***************************************************************** 09/28/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.228 ***************************************************************** 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 NUCLEAR REACTORS 1 The Hindu: Indo-French nuclear business meet from Oct. 15 2 US: CNET: Giving the nuke option a fair shake | Perspectives | 3 AU ABC: Swift action urged on nuclear industry legislation - 4 US: Miami Herald: Bush plans to expand nuclear plants called unreali 5 BBC NEWS: UK Reactor museum plan is scrapped 6 US: newsobserver.com: Wilmington may get 900 nuclear jobs 7 US: Brick Township Bulletin: Oyster Creek drywell corrosion raises c 8 RIA Novosti: Russia ready to ship fuel to W. European nuclear power 9 US: Rutland Herald Online: Small nukes can have big role 10 US: Brattleboro Reformer: NRC schedules Oct. 11 hearings on VY relic 11 Thisisdorset: 100 Jobs Face Axe At Nuclear Plant 12 US: Brick Township Bulletin: Congressmen contest NRC's safety standa 13 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Gene 14 US: Reuters: APS Ariz. Palo Verde 3 reactor cut to 40 pct power | 15 Reuters: Updated Japan nuclear power plant operations, outages | 16 Reuters: India leftists meet to plot move on nuclear standoff 17 US: NRC: NRC Publishes Regulatory Issue Summary on Feedwater Flow Me 18 Reuters: British Energy's Hunterston nuclear plant stops | 19 Reuters: Bruce Ontario Bruce 4 reactor back in service 20 UPI Asia Online: Commentary: Mistrust mars Sino-India relations 21 US: Knoxville News Sentinel: Plans move forward to start up nuke pla 22 US: Texas Observer Blog: A Good Day for Nuke Power 23 US: Moderate Voice: Nuclear Power In the United States: Finally Read 24 ITAR-TASS: PM optimistic about Russia prospects on atomic market 25 UNIAN: Government held meeting on nuclear energy issues today 26 Oilweek Magazine: Expert says building nuclear power plants in 27 US: Decatur Daily: TVA seeks application to build nuclear plant 28 US: SCI FI: SHIFT: Nuclear power is better than no power | 29 Leader Post: Sask. nuclear power plants urged 30 Star Phoenix: PCs back nuclear development 31 Leader Post: 'Tired and toxic nuclear technology' 32 AFP: Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy enters Chinese nuclear power market - 33 US: Decatur Daily: TVA plans rate increase under $9.7 billion budget 34 barrow in furness: N-bosses prepare for towers to be toppled 35 times and star: Nuke academy gets final approval 36 US: NEWS.com.au: Rudd slams 'secretive' nuclear plan | 37 US: Guardian Unlimited: NRC Accused of Ignoring Sleeping Guards 38 Sydney Morning Herald: Labor accuses PM of secret nuclear plan - NUCLEAR SECURITY 39 US: NYDN: Feds give city $3M for radiation detectors NUCLEAR SAFETY 40 US: Charlotte Observer: New nuke pills on order for region 41 US: HHS: Hanford Exposure Cohort 42 US: HHS: Ames Lab Exposure Cohort 43 Greenpeace International: The second biggest nuclear disaster in his 44 PR-INSIDE: 50 years later, many victims of Japan's worst eco-disaste 45 US: Manipulating Public Health Research: The Nuclear and Radiation H NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 46 AU ABC: Confusion over nuke dump agreement - 47 US: RIA Novosti: U.S. lifts restrictions on Russian uranium supplies 48 US: Dallas Morning News: S. Texas county fights uranium mine proposa 49 US: Hartford Courant: Radioactive Cleanup -- 50 US: Reuters: Russia hails U.S. court ruling on uranium sales | 51 Manila Standard Today: Nuclear waste triggers debate on Japan deal 52 US: CBC News: Algonquins canoe to Ottawa to demand uranium moratoriu 53 US: PE: Rialto officials call ad 'inaccurate,' 'deceptive' | 54 AU ABC: Fed Govt fails to consult manager of waste site - PEACE 55 U.S. Nuclear Weapons Being “Guarded” by Israel 56 Japan Urges 'total Elimination' Of Nuclear Weapons, Top Official Tel 57 Digital Chosunilbo: N.Korea to Remove Core Devices From Reactors US DEPT. OF ENERGY 58 SF New Mexican: Judge sides with watchdog group in LANL case 59 Hanford News: PNNL gets new supercomputer: XMT may help find answers 60 Hanford News: Audit finds Hanford database incomplete 61 Hanford News: Hanford testing sweet solution to make chromium nontox 62 Jackson Hole News & Guide: Judge to review nuke info 63 Amarillo.com: Warhead certified 64 Knoxville News Sentinel: Bring out the big guns 65 Knoxville News Sentinel: Great guns galore: OR contractor shows off 66 KOB.com: DOE fines UC $3 million for LANL breach 67 LocalNews8.com: Judge to review reactor records 68 LocalNews8.com: Crapo Discusses INL With Local Mayors ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 The Hindu: Indo-French nuclear business meet from Oct. 15 Friday, September 28, 2007 : 1710 Hrs Mumbai, Sept. 28 (PTI): In the backdrop of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) planning to buy six nuclear power reactors from France, an Indo-French nuclear business meet will begin here from October 15. The meeting is organised by the French embassy in collaboration with NPCIL, a top scientist said. "The two-day meet is to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the nuclear power sector and also to improve the relationship between the industries of both India and France," S K Agrawal, Director, Projects of NPCIL told PTI today. "We are expecting the participation of over 20 French nuclear companies including AREVA and an equal number from India," he said. NPCIL plans to buy six nuclear power reactors from France, Agrawal said. AREVA could be one of the biggest suppliers for its Jaitapur site in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra which is one of the four coastal sites selected by NPCIL for imported reactors, he said. Also, NPCIL can enter into business with the French only after the completion of the Indo-US deal, he said. On that front, US has a timeframe for the entire process including India's discussion with the International Atomic Energy Agency on safeguards and US' negotiations with the NSG countries. Asked whether other members of Nuclear Suppliers Group were also in touch with NPCIL officials, Agrawal said, the Japanese were interested and Mitsuibishi had held talks with the NPCIL officials. Copyright 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 2 CNET: Giving the nuke option a fair shake | Perspectives | CNET News.com If we're serious about the energy crisis, CNET News.com's Charles Cooper says this still radioactive question deserves another look. By Charles Cooper Published: September 28, 2007, 4:00 AM PDT perspective My late Uncle Harold never lacked for strong opinions. He served with Patton's Third Army in Europe and life taught him not to waste time gladly suffering fools. So it was that after he became an engineer, my uncle later worked on the construction of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactor near San Luis Obispo, Calif. It was, no pun intended, always a hot topic of debate at family gatherings. Since I was a "no nukes" kind of guy, there was no way I would ever trust The Man to do right by the environment. To me, Diablo Canyon and all the other nuclear energy plants going up around the country constituted an invitation to inevitable disaster. My heart was with the green movement. Back then, anti-nuclear sentiment was running high--especially after the accidents at Three Mile Island in March 1979 and Chernobyl seven years later. The overhang from the no-nukes era still casts a shadow. Any proposal to put more investment into nuclear energy always presents the risk of political suicide. Well, that was a bit fresh. After all, I had watched The China Syndrome. OK, even though it was a movie, what if the scenario played out for real? Uncle Harold, who was having none of it, refused to buy into any emotional arguments. He ticked off with lapidary precision a long list of benefits from nuclear energy and explained the safety mechanisms that accompanied the construction of modern plants. That was so unfair of him to use facts in an argument where it was clear that I was on the side of the angels. Of course, I wasn't alone in making the popular mistake of twinning opposition to the spread of nuclear weaponry with nuclear energy. As if they were forever joined at the hip. My uncle died a couple of years ago. I don't know whether I've become any wiser over the years but with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I sure wish I could get a do-over with him. Fast-forward three decades after those conversations and this country--along with the rest of the word--is locked in a noisy debate about how best to reduce fossil fuel consumption. It's been a slow haul. The overhang from the no-nukes era still casts a shadow. Any proposal to put more investment into nuclear energy always presents the risk of political suicide. So it is that the last time federal regulators in this country allowed work to begin on a new reactor was the same year as Three Mile Island (though the plants never got built). In fact, the U.S. has not brought a new commercial reactor on line since May 1996. Even so, about 20 percent of the country's electricity gets generated by nuclear. Sounds impressive until you compare that statistic against France's 78 percent. (Not surprisingly, France's carbon dioxide output is one of the lowest per capita in Europe.) Yet resistance to nuclear energy may be receding from its high water mark. In an interview with CNET News.com, Frank Bowman, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that some of the industry's once sternest critics are giving nuclear another look. The list includes the likes of Stewart Brand, the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog (you don't get more crunchy that that), and Pulitzer-winning author Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Steel). The most notable one-time opponent to change his mind about nuclear is Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore. In the magazine, Moore says nuclear energy now has to be part of any solution to the nation's energy challenge. That's not a switch that has gone down well with his former colleagues. In fact, Moore told the magazine, some within the environmental movement now treat him with "considerable disdain." "It's quite ironic that the very people who are most concerned about climate change are generally the same ones who are against the solution that, from a technical point of view, is straightforward," he said. After all the angst and questioning that attended my own about-face, I understand why it's so difficult. But the greens may find themselves increasingly isolated. Earlier this week, NRG Energy asked the government for permission to build a couple of reactors in Texas. Another company called Constellation Energy is also rumored to be close to applying for a license. Forget saving the world--though that's an appealing idea--the growing global competition for increasingly scarce energy resources has turned the search for alternatives into a national security priority. I don't want to re-argue the pros and cons of the debate over climate change, global warming and greenhouse gas concerns but the time is long past for fresh thinking. And that means giving nuclear a fair shake. Biography Charles Cooper is CNET News.com's executive editor of commentary. Copyright 2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy ***************************************************************** 3 AU ABC: Swift action urged on nuclear industry legislation - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) By David Mark Posted September 28, 2007 15:23:00 Legislative action: The Government will set up a regulatory body for the expansion of the nuclear industry (File photo) (AAP Image: Dean Lewins) The Coalition Government has confirmed if it wins the election it will press ahead to pass legislation to allow the construction of electricity-generating nuclear power plants in Australia. Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says the Government will put in place the regulations to enable further development of a nuclear industry in Australia. "It would be irresponsible to do anything else, bearing in mind our commitment... our complete commitment to ensuring that we have all the options to consider in lowering Australia's greenhouse gas in the future," he said. "The legislation includes the establishment of a regulatory body and also establishes the key guidelines in which any expansion of the nuclear industry would occur, including the potential establishment of nuclear power stations." Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Dr Ziggy Switkowski, the man who conducted a review on nuclear power for the Federal Government last year, still believes nuclear reactors are around 15 years away in Australia. But like Mr Macfarlane, he sees the need for swift action on legislation to get the nuclear industry up and running. "Sometime in the first term or in the next term of Government, work would have to be done in putting in place... rolling back legislation that makes it unlawful to explore and mine uranium in certain [areas]... and enrich uranium in Australia," he said. "And then to put in place the right kind of positive regulatory regime that will guide business in making their commercial cases to build the first reactors." Dr Switkowski says he is not aware of any specific businesses or consortiums that are keen to take part in what he describes as "largely a theoretical exercise". "Clearly the longer-term plans of energy utilities, energy generators currently using coal and gas and hydroelectric power etc, wind power, increasingly include scenarios, or consider scenarios that will include nuclear power. "But until there is more certainty about the likelihood of nuclear power being supported in a political sense, and more importantly until we get more alignment and consensus at the community level, at this stage it's all largely a theoretical exercise." ***************************************************************** 4 Miami Herald: Bush plans to expand nuclear plants called unrealistic - 09/28/2007 - MiamiHerald.com FPL CEO Lewis Hay III said costs and public opposition will hinder a U.S. nuclear revival. BY EDWARD KLUMP Bloomberg News Service FPL Group, owner of nuclear power plants in three U.S. states, said public opposition and daunting costs will prevent the surge in construction of new reactors sought by the Bush administration. ''I think there will be some nuclear plants built,'' said Lewis Hay III, CEO of FPL -- parent company of Florida Power & Light. ``It's just I don't think it's going to be this giant wave that some people are referring to.'' NRG Energy this week filed the first license application to build a U.S. reactor since the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island in 1979. U.S. regulators expect applications for 32 new reactors by 2009 as power producers race to win loan guarantees and other government incentives that will go to the first six plants. FPL said it will propose upgrading reactors to boost output at existing plants in Florida by 2012 and building two new reactors by 2020. It would cost $12 billion to $15 billion to build a plant with 3,000 megawatts of capacity, said Hay during an interview in New York Wednesday. In the past, U.S. utility owners underestimated development expenses and were hit with reductions in the amount of cost recoveries allowed by regulators after their plants were built. `THAT'S A BIG BET' ''That's a big bet to take to your board when you have this history that happened with the last wave of nuclear power plants,'' Hay said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's new approval process will likely take 40 months, Hay said, and projects would be open to public opposition and legal challenges even after that. Support for a nuclear renaissance in the United States has grown because of the drive to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut emissions of gases linked to global warming. Hay said that among zero-emissions power sources like wind and hydroelectric dams, only nuclear reactors can provide full, uninterrupted output around the clock. Hay noted FPL will propose new reactors through its regulated utility, ensuring a predictable return on investment. NRG, based in Princeton, N.J., is proposing new reactors in the deregulated Texas power market. ''I personally believe that the first plants to actually get built in the United States are going to be part of a traditional, vertically integrated, regulated utility structure simply because you can have the state government and the state public service commission supporting it,'' Hay said. IT'S BEEN A WHILE The last U.S. nuclear plant to be licensed was North Carolina's Shearon Harris plant, which opened in 1987. The Watts Bar plant in Tennessee was licensed in 1973 and opened in 1996. Hay, 52, said he has to balance his ''pro-nuclear'' beliefs with concerns over costs and potential delays when pitching a project to his board. ''I'm still relatively young,'' he said, ``and I want to keep my job.'' Also Thursday, Ausra, a startup solar energy company based in California, said it will join FPL to build a solar-thermal power plant in Florida. * Copyright 1996-2007 The Miami Herald Media Company| ***************************************************************** 5 BBC NEWS: UK Reactor museum plan is scrapped Last Updated: Friday, 28 September 2007, 05:56 GMT 06:56 UK Calder Hall in Cumbria was opened by the Queen in 1956 A proposal to turn the world's first civilian nuclear power station into a hi-tech museum has been ruled out after estimates put the cost at 128m. Calder Hall in Cumbria was opened by the Queen in 1956, but ceased operating in 2003 after almost 50 years. Its four cooling towers are due to be demolished on Saturday in a programme to decommission ageing nuclear sites. The NDA had been considering preserving one of Calder Hall's reactors and using it as the basis for a state-of-the-art visitor attraction. Significant support The ambitious plan for a museum was seen as a way of enhancing the visitor centre which already exists at Sellafield. But a study, commissioned by the NDA and carried out by Surrey-based consultancy Atkins, said the project would cost at least 128m. The NDA has been unable to gather significant support for the project from the private sector or local authorities in the area. A spokesman for the NDA said: "A feasibility study found that preserving Calder Hall Reactor 1 and creating a museum on the site was possible. "But the cost involved would be significant, with estimates putting it at around 128m. "Given the NDA's priorities of tackling high hazards and decommissioning, alternative funding would need to be identified for this project to progress." * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 6 newsobserver.com: Wilmington may get 900 nuclear jobs Friday, September 28, 2007 GE-Hitachi considers adding workers and investing $900 million in headquarters Jonathan B. Cox, Staff Writer Wilmington is poised to get a big economic boost, as GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy considers investing $900 million and creating 900 jobs at its headquarters there. The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on Monday will consider awarding the company, which designs nuclear reactors and sells related services, as much as $10 million in incentives over 12 years. And the state, as soon as today, is likely to sweeten the deal with an additional, multimillion-dollar grant. "This represents a phenomenal new investment for our region," said Scott Satterfield, chief executive of Wilmington Industrial Development, a business recruiting group, who helped land the expansion. "The quality of jobs and the type of investment that this would be will be something that this community will see a lot of gain out of for many years." Satterfield said that the expansion is not yet a done deal. It depends, for instance, on whether incentives are approved. But the negotiations have been made public -- the details were shared when commissioners posted notice of an open meeting to consider the local grant -- signaling that the incentives have already been hashed out in private and GE-Hitachi's expansion is almost a sure thing. "GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is considering making very large investments in our nuclear business," spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuronen said in a statement. "If the incentives are available, that will help influence the decision." The company's expansion comes amid a resurgence in nuclear power. GE-Hitachi is among the largest companies that design nuclear reactors, along with Areva and Westinghouse. The companies are counting on billions of new spending on reactors as the nation contends with rising energy consumption and costs and concerns about global warming. NRG Energy of New Jersey this week became the first company in almost three decades to seek regulatory approval for a new U.S. nuclear reactor. More are expected to follow. Progress Energy of Raleigh and Duke Power in Charlotte have said they are considering six reactors in the Carolinas and Florida. GE-Hitachi sells advanced reactors, nuclear fuel and other services to utilities. It was formed in June as an alliance between GE and Hitachi, but its roots in North Carolina run much deeper. GE's nuclear division, which was founded in San Jose, Calif., in 1954, expanded to Wilmington in 1967. Four years ago, the company moved its headquarters there from the West Coast. Since 2003, state and local officials have promised more than $11 million to win investment and jobs. The company now has about 1,500 employees in Wilmington. The possibility of almost $1 billion in new investment illustrates the benefit of headquarters. Recruiters often try to win them because they usually bring more-lucrative jobs and more benefits to communities, as businesses expand or invest in charity and other causes. But critics of incentives are sure to question whether state and local governments need to add any more enticements for a company that already has four decades of history in the community. Satterfield said the incentives are critical. "It's important for these companies to realize they're appreciated, and they're in a community that wants them," he said. New Hanover also is preparing to offer as much as $3 million in incentives to a second, unrelated company. Invista, which makes fibers and polymers, could get the local grant in exchange for investing $200 million in the county and creating 50 jobs. The commissioners will consider that incentive Monday. jonathan.cox@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-4948 newsobserver.com Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 7 Brick Township Bulletin: Oyster Creek drywell corrosion raises concerns Front Page September 27, 2007 AmerGen attorney dismisses contention as 'conjecture' at hearing BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent Will the thickness of the drywell liner surrounding the reactor at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant last for another 20 years if the plant is relicensed? CHRIS KELLY staff Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Judge E. Roy Hawkins listens intently to testimony at a hearing on the safety of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant's drywell shell Monday. That's the single question now before three judges from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), the judicial arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ASLB Judges E. Roy Hawkins, Paul Abramson and Anthony Baratta planned to take up to two and a half days to listen to expert testimony on the question. The hearing began at 9 a.m. Monday at the Ocean County Administration Building. "The burden of proof is on AmerGen that the challenges presented to us do not have merit," Hawkins said. Officials from AmerGen and its parent company, Exelon Inc., brought along 14 expert witnesses to prove that the plant is safe, and placed five photographs and a small replica of the drywell shell into evidence. "There was no secret that there was corrosion in 1992, but the shell is not corroding now," Alex Polonsky, an attorney for AmerGen, said in his opening remarks to the panel. Polonsky said that after the corrosion was discovered, the exterior of the drywell shell was cleaned and an epoxy coating was applied. "It is still as shiny as it was 15 years ago," he said. Polonsky said that AmerGen has in place a management plan for aging, which was approved by the NRC, and that the opposition to the drywell liner is "conjecture." "They are saying that the rate of corrosion will be higher than it was 15 years ago," Polonsky said. "That is just baseless hypothesizing." But Richard Webster, a Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic lawyer who represents a coalition of groups that oppose the relicensing of the Oyster Creek plant, said that the sampling AmerGen has done is unusual and the numbers are small. "There is a huge amount of uncertainty," Webster said in his opening remarks. "AmerGen is drowning in it. Don't let it drag the NRC down with it." Webster said that there is an absence of data, including the thickness of the drywell shell in certain areas, along with what the corrosion rate will be in the future. "Will it be .05 inches per year?" Webster asked. "Can we think that's appropriate when we're dealing with nuclear safety?" Webster represents a coalition of citizen and environmental groups that include the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, the Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch Inc., Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety (GRAMMES), the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG), the New Jersey Sierra Club and the New Jersey Environmental Foundation. Congressmen Jim Saxton (R-3rd) and Chris Smith (R-4th) both questioned the thickness of the drywell shell and urged the panel to investigate the issue thoroughly in a Sept. 21 joint letter addressed to the ASLB. "It is not acceptable for the containment wall of a 636-megawatt nuclear power plant to just barely meet minimum federal requirements or to fall below the margin of safety," they wrote. Saxton and Smith referred to testimony before the ASLB by Dr. Mark Hartzman, a senior mechanical engineer in the Division of Engineering- Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation at the NRC, who indicated that the steel drywell barrier did not meet the minimum thickness requirements set by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The NRC said in an Aug. 23 letter to the ASLB that Hartzman's testimony contained a "misstatement" and that Hartzman had later corrected the NRC's rebuttal testimony. Oyster Creek, which went online in 1969, is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. Its 40-year operating license expires on April 9, 2009. AmerGen applied to the NRC for a 20-year license extension in July 2005. AmerGen has faced a series of setbacks this year in its quest to have the plant on Route 9 south in Lacey Township relicensed. The state Attorney General's Office petitioned the federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in May to contest the NRC's stance that the impact of a terrorist attack should not be part of a nuclear plant's relicensing review. The Attorney General's Office filed the petition on behalf of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). And in early June, the DEP faulted both AmerGen and the NRC for relying on environmental studies that were up to 30 years old during the relicensing process. ***************************************************************** 8 RIA Novosti: Russia ready to ship fuel to W. European nuclear power plants 16:20 | 28/ 09/ 2007 ELEKTROSTAL (Moscow Region) September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to directly supply nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants in Western Europe, the director of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) said Friday. Rosatom currently delivers nuclear fuel to West European nuclear power plants in cooperation with the French company Areva. "Russian fuel for nuclear power plants is high quality and often superior to Western fuel. We supply nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but... we want to do business directly with Western energy companies, and not through middlemen," Sergei Kiriyenko said. He also said that an intergovernmental agreement is pending on the peaceful uses of atomic energy with Japan, adding that Russia has plans to build 26 new nuclear power units by 2020. The Russian nuclear chief also offered the opinion that nuclear power plants are the most environmentally friendly electricity generators. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 9 Rutland Herald Online: Small nukes can have big role September 28, 2007 In the law courts we swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Why should it be different in the court of public opinion or the reportage of the media or the debate of the law makers? I submit that it should not be different, but it has been on the topic of our energy problems. All we have heard is reducing our usage of energy and an absurd array of flawed alternatives which do not merit serious consideration because they are either unreliable (like the wind) or insufficient to make a real difference (like biomass, solar and the worst one, converting food grains to ethanol). Certainly we will face a huge jump in price for Hydro-Quebec when the contract comes up in 2015, a mere eight years from now. An advanced nation is advanced because it uses energy to be far more efficient than its competitors. How on earth can one run a factory when the electricity may not be available? Or how do you finish baking a cake when the power is shut off? We all depend on the flip of the switch instantly providing light, air-conditioning, or some other power-assisted device coming to life at our command. Other nations understand that idea and are building power generation at a furious rate, allowing them to exceed us in efficiency. And most of them are building nuclear generating systems, which we have not done for nearly 30 years. It explains why we face a sudden jolt upcoming for the cost of power and why IBM and numerous other good employers are fleeing the state. I am looking at the best alternative, small shop-built nuclear plants using the designs our 50-year-old nuclear Navy has used without incident. Let's examine what that would do in addition to being something that could be locally owned rather than vulnerable to outside influences. Placed wisely around the state, we would have green power that does not contribute to global warming and does not blight the landscape with ugly high voltage lines running all over our beautiful mountains. We would have the least expensive reliable electricity possible, and after the fuel is expended, the reactor goes back to the manufacturer for decommissioning. We would have a waste heat stream of steam that could be used for greenhouse growing of foods that would eliminate the transportation costs of foods now shipped in during the off season. Or the steam could be used by a large number of industries that need steam for such things as kiln drying lumber, processing food products or even providing hot water for commercial and residential use. During less than peak demand times, the electricity could by electrolysis of water make hydrogen to power vehicles when fuel cells become affordable technology. We can have small reactors like this very quickly because they have a small footprint on the ground, they are very safe and we have a large supply of retired naval people already trained in the operation of the small reactors. What is not to like about my idea? KAREN KERIN South Royalton 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 10 Brattleboro Reformer: NRC schedules Oct. 11 hearings on VY relicensing By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff Thursday, September 27 BRATTLEBORO -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be in town Oct. 11 to receive comments regarding three contentions submitted by the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution relating to the license renewal application for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. "My concern is that this meeting doesn't degenerate into speeches pro and anti nuclear," said Ray Shadis, technical consultant for NEC. Instead, he said, "people should speak clearly and openly about the company's lack of willingness to do proper maintenance." In January 2006, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., which owns and operates Vermont Yankee, applied to the NRC for a 20-year license extension for the plant. The current operating license for the plant is due to expire March 21, 2012. Shortly after the application was submitted, four requests were received by the NRC -- from the Vermont Department of Public Service, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, the Town of Marlboro and NEC. The ASLB admitted the requests submitted by NEC and the department of public service, but denied the others. The ASLB also granted those organizations' requests to adopt one another's contentions, thereby making both a party to the proceeding. In Nov. 2006, the ASLB also allowed the state of New Hampshire to participate in the proceeding as an interested state. The DPS contention has since been settled, but it remains a party to the proceeding since it adopted NEC's contentions. Of the four contentions originally submitted by NEC, three are before the board for consideration. NEC has contended that Entergy's license renewal application does not include an adequate plan to monitor and manage the effects of aging (due to metal fatigue) on key reactor components. It has also contended that the application does not include an adequate plan to monitor and manage aging of the steam dryer during the period of extended operation. Finally, contended NEC, the application does not include an adequate plan to monitor and manage aging of plant piping due to flow-accelerated corrosion during the period of extended operation. Interested members of the public are asked to focus their Oct. 11 limited appearance statements on the three contentions, which are the only matters currently within the Board's jurisdiction, but Shadis hopes attendees will bring up the recent collapse of a cooling cell at the power plant, as it is related to Entergy's plan to monitor and manage aging systems at the plant. "It really goes to their entire in house safety and maintenance culture," he said. Comments will be accepted during two sessions to be held at the Latchis Theater in downtown Brattleboro. The first session is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. The second is scheduled for 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. The comments are known as "limited appearance statements." The purpose of seeking the statements is to allow members of the public to alert the ASLB to evidence that might support the three contentions submitted by NEC, "and to assist the Board in its consideration of these issues," according to the NRC press release announcing the meetings. The remarks, which will be entered into an official record, will be heard by the three administrative judges handling the Vermont Yankee adjudicatory proceeding. Those who wish to speak at one of the meetings are asked to send a written request to the ASLB as soon as possible. Individuals who have submitted a timely request and who are present when their names are called will be given priority over those who have not filed such a request. To be considered timely, a written request to make an oral statement must be mailed, faxed or sent by e-mail by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5. The request must specify the requester's name and the session (afternoon or evening) during which he or she wishes to make an oral statement. Written requests should be mailed to: Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudication Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; faxed to 301-415-1101; or e-mailed to: hearingdocket@nrc.gov. Copies of requests should be mailed to: Alex Karlin, Chairman, c/o: Marcia Carpentier, Esq., Law Clerk, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3 E2C, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; faxed to: 301-415-5599; or e-mailed to: mxc7@nrc.gov and ksv@nrc.gov. Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 273. ***************************************************************** 11 Thisisdorset: 100 Jobs Face Axe At Nuclear Plant By Harry Walton UP to 110 jobs face the axe at Winfrith if decommissioning cash for the former nuclear site is slashed by nearly 30 per cent. A spokesman for Winfrith said it and sister site Harwell in Oxford-shire had been given a recent update on likely funding for 2008-2010 by the Nuclear Decomm-issioning Authority. This showed that joint funding for the two United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority sites could drop from 84.6 million for 2007-2008 to only 60 million annually after that, although this level still had to be officially confirmed. The spokesman added: "The UKAEA is restructuring to better fit its role as contractor. This, combined with an indicated level of NDA funding, has led to a surplus of staff. "The UKAEA's policy is to accommodate staff losses through voluntary means if at all possible. "The number of surplus staff will not be certain until the completion of the Government's Comprehen-sive Spending Review, expected to be complete in the autumn." An NDA spokesman said: "The amount of money the Government has made available for decommissioning across the UK has increased over the last few years. "The NDA and our contractors ensure that safety remains paramount and all regulatory requirements are met. "Further allocation of funding is then prioritised for those sites with the highest hazards and Winfrith is not a priority site. "We are awaiting the outcome of our discussions with Government on the Comp-rehensive Spending Review which will determine budgets for the next three years. "For planning purposes, we have talked to our contractors about the likely level of funding but this is still to be confirmed. "Once budgets are set, then the site operator has the responsibility of managing the agreed programme of work within the funds allocated." Decommissioning had been due to be fully completed by 2013 but could now take much longer. Richard Drax, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for South Dorset, visited Winfrith to show support for the 110 staff who face losing their jobs if funding is cut'. He said staff told him that the funding problems would leave decommissioning work frozen and 100 highly-trained staff out of work. He added: "It's madness to pull the plug now. The job will have to be finished one day, so why stop now? "As I understand it the cash is needed to clear other contaminated sites in the UK where the decommissioning process has yet to start. "I can't see the logic behind the NDA proposal to cut funding. With the staff redundant and work stopped, the cost of care and maintenance of the site will surely spiral." 6:39pm Friday 28th September 2007Print  Email this Comment Posted by: Ex-pat, Too Close to Death on 8:43pm Fri 28 Sep 07 Any news on our Bl00dy Eyesore Hinkley Point? Privacy Policy © Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company ***************************************************************** 12 Brick Township Bulletin: Congressmen contest NRC's safety standards Front Page September 27, 2007 BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer TOMS RIVER - Two federal legislators concerned about the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant want an investigation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) adherence to accepted engineering safety requirements. Republican New Jersey Congressmen H. James Saxton and Christopher Smith asked the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an NRC advisory board, for the probe in a Sept. 21 letter. Saxton and Smith want the investigation to focus on the NRC's adherence to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) requirements. "We are concerned that the steel containment wall does not meet minimum safety requirements as a result of severe corrosion in several locations," the letter states. The two said that according to original testimony presented to the ASLB by Mark Hartzman - a senior mechanical engineer in the NRC's Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation - that the steel barrier encasing the nuclear reactor did not meet the minimum ASME safety requirements. "We are astounded to learn of the development," Saxton and Smith said in the letter. The two legislators acknowledged that there is disagreement about the calculations and methodologies used to determine the thickness of the drywell shell. "Even so, it is not acceptable for the containment wall of a 636-megawatt nuclear power to just barely meet minimum federal requirements, or perhaps, as suggested by Dr. Hartzman's testimony, to fall below the margin of safety." The ASLB this summer granted a coalition of six citizen and environmental groups a hearing on their contention concerning corrosion around the drywell shell and the frequency of AmerGen's corrosion monitoring program. The NRC said in a brief filed with the ASLB on Aug 23 that the Hartzman's rebuttal testimony contained "a misstatement," which had since been corrected. The NRC also concluded in the brief that AmerGen's monitoring frequency of the corrosion was sufficient to maintain an adequate safety margin in accordance with NRC requirements. Janet Tauro, a member of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety, one of the six groups involved in the contention, said the Oyster Creek should not even be considered for relicensing. "That [drywell] is the radiation barrier that shields us in the event of a meltdown," she said. "That's the only thing that protects the public from radiation. If they don't meet the safety codes, they shouldn't have a business operating today, let alone for another 20 years." ***************************************************************** 13 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 3; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact FR Doc E7-19245 [Federal Register: September 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 188)] [Notices] [Page 55254-55255] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr28se07-127] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-286] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of a revision of existing exemptions from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50, appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' for Fire Areas ETN-4 and PAB-2, issued to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee), for operation of Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 3 (IP3), located in Westchester County, NY. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action The proposed action would revise the January 7, 1987 safety evaluation (SE) to reflect that the installed Hemyc electrical raceway fire barrier system (ERFBS) configurations provide either a 30-minute fire resistance rating, or in one case a 24-minute fire resistance rating, in lieu of the previously stated 1-hour fire resistance rating. The licensee states that a Hemyc ERFBS fire resistance rating will provide sufficient protection for the affected raceways, with adequate margin, to continue to meet the intent of the original requests for exemption and conclusions presented in the NRC's January 7, 1987, SE. The licensee concludes that the revised fire resistance rating of the Hemyc ERFBS does not reflect a reduction in overall fire safety, and presents no added challenge to the credited post-fire safe-shutdown capability which remains materially unchanged from the configuration originally described in previous letters and as credited in the January 7, 1987, SE. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated July 24, 2006, as supplemented by letters dated April 30, May 23, and August 16, 2007. The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed revision of existing exemptions from 10 CFR part 50, appendix R, is needed in response to NRC Information Notice 2005-07. The information notice provided licensees the details of Hemyc ERFBS full-scale fire tests conducted by the NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. The test results concluded that the Hemyc ERFBS does not provide the level of protection expected for a 1-hour rated fire barrier, as originally designed. The proposed revision to existing exemptions would revise the fire resistance rating of Hemyc ERFBS configurations. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has completed its SE of the proposed action and concludes that the configuration of the fire zones under review provide reasonable assurance that a severe fire is not plausible and the existing fire protection features are adequate. The details of the staff's SE will be provided in the exemptions that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the exemption. Based on the presence of redundant safe-shutdown trains, minimal fire hazards and combustibles, automatic cable tray fire suppression system, manual fire suppression features, fire barrier protection, existing Hemyc configuration, and the installed smoke detection system, the NRC staff finds that the use of this Hemyc fire barrier in these zones will not significantly increase the consequences from a fire in these fire zones. The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be released off site. There is no significant increase in the amount of any effluent released off site. There is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non- radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar. Alternative Use of Resources The action does not involve the use of any different resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for IP3, dated February, 1975. Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on February 13, 2007, the NRC staff consulted with the New York State official, Alyse Peterson of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action. For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee's letter dated July 24, 2006, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number ML062140057, as supplemented on April 30, 2007, ADAMS accession number ML071280504, May 23, 2007, ADAMS accession number ML071520177, and August 16, 2007, ADAMS accession number ML072400369. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), [[Page 55255]] located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800- 397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of September 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. John P. Boska, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-19245 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 14 Reuters: APS Ariz. Palo Verde 3 reactor cut to 40 pct power | Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:56pm BST NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Arizona Public Service's 1,247-megawatt Unit 3 at the Palo Verde nuclear power station in Arizona dipped to 40 percent power as it coasted down for a refueling outage, company officials and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report. By early Thursday, the company said it reduced the unit to about 75 percent to repair the main condenser. The company said it would shut the unit on Sept. 30 for a planned refueling outage and maintenance overhaul. During the outage, the company will replace the unit's two steam generators and three low-pressure turbines in addition to the usual refueling activities. The company expects the unit to return by the end of the year. Each steam generator is about 72 feet high, 17 feet in diameter and weighs about 800 tons, the company said. The unit last shut for refueling from April 2-May 15, 2006. It is on an 18-month refueling cycle. The company could not say how much the project would cost but noted that after this work the power output of Unit 3 should be the same as Units 1 and 2. The 3,875 MW Palo Verde station is located in Wintersburg in Maricopa County about 50 miles west of Phoenix. There are three units at the station: the 1,314 MW Units 1 and 2, and 1,247 MW Unit 3, which entered service in 1986, 1986 and 1988, respectively. Continued... Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 15 Reuters: Updated Japan nuclear power plant operations, outages | Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:56am BST Sept 28 (Reuters) - The table below shows the latest operational status of Japan's nuclear power plants. Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it expects to restart its 579 megawatt Tomari No.1 nuclear power generation unit from Sept. 30, 10 days after an unplanned shutdown. [ID:nT107604] Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Friday it would shut its Fukushima-Daiichi No.6 nuclear unit from Oct. 1 for planned inspection. The unit is expected to be shut until Dec. 27, TEPCO said in a statement. Kyushu Electric Power Co expects to resume generating electricity from its Sendai No. 2 nuclear unit from Sept. 29 after restarting it on Sept. 25, a company spokesman said on Friday. Kansai Electric Power Co said on Friday it would start planned inspection on its Ohi No. 2 nuclear unit from Sept. 30. The inspection is scheduled to last about three months, it said in a statement. After the restarts and shutdowns of those units, about 27,663 megawatts of nuclear power generation capacity, or 55.9 percent of Japan's total, will be in operation, according to Reuters calculations. Nine Japanese utilities and a wholesaler have 55 nuclear power generators for commercial use, with a total generating capacity of 49,470 megawatts. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency requires utilities to shut each unit for inspections every 13 months. In the table below, capacities are shown in megawatts. "P" represents a planned regular inspection shutdown and "U" an unplanned shutdown. Company, plant Unit Capacity Status/Shutdown or start date ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Fukushima-Daiichi No.1 460 P from Dec. 28, 2006 No.2 784 On line from Jan. 25, 2007 No.3 784 P from Aug 31, 2007 No.4 784 On line from April 29, 2007 No.5 784 On line from April 24, 2007 No.6 1,100 P from Oct. 1, 2007 Fukushima-Daini No.1 1,100 P from Sept. 24, 2007 No.2 1,100 On line from Sept. 7, 2007 No.3 1,100 On line from June 22, 2007 No.4 1,100 On line from April 27, 2007 Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No.1 1,100 P from May 4, 2007 No.2 1,100 U from July 16, 2007 No.3 1,100 P from Sept 19, 2007 No.4 1,100 U from July 16, 2007 No.5 1,100 P from Nov. 24, 2006 No.6 1,356 P from May 24, 2007 No.7 1,356 U from July 16, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansai Electric Power Co (9503.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Mihama No.1 340 On line from Aug. 29, 2007 No.2 500 P from July 20, 2007 No.3 826 On line from July 6, 2007 Ohi No.1 1,175 On line from Sept. 8, 2007 No.2 1,175 P from Sept. 30, 2007 No.3 1,180 On line from Dec. 7, 2006 No.4 1,180 On line from July 19, 2007 Takahama No.1 826 On line from Feb. 24, 2007 No.2 826 P from Aug. 17, 2007 No.3 870 On line from Nov. 14, 2006 No.4 870 On line from July 6, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T: Quote, Profile, Research)* Hamaoka No.1 540 Shut since Nov. 8, 2001 No.2 840 Shut since Feb. 21, 2004 No.3 1,100 On line from Nov. 8, 2006 No.4 1,137 P from Sept. 25, 2007 No.5 1,267 On line from June 28, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyushu Electric Power Co (9508.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Genkai No.1 559 On line from Oct. 13, 2006 No.2 559 On line from April 17, 2007 No.3 1,180 On line from March 13, 2007 No.4 1,180 On line from Nov. 22, 2006 Sendai No.1 890 On line from July 8, 2007 No.2 890 P from Sept. 25, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tohoku Electric Power Co (9506.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Onagawa No.1 524 On line from July 3, 2007 No.2 825 On line from Jan. 19, 2007 No.3 825 P from May 10, 2007 Higashidori No.1 1,100 On line from May 5, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chugoku Electric Power Co (9504.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Shimane No.1 460 On line from March 9, 2007 No.2 820 On line from July 20, 2007 No.3 1,373 Under construction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Tomari No.1 579 On line from Sept. 30, 2007 No.2 579 On line from Jan. 18, 2007 No.3 912 Under construction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shikoku Electric Power Co (9507.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Ikata No.1 566 On line from June 9, 2007 No.2 566 On line from Dec. 19, 2006 No.3 890 P from Sept. 7, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hokuriku Electric Power Co (9505.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Shika No.1 540 P from July 7, 2007 No.2 1,358 P from May 29, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan Atomic Power Co Tokai Daini (1 unit) 1,100 On line from April 21, 2007 Tsuruga No.1 357 U from Sept. 26, 2007 No.2 1,160 P from Aug 26, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Okinawa Electric Power Co. (9511.T: Quote, Profile, Research) has no nuclear power plants. * Chubu Electric's Hamaoka No.1 and No.2 units will be shut until March 2011 due to delays of upgrades to quake-resistant systems and other repair work. Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Reuters: India leftists meet to plot move on nuclear standoff Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:51pm EDT By Bappa Majumdar KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - India's main communist party begins a meeting of top leaders on Friday to plan its strategy in a stand-off with the government over a controversial nuclear energy pact with the United States. The communists, who shore up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government, have opposed the landmark agreement and threatened to end their support, triggering the country's worst political crisis in more than three years. Although leaders on both sides have privately talked about a possible compromise, there has been no indication yet that one is imminent ahead of a crucial October 5 meeting of a joint panel formed to resolve the crisis. "We will be discussing the nuclear issue and the government's policy, the whole political situation in the country and then announce the outcome," Prakash Karat, chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), told Reuters ahead of the four-day meeting. The nuclear pact, first agreed in principle in 2005, aims to help India meet its soaring energy needs by giving it access to U.S. fuel and reactors even though New Delhi has tested nuclear weapons and not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. While the two governments and supporters of the deal have called it historic, saying it symbolizes the growing strategic friendship between India and the United States, the communists have rejected it. They say the deal compromises India's sovereignty and seeks to influence New Delhi's independent foreign policy. The left parties and the government formed a panel last month to resolve the row and it has met twice so far but made little progress. RIFT AMONG COMMUNISTS Continued... ***************************************************************** 17 NRC: NRC Publishes Regulatory Issue Summary on Feedwater Flow Meter Issues News Release - 2007-123 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is informing nuclear power plant operators about the agency’s review of devices, called ultrasonic flow meters (UFM), currently in use at several U.S. reactors. Plant operators measure how much water flows into a reactor or steam generators as part of the information they need to determine the reactor’s power output. UFMs have been used to increase the accuracy of this information. Currently, there are two basic NRC-approved UFM designs available to monitor this, and in some cases plants rely on the meters’ improved accuracy to request NRC approval for operating at slightly higher power levels. The NRC's Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) informs plant operators of some instances where UFM use led to plants operating slightly above (approximately 2.5 percent) their NRC licensed power level. The plants operated safely during these instances and did not affect public health. The agency re-evaluated the justification for using UFMs and concluded one manufacturer, Westinghouse, failed to demonstrate adequately its “Crossflow” meter can consistently achieve its stated levels of accuracy. The RIS informs plant operators they cannot use the agency’s previous evaluation of the Crossflow meter to justify future requests to operate at higher power levels. The RIS also advises operators currently relying on the Crossflow meter for increased power levels to evaluate this new information and ensure their plants continue to meet NRC regulations for safe operation. The RIS is available on the agency's Web site, by entering accession number ML063450261 at this address:http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Questions should be directed to Thomas Alexion (phone 301-415-1326 or twa@nrc.gov 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. Friday, September 28, 2007 ***************************************************************** 18 Reuters: British Energy's Hunterston nuclear plant stops | Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:23am EDT LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - One of the two reactors at British Energy's (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Hunterston nuclear power station in Scotland stopped on Friday to refuel, a spokesman for the company said. "It's planned refueling," the spokesman said. The 485-megawatt reactor is identified in National Grid data as Hunterston B-8 but often called Hunterston B reactor four. Both units at the Hunterston power plant in Scotland were shut for lengthy boiler repairs from October to May 2007. The other unit was still running on Friday but at reduced capacity. Both reactors are limited to 70 percent of their capacity because of the boiler problems. Reuters2007All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 19 Reuters: Bruce Ontario Bruce 4 reactor back in service Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:50am EDT NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Bruce Power LP's 750-megawatt Unit 4 at the Bruce nuclear power station in Ontario returned to service by early Friday following a planned inspection and maintenance program, the company said in a release Thursday. The company shut the unit on Sept. 4. During the outage, workers performed inspections and modifications as part of an ongoing program to optimize the operating life of the unit's steam generators, which the company will replace as part of the $5.25 billion Bruce A restart and refurbishment program. The company is currently working on the replacement of the steam generators in Units 1 and 2, expected to restart in late 2009 and early 2010, respectively. In addition, the company said it was preparing for the planned two-month inspection and maintenance of Unit 3 set to begin later this quarter. The 6,192 MW Bruce station is located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron north of Kincardine, about 155 miles (250 km) northwest of Toronto. There are four 750 MW Units 1-4 at the A station and three 790 MW Units 5, 7 and 8, and the 822 MW Unit 6 at the B station. Units 1 and 2 entered service in 1977, Unit 3 in 1978, Unit 4 in 1979 and Units 5-8 between 1984 and 1987. Ontario Hydro, the former province-owned power company, shut Units 1 and 2 in 1997 and 1995, respectively, because they needed extensive upgrades. With the return of Unit 4, all of the units were available for service. Continued... ***************************************************************** 20 UPI Asia Online: Commentary: Mistrust mars Sino-India relations MEERUT, Sep. 27 RAVINDRA KUMAR Column: Asian Equations China is understandably concerned over new developments in India's relations with the United States, characterized by the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal and the recent joint military exercises involving forces from Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and the United States. India, the world's largest democracy, is on its way to becoming a superpower. It has manpower, intellect and resources; its economy is doing well. India's market potential is as great as China's. Recognizing this, in addition to their strategic concerns, countries like Australia, Japan and the United States are continuously trying to strengthen relations with India in different fields. Even China has come forward, and has taken steps to improve relations with India. However, what is lacking is the trust that could lead to really productive results. When Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid a visit to Beijing in 1988, it was considered the start of a new relationship. Since that time, repeated incidents have soured those high expectations, however. One was the denial by Chinese authorities of a request by Indian engineers to visit the site in Tibet where a deep artificial lake was created by a landslide on the Pareechu River, creating dangerous conditions in the border areas of Himachal Pradesh in India in August 2004. In the middle of that month five districts in Himachal Pradesh were put on high alert following a warning that overflowing water from the artificial lake in Tibet threatened flash-floods. Due to heavy rain, the lake was constantly brimming. Engineers from the Geological Survey of India repeatedly requested the Chinese authorities to allow them to inspect the site, to extend their cooperation to their Chinese counterparts and to enable them to take some concrete steps to resolve the matter, but they were not permitted to visit the site. Many Indians felt this was an improper action on China's part, especially as Chinese leaders had been raising the slogan "Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai" -- Indians and Chinese are brothers -- and talking of resolving all disputes, not only with India but also with others, through a policy of accommodation. Secondly, after China had accepted Sikkim as an integral part of India during Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Beijing visit in 2002, maps published in two Chinese magazines in the first week of September 2004 showed Sikkim as a separate nation. Many Indians in the academic and educational fields considered this a devious act for which the Chinese government could not be absolved. They rightly argued that in China, under Communist Party rule, nothing could be published without the consent of the government. The publication of the maps was viewed as a clear indication of Beijing's withdrawal from the commitment it had made two years earlier to recognize Sikkim as part of India. This amounted to China breaking its word, and once again sparked Indian mistrust. Further, many Indians even now suspect China of having an expansionist policy. Many view its recent move to build a road to the foot of Mt. Everest in the Himalayas, on the Tibetan border with Nepal and not far from India, as a serious challenge to India's security. This suspicion is consistent with the view of the late Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who cautioned his countrymen about China as early as 1949. Disagreeing with his colleague, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he suggested that Nehru make his stand clear concerning relations with China. In a letter to Nehru on Nov. 26, 1949, Patel advised: "We should remember that the Chinese and their source of inspiration would not miss any opportunity of exploiting any of our weak points, particularly in support of their ambitions." In 1962, as the whole world knows, Patel's warning was justified when Chinese troops attacked an Indian patrol and made a land grab for Indian territory. This practice of double dealing, time and again, can never create an atmosphere of trust. If China is sincere about wanting to cooperate and do business, if it is serious about resolving all disputes with India, it has to create an atmosphere of trust by taking some productive steps. Even the talks on boundary disputes held this week in Beijing for the 11th time have yielded no progress, even though China called them "beneficial and positive." Words are not a substitute for action. Appearing to be liberal and flexible to serve an immediate purpose on a particular occasion is not enough. No nation in the world can make a fool, time and again, of the people of another country in these days of mass awareness. Beijing must understand this if it expects any kind of positive interaction with India. -- (Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a renowned Gandhian scholar, India expert and writer. He is the former vice chancellor of CCS University in Meerut, India. He holds a doctorate in political science. Copyright Ravindra Kumar.) All site contents Copyright 2007 News World Communications, Inc. ***************************************************************** 21 Knoxville News Sentinel: Plans move forward to start up nuke plant TVA board also decides on increase in rates to meet $400 million shortfall By Andrew Eder (Contact) Friday, September 28, 2007 Dave Dieter, Associated Press The idle Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Hollywood, Ala., may be coming to life, after the TVA board on Thursday approved plans to apply for a license to operate the plant. Michael Mercier, Associated Press Tim Kilgore, left, a TVA board member, addresses the rest of the board with the 2008 budget report during a meeting Thursday in Huntsville, Ala. TVA’s board gave the go-ahead Thursday to begin a process that could lead to the utility building two advanced nuclear reactors in Alabama. Also Thursday, President and CEO Tom Kilgore said TVA would need to raise electric rates next year to cover most of a projected $400 million cash shortfall in the fiscal 2008 budget, which directors approved at the meeting. The board met in Huntsville, Ala., about 50 miles west of the Bellefonte site where TVA, as part of an alliance of utilities and manufacturers known as NuStart Energy Development, plans to apply next month for a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a two-unit nuclear plant. The U.S. Department of Energy is splitting the projected $50 million in application costs with NuStart members. Bellefonte, in Hollywood, Ala., was one of several nuclear plants started by TVA in the 1970s that were eventually canceled. But the site has drawn fresh interest from TVA as the utility — spurred by growing power demand and a murky regulatory environment for coal-fired power plants — looks to add more nuclear power to its generation mix. The NRC’s review of the NuStart application is expected to last about three and a half years. If the license is approved, TVA’s senior vice president of nuclear generation and development, Ashok Bhatnagar said the utility has several options: do nothing, build the plant itself, sell the license to others, or enter a partnership with other utilities in building the plant. TVA’s board will need to approve any further action. “We support this being finished here, and we’ve supported it for over 30 years,” Dus Rogers, president and CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Agency, told TVA directors. Earlier this year, TVA restarted a mothballed reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in northern Alabama, and the utility recently approved a projected five-year, $2.5 billion project to complete the never-finished Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, Tenn. Bellefonte would be the first TVA nuclear plant to employ advanced nuclear reactor technologies. NuStart will apply to build and operate two AP1000 units, a Westinghouse pressurized-water reactor design that uses simpler, more passive safety systems than older pressurized-water reactors like the ones in operation at TVA’s Watts Bar and Sequoyah nuclear plants. The budget approved Thursday includes $317 million for Watts Bar Unit 2 construction costs in fiscal 2008, which begins Oct. 1. Kilgore outlined a budget of $9.7 billion, with $2 billion in capital projects. To make up for a projected revenue shortfall, Kilgore said TVA would postpone $123 million in capacity expansions and raise electric rates sometime next year. After the meeting, Kilgore said the rate increase would probably be in the range of 6 percent to 9 percent, which he said would add at least $5 to monthly residential bills. He said the increase could come around April, but the timing would depend on discussions with TVA’s customers. Earlier this summer, TVA announced it will raise electric rates on Oct. 1 as part of a quarterly fuel cost adjustment, citing drought conditions that have raised its costs of producing power. Residential customers will see an average increase of $3 to $6 on their monthly electric bills. The 2008 budget includes $22 million for TVA’s energy-efficiency initiatives. In a strategic plan adopted earlier this year, TVA said its goal is to become a leader in energy efficiency in five years. In a public listening session, one of TVA’s most persistent critics challenged the utility to devote more resources to energy efficiency. Stephen Smith, executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said TVA should be spending about 1 percent of gross revenues — which would total nearly $100 million next year — on energy-efficiency programs. “You need to have a budget that matches the rhetoric of wanting to be a leader,” Smith said. In other business, the board: n Approved construction of a natural gas-fired plant in West Tennessee. The 586-megawatt plant in Brownsville, Tenn., is expected to be operational in June 2010. n Selected Ernst & Young as the utility’s external auditor, replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers. Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 22 Texas Observer Blog: A Good Day for Nuke Power September 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm It is a new day for energy in America, said David Crane, the CEO of NRG Energy, this week. Actually it was just another muggy Monday in Washington, D.C., but for an industry whose renaissance has been dished on ceaselessly by journalists and predicted hopefully by its boosters, it was a Very Good Day. This week NRG Energy and San Antonios CPS Energy turned in an application to the feds for what could be the first new nuclear power plant in the U.S. since the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. The first of many to come, the industry hopes. The huge 2,700 megawatt, $5.2 billion plant is slated for Bay City, where NRG runs the South Texas Project, a nuke station that was plagued by cost overruns, lawsuits, and countless delays. Ratepayers are still paying for that boondoggle. (See the plant on Google Maps.) Texas, it seems, has been deemed by our betters ground zero for the nuclear comeback. In addition to NRG, three other companies - TXU, Amarillo Power, and Exelon - have announced plans to pursue new nuclear power plants. An exploding population, a hands-off regulatory system, and a general unwillingness to pursue aggressive conservation programs have made the state attractive. There are many reasons for this comeback, not least the billions in freebies Congress and the Bush administration are offering investors. But the one reason most in need of some healthy fact-checking and skepticism is that nukes are a panacea for climate change. The subtitle of NRGs press release reads in part, Plant will produce no greenhouse gas emissions. This line is being repeated endlessly by credulous reporters and pundits. But is it true? Well, sort of. Unlike coal-fired power station, a nuclear plant does in fact emit no carbon. However, the full life-cycle of nuclear power tells a different story. Uranium, the fuel for nuke power, must be mined. That process requires enormous diesel machinery, which belch carbon like nobodys business. (Uranium mining also has other serious environmental consequences. Just ask the folks in Goliad.) Then the uranium ore has to be enriched, an energy-intensive process itself. By the time the electricity is on the way to your home - and the radioactive waste is preparing for its very long lifespan - 33 grams of coal have been emitted for every kilowatt-hour of power, according to a study by the Oko Institute. That compares favorably with coal (about 900 grams) but not so well with wind, solar, and biomass energy. Certainly it puts the lie to the idea that nuclear energy has no greenhouse gas output. Even if nuclear was truly carbon-free, it offers little hope for dealing with climate change when it needs to be dealt with - now. Rebecca Solnit, writing in Orion, explains: Still, the biggest stumbling block, where climate change is concerned, is that it takes a decade or more to construct a nuclear plant, even if the permitting process goes smoothly, which it often does not. So a bunch of nuclear power plants that go online in 2017 at the earliest are not even terribly relevant to turning around our carbon emissions in the next decade—which is the time frame we have before it’s too late. Then there are the problematic economics of using nuclear power as a replacement for other energy sources. John M. Deutch and Ernest J. Moniz, professors at MIT, have estimated that the world needs one terawatt - or one million megawatts - of carbon-free power to take make a dent in carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century. That would require, by my back-of-the-envelope calculations, 740 new nuclear reactors the size of NRGs planned units. Thats three big new nuke plants every two months for the next 41 years. The cost of this building bonanza would come to $2 trillion, according to Deutch and Moniz. Its an enormous undertaking for a technology that has already had 50 years to overcome its shortfalls. Heres the take-home lesson: In the months and years ahead, were going to hear a lot about how nukes are green, how we can fight climate change by siting a power plant in our town. Lets try not to get greenwashed to death. by Forrest Wilder This entry was posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Environmental, Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 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The last application was made in 1977, two years before the infamous partial meltdown at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (One report says it was 1973.) Nuclear power went into eclipse in the U.S. not because it was an unsafe technology, although it did have its issues, but because the knuckleheads who ran TMI and other nuclear plants made a compelling case that the did not take public safety seriously enough and were not to be trusted. The myriad safety problems hidden by the nuclear power industry came crashing home in admittedly exaggerated form in 1979 in The China Syndrome. The hit movie, revelations that TMIs owners had done a fair share of covering up and the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 further cemented public mistrust, and that more than any other reason is why no nuke plants have been built in the U.S. since forever. But now a new generation of nuclear plants will be coming on line. This primarily is because new designs make them inherently safer and the 2005 Energy Policy Act considerably streamlines the licensing and regulatory processes and provides substantial tax credits to utility companies. Ironically, there is a second reason as well: Global warming. This bring us to the Supreme Courts smackdown of the Environmental Protection Agency back in April. A divided court, ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, found that the EPA could not claim that it lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. In a further irony, nuclear power which in theory creates no pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions is the biggest beneficiary of the ruling because wind power, solar power and other renewable technologies favored by Greens remain too limited technologically and economically to make much of an impact in an American energy economy addicted to fossil fuels. The applications filed this week with the NRC are for two huge 1,350-megawatt advanced boiling water reactors that would join two existing NRG Energy reactors at the South Texas nuclear power plant in Bay City, Texas, near Houston. The price tag: $6 - $7 billion. France and Japan have leaped ahead of the once dominant U.S. in nuclear technology in the last quarter century and the reactor vessel heads for the Texas reactors will be manufactured by Japan Steel Works, the only forge in the world now capable of casting the huge structures. One lingering question is whether anti-nuclear organizations like Greenpeace, Public Citizen and the Natural Resources Defense Council will be able to mount a last-ditch campaign against the revival. William Tucker writes in The American Spectator that: While continuing to play brazenly on public fears (NRDCs latest position paper has the word Radioactive emblazoned across the top), environmental groups have also become more circumspect in their arguments. Rather than conjuring up silent bombs and nuclear holocausts, they now make the following arguments: Nuclear is too expensive. Investors will never go for it. The money would be much better invested in conservation and solar energy. Nuclear power is not carbon-free. The mining, processing and transportation of uranium consume vast amounts of energy supplied by fossil fuels. The NRC says it expects U.S. companies to file applications for about 30 new combined construction and operating licenses in coming months. I was downwind from Three Mile Island and was not a happy camper. But times have changed and Im looking forward to nuclear powers belated second act. More here. Posted on September 28th, 2007 | Permalink | The Moderate Voice 2007 | Powered by WordPress Site by Blog What Design | Original concept by Justin Delabar ***************************************************************** 24 ITAR-TASS: PM optimistic about Russia prospects on atomic market 28.09.2007, 11.54 ELEKTROSTAL (Moscow Region), September 28 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is optimistic about Russias prospects on the world atomic market. He spoke about it after visiting the Machine Building Plant in the city of Elektrostal, Moscow Region, which produces nuclear fuel. Speaking about his impressions, Zubkov said that the Machine Building Plant is beyond competition today, and the prospects of Russias operations on the world atomic market are very good. Zubkov said as well that Russias atomic industry was on the rise. Competition is tough on the world market, but most countries invite our specialists and are willing to offer their nuclear power plants, so that our specialists would come to work there. This is really great, he said. ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, store ***************************************************************** 25 UNIAN: Government held meeting on nuclear energy issues today [28.09.2007 18:19] On the instructions of Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych a meeting with participation of Vice Prime Ministers of Ukraine Klyuyev A.P., Tabachnyk D.V., National Academy of Sciences President Paton B.Y. first vice president of NAS Shpak A.P., well-known scientists of the National Academy of Sciences specialized in nuclear physics and energy, leaders of the Ministry of Emergencies, Ministry of Fuel and Energy, Ministry of Regional Building, State Committee on Nuclear Regulation took place in the Cabinet of Ministers House, according to the governments press-center. The meeting concerned consideration of issues on implementation of the scientific-technical policy in the sphere of nuclear energy utilization, prospects of nuclear energy complex development of Ukraine, withdrawal of the Chornobyl NPP from operation and transformation of the Shelter (Ukryttya) object into ecologically safe system. Within the framework of the meeting its participants have visited a series of leading scientific institutions concerned with the above-mentioned issues, in particular, the Nuclear Research Institute as well as the Institute of Semiconductor Physics. During the meeting the NAS of Ukraine scientists Shestopalov V.M., Vyshnevsky I.M., Klyuchnikov O.O., Stohniy B.S., Pokhodnya K.M. have proposed to consider the following issues: - present-day safety of nuclear energy of Ukraine, external economic aspects of nuclear energy safety; - state of physical security of nuclear energy objects, nuclear materials, other sources of ionizing radiation; - usage of spent fuel and radioactive waste; - scientific-technical problems on preserving, using and removing highly concentrated nuclear materials; - fulfillment of international projects at the industrial area of the Chornobyl NPP. ctnstant URL of article: http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-214390.html weblog.com.ua 2001 - 2007 UNIAN.NET All Right Protected. ***************************************************************** 26 Oilweek Magazine: Expert says building nuclear power plants in Alberta would be folly (Alta-Nuclear-Power) Sep 28, 2007 5:41:00 PM MST EDMONTON _ The battle for the hearts and minds of Albertans on the hot button issue of nuclear energy was ratcheted up to new levels Friday when one of Canada‘s most vocal opponents likened it to deadly diseases. Gordon Edwards arrived in Alberta to tour several northwestern communities that are being wooed by two groups looking to build reactors. Edwards, the president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, said many people don‘t understand nuclear power because they get most of their information from the firms that sell the reactors. But his most incendiary comments were in response to a question about whether nuclear power is a better option for Alberta than coal, the province‘s primary source of fuel for power generation. “I think that‘s sort of like saying that AIDS is better than cancer or cancer is better than AIDS,‘‘ Edwards told a news conference in Edmonton. “One of the things about nuclear is that it‘s being promoted as a clean technology, which is probably the most dishonest advertising campaign in Canadian history.‘‘ Jerry Hopwood, a vice-president with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., called Edwards‘ comments “fear-mongering.‘‘ “It‘s so out-and-out misleading, that it verges on the absurd,‘‘ Hopwood said in a telephone interview from the federal Crown corporation‘s headquarters near Toronto. He said studies around the world have shown “without any shadow of doubt‘‘ that communities around nuclear power plants do not suffer adverse health effects. But he said there are clearly harmful effects from the smog generated by coal-fired generators. “The Ontario Medical Association has suggested that somewhere around 1,800 premature deaths per year occur because of smog (from a variety of sources) including coal-fired power plants.‘‘ Edwards‘ tour of Alberta is being sponsored by the Sierra Club of Canada, an environmental group which believes nuclear power plants in Canada should be phased out of existence. He attacked the AECL on several fronts, suggesting the Crown corporation is desperate to sell reactors even though the model proposed for Alberta uses technology that‘s unproven and unlicensed. “Once you opt for nuclear power, you have made a decision to turn a part of Alberta into a radioactive waste dump,‘‘ he said, adding that he also fears Alberta could eventually become a dumping ground for nuclear waste from other countries. “Albertans are entitled to get the straight goods and the difficulty that we have here in Canada is that on the nuclear question, all of the technical expertise has been monopolized within the nuclear industry.‘‘ But Hopwood rejected any assertion that the Crown corporation is desperate to sell reactors. “We‘re not doing this because we‘re desperate, we‘re doing it because we believe this is a good business proposition and a good proposition for the people of Alberta,‘‘ he said. An official with AECL‘s partner in Alberta, Energy Alberta, said the company believes Albertans would rather see their electricity generated from nuclear fuel than coal. Guy Huntingford also said it‘s “disturbing‘‘ that anti-nuclear groups have been making these types of statements without consequence. “People just throw out all sorts of information without any basis or any facts,‘‘ he said. The other firm pitching a nuclear reactor for Alberta is the global giant Areva. Armand Laferrere, president of Areva‘s Canadian division, said Edwards is hurting his own credibility by making such outrageous statements. “I would tend not to be overly worried by people whose statements are so extreme to begin with,‘‘ Laferrere said from his office in Toronto. “They are generally not the ones who can have a reasonable discussion with communities.‘‘ Laferrere said he doubts that Edwards‘ anti-nuclear message would be welcomed in any communities that already have nuclear reactors. “Nuclear provides a cheap and reliable way to have electricity in a way which does not emit any CO2.‘‘ The Alberta government has not taken a firm position on whether it supports the construction of nuclear reactors in the province. Premier Ed Stelmach has said he wants to consult the public and gather information. Copyright 2007 JuneWarren Publishing Ltd. ***************************************************************** 27 Decatur Daily: TVA seeks application to build nuclear plant FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 HUNTSVILLE (AP) For the first time in three decades, the Tennessee Valley Authority will seek a license to build a new nuclear power plant, the board of the nation's largest public utility decided Thursday. Applying with NRC With no dissenting votes, the nine-member board gave the go-ahead to apply for an NRC license, putting TVA up front in a predicted national run on Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses in the next three years. The license would allow TVA to both build and operate a two-reactor plant at its rural Bellefonte site on the Tennessee River in northeastern Alabama. TVA will apply for the license as a partner in a consortium of power companies and reactor manufacturers called NuStart Energy Development LLC. The consortium will split the projected $50 million initial design cost with the U.S. Department of Energy. TVA has six reactors and provides wholesale electricity through 158 distributors to about 8.7 million consumers and directly to several dozen large manufacturers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. $8 million share of cost Ashok Bhatnager, TVA's senior vice president for nuclear power, said TVA's share of the initial cost would be about $8 million over four years. He said the NRC license process would take about 42 months. Before the vote, an environmentalist who opposes TVA adding a nuclear plant in the rural community between Huntsville and Chattanooga, Tenn., said in a telephone interview that the nation's largest utility may be suffering from "amnesia." Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said TVA has acted too hastily and as a federal utility has made the decision without any public input. Smith, who addressed the board after their vote, said he has both public safety and cost concerns. "TVA also needs to be looking at renewable energy investments and we think TVA needs to be looking at coal gasification," Smith said in the interview. "If we can gasify coal, that is a technology that should be developed." TVA spokesman John Moulton said the NRC will conduct public meetings as part of the review process. "At the end of that period, if the NRC approves the license, TVA would make a decision on whether we will build the plant," Moulton said. He said TVA's most recent application to build a nuclear plant was in the mid-1970s. An NRC official has predicted that nationwide the regulatory agency will get new combined construction and operating license applications for as many as 29 reactors at 20 sites, most in the South, over the next three years. On Monday, power producer NRG Energy Inc. submitted the first application in a streamlined license process for two new reactor units at its Bay City, Texas facility, the first in the U.S. since before the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1979. "A number of the utilities are trying to get out there as quickly as possible," Smith said. "There is no analysis that shows they are needed." The TVA board in August voted to commit more than $2.5 billion to complete a second reactor at its Watts Bar Nuclear Plant at Spring City, about 110 miles north of the Bellefonte site. TVA still has a construction license for Watts Bar, the most recent new nuclear plant to come on line in the United States when it fired up one of its two planned reactors in 1996. TVA gets 64 percent of its power from coal, 29 percent from nuclear, 6 percent from hydroelectric and 1 percent from natural gas and diesel. Wind, solar and methane renewable energy programs contribute less than 1 percent. If Watts Bar 2 and Bellefonte are built, TVA's nuclear generation could approach 40 percent. TVA recently restarted a reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens also mothballed since 1985, following a $1.8 billion, five-year renovation. "It is a shortsighted approach" that benefits a few major corporations, Smith said. Not everyone agrees. The nuclear plant construction project would create up to 3,000 jobs. "We're elated," Jackson County Commission Chairman James Tidmore said in a telephone interview. "They (workers) are going to have to have a place to stay, a place to eat and hopefully some entertainment," Tidmore said. Tidmore said a 2 percent sales tax "goes exclusively to the school systems" in the 55,000-resident county. Tidmore said he has heard "very little" comment about fear of living close to a nuclear plant. "I don't think that exists in Jackson County," he said Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. THE DECATUR DAILY 201 1st Ave. SE P.O. Box 2213 Decatur, Ala. 35609 (256) 353-4612 webmaster@decaturdaily.com www.decaturdaily.com ***************************************************************** 28 SCI FI: SHIFT: Nuclear power is better than no power | Thursday, September 27, 2007 | SCIFI.COM Imagine life without electricity. The lights go out. Your fridge turns into a petri dish. The Internet becomes an abstraction, a memory. And of course, no TV ah, maybe there is a bright side! But apart from that, having no electricity would suck. As viable options dwindle, we'll need to get more of our power from nuclear plants. The last year a new one went online was 1997. However, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing license applications for more. Don't flinch. That's a good thing. Follow the link to find out why. Five Minutes to Midnight on the Peak-Oil Clock Our flatlining fossil-fuel supply cannot keep pace with rising world demand. U.S. oil production peaked in 1970. Worldwide oil production may be peaking right around now. And domestic natural-gas production has been declining for nearly as long as oil production. We need new energy sources. Forget the whole genre of biofuels. They're a mirage, due to something called ERoEI: energy return on energy invested. It takes too much fuel to make these fuels. Ethanol is only the most notorious example of a bad bunch. Sure, it comes from corn, but corn production is impossible without massive inputs of chemical fertilizer made largely from natural gas you know, one of those fossil fuels we're running out of. With other alternative fuels, such as oil shale and tar sands, the story varies but the ending is the same. These technological shell games are unlikely to run the power plants (or vehicles) of the future. Despite the promise of renewables like solar, wind, and hydro power which by the 22nd century will be all we've got left their current forms can't sustain more than a fraction of our current energy usage. Yes, let's pursue them aggressively, but let's also keep the lights on in the meantime. Coal: the Devil You Know Is Worse That leaves two naturally occurring fuels that are plentiful enough to sustain us through the long decades we'll need to perfect renewables: coal and uranium. The distant possibility of harm under the highly regulated operation of nuclear power is trivial compared to the documented certainty of harm from coal. Counterintuitively, one aspect of harm from coal (yes, coal) is radiation. Burning coal releases huge quantities of radioactive substances, uranium and thorium, according to the folks at the Oak Ridge Natural Laboratory. People living near coal-fired power plants receive 100 times more radiation than federal regulations would permit from a nuclear plant along with tons of mercury, particulates, carcinogens, and global-warming gases. Nuclear power has a uniquely negative way of firing the imagination, grabbing hold of our darkest fears. This blinds us to the real and provable deadliness of coal, oil and gasoline. Air pollution from fossil fuels kills two to three million people per year according to the World Health Organization. Nukes would give our lungs a break for sure. If you still think coal is a good idea, save me another thousand words of typing and just Google the words "climate change." Our Old Friend, the Atom After coal, the other natural resource we still have a lot of is uranium. Yet we get only 19% of our power from nukes. The French are way ahead of us at 78.1%. Even the Bulgarians, at 43.6%, are smirking at us. If oil suddenly gets more expensive, they'll make some sacrifices and squeeze by, while our cheap-oil-driven economy collapses like a house of cards. What frightens us about nukes is, of course, radiation. But radiation is all around us, says the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation: We get it from outer space, the surface of the Sun, and the Earth's crust. We ingest it via air, water, and foods. Some radiation occurs naturally in the human body. The only nuclear accident to release truly deadly amounts of radiation was the Chernobyl explosion. Incredibly, the Soviets built this Ukrainian plant (and several others) without a containment shell. All reactors operating in Western nations operate within four feet of steel and concrete, which means that if something goes wrong, there's a Plan B to prevent high levels of radiation from escaping into the air and ground water. Leakage even under extraordinary conditions (like the recent earthquake in northern Japan) has not been massively life-threatening. Can't nuclear power plants explode? Only if, like Chernobyl, they process weapons-grade fuel. The nuclear fuel used in a civilian power plant is not enriched enough to produce uncontrolled fission that is, an explosion. Western plants are designed to withstand earthquakes (though building one atop a fault line is undoubtedly a bad idea). A direct hit from an aircraft would damage the containment shell but would not penetrate it. Really, Nevada Is the Ideal Place for Nuclear Waste As for nuclear waste, do the numbers. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the past four decades' worth of spent nuclear fuel "would cover a football field about six yards deep." That is a drop in the ocean compared to the unfathomable volumes of other toxic waste produced by our energy, chemical, farming, and manufacturing industries. If we can't control such small amounts of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, under current plans we aren't trying very hard. Nuclear power can't run cars or trucks or planes, and that's troubling, since two-thirds of our energy usage is for transportation. But it can run electrified trains to carry both people and freight. When rising energy prices make our current modes of transport economically obsolete, we're going to need a passenger rail system for long domestic journeys and light rail to bridge shorter distances within communities. We'll also want to keep our home lives heated, air conditioned and well lit. Would I take the same position if I lived near a nuclear plant? Actually, I do. My neighborhood is 42 miles south of Indian Point in New York. I own a radiation detector and potassium iodide tablets for emergencies (the chemical invades the thyroid and temporarily protects it from radiation-induced cancer). But like millions of other people, I'm willing to live with the risk. That's because I'm a grownup, and therefore capable of assessing different levels of risk and choosing the least of all possible evils. Let's Do It with the Lights On Given the choice between nuclear power and rolling brownouts for the rest of my life, I'll take nukes. Given the choice between nuclear power and the real possibility of death from pollution-related respiratory disease, if I had any say in the matter, I'd gladly take even more nukes. And given the choice between nuclear power and climate change, no contest. I'd get every watt I could possibly get from nukes. And I'd keep those nuclear plants running until there's a windmill on every lawn and renewables have truly come of age. Al Boline 2007, SCI FI. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 Leader Post: Sask. nuclear power plants urged Darren Bernhardt, Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News Service Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan is the Saudi Arabia of the uranium world and should develop nuclear power plants to capitalize on energy production and exports, the provincial Progressive Conservative Party leader says. Rick Swenson is calling on Saskatchewan's political leaders to make their positions known on the subject through a public debate. With a looming election "voters should understand clearly where the parties stand," he said at a news conference Thursday. The former interim Tory leader and energy minister in Grant Devine's PC government, Swenson accused the NDP of being mired in archaic thought -- mushroom clouds and Three Mile Island meltdown -- when it comes to nuclear power. As for the Saskatchewan Party, Leader Brad Wall won't take a stand for fear it will cost his party a vote, Swenson said. The richest deposits of uranium on Earth are in northern Saskatchewan. It is currently mined then shipped around the world. It should be mined and refined here, packaged for use in the various types of nuclear power plants around the world, repackaged when the fuel is used up, then shipped back to Saskatchewan and processed for things like medical isotopes, Swenson said. The waste product should then be sealed in an environmentally sound container and buried thousands of feet underground, sealed by 400-billion-year-old pre-Cambrian rocks. "Let's close the loop (on the uranium cycle)," Swenson said. "If we did that at every stage of production, we'd be punching the cash register. Saskatchewan people could harvest riches beyond our wildest dreams for hundreds of years." Aside from profiting from exports, nuclear energy is an environmentally friendly fuel source, he added. And reactor technology has vastly improved with higher safety levels and thermal efficiencies than traditional nuclear power plants, Swenson said. "It's time people grew up about this. You can't be afraid of technology," he said. "If this economic boom is going to continue in the province, if we're going to continue to be a low-cost jurisdiction for doing business, we're going to need more power." Growing cities, an expanded oil industry and diamond mining will all increase power demands, he said. "You can build all the wind turbines you want, but it won't be enough." The need for an improved energy source was highlighted by a power outage Sept. 18, which caused 50 per cent of SaskPower's 441,000 customers to lose power, he said. SaskPower was importing power from the U.S. when a storm took out several transmission lines. Swenson mailed the debate invitations to the leaders on Thursday morning. He hopes to hear back from them and set something up in the next couple of weeks. © The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007 ***************************************************************** 30 Star Phoenix: PCs back nuclear development Saskatoon Provincial leader calls on other Sask. political parties to debate industry's role Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 Saskatchewan is the Saudi Arabia of the uranium world and should develop nuclear power plants to capitalize on energy production and exports, the provincial Progressive Conservative Party leader says. Rick Swenson is calling on Saskatchewan's political leaders to make their positions known on the subject through a public debate. With a looming election "voters should understand clearly where the parties stand," he said at a press conference Thursday. Swenson, the former interim Tory leader and energy minister in Grant Devine's PC government of the 1980s, accused the NDP of being mired in archaic thought -- mushroom clouds and Three Mile Island meltdown -- when it comes to nuclear power. As for the Saskatchewan Party, leader Brad Wall won't take a stand for fear it will cost his party a vote, Swenson said. The richest deposits of uranium on Earth are in northern Saskatchewan. It is currently mined then shipped around the world. It should be mined and refined here, packaged for use in the various types of nuclear power plants around the world, repackaged when the fuel is used up then shipped back to Saskatchewan and processed for things like medical isotopes, Swenson said. The waste product should then be sealed in an environmentally-sound container and buried thousands of feet underground, sealed by 400-billion-year-old pre-Cambrian rocks. "Let's close the loop (on the uranium cycle)," said Swenson. "If we did that at every stage of production, we'd be punching the cash register. Saskatchewan people could harvest riches beyond our wildest dreams for hundreds of years." Aside from profiting from exports, nuclear energy is an environmentally friendly fuel source, he added. And reactor technology has vastly improved with higher safety levels and thermal efficiencies than traditional nuclear power plants, Swenson noted. "It's time people grew up about this. You can't be afraid of technology," he said. "If this economic boom is going to continue in the province, if we're going to continue to be a low-cost jurisdiction for doing business, we're going to need more power." Growing cities, an expanded oil industry and diamond mining will all increase power demands, he said. "You can build all the wind turbines you want, but it won't be enough." The need for an improved energy source was highlighted by a power outage Sept. 18, which caused 50 per cent of SaskPower's 441,000 customers to lose power, he said. SaskPower was importing power from the U.S. when a storm took out several transmission lines. Swenson mailed the debate invitations to the leaders on Thursday morning. He hopes to hear back from them and set something up in the next couple of weeks. dbernhardt@sp.canwest.com © The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007 ***************************************************************** 31 Leader Post: 'Tired and toxic nuclear technology' Regina Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 Saskatchewan has looked into the prospect of adopting nuclear power in the past and has wisely concluded there is little long-term value in nuclear power. The cost of nuclear power is far more than the simple sticker price for construction of a power plant, as you must also add the risk and cost of a legacy of thousands of years of disposal and "management" of the waste. As well, every Candu nuclear power plant ever built has required premature refitting work that has cost as much or more than the original construction bill. Patrick Moore, former president of Greenpeace Canada, suggests that Saskatchewan "must" build nuclear plants because our population is growing ("Moore now backs Sask. using nuclear power", Leader-Post, Sept. 19), but Saskatchewan's population has remained between 900,000 and 1,000,000 for over 80 years! What else did Moore skip in his research into the benefits and "necessity" of nuclear power? I'm disappointed that the Leader-Post has ignored the Bush Administration's GNEP initiative. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, which was a discussion point between Stephen Harper and George Bush at the recent APEC meeting in Australia, is a proposed agreement will require Canada to take back spent nuclear fuel. This treaty is being sold as a key to fight global terrorism, but it really is turning Canada into a radioactive waste dump for the world's 400-plus nuclear power plants. The recent push in Alberta and Saskatchewan to adopt and build nuclear power plants (a policy that is both endorsed and promoted by Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party) is part of a hidden agenda to convince us to adopt untried and risky power plant designs that will (surprise, surprise) consume the very fuel that Canada will be forced to accept once the GNEP is signed by Harper. If these Conservatives get their wish, we will have the facilities in place just in time to begin to take shipments of fuel from our friends south of the border. Is building nuclear power plants the best solution to global warming and our future energy needs that these "leaders" can come up with? Instead of longingly looking at old, tired and toxic nuclear technology, Wall should be touting the experience and history of the University of Regina's use of geothermal power on its campus. We should be leveraging this skill and knowledge, commercializing it for sale to a world that is hungry for carbon-friendly power. The lifespan of geothermal power is far greater than that of a nuclear power plant, with none of the long-term costs and risks. When I drive from Regina to Gull Lake, I see dozens of windmills turning, a sight that didn't exist even 20 years ago. My children have an opportunity to be inspired by this viable alternative power technology. I hope that before my grandchildren come along there will be sights of solar, geothermal and other innovative, eco-friendly Saskatchewan-based power initiatives on the landscape rather than the menacing dome of a radioactive pit that's full of someone else's unwanted waste. Ron McMahon Regina © The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007 ***************************************************************** 32 AFP: Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy enters Chinese nuclear power market - AFP - Friday, September 28 TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is making a full-scale entry into China's growing market for nuclear power generation as it has won a major order there, the company said Friday. China's demand for nuclear power generation is increasing as the booming economy consumes more and more energy but needs to curtail air pollution. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has won an order from Sanmen Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. of China to supply two turbines, two generators and other equipment to a plant to be built in Zhejiang province along the East China Sea. The Japanese firm has teamed up with major Chinese heavy machinery maker Harbin Power Equipment Co. Ltd. for the contract. The plant's reactors were set to be supplied by US-based Westinghouse, which is in Japan's Toshiba group. Mitsubishi Heavy did not disclose the value of the contract but industry sources estimated it at 60 to 70 billion yen (520 to 600 million dollars). The company is also in talks on providing another set of turbines and other peripheral equipment to the Haiyang nuclear power plant, to be built in northern Shandong province. "It is true that we are holding negotiations but the deal is yet to be finalised," a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy said. The Nikkei economic daily said the combined value of the Sanmen and Haiyang deals would exceed 100 billion yen. Companies from other nations are also aiming for a slice of the Chinese nuclear market, with France's Areva currently trying to confirm a major order to build reactors. Mitsubishi Heavy shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 14 yen or 1.90 percent to 751 yen on Friday, despite a slip in the benchmark Nikkei-225 index. Copyright 2007 Yahoo! Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. ***************************************************************** 33 Decatur Daily: TVA plans rate increase under $9.7 billion budget By Bill Poovey Associated Press Writer HUNTSVILLE The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to increase rates, likely between 6 and 9 percent, under a $9.7 billion budget approved unanimously by its board of directors on Thursday. The increase will be used mostly to offset increases in costs for coal and power purchased from other sources during peak demand periods. TVA President Tom Kilgore told the nine directors that the exact amount of a rate increase would be announced after he consults with various customers and is presented to the board. He said a 6 percent increase means about a $5 monthly increase for the average residential customer. That increase, likely to start in April, will be in addition to a quarterly fuel surcharge from the unusually hot, dry summer across much of TVA's coverage area. That surcharge ranges from $3 to $6 per month for average residential customers. The budget includes $2 billion in capital spending. It includes $800 million toward further reducing TVA's $25 billion debt but also adds $800 million in new debt on new assets. Kilgore said that in addition to cost cutting, a rate increase is needed to avoid a $300 million revenue shortfall. The capital budget includes $1 billion in spending on new power plants, including $317 million to begin construction of a second reactor at Watts Bar, $423 million for investment in additional gas-fired generation, $190 million for transmission system upgrades and $383 million for clean-air initiatives. The budget includes $22 million for the first phase of a new energy efficiency and peak power demand reduction program. The board also voted to hire Ernst & Young LLP as external auditors, replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. TVA supplies electricity to about 8.7 million consumers across an 80,000-square-mile territory that includes most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. On the Net TVA, www.tva.gov Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material THE DECATUR DAILY 201 1st Ave. SE P.O. Box 2213 Decatur, Ala. 35609 (256) 353-4612 webmaster@decaturdaily.com www.decaturdaily.com ***************************************************************** 34 barrow in furness: N-bosses prepare for towers to be toppled Published on 28/09/2007 AT WORK: Project leader Gill Marsden at the Calder Towers SEAN WHITE, Parallax Film Productions SUBMITTED SELLAFIELD bosses masterminding the explosion of the four giant Calder Hall cooling towers say the public’s safety is guaranteed. At around 9am tomorrow, subject to the right weather conditions, explosives will be detonated. Within the space of a couple of minutes the towers will be reduced to around 20,000 tons of contamination-free concrete rubble. It will be used to back-fill the old cooling ponds beneath. The towers will fall two at a time. It will be the most significant and historic demolition project in the area – the first stage in the decommissioning of the world’s first commercial nuclear power station. A project leader, Gill Marsden, from Seascale, said: “Whatever happens, we’ve got it all covered. Even under a worst-case scenario there will be no impact on nuclear, radiological or public safety – we can guarantee safety.” She defended the decision not to allow any direct public viewing of the demolition close to the site by imposing traffic restrictions on local roads 10 minutes before the first blast. Mrs Marsden said: “Because the cooling towers are so visible from so many different locations the last thing we want to risk is accidents through anybody driving along and being distracted by the sudden sight of the towers coming down, especially as we can’t be too specific about the times. “Cumbria Police and the Highways Agency are the experts on this, which is why we have worked closely with them, and the decisions have been taken in the interests of public safety.” Organisers are also mindful about animal and wildlife safety, especially Calder Hall’s “resident” but feral cats, so much so, special alarms will be sounded to warn them of impending danger. Mrs Marsden said: “We will be sounding our air horn twice, firstly five minutes before the demolition and then again one minute before to make sure all the local wildlife move out of the way a safe distance from the towers coming down. “The horn will also frighten away the birds and any other wildlife in the vicinity. They will all be safe, “About 150 stakeholder groups were consulted, from the health and safety executive to various nature and angling organisations (the River Calder runs through the site). “As for domestic pets, the noise will be similar to November 5, what we hear from fireworks, and also down the coast at the Eskmeals gun range, a sort of thunder, so we would ask pet owners to apply common sense and perhaps keep their pets indoors for the short time the demolition is going to take place.” Project superintendent Andy Scargill said: “The safety case has covered every conceivable scenario. “This is just a small but very visible part of our overall decommissioning programme – we do far more complex and challenging work on a daily basis on the site. “Our American contractors have done many similar demolitions on nuclear sites in the States and that’s why they were selected.” Mock test blasts were carried out at Calder. Mrs Marsden continued: “I have lived in Seascale all my life and there is an element of sadness in the community that we are losing them but at the same time it is fantastic that they are coming down. “It shows we are getting on with the legacy we have left with at Sellafield.” Three types of weather can stop Saturday’s blast: wind speeds over 40mph, lightning, and very low ground fog preventing the demolition exclusion zone being checked. Sunday is fallback day. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.nwemail.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 35 times and star: Nuke academy gets final approval workington lake district, Published on 28/09/2007 THE Government has approved £20 million funding for a nuclear academy in West Cumbria. Building work on the project at Lillyhall started in March, and ministers confirmed on Monday that the project’s business plan had been approved. The academy will also include the national headquarters for the UK’s nuclear training programme. Workington MP Tony Cunningham said: “People from all over the UK will be coming to West Cumbria. They will need places to stay, eat, and spend money. “From the point of view of regeneration, this is fantastic news for the area. “The nuclear academy will be the centre of excellence for the whole of the country – it could even have international appeal. “This project has been ongoing for the last three years and is vital to the future of West Cumbria. “It means that we will have a nuclear academy, further education college and potentially a campus of the University of Cumbria all close to each other. “It will give a huge opportunity for people in the area, particularly youngsters. “You can imagine people picking up an NVQ at the college, then going on to study a degree at the university, then completing a doctorate at the nuclear academy. “It gives West Cumbrians the chance to study at an extremely high level without needing to leave the area. “It is absolutely fantastic news and I’m very proud of everyone who has been involved in bringing it here.” The academy is being developed in a partnership between the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, urban regeneration company West Lakes Renaissance and British Nuclear Group. David Bonser, chief executive of BNFL, said: “I am absolutely delighted that approval has been given for a National Skills Academy for the nuclear sector. “The skills academy means that employers will be able to determine the programmes on offer and to shape the content, design and delivery of training and development. “The industry has some unique requirements and the skills academy will ensure that these are met as we move forward into the future.” The two-storey building, which is near to Lakes College West Cumbria, will have space for around 250 students, the first of whom are expected to enrol next September. It will work with schools and provide NVQs, apprenticeships and foundation degrees. View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.timesandstar.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 36 NEWS.com.au: Rudd slams 'secretive' nuclear plan | By Greg Roberts September 28, 2007 01:27pm Article from: AAP THE Federal Government has a "secret nuclear reactor plan" it is not revealing to the Australian public, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says. Mr Rudd challenged Prime Minister John Howard to tell Australians where he would place nuclear reactors if he was re-elected. "We have already had it confirmed that if the coalition wins the election the nuclear power legislation will be rolled out," Mr Rudd said. "Will it override state planning process and local authority planning processes? "Where will the nuclear reactors go? "He has already said the planning needs nationally for a reactor would be a top priority for his government and that commercial needs would be predominant when deciding the location of reactors. "When challenged to be upfront with his nuclear reactor legislation Mr Howard suddenly became very coy in this pre-election environment." Mr Howard earlier said community consultation and stringent environmental and safety conditions would drive where power stations would be built. "It's 10 or 15 years at least before it would be feasible economically for a nuclear power station to be built in Australia," Mr Howard told Southern Cross broadcasting today. The Prime Minister also criticised Labor for not embracing nuclear power, which he said was "one of the solutions to global warming". Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) chairman Ziggy Switkowski, who conducted a review of nuclear power last year, said a returned Howard Government must quickly introduce legislation allowing the construction of nuclear power plants. Copyright 2007 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT +10). ***************************************************************** 37 Guardian Unlimited: NRC Accused of Ignoring Sleeping Guards Friday September 28, 2007 11:01 PM By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A watchdog group accused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday of ignoring for nearly six months allegations that security guards at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant routinely slept while on duty. The NRC on Sept. 20 announced a special investigation into security problems at the Peach Bottom plant in south-central Pennsylvania after a video of guards napping in a ``ready'' room became public. Last Monday, Exelon Corp., owner of the plant, fired the Wackenhut Corp., which provided security at the plant. But the NRC's resident inspector at the plant received a letter last March that outlined in detail concerns about guards sleeping while on duty, according the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a Washington-based watchdog group. The letter sent by an intermediary on behalf of a number of guards said 15 minute ``power naps'' were routine and the napping problem went beyond the ready room. It said guards often had to wake up sleeping colleagues manning critical bulletproof watch towers. It said guards were reluctant to tell investigators about the sleeping in fear of reprisals, and it urged the NRC to conduct a covert operation - perhaps place undercover investigators into the guard force or use surveillance cameras - to get proof of guard sleeping. A copy of the unsigned letter was made available Friday by POGO and confirmed by NRC officials. ``The NRC was informed. They were told exactly what the problem was and had suggestions on how to prove it and nothing was done,'' said Peter Stockton, a senior investigator at POGO. NRC officials acknowledged Friday that one of the two resident NRC inspectors at the Peach Bottom plant had received a letter in March outlining allegations of guards sleeping. ``We did receive that letter and we did follow up on the concerns raised in the letter,'' said Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the NRC's Region 1 office in King of Prussia, Pa. However, she said, ``Based on the information that was provided we were unable to substantiate the concerns.'' She said no written response was sent to the letter's author because he had asked not to be contacted, although she said the NRC knew his identity. Stockton said the letter was written by a former Peach Bottom worker who had been asked by a number of security guards to make the sleeping incidents known to the NRC because they feared if they took action themselves they would be retaliated against. With no action being taken, a guard decided to take a different approach and in June surreptitiously recorded a video of guards napping while sitting in chairs in the plant's ``ready'' room. The video was obtained recently by a New York television station (WCBS) which brought it to the attention of the NRC and Exelon before it was broadcast earlier this week. But Danielle Bryan, president of POGO, in a letter to NRC Chairman Dale Klein on Friday, questioned why the NRC did not take action much earlier, citing the March letter to the NRC resident inspector. An NRC spokesman said the agency had not yet received the POGO letter and had no immediate response to it. Bryan also suggested that neither Region 1 officials nor plant resident inspectors be involved in the NRC investigation and that they ``should be the target'' of an internal NRC review because of their inaction following the March letter. The letter, confirmed by the NRC, describes an orchestrated routine of guards taking naps and covering for each other including guards manning bullet-resistant watch towers that are critical to the plant's defense against a possible terrorist attack. ``Since the security towers ... went into use, security officers have been sleeping on duty at an alarming rate,'' said the letter. ``... Due to fatigue, officers take power naps that last 10 to 15 minutes or longer, depending on radio transmissions.'' In the watch towers some of the guard officers ``have to wake the sleeping officers up and (they) feel they are becoming part of a cover-up by not reporting these incidents,'' the writer alleged. He said a fear of retaliation prevented the guards from reporting problem to plant managers or the NRC. ``They (the guards) know the NRC and licensee operate and feel no one wants to really find out if anyone is sleeping,'' the letter said. In announcing last week that Wackenhut's contract at Peach Bottom was being ended, Exelon executive Chris Crane emphasized that guard sleeping on the job ``is not acceptable and we will not tolerate it.'' However, he maintained, the incidents in the ready room did not affect plant safety or security. --- On the Net: Project on Government Oversight. www.pogo.org Nuclear Regulatory Commission: www.nrc.gov Exelon Corp.: www.exeloncorp.com Guardian Unlimited Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 38 Sydney Morning Herald: Labor accuses PM of secret nuclear plan - www.smh.com.au September 28, 2007 - 1:39PM Labor has accused the federal government of having a secret nuclear reactor plan, after Prime Minister John Howard said it was unlikely laws enabling nuclear power would be ready before the election. Mr Howard is a strong advocate for nuclear power in Australia as a way of delivering low-emissions energy. He plans to introduce laws which will repeal existing nuclear bans. "The legislation isn't quite ready and whether it gets passed this year or next year depends on the timing of the election and the will of the people," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting. "It won't happen of course if we are defeated because the Labor Party has turned its back on nuclear power despite the fact that it's one of the solutions to global warming." Mr Howard said the development of nuclear power stations would be determined by commercial considerations and stringent environmental and safety conditions. "And we've said that we will consult local communities in relation to power stations," he said. Mr Howard said it would be at least 10 to 15 years before it would be feasible economically to build a nuclear power station in Australia. Mr Rudd challenged the prime minister to tell Australians where he would place nuclear reactors if he was re-elected. "We have already had it confirmed that if the coalition wins the election the nuclear power legislation will be rolled out," Mr Rudd told reporters. "Will it override state planning process and local authority planning processes? Where will the nuclear reactors go? "This is turning into a secret nuclear reactor plan on the part of Mr Howard." The Labor leader said Mr Howard had become coy in the pre-election environment when challenged about his legislation. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation chairman Ziggy Switkowski said after rolling back nuclear bans the government would have to put in place a policy and regulatory regime that would guide business in making commercial decisions. "But until there is more certainty about the likelihood of nuclear power being supported in a political sense and more importantly until we get more alignment and consensus at the community level, at this stage it is all largely a political exercise," he told ABC radio. The Wilderness Society called on the government to provide communities with information about likely nuclear reactor sites before the election. The society's nuclear free spokeswoman Imogen Zethoven said Mr Howard had announced in April that four nuclear work plans would be ready by September. "We are almost at the end of September. The prime minister should release the four nuclear work plans so that the Australian public can see what will happen next year if the government is re-elected," Ms Zethoven said. 2007 AAP Copyright 2007. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 39 NYDN: Feds give city $3M for radiation detectors Friday, September 28th 2007, 4:00 AM The city has won a $3.25 million federal grant to help fund the NYPD's plan to ring the city with radiation detectors, officials announced yesterday. "This system will help law enforcement detect and stop an attack using weapons of mass destruction," said Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Brooklyn, Staten Island). The detectors will be placed as far as 50 miles outside the five boroughs to identify dirty bombs and other threats on major routes into New York, NYPD brass said. "This is the first city in America that's going to have this program," NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said of the project, which will cost $40million to complete. Last month, a dirty-bomb scare triggered a massive search for radioactive material within a 50-mile radius of the city. NYPD choppers, boats and special trucks searched for radioactive devices for about 24 hours. The response was ratcheted down after the NYPD found nothing to substantiate the terror threat. "This provides one more layer of protection for the residents of New York City against an act of terror," Fossella said. The new radiation detectors will work in conjunction with the NYPD's planned "ring of steel" - a system of hundreds of police cameras, license plate readers and street barriers that will be used to safeguard the Financial District in lower Manhattan. Alison Gendar and Michael White Copyright 2007 NYDailyNews.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 Charlotte Observer: New nuke pills on order for region 09/28/2007 | Distribution in works; KI tablets for thyroid from '01 likely still OK KATHRYN THIER kthier@charlotteobserver.com DAVIE HINSHAW - dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com Neighbors of the Charlotte area's two nuclear power plants - such as those in The Gates neighborhood near McGuire Nuclear Station (top) - could be getting new potassium iodide pills to help protect against thyroid cancer if exposed to nuclear radiation. * How 'nuke pill' works Plans are under way to distribute pills to 1.4 million people in the Carolinas to protect them in a nuclear disaster, replacing ones distributed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But don't throw away the old potassium iodide pills yet, public health officials urge. The Food and Drug Administration has extended their shelf life for two years. Known by its chemical symbol, KI, potassium iodide helps reduce the risk of thyroid cancer, which can be caused by radiation exposure. It was the No. 1 illness following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union. A nuclear incident can create many other health risks, such as death from the blast or radiation exposure. Potassium iodide pills protect only against some thyroid cancers associated with a nuclear disaster. Despite the shelf life extension, Carolinas officials are ordering new doses now. About 400,000 Charlotte region residents live within 10 miles of the area's two nuclear power plants, with thousands more who drive into those areas to work. S.C. residents in the 10-mile circle around the Catawba nuclear plant on Lake Wylie should be able to get new pills in November, the original expiration date. Pills brought back by residents will be kept in a stockpile. For N.C. residents within 10 miles of the Catawba plant, and the McGuire plant on Lake Norman, the replacement schedule is more drawn out. Within the next month or so, local health departments in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell and Lincoln counties will have liquid KI doses -- which provide the same protection -- available for those who lost their pills or stored them improperly, and for newcomers. New pills are expected to arrive around October 2008. Concern over older KI pills Because distribution plans aren't done, public health officials haven't updated residents. Some residents with pills labeled to have expired in August and September have started to get concerned."I kept looking at the expiration date, going, `If that's true, how come nobody said anything yet?' " said Barbara Bryan, who's responsible for stocking the Cornelius law office where she works with the pills. Tests on control groups of the pills distributed five years ago show they remain viable and could even last 12 or 15 years, federal and state public health officials say. "All it is is a salt, and it doesn't break down as long as you keep it dry in a foil packet," said Scott Lenhart, Iredell County director of health education and emergency planning. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission first offered KI supplies at no cost to states with residents within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant five years ago. The NRC spent about $240,000 in North Carolina and about $148,000 in South Carolina for those doses. This time, the NRC expects to spend about $444,000 in South Carolina. In North Carolina, the cost will depend on how many liquid doses and pills officials decide to order. Safety and reach Potassium iodide is not a substitute for sheltering and evacuating in a nuclear emergency, public health officials emphasize. The doses distributed locally will provide only a day to up to a few days' protection. But it's important enough that the American Thyroid Association, a group of physicians and scientists, says everyone who lives or works within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant should have KI. Federal officials say the main exposure risks are within two to five miles of a nuclear plume. Data from the Chernobyl accident showed that the thyroid problems developed more than 10 miles away were because people ingested food and milk contaminated by radiation. In a nuclear incident, federal officials say they'll remove contaminated food. "If you took that food off the market, there's no real problems," said Patricia Milligan, of the NRC. "Going beyond 10 miles (with KI pills) doesn't make sense." People outside the 10-mile zones not eligible for the free pills can buy potassium iodide over the counter at area pharmacies or online, for between $5 and $15. Connie Evans of Mooresville said a community group she belongs to is e-mailing neighbors, telling them to be proactive. "If something happened," she said, "you couldn't just run to the local store." KI Pill Distribution Local county health departments will notify the public when potassium iodide is available for distribution. Pickup will be at the health departments. For updates: in North Carolina, call your county health department; in South Carolina, call 800-476-9677. Duke Energy, which operates the McGuire and Catawba nuclear plants, has safety information online at www.duke-energy.com/safety/nuclear-emergency-preparedness.asp. Kathryn Thier: 704-987-3670, ext. 16 * About Charlotte.com | ***************************************************************** 41 HHS: Hanford Exposure Cohort FR Doc E7-19243 [Federal Register: September 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 188)] [Notices] [Page 55214] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr28se07-92] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Hanford Engineer Works, Richland, Washington, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On September 12, 2007, the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: Employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies, or DOE contractors or subcontractors who were monitored or should have been monitored for internal radiological exposures while working at the Hanford Engineer Works in: the 300 Area fuel fabrication and research facilities from October 1, 1943 through August 31, 1946; the 200 Area plutonium separation facilities from November 1, 1944 through August 31, 1946; or the 100 B, D, and F reactor areas from September 1, 1944 through August 31, 1946; for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort. This designation will become effective on October 12, 2007, unless Congress provides otherwise prior to the effective date. After this effective date, HHS will publish a notice in the Federal Register reporting the addition of this class to the SEC or the result of any provision by Congress regarding the decision by HHS to add the class to the SEC. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Elliott, Director, Office of Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 513-533-6800 (this is not a toll-free number). Information requests can also be submitted by e-mail to OCAS@CDC.GOV. Dated: September 24, 2007. John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [FR Doc. E7-19243 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-17-P ***************************************************************** 42 HHS: Ames Lab Exposure Cohort FR Doc E7-19297 [Federal Register: September 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 188)] [Notices] [Page 55214] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr28se07-91] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Ames Laboratory, Ames, Iowa, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On September 12, 2007, the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: Sheet metal workers, physical plant maintenance and associated support staff (including all maintenance shop personnel), and supervisory staff who were monitored or should have been monitored for potential internal radiation exposures associated with the maintenance and renovation activities of the thorium production areas in Wilhelm Hall (a.k.a. the Metallurgy Building or ``Old'' Metallurgy Building) at the Ames Laboratory from January 1, 1955, through December 31, 1970, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort. This designation will become effective on October 12, 2007, unless Congress provides otherwise prior to the effective date. After this effective date, HHS will publish a notice in the Federal Register reporting the addition of this class to the SEC or the result of any provision by Congress regarding the decision by HHS to add the class to the SEC. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Elliott, Director, Office of Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 513-533-6800 (this is not a toll-free number). Information requests can also be submitted by e-mail to OCAS@CDC.GOV. Dated: September 24, 2007. John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [FR Doc. E7-19297 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-17-P ***************************************************************** 43 Greenpeace International: The second biggest nuclear disaster in history 28 September 2007 Ramzis has hydrocephalus. "I don't like to go to school, because the boys call me bad names. The girls avoid me and don’t want to go out with me. I hope I will not have children who look like me.” Ramzis lives near Mayak, the site of a former Russian nuclear plant and the most radioactively polluted place on Earth. Everybody knows that the biggest nuclear catastrophe in history was Chernobyl. But how many have heard of the second biggest? Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of a radiation nightmare. The Mayak nuclear plant in the Southern Urals was one of the dark secrets of the cold war. It was the Soviet Union's primary nuclear complex, a massive set of plutonium production reactors, fuel production facilities, and reprocessing and waste storage buildings. In 1957 a storage tank with highly radioactive liquid waste exploded. More than half the amount of radioactive waste released by the accident in Chernobyl was blasted into the atmosphere. A few villagers were evacuated, but most were not. 217 towns and at least 272,000 people were exposed to chronic levels of radiation. The plume was 50 kilometers wide and 1,000 kilometers long. But the explosion wasn't the only incident of contamination. Between 1948 and 1956 radioactive waste was poured straight into the Techa River, the source of drinking water for many villages. It exposed 124,000 people to medium and high levels of radiation. Nuclear waste was also dumped into the lakes of West Siberia, where storms blew nuclear dust across a vast area around the lake. The largest nuclear complex in the world Today, around 7,000 people still live in direct contact with the highly polluted Techa river or on contaminated land. In the town of Muslyumovo, studies have show genetic abnormalities to be 25 times more frequent than in other areas of Russia. The incidents of malignant cancer are significantly higher. And the number of residents of Muslyumovo on the Russian national oncology registers is nearly 4 times higher than in the rest of Russia. In other surrounding towns and villages people have cancer rates more than double the Russian average. (See the Greenpeace Report, Mayak: A 50-Year Tragedy) Half a century later, Mayak is one of the most radioactive places on Earth, and the accident continues to have a devastating legacy. Many thousands of people have never been evacuated from contaminated areas. Dutch photo-journalist, Robert Knoth, visited the Mayak region in 2000 and 2001 and took a series of highly disturbing pictures of the victims of radiation in the region. (Parental warning: The link above contains images of malformed foetuses and other disturbing photos.) Now, the real tragedy Surely, no government could oversee this kind of disaster and not decide to change its ways. Yet, rather than learning the lessons of the tragedy, the Russian Government has passed legislation to import spent nuclear fuel from other countries to Mayak that would then permanently stay at the plant. None of the countries shipping their dirty nuclear waste to Russia would allow Mayak to continue operating on their own land. Countries considering sending their radioactive waste to Russia are abdicating responsibility for their nuclear activities by dumping it somewhere else. They may like to think that once it's out of their sight they've got rid of the problem, but nothing could be further from the truth. The people who will suffer its devastating effects are right here, the same victims that have suffered the effects of the radiation disaster for the last 50 years. The foreign fuel processed in Mayak so far has led to some three million cubic metres of radioactive liquid being dumped and released into the environment. Mayak has reprocessed over 1,540 tons of spent nuclear fuel from several countries including Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Finland and the Czech Republic. Russian authorities now hope to negotiate future reprocessing contracts with Switzerland, Spain, South Korea, Slovenia, Italy, Belgium, and Slovakia. With its 50 year contamination legacy, Mayak is a horrific example of the true face of the global nuclear industry. The lesson of Mayak is that nuclear energy is not a solution. This anniversary should serve as a wake-up call to the world about the real costs of nuclear power. Nuclear power undermines the solutions to climate change, by diverting resources away from the massive investment in renewable technologies and energy efficiency the world urgently needs to tackle the climate crisis. ***************************************************************** 44 PR-INSIDE: 50 years later, many victims of Japan's worst eco-disaster still struggle for redress AP 2007-09-28 02:52:22 - SHIRANUI SEA, Japan (AP) - The dawn is still only a faint glow beyond distant mountains, but fisherman Akinori Mori and his wife, Itsuko, are already hard at work on their boat, reeling in nets of squid, fish and crabs. Nothing about this placid scene reveals that Japan's worst environmental disaster unfolded here. Starting 50 years ago, whole neighborhoods were poisoned by mercury-contaminated fish from these waters. Thousands of people were crippled, and hundreds died agonizing deaths. Babies were born with horrifying deformities. Today, the tragedy known as Minamata Disease is only a dim memory to the rest of the world, and few outside Japan would recognize Chisso Corp. as the company that polluted Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea with deadly methylmercury. But for Akinori, 62, and Itsuko, 58, and many of the people living along these craggy coasts, the disaster never ended. The Moris' parents _ his father, both her parents _ suffered the ravages of the disease: blinding headaches, crippling loss of sensation in their limbs, insomnia and dizzy spells. Both Akinori and Itsuko increasingly feel the disease in their own bones as they age, in painful hand and leg aches and loss of feeling and coordination from eating tainted fish as children. Now it's starting in my hands and fingers, said Itsuko as she picked strips of seaweed from her fishing nets in the morning sun. They're turning white and are all bent. Like the Moris, Japan has never fully recovered. Indeed, the disease played a large role in creating the Japan of today. It gave birth to the Japanese environmentalist movement, and like the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown and the Union Carbide chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, it became an international cause celebre. It forced the country to face up to the price of the industrial miracle it built out of the wreckage of World War II, encouraged other victims of such negligence to sue for redress, and forced authorities to be much more attentive to protecting the public from the mistakes of Japan Inc. But the struggle over Minamata is far from finished. At least 2,000 victims have died. Even now, courts are forcing the government to recognize more victims, which some estimate at as many as 30,000. Many are confined to wheelchairs or bed, complaining that diagnosis and treatment are haphazard and inadequate. Lawsuits for further compensation continue. The government still refuses to conduct an epidemiological study to determine the full scope of the poisoning. Minamata Disease has been going on for 50 years, but it still hasn't been resolved, said Takeko Kato, managing director of Hotto Hausu, a vocational aid center for victims in Minamata. The country isn't helping these people enough. The disaster in Minamata Bay began in silence. In the early 1950s, growing numbers of fish were found floating dead in the bay, which feeds into the Shiranui Sea. Then crows fell dead from the sky or crashed into rocks. Cats started gyrating in a bizarre dance before dropping dead. People were next. By the mid-1950s, villagers started suffering dizzy spells and troubles walking and speaking. Growing numbers fell into convulsions, wasted away and died. The name Minamata Disease was coined in 1956. From the beginning, it was a malady no one wanted to talk about. Victims, shunned by neighbors who feared the illness was contagious, hid behind closed doors. Fishermen suffered symptoms in silence, terrified that word of the disease would wreck their livelihood. Often it was the people most in danger who fought doctors trying to help them. They always said there's no Minamata Disease around here, said Shigeo Ekino, a scientist at Kumamoto University who has been researching victims since 1971. Because if the journalists wrote the disease was here, the price of the fish would drop. Economics also insulated the culprit from blame for the methylmercury it dumped during the production of the chemical acetaldehyde, used to manufacture various products including pharmaceuticals. In the 1950s, Chisso was a shining triumph in Japan's feverish push for postwar economic development, and it held both bureaucrats and Minamata locals in awe _ an untouchability that allowed it to refuse for more than a decade to accept responsibility. The government, bent on industrial growth at any cost, did what it could to keep news of the disease quiet. Hoping to hide the source of the poisoning, Chisso rerouted its wastewater, thereby polluting a much larger area. The company continued to dump mercury in the waters with impunity until 1968. The whole country was so caught up in high growth ... that it was easy to overlook things, said Timothy George, a historian at the University of Rhode Island and author of Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan. Chisso first offered sympathy money to small numbers of victims and fishing cooperatives in 1959, though it denied culpability. After the government declared it at fault, the company had to pay much larger compensation packages in the 1970s. Additional victims received money in the 1990s. Still, critics say the collusion between government and industry continues to protect the company from the full cost of its crimes. The government, for instance, has adhered to strict criteria that severely limited the number of certified victims eligible for the largest of the compensation packages _ only 2,960, including nearly 700 from a separate mercury poisoning case involving a different company in northern Japan. Of those, 2,078 have died. The legal battle continues. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that the government was responsible for the spread of the disease. Since then, an additional 12,000 people have become eligible for medical assistance, though not full certification, and the government is working on a plan to expand compensation to more than 5,000 additional people demanding recognition. You've had this strange resurgence in recent years. Suddenly, you've had lots more people who wanted compensation for Minamata Disease, said George. One reason is that Japan is aging and more attention is paid to the welfare of the elderly. Another is that formerly taboo subjects are confronted more directly in media and society, and victims care less about what the neighbors will say. As the country has become richer, the focus has shifted from all-out industrialization to improving quality of life. As Japanese democracy has broadened and become more inclusive, courts have become more accepting of claims against big business. Full disclosure, however, is still far away. The government, for instance, refuses to seek out remaining reluctant _ or unwitting _ victims with a full scientific study of the affected area, saying it's up to those with symptoms to take the initiative. At the government-run National Institute for Minamata Disease, officials show visitors a video that, while detailing the horrors of the disease, sunnily concludes that the resulting issues have been solved. Katsuhiro Nagai, a spokesman for the institute, said there was no reason to conduct a full survey. If people think they have the disease, then they can try to get compensation, he said. That's our system for all diseases. Victims also say the diagnosis and compensation system is haphazard and confusing. Indeed, the big settlements over the years have created a bewildering, arbitrary patchwork of payments and entitlements. And nobody knows what danger still lurks at the bottom of the sea. As part of the cleanup, Chisso and the government covered the worst-contaminated areas with landfill, dredged mercury from the water and capped mercury-soaked portions of the seabed with a steel and cement barrier. The government declared the area safe for fishing in 1997. But some fish have been found with high concentrations of methylmercury, and unusually high rates of contamination are still found in sediment in Minamata Bay, though officials say they are within safety standards. Environmental authorities say inspections of the barrier are carried out every year, with detailed studies every five years. But Yoshiaki Yasuda, a scientist at the Minamata institute, says researchers there were refused permission some years ago to do their own investigation. I guess this is quite a delicate issue that we are not allowed to delve into, Yasuda said. One place where no one is silent about Minamata Disease is at the Hotto Hausu vocational center. In a tiny building in downtown Minamata, 13 disabled people _ including nine who were poisoned by mercury in the womb _ arrived for lunch one day after making a presentation about the disease at a local school. Victims in wheelchairs struggled with gnarled hands and fingers to eat lunch, some of them fed by assistants. Neurological damage had left them with severe speech impediments. Age is compounding their problems. As the congenital victims move into their 50s and 60s, their bodies deteriorate more rapidly than those of non-victims. Masafumi Takishita, 51, was married for a while, has a 13-year-old son and works at a bottle recycling plant that employs the disabled. But his legs have rapidly lost strength in recent years, and now he walks on a cane or a friend's arm. He takes nine varieties of drugs, from muscle relaxants to antidepressants. Critics say cases like Takishita's show how the government needs to expand rehabilitation services and specialized care for thousands of aging victims. Meanwhile, the Moris have fixed their hopes on their three children, all of whom have married and show no symptoms of poisoning. They can only hope that the new generation will see the end of the curse of Minamata. They're OK, I think. The poisoning was years before they were born, said Itsuko Mori as she picked through her nets on a dock not far from her home. They're still young though, so you never know. Start Receiving PR-inside.com News Headlines per email. PR-Inside.com announces the start of the news alerts free service. Keep beiing informed and get the last news of any category up to five times daily or immediatly when they go online. Type any number of key words. We email you the related headlines. Click here to sign up Disclaimer: This news article is copyrighted by Associated Press and published by PR-inside.com. If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact ap-online.com. PR-inside can not assist or help you giving information about this News articles. Terms & Conditions | About us | Contact PR-inside.com ***************************************************************** 45 Manipulating Public Health Research: The Nuclear and Radiation Health Establishments RUDI H. NUSSBAUM, PHD Industry, government, and the military have systematically suppressed or manipulated epidemiologic research showing detrimental effects on human health from accidental or occupational exposures to ionizing radiation. This leads to conflicts of interest and compromised integrity among scientists in the radiation health establishment, it stifles dissemination of "unwelcome" findings and endangers public health. Key words: radiation health effects; research censorship; conflicts of interest; scientific whistleblowers; Chernobyl; Three Mile Island. INT J OCCUP ENVIRON HEALTH 2007;13:328-330 Toxicologist James Huff presents a thorough review of evidence that government has censored and manipulated to support research by independent public health-oriented practitioners into chemical pollution of the environment. He states "corporate-funded science is increasingly common and is accompanied by a substantial tradition of manipulation of evidence, data, and analysis, ultimately designed to maintain favorable conditions for industry" and "government appointed panels are often replete with scientists and physicians having clear conflicts of interest to the issues being evaluated."1 In a related commentary, Egilman and Howe2 discuss some pecific cases of corporate manipulation of epidemiology. In this connection it is helpful to remind the reader that any study that does not find a statistically significant association between an observed excess in health detriment and exposure to a suspected environmental contaminant (often reported as "we found no effect from this pollutant") is in fact inconclusive. While there may indeed have been a truly negligible effect, critical analysis may show that the design of the study was such that a small but unacceptable health effect could not have been detected. What holds true for chemical contamination of the environment applies equally to health risks associated The author is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Environmental Sciences, Portland State University, Portland, OR, U.S.A.; e-mail: . Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Nussbaum. with industrial/medical use of ionizing radiation and to radioactive contamination of the environment. After an extended period of euphoria among physicians and the public about the amazing usefulness of X-rays as a new diagnostic and therapeutic tool, studies of the detrimental effects of radiation became only gradually admitted into health science journals.3-5 By the late 1940s, in the wake of the Manhattan Project, citizens and their representatives in Congress grew increasingly more concerned about health consequences of occupational, military, and civilian radiation exposures. Public consciousness was raised, in particular, after formerly secret reports surfaced about the immediate and long-term human devastation of genocidal proportions that followed the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.3-6 Radiogenic cancer mortality among survivors was associated with lower and lower exposure levels over increasing follow-up periods. In order to deflect these concerns and to make the cold-war nuclear arms race psychologically and politically more acceptable, the well-subsidized military/ industrial/medical, and now also nuclear establishment started a large-scale "Atoms for Peace" promotional campaign.5-7 With it came employment for increasing numbers of radiation health professionals, trained by the nation's academic research centers. Many of these experts from the nuclear establishment have been members of national and international radiation safety and standard-setting commissions. They also served as reviewers of grant applications for sponsored research and as referees for reports on radiation health studies in medical/scientific journals. Practically all such research has relied on funding by agencies that were created to promote, facilitate, and regulate military and civilian uses of ionizing radiation, to allay concerns about health effects from occupational and public exposures, and to fend off litigation for workers' compensation claims. Thus, any study outcome that suggests an association of health detriment with lowdose exposures below "allowable" (industry-friendly) levels, inconsistent with official risk estimates, does not serve these agencies' aims. This has created inherent conflicts of interest for many scientists within the radiation health establishment and it has prevented publications of "unwelcome" findings in mainstream med- 328 ical/scientific journals. Wing et al.'s discussion of the cultural/ political context of radiation epidemiology and its effects on unbiased investigations is highly relevant to these issues.8 They can best be documented by some historic case studies: 1. The life stories of John W. Gofman, Thomas F. Mancuso, Alice M. Stewart, and Karl Z. Morgan provide chilling examples of scientists who refused to sell their integrity for careerism, despite intimidation, character assassination, and blacklisting.3-5,9 A shocking counterexample is provided by recent revelations about the venality of Alice Stewart's nemesis, the famous Sir Richard Doll, idol of British epidemiologists.9-11 2. In an editorial Morris Greenberg stated: "The wounds and scars received by advocates of unpopular opinions, and by persons publishing reports of adverse effects that are `inconvenient' . . . are real but rarely presented in scientific journals."12 Referring to reported excess cancers around Windscale (later renamed Sellafield), a major British nuclear installation with a history of repeated and massive radioactive environmental contamination, he continues: "The radiation experts on the [official investigating] commission calculated `best estimates' [of exposure doses] and they concluded, on theoretical grounds, that these could not have caused any major excess [cancer and leukemia] risk: `It could not have happened, so it didn't happen.'"13 3. Nuclear-worker exposure standards are purportedly established by national and international radiation safety commissions, based on the most comprehensive scientific evidence for radiogenic risk available at the time of their promulgation.13 Excess radiogenic disease should not occur below those "allowable" yearly accumulated occupational doses. However, contradicting numerous earlier reassuring reports in the literature, commissioned by the nuclear industry through the Department of Energy (DOE), a newly designed study with greater detection sensitivity found that excess cancer mortalities among workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were associated with average accumulated doses well below the then-allowable limits with a delay (latency) of more than 20 years after exposure.14 The publication of these findings was met with a barrage of vituperative criticism from prestigious members of the radiation health establishment.15 4. After the accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant on March 28, 1979, and before any credible study could be completed, a "blue-ribbon" presidential commission publicly expressed confidence that radioactive exposures of residents downwind of the ill-fated reactor were too low for radiogenic health effects to be detectable. Subsequently, a prestigious VOL 13/NO 3, JUL/SEP 2007  www.ijoeh.com research team from Columbia University was commissioned to conduct a health study among the population around the plant. It was paid for by a litigation settlement fund, financed by the nuclear operator's insurers. The supervising court imposed strict conditions on the investigators with regard to how doses should be estimated -another example of corporate/judicial manipulation of epidemiology.16,17 Predictably, the Columbia University study, reviewed and approved by the industry's attorneys, found no evidence that radiation releases from the Three Mile island nuclear facility had influenced cancer risks during the limited period of follow-up, 1975-1985.18 Six years later, however, and based on the same health data, Wing et al. established that radioactive exposures were significantly associated with excess cancer incidence.16 Their report presented evidence that the dose estimates used in the Columbia University analysis had been too low. This challenge to an authoritative finding, publicized earlier as "definitive" and "state of the art," by a new analysis with superior epidemiologic sensitivity, was met with scathing rejection in the mainstream literature.16,17 5. Taking issue with the submission for publication of "unwelcome" findings from an occupational radiation health study by one of his staff scientists, a deputy director of Los Alamos National Laboratory suggested that the authors might want to modify their conclusions in order to please the DOE, since that agency had provided funding for the project.19 6. In conjunction with assessments of the long-range health impact of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster by the World Health Organization (WHO)20 and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR),21 recent publications highlighted the large discrepancies between the reassuring statements by these agencies and a large body of independent health studies with opposite findings.22-24 Earlier reports of excess health detriment from areas in Europe and the United States after the Chernobyl disaster had suggested that both the officially assumed population doses and the accepted risk factors (on which exposure standards are based) had been grossly underestimated.25 Few public health physicians and scientists are aware of the fact that the WHO, the most prestigious public health institution in the world, is bound by a 1959 agreement (ostensibly for lack of radiation expertise within WHO) to refrain from conducting or publishing any radiation health assessment without approval by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an agency with a mandate to promote nuclear power. This is consistent with the many misleading press releases and reports issued by these agencies downplaying the legacy of disease and death left by Chernobyl.20-24 Manipulating Public Health Research  329 In summary, the ethics of scientific rectitude has been seriously violated and the general public has been misled. Whether henceforth truth will inform radiation public health policy will depend on the integrity and courage of a sufficient number of outspoken health scientists. References 1. Huff J. Industry influence on occupational and environmental public health. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2007;13:107-17. 2. Egilman D, Howe S. Against anti-health epidemiology: corporate obstruction of public health via manipulation of epidemiology. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2007;13:118-24. 3. Wasserman H, Solomon N. Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation. New York: Dell, 1982. 4. Bertell R. No Immediate Danger? Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth. Toronto, ON, Canada: Women's Educational Press, 1985. 5. Caufield C. Multiple Exposures: Chronicles of the Radiation Age. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1989. 6. Takahashi Y. Hiroshima. Lancet. 2005;366:1434. . 7. Nussbaum RH, Khnlein W. Inconsistencies and open questions regarding low-dose health effects of ionizing radiation. Environ Health Perspect. 1994;102:656-67. 8. Wing S, Richardson D, Stewart A. The relevance of occupational epidemiology to radiation protection standards. New Solutions. 1999;9:133-51. 9. Greene G. The Woman Who Knew Too Much: Alice Stewart and the Secrets of Radiation. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1999. 10. Hardell L, Walker MJ, Walhjalt B, Friedman LS, Richter ED. Secret ties to industry and conflicting interests in cancer research. Am J Ind Med. 2007;50:227-40, including correspondence. 11. Walker MJ. Sir Richard Doll: Death, dioxin and PVC. ; . 330  Nussbaum 12. Greenberg M. The evolution of attitudes to the human hazards of ionizing radiation and its investigators. Am J Ind Med. 1991; 20:717-21. 13. Morgan KZ. Changes in international radiation protection standards. Am J Ind Med. 1994;25:301-7. 14. Wing S, Shy CM, Wood JL, Wolf S, Cragle DL, Frome EL. Mortality among workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. JAMA. 1991;265:1397-402. 15. Rojas-Burke J. Oak Ridge cancer findings hotly disputed. J Nucl Med. 1991;32(7);11N-26N. 16. Wing S, Richardson D, Armstrong D, Crawford-Brown D. A reevaluation of cancer incidence near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant: the collision of evidence and assumptions. Environ Health Perspect. 1997;105:52-7; 105:266-7; 105:567-9; and 2000;108:A546-7. 17. Dalrymple M. Science on the firing line. Endeavors (U. of North Carolina). Autumn 1997:12-13. . 18. Hatch MC, Beyea J, Nieves JW, Susser M. Cancer near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant: radiation emissions. Am J Epidemiol. 1990;1342:397-417. 19. Wilkinson G. Seven years in search of alpha: The best of times, the worst of times. Epidemiology. 1999;:340-4. 20. World Health Organization. Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident and Special Health Care Programmes. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2006. 21. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, New York: UNSCEAR 2000. Exposures and effects of the Chernobyl accident. Annex J. . 22. Baverstock K, Williams D. The Chernobyl accident 20 years on: an assessment of the health consequences and the international responses. Environ Health Perspect. 2006; 114:1312-7. . 23. Nussbaum RH. The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe: unacknowledged health detriment. Environ Health Perspect. 2007; 115:A238-40. . 24. Pflugbeil S. Chernobyl-looking back to go forwards: the September 2005 IAEA conference. Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 2006;22:299-309. 25. Nussbaum RH. The linear no-threshold dose-effect relation; is it relevant to radiation protection? Med Phys. 1998;25:291-9. www.ijoeh.com  INT J OCCUP ENVIRON HEALTH ***************************************************************** 46 AU ABC: Confusion over nuke dump agreement - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted September 28, 2007 10:07:00 The Federal Government and environmentalists are arguing over the extent of support from traditional owners for plans for a Northern Territory cattle station to become a nuclear waste dump. The Government says traditional owners have approved a proposal to nominate Muckaty Station north of Tennant Creek as the fourth potential site for a waste facility. But a green group says the traditional owners it has spoken to are opposed to the plan. Muckaty was nominated by the Northern Land Council and if selected, the traditional owners will receive a $12 million package. The nomination has received Federal Government approval. Northern Territory Senator Nigel Scullion says the wishes of the traditional owners who are offering the land should be respected. Senator Scullion says it is a clear decision by traditional owners, with only a minority in the area remaining opposed to the idea. "That's what they've decided to do with their country and they have actually informed themselves by visiting Lucas Heights," he said. "They've had a very close look at the material that will be stored there. "They've also understand why we are making the material and the necessity to continue to treat over 400,000 people for cancer and associated conditions." But Natalie Wasley from the Arid Lands Environment Centre says the support is not widespread and some members of the land trust believe their concerns about the facility have been ignored. "Either the Government has been mislead with this nomination, or they're lying about consultation and consent," she said. "Just yesterday I was in Tennant Creek and was speaking with traditional owners from the land trust. "They're strongly opposed to the dump proposal, and for the last year or so have been sending letters to the Northern land Council and to Julie Bishop, expressing that they don't want the dump negotiations to continue." The Northern Land Council was not available for comment, but released a statement saying the consultation was extensive. ***************************************************************** 47 RIA Novosti: U.S. lifts restrictions on Russian uranium supplies - agency 19:19 | 28/ 09/ 2007 MOSCOW, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - The United States Court of International Trade has lifted discriminatory, anti-dumping restrictions on Russian low-enriched uranium (LEU) supplies, the chief of Russia's nuclear agency said Friday. "On September 26, the U.S. Court of International Trade made a decision in favor of the Russian Federal Nuclear Power Agency in a dispute [with the U.S. Commerce Department]," Sergei Kiriyenko told journalists. "This is a huge legal and political victory." Kiriyenko said the U.S. court ruled that uranium enrichment was not a product, but a service that cannot be an object of an antidumping investigation. In line with the court ruling, the U.S. Department of Commerce should within 60 days cancel the 112% duty for Russian low-enriched uranium used in operations by some 50% of U.S. nuclear power plants. In 1991 Russia supplied to global markets, including the U.S., significant volumes of natural uranium at low prices. An antidumping procedure that followed led to trade restrictions being imposed on Russia. Russia currently exports uranium duty free to the U.S. via a monopoly mediator, the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a special intermediary agent, under a conversion program called HEU-LEU. The HEU-LEU contract, also known as the Megatons to Megawatts agreement, was signed in February 1993 and expires in 2013. It aims to convert 500 metric tons of high-enriched uranium (HEU), the equivalent of approximately 20,000 nuclear warheads, from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons into low-enriched uranium (LEU), which is then converted into nuclear fuel for use in U.S. commercial reactors. Kiriyenko also said Friday that Russia and the U.S. will sign an agreement on the civilian use of nuclear power by the end of 2007. "We are waiting for the bureaucratic procedures for coordinating the agreement in the U.S. to be concluded, and plan to sign it by the end of the year," Sergei Kiriyenko told journalists. A nuclear expert said certain American officials associate the signing of this agreement with Russia ceasing nuclear operations in Iran, where it is engaged in the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP). Russian nuclear equipment export monopoly Atomstroyexport has been building Iran's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the country's south, despite opposition from Western countries and amid international concerns that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 48 Dallas Morning News: S. Texas county fights uranium mine proposal | 07:54 AM CDT on Friday, September 28, 2007 Associated Press GOLIAD, Texas Fearing contamination in the Evangeline Aquifer, Goliad County has joined with ranchers, environmentalists and economic development groups to fight a proposed uranium mine. The Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District said it measured an increase in minerals and iron in wells during the past year as Uranium Energy Corp. explored for uranium in the area. The minerals resulted in clogged filters and discolored water. County officials joined with the Sierra Club, local ranchers and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council this week to announce their intentions to fight the mine. The county, which has about 7,000 residents and is about 80 miles southeast of San Antonio, has already allotted $200,000 for the campaign. Uranium Energy Corp., which has offices in Canada and the southwestern U.S., is seeking a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a full-scale mining operation. Company officials couldn't be reached for comment this week, but they have said that their exploration for uranium has nothing to do with the well contamination. They have cited a letter from the Railroad Commission of Texas that blames the contamination on "natural sources." The company would use a method known as in situ mining, which involves injecting an oxygenated solution into the ground to help mobilize and leach out the uranium. Local officials fear the mining is changing the flow of the Evangeline Aquifer, which could flush high levels of radium into the drinking supply. Radium has been found in test wells. The groundwater district commissioned an engineering study that found their concerns were valid. 2007, The Dallas Morning News, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 49 Hartford Courant: Radioactive Cleanup -- Courant.com Deal Set For Site ABB Now Owns By MARK PETERS | Courant Staff Writer September 28, 2007 WINDSOR - Federal officials and a Swiss company have reached an agreement to clean up the remaining radioactive material at the former site of Combustion Engineering, scrubbing the remnants of the Cold War from the 600-acre campus. Over the past few months, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have finalized a streamlined process that will allow the property's current owner, the Swiss company ABB Inc., to decontaminate buildings where nuclear fuel was made for the military decades ago. ABB estimated that it will take four to five years to finish cleaning up the site on Day Hill Road and make it ready for new uses, which could include light industry or commercial or residential development. ABB said it will probably not need the property after the cleanup. "The opportunity we have from an economic development perspective is tremendous over probably a 10- to 20-year time frame," Town Manager Peter Souza said. ABB has already spent six years and more than $50 million to clean up areas of the campus where commercial work for the nuclear power industry took place. The company said it is in early talks with developers about possible uses for the site. Day Hill Road has become a popular area for corporate offices. Both The Hartford and the Dutch financial services company ING are building facilities along the road. The prior cleanup involved the painstaking process of scraping - sometimes by hand - the walls and floors of buildings to remove radiological residues, said Ronald Kurtz, a Connecticut-based spokesman for ABB. So far, ABB has demolished 16 buildings after decontaminating them and removed more than 2 million tons of rubble from the campus. ABB and federal officials said that finishing the cleanup will come sooner than if it were left to the federal government. "It would have gone on longer than we want it to; it would have gone on longer than the town would have wanted it to," Kurtz said. ABB, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and town officials said the site doesn't pose a hazard to public health. The radioactive material is contained in various buildings that have been fenced off and marked. ABB and Alstom, a tenant of ABB, currently use other buildings on the Day Hill Road campus. The history of the campus, which is sandwiched between tobacco fields and corporate office parks, dates to the early development of the nuclear submarine. From the mid-1950s through the early 1960s, Combustion Engineering, under government contract, produced nuclear fuel for a U.S. Navy testing and training facility on an adjacent site. There, the Navy had an S1C prototype nuclear propulsion plant, a prototype for reactors that power submarines. The federal government completed decontamination of that site last year. Combustion Engineering went on to manufacture fuel, do research and provide services for the nuclear power industry. ABB bought Combustion Engineering in 1990 and moved the manufacturing of nuclear fuel off the site. The Swiss company sold its commercial nuclear services business to Westinghouse in 2000. Westinghouse first rented space at the ABB site, and then relocated elsewhere in Windsor. The final stage of decontamination will involve the removal of radioactive material on the site, demolition of buildings, removal of soil and then extensive testing to ensure the end result, said Raymond Lorson, Region 1 decommissioning branch chief for the NRC. On Monday night, ABB will make its eighth annual presentation on the cleanup to the Windsor Town Council. Kurtz said the company has not reached an agreement with the NRC and government over the cost of the final stage of the cleanup, but ABB didn't want to delay any longer. "We are doing it because we actually want to move out and move on," Kurtz said. Contact Mark Peters at mrpeters@courant.com. Copyright 2007, The Hartford Courant ***************************************************************** 50 Reuters: Russia hails U.S. court ruling on uranium sales | Fri Sep 28, 2007 5:06pm BST By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Russia's nuclear energy chief hailed on Friday a decision by a U.S. trade court that found sales of Russian uranium in the United States should not be subject to anti-dumping measures. "The U.S. Court of International Trade made a kind of present to our nuclear sector," Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom, told reporters. "We received confirmation today that the court has ruled that uranium enrichment is a service rather than goods, which means it cannot be the subject to anti-dumping investigation." Kiriyenko said the U.S. administration could appeal against the ruling, which concerns Low Enriched Uranium (LEU), but hailed the court's decision as a major step towards boosting Russian uranium exports to the lucrative American market. President Vladimir Putin, eager to expand the clout of Russia's atomic sector, has been pushing for equal access for Russian companies to the world nuclear market. The United States started anti-dumping procedures against Russia in 1991-1992 after Russian companies flooded the U.S. market with nuclear materials. The U.S. Department of Commerce carried out a five-year sunset review of the anti-dumping measures against Russia last year and decided to leave the measures in place. But Russian state nuclear firm Techsnabexport (Tenex) filed a petition in the court last year against that decision. Continued... Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 51 Manila Standard Today: Nuclear waste triggers debate on Japan deal Nuclear waste triggers debate on Japan deal By Fel V. Maragay OFFICIALS of the Arroyo administration yesterday allayed the apprehension of environmentalists over the possible entry of nuclear wastes and other toxic materials into the country if the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement will be implemented. The two sides clashed over the feared harmful environmental consequences of the JPEPA during the third public hearing on the controversial bilateral treaty conducted by the Senate committee on foreign relations and committee on trade and commerce, chaired by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Mar Roxas, respectively. Von Hernandez, director for Southeast Asia of Greenpeace International, said he found it “shocking” that JPEPA allegedly encourages the trading of radioactive and nuclear wastes between Japan and the Philippines. He warned that no solution has yet been found for the safe management and disposal of radioactive wastes. Environment Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio told the Senate panels that there is no provision in the Jpepa that allows he entry of hazardous materials and banned waste products. “On the contrary, several provisions of JPEPA clearly emphasize respect for national laws and environmental standards of both countries,” Ignacio said. The environment undersecretary also said that Japan, under the agreement, is bound to comply with Republic Act 6969, the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990. This law bans the entry into the country of recyclable materials, which may contain hazardous substances. Hernandez said unscrupulous people may take advantage of Jpepa to import radioactive materials from Japan that are extremely toxic and dangerous such as plutonium compound and spent fuel elements that are being used for manufacturing nuclear weapons. “These materials from the proliferation perspective are extremely hazardous because one can directly build bombs from tiny amount of these materials,” the Greenpeace official said. “There are also studies that indicate that a well-equipped terrorist can carry out fast deprocessing of spent fuel and separate plutonium for bombs from it within several weeks.” Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon said the nuclear issue is the “least understood” among the issues hurled against the JPEPA. But he said that the international company, through the United Nations, has adopted new conventions or treaties to control and stop the flow and proliferation of nuclear wastes and radioactive materials. Siazon cited a convention providing guidance on the import and export of radioactive materials and the safety and security of such materials. Under this convention, he said the exporting state should obtain first the consent of the importing state. Siazon said that Japan, with its advanced level of technological development, can also assist the Philippines in solving its problems over radioactive wastes and other hazardous materials. “With or without JPEPA, the present law on hazardous wastes is going to continue. But the argument on the government’s side is with JPEPA, there is an additional commitment to abide by our laws, by the Basel Convention [which obliges signatory countries against exporting hazardous wastes],” the envoy told the hearing. “There is also an additional commitment on the part of Japan to help us in dealing with tons and tons of hazardous wastes, treated by our own existing industries in the Philippines for which we have no solution.” Another non-government organization, the Association of Third Party Environment Service Providers of the Philippines, expressed alarm over the danger that JPEPA “may overwhelm the Philippines with massive toxic waste exports due to the perverse incentive of zero tariff for toxic waste imports, legal or smuggled.” Roger Birosel, vice president of the group, said Japan had dumped 4,000 tons of plastic and scrap municipal wastes in China in 2004 and 800 tons in 2002. Birosel said Japan dumped only 155 tons of similar hazardous wastes to Hong Kong from 2000 to 2003. But he said the materials were deadly, highly toxic computer and television scraps. He said Japan actually tried to dump a shipment of 124 container vans declared as recycled paper into the Philippines years ago which turned out to be toxic hospital and medical wastes. Manila Standard Today - Philippine News & Views Online ***************************************************************** 52 CBC News: Algonquins canoe to Ottawa to demand uranium moratorium Last Updated: Friday, September 28, 2007 | 1:53 PM ET A group of Algonquin protesters arrived in Ottawa by canoe and kayak Friday, then portaged to Parliament Hill to demand a moratorium on uranium mining. Protesters from the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin First Nations have been blocking access since June to a site near Sharbot Lake, Ont., where an Ontario mining company wants to test drill for uranium. A court injunction has ordered the protesters arrested, but as of Friday, no arrests had been made.The protesters portaged to Parliament Hill after a six-day journey from Ardoch, Ont. (CBC) Paula Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch First Nation, was among the Algonquins who made the journey to Ottawa this week by canoe to deliver a call for a moratorium on uranium mining to Conservative MP Scott Reid, who represents their riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington. "Ontario issued mining claims … for Frontenac Venure on our lands, which are under comprehensive claim and weren't supposed to be being used at all. So we consider those claims invalid," said Sherman after the arrival of the canoes at Victoria Island following a six-day journey from Ardoch, about 113 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. "Uranium mining's not safe. Neither is exploration." She said Frontenac Ventures has already built roads over sensitive wetlands and destroyed an aboriginal trapline, and the Algonquins fear the company will contaminate local waterways with its test drilling.Paula Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch First Nation, said the protesters fear test drilling for uranium will contaminate the local watershed. (CBC) To underline that message, the Algonquins had carried in their canoes clean water collected from the headwaters of the Mississippi watershed. Those waters eventually flow north into the Ottawa River and south into Lake Ontario, Sherman said. The protesters met with supporters, then marched with their canoes, aboriginal flags and drums up to Parliament Hill. The Algonquins also plan to deliver a copy of their message to Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty's office. About CBC About CBC News About CBC.ca ***************************************************************** 53 PE: Rialto officials call ad 'inaccurate,' 'deceptive' | San Bernardino County | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland 10:04 AM PDT on Friday, September 28, 2007 By MARY BENDER The Press-Enterprise Two Rialto City Council members criticized Black & Decker for taking out a full-page newspaper ad this week, in which the company denied responsibility for contaminating the local drinking-water supply with perchlorate. The advertisement, which ran Monday in The Press-Enterprise, was titled "An open letter to the Rialto community." Black & Decker, headquartered in Maryland, manufactures tools and home appliances. The city contends that a Black & Decker subsidiary, Emhart Industries, was one of many companies that operated on the Rialto land fouled by perchlorate, an explosive chemical used in rocket fuel and fireworks. Councilman Ed Scott and Councilwoman Winnie Hanson sent a letter Wednesday on Rialto city stationery to Nolan Archibald, the company's president and CEO, criticizing the ad as "inaccurate" and "deceptive." "We have a number of eyewitnesses who worked at the 160-acre site and will testify to Emhart-Black & Decker's disposal of perchlorate at the industrial site," the council members' letter says. "We are prepared to place our case before the State Water Board. Why is Black & Decker afraid to make its case?" Each month, their letter says, "360 million gallons ... of fresh water are being contaminated by the plume of perchlorate as it moves like a slow-moving grass fire across the Rialto-Colton Groundwater Basin. The day your ad ran, the plume moved about 20 inches and cost our community about 12 million gallons of fresh water." The advertisement, meanwhile, says that Black & Decker has spent $2.3 million on "a voluntary investigation of the sources of perchlorate contamination" on the land north of Highway 210. "The pollution at issue has nothing to do with any Black & Decker operations or products," the company's ad states. "The only confirmed source of perchlorate contamination on the 160-acre site is a waste disposal pit called the McLaughlin Pit. Everyone agrees that Black & Decker has no connection to the McLaughlin Pit or the contamination it is causing." Pyro Spectaculars, a fireworks company, still operates at the site. Reach Mary Bender at 909-806-3056 or mbender@PE.com 2007 Press-Enterprise Company ***************************************************************** 54 AU ABC: Fed Govt fails to consult manager of waste site - 28/09/2007 Friday, 28/09/2007 The manager of the latest site to be nominated for a national radioactive waste facility says he has not been consulted. Muckaty Station, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, has been chosen by the Northern Land Council as a possible site for a nuclear waste dump. It is now one of four sites in the Northern Territory under investigation by the Federal Government. But station manager Ray Aylett has leased the property for eight years and says he does not even know where it will be allocated. "They say it's going to be 15 kilometres up Bootu Creek road ... that'll be straight out from the house here somewhere, so I don't know where it's going to go," he said. "I wouldn't have a clue. "I haven't been invited to any of the meetings, traditional owners or NLC has never invited me to any of the meetings here about the waste dump or anything. "Because I am leasing the place I reckon I should have some say in it or some knowledge about what's going on." © 2007 ABC | Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 55 U.S. Nuclear Weapons Being “Guarded” by Israel Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:09:14 -0500 (CDT) U.S. Nuclear Weapons Being bGuardedb by Israel http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/09/26/8910.shtml Publication time: 26 September 2007, 10:27 American supporters of Israel were delighted to learn that an Israeli company, Magal Security Systems-owned in part by the government of Israel-is in charge of security for the most sensitive nuclear power and weapons storage facilities in the United States. The largest perimeter security company in the world, Magal started out as a division of Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI)-which was owned in part by the government of Israel. In recent years, however, Magal evolved into a publicly-traded company, although IAI (and thus the government of Israel) still holds a substantial share in the highly successful firm. What all of this means is that the government of Israel will actually have control over the security of America's nuclear weapons. Supporters of Israel say that this is a splendid idea, since Israel is said to be perhaps America's closest ally on the face of the planet. However, there are some critics who question the propriety of America's super-sensitive nuclear security being in the hands of any foreign nation, particularly Israel which, even today, officially denies that it is engaged in the production of nuclear arms. Be that as it may, however, Magal's global interests are quite broad-ranging. Having secured 90 percent of Israel's borders through a wide-ranging array of super-modern "space age" technology, Magal has now branched out internationally. Not only does Magal provide security for American nuclear facilities, but it also does likewise for most major nuclear facilities in Western Europe and Asia. In addition, the Israeli firm also provides security for Chicago's O'Hare Airport and, for the last fifteen years, has kept watch on the Queen of England's famed Buckingham Palace in London. What's more, Magal provides security for 90% of the American prisons that utilize electronic systems. Magal brags that its other clients around the globe include: borders, airports, industrial sites, communication centers, military installations, correctional facilities, government agencies, VIP estates and residences, commercial buildings and storage yards. There is hardly a major country or major enterprise that does not have Magal's security specialists keeping a close watch on their activities. Clearly, Magal is no small enterprise. While 27% of its total sales are in the Israeli market, its largest market is in North America, which currently accounts for 35% of its sales. However, Magal's American outreach is expected to increase substantially, especially now that firm has set up a Washington, D.C. office which will promote its products to federal agencies and to the members of Congress who provide funding for federally-supervised security projects across the country at all levels: local, state and national. And with current U.S. Homeland Security Chief, Michael Chertoff, not only a strong supporter of Israel but also the son of a woman who has strong Israeli ties-even including service with El Al, the national airline of Israel-Magal, owned in party by Israeli Aircraft Industries-will be a clear-cut favorite in the eyes of the power brokers in official Washington who have the power to grant lucrative security contracts. At the moment, Magal has four U.S.-based subsidiaries: two in California, Stellar Security Products, Inc. and Perimeter Products Inc., as well as the New York-based Smart Interactive Systems, Inc., and the Virginia-based Dominion Wireless, Inc. All told, the Israeli company holds a 40% share in the worldwide market in perimeter intrusion detection systems and is working to expand its business in the protection of oil pipelines. Magal is also said to be quite interested in guarding water lines around the globe, particularly in the United States. In fact, Magal may have an inside shot at getting a monopoly in guarding America's water supplies. On July 19, the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency announced a "partnership" with the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures to improve what they called "water supply system security in the United States and Israel." Since Magal is so highly respected in Israel, it's an even bet that Magal will soon be guarding the U.S. water supply. By Michael Collins Piper Correspondent for American Free Press and author of "The New Jerusalem:Zionist Power in America", "The High Priests of War," and "Final Judgment," which details the Mossad role in the JFK assassination conspiracy. ***************************************************************** 56 Japan Urges 'total Elimination' Of Nuclear Weapons, Top Official Tells Un Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:01:26 -0400 JAPAN URGES TOTAL ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, TOP OFFICIAL TELLS UN New York, Sep 28 2007 10:00PM <"http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/62/2007/pdfs/japan-eng.pdf">Japan is committed to bolstering global efforts for the elimination of nuclear weapons, the countrys newly-appointed foreign minister told the United Nations General Assemblys annual high-level debate today. Japan, as the only country ever to suffer nuclear devastation, will again submit a draft resolution at this session of the General Assembly to map out concrete measures toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons, said Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura. He welcomed the Security Councils adoption by consensus of several resolutions regarding the nuclear programmes of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran. It is up to all of us to translate the will of the international community into concrete action through full implementation of the relevant resolutions, Mr. Koumura said, adding that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction requires the undivided attention of humankind. Japan will continue its efforts both to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks and to appeal to Iran to heed the international community and suspend its enrichment-related activities, he noted. Mr. Koumura also pledged Japans ongoing support for African development, since without peace in Africa, the world at large will not enjoy peace and prosperity. In Darfur, the scene of the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, the country has to date provided assistance worth $85 million. The Foreign Minister voiced hope that the new African Union-UN hybrid peacekeeping mission, or UNAMID, will be deployed as soon as possible. Elsewhere, Japan is dedicated to assisting other countries consolidate peace and stability, he said. In Iraq, Japan has been aiding reconstruction efforts through is provision of $5 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and through its dispatching of Self-Defence Forces. In concert with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Japan has played a leading role in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and in disbanding illegal armed groups in the war-torn South Asian nation. As Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) established last year to help prevent countries emerging from conflict from slipping back into violence Japan is resolved to make a significant contribution to international efforts through such means as the launch of the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Centre to increase Asian civilian experts abilities to respond to events on the ground. 2007-09-28 00:00:00.000 ___________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/ _______________________________ To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 57 Digital Chosunilbo: N.Korea to Remove Core Devices From Reactors Updated Sep.28,2007 11:04 KST US, North Korea Meet on Nuclear Issue, Normalizing Ties N.Korea to Disable Nuclear Facilities 'by Year-End' September Crucial for N.Korea Denuclearization, Peace Did Bush Get the N.Korea Deal He Needs in Geneva? No Firm Date to Take N.Korea off Terror List - Hill Bush Calls N.Korea a 'Brutal Regime' North Korea is close to agreement with the U.S. to remove or disable a core device from each of its three nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, sources said Thursday. The agreement is emerging in a new round of six-country nuclear talks that opened in Beijing on Thursday. The core devices include an apparatus controlling the speed of nuclear fission in the 5-MW nuclear reactor, a device for cutting spent fuel rods in a reprocessing facility and a mold at a fuel rod factory. The U.S. and South Korea pressured the North to remove or disable more core devices, but North Korea resisted the pressure. According to a source familiar with the talks, the three are in the final stages of negotiations. The U.S. and North Korean delegations held intensive bilateral talks on Wednesday and Thursday on concrete methods for the disablement and declaration of all programs, and on the timeframe for the U.S. to strike North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as a reward. Chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said there was progress on ways to disable the nuclear facilities. We would like to do more, (North Korea) would like to do less, Hill said. We will figure out a way through that, this is not a big gap. South Koreas top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo also said a gap remains but wont be impossible to narrow. Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill (far right), his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan (second from right) and Sung Kim, the director of the Korea Desk at the U.S. State Department (far left), talk before the second round of the sixth six-party negotiations at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday afternoon. A senior South Korean government official hinted the six countries could meet halfway, as several more months of negotiations on the level of nuclear disablement would delay the abandonment of North Koreas nuclear program while the North is supposed to start dismantling nuclear facilities starting in the first half of next year. Earlier, Hill said additional discussions on declaration of materials were needed since one country -- apparently North Korea -- proposed reporting the nuclear programs in two stages. That suggests the North wants to report some key elements like the amount of plutonium it has as late as possible to get more rewards. Meanwhile, with regard to suspicions that it has a secret uranium enrichment, North Korea reportedly admitted to importing about 150 tons of hard aluminum pipes, a material for a centrifugal separator, from Russia in the past. The pipes can be used to make some 2,600 centrifugal separators for the enrichment of uranium, a South Korean government official said. North Korea disclosed this in Washington-Pyongyang working talks on normalizing bilateral relations in Geneva early this month. But it did not say whether it had actually used the pipes to make centrifuges and enrich uranium. North Korea will reportedly deal with this issue during the process of its declaration of nuclear programs. A South Korean government official said, "Despite North Korea's admission that it imported aluminum pipes, we cant yet say it has made (weapons-grade) enriched uranium with the pipes. Many other components are also needed to make centrifugal separators." Although all six nations are participating in the ongoing talks, the U.S. and North Korea are stealing the show. Hill and chief North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan have reportedly also exchanged views on allegations that North Korean transferred nuclear materials to Syria. Despite raising such potentially divisive issues, both the U.S. and North Korea still look positive for the moment. South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, during a visit to New York on Wednesday to attend the UN General Assembly, told reporters, Suspicions about North Korea's transaction of nuclear materials with Syria can be discussed during the ongoing six-party talks. But it seems unlikely that the issue will have major impact." (englishnews@chosun.com ) ***************************************************************** 58 SF New Mexican: Judge sides with watchdog group in LANL case Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:24 pm By ASSOCIATED PRESS A federal judge has sided with a nuclear watchdog group that sued the federal government over access to site plans for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Nuclear Watch New Mexico wanted the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration to turn over plans for the years 2003 through 2006. The Santa Fe group had requested the information under the federal Freedom of Information Act, but it took more than 17 months for the information to be released. The group, in its complaint, accused NNSA of a “pattern and practice of unlawfully withholding agency records.” Tracy Loughead, a spokeswoman for NNSA in Albuquerque, declined to comment Thursday. The agency argued such plans contain important information on the direction of the federal nuclear weapons lab, and the documents had to be reviewed at several levels before they could be released, resulting in the delay. U.S. District Judge Bruce Black ruled the agency offered no rationale for its multilayered, cross-country review process or the resulting delay. He noted the Freedom of Information Act requires agencies to respond to requests for information within 20 days, and 10-day extensions are allowed when there are unusual circumstances. “This makes a mockery of the 20-day target set by the act and violates congressional intent,” Black wrote in an 11-page order dated Sept. 19. The case is not over, however. Black said further hearings would be scheduled to address remedies of the FOIA violation as well as Nuclear Watch’s complaints about information that was blacked out from documents released by the agency. Richard Mietz, an attorney for Nuclear Watch, said the ruling is a vindication of the group’s right to a timely response under the law. Nuclear Watch executive director Jay Coghlan said his group looks forward to “real remedies that require prompt disclosure of information under citizens’ right to know.” Privacy Policy / Terms of Use | 2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all ***************************************************************** 59 Hanford News: PNNL gets new supercomputer: XMT may help find answers in business intelligence, power grid analysis This story was published Friday, September 28th, 2007 John Trumbo, Herald staff writer It is not the biggest and fastest on the planet, but a supercomputer recently installed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland has the potential to crack some of the toughest data-intensive questions in the world. The Cray XMT system "will allow us to do high-end math computations," said Deborah Gracio, division director for computational and statistical analytics at PNNL. The Cray XMT, which was developed for the Department of Energy by Cray Inc. of Seattle, is designed for processing complex and large problems involving terabytes of data arranged in an unpredictable manner. The XMT is a computer answer-man for research regarding business intelligence and power grid analysis. Gracio said XMT's advantage over faster supercomputers is that it doesn't have to wait for the computer memory to deliver all the information at once to the microprocessor. The XMT can overcome the data bottleneck using 128 independent multi threads in each processor. Moe Khaleel, director of computational sciences and mathematics at PNNL, expects the new supercomputer to be ideal for working on complex challenges in energy, national security and fundamental science. "I expect the new system will provide researchers with levels of performance for data analysis that they have never achieved before," Khaleel said in a statement. "The key is the shared memory and multithreading working together," Gracio said. The Cray XMT is an early-release supercomputer being tried out with PNNL, where it has been installed at the Applied Science and Engineering Lab. The computer also will be available to researchers at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Washington State University Tri-Cities. Gracio said the XMT will be tested for about a year, after which PNNL and WSU will have a good understanding of what it can do and how it compares with other computers' capabilities with similar challenges. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 Hanford News: Audit finds Hanford database incomplete This story was published Friday, September 28th, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer A legally required database of Hanford environmental sampling does not contain complete information, according to an audit by the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General. The Hanford Environmental Information System database is the official repository of data from soil, air, ground water and other sampling done at the nuclear reservation. Maintaining the database is a requirement of the Tri-Party Agreement. But the audit found that it failed to include many locations of sampling for older data, making it virtually useless, and also did not contain some recent required sampling data meant to show sites have been cleaned up to regulatory standards. "As a result of incomplete data, the department is at a greater risk of making uninformed cleanup decisions and being unable to defend against litigation," the audit said. As DOE has worked on an environmental impact study covering the closure of the site's 177 underground tanks, it has had to rely on sampling documents and other sources of information rather than turning to the Hanford Environmental Information System, the official repository, the audit said. If the repository had been reliable, it would have been less costly to use than searching for and retrieving documents, the audit said. DOE agrees that it needs to make sure the sampling data is complete, said Dave Brockman, manager of DOE's Hanford Richland Operations Office, in a reply to the Office of the Inspector General. It will send letters to contractors directing them to enter data. They'll be required to have new procedures for the process in place and approved by Jan. 31. DOE also plans periodic checks to verify the completeness of data in the repository. It also will require contractors to participate in a technical advisory group that was formed to resolve data quality issues. The audit found that the group had no effective way to resolve issues because contractors were not participating. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 61 Hanford News: Hanford testing sweet solution to make chromium nontoxic This story was published Friday, September 28th, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Hanford scientists are hoping that pumping enough molasses to make 88,000 batches of cookies into the ground at the nuclear reservation will be a recipe for cleanup success. The theory is that adding a rich food supply for microbes should change the ground water chemistry enough to convert some of the toxic chromium moving toward the Columbia River into a nontoxic form. "It's very cool that you can have high technology using a very common, inexpensive material," John Price, manager for environmental restoration for the state Department of Ecology, said Thursday as a solution of molasses and water was pumped into the ground. When Hanford's reactors were producing plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program, enough sodium dichromate was used to prevent corrosion in reactor cooling water that it was brought to the reactors in tanker rail cars. Spills and the dumping of contaminated reactor water have left the ground at three reactor areas along the Columbia River polluted with enough chromium that it's reaching the river. The largest chromium plume is near the D and DR reactors, where one monitoring well has found toxic chromium at 10,580 parts per billion. The drinking water standard is 100 parts per billion, but because the chemical is harmful to fish, including spawning salmon, the limit for chromium in river gravel beds is 10 parts per billion. The Department of Energy, working with contractor Fluor Hanford, has had some success capturing chromium near the D and DR reactors or changing it into a less toxic form. But there's so much chromium in the soil that it continues to move into the ground water as fast as it is removed. "We're trying to find other solutions that are more innovative, more cost effective," said Mike Thompson, DOE ground water cleanup manager. A tanker truck of molasses, 5,500 gallons, is being mixed into a solution that's 95 percent water. This week, it's being injected into the ground water that lies in a 20-foot layer about 85 feet below the ground near the D Reactor. It's expected to spread out to cover a diameter of about 100 feet. "Basically, we're adding sugar water," said Mike Truex, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientist. That will overfeed the bacteria in the ground water, causing the population to explode. The growing bacteria population will provide an electron-rich environment to manipulate the valence of chromium as it hits the area. It should convert from toxic chro-mium 6 to nontoxic chromium 3, the same type of chromium that comes in a daily multivitamin. The molasses injection also is planned to bolster a chemical barrier - the in-situ reactive barrier - installed earlier along the Columbia River. It relies on natural iron in the aquifer formation that turns to rust as water contaminated with chromium 6 passes through it. As the iron oxidizes, it gives up electrons that turn the chromium 6 to chromium 3. The barrier has worked well, "but it needs a boost," Price said. After eight years, it's starting to develop some weak points. The change in the ground water chemistry caused by the anticipated planned explosion of bacteria population also should shore up the in-situ reactive barrier. But one of the best parts of the molasses experiment may be its cost. The truckload of molasses, more commonly used for cattle feed, cost $5,000. "This is one of the least expensive materials we could come up with," Price said. The molasses injection should last for about a year, with microbes first feeding on the sugar, then on decaying bacteria as it begins to die off. Researchers expect to see results in three to six months. Next year, the second phase of the experiment is planned. Then vegetable oil will be injected into the ground, emulsified in water just as oil is emulsified in salad oil. Scientists want to compare the two forms of carbohydrates and watch how they spread in the ground water and how long they last to see which is most efficient. "Using a variety of innovative methods is a key component in our ground water program," Thompson said. "In this case, we're using common products for uncommon purposes." Other chromium cleanup work near the D and DR reactors includes pumping contaminated water out of the ground and trying a new method that relies on an electrical current to change chromium to its nontoxic form. DOE also continues to look for the source of the chromium contamination in the soil. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 Jackson Hole News & Guide: Judge to review nuke info By Noah Brenner September 28, 2007 A Jackson Hole nuclear watchdog group is declaring victory after a federal judge ordered the Department of Energy to let him review safety documents it had withheld for a nuclear reactor in Idaho. Wyoming U.S. District Judge William Downes ordered the department to release seven disputed documents to the court, where they will be reviewed by the judge and one technical expert provided by the government. After the review, the judge will determine what Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free will be able to read. Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free had filed a request for the documents under the Freedom of Information Act in an effort to prove that the 40-year-old Advanced Test Reactor, 90 miles east of Grand Teton National Park at Idaho National Lab, was unsafe and needed extensive refurbishment fore being used in further programs the government has proposed for the facility. In late May, the DOE released unedited copies of three documents concerning the safety of the Idaho National Lab. Federal lawyers said they could not release safety assessments of the reactor because it would compromise the security of the facility. The easiest way to determine how to damage a reactor is to look at the safety envelope and accident analysis for the reactor, and then to determine the best way to bypass or defeat the engineered safeguards that can cause a small accident, and to make that small accident bigger, federal lawyers stated in their written briefs. In other words, the [report], due to its safety analysis, contains everything a terrorist needs. Mark Sullivan, representing Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, said his group wanted only basic information, not technical reports about the facilitys infrastructure. What we are looking for are accident scenarios and the consequences of those scenarios, he said. I think he should be able to strike a balance so the public knows the consequences of an accident at the Advanced Test Reactor. Downes took the national security concerns seriously, he said. On September 11, 2001, much to our horror, this nation observed firsthand the very real possibility that our own engineering and technological achievements could be turned against us and used as weapons of mass destruction, he wrote in his decision. The court has no doubt that the threat of a terrorist attack aimed at this nations nuclear facilities is a real one. But that caution was balanced with a commitment to the principles of open government embodied in the Freedom of Information Act. Noting that blocking public access to information necessary to critically assess the ATRs safety runs the risk that government decisions to extend the life of the ATR will go unchecked, with the possibility of a devastating nuclear accident 100-miles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, crown jewels of this countrys national parks, Downes wrote. Ultimately, Downes agreed with Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Frees claims in a carefully worded decision reflecting the judges concern about government secrecy and the threat of terrorism. Nonetheless ... this courts task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case, the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government, Downes wrote, quoting prior case law. The Advanced Test Reactor is the last of the experimental reactors built at Idaho National Lab since the 1950s and is roughly 40 years old. Government officials say it meets current nuclear safety standards. At the heart of the issue is a proposal to consolidate production of plutonium-238 from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and plutonium purification and encapsulation processes from Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico to the Idaho facility. The lab would produce about 5 kilograms per year (about enough to fill a water bottle), which would be used to fuel radioisotope power systems to provide heat and electricity in deep space. Those power systems also would be used for classified national security missions. Plutonium-238 is not used in nuclear weapons, but it is about 270 times more radioactive than plutonium-239, the common ingredient in atomic bombs. Sullivan and Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free have sought to stop that program from advancing until the government prepares an environmental impact statement for its operations. In January, the group filed suit asking for an injunction halting any possible program until the government conducts a full environmental review. 2000-2007 Copyright Jackson Hole News&Guide | P.O. Box 7445 | Jackson, Wyoming 83002 | 307-733-2047 ***************************************************************** 63 Amarillo.com: Warhead certified 09/28/07 The first rebuilt W88 nuclear warhead to use a replacement plutonium core has been certified for the U.S stockpile, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced Thursday. The restored W88 warhead was assembled at the Pantex Plant and is the first nuclear weapon to use a replacement plutonium pit, a radioactive weapons core that allows the weapon to function. In July, New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory produced the first pit for the stockpile in 18 years. The W88 warhead was re-assembled, certified and accepted into the stockpile with a replacement pit without conducting an underground nuclear test. The W88 is designed to be used on Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Copyright 2007 Amarillo Globe-News & Amarillo.com ***************************************************************** 64 Knoxville News Sentinel: Bring out the big guns Oak Ridge security firm unveils latest weapon By Frank Munger (Contact) Friday, September 28, 2007 Michael Patrick Dan McCleary operates the Dillon Aero Gatling Gun during a demonstration on Thursday at the Oak Ridge Central Training Facility. The gun, mounted on an armored vehicle, can fire 3,000 rounds per minute. Michael Patrick These brass cases are expended after firing of the Dillon Aero Gatling Gun, while the black objects are links that join the cartridges into a belt, which is fed into the gun when firing. OAK RIDGE — With a dozen 50-round bursts of ammo, each one lasting barely a second but trailed by a powerful report, the government’s Oak Ridge security contractor Thursday showed off the latest in protective firepower. Wackenhut Services invited the news media and other guests to the Oak Ridge Central Training Facility to view a short demonstration of the Dillon Aero Gatling Gun, which was mounted on an armored vehicle. The gun can fire 3,000 rounds per minute of 7.62-millimeter ammunition and reportedly is capable of taking down aircraft and defending key nuclear facilities from terrorist assaults. Jim Rackstraw, Wackenhut’s director of training and emergency management, said he couldn’t discuss how many of the Gatling guns are deployed in Oak Ridge, except to say there’s more than one. Each of the guns costs about $60,000, but the equipment and material needed to operate the weapon roughly double that cost, Rackstraw said. “It’s got six barrels, and it’s electrically driven,” said Justen Parker, Wackenhut’s manager of special operations. “One of the benefits of having all those barrels on there is that (each barrel) actually fires at a slower rate than most machine guns do.” That allows the gun to sustain the high-powered operations for longer periods, Parker said. The Gatling guns and other new weapons have been added to the Oak Ridge arsenal in recent months to better protect the facilities, including the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Y-12 houses the nation’s primary stockpile of bomb-grade uranium. “Every time we look at the Design Basis Threat (the government’s intelligence report on terrorism) and see the adversary that may confront us, we look to see if we have the tools that we need to defeat that adversary,” Rackstraw said. “The addition of the Dillon weapon system to our inventory gives us a capability we didn’t have before.” At Thursday’s event, Wackenhut also showed its new indoor firing range. The $3.1 million facility is reportedly the largest indoor range in the Department of Energy’s national complex. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 65 Knoxville News Sentinel: Great guns galore: OR contractor shows off new weapon By Frank Munger (Contact) Updated 03:53 p.m., September 27, 2007 OAK RIDGE — With a dozen 50-round bursts of ammo, each one lasting barely a second but trailed by a powerful echo, the government’s Oak Ridge security contractor today showed off the latest in protective firepower. Wackenhut Services invited the news media and other guests to the Oak Ridge Central Training Facility to view a short demonstration of the Dillon Aero Gatlin Gun, which was mounted on an armored vehicle. The gun can fire 3,000 rounds per minute of 7.08-millimeter ammunition and is reportedly capable of taking down aircraft and defending key nuclear facilities from terrorist assaults. Jim Rackstraw, Wackenhut’s director of training and emergency management, said he couldn’t discuss how many of the Gatlin guns are deployed in Oak Ridge, except to say there’s more than one. Each of the guns costs more than $60,000, but the associated equipment and material needed to operate the weapon roughly doubles that cost to about $120,000, Rackstraw said. “It’s got six barrels, and it’s electrically driven,” said Justen Parker, Wackenhut’s manager of special operations. “One of the benefits of having all those barrels on there is that (each barrel) actually fires at a slower rate than most machine guns do.” That allows the gun to sustain operations for longer periods, Parker said. The Gatlin guns and other new weapons have been added to the Oak Ridge arsenal in recent months to better protect the facilities, including the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Y-12 houses the nation’s primary stockpile of bomb-grade uranium. “Every time we look at the Design Basis Threat (the government’s intelligence report on terrorism) and see the adversary that may confront us, we look to see if we have the tools that we need to defeat that adversary,” Rackstraw said. “The addition of the Dillon weapon system to our inventory gives us a capability we didn’t have before. I won’t go into the specific nature of the threat that we intend to use it against.” At today’s event, Wackenhut also showed its new indoor firing range, which will allow security police to train with firearms around the clock — regardless of weather conditions. The $3.1 million facility is reportedly the largest indoor range in the Department of Energy’s national complex. More details as they develop online and in Friday’s News Sentinel. 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 66 KOB.com: DOE fines UC $3 million for LANL breach Posted at: 09/28/2007 04:58:46 PM By: The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The Department of Energy says it will fine the University of California $3 million over a security breakdown at Los Alamos National Laboratory last year. The notice today finalizes a preliminary notice issued to the university in July for five violations of requirements to protect classified information. The university has 30 days to either pay the fine or challenge the notice. A university spokesman, Chris Harrington, says officials have received the notice and are reviewing it. The university denied violating security requirements in a response in August to the preliminary notice. But an arm of the Energy Department says nothing the university submitted justifies reducing the fine. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) ***************************************************************** 67 LocalNews8.com: Judge to review reactor records Idaho Falls, Pocatello - Associated Press - September 28, 2007 3:55 PM ET CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A federal judge in Wyoming has ordered the U.S. Department of Energy to let him review documents concerning the safety of a nuclear reactor in Idaho. Judge William Downes of Casper this week ordered the DOE to provide an expert to help him review safety documents concerning the Advanced Test Reactor in Idaho. The judge will then decide whether the records should be released. The citizen groups Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free and the Environmental Defense Institute sued in federal court in Wyoming seeking information about the reactor. The same groups are also suing in Idaho seeking to block federal plans to extend the life of the reactor. Federal lawyers have argued that the DOE shouldn't have to turn over safety assessments of the reactor. They say such assessments contain everything a terrorist would need to attack the facility. Jackson lawyer Mark Sullivan represents the groups. Sullivan says the judge's decision to review the records for himself and not just take the DOE's word that they shouldn't be released marks a victory for the groups. All content Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KIFI. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 68 LocalNews8.com: Crapo Discusses INL With Local Mayors Idaho Falls, Pocatello - Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo told mayors and regional economic leaders from eastern Idaho today he is aggressively working to strengthen and increase missions at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Crapo told the Idahoans he is working with Senate leadership and appropriators to increase and strengthen the work at the Lab, and he discussed both D.C.-based and Idaho-based strategies to expand the Lab's core missions. As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, Crapo helps draft the spending blueprints that govern the total amount of money available for fiscal year appropriation of federal funding for agencies and their spending programs. "The uncertainty about fossil fuels means nuclear power will continue to be at the forefront of research and a main focus of our national energy policy," Crapo said. "The lead national laboratory conducting that research is the Idaho National Laboratory. We are working cooperatively to ensure Idaho will remain in a national leadership role regarding nuclear research, which will continue to foster employment and expanded missions for the site." The Idaho group, including mayors Jared Fuhriman of Idaho Falls, Mike Virtue of Blackfoot and Shawn Larsen of Rexburg, met with Crapo to discuss future planning for INL, including the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and the Next Generation Nuclear Power (NGNP) Initiatives. Discussions are ongoing about expanding the NGNP initiative to include research on other alternative fuels in addition to nuclear power. "The research and the reputation of the Idaho National Lab is growing, and today was a good opportunity to share my discussions with fellow Senators and the Bush Administration regarding funding for existing and future missions of the lab," Crapo added. "The fact that Idaho is in the leadership role regarding nuclear research and that the Idaho delegation will remain vigilant over budgetary decisions bodes well for future missions. I have spoken directly with Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and a number of senators in leadership, as well as on the Budget, Energy, and Appropriations committees, about strengthening and increasing missions at the Idaho National Lab." Mayor Shawn Larsen said, "We appreciate Senator Crapo's support for eastern Idaho, and especially for the INL. It has a major impact on our economy and we appreciate his leadership in the Senate concerning future missions and funding for the Site." Others at today's meeting in Crapo's D.C. office included: Lane Allgood, Executive Director of the Partnership of Science and Technology; Lee Radford and Tami Sherwood of Grow Idaho Falls; Tim Solomon, Executive Director of the Regional Development Alliance and Brian Underwood, President of the Pocatello City Council. All content Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KIFI. 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