*****************************************************************
09/12/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.214
*****************************************************************
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 UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Welcomes Iran's Agreement To Address Outst
2 AFP: Russian government quits, opening way for Putin successor -
NUCLEAR REACTORS
3 US: Platts: TXU says US NRC approves transfer of nuke license to new
4 US: The Valley Advocate: Will the NRC Ignore This?
5 US: NRC: NRC Sends Special Inspection Team to McGuire Nuclear Plant
6 US: APP.COM: Nuclear should be left out of state energy master plan
7 US: JOURNAL NEWS: FEMA: Indian Point sirens inadequate
8 Mangalorean: US Congress will put 123 agreement to Hyde test
9 Bangkok Post: Engineer says Thailand needs nukes
10 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Maintenance and inspection of cooling towe
11 The Jakarta Post: Bad time, bad news
12 US: NRC: Carolina Power & Light Company; Notice of Consideration of
13 US: SFBG Politics Blog: Get your "No more nukes" on -
14 Reuters: Russia signs handover for China's No.2 reactor
15 Reuters: U.S., Vietnam agree to nuclear science exchange
16 Reuters: S.Korea to invest $6.14 bln in 2 nuclear plants
17 US: NRC: NRC to Solicit Public Comments on Sept. 19 as Part of India
18 US: NRC: Regulatory Issue Summaries - 2007
19 Baltic Times: Estonia gets “yellow light” on Finnish nuclear pla
20 IHT: US and Vietnam agree to work together on peaceful nuclear energ
21 US: The Citizens Voice: PPL fires and sues its siren installer
22 US: Post-Standard: Rough waters shut down nuke plant -
23 US: Star Phoenix: Areva eyes West's nuclear potential
24 US: The greening of nuclear energy
25 US: Charlotte Observer: Inspectors probing McGuire nuclear plant
NUCLEAR SECURITY
26 Illicit Trafficking, Theft Of Nuclear Materials 'a Persistent Proble
27 The Hindu News: IAEA providing security against nuke terrorism
NUCLEAR SAFETY
28 BBC NEWS: Nuclear hotspot among 'hottest'
29 US: NRC: NRC, Firm to Discuss Proposed Change to Decommissioning Pla
30 JOGJCC: New particle one of the hottest yet
31 Yokwe Net: Marshall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act an
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
32 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: It's the waste, stupid
33 US: Platts: Spot uranium price rangebound as market waits on auction
34 ReviewJournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Company preparing layoffs
35 US: Daily News Journal: County wants Allied Waste's pledge in writin
36 US: DailyBulletin.com: Rialto seeks $23M for perchlorate cleanup
37 Las Vegas Now: Nevada Goes Back-to-Court to Cut Off Water at Yucca M
38 Las Vegas SUN: Layoffs expected at Yucca Mountain with budget cuts
39 Sydney Morning Herald: MP urges uranium waste storage inquiry -
PEACE
40 [v911t] Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foile
41 Reuters: Russia tests superstrength bomb, military says
42 US: Reuters: Senate panel slashes European missile defense plan
43 UPI: Russia tests new non-atomic super bomb
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
44 DOE: Andrew Beck Appointed DOE Director of Public Affairs
45 DOE: DOEs Office of Science Launches Website for U.S. Role at
46 DOE: DOE Commits $610,000 to Support NGAs Effort to Further State-L
47 SF New Mexican: LANL: Rally for recognition
48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Fed manager: Money alone won't fix Y-12's p
49 Knoxville News Sentinel: Cleanup cost for K-25, K-27 now $757M
50 lamonitor.com: New directions invited for nuclear complex
51 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Lab Not Tracking All Plutonium
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
1 UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Welcomes Iran's Agreement To Address Outstanding Issues
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:00:23 -0400
UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG CHIEF WELCOMES IRANS AGREEMENT TO ADDRESS OUTSTANDING ISSUES
New York, Sep 12 2007 6:00PM
The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) today welcomed Irans agreement on a timeline to address
all outstanding issues relating to its nuclear programme.
<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/bog121007.html">IAEA Director
General Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters in Vienna, where
the agencys 35-member Board of Governors is meeting this week,
that the August agreement, the first such work plan Iran has consented
to, is an important step in the right direction.
Repeating his call for a double time-out in both of all enrichment-related
activities and of sanctions, he said that the earlier
we move from confrontation and distrust, to dialogue and confidence-building,
the better for Iran and for the international community.
In his most recent report regarding Iran, Mr. ElBaradei said that
while the IAEA is able to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear
material in the country, the agency still cannot verify certain
portions pertaining to the scope and nature of the Iranian
nuclear programme.
Regarding the work plan, the report noted that if Iran finally addresses
the long outstanding verification issues, the Agency should
be in a position to reconstruct the history of Irans nuclear
programme. It also called on the country to fully comply with the
IAEA as well as provide access to all necessary documents and
individuals.
Contrary to the decisions of the Security Council, Iran has not
suspended its enrichment related activities, having continued with
the operation of PFEP [Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant], and with the
construction and operation of FEP [Fuel Enrichment Plant], Mr.
ElBaradei noted. Iran is also continuing with its construction
of the IR-40 reactor and operation of the Heavy Water Production
Plant.
Irans nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern
since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear
activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Last December, the Security Council adopted a <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/res/1737%282006%29">resolution
banning
trade with Iran in all items, materials, equipment, goods and
technology which could contribute to the country's enrichment-related,
reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to the development
of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It tightened the measures
in March, banning arms sales and expanding the freeze on
assets.
2007-09-12 00:00:00.000
___________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/
_______________________________
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/
*****************************************************************
2 AFP: Russian government quits, opening way for Putin successor -
Wed Sep 12, 7:49 AM
MOSCOW (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation
Wednesday of his prime minister and government, paving the way for
the Russian leader to handpick a successor when he steps down next
year.
The resignation of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and the entire
cabinet -- shown on state-run Vesti television -- came three months
before parliamentary elections and less than six months ahead of a
presidential poll to replace Putin.
"I accept your resignation," Putin told Fradkov.
Officials were silent on Fradkov's replacement, but speculation is
intensifying that Putin ally and KGB veteran Sergei Ivanov,
currently the first deputy premier, will get the nod and instantly
become favourite for the presidency in 2008.
Putin himself made clear that the reshuffle lays the ground for his
successor.
"We all have to think together how to build the structure of the
government and leadership so that it better corresponds to the
pre-election period and prepares the country for the period after
the presidential election," Putin said.
Fradkov will retain his post until the State Duma, the lower house
of parliament, nominates a new candidate, Putin was quoted as saying
by RIA Novosti.
That must happen by September 26.
Russians remain largely in the dark as to who could replace Putin,
required by the constitution to step down at the end of his second
four-year term.
Not one big beast of Russian politics has declared his candidacy,
leaving the world struggling to predict the next head of the world's
leading energy producer and nuclear-weapons superpower -- a guessing
game that can resemble Soviet-era "Kremlinology."
The well-connected daily Vedomosti reported Wednesday that Ivanov,
54, would soon replace Fradkov.
"Sergei Ivanov could be appointed prime minister very shortly, a
source close to the presidential administration said yesterday. The
issue is practically decided," the daily wrote.
Ivanov has never said he will run for president, but is widely
considered a favourite, along with the other first deputy premier,
Dmitry Medvedev.
However, if he were raised to prime minister that would be seen as
all but anointing him for the top job.
Putin took the same route to the Kremlin: he was named premier in
1999, then elected president against little competition in 2000.
Like Putin, Ivanov has a long background in the feared Soviet KGB.
He has since served as defence minister, before being moved to the
post of first deputy premier with an emphasis on the state's growing
role in industry.
Also similar to Putin's pre-Kremlin career, Ivanov has never held
elected office.
"Preparation is under way for Ivanov to take the premier's post,"
Moscow Carnegie Centre analyst Alexei Malashenko told the radio. "It
repeats just about the same scenario as when Putin came to power."
Ivanov, a suave, fluent English speaker, is shown almost daily on
state-run television. During the summer, state television repeatedly
broadcast footage of him chairing a cabinet meeting when both Putin
and Fradkov were on holiday.
And last week Ivanov was even filmed playing bowls with Putin, a
photo-op that some observers saw as a sure sign that Putin had made
his choice of successor.
However, Kremlinology remains as murky as the days when the line-up
of leaders at Red Square parades was scrutinised for clues to
politburo policy.
"We are involved in deciphering signals from above. It's total
opaqueness in decision-making. It signifies the separation of the
state from society," Moscow Carnegie Centre analyst Masha Lipman
told AFP.
Copyright 2007 Yahoo! Canada Co. All Rights Reserved. Privacy
*****************************************************************
3 Platts: TXU says US NRC approves transfer of nuke license to new owners
2007-09-11
Washington (Platts)--11Sep2007
TXU on Tuesday said the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission had
approved its request to transfer the operating license for the
company's two-unit, 2,300 MW Commanche Peak nuclear facility 80
miles southwest of Dallas to Texas Energy Futures Holdings. TEFH
was formed by a group of investors led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
& Co. and TPG Capital that plans to take the Dallas-based utility
private in a $45 billion buyout.
TXU said NRC approval of the license transfer was the final
remaining regulatory approval the companies needed to obtain. The
merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to
completion of customary closing conditions contained in the
merger agreement.
Word of the NRC decision comes after TXU shareholders on
Friday overwhelmingly approved the buyout.
Also last week, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
approved portions of the deal over which it has jurisdiction.
FERC authorized the transfer of certain assets from TXU to TEFH,
the working name of the partnership that is taking TXU private.
For more news, request a free trial to Platts Electric Power
Daily at
http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story
Copyright 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
4 The Valley Advocate: Will the NRC Ignore This?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Update on Vermont Yankee
By Valley Editorial
Last week the Advocate published this photo of the cooling tower at
the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt. after it
partially caved in August 21. The disintegration of the tower was
followed August 30 by an automatic shutdown that took plant
technicians by surprise. The shutdown occurred during the testing of
a valve; the initial blank reaction by the plant’s operators
when they were questioned about it alarmed area residents even more
than the shutdown itself.
The plant is only five miles from the Massachusetts border. Last
year, with permission for a so-called power “uprate”
from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it began generating between
110 and 120 percent of the power it was originally designed to
generate, a situation some experts warned might cause components of
the plant to fail.
The recent incidents, especially the cooling tower collapse,
prompted Western Massachusetts state reps Chris Donelan of Orange,
Steve Kulik of Worthington and Denis Guyer of Dalton, as well as
Sen. Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, to demand an independent safety
assessment of the reactor. Some residents of Franklin County,
represented by Kulik, Donelan and Guyer, live within the
reactor’s 10-mile impact zone. The legislators wrote not only
to Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas but to Massachusetts Congressmen Sen.
Ted Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. John Olver, and to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, asking for the safety assessment and warning
that it might be unsafe to extend the plant’s license so it
can operate until 2032 instead of shutting down in 2012 as it has
been scheduled to do. Entergy, Inc., the owners of the plant, have
applied for the license extension.
The Massachusetts Congressmen wrote NRC chairman Dale Klein,
“…we find it very disconcerting that the NRC has not
yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation.
…Additionally, in light of past concerns regarding steam
dryer cracks and this most recent episode, we strongly urge the NRC
to expand the requested investigation to examine whether the
approved uprate has resulted in or illuminated any additional
plant-wide structural deficiencies that may pose a future safety
concern. It is vitally important that a holistic assessment be
completed in order to ensure that no future accidents occur that may
possibly endanger the public’s safety.”
If a widereaching disaster occurs at Vermont Yankee, it will be
because of the kind of buckpassing and bureaucratic divisions of
power that Donelan and his colleagues have run into for years when
they have written letters about safety concerns at Vermont Yankee,
sometimes without receiving any response. In particular, the Vermont
state Legislature and the Vermont Public Service Board have let
letters go unanswered, Donelan said, while the NRC writes
“polite letters saying they have things under control.
…It’s very frustrating when you live in communities
that could be affected and you have no say in what happens.”
Kulik is hopeful that the tower collapse will give the NRC a jolt.
“I don’t see how they can ignore this evidence,”
he said Monday, as the state legislators and Congressmen were
waiting for the agency’s response to their letters.
“These are pretty serious and inexcusable lapses at the
plant.
*****************************************************************
5 NRC: NRC Sends Special Inspection Team to McGuire Nuclear Plant to
Assess Incorrect Installation of Equipment
News Release - Region IV - 2007-044 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs,
Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011
www.nrc.gov
CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sending a Special Inspection
Team to the McGuire nuclear power plant, operated by Duke Energy
near Huntersville, N.C. to assess the circumstances surrounding
the discovery of some metal caps on oil coolers that had been
improperly installed. Those caps, called endbells, are designed
to direct the flow of water back through the coolers associated
with the plant’s centrifugal charging pumps. The endbells
were found to have been rotated either 45 or 90 degrees when
installed, reducing the flow of water through the oil coolers.
The NRC’s two-person Special Inspection Team will develop a
sequence of events; review the company’s response to the
issue; assess the plant staff’s analysis, maintenance and
corrective actions; assess the extent of condition at Duke
Energy’s Catawba plant near York, S.C.; and assess the
previous performance of the coolers.
NRC news releases are available through a free listserv
subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home
Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the
News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to
subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
*****************************************************************
6 APP.COM: Nuclear should be left out of state energy master plan |
Asbury Park Press Online
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
BY MATT ELLIOTT Post Comment
Exelon Corp. recently funded the creation of a group with the highly
misleading name of the New Jersey Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy
(NJ ACRE) Coalition. In reality, the group is little more than a
front for the nuclear industry.
The timing of the group's launch is no accident. This fall, Gov.
Corzine will unveil an energy master plan that will detail New
Jersey's energy future for the next 15 years. Exelon and PSE&G are
working to ensure the governor writes nuclear into the plan instead
of taking the state toward a more visionary new energy future.
A lot is on the line. Imagine that Corzine rejects the utility lobby
and uses his energy master plan to implement and build upon New
Jersey's recent renewable energy and global warming legislation.
Imagine tens of thousands of homes and businesses saving money and
generating their own clean energy with solar panels on their
rooftops. Imagine turbines that harness the state's vast wind
potential and produce no waste or harmful emissions. Imagine
high-performance homes, businesses and appliances that make use of
new innovation, reduce consumption and clear the air.
The governor could bring this vision to light and live up to his
promise to make New Jersey a leader in clean energy. Exelon and
PSE&G, however, hope he will uphold the status quo and continue to
power the state with dangerous, expensive and outdated energy
sources such as nuclear.
The Oyster Creek and Salem nuclear power plants are scheduled to
retire between 2009 and 2020. The plants pose tremendous
environmental, health and safety concerns and account for roughly 17
percent of New Jersey's electric generating capacity. And yet,
Exelon and PSE&G are lobbying to extend the plants' licenses and
build a new nuclear power plant 48 miles south of Philadelphia in
South Jersey.
Oyster Creek is the nation's oldest nuclear power plant and stores
its radioactive waste right on site in Lacey in Ocean County.
Evacuation in the event of an accident would be difficult, if not
impossible. Salem also stores its waste on site. Oyster Creek and
Salem both cause significant damage to New Jersey's marine
resources, with Salem alone killing about 3 billion Delaware River
fish each year.
Given these and other problems, it's clear why Exelon needs to spend
so much money to mislead the public and promote a dangerous,
outdated technology. In reality, new nuclear plants take at least 10
years to build and cost taxpayers, on average, roughly $4 billion
per plant.
Leading scientists, including NASA's James Hansen, have warned we
have less than a decade to develop and execute a plan to curb our
global warming emissions. What's more, despite decades of government
subsidies, nuclear is still more expensive than the emerging wind
technologies.
It is clear nuclear power will not solve our global warming crisis.
We can't allow Exelon, PSE&G or nuclear front groups to continue to
distract us from solving this problem in the cleanest, most
visionary way possible.
Luckily, we have the technology at hand to power our state with
clean, renewable energy sources and permanently retire the Oyster
Creek and Salem nuclear power plants by 2020. This spring,
Environment New Jersey released a peer-reviewed report that
demonstrates that by crafting a visionary energy master plan that
favors efficiency, supports the development of solar and wind
technologies, and provides incentives for business to conserve power
during peak demand periods, we can account for more than 8,200
megawatts of capacity and fill the gap left by Oyster Creek and
Salem. And we can do so in a way that supports the state's economy
and supports innovation instead of supporting the nuclear industry.
Matt Elliott is the clean energy and global warming advocate for
Environment New Jersey, Trenton.
Copyright 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
7 JOURNAL NEWS: FEMA: Indian Point sirens inadequate
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
By GREG CLARY
(Original publication: September 12, 2007)
BUCHANAN - Federal emergency officials will not approve the new
Indian Point siren system until changes are made to increase
overall reliability and ensure that the warning devices sound
steadily without being blocked by tree limbs and other foliage.
Plant officials said they disagree with key findings of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, but will work to resolve the
remaining open issues as quickly as possible.
In an eight-page letter sent today to the New York State
Emergency Management Office and copied to Entergy Nuclear, the
plant's owner and operator, FEMA officials said the new system
"is not adequate," because it does not meet basic agency
standards.
"The three major areas identified ... must be successfully
resolved before the new (system) can be placed into service,"
wrote Rebecca Thomson, FEMA's branch chief for radiological
emergency planning.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the regional head of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which relies on the Department of
Homeland Security and FEMA on emergency issues outside the walls
of 104 working nuclear plants across the nation.
Entergy spokesman Jim Steets said the company will continue to
push to get the $15-million system up and running as soon as
possible.
"We must thoroughly review the highly technical portions of the
letter on acoustics and audibility before commenting further on
specifics," Steets said.
Reach Greg Clary at 914-696-8566 or gclary@lohud.com.
Looks like the ball is in NRC's court once again. What will the
champions of the nuclear industry do now? Impose daily fines? Issue
another Notice of Violation full of weasel words that confuse and
exhaust even the most ardent fan of nuclear regulatory law? Or
simply delay until Friday October 5, after the petition/hearing
deadline and the public scoping meeting have passed and there's no
chance for the public to weigh in?
Apparently FEMA didn't even need their 45 day review period to
figure out that the latest installment in the "Travails of Tritium
Jim" soap opera presented more of the same from Entergy- substandard
work from people who don't give a damn.
Posted by: senasqua7 on Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:16 pm
Copyright 2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper
serving Westchester, Rockland and
Putnam Counties in New York.
*****************************************************************
8 Mangalorean: US Congress will put 123 agreement to Hyde test
Washington, Sep 13 (IANS) The 123 civil nuclear cooperation
agreement between India and the US takes some of the sting out of
the contentious Hyde Act from the Indian point of view, but the
US Congress will study the pact closely to see whether it is
consistent with the US legislation, say leading US experts.
"The US administration believes it is consistent," a
non-committal Teresita Schaffer, Director, South Asia Programme,
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told IANS
when asked how the 123 agreement squares with the Hyde Act that
has caused a political turmoil in New Delhi.
"There are things that are spelled out in the Hyde Act but not in
the 123 agreement (such as the testing issue), but they don't
look on this as an inconsistency."
But Sharon Squassoni, Senior Associate Non-proliferation
Programme, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes, "The
Hyde Act provided waivers for certain provisions of the 1954
Atomic Energy Act and not for others."
"For example, it provided a waiver from a halt in exports because
of India's 1998 nuclear test, but it would not suspend the
requirement to stop exports in case India tests again. So, not
only does the 123 agreement have to square with the Hyde Act, but
also all the other relevant provisions of the Atomic Energy Act."
There are certain provisions of the 123 agreement that don't
appear to meet the requirements of the Hyde Act or Atomic Energy
Act, she said.
"For example, giving India long-term, advance consent to
reprocess does not comport with congressional intentions when the
Atomic Energy Act (AEA) was amended in 1978 to include "prior
approval" to reprocess. But, this is not the first time an
Administration has done this (e.g., Japan, EURATOM) and there is
a dispute about what prior approval entails.
"Another example is provisions for approval of storage in the
agreement, which to my mind do not meet the requirement for
approval in advance by the United States (Section 123 a. (9) of
the AEA)," Squassoni told IANS.
"Similarly, Section 123 a. (4) of the AEA requires that the US
have the right of return if a non-nuclear weapon state tests a
nuclear explosive device, or terminates or abrogates an IAEA
safeguards agreement.
"The language regarding termination of cooperation or the right
of return in the India agreement does not mention any of these
circumstances. Rather, it goes on at length about both parties
taking into account whether there is a changed security
environment or whether actions (i.e., tests) were in response to
similar actions by other states," Squassoni said.
That language seems to imply that mitigating circumstances (e.g.,
a nuclear test by Pakistan) would encourage the continuation of
cooperation. Moreover, the provisions of the 123 agreement only
seem to allow each party one year in which to request the return
of items, whereas there are no such restrictions in the AEA.
Squassoni said there are other areas of conflict too citing
"sense of Congress that the US should not support reprocessing,
specifically with respect to India; that if the US has to cut off
cooperation that it should encourage other NSG members to do the
same, and that fuel supplies for Indian reactors should only be
for reasonable operating loads (i.e., not for the entire life
cycle). In all these cases, the 123 agreement contradicts the
intentions of Congress."
Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association,
agrees. There is nothing in 123 that's a clear violation of Hyde
Act, but it's only technical conformance. "It doesn't take a
genius to see how it contradicts the clear purpose and intention
of Hyde Act."
Essentially US concessions to India under 123 cover three points:
the right to terminate the deal if India conducts a nuclear test;
the reprocessing of spent fuel produced from US-origin nuclear
fuel; and assurances of the supply of nuclear fuel to India in
the event that India suffers a disruption in supply.
The Bush administration argues its commitment to help India in
securing fuel supplies if New Delhi suffers any disruption in
fuel supplies and develop a strategic fuel reserve are political
commitments and not legal commitments, but it's not clear what it
has committed to do, he said.
A clear exemption to India from Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG)
guidelines as sought by India technically opens door for other
countries like Russia which have less stringent conditions,
Kimball said, suggesting in this "India has a potential key to
other suppliers."
Each side interprets fuel supply assurances in a manner
politically convenient for them, he said. "It's not possible to
have a substantial agreement with different interpretations. It
could set us up in a 1974 like situation," when US stopped fuel
supplies for the Tarapur reactor after India conducted its first
"Peaceful Nuclear Explosion".
Accusing Washington's chief interlocutor on the nuclear deal,
Nick Burns and his India government colleagues of being "two
faced" by selective emphasis for their domestic audiences, he
said, "that simply makes no sense."
Kimball was "sure some nations are going to balk" at New Delhi's
demand for India specific IAEA safeguards as also a "clean
exemption" from NSG guidelines.
In his view the "deeply flawed deal" could still be fixed by the
Congress by applying conditions to the 123 agreement though the
Bush administration will only be seeking an up or down vote on
it. "My prediction would be a 50-50 chance 123 would not come up
until early 2008."
However, Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies
Centre, the Heritage Foundation commends it to the US Congress
noting that "the 123 agreement was painstakingly negotiated for
over six months and is a compromise in every sense of the word."
The US legislature is likely to study carefully over the next few
months through a series of open hearings and closed consultations
with the Bush Administration how it squares with the Hyde Act,
she said.
"The text of the agreement carefully ensures that the US stays in
line with its NPT obligations and with the requirements of the
Hyde Act, while addressing key Indian concerns that threatened to
derail the landmark initiative altogether.
"The Administration ultimately accepted Indian demands regarding
the right to reprocess nuclear fuel but distinguished between
this right and an entitlement to US assistance in the pursuit of
reprocessing activities.
"From the US perspective, ensuring that the US maintained the
'right of recapture' (the ability to demand back any US-origin
nuclear fuel or technology) in the event of a future Indian
nuclear test was a very important part of the agreement.
"The US Congress remains concerned, however, about related
clauses in the agreement that say the US will help India develop
a "strategic reserve" of nuclear fuel for the entire lifetime of
the reactors.
"The bottom line, however, is that Section 106 of the Hyde Act
makes clear that the US waiver allowing for civil nuclear
cooperation will cease in the event of an Indian nuclear test,"
Curtis said.
IANS
*****************************************************************
9 Bangkok Post: Engineer says Thailand needs nukes
Thailand needs nuclear-powered electricity generating plants due to
the rising demand for electricity and to help cushion the impact of
global warming, a board member of the Council of Engineers said
Wednesday.
Kamol Takabut said during a seminar that a feasibility study on
constructing a nuclear-powered electricity plant would be submitted
to the government next month and it would be left to the new elected
government to decide whether to go ahead with its construction.
Mr Kamol said the study did not specify a location for the plant to
be built but he said he believed the most appropriate area should be
close to the ocean because nuclear electricity plants consume large
amounts of water to reduce heat in the system.
Thailand is now producing as much as two-thirds of its electricity
from natural gas and may face a power shortage in the future even as
natural gas may also contribute to global warming, he said.
Currently, Thailand consumes as much as 1,400 megawatts of
electricity annually and there is a need for the country to find an
alternative source of energy for future, he said, adding that the
fuel should also not emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In its 15-year electricity development plan, the Thai government in
June this year gave the green light to build the country's first
nuclear-powered plant in 2020, Mr Kamol added. (TNA)
Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2007
*****************************************************************
10 Brattleboro Reformer: Maintenance and inspection of cooling towers
inadequate, says state engineer
BOB AUDETTE
BRATTLEBORO - Inspection of Vermont Yankee's cooling towes has been
inadequate, wrote the state's new nuclear engineer, in an e-mail to
Governor James Douglas.
Uldis Vanags also found fault with the company's maintenance
practices related to the plant's 22 cooling cells. He wrote that
plant inspectors did not take the time to remove parts of the
cooling cells that could have made an more thorough inspection
possible.
"The root cause evaluation is revealing that the inspection of the
towers has not been adequate," wrote Vanags in his e-mail. "Portions
of the columns where the fill is stuffed are not visible unless the
fill is removed and some of these areas are showing degradation
requiring repair."
As first reported in the Burlington Free Press, Vanags blamed the
Aug. 21 collapse on rotted wood and rusted carbon steel bolts used
to hold together wooden support joints.
At the same time, wrote Vanags, the collapse of cooling cell 4 had
nothing to do with the plant's recent uprate approval, which allowed
Entergy, the owners of the plant, to increase the power output of
the 35-year old nuclear power plant.
"The root cause of this is not straight forward, but it is not
uprate related," wrote Vanags wrote in a Sept. 5 e-mail
to state Public Service Department colleagues and top aides to Gov.
Jim Douglas.
Entergy has planned a tentative news conference for Thursday, where
it will release its findings, both on the tower collapse and a
recent emergency shutdown.
One local anti-nuclear activist was not surprised at Vanags
conclusion that the inspection of the cooling towers was inadequate.
"We raised the issue of the structural integrity of the cooling
towers during uprate hearings," said Diana Sidebotham, of Putney,
the president of New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution. "That
intervention did produce what we were told was a greater analysis
and inspection. It seems they fell short on the inspection as we
suspected they would."
The New England Coalition's technical consultant, Ray Shadis, has
complained that Entergy inspects the interior of the cooling cells
using cameras, and can't se everything that needs to be viewed.
Entergy has been replacing the carbon steel bolts on a scheduled
basis with stainless steel bolts, designed to resist corrosion.
*****************************************************************
11 The Jakarta Post: Bad time, bad news
Opinion September 13, 2007
Soeharto repeatedly won condemnation from media organizations around
the world for muzzling journalists during much of his time as
president. More than nine years after he was forced to step down,
the ailing and aging former president is still taunting the media.
The Supreme Court has awarded Soeharto a hefty Rp 1 trillion (US$106
million) settlement from Time Asia magazine, which in 1999 published
a series of articles about massive corruption scandals involving the
former first family.
The American-based weekly magazine, its editors, as well as Hong
Kong and Indonesian-based journalists, have been ordered to pay
damages for "destroying the good name" of the former strongman. The
court also ordered Time to apologize to Soeharto by taking out huge
advertisements in several publications around the world.
The Supreme Court decision is final. There is no recourse for Time
but to pay up. The only way it can avoid paying the penalty is to
file for a case review, and this is only possible if Time lawyers
can find new evidence to support its defense for publishing the
articles.
Although the odds are very much stacked against the magazine, we
wish to let its owners and journalists know that we, and many in the
media industry and journalism profession in Indonesia, are with them
and will support their fight to have the ruling overturned, one way
or another.
For, unless we challenge the Supreme Court, the verdict will have
far-reaching negative consequences for the life of this nation, in
terms of the integrity of the Indonesian courts in dispensing
justice, in terms of the media's working environment and in terms of
the ongoing anti-graft drive.
The Supreme Court, which has been beset with allegations of
corruption, has again shot itself in the foot. The three justices on
the panel hearing the Time case overturned earlier rulings by
district and high courts, both of which dismissed the lawsuit filed
by Soeharto.
This inconsistency between the lower courts and the highest court of
the land defies logic. It fuels speculation that justice goes to the
highest bidder, or in this particular case, to the more politically
connected.
The Supreme Court is doing itself a great disservice. This was the
same court that last year acquitted Tempo editors on criminal
defamation charges, insisting that anyone with a complaint against
the media must refer to the 1999 Press Law. That law accommodates
the right of reply for those who feel defamed.
This is a legal course that Soeharto (or his lawyers) never pursued
with Time. The celebrated 2006 ruling for Tempo should have been
considered by the justices who heard Soeharto vs. Time case.
The latest Supreme Court ruling will have a chilling effect on the
media and the journalism profession. No media outlet has the kind of
money that the court ordered Time to pay, and most would fold under
such a ruling. Many newsrooms will now shy away from reporting
controversial stories or conducting their own investigations into
corruption scandals and other forms of abuse. Public interest, the
people's right to know, has been severely damaged.
The Indonesian media, freed from the censorship and harassment that
Soeharto inflicted during his 30-year reign, has played a role in
unveiling and reporting power abuse scandals since the end of the
corrupt New Order regime in 1998.
Tempo magazine, one of the few local publications with a strong
investigative reporting tradition, has uncovered many cases of
abuses of power before the authorities stepped in. Consider it one
of the public duties of the media in a democracy.
Time's 1999 articles headlined "Soeharto Inc." should be seen as
part of the drive to make the former president and his children
accountable for their actions. The article sought to answer the
question that was in the minds of many people, then and today: how
much money is the Cendana family worth, and how much of that wealth
is legitimate?
More than nine years after he stepped down, Soeharto remains a free
man, as do his children who continue to control the business empires
they built during the reign of their father largely through family
connections.
Once again, the Indonesian people are the losers. Soeharto and his
children may soon be laughing all the way to the bank to cash in the
Time check. Even though he is no longer president, Soeharto has
outwitted us once again, with the help of friends still in powerful
places.
Dear Mr. Sovacool ! We read your article with much concern as the
names of the countries could be exchanged - Indonesia against South
Africa. Only here in South Africa the nuclear madness goes even much
further. They are busy planning to establish at least 2 new big
nuclear plants each of 1600 MW and 25 nuclear pebblebed reactors.
And to open a number of new huge uranium mines. But here is not even
a warning voice. We'll mail you another document which you might
find of interest - it's the brand new hemisphere technology for wind
power generation. Where we hold the Licence for Africa and the USA /
Canada. But other options are possible. Best Regards Peter
Grossmann, General Manager Alternative Energy S.A.(Pty)Ltd
Johannesburg - Hamburg
The only way to support a growing world population is by going
nuclear now, and developing thermonuclear fusion as the energy of
the future. Civilian nuclear energy has been denied to developing
sector nations by an oligarchical faction that wants to cut back
population, particular the black and brown population.
Decentralized, low energy flux density "soft" energies are not
capable of powering an industrial economy.
If your view of the future is to enable all the world's population
to have a good standard of living so that children are able to
develop their minds and not rely on muscle power, then advanced
nuclear power plants are the way to get there. Alternative energies
will send people back to the Stone Age.
The fourth generation nuclear plants, such as the Pebble Bed
Modular Reactor being built by South Africa, are meltdown proof,
super safe, plants that are smaller and can be modularly produced
and added to the electricity grid as needed. Therefore, they are
less costly and can be put on line much faster.
Since the late 1960s, entire generations have been brainwashed into
an anti-science anti-industry culture that has lost the concept of
what it means to be truly human. We need to revive the vision of the
Atoms for Peace period, when it was assumed that if there were
problems, man would find solutions, and that mankind would continue
to make progress. We need to think big, not small, as Mr. Sovacool
advises.
*****************************************************************
12 NRC: Carolina Power & Light Company; Notice of Consideration of
Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No
Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a
Hearing
FR Doc E7-17971
[Federal Register: September 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 176)]
[Notices] [Page 52167-52169] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12se07-121]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-302]
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No.
DPR-72 issued to the Carolina Power & Light Company (FPC, the licensee)
for operation of the Crystal River Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 3 (CR-3),
located in Citrus County, Florida.
The proposed amendment would change the Technical Specifications
(TSs) related to low pressure injection, reactor building spray, decay
heat closed cycle cooling water, and decay heat seawater systems to
extend the allowable completion time associated with one inoperable
train of these systems.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the
Commission's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), section 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in
accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident
previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or
(3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required
by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below:
1. Does not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Part of the proposed changes introduces a Condition for an
inoperable LPI [low pressure injection] with an AOT [allowed outage
time] of seven days, introduces another Condition for an inoperable
BS train coincident with an inoperable Containment Cooling train
with an AOT of 72 hours, and extends the AOT for one inoperable BS
train, DC train, and/or RW train to seven days. These systems are
not initiators for any accident previously evaluated. The
consequences of an event during the extended Completion Time are no
more severe than the consequences of the same event during the
current Completion Time. Therefore, the consequences of an event
previously analyzed are not increased, so the proposed change does
not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Another part of the proposed changes eliminates second
Completion Times from the CR-3 ITS [Improved TSs]. Second Completion
Times are not an initiator to any accident previously evaluated. As
a result, the probability of an accident previously evaluated is not
affected. The consequences of an accident during the revised
Completion Time are no different from the consequences of the same
accident during the existing Completion Times. As a result, the
consequences of an accident previously evaluated are not affected by
this change. The proposed changes do not alter or prevent the
ability of SSCs [structures, systems, or components] from performing
their intended function to mitigate the consequences of an
initiating event within the assumed acceptance limits. The proposed
changes do not affect the source term, containment isolation, or
radiological release assumptions used in evaluating the radiological
consequences of an accident previously evaluated. Further, the
proposed changes do not increase the types or amounts of radioactive
effluent that may be released offsite, nor significantly increase
individual or cumulative occupational/public radiation exposures.
The proposed changes are consistent with the safety analysis
assumptions and resultant consequences.
The proposed editorial/administrative changes remove obsolete
information and provide clarification. These changes do not affect
any system that is an initiator for any accidents previously
evaluated. The consequences of an accident previously evaluated are
not affected. The proposed changes do not alter or prevent the
ability of SSCs from performing their intended function to mitigate
the consequences of an initiating event. The proposed editorial/
administrative changes do not affect the source term, containment
isolation, or radiological release assumptions used in evaluating
the radiological consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Further, the proposed editorial/administrative changes do not
increase the types or amounts of radioactive effluent that may be
released offsite, nor significantly increase individual or
cumulative occupational/public radiation exposures. The proposed
changes are consistent with the safety analysis assumptions and
resultant consequences.
Therefore, the proposed changes do not involve a significant
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident
previously evaluated.
2. Does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of
accident from any accident previously evaluated.
The proposed changes do not involve a physical alteration of the
plant (i.e., no new or different type of equipment will be
installed) or a change in the methods governing normal plant
operation. These changes do not alter any assumptions made in the
safety analysis.
Therefore, the proposed changes do not create the possibility of
a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously
evaluated.
3. Does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of
safety.
One part of the proposed changes introduces a Condition for an
inoperable LPI with an AOT of seven days, introduces another
Condition for an inoperable BS train coincident with an inoperable
Containment Cooling train with an AOT of 72 hours, and extends the
AOT for one inoperable BS train, DC train, and/or RW train to seven
days. An evaluation presented in Reference 8.3, and accepted by the
NRC, concluded that the extended Completion Time did not result in a
significant reduction in the margin of safety. An analysis performed
by FPC also drew the same conclusion. Therefore, extending the AOT
to seven days for these components does not involve a significant
reduction in a margin of safety.
The proposed change to delete the second Completion Time from
the CR-3 ITS does not alter the manner in which safety limits,
limiting safety system settings or LCOs [limiting conditions for
operation] are determined. The safety analysis acceptance criteria
are not affected by this change. The proposed changes will not
result in plant operation in a configuration outside of the design
basis.
Similarly, the proposed editorial/administrative changes do not
alter the manner in which safety limits, limiting safety system
settings or LCOs are determined. The safety analysis acceptance
criteria are not affected by this change. As such, the proposed
editorial/administrative changes will not result in plant operation
in a configuration outside of the design basis.
[[Page 52168]]
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant
reduction in a margin of safety.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed
determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final
determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment
involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-
day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day
comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result,
for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the
Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment
period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a
notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant
Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will
occur very infrequently.
Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rulemaking,
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services,
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and
page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays.
Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area
O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to
intervene is discussed below.
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the
licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of
the amendment to the subject facility operating license and any person
whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to
participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request
for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a
hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic
Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR Part 2. Interested persons should
consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the
Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area
O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/.
If a request for a hearing or petition
for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or a
presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief
Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel,
will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the
Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the
following general requirements: (1) The name, address and telephone
number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the
proceeding on the requestors/petitioner's interest. The petition must
also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor
seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for
the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert
opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The
petitioner/requestor must also provide references to those specific
sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion.
The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine
dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact.
Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the
amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if
proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner/requestor
who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding,
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene,
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the
hearing.
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The
final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If
the final determination is that the amendment request involves no
significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the
request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance
of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment
request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held
would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be
entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the presiding
officer of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition,
request and/or the contentions should be granted based on a balancing
of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must
be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the
Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications
Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services:
Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor,
[[Page 52169]]
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852,
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (3) E-mail addressed to
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at (301)
415-1101, verification number is (301) 415-1966. A copy of the request
for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to
the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be
transmitted either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725
or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. A copy of the request for
hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to
David T. Conley, Associate General Counsel II--Legal Department,
Progress Energy Service Company, LLC, Post Office Box 1551, Raleigh,
North Carolina 27602, attorney for the licensee.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for amendment dated January 22, 2007, which is available
for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White
Flint North, File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's
(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of September 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda L. Mozafari,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-2, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-17971 Filed 9-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
13 SFBG Politics Blog: Get your "No more nukes" on -
photo courtesy of wolf.like.me on flickr
That’s right, break out the picket signs -- your favorite
apocalypse is on the reprise. Irvine Rep. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore
has introduced legislation to repeal the 31-year ban on new nuclear
power plants and launched a ballot initiative. On Sept. 12, the
state’s Republican party unanimously voted to support the bill for
more nuclear power, which is being touted as safe, clean, reliable,
and affordable -- all adjectives the industry has yet to merit.
It's also being called “emissions-free,” a handy moniker for a
power source in our globally-warmed future. It's being promoted by
pro-clearcutting, pro-GMO "environmentalists" that happen to pull
paychecks from the nuclear industry.
Pro-nukes fans are now gathering the 433,000 signatures needed to
put the bill on California's June 2008 ballot.
A 1976 California state law banned new nuclear plants until a
permanent storage facility for the radioactive waste was
established. Meanwhile, said permanent facility – Nevada’s Yucca
Mt. -- suffered another setback on Sept. 4 when a federal judge
ruled the state could suspend water permits for drilling at the site
– further delaying a project that is already seven years overdue.
Spent-fuel nuclear waste is currently stored on the sites of nuclear
power plants – which has raised concerns about safety from
terrorist attacks. CA Attorney General Jerry Brown recently filed a
petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, arguing that its
waste confidence ruling is inadequate – meaning, we don’t have
much faith in your determination that the pools of water where used
up nuclear fuel rods bob like swimming pool toys are safe.
Posted by Amanda Witherell on September 11, 2007 04:46 PM | Permalink
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.sfbg.com/mt-other/mt-tb.cgi/1392
*****************************************************************
14 Reuters: Russia signs handover for China's No.2 reactor
Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:55PM BST
MOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Russian state atomic energy agency
Rosatom has signed over control of the number two nuclear reactor at
an atomic power station on China's eastern coast, a spokesman said
on Wednesday.
Atomstroiexport, Rosatom's building contractor arm, has built two
1.075-gigawatt reactors in Tianwan, in Jiangsu province, in a $1.6
billion project led by state-run China National Nuclear Corp.
The first reactor began commercial operation in May, and the second
of the four planned units came on line in July after missing an
earlier target of late 2006.
China plans to install 40,000 gigawatts of nuclear power generating
capacity by 2020, an investment of $50 billion in 30 reactors across
the country, to fuel the energy demands of its expanding economy.
The turn-key operation at Tianwan was hampered by cracks in pipes at
steam generators in plant No. 1, took months to fix, and brought in
closer scrutiny from China's nuclear safety bureau.
The cracks posed little danger but lowered generating capacity, a
senior industry official familiar with the Tianwan operations said
at the time.
Russia initially denied there were delays, pointing to final testing
procedures, and on Wednesday said that the handover marks the
beginning of a guaranteed two-year period of operation at plant No.
2.
"This means that all of Atomstroiexport's contractual obligations in
constructing the first phase of the Tianwan power station are
complete," a Rosatom spokesman told reporters.
Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
15 Reuters: U.S., Vietnam agree to nuclear science exchange
Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:16PM BST
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday said
it agreed to a nuclear science exchange with Vietnam to share
up-to-date nuclear safety and nonproliferation practices with the
communist nation's civilian power program.
The U.S. Department of Energy said the agreement calls for
scientists from its Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge national
laboratories to work with their Vietnamese counterparts on
procedures for reactor operations, radiation protection,
environmental monitoring and radioactive waste disposition.
No transfer of technology or equipment would take place.
The two former enemies will also collaborate on nuclear safeguards
and regulatory controls under the agreement signed by the
department's National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) and
Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology.
Vietnam is the ninth country to reach such a civilian nuclear power
agreement with the United States, according to NNSA. The others are
Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand, Romania, Mexico and
Argentina.
The United States has been courting closer relations with Vietnam in
hopes of nudging Hanoi into joining the Bush administration's war on
terrorism.
In December, Washington made Vietnam eligible to receive nonlethal
military equipment for humanitarian disaster relief and search and
rescue systems.
Hanoi also participated in an Asia-Pacific forum of the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) last March. U.S. President
George W. Bush established the PSI in 2003 as part of the U.S.
response to the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Continued...
Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
16 Reuters: S.Korea to invest $6.14 bln in 2 nuclear plants
Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:02AM EDT
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will invest 5.73 trillion won
($6.14 billion) to build two nuclear plants of 1.4 million
kilowatts each by 2013-2014, Seoul's energy ministry said on
Wednesday.
The plants will cut the use of fuel oil used for power generation
by 4.2 million tones annually.
This is equivalent to saving 2.84 billion won per day on fuel
oil, the ministry added.
Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
17 NRC: NRC to Solicit Public Comments on Sept. 19 as Part of Indian
Point License Renewal Application Review
News Release - Region I - 2007-044 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs,
Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
www.nrc.gov
CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610)
337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
Public comments on potential environmental impacts from a license
renewal for the Indian Point nuclear power plant will be accepted
by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff at two meetings on
Wednesday, Sept. 19. The meetings are scheduled to begin at 1:30
p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, at the Colonial Terrace catering
facility, 119 Oregon Road in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
Directions to the facility are available at:
www.colonialterracecaterers.com . Those planning to attend are
advised that parking may be limited.
An “open house” will be held 1 hour before each
meeting to provide citizens with an opportunity to talk
informally with agency staff. It is important to note, however,
that formal comments must be expressed during the transcribed
meetings.
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., which operates the Buchanan
(Westchester County), N.Y., plant, applied to the NRC on April
30, 2007 to extend the operating licenses for the two-reactor
plant by 20 years each. The current operating license for Indian
Point 2 is due to expire on Sept. 28, 2013 and Indian Point
3’s on Dec. 12, 2015.
As part of its review of the application, the NRC staff will
prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The
comments provided at the meetings on Sept. 19 will be considered
as that report is being developed. Once a draft version of the
report is completed, the NRC staff will once again meet with the
public to solicit comments on that document. Following
consideration of those comments, a final EIS will be prepared.
More information on the Indian Point license renewal application
is available on the NRC web site at:
www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/indian-p
oint.html
NRC news releases are available through a free listserv
subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home
Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the
News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to
subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.
September 12, 2007
*****************************************************************
18 NRC: Regulatory Issue Summaries - 2007
The following links on this page are to documents in Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF). See our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools
page for more information. For successful viewing of PDF documents
on our site please be sure to use the latest version of Adobe.
Document Number Date Title
RIS-07-18 09/07/07 Data for Updating the Interim Inventory of
Radioactive Sources
RIS-07-13 08/31/07 Verification of the Authenticity of Materials
Possession Licenses
RIS-07-21 08/23/07 Adherence to Licensed Power Limits
RIS-07-20 08/23/07 Implementation of Primary-to-secondary Leakage
Performance Criteria
RIS-07-19 08/20/07 Process for Communicating Clarifications of Staff
Positions Provided in Regulatory Guide 1.205 Concerning Issues
Identified During the Pilot Application of National Fire Protection
Association Standard 805
RIS-07-17 07/12/07 Preparation and Scheduling of Operator Licensing
Examinations RIS-07-16 08/23/07 Implementation of the Requirements
of 10 CFR 54.37(b) for Holders of Renewed Licenses
RIS-07-12 06/26/07 Changes to the Unplanned Scrams with Loss of
Normal Heat Removal Performance Indicator
RIS-07-15 06/05/07 NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2007-15 Unescorted
Access to Materials for Non-Manufacturer and Distributor Service
Providers
RIS-07-14 06/05/07 NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2007-14
Fingerprinting Requirements for Licensees Implementing the Increased
Control Order
RIS-07-10 05/15/07 NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2007-10,
Subscriptions to New List Server for Automatic Notifications of
Medical-related Generic Communications, Federal Register Notices And
Newsletters
RIS-07-09 05/04/07 Examples of Recurring Requests for Additional
Information (RAIS) for 10 Cfr Part 71 and 72 Applications
RIS-07-08 04/16/07 Updated Licensing Submittal Information to
Support The Design-centered Licensing Review Approach
RIS-07-07 04/05/07 Clarification of Increased Controls for Licensees
That Possess Collocated Radioactive Material During Transportation
Activities
RIS-07-06 03/22/07 Regulatory Guide 1.200 Implementation
RIS-07-05 03/20/07 Status and Plans for Implementation of Nrc
Regulatory Authority for Certain Naturally-occurring and
Accelerator-produced Radioactive Material
RIS-07-04 03/09/07 Personally Identifiable Information Submitted to
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
RIS-07-03 03/01/07 Ionizing Radiation Warning Symbol
RIS-07-02 02/02/07 Clarification of NRC Guidance for Emergency
Notifications During Quickly Changing Events
RIS-07-01 01/10/07 Clarification of NRC Guidance for Maintaining a
Standard Emergency Action Level Scheme
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
*****************************************************************
19 Baltic Times: Estonia gets “yellow light” on Finnish nuclear plant
Sep 12, 2007
By TBT staff and wire reports
FUTURE POWER: The Olkiluoto plant, under construction, is the
world's first third-generation plant (Photo: TVO)
TALLINN – Estonia is keen to join Finland in the contruction of
new nuclear power plants.
Estonia would definitely like to participate in proposed new Finnish
plants and is seeking more energy cooperation with Helsinki, Prime
Minister Andrus Ansip said Sep. 12.
Ansip also suggested that Estonia would be interested in building a
second 350 megawatt undersea cable between Finland and Estonia,
dubbed Estlink-2.
"The Prime Minister confirmed the Estonian state's interest in
building Estlink-2 as well as participating in Finland's sixth
nuclear power plant," the prime minister's office said in a
statement.
Ansip made his comments in talks with his Finnish counterpart, Matti
Vanhanen, during two days of meetings on the Estonian Island of
Saaremaa.
Estonia, in common with the rest of the region, has been looking for
ways to ensure the security and future cost effectiveness of its
energy supply, as most of the country's present electricity is
generated by burning oil shale, which produces large amounts of
carbon dioxide. With European Union rules forcing Estonia to reduce
significantly its greenhouse gas emisisons, nuclear power seems one
of the few viable alternatives.
Estonian and Finnish energy companies have already built Estlink-1,
a 350 megawatt undersea power cable between the two countries.
A Finnish industry consortium has been charged with building a fifth
nuclear power plant in Finland, a giant 1,600-megawatt reactor at
Olkiluoto.There are no concrete plans for a sixth nuclear power
station yet, but sites scrutinised during the Olkiluoto planning
process could well be revisited.
Estonia is also involved in a proposed nuclear power plant in
Lithuania, but with progress on that stalling amid wrangles over
ownership shares and precisely how many partners will be involved,
Finland looks like a much more reliable and less convoluted source
of nuclear power.
Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen did not rule out the
possibility of future collaboration. "Estonia has very good reasons.
I consider it one possible question for the future", Vanhanen said
prior to his meeting with Ansip, describing the Finnish position as
showing a “yellow light” – not red but not yet green - to
Estonia regarding nuclear cooperation.
Estonian power company Eesti Energia was quick to reinforce
Ansip’s pro-nuclear stance. Speaking in Finland Sep. 12, company
chief executive Sandor Liive said that Eesti Energia's stake in the
Finnish venture would likely be smaller than in the Ignalina,
Lithuania plant, but could contribute significantly to Estonia’s
power needs.
Nuclear power could in the future account for about one-third of
Eesti Energia's electricity sales and make up approximately 500
megawatts of the firm's energy portfolio, Liive added.
*****************************************************************
20 IHT: US and Vietnam agree to work together on peaceful nuclear energy -
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Published: September 12, 2007
WASHINGTON: The United States and Vietnam have agreed to work
together on efforts to use nuclear energy peacefully, U.S. officials
said Wednesday.
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said it would help
Vietnam as the country prepares to develop civilian nuclear power.
The accord with Vietnam was signed last month.
William Tobey, an official with the administration, said the
arrangement will help Vietnam use civilian nuclear energy while
reducing the possible spread of nuclear technology.
Copyright 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
21 The Citizens Voice: PPL fires and sues its siren installer
Wilkes-Barre, PA
- DAVID FALCHEK
09/12/2007
PPL Corp. has fired and sued the Boston company it hired to replace
the siren system around the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem
Township.
PPL claims the siren vendor, Acoustic Technology, failed to deliver
on the contract because some of the 76 warning sirens it installed
in a 25-mile radius around the plant failed to sound during tests
earlier this year.
Attempts to reach Acoustic Technology were unsuccessful.
PPL's existing siren system, installed 25 years ago, continues to be
fully functional and in use until the company selects a new vendor.
The sirens are intended to alert the public to emergencies at the
plant or in the community.
The Citizens Voice 2007
Copyright 1995 - 2007 Townnews.com All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
22 Post-Standard: Rough waters shut down nuke plant -
Syracuse.com
Posted by Charles McChesney September 12, 2007 12:30PM
Categories: Breaking News, Oswego County
The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant was manually shut down
this morning when debris from a stormy Lake Ontario blocked cooling
water for the plant's equipment.
The Scriba plant was shutdown around 6:30 a.m., said plants
spokesperson Bonnie Bostian.
"Lake Ontario was turbulent," she said and debris of some sort got
into the cooling-water system, fouling screens used to filter the
water that cools the plant.
"They are going to restore the traveling screens," Bostian said.
She said no damage was done to the plant by the incident and it
presented no danger to the public.
2007 Syracuse Online, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site
*****************************************************************
23 Star Phoenix: Areva eyes West's nuclear potential
canada.com where perspectives connect
'Friendly atmosphere' regarding nuclear energy spreading, Laferrere
says
Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
It's late afternoon in Saskatoon and Armand Laferrere's flight back
home to Toronto doesn't leave for a couple of hours yet.
The president of Areva Canada Inc. doesn't seem to mind the wait.
The day is typically busy for the smartly dressed Frenchman --
leaving Toronto in the early hours of the day for a morning business
meeting in Alberta, and then hopping on another plane to give an
afternoon presentation to the Canadian Nuclear Workers Council in
Saskatoon before heading home.
There's no doubt Laferrere spent his spare time on the phone to
colleagues across the country. When your boss controls the world's
biggest nuclear power company from France, running the company that
oversees Areva operations in Canada, including its uranium mining
operations in Saskatchewan through Areva Resources Canada Inc., it
isn't a post for a lazy executive.
Laferrere is talking about excited American customers who have
already purchased equipment to compliment Areva's newest reactor,
the EPR, although it's still in the licensing process. The model is
being built in Finland and France, he explained, and is a
third-generation plant that has buyers eagerly awaiting the day they
can purchase the technology. The EPR, perhaps, is the model he would
like to see in Western Canada.
"Saskatchewan has been pro-nuclear for a while because uranium is
involved with it. The friendly atmosphere for nuclear in
Saskatchewan, which we're already used to, seems to be spreading
even further west, which is good news for the industry," Laferrere
said. "I think public opinion is moving at astounding rates right
now. Alberta is very seriously considering a nuclear build. Even
British Columbia, which used to be very anti-nuclear, is starting to
think about it -- much quicker than we thought."
Sitting in a nearly empty hotel conference room, Laferrere makes it
clear that when the opportunity arises, he would like to see an
Areva reactor in Western Canada. With the recent nuclear
announcement coming from Alberta, Laferrere is keeping a close eye
on the situation. Although plans for a nuclear reactor there aren't
a done deal, Calgary-based Energy Alberta Corp. said its partner,
Atomic Energy of Canada, would use Candu reactor technology if its
applications are approved.
"We're interested in working in Alberta, definitely, and we're
continuing contacts for that," he said. "The business model is not
the kind of business model Areva would use; we would rather partner
with an existing utility. But still everything that goes on in the
industry is positive for the industry, and I'm watching it very
closely. We just wouldn't do it this way."
With buzz around the nuclear horizon in the West, Laferrere notes
that without uranium mining in Saskatchewan, Areva would be at a
significant disadvantage in the industry. Though a provincial
election could alter some contacts in his address book, he doubts
any major changes would take place if a new party came into power.
The focus for Areva in Saskatchewan is based on three Es:
Environment, employment and education. The company is working on
returning the defunct mine at Cluff Lake back to its natural
state. The long-term project has cost $70 million so far, but
Laferrere is determined to ensure Areva tracks are not found in
the area 300 years from now.
The company is also focused on advancing the education of its
staff at mine sites in order to keep qualified employees and keep
those employees happy. The company continues to work with First
Nations around mine sites to provide employment to the
communities and staff their projects. It's a policy Areva is
proud of at a time when businesses require more and more staff
just to maintain production levels.
"It's a good way to find labour -- don't overlook your immediate
neighbour. Work with them first and then if there are still
people missing, go and try to find them somewhere else," he said.
Before Laferrere leaves for the airport, he jokes about spending
more than half a day in Saskatoon. A Friday to Monday stay would
be nice, he said, so he can experience the city on the weekend.
With talk about nuclear energy getting louder in Western Canada,
Laferrere just might get the chance.
ckyle@sp.canwest.com
c The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks
*****************************************************************
24 The greening of nuclear energy
The nuclear power industry is riding the green wave back into public
favour with its promise of a low-carbon solution to our growing
energy needs. But even as the industry struggles to dictate what
role nuclear can realistically play, it is bound by a global energy
landscape - from solar to carbon sequestration - that is still
predominantly shaped by the marketplace.
Veteran New York Times energy reporter Matthew Wald takes a
pragmatic look at the trade-offs associated with investment in a
number of alternative energy sources in “Getting Power to the
People,” a special in-depth feature appearing in the
September/October 2007 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists.
Wald considers variables such as the cost of fuel inputs, capacity
factor, and the price of carbon capture technology, and discusses
how they affect energy prices for consumers. “There is a
future on the grid for almost everything: coal, natural gas, nuclear
power, gasified biomass, and probably wind and solar as well,”
Wald concludes. “What remains is to determine the
proportions.”
Additional materials include selected graphs that illustrate
baseline energy concepts and a summation chart that offers energy
source comparison at a glance.
Related links: Controlling greehouse gas emissions | Is a bioeconomy
sustainable? | Climate Change, Genetics or Human Choice: Why Were
the Shells of Mankind's Earliest Ornament Larger in the Pleistocene
Than in the Holocene? | Climate change increasing hurricanes
September 13, 2007
eFood | eLab | eMed | Subscribe | Contact us | Home
*****************************************************************
25 Charlotte Observer: Inspectors probing McGuire nuclear plant
09/12/2007 |
LAKE NORMAN
Investigators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission arrived Tuesday
at the McGuire nuclear plant on Lake Norman to probe an equipment
problem that the NRC says could have hampered the plant's ability to
respond to an emergency.
Duke Energy reported to the NRC last week that it found improperly
installed caps on heat exchangers that cool the oil in pumps, which
regulate the chemistry of reactor cooling water. The pumps could
also help circulate cooling water to the radioactive reactor core in
an emergency.
Three of four caps at McGuire were improperly installed, Duke
spokesman Rick Rhodes said. In order to fix them, done the day the
problem was discovered, Duke declared its emergency core cooling
system inoperable.
The two-member inspection team is expected to spend a week and a
half evaluating the problem, Duke's response and whether similar
conditions exist at Duke's Catawba nuclear plant on Lake Wylie.
Bruce Henderson
*****************************************************************
26 Illicit Trafficking, Theft Of Nuclear Materials 'a Persistent Problem,' UN Agency Reports
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:01:24 -0400
ILLICIT TRAFFICKING, THEFT OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM, UN AGENCY REPORTS
New York, Sep 12 2007 11:00AM
Illicit trafficking, theft and loss of nuclear and other radioactive
materials remain a persistent problem, according to the United
Nations agency entrusted with pre-empting nuclear and radiological
More than 250 incidents involving unauthorized possession and related
criminal activities, theft or loss of nuclear or other radioactive
materials, and other activities such as unauthorized disposal
of radioactive materials were <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/itdb.html">reported
to the UN International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB) last year,
of which 150 occurred in 2006 and the rest mainly in 2005.
Information reported to the ITDB shows a persistent problem with
the illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials,
thefts, losses, and other unauthorized activities, the latest
ITDB report said.
Of the 150 incidents that occurred in 2006, 14 involved unauthorized
possession and related criminal activities and can be described
as illicit trafficking, containing such factors as illegal possession,
movement, or attempts to illegally trade in the materials.
The majority of these incidents involved sealed radioactive sources
and the materials included natural uranium, depleted uranium,
and thorium.
In January 2007, Georgia reported to the ITDB an incident that occurred
in
February 2006 and involved the seizure of 79.5 grammes of 89 per
cent-enriched uranium.
Another 85 incidents in 2006 involved thefts, losses or misrouting
of nuclear or other radioactive materials. Thefts of such materials
are of particular concern since they can be upstream evidence
of illicit trafficking and are indicators of vulnerabilities in
control and security systems. In about 73 per cent of cases, the
lost or stolen materials have not been reportedly recovered.
Eight of these incidents involved high-risk dangerous radioactive
sources that are classified as Category 2 and 3. Another 51 reported
incidents involved various types of material recovery showing
no direct evidence of criminal behaviour, such as detection of
materials disposed of in an unauthorized way.
Uncontrolled nuclear and other radioactive materials also are evidence
of weaknesses in control and security measures. These could
be exploited by those with a malicious intent, the report noted.
As of 31 December2006, the ITDB contained 1,080 confirmed incidents
reported by participating States since 1993, of which 275 involved
unauthorized possession and related criminal activity, 332 involved
theft or loss and 398 other unauthorized activities.
Past incidents of illicit trafficking involved seizures of kilogramme
quantities of weapons-usable nuclear material, but most have
involved very small quantities, the report said. In some of these
cases, there is a possibility that seized material was a sample
of larger quantities available for illegal purchase or at risk
of theft. If so, these materials pose a continuous potential security
threat, it added.
Where information on motives is available, it indicates that profit
seeking is the principal motive behind such events. Some cases,
however, showed an indication of malicious intent.
Currently, 96 States participate in the ITDB Programme. In some cases,
non-participating Member States have provided information.
2007-09-12 00:00:00.000
___________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/
_______________________________
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/
*****************************************************************
27 The Hindu News: IAEA providing security against nuke terrorism
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 : 1630 Hrs
New York, Sept. 12 (PTI): The UN atomic watchdog agency is providing
expertise to support the security of major public events, including
the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, against the threat of nuclear
terrorism.
"The Agency's nuclear security work has clearly improved overall
nuclear security," UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told the agency's Board of
Governors meeting in Vienna.
But, he conceded, much remains to be done in shaping the nuclear
security framework, in building up-to-date security systems and in
dealing with the legacy of past lax security.
"This is not a problem that can be solved overnight; it takes time
and resources to achieve a sustainable, internationally acceptable
baseline level of nuclear security," he said.
Expertise for protection at major events is just one of the element
among the IAEA's arsenal of measures. The Agency has already
provided support in the preparations of July's Pan American Games in
Brazil.
ElBaradei noted that over the past 12 months the IAEA continued to
expand member state participation in the Illicit Trafficking
Database and that nuclear security training had been provided to
some 1,650 individuals from 90 countries. The Agency assisted in
improving physical protection at facilities in nine states, he said.
"More than 900 items of security related equipment were supplied to
member states, including border detection equipment for 29
countries," he said.
"Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plans were completed in 38
countries, and the agreed activities have been planned or are being
impleme nted in each of the States concerned."
The Agency is foreseen as playing an important role in implementing
these instruments.
"To that end, we have started an effort to provide nuclear security
guidance that would facilitate implementation," ElBaradei said.
This and other programme changes entail transitioning from a
situation in which strengthening nuclear security has been addressed
as an ad hoc reaction to the prevailing threat of nuclear terrorism
to a situation in which nuclear security will be addressed in a
normative, sustainable manner, he added.
Copyright 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the
*****************************************************************
28 BBC NEWS: Nuclear hotspot among 'hottest'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 08:15 GMT 09:15 UK
The Dounreay site is being decommissioned
The latest radioactive fragment found on Sandside Beach near the
Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness is among the "hottest" yet
detected.
The particle of Caesium-137 was picked up during a sweep of the
beach.
It was the third recovered since monitoring resumed in August
following a lengthy gap.
After being taken back to a laboratory at the former fast reactor
complex, last Friday's find was found to have an activity count of
380,000 Becquerel (Bq).
Becquerel is a measurement of radioactivity.
Rogue discharges
Last week's discovery compares to the most active 500,000 Bq
particle, which was recovered in February.
The majority unearthed at Sandside have been below 100,000 Bq.
Public health authorities and the Scottish Environment Protection
Agency (Sepa) have not judged the risk posed by the pollution to
justify closing off public access to the beach.
The independent Dounreay Particles Advisory Group has assessed the
risk of someone coming into contact with a potentially harmful
particle as 80 million to one.
* BBC Copyright Notice
*****************************************************************
29 NRC: NRC, Firm to Discuss Proposed Change to Decommissioning Plan for
Former Nuclear Materials Site in Windsor, Conn.
News Release - Region I - 2007-045 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs,
Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
www.nrc.gov
CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610)
337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff and representatives of ABB,
Inc., will meet on Friday, Sept. 14, to discuss the company’s
plans to supplement the decommissioning plan for a former nuclear
materials site in Windsor (Hartford County), Conn. The meeting is
scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Public Meeting Room at the
NRC’s Region I Office, 475 Allendale Road in King of Prussia,
Pa.
Members of the public will be able to attend the session and will
have an opportunity to ask questions and/or offer comments before it
is adjourned.
ABB, Inc., (formerly Combustion Engineering-Windsor) manufactured
nuclear fuel at the site, which is bordered by Day Hill Road to the
south. It was also used at various times to conduct and support
nuclear research and development work, including the construction,
testing and operation of a U.S. Naval test reactor. The activities
began in the mid-1950s and continued until 2001. As a result of
those operations, soils, buildings and equipment surfaces were
contaminated with uranium and byproduct material, both of which are
radioactive.
On April 7, 2003, ABB, Inc., submitted a site-wide decommissioning
plan to the NRC. A revised plan that included radiation
dose-modeling information was submitted on Oct. 15, 2003. Several
buildings on the site were subsequently demolished and the waste
materials shipped off-site to a licensed disposal facility.
Meanwhile, certain portions of the site were to be remediated by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Radioactive contamination
resulted from defense-related activities at the facility. The
buildings and areas where the defense-related materials are located
were used by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission prior to the early
1960s, when the first nuclear fuel manufacturing license was issued
to Combustion Engineering.
Site studies have identified areas where the commercially generated
and defense-related materials have become co-mingled. Consequently,
a process was identified to facilitate the effective and efficient
cleanup of the remainder of the site. This process, under the
oversight of the NRC, will involve ABB, Inc., assuming
responsibility for cleanup of all the radioactive contamination. At
the meeting on Sept. 14, the NRC and ABB will discuss the
company’s plans to supplement the decommissioning plan to
complete those cleanup activities.
======================================================================
NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription
at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page
at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News &
Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when
news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
*****************************************************************
30 JOGJCC: New particle one of the hottest yet
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier:
Published: 12 September, 2007
THE latest radioactive fragment found on Sandside beach is one of
the hottest yet detected, it emerged yesterday.
The particle of caesium-137 picked up during a sweep of the beach on
Friday was the third recovered since monitoring resumed on August 5
after a lengthy gap.
This brings the legacy of pollution from the nearby Dounreay plant
to 97 used reactor fuel particles and an unidentified radioactive
object.
After being taken back to a lab at the former fast-reactor complex,
Friday's particle was found to have an activity count of 380,000
becquerels (Bq). That compares to the most active 500,000 Bq
particle which was recovered in February this year. The discovery
led to Scotland's pollution watchdog reviewing whether to close off
the four-mile stretch of beach to the public.
The next highest since monitoring of the beach started 23 years ago
have been 480,000 and 396,000 Bq finds in January 2007 and June 2006
respectively.
The series of high counts led to environmental radiochemist Philip
Day predicting the arrival of a million-becquerel particle the
level which Government experts say would pose a significant health
hazard.
Dr Day is the expert adviser to Sandside Estate, which has been at
loggerheads with Dounreay's operator, the UKAEA, over the rogue
discharges.
A spokesman for the estate said yesterday the latest find is a
further worrying sign of the "desecration" of the area caused by the
pollution.
"This is a further reminder of the seriousness of the problem there
is at Sandside," said the spokesman. "We're very close now to a
century of radioactive particles being washed up on the beach, and
this latest one is a further sign that the particles are getting
bigger and more active."
The spokesman added: "It underlines the pressing need for the UKAEA
to draw up a realistic plan to deal with this terrible ongoing
desecration of the area."
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and public health
authorities have not judged the risk posed by the pollution to
justify closing off public access to the beach.
The independent Dounreay Particles Advisory Group has assessed the
risk of someone coming into contact with a potentially harmful
particle as 80 million to one. In its classification of particles,
it rated significant any with a reading of over a million Bq.
The majority unearthed at Sandside have been below 100,000 Bq but
most of the higher-active finds have come in the past couple of
years.
The UKAEA was in February fined 100,000 at Wick Sheriff Court after
admitting three charges relating to the rogue discharges of the
particles between 1963 and 1984.
All content copyright 2007 Scottish Provincial Press Ltd.
*****************************************************************
31 Yokwe Net: Marshall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act and
Compact Implementation to be Considerated at Senate Hearing
Everything Marshall Islands :: http://www.yokwe.net
Aenet Rowa, webmaster - yokwenet@aol.com Powered by PostNuke
On September 25th, 2007, the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources will hold a two part hearing at 10AM in the
Dirksen Senate Office Building.
A formal invitation, addressed to President Note from Chairman
Jeff Bingaman, requested the President to nominate one
representative to testify on behalf of the RMI Government, and to
nominate one person to represent the 4-atoll communities.
The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the
proposed Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act (S. 1756). The
bill would provide supplemental ex gratia compensation to the
Republic of the Marshall Islands for impacts of the U.S. nuclear
testing program. The hearing will also be a forum to discuss the
Compact of Free Association, as amended, between the Republic of
the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United States
President Note, during his meetings in May with Senators Jeff
Bingaman, Pete Dominici, Daniel Akaka, and Lisa Murkowski,
proposed the introduction of the S. 1756, at his request, that
would propose solutions on several issues relating to the Changed
Circumstances Petition (CCP) that are not before the U.S. Federal
Courts.
This would allow the Committee to formally hear from the U.S.
Administration and the RMI Government on whether the proposed
bill should be adopted, or whether to consider alternatives.
"This is indeed a historic moment for the Marshallese people.
Since the RMI formally petitioned the U.S. Government on Changed
Circumstances in 2000, we are finally seeing movement on this
issue. Though not all the issues are being addressed, this is
certainly a first step to addressing the larger needs resulting
from the testing program," said Ambassador Banny deBrum.
On introducing the bill on the U.S. Senate floor, Chairman
Bingaman said "I complement President Note for his leadership,
and for his thoughtful recommendation on how to approach these
issues. I concur in this approach along with several of my
colleagues on the Committee and we are committed to working with
the RMI and the Administration to seek agreement."
President Note is set to make his formal nominations to the
Committee in the coming week.
- Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Washington,
D.C., September 10, 2007
Theme creado por dev-postnuke.com
*****************************************************************
32 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: It's the waste, stupid
Today: September 12, 2007 at 7:36:56 PDT
Requests being readied for new nuclear power plants, yet problem
is unsolved
Anxious to take advantage of tax credits, loan guarantees,
application subsidies and other benefits provided by the 2005 energy
bill, many power companies are getting ready to file for permission
to build nuclear power plants.
More than 400 people have been hired recently by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to review applications for as many as 29
reactors at 20 sites, mostly in the South.
Stated reasons are plentiful for this spurt of interest in new
nuclear power plants after 30 years of dormancy. Generous federal
assistance is now available. Electricity demand is growing faster
than ever. Coal-fired power plants are in disfavor because their
emissions foul the air and contribute to global warming. And,
advocates of nuclear power claim, updated designs will make new
plants operationally safer, more secure against terrorist threats
and less costly to build.
Yet those reasons are not as convincing as they may sound. Federal
assistance is generous because the Bush administration is joined at
the hip with nuclear power lobbyists. Demand is out of control
because leadership in the area of conservation has been sorely
lacking. Other energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal - could be
replacing coal-fired plants with the right energy policy. And can
anyone ever trust a nuclear power plant to be safe and secure?
All of those reasons play into our opposition to new nuclear power
plants. But our biggest objection is also the most obvious: In more
than 50 years of nuclear power, not even the most brilliant nuclear
scientists have solved the problem of securing its deadly waste.
The government's only plan - burying the waste at Yucca Mountain, 90
miles northwest of Las Vegas - is so dangerous that it should have
been abandoned years ago. Even if only three or four power companies
actually commit to building nuclear plants, what is the plan for
managing the additional waste?
There is no safe and sane plan. For that reason, there should be no
more nuclear power plants.
*****************************************************************
33 Platts: Spot uranium price rangebound as market waits on auction results
2007-09-11
Washington (Platts)--11Sep2007
The spot price of uranium has -- for the moment -- stabilized
between $85-$90/lb U3O8, according to TradeTech and Ux
Consulting. However, that may change as news filters out on the
range of bids seen by Texas-based producer Mestena later Tuesday.
Mestena is offering up to 300,000 lb U3O8 for sale.
Ux, in commentary late Monday, said it appears there is a
"notable amount" of uranium available between $90 and $100/lb,
indicating that "while there is speculation on the degree of
downside pressure on prices at the moment, there is not much
expectation on upside pressure." Buyers, said Ux, "do not appear
overly anxious."
TradeTech, which held its price at $85/lb as of late
September 7, said that it appeared that the "gap between what
buyers are willing to bid and sellers are willing to offer has
narrowed considerably from the gap that has persisted for the
past month."
The Platts NuclearFuel range for the week was $83-$98/lb
U3O8.
For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics
Week at
http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story
or subscribe now at
http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=67
Copyright 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
34 ReviewJournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Company preparing layoffs
Sep. 12, 2007
DOE officials expect budget cuts in Congress
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Contractors on the Yucca Mountain Project are
preparing layoffs for between 60 and 80 workers in anticipation of
budget cuts from Congress, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Notices were expected to be distributed in the next few days to
employees of Bechtel SAIC, the chief management company of the
Energy Department nuclear waste program based in Las Vegas.
People working in accounting, finance, human resources and other
business support departments were being considered for job cuts,
company spokesman Jason Bohne said. Bechtel SAIC employs roughly
1,000 people.
Yucca officials confirmed the cutbacks a day after National Security
Technologies, a contractor at the adjoining Nevada Test Site,
disclosed that at least 200 workers could be laid off in the coming
weeks.
In both cases, executives attributed the job threats to uncertainty
when or whether Congress will pass a budget this year for the Energy
Department.
With a new fiscal year starting Oct. 1, the House has passed a DOE
spending bill, but the Senate has not and is not likely to by the
end of the month. Without the certainty, DOE officials are telling
contractors to tighten up.
In the case of Yucca Mountain, DOE officials expect cuts as large as
$100 million below what the project is spending this year, spokesman
Allen Benson said.
"The primary driver is the money," Bohne said. "If the money is not
there, we have to cut somehow, and for us, that means people."
Bohne said personnel officials in the company, which is a
partnership of Bechtel Corp. and Science Applications International
Corp., were trying to place workers in other units of the parent
firms.
This would be the second round of layoffs at Bechtel SAIC this year,
as three dozen people were terminated in March.
The company's work force has fluctuated in recent years as the Yucca
program has faced budget pressures and has undergone organizational
changes.
Bechtel SAIC laid off about 150 people two years ago.
Last summer, as many as 500 workers were issued job warnings, with
many transferring to the payroll of Sandia National Laboratories,
which was assigned a larger role on the project.
This week, Sandia National Laboratories was preparing for layoffs,
but the number was not expected to match Bechtel SAIC, project
officials confirmed. Sandia officials could not be reached on
Tuesday.
The Energy Department and its contractors are focusing on compiling
data into an application to build a nuclear waste repository at the
Yucca Mountain site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
DOE officials have said that the license application is a priority,
and that they will have it filed at the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission by June 30.
Several Nevada federal lawmakers this week said they are trying to
find ways to rescue jobs at the Nevada Test Site.
By contrast, they applauded job losses in the Yucca Mountain
program, which is politically unpopular in the state.
"The proposed layoffs at Yucca Mountain are a welcomed sign that the
repository is losing momentum," said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.
Links powered by inform.com
Alexis wrote on September 12, 2007 02:04 PM: Porter and Reid have
continued to make statements about being happy that Project
employees are losing their jobs. I hope every Nevada citizen reads
this article and realizes that if they can make comments such as
this about Project jobs, they can say it about others. With such a
mean-spirited, selfish attitude about their constituents and the
Nevada workforce, no job is safe in Nevada. Don't vote for Reid or
Porter in future elections if you care about Nevada.
greg wrote on September 12, 2007 11:29 AM: As usual, most of our
politicians just don't get it. They really don't care about the
workers at NTS. How can one be pro NTS, but anti Yucca? In today's
world where we have rouge countries obtaining nuclear weapons, China
and Russia vastly increasing their military forces(Russia is testing
new type of powerful bombs, as we speak)and many others who want to
harm Americans throughout the world, and we want to lay off workers
who perform a very important function to protect the United States.
These two work sites are vital to our defense and safety. I guess it
is because the greedy politicians can't control these agencies like
they can with, oh lets see, gaming maybe. Or is it that gaming
controls them. Your right our politicians are idiots and I will not
vote for Porter again. Let him go find a new job. He barely made it
last time and we all know Clark County is now Democrat controlled.
Congress get off your duffs and pass the budget. These are good
paying and important jobs and what our local politicians can offer
can't compare to what they do now. Many of these workers will go on
unemployment or just leave the state. But don't worry, many people
come to Las Vegas to fill the fast food and minimum jobs that you
offer.
Janet wrote on September 12, 2007 11:14 AM: Senator Reid and
Congressman/woman Porter and Berkley should learn a thing or two
from the state of New Mexico and what their leadership does to
diversify and welcome high paying jobs to their sate (government and
contractor personnel). Nevada needs more scientists, engineers, and
other personnel to diversify its economy however, Nevada politicians
continue to play politics, lie, and use scare tactics with Nevada
citizens regarding the repository. Its OK to disagree wtih the
repository however, demonstrate it with honesty and integrity.
Unfortunately, our politicians do neither.
Fred wrote on September 12, 2007 10:38 AM: Let's see. Get rid of
high-tech, non-gaming jobs... scientists, engineers, more PhDs than
you can shake a stick at... In a state that leads the nation in
dropout rate. Only in Nevada.
Then, let's cheer when the job cuts happen. Thanks Harry, Jon, and
Shelley.
MrR0ng wrote on September 12, 2007 09:33 AM: I love how our
politicians do not care about losing these high quality jobs that
are filled by mostly scientists and engineers, but they will fight
tooth and nail to keep super low paying service jobs. Nevada is
getting dumber and dumber, as is demonstrated by the politicians we
elect. I am ashamed of the decisions we make.
tee wrote on September 12, 2007 08:22 AM: So our politicians want to
save jobs at the test site who work for NNSA but not Yucca Mountain.
What hypocrites. What do they think....that the NNSA is planting
roses and a garden out there?
Jim wrote on September 12, 2007 07:58 AM: What a comment by Porter.
As a voting Republican, Porter does not and will not have my vote.
When have you ever heard of a congressman applauding job cuts? This
will only hurt Las Vegas. Nevada politicians should be ashamed of
themselves.
Iceman wrote on September 12, 2007 07:10 AM: Nice sentiment, Porter!
I'll see what I can do to eliminating your position come the next
election. You are certainly not doing your job, when compared to
those people in the Dept of Energy who are trying to solve the
country's energy demands.
A Hirsch wrote on September 12, 2007 06:44 AM: What a totally
callous comment by Porter. Bet the employees that depend on those
paychecks don't share his sentiment. Typical political posturing.
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement
*****************************************************************
35 Daily News Journal: County wants Allied Waste's pledge in writing
Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, Tennessee news from The
By TURNER HUTCHENS trhutchens@dnj.com Turner Hutchens, (615)
278-5161
Allied Waste has said it will stop dumping low-level radioactive
materials at Middle Point Landfill, but some Rutherford County
officials want the company to go a step further.
The Rutherford County Commission will consider a resolution Thursday
asking Allied Waste to make its discontinuation of the Bulk Survey
for Release program permanent and legally binding. Under the
program, low-level radioactive materials have been dumped in the
landfill since at least the 1990s.
On Aug. 20, Allied Waste, which owns the landfill on East Jefferson
Pike, announced it would voluntarily discontinue participating in
the program because of public concern.
Commissioner Jack Black, whose district contains the landfill, said
it would add a level of comfort for the people living around the
landfill to know the decision couldn't just be reversed and the
dumping resumed.
"The way they change the managers up there as often as they do, I'd
just like to see it put in writing," Black said.
Black added the commission may take further action to restrict
special waste at the landfill when the General Assembly resumes in
January.
Allied Waste representatives could not be reached for comment by
press time.
Allied's announcement that they would stop participating in the
program came after the state Legislature passed a moratorium on the
program in Rutherford County.
Several public hearings and meetings on the program were held by the
Tennessee Solid Waste Advisory Committee, which ultimately concluded
the program was safe and should continue with only minor
modifications.
The committee recommended the Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation establish a public liaison for the program to
address public awareness and concerns.
The committee gave TDEC officials until Jan. 31 to implement its
recommendations and report back to the committee.
The program continues at four other landfills in Shelby, Anderson
and Hawkins counties.
Public concern was first raised in the spring when the watchdog
group Nuclear Information and Resource Service put out a report
criticizing the program.
The landfill sits on the banks of the Stones River, which supplies
water to most of Rutherford County and its municipalities.
Debbie Foreman doesn't live near the dump, but she drinks
Murfreesboro City water and will be glad of anything the county does
to keep out radioactive waste at the landfill.
"I don't trust the landfill, or the people who run it," she said. "I
wish they'd just shut the thing down."
The landfill is still accepting other forms of special waste the
broad category under which the BSFR materials were classified. Last
year, Middle Point accepted 167 different special wastes, four of
which were BSFR materials.
The Rutherford County Commission meets at 6 p.m. at the County
Courthouse.
Next we need to get a promise IN WRITING from Armon Bar-Tur that he
won't leave county taxpayers with the bill when his theme park goes
broke and that he'll deliver what he says he'll deliver under stiff
penalty for underperformance.
That would get rid of the little weasel.
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:33 pm
======================================================================
Good comments k.
Residents should come to the Commission meeting and take the
opportunity to speak to the individual Commissioners on the issue
before and after the meeting.
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:32 am
======================================================================
Jack Black is the ONLY elected representative who is trying to
publicly make a statement. THANK YOU. If only Nancy Allen and Ernest
Burgess had been so diligent......
Please place the 'in writing' document on the DNJ for all to view.
It is mandatory that we have this a permanent arrangement - NO MORE
DUMPING of poision at Middle Point.
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:04 am
Copyright 2007 The Daily News Journal. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
36 DailyBulletin.com: Rialto seeks $23M for perchlorate cleanup
By Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
RIALTO - City officials are seeking $23 million in emergency funds
from the state because of perchlorate contamination in the drinking
water.
The contamination is not new nor has an emergency been officially
declared, but Rialto has been battling the perchlorate for years.
It found its way into the groundwater from the past manufacturing at
industrial facilities of military rockets, fireworks and other
explosives.
On Aug. 29, members of the City Council met in Sacramento with a
number of state officials, including Dan Dunmoyer, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's deputy chief of staff.
Dunmoyer suggested that Rialto look into declaring a state of
emergency.
"It's the only way we can get emergency funds from the governor. We
have to do it," said Councilman Ed Scott, concerning the possible
declaration of a state of emergency.
Scott is a member of the council's perchlorate subcommittee.
The council will likely vote at its next meeting on whether to
declare the emergency, he said.
Perchlorate, which could cause a number of health effects by
interfering with the thyroid, has been flowing through Rialto from
industrial sites on the city's north end.
It could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up.
The contamination has generated more attention in Sacramento since
last month, when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge halted
state hearings to determine if three companies - Pyro Spectaculars,
Goodrich and Black & Decker - should have to clean some of the
contamination.
The city laid out its funding request in a letter to Cindy Tuck,
undersecretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency.
The city would use the money to stop the perchlorate from continuing
to move through the Rialto Basin and contaminating more clean water.
Much of the money Rialto requested would also help the city better
understand the extent of the contamination.
Rialto has developed plans that spell out what needs to be done in
order to better understand the total cleanup cost and the extent of
the contamination.
The city wants to use the state money to gather that information,
Scott said.
Then Rialto could take out an insurance policy, and parties, such as
the suspected polluters, would pay into the policy, to guarantee
that the cleanup would be paid for.
"We are seeking an emergency cleanup while we urge the state to
toughen its enforcement effort against the (potentially responsible
parties)," reads the letter, signed by Scott and City Council member
Winnie Hanson, the other member of the perchlorate subcommittee.
In another move that could provide Rialto with millions of dollars
in cleanup money, the state Assembly last week amended legislation,
which had already passed in the Senate, to provide about $50 million
in remaining Proposition 84 money for drinking water cleanup.
The money set aside by the Assembly amendment should go to the
poorest, most populated and most contaminated areas, said Alicia
Trost, a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata,
D-Oakland.
Perata wrote the original bill.
"So Rialto of course is included in that group," Trost said.
Scott said he hopes Rialto can get $15 to $20 million of that money.
Both Assembly chambers were expected to vote on the legislation
during an all-night session on Tuesday.
Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at
jason.pesick@sbsun.com.
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
*****************************************************************
37 Las Vegas Now: Nevada Goes Back-to-Court to Cut Off Water at Yucca Mountain
AP
Nevada state attorneys are asking a judge order the federal
government to stop using the state's water for drilling at the Yucca
Mountain nuclear waste site. The attorney general's office filed two
motions Monday.
The motions ask a judge to force the Department of Energy to cease
all water use for all bore hole drilling and in the meantime reach a
three-way agreement on appropriate water use at the site.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt upheld the state
engineer's decision to deny the federal government the water.
But the DOE said last week that it would continue using water until
the first phase of the drilling project is completed by the end of
this month.
The state wants the water cut off immediately.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
*****************************************************************
38 Las Vegas SUN: Layoffs expected at Yucca Mountain with budget cuts
Today: September 12, 2007 at 9:20:5 PDT
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Contractors on the Yucca Mountain Project are
preparing to lay off 60 to 80 workers in anticipation of budget cuts
from Congress, officials said.
Notices were expected to be distributed in the next few days to
employees of Bechtel SAIC, the chief management company of the
Energy Department nuclear waste program based in Las Vegas.
People working in accounting, finance, human resources and other
business support departments were being considered for job cuts,
company spokesman Jason Bohne said. Bechtel SAIC employs roughly
1,000 people.
Yucca officials confirmed the cutbacks a day after National Security
Technologies, a contractor at the adjoining Nevada Test Site,
disclosed that at least 200 workers could be laid off in the coming
weeks.
In both cases, executives attributed the job threats to uncertainty
when or whether Congress will pass a budget this year for the Energy
Department.
Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., applauded the cutbacks for Yucca Mountain
program, which is politically unpopular in the state.
"The proposed layoffs at Yucca Mountain are a welcomed sign that the
repository is losing momentum," Porter said.
With a new fiscal year starting Oct. 1, the House has passed an
Energy Department spending bill, but the Senate is not likely to
pass it by the end of the month. Without the certainty, Energy
officials are telling contractors to tighten up.
In the case of Yucca Mountain, Energy officials expect cuts as large
as $100 million below what the project is spending this year,
spokesman Allen Benson said.
This would be the second round of layoffs at Bechtel SAIC this year,
as three dozen people were terminated in March.
Bechtel SAIC laid off about 150 people two years ago.
---
Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com
*****************************************************************
39 Sydney Morning Herald: MP urges uranium waste storage inquiry -
www.smh.com.au
September 12, 2007 - 4:09PM
An independent MP has called for a state parliamentary inquiry into
the storage of tailings from South Australia's booming uranium
mining.
Kris Hanna said just the planned expansion of the Olympic Dam mine,
which was expected to double in size, would mean about 10 million
tonnes of toxic waste would need to be disposed of each year.
Other uranium deposits are set to be mined in coming years.
"We need to ensure that our current practices of storing and moving
that waste are world's best practice," Mr Hanna said.
"That's why I'm proposing parliament establish a select committee to
investigate our current waste management and disposal practices."
Mr Hanna said he was also concerned that the Environmental
Protection Agency was currently excluded from regulating the
disposal of waste from uranium mining.
"I want this committee to be able to investigate whether uranium
mining should be subject to the Environment Protection Act," he said.
"We're talking about a huge volume of nuclear waste that remains
toxic for millions of years.
"We owe it to future generations to make sure that the best
arrangements are in place to cope with the increase of uranium
waste."
2007 AAP
When news happens: send photos, videos & tip-offs to 0424 SMS SMH
(+61 424 767 764), or us.
*****************************************************************
40 [v911t] Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a Military Leak?
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:31:24 -0500 (CDT)
*Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a Military
Leak?
*
by Michael Salla, Ph.D.
Sept. 7, 2007
Op Ed News
*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
*Second, 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
"*All 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'."*
(see: 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.
*Third, 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 Department's 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 Iran's military infrastructure. Such an attack will devastate Iran's
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'*."
(see: 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 don't 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 don't know, but it is a
question worth asking*."
(see: 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 Cheney's 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.
*Further Reading*
Michael Kane, "Simplifying the case against Dick
Cheney
,"
Larry Johnson, "Staging Nuke for
Iran
?"
Michael Hoffman, "B-52 mistakenly flies with nukes
aboard,"
Michael Salla, Ph.D. "Will the U.S. Attack Iran Before September 21? - Are
CIA Front Companies Investing $4.5 Billion to Profit from attacking
Iran
?"
Edward Thomas, Lt. Col., "U.S. Air Force Statement on B-52 Nuclear Incident
at Minot ," Greg
Webb, "U.S. Bomber Mistakenly Flies with Nuclear
Weapons
"
*www.exopolitics.org*
*Dr. Michael Salla is an internationally recognized scholar in international
politics, conflict resolution, U.S. foreign policy and the new field of
'exopolitics'. He is author/editor of five books; and held academic
appointments in the School of International Service& the Center for Global
Peace, American University, Washington DC (1996-2004); the Department of
Political Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
(1994-96); and the Elliott School of International Affairs, George
Washington University, Washington D.C., (2002). He has a Ph.D. in Government
from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an M.A. in Philosophy from
the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has conducted research and
fieldwork in the ethnic conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Sri
Lanka, and organized peacemaking initiatives involving mid to high level
participants from these conflicts.*
Source:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_michael__070907_was_a_covert_attempt.
htm
_____________________
_________________________________
Alfred Lambremont Webre, JD, MEd
ICIS-Institute for Cooperation in Space
3339 West 41 Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V6N3E5 CANADA
TEL: 604-733-8134
FAX: 604-733-8135
Email: alw@peaceinspace.com
ICIS: http://www.peaceinspace.com
CAMPAIGN: http://www.peaceinspace.org
NUCLEAR FREE ZONE: http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/nuclear_free_zone/
9/11 War Crimes Tribunal: http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/911/
EXOPOLITICS: http://www.exopolitics.com
STAR DREAMS INITIATIVE
http://www.peaceinspace.net
LISTEN TO EXOPOLITICS RADIO
http://www.exopoliticsradio.com
*****************************************************************
41 Reuters: Russia tests superstrength bomb, military says
Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:27PM EDT
By Dmitry Solovyov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has tested the world's most powerful
vacuum bomb, which unleashes a destructive shockwave with the power
of a nuclear blast, the military said on Tuesday, dubbing it the
"father of all bombs".
The bomb is the latest in a series of new Russian weapons and policy
moves as President Vladimir Putin tries to reassert Moscow's role on
the international stage.
"Test results of the new airborne weapon have shown that its
efficiency and power is commensurate with a nuclear weapon,"
Alexander Rukshin, Russian deputy armed forces chief of staff, told
Russia's state ORT First Channel television. The same report was
later shown on the state-sponsored Vesti channel.
"You will now see it in action, the bomb which has no match in the
world is being tested at a military site."
It showed a Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber dropping the bomb over a
testing ground. A large explosion followed.
Pictures showed what looked like a flattened multi-storey block of
flats surrounded by scorched soil and boulders. "The soil looks like
a lunar landscape," the report said.
"The defense ministry stresses this military invention does not
contradict a single international treaty. Russia is not unleashing a
new arms race."
Such devices generally detonate in two stages. First a small blast
disperses a main load of explosive material into a cloud, which then
either spontaneously ignites in air or is set off by a second charge.
This explosion generates a pressure wave that reaches much further
than that from a conventional explosive. The consumption of gases in
the blast also generates a partial vacuum that can compound damage
and injuries caused by the explosion itself. Continued...
*****************************************************************
42 Reuters: Senate panel slashes European missile defense plan
Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:19PM EDT
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee voted on Wednesday to
cut funding for the president's plan to put missile defense elements
in the Czech Republic and Poland, but met his request for an
airborne laser program led by Boeing Co.
The Senate Appropriations Committee cut $85 million from the $310.4
million request for the fiscal year starting October 1, joining the
other three congressional committees with jurisdiction over the
issue to recommend cutting the plan for European sites next year.
But it voted unanimously to honor President George W. Bush's $549
million request for the Airborne Laser (ABL), which would also be
part of an emerging U.S. ballistic missile shield.
It was the only one of the four panels with oversight
responsibilities to urge moving ahead with the airborne laser
program at the level sought by Bush.
Other committees with jurisdiction have sought to cut as much as
$250 million from the ABL, which would target a missile's "boost
phase" -- the first few minutes of flight when it is most vulnerable.
The United States is building the shield to guard against missiles
that could be fired by countries such as North Korea and Iran,
carrying chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.
Russia has strongly opposed Bush's plan to put 10 ground-based
interceptor missiles in Poland and an advanced radar station in the
Czech Republic. Moscow says the plan would upset a delicate
strategic balance between major powers and poses a threat to its own
security.
The Senate committee, in a report accompanying its legislation, said
it chose not to cut the ABL program since it continues to meet
"performance objectives."
James Albaugh, head of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems business
unit, welcomed the committee's action, which still must be voted on
by the full Senate. Differences with the House of Representatives
version are then ironed out in a conference committee before the
bill goes to Bush for signing into law.
"We're hopeful that in conference we'll come out okay," Albaugh told
Reuters after speaking to a House Aerospace Caucus luncheon. He said
Boeing foresaw potential applications beyond missile defense for an
airborne speed-of-light weapon.
Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
43 UPI: Russia tests new non-atomic super bomb
United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News -
Published: 12, 2007 at 7:15 AM
MOSCOW, 12 (UPI) -- The Russian military announced the successful
test of a non-nuclear bomb that is reportedly as devastating as an
atomic weapon.
The thermobaric, or vacuum, bomb was exploded at an undisclosed
location, said Alexander Rukshin, deputy chief of the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces.
He said the bomb partially detonates above the ground and releases
fuel that creates explosive pressure equal to a nuclear bomb, the
Novosti news agency reported.
Various reports said the blast area is 2,000 yards across and the
concussive force kills everything within 3 miles.
"It is environmentally friendly, compared to a nuclear bomb and it
will enable us to ensure national security and at the same time
stand up to international terrorism in any part of the globe and in
any situation," Rukshin told reporters in Moscow.
The general said the test doesn't violate any treaties or agreements
Russia is party to, the report said.
Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
44 DOE: Andrew Beck Appointed DOE Director of Public Affairs
September 11, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W.
Bodman today announced that Andrew Beck has been named the
Department of Energys Director of Public Affairs. In this role,
Mr. Beck will oversee the communication of DOEs policies and
initiatives to the public.
Most recently, Mr. Beck served as Deputy Associate Administrator for
Public Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
where he oversaw the Agencys press, public outreach, web and
speechwriting operations as the senior communications advisor to the
EPA Administrator.
Prior to joining EPA, Mr. Beck worked on the 55th Presidential
Inaugural Committee; on President Bushs re-election campaign as
Bush-Cheney 04 Communications Director for the State of
Pennsylvania; and as the Communications Director for the U.S.
Department of Transportations Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
Before joining the Bush Administration, Mr. Beck worked for several
trade associations including the National Automobile Dealers
Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
Mr. Beck is a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) in
Tennessee where he received a Bachelors of Science degree in natural
resources and political science. He lives with his wife and two
children in Ashburn, Virginia.
Media contact(s): Megan Barnett, (202) 586-4940
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403
*****************************************************************
45 DOE: DOEs Office of Science Launches Website for U.S. Role at
Large Hadron Collider
September 12, 2007
U.S. scientists join international colleagues to explore universes
mysteries at worlds largest scientific experiments
WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science
today launched a new website to tell the story of the U.S. role in
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a particle accelerator that will
begin operating in Europe, near Geneva, Switzerland, next year.
Hundreds of physicists, engineers and students from the United
States are joining with colleagues from around the globe in the
largest and most complex scientific experiments ever built. The LHC
experiments will address some of the most fundamental mysteries of
the universe.
The new website, http://www.uslhc.us/, funded by DOEs Office of
Science, aims to provide one-stop shopping for anyone seeking
information about the U.S. and the LHC. Updated daily, the website
features up-to-the-minute news and information about the LHC, along
with high-resolution graphic images, scientists blogs, resources
for students and educators and contact information for news media.
The LHC will become the worlds highest-energy particle accelerator
when it is scheduled to turn on in 2008, Dr. Robin Staffin, DOEs
Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics said. The
U.S. has played key roles in the design and construction of both the
LHC experiments and the accelerator. The new website will tell the
story of U.S participation in this extraordinary scientific
adventure as it unfolds.
The LHC is located at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear
Research, near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC, 27 kilometers in
circumference, has been more than 15 years in the making. The
machine accelerates protons to almost the speed of light and makes
them collide in the center of four cathedral-sized experiments,
creating conditions that existed billionths of a second after the
Big Bang. Scientists will use the information from these collisions
to investigate the nature of the physical universe.
Discoveries at the LHC could revolutionize our picture of the
universe, said Dr. Joseph Dehmer, Physics Division Director from
the National Science Foundation, which also provides funding for LHC
experiments. These experiments may solve the mystery of dark
matter and finally answer the question of what gives mass to the
particles were made of.
More than 1,300 scientists from over 90 U.S. institutions
participate in the LHC and its experiments. These scientists
represent universities and national laboratories from 30 states and
Puerto Rico. DOE laboratories participating are: Argonne National
Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The U.S.
scientists join more than 4,000 colleagues worldwide in their hunt
to uncover the secrets of the universe. U.S. scientists have
designed and built many parts of the accelerator and experiments,
and are creating advanced software and computing systems to handle
mountains of data that will flow from the experiments when the
accelerator turns on.
Media contact(s): Jeff Sherwood, (202) 586-5806 Katie Yurkewicz,
+41 22 767 0988, (630) 864-0074
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403
*****************************************************************
46 DOE: DOE Commits $610,000 to Support NGAs Effort to Further State-Level
September 12, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today
announced that DOE will provide $610,000 (Fiscal Year 2007) to
support the National Governors Associations (NGA) work to enact
meaningful energy policies at the state level, furthering the
Departments ongoing commitment to increase state and federal
cooperation and collaboration. DOE will invest $550,000 in NGAs
Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative and; $60,000 in support of
NGAs critical efforts to increase electricity assurance. Secretary
Bodman made todays announcement alongside Minnesota Governor and
NGA Chair Tim Pawlenty, and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who
serve as Co-Chairs of NGAs Energy Task Force.
The Bush Administration shares the NGAs sense of urgency about
increasing our nations energy security, and we are eager to jointly
advance bold energy policies at the state level, Secretary Bodman
said. States provide the necessary and critical link to ensuring
clean, reliable and affordable supplies of energy and the Energy
Department challenges local governments to take similar action.
In support of NGAs Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative, DOE
will invest $550,000 to further efforts to increase the use of clean
renewable fuels and accelerate development of clean energy
technologies. Specifically, DOE funding will help bring together
governors and senior-level policymakers at national energy summits,
provide technical support for development of state energy policy,
offer guidance to states on how to leverage their research and
development investments in advanced energy technologies, and advise
states on using public assets and procurement policies to foster the
use of advanced energy technologies in the private sector. The
remaining $60,000 will be utilized to further critical efforts to
increase States resiliency to electricity supply disruptions. This
includes conducting forums and workshops on energy assurance and
advising states on securing critical energy infrastructure. DOEs
Offices of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, along with the
Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability, are
coordinating efforts and contributing funds under NGAs Securing a
Clean Energy Future Initiative.
Secretary Bodman also challenged states to adopt advanced national
model building codes, align utility incentives with investments in
energy efficiency, encourage regional electricity infrastructure
coordination, support the expansion of renewable fuel infrastructure
and use of intermediate ethanol blends, and increase the use of
clean, renewable resources at the state level. Secretary Bodman
pledged the Departments technical expertise to assist in this
important effort.
NGAs Securing a Clean Energy Future will promote comprehensive
clean energy policies at the state level that use existing energy
resources more wisely through efficiency; promote non-petroleum
based fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, take reasonable steps to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate the research and
development of advanced, clean energy technologies. Read more
information on DOE’s work with NGA Securing a Clean Energy
Future also complements two of President Bushs key energy
initiatives, the Advanced Energy Initiative and Twenty in Ten, which
aim to increase our nations energy and economic security through
diversification of clean energy sources and increased efficiency.
Media contact(s): Julie Ruggiero, (202) 586-4940
U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403
*****************************************************************
47 SF New Mexican: LANL: Rally for recognition
Contact Us | Create an Account / Login | Site Map
Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:27 pm
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Ron Dolin has been working
at the lab for 25 years. Dolin is organizing a rally to get public
support for the work force at LANL. Photo by Clyde Mueller/The New
Mexican
By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican
Workers plan to assemble to raise awareness about importance of lab
Jobs are on the line in Washington. People are worried in Los
Alamos. And supporters of Los Alamos National Laboratory are having
a rally.
The lab’s budget is still up in the air. But Ron Dolin wants
to speak his mind before Oct. 1, when the new federal fiscal year
begins.
“The idea behind our rally is to just raise awareness, and we
want people to just make our state and our federal delegation aware
of how important LANL is,” said Dolin, an engineer who works
at the lab.
The rally is scheduled for noon Sept. 21 on the east side of the
state Capitol. Dolin is organizing the effort with the help of lab
scientist Srinivasan Srivillputhur.
Dolin stressed he’s speaking for himself and not on behalf of
the lab. He also ran for Congress last year as a Republican and lost
to U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M.
The lab is important to national security not just for its work on
maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile but also
in areas like preventing other countries from getting nuclear
weapons and stopping nuclear terrorism, Dolin said. “We have a
niche at Los Alamos, and that’s an important niche,”
Dolin said.
Lab director Michael Anastasio told employees last week to prepare
for a flat budget at best and a $350 million cut at worst. The
lab’s overall budget is more than $2.1 billion, and 12,115
people work there. One worst-case scenario, requested from the lab
by the National Nuclear Security Administration, translated to 2,500
layoffs.
“We are early in the planning process, and I don't have many
answers or even know all the questions that may be asked,”
Anastasio told workers last week. “I wanted to inform you at
the outset, and I will continue to keep you informed as the process
moves forward.”
Dolin also took aim at his former opponent, Udall, who earlier this
year attempted to restore some of the funding cuts proposed by the
House Appropriations Committee. His amendment was defeated 121-312.
“What he did with his ill-conceived amendment was he put the
entire House on record in supporting these cuts,” Dolin said.
“And so now the work that Sen. (Jeff) Bingaman and Sen. (Pete)
Domenici have to do is mountainous compared to what it would have
been.”
Udall’s spokeswoman said his job is to look to the future.
“The reality is that our nation’s nuclear footprint is
shrinking, and burying our heads in the sand and pretending like
after this budget cycle ends, all of LANL’s budget worries
will disappear would be negligent,” Marissa Padilla said.
Domenici is the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations
subcommittee that pays for federal energy and water projects
nationwide. Bingaman, a Democrat, has spoken with the Democratic
chairman of that committee about the importance of the work at Los
Alamos and the need to fund it.
“It is going to take some monumental work to close the gulf
between the House and Senate plans for the weapons complex,”
Domenici said in a statement. “The differences are as
difficult as I’ve ever seen. The situation is not hopeless,
but it is going to take some heavy lifting to avoid significant
layoffs and mission disruptions within our nuclear weapons
complex.”
The Senate has yet to approve a bill that would essentially restore
the cuts to nuclear-weapons programs. After that, a conference
committee consisting of House and Senate members would need to meet
to hammer out the differences between the two measures.
A spokeswoman for Bingaman said it’s too early to tell what
the impact on New Mexico’s economy would be.
The lab, like many federal agencies, will likely be operating this
fall under a continuing resolution, which is a law passed by
Congress to fund basic operation of federal facilities while
Congress works out the details on final spending bills.
It’s unclear at what level the lab would be funded under a
continuing resolution. The continuing resolution could be funded at
current-year levels or at the lowest of the House-passed budget,
Senate-passed budget or current year, a Domenici staffer said.
A retired lab scientist said people feel bad in Los Alamos, and
she’s noticed more homes for sale. Santa Fe’s economy
would be impacted too, Patricia Max said, as people from Los Alamos
need to buy appliances, cars and furniture in Santa Fe or Espaola.
Contact Andy Lenderman at 986-3073 or alenderman@sfnewmexican.com.
Copyright 2007 The New Mexican, Inc.
*****************************************************************
48 Knoxville News Sentinel: Fed manager: Money alone won't fix Y-12's problems
By Frank Munger (Contact)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
You don't have to follow the news too closely to realize the Y-12
nuclear weapons plant has experienced problems in recent years.
There have been spills and fires and equipment failures, and many of
them occurred in the plant's core operations, where workers process
enriched uranium for use in warhead parts.
Some could be blamed on the normal risks of doing a difficult job in
the nuclear industry. The trend was such, however, that it caught
the attention of the chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board. In a letter to Y-12's federal overseers earlier this
year, A.J. Eggenberger raised serious questions about the safety of
Y-12's uranium operations.
Even before that, Ted Sherry, the National Nuclear Security
Administration's Oak Ridge manager, had asked the folks at NNSA
headquarters in Washington to appoint an independent team to review
activities at Y-12 and provide some advice.
Now, mind you, Sherry wasn't asking for a safety review or seeking a
team to evaluate the cause and nature of upsets and accidents. He
wanted industry experts to look at the infrastructure that supports
Y-12's manufacturing missions and to address the plant's funding
priorities.
Of course, a common theme to almost everything at Y-12 is the age of
the plant.
Many problems, be it production delays or uranium spills, are
associated with decades-old facilities being operated well beyond
their intended lifetime.
Even though Y-12 is in the midst of a major-league modernization
program, the plant's main production center won't be replaced for at
least another 12 years - depending on the success in funding a
proposed facility that could cost as much as $3.5 billion.
Anyway, Sherry's request for a review was approved, and a team
headed by Doug Henson, director of science-based engineering and
technology at Sandia National Laboratories, has been looking at the
Y-12 operations for several months.
A draft report has been prepared, although Sherry said it wasn't
available for public review. He said federal and contractor
officials at Y-12 are preparing an action plan to address the team's
recommendations.
According to an Aug. 3 memo by staff of the safety board, Henson's
team "validated ... concerns of inadequate funding and priority of
Y-12 manufacturing infrastructure, in particular preventative
maintenance. The team recommended that priorities of all projects
across Y-12 be reviewed and that real or perceived funding barriers
be addressed to properly fund preventative maintenance consistent
with production needs."
The review team said lower-priority projects might have to be left
unfunded in order to adequately fund the preventative maintenance,
the memo said.
Sherry acknowledged that the plant's continuing problems with "wet
chemistry" - six processes that recycle enriched uranium - were an
example of not keeping up with maintenance.
Y-12 has been unable to keep the processes operating on a consistent
basis because of equipment failures and leaking systems.
Sherry also confirmed that the Oak Ridge plant had missed some of
its production milestones for "various reasons," including the
unavailability of equipment due to maintenance issues.
He was reluctant to blame inadequate funding for all of Y-12's
problems, saying some issues were attributable to the way money was
spent - not necessarily the amount of funding available.
When asked the question directly, he said, "I think there has been a
shortage of investment in the existing facilities."
Sherry said the report might be helpful in making a case for more
maintenance money. But, more importantly, the review should help Oak
Ridge managers better prioritize projects and allocate funds, he
said.
"There's a limited amount of funding out there, and I'm not just
going to say, if you give us more money, it'll be fixed."
Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the
News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at
munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion
section of knoxnews.com.
2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
*****************************************************************
49 Knoxville News Sentinel: Cleanup cost for K-25, K-27 now $757M
That's more than double original price
By Frank Munger (Contact) Wednesday, September 12, 2007
OAK RIDGE — The cost of dismantling the K-25 and K-27
uranium-enrichment facilities has grown to $757 million, according
to a new estimate released by Becthel Jacobs Co., the government’s
cleanup manager.
That’s more than double the original forecast and up significantly
from a $502 million cost estimate a year and a half ago.
Work on K-27, the smaller of the two facilities, won’t be
completed until the last quarter of 2012, based on the revised
schedule.
That’s four years later than the original plan, and it’s not
clear if Bechtel Jacobs will be around to finish the big cleanup
project it started a few years ago.
Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, referred questions on
that topic to the U.S. Department of Energy, and DOE spokesman John
Shewairy said, “I just can’t answer that at this point. It
hasn’t been determined.”
Under a five-year contract signed in 2003, Bechtel Jacobs was
supposed to complete a long list of high-priority cleanup projects
by Sept. 30, 2008. That work plan was to culminate with the
decommissioning of uranium-enrichment facilities that date back to
the World War II Manhattan Project.
Bechtel Jacobs has completed many of the Oak Ridge projects, such as
capping old landfills to stem leaks, dredging waste ponds, and
cleaning up radioactive scrap yards.
But the K-25/K-27 project, the biggest of the tasks under the
cleanup-and-closure contract, has fallen far behind. A number of
things have been blamed for the delays.
As Hill noted in response to questions, Bechtel Jacobs had to
develop an alternate strategy for decommissioning the K-25 building
after a worker fell through a floor during a January 2006 accident.
“In addition, from that point to the present, the project had to
incorporate some major technical issues — some tied to the
deteriorating building conditions and some not — and actual and
projected funding constraints to the project resulting in
significant cost increases and schedule delays,” Hill said.
Virtually all attention and resources have been shifted to
dismantlement activities at K-25, the massive structure that was the
world’s largest building under one roof when it constructed in the
1940s. The miles of pipelines still contain deposits of enriched
uranium, and there are hazards everywhere. More than 800 people are
working on the project.
Hill said taking down the K-25 building could be the most complex
cleanup project ever undertaken at a Department of Energy site.
Demolition of K-25 is expected to generate about 660,000 cubic yards
of radioactive waste.
“It just requires a great deal of time and effort and
expertise,” he said. “We have to make sure we get it down
safely. If that increases schedule and cost, so be it. We’re going
to make sure we get it done right and get it done safely.”
Work on the nearby K-27 building, a 374,000-square-foot facility,
has been delayed for the time being to maximize the efforts at K-25,
Hill said.
Of the estimated $757 million price tag for tearing down both
buildings, most of the money — about $633 million — will be
spent on K-25. The cost of demolishing K-27 is set at $124 million.
Asked about escalating costs, DOE’s Shewairy said, “Well, it’s
been one of those projects. We’ve been saying for some time that
the (K-25) building was in much worse shape than originally
anticipated. We ran into some challenges, both from the safety side
and some technical things and we had to change things midstream.”
Earlier this year, DOE officials indicated that a new cleanup
contract wasn’t needed to complete the K-25 work because Bechtel
Jacobs’ original contract was a “closure” contract included
the possibility of schedule changes. Based on comments this week,
however, that situation seems less clear.
Bechtel Jacobs has reportedly submitted a number of “requests for
equitable adjustment” to DOE. That would enable Bechtel Jacobs to
collect fees for cost growth and schedule delays that were beyond
the contractor’s control.
Shewairy said those discussions between DOE and Bechtel Jacobs are
continuing.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
*****************************************************************
50 lamonitor.com: New directions invited for nuclear complex
The Online News Source for Los Alamos
ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor
The federal agency in charge of the nation's nuclear weapons complex
is asking for some unsolicited advice.
To be precise, a new Request for Information by the National Nuclear
Security Administration "is issued solely for information and
planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation."
The information sought from the contracting community, interested
parties and other federal agencies may be used to "revise or
revalidate" the current approach of having separate Management and
Operating contracts at eight government-owned facilities.
"It's part of our transformation efforts for the future and our
intent to work toward a more flexible, modern and cost effective
complex," said NNSA spokeswoman Julianne Smith this morning.
According to an information page, entitled "Contract Strategy," on
the Internet, NNSA contracts may continue as is or may take on other
forms.
"We are open to consideration of a facilities-based approach
(perhaps combining two or more sites under a single contract) and/or
a function-based approach (providing to some or all locations such
capabilities as purchasing, financial management, information
technology services and management, etc.)," the document states.
The request also expressed interest in receiving suggestions about
alternative provisions in the contract. These might include, but
would not be limited to, "terms associated with contract type and
attendant liability and fee; government furnished facilities;
government furnished equipment; government furnished information;
innovative workforce strategies (loaned personnel, temporary or
limited term hiring); innovative subcontracting strategies (perhaps
associated with anticipated long-term other funding sources or
sponsorship); and work for others."
These suggestions would be especially constructive if they result in
an acquisition strategy that would result in complex wide
improvements, including such desirable features as "more uniform
program execution," "improved workforce planning," "reduced cost,"
"improved performance through streamlining of the organization with
reduction of management layers" and "sustained competition," among
others.
Smith said the request for information is a pre-solicitation phase
of the acquisition process, "because we are interested in all
options."
"What do people think about, say, one contractor to handle human
resources, or one contractor to handle information technology," she
said in offering examples.
An announcement by NNSA tied the solicitation to three contracts in
particular that expire in 2010 - involving what are known
collectively as the "production plants," namely the Kansas City
Plant, Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and
Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.
New competitive contracts have been awarded in the last two years at
Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site and Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory.
"There is nothing in our current situation that is bad or negative;
this is about responding to our future," Smith said. "We wanted to
open the door to get ideas to make sure that whatever we do is going
to help us improve."
On the web:
www.docal.gov/mocontracts
2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
51 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Lab Not Tracking All Plutonium
Thursday September 13, 2007 12:16 AM
By JENNIFER TALHELM Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A stockpile of plutonium and other nuclear
weapons materials stored at Los Alamos National Laboratory hasn't
been fully accounted for in 13 years or more, a government audit
has found.
The northern New Mexico lab's workers have done regular,
partial inventories of the material, which the government
considers to be at high risk of theft, the audit by the Energy
Department's inspector general, Gregory Friedman, found.
Yet an inventory of all the material hasn't been done in
``perhaps 13 years or more,'' Friedman wrote. It wasn't even done
when the lab's management contract changed last year,
investigators noted in the report made public Wednesday.
Friedman said he is concerned because the lack of complete
inventories means that lab workers likely haven't physically
accounted for all of the material in more than a decade.
``The capability to deter, detect and assist in the prevention
of theft or diversion of this material is critical,'' Friedman
wrote. Yet, he added: ``We were unable to find anyone with
knowledge or documentation of the last time the vault was
completely inventoried.''
The lab is responsible for maintaining stores of plutonium,
enriched uranium and depleted uranium as well as other materials
used in the nation's nuclear weapons program.
The report recommends the lab's managers improve the
inventory process.
Lab spokesman Kevin Roark defended the practice of using
statistical sampling for its inventories. He also pointed out
that Friedman's concerns were just about administrative
procedure. No nuclear material is missing, he said.
While Friedman noted that Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory conducts full inventories semiannually, Roark said
Lawrence Livermore has a much smaller store of nuclear material.
Full inventories are impractical and expensive, given Los Alamos'
much larger supply, Roark said.
He added that the highly enriched uranium and plutonium is
typically kept ``in a tamperproof container inside a vault in the
most secure facility ... down a road you can't drive down without
a lab badge.''
Still, Los Alamos has been plagued by security lapses over the
years - from missing data storage devices to the discovery of
classified data during a drug bust at a former lab contract
worker's trailer.
While auditors said the lab is generally doing a good job at
tracking the most sensitive material, the lack of a full
inventory was one of several issues they said needed fixing.
Among the other problems auditors found:
-None of the six inventories of the highly sensitive material
done since December 2005 has been finished on time, a problem
that was noted during similar audits in 2003 and 2005.
-Some lab employees don't follow instructions for how to
develop identification numbers for the materials so they are
easily identified. For example, auditors said one system was
based on characters in a movie that a technician had just seen.
-In an area that stores less sensitive nuclear material -
containing smaller amounts of plutonium and uranium - a new
shipment of nuclear material wasn't documented for eight days.
Auditors noted that it was supposed to have been entered into the
system within four hours.
``Under the circumstances, the nuclear material could have
been diverted without any record showing that it had ever
existed,'' Friedman wrote.
Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
*****************************************************************