***************************************************************** 09/18/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.219 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Climate program falters 2 US: toledoblade.com: Strickland's energy plan receives a warm welcom 3 US: Joplin Globe: In our view: Coal should stay on the menu 4 Daily Times: Leading News Resource of Pakistan 5 CCTV International: China ready to strengthen cooperation on global NUCLEAR REACTORS 6 [NYTr] Env: Chernobyl to get new, steel sarcophagus 7 US: Times Leader: PPL will pay for extra water use | 8 Times of India: India could have gone nuclear in '65 with US nod 9 US: MiamiHerald.com: FPL files to expand Turkey Point plant - 10 US: KCPW: Is Nuclear Power in Utah's Future? - 11 IBNLive: Nuclear Catch 22: US can't wait, Left irate 12 US: Platts: FP&L seeks PSC approval for uprating Florida reactors 13 RIA Novosti: Ukraine plans to double nuclear energy production by 20 14 US: NRC: NRC Sets Public Meeting with Farley on Sept. 20 in Dothan t 15 Platts: Major Chernobyl contracts to be signed September 17 16 Canadian Press: Energy Alberta boss says nuclear energy will 17 Aftenposten.no: Foreign minister calls for more anti-nuclear activis 18 US: CourierPostOnline: N.J. looks to follow nuclear trend 19 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Nuclear regulators seeking comment on Indian Point 20 US: PoughkeepsieJournal.com: NRC extends Indian Point relicensing pe 21 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Decision based on procedure, not VY uprate 22 US: BusinessWeek: Utilities press for new nuclear future 23 US: BusinessWeek: How the U.S. lost its forging groove 24 US: Post-Standard: FitzPatrick nuke plant back to full power - 25 UPI: Pakistan seeks civilian nuclear tech 26 UPI: India sets up panel for power sector 27 Czech Happenings: Czech Temelin safety cannot be assessed from dista 28 US: JS Online: Regulators may vote Tuesday on nuclear plant sale 29 US: MHNN: NRC prepares to hear from the public about Indian Point li 30 DW: Chernobyl Reactor To Be Encased In New Metal Coffin | Europe | 31 The Telegraph: 123 to 456, US rubs salt into Karat cut 32 Guardian Unlimited: Chernobyl to get $505m metal cover to stop radia 33 tvnz.co.nz: Kiwis soften stance to nuclear power NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 34 US: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuclear workers from former plant nea NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 35 US: Bradenton.com: Delay for Tallevast 36 RIA Novosti: IAEA may consider in 1H08 Russia's nuclear fuel plans 37 Platts: Vietnam's Dalat research reactor converts from HEU to LEU fu 38 Platts: Sixteen countries sign on to the founding principles of GNEP 39 ReviewJournal.com: Kucinich touts his plans for change in visit to L 40 NEWS.com.au: Government 'already signed' nuke pact | PEACE 41 [NYTr] Israeli nuclear suspicions linked to raid in Syria 42 [NYTr] NKorea denies nuclear links with Syria 43 [NYTr] UN nuclear chief warns warmongers over Iran 44 IPS-English NUKE PROGRAMME-IRAN: IAEA calls for calm to avert anothe 45 AFP: US military inspect Russian radar in Azerbaijan - 46 The Journal Times: Dormant Cold War begins to simmer 47 SPIEGEL ONLINE: The World from Berlin: France's New Hawks 48 Reuters: Nations urge big powers to ratify atom test ban 49 AFP: India, Pakistan to resume peace talks next month 50 US: WNN: More US warheads to be used for power generation US DEPT. OF ENERGY 51 DOE: DOE Launches New Online Search Tool for Patents, 1940s to Prese 52 Knoxville News Sentinel: NRC: Erwin plant's safety OK 53 Oak Ridger: Prepared for disasters - 54 KOB.com: NASA cuts funding for LANL laser ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Climate program falters Today: September 18, 2007 at 7:5:4 PDT Federal climate study effort lacks the funding and authority to do its job A new federal report says that a five-year-old climate change study has documented global warming's existence, but has failed to adequately research how man-made products have contributed to climate changes and has made no proposals for mitigating or adapting to them. The National Research Council, which is part of the National Academies, released its first progress report Thursday on the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. Launched in 2002, the program is designed to collect and analyze data from 13 federal agencies that study climate change. The report lauded the program for making "good progress in documenting and understanding temperature trends and related environmental changes." But the report says the program has not made much progress in studying the "human drivers of climate change, such as energy consumption, the impact of human systems such as political institutions and economies and mitigation and adaptation options." Part of the problem, the report says, is that only $25 million to $30 million of the climate program's $1.7 billion annual budget is devoted to studying the effect that human activity has on climate change. And its director does not have the authority to reorganize how research money is spent or to drive the direction of research among the 13 agencies that are collecting data. Likewise, the report says, members of those 13 agencies lack the authority to set priorities on their research budgets to fund the studies needed. What's more, federal funding for satellites that are used to collect climate data has been drastically cut, leaving missions canceled or long-delayed. "Without these satellites, scientists' ability to monitor and predict climate change will decline, even as the urgency of doing so increases," the report says. In essence, the Bush administration set up the U.S. Climate Change Science Program for looks, and has set it up to fail. It is just another example of how President Bush stubbornly disregards any science that interferes with his political agenda and could obstruct his efforts to protect the interests of industry over those of the American people. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 toledoblade.com: Strickland's energy plan receives a warm welcome Article published Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Mark Shanahan, Gov. Ted Strickland's energy adviser, talks about the plan to diversify Ohio's energy sources during a presentation at the University of Toledo's Clean and Alternative Energy Incubation Center. The proposal calls for more of the state's energy to come from advanced technology and seeks to stabilize electric rates after utility agreements expire at the end of next year. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) By TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to diversify Ohio's energy sources was received favorably in Toledo yesterday. The proposal, announced Aug. 29, is to be released in its legislative form later this week, then go to the Ohio General Assembly for consideration. It calls for 25 percent of Ohio's energy to come from advanced technology, although only 12.5 percent would have to come from solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy. The other major component is a proposal to stabilize electricity rates after pricing agreements with utilities expire at the end of 2008. "We're not under any illusion that electricity's going to be cheaper in Ohio. The question is how much and how fast [costs will increase after current agreements expire]," said the governor's energy adviser, Mark Shanahan, at the end of a presentation to about 60 area leaders at the University of Toledo's Clean and Alternative Energy Incubation Center. Mr. Strickland's energy plan is being touted as a jobs program largely because of its potential to create new work through the renewable-energy sector. Mr. Shanahan and others are touring Ohio to rally support. The proposal needs grassroots allies because the admin-istration expects "an army of lobbyists" will try to keep the proposed mix of energy sources separate from rate proposals, Mr. Shanahan said. The reaction was at least solid enough for Frank Calzonetti to conclude the meeting by saying it was a "love fest." "It's obvious Toledo is a good place to talk about it," said Mr. Calzonetti, University of Toledo vice president for research and development. The university has quietly become one of the nation's leaders in solar energy research. Ohio, with its large population and industrial base, is the nation's fifth-largest energy user. And it is one of the least diversified energy users. Ninety-five percent of the state's energy comes from coal-fired power plants or those that combust other fossil fuels, such as natural gas, that release carbon dioxide and other gases. That kind of reliance is the reason why 27 states and the District of Columbia have adopted various forms of a "renewable energy portfolio standard," which mandates a more diversified energy mix. Some call for renewables to comprise at least 20 percent of their energy sources by 2020. Nationally - and in Ohio - they make up less than 1 percent of the market. Under Mr. Strickland's plan, Ohio would follow Pennsylvania's lead by including renewables in an advanced technology standard. That can include clean coal, which is largely conceptual right now in terms of developing plants that have few, if any emissions. Ohio also would be the first to include nuclear energy in its standard. Mr. Shanahan said the governor believes it is "irresponsible not to talk about nuclear" given the concern over climate change, although he said the administration recognizes "substantial hurdles" exist in the nuclear industry, such as radioactive waste and safety. Nuclear opponents dispute the emissions-free claim, given the amount of energy needed to produce the cement, steel, and uranium fuel for the plants. "I think it's fair to take production [of a facility] into account, but then you have to take that into account for all baseload generators," Mr. Shanahan said. Carbon sequestration and other forms of clean coal research are in their early stages. Under Mr. Strickland's plan, utilities such as FirstEnergy Corp. could get credit for nuclear production without building new reactors if their facilities have been modernized. FirstEnergy owns and operates the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ottawa County and the Perry nuclear plant in Lake County, Ohio's only two operating nuclear plants. Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com or 419-724-6079. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , ***************************************************************** 3 Joplin Globe: In our view: Coal should stay on the menu , Joplin, MO - Wed, Sep 19 2007 Published September 18, 2007 12:14 am - Opponents are fussing over the proposed construction of coal-fired electric plants in western Kansas and central Oklahoma. In our view: Coal should stay on the menu Opponents are fussing over the proposed construction of coal-fired electric plants in western Kansas and central Oklahoma. Their reasoning is that burning coal to generate electricity is environmentally and financially questionable. It’s a debate that is going to be increasingly heard. In a modern world with an unquenchable appetite for electricity, building new, more efficient power plants would seem a necessity for continuing prosperity. Just as coal will have a place in tomorrow’s energy future, so, too, must nuclear, natural, wind, thermal and other untapped or yey undisclosed forms of energy production. But the question will be: Should the nation push aside its abundant coal resources that might help assure that the lights come on when a customer flips the wall switch, that the television set and kitchen appliances work, and that commerce and industry have the energy available to provide and create goods as well as jobs? Natural gas, wind power and nuclear fission clearly are more environmentally friendly than coal and, given the costs of transporting coal, may prove less expensive over a long term. But there still must be room on the energy menu for coal. Eventually special interests may try to put coal out of bounds. Coal used to be called king. No more. But unless someone comes up with a plentiful, renewable source of energy that is capable of satisfying society’s rising demand for electricity, coal can’t be abandoned. The Joplin Globe Publishing Company 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 4 Daily Times: Leading News Resource of Pakistan Wednesday, September 19, 2007 We should also get civilian nuclear technology: Kasuri * Foreign minister says Pakistan negotiating weapon purchases with France * Only political will can resolve Kashmir issue ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said on Monday that considering Pakistan’s growing energy needs, the world should extend help to the country to fulfil its energy requirements through peaceful nuclear technology. Talking to reporters here at the French embassy after inaugurating an exhibition on 60 years of Pak-French diplomatic relations, the foreign minister said, “The European countries should adopt criteria based approach and extend cooperation to Pakistan for a peaceful nuclear programme.” He said the country requires infrastructure to use nuclear technology in a peaceful manner for producing energy. Therefore, the European Union and in particular, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), should extend its help to Pakistan, he added. Referring to US-Indian cooperation in the field of nuclear technology, Kasuri said the NSG should fulfil Pakistan’s requirement in this regard as Pakistan is a responsible nuclear power. Concerning Pak-France relations, he said there has been close coordination and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including defence. He also appreciated the role of the French government and its NGOs in helping Pakistan after the October 2005 earthquake disaster. Negotiations for weapons: Kasuri especially referred to the cooperation between the two countries for providing submarines and planes to Pakistan. He said the two countries are also negotiating to allow Pakistan to purchase a GF-17. He expressed the hope that Pak-French relations would further strengthen in the future. Replying to a question about the West’s demand for Pakistan “to do more in war against terrorism”, Kasuri said Pakistan has done a lot and it is the now the West and the rest of the world’s turn to do more. Kashmir issue needs political will: He said the Kashmir issue could be resolved with political will, adding that Confidence Building Measures between the two countries have not been wasted. He said the next government would benefit from the progress made in the CBMs and continue the peace process. The foreign minister welcomed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s decision to return to Pakistan and said the government has been trying to make the political system “inclusive” for all parties. He said the government has been engaged in dialogue process with all the political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party, to achieve national reconciliation on important issues and to strengthen the political system in the country. He said Nawaz Sharif’s deportation to Saudi Arabia was not related to the country’s foreign policy. He did not comment further on the Sharif case, but said the government has been making efforts to make the system inclusive so that all the political parties participate in the elections and fair, free and impartial polls are ensured. Kasuri said President General Pervez Musharraf had agreed to convene an All Parties Conference but some parties rejected his proposal. He said the government wanted to proceed with all the political parties and that is why it was engaged in the process of dialogue with all the parties. app Daily Times - All Rights Reserved Site developed and hosted by WorldCALL Internet Solutions ***************************************************************** 5 CCTV International: China ready to strengthen cooperation on global nuclear energy WATCH VIDEO Source: CCTV.com | 09-18-2007 11:53 China and fifteen other states have signed on to the principles of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP. The second ministerial conference has just closed in Vienna. 38 ministers and senior officials from various countries attended the conference at the IAEA headquarters on Sunday. Also present were key intergovernmental organizations such as the IAEA and Eurotom. The GNEP goal is to make full use of nuclear power for expanding global energy, while reducing the dangers of nuclear proliferation and controling radioactive waste. It also aims over the next few decades to commission proliferation-resistant nuclear reactors with assured international supplies of fuel. This is to curb dependence on oil and gas, fuels blamed for greenhouse gases triggering climate change. The head of the Chinese delegation, Chen Deming said China has set its policies for a closed nuclear fuel cycle for the development of power generation. © 2005 China Central Television. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 6 [NYTr] Env: Chernobyl to get new, steel sarcophagus Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:56:18 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit AP via Toronto Globe & Mail - Sep 17, 2007 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070917.wchernobyl0917/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070917.wchernobyl0917 Chernobyl to get new, steel sarcophagus by MARIA DANILOVA Associated Press KIEV b Ukrainian officials signed a $505 million (U.S.) contract with a French-led consortium Monday for construction of a new shelter for the Chernobyl reactor, the site of the word's worst nuclear accident. The project, financed by an international fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will be designed and built by the French-led consortium Novarka, which includes the companies Bouygues SA and Vinci SA. The new shelter b a mammoth arch-shaped steel structure b will enclose the concrete sarcophagus erected hastily after the 1986 accident. That structure has been crumbling and leaking radiation for more than a decade. bI am convinced that today, possibly for the first time, we can frankly tell the national and international community that the answer to the problem of sheltering the Chernobyl nuclear plant was found today,b President Viktor Yushchenko said at the signing ceremony, according to the presidential Web site. The plan is to eventually dismantle the sarcophagus and the exploded reactor inside the new shelter. Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of the former Soviet Union and much of northern Europe. An area roughly half the size of Italy was contaminated, forcing the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people. Ukraine has repeatedly asked for money from the European Union and other Western sources to fund a new shelter. Anton Usov, a spokesman for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said it will take about 11/2 years to design the shelter and another four to build it. The entire project of sheltering the reactor, which began in 1997 and also includes strengthening the existing sarcophagus, monitoring radiation and training experts, is estimated at $1.39 billion, Mr. Usov said. Officials also signed a $200 million contract with New Jersey-based Holtec International for decommissioning the power plant. The project includes building a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from the plant's three other reactors, which kept operating until the station was shut down in 2000. That undertaking is also financed by international donors in a fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. bThe successful implementation of the project depends not only on the progress of the construction work, but also on the continued commitment of both the Ukrainian authorities and the international community,b European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Jean Lemierre said in a statement. In the first two months after the disaster, 31 people died from illnesses caused by radioactivity, but there is heated debate over the subsequent toll. A 2005 report from the United Nations health agency estimated that about 9,300 people will die from cancers caused by Chernobyl's radiation. Some groups, such as Greenpeace, insist the toll could be 10 times higher. * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 7 Times Leader: PPL will pay for extra water use | Wilkes-Barre News | timesleader.com - By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com PPL Corp. agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement last week regarding a 2001 increase in water usage from the Susquehanna River. The settlement was made with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, a federal interstate agency charged with approving or denying applications to withdraw ground or surface water from the basin. According to Thomas Beauduy, the commission’s deputy director, the settlement was one of the largest made by PPL. The matter stems from a 2001 modification, or uprate, made to PPL’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township that resulted in an increase in water withdrawn from the river. Beauduy said the increase was greater than 100,000 gallons per day, the minimum amount needed before PPL has to seek approval. “In our belief, the increased water use related to that uprate triggered our regulations,” Beauduy said. The issue didn’t surface until 2006, Beauduy said, when the commission received a PPL application for another uprate. Last week, the commission agreed to the $500,000 settlement and approved the recent uprate request, which allows the plant to withdraw up to 66 million gallons of water from the river daily with a consumptive use (water lost to evaporation) set at 48 million gallons daily. Previously, the plant was approved to use 40 million gallons daily. PPL spokesman Lou Ramos said the corporation disagreed with the commission’s contention that approval was needed for the 2001 water usage increase. Ramos said the amount of the increase was never validated. “They (the commission) wanted us to install flow meters in our large pipes, which is quite expensive,” he said. “We could never agree on how we would go about measuring the flow.” While the disagreement persisted over the years, PPL sought to increase output at the plant by 7 percent in 2006, Ramos said. In order to have the increased output, the plant would need to withdraw more water from the river and would need SRBC approval, he said. “In order for us to move on with the current filing, the commission has to clear any pending issues,” Ramos said. “We agreed to the settlement, and in return, they closed the 2001 issue and we could move forward and request for additional water usage for our current power upgrade.” Beauduy said the $500,000 will go into the commission’s water management fund, which is used to develop water storage projects to mitigate the impact of consumptive uses from the Susquehanna River. Tom Venesky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7230. © Copyright 2007 The Times Leader. All Rights Reserved. Times Leader 15 N. Main Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 (570) 829-7101 or (800) 427-8649 ***************************************************************** 8 Times of India: India could have gone nuclear in '65 with US nod 19 Sep 2007, 0001 hrs IST,Gautam Siddharth,TNN NEW DELHI: Had Washington given a green signal to New Delhi in February 1965, India would have been able to conduct a "dramatic peaceful achievement" - a euphemism for nuclear test as, indeed, how it was described with Pokhran 1 - well within a year of Chinese nuclear blast at Lop Nor in 1964. According to declassified US State Department "memorandum of conversation" dated February 22, 1965, between US undersecretary of state George W Ball and India's secretary of Department of Nuclear Enegry Homi J Bhabha, the Indian scientist had explicitly told the American official that "if India went all out, it could produce a nuclear device in 18 months, and with a US blueprint it could do the job in six months". The memorandum, along with reams of other documents, has been reproduced and released for public for the first time in the book 'India and the United States: Politics of the Sixties' by senior journalist Kalyani Shankar. While the stated US reason for not supporting India's nuclear test was that America was trying to ensure that all the major non-nuclear countries renounced nuclear weapons, the subtext from several other declassified letters, memorandums and reports of US Directorate of Intelligence, CIA and then American ambassador in Delhi Chester Bowles' letters to US officials in Washington reveal that it was India's inheritance of the non-aligned worldview from Nehru and Delhi’s refusal to support the US in several key international situations through the 1960s that queered the pitch for fostering the sort of understanding that's being attempted today, more than 40 years later. In one of her letters to President Lyndon B Johnson (dated May 12, 1966), Indira Gandhi describes the extent of hostile opposition she faced, writing in one place, "My critics have chosen the Indo-US foundation as the springboard for a personal attack on me, even though the basic idea had been agreed long before I came to office." Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 9 MiamiHerald.com: FPL files to expand Turkey Point plant - 09/18/2007 - If expansion plans go forward, FPL's South Miami-Dade plant would rank among the country's largest nuclear-generating sites. BY CURTIS MORGAN cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com TIM CHAMPMAN/MIAMI HERALD FILE, 2005 Florida Power & Light intends to seek approval to add two new nuclear units at Turkey Point by 2025. Florida Power & Light plans to dramatically expand nuclear power output at Turkey Point -- a project some environmentalists fear would destroy hundreds of acres of wetlands and consume too much of the area's already dwindling water supply. The utility on Monday asked the Florida Public Service Commission for permission to overhaul and increase generating capacity for two existing reactors at the South Miami-Dade County site, as well as two others in St. Lucie County, by 2012. FPL also announced it intends to seek approval to add two new nuclear units at Turkey Point by 2025. If approved, that would make the power complex on the mangrove coastline of Biscayne Bay among the first sites in the country with four operating reactors. ''That would be one of the largest ones,'' said Ken Clark, regional spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Atlanta. FPL President Armando Olivera said the expansion is necessary to address the state's growing demand for electricity, while also helping to meet Gov. Charlie Crist's goals for reducing power-plant pollution linked to global warming. ''We've been generating safe, reliable nuclear power for 35 years,'' Olivera said in a news release. ``This proposal can help supply additional affordable new energy to Floridians without producing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists have determined can contribute to climate change.'' The PSC filing made formal what has been expected since late last year, when FPL executives began discussing Turkey Point, the state's first and oldest nuclear plant, as a leading candidate for major expansion. PLANT REJECTED The hunt for a new nuclear site intensified in June, when the PSC rejected a 1,900-megawatt coal-burning plant in Glades County near Lake Okeechobee. Environmentalists mounted a major campaign against it, charging the pollution could harm Everglades wildlife and air quality and exacerbate global warming. Crist, who is campaigning to reduce statewide greenhouse emissions, also expressed concerns. Mark Oncavage, a Miami Sierra Club activist, said the utility shouldn't expect smooth sailing by touting nuclear power as a ''green'' alternative to coal. ''I think there is going to be quite a fight,'' he said. Environmentalists, echoed by the managers of Biscayne National Park, already have questioned site plans FPL has filed with Miami-Dade County, saying the expansion would destroy hundreds of acres of coastal wetlands and affect South Florida's tight supply of fresh water. With the reactors powering steam-driven electrical turbines, Turkey Point ranks among Miami-Dade's largest water users. ''That's one of the biggest problems I see,'' Oncavage said. ``There is not enough water to build it.'' There also could be heightened concerns from terrorist attacks, accidents, hurricanes and growing stockpiles of potentially lethal radioactive waste. FPL, like most nuclear operators, already is running out of room for spent fuel rods. With a long-planned federal dump under a Nevada mountain mired in controversy, the utility intends in the next few years to start moving the most depleted radioactive fuel into concrete ''dry storage'' casks on each site. SAFETY REVIEW FPL spokesman Tom Veenstra said state and federal regulators would address all safety and security issues before approving any new reactors, a process that could take more than a decade, and the utility was discussing water and wetlands impacts with county regulators. But he stressed that FPL had a solid safety record, elaborate security and had already withstood a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The company has said it needs to produce about 28 percent more energy over the next decade to serve a growing population. Turkey Point's twin reactors now produce enough power for 450,000 homes. The nuclear expansion, if approved, would come in two phases. First, FPL hopes to coax 100 more megawatts from existing generators by 2012. FPL says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved more than 100 similar ''uprates'' since the 1970s, including at both Turkey Point and St. Lucie. By 2020, FPL would hope to have two more powerful ''third-generation'' reactors online, putting out about 3,000 megawatts -- more than twice the energy produced today. The new reactors would add to the growing uranium-powered energy wave in the United States, which hasn't approved a new plant since 1973. The NRC expects to get applications from at least 21 utilities by 2009 to build 32 reactors nationwide by 2020. In Florida, Progress Energy is pursuing a nuclear facility in Levy County and is about a year ahead in the process. * Copyright 1996-2007 The Miami Herald Media Company| ***************************************************************** 10 KCPW: Is Nuclear Power in Utah's Future? - Sep 18, 2007 by Julie Rose (KCPW News) Utah lawmakers Wednesday are considering a new law that will encourage utility companies in the state to build nuclear power plants. Under the plan, power companies could raise rates now to offset the cost of a nuclear plant in the future. Ratepayer watchdog Roger Ball says it's a bad deal for Utahns: "Now I am not for one moment suggesting that nuclear cannot be part of a balanaced energy portfolio going forward," says Ball. "What I'm saying that we know is that in other states that have gone that route, ratepayers have ended up paying through the nose for it." Not only are rates likely to be higher, says Ball, but Utah's whole regulatory system is likely to become sympathetic to nuclear power, at the expense of other renewable options like wind or solar. It's happened in other states, he says. Anti-nuclear activist Vanessa Pierce of HEAL-Utah goes one step further. Nuclear power plants in Utah mean nuclear waste in Utah. She argues the bill is contrary to the state's recent ban on storing high-level nuclear waste. "And that absolutely undermines the fight we just undertook to stop Private Fuel Storage from dumping high level waste on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation," says Pierce. The legislature's interim committee on public utilities will debate the measure on Utah's Capitol Hill Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in room W015. 2007 Legislative Coverage. Copyright 2007 KCPW ***************************************************************** 11 IBNLive: Nuclear Catch 22: US can't wait, Left irate CNN-IBN Published on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 02:01 in Nation section New Delhi: For the first time, the Americans have something to say about the need for India to act fast and operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal. The American ambassador to India, David Mulford didn't mince words when he insisted: "Now we must take the final step. Time is of essence." Mulford echoed Washington's opinion that it was best in the interests of both parties that the deal receives its stamp of approval during the Bush regime. Meanwhile, in Vienna, India's Atomic Energy Chief, Anil Kakodkar made it clear that nuclear power was an inevitable option. He may not have begun formal negotiations on the India-specific safeguards but made a strong pitch for India's entry into nuclear league. He said: "There is need for reformation in global thinking that is necessary and consensus on closed fuel cycle has to be reached by those going to participate in the future nuclear renaissance.'' And Mulford's plea that time is of essence came on a day when Prakash Karat told the Government to pause the deal for six months. Mulford's reminder to the Government comes on the eve of the next round of UPA-Left negotiations. It has the potential to upset the political arrangement between the Left and UPA to help each other buy time. Copyright © IBNLive.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Platts: FP&L seeks PSC approval for uprating Florida reactors 2007-09-17 Washington (Platts)--17Sep2007 Florida Power & Light Co. is seeking state regulators' approval for uprating St. Lucie-1 and -2 and Turkey Point-3 and -4 by 100 MW each. FP&L said it filed a determination of need petition September 17 with the Florida Public Service Commission. FP&L plans to perform the uprate work during scheduled refueling outages in 2011 for Turkey Point-4 and St. Lucie-1 and in 2012 for Turkey Point-3 and St. Lucie-2. St. Lucie-1 is rated at 872 MW, and unit 2 at 882 MW; Turkey Point-3 and -4 are each rated at 760 MW. FP&L outlined the proposal for the uprates -- and for potentially two more reactors at Turkey Point -- during a PSC workshop last month. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 13 RIA Novosti: Ukraine plans to double nuclear energy production by 2030 18:59 | 18/ 09/ 2007 KIEV, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine plans to double its volume of nuclear energy output by 2030, President Viktor Yushchenko said Tuesday, commenting on a joint Russian and U.S. initiative in the sphere of nuclear energy. In early July, the Russian and U.S. presidents said they were ready to start bilateral and multilateral talks on access to civilian nuclear energy for countries complying with their non-proliferation obligations. "By the year 2030 we plan to double the production of electricity at [Ukrainian] nuclear power plants," said Bohdan Sokolovskiy, a presidential advisor, citing President Yushchenko. "The implementation of such an ambitious national strategy requires the participation of our country in international programs." He also said that President Yushchenko believes that the Russian and American initiative to enhance cooperation in the sphere of nuclear energy and non-proliferation is an "up-to-date and very relevant" initiative. In a joint statement adopted following informal talks at the American president's summer residence at Kennebunkport July 1-2, Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush reiterated an approach they said would give access to the benefits of nuclear energy to a growing number of interested countries, while also preventing them from building nuclear weapons. Their initiatives also envision financial aid for building nuclear power plants, advice on spent fuel storage, and contain obligations to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies and other commitments. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: NRC Sets Public Meeting with Farley on Sept. 20 in Dothan to discuss Inspection of Cooling Water System Breaker Failures News Release - Region II - 2007-045 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 www.nrc.gov CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting with Farley nuclear power plant officials on Sept. 20 in Dothan, Ala., to discuss preliminary results of a five-member inspection team’s review of Component Cooling Water System breaker failures. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) in the County Commissioners Chambers on the Third Floor of the Houston County Administration Building, located at 462 North Oats Street. The NRC dispatched what the agency calls an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to Farley on Sept. 10 to review the failures of electrical breakers for component cooling water pumps. The component cooling water system does not provide cooling water for the reactor. It circulates water through a closed system to cool other plant systems and components. On Sept. 4 and 5, two different electrical breakers associated with component cooling water pumps on Unit 1 failed to close during testing. The breakers were replaced, and the company is trouble shooting the failures. NRC officials said that, because Farley has experienced previous breaker issues, and this condition has the potential to be applicable to similar breakers in safety-related systems on both Unit 1 and Unit 2, the agency determined that an AIT, formed to review circumstances surrounding more significant issues at NRC-licensed facilities, was appropriate. 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. Monday, September 17, 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 Platts: Major Chernobyl contracts to be signed September 17 2007-09-17 London (Platts)--17Sep2007 Major Chernobyl contracts will be signed September 17 at the Ukranian president's office, not at the plant site as had been planned, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development said September 14. The contracts are with the Novarka consortium (Vinci, Bouygues and associated companies) to build a "New Safe Confinement" over Chernobyl-4's existing "shelter," and with Holtec International to supply an interim spent fuel storage facility. The Ukrainian ministry responsible for Chernobyl had invited journalists to the Chernobyl site to witness the signing ceremony, but at the last minute President Viktor Yushchenko "changed the venue" to his office, according to a knowledgeable source. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who has authority over the ministry, will square off in national elections scheduled in two weeks, and the source said Yushchenko wanted to "be in the limelight" for the signature of the two major, long-awaited contracts for the Chernobyl work. The contracts are financed by international donors and managed by the EBRD's Nuclear Safety Department. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 16 Canadian Press: Energy Alberta boss says nuclear energy will protect province from carbon tax 10 hours ago CALGARY (CP) — A businessman who wants to build Western Canada's first nuclear power plant says nuclear energy would help protect Alberta from a carbon tax. Wayne Henuset, president of Energy Alberta, told a Calgary business audience that with Ontario and Quebec relying heavily on nuclear and hydro electricity, there will be a move to apply the tax and come after Alberta's oil and gas resources. But he says the province could protect itself from that by using clean nuclear power to make Alberta appear environmentally responsible. Energy Alberta is aiming to build a $6.2-billion plant near Peace River in northern Alberta but still needs regulatory approval. Henuset says his company doesn't want to sign any contracts with prospective customers for the 2,200 megawatt Candu twin reactor, but has eight different groups interested. He has declined to give any details, citing confidentiality agreements. Copyright © 2007 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Aftenposten.no: Foreign minister calls for more anti-nuclear activism - First published: 18 Sep 2007, 17:13 Norway's seemingly indefatigable foreign minister was back on the lecture circuit this week, speaking at a conference in Oslo marking 10 years of efforts to ban land mines and urging more public awareness and concern about nuclear proliferation. Foreign Minister has lots of items on his agenda, and the threat of nuclear proliferation was among them this week.PHOTO: MORTEN HOLM/SCANPIX Jonas Gahr Střre maintains a weekly schedule that likely would exhaust most "normal" folks by Monday afternoon. He's also passionate about a number of issues, and this week, a new looming atomic threat was on his agenda. "Nuclear proliferation is not yesterday's news," he told his audience at the conference organized by the Norwegian Red Cross, an organization Střre once headed. "It's a burning question for both today and the future." Střre let it be known that he's worried not only about the possibility of a new nuclear arms race, but even more over what he sees as a lack of public outrage over such a development. Střre, from the Norwegian Labour Party, urged his audience to remember the political process involved in earlier campaigns against nuclear proliferation, and how volunteer organizations all over the world got involved. He said the challenge now is to use that knowledge and experience to halt a new arms race. Norway, he noted, has taken the initiative along with several other countries including Great Britain and South Africa, to drum up attention around nuclear containment and non-proliferation. He said such initiatives can contribute towards control of nuclear weapons. He said later that developing countries are trying to acquire nuclear weapons for security reasons, while existing atomic powers are building new and more advanced weapons systems. He didn't identify any specific countries, but Iran's efforts have long been in the news, and both the British and the Americans are known to be modernizing their nuclear weapons systems. Střre's concern was shared by Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her efforts towards banning landmines. Williams said she was "shocked" that there's no public fury over current nuclear proliferation. Another Nobel Prize winner at the conference, Shirin Ebadi of Iran, called her homeland one of the world's most mine-infested countries, and the government wants to maintain them to prevent another invasion from Iraq. Aftenposten's reporter Nils Christian Helle Publisher: Aftenposten Multimedia A/S, Oslo, Norway.Telephone: +47 - 22 86 30 00. All rights, including copyright and database right, are owned by or licensed to Aftenposten Multimedia.© Aftenposten Multimedia. ***************************************************************** 18 CourierPostOnline: N.J. looks to follow nuclear trend South Jersey's Web Site CourierPostOnline.com AVI STEINHARDT Courier-Post file The Salem County nuclear complex, already one of the largest in the country, would become even larger if Public Service Energy Group decides and is allowed to build a fourth generator there. RON KARAFIN/Courier-Post file A New Jersey company is studying the possibility of building a fourth generator at the Salem/Hope Creek nuclear complex in Lower Alloways Creek. Some environmental groups say the plan is too risky and too expensive. Tuesday, September 18, 2007 By RICHARD PEARSALL Courier-Post Staff Nuclear power, long written off in the United States as too risky and too expensive, is back on the table in many states. And New Jersey is among them. The Public Service Enterprise Group announced last month it has begun studying the possibility of building a fourth generator at its Salem/Hope Creek nuclear complex in Lower Alloway's Creek. Already one of the largest nuclear power stations in the country, the Salem County complex would become even larger if Public Service decides -- and is allowed -- to proceed. The country now has 104 nuclear reactors (with several sites, like Salem, hosting more than one). The last reactor to come online was in 1996, in Tennessee, a project launched 22 years before. But concerns about global warming and dependence on foreign oil have blunted opposition to nuclear power and given the industry a new lease on expansion. There are now 32 proposals to build generators in various stages of planning, according to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The number does not include PSEG. "We haven't decided to do this," said Paul Rosengren, a PSEG spokesman. "We've begun to look at the feasibility. We're actively exploring it." The company has committed $50 million to a four-year study. It noted in announcing the study the original plans for the Salem complex included a fourth generator, a Hope Creek 2 to go with what are known as Salem 1 and 2 and Hope Creek 1. Still, not everyone thinks a new "nuke" at Salem is a good idea. Some environmental groups are opposed on the grounds nuclear power is too risky and too costly. "It will cost at least $4 billion and take at least 10 years to build," Environment New Jersey's Matt Elliot said of a new generator at Hope Creek. And with that would come the problems of radioactive waste and terrorism, not to mention fish kills, he said. "There are cheaper solutions without the bad side effects," Elliot said. His and other environmental groups contend a combination of conservation and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar can meet the state's future electricity needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. PSEG is all for energy efficiency and renewable sources, too, the corporation counters. But the numbers just don't add up the way the environmentalists would like them to, Rosengren said. "Even if you succeed at those two (efficiency and renewables), you're still going to need some form of clean, reliable, power station." And for New Jersey, he said, that means nuclear power. New Jersey now gets about 50 percent of its electricity from nuclear power generated here and out of state. The discussion of a new generator at Hope Creek comes in the midst of a debate over the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station in Ocean County. It also comes at the same time as a special task force, led by the state Board of Public Utilities, is developing an Energy Master Plan to guide the development of energy use and facilities in the next 10 years. The task force, which has been working on the plan for a year now, is holding its cards close to the vest. "All options are currently on the table," said Doyal Siddell, a board spokesman. "But we are not currently ready to discuss the portfolio of generating options we're committing to." The board expects to have a draft of its master plan ready for public perusal "sometime this fall," Siddell said. Gov. Jon S. Corzine has set a number of ambitious energy goals for the state, one of which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 (and 80 percent by 2050). Power generation plays a major role in achieving that goal, though not as great, perhaps, as the transportation sector. Some environmentalists argue massive changes in energy efficiency -- everything from light bulbs to appliances to construction practices -- plus big investments in wind and solar generation will do the trick. PSEG says you still need big, clean and reliable power plants to provide a base source. Some states are looking at "new clean-coal technology" to meet that need, Rosengren said. But that requires something called "CO2 sequestration," a place to store emissions, like salt mines, that New Jersey lacks. "The only viable option is nuclear power," he said. "It's critical to reliability and to keeping costs down." The task force working on the Energy Master Plan is composed of members of Corzine's cabinet. The governor, like the task force, is keeping his sentiments about nuclear power to himself for the moment. Elliot, the Environment New Jersey spokesman, said the master plan "gives the governor a golden opportunity to be a leader in the country in terms of renewable energy, a visionary." But, he said, the nuclear industry is looking at the plan as a golden opportunity, too. "They're hoping Corzine will opt for the status quo and make some promise to invest in nuclear." Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com Copyright ©2007 Courier-Post. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 19 JOURNAL NEWS: Nuclear regulators seeking comment on Indian Point license renewal Tuesday, September 18, 2007 By GREG CLARY BUCHANAN - Residents get a chance tomorrow to tell the Nuclear Regulatory Commission their environmental concerns about Indian Point as it tries to extend its license through 2035. "This will be a transcribed meeting because the comments are important to us," said NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci. "With a record of the meeting, the staff can go back and address all the issues that are raised." Some of those will be incorporated in the yearlong environmental analysis, Screnci said, while others will at least merit a response in the agency's final report. Entergy Nuclear applied for 20-year license extensions for both its working reactors, Indian Point 2 and 3, at the end of April and tomorrow's public meetings are part of the NRC's outreach as it narrows the scope of its review. The state and others have already raised an issue with federal regulators - the amount of time allowed for an interested party to participate in the approval process. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is heading up New York's response to Indian Point's application and agency officials want an extra 60 days to make their case. Congressional representatives from the Lower Hudson Valley also have asked the NRC to push back the Oct. 1 deadline, as has the environmental group Riverkeeper. State DEC officials said they have to gather data and analysis from a variety of state agencies, to submit a single response as required, and the 60-day clock that started running Aug. 1 doesn't allow adequate time. A Sept. 11 DEC letter noted that "many of the staff assigned to the extensive and complex application for relicensing have been diverted to respond to a number of problems that have arisen at Indian Point this year, including multiple unplanned shutdowns for Unit 3, an ongoing groundwater investigation, and issues with certifying the new siren warning system for the site." It also argues that state officials need more time to hire experts, especially on topics that have come up since the application process began. Screnci said yesterday that the NRC would evaluate the requests to extend the deadline and respond as quickly as possible. Philip Musegaas, a Riverkeeper policy analyst on Indian Point, said his organization plans to bring up the nuclear plants' impact on the Hudson River, especially concerning the plants' radiation leaks and its need for cooling water that Riverkeeper says is killing huge numbers of fish. "We're going to be strongly urging the NRC to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of Indian Point, to take an objective look," Musegaas said. "Hopefully, they'll explain the process to the public. We have real concerns that the NRC doesn't do a good job of looking at these (applications)." He added that the organization would submit additional comments in writing and will seek to have its concerns formally included in the application process as the DEC is. Reach Greg Clary at 914-696-8566 or gclary@lohud.com. Copyright © 2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. ***************************************************************** 20 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: NRC extends Indian Point relicensing petition deadline Tuesday, September 18, 2007 By Craig Wolf Poughkeepsie Journal The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given more time to those parties who would like to be part of the debate over proposed relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear plants for 20 more years. Meghan Smith, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-Dover, said the commission’s Oct. 1 deadline for filing petitions to intervene has been extended to Nov. 30. Others asking for an extension of time included more members of Congress, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and environmental groups. The extension was reported to Hall in a letter from Gregory Jaczko, acting chairman of the commission. Hall issued a statement: “This 60-day extension for concerned citizens to file in the process is a highly necessary first step by the NRC to make sure that the communities that host Indian Point will be heard.” Reach Craig Wolf at cwolf@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4815 Copyright © 2007 PoughkeepsieJournal.com ***************************************************************** 21 Brattleboro Reformer: Decision based on procedure, not VY uprate BRATTLEBORO, VT By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff Tuesday, September 18 BRATTLEBORO -- It wasn't about the uprate, contended a spokesman for the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, about a recent Vermont Supreme Court decision. It's all about the court's use of a procedure -- called the preservation rule -- to deny NEC's request that the Vermont Public Service Board review whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's engineering inspection of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant met the state's requirements for a "four system deep vertical slice inspection." NEC has been asking for an independent safety assessment to be performed at the power plant, similar to one conducted at Maine Yankee in 1996. That assessment led plant owners to conclude costly upgrades didn't warrant the continued operation of the plant. The Supreme Court ruled Sept. 14 that because NEC had not clearly outlined its request for an evidentiary hearing to debate the merits of the VPSB's decision earlier during the procedure, it was not entitled to one. "The decision means that the VPSB cannot be taken at their word and that citizen litigants must anticipate that they will issue arbitrary and capricious orders and move that they not violate the rules in advance," wrote NEC technical consultant Ray Shadis, in an e-mail to the Reformer. "It escapes me how we were supposed to anticipate that the board would void its obligation to amend an order only upon consideration of new evidence," he wrote. "We had hoped to force the PSB to a judicial objective review of the evidence. Now the Supreme Court has dodged the issue by applying a cribbed and rigid interpretation of the law to the citizens and a lavishly lax interpretation of the law to a squeamish duty-shirking PSB." According to the NRC, a vertical slice inspection includes a review of a licensee's management controls for technical adequacy and compliance with the appropriate license conditions. Inspectors also verify proper implementation of those requirements by conducting in-depth performance reviews focused on a single system or process. In 2004, the VPSB issued a certificate of public good, approving a 20 percent increase in power at Vermont Yankee. But it also issued several conditions to its approval, including a a request to the NRC that it perform an independent assessment. The board asked the NRC to look at "45 different components, operator actions and operating experience issues." "This inspection was not a vertical slice review of four systems as we had requested," wrote the VPSB, when it accepted the NRC's engineering assessment. "Nonetheless, the inspection report makes clear that the review was both detailed and extensive, covering both safety and engineering issues." "NEC claims the Board violated statutory procedural requirements by not conducting an evidentiary hearing before determining that those conditions were met," wrote the court in its Sept. 14 decision. "We conclude that NEC failed to preserve this issue for appeal and therefore affirm without reaching the merits of the parties' arguments." After the NRC submitted its assessment in December 2004, NEC filed several comments to the public service board. They included a request that the board reject the assessment "as unsuited and unsatisfactory to its needs in determining projected reliability of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station under conditions of extended power uprate." On Feb. 3, 2005, NEC filed another comment, requesting "if the board (had) any doubts as to a just decision, and one that is adequately protective of the people of Vermont, an evidentiary hearing and oral argument (should) be scheduled on a timetable that (would) allow the parties ample time to gather evidence and prepare their case." Later that year, in June and July, NEC filed even more comments, reaffirming its earlier comments "but did not change its requested relief," wrote the court, and "is not at this point moving to reopen the record." In accepting the NRC's report without allowing for an evidentiary hearing, wrote the NEC, the board violated the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act. That "procedural violation," wrote the NEC, prevented it from a cross examination that would have allowed it to determine the extent of the engineering assessment. NEC asked the board to issue a stay in Yankee's uprate approval. The board denied NEC's request for a stay, arguing that "there was ample opportunity to comment, seek such a hearing or file additional argument, but that, although the parties submitted multiple rounds of comments, no party, including NEC, sought further hearings." The board concluded that NEC raised the issue for the first time in its motion for a stay, and not during the comment period, which the court said "was simply too late." In its response, Entergy contended that "NEC failed to preserve its request for an evidentiary hearing because it never demanded such a hearing before the Board." "This court will not address arguments not properly preserved for appeal," wrote the Supreme Court in its Sept. 14 ruling. "Allowing a party to wait to raise the error until after the negative verdict encourages that party to sit silent in the face of claimed error, a policy we have admonished." "Preservation requires a party to present the issue with specificity and clarity, to give the original forum a fair opportunity to rule on it," wrote the court. NEC and other anti-nuclear activists may still get an independent safety inspection if the state's legislators in Washington, D.C., get their way. Sens. Bernard Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch are sponsoring bills that would force the NRC to conduct such an assessment if so demanded by a governor or public service board of a state with either a nuclear power plant or emergency preparedness zone within its borders. If the legislation passes, it means that New Hampshire, Massachusetts or Vermont could demand an independent assessment of Vermont Yankee. ***************************************************************** 22 BusinessWeek: Utilities press for new nuclear future The Associated Press September 18, 2007, 12:49PM ET By JOHN WILEN NEW YORK The current turmoil in credit markets is unlikely to derail plans by power companies to begin ordering the first new nuclear plants since cost overruns and public opposition virtually killed the industry three decades ago. Nearly 30 years after Three Mile Island, Entergy Corp., Dominion Resources Inc., Exelon Corp. and the Tennessee Valley Authority are expected to be among the first to seek regulatory approval to build new plants. Constellation Energy Group has already filed a partial application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which expects up to seven requests this year and 28 by 2009. The first plants could be online by 2014 or 2015. "I think investors are relatively positive on companies that are ... planning the next round of nuclear plants," said Barry Abramson, analyst and portfolio manager at GAMCO Investors Inc., in Rye, N.Y. "The numbers seem to work." Utilities see in nuclear plants an opportunity to affordably meet demand for electricity, which the Energy Information Administration is forecasting will grow by 42 percent by 2030. High natural gas prices and the prospect of taxes or constraints on greenhouse gases are making gas- or coal-fired plants less attractive. New modular designs and a streamlined regulatory process further strengthen the argument for nuclear power. "At the end of the day, we believe ... nuclear will be cost-competitive," said Randy Hutchinson, senior vice president of nuclear business development at New Orleans-based Entergy. But this nuclear renaissance faces challenges. No company has lined up financing, and their ability to borrow affordably will depend on federal loan guarantees and state rules about when utilities can hike rates to pay for construction. Construction costs are rising due to growing global demand for raw materials. And activism, an accident or terrorist attack could stoke public opposition. Still, reactor vendors, such as General Electric Co., Toshiba Corp.-owned Westinghouse Electric Co. and France's Areva Group, in a new joint venture with Constellation, are positioning themselves to profit. GE, in joint venture with Japan's Hitachi Ltd., sees its annual reactor business growing from $1.1 billion to $8 billion over the next decade. To strengthen its hand, the industry is pushing legislation to expand federal loan guarantees, available for 80 percent of plant costs. Utilities are also lobbying state lawmakers to let them raise rates to recover construction costs. Florida and Louisiana, for example, have passed such measures. State officials are reluctant. "I just don't want to ... give them a blank check and say, build a plant and we can talk about the cost later," said Nielsen Cochran, chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Some states are allowing such rules subject to "prudence reviews," said Diane Munns, executive director of the Edison Electric Institute's retail energy services group. The Energy Department is also helping, paying half the cost of three early applications, including $5.5 million of the $11 million Entergy has spent so far preparing an application for a new reactor in Port Gibson, Miss., site of its existing Grand Gulf plant. GE has received $46 million in incentives since 2004, and expects a total of $250 million by 2010. Experts doubt the current credit market dislocations will affect nuclear plant financing. Lenders will view reactors as safe and desirable investments because of the federal guarantees and state cost recovery rules, and because they'll be built by established utilities with long track records of operating power plants. Most utilities will invest some of their own equity in the projects, and many will finance the plants on their balance sheets -- paying for them out of cash flows and borrowings not tied directly to any one project. "I would argue that you're investing in an entire company," said Standard & Poor's analyst Dimitri Nikas. "The issue will not be tied to a specific asset." Nuclear plants still use low-grade nuclear reactions to generate heat and create steam or pressurized water to spin turbines. But instead of the one-of-a-kind designs the new plants will use interchangeable modular designs. Gravity, instead of pumps, will move water in an emergency and new alloys and digital controls will also improve operations and safety. The 1979 accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island plant began when cooling system pumps and valves failed. The NRC has already approved two Westinghouse designs. One GE-Hitachi design has been approved, another is pending. Areva plans to submit a design for approval soon. Nuclear plants cost more than conventional plants, but are cheaper to operate. A new 1,000-megawatt reactor would cost $2.1 billion in 2006 dollars, compared to $1.3 billion and $600 million, respectively, for comparable coal and natural-gas plants, according to EIA estimates. But the average cost of nuclear-produced electricity was 1.72 cents per kilowatt hour in 2005, versus 2.21 cents for coal-fired plants and 7.51 cents for natural gas plants, says the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group. Weighing in nuclear power's favor is utilities' belief that the government will constrain or tax greenhouse gases, which would significantly increase operating costs at conventional plants. Nuclear plants emit greenhouse gasses, but far less than conventional plants. Also pushing utilities toward nuclear power are new regulations that let companies apply for a single construction and operating license. In the past, the licenses were separate. "You might spend a few billion dollars, and then you're at risk of not getting an operating license," said NRC Chairman Dale Klein. Long Island's Shoreham Nuclear Power Station, for instance, was completed in 1984 for $6 billion but never opened due to community opposition. Licensing isn't cheap, either. Hutchinson estimated the process can cost $50 million to $100 million. "Bottom line, in developing a nuclear project, you could be spending several hundred million dollars just to keep the option open," Hutchinson said. Critics say the industry is overstating the new plants' advantages, and ignoring the unresolved issue of spent nuclear fuel. "There clearly are some benefits to relying on gravity over electric motors and pumps," said Paul Gunter, director of the reactor watchdog project at the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, which opposes nuclear power plants. "But there are no guarantees that terrorism or an accident won't penetrate one of these new designs." Indeed, radioactive water leaked into the Sea of Japan from buildings housing reactors built to one of GE's newer designs after July's magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. Community opposition could stop projects. Steel parts could cause another potential bottleneck: Most necessary large forgings can only be made at Japan Steel Works, which can supply only 7 to 8 plants a year, Hutchinson said. Still, GAMCO's Abramson says investors are comfortable the industry and NRC have addressed the problems that caused cost overruns last time. "I think investors know that you can't find anything with zero risk," he said. Copyright 2000-2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 23 BusinessWeek: How the U.S. lost its forging groove The Associated Press September 18, 2007, 12:50PM ET By JOHN WILEN NEW YORK Utilities will need huge steel forgings for their new nuclear plants, but they don't have much choice of suppliers. "Right now, all roads lead to Japan Steel Works," said Dale Klein, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The story of how the United States lost its ability to make the containment vessels at the heart of nuclear power plants has as much to do with Three Mile Island as Pearl Harbor. The 1979 accident at the Pennsylvania nuclear plant is widely credited with killing the domestic nuclear power industry. As it turns out, it also drove big changes in the steel industry. "Those particular kinds of forgings weren't made by the largest steel companies, they were made by forgers," said Richard Fruehan, a professor and director of the Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research at Carnegie Mellon University. Reactor vessels are 70 to 90 feet high -- the size of a 6-story building -- and 22 to 23 feet in diameter. They weigh about 60 tons. When utilities stopped building nuclear plants, the few domestic forgers that had made big castings either went out of business or reinvented themselves -- in many cases as auto parts makers. The legacy of World War II also partly explains the loss. Building strong steel and shipbuilding industries became official postwar Japanese government policy, said Frank Giarratani, director and professor of economics at the Center for Industry Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. These new Japanese steel plants started life with a competitive advantage over America's aging infrastructure. And in recent decades, while the U.S. nuclear industry stagnated, Japan and other countries continued building plants. U.S. forgers could rebuild their ability to make huge steel castings. But the equipment costs millions, and there are few dedicated domestic customers. Giarratani thinks the domestic forging industry is content to specialize in high tech, precision work: "The U.S. is done with that phase of industrial development." Copyright 2000-2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 24 Post-Standard: FitzPatrick nuke plant back to full power - on Syracuse.com Posted by Charles McChesney September 18, 2007 5:45PM The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant is back to full power, less than a week after waves and weeds forced its shutdown. On the morning of Sept. 12, the plant's reactor was manually shut down when fouled screens limited the amount of cooling water the plant could take in from Lake Ontario. Strong winds and waves higher than five feet were blamed for an increase in freshwater seaweed in the intake canal. The plant was restarted Saturday, said spokeswoman Bonnie Bostian, and resumed full-power operations Monday. © 2007 Syracuse Online, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site ***************************************************************** 25 UPI: Pakistan seeks civilian nuclear tech United Press International - International Security - Energy - Published: Sept. 18, 2007 at 11:22 AM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has said the world should help his country get civilian nuclear technology. "The European countries should adopt criteria-based approach and extend cooperation to Pakistan for peaceful nuclear program," he said after a visit to the French Embassy in Islamabad. The remarks were reported by the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The comments gain importance as Pakistan’s neighbor and rival India signed a civilian nuclear agreement with the United States that would give it U.S. know-how despite New Delhi’s possession of nuclear weapons and its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Several countries, including France and Russia, have expressed interest in working with India’s civilian nuclear program. Pakistan’s bid to gain nuclear technology has roadblocks, however, because the head of its nuclear program, A.Q. Khan, was found to head a global nuclear black market that supplied weapons technologies to countries such as Libya and North Korea. © Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 26 UPI: India sets up panel for power sector United Press International - International Security - Energy - Published: Sept. 18, 2007 at 1:58 PM NEW DELHI, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- India set up a panel to explore the possibility of funding for the power industry under priority-sector lending by banks. An empowered group of ministers on the power sector constituted the expert panel to examine financing issues, including upgrade of power transmission and distribution networks, a Power Ministry official said. He said the panel, to be headed by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was asked to look into issues like constraints of state power utilities and private sector utilities/companies in securing funds, redefine exposure limits, identify the specific needs of transmission and distribution, and indicate broader policy measures and instruments for mobilizing long-term finances for meeting investment requirements of the sector. The official said the panel would make appropriate recommendations on various issues to ensure timely availability of funds to achieve the target of attaining a capacity addition of 77,000 megawatts in the 11th five-year plan period. India’s power sector needed $100 billion in the next five years and nearly $40 billion is needed to upgrade the transmission and distribution network. © Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 27 Czech Happenings: Czech Temelin safety cannot be assessed from distance -- minister 19.9. 2007 Vienna/Prague- Milan Urban (senior opposition Social Democrats, CSSD) who represents the Czech Republic in the Czech-Austrian parliamentary commission dealing with the question of safety of the south Bohemian Temelin nuclear power plant is not attending the current commission meeting. After some Austrian members of the commission refused to visit Temelin, Urban, CSSD shadow industry and trade minister, announced that he would not go to Vienna. In a statement today, Urban said Temelin's safety could not be assessed from a distance. "The fact that the Austrian commission members refused to visit Temelin and become convinced on the spot whether international standards for the operation of the nuclear facility are being met and whether the Melk agreement is being respected means for me that they are not seeking any agreement," Urban said. Temelin, situated some 60 kilometres from the Austrian border, is criticised by some Austrian and Czech environmentalists as well as some Austrian politicians as unsafe. They say that the Czech Republic is not fulfilling the Melk agreement from 2000 in which the Czech side pledged to constantly upgrade Temelin's safety and regularly provide information on Temelin to Austria. Urban said that the establishment of the commission was a mistake of the current Czech government because the Austrians only use committee meetings to criticise the Czech Republic and not for actual talks. The only solution lies in a general debate on the future of the nuclear programme within the European Union, Urban said. Two members of the Austrian part of the commission left its meeting on Monday. Deputies Norbert Hofer and Werner Neubauer are both representatives of the far right Austrian Free Party (FPOe) and their departure from the commission was the result of the stepping-up dispute between the FPOe members and Albrecht Konecny, chairman of the Austrian part of the commission. Konecny, an Upper Austrian parliament deputy for the Austrian Social Democrats (SPOe), excluded an FPOe alleged expert Roland Egger, a leading anti-Temelin activists, from the commission meeting before it started on Monday, by which he caused indignation of the FPOe's representtives. Konecny pointed out that the roles of organiser of anti-Temelin protests and experts were incompatible. At the weekend, Neubauer described Egger's expulsion as an "unbelievable scandal and the capitulation before Czechs." The two-day commission meeting ends today. It is discussing reports of Czech and Austrian nuclear energy experts on the Temelin technical condition. Chairman of the Czech part of the commission Jan Kasal (junior governing Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) told CTK on Monday that he would consider it great progress if one or two of the seven technical points on the agenda were closed. ČTK 13:52 - 18.09.2007 Print Send by e-mail ISSN 1213-5003 Copyright (c) 1995-2007 Neris s.r.o. Ochrana osobních dat [ Titulní strana | Redakce | Reklama | Kontakt | Kódování | RSS ] ***************************************************************** 28 JS Online: Regulators may vote Tuesday on nuclear plant sale Commissioners propose changes to improve deal By THOMAS CONTENT tcontent@journalsentinel.com Posted: Sept. 17, 2007 A vote on the sale of Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant could come Tuesday after state regulators debated the transaction Monday for more than two hours. Hearing On Tuesday The Public Service Commission will meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to consider the Point Beach case. The meeting can be heard on the web. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN Recent Coverage 8/20/07: Decision near on Point Beach sale 2/6/06: Point Beach could be sold The three members of the Public Service Commission proposed changes they said would make the deal better. The commissioners ended their deliberations so they could review suggestions each of them offered. The commission will resume deliberations this morning. We Energies has agreed to sell the two-reactor nuclear plant to FPL Energy of Juno Beach, Fla., for $1 billion. Selling the power plant could lead to better performance than the plant has seen in recent years under Nuclear Management Co., PSC Chairman Dan Ebert said. In addition, selling it could relieve We Energies customers of risks linked to the nuclear plant because customers wouldn't be responsible for buying more expensive power during periods when Point Beach is out of service, he said. Commissioners agreed they would like to see We Energies and its customers retain the financial benefits Point Beach would reap if the U.S. government moves to reduce emissions linked to global warming. Unlike power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, nuclear plants do not release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gas, and coal-fired power plants are a leading source of the gas. Citing testimony by the energy efficiency advocacy group E4 Inc., Ebert said the value of Point Beach generating electricity without carbon dioxide emissions could be worth $24 million to $240 million a year. As it stands now, We Energies and FPL would split the green credits 50-50. In testimony to the commission, FPL and We Energies argued against changing the terms of the deal, saying that doing so would reopen the entire transaction to renegotiation by the utilities. But the commissioners said they believe the United States will regulate greenhouse gas emissions at some point. Commissioner Lauren Azar proposed that We Energies gets all the green credits tied to Point Beach, while Ebert proposed that We Energies receives all the credits but that any credits from expanding the output of Point Beach should be split. If FPL decides not to proceed with buying Point Beach because of that change, Azar said, "that tells me that these credits are gold." E4 had contended that green credits were not being fully accounted for. "Considering the very real value of green credits now and in the future, their forfeiture and the loss of Point Beach, a zero emissions asset, must be accounted for," said E4 Executive Director Kathryn Sachs. On JSOnline.com The Public Service Commission will meet at 10:30 a.m. today to consider the Point Beach case. The meeting can be heard at www.JSOnline.com/links. From the Sept. 18, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ***************************************************************** 29 MHNN: NRC prepares to hear from the public about Indian Point license renewal September 18, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc. Indian Point 2 and 3 Wallkill – Staff from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be all ears tomorrow – Wednesday – as they listen to the public comment about Entergy’s proposed 20 year license renewals for its two active Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan. Those officials sat down at MidHudsonNews.com headquarters Tuesday to talk about the process. Senior Project Manager Bo Pham said environmental issues will take center stage at the two sessions. “Some of the things we are looking from the public are what is it special to the region environmentally speaking that the staff should look at, what are some of the viable or reasonable alternatives that the staff should be evaluating in addition to, or doubling up on what the applicant has already provided to is,” he said. “We are sort of like in an information gathering stage, looking for anyone in the community who may know something that we should tune in to.” Simultaneously, the NRC will also be conducting a safety review process of the plants. NRC license renewal environmental chief Rani Franovich said that while the issue of the license renewal can become emotionally charged at times, the federal agency will review just the facts in order to make its decision. A final environmental impact statement on the license renewal should be completed by April 2009. The public input sessions take place Wednesday 1:30 and 7:30, at the Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 30 DW: Chernobyl Reactor To Be Encased In New Metal Coffin | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 18.09.2007 The existing sarcophagus is leaking Ukraine has signed two deals to build new protective coverings around the remains of Chernobyl. An explosion at the nuclear power plant in 1986 caused one of the world's most disastrous nuclear meltdowns. The French consortium Novarka on Monday entered an agreement with Ukraine to construct a massive shield around Chernobyl over the next four to five years. The structure will seal the radioactive remnants on the site. The arch-shaped metal covering, measuring 105 meters (345 feet) tall by 150 meters (490) long, should entirely enclose the existing sarcophagus. It had been hastily constructed in the months following the April 26, 1986 accident and has shown signs of leakage. Meant to last a hundred years, the shield is to provide an environment suitable for the disassembly of the nuclear power plant within. "Chernobyl will not exist anymore" by the end of the shell's lifespan, said Yves-Thibault de Silguy, chairmen of Vinci, one of the French firms in the Novarka consortium. "The end goal of the shield is to allow for [Chernobyl's] dismantling." Bildunterschrift: The "liquidators" were the first to enter the plant after it exploded In a second deal also signed Monday, Ukraine commissioned US-based nuclear specialist Holtec International to build containers for radioactive fuel still on the site. "We are talking about a unique project for this planet," said Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko. "The danger linked to the site of the accident is not confined to Ukraine's borders." In a statement, Yushchenko called the multi-million dollar project "a great historic event." Greenpeace has qualms over shield Environmentalists disagreed with the plans, however. "The biggest problem for us is stopping the flow of contaminated coolant into the environment," Tobias MĂĽnchmeyer from Greenpeace told DW-WORLD.DE. In his opinion, the planned metal dome was not the best use of funds, he said. The Ukrainian government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have estimated that as much as 95 percent of the original radioactive material still exists within the reactors. Yet Greenpeace said that most of the radioactivity was released at the time of the accident and in the following years. The environmental organization has also disputed the number of deaths directly related to the meltdown over two decades ago. According to Greenpeace estimates, 93,000 people have died or will die of cancer caused by the Chernobyl accident. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on the other hand, has counted only 4,000 deaths. Shared financial burden The EBRD will primarily finance and oversee the sarcophagus project. The bank will administer grants from 28 donor countries and the European Union. Nearly $2.5 billion have been committed to the project already, according to German news agency DPA. The exact price of the project is still unclear. Bildunterschrift: The Chernobyl accident site is pictured here in 1996 DW staff (kjb) DW-WORLD * Nuclear Power in Germany: A Chronology Half a century has passed since Germany began exploring nuclear energy. DW-WORLD.DE takes a look at the history of atomic power and protests against its use in the country. (10.01.2007) * Spate of New Reactor Plans Gives EU an Atomic Jolt Thanks to increased demand for energy that does not emit greenhouse gases, the nuclear power industry is seeing a surge in popularity -- especially in former Communist countries. (20.06.2007) * Greenpeace Questions Official Chernobyl Casualty Figures In a report released Tuesday, environmental organization Greenpeace said the consequences of the Chernobyl reactor disaster are being played down. The number of victims will far surpass official figures, it said. (18.04.2006) * Special Coverage on the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident DW-WORLD.DE takes an inside look at the issues still surrounding the April 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, 20 years after the tragedy. © 2007 Deutsche Welle ***************************************************************** 31 The Telegraph: 123 to 456, US rubs salt into Karat cut Calcutta | Wednesday, September 19, 2007 | Advertise with us MANINI CHATTERJEE New Delhi, Sept. 18: US ambassador David Mulford today underlined that ?time is of the essence? and ?we must take the last steps? to finalise the 123 Agreement and then go on to ?456? — his new coinage to describe a ?comprehensive relationship? between India and America. The utterances could well jeopardise any chance of an entente between the UPA government and the Left parties on the nuclear deal. Mulford?s ?time is of the essence? remark at the Indo-US Economic Summit this evening came hours after CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told a party rally that the government should wait ?for at least six months? and discuss the deal in Parliament before proceeding any further. The Left has repeatedly made it clear that the government should not take the ?next steps? on the deal till opponents of the agreement — including the ?majority? in Parliament — give the green signal. Mulford, on the other hand, stressed the need to take the ?last steps? which are exactly the same as the Left?s ?next steps?. These, he explained, ?involve completing the IAEA-India Safeguards Agreement, and securing the Nuclear Suppliers Group rule change which will permit this initiative to be global in scope. Finally, the US Congress must vote once more on the 123 Agreement, an action best accomplished by this administration in the life of this Congress?. Although Mulford did not spell out the time frame, his insistence on ?this administration? ties in nicely with the Manmohan Singh government?s eagerness to seal the deal before President George W. Bush becomes a ?lameduck? President, starting early next year. It equally serves as a red rag to the Left which has been accusing the Prime Minister of being in far too much of a hurry to complete the deal and making it contingent on the Bush presidency. If the US ambassador?s remarks on the timetable for the deal are calculated to raise the hackles of the comrades, his subsequent elaboration on the ?456? trajectory in Indo-US relations could embarrass the UPA which has been trying hard to dodge allegations that there is more to 123 than just nuclear energy. In words that seemed to echo Karat?s charge that the nuclear deal was aimed at ushering in a new strategic partnership, Mulford said: ?We are at a great moment in the history of our two democracies. We have overcome past differences and are charting a new course for the future.? He went on to say: ?This new course moves us from 123 to what I call 456. This is the ?comprehensive relationship? I have spoken of so often…: encompassing both our official bilateral relationship and the multitude of private contacts and relationships that exist between our peoples. This is the broader, longer term vision for US-India relations that touches all fields of human endeavour for which civil nuclear (cooperation) is important, but only one part of the larger whole.? In a statement that is certain to reinforce the Left?s fears of closer defence ties, Mulford said that ?456? would cover every front. ?We are engaging with India on virtually every important front, from defence and space cooperation to critical transnational issues such as counter-terrorism, health, education and climate change.? Mulford underscored that ?one engine to advance macro-economic activity across India is further liberalisation in India?s banking and financial markets? — something the Left has been stoutly opposing. Similarly, his praise of the Prime Minister?s call ?for a paradigm shift in the economic and commercial use of water? or his advocacy of ?organised retail, especially in rural areas?, is likely to add fuel to the Left?s fire. Copyright © 2006 The Telegraph. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | ***************************************************************** 32 Guardian Unlimited: Chernobyl to get $505m metal cover to stop radiation Special report: the nuclear industry Luke Harding Tuesday September 18, 2007 Ukraine is to cover the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor with a vast metal shelter in a long overdue operation designed to prevent the further leak of deadly radiation. Officials in Kiev yesterday said they had hired a French firm to replace the crumbling concrete sarcophagus that has stood at Chernobyl since 1986 - when it was the scene of the world's worst ever nuclear disaster. The new shelter is an arch-shaped metal structure 105m (345ft) tall and 150m (490ft) long. It will enclose the sarcophagus hastily put up after the accident. That precarious structure has been leaking radiation for more than a decade. "I am convinced that today, possibly for the first time, we can frankly tell the national and international community that the answer to the problem of sheltering the Chernobyl nuclear plant has been found," President Viktor Yushchenko said, according to his presidential website. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has funded the $505m deal with a French construction firm, Novarka. The plan is to eventually dismantle the sarcophagus and the exploded reactor inside the new shelter. According to official estimates, the reactor still contains about 95% of the original nuclear fuel from the plant. There are fears that if the sarcophagus collapses another cloud of lethal radioactive dust could escape. Chernobyl's reactor No 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of the former Soviet Union and much of northern Europe. An area roughly half the size of Italy was contaminated, forcing the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people. Anton Usov, a spokesman for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said it will take about 1˝ years to design the shelter and another four to build it. Officials also signed a $200m contract with the US firm Holtec International to build a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from the plant's three other reactors, which kept operating until the station was shut down in 2000. "The successful implementation of the project depends not only on the progress of the construction work, but also on the continued commitment of both the Ukrainian authorities and the international community," the European bank's president, Jean Lemierre, said in a statement. Within the first two months after the disaster, 31 people died from illnesses caused by radioactivity. But there is no consensus over the subsequent death toll. A 2005 report from the UN health agency estimated that about 9,300 people will die from cancers caused by Chernobyl's radiation. Some groups, such as Greenpeace, insist the toll could be 10 times higher. Some 200,000 residents were evacuated from Ukraine alone. In pictures Fallout: the toxic legacy of Chernobyl and other nuclear disasters Related articles 13.04.2006: Sheep farms under curbs see no end to Chernobyl fallout 31.03.2006: Linda Walker: We need to know the truth about the Chernobyl fallout 26.03.2006: Adam Higginbotham: Chernobyl 20 years on UN accused of ignoring 500,000 Chernobyl deaths Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 33 tvnz.co.nz: Kiwis soften stance to nuclear power Sep 17, 2007 9:51 PM Nuclear power may be off limits to New Zealand's politicians but with other countries seeing it as a solution to global warming what do New Zealanders think? The government is embracing new technology to combat climate change. But while many countries look to nuclear power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is a no-go zone in New Zealand politics. "Pretty much the clear majority are saying, 'No way, Jose', to that one," says Prime Minister Helen Clark. She is right but voters are not totally closed off to the option. In a ONE News Comar Brunton poll 36% of respondents said they believe the government should consider developing nuclear power stations in the future, while 60% say no, and 4% don't know. "People who believe that climate change exists should be looking at nuclear power - it's the only safe, large scale option that we have to make a major difference," says Bryan Leyland, an energy consultant. In the mid 1970s a Royal Commission of Inquiry seriously considered nuclear power. The Kaipara Harbour was even earmarked for a building four nuclear reactors. "It could substitute for coal and it would be quite easy to generate about 30% of our power from nuclear," says Leyland. But Clark says there are environmental and economic arguments against it. "My understanding is that New Zealand wouldn't have the scale for that nuclear power production, even if it had the desire to go that way. In addition, we've got so many sources of renewable energy that there is no reason to be looking that way," she says. Even if voters do not agree with the nuclear solution, the poll shows almost all believe climate change demands government action. "I think there has been an amazing change over the past year. When you get to 85% of people saying yes, the government should be doing something to reduce the impact. That is phenomenal - that is pretty much a national consensus," says Clark. But there is no consensus on government performance on this issue. Sixty five percent give a fair to poor rating, while only a third score the government good or excellent in its approach to climate change. The government's chance to turn this around comes with a major announcement on Thursday, when they are expected to unveil a carbon trading scheme. Source: ONE News ***************************************************************** 34 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Nuclear workers from former plant nearer payout - By Mary Ann Thomas FOR THE VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Former nuclear workers in the Kiski Valley are closer to getting government compensation for their illnesses. A federal health agency is recommending that workers exposed to radiation at a former nuclear-fuel processing plant in Apollo be granted special status to receive $150,000 from the federal government for radiation-related cancers. The nod from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) came after years of petitioning by former workers, environmental activists, some federal lawmakers and a government watchdog group. In an Aug. 14 report, which is to be released this week, NIOSH recommends that employees of the defunct Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), later Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), in Apollo, be designated a Special Exposure Cohort group. The designation -- if accepted by a few more layers of government agencies and Congress -- will nearly guarantee automatic acceptance of claims from former nuclear workers from Apollo who develop one of 22 specific cancers or beryllium disease. The designation applies to NUMEC plant workers and office personnel in Apollo who were employed for at least 250 work days from Jan. 1, 1957, through Dec. 31, 1983. If a worker previously applied for compensation but was denied, he or she will automatically be reconsidered if the final petition is accepted by Congress, according to Amanda Harney, health communications specialist with NIOSH. Former workers or their survivors can receive a lump sum payment of $150,000 from the federal government plus payment of medical expenses. Without special cohort status, any worker applying for the program has to prove their illness was caused by radiation exposure and is at the mercy of outdated and often incomplete or unreliable records from former employers and government agencies. Worker payments come from a federal entitlement program established by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) of 2000, which awards money and medical benefits to former workers of atomic weapons employers during the Cold War. Since NUMEC and B&W held government contracts, some still classified, to produce nuclear fuel for submarines and other nuclear materials, its workers, estimated in the thousands, are eligible for the program. According to NIOSH's report, there was not enough documentation from the NUMEC site to support accurate dose reconstruction for all NUMEC workers. Additionally, NIOSH determined that the health of NUMEC workers was endangered by exposure to radiation and radioactive materials. Many NUMEC workers have been waiting for years to find out if they qualified for the program. In fact, the EEOICPA program has been the target of criticism and congressional reform because of claim denials and the slow pace in reviewing and paying on worker claims. Ex-worker takes action Coraopolis resident Rich Parler, 62, a former accounting clerk with NUMEC in the 1960s, grew tired of waiting. "I followed the EEOICPA program on the Internet and they never came out with any site profile for NUMEC, and they were denying plenty of claims at other plants," Parler said. He was waiting for word on a claim he filed for his kidney cancer, which was discovered during treatment after an auto accident in the mid-1990s. Parler said, given the difficulty workers were having in getting their claims reviewed and spotty documentation of conditions of NUMEC, he decided to file a special exposure cohort petition. Parler filed his first petition last year with some help from Richard Miller, an early supporter of the EEOICPA legislation and policy analyst for the Government Accountability Project, a government watchdog group that in 2002 conducted a preliminary review of NUMEC worker records for a Valley News Dispatch news story. The review found repeated health violations and a failure to correct problems. Parler's first petition to qualify for a NIOSH evaluation was denied because more information needed to be provided, according to Harney. Parlor tried his petition again, securing more firepower with support from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, and Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown. He contacted Leechburg environmental activist Patty Ameno, whom he saw as a young girl playing outside her parent's deli and house across the street from the NUMEC office building. Ameno signed on as a co-petitioner. When Ameno held a NUMEC worker meeting earlier this year, Parler said he knew why he continued to fight for the NUMEC petition. "What really drove me was that I'm in fairly good shape for my age and when I looked around at the audience, every one of those people had crutches or oxygen or something. It hit me so bad. I was in better shape than them." Parler said. Parler and Ameno teamed up to bolster their argument for special exposure cohort status. "We bombarded NIOSH with documents and supportive evidence on behalf of all these workers," said Ameno, who over the last two decades has amassed several million pages of documents on NUMEC's Apollo site and another in nearby Parks Township. Ameno, who suffers from brain tumors, was instrumental in bringing a civil lawsuit to federal court for residents' illnesses, death and property damage resulting from radiation exposure from NUMEC. The case initially was won by residents in federal court but was overturned on appeal. It remains under appeal and could be scheduled for retrial in January. Ameno added that she plans on submitting a petition for special exposure cohort status for nuclear workers at NUMEC's former Parks facility as well. Now that NIOSH supports the special cohort designation, Parler and Ameno will testify before the President's Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health in Chicago on Oct. 3, according to Lavon Rutherford, special exposure cohort health physics team leader for NIOSH. Then, if the board agrees with the NIOSH findings, it will send its recommendation to the Secretary of Human Health and Services, who will pass it onto to Congress for final approval, Rutherford said. So far, Congress has approved all of the 22 special cohort recommendation from NIOSH. If approvals are secured along the way, then NUMEC workers could officially become special exposure cohorts around the end of the year, Rutherford said. For more information To get more information about compensation available for former nuclear workers through the federal government's Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, which includes the former NUMEC (B&W and ARCO) facilities in Apollo and Parks, call 1-800 35-NIOSH/ 513-533-6800 or log onto the Web site. NUMEC claims According to the Department of Labor and Industry, which administers the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, about $4 million has been paid for claims from former NUMEC workers or their families for injuries caused by exposure to radiation and other dangerous materials. * NUMEC claims reviewed: 241. * Claims recommended for approval: 47. * Claims recommended for denial: 62. * Claims yet to be reviewed: 132. * Claims with final approval: 38. * Claims finally denied: 35. Photo Gallery Rod Adams Grayfeather asks a question Louis B. Ruediger/Valley News Dispatch ***************************************************************** 35 Bradenton.com: Delay for Tallevast 09/18/2007 | How long can they wait? Another year. Last week Tallevast residents learned that they might be staring at another year before Lockheed Martin Corp. files a revised cleanup plan for the plume of pollutants underneath their community. That's the time frame the corporation is seeking from the state to address all 130 concerns that the state Department of Environmental Protection identified in the original plan, submitted in May. The agency's deadline for the revisions had been Oct. 1. DEP is reviewing Lockheed Martin's request for an extension. Leaders of FOCUS, a Tallevast residents advocacy group, are rightfully upset. Wanda Washington, vice president of FOCUS, captured the essence of the dilemma: "The delay is a catch-22. They need to do a thorough job, but their deadline request means we have to live on top of the plume for another year without having the answers." That's a sad state of affairs. Until three years ago, many Tallevast residents had been drinking, cooking and showering with groundwater from contaminated wells for years. Those private wells were shut down in 2004 and residents were switched to county water. Lockheed Martin wants the deadline extension in order to run more tests on wells and ponds and to take new soil borings to form a three-dimensional model of the contamination from the underground plume of toxic chemicals that leaked from the former Loral American Beryllium Co. plant. Tallevast community leaders claim a delay in the cleanup plan wouldn't be necessary had Lockheed Martin thoroughly investigated the plume in the first place. "What they are proposing is what the community asked for in 2004," Washington said. "What we need is more testing to get to the truth about the plume, but they are just getting to it now." Independent consultants had warned Lockheed a year ago that the company's final site assessment failed to adequately define the plume when the state gave the green light to begin cleanup. Lockheed appears to be dragging this out. How much longer do aging residents have before they get answers and a cleanup? The entire community deserves action sooner rather than later. Company spokeswoman Gail Rymer defends Lockheed's request for additional time, saying "Additional data to finalize a remediation action plan is to be expected in any cleanup of this nature." Before making any decision on a deadline extension for the cleanup plan, DEP will seek input from FOCUS and the community's technical consultants. And Lockheed has proposed a Sept. 27 meeting with both DEP and FOCUS "to ensure that the Lockheed Martin team is in lock-step with and fully engaged with the DEP and FOCUS." That statement signals that Lockheed has finally identified FOCUS as a partner in the cleanup plan. That's a very promising development - one we hope leads to a new collaborative spirit in dealing with this giant mess. We encourage the state to take a hard look at Lockheed's request for an extra year to ensure that it is fully justified. The future of an entire community has been on hold for years already. Talk back Should Lockheed Martin speed up the process for cleaning up Tallevast? Share your views below. ***************************************************************** 36 RIA Novosti: IAEA may consider in 1H08 Russia's nuclear fuel plans 19:56 | 18/ 09/ 2007 VIENNA, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - The UN nuclear watchdog could consider Russia's plans to establish guaranteed nuclear fuel reserves in the first half of 2008, Russia's nuclear chief said after meeting with the IAEA head Tuesday. "We should carry out the preparatory work required for IAEA director general [Mohamed ElBaradei] to propose to the IAEA Board of Governors that they consider Russia's plans for establishing guaranteed nuclear fuel reserves in the first half of 2008," Sergei Kiriyenko said. Addressing the 51st International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, earlier in the day, Kiriyenko said Russia planned to create guaranteed reserves of low-enriched uranium worth up to $300 million at an international nuclear center in Angarsk, East Siberia. "Russia intends to establish guaranteed reserves of up to two loads of nuclear fuel (low-enriched uranium) for a 1,000MW reactor," Kiriyenko said, adding that a fuel load of slightly more than 80 metric tons for a pressurized water reactor costs some $150 million. The Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex is the regional economic mainstay and the main asset of the newly established international uranium enrichment center, which is completing its registration with the nuclear watchdog. Kiriyenko said the center had been established to supply enriched uranium to third countries planning to develop global nuclear energy and get access to uranium enrichment "with no political restrictions." The Russian nuclear official said the international center would handle the storage of low-enriched uranium reserves. He said the reserves would be under the IAEA' s control and could be supplied where necessary upon the international nuclear body's request. "We expect a new group of IAEA officials to arrive in mid-October to discuss practical steps towards establishing cooperation in the sphere," Kiriyenko said. He pledged that Russia would do its best to prevent the amount of low-enriched uranium from "exploding the market from the economic point of view." He said the IAEA Board of Governors should offer criteria for supplying fuel from the reserves. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 37 Platts: Vietnam's Dalat research reactor converts from HEU to LEU fuel London (Platts)--18Sep2007 Vietnam's Dalat research reactor has converted from HEU to LEU fuel, the US DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration announced September 17. Also, NNSA said, 10 pounds of fresh high-enriched uranium fuel was shipped from the reactor to Russia, which originally supplied the material. Russia will downblend the material into low-enriched uranium, DOE said. In its statement, NNSA said it is also providing physical protection upgrades at Dalat and other Vietnamese facilities with radiological sources. The conversion and fuel return are part of ongoing DOE efforts, in conjunction with other countries and the IAEA, to phase out the use of HEU in research reactors. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 38 Platts: Sixteen countries sign on to the founding principles of GNEP 2007-09-18 London (Platts)--18Sep2007 Sixteen countries signed on to the founding principles of the US-inspired Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP, in Vienna September 16. They included the five original GNEP partners -- the US, France, Russia, Japan and China -- and 11 new members. The GNEP principles are meant to help expand use of nuclear energy, ensure reliable fuel supply and foster reprocessing and recycle with new technologies to minimize proliferation risks. Whereas the US originally saw GNEP as requiring non-fuel-cycle states to renounce enrichment and reprocessing, this week's statement sets no such prerequisite. US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, host of the GNEP Ministerial Conference, emphasized the "positive story" of GNEP at a press conference after the signing ceremony. The countries also agreed to a governance structure whereby decisions will be made by consensus. The new members are Australia, Bulgaria, Ghana, Hungary, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?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 ***************************************************************** 39 ReviewJournal.com: Kucinich touts his plans for change in visit to LV Sep. 18, 2007 Democrat opens local presidential campaign headquarters By MOLLY BALL REVIEW-JOURNAL Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and his wife, Elizabeth, appear Monday at the opening of his Las Vegas presidential campaign headquarters at 601 S. Rancho Drive, Suite E18, near Alta Drive. Photo by Gary Thompson. On Monday, while Hillary Clinton was unveiling her second-time-around health care plan to much fanfare in Iowa, Dennis Kucinich was in Las Vegas, not at all impressed. "Same old same old," said Kucinich, a congressman from Ohio making his second long-shot run at the presidency, as he waved dismissively during an interview after a campaign appearance at his new local headquarters. "Look, with all due respect to Senator Clinton, she's talking about continuing the present system." The plan from the U.S. senator from New York, he said, was not substantially different from those of her top rivals: combining public and private resources and helping people buy health insurance from for-profit business concerns. "Who wins with that? The insurance companies," Kucinich said. "I don't know if it has any connection to the fact that she (Clinton) is the No. 2 recipient in the entire Congress of money from health insurance companies. But I imagine if they didn't like it, they wouldn't give her money." Kucinich is the only candidate promoting what he calls a "not-for-profit," or wholly government run, health care system -- what is unkindly referred to as "socialized medicine." He has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to enact such a system. Under his plan, he told a crowd of about 50 people sweating in the noonday sun, there would be no health insurance because nobody would need it. The government would take care of anyone who needed medical treatment, including visual and dental care. "No more premiums, no more co-pays, no more deductibles," he promised, to cheers. "Health care is a right in America. It is our basic right." In the interview, Kucinich said health care is one of many issues on which the Democratic candidates and Democratic Congress have been too timid. Others include funding the Iraq war, which Kucinich voted against, and impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney. There is public support for these ideas, said Kucinich, who proposes creating a Cabinet-level Department of Peace that would teach children nonviolence from an early age. "I'm the candidate of the mainstream," he said. "My policies are mainstream." Kucinich said he is also the strongest and most consistent candidate opposed to storing nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. He claimed to "probably have more knowledge of this issue than not only anyone running for president, but anyone in the United States Congress, including your representatives here." " he recalled. Because of that experience, Kucinich said, he stood up for Nevada before he was a candidate and it was politically convenient to do so; his record in Congress bears out that claim. Nevada, Kucinich said, is giving him a good reception -- the well-appointed office on Rancho Drive is an in-kind donation from a landlord who supports the campaign -- and could be the state that propels him to the Democratic nomination despite what he acknowledges are long odds. If he does better than expected in an early state such as Nevada, Kucinich said, he could pick up the momentum he needs. "I don't have to win a state, but I do have to show an ability to get votes." Links powered by inform.com Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 40 NEWS.com.au: Government 'already signed' nuke pact | NEWS.com.au Network September 18, 2007 12:22pm THE Federal Government has quietly signed up to US President George W Bush's global nuclear pact without any public announcement, the Australian Greens say. Greens Senator Christine Milne said the Government signed the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday night. The US Energy Department said after the meeting that Energy Secretary Samuel W Bodman and officials from 16 other nations, including Australia, had agreed to increase international nuclear energy cooperation through the GNEP. Other countries involved include Russia, with which Australia agreed on the sidelines of last week's APEC summit to allow to buy Australian uranium for its expanding atomic energy program. The GNEP aims to expand the peaceful uses of nuclear energy including enhanced safeguards and advanced technologies. Senator Milne speculated that the development brought Australia closer to allowing an international nuclear waste dump. "In the dying days of his Government, (Prime Minister) John Howard has signed up to George Bush's GNEP ... seemingly without any public statements that he has done so," she said. "If Mr Howard is so confident that GNEP is a good idea, why has he not publicly announced Australia's official status as a GNEP partner? "Is it because he is afraid that the Australian community will be horrified that we are now getting deeper and deeper into the global nuclear market?" Senator Milne called on Mr Howard to specify what he has signed Australia up for. "The decision to sign onto the GNEP agreement has put nuclear issues fairly and squarely on the election agenda," she said. Copyright 2007 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT +10). ***************************************************************** 41 [NYTr] Israeli nuclear suspicions linked to raid in Syria Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:29:17 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Int'l Herald Tribune - Sep 17, 2007 http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=7543676 Israeli nuclear suspicions linked to raid in Syria By Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper WASHINGTON: The Sept. 6 attack by Israeli warplanes inside Syria struck what Israeli intelligence believes was a nuclear-related facility that North Korea was helping to equip, according to current and former American and Israeli officials. Details about the Israeli assessment emerged as China abruptly canceled planned diplomatic talks in Beijing that were to set a schedule to disband nuclear facilities in North Korea. The Bush administration has declined to comment on the Israeli raid, but American officials were expected to confront the North Koreans about their suspected nuclear support for Syria during those talks. The American and Israeli officials said the Israeli government notified the Bush administration about the planned attack just before the raid. It is not clear whether administration officials expressed support for the action or counseled against it. The raid has aroused intense speculation in Washington and Jerusalem, but details remain extraordinarily murky. Officials said access to new intelligence about suspected North Korean support to Syria has been confined to a very small group of officials in Washington and Jerusalem. The details of the Israeli intelligence remain highly classified, and the accounts about Israel's thinking were provided by current and former officials who are generally sympathetic to Israel's point of view. It is not clear whether American intelligence agencies agree with the Israeli assessment about the facility targeted in the raid, and some officials expressed doubt that Syria has either the money or the scientific talent to initiate a serious nuclear program. But current and former American and Israeli officials who have received briefings from Israeli sources said Monday that the raid was an attempt by Israel to destroy a site that Israel believed to be associated with a rudimentary Syrian nuclear program. The allegations come at a particularly delicate time, with the United States and several Asian countries testing whether North Korea is serious about dismantling its nuclear production facilities and providing a full accounting of all its nuclear facilities, fuel and weapons. Israel is also wary of complicating continuing peace talks involving other countries in the Middle East about the future of a Palestinian state. In particular, the Bush administration has not decided yet whether Syria will be invited to a Middle East peace conference that is to be held in Washington in November. A tense Israel-Syria standoff would further complicate that decision, Israeli and American officials said. The Sept. 6 strike was carried out several days after a ship with North Korean cargo tracked by Israeli intelligence docked in a Syrian port, according to the current and former officials. The cargo was transferred to the site that Israel later attacked, the officials said. It is unclear exactly what the shipment contained. A former top American official said the Israelis had monitored the site for some time before the ship arrived. The ship's arrival in Syria before the raid was first reported Saturday by The Washington Post. It is also unclear why China decided at the 11th hour to postpone the planned talks, but Beijing's decision seemed to put off a possible confrontation between the United States and North Korea that could have scuttled the diplomatic talks with North Korea. Christopher Hill, the top American negotiator for the talks, had already packed his bags and was preparing to depart for Beijing when he was notified of China's decision to delay the negotiations, American officials said. North Korea has a long relationship with Syria, mostly involving the sale of weapons, particularly technology for relatively primitive missiles. But it has never been caught exporting nuclear-related material to either Syria or Iran, another of its customers for missile technology. On Sunday on Fox News, Defense Secretary Robert Gates declined to confirm either whether Israel had attacked targets in Syria or whether North Korea was providing nuclear-related assistance to that Arab country. But he warned, "If such an activity were taking place, it would be a matter of great concern because the president has put down a very strong marker with the North Koreans about further proliferation efforts, and obviously any effort by the Syrians to pursue weapons of mass destruction would be a concern." A senior North Korean diplomat dismissed the accusations, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said Sunday. "They often say things that are groundless," Kim Myong-gil, North Korea's deputy United Nations mission chief, told Yonhap. Whether North Korean actions could ultimately cause a breakdown in disarmament talks may well depend on what, if anything, the United States concludes about the nature of any illicit relationship between Syria and the North. The most benign of the theories is that the cargo had no use in a nuclear program. Another theory is that any equipment shipped from North Korea to Syria was designed to help Syria mine uranium and transform it into enriched uranium. That could mean that Syria is involved in only the early stages of any nuclear activity, and it could argue that the mining operation is for something other than weapons. But any shipment of nuclear fuel to Syria by North Korea would be much more significant, though that is considered less likely and very risky for North Korea at this time. "It would almost defy credibility that the North Koreans would be willing to risk so much to engage in a nuclear weapons-related proliferation," said Evans Revere, the president of the Korea Society in New York and a former senior American diplomat in Seoul. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 42 [NYTr] NKorea denies nuclear links with Syria Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:55:11 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit AFP - Sep 18, 2007 http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/070918075222.bc6v0rxu.html NKorea denies nuclear links with Syria SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea on Tuesday denied reports that it was helping Syria to develop nuclear weapons and insisted it was keeping an earlier pledge not to allow the transfer of nuclear materials. The announcement from the communist state's foreign ministry comes amid intense speculation over a recent Israeli air raid on Syria, which the Jewish state said had helped recover its "deterrent capability" against any attack. Some US media reports said that Israeli warplanes may have targeted a joint nuclear project, but a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said such talk was nothing but a "clumsy plot" against Pyongyang. "Recently some US media including the New York Times have been spreading allegations that we are secretly helping Syria with its nuclear programme. Such reports are groundless and misleading," the spokesman said. "We, as a responsible nuclear power, already declared in October 2006 that we will never allow the transfer of nuclear materials, and we have been sticking to this declaration," the spokesman said in a statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency. "Allegations about secret nuclear cooperation are nothing but a clumsy plot set up again by vicious forces who do not want progress in North Korea-US relations and six-party talks," he said. The angry denial came as the six-nation talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programmes hit a snag, with host China informing South Korea that the negotiations expected to begin on Wednesday had been postponed. China gave neither a reason for the delay nor a new start date, but a top South Korean official involved in the talks said Tuesday that Pyongyang had requested a delay, saying it was "uncomfortable" with the scheduled start. "North Korea was feeling uncomfortable with the September 19th opening of the six-party talks," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "It gave no reason." He said he expected to resume sometime after next Tuesday, a holiday in Korea, adding he did not think the delay would have any adverse effect. The US State Department said the negotiations would be delayed by about a week. In a landmark six-nation deal brokered in February, North Korea agreed to dismantle all of its nuclear facilities and programmes in exchange for diplomatic concessions and energy and other aid. At the next round, representatives of the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States were expected to work on setting a firm deadline for the disabling of the North's nuclear facilities, as called for under the deal. But the allegations over possible nuclear collaboration between Pyongyang and Damascus seemed likely to throw a wrench in the negotiations. The Washington Post quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying the Israeli secret service had relayed the information about the claimed nuclear links to the US government, which it described as "dramatic." Syria has angrily denied as US "lies" any suggestions that it was receiving nuclear material from North Korea. US State Department officials have refused to comment directly on the intelligence reports, except to say that Washington had always been concerned over North Korea's proliferation activities. The United States has long accused North Korea, which carried out a nuclear weapons test in October 2006, of weapons proliferation. US officials have charged Syria with bankrolling terrorism groups in the Middle East. Washington has also said it believes North Korea is running a secret uranium enrichment programme in addition to those it has declared. Pyongyang has refuted that allegation. Israel's air strike in Syria -- which it said had allowed it to recover its "deterrent capability" -- has triggered warnings of retaliation and intense media speculation over the aim of the operation. Analysts in Seoul said the postponement of the six-party talks and the timing of the news reports on the possible North Korea-Syria connection did not bode well for international efforts to disarm the communist state. "These allegations about Pyongyang's links with Syria certainly add to uncertainties over the North Korean nuclear talks," said Baek Seung-Joo, an analyst at the Korea Institute for Defence Analysis. "Pyongyang will find these allegations very irritating. Both Pyongyang and its opponents may find an excuse in these allegations to delay the nuclear talks," he told AFP. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 43 [NYTr] UN nuclear chief warns warmongers over Iran Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:40:51 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit aent by mart UN nuclear chief warns warmongers over Iran Reuters Canada - Sep 17, 2007 http://ca.today.reuters.com http://tinyurl.com/yr8zx8 Western talk of Iran war premature "hype": IAEA head By Mark Heinrich VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief said on Monday talk of last-ditch war on Iran to disable its nuclear program was premature "hype" and suggested moves to harden sanctions on Tehran may be counterproductive. Mohamed ElBaradei took issue with France's warning on Sunday that it should prepare for the possibility of military action to halt Iran's uranium enrichment, a program the West suspects is a disguised quest to assemble atom bombs. Western powers led by the United States and France have been fuming over ElBaradei's new deal with Iran requiring it to answer questions about past secret nuclear research but without touching its accelerating campaign to enrich atomic fuel. They fear Iran has tricked the IAEA, pretending to cooperate to avoid painful sanctions and buy time to master enrichment. Alluding to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's warning, ElBaradei said "we need to be cool and not hype the Iranian issue" in a way he said reminded him of the run-up to the Iraq war, driven by suspicions of secret arms never found. Speaking on the sidelines of the IAEA'S 149-nation annual assembly, he repeated that IAEA sleuths had found no evidence of "weaponization" from Iranian enrichment work, although Iran was still preventing wider inspections aimed at ruling this out. On Sunday, Koucher said in a radio and television interview: "We must prepare for the worst. The worst, sir, is war." But ElBaradei said war should be pursued only in extreme cases of one state attacking another or imminent peril to international security, and only if backed by the U.N. Security Council -- unlikely due to Russian and West European opposition, although U.S. and Israeli hawks have mooted unilateral action. "I don't think we are at all at that point," ElBaradei said. "HOLD YOUR HORSES" "I ask everyone to hold their horses until we do the (transparency) process," he said, stressing he would tell IAEA members in November whether Iran was honoring the plan or not. Asked whether six world powers' planned meeting on Friday to discuss tougher U.N. sanctions could torpedo the plan, as Tehran has warned, ElBaradei pointedly withheld a seal of approval. "If the U.N. Security Council would decide to adopt more sanctions, if they believe it is a way to help resolve the issue, that's their prerogative," he said. "But I believe sanctions alone will not lead to a durable solution." Deflecting U.S. and EU criticism that he has coddled Iran, he said: "I don't have a magic wand... We are not being soft or hard, we are not using the stick or the carrot." On Monday, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said everything must be done to avoid the prospect of war. But Iran again vowed this week never 'to abandon enrichment, which it bills as an alternative electricity source, and accused Kouchner of using "crisis-making words." Tehran wants to come clean on its program and use nuclear energy under IAEA monitoring but hostility from Washington and a few allies make that difficult, its atomic energy chief said. "The Iranian nation is determined to continue its (nuclear) path until the highest point of advancement," Reza Aghazadeh said. "(We) have no fear of the costs we may have to bear to achieve this." Washington is growing impatient with the pace of diplomacy as Iran expands enrichment. President George W. Bush has warned Iran will be stopped before causes "a nuclear holocaust." *** The Tehran Times (Iran) - Sep 18, 2007 www.tehrantimes.com http://tinyurl.com/3abcsu No reason to go beyond diplomacy in dealing with Iran: ElBaradei VIENNA (IRNA) -- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said on Monday that there is no reason to go beyond diplomacy in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. ElBaradei made the remark on the sidelines of the 51st annual IAEA general conference for its 144 member states which opened in Vienna on Monday. The IAEA chief told reporters that Iran moves towards clarifying process, and that he believes the international community has not r eached a worrying point at present. When a country speaks of using force, it should bear in mind that such a move will work only if all other options have been used and proved useless and that its implementation should be within the framework of the UN Security Council, he noted. Criticizing certain countries promoting such an attitude (use of force) against Iran, he said, There is no need to use force at present, but the world should encourage Iran to expand cooperation with the IAEA. The international community needs to keep the process of dialogue open in order to restrict the idea of using force against Iran, he said. Underlining the need for clarifying and moving forward within the framework of a timetable agreed upon by IAEA and Iran, he said other nations should understand that the issue has been tied with the security of the region, therefore, they are expected to be more patient. ElBaradei referred to the fact that after four years of cooperation between Iran and IAEA, they need a few months to accomplish the work, adding, he is of the opinion that the issue would be resolved only through direct talks. Given Iran is ready to cooperate and move forward for confidence-building in this respect, the IAEA chief said that he saw no evidence indicating that Iran's nuclear program has posed a threat. He hoped that all countries would take lesson from the Iraq issue, he said, adding, situation in Iraq is a drama in which innocent people are killed every day and thus, all parties should be careful when they speak about use of force. The IAEA chief also underlined that he would try to draw a good end for the process through negotiations. If the parties involved in the dossier of Iran's nuclear program hold talks around a table, the result will be better than speaking about who should use force against Iran, he added. Underlining the need for tranquility and avoidance of hue and cry, he said that clarifying the past and present status would improve the current condition. ElBaradei said that the IAEA's confidence in its agreement with Iran would pave the way for resolving Iran's nuclear dossier. The Islamic Republic of Iran and IAEA are determined to resolve remaining issues based on their new agreement, he said. The new agreement is considered as a significant step at this juncture, he pointed out. The IAEA has confirmed that Iran has not deviated from peaceful nuclear program and has never crossed red-lines, he underlined. He expressed hope that Iran would fully cooperate with IAEA to win its confidence in peaceful nature of its nuclear program. This prolonged path could help find a peaceful end to Iran's nuclear standoff, ElBaradei underlined. The 51st annual IAEA general conference is to study expansion of cooperation among members on security and safety of nuclear activities, nuclear terrorism, strengthening of IAEA Safeguard agreement, implementation of IAEA Safeguard agreement on North Korea as well as issues in the Middle East region *** The Guardian (UK) - Sep 17, 2007 www.guardian.co.uk http://tinyurl.com/2xkxv9 UN nuclear boss warns warmongers over Iran * Heed lessons from Iraq, ElBaradei says * French foreign minister says world must brace for war * Iranian president talks of peace with US by Peter Walker, Mark Tran and agencies The head of the UN's nuclear agency today warned against any increase in "hype" about war with Iran, saying countries should heed the lessons of the build-up to the Iraq conflict. The strongly worded comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, who runs the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), followed a warning by the French foreign minister that the world should brace itself for a possible war with Iran. "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," Bernard Kouchner told French TV and radio. While talks over Iran's nuclear programme should continue "right to the end", Mr Kouchner said, an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose "a real danger for the whole world". France has taken a much harsher line towards Iran since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy to succeed Jacques Chirac as president. In a perceived riposte, Mr ElBaradei urged caution. "We need to be cool," he told reporters at the IAEA's annual conference in Vienna. "We need not to hype the issue. "I would not talk about any use of force," he said. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons." One of the major arguments put forward by the US and UK for invading Iraq in 2003 was that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms. But nothing was found. The US has in recent days stepped up accusations of Iranian support for Shia militias fighting American forces in Iraq. Washington is seeking a third round of UN sanctions against Iran over its refusal to stop uranium enrichment, and has accused the country of working on developing nuclear weapons in secret. Iran has said its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity. France's prime minister, asked about the issue today, said Mr Kouchner had been right to warn of the possible dangers, but France was not advocating military action. "Everything must be done to avoid war," Francois Fillon said. "France's role is to lead towards a peaceful solution to a situation that would be extremely dangerous for the rest of the world." At today's meeting in Vienna, Iran's vice-president warned the US and others against provoking a confrontation. Western nations had "proved that you cannot tolerate the addition of independent states and developing countries to the ongoing movement of those seeking to achieve ownership of modern technology", said Reza Aghazadeh, who also heads Iran's nuclear agency. "The great nation of Iran has recorded your discriminatory behaviour and performance in its memory and will not forget," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. Separately, the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said he wanted peace and friendship with Washington, despite mounting speculation over possible US strikes. "Our message to the American nation is a message of peace, friendship, brotherhood and espect for humans," the official IRNA news agency quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as saying. The remark was aired on the state-owned Jame Jam television network yesterday. Mr Ahmadinejad called on the US to leave Iraq, saying its presence was proof Washington wanted to plunder Iraqi resources. The Iranian president is expected in New York next week to address the UN general assembly. The Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney today said the invitation should be revoked. Mr Ahmadinejad's regime "has spoken openly about wiping Israel off the map, has fuelled Hizbullah's terror campaign in the region and around the world and defied the world community in its pursuit of nuclear weapons," Mr Romney said in an open letter to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. "If President Ahmadinejad sets foot in the United States, he should be handed an indictment under the genocide convention," Mr Romney said. *** Press TV (Iran) - Sep 16, 2007 www.presstv.ir/ http://tinyurl.com/2oyxw3 IAEA: No undeclared N-plant in Iran IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei The IAEA chief has once again called for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issue, saying the agency would continue talks with Iran. There are no undeclared nuclear facilities operating in Iran, said ElBaradei, adding that neither any deviation from peaceful purposes has been evidenced in Iran's nuclear program. He reiterated that talks with Iran are important for security in the Middle East and said if Iran continues its cooperation with the IAEA, the negotiations will be more likely to bear positive results. * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 44 IPS-English NUKE PROGRAMME-IRAN: IAEA calls for calm to avert another Iraq-like scenario Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:52:31 -0700 Att.Editors: The following item is from the Emirates News Agency (WAM) ABU DHABI, Sept. 18 (WAM) - A major United Arab Emirates (UAE) English daily today commented on the rising tension between the West and Iran on the latter's nuclear programme, which made the IAEA Director-General Mohamed El Baradei to intervene to call for calm in order to avert another Iraq-like scenario. Commenting editorially on the issue today, the Dubai-based ‘Khaleej Times’ said: "IAEA Director-General Mohamed El Baradei has been by far the sanest voice in the latest multinational flare-up regarding Iran's nuclear programme. "His call for calm, warning against hyping the crisis and clearly implying that Iran poses no 'clear and present danger' helped calm sentiments after the French foreign minister threatened war in disguised words, provoking the expected Teheran response. "Interestingly, France's 'hyperactive' President Nicolas Sarkozy, making visible efforts to come across as a man of action, is leaving little of prominence on the world stage untouched, implying a return to significance of France of sorts. But in appearing on-the-front-foot all the time, he also betrays political immaturity, ignoring one of the most tested rules of politics that nothing of value comes at once, especially where matters of diplomacy are involved. Already he has started drawing criticism from within the EU for his comments on the economic downturn in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis. "However, it is important for Iran to realise also that in responding with equal (if not more) venom, it plays right into the West's hands, which will use that aggression as justification for its fears. "It is important to note that in trying to appear on the right side of the U.S., Paris has bolstered a false image that has been bought and sold by the West's media spin with good effect. The debate regarding Iran's nuclear programme conveniently misses the point that Teheran is still not in violation of the NPT, and, for all practical purposes, can defend its case of 'nuclear power for energy needs' in a court of law. Yet Western political interests leveraging a very powerful media base seem to have the upper hand. "El Baradei has also done well to remind the international community of false intelligence reports and nuclear fears that preceded the botched Iraqi invasion. Unbelievingly, prominent Western players don't feel the slightest ridicule in wanting to stage a repeat performance. "The ugliness of military initiatives in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia that the powerful protagonists of the war-against-terror have undertaken is proof enough that the new century can only feature diplomatic means to settle disputes. In appearing a strong leader in the new era, the French leader should bear this fact in mind," concluded the paper. (WAM) (WAM) ***************************************************************** 45 AFP: US military inspect Russian radar in Azerbaijan - by Michael Mainville Tue Sep 18, 8:42 AM ET GABALA, Azerbaijan (AFP) - A team of US military experts was in Azerbaijan Tuesday to inspect a mammoth Soviet-era radar station that Russia is pushing as an alternative to contentious anti-missile defence sites in central Europe. Moscow has offered to share the Gabala station, which it leases from ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, in exchange for the US dropping plans to deploy a radar station in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland. Relations between Moscow and Washington have been deeply strained by the missile defence plans, with the Kremlin threatening to re-deploy nuclear missiles if the US forges ahead with the project. The Pentagon delegation arrived at a Russian military base near the station early Tuesday afternoon, in a convoy of vehicles that had traveled from the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Headed by Brigadier General Patrick O'Reilly, deputy director of the US Missile Defence Agency, the six-person team was to visit the station in the company of Azerbaijani and Russian military experts. Russian officials had said three-way consultations would also be held between Azerbaijani, Russian and US experts in Baku. But US officials said the visit was only technical and that no negotiations would be held. Russia's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Vasily Istratov, told a briefing in Baku last week that the visit would be followed by missile defence talks between top Russian and US officials at a meeting tentatively set for October. Azerbaijan is located just north of Iran and Russia insists the station, which is 240 kilometres (150 miles) from Baku, would be more practical in thwarting potential Iranian missile attacks than sites in Europe. US officials have expressed scepticism about using the Gabala station but experts saw the Pentagon team's visit as a sign that the US military is not entirely dismissing the Russian proposal. A hulking 16-storey concrete slab set in the mountains of northern Azerbaijan, the Gabala station was put into operation in 1984 as one of the most powerful radars in the Soviet Union's missile attack early warning system. Gabala feeds a steady stream of information to installations in Moscow and has a range of 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles), capable of monitoring the Middle East, Asia and parts of Africa. Following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the Azerbaijani government agreed to lease the station to Russia until 2012. Azerbaijan, which has sought closer ties with the US since independence, welcomed the Russian proposal for joint use of the station. Experts have raised doubts that the station's Soviet-era technology could work with any US missile defense systems, but the Russian military has said it would be willing to upgrade the facility if the US agreed to its joint use. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 46 The Journal Times: Dormant Cold War begins to simmer Tuesday, September 18, 2007 2:19 PM CDT Opinion: If you didn’t look at a calendar during the weekend, you might have thought yourself in a different era. British and Norwegian fighter jets intercepted a pair of Russian bombers which intruded on NATO airspace. In the same news story, Finnish officials said that a Russian military transport strayed into their airspace for about three minutes. Meanwhile, France’s foreign minister said the West should prepare for war with Iran because that nation is so intransigent in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran accused France of slavishly following the bellicose agenda of Washington, and also made snippy comments about the Jewish immigrant heritage of French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy. All of this was very reminiscent of the Cold War era, and that’s not a good period to emulate. Not because of the constant tension and nuclear war drills for schoolchildren but because when everyone has a finger on a trigger, sooner or later someone will make a mistake. It is true that all of this weekend’s incidents have complex backgrounds which in one way prevent inclusion under one idea. Iran has been troublesome since the mullahs seized political power in the 1970s. Russia’s resurgent nationalism seems a reaction to its years of economic doldrums and social discord. Yet all of these incidents can be included under a single idea: the failure of not talking. Diplomacy and negotiation have unfortunately been a second-choice solution for many years, and we are now seeing the consequences. Tough talk only hardened the attitude of North Korea; it took negotiation to start neutralizing its nuclear threat. More tough talk and military games will only feed the psychoses of the mullahs and the paranoia of Russian nationalists. The Cold War started to thaw only when the United States and the Soviet Union talked, and eventually signed treaties to limit their nuclear armaments. Words are too often seen as ineffective. Shooting is so much easier. It doesn’t require much time or perseverance. You just pull the trigger and then go shopping — except that bullets also carry consequences which ricochet back years later. So when we look back on this weekend’s Cold War 1.5 news, we should see it as a warning that relations are astray and that it’s past time for everyone to think and discuss more and swagger less. Click here to view The Journal Times On-line privacy policy. here. This entire web site content copyright 2007, The Journal Times, 212 4th St., Racine, WI, 53403. All Rights Reserved. Phone: (262) 634-3322. ***************************************************************** 47 SPIEGEL ONLINE: The World from Berlin: France's New Hawks September 18, 2007 It used to be that France would respond with a predictable "non" to any saber-rattling coming out of the US. Now, though, Paris seems eager to lead the way and has taken clear aim at Iran. The bellicosity is making German commentators nervous. REUTERS The International Atomic Energy Agency is not impressed with France's new rhetoric. Sometimes it's not the message, but the messenger who delivers it. After spending much of this decade going head to head with the US over its invasion of Iraq due to nuclear weapons suspicions, France (more...) American bellicosity when it comes to those same suspicions about Iran. On French radio on Sunday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that it is time to "prepare ourselves for the worst" and indicated that he was talking about a possible war with Iran. The remarks are simply the most recent indication that France under new President Nicolas Sarkozy is turning its back on the almost reflexive anti-US stance of his predecessor Jacques Chirac. And they have not been universally well-received. On Monday, the UN's head nuclear watchdog (more...) blasted Kouchner, saying that diplomacy is still the best route and warned against "hyping" the issue. "There are rules on how to use force," ElBaradei said "and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons." Kouchner also indicated that the European Union might begin looking into imposing its own sanctions against Iran, should the UN continue to be unable to strengthen those currently in place. China and Russia -- both of which wield vetoes on the UN Security Council -- have been reluctant to take a harder line against Iran, which is widely suspected of trying to develop nuclear weapons. German commentators, still scratching their heads about (more...) to Germany, take a look at the new French position on Tuesday. Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday points out: "The comments don't come from just anybody. They come from the foreign minister of a nuclear power with a UN Security Council veto; they come from Germany's closest ally; they come from a European Union member." "There is really only one possible explanation for Kouchner's comments: He wants to ratchet up the pressure. Germany, which is tentative about new sanctions, will feel it, and Russia and China will both be forced to realize that a new storm is brewing. Using the word 'war' accelerates the escalation relative to Iran, and is the most obvious indication yet of a radical change of course in the French Foreign Ministry. But it wasn't an intelligent choice of word." Conservative Die Welt, which in recent years has often seemed like the only German daily to support US foreign policy, falls all over itself with glee on Tuesday: "The most recent surveys of the German Marshall Fund show that 56 percent of Germans think that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten Europe. But only 22 percent of those asked could imagine military action against Tehran. The result is that all German politicians are relying on negotiations in the hope that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will collapse under the wall of words." "If he doesn't, most here seem to hope that Germany will retreat into the background. ... But this time it will be more difficult. Contrary to last time, with the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, it's not just the Americans (Republicans as well as Democrats) who are pleading for an uncompromising position against Iran ... ." "France has made a U-turn in its policy toward Iran and in its position with regard to the United States. It will lead to an end of the classic rivalry between Paris and Washington. In addition, the French government is apparently ready to, if need be, move against Iran even without the Security Council. One can only hope that Paris can influence Berlin's course too. Because Iran is a threat -- and it is a threat that affects Europe as well." Left-leaning Die Tageszeitung likewise follows its political leanings on Tuesday: "Kouchner wants his words to be understood in Tehran, Washington and Jerusalem: As a threat of war against Iran, or at least as a signal of France's preparedness to support America's possible war against Iran. The reactions show that the message has been comprehended in the three capitals. In Berlin, for its part, the interpretation of Kouchner's remark as a threat of war has been completely rejected." "But there is one question that remains: Is France seriously weighing a military option against Iran? Or are the bellicose rhetoric and demands for fresh sanctions merely attempts to hinder, as Sarkozy put it in his first major foreign policy speech in August, having to one day face the 'catastrophic decision' between an Iran with the bomb or having to bomb Iran? If that is, in fact, France's game, then it doesn't seem to be working, at least in Iran. Kouchner's words have strengthened the hand of the hardliners and those in favor of atomic weapons. And that increases the likelihood of war." -- Charles Hawley, 12:20 p.m. CET © SPIEGEL ONLINE 2007 ***************************************************************** 48 Reuters: Nations urge big powers to ratify atom test ban Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:10am IST By Karin Strohecker VIENNA (Reuters) - Nuclear test ban treaty members appealed to 10 major signatories including the United States and China on Tuesday to ratify the decade-old pact so it can take effect. The 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has been ratified by 140 countries in all, but 10 more must follow suit to transform the CTBT from an informal moratorium into a binding document. "We strongly encourage such Annex 2 states to take individual initiatives to ratify the treaty," some 100 signatories attending a Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT said in a final declaration. The CTBT lists in an annex 44 countries that have nuclear capabilities already. Of those, 34 have both signed and ratified the pact - including nuclear weapons powers Russia, Britain and France. "Relevant international developments since the 2005 conference ... make entry into force of the treaty more urgent today than ever before," the declaration said. Iran's nuclear energy programme is seen by the West as a disguised quest to build atom bombs, and North Korea has stealthily developed and tested nuclear devices after bolting from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Backing by the United States and China, both long-time nuclear weapons giants and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, was urgently need, said Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno of Costa Rica, which with Austria co-chaired the conference. "We believe that (U.S.) leadership is necessary, much like we would also like to see leadership on behalf of China," Stagno told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting in Vienna - home of the CTBT's administrative body. Continued... ***************************************************************** 49 AFP: India, Pakistan to resume peace talks next month Tue Sep 18, 2:41 AM ET NEW DELHI (AFP) - India and Pakistan will hold new peace talks next month to boost efforts to cooperate against terrorism and reduce the risk of a nuclear war beginning by accident, the Indian foreign ministry said. The two sides, which launched a slow-moving peace process in January 2004, will discuss ways of implementing "conventional confidence-building measures" in New Delhi on October 18, the ministry said in a statement late Monday. Top officials will also discuss issues relating to nuclear safeguards, or ways of keeping their respective nuclear arsenals under control, a day later. The talks will continue on to October 22, with New Delhi and Islamabad revisiting efforts to put in place a regular joint anti-terrorism mechanism designed to share intelligence on militant activity. Both sides regularly accuse each other's intelligence outfits of sponsoring terror attacks across the border. The anti-terror panel was launched a year ago when top Indian and Pakistani diplomats resumed peace talks after July 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, in which 186 people died. The panel was supposed to meet every quarter, but the October meeting will only be its second outing. According to C. Uday Bhaskar, the former head of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, confidence building talks between India and Pakistan have moved at a "glacial pace due to the political trust deficit between the two sides." He said that the new talks were also likely to touch on their respective nuclear doctrines. "For instance, India has declared a no first use of nuclear weapons, Pakistan does not agree to that," Bhaskar said. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 50 WNN: More US warheads to be used for power generation 18 September 2007 The USA has committed to converting 9 tonnes of plutonium into fuel for nuclear power stations. The material will come from around 1000 dismantled nuclear weapons. US energy secretary Sam Bodman announced the move on 17 September in Vienna, Austria, during the opening session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference. He said: "The USA is leading by example." The plutonium comes from nuclear weapon 'pits' - the explosive components of nuclear weapons. During a process that would take 'decades' the parts would be taken apart so they can be recycled into mixed-oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel suitable for use in nuclear power reactors. That process would occur at the Department of Energy's Savannah River site, where a MOX facility is under construction. The move comes just two weeks after it was announced that the USA's stocks of surplus non-pit plutonium would also be moved to Savannah River for eventual re-use as MOX, or possible stabilisation for permanent disposal. All this work is to be carried out by the USA's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The MOX fuel assemblies made at Savannah River are set to be used at Duke Energy's Catawba and McGuire nuclear power plants. Bodman said the USA's destruction of plutonium would be "furthering our commitment to non-proliferation and the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)." The treaty requires the five 'weapons states' (China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA) to take steps towards destroying their nuclear weapons while helping other states to peacefully use nuclear power. The 'non-weapons states' agreed to never develop nuclear weapons. An extensive set of safeguard checks ensure the non-weapons states keep to the bargain - overseen by the IAEA - but progress towards destroying existing nuclear weapons has been piecemeal and slow. Matthew Bunn of Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs told Global Security Newswire that the USA had a total of 99.5 tonnes of plutonium during the mid-1990s. At that time it was decided that 52.5 tonnes was surplus to national security requirements. Bryan Wilkes of the NNSA told the news service that the latest announcement had increased the amount of surplus plutonium to 61.5 tonnes. This goes beyond measures previously agreed by the USA and Russia, but still leaves stockpiles which could be used for more weapons than other agreements between the countries would allow. Further information International Atomic Energy Agency US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration WNA's Military Warheads as a Source of Nuclear Fuel information paper WNN: NNSA MOX facility construction starts WNN: More US pluonium destined for MOX ***************************************************************** 51 DOE: DOE Launches New Online Search Tool for Patents, 1940s to Present September 18, 2007 Database Showcases Robust DOE R&D Investments WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the launch of a website, atents, which allows search and retrieval of information from a collection of more than 20,000 patent records. The database represents a growing collection of patents resulting from R&D supported by DOE and demonstrates the Department’s considerable contribution to scientific progress from the 1940s to the present. “From helping the blind to see again to identifying hidden weapons through holographic computerized imaging technology, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported and will continue to support research addressing some of the world’s most pressing scientific challenges,” Under Secretary for Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach said. “Content within DOepatents represents a truly impressive demonstration of DOE research and development and technological innovation.” Highlighted at DOepatents is a compilation of noteworthy DOE innovations from the past few decades. These technologies have improved quality of life and provided national economic, health and environmental benefits. One such invention is the Artificial Retina, a collaborative research project between DOE national laboratories, universities and the private sector aimed at restoring vision to millions of people blinded by retinal disease. Another invention is the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s pioneering multi-junction solar cell. A cell based on this design set a world efficiency record in converting sunlight to electricity. The DOepatents database also includes inventions of Nobel Laureates associated with DOE or its predecessors such as Enrico Fermi, Glenn Seaborg and Luis Alvarez, along with other distinguished scientists. DOepatents consists of bibliographic records, with full text where available via either a PDF file or an HTML link to the record at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The DOepatents database is updated quarterly with new patent records. The website is updated on a regular basis with news and information about significant and recent inventions. Resource links for inventors are included at the site, as well as Recent Inventions and Patent News pages. DOepatents was developed by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) and may be viewed at http://www.osti.gov/doepatents/. OSTI, a part of the DOE Office of Science, accelerates discovery by making research results rapidly available to scientists and to the public. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation. Media contact(s): Jeff Sherwood, DOE, (202) 586-5806 Cathey Daniels, OSTI, (865) 576-9539 U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 52 Knoxville News Sentinel: NRC: Erwin plant's safety OK Meeting addresses concerns about nuclear facility's 2006 spill, federal reviews Associated Press Tuesday, September 18, 2007 ERWIN, Tenn. — A federal regulator told concerned residents on Monday that they shouldn’t worry about dangers at the Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. plant because steps have been taken to improve safety. “I would feel safe living next to this plant because I know all the safety measures that are in place for ensuring the protection of the public, but I know safety is a personal thing,” said Michael Weber, director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s office of nuclear material safety and safeguards. Commission officials and NFS officials attended a public meeting Monday to discuss the commission’s annual review of the plant. The meeting at the NFS training center was the first public forum involving NFS since 2004. NFS has been under a three-year veil of secrecy because of a government policy intended to protect national security. The NRC recently reversed the policy as too stringent and ordered its staff to review for return to its public archives some 1,900 regulatory documents involving NFS and the BWX Technologies Inc. plant in Lynchburg, Va. Both plants make nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy. The Tennessee plant also converts or “downblends” surplus bomb-grade uranium into commercial reactor fuel for Tennessee Valley Authority. Nine gallons of highly enriched uranium leaked in the NFS downblending operation on March 6, 2006. Disclosing the incident more than a year later, the NRC said only luck prevented the spill from collecting and exposing workers to a deadly dose of radiation. The latest review covers a period beginning a few months after the spill. It covers Oct. 14, 2006, through July 28, 2007. The review found NFS complied with NRC requirements in four of five areas — safety operations, radiological controls, licensing activities and safeguards. The company was found lacking in a fifth category — facility support. The NRC said workers didn’t follow procedures involving environmental sampling, fire protection, backup power supply and uranium equipment safeguards. For that reason, federal regulators said they would continue stepped-up monitoring of the facility, located about 120 miles northeast of Knoxville. During Monday’s meeting, resident Chris Tipton wanted to know what would happen if a bad accident occurred at the plant. “What kind of risk do we have here living in this community, in other words, as far as any kind of accident that might happen on that site?” Tipton asked. NRC officials told her a criticality — a burst of direct radiation — was the worst possibility. But they said NFS does not have systems to release a lot of airborne materials. © 2007, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 53 Oak Ridger: Prepared for disasters - Story last updated at 3:06 am on 9/18/2007 By: John Huotari | john.huotari@oakridger.com Scott Fraker/Staff James Bassham, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, speaks to the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge about potential threats to the state. Click to view all photos Local officials are well-prepared for disasters at federal facilities and nuclear power plants in East Tennessee, a state official said Thursday. James Bassham, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, talked about the department’s mission, organization and equipment — as well as potential state threats — at a Thursday lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. Potential threats in Tennessee include: ; Floods and tornadoes; ; An earthquake along the New Madrid Fault in West Tennessee; ; Accidents at the Watts Bar or Sequoyah nuclear power plant; ; And, mishaps involving hazardous materials, including at local U.S. Department of Energy facilities. Bassham said there are a lot of opportunities for local accidents, given the volatile materials shipped into and out of Oak Ridge. He called Tennessee a “major channel” for radiological materials. “You’re probably sitting on the epicenter of hazardous materials,” Bassham told Rotarians. Still, he praised the work that local and state officials do to prevent and prepare for disasters. “There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes to ensure our safety,” said Bassham, an Arkansas native who is retired from the Tennessee Air National Guard. First-rate planning is in place at the Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear power plants, where emergency responders might have to deal with potential nuclear and radiological hazards, Bassham said. “We take those things very, very seriously,” he said. TEMA, part of the state’s military department, has regional offices in Jackson and Nashville. The East Tennessee regional office is being moved from Alcoa to Knoxville, Bassham said. Tennessee has a state emergency operations center, an alternate operations center and a place to move the “seat of government” if state leaders are unable to convene in Nashville. “We’re very fortunate in Tennessee to have those kinds of facilities and capabilities,” Bassham said. He talked about TEMA’s equipment and capabilities, which include: bull; a communications hub and alert systems, bull; a system to track nuclear and hazardous materials, bull; a 42-foot command bus and three regional command trailers, and bull; a fleet of 34 response vehicles and two 100-foot mobile radio towers. John Huotari can be contacted at (865) 220-5533. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 54 KOB.com: NASA cuts funding for LANL laser Posted at: 09/18/2007 08:37:50 AM By: The Associated Press LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - NASA has cut funding for a remote-sensing laser instrument that Los Alamos National Laboratory has been building for the next Mars rover. The main lab scientist in charge of the instrument, Roger Wiens, says the ChemCam is 90 percent complete. The ChemCam is being built for the Mars Science Laboratory rover. The ChemCam is a combination laser and telescope built to determine the chemical makeup of Martian surfaces. Wiens says the lab is still moving ahead with the instrument, and he thinks the ChemCam will be on the mission. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************