">blackbirdlang@yahoo.com./
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"The lowest standards of ethics of which a right-thinking man can
possibly conceive is taught to the common soldier whose trade is to
shoot his fellow men. In youth he may have learned the command, 'Thou
shalt not kill,' but the ruler takes the boy just as he enters manhood
and teaches him that his highest duty is to shoot a bullet through his
neighbor's heart - and this, unmoved by passion or feeling or hatred,
and without the least regard to right or wrong, but simply because his
ruler gives the word." Clarence Darrow, Resist Not Evil
The mountain that will spit poison
Mother Earth is not for sale.
That's what the Western Shoshone National Council has told the
U.S. government. The Nation was offered pennies per acre for
their land in parts of Nevada, Utah, Idaho and into California,
but the Nation's council said: No deal.
The U.S. government said, "Yes deal," and moved in. We needed a
radioactive waste dump there, and a place to test nukes.
In 2005, the Western Shoshone council filed a lawsuit claiming
the land is theirs under an 1863 treaty. They further claim that
the Bush administration's 2002 approval of one tract of the land
-- Yucca Mountain -- for a nuclear waste repository, violates
both the treaty and, in turn, the U.S. Constitution, which their
lawsuit points out makes treaties "supreme."
I keep my little copy of the Constitution handy when I write. Let
me check that. Yup. It does say that, in Article 6. "All treaties
ma de, or which shall be made, under the author ity of the United
States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in
every state shall be bound thereby."
The treaty made with the Western Shoshone allows only five uses
of the land by the U.S. government; settlements, mines, ranches,
railroads and roads. Any use beyond the five listed must be
approved by both the U.S. government and the Western Shoshone
National Council, the treaty states.
And to add intrigue, there's gold in them thar hills.
Ten percent of the world's supply and 64 percent of U.S. gold
comes from this desert site, where mountainsides are blasted up
tract by tract and the rubble treated with cyanide-laced water,
to get the gold out.
No one anticipated, back in the days of cowboys and Indians and
dirty gold miners, that we would need a place to hide radioactive
waste for 10,000 years, lest it poison and defo rm us all. Bu t
that day has come, thanks to science and the ethical deficiencies
of mankind.
After years of scouting out the best reservation property to use
for the really big nuke-dump-to-end-all-nuke-dumps, the Bush
administration picked Yucca Mountain in 2002. This was after the
U.S. military had already established a nuclear test site nearby,
on land included in the 1863 treaty -- a spread the size of
Maine, with its own volcano and fault lines.
Last's week's column was not long enough to explain this
travesty.
Nevada's governor in 2002 immediately vetoed the generous
approval of a nuke dump in Nevada, only to have the U.S. Congress
override that veto. Nevada last week protested the legislation
that a sweat-soaked Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman was again
pressing urgently along.
Nevada is resisting, as is the Western Shoshone Nation.
How, then, does the U.S. government explain or justify its
violation of an apparently legitimate treaty, authorized by
Ulysses S. Grant in 1863?
That's what the United Nations wanted to know, after the Western
Shoshone Nation's council in 2005 filed an urgent action request
with the U.N. Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Several excuses have been f loated. The first and most
predictable is that the treaty was merely a friendly agreement.
The old, "just kidding," defense.
That's the least obscene reason. The Earth Island Institute
reports that when the Western Shoshone National Council refused
to give up the land for a radioactive waste dump in exchange for
money, politicians said the takeover was legitimate because --
pause here and perhaps be seated -- POLLS showed many of the
tribe's members want the deal . Never mind letting the Nation
settle its own disagreement. Never mind dealing with its rightful
representatives.
Need I point out the irony of this whopper to my readers? For
slow folks, this is a case of convenient governing: We can toss
out the representative form when it suits us in mowing over
native peoples, but we can use the representative system to mow
over the people of Nevada.
And why should Chicago's Southland readers care? The official
state Web site reports that Illinois stores more radioactive
waste at its eight temporary sites than any other state, with a
heap in Grundy County.
Lemont and Morris were on the radar for industry expansion
projects when the Department of Energy visited less than one
month ago. ComEd's Zion plant has shut down, but its LaSalle
reactors are still pumping out the power and the "spent fuel."
It's piling up, and once a home for the big dump is finagled, all
that radioact ive garbage will be moving around.
If that doesn't scare you, maybe this will: To the Western
Shoshone, Yucca Mountain is Snake Mountain, a place of prayer and
of reputed powerful spiritual energy.
One of the Nation's traditional stories is that Snake Mountain
will one day be awakened and will split open and spit out poison.
Before you sneer, think about that radioactive waste, sleeping
safely in its giant tube beneath Snake Mountain, and think of
that volcano across the valley, and the nuclear test site not so
far away, and the unusual subterranean river system below this
part of the desert.
What we put in the mountain may not stay in the mountain.
Daily Southtown columnist Marlene Lang can be reached at
blackbirdlang@yahoo.com
"The lowest standards of ethics of which a right-thinking man can
possibly conceive is taught to the common soldier whose trade is
to shoot his fellow men. In youth he may have learned the
command, 'Thou shalt not kill,' but the ruler takes the boy just
as he enters manhood and teaches him that his highest duty is to
shoot a bullet through his neighbor's heart - and this, unmoved
by passion or feeling or hatred, and without the least regard to
right or wrong, but simply because his ruler gives the word."
Clarence Darrow, Resist Not Evil
*****************************************************************
40 Vermont Guardian: New KI pills ready for residents near Vermont Yankee
March 19, 2007 Headlines |
BURLINGTON — The Vermont Department of Health wants
residents in the emergency planning zones around the Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Station to know that potassium iodide
tablets, distributed since April 2002 are about to expire. New
supplies of potassium iodide are expected to arrive in Vermont by
mid-April.
A public meeting about potassium iodide is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Tuesday at the American Legion Hall in Brattleboro for people in
the six emergency planning zone towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston,
Guilford, Halifax, Marlboro and Vernon.
Staff from the Vermont Department of Health and Vermont Emergency
Management will explain plans for re-distribution. They will also
discuss plans for the initial distribution of liquid potassium
iodide.
Potassium iodide (also known as KI) is a drug that can block
exposure to radioactive iodine if taken in an appropriate and timely
dosage. Radioactive iodine is one of the contaminants that may be
released in a nuclear accident or similar event. Exposure to
radioactive iodine can increase the risk of thyroid cancer.
“There is no substitute for following emergency instructions,
such as shelter-in-place or evacuation orders,” said Acting
Health Commissioner Sharon Moffatt. “But potassium iodide is
one protection we can distribute in advance and that’s why we
began offering it five years ago. The Health Department will issue
instructions if and when potassium iodide is to be taken, in the
event of a nuclear emergency.”
Potassium iodide has been available to anyone who works or lives in
the six towns, as part of Vermont’s emergency preparedness
effort. The distribution program provides one dose per person, and
participation is voluntary. Parents/guardians are also eligible to
receive a free dose for each child in their family. Public schools,
nursing homes, hospitals, some childcare providers and private
schools also have KI distribution plans in place.
Between 2002 and 2004, approximately 14,000 tablets received from
the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission were distributed by the
Health Department District Office in Brattleboro, and by several
local pharmacies.
“If you participated in our distribution program, you will
have potassium iodide tablets that are marked to expire at the end
of March,” said Moffatt. “We have word from the federal
Food & Drug Administration that the potassium iodide will still be
effective up to two years beyond its marked expiration date, if it
has been stored as directed on the package instructions — kept
dry in its foil packet at room temperature.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a two-year
extension of the expiration date for supplies of KI that have been
properly stored by the state. These supplies are considered to be
effective until 2009. By April, Vermont officials expect to get a
new supply of KI in the form of 130 mg tablets (the full adult dose)
and 65 mg tablets (the full child dose) that will not expire for
seven more years.
In addition, the state now has a supply of liquid KI, which is
easier to administer to children and others who may have difficulty
taking tablets. Liquid KI will be distributed to childcare centers
and schools.
More information about the Vermont KI distribution program can be
located online.
UVM hockey co-captain signs pro contract
BURLINGTON —Junior co-captain Torrey Mitchell has signed a
professional contract with the San Jose Sharks and will not return
for his senior season at the University of Vermont.
Mitchell and San Jose made the announcement today.
Mitchell, of Greenfield Park, Quebec, will complete his junior year
academically this spring, and plans to continue his education at UVM
by taking summer and online courses to earn the remaining credits
needed to finish his degree in the near future.
“This is an opportunity I could not pass up,” Mitchell
said. “After consulting with my family, coaches and advisor
this is the best decision for me. It was a dream of mine to play
college hockey and I was able to develop, as a student-athlete here
at Vermont and it’s something I’ll cherish
forever.”
Hockey coach Kevin Sneddon said Mitchell would be missed.
"Torrey is the best two-way player I have coached to date,”
said Sneddon. “His work ethic, competitiveness, and overall
skill package makes him ready for the next level. We will certainly
miss him next season, but we wish him the best of luck as he
progresses toward playing in the National Hockey League. We are all
very proud of him."
Sneddon said when he and Mitchell discussed the junior going pro, he
made the player promise to finish his education from UVM.
Mitchell was named an Honorable Mention Hockey East All-Star this
season and finished the year with 12 goals and 23 assists for 35
points to lead Vermont in scoring. His 35 points ranked 14th best in
Hockey East and his 23 assists were seventh best.
Mitchell finished his career with 35 goals and 70 assists for 105
points in 110 games to rank tied for 35th on UVM’s all-time
scoring list.
As a sophomore during the 2005-06 season he was named an Honorable
Mention Hockey East All-Star and as a freshman he was named to the
ECAC All-Rookie Team.
Mitchell was a fourth-round pick (126th overall) by the San Jose
Sharks. He will report to San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the
Worcester Sharks this week.
The Vermont men’s hockey team finished the 2006-07 season at
18-16-5 overall and 12-10-5 in Hockey East play.
Posted March 16, 2007
Northern Vermont: PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404 Southern
Vermont: 139 Main Street, Suite 603, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Contact: 802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382
(toll-free)
2007 Vermont Guardian |
Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com This document can be located
online: www.vermontguardian.com/dailies/032007/031907.shtml
*****************************************************************
41 Oshkosh Northwestern: Proposed emission rules stir debate
Posted March 19, 2007
Gov. Doyle's rules would exceed federal regulations
By Richard Ryman rryman@greenbaypressgazette.com
Proposed regulations to reduce mercury emissions from electric
generating plants by 90 percent by 2020 are stirring debate about
pollution, utility costs and nuclear power.
On Thursday, the state Department of Natural Resources,
responding to a request by Gov. Jim Doyle, proposed rules that
would exceed those of the federal government and remove Wisconsin
from a national program which would allow utilities to buy
credits for out-of-compliance plants.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's largest business
group, said the new regulations will increase electric rates and
make the state less competitive.
"We had hoped the DNR would allow participation in the federal
trading program because it gives us flexibility and allows us to
cover some unexpected emergency events that can occur in your
system," said Connie Lawniczak, director of environmental
services for Wisconsin Public Service Corp., Green Bay.
"Federal environmental rules are typically developed after years
of research, evaluation, and consideration of feedback from
stakeholders. Every time our state regulators think they know
better and go beyond what the rest of the country is doing, our
customers pay more and the competitiveness of Wisconsin business
is put at risk," she said.
Environmental, fishing and hunting groups have pushed for
stricter regulations because of concerns about mercury in fish.
Wisconsin has a statewide fish consumption advisory telling
consumers particularly children and women who may have children
to limit the amount of fish they eat because of mercury
contamination.
The Natural Resources Board will review the new regulations on
March 28. The rules also would need approval from the state
Legislature, where they will likely face opposition in the
Republican-controlled Assembly.
Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, chairman of the Assembly
committee on energy and utilities, said he believes the proposed
regulations will come before his committee.
"That is the difficult task that we as legislators face, finding
that balance between the environment and the technology that is
out there and the ability of citizens to afford electric rates,"
he said. "I don't know that the DNR necessarily has that under
their purview, worrying about rates."
Lawniczak said no technology now exists to allow plants to
achieve a 90 percent reduction.
"Technology development will be the key to mercury controls," she
said.
Montgomery said it's another argument in favor of more nuclear
power.
"The technology is out there. It's called nuclear," he said.
Contact us at 920-235-7700. thenorthwestern.com is a
Gannett Company website. Use of this site signifies your
agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, updated
June 7, 2005.
*****************************************************************
42 [NukeNet] Israeli discovery converts dangerous radioactive waste
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:20:17 -0800
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enScript=PrintVersion.jsp&enDispWho=Articles^l1586
Israeli discovery converts dangerous radioactive waste into clean energy
By Karin Kloosterman March 18, 2007
The laws of conservation of energy and mass say that energy or mass
cannot be created or destroyed - only change form. With the help of
Russian scientists, Israeli firm Environmental Energy Resources (EER),
has taken the laws of science and turned them into a useful invention
for mankind - a reactor that converts radioactive, hazardous and
municipal waste into inert byproducts such as glass and clean energy.
The problem of radioactive waste is a global one, and getting
increasingly worse. All countries in the industrialized world are waking
up to the need for safer hazardous waste disposal methods.
"In the beginning, nobody believed that we could do it," says Itschak
Shrem, chairman of investment company Shrem, Fudim and Keiner
representing EER at a press briefing announcing the innovation last week
in Tel Aviv.
Shrem, himself an invoker of small miracles through the founding of one
of Israel's most lucrative venture capital funds - Polaris (now Pitango)
- points to a chunk of black, lava-like rock sitting on the table in
front of everyone's coffee cups.
The journalists cautiously eye Shrem as he assures them that the shiny
dark material, emitted from EER's pilot waste treatment reactor near
Karmiel in the north, is safe to touch.
"It also makes a good recyclable material for building and paving
roads," he assures them. Earlier, Shrem told ISRAEL21c that EER can take
low-radioactive, medical and municipal solid waste and produce from it
clean energy that "can be used for just about anything."
Using a system called plasma gasification melting technology (PGM)
developed by scientists from Russia's Kurchatov Institute research
center, the Radon Institute in Russia, and Israel's Technion Institute -
EER combines high temperatures and low-radioactive energy to transform
waste.
"We go up to 7,000 degrees centigrade and end at 1,400 centigrade," says
Moshe Stern, founder and president of the Ramat Gan-based company.
Shrem adds that EER's waste disposal rector does not harm the
environment and leaves no surface water, groundwater, or soil pollution
in its wake. The EER reactor combines three processes into one solution:
it takes plasma torches to break down the waste; carbon leftovers are
gasified and inorganic components are converted to solid waste. The
remaining vitrified material is inert and can be cast into molds to
produce tiles, blocks or plates for the construction industry.
EER's Karmiel facility (and its other installation in the Ukraine) has a
capacity to convert 500 to 1,000 kilograms of waste per hour. Other
industry solutions, the company claims, can only treat as much as 50
kilograms per hour and are much more costly.
According to the journal /Research Studies/ (Business Communications,
Inc.), 'The production of nuclear weapons/power in the US has left a
50-year legacy of unprecedented volumes of radioactive waste and
contaminated subsurface media and structures... Nuclear waste generators
include the national laboratories, industrial research facilities,
educational and medical institutions, electrical power utilities,
medical diagnostics facilities, and various manufacturing processes.'
In the US alone, /Research Studies/ predicts that this year's market for
radioactive waste-management technologies in America will cap $5.5 billion.
EER was founded in 2000 and has maintained a low profile until revealing
its reactor last week.
"We spent our time on R&D and building up the site in Israel which we
started constructing in 2003. We realized that nobody was going to
believe us unless we started doing the process physically. They always
said it sounded too good to be true, so we had to prove it to them,"
said Shrem.
Back in 2004, the Ukrainian government put out a tender searching for a
solution that would provide safer hazardous waste disposal methods. At
that time, the country was looking for a way to treat its
low-radioactive waste zones resulting from the Chernobyl explosion. EER
sent in their proposal, and their technology won the bid.
According to Stern, the former Soviet Union was the first to build
nuclear plants. Over the years they have generated "huge amounts of
low-radioactive waste. They came to us looking for a solution," he said.
The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986 - was beyond a doubt
the largest civil nuclear explosion in the world and one still linked to
thousands of deaths. More than 20 years after the explosion, tens of
kilometers around the reactor is still highly radioactive; and some
30,000 radioactive homes remain buried along with household appliances,
food and clothing, explained Stern.
"The European community is afraid of what is happening there," notes
Stern, warning that it is time for the clean up to begin, even if it
means making only a small dent in the massive pile. "The low-radioactive
waste is slowly contaminating the water and will continue to do so over
the 300 years it takes to break down."
And since new conventions have been set by The Basel Convention on the
Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their
Disposal, first world countries are no longer permitted to traffic their
hazardous waste to third world nations - forcing Western countries to
drum up immediate and responsible solutions.
With a strict eye over its operations by Israel's Ministry of
Environmental Protection, EER revealed its proof-of-concept to Israeli
and foreign dignitaries in Aeblin, near Karmiel last week, showing how
it can take mountains of municipal waste and reduce it to a pile of
black rubble.
"We are not burning. This is the key word," Shrem said. "When you burn
you produce dioxin. Instead, we vacuum out the oxygen to prevent
combustion."
EER then purifies the gas and with it operates turbines to generate
electricity. EER produces energy - 70% of which goes back to power the
reactor with a 30% excess which can be sold.
"In effect, we are combining two of the most exciting markets in the US
- the environment and clean energy," says Stern, "We also reduce the
carbon footprint."
The cost for treating and burying low-radioactive nuclear waste
currently stands at about $30,000 per ton. The EER process will cost
$3,000 per ton and produce only a 1% per volume solid byproduct.
In the US, EER is working to treat low-radioactive liquid waste and
recently contracted with Energy Solutions, the largest American company
in the field with 75% of the US market.
Based on the financial forecasts, EER is certainly giving a fresh
meaning to the expression - one man's garbage is another man's treasure.
But in EER's case, ones man's hazardous waste may very well be EER's
goldmine.
2001-2004 ISRAEL21c.org. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
43 TheStar.com: Cameco shares climb on Cigar Lake plan
Mar 19, 2007 05:14 PM
Canadian press
SASKATOON – Cameco Corp. shares (TSX: CCO) traded higher on
Monday as investors appeared to take some comfort in the company's
latest plan for its flooded Cigar Lake mining project, even though
the uranium mine will be two years late and cost nearly $180 million
more than originally expected.
Research Capital analyst Brian Mok said Cameco's announcement
removes an "overhang of not knowing" and investors may take some
reassurance from a target date for the mine to start – even
though it will be late and over budget.
"That's good that they finally put something out there, just stating
exactly what their target is," Mok said in an interview. ``Whether
they make that is an entirely different debate, but at least they've
got a milestone out there."
Cameco shares gained $1.97 or about 4.6 per cent to trade for $45.18
on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
The Saskatoon-based company said it is now aiming to have its Cigar
Lake project in production by 2010. The original target date was
2008.
The Saskatoon-based company also said its share of the capital costs
related to Cigar Lake's production startup have risen from the last
estimate of $330 million to $508 million. Cameco has already spent
$234 million on construction so far, with another $274 million
remaining.
But despite the increased capital costs, Cameco insists Cigar Lake,
in northern Saskatchewan, remains a financially attractive project.
"The economics of the mine remain robust under a wide range of
scenarios," Cameco CEO Jerry Grandey told a conference call with
analysts.
Grandey said 13 of the 14 drill holes planned for reinforcing and
sealing off the water inflow area are complete, while concrete is
required in two locations underground – one near the rockfall
to seal off where the water entered the mine and another in a nearby
tunnel to provide reinforcement.
In addition to the capital costs, Cameco said its share of flood
remediation is estimated at $46 million and will be expensed in the
year they occur. The company spent and expensed $5 million of that
amount in 2006.
Cameco said it will file a technical report on the mine's progress
with Canadian securities regulators by the end of the month.
Mok said he will be looking in that report for any hint about how
the flooding might affect the operating cost of the mine as well as
the details of the cost escalations in building the mine.
"My hope is that they will give some indication as to how or what
their previously budgeted operating costs are," he said.
The flooding at Cigar Lake sent uranium prices soaring in last year.
Last April, water flooded a shaft at Cigar Lake used mainly for
underground ventilation. Then in October, two massive bulkheads
failed to hold back water from a flood after a rock slide in a shaft
about a half-kilometre underground, flooding the entire mine.
In 2006, Cameco saw its fourth-quarter earnings fall by more than
half that of the previous year.
It earned $83 million, or 23 cents a share, in the last three months
of 2005, but only brought in $40 million, or 11 cents a share, for
the three months ended Dec. 31, 2006.
But its 2007 outlook remains rosy. It says its revenue from its
uranium business is forecast to grow by 45 per cent and its fuel
services business will be 20 per cent higher than that of 2006.
Copyright Toronto Star online since 1996
*****************************************************************
44 Interfax: IAEA delegation to visit future uranium enrichment center in Angarsk
Mar 19 2007 2:30PM
MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - A delegation of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit the Angarsk chemical
plant, the future location of the first international uranium
enrichment center, on March 20, First Deputy Prime Minister
Sergei Ivanov said at a Monday meeting of government members
chaired by President Vladimir Putin.
"This will be the first step in fulfillment of the presidential
initiative for a global network of international uranium
enrichment centers," he said.
This initiative "will give all countries wishing to develop the
atomic energy industry access to high-tech service," Ivanov said,
adding, "They will provide access to the service, not the uranium
enrichment technology."
1991-2007 Interfax
All rights reserved
News and other data on this web site are provided for information
purposes only, and are not intended for republication or
redistribution. Republication or redistribution of Interfax
content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of Interfax.
*****************************************************************
45 Salt Lake Tribune: Capping waste: Gov. Huntsman cut a deal that limits volume
Tribune Editorial
Article Last Updated: 03/18/2007 11:13:39 PM MDT
Chalk one up for the governor. By cutting a deal with
EnergySolutions, it appears that he has capped the amount of
low-level nuclear waste that the company can accept at its site in
Tooele County under its current license.
The company had asked state regulators for permission to pile
this waste higher (up to eight stories high) in one of its cells at
its dump in Clive. Had that application been granted, the company
would have gained an additional capacity of 4.3 million cubic yards
of Class A low-level nuclear waste. Under the agreement,
EnergySolutions will withdraw that application.
And what did EnergySolutions gain? It has some 3.6 million cubic
yards of unused capacity in another cell that receives a different
class of low-level nuclear wastes that are generated by government.
The company will ask for regulatory approval to convert this unused
capacity to Class A low-level waste that could come either from the
government or from commercial sources.
Since the unused capacity had been previously approved, the net
total volume of waste that goes to the site would not change.
Gov. Jon Huntsman also announced that Utah will not accept any
additional Class A low-level nuclear waste beyond the volume that
has already been approved. That's the first time a Utah chief
executive has said that.
So, while it will take years for the site to fill, meaning
that this waste will continue to come to Utah for disposal, the
total capacity of the facility will not increase, at least under
this governor. When it's full, that's it. No more. An end is in
sight.
As part of the agreement, EnergySolutions also reaffirmed that
it will not accept Class B or Class C wastes, which have higher
radionuclide concentrations than Class A waste.
We have criticized the governor for failing to veto SB155, which
takes him and his successors, the Legislature and local governments
out of the regulatory loop for EnergySolutions' applications to
renew or amend its license unless the company seeks to expand beyond
its current facility boundaries.
We still have concerns about that.
But we give the governor and his administration credit for
cutting a deal that appears to cap disposal volume at the site.
It appears that [Huntsman] has capped the amount of low-level
nuclear waste that the company can accept.
Privacy Policy | MNG Corporate Site Map | Copyright
*****************************************************************
46 IHT: Russia's international uranium enrichment center to begin work soon,
deputy premier says - International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Published: March 19, 2007
MOSCOW: Russia plans to put its international uranium enrichment
center into operation soon, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei
Ivanov said Monday, according to Russian news agencies.
The center, at Angarsk in Siberia, is to enrich uranium that would
be used for civilian purposes by other countries that have made
nonproliferation commitments; the center also would reprocess used
uranium to ensure it is not converted into material that could be
used for nuclear weapons.
President Vladimir Putin proposed setting up the center last year,
and he and U.S. President George W. Bush adopted a joint initiative
on creating such centers.
Ivanov said inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency
would visit the center on Tuesday.
Copyright 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights
reserved
*****************************************************************
47 UPI: Russia: Nuclear fuel centers a priority
United Press International - Energy -
3/19/2007 1:54:00 PM -0400
MOSCOW, March 19 (UPI) -- A top Russian official said
international uranium enrichment facilities are a key priority to
ensure access to fuel for nuclear power plants.
Russia has already created a uranium enrichment center in Angarsk,
in cooperation with Kazakstan, while Moscow and Washington are
discussing future cooperation on such facilities.
"The essence of the functioning of such a center is that the
broadest possibilities will be provided to our partners for
participating in its work, but the uranium enrichment technology
belongs to us and only to us," Russian First Deputy Prime Minister
Sergei Ivanov said, Itar-Tass reports.
Enriching uranium is a process to make fuel for nuclear reactors,
but can also lead to weapons grade uranium.
The United States and Russia have begun formulating plans to set up
regimes that would create an adequate supply of uranium for
countries needing the fuel, as well as a mechanism to retrieve the
used fuel, since it too is a proliferation risk.
"For the first time in the Soviet and Russian practice, an
enrichment plant has been taken off the list of especially secret
facilities and opened for the application of (International Atomic
Energy Agency) guarantees," Ivanov said, referring to Angarsk.
Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
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48 Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation: Deadline for nuclear waste comments
News for Monday, March 19th, 2007
Written by Ken Hashizume
People who want to speak about the Western Waste Management
Facility in Tiverton must submit their request soon.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will hear from the public
April 11th on a 10-year license renewal of the WWMF.
Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer will be making a presentation in
support of the Ontario Power Generation at the hearings.
OPG Spokesperson Marie Wilson says the Mayor's actions show there is
a lot of faith and trust in their operations.
She says it also shows the knowledge Kraemer and other people have
of how their business runs.
Wilson says the renewal will include a request for authorization of
the construction of at least one low-level storage building, 128
in-ground containers for low-intermediate level waste, and 8
refurbished waste buildings.
She says, however, that does not mean OPG will go ahead and do these
things, they just want approval to do so when the time comes.
Wilson says the public has until today to inform the CNSC of their
intentions.
She says the public can make their submissions either in writing or
in person or both.
This site is part of the Bayshore Broadcasting family of
radio stations Mix 106 | 560 CFOS | Country 93 | 98 the Beach |
Bayshore Broadcasting
2006 Bayshore Broadcasting Corp. All Rights Reserved.
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49 DOE: DOE Issues Solicitation for Purchase of Oil for the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
March 16, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today
announced that it will seek solicitations to purchase up to four
million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
(SPR). This is the first of a series of solicitations planned to
replace 11 million barrels of oil sold in the fall of 2005 after
Hurricane Katrina disrupted refinery supplies. This would be the
first direct purchase of crude oil for the reserve since 1994.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve will use the proceeds from the
emergency sale totaling $584 million to complete the purchases.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a critical national asset that
bolsters our energy security, Secretary Bodman said. "By
replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we can ensure that
there are additional supplies of fuel for the American people in
cases of severe supply disruption."
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has a capacity of 727 million
barrels, and currently holds 689 million barrels in inventory. The
solicitations over the next several months will be staggered so that
no single purchase will adversely impact the market price. Bids
will be accepted based on fair market value and combinations of
sweet and sour crude will be purchased based on price.
At this time, the Department will review proposals in the following
quantities: two million barrels of sweet crude to be delivered to
the West Hackberry, Louisiana site, and/or two million barrels of
sour crude to the delivered to the Bryan Mound, Texas site. Bids
are due by April 3, 2007, and contract awards will be made within
one week. The delivery period for the crude oil is May 1-31, 2007.
Through the terms of contracts to be issued from the planned series
of solicitations, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve seeks to achieve a
moderate fill rate of approximately 100,000 barrels per day during
the months of May, June and July.
Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403
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50 Santa Fe Nw Mexican: Trinity Site opening to public April 7
Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:30 pm
By ASSOCIATED PRESS March 19, 2007
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AP) - The southern New Mexico site
where the world's first atomic bomb was tested will open to the
public on April 7.
Trinity Site, on the normally closed White Sands Missile Range,
features a small lava obelisk that marks Ground Zero. Historical
photographs are mounted on a fence around the site.
The missile range also offers a shuttle from Trinity Site to a ranch
house two miles away where scientists assembled the plutonium core
of the bomb, which was set off early the morning of July 16, 1945.
The test was the culmination of the secret Manhattan Project at Los
Alamos, some 200 miles north. Scientists had developed two bomb
designs _ one using uranium and the other plutonium. The plutonium
design was complex, and scientists decided a test was essential.
After scientists assembled the bomb at the ranch house, it was taken
to Trinity Site and hoisted onto a 100-foot tower that was vaporized
during the explosion.
The blast produced a flash of light that could be seen 250 miles
away, a roar heard 50 miles away and a mushroom cloud that rose
40,000 feet.
Less than a month later, on Aug. 6, 1945, the United States
exploded the uranium-based "Little Boy" bomb over Hiroshima.
Three days later, it dropped the plutonium-based "Fat Man" on
Nagasaki. Japan surrendered on Aug. 14, ending World War II.
All adults on the Trinity Site tour must show a photo ID and
should also carry proof of insurance and current registration of
their vehicle. All vehicles entering the missile range are
subject to search.
From the north, visitors can enter the missile range through
Stallion gate, five miles south of U.S. 380, some 12 miles east
of San Antonio, N.M. The gate will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
and the 17-mile road to the site is paved and marked.
A caravan from Alamogordo also goes on the tour. It will form at the
parking lot for Tularosa High School's football field and leave at 8
a.m. for the 75-mile drive to Trinity Site. Once it enters the
range, military police escort the caravan. It will leave for the
return trip between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m.
___
On the Net:
White Sands Missile Range Trinity Site:
http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinph.htm
2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved.
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51 Tri-City Herald: Fluor may use divers to clean K Basin sludge
Published Monday, March 19th, 2007
ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER
Fluor Hanford again is considering sending divers into Hanford's
radioactive K Basins to help with cleanup.
The Department of Energy contractor considered using divers
experienced in the nuclear industry two years ago. But it found ways
to vacuum the bulk of the radioactive sludge into containers in the
K East Basin without them.
But as Fluor prepares for the final cleanup steps at K East, it has
asked for and received proposals for a diving service with
preference given to a company that has done dives at a Department of
Energy facility. Fluor is considering three proposals and could
select one based on technical expertise, but no decision to go
forward with dives has been made, said Fluor Hanford spokesman Geoff
Tyree.
At K East, workers standing on grates above the pools have removed
most of the debris in the pools and vacuumed most of the sludge into
containers using underwater cameras and long-handled tools to reach
the bottom of the 20-foot-deep pool.
What remains is detail work, such as removing some smaller debris
and vacuuming areas difficult to reach from above water, Tyree said.
The K East and K West basins were used to hold irradiated fuel
underwater until it was processed to remove plutonium for the
nation's weapons program. When fuel processing stopped at the
Hanford nuclear reservation, 2,300 pounds of fuel was left stranded
in the basins.
The last of the fuel was removed in 2004. But left behind was about
70 cubic yards of radioactive sludge from fuel that had decayed over
decades in the water, desert dust and concrete that sloughed off the
sides of the pools.
Fluor has moved the bulk of the sludge in the leak-prone K East
Basin into underwater containers and is transferring it the K West
Basin to await treatment. Fluor also is working to vacuum K West
sludge into containers. Divers might be used at one basin or both,
Tyree said.
The Fluor request for proposals discusses placing platforms above
the floor of the basin for divers to work on. That could help limit
the exposure to radiation from the sludge and contamination embedded
on the floor and prevent divers' boots from coming into contaminated
materials, Tyree said.
Divers would place debris in underwater sorting baskets or waste
containers and in some cases might have to cut up the debris to make
it smaller. Divers also could help with rigging to lift boxes,
baskets or equipment out of the water and do some vacuuming.
As work proceeds to clean up and remove the floors and walls of the
concrete basins, divers might help with further work to remove
embedded contamination, water and add grout.
No schedule has been set for the possible dives, but a Defense
Nuclear Safety Board report said it would not start sooner than May.
"As with any new work, Fluor will ensure that safety and technical
questions are addressed prior to doing work," Tyree said.
Diving is not new to the nuclear industry. The Idaho National
Laboratory has used divers to clean out four spent nuclear fuel
storage basins. Commercial nuclear power plants also have used
divers.
© 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services
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