***************************************************************** 08/21/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.196 ***************************************************************** 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 E-News: Failed Iran Policy, Nuclear Debate, and More 2 UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency Team Holds Talks In Iran 3 RIA Novosti: Russian envoy says talks on N. Korea helped strengthen 4 RIA Novosti: Russia dismantles nine Topol mobile systems under START NUCLEAR REACTORS 5 US: newsobserver.com: Nuclear license fight dropped 6 US: Platts: Poll finds most residents near reactors support nuclear 7 London Times: India's nuclear deal has growth at its core | 8 US: Energy Tribune: Nuclear Power and a Hydrogen Economy? 9 Daily Times: Nuclear assets in safe hands, will be protected - PM 10 US: Dallas Morning News: Survey questioned people who live close to 11 US: NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric 12 US: NRC: Energy Solutions; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking 13 US: Knoxville News Sentinel: TVA's Browns Ferry nuclear plant runnin 14 Prague Daily Monitor: Fuel removed from Temelin's 1st unit,will be b 15 Hemscott: Japan prepares emergency plan to meet power demand 16 Japan Times: Tepco puts off reactor halt to meet demand 17 The Hindu: Stand unchanged: Congress 18 US: TheDay.com: DEP Gets More Time For Millstone Decision 19 WSJ.com: Russia Floats Plan For Nuclear Plant Aboard a Boat - 20 US: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuclear negativity - 21 barrow in furness: Reed fights for cross-party nuclear support 22 Daily Yomiuri: N-plant checks must be rigorous to regain trust 23 US: The Free Press: Nuclear power: follow the money 24 Whitecourt Star: Energy Alberta makes land purchase for nuclear plan NUCLEAR SECURITY 25 The Hindu: Australia reaffirms insistence on safeguards NUCLEAR SAFETY 26 US: Honolulu Advertiser: Depleted uranium detected on Big Isle - 27 US: Rutland Herald: Fresh KI pills available in nuke evac zone 28 US: Star-Bulletin: Firm wins license for irradiator 29 US: DailyBulletin.com: Protest tonight over perchlorate delays 30 US: KPUA Hawaii News: Survey turns up depleted uranium in military t 31 US: starbulletin.com: Uranium traced to Army training in 1960s NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 32 US: Platts: Spot price of U308 uranium drops $15/lb to $90 - Ux Cons 33 US: JiJi Press: Toshiba to Get Stake in Kazakh Uranium 34 US: Energy Business Review: Toshiba to participate in Kazakh uranium 35 US: Daily News Journal: Allied Waste to end radioactive dumping 36 US: Boston Globe: Yankee plant closed but its waste remains 37 Comment is free: Waste not, want not 38 US: Aiken Today: Public to speak out about MOX 39 Las Vegas SUN: Money vs. message on Yucca PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 40 The Enquirer: Fernald secrets now in the open 41 Guardian Unlimited: Tenn. Nuclear Fuel Problems Kept Secret 42 Knoxville News Sentinel: Despite spill, Y-12 process working 43 Oak Ridger: Demolition of shuttered uranium building pushed to 2010 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 E-News: Failed Iran Policy, Nuclear Debate, and More Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:14:44 -0500 (CDT) **E-News: Failed Iran Policy, Nuclear Debates, and More** *Iran: U.S. Policy Has Failed, So Why Are We Still Pursuing that Policy?* The U.S. campaign to force Iran to halt uranium enrichment through threats and sanctions has produced no results and, arguably, has made things worse. Now, we at FCNL are increasingly worried that the confrontation between our two countries could get out of control and erupt into deadly violence, even if the worst intended is coersion. *From the Quakers' Colonel: Iraq Security* Senators John Warner (VA) and Carl Levin (MI) are among those making trips to Iraq during the August Congressional recess. Col. Dan Smith (USA, Ret.) observes that members of Congress and academics returning from visits to Iraq don't seem to acknowledge the perspective of ordinary Iraqis and ordinary U.S. soldiers: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/KHTZHNPMZX/1364674276. *Nuclear Weapons: Candidates Debate Nuclear Policy* The Democratic candidates for president clashed over whether or not they would use nuclear weapons against other countries in last Sunday's Democratic Party debate. Read what the candidates had to say: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/ERZYHNPMZY/1364674276. FCNL is currently compiling the major candidates' statements on the issues of Iraq, Iran, and nuclear weapons. *FCNL in the News: Christian Science Monitor Letter on Responsible Nuclear Policies* In this August 13 letter to the editor, Danny Hosein, a Scoville Fellow working in FCNL's Quaker Nuclear Disarmament Program, suggests that the U.S. would greatly help delegitimize nuclear weapons by renouncing intentions to develop new ones. Read the letter: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/NNRWHNPNAA/1364674276. Find tips for writing letters to the editor on FCNL's website: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/LGMSHNPNAB/1364674276> and send a letter of your own < http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/MMYDHNPNAC/1364674276/. *Native American Issues: Bridges in Indian Country Could Be At Risk* The bridge collapse in Minnesota this month calls new attention to transportation infrastructure problems in the U.S. The roads in Indian Country are some of the most dangerous and structurally deficient in the country, and we at FCNL believe improvements are needed for reasons of safety, equity, and transformation of isolated communities. Read more: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/IAMHHNPNAD/1364674276. *From the Hill: Bread on the Table for Hungry People* When members of Congress return in September, they will continue to decide what changes to make to food stamps and other programs that assist people in the U.S. who need help in buying enough groceries to feed themselves and their families. Find out what Congress has done so far and how you can encourage them to help hungry people: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/CJFEHNPNAE/1364674276. *From FCNL: We're Taking a Break* The FCNL office will be closed next week, August 27-31. We'll be back on Tuesday, September 4, after the Labor Day holiday. Enjoy the end of your summer! *War is Not the Answer Photo of the Week* Image: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/JZZYHNPNAF/1364674276 A War is Not the Answer sign outside of the Western Yearly Meeting offices on U.S. Route 40 in Plainfield, Indiana _______________________________________ The Next Step for Iraq: Join FCNL's Iraq Campaign, http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/LFRDHNPNAG/1364674276 Congress and the Administration: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/CEEDHNPNAI/1364674276 FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign bumper stickers and yard signs: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/BKMSHNPNAJ/1364674276/ http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/NLFEHNPNAK/1364674276 to FCNL: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/LMOVHNPNAL/1364674276 or update your information to this list: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/KIRKHNPNAM/1364674276/. To unsubscribe from this list, please see the end of this message.Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/LOEMHNPNAN/1364674276. ________________________________________ Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 fcnl@fcnl.org * http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/OJUFHNPLZD/JGLRHNPNAO/1364674276 phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330We seek a world free of war and the threat of war We seek a society with equity and justice for all We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled We seek an earth restored. --- If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please visit http://capwiz.com/fconl/lmx/u/?jobid=89382049&queueid=1364674276. ***************************************************************** 2 UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency Team Holds Talks In Iran Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:00:23 -0400 New York, Aug 21 2007 3:00PM Experts from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Iran to hold talks as part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to the country’s past nuclear programme and to clarify safeguards implementation issues. The results of the visit – led by <"http://www.iaea.org/index.html">IAEA Deputy Director General for Safeguards Olli Heinonen – will be reflected in the Director General Mohamed ElBaradei’s next report to the agency’s board at the end of the month. This visit, which was announced in late July, comes on the heels of another trip by IAEA inspectors earlier this month to the Arak reactor. Iran’s nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern ever since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the NPT. In December, 2006, the Security Council adopted a resolution banning trade with Iran in all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to the country's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It tightened the measures in March, banning arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets. 2007-08-21 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 3 RIA Novosti: Russian envoy says talks on N. Korea helped strengthen trust 15:14 | 21/ 08/ 2007 MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - Six-nation working group talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament, concluded in Moscow Tuesday, provided a valuable forum for improving mutual trust, a Russian diplomat said. The working group on peace and security in Northeast Asia's two-day talks were chaired by Russia and attended by delegations from the other five nations involved in negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue - South and North Korea, China, the United States, and Japan. "Our aim was to listen to each other and enhance mutual trust. I believe a better understanding has been achieved," said Ambassador at Large Vladimir Rakhmanin, representing Russia at the talks. Five working groups operate as part of six-nation talks on the North's denuclearization. International efforts seeking a nuclear-free Korean Peninsular, stepped up after the North conducted nuclear tests last October, produced a breakthrough February when Pyongyang agreed to gradually close its nuclear facilities in exchange for economic aid and other concessions. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 4 RIA Novosti: Russia dismantles nine Topol mobile systems under START-1 treaty 12:08 | 21/ 08/ 2007 MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia dismantled nine outdated Topol mobile missile systems in August under a major international treaty on strategic arms reductions, the Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement Tuesday. "It is the third dismantling operation this year," the statement said. "In March and May we scrapped a total of 18 Topol systems whose service term has expired." The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-I) was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union July 31, 1991, five months before the union collapsed, and remains in force between the U.S., Russia, and three other ex-Soviet states. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have since disposed of all their nuclear weapons or transferred them to Russia, and the U.S. and Russia have reduced the number of delivery vehicles to 1,600, with no more than 6,000 warheads. The treaty is set to expire December 5, 2009. Topol (SS-25 Sikle) is a single-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) approximately the same size and shape as the U.S. Minuteman ICBM. The first Topol missiles became operational in 1985 and at the time of the signing of the START I Treaty the Soviet Union had deployed some 290 Topol ICBMs. As the service life of the SS-25 is about 10 to 15 years, the missile will be progressively retired over the next decade. It is being replaced by a mobile version of the Topol-M (SS-27) missile. The Strategic Missile Forces press service said 16 mobile Topol ICBMs were dismantled in 2006 under close monitoring by U.S. inspectors. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 5 newsobserver.com: Nuclear license fight dropped Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Extension likely for Shearon Harris John Murawski, Staff Writer Two anti-nuclear groups have given up their legal opposition to Progress Energy's bid to add 20 years to the operating license of the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County. The groups' decision to bow out all but assures that Progress Energy will succeed in extending the nuclear plant's license through 2046. The opposition groups -- Durham's N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Maryland -- effectively gave up by missing a filing deadline last week. The group concluded that the fight against Raleigh-based Progress Energy was not only costly but ultimately futile. Intensifying the legal battle could have cost as much as $200,000, said NC WARN's director, Jim Warren. NC WARN, a grass-roots organization with three full-time employees, was footing the legal bill and had already spent $10,000 since last fall. "The process is so rigged," Warren said. "We really could not justify pouring hours and resources into that rat hole." Earlier this month, a panel of federal administrative law judges rejected arguments by both groups that the Shearon Harris license extension hearings should be opened to review broader safety concerns. The two groups wanted the panel, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, to review the plant's fire safety standards and its readiness against air attack, as well as the adequacy of the region's emergency evacuation plan. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a panel that reviews licensing applications for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, agreed with NRC lawyers and with Progress Energy that, by law, license extension proceedings are limited to reviewing a nuclear plant's safety components and environmental impacts. The federal government has approved license extensions for 48 nuclear reactors since 2000, when the first reactor came up for review. Reactors are originally licensed for 40 years and eligible to apply for 20-year extensions. Progress Energy has been operating the plant for 20 years. Company spokesman Rick Kimble said that without organized opposition, the license extension proceedings are still rigorous, albeit speedier. "It definitely saves time," Kimble said. "It's obviously good for the process from our standpoint, but it's not a done deal." Had NC WARN prevailed in litigating the license extension, the proceedings would have taken about 30 months instead of the standard 22 months. As part of the proceedings, the NRC will conduct its on-site inspection of the nuclear plant and issue a safety evaluation report. Later this year, the NRC expects to issue a draft environmental impact statement and hold a public meeting. The NRC's final decision wouldn't come before December 2008. Staff writer John Murawski can be reached at 829-8932 or john.murawski@newsobserver.com. Jim Warren of NC WARN cites cost of fighting Progress Energy. © Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 6 Platts: Poll finds most residents near reactors support nuclear power 2007-08-20 Washington (Platts)--20Aug2007 Eighty-two percent of 1,152 people polled who live near US power reactors support nuclear power, and 71% say the construction of a new unit near them would be acceptable if it's needed to supply electricity, according to a public opinion poll the Nuclear Energy Institute released August 20. The survey, which was done by Bisconti Research Inc. and Quest Global Research Group, only polled residents living within 10 miles of an operating power reactor who were not electric company employees. NEI commissioned the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Near areas actually being considered for new reactors, 77% of respondents said they would find a new a reactor acceptable, according to Ann Bisconti, president of Bisconti Research and a former NEI vice president. In response to the poll, Public Citizen spokeswoman Michele Boyd said support for nuclear energy in communities near existing power reactors is linked more to tax revenue and other benefits than to the type of fuel used to generate electricity. There generally is support for nuclear power near reactor sites, but that's prompted mainly by the plant's monetary benefits to the community, she said. Public Citizen opposes nuclear power. Post this story to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 7 London Times: India's nuclear deal has growth at its core | Bronwen Maddox Whatever they say, size always matters August 22, 2007 The storm over India’s new nuclear pact with the US, which now threatens to bring down the Indian Government, illustrates the only good thing about the deal – it is an antidote to anti-Western reflexes in the country that still run deep. Other than that, the deal is a worry, for all the reasons that the US Congress has asserted: it is an extravagant breach of the spirit of non-proliferation treaties, showering the benefits of US nuclear help on India even though it acquired nuclear weapons. But the row is a reminder that Indian stability and prosperity are surprisingly fragile, given the country’s remarkable growth. If the resolution manages to silence the intense nationalist voices, who put a fantasy of independence ahead of the pursuit of growth, then a bad deal will have had one good result. The Communists say that the deal hurts Indian sovereignty and could make it beholden to the US. But Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, argues that the deal ends three decades of isolation for India, because of its acquisition of nuclear weapons, which prevented it gaining help for the nuclear power stations that it needs to support its growth. The trigger for this week’s uproar has been a comment from Ronen Sen, the Indian Ambassador to the US, in which he appeared to call communists in parliament “headless chickens”; he said later that they should not be offended as the remark referred only to journalists. The row is important, not only because it jeopardises the deal (and it probably does not do so fatally). If it pulled down the Government, it would choke off reforms needed to maintain growth at the current rate of more than 7 per cent a year. Singh, widely described as one of the architects of India’s economic modernisation, is a champion of those reforms, intended to curb the budget deficit and spread access to good jobs beyond the English-speaking middle class. Neither Congress nor communists want an election this year, but the turmoil may still force one before the Government’s term ends in May 2009. It was never a strong coalition, born out of the mutual desire to keep the Hindu-nationalist BJP out of power. But both would be foolish to campaign on the nuclear issue, which has not touched a national chord. It arouses none of the passions of parallel nuclear questions in Pakistan or Iran, for example. © Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. ***************************************************************** 8 Energy Tribune: Nuclear Power and a Hydrogen Economy? Posted on Aug. 21, 2007 By Phillip B. West Back in 2003, George W. Bush proposed the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, a multi-billion dollar federal effort to make hydrogen into a competitive fuel and create a hydrogen-fueled car, both by 2020. Among the initiative’s elements is an effort to produce hydrogen by using nuclear reactors. But amid all the hype about hydrogen, today’s nuclear power technology has been overlooked, although it is proven and ready to provide much of our energy needs, with or without hydrogen. Many consider hydrogen to be the ultimate in ecologically friendly fuels: “It reacts cleanly with oxygen to become water with energy, and it’s everywhere. If only we had a good affordable fuel cell.” Yes, hydrogen is everywhere, but it is everywhere as compounds. The compounds must be broken. To do this, as per the first and second laws of thermodynamics, more energy must go into the compounds than can be gotten out of the product. That hydrogen can be converted from water using electricity doesn’t change the fact that it is a bad trade. Using fuel cells to drive electric cars is the most efficient way of getting energy from hydrogen to a motor. But this option is very expensive. We could affordably start driving our cars on hydrogen right now – it burns great in gasoline engines, just not quite as well as in a fuel cell. The hold-up is not the fuel cell, it’s generation cost and storage. From the storage perspective, battery-driven automobiles actually look better than hydrogen, but we are not seeing many of them either, because neither can compete with petroleum at today’s prices. Gasoline, diesel, and to a far lesser degree, natural gas, rule the road because they are still the easiest energy. Petroleum will have to become very scarce before you can’t get more out of it than you put into it. What else can we dream of that is so energy dense and available? And while we are dreaming, what if this energy did not emit combustion products like CO2 or pollutants? With nuclear power we meet that dream. Petroleum cannot even compare with nuclear in energy density and cleanliness. Unfortunately, the fear-mongering regarding nuclear is only exceeded by that for global warming. I am not disregarding safety, but there is an inherent hazard in all energetic things – so we mitigate the hazards and accept them, and nuclear should be no different. The cost of safely derived nuclear electricity is similar to that of other sources, because it needs only to be competitive. Because of its intense energy density and real affordability, nuclear power should be used everywhere, but it is not, because nuclear reactors cannot be made small. Nuclear reactors are large in both power and size, and are capable of taking on our greatest demands, except for the small, but many, burdens of automobiles and trucks. To extend nuclear to automobiles, we can generate electricity to charge batteries or generate hydrogen. These activities have failed to compete with petroleum at yesterday’s prices, but if we can make our reactor power cheaper and our hydrogen generation affordable, perhaps we can maintain our petroleum-based prosperity. If not, we can still look environmentally progressive by reducing CO2 emissions, without the utter destruction of our economy. Increasing process temperature can increase efficiency of hydrogen generation, and nuclear fission can run hot without generation efficiency loss, so to eek out small efficiency gains on hydrogen generation, new very high temperature, high pressure reactor designs are being considered. Costly developments and high operating costs will be required to use these extreme condition reactors (if it is even possible). So what have we gained? Considering future petroleum prices, we only need today’s nuclear technology to compete. Today’s answer is moderate-temperature nuclear power plants, charging affordable, current-generation batteries in hybrid electric cars or battery-only machines to supplement petroleum. Tomorrow’s answer will likely be systems that generate hydrogen, through moderate temperature electrolysis that could be powered by today’s reactors, to use as feedstock for creating synthetic fuel. Someday in the future, hydrogen may become a primary fuel medium. In the meantime, we should be building as many reactors as we can afford. Phillip B. West is an Idaho Falls, Idaho-based engineer who studies energy issues. ©2006 Energy Tribune - All Rights Reserved - Web Design 4guys Interactive Inc ***************************************************************** 9 Daily Times: Nuclear assets in safe hands, will be protected - PM Leading News Resource of Pakistan Tuesday, August 21, 2007 LAHORE: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the country’s nuclear assets are in safe hands and nobody should even think of casting an evil eye on them. “Pakistan has effective command and control systems and we know how to defend our nuclear assets. Ensuring the security, integrity and sovereignty of the country is the top priority of the government, and we have categorically stated a number of times that Pakistan’s nuclear assets are in safe hands and we are determined to ensure their protection at every cost,” the prime minister said while talking to newspaper editors, columnists and senior journalists at Governor’s House here on Monday evening. Similarly, Aziz said nobody would be allowed to violate the country’s territorial integrity. “We are facing the terrorism and extremism challenge in some parts of NWFP and the tribal areas, and are pursuing a comprehensive plan to root out these menaces, but no other country can be allowed to send its forces or violate our space to fight militancy.” Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies are fully capable of tackling the situation and fighting the elements involved in terrorism and extremism, he added. The prime minister said the strategy adopted to fight terrorism has started yielding results. He said the elements involved in the violent acts that occurred following the Lal Masjid operation have been identified and some have been rounded up. The elements involved in the Islamabad incidents had links with those operating in NWFP and the tribal areas, he added. Responding to a question on people reported to have gone missing during the Lal Masjid operation, the prime minister said 58 complaints were received in this regard. Thirty-three of these people have been identified through DNA matching and the others will also be traced, he said. Commenting on the political situation in the country, Aziz said: “We want to re-elect President Pervez Musharraf as it would ensure continuity of the policies which, during the last eight years have not only helped in pulling the country back from the brink of economic disaster but have made it one of the most vibrant economies of the world.” The president has international stature and his presence will not only enhance the country’s prestige among the comity of nations but will also prove vital in attracting foreign investment, he added. The presidential election will be followed by general elections, which will be held in a free, fair and transparent manner under an interim—not caretaker—government, said Aziz. The prime minister said the country has made rapid progress in all sectors due to prudent economic policies. The economy is now robust and has the capacity to absorb shocks, he added. He said the major financial crises that affected a number of countries recently, including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, have not impacted Pakistan’s economy as it is designed to bear such shocks. The prime minister said effective steps by the government had also helped check inflation. Comparing the rates of different items, including sugar, ghee, pulses and petroleum products, would demonstrate they are comparatively lower in Pakistan when compared to other countries in the region. Responding to a question on the possibility of ex-premiers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto returning to the country, Aziz said Sharif has filed a petition in the Supreme Court and as the matter is sub judice he could not comment. However, as far as the agreement between Sharif and the government is concerned, it states in black and white that he cannot come back before completing a 10-year term abroad, he said. As for Bhutto, he said there were cases against her and if she opted to come back to the country, the law would take its course. Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Commander Khalil ur Rehman and Punjab Information Secretary Ashfaq Gondal were present on the occasion. app Daily Times - All Rights Reserved Site developed and hosted by WorldCALL Internet Solutions ***************************************************************** 10 Dallas Morning News: Survey questioned people who live close to existing facilities NUCLEAR ENERGY 12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News esouder@dallasnews.com Support for new nuclear power plants deteriorated slightly during the past two years among people living close to existing reactors, according to a survey by the Nuclear Energy Institute. The institute, an industry support group that includes several Texas nuclear power developers among its members, said Monday that 82 percent of people living near nuclear power plants favor nuclear energy, and 71 percent are willing to see a new reactor in the neighborhood. That compares with a survey in 2005 showing 83 percent favored nuclear power, and 76 percent were willing to see a new reactor built nearby. Since the 2005 survey, nuclear power companies have announced plans to build nearly two dozen more reactors across the U.S. Four companies have said they're considering building six reactors in Texas, with some at existing plant sites and some at new locations. Many U.S. power companies are turning to nuclear power again after a decade-plus hiatus to satisfy growing demand for pollution-free electricity. The government is streamlining the licensing process and offering loan guarantees to kick-start the industry. The X factor is whether Americans will protest new nukes in their back yards. Industry insiders say they feel comfortable that people living near existing facilities won't mind expansion, but there's no telling how people unaccustomed to living near nuclear plants might react. The Nuclear Energy Institute surveyed 1,152 randomly selected people living within 10 miles of operating reactors, comprised of 18 people close to each of the country's 64 nuclear plants. © 2007, The Dallas Morning News, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2; Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-68 and NPF-81 for an Additional 20-Year Period FR Doc E7-16467 [Federal Register: August 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 161)] [Notices] [Page 46680-46682] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr21au07-110] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is considering an application for the renewal of operating licenses NPF-68 and NPF-81, which authorizes Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC), to operate the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 1 and 2, at 3565 and 3565 megawatts thermal, respectively. Renewal of the licenses would authorize the applicant to operate VEGP, Unit 1 for an additional 20-year period beyond the period specified in the current operating license. For VEGP, Unit 2, the renewed license would authorize the applicant to operate for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in the current operating license or 40 years from the date of issuance of the new license, whichever occurs first. The current operating license for VEGP, Unit 1, (NPF-68), expires on January 16, 2027. VEGP, Unit 1 is a Pressurized Water Reactor designed by Westinghouse. The current operating license for VEGP, Unit 2, (NPF- 81), expires on February 9, 2029. VEGP, Unit 2, is a Pressurized Water Reactor designed by Westinghouse. Both units are located near Waynesboro, Georgia. On June 29, 2007, the Commission's staff received an application from SNC, to renew operating licenses NPF-68 and NPF-81, pursuant to Title 10, Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,'' of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 54). A notice of receipt and availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2007 (72 FR 43296). The Commission's staff has reviewed the LRA for its acceptability and has determined that SNC has submitted sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, and 51.53(c), and that the application is acceptable for docketing. The [[Page 46681]] Commission will retain the current Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425, for operating licenses NPF-68 and NPF-81. The docketing of the LRA does not preclude requests for additional information as the review proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will grant or deny the license. Before issuance of each requested renewed license, the NRC will have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. In accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, ``Standards for Issuance of a Renewed License,'' the NRC will issue a renewed license on the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified and have been or will be taken with respect to (1) managing the effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the functionality of structures and components that have been identified as requiring aging management review, and (2) time-limited aging analyses that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed license will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes made to the plant's CLB comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations. Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. Detailed information regarding this meeting will be the subject of a separate Federal Register notice. Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal Register notice, the requestor/petitioner may file a request for a hearing, and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene with respect to the renewal of the license. Interested parties must file requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene in accordance with 10 CFR Part 2, ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders.'' Those interested should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, ``Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, Requirements for Standing and Contentions,'' which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, and is accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room through the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to the Internet or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@nrc.gov. If a request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request and/or petition, and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. If no request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the NRC may, upon completion of its evaluations and upon making the findings required under 10 CFR Part 51 and 10 CFR Part 54, renew the license without further notice. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 54. The petition must specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to (1) the nature of the requestor/ petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding, (2) the nature and extent of the requestor/petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding, and (3) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding on the requestor/petitioner's interest. The petition must also set forth the specific contentions that the petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding. Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the requestor/petitioner shall briefly explain the bases of each contention and concisely state the alleged facts or the expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on which the requestor/ petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and supporting documents that are not publicly available because they are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information, petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a protective order. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate numeric or alphabetical designation within one of the following groups (1) technical (primarily related to safety concerns), (2) environmental, or (3) miscellaneous. As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same contention, the requestors/petitioners must jointly designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the requestors/ petitioners with respect to that contention. Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing. A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be filed by either (1) first class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, (3) e-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, hearingdocket@nrc.gov, or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff at 301-415-1101 [[Page 46682]] (verification number is 301-415-1966).\2\ Requestors/petitioners must send a copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; copies should be transmitted either by facsimile to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. Requestors/petitioners must also send a copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene to the attorney for the licensee, Mr. Stanford M. Blanton, Esquire, Balch & Bingham LLP, P. O. Box 306, Birmingham, Alabama 35201. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ If the request/petition is filed by e-mail or facsimile, an original and two copies of the document must be mailed within 2 (two) business days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Untimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition, request, and/or contentions should be granted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(a)(1)(i)-(viii). Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web site. Copies of the application to renew the operating license for VEGP, Units 1 and 2 are publicly available at the NRC's PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from ADAMS. The ADAMS Accession numbers for the LRA and the Environmental Report (ER) are ML071840360 and ML071840357, respectively. The public may also view the LRA and the ER on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, the LRA and the ER are available to the public near VEGP, Units 1 and 2, at the Burke County Library, 130 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Pao-Tsin Kuo, Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-16467 Filed 8-20-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 12 NRC: Energy Solutions; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking FR Doc E7-16476 [Federal Register: August 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 161)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 46569-46570] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr21au07-19] Proposed Rules Federal Register This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules. [[Page 46569]] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 50 [Docket No. PRM-50-88] AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking, dated May 29, 2007, filed by Thomas E. Magette of EnergySolutions. The petition was docketed by the NRC on June 6, 2007, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-88. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to provide a regulatory framework that would allow funds from licensees' decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of disposal of ``major radioactive components'' (MRCs) that have been removed from reactors prior to the permanent cessation of operations. DATES: Submit comments by November 5, 2007. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. Please include PRM-50-88 in the subject line of your comments. Comments on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available to the public in their entirety on the NRC rulemaking Web site. Personal information, such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc., will not be removed from your submission. Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If you do not receive a reply e- mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail cag@nrc.gov. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays (telephone (301) 415-1966). Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-1101. Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll Free: 800- 368-5642. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Petitioner The petitioner is EnergySolutions. EnergySolutions is a nuclear services firm that provides services to private and government organizations involved in nuclear activities. The petitioner states that it has broad experience and expertise with the NRC licensing process and the standards that apply to the regulation of nuclear facilities, the use of radioactive materials, the clean-up and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and the disposal of radioactive waste. Background The petitioner states that 10 CFR 50.2 defines decommissioning as not beginning until the site or facility ceases operations, and asserts that the definition implies that an entire facility must be removed from service before an activity can be considered as part of decommissioning. The petitioner also states that 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) allows withdrawals from decommissioning trust funds for decommissioning expenses only, and further limits withdrawals for planning activities prior to the submittal of the post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) following cessation of operations. According to the petitioner, the disposal costs for MRCs that have been removed from service but are awaiting disposal while the facility is still in service are not covered by decommissioning trust funds. The petitioner states that most licensees, rather than use limited operating funds, defer the disposal of MRCs until the time of decommissioning, when they can use their trust funds to remove and dispose of the MRCs in order to achieve the radiation dose limits specified in Subpart E to 10 CFR Part 20. The petitioner asserts that this disposal may not take place for decades, giving rise to adverse environmental impacts if not properly managed. The Proposed Amendments The petitioner requests that NRC amend its regulations at 10 CFR 50.82, ``Termination of License,'' to provide a process that would permit a licensee, in advance of permanently ceasing operation at a site, to facilitate the decommissioning process by allowing decommissioning trust funds to be used for disposal of removed MRCs. (Note: The petitioner is not requesting that [[Page 46570]] NRC amend its regulations to allow the use of decommissioning trust funds to cover the costs of removing the MRCs from the reactor.) Specifically, the petitioner is requesting that 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iii) through (a)(8)(iv) be redesignated as 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iv) through (a)(8)(v), and that a new 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iii) be added. The petitioner proposes the new language read as follows: (iii) Notwithstanding the limitations of Sec. Sec. 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 8(ii), a licensee may use decommissioning trust funds to dispose of major radioactive components that have been removed from the reactor provided: A. The licensee has submitted to the NRC with a copy to the Federal or State government agency (e.g., Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and State Public Utility Commissions), if any, which has rate regulation oversight responsibility for the licensee's decommissioning trust fund: (1) A request to allow it to withdraw a specified amount from its decommissioning trust fund for the purpose of disposing of specific major radioactive component(s); (2) A site-specific decommissioning cost estimate that includes the disposal costs for major components stored on site; and (3) An analysis demonstrating that if the licensee withdraws funds for the costs of disposing of the particular component(s) from the decommissioning trust fund, the remaining funds in the licensee's decommissioning trust fund are sufficient to meet the provisions of Sec. Sec. 50.82(a)(8)(i)(B) and (C); and B. The NRC has concluded that there is reasonable assurance that the provisions of Sec. Sec. 50.82(a)(8)(B) and (C) will be met if the licensee withdraws the funds requested under Sec. 50.82(a)(8)(iii)(A)(1). The petitioner's asserted justifications for this amendment include: (1) Reducing the radioactive source term associated with the contaminated components at reactor sites; (2) Exposing site workers to less radiation; (3) Eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens by avoiding the costs associated with both maintaining the components on-site and providing protection to workers as a result of maintaining those components; (4) Reducing the overall costs to decommission sites; and (5) Ensuring that more funds are available to decommission reactors at the time the reactors cease operation. Conclusion The petitioner concludes that it is in the public interest to provide a regulatory framework to allow funds from licensees' decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of disposal of MRCs that have been removed from reactors prior to the permanent cessation of operations. Accordingly, the petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations as described previously in the section titled, ``The Proposed Amendments.'' Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. E7-16476 Filed 8-20-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 13 Knoxville News Sentinel: TVA's Browns Ferry nuclear plant running again By Andrew Eder (Contact) Originally published 11:51 a.m., August 21, 2007 Updated 11:51 a.m., August 21, 2007 TVA has returned an Alabama nuclear reactor to service after shutting it down last week to avoid heating the Tennessee River to unsafe levels. The Unit 2 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant was brought back online Monday and was at 92 percent power this morning, said TVA spokesman John Moulton. He said the plan was to hold the reactor at 95 percent power. TVA’s three nuclear plants draw in large amounts of Tennessee River water to cool the plants before releasing the heated water back into the river. Each plant has a permit that includes limits on the temperature of the water discharged into the river, a safeguard for aquatic wildlife. The federal utility shut down Browns Ferry 2 on Thursday after the discharged water threatened to top the 90-degree limit. It was the first time TVA was forced to shut down a nuclear generator because of water temperatures. The water temperature issues come as a heat wave is driving air conditioners to work overtime to cool homes and businesses in TVA’s service area. In the last two weeks, TVA has seen the nine highest peak demands for power in its history, Moulton said. Thursday’s shutdown of Unit 2 at the northern Alabama plant was driven by the combination of the heat wave and the persistent drought, which has limited the amount of cool water flowing downstream from the Tennessee River’s tributaries. Moulton said that since late July, TVA has intermittently reduced the power output of several of its coal plants to stay within temperature limits on both the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. He said river temperatures near Browns Ferry have moderated since the Unit 2 shutdown. “We’ll continue to monitor the river temperatures to make sure we stay within the limits,” Moulton said. “We don’t anticipate having to take any of the nuclear units offline.” Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 14 Prague Daily Monitor: Fuel removed from Temelin's 1st unit,will be back at week's turn By CTK / Published 21 August 2007 Temelin, Aug 20 (CTK) - The staff at nuclear power plant Temelin removed the last out of the 163 fuel assemblies from the plant's shut down first unit this morning, Vaclav Brom, the spokesman of the Skupina CEZ group, told CTK. In the coming days, technicians will complete the check of the fuel assemblies as well as of equipment in the room where the reactor is located. The work is to be completed at the turn of the week when fuel assemblies will start to be put back, Brom said. The technicians will place 49 cartridges with new and improved fuel in the reactor. They will be added to the assemblies from previous campaigns. The fuel replacement was provoked by problems with the original fuel assemblies which got deformed more than expected. The first unit will start to generate power again in October. Early in 2007, technicians placed a quarter of upgraded cartridges in the first unit's reactor. In June, they replaced the same amount of fuel also in the second unit. One unit in Temelin has 163 fuel cartridges containing 92 tonnes of fuel in total. The plant uses uranium dioxide as fuel with an average 4.25 percent of enriched uranium. Technicians are also replacing part of the first unit's turbine rotor because of problems with turbine vibration. The power plant removed the problem last year but CEZ has decided to innovate part of the equipment. "The original part has been removed and we are preparing to instal a new rotor," Brom added. The technicians already made the same replacement in the plant's second unit this year. Temelin's output should grow by at least 26 megawatt hours to 1,020 megawatt hours after the rotor replacements which will cost around Kc700m. This story is from the Czech News Agency (CTK). The Prague Daily Monitor and Monitor CE are not responsible for its content. Copyright 2007 by the Czech News Agency (CTK). All rights reserved. copyright 2007 monitor ce media services s.r.o. | all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 15 Hemscott: Japan prepares emergency plan to meet power demand TOKYO (ThomsonFinancial) - Japan's largest power company said Tuesday it is preparing to take emergency measures to address an imminent power shortage due to the suspension of a giant nuclear plant following an earthquake. Temperatures last week hit a record high in Japan. Demand is soaring this week as factories and offices resume operation following summer holidays, adding to the burden caused by air conditioning. Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO), the world's largest private power company, said it was ready to revive a hydraulic power plant in western Tokyo under an emergency plan written in contracts with big corporate customers. 'We pumped water into the hydraulic plant overnight so that it can be operated immediately if demand goes up beyond our usual energy supply capacity,' said TEPCO spokesman Shigeru Kodaira. If it invokes the emergency plan, TEPCO can also ask major customers to curb the use of electricity in return for lower bills. An earthquake last month shut down the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest nuclear facility which supplies 10 percent of TEPCO's electricity. The plant northwest of Tokyo is due to be offline for months pending safety checks. At least 60 people, most of them elderly, have died this summer due to the heat wave, according to media tallies. TEPCO says sustained temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) are the highest at which it can provide sufficient electricity. 'We are not allowed to be optimistic as demand depends on the weather conditions,' Kodaira said. The temperature in Tokyo went as high as 34.2 degrees (93.6 Fahrenheit) Tuesday and rose to 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) in suburban Saitama prefecture. On Thursday last week, the mercury shot up to 40.9 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) in two towns, the highest temperatures ever recorded in Japan. afp/cl Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. ***************************************************************** 16 Japan Times: Tepco puts off reactor halt to meet demand japantimes.co.jp Web Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 Compiled from Bloomberg, Kyodo Tokyo Electric Power Co. delayed shutting down a nuclear reactor at its Fukushima No. 1 power station Monday to meet surging power demand as the heat wave continued to hang over the country. The unit, at Tepco's facility in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, will be idled for maintenance until Dec. 19. With Monday's postponement, Tepco has delayed maintenance on the No. 3 reactor twice. It originally planned to close the reactor at the end of July. The government has ordered the utility to check the reactor as punishment for years of safety lapses at the plant. It got government permission for Monday's postponement. Tepco is trying to boost power capacity after the magnitude-6.8 earthquake last month damaged and led to the shutdown of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, the world's biggest in terms of output capacity. Tepco has also been beefing up its annual summer campaign to ask the public to curb electricity use at home. The media drive this summer appears desperate due to the Kashiwazaki plant shutdown. Since Aug. 1, the utility has been heavily airing radio and TV commercials while distributing leaflets to homes in the Kanto region detailing steps to conserve electricity. Power demand is spiking now due to increased air conditioner use during the prolonged heat wave. The temperature climbed to 40.9 on Aug. 16 in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, the highest ever recorded in Japan, according to the Meteorological Agency. The lingering heat wave claimed several lives nationwide last week, even though the agency believes the intense heat has hit its peak. The Japan Times ***************************************************************** 17 The Hindu: Stand unchanged: Congress Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday said its position was “unchanged” on the issue of negotiating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of the India-U.S. nuclear agreement. The IAEA is holding its annual meeting in September, and India, being a member of the general council, will attend it. Talking to journalists, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi declined to comment on Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury’s observation that the Government “should not go ahead with negotiations on India-specific safeguards” at the IAEA meeting. On setting up a “mechanism” to discuss the Hyde Act, Mr. Singhvi said it was only speculation. There was no official word on it. The sections in the Act on which objections have been raised were “non-binding” in nature. He said the “guiding pole star” was national interest. The government had said it was willing to address all legitimate concerns of the Left. All options “of every conceivable kind” were open and the government was ready for intense interaction and genuine understanding of each other’s views. Mr. Singhvi said there were bound to be differences in a democracy. “There has been a collective decision in the UPA and it has involved not just the Congress but also several entities.” The party believes that exemplary transparency was shown by the government in the last two years with regard to the negotiations on the deal with the United States since July 2005. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 18 TheDay.com: DEP Gets More Time For Millstone Decision State gets 3 weeks to assess court ruling's impact on power plant permit By Patricia Daddona Published on 8/21/2007 The state Department of Environmental Protection will take three more weeks to review a landmark court case that could lead the agency to revise its proposed renewal of a water discharge permit for the Millstone nuclear complex in Waterford. A report was due Monday after two months of review, but a hearing officer has extended the deadline to Sept. 10 so the state agency can “assess complex issues involved and make a final determination on how to best proceed,” spokesman Dennis Schain said. The DEP is in the middle of a pending application for permit renewal, but is now trying to figure out if it should revise its proposed permit for the power plant, based on new information yielded in the court ruling, Riverkeeper v. Environmental Protection Agency. The federal ruling could alter the way 539 power plants, including nuclear reactors, avoid killing fish while cooling their energy producing systems. In the court case, decided in January, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the EPA to clarify or change its laws involving whether power plants must stop fish kills by using “the best technology available.” The step, depending on how it is implemented, could require an expensive technological overhaul at many plants, including Millstone. At Millstone, the reactors take in water from Long Island Sound to cool steam used to generate electricity. The water flows through a grate, which traps fish and other sea creatures alive and returns them to the Sound by way of a vertical conveyor belt. The proposed permit, which DEP had tentatively approved, incorporates some new rules to reduce the death of winter flounder larvae, but it is unclear whether the DEP's new stricter requirements would be enough to comply with the new federal ruling. Dominion, the owner of Millstone, which has two operating reactors and one that is shut down, has been operating with emergency authorization of its permit after it expired in 1997. A public hearing is expected to follow DEP's decision on whether to revise its proposed permit. The Day Store | Shopping Cart | Exchange Privacy Policy | Contact Us at 1 (860) 442-2200 | New London, CT | © 1998-2007 The Day Publishing Co. 101 ***************************************************************** 19 WSJ.com: Russia Floats Plan For Nuclear Plant Aboard a Boat - By Tom Wright in Jakarta and Gregory L. White in Moscow In an industrial park in northern Jakarta, traders hawk electronics and pirated DVDs. From a steel-grated storefront here, Alexander Chilikov is trying to sell a floating nuclear power plant. "There's 100% no risk," says Mr. Chilikov, a 44-year-old former vodka salesman from Russia who says he spent six years in prison there. "If you have the information, you can't be against this." Last year, Russia began a broad drive to reinvigorate its nuclear industry. Among the initiatives: At a top-secret shipyard in the country's far north, Russia's state-run atomic energy company is overseeing construction on the first of what it ... • THE FULL WSJ.com ARTICLE IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS. ***************************************************************** 20 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuclear negativity - Tuesday, August 21, 2007 I was disappointed at the biased and negative coverage given nuclear power in Sunday's paper ("Nuke doubts still at the core," Aug. 19 and PghTrib.com). Almost all of the people cited as sources were left-wing environmentalists, the same people responsible for the current energy shortage. (Their hostility to drilling for domestic oil and building nuclear power plants has made us slaves to imports.) The Trib's article exaggerated some people's fears about nuclear power without mentioning the many positives. For example, a nuclear facility can generate more power with a smaller footprint than coal generators or wind farms. The worst nuclear disaster in history, Chernobyl, killed only 50 people (under conditions that would never occur in the U.S.). The so-called "issues surrounding transport and long-term storage of radioactive material" have been studied and solved. Ever hear of Yucca Mountain? France has generated the majority of its electricity from nuclear facilities for decades. If a country that cannot even provide air conditioning to its elderly can run nuclear power plants safely, surely America can. Brad Tupi Upper St. Clair Tribune-Review Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 21 barrow in furness: Reed fights for cross-party nuclear support Published on 21/08/2007 COPELAND MP Jamie Reed is preparing to woo the Tories over nuclear power — hours after a top Tory voiced his support for the industry’s future. Senior Conservative John Redwood had said he would detail his support for a new host of nuclear power plants as he unveiled his economy policy review. But the admission is not official Conservative policy and Mr Reed believes now is the time to once again push for cross-party consensus. The Labour MP said: “I will be contacting David Cameron and party members to make sure they change their anti-nuclear policy. I have been calling for Conservative support since Mr Cameron took over as leader. “I have said I would meet with him to discuss the benefits many times. I welcome the support in the report.” Mr Redwood’s report states: “We believe that, unless our existing nuclear power generating capacity is replaced with new nuclear stations, it is likely to be difficult to achieve the combined goals of secure electricity and sharply reducing carbon emissions in the future.” Mr Redwood said planning permission for new replacement nuclear stations should be granted in existing locations, like Sellafield. It was the strongest hint yet that Mr Cameron faces growing pressure to change his opinion of nuclear power “as a last resort.” Last month the leader twice refused to repeat his words, signalling a possible policy u-turn. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.nwemail.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 22 Daily Yomiuri: N-plant checks must be rigorous to regain trust Tokyo Electric Power Co. has started inspection of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which was hit hard by the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake last month. The inspection will determine the effects of the earthquake on the plant's reactors. A reactor is the core element of a nuclear power station. So it is important to know if there is any damage to the reactors that has not yet been discovered and if there is any part of them that requires repair work. The inspection must be carried out with utmost care to ensure no damage is overlooked. The Nuclear Safety Commission and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will have to judge the appropriateness of TEPCO's inspection procedures and the results of the checks. Making considered efforts to regain trust should ensure an early resumption of operations at the power plant. The devastating earthquake forced the shutdown of the four nuclear reactors that were operating at the power plant's when it hit. Three other reactors at the plant were not operation when the temblor struck due to regular periodical inspections. External inspections have so far found no damage that could undermine the safety of the reactors. The main purpose of the latest inspection is to confirm whether the reactors suffered internal damaged as a result of the severe tremors from the quake. === Inspectors must be candid The results of the inspection must be released quickly and in an easy-to-understand format. Immediately after the earthquake occurred, the government and the power company failed to act promptly to prevent fears about the plant spreading. Rumors about the plant quickly spread, causing financial damage to local businesses. The inspection should be used to alleviate concerns and misunderstandings about the safety of the power plant with regard to an earthquake. The inspection started at the No. 1 reactor, whose cover was open at the time of the earthquake due to a periodical inspection. A camera will be lowered into the reactor to check inside it. Because a crane used to lift the cover on the No. 6 reactor was rendered unusable by the quake, it is expected to take more than a year to complete checks on all seven reactors. The Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake was the strongest quake to hit a nuclear power plant in Japan. Therefore, inspections on the plant to ensure it is safe inevitably will take a long time. That the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant was hit by a massive earthquake cannot be dismissed as somebody else's business by any of the nation's nuclear power plants. Given that the scale of the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake was beyond the assumed maximum level, antiseismic capabilities of other nuclear power plants must be checked quickly. === Energy security at stake The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has instructed power companies to study other nuclear power plants to better understand what would happen to their plants if strong tremors, such as those that hit the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, hit their plants. Also, faultlines near other nuclear power plants will be studied. Such efforts to improve nuclear safety must be made methodically. What is at stake, with regard to the shut down of any power plant, is the stable supply of electricity, which effects the entire nation's energy security. Even since the end of the Bon summer holiday season last week, the sun has continued to scorch the nation. Electricity demand is increasing, mainly to run air conditioners. TEPCO, faced with the suspension of operations at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, is walking a tightrope, as it faces the possibility that power demand could exceed its supply capacity, especially if peak daily temperatures of 35 C or higher continue much longer. The power company has been calling on its customers to reduce their electricity use. Power users should try to cooperate with this request. Given the importance of nuclear power generation, measures to improve the safety of nuclear power plants to ensure they have adequate earthquake resistance must be studied. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 22, 2007) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 23 The Free Press: Nuclear power: follow the money by Bob Sheak August 21, 2007 The Bush administration’s energy policies from 2001 to the present have supported fossil fuels above all other energy sources, emphasizing the need to find new sources of petroleum, support new technologies for liquefied natural gas, and move forward with “clean” coal technologies. Over the course of Bush’s presidency, there is some mixed, but clearly secondary, support for renewable forms of energy and conservation/efficiency. In a speech on his energy proposals in January, 2007, President Bush seemed to break new ground.  But his calls for reduced U.S. gasoline usage and raising fuel-economy standards are far less than is needed to reduce our growing dependence on oil or stem the rise in greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. One of his featured proposals calls for an increase in the production of corn-based ethanol, but his estimates of the impact seem unrealistic. Steven Mufson, Washington Post correspondent, notes that industry experts say that it would take more than all of last year’s U.S. corn harvest to make enough ethanol to meet Bush’s target of replacing 15 percent of the projected annual gasoline consumption in 2017 (1-24-07). Amidst it all, the administration sees a significant role for the long stagnant nuclear power industry, and wants to see a doubling of the number of nuclear power plants over the next couple of decades. There are currently 103 nuclear plants across the country. Nuclear power is now responsible for 20% of electricity generation and 7% of the total energy produced in the U.S. If there is going to be a renaissance of nuclear power, it will require massive government subsidies and guarantees.  Russell D. Hoffman puts it this way:  “government contracts, government subsidies, government insurance, and tax breaks (Russell D. Hoffman, “16 Dirty Secrets About Nuclear Power,” Counter Punch, June 27, 2007). The documentation for Hoffman’s statements are readily available. According to Public Citizen’s website (2-5-07), the Bush administration 2008 budget proposes: $4 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear and coal plants, $802 million for nuclear power research and development, $114 million for the Nuclear Power 2010 program, which pays the nuclear industry for half the cost of applying for new reactors and licensing designs (more than $251 million has been appropriated for this program since FY 2001), $36.1 million for developing designs for the “next generation” of nuclear reactors (more than $200 million has been spent on this program since FY 2001), $405 million for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership to promote reprocessing of spent fuel rods, and $494.5 million for the proposed high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Helen Caldicott, physician and perhaps the world’s leading spokesperson for the antinuclear movement, identifies the problems of the government’s attempts to resurrect the nuclear industry in her book Nuclear Power is Not the Answer (publ. 2006). She documents her contention that nuclear power is not “clean and green.” She writes: “large amounts of traditional fossil fuels [and the carbon they emit] are required to mine and refine the uranium needed to run nuclear power reactors, to construct the massive concrete reactor buildings, and to transport and store the toxic radioactive waste created by the nuclear process” (viii). During the enrichment of uranium – the principal fuel for generating electricity from nuclear plants –  “the now banned chlorofloro-carbon gas”  emits both a greenhouse gas and “a potent destroyer of the ozone layer” (viii). Further, as the availability of uranium ore declines, “more fossil fuels will be required to extract the ore from less-concentrated veins.” Reprocessing spent radioactive fuel rods releases large amounts of radioactive material in the air and water. Government regulations allow nuclear plants to “routinely…emit hundreds of thousands of curies of radioactive gases and other radioactive elements into the environment every year.” Caldicott also draws our attention to other problematic aspects of nuclear power. It produces an enormous amount of nuclear waste. There are already thousands of tons of “solid radioactive waste” accumulating in the cooling pools beside the 103 operating nuclear plants in the U.S. (ix). Nuclear power, she notes, is “exorbitantly expensive and notoriously unreliable. Nuclear plants, with minimal security arrangements, are “obvious targets for terrorists, inviting assault by plane, truck bombs, armed attack, or covert intrusion into the reactor’s control room.” These plants are “essentially atomic bomb factors,” in that, for example,  just one “1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor manufactures 500 pounds of plutonium a year; normally ten pounds of plutonium is fuel for an atomic bomb” that could devastate a city. And, as more tax dollars are channeled to nuclear power, renewable energy is short changed (x). Despite the major problems associated with nuclear power, the Bush administration – and the Congress – has decided to spend tens of billions of taxpayer money on the expansion of nuclear power and to ignore the many problems associated with it. It is this fact that brings us to Piketon, Ohio, where since 1953 there are nuclear facilities that in the past produced components for nuclear bombs and more recently commercial power. The facilities located on 3,174 acres are extensively contaminated, contain an enormous quantity of nuclear waste, have polluted the surrounding environment and residents, and have shortened the lives of many workers while making additional thousands very sick. The Piketon nuclear facilities in Portsmouth, Ohio, are, by the way, only about 60 miles to the west – and up wind - of Athens. As the Bush administration tries to rejuvenate the nuclear power industry, economic and political interests in Portsmouth Ohio, the governor, and the majority of elected officials from the area around Piketon are trying to take advantage of the anticipated profitable opportunities and “economic development” that may flow from federal government-funded nuclear power projects. The problematic aspects of nuclear power are ignored or dismissed. You get a sense of what is in store for Piketon and surrounding communities from the projects that are already underway or well into a planning phase. Much of the following information comes from an outstanding series of articles that appeared in the Dayton Daily New.”(Lynn Hulsey and Tob Beyerlein, “Ohio’s Nuclear Legacy: Troubled past, uncertain future,” Dayton Daily News, a series published Nov. 12-14, 2006). First, there is construction to build a plant “to convert 20,000 cylinders of old enrichment waste…to a more benign chemical form.” The 14-ton cylinders contain “radioactive ‘depleted uranium hexafluoride so corrosive it could eventually eat through the metal and release toxic gas.” If the conversion plant opens in 2008 as planned, it “will take until 2026 to convert the existing backlog of cylinders.” In the meantime, other plans for Piketon will generate additional radioactive wastes. And, whether there are 20,000 cylinders of waste or 40,000, there is no place to which it can be transported. Second, the facilities are home to the Uranium Management Center, which stores 4,500 metric tons of radioactive metals, powders, and fuel pins, much of it from federal cleanup projects at the Feed Materials Production Center near Fernald, Ohio, and the Hanford weapons plant in Washington state. One Ohio EPA official described “shipping dangerous material between plants” as “a kind of shell game.” Officials connected to the center hope they can process and sell this stuff. But there are no buyers and, in the meantime, it is yet another source of radioactive waste at Piketon.  Third, plans by American Centrifuge for a new uranium enrichment plant have been accepted by the Department of Energy. The plan is to build a structure or structures that will house “12,000 machines towering 43 feet in the air” that will “separate uranium isotopes with centrifugal force, creating a power source that can be used for electricity – or bombs.” But, if the “engineering problems, delays and spiraling costs” can be managed, the enrichment plant “will generate tons and tons of radioactive waste – enough over 30 years to fill 41,000 cylinders weighting about 14 tons apiece, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. All of that waste – added to the 20,000 cylinders already piled up at the plant – would have to be converted to a more stable form before it can be hauled away” to a yet to be identified repository. Fourth, a group called the Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative (a for-profit enterprise) has received $674,000 from the DOE to submit a plan for building a reprocessing plant at Piketon. This plant would “remove plutonium from highly radioactive spent fuel rods for reuse in an advanced burner reactor.”The spent  rods would come from across the United States and perhaps overseas and would be stored at Piketon.” Local citizen groups in Portsmouth and surrounding communities fear that massive quantities of this radioactive waste will accumulate at the site, but that the reprocessing plant will never be built. Even if there is a reprocessing plant at some future time, reprocessing nuclear materials yields some nuclear waste as well as useable nuclear fuel for electricity generation or nuclear bombs. Two groups in the Piketon/Portsmouth area have been working to support an accelerated cleanup of the facilities, keep any additional nuclear wastes from being generated there or brought from outside, and to pressure the federal government to provide just compensation to workers who have been made sick by the contaminated conditions of the facilities or to families of deceased workers. You can contact them at the following addresses or phone numbers and learn how you can support their efforts. 1 ) Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS) –P.O. Box 136, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662, or Vina Colley, President, at  vcolley@earthlink.net, cell phone: 740-357-8916, or Joni Fearing, Vice President, at FearNot2624@aol.com, or 740-353-6536. 2) Southern Ohio Neighbors Group (SONG) – P.O. Box 161, Piketon, OH 45661, or at SHIPPSONG@aol.com, or 740-289-2549. The Columbus Free Press ***************************************************************** 24 Whitecourt Star: Energy Alberta makes land purchase for nuclear plant Whitecourt, AB Energy Alberta (EA) purchased land for their nuclear power plant project last week, but are still declining to reveal where they intend to build. Chandra Lye Star Staff Wednesday August 22, 2007 Energy Alberta's president Wayne Henuset (right) held an impromptu session for Whitecourt residents last Tuesday at the Forest Interpretive Centre. Gina Racine photo EA president, Wayne Henuset,, said that he had purchased land last week from a private owner. "There are other things that we need to do but we do have land as we speak now," he confirmed. "I won’t tell you where, but I will tell you I actually purchased it this week." Several local landowners were unavailable at the time of print but Rob Merrifield, Corrine Hands and Danielle Cortes, who all hold land in one of the likely areas, said they had not sold Henuset any of their land. James Robinson, who also owns land, said he had not yet been approached. The Mayors of both communities said they were still in the dark about EA’s plans. "He has informed us of where we stand," Whitecourt Mayor Trevor Thain said. "And where we stand right now is sort of in a dead heat with Peace River." "He’s a master of keeping his foot firmly planted in both camps," Peace River Mayor, Lorne Mann said. Mann said he felt the sooner the announcement was made the better. "The uncertainty and the defacto pinning one community against another community in a bid process . . . when there is only going to be one project has been interesting/disturbing. So sooner than later is better for both communities involved." Thain said that one of the hurdles for EA was that the crown needed to approve the land sale before the company could submit an application. Thain said he was aware of the land that Henuset had been looking at. "There was some private land across the river from here that I do believe he would have purchased but I don’t know if it is enough." "I know the way he is leaning," Thain added, "it is quite obvious from his actions, but if he can’t get the land to bed then all bets are off." Mann said the big hurdle for the project in Peace River was that there were four municipal forms of government that needed to approve of the project. "We border on four [municipalities] and in our radius area there are eight municipal governments and each municipal government has put in positive letters of support and are solid and not recanting on it," Mann said. Henuset said that he was hoping to make an announcement last week but technical issues were still being resolved. "I do have a very clear understanding of what we are doing and how we are moving forward on this." "It’s exciting for everyone including me. I can’t wait to get into the communities and work with the communities," Henuset said. ‘The announcement will be public and we will do that for everybody that is concerned." Publisher: Pamela Allain Proprietor and published by Bowes Publishers Limited at 4732 - 50 Avenue, Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada T7S 1N7 © 2007 Whitecourt Star ***************************************************************** 25 The Hindu: Australia reaffirms insistence on safeguards Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 P. S. Suryanarayana SINGAPORE: Australia on Tuesday reaffirmed its insistence on “safeguards,” as the Opposition Australian Labour Party (ALP) reinforced its arguments against exporting uranium to India even under “strict conditions.” Treasurer Peter Costello said in Canberra that the “safeguards” Australia would apply to India, through a proposed bilateral accord, “will be very important to ensure that the uranium is put to peaceful purposes.” However, Shadow Foreign Minister Robert McClelland said: “If we offend the Pakistan Government by selling uranium to India, common sense suggests that they [the Pakistanis] may well review and consider reducing that cooperation which they are [now] providing in the fight against terror.” As a result, Prime Minister John Howard’s decision to authorise uranium sales to India, subject to some conditions, could still have harmful consequences for Australia. “It is a decision that, in the longer term, could potentially prejudice the safety of the Australian troops based in Afghanistan,” Mr. McClelland said. “There is every chance Islamabad will be less inclined to heed Australia’s calls to do more against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, who are based in and around Pakistan. These militia launch attacks against the Australian troops in Afghanistan.” Citing another reason why Australia should not export uranium to India, Mr. McClelland said the decision already made only “increases the likelihood of a nuclear arms race in South Asia.” He warned that “when it comes to nuclear proliferation,” Mr. Howard’s decision “is a risk not worth taking.” Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 26 Honolulu Advertiser: Depleted uranium detected on Big Isle - Posted on: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 By William Cole Advertiser Military Writer The Army yesterday confirmed that depleted uranium from a 1960s weapons system has been found at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. How much of the material was detected remained unclear. The Army said initial testing was done to determine the presence of depleted uranium, or DU, not the quantity of it. There is no public access to the area where the heavy metal was found. In January 2006, the Army confirmed it had found 15 projectile tailfin assemblies that contained depleted uranium at a Schofield Barracks munitions impact range. The depleted uranium was used in XM-101 aiming rounds that simulated the trajectory of the Davy Crockett, a formerly classified recoilless rifle that could fire a 76-pound nuclear bomb. The Army yesterday said the DU at Pohakuloa Training Area is the same type of material found at Schofield. Earlier this summer, the Army said it had found more depleted uranium fragments at Schofield, and that the aiming rounds also may have been fired at Makua Valley and Pohakuloa. Contractor Cabrera Services conducted an aerial survey of the impact area at Pohakuloa from Thursday to Saturday as part of the Army's efforts to determine the extent of DU use in Hawai'i. The Army previously said it was unaware of the presence of the weakly radioactive element until a contractor removing unexploded ordnance for the Stryker brigade discovered it in 2005 at Schofield. Concern by some Big Island residents that depleted uranium might be getting kicked up, spread on the wind and possibly inhaled led to the testing. An aerial survey of the impact area at Makua Military Reservation was conducted Aug. 13-14. The Army said the survey was inconclusive because the ground could not be seen because of heavy vegetation. Depleted uranium was used for spotting, or aiming, rounds for the Davy Crockett because its density mimicked the trajectory of the 76-pound warhead. A gray cylinder 3 to 6 feet long that was fired would fall away, while the DU aiming round would continue to travel farther, the Army said. The presence of the cylinders is being used as a predictor of DU. The Army said soil samples were taken at Makua and Pohakuloa, and those samples are being sent to an independent lab for testing. "Now that DU has been confirmed at Pohakuloa, the Army will coordinate with the state of Hawai'i and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the next steps," the service said. State testing in May found normal radiation levels in the air near Pohakuloa Training Area. The Army earlier this month said it was monitoring air quality during a controlled burn at a Schofield Barracks target range in response to concerns that the fires could put fine particles of depleted uranium in the air. The controlled burn on 1,100 acres of munitions impact area was done to minimize the chance of brushfires and to prepare the area for testing for the presence of DU. Lab results from air samples of Schofield's controlled burn July 30 to Aug. 2 showed no DU health hazard from the accompanying smoke, the Army said. Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com. © COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 27 Rutland Herald: Fresh KI pills available in nuke evac zone August 21, 2007 By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff BRATTLEBORO — The Department of Health will distribute fresh supplies of potassium iodide to people living and working in the emergency evacuation zone around Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Acting Heath Commissioner Sharon Moffatt said Monday the state has requested new medication from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because much of the medication that had been previously distributed carried a 2007 expiration date. Moffatt said residents in the six towns surrounding Vermont Yankee must file a written request for the pills. She said the state had already distributed pills and liquid potassium iodide to schools, day care centers and nursing homes. The towns involved include Vernon, Brattleboro, Halifax, Marlboro, Dummerston and Guilford. Moffatt said the Department of Health was working to replace stockpiled supplies at area businesses and lodging establishments. Potassium iodide — which is known as KI — was shown to be effective after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, when people in Poland who took potassium iodide had a much lower incidence of thyroid cancer. But Ed Anthes, a spokesman for Nuclear Free Vermont, said the state was going about distribution the wrong way and was putting too much of a burden on residents, who often don't know the pills are available. "They should be going to football games, basketball games and giving the pills away," Anthes said, rather than requiring people to submit a request in writing. "They should be going to where the people are," Anthes said. Anthes also said that people are not being informed that they should get more than one dose of the pills, since people who stay in their homes during a radiological emergency would be taking repeated doses. "People should get more than one dose," he said. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which provides the pills to all states with nuclear power plants, said that some states distribute potassium iodide by mailing it out while some states have a less formal distribution. "Some states have a drive-thru distribution," he said, noting that people drive to a certain location and are handed the pills. Potassium iodide protects the thyroid from radiative iodine released in a nuclear accident by saturating it, Sheehan said. To be most effective, KI has to be taken in advance of exposure, he said. He said that in the case of a severe accident, there would in all likelihood be advance notice of a radioactive release. "It's proven to be effective, and it's another tool," he said, to protect the people in case there's an emergency. Moffatt said the state was distributing the pills in two strengths — 130 mg tablets for adults and a 65 mg tablets for children. The pills are scored, she said, so that smaller doses can be given to younger children. Sheehan said that the pill offers protection for 24 hours. He said that after Chernobyl about 10.5 million children under the age of 16 and 7 million adults received at least one dose of KI in Poland, and that Poland had a much smaller incidence of thyroid cancer than Ukraine and neighboring Belarus. Moffatt said people who work within 10 miles of Vermont Yankee but live elsewhere can also request the free pills by contacting the Brattleboro region's Department of Health office, or by visiting the health department's Web site, www.healthvermont.org. Sheehan said Massachusetts and New Hampshire towns within the 10-mile emergency zone also have stockpiles of potassium iodide. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 28 Star-Bulletin: Firm wins license for irradiator Posted on: Monday, August 20, 2007 9:45 AM HST Star-Bulletin Staff citydesk@starbulletin.com After two years of debate and public hearings, a federal commission granted a Hawaii company permission to build a commercial irradiator facility near Honolulu Airport. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a license to Paina Hawaii, according to a news release today, for a facility that will be used to irradiate locally-produced fresh fruit and vegetables headed to market on the mainland by exposing them to a short dose of radiation. “I’m very happy,” said Paina President Michael Kohn. “It’s a big relief after two years of litigation.” The facility also can be used for cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, as well as research and development projects, according to the release. Several individuals, as well as Earthjustice — a law firm representing Concerned Citizens of Honolulu — opposed the irradiator, citing environmental concerns. Paina applied for a license in June 2005. “We are continuing with our challenge that this project does not go forward until it’s established that it’s safe,” said David Henkin, an Earthjustice staff attorney. “And we don’t think that obligation and burden has been carried.” The group filed a petition with the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. A final environmental assessment earlier this year found that the proposed irradiator posed no significant impact. Kohn said he hopes to have the irradiator running by February. © 2007 Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com ***************************************************************** 29 DailyBulletin.com: Protest tonight over perchlorate delays Rialto rally will object to court decision ending state hearings Jason Pesick Article Launched: 08/21/2007 08:05:50 AM PDT RIALTO - Even though there won't be any hearings today to determine who is responsible for water contamination in Rialto, a rally for cleanup will still go on tonight. Tonight at 5:30, the Riverside-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, will hold a rally at Eucalyptus Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, in part to protest a judge's decision to halt the hearings. The State Water Resources Control Board was scheduled to hold hearings on perchlorate contamination in the drinking water. Last week, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge temporarily stayed the hearings after the companies accused of contaminating the water complained they would violate their due process rights. Copyright © 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 30 KPUA Hawaii News: Survey turns up depleted uranium in military training area KPUA.net - KPUA 1145 Kilauea Ave Hilo, Hawaii 96720 PH: 808 935-5461 FAX: 808 935-7761 Tuesday, August 21, 2007 By Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) _ The Army says a military contractor has confirmed the presence of depleted uranium at the U.S. Army's Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. Cabrera Services has conducted an aerial survey to determine if the Davy Crockett gun had been fired in the area and whether uranium is present. The Davy Crockett recoilless gun was used in training until 1968. Although the gun could use several types of munitions, the Army says the munition of interest is the XM-101 spotter round which contained the radioactive substance. Depleted uranium is left over from producing enriched uranium. It is 60 percent as radioactive as natural uranium and has been found at Schofield Barracks. (Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved) ***************************************************************** 31 starbulletin.com: Uranium traced to Army training in 1960s Vol. 12, Issue 233 - Tuesday, August 21, 2007 By Gregg K. Kakesako gkakesako@starbulletin.com Aerial surveys last week of the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area have confirmed the presence of depleted uranium used during Army training with a classified weapon during the 1960s, Army officials said yesterday. More tests and monitoring are planned, they said. The Army said it does not currently use depleted uranium in training ammunition. There is no public access to the suspected PTA range area. The depleted uranium was used in a classified weapons system, the Davy Crockett recoilless gun, which was produced from 1960 to 1968. In August 2005 a contractor discovered munitions remains that contained depleted uranium while clearing a range at Schofield Barracks. The Army said then the recovered items had low-level radioactivity and did not pose a health threat. Cabrera Services conducted an aerial survey at PTA in 2005 to determine if the Davy Crockett was fired then and if depleted uranium was present. The Army said a similar aerial survey conducted Aug. 13 and last Tuesday at the impact area at the Makua Military Reservation on Oahu was "inconclusive because the team could not see the ground due to heavy vegetation in the suspected impact area." Soil samples were taken both from Makua and PTA and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Depleted uranium, a byproduct of radioactive enriched uranium, has been used by the U.S. military in armor-piercing munitions. Some researchers suspect exposure to depleted uranium, or DU, might have caused chronic fatigue and other symptoms in veterans of the first Gulf War, but there is no conclusive evidence it has. Meanwhile, the Army said tests of air samples taken July 30-Aug. 2 at an area where fire was used to clear more than 1,000 acres of a training range showed no health hazard from the burn and smoke. Army officials said yesterday they will work with the state and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to survey training ranges at Schofield Barracks, Makua and Pohakuloa. © Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com ***************************************************************** 32 Platts: Spot price of U308 uranium drops $15/lb to $90 - Ux Consulting 2007-08-21 Washington (Platts)--21Aug2007 The spot price of uranium dropped $15 a pound over the past week and now stands at $90/lb U3O8, Ux Consulting said late Monday. At $90/lb the spot price is now $5/lb below the long-term price indicator, the first time the spot price has dropped below the long-term price since late 2006, Ux said. This reported decline in the price came after TradeTech kept its price at $105/lb on August 17, the day the US Department of Energy received bids in its auction of 200 metric tons uranium as UF6 (about 520,000 lb U3O8 equivalent). Although the results of that auction may not be known until the end of August, analysts said sellers have apparently concluded that prices below $100/lb will be necessary to entice prospective buyers into the market. The question now, analysts said, is how far the price will drop. A support level, Ux said, is likely to materialize when demand picks up, as buyers search for bargains, and the number of determined sellers declines. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=67 Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 33 JiJi Press: Toshiba to Get Stake in Kazakh Uranium Tokyo, Aug 20, 2007 (Jiji Press) - Toshiba Corp. said Monday it will join a uranium mining project in Kazakhstan led by Kazatomprom, a state-owned nuclear company, gaining the right to acquire up to 600 tons of uranium. Through the deal, Toshiba hopes to ensure a stable supply of uranium concentrate for use at nuclear power plants in Japan, as part of its effort to enhance its competitiveness in winning orders for nuclear power plants. Toshiba will obtain a 22.5 pct stake in a company through which a group of Japanese companies invest in Kazakh uranium interests. This company, which holds part of the uranium interests of Kyzylkum LLP and Baiken-U LLP, is currently owned 55 pct by Marubeni Corp. , 30 pct by Tokyo Electric Power Co. , 10 pct by Chubu Electric Power Co. and the rest by Tohoku Electric Power Co. . The four companies have the right to obtain an aggregate quantity of up to 2,000 tons of uranium annually. The 22.5 pct to be obtained by Toshiba is part of Marubani's interests. Kyzylkum LLP. and Baiken-U LLP, both affiliated with Kazatomprom, undertake the Kharassan uranium mines project--Kyzylkum LLP. and Baiken-U LLP.--from Japanese trading house. A pilot production will be launched this year and full production of 5,000 tons of uranium will be started in 2014. By Jiji Press, (c) Jiji Press Copyright © 2007 JCN. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network KK. © 2001-2007 The Japan Corporate News Network (JCN) K.K. ***************************************************************** 34 Energy Business Review: Toshiba to participate in Kazakh uranium project - 20th August 2007 By Clare Watson As part of the company's plans to enhance its nuclear energy business, Japan's Toshiba Corporation has announced that it will participate in the Kharassan uranium mines project, a new development project in southern Kazakhstan promoted by the republic's state-owned nuclear enterprise Kazatomprom. Test excavation of uranium ore is due to start within the year, and output is expected to reach approximately 5,000 metric tons of uranium (MTU) a year by 2014, Toshiba said. The Kharassan project is being promoted by two Kazatomprom (KAP)-related companies, Kyzylkum and Baiken-U. Toshiba will acquire an indirect ownership interest in the two companies by taking a 22.5% stake in a holding company that has part ownership and control of them. This will give Toshiba the right to a maximum of 600MTU each year. The holding company is currently jointly owned by Marubeni Corporation, The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Chubu Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Company. Toshiba will be the first power systems manufacturer to participate in the project, which will allow it to contribute to the supply of uranium concentrate for nuclear power plants in Japan. In addition, Japanese companies have acquired indirect ownership interests in Kyzylkum and Baiken-U, and will have the right to obtain up to an aggregate annual quantity of 2,000MTU. Japan and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of co-operation in nuclear power in August 2006, which was strengthened in April 2007. The agreement includes securing uranium resources for Japan and technical co-operation. ©2007 Business Review ***************************************************************** 35 Daily News Journal: Allied Waste to end radioactive dumping Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, Tennessee news from The By TURNER HUTCHENS trhutchens@dnj.com After months of public outcry, the dumping of low-level radioactive materials at Rutherford County's Middle Point Landfill will end, landfill representatives said Monday. Allied Waste, the owners of Middle Point, announced it will voluntarily discontinue its participation in the Bulk Survey for Release program. Under the program, low-level radioactive materials have been dumped at the landfill on Jefferson Pike in the Walter Hill community since the 1990s. The company's announcement came a few hours after Tennessee's Solid Waste Advisory Committee recommended the program should continue, but with some minor modifications. John Doyen, general manager of Middle Point, said in a statement that the committee's decision showed the program was safe, and useful, but the company would stop the dumping in Rutherford County. "We recently met with members of a Rutherford Country legislative delegation who requested that we discontinue our participation in the BSFR program," Doyen said. "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." State Rep. John Hood, D-Murfreesboro, said the entire Rutherford County legislative delegation had been talking with Allied Waste representatives to convince them to make that decision. "I'm delighted with it," Hood said. "I think this just really shows some good faith on their part, and I'm grateful they've agreed to do this." There has been a moratorium on dumping under the program at Middle Point since early July. The moratorium is set to end Sept. 3. There are four other landfills in the state which participate in the program: North Shelby County, South Shelby County, Chestnut Ridge in Anderson County and Carter Valley in Hawkins County. Calls to Allied Waste for more information were not returned by press time. Kathy Ferris, a member of the Rutherford County-based group Citizens to End Nuclear Dumping in Tennessee, said she was pleased with the company's announcement, but she still has doubts about the landfill and a variety of other materials being disposed of there. "I think that's got to be good news, but I don't think that should preclude the investigation of all the other stuff going into the landfill," she said. Ferris said she suspected Allied Waste only made the decision to avoid public scrutiny. "I think the only way that Middle Point can be safe is for the public's eye and the press's eye on them constantly," she said. The dumping of radioactive materials at the landfill under the program was brought to the public's attention in May when the nuclear-watchdog organization Nuclear Information and Resource Service published a report critical of the Tennessee standards for the disposal of such waste. — Turner Hutchens, (615) 278-5161 ====================================================================== Political Operative makes licking and stuffing envelopes sound like an issue of national security. I'd really appreciate it if my named stayed out of online discussion unless it directly pertains to a column I've written or a response to one of my posts. If you haven't noticed, I've stopped posting online because of the controversy surrounding anonymous posts and the misinformation that is sometimes shared online. We can debate these issues openly and honestly in a public forum, but online forums such as this do not produce positive results. The unrestricted vitriol spewed by individuals with little else to do does in no way contribute to civilized debate. Once again, I would appreciate it if my name would stay out of your posts unless it pertains to something I've written in a column or online. And as I have previously stated, my online posts have stopped. I just felt like this particular issue should be addressed. I respect all of you, and I would expect the same courtesy to be extended. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at Matt.Hurtt@gmail.com. Thank you. Matthew Hurtt Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:52 pm ====================================================================== You might want to read posts before you comment on them, "Blackman Resident". Everything I stated in my last post was reported by Sam Stockard in the DNJ. As I cited in my last post, you can read it here and you don't need to be "working for someone in nashville" to know it (you just have to actually read before you spew): http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/NEWS01 /707030323/1002 And, no, Kent Coleman doesn't pay anyone for political consultation. You can view all of his expenditures for the last 8 years here: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/tncamp/search.jsp#candidate You will find no paid political consultants for Rep. Coleman, but you will find Matt Hurtt's name as a paid political operative for Donna Rowland in 2006. Oh, and you were also wrong when you said, "It's funny that we heard nothing from Representative Coleman during this entire debate." You will find Mr. Coleman's name and many comments on the issue in all of the following articles. Rep. Coleman was, by official House Record the only individual to push for a 6 month moratorium rather than the paltry 60 days and it has been reported in this newspaper and many other publications many times. You do actually read the news before you make these comments, right? http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/NEWS01 /706120316/0/NEWS01 http://www.midsouthmedia.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/NEWS0 1/707180355 http://my.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070706/NEWS0201/ 707060397/1001/bb And you can see by the following official minutes of the Public Hearing over the BSFR program that Mr. Coleman was in attendance. http://www.tn.gov/environment/rad/pdf/bsfr-071707mtg.pdf Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:26 pm ====================================================================== It's funny that we heard nothing from Representative Coleman during this entire debate, but lo, he rides in on a white horse saving county residents from the evils of low-level radioactive waste in his own district according to badbusiness. Rowland Press Machine? Badbusiness apparently receives his paychecks from the State Democrat Party and Representative Coleman's campaign account. He's saying things only people who work in Nashville would know. That would make a good story, Stockard. Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:03 pm ====================================================================== I don't know if its the Rowland Press Machine intentionally twisting the facts in many of these posts, or if people really do not know the facts about all the legislative rangling that went on about this issue. I suggest everyone call ALL of the county's state legislators and ask them what happened, and then check their answers against public record. Anyone truly concerned with knowing the truth would do so. On the Rowland amendment issue, for example, it is true that Donna pushed an amendment to a solid waste bill through to a vote, but this was only done after our house delegation had met and hammered out the specifics of an IMMEDIATE SIX MONTH moratorium amendment and had agreed to Donna sponsoring the legislation. Coleman and Hood trusted Rowland and her staff to get it all down in writing and to bring it to the floor. BUT, when it actually came to the floor Coleman and Hood were shocked to see that it had been shaved down to a measly sixty days and it wasn't an immediate moratorium. That's when Kent Coleman, whose district includes the Walter Hill landfill, stood up and tried to offer his own amendment for the IMMEDIATE SIX MONTH moratorium that the delegation had previously discussed. It passed the house, but was shaved down to 60 days again by Ketron and Tracy in the Senate. Sounds to me like the republican delegation (Rowland, Tracy, and Ketron) came to their own little back room deal and Rowland ignored Coleman and Hood when she had the final version of the amendment written up Looks to me like someone got to Rowland, Tracy, and Ketron after Rowland, Hood, and Coleman had agreed to the six month moratorium. If I were Hood or Coleman, or any of their concerned constituents I would be very angry about Rowland's back room deals. 60 days was only enough time for the county to get lucky in applying pressure to Allied Waste. No one should be more relieved about the Allied decision than Rowland, who would have been caught with her pants down once the measly 60-day moratorium ended and dumping resumed. Sooner or later, people would have found out about it. Heck, it was reported right here in the DNJ by Sam Stockard: http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/NEWS01 /707030323/1002 I wonder how much money Rowland, Jim Tracy, Bill Ketron, and Randy Mcnally, R - Oak Ridge, will get in campaign contributions from Allied and other companies with contracts to haul radioactive waste into Tennessee? Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:07 pm ====================================================================== Blackman_Resident (author): Excellent response....very well presented and extremely researched. Thank you....! Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:50 pm Copyright ©2007 The Daily News Journal. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 Boston Globe: Yankee plant closed but its waste remains By Adam Gorlick, Associated Press | August 21, 2007 SPRINGFIELD -- 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 had been officially decommissioned. But 266,000 pounds of spent fuel is still sitting on about 3 acres of land, sealed in protective barriers in the Western Massachusetts town teetering on the Vermont border. Yankee owns the 30 acres the plant was built on, and company officials are deciding what to do with it. Some ideas have included turning the 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 about six years. It wound up churning out 44 billion kilowatt hours of electricity for New England customers until 1992, when it was shut down. Since then, workers have been dismantling the plant and cleaning the area. Now all that is left of Yankee Rowe is its waste. Contained 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. 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 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. © Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company. ***************************************************************** 37 Comment is free: Waste not, want not guardian.co.uk/commentisfree > John Sauven The enormous cost of clearing up nuclear sites will always end up being paid with tax revenues. August 21, 2007 3:00 PM | Printable version The principle that the nuclear industry should pay the full costs of nuclear power generation is rarely disputed. In fact the current ministerial push for nukes has been accompanied by the constant refrain that taxpayers won't be paying for it. Energy minister Malcolm Wicks reiterated in an interview recently that the nuclear industry must foot the entire bill. As always, this promise should not be taken at face value. The costs of nuclear waste disposal and the decommissioning of nuclear power stations are likely to be huge and occur after operating companies have made their money and even vacated the industry. Certainly it's the case that governments have taken liabilities off the nuclear private sector before - and the Energy Act 2004 contains powers which allow the secretary of state to direct the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency to take over financing of nuclear waste liabilities for private nuclear companies in the future should they be unable to meet their obligations. In other words, if companies manage to direct profits to shareholders, or simply don't make much money, the taxpayer can be made to pick up the bill at the stroke of a Whitehall pen. Those who think this couldn't happen should remember that it already has - British Energy passed on its liabilities bill, now estimated at ÂŁ5.3bn (yes, billion) - to the taxpayer to get them back on their feet. Governments can never walk away from nuclear power. If a wind farm or gas-fired power station becomes unprofitable, it can be closed down with relatively little fuss and everyone walks away. What happens if a nuclear operator goes belly up? Bluntly, those nuclear stations - containing large amounts of nuclear waste - become the government's problem, because there's no one else to sort it out. For those who say it could never happen, remember Metronet, the company that the government obliged the Greater London Authority to use to run London Underground. Created by large major engineering and utilities firms, it went bust leaving London taxpayers with a huge headache and as much as an extra ÂŁ2bn in debts to service. Aside from the waste, there are other subsidies essential to making nuclear an attractive option. These include insurance (no insurance giant is prepared to insure against a Chernobyl-scale accident) and loan guarantees (as needed for the construction of a new reactor in Finland) so that the taxpayer takes much more of the risk in a nuclear project than any other form of power generation. Finally the biggest fear, aside from accidents, spillages, terrorism, nuclear proliferation (and all the other threats that should demand immediate termination of a nuclear programme) is that the commitment to nuclear energy 'freezes out' other more sustainable forms of power generation like renewable and decentralized energy. Then, in five years time, when the nuclear power programme is late and over budget (as they invariably are), the prime minister is left with no choice but to write a blank cheque to the nuclear industry to stop the lights going out. pdmalcolm Comment No. 769778 Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007. Registered in England and Wales. No. 908396 Registered office: Number 1 Scott Place, Manchester M3 3GG ***************************************************************** 38 Aiken Today: Public to speak out about MOX AikenStandard.com Tue, Aug 21, 2007 By JOSH VOORHEES Staff writer A federal nuclear licensing board will hear arguments Wednesday concerning a petition to stop the licensing of the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site. In May, three organizations ? the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Nuclear Watch South and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service ? filed a lawsuit to prevent Shaw Areva MOX Services from obtaining the necessary operations license for the MOX project. The panel will meet at the Augusta Federal Courthouse, 600 James Brown Blvd. in Augusta, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to hear arguments concerning the suit. For the petition to proceed, the licensing board panel will need to determine if the lawsuit has legal "standing," meaning that the petition is being filed by people with a direct interest in the area's safety, and then will have to rule that the petition includes strong enough legal arguments to justify a full hearing. In advance of Wednesday's arguments, the licensing board will hold a "limited appearance" session to hear from members of the public on the matter tonight in the North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave., from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Statements at this evening's meeting will be limited to three minutes. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel consists of three administrative judges and serves as the independent trial-level adjudicatory body of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In this instance, the board will be comprised of two attorneys and one technical expert. For more information about the licensing process, visit the NRC's website at www.nrc.gov. Contact Josh Voorhees at jvoorhees@aikenstandard.com. © 2005 The AikenStandard. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 39 Las Vegas SUN: Money vs. message on Yucca Today: August 21, 2007 at 6:53:48 PDT LV, NLV keep company with those who want nuclear dump By Jeff German and Steve Kanigher Las Vegas Sun Las Vegas has been one of the fiercest forces in Nevada's longtime fight against the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Mayor Oscar Goodman once threatened to personally arrest any trucker hauling dangerous high-level nuclear waste through the city. And like Las Vegas, the North Las Vegas City Council passed a resolution strongly condemning the Energy Department's multibillion-dollar push to build the Yucca Mountain dump, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Curiously, however, the two cities also belong to a little-known group of influential defense and high-tech contractors intent on seeing Yucca Mountain developed. The state's top Yucca Mountain watchdog calls the group, known as the Nevada Alliance for Defense, Energy and Business, a "rogues gallery" of pro-dump supporters. "There's a legitimate concern about the participation of the two cities in this group," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects. "It sends a mixed message." That is why Clark County has refused to join the Nevada Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by dues-paying members and a $100,000-a-year grant from the Energy Department. "The Nevada Alliance promotes Yucca Mountain as an economic opportunity," said Irene Navis, a planning manager who leads the county's opposition to the dump. "We would not want to be part of a group that sends out that message." Although Nevada Alliance officials insist the group is not pro-Yucca, it posts 10 "fact sheets" on its Web site advocating Yucca Mountain as a way to bring economic benefits to the state and arguing that transporting the radioactive waste is not dangerous. Troy Wade, the organization's chairman, is regarded by opponents as a Yucca Mountain supporter, and Ted Feigenbaum, president of Bechtel SAIC Co., the contractor building the dump in Nye County, is listed with Wade on the Nevada Alliance nine-member board. Also listed as members of the group are the consulting company run by former Gov. Bob List, who is paid by the high-powered nuclear industry to promote Yucca Mountain, and the public relations firm run by longtime Nevadan Ace Robison, an industry operative hired to undermine the state's opposition to the dump. The Nye County Commission, which supports the government's efforts to build the dump, also is a member. Other defense-related members include giant government contractor Science Applications International Corp. ; National Security Technologies, the company that manages the Nevada Test Site ; and Wackenhut Services, which handles security for the Test Site. Wade, a former assistant energy secretary in the Reagan administration, said the Nevada Alliance's main goal is to help develop business opportunities in the Las Vegas Valley, many related to work being done at the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Wade acknowledged that his organization shares office space with Robison, the Yucca Mountain hired gun, at what once was known as the Alexander Dawson Building on East Flamingo Road. Wade said the group moved six months ago as a "cost-conserving measure" from its old office at the nonprofit Desert Research Institute on at UNLV. The independent research institute, along with two UNLV organizations, the UNLV Research Foundation and the Institute for Security Studies, are listed with Las Vegas and North Las Vegas as associate members of the Nevada Alliance. Annual dues for associate members are $330. The university organizations have not taken a public position on Yucca Mountain. Chris Knight, director of administrative services for Las Vegas, said the city sees the organization as a means to network with top defense companies to attract economic development to Las Vegas. "We don't pick and choose who we do business with because there's a single issue in which we have a disagreement on," he said. "We have a common ground, and we don't see a mixed message on the Yucca Mountain issue." North Las Vegas City Manager Gregory Rose agreed. "The city council had been clear on what its position is regarding Yucca Mountain," Rose said. "In this instance, we belong to an organization that disagrees with our position." North Las Vegas Economic Development Director Mike Majewski said the Nevada Alliance, which he described as the leading group of scientific companies in the state, has helped the city expand its economic opportunities. "We're trying to attract scientific-based companies to this city," he said. "Just because some of their members are pro-Yucca Mountain, you can't say that we're pro-Yucca Mountain." The participation of both cities, however, troubles former Sen. Richard Bryan, a leading Yucca Mountain opponent who now heads the Nevada Nuclear Projects Commission. "Both cities have been very supportive of the state's opposition to Yucca Mountain, he said. "But their memberships are inconsistent with their position." Bryan said Las Vegas and North Las Vegas should make it clear that their memberships are not an expression of support for Yucca Mountain and that they don't want any of their dues to be used to promote the dump. Anne Wellborn, co-chair of Citizen Alert, a Nevada environmental group that has been battling Yucca Mountain for years, shares that view. "You can't say you're against Yucca Mountain and then give money to an organization that is promoting Yucca Mountain," Wellborn said. "There are other economic development corridors that can be explored without getting in bed with these guys." Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at 259-4067 or at german@lasvegassun.com. Steve Kanigher can be reached at 259-4075 or at steve@lasveggasun.com. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 40 The Enquirer: Fernald secrets now in the open Last Updated: 1:05 am | Tuesday, August 21, 2007 For decades the uranium processing plant at Fernald was a dirty secret. Now, 17 years after the facility in northwest Hamilton County was closed, some of those secrets will be shared with researchers studying the health effects of low-level radiation on people. Fernald was a foundry operated under a private contractor as part of the Cold War nuclear weapons program. When the plant opened in 1951 the operators told workers not to tell friends and family what they did there. A water tower was painted with a red and white checkerboard pattern, and the sign at the gate said Fernald Basic Feed Materials. If passersby or neighbors thus got the impression that the place had something to do with dog chow, nobody minded. What was learned 30 years later was that almost 300 pounds of radioactive dust had been released into the air because of faulty filtration systems; radon gas had been leaking at the site for years; and other radioactive waste had been improperly handled or buried at the 1,050-acre site. By then the Cold War was ending, production had shut down, and questions were being asked about what the impact of the operation had been on the workers and neighbors of the plant. Separate class-action suits were filed on behalf of former workers and the neighboring residents in Crosby Township. The workers settled for $20 million in a deal that included lifetime medical monitoring. The residents' suit was settled in 1989 for $78 million and included a medical monitoring program for 9,500 local people. That research included blood and urine samples, kidney and liver function tests, medical questionnaires and the monitoring of hospitalizations for the residents. The monitoring program for the neighbors, overseen by researchers at the University of Cincinnati, is nearing its end, and the results will be shared with other researchers, which could lead to better understanding of radiation effects in other situations, including long-term effects of X-rays or exposure from a nuclear accident or attack. It has taken more than $4.5 billion and 18 years to clean up Fernald after the plant ceased production in 1989. More than 1.5 million tons of waste had to be removed from the site. Cleanup halted last October, and from then until this past June workers toiled to turn it into a nature preserve. Copyright © 2007 The Enquirer. All rights reserved. Users of this ***************************************************************** 41 Guardian Unlimited: Tenn. Nuclear Fuel Problems Kept Secret Monday August 20, 2007 9:01 PM By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer 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. 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 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, Va., 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. The Associated Press first reported the policy in May after the commission briefly mentioned in its annual report to Congress a March 6, 2006, uranium leak at Nuclear Fuel Services. The leak was one of three ``abnormal occurrences'' of license holders cited during the year. Agency commissioners, apparently struck by the significance of the event, took a special vote to skirt the ``Official Use Only'' rule so that Nuclear Fuel Services would be identified in the report as the site of the uranium leak. Some 35 liters, or just over 9 gallons, of highly enriched uranium solution leaked from a transfer line into a protected glovebox and spilled onto the floor. The leak was discovered when a supervisor saw a yellow liquid ``running into a hallway'' from under a door, according to one document. The commission said there were two areas, the glovebox and an old elevator shaft, where the solution potentially could have collected in such a way to cause an uncontrolled nuclear reaction. ``It is likely that at least one worker would have received an exposure high enough to cause acute health effects or death,'' the agency wrote. ``We don't want any security information out there that's going to help a terrorist,'' agency Commissioner Edward McGaffigan Jr. said in a newly released transcript from a closed commission meeting May 30. But ``that's entirely separate'' from dealing with an event that could have killed a worker at the plant. ``The pendulum maybe swung too far,'' agreed Luis Reyes, the commission's executive director for operations. ``We want to make sure we don't go the other way, but we need to come back to some reasonable middle point.'' Agency spokesman David McIntyre said it may be difficult to separate Nuclear Fuel Service's secret work for the Navy from its public work converting bomb-grade uranium to commercial reactor fuel. The leak happened on the commercial reactor side. In a stinging letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman in July, two Democratic congressman from Michigan also blasted the policy. ``We agree that NRC should withhold from public view any sensitive security information of this nature. However, NRC went far beyond this narrow objective,'' read the letter from John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Bart Stupak, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. McIntyre defended the commission's decision not to fine Nuclear Fuel Services, even though the agency rated the uranium leak last year as its second most-serious violation. Instead, the agency ordered Nuclear Fuel Services to conduct a full review of its ``safety culture'' and make changes using outside experts. ``If we can get long-term permanent changes and improvements in their process it is better than slapping them with a fine every time something goes wrong,'' McIntyre said. Nuclear Fuel Services Executive Vice President Timothy Lindstrom, a Navy veteran who joined the company in September, said the company had already made ``significant progress.'' ``I think it is important that the public recognize that we do have a very robust safety program at NFS. We live in this community and take our stewardship very seriously,'' he said. ``I think if we were to have an event like this again, we would push to make it public,'' he added. ``Clearly it would have been better to have this discussion 18 months ago than it is to have it now.'' Meanwhile, NFS told its 700 employees this past week it will be ``exploring the possibility of a sale'' over the next 12 months - not because of the commission's disclosure, but because of the company's increasing value to a booming nuclear power industry. ``We are in a position of strength,'' company spokesman Tony Treadway said. --- Nuclear Fuel Services: http://www.nuclearfuelservices.com Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 42 Knoxville News Sentinel: Despite spill, Y-12 process working Wet-chemistry operation at nuclear weapons plant is proceeding fully By Frank Munger (Contact) Tuesday, August 21, 2007 OAK RIDGE — There’s good news and bad news about the wet-chemistry operation at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Another spill occurred last month, this one involving 10½ gallons of enriched uranium solution. That’s the bad news. On the positive front, Y-12 workers have been able to run the entire wet-chemistry operation — a half-dozen processes that recycle stocks of uranium — within the past couple of months. It’s the first time everything has worked in nearly a year, plant spokesman Bill Wilburn said Monday. Y-12 is the nation’s principal repository for weapons-grade uranium. The Oak Ridge plant is a site for building and dismantling of nuclear warhead parts, specializing in so-called secondaries — the second stage of thermonuclear weapons. There have been persistent problems with the plant’s uranium-processing activities in recent years, including a number of spills — two of them in February — and equipment failures. The problems prompted the chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to write a March 13 letter raising concerns about Y-12 procedures and questioning the overall safety of the uranium work. The July 9 spill occurred when tanks that feed a high-capacity evaporator overflowed, according to reports by Y-12 contractor BWXT and site representatives of the federal safety board. The evaporator is used to remove water from the process solutions, allowing workers to concentrate the uranium, Wilburn said. The uranium then can be extracted, collected and reprocessed, he said. “Since that incident occurred, that spill has been cleaned up, all the solution in the system has been evaporated, and the recirculation feed tank and the main storage tank are now well below capacity,” Wilburn said. Procedures have been revised to prevent a repeat of the situation that caused the recirculating system to back up and overflow, he said. Wilburn also said Y-12 workers have replaced the degraded gaskets that caused the two February spills in the “secondary-extraction” system, which is part of wet chemistry. “The new gaskets have been tested,” he said. “No leaks were noted, and the system is back in operation.” As of Aug. 2, all processes associated with wet chemistry had operated for two months, he said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 43 Oak Ridger: Demolition of shuttered uranium building pushed to 2010 - Story last updated at 12:39 am on 8/21/2007 (AP) — The demolition of the shuttered, mile-long K-25 Building where uranium was enriched for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War has been pushed back more than two years to 2010, officials say. Department of Energy contractor Bechtel Jacobs Co. was supposed to have K-25 — once the largest building under one roof in the world — torn down by Sept. 30, 2008, as part of a $1.6 billion accelerated cleanup contract signed in 2003. But a lack of funding, safety concerns — including a worker falling through a floor in 2006 — and project revisions have delayed the undertaking, which is proving to be almost as much work as constructing K-25 in the first place during World War II’s Manhattan Project. Still, Bechtel Jacobs spokesman Dennis Hill said “significant progress” is being made. The K-25 Building, which covers 44 acres, is the heart of a site that is slowly being converted into an industrial park. The facility enriched uranium for weapons from 1945 until 1964. About 800 people are working 50-hour weeks on the K-25 tear-down, which also includes demolishing a sister building named K-27. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************