***************************************************************** 06/01/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.129 ***************************************************************** 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 RIA Novosti: Japan extends ban on North Korean ships in its ports 2 US: IPS-English POLITICS: U.S. Ramps Up Missile Tests in the Pacific 3 Guardian Unlimited: Putin: Missile Tests Are Response to US 4 AFP: Bush seeks to soothe US-Russia tension - 5 Guardian Unlimited: Bush Defends Missile Defense System 6 AFP: Defence chief seeks to ease doubts over US focus on Asia - offi NUCLEAR REACTORS 7 The Hindu: Nuclear talks to enter third day 8 Times of India: US, India hold talks on nuclear deal 9 US: Fulton Sun: Inspectors say nuclear plant ‘operated safely' in 20 10 RIA Novosti: Czech NPP to start using Russian fuel in 2009 - TVEL 11 BBC NEWS: Science/Nature | Nuclear reactor secrets revealed 12 BBC NEWS: Share sale nets government Ł2bn 13 US: Press of Atlantic City: Citizens speak out against nuclear plant 14 US: APP.COM: N.J.: Reactor a menace to aquatic life | 15 US: Rutland Herald: Serving the real public interest 16 Shanghai Daily: Foreign firms to get welcome mat in nuclear power pr 17 EUX.TV: Poland, Lithuanian premiers: new reactor to boost energy sec 18 News from Poland: Ignalina nuclear power essential says PM 19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., India Hold 2nd Day of Nuke Talks 20 CNW Telbec: Review will confirm CANDU is the right choice for Ontari 21 Business Gazette: Towers may be blown up 22 Oxford Mail: Getting A Reaction 23 AFP: Greenpeace talks Finnish nuclear security with EU commissioner 24 US: UPI: U.S., India work to restart nuclear talks 25 US: UPI: Progress Energy puts nuclear, coal on hold 26 US: MHNN: Entergy returns Indian Point 2 to service 27 US: MHNN: Indian Point activates single sirens over two-week period 28 NewsRoom Finland: REPEAT: Finland's TVO submits EIA plan on fourth n 29 US: Dallas Business Journal: 'The fuel of the future is nuclear' - 30 Hindustan Times: Officials working hard to conclude 123- 31 AFP: India, US in "hard work" nuclear talks - NUCLEAR SECURITY 32 Reuters: U.S., Russia agree on nuclear detection plan 33 US: UPI: Reform of state secrecy privilege urged 34 UPI: Russia gets U.S. nuke security devices 35 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Terror Expert Says Nuclear Risk Low 36 US: UPI: Analysis: Nuclear waste terrorism debated NUCLEAR SAFETY 37 Finland: New programme for modelling of radiation transport from VTT 38 OpEdNews: The Hard Rain of Depleted Uranium is Already Falling 39 US: InjuryBoard.com: Radiation and Radioactive Exposures May Have Im NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 40 USEC starts plant construction 41 Daily Yomiuri: Recycling of waste from former N-plant given nod 42 Guardian Unlimited: Group Warns Nuke Fuel Dump May Explode 43 Platts: USEC has begun construction of uranium enrichment plant 44 US: South Bend Tribune: Nuclear waste may cross Indiana today 45 Chillicothe Gazette: Work on enrichment plant begins 46 US: Inside Bay Area: Landfills at risk of leaking 47 Reuters: Russia rejects report of Arctic nuclear waste risk 48 US: Evansville Courier Press: Nuclear waste may pass through Evansvi 49 US: MHNN: No tritium from Indian Point in Buchanan sewage system 50 US: The Murfreesboro Post: EPA promises Gordon to test landfill 51 US: Cibola County Beacon: Rio Grande water contaminant PEACE 52 Guardian Unlimited: Tensions With Russia Rising Ahead of G-8 US DEPT. OF ENERGY 53 DOE: U.S. Continues to Lead the World in Wind Power Growth 54 DOE: DOE Announces Locations of Four More Public Comment Meetings 55 SF New Mexican: Group: LANL lacks funds for waste cleanup 56 Tri-City Herald: K East Basin declared sludge-free (w/video) 57 Inside Bay Area: Report targets laser complex 58 KnoxNews: Y-12 warhead program moves 59 Jacksonville.com: Savannah River lab has 30-day reprieve 60 UPI: Outside View: Saving Lockheed Martin 61 UPI: Livermore lab to boost security focus ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 RIA Novosti: Japan extends ban on North Korean ships in its ports 14:33 | 01/ 06/ 2007 TOKYO, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - The upper house of the Japanese parliament Friday extended by six months a sanction banning North Korean ships from entering the country's ports. The original ban came into effect in October 2006 and was initially to have lasted half a year. However, owing to a lack of progress in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, the parliament has decided to prolong the ban until October 13, 2007. The original justification for the sanction was the nuclear weapons tests conducted by North Korea in October of 2006, at which time the Japanese authorities imposed a complete embargo on all North Korean goods and closed its ports to the Communist nation's shipping. In early May the Japanese press published reports suggesting that the government was considering further measures against North Korea, including the possibility of a complete ban on Japanese exports there. Currently, only luxury goods and materials that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction are subject to the embargo. In addition, Japan may ban not only North Korean ships from its ports, but also any ships that have made ports of call there. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 2 IPS-English POLITICS: U.S. Ramps Up Missile Tests in the Pacific Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:24:37 -0700 John Lasker COLUMBUS, United States, Jun 1 (IPS) - Earlier this year, when China blasted one of its satellites into thousands of little floating pieces, it was condemned by Washington as a provocative act. But some arms-control experts believe Beijing was baring its teeth to send the White House a different message. They say that China, which has consistently opposed the weaponisation of space, is hoping to negotiate an arms treaty that would rein in both nations' growing arsenal of so-called ”space weapons”. Just days later, on Jan. 27, Beijing seemingly had its answer. On the western shore of Hawaii's Kauai Island, the U.S.'s ground-based Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, shot down a dummy ballistic missile over the southern Pacific as it skirted the edge of space roughly 110-kilometres high. Analysts say the George W. Bush administration is turning its back on any new space weapons treaty because it would ground many parts of the U.S.'s emerging missile defence shield. One such treaty is PAROS, the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space -- a treaty China initiated at the United Nations in 1985 and has pressed for ever since. The existing international regime, known as the Outer Space Treaty, entered into force in 1967 and critics -- who include experts like Hans Blix, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector -- say it is hopelessly outdated. However, Washington has made it clear that the U.S. has no intention of endorsing new restrictions. ”Arms control is not a viable solution for space,” a U.S. State Department official told Space News on Jan. 19. ”For example, there is no agreement on how to define a space weapon. Without a definition you are left with loopholes and meaningless limitations that endanger national security.” Pentagon officials insist the U.S. is not seeking to put weapons in Earth's orbit. Its space research, which is funneling billions to aerospace contractors such as Lockheed Martin, is strictly for defence, they say. But arms control experts suggest that this rhetoric has failed to assuage China's anxieties. ”So many (missile) defensive capabilities have inherent offensive applications as well,” said Theresa Hitchens, a space weapons expert at the Centre for Defence Information, a left- leaning think tank based in Washington. China's ASAT, or anti-satellite test, may have also been a response to the U.S.'s new National Space Policy doctrine released in late 2006, wrote Hitchens in a recent issue of the Air Force's High Frontier Journal. The new ”NSP” states: ”The U.S. considers space capabilities vital to its national interests. The U.S. will preserve its freedom of action in space (and will) dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights, and take those actions necessary to protect its space capabilities.” Hitchens says there is a more ”aggressive tone inherent in this policy” and that it ”rejects any limits on U.S. actions in space.” She adds, ”This strategy, this policy, more aggressively articulates a space war fighting strategy.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon continues to intensify its focus on the Pacific Rim, where it has dispatched a very strange-looking, very high-tech ship. The vessel is actually a revamped oil-drilling platform, and centred on its top, roughly 20 stories above the ocean, is its most striking feature -- a white globe so immense it could engulf the middle of a soccer field. Hidden inside the inflated white ball is the clue to this ship's ultimate mission: A radar dish so powerful it can decipher a real ballistic missile from a dummy missile, claims the U.S. military. The vessel is actually a new and important piece in the growing arsenal that is the U.S.'s missile defence programme, which is now run by the MDA, or Missile Defence Agency. Some have dubbed the agency the ”Son of Star Wars”, a 1980s-era programme to deploy missiles in space, and the strange ship is the MDA's billion-dollar Sea Based X-Band Radar. Last year, the Sea Based X-Band Radar was witnessed off the coasts of Hawaii. It was taking part in an unknown number of missile defence tests, said the MDA. Space weapons experts suggest it could also decipher space debris from a ”killer” micro-satellite. Indeed, all sorts of missile defence tests are on the rise around the Islands, say Hawaiian peace activists, who believe they are intended to intimidate Asian ”Tigers” such as China and North Korea. ”The increasing missile defence tests are a destabilising factor,” said Kyle Kajihiro, director of the Honolulu-based DMZ Hawaii. ”The tests are provoking an arms race in the region between nuclear powers.” Since being recently relocated from a New Mexico desert, the MDA's ground-based THAAD has a perfect ”hit to kill” ratio. But it is the ship-based ”Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System” that is creating more tension for China. Since 2004, the MDA and the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour have launched missile-like ”interceptors” to obliterate at least eight dummy ballistic missiles in space or in the atmosphere. What is so unnerving for Bejing is that Japan has spent millions to arm several of its own battleships with this missile defence. Ships with the ”Aegis” technology have tremendous reach, say experts, thus exposing more satellites to a shoot-down. In Greek mythology, ”Aegis” is the name of the shield used by Zeus. The U.S. Air Force is also researching ground-based lasers. On a summit of Mount Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the Air Force helps run the Maui Space Surveillance Site. The military contends the site is for astronomical research, and has powerful telescopes that can detect rogue asteroids. ”I'm not buying any of it,” said Kajihiro. Lasers that can ”paint” satellites -- so to guide interceptors to their target -- are being tested there as well, he told IPS. However, Greg Kulacki, an expert on the Chinese military at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the theory that China's ASAT test was a call for a space-weapons arms treaty ”is just not true”. Kulacki has spoken to Chinese scientists who work for the military's defence labs. They told him the ASAT test was a ”20-year-old end-result to an ASAT programme that began in the mid-80s”. Even though China is spending more and more on its military, says Kulacki, Beijing no longer subscribes to the theory the U.S. may someday contain China's growing thirst for oil by ”choking off its sea lanes”. Nevertheless, many still believe U.S. forces positioned around China could deny its people resources in the event of war. And as missile defence tests are ramped-up in the Pacific, one expert says such tests makes many Chinese even more worried about the eagle's shadow. ”The Chinese don't like America's offensive posture in the Pacific; they don't like it one bit,” says University of Hawaii professor Oliver M. Lee, who was born in Shanghai, and studies Sino-American relations. He says most Chinese believe ”the U.S. Navy controls the Pacific Ocean.” They also feel that China's military build-up is for defence only, he says. For the last several years, Lee, Kajihiro of DMZ Hawaii and many others have been fighting a plan by the Pentagon to bring 300 U.S. Army Strykers to the Islands. The Stryker uproar reflects Hawaii's internal debate over its militarisation, says Kajihiro. Why would the islands need hundreds of armoured vehicles that are loaded with exotic weapons and also easily transported by plane? ”That's the forty-thousand-dollar question,” says Kajihiro. ”We've asked that over and over again, and no good explanation was ever given.” ***** +Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/) +Centre for Defence Information (http://www.cdi.org/) +POLITICS: U.S. Nukes Plan Viewed as Provocative (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp? idnews=37049) +POLITICS: Security Council Called Hypocritical on Nukes (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp? idnews=37994) (END/IPS/NA/AP/IP/NU/BW/ML/JL/KS/07) = 06012223 ORP017 NNNN ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Putin: Missile Tests Are Response to US From the Associated Press Friday June 1, 2007 3:01 AM By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's test-firing of new missiles this week was a response to U.S. plans to build missile defense sites across Europe, and suggested Washington is pursuing an imperialist policy that has triggered a new arms race. In a clear reference to the United States, Putin harshly criticized ``diktat and imperialism'' in global affairs and warned that Russia will keep strengthening its military potential to maintain a global strategic balance. ``It wasn't us who initiated a new round of arms race,'' Putin said when asked about Russia's missile tests this week at a news conference in Moscow. In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe indicated that Moscow's tests only underscore the U.S. contention that the missile defense system is not aimed at Russia. ``As the Russians are well aware, our missile defense assets in Europe could be easily overwhelmed by existing Russian missile capabilities,'' he said. In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe indicated that Moscow's tests only underscore the U.S. contention that the missile defense system would not be a threat to Russia. ``Russia's strong missile capabilities are no match for our European missile defense plans and will not upset the strategic balance in the region,'' Johndroe said. Putin described the tests of a new ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and a new cruise missile as part of the Russian response to the planned deployment of new U.S. military bases and missile defense sites in ex-Soviet satellites in eastern Europe. He assailed the United States and other NATO members for failing to ratify an amended version of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, which limits the deployment of heavy non-nuclear weapons around the continent. ``We have signed and ratified the CFE and are fully implementing it. We have pulled out all our heavy weapons from the European part of Russia to (locations) behind the Ural Mountains and cut our military by 300,000 men,'' Putin said. ``And what about our partners? They are filling eastern Europe with new weapons. A new base in Bulgaria, another one in Romania, a (missile defense) site in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic,'' he said. ``What we are supposed to do? We can't just sit back and look at that.'' Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected U.S. assurances that the planned missile defense installations are meant to counter a potential threat from nations such as Iran and pose no danger to Russia. He reaffirmed his warning that Russia would opt out of the CFE treaty altogether if NATO nations fail to ratify its amended version. ``Either you ratify the treaty and start observing it, or we will opt out of it,'' Putin said. In remarks directed at Washington, Putin blasted those ``who want to dictate their will to all others regardless of international norms and law.'' ``It's dangerous and harmful,'' he added. ``Norms of the international law were replaced with political expediency. We view it as diktat and imperialism.'' In one of the tests Tuesday, a prototype of Russia's new intercontinental ballistic missile, called the RS-24, was fired from a mobile launcher at the Plesetsk launch site in northwestern Russia and its test warhead landed on target 3,400 miles away on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far eastern part of the country, officials said. Deploying a new missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads could allow Russia to maintain nuclear parity with the United States despite having to gradually decommission Soviet-built ICBMs. The military also tested a new cruise missile based on the existing short-range Iskander missile. First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, widely seen as a potential Kremlin candidate to succeed Putin, hailed the missile's capability on Thursday. ``It can be used at long range with surgical precision, as doctors say'' Ivanov said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. ``Russia needs this weapon to maintain strategic stability.'' ITAR-Tass said Thursday the new cruise missile, R-500, will have a range of up to 310 miles, the limit under a Soviet-era treaty that banned intermediate-range missiles. Putin and other officials have called the treaty outdated but have not said Russia would opt out of it. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 4 AFP: Bush seeks to soothe US-Russia tension - by Laurent Lozano Fri Jun 1, 3:51 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush reached out to Russia Friday to soothe concerns over a planned US missile defense program that has cranked tension between the allies and fears of a Cold War-style arms race. "The Cold War is over. We're now into the 21st century, where we need to deal with the true threats, which are threats of radical extremists ... and the threats of proliferation," Bush said in an interview with several European newspapers. He was speaking ahead of the G8 summit of leading industrialized nations in Germany from June 6 to 8, where he is due to meet with his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United States has angered Russia with plans to expand its missile defense shield into central Europe. Russia sees the planned installations as a security threat. The rhetoric in the dispute escalated Tuesday when Russia announced it had successfully tested a new ballistic rocket. Putin has this week also accused the United States of igniting "a new arms race" and said deploying the missile shield would be "transform Europe into a powder keg." "My friend, Vladimir Putin, is making this to be a case where somehow this is going to jeopardize relations in Europe and it's going to make the world a more dangerous place -- quite the opposite," Bush said in the interview. The United States says the system, involving a planned radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, would defend Europe against threats from Iran and North Korea, while posing no threat to Russia. But Putin is furious at the plans. "He is concerned about the missile defense system. He thinks it's aimed at him. It's not. It's aimed at rogue regimes that would use a missile to achieve political objective or to create unrest," Bush said. The United States has previously named Iran and North Korea as possible threats to be tackled by the shield system. It suspects Tehran of seeking to make nuclear bombs, but Iran says its nuclear program is only for atomic power. Bush stressed that he and Putin agree on the Iranian nuclear issue and on opposition to North Korean nuclear proliferation. "The reason one advocates and works for a missile defense system is to protect free peoples from the launch of a missile from a hostile regime," he said. "Russia is not hostile. Russia is a friend." "There's a lot of work we can do together to deal with these threats. And that's what I'll continue talking to President Putin about," at the G8 summit and also when the Russian leader visits the United States in July, Bush said. He also said he would raise concerns over democracy in Russia. "Vladimir Putin will tell me that Russia is a democracy and that he's advancing democracy. We have got some questions about that, of course." On Thursday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took another jab at Russia, saying the country needed to improve its human rights record and work with the West. "We want Russia to be strong, but strong in 21st century terms -- not just with a strong center, but with strong, independent institutions," she said, highlighting the need for a strong media, free elections and an independent judiciary. "Democratic institutions and an open society are not a source of weakness. Nor is freedom of speech and freedom of the press a nuisance," she said during a trip to Germany. Bush also raised the diplomatic dispute between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbor Estonia, a US ally, and the "difficult issue" of Kosovo, whose independence from Serbia is supported by key UN powers but opposed by Russia. "Disagreement on issues doesn't mean that the relations aren't cordial," Bush insisted. "My relationship with Russia is firm. I tell people what I believe based upon certain principles. But it's going to be in such a way that treats people with respect." Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: Bush Defends Missile Defense System From the Associated Press Saturday June 2, 2007 12:46 AM By JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush defended his plan to build a missile defense system in Russia's backyard, even though it has sparked fresh tensions in the already frayed Washington-Moscow relationship. Bush suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to get over it. Russia has reacted to the new system by unleashing several rounds of harsh rhetoric against the United States. ``The Cold War is over,'' Bush told foreign reporters in an interview that previewed an eight-day trip to Europe next week. ``We're now into the 21st century, where we need to deal with the true threats, which are threats of radical extremists who will kill to advance an ideology, and the threats of proliferation.'' Bush's eight-day trip, which begins Monday, will include meetings with Putin during and on the sidelines of a summit in Germany of leading industrialized nations. Hoping to normalize relations, the president also this week invited Putin to come to his family's summer compound on the Maine coast July 1-2, a month after the Group of Eight meeting. But Bush also is making stops before and after the summit that could further enflame his Russian counterpart. Bush is visiting Poland and the Czech Republic, former Soviet satellite states that are now NATO members, where Bush wants to base parts of the missile defense system. The president said in the Thursday interviews that part of the reason for his trip was ``to allay people's fears'' about the system. ``He thinks it's aimed at him. It's not,'' Bush said of Putin. Instead, he said, the system is meant to protect NATO allies against hostile regimes. ``Russia is not hostile. Russia is a friend.'' U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have recently stepped up diplomacy with the Russians to argue that Iran is the system's target. The West suspects Tehran's nuclear program is aimed not at producing energy but atomic bombs. ``I'm deeply concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon that could fly toward Europe, or, for that matter, toward any other allies,'' Bush said. ``And we don't want to ever have ourselves in a position where the world could become blackmailed. And, therefore, one way to deal with this issue is through a missile defense system.'' The president voiced no regrets about sparking the fracas with Russia over his decision. ``We think it's the right thing to do.'' Putin said Thursday that tests of new Russian missiles were a response to the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense installations and other forces in Europe. Russia has not bought the argument that the U.S. system is aimed elsewhere. In a clear reference to the United States, Putin harshly criticized ``imperialism'' in global affairs and warned that Russia will strengthen its military potential to maintain a global strategic balance. ``It wasn't us who initiated a new round of arms race,'' Putin said after Kremlin talks with Greek President Karolos Papoulias. Bush said in an interview Friday with BNT of Bulgaria that he wants to diffuse what he called ``the latest flare-up'' and is ``working hard to .... prevent any escalation of rhetoric.'' But he also said that he reserves the right to take Russia to task when needed and is ``not afraid to so so.'' A case in point is another recent dispute, over Kosovo's desire for indepedence. A phone conversation earlier in the week between Bush and Putin led some in the region to believe the U.S. president had promised to ``to rediscuss Kosovo's future.'' Bush sought to lay that to rest in an interview with Vision Plus TV of Albania. He said he told Putin that ``we feel strongly that the Ahtisaari plan is the right way to go,'' referring to a U.N. resolution supporting independence for Kosovo under international supervision. Russia has hinted it would veto the measure supported by the U.S. and Europe. On his trip, Bush also is traveling to Albania, where the discussion involving neighboring Kosovo is of great interest, and Bulgaria. He is stopping in Rome, where he will meet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time. And at the G-8, the president has scheduled separate sit-downs with outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair and with France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in addition to Putin. Relations between the United States and Russia, so warm in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, have been sinking for years. Washington has become increasingly concerned about backsliding on democracy and human rights in Russia under Putin's leadership and about worries that Russia uses its vast energy wealth for political purposes. Moscow, meanwhile, views U.S. activity in its former sphere of influence with growing suspicion. Notably, Bush referred in the interview to Washington-Moscow ties as ``a complex relationship,'' the same term he repeatedly uses to describe the status of the U.S.'s tricky relations with China. ``We've got some areas of agreement and some areas of disagreement.'' Under ``areas of disagreement,'' he listed Putin's claims of democratic advances in Russia (``We have got some questions about that'') and Moscow's harsh reaction to Estonia's decision to move a memorial to Soviet soldiers killed during World War II (``It sent a confusing signal to us'') and Kosovo. Under the common ground heading, he listed cooperation on Iran, North Korea and weapons proliferation generally. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 6 AFP: Defence chief seeks to ease doubts over US focus on Asia - official - Friday June 1, 11:14 PM SINGAPORE (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates landed in Singapore Friday seeking to ease doubts over US leadership in a region under the shadow of a Chinese military build-up. A senior US defence official said Gates would use a speech Saturday at an international security conference to assert that the United States intends to remain an influence in Asia. The official, who briefed reporters travelling with Gates on condition of anonymity, said Washington wanted to refute suggestions it has been distracted by Iraq and Afghanistan to the detriment of the Asia-Pacific region. "This has been a low running theme among many of the folks in the region, that somehow we have lost the bubble or lost our focus on Asia particularly in the last year, year and a half, when our demands in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased," he said. "When in fact, if anything, we have found better ways to do our Asia obligations and responsibilities and execute against those in a much more comprehensive and complete way," he added. Still, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Asian concerns about a shifting US military posture in Asia have put Gates on the defensive on his first trip to East Asia since assuming office six months ago. His visit was preceded by the release of the Pentagon's annual report on Chinese military power detailing Beijing's drive to acquire advanced warships, aircraft and missiles that would allow it to project power far beyond Taiwan. During a stopover in Honolulu, Gates said there was no question China is building up significant military capabilities, and he urged Beijing to explain its intentions. "One of the central themes of everyone who is talking to the Chinese is more transparency," Gates said. "Tell us more about where you're headed, what are your intentions." "That's the real issue. The fact that they are building capacity is just a fact. What they plan or do not plan to do with it is what's of interest," he added. But Gates did not plan to press the issue in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual regional gathering of senior officials and experts, the US defence official said. "We think we have a much more important message, and that message is: irrespective of the China military power report, and the situation with China, we are engaged throughout Asia on a very broad spectrum of activities. "And we want to highlight that in part to counter the suggestion that we somehow have been neglecting Asia over the last two or three years." China will be represented at the meeting by a high-powered delegation under Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, director of military intelligence for the People's Liberation Army and the highest ranking Chinese military officer ever to attend the conference. US military and defence officials have warned that unless China is more forthcoming on its intentions, the United States and other countries in the region will have no choice but to plan for worst-case scenarios. Admiral Timothy Keating, the top US commander in the Pacific, said he told senior Chinese officials during a recent visit that better understanding was needed to avoid miscalculation. The senior official travelling with Gates said Washington particularly wanted discussions with China on its ballistic missile programs. These include its strategic nuclear forces as well as the anti-satellite capability it demonstrated in January when it destroyed an orbiting weather satellite with a ballistic missile. "Let's just say the dialogue we've had with them on the anti-satellite test has been pretty small beer," the official said. "We really have not received from them any real reasonable and logical explanation of what has transpired." The official said there also is a "huge gulf in understanding" of China's military budgets. The Pentagon report estimated China's annual military spending at 85 to 120 billion dollars, which Beijing branded an exaggeration aimed at portraying it as a threat. Officially, Beijing acknowledges a 45 billion dollar budget this year, up nearly 18 percent on the year before. Save to MyWebEmail storyPrintable view Copyright © 2007 Yahoo!7 Pty Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 The Hindu: Nuclear talks to enter third day Saturday, Jun 02, 2007 ====================================================================== ``Several issues are being sorted out one by one, hopefully'' India not for undue haste in concluding agreement ====================================================================== New Delhi: Negotiations between India and the United States over the terms of their proposed nuclear cooperation agreement will carry on for a third day, official sources said on Friday night. Senior officials were extremely guarded in their comments about how Friday's technical round of talks had gone. Asked whether there was the likelihood of a breakthrough on Saturday, one highly placed Indian source told The Hindu , "Several issues are being sorted out one by one, hopefully." While declining to provide details of the actual negotiations, another official said the Indian and American sides differed over the interpretation of the July 2005 agreement, with the U.S. negotiators taking the position that since the reprocessing of spent fuel did not explicitly figure in that joint statement, their Government was not obliged to accommodate the Indian demand for consent rights. On their part, Indian negotiators emphasised the fact that reprocessing was an integral part of the "full civil nuclear cooperation" the statement spoke of, as well as of the benefits that all countries "with advanced nuclear technology" were entitled to. As for the U.S. insistence on including a "right of return" over any nuclear equipment or material in the event of an Indian nuclear test, the Indian side is insistent that this "right" cannot apply to any fuel supplies provided, including a strategic reserve. Without prejudice to the outcome of Saturday's interaction, senior officials told The Hindu that India was not going to make undue haste in concluding the `123 negotiations' in time for the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the G-8 outreach meeting at Heilingendamm next week. "We have been informed that Mr. Bush will leave Germany earlier than scheduled, so there will hardly be time for anything other than a very brief meeting between Dr. Singh and the U.S. President," a highly placed source said. "Of course, we hope to register substantial progress in this round itself but, in general, we are aiming at August, so that the 123 agreement is in place when Congress comes back from its summer recess." On Friday evening, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns ? the Bush administration's point man for seeing the nuclear deal with India through ? held a lengthy meeting with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan at the latter's office in the PMO. Others present at the parley were Department of Atomic Energy Chairman Anil Kakodkar and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. Mr. Burns also separately met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Minister of State in the MEA Anand Sharma. According to MEA sources, though the U.S. side would like Mr. Burns to pay a "courtesy call" on Dr. Singh, the Ministry had not cleared the meeting as of Friday night and was unlikely to do so on Saturday. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 8 Times of India: US, India hold talks on nuclear deal 1 Jun, 2007 l 1752 hrs ISTlAP NEW DELHI: Indian and US delegates met for a second day on Friday to seal a much-touted civilian nuclear deal between the two countries, officials said. The deal has been delayed by disagreements over clauses that India says could limit its nuclear weapons program and, in the process, impinge on its sovereignty. On Friday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns met with India's junior External Affairs Minister Anand Sharma in New Delhi, said U.S. Embassy official Unni Menon. "The deal is mutually advantageous. There is no question in my mind that we would continue hard work, and in good spirit we can reach a final agreement, and we look forward to that," Burns told reporters. Technical-level talks were also held Friday, Menon said. Details were not immediately available on the progress of the talks, which were set to end Saturday. Burns was also scheduled to meet India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan. The nuclear deal is seen as the cornerstone of an emerging partnership between Washington and New Delhi after decades of Cold War wariness. "We've made a lot of progress in that agreement," Burns said ahead of the talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. However, Burns continued, "some hard work has to be done." One of the biggest sticking points has been India's displeasure with a clause that would let the United States halt cooperation if India tests a nuclear weapon. Some in India also fear the deal could limit the country's right to reprocess spent atomic fuel - a key step in making weapons-grade nuclear material - and thus hamper its long-standing weapons program. American critics, meanwhile, say the plan would spark a nuclear arms race in Asia by allowing India to use the extra nuclear fuel, which the deal would provide, to free up its domestic uranium for weapons. Burns was visiting New Delhi days before US President George W. Bush is expected to discuss the deal with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they meet on the sidelines of a G-8 summit in Germany. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 9 Fulton Sun: Inspectors say nuclear plant ‘operated safely' in 2006 June 01, 2007 By MARK SOMMERHAUSER The Fulton Sun JEFFERSON CITY - Inspectors identified 14 minor violations of federal protocol at Callaway Nuclear Plant in the past year, but emphasized that the plant “operated safely” in 2006. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the findings Thursday night at an annual public meeting held in tandem with AmerenUE, which owns and operates the plant. “Overall, we feel very comfortable about the level of safety at the facility,” said Michael Peck, the NRC's senior resident inspector at Callaway. AmerenUE officials hailed the results as “positive” in a productive year at CNP, which produced the most energy of its 23 years in operation. Charles Nasland, chief nuclear officer for AmerenUE, said the corporation has “no dispute” with the NRC findings. “We've fulfilled our mission, I think, from a safety perspective,” Nasland said. “There really were no surprises in this report.” The annual report was the fruit of roughly 4,000 hours of direct inspection at CNP, which has two NRC inspectors on site. “This is really our scorecard for the year,” Nasland said. The NRC licenses and oversees 103 plants throughout the U.S., and classifies them in five groups corresponding to the degree of inspection oversight. At the beginning of 2007, CNP was in the “Licensee Response” category, meaning it was designated for the lowest level of NRC scrutiny. Of the 14 incidents recorded during 2006, inspectors said one rose above the lowest level of severity. Inspectors said an auxiliary feedwater system showed signs of degraded reliability in early 2006. However, a plan to address the issue removed that as an area of concern by the end of the year, they said. AmerenUE officials also touched briefly on its incipient plans to build and operate a nuclear reactor as part of a recently announced partnership with Unistar, Inc. In April, AmerenUE indicated its intent to submit a construction and operating license application to the NRC - a move considered the first public step toward building a new reactor. Since then, officials said, crews have been conducting environmental studies at the Callaway site to assess its viability. “We're talking about building new nuclear plants. That's exciting,” said Adam Heflin, Vice President of Nuclear Operations for AmerenUE. “In order to make that possibility a reality, we have to continue to operate our current plant safely.” Callaway has not yet been officially named as the potential site for the planned plant, and officials said Thursday that such an announcement won't be made before 2008. County commissioner Gabe Craighead agreed that continuing high marks for safety at CNP are crucial to those hopes. “We're one option of many,” Craighead said. “We're just hoping to be one of the lucky ones.” All Contents Copyright © 2007 The Fulton Sun. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 RIA Novosti: Czech NPP to start using Russian fuel in 2009 - TVEL 15:57 | 01/ 06/ 2007 NOVOSIBIRSK, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - The two-unit Temelin nuclear power plant, the Czech Republic's largest NPP, plans to start using Russian nuclear fuel in 2009, Russian nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL said Friday. In May 2006, TVEL Corporation won a tender for a 10-year contract with the local CEZ Group to supply roughly 400 metric tons of fuel to the Temelin NPP, the construction of which began in 1987 with Russian help. "In May 2007, the Czech Republic decided to remove nuclear fuel produced by corporation Westinghouse [U.S.] from the Temelin NPP.... TVEL will submit a feasibility study for the use of its fuel at Temelin in June 2008, and the Russian fuel will be delivered there in 2009," the vice-president of TVEL, Pyotr Lavrenyuk, said. He specified that the decision to replace fuel concerned the first unit, and that a decision would be reached on the second reactor this year. TVEL, which accounts for 17% of the global nuclear fuel market, will be supplying modern, more economical fuel that also ensures greater reactor safety, the company said last year, adding that other agreements on supplies of more advanced fuel may follow to supplement the contract. The company said the deal would help Russia strengthen its position as a leading global nuclear fuel supplier. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 11 BBC NEWS: Science/Nature | Nuclear reactor secrets revealed Last Updated: Friday, 1 June 2007, 10:57 GMT 11:57 UK The documents have been sealed in envelopes for nearly 70 years Instructions on how to build a nuclear reactor have been revealed from five sealed envelopes that have lain hidden for almost 70 years. The documents were sent to the UK's Royal Society for safekeeping by James Chadwick, discoverer of the neutron, during World War II. He felt their contents, which described cutting-edge science, were far too sensitive to publish at the time. I can see why these papers were locked away during the war Brian Cox, Cern They were opened on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the neutron's discovery. The publication of James Chadwick's paper, The Existence of a Neutron, kick-started the field of nuclear physics. Keith Moore, head of library and archives at the Royal Society, said: "The papers have only recently been discovered as part of our ongoing programme to catalogue the Society's archives. "The documents have been sealed for so long it only seemed right to wait for an occasion to open them. The anniversary of Chadwick's discovery seemed fitting." 'Inadvisable to publish' The envelopes contain the work of two French scientists, Hans Von Halban and Lew Kowarski, who worked in the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge. The documents detail experiments on nuclear fission, covering the components needed to make a nuclear reactor, how to create plutonium from uranium, and methods to stabilise nuclear chain reactions. Dr Brian Cox, a particle physicist from Cern, said: "These papers describe what was cutting-edge science at the time. James Chadwick realised the sensitive nature of the documents "The sheer amount of knowledge that these papers contain amazes me - only eight years after Chadwick discovered that a neutron even existed, these scientists are already looking at how to use neutrons to bring about nuclear fission and energy. "I can see why these papers were locked away during the war - they contain details that could be used to build a nuclear reactor." The sealed envelopes were accompanied by a letter from Professor Chadwick. Recognising the possible consequences of nuclear fission's massive energy releases, he wrote that the work was "inadvisable to publish at the present time". Dr Cox said: "These papers are a truly significant part of nuclear history. They provide a fascinating insight into the inquisitive nature of scientists working in a field moving so rapidly it was almost outpacing them. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 12 BBC NEWS: Share sale nets government Ł2bn Last Updated: Friday, 1 June 2007, 13:53 GMT 14:53 UK British Energy has made a strong recovery in recent years The UK government has raised Ł2.08bn from the sale of shares in nuclear power provider British Energy. The proceeds will go toward nuclear clean-up costs, including shutting down existing nuclear power stations. The Department of Trade and Industry sold 400 million shares at 520p each, cutting its stake in the UK's biggest energy producer from 64% to 39%. A further 50 million shares could be sold, leaving the government with a 36% stake in the company. The stake was first acquired in 2002 to help revive the then struggling nuclear power firm, which had been crippled by falling power prices and the introduction of a nuclear clean-up bill. BRITISH ENERGY NUCLEAR PLANTS Hunterston B, Ayrshire Torness, East Lothian Hartlepool Heysham 1 and 2, Lancashire Hinkley Point B, Somerset Dungeness B, Kent Sizewell B, Suffolk Check British Energy shares Since then, British Energy has made a strong recovery on the back of rising natural gas prices, which has lifted electricity prices, despite problems at its ageing power stations. This week the firm, which owns eight nuclear power stations and one coal-fired station in Eggborough, East Yorkshire, announced a 44% rise in underlying annual profits to Ł1.22bn. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 13 Press of Atlantic City: Citizens speak out against nuclear plant Terrorism, government response cited as reasons to deny Oyster Creek relicensing By DAVID BENSON Staff Writer, (609) 272-7206 Published: Friday, June 1, 2007 A protester wears a gag Thursday during the Nuclear Regulatory Commision meeting in Toms River. Due to the type of hearing it was certain the NRC members, the enviormental groups opposing the Oyster Creek license and representatives of AmerGen were not legally allowed to address the judges. Staff photo by Edward Lea TOMS RIVER — Fear of terrorists and distrust of the federal government were two forces driving people to speak against the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station during a special public hearing held Thursday afternoon in Ocean County. By nightfall, at the second hearing, proponents of the plant were more in evidence, though still clearly outnumbered. Three judges with the federal Atomic Safety Licensing Board listened for four hours at two public hearings while area citizens spoke in favor of, or against, a 20-year license extension for the nation's oldest operating nuclear power plant, located in Lacey Township. All but a few had harsh words for the nuclear facility. The meeting, designed to get input on issues surrounding the corrosion of the Oyster Creek plant's drywell liner, often strayed to worries about planes hitting the facility's spent fuel pool, or how difficult it would be to evacuate the area in the event of a nuclear emergency. Roy Hawkens, one of the three judges for the ASLB, cautioned the public early in the meeting to try to stick to the subject of the drywell liner. But it wasn't enforced, and current events and how they related to the nuclear plant frightened some residents more than the corrosion. Liz Arndne described herself as an ordinary, concerned citizen representing many like herself. “We have seen what happened at Chernoybl,” Arndne said. “We have seen what happened at Katrina. And we are frightened that our government is not responsive.” Arndne raised the issue of government disarray in the face of catastrophe, a chord others struck repeatedly during the meeting. But Ed Stroup trusts the Nuclear Regulatory Commisson and AmerGen. As one of less than a half-dozen people to speak in favor of a renewal of the station's license, he was accused of being a shill for AmerGen. The reasoning was twofold. Stroup worked for AmerGen for 22 years, 20 of them at the plant as a mechanic. Also, his support of the plant included facts and figures concerning the thickness of the drywell shell. Some said only a person coached by the company could have that information. Later, Stroup shrugged and smiled. “It's all public information,” he said. “Anyone who looks into the licensing process can get the information.” Janet Tauro, of Grandmothers, Mothers and Others for Safe Energy, got some public information and wanted to get it out during the meeting. But she wasn't allowed to speak. It's an arcane rule, but due to the type of hearing it was, certain members of the NRC, the environmental groups opposing the license and representatives of AmerGen were not legally allowed to address the judges. Tauro took it in good form. “Everything has rules,” she said. “You have to follow the rules.” And that's what Tauro wants the NRC to do in relation to the Oyster Creek plant. She says that because her group is one of the six environmental groups joined in a lawsuit against AmerGen, they have received documents from the company that aren't normally available. “Discovery,” she said. “Because we're part of the coalition in the suit, we have discovery.” Recently, Tauro said the group received a document that suggests a 9-square-foot area of the contested drywell shell is thinner than the measurement required by the NRC. “There can be no area within the drywell that falls below .736 inches,” Tauro said. “The latest documents show that a 9-foot square area in Bay One are at .696 inches.” It's the difference of a gnat, Tauro said. Maybe less than a gnat. “But it's a license violation,” she said. The recent fire that forced the evacuation of thousands of Ocean County residents reminded some how unorganized the federal government can be. The shortfalls of the government during Hurricane Katrina were brought up by several people wondering how this county would be evacuated in the event of a nuclear accident. Others pointed to the spent fuel pool, jammed with more than 200 tons of radioactive rods. A terrorist attack, said Carol Burns, a grandmother with grandchildren in the area, would leave Ocean County stranded with people desperate to leave. “I was near the Pentagon during 9-11,” Burns said. “I know that there was gridlock. You could not get out.” The memory stopped Burns for a moment. She took a few breaths as if to regain composure. “It wasn't nuclear. Imagine if it was and you were on Route 9.” Lacey Township favors relicensing the plant under the regulations of the NRC. David Most, deputy mayor for the township, said the plant has been a good neighbor, providing clean, safe energy. The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders disagrees with the township. David McKeon, board planning director, said freeholders are concerned about the on-site storage of spent fuel, as well as terrorism and evacuation of the area in the event of an accident or attack. The freeholders, McKeon said, are particularly concerned with the source of the leak that caused the corrosion of the drywell liner. “The NRC is satisified with the sealant that has been applied to the liner,” McKeon said. “But the county wants the NRC to find out the source of the leak.” The United Way of Ocean County supports the relicensing of the Oyster Creek plant. Nancy Eriksen, a spokeswoman for the county branch of the United Way, is also a manager at the nuclear facility. Eriksen said AmerGen has donated $1.5 million to the United Way over the past eight years. A few people, such as Most, described the nuclear facility as a good neighbor. Eriksen put a face on the neighbor. “The yearly Angel Tree,” she said, “where people help a family or buy a present for a needy child. Last year, Oyster Creek helped 300 on the tree.” The two hearings will not decide whether the nuclear plant will be relicensed, Hawkens said. And while the public comments are part of official Nuclear Regulatory Commission transcripts, they will not be part of an upcoming hearing. In September, a hearing will be held to decide whether AmerGen's schedule of measuring the thickness of a corroded drywell shell is adequate to protect public health and safety. These public hearings gave attorneys for all of the groups involved a chance to gather information they may not have had previously. Richard Webster, an attorney for the Rutgers Law Clinic, said the meeting was basically a chance for people to sound off to the NRC and the ASLB. There is a possibility, he said, that someone would say something that he could use in the September hearing. Webster represents a coalition of six environmental groups that oppose the relicensing of the plant. To e-mail Dave Benson at The Press: DBenson@pressofac.com © Copyright 1970- The Press of Atlantic City ***************************************************************** 14 APP.COM: N.J.: Reactor a menace to aquatic life | Asbury Park Press Online Friday, June 1, 2007 Plant seeks 20-year extension Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 06/1/07 BY NICK CLUNN STAFF WRITER Post Comment The state on Thursday rejected for the second time an attempt by Oyster Creek nuclear power plant operators to show that the Lacey plant would have minimal impact on aquatic life in Barnegat Bay if allowed to operate for an additional 20 years. By objecting to the claim made by AmerGen Energy Co., the state — at least for the time being — blocks AmerGen's attempt to obtain a 20-year license renewal. The company can try again to convince the state otherwise or appeal the decision. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is deciding whether to issue a renewal, will not be allowed to grant one until the plant's plan for extended operations is deemed consistent with New Jersey's coastal environmental rules, said Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman. With Thursday's objection letter, Oyster Creek, which opened in 1969 and is now the nation's oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant, now faces three formal challenges to its application for a renewed license, which it needs to stay open past 2009. The state in April filed a petition with an appellate court challenging the NRC's rejection of a state contention, which said that the review Oyster Creek must pass for a renewal should include the potential consequences of a terrorist attack. A coalition of six environmental and anti-nuclear groups have challenged the renewal on the grounds that AmerGen's plans for monitoring a key radiation barrier are insufficient. A public hearing on that claim was held Thursday in Toms River before three administrative judges from the NRC. The objection raised Thursday in the letter could delay the issuance of the renewal, or block it altogether, if AmerGen does not satisfy the state's requirements. "First off, we're disappointed," said Leslie Cifelli, a spokeswoman for Oyster Creek. "We need to sit down and really digest this, but we're firmly committed to a 20-year renewal." According to the 13-page letter, sent to Oyster Creek by the DEP, the state says AmerGen did not provide enough information to support its claim that the plant's environmental impact would be small. State officials seemed particularly puzzled over how the company could draw that conclusion without reviewing the results of an ongoing study it has undertaken to assess the plant's impact. But Cifelli said AmerGen has already provided enough information to show that Oyster Creek could operate into the future while posing little impact. "We feel that we've more than adequately answered their questions," she said. AmerGen's point of view is backed by the NRC, which established in January that there were no environmental issues that would preclude the agency from issuing a renewal. Several species vulnerable At issue is the significance of the number of sea creatures killed by the plant's cooling system, which can draw 1.3 million gallons per minute from Barnegat Bay via the South Branch of the Forked River. Small organisms are killed when sucked into the plant. Larger ones, such as turtles, die when trapped against grates attached to intake pipes. According to a 1989 report funded by the plant when it was owned by GPU Nuclear, the cooling system killed bay anchovies, grass shrimp, hard clams and blue crabs — species whose numbers near the plant still concern state officials. The study estimated that 12 percent of Barnegat Bay's bay anchovy population was being killed annually in the cooling system. The 12 percent amounted to 354,000 pounds. For grass shrimp, also called sand shrimp, the statistics were greater: 17 percent of the shrimp lost, or 1.65 million pounds. Department officials have pointed to these figures in an attempt to convince AmerGen to build a cooling tower at Oyster Creek. State officials might soon go ahead and require cooling towers by changing the conditions under which the plant is allowed to discharge heated water back into the environment after it passes through the plant. Cooling towers enable cooling water to be recycled, resulting in far fewer deaths of shrimp, clams and fish. Thursday's letter rejected AmerGen's second attempt to show that Oyster Creek is consistent with the state's coastal management plan. The first application was filed in January 2005, but was ruled deficient by the DEP that March. CARE TO COMMENT? Visit our Web site, www.app.com Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Rutland Herald: Serving the real public interest June 01, 2007 David O'Brien's little love note to Vermont Yankee's VP Ted Sullivan is another confirmation that O'Brien and the Douglas administrations love affair with nuclear waste and one of the state's largest corporations has blinded them to their mission of protecting and serving Vermonters. The Public Service Department, which O'Brien cheerfully heads, is charged with more than looking out for the safety and best interests, as well as the pocketbooks, of the people of Vermont. Douglas and O'Brien continue to ignore their larger public duties. They maintain their myopic focus only on costs of kilowatt-hours and neither environmental, health costs, nor the danger to Vermont's inhabitability that Vermont Yankee poses, especially in this age of terror. Published reports erroneously gave the impression that the effluent from Vermont Yankee into the Connecticut River would rise one degree. They are actually asking for permission to raise the temperature of the entire river more than a mile downstream an entire degree. What the actual temperature rise in the effluent will have to be in order to do that has not been published, but it certainly will be considerable. O'Brien and Douglas both need to examine their responsibilities and start to serve the long-term interests of Vermonters: our health, our safety, our security, and our long-term strategies for having less toxic energy supplies for our growing economy. They are violating their oaths of office by serving corporations instead of citizens. There is a difference. SCOTT AINSLIE Brattleboro © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 16 Shanghai Daily: Foreign firms to get welcome mat in nuclear power projects -- Friday, 1 June, 2007 http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=317963&type=Business DOMESTIC and foreign companies will be allowed to invest in China's nuclear power generating projects but cannot hold a controlling stake, according to a senior official with the State Commission of Science and Technology for National Defense Industry. As China is keen to boost development of the nuclear power industry, it is considering opening the nuclear fuel sector to foreign investors, Wang Yiren, head of the commission's No. 2 system engineering department, said. The country's draft nuclear energy law is being revised, Wang added. According to China's longer-term development plan for the nuclear power industry, nuclear power capacity will increase to 40 million kilowatts in 2020, with construction of at least three nuclear power generating units in each of the coming 10 years. There are now 10 commercial nuclear power generating units operational in China, including the No. 1 unit at Tianwan Nuclear Power Station in east China's Jiangsu Province, which came onstream on May 17. Their combined installed capacity stands at eight million kilowatts. The other nine units include Qinshan, Dayawan, and No. 2 and No. 3 phases of Qinshan and Ling'ao. Four units are being built as the second phase of the Ling'ao project in south China's Guangdong Province and the second phase of the Qinshan project in east China's Zhejiang Province. According to Wang, China's nuclear industry generated 54.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity last year, less than two percent of the nation's total. The government wants the nuclear industry to contribute four percent of the nation's energy needs by 2020. Wang said the Chinese government has strict controls on uranium ore prospecting and mining but allows foreign experts to assist Chinese geological authorities in their prospection efforts. Wang noted uranium was mainly distributed in two huge inter-continental metallogenic zones, which both traverse the Chinese mainland. This is encouraging for China's chances of finding uranium. Xinhua ***************************************************************** 17 EUX.TV: Poland, Lithuanian premiers: new reactor to boost energy security Friday, June 01, 2007 at 14:23 Poland, Lithuanian premiers: new reactor to boost energy security Warsaw/Plock (dpa) - The prime ministers of European Union neighbours Poland and Lithuania agreed Friday that a new reactor at Lithuania's existing Ignalina nuclear power facility would boost energy security in the EU's Baltic region. The new Ignalina facility, slated to open in 2015, would "greatly strengthen" bilateral relations and "have a significant influence on energy security," Polish Premier Jaroslaw Kaczynski said following Friday talks with his Lithuanian counterpart Gediminas Kirkilas. The Lithuanian leader said parliament was expected to complete planning work on the project by the end of June. He also expressed Lithuania's interest in hooking up to Poland's natural gas pipeline network. The existing Soviet-built Ignalina reactor currently serves some 70 per cent of Lithuania's energy needs, but is slated to be closed later this decade under an agreement with the European Union. Baltic states Estonia and Latvia were the first to join Lithuania in the project, estimated to cost 5-6 billion euro (7-8 billion dollars). Poland has also joined and plans to build a so-called "energy bridge" hooking up its electrical power grid with Lithuania and its Baltic partners. The leaders met at the headquarters of Poland's leading Orlen fuel's refiner in Plock, central Poland. Also the leading central European fuels refiner and distributor, Orlen recently purchased Lithuania's Maziekiu Nafta refinery. Kaczynski also criticised as "poor policy" a recent comment by Russia's energy minister casting in doubt the resumption of oil deliveries to the Maziekiu refinery. Fuel lines from Russia to the Maziekiu Nafta refinery were cut last July after an apparent rupture in Russia's Soviet-era Druzhba-1 (friendship - Eds.) pipeline. The development came just shortly after Lithuania selected Poland's Orlen instead of a Russian company for the sale of the refinery. Poland is currently seeking contracts for alternative fuel supplies to ease reliance on Russian crude oil. EUX.TV ***************************************************************** 18 News from Poland: Ignalina nuclear power essential says PM Poland.pl 2007-06-01, 15:29 Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said that the construction of a nuclear power plant in the eastern part of Lithuania will greatly consolidate relations between Poland and Lithuania and will have a considerable impact on energy security. Premier Kaczynski and his Lithuanian counterpart Gediminas Kirkilas, now on a visit to Poland, met with the executive board of Poland's oil giant PKN Orlen in the central city of Plock earlier today. Orlen has a majority stake in the Mazeikiai Lithuanian oil refinery. Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the construction of a new Ignalina power plant, which is to come on stream by 2015, will change the situation in the region. The plant will cost 5-6 billion euros. The project will be realized jointly by Poland and three Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Premier Kirkilas informed today that the Lithuanian government had approved a bill on the spelling of names, which enables ethnic Poles who live in Lithuania to write their names in Polish. "This solution will serve the consolidation of mutual trust", Kirkilas said. The spelling of Polish names in Lithuania has been one of the most sensitive problems in bilateral relations. (kaka) © Copyright by 2007, Domains ***************************************************************** 19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., India Hold 2nd Day of Nuke Talks From the Associated Press Friday June 1, 2007 10:31 AM By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press Writer NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian and U.S. delegates met for a second day Friday to seal a much-touted civilian nuclear deal between the two countries, officials said. The deal has been delayed by disagreements over clauses that India says could limit its nuclear weapons program and impinge on its sovereignty. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns met with India's junior External Affairs Minister Anand Sharma in New Delhi, said Unni Menon, a U.S. Embassy official. Technical-level talks were also held. ``The deal is mutually advantageous,'' Burns told reporters. ``In good spirit we can reach a final agreement.'' The agreement would let the U.S. ship nuclear fuel and know-how to India in exchange for safeguards and U.N. inspections at India's 14 civilian nuclear plants. Eight military plants would be off-limits. Details were not immediately available on the progress of the talks, which were set to end Saturday. The nuclear pact is the cornerstone of an emerging partnership between Washington and New Delhi after decades of Cold War wariness. One of the biggest sticking points has been India's displeasure with a clause that would let the United States halt cooperation if India tests a nuclear weapon. Some in India also fear the deal could limit the country's right to reprocess spent atomic fuel - a key step in making weapons-grade nuclear material - and thus hamper its long-standing weapons program. American critics, meanwhile, say the plan could set off a nuclear arms race in Asia by allowing India to use the extra nuclear fuel, which the deal would provide, to free up its domestic uranium for weapons. Burns was visiting New Delhi days before President Bush is expected to discuss the deal with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they meet on the sidelines of a G-8 summit in Germany. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 20 CNW Telbec: Review will confirm CANDU is the right choice for Ontario TORONTO, May 31 /CNW/ - The Organization of CANDU Industries is confident the government's independent assessment of the nuclear technologies available to Ontario, will confirm CANDU as Ontario's best choice for new nuclear power supply. The Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI) represents 85 companies in Ontario supplying goods and services for CANDU reactors built in both domestic and export markets. "Choosing CANDU for Ontario's nuclear solution creates tremendous economic spin-offs in this province," says OCI President Martyn Wash. "Ontario's CANDU industry currently employs 25,000 highly-skilled, educated people and generates more than $4 billion into the province's economy. We are certain the government's study will prove we stand to gain even more employment and fiscal benefits with CANDU." The construction of two of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's next-generation CANDU's, the ACR-1000, will generate between 81,000 and 95,000 person years of employment. According to a recent study by the Canadian Energy Research Institute, 20,000 to 22,000 person years of employment would be lost if a foreign technology was chosen over CANDU. In addition, the CANDU industry generates more than $500 million in tax revenues to the province annually, with more than $4 billion in tax revenues forecasted from projected CANDU export opportunities over the next 20-30 years. Ontarians appear to have already shown their support for CANDU. A recent survey by Ipsos-Reid has shown more than 86 per cent of Ontarians said they prefer CANDU technology over foreign technology. "CANDU is a made-in-Canada technology that Ontario's OCI members have played an integral role in developing, and we want to see our efforts and our knowledge continue to grow in Ontario," says Wash. "At a time when we need to fight to retain high-tech jobs here in Canada, the government needs to embrace the Canadian nuclear industry and its workers here at home." CANDU reactors are operated in five countries around the world and have consistently achieved outstanding safety and performance records. Canada's Team CANDU track record for delivering new nuclear power plants is unprecedented, with six reactors built in the last 10 years all on time and on budget. The Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI) represents 92 Canadian companies supplying goods & services for CANDU reactors in domestic & export markets. OCI companies provide engineering services & manufactured components for the CANDU industry and although it functions separately from design authorities & utilities, OCI members participates in design, manufacture, construction & commissioning of CANDU plants. For further information: Martyn R Wash, President, Organization of CANDU Industries, (905) 269-0852, www.oci-aic.org © 2005 Groupe CNW Ltée CONFIDENTIALITÉ ET MODALITÉS D’UTILISATION / AIDE / CARTE DU SITE ***************************************************************** 21 Business Gazette: Towers may be blown up NUCLEAR industry safety chiefs are studying plans to demolish the four cooling towers at Calder Hall in West Cumbria. The huge stacks could be blown up in the same way those at its sister station Chapelcross, near Annan, recently. It is expected that each of the towers will be brought down in successive explosions within a matter of seconds. Preparation work for that project has already began, although it is not yet known when the final demolition will take place. A spokeswoman for British Nuclear Group, which runs Sellafield, said: “The cooling towers at Calder Hall continue to undergo preparations for demolition, with all the internal structures now removed and the safety case being scrutinised by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. “No date has yet been announced for the demolition and contractors are carrying out surveys on the towers, which are a necessary part of delivering the project safely.” Specialist dismantling contractors removed more than a mile of asbestos cement pipe, 6,000 cubic metres of plastic and more than 250 tonnes of timber from each tower. About 5,200 holes will have to be drilled to lay the explosives to bring the tower down. The demolition of the towers will be the first real sign of Calder Hall’s rundown. It was the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant – commissioned in 1956 – and the oldest station in the UK Magnox reactor fleet when it stopped producing electricity in March 2003. Plans for the explosive demolition of the towers at Chapelcross – which took just 10 seconds and changed the view on both the Dumfriesshire and Cumbrian sides of the Solway Firth – were drawn up by engineers at Annan with their West Cumbrian colleagues. Nuclear industry experts say that using explosives is the safest way to bring cooling towers down. 02 June 2007 Cumbria Online | Business Gazette | Cumbria Life | News & Star | NW Evening Mail | Cumberland News | Times & Star | Whitehaven © 1995-2007 CN Group. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 Oxford Mail: Getting A Reaction Part of the This Is Oxfordshire Network By Rowena Mason Comment Scientists at work in the reactor Pluto Nuclear power was thrust into local headlines last week when a report tipped that nuclear power could be coming to South Oxfordshire, if the Government decides to build an new generation of nuclear plants. Experts suggested industrial sites at Didcot and nearby Harwell as possible locations for a new plant - and local residents reacted with horror at the thought of radioactivity creeping close to their doors. Oxfordshire is the birthplace of nuclear research in Britain, so I felt compelled to find out more about this mysterious source of energy. I headed off to Harwell, the site of a former nuclear research centre, which is being cleaned up after closing in the mid 1990s. The centre is owned by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), a public body responsible for decommissioning the radioactive site by 2025. By this time, it should be a safe place to build homes and workplaces on the green fields that are left behind. In fact, it will have a lower radiation count than most places in the country, said my UKAEA guide Angela Vincent as I was shown around Area 462, where waste is stored in canisters, ready for burial underground. My mind conjured up green-glowing crystals that looked like Kryptonite, so I was highly disappointed to find that the first piece of nuclear waste I saw looked like a dirty tissue. This is quite normal, says Angela. Most waste is just ordinary items that are contaminated during the daily workings of a nuclear operation. A three-foot-thick glass barrier separates me from this killer waste, which could make me seriously ill if I handled it directly. To move it, I operated a big metal robotic arm. When I clenched on my side of the glass, the arm on the other side scooped up the deadly material. It felt like I was playing a puzzle game on The Crystal Maze or fishing for soft toys at a fairground. About 30 people operate the machinery, including Sharon Giddings from Wantage. She said: "I really enjoy the job, being the only female sorter. I don't worry too much about working with radioactive material." The control room looked like a scene from an episode of Star Trek. There was even an enormous red button labelled EMERGENCY STOP, which I had to try very hard not to press. This is the hub of the site. Medium-level waste is put in lead-lined drums, packed in with concrete and taken for temporary burial on-site. It all seems a very safe, clean place, full of happy nuclear-friendly people - but I got slightly scared when I was told I must be scanned for radiation before I leave. I stood in a man-sized booth, slid my arms down dark tubes and pressed the front of my body against a wall. I was given the all-clear, but it was a bit disconcerting. For the last part of my tour, I was driven to the site of the old nuclear reactors. Pluto, Dido and Bepo sound like Disney characters, but in fact they are the domed buildings where the most important nuclear research in Britain was done for half a century. The spin-off science behind heart pacemakers, early computers - and the bubbles in Maltesers - were developed on this site. I was impressed. Head of site John Wilkins explained that as Harwell is decommissioned, it has started a new life as a science park of world-renowned status. He said: "When the site is cleaned up by 2025, we'll have to demonstrate that there's no danger at all left from radiation. "Now we have the new Diamond Light Source facility on site (a giant microscope) and many exciting companies turning this into a site of innovation." My whirlwind nuclear experience was over. I hadn't sprouted two heads or started "feeling a bit funny". But as I left the fortified compound, exchanging a cheery word with the armed police at the gate, my thoughts turned to the sinister aspects of radioactive material and the security needed to contain it. Stored away, buried, far from human touch, we hope that nuclear dangers will not affect our lives - making sure it stays in safely-gloved robotic claws, rather than slipping into the wrong hands. 4:30pm Friday 1st June 2007Print  Email this Comment Privacy Policy © Copyright 2001-2007 ***************************************************************** 23 AFP: Greenpeace talks Finnish nuclear security with EU commissioner - Fri Jun 1, 3:22 PM ET HELSINKI (AFP) - Greenpeace activists on Friday pressed claims that a new nuclear reactor being built in Finland posed a danger, but failed to convince EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs of their case in a meeting. A group of Greenpeace activists who had been perched atop a crane at the construction site since Monday climbed down late Friday after the meeting. They were expected to be arrested and faced fines for disturbing public order. Piebalgs rejected Greenpeace's allegations that the world's first third-generation European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), being built in Olkiluoto on the west coast of Finland, was a hazard. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) "is doing its job properly, compentently," he said at a press conference. "The EPR is the first reactor of its kind to be built. There are of course going to be lots of challenges, it is normal," Piebalgs said. Greenpeace had been demanding that a 2005 list compiled by STUK which it claimed detailed "1,500 quality breaches" at the reactor -- Finland's fifth -- be made public. "We are pleased that Mr Piebalgs heard our concerns, but we remain very worried that the safety regime at Olkiluoto will not improve," Kaisa Kosonen, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace Nordic, said. "The Finnish nuclear industry aims to maintain an illusion of cheap and safe nuclear energy with misleading and false information," she added. The new plant will be operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oy, a private electricity generation company owned by Finnish industrial and power companies and is being built by the French-German EPR consortium Framatome ANP-Siemens. Greenpeace has accused STUK of turning a blind eye to the numerous problems surrounding the construction of the reactor to avoid further delay and increased costs. The reactor was initially scheduled to open in mid-2009 after four years of work but is now set be fully operational in 2011 at the earliest. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 24 UPI: U.S., India work to restart nuclear talks United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News - Published: June 1, 2007 at 1:25 PM NEW DELHI, June 1 (UPI) -- Bush administration officials met with their Indian counterparts in New Delhi to attempt to restart talks on a nuclear agreement between the nations. U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns met Thursday with Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to discuss a compromise to restart negotiations on the agreement before an expected meeting between U.S. President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during next week's G8 meeting in Germany, the International Herald Tribune reported Friday. The deal, if finalized, would allow India to address a power shortage by purchasing nuclear fuel and reactors. The agreement would name India as a "responsible" nuclear power, despite the country's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, negotiations over a final version of the deal stalled due to disagreements over the details. "There is considerable work to be done on what is a very technical and detailed agreement," U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford said in a statement. "We want to finish as soon as we can and both sides are positive we can do this." © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 UPI: Progress Energy puts nuclear, coal on hold United Press International - Energy - Briefing Published: June 1, 2007 at 2:54 PM RALEIGH, N.C., June 1 (UPI) -- Progress Energy will put on hold for at least two years its plans to build nuclear and coal plants in the United States as it focuses on energy conservation. Progress put a two-year moratorium on building new coal plants, the global energy information firm Platts reports. And it notified federal regulators that it will at least delay construction of new reactors at the Harris-1 site in North Carolina. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expected Progress to apply for licenses for two more reactors at Harris this year, part of a probable boom of new building in the U.S. nuclear industry. Those reactors -- Westinghouse AP1000 models -- will not be online by the 2015 timeline Progress originally said it was trying to meet. Now the plants will come online by 2018 at the earliest. While the industry is talking of meeting the increasing U.S. demand for energy by adding new nuclear generation, there has not been a new license issued by the NRC since 1978. A unit costs between $3 billion and $5 billion to license and construct, and the economics have not been solidified. Platts reports Progress will spend the next two years promoting energy consumption and efficiency projects and programs before evaluating its effectiveness and then deciding whether it needs to build more plants. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 26 MHNN: Entergy returns Indian Point 2 to service June 1, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide Buchanan — The Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant, which was shut down during a valve repair earlier this week, has been placed back online. “Our control room operators and staff performed very well in shutting down the plant, making the repairs, and returning the unit to service,” said Site Vice President Fred Dacimo. “It was the correct decision to shut down the plant. Their training and commitment to safety is what Entergy is about.” Plant staff repaired a valve that controls the flow of non-radioactive water to one of the plant’s four steam generators, before returning the unit to service at about 3 o’clock Thursday morning. Control operators had safely shut down the plant on Monday, according to plan, following an assessment of the valve that was not performing properly. The valve could not be repaired while the plant is operating. The plant had safely operated continuously for 90 days before Monday’s shutdown. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local public officials have been notified. Each plant produces approximately 1,000 megawatts of electricity, the amount used by about 2 million homes. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 27 MHNN: Indian Point activates single sirens over two-week period June 1, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide Buchanan – Entergy Nuclear Northeast plans to activate individual sirens in its Indian Point emergency alert system in Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland counties from Monday, June 4 through Friday, June 8 and again on Monday, June 11 through Friday, June 15. Entergy selected 20 sirens in the new system for the tests. Each siren may sound more than once at full volume for about four minutes. The tests may sound at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Entergy, working with the four counties, installed 150 new sirens in the 10 mile emergency planning zone around Indian Point, including 69 in Westchester, 45 in Rockland, 22 in Orange and 14 in Putnam. Entergy was fined $130,000 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to meet a second deadline to have the sirens operational and the company is working to have the kinks worked out and have them turned on by August. The current siren system remains in service until the new one is turned on. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 28 NewsRoom Finland: REPEAT: Finland's TVO submits EIA plan on fourth nuclear unit 1.6.2007 at 10:18 Finland's trade and industry ministry said in a statement Thursday that Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) had submitted its programme for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on what would be TVO's fourth and Finland's sixth nuclear power station. The ministry is to circulate the plan for comments until the end of August. "A situation where the unit will not be built in Olkiluoto is reviewed as a zero option. This means assessing the environmental impact of a situation where the amount of electricity corresponding to the unit's production capacity would be bought from the market," the ministry added. TVO's assessment programme can be viewed at the municipal offices of Eurajoki, Eura, Kiukainen, Lappi, Luvia and Nakkila as well as at the Rauma environmental office and on the internet at ktm.fi/en/olkiluoto4yva. The ministry expects the environmental impact assessment process to be concluded within a year. "In accordance with the Nuclear Energy Act, the final EIA reports shall be annexed to the application for the decision-in-principle regarding the new nuclear power plant unit." /STT/ © Copyright STT 2007 © 1995 – 2005, Virtual Finland Produced by: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Department for Communication and Culture/Unit for Promotion and Publications ***************************************************************** 29 Dallas Business Journal: 'The fuel of the future is nuclear' - Predicting $80-a-barrel petroleum soon, legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens says Dallas Business Journal - June 1, 2007 by Glenn Hunter Editor Skeeter Hagler PICKENS: ‘My approach was, take over the company and get rid of the management. Now they take over the company and keep the management.’ View Larger At age 79, North Texas oil-industry icon T. Boone Pickens not only continues to work --"I enjoy workin', " he says -- but he's making more money at it than ever. As founder and chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital, an energy-oriented investment fund, Pickens ranked No. 103 on the latest Forbes magazine list of the wealthiest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion. ghunter@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7109 © 2007 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. All ***************************************************************** 30 Hindustan Times: Officials working hard to conclude 123- Nilova Roy Chaudhury, Hindustan Times New Delhi, June 01, 2007 While some progress has been made at the end of the second day of intensive talks to try and conclude the bilateral 123 Agreement before US President George Bush meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Heiligendamm next week, officials refused comment on how soon the deal might materialise. According to sources, what negotiators are close to working out and agreeing to is an enabling clause that will allow India the right to reprocess spent fuel. Specific details allowing the kind of reprocessing rights that have been given to Japan or the Euratom partners can be negotiated gradually. Similarly, there is unlikely to be any specific mention in the proposed 123 Agreement of the United States cutting off all nuclear collaboration if India should test a nuclear device. The formulation is likely to be that both countries will be bound by their domestic laws if such an event occurs. The United States Atomic Energy Act makes it mandatory for it to cease nuclear-related collaboration if a partner country tests a nuclear device. Earlier on Friday US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said both sides are 'working hard' on taking forward their landmark civilian nuclear deal but it would be 'very hard' to put a timeframe on concluding their negotiations. "We're working very hard, we're working very well," Burns, the key US interlocutor said before he started talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon this morning. "It's very hard to tell...when the work will be done," he said, indicating that tough negotiations still remained to resolve the outstanding differences. Both countries will need to be able to convince their legislatures of the contours of the deal once it is finalised. The 123 Agreement has to pass muster with the US Houses of Congress before it can become legally binding. Burns also met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor MK Narayanan on Friday evening. ***************************************************************** 31 AFP: India, US in "hard work" nuclear talks - Friday June 1, 07:48 PM NEW DELHI (AFP) - India and the United States held talks for a second day to resolve differences over a nuclear energy agreement that will give India access to long-denied Western nuclear technology. Chief US negotiator Nicholas Burns met India's junior foreign minister Anand Sharma and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon on the second day of his visit to New Delhi. "I think we are working hard. We are working well and let's hope it will be as soon as possible," Burns, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters after meeting Sharma. The deal will reverse three decades of US sanctions on nuclear trade with India, even though New Delhi has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and tested nuclear weapons in 1998. The pact requires India to separate nuclear facilities for civilian and military use and set up a regime of international inspections for the former in return for technology and nuclear fuel supplies. But differences persist over New Delhi's demand to be allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. India also wants assurances that Washington would continue to supply fuel for its nuclear plants in the event of New Delhi conducting further nuclear weapons tests. Before going in to talks Thursday, Burns said "some hard work" had to be done. Save to MyWebEmail storyPrintable view Copyright © 2007 Yahoo!7 Pty Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 32 Reuters: U.S., Russia agree on nuclear detection plan Fri Jun 1, 2007 2:59PM EDT By Carl Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Russia have agreed on a plan to accelerate installation of radiation detection devices at 350 Russian border crossings so the system to prevent nuclear smuggling is fully operational by 2011, U.S. officials said on Friday. "This announcement is a major cooperative step in counter-proliferation work in Russia," which contains a major portion of the world's nuclear material, said Will Tobey, deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, a part of the U.S. Energy Department. "It will help us prevent smuggling into and out of the region," he told Reuters in an interview. Russia identified more than 480 cases of illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material in 2006. While U.S. officials said these cases were not believed to involve weapons-grade nuclear material, the number of cases underscores the scope of the problem. Another U.S. official said the detection system could have an important application in efforts to prevent desperately poor North Korea, which last year tested its first nuclear device, from selling nuclear weapons or fuel. "On the Russian border with North Korea we have detectors ... so we are able to monitor not only what is going into Russia, but also what might be coming out of North Korea," the official said. North Korea also has land borders with China and South Korea. Although U.S.-Russian ties are increasingly tense over a number of major issues, Tobey said efforts to combat the threat of nuclear proliferation "is a bright spot of cooperation" with Moscow. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 33 UPI: Reform of state secrecy privilege urged United Press International - Security & Terrorism - Briefing Published: June 1, 2007 at 10:45 AM WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- A bipartisan panel says a national security privilege, which the U.S. government can use to quash lawsuits, should be reformed. The panel is made up of former officials and legal experts. Known as the state secrets privilege, the doctrine has its roots in British common law and allows the U.S. government to argue that the disclosure of certain evidence in court may damage national security, effectively ending the litigation. The panel, set up by the Constitution Project, released a report Thursday. It recommends that Congress "conduct hearings to investigate the ways in which the state secrets privilege is asserted, and craft statutory language to clarify that judges, not the executive branch, have the final say about whether disputed evidence is subject to the state secrets privilege." The panel's 41 members include former federal Judge William Sessions, who was FBI director under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Philip Heymann and Bruce Fein, who were deputy attorneys general for Clinton and Reagan respectively; Louis Fisher, the leading specialist in constitutional law at the Library of Congress; and David Kay, formerly head of the U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq, and subsequently of the U.S. Iraq Survey Group. "Unless claims about state secrets evidence are subjected to independent judicial scrutiny, the executive branch is at liberty to violate legal and constitutional rights with impunity and without the public scrutiny that ensures that the government is accountable for its actions," reads the report. It states judges are too ready to abdicate their responsibility to see the evidence before accepting the government's contention that its disclosure would damage national security. "By accepting these claims as valid on their face, courts undermine the principle of judicial independence, the adversary process, fairness in the courtroom, and our constitutional system of checks and balances." -- Shaun Waterman, UPI Homeland and National Security Editor © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 34 UPI: Russia gets U.S. nuke security devices United Press International - Security & Terrorism - Briefing Published: June 1, 2007 at 1:14 PM WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Nuclear Safety Administration has signed a deal to equip every Russian border checkpoint with nuclear detection devices. "In just four years, all of Russia's official international border crossings, including airports, seaports, railways and land crossings, will be equipped with radiation detection devices to prevent nuclear smuggling in or out of the country," the NNSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, said in a statement Friday. The NNSA and the Russian Federal Customs Service, or FCS, will fund the program with each paying about half the costs, the statement said. The program will start in 2009 and is due to be completed in 2013. "As our counter-proliferation and anti-terrorism partnership with Russia grows stronger, the security provided for through this agreement will not only make Russia safer, but it will also increase the security of the United States and our allies in the region," said NNSA's Acting Administrator Bill Ostendorff. The NNSA said the detection devices would be installed at 350 border crossings in Russia. The U.S. agency said it would also equip Russian customs guards with handheld detection instruments and give training programs for them. "FCS reported that in 2006 there were 50,000 responses to alarms in Russia from fixed portal monitors and hand held equipment provided by NNSA and the FCS," the statement said. "Of these alarms, over 480 cases of illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material, including goods with unacceptable levels of ionizing radiation, were identified and responded to by the appropriate Russian authorities." U.S. relations with Russia have deteriorated in recent months because of Russian anger over U.S. plans to deploy BMD systems in Central Europe. However, this so far has not affected U.S.-Russian cooperation on nuclear security. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Terror Expert Says Nuclear Risk Low From the Associated Press Friday June 1, 2007 11:16 AM By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press Writer SINGAPORE (AP) - Terrorists have little chance of obtaining enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb, but governments must remain on guard against the possibility, a top U.S. expert said Friday. Only about 18 pounds of highly enriched uranium - far too little to make a nuclear device - is believed to have leaked into the global black market, said Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for nonproliferation at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. ``This is the classic low-probability, high-consequence danger,'' he said. Fitzgerald, the State Department's former deputy assistant secretary for nonproliferation, spoke to reporters ahead of the institute's annual meeting of defense chiefs and scholars in Singapore. A minimum of about 50 pounds of weapons-grade uranium would be needed to make a implosion-type nuclear device, while four times that much would be required to make a much simpler device, he said. Most attempts to smuggle uranium involve small amounts, Fitzpatrick said, citing a sting operation on the Russia-Georgia border last year in which 3.5 ounces of the radioactive material was recovered. ``Probably it's not so easy to get hold of fissile material, but that doesn't mean complacency should rule. Maybe it's only the tip of the iceberg,'' Fitzpatrick said. Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has expressed interest in obtaining nuclear weapons while Iran, considered a major sponsor of Islamic terrorist groups by Washington, is in a deadlock with the West over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. Fears of nuclear weapons technology falling into terrorist hands were also stirred by investigations into the black market network of Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan. A 2004 U.N.resolution requires all members to pass laws preventing terrorists and black marketeers from dealing in weapons of mass destruction, the materials to make them, and the missiles and other systems to deliver them. Fitzpatrick called the resolution a ``good start,'' but said many governments have yet to implement its requirements. Still, the public should not be overly anxious about the possibility of a terrorist obtaining a nuclear bomb, he said. ``Is it a kind of a risk that the public should be worrying about day to day? I would say not,'' he said. ``But is it the kind of risk that governments should spend a great deal of attention trying to prevent? Absolutely,'' he said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 36 UPI: Analysis: Nuclear waste terrorism debated United Press International - Energy - Analysis Published: June 1, 2007 at 6:39 PM By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Correspondent WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- A court-mandated addition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's environmental assessment for the used-fuel storage site of California's Diablo Canyon Power Plant hasn't satisfied opponents who successfully took it to court. And it means utilities may have to increase preventative measures as part of such regulator assessments. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the NRC should have taken terrorism into account when evaluating the environmental effects of the storage, per the National Environmental Policy Act. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the NRC's appeal. To satisfy the lower court's decision, the NRC in February gave staff 90 days to reassess the environmental assessment. This week, the NRC issued a draft supplement to the environmental assessment, which won't be made final till next year. After studying the threat and consequence of terrorist threats on the dry cask storage facility, NRC staff said not only is a threat of terrorist attack low, but any successful attack would likely not lead to a threat to the environment or population due to any breach of the cask, thus the facility is still safe. The NRC has maintained that the low probability of an attack limits its relevance in such a manner; challengers disagree. Meanwhile PG&E, which owns Diablo Canyon, continues construction and hopes to start loading excess fuel later next year. "The NRC staff's review is so poorly documented that it's hard to tell what they reviewed," said Jane Swanson, spokeswoman for the San Louis Obispo Mothers for Peace. MFP, along with the Sierra Club, took the NRC to court. "They needed to be a whole lot more specific about what possible description of terrorist threat are they speaking of, when they say there is no potential, nothing to worry about, any radiation exposure will be well within limits allowed by law." Swanson said the group's attorney is now writing a challenge to the NRC draft. A public comment period ends June 29. After that NRC staff have 60 days to review and finalize a review of the comments and turn it into the commission, NRC spokesman David McIntyre said. The commission will make a decision by Feb. 26, he said, "either the license stands, the license stands with modifications or the license is revoked." And then any appeals, which are likely to take place regardless of the NRC decision, would go back to court. McIntyre defended the NRC draft, saying it was clear and thorough. As the spent fuel in cooling pools piles up at nuclear plants with no permanent storage facility in the United States to ship it to, dry cask storage is being touted as a temporary solution. The NRC says approved storage casks are approved to resist penetration, "including the impact of a tornado-generated missile such as a 4,000 pound automobile at 126 miles per hour." For Diablo Canyon's casks, the fuel is formed into ceramic pellets of uranium dioxide, surrounded in a fuel rod, then metallic zircaloy cladding, a stainless steel cylinder inside another canister, 30 inches of concrete and then another cylindrical carbon steel shell. At 170 tons a piece and tucked into a "low profile" location on the plant's site, both PG&E and NRC says it is safe. "Even when potential terrorist attacks on the facility are considered," the draft supplement concludes, it "will not result in a significant effect on the human environment." It adds that NRC security demands also prevent successful terrorist attacks. "Therefore, a terrorist attack that would result in a significant release of radiate affecting the public is not reasonably expected to occur." McIntyre said both preventative and mitigating strategies ensure this. There are 56,000 tons of spent fuel at online and closed nuclear plants around the country, with more than 2,000 tons produced each year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's trade arm, of which 9,600 tons is stored in 877 casks at 39 sites. The NEI projects 22,300 tons will be in dry cask storage in the next 10 years. The Diablo Canyon issue "will not prevent us from going to dry cask storage," said Steve Kraft, NEI's senior director of used fuel management, "dry cask storage is simply a necessity," and building more cooling pools is too expensive. Now, however, the NRC must address terrorism issues during environmental reviews, in addition to other steps in the licensing process where the threat is tackled, Kraft said. Utilities won't be barred from building dry cask storage, he said, rather they may have to add additional security or other measures because of the Diablo Canyon case. "It's certainly consistent with everything we know about the risks from terrorism or aircraft crashes into spent fuel storage facilities," said Jay Silberg, a partner in the energy section of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said of the NRC's stance. The firm filed an amicus brief on behalf of NEI in the Ninth Circuit case and represents a Private Fuel Storage LLC in its attempt to open a temporary spent fuel storage site in Utah. "I think we'll continue to see challenges to nuclear development," he said. "Given that attitude that they think the court decision's wrong," Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public Citizen's Energy Program, said of the NRC, "it's not clear to me they've put in their best effort on doing this evaluation." She said the issue likely won't be put to rest until it goes back to court. -- (email: energy@upi.com) © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 37 Finland: New programme for modelling of radiation transport from VTT Forum für Wissenschaft, Industrie und Wirtschaft Hauptsponsoren: 01.06.2007 Senior Research Scientist Petri Kotiluoto from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed in his academic dissertation a new computer programme for neutral and charged particle transport, such as neutrons, photons and electrons. The MultiTrans programme is based on a tree multigrid technique, which considerably speeds up the modelling. Anzeige Public defense of the doctoral dissertation will be held on June 9th 2007 at 12 o'clock in auditorium D101 of the Department of Physical Sciences of the University of Helsinki, Finland. VTT's MultiTrans programme enables modelling of radiation transport in arbitrary 3D geometry. The computational geometry is generated directly from a CAD-model, which makes it possible to use modern design tools. The computational grid is tree-structured and self-adaptive at the material boundaries, where the mesh automatically becomes the finest. With this method, even a complicated geometry can be represented in fine detail without an excessive number of grid points compared to equidistant mesh. The tree-structure makes it possible to always find a coarser representation for the problem. This enables the use of multigrid method in iterative solution of the transport equation: the problem can be quickly solved on a much coarser grid, and this solution can then be used as an initial guess for the solution on finer grids. Multigrid method accelerates the iterative solution significantly. In addition, the tree structure leads to a smaller number of grid points, which also makes the iterative solution faster. To VTT's knowledge, this is the first application of the tree-multigrid technique to the radiation transport modelling. The MultiTrans programme has been tested for different radiotherapy, such as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) given at VTT's nuclear research reactor, and for reactor physics applications. So far, the MultiTrans programme has been in use only at VTT. Press Office | Quelle: alphagalileo Weitere Informationen: www.vtt.fi auer CMS by Netzgut 2000-2007 by innovations-report ***************************************************************** 38 OpEdNews: The Hard Rain of Depleted Uranium is Already Falling June 1, 2007 at 08:40:57 by Don Williams Page 1 of 1 page(s) http://www.opednews.com If ever a man's been 10,000 miles in the mouth of graveyard, Dr. Doug Rokke has, for when you really look into Depleted Uranium, as he has, time and space open wide to reveal tombstones of future generations. To hear Rokke (Rocky) tell it, he's lost friends, colleagues and portions of his own corpus to Depleted Uranium (DU to those in the field). He's been shot at, run off the road, and had his good name smeared in the press. As an Army expert on DU deployment during and following the first Gulf War, he stopped cooperating with Army DU policy when he realized not all its victims were designated enemies, and that his own government was in denial about this reality. Rokke says most American casualties in the First Gulf War were the result of friendly fire involving DU weapons. The U.S. Government and others challenge much of Rokke's testimony, but he's won enough medals and offered enough evidence to convince many that, far from proactively tending to needs of ailing veterans, the Department of Defense has long tried to cover up bad effects of DU. It's also tried covering up its own refusal to follow Rokke's recommendations that all war veterans be screened for cancer, skin rashes, neurological problems, respiratory and other ailments. Rokke believes excruciating deaths from DU could follow in our wake for thousands of years, though prophecy may be trickier for a military and technical man than for, say, Bob Dylan, who sang "It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall" during the Cuban missile crisis. Forty-five years later those words never seemed so prescient. The rain started falling years ago in a radioactive drizzle. You would've never known it Saturday morning, May 19, standing on the emerald campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, aglow with trees backlit by neon sunshine. Yet inside the conference hall you could almost feel low-grade radiation bearing down as Rokke paced a wooden stage bristling with projectors, screens, computers and other tools peculiar to modern prognosticators of doom. Rokke was one of several speakers at the Conference on Depleted Uranium Production in Appalachia. About 50 or so showed up for the all-day event, including several from Christian Peacemakers Team, an international activist organization. I'd been reading and hearing about DU for years from email buddies living in Hawaii and San Francisco, near DU testing grounds. I owed it to myself to meet some of the central players in the anti-DU crusade, if only because we in East Tennessee are culpable. Oak Ridge has provided much of the DU that's wound up in hardened shells like the ones used by us and allies on Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, Lebanon and Afghanistan, according to Rokke. Many of those munitions were built at the Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, a plant at nearby Jonesborough, a topic of some prominence at the conference. Depleted Uranium is a byproduct of enriching naturally occurring uranium and also a product of spent reactor fuel. Weapons manufacturers love it because it's tough, heavy, plentiful, and readily bursts into flame at high temperatures, like that attendant on firing it from the bore of a Bradley Fighting Machine. Aerojet and others make a variety of bullets, shells, tanks and bunker-busting bombs from DU. Rokke rolls out the catalogue almost in a single breath. They include munitions for rifles, machine guns, bunker buster bombs, cluster bombs, cruise missiles. Rokke's a brassy, gregarious man who speaks with the certitude of a prophet. His rapid-fire incantations ring in your mind in words like these: "So we looked at this stuff and looked at this stuff and looked at what happened to all of us, from Gulf War I and since. I looked at the medical reports of when Israel used DU in Sinai in '74 and '76 and then all of a sudden everything came together. It's a mess, an absolute total mess." Or when he says…. "There is no effective medical care for the exposures of what you're seeing. Once you get hit by one of these things you turn into a crispy critter, lock, stock and barrel. Note the impact. That's uranium dust and it goes and it goes and it goes and it goes…." It's elemental. Fire releases it to the wind, the earth, the water. Following him onstage was Cathy Garger, a social worker who taught herself journalism in order to get her message out about the psychological traumas she'd witnessed. Then came Dr. Mohammed Miraki, whose book, Afghanistan After Democracy exposes the failure of the American experiment in that country. It includes pictures he took of babies with internal organs growing on the outside, others with bulges that look like mal-formed second heads. Still others resemble frogs or lizards, with bulging eyes and lipless mouths. It's hard not to turn away. It's hard not to look. Yes, I contradict myself. It's hard to talk about. You can spend all day at a conference like the one held that sunny Saturday and come away ill equipped to discuss what you've seen. For one thing, it's demoralizing. The half-life of portions of DU happens to be 4.5 billion years, about as long a time as the earth's been in existence. It will remain radioactive for as long as the earth's likely to circle the sun. Yes, it's so low-level that DU is being sold as a boon to humankind. According to DU mongers, it could never cause cancer. It's so benign it comes recommended as counterweights in domestic aircraft and to make super duper golf clubs, car bumpers and more. But that's before it's atomized and churned up again and again in test ranges and battlefields, to blow about the planet and be inhaled, exhaled. DU technology is hard to grasp, because it's both rocket science and nuclear science, and most of what you hear about its effects amounts to circumstantial evidence. For example, one hears from a variety of sources that cancer deaths are up in Baghdad 500 to 600 percent since 1991. And that birth defects and miscarriages are on the rise in Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. That Americans who served in the first Gulf War have a higher incidence of cancer, neurological disorders, deformed children and other ailments than veterans of any other American war. While such statistics are well documented, the case against DU is circumstantial by its very nature. After all, say proponents, maybe burning oil wells, smashed munitions, chemical warfare and poor healthcare are to blame for the increased ailments that occur wherever DU rains down. Maybe it's just a coincidence. But what if it's true? What if all the circumstantial evidence points to real harm? Then the hard rain that's fallen in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kuwait and anywhere else DU gets vaporized by warfare or preparations for war will persist to the end of time. In the words of the poet, "I saw a black branch with blood that kept dripping." He might've added: "I saw a man carve there, Made in Tennessee." http://www.mach2.com/williams/ Don Williams is a prize-winning columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the founding editor and publisher of New Millennium Writings, an annual anthology of literary writing. His awards include a National Endowment for the Humanities Michigan Journalism Fellowship, a Golden Presscard Award and the Malcolm Law Journalism Prize. He is finishing a novel, RED STATE BLUES, set in his native Tennessee and Iraq. His book of selected journalism, ?Heroes, Sheroes and Zeroes, the Best Writings About People? by Don Williams, is now available for ordering. For more information, email him at donwilliams7@charter.net. Or visit the NMW website at www.mach2.com/williams/. Copyright © OpEdNews, 2002-2007 ***************************************************************** 39 InjuryBoard.com: Radiation and Radioactive Exposures May Have Impacted Railroad Workers - Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Editor: Richard N. Shapiro, Attorney at Law Firm: Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton, P.C. June 01, 2007 By Rick Shapiro Category: Train & Railroad Accidents Our law firm, Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, and Appleton, has a special concentration in railroad injury matters, as well as all forms of personal injury. We have recently been retained on cases involving railroad workers who have developed cancer and other radiation related illness and disease as a result of exposure to radiation and radioactive substances while working for railroads that routinely transported cargo into and out of nuclear weapons facilities while working as railroad engineers, conductors or even as railroad track maintenance workers. Our law firm, Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, and Appleton, has a special concentration in railroad injury matters, as well as all forms of personal injury. We have recently been retained on cases involving railroad workers who have developed cancer and other radiation related illness and disease as a result of exposure to radiation and radioactive substances while working for railroads that routinely transported cargo into and out of nuclear weapons facilities while working as railroad engineers, conductors or even as railroad track maintenance workers. In a number of areas of the country, nuclear weapon facilities required all kinds of uranium and radioactive material in order to build the often secret nuclear weapons. It is very common to have the primary source of transport of these materials and byproducts to be by railroad/train. Just as one example of many, there is evidence of ground contamination by radioactive substances in many areas outside of Oak Ridge weapons facilities in Tennessee (also often called Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The government Department of Energy, in an official report in the 1990's, on the ground contamination near Oak Ridge, concluded that the radiation originated from radioactive sources within concrete casks, transported years earlier by rail. It is clear that even concrete casks cannot contain all "low level" radiation emissions.Mostly beginning in the 1990's, there was an increased awareness of the potential dangers of what had historically been called low level radioactive waste being associated with many sorts of cancers. Thyroid cancer is very commonly associated with radiation exposure but there are many other cancers that are also associated with excessive exposure to radiation or ionizing radiation. Our office has reviewed a number of government reports that we have obtained under the Freedom of Information Act relating to radiation and toxic substances cleaned up from areas around Oak Ridge. The Department of Energy has actually paid for many clean ups around Oak Ridge, including at various scrap yards, and even on the CSX spur, which directly lead to Oak Ridge. Railroad workers commonly handled switching of the Oak Ridge waste materials, both in and out of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Most people realize that the first nuclear weapons were largely made at Oak Ridge as part of the top secret Manhattan Project. Another site that has been the subject of contaminated radioactive clean ups as well as clean up of various other toxic substances is the Paducah facility in Kentucky, which also contributed many parts and components related to secret nuclear and chemical weaponry. There have been reports and newspaper articles relating to various types of contamination arising from Paducah, Kentucky, and also there have been concerns over many byproducts associated with these weapons that are extremely toxic substances. Some of these include Uranium, Hexafluoride, as well as Phosgene. All of these substances are highly toxic substances that are associated with cancers. Radiation has been known since the time of the 1940's to present ultra hazardous dangers to humans. Even when transporting low level radioactive waste, special protections must be employed to any workers associated with these known highly toxic substances. Many years ago the Department of Energy or Nuclear Regulatory Commission provided guidelines and standards for potential exposure limits for radioactive substances. Later, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also been involved in regulating radioactive substances and further, with regard to railroad activities the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has relatively new regulations pertaining to radioactive materials although many of the regulations have been passed since the circumstances of September 11. When a railroad worker has a disorder or cancer believed to be associated with the exposure to radioactive substances, careful analysis must be made by a doctor specializing in occupational medicine and it is important for a railroad injury lawyer to be familiar with the types of toxic substances or radioactive exposures that a railroad worker may have been exposed to while working for any particular railroads. Careful review of the occupational history is necessary, careful selection of a doctor with familiarity with radioactive exposure is also required. Other types of experts may be necessary in these types of cases, such as an epidemiologist, who is important to analyze statistical information relating to cancer rates relating to such exposure, and also a certified industrial hygiene expert would be an important expertise in any particular case to determine whether appropriate workplace safety measures were taken. Railroads are fairly large companies and have always maintained a medical department. Railroad claims departments also keep up very carefully with industry trends and medical conditions. It is always incredible to learn as a railroad injury lawyer representing railroad workers how few important workplace safety measures were taken by railroads and this would include the most basic protections against the toxic potential exposure to highly radioactive substances being transported by railroads. Several railroad workers that this author has interviewed explained that no respiratory protection was provided to railroad workers working in and out of certain nuclear weapons facilities, even though the particular railroad in question knew that only by products of radioactive weaponry were being transported either in or out of the facility. Inside the plant workers may have been wearing space suits, but as soon as the train car crossed the threshold and was moved by the railroad, no radioactive exposure safety measures were employed by the railroad moving the same materials. With increased knowledge of the types of cancers associated with radiation, and new scientific and medical techniques, it may be increasingly easier to associate certain types cancers and occupational exposures with the lack of workplace safety measures by railroads. TrackBack URL for this entry: http://myblog.injuryboard.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/9710 disclaimer © 2007 Claris Law ***************************************************************** 40 USEC starts plant construction Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 13:29:12 -0700 USEC starts plant construction By JEFF BARRON PDT Staff Writer Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:40 PM EDT USEC, Inc., on Thursday started construction of its American Centrifuge uranium enrichment plant at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon. “This marks another important step toward deploying U.S.-developed centrifuge technology to provide enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants,” USEC President and CEO John Welch said. The company wants to begin commercial enrichment operations in 2009 with 11,500 centrifuge machines running by 2012. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted USEC a construction and operating license for the plant in April. But Southern Ohio Neighbors Group co-founder Geoffrey Sea said he wonders if construction actually has started. He says the announcement may be a ploy to attract investors. American Centrifuge Public Affairs Manager Angie Duduit said USEC has no investors for the program yet. “USEC is dealing for a federal bailout,” Sea said. Gov. Ted Strickland has said he thinks USEC will ask for a taxpayer-funded federal bailout to deploy the American Centrifuge program. On May 4, the company said it is looking for a third-party investor and/or the federal government to raise the money needed to build the commercial enrichment plant. Deployment of the program is expected to cost $2.3 billion. The start of construction is one of the milestones mandated by the Department of Energy. USEC leases the gaseous diffusion plant from the energy department. The company plans on testing the new technology with the test plant set to open in Piketon in the summer, according to Duduit. But Sea wondered how the company can begin construction on the commercial plant before it knows if the technology will work. Duduit, however, said the technology was proven to work about 20 years ago. “The lead cascade (test plant) was made to improve the efficiency of the technology,” she said. “It will also give us cost schedule performance data.” Such data will be useful in attracting investors, she said. JEFF BARRON can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 236 Vina Colley ***************************************************************** 41 Daily Yomiuri: Recycling of waste from former N-plant given nod The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Thursday approved the recycling of iron waste from Japan Atomic Power Co.'s dismantled Tokai power station in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. Such scrap metal has previously been disposed underground. The agency is part of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. However, the ministry has decided to apply for the first time a "clearance system," which will make waste construction material exposed to radiation levels that are significantly lower than that found naturally not subject to radioactive waste regulations. The dismantling and rebuilding of nuclear power plants across the country is expected to increase around 2030, creating more than several hundred thousand tons of waste. ) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 42 Guardian Unlimited: Group Warns Nuke Fuel Dump May Explode From the Associated Press June 1, 2007 5:01 PM By DOUG MELLGREN Associated Press Writer OSLO, Norway (AP) - A nuclear waste dump in the Russian Arctic may be in danger of exploding because of corrosion caused by salt water in enormous storage tanks, a Norwegian environmental group warned Friday. The three tanks are used to store spent nuclear fuel rods at Andreeva Bay, on the Kola Peninsula of northwestern Russia, just 28 miles from the Norwegian border, the Oslo-based Bellona said in a statement. ``We discover now that we are sitting on a powder keg, with a fuse that is burning, but we don't know how long that fuse is,'' said Alexander Nikitin, a former Russian navy officer who is now one of Bellona's nuclear experts. The group cited a report from Rosatom, the Russian nuclear authority, describing the danger. Bellona said the storage tanks were long believed to be dry inside, but that recent studies show corrosive salt water is inside the tanks. ``Ongoing degradation is causing fuel to split into small granules. Calculations show that the creation of a homogenous mixture of these particles with water can cause an uncontrolled chain reaction,'' said the group's Norwegian translation of the report. Russian and Norwegian nuclear officials downplayed the danger. The Norwegian Nuclear Protection Authority said in a statement that while a chain reaction was possible, the likelihood was ``extremely small.'' Russia's Federal Nuclear Power Agency said there was no danger, and that steps were being taken to improve the storage tanks. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said the government was aware of the problem and was working with the Russians to find a solution. Bellona has long been involved in probes of the nuclear risks in Russia, especially on the Kola Peninsula. Its 1996 report on conditions there were a reference work even for Russian officials. Experts have said the Kola Peninsula has the world's greatest concentration of nuclear materials, with aging nuclear power plants, rusting hulks of Russian Northern Fleet atomic submarines and waste dumps. Bellona said it first reported on the storage tanks in 1993 but the risk of explosion was a new development. ``It has been 14 years since Bellona offered information about Andreeva Bay. But our analysis shows that nothing has happened since then,'' Nikitin, who is based in Russia, said in the news release. Nikitin was detained by Russian authorities in 1996 on charges of espionage for his contribution to Bellona's report on nuclear safety within the Russian Northern Fleet. He was finally acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2000. In an interview published Friday by the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten, Nikitin said the storage tanks contain 21,000 spent nuclear fuel rods. He said the tanks are near the sea and salt water is corroding metal piping, breaking down fuel rods and releasing small uranium particles. The tanks were put into service as temporary storage for spent fuel in 1982 and 1983, because radiation had begun to leak from used fuel rods that had been store in warehouses at the Russian nuclear submarine base at Andreeva Bay. --- On the Net: www.bellona.no Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 43 Platts: USEC has begun construction of uranium enrichment plant 2007-05-31 Washington (Platts)--31May2007 USEC Inc. began construction of a uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, the company said May 31. USEC President/CEO John Welch called the work on the American Centrifuge Plant an "important step toward deploying US developed centrifuge technology to provide enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants." USEC said it expects to operate a lead cascade of centrifuge machines at the new facility later this year, to begin commercial operations in late 2009, and to further expand plant operations by 2012. USEC now operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the US. That facility is based on an older technology. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 44 South Bend Tribune: Nuclear waste may cross Indiana today June 01, 2007 Tribune Staff Report According to a nuclear watchdog agency, a 310-ton chunk of a former nuclear reactor may be rolling through Indiana today. The shipment is the core of a defunct nuclear power plant in Genoa, Wis., owned by Dairyland Power Cooperative, and is on its way to a nuclear waste disposal facility in Barnwell, S.C. In an article that ran this week in the LaCrosse (Wis.) Tribune, Roger Christians, the manager of the power plant, said the core had been removed from concrete and encased in steel and concrete, then loaded onto a special 20-axle flatcar in preparation for the 1,100-mile journey. Christians said the shipment is classified as low-level waste, because it emits less than 200 millirems of radiation on contact, which is the federal limit for such a classification. However, officials did not release the exact route the shipment would take because of federal laws preventing reporting such information. In a press release issued by Nukewatch, a Wisconsin-based watchdog organization, the group indicated that one possible route would bring the shipment through Chicago and across Indiana. Copyright © 1994-2007 South Bend Tribune ***************************************************************** 45 Chillicothe Gazette: Work on enrichment plant begins www.chillicothegazette.com - Chillicothe, OH Friday, June 1, 2007 The Gazette Staff PIKETON -Construction on a uranium enrichment plant in Pike County began Thursday. According to the United States Enrichment Corporation, the American Centrifuge Plant is being built to house commercial operations expected to begin in late 2009. "This marks another important step toward deploying U.S. developed centrifuge technology to provide enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants," said USEC president and chief executive officer John Welch in a news release. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the corporation a construction and operating license for the project in April. USEC expects about 11,500 of the machines to be in use by 2012. Copyright ©2007 Chillicothe Gazette ***************************************************************** 46 Inside Bay Area: Landfills at risk of leaking Rising water levels could cause toxins to seep from trash piles By Julia Scott, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 06/01/2007 02:52:47 AM PDT BRISBANE ? In 1967, a landfill containing sewage, household trash and toxic shipyard waste was capped with dirt and left to sit by San Francisco Bay. Highway 101 was left to act as a dike between the trash and the water's edge. Now Brisbane residents worry that plans to develop the former landfill, currently known as the Baylands, overlook a major threat no one was thinking about 50 years ago: Rising water levels due to climate change, and the risk that the buried toxins could seep out if the ground becomes saturated. It's a problem Brisbane local Dana Dillworth has worried about for some time. As chairperson of Brisbane Baylands Community Advisory Group, she would like to see the 364-acre landfill de-contaminated responsibly before the landowner redevelops it into a complex of hotels, retail shops and office space. "We're worried they want to put 40 feet of fill on top of everything and pretend the toxins aren't there," said Dillworth. "What we're afraid will happen is that... all the toxins that are in the fill will migrate to the surface as ground water levels rise." The Baylands aren't alone. The Bay Area has a legacy of landfills at sea (or Bay) water level, many of them toxic dumps created by former military bases, such as the naval shipyard at Hunters Point. Many landfills rise less than a dozen feet higher than the water, and most have been capped with nothing but dirt. That leaves them vulnerable, say experts. "If sea level rises to the point where the cap is saturated, I could see it being a problem. As a rule, caps eventually leak," said Lenny Siegel of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, a group that advises communities on toxic cleanup of former military bases. "I'm not aware of anyone who's studied this. You've got lots of these sites, and someone has to do a review of their vulnerability. It's an enormous task," he added. In the hope of putting the issue on officials' radar screens ? and teaching community activists how to demand concrete cleanup actions ? Dillworth has organized a one-day symposium on the topic Saturday at Golden Gate University. The summit, entitled "Global Warning: Tonics @ Bay," will feature mediation specialists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Climate Change Center and environmentalists from the San Francisco Estuary Institute and the Public Trust Alliance, among others. Lectures will touch on everything from alternatives to the cap-and-leave system of landfill mediation to the importance of wetlands as a natural filter for petroleum products and heavy metals. Few dispute the likelihood that sea levels will rise this century if current trends continue. Scientists believe the Bay Area's waters could rise by as much as 3 feet by the year 2100, which could inundate nearly every major airport and a number of low-lying neighborhoods. But officials admit they have not added landfill planning to the climate-change scenario. "We haven't done that yet in terms of landfills we've closed permanently," said John Chesnutt, an engineer with the EPA who specializes in cleanups for federal Superfund sites in the Bay Area. Deciding what type of cleanup to do depends on what the landfill's future use may be, say specialists. If homes are built nearby, the contaminated waste is often removed. But even that solution poses risks when a landfill is too big to track down the source of the methane vapors or location of MTBE deposits. Sometimes, removing materials does more harm than good in exposing the public. Chesnutt said his agency may take rising water levels into account when it decides whether to cap or remove toxic material from the low-lying landfill at Hunter's Point ? volatile organic compounds such as petroleum fuels, paint solvents and even radioactive nuclear waste. "I don't think anyone expects sea rise to come as a tidal wave," said Chesnutt. "Clearly, if the water starts rising, we feel we'll be able to reassess these things with plenty of time." Global Warning: Toxics @ Bay" will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Golden Gate University Lecture Hall 2203, 536 Mission St., San Francisco. Event is free. For more information, call (415) 468-8587. Staff writer Julia Scott can be reached at (650) 348-4340 or at jscott@angnewspapers.com. © 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 47 Reuters: Russia rejects report of Arctic nuclear waste risk Fri Jun 1, 2007 10:33AM EDT OSLO/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian nuclear authority Rosatom rejected a report by Norwegian environmental group Bellona that tanks of spent nuclear fuel in Russia's Arctic were leaking and risked setting off an uncontrolled chain reaction. Bellona, a whistleblower on Soviet and Russian nuclear dumping activities, quoted a Rosatom publication as saying that degradation of cement that encases nuclear waste tanks on the Kola peninsula has already allowed salt water to seep in. It said the salt water was mixing with radioactive rods in tanks at the Andreeva Bay facility, and could set off a chain reaction whose fall-out could spread across northern Europe in a worst-case scenario. "I can state officially that there have been no situations which might threaten the environment," a Rosatom official told Reuters on Friday. Nils Boehmer, an atomic physicist and head of Bellona's Russian section, said the report in Rosatom's Atomnaya Energiya publication warned that salt water was causing uranium particles to fall off rods and settle on the bottom of tanks. The concentration of such particles was not known, he said, but according to the Rosatom report if it topped 5-10 percent, it could trigger an uncontrolled chain reaction. "This could lead to the release of a lot of energy over a short amount of time and contaminate a 10-kilometre radius around the facility," Boehmer told Reuters. Danger would grow exponentially if reactions spread from one tank to another within the site -- the largest for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from Russia's Northern Fleet. "In such a case, the radioactive fallout could be higher and affect northern Europe to a greater degree than the region was hit by the Chernobyl disaster," Boehmer said. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 48 Evansville Courier Press: Nuclear waste may pass through Evansville TREVOR BROWN, Courier and Press staff writer Friday, June 1, 2007 Several watchdog groups are concerned about a train purportedly carrying a used nuclear core that they believe will travel through the Evansville area. Nukewatch, a Wisconsin-based organization dedicated to abolishing nuclear weapons and power, reported that a train carrying the low-level radioactive waste, consisting of the core of a defunct reactor, departed at about noon Thursday from the Dairyland Power Cooperative site in Genoa, Wis., for a disposal facility in South Carolina. Nukewatch could not say when the shipment would travel through Evansville. According to a report released this week by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, along with 41 community-based groups nationwide, the shipment will likely travel on rail through Evansville. The NIRS, which was founded 29 years ago as a national information and networking center for citizens and environmental activists, said the route of the nuclear material was determined using the Department of Energy's data and its online routing program. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Jan Strasma said the agency is aware of the shipment, but said it is completely safe and complies with all federal shipping requirements. Citing security reasons, he could not divulge the shipment's contents or route. Strasma said he was not aware of the report listing probable transportation routes of nuclear waste, and he would not comment on whether he thought that the group's releasing of the data would cause a security risk. "For security reasons we don't disclose that data," he said. "But if someone wants to speculate, that's up to them." Nukewatch Co-director John LaForge said while the shipment is classified as low-grade nuclear waste, he said his group has concerns it might have higher amounts of radiation and could be vulnerable to accidents. In addition, he cited studies that show the material could be harmful. "Just by passing through increases everyone's risk," he said. "It adds to the burden of radioactivity to our environment." Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste specialist with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, said the group released the data showing probable routes across the country for nuclear waste to alert the communities where the material would pass. "Any dose of radiation carries a health risk," he said. "Bystanders near rest stops or houses along the railroad could be exposed to this routine dosage." He also said he is worried that in the future, higher-level shipments will be more common, and that too will prevent further risks. He said currently there are only a handful, if any, of high-level radiation shipments a year. But he fears this will only increase. He said there are proposals to build additional nuclear waste disposal centers in Morris, Ill., and Paducah, Ky., that could bring many more shipments traveling through Evansville. "From our organization's perspective, we wanted to get word out that this shipment is a trailblazer for the future," he said. Kamps said the group's other motivation is to bring to light security concerns of nuclear waste transportation's vulnerability to terrorism. "High-level waste shipments are radioactive bull's-eyes," he said. "We need to be careful before such shipments take place." LaForge and Kamps rejected arguments that releasing the routes of the nuclear waste shipments, could itself cause a security threat and give sensitive information to terrorists. "Most people know radioactivity is dangerous and know to stay away," LaForge said. "Our view is the nuclear industry is acting as the terrorists in this case." Your Turn Posted by Moose1am on June 1, 2007 at 7:08 a.m. (Suggest removal) Terrorist who routinely blow themselves up will not be afraid of radiation. If some of them could they would kill themselves voluntarily just to create a nuclear accident that would kill or injure hundreds of Americans. So to dismiss the security threat from foreign (Radical Muslim -Religious Zealots) is foolish Mr. FaForge. The problem is this: How do we let American Citizens know when and where these nuclear shipments are going to take place without alerting the terrorist to this information. That's the dilemma as I see it. I would love to know when or if nuclear material is being shipped though my neighborhood, city. But I would hate to see a terrorist attack these shipments and cause greater damage. I see no real danger from these shipments other than if the train were to derail somewhere in a populated area of the country. Nobody really needs to be near this radioactive waste. I fear when someone in the government states, "The shipments meet all government requirements" because I know that very often the people who ship this stuff have more worries about the costs of the disposal than the safety of others and they often lobby the government to reduce safety standards. So any government safety standards should be thoroughly questioned. They don't always keep up as safe as possible. In fact the 3 mile island nuclear power plant was meeting all government safety standards until it almost melted down in a CHINA SYNDROME. There are two MAIN problems with Nuclear Energy. Waste disposal will always be a problem. Just shipping this stuff can be a dangerous proposition And the operation of the control rods and cooling water pumps and valves is subject to "HUMAN ERROR". You will never ever totally eliminate human error. This means that someday an operating nuclear reactor could go haywire and contaminate a large area of the country. Chernobyl is an example of how much a problem a nuclear disaster could be. The entire area around the Chernobyl Reactor is still off limits and highly radioactive to this day. It will remain radioactive well into the future. That's the two main problems with this technology. Posted by ttp1 on June 1, 2007 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal) Moose: they did tests back in the day and had a railway derail with a nuclear core and it did nothing....they even doused it in jet fuel and burned it and nothing happened... people are getting all worked up over nothing. Posted by Anonymous on June 1, 2007 at 7:15 a.m. (Suggest removal) This is so true. It is actually more dangerous to go outside and be in the sun unprotected. There is nothing to fear. I loved the Penn and Teller BS show about this subject! Posted by Moose1am on June 1, 2007 at 7:20 a.m. (Suggest removal) Anonymous: 7:15PM You should be careful mate, as someone silly may actually start to believe what you say, which we all know is FALSE! There should be a law against deliberate STUPIDITY! Posted by djs110176 on June 1, 2007 at 8:03 a.m. (Suggest removal) hmmm, a nuclear core emmiting radiation is not dangerous ?? I hope whomever claims this nonsense is the first to grow a third arm. Posted by Blackstone on June 1, 2007 at 8:03 a.m. (Suggest removal) A nuclear attack may actually improve a few neighborhoods around town. Posted by Cynic on June 1, 2007 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal) One of the best points made in the Penn and Teller BS episode mentioned by some of the above posters is that while our current nuclear power plants are safe they are no where near as safe or as efficient as new ones would be. I'm as liberal as they come but I'm also a realist and we live on a planet with limited resources with a growing population and when we have a clean, efficient, and relatively cheap power source it is simply irresponsible on our part not to take advantage of it. I feel the same way about not taking more advantage of electric cars and not enforcing tougher fuel standards on the gas sucking SUVs that crowd our highways. We don’t do what makes sense; we do what makes the most money for some mega corporation, which is why I am and always will be a cynic at heart. Posted by kcoures on June 1, 2007 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal) Any body remember the old "duck and cover" film from grade school? Posted by evilmethman on June 1, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal) Hey, don't go swimming in the Ohio River - not because you might drown, but because you might dissolve. And don't breathe too deep when your outside - the particulates will kill you. And whatever you do don't use a microwave oven -Think about the radiation coming from that thing. Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancer and degenerate cellular tissues, and contribute to a breakdown of the digestive and excretive system. Could this explain the increased rate of colon cancer. Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down. Microwaves also causes a destabilization and interruption in the production of hormones and hormonal balance in males and females (infertility / gender confusion anyone?); and microwaves also cause brainwave disturbances leading to loss of memory,(Alzheimer's anyone?) loss of ability to concentrate (ADD/ADHD, anyone?), suppressed emotions & psychological troubles (Suicide, anyone?); slowed intellectual processes, and interrupted sleep patterns. Yeah, we're safe. Hey, I gotta go. I'm microwaving my breakfast and I'm going to enjoy it outside at the base of a microwave tower along the railroad tracks so I can boo and hiss at that bad choo-choo train rolling through with dangerous waste. Meth, anyone? Posted by jjpenisten on June 1, 2007 at 10:04 a.m. (Suggest removal) The shipment in question is an old reactor pressure vessel, not to be confused with used nuclear fuel. The pressure vessel is a large steel tank which, in an operating nuclear power plant, houses the nuclear fuel. This pressure vessel is encased in cement and steel to protect the public's health and safety. Old pressure vessels emit significantly less radiation than used nuclear fuel. In fact, if you stand right beside this pressure vessel, you’ll be exposed to less than 200 millirem of radiation. The radiation exposures decrease as you move further away from the vessel. Annually, you're exposed to 300 millirem from background sources like the sun, airline travel, and coal-fired power plants. Yes, coal plants emit more radiation than do nuclear plants! Posted by BigMoe on June 1, 2007 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal) NOT ONLY C&P took my comment off, they also totally wiped it off, so they left no trace of it... Posted by itsevansville on June 1, 2007 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal) I would like to nominate Blackstone for comment of the day. Gave me a nice laugh. Good job! Justin Williams, Editor, It's Evansville http://www.itsevansville.com/ © 2006 The Evansville Courier Co. ***************************************************************** 49 MHNN: No tritium from Indian Point in Buchanan sewage system June 1, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide Buchanan -- Entergy has notified local public officials and federal and local regulators and health agencies that possible indications of tritium in the sewer lines at Indian Point reported in early May have proven to be incorrect. At the time, Entergy said sampling for tritium at extremely low levels, as is being done in the sampling program at Indian Point, could sometimes lead to “false positives,” but that Entergy would pursue verifying the validity of the sampling and investigate the possible sources. Entergy re-analyzed samples taken in early May that produced the false positives and determined they were negative for tritium. Samples also were sent to an outside laboratory which confirmed the re-analyzed negative results seen in the Indian Point lab. Entergy workers also inspected potential sources inside the plants that could have provided a pathway for the tritium. An examination of plant drawings and physical infrastructure inspections showed there is no pathway for the radioactive materials to get off site through the sewage system. “The false positives were most likely the result of interference due to some organic materials and chemicals commonly found in sanitary sewers,” said Don Mayer, special projects director. “When analyzing at very low levels occasional false positives can occur. In addition, the outside laboratory advises us that they have seen low-energy interferences that initially suggest positive tritium results and can take steps to account for it.” In the later samples, the apparent tritium indication had disappeared in just a few days. An actual or real tritium result would continue well beyond a few days since tritium has a 12.3 years half-life. Tritium is a low energy-emitting radioactive isotope found naturally in the environment and a byproduct of the fission process in commercial nuclear reactors. No tritium has been seen above background levels in any of the numerous samples taken outside of the Indian Point property, including the Buchanan sewage treatment plant and other nearby properties. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 50 The Murfreesboro Post: EPA promises Gordon to test landfill May 31, 2007, 3:17 PM Environmental Protection Agency officials have told U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon they will provide a thorough response to his request for the agency to verify the safety of Middle Point landfill. “While state officials are assuring me that Middle Point poses no danger, the EPA will provide an objective opinion regarding the state’s efforts to ensure the landfill’s safety and its effect on the land, air and water in Rutherford County,” said Gordon. On May 21, Gordon made the request to the EPA. In a conference call Wednesday with EPA and state officials, Gordon learned the agency intends to provide a response within days. One item Gordon asked the EPA to examine was the radiation levels of the landfill’s leachate, which is treated by the Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department. During the call, Gordon learned that no radiation tests have been conducted on the leachate, which is produced when rainwater percolates through the landfill. State officials told Gordon that leachate samples from Middle Point were sent to an independent lab for testing following recent news reports about the low level radioactive waste in the landfill. Results of the tests are expected within a few weeks. The state told Gordon it would hold a public meeting regarding the landfill, but a date has not been announced. In addition, the City of Murfreesboro is currently conducting additional tests to ensure the safety of its water supply. “I’m sure most residents were just as shocked as I was when I learned about the radioactive material going into Middle Point,” said Gordon. “These additional tests will provide much-needed information to those who live near the landfill and drink the city’s water.” 615-869-0800 | online@murfreesboropost.com | 630 Broadmore Blvd. Suite 120, P.O. 10008, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 Copyright Statement | Privacy Statement | Terms of Service ***************************************************************** 51 Cibola County Beacon: Rio Grande water contaminant Thursday, May 31, 2007 SANTA FE - Contamination from Las Alamos National Laboratory has been found along the Rio Grande, but there is little chance that residents of Cibola County should need to worry about it. According to scientists at the New Mexico Environment Department, during the Cold War years, the lab discharged untreated industrial liquid waste that included radioactive materials, heavy metals, and solvents into the Los Alamos Canyon watershed, as well as other wastes associated with research. In the early years of the lab, those wastes were washed down into the Rio Grande by regular flooding of the canyons on the Parajito Plateau. However, the floods diminished by the 1970s, reducing the transport of contaminated sediment downstream. The contaminants in the canyons and downstream were buried with clean sediment added through fluvial processes. Additionally, some of the contaminants remained in the normally dry stream channels that run through the lab. In 2001, NMED scientists documented that once again elevated levels of radionuclides were washing from the Los Alamos and Pueblo canyons into the Rio Grande. LANL released the radionuclides into Los Alamos and Pueblo canyons during early lab operations. Because of this, some of the contaminants have washed into the Rio Grande. David Englert and Ralph Ford-Shmid from the New Mexico Environment Department both agreed there was little chance of contaminants washing down the Rio San Jose into Cibola County. “We believe we can safely say that the Rio San Jose will remain unaffected by any discharges from LANL.” Deborah Carpenter of the Environmental Health Department here locally agrees, saying that “the river doesn't flow backwards, and the Rio San Jose is a tributary to the Rio Grande. However there may be problems where they meet.” The reason for this is when the many tributaries meet the Rio Grande, according to Carpenter, any contaminants from those streams can be brought into the Rio Grande. However, Skibitski and Englert both point out that background levels of plutonium, cesium, strontium and other fission products are nearly everywhere in North America and around the world as a result of atmospheric testing of the weapons programs. Skibitski says that places of higher altitudes, such as areas in southwestern Colorado, see the large amounts of this contamination and that Cibola County residents should expect to see lower quantities. However, neither one of these sources say whether or not there is any impacts on the watershed or its area's residents, as a result of atmospheric testing or other LANL operations. But according to a report released on May 18 about the contaminated sediment, the levels of the contamination pose no immediate health risks, though nothing is said about the long-term effects. However, Ron Curry, NMED secretary, and scientists encourage LANL to do more to stop the radionuclides such as plutonium, uranium, americanum, strontium, and cesium from washing down the river. “Something must be done now to protect New Mexicans and the environment. LANL must take actions to reduce and control the movement of contaminated sediments,” Curry says in a recent report. In 1998, NMED's Department of Energy Oversight Bureau began a five-year study to identify the radionuclide contamination originating from LANL in abandoned channels, old flood plains, and other deposits along the Rio Grande. However, documenting the outcome of the year 2000 Cerro Grande fire on water quality held back the report until 2006. NMED has finalized the report and sent it off for review this year. Since the Cerro Grande fire, there have been elevated levels of contaminants in storm water, which suggests that the buried contaminants are eroding at a rate that has not been seen since they were first deposited into the watersheds by LANL in the 1950s and 60s. After the Cerro Grande fire, barren watersheds caused flooding which allowed for erosion of stream banks at the Los Alamos and Pueblo canyons. This, in turn, caused the old contaminants from LANL to become exposed and to be carried into the Rio Grande. Presently, the frequency and magnitude of the floods has increased to more than 140 times those of the 1990s. During their studies, NMED scientists collected soil core samples that showed sediments from early lab operations to those deposited in the 1970s and 80s. The scientists were able to analyze the soil samples using a method that measured the percentage of plutonium in each sample that is attributable to LANL discharges. NMED and LANL studies have both shown that many of the contaminants of concern bind tightly to fine grain sediments. If the lab were to control movement of sediment from the Parajito canyons, the spread of the contamination could be controlled, according to both scientists. NMED has also suggested changes to LANL's storm water monitoring program that would determine the effectiveness of the sediment control measures, as well as implementing a warning system that would stop the city of Santa Fe from the Rio Grande when the Los Alamos Canyon is flowing. By Victoria Carreon Copyright © 2007Cibola County Beacon. ***************************************************************** 52 Guardian Unlimited: Tensions With Russia Rising Ahead of G-8 From the Associated Press Friday June 1, 2007 8:16 AM By DOUGLAS BIRCH Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) - When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the annual G-8 gathering of the world's industrialized power next week, he may be greeted with tense smiles and strained pleasantries. Putin, warmly welcomed by fellow members of the Group of Eight club of global powers shortly after his election in 2000, has in recent years found himself engaged in bitter quarrels with other members, especially the United States. And he makes little effort to disguise his disgruntlement with the G-8's brand of global politics. At the same time, the West has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin, who some critics accuse of steering Russia toward authoritarianism and isolation, and of driving his country's relations with Western democracies to a post-Soviet low. ``This meeting takes place at the lowest ebb of the relations between Russia and the West,'' said Lilia Shevtsova, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center. Tensions have risen over Russia's refusal to extradite the Moscow businessman accused of killing Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London; over the Kremlin's alleged use of energy supplies as a tool of diplomacy; and over the Kremlin's fierce opposition to U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe - raising fears of a new arms race. On Tuesday, Russia tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that Moscow said could elude any defense system amid a warning from Putin that the planned U.S. missile shield would turn Europe into a ``powder keg.'' Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told The Associated Press a week before the summit that ``there are some problems that are not contributing to the atmosphere of mutual confidence.'' But Peskov pointed out that Russia works with the U.S. and the West on nonproliferation issues and shares counter-terror intelligence. He said ``misunderstandings and differences'' don't define the relationship. Perhaps not, but those differences seem to have dominated the agenda in recent months. In a May 9 speech in Red Square, Putin seemed to compare President Bush's foreign policy to that of the Third Reich, while in February he accused the U.S. of ``plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts.'' Bush, meanwhile, has talked of mutual suspicions between the two nations. ``I can't think of a single country that would declare itself the ally of Russia today,'' said Michael McFaul, a political scientist at Stanford University. ``From the outside, it seems like they're creating this whole world of a return to the Cold War, and antagonism.'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Putin sparred in public at the Russia-European Union summit in May over the Kremlin's crackdown on opposition protests, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to confront Putin about human rights violations in Chechnya and about the slaying last October of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who wrote scathingly of the Russian president. But Western leaders may hesitate to criticize Putin publicly at the summit, in the German resort city of Heilingendamm. At last year's G-8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Bush said he hoped the U.S. would encourage religious freedom and democracy in Russia, as it has in Iraq. Putin had a sharp riposte: ``We certainly would not like to have the same kind of democracy they have in Iraq, I'll tell you that quite honestly.'' While the split between Russia and the West has widened in recent years, its origins lay early in Putin's presidency. Putin feels he offered friendship to the West after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. only to be abused in return, said Nina Khrushcheva, an analyst at the World Policy Institute housed at the New School in New York and the granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. ``He truly feels the West betrayed him,'' she said, because of the continued expansion of NATO, and alleged American and EU support for nonviolent revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine that led to the election of leaders friendly to the West. Western criticism of Moscow's record on human rights and democracy, in the view of Russia's leaders, only adds insult to injury. More broadly, Putin has repeatedly expressed frustration with the political and economic consensus among the major world powers, represented by groups such as the EU and the G-8, which have relied on the military might of the U.S. to guarantee security. Instead, Putin has called for a ``multipolar'' world of bilateral relationships - a world, of course, in which Russia could play a much larger role. The Kremlin's annoyance with Washington's leadership in global affairs seems only to have grown over the years, as the once-impoverished nation has grown relatively rich and confident. That frustration reached the boiling point in Munich in February, when Putin accused the U.S. of imposing its ``economic, political, cultural and educational'' standards on the rest of the world. ``Well, who likes this?'' he demanded. ``Who is happy about this?'' The West, meanwhile, has grievances of its own. When Russia started attending meetings of what was then the G-7 in the 1990s, the nation was expected to join the ranks of liberal democratic societies. Instead, Putin's government has placed Russia's major news media under state control, stripped governors of their independence and presided over political reforms that have made it nearly impossible for Kremlin opponents to win elections. Nongovernment civic groups - which focus on Russia's problems and press for change - have been harassed, weakened or shut down. Russian billionaires who have opposed Putin or financed opposition forces have fled the country, or been imprisoned. The Kremlin has also upset some other G-8 members by cutting arms deals with Syria, welcoming leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas to Moscow and selling nuclear technology to Iran and Myanmar. And the Kremlin has periodically cut off natural gas supplies to its neighbors in what it calls commercial disputes, but that Europe views as Moscow's use of energy as a political weapon. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 53 DOE: U.S. Continues to Lead the World in Wind Power Growth May 31, 2007 DOE Report Shows Growing U.S. Wind Power Market WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released its first Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006, which provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of development and trends in the U.S. wind power market. Most notably, the Report concludes that U.S. wind power capacity increased by 27 percent in 2006; and that the U.S. had the fastest growing wind power capacity in the world in 2005 and 2006. More than 61 percent of the U.S.'s total wind capacity - over 7,300 Megawatts (MW) - has been installed since President Bush took office in 2001. "As we work to implement President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative by increasing the use of home-grown, clean, affordable and renewable energy, we are eager to continue the trend of increasing the use of wind power at unprecedented rates," DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner said. "Another record-breaking year of the United States installing more wind generating capacity than any other nation is indicative of the President's durable, pro-growth energy policy. With DOE’s support, wind power is one of the most important, emissions-free sources of energy being deployed to address climate change and improve our energy security." In 2006, for the second straight year, the U.S. led the world by installing 2,454 MW of wind power capacity, enough to power the homes in a city the size of Philadelphia. The U.S. produced roughly 16 percent of the worldwide wind market, followed by Germany, India, Spain, and China. The Report specifically analyzes trends in the marketplace including wind power prices compared to wholesale electricity prices, project costs, turbine sizes, and developer consolidation. It also describes the increasing performance of wind projects, current ownership and financing structures, and trends among major wind power purchasers. By collecting this information in one publication, the report will provide a valuable resource to industry participants, energy regulators, and state and local policymakers. Specifically, some of the key findings of the Report include: * The U.S. is the fastest growing wind market worldwide. There remains substantial potential for the expansion of wind power to achieve approximately 20 percent of the nation’s generating mix. * Texas, Washington, and California lead the U.S. in annual capacity growth. * Wind power is competitive and has provided good value in wholesale power markets. Wind power has consistently been priced at, or below, the average price of conventional electricity (coal, nuclear, natural gas, etc.). * The cost of turbines has risen since 2002. Higher costs have reversed the decline in total wind project costs and driven up the cost of generating wind power. Turbine cost increases have been driven by rises in input material and energy prices, and some shortages in certain turbine components. * Wind project performance, has increased sharply over the last several years. This has been driven in part by improved project siting, and technological advancements. * The wind market is in a period of transition. Electric utilities have shown increased interest in wind project ownership, and merchant wind power plants and sales to power marketers have become more common. Report (pdf) PowerPoint Presentation (pdf) For more information, on DOE's Wind Program, visit http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/. Media contact(s): Julie Lynn Ruggiero, (202) 586-4940 U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 54 DOE: DOE Announces Locations of Four More Public Comment Meetings on Draft National Corridor Designations June 1, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the dates and locations for an additional four public meetings on the proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (National Corridors). They will be held in Rochester, New York, on June 12, 2007; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 13; Las Vegas on June 20; and Phoenix, Arizona on June 21, 2007. Meetings will take place from 1PM to 7PM and the address for each public meeting is posted at http://nietc.anl.gov/. Registration will begin at 12:00PM and DOE will give an overview presentation from 1:00PM-1:30PM. DOE has previously hosted three public meetings at the following locations: Arlington, Virginia; San Diego, California; and New York, New York. The 60-day public comment period on the National Corridors will close on July 6, 2007. Comments may also be submitted through the NIETC website at http://nietc.anl.gov/involve/index.cfm or mailed to: The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, OE-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585. These draft National Corridors cover geographic areas where millions of consumers are currently adversely affected by transmission capacity constraints or congestion. The draft Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor includes counties in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, all of New Jersey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The draft Southwest Area National Corridor includes counties in California, Arizona, and Nevada. These draft designations are being issued after months of careful study by DOE, which included close consideration of public comments on the Congestion Study, released by DOE last August. DOE recognizes the broad public interest in this process and, though not required by statute, is issuing draft designations in order to allow additional opportunities for review and comment by affected States, regional entities, and the general public. DOE has issued the draft National Corridors because timely and effective attention to the transmission congestion problems in these areas is extremely important. DOE recognizes there are various ways in which transmission congestion may be addressed, including enhanced energy efficiency, demand response, more local generation, and additional transmission capacity. Media contact(s): Megan Barnett, (202) 586-4940 U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 55 SF New Mexican: Group: LANL lacks funds for waste cleanup By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican May 31, 2007 The head of a citizen watchdog group says there’s so little money being put into cleaning up hazardous and radioactive waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory that project managers won’t be able to meet their cleanup schedules and will likely face more fines from the New Mexico Environment Department. “In the near term, there is not sufficient funding to get the job done,” said J.D. Campbell, who chairs the Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board. President Bush’s budget request includes $141 million for cleanup at Los Alamos in the 2008 fiscal year. But the lab needs $283 million to stay on track, based on information presented to the advisory board, Campbell said. The lab, the U.S. Department of Energy and the New Mexico Environment Department are bound by a consent order, or legal agreement, that governs cleanup of hazardous waste at the lab through 2015. Lab officials have said the cost of the cleanup is estimated at $1 billion. Campbell pointed to another lab estimate, calculated in 2007 dollars, of $1.4 billion. But it’s probably more than that, he said. “The estimates on which that was based were relatively optimistic on what some of the cleanup requirements would be,” Campbell said. Plus, he said, “we continue to find more occurrences of contamination migrating from the sources.” In response, lab spokesman James Rickman said: “The laboratory recognizes the consent order as its guide to cleanup. We feel that we can meet all 2007 consent order requirements.” Several New Mexico lawmakers agreed more money is needed to take care of Cold War-era waste at the lab. “I think the administration hasn’t asked for the amount of money that’s required to do the cleanup that the state is demanding, and so that’s an issue that I hope Congress can help with,” U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said in a recent interview. “It’s bad when the administration doesn’t put in the money to pay for something they’ve agreed to,” U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said in an interview. “That just puts us behind the eight ball.” A call to U.S. Department of Energy headquarters was not immediately returned. The chairman of a House subcommittee that pays for the Department of Energy budget has highlighted environmental cleanup as a priority. “There is a tremendous legacy of contamination from the past 60 years of nuclear weapons manufacture and various canceled approaches to handling spent nuclear fuel,” U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., said in a news release. Visclosky chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. He noted that cleanup of the former Rocky Flats pit manufacturing plant in Colorado has been completed “Now is the time to make progress on cleaning up other communities,” Visclosky said. No specifics were provided in Visclosky’s statement, but U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., expected to get details soon. Udall, who is also a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said that he has talked with Visclosky and told him cleanup funding is important to New Mexico, and the environment department is trying to move forward with its consent order. Environment Secretary Ron Curry recently expressed disappointment with how cleanup process is going. “There is still no one who wants to take responsibility for the environmental package, environmental remediation and environmental cleanup at Los Alamos,” Curry said. Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com. Copyright 2007 The New Mexican, Inc. ***************************************************************** 56 Tri-City Herald: K East Basin declared sludge-free (w/video) "Cleanup of the K Basins" video Published Friday, June 1st, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Hanford workers have finally gotten the best of the radioactive sludge in the K East Basin. They finished removing the last of the elusive muck Thursday from the leak-prone basin that sits 400 yards from the Columbia River. "Two million people down river today can feel better about it being in a safe configuration," said Con Murphy, Fluor Hanford president. The project has been a struggle. The Environmental Protection Agency has extended deadlines on the K East and K West basins at least 10 times. As recently as February, Hanford officials were predicting they would miss yet another revised deadline -- a requirement that all the sludge be moved by the end of May to the sturdier K West Basin to await treatment. But Thursday there was a last-day-of-school feel at the K Basins as about 200 current and former workers gathered to celebrate transfer of the final bit of sludge from K East. Workers had rallied for a last push to meet the deadline, with most volunteering to work overtime through the Memorial Day weekend. "We've done it. You figured it out," said Keith Klein, who celebrated with workers on his last day before retiring as the Department of Energy's Richland Operations Office manager. When John Hopkins, president of the Fluor Government Group, was assigned to the sludge project on the corporate level, he envisioned two workers with wheelbarrows and shovels, he said. It turned out to be the project that kept him awake the most at night. The K East and K West basins were used starting in the 1950s to cool fuel irradiated in Hanford reactors for the production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. When fuel processing ended, fuel was left stranded in the basins. It corroded and mixed with dirt and concrete that sloughed from the pool walls to form a radioactive sludge. To remove the sludge, workers stood on gratings and used tools with 26-foot-long handles to reach to the bottom of the pools. "Until you do it, you just can't understand" how difficult it is, said Pete Knollmeyer, Fluor Hanford vice president. The water was so murky workers needed underwater cameras to monitor their work as they learned to maneuver their tools in reverse from the image on the screen. The water in the pools shielded them from radiation, but they still needed to wear bulky protective clothing head to toe and supplied-air respirators. Workers began vacuuming the radioactive sludge into underwater containers in October 2004, expecting to need a few months. "It wasn't until we got hands on and started doing the work that we realized what we were into," Klein said. The sludge proved elusive. Workers described trying to capture it as "like chasing smoke." Complicating the work was far more debris than expected hidden under mounds of sludge at the pool bottom. But ingenuity overcame obstacles, said Jim Rispoli, DOE assistant secretary for environmental management, during a visit to Hanford earlier in the week. Workers developed new tools and removed 170 tons of debris to make vacuuming more efficient before most of the sludge was in underwater containers two years after work began. They encountered more troubles as they attempted to pump the 37 cubic yards of sludge from the K East Basin a half mile to the K West Basin. In February, officials were estimating less than a 5 percent chance that the sludge would be moved by the deadline Thursday. The transfer piping kept plugging up with sludge that could not be kept in a consistent liquid solution, causing pumps along the pipe to vibrate until they had to be shut down. Several engineering changes, including an additional screening of the sludge to keep larger pieces out of the piping, solved the problem. "Clearly you all have never given up, and it's been tough," Nick Ceto, EPA Hanford project manager, told workers. Now workers will start preparing the K East Basin for a scrubbing with a high-pressure water spray to remove surface concrete embedded with radiation. Then water can be drained and the basin torn down to get to contaminated soil beneath it. They also face a July 31 deadline to have all the sludge in the K West Basin vacuumed into underwater containers. Then workers will have another tough challenge, treating the sludge for permanent disposal by a November 2009 deadline. Technical problems already have been identified that have officials predicting that meeting that deadline will be impossible, but by making engineering changes now, DOE believes it can hold the delay to one to two years. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press ***************************************************************** 57 Inside Bay Area: Report targets laser complex Livermore Lab's facility among pricey projects questioned in report to Congress By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 06/01/2007 02:43:14 AM PDT The giant lasers, X-ray machines and supercomputers called essential a decade ago for the upkeep of U.S. nuclear weapons have fallen behind schedule, yet even with those crippled or delayed capabilities, the weapons themselves are faring well, with little sign of falling apart. The Federation of American Scientists, a group formed by Manhattan Project scientists to advocate for arms control, argued in a report Wednesday that Congress needs to rethink some of the multibillion-dollar instruments promised to bomb scientists at the end of nuclear testing. Topping the federation's target list is a stadium-size laser complex called the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Livermore weapons scientists and federal nuclear-weapons managers have argued since the early 1990s that the NIF and its reach for thermonuclear fusion with 192 laser beams are critical to ensuring the operation of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Last year, for example, the head of weapons work for the U.S. Energy Department suggested that scientists might be unable to say whether the bombs would keep working if NIF's lasers fail to squeeze fusion energy out of a pea-size ball of hydrogen by 2010 or so. "Failure to achieve ignition in the 2010-2011 time frame may affect our continuing assessment and certification of low-margin systems" such as the warheads that are the most numerous in the U.S. and U.K. arsenals," then-defense programs chief Tom D'Agostino wrote to several chairmen in Congress. "Failure to achieve ignition in the long term could call into question our stockpile stewardship tools, and, therefore, the premise that the stockpile can be maintained indefinitely without nuclear testing." Likewise for purchases of the world's fastest supercomputers and construction of a huge X-ray machine to peer inside imploding bomb cores ? all were needed to say whether U.S. bombs would work. But Ivan Oelrich, a Princeton-trained chemist who heads the federation's strategic security project, says those arguments have lost their power as scientists have learned more about the reliability of existing weapons ? the Cold War-vintage bombs and warheads that were designed without big lasers, supercomputers or machines capable of making X-ray movies in two dimensions. "The things we were worried about ? the decline of (bomb) reliability without testing ? have not come to pass. Yet these enormously expensive programs persist," Oelrich said. The big fusion laser at Livermore originally was priced at less than $400 million but had risen to $1 billion by the time Congress agreed to build it. Even then, supporters low-balled the billion-dollar price tag because of a calculation that lawmakers otherwise never would pay for it. Livermore officials were forced to admit in 1999 that the laser was over budget and would not be completed by 2002 as promised. The General Accountability Office projects its cost at about $4 billion, with completion next year. "NIF should have been operating years and a billion dollars ago, and it's fair to ask whether we should go forward with this machine when the whole context around it has changed," said the federation's Oelrich. "We need to re-evaluate, and yet we haven't done that." Energy Department officials said they had not seen the federation's report but took issue with the observations about billion-dollar cost overruns and schedule breakdowns. Julianne Smith, spokeswoman for the department's National Nuclear Security Administration, said "it is important to keep in mind that all three of these facilities are unique, one-of-a-kind ? some that have never before been built in the world." Oelrich doesn't expect the department or Congress to kill off the big laser, which Smith says is 90 percent complete. At that point, he said, lawmakers are more prone to throw more money into dubious projects than to kill them. "I live in the real world, and I admit it's very, very hard to kill these types of programs," he said. Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.com or (510) 208-6458. © 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 58 KnoxNews: Y-12 warhead program moves First phase completed; consolidating inspection intended to protect site By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com June 1, 2007 OAK RIDGE - One of the major functions of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant - evaluating the quality of warhead parts - is being relocated and consolidated, a move that reportedly will bolster security at the site. Officials announced that the first phase of the relocation project had been completed, allowing the Oak Ridge plant to meet a security requirement under the Design Basis Threat, the federal guidelines for countering terrorism. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman with the National Nuclear Security Administration, said he could not discuss specifics of the project - such as where the work is being housed. The first phase, which took about two years to complete, cost $22 million, Wyatt said. The second phase will cost an estimated $25 million and be completed in December 2008, he said. Oak Ridge officials said the project would help Y-12 avoid "significant increases" in security costs. The inspection program "is responsible for assessing multiple aspects of the nuclear weapons stockpile, including component integrity, design compatibility and safety," the federal agency said in a release about the project. Warheads that are returned from deployment are checked for damage or deterioration. Those findings are used to determine whether new parts are needed. "It is a key Y-12 mission and is intended to maintain confidence in the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile," the NNSA statement said. The Oak Ridge plant is the only U.S. facility that produces "secondaries," the second stage of nuclear warheads, and other components used in weapons. Ted Sherry, the NNSA's site manager at Y-12, said in a prepared statement: "The consolidation of this function has enabled Y-12 to eliminate the need to transport materials onsite, to reduce costs and to increase the safety and security of these important activities. This is a key part of our overall infrastructure reduction initiatives and supports the long-term modernization of the plant." The quality-evaluation program provides detailed assessments on the "reliability and functionality" of weapons components, both assemblies and subassemblies, the NNSA said. The evaluation process begins during the pre-production stages of warhead work and continues throughout its lifetime, concluding with the retirement of the weapon. Y-12 officials said close coordination with the weapons design labs - Lawrence Livermore in California and Los Alamos in New Mexico - allowed Oak Ridge to complete the first phase of the relocation project without any major disruptions to the plant's production missions. BWXT, a partnership of BWX Technologies and Bechtel National, manages Y-12 for the federal government. George Dials, the president and general manager, called the relocation a significant accomplishment. About 200 plant workers were involved in the effort. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 59 Jacksonville.com: Savannah River lab has 30-day reprieve Last modified 5/31/2007 - 11:37 pm Still, employees of the UGa ecology facility are planning to close it. By Rob Pavey, Morris News Service "My understanding, at this point, is that UGA will be paying everybody until the end of June, but we don't know what will happen after that," said Paul Bertsch, the lab's director. The 56-year-old lab at Savannah River Site, which earned international acclaim for research into the impact of radioactivity on the environment, was earmarked for closure in 2005, when the U.S. Energy Department proposed eliminating its $7.7 million annual budget entirely. Intervention by members of Congress succeeded in restoring a partial budget of $4.5 million, but that funding has dwindled even more in recent months and a cooperative agreement signed with the university last fall provided only $1.8 million from DOE that would end this fall. Bertsch said efforts to secure outside funding through research grants haven't generated enough revenue to operate the facility. U.S. senators and House members from Georgia and South Carolina have asked Congress to explore ways to keep the lab open, and letters of support have come from dozens of scientists and research institutions, in addition to the National Wildlife Federation and former President Carter. © Copyright The Florida Times-Union. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 UPI: Outside View: Saving Lockheed Martin United Press International - Security & Terrorism - Analysis Published: June 1, 2007 at 10:43 AM By WILLIAM D. HARTUNG UPI Outside View Commentator NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- Despite its role as the Pentagon's top contractor, Lockheed Martin is searching for some good news after a remarkable series of setbacks in recent months. First came the cancellation of the company's contract to build a second "littoral combat ship" for the Navy after its first ship in the series was plagued by cost overruns and design problems. Then the U.S. Coast Guard took over the management of its multi-billion Deepwater modernization plan from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The decision was due in large part to dangerous flaws in the new Coast Guard cutters the firms were developing. Last but not least, the company's most high profile product of all, the presidential helicopter, has generated widespread criticism based on high costs and poor performance. With weapons procurement dollars likely to tighten up as the costs of replacing equipment damaged in Iraq come home to roost, these hits to the company's reputation could strengthen the hand of members of Congress seeking cuts in its two lucrative combat aircraft programs, the F-22 and the F-35. The F-22 -- the most expensive combat aircraft ever built at a total unit cost of over $300 million per copy -- is particularly vulnerable. The Pentagon has already cut back its proposed buy of the aircraft from an original goal of 750 planes to current plans to purchase 183. Further cuts are not out of the question. This is where the government of conservative Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comes into play. He hopes to make Japan the first foreign purchaser of the F-22, in a deal that could be worth $20 billion or more for 100 planes. A deal on this scale would be a huge shot in the arm for Lockheed Martin's aircraft division. A foreign sale of 100 planes would be more than one-half of the U.S. government's proposed purchase of the F-22. It would keep Lockheed Martin's Georgia and Texas production lines for the plane open for years beyond the projected shutdown date of 2011, during which time legislators from those states could press for additional purchases by the Pentagon. But there are a number of obstacles between Lockheed Martin and its "deal of the century." First, exports of the F-22 are currently barred by U.S. law. But industry analysts are convinced that Lockheed Martin boosters in Congress could get this provision lifted if the deal looks like a real prospect. The most important set of concerns has to do with the danger of spurring an arms race in Asia. South Korean officials have expressed alarm at the prospect of Japan receiving F-22s, and have said that they would argue for their own buy of the planes if they are provided to Tokyo. And China would no doubt feel the need to upgrade its own air force in response, especially in light of a U.S. effort to push Taiwan to buy $10 billion worth of U.S.-built submarines and aircraft. The last thing the United States government should be doing is taking a step to undermine relations with China at a time when Beijing's help is needed to consolidate the deal to curb North Korea's nuclear program. Japan already has highly capable F-15 combat aircraft from the United States, along with the technology to build significant components of them. This is more than adequate to deal with China's current capabilities, particularly considering that Japan is allied with the United States, whose military far outpaces Beijing's by every measure. If the time comes when Japan needs a next generation fighter, the less expensive F-35 -- also built by Lockheed Martin -- would be a reasonable alternative. To a significant degree, Abe's desire for F-22s is based on the alleged prestige that would flow from being the first country to receive the aircraft from the United States. This is not an adequate reason to increase tensions in Asia. As for Lockheed Martin, it can look elsewhere for a big "win" to distract attention from its recent troubles. If the F-22 program is having a hard time making it here, it shouldn't be bailed out by making a questionable deal over there. (William D. Hartung is a senior research fellow at the World Policy Institute in New York.) (United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.) © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 61 UPI: Livermore lab to boost security focus United Press International - NewsTrack - Science - Published: May 31, 2007 at 11:30 PM OAKLAND, Calif., May 31 (UPI) -- Executives from private industry are being named to top posts at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons lab. Lab Director George Miller said the lab has hired Bechtel Vice President Steve Liedle as his second in command, the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune said Thursday. Six other executives from Bechtel and other private firms were also named to key positions. The newspaper said the lab plans to focus more on national security, with a new program called "global security" that includes everything from homeland security to non-proliferation policy and intelligence analysis on foreign weapons of mass destruction. Miller said more work will be devoted to homeland security, climate science and developing sources of clean energy and water. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************