***************************************************************** 08/01/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.179 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 RIA Novosti: Nuclear pollution could delay IAEA work in N. Korea - a 2 US: [NYTr] Incredible Chutzpah: Nuke Industry Wants $50+ Billion to 3 RIA Novosti: Russian experts to visit missile defense base in Alaska 4 US: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Casey criticizes Bush over nuclear poli 5 US: Helen Caldicott: Lectures and Public Appearances 6 US: IHT: U.S. Senate urges Putin to reconsider suspension of treaty 7 US: lamonitor.com: Senate schedule leaves little time for LANL budge 8 [NYTr] FCNL E-News: 62nd Anniv of US Nuclear Attacks on Japan, 9 RIA Novosti: Lavrov says U.S. failed to justify Europe missile shiel 10 UPI Commentary: Will Asia choose clean energy or dirty energy? NUCLEAR REACTORS 11 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Davis-Besse 12 US: POAC: Oyster Creek nuclear plant still at reduced output 13 US: Earth Times: Concerned Scientists criticize nuke plant 14 US: NRC: NRC Receives Additional Information, Extends Review for Ver 15 US: themorningcall.com: PPL creates nuclear post -- 16 US: PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Local lawmakers seek no-fly zone over I 17 IHT: Japan says it will move cautiously on nuclear cooperation with 18 US: Reuters: U.S. receives application for 1st reactor in 30 years 19 US: Reuters: TVA to complete Tennessee Watts Bar 2 reactor 20 US: Reuters: PSEG to explore new reactor at NJ Hope Creek plant 21 US: Guardian Unlimited: TVA OKs Second Watts Bar Nuclear Reactor 22 CBC News: Ontario doesn't need planned nuclear plants - study 23 US: Public Citizen: Congress Should Not Bow to Nuclear Industry Dema 24 US: LocalNews8.com: Bipartisian group of senators introduces downwin 25 asahi.com: Nuke plant shaking was 6.8 times more intense than TEPCO 26 asahi.com: UTILITIES: Plant damage to lower TEPCO earnings - 27 Daily Yomiuri: No chemical fire engines at Monju reactor 28 The Hindu: Bengal assembly adopts motion seeking details of 123 pact NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 29 SF Chronicle: Honoring witnesses to a nuclear nightmare 30 US: Honolulu Advertiser: Schofield burn monitored for uranium risk 31 US: The Spectrum: RECA bill to be introduced 32 AU ABC: NSW electricity supply at risk: Iemma - 33 US: Portage Daily Register: Radioactive device stolen from construct NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 34 US: GNEP 35 ReviewJournal.com: DOE evaluating media consultants 36 ReviewJournal.com: State files court papers to halt Yucca Mountain w 37 NRC: Application for a License To Export High-Enriched Uranium 38 US: NRC: Request for a License To Export Radioactive Waste 39 US: Guardian Unlimited: Finger Pointing After Nuclear Waste Leak 40 US: NRC: Request for a License To Import Radioactive Waste 41 US: UPI: NNSA building new MOX nuke fuel plant 42 Reid: Reid: Doe Hiring PR Firm To Do Yucca's Dirty Work 43 JOGJCC: UKAEA workers at Dounreay get bonuses 44 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Pull the plug already PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 45 SF New Mexican: Nuke waste advisory board is recruiting 46 Tri-City Herald: Hanford spill caused by waste backup 47 Examiner.com: DOE official acknowledges mixed guidance on Savannah l 48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Audit: Oak Ridge workers’ personal info n 49 Knoxville News Sentinel: Y-12 jobs safe for rest of year; 2008 outlo 50 Oak Ridger: DOE to test sirens Wednesday - 51 Oak Ridger: Emergency management exercise planned at BWXT Y-12 on Au ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 RIA Novosti: Nuclear pollution could delay IAEA work in N. Korea - agency 11:28 | 01/ 08/ 2007 TOKYO, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Radioactive contamination could delay the work of experts from the UN nuclear watchdog to seal North Korea's nuclear facilities, shut down by Pyongyang under a disarmament deal agreed in Beijing in February, the Kyodo news agency said Wednesday. The agency cited sources at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as saying that traces of radiation have been detected at a an operational five-megawatt nuclear reactor and a plutonium-extraction plant in Yongbyon, 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital Pyongyang. IAEA experts arrived in North Korea in July to put seals and install monitoring equipment at five North Korean nuclear facilities by mid-August as part of an international effort to fold Pyongyang's nuclear program. The IAEA officials said the contamination did not pose any threat to the environment, but would delay their work until the end of August because the inspectors had to decontaminate the facilities before installing the monitoring equipment and seals. "Their [North Korean] nuclear safety standards differ from our standards," Kyodo quoted an IAEA experts as saying. The Yongbyon complex consists of an operational five-megawatt nuclear reactor, a plutonium-extraction plant, a nuclear fuel production facility and research labs. The site also contains a 50-megawatt reactor whose construction was suspended under a 1994 nuclear deal with the United States. The latest round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament ended July 20 without setting a deadline for the next steps in preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons, but participants reaffirmed their commitment to push forward with the process. Envoys from China, Japan, Russia, the U.S. and the two Koreas have agreed to schedule meetings for working groups to discuss how to disable North Korea's nuclear facilities by the end of August and to hold the next round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program in early September, followed shortly thereafter by a ministerial meeting. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 2 [NYTr] Incredible Chutzpah: Nuke Industry Wants $50+ Billion to Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 20:43:30 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Mid-Missouri Peaceworks - Jul 31, 2007 This story, which ran in today's NY Times, is amazing. The nuclear industry has absolutely no shame. They expect the American taxpayers to roll over and underwrite a whole new generation of economic lemons. They want $50 billion in loan guarantees just for the next two years for an established industry. If, after 50 years the nuclear power industry can't operate profitably or attract investment capital without massive subsidies, why should the taxpayers absorb even a dime's worth of risk? (Not to mention the fact that after all these decades they still haven't figured out what to do with their waste, or that they still demand Price-Anderson to shield them from liability in the event of accidents.) A couple of points from the Times article that shouldn't be missed: ** "Michael J. Wallace, the co-chief executive of UniStar Nuclear, a partnership seeking to build nuclear reactors, and executive vice president of Constellation Energy, said: 'Without loan guarantees we will not build nuclear power plants.'" One of the leading advocates for a so-called "nuclear renaissance" admits that the tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies already provided will not coax Wall St. into financing new nukes. It will take the taxpayers underwriting the entire venture. ** "But the Bush administration opposes the measure, fearing that it could prove extremely costly. "The provision would 'remove appropriate controls over the size of the program and increase taxpayer liability,' the Office of Management and Budget wrote in an official position statement on the energy bill." Did you catch that? Even the zealously pro-nuclear Bush administration is opposing this. They have proposed $4 billion in loan guarantees for all technologies, the nuclear gang wants tens of billions so they can start building plants that the NYT reports are likely to cost "about $4 to $5 billion apiece." Clearly, with 28 of these dinosaurs on the drawing board, even the $50 billion figure is just a down payment. If you want to understand why new nukes are such a wasteful place to squander our limited capital, please read "Why a Future for the Nuclear Industry is Risky," By Peter Bradford and David Schlissel at: http://www.cleanenergy.org/resources/reports/WhyNewNukesAreRiskyFACTSHEET.pdf If this concerns you, now is the time to make your voice heard. The nuclear boys are doing just that. Thanks for your concern and your action, -Mark Haim *** The New York Times - Jul 31, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/washington/31nuclear.html Energy Bill Aids Expansion of Atomic Power By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and MATTHEW L. WALD WASHINGTON, July 30 A one-sentence provision buried in the Senates recently passed energy bill, inserted without debate at the urging of the nuclear power industry, could make builders of new nuclear plants eligible for tens of billions of dollars in government loan guarantees. Lobbyists have told lawmakers and administration officials in recent weeks that the nuclear industry needs as much as $50 billion in loan guarantees over the next two years to finance a major expansion. The biggest champion of the loan guarantees is Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy Committee and one of the nuclear industrys strongest supporters in Congress. Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico and the energy bills author, has long argued that nuclear power plants do not need federal loan guarantees. Mr. Bingaman said that the industry was over-interpreting the provision and that it would provide loan guarantees for only the most innovative power plants. But the provision has the potential to considerably expand the nuclear industry, which plans to build 28 new reactors at an estimated cost of about $4 billion to $5 billion apiece. And while the nuclear industry would be the biggest beneficiary, the provision could also set the stage for billions of dollars in loan guarantees for power plants that use clean coal technology and renewable fuels. The nuclear industry is enjoying growing political support after decades of opposition from environmental groups and others concerned about the risks. An increasing number of lawmakers in both parties, worried about global warming and dependence on foreign oil, support some expansion of nuclear power. But the provision could go much further than many lawmakers had in mind by giving the Department of Energy the power to approve an unlimited amount of loan guarantees for clean power generation. Under legislation enacted in 2005, nuclear power qualifies as a clean technology because it does not emit carbon gases that contribute to global warming. Power companies have tentative plans to put the 28 new reactors at 19 sites around the country. Industry executives insist that banks and Wall Street will not provide the money needed to build new reactors unless the loans are guaranteed in their entirety by the federal government. The federal government guarantees many billions of loans each year to help farmers, exporters, small businesses and students. The government does not actually lend the money but agrees to pay it back in case the borrower defaults. While the nuclear industry says it will need $25 billion in loan guarantees in 2008 and $50 billion over the next two years, President Bush had proposed a far smaller amount $4 billion in new loan guarantees next year for clean electric power technologies, which include plants that run on so-called clean coal technologies and renewable fuels. Many experts fear that the proposed subsidies could leave taxpayers responsible for billions of dollars in soured loans. Such projects, by their nature, pose significant technical and market risks, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned last month in an analysis of the provision. Studies of the accuracy of cost estimates for pioneering technologies have found that estimates are consistently low. Michael J. Wallace, the co-chief executive of UniStar Nuclear, a partnership seeking to build nuclear reactors, and executive vice president of Constellation Energy, said: Without loan guarantees we will not build nuclear power plants. The little-noticed provision in the Senate bill subtly refines and expands the loan guarantee program that Congress passed in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. As before, the Department of Energy would be allowed to guarantee 100 percent of the loans and up to 80 percent of the total cost to build a reactor. But the bill essentially allows the department to approve as many loan guarantees as it wants for both new reactors and plants that use other clean technologies. That is a big change. Under current law, the government is only allowed to guarantee a volume of loans authorized each year by Congress. Last year, Congress limited the government to awarding just $4 billion in loan guarantees for clean energy projects during the 2007 fiscal year. Mr. Domenici, who has been pushing the Energy Department to move much more aggressively in approving loan guarantees, has argued that there is no need for limits on the loan volume because power companies will be required to pay an upfront fee to cover the estimated cost of the guarantee. In essence, the credit subsidy payments would be used as a kind of insurance premium that could be used to cover the cost of any defaulted loan. It is very clear that this is a self-financing program, Mr. Domenici told James Nussle, Mr. Bushs nominee to become the White House budget director, at Mr. Nussles confirmation hearing last week. There should already be $25 billion to $30 billion in the loan guarantee fund. But the Bush administration opposes the measure, fearing that it could prove extremely costly. The provision would remove appropriate controls over the size of the program and increase taxpayer liability, the Office of Management and Budget wrote in an official position statement on the energy bill. Michele Boyd, legislative director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said the measure would subsidize plants with conventional technology. None of these so-called advanced nuclear reactors deal with the fundamental flaws of nuclear power, such as dangerous radioactive waste, vulnerabilities to air attack and excessive cost, said Ms. Boyd, whose staff began investigating the provision shortly after the Senate passed the bill last month. Mr. Bingaman, the bills primary architect, said that he was aware of the provision but believed that it would apply only to reactors with fundamentally new technology. I would be amazed if this generic loan program applied to most of the plants that are being proposed, either for the nuclear industry or coal industry, Mr. Bingaman said Monday night. The idea of this is not just to help an industry build plants. Its to demonstrate new technology that meets the nations energy needs. But industry officials say the measure would directly affect the reactors on the drawing board. I think we can say that with all the projects moving forward on the schedule they are now on, that there could be a need for $20 to $25 billion in loan guarantees, said Richard Myers, vice president for policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association. The House is hoping to pass its own energy bill this week. But leading House Democrats have made it clear they oppose any kind of loan guarantees for nuclear reactors. The House recently passed an appropriations bill for energy and water programs that included $7 billion in loan guarantees for projects involving renewable energy and specifically excluded nuclear plants. Representative Peter J. Visclosky, Democrat of Indiana and chairman of the House Appropriations Committees panel on energy and water, said last month that the nuclear industry had estimated a need of $25 billion in guaranteed loans for next year and more than that in 2009. The industrys request, Mr. Visclosky warned, overwhelms what the committee had been willing to offer the entire energy industry. Still, nuclear industry executives say they hope the Senates loan guarantee provision will be adopted by House lawmakers. [ends] ----------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Missouri Peaceworks 804-C E. Broadway Columbia, MO 65201 573-875-0539 E-mail: mail@midmopeaceworks.org Web site: www.midmopeaceworks.org Check out our News Blog http://www.midmopeaceworks.org/articles.php "Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion." -- Dwight David Eisenhower * ================================================================= .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://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 3 RIA Novosti: Russian experts to visit missile defense base in Alaska 19:52 | 01/ 08/ 2007 MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian-U.S. talks on missile defense in Europe have ended in Washington with a U.S. invitation for Russian specialists to visit a missile base in Alaska. Military and political officials from the two countries discussed Tuesday prospects for cooperation on the highly divisive issue with U.S. officials offering their perspective on the Pentagon's plans to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Rood said Russia had accepted an invitation to view U.S. missile interceptors at a base in Alaska to address Russian concerns over U.S. missile defense plans. It was not clear when the visit might take place. "I think there is a significantly better understanding on the Russian side about why we are pursuing a missile defense capability," Rood said after the presentation. "We are trying to expand on what President Putin put forward, and to use that as an opportunity to see if we can develop some cooperation." But Russian representatives reiterated Moscow's position that the U.S. has no reason to build a missile defense system in Europe until there is conclusive evidence showing that Iran has the capability to launch long-range nuclear-armed missiles. The U.S. has said it wants to place a radar and a host of interceptor missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic to fend off what Washington sees as an impending missile threat from Iran and North Korea. But Russia regards these plans as a threat to its national security. President Vladimir Putin, during his two-day meeting with President George W. Bush at the Bush family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, last month, proposed incorporating a new radar, currently being built in southern Russia, into a missile defense system managed by the NATO-Russia Joint Permanent Council, of which Moscow and Washington are members. Russia also said it is ready to upgrade its early warning radar in Gabala, Azerbaijan, which was also proposed as an alternative to U.S. missile plans, but Washington has repeatedly called it obsolete. Russia's future radar base is located near the town of Armavir, in the Krasnodar Territory - about 700 km (450 miles) to the northwest of the Iranian border, and just 100 km to the north of Sochi, the Russian alpine resort on the Black Sea, whose bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics will be decided tomorrow in Guatemala. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 4 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Casey criticizes Bush over nuclear policies Says U.S. has disregarded cooperation Wednesday, August 01, 2007 By Jerome L. Sherman, WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey yesterday chastised the Bush administration for "wrongheaded" policies in the global effort to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. "The administration has shown a blatant disregard for the diplomacy and multilateral cooperation so essential to a strong nonproliferation regime," Mr. Casey, D-Pa., said during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, citing the American withdrawal in 2001 from the anti-ballistic missile treaty and North Korea's expanded nuclear program. Mr. Casey chaired the committee meeting, a rare achievement for a freshman senator, especially one who faced tough questions from his opponent on foreign policy issues on the campaign trail last year. In the race's final weeks, Sen. Rick Santorum said Mr. Casey, then state treasurer, was "unready, unqualified for the office that he seeks at a very critical time in our nation's future." Mr. Casey countered that the charge was "ridiculous." Soon after winning his seat, he received a post on the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee, which, over the past seven months, has held dozens of hearings on issues ranging from Iraq to Darfur to global climate change. Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., asked Mr. Casey to lead yesterday's hearing, "Safeguarding the Atom: Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation Challenges." "It's an issue that doesn't get a lot of attention," Mr. Casey said. "But it's critical." Indeed, the hearing highlighted the expanding workload for the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, as countries begin building more nuclear power plants to meet a soaring demand for energy, particularly in the world's most populous nations, India and China. There are 435 commercial nuclear power plants operating in 30 countries, Mr. Casey said. Those plants produce about 16 percent of the world's electricity. Some nations are considering building plants for the first time, including Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam and Yemen. How can the global community ensure that those facilities are used for civilian, not military, purposes? Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., the ranking Republican on the committee, and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., have introduced a bill that would guarantee a supply of affordable nuclear power to nations that abandon their own uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing facilities, the ingredients needed for weapons programs. The bill calls for the possible creation of an International Nuclear Fuel Authority. Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, said the Bush administration is already pursuing that approach through diplomacy and existing laws. The IAEA, an Austria-based organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology, faces significant budgetary challenges that would only grow if it takes on some of the proposals of the Lugar-Bayh bill. Mr. Lugar visited the IAEA's facilities last year, and he said it contains aging equipment that will have trouble keeping pace with a growing global nuclear power infrastructure. The organization, which is largely funded by voluntary contributions, has seen its budget for nuclear inspections increase only moderately in recent years, from $83 million in 2003 to $108 million this year, despite concerns over the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran. The United States is the largest voluntary contributor, giving $53 million, including $21 million for the nuclear safeguards program, Mr. Semmel said. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, praised Mr. Lugar for not yet putting a final price tag on his bill. "The idea that this government -- with a $3 trillion budget -- should be worried about a $50 million private contribution over something this important is mildly obscene," he said. "That can't be the argument. Take your time. Get it right." Mr. Casey hasn't decided if he'll support the measure. But he called for continued vigilance on the "nightmarish scenario of a nuclear weapon exploding in an American city." "We must renew our efforts to reinforce the nuclear nonproliferation regime and prevent additional states from acquiring the deadliest weapons known to humanity," he said. Jerome L. Sherman can be reached at jsherman@post-gazette.com or 202-488-3479. ***************************************************************** 5 Helen Caldicott: Lectures and Public Appearances Helen Caldicott, MD Dr. Caldicott regularly makes public appearances in a variety of contexts, most of which are open to the general public. Dr. Caldicotts public lectures address the dangers of the nuclear age. She outlines why the nuclear age is the single greatest threat to the worlds public health, namely the profound medical, environmental, political and moral consequences of perpetuating nuclear weapons, power and waste. To enquire about booking Dr. Caldicott as a speaker, click here. To see online video footage of Dr. Caldicott speaking, click on the links below: * Use of Depleted Uranium Is a Form of Radiologic Warfare * Lecture in Regina, Canada, March 2007 * Speaking on War In Heaven at Busboys & Poets, Washington, DC, March 2007 * Video op-ed: Nuclear Power Contraindicated as a Solution to Global Warming 2007 Lectures and Appearances 12th May - Kempsey NSW - 11.30am-12.30, Kempsey Public Library 1.45pm, Public Meeting, Kempsey Anglican Church Contact: Christa Schwoebel 02 6562 8250 15th May - Melbourne VIC - 7.15am Breakfast Plenary (open to public), Future Summit 2007 The Grand Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne Contact: Caroline Johnson 03 9664 1964 19th May - Brisbane QLD - 9.30am, Creche and Kindergarten Association Conference Brisbane Convention Centre Contact: Silvia Bowles 0411 599 517 21st May - Brisbane QLD - 11.30am Round Table discussion, National Business Leaders Conference Customs House, Brisbane Contact: www.sustainableforum.com.au 31st May - Alice Springs NT - Time 6.30pm, John Flynn Memorial Church Hall, Alice Springs Contact: Jessica Morrison 0431 519 577 October 4 - Speak in Manchester UK October 6 - Green Festival, Washington, DC Convention Center October 8 - Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda MD 20814-4099 October 9 - College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN October 14 - AFSC in Concord, NH October 15 - Labyrinth Books in Connecticut October 16 - Grand Rounds in Waterbury, CT October 17 - Event in Fredericton, New Brunswick October 21 - PSR-Seattle Keynote Speaker at Dinner October 22 - Public Lecture Antioch-Seattle October 23 - Public Lecture, Boise State University October 25 - Grand Rounds at Swedish Hospital in Seattle ***************************************************************** 6 IHT: U.S. Senate urges Putin to reconsider suspension of treaty - International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: August 1, 2007 WASHINGTON: The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Wednesday urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to reconsider suspending Russia's participation in a treaty limiting the deployment of military forces in Europe. The measure comes at time of heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over Western concerns that Russia is edging away from democracy and Kremlin suspicions about the West's intentions. On July 14, Putin announced he would suspend Russia's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty after 150 days. "A Russia that seeks to build a permanent partnership with the West can't act in this manner," Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, the author of the Senate resolution, said in a statement. Copyright 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 7 lamonitor.com: Senate schedule leaves little time for LANL budget The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said that he expected budget cuts for Los Alamos National Laboratory to be more modest than those indicated in the House appropriation bill. "As far as the level of funding, there will be some cuts, but not nearly as drastic as the House proposed," Bingaman said Tuesday in a weekly press conference with New Mexico radio reporters. "That's where I expect it will come out." Asked if there were other missions that the laboratory might pursue in addition to nuclear weapons work, Bingaman said the laboratory is already doing a great deal - working with intelligence agencies and other non-nuclear defense work, alternative energy and other national priorities. "Funding to maintain and modernize our nuclear weapons program is probably not going to be as robust in the future as it has been in the past," he said. The Senate version of the bill that funds the Department of Energy and the weapons program emerged from the Senate Appropriations Committee closer in many respects to the administration's original request. The House bill was approved by the House 312-111, but the Senate bill has yet to be considered on the Senate floor. Bingaman was not sure when that time would arrive, but indicated that it would not be before the August recess, which begins Friday. "We'll try to have that debate in September, when the Senate comes back in session," he said. "I hope very much that it can be done at that time. If not, it will be in October." The Senate resumes on Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day. The fiscal year, by which the federal budget is apportioned, begins Oct. 1. LANL Director Michael Anastasio said last week that there would be no workforce reduction before that time. If no budget has been approved, Congress normally passes a "continuing resolution" to cover obligations for a specific time period. "Continuing resolutions are something we are used to," said lab spokesman Kevin Roark this morning. He said he had seen a recent chart showing that the lab had operated on continuing resolutions for five out of the last seven years, one of them for nine months. "Normally, you continue to operate under a profile identical to the last," he said. "We do the best of our ability to maintain the status quo until there's a bill." According to laboratory figures, total employment at the laboratory is a little more than 12,150. As of June 30, LANS employees numbered 9,070; the security force under Protection Technology Los Alamos had 632. The main services subcontractor KSL totaled 954. A miscellaneous group including students, post-docs and other contractors were about 1,500. 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 [NYTr] FCNL E-News: 62nd Anniv of US Nuclear Attacks on Japan, Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 20:46:34 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Kathy Guthrie, FCNL - Jul 21, 2007 http://www.fcnl.org E-News: Anniversary of Nuclear Attacks, Annual Meeting, and More *Grassroots Action: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrances* This August people around the U.S. will mark the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attacks on Japan. Find out where commemoration events are happening in your community: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/ACWLHMGTPQ/1333386436. If you attend an event, take FCNL's flyer(PDF) to hand out, and help continue to work to rid the world of nuclear weapons: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/NZFBHMGTPR/1333386436. *Iraq: Life Deteriorating Since U.S. Invasion* Two scholars from the respected Brookings Institution returned from Iraq this week to tell Washington that the U.S. military is achieving results in Iraq. But a consortium of relief organizations working in Iraq reports that living conditions for ordinary Iraqis have deteriorated significantly since the U.S. invasion four years ago and continue to deteriorate. Four million Iraqis regularly cannot buy enough to eat, and 70 percent of Iraqis lack adequate water supplies, according to the report released by Oxfam. Read the report: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/LQPAHMGTPS/1333386436. *FCNL in the News: Iraq--Finding the Diamonds? (Foreign Policy in Focus)* Col. Dan Smith (USA, Ret.) contrasts the cautiously optimistic stance of U.S. officials in Baghdad with the growing discontent in Congress and the media with the Iraq war's progress. The experience of failure in Vietnam, Dan argues, prompts current military leaders to "search for every flash of good news as evidence that sustaining political pressure on Baghdad will -- like sustained pressure converts carbon into diamonds -- transform the country's current chaos into a durable, shining democracy." Read the article: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/LKRQHMGTPT/1333386436. *From the Hill: FCNL Lobbies for Energy Efficient Building Codes* As the House of Representatives considers its version of an energy bill, FCNL has joined Greenpeace, the American Institute of Architects, Honeywell Building Solutions, and others in calling on Congress to require states to adopt building codes that encourage energy conservation. Read the letter: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/MYPZHMGTPU/1333386436. *FCNL In the News: Appropriations Bill May Limit Cluster Bomb Exports* A few members of Congress are making a discreet move to limit the U.S.'s exports of cluster bombs, a weapon that has been used around the world since the Second World War to devastating humanitarian consequences. Buried amongst funding provisions for the U.S. State Department and other foreign operations was a provision that would significantly limit the U.S. export of cluster bombs. Read the article:http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/EIDRHMGTPV/1333386436. *FCNL Annual Meeting: Rep. John Lewis on Practicing Non-Violence in Congress* Atlanta Representative John Lewis, a leader of the U.S. civil rights movement, will speak at FCNL's Annual Meeting from his experience as a committed non-violent activist working in the U.S. Congress during one of the longest running wars in U.S. history: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/KOIQHMGTPW/1333386436. FCNL's Annual Meeting will be held November 8-11, 2007 at the Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington, DC. Find out more and register: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/ASJTHMGTPY/1333386436. *Job Opening at FCNL: Director of Young Adult Program* FCNL is seeking a dynamic organizer to direct our young adult program. This program is a critical part of our effort to rebuild democracy in the U.S. by encouraging young people to lobby and engage with their elected officials in Washington. The Director of the Young Adult Program has lead responsibility for developing a program that engages more students and young adults in FCNL's work. Find out more, including how to apply: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/EKMMHMGTPZ/1333386436. *War is Not the Answer: Yard Signs Available in All 50 States!* With the addition of a yard sign distributor in Montana, you can pick up a yard sign in every state in the U.S. In twelve states, FCNL volunteers distribute yard signs in every congressional district in the state. Order your sign today and email our Field program staff (mailto: field@fcnl.org) if you'd like to distribute yard signs in your neighborhood:http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/MXYWHMGTQA/1333386436. *War is Not the Answer Photo of the Week* image: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/DMVSHMGTQB/1333386436 The team at Casa de los Amigos, a Quaker peace center in Mexico City. For more information: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/KZDYHMGQIX/CHZMHMGTQC/1333386436. _______________________________________T * ================================================================= .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://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 9 RIA Novosti: Lavrov says U.S. failed to justify Europe missile shield -1 21:59 | 01/ 08/ 2007 MANILA, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister said the United States failed to produce convincing evidence of a need to deploy its missile defense system in Central Europe at the first round of negotiations in Washington. "We did not hear any convincing facts that could have made us change our views," Sergei Lavrov told journalists during his visit to Manila, the Philippine capital. The minister said the sides had agreed to prepare thoroughly for the second round of talks due in Moscow in early September. The Russian delegation at the talks on missile defense held in Washington on July 30-31 was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak. At the negotiations, military and political officials from the two countries discussed prospects for cooperation on the issue, and the U.S. invited Russian specialists to view U.S. missile interceptors at a base in Alaska. Russian representatives reiterated Moscow's position that the U.S. has no reason to build a missile defense system in Europe until there is conclusive evidence showing that Iran has the capability to launch long-range nuclear-armed missiles. The U.S. has said it wants to place a radar and a host of interceptor missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic to fend off what Washington sees as an impending missile threat from Iran and North Korea. But Russia regards these plans as a threat to its national security. President Vladimir Putin, during his two-day meeting with President George W. Bush at the Bush family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, last month, proposed incorporating a new radar, currently being built in southern Russia, into a missile defense system managed by the NATO-Russia Joint Permanent Council, of which Moscow and Washington are members. Russia also said it is ready to upgrade its early warning radar in Gabala, Azerbaijan, which was also proposed as an alternative to U.S. missile plans, but Washington has repeatedly called it obsolete. Russia's future radar base is located near the town of Armavir, in the Krasnodar Territory - about 700 km (450 miles) to the northwest of the Iranian border, and just 100 km to the north of Sochi, the Russian alpine resort on the Black Sea, whose bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics will be decided tomorrow in Guatemala. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 10 UPI Commentary: Will Asia choose clean energy or dirty energy? UPI Asia Online - Economics - TORONTO, Jul. 31 HARI SUD Column: Abroad View There is a paradigm shift underway in the economic order of the world. The two most populous countries in Asia will soon become the second and third economic powers of the world. The two billion people of China and India will constitute an economic powerhouse -- although still far behind the West, collectively they will alter the world economic order permanently. There are three things which could hold back this process, however: energy resources, lack of technology or climatic catastrophe. Abundance of energy is the key to the progress of both India and China. Without adequate clean energy, their economic prosperity will come crashing down like a house of cards. Energy in Asia over the past 60 years has come from hydroelectricity, coal, oil and natural gas. New methods of harnessing renewable energy such as wind power, solar energy and bio-fuels have not made inroads into Asia. These are still experimental technologies, and their large-scale use is either unlikely or far away. But the concept of exploiting renewable energy sources is a good one. Every kilowatt of energy generated by renewable sources goes into reducing greenhouse gases that are detrimental to the environment. Coal is by far the most abundantly used fossil fuel to generate power and supply other forms of energy. It is also the dirtiest source of energy. China has the world's second largest reserves of coal, but it is low grade with high sulfur content. Its usage generates two main pollutants: carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide (and small quantities of nitrogen oxide as well). The former creates greenhouses gases, the major cause of global warming. The latter produces acidity, which washes down on unsuspecting crops, lakes and forests, killing them over a period of time. China produces about 80 percent of its power using coal and dumps about 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the environment. This is second only to the United States, which dumps twice as much. India produces about 70 percent of its energy from coal and is not as great a polluter as China and the United States. It dumps about 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the environment. The use of oil to generate power and supply other forms of energy has expanded twenty fold since World War II. It was always known that the supply of oil was not inexhaustible, yet mankind continues to pump oil from the ground. Depleting oil reserves are now prompting the search for other ways of generating energy. India and China, with low oil supplies and reserves, are acutely dependent on imports and thus eager to explore other energy sources. Oil is also used as a lubricant, petrochemical feedstock, transportation fuel and for other industrial purposes that take precedence over generating power. Natural gas, another fossil fuel, is second only to oil as an energy source in the United States. Reserves in the Middle East, United States, Russia and Central Asia have been exploited over the last half century. Natural gas produces greenhouse gases, but a bit less compared to oil and its products. India and China have minor reserves of this commodity and wish to procure it wherever it is available. A rough estimate is that current known reserves in the world will last 100 years if exploited at the current level. Factoring in the current growth of the Indian and Chinese economies, reserves may last only 60 years. The United States is pushing the use of bio-fuels, seeking to have hydrogen and battery-operated cars replace oil as fuel in the automotive sector. The usefulness of bio-fuels and hydrogen is more hype than truth, however. The bio-fuel production cycle from farm to end user requires about 0.75 gallons of imported oil for every gallon of bio-fuel produced. This makes it still dependent upon depleting oil reserves. The bio-fuel hype will die as soon as the economics behind it are fully known. Hydrogen as a fuel is very efficient and produces no greenhouse gases. But it requires a huge amount of power to electrolyze water into hydrogen molecules. Alternatively natural gas can be reformed into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This is an easier process but it depletes the natural gas reserves and also produces unwanted carbon dioxide. India and China will stay away from these experimental technologies, as they have no cheap gas available and there is no environmental advantage. Battery-operated cars may have a better future, but no technological breakthroughs have been achieved to extend battery life and propel cars at high speeds on highways. To overcome this drawback, petrol and batteries are used together, which increases costs. All of these problems associated with various energy options leave only one alternative, which has been maligned but could ultimately come to the rescue -- atomic power. Critics have been holding up its development because of one major accident at Chernobyl in Russia in 1987. Another accident at Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979 was prevented due to luck and better safety features at the plant. This mode of energy production has its dangers, but given the choices between depleting energy reserves and other experimental technologies it may prove to be the best option. Atomic power is abundant and could support other technologies. It could economically electrolyze water to generate hydrogen for use in cars, for example. India and China have only a few energy choices at this moment in history. China is short on energy reserves except for coal. The same is true of India. Using coal to fulfill their energy requirements is a bad idea, as it is likely to lead to a worldwide environmental catastrophe sooner or later. Hence atomic energy is a much preferred choice for India and China to support their future growth. In fact, India has already made its choices. It has opted for nuclear power to be supplemented with natural gas and to a lesser extent with coal. A mix of these three should adequately address India's energy requirements for the next fifty years and beyond. Once commercial cold fusion technology becomes available, the safety aspect of nuclear power generation will be adequately addressed. Even today, nuclear power is fairly safe. Minor leaks aside, nuclear power plants generally operate safely. Now it is China's turn to make its choices. It cannot keep burning low-grade coal, which is environmentally unsafe. India has compromised with the United States to import U.S. technology to build nuclear power plants. China has to do the same. Less compromise will be required of China, as it is already a recognized nuclear state. Hence, a few concessions on the part of the Chinese and a few safeguards on fissile materials will allow them the free flow of nuclear technology. It is important that they compromise now; thirty years from now will be too late. By then China's agricultural land, forests and lakes will be a wasteland due to acid rain. A nuclear energy choice by China would reduce its greenhouse gases and help avert a worldwide environmental catastrophe. -- (Hari Sud is a retired vice president of C-I-L Inc., a former investment strategies analyst and international relations manager. A graduate of Punjab University and the University of Missouri, he has lived in Canada for the past 34 years. Copyright Hari Sud.) available from Kathleen Hwang, Editor, editor@upiasiaonline.com. All site contents Copyright 2007 News World Communications, Inc. ***************************************************************** 11 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region III - 2007-022 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company on Wednesday, Aug. 8, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located at Oak Harbor, Ohio. The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Energy Education Center, Davis-Besse Administration Building, 5501 North State Route 2, near Oak Harbor. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting. “The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Davis-Besse plant and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. “This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding our regulation of these facilities.” A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/davi_2006q4.pdf. The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Davis-Besse plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Davis-Besse during 2006 were determined to be “green.” As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year. Routine inspections were performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are fire protection, plant security, emergency preparedness, radiation protection, and preparation for reactor vessel head replacement. FirstEnergy has been conducting annual independent assessments of Engineering, Corrective Action, Operations and Safety Culture at the plant since 2004 under the terms of an NRC Confirmatory Order. The NRC will continue to conduct inspection activities to review these assessments, in addition to the baseline inspection program. Current performance information for Davis-Besse is available on the NRC’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DAVI/davi_chart.html NRC news releases are available through a free list server subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. Wednesday, August 01, 2007 ***************************************************************** 12 POAC: Oyster Creek nuclear plant still at reduced output Press of Atlantic City Thursday, August 02, 2007 By DAVID BENSON Staff Writer, (609) 272-7206 Published: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 The Oyster Creek nuclear generating station is still operating at 70 percent of power, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. But AmerGen hopes to be back at 100 percent in order to maximize profits in the developing heat wave, when consumers crank up the air conditioning. The nuclear power plant had a forced shutdown about two weeks ago when an electrical glitch took out one of reactor’s three feedwater pumps. While the Oyster Creek plant can operate with only two pumps, spokeswoman Leslie Cifelli said, losing one suddenly caused the plant to shut down. Last week, workers managed to bring the nuclear plant back online, but the replacement pump vibrated. That meant they couldn’t take the facility to 100 percent power. “Since then, they’ve been trying to get a third pump so they can get back up to full power,” said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The average nuclear plant grosses about $1 million a day. But Sheehan said the NRC doesn’t worry about what a facility earns or loses. “Our concern is not whether they can maximize their profits,” the spokesman said. “Our concern is that they resolve this safely before they come back online.” Cifelli said workers have rebuilt the pump that was damaged by the electrical fault. “It’s in testing right now,” she said. “We’ve put the motor back in, and we’re coupling it to the pump.” The feedwater pump weighs more than 2 tons, and Cifelli said a crane is necessary to move the machinery into place. “I can’t say when we’ll come back online,” she said. Competition among energy companies is fierce. Knowing when a plant will be online or offline gives competitors and unfair advantage, Cifelli said. “But we hope to catch some of the heat wave.” Even though the Oyster Creek facility is operating at only 70 percent of power, no one has been laid off or sent home during the scaled-back operation. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re operating at 20 percent or 100 percent,” Cifelli said. “We work 24/7. There’s always work that needs to be done.” The Oyster Creek nuclear generating station is the smallest of the 17 reactors managed by Exelon, which owns AmerGen Energy Company, LLC operator of the plant. At full power, the plant generates 636 megawatts, enough energy to power 600,000 homes, the equivalent of all the homes in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Copyright 1970- The Press of Atlantic City ***************************************************************** 13 Earth Times: Concerned Scientists criticize nuke plant Posted : Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:02:21 GMT WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 The Union of Concerned Scientists is upset over U.S. plans to build a plutonium processing plant without consulting the International Atomic Energy Agency. The organization specifically is critical of the Energy Department for designing the $5 billion South Carolina facility that will turn plutonium into fuel for U.S. nuclear reactors without making the plans available for inspection by the IAEA. Edwin Lyman, senior staff scientist in UCS's Global Security Program, said the move undermines the credibility of nuclear non-proliferation efforts at a time when the international community is struggling to stop the spread of nuclear weapons materials and technologies around the world. In a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Lyman said the United States has a responsibility to "set the gold standard for safeguards and security" as an example for the rest of the world. Lyman said an IAEA review of the plant design would provide assurances to the international community that the facility will be used for peaceful purposes. He said such a gesture would be a "powerful symbol" to the rest of the world that the United States plays by the same rules that it urges other countries to follow. Copyright 2007 by UPI (c) 2007 Earthtimes.org, All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: NRC Receives Additional Information, Extends Review for Vermont Yankee License Renewal News Release - 2007-096 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is revising its schedule for issuing a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) for the license renewal application from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, about 5 miles south of Brattleboro, Vt. The NRC staff’s inspections and ongoing review of the application have led plant operator Entergy Nuclear Northeast to add information on more than two dozen systems to those already covered by a preliminary SER. Because of this late change to the renewal application, NRC staff will not issue a complete SER on Aug. 1 as initially scheduled. “This change will add at least two months to the review,” said Jim Dyer, Director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. “We’ll set a formal new schedule for completing our work and reaching an overall decision on Vermont Yankee’s license renewal after we receive all of Entergy’s additional information.” Entergy filed the renewal application on Jan. 27, 2006, and if approved, Vermont Yankee’s license would be extended 20 years. The plant’s current license expires March 21, 2012. The NRC staff expects to issue a final Environmental Impact Statement on the renewal application in the near future. In addition to the staff’s work, the NRC’s independent Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards must issue a report on the application, and an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel must conclude a hearing on the application before the staff can reach a final conclusion on renewing the plant’s license. More information on the review is available on the NRC’s Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/v ermont-yankee.html NRC news releases are available through a free list server subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. Wednesday, August 01, 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 themorningcall.com: PPL creates nuclear post -- By Sam Kennedy | Of The Morning Call August 1, 2007 A month after announcing tentative plans to build Pennsylvania's first new nuclear reactor in a quarter-century, PPL Corp. has assigned a high-ranking executive to develop a comprehensive nuclear strategy. The assignment of Bryce Shriver, who has served as president of PPL's generation operation for three years, was announced by the Allentown company on Tuesday. ''We believe that nuclear power will play a role in the effort to address global climate change while ensuring that the U.S. economy has the power it needs for continued prosperity,'' PPL Chief Operating Officer William Spence said in a press release. ''PPL has a very good track record in the nuclear power business, so it is natural for us to develop a strategy that takes advantage of our knowledge and on-the-ground experience.'' In June, PPL sent a letter informing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission it might apply for a license for a third reactor at its Susquehanna plant, about 75 miles northwest of the Lehigh Valley. Such an application would be the first from Pennsylvania since the state became, with the meltdown of a reactor at the Three Mile Island power plant in 1979, the place where the nation's rapid nuclear expansion came to a sudden halt. News of PPL's Susquehanna plan was met immediately by opposition from several environmental and watchdog groups. Among their concerns are radioactive waste disposal and the environmental impact on the Susquehanna River watershed. According to the company's press release, PPL is convinced that nuclear power plants will be an important part of the U.S. electricity generation mix in the future, maybe even more so than they are today. In his new role, Shriver will lead a small group within the company and work with external resources ''to fully assess the best way for PPL to optimize its nuclear power operations,'' COO Spence said. PPL said the assessment will include an examination of pros and cons of construction of a third Susquehanna reactor, participation in other new nuclear power projects and acquisition of existing nuclear plants. Shriver came to PPL in 1999 as general manager of the Susquehanna nuclear plant. He previously worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama. He was named vice president of PPL operations in 2000 and became the company's chief nuclear officer in 2002. PPL said it expects to make a decision on whether to pursue a Susquehanna expansion within the next few months. PPL is one of the Lehigh Valley's two Fortune 500 companies, along with Air Products and Chemicals of Trexlertown and, with about 2,700 workers in Lehigh and Northampton counties, the region's fourth-largest employer. It has electricity delivery operations in Pennsylvania and abroad, including the United Kingdom. Its supply segment, meanwhile, controls about 11,500 megawatts of power production in the United States. sam.kennedy@mcall.com 610-820-6517 Copyright 2007, The Morning Call ***************************************************************** 16 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Local lawmakers seek no-fly zone over Indian Point Wednesday, August 1, 2007 By Erin Kelly Journal Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- Hudson Valley lawmakers are seeking to create a no-fly zone over the Indian Point nuclear facility to protect the plant and the 20 million people who live near it from possible terrorist attack. Democratic Reps. Nita Lowey, Maurice Hinchey, Eliot Engel and John Hall introduced a bill Wednesday in the House to allow Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to prohibit planes from flying over the Buchanan, Westchester County, nuclear plant. "Millions of Americans live and work in the shadows of Indian Point, and we know terrorists have considered nuclear facilities as targets," said Lowey, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. "It's unconscionable to allow airplanes anywhere near this facility." An airspace redesign proposal by the Federal Aviation Administration does not show any routes over Indian Point. However, the New York lawmakers are concerned because the plan does not specifically prohibit planes from flying over the facility. They also have criticized the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to take any action. "There is absolutely no need for the FAA to keep the door open and potentially allow planes to fly directly above Indian Point," Hinchey said. "Even if we just considered the possibility of a plane having an accident it makes no sense to allow flights over a nuclear power plant, but when we factor in the risk of a potential terrorist attack by air against Indian Point it becomes abundantly clear that we need to act now and seal off this area." Copyright 2007 PoughkeepsieJournal.com ***************************************************************** 17 IHT: Japan says it will move cautiously on nuclear cooperation with India - International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: August 1, 2007 MANILA, Philippines: Japan is responding cautiously to a request from India for nuclear cooperation because New Delhi has not joined an international non-proliferation pact, a Japanese official said Wednesday. The United States recently completed an agreement to supply civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India, and New Delhi has also asked Japan to open the way for cooperation, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba said. He said Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, on Wednesday that Japan would proceed carefully on the request while watching the outcome of negotiations between India and the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Before it can begin nuclear trade, India must reach an agreement with the IAEA and with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an assembly of nations that export nuclear material. India has developed nuclear weapons and has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows civil nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge from nations not to pursue nuclear arms. "The Japanese government is taking a very cautious position," Sakaba said. "India is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." Last week, the U.S. and India announced they had completed a plan for the U.S. to provide nuclear fuel and technology in exchange for international inspections of Indian civilian atomic power plants. The deal reverses a three-decade-old U.S. policy of requiring recipients to join the non-proliferation pact. Sakaba said Japan had asked India to provide an explanation of the U.S. agreement, which was not released. Based on that and the IAEA negotiations, Japan will discuss the issue again when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits India on Aug. 21-23, he said. Japan is a leader in nuclear reactor technology and has 55 reactors producing about 30 percent of its electricity. Copyright 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 18 Reuters: U.S. receives application for 1st reactor in 30 years Wed Aug 1, 2007 8:05PM EDT By Bernie Woodall LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received its first application since the 1970s to build a new nuclear power plant, a spokesman for the NRC said on Wednesday. The proposed plant in Maryland won't come online until at least mid-2014 and is among a new wave of about 19 reactors that will be considered by the NRC in the next year or so, said Scott Burnell, NRC spokesman. "It is entirely accurate to say this is the first application for a new reactor in the United States in about 30 years," Burnell said. Burnell said the NRC is expecting, including this application, 19 filings from the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2007 through 2009. If all of the new reactors that the NRC has been told are likely to be applied for in the next two years come online near proposed schedules, about 32,000 to 33,000 megawatts of power production will be added. The U.S. has 104 active nuclear reactors that can produce just over 100,000 megawatts of power, which is about 20 percent of total generation capacity in the United States. Industry analysts said the July 16 earthquake in Japan that shut the world's largest nuclear power plant will not deter the expected revival of nuclear power in the United States. Dimitri Nikas, director of utilities and project finance at Standard and Poor's, was among the analysts who said the Japanese incident will create an atmosphere where safety is closely monitored by the public and politicians, but is not big enough of an event to stop the new wave of reactors. No applications for a new nuclear power plant have been filed since 1976 or 1977, and those were for plants that were never built, said Burnell. After those applications were filed, the biggest nuclear accident in U.S. history at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania occurred in 1979. The proposed 1,600-megawatt reactor will take its owner, Unistar Nuclear, an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion to construct, but that price tag may increase depending largely on construction material cost, the company has said. Unistar, based in Annapolis, Maryland is a joint venture of Constellation Energy Group Inc. and French-owned Areva. Like most of the wave of new nuclear reactors expected to file for licensing by the NRC, the Unistar plant is to be put on the site of an existing plant. This one would be the third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Maryland, about 50 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. The new reactor would almost double the size of Calvert Cliffs' power output, which is now about 1,735 megawatts. A megawatt can serve about 750 to 800 homes, so if the third unit is built, Calvert Cliffs would be able to serve about 2.6 million homes. The current two reactors at Calvert Cliffs, located on the Chesapeake Bay, went into operation in 1975 and 1977. Constellation Senior Vice President George Vanderheyden told the Washington Post that Constellation has not yet decided to build a new reactor but is "moving as aggressively as we can down the first phase, which is the licensing phase." The Calvert Cliffs application is actually a partial one, and includes the environmental portion of what the NRC calls its combined operating license. The remainder of that combination -- regarding safety -- must be filed in the next six months. Burnell said Unistar has told the NRC to expect the safety portion of the application in early 2008. NRC staff is expected to take about two-and-a-half years for a technical review of the full license, with an expected additional year if the new the plant is contested. No NRC decision on the full license -- which would allow construction -- is expected until at least mid-2011, said Burnell. ***************************************************************** 19 Reuters: TVA to complete Tennessee Watts Bar 2 reactor Wed Aug 1, 2007 3:22PM EDT NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Tennessee Valley Board Wednesday approved a staff recommendation to spend about $2.49 billion to complete the second 1,180-megawatt unit at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant in Tennessee. In a release, the Board said it based its decision on the results of four studies that examined future power needs, cost and schedule, environmental impact, and financing and risks. The unit, which will provide enough power to serve about 650,000 homes, will take about five years to complete. Energy experts noted TVA should be able to complete the construction of Watts Bar 2 sooner than it would take to build a new reactor from scratch and at a lower cost. The Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry's lobby group, has estimated it would take about nine years to develop, permit and build a new reactor. The TVA staff's financial analysis showed that the operation of the unit would reduce the company's average cost of power production and its overall carbon footprint without significant impact to the environment. The company expects to employ about 2,300 workers during construction and add about 250 permanent jobs at the project. WATTS BAR HISTORY TVA halted construction on Watts Bar 2 1988 because of a reduction in the predicted rate of growth at that time. The company, however, said demand for power in the Valley was now growing by nearly 2 percent a year. Earlier this year, TVA completed an extensive $1.8 billion overhaul of 1,155-megawatt Unit 1 at the Browns Ferry nuclear station in Alabama, which the company shut in 1985 to address management and operational issues. The board approved the restart of Browns Ferry 1 in 2002. Unlike Browns Ferry 1, Watts Bar 2 never operated. Watts Bar 2 was about 80 percent complete when the construction stopped. It is now about 60 percent complete since TVA used some of the unit's equipment on other reactors. The 1,549 MW Watts Bar station is located near Spring City in Rhea County, about 60 miles southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee. There are numerous units at the station including four 56 MW coal Units 1-4, five hydropower units ranging from 33 MW to 36 MW, and the 1,121 MW Unit 1 nuclear reactor. The coal and hydro units entered service between 1942 and 1945, while the nuclear unit entered service in 1996, making it the last U.S. civilian reactor to enter service. Separately, the TVA Board also authorized the purchase of a natural gas-fired combined cycle generating facility. The company did not disclose any details on who owned the combined cycle plant, where it was located or what it would cost due to competitive reasons. "There is a lot of interest in combined cycle plants now so for competitive reasons we cannot discuss any of the details at this time," the spokesman said. TVA, of Knoxville, Tennessee, owns and operates more than 31,000 MW of generating capacity, sells electricity to local distribution companies serving 8.7 million consumers in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia, and markets surplus power to energy companies in neighboring grids. ***************************************************************** 20 Reuters: PSEG to explore new reactor at NJ Hope Creek plant Wed Aug 1, 2007 2:48PM EDT NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said Wednesday its PSEG Power subsidiary plans to spend $50 million between now and 2011 to look at the possible construction of a new nuclear unit at the Hope Creek/Salem station in New Jersey. The company, which made the announcement during a conference call after the release of its earnings, said it developed the site for four nuclear units. It never built the fourth unit, which it would have called Hope Creek 2. In April 2007, PSEG said it was in early stages of exploring the possibility of building another reactor at the site. PSEG has not yet decided to build a new nuclear power unit, but is conducting a feasibility study. If PSEG decides to build a new reactor, the company said that based on its current schedule it does not expect to file a construction and operating license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in time to meet the 2008 deadline for the federal production tax credit. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized a production tax credit of up to $125 million per year, estimated at 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour during the first eight years of operation for the first 6,000 MW of capacity. To qualify for the production tax credit, companies must file a construction and operating license application by the end of 2008, start construction by the end of 2013 and the unit must enter service before 2021. NO STATE INCENTIVES Although other states are offering incentives in addition to the federal incentives to encourage the construction of new nuclear units, New Jersey is not doing so at this time, energy experts said. ***************************************************************** 21 Guardian Unlimited: TVA OKs Second Watts Bar Nuclear Reactor From the Associated Press Wednesday August 1, 2007 7:31 PM By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to begin a five-year plan to finish a second nuclear reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant on the Tennessee River. The plant, about 50 miles south of Knoxville at Spring City, was the last new nuclear plant to come on line in the United States when it fired up one of its two planned reactors in 1996. The second reactor was mothballed in mid-construction in 1985 when TVA shut down its entire nuclear program over safety concerns. The plan to finish it is expected to cost about $2.5 billion, likely funded by the public utility's revenues and adding debt. It was approved after a $20 million internal study on the feasibility of finishing the reactor determined it was already about 60 percent complete. TVA is the nation's largest public utility, providing wholesale electricity through 158 distributors to about 8.7 million consumers and directly to several dozen large manufacturers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The plan has faced opposition from anti-nuclear advocates and environmentalists, who asked for a year's delay for further study. Bill Sansom, chairman of the eight-member TVA board, said that future forecasts for power requirements in the utility's booming coverage area could require more nuclear projects, as well as increased conservation. ``This isn't 'either/or' as it comes to conservation,'' he said. ``We need this and all the conservation you can bring on.'' Watts Bar has a unique role as the only commercial reactor in the country that also works for the military - making tritium for nuclear weapons for the Department of Energy since 2003. While Watts Bar Unit 2 is not expected to make tritium, security concerns remain for the site, especially during construction involving thousands of workers. ``There are a lot of people that will be in this fight,'' said Ann Harris, a former TVA whistleblower at Watts Bar and now an activist with the Sierra Club. ``The anti-nuclears. The safety advocates. The people who work on conservation.'' Opposition to Watts Bar Unit 1 was fierce. Whistleblower complaints forced large amounts of cabling and piping to be replaced, delaying the reactor and driving the cost to $7 billion. Protesters blocked plant entrances and demonstrators were removed from TVA board meetings. ``This time people will have a lot more knowledge,'' Harris said. ``There are lots of opportunities to ask for public hearings, (to seek) injunctions and media that didn't exist before.'' Watts Bar Unit 2 has a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that will have to be renewed in 2010. Then TVA will have to secure an operating license. --- On the Net TVA: http://www.tva.gov Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 22 CBC News: Ontario doesn't need planned nuclear plants - study Last Updated: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 | 5:26 PM ET Ontario could eliminate the need for two planned new nuclear plants by counting on interprovincial energy imports, stepping up renewable power generation and encouraging energy conservation, two national environmental groups say. The Pembina Institute and World Wildlife Fund want to make the proposed plants an issue in this fall's election and on Wednesday opened the debate by presenting a computer modelling study showing how Ontario could meet future energy needs without the new plants and how it could shut down its two coal plants before the current 2014 deadline. "You'd have economic incentives to get rid of your old energy pigs," said Keith Stewart, climate change campaign manager for the World Wildlife Federation. "We'd start seeing things like people having solar panels on their roofs." The plan outlines two possible energy production scenarios for the province between 2007 and 2027, using on data from the Ontario Power Authority and U.S. and European power projects. In those scenarios, the province could: * Implement all conservation and efficiency resources identified by the Ontario Power Authority as cost effective and achievable. * Import extra hydroelectric power from Quebec and Manitoba. * Invest in renewable power such as wind farms, biofuel generators and solar panels. * Harness waste heat from industrial and commercial sites. * Cut back on power from coal, nuclear and natural gas sources. Spokespeople for both the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Ontario Energy Association have called the plan impractical. "The province's industrial plants, potential new automotive investments, new high tech investments, the millions of jobs these industries support —  they all need to know Ontario has reliable clean, reliable and competitively priced baseload power," said Shane Pospisil, head of the OEA, which represents companies involved in energy transmission, distribution and marketing in the province. Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced in June 2006 that the province will likely build two new nuclear reactors. This past May, the government announced it had hired consultants to conduct a $3 million study of available nuclear reactor technology. The Ontario election is scheduled for Oct. 10. About CBC About CBC News About CBC.ca Jobs Shop Business ***************************************************************** 23 Public Citizen: Congress Should Not Bow to Nuclear Industry Demands for More Than $50 Billion in Loan Guarantees to Build New Nuclear Reactors July 31, 2007 Congress Should Not Bow to Nuclear Industry Demands for More Than $50 Billion in Loan Guarantees to Build New Nuclear Reactors Senate-Passed Energy Bill Would Allow Bush Administration to Bypass Congress Authorization and Grant Guarantees on Unlimited Number of Highly Risky Projects WASHINGTON, D.C. Congress should not give up its fiscal authority over taxpayer-backed loan guarantees for the construction of financially risky energy projects, Public Citizen said today. At the same time that pending bills would strip Congress of this oversight role, the nuclear industry is seeking more than $50 billion in taxpayer-backed loan guarantees in the next two years for the construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, congressional appropriators must provide budget authority to the Department of Energy (DOE) to commit to these loan guarantees. But language in the energy bill (H.R. 6) passed last month by the Senate would remove the authority from congressional appropriators to set an annual limit on these commitments, and the pending House energy package (H.R. 3221) includes a provision that limits congressional appropriators authority to exclude projects. If the Senate bill were passed into law, the DOE which has been particularly close to the nuclear industry under the Bush administration would be able to approve an unlimited number of loan guarantees. These loan guarantees would put taxpayers rather than investors on the hook to pay back the loans should any of the plants default. According to a May 2003 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the risk of default on loan guarantees for new nuclear plants is very high well above 50 percent. With those odds, U.S. taxpayers will be on the hook for billions of dollars when the nuclear utilities default on their loans, said Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public Citizens Energy Program. This outrageous demand from the already highly subsidized nuclear industry amounts to highway robbery of U.S. taxpayers. Although the company receiving the guarantee is expected to pay the subsidy cost of the guarantee (the net present value of the anticipated cost of defaults), a June 2007 CBO report on the recently passed Senate energy bill concluded that it is more likely that DOEs loan guarantee portfolio will have more projects where the subsidy fee has been underestimated than overestimated. In a June 16, 2007, floor statement, Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), chairman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, indicated the excessive amount of guarantees sought by the nuclear industry: The request for guaranteed loans from the Nuclear Energy [Institute], subsidized by the Federal Government, is very large. It overwhelms what the [Energy & Water Appropriations] bill provides for the entire energy community. The administration had asked for a total of $4 billion for the nuclear energy industry and the coal industry. This does not come close to what the Nuclear Energy [Institute] has indicated they need. The Nuclear Energy [Institute] indicates a need for $25 billion in Federal guaranteed loans for fiscal year 2008 and more than that in fiscal year 2009. The DOE has requested authorization for a total of $9 billion in loan guarantees in FY08. The House Energy and Water Appropriations bill currently provides $7 billion for loan guarantees, but does not approve guarantees for new nuclear power plants. The Senate version of the bill does not specify any amount for loan guarantees, taking the position that Congress is not required to provide authorization for these guarantees in an appropriations bill. The idea that Congress would give up its oversight and fiscal responsibilities and allow the DOE carte blanche to put an unlimited amount of taxpayer money on the line for highly risky projects is mind-boggling, said Boyd. This is equivalent to allowing the DOE to bet the house on an unlimited number of crap shots. The loan guarantee program, which was established in Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, authorizes the DOE to guarantee loans taken out by industry for 10 types of new or improved technologies that are supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced nuclear energy facilities are included in the list. While more than $50 billion in loan guarantees is an outrageous subsidy and an enormous risk for taxpayers, it would cover only a handful of new reactors, said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizens Energy Program. Building a few more reactors wouldnt do a thing to reverse climate change, but it would produce more radioactive waste and increase security and safety risks to the public. ***************************************************************** 24 LocalNews8.com: Bipartisian group of senators introduces downwinder bill Idaho Falls, Pocatello - Associated Press - August 1, 2007 4:44 PM ET BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A bipartisan coalition of senators are introducing a bill in Congress today that would give federal compensation to some Idaho and Montana residents who say they were sickened by radioactive fallout from nuclear testing done half a century ago. Similar bills have failed in Congress in the past. But Boise radio station KBOI reports that this time Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Larry Craig are joined by Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester for the legislation. The bill would provide extended benefits for people who developed certain types of cancer or other illnesses after living in Idaho or Montana in the 1950s and 1960s. Right now the federal government only provides compensation to people who lived in parts of Utah, Nevada and Arizona during the tests. Researchers say the radioactive fallout from the nuclear tests settled over several other states as well. The radio station says some Arizona and Utah residents are upset that their entire states haven't been attached to the bill as well. All content Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KIFI. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 asahi.com: Nuke plant shaking was 6.8 times more intense than TEPCO limit - 08/01/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Quake-induced shaking at a nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was much more intense than initially reported, underscoring how ill-prepared the facility was for a major temblor. The July 16 earthquake caused the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant to sway a maximum 2,058 gals, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the plant. A gal is a unit of acceleration equal to 1 centimeter per 1 second squared. The utility said the shaking was not only the strongest recorded at a nuclear power plant in Japan, but might be the most powerful at any nuclear plant in the world. In at least one area of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the shaking was 6.8 times larger than the maximum level taken into account when the plant was designed. "It cannot be helped if we are criticized for being too easy in our estimates of earthquakes," said Hideki Morishita, who is in charge of management of nuclear facilities at TEPCO. After the earthquake, the company announced that the maximum shaking recorded at the plant was 680 gals on the lowest basement floor of the No. 1 reactor. But on Monday, TEPCO revealed much higher readings from data recorded by 96 seismographs at various locations of the plant. Some of the seismographs failed to function for some data, the company said. TEPCO also said seismic wave patterns were recorded in 33 areas. They showed the plant was not prepared for such a jolt. The maximum 2,058-gal figure was recorded on the first floor of the No. 3 reactor's turbine building, according to the power company. This area was designed to withstand a maximum 834 gals. On the first floor of the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor, shaking of 1,862 gals was recorded, 6.8 times the cap of 274 gals. Because the seismographs were placed near turbines on higher floors, the level of shaking was likely larger than those underground, TEPCO said. The data on different seismic wave cycles showed that TEPCO also underestimated the maximum jolts in different frequencies when it designed equipment and facilities connected to all seven reactors at the plant. At reactors No. 2 through 5, for example, the jolts exceeded a frequency level of 0.1-0.5-second. Waves at this frequency can damage fuel rods, pressurized reactor vessels and major pipes, resulting in radioactive leaks. A seismograph close to a damaged ceiling crane at the No. 6 reactor recorded 1,541 gals. The crane could have dislodged, but it did not fall because of a safety catch device.(IHT/Asahi: August 1,2007) ***************************************************************** 26 asahi.com: UTILITIES: Plant damage to lower TEPCO earnings - 08/01/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday the suspension of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant will cause more than 400 billion yen in additional costs by March. The estimate does not take into account repair costs for the plant, damaged by the July 16 temblor, or reinforcements to improve its earthquake resistance, officials said. The costs will increase because the company will switch to expensive thermal power generation during the suspension. The utility on Tuesday revised its net profit forecast for the current fiscal year from 310 billion yen to 65 billion yen. (IHT/Asahi: August 1,2007) * The Asahi Shimbun Company ***************************************************************** 27 Daily Yomiuri: No chemical fire engines at Monju reactor No chemical fire engines are deployed at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Monju fast breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, according to a report submitted Tuesday by the agency to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The facility housing the Monju reactor only has fire engines with water tanks, despite the JEAE's equipping other large-scale nuclear facilities in Fukui, Ibaraki and other prefectures with chemical fire engines. Chemical engines are deployed at facilities such as a reprocessing plant in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, and the already shut-down Fugen advanced thermal reactor in Tsuruga. The JEAE is reportedly going to look into issues such as deploying chemical fire engines at the Monju reactor facility and establishing dedicated telecommunications lines to fire stations. The agency submitted its report in the wake of a fire at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station after the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, which heavily hit Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture on July 16. ) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 28 The Hindu: Bengal assembly adopts motion seeking details of 123 pact Wednesday, August 1, 2007 : 1635 Hrs Kolkata Kolkata, Aug. 1 (PTI): The West Bengal assembly today adopted a Left-sponsored motion demanding that the Central government provide all details in Parliament about the draft India-US agreement for implementing the civil nuclear deal. The Central government should take necessary steps to reach a national consensus on such an important policy, said the motion moved by CPI-M MLA Sumendra Nath Bera and other Left legislators. The motion was passed in the face of opposition from the Congress. The Left legislators including Housing Minister Gautam Deb demanded a full-fledged discussion on the agreement in Parliament. They made it clear that any agreement with the US could be based only on the assurances given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament in August last year and that India should not succumb to any pressure that went against its interests. "This House categorically states that the people of this country will not accept any attempt to impose conditions by any country on India on supply of nuclear fuel to India," the motion said. "India will independently decide on the use of nuclear fuel. And the people of India will not accept any undesireable intervention in the name of international vigilance on the question of nuclear reprocessing right for India." Deb said the Central government has promised that the text of the agreement will be made available and Left parties hoped that Indian interests would not be compromised in any way by the pact. The motion also criticised the deepening military cooperation between India and the US. Opposing the motion, the Congress Legislature Party's Chief Whip Manas Bhuiyan said there was no need for bringing it in the House when the prime minister had addressed concerns expressed by the Left and other parties. Both the prime minister and the external affairs minister had given assurances that the 123 agreement was in the national interest, he said. After Speaker H A Halim announced that the motion had been passed by voice vote, Congress members pressed for a division. The motion was finally adopted with 133 votes in favour of it and 13 against. Kolkata Copyright 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 29 SF Chronicle: Honoring witnesses to a nuclear nightmare Edward Guthmann, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, August 1, 2007 When Steven Okazaki was making "White Light/Black Rain," his terrific HBO documentary about the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he couldn't afford to think too deeply about the material. "I just took one deep breath," he remembers, "and continued through the whole film." It was only later, after the Sundance Film Festival in January, that Okazaki, a 1991 Oscar winner for the documentary short "Days of Waiting," could take it all in: to absorb the reality of 210,000 deaths caused by atomic bomb attacks on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, 1945; the 160,000 subsequent deaths from delayed radiation effects; the images of scorched bodies, flattened cityscapes and children discovering their parents' remains; the callous Japanese government that treated survivors as "untouchables," as one witness says. "Around March," Okazaki says, "I suddenly started feeling it and thinking about the whole thing. I just wanted to stay in bed." He spent two months in "a delayed depression." Okazaki, 55, shot the documentary in Japan with a Japanese crew, and interviewed more than 100 people before choosing the 14 hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) who appear in the film. Among them: Shigeko Sasamori, who was 13 when Hiroshima was bombed and became one of 25 "Hiroshima Maidens" flown to the United States for cosmetic surgery; Keiji Nakazawa, who was 6, and later illustrated the horrors of Hiroshima in his manga series "Barefoot Gen;" and Sakue Shimohira, who found her mother's charred body following the Nagasaki explosion, and watched it "turn to ash." Unlike most films about the bombings, "White Light/Black Rain" includes wrenching footage of bombing victims, both the dead and the burned, disfigured survivors. Katsuji Yoshida, 13 at the time, remembers the scene, his eyes still registering the horror: "People with no arms, no legs, their intestines spilling out. Brains spilled out of crushed skulls. Black, carbonized bodies." In Japan, where it opened to rave reviews this month, "White Light/Black Rain" is a cause celebre. "If the story isn't told, foolish people will quickly forget," says Koji Yakusho, the Japanese star of "Shall We Dance?" and "Babel." "What we can do is to keep telling the story, over and over, until we have blisters on our eyes and ears." Tadao Sato, Japan's top film critic, wrote: "Perhaps Okazaki is blessed with a personality that can so comfort anyone that they're compelled to lay bare their hearts, for every survivor on screen emits an aura of such beauty and gracefulness." Okazaki illustrates the film with watercolors and drawings made by survivors following the destruction and, surprisingly, includes interviews he did with four veterans of the bombing missions of August 1945. Three of the men express a kind of wincing, barely articulated remorse. But Enola Gay navigator Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk is emphatic - almost defiant - when he says, "Nope, never had a nightmare, never had a dream about this particular subject." Okazaki, who lives in the Berkeley hills with his wife, journalist/author Peggy Orenstein, and 4-year-old daughter, Daisy, has received three Oscar nominations altogether. His subjects have ranged from heroin addiction to hula dancing but he'd never had a chance, despite several attempts, to make a comprehensive record of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki legacy. "This project, really, was 25 years on my mind and in the making," Okazaki says in his office at the Saul Zaentz Media Center in Berkeley. Soft-spoken, confident but reserved, Okazaki is wearing a black polo shirt and jeans. His corona of salt-and-pepper hair is thick and and stylish and stands straight-up, like Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's. In 1980, Okazaki says, he met a group of survivors in San Francisco's Japantown and, at their urging, directed a 10-minute short for KQED about a Hiroshima survivor. "Survivors," a 60-minute film about hibakusha living in California, followed. But he wasn't satisfied with either film. "I think I was intimidated by the subject. I didn't ask the hard questions I should have asked. It just seemed awkward and impolite. I vowed at that point to try again." Following his Oscar in 1991, a Japanese television group approached him and gave him carte blanche to make a film on the subject of his choice. He said "Hiroshima/Nagasaki," they said "Fine," but canceled the project because Okazaki's proposal criticized the Japanese government's neglect of the survivors. That was 1994. Later that year, Okazaki tried salvaging the film on a smaller scale when the Smithsonian Institution launched a comprehensive exhibit around the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped "Little Boy," the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. That exhibit was also canceled, in reaction to protests from the American Legion and other veterans' groups. At that point, Okazaki says, "I was actually really angry. I felt like, 'So, this is how history is written.' I wanted to get away from the subject." But in 2005, the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Okazaki directed "The Mushroom Club," a 35-minute short later nominated for an Oscar. "I thought I was done with the subject," he says. Instead, "when I was in postproduction (on "The Mushroom Club") HBO called and said, 'We have this idea. We want to do this big historical film on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.' " And so, it all finally came together. Okazaki had a long-standing relationship with HBO, which has funded and produced some of the best documentaries of the past decade, including Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts." Accompanied by his co-producer and interpreter Taro Goto, Okazaki made several trips to Japan. The material was so intense and so draining, he found that he couldn't do multiple interviews back-to-back. "I didn't want to get to the point where you say, 'OK, we have another one to do.' " Among the survivors, Okazaki found a "sense of urgency. They would talk about it being their last chance to tell the story." In some cases, especially "professional survivors" who had told their stories frequently, Okazaki had to be more aggressive in his questioning - to get beyond a canned response to something raw and emotional. Okazaki edited the film by himself and delivered a first cut to HBO last fall. "I was really happy with it. I thought, 'It works really well.' " But when he showed it to Sheila Nevins, who heads documentary programming for the network, she told Okazaki to go deeper. "I hadn't used all the documentary footage that Americans shot showing the damage of the bombing, the physical damage to the landscape and to people. I just thought, 'This will be too hard for people to watch.' And Sheila said, 'Where's the other footage?' I said 'If we put that stuff up there, people are going to turn the channel' and she said, 'Does that mean we start censoring ourselves? Just tell the story and tell it as fully as possible.' " Okazaki took Nevins' advice, and his film is stronger, more substantial as a result. After "White Light/Black Rain" was finished, he says, and he went through his two months of "delayed depression," he realized something he couldn't understand when he was creating the film. "I think what the film did for me as a person is to teach me that these people went through a horrible experience, but that they survived and came out of it with an enhanced appreciation for life. "The most meaningful statement in the film, to me, is when a woman says, 'I think about my brother and how he never got to taste chocolate.' She's thinking just how great life is. And how sad it is that these people missed those things." ====================================================================== "White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" screens 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. Free. (510) 642-1412. The broadcast premiere is 7:30 p.m. Monday on HBO. E-mail Edward Guthmann at eguthmann@sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page E - 1 of the SanFranciscoChronicle ***************************************************************** 30 Honolulu Advertiser: Schofield burn monitored for uranium risk Hawai'i's Newspaper Online Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Posted on: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 By William Cole Advertiser Military Writer The Army yesterday said it is monitoring air quality during a controlled burn at a Schofield Barracks target range this week in response to concerns that the fires could put fine particles of depleted uranium in the air. The prescribed burn in 1,100 acres of munitions impact area is being done to minimize the chance of brushfires and to prepare the area for testing for the presence of depleted uranium. A 1960s Army nuclear weapon system called the Davy Crockett used aiming rounds that contained depleted uranium, or DU, at Schofield and possibly Makua Valley and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. The Army was unaware of the presence of the weakly radioactive element until a contractor removing unexploded ordnance for the Stryker brigade discovered it in 2005 at Schofield. The find touched off worry, particularly by some Big Island residents living downwind from Pohakuloa, that fine particulate DU could be whipped up by winds or training and cause lung injury if inhaled. Connecticut contractor Cabrera Services is scheduled to conduct surveys for the heavy metal Aug. 13 to 19 at Makua and at Pohakuloa, and field work is scheduled at Schofield Aug. 13 through Sept. 28. Responding to public concerns, the Army had Cabrera Services conduct a reference burn on July 12 and a test burn on July 13 at the 1,100-acre ordnance impact area north of Kolekole and Trimble roads on Schofield. The Army said the reference burn was conducted on a one-acre site where DU was not present to establish a baseline. The test burn was conducted on a one-acre area where DU was present. Air monitors detected no DU health hazard from the burn and accompanying smoke, the Army said. The Army said it burned 350 to 400 acres yesterday, and will try to burn the remainder of the 1,100 acres this week. Air monitor samples will be sent to an independent lab for analysis, and the results won't be available for several weeks, but the Army pointed to the test burn results in going ahead with the larger burn. In January 2006, the Army confirmed it had found 15 tailfin assemblies that contained DU at the Schofield range. The DU was used in aiming rounds that simulated the trajectory of the Davy Crockett, a weapon that could fire a 76-pound nuclear bomb. Tad Davis, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for the environment, sent a letter in July to U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, saying, "The U.S. Army, working with state and federal agencies, intends to conduct a full evaluation of the potential for additional DU residue from the XM 101 Davy Crockett spotter round to be present on Army ranges. We are working closely with the Hawai'i Department of Health and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to help ensure that the people of Hawai'i will have confidence in any steps taken to address this concern." Shannon Rudolph, a Big Island resident, obtained the letter after contacting Inouye's office about DU concerns. "I'm really worried about that (the controlled burn on O'ahu), even though I don't live there," Rudolph said yesterday. "I'm worried for all of those people who are downwind." A state health official said the real danger with depleted uranium comes with fine particulate, which can be spread by wind and stick to the cells of the lung. But according to the World Health Organization, "very large amounts of dust" would have to be inhaled for there to be an additional risk of lung cancer. The amount of DU present is also likely to be small, and state testing in May found normal radiation levels in the air near Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com. COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 31 The Spectrum: RECA bill to be introduced www.thespectrum.com - The Spectrum, St. George, UT Customer Service: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 By TIFFANY DE MASTERS tdemasters@thespectrum.com ST. GEORGE - Senators from Idaho and Montana are reintroducing the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expansion bill from 2005 today on the Senate floor to include residents from more counties of their states. J. Truman, director of Downwinders, a group representing residents who became ill after the nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, said the senators have invited Utah and Arizona senators to be a part of the bill. As of Tuesday morning, they had not responded. Lindsay Northern, press secretary for Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said the bill that will be introduced today will be a two-state bill including only Idaho and Montana. He added that Crapo has had conversations with the senators from Utah and Arizona, but would not comment on how they reacted to the dialogue. RECA provides payments to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases as a result of exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 60s. Crapo said in a weekly radio teleconference from Washington, D.C. he would reintroduce RECA with Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Jon Tester, D-Mont. During Crapo's radio show he said the National Academies of Sciences state 20 of the 25 counties that have the highest per capita dosage of radiation are located in Idaho and Montana. "Idahoans and Montanans should be treated equitably with the people in Utah and parts of Arizona that are now covered," Crapo said. Truman said the rest of Utah and Mojave County in Arizona should be covered under RECA. "This time around they can't be accused of a political gesture," Truman said. "They mean business and it's sad to see victims in other areas aren't given the same attention." Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who authored the original RECA bill in 1990 and an amendment in 2000 that expanded the compensable diseases, geographic areas and classes of workers eligible for compensation under the RECA program, has not committed support for the new bill. "I am aware that some in other Western states believe RECA should be expanded to cover additional geographical areas. If the science is there to justify an expansion I will support it. That has always been how I evaluate RECA. Changes should be made on the best available science," Hatch said. Peter Carr, press secretary from Hatch's office, said the senator has been in discussion with the bill's sponsors for awhile. "Our staff has worked with theirs for quite some time," he said. "His (Hatch) quote lays out his position . He makes decisions on RECA based on the science. He just isn't ready to sign onto the legislation yet." Michelle Thomas is a Downwinder from St. George. She said she is disappointed, but not surprised, Hatch wouldn't join the RECA expansion effort. "He (Hatch) likes to think this (RECA) is his baby but he hasn't done anything to expand it," she said. Thomas has gone to Washington, D.C. and lobbied in support of RECA. "We've (Downwinders) had to fight and claw and scrape," she said. "I get the feeling they (the government) wish the Downwinders would just hurry up and die." Thomas added it's silly not to include the whole state of Utah and other states. Betsy Fillmore Vaught, another Downwinder from St. George, said she can't imagine why Hatch wouldn't want to expand. "I really don't know why they wouldn't help, it just doesn't make sense," she said. "I can't imagine Sen. Hatch wouldn't want to help." Both Thomas and Vaught said they applauded the senators in Idaho and Montana for their efforts. "I am for expanding the services to anyone who feels like they've been damaged," Vaught said. Copyright 2007 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 32 AU ABC: NSW electricity supply at risk: Iemma - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 1, 2007 11:36:00 Power warning: NSW Premier Morris Iemma (File photo) (Getty Images: Paul Miller) * Sydney 2000 New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has accused the Commonwealth of putting the state's future electricity supply at risk by failing to spell out details of a carbon emissions trading scheme. Mr Iemma says future carbon prices will determine whether NSW builds a coal or gas- fired base load power station, but uncertainty around the Commonwealth's carbon trading scheme is hampering the plan. The Federal Government says an emissions trading scheme will be in place by 2011 but is yet to outline the details. Mr Iemma says the Commonwealth is putting a blindfold on the states' ability to explore new energy requirements. "The Commonwealth's failure to give a clear signal about a carbon price is putting a blindfold on industry financing, and building a power station is complex enough," Mr Iemma said. "The lack of precision around the Commonwealth's carbon trading scheme is creating an uncertain investment environment which in turn is placing at risk the security of NSW's electricity supply." But the chairman of the Federal Government's inquiry into nuclear energy, Ziggy Switkowski, has defended the Government's delay in announcing details of the scheme. Doctor Switkowski, who now chairs the nuclear science agency Australian Nuclear Science and Technology (ANSTO), says a scheme needs to be thought out before it is implemented. "These are seriously complicated matters which we've learnt from the European trading scheme," he said. "[They] need to be thought through if we're going to have a framework that makes a difference and properly shapes behaviours." Dr Switkowski says ambitious greenhouse emission targets will not be met unless nuclear power is included, and that the industry's future will depend on the election. "Much pivots on the federal election, if the Government is re-elected on the path towards introducing nuclear power, [that] will be the direction that we [will] go," he said. "If the Labor Party wins the election, their party is very clear [that] the development of nuclear energy will pause." Tags: environment, climate-change, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, sydney-2000 © 2007 ABC Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 33 Portage Daily Register: Radioactive device stolen from construction site WiscNews.com : A radioactive device about the size of a coffee can was stolen from a construction site in northern Adams County early Tuesday, and authorities are urging residents to call them immediately if they see it. State health officials are asking residents to avoid contact with the container, which is made of aluminum and measures 10 inches in length, six inches in width, weighs 15 pounds and has a handle on the top. The portable radioactive device was stolen from a WeldSonix construction site near Rome prior to 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The radioactive source is in a metal capsule inside the device. It was stored in a shielded container in a locked trailer so it would not pose a danger to anyone coming into contact with it, but the lock was cut and the device stolen before crews arrived to the construction site Tuesday. Town of Rome Police Chief Adam Grosz said that several other items were stolen from the trailer, and it is unlikely the thieves knew what they were taking. The device is used to shine a beam of radiation into a pipe so that quality assurance checks can be done on the pipe welds. The device was clearly marked as containing radioactive material, but may have been defaced since being stolen. "There's no other use for the device, so it might be laying in the road or in a ditch," Grosz said. If you see a device matching the description of the stolen item, immediately call the Adams County Sheriff's Department at (608) 339-3304 or the Town of Rome Police Department at (715) 325-8020. Avoid any contact with the device, health officials said. Do not attempt to pick up the device or place it in any type of container. If the radioactive source is removed from the metal container, it is very hazardous. Anyone coming into close contact with the unshielded source could experience serious radiation exposure resulting in possible tissue damage. Stephanie Marquis, communications director for the state Department of Health and Family Services, said that the most likely risk of exposure to the radioactive materials would be burns on the skin. They might not show up until several days later. However, she said, with only brief exposure, the risk is small. "What we are worried about is someone might have picked it up, put it in their pocket and carried it around for an hour," she said. Marquis said it would not be easy to open the device and get to the radioactive material. The Town of Rome Police Department, Adams County Emergency Management, officials of WeldSonix and the FBI are working together to recover the device. WeldSonix has offered a $1,000 reward for its return. -- Daily Register staff Portage Daily Register ***************************************************************** 34 GNEP Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 09:57:48 -0400

http://newsblaze.com/story/20070730151754tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

 

July 30, 2007

Department of Energy to Award $16 Million for GNEP Studies

Teams to Provide Analysis on Technology Development

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that four consortia have been selected to receive up to $16 million for technical and supporting studies to support President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). AREVA Federal Services, LLC; EnergySolutions, LLC; GE-Hitachi Nuclear Americas, LLC; and General Atomics will each lead teams in developing the cost, scope and schedule for conceptual design studies for an initial fuel recycling center and advanced recycling reactor for GNEP. DOE will negotiate the final terms, under cooperative agreements, with the selected applicants and awards are expected to be finalized by the end of September 2007.

"These studies will contribute to the analysis and inform the research that DOE is conducting to further President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership", Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Dennis R. Spurgeon said. "GNEP seeks to increase the use of safe and clean nuclear energy worldwide in ways that reduces both the proliferation risks as well as nuclear waste."

DOE will use the information and recommendations provided by the teams, as well as other data and analyses, to evaluate the development and deployment of GNEP activities and to inform decision making on the path forward for GNEP. Today's announcement is part of $60 million in funding opportunities announced by Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell in May to engage industry experts in conceptual design of proposed GNEP facilities. The $60 million in funding opportunities will be made available through September 2009, subject to Congressional appropriations.

The FOA sought applications from commercial entities interested in providing technology development roadmaps, business plans, and a communications strategy supporting the GNEP conceptual design studies for the nuclear fuel recycling center and advanced recycling reactor. The technology development roadmaps will describe the state of the current technology, perform a technology "gap" analysis, and define the methods and plans to acquire technology needed to achieve the GNEP goals. The business plans will address how the market may facilitate DOE plans to develop and commercialize the advanced fuel cycle technologies and facilities. The communications plans will focus on the dissemination of scientific, technical, and practical information relating to nuclear energy and closing the nuclear fuel cycle.

GNEP is part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative and seeks to enable the expanded use of economical, carbon-free nuclear energy worldwide to meet growing electricity demand. GNEP seeks to close the nuclear fuel cycle in ways that reduce proliferation risks, reduce waste and further increase global energy security.

For more information on GNEP, visit: www.gnep.gov, the FOA is posted on www.grants.gov.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

Copyright 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News

 

 

 

 ***************************************************************** 35 ReviewJournal.com: DOE evaluating media consultants Aug. 01, 2007 Contract forthcoming for Yucca public outreach By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy is seeking to develop new media and public outreach strategies for when it unveils a long-delayed license application to build a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The department is evaluating contract bids for advisers who would help managers on the Yucca Mountain program formulate messages and polish presentations in advance of making the application public. Spokesman Allen Benson said DOE officials are looking to translate a highly technical science undertaking into terms that can be understood by lay people when it rolls out its license bid to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, possibly next June. A contract firm also would advise on updating the Yucca Mountain Web site and other supporting materials such as fact sheets and DVDs, and explore new opportunities in streaming video, according to contract documents. Also, the firm would evaluate "an existing community education program and special programs for public schools." The Energy Department's public communications have been scrutinized and criticized by opponents of the nuclear waste program. Its new bid also drew criticism Tuesday. "At a time when DOE is crying the blues that they don't have enough money, the notion that they are going to spend an undisclosed amount for what is no more than a PR campaign seems a bit ludicrous to me," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. Berkley said Nevada lawmakers should call in Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to seek more information on DOE plans. "If they are wasting taxpayer money by conducting a PR campaign, we need to ramp up our own efforts in Nevada to provide accurate information," she said. The House passed an amendment in June cutting off funding for a portal on the Yucca Mountain Web site that describes the nuclear waste project in terms for youngsters after Berkley charged it was thinly veiled propaganda. Congress has yet to take final action on the amendment. In years past, Nevada leaders sought to restrict DOE advertising for public tours of Yucca Mountain. The tours were conducted for several years but eventually were canceled when the program ran into budget shortages. Well-known local figures have done public relations work related to Yucca Mountain, among them KLAS-TV reporters George Knapp and Bryan Gresh who in 1991 went to work on behalf of nuclear energy interests. Knapp returned to the station a few years later. Benson maintained DOE is not launching a "public relations" campaign. "This is not public relations. That is not what we do," Benson said. "We do not do PR. We inform. We communicate. We take technical information and explain it to the public. "The license document at this point is going to be between 7,000 and 10,000 pages of highly technical information," Benson said. "The department needs to explain this kind of thing to the public." Among other things, Benson said, DOE officials have committed to a multi-day public presentation to explain its Yucca research and the license process. The in-depth presentation was suggested by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he said. Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said DOE officials will try to create public momentum for Yucca Mountain as it heads into a multi-year NRC license review. "They really are trying to create a climate surrounding the time when the license application gets submitted, to make it seem like a big deal and that they are really headed down the road now," he said. Nuclear waste burial at the site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas was supposed to be ready in 1998 but has run into a series of delays because of problems within the program, legal challenges and budget cuts engineered by critics. A DOE review panel is examining contract bids that were due on July 9. Benson said he did not know when a contract will be awarded. The Energy Department proposed a deal consisting of a base year and four option years, with costs to be determined through the bidding process. The state of Nevada has a contract that expires this fall with Brown & Partners Advertising, a Las Vegas communications firm, for Yucca Mountain news releases and other assignments. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 36 ReviewJournal.com: State files court papers to halt Yucca Mountain water use Aug. 01, 2007 By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL Federal officials overseeing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project put themselves in a "legal no man's land" when they used Nevada's water to drill bore holes without permission and shouldn't be allowed to continue, state attorneys said in court papers filed Tuesday. The Department of Energy "has been using water for at least a year in violation of the understanding the parties had. And now, incredibly, DOE continues to use Nevada's water for a purpose outside the agreement and unsupported in federal law," Nevada's Senior Deputy Attorney General Marta Adams said in an interview Tuesday. "They have the audacity to seek emergency relief (from the courts) based on their own misdeeds," Adams said. Documents the state filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas constitute Nevada's latest response to an attempt by the Justice Department to persuade Judge Roger Hunt to block a cease-and-desist order issued by the state. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15 on the Justice Department's emergency motion on behalf of the Department of Energy which, despite the cease-and-desist order, has continued to use Nevada's water from wells near the site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The Energy Department needs the water to finish collecting rock samples needed for a license application the agency intends to submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by June 2008. "Merely because DOE finds itself in a legal no-man's-land of its own making does not justify the preemption of Nevada water law," wrote Senior Deputy Attorney General Michael Wolz, who represents State Engineer Tracy Taylor and Allen Biaggi, director of Nevada's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Adams, who represents the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, stated in her filing that "the public interest in holding public officials accountable for deliberate or reckless violations, and in respecting the sovereignty of the State of Nevada, outweighs the speculative harm to DOE associated with a possible delay in meeting a self-imposed and completely artificial schedule for filing a license application." The Energy Department has claimed that it will suffer contractual damages in the range of $90,000 per day if the drilling project is curtailed, but Adams said that's no reason to allow the drilling to continue. "In any event, DOE's monetary loss is predicated entirely on DOE's unilateral decision to hire drilling contractors for an unauthorized use of water for a purpose outside the parties' agreement," Adams wrote. She concluded that the department is not entitled to a preliminary injunction to use Nevada's water for its bore hole drilling project. Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, states in an affidavit that the Energy Department engaged in "an effort to 'fly under the radar' by uniquely failing to communicate" with Nevada's counsel or directly with the state engineer. Loux cites an internal Energy Department memo that describes the ongoing drilling program as "site characterization activities." "If DOE were to lose its legal challenge and were not allowed to use ground water on the site, the department could truck in water, which would only delay, not terminate the project," the Feb. 17, 2005, internal memo notes. Based on the federal nuclear waste law, the site characterization work for which the Energy Department is using the water, to cool and lubricate drill bits and to create mud for collecting soil-and-rock samples, ended five years ago, the state contends. At that point, the department had 90 days to file a license application for construction of a nuclear waste repository and surface facilities at Yucca Mountain but failed to do so. "DOE, because of its failure to comply with the NWPA (Nuclear Waste Policy Act) and specifically the congressional mandate to file a license application within 90 days, now finds itself in an unauthorized middle ground where it is neither in site characterization nor the construction stage," Wolz wrote. "There is certainly no authority that would allow DOE to begin completely new studies such as its bore hole drilling program during this period," he wrote. "Nevada law cannot be deemed to have been preempted by federal law where there is no federal law requiring or even allowing the bore hole drilling program." Keith Saxe, assistant chief of the Justice Department's Natural Resources Section, won't comment on the Yucca Mountain water issue. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 37 NRC: Application for a License To Export High-Enriched Uranium FR Doc E7-14861 [Federal Register: August 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 147)] [Notices] [Page 42135-42136] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01au07-110] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.70(b)(2) ``Public Notice of Receipt of an Application,'' please take notice that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the following request for an export license. Copies of the request can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, [[Page 42136]] U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. In its review of the application for a license to export special nuclear material as defined in 10 CFR part 110 and noticed herein, the Commission does not evaluate the health, safety or environmental effects in the recipient nation of the material to be exported. The information concerning the application follows. NRC Export License Application for High-Enriched Uranium ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of applicant, date of Description of material application, date received, --------------------------------------- Recipient application number, docket End use country number Material type Total quantity ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOE/NNSA--Y12 National Security High-Enriched Up to 15.5 kg To fabricate targets Canada. Complex, June 28, 2007, July Uranium (93.35%). Uranium (14.470 for irradiation in 3, 2007, XSNM3504, 11005701. kg U-235). the National Research Universal (NRU) Reactor to produce medical radioisotopes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dated this 24th day of July 2007 at Rockville, Maryland. Stephen Dembek, Acting Deputy Director, Office of International Programs. [FR Doc. E7-14861 Filed 7-31-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 38 NRC: Request for a License To Export Radioactive Waste FR Doc E7-14862 [Federal Register: August 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 147)] [Notices] [Page 42136] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01au07-111] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.70 (c) ``Public notice of receipt of an application,'' please take notice that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the following request for an export license. Copies of the request are available electronically through ADAMS and can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. The information concerning this license application follows. NRC Export License Application ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of applicant, date of Description of material application, date received, ----------------------------------------- End use Recipient country application No., docket No. Material type Total quantity ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific EcoSolutions, Inc. is in Class A radioactive Not to exceed the Return for Canada. the process of changing its waste in various total quantity of ultimate disposal name to Perma-Fix Northwest forms resulting radioactively of non-conforming Inc. If approved, the licensee from processing contaminated imported waste or for this export will be Perma- imported materials processed Fix Northwest. Inc., May 16, contaminated imported under material that can 2007, June 18, 2007, XW012, materials, or as NRC Import be attributed to 11005699. non-conforming License IW022. the Canadian imported generator. materials, which could not be processed nor recycled. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dated this 24th day of July 2007 at Rockville, Maryland. Stephen Dembek, Acting Deputy Director, Office of International Programs. [FR Doc. E7-14862 Filed 7-31-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 39 Guardian Unlimited: Finger Pointing After Nuclear Waste Leak Wednesday August 1, 2007 12:01 PM By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press Writer SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Workers are trying to determine how to clean up one of the worst radioactive waste leaks in years at the Hanford nuclear reservation, officials said. No workers were contaminated during last week's accident and the spill was contained within a tiny area, posing no threat to the public, officials said Tuesday. The leak was estimated at between 50 and 100 gallons, although officials are not yet sure how big it was, Delmar Noyes, of the U.S. Department of Energy, told reporters during a conference call. The spill area has been capped to prevent the waste from becoming airborne. A plan to safely dispose of the spill is being developed. ``The release to the environment of this waste material is not acceptable,'' Noyes said. The spill, which Noyes said was the largest in the tank farm in years, illustrates the difficulties of trying to safely dispose of nuclear waste that dates back to World War II. The spill was believed to have occurred early Friday, but was not detected until about 10 a.m., some seven hours later, Hanford officials said. A watchdog group criticized the Energy Department for what it called a slow response to the leak. ``The failure to detect the leak for hours overnight, while deadly high-level nuclear wastes apparently spilled onto the ground, raises serious questions requiring state and federal investigations,'' said Gerald Pollet, executive director of Heart of America Northwest. Hanford officials contend they notified regulators in an appropriate fashion after the release was discovered. The spill occurred as an underground tank was being slowly drained of its nuclear waste, which since 2004 has been pumped into newer, double-walled tanks that are less likely to leak. The waste from the bottom of the tank is so lethal ``that a cup full of waste would kill everyone in a room in a short period of time,'' Pollet said. Early Friday, the pump became clogged and workers reversed it in an effort to clear the blockage. That sent some waste from the bottom of the tank up into the hose that was feeding water into the tank, leading to the leak onto the ground, Noyes said. Workers in surrounding areas were evacuated and the pumping operation was shut down. Also shut down was the pumping of another nuclear waste storage tank. Both will remain closed until it is determined that work can safely proceed. Hanford covers about 560 square miles in south-central Washington, and contains the nation's largest collection of nuclear waste from the production of weapons. --- On the Net: http://www.hanford.gov Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 40 NRC: Request for a License To Import Radioactive Waste FR Doc E7-14931 [Federal Register: August 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 147)] [Notices] [Page 42136-42137] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01au07-112] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.70(c) ``Public notice of receipt of an application,'' please take notice that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the following request for an import license. Copies of the request are available electronically through ADAMS and can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. The information concerning this license application follows. [[Page 42137]] NRC Import License Application ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description of Material ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of applicant date of application date received Material type Total quantity End use Country of application No. origin docket No. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific EcoSolutions, Class A radioactive Up to a maximum total Recycling for Canada. Inc. is in the waste including of 5,500 tons or beneficial reuse and process of changing various materials about 1,000 tons processing for volume its name to Perma-Fix (e.g., wood, metal, metal, 4,000 tons dry reduction via thermal Northwest. Inc. If paper, cloth, activity material, and non-thermal approved, the concrete, rubber, and 500 tons liquid, treatment. Liquids to licensee for this plastic, liquids, contaminated with be recycled. Non- import will be Perma- aqueous-organic various radionuclides conforming materials Fix Northwest. Inc. fluids, animal in varying and/or radioactive May 16, 2007 carcasses, and human- combinations. waste that is June 18, 2007 animal waste) Activity levels will attributed to IW022 contaminated with not exceed licensee Canadian supplier, 11005700 radionuclides during possession limits, will be returned per licensed activities; and materials will be appropriate NRC e.g., routine handled in accordance export license (Ref. operations, with all U.S. Federal XW012), and will not maintenance, and State remain in the U.S. equipment use, regulations. decontamination, remediation, and decommissioning. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dated this 24th day of July, 2007, at Rockville, Maryland. Stephen Dembek, Acting Deputy Director, Office of International Programs. [FR Doc. E7-14931 Filed 7-31-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 41 UPI: NNSA building new MOX nuke fuel plant United Press International - International Security - Industry - Published: Aug. 1, 2007 at 5:43 PM AIKEN, S.C., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced Wednesday it had started work on building a new Mixed Oxide, or MOX, fuel fabrication plant. The new complex will be located on the Savannah River near Aiken, S.C. It will "convert at least 34 metric tons (about 75,000 pounds) of surplus U.S. weapons grade plutonium, which helps to carry out a 2000 nonproliferation agreement between the United States and Russia," the NNSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, said in a statement. "Under the agreement, the United States and Russia each committed to dispose of 34 metric tons (68 metric tons total) of surplus weapons grade plutonium -- enough material for approximately 17,000 nuclear weapons," the NNSA said. "The start of construction of the U.S. MOX facility helps us fulfill an international nonproliferation agreement and marks a major step forward in our efforts with Russia to dispose of surplus weapon-grade plutonium so that it can never be used again for nuclear weapons," said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation William Tobey. The NNSA said the new complex would be built by Shaw AREVA MOX Services and that it would be "used to fabricate the surplus plutonium into MOX fuel." The agency said the MOX fuel would power existing commercial nuclear reactors in North Carolina and South Carolina and that it should produce enough electricity for 1 million households for 50 years. Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 42 Reid: Reid: Doe Hiring PR Firm To Do Yucca's Dirty Work : 08/01/2007 Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada released the following statement after learning the Department of Energy is searching for a public relations firm: "Nevadans know that the Energy Department has a long history of playing fast and loose with the facts when it comes to Yucca Mountain, but the fact that the Department is hiring a P.R. firm to do its dirty work is yet another example that this project is on its last legs. The D.O.E. and the nuclear industry are desperate to turn Nevada into a nuclear dumping ground, despite the risks it poses to Nevada and the communities through which the waste would travel. The Energy Department should stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars and work on ways to safely store the waste at the sites where it is produced." Reno Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse & Federal Bldg 400 S. Virginia St, Suite 902 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-686-5750 Fax: 775-686-5757 Las Vegas Lloyd D. George Building 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: 702-388-5020 Fax: 702-388-5030 Carson City 600 East William St, #302 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-882-REID (7343) Fax: 775-883-1980 Washington, DC 528 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7327 Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) ***************************************************************** 43 JOGJCC: UKAEA workers at Dounreay get bonuses John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier: By Iain Grant Published: 01 August, 2007 UK ATOMIC Energy Authority workers at Dounreay have each pocketed 1000 bonuses as a result of the site's performance over the past year. The 1000-strong workforce received the pay-outs after meeting safety and operational targets set by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The UKAEA says the 12 months up to April has been the most productive year so far in the 2.9 billion clean-up of the former fast reactor complex. Confirmation of the bonuses paid out last month coincided with the publication yesterday of the UKAEA's annual review. During the year, efficiency savings by the UKAEA meant they were able to deliver 164 million worth of work for 146 million. Twenty-two buildings were demolished and the first heavily-shielded cell was decommissioned and dismantled. Major strides were made in the programme to isolate the site's notorious submerged waste shaft while over 115 tonnes of radioactive sodium coolant were destroyed. The work generated 3576 drums of solid, low-level radioactive waste. Last month the UKAEA was fined 15,000 for a major safety lapse which led to one employee breathing in plutonium in a former reprocessing plant. The incident in January 2006 was outwith the review period. Over the course of the year, the UKAEA logged three lost-time accidents out of a total of 4.3 million hours worked. The highest radiation dose received by a worker was a 10th of the statutory annual limit while the average dose was a tiny fraction of it. Discharges of radioactivity to the environment remained within authorised limits. The Achilles heel of the site's operation remains the rogue fragments of reprocessed reactor fuel which have been polluting stretches of the local coastline. Over the course of the year, 19 particles were detected on local beaches. Dounreay director Simon Middlemas said yesterday: "There are many reasons why the workforce should be proud of its achievements during the last year. "We have carried out work more efficiently than predicted, which has enabled us to bring forward projects from future years. At the same time our safety and environmental performance has improved greatly." Mr Middlemas added: "With this level of commitment and capability by the entire team at Dounreay, including our subcontractors, it sends exactly the right message to attract other businesses into the area for the future prosperity of the North of Scotland." The bonuses are paid just to UKAEA workers, not the 1000 or so employees of site-based contractors. The NDA, the Government quango which oversees the clean-up of all of the UK's defunct reactor sites, is also expected to pay out a follow-up dividend to the UKAEA workforce. This is related to the size of the performance-related fee the UKAEA earns from the NDA and is paid as a percentage of the individual's salary. Last year, the NDA withheld 2 million of the potential fee paid to Dounreay's operators because of a major spillage of radioactive liquor in a shielded cell. iain-grant@ukf.net All content copyright 2007 Scottish Provincial Press Ltd. ***************************************************************** 44 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Pull the plug already Today: August 01, 2007 at 8:55:7 PDT Provision of energy bill that allows expansion of nuclear power should be discarded It was revealed this week that the Senate's recently passed energy bill could make companies eligible for tens of billions of dollars in federally backed loans to build nuclear power plants. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who wrote the legislation, has said that the provision is intended to provide federal loan guarantees only for the most cutting-edge, state-of-the-art power plants. In reality, the provision grants the Energy Department the authority to approve virtually unlimited numbers of federal loan guarantees for power plants that use "clean" generating technologies. Under existing law, Congress sets the amount of such loans annually. According to a story by The New York Times on Tuesday, nuclear industry officials say that under the new bill, loan guarantees could be available to companies proposing to build 28 nuclear reactors, which are considered "clean" in comparison to coal-burning plants. The provision also could allow guarantees for power plants using so-called "clean" coal-burning technology or renewable fuels, the Times reports. Nuclear industry officials say they need government loan guarantees because banks and investors will not provide funding for the plants without them. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., a strong supporter of the nuclear industry and also of this poorly written provision, has said that congressional limits on the volume of loans isn't necessary because power companies would have to pay a fee upfront that covers the cost of the guarantee. But this isn't simply about money. Without a law that requires annual oversight and consideration by Congress, the Energy Department could open the floodgates for construction of more than two dozen nuclear power plants in a nation that is running out of room to store nuclear waste. The Energy Department's only solution to that problem is the preposterous notion of opening a repository for high-level nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain - an ill-conceived proposal dying a slow and warranted death. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 45 SF New Mexican: Nuke waste advisory board is recruiting Wed Aug 1, 2007 9:54 pm Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican A federal advisory board that monitors the environment and nuclear waste cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory is looking for members. There are 10 openings for the Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board, a volunteer group that closely studies environmental contamination at the lab and ways to fix it. The board formally advises the U.S. Department of Energy on environmental matters, and the director is recruiting. “We’re chartered by the DOE,” explained Menice Santistevan, the board’s executive director. “The department is obliged to respond to our recommendations.” The board, which currently has 14 members from all over the north, is “the conduit between DOE and the citizens of Northern New Mexico,” Santistevan said. Cleanup at the lab is no small matter. The lab estimates roughly 700 sites need to be cleaned up at a total cost of $1 billion. Also, the New Mexico Environment Department is working to enforce a legal agreement that governs cleanup at the lab, except for radionuclides like plutonium, which is regulated by the federal government. Board volunteers only need the time to attend meetings and the interest to learn about these issues. “You don’t have to have a technical background,” Santistevan said. There are six board meetings a year, and committees meet monthly. Board chairman J.D. Campbell, a Taos engineer, said the ongoing investigation of the groundwater-monitoring program at the lab has been a success for the board. Although that effort was initiated by an outside engineer, the board pursued the issue and enlisted the help of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab, Campbell said. The end result was a study performed by the National Research Council, which concluded more work needs to be done to find out how lab operations could impact groundwater. “That has been a fulfilling and continuing effort,” Campbell said. Campbell also highlighted the board’s work around explaining options for Area G, a 65-acre dump at the lab that opened in 1957. There are about 200 pits and 38 shafts at that dump, and environmentalists have expressed concern that waste could eventually seep into the regional aquifer from the unlined dump. Lab officials say the dump is 850 feet above the aquifer and no contamination has been detected. Options include capping the dump and monitoring it, or although expensive, moving it to another place. “We are now planning another public meeting early next year to pursue all those alternatives and go get feedback for the public before the state ... makes a choice on the remedy,” Campbell said. For more information, call the Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board at 989-1662 or visit www.nnmcab.org. Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com. Click here for copyright permissions! Copyright 2007 The New Mexican, Inc. of Use | 2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 46 Tri-City Herald: Hanford spill caused by waste backup Published Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 By Chris Mulick, Herald Olympia bureau Officials overseeing cleanup at Hanford's tank farms said Tuesday that last week's leak of high-level waste totaled 50 to 100 gallons and did not have a timetable for when the spill would be cleaned up. Crews were studying how to get at the leak, though efforts to trap the spilled waste appear to have been successful. Officials believe the leak occurred early Friday when waste backed up into a pump water line never designed to contain the hazardous material while efforts were being made to unclog the pump. In the meantime, pumping activities at the only other underground tank currently being emptied have been suspended. Hanford has 149 underground, single-shell tanks holding high level radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes generated during the nuclear reservation's plutonium production days for the nation's nuclear weapons program. Those wastes are being pumped into double-shell tanks. Seven have been emptied so far. Work to retrieve 464,000 gallons of waste from tank S-102 began in December 2004, but has been particularly challenging. Richard Raymond, director of tank farm closure operations for CH2M Hill Hanford Group, described the waste as having a consistency similar to chunky peanut butter. "The material in this tank is some of the most difficult we've had to deal with in retrieval at Hanford," he said. "It flows but it doesn't flow very quickly. It's particularly rough on pumps." The waste contains phosphates, which when heated and cooled turn into a gel that can gum up retrieval equipment. The pump over tank S-102 broke down this spring and a new pump was installed July 12. The new pump is designed differently than others that have been used, in that it has a more open mouth that isn't masked by a steel cage to filter waste through. The pump was first put into operation Thursday to begin retrieving the 40,000 gallons of waste that remain in the tank, but it was shut down at 7:30 p.m. when a clog was detected. As part of activities to unclog the pump, operators working remotely from inside a trailer began running the pump backward about 2:10 a.m. Friday. The pump is designed to automatically shut down after running backward for 105 seconds, which helped crews generate the estimate of how much waste was actually spilled. It is believed that as the pump was running backward, waste got pushed up into the water line, in effect a single-shell hose that delivers water into the pump cavity. The line, connected at the bottom of the pump, never was designed to handle such waste, said Delmar Noyes, assistant tank farms manager for DOE's Office of River Protection. He said there was no mechanism to prevent waste from being forced up the water line and that the possibility hadn't been considered. "That was not an anticipated event," he said. "That's part of what we are investigating." The precise location of the leak in the water line has not been found. There were no workers present when the leak is believed to have occurred. A health physicist with radiological detection equipment in hand entered the area at 2:40 a.m., detected elevated readings and backed out. Taking their time to prepare for a visual inspection, workers weren't sent back to the site until about 9:45 a.m. when the spill was first seen. Workers in the area were ordered to take cover at 10:55 a.m. and were released at 3:15 p.m. Seven workers were given medical evaluations but no contamination was found. Crews first sprayed a fixative material on the spill that evening to keep it from moving or becoming airborne. A second layer was applied Saturday. No movements had been detected as of Tuesday. Normal access to the area was restored Sunday, and fact-finding meetings commenced Monday. Mark Brown, director of tank farm operations for the Office of River Protection, visited the site Tuesday and said, "Unless you're right near the tank it's difficult to see any indications of a spill." "It's not a large volume," Noyes said "We're taking it very seriously." The waste in the other tank being emptied -- C-109 -- has a consistency that is somewhat more favorable for pumping operations. Raymond compared it to a gritty sand. Even so, operations are being halted there for review. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 47 Examiner.com: DOE official acknowledges mixed guidance on Savannah lab funding - 15 days ago Scientists plead for Savannah River ecology lab funding Aug 1, 2007 12:01 PM (9 hrs ago) By BEN EVANS, AP WASHINGTON (Map, News) -Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell acknowledged Wednesday that his department created confusion by providing conflicting information in recent years about planned federal funding for a University of Georgia ecology lab that monitors the Savannah River Site nuclear complex. But Sell said the lab should have known from an earlier agreement that its federal funding was no longer guaranteed. He said the lab had plenty of time to plan accordingly. "I do not want to suggest that we have been perfect. I do not want to suggest that we couldn't have done things better," Sell said. "But I do firmly believe ... that we have acted in good faith." Sell's comments came at a House subcommittee hearing on DOE's decision to eliminate funding for the Savannah River Ecology Lab, which has been financed jointly by UGA and the federal government since 1951 to track environmental effects from the Cold War-era site. DOE has acknowledged previously that the site manager at the nuclear complex, Jeffrey Allison, mistakenly told lab officials to plan on getting $4 million from Washington in 2007 and beyond. The lab was actually slated to get $1 million in 2007 and no guaranteed funding after that. Lab officials have cited memos and assurances from Allison and others in arguing that DOE left the lab in a budget lurch that could cause the university to abruptly close the lab. UGA laid off about two dozen lab employees at the end of June, and it is unclear how long the facility will remain open. On Wednesday, Sell said the miscommunication "is an important point" and "caused some confusion." Allison - in written comments submitted in advance of his planned afternoon testimony - said he personally regretted that "a lack of communication and misperceptions resulted in confusing and complicating this matter." Nonetheless, Clay said it should have been clear to all parties involved that the federal government would be phasing out its guaranteed funding and requiring the lab to apply for project-specific grants. The agreement came in May 2005 after a series of meetings with lawmakers, university leaders and DOE officials. It was finalized in late 2006. "It is my belief that all of the parties knew exactly what the deal was," he said. Sell pointed to comments that Paul Bertsch, the former director of the lab, made in a university announcement in July 2005, saying: "If the federal grant must end, we are grateful that our congressional delegation has seen fit to give us a year to develop alternative funding sources." But Bertsch, who testified later in the day, said his remarks came in the context of the lab having its budget cut from a previous level of about $8 million per year. He said he was consistently led to believe that the $1 million funding level discussed for 2007 was only a base and that the lab would get more as it developed a new business model. Democrats on the House Science Committee - as well as Rep. John Barrow, D-Savannah - have sharply criticized the department's decision to cut funding for the lab, which sits outside Aiken, S.C., near the Georgia line. But other lawmakers from Georgia and South Carolina - many of whom were involved in the 2005 agreement - have largely remained silent. DOE officials say that while the lab's research is valuable, it doesn't fit with the Savannah site's immediate mission to clean up hazardous waste. Karen Patterson, an Aiken resident who chairs the Savannah River Site's Citizens Advisory Board, told lawmakers that the potential closing has generated concern from residents who say the lab's research give them confidence that DOE's activities at the Cold War-era complex are safe. "The (board) is sometimes cynical of DOE pronouncements that all is well," she said. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Audit: Oak Ridge workers’ personal info not properly protected By Frank Munger (Contact) Updated 03:32 p.m., August 1, 2007 OAK RIDGE — A federal audit found that Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other Department of Energy facilities are not fully protecting the personal identification information of their employees. The report released today by DOE’s Office of Inspector General identified a number of weaknesses in the security programs and sluggish response in meeting new requirements or recommendations. “For instance, at the time of our review, ORNL was not aware of the number of laptop computers that contained personal information and had not ensured that encryption capabilities were installed on all mobile devices,” the report said. The audit was performed between June 2006 and April 2007. The report said the Oak Ridge contractor made the encryption software an option but had no intention of mandating encryption — as required by the federal Office of Management and Budget — until instructed to do so in the management contract. Following the review, however, ORNL was instructed by DOE to require protection of mobile devices, the report said. ORNL also was among the facilities cited for not updating its policies to address new info-protection requirements by the OMB and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies. “During our review, we recognized that the sheer volume of data processed within the Department of Energy complex made the protection of PII (personally identifiable information) a significant challenge,” the report’s authors said. They also noted that DOE had taken positive steps to protect the information, although a number of sites were not keeping up with the needed changes. Auditors said that even though ORNL had had begun an inventory of all devices that contained personally identifiable information, the lab had not done a review to identify “site-level systems” that potentially contained such information. The report also cited ORNL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California for not implementing the use of “two-factor authentication” for accessing systems from a remote locations — even though many of the systems contained personal information. “Furthermore, requirements for controlling downloads of (personal information) to remote systems had not always been established at the sites reviewed,” the report said. “For instance, ORNL had not placed restrictions on the type of information that could be downloaded to remote computers.” Billy Stair, ORNL’s communication chief, said the laboratory agreed with the report’s finding and has since updated the policies, fixed problems and adopted most of the recommendations. “The IG’s report reflects the challenge the lab will always have of identifying the ideal balance between the desire to provide an open scientific environment and the need to protect both privacy and classified information,” Stair said. UT-Battelle, the managing contractor at ORNL, has completed an inventory of all registered machines at the lab, and “as of today we have identified that about 5 percent of our machines contain (personal information),” he said. He said the lab had updated its information-protection policies and would fix the remote-access concerns within the next year. Stair said a “large majority” of ORNL’s laptops are now encrypted. More details as they develop online and in Thursday’s News Sentinel. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 49 Knoxville News Sentinel: Y-12 jobs safe for rest of year; 2008 outlook not so certain By Frank Munger (Contact) Wednesday, August 1, 2007 No layoffs are forthcoming at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant — at least not for the remainder of fiscal 2007. That’s the word from BWXT, the government’s managing contractor, in response to continuing reports about budget shortfalls and possible job cutbacks. “With the workforce adjustments that were made earlier this year, our organization is funded and stable,” BWXT spokesman Bill Wilburn said. BWXT eliminated about 60 jobs a few months ago, but most of the affected employees were relocated to other positions, Wilburn said. Some of the hourly workers reportedly hooked up with Lawler-Wood, the developer of two privately financed buildings, and will be part of the maintenance and support staff for those facilities. As for fiscal 2008, which begins Oct. 1, the employment outlook is still unclear, Wilburn said. “When that budget becomes more clear, we will look at the organization and decide if organizational adjustments need to be made,” he said. “Because of that uncertainty, we believe it is inappropriate to speculate on what the future might hold .” The work force at Y-12 has been relatively stable in recent years, with BWXT’s payroll sticking in the range of 4,500 employees. If a significant reduction is on the horizon, some employees, especially those nearing retirement age, would like to see an incentive-laden program to encourage voluntary departures. That, however, apparently isn’t in the cards for now. BWXT denied a report that suggested the contractor would lose a part of its performance-based fee from the government if it offered a VRIF (voluntary reduction in force) program to Y-12 employees. Bechtel Jacobs Co.’s contract to manage DOE’s environmental cleanup program is due to expire at the end of fiscal 2008, but the work won’t be completed until sometime in 2010, based on current estimates. So, does that mean Bechtel Jacobs will get a contract extension? Not exactly. According to DOE spokesman Walter Perry, the BJC contract is a completion contract, which means the contract isn’t done until all the work is completed. The only thing that would require an extension is if tasks are added to the scope of work or if there are changes beyond the control of the contractor, Perry said. Discussions are under way regarding those kinds of changes, he noted. Bechtel Jacobs has a number of “requests for equitable adjustment” pending with DOE. n An inspector general’s report recently confirmed that federal agents improperly transported a cache of surplus ammo from a training site in Texas to a high-security nuke depot in Oak Ridge. According to the report, much of the ammunition was later deposited at a federal armory, although 119 rounds were still missing. One of the most damning aspects of the report was that agents in Oak Ridge, where the Office of Secure Transportation has its Eastern Command, tried to cover up their actions and conceal the missing ammo. The report said the agents turned in regular ammunition and tried to make it look like the missing armor-piercing ammo by coloring the tips black. Meanwhile, getting additional information out of the OST — a federal unit responsible for transporting nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials — has proved difficult. Al Stotts, a spokesman at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s office in Albuquerque, N.M., finally acknowledged that a supervisor at the Eastern Command was disciplined, but he provided little else in response to questions. Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com. 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 50 Oak Ridger: DOE to test sirens Wednesday - Story last updated at 12:26 am on 8/1/2007 The U. S. Department of Energy will sound its sirens on Wednesday during a monthly test of the Public Warning Siren System. The sirens will be tested for three to five minutes between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The sirens are located near the DOE’s East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are intended to provide immediate notification of an emergency to people who are within an approximate two-mile radius of DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The 33,725-acre reservation is located in Anderson and Roane Counties. In the event of an actual emergency, the sirens will be sounded. When citizens hear the sirens they should go inside, close all windows and ventilation systems, and listen to radio or television for public health and safety-related information. The DOE Public Warning Siren System is tested on the first Wednesday of each month. This effort is consistent with testing of warning systems around the Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear power plants. DOE has established a Web site that provides information to the public on what to do in case of an emergency at the DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The Web site is located at: http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/emergency. More information is available by calling the DOE Public Affairs Office at (865) 576-0885. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 51 Oak Ridger: Emergency management exercise planned at BWXT Y-12 on Aug. 8 - Story last updated at 12:26 am on 8/1/2007 Emergency personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration and BWXT Y-12, along with federal, state and local emergency management personnel, will be conducting an emergency management exercise Aug. 8 at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The exercise simulates the release of a hazardous material. During this exercise, the public warning sirens may be sounded. Also, the public may observe officials performing environmental monitoring or sampling, in addition to emergency personnel simulating response activities. Remember: This is only an exercise. The exercise is the culmination of a series of increasingly complex events leading up to this large-scale exercise called the “Emergency Preparedness Integrated Capability Exercise 2007.” Emergency management exercises are conducted on a regular basis by U.S. Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge to test the ability of emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations involving these facilities. This exercise is being conducted to ensure that the public, Y-12 employees and the environment would be protected in the event of an emergency at the Y-12 National Security Complex. These activities also allow federal, state and local emergency, medical and law enforcement, and emergency and medical personnel to test their preparedness in case an actual emergency should arise. BWXT Y-12, a limited liability enterprise of BWX Technologies Inc. and Bechtel National Inc., operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************