***************************************************************** 08/30/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.204 ***************************************************************** 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 Korea Times: Internationalists vs. Nationalists 2 US: toledoblade.com: Strickland pushes Ohio energy shift 3 US: Columbus Dispatch: Energy bill puts focus on stability NUCLEAR REACTORS 4 The Hindu: Truce between Congress and Left on nuclear deal 5 TheStar.com: comment - New energy plan for a new era 6 TheStar.com: The OPA's nuclear vision 7 winnipegsun.com: Editorial - Powerful argument for nuclear 8 Platts: Ontario to nearly double generating capacity in next 20 year 9 US: newsobserver.com: Progress Energy fined by feds for actions at n 10 US: Platts: NRC's new plant licensing regulations published 11 The Hindu: 'Breakthrough in stand-off between Left, Govt. over N-dea 12 US: Rutland Herald: Vermont EOC Monitoring Situation At Vermont Yank 13 US: Rutland Herald: Vermont Yankee shuts down 14 US: Times Argus: Yankee failure 15 US: Burlington Free Press: Public Service commissioner meets with Ve 16 US: Rutland Herald: How did inspections miss Yankee tower trouble? 17 US: NRC: NRC Issues Notice of Violation to Entergy for Missing Anoth 18 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY cooling tower collapse may delay licens 19 THERECORD.COM: Bruce Power puts another $1B into refurbishing nuclea 20 US: Triangle Business Journal: Progress fined for nuke plant violati 21 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials; Meeting 22 Reuters: France reviewing future of nuclear firms, tie-ups-report 23 US: Dothan Eagle: Valve problem at Farley Nuclear prompts public mee 24 Saskatoon Star Phoenix: Nuclear critics gear up to fight proposed re 25 Vancouver Province: The 'N' word that makes politicians quake 26 National Post: Energy plan calls for wind, nuclear 27 asahi.com: Power shortages - 28 US: BostonHerald.com: Vermont Yankee nuke plant shuts down during te 29 AU ABC: ALP promises no north coast nuclear reactors 30 AU ABC: Aust, US 'lack credentials' to lead climate change talks NUCLEAR SECURITY 31 US: Houston Chronicle: Lawmakers Want Openness at Nuclear Site 32 US: NAS: Project: Evaluation of Quantification of Margins and Uncert NUCLEAR SAFETY 33 US: Sf New Mexican: New state office helps sick nuclear workers 34 US: Honolulu Advertiser: Military uranium risk to Hawaii debated 35 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Nuclear safety 36 RussiaToday: Russian scientists discover radiation- absorbing minera 37 ITAR-TASS: No radioactive threat after fire at submarine in Severodv 38 US: starbulletin.com: Uranium shells used in isles NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 39 US: Platts: Urenco's first-half 2007 order book volume up 26% 40 US: SBCS: Environmental groups find fault with state's perchlorate s 41 US: PE: Rialto's toxic perchlorate plume may prompt emergency decree 42 US: The State: S.C. told Barnwell is safe PEACE 43 London Times: Britain drops nuclear bomb. Fortunately it doesn't go 44 US: Reuters: Audit finds U.S. nuclear weapons parts misplaced 45 AU ABC: Eurobodalla council takes nuclear-free stance - US DEPT. OF ENERGY 46 Platts: New chief of US DOE nuclear complex calls for 'transformatio 47 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Idaho 48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Review of nuke facility tentatively schedul 49 Knoxville News Sentinel: UT leads team selected for nuclear grant 50 lamonitor.com: Former lab worker heads advocacy office 51 Oak Ridger: DOE appoints four new members to Oak Ridge SSAB - ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Korea Times: Internationalists vs. Nationalists Opinion 08-29-2007 16:08 By Lee Byong-chul With only six months left for the fading presidency of Roh Moo-hyun who some accuse of steering the government toward disaster, the sudden announcement of inter-Korean summit meeting obviously caused fear in some, while taking others for surprise. ``North Korean leader Kim Jong-il realized that he could get large-scale economic assistance from South Korea, which has often been expressed by his counterpart Roh Moo-hyun," said a North Korea expert who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to the second summit to be held in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 2-4. The meeting was originally scheduled for August 28-30. But it was rescheduled due to the North's tragic floods. Yet another analyst who has been an occasional critic of the government pointed out, ``President Roh wanted to leave a legacy and to be remembered for leaving something behind." And he added, ``Ultimately, the summit triumphs over all else, moving the electorate or rallying his core supporters to his side." President Roh's systematic strategy of sharply contrasting the conservative and the liberal positions on North Korean policies was a brilliant plot and a critical mechanism for allowing the president to maintain his place at the center of politics. Contrasting views exist elsewhere, too. It has been widely speculated that those within the Roh administration regard the President as being similar to Bush. On one side are the internationalists who prefer solid ROK-U.S. alliances for the change of North Korea as the most ideal and effective solution. This camp led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon includes Chun Young-woo, the chief negotiator for the six-party talks and Lim Sung-nam, the deputy negotiator for the talks. It also includes conservative leading newspapers' polemists Kim Dae-jung of the Chosun Ilbo, and Kim Young-hee of the JoongAng Ilbo, editorial writers of the dailies, and some key figures in the Ministry of National Defense. On the other side regarding postions on the communist country are the nationalists led by Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung. They are certain that the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula is best achieved through continued discussion rather than futile engagement. Members of this group prefer inter-Korean discussions to U.S. engagement in the Korean affairs. Thus, they argue that talks with North Korea should always proceed one step, or at least half a step earlier than U.S.-DPRK talks. Individuals in this camp include most of the unification ministry and many in the liberal media and academic circle who have successfully gained the spotlight since the Kim Dae-jung government. Such a split in views on North Korea have become particularly apparent in the course of discussing the inter-Korean summit agenda which have been yet decided _ maybe they will be hard to decide it until the last moment. The `internationalists' want to keep the six-party talks going on as planned, putting a greater weight on the disablement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. They see it necessary to perform the agreed-upon Ulchi Focus Lens military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. as scheduled. Those in defense in particular advocate the exercise as a robust bond of the mutual relationship. Paradoxically, the delayed summit made the simulated war game possible over the long run. Yet the `nationalists' claim that the exercise could be cancelled or postponed if it proves a stumbling block in the way of the inter-Korean summit. They expect that the summit meeting is likely to open a new chapter toward peaceful co-prosperity on the peninsula through allowing peaceful discussion on how to establish a peace regime on the peninsula. While policy gaps on North Korea _ not to mention the summit's timing and place _ clearly exist, they are surely aware that without assertive assistance from the U.S., it would be difficult to resolve the troubled nuclear issues in due course. Furthermore, it goes without saying that both parties' bottom line is to demand virtual and irreversible steps by North Korea toward the disablement of its nuclear facilities. ``As long as the inter-Korean summit does not become a zero-sum game, in which one side's loss inevitably is the other's gain, it is highly likely to play a positive role in strengthening inter-Korean relationship," said a senior researcher familiar with the South Korean government's policies toward the North. The day when the summit was first announced in a blitzkrieg way, the stock market in Seoul opened positively. At the same time, former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak was officially elected on August 20 as the presidential candidate of the opposition Grand National Party. So, the political calendar must be moving much more quickly than ever. Lee Byong-chul is senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Cooperation, a non-partisan policy advisory body based in Seoul. ***************************************************************** 2 toledoblade.com: Strickland pushes Ohio energy shift Article published Thursday, August 30, 2007 Renewable sources key for utilities Gov. Ted Strickland said the proposal is designed to protect and attract Ohio jobs. ( ASSOCIATED PRESS ) By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU COLUMBUS - Ohio utilities must find at least 25 percent of their power from renewable and advanced technology sources by 2025 under a much-anticipated proposal outlined yesterday by Gov. Ted Strickland. The Democratic governor promised "predictable'' and "stable'' electricity prices in the future but stopped short of guaranteeing that consumers' bills won't climb. In the air-conditioned cool of the Statehouse Atrium in a speech before lobbyists representing heavy industry, utilities, environmentalists, and consumer and business groups, Mr. Strickland held out the possibility that a competitive electricity marketplace could yet develop. But until it does, the generation of power would be subjected to renewed regulation by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. "This is not a plan for the utilities,'' he said. "It's not a plan for manufacturers. It's a plan for Ohio. It's a plan to protect existing jobs and to attract new jobs.'' Under the governor's proposal, the electricity portfolios of utilities like Toledo Edison's parent FirstEnergy Corp. would have to be one-quarter advanced-energy technology by 2025. That would include fuel cells, cleaner coal, and nuclear technology, as well as renewables like wind, solar, low-impact hydroelectric, and geothermal power. Of the 25 percent advanced-energy threshold, at least half, or 12.5 percent, would have to come from renewables. Half of the total advanced portfolio would also have to be generated within Ohio, a direct bid to create jobs here. Mr. Strickland wants to slow Ohio's march toward an open electricity market that has not generated true competition for most customers and has resulted in rate shock in some states. Maryland customers' rates spiked as high as 72 percent. "We now face a choice,'' he said. "We can embrace unchecked monopolies presented under the guise of a deregulated marketplace, a false marketplace that would stifle our economy, and leave to chance the development of innovation. "Or we can embrace a carefully crafted hybrid approach that recognizes [that] how we generate, distribute, and price electricity affects every one of us every day,'' he said. House Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering) and Senate President Bill Harris (R., Ashland) issued a joint statement saying they'll study the full ramifications of the proposal when they receive it in bill form. Mr. Strickland hopes to have an agreement with lawmakers by the end of the year. A reversal to fully regulated utilities has been advocated by automakers, steel mills, and other heavy manufacturers, the biggest users of electricity. Free-market advocates, however, have accused them of trying to lock in lower prices many enjoy through special contracts with utilities at the expense of residential and smaller commercial customers. Eric Burkland, president of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, said the group was still studying the proposal. "The governor clearly shares our goal of placing consumers on equal footing with utility companies,'' he said. A 1999 law set a five-year clock in motion beginning in 2001 for utilities to prepare themselves for entering a competitive market for electricity by recouping the costs of power plants from customers regardless of whether those customers bought their electricity from other suppliers. The law enacted a 5 percent rate cut during this transition period, and, six years later, Ohio's average electricity rates are largely in the middle of the pack compared to its Midwest neighbors. As 2005 approached, it became clear a truly competitive marketplace had not materialized to maintain downward pressure on prices. The PUCO approved utility-specific "rate-stabilization plans'' that largely maintained the status quo for another three years to buy the state time. Those plans begin expiring at the end of 2008. By including nuclear power in his "advanced energy'' mix, Mr. Strickland agreed a utility like FirstEnergy, already a heavier producer of nuclear power than its Ohio counterparts, will have a built-in advantage in meeting the new standard. Environmental groups have questioned that decision. "When you compare new nuclear and new coal-fired power plants to new wind farms, renewable energy is going to win hands down'' when it comes to being consumer- and environment-friendly, said Erin Bowser of the nonprofit Environment Ohio. "We are going to be encouraging Ohio's leaders to set the bar higher for clean renewable energy.'' FirstEnergy wants to enter the market as originally planned on Jan. 1, 2009, and opposes mandatory quotas for renewable and advanced energy. "We share the hope that customers have long-term price stability, but we have concerns about some of his proposals,'' said spokesman Ellen Raines. "Many of the items on his list have big price tags attached. How much these costs are and who will pay for them is a significant concern.'' While reserving immediate judgment on the plan, Ohio Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander liked Mr. Strickland's call for the PUCO to give consumers equal standing with the utilities. "If you look at the commission's decisions over the past eight years, they have not been consumer friendly,'' she said. "It continues to be a concern when you put more authority in the lap of the commission when they have not traditionally listened to what the consumers had to say.'' Direct Energy, a Texas-based electricity supplier, expressed optimism that Mr. Strickland didn't abandon hope that a competitive market could develop. "If you build it, we will come,'' said Direct Energy's Mike Beck. "If a market is structured the right way so that we can compete fairly, we will come into Ohio.'' Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 3 Columbus Dispatch: Energy bill puts focus on stability Strickland encourages use of alternative power, offers utilities two rate options Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:33 AM By Mark Niquette and Paul Wilson Energy proposal Gov. Ted Strickland's energy plan: * Gives utilities a choice of having the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approve negotiated rates based on the cost of producing power (an "electricity security plan") or seeking approval to set prices based on the market ("market-rate plan") -- but only if the PUCO determines that a competitive market exists. • Requires that by 2025, a minimum of 25 percent of the electricity sold in Ohio be generated by "advanced-energy technologies" such as clean coal, advanced nuclear power and fuel cells. At least half of that amount must come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, and half of the advanced energy must be produced in Ohio. * Requires that all side deals and special contracts that utilities have with customers be filed with the PUCO, asks that utilities improve measuring and reporting on their service, and encourages use of advanced meters showing when consumers can use less-expensive power. * Gives organizations representing consumer groups equal footing with utilities in consultations and negotiations with the administration on electricity regulation. * Makes upgrading Ohio's aging power plants, transmission lines and distribution networks a priority and gives the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority more duties, including pooling electricity purchases for state facilities and providing better cost financing for new power-generation projects. * Increases energy efficiency by requiring that Ohio utilities meet no less than 25 percent of projected growth in electricity use and 10 percent of total peak demand by 2025 through energy-efficiency measures. • Addresses global warming by better monitoring of greenhouse-gas emissions and pushing for "carbon-sequestration" projects that inject deep underground the carbon dioxide produced from burning coal to make electricity. Source: Gov. Ted Strickland In an effort to prevent electricity rates from skyrocketing, Gov. Ted Strickland proposed a new state energy plan yesterday that also calls for more use of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources. The governor couldn't predict whether electricity rates for consumers and businesses would go up or down under his plan. But with most utility rate plans set to expire at the end of next year -- and with prices spiking in other states -- Strickland said his plan would stabilize rates, and that doing nothing would be disastrous for Ohio. "Simply to stay where we are is totally unacceptable," he said. Representatives of utilities, manufacturers, consumers and environmental groups said they were encouraged by Strickland's approach, or at least part of it, even as they and legislative leaders look for more details. Strickland's office continues to work with the Legislative Services Commission on the bill. The roots of the debate date to the 1990s. Ohio joined many other states in deregulating its electricity market in 2001. In a deregulated market, customers can buy electricity from independent power providers instead of only the utilities whose wires are connected to their homes. The hope was that competition would emerge, lowering electricity prices. But that didn't materialize. Many reasons have been given, ranging from poor decisions by federal regulators to badly constructed regulations and the existence of already-cheap power in southern Ohio. The governor proposes giving utilities the choice of returning to a regulated environment by having the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approve their rates or opting for market pricing -- but only if they can prove to the PUCO that a competitive market exists. The plan also calls for increased use of "advanced energy technologies" by 25 percent by 2025 as a way to keep and attract new jobs, while modernizing Ohio's aging power plants and transmission lines. Strickland's plan has "something for everybody," said Kevin Walker, president and chief operating officer of AEP Ohio. But Walker was curious about how some of Strickland's ideas would look if approved. "We feel there is a market," Walker said. "But it's going to be interesting how we define a 'competitive market.' " Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering, and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, released a statement yesterday that expressed appreciation for Strickland's work but offered no opinions on the plan. Each declined to elaborate. Strickland hopes the legislature will act by the end of the year. Environment Ohio commended Strickland's "first step" regarding renewable sources. But other states are requiring that a greater percentage of electricity come from those sources, and the environmental advocacy group plans to work with legislators to improve on Strickland's plan. The group also is concerned that the plan lacks penalties if the governor's goals aren't met. "That's a big problem," said Erin Bowser, Environment Ohio's state director. "If there are no penalties, then where's the stick?" Strickland said the state should not deal with rates without addressing issues such as renewable power-generation sources. This month, some of the state's largest manufacturers argued against that point, but they seemed to back off yesterday. "The governor clearly shares our goal of placing consumers on equal footing with utility companies," Eric Burkland, president of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, said in a statement. Officials with Direct Energy of Houston, a third-party energy provider that wants to enter the Ohio market, said they are encouraged by Strickland's plan, although much work remains. Strickland also wants to increase energy efficiency in Ohio. Janine Migden-Ostrander, Ohio's consumer counsel, praised that idea but wondered about Strickland's call for more input from consumer groups about rates and regulations. "I'm hoping the process would be such that we would get the time and data that we need," she said. Dispatch reporter Jim Siegel contributed to this story. mniquette@dispatch.com paul.wilson@dispatch.com ©2007, The Columbus Dispatch, ***************************************************************** 4 The Hindu: Truce between Congress and Left on nuclear deal Thursday, August 30, 2007 : 2115 Hrs New Delhi, Aug. 30 (PTI): In a bid to placate the angry Left, government today announced the setting up of a Committee to go into their objections to the Indo-US nuclear deal, whose findings will be taken into account in the "operationalisation" of the agreement. A carefully-worded statement read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the Committee, whose composition will be announced shortly, will look into "certain aspects" of the agreement, specifically the implications of the Hyde Act on the deal and India's self- reliance in the nuclear sector. The implications of the deal on the foreign policy and security cooperation will also be considered by the committee, according to the statement issued after a meeting between the top leaders of the Congress and Left parties at which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and CPI leader A B Bardhan were present. The government stopped short of saying the operationalisation of the deal would be put on hold and confined itself to stating that the "operationalisation" of the deal would take into account the Committee's findings. This was open to a variety of interpretations with the Left claiming that it was clear that the deal has been paused as demanded by them but a Congress leader said what had been agreed was contained in the statement. The Left had been demanding that the negotiations with the IAEA should not not proceed but the statement contained no no references to the international atomic energy watchdog. It was not clear whether side by side with the setting up of the committee the discussions with the IAEA may continue. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 5 TheStar.com: comment - New energy plan for a new era | Today's Toronto Star | Star P.M. Aug 30, 2007 04:30 AM The challenge was truly daunting, but the Ontario Power Authority has done an admirable job in pulling it off. The agency was given the task of developing the first comprehensive plan in more than 15 years for ensuring that Ontarians have a clean, reliable and adequate supply of electricity over the next 20 years. While the OPA's plan, made public yesterday, had to meet the priorities set out by Queen's Park for shifting the mix of power sources toward one more supportive of the fight against climate change, it also had to seek out the most cost-effective ways of achieving that goal. And as much as those calculations had to be based on existing technologies, the power authority had to make its plan as flexible as possible to allow for a mid-course shift to new technologies that might be developed after its plan goes into effect. Added to that is the fact that some power sources, such as wind and hydro, can be developed only in specific areas of the province. That means the mix for electricity generation depends on how the transmission grid is updated. To ensure its plan can be adapted to unanticipated changes as time goes on, the agency has developed a prudent timetable for making the surest and least costly investments first, then phasing in the rest over the next 10 to 12 years. Together with its intention to update this plan every three years, this staggered plan gives the OPA the flexibility it needs to shift course at the lowest cost if conditions warrant. Specifically, the OPA says that by 2025 some 47 per cent of Ontario's power supply will come from nuclear power, 45 per cent from conservation and renewable sources, and 8 per cent from natural gas. It recognized that conservation is critical in ensuring Ontarians have the clean power they need over the next 20 years. Not only is it the cleanest way to meet power needs, but it is the one that does not require costly new transmission lines or new generating capacity. At the same time, the OPA understood that effective conservation isn't cheap. It requires significant investments in energy efficiency as well as incentives to encourage consumers to use less power. Accordingly, it proposes to spend $10 billion out of an overall $60 billion capital plan on conservation initiatives, which it believes can reduce demand for power by 15 per cent by 2025. The plan's biggest thrust is in renewable energy. Between wind, solar and new hydro facilities, the OPA is planning investments of $17.4 billion, including the cost of the new transmission lines. But the single biggest expenditure, $26.5 billion, will go to maintaining the contribution of nuclear power at 47 per cent of total supply, either through a refurbishment of the Pickering B facility by 2018 or through the construction of new capacity at a later date. Gas-fired generation will serve primarily as a contingent source of power that can be brought on stream as needed. The investments in gas, renewables and conservation are planned over the next six years will provide all the power needed to allow the province to close the last of the dirty coal-fired plants by 2014. When that happens, Ontario's greenhouse gases from electricity generation will be 90 per cent lower than they are now. Environmentalists want the coal-fired plants closed sooner, but the OPA plan appears to offer a realistic timetable that will allow the plants to be shut in a timely fashion without leaving the province vulnerable to brownouts during periods of peak power demand. Of course, consumers will pay for these investments through higher prices, which could rise 25 per cent. But those who take advantage of planned conservation efforts should not see any spike in their bills. This energy plan for Ontario is long overdue. The province's population has grown rapidly and technology has improved dramatically since the last comprehensive plan was tabled 15 years ago. No time should be wasted putting it into effect. © Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2007 | ***************************************************************** 6 TheStar.com: The OPA's nuclear vision | Today's Toronto Star | Star P.M. DICK LOEK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Ontario Power Authority said on Wednesday, August 29, 2007, it will spend $1 billion more to completely refurbish its Unit 4 reactor at the Bruce Nuclear Plant on Lake Huron. Proposal to energy regulator would end coal-fired power generation by 2015 Aug 30, 2007 04:30 AM Tyler Hamilton Energy Reporter The multi-billion-dollar overhaul and expansion of the province's electricity system over the next 20 years may be written on paper, but it's not etched in stone. That's the message Ontario's power authority was eager to get across yesterday while submitting the final version of an electricity-system plan to the Ontario Energy Board for approval. Under the plan, largely unchanged from a draft released in December, the government will spend $60 billion between now and 2027, with the lion's share on nuclear-power projects, to assure reliable electricity supply in a province moving to phase out coal power by 2014. Environmentalists and alternative energy experts were quick to criticize the document for its "big build" bias, arguing the plan relies too heavily on nuclear, underestimates the reach of conservation and fails to embrace the full potential that wind, solar and other "green" energy technologies can economically offer. "This is really a great plan for 1977, but not for 2007," said Keith Stewart, an energy expert with environmental group WWF-Canada. "In 10 years, we'll be laughing at how conservative our projections are today. We should be planning for the future, not planning to fall behind the rest of the world in terms of being a centre for these new technologies." But the Association of Power Producers of Ontario applauded the plan as a "major milestone" in a province that has not produced an electricity-system planning document in 15 years. About $27 billion will be earmarked to refurbish old nuclear plants and build new ones, with the goal of having nuclear maintain nearly half of all power production on the grid. Toward this goal, yesterday the power authority announced it had extended its refurbishment agreement on Bruce Power. The nuclear operator will now spend $1 billion more to completely refurbish its Unit 4 reactor, bringing the project's total cost to $5.25 billion and extending the life of the reactor 20 years, to 2037. Another $10 billion will be used to reduce demand on the electricity system through conservation, energy efficiency and other methods. Renewable electricity will contribute 30 per cent to overall supply through a $15 billion investment in mostly wind and hydroelectric projects. New transmission will cost $4 billion, much of it devoted to connecting new hydro dams in the north, while $3 billion will pay for four new gas-fired plants to assure reliable supply to Toronto and surrounding areas. The likely impact to consumers by 2025: a 15 per cent to 20 per cent cost increase for every kilowatt-hour consumed, although, if conservation programs work, the average household by that time would use up to a quarter less electricity, so the overall bill would fall. Officials at the Ontario Power Authority, or OPA, the independent body charged with planning Ontario's electricity, emphasized that the plan, more than two years in the making, designed and expected to change as new technologies, opportunities and challenges emerge. "This is a road map," said Jan Carr, chief executive officer of the power authority. "It is not the journey." Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said in an interview the proposal is a "clear map" and "balanced plan." "I think it's a very important planning document," said Duncan. "We've built in a formal, three-year review so people in Ontario can see what we've done right, and what's been done wrong." Opposition parties were quick to pounce. Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory accused the government of moving too slowly to develop nuclear power. "Nor do I believe they are making an investment of the magnitude that's necessary to secure supply of baseload power." The New Democrats, on the other hand, warned that the plan puts future renewable projects and conservation efforts at risk. "This remains a go nuclear, go big electricity strategy," said NDP leader Howard Hampton. Also, talk of an east-west grid to carry clean hydroelectricity from northern Manitoba and Labrador is suddenly missing from the plan, he said. Duncan said the exclusion was intentional. "There are huge variables that are out of the control of the province of Ontario, so we couldn't in good conscience include megawatts from those sources." He said the plan can be adjusted to reflect any such projects. "Any megawatts we get from them will be a bonus." But environmentalists such as Stewart said a three-year review, while welcome, can help only so much when decisions are being made today to proceed with large nuclear and transmission projects that require long lead times, and which take resources away from conservation and renewables. "If you're already building the nuclear plants to meet that need, then the conservation programs get cancelled," he said. "We should be looking at this as an opportunity to modernize our energy system, not just to hand out big construction contracts." Some small changes were made in the final plan from December's draft. For example, the power authority slightly reduced the projected growth in electricity demand over the next 20 years, citing improved operational efficiencies within major industries. The authority reduced the amount of wind power being pursued by the province by about 800 megawatts, but replaced this by increasing the target for hydroelectric power in the north. "Hydro is cheaper than wind in most circumstances ... it lasts longer and is more dispatchable," said Amir Shalaby, vice-president of system planning with the power authority. The final plan also eliminates consideration of alternative approaches, including electricity generation through the pumped storage of water, gasification of coal and municipal waste and the use of fuel cells. The Canadian Solar Industries Association complained that the plan also lowballs the potential of solar technologies. Charles Keizer, who helps lead the energy practice at law firm Ogilvy Renault, said the plan still needs the approval of the Ontario Energy Board, a process that could take a year. "The practical reality is that you can't have everything in the plan," he said, adding that the real challenge will be to streamline regulatory hurdles so that the contents of the plan can be implemented with little delay. "Problems can arise in terms of timing. The plan itself may be coherent and cohesive. It's the variables now that really need to be managed." Files from Rob Ferguson, Robert Benzie © Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2007 | ***************************************************************** 7 winnipegsun.com: Editorial - Powerful argument for nuclear Thu, August 30, 2007 By Roy Clancy Plans to build the first nuclear power plant in Canada in 20 years couldn't have come at a more opportune time. As concerns about global warming rise to fever pitch, a full-flung debate on the role of nuclear energy in reducing CO2 emissions -- and fears about safety -- is essential. You'd think the green movement, which led the charge to reduce CO2 emissions, would welcome such an opportunity. Instead, they've responded to an application to build a $6.2 billion nuclear power plant in northern Alberta with the usual booga-booga rhetoric that unfortunately clings to the development of nuclear energy in Canada. The half-truths and dubious scientific claims by these groups lead one to believe they do their research by watching the Simpsons. The reality is nuclear plants in Ontario have operated safely for 30 years. Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., which has teamed up with the private Alberta Energy Corp. to bring CANDU nuclear technology to Alberta, has a flawless record. Opponents say nuclear energy does in fact does create CO2 emissions, but they're talking about mining and construction. These factor into any energy source. Once a nuclear plant is up and running, it cranks out power, lots of it, with almost zero emissions. This plant will generate 2,200 megawatts of electricity. Put in perspective, that's almost 25% of Alberta's current consumption. A coal-fired plant would emit 10 million tonnes of CO2 a year to generate the same output. Nuclear naysayers also try to heighten fears because this is a new model reactor, but as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission points out, changes made were to ensure even greater safety. The first consideration should be safety, but the public should rest assured environmental and health concerns will be put under a microscope before the ground is even prepared for this facility, scheduled to be online in 10 years. With Ontario eyeing plans to refurbish reactors and build new ones, it's time for an open-minded look at the role nuclear power can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Copyright © 2007, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved. Test ***************************************************************** 8 Platts: Ontario to nearly double generating capacity in next 20 years Boston (Platts)--29Aug2007 The Ontario Power Authority Wednesday filed its proposed 20-year "integrated power supply plan" with the Ontario Energy Board, the last entity that must review and approve the document. The plan is similar to that recommended by the Energy Ministry in June 2006 and calls, among other things, for refurbishing several nuclear plants and building new ones, doubling to 15,700 MW the amount of hydroelectric, wind and other renewable capacity, phasing out Ontario Power Generation's four remaining coal plants by the end of 2014 and achieving 6,300 MW of energy efficiency-related demand reduction. The plan envisions that by 2027, 47% of Ontario's electricity supply will be provided by nuclear power, 30% from renewable sources, 15% from conservation, and 9% from gas-fired plants and call for a near doubling of existing capacity at a total cost of about C$60 billion (US$57 billion). Amir Shalaby, OPA's vice president for power supply planning, said the cost of electricity will rise will rise from about C$95/MWh now to more than C$110/MWh in the middle years of the next decade, before falling to less than C$105/MWh by 2025. He said the plan also will slash the Ontario electricity sector's greenhouse gas emissions from about 29 megatons this year to about four megatons in 2015 after the coal plants are retired. Depending on whether OPG decides to refurbish its four-unit Pickering B nuclear facility, the plan assumes the province will have nuclear capacity of 2,064 MW in place by 2018. If OPG decides against refurbishment, then the plan says the same 2,064 MW of nuclear capacity will be in place at a later date, once new nuclear capacity is online. The plan also calls for OPA to enter into long-term power purchase deals with developers to build 2,150 MW of gas-fired capacity in the province. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 9 newsobserver.com: Progress Energy fined by feds for actions at nuke plant Thursday, August 30, 2007 By John Murawski, Staff Writer Federal regulators this afternoon announced a $65,000 fine against Progress Energy, culminating an investigation that confirmed that security supervisors at the utility's Shearon Harris nuclear plant handed out answers to security guards taking a qualification test in 2005. The allegations stemmed from a whistle-blower complaint that Progress Energy originally denied. Progress Energy said today it is not going to challenge the fine. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff proposed the civil penalty against Progress Energy after an investigation confirmed 8 of 19 concerns raised by security guards at the plant. The matter was brought to the NRC by Durham-based N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network and the Union of Concerned Scientists in Boston. The NRC also issued a notice of violation against Securitas Security Services, the company that had provided the security personnel at the Shearon Harris plant in Wake County. The NRC also cited the security supervisors for violations. Securitas continues to provide security services at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant. The three supervisors involved in the cheating incident don't work at any of Progress Energy's nuclear plants. Staff writer John Murawski can be reached at 829-8932 or © Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 10 Platts: NRC's new plant licensing regulations published 2007-08-28 Washington (Platts)--28Aug2007 NRC published its revised new plant licensing regulations in the August 28 Federal Register. Changes to the regulation, 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 52, go into effect September 27. This is the first revision of the rule since it was issued in 1989. It affects three licensing processes: Early site permits, standard design certifications, and combined construction permit-operating licenses. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 11 The Hindu: 'Breakthrough in stand-off between Left, Govt. over N-deal' Thursday, August 30, 2007 : 1635 Hrs New Delhi, Aug. 30 (PTI): In an apparent breakthrough in the stand-off between them on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the government is believed to have assured the Left parties it will not noperationalise the agreement till a political mechanism completes its work. The allies are expected to be formally communicated this government assurance when the leaders of the Congress and the Left parties meet at residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening, Left sources said. While senior Congress leaders met among themselves to finalise a statement on the political mechanism to be constituted, the Left leaders met separately to consider the government's draft proposal. Asked whether a breakthrough has been achieved, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee merely said "wait". The statement to be made public after the Congress-Left meeting is expected to contain details of the political mechanism to be set up to go into concerns of the Left parties on the deal. The statement is also expected to make public the assurance that till the mechanism completes its work the government may not not go ahead with operationalising the deal. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 12 Rutland Herald: Vermont EOC Monitoring Situation At Vermont Yankee August 30, 2007 WATERBURY — Vermont Emergency Management announced in a press release it is monitoring the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station shutdown. The agency said plant officials indicated the reactor had shut itself down during routine testing. No emergency has been declared, as plant officials report that the reactor is stable and there is no threat to the public. As a precaution, Vermont Emergency Management stepped up activation of its Emergency Operations Center after notification and will continue to monitor the status at the plant. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 13 Rutland Herald: Vermont Yankee shuts down August 30, 2007 Staff Report Vermont Yankee nuclear plant shut down unexpectedly Thursday afternoon, shortly after 3 p.m., state and federal regulators reported. The shut down occurred as the plant was performing testing on the reactor, which has been at 50 percent power since a portion of one of its cooling towers collapsed nine days ago. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said it was too early to say what caused the emergency shutdown. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 14 Times Argus: Yankee failure August 30, 2007 Vermont's congressional delegation called the collapse of cooling towers at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant "alarming." It may also be called astonishing and bizarre. In addition, the collapse suggests that Vermont's energy future may be more precarious than we had thought. The job of the cooling towers is to cool water used in the power generation process before it is released into the Connecticut River. The towers consist of tall banks of cells held in a wooden structure that looks like a giant car radiator. Photos taken by an unknown photographer and released to the press show that a large section had collapsed, leaving a pipe more than four feet in diameter gushing water. The cooling towers are not related to the reactor core, and Yankee officials say their collapse raises no safety concerns connected to nuclear power generation. But the collapse of the towers raises safety concerns in another way: by dealing a severe blow to the state's confidence that Entergy Vermont, the owner of the plant, is doing what needs to be done to operate the plant safely or that the regulatory agencies are doing a sufficiently rigorous job of oversight. Nuclear power critics had expressed concerns about the capability of the cooling towers to withstand more stress caused by the recent 20 percent boost in power production at the plant. Entergy assured the public that the plant was up to the job, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concurred. Meanwhile, Entergy has been seeking approval to discharge warmer water into the Connecticut River, an action that has been challenged in court by environmentalists concerned that higher water temperatures would harm fish populations. Is Entergy seeking to use the river as a way of lightening the strain on its shoddy cooling towers? Should Vermont's river ecosystem be jeopardized in order to allow Entergy to cut corners? Cutting corners seems to have happened. The photos of the collapse are prima facie evidence of it. It is shocking that a failure so complete could have happened at a plant that is supposed to be subjected to the strictest and most constant regulatory scrutiny. If the plant is in shoddier condition than advertised, the question is how much Entergy is willing to put into it to bring it into satisfactory condition. This is not an academic question. The company will be seeking to extend the plant's operating license beyond its expiration date of 2012, and state officials and utility executives are all expecting that Yankee will continue to be a major source of power for the state. The degree to which the 20 percent power boost and the profits it produces figure into Entergy's balance sheet is unknown. If power production must be scaled back over the long term, what does that mean about the license extension and the state's energy future? What kind of investment is Entergy willing to make to refurbish the collapsing plant? Entergy will have to provide convincing answers about the cause of the collapse, and state and federal officials will have to review the adequacy of their review processes. The fact that the faulty cooling towers escaped everyone's notice raises the question of what else at the plant has escaped notice. Yankee's license extension is not a foregone conclusion. © 2007 Times Argus ***************************************************************** 15 Burlington Free Press: Public Service commissioner meets with Vermont Yankee officials burlingtonfreepress.com | Burlington, Vermont Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007 By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer The state's Public Service commissioner said Wednesday that it appears the collapse of a cooling tower section at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant last week was an aberration. He also predicted the plant could return to full power in a "matter of days, not weeks." "We do not see any other evidence of problems of the sort that occurred the other day," Commissioner David O'Brien said in an interview after emerging from a nearly four-hour meeting with officials at the Vernon plant. The partial collapse Aug. 21 ripped a gaping hole in the side of the plant's west cooling tower structure and sent thousands of gallons of water gushing from a broken 54-inch-diameter pipe. The plant is owned by Entergy Nuclear and supplies a third of the power used in Vermont. It was about to reduce its power generation to check out a problem with the tower at the time of the incident and has been operating at half its capacity ever since. O'Brien said he was concerned that inspection and maintenance procedures at the plant failed to detect a problem with the wooden support system until just a day before the partial collapse occurred. "We want to know what failed and why," he said. "The inspection procedures were obviously not what they should be. ... I made sure they know we're not happy about this situation." He said Entergy will have to work to restore the public's confidence in its ability to run the plant properly. Rob Williams, Entergy Nuclear spokesman, did not respond to a request for comment. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Wednesday that his agency has received no information about the cause of the partial collapse. "We're still waiting for a root-cause evaluation and an extent of condition review," Sheehan said. Ray Shadis, technical adviser for the watchdog group New England Coalition, said the tower incident might be evidence of other problems at Vermont Yankee and he was disappointed by O'Brien's remarks. "Clearly, he is too eager to put the public's mind at ease, and that's not his job," Shadis said of O'Brien. "It's straight out of the don't-worry-be-happy school of oversight." Shadis and his group, which has opposed Entergy's plan to increase the plant's power output by 20 percent, have called for a full-blown evaluation of the plant's operation in the aftermath of the tower incident. O'Brien said he disagreed with that approach. He said the cooling tower problem was not safety-related because the structure is used to cool the plant's condenser, not the reactor core. O'Brien said the "nuclear side of the plant" is subject to far more sophisticated inspection and maintenance scrutiny than non-safety items like the cooling towers. "I do not see a reason for pushing the panic button here," he said. O'Brien said the collapse appears to have occurred when part of an interior wood support structure holding up a 54-inch fiberglass pipe carrying water from the plant's condenser to a set of cooling towers buckled under the pipe's weight and collapsed. "Somewhere in the structure there was a failure, and the pipe came loose," O'Brien said. "That's what caused the additional damage to the structure." He said the finding was preliminary and acknowledged that plant workers searching through debris at the base of the cooling tower structure have yet to find the faulty support member they believe caused the partial collapse. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Copyright ©2007 Burlingtonfreepress.com All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Rutland Herald: How did inspections miss Yankee tower trouble? August 30, 2007 By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff VERNON — Reconstruction of the damaged cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has begun, and state officials who toured the tower Wednesday said they remained concerned that inspections at the plant didn't catch the problem. "It still shows something inadequate is occurring," said State Nuclear Engineer Uldis Vanags, who started his job the day before the tower partially collapsed last week. "This type of event reduces the confidence people have in the plant and that's serious," Vanags said. But Vanags said the problem at the cooling tower, and the inadequate inspections, did not "translate" to similar problems on the nuclear side of the plant. "There's no evidence it translates to other parts of the plant," he said, noting that key safety areas receive much more scrutiny that the non-nuclear and non-safety cooling towers. The towers cool the water from the reactor before it is returned to the Connecticut River. Entergy Nuclear must abide by its state environmental discharge permit, although it is actively seeking to raise the temperature allowed by the permit, and significantly reduce the usage of the towers. Vanags said he came away from Wednesday's tour with what he termed "a really good understanding" of last Tuesday's collapse, which occurred as the company was preparing to reduce power and take the cooling tower offline to examine a "sagging problem" in the tower's superstructure. Vanags, who held a similar state nuclear advisor position in Maine for several years, said he was able to climb through the shutdown cooling tower and examine the damage. "I'll only be completely reassured when I see the total picture. I'm satisfied with the steps they're taking," he said. Meanwhile, David O'Brien, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, has scheduled a meeting of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel to discuss the cooling tower collapse. Vanags said the meeting would be held in the Vernon-Brattleboro area. He said the meeting would be in mid-September. O'Brien, who is the chairman of the advisory panel, which includes citizens and legislators, and members of Gov. James Douglas's administration, didn't return phone calls Wednesday. Vanags said that he and O'Brien went on the four-hour Yankee tour together. Robert Williams, spokesman for Entergy Nuclear, the owner of Vermont Yankee, said late Wednesday afternoon that reconstruction of the section of the damaged tower had begun. He said reconstruction should take about a week, but that there was no timetable for bringing the reactor back to 100 percent power. The plant is currently operating at 50 percent power. He said that the details of the reconstruction, as well as the return to normal power levels, would depend on the ongoing investigation "and any changes to the tower that are necessary." He said the company was not willing to say yet what caused the structural timbers to fail. He said Entergy had brought in cooling tower experts and structural engineers to help evaluate the situation. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 17 NRC: NRC Issues Notice of Violation to Entergy for Missing Another Deadline to Have New Indian Point Alert and Notification System in Operation News Release - 2007-109 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Notice of Violation to Entergy for its repeated failure to meet established deadlines to achieve operability of a new alert and notification system for the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Entergy operates the plant, which is located in Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y. The NRC’s July 30, 2007, Order required Entergy to complete installation and testing of the new alert and notification system, and to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval, prior to an Aug. 24, 2007, deadline, to declare the new Emergency Notification System (ENS) operable. In an Aug. 23rd letter to NRC, Entergy wrote that it had completed all pre-operability activities required by NRC’s Order for the new ENS but has not received FEMA’s approval. Therefore, the NRC has entered its enforcement process to determine the appropriate enforcement actions against Entergy. In a letter issued today to Entergy, the NRC stated that it is considering imposing daily civil penalties for Entergy’s failure to meet the Aug. 24, 2007, deadline. The NRC also stated that it will determine the appropriate enforcement action after Entergy comes into compliance and will consider Entergy’s due diligence in resolving this matter with FEMA. The NRC believes that Entergy’s primary focus should be on supporting the FEMA review of the new ENS. Indian Point's existing siren system has been maintained and tested, and remains operable, providing reasonable assurance that the public would be alerted in the event of a radiological emergency at the plant. "Unfortunately, Entergy has missed another NRC-mandated deadline to have the new Emergency Notification System operable," NRC Director of Enforcement Cynthia Carpenter said. "This is the second violation of an NRC Order and warrants escalated enforcement action.” The NRC first issued a Confirmatory Order in January 2006 requiring the installation of back-up power for the siren system at Indian Point by Jan. 30, 2007, in response to a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Entergy, in January 2007, requested and received an extension but missed that deadline of April 15, 2007. The NRC denied a second extension and fined the company $130,000 for missing the deadline. The Energy Policy Act included a provision directing the NRC to require nuclear power plants with high local population densities to have back-up power for their emergency notification systems, including sirens. Indian Point is the only nuclear plant that fell within the requirement. To address the resulting NRC order, Entergy decided to install a new siren system. NRC news releases are available through a free list server subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. August 30, 2007 ***************************************************************** 18 Brattleboro Reformer: VY cooling tower collapse may delay license renewal approval BREAKING NEWS: BOB AUDETTE Article Launched: 08/30/2007 04:53:33 PM EDT BRATTLEBORO - The collapse of a cooling tower at Vermont Yankee could mean a delay in the nuclear power plant receiving approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend its operating license from 2012 to 2032. "Nine of 11 of the cells in the cooling tower bank where the partial collapse occurred were not determined by Entergy to fall within the scope of license renewal reviews," wrote Neil Sheehan, NRC spokesman, in an e-mail to the Reformer. "We're asking whether that conclusion and the basis for that are still valid." Even if the NRC determines Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee, was correct in leaving the cooling towers out of its license renewal review, it has asked the company to send it more information on the collapse. "This will likely result in an additional extension of the time we need to complete our review of the application," wrote Sheehan. "However, we believe we need to be as thorough as possible in considering all the ramifications of the tower failure." In January 2006, Entergy applied to the NRC for an operating license extension. Recently, the NRC announced it had found no environmental reasons for preventing the license extension. It had planned to issue its final report some time early next year. Entergy has 30 days from receipt of the letter to respond to the NRC's request. ***************************************************************** 19 THERECORD.COM: Bruce Power puts another $1B into refurbishing nuclear plant PAT HALPIN CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO The Ontario Power Authority has approved expanding a $4.25 billion refurbishment of the Bruce Power nuclear generating station in Kincardine. KINCARDINE The companies that operate the Bruce Power nuclear station on the shores of Lake Huron will spend another $1 billion on a multi-billion-dollar upgrade to expand output and extend the life of one of the plant's key units by another 19 years. The Bruce Power partners, including Calgary-based energy company TransCanada Corp. and uranium producer Cameco Corp., said yesterday they will expand their plan to refurbish two of the plant's eight generating units by 2010. Bruce Power now has the go-ahead from the Ontario Power Authority to replace all 480 fuel channels at Unit 4, which will extend the unit's life until 2036. Bruce Power is already doing a $4.25-billion project to restart Units 1 and 2 and to replace steam generators in all four units. The additional work on Unit 4 means another $1-billion investment. Expanding the project at this point is a vote of confidence in the company and the site, said Bruce spokesperson Steve Cannon. "Our investors have shown great confidence in how the restart and refurbishment program has gone to date," he said. "Any way you look at it, (the investment is) a huge level of confidence in both the project itself and the long-term future of Bruce Power." Municipalities around the Bruce Power site expect the project expansion will bring economic benefit and job growth, along with more demand for housing and services. "We're seeing increases in our residential and commercial development and that's going to continue," said Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith. "This is one of the reasons we upgraded the water-treatment plant and we're going to build a new sewage pumping station -- to provide for additional growth to the north of Port Elgin." The restart and refurbishment project is the most complex engineering project in North America, Cannon said. The four older Bruce A units were shut down in the late 1990s. So far, the massive project is on time and on budget, according to Bruce Power. Units 1 and 2 are expected to be on line by late 2009 or early 2010. Refurbishment at Units 3 and 4 is expected to be complete in 2013. Extending the life of Unit 4 means 750 megawatts of emissions-free energy and secure employment for the area for another almost 20 years. The Ontario Power Authority said in a news release that the new refurbishment plan will also reduce Ontario's need for the building of new nuclear plants. Hydro One plans to upgrade the transmission line between the Bruce site and Milton and have a new line in service by 2012. 160 King Street East, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2G 4E5 519-894-2231 ***************************************************************** 20 Triangle Business Journal: Progress fined for nuke plant violation - 5:06 PM EDT Thursday, August 30, 2007 Raleigh's Progress Energy is being fined $65,000 by federal regulators after an investigation turned up evidence that supervisors at Wake County's Shearon Harris nuclear power plant gave three contract security officers answers to a requalification test. The action marks the end of an investigation into Shearon Harris that was launched in 2005 after whistleblower groups N.C. WARN and the Union of Concerned Scientists expressed safety concerns about the plant, located in southwestern Wake. Eight of the whistleblowers' 19 claims have been substantiated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, though only one of those substantiations, the one dealing with the security officers, led to any regulatory action. The NRC declined to take action against Progress on the other claims after the company promised to clean up its act internally. The NRC also said Thursday that it's filed notices of violation against Securitas, the company that provided guards for Shearon Harris, and the contract security supervisors. © 2007 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. ***************************************************************** 21 NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials; Meeting Notice FR Doc E7-17173 [Federal Register: August 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 168)] [Notices] [Page 50129-50130] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30au07-60] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials (ACNW&M) will hold its 182nd meeting on September 18-20, 2007, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10 a.m.-10:05 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW&M Chairman (Open)-- The Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 10:05 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: Corrosion of Waste Package and Drip Shield Materials in a Repository Environment (Open)--An NRC staff representative from the Division of High-Level Waste and Repository Safety (DHLWRS) will brief the Committee on the staff's current understanding of key processes and associated uncertainties for estimating the long-term performance of waste package and drip shield materials under potential repository conditions. 10:30 a.m.-11 a.m.: Mechanisms for Estimating Juvenile Waste Package Failures (Open)--Representatives from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses and from DHLWRS will update the Committee on the staff's current understanding of key processes and associated uncertainties that may contribute to juvenile failure of waste packages under potential repository conditions. 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Dissolution Processes for Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuels in a Repository Environment (Open)--DHLWRS staff representatives will brief the Committee on the staff's current understanding of key processes and associated uncertainties for the dissolution of commercial spent nuclear fuels under potential repository conditions. 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Discussion of the NRC Role in the International Committee on Radiological Protection (ICRP) (Open)--An NRC staff representative from the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) will brief the Committee on NRC's participation in recent activities of the ICRP. 1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Briefing on Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) Minimization Strategies (Open)--An NEI representative will brief the Committee on what nuclear power plants are doing to reduce the volume of Class B/C commercial LLW being generated. 2 p.m.-3 p.m.: NEI Executive Committee Views on Commercial LLW Management Issues (Open)--An NEI representative will brief the Committee on activities of a recently-formed NEI executive-level committee examining issues related to the generation, management, and disposal of commercial LLW. 3:15 p.m.-4 p.m.: Observations from ACNW Members and Staff on Recent Activities (Open)--The ACNW members and staff will present summaries of their: Visit to decommissioning sites in Pennsylvania (TMI plant) and Missouri (Hematite site); visit to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction site in Colorado; and attendance at the First Annual Radwaste Summit. 4 p.m.-5 p.m.: Discussion of ACNW&M Letter Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss potential and proposed ACNW&M letter reports. Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW&M Chairman (Open)--The Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 8:35 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Regulatory Guide Revisions (Open)--An NRC staff representative from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research will brief the Committee on the efforts to revise NRC's Regulatory Guides related to the licensing of nuclear facilities. 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Preparation for Meeting with NRC Commissioners (Open)--The Committee will discuss topics and work on the slides in preparation for the ACNW&M briefing to the NRC Commissioners, scheduled for Wednesday, November 14, 2007. 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Discussion of ACNW&M Letter Reports (Open)--The Committee will continue discussion of potential and proposed ACNW&M letter reports. Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW&M Chairman (Open)--The Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of today's sessions. 8:35 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Discussion of ACNW&M Letter Reports (Open)-- The Committee will continue discussion of potential and proposed ACNW&M letter reports. [[Page 50130]] 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m.: Semiannual Briefing by the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) (Open)-- The FSME Office and the Division Directors will brief the Committee on recent and future activities of interest within their respective programs. 3 p.m.-5 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will discuss matters related to the conduct of ACNW&M activities and specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, as time and availability of information permit. Discussions may include content of future letters and scope of future Committee Meetings. Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACNW&M meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2006 (71 FR 60196). In accordance with those procedures, oral or written views may be presented by members of the public. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Persons desiring to make oral statements should notify Dr. Antonio F. Dias (Telephone 301-415-6805), between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, as far in advance as practicable so that appropriate arrangements can be made to schedule the necessary time during the meeting for such statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras during the meeting may be limited to selected portions of the meeting as determined by the ACNW&M Chairman. Information regarding the time to be set aside for taking pictures may be obtained by contacting the ACNW&M office prior to the meeting. In view of the possibility that the schedule for ACNW&M meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should notify Dr. Dias as to their particular needs. Further information regarding topics to be discussed, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, as well as the Chairman's ruling on requests for the opportunity to present oral statements and the time allotted therefor can be obtained by contacting Dr. Dias. ACNW meeting agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room at pdr@nrc.gov, or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & oc-collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas). Video teleconferencing service is available for observing open sessions of ACNW&M meetings. Those wishing to use this service for observing ACNW&M meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACRS/ACNW&M Audio Visual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., (ET), at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the availability of this service. Individuals or organizations requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they use to establish the video teleconferencing link. The availability of video teleconferencing services is not guaranteed. Dated: August 24, 2007. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7-17173 Filed 8-29-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 22 Reuters: France reviewing future of nuclear firms, tie-ups-report Mergers/Acquisitions | Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:52PM EDT PARIS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The French government has started reviewing several options to reshuffle the French nuclear sector involving firms such as state-controlled nuclear operator Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), industrial group Alstom (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and mining group Eramet (ERMT.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), French daily Les Echos reported. In an advance copy of the front page of Friday's newspaper, Les Echos said the possible opening of the capital of Areva could be the occasion of a tie-up with one of these firms. Les Echos also said it obtained a note which showed the French state was also considering the possible entry of construction and telecoms group Bouyues (BOUY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) in the capital of Areva as well as the possible involvement of Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Japan's Mitsubishi (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research). The French Economy Ministry did not have any immediate comment. (Writing by Dominique Vidalon) © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 Dothan Eagle: Valve problem at Farley Nuclear prompts public meeting dothaneagle.com Thursday, Aug 30, 2007 - 03:04 PM A problem with a valve on a piece of equipment at Farley Nuclear Power Plant has prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to schedule a public meeting next month to discuss the issue. According to information from the NRC, during surveillance testing in April 2006 and January 2007, there was a problem with "valves associated with the Unit 2 residual heat removal system containment suction supply," resulting in a "yellow" rating. A yellow finding means it is of substantial safety significance. The NRC conducted a special inspection at the plant in May to review what led to the earlier valve failures, during which the NRC "identified a failure to promptly identity and correct the condition," which is in violation of NRC requirements. The NRC has determined the condition does not result in a current safety concern because Southern Nuclear, which operates the nuclear power plant, "took interim corrective actions to ensure the valve operates properly after the failure in January and took long-term corrective actions during a refueling outage this spring." For more on this story and to read what the NRC and Southern Nuclear had to say about the situation, read Friday's Dothan Eagle. Dothan Eagle ***************************************************************** 24 Saskatoon Star Phoenix: Nuclear critics gear up to fight proposed reactor CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007 Elena Schacherl has been here before. In the 1990s, a small nuclear reactor was being considered for the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, right around the corner from Schacherl's home. She took up the fight against it, joining a citizen's coalition. Eventually, the project fell through. "They were going to put it in two blocks from my house, and I had little kids," she said. "I did a lot of research." Now, a decade later and living in Calgary, she's digging out her facts and research as she gears up for a whole new fight: trying to prevent a proposed $6.2-billion nuclear reactor from being built in northern Alberta. She's been busy doing interviews since Energy Alberta Corp. announced this week it had filed an application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a licence to prepare a site for Canada's first nuclear facility west of Ontario. "Busy -- but that's OK. This is important," said Schacherl, a member of Citizens Advocating Use of Sustainable Energy, one of at least three groups that have sprung up around Alberta and are opposing the nuclear plant. Their criticisms are manifold. Schacherl's group claims the two twin-unit ACR-1000 Candu reactors being proposed for the site near Peace River, Alta., are prototypes that are much different from the CANDU reactors used in Ontario. "The design isn't even completed yet," she said. The group also claims the area chosen for the reactor is the most earthquake-prone in Alberta, raising the potential for disaster. For its part, Calgary-based Energy Alberta has said the province needs the facility to meet its explosive economic growth -- 6.8 per cent last year, tops in the nation. It's touting the plant as a cleaner way to fuel oilsands production. Company chair Wayne Henuset said the proposed facility would provide about 2,200 megawatts to the Alberta grid if it's approved. Scharcherl and other critics have taken aim at claims a nuclear plant will offer an greenhouse gas emissions-free source of power for oilsands production. They point out that the plant's entire "fuel cycle" -- everything from the construction of the plant to mining the uranium -- will produce significant CO2. Premier Ed Stelmach, who has so far steered clear of expressing an opinion for or against the plant, acknowledged Wednesday that he's heard the concerns. "Most of the questions come forward as what do you do with the waste and how do you handle it into the future," Stelmach said. "That's one question I've heard come up from Albertans." David Schindler, a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta, said transporting the waste from a nuclear plant creates a risk in itself. "We hear of truck wrecks and train wrecks every day," said Schindler, who says he's skeptical of the proposed plant for several reasons, including the possibility of an accident. Scharcherl's group is planning education campaigns, including a speaking tour by a nuclear expert, in a bid to turn public opinion against the proposed plant. © The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007 ***************************************************************** 25 Vancouver Province: The 'N' word that makes politicians quake Rhetoric overtakes reason in reaction Michael Smyth, The Province Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007 Environmentalists demanding an end to global warming are calling on the world's governments to adopt clean, zero-emission energy. But mention "nuclear power" -- one of the safest energy sources available with no greenhouse gases -- and their reaction can be summed up in a word: radioactive. This creates a dilemma for politicians seeking a way to cut greenhouse gases while meeting growing demands for electricity. Nuclear would appear to be a viable alternative. But any politician who utters a word of support for the nuke option risks being painted as an evil violator of Mother Earth on par with Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Even Ed Stelmach, the premier of let's-pave-paradise Alberta, wouldn't touch the nuclear issue with a 10-foot fuel rod yesterday. Stelmach refused to state his personal opinion on nuclear energy after a Calgary company formally announced plans to build a $6-billion nuke plant in northern Alberta. Stelmach did say Albertans will be "fully consulted" on the nuke proposal, however. But will British Columbians get a say on a nuclear plant that would be built near the B.C. border? That's where NDP Leader Carole James got into the act yesterday. She called on Premier Gordon Campbell to oppose the Alberta plant because of cross-border safety concerns. "Community leaders are expressing serious reservations about living next door to a massive nuclear-power facility," she wrote. But B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld said he has no plans to meddle in Alberta's nuclear affairs. "I have no opinion on what Alberta does. I have no authority on what Alberta does." Besides, Neufeld argued, the proposed Alberta nuke site isn't that close to B.C., anyway, and we're upwind from any fallout if there's an accident. "It's well over 100 kilometres from the border and the wind generally blows from the west." He might get an argument about that from people in his own Peace River North riding. The mayors of Dawson Creek and Chetwynd are already expressing concerns about the proposed nuke plant. Neufeld said British Columbia's ban on nuclear-power generation in this province will remain in place, but watch for this issue to heat up, anyway. The NDP will keep up the pressure, but I doubt Campbell will oppose Alberta's nuclear plans. For one thing, we buy power from Alberta. For another, Campbell doesn't want any downstream griping from Alberta if B.C. builds another dam on the Peace River. So nuke on, neighbour. E-mail: msmyth@direct.ca © The Vancouver Province 2007 © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks ***************************************************************** 26 National Post: Energy plan calls for wind, nuclear Ontario's power system will rely on more wind, solar and other renewable energy ... $60B Ontario 'Road Map' Chris Wattie, National Post Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007 Ontario's power system will rely on more wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, build more nuclear power plants and ask consumers to save more electricity to meet the province's energy needs for the next two decades under a sweeping $60-billion plan unveiled yesterday by the Ontario Power Authority. The plan would phase out Ontario's greenhouse-gas-emitting coal-fired power plants by 2014. "It's a directional plan: it's a road map," Amir Shalaby, the power authority's vice-president of planning, said. View Larger Image NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns says the province's energy "roadmap" for the next two decades places too much emphasis on nuclear power. Peter J. Thompson, National Post Opposition critics and environmentalists, however, called the 20-year plan unrealistic and predicted it would result in hikes of up to 40% in Ontarians' power bills. They said the plan relied too heavily on expensive and often unreliable nuclear power to meet its goals. "This is a plan for failure," said Keith Stewart of the World Wild-life Fund. "This is a plan for the past, not the future." The 4,000-page document, which must still be approved by the provincial power regulator, would dramatically increase the amount of power generated by renewable energy sources, primarily wind, solar and hydroelectric plants. The plan calls for renewable energy to grow to 12% of the province's power supply from the current 9%, the bulk of that coming from hydroelectric. While the authority plans to more than quadruple the amount of power drawn from wind turbines, from 395 megawatts to more than 1,600 by 2027, it ruled out building large "wind farms" to generate more, saying: "These projects would not be cost effective." The province will also use conservation to reduce demand on the power grid, calling for 6,300 megawatts in reductions through programs such as encouraging energy-efficient buildings or vehicles. The plan projects that conservation will meet 11% of expected demand within the next seven years, up from 2% this year. That would neatly account for the 6,434 megawatts of power now produced by Ontario's coal-fuelled plants, which are to be shut down by 2014 in accordance with a promise by the provincial Liberal government. While the plan phases out coal by the promised date, the power authority said it will also keep some coal plants operational for "insurance" purposes to cover any unanticipated gaps between the province's capacity and peak demand for electricity. The provincial government last year delayed its plans to shut down the plants by five years in order to prevent blackouts. Nuclear power is to provide up to 14,000 megawatts of additional power under the plan through a combination of refurbishing existing nuclear plants and building new facilities. The power authority said that it preferred to refurbish existing plants to building new ones, but left the door open to constructing more nuclear power stations if necessary. The plan also called for increasing gas-generated power from 22% now to 28%. The province's electricity system is expected to be a major issue during the run-up to the Oct. 10 election and the opposition Conservatives and New Democrats were quick to criticize the plan. "This government is good at making plans," said John Yakabuski, the Tory energy critic. "It's just not very good at carrying them out. For this plan to succeed requires many, many things to fall into place." Mr. Yakabuski said the power authority's estimates for savings through energy conservation and for power from renewable sources are overly optimistic, and predicted that the price of electricity would rise much higher than the plan expects. "The price has got to go up, but 15 to 20% sounds very, very optimistic to me." Email to a friendEmail to a friendPrinter friendlyPrinter friendly Font: * * * * * * * * Peter Tabuns, the NDP energy critic, said the plan is at heart "a big nuclear power plan." "And nuclear power is just not cost-effective," he said. "Nuclear plants cost more to build and take longer to come on line ... they always low-ball the costs and in the end we get hit with much higher costs." Mr. Stewart, manager of the World Wildlife Fund's climate-change campaign, said the plan could have done more to highlight energy conservation and renewable energy sources and questioned whether the controversial coal-fired generating stations will actually shut down as planned in 2014. "I think they're going to get to 2014 and say: 'Whoops! The only way to keep the lights on is to keep those coal plants running. Sorry.' " --- ENERGY BY THE NUMBERS Based on a 20-year forecast, but subject to updating and regulatory review every three years. COST The 20-year Integrated Power System Plan includes generation projects, transmission enhancements and conservation efforts estimated to cost roughly $60-billion ($59.7 billion by 2025 in 2007 dollars): $10.2b--conservation $15.4b-- renewable energy $26.5b--nuclear power $3.6b--natural gas $4b-- transmission The cost to power users is expected to be in the order of 15% to 20% higher electrical bills. TIME CONSERVATION Target of 6,300 MWin reduced demand by 2025 by encouraging electricity users to conserve more power. Plan to include payments or incentives to promote conservation and develop energy-efficient technologies, buildings and production processes. RENEWABLE Calls for additional 10,402 megawatts of power generated by renewable sources, primarily hydroelectric, wind, solar and biomass generating systems, by 2010 and 15,700 megawatts by 2025. Hydro resources are to contribute more capacity than wind resources (10,771MW versus 4,685 MW). NUCLEAR Up to 14,000 megawatts more from nuclear plants, either refurbishing existing plants or building new ones. GAS-FIRED Gas-fired generating plants to be used to replace coal-fired plants by 2014 "in the earliest practical timeframe" when conservation or renewable sources are not feasible or cost effective. Gas-fired generators expected to produce additional 15,000 megawatts by 2015. COAL-FIRED Coal-fired plants to be phased out by the end of 2014, but some will be kept operational for "insurance purposes" in case of an unexpected shortfall in power supply or unusually high demand. c National Post 2007 © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks ***************************************************************** 27 asahi.com: Power shortages - EDITORIAL 08/30/2007 The Tokyo metropolitan area was spared a much-feared power crisis this summer, despite the record-breaking heat. However, the power supply outlook in the nation's capital and adjacent prefectures for years to come remains uncertain. This poses a serious policy challenge. On Aug. 22, when demand for electricity peaked as blistering heat made people crank up their air conditioners, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) asked a number of big factories and other large-lot users under special contracts to cut their power consumption. It was the first time in 17 years that the company took this emergency step. What troubles us is that the power situation will remain precarious well into the foreseeable future. The extremely hot weather was not the only reason behind the power crunch. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck in July halted the operations of all seven nuclear reactors at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture. The company has yet to complete its inspections to identify parts of the facility that were damaged by the temblor. Experts believe it will take the company at least two years to repair the damaged parts and resume operations. Given the environmental threat posed by global warming, a sharp increase in the number of thermal power plants that burn fossil fuels like oil and coal is not a realistic policy option. So the government is pinning its hopes on nuclear power generation. However, the July earthquake demonstrated the vulnerability of nuclear power plants. Since nuclear reactors are located in clusters, one natural disaster could cause many to shut down. The cost of nuclear power generation is not cheap, particularly if expenses for necessary repair work is tallied to the total. What happened at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant suggests the risk of a serious accident is greater than was previously thought. The damage caused by the temblor should lead to a fundamental review of the nation's nuclear power policy. One approach the government should consider seriously is dispersed power generation, as opposed to centralized generation at large power stations, such as nuclear plants. By dispersed power, we mean the generation of electricity by small-scale fuel cells and solar power systems located at buildings and homes. Wind power can also be used for such distributed generation. Greater use of this approach would stimulate the development of new technologies, thereby making the systems more efficient. To trigger a cycle in which wider use leads to better systems that gain further popularity, the government should take policy measures to promote distributed power generation. Power utilities, for their part, should enhance their ability to supply electricity across the two parts of the nation with different frequencies of electric current--50 hertz in eastern Japan and 60 hertz in western Japan. Supplying power to the other side requires special equipment to change the frequency. While power companies in western Japan have surplus capacity, they can only convert 1 million kilowatts of electricity for supply to eastern parts of the nation. This geographical bottleneck hampers efforts to build a more efficient network of power supply and prevents the surplus capacity from becoming available for emergency need. Investments must be made to substantially enhance the ability of power suppliers to change the frequency of electricity. This summer has also brought home to the nation the crucial importance of users' energy-saving efforts. Within the region covered by TEPCO, a 1-degree rise in the temperature amid very hot weather jacks up demand for electricity by 1.7 million kilowatts. The "Cool Biz" campaign to encourage working people to dress more casually has become widespread and a growing number of offices have reduced electricity consumption by keeping air conditioner temperatures at 28 degrees, the level set by the government. Commercial facilities that keep temperatures much lower to attract customers should review their operations. Also, the business community as a whole should cooperate through steps like relaxing rules on when employees can take a summer break. Households, which account for 30 percent of the nation's overall power consumption, also have a heavy responsibility. They should make greater efforts to save energy, like switching their electric appliances to more energy efficient models. Such efforts would not only alleviate concerns about power supply but also contribute to the fight against global warming. --The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 29(IHT/Asahi: August 30,2007) * The Asahi Shimbun Company ***************************************************************** 28 BostonHerald.com: Vermont Yankee nuke plant shuts down during testing - U.S./ Northeast Region - By Associated Press Thursday, August 30, 2007 - Updated: 05:37 PM EST MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant automatically shut down Thursday during what plant officials said was testing of a turbine valve. "Plant technicians are in the process of investigating the cause of the automatic shutdown. The plant remains in a safe and stable condition and will be restarted after a thorough evaluation of the shutdown is completed," said a statement issued by plant owner Entergy Nuclear. Entergy spokesman Robert Williams said plant technicians were "trouble-shooting one of the turbine valves," when the shutdown occurred at 3:12 p.m. He could not provide details on what the problem was with the turbine valve that prompted the trouble-shooting. Diane Screnci, spokeswoman for the Northeast regional office of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the NRC had confirmed that the plant was in a safe and stable condition, but could not immediately provide further details Thursday afternoon. The plant in Vernon, in Vermont’s southeast corner, was operating at 62 percent of its usual 610-megawatt power output. It reduced power Aug. 21, when part of one of its two cooling towers collapsed. Plant officials were still trying to determine the cause of that mishap and were making repairs when the new problem cropped up Thursday. Mississippi-based Entergy, which bought Vermont Yankee from a group of New England utilities in 2002, boosted the plant’s power output by 20 percent last year. Now it is seeking to extend its license by 20 years beyond its scheduled 2012 expiration. © Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This © Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Media. ***************************************************************** 29 AU ABC: ALP promises no north coast nuclear reactors ABC North Coast Posted August 31, 2007 07:39:00 Labor is giving a cast iron guarantee that no nuclear reactors will be built on the New South Wales north coast or elsewhere in Australia if it is elected. But Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese has been on a visit to the north coast and he warns Ballina's location makes it a prime site for a reactor. He says the Government must come clean before the federal election on where it plans to site nuclear reactors and waste dumps. Mr Albanese says the Northern Rivers has all the attributes to make it a target for the Coalition's reactor plans. "We know that they'll be located near water, near population and near the electricity grid and that makes the Northern Rivers region of NSW a prime location for one of these 25 reactors," he said. ***************************************************************** 30 AU ABC: Aust, US 'lack credentials' to lead climate change talks ABC New South Wales Posted August 31, 2007 09:01:00 Climate warning ... Malaysia says Australia and the US should ratify the Kyoto Protocol. (File photo) (Reuters: Tim Wimborne) Malaysia says Australia and the United States should not hijack next week's summit of Asia-Pacific leaders to discuss climate change, saying it is not the right forum. Australia has written to leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to put climate change at the top of the agenda at the September 2-9 summit in Sydney. But fellow APEC member Malaysia said Australia and the United States lacked credentials to lead discussions on the subject. "It is unfortunate that people who are talking about climate change like America are not even members of the Kyoto Protocol," Malaysia's outspoken Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said. "If you want to talk about climate change, please join in with the rest of the global community to make commitments about managing climate change," she told reporters. "So there's no point talking outside of the (Kyoto Protocol) forum," said Ms Rafidah, who is due to attend APEC ministerial talks on September 6 ahead of the summit. A visiting US trade official brushed aside Rafidah's criticism, saying that climate change was key to APEC as the issue has both political and economic dimensions. "An issue like climate change... is the kind of thing that APEC can usefully help address," deputy US trade representative Karan Bhatia said. "President Bush's administration remains focused on pushing forward in that area." On Monday Prime Minister John Howard said APEC leaders would be asked to back practical ways for their nations to save energy. The United States and Australia have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which sets greenhouse emissions targets for developed countries. Mr Howard has long been a critic of the pact because it does not include major developing economies and unfairly punishes energy-rich countries such as Australia, a major coal exporter. Ms Rafidah also said Malaysia would back a project to study the idea of setting up a pan-APEC free-trade pact, but said any decision should not be binding on the member economies. APEC members account for nearly half of world trade, 40 per cent of the world's population and 56 per cent of the world's gross domestic product. While trade is a major focus for the group, the subject is often pushed down the agenda during annual summits by more pressing issues of the day, such as bird flu and the North Korean nuclear crisis. -Reuters ***************************************************************** 31 Houston Chronicle: Lawmakers Want Openness at Nuclear Site | Chron.com - Aug. 30, 2007, 11:43AM By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer ERWIN, Tenn. — U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. David Davis said they support openness at a nuclear fuel processing plant where a national secrecy policy prevented the public from learning about a potentially lethal uranium spill in 2006. "What we are doing is balancing the national security interest with the community's right to know interest. There is a lot to be said on either side," Alexander said after touring the Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. plant with Davis, the hometown congressman. "My conclusion is that it would have been better if the rules permitted the management of this company to inform the community at the time of the spill what had happened and whether it was dangerous or not," Alexander said. The spill of just over 9 gallons of highly enriched uranium solution on March 6, 2006, was not disclosed to the public until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cited the incident among three significant events in its annual report to Congress in April. The NRC has since revealed that nearly 12,000 documents about privately held NFS and a BWX Technologies Inc. plant in Lynchburg, Va., were pulled from its public archives because of concerns by the Department of Energy's Office of Naval Reactors that the documents contained sensitive information. Both facilities make fuel for the Navy's nuclear fleet. Pressed by some members of Congress, the NRC is now weighing whether to reverse the secrecy policy, saying it may have gone too far. Meanwhile, an independent board is reviewing citizen petitions for a hearing on the NRC's decision not to fine NFS for the spill and several other less-severe violations since 2004, including mishandling nuclear materials and lax security. Alexander and Davis, both Republicans, toured the plant for a little over an hour. They were shown the area where the spill occurred and were briefed by NFS officials and resident NRC inspectors. "I am convinced that this is a safe place," Alexander said. Davis agreed, saying the 715-employee facility _ Unicoi County's largest employer _ is a solid corporate citizen with a good safety record. "I don't think my mother-in-law would live within a half mile of this plant if she was worried," Davis added. News media was allowed through the front gate, past serpentine concrete barriers and wire fences for a news conference outside the administration building. Officials said it was the first time any reporters had been allowed in the plant in 15 years. Both Davis and Alexander focused on the need for disclosure of mishaps. "I have talked to the management here today and they are very supportive and would actually welcome a change in the federal rules to allow an incident to be reported to the community even in a quicker manner than it has been in the past," Davis said. "We all want open and accountable government," he said, "(and) safety measures that are open to the people." NFS spokesman Tony Treadway said the company was "prohibited" by the NRC rules from disclosing the spill. But he said that "had there been an actual emergency there would have been no hesitance" by the company to tell local and state emergency officials. The spill did not leave the plant and no workers were injured. The company, which also has federal contracts to convert highly enriched uranium from the nuclear weapons stockpile into low-enriched fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, modified the area where the spill occurred and has adopted an aggressive safety program _ the NRC's alternative to a heavy fine, Treadway said. Alexander seemed convinced the approach will bring improvements. "The feeling of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the management was that the penalty for the mistake _ which the company acknowledges _ was a procedure that they went through to get safer," Alexander said. "So the company recognizes it made a mistake, and they are working to improve that." ***************************************************************** 32 NAS: Project: Evaluation of Quantification of Margins and Uncertainty (QMU) Methodology Applied to the Certification of the Nation's Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Project Title: PIN: DEPS-L-06-03-A Major Unit: Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Sub Unit: RSO: Rowberg, Richard Subject/Focus Area: Project Scope In accordance with Section 3116 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2007, P.L. 109-364, an ad hoc committee will provide an independent assessment and evaluation of the Quantification of Margins and Uncertainty (QMU) Methodology employed by the national laboratories for assessing and certifying the safety and reliability of the nuclear stockpile. Specifically, the study committee will evaluate the following: (1) The use of the quantification of margins and uncertainty methodology by the national security laboratories, including underlying assumptions of weapons performance and the ability of modeling and simulation tools to predict nuclear explosive package characteristics. (2) The manner in which that methodology is used to conduct the annual assessments of the nuclear weapons stockpile. (3) How the use of that methodology compares and contrasts between the national security laboratories. (4) Whether the application of the quantification of margins and uncertainty used for annual assessments and certification of the nuclear weapons stockpile can be applied to the planned Reliable Replacement Warhead program so as to carry out the objective of that program to reduce the likelihood of the resumption of underground testing of nuclear weapons. In assessing the QMU methodology, the study committee will examine the interplay between existing and planned experimental and related activities of the directed stockpile work and the science and technology campaigns and application of the QMU. The objective of this analysis is to determine whether the data provided for the use of the QMU methodology and related quantitative computer simulations are adequate to make the assessments necessary to certify the reliability and safety of the stockpile. This additional element will also recommend how QMU can support the stockpile stewardship program's goals to capture and preserve the nation's core intellectual and technical competence in nuclear weapons. Project sponsored by NNSA of the Department of Energy. Approximate start date is March 2, 2007. The study will produce two reports one interim report and one final report. Project Duration: 21 months Provide FEEDBACK on this project. Contact the Public Access Records Office to make an inquiry or to schedule an appointment to view project materials available to the public. Committee Membership Meetings Meeting 1 - 05/04/2007 Meeting 2 - 05/17/2007 Meeting 3 - 08/13/2007 Meeting 4 - 09/10/2007 Reports Reports having no URL can be seen at the Public Access Records Office Email: info@nas.edu ***************************************************************** 33 Sf New Mexican: New state office helps sick nuclear workers By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican August 30, 2007 Pojoaque woman will act as liaison between workers, agencies A Pojoaque woman who is a former Los Alamos National Laboratory worker has opened a new office aimed at helping sick Cold War workers process illness claims with the federal government. Loretta Valerio began work Monday in Gov. Bill Richardson’s Office of Nuclear Workers Advocacy. Her role is to act as a liaison between the workers, the U.S. Department of Labor and other groups involved in the program that pays sick workers and their survivors for illness and medical bills related to their work at national laboratories, for example. Valerio most recently worked at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Espańola Resource Center. That office can help with initial claims, but Valerio’s role is targeted more at helping people who have problems or need extra help with claims. “They can call me if it’s an initial claim,” Valerio said. “I may be able to help them. I may refer them to the resource center. … But if it’s reopening a claim or if it’s requesting a reconsideration on a claim, then they can be referred to this office.” Workers who can establish they have radiation-induced cancers can receive a $150,000 payment, plus medical bills. Those with occupational illnesses caused by toxins can receive up to $250,000 and medical expenses. Survivors may qualify too. Some individual workers have to prove their illness by showing how much radiation or toxins they were exposed to. Groups of others are covered by so-called “special exposure cohorts,” which could make the burden of proof easier for the claimant. “The claims process is not hard,” Valerio said. “Filing the claim is not hard. Sometimes obtaining records, medical records, employment records, you can run into obstacles. But there are resources to assist those individuals in finding what they need to help in the adjudication of their claim.” Valerio said tens of thousands of people in New Mexico may qualify for the program. The money to pay for the program was sponsored by House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé. Luján is a former ironworker at the lab and pushed a $125,000 appropriation through the Legislature earlier this year. “I believe that it is the duty of the state of New Mexico to advocate and assist nuclear workers who have been exposed to toxic substances, which have adversely affected their bodies, livelihood and quality of life,” Luján said in a news release. “The current system requires lay people to navigate through a difficult bureaucracy.” To date, 6,184 claims have been filed for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Of those, 518 awards were made for a total of more than $51 million, according to the Department of Labor. A total of 12,943 New Mexico applications have been filed with the Department of Labor, which includes former uranium industry workers, Valerio said. The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act was passed by Congress in 2000. Richardson, then secretary of energy, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., were key supporters in that effort. U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has also pushed for more workers to be covered by the program and to preserve old medical records that could have been destroyed. Those records, located at Los Alamos Medical Center, could help some workers establish their claims. “Ms. Valerio brings important experience to help workers who suffer from illness … get the compensation and medical treatment they deserve,” Richardson said. For more information, contact Valerio at 827-1636. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Espańola Resource Center can be contacted at 505-747-6766. Contact Andy Lenderman at 986-3073 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com. Copyright 2007 The New Mexican, Inc. ***************************************************************** 34 Honolulu Advertiser: Military uranium risk to Hawaii debated Posted on: Thursday, August 30, 2007 By William Cole Advertiser Military Writer Depleted uranium was used at Hawai'i military ranges in projectiles such as this M-101 aiming, or "spotting," round. SGT. ANGELA GILMORE | U.S. Army The Army yesterday downplayed the possible health risk of depleted uranium as it continues to assess levels found at military training ranges on O'ahu and the Big Island, saying the weak radioactive material is isolated at target sites. The heavy metal was used in aiming, or "spotting" rounds for a 1960s weapon system called the Davy Crockett that could fire a 76-pound nuclear bomb. A panel of experts representing local, state, national and federal agencies gathered at Schofield Barracks yesterday to discuss depleted uranium use in Hawai'i. "The Army takes very seriously its roles and responsibilities with regards to this discovery," said Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison, Hawai'i. The Army is using a three-part process for assessing health and possible cleanup issues on Army ranges in Hawai'i. A historical site assessment looked at all the possible ranges where depleted uranium, or DU, may have been fired. The next step was to determine that DU actually was present at Schofield and at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. Aerial testing at Makua Military Reservation was inconclusive and the Army is weighing options for further tests in areas that also may pose a danger from unexploded ordnance. Greg Komp, senior health physicist for the Office of the Director of Army Safety, in Washington, D.C., said a determination of the extent of possible contamination and health hazards will be completed by the end of the year. Margotta said "once we complete our assessment and analysis we will develop a prudent, proactive and transparent response." The Army has pledged that the state Department of Health will be a partner in surveying for DU and any remediation plans. But Kyle Kajihiro, program director of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated social justice and peace organization, said some in the community want independent analysis and oversight. "We don't have any confidence in their (the Army's) assessment that it's safe or that public health has been protected," Kajihiro said. 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 Cold War weapon was intended to be used as a last-ditch effort against masses of Soviet soldiers in the event of war. 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. Concern by some Big Island residents that dust containing depleted uranium might be kicked up, spread on the wind and possibly inhaled led to the testing. An aerial survey of the firing range at Makua Military Reservation was conducted last month, but results were inconclusive because heavy vegetation hid the ground. Depleted uranium was used for Davy Crockett aiming rounds because its density helped mimick the trajectory of the 76-pound warhead. When an aiming round was fired, a gray cylinder 3 to 6 feet long would fall away, while the 20 millimeter DU aiming round continued to travel farther, the Army said. The presence of the cylinders is being used as a predictor of depleted uranium. "We see no immediate danger to the public," said Russell Takata, program manager for the state Health Department's Noise, Radiation and Indoor Air Quality Branch. "We will continue our vigilance to see the appropriate protocols are taken and ensure we are also part of the solution." According to the World Health Organization, a radiation dose from DU would be about 60 percent of that from purified natural uranium with the same mass. Due to its high density — about twice that of lead — DU is used for counterweights in aircraft and radiation shields. DU is used in armor-penetrating military ordnance because of its density, and also because DU can ignite on impact if the temperature exceeds 600 degrees Celsius. A United Nations report on impact sites in Kosovo indicated that environmental contamination by DU was limited to a few dozen yards around the impact sites. Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com. ====================================================================== REASON The military has been caught in too many lies to have any credibility. They admit only to the spotting rounds that contain DU. See http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2002training/wakayama2.pdf for a large list of other weapons that do contain DU. Have they used them here too? Will the military lie about it if asked? Probably! We have too much cancer and heart disease in Hawaii. One in17 births is a birth defect. Over 23,000 of our children are in special education. Autism is at epidemic rates in Hawaii... We have over 700 contaminated sites 7 of which are superfund sites. Not to mention the tons of chemical munitions and other junk the military has dumped in our ocean. see wwwdmzhawaii.org Yet, lawmakers have never seriously looked at military toxins as a contributing factor for our ill health in Hawaii. I was at Mauna Kea State Park on May 29th when a radiation reading reached 75cpm. Normal background radiation is 5-20. The gust of wind was coming right off Pohakuloa. Something caused that monitor to register a high RADIATION reading. I doubt it was on old outdated tail fin. Total, comprehensive, transparent testing to discover the full extent of Hawaii's contamination of radioactive materials is imperative for our future. Lindafaye wwwprotecthawaii.ws Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:36 pm © COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 35 Salt Lake Tribune: Nuclear safety Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 08/29/2007 11:49:36 PM MDT I served as a nuclear power plant operator on a U.S. Navy submarine. I know something about the technology and dispute Joseph Mangano's Aug. 25 diatribe against nuclear power plants ("Nuke plants in Utah would pose public health risks," Opinion). Nuclear power technology is far safer than the cost involved with fossil fuel power plants. Comparing a modern light-water reactor to Hiroshima or Chernobyl is either ignorant or deliberately disingenuous. Chernobyl was sodium-cooled and poorly designed. The Japanese use nuclear power extensively, and the specter of Hiroshima can hang heavier nowhere else. Modern reactors have literally zero chance of melting down or exploding. Nuclear power plants in the U.S. have cost a total of three lives, at a naval experimental reactor in the 1960s. Coal mine, pipeline and oil rig accidents, refinery fires and air pollution from burning fossil fuels take many lives, a cost all too well known here in Utah. Solar and wind power should be pursued, but denying nuclear power a place in a comprehensive strategy to wean ourselves away from fossil fuel is shortsighted in the extreme. We have the uranium, we have safe technology and we have the known cost of burning fossil fuels. Weigh the costs and decide based on reason. Arthur Reilly West Valley City ***************************************************************** 36 RussiaToday: Russian scientists discover radiation- absorbing mineral August 30, 2007, 17:57 Russian scientists in the Khibinsky Mountains in the Arctic Circle have made an important scientific discovery. They've found a new mineral which absorbs radiation. It does not yet have an official name and is known only as number 27-4. It can absorb radioactivity from liquid nuclear waste. "It can extract radioactive substances from any water-based solution and so has a very important practical significance," said Yakov Pakhomovsky, the head of the Kolsky Research Institute. After coming into contact with the mineral, radioactive water becomes completely safe. Had this mineral been available to physicists after the Chernobyl or Three Mile Island disasters, the consequences might have been very different, as both accidents resulted in contamination from radioactive water. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. Scientists say they need tonnes of it and so far they have only discovered a few grammes. But they are confident that they can chemically reproduce it on a much larger scale. "We need to learn its properties and so that chemists can reproduce it on an unlimited scale," said Grigory Ivanyuk, from the Kolsky Research Institute. Every year ten new minerals are discovered in the Arctic Circle, and one third of all worldwide mineral discoveries are on the Kolsky Peninsula. The latest find may prove to be extremely significant for the nuclear industry. Copyright © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "TV-Novosti" 2007, ***************************************************************** 37 ITAR-TASS: No radioactive threat after fire at submarine in Severodvinsk 30.08.2007, 12.48 ARKHANGELSK, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- A fire that broke out on a submarine that is being scrapped at the Severodvinsk shipyard poses no radiation threat, spokeswoman for the Zvezdochka shipyard Tatyana Shcherbinina told Tass Thursday. At present, the work on the submarine of the "Akula"class that has a series number 713 is in the final stage. The submarine hull has been cut to pieces, reactor blocks have already been removed, and therefore, the fire poses no radiation threat, the spokeswoman said. "No one has been hurt in the fire that continued barely for a few minutes, and no material damage has been caused," the spokeswoman said. Regrettably, given the existing technologies a hull is cut by means of gas and therefore, such incidents cannot be ruled out altogether. Besides, it is impossible to fully clean the hull constructions of inflammable insulation materials stuck in places that cannot be reached," the spokeswoman said. The regional Emergencies Situations Center said the fire broke out at 4. 36 a.m. Moscow time Thursday and was put out six minutes after. The fire spread to around 15 square meters, The heavy nuclear powered submarine "Akula" (Typhoon) with the series number 713 has been scrapped at the Zvezdochka shipyard on funds provided by the United States in the framework of the Russo- US joint lessening of the threat program. After the submarine is scrapped a block with reactor compartments left intact will be shipped to a dumping site on the Kola peninsula. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, store ***************************************************************** 38 starbulletin.com: Uranium shells used in isles Vol. 12, Issue 242 - Thursday, August 30, 2007 CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Media representatives inspected a Schofield Barracks firing range yesterday where search personnel are looking for depleted uranium shells. By Gregg K. Kakesako gkakesako@starbulletin.com As many as 714 "spotting" rounds, measuring about 8 inches long and containing depleted uranium, were fired by soldiers in the islands in the 1960s using the classified Davy Crockett recoilless rifle system, the Army disclosed yesterday. However, because of all the secrecy surrounding a once-classified weapons system, the Army is not exactly sure what firing ranges were used. So far, preliminary surveys done by Cabrera Services have found traces of the projectiles at Schofield Barracks and the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area, but it is having hard time determining if the Makua Military Reservation was used. At Pohakuloa and Schofield Barracks, Army officials said the discoveries pose no health issues. Greg Miller of Cabrera Services said there have been "too many obstacles" at the Makua Military Reservation to determine if the weapon was ever fired there. The vegetation in some areas has gotten so thick that it has hampered surveying efforts. Tail assemblies from 15 of these M101 spotting rounds containing depleted uranium were found in August 2005 while a contractor was clearing a Schofield firing range to prepare for the construction of a rifle and pistol range for the new Stryker Brigade Combat Team. A subsequent historical assessment indicated that spotting rounds might also have been fired at Makua and Pohakuloa. A spotting round is used to mark a target. CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Searchers looked for depleted uranium shells with a tail assembly, shown above, fired during the 1960s at a Schofield Barracks firing range. On Aug. 18 a preliminary survey by Cabrera uncovered a spotting round at an impact area at the northeastern end of Pohakuloa -- nearly 1.5 miles into the training range. At a Schofield Barracks news conference yesterday, Col. Matthew Margotta, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii commander, said the impact areas at Schofield and Pohakuloa are in remote areas. He reiterated that the depleted uranium does not pose a "public health concern." He said the areas at Schofield and Pohakuloa are "not accessible to the public," noting, "Even soldiers don't go there." Margotta added, "Depleted uranium is not utilized by the Army now, nor does the Army plan to use it in training here or anywhere else." The Army said depleted uranium is a man-made heavy metal used in munitions to disable enemy armored vehicles. The M-28 and M-29 recoilless rifle systems were developed and deployed in secret in the 1950s and 1960s to fire the Davy Crockett M-388 battlefield nuclear shell, designed to stop troop formations. Asked about reports from Big Island residents of reportedly high levels of uranium in the air in the South Kona area, Russell Takata, program manager of the state Health Department's radiation program, said those readings were attributed to people using meters that were not properly calibrated. Takata said that "background readings" taken at Pohakuloa and other areas on the Big Island were "normal." Big Island peace activist Jim Albertini has disagreed with the Army assessment that depleted uranium is not a health threat. He has called on the Army to stop all live-firing at Pohakuloa until tests show how much depleted uranium is in the soil. © Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com 500 Ala Moana Blvd. #7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813 808-529-4747 ***************************************************************** 39 Platts: Urenco's first-half 2007 order book volume up 26% 2007-08-29 Urenco announced that its order book volume increased to 19 billion Euros during first-half 2007, up 26% from year-end 2006. The company said August 29 it now has contractual commitments going beyond 2025. Revenue from sales of goods and services during first-half 2007 reached Eur 406 million, up from Eur 382 million during first-half 2006, it said. Revenue results for first-half 2007 reflected increased sales of stocks of UF6 feed, which offset a decline in SWU deliveries compared to first-half 2006 and a weaker US dollar, it said. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 40 SBCS: Environmental groups find fault with state's perchlorate standard proposal San Bernardino County Sun - Jason Pesick, Staff Writer Article Launched: 08/29/2007 11:54:54 PM PDT The state is in the final stages of setting a standard dictating how much perchlorate can be in your drinking water. The cap on the amount of the widespread contaminant that can be in the drinking water could be in place within weeks. But the proposal of 6 parts per billion is not one that will sit well with the environmental community. It could also lead to hikes in water rates, as water purveyors are forced to begin cleaning perchlorate from the water they serve. "We're disappointed that in light of all the accumulating evidence that perchlorate is harmful at levels well below this that California decided to stick with 6 ppb," said Bill Walker, vice president for the Environmental Working Group's West Coast office. Perchlorate has been discovered in drinking water throughout areas of Southern California used for agricultural, industrial and military purposes. On Aug. 6, the state Department of Public Health submitted a standard of 6 ppb to the state Office of Administrative Law. Once its review is complete, it will send the regulation to the secretary of state to sign off on. Since the state began developing the standard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that even at low levels, perchlorate can affect hormone levels in a large percentage of women. The proposed standard is also higher than the 2 ppb set by Massachusetts last year. Perchlorate is used in the production of explosives like fireworks and rocket fuel. Chilean fertilizer used in agricultural areas around the Southland is also thought to be responsible for perchlorate contamination. It can affect the functioning of the thyroid, which is important for metabolism and neurological development. Between August 2002 and August 2007, 251 wells had reported having perchlorate at a level of 4 ppb or higher in California. Of those, 114 are in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The process of setting a standard began in August last year when the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set a public health goal of 6 ppb. Its task is to only take public health into consideration when setting that goal. Then the Department of Public Health takes into account how practical the proposed standard would be. A few months after the public health goal was set, the CDC study came out in October. "This is going to be important information for those people who are setting acceptable levels (for perchlorate)," one of the study's co-authors James Pirkle, said when the study came out. Massachusetts officials said they came to a level of 2 out of caution and a difference of a opinion with California officials over how much perchlorate people ingest from other sources besides water, like food. Massachusetts officials said they thought people take in a fair bit of perchlorate from other sources besides water, so they wanted to set a lower standard for perchlorate in water. While environmentalists aren't satisfied with California's proposed standard, because they see it as too high, some water purveyors have a very different complaint. It will cost them millions of dollars to clean perchlorate out of water and lead to rate hikes. The East Valley Water District will have to spend tens of millions of dollars building facilities to treat perchlorate ranging from levels of 6 to 12 ppb in some of its wells, said General Manager Bob Martin. He said there will be an 11 percent rate increase this year, and that's just the beginning. "For us it's more of a nuisance," said Ken Manning, CEO of the Chino Basin Watermaster. A combination of treatment systems, blending contaminated water with clean water, and shutting down some wells has worked for his agency, he said. If California adopts Massachusetts' standard of 2 ppb, that would have presented more of a challenge, he said. Agencies around Rialto, where industrial sites on the city's north end have led to perchlorate contamination of up to 10,000 ppb, say they aren't too concerned over the new standard. This is because with the help of grant money, they've been treating the water to the point where they can't detect perchlorate in it. "We're pretty well geared up for it," said Anthony "Butch" Araiza, general manager of the West Valley Water District. Representatives of water purveyors said that if California set a standard of 2 ppb, the costs would have been much higher because of the low levels of perchlorate found throughout the region and the fact that the Colorado River, a major source of water in Southern California, is contaminated with low levels of perchlorate. The level in the river has been decreasing, but it is still at about 2 ppb, said Mic Stewart, water quality manager for the Metropolitan Water District. After the CDC study came out, environmentalists asked the state to review the proposed standard early and start the process over again, but the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment declined, citing a lack of information. The next review of the standard will be in 2009, said Sam Delson, deputy director of the office. Last year, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill authored by then-state Sen. Nell Soto that included provisions allowing the state to compare its standard with other states' standards and would have made the process of determining a standard more transparent. Walker called the new standard a compromise. "I think frankly it's a political calculation by the Schwarzenegger administration that there are obviously lots of voices out there in industry and much more powerfully in the military establishment who don't want a strong perchlorate standard set because it's going to cost a lot more to clean it up," he said. Copyright © 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 41 PE: Rialto's toxic perchlorate plume may prompt emergency decree | PE.com 10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 By JIM MILLER Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO - Rialto officials will consider declaring a local state of emergency in an attempt to get state aid to clean up a steadily moving perchlorate plume. Aides to Gov. Schwarzenegger suggested the action during a meeting Wednesday in which Rialto leaders complained that perchlorate contamination poses a growing threat to the city's drinking water. Both sides will follow up early next month. Rialto leaders have become increasingly frustrated with delays in getting cleanup funds from the alleged sources of the underground pollution. The city has spent more than $18 million on legal fees, special water-filtering systems and other costs, and still lacks a cleanup order. A Los Angeles County judge recently declared an indefinite halt to state water board hearings on the matter. In a letter to Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, Rialto Mayor Pro Tem Winnie Hanson and Councilman Ed Scott complained that the city and its residents are the victims of a "brilliant joint multimillion-dollar scorched earth legal assault" by companies potentially responsible for the pollution. In a related action, the Senate Rules Committee refused Wednesday to confirm two Schwarzenegger appointees to the state Water Resources Control Board. "What has become absolutely clear is the state is woefully inept at enforcing its clean water laws," Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, wrote in a letter to Schwarzenegger that mentioned the perchlorate problems in Rialto. City officials said they need at least $25 million to drill wells around the plume to block its migration. Governor's spokesman Bill Maile called the meeting with Rialto officials "positive and informative." The perchlorate plume stretches about six miles from a 160-acre Rialto site where Goodrich Corp. and other companies operated in the 1950s and 1960s. Patrick Palmer, a Goodrich spokesman, said the company has been cooperative. The company has spent more than $10 million to investigate and treat the perchlorate contamination, he said. "What the city might call unfair legal tactics we call due process. That remains a fundamental tenet of our Constitution," Palmer said. Perchlorate disrupts the thyroid's ability to absorb iodide, a component of brain and nerve development in fetuses and babies. Also, pregnant women are vulnerable to the chemical. Reach Jim Miller at 916-445-9973 or jmiller@PE.com © 2007 Press-Enterprise Company ***************************************************************** 42 The State: S.C. told Barnwell is safe 08/30/2007 Attorney general, others still have concerns about nuclear waste site By SAMMY FRETWELL - sfretwell@thestate.com Attorney General Henry McMaster said representatives of a nuclear waste dump assured him Wednesday the site is safe and they have no plans to leave South Carolina anytime soon. But McMaster said he remains concerned about the Barnwell County landfill’s potential environmental impact and the state’s legal liability. Company officials “are convinced that no safety hazard is posed by this site,’’ McMaster said. “We couldn’t say we’re convinced one way or the other.’’ Responding to recent questions about contamination beneath the state-owned site, McMaster called representatives of landfill operator Chem-Nuclear to his office Wednesday for a meeting. He also met Monday with officials from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to discuss his concerns about the waste dump. Maps obtained recently by The State newspaper show more than 30 monitoring wells at the landfill registered levels of radioactive tritium above the Environmental Protection Agency’s safe-drinking water standards. The maps showed the exact locations of the wells and average tritium concentrations, some of which exceeded the EPA standard by hundreds of times. The site is just north of a small, rural community that relies on private wells for drinking water. State regulators began testing private wells last week to make sure they are safe. Results are expected by next week. As the state’s chief legal officer, McMaster would be responsible for defending South Carolina in any lawsuit, bringing a lawsuit on behalf of the state, or making a criminal case. He has no plans to make a case now, but is trying to determine South Carolina’s legal options and liability as a result of leaks at the 235-acre dump site near Snelling. Tim Dangerfield, a Chem-Nuclear spokesman who was at the meeting, said the site poses no danger to the public. But he declined to discuss Wednesday’s session with McMaster. A company executive who flew in from Utah also met with McMaster. “What we said in that meeting needs to stay in that meeting,’’ Dangerfield said. McMaster said Tim Barney, a vice president with Chem-Nuclear’s parent company, told him the company “is not going to leave’’ — even though the company claims it could do so legally on a few months’ notice. Money has been set aside for the landfill’s cleanup, but some worry that Chem-Nuclear — which knows more about the site than anyone else — won’t be around to help. Chem-Nuclear, a division of Energy Solutions of Utah, has long acknowledged a leak from the landfill. It claims recent publication of the contamination maps provided little new information. Many people disagree. McMaster, environmentalists, eight state legislators and people living near the landfill said they were in the dark about the level of contamination until it was reported Aug. 19 in The State. The landfill, the only one of its kind in the nation, opened in 1971 near the town of Snelling, just east of the Savannah River Site. It has buried about 28 million cubic feet of waste shipped there from across the country. The waste dump is scheduled to close to all but three states next year, but legislators expect Chem-Nuclear to seek an extension of that deadline. Legislators defeated a proposal last year to keep the landfill open through 2023 to all states, rather than just South Carolina, Connecticut and New Jersey. Whether to close the site has been a source of debate for years because disposal fees raise revenues for education in South Carolina and in Barnwell County. The landfill has generated about $430 million for education in the state since 1995, Chem-Nuclear reports. Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537. ***************************************************************** 43 London Times: Britain drops nuclear bomb. Fortunately it doesn't go off - August 30, 2007 Alan Hamilton Careless talk, they used to say during the Second World War, costs lives. Careless handling of nuclear weapons – banging them about and dropping them like so much scrap metal – could cost a great deal more. Two of Britain’s most serious nuclear weapons accidents in the 1980s were caused by continual lapses in safety procedures, and were much more serious than was admitted at the time. However, the Ministry of Defence continued to insist yesterday that there had been no risk to the public on either occasion. Newly declassified documents obtained by New Scientist magazine detail the incidents in which the weapons were dropped or damaged while they were being moved. The first accident happened on May 2, 1984, at the RAF base at Brüggen, Germany. A nuclear warhead was damaged in transit when its container slid off a wet trailer as it cornered. The warhead, still in its container, rolled on to the tarmac and was dented. Brüggen base was shut down while the bomb was partially dismantled and scientists were flown from Britain to X-ray the warhead. It was eventually taken back to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermas-ton, Berkshire, to be decommissioned. An MoD board of inquiry at the time concluded that the accident was caused by the “wrongful act” of failing to attach the bomb container to the trailer. It recommended that six ser-vicemen be disciplined. The documents, obtained under freedom of information law, show that a regulation requiring bomb containers to be secured when being moved had been routinely ignored since October 1981. Brüggen’s commander at the time, whose name has been removed from the released report, admitted that the breach had become almost a standard operating procedure, despite being an “outrageously high-risk practice”. The second accident occurred at Coulport naval base, Strathclyde, on December 3, 1987, when a faulty Polaris missile was being unloaded from the sumarine HMS Repulse. As it was being locked down on a trailer, a crane hoisted it into the air, causing it to swing wildly and to crash into the trailer supports. According to the MoD inquiry at the time, the weapon suffered “adverse shock”. The report blamed broken controls on the crane, which had missed its full programme of mechanical and electrical checks. If the crane had been properly maintained, the report concluded, “it is highly probable that the incident would not have occurred”. The Ministry of Defence continued to insist yesterday that both incidents had been minor. They had been fully investigated to rigorous safety standards and, where necessary, procedures had been modified, a spokeswoman said. “The MoD continues to maintain the highest standards of safety and security during the storage, transportation or deployment of nuclear weapons,” a spokesman said. “There has never been an accident involving UK nuclear weapons that has presented any risk to the public.” The chance of a nuclear weapon going off because somebody bumps it is, surely, about the same chance of its spontaneously turning into a giraffe? Frank Upton, Solihull, Anyone remember the incident where the US Air Force dropped four of these things out of a broken B-52, without any bangs or radiation leaks. People still go to Spain (the drop zone) on holiday. I don't think that falling off a trolley is going to do much. Mind you, if that had been a normal explosive bomb without the degree of safety controls embedded in a nuke..... KR, Stockport, ***************************************************************** 44 Reuters: Audit finds U.S. nuclear weapons parts misplaced Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:26PM BST By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some facilities that handle the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile misplaced classified bomb components under their care, according to an Energy Department audit. The department's Inspector General also found there was confusion at the facilities over who was responsible for keeping track of weapons parts and recommended changes in how to better safeguard the parts. John Broehm, a spokesman for the department's National Nuclear Security Administration that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, said his agency disagreed with the recommendations. He said the parts, which he declined to identify, were later found. A summary of the IG's audit -- a little-noticed two-page document released in late July -- found that two of the three sites reviewed did not track "many" classified weapons parts in their custody. The facilities "could not readily account for or locate some of the items included in our inventory sample," the IG summary said. The Inspector General's office would not elaborate beyond the summary document or say when the audit was done. Since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the United States has worried that terrorists may try to buy or steal weapons in other countries to use against it, but the IG's findings raise the possibility of domestic weapons parts getting into the wrong hands. The IG said it suggested changes to improve tracking and safeguarding the classified weapons parts, but "management did not agree with the report's conclusions and recommendations." The NNSA said extra accountability controls were not needed on parts for "non-war reserve" weapons, which are used only for routine testing, research and development. "We're very comfortable that our accountability standards are more than sufficient for keeping track of everything," Broehm said this week. The IG wanted the same tough standards used for "war reserve" bombs that are ready for use to be applied to all weapons parts. The NNSA operates at 11 facilities, including three national research laboratories: Los Alamos and Sandia in New Mexico and Livermore in California. The agency also oversees the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, which is the only U.S. nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The IG said details on the problems at the weapons sites would not be made public. "We're not going to be able to provide any additional information due to national security," IG spokeswoman Marilyn Richardson said. However, the IG's summary of its audit broadly addresses the shortcomings discovered. The summary said security officials at the two sites in question said they were not responsible for keeping track of the weapons parts, even though they acknowledged they had "certain physical safeguarding responsibilities." President George W. Bush in 2001 directed that the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile be reduced from about 6,000 operational warheads at the time to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012 -- a goal the administration reaffirmed last month. © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 45 AU ABC: Eurobodalla council takes nuclear-free stance - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 30, 2007 12:33:00 Eurobodalla Shire Council has voted to have the south-east New South Wales shire declared nuclear-free. The move split the council this week, with Mayor Neil Mumme having to use his casting vote to decide the issue. Greens' councillor Chris Kowal put the idea forward arguing that debate over the use of nuclear power plants across Australia made it important for the shire to declare where it stood. "Given that we've got Eden wharf and the storage facility up the road from Eden wharf and given Jervis Bay being mooted I think there is the very real risk of nuclear materials being moved through the shire and I think the community would rather that not happen." Tags: nuclear-issues, local-government, nuclear-energy, nsw, batemans-bay-2536, bega-2550 ***************************************************************** 46 Platts: New chief of US DOE nuclear complex calls for 'transformation' 2007-08-30 Washington (Platts)--30Aug2007 The US Department of Energy's nuclear complex needs to shift its focus from weapons production to such activities as intelligence and nonproliferation, the official responsible for managing the agency's complex said Thursday. "A transformation needs to happen," said Thomas D'Agostino, who is to be sworn in Thursday as head of DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration. In a conference call with reporters, D'Agostino said the complex needs to be "much smaller, much safer and, primarily, less expensive." One of his priorities, he said, is improved federal oversight of contractors, especially in safety and security. For years, DOE has been bedeviled by a series of security breaches, particularly at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Those problems led to the firing of D'Agostino's predecessor, Linton Brooks. D'Agostino said there have been recent moves at at Los Alamos to improve security practices. Improvements in that area are important in establishing a sound baseline for security performance, he said. Another priority is project management, D'Agostino said. One of NNSA's most controversial projects is the construction of a facility to fabricate mixed-oxide plutonium-uranium reactor fuel out of surplus weapons plutonium. Cost estimates for the project, at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, have nearly quintupled from a 2002 estimate of $1 billion. One "tactical" area that will draw his attention is consolidation of the weapons-usable materials located across the complex, D'Agostino said. Details on the plans for the transformation of the nuclear complex will be part of a draft environmental impact statement that is to be released this fall, D'Agostino said. --Daniel Horner, daniel_horner@platts.com Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 47 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Idaho National Laboratory FR Doc E7-17186 [Federal Register: August 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 168)] [Notices] [Page 50104-50105] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30au07-30] DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of Open Meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Idaho National Laboratory. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Opportunities for public participation will be held from 1 to 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 to 3:45 p.m. These times are subject to change; please contact the Federal Coordinator (below) for confirmation of times prior to the meeting. ADDRESSES: Snow King Resort, 400 East Snow King Avenue, Jackson, Wyoming 83001. [[Page 50105]] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert L. Pence, Federal Coordinator, Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 1955 Fremont Avenue, MS- 1203, Idaho Falls, ID 83415. Phone (208) 526-6518; Fax (208) 526-8789 or e-mail: pencerl@id.doe.gov or visit the Board's Internet home page at: http://www.inlemcab.org. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities. Tentative Topics (agenda topics may change up to the day of the meeting; please contact Robert L. Pence for the most current agenda): Progress to Cleanup. Remote Handle Waste Facility Construction Project Update. Operational Unit 10-04, 10-08, 1-07B, and V9 Tank Closure Update. Discuss Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comments and Recommendations. Waste Isolation Pilot Project Briefing. Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral presentations pertaining to agenda items should contact Robert L. Pence at the address or telephone number listed above. The request must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments. Minutes: Minutes will be available by writing or calling Robert L. Pence, Federal Coordinator, at the address and phone number listed above. Minutes will also be available at the following Web site http://www.inlemcab.org/meetings.html . Issued at Washington, DC, on August 27, 2007. Rachel Samuel, Deputy Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7-17186 Filed 8-29-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Review of nuke facility tentatively scheduled NRC secrecy policy that required 2006 spill's concealment at issue By Andrew Eder (Contact) Thursday, August 30, 2007 As federal regulators are poised to amend a policy that has kept information on an East Tennessee nuclear fuel producer from the public, several area residents have called for a public hearing on the facility with a troubled past. They may have their first opportunity for public participation at a performance review tentatively scheduled for September. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s staff has recommended that the agency’s four commissioners change a policy that has made nearly 12,000 documents from Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tenn., and another facility “official use only,” effectively hiding them from public view. The NRC enacted the secrecy policy in 2004 at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, which was concerned that sensitive, security-related information was publicly available in NRC documents. The policy has drawn criticism from members of Congress and the public since the disclosure earlier this year of a spill of about 9 gallons of highly enriched uranium at the facility in March 2006. The spill and other lapses prompted an order in February from the NRC that the Erwin facility, which makes fuel for nuclear-powered U.S. Navy submarines and commercial reactors, take steps to remedy its “deficient safety culture.” No fines were levied against the private company. NRC spokesman David McIntyre said Wednesday that two commissioners had not yet finalized their votes on the recommended policy change. The NRC estimates that reviewing all the documents and removing sensitive information would take eight months and $532,000 in personnel costs. McIntyre said the NRC is planning a performance review of Nuclear Fuel Services that would address its operations during the first eight months of the year. He said the review, penciled in for mid-September, would be held near the plant and likely would be open to the public, though plans have not been finalized. Meanwhile, the NRC has received six letters requesting a hearing on Nuclear Fuel Services, an action allowed by federal law for people “adversely affected” by the NRC’s order, which, though issued in February, was not made public until July. McIntyre said a panel of three judges has been established to determine the petitioners’ standing to request a hearing and the validity of their concerns, though there is not yet a timetable for the hearings. The letters came from the environmental group Sierra Club, an assistant professor of environmental health at East Tennessee State University, and four concerned citizens in Erwin and Jonesborough. Ken Silver, the ETSU professor, wrote in his letter that he and a group of students researched health concerns last year related to the Erwin plant. He wrote that he does not think the facility should be closed but that his research has led him to the “interim opinion” that the plant represents a “bad situation.” “On the one hand, very credible sources tell of near-misses and systemic violations,” Silver wrote. “Yet, on the other hand, there is a pervasive fear of discussing in the public issues related to plant health and safety.” Several of the letters mention a public health assessment released earlier this year by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Residents have complained of a higher-than-average incidence of cancer in the area near Nuclear Fuel Services. That report found that the facility posed an “indeterminant public health hazard” in the past but no apparent public health hazard currently. Yet the report’s author, citing the agency’s jurisdiction under federal law, did not address the effect of radioactive materials at the site. As a result of that exclusion, “we really don’t have any better idea of the safety or our air and water now than before the study was done,” Erwin resident Barbara O’Neal wrote in her hearing petition. Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 49 Knoxville News Sentinel: UT leads team selected for nuclear grant By Darren Dunlap (Contact) Updated 04:21 p.m., August 30, 2007 A $30.7 million package of U.S. Department of Energy nuclear research grants includes up to $3 million for the University of Tennessee. The DOE announced today the selection of 11 U.S. university-led teams that will receive grants for cooperative research projects, according to a DOE press release. The grants fall under the DOE’s Nuclear Research Energy Initiative (NERI) and up to $30.7 million will be awarded over three years. UT leads a team that includes North Carolina State University, South Carolina State University and Westinghouse, which is not funded, the release noted. Angela Hill, a DOE spokeswoman, said the grants are for amounts of $2.2 million to $3 million. “The grants have not been finalized yet,” she said. The announcement let the universities know they had been selected, said Hill. Grant totals will be final at the end of the month, she added. According to the press release, the grants further engage U.S. university professors and their students in “advanced nuclear fuel cycle research and development.” “These awards will strengthen DOE’s commitment to expanding the vital role America’s universities play in supporting the advancement and expansion of nuclear power,” said assistant secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon. More details as they develop online and in Friday’s News Sentinel. Scripps Newspaper Group — Online © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 50 lamonitor.com: Former lab worker heads advocacy office The Online News Source for Los Alamos CAROL A. CLARK Monitor County Editor Loretta Valerio has been tapped to lead the newly established Office of Nuclear Workers Advocacy. Gov. Bill Richardson appointed Valerio to direct the new office, the establishment of which was passed in the 2007 legislative session and signed into law by Richardson. Valerio, 49, previously worked as an Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (EEOICA) caseworker at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for some 10 years. "Ms. Valerio brings important experience to help workers who suffer from illness incurred, while providing for America's security, get the compensation and medical treatment they deserve," Richardson said in a statement. "As DOE secretary, I pushed for the creation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, and this office, as one of the first of its kind in the nation, continues my commitment these workers." During an interview Wednesday from her new office in Santa Fe, Valerio said she worked at LANL with contractors Johnson Controls, Pan Am and Johnson Controls of Northern New Mexico. She also worked during the last six years as an EEOICA caseworker in Espanola with Paragon Technical services and the Eagle Research Group. Richardson said because of all her experience, Valerio understands the complex process of applying, documenting and following up with the federal government. "Gov. Richardson has directed me to help New Mexican nuclear workers get the health-care they need, and compensation they and their families deserve," she said. In her ombudsman capacity, Valerio said she will act as a liaison between claimants, and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Resource Center in Espanola, union officials, DOE contractors, retiree groups and others to provide assistance and guidance to those individuals who encounter obstacles in the adjudication of their claims. There are currently 12,933 New Mexico applications filed with the Department of Labor, which includes uranium industry employees, current and former workers as well as eligible survivors of DOE workers, according to the governor's office. The Office of Nuclear Worker's Advocacy opened Monday and Valerio said she has been busy contacting organizations, unions and health care and medical facilities to let them know the office is open and available to assist claimants who run into problems with the process. She said she plans to do outreach in the Los Alamos area in the next couple of weeks. HB 779, establishing the Office of Nuclear Worker's Advocacy, was sponsored by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan. In a statement, Lujan said he believes it is the duty of the State of New Mexico to advocate and assist nuclear workers who have been exposed to toxic substances, which have adversely affected their bodies, livelihood and quality of life. "The current system requires lay people to navigate through a difficult bureaucracy," Lujan said. "Now these workers and their families can be given the attention and assistance they truly deserve." The office will act as a liaison for workers seeking compensation from the EEOICA. The EEOICA program delivers assistance, compensation and payment of medical services to eligible employees. As Secretary of Energy, Richardson helped push the EEOICA through Congress, which he said has provided over $2 billion in compensation for nuclear workers across the United States. The Office of Nuclear Workers is in Aspen Plaza at 1596 Pacheco St., Room 206 in Santa Fe. Call the office at 827-1636. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 51 Oak Ridger: DOE appoints four new members to Oak Ridge SSAB - Story last updated at 12:26 am on 8/30/2007 The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the appointment of four new members to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. The board is a federally-chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to the Department’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management Program. “These new members truly represent the talent of this board, which is vital to our success,” said Gerald Boyd, manager of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, in a news release. “They are joining an effective group of volunteers. The service the board provides to DOE is extremely important.” The new members are William Bass, John Coffman, Charles Jensen, and David Martin. William Bass retired from Sears Holdings Corp. after 39 years of employment. He held various retail management positions in stores and in regional and home offices. When he retired, Bass was the general manager of a 23-store district covering five states. Bass also volunteers with SCORE “Counselors to Small Business” as a counselor, and with the American Red Cross, where he serves as a liaison for governmental agencies. Bass is a resident of Lenoir City. John Coffman is the president of DeNuke Services in Oak Ridge, which provides technical support services to contractors and subcontractors on DOE sites. He is a certified health physicist and has worked in radioactive waste management and remediation activities for more than 25 years. A Clinton resident, Coffman is a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and the Health Physics Society. Charles Jensen is the owner and manager of Diversified Technologies in Knoxville, which manufactures, designs, and services wastewater treatment systems for nuclear power plants. He has founded three technology companies, one of which is listed on the NASDAQ, and is currently operating the third. Jensen has developed two patents and has two pending. In addition, he has authored and presented several technical papers regarding waste processing in the commercial nuclear industry. Jensen lives in Knoxville. David Martin is a self-employed engineer who has worked on a wide range of power engineering assignments worldwide. His areas of expertise include project management, power station startup oversight, electrical equipment testing and design review, and substation construction and maintenance. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Roane County Forestry Association, and Friends of the Kingston Library. Martin lives in Harriman. The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the DOE Information Center in Oak Ridge. Meetings of the Board and its committees are open to the public, and notices are posted on the Board’s Web site: http://www.oakridge. doe.gov/em/ssab. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************