***************************************************************** 08/20/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.195 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: Burlington Free Press: The Way to Wind 2 US: Hemscott: Entergy spent $1.1M lobbying in 2007 3 US: Pahrump Valley Times: Reid says he will fight coal plant 4 IPS-English U.S.-INDIA: Singh to jettison nuclear deal or face 5 Reuters: India faces unbearable oil bill, nuclear a must - PM NUCLEAR REACTORS 6 Uranium: the race is on... 7 The Hindu: Stand-off on nuke deal continues 8 AU ABC: Coalition split over nuclear power, says Labor 9 AU ABC: Nationals 'walking both sides of the street' on nuclear powe 10 AU ABC: Council asks PM to approve nuke plebiscite - 11 Interfax: Ignalina NPP halts electricity production 12 The Hindu: UPA's fall imminent if nuke deal is not withdrawn - Yadav 13 US: CourierPostOnline: Group to promote Oyster Creek 14 US: NRC: Plum Brook Reactor Facility 15 Reuters: No new nuclear plants likely before 2020 16 UPI: Indian-U.S. nuclear deal in trouble 17 US: Hemscott: Yankee Rowe officially decommissioned 18 Hemscott: Private sector to foot bill for UK nuclear decommissioning 19 ITAR-TASS: Atomic scientists gather at Smolensk NPP to focus on radi 20 India: Deccan Herald: Stand-off on nuke deal continues 21 Deccan Herald: CPI(M) sticks to its stand 22 US: MyWestTexas.com: Andrews reactor opens new possibilities for nuc 23 US: MyWestTexas.com: Reactor project gets nearly $200,000 in grants 24 US: NRC: NRC Finalizes "White" Finding for Cooper Nuclear Station 25 The Telegraph: PM adds growth fuel to nuke case 26 The Telegraph: PM pitch for nuke energy 27 US: Harvey Wasserman: The Senate's Radioactive Rip-Off 28 The Age: Nuclear alliance quandary - 29 AU ABC: ALP to sign pledge opposing Gladstone nuclear reactor - NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 30 [v911t] Brief video: Dr. Rosalie Bertell - Depleted Uranium Inside t 31 Platts: Low-level radioactive scrap metal leak at Studsvik smelter 32 US: The Enquirer: Health data on Fernald to be shared 33 US: Dayton Business Journal: Suit against Miamisburg nuclear facilit 34 US: NRC: NRC Issues License for Irradiator in Honolulu, Hawaii 35 US: knoxnews.com: No Silence Here: Nuclear fuel leak in TN hidden fr 36 US: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuke doubts still at the core - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 37 US: Charlotte Observer: Pollution at nuclear dump tops estimates 38 London Free Press: Port Hope nuke waste cleanup years, millions off 39 US: Pravda.Ru: US conceals from public usage of enriched uranium at 40 US: Murfreesboro Post: ALERT: Allied to end radioactive dumping 41 US: Daily News Journal: Committee: Radioactive dumping program shoul 42 KBC: The Radiation Protection Board to put up a radioactive waste 43 US: The Tribune: Uranium drilling sparks concern 44 CTV.ca: Radioactive waste cleanup behind schedule - report PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 45 Knoxville News Sentinel: K-25 cleanup: Not till 2010 46 Knoxville News Sentinel: Help wanted at incinerator 47 NAS: Project: Development and Implementation of a Cleanup Technology ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Burlington Free Press: The Way to Wind burlingtonfreepress.com | Burlington, Vermont Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Land Use Regulation Commission officials Steve Wight (left), Bart Harvey (second from left) and Gwen Hilton (right) listen as Dave Cowan, vice president of environmental affairs for UPC Wind Management, leads a tour Thursday of the wind farm in Mars Hill, Maine. KEVIN BENNETT,Bangor Daily News If major companies spend millions just to get the permit, seems that this "17th century" idea still makes economic sense. But what is the benefit to Vermont if an out-of-state corporation generates electricity here and sells it out-of-state, or to Vermont at a high and rising price? I am glad this permit makes at least a minor attempt to direct the power and benefits to Vermont. Regarding the despoiling of scenic ridgelines, if this is the excuse: "those sites are very rural and quite distant from any public place" it means that the locals don't matter and have no say. That "logic" can be applied to the state as a whole, and we can expect the millions of people in Boston and NYC to impose on us endless ridgeline development (and clearcutting) througout Vermont. In my view the people who want the electricity should accept the consequences in their own back yard. There are only a few ridgelines of top wind-generation - and scenic - quality, and if we want to seriously reduce our use of fossil fuel and nuclear, we'll need to build wind turbines in less-optimal sites as well. That means lower, less visible, ridges. Why not avoid the most pristine ridges from the start? With the cost of wind power declining, and the cost of natural gas rising, those lower sites will soon become economically viable, while we all come to terms with more expensive electricity on the whole. We can live without incandescent bulbs and excessive air conditioning. On the other hand, if we keep using more and more electricity, and if wind power is only going to be added to all the current (and growing) fossil-fueled power base, then the wind power is doing nothing for the planet, and only furthers the endless destruction of what's left of wilderness for insatiable greed. Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 9:04 am Whether or not you support windpower, I fail to see why it's a bad thing that it's been around for centuries--in fact, this just goes to prove that it has been extremely useful. As for candles, well, I have to admit I still use 'em sometimes- Gosh, I never realized how primitive I am! Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 9:03 am There are some dumb ideas out there but by far the dumbest is using wind power. This technology goes back to the 17th century, what next candles. Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:18 am Published: Sunday, August 19, 2007 By Candace Page Free Press Staff Writer When the state Public Service Board granted permission this month for 16 big wind turbines atop a ridge in Sheffield, the three regulators did more than approve Vermont's first commercial wind development in 10 years. They also dispelled some developers' fear that no mountaintop project involving 400-foot-tall structures could ever win a permit. Most important, experts said last week, the board's 119-page decision in the case of UPC Vermont Wind gave wind developers a road map through the long, hilly terrain of Vermont's review process. "They very carefully and transparently sketched out a map as to what standards would have to be met to get a permit," said Stephen Terry, a consultant to Green Mountain Power Corp., the Colchester electric utility. "In the end the board sent a strong message that, if it's done right, wind energy is a public good for Vermont." Among the guideposts in the Aug. 8 decision, he and others said: an emphasis on winning local support, on selling electricity to Vermont utilities at a stable price and on thoroughly studying -- and mitigating -- the turbines' environmental impact. "The order sets a really high bar for developers to meet, but it lays out all the hoops you need to jump through," said James Moore, clean-energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. The decision came as a relief to Moore and other renewable-energy advocates. Thirteen months ago, the PSB rejected the first wind energy application in a decade, for four turbines in East Haven. A second rejection might have persuaded wind developers to abandon Vermont for more welcoming states. Instead, they said, the decision is likely to encourage four or five developers already studying wind sites in Vermont, from the hills of Readsboro on the Massachusetts border to Lowell Mountain, not far from Canada. Adaptability key to success UPC Vermont Wind, a subsidiary of a Massachusetts wind company, originally proposed an $80 million, 26-turbine project in Sheffield and Sutton, two communities in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. From first studies to issued permit took three years and several million dollars of preparation. UPC project manager Matt Kearns said, permit in hand, the company hopes to begin construction soon and have the rotor blades turning in Sheffield by late 2008. Along the way, the company scaled back and redesigned the project. It agreed with the state Agency of Natural Resources to protect 2,700 acres of surrounding bear habitat and to study bird deaths once the turbine blades are turning. The company also agreed to stop the blades up to 120 nights a year to protect migrating bats. UPC's willingness to adapt to local and state concerns, observers said, certainly helped it succeed at the PSB. That lesson has not been lost on other developers. "This decision says if you develop responsibly, in coordination with communities, landowners and the state, you can succeed," said Brad King, project manager for Noble Environmental Power, a Connecticut company considering a 40-to 60-megawatt wind development outside Rutland. Two UPC strategies were key to winning its permit: Local support. UPC dropped 10 of its 26 proposed turbines when voters in Sutton overwhelmingly opposed them. The company won a vote in Sheffield and the enthusiastic support of town leaders. The PSB's decision noted Sheffield's endorsement and said opposition to commercial-scale wind development in Sutton's town plan "is not controlling of development within the region or, particularly, in other towns." Carrying out thorough studies of a project's impact on the environment -- wetlands, animals, birds, bats and the like -- accompanied by generous mitigation measures. The PSB found UPC's protection of 2,700 acres of bear habitat to be an example of "outstanding mitigation." And the board pointedly contrasted UPC's cooperation with the refusal of the failed East Haven project to carry out bird and bat studies. A question of price In addition, for the first time in a wind energy case, the PSB adopted a new financial expectation -- a stable, long-term price to Vermont utilities for the megawatts produced by the wind. "Unfortunately, the pricing terms of the Vermont utilities' power purchases do not capture one of the major economic advantages of renewable energy: the free, and thus stable, cost of fuel," the board wrote in its decision. Central Vermont Public Service Corp., for example, has been negotiating to buy about 35 percent of the Sheffield project's output at a price linked to the rising and falling of the New England market price of energy. But, the PSB noted, that market price is driven by the price of natural gas to fuel southern New England power plants. Because wind is free, there's no reason to link the price of Sheffield's output to the general market, the board found. The board directed UPC and the utilities back to the negotiating table to try to agree on a stable, long-term price. "We conclude that the general good will not be promoted unless we condition our approval on the requirement that UPC make further efforts to enter into stably priced contracts with the Vermont utilities," the board wrote. If the two sides cannot reach agreement, they must report to the board, which could drop that condition -- or withdraw the permit. A 'disaster' for beauty? Embedded in the dense text of the UPC decision are two additional messages, bad news for those, including Gov. Jim Douglas, who oppose development of Vermont mountaintops for wind power. First, the PSB made clear -- as it did in the East Haven case, even as it rejected the project -- that wind power has a place in Vermont. "The benefits include fuel diversity, energy independence, reduced air emissions, increased tax revenues and several other economic benefits," the board said in the opening paragraph of its decision. Second, the board continued to set a high bar for opponents who argue that wind towers so degrade the beauty of Vermont that they should be disallowed. This aesthetic argument has been at the core of opposition in the East Haven and Sheffield projects. In both cases, the PSB acknowledged the harmful effects of wind towers on the view. The Sheffield project will be visible on an otherwise undeveloped ridgeline seen from a popular state park, Crystal Lake. The East Haven towers were surrounded by the wilds of the former Champion Paper Co. land. Nevertheless, the board found in both cases that the degradation of the view was not shocking enough to deny a permit. The remote settings of the two projects played into the findings of the board, which noted that distance softens the towers' visual impact. "Both those sites are very rural and quite distant from any public place," noted Rob Ide of the state Department of Public Service. "That is going to be one of the balancing criteria in future cases -- how close the individual turbines are to significant public investments, places where large groups of people congregate and react to the impact on the view." Opponents fear scenic beauty won't count in any future case. "Statewide, I think this decision is a disaster," said Greg Bryant of Sheffield, a member of Ridge Protectors, a local opposition group. "With a stroke of the pen, they have erased 100 years of protection of our ridgelines and opened them to communications towers, cell towers, any kind of development. Virtually no place will be immune." A risky business Vermont is unlikely to be blanketed with wind-driven turbines, wind developers and consultants said last week. Most mountains aren't suitable because roads and transmission lines are too distant from the ridgetop. "And it's not so much the physical availability of the land," said John Zimmerman, a principal of Vermont Environmental Research Associates, a Waterbury company that works with wind developers. "It is important how much the local people -- the society -- want to see wind turbines. That is a much larger regulating factor." Already one proposed wind project, on Glebe Mountain in Londonderry, has been dropped in the face of vociferous local opposition. Moore, the VPIRG advocate, and Andrew Perchlik at the Renewable Energy Vermont advocacy group say wind development faces another challenge. UPC won a permit, but one that came with 32 conditions after many years and large expense. That's too long, too expensive, too arduous, the advocates said, and is likely to encourage big projects built by out-of-state companies. Local entrepreneurs and Vermont towns interested in a little energy independence might be shut out, they said. "A community isn't going to be able to afford three years and $3 million in studies in hopes of getting a permit," Perchlik said. "There are large corporations that will take that risk, but not many local Vermonters." Contact Candace Page at 660-1865 or e-mail cpage@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Copyright ©2007 Burlingtonfreepress.com All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Hemscott: Entergy spent $1.1M lobbying in 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) - Power provider Entergy Corp. spent more than $1.1 million in the first half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure form. The New Orleans-based company lobbied on electric utility and nuclear power, energy assistance to low income households, clean air and other issues, according to the form posted online Wednesday by the Senate's public records office. The company lobbied the departments of Energy, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House budget office. 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 may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. ***************************************************************** 3 Pahrump Valley Times: Reid says he will fight coal plant Nye County's Largest Newspaper Circulation Aug. 17, 2007 By MARK WAITE PVT HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT U.S. Sen. Harry Reid speaks to the crowd at the Bob Ruud Community Center Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., said Wednesday he will fight to prevent a $3 billion, coal-fired power plant from being built in White Pine County and he urged utilities to invest in alternative power instead. Reid made the comments during a town meeting Wednesday at the Bob Ruud Community Center. The Senate leader from Searchlight focused on Nevada's role in achieving energy independence. But attendees among the crowd of over 250 were able to get in questions about Iraq, Yucca Mountain, gas prices, Social Security and school prayer. "I made the decision about a month ago that I could not stand by and let a White Pine County coal fire generating plant be built. Why? The first year this plant would be up, they would burn 7 million tons of coal in one year," Reid said. "Thirty-five miles below Searchlight we had the dirtiest plant in all of America, the Mojave Generating Facility -- 1,500 megawatts of power. We had polluted the Grand Canyon. "It was a dirty plant, it was coal. It's closed and I'm glad." "Let us spend a few billion developing what we have a lot of. We have a lot of sun, we have a lot of wind and we are the Saudi Arabia of geothermal energy," he said. Reid said power companies haven't shown a willingness to buy alternative power. He said California only gets 1 percent of its electricity from coal. The day of his speech, Reid said the U.S. will use 21 million barrels of oil, of which two-thirds is imported from overseas. "The sooner we move toward the sun, the wind, geothermal, biomass, the better off we'll be, and we will never do it until we have a tax policy that gives people an incentive to invest in these industries because the big oil companies have controlled America. "It has never been about energy. No one has been more supportive of the oil companies than this administration. Both Bush and Cheney made their fortunes in oil, and they have shown their gratitude by giving these oil companies everything they want," Reid said. (Reid also said he will lend his support toward the effort to locate a federal detention facility in Pahrump. See the story on page A12.) Two protesters held signs outside urging action to protect America's borders. Reid said his staff members suggested he talk about immigration, a major issue in Pahrump. Reid said he agrees with President Bush on few issues, but his immigration plan was one of them. "Why are they here illegally? Because we have had a law that has not been enforced. We have a porous border, and we have employers who hire with impunity people who have improper papers," Reid said. "We're the only superpower left in the world. We should be able to control our borders." The U.S. could follow Israel, which has detectors allowing border agents to quickly apprehend intruders, Reid said. He also spoke about supporting a $3.5 billion bill to help immigration officials better track people already in the country. Reid said certain industries, like agriculture, need temporary guest workers. Legislation should be enacted, he said, to allow people like onion farmers in Lyon County to import guest workers. The estimated 12 million people in the country illegally should be allowed to apply for citizenship, if they have a job, pay taxes, learn English, stay out of trouble and pay penalties and fines, he said. Reid told another member of the audience he supports a national identity card that would be foolproof. Some attendees were told Reid's office would look into their concerns. One was Gerald Homm, who complained Nellis Air Force Base was objecting to the height of a proposed 230-kilovolt transmission line around Mount Sterling. "Valley Electric has been more cooperative than the other big company in Nevada," Reid said. "One of the things we need in Washington is to give tax incentives for alternative energy development." Tax incentives for alternative energy have only been offered for a year or two., Reid said. "We need large sums of money invested so we need at least a 10-year tax package to allow people to come in and most of the time borrow money, invest money in these projects." David Stevens called the local Desert View Regional Medical Center "a distribution center," complaining he still had to pay $12,000 for a helicopter medical evacuation. Reid said the federal government helped with the local hospital. But he added, "This is another issue we need to look at -- I have not had a report in many months with the hospital here in Pahrump." (Hospital CEO David Rencher abruptly resigned earlier this week -- see story on page A1.) Reid told long-time Yucca Mountain critic Sally Devlin, "Yucca Mountain will never come to be." (He said after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, "There's no way in the world we're going to allow the shipping of tens of thousands of tons of the most dangerous substances known to man across our highways and our railways, past our schools, our churches, our businesses, our towns -- we're not going to let it happen.") Floyd Banks asked if Congress will make sure future intelligence reports don't lead us to another Iraq war. Reid said he was the first Democrat to announce publicly his support for the invasion, based on reports Saddam Hussein had biological, nuclear and chemical weapons. "I was misled," Reid said. "I believe we should start redeploying troops within 90 days. I think by May 1st of this next year, our troops should be out of Iraq except for people who are trained in counterterrorism, training Iraqis and protecting our own assets there. That would be a much, much smaller force." It's more important for Americans to build good relationships with the millions of people in impoverished countries that may sympathize with the few thousand terrorists, the senator said. Reid told another audience member it was a myth the Social Security is going bankrupt. He called it "one of the ploys of President Bush" who wanted to privatize Social Security ever since he ran for Congress in 1977 and "doesn't like anything that has government fingertips on it." To Kathleen Rowland, Reid said the U.S. is too stretched militarily to attack Iran. He suggested diplomatic relations, as occurred with North Korea, which was persuaded to shut down their nuclear facilities. Finally, Cynthia Jones asked about school prayer. "My wife was Jewish and as a little girl she was humiliated a number of times with Christian prayer in schools," Reid said. "I would hope that those people who believe that prayer is so important do it on their own and don't force our prayers on me." webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - ***************************************************************** 4 IPS-English U.S.-INDIA: Singh to jettison nuclear deal or face Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:14:16 -0700 U.S.-INDIA: Singh to jettison nuclear deal or face serious consequences, says UAE paper Att.Editors: The following item is from the Emirates News Agency (WAM) DUBAI, Aug. 20 (WAM) - The next few days will provide quite a few interesting acts in the political theatre that is being played out in New Delhi, wrote a United Arab Emirates (UAE) daily. The Dubai-based 'Gulf News' noted in its editorial today that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is caught between a rock and a hard place, if one is allowed to use that correspondence, even as his government battles to look for friends amongst its allies in order to survive. Singh, probably known more for his insight in economics than an astute political ability, may be feeling much like the sacrificial lamb at the altar of his party's interests. "Truth be told, the much disputed nuclear deal with the U.S. sees him having to make some very tough calls," the paper said. The English language daily went on saying that for one, if he goes ahead with the deal he would be branded as having put U.S. interests ahead of his country. But if he does not, in an attempt to appease the Left Front who form a significant portion of his coalition government, he would be scrutinised as weak willed. And it is the Left who are threatening the Prime Minister to jettison the deal or face serious consequences. "The Left's reasons are primarily ideological, given their political mantra, but they have cloaked it with the contention that the deal would be detrimental to India's national interests. They believe that the goalposts in the nuclear deal are being subtly shifted by the U.S. from being a civil nuclear cooperation to the capping of India's strategic programme which would in turn influence India's foreign policy. The government has pronounced that national interest will be the rationale behind all evaluation," the paper pointed out. "As the impasse continues the Congress Party is struggling to save face while the Left Front is looking at means to drive home the advantage. Will the Left prevail, or will Singh resign on principle? The timer is set and running," the paper concluded. (WAM) (WAM) ***************************************************************** 5 Reuters: India faces unbearable oil bill, nuclear a must - PM Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:43AM EDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is committed to developing its nuclear energy capability and other sources of power as its oil bill will impose an "unbearable burden" as growth continues, the prime minister said on Monday. Manmohan Singh's comments came as his government faces its worst crisis since coming to power in 2004, with communist allies angered over a nuclear energy deal with the United States and threatening to withdraw their support. "As we grow, our growing ... bill for imported crude oil will put unbearable burden on our economy," Singh said at an inauguration ceremony for an energy research institute. "We need to develop all energy resources mainly coal, gas, oil, hydro and nuclear along with renewable, such as wind and solar," he said. "From a long-term perspective, nuclear energy and solar energy can play an important role in addressing our energy security needs. Our government is committed to the development of nuclear energy." India imports 70 percent of its oil needs and rising global crude prices pose policy challenges for Asia's third-largest economy, which has grown at an average 8.6 percent in the past four years. That expansion has been accompanied by a rapid rise in demand for energy. Singh said it was important to create awareness about the economics of energy. "Each time our utilities have to raise rates and our oil companies have to raise prices, extraneous considerations come in," he said. "I urge all political parties to appreciate the vital interest of pursuing a sound energy security strategy. India is on the move and we must be able to address its growing energy demand." A bloc of four communist parties has 60 lawmakers in India's lower house of parliament, and while not a part of the ruling coalition, they shore it up from outside. They have warned of "serious consequences" for the government if it presses ahead with the nuclear deal, which still needs to be approved by the U.S. Congress and international bodies. The pact with Washington aims to end three decades of American sanctions on nuclear trade with India but the communists say it would undermine India's nuclear security and sovereignty. India may review retail fuel prices after the monsoon session of parliament ends in mid-September if global prices remain high, oil ministry officials say. ***************************************************************** 6 Uranium: the race is on... Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:06:06 -0500 (CDT) Original source URL: http://www.sandersresearch.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1307 Desperately seeking uranium By Article by Michael Petek - Die Welt Aug/17/2007 Against the background of the increasing importance of nuclear energy worldwide, French nuclear company Areva is short of raw materials. Experts believe this could presage a shortage of uranium. Fears were triggered by the flooding of an uranium mine in Canada and political tensions in Niger. The price per pound of uranium has tripled in the space of a year to US$138 (101 Euros). Pessimistic forecasters predict that uranium could become scarce in 2040 at the latest, or perhaps as early as in the coming decade. However, experts expect supply problems over a much longer terms. The state-owned company Areva, a world market leader in the nuclear industry, is in large measure dependent on uranium mines outside France. Reserves in the southern French dipartement of Hirault are almost completely exhausted, producing in the past year only five tons of uranium. Areva produced 5,272 tonnes of uranium in 2005, but plans to increase production to 12,000 tonnes a year by 2012. Half of current production is from Canadian mines, 43 from Niger and the rest from Kazakhstan. Areva has been having increasing problems with Niger, the world9s third-largest producer of uranium. Until now the French nuclear giant enjoyed a monopoly position in the uranium trade, but when the local head of Areva, Dominique Pin, was deported Niger put pressure on the company to renegotiate contracts. Furthermore the price of uranium per pound for this year was raised retrospectively by half to US$40. This is still low in comparison to the world market price, but it could rise still further as the government of Niger wants to renegotiate the price for 2008. Areva therefore has to look hard for new uranium deposits to secure its supply on a broader base. As a first step Areva took, in July, a 93 per cent share in Canadian uranium mining company Uramin for US$2.5 billion (1.8 billion Euros). Uramin, founded only two years ago, runs operations in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic and intends to produce 7,000 tonnes of uranium per year from 2012. In another step Areva intends to invest heavily in research into new uranium reserves, employing 100 new geologists. Areva President Anne Lauvergeon plans to treble spending on these projects, and according to media reports is paying particular attention to Gabon which is thought to have more deposits of uranium. However, the French company is not the only one with an interest in the African nation. Canadian company Cameco is said to have sent a delegation to Gabon. Uranium supply is not Areva9s only cause for concern. On Friday Framatome, which is merged its nuclear activities with Siemens, had to announce further delays in the construction of the EPR pressurised water reactor in Finland, which was originally expected to enter service in 2009 before being delayed until the end of 2010. It will not now enter service until 2011. [Published Wednesday 15th August 2007, link] -- -------------------------------------------------------- Posting archives: http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?lists=newslog http://groups.google.com/group/newslog/topics Escaping the Matrix website: http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website: http://cyberjournal.org Achieving a Global Democratic Society: http://rkmvids.blogspot.com/2007/07/what-is-democracy.html Community Democracy Framework: http://cyberjournal.org/DemocracyFramework.html Moderator: rkm@quaylargo.com (comments welcome) ***************************************************************** 7 The Hindu: Stand-off on nuke deal continues Monday, August 20, 2007 : 1145 Hrs New Delhi, Aug. 20 (PTI): The stand-off on the nuclear deal appears to show no signs of resolution with the Left parties today likely to restate their opposition to implementation of the agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with the United States. The four Left parties -- CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc -- are meeting here in the evening to consider the ruling UPA coalition's stand that the government was not in a position to put the deal on hold. Sources said the Left parties were unlikely to budge from their stand that the government should not go ahead with implementing the 123 agreement with the US and take the follow up steps on safeguards with the IAEA and the NSG. The evening meeting is likely to come out with a fresh statement telling the government that there was no question of reconsidering their stand on the opposition to the deal, the sources said. They said the parties were also unimpressed with the idea of a committee to go into the Left concerns as some sort of a mechanism to work out a compromise. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 8 AU ABC: Coalition split over nuclear power, says Labor ABC North Coast Posted August 20, 2007 11:01:00 * Lismore 2480 The Federal Opposition says there appears to be a split forming in the Federal Coalition over the issue of nuclear power. A statement released by Nationals candidate for the northern New South Wales seat of Richmond says that the party is committed to opposing nuclear power. Dr Sue Page has guaranteed voters that there will be no nuclear power plants or waste storage in her electorate or anywhere else in Australia. Prime Minister John Howard supports nuclear power. The Opposition's Anthony Albanese has told ABC Radio's AM program that it is a clear sign of a split in Coalition ranks. "The Coalition is split to the extent that it is arguing that you can have 25 nuclear reactors but they won't actually be located anywhere," he said. Tags: nuclear-issues, government-and-politics, nationals, nuclear-energy, nsw, lismore-2480 ***************************************************************** 9 AU ABC: Nationals 'walking both sides of the street' on nuclear power - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 20, 2007 18:41:00 Labor leader Kevin Rudd is capitalising on comments by a National Party candidate that there will be no nuclear power plants or storage areas if the Coalition wins the federal election. Mr Rudd says the comments by the candidate have been supported by Nationals leader Mark Vaile and that puts the party at odds with Prime Minister John Howard, who supports the idea of nuclear power in Australia. Mr Rudd says the Nationals are trying to walk both sides of the street and must work out where they stand on nuclear power. "[The position] of the Coalition, as articulated by Mr Howard, is one that they will have nuclear reactors, but now we see the National Party trying to pitch a different message," he said. "You can't have Coalition members of Parliament roaring like lions in their electorate, but behaving like pussy cats when it comes to Canberra." Tags: nuclear-issues, government-and-politics, federal-government, nationals, australia ***************************************************************** 10 AU ABC: Council asks PM to approve nuke plebiscite - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 21, 2007 07:40:00 Lake Macquarie Council will write to Prime Minister John Howard seeking approval to run a plebiscite to ask people if they would support a nuclear power station in the New South Wales Hunter region. The council last night adopted a motion from councillor John Jenkins calling for a plebiscite, funded by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Support will also be sought from neighbouring Hunter councils. Councillor Jenkins says the idea came from Mr Howard's decision to pay the costs of Queensland councils who want to hold plebiscites to gauge public reaction to Queensland Premier Peter Beattie's forced council amalgamations. "I thought it would be a good idea for us to have the same opportunity as those folk in Queensland," he said. "If the Prime Minister is offering an AEC-funded plebiscite [for Queensland councils], for us to have the issue of nuclear power generation considered here, and ask the community for their advice as to what may or may not take place in this area." Tags: electricity-energy-and-utilities, nuclear-issues, federal-government, local-government, nuclear-energy, nsw, speers-point-2284 ***************************************************************** 11 Interfax: Ignalina NPP halts electricity production ˙ Interfax.com Site map Aug 19 2007 10:51AM VILNIUS. Aug 19 (Interfax) - Lithuania's Ignalina nuclear power plant halted electricity generation late on Saturday. "The only operating turbo-generator of the second power-generating unit was shut down for scheduled preventative repairs to last for 35 days," the nuclear power plant's press service told Interfax. The second turbo-generator of the unit was shut down for 69-day repairs on July 28. Lithuania's needs in electricity will amount to about 900 million kilowatt-hours during the period of repairs, Lietuvos Energija, the country's electricity utility, has reported. Of this amount 37% is to be generated by other Lithuanian power plants and 63% will be imported from Russia, Estonia and Scandinavian countries, it said. At the end of 2004 Lithuania decommissioned the first of the two power generating units of the Ignalina nuclear power plant. The second is to be shut down in 2009. A new nuclear power plant is to be built in Lithuania before 2015 to replace the Ignalina nuclear power plant. sd © 1991-2007 Interfax ***************************************************************** 12 The Hindu: UPA's fall imminent if nuke deal is not withdrawn - Yadav Monday, August 20, 2007 : 1455 Hrs Bangalore, Aug. 20 (PTI): The fall of the UPA government was imminent unless Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decides to withdraw the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal, JDU President Sharad Yadav said today. Speaking to reporters here,Yadav said his party was not in favour of the deal and would continue to oppose it along with other parties at the centre. "The deal is against India's interests," as it was in violation of the non-alignment policy followed by India for the past 60 years, Yadav said. The Indo-US Nuclear deal, if cleared, would hamper the country's domestic policy and would enable the US to gain an upperhand in the affairs of the country, he said. Commenting on the political scenario in Karnataka and the uncertainty over the transfer of power between the BJP and the JDS,he said in the politics of administration, "one should do as one promises." Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 13 CourierPostOnline: Group to promote Oyster Creek South Jersey's Web Site Welcome to CourierPostOnline.com Monday, August 20, 2007 By RICHARD PEARSALL Courier-Post Staff Two former government officials on Thursday announced the formation of a group whose "immediate mission" is to promote the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant. Ed Salmon, a former president of the state Board of Public Utilities, and Richard Mroz, who served as counsel to Gov. Christie Whitman, acknowledged that the idea and the startup money for the new group came from Exelon, the company that owns and operates Oyster Creek. But they insisted they and the coalition, which consists mainly of business and labor groups, would be independent. "Our name is our mission," Salmon said in a conference call with reporters unveiling the New Jersey Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy Coalition, or NJ ACRE. More than 50 percent of New Jersey's electricity comes from nuclear power, Salmon said, calling it the "only baseline source of electricity that is always on and generates zero greenhouse gases." "We support renewable energy sources," the former Cumberland County freeholder and state assemblyman said, "but in the harsh reality that is now, solar, wind and biomass are not capable of meeting our demand and we cannot conserve our way out of this." Jeff Tittel, the head of the New Jersey Sierra Club, which opposes the relicensing of the Oyster Creek facility, greeted the announcement of the new coalition with skepticism. "Instead of New Jersey ACRE, they should be calling themselves New Jersey Faker," Tittel said. "This is a front group." The Sierra Club opposes relicensing Oyster Creek because "it is the oldest operating nuclear plant in the country and has numerous safety problems," Tittel said. He cited a "liner the size of a paper clip" around a storage area and the location of the plant in "one of the fastest growing areas" of the state as examples. Mroz said questions about the age and safety of Oyster Creek "are going to have to be asked and answered as part of the licensing process." Salmon said $1.2 billion has been invested in Oyster Creek since its startup. The coalition includes two labor unions and several business groups, including the N.J. Business and Industry Association, but only one environmental group, the African American Environmental Association, a national group. April Schilpp, a spokeswoman for Exelon, said the financial support her company provided is "intended to be just a start up." "There's a lot of support for nuclear energy but it gets drowned out by a small but vocal group of anti-nuclear people," she said. "This is just a voice for those who support nuclear." Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com Why cant they put all these billions into solar and wind energy? That reactor is way too old to even bother revamping. Why do they keep throwing money down the same toilet instead of actually using it for something that may actually provide for us in the future? And you're right if we are to have nuclear power the Military should be in charge. That avoids any conflicts of interest as far as financial gain. Maybe all of our energy sourcing should be headed by the military. Then they would finally think about getting the most energy, to the most people, for the least amount of money. And not the other way around. Posted by: vintagedollz on Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:59 pm ====================================================================== I am supportive of the use of environmentally friendly energy, I am skeptical of many of our nuclear power plants and our nations stance on many aspects. Having lots of knowledge on the subject, I am greatly concerned that this "group" is funded by the company who owns the plant. This should always raise a red flag. Any information from this "group" cannot be taken seriously. Any info based on safety and reliability will always have a shadow over its head because of where its funding is from. Our Nuclear plants have serious safety flaws, Especially our older ones like this one. The Nuclear industry has NEVER come up with a serious solution to Nuclear waste such as the Transuranic elements that can kill us all much faster than Global Warming ever will (not that I am proposing we use oil instead). My worry is that the real concerns for this plant will be brushed under the carpet with this "group." If we are to continue using Nuclear Power, our military should be the ones running it. Their safety record is FAR better than the private industry, as the military follows orders, and not shortcuts to improve profit margins to stockholders. Posted by: luckyman_apd on Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:39 am Copyright ©2007 Courier-Post. All rights reserved. Users of this ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: Plum Brook Reactor Facility FR Doc E7-16313 [Federal Register: August 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 160)] [Notices] [Page 46521-46522] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20au07-102] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating Licenses, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing (TAC Nos. J60622 and J60626); Plum Brook Reactor Facility, Docket Nos. 50-30 and 50-185, Sandusky, OH Dates of amendment requests: May 18, 2005, May 12, 2006, February 9, 2007, and January 10, 2007. Description of amendment request: The licensee (National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)) has proposed to amend the Facility Operating Licenses (TR-3 and R-93) of the two research reactors located at Plum Brook Reactor Facility, Sandusky, Ohio. The amendments to the licenses include revisions to the Technical Specifications (TS), and incorporating a Final Status Survey Plan (Revision 1). The same TS set applies equally to both licenses. The Decommissioning Plan (DP) for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility, approved by the Commission by issuance of license amendment dated March 20, 2002, will remained unchanged. Proposed revisions to the TS include but are not limited to administrative changes, revised facility descriptions, new definitions and minor program changes. Specific proposed revisions include the following: Section 1 of the TS is revised to state that the TS apply to all activities conducted under the provisions of the Licenses. It clarifies that both reactors are both shutdown and dismantled, and there is no fuel remaining at the facility. The facility was shutdown and ceased operations in March 1973. The last shipment of irradiated fuel was made on May 25, 1973, and all remaining fuel contaminated components were shipped offsite by July 1973. Disposal of the Plum Brock reactor vessel was completed in early 2005 and the core support components for the Mock Up reactor were removed by the summer of 2003. The `Definitions' in Section 2 of the TS are renumbered to comply with ANSI/ANS-15.1 format, and the definitions that follow are numbered as subparagraphs with the format 1.1.x. Some definitions are revised, deleted, or redefined. Section 2.0 of the TS are revised to identify that there are no Safety Limits or Limiting Safety System Settings applicable to the facility, since all reactor components and fuel have been removed. Sections 3.1 and 4.1 of the TS were revised to identify that the Access Control Program was changed to more accurately reflect the current site conditions. Sections 3.2 and 4.2 of the TS relating to Alarm Response are revised so that the Containment Vessel (CV) Door Open alarm was removed from this section and incorporated into the specifications related to `Containment'. The specifications related to sump level alarms are revised to provide quantitative criteria on when sump level alarms are required rather than the subjective criteria of `kept dry'. The requirement for the sump alarms to annunciate at the Plum Brook Station Communications Center is also revised to require that the alarms annunciate at a remote manned location which is typically the Plum Brook Station Communications Center. Sections 3.3 and 3.4 relating to Containment and Ventilation and the associated Section 4 surveillance requirements are revised to reflect that the fact the airborne activity must be controlled during all decommissioning activities rather than only during the time period that a `major portion of the source term is present'. Sections 3.5 and 3.6 relating to Radiation and Effluent Monitoring and the associated Section 4 surveillance requirements are revised to reflect the current site conditions and to provide assurance that a program is implemented that assures the worker exposure to radiological hazards is maintained as low as reasonably achievable and in compliance with 10 CFR Part 20 limits. In addition, they assure that effluents from the facility are adequately monitored to protect the public and environment from radiological hazards. Sections 5.0 relating to Site Features are revised to conform to the format suggested in ANSI/ANS-15.1 and to more accurately reflect the current site conditions that have evolved as the decommissioning program has progressed. Sections 6.0 relating to Administrative Controls contain multiple revisions. The requirement to perform an annual review is relocated to section 6.9.2 to incorporate into the annual review performed at the direction of the Executive Safety Board. The requirement to have Level 3 approval of temporary procedure changes is removed since such changes are controlled through site established administrative procedures; and, the responsibilities of the Decommissioning Safety Committee are more clearly defined. The last sentence in Section 6.5 of the TS is deleted. Section 6.5 of the TS is revised to read, ``The Senior Project Engineer will have direct authority over all activities that take place at the Plum Brook Reactor Facility (PBRF) and will be the primary interface with on-site Contractors supporting the Decommissioning project.'' The last sentence of Section 6.7 of the TS is revised to read, ``The authority to fulfill this responsibility and perform these functions will be granted by Chairman of the NASA Safety, Health, and Environmental Board.'' The second sentence in Section 6.9.2 of the TS is revised to read, ``Personnel performing these reviews shall be appropriately qualified and experienced, and shall be members of, or appointed by the NASA Safety, Health, and Environmental Board.'' Figure 1 on page 24 of the Technical Specifications is revised to reflect the change in the name of the Executive Safety Board and to depict the direct reporting relationship of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection staff to the NASA Project Radiation Safety Officer. Licenses TR-3 and R-93 are also revised. The revision numbers associated with issuance of this License Amendment are inserted in place of [[Page 46522]] ``Amendment 11'' and ``Amendment 7'' respectively. Paragraph 2.B.3 is deleted and replaced with a new paragraph 2.B.4 to read, ``Pursuant to the Act and Title 10, CFR, Chapter I, Parts 30, 40, and 70, to receive, possess, and use in amounts as required any byproduct, source, or special nuclear material without restriction to chemical or physical form, for sample analysis or instrument calibration or associated with radioactive apparatus or components.'' Paragraph 2.A of License TR-3 is revised by changing the last sentence to read, ``The PBRF is described in the application for the full-term license dated January 10, 1964 and amendments thereto.'' Paragraph 3 of Licenses TR-3 and R-93 is revised to read, ``NASA is authorized to decommission the facility in accordance with the Decommissioning Plan for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility approved by the Commission by issuance of license amendment dated March 20, 2002, as revised pursuant to paragraph 3.A.1 below, and to perform Final Status Surveys in accordance with the Final Status Survey Plan for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility* * *.'' Paragraph 3.A of Licenses TR-3 and R-93 is revised to read, ``This amendment authorizes inclusion of the Decommissioning Plan for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility and the Final Status Survey Plan for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility and their supplements as supplements to the Final Safety Analysis Report pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5).'' Paragraph 3.A.1 of Licenses TR-3 and R-93 is revised to read, ``The licensee may make changes to the above plans and revisions without prior U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval provided the proposed changes do not:'' The change changes the ``word'' in the original to ``plans'', and would allow the licensee to make changes to the Final Status Survey Plan without prior U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. Paragraph 3.A.1.c of Licenses TR-3 and R-93 is revised to read, ``* * * increase the derived concentration guideline level and related minimum detectable concentrations (for both scan and fixed measurement methods);'' Paragraph 3.A.3 of Licenses TR-3 and R-93 is deleted. Basis for proposed no significant hazards consideration determination: As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below: (1) Do the changes involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated? Response: No. The proposed changes are administrative, would not change plant systems or accident analysis, and as such, would not affect initiators of analyzed events or assumed mitigation of accidents. Therefore, the proposed changes do not increase the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated. (2) Does the change create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident evaluated? Response: No. The proposed changes do not involve a physical alteration to the plant or require existing equipment to be operated in a manner different from the present design. Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident evaluated. (3) Does the change involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety? Response: No. The proposed change has no effect on existing plant equipment, operating practices, or safety analysis assumptions. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis for the proposed revisions and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. NRC Branch Chief: Rebecca Tadesse. The proposed change has no effect on existing plant equipment, operating practices, or safety analysis assumptions. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis for the proposed revisions and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. NRC Branch Chief: Rebecca Tadesse. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Chad Glenn, Project Manager, 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. E7-16313 Filed 8-17-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 15 Reuters: No new nuclear plants likely before 2020 Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:36PM BST By Daniel Fineren LONDON (Reuters) - No nuclear power plants are likely to be built in Britain before 2020, if they are built at all, which will be too late to fill the country's looming power generation gap, according to a report published on Monday. The government wants the private sector to build new nuclear power plants to replace the country's ageing reactors and plug a generation shortfall left by the closure of coal-fired power plants under European environment laws. But the report by Poyry Energy Consulting says the commercial case for building new nuclear plants is shaky and that none will be built without a higher long-term carbon price than that set by the current European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). "Despite the rhetoric, it is difficult to see much new nuclear capacity coming into the market before 2020," Poyry director Andrew Nind said. "Beyond then prospects look better, but the future of nuclear probably depends on the creation of a long-term carbon price guarantee. In its current form, the ETS will not suffice." The ETS is supposed to encourage investment in cleaner power technologies by making generators pay for rights to emit carbon dioxide from burning fuels like coal, oil and gas. Because many member states have given away too many rights for free, the cost of spewing the main gas responsible for climate change in to the air has mostly been below 20 euros a tonne over the last year. This is too low to make low-carbon but costly nuclear power worthwhile, the report concludes. Partly because of high capital investment costs and rising prices for uranium, companies will not spend the huge sums required on nuclear power without a long-term reliable carbon price above 20 euros a tonne, the report says. The current ETS runs only until 2012 and investors still have no idea what the EU plans to do about the carbon market beyond then. Environmental regulations could force many of Britain's coal fired power plants to close over the next decade, while all but one of its nuclear power plants are expected to shut by 2020, leaving a gaping hole that new nuclear cannot fill in time. The government wants atomic energy to play a part in Britain's future energy mix but has refused to pay for it or build the plants with public money. Photo A spokeswoman for the department responsible for energy said on Monday the government was already trying to work out how the country will cope if no nuclear power plants are built. The government admitted last week that the current target of getting 20 percent of its power from renewable sources of energy by 2020 is already very challenging, so it may have to become still more dependent on imported gas, while slashing demand. © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 16 UPI: Indian-U.S. nuclear deal in trouble United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News - Published: Aug. 20, 2007 at 2:26 PM NEW DELHI, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- India’s ruling coalition scrambled Monday to avert a political crisis even as some allies remained firm on their opposition to an Indian-U.S. nuclear deal. Despite hours of intense negotiations during the weekend, the political deadlock deepened with the Communist members of the coalition insisting the deal would harm India’s foreign policy interests. The deal would allow India to get civilian nuclear technology and fuel from the United States, ending India’s isolation from other nuclear powers and meeting India’s growing power demand. The Communist opposition threatened to reduce the Congress-led coalition led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to a minority that may force a mid-term election. Broadcast and newspaper reports said Monday the government may offer to set up a committee to soften the Communist stand. Some experts warn a collapse of the deal would badly damage India’s international image, strain Indian-U.S. relations and only benefit India’s nuclear rivals, China and Pakistan. The Communists don't want India to proceed with the next steps to make the deal operational, including meetings with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group. Singh has said the deal won't deter India from conducting nuclear tests. Other supporters have said the United States has given many concessions to India in the deal. © Copyright 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Hemscott: Yankee Rowe officially decommissioned SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - With the site of one of the country's first nuclear power plants finally considered safe for public use, all that remains of the reactor that stood for 47 years in the woodsy town of Rowe is its radioactive waste. The federal government announced this month that the Yankee Rowe site has been officially decommissioned. But 266,000 pounds of spent fuel is still sitting on about three acres of land, sealed up in protective barriers in the western Massachusetts town teetering on the Vermont border. Yankee Atomic Electric Co. owns the 30 acres the plant was built on, and company officials are now deciding what to do with it. Some ideas have included turning that space and an adjoining 2,000 acres owned by the company into an area for recreation and land conservation. A report on possible land uses is expected to be submitted to Yankee's operators this fall, company spokesman Bob Capstick said. 'They can do whatever they want with it,' said Dave McIntyre, a spokesman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 'The land wouldn't be released if it weren't safe.' The Yankee Nuclear Power Station was built in 1960 and went online a year later. At the time, it was the country's third nuclear plant and was expected to generate power for only about six years. It wound up churning out 44 billion kilowatt hours of electricity for New England customers until 1992, when it was finally shut down. Since then, workers have been dismantling the plant and cleaning the area. Now all that's left of Yankee Rowe is its waste. Entombed in 15 concrete containers standing 13 feet high and designed to withstand earthquakes, tornadoes and small plane crashes are 533 spent fuel assemblies. The radioactive material was sealed in the 'dry storage casks' about five years ago when they were removed from a cooling pool inside the plant. As the spent reactor fuel continues to cool off inside the casks, Yankee officials wait for the federal government to approve plans to store the country's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert. There are 28 nuclear power plants in the country that are either decommissioned or in the process. Along with Rowe, eight communities in seven other states are waiting for the Department of Energy to haul away nuclear waste, McIntyre said. Yankee's waste was supposed to be carted off in 1998, and the company was awarded $143 million by the U.S. Federal Court of Claims last year because the DOE fell short of its promise. But that decision is being appealed by the agency, and Yankee officials don't expect the Yucca Mountain project to be operational before 2020. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. ***************************************************************** 18 Hemscott: Private sector to foot bill for UK nuclear decommissioning and new build LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The private sector would foot the entire bill for decommissioning and disposing of waste from any new nuclear power stations in the UK, according to a report. A forthcoming energy bill will set out how industry would be required to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into a funding pot for disposing of radioactive waste from the new plants, energy minister Malcolm Wickes said in an interview with the Financial Times. Private operators would also fund the construction and operation of new stations, which would most likely be on existing reactor sites, Wickes said. There was 'a lot of interest' from the private sector in building the plants, with at least six companies expressing interest, including EDF Energy, E.ON AG and RWE AG, he said. philip.waller@thomson.com paw/lce COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, Hemscott PLC - Serious Investment Research ***************************************************************** 19 ITAR-TASS: Atomic scientists gather at Smolensk NPP to focus on radiation safety 20.08.2007, 23.29 TVER, August 20 (Itar-Tass) -- An international conference of specialists in the area of radiation safety at the atomic energy facilities opened at the Smolensk nuclear power plant on Monday, a plant official told Itar-Tass. The meeting brought together scientists from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. During the five-day conference, the scientists will familiarize themselves with deactivation technologies at the Smolensk and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants, the development and application of the ultra-sonic decontamination method at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant, the use of unmanned decontaminating substance technologies, and new methods for radiation level measuring, the official said. The scientists will take part in the pilot testing of new radioactive decontamination agents at Russia’s nuclear power plants. The state-run nuclear energy producer Rosenergoatom concern leads international activities of Russia’s nuclear power plants, the official said. The concern is expanding them, including by using the newest radiation safety technologies at the atomic energy industry’s facilities. The Smolensk nuclear power plant is equipped with the RBMK-1000 light-water graphite reactors on thermal neutrons. Its first and thirds power units are operating. Their total capacity amounts to 1,995 megawatt. All of the plant’s equipment is working normally, the official of the plant said. Currently, reactor No. 2 is under planned capital repairs for a partial replacement of technological channels. The level of radiation is normal inside and outside the power plant, and the area is safe, the plant’s official said. The nuclear power plant is located 350 kilometers from Moscow, in the south of the Smolensk Region. This is a leading power plant in Northwestern Russia, which annually supplies 20 billion kilowatt/hours of electricity – one-seventh of the entire electricity generated by Russian nuclear power plants. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 India: Deccan Herald: Stand-off on nuke deal continues Monday, August 20, 2007 Left parties meet today New Delhi, PTI: The Left parties are unlikely to budge from their stand that the government should not go ahead with implementing the 123 agreement with the US and take the follow up steps on safeguards with the IAEA and the NSG. The stand-off on the nuclear deal appears to show no signs of resolution with the Left parties on Monday likely to restate their opposition to implementation of the agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with the United States. The four Left parties -- CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc -- are meeting here in the evening to consider the ruling UPA coalition's stand that the government was not in a position to put the deal on hold. It’s learned that the Left parties were unlikely to budge from their stand that the government should not go ahead with implementing the 123 agreement with the US and take the follow up steps on safeguards with the IAEA and the NSG. The evening meeting is likely to come out with a fresh statement telling the government that there was no question of reconsidering their stand on the opposition to the deal, the sources said. They said the parties were also unimpressed with the idea of a committee to go into the Left concerns as some sort of a mechanism to work out a compromise. 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 ***************************************************************** 21 Deccan Herald: CPI(M) sticks to its stand Monday, August 20, 2007 Nuke deal New Delhi, PTI: After a meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury made it clear that there was no change in the stand of the Left parties and the situation was as it is. The CPI(M) on Monday stuck to its stand that the government should keep the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement on hold till its objections are "properly evaluated". After a meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury made it clear that there was no change in the stand of the Left parties and the situation was as it is. "The situation is where it is. We have not heard anything about the Committee (to go into the Hyde Act and its implications on the 123 agreement)", Yechury told reporters after meeting Mukherjee, who is playing the role of a trouble shooter. The CPI(M) leader said that the Left parties told the government to keep the whole thing on hold till their objections were "properly evaluated". 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 ***************************************************************** 22 MyWestTexas.com: Andrews reactor opens new possibilities for nuclear power, area AP DataStream Midland Reporter-Telegram 08/20/2007 Editor's note: This is the second in an occasional series looking at energy projects across the region by The Associated Press. Associated Press ANDREWS -- This small West Texas town that decades ago grew up out of the oil boom now wants to leap into the nuclear age. Though years from becoming reality, a cutting-edge nuclear reactor -- the first built on U.S. soil in 30 years -- is being pursued not as a power source but as part of an energy research complex that could lead to advances in hydrogen power. Those involved, the University of Texas system, several of its schools, local governments and private industry, hope to build the nation's first reactor of its kind in Andrews County, west of the city. The county is already home to a low-level nuclear waste processing and storage site operated by a Dallas-based company. Andrews, with a population of about 10,000 and located about 30 miles from the New Mexico border, emerged during the late 1930s as oil gushed from the vast scrub brush terrain. But the boom turned to bust in the 1980s when oil prices plummeted to about $8 a barrel. Since then, many West Texas communities have lost population and their economies wilted. Though oil fields elsewhere in the region and in the Permian Basin are enjoying a resurgence due to high prices, many towns and cities are hoping to tap into alternative and renewable energy industries -- including wind and ethanol -- to stay alive. Andrews has hitched its hopes to a project with a long name -- the High Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor Energy Research Facility -- and the potential to help pull the region out of its economic doldrums. City manager Glen Hackler says the proposed facility, expected to cost about $500 million and be completed by 2012, would bring scientists and researchers from around the world to Andrews. "It has the potential to continue to diversify our economy," he said. "We're convinced ... that it is as close to inherently safe as any technology can get." About 67 percent of Andrews residents surveyed either favored or strongly favored the project, with only 10 percent opposed or strongly opposed, Hackler said. Peggy Pryor, 57, who's lived in Andrews most of her life, is one of the latter. Too much of the research performed inside the facility will be kept from the public, she said. "And we don't have any control, it's out of our hands," Pryor said. "If it's so good why do they keep pushing it to West Texas? (We're) getting to be ... the dumping ground." And what's next after the reactor? Pryor said. "It's an open door for other things to pop in," she said. "Definitely." One environmental group has similar concerns about what's happening in the region, noting that a uranium enrichment plant also is slated to be built just across the border in Eunice, N.M. Public Citizen spokesman Tom "Smitty" Smith said the area is gaining a reputation as "nuclear megamall" and the reactor "would add another shop." But those who want to bring the research facility to Andrews say such fears are unwarranted. Unlike traditional nuclear power plants, the underground test reactor would be cooled by helium rather than water, which project officials say eliminates the danger of meltdown. Japan and China are the only other countries with high temperature test reactors, and each is attempting to use them to generate hydrogen as an alternative energy source. The Andrews reactor would be fueled with uranium, as well as some types of plutonium and thorium and nuclear wastes now stored in secure locations across the U.S., project officials have said. Fuel pellets about the size of poppy seeds would be covered with three layers of ceramic coating and can withstand temperatures up to 3,600 degrees without rupturing. Smith said there is a downside to such "pebble-bed" reactors. "Seemingly minuscule flaws in one pebble could lead to significant and catastrophic results," he said. "It doesn't take much radioactive material to contaminate a community." The idea to pursue the reactor came out of the University of Texas in the Permian Basin a couple of years ago. In February 2006, the University of Texas system board of regents unanimously agreed to help with the project's preliminary design, approving a collaborative agreement between the system, its Permian Basin, Austin, Arlington, Dallas, El Paso campuses; the cities of Andrews, Odessa and Midland; Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.; General Atomics; and McLean, Va.-based Thorium Power Inc. Andrews County, the city of Andrews, Midland and Odessa together contributed $1.5 million -- or about half the cost -- for a preliminary design. The technical portion of the plan was completed earlier this year, and work continues on the educational and business model, Hackler said. A $1 million federal grant from the Department of Defense will help pay prelicensing fees and additional design costs, he said. The group is working to attract private investors who would build the reactor and research laboratories. "Really, the partnership is trolling the waters," Hackler said. On the Net: Preconceptual Design: http://www.utsystem.edu/news/2007/PCD.pdf Facility Information: http://www.utpb.edu/ht3r/index.htm Supporters of a proposal to build the High Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor Energy Research Facility in Andrews County say it would: -- Educate and train the next generation of scientists and engineers, providing them with state-of-the-art expertise in the latest nuclear materials and process technologies. -- Perform basic and applied nuclear research. -- Support the engineering, design, licensing, construction and operation of the Department of Energy's Next Generation Nuclear Plant. -- Optimize the economic high-temperature production of hydrogen, synthetic fuels and other materials. Develop and test new materials that can operate at temperatures at and above 950 degrees centigrade. -- Increase the efficiency of electricity production in power plants. Source: The University of Texas of the Permian Basin: http://www.utpb.edu/ht3r/description.htm ©MyWestTexas.com 2007 ***************************************************************** 23 MyWestTexas.com: Reactor project gets nearly $200,000 in grants Ruth Campbell Midland Reporter-Telegram 08/20/2007 The University of Texas of the Permian Basin HT3R program has received $195,000 in grants from the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The grants will form and support the Nuclear Energy Education project, or NEEd, at the university. HT3R Program Director Jim Wright said the grants would be used to provide scholarships, paid internships and a faculty mentor/teaching position. "The NEEd seeks to increase the number of students who enter the field of nuclear studies," Wright said in a press release. NEEd will start with a few science majors who will work on the design of the reactor while taking courses in nuclear science. "Plans are for the program to grow rapidly with a number of integrated activities for students interested in entering the nuclear energy industry. This will initially include UTPB students in Industrial Technology with a nuclear emphasis and pre-engineering students in cooperative programs with other UT campuses," Wright said. As part of the NEEd project, Wright said students will take field trips to a number of existing nuclear energy facilities including the research reactor at University of Texas at Austin, Waste Control Specialists low-level nuclear waste disposal facility in Andrews, Louisiana Energy Services National Enrichment Facility in Lea County, N. M., and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. Wright said he is currently reviewing resumes for the NEEd mentor position. The position will serve as a mentor for the interns and students as well as coordinate activities, such as guest lecturers, field trips and student club activities related to nuclear energy issues. "This position will also be doing many of community awareness and recruiting activities, speaking at schools, making presentations, going to college nights, participate at science fairs, those types of things," Wright added. For more information about the NEEd project, contact Wright at 552-2090. Grant money from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to UTPB's High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor (HT3R) project have provided $195,000 to be used in the 2007-2008 school year for competitive scholarships and internships, plus a mentor to help students ensure academic success. Both the NRC scholarships and internships pay for fees, books and tuition. The internships will also provide $1,000 a month for incidental living expenses. Letters of reference, SAT scores, official transcripts and other documentation may be required. Direct all inquiries to Bob Vasquez in the UTPB Office of Financial Aid at 552-2620 or e-mail Vasquez_r@utpb.edu. ©MyWestTexas.com 2007 ***************************************************************** 24 NRC: NRC Finalizes "White" Finding for Cooper Nuclear Station News Release - Region IV - 2007-030 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov Cooper Nuclear Station will receive additional oversight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission based on a violation that adversely affected the reliability of an emergency diesel generator. The plant, which is operated by the Nebraska Public Power District, is near Brownville, Neb. The NRC uses a color-coded system to categorize inspection findings. They range from “green,” for an issue of very low safety significance, to “red” for a highly significant safety issue. In this case, the violation has been determined to be “white,” indicating the issue is of low to moderate safety significance. The finding is based on an NRC inspection completed on April 24. On November 8, 2006, plant workers replaced an electrical circuit board on an emergency diesel generator. The diesel generator is used to supply electrical power to plant safety systems in the event of a loss of off-site power. During testing on November 13, 2006, the diesel generator started properly, but was not able to perform its function to supply electricity to other systems due to a faulty circuit board. In evaluating the root cause, the licensee failed to promptly identify and correct the problem with the circuit board. “The NRC determined the licensee missed two opportunities to identify and correct the defective circuit board. They failed to properly evaluate the suitability of the circuit board prior to its installation, and they failed to properly evaluate and correct the cause of the November 13, 2006 failure,” NRC Region IV Administrator Bruce S. Mallett said. “As a result of those failures, the emergency diesel generator failed to perform its function again on January 18, 2007.” Mallett said. “Although the incident at Cooper did not adversely affect public health or safety, it is significant because the NRC requires its licensees to have programs in place to correctly identify the root cause of significant problems in order to prevent recurrence. Moreover, the problem affected the reliability of a very important piece of equipment.” At the request of the licensee, NRC held a regulatory conference at its Region IV office in Arlington, Texas, on July 13, and based its final significance determination, in part, on information presented there. NPPD officials have 30 days to appeal the decision. 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. Monday, August 20, 2007 ***************************************************************** 25 The Telegraph: PM adds growth fuel to nuke case Calcutta : Nation Tuesday, August 21, 2007 | Advertise with us OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Manmohan Singh at a programme to mark former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi?s birth anniversary in New Delhi on Monday. (AFP) New Delhi, Aug. 20: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sprang economic logic on opponents of the nuclear deal and appealed for a political consensus to keep ?India on the move? through a sound energy security strategy. Speaking at an ONGC event, the Prime Minister did not mention the nuclear deal but put up a spirited defence of the energy policy that his government wants to put in place if the agreement in America came through. Basing his contention on financial compulsions, Singh said India needed to develop nuclear energy as an alternative power source. Otherwise, ?as we grow, our growing... bill for imported crude oil will put an unbearable burden on our economy?, he said. Singh said all energy resources — coal, gas, oil, hydro and nuclear along with renewables — need to be developed. ?No government can afford to shirk this responsibility and hope to find favour with the people,? Singh said in what could be construed as a direct reply to his critics on why he pursued the nuclear deal with vigour. The Prime Minister also left no one in doubt on where his priorities lay. ?From a long-term perspective, nuclear energy and solar energy can play an important role in addressing our energy security needs. Our government is committed to the development of nuclear energy.? Indirectly tying the deal to the economic growth plank, Singh said: ?I urge all political parties to appreciate the vital interest of pursuing a sound energy security strategy. India is on the move and we must be able to address its growing energy demand.? The unequivocal comments betrayed no hint that his government is locked in a make-or-wreck standoff with the Left on the very issue. ?When we aim for a 10 per cent growth rate, we must recognise the critical importance of energy security,? Singh said, iterating that India must find cheaper alternatives to oil and gas imports. Indian and US deal-makers have been telling critics that the civilian nuclear agreement was aimed at assisting India in meeting its energy needs in a manner that causes less pollution. Articulating another stand that will not find favour with the Left, Singh called for economic pricing of energy. ?In our country, we have excessively interfered with energy pricing. Each time our utilities have to raise rates, extraneous considerations come in,? he said. Copyright © 2006 The Telegraph. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | ***************************************************************** 26 The Telegraph: PM pitch for nuke energy Calcutta Tuesday, August 21, 2007 | Advertise with us RADHIKA RAMASESHAN New Delhi, Aug. 20: The Congress today launched its first public as well as political defence of the nuclear deal and the Prime Minister, raising the spectre of last-ditch options like elections if the deadlock drags on beyond a point. The government ruled out falling back on a half-house measure or a face-saver that would ?subjugate India to the position of a weak, third-rate nation?, capping a day of strong messages that saw Manmohan Singh rooting for nuclear energy. In a spirited defence of nuclear energy, Singh seemed to suggest there was little scope for a rethink, saying: ?No government can afford to shirk this responsibility (of ensuring energy security) and hope to find favour with the people.? A showdown seemed likely with the Left, too, sticking to its guns and saying that negotiations for wrapping up the nuclear deal have to be put on hold irrespective of whether the government sets up an assessment mechanism. The political class has now begun discussing scenarios such as whether the UPA would have enough leeway to carry on with a minority government if the Left withdrew support and whether the estranged ally would steer clear of a no-confidence motion moved by the BJP or the third front. Officially, the government pooh-poohed suggestions of snap polls. But sources said the Congress?s best bet was to have elections at a time of its choosing, use the interlude to ?operationalise? welfare schemes and keep the UPA intact. In the next few days, Singh and foreign minister-cum-trouble-shooter Pranab Mukherjee will be preoccupied with the Japanese Prime Minister?s visit. A ?considered? response to the Left?s insistence that the deal be put on hold is not likely to come in a hurry. The Congress is reading the future on the following lines: Only a no-trust motion can topple the government. The Left will not move such a motion against a ?secular? coalition. By the same logic, the Left may not back a motion moved by the Opposition. A debate on the deal may take place by end-August. The government will try to pass the unorganised sector and anti-communal violence bills and have a discussion on the minorities report. Breather after the session ends on September 14 or earlier if Parliament is adjourned sine die. Preparations start for elections in Gujarat. Winter session in November, but no fireworks likely. Red light could flash again in the budget session. During the day, the government rejected the Opposition?s demand for a joint parliamentary committee on the nuclear deal. It also sounded lukewarm to the idea of constituting an expert committee. As of now, the only solution the Congress and the government are willing to consider is a debate in Parliament. If it fails to dispel the Left?s misgivings, the government is open to another round of talks. The Congress reminded the Left of the election option by fielding minister Kapil Sibal to make what sounded almost like a poll pitch. Addressing the media — the first such party briefing since the Left ultimatum — Sibal responded to allegations of a ?sell-out? to the US. ?Can you imagine that the Prime Minister of India will play around with its sovereignty? The Congress refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The first nuclear bomb was detonated by the Congress in 1974. Bangladesh was liberated despite the US threat to send the Seventh Fleet,? he said. Copyright © 2006 The Telegraph. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | ***************************************************************** 27 Harvey Wasserman: The Senate's Radioactive Rip-Off How Bill (and Monica) Saved Hillary from a Federal Indictment August 20, 2007 Nuclear Loan Guarantees By HARVEY WASSERMAN Gargantuan loan guarantees for a "new generation" of nuke reactors define the Senate's version of the Energy Bill that Congress will consider right after Labor Day. Its backers say the $50 billion-plus in radioactive pork will give us "inherently safe" reactors--which is what they said about the last crop, including Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and hundreds of billions in cost overruns and abysmal failure. Nuke reactors are no safer than those coal mines just littered with fresh corpses, than that collapsed Minnesota bridge, or than the levees that let Katrina swamp New Orleans, and are poised to do it again. The first "new generation" nuke is already swamped with cost overruns and absurd miscalculations. Finnish regulators are screaming at Areva, the French-based nuke pushers, about corner-cutting and costly delays. But these are merely the latest in the endless flow of "nuke nuggets" that have made the world's 430-plus reactors history's most lethal and expensive technological failure: Faulty plumbing forced one US nuke operator to shut on-site toilet facilities while the cooling system was in use; At another US reactor, a basketball wrapped in tape was used to stop up a critical reactor tube; Consecutive global-warmed "hundred-year floods" threatened to swamp the two Prairie Island reactors (south of that collapsed Minnesota bridge) nearly irradiating the entire downstream Mississippi River; Like coal miners, uranium miners die en masse from lung cancer and tunnel collapses; Steam releases killed and maimed at least four workers at Virginia's North Anna complex; "Too cheap to meter" was atomic energy's mantra until it delivered gargantuan cost overruns and ramshackle reactors in what Forbes Magazine has called "the largest managerial disaster in business history"; In the 2000-1 deregulation scam, the nuke industry portrayed its own reactors as being "uncompetitive," thus demanding $100 billion in "stranded cost" subsidies for their bad reactor investments; The Yucca Mountain nuke waste repository, which may never open, has already absorbed $10 billion, but its minimum official cost is now estimated at around $60 billion, which is likely to soar to at least $100 billion; In 1957 the industry promised independent insurance companies would insure reactors against catastrophic accidents, but that has never happened, either for old nukes or for the proposed new ones; Before March 28, 1979, nuke owners said the melt-down that destroyed Three Mile Island Two was "impossible"; Before April 26, 1986, nuke owners said the explosion that destroyed Chernobyl Four was "impossible"; For nine years, TMI's owners said there was no significant fuel melt, until a robotic camera showed that nearly ALL the fuel had melted; TMI's owners say "no one died" there, but stack monitors failed during the accident and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not know exactly how much radiation escaped, where it went or who it affected; No official systematic monitoring of the health of the people around TMI was initiated when the plant opened, or when it melted, and none has been maintained; Some 2400 central Pennsylvania families have tried to sue for damages since TMI's fall-out hit them, but have been denied a federal trial for nearly three decades; Some 800,000 drafted clean-up "liquidators" were forced into Chernobyl, thousands of whom are dying of cancer; Seven atomic reactors in Japan were significantly damaged by an earthquake despite decades of official assurances that they were safe; Japanese authorities now admit that the recent earthquake exceeded---by a factor of three---the design specifications of the seven reactors it damaged; Far stronger earthquakes are expected soon at all or most of Japan's 55 reactors, where experts say at least some could be reduced to radioactive rubble; Four reactors in California, one in Ohio and two in New York are among the many American nukes built very close to active earthquake faults; The Perry nuke, east of Cleveland, whose owners denied it was in any danger from a nearby "geological anomaly," was significantly damaged by a January 31, 1986 earthquake; Despite a lawsuit by Ohio's governor, Perry was allowed to open amidst damage to area roads and bridges that would have made evacuation impossible, and that could have meant disaster had it been operating at the time; Near Toledo, dripping boric acid ate through the Davis-Besse pressure vessel, bringing it within a fraction of an inch of a catastrophe capable of irradiating Cleveland and all of Lake Erie; Davis-Besse's owner blacked out the entire northeast, including much of Canada, partly due to uneven power surges from its nukes and the deterioration of its electric power grid; On September 11, 2001, the terrorists who crashed into the World Trade Center flew directly over the two active reactors at Indian Point, but did not hit them, apparently believing that they were protected by surface-to-air missiles; Not one of the 100-plus US reactors is protected by surface-to-air missiles; Virtually every US reactor has failed simple tests of security systems meant to protect them from terror attacks; Early official government studies warned that a single meltdown could make permanently uninhabitable "an area the size of Pennsylvania"; An attack on the Indian Point reactors on 9/11/2001 could have rendered the entire New York region -- including the World Trade Centers -- permanently uninhabitable, causing millions of long-term human casualties and trillions of dollars in damage, from which the US economy likely would never have recovered; Huge heat emissions make atomic reactors major contributors to global warming, as do CO2 emissions from construction, decommissioning, the mining, milling and enrichment of uranium fuel, waste disposal, and more; Despite being billed as a "solution to global warming," French reactors were recently shut because they overheated local rivers with their waste cooling water; Despite being billed as a "solution to global warming," one reactor at Alabama's Browns Ferry was forced shut, and two cut back 25%, as summer river temperatures hit 90 degrees, the federal limit; These shut-downs come precisely when power is most needed for air conditioning, and when the REAL solution to global warming, solar energy, is most abundant; In 1975, a Browns Ferry reactor suffered a $100 million fire when a worker ignited its insulation with a candle; Reactor regulators report a constant flow of "incidents" that endanger reactor operations and the public safety; The former head of the Atomic Energy Commission's health research efforts has calculated that "normal" reactor emissions could kill some 32,000 Americans every year; A dollar spent on energy conservation saves ten times the energy produced by a dollar spent on a nuke; This tragic, terrifying "nugget" list could extend on for another few hundred pages, as per THE NUGGET FILE, by a former industry insider, and FISSION STORIES by David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists. With a crippled infrastructure and corner-cutting mentality, the corporate operatives building these reactors are no more competent or trustworthy than the ones in charge of coal mines, bridges, levees. Homer Simpson will run the new nukes, just like the old nukes. Wall Street knows it. Does Congress? Better tell them. Harvey Wasserman helped co-ordinate media for the Clamshell Alliance, 1976-8. He was arrested at Diablo Canyon in 1984 and at Seabrook in 1989. He is author of "Solartopia: Our Green-Powered Earth, A.D. 2030," ***************************************************************** 28 The Age: Nuclear alliance quandary - www.theage.com.au Katharine Murphy and Brendan Nicholson August 21, 2007 SENIOR Government players are exploring whether Australia can become part of a controversial global nuclear alliance in a special deal whereby the country would not be required to take back radioactive waste. Sources have told The Age discussions are under way that could see Australia and Canada made part of the powerful Washington-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership on a "parallel" track, without having to assume full membership of the organisation. The Bush Administration has made it plain to the Howard Government informally that it would like Australia to be part of the GNEP ? which is an alliance designed to restrict the number of countries enriching uranium to current players, such as the US, Britain, France and Russia. GNEP members operate on a "leasing" concept whereby nuclear fuel is produced and exported and members ship back nuclear waste. But given the acute political sensitivity around nuclear issues close to the federal election campaign, discussions have centred on ways Australia can be a participant without having to fully sign on to leasing ? at least in the short term. Labor yesterday kicked off its electorate by electorate campaign against nuclear power, making a nuclear pledge in the Queensland city of Gladstone. The Government has just signed off on a controversial decision to sell uranium to India, and cabinet will consider soon whether to create the necessary national regulations to govern uranium mining, enrichment and nuclear power plants. Despite the escalating political debate, speculation is increasing about how Australia will resolve its position on the GNEP before a visit early next month by US President George Bush for the APEC leaders summit in Sydney. Copyright © 2007. The Age Company Ltd. ***************************************************************** 29 AU ABC: ALP to sign pledge opposing Gladstone nuclear reactor - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 20, 2007 09:22:00 The Labor Party's water and infrastructure spokesman is in the central Queensland city of Gladstone this morning. Anthony Albanese and the Labor candidate for the seat of Flynn, Chris Trevor, will today sign a pledge to oppose the construction of any nuclear facilities there. Mr Albanese says the Government has identified the town as a potential location for one of 25 nuclear reactors it plans to build, but he is determined not to let that happen. "I think there's no need for nuclear power. All the Labor candidates certainly agree with that," he said. The Nationals' candidate for Flynn, Glenn Churchill, has also been invited to sign the document. The pledge signing will take place in Spinaker Park. Tags: electricity-energy-and-utilities, environment, alternative-energy, nuclear-issues, federal-government, nuclear-energy, qld, gladstone-4680 ***************************************************************** 30 [v911t] Brief video: Dr. Rosalie Bertell - Depleted Uranium Inside the Human Body Resent-Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:33:58 -0500 (CDT) Here is Sister Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., Epidemiologist, in a short film, "Depleted Uranium Inside the Human Body". In this brief video, Dr. Bertell explains, using simple terms anyone can understand, how "Depleted" Uranium, (Uranium-238) when used in combat, impacts and damages the human body. This brief ten minute film should be required viewing for anyone contemplating enlisting for military service or for anyone who does not yet know what "Depleted" Uranium is doing to people all over the planet. View the short video here: http://tinyurl.com/3yumuw or http://akamat.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/depleted-uranium-in-the-human-body-sr-rosalie-bertell-phd/ To read Dr. Bertell's articles: http://www.iicph.org/ To watch more of Dr. Bertell's videos: http://www.snowshoefilms.com/rbertell.html After becoming familiar with the devastating effects of weaponized "Depleted" Uranium, a ceramic Uranium oxide gas that has been affecting millions of innocents in Eurasia, inside the United States, and in many other nations of the world? Let's all do as Sister Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D. does and let our conscience dictate our next actions. In the words of Izaak Walton, "The person that loses their conscience has nothing left worth keeping." Cathy Garger www.mytown.ca/garger --------------------------------- Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. ***************************************************************** 31 Platts: Low-level radioactive scrap metal leak at Studsvik smelter 2007-08-20 London (Platts)--20Aug2007 One ton of low-level radioactive scrap metal leaked from a smelter August 16 at the Studsvik nuclear services company, and a small fire started, a company spokesman confirmed August 17. The accident occurred when 3.5 tons of scrap in the smelter became overheated and caused the smelter to crack. The spokesman said there was no radioactive release to the surrounding area and none of the six employees working at the smelter were injured. Swedish nuclear regulatory authorities have not said whether they will investigate the accident. Studsvik management estimates it will take two weeks to repair the smelter. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?story Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 32 The Enquirer: Health data on Fernald to be shared Cincinnati.Com Last Updated: 12:41 am | Monday, August 20, 2007 Scientists studied effects of uranium plant BY TERRY KINNEY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CROSBY TWP. - 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 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. "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 1989 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 and 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 questionnaires 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," he 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 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. Fernald timeline Key events at the Fernald uranium processing plant in Crosby Township: 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 come to an end. The Fernald site, a Cold War uranium-refining plant, opened in 1951. In this undated photo, a Fernald worker inspects a target element outer core that would be shipped to South Carolina. Copyright © 2007 The Enquirer. All rights reserved. Users of this ***************************************************************** 33 Dayton Business Journal: Suit against Miamisburg nuclear facility to get trial - Dayton Business Journal - 1:49 PM EDT Monday, August 20, 2007 A lawsuit with a claim that stretches back to the 1960s will get a trial date, a federal judge ruled. In an opinion issued Aug. 17, U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice said a lawsuit filed by residents living near the Mound Laboratory site in Miamisburg will proceed to trial, according to a news release from the law firm Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley, which represents the plaintiffs. The suit alleges that Mound, which was operated by the U.S. Department of Energy, released radioactive and non-radioactive chemicals into the air, water and soil over decades, that posed health hazards to area residents. The laboratory, established in 1948, made non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons. It occupied a 306-acre site in southern Miamisburg. Most of its operations were shut down in the 1990s and the site underwent environmental remediation. E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call 528-4400. © 2007 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: NRC Issues License for Irradiator in Honolulu, Hawaii News Release - Region IV - 2007-029 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a license to operate a commercial pool-type irradiator adjacent to the Honolulu International Airport. The company, Pa’ina Hawaii, LLC, stated in its application that the facility would be used to irradiate fresh fruit and vegetables bound for the mainland from the Hawaiian islands, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, as well as research and development projects. NRC reviews irradiator applications to ensure facilities, procedures and equipment are adequate to protect employees and public health, safety and the environment in the vicinity of the facility from unnecessary irradiation. Other federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, are responsible for the safety of food and determine the types of food that may be irradiated. Pa’ina applied to the NRC for a license on June 27, 2005. The NRC staff performed a thorough safety review of the application, including: • An acceptance review to ensure the application contained sufficient information; • A public meeting in Honolulu on August 31, 2005 to describe the NRC review process for the application; • A technical review of the radiological health, safety and security aspects of the application using the agency’s regulations and guidance; • An internal peer review of the technical thoroughness of the staff’s review; and visits to the site by senior managers from the NRC’s Region IV office; and • An assessment of the impact of the proposed operation on the environment. On October 3, 2005, Earthjustice, on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Honolulu, submitted to the NRC a request for a public hearing citing safety and environmental concerns. On January 24, 2006, NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board granted the petitioner’s request for a public hearing to determine admissibility of their contentions. Typically, the licensing of irradiators is categorically excluded from an environmental review, as described in the NRC regulations. However, the NRC staff decided it was prudent to do so in this case. It entered into a settlement agreement with Concerned Citizens of Honolulu which included a provision for the NRC staff to prepare an environmental assessment and hold a public meeting in Honolulu prior to making a final decision. The environmental assessment considered potential impacts from transportation of the radioactive material, socioeconomics, ecology, water quality, and potential effects of aviation accidents from the nearby airport and natural phenomena. NRC staff held a second public meeting in Honolulu on February 1, which drew about 100 people, to seek public comment on the draft environmental assessment. The NRC staff has issued a final environmental assessment for the proposed irradiator resulting in a “Finding of No Significant Impact”. NRC believes this final environmental assessment addresses the comments received during the public meetings and the remaining safety and environmental concerns. The document is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/materials.html by selecting “Pa’ina Irradiator” in the Quick Links box. 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. Monday, August 20, 2007 ***************************************************************** 35 knoxnews.com: No Silence Here: Nuclear fuel leak in TN hidden from public I blame the Patriot Act. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A three-year veil of secrecy in the name of national security was used to keep the public in the dark about the handling of highly enriched uranium at a nuclear fuel processing plant — including a leak that could have caused a deadly, uncontrolled nuclear reaction. The leak turned out to be one of nine violations or test failures since 2005 at privately owned Nuclear Fuel Services Inc., a longtime supplier of fuel to the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet. The public was never told about the problems when they happened. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealed them for the first time last month when it released an order demanding improvements at the company, but no fine. In 2004, the government became so concerned about releasing nuclear secrets that the commission removed more than 1,740 documents from its public archive — even some that apparently involved basic safety violations at the company, which operates a 65-acre gated complex in tiny Erwin, about 120 miles north of Knoxville. More here. From May 9: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealed in a new report to Congress that a nuclear chain-reaction accident nearly occurred 14 months ago at a nuclear fuels processing plant in Tennessee From the KNS on July 11: Federal regulators are reviewing a policy that has kept details on an East Tennessee nuclear facility — including a potentially deadly spill of highly enriched uranium last year — hidden from the public. From the KNS on July 25: Safety problems at an East Tennessee nuclear facility were already widespread before a potentially deadly uranium spill last year and persisted after the accident, according to recently released documents. Executives with Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tenn., acknowledged to Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials that the plant’s performance was “unacceptable,” though an executive said Tuesday that the company is working to remedy the problems. And Aug. 15: 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. Posted by Michael Silence on August 20, 2007 at 04:05 PM ***************************************************************** 36 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuke doubts still at the core - By Bonnie Pfister TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, August 19, 2007 The renewed push for nuclear energy may be an economic boon to Western Pennsylvania, as reactor designer Westinghouse Electric Co. hires hundreds of high-end staffers. But for many people, serious doubts about the technology remain. Reactors cost billions to construct and insure, with taxpayers picking up a large share of tab. They burn cleaner than coal-fired plants and with a smaller volume of waste, but issues surrounding transport and long-term storage of radioactive material remain unresolved. Some fear that terrorists could target domestic reactors -- or divert nuclear waste abroad for weapons. And fires and shutdowns last month in Japan and Germany underscore safety concerns about the reactors themselves. A July 16 earthquake on Japan's western coast sparked a reactor transformer fire and leak of radioactive water. Officials say the 22-year-old facility may have been unknowingly been built atop an active seismic fault. Regulatory records show at least four other serious incidents worldwide, including a radiation release, since 2001: in Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden and Taiwan. "Even in Japan, with a very mature nuclear industry, these problems exist," said Josh Dorner, spokesman for the Sierra Club. While some environmental groups are taking a second look at nuclear because of concerns about global warming, the Sierra Club remains opposed. Subsidies to U.S. companies help them expand abroad where, Dorner said, regulation is often lax and lines are more easily blurred between civilian and military uses of nuclear material. "Imagine the kind of oversight you will have with, say, 50 new reactors in Africa, or in other less-stable parts of the world," he said. Closer to home, the worst case of reactor corrosion on American soil came five years ago at a plant just 200 miles from Pittsburgh. FirstEnergy Corp.'s Davis-Besse plant near Toledo was closed for two years, through March 2004, after workers found boric acid had eaten through a nearly 7-inch carbon steel reactor cap. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that the radioactive steam could have burst through the remaining 1/2-inch stainless steel lining within as little as two months. Instead of fully investigating whether leaking acid was causing underlying damage, FirstEnergy workers for years had simply cleaned up the leak as best they could during routine refueling shutdowns, said David Lochbaum, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' nuclear safety program. The group does not oppose nuclear power, but monitors reactor safety. "But when it came time to restart the reactor they'd stop that job -- whether they were finished or not -- and start the thing back up." FirstEnergy, which operates the twin-reactor Beaver Valley plant in Shippingport, was fined $5.45 million for failing to properly maintain the reactor head over several years, as well as $28 million for covering up the leak in its NRC reports. It spent more than $600 million to replace the lid, upgrade safety and replace power promised to the grid. Spokesman Todd Schneider said safety is the top priority at all of the Akron, Ohio-based company's facilities. "The bottom line is (Davis-Besse) shut down safely," Schneider said. "The reactors are built with redundant systems in place so that if something does occur, there is another system to back it up and shut the plant down safely, if needed." The United States is home to 104 of the world's 439 nuclear reactors, and 20 percent of the nation's electricity comes from atomic energy. The last U.S. reactor was licensed in 1978 -- one year before a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg. Storage of nuclear fuel is another concern. To date, spent nuclear fuel is cooled for at least five years in 40-foot pools of water at plant sites. After that time it may be stored in dry casks -- large steel and concrete containers that have been in use at 39 facilities, some for more than 20 years. That's because proposals from the 1980s to keep waste in a federal facility near Yucca Mountain about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas are stalled amid resistance by Nevadans, and others. "Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania would be a major transportation route for nuclear waste -- by rail, by river, by all sorts of sources," said Dr. Daniel Fine, a retired kidney specialist from New Kensington and officer with the local chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Low levels of radiation can impair fertility and fetal growth, and lead to leukemia and other cancers, he said. High-level exposure can severely damage the immune system, bone marrow and brain, or cause death. "From the public health perspective we view it as being both dirty and dangerous," Fine said. "There is no medical treatment for the effects of radiation, whether it's low-level or leaked." Fine theorized that nuclear waste transports could become targets for terrorists. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, some elected officials have called for nuclear plants to be made aircraft-proof. But while reactors are designed with several feet of concrete around them, Lochbaum said control facilities, switchyards and emergency generators are far more lightly protected -- even in new plant designs. Nuclear waste produced by overseas power plants could be attractive to those looking to build weapons of mass destruction. While President Jimmy Carter halted the reprocessing of nuclear waste domestically as an anti-proliferation move, agencies in Britain, France and Russia have continued reprocessing, said Judi Greenwald, director of Innovative Solutions at the Pew Center On Global Climate Change. Reprocessing spent fuel reduces its radioactivity, easing storage and disposal, Greenwald said -- but it also makes it easier to strip out the weapons-grade plutonium for troubling uses. Citing reports of involvement by residents of Kazakhstan in black-market sales of nuclear technologies, four anti-proliferation groups are opposing the planned sale by Toshiba Corp. of 10 percent of Westinghouse to that nation's state-run energy company, expected to be completed in September. "To some extent, people are more concerned in a post-9/11 world about this than they were before," Greenwald said. "I don't know the details of the controls in Kazakhstan, but I'm certainly among those who are nervous about reprocessing technology." Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com or 412-320-7886. Tribune-Review Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 37 Charlotte Observer: Pollution at nuclear dump tops estimates | 08/20/2007 | BARNWELL COUNTY, S.C. Groundwater levels of radioactive material higher than expected Associated Press SNELLING, S.C. -- Higher-than-expected levels of a radioactive material are tainting the groundwater at a Barnwell County nuclear-waste dump that has been considered safe by regulators. Tritium levels in the groundwater beneath the landfill are above the Environmental Protection Agency's standard for safe drinking water, according to state records obtained by The (Columbia) State newspaper. The records show that tritium levels beneath the Chem-Nuclear landfill rival those on parts of the Savannah River Site, a nearby atomic weapons complex. Exposure to tritium can increase a person's chances of cancer, regulators say. Leaks of radioactivity have been found before at the Barnwell County site. But the recently released records give new details on the extent, showing the average levels of contamination in monitoring wells and the location of the wells. Company officials say they comply with federal standards for water pollution. No one lives directly in the path of the radioactive pollution from the landfill, and area drinking wells are not tainted by the material, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Still, DHEC says they will take a closer look at the wells, and Chem-Nuclear will test wells for anyone concerned about tritium in their drinking water, said Vice President Jim Latham. The company has acknowledged a leak, traced to the late '70s, when the company says its disposal practices were not as advanced as today's. "Our door has always been open to anybody who may be interested or who has questions about what we do," Latham said. In an attempt to reduce tritium levels, the company has begun sealing closed landfill trenches to prevent rainwater from getting into the burial pits. The company is also using a synthetic liner above some of the trenches to repel rainwater that could trickle through the nuclear garbage, into groundwater. Walter Grubbs, 35, a factory worker who grew up south of the dump, wants to know why regulators never told him of the tritium -- and whether radioactive waste threatens his family's well. "It concerns me if I'm drinking this stuff and it's doing harm to me somewhere down the road," he said. "You'd think the government would be keeping on top of all that. That's what they get paid to do." ***************************************************************** 38 London Free Press: Port Hope nuke waste cleanup years, millions off schedule Mon, August 20, 2007 By KAREN PINCHIN, CP PORT HOPE -- A planned cleanup of low-level radioactive waste near the shores of Lake Ontario -- the largest project of its kind in North America -- remains years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, leaving some residents of this picturesque Southeastern Ontario town both frightened and angry. The federal government committed in 2001 to remove more than 2 million cubic metres of uranium- and radium-contaminated soil from beneath neighbourhood houses, roads, schoolyards, farm fields and the bottom of the local harbour. However, documents obtained by CP under the Freedom of Information Act cast doubt on how soon the project will be completed, and at what cost. The National Resources Canada report says "a high degree of public scrutiny and public participation" has been the key factor in delaying the planning-based phase of the project by three years and driving up costs by about $5 million to $7 million. The second phase of the operation will see the contaminated soil -- enough to fill 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- excavated and moved to a different location before being contained in thick layers of clay, rock and soil. In 1999, the cost of the second phase was estimated at $170 million -- a price tag that's expected to soar as a result of changes in the "amount of low-level waste, the number of facilities, their location and design," as well as political stresses, the report says. "When this all finally comes down, the taxpayers of Canada will be on the hook for a lot more money than they realize," said John Miller, founder of the local group Families Against Radiation Exposure. A similar cleanup of nuclear waste in the U.S. ran at a cost of $1,000 per cubic metre of soil, Miller said -- a rate that would push cleanup costs in Port Hope to more than $2 billion. The Port Hope Area Initiative was designed to manage radioactive waste left in the city's soil after decades of dangerously lax standards, said Glenn Case, manager of projects for the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office. The soil is classified as low-level historic waste because it was contaminated at a time when radiation was not seen as severe a threat to human and animal health. CANOE home | We welcome your feedback. Copyright © 2006, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved. Proprietor and Publisher - The London Free Press, P.O. Box 2280, 369 York Street, London Ontario Canada N6A 4G1 ***************************************************************** 39 Pravda.Ru: US conceals from public usage of enriched uranium at plant - 08/21/2007 01:29 Source: AP © U.S. national security kept the public in the dark about using of highly enriched uranium at a Tennessee nuclear fuel processing plant. enriched uranium(www.aecc.ru) The leak turned out to be one of nine violations or test failures since 2005 at privately owned Nuclear Fuel Services Inc., a longtime supplier of fuel to the U.S. Navy's nuclear fleet. The public was never told about the problems when they happened. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealed them for the first time last month when it released an order demanding improvements at the company, but no fine. In 2004, the government became so concerned about releasing nuclear secrets that the commission removed more than 1,740 documents from its public archive - even some that apparently involved basic safety violations at the company, which operates a 65-acre (26-hectare) gated complex in tiny Erwin, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Knoxville. Congressmen and environmental groups have criticized the policy, and now the commission staff is drafting recommendations that may ease its restrictions. But environmental activists are still suspicious of the belated revelations and may challenge the commission's decision not to fine Nuclear Fuel Services for the safety violations. "That party is not over - the full story of what is going on up there," said Ann Harris, a member of the Sierra Club's national nuclear task force. Nuclear Fuel Services has been supplying fuel to the U.S. Navy since the 1960s. More recently, it has also been converting the government's stockpile of weapons-grade uranium into commercial reactor fuel. While reviewing the commission's public Web page in 2004, the Department of Energy's Office of Naval Reactors found what it considered protected information about Nuclear Fuel Service's work for the Navy. The commission responded by sealing every document related to Nuclear Fuel Services and BWX Technologies in Lynchburg, Virginia, the only two companies licensed by the agency to manufacture, possess and store highly enriched uranium. BWX Technologies has not experienced any problems as serious as the uranium spill at Nuclear Fuel Services, commission spokesman David McIntyre said. But its operations were included in the order to seal documents because it produces nuclear fuel for the Navy, too. Under the policy, all the documents were stamped "Official Use Only," including papers about the policy itself and more than 1,740 documents from the commission's public archive. All news About Pravda.Ru Site map Export news STATISTICS © 1999-2006. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.. ***************************************************************** 40 Murfreesboro Post: ALERT: Allied to end radioactive dumping Aug 20, 2007, 23:43 CST, 82 Readers Online By MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer – Aug. 20, 2007 2:52 PM Despite a decision state panel to continue the Bulk Survey for Release program at Middle Point Landfill, Allied Waste has decided to discontinue the practice. “We recently met with members of a Rutherford Country legislative delegation who requested that we discontinue our participation in the BSFR program,” said a statement released by Middle Point manager John Doyen. “Based on their request, as well as listening closely to other of our fellow community members, we are today voluntarily discontinuing acceptance of BSFR waste into Middle Point landfill.” Earlier today, the state's Municipal Solid Waste Committee had ruled the PSFR program could continue. “We find that the (Bulk Survey for Release) program as implemented by the Division of Radiological Health and Solid Waste Management is protective of the public health and environment,” the panel said Monday. The committee ended its two-month long, General Assembly mandated deliberation of the Tennessee program that allows dumping low-level radioactive waste in commercial landfills by unanimously approving recommendations for the General Assembly. “The citizens of this great state have nothing to fear,” Committee Chairman J. H. Graham said. The committee dedicated most of the recommendations to alleviating fear by increasing communication between the state and public. “A lack of transparency is a failing of the system, but not by intent,” Committee Member Diane Scher said. The recommendations focus on how TDEC can improve communication with the public and allow more public input in what is allowed at local landfills. “People do need to feel we are doing our job protecting human health and the environment,” TDEC official Chuck Head said to the committee. TDEC has until Jan. 1, 2008 to come up with new procedures and policies regarding public notification and input. Other recommendations from the committee included all five proposed by independent expert Lisa Stetar, which deal mostly with improving documentation of the waste in various state departments by making it electronic and improving public access to the waste files. Stetar also suggested standardizing the requirements for each waste processor and clearly define responsibilities and oversight of the program. Citizens to End Nuclear Dumping in Tennessee (ENDIT) were disappointed with the result, however it plans to move ahead. “We’ve been collecting signatures on our petition,” ENDIT member Kathleen Ferris said. “We’re trying to get an appointment with the governor before the moratorium expires.” The committee also addressed the recent resolutions by the Murfreesboro City Council and Rutherford County Commission that ask the General Assembly’s moratorium be extended passed the Sept. 5 expiration date. “Neither the committee or the department (TDEC) has the authority to extend the moratorium,” TDEC attorney Alan Leierson said. The committee will now submit the recommendations to the General Assembly and forward copies to the Rutherford County and Murfreesboro governments. Michelle Willard can be contacted at 896-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. ====================================================================== Member Opinions: By: bncthor on 8/20/07 "The citizens of this great state have nothing to fear,” Committee Chairman J. H. Graham said." I can't tell you how relieved I am, and how much better and safer I now feel. By: k on 8/20/07 To know that Thorium (poison) will continue to be dumped into groundwater and soil in Ruth. County is UNBELIEVABLE. Did Bart Gordon not say yesterday that he 'was working on this.' What happened??? Call Kent Coleman - your Middle Point District rep with concerns. Is ANYONE on the side of the citiznes of Ruth. County? NO ONE (except Middle Point employees and state regulatory officials) are seeking to dump this nuclear trash into Ruth. County. Do the state officials who said YES to continued nuclear dumping LIVE in Ruth County? On top of this tragedy, we will continue 20 more years with Nashville's trash. Does anyone elected CARE enough to take this as far as it can be taken? By: spanky on 8/20/07 The citizens of this great state have nothing to fear - That's scary huh ? Did we really think we would get any answer, other than this one. Lie, and deny. Thats the Tennessee politition way. By: k on 8/20/07 Murfreesboro Post: Please clarify the position on the above article. At 5pm cst, you posted an article stating 'radioactive dumping will continue beyond Sept 2nd'. At 5:20pm, the above article says thorium dumping will cease. What exactly is the REAL DEAL? PLEASE CLARIFY! Citizens want NO more radioactive debris at Middle Point. We pray that Allied has indeed closed the doors on this practice. By: cmac on 8/20/07 After years attempting to stop BFI and deal with local and state "officials" on the insane matter of dumping unseen trash (now radioactive) beside our drinking water supply , here is the answer from a so-called "AUTHORITY": "Neither the committee or the department(TDEC) has the authority to extend the moritorium (on radioactive dumping in Rutherford Couny)..." The Key word is "AUTHORITY". So, "OUR (LANDFILL) COMMITTEE HAS NO AUTHORITY? Nice to know THAT. Just as I suspected years ago. No POLITICAL SOLUTIONS to the ENVIRONMENTAL DELISUSIONS of BFI trash In other words, Rutherford County, live with your nations unwanted radioactive trash beside your Stones River drinking water supply. no doubt bad health... but, very good politics. By: fenton on 8/20/07 Sounds like Allied is bobbing and weaving, even scared. Anyone see 'Erin Brockovich?' Where is she? Yeah, I suspect there will be some sick people in the future from the Walter Hill area near Middle Point as well as many lawsuits. This situation is ridiculous. We, the citizens, are the authority. CLOSE MIDDLE POINT! By: k on 8/20/07 From WSMV: (8/20/07) "New information has been uncovered about why no one knew about BSFR. Companies in the business if treating and brokering waste did not want the public to know, and the state never challenged them, according to records or lack thereof. A Channel 4 legal challenge led to the release of the earliest records Channel 4 knows of about BSFR disposal at Middle Point. The information makes clear that the practice should be “withheld from public disclosure” and that the papers were the company’s proprietary information." Update: Even Ernest Burgess said he knew nothing about the dumping through BSFR of radioactive materials into Middle Point during the preceding years this was taking place. By: DMW37128 on 8/20/07 God Bless Nancy Allen. 615-869-0800 | online@murfreesboropost.com | 630 Broadmore Blvd. Suite 120, P.O. 10008, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 ***************************************************************** 41 Daily News Journal: Committee: Radioactive dumping program should continue Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, Tennessee news from The DNJ staff report The state’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee has adjourned its meeting after approving a slate of recommendations regarding the BSFR program at Tennessee landfills. Recommendations favor keeping the program, which allows for dumping of low-level radioactive waste, intact, with some modifications. Chiefly, the committee recommends: • production of an annual report on the BSFR program and volume going into the landfill. • designating a public liaison on the program to answer questions. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has until Jan. 31 to implement the committee’s recommendations and report back. A 60-day moratorium on the BSFR program at Middle Point Landfill in Rutherford County is set to expire after Labor Day. The Solid Waste Advisory Committee’s report will be forwarded to the state Legislature, which called for the moratorium at the end of its session in June. Members of ENDIT, a grass-roots group of citizens to End Nuclear Dumping in Tennessee, vowed to continue collecting petitions against the BSFR program and all dumping of potentially hazardous materials at the landfill. See Tuesday’s DNJ for more. * * * Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:53 pm This county is so screwed up it is NOT even funny. From this radioactive dumping...to the joke of a Bible Park..to the traffic fiasco and the American Flag! I swear to God, I have never seen another county in Tn. with so many idiots in charge. What is with these people?????? Are they this ignorant....can that even be possible????? I can't wait till election time. I hope everybody is paying attention....lets get rid of these morons! Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:42 pm Maybe someone from the DNJ does not like what I posted. I have posted something twice on this subject only to have it erased not long after I wrote it. Why. I will say it again. I believe people should look at getting as much exsposure on this issue as possible if that means taking out advertising our putting up billboards what ever it takes to get the attention of those who are influencial here in Rutherford. Our current State Representives and local officials seamingly are not interested in this issue to try and push legislatin through to stop this. However if exposure to this issue encites emotion from those such as the chamber of commerce, Bob Parks, Rowland and Wilson, and many more we could put this issue to bed. You let people like these start calling our Representitives and see how quick this thing gets stoped. Probably as quick as it takes someone to erase my reply again. Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:22 pm Copyright ©2007 The Daily News Journal. All rights reserved. Users ***************************************************************** 42 KBC: The Radiation Protection Board to put up a radioactive waste processing facility soon Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: TODAY: Tue, Aug 21, 2007 7:46am EAT Written By:Claire Wanja , Posted: Mon, Aug 20, 2007 The Radiation Protection Board- RPB is waiting for a license to start the construction of a radioactive waste processing facility. The project is to be put up at the Karen-based Institute of Primate Research. It is expected to handle all liquid and solid radioactive materials produced by hospitals and other research institutions around the country. Although Karen residents have expressed concern over the location of the facility in a residential area, the RPB insists that the country desperately needs a facility to handle highly radioactive material. RPB secretary, Joel Kamande, says the facility can be constructed anywhere and will be a specialized laboratory equipped to package radioactive waste to international standards before being taken to near surface repository away from the facility. ©2007 Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions ***************************************************************** 43 The Tribune: Uranium drilling sparks concern Rebecca Boyle, (Bio) rboyle@fortcollinsnow.com August 20, 2007 Northern Coloradans worried about a proposed uranium mine near Nunn will meet in Ault this week to discuss their concerns. State regulators recently granted the mine company, Powertech Uranium Corp., permits to drill test wells and core holes at the site. Although residents can see drills and bright lights illuminating the site at night, no mining is taking place yet. Residents have expressed concern about the damage the early testing might do to the area's groundwater. In addition, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, recently sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking the agency to consider water quality issues as it prepares an environmental impact statement for uranium milling facilities. The Centennial Project, north of Nunn and between that town and Wellington, contains 5,760 acres of land to which Powertech has purchased mineral rights. The company estimates 9.7 million pounds of resources lie beneath that land, a veritable mother lode of radioactive material, especially with uranium prices currently hovering around $120 to $130 per pound. The site is 11 miles from Fort Collins, seven miles from Wellington and 16 miles from Greeley. More importantly, according to mine opponents, the site sits over the massive Dakota-Cheyenne aquifer, which spreads beneath much of the populated areas of the north Front Range. To extract the uranium, Powertech plans to use a process called "in-situ" mining, which would force a carbonated water solution into sandstone to activate the uranium. The water will be brought to the surface so the uranium can be extracted. Then the uranium is separated from the carbonated water using a resin. That material, commonly known as yellowcake, becomes a valuable commodity. The uranium-free water -- which will contain other hard metals like molybdenum, arsenic and others -- will be recycled back into the mine, but residents worry it will contaminate the aquifer. At an open house for residents last month, Powertech President and CEO Richard Clement said opposition to uranium mines is nothing new; he's faced similar sentiments in other communities where Powertech has extracted the mineral. But northern Colorado opponents are better organized and better informed than their counterparts, he said. To Go: What: Ault Town Meeting, regarding opposition to Centennial Project uranium mine When: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Wednesday Where: Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, 100 1st St., Ault More Information: Visit the company at www.powertechuranium.com or the opponents at www.nunnglow.com. All contents © Copyright 2007 greeleytrib.com The Greeley Publishing Co. - P.O. Box 1690 - Greeley, CO 80632 ***************************************************************** 44 CTV.ca: Radioactive waste cleanup behind schedule - report Updated Sun. Aug. 19 2007 1:43 PM ET Canadian Press -- A planned cleanup of low-level radioactive waste near the shores of Lake Ontario -- the largest project of its kind in North America -- remains years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, leaving some residents of a picturesque southeastern Ontario town both frightened and angry. The federal government committed in 2001 to remove more than 2 million cubic metres of uranium-and radium-contaminated soil from beneath neighbourhood houses, roads, schoolyards, farm fields and the bottom of the local harbour. However, documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Freedom of Information Act cast doubt on how soon the project will be completed, and at what cost. The National Resources Canada report says "a high degree of public scrutiny and public participation" has been the key factor in delaying the planning-based phase of the project by three years and driving up costs by about $5 to $7 million. The second phase of the operation will see the contaminated soil -- enough to fill 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- excavated and moved to a different location before being contained in thick layers of clay, rock and soil. In 1999, the cost of the second phase was estimated at $170 million - a price tag that's expected to soar as a result of changes in the "amount of low-level waste, the number of facilities, their location and design," as well as political stresses, the report says. "When this all finally comes down, the taxpayers of Canada will be on the hook for a lot more money than they realize," said John Miller, founder of the local group Families Against Radiation Exposure. A similar cleanup of nuclear waste in the U.S. ran at a cost of $1,000 per cubic metre of soil, Miller said -- a rate that would push cleanup costs in Port Hope to more than $2 billion. The Port Hope Area Initiative was designed to manage radioactive waste left in the city's soil after decades of dangerously lax standards, said Glenn Case, manager of projects for the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office. The soil is classified as low-level historic waste because it was contaminated at a time when radiation was not seen as severe a threat to human and animal health, and "the original producers cannot reasonably be held responsible." Port Hope's Cameco uranium refinery, once home to a Crown corporation called Eldorado Nuclear Ltd., developed material used in the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945, said prominent Canadian historian Robert Bothwell. In 2001, the federal government signed an agreement with Canadian municipalities to take responsibility for the waste, and established an office to manage its removal. According to a newsletter from that year, "another 5 to 7 years (would) be required to construct the facilities, consolidate the wastes, clean up and restore waste locations," establishing a deadline of 2008 that is no longer realistic. "This process is open, transparent and traceable," said Case. Involving the public may be expensive and time-consuming, but for the project to be successful, it needs to be community-driven, he said. "Going through the process, we have consulted members of the public extensively on the various phases of the project, throughout all aspects." Not so, said Miller. "They absolutely have not informed us adequately," he said, calling it outrageous that the delays and cost overruns are being blamed on public consultation. No one knows for sure what impact the waste may be having on residents, he added. "There's never been any health studies of residents to find out what the health effects of 60, 70 years of low-level radiation are." Toxic elements currently found in the area include above-average levels of the radioactive metals radium and uranium, as well as arsenic, radon and lead. "Our big concern is all the dust," Miller said. "It's buried now and they're going to dig it up and it'll be in the air." "They should have the facts. Instead, the burden seems to be on citizen's groups to prove there's a danger. We're not equipped to do that." Since 2002, radiation has ranked at or near the top of the list of concerns for locals, based on an annual public opinion survey prepared for the waste management office. "The people who have asked good questions have been ridiculed and I think that a good question deserves a good answer," one respondent to the survey wrote. "And I haven't heard any good answer." Judy Herod, the office's communications officer, insisted Miller's concerns are unfounded. The project has a great many supporters among local residents, she added. "There's not going to be a disaster," Herod said. "People are going to live here. This is up-front and personal, the way we remediate waste in this town." Project spokeswoman Sue Stickley said critics of the project remain in the minority. "We have this ongoing relationship with property owners, hundreds of them, and we need to do it right," Stickley said. "We need to take our time to develop a program that suits their needs and the needs of future generations." © 2007 All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 45 Knoxville News Sentinel: K-25 cleanup: Not till 2010 Completing massive Oak Ridge project proving to be a major challenge By Frank Munger (Contact) Monday, August 20, 2007 OAK RIDGE — K-25 is coming down, but not anytime soon. Even with 800 people working 50-hour weeks, the demolition won’t be accomplished until the end of 2010, according to the latest estimates. That’s more than two years beyond the original schedule and still doesn’t include the work on K-27 — a sister building that’s also to be torn down as part of the massive cleanup project. K-25 is a mile-long, U-shaped structure that covers 44 acres. It was built during the World War II Manhattan Project, a gargantuan feat of engineering that at the time was the world’s largest building under one roof. From 1945 until 1964, it was the site of uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons and helped the U.S. keep pace in the Cold War arms race. Taking apart K-25 is proving almost as big a challenge as building it in the first place. Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., the Department of Energy’s cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, said the team is making “significant progress.” The overall schedule, however, continues to slip — at least that seems to be the case based on limited information. Bechtel Jacobs was supposed to complete the K-25 work by Sept. 30, 2008, as part of a $1.6 billion package of work included in the accelerated cleanup contract signed in 2003. The cost of the K-25/K-27 work was originally estimated at about $300 million, but DOE and Bechtel Jacobs are reworking those costs as part of ongoing contract negotiations. The project has been slowed by a number of factors, such as a safety mishap in January 2006 — when a worker fell through a badly deteriorated floor — and insufficient funds to do all the cleanup work. Bechtel Jacobs and DOE revamped the K-25 strategy and added safety procedures and protective equipment. They also decided to demolish most of the systems in place — instead of extracting the miles and miles of process equipment piece by piece. The current plan is to remove the largest deposits of fissile uranium, which require special safeguards because of the potential use in weapons, and then inject old systems with polyurethane foam to fix the contamination in place. After things have been stabilized, the mammoth building can be torn down — except for the north part of the U, which is being preserved for historical reasons. Demolition of the west wing is scheduled to begin in October 2008. More than half of the 300-plus operating cells in that wing have already been “foamed” to prepare for that work. Installation of safety nets and barriers is under way in the east wing. Workers also are testing a new “criticality” alarm system, which would detect any evidence of nuclear fission from the deposits of enriched uranium. The K-25 decommissioning project will generate about 660,000 cubic yards of solid waste, based on Bechtel Jacobs’ estimates. That’s enough to fill Neyland Stadium to the lower part of the upper deck. Most of that contaminated rubble will be trucked to a nuclear landfill a few miles away on DOE’s Oak Ridge reservation. There also will be about 26,000 gallons of liquid waste, which either will be burned at the toxic-waste incinerator in Oak Ridge or sent to a commercial facility. About 15 percent of the K-25 components “containing significant quantities of enriched uranium” have been removed and processed, Hill said in response to questions. The enriched uranium recovered from the site reportedly will be shipped to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant for safekeeping, but Hill said he could not comment on that. Demolition of both the east and west wings of the K-25 building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010, the Bechtel Jacobs spokesman said. “This includes the removal and disposal of all waste material generated by the demolition,” Hill said. “It does not include historical preservation or any subsequent remedial actions that may be required, nor does it include K-27.” The smaller K-27 building occupies about 374,000 square feet. It was constructed in 1945 and began operations that same year. Enrichment operations ceased in 1964, although K-27 was used for some support activities for another 20 years. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 46 Knoxville News Sentinel: Help wanted at incinerator By Frank Munger (Contact) Monday, August 20, 2007 The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge office got a big lift in late July when Clay Sell, the deputy energy secretary, approved the “mission need” — known as Critical Decision-0 in federal parlance — for the Integrated Facilities Disposition Program. IFDP is a huge cleanup program that would dismantle more than 200 old facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex. Gerald Boyd, DOE’s Oak Ridge manager, said his team would begin work on CD-1 during the rest of this year and 2008. “That’s planning for the schedule and a better cost estimate and scope of what’s going to be done,” Boyd said. The more detailed planning is required to support the program’s funding path in Congress. The price tag could reach billions of dollars, based on some estimates. The project is enormously important to DOE and the federal contractors at ORNL and Y-12 because it supports modernization plans already under way and will help with future cleanup projects — including treatment of polluted groundwater at the sites. This is one to watch. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., joined with U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, in announcing a Congressional Caucus on Robotics. According to the announcement, the bipartisan caucus will focus on issues facing the nation’s industrial robotics industry as well as issues that pertain to technological advances that are pushing robotics to uses that go far beyond the factory floor. In a statement, Wamp said, “The increase in the number of emerging and potential applications for robotics is astounding. Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates has stated his belief that the robotics industry is developing in much the same way that the computer business did 30 years ago.” A kickoff event for the caucus is planned for sometime in September. Recent surveys by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education seem to support a nuclear renaissance in the United States. Enrollment rates are growing for both health physics (the science of radiation protection) and nuclear engineering. ORISE surveyed 31 universities with nuclear engineering programs and found that 346 bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 2006 — the highest in 10 years and about a 30 percent increase over 2005. It still was below the numbers granted in the mid-1990s, the institute noted. “The number of master’s degrees awarded was the highest since 1996 and reflected an increase for the fourth consecutive year, while the number of doctorate degrees declined slightly,” ORISE said. A survey of 30 U.S. universities with health physics programs found that enrollment numbers in 2005 and 2006 were triple that of 2000. “Although the number of health physics graduates at the bachelor’s level in the 2005-06 academic year decreased slightly, the number — 71 — was still well above the number reported between 1998 and 2004. The Oak Ridge institute has collected and monitored enrollment and graduation in science-related fields since the mid-1970s. Although there’s been a trend of using private financing to speed construction of new buildings at federal plants, including new office structures at ORNL and Y-12, the general thought has been that high-security facilities should be owned directly by the government and funded the old-fashioned way — through Congress. Congressman Wamp, however, seemed to challenge that line of thinking when he was in Oak Ridge recently for dedication ceremonies at Y-12. He said some innovative concepts may be needed for expensive new facilities, including the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 — a proposed $2 billion facility that would replace the plant’s main production center. He would not rule out the possibility of private financing for the Uranium Processing Facility, noting that at one time, officials scoffed at the idea of using private money to help modernize ORNL. Wamp said: “Do you have to have everything with government ownership? Do you have to do everything with appropriated dollars? This innovation has got to be considered across the board.” Bechtel Jacobs Co., DOE’s cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, earlier this year took over operation of the toxic-waste incinerator from Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, which had done the work for seven years. Apparently as a result of that move, Bechtel Jacobs now is seeking a couple of subcontractors to support the operations. One subcontract would be for repair services on the incinerator’s refractory, and the other would be for stack monitoring and sampling at the site. The incinerator burns so-called mixed wastes, which contain both radioactive elements and hazardous chemicals — such as polychlorinated biphenyls. Interestingly, on its Web site, Bechtel Jacobs lists the “duration” of the subcontract work as being four years, even though the DOE has stated that it plans to shut down the Oak Ridge incinerator at the end of fiscal 2009. Dennis Hill of Bechtel Jacobs said the performance period for the subcontracts would be through September 2009, but he said there are two one-year options for contract extensions “just in case” DOE decides to keep the incinerator running. It’s worth noting that DOE previously has extended the incinerator’s lifetime on a couple of occasions. Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy and its contractors in Oak Ridge. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 47 NAS: Project: Development and Implementation of a Cleanup Technology Roadmap for DOE's Office of Environmental Management Project Title: PIN: NRSB-O-06-03-A Major Unit: Division on Earth and Life Studies Sub Unit: Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board RSO: Crowley, Kevin Subject/Focus Area: Environmental Issue Project Scope A National Academies committee will provide technical and strategic advice to the DOE-EM's Office of Engineering and Technology to support the development and implementation of its cleanup technology roadmap. Specifically, the study will identify: o Principal science and technology gaps and their priorities for the cleanup program based on previous National Academies reports, updated and extended to reflect current site conditions and EM priorities and input form key external groups, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Environmental Protection Agency, and state regulatory agencies. o Strategic opportunities to leverage research and development from other DOE programs (e.g., in the Office of Science, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and the National Nuclear Security Administration), other federal agencies (e.g., Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency), universities, and the private sector. o Core capabilities at the national laboratories that will be needed to address EM's long-term, high-risk cleanup challenges, especially at the four laboratories located at the large DOE sites (Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Savannah River National Laboratory). o The infrastructure at these national laboratories and at EM sites that should be maintained to support research, development, and bench and pilot scale demonstrations of technologies for the EM cleanup program, especially in radiochemistry. The committee will provide findings and recommendations, as appropriate, to EM on maintenance of core capabilities and infrastructure at national laboratories and EM sites to address its long-term, high-risk cleanup challenges. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The approximate start date for the project is February 1, 2007. A report is expected to be released at the end of the project in approximately 16 months. Project Duration: 16 months Provide FEEDBACK on this project. Contact the Public Access Records Office to make an inquiry or to schedule an appointment to view project materials available to the public. Committee Membership Meetings Meeting 1 - 03/12/2007 Meeting 2 - 06/13/2007 Meeting 3 - 08/27/2007 Meeting 4 - 10/31/2007 Meeting 5 - 01/08/2008 Reports Reports having no URL can be seen at the Public Access Records Office Email: info@nas.edu ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************