***************************************************************** 07/26/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.174 ***************************************************************** 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 US: [NYTr] Bush urges full nuke warhead funding 2 US: Guardian Unlimited: Congress strikes at Bush's missile shield pl 3 RIA Novosti: U.S. Navy commander to visit Russian nuclear warships - 4 US: UPI: BMD Watch: Euro-BMD takes budget hit 5 The 50th Anniversary of the IAEA 6 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile 7 AU ABC: Pakistan asks Aust to extend uranium deal - 8 Reuters: Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable missile NUCLEAR REACTORS 9 The Hindu: India must use thorium-based nuclear reactors: Kalam 10 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Nuke Reactor Restart Date Unclear 11 Daily Yomiuri: N-plant won't open until fall '08 12 PTI: Indian nuclear industry is `happy' with the Indo-US deal 13 US: Platts: Idaho nuclear plant developer to use UniStar reactor des 14 US: NRC: License Renewal Application for Vogtle Nuclear Plant Availa 15 Platts: Brunsbuettel to be offline for maintenance 16 US: NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Application 17 US: Salt Lake Tribune: A better reactor 18 US: U.S. PIRG: Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatu 19 AFP: Areva close to huge nuclear deal with China: sources - 20 Beyond Nuclear: Japan Quake Rocks Nuclear Industry 21 Financial Times: Nuclear scares test Merkel coalition - 22 Baltic Times: Nuclear quotas not a problem 23 US: MHNN: NRC accepts IP license renewal applications 24 Hemscott: Fortum gets government nod to extend life of Loviisa nucle 25 Hemscott: Vattenfall appoints Cramer as new permanent head of unit V 26 IHT: In Indonesia, Japan quake casts a shadow over plans for nuclear 27 Vancouver Sun: Nuclear is greenest fuel: scientist 28 AFP: France-China to sign deal for two nuclear reactors - sources 29 Hindustan Times: BJP says it is not fully convinced about pact- 30 US: Hindustan Times: Congressmen fear US gave in to India- 31 asahi.com: N-safety manuals to be revised - 32 AFP: US lawmakers threaten to block Indian nuclear deal 33 Whitehaven News: UKAEA workers in strike ballot 34 SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Energy Challenge: German Energy Policy At The Cr NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 35 US: Indybay: Depleted Uranium Blasts to Increase At Livermore Lab 36 BBC NEWS: Helpline for organ removal probe 37 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Nuke tests show no radioactive fallout in smo 38 US: Victorville Daily Press: ATOMIC HISTORY 39 US: lamonitor.com: Trinity test exposed public to radiation and fall 40 US: Oak Ridger: Federal officials talk to sick workers - 41 IAEA: Video on Safeguards Analytical Laboratory Singled Out in USA NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 42 US: FT.com: Uranium falls after Japan nuclear leak 43 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: No cooperation 44 RIA Novosti: Nuclear protesters set up new camp in Siberia 45 Earth Times: Deadly chemicals and poison dirt from spill leave Ukrai 46 ReviewJournal.com: Republican senator challenges Clinton's oppositio 47 ReviewJournal.com: Gibbons' stance on Yucca perplexing 48 ReviewJournal.com: Government challenges order halting water use at 49 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP gets underground matter/anti-matter 50 US: LA Daily News: Boeing faces costly penalty 51 RN&R: Breach in the wall 52 US: Rapid City Journal: Uranium mine clean-up underway 53 US: Exec Digital: DOE and NRC expand energy partnership 54 Las Vegas SUN: Feds challenge Nevada order on nuclear dump site wate 55 The Australian: Defence warned on waste | PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 56 Tri-City Herald: Sludge contained in Hanford's toxic K West Basin (w 57 Tri-City Herald: No decision reached on Hanford cleanup deadlines 58 Knoxville News Sentinel: Feds defend Y-12 grenade launchers 59 Exec Digital: Rocky Flats becomes national wildlife refuge 60 knoxnews.com: TVA board to consider Watts Bar 2 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [NYTr] Bush urges full nuke warhead funding Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:09:29 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Dave Muller (southnews) The Washington Post - Jul 26, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25AR2007072502093_pf.html Administration Urges Full Warhead Funding Old Weapons May Need Testing, It Warns By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer The Bush administration has told Congress that delays in funding for a new generation of nuclear weapons may require a return to underground testing to ensure that older warheads remain reliable. The administration included the warning in a four-page statement on nuclear weapons signed by the secretaries of energy, defense and state and sent to Congress this week. The document defended the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead program, the funding for which is contained in fiscal 2008 authorization and appropriations bills still before Congress. In their statement, the secretaries said, "Delays on RRW . . . raise the prospect of having to return to underground nuclear testing to certify existing weapons." The White House had sought $82 million for the program and hoped to have Congress vote next year on proceeding with production of new warheads that could be deployed by 2012. However, House and Senate committees have reduced the $82 million to prevent a congressional vote next year on the production phase. The committees have also included proposals in the bills for year-long studies that would lay out a detailed strategic nuclear weapons policy before Congress moves ahead with the warhead program. The administration's statement, "National Security and Nuclear Weapons: Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century," said that a more detailed justification for the warhead program would follow. The secretaries also said that the administration intended to achieve "an effective strategic deterrent at the lowest level of nuclear weapons consistent with our national security and our commitments and obligations to allies." They pointed to President Bush's directive that the number of operational deployed weapons will drop from about 6,000 to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012 -- a level set by the agreement Bush signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2002. The administration justified the RRW program as necessary to provide a safe and secure warhead for the next 25 years to replace weapons built for the Cold War era. The statement criticized the current lifetime extension program -- begun during the Clinton administration -- as requiring an excessive number of stockpiled warheads to make certain the country had enough for a deployed operational force of 1,700 to 2,200. "We are committed to maintaining the nuclear weapons stockpile, but as our Cold War-era weapons age, this becomes more and more difficult and very costly," Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said yesterday. "This document clearly lays out the best actions we can take in the face of an uncertain future." Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and an advocate of the new warhead program, said yesterday: "I remain hopeful that Congress will fund the feasibility study of the Reliable Replacement Warhead, because it offers the best opportunity to transition from the large and highly specialized Cold War stockpile to a smaller, more secure and lower-cost deterrent in the future." Stephen Young, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, described the secretaries' statement as "an almost desperate plea for support for the program, which provides nothing that would justify Congress funding it." * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 2 Guardian Unlimited: Congress strikes at Bush's missile shield plan Ewen MacAskill in Washington Thursday July 26, 2007 The military base in Redzikowo, Poland, one of the proposed sites for a missile defense system for the US. Photograph: Krzysztof Zacharzewski/AP George Bush's plans to establish a European missile defence system suffered a big setback today when a Congressional committee slashed most of the funding. The House appropriations committee cut $139m (Ł69.5m) from the $310m the Bush administration wants for preparatory work on the missile project in Europe. It approved funds for a radar system in the Czech Republic but cut the $139m Mr Bush requested to establish a missile interception system in Poland, the most controversial part of the defence system. In addition, the committee cut another $159m from US-based parts of the missile plan. John Murtha, chairman of the committee, said the White House has "got to convince us this is worthwhile". In a report attached to the revised budget, the committee said "it is premature to provide full funding for the European component, given the uncertainty surrounding the programme". The Congressional move came as Des Browne, the defence secretary, said yesterday that the UK had agreed to allow the US to upgrade the Menwith Hill airbase, in Yorkshire, as part of the proposed missile defence system. Britain has already approved a radar system at Fylingdales, on the North Yorkshire Moors. Mr Bush wants to place 10 interceptor missiles in silos in Poland, saying they are needed as a matter of urgency to defend against Iran which the US claims is pushing ahead with a nuclear weapons programme. The budget cuts are part of $3.5bn that the committee has slashed from the overall defence budget, which now stands at $459bn. As well as reducing the budget, Congress is shifting priorities from futuristic programmes to more immediate concerns, such as improved healthcare for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, pay rises for soldiers and marines, and much-needed weaponry for Iraq such as the heavily-armoured Stryker vehicles. The committee's pared-down budget will go to the full House for a vote next week but is almost certain to be passed. The House and Senate have questioned whether establishing the system in eastern Europe is sensible given the extent of the opposition it has aroused in Russia. They also question its technical feasibility and the failure of other Nato countries to commit fully to it. Republicans on the committee joined the Democrats in voting for the bill. Mr Murtha said Congress was trying to change the direction of the defence department across the board, not just on missile defence. The Senate is not scheduled to vote on the budget until after the August recess. While the Democrats and Republicans are divided over proposals to withhold war spending for Iraq, legislators from both parties have expressed scepticism about the European missile defence proposal. Mr Bush could veto Congressional changes but may be reluctant to do this, given he might have to also use it in September in the Iraq war funding row. Bill Young, the most senior Republican on the committee, said: "I don't think this bill is subject to a veto." He said it had been designed for quick passage. Even if Mr Bush was to block it, the extent of Congressional opposition will leave doubts over the European missile defence system, signalling that if the Democrats take the White House next year, the plan would be scrapped. The congressional opposition will also embolden Russia to maintain its opposition. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, ordered a Kremlin meeting of senior military and intelligence officers yesterday to build up the armed forces and intelligence-gathering to confront what he said is a new US global threat. "The United States is becoming more active in pushing forward plans to deploy new bases in eastern Europe," he said. Mr Putin rejects US claims that the missile system is directed not against Russia but a possible attack from Iran. He has suggested an alternative plan in which the interceptor missiles would be based in either Russia or a sympathetic neighbour but the White House is cool about this. The Democrats have attached amendments to the spending bill, such as withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and closure of the Guantánamo detention centre in Cuba within 60 days, but these have no chance of being accepted by the Senate. A separate vote on Iraq withdrawal is scheduled for September, when Democrats may be able to win over some Republican senators. The vote will follow a report by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US ambassador, Ryan Crocker. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 3 RIA Novosti: U.S. Navy commander to visit Russian nuclear warships - ministry 16:27 | 26/ 07/ 2007 MOSCOW, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Admiral Henry G. Ulrich, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, will visit a Russian nuclear powered missile carrying submarine and heavy missile cruiser, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. A U.S. military delegation, led by Adm. Henry G. Ulrich, will visit the Northern Fleet July 28-30. "Adm. Ulrich will meet with Northern Fleet Commander Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky and Murmansk Governor Yury Yevdokimov. Then he will visit the Yekaterinburg nuclear powered submarine," the Defense Ministry said in a press release posted on its official Web site. The U.S. delegation will participate in Russian Navy Day celebrations (July 29) aboard the nuclear powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky. The ministry said Adm. Ulrich's visit is the first to the Northern Fleet by a ranking U.S. Navy official in the past 11 years. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 4 UPI: BMD Watch: Euro-BMD takes budget hit United Press International - Security & Terrorism - Analysis - By MARTIN SIEFF UPI Senior News Analyst WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The House Appropriations Committee Wednesday dealt a major blow to President George W. Bush's plans to deploy U.S. anti-ballistic missile interceptors in Central Europe. But it stopped short of scrapping the program. The full Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $460 billion bill that included in all $298 million in cuts to the Bush administration's proposed missile defense programs. While large, they were not as massive as previously recommended by subcommittees. The proposed legislation eliminates funding for a BMD interceptor base Bush wants to build in Poland over the next three years. The base would deploy 10 anti-ballistic missile interceptors to guard the United States and Western Europe against the threat of intercontinental or intermediate-range ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads that could be fired by Iran. However, the HAC legislation stopped well short of scrapping the entire program because it preserved the funding to build an advanced early-warning radar installation in the Czech Republic to detect the missiles and guide the interceptors to destroy them. The proposed legislation looks certain to infuriate both President Bush, who may veto it, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has made clear he is an implacable foe of building the BMD facilities, believing they are meant to encircle and threaten Russia. The legislation may well go through further radical changes before it becomes law. Even if Bush does not veto it, it would then have to be reconciled at a conference with parallel but different legislation passed by the U.S. Senate and cut funds could then be reintroduced into it, or the cuts agreed upon could be increased. Republicans and Democrats in the House are deeply split on the issue of funding the BMD facilities in Central Europe. Minority Republicans see them as an essential defense, but majority Democrats are skeptical and many of them believe that infuriating Russia is a dangerously high price to pay for building them. SBIRS passes thermal vacuuming tests Lockheed Martin said Monday that it had successfully concluded thermal vacuuming testing on the payload for the first Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous orbit spacecraft. The company called the successful tests "a key milestone in preparation for launch of this first-of-its-kind satellite." "SBIRS will provide early warning of ballistic missile launches and support other missions simultaneously, including missile defense, technical intelligence and battle space characterization," the company said in a statement. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor for the SBIRS program, and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Azusa, Calif., is the payload subcontractor. Lockheed Martin said the testing was carried out at Northrop Grumman's Azusa complex from March 11 to June 15. The tests "demonstrated the function and performance of the fully integrated GEO-1 payload in vacuum conditions at temperatures bounding the environments expected when the SBIRS satellite is on orbit," it said. "Key aspects of the test included radiometric performance, simultaneous tasking of both sensors against moving IR targets, on-board target processing against cluttered backgrounds, data downlink formatting and spacecraft interface verification. Test evaluation shows the GEO sensor will perform in family with the SBIRS HEO payload sensor now on orbit," the statement said. Lockheed Martin said the GEO payloads will carry "a scanning sensor that will provide for short revisit times over its full field of view and a staring sensor that can be tasked for step-stare or dedicated stare operations over smaller areas." "The GEO scanner and other payload components such as the focal plane assembly, and processing algorithms are identical to those used on SBIRS highly elliptical orbit (HEO) payloads, the first of which has completed initial on-orbit deployment and checkout and demonstrated that its performance meets or exceeds specifications," the company said. "This test, performed over a three-month period, is testimony to the team's drive to attain operational excellence and mission success on this vital national security program," said Mark Crowley, Lockheed Martin's SBIRS vice president. "Our team has completed a series of major milestones and is poised to begin final assembly, integration and test following delivery of the critical payload." The statement said Northrop Grumman "will now prepare the payload for delivery to Lockheed Martin's facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., facilities in early August where it will be integrated with the GEO-1 spacecraft." Lockheed Martin said it was "under contract to provide two HEO payloads and two GEO satellites, as well as the ground-based assets to receive and process the infrared data." Boeing wins $7M laser projectile defense contract The Boeing Co. announced Monday it had won a $7 million U.S. Army contract "to begin developing the initial phase for a truck-mounted laser weapon system that destroys rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds." "Under the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) Phase I contract, awarded Friday, Boeing will develop and complete a preliminary design of a rugged beam control system (BCS) on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck," Boeing said in a statement. The contract could grow in value to more than seven times its original value, Boeing said. "The contract contains options that, if exercised, will call for Boeing to build and test a significant component of the HEL TD system, comprised of the BCS integrated on a vehicle platform, and refine requirements for the entire HEL TD system. The options would increase the total program contract cost to approximately $50 million," the company said. "The objective of the HEL TD program is to demonstrate that a mobile, solid-state laser weapon system can effectively counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles. The program will support the transition to a full-fledged Army acquisition program," it said. "We consider this program an important win for Boeing because it supports a cornerstone of the Army's high-energy laser program," said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. "We believe this is the next step for developing a weapon system that can change the face of the battlefield." ***************************************************************** 5 The 50th Anniversary of the IAEA Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:32:09 -0500 (CDT) Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 (202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org ___________________________________________________ Friday, July 27, 2007 The 50th Anniversary of the IAEA This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency. ROBERT ALVAREZ, kitbob@starpower.net, http://www.ips-dc.org/projects/nuclear/index.htm A former senior policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy and now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, Alvarez said today: "As the IAEA marks its 50th anniversary, it faces major challenges associated with global nuclear power growth. Nuclear reactors and the technologies that make nuclear fuel -- such as uranium enrichment and reprocessing -- are the key for nuclear weapons production. Plutonium produced in nuclear power plants has been used in nuclear weapons in the U.S. and other countries. The IAEA safeguard system does not provide timely warning and is not adequately funded. Currently, the IAEA has found that several nations cannot account for significant amounts of plutonium -- enough to fuel several nuclear weapons. For instance Japan cannot account for 200 kilograms of plutonium -- even though the IAEA estimates that only eight kilograms are enough to make a bomb. ... Currently, there are about 250 metric tons of stored plutonium at reprocessing plants around the world -- enough to fuel 30,000 nuclear weapons." Alvarez added: "Because it is dependant on voluntary contributions, funding for the IAEA is not secure. Its annual budget is $100 million -- comparable to the payroll of a U.S. professional football team. A major expansion of nuclear power of 1,000 additional reactors (beyond the 438 plants now operating worldwide) proposed to address global warming, would require the establishing of a near-real-time monitoring system and would require a major financial commitment by nuclear exporting and importing countries, far beyond what has been provided to the IAEA." JOHN HOLUM, jdholum@aol.com, http://www.gsinstitute.org/ JONATHAN GRANOFF, JGG786@aol.com Holum served as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Granoff is the president of the Global Security Institute and also senior advisor of the American Bar Association's Committee on Arms Control and National Security as well as vice president of the NGO Committee on Disarmament at the U.N. Holum said today: "Last month, Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei told the IAEA's board of directors that at current budget levels the agency cannot adequately carry out its mandate to ensure nuclear safety, prevent nuclear proliferation, and facilitate peaceful nuclear programs. ... We rely on the IAEA to safeguard that material in facilities all over the world. Yet the IAEA has never spent in excess of 120 million U.S. dollars in any year to administer its worldwide nuclear materials inspection regime. At less than what the U.S. spends per day in Iraq, the safety of the world is dramatically compromised." For more information, contact the Institute for Public Accuracy at (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan at (541) 484-9167. _________________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: public@lists.accuracy.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: public-unsubscribe@lists.accuracy.org For all list information and functions, including changing your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page: http://lists.accuracy.org/lists/info/public ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile Thursday July 26, 2007 8:46 AM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan said it successfully test-fired a cruise missile Thursday capable of delivering nuclear warheads deep into India. ``The test will consolidate Pakistan's strategic capability and strengthen national security,'' a military statement said, without providing details. The military says it has extended the range of the missile, first tested in 2005, to 435 miles - enough to reach New Delhi, the capital of archrival India. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz congratulated the scientists and engineers involved in the project, the statement said. It didn't identify the site of the test, the second of the Babur model this year. In February, Pakistan test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile, Hatf VI or Shaheen II, which has a range of 1,245 miles. Pakistan routinely tests various nuclear-capable missiles in its arsenal, believed to be designed mainly to match that of neighboring archrival India. The two countries have a history of hostile relations. Both carried out underground nuclear tests in May 1998. However, in 2004 they began a series of negotiations to normalize relations and settle their dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, the main cause of bitterness between them. Pakistan and India have fought two wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Kashmir is split between the two countries, but each claims the whole of it. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 7 AU ABC: Pakistan asks Aust to extend uranium deal - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted July 27, 2007 07:05:00 A Pakistani official says if Australia is considering selling uranium to India, then Pakistan should be offered the same deal. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer recently said despite India not having signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, uranium could be sold to power stations open to the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Pakistan Minister for Religious Affairs Ejaz ul-Haq says it is a diplomatic issue. "Pakistan should be considered alongside India when countries who are working in this region, they have to keep the balance of power in this region," he said. "Pakistan's nuclear program is totally peaceful. If we are going to go further into nuclear it is going to be for energy, because we are suffering from power shortages." Tags: nuclear-issues, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, australia, pakistan © 2007 ABC Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 8 Reuters: Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable missile Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:07AM EDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan successfully tested on Thursday a cruise missile capable of carrying a variety of warheads, including nuclear, the military said. The Babur Hatf VII missile has a range of 700 km (435 miles). It was last tested in March. "It was a successful test," a military official said on condition of anonymity. The test was meant to validate the design parameters set for the missile, a separate military statement said. President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz greeted scientists on the test firing and "assured complete support in the development plans of all strategic projects," the statement said. The Babur Hatf VII is a terrain-hugging, radar avoiding cruise missile. The missile was first tested in 2005. Since, then its range has been enhanced to 700 km, from 500 km previously. Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India routinely carry out missile tests despite a peace process they launched in early 2004, and both have agreed to inform each other of such tests in advance. The two South Asian neighbors carried out tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998. © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 The Hindu: India must use thorium-based nuclear reactors: Kalam Friday, July 27, 2007 : 0310 Hrs Chennai, July 27 (PTI): India has to take up nuclear power generation in a big way with thorium-based reactors to meet its growing energy needs, former president, A P J Abdul Kalam, said Thursday. Thorium, a non-fissile material, is available in abundance in India. Intensive research is needed to convert thorium to maximise its use and to generate electricity with thorium-based reactors, he said while addressing professors at the Anna University here, where he has taken up a teaching assignment. Referring to regions in India that periodically face earthquakes, he said it was essential to work on mission mode research to forecast temblors. Multiple parameters should be used with "precursors like pre-shock conditions and electromagnetic phenomena prior to the final rupture and atmospheric and ionosphere anomalies," he said. "Earthquakes can be forecast...if somebody tells you it cannot be done, tell them it can be (done)," he said. "Between now and 2050, two important events will take place in our country. India would have become a developed nation by 2020 through an integrated development plan in five key areas where we have core competence," Kalam said. "We would have also realised energy independence by 2030. During this period, the number of youths, accounting for 54 per cent of the total population, will continuously grow till 2050, which will be unique to India." This will provide an opportunity to develop a "Global Human Resource Cadre" that will be an essential resource for India and many other countries, he said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 10 Guardian Unlimited: Japan Nuke Reactor Restart Date Unclear Thursday July 26, 2007 12:01 PM By CHISAKI WATANABE Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - The company that runs the nuclear power plant severely damaged by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in northwestern Japan said Thursday it is still estimating damages 10 days after the temblor and does not know when it can reopen. The country's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency also said that it would take ``a substantial amount of time'' to fully assess the extent of damage to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant in northwest Japan, the largest in the world in terms of capacity. TEPCO is still assessing the damage from the July 16 quake and does not yet know how much the shutdown will cost, according to company spokesman Jun Oshima. The company also has not yet decided when the plant, which has been shuttered since the deadly quake, will resume operations, Oshima said, adding that it is considering restarting its oil and gas plants. The Japanese daily Mainichi reported Thursday that a delay in resuming operations at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant in Niigata state could result in $1.66 billion in losses for the fiscal year ending March 2008. News reports Wednesday cited the head of a government-appointed panel investigating quake damage at the plant as saying it could take at least a year before the plant is cleared to reopen. ``We experienced shaking like we had never experienced before, and we first need time to figure out a comprehensive inspection plan,'' senior agency official Shin Morita told the country's nuclear safety panel Thursday. The July 16 earthquake struck off the coast of Niigata, about 12 miles from the epicenter. It killed 11 people and injured more than 1,000. TEPCO has came under fire for being too slow in notifying the public about quake damage at the plant, including radioactive water sloshing out of a tank and into the sea, and radioactive material venting into the air. Work to repair the plant likely will not begin before the arrival of officials from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, who are expected to inspect the plant in the next few weeks. In order to make up for a power shortage due to the shutdown, six other power companies have agreed to provide emergency electricity on TEPCO's request. Also Thursday, Greenpeace said its own inspections confirmed the level of radiation near the reactors did not surpass the normal level. The environmental group, in its newsletter published Thursday, urged the government to thoroughly investigate the plant as ``the possibility of further nuclear leak from the plant cannot be denied.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 11 Daily Yomiuri: N-plant won't open until fall '08 Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, damaged in the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, is unlikely to resume operation until autumn next year at the earliest, according to a professor who will become chairman of a new government panel. Haruki Madarame, professor at Tokyo University, specializing in nuclear power, said the resumed operations could be further delayed depending on the circumstances. It is certain electric power will be in short supply not only this summer, but also next summer. ) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun © The Yomiuri Shimbun. ***************************************************************** 12 PTI: Indian nuclear industry is `happy' with the Indo-US deal Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) Welcoming the draft agreement to implement the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, India's nuclear industry today said it was looking forward to collaborating with American and other suppliers of nuclear technology and know-how. "We are pleased with the development and this is a good and a challenging opportunity not only for implementing the indigenous programme with full zeal, but also for building a larger (nuclear power generation) capacity of up to 30,000 MW by 2025," said S K Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). "The entire organisation is waiting for this opportunity. As envisaged in the 11th Five-Year Plan we will be able to launch 10 nuclear reactors of 1,000 MW each," Jain told PTI. "To increase the total capacity substantially, fast breeder reactors (FBRs) would help. But since they are still in the demonstration stage, it will take a few more years for FBRs to reach maturity and the Indo-US deal will give a chance to enhance the power base through nuclear energy," he said. NPCIL is set to launch eight indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors of 700 MW each during the 11th Five Year Plan. Approval has been granted for four reactors and "we have started preparatory work on them at Kakrapar in Gujarat and Rawatbatta in Rajasthan", Jain said. Yesterday, the Union cabinet approved the draft Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement reached in Washington last week, noting that "all concerns" expressed by India had been adequately addressed in it. PTI © Copyright PTI 2007 ***************************************************************** 13 Platts: Idaho nuclear plant developer to use UniStar reactor design 2007-07-25 Washington (Platts)--25Jul2007 Alternate Energy Holdings, which wants to build a combined nuclear and biofuel power plant in Idaho, said Wednesday had signed up to use Constellation-Areva joint-venture Unistar Nuclear's US Evolutionary Power Reactor design for its proposed reactor. "We are proud to be working with AEHI as a partner in the licensing, construction, and operation of potentially the first green field US EPR advanced nuclear power plant in North America," said UniStar Nuclear co-CEO Michael Wallace. "AEHI is a leading edge company in the advancement of the renaissance of the US nuclear industry and will be a tremendous asset to the UniStar Nuclear team as we move forward," he added. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Electric Power Daily at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=2_31&products_id=47 Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: License Renewal Application for Vogtle Nuclear Plant Available for Public Inspection News Release - 2007-090 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR VOGTLE NUCLEAR PLANT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating licenses for the Vogtle nuclear power plant, Units 1 and 2, is available for public review. Vogtle Units 1 and 2 are pressurized water reactors located about 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga. The current operating licenses expire Jan. 16, 2027, for Unit 1 and Feb. 9, 2029, for Unit 2. Vogtle’s operator, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., submitted the license renewal application June 29. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.h tml. The application is also available at the Burke County Library, 130 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, Ga. 30830. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial reviews of the application to determine whether it contains sufficient information required for the formal safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally “docket,” or file it and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request. Additional information about the NRC’s review of reactor license renewal applications is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html Wednesday, July 25, 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 Platts: Brunsbuettel to be offline for maintenance 2007-07-25 Paris (Platts)--25Jul2007 Vattenfall's Brunsbuettel BWR will be offline for at least 14 days to carry out maintenance during a current forced outage that began July 19 after discovery of some defective support anchors inside the reactor building. According to a statement from Vattenfall July 25, during the coming 14 days a defective fuel assembly will be replaced. Vattenfall said that it has detected early stages of cladding degradation in the fuel assembly. Vattenfall's other German BWR, Kruemmel, remains offline and subject to a regulatory investigation related to an electrical transient and transformer fire that occurred June 28. Brunsbuettel likewise had an electrical transient that day but was restarted shortly thereafter. Vattenfall's Brunsbuettel BWR will be offline for at least 14 days to carry out maintenance during a current forced outage that began July 19 after discovery of some defective support anchors inside the reactor building. According to a statement from Vattenfall July 25, during the coming 14 days a defective fuel assembly will be replaced. Vattenfall said that it has detected early stages of cladding degradation in the fuel assembly. Vattenfall's other German BWR, Kruemmel, remains offline and subject to a regulatory investigation related to an electrical transient and transformer fire that occurred June 28. Brunsbuettel likewise had an electrical transient that day but was restarted shortly thereafter. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 16 NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Application to Renew Operating License for Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant News Release - 2007-091 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the opportunity to request a hearing on an application to renew the operating licenses for the Indian Point nuclear power plant, Units 2 and 3, for an additional 20 years. The Indian Point plant has two pressurized water reactors located in the town of Buchanan, N.Y., about 24 miles north of New York City. The plant owner, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., submitted the renewal application April 30. The current operating licenses for Indian Point expire on Sept. 28, 2013, for Unit 2 and Dec. 12, 2015, for Unit 3. Indian Point Unit 1 was shut down in 1974. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally “docket,” or file, the application and begin its technical review. Docketing the application does not preclude requesting additional information as the review proceeds; nor does it indicate whether the Commission will renew the licenses. During the docketing review, NRC staff informed Entergy that the current licensing basis for Unit 2 was not fully represented and that the application did not include information on the gas turbines currently credited as an alternative power supply in case of “station blackout,” or loss of all alternating current (AC) power. Entergy subsequently committed to installing a diesel generator for Unit 2 and having it operational by April 30, 2008. The NRC also received letters from the New York State Attorney General, Riverkeeper, and Friends United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE), asserting that Entergy’s license renewal application was incomplete or inaccurate. Although the NRC has determined that the application contains sufficient information to docket the application, the staff will consider these comments as appropriate during the technical review process. The Indian Point application for license renewal is posted at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/i ndian-point.html. An NRC review schedule for Indian Point will also be posted soon. Because of the pending installation of the diesel generator for Unit 2, the NRC staff anticipates the review will take 27 months if no hearing is granted, and 35 months with a hearing. Meeting this schedule will depend on Entergy’s prompt submission of all requested and necessary information. License renewal reviews typically take 22 months with no hearing, or 30 months with a hearing. A notice of opportunity to request a hearing will be published soon in the Federal Register. The deadline for requesting a hearing is 60 days after publication of the notice. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the license renewal and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. Background information regarding the hearing process was disseminated by NRC staff to members of the public during a public information session conducted near Indian Point on June 27. A request for hearing and a petition for leave to intervene must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Requests may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 415-1101 or e-mail to HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov. A copy should also be submitted to the NRC Office of General Counsel, by facsimile to (301) 415-3725 or e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. Information about the license renewal process can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html Thursday, July 26, 2007 ***************************************************************** 17 Salt Lake Tribune: A better reactor Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 07/25/2007 07:09:57 PM MDT No energy source, including nuclear energy, is a panacea. However, a new technology, the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR), was demonstrated between 1984 and 1994 by Argonne National Laboratory. Several improvements were made. Cooling was shut off at full power with no damage. Plus, the reactor uses today's spent fuel as fuel and gets 100 times as much energy out of it than current reactors do. Current spent fuel and stored depleted uranium could power the United States for about 4,000 years, no mining needed. IFR waste becomes less radioactive than uranium ore in 500 years instead of 100,000. Fuel is reprocessed in a shielded facility at the reactor site. Fuel is much too radioactive to handle directly or to use in a weapon. Coolant is liquid metal at atmospheric pressure. This greatly reduces potential for coolant leaks. The prototype used liquid sodium successfully for 30 years, but lead could be used to eliminate sodium/water reaction potential. A commercial version was designed using small, factory-built modules to control costs. The reactor modules and recycling facility would be underground, limiting exposure to hazards. The Japanese and French provided some program funds and retain rights to the technology. Perhaps someday they will build some. Bill Mosby Salt Lake City ***************************************************************** 18 U.S. PIRG: Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the United States Executive Summary In 2006, Americans experienced a summer heat wave that broke records from coast to coast and killed almost 200 people. The year ended and 2007 began with the warmest winter on record globally. This unseasonably warm weather is part of a long-term trend toward rising temperatures and extreme weather events resulting from global warming. Global average surface temperatures have increased by more than 1.4°F since the second half of the 19th century. Earlier this year, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the rise in temperatures. To examine recent temperature patterns in the United States, we compared temperature data for the years 2000-2006 from 255 weather stations located in all 50 states and Washington, DC with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000. Overall, we found that temperatures were above the 30-year average across the country, indicating pervasive warming. Summer 2006: Record-Breaking Heat A long-lasting summer heat wave hit most of the country in 2006, making it the second warmest summer on record for the contiguous United States. Heat waves have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death. Our analysis of climate data for June-August 2006 showed: During the summer of 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 82 percent of the locations studied. In Rapid City, South Dakota and Helena, Montana, average summertime temperatures were 5°F above normal. The average maximum temperature — the peak temperature on any given day — was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at two-thirds (67 percent) of the locations studied. The Great Plains and Mountain West suffered some of the most above-normal summer temperatures in 2006. The summer heat wave produced a high number of dangerously hot days at or above 90°F across the country. Almost three-fourths (71 percent) of the locations examined recorded more frequent (compared with the historical average) days with peak temperatures of at least 90°F. Tupelo, Mississippi experienced 40 more 90°F or warmer days than normal in 2006. The 2006 summer heat wave was marked by above-average minimum temperatures — the lowest temperatures recorded on a given day, usually at night. The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 81 percent of the locations studied and 9.7°F above normal in Reno, Nevada, the highest in the country. Warmer nighttime temperatures exacerbate the public health effects of heat waves, since people need cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from excessive heat exposure during the day. In April 2007, the IPCC warned that North American cities that currently experience heat waves are expected to face “an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves,” threatening public health, particularly that of elderly Americans and infants. 2006: Second Warmest Year on Record With a scorching summer and mild start to winter, the 2006 average temperature for the contiguous United States was the second warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Every state in the Lower 48 experienced above normal temperatures in 2006. Our analysis of 2006 climate data showed: In 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 87 percent of the locations examined. The Upper Midwest and Mountain West in particular experienced warmer-than-normal average temperatures in 2006. The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 81 percent of the stations examined. Warmer-than-average days hit Texas and the Great Plains the hardest in 2006, with average peak temperatures soaring more than 5°F above normal in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 80 percent of the stations examined. Minimum temperatures were particularly mild in the Upper Midwest, where temperatures soared almost 5°F above the 30-year average in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester, Minnesota. 2000-2006: Temperatures Rising The above-average temperatures of 2006 are part of a broader warming trend since 2000. Our analysis of climate data for 2000-2006 showed: Between 2000 and 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 87 percent of the locations studied. Average temperatures in Alaska were the most anomalous, with Talkeetna near Denali National Park averaging more than 4°F above the 30-year average. The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at more than two-thirds (68 percent) of the locations studied. Average maximum temperatures in Pueblo and Alamosa, Colorado were 2.6°F above normal. Overall, temperatures are not dropping at night as much now as they did in the past. Between 2000 and 2006, the average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 80 percent of the locations studied. Albuquerque, New Mexico and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan reported average minimum temperatures of more than 3°F above normal. Even though the IPCC identified significant risks with continued global warming, the panel also concluded that “many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed” by quickly and significantly reducing global warming pollution. To protect future generations, the United States should: Cap global warming emissions. The United States should establish mandatory, science-based limits on carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants that reduce total emissions from today’s levels by the end of the decade, by at least 15-20 percent by 2020, and by at least 80 percent by 2050. Adopt complementary clean energy policies to reduce global warming emissions. To achieve these reductions, the United States should adopt strong policies and financial incentives to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of clean, renewable energy. STATE PIRG WEB SITES U.S. PIRG – The Federation of State PIRGs: 44 Winter Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02108 Federal Advocacy Office: 218 D Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 ***************************************************************** 19 AFP: Areva close to huge nuclear deal with China: sources - Thu Jul 26, 2:16 PM ET PARIS (AFP) - French nuclear group Areva, seven months after losing out to Westinghouse in a bidding battle in China, was set to bounce back Thursday on reports it was close to a huge contract to build two reactors there. France and China on Tuesday are to conclude a deal in Beijing on the construction in China by Areva of two third generation EPR nuclear reactors, sources close to the matter said here. It would be the biggest contract in Areva's history. The sources said French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde would travel to the Chinese capital for the signing of a "letter of intent" covering a project that could be worth close to six billion euros (8.2 billion dollars). The cost of one EPR -- European Pressurised Water Reactor -- is three billion euros. Trying to balance a flourishing economy with the need to preserve its environment, China is seeking alternatives to fossil fuels, including nuclear power. China, the world's second largest energy consumer, over the coming years plans to build as many as three new nuclear power plants annually, bringing total installed capacity up to 40 gigawatts by 2020, according to the nation's long-term development plan for atomic energy. China's State Nuclear Power Company on Tuesday signed a multi-billion-dollar deal with the US-based engineering giant Westinghouse for the provision of four AP 1,000 third-generation nuclear reactors. Construction is expected to begin in 2009, with the first plant operational in 2013. Areva had been an unsuccessful bidder for that contract, a setback that came as the company was also facing delays in the construction of a third generation EPR in Finland. "Areva ... is going through a difficult period," then finance minister Thierry Breton said in December. But Areva, according to sources here, is now on the point of striking a deal with its Chinese partner, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC), which operates reactors at Daya Bay and Ling Ao in southern China. Areva and the CGNPC were reported in February to have been in "advanced discussions" on the EPR project. Sources at the time said the sticking point was how the reactors would be delivered, with Areva holding out for a turnkey project while the Chinese side wanted Areva simply to supply the product. Under the deal that is now said to be close to fruition, Areva will not turn over the finished project to the CGNPC once it is up and running, as would be done under a turnkey operation. Instead the French group will supply the reactor, its uranium fuel and associated services. In Finland, Areva is serving as the main builder and supplier of an EPR, scheduled to enter service in 2010-2011, and should begin work on a second reactor in France toward the end of the year in Flamanville in the northwest. The company is also a candidate to build EPRs in the United States and in Britain, countries that have placed a renewed focus on nuclear energy. Areva shares showed a loss of 1.31 percent at the end of trading here Thursday at 795 euros however. The overall Paris market closed with a loss of 2.78 percent. Announcing results after the close of trading Areva said its sales over the first half rose 6.7 percent to 5.4 billion euros (7.4 billion dollars). It added that its order book was now worth 33.5 billion euros, its highest level since 2001. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 20 Beyond Nuclear: Japan Quake Rocks Nuclear Industry Concerns rise in U.S. over reactor vulnerability. read more > The Definitive Resource Beyond Nuclear provides all the details on: Radiation and Health Find a spokesperson See our list of Experts Participate in lively dialogue and debate Visit our Beyond Nuclear Blog Be cool! Follow our guides to eliminate the need for nuclear energy and save the planet. Join our Be Cool! Campaign PEOPLE’S PETITION Please take a moment to sign our People’s Petition to Know and Protect to ensure that all reactor communities are informed of the risks to health and safety from routine reactor operation. DR. HELEN CALDICOTT Visit NPRI founding president, Dr. Helen Caldicott’s Web site and learn more about her current work. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. Take Action! People’s Petition to Know and Protect Every U.S. nuclear reactor releases radioactivity into the air and water during routine operation. But virtually every U.S. reactor has been leaking radioactivity into the surface and ground water and even beyond the reactor boundaries. In some cases, the reactor owners never told the public about the leaks. When the leaks were made public, the utilities downplayed their potential for harm. Yet scientists agree there is no “safe” level for exposure to radiation and chronic exposure can even increase health risks, especially to children (including in-utero) and to pregnant women. Our petition demands that utilities identify all off-site pathways of radioactive water from reactors; that the public be immediately informed about all radioactive leaks from nuclear reactors; and that more protective and precautionary radiation standards be developed, implemented and enforced. Sign our petition today! We will submit it to the U.S. Congress. And please download and copy our blank petition page to use in your communities and with your city and state officials. ***************************************************************** 21 Financial Times: Nuclear scares test Merkel coalition - MSNBC.com By By Hugh Williamson in Berlin Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, should intervene in a growing dispute over nuclear power that has split her conservative party and raised tensions in her ruling coalition, the Social Democrats said on Thursday. Hubertus Heil, the secretary-general of the SPD, junior coalition partner in Ms Merkel's government, said her Christian Democratic Union should "clarify its position" following recent sec­urity scares at two nuc­lear plants in northern Germany. Two party leaders this week said the CDU, a strong advocate of nuclear energy, should now support Germany's planned withdrawal from nuclear power. The division among conservatives over nuclear energy is likely to reignite debate in Ms Merkel's coalition on the issue, one of the alliance's most sensitive topics. The CDU and the SPD agreed in 2005 to uphold a deal struck in 2000 by the SPD-led government of Gerhard Schröder to shut the country's 17 nuclear plants by 2021, even though the CDU as a party retains its pro-nuclear stance. Ms Merkel is still in favour of nuclear energy but has yet to intervene in the dispute. In a sign of growing conservative tensions Erwin Huber, Bavaria's economics minister, on Wednesday argued that the CDU "could not change position just because regional elections are approaching". Mr Huber, favourite to be elected in September as leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union, the CDU's sister party, saidthe CDU should reverse its decision to uphold the nuclear withdrawal plan if it wins the next general election. Regional elections are due early next year in Hesse, Hamburg and Lower Saxony – states the CDU controls but where resistance to nuclear power is strong. A poll this week predicted the CDU might face defeat in Hesse. The CDU appears anxious to stem the public backlash against nuclear power triggered by the security lapses and to prevent the SPD from reaping political capital from the issue, analysts said. The SPD hopes to use the regional elections to make inroads into the CDU's strong lead in national opinion polls, based on Ms Merkel's personal popularity. In a fresh setback this week, experts at the Bruns­bĂĽttel power station near Kiel said it was being shut down after problems with the plant's cooling system. The plant suffered a short-circuit on June 28, the same day as a fire at KrĂĽmmel nuclear plant near Hamburg. Peter Harry Carstensen, the CDU premier of Schleswig-Holstein, where the two plants are located, also distanced himself from nuclear power this week, confirming that the plant in BrunsbĂĽttel would be shut down in 2009. He had previously advocated extending its life. Sigmar Gabriel, the SPD-aligned environment minister, has called on the nuclear industry to transfer capacity from older, potentially less safe, nuclear plants to newer ones. Industry officials argue for longer, not shorter, service periods. Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 Baltic Times: Nuclear quotas not a problem Jul 26, 2007 From wire reports VILNIUS - The Baltic states and Poland should not face major difficulties establishing electricity quotas from the proposed new Ignalia nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas believes, though he admitted that the detail still needs to be ironed out. Speaking to the Ziniu Radijas radio network, Kirkilas said: “There are no disagreements as to the distribution of shares, there are disputes on the quantities of electricity. Poland has always demanded about 1,000 megawatts. Lithuania also needs slightly more than 1,000 megawatts… Meanwhile, the Latvians and the Estonians are satisfied with approximately 500 megawatts each. Overall capacity of two future reactors would exceed 3,000 megawatts, and I think that the energy companies of our countries are able to agree on the volumes of electricity," Kirkilas said in an interview to the news radio station Ziniu Radijas. Last weekend Poland said it would need about one-third, or 1,000-1,200 megawatts of new N-plant's capacity, otherwise it would withdraw from the project. It has been estimated that Lithuania would need some 1,250 megawatts in generation capacity after the shutdown of the Soviet-era Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP). However, its share would be about 1,050 megawatts as the country would probably hold a 34 percent stake in the new plant. To meet domestic demand in the interim, Lithuania would use a new gas turbine at the Elektrenai power plant. The first unit of new N-plant, which would likely have a capacity of some 3,200 megawatts, in due to come online in 2015. ***************************************************************** 23 MHNN: NRC accepts IP license renewal applications July 26, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide Washington – The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wednesday formally accepted Entergy’s applications to apply for 20 year license renewal for its Indian Point nuclear power plant Unit 2 and Unit 3. Entergy submitted the renewal application on April 30. The license for Indian Point Unit 2 expires on Sept. 28, 2013, and on Dec. 12, 2015, for Unit 3. Indian Point Unit 1 was shut down in 1974. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally “docket,” or file, the application and begin its technical review. Indian Point spokesman James Steets said the application process will now begin in earnest. “This officially kicks off the licensing period where we are going to be able to demonstrate that these plants are needed, that they are safe, that they can operate safely for another 20 years, that these plants are truly right for New York,” he said. “I know that is going to arouse some interest and some debate, but we look forward to that debate because we are very confident that we can make a strong case that these plants need to continue operating.” The NRC also received letters from the New York State Attorney General, Riverkeeper, and Friends United for Sustainable Energy, asserting that Entergy’s license renewal application was incomplete or inaccurate. Although the NRC has determined that the application contains sufficient information to docket the application, the staff will consider these comments as appropriate during the technical review process. The Indian Point application for license renewal is posted at www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/indian-p oint.html. An NRC review schedule for Indian Point will also be posted soon. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 24 Hemscott: Fortum gets government nod to extend life of Loviisa nuclear reactors HELSINKI (Thomson Financial) - Fortum said the Finnish government has granted the utility licences to extend the operating life of its two nuclear reactors in Loviisa. The licences will permit Fortum to operate the Loviisa unit 1 until 2027 and unit 2 until 2030. The current licences for the two reactors were due to expire at the end of this year. james.etheridge@thomson.com je/lce Hemscott PLC - Serious Investment Research Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. Hemscott is the UK registered trademark of Hemscott Group Limited. Prices displayed on Hemscott.com are delayed by at least 15 minutes unless otherwise stated. ***************************************************************** 25 Hemscott: Vattenfall appoints Cramer as new permanent head of unit Vattenfall STOCKHOLM (Thomson Financial) - Vattenfall is appointing Hans-Juergen Cramer as the new permanent head of its German unit Vattenfall Europe AG, chief executive Lars Josefsson said at a conference call. Cramer served as interim head of Vattenfall Europe since Klaus Rauscher resigned earlier this month after the company came under criticism from German politicians and industrial heads following incidents at two of its nuclear power plants. judith.csaba@thomson.com dpa/jcs/cmr COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. Hemscott PLC - Serious Investment Research Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. Hemscott is the UK registered trademark of Hemscott Group Limited. Prices displayed on Hemscott.com are delayed by at least 15 minutes unless otherwise stated. ***************************************************************** 26 IHT: In Indonesia, Japan quake casts a shadow over plans for nuclear plants - International Herald Tribune Greenpeace members in Jakarta protesting nuclear power. Environmentalists say building atomic reactors in corrupt, quake-prone Asian countries courts disaster. (Dadang Tri/Reuters) By Donald Greenlees Published: July 26, 2007 BALONG, Indonesia: Environmental groups campaigning against Indonesia's plan to build some of Southeast Asia's first nuclear power reactors near this poor rice farming village in East Java were given a stark demonstration of their worst fears on July 16 when an earthquake in Japan severely damaged one of the world's largest nuclear power facilities, causing a minor radiation leak. They had been warning for years against government plans to introduce nuclear power to Indonesia's energy mix because of the risk that an earthquake could rupture a reactor and let nuclear contaminants spill into the surrounding environment. Officials from the national nuclear energy agency argue that the site where the government wants to build four to six nuclear power plants, on the Muria Peninsula in East Java Province, about 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, east of Jakarta, is one of the most geologically stable parts of an island with a record of violent earthquakes. But in recent years scientists have discovered a small geological fault below the proposed site, say environmental activists and government officials. Safety and environmental concerns over nuclear power in a country prone to earthquakes, riddled with corruption and known for poor regulatory oversight of public utilities might have some merit. In May last year, an earthquake measuring 5.9 devastated parts of neighboring Central Java, killing more than 5,000 people. But none of this is likely to deter the Indonesian government from its nuclear energy plans, first proposed by the government when Suharto was president in the early 1990s. Following the earthquake in Japan, government officials reaffirmed they intended to stick to a timetable that would bring the first nuclear power plant online in 2016. "It has some impact on us," said Ferhat Aziz, a spokesman for the nuclear energy agency. "Any accident anywhere in the world will have some impact, especially in terms of communicating to the public." But he added: "We are still going ahead with this plan." Indonesia, like all its neighbors in Southeast Asia, is facing intense pressure to diversify its energy sources. It wants to shift away from heavily polluting, increasingly expensive and depleting supplies of fossil fuels to more sustainable alternatives. Nuclear power is emerging as a key part of the future energy mix, not just for Indonesia, but for many of its neighbors in Southeast Asia - a region that until now has eschewed atomic energy. Despite fears of accidents and the opposition of environmental groups, several Southeast Asian governments have either firm plans to develop nuclear power stations in the coming decade or have begun studies into its potential, in hopes of emulating Northeast Asia's long-established use of nuclear energy. In a long-term energy plan released last year, government officials in Jakarta estimate that by 2025 about 4 to 5 percent of Indonesia's electricity supply will come from the string of power stations in East Java. Vietnam has announced that it expects 4.7 percent of its electricity needs to be met by nuclear power by the same date, once it finishes the construction of about four power reactors. The first is due to be completed in 2015. In Thailand, a national power development plan approved in April envisions nuclear power plants contributing 4 gigawatts to the electricity grid by 2021. Others could follow suit. In Malaysia, government officials said in February that a move to nuclear energy could not be ruled out if fuel prices continued to rise, although Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said last week the country had no nuclear development plans. A comprehensive study of future energy needs, including consideration of nuclear, is to be completed in 2010. The Philippines built a 620-megawatt nuclear power plant at Bataan in the 1980s. But it was never used, mothballed by the administration of President Corazón Aquino in 1986 because of safety fears. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now putting the nuclear option back on the table. She has said the country should develop skills in nuclear technology as a first step to a possible decision on nuclear power in a decade. This emerging appetite for nuclear energy is consistent with a trend that has made the countries of developing Asia among the biggest consumers of civilian nuclear technology. Of the 29 nuclear power plants under construction worldwide, 16 are in East and South Asia, most of them in China and India, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Analysts say several factors, including the higher price of oil, gas and coal and growing concerns over climate change, have driven more governments in the developing world to consider nuclear power as an option. "Fuel prices, energy security concerns, environmental concerns - not just climate change, but pollution as well - if you add that up it's really put the nuclear option back into the planning equation," said Hans Holger Rogner, who heads the economic studies section of the IAEA. But for many of the region's governments, nuclear power remains a hard sell to skeptical publics, despite the industry's reasonably good track record for safety. The site the Indonesian government has chosen to build its planned reactors is near a volcano dormant for 3,000 years on the Muria Peninsula on Java's northeast coast. Environmental activists have been campaigning in local communities drawing attention to the recently discovered geological fracture and highlighting the earthquake risk. Australia drops charges against Indian doctor in U.K. bomb plot In Indonesia, Japan quake casts a shadow over plans for nuclear plants In Balong, the nearest settlement to the site for the reactors, they have shown villagers a disquieting video documentary about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. "I am afraid the power plant will explode, and even if it doesn't explode, radiation could still leak," said Sutrisno, a 59-year-old schoolmaster whose wooden home is one and a half kilometers, or one mile, from the planned power plant. Although other countries planning nuclear power plants do not face Indonesia's concerns over earthquakes, safety is the big political issue, and not just among environmentalists and local people. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore said at a meeting of East Asian leaders in January that safety was a worry for the entire region, and not simply for the individual countries embarking on civilian nuclear energy programs. "We have to understand what the risks are" and "make sure that there are very clear, stringent rules," Lee said, urging Asian leaders to establish a regional safeguards regime. Indonesia, like many countries of the region, has a longstanding nuclear research program that provides a small pool of experienced talent to draw on for its nuclear power plans. There are about 54 research reactors operating in the region, three of them in Indonesia, including a 30-megawatt reactor at Serpong in West Java. The first Indonesian reactor started operating in 1965. Hudi Hastowo, the head of the Indonesian nuclear energy agency, said that translates into a verifiable track record of safe management of nuclear facilities under challenging operating conditions. "Safety in a research reactor is not much different from a power reactor," he said. "In a research reactor we push the power up and down and the risks are greater than running a power reactor, where the power levels are steady." Nuclear power companies and industry analysts say safeguards in modern reactors mean that disasters like Chernobyl or the core meltdown at the Three Mile Island reactor in the United States in 1979 could not happen again. In earthquake-prone areas, reinforced foundations and building structures are supposed to mitigate the impact of shocks. "If you are in an earthquake zone you have to build to a different standard than if you are not in an earthquake zone," said Rogner, the IAEA official. "Japan is an example where nuclear capital costs are higher than elsewhere in the world." But the concerns of environmental groups have only been deepened by the damage caused to Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, the biggest in the world by electricity output, in the July 16 earthquake and signs that Japanese experts seriously misjudged the geological stability of the site. "What happened in Japan is a warning," said Dian Abraham, coordinator of Manusia, an anti-nuclear lobby in Jakarta. "It could happen here. The government should stop their plans now." Indonesian officials say the evaluation of earthquake risk could force more stringent construction standards, and therefore increase costs, but not result in a change of site. "Greenpeace and other NGOs, international and local, have been singing out loud about this, bring up the Three Mile Island trauma and Chernobyl," said Kusmayanto Kadiman, the Minister for Research and Technology. "Those factors contributed to Indonesia's decision to have only four to six power plants by 2025. But if I answer the question, 'Will Indonesia definitely go?' Yes. This is a national policy." A powerful earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia on Thursday, sending residents fleeing from swaying homes and hospitals, the authorities and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, The Associated Press reported from Manado, Indonesia. The quake, which had a magnitude of 6.9, triggered a tsunami warning but the alert was quickly lifted after it became clear that no destructive waves had been generated, the country's geophysics agency said. The earthquake struck under the Maluku Sea at a depth of 36 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. The quake's epicenter was more than 200 kilometers north of Ternate Island. Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 27 Vancouver Sun: Nuclear is greenest fuel: scientist Wind and solar farms do more harm than good, U.S. expert argues Charles Mandel, CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007 An American scientist contends in a new paper in the International Journal of Nuclear Governance, Economy and Ecology that renewable energy is anything but green. Jesse Ausubel of New York's Rockefeller University argues that mass construction of "boutique fuels" such as wind and solar farms will harm the environment more than it will help it. He says instead that nuclear energy measured in watts per square metre of land used is greener than other forms of renewables, including for dams and biomass production. His findings have implications for Canada, where governments like P.E.I. are concentrating on green energy. "Renewables have very serious consequences for the environment," Ausubel, director of Rockefeller's program for the human environment, said on the phone Wednesday. "People wish for magic cures. What can I say? I love Harry Potter myself." In his paper titled Renewable and Nuclear Heresies, Ausubel contends that the different forms of renewable energy create a devastating environmental impact, adding sprawling amounts of infrastructure to the landscape. Ausubel says he didn't receive any funding from the nuclear industry for his research. One comparison he gives in his paper is hypothetically flooding the entire province of Ontario, contrasting the electrical power produced from a mega-dam with nuclear energy. Ausubel asks readers to imagine collecting the province's entire annual rainfall of 680,000 billion litres and storing it behind a dam 60 metres in height: "Doing so might inundate half the province and thus win the support of the majority of Canadians, who resent the [political] force of Ontario.'' The energy generated from the mega-dam would only be 80 per cent of the total power output of Canada's 25 nuclear stations, he writes, for a total of 11,000 megawatts. That's just 0.012 watts per square metre. "In my flood Ontario scenario, a square kilometre would provide the electricity for about 12 Canadians," Ausubel argues. Ausubel -- who in 1983 was the main author of Changing Climate, the first comprehensive review of the greenhouse effect -- builds similar arguments for wind and solar power and for dams and biomass production. For instance, he writes that for a line of wind turbines strung across the Rocky Mountains from Vancouver to Calgary, about 1,200 km, the power output would be the same as one of the four Darlington, Ont., Candu units. "I want to spare land for nature and on a scale that will matter for the well-being and prosperity of humanity,'' said Ausubel. "All the renewables are extremely invasive of nature." © The Vancouver Sun 2007 ***************************************************************** 28 AFP: France-China to sign deal for two nuclear reactors - sources Thursday July 26, 4:26 PM PARIS (AFP) - France and China will sign an agreement in Beijing next Tuesday for the construction in China of two third-generation EPR nuclear reactors by French group Areva, informed sources said on Thursday. The sources said a "letter of intention" would be signed, but that talks were underway on Thursday to determine whether it would be initialled by the industrial groups or by government representatives. An informed source said that the document would be signed by French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde to formalise an accord concluded between Areva and its Chinese partner CGNPC (China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp). Another source said the letter would be signed by the two companies, in the presence of the finance minister. Areva declined comment on the report. Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed ***************************************************************** 29 Hindustan Times: BJP says it is not fully convinced about pact- Friday, July 27, 2007 Can the Hyde Act enacted by the United States Congress become subservient to the 123 agreement between the Indian and US governments? Top BJP leaders, led by AB Vajpayee, had this query for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they met him on Thursday to discuss the just-concluded agreement as part of the civilian-nuclear deal. The PM, who met the Left leaders a day earlier, assured them the deal would not impact India's strategic programme. But the BJP leaders said their apprehensions were not dispelled completely. Vajpayee contended that under the Hyde Act provisions, India would lose its option of conducting a nuclear weapons test once the deal takes effect. The BJP leaders said the Hyde Act was clear that nuclear business would be terminated if any country under the civilian nuclear deal did a test or an experiment. The two-hour meeting saw Singh brief Vajpayee on the salient features of the 123 agreement reached in Washington last week. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, National Security Advisor MK Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodar assisted the PM. "Will the Act and its implication be set aside because of the 123 pact? This remains the big question," said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad. He said the party's position was that the deal should not compromise India's security, nuclear sovereignty and foreign policy and its investments. Former Union minister Arun Shourie asked what would happen to Indian investments in US nuclear technology if Washington terminated the deal after a test. He also referred to the PM's approval to a task force to review existing policy on disarmament, non-proliferation and other security-related issues. "They were trying to assure us that the agreement would have no impact on our weapons programme and the three-stage nuclear programme and that all our concerns about reprocessing of fuel have been taken care of," said Yashwant Sinha. "We have no reason to distrust him, but we would like to first go through the text of the draft agreement," he said. "The text of the agreement is clearly frozen. Neither India nor the US can now make any changes. But they (government) have not shared with us the text. They tried to share only the main elements of the agreement," Sinha added. ***************************************************************** 30 Hindustan Times: Congressmen fear US gave in to India- Friday, July 27, 2007 US lawmakers have warned the Bush administration of "inconsistencies" in the 123 agreement after reports that Washington has agreed to allow India to reprocess spent nuclear fuel under the bilateral civilian nuclear deal with New Delhi. The warning came after the agreement between the US and India was finalised in extended talks in Washington last week. In a letter to President George W Bush, as many as 23 Congressmen, led by Democrat Edward Merkey, expressed concern that perhaps Washington may have "capitulated" to India's demands. The Congress passed the Hyde Act less than a year ago, settling minimum conditions that must be met for nuclear cooperation with India, as well as the non-negotiable restrictions on such cooperation, Merky said. Stating that these conditions and restrictions were not optional or advisory, he warned: "If the 123 agreement has been intentionally negotiated to side-step the law and the will of Congress, final approval for this deal will be jeopardised." In the letter, the lawmakers stressed "the necessity of abiding by the legal boundaries set by Congress". They said: "The agreement is subject to the approval of Congress, and any inconsistencies between the agreement and relevant US laws will call congressional approval deeply into doubt," they said. The Bush administration has to get Congressional approval on the bilateral deal before any nuclear cooperation can commence. ***************************************************************** 31 asahi.com: N-safety manuals to be revised - 07/26/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN The government will revise its safety evaluation manuals for the construction site of nuclear power plants in response to unexpected damage caused by the July 16 earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, sources said. The manuals, which have not been updated in 29 years, detail the safety requirements of geological and soil conditions for the construction of nuclear power plants. Damage to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) resulted in the spillage of radioactive water, causing the plant to shut down. The quake had a seismic intensity stronger than anticipated under the current guidelines. The government's Nuclear Safety Commission, chaired by Atsuyuki Suzuki, decided to revise the manuals in response to growing criticism that they were outdated. When TEPCO conducted soil surveys on the nearby seabed in 1979 and 1980 before building the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, it found four fault zones. However, it concluded, wrongly as it turns out, that they were not active faults which could cause an earthquake. After last week's temblor, TEPCO acknowledged that one of the four fault zones detected in its surveys nearly 30 years ago may have caused the July 16 earthquake, triggering doubts about the reliability of its subsequent evaluation of fault zones. Experts in geological surveys said the government should update the manuals, incorporating the latest survey methods for undersea fault zones. The government manuals were introduced in 1978, before TEPCO conducted the surveys. Sources close to the Nuclear Safety Commission said the planned revisions will incorporate the latest research results and developments into the manuals. The planned review will follow the revisions to the guidelines on the quake-resistance of structures of nuclear power plants. The original quake-resistance guidelines were also implemented in 1978 but were revised in September 2006 after nearly five years of heated discussions. The quake-resistance guidelines require that nuclear power plants are able to withstand the strongest earthquakes caused by active fault zones found in geological surveys.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2007) * The Asahi Shimbun Company ***************************************************************** 32 AFP: US lawmakers threaten to block Indian nuclear deal by P. Parameswaran Thu Jul 26, 3:52 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - A bi-partisan group of lawmakers warned Wednesday that Congress could block a landmark US-India nuclear cooperation deal if it sidesteps safeguards to prevent military uses of the technology. The 23 legislators sent a letter to President George W. Bush saying the so-called "123" operating agreement, which reportedly allows India to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, could end up violating US law. "The agreement for nuclear cooperation is subject to the approval of Congress, and any inconsistencies between the agreement and the relevant US laws will call congressional approval deeply into doubt," said the letter from the 23 members of the House of Representatives. Edward Markey, co-chairman of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, sounded his own warning. "If the 123 agreement has been intentionally negotiated to side-step or bypass the law and the will of Congress, final approval for this deal will be jeopardized," Markey said. Details of the agreement have been kept under wraps since it was finalized in Washington last week by senior officials of the two countries. The nuclear deal was agreed upon by Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh two years ago to highlight strategic ties between the world's two biggest democracies. The Congress approved the deal in principle last year and a bill to that effect was signed into law by Bush, but there was a delay in finalizing the operating agreement, which has to be approved again by Congress. India has stood fast against accepting any curbs on its reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. India also wants assurances that Washington will continue to supply fuel for its atomic plants in the event New Delhi conducts further nuclear weapons tests. Indian media reports said the United States had agreed in principle to New Delhi's proposal to reprocess spent fuel in a dedicated national facility under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. But Washington is reportedly reluctant to provide such reprocessing technology to India, which has been under three decades of US sanctions for nuclear tests and is not a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Based on details of the implementing agreement that had been leaked, "three or four significant issues could be in conflict with US laws," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the US Arms Control Association, told AFP. They pertain to reprocessing and safeguards, he said. The Indian Cabinet approved Wednesday the controversial agreement. "All concerns of India have been reflected and have been adequately addressed," Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after two cabinet committees both "approved the agreement." The US State Department indicated that the Bush administration would consider the accord by the end of the week. "I think the Indian government, based on discussions we had last week, are taking some positive steps," department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, without divulging details of the agreement. But he vowed that the United States was "not going to agree to anything that is not in the United States' national interest. "In terms of 'needing agreements' we're certainly not going to do anything that we believe is harmful to either our national security or foreign policy interests," he said. Kimball said reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in India could be risky as not all Indian nuclear facilities would come under international safeguards. For the deal to be implemented, India has to separate nuclear facilities for civilian and military use and set up a regime of international inspections to allay concerns that material and technology received are not diverted to boost its nuclear weapons arsenal. The Indians also needed to sign an additional IAEA protocol and win approval from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. "I think once we have all these elements in place, we will go to the Congress with the full spectrum of what we are doing," McCormack said. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 33 Whitehaven News: UKAEA workers in strike ballot Published on 26/07/2007 By David Siddall A STRIKE threat is the latest development in the Sellafield pay rates controversy. After Copeland Labour leader Elaine Woodburn branded a 4.8% pay rise for BNG Sellafield workers as â€obscene’, the 150 workers at UKAEA Windscale are balloting for possible industrial action after they were only offered 2%. The postal ballot started July 23 and ends August 10. It affects Windscale and other U.K. Atomic Energy Authority sites—Dounreay, Winfrith, Culham and Harwell. The three nuclear unions, Prospect, GMB and Unite, have given UKAEA formal notice that a postal ballot seeking members’ views on industrial action has started. Joe Clark, chairman of the Windscale section of Prospect UKAEA said: “The ballot is for either strike action or action short of a strike. Although we are part of a â€dynamic’ industry our pay is capped by the Treasury as civil servants. “The strength of feeling is high as it follows 2006 when we had no pay rise until the eleventh month of the year.” It has been more than 25 years since there has been a strike in the nuclear industry, with the last coming in 1981 under the Thatcher government. BNFL and UKAEA are both government owned, but BNFL is a limited company of which the government is the sole shareholder while UKAEA is a non-departmental public body, subject to public sector pay restraints. Until two years ago BNFL and UKAEA operated on the same pay scales, but as the industry gears up for competition, BNG have slipped the shackles of the public sector pay scales. The other potential cause of friction at the vast complex are the hundreds of agency workers who do not enjoy the 4.8% rise or pensions and other benefits of people they work alongside. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 34 SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Energy Challenge: German Energy Policy At The Crossroads - July 26, 2007 By Sebastian Knauer and Michael Fröhlingsdorf As energy companies plan several new coal-burning power plants to replace nuclear reactors, experts warn against the environmental impact. Cleaner technologies are not yet production-ready. DPA This plant in Boxburg is the first of three new coal plants that will eventually deliver 1900 megawatts of energy, derived from 50,000 tons of coal a day. environmentalists say the costs are too high. Hamburg's mayor has two jobs. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel's climate change commissioner, Ole von Beust must make suggestions as to how the country can implement international agreements aimed at reducing the climate-killing gas carbon dioxide. But as a regional politician, the member of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) must soon rubber stamp a building permit from energy company Vattenfall AB that directly contradicts these goals. Vattenfall wants to build two coal-burning power plants with a total capacity of more than 1,600 megawatts in the Hanseatic city's port. Conveniently located for the delivery of Russian black coal by large cargo ships, the Moorburg plant would be one of the most modern power plants in Europe. Vattenfall expects the plant to connect to the electricity grid in 2012. Then, about seven million tons of carbon dioxide will pour from the smokestacks every year-about 40 percent of Hamburg's current level of carbon dioxide emissions from industry, households and power plants. "This is a capitulation of climate policy," complains Fritz Vahrenholt, Hamburg's former environment senator, who has since entered the wind power business. Beust is not the only one caught in such a predicament. German energy policy is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Chancellor Merkel does not want to scuttle the negotiated elimination of nuclear energy. But at the same time, she insisted during an energy summit in early July that Germany must reduce its CO2 output by 40 percent by 2020. Phasing out nuclear energy, however, will require the substitution of 20 gigawatts of electricity production, says Peter Poppe, a Vattenfall spokesman. An additional 20 gigawatts will be necessary, he adds, as obsolete coal-burning, natural gas or oil-burning power plants go offline. While politicians like Economic Minister Michael Glos and Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel debate how they'll fill the gap, energy companies are already taking action. Unable to rely on nuclear energy and skeptical of the potential capacity of alternative energy sources, they have chosen instead to go retro. From cities like Stade in northern Germany to Karlsruhe in the south, power companies want to both build 30 new coal-burning power plants and modernize several older plants, even though brown and black coal are the worst energy sources in terms of pollutants, accounting for about 40 percent of CO2. If the power companies succeed, this share will soon increase in Germany. A technological device that filters CO2 from emissions is still a long way from large-scale production. "A reliable energy mix cannot be guaranteed without further construction of coal-burning power plants," says Werner Brinker, CEO of energy company EWE AG in Oldenburg. Neither petroleum ("crisis-prone"), nor natural gas from Russia ("politically risky") or uranium ("limited availability") can replace coal, Brinker says. And there is plenty of coal. Known deposits global will probably last for 220 years at current consumption levels. Coal is also cheap and more evenly distributed than petroleum throughout the world. Cheap and Plentiful DER SPIEGEL As nuclear plants are phased out, something has to fill the gap. Politicians are pushing coal -- to the dismay of NIMBY activists and environmentalists. German Environment Minister Gabriel has a weak spot for coal: He sees it as a guarantee that there will be adequate fuel for economic growth after nuclear energy is phased out in 2020. Critics complain that as an ambitious member of the Social Democrat Party (SPD), Gabriel sides with the SPD supporters in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who care more about jobs in the struggling mining sector than the environment. "Gabriel is a coal politician and caught in the climate trap himself," says Jürgen Resch, the director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a German non-profit association devoted to environmental protection. Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, recently warned against constructing new power plants as long as reliable CO2 disposal remains elusive. Still, Gabriel turned away Greenpeace demonstrators who were protesting in front of the chancellery earlier this month: "We need these power plants." It is only a question of nine new plants, he added. The Federal Environment Agency (UBA), which Gabriel oversees, has come up with different data. According to a new study on coal, the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway has received at least 45 applications for the construction of new plants or the conversion of existing ones. In one analysis, the UBA concludes that if built, these plants would keep Germany from achieving its own climate protection goals. The president of the UBA, Andreas Droge, fears a "worst-case scenario for climate protection." Communities throughout Germany are already demonstrating how resistance to coal-burning power plants could form a new social movement akin to that against nuclear power. The city council of Krefeld, for example, refused to allow the Aachen-based energy group Trianel to build a proposed 750 megawatt coal-burning power plant. Some 3,000 activists recently demonstrated against the construction of a power plant in Mainz. According to the publication "Neue Energie" ("New Energy"), this is, for some, "the beginning of a new movement against coal-burning power plants." In Bremen, the proposed construction of a coal-burning plant became the most sensitive aspect of the negotiations over a governing coalition between the SPD and the Green Party. While the Social Democrats are mainly worried about investments and jobs, the ecologically-motivated Green Party wants to prevent the construction of the plant. In order to form the coalition, the parties temporarily shelved the issue. * Part 1: German Energy Policy At The Crossroads * Part 2: Jobs vs. the Environment © SPIEGEL ONLINE 2007 ***************************************************************** 35 Indybay: Depleted Uranium Blasts to Increase At Livermore Lab by Cathy Garger ( savorsuccesslady3 [at] yahoo.com ) Wednesday Jul 25th, 2007 7:36 PM A recent news clip that discusses Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's permit application to blast 8,000 lbs of contaminants including Depleted Uranium near San Francisco/San Jose area. llnl.jpg Following is a news clip out of Sacramento, CA that tells us that in the Greater San Francisco Bay/San Jose, CA area, a federal weapons laboratory has applied to explode up to 8,000 (EIGHT THOUSAND) pounds of toxic and radiological contaminants into California’s air annually. In case you’ve not yet heard? This invisible “gift” to the good folks of California (and wherever else the wind blows) includes a mighty hefty dose of "Depleted” Uranium. This component of nuclear and radiological weapons stays around in the environment for more than 4 billion years and is, in fact, the very same nasty stuff that the military uses on “the enemy” in the Middle East. This new permit that the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has filed with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is, however, nothing all that new. The only real “news” here is that the 8,000 lbs. is an eight-fold increase of what's already been going on near San Francisco for decades. One thousand pounds (1,000 lbs.) of these contaminants have routinely been exploded at Livermore’s Site 300 each year (since at least 1961) into California's air. This is no joke. The federal government explodes “Depleted” Uranium into the open air INSIDE THE UNITED STATES in order to run “tests”, they tell us, that simulate some kind of new bombs. They certainly must be getting pretty darn good at making all kinds of new bombs by now, as they’ve been “testing” this stuff for the past 45 years in a densely-populated area filled with 10 million people! No, this truly is *not* some diabolically horrid new plot for the next Stephen King movie. This is actually happening, and has happened – apparently below the national radar - for longer than many of us have been around. One wonders then, if it is pure coincidence that in 2003, the greater San Francisco/San Jose area had more reported incidences of cancer than in the entire state of Maryland? One suspects not. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/Table.aspx?Group=TableGeo&Year=2003& amp;Display=n Apparently someone at the top must have recently decided that blasting 1,000 pounds of these poisons annually is not nearly enough aerosolized nano-sized particulates to be lodged, quite literally, up to decades inside America’s lungs! With a state dedicated to improving public health and air quality almost with religious zeal, it’s mighty interesting that such an environmentally-conscious state would actually be Okay, Like, Whatevvvvver with regard to adding another 7,000 lbs. of health-destroying contaminants into the atmosphere –on top of the 1,000 lbs. they historically already blast there each year. It’s believed that most Californians do not even know about these radioactive poison gas explosions. Nor do most Americans seem to even have a clue that an illegal war weapon of indiscriminate effects is being used by its own government in the air inhaled by its very own people. http://tinyurl.com/389l89 Below is a short news clip video by Cornell Barnard on the subject of the increase in toxic and radioactive contaminants into open air near the farm lands where a great deal of the produce (think grapes, lettuce, citrus fruits, dairy products, and wine) that winds up on kitchen tables across the nation is grown. As you will see, the dutiful Livermore Laboratory Public Relations worker featured in the news clip is ever the maternal, soothing voice for the Department of Energy (the obedient agency that acts as the War Department’s handmaiden). The poison Lab spokesperson (could be anyone's Mom, Auntie, or next door neighbor) calmingly reassures Californians that there’s “no public threat” and that the feds, the people who put the (contaminated) bread and butter on her table, would never do anything to harm its citizens. Well, as much as I hate to argue with a taxpayer-funded cheerleader for our national bombs and weapons “research and development” program, I have seen the list of roughly 70 contaminants they’re exploding at Site 300 at the Livermore Laboratory in California… and they sure don’t look very innocuous to me! These public health poisons include Depleted Uranium, Lead, Chloroform, Carbon Monoxide, Ammonia, Cyanide, Benzene - and that's just for starters! When you watch the news clip, be sure to watch the Livermore PR spokesperson and her body language carefully. You know, one could even swear that her nose grows a bit longer by the time she’s finished speaking. There are 2 news clips contained within the link below – the Cornell Barnard report is the one to watch. Bomb Blast Test Debate Resumes Near Tracy Written by Dan Adams, Reporter http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=30477 Cathy Garger http://www.mytown.ca/garger http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?s... TITLE AUTHOR DATE Depleted Uranium Blasts mIKE Wednesday Jul 25th, 2007 9:58 PM Look out in the distance Cathy Garger Wednesday Jul 25th, 2007 7:44 PM © 2000–2007 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. Unless ***************************************************************** 36 BBC NEWS: Helpline for organ removal probe Last Updated: Thursday, 26 July 2007, 16:55 GMT 17:55 UK Samples were taken legally, says the British Nuclear Group A public helpline has been set up as part of the inquiry into the removal of body tissue from nuclear workers. Michael Redfern QC is looking into 65 reported cases, mainly involving staff employed at Sellafield in Cumbria between 1962 and 1992. He was appointed to investigate why samples were taken and whether next of kin were informed. An inquiry was launched in April after the GMB union said samples were taken from up to 70 former Sellafield employees. We are keen for as many people as possible to come forward and help us with this inquiry Michael Redfern QC Since then it has widened to include the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Berkshire and the UK Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA) at Harwell in Oxfordshire. British Nuclear Group, which owns the Sellafield site, says tissue was taken for "legally correct" purposes. Mr Redfern, who conducted the inquiry into the removal of body organs at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, has arranged a point of contact at his offices in Manchester. He also plans to set up an additional base in Whitehaven. 'Body parts' He said: "We are keen for as many people as possible to come forward and help us with this inquiry. "I recognise that people in Cumbria are keen for there to be an office in west Cumbria and I too feel that this is important. "Contact details for our Whitehaven office will be issued in the next few weeks. I anticipate that a family support group will be up and running within the same time period." Samples taken at Sellafield include tissue, bones and body parts removed without permission, the GMB claimed. There is also one known case from the Capenhurst nuclear site in Cheshire and two from the Springfields nuclear site in Lancashire. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 37 Salt Lake Tribune: Nuke tests show no radioactive fallout in smoke from state's fires Downwinders skeptical of results The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 07/26/2007 08:05:26 AM MDT Federal officials say they have independent analysis that confirms what they have said before: The Milford Flat fire did not spew fallout from atomic testing back into the air. Downwinder advocates are not buying that explanation. They say the National Nuclear Security Administration's tests overlooked crucial questions. "They weren't thorough in their analysis," said Richard Miller, an expert on nuclear-testing fallout. The Salt Lake Tribune obtained a copy of a report developed by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas radiochemistry laboratory. The report, which examined the particles captured on air filters from a Milford air-monitoring station, concludes "no man-made radionuclides were detected." In other words, bomb soot did not trigger those radiation spikes registered by a Milford air monitor. NNSA spokesman Darwin Morgan repeated what his agency said two weeks ago - that his agency merely wanted to inform Utahns about the high gamma-radiation readings. According to NNSA, the Milford monitor detected penetrating gamma radiation at up to 7 times the average for the area, probably because naturally occurring radiation was being released from the ground and burning vegetation. "We saw something and we got it out there so people could make decisions based on what we saw," he said Wednesday. The new report dispels one theory advanced by Morgan's agency: that the naturally occurring element, radon, was the cause for the gamma spikes. The radon theory was "couched in terms of possible, probable," said Morgan. "Their assumption was wrong." The UNLV team found instead that gamma-emitting uranium, thorium, lead, beryllium, cesium-137 and potassium-40 all wound up on the filter. But there was no sign of anything unusual, like fallout. David Shafer of the Desert Research Institute, which oversees the fallout radiation monitor network, said more tests are planned to examine alpha and beta radiation, but high levels are not expected, given the two, week-long tests already done and the three back-up tests used for confirmation. Miller, a researcher who has developed an almanac of nuclear test fallout, attacked the tests for taking too long and for overlooking key questions, including how much alpha and beta radiation the fire released. "It's taking a ridiculously long time to determine what's in that stuff, and that's unacceptable, unacceptable, and you can quote me on that," he said. And, commenting on the lack of data on other forms of radioactive material in the fire smoke, he added: "That doesn't sound like sound science. It's terrible science, and you can quote me on that, too." fahys@sltrib.com ***************************************************************** 38 Victorville Daily Press: ATOMIC HISTORY July 26, 2007 - 2:49PM Photo by ROSE PALMISANO/The Orange County Register ATOMIC VETERAN: Former Marine Gary King, 70, of Huntington Beach, Calif., was one of the closest observers of the 74-kiloton, atomic test shot Surviving ground zero: Two Marines, one from Jacksonville, N.C., absorbed the blast. But could they withstand the fallout 50 years later? By TOM BERG The Orange County Register If you were in the military and witnessed one of these nuclear tests in the 1950s -- or know someone who has -- we would like to hear from you. Send at e-mail to mdurkee@vvdailypress.com. HUNTINGTON BEACH – It was 50 years ago this month the two men defied death in the Nevada desert. One hour before dawn, the young Marines were placed in an open trench, then ordered to kneel and cover their eyes. Three miles away, what would be the largest atomic device detonated over U.S. soil was about to explode. Test shot Hood was five times greater than the bomb that killed 90,000 people in Hiroshima, Japan. And no one was sure what would happen this close to ground zero. The blast blew doors off hinges 14 miles away, rattled homes all the way to Santa Ana and was seen by pilots near Hawaii. And that’s not all. “It was the dirtiest test stateside in terms of radiation fallout,” says R.J. Ritter, national commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans. “And they walked about 2,200 Marines right into ground zero.” This included the two men in the closest trench. One was Gary King, now 70, of Huntington Beach, a rough-and-tough Marine who still calls the blast “no big deal.” The other Marine, Darel Brower, now living in Jacksonville, N.C., saw it quite differently. Brower’s memoirs, posted online, describe the eerie pre-dawn silence, the panicky Marines, the silvery-white explosion and the trek through 100-degree heat to ground zero with no masks. When King read this, he tried to e-mail his former platoon mate. It bounced back. Then he tried to phone, but there was no listing. He knew they’d both survived the blast 50 years ago. He was left to wonder if they’d both survived the fallout. BOMB PARTIES In retrospect, the audacity of 1957’s Operation Plumbbob was stunning: a series of 29 aboveground atomic explosions witnessed at close range by 18,000 men testing their ability to fight on a nuclear battlefield. Planes flew through radioactive clouds. Marines marched through radioactive sand. Paratroopers jumped through radioactive skies. Assaults were launched. Objectives taken. The military measured blast effects on pigs, dogs, rabbits, mannequins, tanks, trucks and the psyches of men witnessing unparalleled power. Sixty-five miles south, Las Vegas was measuring how to cash in on the mushroom-cloud spectacle with “dawn bomb parties” on hotel rooftops. Knowledge of radiation was still in its infancy. “At the time, we were all very cavalier about it,” says King, whose specialty was atomic, biological and chemical warfare. “Nobody really talked about radiation too much. It wasn’t a big thing. From the military standpoint, an A-bomb was nothing more than a high-explosive bomb.” Both King and Brower had to monitor radiation at three detonations: Priscilla, Diablo and Hood. Their observations could not be any more different. “People ask, ‘Weren’t you scared?’ ” King says. “The answer is no. We were macho. It was just another assignment.” Marines climbed out of trenches after each blast and smoked, he says. Or ate. Or napped. “Most ignored the devices,” he says. Brower was positioned several miles from the blast, facing away so as not to go blind. He describes the 37-kiloton Priscilla test this way: “I’m not sure anyone was breathing, as it surely could have been heard,” he wrote. “When the count went from 10 to zero, everything lost its color, including the olive, drab truck parked in front of us. It all turned brilliant silver-white. The air around us was alive with the sizzling and crackling of electrical charges. My neck, which was the only thing exposed to the light, felt as if someone was holding a blowtorch to it.” A few days later, both men were brought to the trenches for Diablo. It would prove stranger than Priscilla. COUNTDOWN TO NOTHING Before you’re sent to the bottom of a 6-foot-deep trench, three miles from an atomic explosion, you get a warning to close your eyes tight and place an arm in front of them. If they open, you may go blind. You are also warned that if you lift a finger in the air, it will be scorched. So when the loudspeakers count down – 3, 2, 1, 0 … – and nothing explodes, what should you do? “No one dared move,” wrote Brower. “For close to 20 minutes we held those positions.” Legs went numb. Expletives were shouted. Men feared crawling out of the trenches, but Diablo was a dud. Eventually, they were ordered up and trucked away. For King and Brower, that left only the granddaddy of atmospheric tests, the 74-kiloton Hood. About it they would later agree on something. With eyes clenched tight, kneeling at the bottom of a trench, they both saw the same thing at detonation – the bones in their arms. 21 CANCERS We’ll never know what Marine Maj. Charles Broudy saw in the trenches when Hood exploded. Or what he breathed when he marched – like King and Brower – to ground zero. He died of lymphoma in 1977. We do know that the Veterans Administration denied him benefits, saying he couldn’t prove he was there. And that his widow later showed he received more than 5,000 times the 13-millirad dose the government said his film badge read. Broudy’s widow Pat Broudy, 83, of Dana Point fought an 11-year battle to help win benefits for atomic veterans, who now can claim relief for 21 kinds of cancers. For many, however, it’s too little, too late. “Most of our guys are old,” she says. “And they don’t have the fight or will or knowledge to confront our government agencies anymore.” The number of living atomic veterans is hard to place. But the National Association of Atomic Veterans estimates that more than 900,000 men and women took part in about 1,000 nuclear tests from 1945 to 1992. And more than 140,000 may have suffered cancer or other illnesses as a result. So far King is not among them. “I have prostate cancer, but it’s not attributed to that,” says the still macho Marine. “It’s because I’m 70 years old. All men get it.” Which leaves us wondering about his old battalion-mate Darel Brower, whose memoirs prompted King to reflect on the nuclear war games they played 50 years ago. What about him? GODLIKE AND DEMONIC Darel Brower, it turns out, is 76 and living in Jacksonville, N.C. “For an old duff, I’m in good shape,” he says, suffering only heartburn and a slight heart arrhythmia. The blasts remain vivid in his mind: The greens and blues, the beautiful hues glowing around the fireball, once he could look up, were both godlike and demonic. That is the lesson he took from those long-ago tests. “We are definitely part of something deeper,” he says, as if he were still in that trench. “And we are very fragile.” Tom Berg writes for The Orange County Register. E-mail him at tberg@ocregister.com. To see a slideshow from the tests that King and Brower experienced, see ocregister.com/extras. Copyright © 2007 Daily Press, a Freedom Communications newspaper. ***************************************************************** 39 lamonitor.com: Trinity test exposed public to radiation and fallout The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor An important footnote has updated the history of the world's first test of an atomic bomb at Trinity Site, 62 years ago this week. The Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Analysis project discussed their findings at a public meeting Wednesday in Pojoaque. Project Director Tom Widner laid out what has now been learned, the public radiation exposure and fallout that resulted from the blast. While poring through the historical documents at the lab, Widner said, the researchers working under a contract from the Centers for Disease Control found themselves in possession of a great deal of primary information about the development of the implosion weapon that was tested at Trinity. They studied classified and unclassified documents about the planning for the test, how it was monitored and subsequently investigated. They identified the locations of residents in the area of the site, none of whom had been evacuated or even warned about the test. The researchers added new primary material of their own by interviewing scientists and surviving residents. Pulling all this together with context added from open information sources enabled them to focus on a part of the historic Trinity story that has received relatively less attention. The story is normally told against the backdrop of World War II, in terms of the race to develop the weapon before the Germans and when that turned out to be unnecessary, to use it to end the war with Japan. The test on July 16, 1945, was related to the beginning of the Potsdam Conference, which began the same day and ended two weeks later with a declaration calling for unconditional surrender of Japan, or "prompt and utter destruction." Against this urgent background, secrecy and the safety of the project staff were among the highest priorities, according to an interview with Gen. Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project charged with mobilizing national resources to deliver the atomic weapon. Fallout was considered a minor problem, as detailed in the historical summary prepared by LAHDRA, until just weeks before the test. Finally, there were four two-man teams and one five-man team deployed for off-site monitoring. Widner described their equipment as "very crude." Although they took soil, air and water samples, those samples have not been found, nor were there any follow up risk assessments about exposure of Trinity workers or the public from the blast. The team did have equipment for recording radiation exposure in various forms. Many of their measurements were taken on the day after the blast, particularly in a gorge east of the town of Bingham and formerly known as Hoot Owl Canyon, that was later renamed "Hot Canyon" because of its high radioactivity. Measurements typically reached levels 10,000 times higher than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently allows in an unrestricted public area. "This is not meant to be judgmental," Widner emphasized. "There were reasons." Many local residents, whose locations were largely mapped by intelligence services, were undoubtedly exposed following the blast - from fallout that "snowed down for days" and from residual exposure, particularly from roof-water containers and cattle or goat's milk that concentrated the radioactivity. The water and milk would have been most likely to be consumed within days afterward, adding to the intensity of those exposures. There were many gaps in the record, according to the LAHDRA study, including the failure to characterize the residual plutonium, which was not accomplished until three years afterward by a group from the UCLA medical school. Another gap was the lack of measurements for internal exposure, like nose swabs or bioassay information, which were the main techniques used at the time. Among lessons learned after the blast was the fact that an explosion conducted near the ground increases the radioactive fallout. Higher elevations became preferred in later tests in the Pacific, because the radioactivity dispersed over a wider area. An important lesson was that the Trinity site, with a 15-mile radius, was too small. General Groves proposed finding a larger site, "preferably with a radius of at least 150 miles without population," for any tests in the future. In response to a question from Ken Silver, a public health advocate who objected to the attention given to the health risks of such a small population, Widner said part of the work of the investigation into the historical records at Los Alamos, was "putting together a story about what happens." Not much more effort will be devoted to the Trinity subject, he said, considering the work remaining to be done with the Los Alamos records before the project ends in two years. The report is available in the "Interim Report of the Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Assessment (LAHDRA) Project" (www.lahdra.org) in Appendix N. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 Oak Ridger: Federal officials talk to sick workers - Story last updated at 12:32 am on 7/26/2007 By: John Huotari | john.huotari@oakridger.com Former U.S. Department of Energy workers spent more than 90 minutes on Wednesday evening peppering federal officials with questions about a program meant to help some sick nuclear-weapon facility employees. The program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, is called the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, or EEOIC. It is designed to provide lump-sum compensation and health benefits to eligible DOE employees. On Wednesday, Labor Department officials met with several hundred DOE workers at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. During a question-and-answer session, the workers asked a variety of questions — some critical — on how to file EEOIC claims, how to communicate better with Labor Department employees, and how to find medical providers who will enroll in the federal sick workers program. John Vance, policy unit chief in the Department of Labor’s EEOIC Division in Washington, D.C., said getting Oak Ridge providers to enroll in the program “has been one of the most difficult problems.” Prior to the question-and-answer session, Vance gave a presentation during which he talked about medical benefits, and impairment and wage loss provisions under EEOIC’s Part E, among other things. Part E was enacted by Congress in 2004. The question-and-answer session was designed to generate feedback and was the first in a series of “town hall” meetings around the country, DOL officials said. “We have all acknowledged there are issues with the program,” Vance said. “We’re not sitting around with blinders on our eyes. We’re trying to get this to work.” For more information on the EEOIC program, visit the DOL Web site at www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/owcp/eeoicp/main.htm. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 41 IAEA: Video on Safeguards Analytical Laboratory Singled Out in USA 26 July 2007 A technician at the Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Seibersdorf examining uranium particles under an optical microscope. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA) A six-minute video that takes viewers inside the IAEA safeguards laboratory was singled out recently for excellence in communications. The video shows analysts working at the Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, where more than 1 000 samples of nuclear material are analyzed each year. The recognition came from the US International Film and Video Festival, which awarded the SAL video producers a certificate for creative excellence. The Festival was founded in 1967 and is one of the world´s leading international events devoted exclusively to recognition of outstanding business, television, documentary, educational, entertainment, industrial and informational productions. SAL analyzes samples of nuclear materials from IAEA safeguards inspections. The samples are taken at key measurement points of the nuclear fuel cycle and sent to SAL for destructive chemical and isotopic analysis. This complements physical inspections and measurements performed by IAEA inspectors in nuclear facilities. The goal is to verify that material under Agency safeguards is not diverted for non-peaceful purposes. Additionally, SAL´s Clean Laboratory receives samples and smears taken in nuclear facilities and analyzed to search for signatures of undeclared usage of the installations. Environmental samples of water, soil and vegetation are taken to search for traces of actinides indicating the presence and operation of an undeclared nuclear installation in the vicinity. Ultra-sensitive analytical techniques allow the identification and isotopic analysis of femtogram amounts of actinides and thereby the tracking of their origin. Recently IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei noted the need for more investment down the line. Addressing the IAEA Board, he said that significant additional resources are sorely needed for upgrading IAEA laboratories whose work is vital to carry out essential verification, safety and development functions. See Story Resources for more information. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: ***************************************************************** 42 FT.com: Uranium falls after Japan nuclear leak Financial Times FT.com By Javier Blas Published: July 26 2007 22:19 | Last updated: July 26 2007 22:19 The price of uranium, the fuel of the nuclear industry, has suffered its first fall in more than four years – after rising more than 10-fold. A radioactive leak at Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant following an earthquake this month has contributed to negative sentiment, with fears that it could spark new public opposition to nuclear power. The announcement by the US Department of Energy of a uranium sale from its stockpile also weighed on a market suffering from weak summer demand. The DoE is selling the nuclear fuel to help pay for a clean-up of “contaminated uranium inventories”. Prices fell from a record high of $136 a pound in mid-July to $120 a pound this week, the first price drop since June 2003, when uranium prices moved from $11 to $10.90 a pound. However, analysts said prices would continue to trade higher than in the past and most said the price drop was a correction in an upward trend. Uranium prices have jumped by 185 per cent in the past 12 months on the back of rising demand from new nuclear reactors, the life extension of current plants and supply bottlenecks. UBS forecast that higher demand and slow supply increases would push prices to almost $200 a pound in 2008. Mined uranium satisfies just 55 per cent of global consumption, with the rest coming from dismantled Soviet-era nuclear warheads, government stockpiles and reprocessing. Demand is expected to increase sharply in the next decade as new nuclear power plants come on line in addition to the current 437 reactors. There are 74 reactors under construction and a further 182 planned, according to the World Nuclear Association, the industry body. China, with 23 plants under construction and a further 54 planned, accounts for the bulk of the increase. Supply fears were highlighted after Cameco, the world’s largest uranium supplier, this week said it had suspended production at its Port Hope, Ontario, nuclear fuel conversion plant. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 43 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: No cooperation Editorial: More of the same 26 July 07:10:03 Federal officials have failed to fund, help anti-terrorism 'fusion' centers The plan to match local and federal law enforcement agents across the country to fight terrorism so far has been a costly failure, Congress was told this month. USA Today reported Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security has spent $380 million helping set up so-called fusion centers in an effort to detect potential terrorist activity. However, the Congressional Research Service studied 42 operating centers and found that in many cases federal authorities are reluctant to share information. As well, centers do not have enough trained analysts to help connect the dots. Col. Bart Johnson of the New York State Police, who heads a panel that advises the federal government on local law enforcement needs, said the centers need better links to federal databases and watch lists. He said the states could also be better linked to one another. The CRS report found "little true fusion, or analysis of disparate data sources, identification of intelligence gaps and pro-active collection of intelligence." Unable to do the necessary work, the centers have turned their focus toward general crime analysis and emergency preparedness. Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a member of the 9/11 Commission, said the failure of the federal government to share information poses "a real risk as well as a missed opportunity." In the past, Las Vegas has experienced the federal government's reluctance to cooperate, although that has changed over the past few years. Local law enforcement officials say they have an improved working relationship with federal officials, which could make a fusion center set to open in Las Vegas next month a rarity. It shouldn't be. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has failed to adequately handle the threat of terrorism during the nearly six years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That is unconscionable. Instead of listening to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's "gut feelings," the Bush administration should fully fund these centers and give local law enforcement the support and cooperation needed to give them a chance to fight terrorism. All contents © 1996 - 2007 Las Vegas Sun, Inc. ***************************************************************** 44 RIA Novosti: Nuclear protesters set up new camp in Siberia 12:24 | 26/ 07/ 2007 IRKUTSK, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Three environmental groups have started setting up a new camp in Siberia to protest against nuclear waste disposal at a local chemicals plant and across Russia. The previous camp in Angarsk near Lake Baikal was attacked Saturday by masked people carrying baseball bats and metal rods. One person was killed and seven injured. Police opened an inquiry but suggested young neo-Nazis could be behind the incident. "Ecologists are protesting against importing nuclear waste into Russia and call for redirecting all investment in the nuclear power sector into nuclear safety projects," Alexei Milovanov, the camp spokesman, said. Western nuclear power companies have been sending byproducts from the uranium enrichment process to Russia, including 'unusable' uranium hexafluoride and uranium tailings, since the 1990s. But Sergei Novikov, spokesman for the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, said on Saturday that "uranium hexafluoride cannot be qualified as nuclear waste under international classification." He said Russia had no plans to import nuclear waste. "Despite the legislative opportunities... Russia has made a political decision not to take part in projects to process and store nuclear waste from other countries," Novikov said. In June, Russia's nuclear chief, Sergei Kiriyenko, said Russia would no longer reprocess any foreign uranium tailings until safer methods were found. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 45 Earth Times: Deadly chemicals and poison dirt from spill leave Ukraine by rail Posted : Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:08:56 GMT Kiev - A trainload of hazardous chemicals and dirt contaminated by their spill began a trip out of Ukraine under unprecedented security on Thursday, officials at the national rail company Ukrzhelesnitisa said. A train derailment on July 16 in Ukraine's western Lviv province spilled dozens of tons of the poisonous element phosphorus, sparking a massive chemical fire. The mishap forced the evacuation of thousands of villagers, the hospitalisation of 147 persons, and Ukraine's biggest industrial accident clean-up since the 1986 explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power station, according to official reports. Liquid phosphorous is highly toxic and burns on contact with air. It is commonly used in the manufacture of detergents and fertilisers, and less frequently for poison gas. The 15-car train carrying the debris from the accident out of Ukraine was scheduled to travel at slow speeds bypassing major populated areas, along a route taking the phosphorus back to its shipper in Kazakhstan, via Russia. Two trains equipped with foam pumps for fighting fires were accompanying the train carrying the phosphorus, one ahead and one behind. The chemical spill, in the heart of a mountainous region popular with hikers and tourists, provoked rare agreement between Ukraine's pro-Europe President Viktor Yushchenko, and the country's pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. Both politicians condemned the government response to the accident, and called for Transport Minister Mykola Rudolkolvsky to resign. Ukrainian transportation and emergency officials were slow in informing the public the accident had taken place, and repeatedly went on television to claim the clean-up was under control, only to be followed by reports phosphorus was still seeping into the ground. Rudolkovsky on Monday said he intended to stay on in the job, as he had done nothing wrong. Ukrainian investigators last week suggested the derailment and spill resulted from use of railroad cars too old to operate safely. The Kazakh owner of the phosphorus said the container cars had been checked and were in good condition. An estimated 750 tons of liquid phosphorus was aboard the train at the time of the mid-July crash. Close to 100 tons of crystalised phosphorus and contaminated dirt was on the train to Kazakhstan, according to a Ministry of Emergency Situations statement. Emergency workers at the site of the spill constructed an earth rampart 1.5 metres tall around a 400-square-metre area most heavily hit by the phosphorus, the Interfax news agency reported. Copyright © 2007 Respective Author (c) 2007 Earthtimes.org, All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 46 ReviewJournal.com: Republican senator challenges Clinton's opposition to Yucca Jul. 26, 2007 By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Clinton's commitment to fight Yucca Mountain was challenged Wednesday by a Republican senator who said the Democratic presidential candidate was a no-show for two nuclear waste hearings her committee had last year. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., sought to poke a hole in Clinton's promise that she would "not go forward" with the proposed Nevada nuclear waste repository if she is elected. When Clinton had a chance to take part in Environment and Public Works hearings on the repository, "she was missing in action," said Inhofe, a Yucca backer and the committee's chairman at the time. Clinton's campaign issued a rebuttal in which it said her absences were because of "important Senate business on behalf of her constituents, and issues of national importance." Hilarie Grey, a spokeswoman, insisted that Clinton being elsewhere was not a sign that she is inattentive on the issue. Clinton has advertised herself to Nevada voters as perhaps the strongest Yucca critic among the candidates. "Senator Clinton's record shows she is a consistent and vocal opponent of making Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear waste repository," Grey said. The dustup shows how the candidates continue to view Yucca Mountain as a cutting issue in Nevada, perhaps more so now that the state is hosting early presidential caucuses in January, said Eric Herzik, professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno. Inhofe's charge "may cause Clinton some embarrassment but it is not going to hurt her in the polls," Herzik said. The episode comes in the wake of Clinton's remarks on Friday calling for new Senate hearings to focus on Yucca Mountain health and safety, and for the Energy Department to shelve its repository licensing preparations. In a teleconference with Nevada reporters, Clinton, a frontrunner in state polls, repeated her promise that she "will not go forward" with the Yucca project if she is elected president in November 2008. Inhofe questioned Clinton's call for Senate action. He said she did not attend a committee hearing on Yucca Mountain on March 1, 2006, and a subcommittee hearing on nuclear waste on Sept. 14. In a statement, Inhofe said he took exception to a Clinton comment to reporters that the Republicans when they ran Congress were "not willing to ask the hard questions" about the repository. "When Senator Clinton had the opportunity to ask 'hard questions' of administration officials about Yucca Mountain, she was missing in action," Inhofe said. "In fact, Senator Clinton failed to ask any questions because she was absent from the last two EPW hearings on Yucca Mountain," he said. One of the hearings was by a subcommittee that Clinton did not belong to. But committee members are allowed to attend all meetings, said Marc Morano, a Republican committee aide. "She could still attend," Morano said. "Either she did not consider it important enough or she was too busy to attend." Clinton's campaign responded with information on the senator's whereabouts on the days of the hearings. On March 1, she attended an overlapping hearing on the Ryan White CARE Act, an aid bill for HIV/AIDS patients. On Sept. 14, Clinton chaired a meeting of the Democratic Steering Committee that involved international women's rights. She then attended a Senate Armed Services Committee closed meeting on military commissions to handle the treatment of enemy combatants. The environment committee's new chairman, Democrat Barbara Boxer of California, has agreed to Clinton's request to have a Yucca hearing after the Senate's August recess, according to an aide who was cited Tuesday by Energy and Environment Daily, an electronic newsletter. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., came to Clinton's defense, saying the New York senator's opposition to the repository "has been pretty consistent through the years and she has made very public statements against putting nuclear waste in Nevada." "More than that I would not expect from anyone, and it is certainly more than Senator Inhofe has ever done for Nevada," said Berkley, who has not declared a preference among Democrats running for president. But Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said Clinton was being "disingenuous" by criticizing Republicans on the Yucca issue when opposition to the repository has been bipartisan, at least in Nevada. Democrats now run Congress, and if Clinton wanted to kill Yucca Mountain, "she could do it now. She could start that movement now if she were serious about it." "I am eagerly awaiting the new Democratic Congress to not fund Yucca Mountain and to kill the project," Porter said. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said through a spokesman that Inhofe's charge "is yet another desperate move by people looking to turn Nevada into a nuclear dumping ground." Like Berkley, Reid has not yet backed a presidential candidate. Mike wrote on July 26, 2007 04:25 PM: Nice to know that Hillary Clinton and Senator Reid have PHD's in engineering, nuclear physics, and geology and have been studying the proposed repository for the past 30 years. Oh that's right, they don't, and they haven't. Ted wrote on July 26, 2007 01:41 PM: Tell me when I can come over and turn off your power for 2 hours every day, the amount powered by nuclear. Tell people in Illinois, where it's 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity, when we can shut their AC off for 12 hours a day. Tell China and India they don't have a right to electricity-- or tell them to keep polluting our air with coal plants. I live in Las Vegas. I'd be far happier sitting in traffic next to a nuclear shipment than a chlorine tanker. Check your facts and you would agree. And just because you don't care about a nuclear-powered Navy, doesn't mean you have not greatly benefited. Get real, people, there is no free lunch. Jason wrote on July 26, 2007 01:16 PM: We would do just fine without nuclear power. I wonder if Ted lives anywhere near that mess and if he did, he would blame the cancer on something else? Who cares about a nuclear powered Navy. When have we ever needed such a wasteful thing. Yucca isn't about anything but payback to a fat, over-rich nuke industry-which Ted probably owns stock in while hiding behind fat, American patriotism... Jason wrote on July 26, 2007 01:16 PM: We would do just fine without nuclear power. I wonder if Ted lives anywhere near that mess and if he did, he would blame the cancer on something else? Who cares about a nuclear powered Navy. When have we ever needed such a wasteful thing. Yucca isn't about anything but payback to a fat, over-rich nuke industry-which Ted probably owns stock in while hiding behind fat, American patriotism... Roger wrote on July 26, 2007 01:09 PM: I say we bury it in Inhofe's backyard so HIS pathetic family can become irradiated. That would take his bad Republican genes out of the gene pool... Greg McFarlane wrote on July 26, 2007 09:37 AM: Yucca Mountain is purely a theoretical threat, not an actual threat. No one has ever died transporting or storing nuclear waste in this country. Hundreds, even thousands, have died mining coal and transporting oil and gas. But it's fun to stay uninformed and scared, isn't it, Kim T.? Ted wrote on July 26, 2007 08:51 AM: Yet Kim T. happily uses electricity generated by nuclear plants in the Western U.S. every day, she's breathing less sulphur and CO because of those nuclear plants, and she and the entire country has benefitted from a nuclear-powered Navy. The NIMBY argument just doesn't fly. Yucca Mountain is the small price we pay for modern life. I'd rather have the waste in a mountain than in my lungs. bruce wrote on July 26, 2007 08:44 AM: if hillary is in nevada she is against yucca mt.some place else she might be for it.she learned that from bill.she won;t even admit she's a liberal.demecrats are in power thay could do something about yucca mt thay haven't done anything else.come on harry bruce wrote on July 26, 2007 08:44 AM: if hillary is in nevada she is against yucca mt.some place else she might be for it.she learned that from bill.she won;t even admit she's a liberal.demecrats are in power thay could do something about yucca mt thay haven't done anything else.come on harry Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 47 ReviewJournal.com: Gibbons' stance on Yucca perplexing Jul. 26, 2007 Lawmakers say caving on water issues is not good By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Consensus eluded Nevada lawmakers Thursday on how or whether to respond to unorthodox Yucca Mountain strategy moves that Gov. Jim Gibbons has taken this month. For the most part, the state's five members of Congress try to stay on the same page as elected state leaders in Carson City when it comes to the proposed nuclear waste repository. Following a short delegation meeting, the federal representatives again stressed their opposition to the project. But as to the governor's strategy, they were scattered in their responses. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said Gibbons should be given the benefit of the doubt after he proposed that the Department of Energy be allowed to extract water at the Yucca site for an additional 30 days even though he concluded DOE had violated of a state order prohibiting the drilling. The governor has not explained his decision, which seemed at odds with Nevada's customary approach that takes the hardest line possible in efforts to kill the Yucca project. Gibbons' decision reportedly was made against the advice of state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and of Bob Loux, the director of the Agency for Nuclear Projects. Sen. Harry Reid and Shelley Berkley, both D-Nev., were critical of the decision at the time, while Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he didn't understand it. Reid called it "the biggest gift DOE has received since I have been in Washington." Former Sen. Richard Bryan on Friday called for a meeting between the governor and the congressional group to air out the matter and reunite state leaders. Otherwise, Bryan said, he feared Nevada's resolve against the repository would be questioned. It did not appear such a meeting would occur soon, judging from lawmakers' comments on Wednesday. Talking with reporters as the lawmakers sat in Reid's office, Porter said Gibbons has fought Yucca Mountain "his whole career. He may be privy to information in that particular situation with his legal counsel." "Time will tell but I think we should give him the benefit," Porter said. "Well, you give him the benefit," Reid told Porter. "This was the first negative thing I have ever said about Jim Gibbons," Reid added, referring to his criticism of the governor's water decision. "I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of, and it set us back a long way," Berkley said. "All I know is that his decision makes it difficult for us to do our jobs" against Yucca. Ensign said the issue may be "water under the bridge at this point." He noted that the Energy Department rejected Gibbons' offer in favor of seeking broader water rights, and the matter was headed to the courts. Ensign said leaders were re-emphasizing their opposition to the repository to send a message the state intends to continue fighting the project. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., did not take part in the exchange. Gibbons' spokeswoman could not be reached Wednesday night by phone or e-mail. Kevin wrote on July 26, 2007 06:20 PM: I don't see why everyone is perplexed. Gibbons was a Republican Congressman and has many ties that our other recent governors have not had. Dubya and Big Energy are calling in their markers. But then, does Reid really think 30 days of water is "the biggest gift DOE has received since I have been in Washington?" C'mon, Harry, don't BS me. "It set us back a long way," Berkley said. This is also a crock. And, where in the Heller is Dean? We haven't heard a peep from this guy since his acceptance speech. The only problem with nuclear power is the waste. Do we think it's safer sitting in open ponds? Verton Crupwick III wrote on July 26, 2007 04:25 PM: Um, this "rational look" requires the belief that this deadly stuff can be stored safely into a far-flung, indefinite future that can span hundreds of thousands of years. Hmmm...that "rationality" sounds more like faith to me. Then again, I always DID think the nuke-power apologists sounded oddly like religious fundamentalists... Post wrote on July 26, 2007 03:44 PM: Kim T. needs to stop saying "WE". Ted wrote on July 26, 2007 08:39 AM: Kim T. doesn't speak for me. Any rational look at the situation shows that the material can be handled and stored safely. We need electricity that doesn't pollute the atmosphere. If we can put the leftovers in a mountain rather than in my lungs, I'm all for it. Even better if the leftovers are worth billions if we ever start recycling it. ra wrote on July 26, 2007 08:07 AM: bush wants yucca and gibbons is a team player,say no more Kim T. wrote on July 26, 2007 07:20 AM: I hope all of you who voted for this guy are happy. What a STUPID decision. Gov. Gibbons - figure it out - we don't want that nuclear garbage in Nevada! Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 48 ReviewJournal.com: Government challenges order halting water use at Yucca site Jul. 26, 2007 By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL The other shoe dropped Wednesday in the squabble between the federal government and Nevada over using the state's water for drill rigs at the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. Justice Department attorneys on behalf of the Department of Energy filed an emergency motion in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeking to block State Engineer Tracy Taylor's June 1 cease-and-desist order, which was reinstated Friday. "The state engineer's application of Nevada water law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress with respect to DOE's ongoing work at the Yucca Mountain site," reads the court papers that were filed at the close of business Wednesday by Acting Assistant Attorney General Ronald Tenpas and Stephen Bartell, attorney for the Justice Department's Natural Resources Section in Washington, D.C. The 45-page document concludes that the federal government is not trying to undermine Nevada's water permit process. "However, in this particular instance, the state is using the water permit process to attempt to veto a federal project," reads the motion submitted to U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt. "Such action is contrary to law and, if allowed to continue, will not only stand as an obstacle to congressional intent, but will also place great hardship on the United States." Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, said nothing in the complaint was unexpected. Loux said state attorneys will probably file an answer to the motion early next week that will be followed by a court hearing. "We believe that DOE under federal law, after the site recommendation, is not allowed to collect any more data," Loux said, noting that the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Project officials understood "that collecting data is unreasonable." The state engineer's cease-and-desist order had been on hold since June 12 until Friday, when the federal government rejected his demand that the water not be used to drill bore holes to extract soil-and-rock samples because the data-collection project is not in the state's interest. The seismic or "geotechnical" information is needed for licensing surface facilities where the government plans to temporarily store the nation's spent nuclear fuel and radioactive defense waste to cool it and sort it before entombing it in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "The drilling program has been developed to provide geotechnical information for building design and to provide additional data for confirmation of previously developed seismic response spectra," the Justice Department attorneys wrote. They said the Department of Energy "has scheduled this work to be completed before November 2007." DOE officials have deferred comment on the matter to Keith Saxe, assistant chief of the Justice Department's Natural Resources Section. He has refused to say whether drilling has been conducted at the site since Friday, when the state engineer's cease-and-desist order was back in place. The water is needed to cool and lubricate drill bits and create mud for samples. Nevada officials have contended that the site characterization process ended in 2002, when it was recommended to President Bush. Five months later, on July 23, 2002, Bush signed legislation overriding then-Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto of the project. In December 2002, the state and the Department of Energy entered into an agreement approved by Hunt that allowed DOE officials to use a limited amount of water at the site for showers, restroom facilities, dust suppression and emergencies such as fires. Taylor issued the cease-and-desist order after state officials learned that DOE workers were using Nevada's water for purposes outside of the court-approved agreement. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 49 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP gets underground matter/anti-matter study From the Current-Argus Article Launched: 07/25/2007 09:31:28 PM MDT A 41-ton forklift carefully maneuvers one of EXO's six clean room modules around a tight corner on its way to WIPP's underground experimental area about a half mile from the access shaft. CARLSBAD ? The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant may not seem like a typical spot for an observatory, but that's exactly what's soon going to happen. The first two clean room modules for an Enriched Xenon Observatory project have been successfully placed underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant east of here, according to a press release from the Department of Energy. The depth of the WIPP facility provides shielding from cosmic rays and naturally occurring radiation on the earth's surface, making it an ideal location for the xenon project, the DOE said. The department has made WIPP's underground facility available to the scientific community to promote and foster scientific research. "The WIPP facility staff is pleased and proud to be a part of this far-reaching scientific initiative," said Dr. David Moody, manager of the DOE's Carlsbad Field Office. "We're looking forward to working cooperatively with EXO scientists to make sure the project is successful." The xenon observatory, according to the press release, is part of an effort by a consortium of scientists, led by Stanford University, to detect neutrinoless double beta decay, an extraordinarily rare nuclear process that occurs when disintegration of a nucleus is accompanied by emission of two electrons without any associated anti-neutrinos. If observed, this never-before-seen process could unlock secrets about the origins of matter and anti-matter, and how mass is distributed in the universe. Normal beta decay involves a nucleus of an atom that emits an electron and anti-neutrino simultaneously. If detected, the rate of double beta decay can be used to measure the mass of the electron anti-neutrino. "If EXO confirms neutrinoless double beta decay, a Nobel prize in physics is virtually certain," said Roger Nelson, chief scientist for WIPP, who has been working with the collaboration to bring the experiment to Carlsbad since 2001. The two modules, weighing 13,000 and 15,500 pounds, were lowered into the mine by hoist. Then a 41-ton forklift transported them through almost a kilometer of tunnels to the North Experimental Area. The xenon observatory will consist of six modules that connect to form a clean room. The first module is equipped with an air-shower and changing area. From there, each module produces a cleaner atmosphere that progresses to the sixth and final module, which houses the detector. The detector has a special cryogenic chamber with rare enriched xenon gas that will be used to observe and measure this nuclear process. The first of three shipments from Stanford University arrived at WIPP on July 9. Additional shipments are planned to take place in the near future. The facility will be located far from the transuranic waste disposal area of the mine. The project will have minimal impact on normal operations and will not interfere with WIPP's mission of safely isolating transuranic waste from people and the environment, according to the DOE. WIPP, which opened in March 1999 after two decades of planning, buries nuclear waste from the nation's defense work in vast underground rooms excavated in ancient salt beds. The plutonium-contaminated waste includes such things as clothing, tools and other debris. Contributing to this article was the Associated Press. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 50 LA Daily News: Boeing faces costly penalty Officials: Lab's toxins drain into Bell Canyon BY KERRY CAVANAUGH, Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 07/25/2007 11:19:24 PM PDT Boeing Co. faces a nearly half-million-dollar fine for allowing excessive levels of lead, mercury and other toxins to flow from its Santa Susana Field Lab into the exclusive West Valley community of Bell Canyon and the Los Angeles River, regulators said Wednesday. If Boeing is forced to pay it, it would be among the largest fines levied against the lab owner for environmental violations. Following up on a directive earlier this year from state regulators, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board staffers proposed fining Boeing $471,190 for 79 water-quality violations over 15 months. Staffers doubled the mandatory minimum penalty because of the toxicity and frequency of the pollution violations from October 2004 to January 2006. "Really, the issue here is that they should have been able to stop the violations a long time ago," said Michael Levy, senior counsel to the L.A. water board. Boeing officials said they are evaluating the proposed fine, which they can appeal. The regional board can hear the appeal and adjust the fine or the board can send it to the state Attorney General's Office. Boeing has been under scrutiny over surface water pollution for several years. In late 2005, the company admitted in business filings that it was being investigated by a federal grand jury over potential water-quality problems. The grand jury subpoenaed its storm-water pollution monitoring records. The investigation is ongoing. In a separate case, the company paid the L.A. regional water board $39,000 in fines for surface water pollution in 2002. Lab watchdogs have complained that Boeing continued to rack up violations without penalties in recent years. News of the proposed fine pleased activists, but they questioned whether it will change the company's cleanup and pollution-containment methods. "This is a dramatic sign that Boeing has willfully and repeatedly violated the pollution laws of the state," said Dan Hirsch with the Committee to Bridge the Gap. "It is clearly not enough to change Boeing's behavior and the company is likely to spend far more than that in attorneys' fees fighting the fine." Runoff permit at issue At issue is Boeing's permit regulating storm and industrial water running off the hilltop lab into neighboring creeks that eventually drain into the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Simi. Used for rocket-engine testing and nuclear research since the 1940s, the lab has extensive contamination in the soil and groundwater, prompting concern that heavy metal and chemicals could move off site in surface water. The state issued Boeing a water-quality permit in 2004, and tightened restrictions in 2006. State officials said the lab had violated provisions of the 2004 permit more than 100 times, with higher-than-allowed levels of mercury, dioxins and other contaminants. But Boeing has said many of those violations were from naturally occurring levels of heavy metals and chemicals in the soil, as well as residue from the 2005 Topanga Fire that burned more than two-thirds of the 2,800-acre hilltop site. `Cumulative risk to wildlife' Nevertheless, the state directed the Los Angeles board to fine Boeing for higher-than-allowed levels of chromium, dioxin, lead, mercury, radioactive strontium 90 and other contaminants. The proposed fine covers 79 violations from October 2004 through January 2006. Water officials said the violations pose a risk over time. "There's not any imminent health threat, but there is certainly a cumulative risk to wildlife," said Deborah Smith, interim executive officer for the board. She added that fish can accumulate toxins and can pose a risk to humans who eat the fish. Bell Canyon residents said they were glad regulators are closely monitoring the situation and maintaining high standards for water quality. "We're pleased to see the Regional Water Quality Control Board is putting up some pretty rigorous fences for people to jump through," said Ginger Oldham, president of the Bell Canyon Association Board of Directors. Board member Michael Bubman said he wants to hear Boeing's response to the proposed fine, adding that residents in the gated community don't use Bell Creek for recreation. "Nobody uses it like that. It's just an attractive creek through the canyon." kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 Copyright © 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 51 RN&R: Breach in the wall > 07.26.07 Nevada?s governor gives federal officials a leg up on making Yucca Mountain a dump site By Dennis Myers Gov. Jim Gibbons has given federal officials state water for use at Yucca Mountain drill sites. PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT One of Nevada's top elected officials has broken away from the state's traditional united front on the proposed dump for high-level nuclear wastes at Yucca Mountain in Nye County. Over the objection of other state officials, Gov. Jim Gibbons approved a decision by the state water engineer to allow federal use of state water for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test drilling at the Yucca site. Gibbons concurrently appointed a supporter of the dump to the Nevada Nuclear Projects Commission. Under the terms of a court-approved agreement, DOE is permitted to use state water only for flushing toilets, fire suppression and dust control. But the state says its water is being used in the drilling process to cool drill bits and for other purposes. State Engineer Tracy Taylor issued a cease-and-desist order against DOE but also allowed the agency to continue the practice for a month, a decision Gibbons endorsed. The water decision was glossed over in a news release issued by the governor's press office. That release began, "An outspoken critic of the use of Yucca Mountain as a dump site for the nation's nuclear waste, Governor Jim Gibbons today announced his support of the state water engineer's decision to ask the U.S. Department of Energy to suspend their unauthorized use of Nevada water for drilling at Yucca Mountain." The release contained a statement quoting Gibbons himself: "The DOE's continued mismanagement and lack of quality control measures at the high-risk Yucca Mountain project has earned a zero confidence grade in the minds of Nevadans. The unauthorized use of water for drilling is further evidence that the DOE continues to rush it to completion regardless of Nevada's rights and concerns." Like a term paper whose author is uncertain of its merits and binds it in a fancy cover, the release had the Gibbons quote in boldface and italics. Nowhere in the release was it reported that Gibbons had overridden advice from the state attorney general and other officials to personally allow the water use. The Gibbons news release was initially successful in spinning the story his way. One media entity, KRNV News in Reno, even posted the release on its Web site as a news story, word for word and without attribution to the governor's press office. MSNBC then picked it up off KRNV's site and posted it as a national "news story." That success held until the news reached D.C. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic floor leader in the Senate, issued a statement. "I'm incredibly disappointed," he said. "This is the biggest gift the DOE has received since I've been in Washington, and I'm shocked that it was delivered by the administration of a former Nevada congressman. The letter from the State's Division of Water Resources to the DOE lays out every reason the DOE should cease and desist. Yet, at the same time, the State gave the DOE the green light to move forward on this project, while the entire Nevada congressional delegation continues to fight to prevent Nevada from becoming the nation's nuclear dumping ground." Two days later, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley of Clark County joined in. "Denying the Department of Energy access to water for work at Yucca Mountain is one of the strongest weapons Nevada has in its fight to prevent our state from becoming a nuclear garbage dump," she said. "I urge Governor Gibbons to reconsider allowing DOE to tap Nevada water resources so work at Yucca Mountain can continue, even if only for a limited time. The Energy Department should not be able to use one single drop of Nevada water to further President Bush's goal of dumping toxic nuclear waste 90 minutes outside Las Vegas." The use of water for drilling purposes at Yucca Mountain is a sensitive subject with a history extending back four governorships. Gov. Richard Bryan's administration resisted federal use of state water during the 1980s, a stance continued under governors Robert Miller and Kenny Guinn. Gibbons' replacement of state nuclear projects commissioner Michon Mackedon of Churchill County with Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley also drew fire. Mackedon was noted for bringing wide knowledge of the historical behavior of DOE and its predecessor agencies—particularly the Atomic Energy Commission—to the Nevada Nuclear Projects Commission's deliberations, and she was also considered an opponent of the Yucca dump. Eastley is a supporter of dumping at Yucca. On Dec. 29, 2003, she and Nye/Esmeralda Economic Development Authority member Trish Rippie toured Northern Nevada touting the supposed benefits of the dump. In an appearance on Nevada Newsmakers, they said Nye County, by dropping "aggressive neutrality" toward the dump, was able to receive large sums of money ("Nye comes calling," Jan. 15, 2004). Critics said the county was entitled to the money as a matter of law as funding for planning to deal with impacts from the Yucca project. On another occasion, Eastley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "The people in this community [Tonopah] are very patriotic, and they're proud of the fact that they had something to do with developing the storage facility for this waste." As criticism of Gibbons grew as a result of the water decision and the Eastley appointment, he dumped Eastley. "This position on the Nuclear Project Commission requires a representative who shares the primary sentiment of Nevada's residents and my administration's views on the Yucca Mountain Project," Gibbons said in a prepared statement. He also said he specifically wants someone on the commission who hails from Nye County. "It is my intention to have representation from Nye County and to ensure that this person can work with commission on our ongoing efforts to defeat the Yucca Mountain Project." That in itself is of concern to Yucca opponents because Nye County has always been considered a weak link that federal officials like to use to undercut the overall state stance. In 1987, after Nye officials had begun playing footsie with federal energy officials on the dump, the Nevada Legislature carved a new county out around Yucca Mountain, removing the dumpsite from Nye County. The sponsor of "Bullfrog County," Assemblymember Paul May, said his specific intent was to punish Nye County officials by denying them the federal benefits that will eventually accrue to the host county of the dump. The new county was later abolished by the courts. If there was positive Yucca news for Gibbons in the dispute, it was that Nevada's three Republican congressmembers—John Ensign, Dean Heller and Jon Porter—held their fire after he allowed the water use. But an aide to one of them said they were puzzled by Gibbons' handling of the issue, particularly at a time when Porter and Heller were joined by Berkley to try to cut $200 million from the Yucca budget. COPYRIGHT ©2007 CHICO COMMUNITY PUBLISHING, INC. ***************************************************************** 52 Rapid City Journal: Uranium mine clean-up underway Journal staff A minerals-reclamation company and an engineering company have nearly completed surface gamma surveys of five bluffs in Harding County as remediation work at the Riley Pass Site at North Cave Hills Abandoned Uranium Mines area continues. The gamma surveys will allow the reclamation company, Tronox, and engineering company, ENSR, to determine the extent of excavation, re-grading and how much contaminated spoils, soils and sediment will be buried at the site. The clean-up criteria are based on surface readings. ENSR also will assess vegetation planted last year, which will help with this year's replanting efforts on site. The engineering firm soon will conclude design work for an additional sediment pond needed at the site. The pond's planned location was originally on U.S. Forest Service lands, but Tronox has proposed moving the pond farther downstream onto private land. The new site provides more room for construction and will allow more sediment to be captured. Forest Service officials approved the new location, pending the landowner's approval. Forest Service officials have awarded a contract to Millennium Science & Engineering of Salt Lake City to help with technical support on site. The engineering firm will perform quality control and quality-assurance oversight to the Forest Service, according to regulations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as the Superfund. CERCLA wrote on Jul 26, 2007 8:08 PM: " Kaboom: The 1980 CERCLA law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. Over five years, $1.6 billion was collected and the tax went to a trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. " speak up now wrote on Jul 26, 2007 6:11 PM: " I hope that all of your who are concerned about the cost of this clean up will add your voice to those of us in who are against this new Uranium Boom that is about to hit the black hills. This time every one needs to stand together and so NO NOT HERE NEVER in the Black Hills NO MORE NUKES we can beat global worming with out this dangerous Source of power " Long-Time Reader wrote on Jul 26, 2007 4:35 PM: " Uh, there were stories in the paper back in January that Tronox was the company that had mined at some of the places in the North Cave Hills, and they had signed a legal agreement to do the cleanup the Forest Service had decided needed to be done at those places (and pay the costs). The story got it wrong- they're a "responsible party", not a "minerals reclamation company." " Kaboom wrote on Jul 26, 2007 3:23 PM: " And the initial funding for the Superfund came from where? " CERCLA wrote on Jul 26, 2007 2:30 PM: " Sorry, Kaboom. If the party responsible for the contamination can be located and is solvent, they get the bill for the cleanup. If the responsible party is insolvent or cannot be found, the government pays for cleanup under Superfund (CERCLA) and, as Mr. Gerber says, the taxpayers foot the bill. Superfund is not an account, its a process of litigation between the USEPA and parties determined to be responsible for contamination. See the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980). " Kaboom wrote on Jul 26, 2007 10:17 AM: " The Superfund was established via "contributions" from corporations. Unless you own one of those companies you do not have a dime into site cleanups. " mwb wrote on Jul 26, 2007 9:44 AM: " When it comes to things like this, money is not an issue at all and if you think it is, you have a problem. " Concerned wrote on Jul 26, 2007 8:39 AM: " How much we tax payers must pay is beside the point. Many people lives have been effected by the mess left here. I feel that the companies who left the mess should be held responsible for the bills, but let's not wait another 50 years for them to come through while people continue to get sick. Let's clean this up then go after the companies. What about the mines left open on private land? One of these looms over a school, how is this mine affecting the children there? " Tom Gerber wrote on Jul 26, 2007 6:54 AM: " Through the Superfund, we taxpayers are paying to clean up the mess left by careless companies. Will this be what happens after the injection mining planned for the southern Hills? I wonder how much money the public will have to pay for cleanup. " Rapidcityjournal.com encourages readers to offer their opinions on The Rapid City Journal Phone: 605-394-8300 Contact Us ©2007 Rapid City Journal. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 53 Exec Digital: DOE and NRC expand energy partnership Source:ExecDigital July News Date:26/07/2007 08:36:41 DOE and NRC expanded cooperation for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This memorandum was signed on Friday by DOE’s GNEP Deputy Program Manager Paul Lisowski and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Executive Director for Operations Luis Reyes. The MOU establishes the foundation for increased cooperation between DOE and NRC on technological research and engineering studies and marks another important milestone towards closing the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. “This MOU represents a significant step in the development of nuclear fuel recycling technologies as envisioned by President Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership,” DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon says. “Working with the NRC, DOE is expanding federal involvement in preparation for advanced nuclear power technologies that will increase our nation’s energy security.” Through this cooperation memorialized in the MOU, DOE will share the latest information on advanced recycling technologies with the NRC, enabling them to develop license criteria for GNEP facilities. The NRC will also participate in and observe DOE tests, simulations, and demonstrations. NRC will review and provide feedback to DOE on GNEP reports and engineering studies, review literature and take facility tours, and provide annual reports to DOE on work performed under this MOU. DOE and NRC officials agreed to continue to regularly meet and exchange the latest GNEP information. As part of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative, GNEP seeks to expand the use of clean, affordable nuclear energy to meet the growing worldwide demand for energy in ways that manage nuclear waste safely, advance non-proliferation objectives, and improve the environment. This MOU builds on over two years of the Department's nuclear fuel cycle research, environmental studies, GNEP facility planning, and international discussion and cooperation. DOE has also engaged international partners through bilateral nuclear agreements to advance research in proliferation-resistant technologies. And in May, the United States hosted a GNEP Ministerial in Washington, DC, where leaders from China, France, Japan, Russia and the United States agreed to work together to bring the benefits of nuclear energy to the world safely and securely. The United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency also participated as observers in this Ministerial. This website is published by White Digital Media Ltd / Inc www.whitedm.com UK Offices | US Offices (c) White Digital Media 2007 ***************************************************************** 54 Las Vegas SUN: Feds challenge Nevada order on nuclear dump site water Today: July 26, 2007 at 10:30:6 PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) - Justice Department lawyers have filed an emergency motion in U.S. District Court, challenging a Nevada order against using state water for drill rigs at the federal government's planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. The lawyers, representing the Department of Energy, moved Wednesday to block state Engineer Tracy Taylor's June 1 cease-and-desist order, which was reinstated Friday. The 45-page document says the federal government isn't trying to undermine Nevada's water permit process and believes Taylor's order is illegal. Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, said nothing in the complaint was unexpected. He said state attorneys probably will file an answer to the motion early next week that will be followed by a court hearing. "We believe that DOE under federal law, after the site recommendation, is not allowed to collect any more data," Loux said, noting that the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Project officials understood "that collecting data is unreasonable." The state engineer's cease-and-desist order had been on hold since June 12 until Friday, when the federal government rejected his demand that the water not be used to drill bore holes to extract soil-and-rock samples because the data-collection project is not in the state's interest. The seismic or "geotechnical" information is needed for licensing surface facilities where the government plans to temporarily store the nation's spent nuclear fuel and radioactive defense waste to cool it and sort it before entombing it in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Nevada officials have contended that the site characterization process ended in 2002, when it was recommended to President Bush. Five months later, on July 23, 2002, Bush signed legislation overriding then-Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto of the project. In December 2002, the state and the Department of Energy entered into an agreement approved by Hunt that allowed DOE officials to use a limited amount of water at the site for showers, restroom facilities, dust suppression and emergencies such as fires. Taylor issued the cease-and-desist order after state officials learned that DOE workers were using Nevada's water for purposes outside of the court-approved agreement. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 55 The Australian: Defence warned on waste | NEWS.com.au Network Dennis Shanahan, Political editor | July 27, 2007 THE Defence Department has been forced to "significantly improve" its regulations and handling of radioactive material after a high-level inquiry into contamination at a Brisbane barracks. Australia's nuclear watchdog told the review "that Defence's management of its regulatory requirements" needed significant improvement. The review, conducted by Defence secretary Nick Warner, found ignorance, complacency and "poor work practices" contributed to a radioactive tritium contamination at the Bulimba barracks in 2003. More than 20 recommendations have been made for changes to Defence's handling, reporting and safety measures when dealing with radioactive sources. The Commander of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, accepted all the recommendations from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson ordered the review after revelations in The Australian in April of the tritium contamination and a botched "clean-up" during which contractors used Chux Super Wipes to wipe down radioactive surfaces and left them in a tea room to dry. The Australian also revealed that the British high commission and a British optics firm, which repaired the army compass and gunsights containing the tritium fluid as a light source, complained about tritium levels. Safety equipment sent from Britain was not used for two years, until 2003, when the contamination at the Bulimba barracks workshop was detected. Dr Nelson said that although tritium was a low-risk radiation source and the contamination levels were within "acceptable levels", there would be a full review. That review found a lack of knowledge about tritium, complacency and poor practices in Defence but no evidence of a deliberate attempt to cover up the contamination. The incident initially triggered a shake-up within the army's radioactive substances division and scathing criticism from the nation's nuclear safety watchdog, which continues to monitor activities at the barracks. Routine tests of contractors in 2003 revealed a higher than normal radioactive level on their clothing as well as in workshops and at workers' homes. A nuclear safety inspector went to Bulimba after the detection of the radioactive contamination and found "a building, used for the repair of compasses and tritium sights, was undergoing work to remove contamination", the agency said. Recently, a former employer at the barracks lodged a claim against the Defence Department in relation to a kidney cancer. But the review found: "Tritium light sources present an insignificant health risk to personnel, provided operators and maintainers adhere to simple precautionary measures; "Advice from specialists in Defence, ARPANSA and the Queensland Health Scientific Service is that the radiation dose to which the employees in the Electrical and Instrument Repair (EIR) workshop at Bulimba barracks were exposed in 2003 was well within internationally and nationally accepted radiation dose limits; "There is no statistically significant evidence in the scientific or medical literature to suggest a link between exposure to tritium contamination and cancer at the low doses to which the employees at Bulimba were exposed; "There is no evidence to suggest a link between exposure to tritium contamination and renal cell carcinoma." Dr Nelson is expected to release the report soon. Copyright 2007 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT +10). ***************************************************************** 56 Tri-City Herald: Sludge contained in Hanford's toxic K West Basin (w/video) Removing sludge from K Basin West Published Thursday, July 26th, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Cameras inside Hanford's K West Basin have something new to take a picture of -- bare concrete. Hanford workers have finished vacuuming the bulk of radioactive sludge from the floor of the basin into underwater containers. "This is another example of the momentum we continue to sustain in cleaning up the site and eliminating risk to the Columbia River," Dave Brockman, the new manager of the Department of Energy's Hanford Richland Operations Office, said in a statement. Completion of the task allows DOE to meet a revised legal deadline and a commitment to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to have the sludge in containers by the end of this month. "We're pleased," said Larry Gadbois, environmental scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates the project. "It's another step in risk reduction. We're looking forward to them completing the cleanup of the K West Basin." Both of Hanford's K reactors had irradiated fuel for the production of weapons plutonium stranded in their cooling basins after fuel processing stopped at the end of the Cold War. The fuel in the K East and K West basins corroded and mixed with dirt and sloughed concrete from the basin walls to form radioactive sludge. After the fuel was removed from the basins, Hanford workers struggled to vacuum the sludge into underwater containers to allow it to be treated and the basins cleaned up. Hanford workers spent two years vacuuming the bulk of the sludge from the leak-prone K East Basin into containers. But it took just seven months to vacuum sludge in the K West Basin into underwater containers. That was due, in part, to K West being cleaner. It held about 10 cubic yards of sludge, compared to the 37 cubic yards of sludge that contaminated the K East Basin. But the speed also came from experience. "From the DOE point of view, Fluor did a good job of deploying lessons learned," said Matt McCormick, DOE assistant manager for central Hanford cleanup. "Work was done in a much more predictable manner and they were able to meet the milestone." At the K East Basin, Fluor discovered that the tons of debris that littered the basin was too difficult to vacuum around and stopped work while it was retrieved. Fluor also developed better tools for the job as work progressed, making the task easier when workers tackled the second basin. To vacuum the sludge, workers stand on grating over the indoor pools and reach to the bottom of the 20-foot pools with long-handled tools. The water shields them from radiation. Some of the sludge is hard-packed and has to be broken up and some is so light that it mushrooms up in fine clouds when disturbed. Underwater cameras are needed to guide the work in the sometimes murky water, and workers have to wear respirators to make sure they don't inhale any airborne contamination. The vacuuming took "time and patience and real perseverance," said Mark Peres, Fluor deputy vice president for the K Basins Closure Project. One of the most difficult parts of the K West Basin cleanup was a bay that had been used to process fuel for removal. It had remnants of fuel, pieces of fuel canisters and lids from the canisters besides the sludge. Work is continuing at the K West Basin. Preparations are under way to remove about 1,800 pounds of stray fuel scraps found hidden among the sludge in the basins. That's a small percentage of the 4.5 million pounds of fuel already removed from the basins before sludge vacuuming began. Some additional debris, including tools and more canister lids, also is being removed from the K West Basin. Because more sludge will settle out of the water to leave a fine coating over the basin, a final vacuuming must be done by the end of January to meet another legal deadline. Sludge from both the leak-prone K East Basin and the sturdier K West Basin will be held in underwater containers at K West until a treatment system is ready to prepare the sludge for disposal. DOE faces a November 2009 deadline to have the sludge treated but likely will miss that deadline by a year or two. Changes are now being made to the design of the treatment system to solve predicted problems and prevent a possibly longer delay in getting the sludge treated. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 57 Tri-City Herald: No decision reached on Hanford cleanup deadlines Published Thursday, July 26th, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer No decision has been reached on a new schedule of legally binding cleanup deadlines at the Hanford nuclear reservation. That announcement came Wednesday as Hanford regulators and the Department of Energy finished a series of planned meetings that started in late May. "We are evaluating the information we received and will work together on the next steps," said a statement issued after the meeting. It was signed by representatives of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology and Office of the Attorney General. In April the state agreed to enter high-level negotiations with the Department of Energy over missed legal deadlines in the Tri-Party Agreement for cleanup of Hanford rather than moving toward legal action. However, state officials said taking issues to court remained an option if negotiations were not successful. Gov. Chris Gregoire has warned in the past that she does not intend to extend legally binding deadlines without a good reason. Negotiations began in late May as key leaders of the agencies met in Richland. They said then that they would be working toward an agreement on a realistic but aggressive schedule for cleanup of Hanford where plutonium was produced for more than four decades for the nation's nuclear weapons program. The talks, which were closed to the public, were expected to focus on two key Hanford projects that have fallen far behind schedule -- emptying radioactive waste from leak-prone underground tanks and turning the waste into a stable glass form at the vitrification plant that's under construction. But after the series of planned sessions with lead negotiators at the table ended Wednesday, the agencies had little to say. "A lot of valuable information has been exchanged," said their statement. "The parties appreciate the opportunity to talk openly with each other." © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 58 Knoxville News Sentinel: Feds defend Y-12 grenade launchers Spokesman says OR security trained on weapons with practice rounds By Frank Munger (Contact) Thursday, July 26, 2007 OAK RIDGE — A federal spokesman Wednesday defended the use of grenade launchers to protect the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, although he said officials are looking at ways to enhance the training for security police. “We are currently exploring options to train with live ammunition,” said Steven Wyatt of the National Nuclear Security Administration. He would not specify what options are being considered, although use of military bases has been mentioned as a possibility. The comments came after the release of a report earlier this week that identified concerns with grenade launchers at another nuclear weapons facility in Texas. The report by the Department of Energy’s Inspector General found deficiencies with the weapon system as it was deployed and cited inadequate training at the Pantex warhead-assembly plant near Amarillo. Wyatt said the Oak Ridge security force was equipped with a different type of grenade launcher than the one used at Pantex. He also said the current training regimen, which relies on practice rounds that contain “colored powder” instead of high explosives, “provides adequate skills and familiarization” with the grenade launchers. Wackenhut Services, the government’s main security contractor in Oak Ridge, earlier this year revealed the purchase of grenade launchers and other high-powered armaments to meet new security requirements. At the time, Wackenhut officials and their federal counterparts said extensive safety reviews were conducted in advance of deploying grenade launchers. “It’s a concern having grenades because they’re very lethal,” said Jean “John” Burleson, Wackenhut’s general manager in Oak Ridge. “You have to weigh that against the threat of someone coming in and taking (enriched uranium from Y-12).” The Inspector General’s report released Tuesday said the MK-19 40-millimeter grenade launcher used at Pantex was supposed to be used in darkness or other “reduced-visibility” conditions. However, inspectors found that weapons had been deployed without a night-vision device or other equipment compatible with the sighting system. Inspectors also said the training program at Pantex did not provide security officers with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the tasks. Wyatt said Oak Ridge security police officers use an M203 single-shot, 40-millimeter grenade launcher that is mounted on Bushmaster M4 rifles. Wackenhut said the grenade launchers have a range up to 350 meters. The Oak Ridge Central Training Facility is not equipped to handle the firing of high explosives, which is why guards practice with rounds containing colored powder, Wyatt said. “These practice rounds weigh and act like a real grenade but do not explode in the same fashion as grenades containing (high explosives),” he said in an e-mail response to questions. Wackenhut has trained guards in the proper and safe use of grenade launchers, he said. “We remain confident that the use of the M203 poses no risk to the community, and it provides our security forces with the level of defensive capability they need,” he said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 59 Exec Digital: Rocky Flats becomes national wildlife refuge Source:ExecDigital July News Date:26/07/2007 08:30:27 4,000 acres of Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production site will be used as a National Wildlife Refuge, according to DOE. After more than a decade of environmental cleanup work, the transfer creates the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, 16 miles northwest of Denver, Colorado, and marks completion of the regulatory milestones to transform a formerly contaminated site into an environmental asset. “The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup of the Rocky Flats weapons production reservation exemplifies the Bush Administration’s commitment to turn contaminated sites into public assets for future generations,” Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management James Rispoli says. “We are proud to transfer this space to the U.S. Department of Interior and we will continue with plans to complete environmental cleanup work at five more sites across the country by 2009.” From 1951 until 1989 the Rocky Flats Plant manufactured the trigger mechanism for nearly every nuclear weapon in the United States. The manufacturing processes resulted in radiological and hazardous material contamination; including plutonium, uranium, beryllium and hazardous chemical compounds, that were released into the air, ground and water surrounding the plant. In 2005, DOE certified the environmental cleanup work at the former Rocky Flats site complete. The 10-year environmental cleanup of the site cost approximately $7 billion and finished more than 50 years ahead of initial forecasts and for nearly $30 billion less than estimated in 1994. The Rocky Flats site encompasses approximately 6,200 acres of high prairie that has been closed to the public for more than 50 years. During production and cleanup, a 5,800-acre buffer zone surrounded the 400-acre industrial area where the trigger mechanisms for nearly every nuclear weapon in the nation’s arsenal were manufactured. “With the transfer of nearly 4,000 acres from the Department of Energy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will establish the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in order to conserve the rare and unique tallgrass prairie found along Colorado’s Front Range,” U.S. Department of Interior’s Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service H. Dale Hall says. “As intended by Congress, the refuge will preserve a lasting wildlife and habitat legacy for future generations.” Since 2005, DOE has worked to finalize regulatory requirements and prepare to transfer the site to FWS. In May 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed regulatory certification and released the lands for unrestricted use as a National Wildlife Refuge. DOE will retain approximately 1,300 acres in the center of the site for long-term surveillance and maintenance. This area is protected by physical and institutional controls and contains surface and groundwater monitoring equipment, four groundwater treatment systems, and two closed landfills. FWS is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. In 2005, FWS announced a comprehensive conservation plan and associated environmental impact statement for the refuge that creates a management framework for the next 15 years. Pursuant to the plan, public use will increase gradually over the 15-year life of the plan, as resources become available. FWS announced that visitor use facilities will eventually include approximately 16 miles of trails, a seasonally staffed visitor contact station, trailheads with parking, and developed overlooks. Most of the trails will use existing roads, and public access will be by foot, bicycle, horse or car and the FWS plans to develop a limited public hunting program. FWS will publish official notice of the refuge establishment in the Federal Register within the next 30 days. To date, DOE has restored 84 sites that played a role in the Cold War era mission across the nation. In the past two years, DOE has safely cleaned up nine sites and is on track to close five more by 2009. This website is published by White Digital Media Ltd / Inc www.whitedm.com UK Offices | US Offices (c) White Digital Media 2007 ***************************************************************** 60 knoxnews.com: TVA board to consider Watts Bar 2 As expected, the TVA board will consider -- and almost certainly approve -- the completion of the never-finished Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant at its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 1. (Read here for some background.) Wednesday's meeting will also feature the annual budget presentation. TVA board meetings are open to the public, with an opportunity for public comments. Click through for the full agenda. Meeting No. 07-04 August 1, 2007 Meeting Notice Tennessee Valley Authority The TVA Board of Directors will hold a public meeting at 9 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, August 1, 2007, in the TVA West Tower Auditorium, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to consider the matters listed below. Following a presentation of each agenda item and any related discussion, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the issues under consideration before the Board votes. The public may also comment on any subject at a public listening session immediately following the Board meeting. Those who wish to comment on an agenda item or during the listening session must register at the meeting prior to 9 a.m. The Board will answer questions from the news media following the public listening session. New Business 1. President’s Report 2. Report of the Finance, Strategy, and Rates Committee A. Annual budget B. Customer Items i. Time-of-use power supply arrangements with a directly-served customer ii. Real time energy arrangements iii. Implementation of 5-Minute Response program iv. Interconnection agreements with the cities of Princeton and Paducah, Kentucky v. Limited interruptible power/Limited firm power C. PURPA determinations D. Financial trading program modifications 3. Report of the Operations, Environment, and Safety Committee A. Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 construction and startup B. Authorization to purchase a combined cycle generating facility C. Amended Board Practice on Fuel, Power Purchases or Sales, and Related Contract Approvals 4. Report of the Human Resources Committee For more information: Please call TVA Media Relations at (865) 632-6000, Knoxville, Tennessee. Information is also available at TVA’s Washington Office (202) 898-2999. People who plan to attend the meeting and have special needs should call (865) 632-6000. Anyone who wishes to comment on any of the agenda in writing may send their comments to: TVA Board of Directors, Board Agenda Comments, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. Posted by Andrew Eder on July 26, 2007 at 10:02 AM Share this post: Digg It! | Add to del.icio.us | Submit to Reddit | Add to Netscape | Technorati © 2007 Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************