***************************************************************** 04/10/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.84 ***************************************************************** 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 Iran: the Threat of a Nuclear War 2 IRNA: Iran among top ten nuclear states in world - MP 3 Guardian Unlimited: Comment is free | Sanctions are not working 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran raises stakes with claim of nuclear leap 5 Reuters: Russia says no sign of Iranian industrial enrichment 6 UPI: Russian teams in Iran for Bushehr talks 7 UPI: EU concerned by Iran's nuclear plans 8 Guardian Unlimited: Deadlock Broken Over North Korean Funds 9 Digital Chosunilbo: Turning a Blind Eye to N.Korean Arms Sales 10 UPI: Japan extends North Korea sanctions 11 Korea Times: Difficult to Meet NK Deadline - US Envoy 12 Korea Times: `Washington Erred in Allowing Ethiopia-North Korea Arms 13 english.eastday.com: Macau unblocks frozen DPRK funds 14 US: Ithaca Journal: Wind farms are not frauds; they are the future 15 Xinhua: U.S. to stage large-scale war games near Guam 16 US: UPI: Virginia governor issues renewable mandate 17 AFP: US-British war on terror backfires: think tank 18 Guardian Unlimited: Moscow signals place in new world order 19 Guardian Unlimited: Russia threatening new cold war over missile def 20 RIA Novosti: Egypt, Russia drafting nuclear cooperation agreements - 21 China Daily: Energy plan: Reliance on coal and oil to be eased 22 AFP: Russia 'deceived' by missile shield that 'fundamentally alters' NUCLEAR REACTORS 23 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Omaha Public Power 24 US: KnoxNews: Watts Bar plant gets high marks from NRC 25 US: KnoxNews: TVA names chief nuclear officer 26 US: SLO Trib: Environmental group to try to halt Diablo steam genera 27 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Assessment for Pilgrim Nuclear Plant at 28 US: SLO Trib: Diablo Canyon conducts growl test throughout county to 29 US: Palo Alto Daily News: Power panel talks on energy 30 The Hindu: Environmental clearance given for four PHWR nuclear proje 31 Daily Yomiuri: Toshiba near deal to produce nuclear plant parts in R 32 US: FresnoBee.com: Environmentalists fight Diablo nuke plant generat 33 US: NRC: NRC Issues a “Yellow” Inspection Finding to Kewaunee Nuclea 34 US: SunValleyOnline: Company targets recreation area for nuclear rea 35 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Indian Point 3 restart delayed by fire damage 36 US: PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Reactor to stay offline 37 US: APP.COM: Contrary views of N.J. energy future | 38 US: Journal Star: Ameren subsidiary eyes nuclear reactor 39 US: Green Bay Press-Gazette: Dominion shares plan for nuclear fuel s 40 US: NRC: NRC Staff Approves Big Rock Point ISFSI License Transfer 41 US: fremonttribune.com: Incorrectly installed valve at nuke plant pr 42 US: Business Week: Violation found at Dominion nuke plant 43 The Herald: Capacity recovery lights up British Energy 44 US: FR NRC: General Electric Company; Morris Operation, Independent 45 UPI: Russia may help Egypt build nuclear plant 46 PDM: Temelin nuclear power plant first block restarted after stoppag 47 Kommersant Moscow: United RUSAL to Build Nuclear Plant, Aluminum Sme 48 US: Reuters: TXU seeks to build biggest U.S. nuclear plants - 49 US: Hemscott: TVA names chief nuclear officer 50 StockInterview.com: Super Molybdenum Stainless Steel Vital to Global 51 US: KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities: Energy Northwest Halts Power Production 52 US: KNDO/KNDU: Plant shut down to repair fire damage NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 53 News24: Fire on nuclear icebreaker 54 US: ScrippsNews: Cold War 'veterans' denied some care 55 Reuters: EU sleuths turn attention to dirty bomb materials 56 US: FR DVA: Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnes 57 US: FR: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Final 58 US: FR DHHS: Radiation exposure cohort NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 59 ForUm: Tomenko to solve nuclear waste issue 60 US: Power Online: Lack Of Fuel May Limit U.S. Nuclear Power Expansio 61 Belfast Telegraph: Labour queries Govt commitment to Sellafield clos 62 US: Salt Lake Tribune: EnergySolutions won't vie for big UK contract 63 US: MSNBC.com: The Uranium Market Heats Up - 64 US: AU ABC: Uranium price jumps after mines flood. 65 barrow in furness: Where should nuke dump go? PEACE 66 BBC NEWS: Police arrest 11 peace protesters US DEPT. OF ENERGY ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Iran: the Threat of a Nuclear War Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:13:02 -0500 (CDT) 9th April, 2007 Global Research, www.globalresearch.ca 30th March 2007 Strategic Culture Foundation (Russia) Iran: the Threat of a Nuclear War Analysis of the current state of the conflict with Iran shows that the world faces the possibility of a new war... by General Leonid Ivashov The US and its allies started the psychological preparation of world public opinion for the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons to resolve 'the Iranian problem'. The US propaganda machine is working hard to create the impression that a 'surgically precise' use of the nuclear weapon with only limited consequences is possible. However, this has been known to be untrue since the 1945 US nuclear strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the very first nuclear strike, it will become totally impossible to prevent the use of all of the available means of mass destruction. In the situation of a mass extermination of their nations, the conflicting sides will resort to whatever means they have without limitations. Therefore, not only the nuclear arsenals of various countries, including those whose nuclear status is not recognized officially, will come into play. No doubt, chemical and biological warfare (and, generally, any poisonous substances), which can be produced on the basis of minimal industrial and economic resources, will be used. Currently, one can assert that peace and mankind are in great danger. Consider the military-technical aspect of the situation. Practically, the operation's objective declared by the US - destroying some 1,500 targets on the territory of Iran - cannot be accomplished by the forces already amassed for the mission. This objective can only be met if tactical nuclear munitions are used. An examination of the military-political aspect of the matter reveals even more significant facts. The attack on Iran is not planned to include a ground offensive. Strikes on selected military and industrial installations can cause a severe damage to the Iranian defense potential and economy. Casualties are likely to be substantial, but not catastrophic from the military point of view. At the same time, it is impossible to gain control of the territory of a country as large as Iran without a ground operation. The planned offensive will entail a consolidation of forces not only in Iran, but also in other Muslim countries and among the public throughout the world. The support for the country suffering from the US-Israeli aggression will soar. Certainly, Washington is aware that the result will be not the strengthening but the loss of US positions in the world. Consequently, the goal of the US attack against Iran has to be seen in a different light. The nuclear offensive must boost the use of nuclear blackmail in global politics by the US and fundamentally transform the world order. Further evidence of the radicalization of the goals of the US and its allies is available. The early 2007 leaks, which exposed Israel's plans to use three nukes against Iran, were quite dangerous for a country in a hostile environment, but certainly they were deliberate. They meant that the decision on the character of Israel's activity had already been made, and all that remained to be done was to influence public opinion accordingly. The pretext for the operation against Iran does not appear serious. Judging from both the technical and the political points of view, there is no possibility of it developing nuclear weapons in the near future. One must remember that allegations of Iraq's possessing weapons of mass destruction were used by the US as a pretext for the war against the country. As a result, Iraq was devastated, and the civilian death toll rose to hundreds of thousands, but no evidence for the claims had ever been discovered. The really important question is not whether Iran is capable of making nuclear weapons. The only function of small stockpiles of nuclear weapons not backed by various forms of support is that of containment. The threat of a retaliation strike can stop any aggressor. As for attacking other countries and winning a nuclear war in the situation of a conflict with a coalition of major powers, this would require a potential that Iran neither has nor is going to have in the foreseeable future. The allegations that Iran can become a nuclear aggressor are absurd. Anyone having at least some theoretical knowledge of military affairs must understand this. What is the real reason why the US is unleashing this military conflict? The activities having consequences of global proportions can only be intended to deal with a global problem. This problem itself is by no means something secret - it is the possibility of a crash of the global financial system based on the US dollar. Currently the mass of US currency exceeds the total worth of US assets by more than a factor of ten. Everything in the US - industry, buildings, high-tech, and so on - has been mortgaged more than ten times all over the world. A debt of such proportions will never be repaid - it can only be relieved. The dollar amounts on the accounts of individuals, organizations, and state treasuries are a virtual reality. These records are not secured by products, valuables or anything that exists in reality. Writing-off this US indebtedness to the rest of the world would turn the majority of its population into deceived depositors. It would be the end of the well-established rule of the golden calf. The significance of the coming events is truly epic. This is why the aggressor ignores the global catastrophic consequences of its offensive. The bankrupt 'global bankers' need a force major event of global proportions to get out of the situation. The solution is already in the plans. The US has nothing to offer the rest of the world to save the declining dollar except for military operations like the ones in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. But even these local conflicts only yield short-term effects. Something a lot greater is needed, and the need is urgent. The moment is drawing closer when the financial crisis will make the world realize that all of the US assets, all of its industrial, technological, and other potentials do not rightfully belong to the country. Then, it must be confiscated to compensate the victims, and the rights of ownership of everything bought for dollars all over the world - everything drawn from the wealth of various nations - are to be revised. What might cause the force major event of the required scale? Everything seems to indicate that Israel will be sacrificed. Its involvement in a war with Iran - especially in a nuclear war - is bound to trigger a global catastrophe. The statehoods of Israel and Iran are based on the countries' official religions. A military conflict between Israel and Iran will immediately evolve into a religious one, a conflict between Judaism and Islam. Due to the presence of numerous Jewish and Muslim populations in the developed countries, this would make a global bloodbath inevitable. All of the active forces of most of the countries of the world would end up fighting, with almost no room for neutrality left. Judging by the increasingly massive acquisitions of the residential housing for the Israeli citizens, especially in Russia and Ukraine, a lot of people already have an idea of what the future holds. However, it is hard to imagine a quiet heaven where one might hide from the coming doom. Forecasts of the territorial distribution of the fighting, the quantities and the efficiency of the armaments involved, the profound character of the underlying roots of the conflict and the severity of the religious strife all leave no doubt that this clash will be in all respects much more nightmarish than WWII. So far, the response of the world's major political players to the developments gives no cause for optimism. The inconsequent UN resolutions concerning Iran, the attempts to appease the aggressor who no longer disguises his intentions are reminiscent of the Munich Pact on the eve of WWII. The intense shuttle diplomacy focusing on all sorts of international problems except for the main one discussed above is also indicative of the problem. This is a usual practice on the eve of a war, aiming to provide for alliances with third-party countries or to ensure their neutrality. Such politics seeks to avert or soften the first strikes, which would be the most sudden and devastating ones. Is it possible to prevent the bloodshed? The only efficient argument that might stop the aggressors is the threat of their total global isolation for instigating a nuclear war. The implementation of the scenario described above can be made impossible by a complete absence of allies for the US-Israeli tandem, combined with loud public protests in the countries. Therefore, these days a definite and uncompromising stance of country leaders, governments, politicians, public figures, religious leaders, scientists, and artists with respect to the prepared nuclear aggression would be an invaluable service to mankind. The coordinated public activities must be organized with the promptness adequate to the war-time conditions. The forces of aggression have already been amassed and concentrated at the starting positions in the state of full combat readiness. The US military do not make it a secret that everything can be a matter of weeks or even days. There are indirect indications that the US will launch a nuclear strike on Iran already in April, 2007. After the very first nuclear blast, mankind will find itself in an entirely new world, an absolutely inhumane one. The chances to prevent this outcome must be used completely. -- General Leonid Ivashov is the vice-president of the Academy on geopolitical affairs. He was the chief of the department for General affairs in the Soviet Union's ministry of Defense, secretary of the Council of defense ministers of the Community of independant states (CIS), chief of the Military cooperation department at the Russian federation's Ministry of defense and Joint chief of staff of the Russian armies. General Ivashof is a frequent contributor to Global Research. ======= http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=IVA20070409& articleId=5309 ======= ***************************************************************** 2 IRNA: Iran among top ten nuclear states in world - MP Ahvaz, Khuzestan Prov, April 10, IRNA Iran-MP-Nuclear A Majlis deputy said here Monday that Iran is currently among top ten nuclear countries in the world. Nasser Soudani, MP from southwestern city of Ahvaz, made the remark while addressing a meeting held at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz on the occasion of National Day of Nuclear Technology. Undoubtedly, the global arrogance has been intended to monopolize power in the world to fully dominate energy sector, he said, adding this was the most important reason for the US presence in Iraq. Deputy head of Majlis Energy Commission added that on nuclear energy, Iran, in the shortest period of time, achieved what foreigners had predicted for it to obtain within the next 12 years. Pointing to Iran's achievements in the peaceful nuclear energy field, he stressed that with such potentials and efforts, the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon reach a place that would be able to export energy to regional states and therefore to become a model country for the entire region. In a ceremony held at Natanz nuclear site at the central province of Isfahan on Monday on the occasion of the National Day of Nuclear Technology, it was announced that Iran has entered industrial scale of production of nuclear fuel. ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Comment is free | Sanctions are not working Wednesday April 11, 2007 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim that Iran was capable of enriching uranium on an industrial scale was greeted with scepticism yesterday. Industrial scale is shorthand for 3,000 centrifuges, linked up and spinning uranium hexafluoride gas at supersonic speeds continuously. The consensus is that Iran would be lucky to have a third of that number of centrifuges working properly. Experts also doubt whether continuous operation has been achieved - another key part of the calculation. Three thousand centrifuges operating smoothly in tandem would produce enough enriched uranium to produce one bomb in a year. Yesterday two UN inspectors arrived at Natanz, the plant where the enrichment is taking place, and will report back to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The inspectors will eventually get to the truth of Iran's claims, but it will also take time before their information is released, even to the Americans. Yet two messages come through loud and clear from Natanz, where Mr Ahmadinejad made his triumphalist announcement. The first is that Iran will not be bullied, pressured or otherwise browbeaten into abandoning its enrichment programme. The country not only has the capability to enrich the uranium it claims it needs only for its civilian nuclear fuel cycle; it also has the political will. No number of US aircraft carriers deployed off Iran's shores would deter us from doing so, the president is saying. The second message is that the price of a bargain with the outside world has just gone up. Each fresh cascade of centrifuges on stream gives Tehran a stronger hand. As Sir John Thomson, the former British ambassador to the UN, said recently, in pursuing its strategy of ratcheting up pressure on Iran the west is running out of not only time but options. Even if Mr Ahmadinejad was exaggerating, there is little doubt that Iran will eventually get a nuclear capability, as India and Pakistan did. Failure of the current sanctions strategy would leave the west with an unenviable choice : either let Mr Ahmadinejad get the nuclear material he could use for a bomb, or attack the plants such as Natanz that produce enriched uranium. If, as the Oxford Research Group has claimed, it is the case that bombing Natanz could hasten an Iranian bomb (because you can't bomb the knowledge that Iranian scientists have gained, and getting a nuclear bomb after an attack would become a national imperative), that leaves only one option: changing Iranian behaviour through cooperation and negotiation. Continue on the current course and Iran could pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, as it has hinted that it would do. In that case even two UN inspectors would not be able to fulfil their modest task. Nothing taking place at Natanz and other sites is actually illegal, as long as it is for civilian use. The problem is that it could also be for military use. The goal of negotiators should to be increase, not decrease, the transparency of Iran's civil nuclear programme, and the ability of international inspectors to monitor it. Even if the destruction of every centrifuge and every nuclear scientist could be guaranteed in an air strike, which it can not, nothing could then persuade the Iranian leadership to give up. On the contrary, a US air strike would guarantee the regime the popular support that it can only dream about today. There are goals that negotiators could aim for, other than the unilateral suspension of all enrichment activity before any talks can take place. One suggestion is an enrichment process that takes place physically on Iranian soil but under multilateral ownership and supervision. There may be other ways of satisfying both Iran's claim for a nuclear cycle and our desire to stop it getting the bomb. But one thing is clear: the current policy is not working and we should heed Iran's claims for what they are - warning signals. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006. ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran raises stakes with claim of nuclear leap Robert Tait in Natanz and Julian Borger Tuesday April 10, 2007 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gives a speech at the Natanz uraniun enrichment facility. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Iran claimed yesterday to have made a dramatic leap forward in its nuclear programme by enriching uranium "on an industrial scale", a move likely to accelerate a collision with the US and strengthen calls in Washington for military action. In a gesture of defiance to President George Bush and the UN security council, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trumpeted the claim, making the announcement with pomp and ceremony at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme, the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Mr Ahmadinejad claimed "the Iranian nation had joined the group of countries who enriched uranium on an industrial scale", but did not specify what that entailed. Iran's top diplomat, Ari Larijani, said the country had 3,000 centrifuges capable of processing uranium to make either low enriched fuel for generating electricity or - as the west fears - highly-enriched material for a warhead. Before an audience that included his cabinet, senior mullahs and dozens of foreign ambassadors, Mr Ahmadinejad warned security council members that Iran would "reconsider its treatment towards them" if they continued to oppose its nuclear ambitions. "They have seen again and again that our nation is powerful enough to do that," he said to chants of "death to Britain", "death to America" and "death to Israel". "I advise them to observe the legal rights of different nations and stop monopolising, because that will not be to their benefit." Whatever the truth of the Iranian claims, there was no mistaking the disdain shown for two mild sanctions packages passed by the security council so far, and the threat of more if Iran does not cease uranium enrichment by May 24. There are also voices inside the Bush administration and the Israeli government calling for military action before Iran acquires the capacity to build a bomb. Yesterday's ceremony will have strengthened their claims that diplomacy and UN sanctions are having no effect. Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the US state department, said the international community did not "believe Iran's assurances that their programme is peaceful in nature". The White House said it was "very concerned" that Tehran had started industrial atomic work. In London, the Foreign Office said Britain might use its presidency of the security council this month to discuss Iran's new claims, as well as the 13-day hostage crisis involving the 15 UK service personnel. The latest UN sanctions package, passed unanimously by the security council on March 24, included a ban on Iranian arms exports and the freezing of assets of several leaders of the revolutionary guard and Iran's fifth biggest bank. British and US officials have suggested that the pressure so far has opened fissures in Tehran over the wisdom of its nuclear drive. Scientists believe that with 3,000 centrifuges operating smoothly and continually, Iran would have enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb within nine months. However, nuclear analysts in the US and Britain say the Iranian leadership may be exaggerating its progress. They question whether Iranian scientists have mastered spinning such a large number of the very delicate machines at once. "I think it's a boast," Mark Fitzpatrick, a former US state department expert on non-proliferation who is now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said. "I don't believe they have 3,000 centrifuges running in Natanz. There's not been any evidence yet they can even run test cascades [arrays of centrifuges] in a continuous manner." The UN estimate is that the Iranians have installed only 1,000 centrifuges so far in Natanz and have not yet started enriching uranium with them. UN inspectors are due to visit the site this month to check. Mr Ahmadinejad went out of his way to project national unity and determination yesterday. The televised ceremony featured nationalistic songs played live by an orchestra. Journalists were bused to the event, passing anti-aircraft missile batteries on the approaches to the site in central Iran. It marked the anniversary of last year's announcement that Iran had achieved its nuclear fuel cycle, a development that raised tensions with the west. Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran was on course to produce 20,000 MW of nuclear-generated electricity and would not be deterred by the UN. "Our peaceful programme is a test for the security council, particularly its permanent members," he said. "Their decision shows how far they are committed to observing international and national rights and upholding justice." Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's atomic watchdog, predicted last month that Iran would achieve industrial capacity in uranium this summer. It is a moment experts at the IAEA feared as a potential point of no return, because it puts the country within reach of making a warhead. "It is capacity that is the proliferation risk, not the know-how itself," said one IAEA diplomat. The agency acknowledges it has no proof that Iran is seeking to make a bomb, but says Tehran has not been entirely forthcoming with information in many areas. In its last report in March, it said Iran had stopped the agency's 24-hour surveillance of the Natanz enrichment plant. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 5 Reuters: Russia says no sign of Iranian industrial enrichment Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:16AM EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has no evidence Iran has made any technological breakthroughs to allow it to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "We naturally treat with all seriousness the announcement that Iran has begun enriching uranium on an industrial scale," ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement. "At the same time, we are not aware of any technological breakthroughs in the Iranian nuclear program recently which would change the nature of work on enrichment being carried out in the country." Iran's chief nuclear negotiator was quoted as saying by Iranian media on Monday that Iran had built 3,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium. Western experts say that extra capacity could allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb within a year, if it wanted to. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday he believed the new centrifuges were not yet in full operation. "We are clarifying the situation, including in contact with experts from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," said Lavrov. "For now we do not have confirmation that actual enrichment has begun on the new centrifuges. "We want to base our (actions) not on emotional political gestures, and there have been lots of these from various sides, but on the facts." © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 UPI: Russian teams in Iran for Bushehr talks United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: April 9, 2007 at 2:52 PM TEHRAN, April 9 (UPI) -- Russian delegations are in Tehran to discuss both financial and technical issues regarding the Bushehr nuclear power plant. State news agency RIA Novosti reports negotiations are planned to last until April 13. Atomstroyexport, the Russian nuclear firm building the $1 billion plant, stopped work last month because Tehran had fallen behind on its monthly payments. Iran says the stoppage was because of international pressure over Iran's nuclear program. Iran's uranium enrichment projects, not the Bushehr plant, are coming under global criticism for having weapons aims, which Tehran denies. Russia has already pushed back the date to supply the fuel for the plant and bring it online. It was supposed to be fueled at the end of March and start operation six months later. Atomstroyexport said the payment issue has delayed construction. It says Iran started payments, but not the agreed-upon monthly amount, and still owes from past non-payments. "It is positive that our Iranian partners have overcome the difficulties, but it is a long way from compensating us for the construction needs that have emerged over the (non-payment) period," said Sergei Novikov of the Russian Nuclear Power Agency. Bushehr will be Iran's first nuclear reactor. Atomstroyexport won a contract in 1995 for Bushehr, which was started by the German firm Siemens in 1975 but stopped in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. Del.icio.us | Digg it | RSS © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 UPI: EU concerned by Iran's nuclear plans United Press International - International Intelligence - Briefing Published: April 10, 2007 at 12:44 PM BERLIN, April 10 (UPI) -- The German presidency of the European Union said Tuesday it is concerned by Iran's claim that it is ready to begin uranium enrichment on an industrial scale. "Such a step by Iran would directly contradict the repeated requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors and the binding calls on Iran by the U.N. Security Council, in Resolutions 1737 and 1747, to suspend all enrichment-related activities," the presidency said in a statement. It moreover urged Iran to "comply with the demands of the international community and to create the conditions for a return to the negotiating table and for a solution to the conflict surrounding the Iranian nuclear program." At a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Iran's first successful uranium enrichment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country was ready to start industrial-scale enrichment. A high-ranking Iranian energy official said his government was ready to install some 50,000 centrifuges at the Natanz plant. Uranium enrichment is used in civil nuclear energy but is also the prerequisite to build a nuclear bomb. The move comes just days after the end of a diplomatic spat with Britain over 15 captured sailors and marines, who have since been released. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Guardian Unlimited: Deadlock Broken Over North Korean Funds From the Associated Press Wednesday April 11, 2007 1:16 AM By MATTHEW LEE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States said Tuesday that a financial deadlock stalling North Korean disarmament efforts has been broken and hinted that a looming deadline for action by the Stalinist state could be extended. With just days to go before a weekend deadline for North Korea to shut down its main nuclear facility, the State Department said a stalemate over the release of $25 million in frozen North Korean bank accounts had been cleared. ``Authorized account holders, as of now, will be able to access the funds in those accounts,'' spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. ``We'll see if they take 'yes' for an answer.'' McCormack cited comments from authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau where the money is held by the Banco Delta Asia, which has been blacklisted by Washington for allegedly helping North Korea launder money. A call to a spokesman for the bank was not immediately returned, and a statement by the Macanese government said only that Macau was cooperating in the matter. In Pyongyang, a U.S. official said North Korea is ready to accept U.N. nuclear inspectors as soon as it can access the money. The commitment was made to a visiting U.S. delegation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. McCormack maintained that the money had been freed for withdrawal, a position shared by South Korea. ``North Korean account holders can withdraw the money in all of the accounts,'' the South's nuclear envoy Chun Young-woo told reporters in Seoul, where he was meeting with the top U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. Chun said the money would be available Wednesday morning. Pyongyang had insisted the money be released before it closed its Yongbyon nuclear reactor as required by a February agreement. Under that deal, the North has until Saturday to close the plant. McCormack acknowledged that closing and sealing the plant in four days might pose safety problems, suggesting a possible extension. ``We are now bumping up against the technical ability to safely shut down all the facilities related to Yongbyon,'' McCormack said. ``We'll see where we are on Saturday.'' In South Korea, Hill expressed optimism the deadline could now be met. ``It's obviously a big step that I think should clear the way for the (North) to step up the process of dealing with its obligations within the 60-day period,'' Hill said, referring to the Saturday deadline. If North Korea follows through with its promises, they would be the first moves the communist state has made to scale back its nuclear development since it kicked out international inspectors and in 2003 restarted its sole operating nuclear reactor. The hard-won agreement, reached four months after North Korea rattled the world by testing a nuclear device, has been held up by a dispute over the frozen funds. Victor Cha, President Bush's top adviser on North Korea, met Tuesday with the country's top nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye Gwan, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The official said Cha told Kim that North Korea was running out of time to act on the agreement. Cha is part of a U.S. delegation, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Anthony Principi, Bush's former veterans affairs secretary, on a four-day trip to Pyongyang to recover remains of American servicemen killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. The North agreed to shut its main reactor only after the U.S. promised to resolve the financial issue within 30 days - which Washington failed to do, saying the fund transfer has been mired in technical complications. Kim told Principi on Monday that his government would allow U.N. nuclear inspectors into the country as soon as the $25 million is released. The only immediate cost the impoverished North would suffer for not shutting down the reactor by the deadline would be an initial 50,000-ton shipment of heavy fuel oil promised as a reward. That shipment was part of 1 million tons of oil it would get for dismantling its nuclear programs. --- Associated Press writers Foster Klug in Pyongyang, North Korea, and Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 9 Digital Chosunilbo: Turning a Blind Eye to N.Korean Arms Sales Updated Apr.10,2007 11:12 KST The New York Times reported that the Bush administration allowed North Korea to secretly export arms to Ethiopia, three months after Washington succeeded in getting the UN to impose strict sanctions on the communist country following its nuclear test. The deal appears to have taken place, judging from the response of the U.S. government. Last October, the U.S. initiated and led the formulation and implementation of UN Resolution 1718. Article 8 of that resolution prohibits all UN member nations from purchasing arms or weapons components from North Korea. Member nations were not merely advised to abide by that rule, but were obligated to do so without exception. At that time, the U.S. had called it the strongest resolution drawn up against North Korea, citing Chapter 7 of the UN Charter that clearly states forceful measures. When that resolution was passed, Ethiopia informed the U.S. of the purchase contract for arms from North Korea, including former Soviet T-55 tank parts. The U.S. decided to let this pass. The North Korean arms shipment entered Ethiopia in January without any problems. This was a clear violation of the UN resolution. The U.S. government reportedly tolerated the arms deal because Ethiopia was fighting armed Muslim forces in nearby Somalia. ItˇŻs like the logic that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. After the passage of the UN resolution, the U.S. had called for a halt in cash going into North Korea through the Kaesong Industrial Complex and tours to the NorthˇŻs scenic Mt.Kumgang resort. The U.S. said North Korea could use that money to produce weapons of mass destruction. But at the same time, Washington was allowing Ethiopia to pay North Korea for the arms deal. In September 2005, the U.S. designated MacauˇŻs Banco Delta Asia as a financial institution suspected of laundering North KoreaˇŻs ill-gotten gains, and now it is racking its brains trying to find a way to return the frozen funds to North Korea. A perennial characteristic of international affairs is that whatˇŻs prohibited today may be allowed tomorrow, depending on national interests. AmericaˇŻs position now is that North Korea must first scrap its nuclear program before Washington will form formal diplomatic ties. Nobody opposes this approach. But in some sections of the U.S., there is talk that it could be better for America to form diplomatic ties with North Korea even if it does not abandon its nuclear weapons. There is no guarantee that this view may never become the mainstream approach of the U.S. government. It would be entirely within character. The future security of South Korea can only be protected by the determination of South Koreans, nobody else. We are getting close to the moment when we will realize this fact. ***************************************************************** 10 UPI: Japan extends North Korea sanctions United Press International - International Intelligence - Briefing Published: April 10, 2007 at 1:01 PM TOKYO, April 10 (UPI) -- Japan Tuesday extended sanctions against North Korea by another six months. The sanctions were first imposed after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test last October and ban all imports from North Korea and will not allow ships from the Communist country to enter Japanese ports. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the sanctions were being extended also in part due to the lack of progress in Pyongyang coming forward with information on the abduction of Japanese nationals, in addition to continued concerns about Kim Jong Il's regime actually shutting down its nuclear reactor. "There has been no progress in the nuclear, missile or abduction issues. Unless there is progress in these problems, sanctions cannot be lifted," Abe told reporters at his residence late Tuesday. In February, North Korea said it would close down its reactor within 60 days in exchange for energy aid from the United States, China, Russia and South Korea as well as Japan. While Tokyo declined to take up the offer, the other four countries have contributed aid while the shutdown deadline at the end of this week draws closer. "North Korea has already promised at the six-party talks that it would take specific steps to denuclearize. Unless that promise is upheld, the position over North Korea is unchanged," Abe added. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 Korea Times: Difficult to Meet NK Deadline - US Envoy Hankooki.com > The Korea Times By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Christopher Hill, left, U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, and his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae are surrounded by the media after their talks at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Monday. /Yonhap The United States has put more pressure on North Korea to cooperate in resolving a complicated banking issue, which has been a stumbling block to implementing a denuclearization accord reached in the six-party talks in February. But Washington remained positive about the eventual implementation of the Feb. 13 agreement. ``We are working hard to do everything we can,ˇŻˇŻ State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a daily press briefing on Monday. ``And we encourage North Korea do so as well.ˇŻˇŻ With only four days to go before the Saturday deadline, members of the nuclear disarmament talks, involving South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been struggling with releasing $25 million that had been frozen at Banco Delta Asia (BDA), a bank in Macau, under U.S. sanctions. The money transfer has been delayed by complicated regulations and restrictions. A U.S. Treasury delegation sent out to Beijing to help work out the issues returned home last week. The 60-day deadline for the first stage of nuclear disarmament process was set out in the Feb. 13 accord signed in the Chinese capital by the six nations. ``We would hope that all the parties that are involved in the talks understand that this is based on good faith actions,ˇŻˇŻ the spokesman said. Christopher Hill, top U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, arrived in Seoul Tuesday as part of his tour of three Asian nations, including China and Japan, to seek ways to resolve the banking issue. Hill acknowledged it would be difficult to meet the deadline but downplayed its significance, saying the two sides were still headed in the right direction. ``Obviously every day this banking matter holds us up, and it makes it more difficult to meet the precise deadline,ˇŻˇŻ Hill was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Tokyo before leaving for Seoul. The chief U.S. nuclear negotiator will meet with his South Korean counterpart Chun Yung-woo during his stay in Seoul before leaving for Beijing on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Today, Hill is also expected to meet with Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who led a U.S. delegation to Pyongyang to secure the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate, will cross the inter-Korean border today. He has said the North assured him that it would turn over the remains of six U.S. soldiers. The NorthˇŻs top nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan told the U.S. delegation on Monday that his country would invite international monitors to verify the shutdown of its primary nuclear facilities the moment the frozen funds are released. things@koreatimes.co.kr 04-10-2007 19:07 ***************************************************************** 12 Korea Times: `Washington Erred in Allowing Ethiopia-North Korea Arms Deal' Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation > North Korea Today A former U.S. envoy on North Korea said Monday that Washington made a mistake in assenting to Ethiopia's arms purchase from Pyongyang, thus potentially allowing other countries to deal with the communist regime believed to have a stockpile of missiles and nuclear weapons, according to the Yonhap News Agency. "It points out that things are not black and white," Jack Pritchard, now president of the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute, told reporters. The decision to allow the Ethiopia-North Korea deal apparently was made because other U.S. goals superseded compliance with a U.N. Security Council resolution banning military trade with Pyongyang, Pritchard said. "I think it was a mistake," Yonhap quoted him as saying. The New York Times reported over the weekend Washington allowed Ethiopia to buy tank parts and other military equipment to refurbish its military. The U.S. learned of it in January this year through intelligence agencies. The Ethiopians told U.S. officials they needed time in transitioning to other sellers and pledged to work with Washington in not making such purchases in the future, according to the paper. There was a similar case in 2002, in which Spain intercepted a ship carrying Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen, but the U.S. asked that the vessel be released. In both cases, Washington's policy on fighting terrorism and extremists overrode other considerations, the New York Times said. The latest transaction violates Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted following North Korea's first nuclear weapons test on Oct. 9. The resolution, endorsed unanimously by the 15-member council, including North Korea's longstanding ally China, prohibits trade of military goods and equipment with Pyongyang by U.N. member states. The U.S. decision on Ethiopia causes complications, Pritchard said. "How does the U.S., then, turn to another country who is faced with a similar choice and say you should not allow shipments through your facilities from North Korea or to North Korea because it violates Resolution 1718?" he said. "(It) presents a very difficult challenge for the administration to explain in a credible way. Again, I think it was a mistake," Yonhap quoted Pritchard as saying. 04-10-2007 11:40 ***************************************************************** 13 english.eastday.com: Macau unblocks frozen DPRK funds 11/4/2007 9:27 The United States said yesterday that the Macanese authorities have unblocked the DPRK funds frozen at the Banco Delta Asia and authorized account holders can withdraw their money from the bank. "I will let the Macanese authorities speak to how they want to put it but the bottom line is that they have unblocked these accounts and the account holders can -- authorized account holder can -- withdraw the funds from those accounts," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said the United States supports the Macanese authorities to unblock all DPRK-related accounts currently frozen in the Banco Delta Asia. "Based on previous discussions with Chinese, Macanese, and DPRK officials, as well as understandings reached with the DPRK on the use of these funds, the United States would support a decision by the Macanese authorities to unblock the accounts in question," the Treasury Department said in a statement. The DPRK funds were frozen after the United States blacklisted the Macanese bank for allegedly helping Pyongyang launder money. However, the bank has denied any wrongdoing. The dispute over the frozen funds has put a gloomy prospect over whether the DPRK can meet a deadline of beginning to shut down its nuclear program as stipulated in the Feb. 13 nuclear agreement. Xinhua news ***************************************************************** 14 Ithaca Journal: Wind farms are not frauds; they are the future www.theithacajournal.com - Ithaca, NY Tuesday, April 10, 2007 K.H. Russ / Guest Column Paul Sheridan's guest column (“Enfield wind farm is a fraud at fundamental level,” Jan. 25) requires a response. He declares that the Enfield wind farm project is “a fraud at a fundamental level” but offers no proof except ‘esoteric' reality, an inappropriate term for this subject. Sheridan calls it “bad” and a “fraud” because there is “never enough wind power to manufacture all components needed for this technology,” but this view is totally beside the point. Everything we need is manufactured using the energy available. Usually we do not know whether the electricity in our businesses and homes comes from a nuclear, coal-fired or hydro-power plant. But now we do have the choice to buy wind power; see Sciencenter, Ithaca, among others. Of course a person wants to make a profit when building something. Tax breaks are given to many types of businesses, not wind farms alone. The tax breaks are intended to help create jobs, even though in many cases these jobs never materialize or the business may close as soon as taxes have to be paid. Another ‘fundamental' Sheridan brings up is the “return-on-investment.” Many inventions — which we enjoy owning and using — would probably never have been pursued if ROI was the sole driving factor. In this case, we should concentrate more on energy-return-on-investment because wind power already provides a return five times better than coal. No one suggests that wind power should be the only source of energy, nor should solar power, despite the fact that Earth receives in one hour as much energy from the Sun as all humans consume in one year. There are real fundamentals of physics in play, not esoteric notions, and Professor Hogan errs: The Sun's energy always has run the world, albeit not in photovoltaic power production. Coal, natural gas and oil will be gone in the future; therefore we call wind and sun sustainable energy. Sheridan points to France and asks “do you think they power their economy with wind farms?” Of course France does not; instead they rely heavily on nuclear power. But that route is dangerous because of the radioactive waste generated; nobody really knows how to solve that problem or the attendant security risks. He asks how France could get away from coal-fired power plants with such apparent ease. It's because France has a centralized government, very unlike the USA, where the states and even single counties make important decisions with little influence from the federal government. Let's look at Germany. As of February 2006, there were more than 17,500 wind power plants installed, capable of producing 18,428 megawatts of electricity and, even in 2005, a weak-wind year, 26.5 billion kW/h were produced. That amounts to 4.3 percent of Germany's entire electricity consumption, which may not seem like much but is at least clean energy. Currently the turbine industry there provides 64,000 jobs and exports $4 billion per year. The costs for this environmentally friendly source of energy have more than halved between the beginning of 1990 and now. Certainly this can't be called fraud. Sheridan claims that wind turbines will deface the Finger Lakes landscape, but what about all the millions of miles of wires hanging from poles and masts? Surely they too must have been opposed as eyesores many years ago, but we got used to them over time because we had to acknowledge the need for them. Wind farms are not silly concepts, and a growing number of countries are seeking to generate their electricity from the wind. Wind power is needed to produce clean energy so we can really get away from energy production that pollutes our environment to such an extent we may ruin it fairly soon. Climate change is real; despite what we are told by certain folks. The sooner we realize that, the better. Finally, I do agree with some points Sheridan makes, as when he expresses his displeasure with the current government in Washington. It is a disgrace to hear about yearly profits in the tens of billions of dollars made by oil companies that receive huge tax breaks at the same time. This must be stopped as soon as possible and a true energy policy should be put in place. Karl Russ has served since December 2005 as a member Energy Independent Caroline, which the Caroline Town Board recently established in an advising role regarding sustainable energy and the viability of generating wind and solar power. Originally published April 10, 2007 Show me the scientific research that says global warming is going to still the wind and blot out the sun. Show me the figures that say that building renewable energy sources will cost more than the ungodly fortunes reaped by the oil industry in depletion allowance subsidies, R&D subsidies and the rising cost of exploration and refinement. Show me, Mr. Primary Source. Or was this just another opportunity to call someone a freak? Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:32 pm Copyright ©2007 The Ithaca Journal. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Xinhua: U.S. to stage large-scale war games near Guam www.chinaview.cn 2007-04-11 06:23:01 WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. navy will hold large-scale war games near the Pacific island of Guam later this year, with the presence of 3 aircraft carriers, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. n officials told U.S. media, but stopping short of mentioning details. The war games in June 2006 involved some 28 ships, 280 airplanes and 22,000 troops, which was the largest U.S. military exercise in the Pacific since the Vietnam War era. The moves reflect the growing strategic importance of Guam and the Pacific region in the eyes of the U.S. military, analysts said. For its part, the U.S. navy is reportedly planning to deploy the majority of its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers in the Pacific. Editor: Luan Shanglin ***************************************************************** 16 UPI: Virginia governor issues renewable mandate United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: April 9, 2007 at 4:56 PM RICHMOND, Va., April 9 (UPI) -- Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine issued an executive order Monday, directing state agencies to improve energy efficiency. The mandate requires businesses to increase their efficiency by one-fifth before January 2010, when Kaine will leave office, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Kaine's order also requires state government departments to reduce their non-renewable energy consumption by 20 percent from last year. New government office construction and building renovations are expected to be done using energy-efficiency standards, but only when it is practical and cost-efficient. Accessibility for pedestrians and bikers, as well as access to public transportation, will also be taken into account when building new offices. "With global warming becoming more of an accepted, serious problem, these are the types of steps we're going to have to make at the state level," said Michael Town, state director of the Sierra Club. Kaine named Stephen Walz to a new post of senior adviser for energy policy to help the government agencies meet their efficiency goals by the deadline. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 AFP: US-British war on terror backfires: think tank Tue Apr 10, 8:54 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - The US-led and British-backed war on terror is only fuelling more violence by focusing on military solutions rather than on root causes, a think tank warned Wednesday. "The 'war on terror' is failing and actually increasing the likelihood of more terrorist attacks," the Oxford Research Group said in its study, titled "Beyond Terror: The Truth About The Real Threats To Our World." It said Britain and the United States have used military might to try to "keep the lid on" problems rather than trying to uproot the causes of terrorism. It said such an approach, particularly the 2003 invasion of Iraq, had actually heightened the risk of further terrorist atrocities on the scale of September 11, 2001. "Treating Iraq as part of the war on terror only spawned new terror in the region and created a combat training zone for jihadists," the report's authors argued. It pointed out that the Islamist Taliban movement is now resurgent, six years after it was overthrown in 2001 by the US-led invasion in the wake of the September 11 attacks. "Sustainable approaches" to fighting terrorism would involve the withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq and their replacement with a United Nations stabilisation force, it said. It also recommended the provision of sustained aid for rebuilding and developing Iraq and Afghanistan as well as closing the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where most suspects are held without charge or trial. And it called for a "genuine commitment to a viable two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict." The study warned that military intervention in Iran over its nuclear ambitions would be "disastrous," calling instead for a firm and public commitment to a diplomatic solution. Iran insists the programme is peaceful, despite claims from Washington that it masks a drive for nuclear weapons. The study also said the British government's plans to upgrade the submarine-based Trident nuclear deterrent could produce international instability. "Nuclear weapon modernisation is likely to serve as a substantial encouragement to nuclear proliferation as countries with perceptions of vulnerability deem it necessary to develop their own deterrent capabilities," it said. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Moscow signals place in new world order Julian Borger, diplomatic editor Wednesday April 11, 2007 The news that an arms race may be underway once more between Washington and Moscow has brought back some unpleasant memories, but it is also a pointer to a more complicated future. The Kremlin's threat to counter US missile defence installations in eastern Europe is a sign that Russia will no longer acquiesce in a Pax Americana. What seemed in the west like a post cold-war honeymoon in the nineties is remembered more as a rape by Moscow's new leaders. In their eyes Russia was taken advantage of at a moment of economic weakness by Washington, London and a band of unscrupulous Russian oligarchs. A new Russian foreign policy, published by the government in recent days makes it clear that Moscow believes the era of American hegemony is now over. "The myth about the unipolar world fell apart once and for all in Iraq," the review says. "A strong, more self-confident Russia has become an integral part of positive changes in the world." The policy document is an elaboration of an anti-American polemic delivered two months ago by Vladimir Putin to a roomful of shocked western diplomats in Munich. "The Munich speech may be an event ... we look back to and say: that's when everything changed, but we should have seen it coming," said Cliff Kupchan, a former US state department official now at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. Around the world, Putin's Russia has been serving notice for some time it is prepared to challenge US leadership of the international community. It is beginning to push back hard against missile defence and Nato's eastward expansion. It has resisted tough sanctions against Iran, and so far refused to go along with a UN-brokered plan to hand Kosovo autonomy. Moscow is also signalling it wants to be treated as a serious player in the Middle East, meeting Hamas officials at a time they are being ostracised by the US and western Europe. While there are cold war echoes in the Russian rhetoric over missile defence and in the intractability of some of the disputes in the UN security council, there are more differences than similarities between today's friction and the constant rivalry of the Soviet era. For one thing, disputes are no longer played out against a backdrop of mutually assured destruction. Most US and Russian intercontinental nuclear missiles are pointing at each other, but they are not on a hair-trigger. Nor are the two countries engaged in a global ideological struggle. Washington may be in the throes of intellectual ferment over the Bush doctrine, of defeating extremism by exporting democracy, but the Putin doctrine is by contrast, an exercise in pragmatism. It stresses the importance of national sovereignty and the primacy of the UN in resolving disputes. The common theme is Moscow's demand for its views to be taken into account. The roots are economic, and they reach back into the era of Boris Yeltsin, when an impoverished Russia offered itself as a eager junior partner to the west. That period is seen by the Kremlin occupants as a national humiliation. "What drives Putin's Russia is an obsession forged in the nineties," said one diplomat. "They detest its instability and the weakness it brought to Russia." Soaring oil and gas prices have transformed the environment. Russia is no longer a debtor nation. A new self-assuredness was on show when the Russians hosted the G8 meeting at St Petersburg in 2006. "Suddenly, they had all the right suits, watches and the right cars," said a western official who was there. Along with all the trappings of western affluence came a new determination that Russia would not be absorbed by the west. The Yeltsin government toyed with the idea of joining the European Union, but that idea is now dead. In an article to mark the EU's 50th anniversary, Mr Putin stated openly that Russia has "no intention of either joining the EU or establishing any form of institutional association with it". Moscow's relationship with Europe is now defined by its role as the continent's oil and gas supplier. Its tactics have been those of a giant corporation seeking to maximise its market power. Rather than deal with the EU as a whole, Russia has negotiated individual deals with different European countries - agreeing with Germany the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic, and the extension of another gas pipeline to Hungary. Moscow has thus undermined the EU's communal efforts to reduce its dependence on Russia by bringing Caspian gas through Turkey. After Moscow turned off the gas tap to Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, there are fears that it will ultimately try to translate its market power over Europe into a new political hegemony. But Dmitri Trenin, a former Russian military strategist, argues those fears misunderstand the Putin era. Russia, he says, is simply striving to extract maximum profits from its customers. Useful links Itar-Tass news agency Moscow Times Russia Today St Petersburg Times Caucasian Knot Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 19 Guardian Unlimited: Russia threatening new cold war over missile defence Kremlin accuses US of deception on east European interceptor bases Luke Harding in Moscow Wednesday April 11, 2007 Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has been critical of US foreign policy in recent months. Photograph: Antoine Gyori/Corbis Russia is preparing its own military response to the US's controversial plans to build a new missile defence system in eastern Europe, according to Kremlin officials, in a move likely to increase fears of a cold war-style arms race. The Kremlin is considering active counter-measures in response to Washington's decision to base interceptor missiles and radar installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move Russia says will change "the world's strategic stability". The Kremlin has not publicly spelt out its plans. But defence experts said its response is likely to include upgrading its nuclear missile arsenal so that it is harder to shoot down, putting more missiles on mobile launchers, and moving its fleet of nuclear submarines to the north pole, where they are virtually undetectable. Russia could also bring the new US silos within the range of its Iskander missiles launched potentially from the nearby Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, they add. In an interview with the Guardian, the Kremlin's chief spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow felt betrayed by the Pentagon's move. "We were extremely concerned and disappointed. We were never informed in advance about these plans. It brings tremendous change to the strategic balance in Europe, and to the world's strategic stability." He added: "We feel ourselves deceived. Potentially we will have to create alternatives to this but with low cost and higher efficiency." Any response would be within "existing technologies", he said. As well as military counter-measures, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, also wanted "dialogue" and "negotiations", he added. The Bush administration says the bases are designed to shoot down rogue missiles fired by Iran or North Korea. Its proposed system would be helpless against Russia's vast nuclear arsenal, it says. But this claim has been greeted with widespread incredulity, not just in Russia but also among some of the US's nervous Nato allies. They include Germany, where the Social Democrat leader, Kurt Beck, warned last month that the US and Russia were on the brink of another arms race "on European soil". Defence experts say there is little doubt that the real target of the shield is Russia. "The geography of the deployment doesn't give any doubt the main targets are Russian and Chinese nuclear forces," General Vladimir Belous, Russia's leading expert on anti-ballistic weaponry, told the Guardian. "The US bases represent a real threat to our strategic nuclear forces." The threat of a new arms race comes at a time when relations between Russia and the US are at their worst for a decade. In February Mr Putin accused the Bush administration during a speech in Munich of seeking a "world of one master, one sovereign". On Friday Russia's duma, or lower house or parliament, warned that the US's plans could ignite a second cold war. "Such decisions, which are useless in terms of preventing potential or imaginary threats from countries of the middle and far-east, are already bringing about a new split in Europe and unleashing another arms race," the declaration - passed unanimously by Russian MPs - said. The same day Russia ruled out cooperating with the US over the shield. "Despite certain signals received in recent days from the US side ... I see no political foundation for it," said Sergei Ryabkov, a foreign ministry spokesman. Moscow now had little choice but to take the bases "into account in our strategic planning", he said. Analysts said there was a common feeling in Russia that the US had reneged on an agreement after the collapse of the Soviet Union to abandon cold war politics. "Cold war thinking has prevailed, especially on the western side," Yevgeny Myasnikov, a senior research scientist at Moscow's Centre for Arms Control, told the Guardian. "Russia has been deeply disappointed by what has happened after 1991. Nato started to expand, and the US started to think it had won the cold war. We had hoped for a partnership. But it didn't happen." Useful links Itar-Tass news agency Moscow Times Russia Today St Petersburg Times Caucasian Knot Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 20 RIA Novosti: Egypt, Russia drafting nuclear cooperation agreements - Russian minister 18:22 | 10/ 04/ 2007 CAIRO, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Egypt are preparing documents on cooperation in civilian nuclear generation, Russia's minister of industry and energy said Tuesday. Since Egypt announced the resumption of its peaceful nuclear development program and a decision to build three 600-megawatt nuclear power plants in September 2006, the country has considered involving either Russian, Chinese or U.S. experts in the projects. "The Federal Agency for Nuclear Power and Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Energy are drafting new documents on cooperation in this field. We believe this not only corresponds to the spirit of our relations, but is also in line with the understanding of prospects for energy development in the long term," Viktor Khristenko, who is in Egypt, said. ***************************************************************** 21 China Daily: Energy plan: Reliance on coal and oil to be eased BIZCHINA / Center By Hong Guan (China Daily) Updated: 2007-04-11 08:38 China aims to reduce reliance on coal and oil despite soaring demand for the commodities, the country's top economic planner has revealed in an energy sector plan for the five years up to 2010. The change was charted because of the high environmental and human cost of coal mining as well as soaring oil prices, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a report published yesterday. In 2010, the targeted ratio of coal in total energy consumption is 66.1 per cent, down from 69.1 percent in 2005; and oil, 20.5 percent, down from 21 percent. The proportion of natural gas, however, will increase from 2.8 percent to 5.3 per cent. The share of nuclear and hydro power as well as other forms of renewable energy will rise from 7.1 percent to 8.1 per cent. Soaring demand for coal has resulted in loose safety controls and illegal mining, leading to many fatal accidents in recent years. Coal mining has also contaminated water resources in many places. "Coal's dominant role in our energy consumption structure has caused many environmental and social problems and has brought about a grave challenge for sustained development," the plan said. At the same time, the country has increasingly felt the pinch of surging international oil prices. Related readings: Energy rating labels proposed China not to follow US energy consumption model Nations vow energy cooperation State breaks own monopoly in oil trade Zhou Dadi, director of the NDRC's energy research institute, said coal and oil consumption should be contained because their emissions are believed to be a major cause of global warming. In addition to reducing dependence on coal and oil, China has also announced a conservation plan to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent during the five years. The energy pricing system should also be reformed to encourage conservation, economists say, arguing that prices are low. But policy makers have been cautious about raising prices for fears of inflation and a high financial burden on low-income earners. The latest plan said annual growth of energy production will be 3.5 percent during 2006-10, which will raise total energy output to 2.45 billion tons of coal equivalent in 2010. Consumption is expected to increase by an annual rate of 4 percent during the same period, which will amount to 2.7 billion tons of coal equivalent. The report also said that China aims to raise production of crude oil to 193 million tons in 2010 from 184 million tons last year. The output of natural gas in 2010 is projected at 92 billion cubic meters, up from 59 billion in 2006. (China Daily 04/11/2007 page1) (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates) ***************************************************************** 22 AFP: Russia 'deceived' by missile shield that 'fundamentally alters' landscape - Tue Apr 10, 9:04 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - American plans to build a missile defence system in Europe would "fundamentally alter the continent's geo-strategic landscape," Russia's foreign minister said in an article published on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Kremlin's chief spokesman told a British newspaper that Russia felt "deceived" by the American plans, and would potentially have to "create alternatives." Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, writing in the Financial Times, declared that it was "unacceptable for anyone to use the continent as their own strategic territory." "Any unilateral anti-missile projects would fundamentally alter the continent's geo-strategic landscape. It would also be an affront to all Europeans," he wrote. Russia has repeatedly criticised the United States' plans to place missile defence equipment in countries that were once part of Moscow's orbit. The United States has asked the Czech Republic to host a radar system and Poland to host interceptor rockets as part of its missile defence plans. Washington insists the anti-missile shield is intended as protection against attacks from "rogue states" such as Iran and claims that the proposed system would be useless against Russia's vast weapons arsenal. That claim was contested by Russian General Vladimir Belous who told The Guardian daily on Wednesday that the "geography of the deployment doesn't give any doubt the main targets are Russian and Chinese nuclear forces." "The US bases represent a real threat to our strategic nuclear forces," the general, described by the paper as Russia's leading expert on anti-ballistic weaponry, said. Lavrov meanwhile argued in his comment piece that "no such threats exist for Europe or the US today, or in the foreseeable future." "None of the so-called rogue states possesses missiles that pose a real threat to Europe. The construction of missiles capable of reaching the US is an even harder task, requiring different technologies and production capabilities." He added that while the threats do not currently exist, the American plans "could become a self-fulfilling prophesy as a consequence of ill-considered actions." Lavrov called for "open discussions" between the United States, Russia and the EU on the issue, and said that he hoped that the next meeting of the NATO-Russia council in Oslo later this month would include talks on the plans. In an article also published on Wednesday, the Kremlin's chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Guardian that Russia was "extremely concerned and disappointed" by the US's actions. "We were never informed in advance about these plans. It brings tremendous change to the strategic balance in Europe, and to the world's strategic stability. "We feel ourselves deceived. Potentially we will have to create alternatives to this but with low cost and higher efficiency." Peskov added that while Russia was considering military counter-measures, President Vladimir Putin also wanted "dialogue" and "negotiations." On Friday, the lower house of the Russian parliament warned that the antimissile shield risks triggering a new international arms race. "Such decisions, which are useless in terms of preventing potential or imaginary threats from countries of the Middle and Far East, are already bringing about a new split in Europe and unleashing another arms race," read the declaration, which was approved unanimously by deputies in the State Duma. Parts of the US missile shield are already in place in the United States, Britain and Greenland, and Pentagon officials say the plan is to have the system operational by 2013. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 23 NRC: NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Omaha Public Power District to Discuss Apparent Violation at Ft. Calhoun News Release - Region IV - 2007-007 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of the Omaha Public Power District on April 16 to discuss an apparent violation of agency requirements involving the improper installation of a valve that degraded the condition of a safety system at the Ft. Calhoun plant for 454 days. The regulatory conference is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the NRC Region IV Office at 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Arlington, Texas. The meeting is between NRC staff and officials of the Omaha Public Power District, which operates the Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant near Omaha, Neb., but members of the public will have an opportunity to ask questions of NRC staff prior to the end of the meeting. A telephone bridge will be available for members of the public by calling 1-800-952-9677 and requesting to be transferred to the meeting. An NRC inspection, described in a report released on March 2, determined a valve in the containment spray system was improperly installed on May 11, 2005. The system sprays water in the building containing the reactor to reduce pressure under some accident conditions. The valve remained improperly positioned for 454 days until it was corrected when the plant was shut down. The finding has preliminarily been characterized as having low to moderate safety significance. 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. April 10, 2007 ***************************************************************** 24 KnoxNews: Watts Bar plant gets high marks from NRC Public meeting set on prospects of completing Unit 2 at nuclear plant By ANDREW EDER, edera@knews.com April 10, 2007 SWEETWATER, Tenn. - TVA received a public thumbs-up Monday for its operation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant as it makes plans for the potential completion of a second reactor at the plant. Officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees TVA's three nuclear plants, said Watts Bar's performance for 2006 was classified as green, meaning that any safety problems found during the NRC's inspections were of low significance. The comments came during a public meeting Monday at a Best Western hotel in Sweetwater. Watts Bar, in Spring City, Tenn., has one operating pressurized-water reactor. TVA is considering whether to complete Watts Bar's Unit 2 reactor, on which construction was halted in 1985. The federal utility is conducting a detailed scoping, estimating and planning study to determine the project's cost and scheduling. Separately, TVA has prepared a report evaluating potential environmental impacts under the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The 132-page report, available online and in area libraries, provides a wide-ranging look at the impacts of finishing Watts Bar 2. TVA is holding an open house to answer questions and receive public comments on the proposal 4:30-8 p.m. April 17 at Rhea County High School in Evensville, Tenn. Public comments may also be submitted online and through the mail. The environmental report states that completing construction of the reactor is TVA's preferred course of action, although the utility will make no decision until the scoping study is complete. TVA says it will need to add baseload capacity to its 35,000-megawatt system as soon as 2010. Watts Bar 2 would provide TVA with a source that emits no greenhouse gases and allows it to deliver power at a low cost. Any decision must be approved by TVA's nine-member board of directors. "The DSEP (detailed scoping, estimating and planning study) is going to give the board the information it needs to make the decision," said TVA spokesman John Moulton. According to the environmental report, Unit 2 was about 80 percent complete when TVA shut down its nuclear program in 1985 due to safety concerns. Since then, parts of the reactor have been removed for use in Watts Bar 1 and Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. Unit 2 is currently considered about 60 percent complete, according to the report. The report says construction would last about five years and employ as many as 3,000 workers, although the scoping study will provide more precise figures for construction requirements. TVA estimates that the project would draw 880 workers to the area, of which about two-thirds would locate in Rhea or Meigs counties. In turn, the workers would bring their school-age children - about 660 total and 434 in Rhea and Meigs counties, TVA says. "There is some capacity for certain grade levels in some of the schools," the report reads. "However, the systems overall are at or near capacity at best, and in some cases over capacity, such as at Rhea County High School and in some lower grade levels in Rhea County. Additional growth due to an influx of construction workers would increase the overcrowding already being experienced." TVA says it would designate certain counties impacted by the construction process to be eligible for supplemental funding from the payments that government-owned, self-financing TVA makes in lieu of taxes. After completion, the revamped Unit 2 would add about 150 permanent workers to the Watts Bar plant, according to the report. Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 25 KnoxNews: TVA names chief nuclear officer By ANDREW EDER, edera@knews.com April 10, 2007 TVA has tapped a 33-year veteran of the commercial nuclear power industry to head its growing nuclear program. Bill Campbell will serve as the federal utility's chief nuclear officer beginning May 14. The North Carolina native will be based in Chattanooga and will report to TVA's new chief operating officer, Bill McCollum, who begins work May 1. Campbell has held several management positions in the nuclear industry, most recently with Entergy Nuclear Generation Co. He succeeds Karl Singer, who announced his resignation last month. TVA expects to complete its restart next month of the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama. The utility is considering whether to finish construction of the Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, and has also announced plans to apply for a license to build and operate a new plant at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant site in Alabama. More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 26 SLO Trib: Environmental group to try to halt Diablo steam generator replacement San Luis Obispo Tribune | 04/10/2007 David Sneed dsneed@thetribunenews.com A Southern California-based environmental group will ask a San Francisco Superior Court to stop the steam generator replacement project at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network of Playa del Rey will ask in a hearing Wednesday that a stay be placed on a permit issued Dec. 11 by the California Coastal Commission giving Pacific Gas and Electric Co. permission to do the replacement project. It is unclear whether the court will rule Wednesday. The group has sued the Coastal Commission for allegedly failing to require that the utility sufficiently offset the damage the continued operation of the plant will cause to the ocean environment. They also argue that some of the commissioners failed to adequately disclose the details of meetings with PG&E before the hearing. "We amended our lawsuit when it became apparent that commissioners had been less than forthcoming when required to disclose ex parte communications at the hearing," said Marcia Hanscom, the group?s managing director. PG&E lawyers will argue that the utility?s offer to preserve 1,200 acres of land surrounding the Point San Luis Lighthouse adequately offsets any environmental damage the project would cause, said company spokeswoman Sharon Gavin. The commission rejected a staff recommendation that more than 9,000 acres around the plant be conserved. "The project only involves temporary structures on previously disturbed land," Gavin said. ***************************************************************** 27 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Assessment for Pilgrim Nuclear Plant at Public Meeting Scheduled for April 17 News Release - Region I - 2007-015 - 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 Pilgrim nuclear power plant, in Plymouth, Mass., will be the subject of a public meeting on Tuesday, April 17. NRC staff will meet with representatives of the plant's owner, Entergy Nuclear Operations, at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the assessment covering the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006, and which was documented in a March 2nd letter to the company. The session will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, Four Home Depot Drive, in Plymouth. Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the performance of the Pilgrim 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 April 17th, members of the public will receive information about how we go about that review process for Pilgrim 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 Pilgrim is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/pilg_2006q4.pdf. The notice for the meeting, with agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML070610612 is accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV. Overall, Pilgrim 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 Pilgrim 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. 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 radiation protection, operator licensing and problem identification and resolution. Current performance information for Pilgrim is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PILG/pilg_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. April 10, 2007 ***************************************************************** 28 SLO Trib: Diablo Canyon conducts growl test throughout county today San Luis Obispo Tribune | 04/10/2007 | Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007 By Bob Cuddy bcuddy@thetribunenews.com Emergency sirens will sound throughout the county today and Wednesday as part of the Early Warning System growl test. During the test ? set to take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. both days ? sirens will sound one at a time for up to 20 seconds until all 131 have been tested. The sirens are arrayed in an area around Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant that stretches from Cayucos through San Luis Obispo to the South County. About 145,000 people live in the territory covered by the sirens. People who hear a siren should not call 911, according to the county Office of Emergency Services. In an actual emergency, the sirens would go off for three to five minutes, alerting people to go indoors and turn on the television or radio to any local station, for emergency information and instructions. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. technicians will conduct the test. ***************************************************************** 29 Palo Alto Daily News: Power panel talks on energy Apr 10, 2007 Victor Maccharoli / Daily News file Sen. Barbara Boxer and Stanford President John Hennessy spoke Monday in Sunnyvale at a summit on alternative energy and how local companies can reduce their energy consumption. Summit focuses on possible cures for global warming By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Stanford University President John Hennessy agreed Monday that it would take one kind of green to fund another. "We need support from Congress to ensure that we can do research," Hennessy said during a panel discussion with Boxer, D-Calif., at a summit on alternative energy solutions hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group at the Advanced Micro Devices headquarters in Sunnyvale. Boxer, now the chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, vowed to seek funds for local research, touting new technology as a potential "cure" for the problems of global climate change. "Alternative energy doesn't mean clean energy," Boxer told the assembled group of Silicon Valley executives and local municipal employees. "Renewable is what we're looking for." Hennessy warned that no single source of energy would provide all the answers. "Ethanol from corn will not solve our problem in the long haul," he said. Stanford and other local research institutions and companies must look into converting other materials into energy, including biofuel and cellulosic fuel, which is made from sugars distilled from plant fibers and is "the largest bio-manufactured substance in the world," Hennessy said. Boxer and Hennessy said that nuclear energy, which does not release harmful greenhouse gases, will likely play a larger role in meeting the nation's energy demands in the future. "Nuclear does have to be part of the puzzle," Hennessy said. Boxer said that while "most of Congress" supports using nuclear energy, she still has concerns over the safety of nuclear power plants, which should not be built on earthquake faults. "We can't give huge subsidies to nuclear companies," she said. "They should compete like anybody else." Local executives voiced their enthusiasm for a wide range of energy sources. "It's time to warm up to nuclear energy," said Sass Somekh, president emeritus of Novellus, a company that produces semiconductor equipment. Charles Gay, vice president of Applied Materials, called solar power "the only big solution that's out there," citing its rapid price drop over the past 30 years. He noted that the "payback time" for an average installation of solar panels is now less than seven years. Boxer said the next steps in addressing global climate change would include bringing the Environmental Protection Agency before her committee in an attempt to create new standards of carbon dioxide emissions. She said she would also use her position as chair to make alternative energy "one of the biggest issues in the presidential race." E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com. © Copyright 2006 . All rights reserved.RSS ***************************************************************** 30 The Hindu: Environmental clearance given for four PHWR nuclear projects : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007 RELAXED LOT: S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (second from left), and Sanak Misra, Chief Executive Officer of Mittal Steel India Limited, at the inauguration of a symposium on advances in sta inless steel at Nandambakkam on Monday. ? Photo: R. Shivaji Rao CHENNAI: Environmental clearance has been given for the four PHWR (pressurised heavy water reactor) nuclear projects of 700 MWe, of which two each will come up at Kakrapar in Gujarat and Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) S.K. Jain said on Monday. Mr. Jain, who was here to participate in the inauguration of a three-day international symposium on advances in stainless steel organised by the Indian Institute of Metals (Kalpakkam Chapter) and Metal Sciences and Ferrous Divisions of the Institute, told reporters that groundwork for the projects would begin this year. Noting that a total of eight PHWR units of 700 MWe capacity had been planned, he said sites for the remaining four would be chosen from a basket of centres. 3 more reactors As regards fast breeder reactor projects, Mr. Jain said the corporation proposed to build three more FBRs of 500 MWe. Of the three, two would come up at Kalpakkam. (Already, the prototype FBR of 500 MWe is under construction at Kalpakkam and is scheduled for commissioning by 2010). Pointing out that the corporation was now operating 16 reactors, he said the 17th would be synchronised with the electricity grid anytime now. This unit, established at the Kaiga atomic power station in Karnataka, attained criticality last month. As for the Koodangulam atomic power project in Tamil Nadu, the CMD said steps were being taken to commission two units in a year. To questions regarding the availability of uranium, he asserted, "We have sufficient uranium for 10,000 MWe." There had been some delay in opening new mines. However, the production of uranium would double this year with the commencement of production by a few mines. On the corporation's efforts for producing electric power at a rate of Rs. 2 per unit, he said the average cost per unit had been reduced from Rs. 2.6 to Rs. 2.3. Sanak Misra, vice-president of the Institute and Chief Executive Officer of the Mittal Steel India, said the country was witnessing consumption rate of stainless steel of the order of 14 per cent for the last 15 years, while the rate was six per cent internationally. The demand for stainless steel in the country would go up due to a variety of reasons including the plans for metro rail projects. He called for bringing down the cost of production of stainless steel. Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, emphasised the need for attracting young talent to stainless steel research projects. Projected need He said the nation's requirement of stainless steel would be 8,000 tonnes by 2012 with the plans for four FBRs of 500 MWe. The projected cumulative requirement would go up to about one million tonnes by 2050. S. Banerjee, Director of the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, presided over the inaugural function. E. Roos, managing director of MPA, Stuttgart, Germany, inaugurated the symposium. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 31 Daily Yomiuri: Toshiba near deal to produce nuclear plant parts in Russia Toshiba Corp. has reached a basic agreement with Atomenergoprom, or Atomprom, which is to be established as Russia's state-run monopoly for the nuclear energy industry, to jointly build a factory in Russia to produce nuclear power plant components. Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency Director Sergei Kiriyenko and Atomprom executives are visiting Japan and will meet with Toshiba executives on Thursday to confirm the two sides will enter official negotiations on the construction of the plant, industry sources said Monday. This will be the first time a Japanese company will manufacture nuclear power plant equipment in a foreign country. The plant is likely to produce such components as large steam turbines, power generators and steam condensers, the sources said. The two sides will decide on a time frame and construction site for the plant, as well as the investment amount, but Russia is expected to shoulder 51 percent and Toshiba 49 percent of the investment, the sources said. They also are expected to discuss Toshiba's participation in Russia's nuclear power maintenance business and its transfer of reactor technology to Russia, with an eye to concluding a deal within this year, the sources said. Russia, which plans to establish Atomprom within the year, began tie-up negotiations with Toshiba in November. Russia plans to build 40 to 60 nuclear power plants in the next 25 years, but it does not have the technology to manufacture key parts for the reactors. It intends to use Toshiba's technology to build the plants as soon as possible, the sources said. Toshiba, on the other hand, apparently believes that by establishing close relations with the Russian government and Atomprom, it can expand its business in Russia's nuclear energy industry, the sources said. The government is currently negotiating a deal with its Russian counterpart to have Russia enrich uranium taken from spent nuclear fuel from domestic nuclear power plants. The two sides have also agreed to negotiate a nuclear cooperation agreement to ensure mutual nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Japanese companies in the nuclear energy sector are expanding their operations overseas. Last year, Toshiba acquired Westinghouse Electric Co., a major U.S. nuclear reactor builder. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. tied up with France's Areva Group, and Hitachi Ltd. agreed with General Electric Co. of the United States to integrate their nuclear power businesses. ) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 32 FresnoBee.com: Environmentalists fight Diablo nuke plant generator replacement California: 04/10/07 07:53:22 http://www.thetribunenews.com Environmentalists want to halt a steam generator replacement project at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network will ask a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Wednesday to stop the project. On Dec. 11, the California Coastal Commission issued a permit allowing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to go ahead with the replacement project. The Los Angeles-based environmental group sued the commission for allegedly failing to require enough mitigation to offset damage the continued operation of the plant will cause to the ocean environment. The suit also alleged some commissioners failed to adequately disclose the details of meetings with PG&E before the hearing. "We amended our lawsuit when it became apparent that commissioners had been less than forthcoming when required to disclose ex parte communications at the hearing," the group's managing director Marcia Hanscom said. PG&E said the utility's offer to preserve 1,200 acres of land surrounding the Point San Luis Lighthouse adequately offsets any environmental damage the project would cause. Information from: The Tribune, http://www.thetribunenews.com ***************************************************************** 33 NRC: NRC Issues a “Yellow” Inspection Finding to Kewaunee Nuclear Plant for Failing to Promply Evaluate Diesel Fuel Oil Leak News Release - Region III - 2007-015 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that the failure of the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant to promptly take corrective action for a diesel generator fuel leak in June 2006 was of “substantial importance to safety.” The plant, operated by Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc., is located near Kewaunee, Wis. The NRC determined the incident to be a “yellow” finding, indicating it was of substantial importance to safety. On June 28, 2006, plant personnel identified a leak on one of two emergency diesel generators at the plant but did not follow procedures to evaluate the condition under the plant’s correction action program. On Aug. 17, while performing a routine test of this diesel generator, plant workers saw a substantial increase in the fuel oil leaking from the connection between the fuel oil line tubing and a fitting. The testing was stopped and the diesel generator was declared inoperable. The leaking equipment was replaced, and the diesel generator was returned to service on Aug. 18. The utility tested the defective equipment and concluded that the leaking fuel oil system components would have failed after four hours of diesel operation if the generator was required to supply power to plant safety systems. The test results led the utility to conclude that the emergency diesel generator was inoperable for 51 days. NRC inspectors conducted an inspection to review the circumstances of the leak and reviewed the results of tests performed by the utility. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” as the safety significance of the issue increases. NRC inspectors identified one “yellow” finding of substantial importance to safety associated with the plant personnel’s failure to follow procedures which would have required plant personnel to evaluate how the leak would affect the diesel generator’s operability. This operability evaluation would have shown that, under certain accident conditions, the diesel would not be able to perform its safety function. It would have revealed the need to promptly fix the problem. Emergency diesel generators supply electrical power to plant safety systems if the normal connection to off-site power sources is lost. “This incident shows the importance of following procedures at nuclear power plants,” said James Caldwell, regional administrator for NRC’s Region III office in Lisle, Ill. “Even though routine plant operations were not affected by this issue, the utility’s failure to follow procedures could have resulted in the failure of one of the plant’s safety systems to fulfill its function in case of an accident. This resulted in an a reduction in plant safety margins.” The utility’s corrective actions included replacing the leaking components and emphasizing to plant personnel the need to follow procedures on entering issues into the corrective action program. “Yellow” findings normally result in additional NRC inspections and meetings with the utility. The NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Dominion Energy Kewaunee for plant personnel’s failure to follow procedures and enter the issue into the corrective action program. The company is required to respond to the Notice of Violation within 30 days, describing its corrective actions and steps it is taking to prevent a recurrence of the violation. The letter notifying Dominion of the yellow finding is available from the NRC’s Region III Office of Public Affairs or and will be available in the NRC’s online document library at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.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. April 10, 2007 ***************************************************************** 34 SunValleyOnline: Company targets recreation area for nuclear reactor By Jeremy Maxand Monday, April 09, 2007 Last week Alternate Energy Holdings Incorporated (AEHI) announced it had reached an agreement with Idaho landowner James Hilliard to purchase 4,000 acres of Mr. Hilliard’s land along the Bruneau River to build a commercial nuclear reactor. The Snake River Alliance has learned that the land undermconsideration for the 1,600 MW nuclear reactor would be at or near the CJ Strike Reservoir and Recreation Area. “Whether you agree with nuclear or not, you couldn’t pick a more inappropriate place to site a nuclear reactor, which tells me either AEHI doesn’t care or just doesn’t know, and either of these is bad news for Idaho,” said Jeremy Maxand, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, Idaho’s nuclear watchdog. “CJ Strike and the surrounding area is an invaluable resource for Idahoans.” The CJ Strike Reservoir and Recreation Area is used by thousands of Idahoans from around southern Idaho for fishing, camping, boating, and other forms of recreation. Idaho Power, which manages 3,000 acres of recreation area at CJ Strike, recently released 50,000 catchable rainbow trout, and the reservoir is home to a number of fishing derbies and other regular community events. Because a nuclear reactor at CJ Strike would generate “new emissions,” AEHI would likely be required to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. In addition to the permitting and licensing required for a commercial nuclear reactor, AEHI will have to contend with a number of local obstacles to building a reactor. Some of these obstacles include the Bruneau Snail, which is on the Endangered Species List because of too much draw down on local water resources; Mountain Home Air Force Base and the constant military flights and training in the area; and a watershed that exceeds maximum thresholds for both temperature and mercury under the Clean Water Act. The Snake River Alliance is an Idaho-based grassroots group working through research, education, and community advocacy for peace and justice, the end to nuclear weapons, responsible solutions to nuclear waste and contamination, and sustainable alternatives to nuclear power. Internet Link : www.snakeriveralliance.org © 2003 - 2007 | SunValleyonline.com | ***************************************************************** 35 JOURNAL NEWS: Indian Point 3 restart delayed by fire damage Tuesday, April 10, 2007 By GREG CLARY BUCHANAN - A second transformer at Indian Point 3 sustained enough "collateral damage" from Friday's explosion that the company won't try to put the nuclear plant back on the state's electrical grid - even at 50 percent power - for about a week. "We haven't decided whether to restart the plant with just one transformer," said Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Nuclear Northeast, Indian Point's owner and operator. "There was collateral damage to that transformer, though it wasn't extensive." Smoke poured from the plant Friday a little after 11 a.m. as Indian Point's fire brigade rushed to douse flames that followed an explosion at the top of the ruined transformer, huge boxy machine weighing nearly 500 tons. There was no threat of a radiation leak during the incident because it was contained to electrical equipment, federal regulators said. The problem started in the middle bushing in the high-voltage transformer, which steps up electricity generated by the plant's turbine from 22,000 to 345,000 volts. The fire forced workers to shut down Indian Point 3 - its fourth such unplanned event since July - cutting off its 1,000 megawatts of electricity to the state grid, the amount it takes to power about one million homes. State officials said because the spring months are one of the electrical grid's lowest consumption periods, there should be no impact on homes or businesses from the temporary loss of production. The shutdown will affect Indian Point 3 longer than the repair takes, however. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said after Friday's emergency they expected to downgrade the plant's safety rating to white, the second safest of four operational categories. A less-safe rating means the company will no longer be allowed to self-monitor and report on Indian Point 3's operations as it had under the nuclear reactor's green rating. Entergy employees now must do their jobs with extra direct oversight from the NRC. Agency spokesman Neil Sheehan said yesterday that after Entergy officially notifies the NRC that Indian Point 3 exceeded its limit for shutdowns, a team of inspectors would spend a week at the plant reviewing the unplanned events one by one with workers, supervisors and executives. Sheehan said Indian Point 2 is just one shutdown below its green-rating limit. Entergy officials have said that they've invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" since buying the two working reactors in 2001, days before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The company has also announced its intention to seek a 20-year license renewal to continue producing electricity at the site though 2035. Sheehan said it was too early to tell how the unplanned shutdowns might affect the relicensing effort. "Lots of plants have these transformer failures," Sheehan said. "They're going to have to replace the transformer (that malfunctioned). They have one on site as a backup. It's not the kind of thing they can just go out and pick up." Steets said the company replaced Indian Point's two transformers during that plant's last refueling outage, but monthly testing of Indian Point 3's transformers turned up no reason to replace the machines, both of which date back to the plant's opening in April of 1976. Steets said Indian Point 3's two transformers, each about the size of a long delivery truck and weighing about 900,000 pounds, are separated by a 25-foot wall. Rising above the wall at least 10 feet on either side are ceramic-covered bushings or insulators. The ceramic material that surrounds bushings and ensures that thousands of volts go where they're supposed to go exploded during the malfunction and sent glass-like shards over the barrier, where they hit the upper part of the second transformer 35 feet away. A team of electrical and other engineers have been assessing the damage to the second transformer, but examiners believe only the bushings were affected. While both transformers are down, they will be completely checked over, Steets said. "In hindsight, we wish we would have replaced the transformer during the refueling outage," Steets said. "But during tests that are designed to clearly show degradation, there was none." He said workers take a monthly sample of the petroleum-based oil used in the transformers and there was no evidence of nitrogen or other gases released that would have pointed to the need to replace the huge device. In an Entergy memo obtained yesterday by The Journal News, Site Vice President Fred Dacimo congratulated company employees for putting out the fire and defusing the emergency so quickly. "We have been through difficult situations in the past and this is no different," Dacimo wrote. "It is not always easy to do your job in the public eye." Staff writer Bruce Golding contributed to this report. Reach Greg Clary at 914-696-8566 or gclary@lohud.com Copyright © 2006 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper ***************************************************************** 36 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Reactor to stay offline Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Transformer blew at Indian Point BUCHANAN - A second transformer at Indian Point 3 sustained enough "collateral damage" during Friday's explosion that the company won't try to put the nuclear plant back on the state's electrical grid - even at 50 percent power - for about a week. "We haven't decided whether to restart the plant with just one transformer," said Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Nuclear Northeast, Indian Point's owner and operator. "There was collateral damage to that transformer, though it wasn't extensive." Smoke poured from the plant Friday a little after 11 a.m. as Indian Point's fire brigade rushed to douse flames that followed an explosion at the top of the ruined transformer. There was no release of radiation during the incident because it was contained to electrical equipment, federal regulators said. The problem started in the middle bushing in the high-voltage transformer, which steps up electricity generated by the plant's turbine from 22,000 to 345,000 volts. The fire forced workers to shut down Indian Point 3 - its fourth such unplanned event since July - cutting off its 1,000 megawatts of electricity to the state grid, the same amount needed to power about one million homes. Effect will be minimal State officials said because the spring months constitute one of the electrical grid's lowest consumption periods, there should be no impact on homes or businesses from the temporary loss of production. The shutdown will affect Indian Point 3 longer than the repair takes because Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said after Friday's emergency they expected to downgrade the plant's safety rating to white, the second safest of four operational categories. A less-safe rating means the company will no longer be allowed to self-monitor and report on Indian Point 3's operations as it had with the nuclear reactor's green rating. Entergy employees now must do their jobs with extra direct oversight from the NRC. Agency spokesman Neil Sheehan said Monday after Entergy officially notifies the NRC Indian Point 3 exceeded its limit for shutdowns, a team of inspectors would spend a week at the plant reviewing the unplanned events one by one with workers, supervisors and executives. Sheehan said Indian Point 2 is only one shutdown below its green-rating limit. Entergy officials have said they've invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" since buying the two working reactors in 2001, days before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The company has also announced its intention to seek a 20-year license renewal to continue producing electricity at the site though 2035. Sheehan said it was too early to tell how the unplanned shutdowns might affect the relicensing effort. "Lots of plants have these transformer failures," Sheehan said. "They're going to have to replace the transformer (that malfunctioned). They have one on site as a backup. It's not the kind of thing they can just go out and pick up." Steets said the company replaced Indian Point's two transformers during that plant's last refueling outage, but monthly testing of Indian Point 3's transformers turned up no reason to replace the machines, both of which date back to the plant's opening in April of 1976. Steets said Indian Point 3's two transformers, each about the size of a long delivery truck and weighing about 900,000 pounds, are separated by a 25-foot wall. Rising above the wall at least 10 feet on either side, are ceramic-covered bushings or insulators. The ceramic material that surrounds bushings and ensure thousands of volts go where they're supposed to go exploded during the malfunction and sent glass-like shards over the barrier, where they hit the upper part of the second transformer 35 feet away. Copyright © 2006 PoughkeepsieJournal.com ***************************************************************** 37 APP.COM: Contrary views of N.J. energy future | Asbury Park Press Online Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Environment N.J.: Say no to nuclear, yes to renewable Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/10/07 BY NICK CLUNN STAFF WRITER Post Comment TRENTON — New Jersey can meet its energy needs without its four nuclear reactors even as demand increases and other kinds of power plants are scheduled to close, according to a report released Monday by a public interest group. A greater reliance on renewable energy sources and increased energy efficiencies can make up the difference, say advocates from Environment New Jersey. However, lawmakers would have to enact comprehensive reforms fairly quickly for the plan to work. New Jersey utilities already import power from other states during peak periods because what can be produced in the state isn't enough, the report says. "Clearly, we have the solutions available at our fingertips," said an author of the report, Suzanne Leta Liou, who announced the energy plan during a news conference at the Statehouse. "We need to make sure we are using them right now." Convincing Gov. Corzine that the state should rely more heavily on conservation measures and renewable energy sources might be an easy sell. The governor already has put forth proposals to reduce consumption, and to increase to 20 percent by 2020 the amount of energy that comes from renewable sources. But Corzine has stated that a main thrust behind his energy policy is to cut down on carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. He has not mentioned a desire to close the state's nuclear power plants, though he has been critical of them at times. Environment New Jersey does not believe that the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey and the others in Salem County can operate safely, and have called for the plants to close when their respective licenses expire. Oyster Creek's license expires in 2009, but federal regulators might renew it for an additional 20 years if the plant passes a special review. Regulators could make a decision on the renewal as soon as May. Even if Corzine wanted to close the plants, he might have a difficult time. States are given little authority when it comes to reactor oversight. That responsibility rests with the federal government, which, under President Bush, regards the resurgence of nuclear power as a critical aspect of a plan to move the country toward an energy mix that is both secure and low on carbon emissions. With the nation's demand for energy expected to increase by about 50 percent in the next 25 years, nuclear power needs to be in the mix, said Mitch Singer, a spokesman with the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry lobby. "It's going to take a lot of everything, but the brunt of the heavy lifting is going to be done by the base load sources, which is nuclear and coal," he said. The report, "Powering New Jersey's Future: A Clean Energy Strategy for Replacing the Oyster Creek and Salem Nuclear Plants," charts a different path. Energy demand would drop by 4,186 megawatts, or 17 percent, by 2020 alone if homes and businesses consumed energy more efficiently by using certain appliances, lights and climate control systems, according to a Rutgers University study cited in the report. New Jersey has already taken significant steps to reap savings from energy efficiency, but should redouble its efforts and consider creating building codes that would set efficiency standards, the report stated. Meanwhile, the state should provide incentives for large businesses that want to build their own power plants for their own use. The technology, called combined heat and power, maximizes efficiency because heat released from generators can be used to keep buildings warm instead of being wasted. Environment New Jersey said the state can meet its energy needs even though it's scheduled to lose about 1,200 megawatts of capacity by the end of 2008 because of the anticipated shutdown of several fossil fuel-fired plants. Michael Rispoli of the Gannett State Bureau contributed to this story. (PRESS FILE PHOTO) The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey is waiting for a decision by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on its bid to continue operating until 2029. Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 38 Journal Star: Ameren subsidiary eyes nuclear reactor PJStar.com - AmerenUE plans to file papers for a licence to build nuclear reactor Tuesday, April 10, 2007 By ANITA SZOKE of the Journal Star PEORIA - A subsidiary of Ameren Corp. plans to file papers by the end of next year for a license to build and operate another nuclear reactor. AmerenUE, the Missouri-based utility subsidiary of Ameren Corp. - which also owns AmerenCILCO - signed an agreement with UniStar Nuclear to help prepare a combined construction and operating license application, or COLA, for filing with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A COLA is a construction operating license application describing how a nuclear plant would be designed, constructed and operated. Ameren officials said preparing such paperwork doesn't mean a decision has been made to actually build a nuclear plant. "It's only the first step in the regulatory licensing process," said Ameren Corp. spokesman Tim Fox. AmerenUE and UniStar Nuclear need to submit the COLA to the NRC in 2008 to be eligible for incentives available under the provisions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, he said. "The reason we had to prepare the application by 2008 is to remain eligible for tax credits if we do decide at some point to build a new nuclear plant," Fox said. "We haven't made the decision to build a plant yet. It's just something we had to do to retain the eligibility." AmerenUE has operated a single-unit nuclear plant in Callaway County, Mo. since 1984. No location has been tapped yet as a site for the potential plant, but the Callaway Plant location is one of a number of sites UniStar is evaluating in the Midwest, Fox said. UniStar, a joint enterprise that helps develop, license, construct and operate new, standardized nuclear units, is working with experienced nuclear utility licensees across the nation to explore suitable sites for nuclear plants. Many companies recently have taken an interest in the nuclear industry, which hasn't seen any new plants licensed in nearly three decades. UniStar is competing with General Electric Co., Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse Electric unit and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to develop new nuclear reactors in the United States, according to an Associated Press article on the subject at Forbes.com. Regulators expect to receive about 20 applications for new plants over the next three years with at least 30 new reactors. Most of the locations are expected to be in the Southeast, the article states. On March 8, the NRC approved an early site permit, the first step in building a new reactor, to Exelon Generation Co. for its Clinton, Ill. site. The early site permit, which is given for a duration of 20 years plus a 20-year extension period, approves a site as suitable for new nuclear plants, but does not allow a company to actually build a new reactor. The lengthy approval process and construction schedule means any new reactor in the United States is not likely to start producing power until 2015 at the earliest, according to industry experts. Anita Szoke can be reached at 686-3248 or aszoke@pjstar.com © 2007 PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC. :: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643 :: 1-309-686-3000 ***************************************************************** 39 Green Bay Press-Gazette: Dominion shares plan for nuclear fuel storage at Kewaunee plant Posted April 10, 2007 Company wants to build dry-cask storage system By Richard Ryman rryman@greenbaypressgazette.com CARLTON — Dominion Resources would like to begin construction on a dry-cask storage system for used nuclear fuel at Kewaunee Power Station by the end of the year. Currently, used nuclear fuel is stored in the power plant's spent-fuel pool. Point Beach Nuclear Plant, 6 miles south of the Kewaunee plant, has used dry-cask storage for years. The open house will be 7:30-9 p.m. Thursday at Carlton Town Hall, Kewaunee County G and Town Hall Road. Dominion will need locally issued building permits to proceed with construction. The company has been discussing its plans with local officials for some time. This is an opportunity for the public to see the plans. "We'll have displays. We'll have our experts there to talk about our plans," said Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Dominion. The Kewaunee power plant will need the additional storage if its operating license is extended beyond 2013. Dominion has said it will apply for renewal. Zuercher said nuclear plant pools originally were designed to cool fuel rods before reprocessing, but the United States placed a moratorium on reprocessing during the Carter administration. Zuercher said the moratorium was lifted during the Reagan administration, but reprocessing is not economically feasible. He said the preferred storage site would be a planned federal repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. That project has experienced years of delays, forcing nuclear plant operators to increase on-site storage. Zuercher said Dominion was the first nuclear plant operator to use the dry-storage method and continues to do so at its plants in Connecticut and Virginia. At Kewaunee, it will use a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-approved cask design. It would like to begin using that storage method by mid-2008. Zuercher said each cask will hold 32 fuel assemblies. The Kewaunee reactor has 121 assemblies, with about one-third being replaced every 18 months. All 121 assemblies are placed into the pool during refueling and those in use for three refueling cycles are permanently removed. The spent nuclear fuel is radioactive and placed in welded steel canisters designed to be leak-tight. They will be kept in a dry-storage facility consisting of a series of reinforced concrete horizontal storage modules measuring 8.5 feet wide by 14 feet high, and 20 feet deep with walls and roof that are up to 4 feet thick. "When the time comes to move the fuel (to Yucca Mountain), it can be transported in that canister," Zuercher said. According to Dominion, more than 30 nuclear power plants in the United States use on-site dry storage. Contact us at 920-435-4411. greenbaypressgazette.com is a Gannett Company website. ***************************************************************** 40 NRC: NRC Staff Approves Big Rock Point ISFSI License Transfer News Release - 2007-045 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved the transfer of the operating license for the Big Rock Point Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) from Consumers Energy to Entergy Nuclear Palisades and site operator Entergy Nuclear Operations. As provided by NRC regulations, the staff's approval of the license transfer became effective on April 6. On Oct. 31, 2006, the companies submitted an application to the NRC requesting approval of the license transfer. Major issues considered by the NRC included financial qualifications as well as transfer and maintenance of accumulated decommissioning funds. Several groups petitioned the NRC for leave to intervene in this proceeding, and the Commission is considering the petition. A copy of the NRC's approval order and accompanying safety evaluation report will be placed in the NRC's Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F23, Rockville, MD 20852 (telephone 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737). The safety evaluation will also be available on the NRC’s Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), by entering ML070920385 at this address: http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm 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. April 10, 2007 ***************************************************************** 41 fremonttribune.com: Incorrectly installed valve at nuke plant prompts hearing Fremont, Nebraska's Community Newspaper FORT CALHOUN, Neb. - Federal regulators and Omaha Public Power District officials plan to discuss safety problems posed by a water valve that was incorrectly placed for more than a year at OPPD's Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. Staffers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and OPPD have set a meeting for Monday at the NRC's regional office in Arlington, Texas. Members of the public who want to ask questions may use a telephone bridge that will be available at (800) 952-9677. According to the NRC, a valve in the containment spray system was improperly installed on May 11, 2005, and not discovered for 454 days. The system sprays water in the reactor building to reduce pressure during some accidents. The mistake was rated as a low to moderate safety problem. According to a news release from the NRC, OPPD has taken appropriate corrective actions. The meeting next week was scheduled to determine the error's final safety significance, a finding NRC managers will release later. On the Net: NRC: http://www.nrc.gov OPPD: http://www.oppd.com A service of the Associated Press(AP) Copyright © 2007 Fremont Tribune ***************************************************************** 42 Business Week: Violation found at Dominion nuke plant The Associated Press April 10, 2007, 6:23PM EST WASHINGTON Federal regulators said Tuesday that workers at a Dominion Resources Inc. nuclear power plant in Wisconsin failed to quickly fix a fuel leak in a diesel backup generator last summer. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff said the failure to repair the problem until weeks after it was discovered was of "substantial importance" to the Kewaunee Power Station's safety. Under the NRC's color-coded system, the violation resulted in a yellow inspection finding, the agency's second-highest level. The leak was identified on in late June but not fixed until mid August, the NRC said. Diesel generators supply backup power for nuclear plant safety systems. The NRC has issued a violation notice to Dominion, which requires the company to respond within 30 days. The 568-megawatt Kewaunee plant was bought by Richmond, Va.-based Dominion in 2005. It is located on Lake Michigan in Carlton, Wis., about 35 miles southeast of Green Bay, according to Dominion's Web site. Shares of Dominion rose 22 cents to close at $90.42 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright 2000-2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 43 The Herald: Capacity recovery lights up British Energy SIMON BAIN April 11 2007 Comment British Energy shares rallied again yesterday as the nuclear generator said output for the full year was marginally ahead of expectations, despite the prolonged shutdown of Hunterston B' in Ayrshire and Hinkley Point B' facilities in Somerset. In its full-year trading update, British Energy said it produced 58.4 terawatt hours of electricity in the year ending March 3, with nuclear output at 51.2 twh slightly ahead of an expected 49.4 twh. The utility said repairs at Hinkley and Hunterston had been completed, and the plants should be back in operation by the end of April at about 70% power generating capacity. Both plants were originally expected back on line in March, after being closed for repairs to cracked boiler pipes last autumn, but the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate had requested additional information before allowing both to restart at the limited capacity. The generator's shares rose 9.25p to 497.25p. British Energy lost about 9.4 twh of power due to the defects, which were found on all four reactors at the Hinkley and Hunterston plants last year. Total nuclear unplanned losses for the 12-month period were more than 20 twh. The company in February signalled the controversial resumption of nuclear power plant construction in the UK, while admitting that continuing maintenance problems with Hinkley and Hunterston might threaten their future. It said any construction would be on "one or more" of its existing sites, and that the company would decide by April 2008 whether or not to prolong the life of the two stations. British Energy shares have now risen almost 20% since that announcement, on relief at the restarting of the stations as well as better than expected buoyancy in energy prices. The company achieved an average contract price of Ł45 a megawatt hour for its output during the last 12 months, said it had sold 54 twh of power contracts for the current financial year at an average price of around Ł43 a megawatt hour, excluding about five terawatt hours of capped contracts at a price of around Ł30. Utility analyst Andrew Wright at UBS, who has a neutral recommendation and a target price of 475p on the stock, said: "The trading information is marginally ahead of the market's expectations, although this may be offset by the small delay in the return to service of Hinkley Point B'." Wright added that the company's contracted position for the full-year 2007-2008 was better than expected, but had been foreshadowed in third-quarter results in February. Ian Mitchell of JP Morgan, who also has a target price of 475p, said the trading update had "a couple of small positives, but I wouldn't get too excited about it". Citigroup utility analysts, who have a sell recommendation and a bearish 350p target price, said in a report that full-year performance was better than anticipated, driven by the good trading as well as by the recent recovery in UK energy prices. They commented that the update on the plant restarts should "dispel" any concerns about the restart and help provide near-term support for its shares. British Energy also said it has started legal proceedings against investment bank Credit Suisse over a new investment vehicle created by the bank. The investment vehicle pools the bondholders of British Energy's coal-fired Eggborough power plant together in order to more effectively exercise an option to buy the power station in 2010. A hearing is expected to take place on May 21. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Copyright © 2007 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 44 FR NRC: General Electric Company; Morris Operation, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Special Nuclear Material License and Conforming Amendment and Opportunity for a Hearing Doc E7-6742 [Federal Register: April 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 68)] [Notices] [Page 17942-17943] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr10ap07-114] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 72-1] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 72.50 approving the direct transfer of the Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-2500 for the Morris Operation, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) currently held by General Electric Company, as owner and licensed operator. The facility is located in Grundy County, Illinois, near Morris, Illinois. The transfer would be to GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC. The Commission is also considering amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. According to an application for approval filed by General Electric Company, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, a newly formed entity, would acquire ownership of the facility following approval of the proposed license transfer, and would be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Morris Operation, ISFSI. This new entity will be wholly owned by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Holdings, LLC, created as a parent company. A U.S. subsidiary or subsidiaries of Hitachi Ltd., a Japanese company will hold a 40% ownership interest. General Electric, through various subsidiaries, will hold a 60% ownership interest. No physical changes to the Morris Operation, ISFSI facility or operational changes are being proposed in the application. The proposed amendment would replace references to General Electric Company in the license with references to GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, to reflect the proposed transfer. Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50, no license, or any part included in a license issued under this part for an ISFSI, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed transferee is qualified to hold the license, and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission. Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission has determined that any amendment to the license of an ISFSI which does no more than conform the license to reflect the transfer action involves no genuine issue as to whether the health and safety of the public will be significantly affected. No contrary determination has been made with respect to this specific license amendment application. The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer application, are discussed below. Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any person whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action on the application may request a hearing and, if not the applicant, may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing proceeding on the Commission's action. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart C ``Rules of General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, Availability of [[Page 17943]] Documents, Selection of Specific Hearing Procedures, Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing Management for NRC Adjudicatory Hearings,'' of 10 CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1), unless good cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an untimely request or petition should address the factors that the Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be served upon Mr. Donald J. Silverman, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP, 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004 (tel: 202-739-5502; fax: 202-739-3001; e-mail: dsilverman@morganlewis.com); the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 (e-mail address for filings regarding license transfer cases only: OGCLT@NRC.gov); and the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302 and 2.305. The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and served on the parties to the hearing. As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to intervene, within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments should be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. For further details with respect to this action, see the application dated January 19, 2007, available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 20th day of March, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robert A. Nelson, Chief, Licensing Branch, Licensing and Inspection Directorate, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. E7-6742 Filed 4-9-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 45 UPI: Russia may help Egypt build nuclear plant United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: April 10, 2007 at 2:31 PM CAIRO, April 10 (UPI) -- Moscow and Cairo may collaborate on Egypt's new plans to build nuclear power plants to fuel its electricity demand. Russia's minister of energy and industry said Tuesday during a visit to Cairo the two sides are drafting a civilian nuclear power agreement. Egypt announced in September it will restart its nuclear program, halted after the Chernobyl accident more than 20 years ago. "The Federal Agency for Nuclear Power and Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Energy are drafting new documents on cooperation in this field," said Minister Viktor Khristenko. "We believe this not only corresponds to the spirit of our relations, but is also in line with the understanding of prospects for energy development in the long term." Russian news agency Novosti reports Egypt plans to build three 600 megawatt nuclear plants. Last September, Egyptian Energy Minister Hassan Younes said a 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant will be built along the Mediterranean coast. The BBC reports Egypt's energy shortage has increased as consumption goes up by 7 percent annually on average. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has been investigating Egypt for not declaring atomic energy research. But both the IAEA and Egypt said the research wasn't for weapons purposes and said the failure could have resulted from miscommunication over what Egypt is required to report to international monitors. Egypt has signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and is calling for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East. There are no official nuclear powers in the area, though Israel will not confirm or deny allegations it has amassed an arsenal. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 46 PDM: Temelin nuclear power plant first block restarted after stoppage - Prague Daily Monitor By Prague Daily Monitor/CTK / Published 10 April 2007 Ceske Budejovice, South Bohemia, April 7 (CTK) - The staff in the nuclear power plant Temelin this evening put into operation the plant's first block again after a stoppage lasting since end-January, the plant's spokesman Milan Nebesar told CTK today. During the stoppage a quarter of the first block's fuel was replaced with new, more resistant. From now on, three days of tests will follow with the minimal output level, Nebesar said. The first block was to be originally restarted in late March, but the end of the stoppage was delayed over the leak of about 1,000 litres of slightly radioactive water during a pressure test. The staff had to dismantle the upper part of the reactor, remove the leak, reassemble the facility and check it. The leak protracted the stoppage by about three weeks. According to analyst, one day of stoppage cost about Kc12m. The stoppage was prompted by troubles with fuel supplied by the U.S. Westinghouse company, some of which got deformed in the reactor more than expected. The netxt stoppage is planned at Temelin's first block from August to October, when another quarter of the fuel will be replaced along with a part of the turbine's high-pressure rotor. This story copyright 2007 CTK Czech News Agency The Prague Daily Monitor and Monitor CE are not responsible for its content. The Prague Daily Monitor's copyright 2007 monitor ce media services s.r.o. | all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 47 Kommersant Moscow: United RUSAL to Build Nuclear Plant, Aluminum Smelter in Far East - Apr. 10, 2007 Federal Atomic Energy Agency (or Rosatom) and United Russian Aluminum (or United RUSAL) inked a memorandum Monday to construct energy and metal facilities in the Far East. The matter at stake is building an aluminum smelter of around 600,000 tons annual capacity and a nuclear plant of roughly 2,000 MW. In Russia, it is the first project of private and government cooperation in nuclear energy and the risks of agreement’s breakup are very high. United RUSAL and Rosatom announced yesterday they sealed an investment memorandum to construct a nuclear plant and aluminum smelter in the Far East. The potential partners agreed that a working group will elaborate feasibility study for the project till the end of 2007. The construction site will be chosen by this year-end as well, according to RUSAL representative Vera Kurochkina. The company intends to build a smelter capable of producing more than 600,000 tons of primary aluminum a year. The capacity of nuclear plant is estimated at roughly 2,000 MW and Primorie is one of the most probable regions for the site, a source with Rosatom specified on condition of anonymity Of interest is that RUSAL won’t confine to co-investing. The source familiar with negotiations said the holder of 66 percent in RUSAL, Oleg Deripaska, offered to energy officials to construct facilities for producing special steel and components for Rosatom projects of nuclear plants. The current laws of Russia prevent RUSAL from emerging as a co-owner of the new nuclear plant - all nuclear plants are in federal property here. But the agreement spells out joint work of the partners targeted at amending the legislation and enabling metal makers to co-own a nuclear plant. www.kommersant.com All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 10, 2007 © 1991-2007 ZAO "Kommersant. Publishing House". All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 48 Reuters: TXU seeks to build biggest U.S. nuclear plants - Apr. 10, 2007 Entire Site FORTUNE Money Business 2.0 FORTUNE Small Business Web Energy utility shifts focus from coal to nuclear in seeking to build biggest ever U.S. nuclear plants, according to a report Tuesday. NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Utility company TXU, which scrapped plans to build eight coal-fired plants when it agreed to be acquired by two private equity firms, is now hoping to build the biggest nuclear power plants in the United States, said the Wall Street Journal. TXU (Charts) has shifted its focus to nuclear power at a time when three other utilities have also said they may build nuclear plants in Texas, said the Journal Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discusses U.S. economic growth, the subprime effect, unemployment and energy prices. (March 28) The Journal said reactors selected by TXU would be designed and build by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, and would be 50 percent bigger than TXU's current nuclear reactors. Copyright 2007 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be ***************************************************************** 49 Hemscott: TVA names chief nuclear officer KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The chief nuclear officer of Entergy Nuclear's south region is leaving to become the top executive in the Tennessee Valley Authority's nuclear power program. TVA on Tuesday announced the appointment of William R. Campbell to be its chief nuclear officer starting May 14. Campbell, who goes by Bill, will replace Karl Singer, who joined TVA in 1993 and announced his retirement last month. Until his retirement, Singer will be concentrating on the $1.8 billion restart of a mothballed reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear station in Alabama. Browns Ferry Unit 1 is expected to return to service in May for the first time since 1985. It will be the United States' first 'new' nuclear generation of the 21st century. Campbell will be based in Chattanooga and be responsible for all nuclear power production and operations. At New Orleans-based Entergy, Campbell oversees the operating results of regulated nuclear assets in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Campbell earned his bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University and a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Clemson University. He also has worked at Entergy Nuclear Generation Company, Duke Energy, Carolina Power and Light and Union Electric Company. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Hemscott PLC - Serious Investment Research Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. Hemscott is the UK registered trademark of Hemscott Group Limited. Prices displayed on Hemscott.com are delayed by at least 15 minutes unless otherwise stated. ***************************************************************** 50 StockInterview.com: Super Molybdenum Stainless Steel Vital to Global Nuclear Reactor Build Up April 10, 2007 By James Finch New Power Plants Likely to Increase Use of Corrosive-Resistant Steam Condenser Tubing (Editor’s Note: Because we believe molybdenum plays an integral role in the energy bull market, and especially across the nuclear fuel cycle, we have created a Moly HQ page on StockInterview.com to help our readers quickly access the latest news and molybdenum company stock prices. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com/moly-index.html along with StockInterview’s Uranium HQ.) Since 1973, nuclear reactors have been replacing copper-alloy steam condenser tubes with High Performance Stainless Steel tubes containing more than 7 percent molybdenum. Courtesy of Outokumpu. Molybdenum plays a more vital role in the global nuclear renaissance than you might suspect. Without the silvery white metal, the world’s energy infrastructure would somewhat suffer. But, nuclear power plants would be set back at least two decades. The new high performance stainless steels (HPSS) contain as much as 7.5 percent molybdenum and can add more than three times the life to the world’s aging nuclear fleet condenser tubes. During the early construction of nuclear power plants, steam condensers relied upon copper base alloys – brass and copper nickel – for heat transfer capabilities. These alloys have high coefficients of thermal conductivity required in steam generation to power nuclear reactor turbines. But copper-alloyed tubes were being replaced too quickly – with an average life of eight years – because of sulphide pitting. Hardest hit were those reactors using polluted seawater to cool their reactors. Over the past 30 years ago, nuclear utilities slowly began turning to the super austenitic stainless steels as one way to make their nuclear reactors last longer. The addition of molybdenum, initially starting with percentage of less than four percent, helped increase the thermal conductivity lacking in nickel, iron or steel. At nuclear stations which replaced the copper alloys with HPSS condenser tubes, 57 percent rated the thermal performance good and all but one rated it normal. Molybdenum had helped overcome the thermal hurdle. A large number of the 190 nuclear reactors, which now utilize HPSS condenser tubes, reported an average life in excess of 18 years. The longest stainless steel condenser installation has remained in service more than 26 years, according to a study done several years ago. According to a report published in 2000, more than 100 million feet of super-alloy stainless steel tubes have replaced the older, copper-alloy tubing. Condensers are large heat exchangers used in nuclear power plants. Condensers have thousands of tubes horizontally mounted to condense and recover the steam passing through turbines. Each low-pressure turbine generally has a condenser, which also maintains a vacuum to optimize the turbine’s efficiency. Water fouling deposits were cited as a major problem at many reactors, especially with condenser tubes where seawater or high-chloride brackish water was the coolant. Pitting corrosion, tube sheet crevice corrosion and galvanic corrosion put the tubes at risk for leakage. Plugging, mud, or detritus accumulating in condenser tubes reduce a power plant’s efficiency. Technicians probe condenser tubes to determine if wearing is occurring and periodically to manually clean the tubes. Courtesy Nuclear News. Utilities use cleaning systems with small, abrasive sponge-like balls to keep the tubes clean and test for tube defectives with probing devices. Tube thinning and corrosion create the opportunity for tube leakage. This can not be tolerated because chemicals such as sodium and chlorides find their way into the reactor vessel or steam generator. Upgrading the steam condenser tubing to stainless steel also plays a vital role in the ‘power uprate’ program utilities have used to increase generating capacity for existing reactors as we recently discussed . The more advanced uprate program could add up to 20-percent capacity to existing U.S. nuclear reactors. Different Molybdenum Alloys Crevice corrosion of high-pressure pipe (left) and excessive stress cracking corrosion (right). Conventional austenitic grades can be susceptible to stress corrosion at high temperatures. High alloy austenitic grades are extremely resistant to corrosion. Courtesy of Outokumpu. There are several HPSS manufacturers for nuclear reactor condensers. The most prominent in the nuclear sector include Pennsylvania-based ATI Allegheny Ludlum and Finland’s Outokumpu. Each offers austenitic steels with chromium and nickel composition of between 20 and 25 percent for each alloy and a range of 6.2 to 7.5 percent molybdenum. In a paper presented by Jan Olsson of Avesta Sheffield (before the company was acquired by Outokumpu), he highlighted the results of tests performed on the new super-austenitic stainless steel, 654 SMO®. Metals comprising this brand include 25-percent chromium, 22-percent nickel and 7.5-percent molybdenum. To increase pitting resistance, the manufacturers added up to 0.5-percent nitrogen and three-percent manganese (for make the nitrogen more soluble). As with all pioneering developments – and remember that R & D breakthroughs have taken place over a two-decade-plus period, manufacturers have re-designed their metallurgical composition to find the most encouraging percentages of nickel, chromium, molybdenum and nitrogen. The earlier stainless steels relied on higher nickel content and lesser percentages of chromium and molybdenum. At first, conventional austenitic grades, such as 316L, or high chromium-ferritic grades, were utilized. Pitting struck down widespread use of the 316L series and was replaced by higher alloy steels. For example, others, such as the 254 SMO® stainless steel, began aggressively replacing the copper alloy tubes and in some cases the 316L series. The 254 is comprised of 20-percent chromium, 18-percent nickel, 6.2-percent molybdenum and 0.20-percent nitrogen. It has also offered a high level of corrosion resistance at desalination plants without becoming cost-prohibitive. The most significant breakthrough came after various stainless steels were tested at Scandinavian coastal reactors. In the Avesta paper, the failures of each lesser austenitic grade were checked off. Significant deficiencies included insufficient stress corrosion cracking resistance and resistance to natural seawater. Even titanium tubing was used as an interim measure because it increased total heat transfer by 17 percent, but the metal failed to stand up to high velocity steam and suffered ‘water droplet erosion.’ According to the study, “The only alloy fully resistant to all test conditions was 654 SMO®.” The results at nuclear power plants in Finland and Sweden, along the Baltic Sea, were astonishing! Four important conclusions about this super alloy were reached after the testing. * Its corrosion resistance could cope with the hostile environments existing inside condenser tubes of desalination plants and power plants. * Its corrosion resistance was good enough to cop with many other hostile brine and seawater environments. * Its erosion resistance was advantageous where it was exposed to high velocity streams. * There was no concern about its heat transfer characteristics. Nuclear Consumption of Molybdenum About 48 nuclear reactors are reportedly scheduled for construction by 2013. It may be possible that up to 100 could be constructed by 2020, depending upon political and financial climates. The largest number proceeding through the proposed, planned or construction phases will be located along coastal areas to service the most populated areas. The greatest numbers of new constructions are expected from China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Japan (and possibly the United States). Existing reactors along coastal areas in Asian countries presently breaks down as follows: Japan (57), South Korea (26), China and Taiwan (19) and India (11). Because these are the most prone to seawater or brackish corrosion, they are also the likely candidates for upgrading existing condenser tubing to high alloy stainless steel. And their new reactors are likely going to be constructed along their coasts, requiring the super austenitic grades. As an aside, of the previously mentioned 190 nuclear power plants which had replaced their condensers with HPSS, 45 percent used fresh water as coolant. Those plants chose the high alloy steel as a ‘fail-safe’ measure to prevent interrupted service or a potential reactor incident. The United Nations estimates that two-thirds of the planet’s population will be living with water stress by 2025. Global freshwater scarcity may demand the use of brackish or seawater as nuclear reactor coolant. To prevent the accompanying corrosion, the higher-percentage molybdenum alloy, specifically the 654 SMO®, could emerge as the condenser tubing material of choice. Either the 254 SMO® or the 654 would be utilized in desalination plants required to overcome water shortages in the hardest hit areas: North Africa, the Middle East and West Asia. Typically, nuclear power plant condenser tubing requires approximately 520,000 feet of stainless steel. According to the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), larger reactors could utilize up to one million feet of stainless steel. With the higher molybdenum grades found in the super alloys, new nuclear reactors could require tens of thousands of metric tons of molybdenum. By comparison, nuclear waste containers proposed for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository were forecast to consume about 15,000 metric tons of moly. While this project may or may not proceed as planned to the construction phase, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has proposed regionalized storage of spent fuel. Should comparably designed storage canisters be utilized to ‘temporarily’ contain the nuclear waste, it is likely molybdenum will play a key role. According to the U.S. Government’s Energy Citation Database, as published by the Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information, “Alloys with combined chromium plus molybdenum contents greater than 30 percent were the most resistant to general and local attack.” This was the conclusion reached after corrosion scouring tests were performed on stainless steel and nickel-based alloys to immobilize high-level, radioactive waste. Another aspect where high-percentage molybdenum stainless steel would double up is with the expansion of nuclear desalination plants. In the past, and in our publication, “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market,” we have discussed the rise of nuclear desalination across those coastal areas, requiring far more freshwater than can possibly be transported through other means. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has reported of numerous such desalination projects in progress. Will The Energy Bull Have Sufficient Moly? The C-276 alloy, used in Flue Gas Desulphurization plants to reduce the discharge of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired plants, includes up to 16 percent molybdenum. The IMOA forecasts up to $168 billion will be spent worldwide on this pollution control equipment for two-thirds of the world’s coal-fired generators. From nearly every energy project – oil, gas, coal and nuclear, and for water, molybdenum demand will continue increasing. Super austenitic grades demand a higher moly content to combat corrosion and provide reliability of service. Of course, there will be substitution in the face of future supply shortfalls. In some instances, there are reports the Russians have substituted vanadium for molybdenum in some of their oil and gas pipelines to conserve on moly consumption. ATI Allegheny Ludlum has argued for the substitution of two-percent manganese for every percent of nickel, but in the lower grade austenitic groups which do not demand the corrosion resistance of energy projects. While reviewing the anticipated new projects from the molybdenum mining sector, we foresee the high probability of supply inadequacy. Aside from China Moly’s Sandaozhuang molybdenum mine, which the company hopes could produce 28,000 tonnes of molybdenum concentrate this year and perhaps grow by another 17 percent the following year, there is a paucity of new molybdenum projects coming fully online before 2009. Based upon China’s voracious appetite for molybdenum – one research firm estimated compounded annual growth rate over the previous five years at 17 percent, whatever excess moly production comes from China Moly’s mining efforts could very well be domestically consumed. Future North American molybdenum producers may need to ramp up their projects to meet the growing demand. During 2006, demand grew above the historical norm of four percent; most of the consumption came from China. This is unlikely to stagnate or decrease, and could interfere with North American and European consumption of molybdenum. Only one company is scheduled to commence molybdenum mining in 2007, Roca Mines. Because the company is limited to a small-mining permit, anticipated production could not exceed three million pounds. By late 2008, or early 2009, Adanac Molybdenum hopes to commence its start-up efforts to reach eight-figure moly production. Later, Blue Pearl Mining hopes to commence high-grade molybdenum mining at the Davidson deposit in British Columbia. Around this time, the Climax molybdenum mine could re-open and begin production in Colorado. Moly Mines hopes to begin production at the company’s Spinifex project. Possibly, before the decade ends, Idaho General might commence operations in Nevada. Perhaps before those 48 nuclear reactors come online, US Energy’s moly deposit may be mined in Colorado. Many of these projects are subject to environmental permitting and/or financing, putting any material amount of forecasted supply in jeopardy. And this comes at a time when some experts believe byproduct molybdenum production at copper mines could be constrained. There are many conditional requirements which do not necessarily guarantee a reliable supply from the new breed of primary moly producers. We have witnessed comparable obstacles in the uranium sector, which has since been accompanied by a hyperbolic price rally in this metal. There could come a time in the molybdenum sector when the silvery white metal could mimic such a breakout scenario. Nearly three years ago, StockInterview.com featured a forecast of US$100/pound uranium. No one believed that prediction at the time. On Friday, TradeTech announced a spot price of US$113/pound. Adanac Molybdenum Corporation TSX: AUA www.adanacmoly.com Blue Pearl Mining TSX: BLE www.bluepearl.ca Idaho General Mines AMEX: GMO www.idahogeneralmines.com Moly Mines TSX: MOL www1.molymines.com Roca Mines Inc. TSX: ROK www.rocamines.com US Energy Corp NASDAQ: USEG www.usnrg.com Please email your feedback on this article: jfinch@stockinterview.com ***************************************************************** 51 KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities: Energy Northwest Halts Power Production at Columbia Generating Station RICHLAND, Wash.- Energy Northwest has shut down the Columbia Generating Station, the state's only nuclear power plant. A fire over the weekend destroyed a backup transformer, so the company has now shut down the plant to replace the transformer. They'll also use the time to prepare new equipment for a planned refueling next month. The plant shut down around 9:30 Monday morning. Energy Northwest doesn't know how long the shutdown will last. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KNDO/KNDU. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 52 KNDO/KNDU: Plant shut down to repair fire damage Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA | Plant shut down to repair fire damage RICHLAND, Wash. The Columbia Generating Station, the only commercial nuclear power plant in Washington, has been shut down so workers can replace a backup power transformer that was the site of a small fire over the weekend. The shutdown began at 9:22 this morning, and officials say they plan to use the time to put equipment in place for an upcoming refueling outage scheduled to begin May 12th at the plant on the Hanford nuclear reservation in southeastern Washington. Officials at Energy Northwest, which operates the plant, say they do not expect the current shutdown to be "extended," but have not given a specific time when the power plant will be back online. Saturday's fire was in a backup transformer that supplies electricity to parts of the plant when needed. It was in a building adjacent to the reactor building. No radioactivity was released, and the plant remained operating until today's shutdown. Power generated from the plant goes to the Bonneville Power Administration for distribution throughout the Western United States. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ***************************************************************** 53 News24: Fire on nuclear icebreaker 09/04/2007 22:45 - (SA) Icebreakers polluting Antarctic Moscow - A Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker was on Monday damaged by fire in the Kara sea, the Russian ministry for emergency situations said. Nobody was hurt and the fire did not reach the ship's nuclear reactor, it said. Three cabins burned out and the electricity system onboard was damaged, ministry spokesperson Nicolai Berejnoi told the Itar-Tass news agency. The icebreaker was to return to Murmansk for repairs and an inquiry into the causes of the fire had been launched, he said. ***************************************************************** 54 ScrippsNews: Cold War 'veterans' denied some care By LAURA FRANK Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Harold Hinton is dying. He is slowly suffocating from incurable lung disease that the government acknowledges is linked to his work making nuclear bomb fuel during the Cold War. Hinton, of Cortez, Colo., is eligible for medical care through a federal program designed to compensate ill nuclear weapons workers who weren't fully warned by the government of the dangers they faced. His physician said Hinton needed around-the-clock nursing care at his home in southwestern Colorado, but a government worker reduced the doctor's orders to eight hours a day. Hinton is not alone, says the president of a Denver-based company that provides nursing care to Hinton and about 60 other former nuclear weapons workers across the country. The U.S. Department of Labor is disregarding doctors' orders and approving less care than doctors say is medically necessary, said Greg Austin, president of Professional Case Management. Department officials have also called family members and doctors, pressuring both to agree to lower levels of care, he said. Labor Department officials said they are simply trying to be good stewards of public funds while getting ill workers the help they need. Assistant Deputy Labor Secretary Shelby Hallmark, who oversees the program, said Professional Case Management is pressuring doctors to prescribe 24-hour home nursing care when less costly care would do. "I think what's going on here is (PCM) wants to maximize cash flow," Hallmark said, adding that he has referred PCM's cases to the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General for review. Austin says the Labor Department's decisions are dangerous. "If we do what the Department of Labor says instead of what the doctors say, literally, lives could be put at risk," he said. PCM has served more than 100 ill weapons workers in 11 states during the past five years. The total bill for those five years has approached $30 million, Hallmark said. Austin said Labor Department officials have created such an "adversarial culture" toward ill workers that it is affecting workers' already fragile health. The company is considering assisting some patients with a class-action lawsuit against the Labor Department. The suit would ask a judge to stop officials from ignoring medical directives. Verna Keaton, of Ohio, said her husband, Addison, cried himself to sleep recently after learning that the Labor Department was trying to take away the nursing care that keeps him home with his wife of 44 years. Addison Keaton is dying of cancer that the government says was caused by exposure to radioactive uranium at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Portsmouth, Ohio. His colon cancer has spread to his lungs, heart and esophagus. Last week, a Labor Department doctor called Addison Keaton's doctor to question his home health-care order, Verna Keaton said. Unbeknownst to the Keatons, the government doctor had already contacted a hospice-care company, which would be less expensive than full-time nursing care, to open a case on Addison Keaton. "I think they want him to hurry up and die because it's costing them too much money," said Verna Keaton. "How can a doctor in Washington, D.C., determine what kind of help my husband needs?" She said the Labor Department doctor was relying on reports from case managers without medical degrees. "I don't know what's going to happen next because I haven't gotten hold of DOL to answer my questions," she said. "They won't return my calls." The Labor Department runs the program that Congress created in 2001 to compensate nuclear weapons workers whose toxic exposures made them ill, including those from the now-defunct Rocky Flats weapons plant northwest of Denver. The program includes coverage of medical bills for illnesses linked to those exposures. The Labor Department and the White House have come under fire recently from the ill, their advocates and several federal lawmakers. The critics say recently released internal communications show the Bush administration has been more concerned about containing costs than helping the ill workers, whom they call Cold War veterans. "These brave Americans are suffering, and in some cases, dying, because of the hazardous service they performed for their country," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who heads the congressional committee with oversight of the Labor Department program. "These people deserve better, and I will work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that they receive the benefits that they were promised." "Remember, at that time, they were trying real hard to get the warheads on the At the height of the Cold War, thousands of Americans were busy at urgent work they couldn't discuss with their neighbors: building atomic bombs for the arms race with the Soviet Union. At the Rocky Flats plant northwest of Denver _ and at scores of other sites across the nation _ workers were exposed daily to myriad poisons. Radiation. Exotic heavy metals. Chemicals in uncommon variety and quantity. The government routinely withheld information about the risk workers faced. Records of exposures were often incomplete; others were later destroyed. Today, more than 60,000 former nuclear weapons workers are ill and believe that their ailments are linked to their Cold War work. The government denied almost all such links until 2000. The next year, Congress created a compensation program to give lump-sum payments and medical coverage to workers whose illnesses were likely caused by workplace exposures. ( Contact Laura Frank at frankl(at)RockyMountainNews.com. For more stories go to scrippsnews.com) All materials copyright 2006 Scripps Media Center and Scripps Howard ***************************************************************** 55 Reuters: EU sleuths turn attention to dirty bomb materials Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:12AM EDT By Jeremy Smith BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe is sharpening its watch for criminal efforts to acquire simple radioactive materials -- from hospitals, mines and farms for instance -- to fuel a "dirty bomb", the EU research and detection network said. Roland Schenkel, director-general of the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC), said trafficking of slicker weapons-grade nuclear materials had fallen sharply in recent years and Europe was in "good shape" to fight it. EU scientists were now looking more closely at a myriad of other radioactive sources that could be used to make lower-tech "dirty bombs". Used in diverse industries, these sources had in the past often escaped the spotlight of international inspectors more focused on material for direct use in a nuclear device. "It is important we look into them (sources) because of the terrorist threat. This is a new situation that we are facing since 2001 that we have to assume terrorists may use something like a 'dirty bomb'," Schenkel told Reuters in an interview. "But the controls on radioactive sources have been enormously improved. Far more attention is now being paid to them, so the risk is limited." The JRC had simulated some scenarios on dirty bombs, he said -- including how a criminal might build and explode one and what the bomb's likely impact and dispersion would be. But the findings and studies were kept private, he added. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 56 FR DVA: Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses; Doc 07-1752 [Federal Register: April 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 68)] [Notices] [Page 17988] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr10ap07-141] DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Notice of Meeting The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gives notice under Public Law 92-463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) that the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses will meet on April 24-25, 2007, in room 230 at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting will be open to the public and it will start at 8 a.m. each day. The meeting will adjourn at 5 p.m. on April 24 and at 3 p.m. on April 25. The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice and make recommendations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on proposed research studies, research plans and research strategies relating to the health consequences of military service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Gulf War. The Committee will review VA program activities relating to Gulf War veterans' illnesses and updates on relevant scientific research published since the last Committee meeting. Additionally, there will be presentations and discussion of background information on the Gulf War and Gulf War veterans' illnesses, mechanisms potentially underlying chronic symptoms affecting Gulf War veterans, and discussion of Committee business and activities. The Committee will also discuss the recommendations to be included in its 2007 report. The meeting will include time reserved for public comments. A sign- up sheet for five-minute comments will be available at the meeting. Individuals who speak are invited to submit a 1-2 page summary of their comments at the time of the meeting for inclusion in the official meeting record. Members of the public may also submit written statements for the Committee's review to Dr. Lea Steele, RAC-Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (T-GW), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2200 SW. Gage Blvd., Topeka, KS 66622. Any member of the public seeking additional information should contact Dr. William Goldberg, Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 254- 0294, or Dr. Steele, Scientific Director, at (785) 350-3111, ext. 54617. Dated: April 3, 2007. By Direction of the Secretary. E. Philip Riggin, Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 07-1752 Filed 4-9-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8320-01-M ***************************************************************** 57 FR: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort Doc 07-1761 [Federal Register: April 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 68)] [Notices] [Page 17917] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr10ap07-82] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services ((HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at the General Atomics facility, La Jolla, California, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On February 16, 2007, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who were monitored or should have been monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation while working at the General Atomics facility in La Jolla, California, at the following locations: Science Laboratories A, B, and C (Building 2); Experimental Building (Building 9); Maintenance (Building 10); Service Building (Building 11); Buildings 21 and 22; Hot Cell Facility (Building 23); Waste Yard (Buildings 25 and 26); Experimental Area (Buildings 27 and 27-1); LINAC Complex (Building 30); HTGR-TCF (Building 31); Fusion Building (Building 33); Fusion Doublet III (Building 34); SV-A (Building 37); SV-B (Building 39); and SV-D (no building number) for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days from January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort. This designation became effective on March 18, 2007, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384l(14)(C). Hence, beginning on March 18, 2007, members of this class of employees, defined as reported in this notice, became members of the Special Exposure Cohort. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Elliott, Director, Office of Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 513-533-6800 (this is not a toll-free number). Information requests can also be submitted by e-mail to OCAS@CDC.GOV. Dated: April 5, 2007. John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [FR Doc. 07-1761 Filed 4-9-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4163-19-M ***************************************************************** 58 FR DHHS: Radiation exposure cohort Doc 07-1763 [Federal Register: April 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 68)] [Notices] [Page 17917] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr10ap07-83] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at the Monsanto Chemical Company, Dayton, Ohio, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On February 16, 2007, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who were monitored or should have been monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation while working at Monsanto Chemical Company Units I, III, or IV in Dayton, Ohio, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days during the period from January 1, 1943, through December 31, 1949, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort. This designation became effective on March 18, 2007, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 73841(14)(C). Hence, beginning on March 18, 2007, members of this class of employees, defined as reported in this notice, became members of the Special Exposure Cohort. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Elliott, Director, Office of Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 513-533-6800 (this is not a toll-free number). Information requests can also be submitted by e-mail to OCAS@CDC.GOV. Dated: April 5, 2007. John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [FR Doc. 07-1763 Filed 4-9-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4163-19-M ***************************************************************** 59 ForUm: Tomenko to solve nuclear waste issue News / 10 April 2007 | 17:17 On April 13 deputy speaker Mykola Tomenko will hold a meeting on liquidation of Chornobyl disaster consequences and social defense of victims. Press office of Tomenko reports that representatives of Emergency Control Ministry, Health Ministry, deputies and members of VR ecology committee, chairmen of Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regional councils will take part in the meeting. Participants of the meeting will familiarize with the state of the storage of nuclear waste and the processing plant of radio active waste liquids, will visit sight area of the object “Shelter”, social objects Slavutych, Chornobyl center on nuclear security, waste and ecology. As a result of the meeting, they will submit recommendations to the Cabinet and the parliament. ForUm Comments Stefan (00:52 | 11 April,2007) I know, send the waste north-east. Sealed drums marked "Returned Liquid Soviet Ideology", no charge! ***************************************************************** 60 Power Online: Lack Of Fuel May Limit U.S. Nuclear Power Expansion 4/10/2007 Limited supplies of fuel for nuclear power plants may thwart the renewed and growing interest in nuclear energy in the United States and other nations, says an MIT expert on the industry. Over the past 20 years, safety concerns dampened all aspects of development of nuclear energy: No new reactors were ordered and there was investment neither in new uranium mines nor in building facilities to produce fuel for existing reactors. Instead, the industry lived off commercial and government inventories, which are now nearly gone. Worldwide, uranium production meets only about 65 percent of current reactor requirements. That shortage of uranium and of processing facilities worldwide leaves a gap between the potential increase in demand for nuclear energy and the ability to supply fuel for it, said Thomas Neff, a research affiliate at MIT's Center for International Studies. "Just as large numbers of new reactors are being planned, we are only starting to emerge from 20 years of underinvestment in the production capacity for the nuclear fuel to operate them. There has been a nuclear industry myopia; they didn't take a long-term view," Neff said. For example, only a few years ago uranium inventories were being sold at $10 per pound; the current price is $85 per pound. Neff has been giving a series of talks at industry meetings and investment conferences around the world about the nature of the fuel supply problem and its implications for the so-called "nuclear renaissance," pointing out both the sharply rising cost of nuclear fuel and the lack of capacity to produce it. Currently, much of the uranium used by the United States is coming from mines in such countries as Australia, Canada, Namibia and, most recently, Kazakhstan. Small amounts are mined in the western United States, but the United States is largely reliant on overseas supplies. The United States also relies on Russia for half its fuel, under a "swords to ploughshares" deal that Neff originated in 1991. This deal is converting about 20,000 Russian nuclear weapons to fuel for U.S. nuclear power plants, but it ends in 2013, leaving a substantial supply gap for the United States. Further, China, India and even Russia have plans for massive deployments of nuclear power and are trying to lock up supplies from countries on which the United States has traditionally relied. As a result, the United States could be the "last one to buy, and it could pay the highest prices, if it can get uranium at all," Neff said. "The take-home message is that if we're going to increase use of nuclear power, we need massive new investments in capacity to mine uranium and facilities to process it." Mined uranium comes in several forms, or isotopes. For starting a nuclear chain reaction in a reactor, the only important isotope is uranium-235, which accounts for just seven out of 1,000 atoms in the mined product. To fuel a nuclear reactor, the concentration of uranium-235 has to be increased to 40 to 50 out of 1,000 atoms. This is done by separating isotopes in an enrichment plant to achieve the higher concentration. As Neff points out, reactor operators could increase the amount of fuel made from a given amount of natural uranium by buying more enrichment services to recover more uranium-235 atoms. Current enrichment capacity is enough to recover only about four out of seven uranium-235 atoms. Limited uranium supplies could be stretched if industry could recover five or six of these atoms, but there is not enough processing capacity worldwide to do so. SOURCE: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Copyright © 1996-2007, VertMarkets, Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 61 Belfast Telegraph: Labour queries Govt commitment to Sellafield closure - * Loadzajobs.co.uk Tuesday, April 10, 2007 The Labour Party is accusing the Government of throwing in the towel on its legal challenge to shut Sellafield. The party says the current coalition is leaving Ireland exposed to a potential catastrophe from any accident or terrorist attack at the nuclear plant. Labour TD Emmet Stagg says the Government needs to make it clear whether or not the closure of the facility is still official policy. * © Independent News & Media (NI) ***************************************************************** 62 Salt Lake Tribune: EnergySolutions won't vie for big UK contract The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 04/10/2007 02:23:59 PM MDT Posted: 2:22 PM- Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions confirmed Tuesday that it has backed out of the bidding for a five-year, $10 billion contract to run nuclear sites in the United Kingdom, including the cleanup of Sellafield, one of the most demanding environmental challenges facing the country. Greg Hopkins, vice president for public relations at EnergySolutions, had no details about the pullout, but said a statement would be forthcoming. The move is curious considering EnergySolutions appetite for expansion and its recent announcement that it will go public. A year ago, the company bought BNG America, a company that manages and cleans up nuclear reactors and highly contaminated sites. Around the same time, president and chief executive officer Steve Creamer announced plans to take the company public and to bid on the government-owned British Nuclear Group's nuclear waste reprocessing facility at Sellafield, as well as other cleanup sites in the United Kingdom. The acquisition would position EnergySolutions to become full-spectrum nuclear company capable of jumping into nuclear fuel reprocessing should the U.S. ban on it be lifted. Creamer estimated reprocessing as a $100 billion business over the next 10 to 15 years. EnergySolutions has since received government funding to look at building reprocessing plants in Idaho, South Carolina and New Mexico. The U.S. Department of Energy recently extended the public comment period until June 4 on those reprocessing proposals. Public scrutiny of spent fuel reprocessing creates a potential conflict for EnergySolutions, said Vanessa Pierce of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utahns. Noting the serious health and safety problems traced to leaks at the Sellafield plant, Pierce said EnergySolutions would have had a tough time arguing reprocessing works while also dealing with the fallout from its failures. "From a PR prospective, it can't look good that the technology they're touting is being shut down elsewhere," Pierce said. It also could be a money matter, Pierce said. EnergySolutions saw its revenues decline dramatically between 2005 and 2006, from $138.1 million to $34.4 million, or about 76 percent. In its IPO filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it hopes to raise $500 million and use the money to help pay off money owed to employees and to repay outstanding debt of more than $764 million. SEC papers also indicate that Creamer will receive a one-time cash payment of $2.3 million and Chief Financial Officer Chip Everest will receive a payment of $2 million if the initial public offering takes place by the year's end. The two were compensated $8.2 million and $5.2 million, respectively, in 2006, the papers say. In addition to EnergySolutions, U.S.-based Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. also bailed on the bidding, leaving four U.S.-based companies to vie for the Sellafield contract: CH2M HILL International Nuclear Services Ltd; Fluor Limited in partnership with Japan's Toshiba; SBB Nuclear, consisting of Serco Holdings Limited, Bechtel Management Company Limited and BWXT Nuclear Services (UK) Ltd.; and Washington Group International Limited / AMEC Nuclear Holdings Limited/ AREVA NC. The NDA said it expects to announce the winner in mid-2008. ***************************************************************** 63 MSNBC.com: The Uranium Market Heats Up - Newsweek Business - Prices are soaring and the market—despite security jitters—is white-hot. But is uranium just another bubble ready to burst? Shaun Stanley / AP This uranium mine outside Uravan, Colo., is part of the new market boom By By Jim Moscou Newsweek April 10, 2007 - Deep in the snow-dusted hills along the Colorado-Utah border, George Glasier arrives to inspect the refurbishing of his Whirlwind Mine, a 3,500-foot sloping hole that is as unremarkable as it is remote. Inside, past the mine's rusted gates, Glasier's small crew has been working to shore up critical support beams left to decay after Union Carbide Corp. abandoned the operation more than 20 years ago. The work, he notes, is slow going. "Uranium has been down so low, for so long," Glasier says with a cowboy's patience, as he points to rotting wood. "Well, you just can't bring it back very fast." Refurbishing the Whirlwind Mine may take time, but the commodity Glasier is aiming to bring to the surface is blistering hot. Uranium--the natural ingredient of nuclear reactors and bombs--is back, and bigger than ever. From Namibia to New Mexico, thousands of abandoned uranium mines are being reopened as billions of dollars pour into a decrepit industry that just a few years ago was left for dead. Still, since 2004, the number of individuals and companies that have acquired uranium-mining and -exploration rights to new or abandoned claims with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has skyrocketed from just under 5,000 to more than 32,000 today. In Colorado alone, claims soared to more than 8,000 last year, from an annual average in the late 1990s of about a hundred. (The Bush administration has helped fuel the surge, with a tax break in the 2005 energy bill that included efforts to streamline the process for approving new reactors.) The lure? The chance to make fast money. “Two years ago, I could've fit all the CEOs of uranium companies into a conference room," says Ron Hochstein, president of the Uranium Producers of America and chief operating officer of Canada's Denison Mines Corp. "Now, we can't fit them all in a theater." The simple laws of supply and demand are breathing energy back into the business. Sixteen percent of the world's power is nuclear--and that percentage is growing fast. With 440 civil reactors around the globe, annual demand for uranium ore runs about 175 million pounds, but global production is only about 100 million pounds, with Australia and Canada supplying nearly half. Add into the equation more than 160 nuclear reactors under construction or on the drawing board (mostly in Asia), the instability of oil supplies and the fact that nuclear energy emits virtually no greenhouse gases, and--boom--uranium goes hot. (Just this week, The Wall Street Journal reported TXU Corp., the largest power generator in Texas, will be scrapping plans to construct eight coal-fired plants for nuclear power plants.) The global spot price for mill-processed uranium ore, or "yellowcake," has soared, from an industry-crippling low of $7.10 a pound six years ago, to a record-breaking $113 late last week. In 2007, the price has increased 52 percent alone, with the biggest price jump ever recorded in the past few weeks. Analysts say it will likely go higher. "The market is frothy," said Patricia Mohr, vice president and commodities specialist at The Bank of Nova Scotia. "But there is a renaissance of nuclear power in the world." Yet some critics say the future of uranium in the U.S., where 20 percent of the nation's power is nuclear, is not quite so bright; the market, they argue, may be heading for a shakeout. By one estimate, as many as 500 new, small companies have joined the uranium frenzy in the past few years, with many not even owning a shovel. Many hope to snatch up uranium claims, lure investors and flip the holding contracts to actual mining companies. Let the buyer beware: during the nation's last uranium boom, the vast majority of uranium claims proved too time- consuming and costly to develop, leaving many investors holding a bag of coal instead. Story continues below advertisement Most genuine uranium-mining companies operating in the U.S. are Canadian-based and trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a stock market historically friendly to mining. Only a few have made the jump to Wall Street, including Canada's Cameco Corp., the world's largest producer of uranium that seven years ago traded at $1.72. Today, the stock hovers at $46. Most analysts say that the real money players behind the uranium surge are not shareholders, but a very small, relatively unknown group of investors who have navigated complicated regulatory and licensing issues--including nuclear nonproliferation laws--to hold actual uranium stockpiles. Unlike coffee or cocoa, there is no commodities market for uranium to be traded by the average investor. Prices are set through sealed bids every few weeks between actual producers and uranium-hungry utility companies. However, uranium companies processing the ore into yellowcake are licensed by a variety of regulatory agencies to store the potentially precarious product. To get around this hurdle, investors aiming to hold real stockpiles of uranium as the price marches ever higher are cornering supplies by forming subsidiary partnerships with legitimate--and licensed--uranium companies. Analysts say with a uranium shortage already in existence, this new element has spooked the utilities into paying whatever it takes to keep the lights on. "These players came on the scene about two years ago, and have been important in boosting the price," Mohr said. When asked who these players were, Mohr added, "I rather not say" and ended the interview. Shaky economics is not the only byproduct of the uranium frenzy. There are national-security concerns that this base ingredient for nuclear weapons may be easier to acquire, especially as uranium mining--and its ultimate production into yellowcake--has become a flourishing business in places with ample stores but traditionally weak regulatory oversight--like Kazakhstan, Namibia, Niger and Uzbekistan. As supply hits the market and countries scramble for their uranium share, industry onlookers say it will be difficult to track where all the stuff will end up. There is already cause for concern. In December, The Times of London reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global organization delegated to monitor uranium productivity and to assure compliance with the Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Treaty, was worried that its inspectors could not effectively monitor new supplies as developers scrambled to cash in on the soaring price. In January, Iran barred entry to IAEA inspectors, leaving open questions of not only how much uranium may be flowing into the country, but just how far that country has come in enriching the material for energy or, possibly, bombs. In March, senior nuclear officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a uranium-rich country, were arrested on the suspicion of participating in an international smuggling ring for yellowcake. Where the uranium was allegedly being smuggled to remains unknown. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., uranium producers know all too well that what goes boom can go bust. In the 1970s, the Cold War and the early promises of nuclear power generated big demands and profits for uranium miners. But by the mid-1980s, accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl undercut public confidence in nuclear energy. In the '90s, a flood of uranium from decommissioned Soviet nuclear warheads undercut prices. By 2000, the U.S. uranium industry--made up of a tightknit group of old-timers who were once the largest producers in the world--seemed all but wiped out. For nearly two decades, the U.S. relied heavily on foreign supplies and a steady stream of old Soviet-warhead uranium (a deal that ends in 2013). The result? Last year, the U.S. produced only 2 million pounds of uranium, enough to run about four of the nation's 103 commercial nuclear reactors for a year. The industry's collapse has left the U.S. far behind its international competitors in actual uranium production: today, not a single mill capable of processing conventionally mined uranium is operating at full capacity in the U.S. Those that are still standing--and there are just a few--use "Manhattan Project-era" technology, critics says, some requiring millions of dollars in upgrades and investment, some years away from full operation. It is a broken supply line that casts further doubt that the thousands of claims staked in this great uranium gold rush will cash in anytime soon. "The U.S. is in the worst position because everyone else around the world has been investing in their infrastructure and supply," says Dr. Thomas Neff, a senior researcher at the Center for International Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Neff has been following the uranium market since 1974, and was a key negotiator in decommissioning the Soviet Union's weapons-grade uranium in the early 1990s. "China is in Australia. The Russians are in every uranium-producing country right now trying to strike some partnerships. For some reason, everyone here (in the U.S.) tuned out for 25 years." The short-term result, Neff says, will likely be higher prices and a possible uranium shortage for U.S. utilities. At the Whirlwind Mine, Glasier says he'll have his mine in operation by mid-2007, producing nearly 2 million pounds of uranium ore a year. That's nearly equal to the entire U.S. production in 2006 and a current market value of $220 million. Even with no mill yet to process his ore, investors like Glasier's chances. Last year, his tiny company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange for about five cents a share. Today, Energy Fuels Inc. is hovering around $3.35 a share. On paper, George Glasier's 16-month-old company is worth nearly $150 million. Says the veteran miner: "This time the boom? I think it's more real." c 2007 Newsweek, Inc. © 2007 MSNBC.com ***************************************************************** 64 AU ABC: Uranium price jumps after mines flood. 10/04/2007. ABC News Online The spot price for uranium has jumped by $US18 in a week, and is now at $US113 per pound. The price was paid for about 50 tonnes of uranium at an auction in the US. The managing director of uranium company Toro Energy, Greg Hall, says the price has been affected by flooding at the Ranger Mine in the Northern Territory and also at a mine in Canada. Mr Hall says the price highlights Australia's need to consider its role as a potential larger supplier to the international market. "It reinforces the current debate that's going through the community on both sides of politics in terms of how Australia should participate in the global nuclear industry," he said. "But most especially we should be reviewing our uranium supply into the global market." ***************************************************************** 65 barrow in furness: Where should nuke dump go? Published on 10/04/2007 THIS summer Cumbrians will be asked whether they want to house the UK’s underground nuclear waste dump. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has taken over all the work and many of the staff from the now deceased Nirex quango. The NDA also now decides on the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. The NDA stated this week: “The government transferred its shares in Nirex to the NDA and since then the two organisations have been working closely together via a joint transition team to bring about the successful integration of Nirex’s skills and expertise into the NDA. “The majority of Nirex staff have been transferred to the NDA ensuring that the necessary skills, knowledge and experience are protected. “As a result of this successful integration a new directorate has been established within the NDA – the Radioactive Waste Management Directorate —– which will be led by Richard Waite, previously NDA’s engineering director.” The NDA is to focus on geological disposal of nuclear waste. The nuclear industry had retained land ownership between Sellafield and Gosforth for potential use as an underground nuclear dump site. The NDA says its next step is consultation this summer to include “proposals for a voluntarist / partnership approach to site selection, and also an outline geological disposal delivery programme”. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.nwemail.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 66 BBC NEWS: Police arrest 11 peace protesters Last Updated: Tuesday, 10 April 2007, 15:12 GMT 16:12 UK AWE is the headquarters of Britain's nuclear development programme Eleven peace campaigners have been arrested during a protest at an atomic research base in Berkshire. Activists staged the protest at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston over plans to upgrade the UK's Trident nuclear defences. A Thames Valley Police spokesman said about 60 people took part in the demonstration at the site. Short-term disruption According to the police, officers only intervened "to minimise disruption to the community and to ensure the safety of the public". Supt Robin Rickard said: "Some short-term disruption was caused and unfortunately members of the local community were affected, however this was minimal." A spokeswoman from Trident Ploughshares, the organisers of the protest, said: "We've consistently now, since May 2005, had protests at Aldermaston organised by various different groups and organisations. "And what we're seeing is more groups like Trident Ploughshares, for example, beginning to focus on Aldermaston in particular because of the new developments that are going ahead." In March, the government won a Commons vote to renew Trident, despite 95 Labour MPs voting for the decision to be delayed. AWE provides the warheads for Trident - the submarine-launched ballistic missile system that constitutes the UK's nuclear deterrent. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************