***************************************************************** 05/25/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.123 ***************************************************************** 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 UPI: China weapons report shows concern NUCLEAR REACTORS 2 IPS-English INDIA/US: Last Lap Hurdles in Nuclear Deal 3 Daily Yomiuri: Jail sought in Mitutoyo nuclear export scandal 4 WNN: Agreement reached on new Chinese nuclear plant 5 US: Herald News: Tritiated water leaves basin 6 BBC NEWS: Seal rescued from power station 7 Xinhua: China initiates real-time monitoring over nuclear power plan 8 US: APP.COM: "Damage control" not NRC's job 9 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY gets passing grades on safety 10 Shetland Today: MP slams plans for more nuclear power 11 Hamilton Spectator: Ontario must support clean, safe nuclear power 12 Reuters: Greenpeace says government on brink of big mistake 13 FIA: Bulgaria’s President to lobby for nuclear energy’s future 14 FIA: Russian NPP Belene contractor to issue bonds 15 SABC: Nuclear trial to be heard in open court May 25, 2007, 11:45 16 US: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Safe nuclear power 17 International Herald Tribune: Guangdong Nuclear agrees to build Anhu 18 icWales: Wales fails test for new nuclear plants NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 19 US: Times-News: Simpson teams with House colleagues to push for down NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 20 AU ABC: Nuclear waste dump a good deal, says owner 21 ReviewJournal.com: Yucca financing taking shape 22 AFP: Australian Aborigines agree to host nuclear waste dump - 23 The Australian: Aboriginal land to become nuclear waste site 24 UPI: House may back global nuclear fuel bank 25 AU ABC: Nuclear waste dump a good deal, says owner 26 US: New Haven Register: Governor heartened by bill on nuke dump 27 AU ABC: Traditional owners agree to nuclear dump deal 28 AU ABC: Labor critical of nuclear dump deal 29 AU ABC: Nuke dump process not a joke, says Bishop. 30 AU ABC: Australian Greens angry over nuclear dump deal 31 US: AU ABC: Land owners, Rio Tinto to discuss Jabiluka mining. 32 AU ABC: NT nuke waste deal a joke: Garrett. 33 Sydney Morning Herald: Site nominated for nuclear waste - 34 US: Pahrump Valley Times: County leery of nuclear waste processing 35 Pahrump Valley Times: Delegation opposes GOP 'Nu-Way' plan 36 US: sacbee.com Editorial: An unacceptable plan - PEACE 37 US: UCS: House Panel Zeroes Out New Nuclear Warhead Program US DEPT. OF ENERGY 38 KnoxNews: Oak Ridge facilities big boost to state 39 SanLuisObispo.com: Ridiculed feds halt cleanup of LA's old Rocketdyn 40 MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Senators ask DOE to stand by nuclear research 41 EPA: EPA announces partial deletion of Rocky Flats site from Superfu 42 Hanford News: Nuclear waste in limbo: Uranium rods pile up outside p 43 KnoxNews: Report touts DOE impact on economy 44 Hanford News: CH2M Hill Hanford president leaving 45 LA Daily News: DOE says it will stop cleanup of Santa Susana Field L 46 KnoxNews: New ORNL chief 'a bit overwhelmed' 47 UPI: DOE announces FutureGen EIS is ready 48 UPI: Analysis: Nuclear loan backing cloudy 49 Ventura County Star: Field lab cleanup postponed after uproar 50 lamonitor.com: LANS reaches one year at helm 51 NewsBlaze: Senior International Energy Officials Issue Joint Stateme ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UPI: China weapons report shows concern United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News - Published: May 25, 2007 at 7:30 AM WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Department officials said they are concerned about how quickly China developed a class of submarine designed to carry nuclear long-range missiles. The fast pace of the Jin-class submarine is included in an upcoming Pentagon report on China's military that shows increasing concern over land and sea-based programs from U.S. officials, the Financial Times reported. "It paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing ... some very sophisticated capabilities," U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Financial Times of the 2007 Pentagon China report. Pentagon officials said they believe a Jin submarines is being tested and five more are being developed. "The Chinese have maintained that they have a 'no first use' policy (for nuclear weapons) and that they have a minimal deterrent policy, which means they have only enough nuclear capability to retaliate," Michael Green, former White House senior Asia adviser to U.S. President George Bush, told the newspaper. "But open source journals and discussions and their own modernization suggest that they are possibly developing capabilities for a more flexible use of nuclear weapons, and survivability and tactical uses that would call into question this declared policy." © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 IPS-English INDIA/US: Last Lap Hurdles in Nuclear Deal Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 14:46:58 -0700 Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, May 25 (IPS) - The United States-India nuclear cooperation agreement, initialled almost two years ago, has run into obstacles in the final stages of negotiation. Unless the hurdles are quickly overcome, it seems likely that the deal's proponents in the U.S. will lose momentum and President George W. Bush's administration will fail to clinch an agreement before Bush becomes an increasingly unpopular lame-duck president. India is coming under growing pressure to compromise its position on the deal's provisions so as to seal an agreement. The deal is a special initiative of the Bush administration, which is making a one-time exception for India in the global nuclear non-proliferation regime although India is a nuclear weapons-state and has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. There is a chance that Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make a last-ditch political-level attempt to iron out their differences and reach a compromise when they meet early next month at the G-8 summit to which India is invited as observer. However, official-level talks have so far failed to resolve many sticking-points: the scope of ”cooperation”, or the extent to which the U.S. exports nuclear technology and equipment to India; guarantees of uninterrupted supply of fuel and spares; India's ”right” to reprocess imported fuel; and the consequences of another nuclear weapons blast by India. The last round of talks between ”technical experts” of the two countries took place in London earlier this week, but apparently failed to narrow differences. Indian officials have tried to put a positive spin on the London meetings. ”We clarified certain concepts and exchanged ideas making further progress towards a mutually-agreed text,” India's foreign ministry spokesman said. But divergences persist. Last December, the U.S. Congress passed the Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act 2006 (Hyde Act), which left some of these differences unresolved. It did not amend some sections of the (U.S.) Atomic Energy Act, 1954 which limit cooperation with countries that are NPT non-signatories or have conducted nuclear explosions, as India did in 1998. Bush signed the Act into law, but qualified it with a ”Presidential Signing Statement”. This raised hopes that his administration would soon reach a bilateral deal with India called the ”123 agreement” (because it would amend Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act) in ways that would meet New Delhi's objections to the Hyde Act. However, neither official-level talks nor documents exchanged by the two sides during and after Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon's visit to Washington early this month broke the deadlock. Recently, U.S. under secretary of state R. Nicholas Burns cancelled a visit to India, planned for May 21. He now says he might visit India in the next week or two to finish the work that remains to be done on the deal; ”we are 90 percent there...” But the rest ”will require a little hard workà and some compromisesà” ”The primary reason the talks have failed so far is that India opposes clauses in the Hyde Act which would terminate the deal if India tests another nuclear weapon,'' says Kamal Mitra Chenoy, a professor at the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University here. ”The Act also prevents India from reprocessing spent fuel or importing uranium enrichment technology. Unless Washington can tailor the ‘123 agreement' to meet India's objections, or India dilutes its opposition, an agreement is unl ikely to materialise,'' Chenoy told IPS. India's early hopes that Bush would make a major departure from the Hyde Act by citing the ”Presidential Signing Statement” have greatly weakened in recent weeks. U.S. legal experts are of the view that the President cannot amend a law passed by Congress, Bush stated his ”Signing” reservations largely to placate the Indian domestic opposition, which demands there be no change from the original agreement of July 18, 2005. This puts Manmohan Singh in a bind. Singh has made solemn commitments to India's Parliament that there would be no departure from the 2005 agreement under which the U.S. offered to treat India on a par with other nuclear weapons-states. The agreement says the U.S. accepts that ”as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology, India should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such statesà [such as the U.S].” In return, India ”would be ready to assume the same responsibilities and practices and acquire the same benefits and advantagesà.” According to Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which opposes the deal, ”even if the Bush administration wanted to, the U.S. negotiators simply do not have the leeway to concede much more to India.” The U.S. negotiating position is now defined by requirements set forth in the Hyde Act and Atomic Energy Actà ”These legal provisions specifically call for termination of cooperation in the event of further Indian testing and U.S. consent rights on reprocessing and enrichment, among other requirements.” If the Indian government insists on severe amendments to these by demanding the right to reprocess fuel or conduct tests, ”the deal is as good as dead because the Bush White House has neither the political capital nor the inclination to do so,'' Kimball has been quoted as saying. Kimball is among signatories to a letter addressed to members of Congress, asking for a rejection of the deal if it fails to meet U.S. legal requirements for civil nuclear cooperation. Other signatories are Hal Bengelsdorf, former director for the office for non-proliferation policy at the Energy Department, ambassador George Bunn, a negotiator of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Joseph Cirincione at the Centre for American Progress and ambassador Ralph Earle II, former director of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. The U.S. reportedly offered some concessions, such as ensuring fuel supplies through third countries, and effectively diluting the U.S.'s right to ask India to return plant, equipment and nuclear fuel to it in case the agreement is terminated. But India found these short of the pledged ”full civilian nuclear cooperation”. ”It is clear that difficulties have arisen because India's hardline nuclear lobby, especially serving and retired officials of the Department of Atomic Energy, has stiffened its stance,” argues M.V. Ramana, an independent expert attached to the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore. ”They insist India must have the right to conduct nuclear tests, especially if other countries to do so. Anything less would amount to imposing on India the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which it rejected in 1996.” Adds Ramana: ”The hardliners also demand that India must have the right to reprocess imported nuclear fuel after it is used in power reactors because India's long-term nuclear programme hinges crucially on reprocessed plutonium, to be used in fast-breeder reactors. This makes for a degree of inflexibility which Bush will find it difficult to accommodate.” Manmohan Singh can still clinch a ”123 agreement” if he takes a high-level political decision to make compromises even at the risk of courting domestic opposition. But it is unclear if Singh will want to take such risks given that both the Left and the Right will want to hold him down to his commitment that India will accept nothing less than full-scope civilian nuclear cooperation with the U.S., with guaranteed supplies of fuel. India drove a hard bargain on a crucial component of the nuclear deal last year when it agreed to put only 14 out of 22 civilian power reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency inspections to ensure that nuclear materials won't be diverted to military uses. India also secured exemption for fast-breeder reactors and nuclear-military facilities. ”Now there's a good chance”, says Ramana, ”that hard bargaining won't produce a ‘123 agreement' drafted on India's terms. Yet, many possibilities will open up for India's energy options as well as her stance vis-à-vis a ‘strategic partnership' with Washington.” The Indian establishment built a hyped-case for the nuclear deal by claiming that atomic power is absolutely indispensable for India's growing energy needs. But it is far from clear that India needs nuclear power, which is expensive, accident-prone and fraught with serious hazards, especially high-level wastes which remain radioactive for centuries. ”The present moment offers India an opportunity to rethink its energy strategy and emphasise conservation and renewable energy”, says Ramana. ”It will also create a powerful case for revising its strategic stance and adopting a policy independent of the U.S., in keeping with Non-Alignment.” It is not clear if India's increasingly globalising and pro-U.S. elite will muster the courage for such revision. But it will come under pressure to do so from Centre-Left forces, which oppose the Singh government's pro-Western and neoliberal orientation. The only alternative to that may be policy disorientation in New Delhi, and growing popular disenchantment with the Singh government. ***** +POLITICS: Doomsday Clock Ticking Faster - in Asia (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36245) +Like Mushrooms - IPS special coverage (http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/nuclear/index.asp) +Doomsday Clock (http://www.thebulletin.org/doomsday_clock/timeline.htm) (END/IPS/AP/NA/WD/NU/SC/DV/PB/RDR/07) = 05250912 ORP004 NNNN ***************************************************************** 3 Daily Yomiuri: Jail sought in Mitutoyo nuclear export scandal The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Friday demanded a four-year prison term for a former vice chairman of Mitutoyo Corp. who was accused of illegally exporting three-dimensional measuring devices that could potentially be used to develop nuclear weapons. Former Vice Chairman Norio Takatsuji, 72, along with former President Kazusaku Tezuka, 68, former Managing Director Hideyo Chikugo, 67, and former Director Tetsuo Kimura, 65, had previously pleaded guilty to unauthorized exporting in violation of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law. In their closing statement Friday, the prosecutors told the Tokyo District Court there was a real risk of nuclear proliferation as the exported devices were installed in Libyan nuclear development facilities. The prosecution demanded a four-year prison term for Takatsuji, and between three years and 3-1/2 years for the others. It also demanded Mitutoyo be fined 49.7 million yen. The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 4 WNN: Agreement reached on new Chinese nuclear plant 25 May 2007 An agreement has been signed which would see the first two of four nuclear power reactors built at Bamaoshan, in the Anhui province of China. The development would be the first inland nuclear power project. Bloomberg reports from Beijing indicate that a consortium of Anhui Province Energy Group, Guangdong Nuclear, Shanghai Electric Power Company and Shenergy signed an agreement on 20 May concerning the first phase of the project. Eventually it is planned for the Bamaoshan site, near Wuhu on the Yangtze river, to host four reactors of around 1000 MWe each. The first part of the project, two reactor units, would reportedly cost around $5.75 billion, but it is unclear at this stage what reactor designs the companies are considering. China so far employs French, Russian and indigenous pressurized water reactors as well a s Canadian pressurized heavy water reactors. Agreements have been made and contracts are under development for the country to build and subsequently license the technology of more advanced American and French units, while its own 1000 MWe design is under development for export. Chinese planners have 19 nuclear power reactors slated for construction under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), and some 82 planned for later. Even this impressive program would only see nuclear achieve around a 4% share of electricity, such is the rate of the country's electrification. WNA's Nuclear Power in China information paper ***************************************************************** 5 Herald News: Tritiated water leaves basin HeraldNewsOnline.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group May 25, 2007 By KIM SMITH STAFF WRITER BRACEVILLE -- Wednesday's high winds caused contaminated water to lap over the sides of a concrete lined retention basin at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant. Exelon spokeswoman Krista Lopykinski said about 1,500 gallons of tritiated water were blown out of a retention basin. The water tested at about 75,000 picocuries. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency says 20,000 picocuries per liter of drinking water is considered safe. Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactors producing electricity. Elevated levels of tritium are believed to cause cancer. "All the water was kept on our property," Lopykinski said. "No workers were exposed. We put sandbags around the area to contain the water." This is the third problem this month reported from area nuclear power plants. On May 4, about 5 gallons of tritium-laced water leaked out of a crack in a steel storage container at the Braidwood Plant. The same day, a malfunctioning valve was discovered during a routine maintenance check at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant. Unit 2 was taken off-line for repairs that were fixed in less than a week. There are three units at the Dresden facility. Dresden's Unit 1 has been dormant for many years. Unit 3 operated at full power while the repairs were being made. Exelon spokesman Bob Osgood said there was no risk to the public and no release of radiation caused by the problems earlier this month. Reporter Kim Smith can be reached at (815) 729-6067 or ksmith@scn1.com © Copyright 2007 Sun-Times News Group | Terms of Use and Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 6 BBC NEWS: Seal rescued from power station Last Updated: Friday, 25 May 2007, 17:36 GMT 18:36 UK The mammal was released near to the seal colonies at Goodwin Sands Divers have taken two days to free a grey seal from a water cooling pool at a nuclear power plant. The mammal was discovered trapped in a tank filled with churning water at Dungeness Power Station on Wednesday. Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) built a floating pontoon to stop the seal from drowning before winching it out. The cooling pool tank had a constant flow of churning water passing through it, and it was feared the 8ft (2.4m) adult grey would drown from exhaustion. Winched to safety Trevor Weeks, of BDMLR, said "When we first saw the seal on Wednesday we could see that he was in good condition but we needed to act quickly to give him the ability to haul out and get out of the water. "We attached two of our inflatable pontoon tubes, usually used for whale rescue, to a plywood board and a crane lowered this into the tank. The seal took only a few minutes to start using the raft." A special net was placed on the floating raft on Thursday to trap the seal and winch him to safety. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 7 Xinhua: China initiates real-time monitoring over nuclear power plants www.chinaview.cn 2007-05-25 23:54:30 BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China has started trial operations of a nuclear emergency response system that allows for real-time monitoring of the country's nuclear power plants, said a government official on Friday. The new system, headquartered in the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, will provide information about radiation levels in nuclear power plants, and automatically detect alarms and report emergencies to the plants and the provinces, said Chao Zhexiong, an official of the national nuclear accident emergency management office. The system can also be extend to overseas organizations and public web sites in case of emergencies. He said the system has been linked with the emergency response systems of China's three major nuclear power bases, which are in Qinshan of Zhejiang Province, Daya Bay of Guangdong Province and Tianwan of Jiangsu Province, and the provincial nuclear emergency offices. The second phase of the system, which is still under construction, will connect the provincial emergency offices with that of the central government, according to Chao. China has maintained a good safety record at its 11 nuclear power generating units, three of which are at Qinshan nuclear power plant, two at Daya Bay, four at Tianwan and two at Ling'ao nuclear power plant near Daya Bay. China's present installed capacity of nuclear power plants is less than nine million kilowatts, about one percent of all its power generating capacity. It will be increased to 40 million kilowatts by 2020. Editor: Yan Liang ***************************************************************** 8 APP.COM: "Damage control" not NRC's job | Asbury Park Press Online Friday, May 25, 2007 Neil Sheehan, a public relations officer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, wrote to complain that the Press presented "an incomplete and therefore misleading picture painted in two editorials" concerning a safety issue at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. ("Spent fuel pool's structural integrity not a concern," May 8.) The minutes of a May 24, 2005, meeting of Oyster Creek's internal Operations Review Committee stated that Oyster Creek's spent fuel pool had corroded rebar (metal supports). Sheehan chastised the Press for not mentioning a subsequent meeting on June 14, 2005, at which the plant operations committee "clarified" its previous statement that it meant to say that the plant's equipment pool, not the spent fuel pool, had corroded rebar. If I understand this inconsistency to be an honest mistake and not a clumsy attempt to cover up a dire safety issue, it still greatly concerns me that, on May 24, 2005, Oyster Creek's plant operators apparently did not know the difference between two distinct structures within their nuclear plant. To their credit, they did figure it out by June 14, 2005. What is most disturbing about this entire chain of events is that Sheehan of the NRC is performing the public relations tactic of "damage control" for the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. The NRC's mandate is to ensure public safety by regulating the nuclear industry, not advocating for it. It is a gross conflict of interest and therefore highly inappropriate for an NRC spokesman to be an apologist for the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. Helen Mahtaban Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Brattleboro Reformer: VY gets passing grades on safety BRATTLEBORO, VT By PAUL H. HEINTZ, Reformer Staff Friday, May 25 BRATTLEBORO -- Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission presented the preliminary findings Thursday of its inspection of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee's ability to safely operate for an additional 20 years. At a hearing at the Latchis Theatre, the NRC said it found that Entergy satisfactorily corrected weaknesses identified during the process and could continue to operate safely in the future. The power plant is seeking to extend its license beyond its current expiration date of 2012 and is in the midst of multiple inspections and audits. A final decision regarding the plant's fate is expected later this year. The results were presented to Entergy representatives at a public meeting that stretched late into the evening. A boisterous group of nuclear activists berated NRC representatives throughout the event, while several plant employees spoke out in favor of the renewal. Michael Modes, leader of the aging management inspection team, began the hearing by laying out a framework for his group's inspection of the plant this January. He then presented the findings to Entergy representatives, who sat on stage along with Modes and his colleagues. Plant director of nuclear safety John Dreyfuss accepted the findings on behalf of Entergy and said the company was pleased with the report. He said he was not surprised that some problems were identified during the process -- all of which he said had been addressed. Though the formal presentation of results wrapped up quickly, audience members grilled the NRC representatives for several hours -- alternating between making speeches, asking questions and interrupting the answers. Meanwhile, a large group of Entergy employees sat in the back of the theater and periodically stepped up to the microphone to defend their employer. The NRC representatives labored to combat emotional questions with technical answers, but the two sides locked horns for most of the night. Opponents of the license extension argued in favor of an independent safety assessment of the plant before the NRC makes its final decision, but commission representatives argued that their own inspection incorporated all necessary precautions. After audience members repeatedly accused the NRC of lacking objectivity and being in league with the nuclear industry, Modes expressed indignation that his personal credibility would be questioned. The activists cited instances of cancer allegedly caused by nuclear power and pointed to problems that led to the decommissioning of Maine Yankee. Neither side budged throughout the evening and it appeared, as expected, that both sides left the theater all the more convinced of their own righteousness. Paul Heintz can be reached at pheintz@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 275. ***************************************************************** 10 Shetland Today: MP slams plans for more nuclear power Shetland Times Online News Feature Issued: Friday, 25 May 2007 at 10:30 THE PROSPECT of a new generation of nuclear power stations has been condemned by Alistair Carmichael. The isles MP was speaking ahead of the launch of the government's energy white paper which outlines the nuclear plans. Mr Carmichael said: "Nuclear is a tried, tested and failed technology with far higher costs than the renewable alternatives or energy efficiency measures. "In 2002 alone the government spent £410 million bailing out the nuclear industry and yet the government seems intent on pressing ahead with a new programme of nuclear build. "The government talks a good talk on renewable energy ­ however, in reality, every pound we spend on new nuclear power is a pound that could have been spent on clean renewable forms of energy generation. "Locally, we have a lot to offer in terms of wind and marine renewables. Funding these technologies makes far more sense than wasting billions more pounds on nuclear power." Mr Carmichael said the government must accept that pushing ahead with nuclear power would seriously undermine the potential for an increase in renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. He said: "We need a white paper that shows the government are serious about tackling climate change, and delivering a clean, green and safe energy strategy for the decades ahead. The only way to achieve this is by ruling out nuclear power." © The Shetland Times Ltd. Gremista, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0PX Tel: 01595 742000 Fax: 01595 742001 ***************************************************************** 11 Hamilton Spectator: Ontario must support clean, safe nuclear power By Dr. Patrick Moore, Vancouver (May 25, 2007) Re: 'Nuclear power is a failed '50s dream' (letters, May 15) Greenpeace's Bruce Cox spends two-thirds of his letter attacking me while failing to provide any realistic solutions to the country's increasing demand for clean energy. Cox claims Germany and Spain are phasing out nuclear power, so Ontario should, too. He fails to mention that these countries are replacing nuclear with coal and gas, both of which emit vast amounts of greenhouse gas and air pollution. Eight EU nations, including Germany and Spain, plan to add nearly 13 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity by 2012. Germany alone will build 15 new coal plants in the next few years, contributing enormously to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants that can cause asthma and other breathing problems. Is this the "solution" Cox wishes Ontario to follow? Germany and Spain excepted, most European countries are sticking with and in some cases building additional nuclear plants, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and comply with greenhouse gas restrictions. Contrary to Greenpeace's claims, intermittent energy sources like solar and wind are nowhere near sufficient to meet German and Spanish energy demands. That's why Germany continues to import much of its power from France, whose electricity production is 80 per cent nuclear. Activist groups like Greenpeace must be called to account for their irresponsible and unrealistic demand that Ontario replace both coal and nuclear energy, which make up 70 per cent of the province's existing energy supply, with alternative energy sources alone. As Germany and Spain have found, conservation and renewables are important to future power, but meeting the demand for new electricity means making a choice between coal-fired and nuclear power generation. In Ontario, nuclear energy is the greatest single contributor to carbon reduction relative to all other energy producing technologies. If Ontario is serious about reducing CO2 emissions while meeting its increasing energy needs, it must continue to support clean, safe and reliable nuclear power combined with hydro, wind and geothermal energy sources. Legal Notice: Contents copyright 1991-2006, The Hamilton Spectator. ***************************************************************** 12 Reuters: Greenpeace says government on brink of big mistake Fri May 25, 2007 1:38PM BST By Daniel Fineren LONDON (Reuters) - The government could slash its carbon emissions and secure its future energy supplies quickly and cheaply by abandoning plans to build more nuclear power plants, according to Greenpeace. By betting on nuclear, the government is also setting a bad example to the rest of the world, senior Greenpeace UK energy and climate change adviser, Robin Oakley, said. In less time and with less money than it takes to build new nuclear reactors, or try out ways of burying emissions from dirty power plants, the government could hit its energy goals by using proven technology available now. "We are much better off focusing on the things that we know will work and deliver results fast," Oakley told Reuters. "The key ones are efficiency, going after decentralised energy to make the system more efficient, and bringing on renewables as quickly as possible," he said in an interview. Government secretaries previously opposed to atomic energy, including Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling, have warmed to it as the threat of climate change has grown, arguing that it offers clean power and cuts reliance on imported gas. Apart from safety and waste disposal concerns, Greenpeace argues that nuclear is expensive, impractical and slow to offer a solution to either problem. "It's a technology that only generates electricity at a time when we need to be reducing emissions and dealing with energy questions right across the board including heat and transport," Oakley said. Instead, the government should be cutting energy use while building lots of small combined heat and power (CHP) plants that are more energy efficient because they pipe the heat given off from electricity production to homes and businesses. "You get a more secure electricity supply if you have got a more diverse range of sources, as you would have under a decentralised energy system," Oakley said. CHPs can burn various fuels from organic matter to coal or gas. And as they can be up to 95 percent efficient, whatever they burn means less emissions per unit of energy produced. Photo "They deliver immediate results, they are cheaper to deploy and they give you a much bigger impact on reducing gas use and reducing emissions than nuclear power, which can't be delivered within the next decade," Oakley said. Oakley cited government figures showing the UK could build enough CHP plants to produce about twice the electricity that the nuclear industry does today, about 20 percent, in less time than it would take to replace its existing nuclear plants. Backed up by wind, wave and tidal power, CHPs and energy efficiency can make nuclear power irrelevant, he added. ENERGY EFFICIENCY According to Greenpeace, the government's own figures show that energy use across all sectors could be cut by 30 percent, saving more money than would need to be spent on the changes. Simply banning incandescent light bulbs would slash demand by more than the output of a large nuclear power station. "At the moment our power stations lose about two thirds of their energy, so there is enormous inefficiency in the supply side system," Oakley said. "Clearly that impact alone would be far greater than a new fleet, or even doubling the size of our current reactor fleet." Darling said when he presented the government's latest energy policy on Wednesday that efficiency would be a priority. Photo But analysts and environmental groups have voiced scepticism about any real results emerging from its latest policy review. "They have had a priority, in theory, of energy efficiency for four years now...The 2003 white paper identified energy efficiency as the cheapest and most effective," Oakley said. "They said that was a priority and did nothing about it." BAD EXAMPLE Because the country has claimed a leading role in fighting climate change, mistakes that it makes could be followed by other rich countries while poorer nations could be left without examples of practical low-carbon energy models, Oakley argued. "The implications globally have been glossed over... If the UK goes for nuclear then we are in no position at all to object to any other country also choosing nuclear to meet its energy security needs or to try and tackle climate change," he said. "We are basically saying... that we think nuclear is an acceptable solution. That's the implication of the policy." © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 13 FIA: Bulgaria’s President to lobby for nuclear energy’s future FOCUS Information Agency 25 May 2007 | 19:08 | FOCUS News Agency Brno. Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov said Friday in the southeastern Czech city of Brno that he would defend the future of nuclear energy because it offered clear alternatives that guarantee the environment protection. Mr. Parvanov takes part in a summit of presidents from Central and Eastern European countries in the Czech Republic. Another major topic of Parvanov’s statement at the forum and his bilateral meetings was related to the Western Balkans. He said he backs the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries as it is the strongest stimulus for reforms and security in Europe, BNR reported. Information Agency FOCUS is a member of FIBEP and is certified under the ISO 9001:2000 standard ***************************************************************** 14 FIA: Russian NPP Belene contractor to issue bonds FOCUS Information Agency 25 May 2007 | 02:20 | FOCUS News Agency Sofia. Russian company Atomstroyexport that will construct Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant - Belene will take a loan against securities to finance the construction of the NPP, according to Kommersant newspaper cited by Standart daily. The loan will be for 1.5 billion rubles that is about BGN 85 million. It is the first time the Russian nuclear company takes such a loan. The construction works should start in September and end in 2013. A week ago it emerged the French BNP Paribas had won the first tender for financing the construction of the nuclear power plant. The French bank will provide EUR 250 million for the first year. The whole cost of Belene NPP is calculated to EUR 4 billion. Information Agency FOCUS is a member of FIBEP and is certified under the ISO 9001:2000 standard ***************************************************************** 15 SABC: Nuclear trial to be heard in open court May 25, 2007, 11:45 SABCnews.com - south_africa/crime1justice South African Broadcasting Corporation Copyright © 2000 - 2005 SABC The Pretoria High Court has ordered that the trial of Daniel Geiges and Gerhard Wisser, the two men accused of manufacturing and exporting components that may be used in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, be held in an open court. However judge Joop Labuschagne, ruled that the court will be entitled and obliged to reconsider its order from time to time in the light of unfolding evidence before it. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) earlier asked the court to keep the media and the public out of this trial. The NPA argued that the release of certain information may compromise national security. ***************************************************************** 16 South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Safe nuclear power While many countries are seeking to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel, France dramatically changed its source of energy supplies--it went nuclear. The French leadership embarked on an ambitious nuclear energy program back in 1973. Now, France has 58 nuclear power plants and derives nearly 80 percent of its electricity from that source. In short, France is the world's biggest user of nuclear power plants -- most of them operating initially with American technology. The United States imports 58 percent of its oil, a percentage expected to rise to 68 percent by 2020. Until recently, the United States had more oil independence because of the tremendous source of oil in our own hemisphere -- especially from Venezuela. But Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez delivered a stunning blow to U.S. oil security. He seized control of the Orinoco tar sands, and because of the size of this deposit -- between 1.2 trillion and 1.8 trillion barrels of oil -- this was a true disaster for the United States. Orinoco represents 34 percent of all known world oil reserves, and 58 years of world oil consumption at current levels. Oil in Alberta, Canada, looks promising but environmental considerations and the difficulty and cost of extraction mean that oil exported from Canada could have major delays. Also, the U.S. Energy Department's 2006 International Energy Outlook categorized the Athabasca oil in Alberta at only 2.8 million barrels a day in 2030, which is less than 10 percent of U.S. consumption in that year. Moreover, China's consumption is expected to have quadrupled by 2030, with that country importing 11 million barrels per day. If Chávez was not moving to become a dictator in Venezuela, Americans wouldn't need to think outside the box. But if Chávez moves towards dictatorship, his potential longevity increases. And Chávez will have oil revenue from his country's partnership with China. Many Americans are starting to believe we must consider greater reliance on nuclear power. The United States has 104 nuclear plants -- and licenses on 48 of the older plants have been extended for the next 20 years. Still, many Americans worry about the dangers of a nuclear energy accident. The near-disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and the major accident at Chernobyl in the old Soviet Union, demonstrate how seriously nuclear power should be monitored. But many countries now believe the advantages of nuclear power overcome its shortcomings. The trend toward nuclear power is growing exponentially around the world. A hundred new nuclear power plants will be operating in China, India, Japan, and Russia within the next 12 to 15 years, according to investment newsletter publisher Doug Casey. Casey, who hosts seminars on natural resource investments, says China, India, Japan and Russia are not expecting Middle East oil to supply their future energy needs. And that means uranium, the element needed to develop nuclear power, is rising steadily in price. Currently, uranium is $120 a pound. In 1990, uranium prices were much lower, at $12.55 per pound. According to Casey, nuclear waste is not a great problem. If all the nuclear waste that has been used by all the power plants around the world thus far were put in one place, it would only fill a football field 30 feet high. On the other hand, burning coal to power utilities would create millions of tons of waste. Potentially, uranium deposits are all over the world. But the problem lies in finding enough uranium deposits in one place to put it into production. It takes 10 years to put a uranium mine into production, and that is one of the reasons for its high cost. Many Americans like alternative energy solutions, such as solar and wind, but those industries are too small to pack a meaningful wallop. The green technologies of tomorrow hold great promise, but they have not yet demonstrated an ability to perform at scale. Nuclear power, however, has already demonstrated its safety, scalability and reliability. The need for more power is rising, and many believe nuclear is the only practical way to handle mass power. France has done a good job of providing safe nuclear power to its population. Perhaps the United States should consider following France's lead: Use more nuclear power for utilities. Lois Lindstrom is a journalist who lives in South Florida. Douglas C. Lyons Editorial Writer Copyright 2007, Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive Inc. Sun-Sentinel.com, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 ***************************************************************** 17 International Herald Tribune: Guangdong Nuclear agrees to build Anhui plant - By Wang Ying Bloomberg News Published: May 24, 2007 BEIJING: China Guangdong Nuclear Power and its partners, including Shanghai-listed Shenergy, agreed to build a nuclear power plant in the central province of Anhui to cater to rising energy demand. Guangdong Nuclear, Shenergy, Shanghai Electric Power and Anhui Province Energy Group signed an agreement on May 20 to jointly invest in the first phase of the nuclear plant, Guangdong Nuclear said in a statement on its Web site. China wants to increase the use of alternatives like nuclear energy to reduce pollution and dependence on oil and coal. The country needs to add two reactors a year to meet a target of generating 4 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants by 2020 compared with about 2.3 percent now. Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 18 icWales: Wales fails test for new nuclear plants May 25 2007 by Gareth Morgan, Western Mail WALES is likely to be ruled out of becoming home to a new nuclear power station, according to a government-commissioned report. It lists 14 suitable sites around the UK but says existing nuclear plants in Southern England are the best choice. Wylfa in North Wales is eighth choice out of the list of 14 while Trawsfynydd is at the bottom of the list. Alongside Berkeley near Gloucester and Heysham in Lancashire they are more or less ruled out with “major barriers that would be difficult to overcome”. There is a small chance Wylfa could be developed, but the report says new stations are unlikely to be feasible in Wales or Scotland because of devolution. Independent consultants drew up a list of the most suitable sites for new nuclear plants, based on the criteria that existing nuclear power stations were the most suitable for development. It says that the best location overall is at Harwell, a former military site in Oxfordshire. But where there is an existing reactor, Hinkley Point, in Somerset, is the best place to build a new nuclear power station, according to the previously confidential report. Sizewell in Suffolk is next most suitable, only needing planning permission for power lines and “investigation of grid stability”. Greenpeace obtained the official report through a Freedom of Information request. The government stressed the report was a “discussion paper only”. Rows over future energy generation are raging this week as the government comes under fierce attack after launching a five-month consultation on the “significant role” new nuclear power stations could play. Opposition parties, environmental campaigners and pressure groups criticised ministers and questioned where new nuclear power stations would be built. Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said it was “more likely than not” that any new nuclear power stations would be built on the sites which already have similar plants. Trawsfynydd, which uses a large man-made reservoir to cool its reactor, comes bottom of the list in the report. But its inland location may prove attractive if the government decides global warming is a major factor in the siting decision. There are fears rising sea levels could make coastal sites unsuitable over the 100-year lifespan of a nuclear plant. Greenpeace director John Sauven said, “Scientists say the speed at which climate change is happening means that some of the sites suggested for new nuclear power stations are threatened by rising sea levels and storm surges. “You have to question where the Government thinks it’s going to build these things. “The list of preferred sites for new build in this report is a matter of national interest, not just something for civil servants to see. It’s scandalous the government was going to keep this under wraps.” The report sets out the “major business, economic, safety, environmental and technical factors that could influence the selection of a site. It says there would be “little point” in the government considering nuclear power if no suitable sites were to become available. Launching the White Paper on Wednesday, Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said his view was to allow more nuclear plants, but there would be a five-month consultation period. The DTI said the report’s conclusions were those of the consultants and it was too early to consider the siting of any potential new stations. It said private companies would ultimately propose where they should be built. If the government decides to back nuclear power, it will carry out a Strategic Siting Assessment (SSA) to identify the best sites in the UK for new nuclear plants. There could be a stand off between the Welsh Assembly Government and Westminster if any plans emerged to renew the nuclear energy programme in Wales. Despite opposition from the Assembly Government, control over the issue is not devolved. Copyright and Trade Mark Notice ***************************************************************** 19 Times-News: Simpson teams with House colleagues to push for downwinder hearing Magicvalley.com, Twin Falls, ID Last modified on Friday, May 25, 2007 1:48 PM MDT POCATELLO, Idaho - U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, is renewing his effort to get federal support for Idaho residents who say they were sickened by radioactive fallout from nuclear testing done half a century ago. Simpson teamed with Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, to send a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., requesting a review of the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Simpson and Matheson want a hearing on the possibility of expanding the compensation program. The nuclear bomb tests were carried out in the Nevada desert in the 1950s and 1960s at the Nevada Test Site. More than $440 million in compensation has been paid to so-called downwinders and their survivors in Nevada, Utah and Arizona under the act, but none to downwinders in Idaho. A 1997 National Cancer Institute study found that four counties in Idaho _ Gem, Blaine, Custer and Lemhi _ were among the five with the highest levels of radioactive fallout. Malad resident J. Preston Truman, who heads up a national downwinders organization, said he hopes the effort will end a federal logjam on the issue. "I think that this may get it going in the Senate, too," Truman said. "The problem has been other states, not here." In 2005, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, introduced a bill that would have made Idaho residents eligible for RECA payments, but that bill stagnated in the Senate. In their letter, Simpson and Matheson said the radioactive debris left by more than 1,000 nuclear weapons tests over two decades needs to be addressed. "These geographical boundaries are, quite frankly, arbitrary boundaries that do not account for the fact that radioactive fallout does not abide by lines on map," the congressmen wrote. "Some of the counties experiencing the largest concentration of fallout in the entire nation are not included in the current RECA program including areas in our home states of Idaho and Utah." Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com A service of the Associated Press(AP) Copyright © 2006, Lee Publications Inc. Magicvalley.com is an on-line division of The Times-News, published daily at 132 W. Fairfield St., Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 by Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises. ***************************************************************** 20 AU ABC: Nuclear waste dump a good deal, says owner ABC Northern Territory | Local News (ACST)Friday, 25 May 2007. 11:15 (AWST) One of the traditional owners of the site says they made an informed decision.ABC TV A traditional owner of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory says she is happy to have a nuclear waste dump on her land. Amy Lauder is one of 70 Ngapa traditional owners who have agreed to nominate the station, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as a site for Australia's nuclear waste. The decision means scientific testing can now take place on a 1.5 square kilometre section of land. If it is approved by the Federal Government, traditional owners will receive a one-off package of $12 million. Amy Lauder says the money will help her people for generations and it was an informed decision. "We fully understood and all that, we knew through all that, I felt confident of making a decision along with my family," she said. "Before we made the decision, we fully understood everything that's been said and they talked to us about what's right and what's wrong." But Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin says the process for finding a national nuclear waste dump site has been a joke. Ms Martin says the Territory only made it onto the Commonwealth radar by default, not through a scientific selection process. "They were frustrated by what happened in South Australia over the Woomera area," she said. "They simply turned around and identified three sites in the Northern Territory, and we have rejected that very strongly." Greens Senator Christine Milne says the deal exploits Indigenous people. "The $12 million deal to pay off the Northern Land Council is a joke," she said. "This nuclear waste has a half-life of 25,000 years and will be dangerous for more than a quarter of a million years. "This is the first step to making Australia a global nuclear waste dump. "It's Howard's vision for the country." Road access to the site will be along an existing mining road from the Stuart Highway. The agreement does not include access to the railway. A second potential site on Muckaty Station will not proceed due to concerns about sacred sites. Related Video NT Aboriginal community in nuclear dump offer Aboriginal traditional owners from a remote part of the Northern Territory have agreed to nominate their land to become a nuclear waste dump. MPEG1 MPEG2 Traditional owners agree to nuclear dump deal The Ngapa traditional owners in the Northern Territory have agreed to a deal that would see low and intermediate level radioactive waste buried on their land. In return they would receive a $12 ***************************************************************** 21 ReviewJournal.com: Yucca financing taking shape May. 25, 2007 Congressional committees begin process of setting 2008 budget levels By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- House and Senate committees this week took the first steps toward setting Yucca Mountain spending for 2008, a year in which the Department of Energy plans to meet a key licensing milestone if Congress supplies the funds. The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday chopped $50 million from the military's contribution to the Yucca project, which would store Defense Department nuclear waste along with commercial used fuel within the planned repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee formed a spending bill that would fully fund the repository plan at the $494.5 million amount that DOE requested. Both actions took place early in the Capitol Hill budget process. Final spending for nuclear waste disposal won't be set until the fall. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., engineered the Senate cut. Though the Pentagon asked for $292 million as its share of the program next year, the Armed Services Committee reduced that to $242 million. "The more success we have in cutting funds for this reckless project, the further from reality it becomes," said Ensign, a committee member who opposes the disposal of high-level nuclear waste disposal in the state, as do most of its other elected leaders. But in the House, Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., the chairman of the energy and water subcommittee, included full funding for Yucca in his panel's annual DOE spending bill. Visclosky told reporters he wanted to ensure that the Energy Department had the money it said it needed to complete a Yucca license application. Ward Sproat, director of the Energy Department's office for Yucca Mountain, has testified to Congress that the DOE hopes to complete a repository license bid and file it with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by next June. The repository would not open until 2017, and probably a half-dozen years later, under schedules devised by DOE. The state of Nevada and environmental groups plan to mount legal challenges in a continuing effort to kill the project outright. Leave Your Comment 1 Reader Comments Terms & Conditions The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor. Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 22 AFP: Australian Aborigines agree to host nuclear waste dump - Fri May 25, 3:53 AM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - A group of Australian Aborigines agreed Friday to have a nuclear waste dump placed on their outback land in return for millions of dollars in benefits. Under the deal, the dump will be built on land leased to the government by the Ngapa clan at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, who will get it back in 200 years when it is declared safe. Science Minister Julie Bishop said the site would be used to store low and intermediate radioactive waste, including processed fuel rods from the country's only nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights, on the outskirts of Sydney. The Northern Land Council, the indigenous organisation which helped negotiate the deal on behalf of Aboriginal landholders, said the 12 million dollars (9.1 million US) the community would receive under the deal would benefit generations. Council chairman John Daly said there were no safety concerns about the proposal. "We believe it will be safe and we have Australia's best scientists dealing with it," Daly told reporters. Under the deal, the Ngapa clan will receive phased payments of 11 million dollars into a charitable trust to benefit traditional owners. Another million dollars will be provided to enhance education opportunities for Aborigines in the Muckaty Station area. The Muckaty site is one of four still being considered by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which runs the Lucas Heights reactor. However, it is the only one where locals have welcomed the plan. Daly said he was confident it would be selected. Greens senator Christine Milne said the deal exploited Aborigines and showed Prime Minister John Howard's eagerness to embrace nuclear power. "The 12 million dollar deal to pay off the Northern Land Council is a joke," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "This nuclear waste has a half-life of 25,000 years and will be dangerous for more than a quarter of a million years. "This is the first step to making Australia a global nuclear waste dump. It's Howard's vision for the country." Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 23 The Australian: Aboriginal land to become nuclear waste site NEWS.com.au | * May 25, 2007 This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP * By Tara Ravens and Dennis Peters A GROUP of Northern Territory Aborigines has agreed to accept $12 million in return for some of their land being the site of Australia's first nuclear waste facility. Part of their proposed deal with the Commonwealth is that they will get the land back, but they may have to wait 200 years. The traditional owners from Muckaty Station, 120km north of Tennant Creek, today nominated their land for a planned repository for low- to medium-level nuclear waste. The proposed 1.5 sq km site will now undergo scientific testing to be considered along with three Commonwealth defence sites, including Harts Range and Mount Everard near Alice Springs and Fishers Ridge near Katherine. Historic day John Daly, chairman of the Northern Land Council (NLC) which backs the plan, said it was "a historic day''. "This is an agreement that has been worked out with traditional owners and the Commonwealth,'' he said. "We believe it will be safe and we have Australia's best scientists dealing with it.'' Deal a "cash cow" The Ngapa, one of four clan groups who live on Muckaty Station and who number about 60 people, including children, have agreed to the deal following two years of negotiations and three trips by elders to Sydney's Lucas Heights Reactor. Under the agreement, they would get $11 million to be managed by a charitable trust and $1 million to be spent on education. In return they would hand over an area of 1.5 sq km to store waste, which would likely be carried to the site by road from the Stuart Highway, over the next 50 years. The Commonwealth would return the site to traditional owners when it was declared safe - expected to be in about 200 years. Mr Daly said while the Federal Government would take full freehold ownership of the land, there was a legislative guarantee it would be handed back. He said the deal would be a "cash cow'' for the traditional owners if the site was selected. "It's about the other spin-offs. Twelve million dollars is a lot of money. It can go a long way to developing the lands and future outcomes for kids,'' he said. "I am really confident. Hopefully, everything will stack up and the geology will be right for it. "We aren't losing our land. It is a long-term lease, and when the Commonwealth is finished with it, it will be returned to Aboriginal lands again.'' NT Government powerless The Northern Territory Government opposes the waste dump plan but is effectively powerless to stop it. "The decision to nominate this site is wrong and we'll continue to oppose it,'' NT Chief Minister Clare Martin said. "The process for the identification of sites for a nuclear waste dump by the Federal Government is a joke. "We understand that Australia needs a nuclear waste repository, but its location needs to be determined through a strict, scientific process, not a political one.'' Steps still to be taken Federal Science Minister Julie Bishop said she was not concerned about the Territory Government's opposition, but a number of steps had to be taken before the nomination was even approved. "If I approve the nominated land as a potential site, then the suitability of the site will be assessed in a similar manner to the three defence sites that were announced in 2005,'' she told ABC radio. Once the preferred site was selected, Ms Bishop said it would then be subject to an environmental impact assessment and nuclear regulatory licensing processes. She said Australia could have its first facility within the next four or five years. "Poor consultation" Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett said the local Aboriginal community had not been properly consulted. But Ngapa traditional owner Amy Lauder, from the Muckaty region, said she was happy with the deal. "We feel it will be alright for the environment in our country,'' she said. "We will get it back later on and (the money) will make a big difference to us.'' © The Australian ***************************************************************** 24 UPI: House may back global nuclear fuel bank United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: May 24, 2007 at 9:43 PM WASHINGTON, May 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved $50 million of limited, matching funds for an international nuclear fuel center. The move Wednesday comes amid tensions over Iran's uranium-enrichment programs, the expected boom in nuclear power plant construction and efforts to keep uranium in civilian, not military programs. "Those who truly seek to develop nuclear power solely for peaceful means will jump at the chance to take part in this fuel bank," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., chairman of the committee and co-sponsor of the bill. "It provides an opportunity to ensure a stable supply of nuclear fuel from an internationally supported nuclear facility located in a safe nation. This initiative will put to the test the claims of countries such as Iran that they are not working to build nuclear weapons, but want simply to generate power for civilian purposes." The $50 million matches the same amount offered by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. It will be used to set up an International Atomic Energy Agency-supervised facility that will process uranium to nuclear plant grade. Countries interested in fueling their reactors and compliant with international treaties would have access to it. The money is available for two years and requires an additional $50 million match, according to a committee release. This would be a fiscal deterrent for countries that want nuclear power to opt out of setting up their own fueling system. Iran has done such a thing and is accused of having intentions of building a bomb, which it denies. It has been sanctioned by the United Nations. Iran says it has the sovereign right to develop its own fuel, since it has signed on to international treaties -- though its secrecy has clouded its compliance. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 AU ABC: Nuclear waste dump a good deal, says owner Friday, 25 May 2007, 10:46:03 AEST A traditional owner of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory says she is happy to have a nuclear waste dump on her land. Amy Lauder is one of 70 Ngapa traditional owners who have agreed to nominate the station, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as a site for Australia's nuclear waste. The decision means scientific testing can now take place on a 1.5 square kilometre section of land. If it is approved by the Federal Government, traditional owners will receive a one-off package of $12 million. Amy Lauder says the money will help her people for generations and it was an informed decision. "We fully understood and all that, we knew through all that, I felt confident of making a decision along with my family," she said. "Before we made the decision, we fully understood everything that's been said and they talked to us about what's right and what's wrong." But Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin says the process for finding a national nuclear waste dump site has been a joke. Ms Martin says the Territory only made it onto the Commonwealth radar by default, not through a scientific selection process. "They were frustrated by what happened in South Australia over the Woomera area," she said. "They simply turned around and identified three sites in the Northern Territory, and we have rejected that very strongly." Greens Senator Christine Milne says the deal exploits Indigenous people. "The $12 million deal to pay off the Northern Land Council is a joke," she said. "This nuclear waste has a half-life of 25,000 years and will be dangerous for more than a quarter of a million years. "This is the first step to making Australia a global nuclear waste dump. "It's Howard's vision for the country." Road access to the site will be along an existing mining road from the Stuart Highway. The agreement does not include access to the railway. A second potential site on Muckaty Station will not proceed due to concerns about sacred sites. ***************************************************************** 26 New Haven Register: Governor heartened by bill on nuke dump Connecticut Luther Turmelle, North Bureau Chief 05/25/2007 A spokesman for Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Thursday that she will be closely watching the progress of legislation introduced late Wednesday that seeks to expedite the development of a national repository for spent nuclear fuel at a site in Nevada. Adam Liegeot, a Rell spokesman, said the governor is encouraged by the reintroduction of a bill by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. He first introduced the bill in September 2006 to speed up the development of the repository at Yucca Mountain. Liegeot said Rell continues to be active in a bipartisan coalition of governors supporting the creation of a national storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Nevada. "The governor's message is simple: We cannot allow Connecticut to become a storage site for spent nuclear fuel," Liegeot said. Connecticut is home to a pair of sites where spent nuclear fuel is being kept: a section of the former Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant location in Haddam and Dominion Energy's Millstone nuclear generating station in Waterford. Bob Capstick, a spokesman for the consortium that owns the power plant, said he hadn't seen Domenici's latest attempt to expedite the development of the Yucca Mountain facility. "Connecticut Yankee supports any legislation that advances the day when the federal government finally removes the spent fuel ... from the site," Capstick said. The U.S. government established a fund in the early 1980s to build a centralized, permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles north of Las Vegas. But the project has seen numerous construction delays and isn't expected to be completed until 2017. The legislation Domenici introduced last fall failed to advance and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to block any attempts to advance the creation of a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in his home state. Domenici has cited a vote by Congress in 2002 that declared Yucca Mountain the permanent repository for waste produced by U.S. nuclear energy plants and weapons industry. President Bush signed the legislation, Domenici said. "We cannot have a serious discussion about climate change without including nuclear energy," Domenici said in a statement. "In order to have a robust nuclear energy program, we must address the waste issue. I recognize that this bill faces long odds given the current makeup of the Senate; nevertheless, Yucca Mountain remains an essential option to deal with nuclear waste," he said. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Luther Turmelle can be reached at lturmelle@nhregister.com or at 789-5706. ©New Haven Register 2007 ***************************************************************** 27 AU ABC: Traditional owners agree to nuclear dump deal The World Today - Friday, 25 May , 2007 12:10:00 Reporter: Anne Barker ELEANOR HALL: The Federal Government is a step closer to finally finding a site for an Australian nuclear waste repository. It's more than three years since the Government's last attempt to set up a nuclear waste dump was stymied by the South Australian Government. But today the Northern Land Council has announced that the Ngapa traditional owners in the Northern Territory have agreed to a deal that would see the low and intermediate level radioactive waste buried on their land about 100 kilometres north of Tennant Creek. In return they'd receive a $12 million compensation package from the Federal Government. Joining us now in Nhulunbuy with details of the agreement is Anne Barker. So Anne, how important is this agreement for the Federal Government? ANNE BARKER: Eleanor, this could be the answer to a very long running problem for the Federal Government. As you remember they've had very huge opposition not just in South Australia but also from a lot of groups in the Northern Territory. Now they have the agreement of traditional owners and an offer of land that appears to be suitable and politically acceptable for the Government to choose it. But remember this is not a fait accompli. The Federal Government hasn't done any studies yet on the land at Muckaty Station. They (inaudible) before they can give it the go ahead, and they still have to assess three other defence land sites that they have been looking at in the Northern Territory. But you have to wonder how (inaudible) this has been struck...(inaudible) EIS (environmental impact statement) process… ELEANOR HALL: Anne, you're dropping out a little bit there, but what exactly have the traditional owners agreed to? ANNE BARKER: They have agreed to accept low level waste and intermediate radioactive waste in the longer term (inaudible)...about five cubic metres of low level (inaudible) ... in Australia. They've agreed that they will lose the ownership of (inaudible) possibly around 200 years. During that period the Federal Government will actually own the land as freehold. They will truck in, truckloads of waste will come in over a basis of 50 years. But the legislation that was amended last year allows for that land to be returned to traditional ownership as soon as the land is deemed safe at the end of the radioactive period, when that waste has officially broken down. And of course, there is $12 million in compensation for that. ELEANOR HALL: So how important was the $12 million compensation package in securing the deal, and where will the money be spent? ANNE BARKER: Well look, it was absolutely crucial, without that offer, this would never have happened. And in fact, it was the financial spin-off that was really the motivation for traditional owners coming forward in the first place. They said they would spend that money, if they do receive it, on issues like education, building... (inaudible). ELEANOR HALL: We seem to have lost Anne Barker there. ***************************************************************** 28 AU ABC: Labor critical of nuclear dump deal The World Today - Friday, 25 May , 2007 12:18:00 Reporter: Anne Barker and Karen Barlow ELEANOR HALL: Returning now to our correspondent in the Territory, Anne Barker. So Anne, how much opposition has there been from other Indigenous people in the Territory, to a nuclear waste dump? ANNE BARKER: Well there has been considerable opposition, two of the sites, the defence sites that have been identified by the Federal Government previously... (inaudible) ... they're land where a lot of Indigenous people live. There's been staunch opposition from Hart's Range, about 150km from Alice Springs, and at Mt Everard, down near Alice Springs. And because of that opposition, that has slowed the process in choosing a site that could be on defence land. Even at Muckaty Station, there are two groups of traditional owners that said they didn't want this nuclear waste depository. But at the end of the day, you only need one repository and there's one group that has made this offer today. ELEANOR HALL: And has the Northern Territory Government yet responded to this agreement? ANNE BARKER: They've maintained their opposition to any nuclear waste repository in the NT, they've been very vocal critics as we just heard from the minister. But at the end of the day, they can't win. They can't really take the Federal Government to court on this, because unless... (inaudible) ...amendments were passed last year have overridden the NT, when it comes to defence land and where... (inaudible). ELEANOR HALL: And that's Anne Barker there on a rather difficult line in the Northern Territory. Labor's Federal Environment Spokesman, Peter Garrett, has criticised the deal. He's been telling Karen Barlow that the local community has not been properly consulted. PETER GARRETT: Labor's not surprised, but disappointed at this nomination, given that there are a number of interested parties, traditional owners, in and around the Muckaty Station, who are opposed to this radioactive waste dump being located in and around their country, we understand. And regrettably, the amendments that the Government passed to the Radioactive Waste Management legislation in 2006 deny them any procedural rights or appeal rights. So it's critical that the rights of all interested parties, including traditional owners, are actually taken into account and we'd be very concerned if that wasn't the case here. KAREN BARLOW: Do not these traditional owners represent the community? PETER GARRETT: Well there's a number of traditional owners in and around this area. The direct traditional owners who will have the site as their specific site on land are in favour, it seems, but there are a number of other traditional owners in and around the area who have already expressed their opposition to it. And it seems to me to be critical for the Government to take their concerns into account as a matter of importance. Look, we need a rigorous assessment process, but we also need the rights of interested parties, and properly interested parties, not to be denied. The fact of the matter is here that the Government's legislation certainly permits it to effectively ride over the wishes and interests of a number of traditional owners who are opposed to the location of this radioactive waste dump. We want to see more detail on the actual engagement between the NLC (Northern Land Council) and the Government, but the legislation that was passed through the house, amending this act, means that the Government can pretty much do what it wants and it seems like the interests of Aboriginal people here are again going to be denied. ELEANOR HALL: That's Labor's Environment Spokesman, Peter Garrett, speaking to Karen Barlow. ***************************************************************** 29 AU ABC: Nuke dump process not a joke, says Bishop. 25/05/2007. ABC News Online The Federal Science Minister has rejected the Northern Territory Government's claims that the consultation process for the nuclear waste site at Muckaty Station was a joke. The Northern Land Council (NLC) has nominated the site 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek as a national nuclear waste repository. If the site is chosen by the Federal Government, traditional owners will receive a one-off $12 million payment. The Territory's Chief Minister Clare Martin says the process for finding the waste dump was not up to scratch and wants the Federal Government to find another site. But Julie Bishop says she is happy with the level of consultation. "That's insulting to the NLC and traditional owners," she said. "They have volunteered this site, no one has forced them to do it. "They have sought information in a sensible way." The NLC also rejected Ms Martin's claims, saying the Territory Government has done Territorians a disservice by not supporting the nuclear waste dump. The NLC's chief executive, Norman Fry, says that money is vital for people in an area that he says has been neglected by the Territory Government. "The Territory Government has played politics with this," he said. "Really it should have got on board a long time ago because most uranium mining in Australia is going to take place here in the Northern Territory." 'Division' But a traditional owner of another site under consideration for a nuclear waste dump has questioned whether all residents of Muckaty Station agree with the nomination. Kathleen Martin from Mount Everard, north-west of Alice Springs, says there was some division over the proposal in the community. "I'm asking, was that in agreeance with everybody on Muckaty?" she said "Because the message that came down a couple of weeks ago was that the older people - the older men - had told some of the people there, you sell the land, you sell your soul." Natalie Wasley from the Arid Lands Environement Centre, who has been campaigning against all of the sites proposed, says many of the traditional owners do not support the proposal. "I've spoken with a Ngapa elder this morning, Bindi Martin from the Muckaty area, and he said he still has strong opposition to the dump proposal," she said. "I believe this is a view held by other elders as well. "I think the Science Minister Julie Bishop will have a hard time showing that there is consent within the Ngapa group let alone the whole Muckaty community for this nomination for the waste dump." The Northern Land Council says it has all 70 traditional owners' support. ***************************************************************** 30 AU ABC: Australian Greens angry over nuclear dump deal Last Updated 25/05/2007, 19:05:13 The Australian Greens party has accused the Northern Land Council of not properly consulting with traditional land owners over a deal which will allow a nuclear waste dump to be built in Australia. The council says the Ngapa traditional owners will allow low and intermediate level radioactive waste to be buried on their land at Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. In return, the Australian government will give the indigenous owners a $US9.8 million compensation package. Greens party senator, Christine Milne, says the deal is a joke. "The Northern Lands Council has not engaged in appropriate consultation," she said. "Many of the traditional land owners do not want this waste dump at Muckaty Station. ***************************************************************** 31 AU ABC: Land owners, Rio Tinto to discuss Jabiluka mining. 26/05/2007. ABC News Online The Northern Land Council says it will soon meet with mining giant Rio Tinto to discuss a possible uranium mine at Jabiluka, in the Northern Territory. NT Mines Minister Chris Natt has already stated he will not interfere in negotiations between Rio Tinto and traditional owners. This week, traditional owners said they would reject any proposal to mine the site, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park. But Rio Tinto's hopes have been reignited by yesterday's announcement that 70 Ngapa traditional owners agreed to nominate Muckaty Station, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as a site for Australia's first nuclear waste dump site. Chief executive of the Northern Land Council, Norman Fry, says he will sit down with Rio Tinto and the Mirrar people to see if there is any possibility of the parties reaching a deal. Mr Fry says the matter is not closed. "There is a care and maintenance agreement that's in place. It will require the agreement of the traditional owners, the Mirrar, and that's where it's at currently," he said. "We will be sitting down with Rio Tinto and the Mirrar in the not to distant future and that particular issue will be fleshed out." ***************************************************************** 32 AU ABC: NT nuke waste deal a joke: Garrett. 26/05/2007. ABC News Online Peter Garrett has hit out at the Muckaty Station nuclear dump plans (Getty Images) Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett says all Northern Territorians should feel let down by the consultation process for a nuclear waste site at Muckaty Station. The Northern Land Council has nominated the site, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as a national nuclear waste repository. If the Federal Government approves the site, the site's traditional owners will hand over control of the land for about 200 years and receive a one-off $12 million payment. But Mr Garrett says only a handful of people were consulted and the voices of the overwhelming majority are not being listened too. "I think this consultative process is a joke," he said. "The only way in which a modern government like the Howard Government should be addressing this issue is to ensure that it has the full consent of communities involved in every way when it comes to the location of a facility, like a radioactive waste dump." But Mr Garrett dodged questions about whether the ALP would scrap the plan for the nuclear waste dump if it wins the next election. When asked if he would he shelve the project, he skirted the issue. "I don't think we should be dealing with hypotheticals," he said. "This process has still got a very long way to travel and we haven't seen the details of what has actually been agreed between the NLC, the relevant traditional owners and the Minister - we've only got the reports that we've seen on the wire and heard on the radio." ***************************************************************** 33 Sydney Morning Herald: Site nominated for nuclear waste - www.smh.com.au May 25, 2007 * Clan allows nuclear dump for $12m More steps need to be completed, but Australia could have its first nuclear waste facility within five years, Science Minister Julie Bishop says. A group of Aboriginal landowners in the Northern Territory have offered their land as a site for a nuclear waste dump. Northern Land Council (NLC) chairman John Daly today said the Aboriginal people from Muckaty Station, 120km north of Tennant Creek, had nominated their land for a commonwealth repository for low-level radioactive waste, with an above-ground store for intermediate level waste. In return, the Ngapa traditional owners will receive a $12 million package, including an $11 million charitable trust and a $1 million education scholarship. Ms Bishop said a number of steps had to be completed before the potential site could be accepted. "In the first instance I will assess the nomination to ensure that the NLC has complied with the very stringent requirements in the Commonwealth Waste Management Act," she told ABC Radio. "If I'm satisfied that the rules have been complied with, then I can move to approve the nominated land at the potential site." Asked when Australia might have its first facility, Ms Bishop said: "Within the next four or five years, most certainly." "There's a long way to go yet. "If I approve the nominated land as a potential site, then the suitability of the site will be assessed in a similar manner to the three defence sites that were announced in 2005. "Then we will make a decision on a preferred site for the facility. The preferred site will then be subject to environmental impact assessment and nuclear regulatory licensing processes. "But the facility is scheduled to commence operation by 2011." Ms Bishop would not speculate on likely opposition from the NT government. "I'm taking each step one at a time," she said. "What I must now do is ensure that there's no question that the traditional owners have been fully informed of the nature of the facility. "We've got a lot of steps to go before we worry about what the NT government is going to do." Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett said the local Aboriginal community had not been properly consulted. "Labor's not surprised but disappointed at this nomination given that there are a number of interested parties, traditional owners, in and around Muckaty Station who are opposed to this radioactive waste dump being located in and around their country, we understand," he told ABC radio. "Regrettably, the amendments that the government passed to the radioactive waste management legislation in 2006 denied them any procedural rights or appeal rights. "It's critical that the rights all interested parties including traditional owners are actually taken into account. "We'd be very concerned if that wasn't the case here." AAP Copyright © 2007. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 34 Pahrump Valley Times: County leery of nuclear waste processing May 25, 2007 By MARK WAITE PVT Lewis Darrell Lacy Jr., new director of the Nye County nuclear waste project office. Nye County commissioners, after pressure from the Nevada Congressional delegation, decided Monday to back off from endorsing a plan to reprocess nuclear waste near the Yucca Mountain site. Instead, the commission agreed to let Lewis Darrell Lacy Jr., newly-hired director of the Nye County Nuclear Waste Repository Office, study the proposal. The Nye County position on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project -- which went from aggressive neutrality to constructive engagement with the U.S. Department of Energy -- has been at odds with the state's official opposition to the project. "I really thought our job was to provide independent scientific oversight of the DOE's activities at Yucca Mountain. I am also aware that we had been, I'll use the word, 'asked' by the delegation not to get involved in issues like this," said Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley. President Bush recently unveiled the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, in which a site would be selected to reprocess nuclear waste and erect a reactor to use the reprocessed fuel, but none of the proposed sites is in Nye County. Instead, locations being considered are in Hanford, Wash., Hobbs, N.M., Oak Ridge, Tenn., Portsmouth, Maine, and the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina. Most of those communities are part of the nation's nuclear program. The partnership would expand the use of nuclear power worldwide and develop nuclear reactors to consume the most hazardous materials in used fuel. A memorandum to commissioners from Dave Swanson, interim director of the county nuclear waste project office, said experts involved in the partnership believed it was logical to have recycling facilities near the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, thus reducing transportation costs. "It is anticipated that recycling facilities will result in considerable economic benefits to the host community," Swanson's memo stated. The county white paper states Nye County has a long nuclear history already, as the host county for the Nevada Test Site. But the white paper states further that "political posturing precluded (the Department of Energy) from publicly voicing any intention to study a site in Nye County near its planned Yucca Mountain repository." A recycling facility would be either publicly or privately owned, with government incentives. Those incentives and the potential of high paying jobs make the recycling facility attractive, the Nye County white paper states. The recycling facility wouldn't do away with the need for the nuclear waste repository, the white paper states, but it would reduce the volume and toxicity of the waste. The reduced volume could increase the repository capacity and safety margins associated with the operation. "However, to scatter the location of the separate GNEP facilities around the country will not optimize the environmental, safety and cost benefits that are available from collocation of some of the facilities," the white paper states. Eastley told the board, "We've been warned by the delegation not to get involved in reprocessing. Here we are getting involved in reprocessing. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction." Tory Mazzola, a spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said, "We discussed with Nye County the implications of a repository center in Nye County. Most particularly, having a reprocessing plant in Nevada is a step forward for Yucca Mountain and Sen. Ensign is adamantly committed to stopping a storage facility." Jon Summers, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, "Our office did communicate with Nye County to ensure they understood the implications of locating a reprocessing facility in Nevada. Doing so could potentially be beneficial to the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, which, as you know, Sen. Reid opposes." Nye County Commission District 4 candidate Lewis Beaver, during the 2006 campaign, suggested the county could benefit from the revenue from nuclear power plants using fuel from reprocessed nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. Likewise, a county resolution asking for the transfer of three parcels, totaling 13,000 acres, from the 147,000 acres DOE will ask to withdraw for the Yucca Mountain project, was tabled. The parcels would be used for industrial parks for businesses and industries associated with the repository. The sites would include 5,670 acres at Lathrop Wells adjacent to the southern boundary of the Nevada Test Site. Another site would be 5,120 acres in Crater Flat, where the proposed Yucca Mountain rail line would meet the west side of the Yucca Mountain project. A third parcel would be 2,240 acres north of Beatty adjacent to Highway 95 and adjacent to the proposed railroad near Sarcobatus Flat, which would be called the Sarcobatus Flat Railroad Business Park. DOE is expected to contract with commercial businesses for repository construction and maintenance. Those contractors will need warehouse space, offices, lay-down yards, manufacturing, transportation facilities and worker housing. Eastley, one of the commission liaisons on nuclear waste, said of the request for the nine sections of land, "We have been told that is not going to be a possibility." Swanson said if DOE is going to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County wants it to be a success. "For it to be a success, we have to benefit from the program," Swanson said. "We can use that facility to promote the local economy ... In other words it's not going to be a series of Quonset huts in the middle of the desert. It's something we can provide guidance, how we want to see the area outside the fence developed." Nye County is in the early stages of preparing master plans for development of the industrial parks. The Amargosa Valley Science and Technology Park was first proposed back in 1999, but the land has sat largely dormant, except for construction of a couple of water tanks, a well house and some bladed dirt roads. webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - ***************************************************************** 35 Pahrump Valley Times: Delegation opposes GOP 'Nu-Way' plan May 25, 2007 WASHINGTON -- Congressman Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., reacted angrily Wednesday to Republican plans to immediately turn the Nevada Test Site into a nuclear waste dump, according to her staff. U.S. Sen.'s Harry Reid and John Ensign also quickly denounced the proposal. Legislation generated by Sen.'s Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, would also accelerate the date when nuclear waste could be brought to the Yucca Mountain repository by altering the date when a license could be issued. "There is only one answer to this dangerous scheme to immediately turn the Nevada Test Site into a nuclear waste dump," Berkley said, "and that is 'no way.'" She said the plan for a waste dump is "just as danagerous as Yucca Mountain, if not worse." Berkley said the so-called Nu-Way plan authored by the GOP senators would put families at risk across the country and would include "truckloads of radioactive garbage" that would be transported through Las Vegas. According to Berkley, the plan to allow the test site's immediate use as a dumping ground is forbidden by law and amounts to a "slap in the face" to families who have been promised fair treatment. The two Nevada senators also attacked the plan, to use Yucca Mountain for above-ground storage of nuclear waste. "This is an irresponsible piece of legislation. Rather than addressing the problems facing the proposed dump at Yucca Mountain, its supporters are already trying to cram in more waste before it's even built," said Reid. "The dump is not based on legal, political, or scientific reality. Rather than trying to force nuclear waste into Yucca Mountain, the DOE should take ownership of nuclear waste and store it at nuclear power plans where it's produced. This is a critical topic that must be addressed as part of the bigger picture of energy independence." His Republican counterpart Ensign also attacked the proposal. "For the last 25 years, the Yucca Mountain project has been disastrous and has wasted billions of taxpayers' dollars," said Ensign. "This bill attempts to circumvent existing hazardous material laws, start construction and increase spending on the broken Yucca Mountain project all prior to license approval. This legislation continues a reckless policy that disregards public safety and fiscal responsibility. I will continue my efforts to end this terrible project." webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - ***************************************************************** 36 sacbee.com Editorial: An unacceptable plan - Air Force needs to clean up McClellan Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, May 25, 2007 Earlier this month, Air Force and Sacramento County officials hailed an agreement that will accelerate cleanup at part of the former McClellan Air Force Base and allow a 62-acre parcel to be transferred to private development. "Certainly good news," said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein after the agreement was announced. "A great success for the local community and Sacramento," said County Supervisor Roger Dickinson. But as The Bee's Chris Bowman reported Monday, even while the Air Force was negotiating the transfer of that 62 acres, it was making plans to abandon cleanup of nearby hazardous waste sites. These dump sites quite likely contain radioactive materials found at other McClellan sites, although the Air Force isn't really sure because it hasn't fully investigated. "There is significant uncertainty on the type and levels of radioactive waste that may be present in these pits," the Air Force says in its plan. What is known is that the Air Force unearthed as many as 43 aging barrels of radioactive waste at McClellan earlier this decade, and that some drums contained Cesium-137, signs of Plutonium-239 and other radioactive materials. At least 10 more unlined trenches have not been exhumed and may contain more radioactive materials, according to the state Department of Health Services. Despite the lack of hard evidence one way or another, the Air Force is proposing to "cap" this waste in place, saving itself the cost of removing or cleaning the contaminated soil. Then, according to its documents, it proposes to monitor and maintain the sites "forever." This is unacceptable. State health officials say McClellan could end up becoming the first base in the country where the Air Force has left radioactive waste in place prior to closing or transferring property. In response, Air Force officials say the cap-and-monitor idea is just a "proposal" and that they will continue to work with the community on all of its remediation plans. We hope so. If the Air Force were to walk away from uninvestigated McClellan dump sites, it would be a slap in the face of local residents -- many of whom work there -- and an ominous setback for this former base's transition to a successful business park. Copyright © The Sacramento Bee, (916) 321-1000 ***************************************************************** 37 UCS: House Panel Zeroes Out New Nuclear Warhead Program May 23, 2007 Statement by Lisbeth Gronlund, Union of Concerned Scientists WASHINGTON (May 23, 2007) – In a dramatic rebuke to the Bush administration’s plans for new nuclear weapons, the House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee today eliminated funding for the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program, calling instead for a comprehensive nuclear strategy and stockpile plan. The RRW program called for spending $119 million to design the first of a new generation of nuclear warheads. Below is a statement by Lisbeth Gronlund, co-director and senior scientist of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists: “This stunning reversal hopefully heralds a new and badly needed approach to U.S. nuclear policy. The United States doesn’t need new nuclear weapons – it needs a policy that is not mired in Cold War thinking. The United States still has a nuclear war-fighting policy, and maintains thousands of nuclear weapons on high alert, ready to be launched within minutes. It’s time for a dramatically new approach, one that will eliminate the nuclear threat that hangs over the planet. “The House subcommittee rightfully put the first nail in the RRW program’s coffin. The program is unnecessary and would reduce U.S. security. The current nuclear stockpile is safe and highly reliable, and will remain so for many decades. If the United States moves ahead with new nuclear weapons, it would undercut U.S. efforts to prevent other nations from acquiring nuclear weapons.” Reporters: Join our notification list to receive breaking news from UCS. General media inquiries can be directed to our media office line at 202-331-5420. If you are calling about a specific issue, contact the appropriate press contact below. Press Contacts: Energy, Food, Scientific Integrity MEGHAN CROSBY Assistant Press Secretary 202-331-6943 mcrosby@ucsusa.org Climate, Global Security, Vehicles, Invasives AARON HUERTAS Assistant Press Secretary 202-331-5458 ahuertas@ucsusa.org Scientific Integrity, Vehicles LISA NURNBERGER Press Secretary 202-331-6959 lnurnberger@ucsusa.org Climate, Food EMILY ROBINSON Press Secretary 202-331-5427 erobinson@ucsusa.org ELLIOTT NEGIN Media Director 202-331-5439 enegin@ucsusa.org © Union of Concerned Scientists Page Last Revised: 05/24/07 ***************************************************************** 38 KnoxNews: Oak Ridge facilities big boost to state Study finds operations affect jobs, spending in area and across Tenn. By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com May 25, 2007 The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge activities provide full-time jobs for about 12,000 people with an annual payroll exceeding $760 million, but the economic benefits for the area and the state go far beyond that, a University of Tennessee economist said Thursday. Matt Murray, associate director of UT's Center for Business and Economic Research, said the Oak Ridge operations last year spent almost $2 billion in Tennessee and had an "output benefit" of $3.6 billion - about 1.8 percent of the state's total gross product. UT and DOE released the report this morning at a press conference on the university campus. It's the seventh of its kind produced since 1998. Murray, principal author of the DOE-funded report, said the operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and other Oak Ridge facilities have a ripple effect on the state economy, with indirect spending and many other jobs attributable to the work. "DOE is a business - and a very important business at that," he said during the briefing. Overall, the Oak Ridge operations were responsible for 44,889 jobs in Tennessee, or 1.6 percent of the state's total, Murray said. That's equivalent to the entire workforce in Putnam County, he said. The jobs attributed to the federal programs in 2006 were down from the last time the report was done a couple of years ago because the UT research unit is using new "multipliers" acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Murray said. The new multipliers, which are tailored to the Tennessee economy, reflect recent gains in productivity, meaning fewer people are producing much more than in the past, he said. "That's the good news," he said. Murray said the analysis uses economic models to show the impact of DOE on Tennessee in a quantitative way. But the report doesn't address the qualitative impacts, which also are important, he said. The Oak Ridge operations probably lure other businesses and people to locate in this area simply because of the educated workforce and upscale benefits associated with the DOE presence. Almost 50 percent of the Oak Ridge work force has at least a bachelor's degree, Murray said. That compares to 12.2 percent for the Tennessee work force as a whole, and 24.4 percent nationally, he said. DOE paid UT $15,000 to do the study. Gerald Boyd, DOE's Oak Ridge manager, and Ted Sherry, the local manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration, also spoke at Thursday's press event and said the future of the Oak Ridge operations looks strong. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. © 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 39 SanLuisObispo.com: Ridiculed feds halt cleanup of LA's old Rocketdyne lab 05/25/2007 | The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- Nearly a month after a federal judge said it was doing a lousy job, the Department of Energy announced it was temporarily halting cleanup at Boeing's Rocketdyne Field Laboratory. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that the Department of Energy effort to rid the Santa Susana Field Laboratory of nuclear and chemical contamination was inadequate. U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti ordered the department to complete a thorough environmental survey of the site before declaring it safe and releasing it for unrestricted use. On Thursday, department officials said it was stopping work on the cleanup for 45 days while it consults with authorities. "During this time, we will continue to perform environmental monitoring activities and place operations in a safe and stable configuration while we work with state and federal regulators and evaluate all input on a path forward," the agency said in a statement. The 90-acre cleanup site along the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties is where the government conducted nuclear research and built 10 nuclear reactors, including one that had a partial meltdown in 1959. Some activists and state officials expressed concerns the department will raze the last two buildings at the site's old Energy Technology and Engineering Center and dump the potentially contaminated debris before conducting the environmental survey. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control warned the Department of Energy in a letter Wednesday that dismantling the buildings without the environmental study would be inappropriate. SanLuisObispo.com | ***************************************************************** 40 MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Senators ask DOE to stand by nuclear research 05/25/2007 | Savannah River Site funds up in air By Sammy Fretwell - McClatchy Newspapers The U.S. Department of Energy is trying to back out of a deal to keep open a highly regarded research laboratory at the Savannah River Site, U.S. senators from South Carolina and Georgia said this week. In a letter to the DOE on Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, both S.C. Republicans, said the agency needs to honor its commitments to provide money that will keep the lab from closing. They signed the letter with Republican Georgia Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman spoke with the senators by telephone Thursday and pledged to dispatch a deputy assistant secretary to South Carolina next week to discuss the laboratory's future. The lab is operated by the University of Georgia but has been funded primarily by the DOE. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is scheduled to close as soon as May 31 if additional funds aren't provided. The science lab has studied the effects of the SRS nuclear weapons complex on nature and the surrounding environment since 1951. Among other things, researchers have found deformities in amphibians living in coal ash basins and radioactive buildups in fish on the Savannah River Site. Research at the site has drawn national and international attention. The letter said senators were "particularly concerned" that a pledge by the DOE to fund the lab "is not being honored." The ecology lab received about $1.8 million from the DOE this year, but lab officials say that isn't enough to continue running the facility. A March 31, 2006, letter to the lab from the DOE's Aiken office said the lab would receive $4 million, which Georgia researchers say would be enough for this year. * About the McClatchy Company ***************************************************************** 41 EPA: EPA announces partial deletion of Rocky Flats site from Superfund List Release date: 05/25/2007 Contact Information: Terry Andersen, USEPA, (303) 312-6244 Rob Henneke, USEPA (303) 312-6734, henneke.rob@epa.gov Mark Aguilar, USEPA (303) 312-6251, aguilar.mark@epa.gov Portion of site will be certified for transfer to Fish and Wildlife Service Denver -- The Environmental Protection Agency today announced the deletion of 25,413 acres of the Rocky Flats site in Jefferson and Boulder Counties, Colo., from the National Priorities List (NPL). This deletion reflects the completion of all response actions for the offsite and peripheral parcels and will allow the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transfer part of the site to the U.S. Department of the Interior for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage as a National Wildlife Refuge. Areas affected by the deletion include the 4,933-acre Peripheral Operable Unit and the 20,480-acre Operable Unit 3. The Peripheral Operable Unit (formerly known as the Buffer Zone) was part of the former DOE Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant. That parcel will be transferred from DOE to DOI to become the wildlife refuge. Operable Unit 3 (also known as the Offsite Areas) consists of open space, residential development and agricultural lands. A 1997 Record of Decision for Operable Unit 3 and a 2006 Record of Decision for the Peripheral Operable Unit determined that all appropriate response actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act have been implemented in these areas, and that no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate. The State of Colorado, through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, concurs with the deletion. DOE will be responsible for all future response actions required at the area deleted if future site conditions warrant such actions. The 1,308-acre Central Operable Unit at Rocky Flats is not being considered for deletion and will remain on the NPL. For further information contact: Rob Henneke, USEPA Telephone: (303) 312-6734 or 1-800-227-8917 x312-6734, E-mail: henneke.rob@epa.gov. or Mark Aguilar, USEPA Telephone: (303) 312-6251 E-mail: aguilar.mark@epa.gov Last updated on 05/25/2007 11:59:30 AM URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/r08_2007-5-25__partial_ deletion_Rocky_Flats_Superfund_ ***************************************************************** 42 Hanford News: Nuclear waste in limbo: Uranium rods pile up outside plant, but there's no place for them to go This story was published Friday, May 25th, 2007 The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., McClatchy-Tribune Information Services May 25-RICHLAND - As the Pacific Northwest's only nuclear power plant unplugs Saturday to refuel its core with new uranium rods, decades-old questions about how to handle nuclear waste are on display at the Columbia Generating Station about 10 miles north of Richland. Outside the nuclear power plant, spent fuel rods have been encased in 15 special steel cylinders and then encased in concrete cases parked upright like small grain silos on concrete pads. These waste containers are ringed with razor-wired chain link fence and monitored by security cameras. It's a similar scenario at dozens of other nuclear plants in 31 different states; a stopgap solution for the reactors' radioactive waste. The spent rods of uranium and fission byproducts such as plutonium and other materials are kept safe in these temporary tombs, even as birds and bugs fly among the containers that sit baking in the desert sun and wind, said Dale Atkinson, Energy Northwest's vice president of nuclear generation. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The containers, along with three more ready to be loaded, symbolize the political problems of nuclear plants - especially at a time when there is renewed talk of building more commercial reactors to produce electricity. Nuclear advocates hope that economic conditions and politics will dovetail and allow dozens more reactors to be added to the 104 now in operation. They see it as a way to reduce burning fossil fuels such as coal, and slow global warming. Two issues continue to frustrate Atkinson and other nuclear plant officials: the federal government's ban on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, and its failure to finish building the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. While nations in Europe, along with Japan, reprocess spent uranium fuel rods, the United States forbids the practice. Atkinson said reprocessing the spent fuel rods would reduce their nuclear waste tonnage by 87 percent. What's left from one silo more than 200 feet high could one day be compressed into a glass block the size of a tall kitchen trash can. The reprocessing ban occurred during President Carter's administration of the 1970s, which was concerned with nuclear weapons proliferation during the decade before the Cold War ended. Reprocessing is associated with eventually creating weapons-grade plutonium, according to critics, including the Union of Concerned Scientists. The risk of nuclear terrorism is too great, they contend. Perhaps the more pressing problem is that there's no place to permanently store large amounts of radioactive waste. Energy Northwest, formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), claims it has paid the federal government more than $100 million - toward development of the Yucca Mountain repository. And now, as Energy Northwest needs to begin storing its nuclear garbage, national and Nevada politics, along with scientific controversy, financial funding and cost overruns have brought work at the $70 billion Yucca Mountain dump to a standstill. The spent rods will be radioactive for thousands of years unless scientists figure out ways to use or make the material inert. Energy Northwest, a public power consortium of 17 public utility districts in Washington state along with the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Richland, started the reactor in December 1984, using fission from uranium fuel rods immersed under more than 20 feet of water to heat and bring the reservoir to a boil. The water is pumped from the core, where its heat is used to produce steam, which runs conventional generators. The spent fuel rods had been removed and stored in a separate water pool inside the reactor. But beginning in 2002 - 18 years after operations began - the company ran out of room to house the spent fuel. Today the plant generates about 1,200 megawatts, enough electricity to serve a city the size of Seattle. It sits on land leased from the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Though the electricity produced at the plant is sold by the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal power marketing agency in Portland, the plant is not owned by the federal government. It is the only success story in the WPPSS legacy of failed efforts to build five nuclear plants in the 1970s to provide electricity to the Northwest. Two other plants stand partially completed near the Columbia Station - once called No. 2. They were abandoned in the 1980s and triggered the largest municipal bond default in history as investors lost almost $2.25 billion. Atkinson said there are about 30 different reactor proposals under consideration. Most of those would be built in the southeast and Texas. Any chance for more nuclear power in the Pacific Northwest - with its abundance of hydropower - would be in a second round of considerations, he said. The refueling outage starting Saturday will last 38 days but will not affect electricity users. During the outage, about 1,900 maintenance workers will work on upgrades and test equipment. Some of the plant's equipment in the control room, for example, is analog technology from the 1970s. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 43 KnoxNews: Report touts DOE impact on economy By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com May 24, 2007 The Department of Energy?s Oak Ridge activities provide full-time jobs for about 12,000 people with an annual payroll exceeding $760 million, but the economic benefits for the area and the state go far beyond that, a University of Tennessee economist said today. Matt Murray, associate director of UT?s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the Oak Ridge operations last year spent almost $2 billion in Tennessee and had an "output benefit" of $3.6 billion ? about 1.8 percent of the state?s total gross product. UT and DOE released the report this morning at a press conference on the university campus. It?s the seventh of its kind produced since 1998. Murray, principal author of the DOE-funded report, said the operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and other Oak Ridge facilities have a ripple effect on the state economy, with indirect spending and many other jobs attributable to the work. "DOE is a business ? and a very important business at that," he said during the briefing. Overall, the Oak Ridge operations were responsible for 44,889 jobs in Tennessee or 1.6 percent of the state?s total, Murray said. That?s equivalent to the entire workforce in Putnam County, he said. The jobs attributed to the federal programs in 2006 were down from the last time the report was done a couple of years ago because the UT research unit is using new "multipliers" acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Murray said. The new multipliers, which are tailored to the Tennessee economy, reflect recent gains in productivity, meaning fewer people are producing much more than in the past, he said. "That?s the good news," he said. Murray said the analysis uses economic models to show the impact of DOE on Tennessee in a quantitative way. But the report doesn?t address the qualitative impacts, which are also important, he said. The Oak Ridge operations probably lure other businesses and people to locate in this area simply because of the educated workforce and upscale benefits associated with the DOE presence. Almost 50 percent of the Oak Ridge work force has at least a bachelor?s degree, Murray said. That compares to 12.2 percent for the Tennessee work force as a whole, and 24.4 percent nationally, he said. DOE paid UT $15,000 to do the study. Gerald Boyd, DOE?s Oak Ridge manager, and Ted Sherry, the local manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration, also spoke at today?s press event and said the future of the Oak Ridge operations looks strong. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 44 Hanford News: CH2M Hill Hanford president leaving This story was published Friday, May 25th, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Mark Spears, the president of CH2M Hill Hanford Group, has taken another job in the CH2M Hill corporation, he told employees Thursday. John Fulton is expected to be named as his replacement before Spears leaves at the end of July. Fulton now is Washington Closure director of decontamination and demolition, but had been set to join CH2M Hill on June 4 to fill the chief operating officer vacancy. Fulton, a graduate of Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, is well known at Hanford. He began work at the site in 1979 and his career has taken him to jobs at B Plant, the Plutonium Finishing Plant, the spent nuclear fuels project and the K Basins. He also has worked at the tank farms, which CH2M Hill operates for the Department of Energy. In the years he was not at Hanford he served as vice president of nuclear operations at the DOE Rocky Flats Site in Colorado where cleanup has been completed and as the site manager for the Mound Closure Project in Ohio. "John brings to the position of wealth of knowledge from his many years at Hanford" and elsewhere, Spears told employees. When Spears announced in late April that Fulton would move to CH2M Hill as executive vice president and chief operating officer, he praised Fulton's "passion for working safely." Now Jerry Long will fill the chief operating officer position, left vacant by the departure of Denny Ferrera to become CH2M Hill senior project manager to prepare the 2012 Olympics site in London. Long is the CH2M Hill vice president for waste feed operations. Spears came to Hanford two years ago as senior vice president of CH2M Hill nuclear operations technical services after working for Kaiser Hill as chief operating officer at Rocky Flats for the completion of cleanup there. He was promoted to president of CH2M Hill about 18 months ago. He'll be moving to Denver to become president of the Global Business Group in CH2M Hill's corporate office. "The past two years with you here at CH2M Hill Hanford Group have been both challenging and rewarding, and have provided me a solid foundation to take on this new assignment," he told employees. "Together we have worked hard to create a safe work environment, the best-in-class within the DOE complex," he said. "And, as a result, we have made significant progress in our tank farm cleanup mission." Under his leadership four leak-prone underground tanks holding radioactive waste were emptied to bring the total to seven. The effort required the development and use of several new waste retrieval technologies. He also completed millions of gallons of waste transfers without incident, upgraded tank farm equipment and infrastructure and improved integration of tank farm ground water activities, said Shirley Olinger, acting manager of the Department of Energy's Hanford Office of River Protection. He also "significantly improved the safety culture and work environment in the tank farms," she said. All the work was accomplished while improving cost and schedule performance, according to CH2M Hill. In his announcement to employees, Spears thanked the Tri-Cities for its warm welcome to him and his family. "We have been impressed with the generosity and support this community provides to those in need," he said. "It is truly a unique community from that perspective." © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 45 LA Daily News: DOE says it will stop cleanup of Santa Susana Field Lab BY KERRY CAVANAUGH, Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 05/25/2007 11:51:24 AM PDT Facing increased scrutiny from legislators and state environmental regulators, the Department of Energy announced Thursday that it will stop work at the Santa Susana Field Lab and consult with authorities before finishing clean-up of the former nuclear research facility. The decision to stop for 45 days comes nearly a month after a federal judge ordered the department to complete a thorough environmental survey of the site before declaring it safe and releasing it for unrestricted use. Despite the judge's ruling, some activists and state officials have been concerned that the DOE still would demolish the last two buildings at the site's old Energy Technology and Engineering Center and dump the potentially contaminated debris before conducting the environmental survey. On Wednesday, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control warned the DOE in a letter that it would be inappropriate for the agency to dismantle the last buildings without the environmental study. That letter, plus pressure federal legislators, prompted the DOE to halt work, said Department of Energy spokesman Bill Taylor. "During this time, we will continue to perform environmental monitoring activities and place operations in a safe and stable configuration while we work with state and federal regulators and evaluate all input on a path forward," the agency said in a statement. Field lab watchdog Dan Hirsch, with the Committee to Bridge the Gap, said he worries what will happen after the 45-day pause. "The Department of Energy is still not promising that it won't shoot first and analyze later," he said. The Energy Technology and Engineering Center is a 90-acre portion of the Santa Susana Field Lab where the government conducted nuclear research and built 10 nuclear reactors, including one that had a partial meltdown in 1959. The federal agency has been at odds with neighbors and environmentalists over cleanup of the site, with critics contending the agency would leave 99 percent of the contaminated soil at the hilltop site between Simi Valley and the Chatsworth. Updated: May 25, 2007 6:16:22 PM PDT Copyright © 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 46 KnoxNews: New ORNL chief 'a bit overwhelmed' By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com May 25, 2007 OAK RIDGE ? Thom Mason, a 42-year-old physicist who guided the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source to completion and directed its early research operations, will be the new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Lab staff members were informed this afternoon. His appointment is effective July 1. Mason will succeed Jeff Wadsworth, the lab director since August 2003, who is leaving Oak Ridge to take a top executive position at Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio. Battelle has managed the Oak Ridge lab, in partnership with the University of Tennessee, since April 2000. Today?s announcement concluded a two-month search for a new leader at ORNL, which is considered one of the world?s premier research facilities. "I?m excited and a little bit overwhelmed," Mason said in a telephone interview. "I never even had the foggiest direction this was where I was headed." ORNL is well positioned at a critically important time to contribute to scientific problem-solving on issues such as the environment, energy security, national security and economic security, Mason said. "Those things are all wrapped up together," he said. He is the youngest director at ORNL since Herman Postma, who took the reins in 1974 at age 40 and held that position for 14 years. A native of Canada, Mason?s rise to prominence has been quick and highly visible in scientific circles. He came to Oak Ridge in 1998 as scientific director for the SNS, which was still in its early stages of development, and soon became director of experimental facilities. When SNS chief David Moncton left the project in early 2001, Mason was chosen to head the $1.4 billion project ? the biggest science endeavor in the United States. Construction of the SNS was completed ahead of time and within its budget ? no small accomplishment for a government project of its size and complexity ? and Mason received a lot of the credit. He was named associate lab director for neutron sciences. UT President John Petersen, who co-chaired the search committee, said, "We are genuinely excited to have a person of Thom Mason?s talent and experience to lead ORNL. As a world-class scientist who has already made his mark in the research community, Thom represents the future of ORNL." U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., called Mason a brilliant and outstanding scientist with a distinguished record of achievement. "He made us proud at SNS, and we believe he will make us proud, following in the grand traditions of Jeff Wadsworth and the many outstanding directors at ORNL throughout the years," Wamp said. The SNS, an accelerator-based research complex, produced its first neutrons in April 2006, and since then it?s been ramping up power and preparing for full research usage, still a year away. As many as 2,000 scientists from around the globe are expected to visit the site annually and use neutron beams to study the structure and properties of materials. Mason grew up in Nova Scotia on the coast of Halifax Harbor. His father was a geophysicist at the nearby Bedford Institute for Oceanography. He holds degrees from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and McMaster University in Ontario, where he received his Ph.D. in physics. Before coming to Oak Ridge, he was on the faculty at the University of Toronto and conducted research at sites around the world ? studying such things as the magnetic properties in superconductors. Mason became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Oct. 10 of last year. Citizenship reportedly is a requirement to become director of one of the national laboratories. Soon after taking his citizenship oath, Mason said it was a family decision. "We?ve made the decision to move here and be here. Our kids, even though they were born in Canada, have grown up here." More details as they develop online and in Saturday?s News Sentinel. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. © 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 47 UPI: DOE announces FutureGen EIS is ready United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: May 25, 2007 at 5:56 PM WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of a draft environmental impact statement on its FutureGen Project. Findings suggest that during construction and even into operation, emissions levels would increase in areas of possible construction. During the initial impact study, researchers looked at water and air pollution as well as impact on water resources, noise issues and effects on the nearby communities. Some concern was expressed over the storing of carbon dioxide in underground geological sites; the risk assessment report suggested storage of carbon and use of other chemicals in the process may pose a threat to surrounding communities. Areas where schools, hospitals and communities were nearby were of more concern than others. There are four potential sites, two in Illinois and two in Texas. The FutureGen project, a partnership between the FutureGen Alliance and the Energy Department, aims to build the world's first coal-fired, zero-emissions power plant that produces electricity and hydrogen. The prototype will be a 275 megawatt plant and encompass clean coal power, carbon capture and sequestration and coal-to-hydrogen technology. Construction is slated to begin in 2009. The Energy Department is taking comments on the statement through July 16 and hearings will be scheduled at each of the four sites. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 48 UPI: Analysis: Nuclear loan backing cloudy United Press International - Energy - Analysis Published: May 25, 2007 at 5:53 PM By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- The nuclear industry is still unhappy with the U.S. Energy Department's latest interpretation of a loan guarantee program aimed at bringing to market new energy technology that cuts back or eliminates climate change pollution. The department says it must weigh the program against the risk to taxpayers, the ultimate check-writers of any defaulted loans for the yet-to-be-proven technologies. "We have balanced what's in the draft regulations with protecting the taxpayer dollar from the potential financial risk of these projects," Energy Department spokeswoman Megan Barnett said. "We are anxious to support these projects that employ these clean technologies and carry out Congress' intent for the loan guarantee program." One of many industry subsidies in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, loan guarantees "shall not exceed an amount equal to 80 percent of the project cost of the facility that is the subject of the guarantee," the legislation states. It covers new or improved methods of producing energy that "avoid, reduce, or sequester" greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Department was given the task of writing the guidelines for the program. Initially it proposed federal backing of 80 percent of the debt of the project, raising the ire of industry and congressional architects of the law. Earlier this month, it revamped that to 90 percent of the debt of the project in an amount not to exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. A reactor could cost up to $5 billion and analysts and the industry say investors aren't willing to risk large sums of money. They say a model of 20 percent equity financing and 80 percent loans is what is needed to bring a U.S. nuclear industry back to business -- as long as the loans are totally backed by the government. "The statute authorizes 100 percent coverage of the debt portion of the financing, up to 80 percent of total project costs," said Richard Myers, vice president for policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's trade arm. "These attempts to scale that back are simply not acceptable." Myers also said the department's latest rules, which have yet to be finalized, make any additional needed financing less attractive because government-guaranteed debt would be serviced first. "We don't believe there's a natural market for an uncovered, unguaranteed debt component for one of these projects," he said. Currently 104 reactors feed about 20 percent of U.S. electricity consumption. A new plant hasn't been licensed since 1978. Construction cost overruns, fears following Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and the low price of natural gas and coal led to a virtual freeze in the industry. But the regulatory process has been streamlined and technology improved, the industry says, ensuring new nuclear plants would be a profitable power generator, if the estimated eight-year licensing and construction costs are overcome. Applications for around 30 new reactors are expected in the next three years. Caren Byrd, executive director of Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division, said anything less than 80 percent of the total project cost would make it impossible for projects to lure financing. "It gets back to the attraction of new capital on projects like this that are very, very massive and the long lead time that it takes to build one of these units," Byrd said. "We don't know if the new combined operating and licensing process is going to work. There are still long memories of the billions (of dollars) that were lost the last time around." In most cases, utilities and, in turn, investors won't be able to recoup any funds until the plant starts generating electricity and consumers start paying for it (though a few states have OK'd rate recovery during construction). In the 1980s, during the last nuclear construction boom, projects came in over budget, largely because of the high cost of delays and NRC-required modifications and state regulators who didn't want to shock consumers when the switch for the plant was flipped on. "With these kind of mammoth projects, having the government guarantee -- that we hope will never have to be needed -- is going to be essential to get the financing in place, and we think it is for the 80 percent of the whole cost of the project," Byrd said. "Nobody is saying that you absolutely can't do it (at) a smaller percentage but it's going to be more costly and much more uncertain." Barnett said the department hopes to issue the guarantees by early 2008, though the guidelines must be finalized first. We are hopeful that we can issue loan guarantees by early 2008. "It's important to at least get it codified, so you can go forward with some certainty of what the rules are," said Gilbert Brown, professor and coordinator of the Nuclear Engineering Program at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. "That's a contribution in and of itself, even if the numbers aren't exactly where you would want them to be." He said the new percentage will still keep nuclear competitive with other energy sources, though the first reactors to come online will be more expensive. A public comment period on the draft guidelines ends July 2. "The department is seeking comment on these draft regulations at this time," Barnett said, "and encourages the benefit of everybody's views into this process." -- (email: energy@upi.com) © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 49 Ventura County Star: Field lab cleanup postponed after uproar By Teresa Rochester (Contact) Friday, May 25, 2007 The U.S. Department of Energy has halted cleanup of radiation-contaminated facilities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory for 45 days, officials announced Thursday. The cleanup of the last two facilities in the lab's nuclear research area was under way despite a federal judge's May 2 order that directed the Energy Department to complete a full environmental impact statement for the 2,850-acre site in the hills south of Simi Valley. The revelation that work was still under way had sparked a whirlwind of activity at both the federal and state levels, with DOE fielding calls from federally elected officials and correspondence from the California agency overseeing chemical cleanup at the lab. During the 45-day period, Energy Department officials will continue to perform environmental monitoring activities, work with state and federal regulators and evaluate the department's cleanup strategy, DOE spokesman Bill Taylor said. It is unclear whether the DOE will begin work on an environmental study during the 45-day period. Taylor said it was under evaluation. Dan Hirsch, co-founder of Committee to Bridge the Gap, a nuclear watchdog group, which was a plaintiff in the lawsuit leading to court's decision earlier this month, was dismayed by DOE moving forward with the cleanup. It was "breathtaking arrogance," Hirsch said. "It took intervention by legislators and the state toxics agency to stop this at the last possible moment." U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti found the department had violated and was continuing to violate federal law the National Environmental Policy Act because it has not prepared the statement. The study would analyze the impacts of radioactive and chemical contamination and impacts associated with the cleanup activity. On Wednesday, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control sent a strongly worded letter to the Energy Department stating it would halt its review of the site's cleanup plan because its work would be affected by the environmental study. Norman Riley, DTSC's project director for the field lab, wrote that it was inappropriate for DOE to dismantle the two remaining facilities in the lab's nuclear research area before completing the Environmental Impact Statement. Riley wrote that "the purpose of the EIS is to consider potential environmental impacts prior to taking actions, not afterwards." With the letter written and ready to go, DTSC received an e-mail from Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, who expressed shock upon learning about DOE's plans to move forward on the cleanup. Brownley demanded an explanation from DTSC about what was unfolding. Brownley said the revelation that DOE had been continuing the cleanup "was very much to our surprise. We were sort of celebrating the court decision, then to find this out was beyond belief." Brownley said DOE's next action should be undertaking the environmental impact statement. Comments Posted by Ventura22 on May 25, 2007 at 8:34 p.m. (Suggest removal) Wow, how disgusting. The government agencies who are supposed to be working in OUR best interest can't even coordinate and get this done. Yep, they're "here to help" all right... The top officials in charge of each agency should have to live near that site with their families for a while. That might motivate them to do their job right. So we have elected officials and judges issuing directives(doing their job the best they can) regarding this mess and those don't even get followed?? Huh? Looks like simple insubordination to me. Time for some mass firings of department heads and career destruction. Not only are these jerks still employed by the taxpayers; these clowns blatently violate a court order and are still walking free? Wow! Why aren't they in jail like anyone else would be who knowingly violated a federal court order?? Come on, someone answer this!! Please. © 2007 Ventura County Star ***************************************************************** 50 lamonitor.com: LANS reaches one year at helm The Online News Source for Los Alamos Director dispels layoff rumors CAROL A. CLARK Monitor Senior Reporter Director Michael Anastasio detailed a year of ups and downs and offered a glimpse into the future of Los Alamos National Laboratory during a press conference at University House Thursday. Los Alamos National Security, LLC, (LANS) took over management of LANL on June 1, 2006. Anastasio said the government obviously wanted to see management improvement. Various officials from Washington, D.C., visit the laboratory almost weekly and Anastasio indicated that they like the changes they are seeing: Classified holdings reduced by 30 percent; classified computers down by 20 percent; vault rooms reduced by 15 percent; and accidents reduced by 30 percent. Anastasio spoke of a hoisting and rigging accident last year in which two subcontract workers were injured. Citing historical statistics, he said the implementation of new safety efficiencies have prevented 50 people from serious injuries. He also touched on the security breach last fall when a contract employee took classified information home on her computer thumb drive. "What we've learned is the important thing is in how we respond," he said. "We have to demonstrate the seriousness. We are responding quickly and decisively." He said that the key to cyber security is to change the approach around. "That's what we are doing to manage in a more effective way," he said. "My vision is that this is a national science laboratory for the 21st century. Times are different than 50 years ago and we have to be cognizant of those differences. Economic security was not a concern 50 years ago. We have terrorism concerns, proliferation concerns. Expectations of the community and the government are different. We have to continue to evolve." Anastasio continued, "I'm most proud of our employees. In spite of all the turmoil of multiple years, they've been able to do wonderful science." Anastasio emphatically squelched rumors of massive layoffs expected to occur next month. "No June 1st layoffs, no caveats, no qualifications, absolutely not," Anastasio said, then added jokingly - "and not June 2nd either." He wants employees to be reassured that they won't be laid off and said LANS has been able to make up budget deficits through efficiencies. Unexpected costs such as preliminary GRT estimates, with exemptions, Anastasio is confident will be less than first anticipated. He also said that savings have occurred through less travel and reduced purchases. Anastasio spoke about LANS' commitment to the community saying they've directed $1 million for education, economic development and community giving and commented that last year LANS more than doubled United Way giving. "It's been a tough year with some bumps in the road," Anastasio said. "The best for the laboratory is yet to come - I firmly believe." © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 51 NewsBlaze: Senior International Energy Officials Issue Joint Statement U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and senior energy officials from some of the world's leading economies issued a joint statement in support of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and nuclear energy cooperation. The People's Republic of China, France, Japan, Russia and the United States issued the Joint Statement, which addresses the prospects for international cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including technical aspects, especially in the framework of GNEP. "Today's Joint Statement officially puts the 'P' in the Global Nuclear Energy 'Partnership,'" Secretary Bodman said. "For Americans, pursuing nuclear power is wise policy; for industry it can be good business; internationally, it is unmatched in its ability to serve as a cornerstone of sustainable economic development, while offering enormous potential to satisfy the world's increasing demand for energy in a clean, safe and proliferation-resistant manner." The Joint Statement was agreed upon today in Washington, DC, after high-level international officials participated in a DOE-hosted ministerial meeting, bringing together some of the leading nuclear fuel cycle states to discuss GNEP and its path forward toward increasing the use of safe, reliable and affordable nuclear power worldwide. Chairman Ma Kai of the People's Republic of China (National Development and Reform Commission); Chairman Alain Bugat of France (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique); Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan (Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Science and Technology Policy, Innovation, Gender Equality, Social Affairs and Food Safety); Deputy Director Nikolay Spasskiy of the Russian Federation (Federal Atomic Energy Agency); and Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman of the United States participated in today's ministerial meeting on GNEP and nuclear energy cooperation. The United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency also participated as observers to the ministerial. In addition to providing overviews on each countries' national and international nuclear energy policies in relation to GNEP, senior officials are also moving forward on topics considered crucial to GNEP's development. The topics include: infrastructure development needs for countries considering nuclear power; development of advanced fuel cycle and safeguards technology; establishment of reliable fuel services; spent fuel management; and building the partnership and next steps to pursue this major global initiative. GNEP is a Presidential initiative, which includes key research and technology development programs as well as international policy cooperation. It addresses two long-standing barriers to enable expansion of nuclear power: (1) the means to use sensitive technologies responsibly in a way that protects global security, and (2) the pathway to safe management and disposition of spent fuel. GNEP focuses on overcoming these barriers, and doing so in cooperation with other advanced nuclear nations, to bring the benefits of nuclear energy to the world safely and securely. To meet the goals of GNEP, collaboration among industry, the U.S. national laboratories and other nations will be essential. GNEP, first announced by President Bush in 2006, is part of his Advanced Energy Initiative, which aims to change the way we power our lives by utilizing alternative and renewable fuels to increase energy, economic and international security. GNEP seeks to develop worldwide consensus on enabling expanded use of clean, safe, and affordable nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand. GNEP proposes a nuclear fuel cycle that enhances energy security, while promoting non-proliferation. For more information on GNEP, visit: www.gnep.gov. Source: U.S. Department of Defense judythpiazza@gmail.com Copyright © 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News Copyright © 2004-2007 NewsBlaze LLC ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************