***************************************************************** 03/22/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.68 ***************************************************************** 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 [NYTr] Iran 'ready for dialogue' on nuclear issue 2 Reuters: Big powers negotiate changes in Iran sanctions text | 3 AFP: US, Indonesia to discuss Iran sanctions - 4 UPI: Outside View: U.S. should talk to Iran 5 [NYTr] N Korea demands cash up front before deal 6 UPI: North Korean negotiator walks out of talks 7 AFP: North Korea's food reserves drying up - aid agency 8 AFP: China works to clear roadblock at NKorea nuclear talks - 9 US: IPS-English POLITICS: U.S. Nukes Plan Viewed as Provocative 10 US: ENS: Gore Urges Immediate U.S. Freeze on Warming Emissions 11 Reuters: Pakistan tests nuclear-capable cruise missile 12 UPI: India to set up enegy groups with Japan 13 AFP: Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable cruise missile - NUCLEAR REACTORS 14 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Assessment for Seabrook Nuclear Plant a 15 Border Mail: Nuclear isn’t an alternative 16 US: POAC: Oyster Creek pump fails but no fish killed 17 US: Platts: NRC Commissioner calls for better security for new nucle 18 US: toledoblade.com: 3 Davis-Besse ex-staffers get a deadline to bar 19 US: Rutland Herald: States ask NRC for rule change 20 US: FR: NRC: Preclosure Safety Analysis--Level of Information and Re 21 US: Dallas Morning News: Nuclear workers at TXU may strike 22 US: FR NRC: Notice of Issuance of Early Site Permit for Exelon Gener 23 US: FR NRC: Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company; Haddam Neck Pla 24 US: FR NRC: Florida Power Corporation; Notice of Consideration of Is 25 AFP: Germany can abandon nuclear power and cut CO2 - Greenpeace - 26 CBC News: Canada must be a clean energy superpower - PM 27 UPI: Vietnam wants nuclear power 28 IAEA: Nuclear Technologies in the Fight against Poverty 29 US: Reid: REID MEETS WITH GORE TO DISCUSS ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE 30 US: Pantagraph.com: Invest in wind power, not nuclear plants 31 BBC NEWS: Climate change warning for cities NUCLEAR SECURITY 32 CP: Bomb in sea container could 'lay waste' to North American target 33 US: Whitehaven News: Fuel under guard NUCLEAR SAFETY 34 UPI: Explosion below ice cap on British sub 35 BBC NEWS: Oxygen device sparked sub blast NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 36 US: Salt Lake Tribune: N-waste pile to start from beginning 37 US: Daily Herald: What game is: Huntsman playing? 38 US: The Australian: Warning on uranium export lag 39 ITAR-TASS: Intl uranium enrichment center to start working by year-e 40 US: Petoskey News Review: Big Rock may sell land housing nuclear was PEACE 41 Mikhail Gorbachev: The Nuclear Threat US DEPT. OF ENERGY 42 Hanford News: Murray asks DOE for funding answers 43 Hanford News: Chemicals to slow creep toward river 44 Tri-City Herald: GNEP bus needs more riders today 45 KnoxNews: Small business awarded DOE deal 46 Government Executive: Los Alamos workers anonymously ask Congress fo ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [NYTr] Iran 'ready for dialogue' on nuclear issue Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:54:57 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Simon McGuinness The Irish Times - Mar 20, 2007 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2007/0320/1173880593722.html Iran 'ready for dialogue' on nuclear issue IRAN: The international community is squaring up for a showdown over Tehran's nuclear programme. The Iranian foreign minister told Marian Houk in Geneva how his country sees matters The US yesterday approved a visa for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to enable him to address the UN Security Council over Tehran's nuclear programme. The apparent desire to address the council will strike some as odd, given that Iran has been arguing to all who would listen that its file should not have been sent to the council in the first place. "Right now the file is open in the Security Council," Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said last week in an interview in Geneva. "If they are to review and consider the file, then the president has expressed that we would like to bring the issues that concern Iran to the Security Council. That would not deny our willingness to deal with the issue outside the Security Council, which we certainly hope that the latter will happen. Therefore, we should exhaust all possible capacities, both for clearing our positions, and also to come to a mutually agreed agreement." As efforts quicken to tighten sanctions, reports suggest that one of the UN Security Council's five permanent members, Russia, won't be supplying fuel on schedule for Iran's first nuclear reactor in Bushehr. The Bushehr plant is not yet on line, but was supposed to be soon - the plant was to be test-operated in September 2007, and the fuel needed by the plant transferred to Iran by the end of March, according to Iran Daily. Asked about this development, Mottaki, on a visit to address the UN's Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, sat up straighter and said crisply: "We hope this piece of news is not correct, and we hope that they comply with their commitment to provide us with this fuel - this is something that they have committed to. The very same piece of news, even if it's not correct, shows that there are hands around to put pressure on Russia not to provide the Bushehr power plant with the fuel - fuel that is supposed to be returned to Russia for disposal. "That's what makes us even firmer to look after the production of fuel within the country." Mottaki added: "Nowadays, the need to have access to nuclear power is an overriding urge. Fossil fuels are very limited, and nuclear power is a clean source of energy. At a recent Gulf Co-operation Council summit meeting, even the Persian Gulf states said that they, too, were in need of nuclear power. Europe has drastically increased its production of nuclear energy within its territory . . . Some countries who have access to nuclear power should not make it an exclusive right for themselves. The problem with countries like us is that we cannot be confident about some of the western countries. "Iran and the US made a pact in March 1957 about a nuclear power programme for Iran - that's 50 years ago," Mottaki said. "And, the first phrase in this contract reads: 'Nuclear power is the inalienable right of all humankind'. In that contract, we agreed that 23,000 megawatts of electricity should be derived from nuclear power plants in Iran, and that enrichment should happen, according to this contract, in Iran. When we ousted the dictator [the former Shah] from Iran, they disregarded all these pacts and contracts." What Iran is doing now, the foreign minister said, is simply carrying out the terms of this pact. "We are intending to generate 20,000 megawatts out of the nuclear power. And we are planning to have millions of dollars of investments in that, and, therefore, we should not be hostage for the fuel needed for these plants. "As far as nuclear weapons are concerned, our firm belief is that these kinds of weapons should be eliminated from the face of the earth . . . We think the era of nuclear weapons has come to an end. "The IAEA [ the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency] have produced a number of different reports on our nuclear activities," he said. "None of these reports, either from the director general or from the inspectors, shows a deviation by Iran in its nuclear programme from its peaceful purposes. These concerns are concerns that might happen in the future. It's quite interesting to see that they're after punishment of a certain hypothetical case in which Iran might go after nuclear weapons in the future, and they want to punish Iran and to prejudge Iran already. But they do not punish or go after those countries who do have access to nuclear weapons - and who have even declared them." The Iranian opposition group, Mujahideen-e Khalq, which has been based in Iraq for over two decades, proudly claims to be the source of information about the existence of Iran's nuclear programme. The Mujahideen released the details after the US occupied Iraq. There is confusion about the authenticity and reliability of some of the information provided by the Mujahideen disclosures, but all UN Security Council members are now asking Iran to comply with the demands of the international community to rebuild confidence in its intentions. Mottaki said direct negotiations are needed: "We believe that within the framework of a dialogue, we can clear out all the different aspects of such issues. We can put all our concerns on the table. They can also counter-argue us. "We, for example, would say that you should not punish a country for what it has not committed. There might be a country, or countries, that would, in the future, decide so. It might entail its own consequences. One of the most grievous consequences would be the lack of confidence that it might create for the international system. We do not believe that there is anything unnatural in the issue of nuclear energy that Iran pursues. Whatever we do, all of our activities are being monitored by the IAEA's cameras right now. Their inspectors are in Iran, as we speak." To resolve the crisis, he said, "we think that mutual steps can be taken, the framework for which should be balanced and legal. "For example, we used to implement voluntarily the [IAEA additional] protocol. We can rethink it, to have it on and going again - if they remove the barriers for this. And the barrier would be keeping the file in the Security Council. "So, in a way, we could describe mutual suspension as the step - the two items of such a suspension should be equally weighed. That means, suspension of the discussion in the Security Council, [ in return] for implementation of the protocol. There could be other practical ideas that will bring more confidence between the two sides. We believe that we should promote the non-proliferation regime." Are there behind-the-scenes agreements for negotiations already? "There are on-and-off dialogues, but we are looking for an official round of discussions," he said. Last Monday he met Swiss president Micheline Calmy-Rey (Switzerland represents US interests in Tehran, and has offered to facilitate or to host negotiations on the nuclear issue), after she had met the German foreign minister, who is involved in the EU talks with Iran. "Usually we consult with different countries, but there haven't been any specific proposals." Does Iran have a proposal? "We have different ideas, yes. If we ever sit around a table, we are ready to bring those out - for example, a mechanism for giving guarantees. Or different ways to enhance non-proliferation. Or the idea of establishing a consortium [a regional consortium for production of nuclear fuel]. Or different other frameworks which we have worked on and talked about. We think that these different ways would both create confidence and also pave the way for future co-operation. "There is only one way in which there is no successful end, and that's where one of the two sides has no political will for this." [Marian Houk is a freelance journalist in Geneva. She covered the Iran-Iraq war while based at the UN headquarters in New York] * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 2 Reuters: Big powers negotiate changes in Iran sanctions text | Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:44PM EDT FACTBOX: Highlights of draft resolution on Iran sanctions By Evelyn Leopold UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major powers worked on amendments on Thursday to get votes from South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar on sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment that can be used in a nuclear weapon. No vote has been set and could be delayed until next week as any changes have to be sent to the governments of the 15 U.N. Security Council members for approval. But U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alexander Wolff said a vote late on Friday was "still possible." Indonesia proposed a call for "a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East," said its U.N. ambassador, Rezlan Ishar Jenie. But so far the United States has qualms about this, presumably because Israel would be included. "We don't think it is relevant to this resolution," Wolff told reporters. But he said language could be added on the importance of negotiations with Iran and on an incentive package proposed by Europeans last year if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment work. However, Wolff said the changes had to be "consistent with the framework" of the resolution, drafted by Germany and the five permanent council members with veto rights -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 AFP: US, Indonesia to discuss Iran sanctions - Thu Mar 22, 4:23 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to discuss with her Indonesian counterpart proposed new UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, the State Department said Thursday. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice would discuss with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda the UN Security Council's sanctions draft which has been endorsed by the council's five permanent members and is now being studied by the 10 non-permanent members. It would be the third time since Monday the United States has discussed the issue with Indonesia, following a telephone call from President George W. Bush to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and another call between Rice and Wirajuda. Indonesia, Qatar and South Africa have proposed amendments to the sanctions, which would ban Tehran from exporting arms, call for voluntary trade sanctions and expand a list of officials and companies targeted for financial and travel restrictions. "The discussion won't be limited to talking about the Security Council resolution, but I expect it will come up," McCormack said ahead of the meeting. Indonesia and Qatar have both proposed amending the existing text with a paragraph recalling the goal of a "Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction and all missiles for their delivery" under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. While permanent members of the Security Council have suggested such an amendment is possible, they rejected South Africa's proposal for a 90-day suspension of UN sanctions to allow political negotiations with Tehran. The Security Council has demanded that Tehran halt its uranium enrichment program, which Western powers view as part of a push to develop nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its nuclear program is aimed at peaceful uses. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 4 UPI: Outside View: U.S. should talk to Iran United Press International - Security & Terrorism - 3/22/2007 12:06:00 PM -0400 By SHIREEN T. HUNTER UPI Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- The recent visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Saudi Arabia can be an important step toward setting up a regional security structure in the Persian Gulf and eventually in the Middle East in general. Most Western and Arab commentators, however, interpreted this visit as a sign of Iran's desperation because of its increasing isolation, plus the reassertion of Saudi Arabia's regional role. Clearly, the Iranian leadership is apprehensive about the enormous risks that its current standoff with the West entails for its interests, and it is concerned about a potential Sunni front, including Arab and non-Arab countries. Iran is also aware that Syria, Hamas, and perhaps even Hezbollah would forego their ties with Tehran if they were offered a good deal from the Israelis, wealthy Arabs, or the West -- not a totally unrealistic scenario. In short, Iran has realized that it cannot win the regional game at everybody else's expense. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states also feel vulnerable to the destabilizing effects of rising sectarian tensions and violence and the dangers of another war in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia's rich Eastern Province is inhabited by impoverished and disenfranchised Shias. Presently, they are not a serious security threat. But this could change if sectarian tensions worsened or if war broke out between Iran and the West. Moreover, there are considerable numbers of Shias in countries such as Bahrain and Yemen, which border on Saudi Arabia. Further, notwithstanding Saudi abhorrence of a Shia-dominated Iraqi government, possibly with close links to Iran, the prospects of an al-Qaeda-inspired government in Iraq also cannot be all that comforting to the Saudis. After all, al-Qaeda and its operatives see the Saudi leadership as enemies of Islam and agents of the West. It should also be remembered that belonging to the same faith is no guarantee of amity among states. After all, during the last 50 years, most direct threats to Saudi leadership have come from other majority Sunni or Sunni-ruled Arab states -- Egypt and Iraq -- and not from Shia Iran. Saudi Arabia's high gear regional diplomacy has also failed to produce results either in Lebanon or in Palestine, thus showing the limits of its power to resolve regional disputes by itself. The Saudis cannot be sanguine about the course of a military confrontation between Iran and the West. Iran, if attacked, could not do much to harm Saudi Arabia directly. But the conflict, leading to Iran's decimation, would negatively impact Saudi interests by, among other things, reducing Saudi Arabia's value to the West, since there would be no further U.S. enemies against whom Saudi Arabia could act as a bulwark. Israel, too, would lose interest in an Israeli-Sunni alliance. Indeed, Saudi Arabia itself might loom as the next threat to be contained by the West. By contrast, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the region as a whole, would gain much from cooperation in terms of diffusing the rising sectarian tensions, contributing to Iraq's stability as an independent and multi-confessional state, and helping to end the Lebanese stalemate. Most important, Saudi-Iranian cooperation could become the basis for developing a new security structure in the Persian Gulf, based on the principles of shared responsibility and the abandonment of any idea of hegemony by the two big Gulf powers. Such a structure could also enable the West to contain Iran without recourse to drastic economic or military measures. After the 1991 Gulf War, the West's unwillingness to include Iran in any regional security system prevented any forward movement. Formulas such as mating the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with Egypt and Syria led nowhere, and a golden opportunity was lost to try forging broader regional security cooperation. Now it would be wise for the West at least to support talks about a regional security structure, beginning with Saudi-Iranian cooperation. Clearly, such a structure must have an international, and most importantly, U.S. component. Iran seems to have come to realize this fact, as reflected in Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani's comment at the Munich Conference on Security Policy in February that any regional security system would be subject to international supervision. Ultimately, security in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf is indivisible; either every one, including Israel, will be secure, or no one will be secure, at least not for long. Iran is clearly part of this mix: its security cannot be separated from that of its neighbors, in both directions. It is time for the regional countries and the West to recognize this fact, to abandon failed, divisive, and exclusionary policies, and to work for security for all. (Shireen T. Hunter is a visiting fellow and adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and was formerly deputy director of the Middle East program and director of the Islam Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.) (United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are ***************************************************************** 5 [NYTr] N Korea demands cash up front before deal Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:54:55 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Simon McGuinness The Irish Times - Mar 22, 2007 http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2007/0322/1174492286645.html N Korea demands cash up front before deal by Clifford Coonan in Beijing NORTH KOREA: Free up the cash, then we'll start talking, was the line from the North Korean capital Pyongyang yesterday, after six-party talks in Beijing on implementing a deal to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions were extended until tomorrow. Pyongyang is refusing to move a jot before their frozen assets at a Macao bank were freed up, the latest evidence of the North's incredibly tricky negotiating strategies in these long-running talks. Senior delegates had met for five minutes, then the South Koreans, who are attending the talks with their cousins from North Korea, as well as the United States, Japan, Russia and China, said simply: "The talks will be extended until tomorrow." The North Koreans refused to attend a number of meetings yesterday and the day before until after its $25 million (18.8 million) was transferred from Banco Delta Asia in the Chinese territory of Macao to a North Korean account in Beijing. Christopher Hill, Washington's chief envoy to the talks, was baffled, but said it was a banking issue that needed to be resolved, nothing to do with diplomacy. Washington had frozen the bank account in the former Portuguese territory because of allegations of money laundering and counterfeiting by the secretive Stalinist regime. Macao authorities said the money would be transferred into a North Korean account, but by yesterday the funds had yet to be delivered. It's a jarring reminder of just how problematic a process it is going to be to implement the deal struck last month with North Korea, which shocked the world last October when it conducted its first atomic weapons test. Under the terms of the deal struck on February 13th, North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear complex and accept UN inspectors within 60 days. Within the same timeframe, the almost bankrupt country would receive 50,000 tons of heavy fuel for energy use from the other parties. The current round of talks take place halfway through the 60-day time limit, and these negotiations are also due to discuss stage two of the de-nuclearisation deal, under which North Korea will provide a complete declaration of all its nuclear programmes and disable all its existing nuclear facilities. In return, Pyongyang would obtain economic, energy and humanitarian assistance up to the equivalent of one million tons of heavy fuel oil. However, there is no timetable for the second phase and little by way of details. Resolving the funds issue was not part of the deal as originally concluded, but it is clear that the North Koreans see the funds as an important part of the negotiations regardless. There is much speculation about why the North Koreans are making such a big deal over what is a comparatively small sum - some say it is the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's private emergency stash in case he is deposed and forced to flee. Analysts believe the move is pure negotiating tactics, designed to show that North Korea is happy to play out the talks at its own pace, like a chess game. Everything had started so promisingly on Monday, with Washington announcing it had resolved the long-running financial sanctions dispute that had been the major stumbling block in the forum, and everything looked set to conclude on schedule yesterday. ) 2007 The Irish Times * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 6 UPI: North Korean negotiator walks out of talks United Press International - NewsTrack - Published: March 22, 2007 at 7:43 AM BEIJING, March 22 (UPI) -- Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program came to a standstill Thursday when North Korea's chief envoy abruptly left the Beijing negotiations. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan left the six-party talks and headed to Beijing's international airport for a flight to Pyongyang, Kyodo reported. China's chief delegate to the talks, Wu Dawai, said talks would be recessed because North Korean funds had not been transferred from a Macao bank to a bank in Beijing, Kyodo reported. Yonhap reported that officials said the $25 million -- frozen because of U.S. allegations that the North Korean funds were part of a counterfeiting ploy -- were had not been freed because of "minor technical problems." North Korea has said it will not move ahead with abandoning its nuclear program until its frozen assets are freed from the bank in Macao. The Financial Times reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice convinced the Treasury Department to unfreeze the funds. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 AFP: North Korea's food reserves drying up - aid agency Thu Mar 22, 4:01 AM ET SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea's food reserves have almost dried up, leaving some people starving and aggravating malnutrition across the impoverished nation, a South Korean aid agency warned Thursday. Good Friends, which focuses on assistance to the North, said up to 70 percent of food stored by city residents has been used up due to a poor harvest last year and insufficent foreign food aid. "There are no concerns about a famine like that in the mid-1990s but the chronic food shortage has been aggravating malnutrition," Noh Ok-Jae, secretary-general of the Seoul-based agency, told AFP. The famine killed hundreds of thousands of people. The regime blamed it on natural disasters, but analysts said the inefficient state-directed agriculture and distribution system also played a large part. The country has received major foreign food aid since the mid-1990s but its citizens still suffer persistent food shortages. "A poorer-than-expected harvest last year has led to reduced rations among city dwellers who have no farmable land. Some people are starving," said Noh, quoting her agency's contacts in the North. In January, the North released military food supplies to city workers for the first time following a special order from leader Kim Jong-Il, she said. "The unprecedented move proves the North's situation is very serious." North Korea may face a shortage of at least 1.5 million tons of food this year, she said, adding the situation could become more serious if foreign countries withhold aid. "Many North Koreans are desperately waiting for more foreign food aid, which they believe will arrive after six-party talks in Beijing," Noh said, referring to ongoing negotiations aimed at dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programme in return for energy and other concessions. International bodies have continued their aid but face increasing problems raising donations from the public due to disenchantment over its nuclear and other weapons programmes. South Korea, the largest donor, suspended its regular annual shipments of 500,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertiliser after the North's missile launches last July, and special aid for flood victims was also halted. But Seoul announced Thursday that it would resume emergency aid to flood victims. It also agreed to resume fertiliser aid after Pyongyang agreed last month at the six-nation talks to dismantle its nuclear programme. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 8 AFP: China works to clear roadblock at NKorea nuclear talks - by Jun Kwanwoo and Hiroshi Hiyama Thu Mar 22, 1:08 AM ET BEIJING (AFP) - North Korean nuclear disarmament talks dragged into a fourth day Thursday as Chinese authorities worked frantically to clear a surprise roadblock to the tortuous six-party negotiations. The Stalinist regime has refused since Monday to hold any further discussions about an accord to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme until it sees 25 million dollars in frozen funds safely back in its bank accounts. The United States, which froze the money in a Macau bank in 2005 due to accusations of North Korean money laundering and counterfeiting, said at the beginning of the week it would allow the money to be returned. Chief US envoy Christopher Hill and other negotiators in the six-nation talks had expected North Korea to be satisfied with the move, and that they would spend the next few days fleshing out a roadmap for disarmament. But, due to a myriad of technical problems, the money has not been sent from Macau to a North Korean account with the Bank of China in Beijing, leaving the envoys frustrated and left with little to do but sit in their hotel rooms. "We must not waste our time and we must swiftly go into discussions over issues of substance," chief Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae told reporters on Thursday, as negotiators awaited news on the transfer of the money. The talks -- which involve China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia -- were scheduled to end after three days. But with no progress made, China called the envoys together late Wednesday to ask them to stay at least one more day, while assuring them that Chinese authorities were working to have the money transferred quickly. "China is the one who is making the main efforts over this so we just have to go and listen to the outcome of their efforts," Sasae said. Hill repeated on Thursday that he believed the money transfer should not have sabotaged this week's talks. "This was a procedural, form-filling issue," Hill told reporters, adding he could offer no explanation for the North Koreans' negotiating tactics. "The day I explain to you the North Korean thinking is the day I have been in this process too long." China had still not scheduled any firm meeting of the chief envoys on Thursday morning, indicating they had yet to secure the transfer of the money. An official involved in the talks said on Wednesday the transfer was taking a long time partly because some North Korean bank account owners had died or were not living in Macau. Under a six-nation accord signed on February 13, North Korea agreed to initially shut down its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon by mid-April and allow UN inspectors back into the country. In return, the impoverished regime would initially receive 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel for energy use. North Korea, which conducted its first atomic weapons test in October last year, would eventually receive one million tonnes of heavy fuel or equivalent energy aid if it permanently dismantled its nuclear weapons programme. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 9 IPS-English POLITICS: U.S. Nukes Plan Viewed as Provocative Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:02:12 -0800 Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Mar 22 (IPS) - The announcement earlier this month that the United States will pursue the design and construction of new nuclear weapons has not been warmly embraced by the rest of the world. In fact, most people outside the country view the move as more evidence of a policy favouring unilateralism and the pursuit of absolute military superiority, according to a report released Wednesday on global perceptions of U.S. nuclear policy. The report, commissioned by the Pentagon's Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), used focus groups and written and oral interviews with participants in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to assess international feelings toward the plan for a new generation of nuclear warheads. It found that China and Russia, in particular, are watching the scope of U.S. missile deployments with concern that Washington might be attempting to move away from a deterrence posture through more effective defences. Under the new Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) programme, older nuclear warheads currently maintained under the Stockpile Stewardship Programme will be replaced by simpler weapons meant to be more reliable, easier to manufacture and more robust than current models. They would reportedly be ready for production by 2012. The decision to upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal is being opposed by some members of the U.S. Congress, who believe it sends a message that Washington is pursuing first strike capabilities instead of a policy of détente and arms reduction, as was the case during the Cold War. ”The whole name of the reliable replacement warhead is insidious since it suggests the current weapons are not reliable,” Stephen Schwartz, editor of the Nonproliferation Review at the Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, told IPS. The Union of Concerned Scientists says that the plan to update the U.S. nuclear arsenal is unnecessary because the current arsenal's reliability is not degrading. Changing the design of nuclear warheads is expensive and dangerous, the group argues, and political pressure within the United States could lead to the testing of new nuclear weapons before they replace existing weapons. The new warheads are based on a design that was detonated in underground tests during the 1980s. Although part of the George W. Bush administration's rationale for the RRW is a need to have a more flexible arsenal to engage and deter so-called ”rogue states”, such as North Korea and Iran, the DTRA report concludes that Russia and China's future decisions about their nuclear arsenals will be dependent on ”their perceptions of U.S. strategic intent, plans, and commitments.” The departure from a policy of nuclear deterrence has also caused concern in Japan and Turkey, where U.S. commitments of extended deterrence are seen as essential security guarantees. The new policies have led both countries to question the credibility of a U.S. nuclear guarantee, says the report. Focus groups and written responses from U.S. allies and friends ”oppose U.S. development of new, tailored, low-yield nuclear weapons as unnecessary, potentially dangerous, politically divisive, and adversely impacting non-proliferation,” says the report. While the DTRA's report is one of the first to address the geo-strategic effect the new weapons will have on non-proliferation and global stability, there are also concerns here that the new weapons will eventually require potentially dangerous testing. The U.S. Senate has not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bars nuclear weapons tests, and some fear that the Bush administration's plan to develop new nuclear weapons could seriously undermine the possibility of a Senate ratification of the treaty. ”A number of people have raised the point that even if the scientists are confident the weapon will work, many military leaders will be a bit sceptical and demand actual proof,” warned Schwartz. There are no current plans to test the new weapons, but the development of new warheads does make some countries doubt the United States and other nuclear weapons powers' commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which includes disarmament obligations such as ratification of the CTBT. The U.S. government, in the past, has implied that the development of more reliable nuclear warheads will allow it to reduce its total number of nuclear warheads and comply with reductions required in the NPT. ”[But] if you're looking at this from the outside (of the U.S.) you'll see the U.S. has 10,000 nuclear weapons and is going to build more,” said Schwartz. The DTRA study concludes that the message from U.S. allies to Washington is ”that a greater U.S. readiness to engage on nuclear disarmament issues would pay off in increased support from other third parties in pursuing U.S. non-proliferation objectives.” ”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,” said Dr. Robert Nelson, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, in a statement. On Mar. 18, a panel composed of retired nuclear weapons laboratory directors and former defence and energy department officials also weighed in on the debate, recommending that ”any decision to proceed with RRW must be coupled with a transparent administration policy on nuclear weapons, including comments concerning stockpile size, nuclear testing and nonproliferation.” The panel's full report is expected next month. ***** +Defence Threat Reduction Agency (http://www.dtra.mil/) +Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/) +Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies (http://cns.miis.edu/) +More IPS Coverage of Nuclear Issues (http://ipsnews.net/new_focus/nuclear/index.asp) (END/IPS/NA/WD/IP/NU/BW/ML/EC/KS/07) = 03221854 ORP014 NNNN ***************************************************************** 10 ENS: Gore Urges Immediate U.S. Freeze on Warming Emissions Environment News Service (ENS) By J.R. Pegg WASHINGTON, DC U.S. lawmakers should stop bickering about the science of global warming and take aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, former Vice President Al Gore told members of Senate and House committees today. There is a clear scientific consensus that human activities are changing the climate, said Gore, who characterized global warming as a "planetary emergency." Speaking Wednesday afternoon before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Gore said global warming presents a "challenge to our moral imagination." Former Vice President Al Gore testified in both the House and the Senate today. (Photo courtesy Al Gore) "The natural tendency, for me, for all of us, is to think something this big and challenging is not real," Gore said. "We don't want it to be real. It is hard to think about and contemplating the changes to deal with it automatically creates a feeling of discomfort. We just wish it would go away. It is not going away and we've got to deal with it." Among a slew of recommendations, Gore called on the United States to immediately freeze its greenhouse gas emissions and aim to cut them 90 percent by 2050. "The planet has a fever," Gore said. "If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame retardant. You take action." Gore expressed support for a cap and trade plan to cut emissions as well as for a tax on carbon. Speaking of the carbon tax, Gore said, "I fully understand that this is considered politically impossible, but part of our challenge is to expand the limits of what is possible." He suggested a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants built without carbon capture technology, as well increased fuel economy standards and a ban on incandescent light bulbs. Homeowners should be given greater flexibility to produce their own clean energy and sell it into the electricity grid, Gore said, and the government should enact a new "carbon neutral" federal mortgage company to support green homes. Leadership by the United States is vital to getting others to tackle the issue, said Gore, who called for the nation's leaders to "start a sprint to negotiate and ratify" a post-Kyoto treaty that starts in 2010. The former vice president, whose documentary on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth" recently won an Academy Award, said U.S. lawmakers should follow the lead of politicians in the United Kingdom. Former Vice President Al Gore discusses shrinkage of Arctic ice extent in his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." (Photo courtesy An Inconvenient Truth) "Both of their major parties are unified in their determination to solve this climate crisis," Gore said. "They are not arguing about the science. They are arguing about how to design solutions that will go farther, faster." "We've got too much partisanship," Gore told the Senate panel. "Everyone of us, myself at the front of the line, has contributed too much to it." Lawmakers have to "find a way to reach across the aisle on this and recreate what used to be a bipartisan consensus on protection of the environment," Gore said. There is "big change in public opinion" on the issue, Gore added, with more and more Americans keen for action. "This shouldn't be seen as a partisan issue or even a political issue," Gore said. "It is a moral issue … the people out there in our country are so hopeful that this Senate will act and that this Congress will act." Gore's message was received favorably by Democrats and some Republicans at both hearings, but whether there is political will for the solutions he recommended is far from clear. Senator John Warner, a Virginia Republican, considered a key potential swing vote on the Senate panel, expressed skepticism that the technology exists to make the emission cuts Gore advocates. "You have thrown down a very tough challenge today to the Congress," said Warner. Senator John Warner of Virginia (Photo courtesy Office of the Senator) Warner voiced concern about the economic impacts of forging ahead without an equal commitment from China, which will soon overtake the United States as the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases. "How do we persuade them [to act]?" Warner asked. When the United States leads, Gore replied, "we greatly improve the odds that they will be a part of it." Lawmakers need to recognize that international treaties have long put different conditions on developed and developing countries, Gore added, and that is unlikely to change. "Every treaty has recognized that distinction," Gore said. "We may not want that, but as a practical matter that is the world we have to deal with." Several Republican senators queried Gore on the role of nuclear power, noting that it is an energy source that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as on the future of coal. Gore did not reject nuclear outright, but said he does not see it as a big part of the solution. Problems of waste storage, safety and proliferation can probably be addressed, Gore said, but cost is a higher hurdle. "The main problem is economics," Gore said. "The problem is these things are expensive, they take a long time to build and at the moment they come in only one size – extra large." With regards to coal, Gore echoed his earlier call for a moratorium on coal-fired power plants without advanced carbon capture technology, adding that the future of coal "depends on quickly determining a price in the marketplace for carbon." Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. (Photo courtesy EPW) A handful of Republicans continued to press Gore on the science of global warming, none more than renowned climate skeptic Republican Senator James Inhofe from the oil producing state of Oklahoma. "A lot of the statements you have made contain inaccuracies and are misleading," said Inhofe. Many scientists do not believe that manmade emissions are responsible for warming, Inhofe said, adding "the science isn't there." Gore pointed to agreement on the science by the National Academies of 16 nations, as well as the four reports by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. The most recent IPCC report, issued February 2, "The Physical Science Basis: a Summary for Policymakers," was adopted in a line-by line review by the governments of 113 countries, including the United States. The report by hundreds of scientists from around the world demonstrates that global warming is accelerating, that human activity is "very likely" responsible for this warming, and that it is likely irreversible for centuries, even if greenhouse gas emissions are stabilized. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2006. All Rights Reserved. The ENS website is maintained by HKCR LLC ***************************************************************** 11 Reuters: Pakistan tests nuclear-capable cruise missile Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:49AM EDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan successfully tested on Thursday a nuclear-capable cruise missile with a range of 700 km (435 miles), the military said in a statement. The Hatf V11 Babur missile is a terrain-hugging, radar avoiding cruise missile capable of carrying a variety of warheads including nuclear, it said. "The flight data collected validated the design parameters set for the flight test," the military said. "It is a highly maneuverable missile with pin-point accuracy." The missile was first tested in 2005. Since then, it's range has been enhanced to 700 km, from 500 km previously, the military said, although it did not say how. President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had congratulated scientists and engineers involved and assured them of complete support in development plans of all strategic projects, the military said. Pakistan's old rival India has cruise missiles that can be launched from a submarine. The neighbors, who have fought three wars since 1947, both tested nuclear devices in 1998. Their relations have improved since they launched a peace process in 2004. © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 UPI: India to set up enegy groups with Japan United Press International - Energy - 3/22/2007 10:27:00 AM -0400 NEW DELHI, March 22 (UPI) -- India says it has plans to set up five workings groups with Japan for energy security and power efficiency. The vice chairman of India's Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, will visit Japan early next month to give final shape to the five energy groups the country has proposed, The Financial Express newspaper reported Thursday. He will also explore the possibilities of Indian investment in Japan's oil and gas sector and also the sale of coal-based power and nuclear power technology. Ahluwalia will hold discussions with Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari and other officials to further the cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. An agreement between the two countries on energy cooperation could be announced during the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India later this year, a Planning Commission official said. "The working groups that are to be set up for better energy cooperation between two Asian countries would deal in the fields of power efficiency, oil and natural gas, coal, new technologies in these areas and nuclear power and renewable energy and transportation," Ahluwalia told reporters. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 13 AFP: Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable cruise missile - Thu Mar 22, 5:41 AM ET ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan successfully test fired a longer range version of its nuclear-capable, radar-dodging cruise missile, the military said. The Hatf VII Babur missile has a range of 700 kilometres (435 miles) and can carry all kinds of warheads including nuclear, it said in a statement Thursday. The missile's previous range was 500 kilometres. "The test was successful and technical parameters were set," Pakistan military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP. The statement said the "Babur... is a terrain-hugging, radar-avoiding cruise missile, whose range has now been enhanced to 700 kilometres. It is a highly manoeuvrable missile with pinpoint accuracy." The test was witnessed by the chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Ehsan ul Haq, as well as senior military officials and scientists, the statement said. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have congratulated the scientists and engineers on this "very important success," it added. "The test is part of Pakistan's ongoing efforts at consolidating its strategic capability and strengthening national security," the statement said. The indigenously-developed cruise missile was first tested in 2005, surprising the world, and again in March last year. Pakistan did not say if it had informed nuclear-armed rival India about the test in advance. They have an agreement to notify each other about tests of ballistic missiles but not cruise missiles. In February Pakistan signed a historic deal with India to cut the risk of atomic weapons accidents. The neighbours have routinely conducted missile tests since carrying out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in May 1998. However in 2004 they launched a slow-moving peace process aimed at ending six decades of hostility and resolving their dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, the cause of two of their three wars. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Assessment for Seabrook Nuclear Plant at Public Meeting Scheduled for March 29 News Release - Region I - 2007-07-009 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual assessment of safety performance at the Seabrook nuclear power plant, in Seabrook, N.H., will be the subject of a public meeting on Thursday, March 29. NRC staff will meet with representatives of plant owner FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the assessment, which covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006, and was documented in a March 2nd letter to the company. The session will take place in the Galley Hatch Conference Center at the Inn of Hampton, 815 Lafayette Road in Hampton, N.H. (Directions are available on the inn’s web site at: http://www.theinnofhampton.com/.) Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the performance of the Seabrook plant, as well as the role of the NRC in providing oversight of plant safety. “Each year we take a step back to size up plant performance during the previous calendar year, with the overarching goal of ensuring that facilities are achieving the levels of safety that are essential to protecting the public and the environment,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins, who noted the agency also conducts mid-year assessments of performance. “At the meeting on March 29th, members of the public will receive information about how we go about that review process for Seabrook and other nuclear power plants across the nation. The NRC staff will also be prepared to answer questions from attendees.” The annual assessment letter for Seabrook is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/seab_2006q4.pdf. The notice for the meeting, with the agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML070720415. ADAMS is accessible via the agency’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html . Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV. Overall, the Seabrook plant operated safely during 2006. The NRC utilizes color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Because all of the performance indicators for the Seabrook plant were determined to be “green” and there were no inspection findings greater than “green” at the end of 2006, the plant will receive the baseline, or routine, level of inspections in 2007. Seabrook did have a “white” performance indicator in the third quarter of last year. That was due, in part, to both of the plant’s emergency diesel generators becoming temporarily inoperable in late August 2006 as a result of voltage regulator problems. Both generators were subsequently repaired in early September 2006. In response to the situation, the company performed a root cause evaluation of the failures and the NRC conducted a special inspection to review FPL’s response. The performance indicator returned to “green” in the fourth quarter of 2006. Nevertheless, the NRC intends to perform a supplemental inspection in May 2007 to ensure that the company fully understands the root causes and contributing causes of the failures, identifies the extent of condition and establishes corrective actions that are sufficient to prevent recurrence. Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas of plant performance to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are the dry cask storage of spent fuel, emergency preparedness and control room operator training and testing. Current performance information for Seabrook is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SEAB1/seab1_chart.html NRC news releases are available through a free list server subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. Thursday, March 22, 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 Border Mail: Nuclear isn't an alternative Thu, 22nd March, 2007 Letters I AM writing regarding the article "Nuclear a way to fix climate"(The Border Mail, March 17). If Ian Smith thinks nuclear power is a viable alternative energy option, can he explain why Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Sweden and Switzerland have decided to phase out nuclear power stations in their countries. After 40 years operation they must be closed down and no new nuclear power stations built. That is because they still haven’t found a way to store the highly toxic waste. This is waste that needs to cool down for at least 40 years before it can be stored, and then stored so that it will never be disturbed for 25,000 years, or the half-life of a radioactive particle. In the time it takes to build a nuclear reactor we could be building solar, wind, wave, and other safer alternative power supplies, which will not need protecting, will not pollute for thousands of years, will not attract terrorists and will not contaminate hundreds of square kilometres if they break down. This “head” of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation can hardly be unbiased in his judgements. Corporations make money from energy whether coal or nuclear; it is harder to make money from the sun, wind and water, so why should they promote it? Plus, while we talk of climate change and the resulting drought don’t forget that nuclear power stations require massive amounts of water in their cooling down process. We have so much sunshine and windy coastlines we don’t need nuclear power. — ROBERTA POLLARD, Eldorado © 2007 The Border Morning Mail Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 POAC: Oyster Creek pump fails but no fish killed Press of Atlantic City By DAVID BENSON Staff Writer, (609) 272-7206 Published: Thursday, March 22, 2007 An electrical fault at the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station caused a two-hour failure of the dilution pumps that regulate the temperature of water returned to the canal, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday. "The pumps were out for about two hours," said Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman. "There was no environmental impact seen." Sheehan said because of the huge quantaties of water passing through pumps, it takes longer for the significant temperature changes that can lead to fish kills. Elaine Makatura, director of public relations for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the DEP is aware of the electrical malfunction and the pump failures. “All indications are there were no impacts to fish.” Makatura said it is too early to know whether the plant will be fined. “We're waiiting to get reports on the incident before final decision on enforcement,” Makatura said. “Whether it's a violation, or penalty assessment, we just don't know,” she said. Three years ago, AmerGen, owner of the plant, was fined $1 million for a fish kill that occurred in September 2002. In that incident, about 6,000 fish died when a temperature dilution pump was turned off during maintenance. The Lacey Township facility is currently operating at reduced power because of problems with two of its five coolant pumps. One pump is down for repairs. A second pump has degraded seals. The nuclear facility needs at least four pumps fully operational to generate electricity at 100 percent. As it stands, the facility will operate between 75 percent and 82 percent capacity for the next several weeks, until a pump can be fixed during a routine power outage scheduled for April. The Oyster Creek nuclear generating facility is the nation's oldest operating nuclear reactor. Its initial license was issued in 1969 and is set to expire in 2009. AmerGen has applied for a 20-year renewal of that license. A decision from the NRC could come as early as May. To e-mail Dave Benson at The Press: DBenson@pressofac.com ***************************************************************** 17 Platts: NRC Commissioner calls for better security for new nuclear builds london (Platts)--22Mar2007 NRC Commissioner Gregory Jaczko said March 21. Speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations roundtable discussion on safety and security requirements for future nuclear power plants, Jaczko said he believed it would be easier and much cheaper to build in better security features than to retrofit the plants later. He said reactor vendors ought to be looking at developing a "smart design" that relies less on "guards and guns" than the current fleet of reactors. Last month, Jaczko circulated an initiative to require any new plant built in the US to be capable of withstanding a hit from a large commercial aircraft. The proposal is now before the NRC commissioners; Jaczko declined to say how many votes were in. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 18 toledoblade.com: 3 Davis-Besse ex-staffers get a deadline to bargain pleas Article published Thursday, March 22, 2007 Three former Davis-Besse workers blamed by federal prosecutors for one of the nuclear industry's biggest coverups have until April 9 to negotiate plea deals. Judge David Katz of U.S. District Court in Toledo has set that deadline for pleas, in addition to setting the second trial date for June 5. The first trial is to begin May 1. The trio - former FirstEnergy Corp. engineers Andrew Siemaszko and David Geisen, plus outside contractor Rodney N. Cook - are accused of lying to the government about the plant's dangerous condition in the fall of 2001. They face five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted. Mr. Siemaszko's trial is to begin May 1, though the judge said the trial order could be reversed. Mr. Geisen and Mr. Cook are being tried together, but separately from Mr. Siemaszko. Davis-Besse's old reactor head was within weeks of blowing apart and allowing radioactive steam to form when FirstEnergy shut it down Feb. 16, 2002. © 2006 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the terms of The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 19 Rutland Herald: States ask NRC for rule change Rutland Vermont News & Information March 22, 2007 By DAVID GRAM The Associated Press MONTPELIER — Nine state attorneys general have asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to change its rules to allow consideration of a potential terrorist attack on a reactor when it decides whether to extend a plant's license. Reports by the National Academy of Sciences, the NRC's staff and outside experts have shown that the pools where reactors store highly radioactive spent fuel "are susceptible to fire and radiological release from a wide range of conditions," seven of the attorneys general wrote in a March 16 letter to the NRC. They added that those conditions include "natural phenomena, operator error, equipment failure, or intentional attack. The environmental impacts of a fire in a spent fuel pool may be severe, extending over a geographic area larger than a state's legal boundaries and continuing for decades." The letter from attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Vermont followed by one day an NRC decision affirming an earlier ruling that Massachusetts could not raise the potential for terrorism in hearings on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's request for a license renewal. "What the NRC did was say, 'Under our existing rules we can't consider the spent fuel storage issues," said Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell. Massachusetts then asked the NRC to amend its rules. "This letter is in support of the Massachusetts petition for an amendment to the NRC rules," Sorrell said. Vermont Yankee is in Vernon, in the state's southeast corner, is less than 5 miles from the Massachusetts line and just across the Connecticut River from New Hampshire. Its current license expires in 2012, but plant owner Entergy Nuclear is asking for a 20-year extension. The spent fuel pools are typically five stories up in buildings that also house nuclear plants' reactors. Reactors are better protected, since they have reinforced concrete and steel containments. California also has requested consideration of terrorism risks to nuclear plants. It won support for that request from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that decision. The federal appeals court in California "held that the NRC must address the environmental impacts of terrorist attacks in … its licensing decisions," the attorneys general said. NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci said Wednesday that the agency addresses security issues at nuclear plants every day as part of routine plant oversight. She said relicensing reviews were limited to how well a plant's aging components would stand up to being used longer, and to specific issues outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act. "Security is an issue that we've always addressed, and we enhanced it considerably since 9-11. It is an ongoing process," Screnci said. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 20 FR: NRC: Preclosure Safety Analysis--Level of Information and Reliability Estimation; Availability of Final Interim Staff Guidance Document Doc 07-1404 [Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 13534-13537] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22mr07-101] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [HLWRS-ISG-02] AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the availability of the final interim staff guidance (ISG) document HLWRS- ISG-02, ``Preclosure Safety Analysis--Level of Information and Reliability Estimation,'' and NRC responses to the public comments received on that document. The ISG clarifies or refines the guidance provided in the Yucca Mountain Review Plan (YMRP) (NUREG-1804, Revision 2, July 2003). The YMRP provides guidance to NRC staff to evaluate a potential license application for a high-level radioactive waste at a geologic repository constructed or operated at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada. ADDRESSES: The document HLWRS-ISG-02 is available electronically at NRC's Electronic Reading Room, at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. From this site, a member of the public can access NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession number for ISG-02 is ML070260204. If an individual does not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, or (301) 415-4737, or (by e-mail) at pdr@nrc.gov. This document may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at NRC's PDR, Mail Stop: O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents, for a fee. NRC Responses to Public Comments on HLWRS-ISG-02: In preparing final HLWRS-ISG-02, ``Preclosure Safety Analysis--Level of Information and Reliability Estimation,'' ADAMS ML070260204, the NRC staff reviewed and considered 23 comments, including two editorial comments, received from two organizations during the public comment period. Two of the comments were identical; three comments were related to the ISG process; one comment endorsed NRC's recognition of the use of the published reliability values for structures, systems, and components (SSCs); and the remaining comments included recommendations on specific clarifying changes to the ISG. Three comments on the ISG process were consistent with the comments made earlier on HLWRS-ISG-01, and were addressed in responses to public comment on HLWRS-ISG-01 [see 71 FR 57582, Comments 13(a) and (b)]. [[Page 13535]] The following discussion indicates how the comments were addressed, and the changes, if any, made to ISG-02 as a result of the comments. Line numbers in the following comments refer to the draft HLWRS-ISG-02, ADAMS ML062360241, which was made available for public comment on September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57584). Comment 1. One commenter was concerned that the changes in the YMRP, recommended in ISG lines 59-66, 222-224, and 271-273, appear to suggest that information regarding ``design bases and design criteria'' for non-important to safety (non-ITS) SSCs be similar to those for ITS SSCs. Since non-ITS SSCs have been determined not to be necessary to assure compliance with 10 CFR Part 63 preclosure performance objectives, the commenter states that subsection 63.21(c)(3) does not appear to support inclusion of information related to design bases and design criteria for non-ITS SSCs. The commenter recommends specific changes to ISG lines 62, 222, 239, 254, 258, 263, 266, and 272, to clarify its position. Response. NRC agrees that information required for non-ITS SSCs would be less than for ITS SSCs. Subsection 63.21(c)(3) requires a description and discussion of the design of the YM geologic repository operations area, that is sufficient to permit an evaluation of the preclosure safety analysis (PCSA). DOE will have to provide sufficient information to discuss how the proposed design would function. This also includes the general arrangements of SSCs, capacities of SSCs, and levels at which the SSCs are operated. Staff agrees with the commenter that 10 CRF Part 63 requires the design bases and design criteria for ITS SSCs, and not for non-ITS SSCs. ISG lines 62, 222, 254, and 272 have been revised to state that design bases and design criteria refer to SSCs that have been designated as ITS. ISG lines 239, 258, 263, and 266 have not been revised, because these lines refer to estimating the reliability of SSCs sufficient for performing the PCSA and identifying ITS SSCs, as per 63.112. Comment 2. The commenter stated that, in lines 57-259, it would be more appropriate to use ``accept,'' instead of ``recognize,'' because it is unclear. The same commenter also noted that lines 276-284 do not include an acceptance criterion element related to ``acceptability of codes and standards,'' as proposed in lines 258-259, and supplemented in lines 121-124. Response. NRC disagrees that the word ``recognize'' is unclear in the context of the sentence in lines 257-259. Staff believes that the use of the word ``accept'' would be inappropriate here, because the codes and standards do not provide explicit reliability values requiring acceptance. Staff also disagrees with the commenter's recommendation on the addition of a new acceptance criterion item (7), regarding the use of codes and standards to obtain a probability of unacceptable performance. Staff believes that, as stated in ISG lines 121-124, the application of the codes and standards, to the design and operation of an ITS SSC, is an accepted engineering practice, and is addressed as new item (2), of ``Acceptance Criterion 2,'' in ISG lines 276-277. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 3. The commenter states that the phrases ``risk- significant'' or ``risk-significance'' have a multiplicity of meanings. For example, in nuclear power plant probabilistic risk assessment applications, the terms refer to a metric of risk that is a function of both probability (or frequency) of occurrence, and consequences. However, in the context of Part 63, event sequence categorization is performed on the basis of probability, only. The consequences of interest (public and worker doses) are deterministic in nature. The commenter recommended that the terms ``risk-significant'' or ``risk- significance'' be avoided or defined specifically in the context of this ISG. Response. NRC agrees that use of the terms ``risk-significant'' or ``risk-significance'' in the ISG requires clarification where reference is to the consequences only and not to the ``risk,'' which includes both the probability and the consequences. Changes to lines 41 and 162 were made to either clarify or remove redundancy of the ``risk'' term. Specific changes to the ISG, suggested by the commenter on lines 210, 268, 289, 382, and 574, are not made, because these lines refer to the ``risk'' consistent with the traditional definition (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, White Paper on Risk-informed and Performance- based Regulation, SECY-98-144, June 22, 1998, as revised by the Staff Requirements Memorandum, March 1, 1998). The ISG has been revised as follows: Line 41: Change ``risk-significant'' to ``significant.'' Line 162: Delete ``risk-significance or * * *'' Comment 4. The commenter suggested that the lines 86 and 240 of the ISG be revised to state that ``Explicit quantitative reliability estimates of software failure modes during event sequences are beyond the state-of-the-art and are not expected for the PCSA. It is acceptable to use reliability estimates of digital control units, which would implicitly include hardware and software effects.'' Response. NRC disagrees that revisions to lines 86 and 240 are needed. For SSCs where the reliability estimates include hardware and software effects, it is acceptable to use the reliability estimates, without explicit consideration of software failures. However, for SSCs where such data are not available, an estimate for reliability needs to include consideration of hardware and software failures. NRC believes that ISG lines 86 and 240 do not need to be revised because these statements allow the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) the flexibility to consider hardware and software failures with appropriate technical bases. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 5. The commenter states that the sentence starting at line 89 be revised by replacing ``event'' with ``event sequences.'' Response. NRC agrees with the suggested change. ISG line 89 has been revised to change ``events'' to ``event sequences.'' Comment 6. The commenter recommends that a definition of the mean value of a probability distribution be included after line 90 of the ISG. Response. NRC disagrees that the mean value of a probability distribution needs to be defined in the ISG. The mean of a distribution is a clear and unambiguous statistical term. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 7. The commenter states that items 2 and 3, in lines 129- 132 of the ISG, ``* * * appear to contradict the indication that a quantitative reliability estimate is needed,'' and recommends revising the ISG to clarify that quantitative reliability estimates are needed. Response. NRC disagrees that the changes recommended by the commenter are necessary. As stated in the ISG, items 1, 2, and 3 are given as examples of methods that may be used, in combination with a code and standard, to obtain quantitative reliability estimates, and do not contradict the need for the quantitative reliability estimates. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 8. The commenter states that the use of the term ``procedure,'' in ISG line 229, does not recognize that [[Page 13536]] many of the actions associated with repository operations, such as crane and trolley operations, will also be skill-based. The commenter recommends that the ISG line 229 be revised to clarify that the review will be of ``procedures and activities,'' related to the controls and the human interactions associated with each SSC. Response. NRC agrees with the commenter. ISG line 229 has been revised to add ``and activities'' after ``procedures.'' Comment 9. The commenter states that, in Appendix A of the ISG, the probability of dropping a heavy load is estimated with empirical data, then multiplied by the number of times that heavy loads are lifted, to arrive at a number that is characterized as the ``expected number of drops.'' The use of the word ``expected'' is misleading, because it implies expected value, which is often used as a synonym for the mean value. The product of these two point estimates cannot be construed as a mean or expected value of the number of drops, because the underlying probability distributions were not developed for them. The commenter recommends that the phrase ``expected number of drops'' in ISG line 451 should be changed to ``point estimate number of drops.'' Response. NRC disagrees with the change recommended by the commenter. However, the ISG has been revised to clarify the staff's approach. Whereas the staff agrees that the use of the phrase ``expected number of drops'' may be misleading, the staff disagrees with the reason given in the comment. The ISG calculation uses a classical statistical approach. With this approach, the number of drops in L lifts has a binomial distribution which is typically approximated by a Poisson distribution. The expected value of the Poisson distribution is the product of the drop probability and the presumed number of lifts that may occur in the preclosure facility. Since the drop probability is estimated in this case, the expected number of drops is also estimated. The ISG has been revised to add the above approach after line 449. ISG line 451 has been revised to change ``expected'' to ``estimated.'' Also, ISG lines 432 and 489 have been similarly changed. Comment 10. Two commenters stated that scientific and technical precedent point to the use of the mean value of a frequency distribution as the appropriate metric for event sequence categorization. One commenter adds that, contrary to this, ISG lines 465-472 appear to point to the use of a fraction of a confidence interval, on which to base a conclusion about categorization of an event sequence. The commenter recommends deleting the sentence, beginning on line 467, and changing lines 470-472 to read as, ``The number of expected drops, in this example, would be the mean value of a joint probability distribution of both the conditional drop probability and the number of lifts.'' Response. In Appendix A of ISG-02, empirical data were used to derive a point estimate for the probability of dropping a cask. To address uncertainty in this point estimate, staff chose a standard statistical approach of the confidence interval method, to determine the confidence level in categorization of the event sequence for the example. NRC does not agree that the sentence beginning on line 467 should be deleted, because it provides an example of a method to illustrate consideration of uncertainty. The 48-percent level of confidence is analogous to reporting the descriptive level of significance, which is often used in reporting the results of a test of a hypothesis. According to the ``Statement of Considerations'' for Part 63, November 2, 2001 (66 FR 55742), the approach in the rule is to provide DOE with the flexibility to select the type of analysis it believes most appropriate for the license application. Whatever approach DOE uses will need to be supported, taking into account uncertainties. Therefore, analyses relying on point values (e.g., best-estimate values) will need to discuss how uncertainties are taken into account. NRC agrees that DOE can use the mean value of an event sequence frequency distribution to categorize an event sequence. However, DOE should to consider the uncertainty in any mean value used to categorize event sequences. In particular, DOE should to provide the technical bases for developing the event sequence frequency distribution, including consideration of uncertainties in performance of individual SSCs, the choice of distribution type, and the values of the parameters. ISG lines 470-472 have been deleted, because these lines refer to the estimated conditional drop probability for a specific confidence level, which is not discussed in the ISG. Comment 11. The commenter states that ISG line 592 be revised to clarify that the design bases are associated with SSCs and not with an event sequence category, as stated in the ISG. Response. NRC agrees with the comment. ISG line 592 has been revised to read as follows: ``Design bases (e.g., loadings on SSCs associated with Category 1 and Category 2 event sequences, such as a canister drop event); and * * *.'' Comment 12. The commenter states that the definition of ``S = C/ D,'' in line 617, appears to be inconsistent with the definition in Figure B-2 of the ISG. The commenter recommends that either the definition of ``S,'' in line 617, be revised, or that Figure B-2 be revised. Response. NRC disagrees with the commenter that definition of ``S'' in ISG line 617, and Figure B-2 are inconsistent. Figure B-2 is consistent with the commonly used definition of the limit state function in the form of S = C/D, as shown in line 617, where C and D are the capacity and demand, respectively. Staff, however, recognizes that Y-axis labeling in Figure B-2, and description of the ISG lines 680-681, may have resulted in an appearance of inconsistency. As stated in ISG line 676, Figure B-2 shows the cumulative distribution function of S, with the probability of failure defined as the probability that S is less than or equal to 1. The curve, shown in Figure B-2, is for the constant demand D = 497 mega pascals (MPa) [72 kips per square inch (ksi)]. Similar curves are derived for two other values of demand values, listed in Appendix B, using a log-normal distribution of the capacity, C, divided by a constant demand, D (see Ref. B.3), and are included in the revised Figure B-2 in the ISG. Probability of failure values for three different demand values, along with their corresponding ratios of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code allowable stress to demand, are shown in Table B-3. The results show, as expected, that the probability of failure decreases as the demand decreases. The ISG has been revised as follows: Figure B-2 has been revised to include plots for all three demand values shown in Table B-3, and the caption has been revised to include ``for three demand values''; Label for the ordinate axis has been changed from ``Probability of Failure (x 10-5)'' to ``Cumulative Probability,'' and is replotted in the log-scale; Line 622: The phrase, `` * * * which is traditionally defined as the limit state function'' is added at the end of the sentence. Line 680: A new sentence, ``Failure probabilities for various values of demand are shown in Figure B-2.'' has been added; Lines 680-681: sentence has been revised to ``Failure probabilities for various values of ratios of ASME [[Page 13537]] allowable stress to these corresponding demand values are given in Table B-3.'' Comment 13. The commenter stated that the paragraph beginning with line 156 of the ISG specifies that the NRC staff will verify that uncertainty is addressed in the PCSA. The commenter is concerned that this may be interpreted as requiring excessive conservatism in the analysis, and that such an approach would be the opposite of the intent of risk-informed regulation. The commenter recommends that text of the discussion on uncertainty be revised to explicitly recognize this intent. Response. NRC agrees that excessive conservatism should be avoided in considering uncertainty. DOE has the flexibility to choose the method to demonstrate that the performance objectives are met. For example, DOE could perform a bounding calculation. As stated in the ``Statement of Considerations,'' for Part 63, ``* * * whatever approach DOE uses will need to be supported, taking into account uncertainties.'' For example, if DOE is to portray its PCSA results as best estimates, this term will need to be defined because it has no statistical meaning (see ``A Review of Staff Uses of Probabilistic Risk Assessment,'' NUREG-1489, March 1994). Staff believes that the paragraph on uncertainty, beginning with ISG line 156, is sufficiently clear, and that no changes are required. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 14. The commenter stated that the screening criteria in ISG lines 127-128 presume a preclosure period of 100 years by specifying that the lower bound of Category 2 event sequence frequency is 10-6 failures/yr. Instead, the staff should be consistent with Part 63 in referring to the lower bound of Category 2 event sequence frequency as the one chance in 10,000 during the period of operation. Response. NRC agrees with the comment. Unless there is a reason to state otherwise, the staff will refer to the terminology, used in Part 63, for Category 2 event sequence frequency as having at least one chance in 10,000 of occurring during the preclosure period. The quantitative frequency limit of a Category 2 event sequence is determined by the duration of the preclosure period. ISG line 127 has been revised to change ``(e.g., failures/yr. Instead, the staff should be consistent with Part 63 in referring to the lower bound of Category 2 event sequence frequency as the one chance in 10,000 during the period of operation. Response. NRC agrees with the comment. Unless there is a reason to state otherwise, the staff will refer to the terminology, used in Part 63, for Category 2 event sequence frequency as having at least one chance in 10,000 of occurring during the preclosure period. The quantitative frequency limit of a Category 2 event sequence is determined by the duration of the preclosure period. ISG line 127 has been revised to change ``(e.g., <=10-6 failures/year)'' to ``(e.g., failures/year)'' to ``(e.g., < = one chance in 10,000 of occurring during the preclosure period).'' ISG line 128 has been revised to delete ``(e.g., failures/year)'' to ``(e.g., < = one chance in 10,000 of occurring during the preclosure period).'' ISG line 128 has been revised to delete ``(e.g., <=10-6 failures/year).'' Comment 15. The commenter stated that, in ISG line 136, the NRC staff recognizes various sources of reasonable input to the PCSA. It is important that such information does not have to be created under an NRC-licensed quality assurance program. The sources cited in the ISG [e.g., ``Generic Data Base, developed by Savannah River Site,'' and the Equipment Performance and Information Exchange (EPIX) System], for reliability input, are reasonable, based on actual operating data, and not skewed by conservatism. Even though applying conservatism is acceptable for safety analysis purposes (e.g., for analytical simplification or bounding uncertainties), doing so distorts the foundation of risk-informed regulation by implying higher risks than actually exist. Response. NRC agrees that DOE can use reliability information from published references. However, DOE must provide the technical basis to demonstrate that any reliability information is applicable to the proposed design of the GROA. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 16. The commenter stated that, in ISG lines 157-168, the staff should apply additional scrutiny or focus in its review, in cases where a reliability estimate is close to a Category 1 or 2 limit. The ISG should not be taken to imply that DOE is required to submit any additional analysis with its license application. The guidance should be clarified to explicitly recognize that it is incumbent on DOE to determine both if and when a reliability estimate is sufficiently close to a Category 1 or 2 limit to warrant additional consideration, in the license application, as well as the specific nature and extent of any such consideration in the application. Response. NRC has not specified criteria for determining when a sequence frequency is close enough to a category limit to warrant additional scrutiny. DOE is expected to provide NRC with enough information to demonstrate that sequences have been correctly categorized. No changes to the ISG were made as a result of this comment. Comment 17. The commenter stated that the demand in ISG lines 636- 638 is a function of several parameters (e.g., modulus of elasticity, dimension, thermal expansion). The commenter adds that these parameters would affect the material capacity, not the demands placed on the material, and recommends that this sentence be revised by deleting the words ``modulus of elasticity, dimensions, thermal expansion.'' Response. NRC agrees with the comment. Demand on an SSC because of an event, such as a drop or a natural event, would not depend on the modulus of elasticity, dimension, and thermal expansion. ISG lines 636-637 have been revised to delete ``modulus of elasticity, dimensions, thermal expansion.'' Comment 18. One commenter suggested the following editorial changes: Lines 587-588: Revise ``* * * including major components of canister structure, internals'' to read ``* * * including major components of canister structure, and its internals''; Line 622: Revise ``function can developed'' to read ``function can be developed.'' Response. NRC agrees with the comment. The ISG has been revised to reflect the suggested changes. In addition to the changes described above, the ISG has also been revised, as follows, for clarification: Line 91: The sentence ``DOE should identify the key SSCs in an event sequence.'' was deleted because ``key'' SSCs is not formally defined; a new sentence to replace the deleted sentence has been added; Line 446: The definition of [lgr] (now p was reworded for clarity; Lines 445: Though 453: [lgr] was changed to, to distinguish this quantity from [lgr], which often is used to indicate a rate in the Poisson distribution, and that the quantity is an estimate; Line 622: Clarifying words were added. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Chen, Project Manager, Division of High-Level Waste Repository Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 [Telephone: (301) 415-5526; fax number: (301) 415-5399; e- mail: jcc2@nrc.gov]; Robert Johnson, Senior Project Manager, Division of High-Level Waste Repository Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555- 0001 [Telephone: (301) 415-6900; fax number: (301) 415-5399; e-mail: rkj@nrc.gov]. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 8th day of March, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission., N. King Stablein, Chief, Project Management Branch B, Division of High-Level Waste Repository Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 07-1404 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 21 Dallas Morning News: Nuclear workers at TXU may strike Comanche Peak union OKs leaders to call walkout if no deal is made 12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, March 22, 2007 By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News esouder@dallasnews.com The union that represents workers at TXU Corp.'s nuclear plant voted late Tuesday to authorize leaders to call a strike if they cannot negotiate a new contract by the end of the week. SCOTT M. LIEBERMAN/The Associated Press The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers says nuclear workers receive below-average pay at TXU's Comanche Peak plant near Glen Rose, Texas. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents about 230 operators and maintenance workers at Comanche Peak, announced the vote Wednesday, complaining that their salary levels are below average for nuclear workers and that TXU has outsourced many jobs at the plant. Their contract expires at midnight Saturday. "TXU came to the bargaining table with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude," said union negotiator George Crawford. A spokesman for TXU said company officials are disappointed in the vote after just three negotiating sessions, and TXU is working to resolve the conflict. Comanche Peak workers have never gone on strike. The strike authorization vote comes as TXU executives want to sell the company to private investors and are working to convince shareholders, lawmakers, regulators, environmentalists and other groups that the deal is good for Texas. The situation doesn't mean workers at the nuclear plant will necessarily stop work. First, union leaders must cancel their current contract with TXU and give the company 30 days' notice. Then union leaders may call a strike. Mr. Crawford said union leaders are likely to agree to notify TXU this week about canceling the contract. He said the sides haven't scheduled anymore meetings before the contract expires. In fact, he said, after workers voted to authorize the strike Tuesday evening, TXU told union leaders Wednesday they couldn't meet again until next week because its lead negotiator had a scheduling conflict. That left Mr. Crawford scratching his head. "We're not talking about a little corner snow cone stand here. We're talking about a multibillion-dollar nuclear plant," he said. Comanche Peak has a capacity of 2,300 megawatts, contributing about 13 percent of TXU's power generation and able to supply 1.2 million households. As a nuclear plant, Comanche Peak serves as baseload, meaning that, except for maintenance, the plant runs constantly and at full capacity. Mr. Crawford, who once worked for a utility company in South Texas and now works for IBEW, said the union asked for a 4 percent raise, and TXU offered 2 percent. He said workers are frustrated that salary increases at Comanche Peak haven't kept up with inflation, unlike the wages at other nuclear plants. TXU spokesman Tom Kleckner declined to confirm details of negotiations, other than the sides have met three times since February. He said that union members are "well-compensated" and that TXU strives to offer all employees a competitive salary and benefit package. The union workers at the Glen Rose plant make between $43,000 and $133,000 a year, including overtime, bonuses and incentives. Mr. Crawford said union leaders have been frustrated that TXU managers prefer to boost compensation with bonuses rather than by increasing the hourly wage rate. IBEW represents about 2,000 TXU workers in various areas of the company. A separate, 50-member group at Comanche Peak, represented by IBEW, accepted a contract proposal from TXU earlier this month. Mr. Crawford said the workers that authorized the strike are also concerned about job safety during times when the reactors are off for maintenance. He said job accident levels and welding failures rose during scheduled maintenance of one Comanche Peak unit. IBEW pointed out in a news release that safety and work quality would be critical when the second Comanche Peak unit undergoes such maintenance. The union representative said he brought his complaints to the companies that plan to buy TXU – Texas Pacific Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. He said officials with the private equity companies agreed to look into his concerns and get back to him. Jeff Eller, a spokesman for the buyers, confirmed that representatives of the buyers met with IBEW in the last couple of weeks at the union's request. He said the meeting was one of many the buyers have had with groups that have an interest in the company. Mr. Eller said IBEW is the only union the buyers have met with, and no other meetings are scheduled. The private equity companies offered to buy TXU for $45 billion. The deal would close in the second half of the year, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. © 2007 The Dallas Morning News Co. ***************************************************************** 22 FR NRC: Notice of Issuance of Early Site Permit for Exelon Generation Doc E7-5247 [Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 13533-13534] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22mr07-99] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 052-00007] Company, LLC, Site Located 6 Miles East of the City of Clinton, IL AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of issuance of early site permit. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joelle L. Starefos, Senior Project Manager, AP1000 Projects Branch, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 415-8488; Fax number: (301) 415-2390; e-mail: jls1@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.106, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing notice of the issuance of Early Site Permit (ESP) ESP-001 to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC or the permit holder), for approval of a site located 6 miles east of the city of Clinton, Illinois, for one or more nuclear power facilities separate from the filing of an application for a construction permit or combined license for such a facility. The NRC has found that the application for an ESP filed by EGC complies with the applicable requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission, and all required notifications to other agencies or bodies have been duly made. Based on consideration of the site criteria contained in 10 CFR Part 100, a reactor, or reactors, having design characteristics that fall within the site characteristics and controlling parameters of the EGC ESP Site can be constructed and operated without undue risk to the health and safety of the public. There is reasonable assurance that the permit holder will comply with the regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, and the health and safety of the public will not be endangered. Issuance of an ESP to the permit holder will not be inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of the public. There is no significant impediment to the development of emergency plans, as referenced in 10 CFR 52.17(b)(1) and 10 CFR 52.18, ``Standards for Review of Applications.'' The descriptions of contacts and arrangements made with Federal, State, and local governmental agencies with emergency planning responsibilities, as set forth in 10 CFR 52.17(b)(3), are acceptable. Major features A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, J, K, L, O, and P of the emergency plan are acceptable to the extent specified in NUREG-1844, ``Safety Evaluation Report for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC) ESP Site.'' The issuance of this ESP, subject to the Environmental Protection Plan and the conditions for the protection of the environment set forth herein, is in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and with applicable sections of 10 CFR Part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' as referenced by Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 52, ``Early Site Permits; Standard Design Certifications; and Combined Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and all applicable requirements therein have been satisfied. The site redress plan incorporated into this permit demonstrates that there is reasonable assurance that redress carried out under the plan, if required, will achieve an environmentally stable and aesthetically acceptable site suitable for whatever non-nuclear use may conform with local zoning laws, and those activities performed described in the site redress plan will not result in any significant adverse environmental impact that cannot be redressed. The permit holder's request for the proposed permit was previously noticed in the Federal Register on December 12, 2003, (68 FR 69426) with a notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene. This early site permit complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's rules and regulations as set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I. Accordingly, Early Site Permit No. ESP-001 was issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC on March 15, 2007, and is effective immediately. II. Further Information The NRC has prepared a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), [[Page 13534]] that document the information that was reviewed and NRC's conclusions. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,'' details with respect to this action, including the SER, EIS, and accompanying documentation included in the early site permit package, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, members of the public can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are: ML070670140.................. Issuance of Early Site Permit for Exelon Generation Company, LLC (ESP-001). ML061210203.................. NUREG-1844--``Safety Evaluation Report for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC) ESP Site''. ML061930264.................. NUREG-1815 Vol 1--``Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Exelon ESP Site'' Main Report. ML061930275.................. NUREG-1815 Vol 2--``Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Exelon ESP Site'' Appendices A-K. ML061100260.................. Exelon Early Site Permit Application-- Revision 4. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of March, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Stephanie M. Coffin, Chief, AP1000 Projects Branch, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. E7-5247 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 23 FR NRC: Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company; Haddam Neck Plant; Exemption Doc E7-5248 [Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 13531-13533] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22mr07-98] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-213] 1.0 Background Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company (CYAPCO, the licensee) is holder of shutdown facility license No. DPR-61, which authorizes activities at the Haddam Neck Plant. The license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The facility consists of a former reactor site undergoing decommissioning, and an Interim Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) in East Hampton, Connecticut. 2.0 Request/Action Appendix E to Title 10 of The Code of Federal Regulations specifies [[Page 13532]] Emergency Planning and Preparedness requirements for Part 50 licensees. Section IV, ``Content of Emergency Plans,'' Subpart F specifies that each licensee shall conduct an exercise of its onsite and offsite emergency plans (EPs) every two years. By letter dated August 28, 1998, NRC exempted the licensee from offsite emergency planning activities, including the offsite exercise requirement. As part of the exemption, the licensee committed to an increased frequency for onsite EP exercises, to once a year. By letter of September 18, 2006, the licensee submitted a revision to the Haddam Neck Plant (HNP) EP for NRC review and approval. Section 1.0 of the EP states that, ``This revision of the Emergency Plan is intended for end state conditions where power plant dismantlement and decommissioning have been completed and the ISFSI is the only thing remaining on the site * * * '' NRC will verify proper timing of the execution of the EP in the inspection process. The EP revision reduces the frequency of onsite exercises from every year to every other year. The Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs' review of this proposed change to the HNP EP is described below. On December 5, 1996, the HNP reactor was permanently shut down. All the spent fuel was transferred to the ISFSI by March 2005. The NRC issued an exemption on August 28, 1998, that granted CYAPCO exemptions from portions of the 10 CFR 50.54(q) EP requirements. The staff reviewed the revised EP for coping with radiological emergencies at the HNP site including the licensee's 10 CFR 50.54(q) evaluation to verify that the reduction in exercise frequency does not decrease the effectiveness of the plan and that the plan, as changed, continues to meet the standards contained in 10 CFR 50.47(b) and the requirements of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 applicable to the approved Part 50 EP for the long-term defueled condition. The licensee identified that the exercise frequency reduction was a reduction in commitment. The NRC staff evaluation below, concludes the proposed change meets the requirements of Sec. 50.47(b) and Appendix E to Part 50. Section 8.2.3 of the HNP EP requires that an exercise will be conducted once each calendar year to demonstrate the capability to meet the EP. CYAPCO is proposing to revise the frequency of an exercise of its onsite EP from once per year to every other year. CYAPCO has determined that the proposed change in the frequency of an exercise constitutes a reduction in commitment and thus represents a decrease in effectiveness of the EP. However, the EP continues to meet the standards of 10 CFR 50.47(b) and the requirements of Appendix E to Part 50. The plant is permanently shutdown and defueled. All spent fuel and greater than Class C waste have been placed in dry storage at the ISFSI, and there is no longer liquid radioactive waste or significant quantities of dry activated waste stored on site. Additionally, in order to ensure adequate emergency response capabilities are maintained during the time between exercises, CYAPCO is adding a requirement to Section 8.2 of the HNP EP as follows: During the interval between biennial exercises, CYAPCO will conduct drills, including at least one drill involving a combination of some of the principal functional areas of the onsite response capabilities (management, accident assessment, protective and corrective actions). The proposed change is consistent with the 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, (IV)(F)(2)(b) requirement to conduct an onsite EP exercise every two years. 3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when: (1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present. The licensee's request for approval was submitted in conjunction with a proposed revision to the HNP onsite EP, and is effective when the site has only an ISFSI remaining onsite. NRC staff considers that requiring the licensee to meet a self-imposed standard above regulatory requirements is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Therefore, special circumstances do exist for the granting of this exemption, as specified in 10 CFR 50.12. Authorized by Law This exemption would exempt CYAPCO from requirements in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, as previously exempted on August 28, 1998, thus allowing onsite EP exercises to be conducted every two years vice annually. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50. The NRC staff has determined that granting of this exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety This exemption only affects the periodicity of onsite EP exercises. No new accident precursors are created by this exemption; accordingly, the probability of postulated accidents are not increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and safety as a result of the exemption. Consistent With Common Defense and Security This exemption, as set forth above, affects the periodicity of onsite EP exercises. The revised periodicity is consistent with the Appendix E regulatory requirements for onsite EP exercises, and with 10 CFR 50.47(b)(14), which states, in part, ``Periodic exercises are (will be) conducted to evaluate major portions of emergency response capabilities * * *. '' The licensee will continue to conduct other Emergency Planning drills during the time intervals between exercises in order to maintain its emergency response capabilities. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by this exemption. Special Circumstances Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present whenever the application of the regulation in the particular circumstances ``would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.'' The underlying purpose of Appendix E is to ensure that licensees' EPs are sufficient for use in attaining an acceptable state of emergency preparedness. The NRC staff has determined that the intent of this rule is not compromised by the licensee's proposed action because onsite exercises will be required every two years, which is consistent with Appendix E requirements. Therefore, since the underlying purpose of Appendix E is achieved, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12 (a)(2) for the granting of an exemption from Appendix E exist. Environmental Evaluation This exemption constitutes a regulatory action approving a change in operations that would not cause any increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, increase any individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure, has no construction impact, and has no [[Page 13533]] significant increase in potential for, or consequences from, a radiological accident. Therefore, the categorical exclusion defined in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11) is applicable, and no further environmental evaluation is needed. 4. Further Information Documents related to this action, including the application for amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are: Licensee request of September 18, 2006, ML062690475. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301- 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. The NRC exemption dated August 28, 1998, is available in the PDR. These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. 5. Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants CYAPCO an exemption to the licensee's previous exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(q), as granted by NRC on August 28, 1998 (ML980903182); which requires EPs to meet 10 CFR 50.47(b) and Appendix E to Part 50. Specifically, this exemption allows onsite EP exercises to be conducted once every two years, in lieu of the annual requirement currently in place. This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March, 2007. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Larry W. Camper, Director, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs. [FR Doc. E7-5248 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 24 FR NRC: Florida Power Corporation; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Doc E7-5249 [Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 13534] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22mr07-100] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing; Correction AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of Issuance; Correction. SUMMARY: This document corrects a notice published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2007 (72 FR 11381), which informs the public that the NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-72. This action is necessary to correct the name of the licensee. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly A. Clayton, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-3475, e-mail: bac2@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On page 11381, appearing near the bottom of the second column, the heading is corrected to read as above, and in the last line of the second column and the first line of the third column, ``Florida Power and Light'' is corrected to read ``Florida Power Corporation.'' Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March 2007. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Stewart N. Bailey, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-2, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-5249 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 25 AFP: Germany can abandon nuclear power and cut CO2 - Greenpeace - Thu Mar 22, 3:27 PM ET BERLIN (AFP) - Germany could abandon nuclear energy more quickly than planned and still achieve a 40-percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions, environmental group Greenpeace said on Thursday. If all nuclear power stations were closed by 2015, instead of the planned date of 2020, Germany could still reduce its CO2 emissions by 40 percent, according to a study prepared for Greenpeace by the EUtech institute, based in the western German city of Aachen. Germany has the resources and the technology available to achieve both goals, the report said. "There can be no more excuses, a 40-percent cut by 2020 is achievable," said Greenpeace Germany's energy expert Andree Boehling. Shutting down the country's nuclear plants would indirectly have a positive effect on emissions by encouraging the energy industry to develop new technology, Boehling said. Germany, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, helped broker an agreement this month under which the 27 member states will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels over the next 13 years. But the Greenpeace-backed report, entitled "Climate protection: Plan B," says Germany could achieve a greater reduction by using renewable energy to generate one fifth of its heating needs and one third of its electricity by 2020, according to the report "The German government's Plan A has failed," Boehling said, referring to a slight rise in CO2 emissions in Germany since 2006. Germany has agreed to phase out nuclear power by around 2020, but France relies on atomic energy for around 40 percent of its needs and has pushed for it to be classed as a renewable form of energy when the EU deal is firmed up. ***************************************************************** 26 CBC News: Canada must be a clean energy superpower - PM Last Updated: Thursday, March 22, 2007 | 1:19 PM ET Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that as Canada is set to become an energy superpower, it must also take responsibility for the environmental consequences. "I think our situation is such that we can become one of the largest producers of oil, gas, uranium and electrical energy and we'll continue to be," Harper said during a speech Thursday at an environmental conference in Montreal. Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses an environmental conference in Montreal on Thursday. (CBC) "But with great energy power comes great environmental responsibility," he said, amending a line from Spider-Man. Harper said in the next couple of weeks, his government will unveil its plan for national mandatory emission targets for greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution for the main industrial sectors. "Are Canadians ready to mobilize in a national project of environmental protection for this generation and future generations? I believe we are." The country must demonstrate leadership when it comes to protecting and improving its environment, Harper said. "Canada must not be merely an energy superpower, but a clean energy superpower," he said. Harper said he wants a balanced approach that promotes environmental progress but protects jobs and Canadians' standard of living. If clean-air technologies currently being tested in Alberta and Saskatchewan prove successful, Canada will export the technology to the rest of the world and "make a huge difference in reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions," Harper said. Copyright © CBC 2007 ***************************************************************** 27 UPI: Vietnam wants nuclear power United Press International - Energy - 3/22/2007 12:31:00 PM -0400 SINGAPORE, March 22 (UPI) -- Vietnam intends to build nuclear power plants to diversify sources for its increasing energy demand, moving away from traditional hydropower. "Maybe in 15 years, we hope to have a plant in operation," said Ta Van Huong, director general of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry's Department of Energy and Petroleum. "Nothing is confirmed yet." Huong, talking at the 10th Asia Power and Energy Congress in Singapore, said he hopes the government will approve nuclear power so his department can begin feasibility studies, Thanhnien News reports. Iranian PressTV reports Huong plans to build a 2,000 megawatt nuclear plant by 2015, which will come online by 2020. The Energy Information Administration, the data arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, says Vietnam will increase its electricity demand by 15 percent a year over the next three years. More than half is supplied by hydropower. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 IAEA: Nuclear Technologies in the Fight against Poverty Web IAEA.org Countries Benefit Through a Longstanding IAEA/FAO Partnership Staff Report 21 March 2007 The IAEA assists countries to improve crop and livestock productivity, and to enhance food safety and quality through nuclear methods. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA) Nuclear methods applied to agriculture are enabling millions of farmers in poor countries to grow more crops and rear healthier livestock. Such technology - long supported by the IAEA and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - is having a direct impact on poverty and hunger. A series of stories are featured on the FAO website that look at agricultural progress being made through applications of nuclear science and technology. The FAO and IAEA have worked together through a joint programme since 1964. Their work includes supporting research and technical cooperation projects and operating an Agriculture & Biotechnology Laboratory at the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria. The features include: * How hi-tech nuclear science is feeding the poor. * What is agricultural nuclear technology? * Scientists target better seeds for the poor. * Nigerian scientist learning nuclear ways. * Ethiopian fly factory guns for "poverty insect". See Story Resources for more information and links to featured reports. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Disclaimer ***************************************************************** 29 Reid: REID MEETS WITH GORE TO DISCUSS ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE 03/21/2007 Press Release of Senator Reid Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada met today with former Vice President Al Gore to discuss ways to make Nevada and the nation more energy independent while also protecting the environment. "Nevada has an abundance of renewable resources which will help our state become a leader in clean energy and can help reduce our country's reliance on oil and other polluting fuels" said Reid. "I was pleased to meet with former Vice President Gore to discuss how we can work together to address the issue of global warming. I admire his leadership and greatly respect his dedication to raising awareness of this issue. I am hopeful that this Congress and the Bush Administration can move forward on legislation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. " Under the proposed Senate Democratic budget, which is currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate, Reid and his Democratic colleagues have included provisions to make the country more energy independent by investing in clean alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal power. Reid advocates adding $400 million to the President's FY08 request for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development programs. Increasing the federal investment in renewable energy could create approximately 3,000 jobs in Nevada. The FY08 Senate Budget Resolution includes a reserve fund for energy legislation to expand production and use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles, promote renewable energy development, improve electricity transmission, encourage responsible development of domestic oil and natural gas resources, and reward conservation and efficiency. Reid remains committed to reforming energy policy and ensuring that the nation moves in the direction of energy independence. Gore was on Capitol Hill today to testify before House and Senate committees on climate change. 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) ***************************************************************** 30 Pantagraph.com: Invest in wind power, not nuclear plants Letters | Letters to the EditorWednesday, March 21, 2007 1:01 AM CDT The Early Site Plan has been approved for building a new nuclear reactor in Clinton. And our current administration wants to start building new nuclear power plants for future electricity demand. However, for the same amount of money, we could create four times the capacity of electricity with zero operational pollution and at a cheaper price with the newest generation of windmills. It makes one wonder why our federal government would want to make dangerous and more expensive nuclear power plants that create extremely radioactive byproducts with no safe way to dispose of it. The last time a nuclear reactor was built in Clinton, it was estimated to cost about $400 million, but after building it, the cost was over $4 billion. I hate to guess how much a new reactor will really cost. The current generation of windmills for producing electricity can make it for 4 cents a kilowatt hour which is half what AmerenIP is now charging us. In fact, wind energy can easily replace our coal and more expensive nuclear methods of producing electricity. We only lack the commitment to make it so. Look at the Iraq War. So far we've spent $405 billion on the current Iraq War. If we had used that money constructively, rather than destructively, we could have replaced all of our nuclear power plants and 20 percent of our coal-fired power plants with wind farms. This is a total of 30 percent of our nation's electricity. I'm glad to see that Illinois is becoming one of the members of this fraternity. But our federal government needs to get proactive in this area rather than in their destructive wars in making America energy independent. Victor Connor Normal Copyright © 2007, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 31 BBC NEWS: Climate change warning for cities Last Updated: Thursday, 22 March 2007, 15:51 GMT The report said 60,000 cars would need to be removed from Edinburgh Scotland's cities will have to make major changes to meet climate change targets, according to a report. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in Scotland said Glasgow may need hundreds of wind turbines or more nuclear power. It also said Edinburgh may have to remove a third of cars from its streets. As part of new planning guidance, the first minister said developers will have to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 15% - on top of reductions already required by new building regulations. The bottom line is that we will not have an environment to protect if we do not take action on climate change Jack McConnell First Minister Mr McConnell announced the move at the Scottish Renewables annual conference in Glasgow. He said: "No other country in the UK has gone so far but this is just a first step. We will look to increase this condition in the future." The first minister added: "We know that a balance must be struck between protecting our natural heritage and giving the go-ahead to new renewable schemes. "But the bottom line is that we will not have an environment to protect if we do not take action on climate change." Climate challenges The new planning guidance comes into immediate effect and will affect new applications submitted to councils from now - but not those already in the pipeline. All new public and private developments of more than 500 square metres will be covered. The RICS has produced different scenarios for different cities to draw attention to the climate challenges. It commissioned research which suggested that, if nothing else changes, 1,300 large wind turbines, two nuclear power plants or three dozen hydro-electric plants may be needed to reduce carbon emissions in Glasgow. In Edinburgh they looked at pollution from transport and suggested that to help meet a UK Government target of a 60% reduction in CO2 by 2050, almost 60,000 cars would have to be removed from the roads. The UK Government seta target of a 60% reduction in CO2 by 2050 In Inverness the researchers concentrated on energy efficiency and found that every home would have to meet the current best standards. Even then the city would only be able to expand at half its projected rate. Graham Hartley, director of the RICSS, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that their report had been based on the government's own targets. Mr Hartley said they looked at the implications a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions would have on Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness in terms of transport, energy consumption and buildings. He said: "There's actually no house being built at the moment that meets those targets, never mind the existing housing stock, so doing nothing is not the option. "What we hope is that the government will engage with us as chartered surveyors because we are the profession with the skills to help achieve these targets." * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 32 CP: Bomb in sea container could 'lay waste' to North American target - senators Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press Published: Thursday, March 22, 2007 OTTAWA (CP) - A Senate panel says Canada's ports need tougher sea-container screening, hundreds more police and a high-tech security pass system to prevent terrorists from sneaking a deadly weapon into the country. The Senate security and defence committee said Thursday there are too many holes in the tattered port safety net to effectively scrutinize the four million containers that arrive annually by sea, almost one-third of them en route to the United States. "Any one of these containers could contain chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive devices designed to lay waste to a large Canadian or U.S. target," says the 108-page report, evoking a 9-11-style attack. "Is this probable? Perhaps not. But was it probable in 2001 that a bunch of terrorists would commandeer planes and fly them into buildings?" Government and port officials bristled at the allegations of weak security, insisting great strides had been made in the last five years. "It's not something that's been ignored," said Gary LeRoux, executive director of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, calling it the "No. 1 issue." The senators, however, say organized crime, staff and equipment shortages, and a desire to "do security on the cheap" have left the country's 19 ports vulnerable to terrorist weapon-smuggling. "We know that Canada's a target," Senator Colin Kenny, the committee chairman, told a news conference. "And we know that this is a very likely way of getting something into the country." The report says on any given container ship there will be up to half a dozen "ghost cans" - undeclared containers with no indication of where they came from, or what's inside. Pointing to a system in place in Hong Kong, the senators recommend every port be equipped with imaging machines that use penetrating gamma rays to inspect sea containers, as well as the staff to operate them round-the-clock. The goal: ensure all containers, not just a sample, are scanned for the presence of a "dirty bomb" or other dangerous device. LeRoux said it's "impossible to have complete control of every item in the containers moving all around the world." The current security scheme is based on a risk-management system that zeroes in on suspicious containers - a targeted approach that mirrors the overall federal strategy on marine security. The senators reject that selective means of screening containers. "What you are missing might be infinitesimal, and it might not," the report says. The committee also recommends: -A restricted-area identification card for employees that would help control access to sensitive areas at ports. -Increasing RCMP national port enforcement teams by between 1,300 and 1,500 members to "significantly expand" their ability to combat organized crime and deal with national security threats. This site is a part of the canada.com Network. * National Post © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks ***************************************************************** 33 Whitehaven News: Fuel under guard Published on 22/03/2007 Carefully does it: The Mox element is lowered into place By Alan Irving A SENSITIVE nuclear cargo had a four-car police escort and was also under armed guard as it made its way from Sellafield, last Friday, a high visibility transport which attracted attention all along the route from the nuclear plant to Workington. The latest consignment of Mox (plutonium) made at Sellafield was on its way in “a high security” vehicle to be loaded on a waiting “gun ship”, the HM Atlantic Osprey, for shipment from the port of Workington to an unknown customer in Europe. The Osprey is one of the armed ships specially converted under the highest international security specifications, including the installation of cannon, to guard against the risk of terrorist attack. On board were four Mox fuel assemblies, made at Sellafield from a mixture of plutonium and uranium for re-use in modern energy-producing nuclear reactors. Mox opponents claim it is not needed and increases the risk of nuclear proliferation in other countries. Armed atomic police continued to escort the fuel on board the ship.Capt Malcolm Miller, head of international transport for British Nuclear Group, said: “Safety of the public is ensured by the very robust packages that contain the fuel, these are designed and tested to international standards. “Safety for the cargo is provided by a high security vehicle, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary escort and additional security measures on the Atlantic Osprey. The transport plan for this delivery including the security arrangements has been approved by the UK government’s independent Office of Civil Nuclear Security. “BNG has more than 40 years experience of transporting radioactive cargoes including spent nuclear fuel, high level waste, plutonium and nuclear fuels including Mox without any incident resulting in the release of radioactive material.” This was Sellafield’s fourth Mox shipment but all BNG would say was that it was being shipped to mainland Europe for delivery by road “to the customer.” The Mox fuel is made in SMP whose opening was dogged by delays and a scandal over the falsification of fuel data in its pilot plant (MDF) which led to the sacking of four workers and the resignation of BNFL’s then chief executive. Six hundred staff work in SMP but its successful operation is said to underpin Sellafield’s longer-term production future by recycling plutonium from Thorp and the Magnox plant which has just re-started after an enforced shutdown. However, SMP is still on shaky ground as Sellafield’s new owners, the NDA, is keeping a close eye on profitable operations needed to offset decommissioning costs. “The future of SMP depends on whether it can operate effectively and efficiently... and the achievement of a sustained production rate to meet existing or future customers’ requirements,” says the NDA. BNG said that while commissioning of the plant was still to be completed any fuel produced and delivered safely to customers demonstrated its capability and a further step towards gaining a full licence from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 34 UPI: Explosion below ice cap on British sub United Press International - NewsTrack - Published: March 22, 2007 at 7:30 AM LONDON, March 22 (UPI) -- Two people were killed in an explosion aboard a British navy submarine beneath the Arctic ice cap. The Telegraph reported that early reports on Wednesday's explosion in the forward compartment of the HMS Tireless pointed toward an emergency air-purification device known as an oxygen candle. The investigation into the explosion was continuing, the Telegraph reported. The Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine was participating in a joint operation with the United States when the explosion occurred, the Telegraph reported. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 35 BBC NEWS: Oxygen device sparked sub blast Last Updated: Thursday, 22 March 2007, 13:18 GMT HMS Tireless in the Arctic An explosion on a nuclear submarine which killed two British sailors was caused by an emergency oxygen device, the US military has said. The men died on board the Devonport-based submarine HMS Tireless during a joint British-US operation under the Arctic ice off Alaska. A third sailor was airlifted to a US military hospital in Anchorage. He is expected to make a full recovery. A Board of Inquiry investigation has begun into the accident, which took place on Wednesday morning. Safety checks Tireless is a nuclear-powered Trafalgar-class submarine. It does not carry nuclear weapons, but is armed with five tubes capable of firing Tomahawk missiles. It is the third of seven such vessels in the Royal Navy, and usually carries a crew of 130. US authorities said air-purification equipment, known as a self-contained oxygen generation candle, was the source of the blast. Oxygen candles are emergency devices that create oxygen through a chemical reaction. Some devices burn at high temperatures during the reaction. HMS Tireless was launched in 1985 - the piece of air-purification machinery thought to have failed was fitted as part of an update in 2001. The air purification system, which does not provide the submarine's main oxygen supply, is in the forward escape compartment - a "quiet" area at the front of the vessel, where submariners go to relax when they are not on duty. See where the explosion happened on HMS Tireless A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said its use on other vessels had been restricted as a precaution until safety checks were carried out. Oxygen candles are fitted to all Trafalgar-class submarines. HMS TIRELESS Class - Trafalgar Commissioned - 1984 Crew - 130 Weapons - Tomahawk missiles, Spearfish torpedoes Propulsion - pressurised water-cooled nuclear reactor Speed - 32knots (dived) Depth - 400m (operational), 600m (maximum) Length - 85.4m (280ft) The former First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, told Radio 4's Today programme there had been no previous problems with the equipment. The nuclear reactor of HMS Tireless was unaffected and the ship itself was not in danger, the MoD said. The Leader of the Commons Jack Straw told MPs: "Those of us who have been on board submarines know just what a potentially dangerous environment it is, and the safety record of the Royal Navy overall was second to none. "We send our sympathy to the family and the colleagues of the two sailors who were killed." The families of both dead sailors have been told. Vice Admiral Jay Donnelly, commander of the US submarine force, said: "I am deeply saddened at the loss of the crew members from the Tireless. "Submariners are brothers at sea and we all feel the loss as if it were our own. We stand by to continue to assist in any way we can." The Board of Inquiry aims to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy and to see what lessons can be learned. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 36 Salt Lake Tribune: N-waste pile to start from beginning Article Last Updated: 03/22/2007 01:08:58 AM MDT Radiation regulators have made it clear that EnergySolutions will have to start all over if it wants to revive its plans for an 83-foot-tall "Supercell." The Salt Lake City nuclear waste company, which operates a mile-square disposal site for low-level radioactive waste in Tooele County, signed an agreement last week with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. that caps the waste allowed to the volumes permitted by current licenses. In its letter to the Division of Radiation Control to officially withdraw the vertical expansion proposal, EnergySolutions asked to preserve the paperwork generated by the pending application. Some observers questioned whether that request fully complied with the Huntsman agreement or left the door open for the company to dust off its request in the future. Dane Finerfrock, director of the Radiation Control Division, notified the company in a letter Tuesday that records from the year-old Supercell effort - including 666 public comments and the technical drawings - had to be preserved under state law. But, he added: "Any future amendment request will be treated as a new amendment request." Finerfrock's staff was boxing up the Supercell records for storage on Wednesday. Huntsman last week called the waste cap a victory for Utahns who do not want the state to become the nation's radioactive dumping ground. The Huntsman-EnergySolutions deal will allow a total of 13.4 million cubic yards of waste, about 700,000 cubic yards less than would have been allowed if the cap had not been imposed. fahys@sltrib.com © Copyright 2007, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 37 Daily Herald: What game is: Huntsman playing? Thursday, March 22, 2007 Eyebrows were raised when Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. allowed Senate Bill 155 to pass without his signature. This is the measure that took elected officials out of the loop on nuclear waste expansion. It was as though Huntsman wasn't really serious about keeping nuclear waste out of Utah. And a lot of people wondered just where the governor was coming from. And so it was a pleasant surprise when Huntsman announced last week that EnergySolutions had agreed to "withdraw" its application to add to its landfill. The company said it would live with its currently approved capacity instead of doubling it. And the deal bars disposal of hotter class B and C level radioactive waste that the company has sought in the past. But don't breathe any sighs of relief just yet. EnergySolutions is not going gently into the night. It apparently plans to re-apply for expansion after Huntsman is out of office. It has asked the state to hang on to all its paperwork. But the plot thickens even more. The company made its bargain with Huntsman after the governor threatened to use the state's veto power to keep the eight-state Northwest Interstate Low-Level Waste Compact from continuing to send waste. Then on Tuesday we got a surprise. Documents show that EnergySolutions doesn't actually take waste from the compact, which was authorized by Congress to dispose of radioactive waste in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Instead, the company takes contaminated waste from other states. Moreover, the Huntsman deal called for EnergySolutions to "promptly withdraw" its current request for more waste, without any qualifying language about preserving future options. But Assistant Attorney General Fred Nelson said the deal never required EnergySolutions to permanently renounce ambitions to dump more waste at Clive, the railroad spur 72 miles west of Salt Lake City. Less than a week after the announcement, the company said it was withdrawing its license application, but it used the odd legal phrase "without prejudice," a term lawyers use in other contexts to indicate that they reserve the right to file a case again. The nuanced position went unmentioned when Huntsman heralded his purported grand compromise. So what kind of sleight of hand is going on here? We're not sure. Huntsman needs to stop dancing and be clear with the people of Utah. Many were skeptical about Huntsman's motives in refusing to reject SB 155. And many were angry that the voice of the people, through their elected representatives, had been substantially squelched. Huntsman needs to clear the air, and soon. This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5. Copyright © 2007 Daily Herald and Lee Enterprises ***************************************************************** 38 The Australian: Warning on uranium export lag NEWS.com.au | * March 22, 2007 This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP AUSTRALIA is not unique in its ability to supply uranium to the world, so it must take advantage of its competitive position, South Australian Mineral Resources Minister Paul Holloway said today. With the world's largest uranium mine in South Australia and exploration for new deposits proceeding at an accelerated pace, Mr Holloway said Australia was well placed to lead the global trade. But other countries with less regard for the appropriate safeguards would step in if Australia did not seize the opportunity, he said. “Uranium is about as common as tin and is fairly widely distributed,” the minister told a uranium industry conference. “We're very fortunate to have a large share of the world's resources, but it's not unique, and we have the opportunity of supplying that to the world.” Mr Holloway backed moves to change federal Labor policy, which bans the development of new uranium mines. The policy is due to be debated at the upcoming national ALP convention, with South Australian Premier Mike Rann leading the charge for it to be scrapped. “The ALP needs to change its policy, because here in South Australia there are projects that are well on the way to beginning the approvals process,” Mr Holloway said. “So, potentially, we do have mines coming up for approval in the relatively near future, and they will represent millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of jobs.” Today's conference drew a small protest from anti-uranium groups. Spokesman Brett Thompson said they wanted to draw attention to the pollution risks posed by uranium mining and its extravagant water consumption. “Uranium is not the clean green energy solution being touted by the Howard Government, but instead is a dirty, water-intensive and polluting industry leaving a legacy of radioactive waste for thousands of years,” he said. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 39 ITAR-TASS: Intl uranium enrichment center to start working by year-end. 22.03.2007, 06.42 ANGARSK, Irkutsk Region, March 22 (Itar-Tass) - The International Center for Uranium Enrichment will start operating in Angarsk by the year-end, said on Thursday head of the Russian delegation at the Rosatom-IAEA talks Nikolai Spassky after a seminar, attended by representatives of the Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy and a delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency. According to Spassky, this is “a pilot project, and we should study at it what will be conditions like at such centers in other countries and what will be cooperation between such centers as well as with the International Atomic Energy Agency”. Spassky emphasized that “such centers will be set up in other places and not only in Russia after experience of cooperation with the IAEA is accumulated”. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, store in any medium (including in any other websites), distribute, ***************************************************************** 40 Petoskey News Review: Big Rock may sell land housing nuclear wastes Petoskey, Michigan edition Updated: Mar 21, 2007 - 11:12:42 EDT By Julie Witthoeft Charlevoix Courier Editor Story updated: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 11:12 AM EDT Consumers Energy is working on a plan to unload its albatross. Last week, Tim Petrosky, spokesman for Consumers Energy, a local utility provider which owns the Big Rock Point property in Charlevoix’s Hayes Township, confirmed a sale agreement is in the works with Entergy Corporation, the second largest generator of nuclear power in the United States. The plan is for Consumers to sell its Palisades Nuclear Plant in South Haven to Entergy for $380 million and for Consumers to pay Entergy $30 million to take over 107 acres of the Big Rock property where spent nuclear fuel is stored. Palisades, an 800 megawatt nuclear power plant, is the only remaining active nuclear plant under Consumers’ ownership. “This makes economic sense for Consumers, for the customer and for Entergy,” Petrosky said. “It’s very difficult to be a single nuclear power plant utility — there’s no opportunity to share resources across an entire fleet. Entergy has multiple nuclear sites.” According to information provided on the Entergy Web site, www.entergy.com, Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 14,000 employees. While both Big Rock Point and Palisades are nuclear power plants they are totally different animals. Big Rock, which used a boiling water reactor, is the nation’s longest running and oldest operating nuclear plant which came online in September of 1962 and permanently ceased operations in August of 1997. Palisades, which uses a pressurized steam reactor, was built in the 1970s. When Big Rock was operating it was a 67 megawatt facility — the Palisades plant is more than 10 times larger. The sale is expected to be complete by the end of April. Petrosky said under the proposed agreement, Entergy will own and operate the dry fuel storage area at the Big Rock site until Yucca Mountain in Nevada accepts and stores spent fuel from commercial nuclear plants. Consumers will maintain ownership of the remaining 435 acres that make up the Big Rock property. The Big Rock property Entergy will now own will be governed by the same requirements the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has of Big Rock. Petrosky said maintenance and oversight of that site which houses eight canisters containing used fuel requires about 20 employees, not including required security personnel. The acreage that remains in Consumers hands has been released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for unrestricted use and is currently on the market. No official price tag has been attached to the property. In a previous interview, Tom Bailey, executive director of the Little Traverse Conservancy, said $20 million is a ballpark figure. Petrosky stressed that there is nothing in the sale agreement with Entergy that restricts Consumers’ use of the remaining land. “We will continue to work with the state to see if an agreement can be reached to keep that property in public hands,” he said. Initial attempts to secure funding for state purchase of the property were delayed in December of 2006 when a funding request with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund board was withdrawn because of uncertainties in the agreement between Consumers and the Department of Natural Resources. According to Bailey, who is acting as the liaison between Consumers, the Department of Natural Resources and community groups, an application for $3 million to purchase the property will be submitted to the Trust Fund by April 1. While Entergy now becomes a third player involved in the Big Rock property, Bailey said he doesn’t feel the proposed sale hurts the chances of the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Board approving funding. “This was known last year and discussed by the Trust Fund board. Entergy is a big company with a lot of nuclear experience,” he said. Bailey hopes the Trust Fund board will grasp the myriad benefits he and other supporters see to public purchase of the property. These include preservation of the largest and least disturbed section of Lake Michigan shoreline available to the public in this part of the state, its significance in terms of its human and natural history, habitat preservation for several threatened species of plants and animals and its accessibility along U.S. 31. But not all people concur. Beaver Island resident, Richie Gillespie, thinks the property should be sold to a private entity. “The state can’t afford to maintain the parks and facilities it has,” he said. “I’m not against doing something if the need is there. I’m against doing something because maybe it’s the easiest thing to do. Why not take a look at what we leave behind for our descendants. If the state takes tax dollars to buy the land and take it off the tax rolls, what good does that do all of us? What good does it do the people feeding their families?” Petoskey News-Review · Gaylord Herald Times · Miseasons PhoneGuide · Schurz.com About Us · Contact Us · Online Publication, Copyright © 2007, Petoskey News-Review P.O. Box 528, 319 State St., Petoskey, MI 49770 · (231) 347-2544 · Fax: (231) ***************************************************************** 41 Mikhail Gorbachev: The Nuclear Threat Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:19:23 -0500 (CDT) January 31, 2007 Nuclear Age Peace Foundation www.wagingpeace.org The Nuclear Threat by Mikhail Gorbachev, The essay "A World Free of Nuclear Weapons," published in this newspaper on Jan. 4, was signed by a bipartisan group of four influential Americans -- George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn -- not known for utopian thinking, and having unique experience in shaping the policies of previous administrations. It raises an issue of crucial importance for world affairs: the need for the abolition of nuclear weapons. As someone who signed the first treaties on real reductions in nuclear weapons, I feel it is my duty to support their call for urgent action. The road to this goal began in November 1985 when Ronald Reagan and I met in Geneva. We declared that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." This was said at a time when many people in the military and among the political establishment regarded a war involving weapons of mass destruction as conceivable and even acceptable, and were developing various scenarios of nuclear escalation. It took political will to transcend the old thinking and attain a new vision. For if a nuclear war is inconceivable, then military doctrines, armed forces development plans and negotiating positions at arms-control talks must change accordingly. This began to happen, particularly after Reagan and I agreed in Reykjavik in October 1986 on the need ultimately to eliminate nuclear weapons. Concurrently, major positive changes were occurring in world affairs: A number of international conflicts were defused and democratic processes in many parts of the world gained momentum, leading to the end of the Cold War. As U.S.-Soviet arms negotiations got off the ground, a breakthrough was achieved -- the treaty on the elimination of medium- and shorter-range missiles, followed by agreement on 50% reduction in strategic offensive weapons. If the negotiations had continued in the same vein and at the same pace, the world would have been rid of the greater part of the arsenals of deadly weapons. But this did not happen, and hopes for a new, more democratic world order were not fulfilled. In fact, we have seen a failure of political leadership, which proved incapable of seizing the opportunities opened by the end of the Cold War. This glaring failure has allowed nuclear weapons and their proliferation to pose a continuing, growing threat to mankind. The ABM Treaty has been abrogated; the requirements for effective verification and irreversibility of nuclear-arms reductions have been weakened; the treaty on comprehensive cessation of nuclear-weapons tests has not been ratified by all nuclear powers. The goal of the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons has been essentially forgotten. What is more, the military doctrines of major powers, first the U.S. and then, to some extent, Russia, have re-emphasized nuclear weapons as an acceptable means of war fighting, to be used in a first or even in a "pre-emptive" strike. All this is a blatant violation of the nuclear powers' commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Its Article V is clear and unambiguous: Nations that are capable of making nuclear weapons shall forgo that possibility in exchange for the promise by the members of the nuclear club to reduce and eventually abolish their nuclear arsenals. If this reciprocity is not observed, then the entire structure of the treaty will collapse. The Non-Proliferation Treaty is already under considerable stress. The emergence of India and Pakistan as nuclear-weapon states, the North Korean nuclear program and the issue of Iran are just the harbingers of even more dangerous problems that we will have to face unless we overcome the present situation. A new threat, nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, is a challenge to our ability to work together internationally and to our technological ingenuity. But we should not delude ourselves: In the final analysis, this problem can only be solved through the abolition of nuclear weapons. So long as they continue to exist, the danger will be with us, like the famous "rifle on the wall" that will fire sooner or later. Last November the Forum of Nobel Peace Laureates, meeting in Rome, issued a special statement on this issue. The late Nobel laureate and world-renowned scientist, Joseph Rotblat, initiated a global awareness campaign on the nuclear danger, in which I participated. Ted Turner's Nuclear Threat Initiative provides important support for specific measures to reduce weapons of mass destruction. With all of them we are united by a common understanding of the need to save the Non-Proliferation Treaty and of the primary responsibility of the members of the nuclear club. We must put the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons back on the agenda, not in a distant future but as soon as possible. It links the moral imperative -- the rejection of such weapons from an ethical standpoint -- with the imperative of assuring security. It is becoming clearer that nuclear weapons are no longer a means of achieving security; in fact, with every passing year they make our security more precarious. The irony -- and a reproach to the current generation of world leaders -- is that two decades after the end of the Cold War the world is still burdened with vast arsenals of nuclear weapons of which even a fraction would be enough to destroy civilization. As in the 1980s, we face the problem of political will -- the responsibility of the leaders of major powers for bridging the gap between the rhetoric of peace and security and the real threat looming over the world. While agreeing with the Jan. 4 article that the U.S. should take the initiative and play an active role on this issue, I believe there is also a need for major efforts on the part of Russian and European leaders and for a responsible position and full involvement of all states that have nuclear weapons. I am calling for a dialogue to be launched within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, involving both nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states, to cover the full range of issues related to the elimination of those weapons. The goal is to develop a common concept for moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons. The key to success is reciprocity of obligations and actions. The members of the nuclear club should formally reiterate their commitment to reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons. As a token of their serious intent, they should without delay take two crucial steps: ratify the comprehensive test ban treaty and make changes in their military doctrines, removing nuclear weapons from the Cold War-era high alert status. At the same time, the states that have nuclear-power programs would pledge to terminate all elements of those programs that could have military use. The participants in the dialogue should report its progress and the results achieved to the United Nations Security Council, which must be given a key coordinating role in this process. Over the past 15 years, the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons has been so much on the back burner that it will take a true political breakthrough and a major intellectual effort to achieve success in this endeavor. It will be a challenge to the current generation of leaders, a test of their maturity and ability to act that they must not fail. It is our duty to help them to meet this challenge. Originally published in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. ======== http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2007/01/31_gorbachev_nuclearthreat.htm ======== ***************************************************************** 42 Hanford News: Murray asks DOE for funding answers This story was published Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Bush administration is dragging its feet on paying for replacement facilities for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as it prepares to move out of Hanford buildings set for demolition, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. She questioned a top Department of Energy official Wednesday on why its fiscal 2008 budget request included no definite money for replacement buildings. The project also was excluded from DOE's five-year priority plan, she said. "It's disconcerting to see that, because we need that kind of leadership in the five-year plan," Murray told Raymond Orbach, DOE undersecretary of science, during a Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. As DOE cleans up contamination at Hanford's 300 Area left from production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons, up to 1,000 laboratory staff members using old 300 Area buildings will need new offices or laboratories. PNNL is proposing a new Physical Science Facility and refurbishing up to four 300 Area buildings at a cost of about $224 million to taxpayers. In addition, a Biological Science Facility and a Computational Sciences Facility would be built using private financing. But the $224 million joint funding strategy agreed to by the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Nuclear Security Administration appears to be at risk. Under the three-agency agreement, the Physical Science Facility was supposed to receive $19.9 million this year, including $10 million from DOE. However, DOE initially included no money in its budget request, and Murray had to get $10 million added. That $10 million is at risk again because it's being held in reserve pending approval by the Office of Management and Budget for the deal to finance the other two planned buildings for the national lab. OMB already has taken one look at the package and sent it back to DOE for review. Orbach said DOE planned to resubmit it in the next few days and hoped to have OMB approval within a month, which would allow the $10 million to be released. "We believe we now have a package that will meet the requirements for third-party financing," Orbach said. "We have had to take into account market prices. It's really value to the taxpayers." "Do you have a contingency plan if they say no?" Murray pressed. The funding is critical to ensure the project does not slow down, she said. If the financing plan is not approved, DOE will have to try again to fix it, Orbach said. Third-party financing is essential to getting workers out of the 300 Area buildings that will be demolished and to build the facilities the lab will need in the future, he said. The DOE money for the project in fiscal year 2008 also is being held in reserve, and the Department of Homeland Security has put no money into the project, Murray said. Under the funding agreement, DOE was to contribute $35.4 million and the Department of Homeland Security $25 million. No money was expected from the National Nuclear Security Administration for 2008. "We hope some resolution will be found," Orbach said. "That is sort of not a very definitive answer," Murray replied. "I hope that as a steward of the PNNL and all the federal laboratories, you really will take leadership and really push them." Orbach also discussed Murray's concerns about the five-year priority plan, saying DOE had problems coming up with a definitive plan because Congress failed to approve a 2007 budget on time. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 43 Hanford News: Chemicals to slow creep toward river This story was published Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Radioactive strontium creeping through the soil toward the Columbia River at Hanford soon will be hitting an underground wall. Work is under way to inject a 300-foot-long chemical barrier about 40 feet deep near the banks of the river where ground water is contaminated with strontium. "We cannot remediate strontium in the ground water using conventional technologies," said Dib Goswami, lead program hydrologist for the Washington State Department of Ecology's regulation of Hanford. But after seven years of looking at possible technologies, the state and the Department of Energy believe they've got a solution that might keep strontium - even strontium deep underground - from entering the river. Test injections of a chemical barrier last year showed enough promise in trapping strontium for the project to proceed this spring. When N Reactor was operating to produce electricity and plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program, water used to cool the reactor was contaminated with strontium. As much as 8.5 curies a year entered the river in water discharged from the reactor, far more than the current standard allowed for drinking water. Because contamination remains in the soil between the reactor and the river to be carried by ground water, a far smaller amount of strontium continues to reach the river. Although it's immediately diluted, that's enough to be detected in clams. Drinking water limits are low because radioactive strontium is particularly dangerous to humans. Chemically similar to calcium, it is deposited in the bones, where it can continue to release a dose of radiation for years. But that similarity to calcium has offered a promising cleanup solution. In the '90s, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory proposed building a chemical barrier near the river using calcium phosphate - the substance in bones and teeth - to bind up the strontium while it naturally decays away. Calcium phosphate, also called apatite, binds up strontium or calcium, making no distinction between the two. The combination forms a crystal, with the strontium held within as its radiation naturally decays away. "It should keep it bound up for hundreds of years while the strontium decays away," said John Fruchter, the national lab's program manager for the project. Within 90 years, about 90 percent of the radioactivity is gone, and within 270 years, its radioactivity is within drinking water standards. But the idea of building an underground apatite barrier only became practical when scientists figured out a way to inject the chemical into the earth through wells without the phosphate and calcium binding up. If the chemicals were combined in solution, they would bind up in the pipe rather than spreading out 30 feet around each of 10 wells along the river, said Mike Thompson, DOE ground water geologist. Instead, the calcium is mixed with citrate, which prevents it from binding with the phosphate immediately. As soon as the mixture is injected into the soil, bacteria go to work consuming the citrate, and the barrier begins to form in place, ready to trap strontium. The initial test results of the project a year ago were disappointing. Too much strontium was getting past the barrier. But by adjusting the mix to include less calcium - freeing up more places for the strontium to grab hold - the problem was solved in a second test injection. "Results are pretty promising and we hope it will work," Goswami said. It's predicted to work better than the technology that had been put in place as a stopgap method near N Reactor. Contaminated water was pumped out of the ground and treated to remove strontium. But in a decade of pumping, less than two curies of strontium were removed, several times less than what naturally decayed away. Fluor Hanford is injecting the lower portion of the barrier while the river and the ground water level is low, said Bruce Ford, a Fluor vice president. This summer, Fluor will inject the upper portion of the barrier and next year will do more injections to make the barrier more robust. In a second project planned for the area, coyote willow may be planted between the barrier and the river to clean up more strontium. The willow would absorb strontium through its roots. Twice a year, the willows would be mowed down and leaves and brush contaminated with strontium reduced to ash and disposed of in a landfill for low-level radioactive waste. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 44 Tri-City Herald: GNEP bus needs more riders today Published Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Tri-City Development Council still is trying to find enough riders by the close of business today to charter a bus to the Hood River, Oregon, hearing on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. It needs 30 riders willing to pay $10 each and so far has 19 signed up. If enough riders sign up to charter a bus, they will meet at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Three Rivers convention center parking lot. The bus will leave at 3 p.m. for the Hood River meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. It will return about 11:30 p.m. At the meeting, DOE will hear public comments about a proposed program to recycle used commercial nuclear fuel. Hanford is being considered as the site of the recycling center, a reactor to use the recycled fuel and a research center for the project. To sign up for the bus, call 735-1000. ***************************************************************** 45 KnoxNews: Small business awarded DOE deal By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com March 22, 2007 OAK RIDGE - The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge office has awarded a $14.5 million contract for information-technology services to a small business based in Louisiana. REDE Inc. will provide systems management, help-desk support, computer network operations and other services in support of DOE's Information Resources Management Division in Oak Ridge. "The effort includes supporting more than 1,000 user accounts located throughout the (Oak Ridge) federal complex," DOE stated in information distributed to the news media. The contract is for one year, with four one-year options for renewal. REDE is replacing NOLA Computer Services, whose five-year contract expires March 31. REDE, which is based in Metairie, La., is certified as a small and disadvantaged business under guidelines set by the Small Business Administration. The pact is the second IT contract announced by DOE's Oak Ridge office within the past six weeks. In February, the federal agency awarded a contract to SCI Consulting Services Inc., a woman-owned small business in Vienna, Va. That contract has a total potential value of $135 million over five years. In announcing the REDE contract, DOE Manager Gerald Boyd said, "This award demonstrates our commitment to utilizing the capabilities of the small business in support of our information technology needs." DOE's Oak Ridge office is designated as an "integrated service center" for the federal agency and provides services to a number of other DOE site offices, including ones in Richland, Wash., and Stanford, Calif. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 46 Government Executive: Los Alamos workers anonymously ask Congress for probe DAILY BRIEFING March 22, 2007 By Darren Goode, CongressDaily A group of current and former employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is asking Congress to investigate health, safety, security and management problems there, according to a government watchdog group. It is unclear how many employees are asking for the investigation because they are not publicly revealing their involvement. "Due to fear of retaliation by the Department of Energy management, we are sending you an anonymous letter and requesting that Congress initiate an investigation into mismanagement at the Los Alamos Site Office of the Department of Energy," according to an undated letter to Congress widely distributed Wednesday by the Project On Government Oversight. Pete Stockton, a senior investigator at POGO, said they received the letter two days ago and have been investigating similar claims for several years. The letter's authors identify themselves in it as "a group of current and former employees of the Los Alamos Site Office and the New Mexico DOE complex" who have "a sum of more that (sic) 100 years of experience." "Our concerns are not unique to our group but are shared by a major portion of the Site Office employees," the letter states. "We are so concerned with the existing adverse working conditions, hostile work environment and low worker morale that we felt it necessary to bring these concerns to your attention." The Los Alamos laboratory is a national Energy Department site but is managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a private company. House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate security breaches at Los Alamos and the committee has held 12 hearings in eight years. The last committee hearing on Jan. 30 highlighted an incident where a subcontractor for the laboratory removed 1,588 pages of classified documents from a vault and accessed classified computers to download documents. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said the committee's GAO request "amounts to unnecessary and counterproductive piling-on." He said Energy and the laboratory "are working to implement reforms now at Los Alamos." A call to the National Nuclear Security Administration public affairs office was not returned at presstime. ©2007 by National Journal Group Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************