***************************************************************** 03/06/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.54 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 UN Nuclear Watchdog Again Urges 'timeout' By Both Sides On Iran's Nu 2 [southnews] So who's going to destroy Iran's nuclear reactor? 3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Denies Halt to Uranium Enrichment 4 Reuters: Iran starts building home-made atomic plant - agency 5 Reuters: Iran says West may have seized ex-defense official 6 AFP: Bill urges US divestment from companies with Iran ties - 7 UPI: U.S., Israel differ on Iran threat 8 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Looks Beyond Initial N.Korea Deal 9 UPI: Negroponte calls snap Seoul nuclear talks 10 AFP: Japan won't budge on NKorea, Abe says ahead of Hanoi talks - 11 AFP: US says NKorea had secret programme - 12 AFP: US demands N Korea 'come clean' about uranium program 13 US: Online Journal: Two FBI whistleblowers confirm illegal wiretappi 14 UPI: Russia, U.S. bristle on '91 nuclear treaty 15 [southnews] Cuba: Nuke Disarmament, NAM Priority 16 Guardian Unlimited: Trident questions must be answered, say MPs 17 BBC NEWS: MPs warn over 'nuclear threshold' 18 Independent: Blair faces Labour revolt by 100 MPs over Trident 19 Reuters: Arabs protest Israeli nuclear hint NUCLEAR REACTORS 20 [NukeNet] Problems at Finland Reactor Highlight Global Expertise 21 Economic Times: Centre to set up two nuclear power plants- 22 Grist: China nuclear power | 23 The Hindu: US civilian nuclear team seeks Indian partners 24 TorontoSun.com: Funding spike to power up nukes 25 RIA Novosti: Russia ready to expand ties with Chile, build nuclear p 26 Platts: Chief regulator rejects RWE's bid to extend Biblis-A's lifet 27 World Nuclear News: Australians support nuclear - but not close to h 28 Yemen Observer: IAEA will help Yemen produce nuclear energy 29 Sofia Echo: Most Bulgarians favour nuclear energy production - 30 Somerset County Gazette: Council Clarifies Stance On Nuclear 31 US: World Nuclear News: Bill introduced to lift Californian moratori 32 US: FR: NRC: STP Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Issuance of Di 33 US: FR NRC: cable failures 34 UPI: Battle for energy buyout continues 35 Czech Happenings: Next Austrian-Czech border blockade over Temelin o 36 US: MHNN: Greenburgh supervisor joins anti-IP effort 37 US: CS Monitoer: How green is nuclear power? | 38 AU ABC: Rann wants state referendum on nuclear power. 39 The Australian: State flags referendum on nuclear power NUCLEAR SECURITY 40 US: Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Working to Develop New Nuke Detectors 41 US: AP Wire: U.S. working to hone new nuke detectors 42 US: FR NRC & DHS MOU: Terrorist threats 43 US: cantonrep.com: New generation of nuclear detectors: boon or boon NUCLEAR SAFETY 44 ICH: Poison DUst 45 Guardian Unlimited: US pair fall ill in Moscow from thallium poisoni 46 RIA Novosti: Health official confirms thallium poisoning of two 47 CBC: Thallium poisoning strikes 2 Americans in Moscow 48 US: Ventura County Star: Radioactive thorium found at Halaco NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 49 Las Vegas SUN: Energy Department makes legislative push for Yucca nu 50 reviewjournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Agency to release records 51 US: The State: Exaggerated Barnwell alarm 52 US: AP Wire: Radioactive find closes Oxnard site near former metal r 53 The Hindu: Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad draws up plan to 54 US: KCPW: New EnergySolutions Lobbyist Well-Connected Nuclear Regula 55 US: Tennessean: Nuke waste may cross Midstate - 56 US: CBC News: Anti-nuke advocate takes on Sask. uranium mining 57 US: Salt Lake Tribune: EnergySolutions hires D.C. lobbyist 58 US: FR: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting 59 US: FR NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning 60 UPI: New 'Fix Yucca' bill heading to Congress 61 UPI: Nuclear industry calls on DoE 62 Shelley Berkley: White House Renews Push for Fix "Yucca" Bill 63 Reid: REID STATEMENT ON THE DOE'S PLAN TO REVIVE YUCCA MOUNTAIN 64 PRN: Nuclear Council Presents Recommendations to DOE PEACE 65 US: UCS: New Nuclear Warhead Design Unnecessary US DEPT. OF ENERGY 66 Carlyle Group's Lawrence Livermore wins contract for New Nuclear wea 67 Platts: Savannah River site operator receives contract extension 68 SF Chron: Bomb gurus ponder non-nuclear future / New U.S. weapons 69 Reuters: Duke Energy to get $56 mln from nuke fuel suit 70 NAS: Project: Review of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UN Nuclear Watchdog Again Urges 'timeout' By Both Sides On Iran's Nuclear Programme Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 11:01:24 -0500 UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG AGAIN URGES ‘TIMEOUT’ BY BOTH SIDES ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME New York, Mar 6 2007 11:00AM The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has again called for a “timeout” on the Iranian nuclear issue to allow for talks, with Iran suspending uranium enrichment and the international community suspending sanctions over a programme that Tehran says is for producing energy but which critics maintain is for making nuclear weapons. “That’s the only way in my view to achieve a durable solution to the issue,” UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/dg_iran-dprk.html">told a news conference in Vienna after delivering a report yesterday to his agency’s Board of Governors that noted that Iran had continued enrichment despite a Security Council call that it suspend such activities and the imposition of sanctions. The Council’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – together with Germany are now considering what further action to take. Mr. Mr. ElBaradei first issued a call for a timeout in January, with the parties going “immediately to the negotiating table.” In his report, Mr. ElBaradei said that because of the lack of “the necessary level of transparency and cooperation” from Iran, his agency could not provide assurances that the Iranian nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes, stressing that the issue was in a class of its own because of Tehran’s two decades of undeclared activities in breach of its obligations under Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (<"http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Treaties/npt.html">NPT). At the news conference he repeated his calls for Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA. “This would help a lot in diffusing the emerging crisis about Iran’s programme,” he said. “It would enable a comprehensive solution that on the one hand guarantees Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but at the same time provides the international community with the confidence that is needed after many years of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran about its programme and future direction.” On his forthcoming visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Mr. ElBaradei said the focus was twofold. “One, to see how we can normalize relationship between the IAEA and DPRK. The second is to begin to start the modalities for the Agency going back to start the verification process foreseen under the Beijing agreement,” he added. At the Beijing six-party talks with key partners on the issue, the DPRK last month agreed to shut down and eventually abandon its Yongbyon nuclear facility. The accord envisions the return of IAEA personnel, who were ordered out four years ago when the country withdrew from the NPT. 2007-03-06 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 2 [southnews] So who's going to destroy Iran's nuclear reactor? Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 01:50:58 -0600 (CST) And a majority - albeit smaller at 48.5 percent - say Israel should attack *Iran's nuclear* facilities and destroy them even if it has to do so on its own. *...* So who's going to destroy Iran's nuclear reactor? By Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann Ha'aretz, Israel - 5 hours ago Despite the intense recent criticism of the functioning of the government, the Jewish public appears to support its overall policy on foreign- and security-related issues. Similar to Israel's official position, a majority of the Jewish public thinks the establishment of the Palestinian unity government reduces the chances of reaching a political settlement, and does not believe an agreement based on a two-state solution can be reached with this government. A large majority also supports the official policy of not negotiating with the Palestinian unity government until it recognizes Israel and fulfills the Quartet's other conditions, particularly fighting terror. At the same time, though, the prevailing opinion is that Israel cannot allow the present situation to continue and must make greater efforts than in the past to reach a political settlement with the Palestinians. On the Syrian issue, as in the past, the dominant position is against a peace agreement in return for a full withdrawal from the Golan, and a majority also supports not responding to the Syrian initiative to renew negotiations as long as it supports Hezbollah and other terror organizations. The Syrian approach is seen as resulting from weakness and not from a genuine desire for peace. At the same time, the widespread assessment is that Israel's policy stems mainly from the United States' opposition to negotiating with Damascus because of its position on the Iraqi issue, though Israelis believe it was right to accede to the American demand even if the Israeli leadership sees things differently. Flying solo? On Iran, the unanimous view is that its nuclear armament constitutes an existential danger to Israel, and a small majority also says Israel should attack the Iranian nuclear facilities even if it has to do so alone. Again similar to the official position, the majority favors adhering to Israel's traditional policy of ambiguity regarding its nuclear capacity. In the domestic sphere, the Jewish public continues its overwhelming support for rooting out corruption in the public sector, and only a small minority thinks these efforts are excessive and harm the government's ability to function. These are the main conclusions of the Peace Index survey that was carried out on February 26-27 2007. About 55 percent of the Jewish public now believes the establishment of the Palestinian national unity government reduces the chances of reaching a peace settlement and only 25 percent believes its establishment will increase those chances (the rest have no opinion on the matter). Note: There is a majority for this view among all the parties. Fifty-six percent of the Jewish public also sees it as impossible to reach a settlement with this government based on the principle of two states for two peoples, compared to 40 percent who think it is possible. Interestingly, on this question, in contrast to the previous one, there is an opposite majority among voters for Meretz and Labor who, unlike the rest of the parties, do not see an agreement based on the two-state principle as impossible. An unequivocal majority - 83 percent - says the Israeli government should not recognize the Palestinian unity government or negotiate with it as long as it does not recognize Israel and fulfill the Quartet's conditions, especially in regard to fighting terror. Here, the trend in Meretz and Labor voters' views is identical to that of voters from other parties. As expected, the views are different in the Arab sector. Here a majority of people, albeit not large (52 percent), believe the establishment of the Palestinian unity government increases the chances for a settlement, and a majority of 64 percent say a settlement can currently be reached based on the principle of two states for two peoples. Only about one-fourth think Israel should avoid contact with the unity government as long as it has not recognized Israel and fulfilled the Quartet's conditions. Nevertheless, the dominant view - 63 percent of the Jewish public and 86 percent of the Arab public - is that the present situation is dangerous for Israel, and it should make greater efforts than in the past to reach a political settlement. Also on the Syrian issue, the hawkish line - similar to the government's position - holds sway among the Israeli Jewish public. Only about one-fifth of people favor peace and a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights and only 41 percent believe Israel should respond positively to Syria's call to return to negotiations even if it has not stopped supporting Hezbollah and other terror organizations. Conversely, 52 percent think Syria's call stems from weakness and Israel should not respond positively. At the same time, the public is aware of the link between the United States' policy against negotiations with Syria since Damascus supports organizations that are attacking the U.S. forces in Iraq, and the Israeli government's position on this question. The leading view - 49 percent - holds that Israel is mainly acceding to the American demand on this matter, while only 37 percent of people see Israel as taking an independent position. 'Willing submission' However, this is a case of "willing submission" since the majority - 52 percent - think Israel is right to accede to the American demand not to engage in contact with Syria on a settlement, with only 36 percent saying it should not accede if the Israeli government's position is different from the American one. Only among Meretz voters does a majority - 54.5 percent - assert that Israel should not follow the American demand on this issue. In the Arab sector, the picture is different. The majority - 81 percent - support the formula of full peace for a full withdrawal from the Golan, and 73 percent think the Israeli government should respond positively to Syria's call to return to the negotiating table without stipulating that it end its support for Hezbollah and other terror organizations. Here, too, only a minority - 23 percent - see Israel as taking an independent stance and the majority - 67 percent - see it as going along with an American dictate. However, unlike in the Jewish sector, in the Arab sector the majority - 65 percent - say Israel should not accept the American position on the issue. On the Iranian issue, too, the Israeli Jewish public sees eye to eye with the government's position. Eighty-two percent of people believe Iranian's nuclear armament constitutes an existential danger to Israel. And a majority - albeit smaller at 48.5 percent - say Israel should attack Iran's nuclear facilities and destroy them even if it has to do so on its own. Interestingly, in the Arab sector, as well, a majority, albeit not large - 53 percent - view the Iranian armament as an existential danger to Israel, but only a tiny minority - 8 percent - favor Israel attacking the Iranian facilities even by itself. Having touched on the nuclear issue, this time we looked into the Israeli public's position on Israel's traditional policy of ambiguity. The Jewish public shows clear support for ambiguity among voters for all parties, with 62 percent in favor of maintaining this policy. In the Arab sector, however, the majority of people - 54 percent - think Israel should openly declare that it has nuclear weapons. As in recent months, we again found that a majority - both in the Jewish (64 percent) and Arab (55 percent) publics - support continuing the efforts to expose corruption in the public sector with only a minority seeing these efforts as excessive. At the same time, in both publics only a small majority (47 percent vs. 44 percent in the Jewish public, 50 percent vs. 42 percent in the Arab public) believes these efforts will bear fruit. The Peace Index project is conducted by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann. The telephone interviews were conducted by the B. I. Cohen Institute of Tel Aviv University on February 26-27, 2007 and included 590 interviewees who represent the adult Jewish and Arab population in Israel (including the territories and the kibbutzim). The sampling error for a sample of this size is 4.5 percent. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/834084.html ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Denies Halt to Uranium Enrichment From the Associated Press Tuesday March 6, 2007 1:31 PM By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's foreign minister denied Tuesday the remark of the U.N. nuclear chief that his country has temporarily slowed its nuclear program, insisting that Iran's enrichment of uranium was continuing unabated. ``Iran's legitimate activities with the aim of producing fuel ... is contining its natural trend,'' Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a press conference. ``There has been no change in that course.'' The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Monday that Iran appeared to have at least temporarily paused on the development of its uranium enrichment program. Enriched uranium is used to fuel nuclear power stations and, taken to a higher degree, can be used in the manufacture of nuclear bombs. Speaking to reporters in Vienna, ElBaradei said: ``I do not believe that the number of centrifuges has increased, nor do I believe that (new) nuclear material has been introduced to the centrifuges (in the enrichment center) at Natanz.'' The IAEA has installed cameras at the enrichment center in Natanz. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization also said Tuesday there had been no change in the enrichment schedule. ``Iran's enrichment activities in Natanz is continuing as planned. No change has been made,'' the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted the organization as saying in a statement. The U.S. and its allies fear that Iran will use enrichment to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists it is enriching uranium only to have its own source of fuel for power plants. The U.N. Security Council's permanent members and Germany are currently discussing strengthening sanctions imposed on Iran in December for its refusal to halt enrichment. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 4 Reuters: Iran starts building home-made atomic plant - agency Tue Mar 6, 2007 5:23PM EST TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has started construction of a domestically built nuclear power plant, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Iran's first atomic power station is being built by Russians but is not yet complete. Iran, embroiled in a row with the West over its nuclear programme, has previously said it planned to build power stations on its own. "At the demand of the president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), the construction of the first domestic nuclear power plant with capacity of 360 MW has started," Atomic Energy Organization chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying. He did not give further details. "The enemies know they cannot weaken the will of our people to obtain peaceful nuclear energy and that is why they make it look like there are different opinions in the country," he said. Ahmadinejad has faced criticism by some of his more moderate opponents for making anti-Western speeches, which the critics say have exacerbated Iran's standoff with the West. Iran's dispute with Western nations focuses on its determination to enrich uranium, a process which Tehran says will only be used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. The West says it is part of a covert plan to build atomic bombs. Russia has said it will delay starting up Iran's first nuclear power station because Iran is behind in payments, although Tehran denies payment delays. The 1,000 MW plant being built at the port of Bushehr in southwest of Iran had been due to start up in September. The first fuel supplies from Russia for the plant were due to be delivered this month. Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, says it wants to build a network of nuclear power stations to prepare for the day when its oil and gas reserves run out and to maximize exports in the meantime. © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 Reuters: Iran says West may have seized ex-defense official Tue Mar 6, 2007 11:30AM EST By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN (Reuters) - Western intelligence services may have kidnapped a former Iranian deputy defense minister who went missing in Turkey, Iran's police chief was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Ali Reza Asgari was on a personal trip and vanished after arriving in Turkey from Damascus, Iranian police chief Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam was quoted as saying by the Iranian ILNA news agency. "It is possible that former deputy defense minister Asgari was kidnapped by Western intelligence services because of his Defense Ministry background," Ahmadi-Moghaddam said. "He went missing after three days stay in Turkey. Police inquiries show he has not left Turkey," he said, adding there was no indication Asgari had died or had been hospitalized. Turkish media reports said Asgari, 63, went missing after checking into an Istanbul hotel on February 7. Israeli security experts gave some credence to the Iranian statement, but also suggested Asgari had defected. Turkish newspaper Milliyet, citing unnamed officials, said Turkish intelligence and police had found Asgari opposed the Iranian government and had information on its nuclear plans, which Israel considers a major threat. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 AFP: Bill urges US divestment from companies with Iran ties - Tue Mar 6, 1:04 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation Tuesday requiring that US government pension plans and mutual funds sell their investments in companies with ties to Iran's energy sector. US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the measure to help force the Iranian regime to halt it efforts to acquire nuclear technology. "Iran's determination to acquire a capacity to build nuclear weapons poses a vital threat to US national security interests and to global peace and security," said Ros-Lehtinen. "We must deny Iran the financial resources to continue along this path. This measure will serve as one more critical instrument to deny the Iranian regime the economic resources required to pursue its dangerous activities," she said. "By reducing our investments in Iran, we hamper the deadly ambitions of a regime heavily dependent on income earned from oil and natural gas," the Florida lawmaker said. Her bill would force divestment by US government pension funds from companies with more than 20 million dollars invested in Iranian energy. The bill also would require a periodic accounting from the Office of Global Security Risks of the Securities and Exchange Commission of companies subject to sanctions for their investments in Iran's energy industry sector. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 UPI: U.S., Israel differ on Iran threat United Press International - Security & Terrorism - 3/6/2007 1:49:00 PM -0500 WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Israel and the United States have major differences on their assessments of the Iranian nuclear threat, a U.S. expert said Monday. Anthony H. Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke chair in strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, made the assessment in his new paper, "Israeli and U.S. Strikes on Iran: A Speculative Analysis." Israel and the United States differ over the timing and level of risk posed by Iran's nuclear efforts, Cordesman wrote. The United States "sees a mature or serious Iranian nuclear threat as coming well after 2010. Israel claims to see it as coming as early as 2009 -- although much of this may be Israeli hype designed to push the (United States) into diplomatic action, and military action if that fails," he wrote. "Official U.S. policy is to leave all options on the table, and emphasize diplomatic activity through the EU3 (the European Union Trio states of Germany, France and Britain) and the (United Nations)," Cordesman wrote. "The U.S. estimates of timelines for Iran's nuclear and missile efforts also leave at least several years in which to build an international consensus behind sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and a consensus behind military options if diplomacy fails," he wrote. The United States "would also have the potential advantage of finding any Iranian 'smoking gun,' improving its targeting and strike options, and being able to strike targets in which Iran had invested much larger assets," Cordesman wrote. Israel, however, "sees Iran as an existential threat. A single strike on Tel Aviv and/or Haifa would raise major questions about Israel's future existence," he wrote. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Looks Beyond Initial N.Korea Deal From the Associated Press Tuesday March 6, 2007 11:31 PM AP Photo NYBM103, NYOH101 By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) - The United States said Tuesday it wants North Korea to move beyond an initial agreement to shut down its main plutonium-producing nuclear reactor and ``come clean'' about any program the communist nation has to enrich uranium. As landmark U.S.-North Korean talks on establishing diplomatic ties resumed, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill also said Washington looks forward not only to eventual normalization of relations but to creating peace on the Korean peninsula and ensuring security in northeast Asia. Hill called his first meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan late Monday ``very constructive, very businesslike,'' and said they agreed on an agenda for Tuesday's session on normalization. He was cautious about results from the first meeting of the U.S.-North Korea Working Group, one of five established under an agreement reached Feb. 13 at six-nation talks in Beijing to start implementing a September 2005 accord requiring the North to dismantle its nuclear program. ``We don't look for any immediate outcomes from this working group,'' he said. Under the Feb. 13 agreement, North Korea must shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow U.N. inspectors back into the country within 60 days. In return, it would receive aid equal to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from the other countries in the six-party talks - the United States, South Korea, Russia, China and Japan. ``So far we're on schedule for completing in 60 days,'' Hill said. He said the United States wants to move quickly beyond the agreement and ensure the reactor is disabled and dismantled - along with any enrichment program. ``All I would say is they are committed to fulfilling these set of initial actions, but what is important about these actions is not only to get them done, but then use them as momentum to the next steps,'' Hill said. In the next phase, North Korea will be required to make a complete declaration to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the six parties about its nuclear program, which will then be dismantled. Experts estimate North Korea's reactor at Yongbyon, north of the capital, has produced about 110 pounds of plutonium, that ``we have reason to believe has been weaponized,'' Hill said. North Korea also spent a lot of money buying aluminum tubes and other equipment for what appears to be a Pakistani-designed program to enrich uranium and ``they need to come clean on it'' and ultimately abandon it, he said. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Washington has ``no doubt'' that North Korea has a uranium enrichment program, an allegation that brought on the nuclear crisis in 2002. North Korea has never publicly acknowledged having such a program. In Tuesday's talks on normalizing relations, Hill said one issue under discussion is North Korea's desire to get off the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He said without elaborating that he will raise a number of issues, ``some of them stemming from incidents in the 1980s and before.'' North Korea also wants to get off the list of countries subject to the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, which would open the way for a normal trading relationship with the U.S. for the first time. ``We'll also discuss what's involved in normalization because there are a number of legal and political steps,'' Hill said. Hill said he expects the working group on nuclear issues to begin discussions in Beijing as early as next week on North Korea's overall nuclear program and what needs to be abandoned. After the Yongbyon reactor is disabled, the plutonium and any enriched uranium must be put under international supervision, he said, ``so we have a long way to go.'' In other areas, the United States hopes to get started soon ``on a process of identifying how to create peace mechanisms on the Korean peninsula'' to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, Hill said. Washington has had no diplomatic relations with North Korea since it was created after World War II when Korea was split into a communist-dominated North and a U.S.-backed capitalist South. North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war because the armistice has never been replaced by a peace treaty. Hill said the six parties will meet March 19 to make sure that all the actions required during the first 30 days of the Feb. 13 agreement were met. Foreign ministers of the six parties will meet in Beijing in April to review the first 60 days, ``to discuss the upcoming phase, but also to look more broadly and more far reachingly out toward the future to address the problem of ... replacing the armistice with a peace mechanism and ... creating a Northeast Asia security mechanism.'' To meet the 30-day deadline, envoys from Japan and North Korea met in Vietnam on Tuesday, before two-day talks starting Wednesday aimed at establishing diplomatic relations. Japan's chief envoy Koichi Haraguchi said Japan wants to spend ample time discussing North Korea's history of abducting of Japanese citizens. North Korea wants Japan to atone for the 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula and wartime atrocities, including sex slavery of tens of thousands of Korean women. Also Tuesday, an official said a senior aide to South Korea's president will visit North Korea this week. South Korea's Yonhap news agency speculated its purpose was to set up a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, but officials in Seoul denied a summit was in the works. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 9 UPI: Negroponte calls snap Seoul nuclear talks United Press International - International Intelligence - Updated: 03/06/2007 9:33:07 AM -0500 UTC SEOUL, March 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte unexpectedly asked for talks in Seoul with South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator. Negroponte arrived in Seoul on Monday for a three-day diplomatic visit but talks with nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo about North Korea's nuclear program were not on his original agenda, the Yonhap news agency reported. Chun remarked Negroponte had chosen an "interesting" time to visit and ask for talks. The request came one day after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill started two days of talks in New York with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan. Last month in Beijing, after more than four years of diplomatic wrangling between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, Pyongyang agreed to shut down its nuclear program under U.N. supervision in exchange for oil and other incentives. Aside from Chun, Negroponte has also met with South Korea's vice foreign minister and chief presidential security adviser, Yonhap said. © Copyright 2007United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: Japan won't budge on NKorea, Abe says ahead of Hanoi talks - Tue Mar 6, 2:14 AM ET HANOI (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday vowed never to budge on the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens as the two countries prepared for talks on normalising ties in Hanoi. Tokyo has refused to fund a six-nation deal on North Korea's nuclear programme due to the emotive row over the communist regime's kidnappings of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. "We will never change our stance unless they do," Abe told the Japanese parliament on the eve of formal talks in the Vietnamese capital. "This is the time when we really have to stand firm. This is something on which we can never yield." Abe, who built his career campaigning on the abduction issue, spoke as Japanese and North Korean diplomats held preliminary talks ahead of a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, the first formal bilateral contact in 13 months. "It's rather important that we take substantial time to discuss the abductions," Japan's top delegate to the talks, Koichi Haraguchi, said ahead of a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Song Il-Ho. "Tokyo has taken this position consistently," he said. "At this meeting, I will convey this message to the other side. I hope they will make a strategic decision towards solving the abduction issue." North Korea admitted in 2002 that it kidnapped 13 Japanese to train its spies in Japanese language and culture. It returned five of them and their families but insists the others are dead. Abe said Japan was not isolated despite its refusal to fund last month's six-nation deal, under which North Korea will receive badly needed fuel aid in exchange for disabling key nuclear facilities. "The United States completely understands and supports Japan's stance. China basically understands us. So does South Korea," Abe told parliament. "We have won the world's understanding," he added. "We have to make them realise that North Korea will never be accepted by the international community unless they solve this problem." The normalisation talks in Vietnam were arranged under the February 13 nuclear deal reached at the six-way talks, which involve China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States. North Korea's main priority is for Japan to atone for its 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. "North Korea has expressed its intention to discuss the settlement of the past," said Haraguchi. "They want to spend time to talk about it... It's important to get a good balance." North Korean delegates in Hanoi did not talk to reporters early Tuesday. Experts predict Japan, which was a top contributor to a collapsed 1994 North Korea pact, will face growing international pressure to participate in funding the multilateral deal with the North. The United States is also holding bilateral meetings with North Korea in New York this week, at which they are discussing the possible lifting of US financial sanctions imposed on Pyongyang's account with a Macau bank. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: US says NKorea had secret programme - Tuesday March 6, 12:57 PM By Lim Chang-Won SEOUL (AFP) - US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Tuesday he is certain North Korea had a secret uranium enrichment programme but stopped short of saying whether it still exists. The alleged highly enriched uranium (HEU) project to make bombs has become a key issue as the United States and other countries press the communist nation to honour its pledge to scrap all nuclear programmes. "I have no doubt that North Korea has had a highly enriched uranium programme, and that has been and continues to be the judgement of our intelligence community," he told a press conference. "We would expect that when North Korea makes its declaration of nuclear facilities, that that would be one of the issues addressed in North Korea's declaration." South Korea is the final stop on the deputy secretary's Asian tour, which is focused on getting North Korea to abide by its commitment made at six-nation talks on February 13. US intelligence officials last week publicly softened their position on the HEU programme, admitting to doubts about how much progress had actually been made. A 1994 deal which shut down the North's plutonium-producing reactor collapsed after the Bush administration confronted the North about the alleged HEU project in 2002. Since 2002 the North is thought to have produced enough plutonium to make several more bombs. It tested its first nuclear weapon last October. Under the February agreement in Beijing, the North must declare and disable all its programmes in exchange for diplomatic benefits and economic aid equivalent to one million tons of fuel oil. Within 60 days it must shut down and seal its Yongbyon reactor and the plutonium reprocessing plant and invite UN inspectors back, in return for an initial aid delivery. Such measures would be "an early test of North Korea's willingness and disposition to comply with the terms of the February 13 statement," Negroponte said. "So I would submit to you it's in North Korea's interest to comply with this obligation." He said the North would have nothing to lose by submitting to the UN nuclear watchdog a complete list of its nuclear facilities and programmes. It would risk losing all the offered benefits if it were to "conceal nuclear facilities or not declare facilities that it in fact had developed," he said. "So that's yet another reason why I think North Korea both has an interest and nothing to fear from being entirely forthcoming in this regard," Negroponte said. The deputy secretary's visit to Japan, China and South Korea is his first official overseas trip since taking office last month. It is part of a round of intense diplomacy aimed at following up on the Beijing accord. Washington's chief envoy to the nuclear talks Christopher Hill began holding two days of meetings in New York on Monday with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan, on ways to normalise diplomatic relations as part of the pact. On Wednesday Japanese and North Korean negotiators are due to start talks in Hanoi on normalising ties. The six-nation talks group the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, the United States and host China. AFP ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: US demands N Korea 'come clean' about uranium program Wednesday March 7, 4:44 AM NEW YORK (AFP) - The United States demanded Tuesday that North Korea come clean about its controversial highly enriched uranium program as the arch rivals held a second day of landmark talks on normalizing ties. US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said North Korea reportedly made "massive purchases of expensive equipment" from Pakistan's once-dreaded A.Q. Khan illicit nuclear network to drive the highly enriched uranium program. Enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, but highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear bombs. "They need to come clean on it, explain what they have been doing, why they have been doing it, and ultimately they need to abandon it," Hill told a forum in New York on the sidelines of talks aimed at normalizing US-North Korean diplomatic relations after Pyongyang agreed to freeze a key nuclear facility in return for largely energy aid. "I think we are owed a pretty clear answer why all these purchases were made and how far they have gotten into the process," Hill said amid a burgeoning controversy over the reliability of US intelligence on North Korea and whether Washington overstated Pyongyang's efforts to enrich uranium in 2002. In October 2002, the United States accused Pyongyang of pursuing a covert program to produce highly enriched uranium, based on intelligence information. At first, the North acknowledged the program -- leading to the scrapping of a 1994 deal to freeze Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive -- but has since denied it. US intelligence officials now say they have only moderate confidence it was still pursuing the goal, triggering speculations that Washington wanted to give Pyongyang a face-saving way to surrender its nuclear equipment. Hill said he wanted North Korea to provide full details of the highly enriched uranium program as well as its plutonium activity at its Yongbyon nuclear facility during denuclearization talks in Beijing soon. "We expect to do this in Beijing as early as next week -- begin the discussion on their (North Korea's) overall nuclear program, that is what needs to be abandoned pursuant to the agreement," he explained. Under a February 13 accord, North Korea agreed to close and seal its Yongbyon facility within 60 days and admit UN nuclear inspectors in return for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil as a first step to eventual nuclear disarmament. Even though the accord did not deal with the issue of plutonium that has already been produced by the facility, which some believe could be used to make up to a dozen nuclear bombs, Hill said all the sensitive nuclear material should be accounted for. "Depending on which experts you talk to, estimates (are) that there are some 50 kilograms of plutonium that is already produced and will have to be accounted for," he said. "That plutonium we have reason to believe has been weaponized." Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan meanwhile resumed in New York on Tuesday milestone talks in a first step toward normalizing ties and cementing Pyongyang's commitment to scrapping its nuclear arms program. It was the highest level meeting held in the United States between the two nuclear rivals since October 2000. Hill said the discussions would include devising criteria for North Korea to be removed from the state-sponsor-of-terrorism list and for scrapping longstanding US trade sanctions against the hardline communist regime. He said there were a number of "legal and political steps" that needed to be taken for eventual normalization of ties with North Korea, whose defiant atomic weapons test in October last year drew unprecedented UN sanctions. Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed ***************************************************************** 13 Online Journal: Two FBI whistleblowers confirm illegal wiretapping of government officials and misuse of FISA Special Reports Last Updated: Mar 6th, 2007 - 01:41:37 National Security Whistleblowers Coalition State secrets privilege was used to cover up corruption and silence whistleblowers The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) has obtained a copy of an official complaint filed by a veteran FBI Special Agent, Gilbert Graham, with the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG). SA Graham’s protected disclosures report the violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in conducting electronic surveillance of high-profile U.S. public officials. Before his retirement in 2002, SA Gilbert Graham worked for the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) Squad NS-24. One of the main areas of Mr. Graham’s counterintelligence investigations involved espionage activities by Turkish officials and agents in the United States. On April 2, 2002, Graham filed with the DOJ-OIG a classified protected disclosure, which provided a detailed account of FISA violations involving misuse of FISA warrants to engage in domestic surveillance. In his unclassified report SA Graham states: “It is the complainant’s reasonable belief that the request for ELSUR [electronic surveillance] coverage was a subterfuge to collect evidentiary information concerning public corruption matters.” Graham blew the whistle on this illegal behavior, but the actions were covered up by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s office. Click here to read the unclassified version of SA Graham’s Official Report. The report filed by SA Graham bolsters another FBI whistleblower’s case that became public several months after Graham’s official filing with the Justice Department in 2002. Sibel Edmonds, former FBI language specialist, also worked for the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO), and her assignments included the translations of Turkish Counterintelligence documents and audiotapes, some of which were part of espionage investigations led by SA Graham. After she filed her complaint with the DOJ-OIG and Congress, she was retaliated against by the FBI and ultimately fired in March 2002. Court proceedings in Edmonds’ case were blocked by the assertion of the state secrets privilege by then Attorney General John Ashcroft, and the Congress gagged and prevented from investigating her case through retroactive re-classification of documents by DOJ. To read the timeline on Edmonds’ case Click here. Edmonds’ complaint included allegations of illegal activities by Turkish organizations and their agents in the United States, and the involvement of certain elected and appointed U.S. officials in the Department of State, Pentagon, and the U.S. Congress in these activities. In its September 2005 issue, Vanity Fair ran a comprehensive piece on Edmonds’ case by reporter David Rose, in which several former and current congressional and Justice Department officials identified former House Speaker Dennis Hastert as being involved in illegal activities with the Turkish organizations and personnel targeted in FBI investigations. In addition, Rose reported: “ . . . much of what Edmonds reportedly heard seemed to concern not state espionage but criminal activity. There was talk, she told investigators, of laundering the profits of large-scale drug deals and of selling classified military technologies to the highest bidder.” In January 2005, DOJ-OIG released an unclassified summary of its investigation into Edmonds’ termination. The report concluded that Edmonds was fired for reporting serious security breaches and misconduct in the agency’s translation program, and that many of her allegations were supported by convincing evidence. Another former veteran FBI counterintelligence and espionage specialist at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, also filed similar reports with DOJ-OIG and several congressional offices regarding violations of FISA implementation and the covering up of several espionage cases involving FBI language specialists and public corruption cases by the Bureau. The cases reported by this whistleblower corroborate those reported by SA Graham and Sibel Edmonds. In an interview with NSWBC investigators the former FBI specialist, who wished to remain anonymous, stated: “ . . . you are looking at covering up massive public corruption and espionage cases; to top that off you have major violations of FISA by the FBI Washington Field Office and HQ targeting these cases. Everyone involved has motive to cover up these reports and prevent investigation and public disclosure. No wonder they invoked the state secrets privilege in Edmonds’ case.” William Weaver, NSWBC senior advisor, noted, “These abuses of power are precisely why we must pay attention to whistleblowers. Preservation of the balance of powers between the branches of government increasingly relies on information provided by whistleblowers, especially in the face of aggressive and expanding executive power. Through illegal surveillance, members of Congress and other officials may be controlled by the executive branch, thereby dissolving the matrix of our democracy. The abuse of two powers of secrecy, FISA and the state secrets privilege, are working hand in hand to subvert the Constitution. In an abominably perverse arrangement, the abuse of FISA is being covered up by abuse of the state secrets privilege. Only whistleblowers and the congressional and judicial oversight their revelations spawn can bring our system back into balance.” Several civil liberties and whistleblowers organizations have joined Edmonds and NSWBC in urging Congress to hold public hearing on Edmonds’ case, including the supporting cases of SA Graham and other FBI witnesses, and the erroneous use of state secrets privilege by the executive branch to cover up its own illegal conduct. The petition endorsed by these groups is expected to be released to public in the next few days. © Copyright 2006, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Information in this release may be freely distributed and published provided that all such distributions make appropriate attribution to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), founded in August 2004, is an independent and nonpartisan alliance of whistleblowers who have come forward to address our nation’s security weaknesses; to inform authorities of security vulnerabilities in our intelligence agencies, at nuclear power plants and weapon facilities, in airports, and at our nation’s borders and ports; to uncover government waste, fraud, abuse, and in some cases criminal conduct. The NSWBC is dedicated to aiding national security whistleblowers through a variety of methods, including advocacy of governmental and legal reform, educating the public concerning whistleblowing activity, provision of comfort and fellowship to national security whistleblowers suffering retaliation and other harms, and working with other public interest organizations to affect goals defined in the NSWBC mission statement. For more on NSWBC visit www.nswbc.org. Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal ***************************************************************** 14 UPI: Russia, U.S. bristle on '91 nuclear treaty United Press International - NewsTrack - Published: March 6, 2007 at 10:31 AM WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Major differences exist between the United States and Russia over renewing the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, The Washington Times said. Talks are expected between experts from the two countries as soon as this month before the treaty expires in 2009 but the differences going in are large, the Times said in its Tuesday editions. The Russians are demanding a legally binding document, while the U.S. side is seeking a looser and more transparent approach based on new world conditions, sources told the Times. Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said the days of using nuclear weapons as bargaining chips are gone. "We are not going to engage in Cold War-style arms control," Joseph said to the Times. "Issues like cooperation on combating nuclear terrorism are much more important today." Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta some old Cold War concepts are still relevant. "We don't want a discussion reduced to the idea that, since we are no longer opponents, there is no need for us to restrain each other," he said. "Actually, it carries the risk of generating the same old arms race, since neither of us is likely to want to lag behind too much." © Copyright 2007United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 [southnews] Cuba: Nuke Disarmament, NAM Priority Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 01:49:25 -0600 (CST) Cuba emphasized on Tuesday that the highest priority for the 186-member Non Aligned Movement is nuclear disarmament, historically defended by the organization. Nuke Disarmament, Cuba, NAM Priority Geneva, Mar 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuba emphasized on Tuesday that the highest priority for the 186-member Non Aligned Movement is nuclear disarmament, historically defended by the organization. Cuban delegate Respel Pino recalled to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva that this position was reiterated during September s NAM meeting in Havana. He considered it contradictory for some States are to pressure the international community for horizontal non-proliferation, while ignoring nuclear disarmament. "The only safe and effective way to avoid proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is by their complete withdrawal," he stressed. Meanwhile, he pointed out, some initiatives with very dangerous implications are being advanced, such as the Security Initiative against Proliferation, which Cuba has commented on previously. Cuba considers the use or threat to employ nuclear weapons is illegal in every circumstance and occasion, and military doctrines for nuclear weapons possession are unsustainable and unacceptable, he declared. "The very existence of nuclear weapons and the so-called "nuclear dissuasion doctrines" create an international environment of instability and insecurity," he noted. Cuba declared that the only way to prevent new nuclear catastrophes is to completely eliminate nuclear weapons and forbid their existence forever. hr ccs abo ft PL-32 ***************************************************************** 16 Guardian Unlimited: Trident questions must be answered, say MPs Richard Norton-Taylor Wednesday March 7, 2007 Ministers have failed to answer fundamental questions about plans to renew the Trident nuclear missile system, including its true cost, why a decision must be taken now, and who it is meant to deter, a crossparty group of senior backbench MPs says in a hard-hitting report published today. In a report which challenges many of the basic premises behind the government's proposals, the Commons defence committee warns ministers against any "lowering of the nuclear threshold". It asks why they no longer talk about a "sub-strategic role" for Trident, and refer instead to varying the yield of Britain's nuclear warheads. Ministers should also explain what they mean by Britain maintaining only a "minimum deterrent", the report says. It adds that the government has said Britain would use nuclear weapons only in "self defence", in "extreme circumstances" and in defence of the UK's "vital interests", yet it had not defined these terms. The MPs chastise the government for failing to explain how its plans are compatible with its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation. Without such an explanation, their report says, "the UK's decision to retain and renew its nuclear deterrent might be seized upon by would-be proliferators to justify their own efforts to acquire nuclear weapons." The report continues: "The government should do more to explain what the concept of deterrence means in today's strategic environment." The report is a response to the government's white paper on the future of Britain's nuclear deterrent, published in December. It takes no collective view of the merits of renewing the nuclear weapons, saying that is a matter for the House of Commons, which will debate and vote on the issue next Wednesday. However, the report by the Labour-dominated committee, chaired by James Arbuthnot, a former Tory defence minister, is likely to worry a government already concerned about the growing number of its MPs questioning the decision to push ahead with Trident's renewal. The report questions whether the government's promise to cut the number of nuclear warheads by 20% to 160 will have any real impact given the size of the existing stockpile. "Since the white paper proposes no changes to the number of warheads deployed on UK submarines, it is unclear that this reduction has any operational significance," it says. It questions the cost, especially in light of a recent exchange of letters between Tony Blair and George Bush about UK/US collaboration on a new nuclear ballistic missile system. Defence officials have admitted to the Guardian that the lifetime costs of Britain's new Trident nuclear deterrent could amount to well over twice the estimated £15bn-£20bn initial expense of building the system quoted in December's white paper. Defence officials admit the white paper did not make clear that this sum excluded the running costs. Greenpeace said the true cost of replacing Trident would be £76bn. "Tony Blair is rushing through a decision to commit £76bn to rebuilding a cold war nuclear weapons system, misleading the public on the costs of his proposal, misleading them on the need to make a decision now, and has stymied informed debate in parliament, in his party and in public," the anti-nuclear group said. "A delay of 10 years would save the defence procurement budget a full £5bn without affecting Britain's ability to field a deterrent, money that could provide critical equipment for overstretched forces," the British American Security Information Council, an independent thinktank, says in a report also published today. CND said the Commons committee's report exposed the "casual assertions and assumptions" of the government's case and warned that replacing Trident would provoke a new arms race. An MoD spokesman said: "There is only one 'estimate' of procurement cost that counts and that is the one set out in the white paper. This amounts to about 0.1% of GDP." Opponents of an early decision on Trident seized on the select committee report to announce they will be tabling a motion supported by MPs from all the major parties, calling for the Commons not to make a decision now on the replacement of Trident. Jon Trickett, chairman of the Compass parliamentary group, said he was confident that 100 MPs will support it. Email your comments for publication to: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 17 BBC NEWS: MPs warn over 'nuclear threshold' Last Updated: Wednesday, 7 March 2007, 00:08 GMT The operational end of Trident's life is due to be 2024 Ministers should not have reduced the conditions under which the UK would launch a nuclear strike, MPs have said. A report from the Commons defence committee warned against "lowering the nuclear threshold". MPs are due to debate government plans to replace Britain's Trident missile system - estimated to cost between £15bn and £20bn - next week. The select committee questioned the circumstances in which the government would use nuclear weapons after hearing evidence from Defence Secretary Des Browne. The report issues a number of specific instructions and questions for the government, which also need to be addressed before the vote CND spokesman He told MPs he could not be more specific about the reasons for launching a strike, saying "keeping the enemy guessing" was a key consideration. In its report, the committee said: "Although we understand the need for ambiguity, the government should be clearer that this ambiguity does not lead to a lowering of the nuclear threshold." 'Disarmament' Responding to the report, Mr Browne said it proved the government was right in seeking a decision to replace Trident now. "Those who continue to argue for delaying this important decision should realise their approach would result in a policy of unilateral disarmament," he said. The committee also questioned whether the government's pledge to cut the number of nuclear warheads by 20% had any "operational significance." TRIDENT MISSILE SYSTEM Missile length: 44ft (13m) Weight: 130,000lb (58,500kg) Diameter: 74 inches (1.9m) Range: More than 4,600 miles (7,400km) Power plant: Three stage solid propellant rocket Cost: £16.8m ($29.1m) per missile Source: Federation of American Scientists How Trident works While CND welcomed the report, it said replacing Trident would risk provoking a new arms race. A spokesman said: "To use or threaten to use nuclear weapons is, under virtually every conceivable circumstance, illegal under humanitarian law. "These are all issues that require widespread discussion and cannot be fully and adequately addressed in the seven days between the publication of the report and the debate and vote in Parliament on 14 March. REPLACING TRIDENT ANALYSIS BACKGROUND Fact file: Trident missile ***************************************************************** 18 Independent: Blair faces Labour revolt by 100 MPs over Trident By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor Published: 07 March 2007 More than 100 Labour MPs are ready to vote against the Government over the replacement of the £65bn Trident nuclear weapon system, leaving Tony Blair with the humiliation of relying on Conservative votes to get it through the Commons. Leading Labour MPs opposed to Trident said last night that they were tabling an amendment for the crucial vote next Wednesday calling for a decision to be delayed, possibly until the end of the decade. The rebels drew strength from a report today by the Commons Select Committee on Defence which criticises Mr Blair for failing to fully justify his rush for a decision before he steps down this summer. The cross-party report says that the Trident White Paper and an exchange of letters between Mr Blair and President George Bush together have failed 'to explain adequately why decisions on the UK participation in the Trident D5 missile life extension are required by 2007". The cross-party committee said: "The Government should clarify why decisions on the missile are required now." Jon Trickett, the Labour MP who is leading the rebellion, accused Mr Blair of "sidelining" Parliament by committing Britain to the replacement of its nuclear weapons system with US missiles in the exchange with President Bush. "I am confident that well over 100 MPs will support the amendment, realistically rising to over 150 by next Tuesday," said Mr Trickett. Mr Trickett also helped organise the petition opposing a Trident replacement signed by more than 100 celebrities which was published in The Independent under the title Not in Our Name. They voiced their opposition on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, which docked in central London as part of a campaign to oppose buying a new generation of nuclear weapons. Alan Simpson, another leading rebel, called on Gordon Brown to disown the Prime Minister's strategy. "These are important messages for Brown which he would be lunatic to ignore," said Mr Simpson. "If the Chancellor backs this urgent push by Blair to sign off one of his legacy issues, there will be a large number of Labour MPs who won't support Brown in his rush for the leadership." Liberal Democrats and some Tories are expected to support the rebels' call for a delay. The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: " Tony Blair's premature decision to replace Trident is more about his legacy than the national interest. The Liberal Democrats will not support this move in Parliament." Defence experts last night claimed that they had evidence that Mr Blair has speeded up the decision so that it could be endorsed before he leaves office. The Trident submarines were originally said to have a life expectancy of 30 years but ministers have reduced it to 25 years to force the issue onto the agenda now, said Malcolm Savidge, a former Labour MP and a consultant to the Oxford Research Group. Alleging that there were echoes of the rush to war against Iraq on a false premise, Mr Savidge said: "The effect of this is to claim that Parliament must decide early in 2007, which coincides with the PM's time in office and the interests of the defence industries." The White Paper put the cost of the missile system at £20bn but Greenpeace today will claim that the real cost of a replacement for Trident could rise to more than £100bn over its lifetime, and if the money was spent on tackling climate change, it could cut Britain's carbon emissions by about 12 per cent. Pressure to spend more money on conventional defence by halting the replacement of Trident came as the chief of the defence staffadmitted that Britain's armed forces were 'very stretched' by their current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup told the defence committee there was " not much more left in the locker". Commitments had been greater and gone longer than planned. "We will either at some stage, in the not too distant future, need to reduce the overall level of commitment, or think about the overall force structure," he told MPs. © 2007 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 19 Reuters: Arabs protest Israeli nuclear hint Tue Mar 6, 2007 5:25PM EST By Mark Heinrich VIENNA (Reuters) - Arab nations have protested over Israel's first hint of a nuclear arsenal to the U.N. atomic watchdog, saying this flouts international commitments to a nuclear arms-free zone in the Middle East, diplomats said. An Arab statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors this week faulted the IAEA's provision of aid for nuclear energy in Israel even though the country had never joined a treaty banning development of atom bombs. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised a stir in December when he implied Israel had nuclear arms, seemingly straying from a longtime policy of "strategic ambiguity" meant to deter potential Arab and Islamic foes, including Iran. Olmert's remark "represents a new confirmation of international and Arab suspicions about Israel's military nuclear capabilities," said the declaration by 15 Arab states and the Palestinian Authority, obtained by Reuters. "(This is) a clear violation of the will of the international community" for a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the volatile Middle East, it said. The statement cited past resolutions by the IAEA and one passed by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in 1995 and endorsed by the United States, Russia and Britain. Olmert's comments, it said, underscored the "danger that threatens international peace and security so long as the international community remains incapable of inducing (Israel) to accede to the NPT, to which all Arab states have acceded". Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 [NukeNet] Problems at Finland Reactor Highlight Global Expertise http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117314234678827681.html Trials of Nuclear Rebuilding By DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS March 6, 2007; Page A6 OLKILUOTO, Finland -- A two-millimeter welding oversight is one of the many setbacks plaguing construction of a €3 billion, or $4 billion, nuclear-power reactor in this Finnish coastal village, the first to be built in Europe in 15 years. The glitches highlight how an unexpected challenge is holding back a global effort to revive the nuclear industry: an acute shortage of skilled manpower. Finnish regulators noticed a few months ago that panels of the steel cage that will encase the reactor were being welded together with a gap of seven millimeters (about a quarter of an inch), instead of the five-millimeter space required by design specifications. The mistake meant France's Areva SA and Germany's Siemens AG, the companies in charge of the project, had to conduct strain tests to make sure the welding would hold, causing delays and irritating regulators. "Areva should have detected the wider gaps," says Jukka Laaksonen, director of Finland's nuclear-safety watchdog, Stuk. "You can't play with specifications in the nuclear sector." A long string of technical and regulatory problems have overrun the project's schedule and budget. Completion is expected 18 months after the original mid-2009 deadline. Areva will book a €700 million ($923 million) charge, according to the French government, the company's controlling shareholder, and Siemens says it has so far lost several million euros. The troubles illustrate how hard it will be to resurrect the world's nuclear industry, which sank into a prolonged slumber after accidents at Three Mile Island in the U.S. in 1979 and Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986, even as countries try to slash their dependence on fossil fuels. The heart of the problem is that a fall in orders after those accidents has stripped the global industry of much know-how and discipline. "The industry isn't ready for a construction boom," says Mr. Laaksonen. Many nations are eager to develop new sources of energy, as the price of crude oil has soared this decade, and a scientific and political consensus has accepted evidence that fossil-fuel emissions are a prime contributor to climate change. Oil, natural gas and coal combined account for 80% of the world's energy diet. And most oil and gas is found in volatile regions such as the Middle East, Africa and states of the former Soviet Union. Nuclear power, which emits no global-warming gases and whose main raw material, uranium, is abundantly available, accounts for 6.5% of global energy supply. But that share is expected to decline to 4.7% by 2030, according to International Energy Agency forecasts, as overall demand outpaces the addition of fresh nuclear capacity -- unless the industry can seize the moment to repair its safety reputation and start expanding again. There are 435 nuclear reactors in operation world-wide, but most were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Finland last constructed a nuclear plant in the late 1970s, and Areva NP, the Areva-led joint venture at Olkiluoto, hasn't been a lead contractor since the 1980s. Excluding Olkiluoto, 29 reactors are currently being built, mainly in Asia, but all are using old designs that Western European and U.S. nuclear- safety regulators won't allow. France, which has 58 reactors, including the latest built in Europe, is better placed than others in terms of nuclear competence. But even there, many skilled nuclear engineers have retired or shifted to other businesses over the past two decades. State-run utility company Electricité de France, which operates all the country's reactors, recently ordered a 59th facility. Beyond needing extra power, EDF wants to preserve in-house nuclear expertise. "We must benefit from transfer of competence between generations," Chairman Pierre Gadonneix said at a recent news conference. The setbacks at Olkiluoto are being closely watched in China and in the U.S., which are considering building several nuclear reactors. In February, China signed a draft agreement to buy four reactors from Westinghouse, a unit of Toshiba Corp. of Japan. China is also in talks with Areva to purchase two others similar to the one being built here. In the U.S., various consortia formed by nuclear-engineering companies and utilities have started a lengthy licensing process with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to start construction early next decade. The 1,600-megawatt Olkiluoto reactor was ordered by Finnish power company Teollisuuden Voima Oy in December 2003 to meet growing electricity demand from the country's paper mills. Work began slowly because Areva and Siemens had to first complete a detailed design for the new model of reactor. The biggest snag happened in September 2005, though. Workers struggled with a concrete mix that, because of the frost, wasn't fluid enough to be poured into the reactor's base slab measuring about 10 feet thick. Areva NP and its local subcontractor long argued over solutions and eventually opted to add slightly more water than what the design specifications required. The nuclear watchdog immediately ordered a two-month suspension of construction work. "Inspection showed that the slab is perfectly strong, but we should have been informed of the changes in advance," Stuk's Mr. Laaksonen said. Areva said that early on it didn't realize it had to inform Stuk of minor changes to materials. Areva NP's project manager, Philippe Knoche, adds that in the beginning, Areva had trouble coordinating with subcontractors, some of which had no experience in the nuclear field. Relations with subcontractors are now much smoother, Mr. Knoche says. Another problem at Olkiluoto -- and for industry officials banking on a global nuclear renaissance -- is procuring heavy forgings. These crucial parts can be supplied only by a handful of factories, mainly in Japan and France. Forgings are used to make the enormous steel pot that hosts the nuclear chain reaction, as well as in making pressurizers, steam generators and complex pipes. "It's unclear how fast we can re-create forging capacity," Mr. Knoche said. "The know-how is in people's heads and there aren't that many who master the technology." At Olkiluoto, problems securing a steady supply of forgings are causing more delays. Late last year, Areva NP realized that eight pieces of forgings -- long pipes measuring about a meter in diameter -- weren't up to snuff because grains in their metallic structure were preventing ultrasonic inspection of the forgings as a whole. "We are going to make them again," Mr. Knoche said. Areva NP's headaches over the steel cage to encase the reactor aren't over, either. Late last year, a storm blew part of the steel ring slightly off its wooden wedges, causing bends in the lining. "We had to prepare a 180-page memo on how we will fix the ring," Mr. Knoche said. In Helsinki, the Finnish regulator's chief says the memo is a sign that Areva's attitude towards regulation and specifications is improving. "They've learned the lesson," he said. Write to David Gauthier-Villars at David.Gauthier-Villars@dowjones.com ***************************************************************** 21 Economic Times: Centre to set up two nuclear power plants- MANIKA GUPTA INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, MARCH 06, 2007 03:30:00 PM] NEW DELH: The UPA Government will to go ahead with its plan to set up two major nuclear power plants, one each in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The two plants with four heavy water reactors of 700 Mw capacities each will add 2800 Mw nuclear capacity. Initially, the Government will invest Rs 1700 crore on the long delivery equipment that includes steam generators and turbines for the four reactors to be set up at Rawatbhata in Rajastan and Kakrapar in Gujarat. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram have given a go ahead for this proposal of the Department of Atomic Energy. The two nuclear power projects are being set up in consonance with the Vision 2020 of the nodal department. As per the vision document, the installed nuclear power capacity is expected to be ramped up to 20000 Mw. The Government has claimed that Environment Ministry has given clearances based on recommendations of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board after conducting public hearing to locate the nuclear power plant at Kakrapar. However, environmental activists are skeptical about the plants complying with the international safety standards. This is notwithstanding the fact that India has more than 14 nuclear power reactors, but very few nuclear reactors fall under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards. The rest - which were built with local technology - are accountable only to national standards set by the AERB. After the recent Indo - US civil nuclear power treaty, a large number of atomic power stations have come under the surveillance of IAEA. While the government releases no information about leaks or accidents at its nuclear power plants, Dhirendra Sharma, a die-hard environmentalist, who has written extensively on India's atomic-power projects, has compiled figures based on his own reporting. "An estimated 300 incidents of a serious nature have occurred, causing radiation leaks and physical damage to workers," he said. "These have so far remained official secrets." The chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar, however, has repeatedly asserted that his group is doing what it can to ensure that the country's power plants are safe. The cost benefits of nuclear power are disputed in a big way. It is generally agreed that the capital costs in setting up nuclear power are high and the variable costs including fuel is low vis-à-vis other fossil fuels. The critics claim that due to numerous safety systems required the running costs are significantly high. But, across West Europe and US, nuclear power capacities have become the lifeline of most advanced countries to meet rising demand for power. In case of the proposed nuclear plants, the estimated expenditure involved in the procurement of above equipment is Rs 1680 crore for four reactors which is about 9 per cent of the estimated completion cost and the equipment is proposed to be purchased from indigenous manufacturers. The only saving grace is that the initial cost will be borne entirely by NPCIL. Equity portion, based: equity structure of 70: 30 of the project expenditure is proposed to be made from internal reserve and surplus generated by the public sector undertaking. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 Grist: China nuclear power | Gristmill: The environmental news blog | Posted by Robert Delfs at 10:08 AM on 06 Mar 2007 China will award a contract to build two nuclear reactors in its southeast to France's Areva SA, a Chinese official said according to reports in China Daily and other publications. The deal, covering two reactors for Yangjiang in Guangdong Province, had originally been awarded to Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse Electric Co., which will get an agreement for two other reactors in Shandong Province. The sources said that China needs to add two reactors a year to meet a 2020 target of increasing the share of nuclear in total power from 2.3 percent to 4 percent. Areva and Westinghouse are competing to build as many as 26 more reactors by 2020 as China turns to atomic energy to cut pollution and carbon emissions and reduce its reliance on oil. ChristinaMac posted in a January 2007 thread about nuclear power that: Up until now, I've been thinking that the Chinese are just going to be conned into nuclear power by greedy uranium and nuclear technology corporations. Now I see that there's a chance that they might wake up to this. I can't help noticing that wherever "first and second world countries" have had experience of nuclear power -- people don't want it. As OhmExcited pointed out in that same thread, France gets 80 percent of its electric power from nuclear, and the French people that I know seem very happy about it, merci beaucoup. Which "first and second world countries" with "experience of nuclear power" is ChristinaMac talking about? China's current plan to boost nuclear generation to a mere 4 percent of total power by 2020 is simply a matter of way too little, way too late. Now here's a question for the rapidly thinning ranks of the reality-based. Got your spreadsheets ready? Assuming North America and Europe actually manage to stabilize their carbon emissions by 2010 (and I realize that on current performance that may be a ridiculous assumption), and assuming average annual GDP growth of around 7 percent (well below recent levels) in China and India over the next 13 years, how much of their total energy would China and India have to get from nuclear by 2020 for there to be a snowball's chance in hell (and I don't mean that as a literary figure) for the planet to be on track to hold global carbon emissions constant at 2010 levels into the mid-21st century? Extra credit: If you believe your answer to the first question, what should we do about it? (Other than look for soon-to-be beachfront real estate opportunities in the Rockies, I mean.) For story: China nuclear power About half, unless we remove atmospheric CO2 assuming average annual GDP growth of around 7 percent (well below recent levels) in China and India over the next 13 years, Also assuming a constant proportionality between energy use and GDP, that's a doubling of energy use in those countries between 2010 and 2020. Assuming North America and Europe actually manage to stabilize their carbon emissions by 2010 ... Stabilize as in plateau, or stabilize as in peak? In either case the curve is level for a moment at the beginning of 2010. But it is not reasonable to assume our net carbon emissions will just level off; they're likely to drop. ... how much of their total energy would China and India have to get from nuclear by 2020 ... to hold global carbon emissions constant at 2010 levels into the mid-21st century? Approximating their 2010 nuclear fraction as zero, and assuming nothing changes elsewhere, all the increase after 2010 would have to be nuclear or other low-carbon, and their power supply in 2020 would be half nuclear. India, at least, seems to have discovered that heavy water reactors can be built quickly and cheaply, so this is certainly possible, but it's not reasonable to assume we in North America and Europe will keep our 2010 net CO2 emission level up through the following decade and decades. We'll nuclearize and maybe we'll pull CO2 out of the atmosphere. --- G. R. L. Cowan, former hydrogen-energy fan Oxygen expands around boron fire, car goes by GRLCowan at 12:21 PM on 06 Mar 2007 Exponential energy-growth enables minimum risk Robert Delfs wrote: If you believe your answer to the first question, what should we do about it? That depends on the goal. If the goal is civilization risk-reduction, continuous exponential power-growth has been objectively established as the most-effective strategy. Any power source is fine, as long as it can keep up. No solar-related (wind; hydro; solar PV; solar thermal; etc.) power source can keep up, of course (a modest 20-fold per century growth rate would eclipse practical geo-surface solar-power potential in less than two centuries, and eclipse absolute geo-surface solar-power potential in only three centuries), and therefore they are inherently unsustainable. Coal and heavy-metal fission can serve for a century or so, and then heavy-metal fission by itself can serve for the next several centuries. In the neighborhood of one millennium from now, when our power consumption is on the order of 10 trillion times that of the present, light-gas fusion can be phased in and ultimately take over. The four gas-giant planets can supply fusion fuel until we are mature enough to siphon fuel out of the sun. by Nucbuddy at 2:50 PM on 06 Mar 2007 Nucbuddy, I hope you are being sarcastic. I built a spread sheet. year Unit % 2007 1.07 2008 1.1449 2009 1.225043 2010 1.31079601 2011 1.402551731 2012 1.500730352 2013 1.605781476 2014 1.71818618 2015 1.838459212 2016 1.967151357 2017 2.104851952 2018 2.252191589 2019 2.409845 2020 2.57853415 2021 2.759031541 2022 2.952163749 2023 3.158815211 2024 3.379932276 2025 3.616527535 2026 3.869684462 2027 4.140562375 2028 4.430401741 2029 4.740529863 2030 5.072366953 2031 5.42743264 2032 5.807352925 2033 6.21386763 2034 6.648838364 2035 7.114257049 2036 7.612255043 2037 8.145112896 2038 8.715270798 2039 9.325339754 2040 9.978113537 2041 10.67658148 2042 11.42394219 2043 12.22361814 2044 13.07927141 2045 13.99482041 2046 14.97445784 2047 16.02266989 2048 17.14425678 2049 18.34435475 2050 19.62845959 2.57853415/1.31079601=1.97 Power needs will double (1.97) between 2010 and 2020 assuming 7% growth of economy is proportional to energy use. Now get this. If it takes 26 nuclear reactors to meet 4% of the power used in 2020, you will need 650 of them to meet all needs. You will need half that many to hold emissions at 2010 levels, or 325 reactors, about 23 per year. What the spread sheet shows me is that something is going to break in the next 13 years. To continue these trends to 2050 (mid-21st century) is not possible. China would need many thousands of nuclear reactors by 2050. In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world by biodiversivist at 6:46 PM on 06 Mar 2007 Oh, and welcome back Mr. Delfs. For the extra credit, I would A) Develop the TIFIC. B) Work real hard to find ways for the poor to migrate to and work in urban settings where the jobs are going to be, reducing poverty and creating more problem solvers. C) Find ways to preserve what remains of the planet's biodiversity and the carbon sinks it survives live in until the human tsunami passes. I would do all this in parallel. In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world by biodiversivist at 7:11 PM on 06 Mar 2007 Breakable things ... include the seven percent GDP-and-power increase per year; that looks as if it might be breaking as we speak. They include your unwritten assumption that reactor scale cannot change. Reactors covering half of China's and India's power needs would have to give some power in chemical, not electrical, form, and in that case the sensible scale for them equals or exceeds the tens-of-GW that is typical of modern oil refineries. Liquid lead moving by natural convection at 5 m/s through a cylindrical core that is 15 m in diameter, 5 m in axial extent, and being heated from 800 K to 1,400 K takes off 777 thermal GW. --- G. R. L. Cowan, former hydrogen-energy fan Oxygen expands around boron fire, car goes by GRLCowan at 8:08 PM on 06 Mar 2007 Grist: Environmental News and Commentary ©2007. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with ***************************************************************** 23 The Hindu: US civilian nuclear team seeks Indian partners Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 New Delhi March 5 A high-powered US civilian nuclear delegation led by General Electric, Westinghouse, PSEG Nuclear, Bechtel and United States Enrichment Corporation Inc (USEC) is in the country to discuss possible collaborations with Indian firms and chalk out a roadmap for future engagements in the wake of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. The nuclear mission, a sub-delegation of a 38-company US-India Business Council (USIBC) Executive Mission that is on a five-day visit to India starting March 5, has on board a host of nuclear power companies, high-technology contractors and equipment suppliers. The nuclear mission is slated to meet officials from the Department of Atomic Energy, NTPC and BHEL. The delegation would leave for Mumbai to take part in the second leg of discussions with the top brass of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and representatives of private sector firms that are planning nuclear forays. Mr Tim Richards, GE's International Energy Policy Director, and Mr Rao Mandava of Westinghouse are part of the delegation. Besides, senior executives of USEC, which operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the US, and the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) are part of the mission. Currently, NPCIL and BHAVINI are the only ones engaged in nuclear generation. New aspirants include NTPC, which plans to commission nuclear capacity of about 2,000 MW by 2017. Private players such as Tata Power, Sterlite and Reliance Energy are awaiting amendments to the Atomic Energy Act to kick off their nuclear plans. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. ***************************************************************** 24 TorontoSun.com: Funding spike to power up nukes torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca Tue, March 6, 2007 By ALAN FINDLAY, NATIONAL BUREAU The safety commission overseeing Canada's nuclear industry is getting a substantial boost in federal funding as the sector enjoys renewed popularity amid climate change concerns. With the expansion of nuclear power in Ontario and significant support in the oil sands, recent estimates for next year's federal spending ratchets up funding for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission by 20%, to $94.5 million from $78.7 million. MORE PLANTS "The majority of the increase will be used to meet existing demand and forecasted increase in regulatory workload associated with industry growth and to meet new demand in regulatory workload associated with licensing new nuclear power plants," says commission spokesman Aurele Gervais, In a speech to the Canadian Nuclear Association last week, the commission's president and CEO, Linda Keen, anticipated "clear and sustained growth." "The CNSC must move forward on many fronts ... to protect the health, safety, security and the environment of Canadians," Keen said. GREENHOUSE GAS-FREE Though the industry continues to have no shortage of critics, it is seen as a greenhouse gas-free solution as the country tries to curtail its global-warming emissions. Part of the commission's new business comes from applications by both Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power to expand. Copyright © 2006, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 RIA Novosti: Russia ready to expand ties with Chile, build nuclear plants 10:20 | 06/ 03/ 2007 BUENOS AIRES, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Chile intend to expand bilateral trade and economic relations, including scientific and technical cooperation, a Russian deputy foreign minister said Tuesday. "Trade between our countries is worth $185 million, which obviously does not reflect Russia's or Chile's burgeoning economies," Sergei Kislyak told a news conference at the end of Russian-Chilean political consultations. He said Russia is also ready to cooperate with Chile in the nuclear sphere, but this was entirely up to the Chilean government to decide. Chile, which meets 90% of its demand for natural gas with imports from Argentina and is facing an energy crisis, is considering the possibility of building nuclear power plants. Kislyak said Russia is taking an increasing interest in Latin America. "Russia and the Latin American countries have an excellent future," he said. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 26 Platts: Chief regulator rejects RWE's bid to extend Biblis-A's lifetime London (Platts)--6Mar2007 Chief regulator Sigmar Gabriel rejected RWE's bid to extend Biblis-A's lifetime by transferring to it kilowatt-hours from RWE's defunct Muelheim- Kaerlich PWR, Gabriel's spokesman said March 5, confirming unsourced German media reports March 3. In September, RWE filed a petition with the federal government to transfer kWh allowances to Biblis from Muelheim-Kaerlich or from the Emsland PWR, its newest reactor. If approved by Gabriel and two other cabinet officials, the transfer would allow RWE to operate Biblis for about three years beyond 2008, when it is anticipated to be shut under its current phase-out schedule. Gabriel's spokesman said that Gabriel has not yet ruled on RWE's alternative request to transfer lifetime to Biblis from Emsland. However, in public statements so far, Gabriel, a Social Democratic politician, has firmly opposed transfer of allotments from newer reactors such as Emsland to the oldest units, including Biblis. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 27 World Nuclear News: Australians support nuclear - but not close to home 06 March 2007 A recent poll shows more support for nuclear power than opposition among Australians, when described as a way to address climate change, but support was notably lacking for plants in respondents' local areas. The telephone poll of over 1200 adults was compiled by Newspoll for The Australian newspaper between 2 and 4 March. It posed the question: "Are you personally in favour or against the development of a nuclear power industry in Australia, as one of a range of energy solutions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?" Overall, some 45% were in favour with 40% against - a dramatic change from 35% support and 50% opposition expressed in a similar poll conducted in December 2006. Nuclear supporters outnumbered opponents in all ranges except females (38% vs. 42%) and 35-49 year-olds (43% vs. 45%). Among politicians, members of the ruling Liberal coalition showed 61% support, while opposition Labor Party members were 52% against. The results broadly agree with a February Newspoll / Australian survey in which 76% agreed that climate change and its effects on Australia would be a "major problem", and 77% said they would be prepared to pay more for electricity if it came from alternative sources that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, support dramatically dropped when the respondents were asked in the March poll: "If it was decided that Australia develops a nuclear power industry, would you personally be in favour or against a nuclear power station being built in your local area?" Overall supporters made up just 25%, with opposition of 66%. The most dramatic opposition came from Labor MPs, 76% of whom would be against the idea. Further information Newspoll ***************************************************************** 28 Yemen Observer: IAEA will help Yemen produce nuclear energy By Huda al-Kibsi Mar 6, 2007, 16:03 The International Atomic Energy Agency has agreed to help the Republic of Yemen finish establishing a secured infrastructure for nuclear safety. Dr. Moustafa Y. Bahran, Science and Technology Advisor to the President of Yemen and Chairman of the National Atomic Energy Commission of Yemen, came from Vienna last Friday Mar, 2. During his visit abroad, he received the offer of help from Mohammed El-Baradei, general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA also started carrying out and financing the economic study of the use of nuclear energy in a peaceful way, starting this month. Yemen has achieved 70 percent of the secured infrastructure necessary for nuclear safety works, said Bahran. “There are no stations yet, but the commission is studying three locations to choose from for building one,†he said. There will be training for national experts and preparation for related equipment and laws. The International Atomic Energy Agency is going to send a legal expert to review the nuclear energy law project prepared by Yemen, so as to improve it so that it suits the needs for electricity production and water desalinization, and also so that it suits the international demands that nuclear energy only be used for peaceful purposes, said Bahran. After finishing the level of secured infrastructure for nuclear safety according to international criteria, there will be a meeting with specialist Canadian and American companies to carry out the project on an investment basis. The purpose is to produce energy and using nuclear energy is cheaper and cleaner than traditional ways, said Ebraheem al-Mahdi, general director of Water and Sanitation Local Corporation. “The corporation is working on this, and there is the Japanese committee to study Sana’a Water Basin and the equivalents. Desalinization of the sea water will be in Hodeidah to serve other places like Sana’a.†The Canadian government has also shown its readiness to help, said Ahmed al-Wajeh, director projects at the Public Electricity Corporation. “The project needs time and money to be fulfilled. It needs about eight years and billion dollars to produce 1,000 Mega Watt with nuclear energy. Though it is expensive now, but it will make it cheaper in the future.†Copyright 2002 - 2006 Yemen Observer ***************************************************************** 29 Sofia Echo: Most Bulgarians favour nuclear energy production - 10:44 Tue 06 Mar 2007 Most Bulgarians support the use of nuclear energy in the country, a survey of European centre for statistical research Eurobarometer showed. Eurobarometer's research examined the attitude of European Union (EU) citizens towards nuclear energy, Focus news agency reported. The largest number of nuclear energy supporters was seen in Sweden, Slovakia and Bulgaria. Research showed that 51 per cent of the Bulgarians thought that the share of nuclear energy production should increase. The number of nuclear energy supporters depended on the existing nuclear reactors in the countries and the amount of energy they produced, Eurobarometer said. Among the EU countries, 15 have nuclear power plants. Web www.sofiaecho.com © 2001-2007, Sofia Echo Media Ltd. Web development and design by Webfactory Bulgaria ***************************************************************** 30 Somerset County Gazette: Council Clarifies Stance On Nuclear TAUNTON NEWS Comment Hinkley Point nuclear power stations WEST Somerset Council has clarified its position on nuclear power, after it was claimed the authority had agreed to oppose the building of a new power station at Hinkley Point. Local anti-nuclear group Stop Hinkley had welcomed findings released by pressure group Nuclear Free Local Authorities, which suggested the council had endorsed an anti-nuclear policy last April. Campaigners celebrated the news, predicting that West Somerset's opposition to the scheme would prevent the Government from bypassing a public enquiry into the building of a new Hinkley C. They said the decision would be "a set back" to Hinkley B owner British Energy, currently in talks about sharing the £2billion construction cost for a new power station on the site. But council spokesman, Stacey Beaumont, said although the council's Local Plan Policy did say the council opposed further nuclear development, it did not include the replacement of existing stations once they had been de-commissioned. She said: "The Local Plan Policy EN/5 states the council will resist the development of further nuclear power generation capacity at Hinkley Point. "The policy does, however, allow for the site's nuclear power generation capacity to be replaced. "The council does not have a policy that states it will oppose the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point if it is to replace Hinkley A or B stations, providing it does not exceed their generating capacity." 10:25am Tuesday 6th March 2007Print  Email this story Add Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company ***************************************************************** 31 World Nuclear News: Bill introduced to lift Californian moratorium 06 March 2007 A bill introduced in California's state legislature by Republican assembly member Chuck DeVore calls for the state's moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants to be lifted. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore An existing law, introduced in 1976, prohibits the use of land in California for the construction of new nuclear power plants until the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission confirms the existence of "an approved and demonstrated technology or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste." In 2006 California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed legislation requiring the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. The bill introduced by DeVore would create the California Zero Carbon Dioxide Emission Electrical Generation Act of 2007. The bill says that "unless modern, clean, efficient, and safe commercial nuclear power is added to the mix," efforts to generate "significant amounts of zero carbon dioxide emitting electrical power at a cost that California consumers and industry can afford, and with the reliability they require, will be severely at risk." DeVore said, "If we aim to reduce carbon dioxide without bankrupting the state and still have working class people afford power, the only way to have that done is modern nuclear power." He added, "It's time that we consider allowing the construction of new nuclear power plants, especially given that the state of the art has improved so far since the last ones were built." According to DeVore, if a new nuclear power plant were ordered immediately, it would be more than ten years before it created any radioactive waste, by which time he expects a waste disposal site to be established. However, Edward Sproat, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), told a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee meeting in December 2006 that the Yucca Mountain repository will "most probably" not open before September 2020. Sproat said that the 2020 date takes into account possible program delays from lawsuits that are likely to be filed. Although the bill is not expected to receive the necessary support in the current legislative session to make it into law, DeVore says he will reintroduce the bill in subsequent years. There are currently four nuclear power reactors in operation in California: Diablo Canyon 1 and 2 (owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co) and San Onofre 2 and 3 (owned by Southern California Edison Co and San Diego Gas & Electric Co). The plants provide some 16% of California's energy needs. WNA's California's Electricity information paper ***************************************************************** 32 FR: NRC: STP Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206 Doc E7-3827 [Federal Register: March 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 43)] [Notices] [Page 9982-9983] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06mr07-89] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499; License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80] Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, has issued a director's decision with regard to a petition dated May 16, 2006, filed by Mr. Glenn Adler on behalf of Service Employees International Union, hereinafter referred to as the Petitioner. The petition was supplemented by letter dated June 26, 2006, and provided to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) during a meeting with the agency's petition review board (PRB) on June 27, 2006. Transcripts of the meeting are available, as an attachment to the PRB meeting summary, via the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) on the agency's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. The petition concerns the operation of the South Texas Project (STP) Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2. The Petitioner requested that the NRC issue a demand for information (DFI) to STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), licensee for STP, to provide the results of assessments of the safety-conscious work environment (SCWE) at STP conducted since January 1, 2004; summaries of action plans and results of actions to remedy the problems revealed by the assessments, including documents mentioned at an August 2005 meeting convened to discuss the STP SCWE; summaries of action plans and results of efforts to remedy problems revealed by such assessments in 2001 and 2003; and all correspondence between the NRC, STPNOC, and Wackenhut Corporation concerning the 2001, 2003, and 2005 comprehensive cultural surveys (CCAs). As the basis for the petition, the Petitioner stated that, in 1998 the NRC found that STP had violated Federal law by subjecting four employees to a ``hostile work environment'' after the employees raised safety concerns. The Petitioner noted that the NRC issued an order requiring STP to hire an independent contractor to conduct periodic CCAs. The Petitioner stated that the licensee hired Synergy Consulting Services Corporation. The Wackenhut Corporation took over security at STP in July 2001, after winning a 3-year contract for security, with an option for 2 additional years. The Petitioner further noted that in the 2001 and 2003 CCAs, Wackenhut scored poorly on independent surveys assessing the STPNOC nuclear safety culture, SCWE, general culture and work environment, leadership, management, and supervisory skills and practices. The Petitioner stated that, despite apparently repeated efforts by STPNOC to remedy the poor performance of Wackenhut, a more recent survey revealed that Wackenhut's performance problems continued, as indicated in the 2005 CCA, and that the STPNOC action plans apparently were not successful with respect to Wackenhut and other entities. The Petitioner stated that obtaining the documents it identified will facilitate the NRC to be better informed about improvement in the licensee's SCWE at STPNOC. In addition, the NRC will be better able to assess the effectiveness of previous steps taken with Wackenhut and other entities for whom problems persisted, despite repeated efforts to remedy them. On June 27, 2006, the Petitioner and the licensee's attorney met with the staff's PRB. The meeting gave the Petitioner and the licensee's attorney an opportunity to provide additional information and to clarify issues raised in the petition. The summary of the meeting and its transcript are available in ADAMS, as stated above. On November 21, 2006, the NRC sent a copy of the proposed director's decision to the Petitioner and the licensee for comment. At the request of the Petitioner, the NRC extended the end of the comment period from December 21, 2006, to January 12, 2007. However, the NRC staff did not receive any comments. The NRC has included the latest update of the results of its ongoing oversight at STP, and made some editorial changes to the text of this director's decision. The director's decision [DD-07-01] explains the reasons for this decision pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.206, the complete text of which is available on the agency's Web site via ADAMS and at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and from the ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). [[Page 9983]] The NRC staff denied the Petitioner's request for a DFI to STPNOC. Issuance of a DFI is not warranted because the NRC has already reviewed and has ready access to all the information for which the Petitioner had requested a DFI. NRC has also denied your request to docket the documents for which you requested DFI. The NRC will docket only documents which are submitted to the NRC. However, NRC is denying your request for a DFI, and NRC did not require submission of the documents in its Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately) of June 9, 1998. Instead, STPNOC maintains the documents for ready access by the NRC at the site. A copy of the director's decision will be filed with the Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this regulation, the director's decision will constitute the final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the director's decision in that time. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. J.E. Dyer, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-3827 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 33 FR NRC: cable failures Doc E7-3854 [Federal Register: March 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 43)] [Notices] [Page 9979-9980] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06mr07-85] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Inaccessible or Underground Power Cable Failures That Disable Accident Mitigation Systems or Cause Plant Transients AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of Issuance. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Generic Letter (GL) 2007-01 to all holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those who have permanently ceased operation and have certified that fuel has been removed from the reactor vessel. The NRC is issuing this GL to: (1) Inform licensees that the failure of certain power cables can affect the functionality of multiple accident mitigation systems or cause plant transients, (2) Inform licensees that in the absence of adequate monitoring of cable insulation, equipment could fail abruptly during service, causing plant transients or disabling accident mitigation systems, (3) Ask licensees to provide information on the monitoring of [[Page 9980]] inaccessible or underground electrical cables, and Require that addressees submit a written response to the NRC in accordance with NRC regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 50.54(f). This Federal Register notice is available through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Number ML070470317. DATES: The GL was issued on February 7, 2007. ADDRESSES: Not applicable. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberley Corp, (301) 415-1091 or by email kar1@nrc.gov or Matthew McConnell at (301) 415-1597 or e-mail mxm4@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NRC Generic Letter 2007-01 may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. The ADAMS number for the GL is ML070360665. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if you have problems in accessing the documents in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room reference staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of February 2007. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Theodore R. Quay, Acting Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-3854 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 34 UPI: Battle for energy buyout continues United Press International - Energy - 3/6/2007 12:53:00 PM -0500 PARIS, March 6 (UPI) -- French nuclear power plant developer Areva's bid to acquire REpower was approved by the European Commission Monday. The European Union's Brussels based anti-trust regulator approved the $786 million bid, Bloomberg reported. Areva is competing with India-based Suzlon Energy Ltd. for the remaining shares of German REpower since Suzlon filed at the end of February. The deadline for offers was originally March 7, but it was recently extended to April 20. Shareholders have until that time to withdraw offers and sell shares between Suzlon and Areva, the Economic Times reported. Suzlon also recently passed another stage of the regulatory process, receiving clearance from the German regulatory group the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority on its $1.35 billion bid for the win turbine manufacturer. Tulsi Tanti, chairman of Suzlon, has said he's confident his company's bid will be successful. REpower, however, though claiming to not endorse either Areva or Suzlon, has said Areva would make a "fitting strategic partner." In the wake of the decline in the United States and Chinese stock markets, stock for all three companies has been down since the initial boost after the offers were made last month. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 35 Czech Happenings: Next Austrian-Czech border blockade over Temelin on March 14 7.3. 2007 www.brezen.cz Linz- Austrian opponents of South Bohemian nuclear power plant Temelin will organise the next blockade of Austrian-Czech border crossings on March 14, Manfred Doppler, spokesman for the Upper Austrian group Atomstopp, told CTK today. The activists will block four crossings - Wullowitz/Dolni Dvoriste, Weigetschlag/Studanky, Guglwald/Predni Vyton and Gmund/Ceske Velenice - from 10:00 to 12:00 next Wednesday. Originally, the blockade was held every Wednesday. Doppler said that the Austrian government is discussing possible steps to be taken against Temelin. Doppler said that the blockade would take place even if Austria lodged an international complaint against the Czech Republic over Temelin. "It is the most important for us that the Czechs implement in the plant the safety measures we require," he pointed out. He repeatedly said that according to Atomstopp, the Czech Republic violated the bilateral Austrian-Czech agreement from Melk by allowing the full operation of the plant in 2003. "Border blockades will continue and Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer can blame only himself for it," Doppler said. The anti-nuclear activists criticise the Austrian government for its allegedly passive stance on Temelin. Atomstopp and the Lower Austrian platform Stopp Temelin said earlier that possible international diplomatic problems caused by the blockade were Gusenbauer's fault. ÈTK 13:54 - 06.03.2007 Print Send by e-mail ISSN 1213-5003 Copyright (c) 1995-2007 Neris s.r.o. Ochrana osobních ***************************************************************** 36 MHNN: Greenburgh supervisor joins anti-IP effort Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide Greenburgh The town supervisor of the Westchester County Town of Greenburgh is the latest to criticize the operation of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. Paul Feiner said Congress should direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue fines to nuclear plants, including Indian Point, whenever there is a violation. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not imposed fines every time there has been a violation. Everyone assumed there were fines, but there haven’t been. That means there were no incentives,” he said. “Every time there is a leak from Entergy, or other related problems, Indian Point gets away with it. There are no fines and there is no punishment.” Feiner said he will seek town board approval to call for NRC fining of power plants with violations. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 37 CS Monitoer: How green is nuclear power? | csmonitor.com from the March 7, 2007 edition Some call it a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels, but others point to significant environmental costs. By Mark Clayton | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor In Kansas, where winds blow strong, the push for clean energy includes not only new wind turbines but also new nuclear-power plants as part of a "carbon-free" solution to climate change. It's an idea that may be catching on. At least 11 new nuclear plants are in the design stage in nine states, including Virginia, Texas, and Florida, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute website. But that carbon-free pitch has researchers asking anew: How carbon-free is nuclear power? And how cost-effective is it in the fight to slow global warming? "Saying nuclear is carbon-free is not true," says Uwe Fritsche, a researcher at the Öko Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, who has conducted a life-cycle analysis of the plants. "It's less carbon-intensive than fossil fuel. But if you are honest, scientifically speaking, the truth is: There is no carbon-free energy. There's no free lunch." Nuclear power has more than just a little greenhouse gas attached to it, when mining uranium ore, refining and enriching fuel, building the plant, and operating it are included. A big 1,250 megawatt plant produces the equivalent of 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year during its life, Dr. Fritsche says. That's still much less than coal-fired power plants and natural-gas turbines. It even does better than solar power and small-scale hydro projects. However, the gap with solar is closing and emissions from manufacturing photovoltaic panels are now on par with nuclear, a new study funded by the US Energy Department finds. Officials in the nuclear power industry say references to carbon-free energy in their promotions refer only to the power-plant operation – and are not intended to describe carbon emissions during the entire nuclear life cycle. "Yes, absolutely there's carbon," says Paul Genoa, director of policy development for the Nuclear Energy Institute, which represents the nuclear power industry in the US. "Most studies have found life-cycle emissions of nuclear to be comparable with renewable. Some show nuclear to be extremely high, but we do not find those credible." Neither do many researchers. A 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study recommended vast expansion of nuclear power to make a dent in the climate-change problem. Princeton researchers also cited it as an option, although they acknowledged concerns about terror threats and potential accidents. ((((( middle of article damaged at website ((((( "The bottom line is that society needs to figure out how to get the energy it needs at the lowest possible social and environmental costs," he says. "Any reasonable researcher would recognize that renewable energy has a significant and increasing role to play. But by 2050, these will not supply even a small percentage of the worldwide electricity need. You have to get real about what is needed - massive amounts of energy on a massive scale." Key question: coal displacement But for those energy experts who have done life-cycle analysis of nuclear power, the big concern is that policymakers may be misled into believing that just because nuclear CO2 emissions are low, the cost of nuclear as an option to address climate change would be a bargain. Better, they say, to take the huge amounts of money needed for nuclear plants and use it to build lower-cost solutions that will displace more coal. "It's easy to show that building more reactors makes climate change worse than it should have been," says Amory Lovins, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think tank in Snowmass, Colo. "That's because a dollar put into new reactors gives two to 10 times less climate solution for the amount of coal-power displaced than if you had bought cheaper solutions with the same dollars." Environmental groups, too, are well aware of the conundrum surrounding the claim of carbon-free energy. Most of them maintain that nuclear is not the answer to climate change. But their antinuclear arguments have centered on environmental damage from nuclear waste, potential accidents, and terror threats. "First, nuclear was supposed to be too cheap to meter; now, they're framing it as a solution to climate change," says Erich Pica, director of economic policy for Friends of the Earth, an environmental group. "We hope this Democratic Congress will be skeptical of that claim." www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2007 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 38 AU ABC: Rann wants state referendum on nuclear power. 06/03/2007. ABC News Online The South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, wants a state referendum on nuclear power if the Federal Government moves to override state bans on nuclear power plants. He says the state needs legislation to trigger a referendum because the Federal Government is promoting the idea of allowing nuclear power plants to be built in Australia. Mr Rann says federal laws currently ban nuclear power plants being built in Australia, and he says state legislation is needed to reinforce the ban in South Australia. The Greens say they will introduce legislation in an effort to end any uncertainty over the possibility of a nuclear power plant being built in South Australia. Greens MLC Mark Parnell says the Mr Rann has done a backflip by announcing he wants a referendum on the issue. Last week Mr Rann ruled out a nuclear plant ever being built in South Australia under a Labor Government or while he was Premier. Mr Parnell says the Premier's choice for a referendum has raised doubt and uncertainty over his previous pledge. ***************************************************************** 39 The Australian: State flags referendum on nuclear power * March 06, 2007 This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP SOUTH Australian Premier Mike Rann says he will call a referendum on nuclear power if the Federal Government moves to override state bans on such a power plant in SA. Mr Rann today said he would introduce legislation to parliament that would trigger the referendum if the Commonwealth pushed the issue. "It now appears the Prime Minister is becoming a champion of domestic nuclear power generation and his government is actively promoting the idea of overturning laws to allow their establishment in Australia," Mr Rann said. "I believe this is an issue of such significance and controversy that the people should be given a direct say in whether they want nuclear power plants built in South Australia." Mr Rann said his position was clear and his government would always oppose nuclear power because it was financially irresponsible, economically unviable and would massively force up the price of power. But he said if the community wanted to debate the pros and cons of nuclear power then a referendum would provide a platform to help people make an informed judgment. "If the Federal Government is so sure that nuclear power stations are a good idea, then it should welcome the opportunity for the people of South Australia to have a say," the Premier said. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 40 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Working to Develop New Nuke Detectors From the Associated Press Tuesday March 6, 2007 6:46 AM By BEVERLEY LUMPKIN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - At a busy border crossing, a truck passing through a radiation scanner sets off an alarm. It could be a nuclear device, but it's far more likely to be kitty litter, ceramic tile or a load of bananas. The machines, first installed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, measure gamma radiation, but cannot distinguish between low levels of gamma rays that occur naturally in innocent materials, and the makings for weapons that terrorists might use. So the inspectors must pull the truck or container aside for a second inspection with a hand-held scanner, which, at the nation's busiest ports or border crossings, can lead to backed-up lines that anger drivers and slow commerce. That's the dilemma of protecting the United States from nuclear terrorism - a trade-off among accuracy, inconvenience and the expense to taxpayers. About 600 scanners have been installed at ports and border crossings around the U.S. Government officials are working with several companies to develop new nuclear detectors that won't waste time and that can actually differentiate the potassium in a banana from that in highly enriched uranium. Tests being conducted in Nevada this month pit new detectors against the older ones, to determine whether the higher accuracy claimed by the makers of the new machines is enough to justify their higher cost - around $377,000 each, more than six times the cost of the older models. Later this spring, the new machines will undergo a real-world test on the New York waterfront so Customs officers can judge for themselves if they're an improvement. They're also to be used in similar tests along roads leading to the city as part of an effort to set up a protective perimeter starting in 2008. Some investigators question whether cutting the time wasted by false alarms might actually increase the deadly possibility of nuclear material slipping by an inspector. Last October, the congressional Government Accountability Office reported that the new machines, touted as having fewer false alarms, showed a frightening incidence of ``false negatives'' - meaning the scanner either misidentified the material as nonthreatening, or failed to detect it at all. That danger is particularly high if the nuclear material is placed beside a nonthreatening substance such as kitty litter, the report said. It's no idle worry. Al-Qaida and like-minded terrorists have shown a desire both to obtain nuclear materials and to produce mass casualties. ``Criminals and terrorists can obtain a key component for producing nuclear weapons and smuggle it undetected through the airports of countries on high alert against terrorist threats,'' concluded a report published in February by the EastWest Institute, a think tank that studies global security issues. In a 2006 report, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency listed 16 confirmed incidents of trafficking in highly enriched uranium or plutonium globally from 1993 to 2005. Concerns about terrorists obtaining nuclear material increased dramatically after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the Bush administration's efforts to deal with the issue were scattered across different agencies. As early as 2002, the GAO lamented the lack of any government-wide plan to guide U.S. efforts to combat nuclear smuggling. It said ``some programs were duplicative, and coordination among U.S. agencies was not effective.'' It was not until April 2005 that the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office was created in the Homeland Security Department to coordinate the government's development of technology to detect nuclear materials. Later that year, at the Nevada test site just north of Las Vegas where the military once tested atomic weapons, the nuclear office began testing new machines, using sophisticated technology that can distinguish among different types of radioactive material. The older machines currently in use at ports and border crossings measure whether there is an elevated amount of radiation, but cannot identify its source. To test the new machines, the nuclear office sent trucks carrying radiological materials on 7,000 runs down a row of scanners developed by 10 companies. They chose three finalists whose models are still under evaluation. The newer models use crystals that absorb radioactive wavelengths to suggest what the material is. The operator analyzes the emissions using the machine's sophisticated software. ``We don't expect this to be 100 percent perfect immediately, but we will continue to refine it,'' said Vayl Oxford, head of the nuclear office. Oxford will recommend to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff following this month's tests whether the machines should be certified for use. The agency plans to spend $80 million this year to buy 104 of the advanced models, and ultimately wants to put them at 380 border sites. Congress has said that can't happen until the machines are proven effective. Some critics have raised concerns about both performance and cost of the new technology. They worry that the crystals are too delicate for the new devices to be deployed in the real world, where sand or salt water can interfere with their performance. In a 2005 report, the GAO said, ``Environmental conditions at many ports, such as the existence of high winds and sea spray, can affect radiation detection equipment's performance and sustainability.'' Oxford has acknowledged that the crystals used by the newer models are delicate and require more maintenance than the older ones. Also, the advanced model made by one company requires cool temperatures to operate effectively. In its October report, the GAO questioned the nuclear office's decisions about moving forward with the new models and concluded the agency did not justify its initial $1.2 billion contract with the three companies for their prototypes. And to judge the costs and benefits of the newer models, the agency relied on assumptions about the new machines' anticipated performance rather than considering actual test results, the GAO said. The report said the new scanners could not meet the nuclear office's standard of correctly identifying highly enriched uranium 95 percent of the time. Rather, the three finalists could recognize the uranium only 70 percent to 88 percent of the time, and could identify uranium masked by another substance such as kitty litter just 17 percent to 53 percent of the time. Oxford acknowledged that ``some misunderstandings and/or disagreements remain'' between his office and GAO, but promised that the testing this month in Nevada and later in New York would support the validity of his assumptions. He said he stood behind the basic conclusion that the new program is a ``sound investment'' for the government. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 41 AP Wire: U.S. working to hone new nuke detectors 03/06/2007 | BEVERLEY LUMPKIN Associated Press WASHINGTON - At a busy border crossing, a truck passing through a radiation scanner sets off an alarm. It could be a nuclear device, but it's far more likely to be kitty litter, ceramic tile or a load of bananas. "Nuclear materials such as uranium and plutonium are not the only materials that emit radiation," Vayl Oxford, who directs the Homeland Security Department's nuclear office, told a House Appropriations panel Tuesday. The machines, first installed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, measure gamma radiation, but cannot distinguish between low levels of gamma rays that occur naturally in innocent materials, and the makings for weapons that terrorists might use. So the inspectors must pull the truck or container aside for a second inspection with a hand-held scanner, which, at the nation's busiest ports or border crossings, can lead to backed-up lines that anger drivers and slow commerce. "Naturally occurring radioactive materials ... place an enormous burden on our customs offices, who must respond to all radiation alarms, including those caused by innocent goods," Oxford told the Appropriations subcommittee for homeland security. He explained that distance, dense materials like steel and lead, and the speed at which trucks carrying cargo move - about 5 mph - all affect the scanners' effectiveness. That's the dilemma of protecting the United States from nuclear terrorism - a trade-off among accuracy, inconvenience and the expense to taxpayers. "The 11 million containers that transit the ports every year (are) an enormous moving haystack that could conceal a deadly needle," said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky. Government agencies need "to find this proverbial needle in the haystack and prevent it from causing real harm in a way that does not bring the American economic engine to a grinding halt," Rogers said. About 900 scanners have been installed at ports and border crossings around the U.S. Government officials are working with several companies to develop new nuclear detectors that won't waste time and that can actually differentiate the potassium in a banana from that in highly enriched uranium. Tests being conducted in Nevada this month pit new detectors against the older ones, to determine whether the higher accuracy claimed by the makers of the new machines is enough to justify their higher cost - around $377,000 each, more than six times the cost of the older models. Later this spring, the new machines will undergo a real-world test on the New York waterfront so Customs officers can judge for themselves if they're an improvement. They're also to be used in similar tests along roads leading to the city as part of an effort to set up a protective perimeter starting in 2008. Some investigators question whether cutting the time wasted by false alarms might actually increase the deadly possibility of nuclear material slipping by an inspector. Last October, the congressional Government Accountability Office reported that the new machines, touted as having fewer false alarms, showed a frightening incidence of "false negatives" - meaning the scanner either misidentified the material as nonthreatening, or failed to detect it at all. That danger is particularly high if the nuclear material is placed beside a nonthreatening substance such as kitty litter, the report said. It's no idle worry. Al-Qaida and like-minded terrorists have shown a desire both to obtain nuclear materials and to produce mass casualties. "Criminals and terrorists can obtain a key component for producing nuclear weapons and smuggle it undetected through the airports of countries on high alert against terrorist threats," concluded a report published in February by the EastWest Institute, a think tank that studies global security issues. In a 2006 report, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency listed 16 confirmed incidents of trafficking in highly enriched uranium or plutonium globally from 1993 to 2005. Concerns about terrorists obtaining nuclear material increased dramatically after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the Bush administration's efforts to deal with the issue were scattered across different agencies. As early as 2002, the GAO lamented the lack of any government-wide plan to guide U.S. efforts to combat nuclear smuggling. It said "some programs were duplicative, and coordination among U.S. agencies was not effective." It was not until April 2005 that the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which Oxford heads, was created in the Homeland Security Department to coordinate the government's development of technology to detect nuclear materials. Later that year, at the Nevada test site just north of Las Vegas where the military once tested atomic weapons, the nuclear office began testing new machines, using sophisticated technology that can distinguish among different types of radioactive material. The older machines currently in use at ports and border crossings measure whether there is an elevated amount of radiation, but cannot identify its source. To test the new machines, the nuclear office sent trucks carrying radiological materials on 7,000 runs down a row of scanners developed by 10 companies. They chose three finalists whose models are still under evaluation. Oxford will recommend to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff following this month's tests whether the machines should be certified for use. The agency plans to spend $80 million this year to buy 104 of the advanced models, and ultimately wants to put them at 380 border sites. Congress has said that can't happen until the machines are proven effective. The Contra Costa Times ***************************************************************** 42 FR NRC & DHS MOU: Terrorist threats Doc 07-1006 [Federal Register: March 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 43)] [Notices] [Page 9959-9960] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06mr07-67] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Memorandum of Understanding Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Homeland Security Regarding Consultation Concerning Potential Vulnerabilities of the Location of Proposed New Utilization Facilities I. Purpose This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes a process to implement the provisions of Section 657 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPA), Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594, 814 (2005). Section 657 states: Sec. 657. Department of Homeland Security Consultation Before issuing a license for a utilization facility, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall consult with the Department of Homeland Security concerning the potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack. II. Background Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2133, the NRC is responsible for licensing and regulating the construction and operation of commercial nuclear power plants (known as ``utilization facilities'') in the United States to protect the health and safety of the public and to promote the common defense and security. In conducting its review of applications for such facilities pursuant to the Commission's implementing regulations in 10 CFR Parts 50 and 52, the NRC must, among other matters, determine the suitability of the site for the proposed facility. Among the provisions pertaining to the determination of site suitability, issues associated with the common defense and security are, as a general matter, addressed through the requirements of 10 CFR 100.21(f). This provision requires applicants to demonstrate that the site characteristics of the proposed location are such ``that adequate security plans and measures can be developed.'' In conducting its technical review of this portion of the application, the NRC addresses potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack; this evaluation focuses on assessing the impact of the following factors: (1) Pedestrian and vehicular land approaches, (2) railroad approaches, (3) waterborne approaches, (4) potential ``high-ground'' adversary advantage areas, (5) nearby road and/or transportation routes, and (6) nearby hazardous materials facilities, airports, dams, military and chemical facilities, and pipelines. Commencing in FY07, a substantial number of applications for new nuclear power plants is expected. Department of Homeland Security The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), pursuant to the Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135; Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7); and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) of 2006, has the authority and responsibility to lead the unified national effort to secure America by preventing, deterring, and responding to terrorist attacks and other threats and hazards to the Nation, including protecting the Nation's critical infrastructure (CI) and key resources (KR), such as the subject ``utilization facilities.'' III. Consultation Roles and Responsibilities The NRC will ``consult'' with the DHS under Section 657 of the EPA as follows: Before issuing a license for a utilization facility, the NRC will request, and the DHS will review and provide to the NRC comment on the potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack. This review and comment will be based on information, including the application, provided by the NRC, and any other factors, consistent with DHS authorities, the DHS considers vital to [[Page 9960]] assessing the potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack. Within ten (10) days after acceptance and docketing of an application, the NRC will provide the DHS with the application and any other information it deems relevant. The NRC will communicate promptly any schedule delay. Within 90 days of receipt of the application materials, the DHS will respond to the NRC in writing. This response will include any and all DHS comments concerning the potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack. If within 60 days of receipt of the application materials the DHS anticipates that it cannot complete its review within the 90-day time frame, the DHS will contact the NRC to discuss a mutually agreeable date by which it will respond to the NRC's request for consultation. The NRC and the DHS recognize that certain portions of the information exchanged pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding may be Safeguards Information in accordance with section 147 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; classified information; or other sensitive information that must be properly identified and protected from public disclosure in accordance with applicable requirements. IV. Working Arrangements The NRC Point of Contact for this agreement is: Team Leader, New Reactor Security Team, Reactor Security Branch, NSIR. The DHS Point of Contact for this agreement is: Lead, Nuclear Sector Branch, CNPPD. V. Funding All activities pursuant to this MOU are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and each agency's budget priorities. VI. Memorandum of Understanding This MOU shall not be construed to provide a private right of action for or by any person or entity. This MOU is effective upon signature by both parties. It will remain in effect until terminated by one of the parties following 30 days advance written notice to the other party. Modifications to this MOU may be made by written agreement of both parties. Approved for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dated: December 8, 2006. Luis A. Reyes, Executive Director for Operations. Approved for the Department of Homeland Security. Dated: February 20, 2007. Robert B. Stephan, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection. [FR Doc. 07-1006 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 43 cantonrep.com: New generation of nuclear detectors: boon or boondoggle? Tuesday, March 6, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) — At a busy border crossing, a truck passing through a radiation scanner sets off an alarm. It could be a nuclear device, but it’s far more likely to be kitty litter, ceramic tile or a load of bananas. The machines, first installed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, measure gamma radiation, but cannot distinguish between low levels of gamma rays that occur naturally in innocent materials, and the makings for weapons that terrorists might use. So the inspectors must pull the truck or container aside for a second inspection with a hand-held scanner, which, at the nation’s busiest ports or border crossings, can lead to backed-up lines that anger drivers and slow commerce. That’s the dilemma of protecting the United States from nuclear terrorism — a trade-off among accuracy, inconvenience and the expense to taxpayers. About 600 scanners have been installed at ports and border crossings around the U.S. Government officials are working with several companies to develop new nuclear detectors that won’t waste time and that can actually differentiate the potassium in a banana from that in highly enriched uranium. Tests being conducted in Nevada this month pit new detectors against the older ones, to determine whether the higher accuracy claimed by the makers of the new machines is enough to justify their higher cost — around $377,000 each, more than six times the cost of the older models. Later this spring, the new machines will undergo a real-world test on the New York waterfront so Customs officers can judge for themselves if they’re an improvement. They’re also to be used in similar tests along roads leading to the city as part of an effort to set up a protective perimeter starting in 2008. Some investigators question whether cutting the time wasted by false alarms might actually increase the deadly possibility of nuclear material slipping by an inspector. Last October, the congressional Government Accountability Office reported that the new machines, touted as having fewer false alarms, showed a frightening incidence of “false negatives” — meaning the scanner either misidentified the material as nonthreatening, or failed to detect it at all. That danger is particularly high if the nuclear material is placed beside a nonthreatening substance such as kitty litter, the report said. It’s no idle worry. Al-Qaida and like-minded terrorists have shown a desire both to obtain nuclear materials and to produce mass casualties. “Criminals and terrorists can obtain a key component for producing nuclear weapons and smuggle it undetected through the airports of countries on high alert against terrorist threats,” concluded a report published in February by the EastWest Institute, a think tank that studies global security issues. In a 2006 report, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency listed 16 confirmed incidents of trafficking in highly enriched uranium or plutonium globally from 1993 to 2005. Concerns about terrorists obtaining nuclear material increased dramatically after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the Bush administration’s efforts to deal with the issue were scattered across different agencies. As early as 2002, the GAO lamented the lack of any government-wide plan to guide U.S. efforts to combat nuclear smuggling. It said “some programs were duplicative, and coordination among U.S. agencies was not effective.” It was not until April 2005 that the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office was created in the Homeland Security Department to coordinate the government’s development of technology to detect nuclear materials. Later that year, at the Nevada test site just north of Las Vegas where the military once tested atomic weapons, the nuclear office began testing new machines, using sophisticated technology that can distinguish among different types of radioactive material. The older machines currently in use at ports and border crossings measure whether there is an elevated amount of radiation, but cannot identify its source. To test the new machines, the nuclear office sent trucks carrying radiological materials on 7,000 runs down a row of scanners developed by 10 companies. They chose three finalists whose models are still under evaluation. The newer models use crystals that absorb radioactive wavelengths to suggest what the material is. The operator analyzes the emissions using the machine’s sophisticated software. “We don’t expect this to be 100 percent perfect immediately, but we will continue to refine it,” said Vayl Oxford, head of the nuclear office. Oxford will recommend to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff following this month’s tests whether the machines should be certified for use. The agency plans to spend $80 million this year to buy 104 of the advanced models, and ultimately wants to put them at 380 border sites. Congress has said that can’t happen until the machines are proven effective. Some critics have raised concerns about both performance and cost of the new technology. They worry that the crystals are too delicate for the new devices to be deployed in the real world, where sand or salt water can interfere with their performance. In a 2005 report, the GAO said, “Environmental conditions at many ports, such as the existence of high winds and sea spray, can affect radiation detection equipment’s performance and sustainability.” Oxford has acknowledged that the crystals used by the newer models are delicate and require more maintenance than the older ones. Also, the advanced model made by one company requires cool temperatures to operate effectively. In its October report, the GAO questioned the nuclear office’s decisions about moving forward with the new models and concluded the agency did not justify its initial $1.2 billion contract with the three companies for their prototypes. And to judge the costs and benefits of the newer models, the agency relied on assumptions about the new machines’ anticipated performance rather than considering actual test results, the GAO said. The report said the new scanners could not meet the nuclear office’s standard of correctly identifying highly enriched uranium 95 percent of the time. Rather, the three finalists could recognize the uranium only 70 percent to 88 percent of the time, and could identify uranium masked by another substance such as kitty litter just 17 percent to 53 percent of the time. Oxford acknowledged that “some misunderstandings and/or disagreements remain” between his office and GAO, but promised that the testing this month in Nevada and later in New York would support the validity of his assumptions. He said he stood behind the basic conclusion that the new program is a “sound investment” for the government. © 2007 The Repository E-mail the webmaster at: webmaster@cantonrep.com ***************************************************************** 44 ICH: Poison DUst Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 16:56:04 -0600 (CST) "If once [the people] become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions." : Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1787 = "...There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." : Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837 = "Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." : Frederick Douglass === NEW - NEW - NEW ICHBLOG.EU without the bells and whistles. Click here for text only version of the site (great for dialup users)! http://www.ichblog.eu/text/ === Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy === Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + + http://tinyurl.com/usq4x Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,185 http://icasualties.org/oif/ The War in Iraq Costs $405,903,229,367 See the cost in your community http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182 === When a Leader Missteps, a World Can Go Astray By MICHIKO KAKUTANI Mr. Brzezinskis verdict on the current presidents record catastrophic, he calls it is nothing short of devastating. And his overall assessment of Americas current plight is worrying as well: - Fifteen years after its coronation as global leader, America is becoming a fearful and lonely democracy in a politically antagonistic world. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17245.htm === War is a Disaster - An Oil Shortage is Not By Nathan Allonby The only visible reason for the US oil obsession is the military-industrial-political complex. The US military is the worlds 4th largest consumer of oil - consuming more than many countries (6). The US needs to maintain a strong domestic oil industry to service its military. The history of the oil industry in Iran is that it was originally developed for military reasons - to fuel the British Royal Navy. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17246.htm === The Right to Know By James Rothenberg The Middle East is either going to be linked up to the West (meaning the US) or go over to the Asian bloc (meaning China), and the power that goes with this control is enough to make or break a superpower. Thats why we went, thats why were staying, and thats what cannot be stated in the polite circles of influential opinion. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17248.htm === Evidence Mounting for Armchair Revolution: Ambivalent Couch Potatoes Mobilizing By J.D. Suss Five giant corporate entities own most of media now and there is essentially no free press interested in doing investigative journalism anymore but if it does, its smeared as that leftist or liberal press. The truth of current events can often be found on the web. But even when we know the (questionably vetted) truth, does that really change anything, I mean, in the long run? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17247.htm === Lost In The Lust Of The Werewolves By Sheila Samples Sometimes I wonder if Americans are unaware of the malicious devastation the Bush administration is wreaking upon this good earth and its inhabitants, or if they just don't give a damn. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17250.htm === Poison DUst A Must Watch Video Poison DUst tells the story of young soldiers who thought they came home safely from the war, but didn't. Of a veteran's young daughter whose birth defect is strikingly similar to birth defects suffered by many Iraqi children. - Every American who cares about our troops should watch this film. Everyone who cares about the innocent civilians who live in the countries where these weapons are used should watch this film. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17249.htm === Attacks kill 112 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq: Insurgents killed 112 Shi'ite pilgrims streaming to the holy city of Kerbala in attacks across Iraq on Tuesday, including more than 70 after suicide bombers blew themselves up in a street lined with tents. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=IBO654663 === Another 73 killed as U.S. occupation grinds on: A total of 25 bodies were found shot dead on Monday in different districts of Baghdad, police said. http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAM648330.htm === Fear for Iraq crackdown as 12 U.S. soldiers die: Twelve US soldiers were killed today in one of the deadliest days suffered by American forces in Iraq since the start of the war. The troops, engaged in "combat operations" outside Baghdad, were killed in two roadside attacks. http://snipurl.com/1c8e7 === From his office in clouded cuckoo land: Bush says gradual progress in Iraq despite violence: President George W. Bush insisted on Tuesday a new Iraq security plan is making gradual progress, despite the deaths of nine more U.S. troops and another major bomb attack. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N06393526 === Cowards: Democrats Alter Plan To Restrict Iraq War: Senior House Democrats, seeking to placate members of their party from Republican-leaning districts, are pushing a plan that would place restrictions on President Bush's ability to wage the war in Iraq but would allow him to waive them if he publicly justifies his position. http://snipurl.com/1c8ec === No Bravery: 3 Minute video: A nation blind to their disgrace http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11799.htm === More US citizens think Iraq war 'unwinnable: A NEW poll published in the US shows growing pessimism among Americans about the Iraq war with only 28 per cent saying the US will probably or definitely win the conflict. http://snipurl.com/1c8ee === Gunmen storm Iraq jail, free 140: Dozens of gunmen stormed an Iraqi jail in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday and freed up to 140 prisoners in one of the biggest prison breaks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, police said. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=KHA659520 === Occupied Iraq: 4.5 million children undernourished : Apart from dodging bombs and bullets in their schools and neighbourhoods, children in Iraq are suffering from worryingly high levels of malnourishment, according to specialists. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70509 === Struggles with Influx of Iraqi Refugees: Few European countries are offering much refuge, with one exception: Sweden. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7695224&ft=1&f=3 === Al Qaeda Uzbeks, Pakistani tribesmen clash; 17 dead: Seventeen people, including 12 al Qaeda-linked Uzbeks, were killed on Tuesday in the first reported clash between militants and tribesmen in a Pakistani region seen as a hotbed of militant support. http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL249039.htm === Afghan children die as US drops one-tonne bombs : Nine civilians, including four children, were killed in Afghanistan when US planes dropped two 2,000lb bombs on their mud home. Their deaths came after at least eight civilians were killed by US Marines a day earlier. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2331981.ece === Michael Parenti -- Support our Troops?: The exercise of U.S. power is intended to preserve not only theinternational capitalist system but U.S. hegemony of that system.Why are we locked into such empty political rhetoric http://www.ichblog.eu/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&id=449 === Explosion kills 2 Afghan policemen in S. province : Two policemen were killed and three civilians injured as a bomb planted on a bicycle went off in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province Tuesday http://snipurl.com/1c8i0 === NATO soldier killed in occupied Afghanistan : A soldier of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed on Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, an ISAF statement said. http://snipurl.com/1c8i2 === Meet Eliot Cohen, Condi's New Deputy: "As Extremist a Neocon and Warmonger as It Gets" http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp03062007.html === Iran says has received US 'proposals' for Iraq talks: "The Americans have recently contacted Iran through different channels requesting talks about Iraqi issues and in particular that country's security," Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state television. http://snipurl.com/1c8i6 === Dilip Hiro: The enemy of my enemy: Those who think a wedge can easily be driven between Iran and Saudi Arabia should not underestimate their history of pragmatic alliance. http://snipurl.com/1c8ib === U.S. military banking on Turkey for Iran, Iraq access : The U.S. military has sought to significantly expand operations at a key Turkish air base http://snipurl.com/1c8if === Olmert calls special cabinet session over Iranian "nuclear threat": Last week Olmert met the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's strategic subcommittee and gave it an updated survey of Israel's capabilities. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/833782.html === Hans Blix: Powers of persuasion: It is illogical to ask Iran to suspend its enrichment programme before any diplomatic negotiations take place about the conditions for the suspension. It is time for serious talk - not for humiliating preconditions. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hans_blix/2007/03/hans_blix.html === Iran to conduct air defense exercises : Iran will conduct air defense exercises Tuesday in preparation for a possible air strike on its uranium ore conversion center at Isfahan, the IRNA news agency said Tuesday. http://en.rian.ru/world/20070306/61628603.html === Iran: Missing general likely kidnapped: Iran officially announced on Tuesday that its former deputy defense minister was missing while on a private trip to neighboring Turkey, and its top police chief accused Western intelligence services of possibly kidnapping the official. http://snipurl.com/1c8ik === Sen. Joe Biden Calls Iranian Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'Madman': Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "madman" and raised the possibility that he could be assassinated by foes within his country. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256944,00.html === Bishops equate Israel's actions to Holocaust : Hours after historic visit to Jerusalem holocaust museum, group of German bishops tour Palestinian Authority, say Israel behaving like Nazis http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3373013,00.html === Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case: Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted today of lying to F.B.I. agents and grand jurors investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative amid a burning dispute over the war in Iraq. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/washington/06cnd-libby.html?hp === U.S. Court Allows CIA Kidnapping and Torture : State secret doctrine prohibits judicial review http://snipurl.com/1c8ip === Guantanamo defense lawyer threatened with charges of `contemptuous words': The Pentagon-appointed lawyer for Australia's sole inmate at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said yesterday a chief US prosecutor threatened him with charges that could slow his client's case from going to trial. http://snipurl.com/1c8i9 === U.S. attorney cites threat: A high-ranking Justice Department official told one of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration that if any of them continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might be released, http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/16843283.htm === Two FBI Whistleblowers Confirm Illegal Wiretapping of Government Officials and Misuse of FISA: State Secrets Privilege Was Used to Cover Up Corruption and Silence Whistleblowers http://snipurl.com/1c8ir === Whistle-blower Had to Fight NSA, LA Times to Tell Story: Whistle-blower AT&T technician Mark Klein says his effort to reveal alleged government surveillance of domestic Internet traffic was blocked not only by U.S. intelligence officials but also by the top editors of the Los Angeles Times. http://snipurl.com/1c8it === Goldman Sachs warns of 'dead bodies' after market turmoil: The global currency storm of the past week is starting to infect the corporate bond markets and may prove harder to contain than last year's May sell-off, Goldman Sachs has warned. http://snipurl.com/1c8iu === Let us work towards Peace & Joy Tom Feeley === Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people." (August 1765) John Adams _____________________________ Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?feminine+rich@math.missouri.edu Hosting by YourMailingListProvider ***************************************************************** 45 Guardian Unlimited: US pair fall ill in Moscow from thallium poisoning Luke Harding in Moscow Wednesday March 7, 2007 An American woman and her daughter, both of whom fell ill mysteriously during a trip to Russia last month, had been poisoned with thallium, hospital officials revealed yesterday. The deadly metal is the same substance originally blamed for the poisoning in London of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. Marina Kovalenskaya, 48, and her daughter Yana, 25, flew to Moscow last month from their home in Los Angeles for a family wedding. They fell ill in the early hours of February 24. The women were taken to the American medical centre from their hotel and later transferred by ambulance to the Sklifosovsky clinic, the city's top emergency hospital. Doctors were initially baffled as to the cause of their illness. Russia's consumer watchdog agency confirmed yesterday that they had thallium poisoning. British doctors initially thought thallium was responsible for the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko. A few hours before his death last November they discovered that he had ingested the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210, which destroyed his immune system. Yesterday Moscow police said they had opened a criminal investigation. They had few leads but were making inquiries amongst the mother and daughter's friends and acquaintances. A spokeswoman for the clinic where the women were being treated said doctors had administered an antidote. The women were recovering, she said, adding: "They are in a serious but not life-threatening condition. They have normal temperatures." The US embassy in Moscow said it was "assisting" the family but declined to say why two of its citizens might have been targeted. "We are in close contact with their family," a spokesman said. Russian news reports yesterday said Ms Kovalenskaya and her daughter left the Soviet Union in 1989 shortly before its collapse. They became US citizens but returned to Russia frequently. During this trip the women had breakfast in their hotel but otherwise ate in bars and cafes. Doctors at first believed they had been poisoned by mushrooms but diagnosed thallium poisoning four days later following tests. Yesterday one senior Russian toxicologist said the women might have been poisoned in the United States before flying into Russia. "Thallium is less strongly restricted than polonium. You can get hold of it from any university laboratory, not just in Moscow, but also in New York or London," said Lev Federov, president of Russia's union of chemical societies. "It's easy to administer. You put it on someone's food or drink. The first symptoms normally appear after one or two days. They include your hair falling out ... It isn't as serious as polonium. You don't need to be a person in the security services to get hold of it." Thallium, sometimes called "the poisoner's poison", is colourless and odourless. It can kill in doses as small as one gram (0.04oz). As well as causing hair loss, it affects the nervous system, kidneys and stomach, and has been used in rat poisons and insecticides. Intelligence agencies in many countries are believed to have used the metal as a poison for decades. Useful links Itar-Tass news agency Moscow Times Russia Today St Petersburg Times Caucasian Knot Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 46 RIA Novosti: Health official confirms thallium poisoning of two U.S. nationals 17:37 | 06/ 03/ 2007 MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow's chief health official confirmed Tuesday that two visiting U.S. citizens have been poisoned with thallium. Marina Kovalevskaya, 49, and her daughter, Yana Kovalevskaya, 26, were hospitalized February 24 in Moscow with a serious illness, which the service overseeing consumer protection and welfare said earlier Tuesday might have been caused by thallium, a chemical used in rat poison and insecticides. "The results of the analysis, which confirmed thallium poisoning, became known yesterday," Nikolai Filatov said. He said he did not have detailed information on the patients' condition, but did not rule out that they could leave Russia as early as Wednesday. "The consequences of such poisoning depend on the individual, the dose and the duration of contact [with the toxic substance]," the official said. Thallium is odorless, tasteless, and can be easily dissolved in water. In the case of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, who died last year in London, doctors also initially suspected that he had been poisoned with thallium. A closer medical examination subsequently revealed a large dose of radioactive polonium-210 in his body. Investigators are looking into the reasons and circumstances of the women's poisoning. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is in touch with the patients. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 47 CBC: Thallium poisoning strikes 2 Americans in Moscow Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 7:57 AM ET The Associated Press Two American women were hospitalized for treatment of thallium poisoning in Moscow, the Interfax news agency said Tuesday, citing the Russian consumer watchdog agency Rospotrebnadzor. The women became ill Feb. 24 and were being treated at Moscow's Sklifosovsky clinic, the city's top emergency medicine hospital, the report said. Russian media reports said the women — identified as Maria Kovalensky and her daughter, Yana — had come to Moscow for a relative's wedding and were staying in a Moscow hotel when they became ill. Rospotrebnadzor's Moscow office reported that the women were in "moderately serious" condition, Interfax said. Rospotrebnadzor declined to comment to the Associated Press. The city health department also declined to comment, referring questions to the U.S. Embassy. An embassy spokeswoman, speaking on the usual condition of not being further identified, said "consular officials are in close contact with the family and we are assisting them." She did not provide further details. Thallium is colourless, odourless and deadly in doses as small as 1.1 grams. It was initially suspected to be the toxin used in last year's fatal poisoning in London of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko, but later it was determined he had ingested the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210. © The Canadian Press, 2007 Permissions · Site Map Copyright © CBC 2007 ***************************************************************** 48 Ventura County Star: Radioactive thorium found at Halaco EPA On Scene Coordinator site with relevant documents on Halaco Wetlands will be closed to the public during cleanup By Scott Hadly, shadly@VenturaCountyStar.com March 6, 2007 The Environmental Protection Agency closed off public access to the Ormond Beach wetlands next to the former Halaco Engineering Co. in Oxnard after finding a mound of dirt contaminated with the radioactive isotope thorium. The discovery Friday was the first confirmation of radioactive waste migrating away from the slag heap at the 40-acre metals recycling plant off Perkins Road. The find was inadvertent, said Rob Wise, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA. Wise had driven to a public beach parking lot next to the facility for a cigarette break Thursday. "To be honest, I was sitting there looking out over the wetlands when I saw an interesting bird," he said. He got out of his truck, walked over a small pedestrian bridge and turned left on a well-worn footpath when he noticed a mound of gray clay that extended along a drainage canal. He took a sample of the dirt and had it tested. "We found higher than acceptable levels of thorium in it," Wise said. "We're going to remove it, but we wanted to close the area to the public while we do that." Workers put up a chain-link fence closing off the bridge, posted signs and drained the canal. The biggest public health issue is if the dirt is kicked up and the material inhaled, Wise said. According to EPA documentation, studies show that inhaling thorium dust can increase the risk of developing lung, pancreas and bone cancers. Thorium is an "alpha emitter," meaning that as it decays, it emits gamma radiation. Thorium-232 has a half-life of about 14 billion years, according to EPA information on radioactive isotopes. It was thought that the amount of radioactive thorium was minimal at the site. Halaco had a license from the state to recycle metals that contained the material. Thorium was used by the aerospace industry and in some airplane engines. Over the past several weeks, the EPA has been working to stabilize the dusty gray waste built up at the Halaco site. Although radiation is a concern, it is isolated to a few locations and exists at fairly low levels. Mere proximity to the radioactive isotopes does not present a problem, but there can be issues if the material is inhaled, Wise said. Federal officials are more concerned about the high levels of accumulated metals in the waste pile, which covers about 28 acres. EPA officials have put up a fence to keep people from crossing the site on their way to the beach, and workers are trying to make sure that dust isn't kicked up and blown from the slag heap. The metals have already leached into the neighboring wetlands, according to EPA documents. Halaco, now in bankruptcy, built up about 750,000 cubic feet of waste during four decades of recycling mostly magnesium and aluminum at the site. Late last year, Chickadee Remediation Co. purchased the waste management area and assumed the lease to the former smelter property. Alpha and Omega Development LLC subsequently acquired the waste management area from Chickadee, and the two companies want to develop the site, possibly with housing. Future use of the property, however, remains uncertain. The EPA released documents last month that showed the site posed an immediate risk to human health and the environment. Along with the small amounts of radioactive isotopes like thorium and cesium, the EPA has found large concentrations of metals such as magnesium, barium, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. While working to stabilize waste at the site, EPA officials in San Francisco are in the midst of deciding whether to include the land on the nation's list of Superfund sites. Official cost estimates for cleaning up the Halaco site range from $10 million to $70 million, although officials from Chickadee believe that the cost would be much less than $10 million. 2006 © The E.W. Scripps Co. Ventura County Star subscription ***************************************************************** 49 Las Vegas SUN: Energy Department makes legislative push for Yucca nuclear dump Today: March 06, 2007 at 9:35:4 PST By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department unveiled legislation Tuesday to spur construction of a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada and increase its capacity. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., immediately vowed to block the bill. That could spell more problems for the troubled Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, already years behind schedule. The Energy Department official who heads the project warned that without new funding that's part of the bill, a 2017 goal for opening the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas could not be met. "If we don't have that we are certainly not going to be able to maintain the 2017 date," said Edward F. "Ward" Sproat, director of the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Sproat also said that if the capacity of Yucca Mountain isn't increased from the current limit of 77,000 tons, as the bill proposes, he would have to recommend to Congress next year that a second nuclear waste dump be built. That would be a hard sell, as few states would want to host a nuclear waste dump. Sproat indicated that the prospect of a second nuclear waste dump could help to convince Congress of the need to move forward with Yucca Mountain and approve the department's legislation. "It's part of what I would call the congressional education process," Sproat told reporters at a briefing organized by The Energy Daily. The new bill is similar to legislation the Energy Department offered last year that didn't advance. The political environment is even tougher for the measure this year now that Reid, an ardent Yucca Mountain opponent, is in charge of the Senate. "This is just the department's latest attempt to breathe life into this dying beast and it will fail," Reid said. "I will continue to leverage my leadership position to prevent the dump from ever being built." The bill doesn't specify how much more than 77,000 tons of nuclear waste should be allowed in Yucca Mountain, though federal environmental impact studies have estimated the dump could safely hold at least 132,000 tons. There's already more than 50,000 tons of nuclear waste piling up at nuclear power plants in 31 states with nowhere to go, something that's threatening taxpayers with mounting liability costs since the federal government was contractually obligated to begin storing nuclear utilities' waste starting in 1998. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 50 reviewjournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Agency to release records Mar. 06, 2007 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevadans suspect DOE wants to avoid lawsuit STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy is preparing to make public more than 2 million Yucca Mountain documents, a government attorney said Monday in defusing at least one fight with Nevada over the nuclear waste site. The documents will be made available within 60 days, Shebelskie told a panel of three NRC administrative judges. "We will have completed our review of those documents, and in the interest of making public disclosure sooner rather than later, we made that decision," Shebelskie said after the hearing. Nevada officials and attorneys said that another reason might exist: to head off yet another lawsuit the state was building against the Yucca project. "I don't think they are doing this because they are nice guys," said Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. "DOE began to believe we would have a claim." The documents include science and engineering studies that the department plans to cite in its bid for an NRC license to store highly radioactive waste within the mountain ridge, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The documents have been formatted and loaded for the Yucca database, which is managed by the NRC technicians. Administrator Dan Graser said that once the department gives the OK, the documents could be posted in "less than an hour." In November, then-Gov. Kenny Guinn charged that the agency was hoarding millions of documents, hiding them from Nevada consultants who would sift through them for flaws and ammunition against the Yucca effort. Federal rules allow the agency to wait until the database is officially certified before making the documents available, which might not be until the end of 2007. But Loux said the state was building a case that by waiting that long even if the documents were ready, the agency was depriving the state, Nevada counties, environmental groups and other parties of the right to examine them fully. "As a result, we may have a claim in court that we were denied due process," Loux said. Department spokesman Craig Stevens said Ward Sproat, Yucca project director, "committed last year to releasing documents in advance of certification." Stevens said, "This early release is a result of that commitment.". Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 ***************************************************************** 51 The State: Exaggerated Barnwell alarm 03/06/2007 By KEITH SLOAN Guest columnist Having had the low-level radioactive waste disposal facility as a valuable neighbor for nearly 36 years, the citizens of Barnwell County have become accustomed to the shrill, exaggerated sounds of alarmists in other parts of the state and country trying to tell us what's good for us. While we appreciate their concern, we're getting along pretty well with our disposal facility that many of our critics have never seen in person. And we want the facility, which provides jobs for our people, 15 percent of our budget and a public service to South Carolina and the nuclear industry, to continue current operations. No one has ever been harmed from the facility’s operations. No one has ever been exposed to radiation levels even close to those limits deemed acceptable and safe by federal and state government regulators. Barnwell County and City councils, along with other government and business groups, all are on record supporting current operations. Ann Timberlake, who works for a conservation group in Columbia, tried to set off her own version of a nuclear warning system recently, stating “the Barnwell facility makes terrible sense from an environmental perspective.” She then breathtakingly warned readers about the “leaked radioactive tritium” into a nearby creek. What she did not tell you was this: The maximum tritium concentration ever measured at the site’s compliance point was only 20 percent of the limit set by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The measurement was calculated to be 5.7 millirems per year. The average American is exposed to 360 millirems per year just by living on planet Earth. To borrow a phrase from Al Gore, that is an inconvenient truth the critics do not want you to know. Ms. Timberlake did not tell you that DHEC approved the facility’s license renewal and, after the Sierra Club appealed, the decision was upheld by the Administrative Law Court. The licensing renewal came after a multi-year, in-depth study of the facility’s ability to meet safety standards well into the future. An independent, blue-ribbon panel of experts convened by DHEC concluded that it poses minimal risk to either the public or the environment now and in the future. That’s a pretty big inconvenient truth for critics. Then there is the theme song claim of the alarmists: “South Carolina is the nation’s nuclear dumping ground.” This claim is overblown and misleading. Consider the following. In 2006, 16.3 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste were disposed of in the United States. Barnwell last year took in about 38,000 cubic feet — that’s about two-tenths of 1 percent of all low-level waste disposed of last year. Put another way, 99.8 percent of all low-level radioactive waste went somewhere else last year. Another inconvenient truth. While industries that use nuclear technology, such as medicine and pharmaceuticals, need disposal facilities, the largest users are utilities that operate nuclear power plants. And that’s the heart of the issue. Many Barnwell critics are using the facility as a tactic to accomplish their main goal of stopping production of more nuclear power, the cheapest, cleanest and safest way to generate electricity. Limiting Barnwell to serving only Connecticut, New Jersey and South Carolina makes no sense, unless your ulterior motive is to thwart nuclear power. Limiting Barnwell will create an economic crisis in my county. It will force the state to subsidize operations because the site will not generate enough revenue to pay for operating it. And you could see low-level radioactive waste being stored across the state because the Barnwell facility would be too expensive. Those of us living near the site understand the operations and trust the workers (who also live in Barnwell County) to continue the proven safe disposal practices at the site. We value the contributions of the workers and the company to our communities’ social, civic and economic viability. We certainly want to continue operation of the facility at current levels. I encourage people in other parts of the state to learn the facts of the Barnwell operation. When they do, I believe they too will support the continued operation of this valuable asset. ***************************************************************** 52 AP Wire: Radioactive find closes Oxnard site near former metal recycler 03/06/2007 | Associated Press OXNARD, Calif. - The Environmental Protection Agency closed off public access to the Ormond Beach wetlands next to a former metal recycling plant after finding a mound of dirt with radioactive contamination. The discovery Friday was the first confirmation of radioactive waste migrating away from the slag heap at the 40-acre former Halaco Engineering Co. site, officials said. Workers put up a chain-link fence, posted signs and drained the canal between the Halaco site and the wetlands where the radioactive isotope thorium was found. "We're going to remove it, but we wanted to close the area to the public while we do that," EPA on-site coordinator Rob Wise said. The biggest public health danger would arise if dirt were kicked up and the material inhaled, Wise said. Inhaling thorium dust can increase the risk of developing lung, pancreas and bone cancers, according to the EPA. ***************************************************************** 53 The Hindu: Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad draws up plan to step up production Wednesday, Mar 07, 2007 Y. Mallikarjun To help meet target of generating 700 MWe by 11th Plan end Rs. 500-crore plan to produce 1,350 tonnes Plant to make core sub-assemblies for PFBTR R. N. Jayaraj HYDERABAD: The Nuclear Fuel Complex here, mainstay of supply for nuclear power reactors, has drawn up a Rs. 500-crore expansion plan to produce 1,350 tonnes by the end of the next Five-Year plan. Talking to The Hindu here on Monday, NFC chief executive R. N. Jayaraj said the plans included establishment of a new fabrication plant. It was not yet decided whether the plant should be located here or elsewhere. A committee would be constituted next month for recommending the site in about six months. The expansion was to help meet the target of generating 7,400 MWe by the end of the 11th Plan. The NFC had an installed capacity of 600 tonnes a year and was supplying 350-400 tonnes to 12 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (220 MWe each). It planned to augment production by 250 tonnes during 2008-09 to meet the requirement for another four plants. With the Nuclear Power Corporation of India proposing to establish four more PHWRs (of 700 MWe each) requiring 500 tonnes of fuel annually, the NFC's plans would come in handy. The NFC was also setting up a plant to fabricate andsupply core sub-assemblies for the Prototype Fast Breeder Test Reactor (PFBTR) coming up at Kalpakkam, near Chennai. ``We have already standardised the fabrication technologies and got clearance for manufacturing,'' Mr. Jayaraj said. The required fuel and hexagonal tubes would be fabricated with hi-tech indigenous technology. These components were earlier imported. The NFC emerged as a potential global player, upgrading technologies for manufacturing critical components. Overseas enquiries were received for export of nuclear grade zircaloy and seamless calandria tubes for nuclear power plants. Separation of facilities Asked about separation of civilian-military facilities when the India-U.S. agreement comes into force, Mr. Jayaraj said that only a single module of fuel fabrication dealing with imported natural uranium would fall under international safeguards. "The other modules for manufacturing natural uranium fuel will be under our control." Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 54 KCPW: New EnergySolutions Lobbyist Well-Connected Nuclear Regulator - Mar 06, 2007 by Julie Rose "Conflict of Interest" Worries Anti-Nuclear Activists (KCPW News) Nuclear waste disposal company EnergySolutions has hired a top official at the U.S. Department of Energy to lobby on its behalf. The result could mean more waste at the company's dump in Tooele County through lucrative government contracts: "She'll have an instrumental role in helping us prepare and better understand the work that's available at these different D.O.E. sites," says EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker. Beginning in April, Jill Sigal will switch from Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the D-O-E to full-time D.C. lobbyist pressuring her former employer on behalf of Energy Solutions. Anti-nuclear activist Vanessa Pierce of HEAL-Utah says it's the latest example of the need for a cooling-off period to slow the practice of government employees becoming lobbyists. "There's definitely a conflict of interest when it comes to the revolving door between the industry and the regulators who are charged with overseeing that industry," says Pierce. "EnergySolutions is buying influence by hiring Sigal." Company spokesman Mark Walker calls Sigal "a very ethical" person. Hiring top regulators and Washington staffers is common practice for big business. KCPW's Annual EEO Public File Report ***************************************************************** 55 Tennessean: Nuke waste may cross Midstate - Nashville, Tennessee - Tuesday, 03/06/07 - Tennessean.com Oak Ridge could get recycle center, prompting debate By ANNE PAINE Staff Writer Interstates 40 and 24 could be pathways for trucks carrying much of the nation's spent nuclear fuel if a recycling center for the material is built in Oak Ridge, one of several towns under consideration. Part of the highly radioactive residue would probably go by rail, but either way, Middle Tennessee is a straight shot to Oak Ridge from several of the mostly privately owned reactors that produce electricity for homes and businesses. A proposal in the 1980s to ship the leftovers from commercial reactors to East Tennessee brought an outcry from Nashville residents and state officials, whose studies questioned the economics and safety of the shipments. Nevada for years has fought a plan that would haul all the waste into that state for long-term placement inside Yucca Mountain. The material is in the form of pellets inside fuel rods that are so "hot" with radioactivity that it will take millions of years before they're harmless, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Anyone standing a yard away from the spent fuel rods — if not shielded by lead and steel — could get a lethal dose of radiation in less than three minutes, Nevada officials said. The DOE's Oak Ridge reservation is in the running with 13 other sites as a location to recycle the radioactive dregs in a reactor that would be capable of using the material as fuel and to set up a research facility. If Oak Ridge is chosen for the recycling center, the Midstate also could be on the main route once the potentially usable leavings are separated and the radioactive remains from that operation are shipped to a final resting place. That site is expected to be Yucca Mountain. The date for a "dump" to be ready there, however, is estimated at to be 2020, with questions as to whether it will ever be licensed to open. In the meantime, about 54,000 tons of nuclear waste sits at power plants, according to DOE, and the amount is growing. While the Energy Department isn't proposing a recycling center as an alternative to opening Yucca Mountain, hundreds of shipments of radioactive refuse could be expected each year to go to such a center if it is built. That would not be for at least 11 years, said Tim Frazier, a DOE official. The center would reduce the amount of waste that has to go to Yucca Mountain. The new proposal, called the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, could cost more than $10 billion. It is part of President Bush's push to expand the use of nuclear power here and abroad. The state's possible role is being met with applause and opposition in the Midstate. Worries discounted Transportation is one of several issues under debate. "In a world where homeland security is on the top of everybody's agenda, it seems ridiculous to be trucking terribly hazardous substances around," said Don Safer, chairman of the board of the Tennessee Environmental Council in Nashville. "These casks are supposed to be crash resistant and terrorist resistant, but I have serious misgivings about them being on our rail lines and Interstate 40 with all the trucks. "We don't want Oak Ridge to become Grand Central Station for nuclear waste." Jacob Swab of Hendersonville, a retired engineer who follows nuclear issues, said such worries are nonsense. "When's the last time that you heard of nuclear waste killing anybody?" he asked. "We've been transporting nuclear waste since 1944, and we've yet to kill anybody or endanger anybody by doing that. "Not much would happen unless you hit (the truck) so hard the accident would hurt you, but the radiation couldn't get to you," Swab said. Much more danger lies in tankers carrying flammable gasoline beside cars on highways, which is done regularly, he said. Over the years in which nuclear materials, including dross from the weapons race, have been shuttled through the state, Jeremy Heidt, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said, there is no record of an accident in which a highly radioactive substance has been released. Idea proposed in 1980s The proposition under study resembles another in the mid-1980s, when DOE officials declared they wanted to store nuclear leftovers from commercial reactors temporarily in Oak Ridge. DOE had proposed that area as a place to consolidate waste from around the eastern United States, repackage it and send it out to a final, long-term lock-up. Tennessee fought the proposal, saying it was not economical and created more risks by doubling the handling and shipping of the dangerous cargo. Congress eventually stanched the plan and chose Yucca Mountain to take the waste, with no intermediate steps. DOE was charged with having that open in 1998. About $9 billion has been spent on study and work at Yucca Mountain. Legal challenges and scientific research by the state of Nevada, which questions the suitability of the location, have kept the project at bay. "It's apparent to most folks that Yucca Mountain is not going forward so there's a look around for interim storage sites," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Agency for Nuclear Projects, which is part of the Nevada Governor's Office. "The worst possible outcome for Nevada and the country would be multiple transportation and handling stops." There's time to find better solutions, Loux said. Steven Kraft, a senior director with the Nuclear Energy Institute, said, however, that Yucca Mountain is still a viable location, adding that DOE is poised to submit a request in June 2008 for a license to open it. Nuclear power praised The name "recycling center" draws guffaws from some opponents. Highly radioactive waste would still be a result and the materials, if stolen, could be used in "dirty bombs," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Knoxville. "This is the same concept as the old one," he said, referring to a way station proposal from the 1980s. "Bring all the nuclear waste here, then crack it open and figure out what you're going to do with it." Swab, the retired Hendersonville engineer, views those opposing nuclear power and concerned about the leftovers as "pseudo-environmentalists." Nuclear power doesn't release the carbon that adds to the problem of global warming like coal, and the technology exists to reprocess the remains, he said. "The fact that we don't do this is extremely moronic, to say the least," he said. France, Japan and China are among countries that reprocess the spent fuel, he said. Smith counters that France has ended up with unneeded stockpiles of the fuel, and its radioactive waste has contaminated shellfish and beaches. The new proposal involves putting nuclear materials in hands of more countries, too, which invites more nuclear weapons building, he added. DOE's plan calls for countries, such as France and Russia, to partner with the U.S. to provide nuclear fuel to other countries and to take the resulting nuclear waste. The idea is to encourage nuclear power but to keep the other countries from reprocessing the waste to create weapons. Bredesen not concerned The nuclear industry is not in a crisis over storing waste at plants but wants DOE to go on and take the material as required by law, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. If the government doesn't, building new plants is not an attractive business proposition. About 20 percent of the nation's electricity comes from nuclear power. Lawsuits have been filed in the court of federal claims by many companies having to pay for on-site storage. One, called Exelon, has settled with the federal government for $80 million, the White House Web site says. That's taxpayer money, more of which will be paid out as more costs accumulate. This year, DOE has asked for $405 million for the project that includes recycling. More than $10 million was parceled out last month to the sites under consideration, with a group in Oak Ridge receiving $894,704 to look at that location. An evaluation of each site for potential environmental impact also is under way. A draft of the results is expected this summer, with public hearings to follow. The schedule calls for DOE's chief to decide whether to go forward by the summer of 2008. Gov. Phil Bredesen said he is not particularly concerned at this point, especially given that nuclear materials come and go regularly from Oak Ridge. "All the weapons that are decommissioned come to Oak Ridge and the materials are recycled, so it's not like it's breaking some major new ground in terms of what Oak Ridge is doing," he said. Tennessean.com and its related sites are pleased to be able to offer MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD DOE's next public hearing is 6-9:30 p.m. today at the Executive Inn Riverfront, 1 Executive Blvd., Paducah, Ky. Paducah is one of the locations under consideration for either a nuclear waste recycling center or a reactor that could use the reprocessed materials. Comments can be directed to GNEP-PEIS, Department of Energy/Office of Nuclear Energy, attn: Tim Frazier, 1000 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20515. Or call 866-645-7803, fax 866-645-7807 or e-mail GNEP-PEIS@nuclear.energy.gov. Gov. Phil Bredesen Mail: Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville, TN 37243-0001 Phone: 615-741-2001 phil.bredesen@state.tn.us U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, Republican. Mail: SD-B40A, Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3344 Fax: 202-228-0566 Web: http://corker.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Republican. Mail: 302 HSOB, Washington, DC 20510. Phone: 202-224-4944. Fax: 202-228-3398. Web: http://alexander.senate.gov U.S. Representative David Davis, R-Johnson City Mail: 514 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6356 Fax: (202) 225-5714 Web: http://daviddavis.house.gov U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr., R-Knoxville. Mail: Room 2267 RHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-5435. Fax: 202-225-6440. Web: www.house.gov/Duncan. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga. Mail: Room 1436 LHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-3271. Fax: 202-225-3494. Web: www.house.gov/wamp. U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Pall Mall. Mail: 410 CHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-6831. Fax: 202-226-5172. Web: www.house.gov/lincolndavis. U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville. Mail: 1536 LHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-4311. Fax: 202-226-1035. Web: http://cooper.house.gov. U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro. Mail: Room 2304 RHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-4231. Fax: 202-225-6887. Web: http://gordon.house.gov. U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood. Mail: Room 509 CHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-2811. Fax: 202-225-3004. Web: www.house.gov/blackburn. U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Union City. Mail: Room 1226 LHOB, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-4714. Fax: 202-225-1765. Web: www.house.gov/tanner. U.S. Representative Steve Cohen, D-Memphis 1004 Longworth HOB Washington DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-3265 Web: http://cohen.house.gov Tell us what you think at politics@tennessean.com. Anne Paine can be reached at 615-259-8071 or apaine@tennessean.com. Copyright © 2007, tennessean.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 56 CBC News: Anti-nuke advocate takes on Sask. uranium mining Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 5:57 PM CT Anti-nuclear advocate Dr. Helen Caldicott is in Saskatchewan warning about what she sees as the dangers of nuclear power and uranium mining — an industry that has become an important part of the province's economy. Saskatchewan is a world leader in mining the radioactive mineral, which is processed and used in nuclear power reactors to generate electricity. Proponents of the industry say it pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into the Saskatchewan economy every year and creates jobs for northerners in remote areas. But Caldicott, who came to public attention in Canada in 1982 with the Academy Award-winning National Film Board documentary If You Love This Planet, says the public shouldn't forget uranium mining comes at a cost. "The incidence of lung cancer amongst uranium miners is 30 to 50 per cent higher than normal people," Caldicott said in Regina on Tuesday. "It's an extremely dangerous occupation. And why should those poor people who come from this land, and who've been here for many generations, be exposed to such dangerous activities? They're being used as pawns," she said, referring to First Nations miners. There are no nuclear power plants in Saskatchewan, although some pro-nuclear-energy advocates have argued one should be built here. Saskatchewan has an abundance of alternate energy sources, including wind, solar and geothermal, Caldicott said. Nuclear power is a "cancer industry" that creates electricity as a byproduct, Caldicott said. "And I don't believe the people in this province, indeed, in Canada, would support such an industry," she said. Caldicott was scheduled to speak at the University of Regina Tuesday night. She'll be in Saskatoon on Wednesday. Copyright © CBC 2007 ***************************************************************** 57 Salt Lake Tribune: EnergySolutions hires D.C. lobbyist Official leaving Energy Department to work for nuclear disposal firm Article Last Updated: 03/06/2007 12:34:51 AM MST WASHINGTON - The Energy Department's top congressional affairs official has been hired as EnergySolutions' top congressional lobbyist, the company said Monday. Jill Sigal currently serves as assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Energy Department. Steve Creamer, CEO of the Utah-based radioactive waste disposal firm, said Sigal's experience would be an ?asset to our company,? and her work was praised in a statement by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. ?The Department of Energy and the country are better off having had Jill serve,? the secretary said in a company news release. ?From the very beginning of my tenure as the Secretary of Energy, Jill has been a loyal and trusted adviser.? Bodman said Sigal helped pass the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and pressed the department's top environmental cleanup projects. ?I've had a tremendous opportunity promoting new energy policies by serving in government, now I'm looking forward to joining EnergySolutions as they fulfill their vision to become a successful global nuclear firm,? Sigal said. Sigal graduated from the University of Vermont and earned a law degree at George Washington University. -Robert Gehrke © Copyright 2007, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 58 FR: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting Doc E7-3863 [Federal Register: March 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 43)] [Notices] [Page 9980-9981] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06mr07-86] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold its 177th meeting on March 20-22, 2007, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The schedule for this meeting is as follows: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11 a.m.-11:05 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW Chairman (Open)--The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 11:05 a.m.-12 p.m.: Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Workshop on Cementitious Materials Used in Waste Determination Activities (Open)--Professor Barry Scheetz from the Pennsylvania State University will brief the Committee on a SRNL-sponsored workshop that examined the use of cementitious materials in radioactive waste management applications. This workshop was held on December 12-14, 2006, in Aiken, South Carolina. 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Stakeholder Views on Moderator Exclusion (Open)-- Representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and H322 Consulting LLC will brief the Committee on their views on the moderator exclusion issue in transportation canisters for spent nuclear fuel. 2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) / U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Views on Moderator Exclusion (Open)--An INL/DOE representative will brief the Committee on an upcoming license application requesting NRC approval for the DOE Standardized Spent Nuclear Fuel Canister relying on the use of moderator exclusion. 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Round Table Discussion on Moderator Exclusion (Open)--ACNW Member Ruth Weiner will lead a follow up discussion with the previous presenters and representatives from NRC's Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation (SFST), on the technical and regulatory issues surrounding the moderator exclusion issue. 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: ACNW Meeting with NRC Commissioner Gregory B. Jaczko (Open)--Commissioner Jaczko will address the Committee on current topics and issues of common interest. Wednesday, March 21, 2007 8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW Chairman (Open)--The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: Update by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on the Proposed Yucca Mountain Repository Design (Open)--A Department representative will update the Committee on the status of DOE design activities for surface facilities for the proposed geologic repository. Briefing is also expected to examine repository design options for spent nuclear fuel handling in light of the TAD (transportation-aging- disposal) canister decision-making. 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m.: ACNW Action Plan for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008 (Open)--The Committee will discuss and approve its Action Plan for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008. 1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Briefing on Shieldalloy, New Jersey, Site Decommissioning Plan (Open)--Staff from the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) will brief the Committee on the Decommissioning Plan for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation's complex decommissioning site. 2 p.m.-3 p.m.: Updated EPRI Response on Potential Igneous Event at Yucca Mountain (Open)--NRC staff recently reviewed reports prepared by EPRI on magma interactions with the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. EPRI representatives will provide the Committee with their comments on the staff's review. 3:15 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 content of future letters and scope of future Committee Meetings. Thursday, March 22, 2007 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW Chairman (Open)--The Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 8:35 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: ACNW White Paper on Volcanism (Open)--Followup discussion from February working group meeting; general review of observations, revisions, and summary conclusions for the White Paper on Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain. 12:30 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 [[Page 9981]] 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. Informatition 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. 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: February 28, 2007. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7-3863 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 59 FR NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning and Doc E7-3864 [Federal Register: March 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 43)] [Notices] [Page 9981] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06mr07-87] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Procedures; Notice of Meeting The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold a Planning and Procedures meeting on March 20, 2007, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel matters that relate solely to internal personnel rules and practices of ACNW, and information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, March 20, 2007--8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW activities and related matters. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Antonio F. Dias (Telephone: 301/415-6805) between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes in the agenda. Dated: February 27, 2007. Antonio F. Dias, Acting Branch Chief, ACNW. [FR Doc. E7-3864 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 60 UPI: New 'Fix Yucca' bill heading to Congress United Press International - Energy - 3/6/2007 3:36:00 PM -0500 WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department will resubmit legislation to Congress that failed last year, aimed at jump-starting a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Edward "Ward" Sproat, director of the department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday the plan is intended to restart the discussion on the controversial project. It's "not by any stretch of the imagination an all or nothing bill," Sproat said at the briefing, which was organized by The Energy Daily. A repository to hold highly radioactive nuclear waste from U.S. energy and military programs was to open in 1998. Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was chosen as that site. The department will submit an application to federal regulators by 2008, but its tentative schedule to open it by 2017 is far from guaranteed. The "Fix Yucca" bill, as it's nicknamed, didn't move last Congress. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to defeat any attempt to open up the proposed repository. "I can't tell you how it will happen," Sproat said of overcoming congressional legislation, but he's found "strong bipartisan support" from members he's talked to. Sproat said key aspects of the legislation include changing how the Nuclear Waste Fund -- money ratepayers pay to open a repository -- is regulated and giving the department total control over Yucca Mountain land shared by the Nevada Test Site. He also said if the 77,000 ton cap on storage isn't raised, a second repository would be needed. He wants the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide how much can be stored there. There is 54,000 tons of nuclear waste being stored at more than 30 sites around the country, with another 2,000 tons being produced annually. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 61 UPI: Nuclear industry calls on DoE United Press International - Energy - Analysis: 3/6/2007 5:47:00 PM -0500 By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Nuclear industry officials, in a meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and other top Energy Department officials, praised the Bush administration's role in spurring a potential resurgence in nuclear power, but warned there was more work to be done. The industry officials were representing the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness during the meeting Monday at the department. "This was more us going in and giving recommendations," said Council Executive Director John Kotek, "couched in terms of we're very supportive of what they're doing." The goal of the council, based in Washington, is to transform the United States into a global nuclear power again. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects this year the first of more than 30 applications in coming years to license a new nuclear reactor. The last licensed was approved in 1978. President Bush, along with Congress, pushed nuclear power toward the front of his energy policy. "They really do have a full menu of very necessary and compelling programs in place for nuclear," Kotek said. "Now it's really the question of in large part the implementation." Nuclear Policy 2010 was created in 2002 as a government-assisted program to help the industry navigate a new regulatory process. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, both a highly touted and controversial program, has a three-fold mission to re-engage the U.S. nuclear industry as well as bolster nuclear programs of countries that need baseload generation while curtailing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. But it's the provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, especially the loan guarantees, that could push the supposed nuclear renaissance from a hope to a reality for the industry. The guarantees, backed by the federal government, are intended to allay investor concerns of new but not commercially proven energy technology that "avoid, reduce, or sequester" greenhouse gas emissions. But what isn't clear is how the Energy Department will interpret the law -- either 80 percent of the cost of the project, like the industry wants, or 80 percent of the debt of the project, as the department is moving toward. With a price tag of between $3 billion and $4 billion, the nuclear industry says it needs all the help it can get to build a reactor in the United States. "It's just a question of ensuring when the loan guarantee provisions, the rules, are put together that they're developed in such a manner that nuclear can take advantage," Kotek said. "That will be something that certainly the nuclear industry as a whole will be working on with the department." The first round of guarantees -- which nuclear was kept from applying for -- maxed at $2 billion. Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal calls for $9 billion in guarantees and $8.4 million for a dedicated office in the department. "The council wants to encourage DoE and Congress to provide sufficient budgetary authority to ensure that multiple new plants can be covered under the loan guarantee program," Kotek said. The council, "an educational organization" not a lobbyist, he said, will assist in explaining to members of Congress why programs like GNEP are important to fully fund. "Ultimately, the near-term priority has to be getting the new plants under construction," Kotek said. "That's the big thing. When that happens, some of these other things can follow. I don't think you get to the true nuclear renaissance without getting new plants built." Steve Tritch, chief executive officer of nuclear firm Westinghouse, said in a statement after the meeting that the administration and Bodman have "established a strong set of nuclear energy programs that will help ensure U.S. technological leadership and growing U.S. employment in this vital field. Today we presented recommendations to help build upon the strong foundation that has been built in recent years." John Welch, chief executive officer of uranium supplier USEC Inc., warned against relying too much on international partners like Russia and Japan instead of the U.S. industry. "We must remember that the presence of a vibrant U.S. nuclear energy manufacturing and supply infrastructure is essential if we are to successfully influence nuclear energy and nonproliferation policies in other countries," he said. An Energy Department spokesman declined to comment, citing policies against talking about private meetings. In the council statement, Bodman said "As our need for energy will increase, so too does our need for nuclear power, and the Energy Department has a strong set of nuclear programs that we believe can create an environment for a nuclear renaissance." Deputy Secretary Clay Sell and Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon were also at the closed-door meeting. "They're pleased to know there's a group that feels they have the right set of programs in place and it's obvious to us they're working hard to implement these programs and put things like the loan guarantee provisions in place. I felt they were pretty receptive to our message," Kotek said. (Comments to energy@upi.com) © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 Shelley Berkley: White House Renews Push for Fix "Yucca" Bill News From U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley (NV-01) http://berkley.house.gov For Immediate Release Contact: David Cherry (202) 226 7578 WHITE HOUSE RENEWS PUSH FOR FIX "YUCCA" BILL Bush Administration Seeks Reintroduction of Anti-Nevada Nuke Waste Legislation (March 6, 2007 -- Washington, D.C.) Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) today swiftly denounced renewed efforts by the Bush Administration to gain Congressional approval for legislation designed to speed the opening of Yucca Mountain and to allow even larger amounts of nuclear waste to be dumped in Nevada. "The Bush administration has renewed its attack on Nevada and their goal is simple: open Yucca Mountain at any cost. This proposal isn't about safety or science, it's about using political muscle to change the rules of the game in order to ensure that nuclear waste comes to Nevada," said Berkley. "This is clearly a last ditch effort to try and bring this project back from the brink of total collapse, but make no mistake, Yucca Mountain's days are numbered. Like the project it is designed to resurrect, this bill is dead in the water. Working with my colleagues in the House and with Majority Leader Reid in the Senate, we will ensure this bill never sees the President's desk," said Berkley. "In a nutshell, this legislation guts key safety and environmental rules, makes it harder for Nevadans to challenge Yucca Mountain, gives the green light to a water grab and increases the amount of deadly nuclear waste that can be buried 90 minutes outside Las Vegas," said Berkley. "Yucca Mountain has not been proven safe and there will be no way to keep thousands of shipments of nuclear waste secure as they travel across our roads and railways, and this legislative package ignores both these realities." Among the changes included in the White House bill is a provision that seeks to eliminate the current restriction on the amount of waste that can be stored inside Yucca Mountain. Lifting this cap would enable more nuclear waste to be dumped in Nevada and would increase the number of waste shipments that would have to travel along America's roads and railways. Berkley is also concerned that it would pave the way for White House plans to allow nuclear waste from other nations to be shipped to Nevada for burial at Yucca Mountain, as part of the President's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program. "Right now there is a limit on the amount of waste that can be stored at Yucca Mountain, but if President Bush is successful, Nevada will become the world's nuclear garbage dump," said Berkley. Another provision in the bill would make it easier for Congress to spend billions on dumping nuclear waste in Nevada, with little or no oversight to protect taxpayers. "Billions of dollars have already been wasted on a hole in the Nevada desert and Yucca Mountain is no closer to opening today, than it was 20 years ago. Funding for this disaster waiting to happen does not deserve special treatment and Yucca Mountain should have to compete with our nation's need to fund homeland security, education, clean energy, healthcare, Social Security and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Berkley, regarding provisions included in President Bush's bill that would give Yucca Mountain special budget treatment. # # # ***************************************************************** 63 Reid: REID STATEMENT ON THE DOE'S PLAN TO REVIVE YUCCA MOUNTAIN 03/06/2007 Press Release of Senator Reid Washington, D.C. - U.S Senator Harry Reid of Nevada released the following statement in response to the Energy Department's announcement that it will introduce legislation to revive the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. "The proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain is dying and the Energy Department knows it. This is just the Department's latest attempt to breathe life into this dying beast and it will fail. As Senate Majority Leader I will continue to leverage my leadership position to prevent the dump from ever being built. "While Nevada is always my top priority, this is more than a Nevada issue, it is a national issue. The Energy Department cites a 'moral obligation' to build the dump, but it is highly immoral to put millions of people at risk by hauling more than 70,000 tons of the most dangerous substance known to man past America's schools, hospitals and businesses." ### Reno Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse & Federal Bldg 400 S. Virginia St, Site 902 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-686-5750 Fax: 775-686-5757 Las Vegas Lloyd D. George Building 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: 702-388-5020 Fax: 702-388-5030 Carson City 600 East William St, #302 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-882-REID (7343) Fax: 775-883-1980 Washington, DC 528 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7327 Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) ***************************************************************** 64 PRN: Nuclear Council Presents Recommendations to DOE Continued Commitment Required to Strengthen U.S. Nuclear Industry WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Industry leaders representing the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness met with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman to discuss a series of recommendations that would restore America as a leader in nuclear energy design, manufacturing, service and supply. Companies represented at the meeting included ATK, ConverDyn, EnergySolutions, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, USEC Inc. and Westinghouse. Council representatives commended DOE and the administration for their ongoing commitment to nuclear energy and urged them to take steps to restore the competitive position of the U.S. nuclear design, manufacturing, service and supply industry. "As our need for energy will increase, so too does our need for nuclear power, and the Energy Department has a strong set of nuclear programs that we believe can create an environment for a nuclear renaissance," Secretary of Energy Bodman said. Among the recommendations presented, the Council asked that DOE seriously consider the health of U.S. industry when deciding how to allocate funding for nuclear energy programs, notably for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, Nuclear Power 2010 and the Next Generation Nuclear Plant. Westinghouse CEO Steve Tritch said, "Under the leadership of President Bush and Secretary Bodman, DOE has established a strong set of nuclear energy programs that will help ensure U.S. technological leadership and growing U.S. employment in this vital field. Today we presented recommendations to help build upon the strong foundation that has been built in recent years." Council representatives stressed that it is essential, for both national security and economic reasons that a reinvigorated U.S. industry is able to compete in the global market from the dominant, preferred-supplier position. "The commitment to nuclear energy by our nation's leaders highlights its economic and environmental importance to the U.S. This step in the right direction has set the stage for near-term plant construction," said General Atomics Vice Chairman Linden Blue. "In order to rebuild a vital, domestic nuclear industry, we encourage DOE to mirror the Department of Defense's example of stewardship by ensuring that government procurement decisions benefit American taxpayers and contribute to the growth of U.S. industry." The Council recommended that DOE expedite the completion of the loan guarantee rules for nuclear energy projects and ensure the rules cover projects beyond new reactors that will restore the domestic nuclear energy design, manufacturing, service and supply industry. "The loan guarantee provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 have served as a catalyst for the construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.S.," said EnergySolutions CEO Steve Creamer. "By ensuring these provisions cover other aspects of our domestic nuclear-energy infrastructure, we can start building new U.S. facilities and creating new U.S. jobs." On the international front, the Council supported the administration's efforts to secure agreements for nuclear energy cooperation with countries such as Russia and India, but cautioned that these agreements must not inadvertently undermine the resurrection of the U.S. nuclear industry. "Cooperation with other nations is an essential part of our nuclear energy future," said USEC Inc. CEO John Welch. "However, in negotiating such agreements, we must remember that the presence of a vibrant U.S. nuclear energy manufacturing and supply infrastructure is essential if we are to successfully influence nuclear energy and nonproliferation policies in other countries." Formed in 2005, the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks the return of American nuclear leadership to the world through the emergence of an U.S.-led global nuclear enterprise. The Council educates key audiences on the policies and technologies of an American nuclear renaissance, and summons public and private sector leadership to organize and promote such a transformation. For more information, visit http://www.nuclearcompetitiveness.org SOURCE American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness Related links: http://www.nuclearcompetitiveness.org Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved. A United Business Media company. ***************************************************************** 65 UCS: New Nuclear Warhead Design Unnecessary March 2, 2007 Statement by Dr. Robert Nelson, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists WASHINGTON The Department of Energy announced today that it has selected a design for a new hydrogen bomb to replace a warhead (W76) deployed on submarines. The so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead would be the first in a series of new bomb designs intended to replace all U.S. nuclear warheads over the next two to three decades. Below is a statement by Dr. Robert Nelson, a physicist and senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program. "There is no technical reason to replace existing U.S. nuclear warheads, because they are already highly reliable. According to the Energy Department's own research, the core plutonium components in current weapons will last at least 85 years and possibly much longer. New designs are more likely to introduce new uncertainties. "It is dangerous that the Energy Department wants to pay for the new warheads by cutting funds for maintaining the existing stockpile, a strategy that will make current weapons less reliable. "Building these new warheads also will increase pressure to test them. The United States has never deployed a new nuclear warhead without conducting a nuclear explosive test. Since 1992, we've had a moratorium on nuclear testing, but this new weapons program opens the door to new testing. "Building these new warheads will restart the Cold War cycle of designing and producing new nuclear weapons. Instead, the United States needs a thorough review of its outdated nuclear weapons policy, under which it keeps thousands of warheads on high-alert status. Rather than building new nuclear weapons, the United States should be looking for ways to reduce its reliance on them." Reporters: Join our notification list to receive breaking news from UCS. For general media inquiries, please call our press office at 202-331-5420. Press Contacts: EMILY ROBINSON Press Secretary 202-331-5427 erobinson@ucsusa.org AARON HUERTAS Assistant Press Secretary 202-331-5458 ahuertas@ucsusa.org ELLIOTT NEGIN Media Director 202-331-5439 enegin@ucsusa.org © Union of Concerned Scientists ***************************************************************** 66 Carlyle Group's Lawrence Livermore wins contract for New Nuclear weapons????? Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 09:27:49 -0600 (CST) Ra Energy Fdn. Raleigh Myers Worksheet bio http://raenergy.igc.org/ArchitypeOfFairness.html Carlyle Group's Lawrence Livermore wins contract for New Nuclear weapons????? Livermore and Los Alamos: In a stealth takeover by the Carlyle Group, facilitated by 5 Admirals, the management contract will be transferred next year to the University of Texas where the military and the Carlyle Group will have control _ the Eisenhower factor, Dr Stragelove, compassionate conservatism, thousand points of light, wow what a movie........... http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2004/Moret-Nuclear-Carlyle16sep04.htm Meet the Carlyle Group: How will President George W. Bush personally make millions (if not billions) from the War on Terror and Iraq? The old fashioned way. He'll inherit it. http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-24,GGLG:en&q=Meet+the+Carlyle+Group Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 (202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org ___________________________________________________ PM Monday, March 5, 2007 New U.S. Nuclear Weapons AP has reported: "The Bush administration selected a design Friday for a new generation of atomic warheads, taking a major step toward building the first new nuclear weapon since the end of the Cold War nearly two decades ago. "The military and the Energy Department selected a design developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California over a competing design by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. "The decision to move ahead with the warhead, which eventually would replace the existing arsenal of weapons, has been criticized as sending the wrong signal to the world at a time when the United States is assailing attempts at nuclear weapons development in North Korea and Iran and striving to contain them." ROBERT ALVAREZ, kitbob@starpower.net, http://www.ips-dc.org/projects/nuclear/index.htm A former deputy assistant secretary of Energy and now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, Alvarez said today: "There's no need to make new nuclear weapons, this is just the labs' way of establishing a niche market. This is also incredibly costly -- the environmental liability from past nuclear weapons production is half a trillion dollars. "While the U.S. government is telling other countries they shouldn't build nuclear weapons, here the U.S. is leading by exception rather than by example. Particularly since the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review policy is to possibly use nuclear weapons even against countries that don't have nuclear weapons; U.S. policy is in effect pushing countries to acquire nuclear weapons." JACQUELINE CABASSO, wslf@earthlink.net, http://www.wslfweb.org/nukes/complex2030.htm Currently in Washington, D.C., Cabasso is executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, which focuses on nuclear policy issues including Lawrence Livermore. She said today: "Indefinite maintenance of a huge, sophisticated nuclear arsenal, by the only country that has so far used nuclear weapons, is an unreasonable, unacceptable, and unlawful alternative. The only reasonable alternative is nuclear abolition. The United States, in compliance with its obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, should commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2030, by initiating negotiations leading to conclusion of a verifiable treaty, under strict and effective international control." Cabasso has written extensively on nuclear policy, most recently the paper "Complex 2030: U.S. Plans for 'Nukes Forever,'" which is forthcoming in the Information Bulletin of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation. Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty states: "Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control." http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/npt/text/npt2.htm For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167 -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.7/711 - Release Date: 3/5/2007 9:41 AM @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Obama the End of Trogladitics _ the Earth is not flat. Obama says share the presidency rather than just vote for him. Nowhere in the GOP or the DLC is there a hint of sharing anything. Experience is how to ask the people what they need and then get it done. An Electrician became the president of Poland in the worst of times today we have an Idiocracy _ now we need to manage a paradigm shift. The alphabet soup crowd brought us Iatro GAIAcide and Corporatism _ it could hardly get any worse. If we get a young president with an already shifted mindset, the youth of the world will respond in kind _ much of the planet's war torn population is under twenty five. Now for something different: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/wahl/047 Energy Policy for the second superpower http://raenergy.igc.org/energypolicy.html#municipal VIDEO: What is a Progressive? http://cdncon.vo.llnwd.net/o2/fotf/progressiveVideo/swf/index.html Being an Activist is a high calling _ seeking the high moral ground for fairness is prophetic. http://raenergy.igc.org/bio.html#concerts Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~Margaret Mead Select and paste if the URLs are split Google it for more info also click on groups example: Solar Hydrogen Economy @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Some other lectures leading to solutions http://raenergy.igc.org/Googleclick.html Corporatist - Fascistic factoids FDR Eisenhower Mussolini Lincoln warned of the corporatist-Fascist attack strategy. http://raenergy.igc.org/sig.html Ra Energy Fdn. Raleigh Myers Worksheet bio http://raenergy.igc.org/bio.html Blog http://raenergy.blogspot.com/ Op Ed back 20 years http://groups.google.com/groups?q=raenergy&start=0&scoring=d&ie=UTF-8& Call to Action virtual seminar for change. http://raenergy.igc.org/action.html I may be singing to the choir, with these talking points, but there are over six billion people who need attitude adjustment as you were in the same need just a bit ago. They need this help because many of you did not share your newly acquired awareness with them. If you have made your contribution please use these points for more outreach_give them a piece of your MIND. http://raenergy.igc.org/mindone.html http://raenergy.igc.org/ArchitypeOfFairness.html#Think Let us experiment with laws and customs, with money systems and governments, until we chart the one true course - until we find the majesty of our proper orbit as the planets above have found theirs& And then at last we shall move all together in the harmony of our sphere under the great impulse of a single creation - one unity, one system, one design. Roger Bacon FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted (C ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-ip.php ***************************************************************** 67 Platts: Savannah River site operator receives contract extension Washington (Platts)--5Mar2007 Washington Savannah River Co. received an 18-month contract extension worth $2.3 billion, depending on final federal budgets, to manage and operate DOE's Savannah River Site through June 2008, parent company Washington Group International said March 5. WSRC has been the site's management and operation contractor since 1989. The Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina, is involved in work associated with DOE's cleanup program and with the National Nuclear Security Administration, the semiautonomous nuclear defense agency within DOE. WSRC's contract also includes management of the Savannah River National Laboratory, DOE's lead laboratory for environmental research and development. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 68 SF Chron: Bomb gurus ponder non-nuclear future / New U.S. weapons could make arsenal a relic of Cold War James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, March 4, 2007 Nuclear weapons policy discussions in this country tend to feel obscure, cerebral and, more often than not, gentlemanly. The subject may involve degrees of annihilation more vast than anything ever experienced, but, a new thrust of the debate is being launched, even as the Bush administration announced on Friday that it had accepted the design of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for a new generation of nuclear weapons, known as "reliable replacement warheads." During a discussion in San Francisco recently on the future of the United States nuclear arsenal -- which in other times might have involved little more than a dry excursion into this dense topic -- specialists provided an extraordinarily tough critique of the Bush administration's nuclear weapons programs and added fuel to the growing efforts to drastically reduce, or eliminate , the stockpile. C. Bruce Tarter, the former director of the Lawrence Livermore and now head of a group evaluating proposals for a new generation of warheads, complained during the panel at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science two weeks ago that it was almost impossible to make judgments about future weapons needs because the White House had failed to articulate "a clear, transparent" statement on its nuclear strategy and there was no consensus in Congress. Further, he said, the Bush administration's proposal to resuscitate the weapons production complex "means nothing" because the White House has not provided either a firm timetable or a budget for the program. "You damn well better have bipartisan support" for the new weapons program before moving ahead, he warned. Another speaker, Gen. James Cartwright, head of the Pentagon's Strategic Command, which manages nuclear war planning, was also blunt. He said that while Stratcom, as the command is known, has developed an array of new tools and strategies for defending the country, including space and cyber defenses, nuclear policy was largely stuck in a Cold War mode. He endorsed, at least in principle, steps toward eliminating the stockpile, in part because the United States has so many new weapons to defend itself that it is far less reliant on nuclear warheads than in the past. "We ought to grade our homework by the path we're taking in that direction," meaning the direction of nuclear disarmament, Cartwright said. The exercise is far from academic. At one time, Congress more or less accepted what the administration said the country needed in weapons systems and provided the funding. But now, many in Congress on both sides of the aisle are skeptical about the Bush administration's efforts to start manufacturing new generations of replacement nuclear bombs. "There is at present no clear, coherent weapons policy supporting RRW," or Reliable Replacement Warhead, said Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that controls nuclear weapons spending. "Without a comprehensive strategy that includes the mission, the threat, and the specific U.S. nuclear stockpile necessary to achieve the strategic goals, it is impossible for Congress to appropriate funding for RRW in a responsible and efficient manner." Visclosky also sought to put disarmament on the agenda. Given the need to halt weapons programs in countries such as Iran and North Korea, he said, "the lack of attention the administration has given to developing a policy that explains the role of RRW in our broader national nuclear weapons strategy may result in Congress eliminating funding for the program." None of the senior officials involved in the debate proposes quick elimination of the nuclear stockpile. What they are encouraging is the first thorough debate in years on whether the country even needs nuclear weapons, and, if so, what kind. Disarmament is being discussed not just by arms-control zealots but by the people who build and manage the nuclear strike force. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, now chairwoman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Forces Committee, says she plans to push for ratification of the long-stalled Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. President Clinton signed the treaty in 1996, but the Republican-controlled Senate rejected it and the Bush administration has said it has no intention of seeking ratification. Tauscher says she believes the United States still needs a nuclear deterrent for the time being, even if it is far smaller than the current arsenal of some 5,000 warheads, but she says the new political climate means the country can finally have a real debate about the long-term need to replace nuclear warheads with precision conventional weapons, special forces teams and the like. "We have a chance to not only get the size of our stockpile to a significantly reduced level but to move toward elimination," she said. "We have a chance to regain the high ground on nonproliferation and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction." E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle ***************************************************************** 69 Reuters: Duke Energy to get $56 mln from nuke fuel suit Tue Mar 6, 2007 12:01PM EST NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp. (DUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it reached a settlement with the federal government of its suit against the Department of Energy on used nuclear fuel storage costs. The company will receive an initial payment of $56 million for costs incurred through July 31, 2005, along with additional annual reimbursements for future costs. The dispute arose from the Department of Energy's delay in removing used fuel from nuclear power plants, contracted to begin in 1998, it said. Duke Energy said because the federal government did not begin fuel removal as planned in 1998, it incurred higher used fuel storage costs at the company's Oconee, McGuire and Catawba nuclear stations. "(This agreement) clarifies specific costs the DOE will pay associated with the delay in meeting its obligation for used fuel disposal. This ensures our ratepayers and shareholders do not bear the full financial burden of these delays," the company said in a statement. In the near-term, the company will continue to store used fuel at these nuclear plant sites, Duke Energy said. (Additional reporting by Dilipp S. Nag in Bangalore) © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 70 NAS: Project: Review of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology Research & Development Program PIN: BEES-J-05-01-A Project Scope The committee will undertake a comprehensive, independent evaluation of DOE's nuclear energy (NE) program's goals and plans, and validate the process of establishing program priorities and oversight (including the method for determining the relative distribution of budgetary resources). The evaluation will result in a comprehensive and detailed set of policy and research recommendations and associated priorities (including performance targets and metrics) for an integrated agenda of research activities that can best advance NE's fundamental mission of securing nuclear energy as a viable, long-term commercial energy option to provide diversity in energy supply. The review will also include the relationship of the research program to the Idaho Facilities Management program. In conducting the evaluation of the R&D program, the committee will: (1) Review the technical goals and timetables for government and industry R&D efforts in the various technical areas (e.g., Nuclear Power 2010; Generation IV; Hydrogen Initiative; Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative); (2) Review the R&D directions and progress in various parts of the program and their relevance to meeting the goals of the R&D program; (3) Review the overall balance and adequacy of the R&D program in light of the objectives and schedules in the major technology areas, and whether efforts in various technical areas are at an appropriate level, should be expanded, reduced, or eliminated; (4) Identify, if appropriate, new and promising technologies not included in the DOE portfolio that the DOE could meaningfully advance to meet the goals of the program; (5) Examine and comment, as necessary, on the appropriate federal role in the various technical areas; (6) Examine and comment on the commercial implications of each major part of the R&D portfolio and what each element needs to contribute to the commercial adoption of the technology; (7) Examine and comment on NE's strategy for accomplishing its goals, which would include such issues as: (a) program management and organization; (b) the process of setting milestones, research directions and making Go/No Go decisions; (c) collaborative activities with other parts of the government or private sector; (d) the integration of major activities in each program into a plan and associated schedule; (e) integration and associated schedule and milestones of the various major programs across DOE-NE; (f) consistency of the budget, schedule and scope for selected major activities; (g) risk identification and assessment and mitigation activities; and (h) other topics that the committee finds important to comment on related to the success of the program to meet its technical goals. (8) Comment on the relationship of the R&D program to the Idaho Facilities Management program. The committee will write a report documenting its findings and recommendations. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The approximate start date for the project is April 24, 2006. A report will be issued at the end of the project in approximately 18 months. Project Duration: 18 months Provide FEEDBACK on this project. Contact the Public Access Records Office to make an inquiry or to schedule an appointment to view project materials available to the public. Committee Membership Meetings Meeting 1 - 08/24/2006 Meeting 2 - 10/17/2006 Meeting 3 - 11/08/2006 Meeting 4 - 01/09/2007 Meeting 5 - 03/08/2007 Reports Email: info@nas.edu ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************