimated 150
additional jobs locally, generating another $15 million, city
documents reveal. 

In the instance that either the annual salaries or number of
employees is greater than what is mentioned, the respective
indirect and induced effect would also be greater, the report
said. 

Loulena Miles, attorney for Livermore-based Tri-Valley
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, said her group
has more than 5,000 members, with several hundred in the Tracy
area. 

They have sent more than 6,000 signatures, e-mails and letters
to the head of the Department of Homeland Security expressing
opposition to the proposed laboratory. 

She said they are concerned about environmental contaminations
and possible improper disposal of infected carcasses. 

They are bio-weapon agents that target agriculture and large
animals, Miles said. They should study these in a remote area,
not in Californias agricultural heartland. 

On Tuesday, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted
4-1 in favor of supporting Site 300 as a finalist site
considered by the federal government. 

Supervisor Leroy Ornellas, who represents the south county area
including Tracy and voted in favor of the resolution, said
passage of the resolution is no guarantee the board is going to
support the facility later on. 

Once we get more information, we may decide we dont want it and
we, as a county, cant support it, Ornellas said. This is no
guarantee, this is only supporting that this goes to the next
phase and we get another bite at the apple on the thing. 

The Tracy City Council is expected to decide whether they are in
support or opposition of the proposed lab at their next meeting
on Feb. 6. 


Mike Martinez can be reached at (209) 832-3947 or at
mmartinez@trivalleyherald.com.

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 63 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah
 
                         FR Doc E7-1222 
[Federal Register: January 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 17)] 
[Notices] [Page 3813] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26ja07-54] [[Page 3813]]
 
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
 
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
 
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental 
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Paducah. The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) 
requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the 
Federal Register.
 
 
DATES: Thursday, February 15, 2007; 5:30 p.m.
 
ADDRESSES: 111 Memorial Drive, Barkley Centre, Paducah, Kentucky 
42001.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reinhard Knerr, Deputy 
Designated Federal Officer, Department of Energy Paducah Site 
Office, Post Office Box 1410, MS-103, Paducah, Kentucky 42001, 
(270) 441-6825.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of 
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of 
environmental restoration, waste management and related 
activities.
 
Tentative Agenda 5:30 p.m. Informal Discussion. 6 p.m. Call to 
Order, Introductions, Review of Agenda, and Approval of January 
Minutes.
 
6:15 p.m. Deputy Designated Federal Officer's Comments. 6:30 p.m. 
Federal Coordinator's Comments. 6:35 p.m. Liaisons' Comments. 
6:45 p.m. Review of Action Items. 6:50 p.m. Public Comments and 
Questions. 7 p.m. Presentation: Soil/Rubble Piles Sampling and 
Analysis Plan.
 
7:30 p.m. Subcommittee Reports. Water Disposition/Water Quality 
Subcommittee Community Outreach Subcommittee Long Range 
Strategy/Stewardship Subcommittee Executive Committee 7:45 p.m. 
Public Comments and Questions.
 
7:55 p.m. Administrative Issues: Budget Review, Review of Work 
Plan, and Review of Next Agenda.
 
8:05 p.m. Final Comments. 8:15 p.m. Adjourn. Breaks Taken As 
Appropriate.
 
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
 
Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or 
after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements 
pertaining to agenda items should contact Reinhard Knerr at the 
address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be 
received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision 
will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The 
Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the 
meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of 
business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be 
provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments.
 
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public 
review and copying at the U.S. Department of Energy's Freedom of 
Information Public Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 
4 p.m., Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will also 
be available at the Department of Energy's Environmental 
Information Center and Reading Room at 115 Memorial Drive, 
Barkley Centre, Paducah, Kentucky between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 
Monday through Friday or by writing to Reinhard Knerr, Department 
of Energy, Paducah Site Office, Post Office Box 1410, MS-103, 
Paducah, Kentucky 42001 or by calling him at (270) 441-6825.
 
Issued at Washington, DC on January 23, 2007.
 
Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
 
[FR Doc. E7-1222 Filed 1-25-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
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 64 Oak Ridger: Worst-case layoff scenario discussed

Story last updated at 1:37 pm on 1/26/2007

By: Leean Tupper | The Oak Ridger

Officials with the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory and the Spallation Neutron Source are keeping a 
watchful eye on Washington, D.C., hoping a worst-case scenario 
wont transpire with a continuing budget resolution in the next 
few weeks.              

But U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said this week he doesnt think 
the worst-case scenarios being predicted will come to pass.             

Some of the speculation regarding what the continuing resolution 
could do to Oak Ridge funding is not only speculative, but I 
think some people are intentionally laying out some worst-case 
scenario-type numbers to both alarm people and to help bring 
about relief. 

The relief part, Im all for, the congressman said. But I dont
want people to be unnecessarily alarmed. 		

The House-passed 07 bill that was passed was very good for Oak
Ridge, but the Senate never took up our bills last year so that
brought about the continuing resolution, Wamp explained. 		

He said the continuing resolution that is currently under
discussion is not going to be a straight continuing resolution
in which money is set at last years levels and not allowed to be
moved among programs in the DOE budget, nor is it an omnibus
bill that would actually set new funding levels for the
department. 		

This is a hybrid between a straight CR and an omnibus bill. 		

There will be specific language in this CR that will allow
certain agencies to move money around so a mission like
supercomputing at the lab will not be disrupted, Wamp, a ranking
member of the House Appropriations Committee, said. 		

Neither party want programs disrupted or people laid off. This
worst-case scenario that the Office of Science asked people to
come up with at the lab is nowhere near where were going to end
up, Wamp added. 		

There will be some impacts, but I think they are going to be
much smaller than the predictions. 		

If we get that language where they have that flexibility to move
money around, we think were going to be OK. 		

I dont think dollars are going to be as much of an issue as the
ability to move money around so that our current programs can
continue without disruption or without moving people. The money
is not going to be that much different overall, Wamp said. 		

Billy Stair, director of communications and community outreach
at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said earlier this week
that he and other officials know that no one in Washington wants
to damage ORNLs programs intentionally. 		

An open dialogue regarding the federal governments science
research budget is ongoing with Tennessees congressional
delegation, according to Stair and Thom Mason, project director
of the Spallation Neutron Source. 		

Our challenge is to help congressional members and their staff
understand some unique circumstances that could result in
serious funding cuts if they are not addressed, Stair said. 		

Under a worst-case scenario, an estimated 900 employees at ORNL
and the SNS could face layoffs, local officials have indicated.
In addition, the SNS is moving from construction last year to
full-time operation this year. That transition means that the
new budget for SNS needs to have funds to pay staff instead of
building facilities. The fiscal year 2006 budget doesnt reflect
ability to pay staff. 		

In addition to employees, research programs could also be at
stake. 		

Stair said ORNLs supercomputer is in the middle of a five-year
construction program that would essentially come to a halt if
funding is not made available. 		

The 2006 budget for building the supercomputer is $50 million.
The proposed 2007 budget for that project is $80 million. 		

Both Democrats and Republicans in the Tennessee delegation are
working hard to help us resolve this issue, Stair said. 		

Congress is expected to make a decision on the continuing
resolution by the middle of February, when the temporary
spending resolution expires. But for now, Mason told The Oak
Ridger, Its still not been resolved. 		

People are analyzing all kinds of different scenarios, the SNS
director explained. Theres a wide range of possibilities. 		

It could be that everything will be just fine. 		

A more likely scenario would be the department would use the
budget we had last year, but we wouldnt be able to hire
additional staff, he said. 		

We worry well lose time in transition to full scientific
operations. Weve already been putting a lot of things on hold;
and the longer we go, the longer it will take to recover. 		

Mason added: ORNL officials hope that Congress passes a spending
bill at proposed levels or authorizes the Department of Energy,
the labs chief funding source, to redirect some of its budget
allotment to meet top priorities. 		

Were hoping the uncertainty wont continue for too much longer. 

The Oak Ridger  |

    
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