***************************************************************** 09/09/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.211 ***************************************************************** 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 [NYTr] Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nukes Foiled by Military 2 Free Press: Beware drums for war in Iran 3 US: [NYTr] Tale of Nuke-Armed B52 Still Being Spun: Crew Supposedly 4 Daily Yomiuri: U.S. company to underwrite DPRK project 5 US: ReviewJournal.com: GREENHOUSE EFFECT CONCERNS: Panel lets power 6 The Hindu: US, Australia, Japan keen to strengthen ties with India 7 [NYTr] El Baradei: We Are Moving Rapidly Towards an Abyss 8 IAEA: IAEA Launches a Pictorial History Book of "Atoms for Peace" NUCLEAR REACTORS 9 Australia Helps Russia Double It's Nuclear Power Size 10 The Hindu: Consequences to follow if Left concerns ignored - Bardhan 11 Indiatimes: 'India can build light water nuclear reactors on its own 12 Indiatimes: Nuke Panel's suggestions not binding: Cong 13 Indiatimes: CPI talks tough on N-deal, Karat rules out polls 14 US: Herald News: County board set to vote on power plant deal 15 US: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Nuclear reactor discussion in Galena 16 The Hindu: Canada designing n-reactors to 'market' in India 17 Press Association: Study reveals nuclear power support 18 US: recordonline.com: Reps request longer Indian Point comment time 19 US: Tennessean: Old construction problems will be revisited at TVA's 20 US: APP.COM: Supplying electricity needs isn't "Us vs. Them" . . . | 21 The Hindu: No need for JPC, says Rahman Khan 22 US: Times Daily: Tuscumbia man files lawsuit against nuclear plant | 23 Northern Echo: Public Divided Over Nuclear Power 24 Independent: Energy giants reveal nuclear plans in face of rising pu 25 Deccan Herald: Canada eyes Indian nuke reactor market 26 US: APP.COM: But safety issues at Oyster Creek can't be ignored | 27 The Hindu: Left won't allow Govt to deviate from CMP 28 Business Report: Eskom tests sites for its atomic reactors 29 UPI: Poll: atomic energy use popular in Britain 30 Scotsman.com: Bringing nuclear warheads up north? Not if I have 31 Telegraph: How Britain's nuclear chief Bill Coley left the US under 32 Japan Times: Japan should speed up nuclear ties with India - think t 33 The Hindu: CPI(M) holds protest rallies against Indo-US nuclear deal 34 MidLothian Today: Scots join nuclear power debate - 35 The Telegraph: Energy clue in nuclear deal 36 US: Decatur Daily: Whistleblower sues over firing by Browns Ferry co 37 US: NewsBlaze: License Renewal Application for Beaver Valley Nuclear 38 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria: Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuke Unit 5 Back O 39 US: Lake Expo Online: AmerenUE: An “Unusual Event” at the Callaway N 40 Guardian Unlimited: Public consulted on nuclear power NUCLEAR SECURITY 41 US: [NYTr] H-Bombs over Barksdale 42 US: toledoblade.com: No 'Oops!' on nukes NUCLEAR SAFETY 43 London Times: Salmond: I will ban nuclear traffic - 44 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Nation has compensated downwinders with 561M 45 US: BostonHerald.com: And in our own skies - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 46 US: AU ABC: Bright future for uranium, Paladin boss says - 47 The Hindu: National interest vs. U.S. strategic partnership 48 Reuters: Does APEC merely add to global warming? 49 US: PE.com: Cleanup wait grows longer 50 US: Public Citizen: Public Interest Groups Appear in Federal Appeals 51 Las Vegas Now: DOE 'Thumbs Nose' at Judges Yucca Water Ruling 52 US: Independent: Official to NRC: Mine uranium, but not on Navajo PEACE 53 Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a M 54 US: [southnews] B52 bomber mistakenly flies with nukes US DEPT. OF ENERGY 55 Seattle PI: Taking stock of scorched Hanford Reach 56 Tri-City Herald: Experts assess toll of Reach fires 57 Tri-City Herald: Improper radiation monitoring slowed spill find 58 Kane County Chronicle: Buying time at Fermilab 59 lamonitor.com: Community leaders react 60 lamonitor.com: Chamber breakfast hears what's up at the lab 61 Amarillo.com: Pantex waits for budget details 62 Hanford News: PNNL back in performance track program ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [NYTr] Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nukes Foiled by Military Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 16:37:55 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ent by Mark Graffis (activ-l) OpEd News - Sep 7, 2007 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_michael__070907_was_a_covert_attempt.htm Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons Foiled by a Military Leak? By Michael Salla Introduction: The B-52 Incident On August 30, a B-52 bomber armed with five nuclear-tipped Advanced Cruise missiles traveled from Minot Air Force base, North Dakota, to Barksdale Air Force base, Louisiana. Each missile had an adjustable yield between five and 150 kilotons of TNT which is at the lower end of the destructive capacities of U.S. nuclear weapons. For example, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of 13 kilotons, while the Bravo Hydrogen bomb test of 1954 had a yield of 15,000 kilotons. The B-52 story was first covered in the Army Times on September 5 after the nuclear armed aircraft was discovered by Airmen (see: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/marine_nuclear_B52_070904w/ ). What made this a very significant event was that it was a violation of U.S. Air Force regulations concerning the transportation of nuclear weapons by air. Nuclear weapons are normally transported by air in specially constructed planes designed to prevent radioactive pollution in case of a crash. Such transport planes are not equipped to launch the nuclear weapons they routinely carry around the U.S. and the world for servicing or positioning. The discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 was, according to Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, the first time in 40 years that a nuclear armed plane had been allowed to fly in the U.S (see: http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_9_5.html#149D6ECF ). Since 1968, after a SAC bomber crashed in Greenland, all nuclear armed aircraft have been grounded but were kept on a constant state of alert. After the end of the Cold War, President George H. Bush ordered in 1991 that nuclear weapons were to be removed from all aircraft and stored in nearby facilities. Recently, the Air Force began decommissioning its stockpile of Advanced Cruise missiles. The five nuclear weapons on the B-52 were to be decommissioned, and were to be taken to another Air Force base. An Air Force press statement issued on September 6 claimed that there was an error which occurred during a regularly scheduled transfer of weapons between two bases. Furthermore, the statement declared: The Air Force maintains the highest standards of safety and precision so any deviation from these well established munitions procedures is considered very serious. The issue concerning how a nuclear armed B-52 bomber was allowed to take off and fly in U.S. air space after an error in a routine transfer process, is now subject to an official Air Force inquiry which is due to be completed by September 14. Three key questions emerge over the B-52 incident. First, why did Air Force personnel at Minot AFB not spot the error earlier given the elaborate security procedures in place to prevent such mistakes from occurring? Many military analysts have commented on the stringent security procedures in place to prevent this sort of mistake from occurring. Multiple officers are routinely involved in the transportation and loading of nuclear weapons to prevent the kind of error that allegedly occurred in the B-52 incident. According to the Air Force statement, the commanding officer in charge of military munitions personnel and additional munitions airmen were relieved of duties pending the completion of the investigation. According to Kristensen, the error could not have come from confusing the Advanced Cruise Missile with a conventional weapons since no conventional form exists. So the munitions Airmen should have been easily able to spot the mistake. Other routine procedures were violated which suggests a rather obvious explanation for the error. The military munitions personnel were acting under direct orders, though not through the regular chain of military command. This takes me to the second question Who was in Charge of the B-52 Incident? Who ordered the loading of Advanced Cruise missiles on to a B-52 in violation of Air Force regulations? The quick reaction of the Air Force and the issuing of a public statement describing the seriousness of the issue and the launch of an immediate investigation, suggests that whatever occurred, was outside the regular chain of military command. If the regular chain of command was violated, then we have to inquire as to whether the B-52 incident was part of a covert project whose classification level exceeded that held by officers in charge of nuclear weapons at Minot AFB. The most obvious governmental entity that may have ordered the nuclear arming of the B-52 outside the regular chain of military command is the last remaining bastion of neo-conservative activism in the Bush administration. Vice President Cheney has taken a very prominent role in covert military operations and training exercises designed for the seamless integration of different national security and military authorities to possible terrorist attacks. On May 8, 2001, President Bush placed Cheney in charge of "[A]ll federal programs dealing with weapons of mass destruction, consequence management within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies" (see: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml) . Cheney subsequently played a direct role in supervising training exercises that simultaneously occurred during the 911 attacks. According to former Los Angeles Police Officer Michael Ruppert, Cheney had a parallel chain of command that he used to override Air Force objections to stand down orders that grounded the USAF during the 911 attacks (see: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml ). Ruppert learned that the Secret Service had the authority to directly communicate presidential and vice presidential orders to fighter pilots in the air thereby circumventing the normal chain of command. (Crossing the Rubicon, pp. 428 429). Furthermore: It is the Secret Service who has the legal mandate to take supreme command in case of a scheduled major event - or an unplanned major emergency - on American soil; these are designated "National Special Security Events". http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml . Ruppert and others have subsequently claimed that 911 was an inside job; and Cheney through the Secret Service, played a direct leadership role in what occurred over 911. Consequently, it is very possible that Cheney played a similar role in circumventing the regular chain of military command in ordering the B-52 incident. It is likely that the B-52 incident was part of a contrived "National Special Security Event" directly controlled by Cheney by virtue of the authority granted to him by President Bush, and through the Secret Service which has the technological means to by pass the regular chain of military command. I now move to my third key question. Why was the nuclear armed B-52 sent to Barksdale AFB? If initial reports that the weapons were being decommissioned, but were mistakenly transported by a B-52 bomber, then the weapons should have been taken to Kirtland Air Force Base. According to Kristensen, this is where the warheads are separated from the rest of the weapon and shipped to the Energy Departments Pantex dismantlement facility near Amarillo, Texas (see: http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_9_5.html#149D6ECF ). However, it has been revealed that Barksdale AFB is used as a staging base for operations in the Middle East (see: http://tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/sep/05/staging_nuke_for_iran ). This is circumstantial evidence that the weapons were being deployed for possible use in the Middle East. There has been recent speculation concerning a possible attack against Iran given reports that the Pentagon has completed plans for a three day bombing blitz of Iran according to a Sunday Times report (see: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece ). The Report claims that 1200 targets have been selected and this will destroy much of Irans military infrastructure. Such an attack will devastate Irans economy, create greater political instability in the region, and stop the oil supply. A disruption of the oil supply from the Persian Gulf could trigger a global economic recession and lead to the collapse of financial markets. In a synchronistic development, there have been reports of billion dollar investments in high risk stock options in both Europe and the U.S. that would only be profitable if a dramatic collapse of the stock market were to occur before September 21. Similar stock options were purchased weeks before the 911 attack in 2001, and investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible insider trading. The combination of the Sunday Times report and the Stock market option purchases is circumstantial evidence that plans for a concerted military attack against Iran have been secretly approved and covert operations have begun (see: http://exopolitics.org/Exo-Comment-57.htm ). Seymour Hersh in May 2006 reported the opposition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. In late April, the military leadership, headed by General Pace, achieved a major victory when the White House dropped its insistence that the plan for a bombing campaign include the possible use of a nuclear device to destroy Iran's uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz, nearly two hundred miles south of Tehran. . "Bush and Cheney were dead serious about the nuclear planning," the former senior intelligence official told me. "And Pace stood up to them. Then the world came back: 'O.K., the nuclear option is politically unacceptable.' http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/10/060710fa_fact . Given earlier opposition by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it is likely that the present attack plans for Iraq drawn up by the Pentagon dont involve the use of nuclear weapons. In order to circumvent the regular chain of command, opposed to a nuclear attack, it is very likely that Vice President Cheney contrived a National Special Security Event that involved a nuclear armed B-52. This would have given him the legal authority to place orders directly through the Secret Service to the Air Force officers responsible for the B-52 incident. Conclusion: Exposing those Responsible for the B-52 Incident Consequently, there is considerable circumstantial evidence to argue that the nuclear armed B-52 was part of a covert operation, outside the regular chain of military command. The most plausible authority responsible for this was Vice President Cheney. He very likely used the Secret Service to take charge of a contrived National Special Security Event involving a nuclear armed B-52 that would be flown from Minot AFB. The B-52 was directed to Barksdale Air Force base where it would have conducted a covert mission to the Middle East involving the detonation of one or more nuclear weapons most likely in or in the vicinity of Iran. This could either have occurred during a conventional military strike against Iran, or a False Flag operation in the Persian Gulf region. The leaking and discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 at Barksdale was not part of the script. According to a confidential source of Larry Johnson, a former counter-terrorism official from the State Department and CIA, the discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 was leaked. Johnson concludes: Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran? I dont know, but it is a question worth asking. http://tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/sep/05/staging_nuke_for_iran While the general public is likely to be given a watered down declassified report by the Air Force over the B-52 incident on September 14, the real investigation will reveal that it was part of a covert operation that intended to bypass the regular chain of command in using nuclear weapons in the Middle East. This will likely result in a furious backlash by key figures in the regular military chain of Command such as Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the Commander of Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, who have direct responsibility for the conduct of military operations in the Middle East. The US. Air Force, the Secretary of Defense and Commander of Central Command, is now aware of what was likely going to be the true use of the B-52 and the responsibility of the Office of the Vice President. It is very likely that the exposure of the B-52 incident will lead to an indefinite hold on plans to attack Iran given uncertainty whether other nuclear weapons have been covertly positioned for use in the Middle East. Significantly, public officials briefed about the true circumstances of the B-52 incident will almost certainly place enormous pressure on Vice President Cheney to immediately resign if it is found that he played the role identified above. It is therefore anticipated that in a very short time, the public will learn that Cheney has resigned for health reasons. The forthcoming September 14 Air Force report will likely describe the B-52 incident as an error and an isolated incident as foreshadowed in the September 6 Press Statement. This will create some difficulty in exposing the actual role played by Cheney and any other government figures that supported him. There will be a need for continued public awareness of the true events behind the B-52 incident in order to expose the actual role of Cheney. Only in that way can Cheney be held accountable for his actions, and other government figures that supported his neo-conservative agenda be exposed. Regardless of whether Cheneys role as the prime architect of the B-52 incident is exposed to the public, the official backlash against his covert operation should force his resignation. In either case, a very dangerous public official would be removed from a powerful position of influence. More importantly, the world has been spared a devastating nuclear war by courageous American airmen who revealed the true contents of an otherwise routine B-52 landing at Barksdale, AFB headed for a covert nuclear mission to the Middle East. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 2 Free Press: Beware drums for war in Iran * Freep.com September 9, 2007 U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' drumbeat-for-war column is, as Yogi Berra might say, "deja vu all over again" ("Beware Iran: Debate over intelligence blurs an increasing threat," Sept. 5). Once more, as with Iraq, Bush & Co. is sending out on-air pundits and op-ed writers, fully equipped with talking points and position papers, to heighten fear among the American people that we have "to do something" about the "imminent threat" to our "national security" posed by Iran. Will we ever learn that war causes as many problems as it solves, that violence only sows the seeds for further violence, and that most often the victors are ultimately in as bad a shape as the losers? Ron Dale Exaggerated threat Although I am not overjoyed at the prospect of Iran's development of nuclear energy, I do not think it is a threat to the United States. Even if Iran does develop a nuclear weapon for offensive purposes, how does Mike Rogers theorize it will deliver one to Detroit? Does Iran have ICBMs that can successfully deliver a nuclear payload to the continental United States? Does Iran's president have that good of a throwing arm? Let us not forget why Iran may be motivated to an accelerated defense posture in the first place. The neighbor on its immediate border was invaded by the United States for reasons now proved erroneous. Perhaps Iran is expecting unwelcome guests. Get out of Iraq, cultivate a regional coalition for its defense and governance, and continue to work with Iran to develop its nonnuclear energy resources. Redeploy troops back to American soil to work on problems here. Gregory Stack Livonia More PR than danger Here we go again. Wasn't it about four years ago we heard the famous words about WMDs in Iraq? Based on what I have read and heard, there is no credible intelligence coming out of Iran, but that never stopped President George W. Bush or his followers before. I believe that Saddam Hussein was one of the greatest PR men of his time. He convinced Bush he had the "big one," when, in fact, he had nothing at all, and look at the situation we're in now. Close to 4,000 U.S. troops dead and civil disorder that will never stop. None of that should have happened if we had a president with a brain and not a vendetta to revenge the attempt on his father. It is now apparent that the current rulers of Iran possess the same PR skills that Saddam Hussein had and are taunting Bush, who is likely to take the bait before he leaves office. What we need to do is elect people to Congress who will think for themselves and not be herded along and intimidated by the president. Dick Isham Farmington Hills No way to peace The United States is not the policeman of the world. American politicians are responsible for the peace and domestic tranquillity of our country only, and invading foreign countries in the name of peace is not the way to win peace. Over 65 years ago, the American leaders of the Manhattan project declared that the goddess of destruction had been released with the first explosion of a nuclear bomb at a test site, and the world would never be the same. For politicians to declare one country a rogue for wanting nuclear arms is a false premise when we are the reason for nuclear arms being in the world. A balance was established with communist Russia by AMD -- assured mutual destruction. AMD will work with Iran and any other country, such as India, Pakistan and Israel, that has atomic weapons. Listening to war hawks in Congress and the generals behind them has already cost American lives and caused our fiscal instability, not to mention our lost prestige in the world by being the aggressor rather than the representative of peace. Paul A. Heller Washington Another Bush cheerleader After reading Rep. Mike Rogers' column, "Beware Iran," it looks as though he is once again cheerleading for the Bush administration's latest dubious WMD claim. Rogers creates a vaguely ominous picture of Iran without supporting facts. He then spreads the blame for this supposedly dire situation, criticizing the U.S. intelligence community for not including U.S. domestic politics in its analytic conclusions. Aren't American intelligence professionals supposed to base their judgment on facts rather than politics? Rogers also blames Congress, accusing it of "scoring political points." Yet he's miffed that Congress is taking time to investigate the actions of the disgraced former attorney general. Isn't Congress supposed to uphold the Constitution? The GOP control of Congress ended less than a year ago, so Rogers should stop pointing fingers and accept some responsibility for the decisions that were made on his watch. Kelly Raskauskas Brighton Try diplomacy Mike Rogers bemoans Congress for its failure to reach a consensus in response to Iran's nuclear ambitions, yet he himself is negligently silent when it comes to discussing even a single solution. It is clear, however, that Rogers is demanding some kind of action. If he's espousing a hawkish approach, he needs to stop the saber-rattling and instead be forthright about his ideas and their consequences. The last two decades attest to the complete ineffectiveness of approaching international threats with military might and economic sanctions. The sanctions placed on Iraq during the Gulf War resulted in a humanitarian crisis, and over a half million children's lives were lost. An invasion or nuclear strike on Iran ought to be dismissed out of hand, both because of the devastating impact on civilian life and the fallout of adding another theater of war to an already embattled Gulf region. A more progressive approach, curiously unmentioned by Rogers, is diplomacy. Mathew McNeil Dearborn A minority of hawks I would remind Mike Rogers that he is now supported by only a small minority of Americans who continue to believe the Republican administration's assertion that we must attack and isolate governments and parties who have never attacked us and who may even befriend us with the right policies. The only people who deserve to be driven out of Washington for political reasons are the right-wing hacks who have taken over that city for corporate donors and the hawkish pro-Israel lobby. I hope someone steps up and challenges this guy in 2008. Tarek M. Baydoun Dearborn Try a peace strategy Such fear-mongering and whitewashing of the facts do not help the cause of bringing justice and freedom to the peoples of the Muslim world. It seems that the war advocates are ratcheting up their rhetoric against Iran, similar to the runup to the Iraq war in 2002. What we need is a levelheaded approach. We should let the people of the Muslim world determine their destiny by noninterference in the affairs of these countries, as well as a true peace initiative headed by the United Nations and an opening of diplomatic channels with the region. Bilal Hussein Dabaja Dearborn Consider Iraqi death toll The toll of war on Iraqis seems to have been ignored in public debate in the United States. A scientific demographic survey conducted in 2006 found that an estimated 655,000 Iraqis had died as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation -- 601,000 killed violently. A recent extrapolation from that study by Just Foreign Policy estimated that over a million Iraqis have now lost their lives. Was that million casualty figure reported in the Free Press? Awareness of this human cost of war is important, both in debates over withdrawal from Iraq and in considering whether to attack other countries like Iran. Richard Booth Grosse Ile . Copyright ©2007 the Detroit Free Press. All rights reserved. Users ***************************************************************** 3 [NYTr] Tale of Nuke-Armed B52 Still Being Spun: Crew Supposedly Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 16:33:39 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Dave Muller (southnews) McClatchy News via Herald Sun (Australia) - Sep 7, 2007 Live nuclear bombs flown over America A UNITED States Air Force B-52 bomber mistakenly armed with live nuclear missiles flew right over millions of Americans - without the crew knowing. President George W. Bush was immediately notified after the half-dozen missiles, their warheads still attached, were discovered. "It is absolutely inexcusable that the Air Force lost track of these nuclear warheads, even for a short period of time," said Democrat Edward Markey, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee. "Nothing like this has ever been reported before, and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible." An Air Force spokesman insisted "there was never a danger to the American public" and called the missile mishap last Thursday an "isolated incident". "Air Force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling," Lt-Col Ed Thomas said. "The weapons were always in our custody." The warheads were supposed to be detached from the missiles before the flight. The foul-up wasn't discovered until after the bomber had flown from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City, Louisiana - a three-hour trip covering more than 1770km. "It's clearly a serious breach of safety and security rules," said Philip Coyle, senior adviser at the Centre for Defence Information. An unnamed Air Force munitions squadron commander has already been relieved of his duties. The flight and ground crews have been barred from handling weapons until the investigation is completed. The B-52 was loaded with cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads ranging from five to 150 kilotons in destructive force, mounted onto pylons on the bomber's wings, according to the Military Times newspaper, which broke the story. "You can wipe out a good-sized city with a 5 kiloton blast," said Jim Riccio, a nuclear policy analyst for Greenpeace. "A 150-kiloton warhead is 10 times the size of what they dropped on Hiroshima." Mr Coyle said it was highly unlikely the missiles would have detonated, even in a crash. In two B-52 crashes in the 1960s, bombs on board did not detonate, but radioactive material was scattered over a wide area. - MCT *** [NOTE: Wayne Madsen is a mixed bag; he redistributes tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories, but also posts legitimate stuff, so we're including this for completeness. See the FAS scientists's comment at the end.-NYTr] sent by Dave Muller (southnews) Op-Ed News - Sep 7, 2007 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_wayne_ma_070907_questions_remain_ove.htm Questions Remain Over Nuclear-Armed B-52 Over Midwest By Wayne Madsen The reported "loss" of six nuclear-armed stealthy advance cruise missiles (ACMs) flown on the wing pylons of a B-52 from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on August 30 would represent a complete and unprecedented breakdown in the command and control of nuclear weapons in the United States. For that reason, there is a belief among many seasoned military experts that there is much more to this reported story than meets the eye. The Defense Department is merely describing the nuclear missile flight as an "incident," because it is standard Pentagon policy to not comment on its nuclear weapons. However, the "incident" was serious enough that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were both immediately informed of the so-called "mistake" in flying the weapons across several Midwestern states. Missouri Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the incident "deeply disturbing." The incident was first reported by three military officers, who remained anonymous, to Military Times, a newspaper that maintains good contacts within the military services. The ACMs were armed with six W80-Mod 1 nuclear weapons, which pack a punch of between 5 and 150 kilotons each. There is informed speculation that the movement of the nuclear weapons to Barksdale was leaked because the air force base is a staging area for deployment to the Middle East. The Pentagon recently drew up plans to hit 1200 targets inside Iran in a massive bombardment campaign aimed at destroying its military and overthrowing its government. The movement of the nuclear weapons may have been an alert to the public by disgruntled members of the military that such plans would include the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons. The report that the weapons were transferred to Barksdale for "decommissioning" appears to be a cover story concocted by Pentagon spinmeisters, since any movement of nuclear weapons is treated as highly-classified information. The B-52 sat on a runway at Barksdale for a full 10 hours with the Air Force trying to have the public believe that no one noticed the nuclear missiles on board. The flight from Minot was three and a half hours. The only casualty: the munitions officer at Minot was relieved of his duties pending the outcome of an investigation. There is also speculation that the war hawks in the administration may have flown the nuclear cruise missiles to Louisiana to send a message to Iran. The Defense Department remains a beehive of neocon activity even with Gates in charge. Three other recent incidents indicate the neocons are still employing their perception management campaigns. Cells of so-called "Al Qaeda" terrorists have been arrested in Denmark and Germany. Both countries have neocons embedded in their governments. Those arrested include Danish and German nationals. In addition, the recent weapons of mass destruction "scare" at a United Nations office building in New York, where "phosgene" gas seized in Iraq after Desert Storm was reportedly found in a vial, turns out to have been a hoax. The substance was a non-toxic cleaning solvent. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named a number of neocons to senior staff positions within the UN Secretariat. [Wayne Madsen is an investigative journalist, nationally distributed columnist, and author who has covered Washington, DC, politics, national security, and intelligence issues since 1994. He has written for The Village Voice, The Progressive, CAQ, Counterpunch, and the Intelligence Newsletter (based in Paris). For more, visit Wayne Madsen Report at http://www.waynemadsenreport.com ] COMMENT: by Hans M. Kristensen, Director, Nuclear Info Project, Fed. of American Scientists The disclosure by Military Times that a B-52 bomber mistakenly was loaded with half a dozen nuclear-armed cruise missiles on a flight last month between North Dakota and Louisiana has triggered a flurry of news reports and caused many to ask how such an incident is even possible in a post-9/11 era. How can we hope to keep nuclear weapons out of the wrong hands if we're not always 100 percent certain about where our weapons are? The Air Force has started an investigation but already assured people that there was never a threat to the public, that safety is paramount in every munitions activity, and that all evidence so far points to an isolated mistake. But safety is only part of the issue, and Congressional oversight should not end there. An equally important question is how the mix-up of nuclear and unarmed cruise missiles on a bomber relates to strike planning. This flight was a domestic transport but imagine if the B-52 had been part of a strike in the opening phases of a war. The Navy has proposed replacing some nuclear warheads on sea-launched ballistic missiles with conventional warheads, and co-deploying nuclear and conventional missiles on the same submarines. Congress already has raised concerns about that scenario, but try adding to that nuclear custodians who do not always know with 100 percent certainty which weapons are nuclear and which ones are not. That raises some profound questions about crisis stability and the risk of accidental nuclear war. "Sorry, Mr. President, we thought they were conventional." * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 4 Daily Yomiuri: U.S. company to underwrite DPRK project A U.S. company has decided to extend a loan of 3 billion yuan (about 46 billion yen) for the construction of piers and roads in northeastern North Korea, a project that is being carried out by a China-North Korea joint venture, it has been learned. The U.S. government appears to have backed the provision of the loan with an eye to promoting economic exchanges with North Korea and facilitating the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program, sources said Thursday. According to the Wednesday edition of a local evening newspaper in Changchun, Jilin Province, Jiang Yicheng, a Chinese-American who chairs the U.S. firm Maderi Group, said he decided to invest in the project because his friend, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, told him the project needed economic assistance. The remark indicated the involvement of the U.S. government in the project. The project involves building a pier for Port Rajin in Rason, North Korea, and a 50-kilometer road from the port to the border town of Hunchun, Jilin Province, a route aimed at transporting materials from northeastern China to the Sea of Japan. China and North Korea decided two years ago to set up the joint venture in Rason, and it got under way last year, but according to the newspaper, with investment amounting to only about 8 billion yuan (about 123 billion yen), the project was delayed due to difficulties in procuring funds. ) The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun © The Yomiuri Shimbun. ***************************************************************** 5 ReviewJournal.com: GREENHOUSE EFFECT CONCERNS: Panel lets power plants proceed Sep. 08, 2007 Commission sides with companies on coal-fired facilities By ED VOGEL REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU Western Resource Advocates director Charles Benjamin testifies Friday before the Nevada Environmental Commission. On behalf of seven environmental groups, he sought to delay construction of coal plants in Northern Nevada and Lincoln County. Photo by Cathleen Allison/Special to the Review-Journal CARSON CITY -- A petition from seven environmental organizations that sought to stop three companies from constructing coal-fired power plants unless they control carbon dioxide emissions was rejected Friday by the Nevada Environmental Commission. But commissioners then quickly voted 7-0 to require the state Division of Environmental Protection to draw up "memorandums of understanding" requiring the companies to capture carbon dioxide once the technology becomes commercially available. Earlier in the hearing, representatives from Sierra Pacific Resources, LS Power Associates and Sithe Global Power testified that the technology to capture carbon dioxide won't be available at a reasonable price until at least 2017. Carbon dioxide emissions are produced when power plants burn coal to generate electricity. Some scientists contend it is the key greenhouse gas emission that causes global warming. "It is our desire to add this technology once it is economically feasible," said Tony Sanchez, a Sierra Pacific Resources vice president. Sanchez and representatives for the other companies said they are setting aside land next to their power plants for equipment to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions when the technology is developed. But he was not entirely pleased when the commission decided to force the companies to eventually contain greenhouse gas emissions. "If it costs $10 billion (for the new technology), does that mean it is commercially available?" he asked. Lew Dodgion, the Environmental Commission chairman, asked Division of Environmental Protection staff to work on the language in the memorandums. The commission might review the language and adopt it at a future meeting. Dodgion is the former director of the division. Charles Benjamin, director of Western Resource Advocates, filed the petition on behalf of seven environmental groups that want to delay the power plant construction. He was critical of the decision. Lawyers like memorandums of understanding because they usually contain "weasel words" to allow companies to get around rules, he said. Earlier Benjamin testified the three power plants would send 48 million tons of carbon dioxide into the sky during their expected 75-year lifetimes. "Look at the impacts if you do nothing," Benjamin said. "We are urging you to take action today." Because Nevada has no regulation controlling greenhouse gas emissions, Benjamin said, out-of-state companies are being enticed to construct pollution-spewing power plants that will generate electricity for residents elsewhere. Global warming has contributed to the extended drought and wildfires that plague the state and probably will get worse in coming years, he said. But representatives from the attorney general's office said the Environmental Commission lacked the legal authority to suspend the issuing of permits to allow the companies to construct the power plants. The companies have been given permits to begin work on initial stages of the plants. Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent company of Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co., wants to construct two 750-megawatt coal-fired electrical generating plants in the White Pine County town of McGill. The first plants might be completed by 2012. LS Power Associates wants to construct three 530-megawatt plants near McGill, the first of which might open in 2011. Sithe Global Power wants to construct a 750 megawatt plant in southern Lincoln County, near Mesquite. Gov. Jim Gibbons expressed opposition to the move by the environmental groups. Gibbons in a letter wrote that it was not fair to stop the plants when they already "have invested years and millions of dollars in facility design and the permitting process." He expressed concern about climate change and noted he has appointed committees to investigate developing renewable resources and to look at how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced in Nevada. Gibbons signed a legislative bill in June that requires the state to track and inventory the amount of greenhouse gases released in the state. But he said adopting "non-science based emission limits" would be a mistake. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson testified that the commission should not be dictating how much pollution is permitted from power plants. Instead he said the Legislature should make that decision. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 6 The Hindu: US, Australia, Japan keen to strengthen ties with India Saturday, September 8, 2007 : 1635 Hrs Melbourne, Sept. 8 (PTI): Viewing India as an emerging "great power", the US, Australia and Japan today expressed keenness to strengthen ties with New Delhi but ruled out immediate plans to include it in their three-way strategic dialogue. In their landmark security talks, US President George W Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe focussed on how to boost ties with India as they met over breakfast on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney. "There was a lot of discussion about India, a lot of optimism about India, the importance of strengthening our relations with India," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters, adding "there's a recognition now that India is a coming great power." Downer said India was the the world's largest democracy and its economy is growing at a rapid rate and "it's a country that we're all feeling increasingly comfortable working with." "It was an opportunity to talk about a range of different issues but certainly to focus on India and the importance of that country to us in the Asia-Pacific region and broader geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region," he said. The discussion on engaging New Delhi more came at a time when the three countries are holding joint naval exercises with India in Bay of Bengal. Downer, however, said expanding the three-way strategic dialogue to include India was not on the table for the moment. "Nothing like that is going to happen any time soon, we are looking more in a general sense at progressing the relationship," he said. Ahead of today's meeting, the three developed countries sought to allay China's fears saying the dialogue was not aimed against any country. "As far as China is concerned, the three leaders shared the same recognition that it's important to have a positive engagement with China," Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba said after the talks. Besides India and China's growing regional influence, the three leaders discussed the the North Korean and Iran nuclear issues at the meeting, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Downer. Downer again said that leaders at the APEC summit were unlikely to expand their club to take in India or any other country by lifting a leadership moratorium. "One of the reasons for that is I think there are 11 applicants for APEC membership, India is one.... it's quite a long list and I think there is a consensus that if you were to bring one in, you'd have to bring others to balance it up," Downer said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 7 [NYTr] El Baradei: We Are Moving Rapidly Towards an Abyss Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 15:51:47 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit der Spiegel 9/3/07 via Info Clearing House - Sep 7, 2007 http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18330.htm "We Are Moving Rapidly Towards an Abyss" Spiegel Interview with Mohamed El Baradei by Dieter Bednarz and Erich Follath United Nations chief weapons inspector Mohamed ElBaradei spoke to SPIEGEL about Iran's last chance to convince the world of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, his problems with the US government and his fear of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. ElBaradei, 65, an Egyptian diplomat with a law degree from New York University, has been the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1997. Working on behalf of the UN, Baradei's job is to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. SPIEGEL: Mr. ElBaradei, the international community suspects that Iran aims to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this. Have we now reached the decisive phase in which we will finally get an answer to this central question of world politics? Mohamed ElBaradei: Yes. The next few months will be crucial for the overall situation in the Middle East. Whether we move in the direction of escalation or in the direction of a peaceful solution. SPIEGEL: You have been given a central role. The new report on Iran by your International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could lead to more severe sanctions against Tehran. ElBaradei: The international community will have to make that decision. We can only deliver the facts and our assessment of the situation. There are hopeful and positive signs. For the first time, we have agreed, with the Iranians, to a sort of roadmap, a schedule, if you will, for clarifying the outstanding issues. We should know by November, or December at the latest, whether the Iranians will keep their promises. If they don't, Tehran will have missed a great opportunity -- possibly the last one. SPIEGEL: The US government has described Iran's new willingness to cooperate as a transparent attempt to distract from its true intentions and from its continued development of the capabilities to produce a nuclear weapon. Is the IAEA too gullible? ElBaradei: I am familiar with these accusations. They are completely untrue. It's not possible to manipulate us. We are not naC/ve and we do not take sides. Our new Iran report also shows that the Iranian government is not adhering to the requirements set forth by the UN, which demanded an immediate stop to uranium enrichment. SPIEGEL: It is a proven fact that Tehran has spent years trying to keep the international community in the dark over important aspects of its nuclear program. ElBaradei: That's right. SPIEGEL: Your deputy, Olli Heinonen, who negotiated with the Iranians, is now talking about a breakthrough, a "milestone." Given Iran's history, wouldn't a healthy dose of suspicion be appropriate? ElBaradei: Obviously we are all pushing for the same strategic goal: That Iran should not get nuclear weapons. We consistently searched for evidence that Iran intends to build nuclear weapons. We found suspicious signs, but no smoking gun. We could now make some progress in setting aside these suspicions by thoroughly inspecting the Iranian facilities and learning details about their history. SPIEGEL: What do you expect from Tehran? ElBaradei: We expect information about the scope and nature of its uranium enrichment program and its statements about certain suspicious studies we have. The most decisive element in our assessment will be whether Iran cooperates with us completely and actively. SPIEGEL: It appears that Iran has fewer centrifuges up and running than experts had assumed until recently. Some say there are substantially fewer than 3,000, which is considered the minimum to produce enough material for a bomb within one year. Have the scientists encountered problems with the technology, or is the surprisingly low number a sign of political accommodation? ElBaradei: Both possibilities are valid. My gut feeling tells me that Iran has responded positively to my repeated demands that it scale back the program. SPIEGEL: Aren't there other questions where you are still in the dark? ElBaradei: No. We can check many things precisely. I am not willing to state definitively whether Iran is following up its promises with actions. I just don't want to lose the opportunity to find out for myself. The UN sanctions against Tehran will remain in place in the interim. It's important to exert pressure. But in addition to sanctions we must also have incentives. SPIEGEL: Now, you believe, the time has come... ElBaradei: ...to encourage Iran to take a new direction. Yes, that's my opinion. If someone comes to me and says, I want to work with you now, then I have to examine his offer to make sure it has substance. We must see all the documents, be able to talk to anyone and have unfettered access to all facilities. We are talking about two or three months. Then we'll know more. SPIEGEL: You are essentially asking for a time out. The Bush administration sees the issue quite differently. It wants to turn up the heat on the pressure cooker. ElBaradei: Careful! If we turn up the heat too high the pot could explode around our ears. SPIEGEL: Washington wants to place the Revolutionary Guards -- an important and, in the case of nuclear policy, decisive element of the Iranian power structure -- on a list of terrorist organizations. The Bush administration has called on foreign banks to cancel their dealings with Iran. Gregory Schulte, the American envoy to the IAEA, has made it clear that the US government wants to see tougher sanctions. Do you believe that the Russians and the Chinese will vote for more severe sanctions in the UN Security Council once they see the new IAEA report? ElBaradei: We at the IAEA do not make these political decisions. SPIEGEL: But you would consider tighter sanctions to be counterproductive? ElBaradei: I don't make a secret of that. You can only set up so many roadmaps. If there is no basis for trust, all that effort is in vain. Sanctions alone will not produce a lasting solution. What we need in the Middle East is not more weapons, but better educational opportunities and more security for people. We should remind ourselves every day of the terrible situation of Iraq's civilians. An improvement in the catastrophic situation in Baghdad, with its tens of thousands of civilian casualties, can only be achieved through political measures -- through concrete improvement of the population's living conditions and through opportunities for education and jobs. And, most of all, by politically involving the neighboring countries. SPIEGEL: The Iranian leadership insists on its right to enrich uranium, and every country that has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is entitled to this right, at least formally. ElBaradei: There are concrete suspicions against Iran. That's why I believe that Iran has temporarily forfeited this right, and that it will have to regain it with the international community through confidence-building measures. On the other hand, those in the West must realize that if all they expect is confrontation, they might as well forget dialogue -- and they should not be surprised if the other side seeks retribution. SPIEGEL: Some politicians and senior military leaders in Israel, as well as in the United States, are seriously considering an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also threatened to bomb the facilities. What do you think about the "military option?" ElBaradei: Nothing at all. Perhaps a large part of the Iranian facilities could in fact be destroyed. But something like that would trigger a terrible conflagration in the region, and it would certainly strengthen the positions of those in Tehran who favor the development of a nuclear bomb. After presumably withdrawing from the NPT, they would then pursue such a program without any monitoring whatsoever. The already deep conflicts between the Islamic world and the West would explode. We need the opposite: an intensive dialogue involving all major players, the Europeans and especially the United States. SPIEGEL: Iran is your most difficult problem child, but certainly not the only one. North Korea... ElBaradei: ...was, until recently, seen as equally threatening. I am a long way from declaring all concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear program resolved. But the development there is positive. The Yongbyon reactor, which is the most important one when it comes to bomb production, has been taken offline under IAEA supervision. This is all the result of intensive negotiations conducted with the regime by the major powers and neighboring countries. SPIEGEL: One could see it that way. But one could also say that dictator Kim Jong Il expelled your inspectors, violated his obligations, tested a bomb and thereby blackmailed the international community. ElBaradei: I am not defending the regime in North Korea, just as the issue is not a ranking of governments that are more or less acceptable to me. But in Pyongyang the desire to obtain the ultimate weapon also arose from a feeling of insecurity and the idea that outside forces planned to topple the regime, as well as the desire for security guarantees. The outcome of the six-party talks with North Korea was decisive. After five years of talking to each other, it remains indisputable that dialogue brought an easing of tensions and, once its nuclear arsenal has been completely eliminated, will bring Pyongyang back into the fold of the IAEA. This could succeed through political pressure, combined with economic incentives. SPIEGEL: Isn't this sending the wrong message to the world's despotic rulers -- acquire nuclear weapons or seriously threaten to develop a nuclear weapons program and you'll be taken seriously? ElBaradei: There is that risk. But, on the other hand, in order to seem credible to the nuclear wannabe states we must demand steps toward nuclear disarmament from those who have nuclear weapons -- an obligation that is stipulated in the nonproliferation treaty but is not complied with. I deplore this two-faced approach. If practically all nuclear powers are modernizing instead of reducing their arsenals, how can we argue with the non-nuclear states? SPIEGEL: You visited North Korea in March when you believed that things had taken a decisive turn for the better. Do you see yourself -- under similar conditions -- traveling to Tehran toward the end of the year? ElBaradei: I would have nothing against traveling to Tehran tomorrow. But while the North Koreans have complied with the UN's wishes and are being rewarded for this positive behavior, I currently see the Iranians in a sort of trial period -- with an uncertain outcome. SPIEGEL: Do you have a good feeling about the fact that the French president is putting a nuclear reactor in the desert for Libya's ruler? ElBaradei: I am not familiar with the details of the deal, and whether I like or trust Moammar Gadhafi is irrelevant in this context. Libya is a member of the IAEA, and we will be able to monitor the reactor. SPIEGEL: What apparently cannot be monitored or can only be monitored highly inadequately is the nuclear black market. It was just revealed that China has "lost" eight kilograms of weapons-grade uranium. Enriched uranium also keeps turning up in the states that emerged from the bankrupt Soviet Union. ElBaradei: Yes, that is unfortunately the case. SPIEGEL: There is already speculation that al-Qaida is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Do you think there is a real risk that terrorists will obtain the ultimate weapon? ElBaradei: That's my greatest concern, a horror scenario. I'm not thinking about a nuclear weapon. No terrorist organization has the necessary know-how or potential to acquire these weapons. But a small, so-called dirty bomb containing radioactive material, detonated somewhere in a major city, could cost human lives and set off massive terror with serious economic consequences. Sometimes I think it's a miracle that it hasn't happened yet. I pray that it remains that way. SPIEGEL: You are in a conflicting situation. The IAEA's job is not just to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and inspect nuclear facilities, but also to promote the civilian use of nuclear energy. However, nuclear power plants are generally considered dangerous, and there is still no way to permanently store radioactive waste. ElBaradei: Every technology comes with a residual risk. It's very low in modern nuclear power plants. I know that some countries have a psychological problem with nuclear power... SPIEGEL: ...the Germans, for example, are very skeptical, and the government has plans to begin getting out of nuclear energy. In your opinion, should we continue to rely on nuclear power, especially in light of such incidents as the recent earthquake in Japan that affected the world's largest nuclear power plant? ElBaradei: We are monitoring the situation there. The Japanese reactor shut itself down automatically, thereby demonstrating its capacity for functioning correctly in an emergency. But I cannot impose rules on any country. You in Germany apparently have the option of structuring your energy mix largely as you please. For other nations, particularly in the Third World, new energy sources are critical to survival. Look at India. The only way the more than 300 million Indians who live on less than $1 a day can significantly improve their standard of living is through the rapid growth in environmentally safe energy. SPIEGEL: India never joined the NPT, and it tested a nuclear weapon in 1998. The IAEA is not even allowed to inspect India's civilian plants, not to mention its military ones. And yet the United States now wants to supply Delhi with new nuclear technology and fuel. Why didn't you object to this deal? ElBaradei: I was even in favor of it. I am not a purist or a dreamer. India became a nuclear power, and it was ostracized internationally for a time as a result. This no longer makes any sense. We would consider it progress if we could monitor India's civilian nuclear power plants in the future, and we will likely begin negotiations on this issue with Delhi soon, provided the deal isn't cancelled as a result of domestic political disagreements first. SPIEGEL: You have headed the IAEA for 10 years now. Has your job become easier or more difficult over the years? ElBaradei: More difficult. We pay completely inadequate attention to the important threats, the inhuman living conditions of billions of people, climate change and the potential for nuclear holocaust. We stand at a crossroads, and we are moving rapidly toward an abyss. There are currently 27,000 nuclear warheads in the world. If we don't change our way of thinking, John F. Kennedy's prediction that there would be 20 nuclear powers will soon come true. And with each new player and each new weapon, the risk of a planned or accidental nuclear war increases. SPIEGEL: What would you like to see as your legacy? ElBaradei: I am in favor of a multinational procedure in matters of uranium enrichment and reprocessing. Ultimately, no single country should be in a position to independently produce nuclear material. SPIEGEL: Now you must be dreaming. ElBaradei: We must never forget that the dispute over nuclear weapons is not a game, but deadly serious. It can easily lead to a catastrophe and jeopardize the basis for the existence of all mankind. We need an international system of security guarantees, in which no country depends on nuclear weapons. We cannot wait any longer for this to happen. Not a day longer. SPIEGEL: Mr. ElBaradei, thank you for this interview. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 8 IAEA: IAEA Launches a Pictorial History Book of "Atoms for Peace" Press Release 2007/17 7 September 2007 | To commemorate its first 50 years, the International Atomic Energy Agency is today launching a photographic history of the organization and its work. A large volume, elegantly produced, it offers an overview of the Agency that is both attractive and educational. The book explores in pictures the balance between the IAEA´s work as a nuclear watchdog and rigorous advocate for safety and security and its mission in helping developing countries use advanced science for humanitarian benefit. Issued at a time of unprecedented international interest in the Agency, it addresses the fundamental concepts that underlie the work of the IAEA and its "Atoms for Peace" mission. It also describes the historical evolution of the IAEA, illustrating the successes and challenges that have shaped the organization over the past half century. Notable milestones covered include US President Eisenhower´s Atoms for Peace speech, the establishment of safeguards regimes, the international response to the Chernobyl accident and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Ongoing efforts, in fields ranging from sustainable energy production to human health and agricultural productivity, further detail the diversity and complexity of the IAEA´s contribution - as IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei explains in the foreword - to "the betterment of the human family." »» (196 pp.; 850 figs; 2007) »» ISBN 978-92-0-103807-4 »» €50.00 To look at selected pages from the book, please visit: A Pictorial History of "Atoms for Peace" and click on the link to sample pages. To order the book or request more information, please contact: Sales and Promotion Unit F0855, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency P.O. Box 100 A 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel.: [43-1] 2600-22529/22530 Fax: 43-1] 2600-29302 E-mail: sales.publications@iaea.org Related Resources: » 29 July: Birthday of the IAEA´s First Half Century, 30 July 2007 » History of the IAEA Press Office Division of Public Information [43-1] 2600-21276 Danielle Dahlstrom Public Information Officer Media and Outreach Section Division of Public Information [43-1] 2600-26523 [43] 699-165-26523 (mobile) About the IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the world´s foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Established as an autonomous organization under the United Nations (UN) in 1957, the IAEA carries out programmes to maximize the useful contribution of nuclear technology to society while verifying its peaceful use. NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit the Press Section of the IAEA´s website (http://www.iaea.org/Resources/Journalists/), or call the IAEA´s Division of Public Information at (431) 2600-21270. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: ***************************************************************** 9 Australia Helps Russia Double It's Nuclear Power Size Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:48:46 -0400 Mothersalert: http://www.mothersalert.org http://www.mothersalert.org/moreinfo.html http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/world/08uranium.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Australia Agrees to Sell Uranium to Russia a.. E-Mail b.. Print c.. Reprints d.. Save e.. Share a.. Digg b.. Facebook c.. Newsvine d.. Permalink By TIM JOHNSTON Published: September 8, 2007 SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 7 - Australia will sell uranium to Russia to fuel President Vladimir V. Putin's ambitious plan to double the size of his country's nuclear power industry, according to a deal signed here today. Mr. Putin and Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, who signed the deal on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit meeting in Sydney, sought to play down fears that the uranium could be used for military purposes or sold to other parties. Russia is helping Iran build its first nuclear plant. The leaders said concerns that the uranium would be used for military purposes were misplaced. "Any uranium that is sold to Russia will be sold subject to very strict safeguards," Mr. Howard said. He added, "Russia already has an enormous amount of military nuclear material which it is selling - principally to the United States - for reprocessing." Mr. Putin said Russia had about 500 metric tons of military-grade uranium and was selling about 30 tons a year to reprocessors in the United States. He also said that Russia was embarking on a program to build 30 nuclear power stations in the next 15 to 20 years. Robert Ayson, an Asia-Pacific security specialist at the Australian National University in the capital, Canberra, said he believed that Moscow had a legitimate need for new supplies of uranium. "Russia has about 5 percent of the world's uranium reserves, and because of the expansion it is going to have a long-term need for uranium," he said. Australia has about 40 percent of the world's known reserves of uranium, and the Australian mining industry has been profiting from the global hunger for carbon-neutral sources of energy. Nuclear exports were worth about $685 million last year to the Australian economy. Australia recently agreed to sell uranium to China, sparking concerns about how the material will be used and monitored after the sales. Australia is also working on a uranium sales deal with India. The government in New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty but is believed to be willing to allow the International Atomic Energy Authority to monitor its civilian nuclear power program. The United States has agreed in principle to sell nuclear material to India, although the deal still requires ratification by Congress. Mr. Ayson said he did not believe that selling uranium to Russia would encourage weapons proliferation but that the uranium sales had provided a focus for less specific worries. "There is the concern that Putin is the sort of person who is pushing the envelope a bit," he said today. "This is a historical thing: it is all the Chernobyl stuff, all the comments about targeting missiles at Europe. It's inchoate, it's not focused on a specific risk." Mr. Putin is the first Russian leader to visit Australia, and although trade between the two countries is expanding, a Russian sale of submarines to Indonesia, a neighbor of Australia, has created tension. Attachment Converted: article-sponsor3.gif: 00000001,00000001,00000000,2361e670 Attachment Converted: once_88x31_Nowplaying1.gif: 00000001,00000001,00000000,6c2b0599 ***************************************************************** 10 The Hindu: Consequences to follow if Left concerns ignored - Bardhan Saturday, September 8, 2007 : 2120 Hrs Visakhapatnam, Sept. 8 (PTI): Sending out a strong message to the UPA, the CPI today said "consequences will follow" if the government ignores the Left parties' concerns that may be expressed in the UPA-Left committee set up to resolve the differences over the Indo-US nuclear deal. "If they accept, well and good. If they don't, consequences will follow," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said in reply to a query at a 'meet the press' organised here ahead of the Left rally in protest against the multi-nation naval exercises being held off the coast of this port city. "What will happen if the government does not take it (committee) seriously and does not listen, is a matter we will discuss among the Left parties later on," he said. "We have been successfully making the government realise that our objections have to be discussed. They cannot be brushed aside. You cannot bulldoze. You will have to pause. You will have to consider our objections. That's why that committee was set up," Bardhan said. Asked how long the Left will continue to support the government, he said, "We will think of it". Replying to a query whether a mid-term poll can be expected, the CPI leader said, "much of that whether there will be a mid-term poll or not depends on the party which is running the government." Asked whether the government has given any assurance that Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) chief Anil Kakodkar will not discuss the nuclear deal with the IAEA during his visit to Vienna next week, Bardhan evaded a direct reply, merely saying that the agreement could not be operationalised till the findings of the UPA-Left committee are out. "Right now, because the committee has been set up, the statement agreed to by us says that whatever operationalising of the Act is concerned of that agreement, it will take into account the findings of the committee," the CPI leader said. "It means till the findings of the committee are not out, the government will stop operationalising it," he said. Slamming the multi-nation naval exercises off the coast of Visakhapatnam, Bardhan alleged that India is being dragged into becoming a "strategic ally" of the United States. "Only today, I saw on the TV that the Japanese government has appealed to India to join this trilateral alliance. Against whom this alliance is directed? Bay of Bengal is a sea of peace. It is being converted into a military field. We have been pointing out that India is being dragged into this, a strategic ally of the US," he said. "Our foreign policy is one of an independent policy and of political non-alignment. The CMP says India will pursue multi-lateralism. Is this the way we are doing that?." Earlier, the two "jathas" led by Bardhan and CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, from Kolkata and Chennai respectively, converged here. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 11 Indiatimes: 'India can build light water nuclear reactors on its own' 8 Sep, 2007, 1724 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: India need not depend on US for Light water nuclear reactor (LWR) technology as Indian scientists are capable of making it, said a top nuclear scientist. "Indian scientists and technologists are capable of making Light water reactor and we are already constructing a LWR at Kalpakkam for submarine," said P K Iyengar, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission at a public debate on Indo-US deal organised by Swadeshi Jagran Manch and other NGOs here yesterday. The LWR is expected to be imported in large numbers once the Indo-US deal is signed. Expressing his anxiety on the terms and conditions of 123 agreement, Iyengar said if the clause on licensing (2.1) could dropped be from the agreement then at least "we do not have to say that Hyde Act will apply." Quoting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Iyengar said signing the civilian nuclear agreement with the Americans is like signing Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Hyde Act is even severe than the NPT. Hyde Act was ratified by the US Congress as it satisfied all their aspirations while they may not ratify 123 agreement, he said adding India has to look at this as a national policy and it is time that all scientists and the intelligentsia ask fundamental questions as to whether India has to go for this or not. Cautioning the government, the defence analyst Bharat Karnad said India should have the right to conduct nuclear test, as it has been analysed that China, which is emerging as number one global economic power, in a few years may go on war with India, Russia and Vietnam. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 12 Indiatimes: Nuke Panel's suggestions not binding: Cong 9 Sep, 2007, 0244 hrs IST, TNN The Congress has said in clear terms that the newly constituted Nuke Panel's suggestions would not be binding. The party’s views were articulated by Union minister for science and technology and a member of the panel Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal. He also said that there was no possibility of renegotiating 123 Agreement. He claimed that the Left parties had never said that the government was bound to accept their concerns on the deal. The government constituted a UPA-Left panel to study the implications of the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, it’s now clear that the government is determined to complete the work of the panel expeditiously as the minister said the task could be completed within a month. In fact, the government needs to clear the decks as soon as possible so as to avoid jeopardising the plan to ensure its ratification by the US Congress before it goes into recess in February end. The 15-member Nuke panel is headed external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee. Abolish Art 370, BJP tells J&K working group The BJP reiterated its demand for the abrogation of Article 370, which accords a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The party said the abolition of the Article would give a fillip to the process of the state’s integration with the national mainstream, and decentralisation of powers within the state so as to benefit the regions of Jammu and Ladakh. In a 10-page-long note written to the chairman of the J&K working group on strengthening relations with the Centre, party general secretary Arun Jaitley made out a strong case in support of the party’s twin arguments on Article 370 and decentralisation. “The incorporation of Article 370 was a Nehruvian misadventure. It is for the people of India, including those of J&K, to pause and look back and objectively decide whether the provision has served the cause of the nation or the people of the state or has it at all strengthened national integration?†the BJP leader wondered, adding, “the experience of the past 57 years reveals that the journey of Article 370 has evolved from a demand for a separate status to separatism. It is Article 370 and the ideology which produced it that share the blame for this unfortunate evolution.†Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 13 Indiatimes: CPI talks tough on N-deal, Karat rules out polls 9 Sep, 2007, 0307 hrs IST, TNN NEW DELHI: Continuing with its high decibel opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI on Saturday said that "consequences will follow" for the UPA government if Left concerns over deal expressed at the UPA-Left committee meeting were not "accepted". "If they accept, well and good. If they don’t, consequences will follow," CPI general secretary AB Bardhan said in reply to questions from mediapersons in Visakhapatnam, where the Left parties held a rally and public meeting against multi-nation naval exercises being held off the city’s coast. In Alappuzha in Kerala, CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat said the Left would withdraw support from the Manmohan Singh Government if it operationalised the nuclear deal. The meeting of UPA-Left panel, which has been set up to examine the Left’s “objections to the dealâ€, is not fixed yet but is expected before 14 September. Mr Bardhan and his CPM counterpart Prakash Karat, who lead ‘jathas’ (protests) against the naval exercises from Kolkata and Chennai respectively have been making strident statements against the Manmohan Singh government’s ties with the US. The two jathas converged in Visakhapatam on Saturday and held a rally against the naval exercises there. "What will happen if the government does not take it (committee) seriously and does not listen, is a matter we will discuss among the Left parties later on," Mr Bardhan said responding to questions. He also added that the Left had "successfully" made the government realise that its objections had to be discussed. On the prospect of early polls, the CPI leader said: "Much of whether there will be a mid-term poll or not depends on the party which is running the government." Meanwhile, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today refused to speculate on mid-term election and said his party was keen to get on with the joint committee’s work on the Indo-US nuclear deal. “No, we have not talked about elections so far. I don’t want to speculate about elections and all that,†he told a news channel. Meanwhile, Mr Bardhan too did not directly reply when asked if the government had given an assurance that the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) chief Anil Kakodkar would not discuss the nuclear deal with the IAEA during his Vienna visit next week. He said that the agreement could not be operationalised till the findings of the UPA-Left committee came out. “...(till) the findings of the committee are not out, the government will stop operationalising it ( the deal),†he said. Mr Bardhan also slammed the naval exercises and hit out at the government for dragging India into becoming a “strategic ally†of the United States. “...the Japanese government has appealed to India to join this trilateral alliance. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 14 Herald News: County board set to vote on power plant deal HeraldNewsOnline.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group September 8, 2007 By STEWART WARREN STAFF WRITER JOLIET -- The county board will vote Sept. 20 on a proposed five-year agreement establishing the tax value of the Braidwood nuclear power plant. The members of the board's executive committee voted unanimously Thursday to send the agreement to the full board for approval. Last year, Will County Supervisor of Assessments Rhonda Novak assessed the value of the plant at $350 million for the 2006 tax year. But officials at the Reed-Custer School District didn't approve. They thought the figure was too low and filed a dispute with the Will County Board of Review. The board didn't rule in the district's favor, however. In a recently proposed deal, the value of the plant would be increased from $350 million by $20 million annually during a five-year period. By the 2010 tax year, the value of the plant would be $430 million. Additionally, Exelon, the owner of the plant, would make a one-time donation to the school district of $2.1 million. The company also would make similar one-time donations to the other taxing bodies for a total of a little more than $3 million. "I feel really confident that this is a good set of numbers," Novak said during Thursday's executive committee meeting. All of the other taxing bodies, including the Godley park and public water districts, have agreed to the proposed plan except for the school district. Each of the taxing bodies must vote on proposed tax plan during their own board meetings. Reporter Stewart Warren can be reached at (815) 729-6068 or via e-mail at swarren@scn1.com © Copyright 2007 Sun-Times News Group | Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Submission Guidlines ***************************************************************** 15 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Nuclear reactor discussion in Galena heats up The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903 By Chris Freiberg cfreiberg@newsminer.com Published September 8, 2007 Toshiba Corp. has contacted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to further the company’s quest to bring more affordable energy to the isolated city of Galena, but that process could take up to a decade to complete and is already facing stiff opposition from one group. In 2004 the city of about 700 people tentatively accepted a proposal from Toshiba to build a small nuclear power plant known as the 4S Reactor — “super-safe, small and simple.” The reactor, which is still in the research and development phase, differs from others in use throughout the United States because its core would be cooled by liquid metal sodium. Most reactors use water as a coolant. The 10-megawatt reactor would be contained about 100 feet below ground and could theoretically run for 30 years without refueling. Such a reactor could be a blessing for Galena, which burns diesel oil to produce electricity. The diesel must be brought in by barge during the summer months. Galena pays about $3.50 per gallon for diesel, which results in a cost of about 40 cents a kilowatt hour. The average cost across the country was 8.98 cents a kilowatt hour in May 2007, according to figures released by the government’s Energy Information Administration. Officials estimate the Toshiba reactor could bring the cost per kilowatt hour down to between 5 and 13 cents. “The more diesel goes up, the more attractive this is,” said Marvin Yoder, a former city manager of Galena who is acting as a consultant on the project. Not everyone in the region shares that sentiment, however. In August 2005, 66 indigenous groups in the region passed two resolutions protesting the use of radioactive material in the area at the annual meeting of the Yukon River Intertribal Watershed Council. “The bottom line is that the tribes of the Yukon River Watershed are opposed to this particular reactor and the storage and experimentation of radioactive material,” said Rob Rosenfeld, director of the watershed council. Rosenfeld says Toshiba is using “deceptive marketing” to make the reactor more attractive to Galena and is attempting to use the city as a “guinea pig” for unproven, and possibly dangerous technology, pointing to troubles with sodium-cooled reactors elsewhere in the U.S. In 1957, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, about 30 miles north of Los Angeles, brought a sodium-cooled reactor online. Two years later it suffered a partial meltdown. Another such reactor brought online in 1963 in Monroe County, Michigan, suffered a meltdown in 1966 and was decomissioned in 1975. There have been successes. The Soviet Union built two sodium-cooled reactors in the 1970s and 80s. One operated without incident for more than 25 years, and the other is still operational. Yoder said that questions about the reactor’s safety are sure to be answered from its lengthy research and development period, as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review process. That review process will be the next major hurdle for the 4S Reactor. In August, Toshiba sent a letter to the NRC requesting a pre-application design review, which will take place at a public meeting sometime in the next few months. “This is a multi-year process for the NRC to look at the design in detail and come to a conclusion as to whether it meets our safety regulations,” NRC spokesman Scott Burnell said. Reviewing the design could take about two years, and only then will the NRC begin looking at putting the reactor in specific sites such as Galena. “It’s not a completely new idea, but its been confined primarily to research applications,” Burnell said. “The NRC will have to look closely at how the reactor is built and operated.” The future of the reactor in Galena could face other hurdles as well. City Manager Walt Wilcox said that until the city received a copy of Toshiba’s letter to the NRC in late August, they had not heard anything about the project from Toshiba in about eight months. In addition, earlier reports stated that Toshiba would install the reactor at no cost to the city, but a statement from the company to the News-Miner seemed to reverse that claim. “We are aiming to realize the 4S system on a conventional business basis, and we do not have any plans to propose the system free of charge,” it states. The idea of footing the bill for the multi-million dollar reactor doesn’t sit well with Wilcox. “This is a small community that doesn’t even have an extra $1,000,” he said. However, Yoder said that while Galena will not have to pay any research and development costs, which he estimates are several hundred million dollars, the financial details of installing the reactor are still up in the air. Yoder believes the reactor could be up and running as soon as 2015, but Toshiba says the NRC’s application process and actual construction of the reactor could take more than 10 years. Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at 459-7545. All rights reserved, © 2007 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ***************************************************************** 16 The Hindu: Canada designing n-reactors to 'market' in India Saturday, September 8, 2007 : 1120 Hrs Toronto, Sept. 8 (PTI): Canada is desiging a nuclear reactor that will run on mixed oxide or MOX fuel, recovered uranium and thorium, a radioactive material that is found in abundance in India. "Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd is applying for approval from the UK regulator for its design and adaption of its reactors to work with uranium, mixed oxide fuel, recovered uranium and thorium, a radioactive material which is abundant in India," Jerry Hopwood, vice president for reactor development, AECL said. The mixed oxide or MOX fuel is a blend of oxides of plutonium and natural uranium, reprocessed uranium or depleted uranium which behaves similarly (though not identically) to the low enriched uranium feed for which most reactors were designed. "Canada may market its reactors in India after the designs are adapted and getting political approval," Hopwood said adding, in India, political approval has to come first. The Asian country aims to have 30,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity by 2030, he added. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 17 Press Association: Study reveals nuclear power support John Hutton dubbed a nuclear energy consultation a 'tremendous success' Early results from a nationwide consultation on the future use of nuclear power in Britain have revealed tentative public support for the plans. A total of 46% of people said they supported or strongly supported the continued use of nuclear power, with only 25% of people saying they either opposed or strongly opposed the idea. But 89% of people said they were either concerned or very concerned about safety and security issues associated with nuclear energy, and 92% were very concerned or quite concerned about creating new nuclear waste. Around 1,100 people took part in nine public meetings across the UK on Saturday, and gave their views on a range of energy-related topics. The results are preliminary and have yet not been properly weighted. The meetings formed part of the Government's wider consultation on whether to build more nuclear power stations to help meet Britain's future energy needs. But the process attracted controversy when invited environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, pulled out, labelling it a "public relations stitch-up". Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton glossed over the dispute, insisting that the meetings had been useful. He said: "It has been a tremendous success. Around 1,000 people have shared their views on how we can secure our energy supplies for the future. "We have a preliminary view; that nuclear should be able to play a part in providing the energy that we need to keep the lights on and help cut carbon emissions. But it is important that we know what the public thinks. "It is right that people debate the pros and cons - our livelihoods and the future health of the planet depend on us getting this right. It is absolutely in the national interest that we make a decision and urgently." In February, a High Court ruling forced the Government to undertake the consultation after a previous process was deemed "seriously flawed" and "manifestly inadequate and unfair". It ordered a new 20-week process that began in May and will end on October 10. Copyright © 2007 The Press Association. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 recordonline.com: Reps request longer Indian Point comment time September 08, 2007 Buchanan – Four Hudson Valley members of Congress – Nita Lowey, John Hall, Maurice Hinchey and Eliot Engel – have called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to grant a 60-day extension for intervener petitions to be filed in connection to the Indian Point nuclear reactor license renewal process. All four said that in light of recent problems at the Buchanan plant, the comment period should not be stopped by Oct. 1. “Entergy’s recent and repeated failure to get its siren system up and running is just the latest reminder that there is an extraordinary number of public safety issues associated with this relicensing application, and the public deserves every opportunity to be heard,” Hall said. Ashley Kelly Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York"s Hudson Valley and the Catskills. Phone: (845) 341-1100 ***************************************************************** 19 Tennessean: Old construction problems will be revisited at TVA's next reactor - Nashville, Tennessee - Sunday, 09/09/07 - Tennessean.com Federal inspectors say they need to look at old work before new work begins By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer SPRING CITY, Tenn. (AP) -- Federal inspectors say they will dig into the past before they look into the future of the Tennessee Valley Authority's incomplete Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor. "We have to reconstruct the construction program that we did in the 1970s and 1980s for Watts Bar Unit 2," said Loren Plisco, deputy regional administrator for construction at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ann Harris, a former TVA whistleblower and activist, said it would be worth the NRC's effort to review the troubled construction of the last new reactor to come online in this country. "I would expect them to find somewhere between 2,800 and 3,400 employee concerns over safety issues that were never fixed or resolved" before TVA completed Watts Bar's twin Unit 1 reactor in 1996, she said. Plisco said he was unaware of lingering complaints, but added that "one of the things we are going to be doing is going back and looking at our allegation files for Watts Bar Unit 1" to see if the problems were confirmed and what was done about them. TVA ended up replacing more than 1.3 million feet of electrical cabling in Unit 1 because of poor installation or missing paperwork to prove it was installed correctly. There also were issues with piping, welds and instruments, and lingering concerns over an ice-condenser reactor cooling system. TVA Site Vice President Mike Skaggs said Unit 1 has delivered "12 years of successful safe operation," performing at 85 percent capacity since 1996. Harris still worries that pre-1996 problems remain in Unit 1. But Plisco said he's concerned that no one bothered to look for the same weaknesses and make repairs in idled Unit 2. Watts Bar construction began in 1973, then was idled with rest of the TVA nuclear program in 1985 over safety concerns. It took 23 years and $9 billion to finally finish Unit 1 in 1996. TVA directors decided in August to complete Unit 2, an 1,180-megawatt generator capable of lighting 650,000 homes. TVA plans to spend $2.5 billion to finish the reactor by 2013. That's in addition to the $1.7 billion already invested in the unit. The main contract for the Unit 2 project is expected to be awarded in a few weeks. It will be worth about $1 billion. TVA, the country's largest public utility, still has a construction permit for Unit 2. But it doesn't have an NRC operating license, opening the agency's door to revisiting two-decades-old issues at the plant. A rare post-9/11 media tour of Watts Bar on Friday revealed not much has changed on the Unit 2 side of the plant. It's a slightly dusty version of Unit 1, with huge parts still in crates or missing after being picked off to repair other TVA reactors. TVA Senior Vice President Ashok Bhatnager acknowledges "there many things that weren't done correctly" in Unit 1, but said the errors were corrected and will be incorporated in Unit 2. Moreover, the federal utility feels "very good that we can retrieve all the records" to prove it to the NRC, he said. Copyright © 2007, tennessean.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 APP.COM: Supplying electricity needs isn't "Us vs. Them" . . . | Asbury Park Press Online Sunday, September 9, 2007 BY EDWARD H. SALMON Post Comment If I've learned anything in a long career that spans 26 years of public office, including serving as president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, it is this: Those who lack facts all too often resort to name-calling. A case in point is the attack by the Press on the recently formed NJ Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy Coalition (NJ ACRE). Your Aug. 23 editorial "Exelon enlists spin doctors" makes no attempt to cite scientific fact but resorts instead to faulty premises and poisoned rhetoric. As such, you do a disservice to your readers. Meeting New Jersey's rapidly expanding demand for electricity, coupled with the need to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions, is not an either/or proposition, nor is it a case of Us vs. Them. We all have a stake in successfully balancing those two urgent needs. Framing the issue as a struggle between those who favor the environment vs. the forces of "big business" is not only a bogus cliche. It's a dangerous trivialization of a serious problem. The solutions to our looming energy crisis must be born of consensus, not conflict. The coalition was formed to help build the kind of consensus that leads to workable, common-ground solutions. A key goal is to help achieve the greenhouse-gas reduction goals put forth by Gov. Corzine and approved by the Legislature. And we have made it clear from the outset that we see the license extension of the Oyster Creek nuclear energy plant in Lacey as critical to the success of that goal. We favor and support the promotion of renewable energy sources — such as wind and solar — and we support increased conservation. But despite all of the tax and other incentives that have been implemented, the windmills and solar panels that have been built in the state over the past 10 years still account for only 2.6 percent of New Jersey's electricity needs. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, currently supplies 51.8 percent of the electricity used in New Jersey and, most importantly, it does so with zero greenhouse gas emissions and at a low cost. Critics contend that nuclear energy is unsafe. So, let's look at the record. There has not been a single documented case of a fatality resulting from a radiological incident at a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant — ever. The technology for storing nuclear waste on site has been available and in use for years now, storing waste safely across the U.S. daily. Nuclear plants must be shut down at times for refueling and maintenance. Occasionally, nuclear energy plants have unplanned shutdowns. However, nuclear power plants are designed to shut down at the first hint of a problem. This can give the false impression that nuclear plants are unsafe whenever a plant goes off-line. In fact, it proves the opposite. When a nuclear plant shuts down, it's doing what it's designed to do to head off any potential problem. Since the 9/11 attacks, everyone is concerned with the threat of terrorism and rightly so. But some anti-nuclear activists have exploited that concern by making frightening and irresponsible statements about the ability of a nuclear plant to withstand a terrorist attack. According to the FBI, nuclear power plants are "among the most secure industrial facilities in the nation." What's more, tests have shown that a nuclear power plant can withstand a direct hit from a fully fueled airliner with no release of radiation. Critics of NJ ACRE have contended, falsely, that the role of Oyster Creek's owner, Exelon Corp., in establishing the coalition was withheld from the public. That's nonsense. From the outset, the NJ ACRE Web site identified Exelon as the initial sponsor of the coalition. Subsequent public statements by me and others made it clear that while Exelon provided seed money to establish the coalition, they expected additional financial support to come from a growing membership base. That is what is happening. Our membership is growing almost daily and, most recently, the 2,000-member New Jersey Chamber of Commerce joined the coalition to support our mission. I am honored to be part of the coalition and look forward to advancing our mission through the collective efforts of a growing number of diverse and highly respected New Jersey leaders. And no amount of name-calling is going to change that. Edward H. Salmon is chairman of the Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy Coalition. He is a former state legislator and president of the state Board of Public Utilities. Your tax dollars at work! --------------------------- Nuclear Weapons Proliferation Here is an excerpt from the September 30 Presidential debate, in John Kerry's response to the question: What is the most serious threat to U.S.?: Kerry: Right now, the President is spending hundreds of million of dollars to research bunker buster nuclear weapons. The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense. You talk about mixed messages. We're telling other people "You can't have nuclear weapons", but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using. Not this President! I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation..... ---------------------------------------------------- Cheney to Promote Nuke Reactors to China By H. JOSEF HEBERT .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - On a trip to China next week to talk about high-stakes issues like terrorism and North Korea, Vice President Dick Cheney will have another task - making a pitch for Westinghouse's U.S. nuclear power technology. At stake could be billions of dollars in business in coming years and thousands of American jobs. The initial installment of four reactors, costing $1.5 billion apiece, would also help narrow the huge U.S. trade deficit with China. China's latest economic plan anticipates more than doubling its electricity output by 2020 and the Chinese government, facing enormous air pollution problems, is looking to shift some of that away from coal-burning plants. Its plan calls for building as many as 32 large 1,000-megawatt reactors over the next 16 years. No one has ordered a new nuclear power reactor in the United States in three decades and the next one, if it comes, is still years away. So, China is being viewed by the U.S. industry as a potential bonanza. Cheney's three-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai next week is part of a weeklong trip to Asia that will also include a stop in Tokyo. He departed Washington on Friday. A senior administration official, briefing reporters about the trip, said Cheney will not ``pitch individual commercial transactions.'' But he intends to make clear ``we support the efforts of our American companies'' and general access to China's markets, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Some critics are concerned about such technology transfers. ``This pitch could not be more poorly timed,'' Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told a hearing of the House International Relations Committee recently. Citing recent Chinese plans to help Pakistan build two large reactors that are capable of producing plutonium, he said it is not the time for China to be rewarded with new reactor technology. U.S. officials said the Chinese have given adequate assurances that such sales will not pose a proliferation risk. Bid solicitations for four new reactors are expected to be issued by the Chinese within months. The leading competitors are U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co. and a French rival, Areva, which is peddling its next-generation reactor built by its Framatome subsidiary. Westinghouse is putting its hopes on its 1,100 megawatt AP1000 reactor, an advanced design that is still waiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before it can be built in the United States. Westinghouse, owned by the British nuclear firm BNFL, is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of a pressurized water reactor, the type of design China has said it wants to pursue. ``Clearly the China market is very important to the industry and a supplier like Westinghouse,'' said Vaughn Gilbert, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh-based reactor vendor. ``The Chinese market is one that we're pursuing.'' Each of the AP1000 reactors are expected to cost about $1.5 billion. ``We would assume there would be more than one order,'' Gilbert said, since China has indicated it wants a standardized design across its reactor program. A successful bid could mean 5,000 American jobs, Gilbert said in an interview. For the nuclear industry, the potential windfall goes beyond building the power plants. ``The opportunity is not just in selling the Chinese a number of reactors, but engaging them for a longer term in a strategic partnership,'' says Ron Simard, who deals with future plant development at the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group. That could mean future construction contracts as well as plant service business. The reactor business has been nonexistent in the United States since the 1970s. No American utility has ordered a new reactor since the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. So, vendors like Westinghouse are relying on business elsewhere, especially Asia. China currently has nine operating reactors, including French, Canadian, Russian, and Japanese designs as well as their own model, producing 6,450 megawatts of power, or about 1.4 percent total capacity. Chinese officials have estimated that by 2020 the country will need an additional 32,000 megawatts from its nuclear industry, or about 32 additional reactors. Even with the surge in reactor construction, nuclear power will only account for 8 percent of China's future electricity needs. Chinese officials said at an energy conference in Washington last year their country must more than double its coal-fired generation and build more dams, erect windmills and tap natural gas to meet future electricity demands. 04/10/04 00:52 EDT Posted by: theroyprocess on Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:22 pm ====================================================================== Actually i think the debate would be fun to watch...Paul would be presenting his doctored statistics, and other misleading anecdotes, while theRoyProcess would be trying to sell licenses of his patented process. Yep, that would be a hoot Posted by: homertheemperor on Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:01 pm ====================================================================== With all due respect, the author should be careful about taking "facts" as well as money from Exelon Nuclear in his defense of the badly designed and increasinly decreipt Oyster Creek atomic power plant. They both undermine his credibility as to whose agenda and interests his organization really serves. The claim that no one has died from a radiological event involving commercial nuclear power is deceptive and unsupportable. The statement ignores numerous scientific evaluations published in prestigous journals like the National Institute of Health's "Environmental Health Perspectives." Dr. Steven Wing with the Department of Epidemiology of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill evaluated the medical data following the Three Mile Island accident and found a 400-600% increase in lung cancer and leukemia among the downwind population exposed to the narrow plume of radiation released in that accident. This 1996 study is unrefuted. People still die of lung cancer and leukemia and both are horrible diseases associated with much human suffering. To say that because there is no ballistics report on the neutron that likely caused the cellular damage to start any one of those cancers is reason to say nobody died, is a specious argument at best. Radiation causes cancer, birth defects and genetic damage. There is no proven safe dose of radiation and any additional dose means additional risk. As for the claim of the nuclear waste "solution," we all would be immensely more secure if Oyster Creek were stopped from offloading and storing the hundreds of tons of highly radioactive used atomic fuel into a storage pond that is elevated 6 to 10 stories up in the reactor building. The author's claim of "irresponsible statements about the ability of a nuclear power plant to withstand a terrorist attack" come from technological reports authored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2001 ) and the National Academy of Sciences (2005). The public documents confirm that this highly radioactive target is vulnerable to aircraft penetration and an ensuing radioactive fire would cause tens of thousands of cancer deaths out hundreds of miles, dwarfing the politically arbitrary and highly controversial ten-mile emergency planning zone around the nation's oldest nuclear power plant and the first of the GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor in Toms River. We'd be happy to debate NJACRE in a public forum on pros and cons of Oyster Creek's continued operation. Paul Gunter Director of Reactor Oversight Beyond Nuclear 6930 Carroll Avenue Suite 400 Takoma Park, MD 20912 Tel 301 270 2209 www.beyondnuclear.org Posted by: paulgunter on Sun Sep 09, 2007 9:01 pm homertheemperor, We can guess who pays your bills! Everyone is contaminated already!! Do you want to pay for your own doomsday or not? There is more than enough work to do! Posted by: theroyprocess on Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:55 pm BTW, I am also in favor of full disclosure. The NIMBYs and Flacks should be left out in the cold Posted by: homertheemperor on Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:27 pm Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 The Hindu: No need for JPC, says Rahman Khan Sunday, Sep 09, 2007 Special Correspondent CHENNAI: There is no need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the India-U.S. nuclear deal, according to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan. “The debate has been going on for the last one and a half years. What more debate is needed?” he asked. The government, in its wisdom, had already taken the decision after considering all the points of view, he said, adding that the executive branch of the government has power to take decisions on treaties and agreements. Speaking on the sidelines of the All-India Tax Payers Association’s national conference here on Saturday, Mr. Khan said that this deal was a “normal agreement”, and as such, it need not be discussed by a JPC. “Anyway, JPC recommendations would not be totally binding,” he said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 22 Times Daily: Tuscumbia man files lawsuit against nuclear plant | TimesDaily.com | | Florence, AL By Dennis Sherer Staff Writer Published: September 08. 2007 3:30AM A Tuscumbia man has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming he was fired from his job at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in May 2004 after raising safety concerns. In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Huntsville on Friday, James Speegle claims he was wrongfully terminated from his job as a paint foreman for Louisiana-based Stone and Webster Construction Inc. He claimed he was fired after alerting regulators that paint was improperly applied to a critical part of the Unit 1 nuclear reactor at the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant near Athens. After Speegle raised the allegations, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered that the torus be repainted. The torus holds more than 1 million gallons of water that can be used to cool the reactor during emergencies. The painting project was part of a $1.8 billion overhaul of Unit 1, which was restarted in May. The unit had been idle since being shut down in 1985 over safety concerns. In his initial complaint, Speegle claimed workers who painted the torus were improperly trained for the work and that the paint could crack, flake or peel, causing the torus to rust and possibly causing the reactor's emergency cooling system to malfunction. Speegle contends the complaint led to him being fired. Stone and Webster officials contend he was fired for being insubordinate and cursing his supervisor. Speegle's attorney, David J. Marshall, of Washington, D.C., said Speegle was standing up for the health and safety of his co-workers and the community when he altered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the problems at Browns Ferry. After his firing, Speegle filed a whistle blower complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, claiming he was terminated for alerting the NRC about the problems with the paint in the torus. A hearing on the complaint was held in Huntsville in June 2005. An administrative judge rejected the complaint. The Labor Department's review panel has not acted on a request to reconsider the judge's decision. Marshall said Speegle proved in the 2005 hearing he was wrongfully fired. "We proved his complaints about nuclear safety issues influenced the decision to terminate him, but the judge, for some reason, disagreed." In the lawsuit filed Friday, Speegle asks for a jury trial in federal court. "I believe a jury of James' peers will rule in his favor." Marshall said. Florence attorney Frank B. Potts Jr., who also represents Speegle, agreed. "We look forward to getting this case before a jury so justice can be served and truth brought to light." Marshall said he believes this is the first lawsuit filed in the United States under a new federal law that allows whistle blowers to pull their case from the Department of Labor and move it to federal court. Stone & Webster spokesman Sean Clancy declined comment on Friday's lawsuit. "We're aware he filed the litigation, but we haven't seen a copy. It's a matter of company policy that we do not comment on pending legal matters." Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com. Other New York Times Regional Media Group Alabama sites: Tuscaloosa News | The Gadsden Times | Tide Sports © Copyright 2007 TimesDaily. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 Northern Echo: Public Divided Over Nuclear Power PEOPLE in the North-East are divided over the issue of using nuclear power to solve the energy crisis. A massive Government consultation exercise was carried out over the weekend in which people asked for their views. Part of it was held in Newcastle and those how took part were asked whether it was in the public interest for energy companies to about to invest in nuclear power stations. It emerged that 43 per cent of people in the region agree and 41 per cent disagree. The remainder have no opinion or did not know. Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise, John Hutton, said: "It has been a tremendous success. "Around 1,000 people have shared their views on how we can secure our energy supplies for the future. "We have a preliminary view; that nuclear should be able to play a part in providing the energy that we need to keep the lights on and help cut carbon emissions. "But it is important that we know what the public thinks. "It is absolutely in the national interest that we make a decision and urgently." The views expressed from the nine events in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Norwich will help inform the decision to be made later this year. The results of the questions put to the participants throughout the day will now be statistically weighted to be representative of the UK population. Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said: "Climate change and energy security are critical issues facing the UK. "The success of today's event shows how eager people are to participate in this important debate. "We still have a month left of the consultation and I urge anyone who wants take part and let us know their views to log on to the website." The internet address is: www.direct.gov.uk/nuclearpower2007 Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company ***************************************************************** 24 Independent: Energy giants reveal nuclear plans in face of rising public disapproval - By Terri Judd Published: 10 September 2007 One of the four companies hoping to build new nuclear power plants in Britain unveiled its proposals for public scrutiny today as it was revealed that more than 90 per cent of people are worried about creating more nuclear waste. As the energy giant EDF and nuclear specialists Areva launched their proposals, the Government is in the middle of a wider consultation on whether to build such power stations to help meet Britain's future energy needs. The process appeared to be in disarray recently when invited environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, pulled out, labelling it a "PR stitch-up". Existing nuclear facilities, which are responsible for about 20 per cent of the UK's energy, are due to go "off line" over the next two decades and the consultation on whether it should form part of Britain's future energy mix is due to be completed by 10 October. Preliminary results yesterday showed that 46 per cent of people support, or strongly support, the continued use of nuclear power, with only 25 per cent saying they either oppose or strongly oppose the idea. But 89 per cent were either concerned or very concerned about safety and security issues associated with nuclear energy, and 92 per cent were very concerned or quite concerned about creating new nuclear waste. More than 1,000 people took part in nine public meetings across the UK over the weekend and more comprehensive results are expected early this week. The Business and Enterprise Secretary, John Hutton, glossed over the dispute with the environmental groups, insisting that the meetings had been useful. He said: "We have a preliminary view – that nuclear should be able to play a part in providing the energy that we need to keep the lights on and help cut carbon emissions. "But it is important that we know what the public thinks." The new 20-week consultation was ordered earlier this year after a High Court ruling deemed the previous process "seriously flawed" and "manifestly inadequate and unfair". EDF and Areva have launched a joint website giving details about their EPR reactor. It will allow members of the public to comment on the design before the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency make a final decision on whether it meets the required safety and green credentials. The assessment process could take up to three years. The Government has expressed a view that new nuclear power stations should be built, but if this is rejected during consultation then the plans will be scrapped. site: Independent.co.uk © 2007 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 25 Deccan Herald: Canada eyes Indian nuke reactor market Saturday, September 8, 2007 Toronto, PTI: Canada is desiging a nuclear reactor that will run on mixed oxide or MOX fuel, recovered uranium and thorium, a radioactive material that is found in abundance in India... "Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd is applying for approval from the UK regulator for its design and adaption of its reactors to work with uranium, mixed oxide fuel, recovered uranium and thorium, a radioactive material which is abundant in India," Jerry Hopwood, vice president for reactor development, AECL said. The mixed oxide or MOX fuel is a blend of oxides of plutonium and natural uranium, reprocessed uranium or depleted uranium which behaves similarly (though not identically) to the low enriched uranium feed for which most reactors were designed. "Canada may market its reactors in India after the designs are adapted and getting political approval," Hopwood said adding, in India, political approval has to come first. The Asian country aims to have 30,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity by 2030, he added. The new reactor, ACR-1000 - which will use MOX fuel, would be cheaper than the earlier CANDU 6 model, Hopwood said, as it uses 80 per cent of the predecessor's features. AECL, the only maker of nuclear power plants that do not use enriched uranium, plans to build more than eight reactors by 2020 as orders have picked up after a two-decade of lull in the field. Terming it "another nuclear renaissance" that will not come again, Hopwood said, "we are taking this opportunity very very seriously and aims to expand to countries like China, Canada, Argentina and Romania." World Nuclear Association, in its annual report, had also said that utilities will probably add as many as 107 reactors by 2020 as nuclear generation becomes more cost effective compared with natural gas and coal. In AECL's home market, Ontario's power system operator said it will spend 60 billion Canadian dollars over 20 years to add new nuclear plants and renewable energy supplies. AECL, which works with the Canadian units of General Electric Corp and Hitachi Ltd, has built seven reactors in Romania, South Korea and China in the last decade after Canada stopped commissioning reactors in 1978. The company is scheduled to begin talks with Argentina later this year on a secure contract to build one CANDU 6 reactor. Another two such units could be added at Romania's Cernavoda plant. Energy of Alberta Ltd could order as many as four and the province of New Brunswick another one of its new ACR-1000, 1,200 megawatt-capacity reactors, Hopwood said. Copyright 2007, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80) 25880523 ***************************************************************** 26 APP.COM: But safety issues at Oyster Creek can't be ignored | Asbury Park Press Online Sunday, September 9, 2007 BY JANET TAURO Post Comment At this crucial juncture in the debate over the relicensing of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey, the last thing the public needs is propaganda concerning New Jersey's energy future from high-profile political insiders masquerading as an environmental group. The New Jersey Affordable, Clean Reliable Energy Coalition is Exelon's latest public relations effort to sway public opinion toward the continued operation of the corroding nuclear plant until 2029. Exelon put together the group to drum up support for relicensing. Its debut comes at a time when our coalition, Stop The Relicensing of Oyster Creek, is gaining steam in the legal system. On Sept. 24, our coalition, which comprises six environmental and citizens' groups, will make history when we appear before the Atomic Safety Licensing Board and bring to light structural safety issues regarding the nuclear plant. Exelon could have decided to spend its quite considerable bank account in a variety of ways to improve safety and environmental impact. Cooling towers would minimize destruction to Barnegat Bay. A concrete airplane-proof shell over the fuel pools, which hold 4,000 tons of radioactive waste sitting 70 feet in the air, would decrease the threat of terrorism dramatically. Exelon also could fund independent studies to evaluate the health effects, particularly on children and fetuses, of continuous exposure to low-level radiation. Instead, Exelon is putting its money into creating a bogus environmental group designed to lure the public's attention away from safety issues and scare us into believing that Oyster Creek's closure would hurt the region economically. Its latest tactic is a study by Bates White, whose mission is to "optimize bottom line results" for its clients. In other words, make money for clients, in this case, Exelon. The study ignores the financial consequences resulting from safety issues at the plant, particularly the fragility of the corroding drywell, the steel liner that holds the nuclear reactor and shields the public from radiation in the event of a meltdown. This lobbying effort also failed to take into consideration any of the requirements set forth by the state Board of Public Utilities' Office of Clean Energy. The state regulations require that 22.5 percent of New Jersey's energy needs be met by renewable energy systems by 2021. Of that requirement, 2 percent must come from solar power. The BPU estimates that 1,800 megawatts of power could come from solar by 2021. Solar alone would triple Oyster Creek's output. The lobby also failed to consider the wind farm project the state has slated off the coast of Cape May, as well as a considerable effort by environmental groups, nonprofits and grass-roots organizations to address climate change. These groups are meeting with community organizations and local elected officials to work out energy solutions. Consider elected officials in Colts Neck, Neptune, Belmar, Red Bank, Jackson, Pine Beach, Chatham, Irvington, Montclair, Burlington County, Cape May County and East Windsor who are partnering with the New Jersey Environmental Federation to go green with anti-idling ordinances and the way they clean their buildings and light them. Consider the League of Women Voters volunteers who underwent extensive training on climate-change solutions and are going town by town encouraging local officials to implement energy-saving measures. Consider the Brick and Toms River school districts, which together saved 2.3 million kilowatts of electricity, 38,000 therms of gas and more than $300,000 in costs by participating in a Green Schools Program sponsored by the nonprofit Global Learning Network. By learning simple conservation practices, the districts saved 1,530 metric tons of carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Consider the communities, counties, university and agencies that have enlisted in the BPU's Clean Power Community Partnership and are tackling global warming on a local level through conservation and making renewable energy choices. They include Belmar, Long Branch, Red Bank, Hoboken, Basking Ridge, Maplewood, Trenton, Cape May, Montclair, Orange, Hudson County, Rowan University, Lindenwold, Middlesex County, Summit, West Orange, South Orange, Morristown and the Atlantic City Utilities Authority. Consider the giant sculptures of brightly painted fluorescent light bulbs that have been placed in high-traffic spots in West Orange to heighten the public's awareness about conservation. Consider Belmar officials, who have mandated energy conservation initiatives in the town's building codes. Consider Monmouth University, which was lauded by the BPU for green practices and conservation programs devised by students and put into effect on campus. These are a few highlights of groundbreaking energy initiatives being played out in our communities. This is how global warming needs to be addressed. New Jersey residents deserve an energy future that is safe, cutting edge and does not depend upon an aging, rusting dinosaur of a nuclear reactor whose time is so obviously up. Janet Tauro, Brick, is a member of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES), a part of the Stop The Relicensing of Oyster Creek coalition. Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 27 The Hindu: Left won't allow Govt to deviate from CMP Saturday, September 8, 2007 : 2215 Hrs Alappuzha (Ker), Sept. 8 (PTI): Continuing the offensive against the UPA government on Indo-US nuclear deal, CPI-M polit bureau member Brinda Karat today said the Left parties would not allow the government to deviate from the Common Minimum Programme on the basis of which the government was supposed to function. The UPA government was surviving with the support of the Left parties. If the Left parties withdrew support, the government would be reduced to a minority, Karat said inaugurating the state conference of pro-CPI(M) All India Women's Association (AIDWA) here. The nuclear deal was not part of the CMP which was the basis for the functioning of the government, she said. The UPA was trying to take things forward in consultation with America and this would grievously harm the country's sovereignty, she alleged adding this "pro-US tilt" was totally against the Common Minimum Programme. If all key decisions were going to be taken in consultation with the US where was the need for Parliament, she said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 28 Business Report: Eskom tests sites for its atomic reactors September 9, 2007 By SAMANTHA ENSLIN-PAYNE Durban - Eskom's plans to build 20 000 megawatts of atomic power capacity in the next 20 years have started with environmental impact assessments on possible sites for new reactors. Nuclear power will account for about half the new generating capacity Eskom plans to build. It is estimated that this will cost between R255 billion and R400 billion. The utility has completed a comprehensive 10-year study to find the most suitable sites for nuclear power plants, according to a report on its website. Four potential sites have been selected based on stable geology, acceptable population density and abundant water for cooling. The parastatal's Koeberg nuclear plant in the Western Cape supplies about 6 percent of South Africa's electricity. Eskom's plans include conventional nuclear technology and fourth generation high-temperature reactors known as pebble bed modular reactors. In May Alec Erwin, the minister of public enterprises, said: "The next step [for the pebble bed reactors] is construction of the pilot fuel plant at Pelindaba and to work towards securing approval for construction of the first power plant in the Western Cape." - Samantha Enslin-Payne ©2007 Business Report & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 UPI: Poll: atomic energy use popular in Britain United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News - Published: 9, 2007 at 12:52 PM LONDON, 9 (UPI) -- The use of atomic energy was popular among Britons polled for a new report, though most said they worry about safety and nuclear waste. The poll represented more than 1,000 people who participated in nine public meetings held throughout the United Kingdom on a range of energy-related topics, Sky News reported Sunday. A total of 46 percent said they supported the use of nuclear power, while a quarter of those polled opposing its use. Of those polled, 89 percent said they were concerned about nuclear safety and 92 said they were concerned about creating new nuclear waste. Nuclear opponents have dismissed the meetings and the poll as the government's attempt to railroad British citizens into approving new nuclear power plants, Sky News reported. © Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 30 Scotsman.com: Bringing nuclear warheads up north? Not if I have my way, warns Salmond Monday, 10th September 2007 HAMISH MACDONELL AND JAMES KIRKUP () ALEX Salmond has told officials to explore every possible avenue in an attempt to prevent the UK government from transporting nuclear warheads across Scotland, it emerged last night. The First Minister has also called a "Trident summit" for next month to increase the pressure on Westminster over the movement of nuclear warheads to the Faslane submarine base. The SNP went into this Scottish election with a strongly anti-nuclear policy, but defence matters are reserved to Westminster and there is nothing, on the surface, that the Scottish Government can do about the UK's pro-nuclear defence policy. But Mr Salmond believes his government could use environmental regulations or other devolved powers to stop or delay the transportation of nuclear material around Scotland. Green MSP Robin Harper wrote to Mr Salmond last month asking the First Minister to commission an inquiry into the transfer of nuclear warheads around Scotland. Mr Salmond has just replied, telling Mr Harper he shared his opposition to nuclear weapons and reassuring the Green MSP that he wanted to go even further than an inquiry. The First Minister told Mr Harper: "I want to get to a position where we can persuade the UK government to change its stance both on the replacement programme and on the general principle of maintaining a nuclear deterrent." Mr Salmond explained in an interview with a Sunday newspaper yesterday that he had asked officials to find out if there was any scope for using EU environmental regulations to prevent the transfer of nuclear warheads. A spokeswoman for the First Minister said yesterday that Mr Salmond was determined to find ways of preventing Trident missiles from being transported around Scotland. "That's why we are looking at environmental regulations and that's why we are having the summit," she said. Mr Salmond's "Trident summit" will bring together anti-nuclear campaigners, environmentalists and groups from around Faslane to one conference to thrash out the issues surrounding Trident and what can be done about it. Convoys of warheads for Trident missiles travel by road between the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport on Loch Long, north-west of Glasgow. The missiles themselves are maintained at Coulport. Travel by road in heavily armoured trucks is judged to be the safer than travel by rail, air or sea. The Ministry of Defence insists that the highest standards of safety are followed on the convoys. Exact numbers are secret, but nuclear campaigners estimate that from two to six return journeys take place each year, with each convoy carrying dozens of warheads. A Scotland Office source said the suggestion that the Scottish Government could use EU environmental directives to stop the convoys was "nonsense on stilts". The source said: "This is just undergraduate gesture politics of the most embarrassing kind. Alex Salmond says he wants to lead a government, but he's behaving like he's running a loony-left 1980s council. "He knows he can't really do anything about Trident, and this is just another sign of his willingness to talk about anything other than his core policy of independence." UNIONS TO LAUNCH 'AMBUSH' ON PRIME MINISTER ONE of Britain's biggest trade unions is funding a "nuclear ambush" on Gordon Brown over his plan to replace the Trident arsenal. Unison, which has 1.3 million members and gives millions of pounds to the Labour Party, is has diverted some of its campaigning funds to pay for a new anti-Trident study to be published as the Prime Minister arrives at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton today. The study, by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, argues that the estimated £76 billion cost of replacing Trident would benefit the British economy much more if it were spent elsewhere. Nuclear weapons could prove a flashpoint at the TUC gathering this week. Unison and the T&G, two of the largest trade unions, opposed replacing the Clyde-based weapons system. But Labour MPs, many of whom receive financial sponsorship from the two unions, voted to replace Trident in a Commons vote in March. Mr Brown is personally sponsored by the T&G. He angered the union's leadership by leading government attempts to talk round Labour opponents of Trident. The CND report, written by Steven Schofield of the BASIC arms reduction think-tank, argues that instead of funding trident, ministers should invest in renewable energy sources instead. "With such a multi-billion pound investment, the government could satisfy 50 per cent of its electricity generation needs in offshore wind and wave power, providing 25,000 to 30,000 jobs," the report argues. Related topics * Nuclear defence http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=373 * Scottish National Party http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=324 This article: http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1444572007 Last updated: 09-Sep-07 00:36 BST ©2007 Scotsman.com | contact | terms & conditions ***************************************************************** 31 Telegraph: How Britain's nuclear chief Bill Coley left the US under a cloud - By Richard Northedge, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:02am BST 10/09/2007 Bill Coley was brought up in North Carolina, married his high-school sweetheart, was a pillar of his church, and sat on the boards of local charities. He spent 37 years with the state's power company and retired to spend more time with his family and golf clubs. Not the retiring type: Bill Coley planned to play golf, but now sees what he does as vital to Britain’s future And that could have been the end of a life of little interest outside Charlotte and its suburbs. Except that Coley is now the man with his finger on the UK's nuclear button. The American has been plucked from retirement, brought to Britain and made chief executive of British Energy, the company operating the country's eight nuclear power generators. But with a little digging it turns out Coley's US career ended with a cloud hovering overhead. After a lifetime becoming Mr North Carolina, he abandoned everything to start a new life in London. More of that later, but next month the UK Government is expected to sanction a new generation of reactors and, as owner of the sites already zoned for nuclear use, British Energy is best placed to build them. Though old enough to have a free bus pass, the grey-haired Coley will be leading a controversial programme to cut the country's carbon emissions. Not that the no-nonsense Coley has time for that sort of controversy. "If you believe that climate change is an issue and you believe carbon is an issue, I cannot see how you cannot be favourable to nuclear energy," he says in his soft Southern drawl. He rattles off carbon-footprint statistics that show nuclear is better than other sources of power. Worst on his list is coal, but it was at the coal-fired Marshall Steam Station in the Carolina foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains that Coley started his career. Duke Power employed Coley as a junior engineer during spring and autumn while he read an electrical engineering degree in summer and winter. The 250-mile journey to the Georgia Institute of Technology was a rare trip beyond his home state but few colleges operate the sandwich system. "I was able to work my way through university," he says. "And it puts a practical side into engineering. There's a difference between doing a degree in engineering and being an engineer," he says pointedly. The subject was Coley's hobby. As a child he designed and built hi-fi systems and alarm clocks and attended adult evening classes. "I used to get into trouble occasionally," he volunteers, explaining how one Hallowe'en he wired up the water-meter box outside his parents' home with a speaker attached to a microphone indoors. It is hard to imagine this affable grandad as a mischievous teenager but he chuckles childishly when he says: "It frightened a few kids." An interest in guidance and control systems made him consider joining the nascent US space programme but the spells working with Duke proved a stronger pull. The day after he graduated in 1966 he began work at the power station and two months later he married Jane, the girl he had first dated at school in Belmont six years earlier. At Duke he moved from electrical operations to customer servicing and ran its nuclear plants. He joined the board in 1990 and seven years later Duke merged with PanEnergy of Houston, making it American's 14th largest company. If Coley expected to be chief executive of the enlarged group he now denies it worried him, but he was made president of the power company. There was an upstart competitor called Enron, however. Coley disliked everything about his rival. "There was a period of time when you went to Wall Street and the biggest thing we had to do was explain why we were not like Enron," he complains. "I never bought their stock and part of that is because I did not understand their business model. "The way Enron finally wound up was not good for anybody in the business. There were some specific issues in the form of new regulations, but the general problem of Enron was the perception it created of the business - not just in the US but all over the world. It created a negative view of business." Yet it turns out that Duke had an accountancy problem of its own. Like UK utilities, it is allowed to set prices to produce a rate of return set by its regulators. A whistle-blower revealed Duke had allocated costs of the unregulated operations to the regulated business, thus depressing the latter's profits, allowing it to charge higher prices. The misreporting added up to $124m. Coley was president but the official audit was silent on what he knew. He retired shortly afterward from the company he loved, before his 60th birthday and before Duke's retirement age. Why? The enjoyment diminished after the run-in with the regulator, he admits. He blames the post-Enron environment. "It's less fun when you have to put up with all sorts of media issues," he says. Duke reached a settlement with its regulator and was not prosecuted, he emphasises, but adds: "After 37 years, I said I do not need to do this and I can afford not to do it. "Inevitably you start thinking about your mortality - what have you contributed? It was a conscious decision. I've always spent a lot of volunteer time in the community raising money," he says. "We've given a lot of money over the years to charity: we've focused on that. We've two principal charitable efforts - our church, my university and Jane's university. We said those are places where we can contribute and make a difference. "I'd done 37-and-a-half years with the company. I bought the house at Pinehurst in 2000, which was to be my retirement home and had it renovated. My thought was I was going to play a lot of golf." The thought did not last long, however. He retired in February 2003 and by May was invited to become a non-executive of British Energy, the UK's largest power generator. He also took part-time roles at US companies - an aggregates business, a phone operator and Peabody, the US coal empire once part of Hanson - but the UK company was different. The former nationalised industry had been rescued from insolvency the previous year with the Government re-taking 65 per cent ownership and creditors swapping their debts for the remaining equity. The shares had only just been relisted when Coley joined. Profile: Bill Coley Then within two years British Energy's chief was ousted (an occupational hazard there) and Coley was elevated overnight from non-executive to chief executive. Suddenly he and Jane were mothballing their Charlotte and Pinehurst homes and moving to London. "I would never have done it if Jane had not said she's up for the challenge as well," he drawls. "We've been married 41 years and in all that time I've worked nights and holidays and weekends and she's never complained at it." She is studying European art and exploring her Scottish Presbyterian ancestry. The Scots connection is good for a company headquartered in Livingstone and with reactors north of the Border. He is less sure of his own family origins but jests: "I'm certain that we probably stole sheep." They have a flat in Kensington, two Tube stops from the London office - just as the Charleston house was 10 minutes' commute from Duke's HQ. Though they still have the US properties Jane now calls London home; he has switched his support from American to British football and donated his season tickets for the Carolina Panthers to good causes. The severance with his home country extends even to cancelling British Energy's registration with the SEC to avoid filing US-based accounts. He may not be around to see new nuclear plants completed but Coley hopes to announce partners by next March. "My ideal scenario is no more than five years in the planning stage and a construction period of five years or less," he says. "We're doing something that is absolutely vital to the future of this country. People take our product for granted, they take electricity for granted. We're concerned about making sure future generations have adequate supplies." And he has no regrets he is doing it in Britain rather than North Carolina. He states: "The reason I agreed to do this is because I thought it was significant - not for money, but to make a contribution, not just to British Energy but to the industry." Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 931 2921 or email syndication@telegraph.co.uk © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007. | Terms ***************************************************************** 32 Japan Times: Japan should speed up nuclear ties with India - think tank japantimes.co.jp Web Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 Japan should speed up nuclear ties with India: think tank Staff report Japan should explore the possibility of expediting cooperation with India on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, despite their different approaches to achieving the abolishment of atomic weapons, a Tokyo-based think tank proposed Friday. "India will presumably want to depend much more heavily on nuclear power in the future. Japan's technology and expertise in generating and ensuring the safety of nuclear power is among the best in the world, so it is in an excellent position to cooperate with India in these areas," the group said, although a series of fatal accidents and coverups since the 1990s and misjudged quake-resistance levels have damaged the industry's image. JFIR's policy recommendations were drafted by a task force chaired by Eisuke Sakakibara, a former vice finance minister for international affairs who was dubbed "Mr. Yen" for his verbal influence on foreign-exchange markets. The recommendations, titled "India's Leap Forward and Japan," were submitted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this week. While advocating cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the group acknowledged the issue would create concern regarding nuclear arms proliferation. India conducted a nuclear test in 1998 and declared that it possessed nuclear weapons. It has been critical of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime as a privileged club of nuclear powers. The proposal noted that the Japanese government must carefully consider the concerns of the people of Japan — the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing. Yet it gave credit to India for continuing to call for global nuclear disarmament and the maintenance of policies that promote nonproliferation even after declaring it had acquired a nuclear arsenal. "The two countries have always shared the goal of abolition of nuclear weapons, although their methods in pursuit of this goal have not always been the same. We urge the Japanese government to seriously work out effective policy measures, in cooperation with India, to proactively call on all countries, regardless of whether or not they have nuclear weapons, to work toward the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament," it said. As other measures to strengthen Japanese-Indian ties, the group proposed that Japan's private sector take the initiative in boosting investment and trade in India so it can break its dependence on official development assistance. India, the world's largest democracy in terms of population, is now the largest recipient of Japanese ODA. The English translation of the full text of the recommendations can be viewed at www.jfir.or.jp The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 33 The Hindu: CPI(M) holds protest rallies against Indo-US nuclear deal Sunday, September 9, 2007 : 1732 Hrs Bhopal, Sept. 9 (PTI): In a bid to mount pressure on UPA government against the Indo-US nuclear deal, CPM today organised vehicle rallies in Madhya Pradesh to garner public support for its campaign against the agreement. The rallies from Rewa, Gwalior, Javad and Balaghat will cover nearly 7,000 km, holding public meetings in 34 districts before culminating here on September 14, State CPI(M) Secretary Bahadur Singh Dhakad, said here. Describing the nuclear deal as "violation of common minimum programme which promised an independent foreign policy," the Left party leader said the rallies will be an attempt to garner people's support to exert pressure on the UPA to refrain from going ahead with the treaty. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 34 MidLothian Today: Scots join nuclear power debate - Monday, 10th September 2007 The future of nuclear power in the UK is being debated in Scotland's capital. Edinburgh is one of nine cities participating in a consultation on the building of new nuclear power stations. Across the country, more than 1,000 people will take part in what the Westminster Government has called the largest ever consultation exercise of its kind. The event, at the city's Hilton Grosvenor Hotel, will bring together members of the public, business leaders, representatives of energy companies and academics. Participants will be given information to help them understand the issues, and then discuss themes including safety, security and waste management. Votes will be taken on several issues, and some results will be available at the end of the day. Other cities taking part on Sunday are Belfast, Cardiff, Exeter, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Norwich. Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton said action was urgently needed on the future of nuclear power. "Time is pressing. With most of the UK's existing nuclear power stations set to close over the next couple of decades, we must make a decision on the future of nuclear power this year," he said. "It is right that we debate the pros and cons - our livelihoods and the future health of the planet depend on us getting this right." Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2007, All Rights Reserved. Last Updated: 08 September 2007 5:15 PM ***************************************************************** 35 The Telegraph: Energy clue in nuclear deal Calcutta Sunday, September 09, 2007 | Advertise with us A STAFF REPORTER (From right) Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman, AIMA president Subir Raha, Union minister of state for commerce Ashwani Kumar and RPG group vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka in Calcutta on Saturday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury Calcutta, Sept. 8: The nuclear deal with the US can go a long way in ensuring energy security for India, said Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for commerce and industry. ?The nation needs to support the India-US nuclear deal. It will ensure energy security for India and will put the country on the right side of power,? Kumar said at the valedictory session of the 34th national management convention being organised in the city by the All India Management Association (AIMA) and the Asian Association of Management Organisation (AAMO). The three-day convention, which focussed on the challenges faced by the managers of ?new India?, emphasised the need for increased, continued and sustained growth. ?The role of management in new India should be to ensure that the growth is inclusive,? said AAMO president J.J. Irani. Farooq Hassan, executive director of the Management Association of Pakistan, also stressed on inclusive growth. ?We want rich people in our countries but not only rich people. Inclusive growth is necessary in countries such as Pakistan and India, where 25 per cent of the population is under the poverty line,? said Hassan. B. Muthuraman, managing director of Tata Steel and co-chairman of the convention, said, ?While management education in India is about giving inputs of knowledge, 80 per cent of it is about the desire to achieve, about creative independence and thinking out of the box. Management institutes in India should concentrate on inculcating these aspects among its students.? Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of the RPG group and chairman of the convention, said, ?Though we still have some way to go from the mindset of control and licensing, there is no doubt that the ?new India? is confident. ?New India? is the flavour of the world and it will be successful,? said Goenka. Copyright © 2006 The Telegraph. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | ***************************************************************** 36 Decatur Daily: Whistleblower sues over firing by Browns Ferry contractor SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2007 ATHENS (AP) — A former construction foreman at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant filed a whistleblower lawsuit Friday, claiming he was fired in 2004 by a Tennessee Valley Authority contractor for reporting serious safety violations at the plant. Attorneys for James Speegle filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Huntsville against the contractor, Massachusetts-based Stone & Webster Construction, seeking a jury trial. Speegle alleges in the suit that he complained to the company's management and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about serious safety problems with the protective coatings used in the plant's cooling system. He was fired May 22, 2004 — two days after he complained to the NRC and the company, the suit says. According to the suit, TVA removed Stone & Webster from the coatings project after Speegle was fired and hired another contractor to redo the work that led to the complaint. The NRC later cited Stone & Webster for improper coatings work at Browns Ferry, according to the suit. NRC spokesman Ken Clark did not immediately respond to a message for comment. Stone & Webster spokesman Sean Clancy said the company doesn't comment on litigation. The suit follows Speegle's whistleblower complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Labor after his firing. In a statement, Speegle's attorney, David J. Marshall of Washington, D.C., said people who live near the nuclear plant "rely on the workers there to blow the whistle on safety violations, and I'm confident that they want to see James Speegle vindicated for doing the right thing." At the time of the firing, Stone & Webster was under pressure to complete a $1.8 billion overhaul of the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry, according to Marshall. Unit 1, which had been shut down in 1985 due to safety concerns, was restarted in May after being off line for 22 years. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. THE DECATUR DAILY 201 1st Ave. SE P.O. Box 2213 Decatur, Ala. 35609 (256) 353-4612 webmaster@decaturdaily.com www.decaturdaily.com ***************************************************************** 37 NewsBlaze: License Renewal Application for Beaver Valley Nuclear Plant Available The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating licenses for the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant, Units 1 and 2, is available for public review. Beaver Valley Units 1 and 2 are pressurized water reactors located about 17 miles west of McCandless, Pa. The current operating licenses expire Jan. 29, 2016, for Unit 1 and May 27, 2027, for Unit 2. Beaver Valley's operator, First Energy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC), submitted the license renewal application Aug. 27. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.h tml. The application is also available at the Beaver Area Memorial Library, 100 College Ave., Beaver, Pa. FENOC originally submitted a license renewal application for Beaver Valley in March 2005. The NRC returned that application as incomplete and unacceptable for docketing. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial reviews of the new application to determine whether it contains sufficient information required for the formal safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file it and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request. Additional information about the NRC's review of reactor license renewal applications is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html. Source: NRC judythpiazza@newsblaze.com Copyright © 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News ***************************************************************** 38 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria: Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuke Unit 5 Back Online 9 September 2007, Sunday Units 5 and 6 are the last still operating at Kozloduy. Bulgaria shut down the other four units under pressure from the EU, which feels the old Soviet-made reactors were unsafe. File photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia Photo Agency) Unit 5 of Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant at Kozloduy on the Danube River was reconnected to the power grid on Sunday, after undergoing emergency shutdown earlier this month. On September 1, the unit was taken offline for repairs after a short circuit in the power generator triggered the automated safety system shutdown in the 1000-megawatt VVER type unit. The incident did not cause any radioactive leaks, power plant officials said then. With unit 5 back in operation, the power plant began shutting down unit 6 for annual maintenance. It is expected to be disconnected from the power grid later in the day. At the end of last year, hours before joining the European Union, the country shut down reactors number 3 and 4 at Kozloduy nuclear power station to meet the safety requirements of the European bloc. Units 5&6 remain online and working, while units 1&2, the oldest pair, were shut down in 2003. Click here to receive realtime news about this topic in the future. novinite.com Forum Google Tourism Business MobileBulgaria Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria ***************************************************************** 39 Lake Expo Online: AmerenUE: An “Unusual Event” at the Callaway Nuclear Plant Saturday, September 8, 2007 2:31 PM CDT FULTON, Mo. - AmerenUE officials declared an “Unusual Event” at the Callaway Nuclear Plant near Fulton, Mo., late Thursday night. Unusual Event is a term established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to describe a relatively minor occurrence at a nuclear power plant that could reduce the overall level of safety. No action by the public is advised. The Unusual Event was declared at 11:22 p.m. on Sept. 6 following failure of a relief valve on the reactor coolant system chemical volume control system. The valve opened unexpectedly, allowing water from the system to flow to a collection tank. The system was isolated and an alternate system was placed into service within 17 minutes of the valve failure. During the review of plant trends and system information following the valve failure, operators identified that the amount of water flowing to the collection tank during the 17-minute period exceeded regulatory requirements. The Unusual Event was declared per plant procedures to provide appropriate notifications, to call in appropriate staff personnel, begin investigations into the event, and determine valve repair plans. Company officials said there was no release of radioactivity to the environment as a result of this Unusual Event, and the incident presented no danger to plant workers or the public. They added that all appropriate federal, state and local agencies were notified. The plant remained operating at full power, and continues to operate at full power today. An Unusual Event is the least significant of four emergency classifications established by the NRC. The other categories, in order of severity, are “Alert,” “Site Emergency” and “General Emergency.” St. Louis-based AmerenUE serves 1.2 million electric and natural gas customers in Missouri. The Ameren companies serve 2.4 million electric customers and nearly one million natural gas customers across 64,000 square miles of Missouri and Illinois. Copyright © 2007 Lake Expo - www.lakeexpo.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 Guardian Unlimited: Public consulted on nuclear power Press Association Saturday September 8, 2007 4:13 AM Public meetings are being held across the UK to debate the merits of nuclear power. The meetings - eight in total - will be attended by more than 1,000 people who will be asked for their views on the issue. But invited representatives from leading environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, are not expected to attend after they pulled out of the Government's consultation on whether to build new nuclear power stations. The Government has condemned the decision of green groups to withdraw from the consultation, accusing them of having a "closed mind". The Government was forced into the process by a High Court ruling in February that a previous consultation was "seriously flawed" and "manifestly inadequate and unfair". It is bound by its own guidelines to keep an open mind on new nuclear power stations until after the "fullest public consultation". But environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, are unhappy at how the Government is presenting the evidence and are reportedly considering further legal action. They have formed a coalition and accused the Government of performing a "public relations stitch-up" over the process. A Friends of the Earth spokesman said: "We do not feel it was a fair and full public debate - it was much more about promoting the arguments for nuclear power." John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, accused ministers of pre-judging the consultation. Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2007, All Rights Reserved. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 41 [NYTr] H-Bombs over Barksdale Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 21:27:21 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Counterpunch - Sep 8, 2007 http://www.counterpunch.org/secor09082007.html H-Bombs Over Barksdale: B-52 Flexing Nuclear Muscles By JAMES L. SECOR Top news of the moment goes on fly-by. One Senator called this "deeply disturbing." And the senior advisor on nuclear weapons at the Center for Defense Information just can't understand how such a thing could happen." The Center for Defense Information: is it possible that we need an organization to tell us what it is the DoD is doing? Or...to tell the DoD what it is doing? What do we have to fear? Absolutely nothing, according to Steve Fetter. Why? Because even if there were a crash, during which the high explosives would ignite, the warhead would not detonate. How much money have we been asked to pay into DoD coffers for nuclear protection only to get a nuclear warhead that, mounted on a high explosives missile whose explosive ignition is supposed to set off the nuclear warhead, won't explode? We should be thankful, though, that, if this happened, there'd only be a "leak of plutonium." How many burns or cancers or deaths would a "leak of plutonium" promulgate? People, there were six of these warheads. Six plutonium explosive devices. Six possible "leaks." Katrina only took out New Orleans; six leaks might take out Louisiana... which might be a good idea, for then everyone would forget FEMA's inability to deal with a natural disaster. How do you stop a plutonium leak? Why didn't we think about this for a 1960's Polack joke! Racist jokes are supposed to show how stupid the other race is. This joke, this B-52 joke, would be a kind of blowback racist joke. Hey!--how many Americans does it take to plug a plutonium leak? About 600,000,000. Har-har-har. But we're safe: Lt. Col. Thomas, Air Force Spokesperson, tells us the transfer went without a hitch, that is, safely, because they were in the good hands of the US Air Force... who created the glitch. Let me see if i get this right: I should feel safe because the fuck up by the Air Force was handled safely by the Air Force.... Maybe what was being tested was the new and improved non-glitchness of the US Air Force (see below). Maybe what was being tested was the total uninterestedness of the American public (see below). Or maybe it was something else (see below). How does plutonium "leak"? One Air Force guy, though, even said, "This has never happened before." He must be younger than 39 and not much of a reader, even of USAF history. Let's see... six nuclear armed B-52's crashed between 1959 and 1968, the crash in 1968 dropping three warheads onto Greenland and one into the ocean. Thank goodness all that money we've been pouring into our protection didn't go up in smoke. That is, our explosive devices that should have set off the nuclear reaction didn't work. Gosh and golly, folks, our billion dollar ineptitude saved New Foundland jokes for the Canadians. Thank goodness no international nuclear treaties were violated, not that the US gives a damn about international treaties. Nor, does it appear, does it give a damn about its own people. Just how safe do you feel now, North Dakota? Nebraska? Kansas? Louisiana? How frightening is this? Is this a horror movie I've seen before? Is Orson Welles alive and wallowing in the press for take two of War of the Worlds? How frightening is it that Americans aren't frightened or even asking why or how? This news--real news!--has been all over the world but... there's been no follow-up. Today, as I write this, is Friday 7 September--just three months before 7 December and remembrance of a day of infamy--and there are no other news reports, at least in the US. I guess that's because reporters are too busy with Iraq and "the clown meets Hu" in Beijing (I refer, here, to the picture of George shaking Hu's hand that made the front pages). How do I know this was not an error? Because of the stupidity of Hans Kristensen (Andersen?) of the Nuclear Information Project from the Federation of American Scientists telling the press that a host of security checks, warning signs, etc., had to be "passed over or completely ignored"--and these things are tracked by computer, so we know... nothing could have gone wrong. But it did. And it had to have been known. Any mechanic or Air Force grease monkey responsible for such a faux pas would have been, truly, nailed with the fury of a Miami Policeman for terrorist acts and the Air Force and George Bush for being traitors; however, they were simply declassified. That means, folks, these dolts--paid to be dolts--are still on duty, still on active pay. That's right, you are paying idiots' salaries. Only... I don't think these guys are idiots. Not at all. Like all good soldiers, they were just following orders. Were these orders given by Ubu Roi? And are the US citizens entities in a Durrentmatt or Ionesco play? They are saying nothing. They are not even upset, much less impressed. "Wow! Look what we did? And we did it safely. Cool! Hey--turn on 'Real People.'" Does anyone else see only authorities from within the system that created this absurdity, being quoted in excusing it or damning it... or reprimanding it? But this is all beside the point. What is more important is Barksdale AFB. What kind of air base is it? Well, it's home to the SAC 2nd Bomb Wing, the B-47/B-52 Bomb Wing, the 91st Bomb Wing, the 392nd Bomb Group, the 301st Bomb Wing, the 376th Bomb Wing and the 4238th Strategic Wing and trains all B-52 combat crew--it is one of the major bomber bases in the country. It is one of the major bomber bases in the country. It is one of the major bomber bases in the country. Barksdale AFB is home of the mighty 8th Air Force, the only bomber war fighting headquarters. Go to their website and see them train for a real world air strike. The 8th Air Force carried out daily bombing raids in Europe during WWII; that is, they were responsible for the morally upright fire bombing of Dresden. To name one humanitarian exercise. On 13 August, Exercise Valiant Shield 2007, "the largest exercise of its kind in the Pacific," ended eight days of "flying operations." This is the air base that supplies air power over Afghanistan and Iraq. And, on 21 August, they repeated 12 May 1938 history by advancing "air power's lethality" by intercepting a ship 1,000 miles off the east coast to showcase "the military's ability to deter, dissuade or destroy maritime threats before they can harm U.S. citizens in the public eye." Who attacks anybody by sea these days?What is 1,000 miles out in the Atlantic (only about 3,000 miles to Britain)? I do, however, feel much safer reading General Robert J. Elder's words (Commander of the 8th AF): "Global expeditionary air,space and cyberspace forces provide vigilance that is persistent, focused and predictive; reach that is reliable, rapid and agile; and power that is precise, stealthy and decisive." It bothers me, though, that SAC B-52's can fly in cyperspace. But, "It gives terrorists or whoever is trying to harm us another thing to think about," he further said. Interstate 8 ends eight miles before the base. Talk about a protective bubble! So... why was the B-52 flying to Barksdale with nuclear bombs? Dare we hazard a guess? Does anyone care? [James L. Secor is a writer/dramatist, Ph.D. presently teaching in China. He staged an all-female Lysistrata at Sun Yat-sen University in June, a prestigious top 10 university's first dramatic production He can be reached at znzfqlxskj@gmail.com ] * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 42 toledoblade.com: No 'Oops!' on nukes Sunday, September 09, 2007 WHEN confronted by one of those strange-but-true stories that pop up every so often, those in the news business tend to exclaim, with undisguised relish, "You can't make this stuff up!" So it was with the tale of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber that traversed the nation's airways from north to south the week before last, its crew members blissfully unaware that half of the dozen or so advanced cruise missiles under the wings were tipped with nuclear warheads. When this alarming story was broken by the service newspaper Military Times, Air Force officials leaped to assure the public that the nukes were not armed - activated to blow up when dropped - and did not pose any threat to the populace. No harm, no foul, right? Not exactly. Since the 3 1/2-hour flight on Aug. 30 was the first reported transport of nuclear weapons on a U.S. bomber since 1968, not to mention a breathtaking breach of procedure by the air crew handling the nukes, the incident had immediate - excuse the term - fallout. Military officials ordered an investigation and a munitions squadron commander was relieved of his duties. But we hope and would expect that the incident will prompt a deeper probe of how bombs of such catastrophic potential, even unarmed, could be so casually deployed. When it comes to misplaced nuclear weapons, "Oops!" doesn't quite qualify as a satisfactory excuse. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 To contact a specific department or an individual ***************************************************************** 43 London Times: Salmond: I will ban nuclear traffic - From The Sunday Times September 9, 2007 Tom Gordon THE Scottish first minister Alex Salmond is to issue a direct challenge to Westminster’s control of UK defence policy by seeking to ban the transportation of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil. Salmond aims to use powers devolved to the Scottish parliament to prevent the regular shipment of Trident warheads and components by road north of the border. Convoys of 10 or more vehicles travel the 500-mile route from the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, in Berkshire, to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport, Argyllshire - where the warheads are fitted to missiles - up to six times a year. Salmond aims to use his position as head of the Scottish executive to invoke European commission regulations governing the protection of the environment. Although the UK government is ultimately responsible for policing such directives, much of the work is delegated to Scottish ministers and their environment agencies. One of them, the habitats directive, was recently used to ban the ship-to-ship transfer of crude oil in the Firth of Forth on the grounds that any accident would have a catastrophic effect on the environment. Salmond has also raised the possibility of introducing legislation in the Scottish parliament to prevent the £25 billion replacement for the Trident nuclear missile programme being sited north of the border. It is the latest example of the Scottish National party leader’s “independence creep” agenda that aims to create the impression Holyrood is on a par with Westminster. Last week he unilaterally announced that the name of the Scottish executive had been changed to the Scottish government. Next month he is to hold a summit of ministers and antinuclear campaigners on the Trident issue. Robin Harper, leader of the Scottish Green party, will be one of those attending. Salmond has previously floated the idea of imposing a £1m road toll on every warhead shipped to the Clyde. However in an interview with The Sunday Times, he said his administration would have a greater chance of blocking the movement of nuclear weapons on environmental grounds. © Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69. ***************************************************************** 44 Salt Lake Tribune: Nation has compensated downwinders with 561M Nuclear testing Article Last Updated: 09/08/2007 10:31:04 AM MDT WASHINGTON - The federal government has paid downwinders $561 million since implementing a program in 1992 to compensate residents affected by nuclear tests in the Nevada desert, a new report says. But the applications for compensation are declining from residents in southern Utah, Nevada and Arizona claiming the tests caused their cancers and other diseases, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Friday. So are the payouts, says the GAO. About $248 million more will be needed to pay the approved claimants for the life of the program, which ends in 2022, the GAO said. The number of claims the Justice Department predicts to receive will decline steadily from about 1,200 a year in 2007 to fewer than 100 by 2022. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) has so far paid out more than $1 billion to downwinders, uranium workers and test site employees. A shrinking number of claims will decrease future funding needs for the Justice Department's administration of the program, according to the report. Another reason for declining funding needs is a change in the law requiring the Labor Department to pay the claims of uranium miners, millers and ore haulers. Those people are entitled under the law to larger payments than downwinders. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who represents nearly all of the areas in Utah enrolled in the program, said it is "all well and good" that RECA is functioning "adequately." But he says the program still may need to be expanded. He joined other lawmakers signing a letter in May asking for the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on allowing all of Utah and other parts of the West to get coverage under the act. "The more urgent issues are should RECA eligibility be expanded and have we learned the lesson about why we should never again go down the path of nuclear weapons testing," Matheson said in response to the GAO report. "Those are my concerns, and they remain my focus." About 24,000 people have claimed money under the law, the report says, and about 18,000 have been approved for payment. The report doesn't detail how many are from Utah. tburr@sltrib.com Downwinder history About 100 open-air nuclear tests were conducted at the Nevada Test Site by the U.S. government from 1951-1962, exposing thousands of residents in Nevada, southern Utah and northern Arizona to fallout from the tests. The Limited Test Ban Treaty drove testing underground in 1962. Those tests ceased in 1992 when the United States entered into a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing which continues to the present. Source: Globalsecurity.org Nuclear test payouts *$1.2 billion total * $561 million to downwinders * $455 million to uranium miners * $100 million to uranium millers * $80 million to Nevada Test Site participants Source: Department of Justice, Civil Division ***************************************************************** 45 BostonHerald.com: And in our own skies - By Boston Herald editorial staff Saturday, September 8, 2007 - Updated 1d 15h ago And if that weren’t scary enough, Pentagon officials confirmed that a B-52 mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads was flying around for more than three hours and over several states last week. One commander has already been fired over the incident and members of the crew involved in loading the munitions have been at least temporarily “decertified.” The Advanced Cruise Missiles were reportedly loaded onto the plane at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Aug. 30. The missiles were being decommissioned, but there was no explanation offered for why the warheads had not been removed. A Pentagon spokesman insisted that the weapons incorporate all sorts of safety features and that “at no time was the public in danger.” Still it is the stuff of TV action thrillers and worst case scenario novels. It is also the stuff of nightmares and hardly conducive to reassuring an already nervous public. © Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Media. No portion of BostonHerald.com or its content may be reproduced ***************************************************************** 46 AU ABC: Bright future for uranium, Paladin boss says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) By Alan Kohler Updated September 10, 2007 07:36:00 John Borshoff says despite some recent instability, the price of uranium is trending upwards. (File photo) (ABC TV) After struggling for a few months, the uranium sector was given a boost last week by two of the world's most powerful men, US President George W Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who were in town for the APEC meeting. Mr Putin signed up to buy Australian uranium to help fuel 30 new power stations Russia plans to build, while Mr Bush said nuclear power is the key to combating climate change and put his signature to a joint nuclear energy action plan with Prime Minister John Howard. One beneficiary of all this is one of the handful of companies on the planet with some uranium to sell, Paladin Resources, although this week the company reported a net loss for the year of just over $37 million, largely thanks to teething troubles at its Namibian mine. During APEC, Mr Bush said that if you care about climate change, you will support nuclear power. Paladin chief executive John Borshoff told Inside Business the statement has been a long time coming, and believes the price of uranium will continue its upward trend. "I think the dynamic of the volatility is just a five-year almost continuous rise," he said. "There's been an over-rapid increase in uranium from $100 to $138 or so in a couple of months and that sort of exponential growth was impossible. "So it's just coming back, it will adjust, and it will continue on its upward path and I foresee it will surpass the peaks within 12 to 15 months." Mr Borshoff has played down talk of an over-supply of uranium. "In the last two or three years there has been only a 5 per cent increase in overall production at a time when most of those companies are selling product for $20 a pound, and they would really have liked to ha6ve got some free available uranium to sell at higher prices and they couldn't," he said. Mr Borshoff says the problems associated with the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, are an example of the growing pains Paladin is experiencing. "We had some bad luck on some vital pieces of equipment and they effectively have delayed us for five months and we believe we will be at full production early 2008. "Essentially we aren't that worried in terms of the mid-term, it's just our step up where we try and catch up those five months lost," he said. The Paladin boss has rejected the assertion that he "stuffed up" the Namibian project. "We have gone with the very clear objective to get Langer Heinrich moving," he said. "I mean, when you look at it, three years ago, Langer Heinrich was a bankable feasibility study project and Kayelekera in Malawi was just a bit of a dream. "Now we're producing out of Langer Heinrich, we've got the credentials on the board, we're building our second mine and that is a huge achievement which is recognised in the industry that we've got this going and we will optimise, de-bottleneck, and we'll be in the position we deserve which is to be a leader in the emerging uranium producers." Queensland prospects Paladin recently took over Summit Resources in Queensland, and Mr Borshoff says he has no doubt Paladin will eventually be allowed to mine uranium in Queensland and Western Australia. "It's one of those inevitabilities that you cannot have a whole world starving in the biggest, hugest energy crisis that's ever faced civilisation, and we're exporting as much coal and gas as one likes and then making some statement about uranium, when the federal Labor is saying that this has to stop," he said. "I just think it's a matter of time and a bit of sense coming back into the system. Which is happening, by the way." Mr Borshoff says the market is wrong if it thinks Paladin paid too much for Summit. "When you look at what we paid for Summit and six months previous to that we paid for Valhalla $165-odd million," he said. "With Summit we paid about $1 billion, when you average that out they are essentially the same properties joined together, we've got a great value out of that, certainly if it was only just Summit and we hadn't bought half those reserves at such a cheap price it would have been a different story." Mr Borshoff says the ups and downs in Paladin's share price are no greater than those experienced by any other company in the uranium mining sector, and he rejects the prospect that Paladin could become a takeover target. "But certainly we have a vision for Paladin, we believe there is an opportunity to come out of this huge vacuum that was caused where essentially the industry was asleep at the wheel for 20 years and if Paladin does get absorbed into somebody else I think it would be a shame for the supply industry," he said. And Mr Borshoff says Paladin is keeping its eye open for other takeover opportunities. "We have always specified that we want a more global footprint and that is in keeping with our whole strategy that we will probably postpone for a little while, but we are always on the lookout for opportunities, particularly how we see the market and I don't believe the market will be in supply balance for 10 to 20 years," he said. Tags: business-economics-and-finance, industry, uranium-mining, australia, qld, wa, subiaco-6008 ***************************************************************** 47 The Hindu: National interest vs. U.S. strategic partnership Sunday, Sep 09, 2007 VISAKHAPATNAM: The Left parties hope that the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement will not be operationalised until the findings of the UPA-Left committee, set up to look into it, are considered. Expressing this view at a meet-the-press organised by the Vizag Journalists’ Forum on Saturday, Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan said: “We have pointed out that the agreement is in the shadow of the Hyde Act of the U.S. and reached only with a view to prevailing over the 123 agreement.” This would affect India’s sovereignty and independence. Pointing out that the UPA had the mandate to reverse the National Democratic Alliance government’s policies and that it was based on the common minimum programme (CMP), he, however, said the issue was not one of confrontation. The actual confrontation was between the national interest, on the one hand, and the U.S. strategic partnership, on the other. “We cannot change our policy to base it on the fulcrum of Indo-U.S. partnership.” The CPI leader, who was here leading a jatha from Kolkata to protest against the joint naval exercises with the U.S. and other countries in the Bay of Bengal, said the U.S. Navy had contributed 13 warships, including the infamous Kitty Hawk, which threatened the Bangladesh freedom struggle. The Indian Navy contributed seven ships and so had Japan and Australia. Mr. Bardhan wondered why India was being dragged into this “strategic embrace” with the U.S. It was first agriculture, then industry, economic policies, foreign policy and finally defence. “Our tradition is an independent and non-aligned policy. Why is this given up?” In fact, when the Left signed the CMP, it was mentioned that the foreign policy would promote peace and oppose unilateralism, and that it would be independent, he said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 48 Reuters: Does APEC merely add to global warming? Sun Sep 9, 2007 5:56PM EDT By Bill Tarrant - Analysis SYDNEY (Reuters) - As Asia-Pacific leaders jetted home on Sunday with yet another APEC souvenir to stuff into their "funny shirt" closet, folks back home may well ask: "So what did you get out of that meeting besides the outback raincoat?". Host Australia shelled out A$300 million ($250 million) to accommodate the 21 leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney, whose disgruntled residents were subjected to the biggest security operation in the country's history. But leaders did come bearing gifts for Prime Minister John Howard, who is widely expected to call an election this week -- a $45 billion gas export deal with China, uranium sales to Russia, top-secret military technology from the United States. Much to the chagrin of green groups, non-environmentalist Howard burnished his legacy with a "Sydney Declaration", signing up APEC members to an "aspirational target" for cutting greenhouse gases. It's voluntary and non-binding, so no worries for APEC, which includes some of the world's biggest polluters. Green groups immediately dismissed the "Sydney distraction" as so much hot air adding to the warming of the globe. DECISION-MAKING BODY Critics say APEC has lost its focus on economics and trade by meandering into the fields of security and now the environment. But some analysts say that may be the price of its success. "APEC is more important now than ever, and though its role in some realms remains modest -- security is the most glaring example -- in other areas it is emerging as the global decision-making body," the security analysis Web site Stratfor.com said. "APEC's growing power is most clearly on display when it tackles issues such as climate change and consumer product safety." So, when the APEC leaders, whose countries account for more than half of global trade, came out on Sunday with a strong endorsement of compromises on farm subsidies and industrial tariffs that negotiators are working on in Geneva, it must have been music to World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy's ears. For the past two decades, APEC has been quietly crafting some of the most important rules for global commerce. At the Sydney meeting it completed three more chapters for a model free trade agreement that can be rolled out anywhere along the Pacific rim. APEC also offers an unparalleled public relations platform to push pet projects and causes -- and to network like crazy. U.S. President George W. Bush, who stopped off in Iraq on his way to Sydney, took every opportunity to defend the unpopular war. And to bolster the election fortunes of Howard, one of the most steadfast supporters of the war. "They refer to the Prime Minister around here as a battler," Bush said this week. "I know why: he's courageous, he's wise, he's determined." Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped off in Jakarta on the way to APEC to seal a $1 billion arms deal with Indonesia by way of advertising that Russia is back in the geopolitical game in Asia, after taking a long sabbatical from the Cold War. "The main outcome of the summit is that Russia has significantly upgraded its status in the grouping and in the region," a senior diplomat in the Russian delegation said. But China's Hu Jintao kept a relatively low profile, belying predictions that Beijing is big-footing APEC, founded in Canberra in 1989 with backing from the United States to push an Asia-Pacific free trade agenda. Hu issued the usual stern warnings about Taiwan's leanings toward independence. But mostly he seemed keen to reassure his Asia-Pacific neighbors that Beijing, grappling with a series of product recalls ranging from toys to toothpaste, took product safety "very seriously". China's foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing did not have any larger ambitions in APEC. "On this issue, China definitely does not seek any kind of an important role, or to gain some kind of a leadership position," spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Sydney. Howard had enthused that APEC would make Australia "the centre of the universe in our region", but a comedy troupe stunt during APEC might have been the most-watched story overseas. Posing as the Canadian delegation, members of ABC TV's The Chaser show drove a "motorcade" through two checkpoints to within meters of Bush's hotel -- one of them made up to look like Osama bin Laden, and the designation "Insecurity" written on their convention passes. Police arrested 11 of them. (Additional reporting by John Ruwitch and Oleg Shchedrov) ***************************************************************** 49 PE.com: Cleanup wait grows longer Officials believe Rialto groundwater was tainted decades ago 11:58 PM PDT on Friday, September 7, 2007 By JENNIFER BOWLES The Press-Enterprise Mildred "Lou" Wilkins was a San Bernardino High graduate and mother of two in 1955 when she took a job with a defense contractor in Rialto to earn money for wall-to-wall carpeting in her home. The newspaper ad said no experience required. Perfect, she thought. Stan Lim / The Press-Enterprise Mildred "Lou" Wilkins is still waiting to provide her account of how she and three co-workers handled spilled perchlorate while working at West Coast Loading in the 1950s. The state hearing at which she is to testify has been postponed because of related court action. The dust often spilled onto tables and the floor. Wilkins said she and three other women would continually wipe it up with rags and mops, which they squeezed out in a bucket of water. They then tossed the water on the ground outside the building. Sometimes they did it 100 times a day. Wilkins, now 79 and living in Bloomington, said she didn't know it then, but the white dust was perchlorate, an explosive ingredient of rocket fuel and fireworks. It caused an explosion in the building where she worked, seriously injuring her and the other women. Today, regional water quality officials believe that perchlorate dumped at the 160-acre industrial site in northern Rialto where Wilkins worked soaked into the ground and eventually reached groundwater, causing the Inland region's largest unabated plume of pollution in a major drinking-water source. Whether Wilkins will tell her story any time soon is uncertain, and when a cleanup of the perchlorate that has contaminated more than a dozen drinking-water wells in Rialto and Colton will begin is unknown. Waiting to Testify Wilkins was among about 18 witnesses who were expected to testify last month at a hearing before Tam Doduc, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, that was scheduled for the last two weeks of August. At issue is whether two of the nation's best-known companies, Goodrich Corp. and a subsidiary of toolmaker Black & Decker -- along with a fireworks company famous for its elaborate displays at Super Bowls and Olympic Games -- had a role in causing the pollution and should clean it up. Perchlorate disrupts the thyroid gland's ability to absorb the iodide needed to make the hormones that guide brain and nerve development of fetuses and babies. Although some Rialto residents have illnesses that they believe could be tied to the perchlorate, no study has ever definitively linked their consumption of tainted water to their current medical conditions. The wells were shut down about five years ago. Equipment was placed on some well heads to treat the water so they could be used again. Hearing Postponed The long-awaited hearing, set to begin Aug. 21, was delayed by Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs in Los Angeles. Although she expressed concern that some of the witnesses were approaching age 90, she said she needed more time to hear allegations by the three companies that Doduc, the State Water Resources Control Board chairwoman,should be disqualified from hearing the case. Another hearing set for Aug. 31 was delayed when the state asked Janavs to move the hearing from Los Angelesto San Bernardino and closer to the pollution. The earliest that change-of-venue request can be considered is Oct. 17. The legal moves are the latest in a series of delays since the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board issued its first cleanup order against Goodrich and Emhart Industries, the Black & Decker subsidiary, in 2002. Newman's group, which represented the community in the prehearing motions, dropped out recently, saying it had become too burdensome financially and timewise to deal with all the legal documents and delays. "This is a major environmental disaster happening," Newman said, "and everyone is just sitting by the sidelines to see what will happen next." Rialto city officials, echoing the same sentiments, visited Sacramento this week and last seeking financial and other help from Gov. Schwarzenegger's office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency. "It really is obvious that it's going to take some time to resolve," Rialto Councilman Ed Scott said. "We decided to look into other approaches." Scott said the Rialto City Council is considering declaring a local emergency at its Sept. 18 meeting. The move could make the city eligible for state emergency funding that could be used to treat perchlorate-tainted water, to further assess sources of the chemical to build a stronger case against those responsible and to stop the plume from expanding. Back and Forth The 160-acre property north of Interstate 210 was part of a larger site used by the military during World War II to store munitions and test weaponry. It was far from the coast, where Japanese submarines could attack it, and, at the time, far from homes. Today, the site is surrounded by homes with well-manicured lawns, a Target import and distribution center, and San Bernardino County's Mid-Valley Landfill. Pyro Spectaculars is the only one of the three companies at issue in the case that still remains at the site. Goodrich operated on the site from 1957 to 1962, during which it built motors for two missiles. Attorneys for both Emhart and Goodrich don't deny that the companies used perchlorate, but they say they are being singled out among 40 businesses that once used the site. McLaughlin Pit And soil tests conducted near their former buildings show that trace amounts of perchlorate in the soil have not reached the groundwater, they said. They point out that the only direct evidence of pollution at the site is a concrete-lined pool known as the McLaughlin pit, where a soil boring confirmed perchlorate had reached groundwater 400 feet below. The pit was opened in 1971 by a now-defunct fireworks company, Pyrotronics, after the two defense contractors left the site. The pit, which was used by other fireworks companies, including Pyro Spectaculars, was closed in 1987. "This is about fireworks, it's not about rocket fuel," said Patrick Palmer, a Goodrich spokesman. Goodrich, he said, used to burn the waste from its solid rocket propellant in its own pit, long before air quality officials banned the practice for pollution reasons. Because burn pits were no longer allowed, the fireworks company built the McLaughlin pit, a concrete-line pool that collected waste. Pyro Spectaculars used the McLaughlin pit to soak the occasional dud firework so it could be taken apart safely, said Brian Zagon, an attorney for the company. Unlike Pyrotronics, Zagon said, his client does not manufacture fireworks on the site, and therefore never handled large amounts of perchlorate. As for Wilkins' testimony, Bob Wyatt, an attorney for Emhart, said it won't prove much. "No one is ever going to be able to quantify how much (perchlorate) was in those buckets," Wyatt said. But Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the companies haven't thoroughly tested the area around their former facilities. "They like to say it (the McLaughlin pit) is the only confirmed source of contamination. The reason they can say that is it's the only place a soil boring has been drilled all the way to groundwater," Berchtold said. 'It's a Witch Hunt' The companies have long challenged the legality and fairness of the hearings first conducted by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and, more recently, its umbrella agency, the State Water Resources Control Board. "It's a witch hunt," said Craig Moyer, a Goodrich attorney. "We would love to have our day in court but not a kangaroo court. It's skewed to find us liable." But they conceded, if the Superior Court judge rules against them, they will put up what they claim is a strong defense. Reach Jennifer Bowles at 951-368-9548 or jbowles@PE.com © 2007 Press-Enterprise Company ***************************************************************** 50 Public Citizen: Public Interest Groups Appear in Federal Appeals Court to Challenge License for Proposed New Mexico Uranium Enrichment Plant Sept. 7, 2007 Louisiana Energy Services’ Project Would Violate Law and NRC Safety Regulations WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and Public Citizen today appeared before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to challenge the legality of the license for Louisiana Energy Services’ (LES) proposed uranium enrichment plant near Eunice, N.M. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted the license in June 2006, despite not having decided on the classification of the depleted uranium waste the facility will create. “The license violates NRC’s regulations because it would allow the huge quantities of hazardous radioactive waste the plant would produce to be disposed of by shallow-land burial, even though the agency’s own regulations do not allow it and radiation doses to the public would far exceed regulatory limits,” said Michael Mariotte, executive director of NIRS. “The NRC ultimately may decide that the waste is not suitable for near-surface disposal, which will cost billions of dollars, and LES hasn’t ensured that funding.” NIRS and Public Citizen also contend that the license is illegal because the NRC issued an environmental impact statement, then decided it was incomplete and had to supplement it after the public hearing. But under federal law, the public must have the complete and final environmental impact statement for consideration at the time of the hearing. “LES and the NRC are on shaky legal ground here,” said Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. “We’ve gone to the federal courts because the NRC has refused to meaningfully address the hazards this project poses to the people of New Mexico and nearby west Texas.”  LES is a consortium of European and U.S. energy companies dominated by Urenco, a group of British, Dutch and German government and corporate entities, including industry giants such as Exelon Corp., Entergy Corp., Duke Energy and Westinghouse Electric Co. Each of these companies has an interest in greater ownership of the nuclear fuel chain and formed LES to develop a new uranium enrichment facility. LES’s license, approved on June 23, 2006, was the first issued by the NRC for a full-scale uranium enrichment plant. NIRS and Public Citizen sued the NRC challenging the license in August 2006, after nearly three years of hearings on the project before an NRC administrative law panel. Attorney Lindsay Lovejoy of New Mexico is representing the two groups. ### ***************************************************************** 51 Las Vegas Now: DOE 'Thumbs Nose' at Judges Yucca Water Ruling Also on LasVegasNow.com Federal Judge Says Shuts Off Water for DOE Drilling at Yucca Yucca Mountain Coverage This week brought another round in the war of water use at the Yucca Mountain Project, but this time, it might end with sanctions or fines against the Department of Energy. In June, the state barred water for test drilling at the site and earlier this week a judge agreed the state's water should not be used. But just recently, the DOE issued a statement that dismissed the ruling saying the order does not affect current water use or operations taking place through September. Friday, the Nevada Nuclear Department spoke out saying the federal government is "thumbing its nose" at the water use restriction ruling. Bob Loux, with the Agency for Nuclear Projects, said, "The Department of Energy and its lawyers arrogantly believe that they are entitled to do whatever they want, whenever they want it with whatever resource they think is appropriate." A judge ruled federal agencies must get state authorization for any water use and the state engineer has banned this kind of water use at the Yucca Mountain site. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KLAS. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 52 Independent: Official to NRC: Mine uranium, but not on Navajo September 8-9, 2007: By Kathy Helms Diné Bureau WINDOW ROCK ? Members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a public meeting Sept. 27 in Gallup to obtain public comments on a ?generic environmental impact statement? designed to expedite licensing for new uranium recovery facilities and conventional mills. The NRC says it is expecting numerous applications for new in-situ uranium recovery operations in the next two to three years and plans to lump together common issues associated with environmental reviews ?to aid in a more efficient environmental review for each separate license application.? Opponents, however, say it is just another attempt by the NRC to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act and shortchange the public. George Hardeen, communications director for the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President, said, ?If people want to mine uranium, they can do it as long as it?s not on the Navajo Nation,? which in 2005 approved a ban on uranium mining and milling operations throughout Navajo Indian Country. ?If it?s in Navajo Indian Country, the Natural Resources Protection Act applies,? he said. Attempts to get around that act then become a challenge to Navajo Nation sovereignty. ?If a uranium company wants to mine on Navajo land and disregard Navajo law, they can expect some trouble. The governors of all of the states surrounding the Navajo Nation, every congressman that President (Joe) Shirley has visited with, tell him that indeed, they will stand behind the Navajo Nation and its sovereignty. ?So it doesn?t matter what the uranium companies say. The Navajo Nation just doesn?t want anything to do with it. It?s not good for the Navajo people,? he said. An EIS already has been completed for Hydro Resources Inc.?s operations in McKinley County so the GEIS would not have a direct bearing on these projects, according to Mark Pelizza of HRI. ?In this process, NRC will evaluate the historic in situ recovery uranium operations and reclamation in the western United States and will review the successes and failures of such operations,? Pelizza said. Using information obtained through the GEIS, NRC will analyze future uranium recovery operations and determine the potential impacts associated with such proposed operations, he said. ?More importantly, NRC will use this information to implement requirements for new uranium recovery operations that will mitigate or eliminate potential impacts that may have been posed by historic uranium recovery operations. ?From my perspective, I can see no downside to the creation and use of this type of intensive study of the broad and regional aspects of uranium recovery operations. ?They do not preclude the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from examining the site-specific aspects of each and every new proposed uranium recovery project in a manner consistent with federal law and their regulations. ?I am puzzled as to why some people would oppose this study when it does not eliminate the requirement for site-specific analysis,? Pelizza said. ?Could it be that some people simply do not want to be confused with the facts?? Eric Jantz, staff attorney with New Mexico Environmental Law Center in Santa Fe, which has represented Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining in its efforts to stop the start-up of HRI?s in-situ leach mining facilities in Churchrock and Crownpoint, views the GEIS differently. ?The NRC is bending over backward to accommodate the uranium mining industry. Rather than requiring a rigorous environmental analysis for each and every proposed ISL mine site, the NRC is instead proposing a GEIS that will require less site-specific environmental analysis. ?The GEIS will also dramatically reduce opportunities for public participation in the environmental analysis process, and could virtually eliminate environmental justice analyzes. And the NRC is proposing this because it feels it is not processing ISL mining applications quickly enough,? Jantz said. Chris Shuey of Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque also is opposed to the NRC?s plan. ?The GEIS represents NRC?s continued efforts to streamline the uranium licensing process, long an objective of the uranium industry. ?It?s another attempt to limit public review of ISL operations and to avoid evaluating the ISL industry?s systematic failure to restore groundwater to pre-mining conditions. If NRC won?t drop this bad idea, Congress should do it for them,? Shuey said. Steve Cone of ?electors Concerned about Animas Water,? or CAW, in Farmington, in comments to the NRC, said, ?We are sick and tired of government agencies such as the NRC acting as lapdogs for corporate interests to sanction and accelerate a culture of environmental degradation which threatens to transform the Southwestern United States into a National Energy Sacrifice Area.? Cone said fast-tracking the GEIS process is ?a gross miscarriage of environmental justice for indigenous populations and their neighbors, who refuse to see their homes and health sacrificed to increase the profits of a government-favored special interest group.? ?Reverse course now, adopt the no-action alternative, and get the hell out of dodge, or prepare to be tarred and feathered by those you seek to marginalize ? described on your Web site as the ?lower population density? in ?the western states.?? Weekend September 8-9, 2007 Selected Stories: Coleman gets 4 1/2 years; Local Indian trader who shot into deputy’s home gets ‘gift’ from judge Official to NRC: Mine uranium, but not on Navajo Influenza poised to strike; Bad news: Flu season is near — Good news: There’s plenty of vaccine Spiritual Perspectives; What Did You Learn in School Today? Please send the Gallup Independent feedback on this website and the Send questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com ***************************************************************** 53 Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a Military Leak? Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 10:00:42 -0500 (CDT) http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_michael__070907_was_a_covert_attempt. htm September 7, 2007 Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a Military Leak? By Michael Salla Introduction: The B-52 Incident On August 30, a B-52 bomber armed with five nuclear-tipped Advanced Cruise missiles traveled from Minot Air Force base, North Dakota, to Barksdale Air Force base, Louisiana. Each missile had an adjustable yield between five and 150 kilotons of TNT which is at the lower end of the destructive capacities of U.S. nuclear weapons. For example, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of 13 kilotons, while the Bravo Hydrogen bomb test of 1954 had a yield of 15,000 kilotons. The B-52 story was first covered in the Army Times on September 5 after the nuclear armed aircraft was discovered by Airmen (see: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/marine_nuclear_B52_070904w/ ). What made this a very significant event was that it was a violation of U.S. Air Force regulations concerning the transportation of nuclear weapons by air. Nuclear weapons are normally transported by air in specially constructed planes designed to prevent radioactive pollution in case of a crash. Such transport planes are not equipped to launch the nuclear weapons they routinely carry around the U.S. and the world for servicing or positioning. The discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 was, according to Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, the first time in 40 years that a nuclear armed plane had been allowed to fly in the U.S (see: http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_9_5.html#149D6ECF ). Since 1968, after a SAC bomber crashed in Greenland, all nuclear armed aircraft have been grounded but were kept on a constant state of alert. After the end of the Cold War, President George H. Bush ordered in 1991 that nuclear weapons were to be removed from all aircraft and stored in nearby facilities. Recently, the Air Force began decommissioning its stockpile of Advanced Cruise missiles. The five nuclear weapons on the B-52 were to be decommissioned, and were to be taken to another Air Force base. An Air Force press statement issued on September 6 claimed that there was an error which occurred during a regularly scheduled transfer of weapons between two bases. Furthermore, the statement declared: The Air Force maintains the highest standards of safety and precision so any deviation from these well established munitions procedures is considered very serious. The issue concerning how a nuclear armed B-52 bomber was allowed to take off and fly in U.S. air space after an error in a routine transfer process, is now subject to an official Air Force inquiry which is due to be completed by September 14. Three key questions emerge over the B-52 incident. First, why did Air Force personnel at Minot AFB not spot the error earlier given the elaborate security procedures in place to prevent such mistakes from occurring? Many military analysts have commented on the stringent security procedures in place to prevent this sort of mistake from occurring. Multiple officers are routinely involved in the transportation and loading of nuclear weapons to prevent the kind of error that allegedly occurred in the B-52 incident. According to the Air Force statement, the commanding officer in charge of military munitions personnel and additional munitions airmen were relieved of duties pending the completion of the investigation. According to Kristensen, the error could not have come from confusing the Advanced Cruise Missile with a conventional weapons since no conventional form exists. So the munitions Airmen should have been easily able to spot the mistake. Other routine procedures were violated which suggests a rather obvious explanation for the error. The military munitions personnel were acting under direct orders, though not through the regular chain of military command. This takes me to the second question Who was in Charge of the B-52 Incident? Who ordered the loading of Advanced Cruise missiles on to a B-52 in violation of Air Force regulations? The quick reaction of the Air Force and the issuing of a public statement describing the seriousness of the issue and the launch of an immediate investigation, suggests that whatever occurred, was outside the regular chain of military command. If the regular chain of command was violated, then we have to inquire as to whether the B-52 incident was part of a covert project whose classification level exceeded that held by officers in charge of nuclear weapons at Minot AFB. The most obvious governmental entity that may have ordered the nuclear arming of the B-52 outside the regular chain of military command is the last remaining bastion of neo-conservative activism in the Bush administration. Vice President Cheney has taken a very prominent role in covert military operations and training exercises designed for the seamless integration of different national security and military authorities to possible terrorist attacks. On May 8, 2001, President Bush placed Cheney in charge of "[A]ll federal programs dealing with weapons of mass destruction, consequence management within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies" (see: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml) . Cheney subsequently played a direct role in supervising training exercises that simultaneously occurred during the 911 attacks. According to former Los Angeles Police Officer Michael Ruppert, Cheney had a parallel chain of command that he used to override Air Force objections to stand down orders that grounded the USAF during the 911 attacks (see: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml ). Ruppert learned that the Secret Service had the authority to directly communicate presidential and vice presidential orders to fighter pilots in the air thereby circumventing the normal chain of command. (Crossing the Rubicon, pp. 428 429). Furthermore: It is the Secret Service who has the legal mandate to take supreme command in case of a scheduled major event - or an unplanned major emergency - on American soil; these are designated "National Special Security Events". http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml . Ruppert and others have subsequently claimed that 911 was an inside job; and Cheney through the Secret Service, played a direct leadership role in what occurred over 911. Consequently, it is very possible that Cheney played a similar role in circumventing the regular chain of military command in ordering the B-52 incident. It is likely that the B-52 incident was part of a contrived "National Special Security Event" directly controlled by Cheney by virtue of the authority granted to him by President Bush, and through the Secret Service which has the technological means to by pass the regular chain of military command. I now move to my third key question. Why was the nuclear armed B-52 sent to Barksdale AFB? If initial reports that the weapons were being decommissioned, but were mistakenly transported by a B-52 bomber, then the weapons should have been taken to Kirtland Air Force Base. According to Kristensen, this is where the warheads are separated from the rest of the weapon and shipped to the Energy Departments Pantex dismantlement facility near Amarillo, Texas (see: http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_9_5.html#149D6ECF ). However, it has been revealed that Barksdale AFB is used as a staging base for operations in the Middle East (see: http://tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/sep/05/staging_nuke_for_iran ). This is circumstantial evidence that the weapons were being deployed for possible use in the Middle East. There has been recent speculation concerning a possible attack against Iran given reports that the Pentagon has completed plans for a three day bombing blitz of Iran according to a Sunday Times report (see: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece ). The Report claims that 1200 targets have been selected and this will destroy much of Irans military infrastructure. Such an attack will devastate Irans economy, create greater political instability in the region, and stop the oil supply. A disruption of the oil supply from the Persian Gulf could trigger a global economic recession and lead to the collapse of financial markets. In a synchronistic development, there have been reports of billion dollar investments in high risk stock options in both Europe and the U.S. that would only be profitable if a dramatic collapse of the stock market were to occur before September 21. Similar stock options were purchased weeks before the 911 attack in 2001, and investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible insider trading. The combination of the Sunday Times report and the Stock market option purchases is circumstantial evidence that plans for a concerted military attack against Iran have been secretly approved and covert operations have begun (see: http://exopolitics.org/Exo-Comment-57.htm ). Seymour Hersh in May 2006 reported the opposition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. In late April, the military leadership, headed by General Pace, achieved a major victory when the White House dropped its insistence that the plan for a bombing campaign include the possible use of a nuclear device to destroy Iran's uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz, nearly two hundred miles south of Tehran. . "Bush and Cheney were dead serious about the nuclear planning," the former senior intelligence official told me. "And Pace stood up to them. Then the world came back: 'O.K., the nuclear option is politically unacceptable.' http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/10/060710fa_fact . Given earlier opposition by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it is likely that the present attack plans for Iraq drawn up by the Pentagon dont involve the use of nuclear weapons. In order to circumvent the regular chain of command, opposed to a nuclear attack, it is very likely that Vice President Cheney contrived a National Special Security Event that involved a nuclear armed B-52. This would have given him the legal authority to place orders directly through the Secret Service to the Air Force officers responsible for the B-52 incident. Conclusion: Exposing those Responsible for the B-52 Incident Consequently, there is considerable circumstantial evidence to argue that the nuclear armed B-52 was part of a covert operation, outside the regular chain of military command. The most plausible authority responsible for this was Vice President Cheney. He very likely used the Secret Service to take charge of a contrived National Special Security Event involving a nuclear armed B-52 that would be flown from Minot AFB. The B-52 was directed to Barksdale Air Force base where it would have conducted a covert mission to the Middle East involving the detonation of one or more nuclear weapons most likely in or in the vicinity of Iran. This could either have occurred during a conventional military strike against Iran, or a False Flag operation in the Persian Gulf region. The leaking and discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 at Barksdale was not part of the script. According to a confidential source of Larry Johnson, a former counter-terrorism official from the State Department and CIA, the discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 was leaked. Johnson concludes: Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran? I dont know, but it is a question worth asking. http://tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/sep/05/staging_nuke_for_iran While the general public is likely to be given a watered down declassified report by the Air Force over the B-52 incident on September 14, the real investigation will reveal that it was part of a covert operation that intended to bypass the regular chain of command in using nuclear weapons in the Middle East. This will likely result in a furious backlash by key figures in the regular military chain of Command such as Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the Commander of Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, who have direct responsibility for the conduct of military operations in the Middle East. The US. Air Force, the Secretary of Defense and Commander of Central Command, is now aware of what was likely going to be the true use of the B-52 and the responsibility of the Office of the Vice President. It is very likely that the exposure of the B-52 incident will lead to an indefinite hold on plans to attack Iran given uncertainty whether other nuclear weapons have been covertly positioned for use in the Middle East. Significantly, public officials briefed about the true circumstances of the B-52 incident will almost certainly place enormous pressure on Vice President Cheney to immediately resign if it is found that he played the role identified above. It is therefore anticipated that in a very short time, the public will learn that Cheney has resigned for health reasons. The forthcoming September 14 Air Force report will likely describe the B-52 incident as an error and an isolated incident as foreshadowed in the September 6 Press Statement. This will create some difficulty in exposing the actual role played by Cheney and any other government figures that supported him. There will be a need for continued public awareness of the true events behind the B-52 incident in order to expose the actual role of Cheney. Only in that way can Cheney be held accountable for his actions, and other government figures that supported his neo-conservative agenda be exposed. Regardless of whether Cheneys role as the prime architect of the B-52 incident is exposed to the public, the official backlash against his covert operation should force his resignation. In either case, a very dangerous public official would be removed from a powerful position of influence. More importantly, the world has been spared a devastating nuclear war by courageous American airmen who revealed the true contents of an otherwise routine B-52 landing at Barksdale, AFB headed for a covert nuclear mission to the Middle East. ***************************************************************** 54 [southnews] B52 bomber mistakenly flies with nukes Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 10:10:25 -0500 (CDT) A UNITED States Air Force B-52 bomber mistakenly armed with live nuclear missiles flew right over millions of Americans - without the crew knowing. President George W. Bush was immediately notified after the half-dozen missiles, their warheads still attached, were discovered. ________________________________________________________-- Live nuclear bombs flown over America Herald Sun September 07, 2007 12:00am A UNITED States Air Force B-52 bomber mistakenly armed with live nuclear missiles flew right over millions of Americans - without the crew knowing. President George W. Bush was immediately notified after the half-dozen missiles, their warheads still attached, were discovered. "It is absolutely inexcusable that the Air Force lost track of these nuclear warheads, even for a short period of time," said Democrat Edward Markey, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee. "Nothing like this has ever been reported before, and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible." An Air Force spokesman insisted "there was never a danger to the American public" and called the missile mishap last Thursday an "isolated incident". "Air Force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling," Lt-Col Ed Thomas said. "The weapons were always in our custody." The warheads were supposed to be detached from the missiles before the flight. The foul-up wasn't discovered until after the bomber had flown from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City, Louisiana - a three-hour trip covering more than 1770km. "It's clearly a serious breach of safety and security rules," said Philip Coyle, senior adviser at the Centre for Defence Information. An unnamed Air Force munitions squadron commander has already been relieved of his duties. The flight and ground crews have been barred from handling weapons until the investigation is completed. The B-52 was loaded with cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads ranging from five to 150 kilotons in destructive force, mounted onto pylons on the bomber's wings, according to the Military Times newspaper, which broke the story. "You can wipe out a good-sized city with a 5 kiloton blast," said Jim Riccio, a nuclear policy analyst for Greenpeace. "A 150-kiloton warhead is 10 times the size of what they dropped on Hiroshima." Mr Coyle said it was highly unlikely the missiles would have detonated, even in a crash. In two B-52 crashes in the 1960s, bombs on board did not detonate, but radioactive material was scattered over a wide area. - MCT __________________________________________________________-- Questions Remain Over Nuclear-Armed B-52 Over Midwest By Wayne Madsen OpEdNews September 7, 2007 The reported "loss" of six nuclear-armed stealthy advance cruise missiles (ACMs) flown on the wing pylons of a B-52 from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on August 30 would represent a complete and unprecedented breakdown in the command and control of nuclear weapons in the United States. For that reason, there is a belief among many seasoned military experts that there is much more to this reported story than meets the eye. The Defense Department is merely describing the nuclear missile flight as an "incident," because it is standard Pentagon policy to not comment on its nuclear weapons. However, the "incident" was serious enough that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were both immediately informed of the so-called "mistake" in flying the weapons across several Midwestern states. Missouri Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the incident "deeply disturbing." The incident was first reported by three military officers, who remained anonymous, to Military Times, a newspaper that maintains good contacts within the military services. The ACMs were armed with six W80-Mod 1 nuclear weapons, which pack a punch of between 5 and 150 kilotons each. There is informed speculation that the movement of the nuclear weapons to Barksdale was leaked because the air force base is a staging area for deployment to the Middle East. The Pentagon recently drew up plans to hit 1200 targets inside Iran in a massive bombardment campaign aimed at destroying its military and overthrowing its government. The movement of the nuclear weapons may have been an alert to the public by disgruntled members of the military that such plans would include the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons. The report that the weapons were transferred to Barksdale for "decommissioning" appears to be a cover story concocted by Pentagon spinmeisters, since any movement of nuclear weapons is treated as highly-classified information. The B-52 sat on a runway at Barksdale for a full 10 hours with the Air Force trying to have the public believe that no one noticed the nuclear missiles on board. The flight from Minot was three and a half hours. The only casualty: the munitions officer at Minot was relieved of his duties pending the outcome of an investigation. There is also speculation that the war hawks in the administration may have flown the nuclear cruise missiles to Louisiana to send a message to Iran. The Defense Department remains a beehive of neocon activity even with Gates in charge. Three other recent incidents indicate the neocons are still employing their perception management campaigns. Cells of so-called "Al Qaeda" terrorists have been arrested in Denmark and Germany. Both countries have neocons embedded in their governments. Those arrested include Danish and German nationals. In addition, the recent weapons of mass destruction "scare" at a United Nations office building in New York, where "phosgene" gas seized in Iraq after Desert Storm was reportedly found in a vial, turns out to have been a hoax. The substance was a non-toxic cleaning solvent. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named a number of neocons to senior staff positions within the UN Secretariat. Authors Website: http://www.waynemadsenreport.com Authors Bio: For more, visit Wayne Madsen Report, which its publisher, Wayne Madsen, keeps refreshed with more news than any one reporter has a right to. Wayne Madsen is an investigative journalist, nationally distributed columnist, and author who has covered Washington, DC, politics, national security, and intelligence issues since 1994. He has written for The Village Voice, The Progressive, CAQ, Counterpunch, and the Intelligence Newsletter (based in Paris). http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_wayne_ma_070907_questions_remain_ove.htm __________________________________________________________________________ Comment by Hans M. Kristensen, Director, Nuclear Info Project, Fed. of American Scientists The disclosure by Military Times that a B-52 bomber mistakenly was loaded with half a dozen nuclear-armed cruise missiles on a flight last month between North Dakota and Louisiana has triggered a flurry of news reports and caused many to ask how such an incident is even possible in a post-9/11 era. How can we hope to keep nuclear weapons out of the wrong hands if we're not always 100 percent certain about where our weapons are? The Air Force has started an investigation but already assured people that there was never a threat to the public, that safety is paramount in every munitions activity, and that all evidence so far points to an isolated mistake. But safety is only part of the issue, and Congressional oversight should not end there. An equally important question is how the mix-up of nuclear and unarmed cruise missiles on a bomber relates to strike planning. This flight was a domestic transport but imagine if the B-52 had been part of a strike in the opening phases of a war. The Navy has proposed replacing some nuclear warheads on sea-launched ballistic missiles with conventional warheads, and co-deploying nuclear and conventional missiles on the same submarines. Congress already has raised concerns about that scenario, but try adding to that nuclear custodians who do not always know with 100 percent certainty which weapons are nuclear and which ones are not. That raises some profound questions about crisis stability and the risk of accidental nuclear war. "Sorry, Mr. President, we thought they were conventional." ***************************************************************** 55 Seattle PI: Taking stock of scorched Hanford Reach Last updated September 8, 2007 8:21 a.m. PT By SHANNON DININNY HANFORD REACH NATIONAL MONUMENT, Wash. -- When wildfires raced through tinder-dry grass and sagebrush on the Hanford Reach National Monument this summer, much of the worry centered on whether flames would reach radioactive waste at the neighboring Hanford nuclear reservation. Now wildlife officials are taking stock of the devastation to the charred monument itself, which stretches along a free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River known for salmon runs, bird habitat and rare plant life. "The No. 1 threat to this monument was fire, and No. 2 is invasive species, which follows fire," said Greg Hughes, who manages the monument for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "If we don't rehabilitate this land now, we only increase the risk for more wildfires in the future." Fires have blackened 121 square miles of the monument this summer - more than 40 percent of the land area. -On the north shore of the Columbia River, the Overlook fire torched 21,083 acres. Firefighters were able to save the old blacksmith shop, a log building near the White Bluffs Boat Lunch, but wildlife habitat wasn't so lucky. Among the casualties: a heron rookery and prime sagebrush habitat for the endangered pygmy rabbit. "With no sagebrush in that area now, it'll be decades before we can even think about assisting with the recovery," wildlife biologist Heidi Newsome said of the tiny, one-pound rabbits. -Another 4,800 acres burned on the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, which has been considered one of the few large, contiguous blocks of arid shrub-steppe habitat remaining in the Northwest. The reserve used to be part of the Hanford nuclear site and has been closed to the public for decades. Firefighters were able to pinch off the fire before it spread too far, but then... -On Aug. 16, high winds pushed flames from private land onto the reserve, blackening 51,000 acres on the monument alone. Most of the acreage already had burned in a massive fire in 2000, shortly after President Clinton designated the 193,000 acres in an almost horseshoe shape as a national monument. But plantings to rehabilitate the land after that fire went up in smoke this summer. Newsome found the damage to natural resources depressing on a recent tour of the area. The wide expanse of charred acreage still smelled smoky, weeks after the fire, and only pockets of native grasses and sagebrush escaped the flames. Sagebrush doesn't re-sprout after fire, and it grows very slowly, needing about 30 years to mature enough to begin to provide habitat for certain species, Newsome said. They include the sage grouse, which is a threatened species in Washington, as well as sage sparrows, the sage thrasher, sagebrush vole and sagebrush lizard. Even elk base their movement patterns on what cover they can get from the wind, such as from sagebrush. The monument supports more than 600 elk, but with much of their rangeland burned, wildlife experts are concerned they will be driven to farmers' property or the neighboring Hanford site for food. "Definitely after the 2000 fire, their use patterns changed to areas where there were still remaining sagebrush cover," Newsome said. Erosion is always a concern after a fire, and an even greater worry is the spread of noxious weeds and exotic plants, such as Russian thistle. Already, cheatgrass seeds litter the ashy soil up and down the monument, waiting to take over the land. Between 2000 and 2006, some 90,000 acres of the monument burned. Those repeated fires, in conjunction with invasive species, prevent the area from restoring itself naturally, Newsome said. "It's not just the fires now. It's the cumulative impact of these fires over time," Newsome said. "The frequency and intensity of fires pose a threat to native grasses and shrubs in shrub-steppe habitat." Hanford Reach officials have proposed a $6.1 million recovery plan for part of the monument, though they aren't proposing to treat, or reseed, all the burned land. Rather, they aim to protect those areas that could recover on their own. Hughes maintains that the recovery effort is essential not just for wildlife habitat, but also for wildfire prevention. "If we end up watching this go back to a weed patch, years later, you'll see an increase in fire intensity, frequency, rate of spread, and maybe we won't catch the next one," he said. "If we do nothing ... next time the fire will burn across the monument and hit towns and communities in the area and we'll never stop it." Furthermore, where there was rehabilitation work from previous fires, the flames spread more slowly this summer, proving the need for work this time around, Hughes said. But he concedes that he's competing for an ever-shrinking pot of dollars for wildfire rehabilitation. According to Bill Leenhouts, Fish and Wildlife's fire management specialist at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, the Department of Interior's annual budget for such work is about $24.5 million. That money must be shared among all its agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service. Last year was the first time there was more work than money to go around. This year looks even worse, Leenhouts said. "Hanford's got some of the issues that would rank, will help them compete for the dollars. It all depends on what other things come in, too," he said. "We've had increased suppression costs, and even more, emergency stabilization costs, and those are your tax dollars. We try to use them as efficiently as possible, and use them for treatments that work." Agencies can apply for rehabilitation money in the three years after a wildfire. Hughes is hoping some will come through this year to begin the difficult task of repairing the charred landscape. In the meantime, it's still early in September. The wildfire season may be far from over. He pointed out a remaining sagebrush stand along the river, and up to a cliff, where the only known population of Umtanum desert buckwheat grows. "We just have to work to protect these areas that are left," he said. "And we have to hope we can recover areas that burned. It won't come back if we don't give Mother Nature a helping hand." --- Hanford Reach National Monument: http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/ SEATTLEPI.COM 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com ©1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer ***************************************************************** 56 Tri-City Herald: Experts assess toll of Reach fires Published Saturday, September 8th, 2007 By The Associated Press When wildfires raced through grass and sagebrush on the Hanford Reach National Monument this summer, much of the worry centered on whether flames would reach radioactive waste at the neighboring Hanford nuclear reservation. Now wildlife officials are taking stock of the devastation to the charred monument itself, which stretches along a free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River known for salmon runs, bird habitat and rare plant life. "The No. 1 threat to this monument was fire, and No. 2 is invasive species, which follows fire," said Greg Hughes, who manages the monument for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "If we don't rehabilitate this land now, we only increase the risk for more wildfires in the future." Fires have blackened 121 square miles of the monument this summer — more than 40 percent of the land area. - On the north shore of the Columbia River, the Overlook Fire torched 21,083 acres. Firefighters were able to save the old blacksmith shop, a log building near the White Bluffs Boat Lunch, but wildlife habitat wasn't so lucky. Among the casualties: a heron rookery and prime sagebrush habitat for the endangered pygmy rabbit. "With no sagebrush in that area now, it'll be decades before we can even think about assisting with the recovery," wildlife biologist Heidi Newsome said of the tiny, one-pound rabbits. - Another 4,800 acres burned on the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, which has been considered one of the few large, contiguous blocks of arid shrub-steppe habitat remaining in the Northwest. The reserve used to be part of the Hanford nuclear site and has been closed to the public for decades. Firefighters were able to pinch off the fire before it spread too far. But on Aug. 16, high winds pushed flames from private land onto the reserve, blackening 51,000 acres on the monument alone. Most of the acreage already had burned in a massive fire in 2000, shortly after President Clinton designated the 193,000 acres in an almost horseshoe shape as a national monument. But many of the plantings to rehabilitate the land after that fire burned this summer. Newsome found the damage depressing on a recent tour. The wide expanse of charred acreage still smelled smoky, weeks afterward, and only pockets of native grasses and sagebrush escaped the flames. Sagebrush doesn't resprout after fire and it grows very slowly, needing about 30 years to mature enough to begin to provide habitat for several species, Newsome said. They include the sage grouse, which is a threatened species in Washington, sage sparrows, the sage thrasher, sagebrush vole and sagebrush lizard. Even elk base their travel patterns on what cover they can get from the wind, such as from sagebrush. The monument supports more than 600 elk, but with much of their rangeland burned, wildlife experts are concerned they will move to farmers' property or the neighboring Hanford site for food. "Definitely after the 2000 fire, their use patterns changed to areas where there were still remaining sagebrush cover," Newsome said. Erosion is always a concern after a fire, and an even greater worry is the spread of noxious weeds and exotic plants, such as Russian thistle, better known as tumbleweed. Already, cheatgrass seeds litter the ashy soil, waiting to take over the land. Between 2000 and 2006, some 90,000 acres of the monument burned. Those repeated fires, in conjunction with invasive species, prevent the area from restoring itself naturally, Newsome said. "It's not just the fires now. It's the cumulative impact of these fires over time," Newsome said. "The frequency and intensity of fires pose a threat to native grasses and shrubs in shrub-steppe habitat." Hanford Reach officials have proposed a $6.1 million recovery plan for part of the monument, though they aren't proposing to treat, or reseed, all the burned land. Rather, they aim to protect those areas that could recover on their own. Hughes maintains that the recovery effort is essential not just for wildlife habitat, but also for wildfire prevention. "If we end up watching this go back to a weed patch, years later, you'll see an increase in fire intensity, frequency, rate of spread, and maybe we won't catch the next one," he said. "If we do nothing ... next time the fire will burn across the monument and hit towns and communities in the area and we'll never stop it." Where there was rehabilitation work from previous fires, the flames spread more slowly this summer, proving the need for work this time around, Hughes said. But he concedes he's competing for an ever-shrinking pot of dollars for wildfire rehabilitation. According to Bill Leenhouts, Fish and Wildlife's fire management specialist at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, the Department of Interior's annual budget for such work is about $24.5 million. That money must be shared among all its agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service. Last year was the first time there was more work than money to go around. This year looks even worse, Leenhouts said. "Hanford's got some of the issues that would rank, will help them compete for the dollars. It all depends on what other things come in, too," he said. "We've had increased suppression costs, and even more, emergency stabilization costs, and those are your tax dollars. We try to use them as efficiently as possible, and use them for treatments that work." Agencies can apply for rehabilitation money in the three years after a wildfire. Hughes is hoping some will come through this year to begin repairing the charred landscape. In the meantime, it's still early in September. The wildfire season may be far from over. He pointed out a remaining sagebrush stand along the river, and up to a cliff, where the only known population of Umtanum desert buckwheat grows. "We just have to work to protect these areas that are left," he said. "And we have to hope we can recover areas that burned. It won't come back if we don't give Mother Nature a helping hand." © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 57 Tri-City Herald: Improper radiation monitoring slowed spill find Published Sunday, September 9th, 2007 ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER A skipped step in radiation monitoring just after the spill of high-level radioactive waste at the Hanford tank farms kept the spill from being discovered for hours, according to a CH2M Hill Hanford Group investigation. At 2:30 a.m. on July 27 up to 115 gallons of radioactive waste and water spilled onto the ground to cover about 200 square feet. But workers in the area were not ordered to take cover until nearly eight hours later. Not just one thing but several went wrong to create the problem, said Shirley Olinger, acting manager of DOE's Hanford Office of River Protection, at last week's meeting of the Hanford Advisory Board in Seattle. "So it is a significant concern," she said. The most urgent problem to address is worker health concerns, she said. Eleven workers among about 60 who were in a wide area around the tank spill that morning have reported health symptoms or other concerns, said John Fulton, the new president of CH2M Hill Hanford Group. He was named to the position before the spill but took over three days after it occurred. Four more workers have reported health concerns since the first seven reported symptoms as of two weeks ago. In addition, a worker who was in the area and developed bacterial pneumonia eight days later has relapsed and been admitted to a Spokane hospital, although it's not clear the case is linked to the tank farms incident. Complicating the investigation of illnesses that may be linked to the radiation spill, herbicide spraying also was being done that morning by another Hanford contractor. About 2,400 gallons of herbicide were being sprayed outside the tank farm, or group of tanks, where the spill occurred, Fulton said. It was not a scheduled work day for Hanford, and the workers doing the spraying were unaware of the workers in the tank farm investigating the spill. Investigations by CH2M Hill, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency continue. But CH2M Hill has identified some of the problems leading to the spill and problems in how the emergency was handled. They include engineering and management missteps in addition to the problem with radiation monitoring. Closed monitor "window" The spill likely happened when a pump plugged up as workers were finishing a 12-hour shift emptying high-level radioactive waste from Tank S-102, built in the 1940s, into a sturdier double-shell underground tank. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium at Hanford for the nation's nuclear weapons program. When the pump plugged, workers ran it in reverse to clear it out, as the pump was designed to do. It's a pump typically sold for use by manufacturers of thick substances such as peanut butter and toothpaste. But the pump was plugged so tightly that a water hose was pressurized and waste backed up into the line, which broke, according to the working theory. Workers had the first possible hint that something was wrong as they changed protective clothing in the early morning, leaving the pump problem to be resolved the next day. A radiological meter being used in the changing area briefly spiked then, possibly indicating the spill was occurring. "The consequences could have been much worse," Fulton said. "A few minutes earlier there would have been five people within a few feet of the pump." They likely would have been sprayed with the radioactive waste. Workers also walked a transfer line between the two tanks about 2:30 a.m. before leaving the site, checking for unusual radiation readings. They detected a spike in gamma radiation, but since gamma radiation can pass through the transfer line just as gamma radiation passes through the body during a medical X-ray they assumed it was a problem inside the line. But they neglected to double-check the reading by opening a window in the meter that shields all radiation but gamma. If the window had been open, the meter also would have detected beta radiation. Because beta radiation would have been shielded by the transfer pipe, the reading would have indicated the radiation was coming from outside the pipe. "If the window was open, it would have showed it was a spill" and more workers would not have been allowed in the area later in the morning, Olinger said. In 13 years there have been just three spills on the ground, so workers have had little experience with them, Fulton said. But they've had much experience with seal failures in the tank boxes and clogged lines that are detected with gamma radiation readings, he said. A "lessons learned" memo sent to CH2M Hill employees called for increased attention to detail and said management had missed opportunities to re-enforce procedural expectations by not questioning survey reports submitted without both open and closed window readings. The spill was not discovered until after 10 a.m. when the wet spot could be seen on the ground. Engineering, procedural problems also found CH2M Hill also has determined that there was a chance to prevent the spill years earlier. A safety and engineering analysis conducting on similar pumps in 2003 considered whether a leak could occur in a similar scenario, but rejected it as a possible problem, according to CH2M Hill. Instead, engineering fixes should have been made to the pumps, Fulton said. At the time, workers felt under pressure to finish the design of the pumping operation and begin the work on a set schedule, which Fulton said was a weakness in the management system. "Emergency response needs to be more conservative -- assume the worst," he said. That means being more conservative and issuing orders to take cover or evacuate the area when the source of a problem is unknown and strengthening procedures on when to call Hanford 911. More frequent and realistic emergency response drills are needed, Fulton said. In addition, a look at more specific response procedures for chemical and tank vapor issues may be needed to match the rigor of programs for radiation hazards, he said. Workers should be using supplied air respirators more frequently when work is done that disturbs waste in underground tanks, said Tom Carpenter of the Government Accountability Project. Because of worker concerns in 2003 his organization successfully pushed for improvements and studies to assure worker safety around the tanks. CH2M Hill also faces a major challenge in cleaning up the spill, Fulton said. The contamination is too radioactively hot for workers to handle, likely requiring tools that can be maneuvered from a safe distance. Removing the broken hose without spilling more waste also will be difficult, Fulton said. Training on mock equipment to clean up the contamination has gone well, according to a memo sent to CH2M Hill employees. Hoses and lines could be removed later this month with removal of additional equipment in October. Then a containment tent will be put up over the site and contaminated soil excavated. That will take at least two months. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 58 Kane County Chronicle: Buying time at Fermilab Local News and Video for Kane County, Illinois - Saturday, September 08, 2007 By JONATHAN BILYK - jbilyk@kcchronicle.com BATAVIA – Young-Kee Kim believes that the team at Fermilab can find the prized Higgs boson – and the public relations boost that would accompany the discovery of the prized subatomic particle. But the deputy director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, as it is formally known, said the facility’s main tool in the search for the Higgs – the Tevatron particle accelerator – might need a little more time. For years, physicists working at Fermilab have watched the days tick away, drawing the facility ever nearer to the date in 2009 when the Tevatron is scheduled to cease operation. But Kim said Friday that Fermilab recently has entered discussions to potentially grant the Tevatron – and the search for the Higgs boson at the Batavia facility – another year of life. “It doesn’t make sense to turn off the best particle accelerator in the world right now, until the next one is up and running well,” Kim said. “And if we run the Tevatron until 2010, the chance of finding the Higgs boson only becomes greater.” Since 2000, when it was upgraded with new detectors and other equipment, the 4-mile-long Tevatron accelerator has been dedicated largely to the discovery of the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle theorized to give mass to all other subatomic particles. To date, the Tevatron is the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. But soon it easily could be lapped in the race to find the Higgs by the Large Hadron Collider, a new, more powerful accelerator scheduled to begin operations next year at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. Kim acknowledged that possibility, noting that it was possible that the Higgs boson could be beyond the ability of Fermilab’s instruments to detect. But she said the potential for finding the Higgs boson is fueling much excitement at Fermilab these days. “Words can’t even express the significance of the science involved,” Kim said. “We are now at the peak of the [Tevatron’s] ability, and we think we have a good chance of finding it first.” Should the discovery be made, it would provide a boost to Fermilab as it seeks new projects to ensure the viability of the lab – and its 2,000 employees – beyond 2010. The lab’s administrators are attempting to position Fermi as the prime candidate for the new International Linear Collider, a 20-mile-long underground particle collider with a cost of $15 to $28 billion. To bridge the gap between the Tevatron and the ILC, Fermilab also is seeking $500 million to build a new accelerator they have dubbed “Project X,” a collider that would incorporate many of the technologies employed by the ILC. Should neither of those projects come to Fermilab, the facility would not close, Kim said, but it could face significant downsizing. Don Wolfe, a Kane County board member and member of the county’ Economic Development Advisory Board, said even a partial shutdown at Fermilab would be bad news for the region on “a number of levels.” According to figures provided by Fermilab, the laboratory annually spends $330 million, including about $33 million directly to companies in DuPage and Kane counties. The facility has a total payroll of $145 million annually. But the facility also contributes less tangibly to the culture and prestige of the region, Wolfe said. “Communities drool to get stuff like this,” Wolfe said. “As an economic and cultural engine, they are just vital.” Fermilab facts • Employs 2,000 people, with an annual payroll of $145 million • Spends $33 million on business with local companies, $330 million annually overall • The lab’s Tevatron particle accelerator is scheduled to shut down in 2009, but officials want to push the date back to 2010 as they search for a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson. Source: Fermilab Online: www.lakejulian.com Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays. ©2007 Kane County Chronicle. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 lamonitor.com: Community leaders react The Online News Source for Los Alamos CAROL A. CLARK Monitor County Editor Various segments of the community expressed their thoughts on Thursday following Director Michael Anastasio's talk to employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory regarding budget uncertainties and future workforce planning needs. Anastasio said he had hoped LANL's budget uncertainties would have been resolved by now, adding that despite efforts by DOE, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and New Mexico's congressional delegation, the budget will likely be subject to a continuing resolution for several months. "There doesn't seem to be any new news," said Executive Director Kevin Holsapple of the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation. "I think it was a wise decision by the lab directorate to formalize this situation. It makes total sense given the uncertainties we've all known about for a couple of months. It's really saying we've got to be prepared for the worst cases up to the better cases." Holsapple addressed the impact Anastasio's talk may have on local business. "It's absolutely a concern that this will cause people to be worried," he said. "It is worrisome to business people and others if residents don't live normal lives. I hope people can do their best in working toward a positive future instead of obsessing about what may or may not happen." Rep. Jeannette Wallace, R-Los Alamos, said she thought the subject needed to be addressed. "I think they (LANL) had no choice but to come forward and were forced to come forward and discuss a worst-case scenario," Wallace said. "I don't think that will happen but they need to be prepared." Long-time business leader Dave Fox of CB Fox in downtown Los Alamos said the timing of the talk, given the restart of Congress following the recent recess, made it pretty clear. "My understanding is that NNSA required the laboratory to make a statement regarding their workforce," he said. "We don't see anything but a bright yellow caution flag - it's got us alert but not alarmed." Ron Selvage owns a hotel and restaurant in Los Alamos and a restaurant in White Rock. He expressed concern that what was said in Thursday's all-hands meeting will impact area business. "I think it will have an impact," Selvage said. "People get very worried about jobs and they worry about spending and cut out things like eating out." Selvage said he understands why Anastasio addressed the budget uncertainties. "I don't blame Director Anastasio," he said. "I really don't think it will be that bad but it will impact area businesses. It's going to be lean times for a while and we just have to buckle down and get though this period." Program Director Cheryl Pongratz of The Los Alamos Family Council spoke about her concerns from a mental health perspective during an interview on Friday. "I think there was a lot of stress and anxiety before yesterday's announcement and it's going to be worse," she said. "What worries me is that I think people aren't comfortable seeking help for their anxieties and I worry about an increase in suicide or serious depression or domestic violence." Pongratz said that people can't help but be concerned, especially those with children and homes to sell when there are already "hundreds on the market." "We've seen a decrease in people seeking help because they think it might make them get picked to go in a job reduction situation," Pongratz said. "I'm concerned. I'm on the Community Health Council. We just met at the Betty Ehart Senior Center and we're all very concerned." Anastasio told employees Thursday that he found it personally difficult to tell them about the FY08 uncertainties. He said he understands that these decisions affect individuals, families, and entire communities. With the anxiety the uncertainties will surely create, Anastasio said that now more than ever, it is critical that employees look out for one another's safety and security, and take time to think before they act. LANL will continue to make limited strategic hires during this period, Anastasio said, adding that they will give employee raises this year - paying special attention to ensure that the best people are paid the appropriate salaries. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 lamonitor.com: Chamber breakfast hears what's up at the lab The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor POJOAQUE - Kevin Holsapple, executive director of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation welcomed a couple of dozen business people to a regional breakfast at the Cities of Gold Convention Center Thursday morning. He said the regional arrangement was one the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce hoped to repeat a couple of times a year to address the question, "How do you plan for the future in the environment that we have?" The featured speaker was Doris Heim, associate director for business services at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who said she was in charge of the infrastructure, services for the lab's mission, procurement, property, human resources, finances and training. She gave a quick survey of activities in her area, since June 1, 2006, when Los Alamos National Security (LANS), LLC, assumed the laboratory contract. She said the changes included new management, new procedures, and new expectations from employees and customers who may have been hoping for a "a white knight." There were also new issues, like the $176 million increase in costs, including a big jump in gross receipts taxes. Another set of issues, she said was not only how the new partnership had to learn to work together, but also how the parent companies added a new level of oversight to activities. From that earliest set of challenges, she said, the lab has continued to focus on safety, security, business excellence and making sure goals are met. There are also new efforts to perfect the laboratory's electronic data management system, improve cycle time for hiring and procurement, and improve process management projects. Among new building projects, she cited the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement building, acknowledging that the funding was up and done on that. She also highlighted planning for a recently announced "signature" science building, known as MaRIE (for Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes), and work on new $11 million facility for the Los Alamos Site Office to house the staff of the Department of Energy. After her talk, Heim was asked about the budget situation in Washington and how the lab was dealing with as much as a $350 million reduction. "We're looking at all the possibilities," she said, including how to create more efficiencies. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 61 Amarillo.com: Pantex waits for budget details 09/08/07 Decision expected by Oct. 1 The Pantex Plant could be operating on a smaller budget beginning Oct. 1 if Congress fails to pass an Energy Department budget, but plant officials say they are optimistic that the situation will be resolved, avoiding possible layoffs. Under a congressional continuing resolution, Contractor BWXT Pantex said Pantex would operate under a smaller budget than planned for. "Although it is too early to determine the exact impact of a continuing resolution at Pantex, the National Nuclear Security Administration at Pantex's Site Office and BWXT Pantex are examining the impact of a lower budget using a worst-case scenario, which could include a workforce reduction," BWXT said. "BWXT Pantex is optimistic that the DOE and Congress will reach an agreement to ensure appropriate funding for Pantex." U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry said he, too, believes adequate funding will be available until the budget has been finalized. "One way or another I think some funding will be continued so that no layoffs are needed," he said. - Business Editor Jim McBride Copyright 2007 Amarillo Globe-News & Amarillo.com ***************************************************************** 62 Hanford News: PNNL back in performance track program This story was published Thursday, September 6th, 2007 the Herald staff The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has renewed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's membership in its National Environmental Performance Track program. PNNL has been a member of the program - which recognizes and rewards public and private facilities that demonstrate strong environmental performance - since 2004. Performance Track members set goals for continuous improvements in environmental performance beyond legal requirements. Since joining the program, PNNL has reduced the amount of water it uses in the city by 30 million gallons per year and reduced its energy consumption in office buildings by more than 10 billion BTUs per year. The organization also has reduced its hazardous waste generation and increased recycling of nonhazardous waste. During the past year, PNNL won a White House Closing the Circle award for reuse of electronics and other materials and the city of Richland's Green Project of the Year in the business category for its partnership with Connell Oil to bring E-85 and biodiesel fueling stations to the city. During the next three years, PNNL plans to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals it buys and fossil fuel consumption in vehicles. It also plans to adopt energy efficiency standards for its new buildings in design and partner with the Tapteal Greenway project to contribute to Amon Basin preservation efforts. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. 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