***************************************************************** 08/15/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.191 ***************************************************************** 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 Guardian Unlimited: NKorea: Floods Destroy Tenth of Farmland 2 US: Seattle PI: Wanted: More green power 3 US: USEC Spent $1.8M Lobbying in 2007 - Forbes.com 4 US: Tennesean: The House has it right on alternative energy plans - 5 Reuters: Pakistan warns U.S. on damage to relations 6 Reuters: China must be transparent on naval build-up: U.S. NUCLEAR REACTORS 7 Japanese Nuclear Plant Hit By Quake Shut Down Safely, UN Expert Team 8 US: MiamiHerald.com: FPL closer to adding nuke units at Turkey Point 9 Indiatimes: BARC surges ahead with advanced heavy water reactors 10 BBC NEWS: Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' 11 BBC NEWS: Australia 'in India nuclear sale' 12 Asia World: UN agency: Japan's nuclear plant suffered limited damage 13 US: Tennessean: After past failures, TVA again puts faith in nuclear 14 US: NRC: NRC Issues Order to FirstEnergy Regarding Information Relev 15 US: toledoblade.com: FirstEnergy ordered to improve communications i 16 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Panel: Consider nuclear power 17 US: TVA: Completion and Operation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, 18 US: NRC: Notice of License Termination and Release of the Northern S 19 US: NRC: Unistar Nuclear LLC; Notice of Receipt and Availability of 20 US: NRC: In the Matter of Purdue University (Purdue University Resea 21 US: Reuters: Carbon caps to spur nuclear industry - ETF fund 22 MuskogeePhoenix.com: The people speak: Nuclear industry acts in stat 23 IAEA: IAEA Team to Report on Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant 24 Hindustan Times: Sonia backs Manmohan on nuclear deal- 25 Hindustan Times: US to be India ’s 'sherpa' to sell N-deal to the 26 AFP: Japan welcomes report clearing nuclear plant - 27 AFP: US to scrap nuclear deal if India tests weapons - 28 The Hindu: An assault on nuclear sovereignty - MDMK NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 29 [southnews] Remembering the mushroom cloud 30 US: Tri-City Herald: Appeals court overturns 4 Hanford downwinder ve 31 US: Tortdeform: Cancer Victims Get Nothing for Exposure to Governmen 32 US: Physics World: Program to Share Research on Radiation 33 US: KHQA7: Loebsack talks compensation 34 MDN As I See It: Bridging the A-bomb perception gap - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 35 The Hindu: India has mastered nuclear fuel cycle: Scientist 36 US: NRC: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Hold Oral Argument Aug 37 US: AFP: Australia to sell uranium to India: report - 38 Las Vegas SUN: Judge urges compromise on water use for Yucca Mountai 39 US: UPI: Report: Australia OK's uranium to India 40 Kyiv Post: US firm to build new storage site 41 US: Deccan Herald: Aussie opposition flays govt 42 US: AU ABC: India needs Australia's uranium - Switkowski 43 UK: Chernobyl Effects 'Worse Than Feared' - 44 US: AU ABC: Minor parties attack Indian uranium deal - PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 45 Grist: Hanford, we have a problem | 46 Tri-City Herald: Vit plant cleared to restart full construction with 47 Tri-City Herald: Construction to start today on PNNL lab 48 Tri-City Herald: Hanford Reach fire burns 5,000 acres 49 Tri-City Herald: DOE clears vit plant building restart 50 Beacon Journal: Key events at Fernald uranium processing plant 51 Columbian.com: Feds say work on Hanford plant can ramp up within 30 52 Knoxville News Sentinel: Oak Ridge security police OK contract, avoi 53 Knoxville News Sentinel: Nuke fuel maker eyes sale 54 Oak Ridger: Strike averted as guards OK new 5-year contract - 55 Seattle Times: Appeals-court ruling opens doors for Hanford plaintif ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: NKorea: Floods Destroy Tenth of Farmland From the Associated Press Wednesday August 15, 2007 3:46 PM By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Severe floods have destroyed more than a tenth of North Korea's farmland at the height of the growing season, official media said Wednesday in reports that appeared to be a cry for outside help from the normally secretive regime. Aid officials fear the loss of crop land, if confirmed, could seriously hinder the North's ability to feed its people. The country has suffered from food shortages since the mid-1990s due to natural disasters, outdated farming methods and the loss of support from Moscow after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The North is especially susceptible to bad weather because of a vicious circle in which people strip hillsides of natural vegetation to create more arable land - increasing the risk of floods. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that rains in some areas of the Taedong River were the ``largest ever'' measured by the country's weather agency. The flooding submerged, buried or washed away more than 11 percent of the country's rice and corn fields, KCNA reported, citing Agriculture Ministry official Ri Jae Hyon. The U.N. food agency estimated the damage claimed by the North so far was about a quarter of the crop losses the country said it suffered in 1995 floods. That previous disaster, along with mismanagement of the economy and the loss of Pyongyang's Soviet benefactor, led to famine that is believed to have killed as many as 2 million North Koreans. Some 113,000 acres of fields in South Phyongan and South Hwanghae provinces were decimated in the most recent flooding, according to KCNA, noting those areas are the ``main granaries of the country.'' ``It is hard to expect a high-grain output owing to the uninterrupted rainstorms at the most important time for the growth of crops in the country,'' the news agency said. State media earlier said the summer storms left ``hundreds'' dead or missing, and other aid officials have said the death toll was at least 200. ``What is badly needed first is rice, cement, daily necessities and medicines,'' Tong Chang Son, vice chairman of a government committee in South Phyongan province, told APTN. ``I would be grateful if there is international aid, for there is great damage on a nationwide scale.'' To cope with the damage, the North has mobilized the military to help with recovery efforts, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed government officials. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said he had instructed U.N. agencies in Pyongyang and Bangkok, including the World Food Program and UNICEF, to assess the damage from the flooding and the needs of victims in the countryside. The WFP said Wednesday that North Korean officials reported 200,000 to 300,000 people were homeless, with the total number probably much larger. WFP spokesman Paul Risley said from Bangkok that the effects were expected to be especially acute because the weather hit during the pollination period for the crops. ``There is concern that this could indicate that these floods could significantly reduce the size of this year's harvest,'' he said. North Korean citizens worked to rebuild roads, clear debris and shore up sandbags along rivers Wednesday in flood-affected areas outside Pyongyang, APTN television reported. Video footage showed electricity poles tilted sideways and a farmhouse that appeared to have been swept down a hillside. Tensions over the North's nuclear weapons program have constrained aid efforts because other countries have been reluctant to donate. The situation has recently improved and North Korea shut off its sole operating nuclear reactor last month. Risley said the WFP had planned to double by September the number of those it feeds to 1.9 million people - mostly children and nursing mothers - after a recent donation of $20 million worth of food from South Korea. But because of the floods, that aid is expected to be diverted and the WFP will likely launch a new international appeal for assistance, Risley said. The WFP is able to produce critical food items such as biscuits from factories that it runs inside North Korea. However, it still needs outside commodities such as wheat and rice to make them that are shipped via roads and rail - which the North has said were hard-hit by the floods. ``We're very concerned by the reports of damages to infrastructure, since that may affect our ability to quickly bring in emergency food rations,'' Risley said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 2 Seattle PI: Wanted: More green power Wednesday, August 15, 2007 In the name of fighting climate change, solar, geothermal, wave and tidal energy are getting a new look By LISA STIFFLER P-I REPORTER The Northwest is spoiled. Since the first hydroelectric dam was completed on the Spokane River in 1885, a steady flow of water has provided cheap, clean power to the state. This resource doesn't produce planet-warming pollution and renews itself each winter with snow and rain. · Renewable energy faces a big obstacle: the power grid · Green power options But the region can't rest on its hydroelectric laurels alone. There are too many people, too many businesses, too much demand for new juice. Over the next two decades, energy demand could surge by 13 percent. Where will the supply come from? The best stretches of the region's rivers have been dammed. Turning to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas is increasingly unpopular. Leaders and residents are calling for reductions -- not increases -- in greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to avert a climate crisis. Initiative 937, narrowly passed by voters last fall, is the road map for Washington's energy future. It provides the destination -- the state's 17 largest utilities must set aggressive goals for conserving power, and must, in phases, generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The initiative hints at how to get there, by specifically naming the types of renewable energy that are acceptable, and those that don't count. "This is the fork in the road on climate," said K.C. Golden, policy director for the non-profit Climate Solutions. "Public awareness is there, business and utilities awareness is there that we need to turn from the high emissions path to the low emissions path." How do we do that? The specific course to clean energy remains unclear, despite I-937's guidelines. Wind has taken off as the front-runner in our state's renewable resources, but solar, geothermal, wave and tidal, and even poop power from manure -- all of which were championed mostly by hobbyists and inventors up to now -- are getting a serious new look. They all have tremendous potential, but there are drawbacks to each. In fact, I-937 itself has problems. Critics worry about the cost of implementing the initiative while others complain that its goals are too timid, weaker than measures adopted in other states. The new national eco-energy mantra is "25 by 25," meaning 25 percent of power from renewable sources by 2025. Oregon recently adopted those goals. In fact, more than half of the 23 states with renewable requirements reach higher than Washington's 15 percent. Overarching goals -- such as Gov. Chris Gregoire's aim of reducing carbon dioxide releases statewide by 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, or Al Gore's even bolder national target of 90 percent reductions -- trump the cuts required in the initiative. Weaning consumers off fossil fuels is going to be tough. A recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute said reducing the power industry's greenhouse gas production to 1990 levels will take until at least 2025 -- even if nuclear power production were increased fivefold and wind and solar power were doubled. The research group, funded in part by electric utilities, warned in a recent presentation: "The challenges to actually achieving these reductions are daunting in their scope and complexity." Washington faces unique challenges. The state gets more than two-thirds of its power from hydroelectric dams -- a source that's not included in the acceptable renewables list in I-937. Initiative supporters said that's because they're targeting new energy development and the best dam sites are gone. The measure also excludes nuclear power as well as coal plants that promise to one day catch and dispose of carbon dioxide pollution. Environmentalists are undeterred by the difficulties. "We have to severely slash our emissions," said Marc Krasnowsky, spokesman for the Seattle-based Northwest Energy Coalition. "That means we're really going to have to switch to efficiency and clean renewables, far beyond what 937 requires, or the 25 by 25. "Are we doing enough? We've only begun." Difficult to add up the costs Embracing green power will either break the bank or save money and the environment. It depends on who you ask. I-937 supporters see an Earth-friendly future free of oil and coal pollution. I-937 detractors see an energy debt that could dull the state's economic competitive edge. In truth, the exact costs of the measure are far from known -- its first goal for renewables is more than four years away. Some folks already are anxious. "We are convinced that we're going to see higher power bills," said Chris McCabe, a governmental affairs director for the Association of Washington Business, a non-profit group that lobbies for business interests. Renewables "are going to cost more and they're going to raise rates," McCabe said. It's true that renewable energy costs can be many times higher than power from traditional sources. For solar, utilities might have to shell out 10 to 20 times more money per kilowatt-hour compared with the cost of power from existing dams. The price of building wind turbines and coal plants is roughly comparable, though some estimates put wind higher. But if you wait five minutes those costs could change. Supporters of green energy expect prices to improve with the adoption of state and national renewable energy requirements, creating a more predictable marketplace for investors and new companies -- though they admit the increased demand also could bump prices up, at least initially. Federal tax credits defray the costs of wind and solar power, keeping those resources ahead of the pack. Rep. Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat and a prime backer of I-937, is pushing for improved tax breaks on other technologies, such as wave, tidal and geothermal power. Eleven years ago, lawmakers here approved sales tax exemptions for the purchase and installation of equipment that makes power from the wind and sun. There are additional programs to support investment in renewable energy at the local level. The greatest windfall for renewable power could be the creation of a fee that penalizes the production of greenhouse gases. Congress is considering a carbon tax, which would put a premium on the generation of polluting power from fossil fuels. And if all else fails, I-937 has an escape clause. A utility is in compliance with the initiative once it spends 4 percent of its annual revenue on renewables -- even if it doesn't reach the percentage goals. There are financial penalties for utilities that miss the mark. Green-energy innovators The quest for new power sources inspires grand comparisons with some of the nation's most historic technological achievements -- the Wright brothers' first flight, putting a man on the moon, the Internet. "Within the lifetime of this initiative, things are going to become possible that we don't foresee right now," said Golden, from Climate Solutions. "When you put in place a very strong policy commitment ... you unleash a lot of investment and innovation." Inslee envisions the Northwest leading the green energy innovations. At a recent news conference, he predicted the region will become the Boeing of wave and tidal power, and said that 20 percent of total U.S. energy needs could be satisfied from this approach. Puget Sound area utilities already are exploring a range of options. Snohomish County Public Utility District is studying the potential for tidal energy. Seattle City Light has geothermal energy and power from the gas released by decaying landfills at the top of its to-do list. Puget Sound Energy is looking to increase its already sizeable number of wind turbines and is considering biomass projects that turn waste into watts. It appears that micro ventures will have a role to play, too, including wind and solar installations at homes and businesses that feed energy back into the grid. Dairies and regional sewage treatment plants are getting into the game with small-scale operations that trap methane for electricity production. Important changes are afoot. It will require experimentation and risk-taking to fuel the revolution demanded by I-937. But in a Northwest outgrowing its supply of electrical juice, on a planet where fossil fuels are wreaking environmental havoc, clean and green is no longer an impossible dream. "We need to get beyond our comfort zones," Inslee said. GREEN POWER: THE NEW GENERATION THURSDAY Wind is the region's preferred renewable power source. Solar power may soar like mercury in an August thermometer -- eventually. There's been a sea change of interest in getting energy from waves or tides. The Northwest is an obvious spot to pursue geothermal power -- so why haven't we? Biodiesel, hailed as a green savior for transportation, is just a drop in the electricity bucket. Biomass projects, such as turning cow manure into kilowatts, are firing up. FRIDAY Energy-smart upgrades by businesses and residents are key to saving power. P-I reporters Tom Paulson and Robert McClure contributed to this report. P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com. Read her blog on the environment at datelineearth.com. 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com ©1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer ***************************************************************** 3 USEC Spent $1.8M Lobbying in 2007 - Forbes.com Associated Press 08.15.07, 9:56 AM ET WASHINGTON - Uranium enrichment company USEC Inc. spent nearly $1.8 million in the first half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure form. The Bethesda, Md.-based company lobbied on nuclear energy issues, according to the form posted online Friday by the Senate's public records office. The company lobbied the Commerce, Energy and State departments, White House and National Security Council in addition to Congress. Under a federal law enacted in 1995, lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches. They must register with Congress within 45 days of being hired or engaging in lobbying. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material ***************************************************************** 4 Tennesean: The House has it right on alternative energy plans - Nashville, Tennessee - Wednesday, 08/15/07 - Tennessean.com Today's Topic: Quest for clean, renewable power Our View It is good to see that Congress may finally be tired of having the federal government do nothing but play pattycake with the oil industry on the nation's energy policy. First, the Senate passed a bill in June that called upon automakers to create better fuel efficiency. Then, just before recessing for August, the House passed an energy bill that attempts to put some substance behind the rhetoric about renewable energy. The House bill, approved 241-172, will require utilities to generate about 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. To jumpstart that effort, the House bill would take billions of dollars in tax breaks now lining the pockets of oil companies and instead channel those tax breaks and incentives toward renewable energy, including wind power and solar power. The steps separately seem to say that it's time to get serious about renewable energy. Whether the two bills can be reconciled, however, may be a different story. Further, the White House, which has talked a good game about the need for new energy sources, is threatening a veto against the House bill. The White House says the House bill fails to address high energy costs, despite the administration having had no problem with oil profits. President Bush has taken big strides in speeches recently explaining how the U.S. needs to look for new sources of energy. Here's his chance to back up his own words. The Senate last month considered a plan similar to the House measure with a proposed amendment to its own energy bill that included incentives for alternative energy sources. Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both voted for the overall bill but voted against the amendment on renewables. Corker has said he was uncomfortable with it but that he could end up being persuaded to support such a measure. Alexander, who is generally effective on environmental issues when they affect the Great Smoky Mountains, opposes wind power, saying it is unreliable, expensive and an eyesore. Alexander owns property on Nantucket Island near a wind farm, but he says his property is not why he opposes wind power. Corker may be in position to step forward and be a leader for the state on an important environmental issue. Tennessee farmers are beginning to warm up to the prospects of finding alternative sources of fuel, such as switchgrass. The push for renewable fuels might even be a saving grace for farmers looking to get out of the tobacco business. The state may be positioned to produce some of the new fuels being talked about in an improved energy policy. Congress seems prepared to start putting substance behind the talk. It would be wrong to let disagreements between the House and Senate bills result in another round of failed energy policy. The nation knows how filthy it can be to burn coal. But one unfortunate turn in the discussion is a dangerous willingness to turn to nuclear energy as an option. Congress cannot make one guarantee about the safety of nuclear power. Trying to get off coal-fired power is not a reason to be risky. But it's a reason to look for cleaner, safer alternatives. The effort to produce alternative fuel sources should be more than just chat. Washington put the country in its current fix on reliance on Middle Eastern oil, and it has a chance to show it is serious about getting off it. Congress should pair the best of both bills and get the country moving toward more sensible energy policy. a Comment View All Comments 9, The article says that the legislation would require utilities to generate 15% of their power from renewable resources. It goes on to mention solar and wind. It just isn't windy enough here in Tennessee. Solar electricity costs 5 to 10 times the cost per kilowatt hour as coal does to produce. Do the math, forcing TVA to produce 15% with solar would raise our rates by 58% (at 5 times the cost) to 130% (at 10 times the cost of coal). So just for the 15% of renewable generation your $200 per month electric bill would be between $316 and $460 per month. That is noticeable in my budget. Why is nuclear not given as an option in this legislation? Using bio-mass, i.e. burning switchgrass or wood, would produce greenhouse gases that everyone wants to reduce. Wind power is feasible in Nantucket. I don't care if Lamar has property there or not. I do know that this legislation as written in bad for most parts of the country, especially for us here in Tennessee. We could cover up every beach in the US with windmill farms, but personally I would rather use them for recreation. Lamar might have a personal interest because of his property in Nantucket, but his opposition is in the best interest of the people he represents. Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:37 pm Copyright © 2007, tennessean.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 Reuters: Pakistan warns U.S. on damage to relations Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:35AM EDT By Zeeshan Haider ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A U.S. law linking aid to Pakistan to progress in the fight against militancy and some comments from U.S. politicians were detrimental to cooperation between the countries, Pakistan said on Wednesday. The warning on relations between the United States and one of its most important allies in the fight against terrorism came in talks in Islamabad between Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher. "The foreign minister ... stressed that certain recent U.S. statements were counter-productive ... (and) also expressed concern regarding the recent U.S. legislation," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not elaborate on the statements but relations with Pakistan have become a hot topic in the U.S. presidential election campaign. Democratic candidate Barack Obama said this month that if elected, he would be willing to attack al Qaeda militants inside Pakistan without the approval of its government. U.S. President George W. Bush described talk of such action as "unsavory" and said he respected Pakistan's sovereignty. But Bush also signed into law a bill on implementing the recommendations of the September 11 commission, which contained the provision tying aid to Pakistan to its progress in cracking down on al Qaeda and Taliban militants. The law and tough talk have cast a shadow on the countries' relations. Kasuri told Boucher the law "was contrary to the spirit of Pakistan-U.S. strategic relationship". He said it was also reminiscent of U.S. legislation, known as the Pressler Amendment, which blocked the sale of paid-for F-16 aircraft to Pakistan because of its nuclear program in 1989. Continued... ***************************************************************** 6 Reuters: China must be transparent on naval build-up: U.S. Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:36AM EDT By Rob Taylor CANBERRA (Reuters) - China must be more transparent about its military intentions and naval build-up in the Asia-Pacific to ease strategic concerns, U.S. Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter said on Wednesday during a visit to Australia. "We continue to take a look at China and try to understand what the Chinese intent is," Winter told reporters in Canberra. "The level of transparency comes up all the time and we're trying to understand not only what it is that they're doing, but why they are doing it. China and the United States have long sparred over the nature of China's military development, with Washington saying it is trying to project its growing power and Beijing maintaining its armed forces are geared for self-defense only. China in March said it would boost defense spending by 17.8 percent to about $45 billion this year, but a Pentagon report in May said Beijing's total military-related spending could more than double that. China's navy is rapidly modernizing and transforming from a coastal force into a bluewater naval power with more than 20 new amphibious assault ships and nuclear-powered attack submarines. A new type of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine equipped with sea-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles is currently undergoing sea trials. Australia, a close U.S. ally, has regularly distanced itself from American concerns that China's military and economic rise was likely to stir regional conflict. But a recent Australian defense paper said China's build-up could create instability. Two Chinese naval ships are to visit Sydney in September to hold a joint rescue exercise with Australia and New Zealand to boost military cooperation. Continued... ***************************************************************** 7 Japanese Nuclear Plant Hit By Quake Shut Down Safely, UN Expert Team Concludes Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:00:47 -0400 New York, Aug 15 2007 5:00PM A Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by a strong earthquake last month shut down safely, and the very small amount of radioactivity released was well below the authorized limits for public health and environmental safety, according to a United Nations-sponsored fact-finding team of international nuclear safety experts. But physical stresses resulting from the quake could affect the long-term safe operation of some plant components at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant and the mission’s findings and Japanese analyses include important lessons, both positive and negative, that will be relevant to other nuclear plants worldwide, UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said. The six-member team, assembled by the <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2007/prn200716.html">IAEA at the request of the Japanese Government, found that damage appears less than expected, and in a statement Mr. ElBaradei welcomed the cooperation and transparency afforded by the authorities. The mission’s full report will be issued shortly. The team, which conducted a three-day physical examination of the seven-unit complex as well as an analysis of instrument logs and other records, concluded that plant safety features performed as required during the quake, supporting the Japanese authorities’ conclusion that the radioactivity released was well below authorized limits for public health and environmental safety. Damage appears to be limited to those sections that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety. Detailed checks and inspections by the operator and Japanese authorities are ongoing and significant work, such as detailed examination of the reactor vessels, cores and fuel elements, has still to be performed, the mission said. Additional engineering analysis of some components would be an important consideration for determining whether they should be replaced earlier than otherwise anticipated, the team of two IAEA experts and four other specialists added. The quake significantly exceeded the level of seismic activity for which the plant was designed, but as with most nuclear plants additional robustness in design, known as a design safety margin, had been incorporated into the structures, systems and components, probably explaining why damage was less than could have otherwise However, experts cautioned that conduct further technical analysis is essential to understand the precise design elements that resulted in the plant performance. 2007-08-15 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 8 MiamiHerald.com: FPL closer to adding nuke units at Turkey Point - Posted on Wed, Aug. 15, 2007 BY JOHN DORSCHNER jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com Florida Power & Light moved another step closer to adding two new nuclear units at Turkey Point. Wednesday, the company announced plans to make a formal application to state regulators stating it has a need for expanded capacity at that site. ''We are taking the next official step,'' said FPL President Armando Olivera, during a visit to The Herald's Miami offices. The utility plans to file the necessary papers by the end of September. Olivera said. FPL is one of a half-dozen utilities nationwide starting to take concrete steps for new nuclear power. They would have to clear many state and federal regulatory hurdles. Even with smooth sailing through the regulatory system, the nuclear units in South Dade wouldn't be generating power before 2018 or 2020. The new nuclear units could add up to 3,000 megawatts. In the meantime, FPL is hoping to meet the state's ever-growing power needs by using new technology to expand power production at its existing nuclear units, at St. Lucie and Turkey Point. The expansion would not involve changing the existing nuclear reactors, but would involve using new methods to increase power production at the facilities by 400 megawatts -- about half the capacity of a normal natural-gas plant. FPL officials, meeting with The Miami Herald editorial board, said they are looking to expand renewable energy sources in the state -- notably wind and solar -- but that these could not come anywhere close to providing the growing power demands for Florida for the next two decades. ''We happen to be big fans of nuclear,'' said Lewis Hay III, chief executive of FPL Group, the parent of the utility. ``They produce large quantities of power around the clock. There are no carbon dioxide emissions, and they are not dependent on foreign oil.'' Olivera said he didn't know of any organized opposition yet in South Dade to the proposed nuclear expansion, but wouldn't be surprised if some developed. * Copyright 1996-2007 The Miami Herald Media Company| ***************************************************************** 9 Indiatimes: BARC surges ahead with advanced heavy water reactors 15 Aug, 2007, 1600 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: An advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) that will test crucial technology to be used in future thorium-based nuclear reactors will be commissioned soon, the chief of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre said on Wednesday. The commissioning of various systems of the AHWR, including the moderator system, the loading of fuel assemblies and shut-off rods and the deployment of an advanced alarm annunciation system that was developed in-house has been completed, BARC Director S Banerjee said while addressing staff on the 60th anniversary of India's independence. The pre-licensing safety review of the AHWR by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has been completed and a preliminary safety analysis report is being prepared, he said. The manufacturing of the prototype fuelling machine for the AHWR is on in full swing and it will be tested in integrated facilities being jointly created by BARC and the Nuclear Power Corporation at the Research and Development Centre in Tarapur, Banerjee said. Speaking on the development of other advanced technologies, he said the physics design of the compact high temperature reactor (CHTR) has been optimised for extending the core life from 3,000 to 5,500 full power days. A liquid metal natural circulation loop using lead bismuth eutectic alloy as the coolant has been installed to study the CHTR's behaviour, he said. Simultaneously, designs for a 600-MW high temperature reactor for hydrogen production and a five-MW multi-purpose nuclear power pack are currently being prepared. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 10 BBC NEWS: Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' Last Updated: Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 23:38 GMT 00:38 UK By Mark Kinver Science and nature reporter, BBC News Scientific opinion is divided on the impact of Chernobyl on wildlife The idea that the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has created a wildlife haven is not scientifically justified, a study says. Recent studies said rare species had thrived despite raised radiation levels as a result of no human activity. But scientists who assessed the 1986 disaster's impact on birds said the ecological effects were "considerably greater than previously assumed". In April 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. After the accident, traces of radioactive deposits were found in nearly every country in the northern hemisphere. The paper's authors, Anders Moller of University Pierre and Marie Curie, France, and Tim Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, said their research did not support the idea that low-level radiation was not affecting animals. "Recent conclusions from the UN Chernobyl Forum and reports in the popular media concerning the effects of radiation from Chernobyl has left the impression that the exclusion zone is a thriving ecosystem, filled with an increasing number of rare species," they wrote. Instead, they added: "Species richness, abundance and population density of breeding birds decreased with increasing levels of radiation." The study, which recorded 1,570 birds from 57 species, found that the number of birds in the most contaminated areas declined by 66% compared with sites that had normal background radiation levels. It also reported a decline of more than 50% in the range of species as radiation levels increase. Photos showing normal (left) and partial albino barn swallow The findings build on a previous study of barn swallows in the affected area, which showed that the number of the birds declined sharply in contaminated areas. The birds' decline was probably the result of depressed levels of antioxidants after its long migration back to the area, making it more vulnerable to the low-level radiation, the researchers concluded. "It suggests to us that barn swallows are not alone; there are many other species that appear to be affected in a similar way," Professor Mousseau told BBC News. "This paper also suggests that birds feeding on insects that are living in the upper surface of the soil, where contaminates are highest, seem to be most likely to be missing or depressed." He added that they were currently carrying out research to find out whether the decline was a result of the birds eating contaminated insects, or whether it was a result of fewer insects living in affected areas. "We are also looking for funding to expand the range of ecological studies to include invertebrates, as well as plants and animals." Radioactive retreat A recent paper published in the American Scientist magazine suggested that plants and animals were better off in the exclusion zone than specimens outside the 30km radius surrounding the site of the destroyed nuclear reactor. How wildlife is coping inside the exclusion zone One of the paper's co-authors, Robert Baker from the Texas Tech University, said that the benefits for wildlife from the lack of human activity outweighed the risks of low-level radiation. Writing on his university web page, Professor Baker said: "The elimination of human activities such as farming, ranching, hunting and logging are the greatest benefits. "It can be said that the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster is not as destructive to wildlife populations as are normal human activities." Professor Mousseau acknowledged Professor Baker's description: "It is true that the Chernobyl region gives the appearance of a thriving ecosystem because of its protection from other human activities. "However, when you do controlled ecological studies, what we see is a very clear signature of negative effects of contamination on diversity and abundance of organisms. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 11 BBC NEWS: Australia 'in India nuclear sale' Last Updated: Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 12:07 GMT 13:07 UK India currently has 14 nuclear reactors Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has defended the prospect of the country selling uranium to India. Although Mr Downer stopped short of officially confirming the news, he insisted such a move would not increase nuclear proliferation. India is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and Australia has previously pledged not to sell uranium to any nation not signed up. First agreed with the White House in March, the US-India deal reverses three decades of American anti-proliferation policy. Under the agreement, India will gain access to US civilian nuclear technology and uranium and be allowed to reprocess fuel - a move that could theoretically allow India to make more nuclear weapons. India's nuclear weapon stocks are currently estimated to be between 70 and 120. 'Enhances non-proliferation' Mr Downer told Australia's ABC Radio National that like the US, Australia would demand in return that India opened up its nuclear facilities to United Nations inspectors. Mr Downer has vowed not to sell uranium to Pakistan "That, if I may say so, enhances the nuclear non-proliferation regime, it doesn't weaken it," he said. "This will provide still more safeguards [from India] than we currently have." Mr Downer added that any delivery of uranium to India would not be followed by similar sales to the other two established nuclear powers not signed up to the Non-Proliferation Treaty - Pakistan and Israel. "We won't consider selling uranium in Pakistan, because Pakistan has a long record of proliferation," said Mr Downer, referring to the 2005 revelation that Pakistan's main nuclear scientist AQ Khan had given nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea. Mr Downer added that he did not foresee Israel ever seeking Australian uranium, which accounts for 40% of the world's supplies. Australia's opposition Labour Party, which is riding high in the polls against the Liberal government, said it would cancel any such nuclear deal with India if it won November's general election. India has 14 nuclear reactors in commercial operation and nine under construction. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 12 Asia World: UN agency: Japan's nuclear plant suffered limited damage in quake Posted : Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:28:24 GMT Tokyo - The UN's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that the earthquake damage at a northern Japanese nuclear plant appeared to be less severe than expected. A team of six nuclear and seismic safety experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found after a three-day visit to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant that the damage appeared to be limited to sections of the plant that would not affect the reactors or the systems related to reactor safety. The team also supported the Japanese government's assessment that a small radioactive leak occurred as a result of the magnitude-6.8 quake on July 16 that "was well below the authorized limits for public health and environmental safety." The operation of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's seven reactors have been suspended since the quake, centred in the northern Japanese province of Niigata, killed 11 and injured 2,000. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), reported leaks of low-level radioactive material as well as 800 litres of oil for water-pump turbines after the quake while some of the 100 storage drums at the reactor's waste-handling facility had toppled over and were found open. The IAEA team, however, said that the plant's safety features were activated and performed as required during the earthquake. The agency said the July quake was much stronger than the plant was designed for but theorized that the damage was limited because, like most nuclear plants, it was built with additional robustness in its design. It added, however, that further examination was required to determine what caused the plant's better-than-expected performance. The Japanese government and TEPCO are continuing their own detailed examinations of the world's largest nuclear power plant by output capacity, and inspections of the reactor vessels, cores and fuel elements still must be performed, said the IAEA report, which was released early Wednesday Tokyo time and late Tuesday from the IAEA's Vienna headquarters. Further analysis was also required to determine whether the quake would affect the long-term operations of the reactors and whether some components might have to be replaced sooner than expected. The IAEA said it plans to issue the reports of the fact-finding mission within a few days. In the meantime, the Japanese authorities were expected to present a nuclear safety report to a senior regulators meeting at the IAEA General Conference in September. Copyright © 2007 Respective Author (c) 2007 Earthtimes.org, All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 Tennessean: After past failures, TVA again puts faith in nuclear - Nashville, Tennessee - Monday, 08/13/07 - Tennessean.com Ex-officials of utility raise concerns By ANNE PAINE Staff Writer TVA is gearing up to provide more electricity by splitting more atoms, promising a reasonably priced, reliable energy source that doesn't pollute the air with carbon. But two former TVA officials involved with the utility's nuclear program in the 1970s and 1980s either question the new direction of the agency or caution that the public should ask more questions. TVA, which provides the power flowing into the homes of many Tennesseans, scuttled most of its plans to build 17 new nuclear power plants years ago after the effort put it deep in debt and forced dramatic increases in electric rates. But it's been slowly bringing more nuclear power back into its mix. It reopened a reactor at its Browns Ferry plant in Alabama this spring after $1.8 billion of work. And earlier this month, the TVA board voted to spend $2.49 billion to finish a second reactor at Watts Bar in East Tennessee. "I would think TVA would be the last one to get back into the nuclear mess," said S. David Freeman, who voted to scrub eight proposed reactors when he was on TVA's board in the late 1970s and early '80s. "On my watch, we probably had to double rates. It was the rates that gave me the backing to shut the projects down." TVA officials say they're going nuclear now for good reason: Demand for electricity is climbing, natural gas prices are up, and pollution-emitting coal-fired plants — the traditional workhorse of electricity production in the U.S. — have fallen into disfavor as attention turns to global warming and climate change. Nuclear generation "has been a very safe, clean and very reliable source of power for really many decades," said Ashok Bhatnagar, who heads TVA's nuclear program. Exactly what the immediate cost of TVA's nuclear revival will mean for ratepayers has not been made clear. TVA chief Tom Kilgore was not available for an interview last week, spokesman Gil Francis said, but he has said the agency may look at a "single-digit" rate increase in the future for Watts Bar and other expenses. TVA's rate increases are passed along to consumers through providers such as Nashville Electric Service. Climate is changing How did TVA go from walking away from half-finished plants to embracing the need to increase nuclear power sources? The answer has to do partly with improvements in technology, and partly with increased political support as coal has become less desirable for environmental reasons. The agency's six existing reactors supply nearly a third of all of TVA's power today. The planned second reactor at Watts Bar, which would be TVA's seventh atomic unit, could provide power for about 600,000 homes and has a five-year timetable for completion. In the early 1970s, TVA had 17 reactors on the drawing board at an estimated cost of $7 billion. Twenty years later, TVA had spent $16 billion but had scrapped some projects before even starting construction — while some reactors were left partially finished, including one in Hartsville, Tenn., an hour from Nashville. But some say nuclear plants today are proving cheaper and more efficient than in the troubled times of the mid- to late 1970s. "The industry, TVA included, has made a big improvement in their ability to operate plants," said Allan Pulsipher, TVA's chief economist from 1980 to 1988. He is now the executive director of the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University. "They got them running at 90 percent of capacity. That made the existing plants a much better investment and their costs competitive with coal, particularly if you look at what might be coming down the road." The cost of turning coal into electricity is expected to jump with tighter regulations under discussion to limit pollution. Political support grows While global climate change is hurting the prospects for coal-generated power, a different kind of climate — the political climate — has improved for nuclear power. President Bush is a strong supporter of nuclear energy. With the support of Congress, he expanded TVA's board from three to nine members — and seven of the current board members are Bush appointees. Serving five-year terms, members appointed by Bush probably will be on the board of the quasi-federal agency even after he leaves the White House in early 2009. The most recent appointments, the renominations of members from Knoxville and Memphis, will serve until 2012. The nuclear industry, whose business of building new reactors nationwide slammed to a halt in decades past, is watching TVA's plans closely. "We view it as the beginning of the renaissance of building new nuclear plants in this country," said Angie Howard, a vice president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the policy organization for the industry. About a 45 percent increase in demand for electricity is forecast over the next 20 years, and the group says nuclear is the most cost-efficient approach, though a variety of sources will be needed. The proposed restarting of Watts Bar also would bring with it 2,300 construction and other jobs, TVA says. Business is unfinished But many in Middle Tennessee remember the case of Hartsville, where in 1977, TVA began work to build what would be billed as the world's largest nuclear plant. Five years later, the agency pulled the plug on it before it was half complete. It had spent $4 billion on it and another plant in Mississippi that also remained unfinished. Today, the empty concrete cooling tower hovers over the landscape just outside of Hartsville. Pulsipher offered this caveat: "If I were a ratepayer, I would be asking about some review of the plans and performance before going down the nuclear road again. "You just have to look at history to realize a lot of money has been stuffed down a rat hole on nuclear plants that weren't completed, and TVA was the leader in that. Other utilities canceled plants much more quickly than TVA." Plants had problems There was a period when all of TVA's existing reactors — five at the time — were shut down because of construction defects, improper documentation or other problems. "The issue was about anything you could imagine: incompetency of management, some nuclear safety issues, a backlog of work on NRC requirements, poor maintenance of equipment," said Oliver Kingsley, TVA's chief nuclear officer from 1988 to 1997. He arrived after the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission had placed all of TVA's reactors on its watch list of troubled plants. His assignment: to home in on and fix the problems. Eventually, things turned around: "We got both Sequoyah units (north of Chattanooga) up and reworking. We got Watts Bar licensed. We got units two and three working again at Browns Ferry." Kingsley is now president of the World Association of Nu clear Operators and a former board member of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, created after the 1979 accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear plant shook the country's confidence in atomic energy. The organization set about establishing best practices for plants, performing evaluations and ensuring rigorous training of operators. Four years earlier, a worker at Browns Ferry lit a candle to check for air leaks, setting a fire that spread. Before Three Mile Island, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had said the 1975 Browns Ferry fire was the nation's worst nuclear accident. The fire safety requirements required nationally after that incident had still not been implemented at Browns Ferry when Kingsley arrived, he said. The troubled third reactor there shut down in 1985 and didn't reopen until this past spring. But TVA officials say those problems are in the past. "Since we brought Sequoyah and Browns Ferry and a Watts Bar unit back into service, that fleet has operated extremely well," said Bhatnagar, who is TVA's senior vice president of nuclear generation, development and construction. The one completed and working reactor at Watts Bar, Unit 1, began pumping out electricity in 1996, 23 years after construction began. Its troubled twin reactor, on which TVA has already spent $1.7 billion, is the one the agency board has voted to complete. Unit 1's successful, if long-awaited, startup will provide a "good road map" for that, Kingsley said. "I think with their team, they'll bring it in," he said. "They know what the issues are. They just have to go out and fix them. I, personally, think they're up to it." 'We can't afford this' The billions spent to build and run the nuclear plants can come out of ratepayers' pockets. Some say it's not worth it. "Nuclear power has been in a market-driven grave," Freeman said. "It wasn't Jane Fonda or Ralph Nader that killed it. It was the financial vice presidents of utilities who said, 'We can't afford this.' " Now president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, Freeman was chairman of the TVA board for part of his tenure from 1977 to 1984. He said he was "dumbfounded" by the TVA board's action this month to try to restart Watts Bar's Unit 2. Longtime TVA watchdog Stephen Smith worries that the project costs are again being underestimated and that once TVA gets deep in the spending, there'll be no turning around. He said TVA lacks the transparency — and outside oversight — needed to ensure it won't get into trouble again. "It's because of TVA's failure to address energy efficiency for the last 20 years," said Smith, with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "They're desperate to get out and start building again." Freeman recalled that during his tenure, the TVA board approved a conservation program that included low-interest loans to insulate homes and put in heat pumps. It filled the same need as one nuclear reactor, he said. The program was dropped after he left the board. "The nuclear crowd had started out saying it would be 'too cheap to meter,' " Freeman said. "It didn't quite make it. It was 'too expensive to use.' " Copyright © 2007, tennessean.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: NRC Issues Order to FirstEnergy Regarding Information Relevant to Regulatory Activities News Release - 2007-102 - 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 has issued a Confirmatory Order to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), regarding the company’s actions to ensure the prompt sharing of information of potential regulatory interest to the agency. The Order is based on commitments FENOC made following the NRC’s Demand for Information earlier this year. The demand dealt with documents and analyses the company commissioned for non-regulatory purposes, along with delays between FENOC’s receipt of the information and its subsequent submittal to the agency. The analyses include the “Exponent Report,” which discussed corrosion that severely weakened the Davis-Besse reactor vessel’s head in 2002. The report provided conclusions that could have affected NRC-required activities at U.S. commercial reactors. The Order requires FENOC to take several actions, including: * Train selected employees by Nov. 30 to recognize and communicate information that could have a regulatory impact; * Use an outside consultant to review FENOC staff’s sensitivity to potentially important information in January 2008 and 2009, reporting the results and any follow-on actions to the NRC, and; * Develop a formal review procedure for technical reports created for non-regulatory uses, to ensure recognition of the reports’ possible regulatory impacts. The Order will be published shortly in the Federal Register and will be available on the NRC’s Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/reac tors/. Anyone adversely affected by the Order, other than FENOC, may request a hearing within 20 days of publication. Any request for a hearing must be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC, 20555. Copies of the hearing request must also be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement and the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator for NRC Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL, 60532-4351, and to FENOC. Hearing requests may also be faxed to 301-415-1101 or e-mailed to hearingdocket@nrc.gov and to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. ====================================================================== 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. Privacy Policy | Site Disclaimer Wednesday, August 15, 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 toledoblade.com: FirstEnergy ordered to improve communications in wake of contradictory Davis-Besse reports August 15, 2007 NRC imposes no fines against the utility BLADE STAFF ROCKVILLE, MD. - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided not to come down hard on FirstEnergy Corp. for holding back on contradictory information the utility had gathered about the near-rupture of Davis-Besse's old reactor head in 2002, letting the utility off with what is effectively a warning. The federal agency's headquarters in this Washington suburb today issued an order requiring FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. to improve employee training in communications by Nov. 30, and to hire outside consultants to analyze the utility's progress in that area in 2008 and 2009. It also ordered the company to develop a formal review procedure for technical reports created for non-regulatory purposes to better recognize what should be instantly shared with the NRC. The NRC made it clear since issuing a "Demand for Information" in May that it was irked by FirstEnergy Corp.'s three-month delay in releasing the two documents, prepared by outside consultants to help bolster the utility's arbitration case over a $200 million insurance claim. The agency said it had the authority to impose hefty fines or sanctions up to and including license suspension under that process. One of the documents in particular, a 661-page report, had potential nationwide ramifications for safety operations at other nuclear plants because of how it attempts to portray the Davis-Besse incident as a fluke. Its conclusions contradicted earlier research by both FirstEnergy and the federal government, which had agreed years ago that safety was compromised at Davis-Besse because of neglected maintenance. The report prompted the NRC to verify no other plants were on the verge of what happened at Davis-Besse in 2002, the closest the United States had come to having radioactive steam formed in containment since the half-core meltdown of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979. FirstEnergy is using the two new reports to seek $200 million in insurance payments for the damaged head. Read more in later editions of The Blade and toledoblade.com. © 2007 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the terms of our privacy statement and our visitor agreement. Please read them. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 16 Salt Lake Tribune: Panel: Consider nuclear power Guv's climate-change group says it serves as bridge to renewable energy The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 08/15/2007 01:13:27 AM MDT Greenhouse gas emissions in Utah can be reduced through energy conservation, investing in new coal technologies and developing more renewable energy. But the state's leaders also should consider the potential of nuclear power plants, a climate change panel decided Tuesday. The decision to raise nuclear power from a low- to mid-level priority for countering global warming came after some members of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change declared the group's work would not be legitimate unless nuclear power were treated seriously. Doing otherwise, said Farm Bureau CEO Randy Parker, "draws into question the balance and validity of this group, right here, right now." The challenge, supported by Utah Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, and Rocky Mountain Power representative Carol Hunter, came after 10 of 21 panelists voted to boost nuclear power's status on a list of ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The panelists wholeheartedly supported a host of other measures to fight global warming that previously have provoked more debate than agreement among policymakers, industry and conservationists. Some of the top vote-getters included providing tax credits and incentives for renewable-energy development, investment in technology that would capture and store carbon dioxide emitted at coal-fired power plants, and supporting the state's effort to include renewable energy in the power mix. That's a long way from Utah's former predominant reliance on conservation measures, said Park City Mayor Dana Williams, pointing to the vote tallies lining the walls of a Department of Environmental Quality meeting room. "This is a really significant sign that partisanship has fallen by the wayside" on the need to address global warming, he said. Tuesday marked the climate-change advisory council's 56th meeting. The next is scheduled for Aug. 22, when the group will approve its final report and an independent study on the science of climate change. Dianne Nielson, Huntsman's energy policy adviser, said she expected to present the package to the governor by mid-September. Industry representatives on the panel pushed alternatives that would include traditional extractive industries high on the list of energy priorities. The panel decided that the final report to the governor would include a cautionary statement about the time it will take to develop many of the advanced-fuels technologies and strategies recommended. For that reason, carbon-based fuels and power need to provide a bridge to renewables, they agreed. The strong endorsement for nuclear energy emerged at the advisory council's July meeting, despite a panel subcommittee's recommendation that nuclear power should be low-priority because it's unlikely to provide near-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. ***************************************************************** 17 TVA: Completion and Operation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, Rhea County, TN FR Doc E7-15955 [Federal Register: August 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 157)] [Notices] [Page 45859-45861] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15au07-138] TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). ACTION: Issuance of record of decision. SUMMARY: This notice is provided in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 to 1508) and TVA's procedures implementing the National Environmental Policy Act. On August 1, 2007, the TVA Board of Directors decided to adopt the preferred alternative identified in TVA's Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), Completion and Operation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, Rhea County, Tennessee. A Notice of Availability of the FSEIS was published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2007. Under the selected alternative, TVA has decided to meet the need for additional baseload capacity on the TVA system and maximize the use of existing assets by completing and operating Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) Unit 2. The unit would be completed as originally designed incorporating additional modifications made to its sister unit, WBN Unit 1, which has been operating since 1996. No expansion of the existing site footprint would be required to complete construction of Unit 2. TVA has prepared the FSEIS to update the extensive environmental record pertinent to the proposed action. In addition to the FSEIS, TVA conducted a detailed scoping, estimating, and planning (DSEP) study. TVA used information from the DSEP and the FSEIS to make the decision to complete construction and to operate Unit 2. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce L. Yeager, NEPA Policy Program Manager, Environmental Stewardship and Policy, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B, [[Page 45860]] Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499; telephone (865) 632-8051 or e-mail blyeager@tva.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FSEIS for completion and operation of WBN Unit 2 supplements the original 1972 TVA EIS titled ``Final Environmental Statement, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2'' and the ``Final Statement Related to the Operation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2, Supplement No. 1,'' (NRC 1995b), which TVA adopted on July 10, 1995. Where pertinent, the FSEIS incorporates by reference, utilizes, tiers from, and updates information from the substantial previous environmental record prepared for actions related to the construction and operation of WBN, including updating the need for power analysis. Alternatives Considered In the 1972 Final Environmental Statement (FES) for Watts Bar Units 1 and 2, TVA considered a number of alternatives to constructing and operating WBN, including the No Action alternative. TVA is proposing to complete WBN Unit 2 as originally designed except for modifications consistent with those made to Unit 1. Consistent with applicable regulations, the FSEIS also tiers off of Energy Vision 2020--An Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (``IRP'' EIS) (TVA 1995); the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water reactor (DOE 1999); and the Reservoir Operations Study Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (TVA 2004), and incorporates by reference the balance of the environmental record pertinent to WBN. The IRP EIS analyzed a substantial number of energy resource alternatives, including energy efficiency improvements and demand side management. Environmental Consequences The environmental consequences of constructing and operating WBN were addressed comprehensively in the 1972 FES for WBN Units 1 and 2. Subsequent environmental reviews by TVA and the NRC have updated that analysis. By 1996 when the construction of Unit 1 was complete, most of the construction effects had already occurred. Unit 2 would use structures that already exist and most of the work required to complete Unit 2 would occur inside of those buildings. Disturbances proposed for the construction of new support facilities would be within the current plant footprint. TVA would use standard construction best management practices to control minor construction impacts to air and water from dust, sedimentation, and noise. Where needed, the FSEIS further updated information and analyses in the following areas: Surface water; groundwater; aquatic ecology; threatened and endangered species; wetlands; natural areas; cultural resources; socioeconomic, environmental justice and land use impacts; floodplains and flood risk; seismic effects; climatology and meteorology; nuclear plant safety and security; radiological effects; radioactive waste; spent fuel storage; transportation of radioactive materials, and decommissioning. The analyses conducted for the FSEIS indicate that no significant impacts would be expected as a result of completing and operating WBN Unit 2. The oversight of permitting agencies, such as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, will help further safeguard the environment from unacceptable environmental impacts. No effects to federally-listed species would occur. The analysis acknowledges that there will be both beneficial and adverse impacts to local community services from completing Unit 2, largely associated with the effects on social services during the construction process. These findings are primarily a result of the fact that: (1) WBN Unit 1 is already an existing facility operating under an NRC license; (2) WBN Unit 2 is substantially complete; (3) the environmental footprint of the proposed action is confined to that of the existing plant (primarily within existing structures of the plant); and (4) the proposed addition of WBN Unit 2 results in relatively minor changes to ongoing operations of WBN that have the potential for environmental effects. Decision On August 1, 2007, the TVA Board of Directors decided to adopt the preferred alternative to complete and operate WBN Unit 2. This decision took into account environmental considerations together with economic and technical aspects of the project. Proceeding with completion and operation of WBN Unit 2 is the best decision for TVA and the Tennessee Valley in terms of power supply, power price, generation mix, return on investment, use of existing assets, and avoidance of environmental impacts. This decision has the three-fold benefits of assuring future power supplies without the environmental effects resulting from operation of fossil fuel generating plants (including increased emissions), avoiding the even larger capital outlays associated with totally new construction, and avoiding the environmental impacts resulting from siting and construction of new power generating facilities elsewhere. The FSEIS concluded that WBN Unit 2 can be completed and operated without significant, adverse impacts on the environment. Environmentally Preferred Alternative On May 31, 2007, the TVA Board endorsed enhanced reliance on renewable energy resources, demand side management (energy conservation), and energy efficiency to help meet the growing demand for electricity from the TVA system. These energy resource options were evaluated in TVA's IRP EIS. TVA is implementing a number of these resource options and expects to rely more heavily on such options in the future. Energy conservation and improved energy efficiency typically would have lesser environmental impacts than completing and operating a nuclear plant. They would not, however, offset the near- term need for more baseload generation that would be met by completing and operating WBN Unit 2. Accordingly, TVA has concluded that the preferred alternative is also the environmentally preferable alternative. This alternative has the benefits of assuring future power supplies without relying upon fossil fuel generation and its associated environmental impacts, and avoiding the greater environmental impacts resulting from siting and construction of new power generating facilities elsewhere. Environmental Commitments In the FSEIS, TVA has identified two measures that would be implemented during construction of WBN Unit 2 to address potential socio-economic impacts. TVA will designate certain counties as impacted by the construction process so that they would become eligible for a supplemental allocation from TVA's tax equivalent payments under Tennessee law. These funds could be used by counties and local governmental to address impacts on local services and infrastructure. A part of the DSEP, TVA conducted a labor study of the potential construction workforce. TVA will also provide information from this study to officials in the impacted counties. This information should help with local planning to better accommodate the anticipated temporary population growth. [[Page 45861]] Dated: August 3, 2007. William R. McCollum, Jr., Chief Operating Officer. [FR Doc. E7-15955 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8120-08-P ***************************************************************** 18 NRC: Notice of License Termination and Release of the Northern States Power Company Pathfinder Site in Sioux Falls, SD, for Unrestricted Use FR Doc E7-16067 [Federal Register: August 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 157)] [Notices] [Page 45832-45833] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15au07-118] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 030-05004] AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of license termination and site release for unrestricted use. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad J. Glenn, Materials Decommissioning Section, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, NRC, Washington, DC 20555; telephone: (301) 415-6722; fax: (301) 415-5369; or e-mail at: cjg1@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 20 Subpart E, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing notice that it has terminated Northern States [[Page 45833]] Power Company, dba Xcel Energy, Materials License No. 22-08799-02 and released its Pathfinder site in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for unrestricted use. The licensee's request for an amendment to authorize decommissioning of its Pathfinder site was noticed in the Federal Register on August 4, 2004 (69 FR 47185). A notice of availability of an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact related to this action was published in the Federal Register on May 25, 2005 (70 FR 30150) and the license was amended to authorize decommissioning activities in accordance with a NRC-approved decommissioning plan. In a letter dated February 26, 2007, Xcel Energy provided final radiological status surveys to demonstrate that the site met the license termination criteria in 10 CFR Part 20 Subpart E. NRC staff conducted inspections and confirmatory surveys including the collection of samples and independent measurements of on-site soils and building surfaces. The NRC staff evaluated Xcel Energy's request and reviewed the results of the final radiological surveys. Based on those reviews, the staff determined that the site met the unrestricted release criteria in 10 CFR Part 20 Subpart E. The staff prepared a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) to support its termination of the Northern States Power Company license for the Pathfinder site. II. Further Information In accordance with 10 CFR Part 2.790 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,'' details with respect to this action, including the SER, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession number for the termination letter with enclosed SER, titled ``Completion of Decommissioning Activities Northern States Power Company DBA Xcel Energy Pathfinder Site, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Docket No. 030-05004)'' is ML071900323. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing a document located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1- 800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. This document may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O-1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Dated at NRC, Rockville, MD, this 8th day of August 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Keith I. McConnell, Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery, Licensing Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs. [FR Doc. E7-16067 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 19 NRC: Unistar Nuclear LLC; Notice of Receipt and Availability of Part of an Application for a Combined License FR Doc E7-16068 [Federal Register: August 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 157)] [Notices] [Page 45832] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15au07-117] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION On July 13, 2007 (ML071980294), UniStar Nuclear LLC (UniStar) filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act and 10 CFR Part 52, a portion of an application for a combined license (COL) for a U.S. EPR nuclear power plant at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant facility in Lusby, Maryland identified as Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit No. 3. UniStar supplemented its filing with a letter dated July 16, 2007 (ML072000363). An applicant may seek a COL in accordance with Subpart C of 10 CFR Part 52 and may submit such an application in two parts in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5). The part submitted by UniStar on July 13 consists of the Environmental Report required by 10 CFR 50.30(f) as well as other information required under 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5). This information includes certain administrative information such as financial qualifications submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 50.33, Chapter 2, ``Site Characteristics,'' of the safety analysis report (SAR), which is submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 50.34(a)(1), and an agreement to limit access to sensitive information submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 50.37. To support its application, UniStar also requested an exemption from 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5), as documented in its July 13, 2007 letter. The NRC will review this exemption request and render its decision as part of the acceptance review of the application. Subsequent Federal Register notices will address the acceptability of this part of the tendered COL application for docketing and provisions for participation of the public in the COL review process. A copy of the application is available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland and via the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The accession number for the application is ML071980294. Future publicly available documents related to the application will also be posted in ADAMS. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC Public Document Room staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. The application is also available at http://www.nrc.gov/ reactors/new-licensing/col.html. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of August, 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Thomas A. Bergman, Deputy Director, Licensing Operations Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. E7-16068 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 20 NRC: In the Matter of Purdue University (Purdue University Research Reactor); Order Modifying Facility Operating License No. R-87 FR Doc E7-16070 [Federal Register: August 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 157)] [Notices] [Page 45830-45832] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15au07-116] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-182; EA-07-197] I Purdue University (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License No. R-87 (the license) issued on August 16, 1962, by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and subsequently renewed [[Page 45831]] on August 8, 1988, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the NRC or the Commission). The license authorizes operation of the Purdue University Research Reactor (the facility) at a power level up to 1 kilowatt thermal. The facility is a research reactor located on the campus of Purdue University, in the city of West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. The mailing address is Radiation Laboratories, Purdue University, Nuclear Engineering Building, 400 Central Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2017. II Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.64, limits the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel in domestic non- power reactors (research and test reactors) (see 51 FR 6514). The regulation, which became effective on March 27, 1986, requires that if Federal Government funding for conversion-related costs is available, each licensee of a non-power reactor authorized to use HEU fuel shall replace it with low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel acceptable to the Commission unless the Commission has determined that the reactor has a unique purpose. The Commission's stated purpose for these requirements was to reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the use of HEU fuel in order to reduce the risk of theft and diversion of HEU fuel used in non-power reactors. Paragraphs 50.64(b)(2)(i) and (ii) require that a licensee of a non-power reactor (1) not acquire more HEU fuel if LEU fuel that is acceptable to the Commission for that reactor is available when the licensee proposes to acquire HEU fuel, and (2) replace all HEU fuel in its possession with available LEU fuel acceptable to the Commission for that reactor in accordance with a schedule determined pursuant to 10 CFR 50.64(c)(2). Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(i) requires, among other things, that each licensee of a non-power reactor authorized to possess and to use HEU fuel develop and submit to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (Director) by March 27, 1987, and at 12-month intervals thereafter, a written proposal for meeting the requirements of the rule. The licensee shall include in its proposal a certification that Federal Government funding for conversion is available through the U.S. Department of Energy or other appropriate Federal agency and a schedule for conversion, based upon availability of replacement fuel acceptable to the Commission for that reactor and upon consideration of other factors such as the availability of shipping casks, implementation of arrangements for available financial support, and reactor usage. Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) requires the licensee to include in the proposal, to the extent required to effect conversion, all necessary changes to the license, to the facility, and to licensee procedures. This paragraph also requires the licensee to submit supporting safety analyses in time to meet the conversion schedule. Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) also requires the Director to review the licensee proposal, to confirm the status of Federal Government funding, and to determine a final schedule, if the licensee has submitted a schedule for conversion. Section 50.64(c)(3) requires the Director to review the supporting safety analyses and to issue an appropriate enforcement order directing both the conversion and, to the extent consistent with protection of public health and safety, any necessary changes to the license, the facility, and licensee procedures. In the Federal Register notice of the final rule (51 FR 6514), the Commission explained that in most, if not all cases, the enforcement order would be an order to modify the license under 10 CFR 2.204 (now 10 CFR 2.202). Section 2.309 states the requirements for a person whose interest may be affected by any proceeding to initiate a hearing and to participate as a party. III On August 13, 2006 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML062400495 and ML070920272), as supplemented on May 3 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071410299) and June 18, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071700633), the NRC staff received the licensee's conversion proposal, including its proposed modifications and supporting safety analyses. HEU fuel assemblies are to be replaced with LEU fuel assemblies. The fuel assemblies contain fuel plates, typical of the Materials Testing Reactor design, with the fuel consisting of uranium silicide dispersed in an aluminum matrix. These plates contain the uranium-235 isotope at an enrichment of less than 20 percent. The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's proposal and the requirements of 10 CFR 50.64 and has determined that public health and safety and common defense and security require the licensee to convert the facility from the use of HEU to LEU fuel in accordance with the attachments to this Order and the schedule included herein. The attachments to this Order specify the changes to the license conditions and technical specifications that are needed to amend the facility license and contains an outline of a reactor startup report to be submitted to NRC within six months following return of the converted reactor to normal operation. IV Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 51, 53, 57, 101, 104, 161b, 161i, and 161o of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and to Commission regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 50.64, It is hereby ordered that: Facility Operating License No. R-87 is modified by amending the license conditions and technical specifications as stated in the attachments to this Order (Attachment 1: MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-87; Attachment 2: OUTLINE OF REACTOR STARTUP REPORT). The Order becomes effective on the later date of either (1) the day the licensee receives an adequate number and type of LEU fuel assemblies to operate the facility as specified in the licensee proposal dated August 13, 2006 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML062400495 and ML070920272), as supplemented on May 3 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071410299) and June 18, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071700633), or (2) 23 days after the date of publication of this Order in the Federal Register. V Any person adversely affected by this Order may submit an answer to this Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the date of this Order. Any answer or request for a hearing shall set forth the matters of fact and law on which the person adversely affected relies and the reasons why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be filed (1) by first class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) by courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Because of possible delays in delivery of mail to the United States Government Offices, it is requested that answers and/or requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by e-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or by [[Page 45832]] facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at 301-415-1101 (the verification number is 301-415-1966). Copies of the request for hearing must also be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement, Office of the General Counsel, with both copies addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and the NRC requests that a copy also be transmitted either by facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If a person requests a hearing, he or she shall set forth in the request for a hearing with particularity the manner in which his or her interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission shall issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.10(d), this Order is not subject to Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended. The NRC staff notes, however, that with respect to environmental impacts associated with the changes imposed by this Order as described in the safety evaluation, the changes would, if imposed by other than an Order, meet the definition of a categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Thus, pursuant to either 10 CFR 51.10(d) or 51.22(c)(9), no environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required. For further information see the application from the licensee dated August 13, 2006 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML062400495 and ML070920272), as supplemented on May 3 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071410299) and June 18, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071700633), the staff's request for additional information dated March 13, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070680273), and the cover letter to the licensee, attachments to this Order and the NRC staff's safety evaluation dated August 9, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071920168), available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who have problems in accessing the documents in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated this 9th day of August 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission James T. Wiggins, Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-16070 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 21 Reuters: Carbon caps to spur nuclear industry - ETF fund Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:27PM EDT For additional analysis on carbon markets and climate change policy please join the online Reuters carbon community at http://www.reutersinteractive.com/carbon. By Timothy Gardner NEW YORK (Reuters) - Looming U.S. greenhouse gas regulations should make U.S. nuclear plants cost the same or be cheaper than new coal-fired power stations, backers of a new nuclear exchange-traded fund said. A nuclear plant hasn't been built in the United States since 1996 in part because it would cost about $3 billion per power station. But the industry is getting a fresh look from Wall Street amid rising concerns about competing fuels coal and natural gas. Coal emits more of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide than any other fuel, while U.S. natural gas production is flat and local communities have opposed imports of liquefied natural gas. Under U.S. law, coal plants currently don't pay for the CO2 they pump into the atmosphere because there are no caps on greenhouse emissions. But that may change soon as the U.S. Congress debates how to regulate the gases and as 2008 presidential candidates from both major political parties favor caps. Greenhouse regulation could add costs to coal plants that may have to add equipment to capture and bury carbon emissions. But nuclear plants, which emit virtually no heat-trapping gases, would see no new costs. "Make sure you're comparing new coal plants to the costs of nuclear plants," Jan van Eck, principal for Van Eck Global, a New York-based asset manager, told reporters at a meeting announcing the launch of the nuclear fund. "The economics for coal plants will change pretty dramatically," once greenhouse regulations come in, he said. Though the nuclear industry still must find ways to permanently store its radioactive fuel waste, Jone-Lin Wang, a senior director at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Inc., said in a report earlier this year that carbon concerns and high fossil fuel prices could lead to a U.S. nuclear renaissance. NUCLEAR ETF Van Eck launched Market Vectors-Nuclear Energy, an ETF on the American Stock Exchange, on Wednesday. It is the first ETF listed in the United States to enable investments in a broad spectrum of companies involved in nuclear energy. The ETF is based on the DAXglobal Nuclear Energy Index, a basket of securities of 38 nuclear energy companies listed on global exchanges, specializing mostly in uranium mining, nuclear plant infrastructure and nuclear equipment. The move comes in the wake of NYMEX Holding Inc.'s launch of a uranium futures contract earlier this year, allowing producers and consumers to hedge risk and speculators to access the booming market. U.S. nuclear regulators expect to receive nearly 30 applications for new nuclear plants over the next two years. Nuclear power plants provide about 20 percent of U.S. electricity, while coal plants generate about 50 percent of the country's electricity. Eric Loewen, chief consulting engineer for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, agreed that new coal plants that gasify coal and use carbon capture and burial technologies change the cost equations of the two power sources. "Once they do that, nuclear is definitely more economic," he said at the ETF launch. Not everyone agreed that the nuclear industry would be competitive. "I find that to be a particularly self-serving description," Luke Popovich, spokesman for industry group the National Mining Association, said in an interview. "We clearly don't know what the additional costs would be from a carbon regulation regime." ***************************************************************** 22 MuskogeePhoenix.com: The people speak: Nuclear industry acts in state of denial Muskogee, OK - Published August 14, 2007 05:44 pm - Last month, the Japanese Kashiwazaki nuclear plant was hit by an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude. Seven reactors were put at direct risk, with four forced into emergency shutdowns, suffering numerous fires and emitting unknown quantities of radiation. The quake exceeded the design capabilities of all Japan’s 53 reactors (specifically the design capabilities of the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant by a factor of three). A Kobe University research team was reported as saying that if the quake had been 10 kilometers (six miles) further to the southwest, a “terrible, terrible disaster” would have resulted. Professor Mitsuhei Murata of Tokai Gukuen University was quoted as warning that a quake at the Hamaoka nuclear plant could bring “24 million victims and the end for Japan.” Japan’s earthquake experts assume that an 8.0 quake within the next 30 years is 87 percent probable. Why were Tokyo Electric’s seven Kashiwazaki reactors built atop a fault line? Why was California’s San Onofre reactor similarly sited? Earthquake experts in Japan and the United States have warned since the 1960s about such dangers in reactor construction, only to be ignored and “discredited.” Vital data from the Kashiwazaki disaster disappeared quickly, and the exact quantities of radiation released are unknown. A similar disappearance of data occurred at the U.S. Three Mile Island emergency in the 1970s. Radiation at both sites escaped well after the reactors were shut down. In the United States, the nuclear PR spin goes on, weaving fantasies of a “renaissance.” Citizens, beware. The nuclear industry operates in a state of denial, and in a crisis conveniently doesn’t know what it happening. B.A. Geary Tulsa © 2007, The Muskogee Phoenix P.O. Box 1968; Muskogee, OK 74402 (918) 684-2828 Email News tips & feedback ***************************************************************** 23 IAEA: IAEA Team to Report on Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant Examination Press Release 2007/16 14 August 2007 | The Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, affected by a strong earthquake on 16 July, shut down safely and damage appears less than expected, a fact finding mission of international nuclear safety experts has concluded. The six member expert team of the International Atomic Energy Agency was dispatched upon the request of the Japanese authorities. The mission report will be issued within a few days. The Director General of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, said today that he welcomed the cooperation and transparency the team had received from the Japanese authorities. The mission's findings and the Japanese analyses of the event include important lessons learned - both positive and negative - that will be relevant to other nuclear plants worldwide, he said. The team conducted a three day physical examination covering the complex of seven units, as well as analysis of instrument logs and other records from the time of the event. It has concluded that plant safety features performed as required during the earthquake. The team's review of plant operator records and analyses support the Japanese authorities' conclusion that the very small amount of radioactivity released was well below the authorized limits for public health and environmental safety. Damage from the earthquake appears to be limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety. Detailed checks and inspections by the operator and Japanese authorities are ongoing. According to the IAEA team, significant work, such as detailed examination of the reactor vessels, cores and fuel elements, has still to be performed. Physical stresses resulting from the earthquake could affect the long term safe operation of some plant components, the team said. Additional engineering analysis of such components would be an important consideration for future examination, to determine whether they should be replaced earlier than otherwise anticipated. The earthquake significantly exceeded the level of seismic activity for which the plant was designed. However, as with most nuclear plants, additional robustness in design (known to the industry as "design safety margin") had been incorporated into plant structures, systems and components. The IAEA team said these conservative seismic design measures probably explain why damage was less than it could have otherwise been expected. However, it was essential to conduct further technical analysis to understand the precise design elements that resulted in the plant performance. The team noted that the plant owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), was at the time of the event already performing a seismic hazard re-evaluation, based on new guidelines for seismic design that had been issued in September 2006 by Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC). With the occurrence of the 16 July 2007 earthquake, these evaluations will be expanded to account for the potential existence of active faults underneath the site, the team said. Analyses of safety events at nuclear facilities are routinely communicated to other nuclear operators and nuclear regulators, so that lessons learned can be incorporated where relevant at other plants. An opportunity for such feedback on the earthquake that affected the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant will occur in September, when Japan will present a report on the event to a Senior Regulators Meeting at the IAEA General Conference. Press Contacts Press Office Division of Public Information [43-1] 2600-21273 Peter Rickwood Public Information Officer Media and Outreach Section Division of Public Information [43-1] 2600-22047 [43] 699-165-22047 (mobile) About the IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the world's foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Established as an autonomous organization under the United Nations (UN) in 1957, the IAEA carries out programmes to maximize the useful contribution of nuclear technology to society while verifying its peaceful use. NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit the Press Section of the IAEA's website (http://www.iaea.org/Resources/Journalists/), or call the IAEA's Division of Public Information at (431) 2600-21270. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: ***************************************************************** 24 Hindustan Times: Sonia backs Manmohan on nuclear deal- Press Trust Of India New Delhi , August 14, 2007 In the backdrop of the Left onslaught, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday came out in full support of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Indo-US Nuclear deal issue, saying the agreement fulfils all the assurances he had given repeatedly in Parliament. "Our Government has entered into this agreement after tough negotiations. The agreement fulfils all the assurances that the Prime Minister has given repeatedly in Parliament," she said addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting, with Singh by her side. In the first CPP meeting after the recent row over the Prime Minister's daring the Left to withdraw from the coalition, Gandhi said "the objectives of the technological self-reliance and national sovereignty have been and will continue to be fully protected". The Congress chief congratulated the Prime Minister and the team for "this accomplishment". "We are a democracy and differences in views are inevitable, but informed debate and discussion are the answer," she said, with apparently the Left criticism weighing heavily on her mind. Her statement has come at a time when the Left parties, key outside supporters, have outrightly rejected the deal and the Opposition BJP and the Third Front are demanding voting in Parliament on the issue. She told party men that they must play an active role in communicating to the larger public the background of this agreement and the "benefits that will accrue to India from it". ***************************************************************** 25 Hindustan Times: US to be India ’s 'sherpa' to sell N-deal to the World- August 14, 2007 Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Hindustan Times The United States would serve as India ’s "sherpa" in getting the 123 agreement accepted at the multilateral Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), said US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns in Washington on Friday. This process would include the US convening a special session of the NSG. Burns said the Bush administration would actively work to convince the 45-nation NSG that it should provide India the same access to nuclear fuel and technology that the US plans to do under the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. "In a sense, the US will act as India ’s sherpa at the NSG." India is not an NSG member. Burns said the Bush administration would actively work to convince the 45-nation NSG over the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.The 123 agreement outlines the nature of Indo-US nuclear cooperation. NSG approval would have to be preceded by the conclusion of an India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. These two hurdles have to be crossed before the US Congress can vote to approve the 123 agreement. Burns said that after these two steps are taken, the Bush administration will "formally ask the US Congress to approve the agreement by November-December." He added, "We hope to see a repetition of the bipartisan support the agreement saw in Congress when it voted last time." The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Richard Boucher, had also spoken of the Bush administration’s intention to play "sherpa" when he briefed some 25 ambassadors from key NSG countries on Wednesday. Burns defended the 123 agreement. He said India’s right to reprocess US-supplied fuel would have to wait until India set up a new safeguarded reprocessing facility. He said the reprocessing issue "was by far the most contentious issue to bedevil the last six months’ of the talks." Burns said it was untrue to say the 123 agreement’s strongly worded assurances on fuel supplies to India were violative of the Hyde Act. The Hyde Act, passed last year by the US Congress, authorized the negotiating of the 123 agreement. The non-proliferation lobby is already in full cry against the deal. The Arms Control Association said of the 123 text, "A bad deal gets worse." Because of this criticism, Burns, US chief negotiator William Stratford, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will almost certainly have to march up Capitol Hill to testify before the US Congress and defend the 123 agreement. These testimonies will probably take place in September. In preparation the state department, says an advisor to the US government, "is drawing up a legal defence of the 123 agreement, providing a line-by-line explanation of the entire agreement and how it is in accordance with the Hyde Act." ***************************************************************** 26 AFP: Japan welcomes report clearing nuclear plant - AFP - Wednesday, August 15 TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan on Wednesday welcomed a report by the UN nuclear agency which confirmed that an earthquake-hit nuclear power plant did not pose a threat to public health. Japan invited the six-expert team last week to inspect the world's largest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which leaked a small amount of radiation after the July 16 tremor. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tuesday in Vienna that the nuclear plant northwest of Tokyo "shut down safely and damage appears less than expected." "Damage from the earthquake appears to be limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety," IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in a statement. Japan had been hoping for a clean bill of health for the nuclear plant to ease concerns both at home and abroad. The report "supports Japan's position that radioactivity leaks would not affect the environment," said Industry Minister Akira Amari, as quoted by a spokesman of the ministry, which oversees the nuclear industry. Despite its propensity for earthquakes, Japan relies on nuclear plants for nearly one-third of its power needs as it has virtually no natural energy resources. The giant nuclear facility caught fire and leaked radiation following the quake, which killed 11 people in unrelated incidents. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the amount of radiation was far too small to pose a threat. But it came under fire for initially under-reporting the level. The IAEA report said that the "very small amount of radioactivity released was well below the authorized limits for public health and environmental safety." However, it noted that designers had not taken into account powerful quakes like the 6.8-magnitude tremor that hit the plant last month. And it cautioned: "Physical stresses resulting from the earthquake could affect the long term safe operation of some plant components." Philippe Jamet, the head of the UN team, had said in Tokyo that he expected the plant to be closed for months pending checks. The company and government have both acknowledged they did not anticipate such a strong earthquake in the area of the plant. Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 27 AFP: US to scrap nuclear deal if India tests weapons - Wed Aug 15, 3:13 AM WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will scrap a landmark nuclear deal with India if New Delhi conducts an atomic weapons test, the State Department said Tuesday. The statement came as the two governments gave different interpretations of the controversial nuclear deal's recently adopted operating agreement, also known as the 123 agreement. "The proposed 123 agreement has provisions in it that in an event of a nuclear test by India, then all nuclear cooperation is terminated," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. There is also a "provision for return of all materials, including reprocessed material covered by the agreement," he said. His comments came a day after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament that the agreement would not affect the Asian giant's military program or any plans to test nuclear weapons. Singh said "the agreement does not in any way affect India's right to undertake future nuclear tests, if it is necessary." "There is no question that we will ever compromise, in any manner, our independent foreign policy. We shall retain our strategic autonomy," Singh had said. The operating agreement was officially approved by the two governments about two weeks ago after exhaustive discussions spanning two years. But US law also requires mandatory Congress approval of the pact. Legislators, who have vowed to go scrutinize the pact, last year approved in principle the "Henry Hyde Act" allowing export of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India. The move reversed decades of sanctions imposed after India's nuclear tests. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 28 The Hindu: An assault on nuclear sovereignty - MDMK Tamil Nadu / Chennai News Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 ePaper Special Correspondent CHENNAI: The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) on Tuesday criticised the United Progressive Alliance Government for concluding the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, which it described as an assault on “nuclear sovereignty” of the country. The party adopted a resolution urging the Government to withdraw the deal, which, it felt, was not in the interests of the country. It would be detrimental to the country’s non-alignment and foreign policies. Taking into consideration long-term interests of country’s nuclear technology, the UPA Government should withdraw from the agreement. The party was also against the State Government’s decision to permit the Tata group titanium dioxide project in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts. It was unfortunate that the Government was going ahead with the project despite protests from various sections. Expressing support for Sri Lankan Tamils, the party alleged that the Centre continued to supply radars to Sri Lanka and provide logistic support to the Sri Lankan Navy, which were being used against the Tamils. Resolutions demanding a minimum support price for green tea and withdrawal of increase in guideline values of properties were also adopted. To express the party’s protest against “anti-people policies” of the State Government, it would organise a demonstration in front of the Chennai Collectorate on August 20. Party general secretary Vaiko chaired the meeting. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 29 [southnews] Remembering the mushroom cloud Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 07:51:59 -0500 (CDT) The world waits with trepidation, hopeful for a peaceful resolution to the burgeoning Middle-East crisis, brewing with the memory of the mushroom cloud 62 years ago. Remembering the mushroom cloud Anthony Gomes Jamaica Observer, Jamaica Wednesday, August 15, 2007 The sixth day of August is a day when the world again reflects on the historic event that brought an end to the Pacific war. Mainly with hindsight a great deal of derision was heaped on Harry S Truman for deciding to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Although the blast echoes 62 years on, the debate continues, but there is little doubt left that the decision was the right one. An estimated quarter of a million people died resulting from the Hiroshima bombing. The death toll of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is estimated at between 210,000 and 340,000, including those who died of radiation poisoning mainly due to the lack of knowledge about the illness and its treatment, being encountered for the first time. The bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 was the final blow which brought Japan to its knees, resulting in its capitulation and unconditional surrender. The fatalities from the second bomb called "Fat Boy", an implosive device, also included a significant number killed by radiation sickness. The total fatalities and indescribable human suffering involved, is still believed to be less than the anticipated carnage of 20,000 dead and 75,000 wounded in the first 90 days, which would have been sustained by invading American forces. Japanese civilians and armed forces would have been devastated and the Pacific war perpetuated for an untold duration. Unknown to the Japanese, the Americans possessed only two bombs, "Little Boy" and "Fat Boy". It is a matter for speculation as to how and when the war would have ended, if Japan had not surrendered. This was the monumental risk associated with Truman's decision. Paul Tibbets, who flew the "Enola Gay" B29 Super Fortress that dropped "Little Boy", his co-pilot Robert Lewis and bombardier Tom Ferebee, were astounded at the sight of the explosion which occurred at 1800 feet above the Aoioi Bridge in Hiroshima. On seeing the mushroom cloud, Robert Lewis exclaimed: "My God, what have we done?" Tibbets said: "We turned back to look at Hiroshima. The city was hidden by that awful cloud... boiling up, mushrooming." The "Enola Gay", named after Tibbet's mother, flew from the Pacific island of Tinian at 2:00 am, stripped down to accommodate the 4.5 tonne weight of "Little Boy", 10'4" long and 2'4" in diameter, with the explosive power of 20,000 tonnes of TNT. The crew carried cyanide capsules in case of having to parachute into enemy territory, as their aircraft had just sufficient fuel to reach the Chinese mainland after completing the mission. This awesome event dragged the world into the "Atomic Age", soon to be transformed into the "Thermonuclear Age" with the development of the Hydrogen bomb, indisputably the most devastating weapon of mass destruction ever invented. Even so, the nuclear club has expanded to nine countries that possess nuclear weapons and others aspiring to join the club, of which the most aggressive is Iran. The nine current members include the US, Britain, China, France, Russia, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea. Only the US is believed to have thermonuclear technology. The above recollection of the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki is by way of a caution to the world today, again on the brink of hostilities in the Middle East that could possibly assume the characteristics of a limited nuclear conflict. Each day the tension between Teheran and the West becomes stronger with the intensifying intransigence of the Iranian regime. The pledge by the US to provide friendly Arab nations with weapons assistance valued at billions of dollars for their defence in the event of hostilities is an admission of the clear and present danger that is bound to heighten the climate of uncertainty. Together with the presence of US naval battle groups in the Gulf, Iran can only surmise that it is sitting on the "razor's edge". Furthermore, Ahmadinejad's repeated call for the destruction of the Jewish state has resulted in Israel as a nuclear power, moving to a higher level of defensive preparedness. Meanwhile, the US prevails on the UN Security Council for a third resolution to apply stronger sanctions on Iran, and urging Western countries to cease financial and other support in accordance with the new US strategy of "containment", aimed at placing Iran under virtual economic siege. Most observers are doubtful about the expected outcome of this strategy that is unlikely to bring about a regime change in Iran. Simultaneously, behind the scenes there are US diplomatic overtures to engage the Iranians in talks to assist in bringing about peace in Iraq. Israel is the most vulnerable territory being the principal target of Teheran's ire, and would likely be the first to react if Iran were to acquire an atomic weapon. On examination, the US would be unable to challenge Iran in an all-out war any time soon, as its resources are extended to the limit with its commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, from what has so far been revealed, the Iranian targets housing the enrichment facilities are hardened underground bunkers, that would probably necessitate the use of a tactical nuclear weapon to penetrate their reinforced peripheries. The world waits with trepidation, hopeful for a peaceful resolution to the burgeoning Middle-East crisis, brewing with the memory of the mushroom cloud 62 years ago. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20070814T210000-0500_126277_OBS _REMEMBERING_THE_MUSHROOM_CLOUD.asp ***************************************************************** 30 Tri-City Herald: Appeals court overturns 4 Hanford downwinder verdicts Published Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned four of six jury verdicts Tuesday in cases brought by people who claimed their health had been damaged by radioactive emissions from the Hanford nuclear reservation. The cases included three people with noncancerous thyroid disease that a jury concluded could not be blamed on Hanford. The fourth case was a $317,000 verdict for Gloria Wise, who developed thyroid cancer after growing up downwind of Hanford. The court found that Wise may have exceeded the statute of limitations, filing suit more than three years after her cancer was diagnosed. "The No. 1 sleeper issue is the statute of limitations," said Kevin Van Wart, an attorney defending early Hanford contractors. He said the ruling could potentially end the cases of hundreds of plaintiffs among more than 2,000 still undecided in the 17-year-old lawsuit. In the other three cases, each with verdicts for the contractors, the appeals court concluded procedural errors had been made in their lengthy and complicated trial and they deserved a new trial. In additional rulings, the appeals court agreed with some of the important rulings of federal Judge William Fremming Nielsen in the trials held in 2005 and 2006. "(The court) confirmed that people do have a cause of action," said Louise Roselle, one of several plaintiff attorneys. It agreed with Nielsen that the contractors could be held liable for injuries to those living downwind during the years that Hanford was making plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program and releasing radioactive iodine into the air. Iodine concentrates in the thyroid. Although the contractors are being sued, federal law requires the government to pay any damages awarded. The defendants plan to ask the appeals court to reconsider the ruling holding contractors liable, Van Wart said. Contractors were following government instructions and met government standards so should not be held liable for any harm caused, defense attorneys argued. But the appeals court found that the Price Anderson Act which indemnified them against paying damages also specifically allowed victims of nuclear accidents to be compensated. The appeals court also affirmed the standard of proof used by Nielsen. Attorneys for the downwinders argued that they only needed to show that exposure to radioactive emissions was a substantial factor in causing the thyroid disease of plaintiffs. But the appeals court agreed with Nielsen's ruling for a higher standard of causation that requires plaintiffs to show that without Hanford they would not have become ill. Van Wart also believes the ruling affirms the defense argument that the science was weak that was used unsuccessfully in the trial to attempt to link low doses of radiation to the three cases of overactive thyroid disease. Plaintiff attorneys have not discussed whether they will appeal any part of the rulings made Tuesday, Roselle said. This is the third time the appeals court has ruled on decisions made in the case since it was filed in 1990. In an effort to get the 2,000 cases resolved, attorneys agreed to Nielsen's plan to try 12 of the cases as bellwethers to see if they could lead to settlement of more of the cases. Six of the cases, all picked by defendants, were found to be too weak to go to trial. The other cases were evenly split between people with overactive thyroids and thyroid cancers they believed were caused by ingesting radioactive iodine during the 1940s and 1950s. A jury awarded damages in just two of the cases, both for thyroid cancer. With statute of limitation questions raised in Wise's award, that leaves just one person, Steve Stanton, with a damage award. However, in the intervening years since the cases were tried there have been new scientific findings, Roselle said. "I do hope that after such a long time and so much effort by all parties and the court, we can get some just compensation for the residents of Eastern Washington," she said. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 31 Tortdeform: Cancer Victims Get Nothing for Exposure to Government Nuclear Radiation | Kia Franklin According to the AP article below, a statute of limitation could limit cancer victims’ ability to sue for exposure to cancer-causing radiation from government nuclear installation projects. In this case, the plaintiff-friendly lower court verdict was tossed out and the case was returned to trial court in order to determine whether the plaintiff had enough information to file the suit within the prescribed three year window period for suing. Here’s the article (emphasis added) Court throws out cancer victim’s award against US nuclear plant contractors SHANNON DININNY Associated Press Writer (AP) - YAKIMA, Washington—A U.S. appeals court threw out a nearly $320,000 award to a thyroid cancer victim who blamed her disease on radiation from a government nuclear installation that made plutonium for atomic bombs for four decades. The court said a lower court erred in its ruling because plaintiff Gloria Wise’s case fell outside the possible time period to file a lawsuit. But the court sent the case back to U.S. District Court to determine whether Wise had the information necessary to file a claim within the required three years of being found to have cancer. Since 1990, more than 2,300 people have sued over health problems they believe were caused by exposure to radioactive emissions from the Hanford site. The appeals court ruling could mean the claims of hundreds of other plaintiffs would be blocked by the same time restraints, said Kevin Van Wart, an attorney for defendants General Electric Co., DuPont Co. and UNC Nuclear Inc. Richard Eymann, a plaintiffs attorney, said he did not yet know how many other clients could have their cases against the contractors dismissed on those grounds. Wise was among six plaintiffs who claimed they were exposed to radiation during the 1940s when they were children living downwind from Hanford. The government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Contractors operated reactors and other facilities that historical documents say resulted in intentional and accidental releases of toxic chemicals and radiation. Residents learned of the emissions only when the government declassified thousands of documents in 1986. The Hanford cases were largely based on the release of iodine-131, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear weapons production. Iodine-131 concentrates in the thyroid gland, which regulates the body’s metabolism. In 2005, a federal jury awarded $317,251 to Wise and $227,508 to Steve Stanton. The jury was deadlocked for Shannon Rhodes and ruled against the autoimmune disease claims of three other women. But on Tuesday, the appeals court granted new trials for the three women, Wanda Buckner, Shirley Carlisle and Kathryn Goldbloom, who have hypothyroidism, a condition that slows the body’s metabolism. The panel denied an appeal by Rhodes but upheld the award for Stanton. Under law, the government pays the damages and the costs of defending the contractors. People in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and the Marshall Islands have received compensation for being exposed to radiation during the U.S. atomic buildup. Those who simply lived downwind from Hanford site have had a more difficult time because health studies have offered differing opinions on whether they have suffered substantial or chronic exposures that threatened their health. It is difficult to prove in part because thyroid disorders are not caused only by exposure to radiation. 2007-08-15T02:23:57Z Posted by Kia Franklin at August 15, 2007 02:43 PM Post a comment Copyright © 2006 Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. All Rights TortDeform is powered by Movable Type. ***************************************************************** 32 Physics World: Program to Share Research on Radiation Published: 7 hours ago, 17:56 EST, August 15, 2007 By TERRY KINNEY, Associated Press Writer (AP) -- Nearly two decades of observations of thousands of people who lived near a Cold War uranium-refining plant will be shared by the University of Cincinnati with other researchers in an effort to further understand the health effects of low-level radiation. In one of the nation's longest such studies, the Fernald Medical Monitoring Program is drawing to an end after 17 years of collecting data from more than 9,500 people who lived near the Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald in southwest Ohio. "Our greatest hope is that by studying this, this will help another community. I don't want to see it just put on a shelf," said Lisa Crawford, who lives near the site and helped form FRESH - Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health. A federal judge created the monitoring program in 1990 as part of a class-action lawsuit filed by Crawford and her husband and others who lived within five miles of the production center. The government plant, which was 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati was part of the nation's nuclear weapons program during the Cold War, was closed in 1989. Researchers collected blood and urine specimens and kidney and liver function tests, and participants completed exhaustive questionnaires - a 27-page initial survey followed by annual surveys of about 14 pages each - that asked for details of new medical problems and hospitalizations. "That's valuable because sometimes there is what we call 'recall bias' when people who get a disease misremember what led up to it," said Susan Pinney, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati who has served as epidemiologist on the project. Researchers could find several uses for the data, according to Dr. John Fiveash, a radiation oncologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who studies the effects of long-term radiation treatment. It might be useful in studying the effects of diagnostic X-rays, for example, and could even have applications in terrorist situations, such as exposure to a dirty bomb. "This might be used to determine which groups of people might need treatment down the road, and which groups might need immediate care," Fiveash said. The Fernald plant opened in 1951 and was so secret that workers were told not to tell friends and family what they did. But after 30 years, government documents revealed that almost 300 pounds of enriched uranium oxide dust had been released into the air from a faulty dust collection system. The Energy Department also disclosed that radon gas had been leaking from storage silos for years. The government settled the residents' suit in 1989 for $78 million, including funding for monitoring and medical testing through 2008 for nearby residents. Fernald workers also sued and reached a $20 million settlement with the government in 1994 that included lifetime medical monitoring. Cleanup of the 1,050-acre site, which included removal of 1.5 million tons of waste at a cost of $4.4 billion, was completed in October 2006. Crawford is glad the research, which includes some 100,000 biosamples, is being made available. "We've been kind of pushing this," she said. "The monitoring program is going away at the end of next year, so we're working with UC to get other researchers to look at what we have." The database and biospecimens are under the control of a court-appointed trustee. Any researcher with appropriate credentials can apply for access. --- On the Net: Fernald: http://www.fernald.gov Fernald Medical Monitoring Program: http://www.genmed.uc.edu/fmmp Radiation Research Society: http://www.radres.org © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may * © PhysOrg.com 2003-2007 ***************************************************************** 33 KHQA7: Loebsack talks compensation By Lisa Sparrow Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 5:42 PM MIDDLETOWN, IA -- Congressman Dave Loebsack toured the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Wednesday. The Iowa Representative stopped in Middletown to see how the facility is run, but he also scheduled a visit with more than a dozen families to discuss possible government compensation. Many of the former workers became sick, and even died, after spending years making nuclear weapons at the plant and being exposed to radiation. Do you know when we can expect any compensation for families? "No," Representative Loebsack said "We're still in the early stages. We've got to convince some folks in Washington D.C. That they deserve compensation and that could be a long process. We got to get all the facts together of what people are claiming before we can move further down the line on that." Loebsack says lack of proper documentation is keeping some of the workers from compensation that he thinks they deserve. About Us | Contact Us | Advertise With Us | Jobs at KHQA ***************************************************************** 34 MDN As I See It: Bridging the A-bomb perception gap - MSN-Mainichi Daily News August 16, 2007 MD reporter Roger Hutchings, left, interviews a hibakusha in Hiroshima. (Mainichi) Mainichi Daily News readers largely came out in support of former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma when he said the atomic bombing "could not be helped," highlighting the huge gaps in perception that exist between Japan and the Western world about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About 60 percent of the MDN's readers live overseas and their opinions about the atomic bombings are often different to those felt by typical Japanese. Even though the bombings occurred more than 60 years ago, they continue to touch a raw nerve everywhere, despite Japan now being close friends or allies with most of the countries it waged war against. Reader "Mike" commented: "So, when Abe's minister stole 5 million yen from the taxpayers he publicly protected him. When his Minister of Health claimed that women are just baby machines, he protected him. When the Defense Minister says a left wing comment, he gets berated by Abe and forced to resign. They are slowly weeding out the non-right wingers to make the 'beautiful Japan' party ... I can see that it doesn't pay to go against Abe's warped view of history." "Cecilia" said: "The whole world has realized what happened in the past was a culmination of horrible things done by both sides of the war, and is hoping that there won't ever be a repeat of this incident. Why can't Japanese be the same and realize that horrible things were done in the name of Japan too? It's time to forgive and forget. It's not just Japanese who were victims, the entire world suffered too." Since October 2006, the MDN has been running English translations of the Hibakusha series of articles appearing in the Osaka and Seibu editions of the Mainichi. When Misako Katani, a double hibakusha affected by radiation from both the bombed cities, criticized the U.S. for continuing sub-critical nuclear experiments, most of the handful of readers who wrote in about the article were scathing in their attacks. Even the liberal foreign media was sympathetic toward Kyuma, something of a surprise because anti-nuclear sentiment in the West is often viewed as a pillar of left-wing beliefs. The liberal New York Times ridiculed Japan for having a "self-image as a special victim of World War II" and referred to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as "revisionist" for trying to "minimize Japan's militaristic past." The influential, left-leaning U.S. opinion journal The New Republic said "Kyuma's mistake was not in the context of his remarks, but in breaking a taboo." MDN reporters Roger Hutchings, a 24-year-old Briton, and Aaron Baldwin, a 32-year-old New Zealander, traveled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to interview the hibakusha. They both went there with anti-nuclear weapon views that were strongly reinforced after talking to the survivors. In Nagasaki, Baldwin met hibakusha Isao Yoshida, who told him: "I was four at the time of the bombings and for the 48 years after that, I couldn't say a word about what had happened as it had left such a tragic mark on my heart." In Hiroshima, Hutchings met several hibakusha. In Britain, most of the attention paid to World War II is directed at the European Theater and the atomic bombings are not taught in great detail. Meeting hibakusha was a learning experience. Among the survivors he met was Miyoko Matsubara, 72, who has spent the past 60 years with half her face covered in keloid scars and battling radiation-linked diseases while also looking after her alcoholic depressive brother's children after he and his wife died in their early 30s. Despite the many kinds of suffering she has endured over the years, in person Matsubara is possessed of a warmth and generosity of spirit that belies none of her terrible experiences. Following the war, she spent several years caring for children orphaned by the blast at a local church, and went on to promote anti-nuclear weapon and anti-war efforts in over thirty countries, speaking at schools, universities, even the United Nations. "People used to say the hibakusha were contaminated by radiation," Matsubara said. Baldwin's homeland New Zealand is a country that has been completely nuclear free by law since 1987, when the Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act came into force. New Zealand's nuclear free stance is grounded in such issues as opposition to French nuclear testing in the Pacific and the resistance over visits to New Zealand by U.S. nuclear-armed or nuclear powered ships. MDN reporter Aaron Baldwin, (right), interviews a hibakusha in Nagasaki. (Mainichi) Living in New Zealand, he came to oppose nuclear weapons, but at school never learned about the suffering of individuals in Japan and the terrible damage inflicted on their lives. He was surprised by some of the things he learned in Nagasaki when he met some hibakusha there, including that Sakue Shimohira, the general manager of the Association for the Bereaved Families of the Atomic Bomb Dead in Nagasaki, had been discriminated against because she was a hibakusha. He had imagined families in Japan would treat their injured compatriots with compassion. Shimohira has been to the United States during her activities as a hibakusha and said that people often held the view that Japan could not complain about the atomic bombings because it bombed Pearl Harbor first. "People say that many Japanese were saved because the atomic bombs were dropped. But it did not save them," Shimohira said. "It was the atomic bomb that indiscriminately killed the elderly, along with women and children. It people think it was justified, I want to ask them, 'Then why was it dropped on a place where the weak lived?'" But Baldwin also learned that Shimohira felt people still do not understand what it is like for A-bomb survivors. "Sixty-two years have passed since the bombing, but our voices are still not heard," she said. "People look at the Internet and they think they know about the situation and don't need to know anything more. But partway through hearing about the experiences, they realize it is different. They find out that hibakusha have to live with physical and mental scars of the atomic bombing. They are surprised and shed tears. They ask, 'Is it really that bad?'" Interviewing the hibakusha we came to learn about the reality they face. Overcoming cultural, religious and background differences, our thoughts came to resemble those of our Japanese reporter colleagues. "We've got to (campaign against nuclear weapons). But I'm opposed to only the hibakusha fighting against them. Hibakusha like me are rebels, resisters. But if only the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki go and speak out against nuclear weapons or conduct sit-ins, or whatever, the message won't get across. How far will this get? Nowhere at all. If there has been any success so far, then all the protests would have been worthwhile. But there's been nothing. Nuclear testing is still going on. Everyone in Nagasaki, including the non-hibakusha, has got to get out and campaign. And only then will the national government start taking a stronger line," Nagasaki hibakusha Isao Nishimura said. Hibakusha were surprisingly frank about their experiences and putting them toward campaigning against nuclear weapons and war. For the gap in perception about the atomic bombings, I think it's important people outside of Japan understand the reality facing the hibakusha, while the Japanese must think about opposing views and the background behind them. We were encouraged by the positive attitude of the hibakusha and pained that it is so natural a stance for them. (By Aaron Baldwin and Roger Hutchings) Hibakusha: Creating good from evil -- survivors after the war Hibakusha: Confronting the reality of atomic devastation August 16, 2007 Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 The Hindu: India has mastered nuclear fuel cycle: Scientist Wednesday, August 15, 2007 : 2130 Hrs Mumbai, Aug. 15 (PTI): India is not only competent in building high capacity nuclear reactors, but has achieved complete mastery over the entire nuclear fuel cycle, a top scientist said today. "India is one of the very few countries which has such a comprehensive ability, besides being capable of coming up with nuclear reactors with a capacity of 540 MW," Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Director, S Banerjee, said. The plutonium plant located inside BARC in Trombay has been operating efficiently to re-fuel the Madras and Kaiga atomic power plants, he said. The plant concurrently processes spent fuel and rejected depleted uranium pellets that were needed to refuel the two plants, Banerjee said at Independence Day celebrations in BARC. Processing of spent fuel is done at PREFRE in Tarapur, which has achieved record production during the past six months, he said. Vitrification of high-level waste is being done at the Trombay waste immobilisation plant. Six "over packs" have been safely and successfully transferred from Trombay and stored in the spent fuel storage facility in Tarapur, he said. The advanced vitrification system in Tarapur will shortly complete a year of successful and safe operations. A record 120 cubic metres of high level waste has so far been vitrified at the facility. The cold crucible, a third generation melter, was regularly operated to generate valuable operational data. Based on this, the design of a melter with increased throughput that can be remotely operated is being finalised, Banerjee said while listing BARC's achievements. Addressing young scientists, Banerjee said the recent success on all fronts in the nuclear field was a testimony to the untiring efforts put in by two successive generations. "As far as economics of operations are concerned, we have proved that we can compete or even better the standards set elsewhere - be it in the production of nuclear power, heavy water or nuclear fuel. Looking to the future, the next generation can set a still loftier ambition," he said. He also appreciated the security personnel, including those from the CISF and BARC fire service personnel, for their role in the protection of the Centre. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 36 NRC: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Hold Oral Argument August 22 Regarding Proposed Mox Fabrication Facility News Release - 2007-101 - 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’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hear oral arguments Aug. 22 in Augusta, Ga., regarding the license application of Shaw Areva MOX Services, Inc., to operate a mixed-oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel fabrication facility near Aiken, S.C. Three organizations - the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Nuclear Watch South, and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service - have petitioned to intervene in the license review. The Aug. 22 oral arguments will address the standing of these organizations to intervene, and the admissibility of their five proposed contentions. Those contentions cover issues such as waste storage and disposal; emergency preparedness; and the environmental impacts of a potential terrorist attack on the facility. In advance of the oral argument, the ASLB will hold an oral “limited appearance” session Aug. 21 in North Augusta, S.C. This session will allow members of the public who are not participating in the oral argument an opportunity to express their views about the proposed license to the judges. The judges typically do not respond to these statements at the session, but the statements will be transcribed and will be considered part of the record of the hearing. Statements at the Aug. 21 session will be limited to three minutes. Members of the public who make a written request by noon on Friday, Aug. 17, will have priority over those who sign up at the session. Requests should be faxed to the Office of the Secretary at (301) 415-1101 and to the ASLB at (301) 415-5599; or e-mailed to hearingdocket@nrc.gov and pah@nrc.gov. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel is the independent trial-level adjudicatory body of the NRC. Acting on behalf of the Commission and independent of the agency staff, individual Licensing Boards conduct public hearings concerning contested issues that arise in the course of licensing and enforcement proceedings regarding nuclear reactors and the civilian use of nuclear materials in the United States. 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 15, 2007 ***************************************************************** 37 AFP: Australia to sell uranium to India: report - Wed Aug 15, 1:19 AM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has agreed to sell uranium to India for use in nuclear power plants even though New Delhi has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty on atomic weapons, local media reported. A condition of the deal would be that inspectors would be allowed to check the chain of supply of the nuclear fuel to ensure none was siphoned off into weapons programmes, The Australian newspaper said on Wednesday. The national security committee of the federal cabinet reportedly made the decision late Tuesday but it would not be announced until Prime Minister John Howard had advised his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium and the move would mark a major change in its policy of refusing to sell the nuclear fuel to countries that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Howard's government, a strong supporter of US President George W. Bush's administration, had signalled a break with the policy after New Delhi finalised a landmark civilian nuclear deal with the US last month. The deal would allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possessing nuclear weapons, making it an exception under the NPT. Bush and Singh discussed the agreement by telephone on Tuesday, the White House said, as officials looked for ways to overcome stiff opposition in the US Congress to the pact, which Bush sees as a key foreign policy victory. Australia, meanwhile, has been under pressure to sell uranium to India since agreeing last year to supply rival Asian giant China. India and China already have nuclear weapons but Beijing has signed the NPT while New Delhi has not. Both countries say they want Australia's uranium simply to fuel nuclear power stations to meet the soaring demand for electricity from their booming economies. But the main Australian opposition party, which is tipped by opinion polls to oust Howard's government in elections this year, has condemned any deal with India. The decision to bypass the NTP would send the wrong message to the international community, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd told reporters. "It is a very bad development indeed when we have the possibility of the government of Australia stepping outside the non-proliferation treaty, saying it's okay to sell uranium to a country which isn't a signatory to the NTP." The leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, said the decision would contribute to nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan and the spread of nuclear weapons around the world. "It will also promote the building of nuclear weapons and rockets by Pakistan and across the border we're giving uranium to China and to Russia," he said. Pakistan, already a nuclear weapons power, has already indicated that it could also press for Australian uranium if the deal with India goes ahead. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the fact that India already had nuclear weapons meant there was no risk uranium exports would contribute to nuclear proliferation. "I think the reverse in fact is the case -- that the more you can get the India civil nuclear programme under UN inspections and under the UN protocols of the International Atomic Energy Agency the better," he told ABC television. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 38 Las Vegas SUN: Judge urges compromise on water use for Yucca Mountain drilling Today: August 15, 2007 at 14:55:10 PDT By RYAN NAKASHIMA Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) - A federal judge urged the U.S. government and the state of Nevada to compromise Wednesday on the use of water for drilling bore holes at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. Lawyers are at loggerheads over the U.S. Energy Department's use of groundwater in defiance of a cease-and-desist order issued by the Nevada state engineer July 20. The Energy Department says millions of gallons of water are needed to cool and lubricate drill bits used in collecting data about potential earthquakes and floods in the area. The state has said that use of the water in arid Nevada is not in the public interest. Before adjourning to contemplate a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt told lawyers that he will "strongly submit to the parties" to make a "good faith effort to reach some agreeable compromise." After a nearly four-hour hearing on the Energy Department's motion for a preliminary injunction to block the state's order, lawyers said they would attempt to reach a deal. "We'll see if it's a possibility," said Michael Wolz, the attorney for the state engineer. Department of Justice attorney Stephen Bartell is scheduled to speak with the state's lawyers on a possible compromise Tuesday, said Marta Adams, a lawyer representing Nevada's Nuclear Projects Agency. The proposed underground storage site for 77,000 tons of the nation's most highly radioactive nuclear waste has been vehemently opposed by Nevada politicians and residents. The site, beneath an ancient volcanic ridge about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was picked in 2002 but the facility won't open until 2017 under the best-case scenario. It has been delayed by legal challenges, budget issues, political opposition and scientific controversies. Bartell accused state bureaucrats of "using water in an attempt to stop or delay the project" and said the department would suffer irreparable harm if data collection was delayed past a June 2008 deadline when it plans to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He also argued that the government suffered $350,000 in damages by paying for idle drill crews after an initial cease-and-desist order was issued June 1. The order was lifted temporarily June 12 after officials from both sides met but was reinstated July 20 after they could not agree on conditions for using the water. Wolz said federal crews ignored the new order and kept drilling, using state groundwater pumped up near the site without permission. "They switched from negotiations to self-help," Wolz said. Nevada lawyers also complained that the needs of the project kept growing, from an estimated 15 bore holes to 80 and from 300,000 gallons of water to 3.5 million gallon. "We can't in Nevada, the driest state in the nation, permit use of water for an illegal purpose that keeps changing," Adams said. Bartell said state law cannot be used as an impediment to projects approved by Congress. He said the water was readily available and did not conflict with any other user. State engineer Tracy Taylor said of the availability and rights to the water, "that's an analysis I need to do." The ruling of Taylor's predecessor, Hugh Ricci, that the use of the water was not in the public interest is being appealed by the Energy Department in U.S. District Court. --- On the Net: Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects: http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 39 UPI: Report: Australia OK's uranium to India United Press International - International Security - Published: Aug. 15, 2007 at 2:02 PM CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Australia’s National Security Committee has approved a move to sell uranium to India. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday that the panel made the move during a meeting Tuesday upon the recommendation of Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The change in policy has not been officially declared yet. "We would first of all have to negotiate a nuclear safeguards agreement with India and under that agreement any uranium that would be exported to India would have to be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring and so would the nuclear power plants that the uranium was used for,” Downer said Tuesday. The comments were reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Until now, uranium suppliers such as Australia have only sold the material to nations that have signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. India, which possesses nuclear weapons, refuses to sign the pact. The United States has made an exception for India in its civilian nuclear agreement. Both the U.S. Congress and the Indian government’s coalition allies need to approve the deal, which has been criticized by non-proliferation advocates in the West and those in India who say the country has given up sovereignty over its nuclear program. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 Kyiv Post: US firm to build new storage site by Nazar Kudrevsky, Kyiv Post Staff Writer Aug 15 2007, 22:31 Holtec International, a US energy consultancy and contractor, has commenced work on a project to complete construction of a second nuclear waste storage facility near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, officials said this month. Analysts say that completion of the construction of the second nuclear waste storage facility would eventually help decommission the whole plant and eliminate risks and hazards related to the storage of spent nuclear fuel from Chornobyl. Experts say the facility is a first step toward building additional storage facilities and possibly processing facilities. Such projects can help Ukraine reduce dependency on its northern neighbor, Russia, to which it currently pays more than $100 million annually for accepting, processing and storing spent nuclear fuel. The contract also marks growing cooperation between the power industries of the US and Ukraine, whose energy sector remains tightly integrated with Russia. Officials from Holtec, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry and the Chornobyl plant agreed that Holtec would start preparation works on the project prior to signing an official agreement. “In the interim, we will finish contractual negotiations, and around the end of August or middle of September, we will sign the contract [with Holtec],” said Andriy Shatsman, head of the group for managing projects on decommissioning the Chornobyl plant. The value of the contract with Holtec was not disclosed. The Chornobyl plant was decommissioned in December 2000, however, a storage facility needs to be built to hold spent nuclear fuel from the plant’s other three reactors. The plant already has one nuclear waste storage facility in place, but it is due to be decommissioned in 2016. The Chornobyl plant, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, continues to be a real, yet unresolved problem worrying Ukraine itself, its neighbors and the EU. The problems of the plant fall under projects funded through the Chornobyl Shelter Fund and the Nuclear Safety Account (a multilateral fund set up at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1993 to finance nuclear safety projects in Central and Eastern Europe). Both projects were created on initiatives from the EU and the G7. France’s Framatome, recently renamed to Areva NP, was originally chosen as the contractor for the construction of the second nuclear waste storage facility, but was replaced with Holtec. The contract with the French company was signed in 1999, but work was suspended in 2003 over alleged project defects raised by the Chornobyl plant’s management. Framatome, a designer and builder of nuclear power plants, was originally supposed to have completed works in 2003. A contract with the French company was terminated in April 2007. Talks with Holtec regarding modification and completion of the project were started in January this year. More than $96 million has already been spent on the project. Currently, more than 50 percent of the second storage facility is completed. The contract with Holtec, a diversified technology company headquartered in New Jersey, envisions that the nuclear waste storage facility would be ready in about five years, according to Shatsman. At first, 25 months will be spent on preparation work, including design development and attaining approval from Ukraine’s authorities. Construction is expected to last an additional 40 months. The completion of construction of the storage facility does not resolve the issue of processing nuclear fuel spent by the Chornobyl plant for later reuse, since currently spent fuel used at RBMK nuclear reactors deployed at the plant is not processed either in Ukraine or Russia. The Chornobyl plant’s storage facilities will store only spent fuel from the plant itself and not from Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants. But plans exist to expand storage facilities and launch other facilities that would help Ukraine, one of the largest nuclear power generators, to reprocess and reuse some of its spent nuclear fuel rather than paying Russian companies for such services. Ukraine’s state nuclear power company currently operates 14 nuclear power blocks at four power plants. Six of the blocks are located at the Zaporizhya Nuclear Power Plant, home to the only spent nuclear fuel facility in Ukraine. The rest of the power plants are dependent on Russian services for storage and processing of their nuclear waste. Nuclear power plants produce about half of the power needs of Ukraine, a country that also boasts massive thermal generators and exports electricity for hard currency. © 2004 - 2007, BIGMIR-Internet. Contact Kyiv Post ***************************************************************** 41 Deccan Herald: Aussie opposition flays govt Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Melbourne, UNI: "It is a very bad development that Australia is to sell uranium (to a country) which isn't a signatory of NPT," said Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd. Australian opposition parties and environmentalist groups have expressed outrage as Canberra has agreed to lift a ban on uranium exports to India. According to 'The Australian' newspaper, the National Security Committee of the Australian federal cabinet had earlier decided to allow the sale of uranium to India late last night. Australian government has been hesitating to sell the crucial nuclear fuel to India as the South Asian country is not a signatory to the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). The news has coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Indian independence from British rule but has sparked an instant fury from among the anti-nuclear lobby and environmentalists. Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd has criticised the decision saying it would be wrong to sell Australian uranium to a non-signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). ''It is a very bad development indeed when we have the possibility of the Government of Australia stepping outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and saying it's okay to sell uranium (to a country) which isn't a signatory,'' Mr Rudd told the Australian Broadcasting Radio today. ''This is a significant breach from the consensus of Australian governments in the past and I believe sends a bad message to the international community,'' he added. The 'Greens' were first to lodge protest as they fear the Australian uranium may end up not in the power plants, as envisaged and promised by the Indian government, but in the nuclear weapons. The environmentalist party has been expressing concerns that such nuclear weapons could be used against Australia. ''That's all a farce, the Indians themselves have said that will free us up to put the other uranium we've got into our nuclear weapon system,'' Greens leader Senator Brown was quoted by the newspaper, as saying. Australia was directly fuelling the production of nuclear weapons for a country which would soon have rockets that would reach Australia, he added. But, according the newspaper report, a condition of the deal would be that Australian inspectors would be authorised to check the uranium supply to ensure it was used only for peaceful purposes. The Australian Federal Ministers have also been quick to defend the uranium deal with India. Meanwhile, the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has ruled out such exports to Pakistan citing the country record of proliferation''. Prime Minister John Howard is expected to contact Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain the proposed export deal before officially announcing the agreement. ’s ''very poor Copyright 2007, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80) 25880523 ***************************************************************** 42 AU ABC: India needs Australia's uranium - Switkowski The head of the body governing Australia's nuclear research and development, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, says he approves of the decision to sell uranium to India. With more than a billion people, Dr Switkowski says India has legitimate needs of Australia's uranium. [Reuters file photo] Last Updated 16/08/2007, 12:38:54 The head of the body governing Australia's nuclear research and development, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, says he approves of the decision to sell uranium to India. The Australian federal cabinet's National Security Committee approved the decision on Tuesday night, despite concerns that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Dr Switkowski says while the situation is not ideal, it is a step in the right direction. "It would be nice if India and other countries like India were part of the international community that were compliant with the non-proliferation treaty, but they're not," he said. HomeContact UsLegalsNews Sources© ABC 2007 ***************************************************************** 43 UK: Chernobyl Effects 'Worse Than Feared' - UK News Headlines Web www.lse.co.uk Wednesday, 15th August 2007, 00:03 The ecological effects of the Chernobyl disaster on animals are considerably greater than feared, a study suggests. Recent conclusions from the UN Chernobyl Forum and media reports concerning the effects of radiation from the nuclear power plant has left the impression that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a thriving ecosystem filled with an increasing number of rare species. But surveys of breeding birds at forests around the site found the abundance of species decreased with rising level of radiation. Professor Anders Moller and colleagues at the University of South Carolina recorded 1,570 birds representing 57 species and found their numbers were reduced by more than half when comparing areas with the highest amount of radiation with those that had the normal background level. They suggest radiation could directly reduce survival rates and fecundity causing extinction or reducing population sizes as shown previously for the barn swallow Hirundo rustica. Secondly birds may avoid radioactively contaminated areas because such areas are not good habitats for birds. Otherwise birds could be fewer in contaminated areas owing to less insects that constitute the most common food source. Prof Moller said: "We have previously demonstrated significant negative impacts of Chernobyl-related fallout on barn swallow mutation rates, survival and reproduction. "Here we extend our observations to document extensive reductions in the species richness, abundance and population density of birds in general with increasing levels of radiation around Chernobyl. "These effects are likely to have important implications for other parts of the ecosystem and for overall ecosystem functioning." The study, published online by the Royal Society in Biology Letters, said the effects of low-level radiation on the abundance of animals are poorly known - as are the effects on ecosystems and their functioning. Prof Moller said: "Surprisingly there are no standardized censuses of common animals in relation to radiation leaving the question about the ecological effects of radiation unresolved. "These results imply that the ecological effects of Chernobyl on animals are considerably greater than previously assumed." A UN report estimated about 9,000 people exposed to radiation in the Chernobyl incident in 1986 would die from cancer. But Greenpeace has said has said the number of deaths linked to the incident could be closer to 90,000 Copyright © 2006 National News +44(0)207 684 3000 ***************************************************************** 44 AU ABC: Minor parties attack Indian uranium deal - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 15, 2007 15:39:00 Previous export deals have only been negotiated with signatories to the NNPT. (ABC TV) * Rudd slams Indian uranium decision The Greens say the Federal Government has adopted an incomprehensible position in deciding to approve the export of Australian uranium to India. Cabinet's National Security Committee signed off on the decision last night, despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT). Previous export deals have only been negotiated with signatories to the NNPT. The Federal Science Minister says although India has not ratified the Treaty, it has proved it uses uranium responsibly. But Greens Senator Christine Milne says Australia will only be contributing to the increase in nuclear tensions in the region. "Australia's position is incomprehensible and intolerable in relation to pushing uranium into a global situation which is so unstable and with such high risk associated with it," she said. The Australian Democrats say the Government has missed an opportunity to make the region safer. The Government says the deal will include safeguard agreements to ensure Australian uranium is not used for nuclear weapons. But Democrats leader Lyn Allison says that should not have been the goal of the negotiations. "We could have used our uranium to leverage change with those countries," she said. "We could have forced India into the Non-Proliferation Treaty and we chose not [to]." South Australian Premier Mike Rann says the decision sets a dangerous precedent. Mr Rann says it is illegal to sell uranium to a country that has not signed the NNPT. "I think it's a grave mistake," he said. "I think its extremely foolhardy and is only designed to undermine the international Non-Proliferation Treaty." Tags: industry, nuclear-issues, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, uranium-mining, australia, india AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) ***************************************************************** 45 Grist: Hanford, we have a problem | Gristmill: The environmental news blog Posted by Sarah K. Burkhalter at 4:10 PM on 14 Aug 2007 Read more about: energy | nuclear power | waste | Washington The following is a guest post from Natalie Troyer, publications and volunteer coordinator at Heart of America Northwest. Read her previous posts here and here. I don't know if you've heard, but on Friday, July 27, a geyser from Hades erupted at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Yep, it's true. In the wee hours of that morning, a water line became clogged with radioactive sludge as thick as peanut butter, sending a big chunky mass of the hottest, most deadly material found on the site spattering to the ground and contaminating the air. Approximately 50 to 100 gallons of the toxic waste leaked, making it the largest spill in the tank farm in years. Thankfully, no workers were around at the time. But several things remain rather disconcerting about the entire incident. You know that famous phrase, "Don't cry over spilled toxins?" It's merely a saying meaning, "If it's over and done with, you can't affect it anymore, so why worry? No amount of tears will put the toxins back into the pipe, so if you can't change something, why bother what-iffing?" OK, so I may have reworded a popular adage to meet my objective, but the point is that Hanford contractors and the U.S. Department of Energy took this kind of apathetic approach when it came to reacting to the monstrous spill. Elevated radiation levels were detected in the air in the tank farm at 2:20 a.m. At this point, regulators should have been immediately notified under federal and state hazardous-waste laws of a release to the environment. But it took nearly nine hours for the Washington State Department of Ecology and the public to be notified. Workers, clad in protective gear, reportedly didn't observe the leak until 9:45 a.m., when they were checking the clogged pump and noticed the ground was soaked with spilled nuclear sludge. Twelve workers later complained of vapor exposure. Why did it take so long to make an official discovery of the accident? Because the contractor in charge of this specific waste transferal -- CH2M Hill -- is apparently as incompetent as Lindsay Lohan behind the wheel of a car. Attempts had been made to unclog the pump plugged by nuclear waste, which inadvertently forced the sludge from an aging underground tank into the water line. The water line was never designed to have waste injected into it. The line was also not double-walled like the hoses meant to carry the material, and it lacked leak sensors that would have immediately alerted workers to the spill. Failure to have working leak-detection equipment and containment to prevent the spill from reaching the environment should be viewed by the WSDOE and the Justice Department as a potentially reckless endangerment of the health of workers and the public. Hanford, which covers about 560 square miles in south-central Washington near the Tri-Cities, contains the nation's largest collection of nuclear waste from the production of weapons during World War II. The cleanup of Hanford is a multibillion dollar project -- not some fifth-grade science experiment meant to be tackled with prepubescent naďveté. Heart of America Northwest, the region's largest Hanford cleanup watchdog group, has called for an independent investigation into whether the cleanup is complying with all required hazardous-waste laws. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D) is behind us, calling for a truly independent investigation, "not just of the most recent release and its underlying causes, but to also examine the operational assumptions, plans, schedule, and engineering approach used in the tank waste transfer program." But who in Washington will join our fight for congressional oversight? It's time for the lethargy surrounding the efficiency and timeliness of Hanford cleanup to be radically altered before another, even bigger, leak ensues. Perilous Parallels Gross misuse of billions? Putting human lives in peril? Rash action with no concept of consequences? Hanford sounds a lot like Iraq. Is the DOE claiming progress on "some fronts" at Hanford? Let's hope they don't "stay on course," and instead make discernable process turning this radioactive sludge into harmless virtrified logs! Grist: Environmental News and Commentary ©2007. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 46 Tri-City Herald: Vit plant cleared to restart full construction within 30 days Published Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 By the Herald staff The Department of Energy has ordered the restart of full construction at Hanford's massive vitrification plant within 30 days. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has approved a final earthquake design standard on the $12.2 billion plant being built to treat radioactive waste now held in underground tanks, according to a letter sent to Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. That clears the way to resume full construction. Construction on key parts of the plants that will handle high-level radioactive waste stopped around the first of 2006 while questions were resolved about whether they could withstand a severe earthquake. Those buildings include the Pretreatment Facility, with a footprint the size of four football fields, and the High-Level Waste Treatment Facility. Contractor Bechtel National has been hiring staff in recent months in anticipation of ramping up construction. For more information, read Wednesday's Herald. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 47 Tri-City Herald: Construction to start today on PNNL lab Published Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 JOHN TRUMBO HERALD STAFF WRITER Earth-moving equipment soon will begin to scrape the site for a new physical sciences facility in north Richland for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Department of Energy announced Tuesday that approval was given to proceed with construction of the 200,000-square-foot complex in the Horn Rapids Triangle north of the present PNNL campus. The project, which has an estimated cost of $225 million, is expected to be completed in about three years. The new physical sciences facility will consist of four buildings to provide research and office space for materials science and technology, radiation detection, and ultra-trace and low-level detection and characterization of radionuclides. The complex is being built to provide new and replacement space in the DOE's plan to clean up the 300 Area. "The Capability Replacement Laboratory Project will give DOE the facilities to maintain our edge as a world leader in research and development," Raymond Orbach, DOE undersecretary for science, said in a statement. Orbach noted that the physical sciences facility is vital to keeping the lab's capabilities at the forefront. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said he was pleased to see construction authorized. "This new facility is needed to maintain important national security work currently conducted at PNNL, yet the project is also building a strong foundation for the community's future," Hastings said in a statement. Randolph Construction Services of Pasco will do the site work, a $1.7 million contract, said Greg Koller, PNNL spokesman. Construction will begin today with the clearing of brush and fencing off of the area, Koller said. Dirt moving will start next week, he said. A second contract will go out for bid in September for pouring foundations and putting up the structural steel. A third contract, which will be for finishing the project and readying it for occupancy will go to bid early next year. Koller said the $224 million covers the cost for the physical sciences facility as well as upgrades to the 325 Building, which is known as the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory. DOE intends to continue to use three other buildings -- 318, 331 and 350 -- at Hanford for the next 20 years. "The use of these buildings provides flexibility and cost savings to the overall project, and each facility offers unique laboratory capabilities currently utilized by PNNL," DOE said in a statement. DOE's Office of Science and Office of Environmental Management, are monitoring and coordinating the project for cleanup and replacement facilities. The DOE Office of Science, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are paying the construction costs for the new physical sciences facility. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 48 Tri-City Herald: Hanford Reach fire burns 5,000 acres Published Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER An estimated 5,000 acres lie burned on the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve in what's shaping up to be a bad fire year for the Hanford Reach National Monument. The most recent fire, the Milepost 17 Fire, started Monday afternoon near Highway 240 as it cuts between the Hanford nuclear reservation and its security perimeter, which forms the monument. Firefighters had the blaze contained by Tuesday morning and no flames were showing by midafternoon. However, it may be a day or two yet before U.S. Fish and Wildlife declares the fire controlled and out as it watches for hot spots. The fire burned in the shape of an arc from near milepost 17 toward Rattlesnake Mountain until it hit the 1,200 Foot Level Road that runs parallel to the highway. After burning along the road, it began to curve back to the highway before firefighters were able to stop the flames. The area is closed to public access. Fish and Wildlife officials had not been able to survey the burned area for damages yet Tuesday. The fire this week came on the heels of the lightning-caused Overlook Fire that burned about 21,000 acres on the monument on the north side of the Columbia River in July. Fish and Wildlife is investigating the Milepost 17 Fire as suspicious because its starting point near the highway may mean it was caused by humans, said Greg Hughes, project leader for the Fish and Wildlife Service. "People need to be safe with burnables outside of their vehicles," he said. The same area was burned in the massive 24 Command Fire of June 2000 and part of it had since been replanted, including an area of sagebrush. The fire burned through invasive cheat grass, native bunch grass that helped slow the flames and the replanted sage. Because of the unusual arc shape of the fire, animals such as birds and elk likely were able to escape the flames, Hughes said. However, some snakes or lizards may have been burned. But the 5,000 burned acres will mean a loss of habitat for wildlife and more area where predators can catch wildlife with no place to hide, Hughes said. Fish and Wildlife plans to request money to rehabilitate the burned areas of the monument, which now total about 26,000 acres for the year. As the fire burned Monday night, agencies gave widely varying estimates of the burned acreage -- from several hundred acres to as much as 10,000 acres -- before concluding it was about 5,000 acres Tuesday. Some firefighters planned to stay at the fire site at least through Tuesday night. Hughes warned that the ash on the burned areas will be picked up in dust devils that may look like smoke to those passing by on Highway 240. Agencies responding to the fire included Fish and Wildlife, the Hanford Fire Department and Walla Walla, Grant, Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties. "They did a heck of a job to capture it and keep it down," Hughes said. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 49 Tri-City Herald: DOE clears vit plant building restart Published Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER The Department of Energy on Tuesday ordered restart of full construction within 30 days on Hanford's massive vitrification plant. Construction on key parts of the plant that will treat high-level radioactive waste had been halted since January 2006 while DOE confirmed the design was adequate to withstand a severe earthquake. In addition, Congress had passed legislation saying no money appropriated for fiscal 2007 could be spent on those parts of the plant until Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman had approved the final standard needed to keep the plant safe from earthquakes. Bodman signed off on the earthquake standards based on a new study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on Friday. "The department plans to initiate activities to restart construction on the Pretreatment Facility and the High-Level Waste Facility," he wrote in a letter notifying Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. "This is a very welcome certification," Hastings said in a statement Tuesday. "The secretary's action officially resolves the seismic questions that led to a slowdown and partial halt to vit plant construction. Yet, it more importantly signals that construction can now be fully re-ignited." Bechtel National, contractor for the construction project, has been hiring in recent months in anticipation of resuming full construction. It has 600 construction workers and 175 subcontractor workers at the construction site now. That's an increase of about 225 construction workers since the first of the year. Overall, the work force on the vitrification plant project has increased from 2,100 at the first of the year to 2,800 now, said John Britton, spokesman for Bechtel National. The contractor has been preparing for the restart since June, he said. It's been staging materials and equipment, reactivating the tower crane and training workers. It's close to finishing preparations to restart construction on the High Level Waste Facility, but plans a gradual buildup of construction activities. A restart to construction on the Pretreatment Facility, which has a footprint the size of four football fields, will follow. Initial work may include installing rebar and preparing concrete forms, with concrete placements planned by October. The $12.2 billion plant is being built to turn millions of gallons of radioactive waste now held in underground tanks at Hanford into a stable glass form for permanent disposal. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium from the nation's nuclear weapons program. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board became concerned about the ability of the plant to withstand a severe earthquake in 2002, the same year that large placements of concrete and structural steel began on the plant. The original seismic design basis was established in 1999, based upon a seismic hazard analysis completed in 1996. In response to the defense board concerns, DOE ordered a small study done in 2004 that included drilling a bore hole next to the construction site and taking sound wave measurements to better understand the performance of the ground beneath the vitrification plant. It found that the subsurface beneath the plant dampened earthquakes less than originally thought. As a result, the design standard to protect against earthquakes was increased 38 percent in early 2005, and a more complete study was ordered by DOE to verify the new standard was sufficiently conservative. DOE hired Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to drill four deep bore holes to depths of approximately 1,400 feet directly on the vitrification plant construction site. Core samples and other data were collected in 2006 and early this year. Then the national lab led a team of industry and university experts to analyze the data, with recommendations from the Army Corps of Engineers and independent consultants. "Confirming the seismic criteria for the (vitrification plant) has been one of the department's top priorities and one of the toughest technical challenges of this project over the past two years," Shirley Olinger, acting manager of DOE's Hanford Office of River Protection, said in a statement. Certification of the revised design standard completed "a two-year project to plan, collect and analyze new geological data necessary to complete the design and construction of one of the largest and most complex nuclear facilities in the DOE," Jim Rispoli, DOE assistant secretary for environmental management, said in a statement. Although construction was halted near the start of 2006 on the High-Level Waste and Pretreatment buildings, design work continued. In addition, construction continued on other buildings at the site. They include the Analytical Laboratory, the Low-Level Waste Facility and 23 support facilities, such as a fabrication shop and warehouse. Construction on facilities where work proceeded uninterrupted ranges from 40 percent to 50 percent complete, while construction on the Pretreatment Plant is 26 percent complete and construction on the High-Level Waste Facility is 22 percent complete. Because of the margin built into the original design, none of the construction on those buildings had to be torn out and rebuilt to meet the new earthquake design standard. Instead, most of the effort was required by engineers who validated that designs were sufficient or modified them. Tri-City Herald ***************************************************************** 50 Beacon Journal: Key events at Fernald uranium processing plant Ohio.com - AP By The Associated Press Published on Wednesday Aug 15, 2007 Key events at Fernald uranium processing plant in southwest Ohio: 1951 _ Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald is built by U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to refine uranium on a 1,050-acre site 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati. 1989 _ Production ends. Government settles lawsuit with area residents and the Fernald Medical Monitoring Program is created. 2006 _ Cleanup of site completed and certified by Energy Department after removal of some 1.5 million tons of waste at a cost of $4.4 billion. 2008 _ Medical Monitoring Program scheduled to end. © 2007 The Akron Beacon Journal • 44 E. Exchange Street, Akron, Ohio 44308 ***************************************************************** 51 Columbian.com: Feds say work on Hanford plant can ramp up within 30 days- Serving Clark County, Washington | Aug 14, 7:31 PM EDT YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- The federal Energy Department says work to build a massive waste treatment plant at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation can ramp up again within 30 days. The news comes more than a year after federal officials halted construction on parts of the 12 (b)-billion-dollar plant because of escalating costs, seismic concerns and construction problems. The return to construction follows analysis of new seismology data collected from deep holes drilled at the site last year. The plant is being built to convert millions of gallons of radioactive waste into glasslike logs for permanent disposal in a nuclear waste repository. © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy. ***************************************************************** 52 Knoxville News Sentinel: Oak Ridge security police OK contract, avoid strike By Frank Munger (Contact) Updated 09:45 p.m., August 14, 2007 OAK RIDGE — Oak Ridge security police officers ratified a new five-year contract tonight, averting a possible strike at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and other federal facilities here. Randy Lawson, president of Local No. 3, International Guards Union of America, confirmed that the contract was approved after voting concluded at 8 p.m., but he did not have the voting tally available or the margin of approval. The union leadership did not endorse the final contract offer because Wackenhut Services, the security contractor in Oak Ridge, and the Department of Energy were unwilling to address a number of benefits the guards felt they should have received, Lawson said. He called it an extraordinarily difficult negotiation, adding, “I’m excited it’s over.” The union represents more than 500 security police officers in Oak Ridge, including highly trained paramilitary forces charged with protecting Y-12, which houses the nation’s supply of bomb-grade uranium, from terrorists and other threats. The new five-year contract contains 4 percent wage increases in each of the first two years, with additional raises that scale down to 3 percent in the final three years, Lawson said. Under the existing contract, which was to expire at 4 p.m. Wednesday, security police officers earned up to $21.38 per hour at the top of the wage scale, he said. Last week the union agreed to a 14-day buffer period in case a strike was called. So, if the contract proposal had been rejected, the actual strike wouldn’t have begun until Aug. 29. Although the union didn’t get everything it wanted in the new contract, Lawson noted, “No one wants a strike. No one wins.”' There has not been a strike by Oak Ridge security guards since 1982. More details as they develop online and in Wednesday’s News Sentinel. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 53 Knoxville News Sentinel: Nuke fuel maker eyes sale Booming market, not safety problems, spur firm's potential move By Andrew Eder (Contact) Wednesday, August 15, 2007 The owners of an East Tennessee nuclear fuel producer are exploring a sale of the private firm, a move the company said is prompted by market opportunities and not the plant’s recent regulatory and safety problems. Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tenn., told its employees last week of the possible sale. A company spokesman said Monday that there are no bids yet on the table, but the limited partnership that owns the company wanted to examine its options in a booming nuclear market. “We’re exploring the sale from a position of strength,” spokesman Tony Treadway said. The Erwin facility has drawn recent scrutiny from regulators, Congress and the public because of a spill of highly enriched uranium last year and the subsequent disclosure of a policy that has kept regulatory information on the company from the public. In July, following inquiries from a congressional committee, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission publicly released an order detailing numerous safety lapses at the plant, which makes nuclear fuel for U.S. Navy submarines and TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. Activists are considering requesting a hearing from the NRC, though Linda Modica, a Jonesborough resident who chairs the Sierra Club’s national radiation committee, said the organization wants to be sure there is community support for such a hearing. A public meeting is planned for Thursday. Modica said a hearing should not be considered an action against Nuclear Fuel Services, but an attempt to gain information after three years in which correspondence from the company was kept secret because of an agreement between the NRC and Naval Reactors, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. “It’s a fact-finding effort that we hope will be accomplished in a very public way,” Modica said. Treadway said regulatory pressure was not a factor in the company’s decision to examine a potential sale. He said the company, which recently won a contract to “downblend” 17.4 metric tons of highly enriched uranium into low enriched uranium, is in a “growth phase” and currently looking to hire about 60 employees. Erwin Mayor Don Lewis, a retired 43-year employee of Nuclear Fuel Services, and other local officials were briefed on the possibility of a sale last week. Lewis said the company was looking at a sale because it needs an infusion of capital for research and development, new projects and the expected production of new submarines. Lewis said he wasn’t worried about losing Erwin’s — and Unicoi County’s — largest employer because of the massive costs associated with shutting down and decommissioning the plant. “To me, it looks like it’d be a win-win situation for NFS and its employees,” Lewis said. NRC spokesman Ken Clark said the regulatory agency was aware of the potential sale. “The NRC would have to make a determination as to the fitness of a new owner, not only from a technical standpoint, but also from a financial standpoint,” Clark said. Nuclear Fuel Services is owned by a limited partnership headed by Chairman Paul F. Schutt, who Treadway said is the primary stockholder of the closely held company. Treadway would not name the other stockholders in the company. The current owners bought Nuclear Fuel Services in 1987 from Texaco. The company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year, employs about 715 workers. Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 54 Oak Ridger: Strike averted as guards OK new 5-year contract - Story last updated at 12:28 am on 8/15/2007 By: Darrell G. Richardson | editor@oakridger.com Security officers at the Y-12 National Security Complex, as well as other Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge, have approved a new five-year contract, according to information obtained Tuesday night from a Wackenhut Services Inc.-Oak Ridge spokesperson. "The contract has been approved by the union," WSI-OR Public Affairs Officer Courtney Henry confirmed to The Oak Ridger about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The voting period for union members reportedly ended about 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. "Wackenhut is excited to move forward with our mission of protecting the facilities and assets in Oak Ridge," Henry noted in a prepared statement e-mailed to The Oak Ridger upon request. If members of the International Guards Union of America, Local No. 3, had not approved the contract, Oak Ridge sites could have seen their first security guard strike since the early 1980s, according to reports from local and national media. "We are very pleased that the vote has taken place and that the contract has been approved," Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the Y-12 Site Office, told The Oak Ridger late Tuesday night. "We're just delighted that the work of protecting these vital facilities will continue," he added. John Shewairy, director of public affairs for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, echoed Wyatt’s sentiment. "We are definitely pleased," Shewairy stated Tuesday night. "Things went well and it certainly clears the way for the good work in Oak Ridge to continue. … "They’re all part of one contract, but there’s two distinct parts to it; one is for Y-12 and the other was for ORNL (the Oak Ridge National Laboratory), ETTP (the East Tennessee Technology Park) and the Federal Office Building Complex. "Of course, Y-12 is the larger part of that," Shewairy said. "The one thing that makes it a little bit more confusing is while ETTP guards are obviously with Wackenhut, they’re under a separate guard unit. So this agreement that was reached tonight did not include the ETTP guards." On May 4, Wackenhut won contracts worth $549 million to continue providing paramilitary protective force and guard services for the government’s nuclear weapons and research facilities in Oak Ridge. A major security provider to nuclear power plants and government installations across the country, Wackenhut has held the contract for the Department of Energy’s nearly 34,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation since 2000. The reservation includes the national lab, an open research facility and supercomputing center, and the high-security Y-12 nuclear weapons plant which makes parts for every warhead in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and is the primary warehouse for bomb-grade uranium. The five-year award took effect June 3, and there were actually two contracts — a $421 million award for the Y-12 plant and a $128 million contract covering the lab and the rest of the reservation. Wackenhut employs about 900 people in Oak Ridge. Efforts by The Oak Ridger to obtain comments from Randy Lawson, president of the International Guards Union of America, Local No. 3, on Tuesday night were unsuccessful. Darrell Glenn Richardson can be contacted at (865) 220-5505. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 55 Seattle Times: Appeals-court ruling opens doors for Hanford plaintiffs seattletimes.com Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - Page updated at 02:06 AM By SHANNON DININNY The Associated Press YAKIMA — In a sweeping ruling Tuesday, a federal appeals court overturned a judgment in favor of a woman who had sued contractors at the Hanford nuclear reservation over her thyroid cancer's cause, but the ruling opened the door for three other plaintiffs to get a new trial. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco also upheld a lower court's ruling dismissing the defendants' claims that they were immune from punishment because they were government contractors. Since 1990, more than 2,300 people have sued over health problems they believe were caused by exposure to radioactive emissions from south-central Washington's Hanford site. The "downwinder" cases are largely based on the release of iodine-131, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear-weapons production. A judge dismissed six of the 12 initial "bellwether" cases. In 2005, juries rejected four more during two trials. Just two people who had cancer won damages totaling $544,759 against the government and the contractors that managed the federal site at the time. The appeals court on Tuesday overturned the verdicts against three plaintiffs, Wanda Buckner, Shirley Carlisle and Kathryn Goldbloom, who suffer from hypothyroidism, a condition that slows the body's metabolism. The district court erred in ruling that the plaintiff's endocrinologist could not testify that he authored articles on I-131's effect on thyroid cells, because it deprived the jury of testimony from the doctor about the extent of his expertise regarding causes of thyroid illness, the appeals court ruled. In addition, the defendants were allowed to impeach the doctor's testimony based on inadmissible hearsay of another doctor who did not testify, the court ruled. "We thus have no choice but to reverse the verdicts against plaintiffs Goldbloom, Carlisle, and Buckner and remand for a new trial," Chief Circuit Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote for the panel. The court also overturned the ruling in favor of plaintiff Gloria Wise, who was awarded $317,251, on statute-of-limitations grounds. However, the appeals court remanded the case to district court to determine whether Wise had the information necessary to file a claim within the three-year statute of limitations. That particular ruling is significant because it could mean the claims of hundreds of other plaintiffs will be time-barred, said Kevin Van Wart, whose Chicago law firm represents General Electric, E.I. DuPont de Nemours, and UNC Nuclear. Richard Eymann, a plaintiffs attorney, said he did not yet know how many other clients could have their cases dismissed as a result. Despite that potential impact, Eymann called the overall ruling a victory for the downwinders. "We're hoping that the contractors and the government will get into serious settlement negotiations with us," he said. The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Contractors operated reactors and other facilities that historical documents say resulted in intentional and accidental releases of toxic chemicals and radiation. Residents learned of the emissions only when the government declassified thousands of documents in 1986. People in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and the Marshall Islands have received compensation for being exposed to radiation during the atomic buildup. Downwinders at the Hanford site have had a more difficult time because health studies have offered differing opinions on whether they have suffered substantial or chronic exposures that threatened their health. Iodine-131 concentrates in the thyroid, which regulates the body's metabolism. Most of the plaintiffs have thyroid conditions, such as cancer, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. To succeed at trial, plaintiffs had to prove they were "more likely than not" harmed by radioactive iodine gases released during Hanford operations. 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