***************************************************************** 11/06/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.261 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 IAEA: Millenium Development Goals: Counting Down to 2015 NUCLEAR REACTORS 2 Renewable energy now! No nuclear! Phase out coal! - Green Left Weekl 3 The Hindu: Nuclear Power Corp signs MoU with BSNL, MTNL 4 US: San Luis Obispo Tribune: A new generation of power 5 US: Penn State Live: Repair work continues at Penn State Breazeale R 6 BBC NEWS: Bills pave way for nuclear power 7 RIA Novosti: Russia to complete NPP in China, build gas centrifuge p 8 US: Baltimore Examiner: Whistle-blower told don't worry - 9 US: Chattanoogan.com: TVA, Other Agencies To Conduct Nuclear Exercis 10 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Vermont Yankee comment 11 US: POGO: Common Sense at the NRC? 12 China Daily: Beijing, Moscow sign nuke energy pacts 13 US: NRC: Duke Power Company, LLC; Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 14 Gateway Online: EDITORIAL: Time to plug in to nuclear power 15 Reuters: British Energy says no restart date for reactors 16 Reuters: Supervisors doubt quick Vattenfall reactor restart | 17 US: SOLANCONEWS.com: NRC Commences Follow-Up Security Inspection at 18 US: Reuters: Exelon sees nuke refueling weighing on 2008 | 19 Baltic Times: Latvia, Russia to conclude nuclear deal 20 UCLA Asia Institute: The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the US-India N NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 21 Reuters: Canadian vets threaten suit over Nevada nuke tests 22 US: Rocky Mountain News: No help, 775 Flats workers learn 23 Canadian Press: Veterans of nuclear weapons tests to sue government 24 DW: Vattenfall Scientists Call for German Nuclear Plants to Restart NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 25 US: Bradenton.com: Workers, attorneys tour Tallevast plant 26 US: Charlotte Observer: Nuclear agency to update waste-storage guide 27 London Free Press: Radioactive waste in landfill sites cause for con 28 RIA Novosti: Latvia approves draft deal with Russia on spent nuclear 29 US: SOLANCONEWS.com: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and 30 US: Reuters: No set deadline for Cigar Lake repairs -Cameco COO | 31 barrow in furness: Sellafield not suitable for long term n-waste 32 US: Morning News: Official Say Arkansas Has Enough Space For Low-Lev PEACE 33 Press Trust Of India: US fears Pak's N-bomb may fall in wrong hands 34 US: Spero News: Expanding the nuclear navy | 35 Reuters: US faces dilemma with Pakistan aid, security | 36 MSNBC: Pakistan's nuclear history worries insiders - US DEPT. OF ENERGY 37 MOTHER JONES: New Mexico's Strange Love 38 DOE: Secretary of Energy in Georgia to Attend Groundbreaking 39 Tri-City Herald: Hanford Advisory Board skeptical about proposed cle 40 Hanford News: GAO criticizes DOE efforts to consolidate plutonium 41 Hanford News: CH2M Hill lab group receives safety star 42 Hanford News: PNNL scientist gets award, 5 years of research funding 43 Hanford News: Board skeptical about proposed cleanup deadlines 44 Knoxville News Sentinel: Bechtel Jacobs getting new chief 45 Oak Ridger: DOE testing siren system Wednesday - 46 KOB.com: Santa Fe seeks lab assurance on water supply safety ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 IAEA: Millenium Development Goals: Counting Down to 2015 UN Web Site Tracking Countries’ Progress on Achieving Goals is Launched Staff report 07 November 2007 The MDG Monitor web site helps track countries’ progress on achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations and strategic partners have launched MDG Monitor, a web site dedicated to tracking down progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), globally and at the country level. The web site was launched 1 November 2007 in New York by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator and representatives from technology giants Google and Cisco. With the 2015 target date fast approaching, the MDG Monitor web site will provide a one-stop resource for finding out where the goals are on track, and where additional efforts and support are needed. It has been compiled by UNDP in close co-operation with various UN agencies, and showcases existing UN data. The figures presented are from the official MDG Indicators database, maintained by the UN Statistics Division, in close collaboration with agencies and organizations within and outside the UN system, including UN DESA's Statistics and Population Divisions, UNDP's Human Development Reports, and the World Bank's World Development Indicators. The complete MDG database can be accessed at http://mdgs.un.org The web site is designed as a tool for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists, students and others to: • Track progress through interactive maps and country-specific profiles ; • Learn about countries' challenges and achievements and get the latest news ; and • Support organizations working on the MDGs around the world. The IAEA is a key player in promoting development goals. Valuable contributions to human development are being made through IAEA-supported technical and scientific projects in various parts of the world. The focus is on health care, child nutrition, energy, food and water, set in the context of the worldŽs wider efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve goals for development and security. An exhibit by the Department of Technical Cooperation at the IAEA's 51st General Conference in September showcased no less than 40 projects that featured the use of nuclear technologies to assist countries in achieving development goals. (Read Brochure) Background In September 2000, the largest-ever gathering of world leaders ushered in the new millennium by adopting the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration, endorsed by 189 countries, was then translated into a roadmap setting out goals to be reached by 2015. In this roadmap countries committed themselves to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want. They acknowledged that progress is based on sustainable economic growth, which must focus on the poor, with human rights at the center. The Declaration calls for halving by the year 2015, the number of people who live on less than one dollar a day. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) build on agreements made at UN conferences in the 1990s and represent commitments by all countries to reduce poverty and hunger, and to tackle ill-health, gender inequality, lack of education, lack of access to clean water and environmental degradation. See Story Resources for more information. Copyright ©, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: ***************************************************************** 2 Renewable energy now! No nuclear! Phase out coal! - Green Left Weekly #730 November 7, 2007 Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 01:14:36 -0600 (CST) Green Left Weekly #730 November 7, 2007 http://www.greenleft.org.au/ RSS feed http://www.greenleft.org.au/rss.php Liberals, Labor give up on global warming The scientists are horrified. But not being media-savvy publicists, they generally leave their shocking findings in scientific journals. The politicians quote cautious statements issued by scientific committees early in the decade, and worry about scaring off corporate funding. The business executives look for the chance of new profits, and hire public relations experts to advise them on cultivating a green image. ****************************************************************************** John Pilger: 'Support GLW!' Green Left Weekly $250,000 Fighting Fund 2007: GLW: A very special project Enjoy reading Green Left Weekly? Want to help support our work? Why not make an online donation http://www.greenleft.org.au/donate.php. **************************************************************************** Bolivia: 'A project for the liberation of the poor BOLIVIA: Here in Bolivia, the majority have realised that the neoliberals have always betrayed us. Now the people cannot be so easily bought off, there is growing consciousness and a shift in the attitude of society. That is why it will be difficult for [the neoliberals] to defeat us now. We will continue governing for at least 50 to 100 years some say forever. This is how Roman Loayza, head of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) group of delegates to Bolivias constituent assembly, described the situation in Bolivia when Green Left Weekly spoke to him on October 17. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Click here to join the GLW discussion list Visit the Socialist Alliance website Resistance Books for all your radical literature ------------------------------------------------------------------------ International News #Tariq Ali on Afghanistan: Six years of a war of terror #Venezuela: Right-wing protests as constitutional reform debate continues #Bolivia: 'A project for the liberation of the poor #Countering climate change: Latin American left leads the way #South Africa: 'Babylon' and the murder of Lucky Dube #Haiti: Fanmi Lavalas leaders abducted #Iran: Bush announces 'new' sanctions #UN condemns US blockade on Cuba again #New Zealand: Behind the terror raids #Britain: Respect suffers split #East Timor: We dont want Australian troops #Iraq: US escalates air attacks five-fold #Palestine: Gaza siege causing humanitarian disaster #Sri Lanka: Tamil rebels attack air base ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ LINKS, Journal of international socialist renewal http://www.dsp.org.au/links/ Links seeks to promote the international exchange of information, experience of struggle, theoretical analysis and views of political strategy and tactics within the international left. It is a forum for open and constructive dialogue between active socialists coming from different political traditions. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Join the Walk Against Warming November 11 #Liberals, Labor give up on global warming #Arctic melt demands action now #Countering climate change: Latin American left leads the way #Nuclear power and water scarcity Comment & Analysis #Letters to the Editor #Unions: Howard's final fear campaign #Students walk out: 'No pulp mill!' #Don't let Gunns build the mill! #Abolish Work Choices to defend union and community rights #On the socialist campaign trail #ABCC: Howard's ideologically driven 'dirt unit' #Behind the election blather #History: Labor and the Accord #Port Phillip Bay: channel deepening risks eco-catastrophe #Socialist Alliance candidate addresses Melbourne MUA Australian News #Canberra's support for Burma junta condemned #DEWR fined for discriminating against union members #Moore for less free speech #NSWTF votes for May Day action #RTN calls for more refuge funding #TAFE teachers incensed at fee increases #Wonthaggi residents protest desalination plant #Abortion reform on agenda in Queensland #Big Day Out Against Racism planned #Tasmanian nurses step up industrial action Cultural Dissent #Maralinga's nuclear nightmare continues #Postcolonial perspective #Violeta Parra - mother of the New Chilean Song Movement Activist Calendar # Check out the Activist Calendar here http://www.greenleft.org.au/calendar/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back issues http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/ Links to other sites http://www.greenleft.org.au/links.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------ About Green Left Weekly http://www.greenleft.org.au/about.php Authorised by K. Miller, 23 Abercrombie St, Chippendale, NSW ***************************************************************** 3 The Hindu: Nuclear Power Corp signs MoU with BSNL, MTNL Tuesday, November 6, 2007 : 1815 Hrs Mumbai (PTI): State-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has signed an initial accord with public sector firms BSNL and MTNL for getting telecom and related services. Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the three companies, NPCIL will get preferred customer status for all the gamut of telecom services provided by MTNL and BSNL. The MoU is valid for five years. The services would include basic, mobile, broadband, internet services, leased lines and Wi-Fi, a release said. Officials of the three companies discussed various issues related to the present services and the growing communication needs of NPCIL, especially for its upcoming projects which are located in remote areas, the release added. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 4 San Luis Obispo Tribune: A new generation of power 11/06/2007 | KEYS TO EXTENDING DIABLO’S LIFE ARRIVE AT THE PLANT The two steam generators will replace the corroding ones and help prolong the nuclear plant’s operation By David Sneed TRIBUNE PHOTO BY JAYSON MELLOM Tugboats push a barge carrying two 350-ton steam generators into place for unloading at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant Monday morning. Eight generators will be installed during refueling shutdowns over the next two years. Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant’s largest project since the facility was built in the mid- 1980s moved forward at dawn Monday as a barge arrived with two 350-ton replacement steam generators. Delivery of the generators marks the beginning of a two-year period of unusually intense activity at the plant. The new generators will replace old ones on both of the plant’s nuclear reactors. The generators, key to the operation of the two reactors, have sustained normal wear and tear since the plant opened. Replacing the steam generators will cost ratepayers for plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric Co. more than $700 million. Eight generators in all will be installed during refueling shutdowns in 2008 and 2009. Between those outages, plant operators will load the first dry casks with highly radioactive used fuel into Diablo’s new dry cask storage units, constructed as part of a separate $118 million project. Since it opened, the plant has stored its radioactive spent fuel in pools on the site. As many as 12 casks holding rods of spent fuel could be loaded in the summer of 2008, said Jearl Strickland, the plant’s dry cask project manager. “We’ll load at least eight,” he said. Loading of the casks is the culmination of a controversial process that began in August 2000. The dry cask facility is the subject of a precedent-setting and ongoing legal case by a local anti-nuclear activist group, the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace. A federal court has ruled in the case that nuclear regulators must consider the environmental effects of a terrorist attack on the facility. Replacement of the steam generators is less controversial. Premature corrosion of steam generators is a problem common to all of the nation’s commercial nuclear reactors. The new, 70-foot-long generators will be stored in two temporary, tent-like structures at the plant until they are ready for installation early next year. The generators are bundles of tubes that transfer heat from the reactors to electrical generators. They were manufactured in Spain and left the port of Santander on Spain’s north coast on Oct. 6, then traveled through the Panama Canal before heading up the West Coast. At Port Hueneme, the naval base near Ventura, the generators were loaded onto barges and hauled by tugboats up the coast to Diablo Canyon. The old steam generators need to be replaced because they were corroding and some of the tubes had to be plugged. Federal regulators allow only about 15 percent of the tubes to be plugged before a generator can no longer be used. Managers estimate the plant would have to be shut down by 2014 if the generators were not replaced. Under its current operating licenses, Diablo Canyon can operate through 2025, but PG&E is expected to seek a 20-year extension. The old generators are slightly radioactive and will be stored in a concrete building now under construction behind the plant. They will have lost most of their radioactivity by the time the plant is decommissioned, plant managers said. Reach David Sneed at 781-7930. ***************************************************************** 5 Penn State Live: Repair work continues at Penn State Breazeale Reactor WPSU FM Radio Tuesday, November 6, 2007 University Park, Pa. – Work continues on repairs to the pool at Penn State's Breazeale Reactor where contractors last week inspected the walls of the south end of the pool and made repairs to the divider wall that separates the two portions of the pool. Work began Monday, Nov. 5, on sealing the walls of the south end of the pool. On October 9, 2007, the reactor staff noticed an unusual loss of slightly radioactive water from the pool not related to evaporation and shut down the reactor to facilitate location of the minor leak. The estimated rate of the leak remains in the mid-teen gallons per hour. Last week, the south pool walls were examined by ground penetrating radar and the south pool floor was examined using "micro-gravity." No anomalies were found in preliminary results, but further results are expected in a few days. Also last week, a contractor sealed the pool divider wall. In preparation for repair of the pool, reactor staff and Environmental Health and Safety personnel reviewed procedures for the repair of both sides of the pool to ensure the safety of the workers. The necessary utilities required for the repair are in place. Water samples have been taken from nearby University test wells and monitoring points. An independent testing laboratory has reported results as being significantly below federal drinking water standards and showing no change in levels normally found. The Breazeale Reactor provides nuclear analytical and testing facilities in support of the research and education activities of faculty, staff, and students at Penn State. The reactor has been shut down, however, the reactor classroom instruction and non-reactor research activities are continuing. Contact Andrea Messer aem1@psu.edu http://live.psu.edu 814-865-9481 Contact Vicki Fong vfong@psu.edu http://live.psu.edu 814-865-9481 The Pennsylvania State University © 2007 Penn State: Making Life ***************************************************************** 6 BBC NEWS: Bills pave way for nuclear power Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 November 2007, 11:58 GMT The private sector will be charged with decommissioning costs. Energy, planning and climate change bills in the Queen's Speech pave the way for new UK nuclear power stations. The plans, part of Gordon Brown's first programme as PM, are said to be aimed at cutting carbon emissions and getting the best energy mix for the UK. It would be for the private sector to initiate, fund, construct and operate new nuclear plants and cover costs of decommissioning and waste management. This would help secure energy supplies, given that the UK is expected to rely on imports to meet up to 80% of demand by 2020. There would be a framework to enable private sector cash to be channelled into carbon capture and storage projects, which have the potential to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel power stations by up to 90%. And the UK's obligation to drive greater and more rapid deployment of renewable forms of energy would be strengthened. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 7 RIA Novosti: Russia to complete NPP in China, build gas centrifuge plant 15:11 | 06/ 11/ 2007 MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will complete the second construction phase of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China and build a gas centrifuge facility under a new medium-term nuclear cooperation deal. Russian nuclear equipment and services exporter Atomstroyexport completed the first phase of the Tianwan power plant in eastern China's port city of Lianyungang in September under a 1992 accord. The new agreement was signed Tuesday by Atomstroyexport and China's state-owned Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation during the 12th meeting of the countries' premiers. Russian nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko and Jhang Cinwei, the head of the Chinese committee for defense, technology and industry, signed a protocol to the 1992 agreement to build a gas centrifuge plant to enrich uranium for Chinese nuclear power plants. Russian state-controlled nuclear fuel and equipment exporter Techsnabexport and China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation signed a framework agreement on technical assistance for the fourth stage of the plant. Russia and China, both nuclear powers, are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 8 Baltimore Examiner: Whistle-blower told don't worry - Examiner.com Filed under: BALTIMORE , Matthew Santoni, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Nov 6, 2007 12:00 AM (22 hrs ago) by Matthew Santoni, The Examiner BALTIMORE (Map, News) -When the whistle-blower at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station reported fellow guards sleeping on the job, his supervisors told him not to worry. “Their response was, ‘You haven’t been here long enough; you’re still new, you’ll understand,’ ” Kerry Beal said in an interview Monday. “I was told I was new to the team, that I needed to learn to be a ‘team player’; that if I expect them to trust me, I need to trust them.” Beal, a former guard for Wackenhut Security, said he first noticed guards sleeping at the plant — about six miles over the Harford County line in Pennsylvania — when he began working there in February. He said he had no regrets and would report the guards again, putting his clear conscience before the loss of his job and threats he said he has received since a federal investigation began. People who read this also read: * Ravens crushed in Steel City * Girl Born With 8 Limbs Undergoes Surgery * Currie: Slots will pass * Dixon won’t ‘rush’ cheating probe * Strikes Halting Production on 7 Shows Beal said he co-workers dismissed his concerns. He couldn’t talk to his family, who would be burdened by fear that they were at risk. “It wasn’t just my life at stake. If something were to happen on a nuclear scale, we’re all affected. I couldn’t do any- thing but do the right thing,” he said. John Jasinski, a church friend and former security supervisor at the plant, wrote a letter in March to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after Beal expressed his concerns. Dissatisfied when the investigation was handed back to Wackenhut and went nowhere, Beal secretly taped about 10 guards nodding off and sleeping in a “ready room” not far from the nuclear reactor. The NRC began its investigation only after WCBS in New York aired the tape. Wackenhut put Beal on leave during the NRC investigation, and he said he began feeling threatened after the word got out. “I received a phone call from someone telling me to watch out for my family,” Beal said. In his quiet neighborhood in Lancaster County, a black SUV started showing up late at night, he said, so he began leaving his dogs out and notified state police. Beal lost his job when plant operator Exelon Nuclear fired Wackenhut. But Exelon rehired other Wackenhut guards as part of an in-house security team. Wackenhut officials could not be reached Monday. Beal’s attorney, David Wachtel, of Washington, says he’s reviewing whether Beal’s job is covered by state and federal laws protecting whistle-blowers. msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com ***************************************************************** 9 Chattanoogan.com: TVA, Other Agencies To Conduct Nuclear Exercise - posted November 6, 2007 TVA and other federal, state and local agencies will conduct a regularly scheduled emergency preparedness exercise for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant on Wednesday. The exercise will involve about 1,000 TVA and state of Tennessee employees and emergency responders in McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Roane counties. Residents of these counties may see radiological monitoring teams or other responders in action as part of the exercise and may hear on-site and off-site sirens sound. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will evaluate responders on the appropriateness of their actions to ensure the health and safety of the public. This emergency exercise is part of a long-term drill and exercise program. Utilities operating nuclear power plants are required by the NRC to conduct emergency exercises annually. Every two years, the Department of Homeland Security evaluates the readiness of state and local agencies to protect public health and safety. A public meeting will be conducted by the Department of Homeland Security to discuss response to the exercise. The public meeting is scheduled at 11 a.m. Friday, at the Best Western Hotel, 1421 Murray’s Chapel Road in Sweetwater. news@chattanoogan.com (423) 266-2325 © 2004 Site designed and copyrighted by HD ***************************************************************** 10 Brattleboro Reformer: Vermont Yankee comment Letter Box Tuesday, November 6 Finding news in the humor Editor of the Reformer: The article in Friday's Reformer, "Web site rankles VY staff," concerning a Web site spoofing the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankees' spokesman Rob Williams, included a quote by Larry Smith, also a Vermont Yankee spokesman. Larry stated "I think people who don't like nuclear power have reached an all-time low that they feel that's what they have to resort to report news", and I'm confused. Is Larry suggesting that those among us who "don't like" (in my opinion an overly simplistic, pejorative position, disregarding both scientific and historical evidence demonstrating negative environmental impacts of nuclear energy, and making it sound more like a popularity contest), nuclear power" have lost integrity? Or that our numbers have depleted? Perhaps literally, he means that we are too short, low to the ground, therefore harboring a Napoleonic complex, resorting to tactics that pathetically, cowardly strike at the knees of giants. A little like the terrible story of the local woman who, when confronting the driver of a truck she felt deserved a scolding for allegedly creating unsafe driving conditions, was run over and killed by said truck driver. He stated that it was an accident, as she was too short for him to see standing in front of his truck. If the "Fake Rob Williams" Web site created anonymously to offer a satirical, humorous viewpoint is offensive to some, oh well. Political satire is quite popular in this country, with statistics showing a majority of our younger people preferring to tune in to Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart instead of CNN in order to hear what in the world is newsworthy. Fake Rob Williams may be correct when he says that humor "can inspire people to take a fresh look at matters that might otherwise seem too hopeless and complicated to take on." Maybe Vermont Yankee is lacking a sense of humor. Maybe they are feeling defensive. Either way, it's time to very publicly, and with much integrity, show the large numbers of the anti-nuke community, whether we are short, or tall. Gosh darnit, I'm tired of the whole nuke thing. The pill distribution issues, the closing nuclear landfills, the emergency evacuation drills. Paul Tibbets, the pilot who dropped the infamous Hiroshima bomb, died this week, as did Randall Forsberg, the MIT-schooled leader of the nuclear freeze movement who organized the largest demonstration against nuclear weapons. Perhaps they are having heated discussions, wherever they are. Maybe they're kicking back and having a beer. I think that's what I'm going to do, too. Right after we organize the second largest demonstration against nuclear energy and weaponry. I'll probably have a whole six-pack. Cindy Coble Brattleboro, Nov. 3 ***************************************************************** 11 POGO: Common Sense at the NRC? The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog: Do Contractors Control The Government? The Debate Rages On | NRC Commissioner Addresses Nuclear Plant Security » Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioner Greg Jaczko gave an important speech to the government employees charged with enforcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions regulations at our nations nuclear power plants. Unfortunately, it took place off in the remote Eastern Shore of Maryland and the speech was on October 30th – so it probably got lost in the media’s Halloween coverage. I’ll be honest, I probably especially liked his speech because he is echoing points POGO’s been making – even as recently as a letter to NRC Chairman Klein last week. Nonetheless, Jaczko’s speech needs to be shouted from the mountain tops . Jaczko pointed out that the recent instances of sleeping security officers across the country "first, demonstrate the importance of broadening [the] safety culture to include security issues." He also announced his intention to change the handling of safety and security allegations in three ways: 1. Do not refer allegations of weakened security to the utility company which runs the plants over the objection of the whistleblower. (It is pathetic that Jaczko even has to say this, but the recent Peach Bottom incident proves that he does.); 2. Refer fewer allegations to the utility companies for investigation in the first place -- currently 40% of allegations that come from whistleblowers to the NRC are turned over to the utilities, which means the industry is investigating itself. (Our experience is that self-policing is a fine way to make sure the problem is at best minimized, and more likely completely ignored, so any effort to reverse this pattern is a good thing ); and 3. Even if the NRC, the utility company, and the whistleblower all agree that the utility should investigate, the NRC should remain actively involved in the investigation. These recommendations all sound so common sense, those who aren't familiar with nuclear regulatory policy might yawn and ask what the big deal is? But nuclear power plant security has been so controlled by industry that these small steps in the right direction, if implemented, will make a big difference. -- Danielle Brian November 6, 2007 in Nuclear Security | Permalink TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/108150/23103566 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Common Sense at the NRC?: ***************************************************************** 12 China Daily: Beijing, Moscow sign nuke energy pacts By Qin Jize (China Daily) Updated: 2007-11-07 07:34 MOSCOW: China and Russia Tuesday signed four agreements on nuclear energy collaboration, looking ahead to a post-hydrocarbon world. A joint communiqu signed by visiting Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Viktor Zubkov said increased cooperation on nuclear energy is a priority in economic ties. According to the deals, the two countries will continue to work on the second phase of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Jiangsu and uranium enrichment factories, and take measures for peaceful use of nuclear energy. The two countries also signed deals in the finance, science and technology, and trade sectors. During the 12th regular meeting between the two prime ministers, they agreed to complete the construction of a Sino-Russian oil pipeline by the end of next year and speed up negotiations on a long-term oil supply deal. The two sides reiterated that the energy cooperation is a key component of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership and said they would push forward collaboration in the oil, gas and electricity sectors. Russian media quoted First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as saying that gas deliveries to China would begin "in the next few years" once agreements on the pricing and delivery routes are finalized. Reviewing the decade-old Sino-Russian strategic partnership, Wen said bilateral ties have reached an unprecedented level. He said the two countries will jointly explore the potential in various fields and improve the trade structure to raise the proportion of machinery and high-tech products. They will expand investment and enhance cooperation in border areas as well as in the fields of space flight, civil aviation, information industry and banking. Describing the talks as frank, substantive and friendly, Zubkov said the bilateral strategic cooperation has been significantly strengthened in recent years through frequent high-level exchanges. Official figures show that two-way trade is expected to top $40 billion by the end of the year. Zubkov said he believes the figure would jump to $80 billion in three years, a goal set by the top leaders of the two countries. During his two-day official visit, Wen also attended the closing ceremony of the "Year of China" in Russia, an event aimed at boosting trade and cultural interaction. Wen and Zubkov also took part in the opening ceremony of a Sino-Russian business forum Tuesday before the premier flew back to Beijing late last night. ***************************************************************** 13 NRC: Duke Power Company, LLC; Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact FR Doc E7-21777 [Federal Register: November 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 214)] [Notices] [Page 62684] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06no07-112] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR- 38, DPR-47, and DPR-55, issued to Duke Power Company, LLC (the licensee), for operation of the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, located in Seneca, South Carolina. Therefore, as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, Section 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 is administrative in nature and would revise the Technical Specifications (TSs) to remove requirements that are no longer applicable due to the completion of the control room intake/ booster fan modifications. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated January 31, 2007. The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action removes requirements from the TSs that are no longer applicable. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that there are no environmental impacts. The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the license amendments that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the license amendments. 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 nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological 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 the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, dated March 1972 and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-1437, Supplement 2) dated December 9, 1999. Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on October 18, 2007, the staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Mr. R. Mike Gandy of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, 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 January 31, 2007. Documents may be examined and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (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 31st day of October 2007. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Leonard N. Olshan, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E7-21777 Filed 11-5-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 14 Gateway Online: EDITORIAL: Time to plug in to nuclear power The Gateway Tuesday, 6 November, 2007 Mike Otto, Photo Editor Tuesday, 6 November 2007 Mention the word “radiation,” and a number of events come to mind. Deformities among Ukrainian children resulting from the Chernobyl accident, fallout from the Castle Bravo test, and the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are all still burned into the public consciousness. It’s interesting, then, that a poll released Friday by Environics Research Group shows that a slim majority of Albertans surveyed are in favour of the construction of a nuclear power plant in Alberta. More tellingly, 25 per cent of respondents are strongly opposed, while only 20 per cent are strongly supportive. It’s clear, then, that public opinion is anything but. This is understandable given the nature of nuclear technology. Misinformation abounds, and for one to comprehend what’s happening inside a nuclear reactor, some degree of applied postsecondary education is necessary. Not many Albertans even know what an alpha particle or gamma ray is, leading to a vast disparity in the understanding between engineering specialists and the lay person. This slim majority—and other popular movements—show that, as a society, we’re ready to start moving away from the dirty technologies of the 20th century and on to something better. The reactor systems designed by Atomic Energy of Canada—the CANDU reactor—have an inherently safe design and a track record to prove it. The Canadian public knows this—60 per cent of the Environics respondents are very concerned about nuclear waste, while only 44 per cent are very concerned about the possibility of an accident. Not only is this disparity indicative of the greater public trust of atomic energy, but more importantly, the valid fear of nuclear waste. A nuclear power plant such as the one proposed for Peace River would have a generation capacity of 2200 MegaWatts, enough to replace Alberta’s largest coal-fired power plant. It wouldn’t burn over a thousand tonnes of coal per hour, nor would it disperse the resulting carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury into the atmosphere. What it would do, however, is produce large quantities of radioactive waste, to be disposed of in a location somewhere in the Canadian Shield. The plan calls for containers of waste to be buried in rock that’s probably going to be stable for the length of time required for the waste to become safe. Probably. Nuclear power is trading one sort of pollution for another. Given that uranium, like oil, coal, and natural gas, is a non-renewable resource, this is a stopgap measure at best. But considering the current risks posed by climate change, this nuclear-plant proposal is a necessity for the province. People have started buying hybrid cars in an attempt to reduce their environmental impact, and it seems now that they’re buying into the notion of nuclear energy too. It’s not a permanent sustainable solution, but at this point, every little bit will help. Let’s just hope that the big fusion breakthrough comes soon. © Gateway Student Journalism Society – All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 15 Reuters: British Energy says no restart date for reactors Tue Nov 6, 2007 6:59pm GMT LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - UK nuclear power generator British Energy Group Plc (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it was still too early to set a timetable for a total of four reactors at Hartlepool and Heysham to resume operation, following their closure last month. British Energy said in a statement initial results from an inspection of its "Heysham 1 Reactor 1 identified a similar issue to that identified at Hartlepool Reactor 1, whereby one wire has failed as a result of corrosion". "Inspections of Heysham 1 Reactor 2 have commenced, and inspections will commence at Hartlepool Reactor 2 shortly," it said. (Reporting by Dan Lalor; Editing by Greg Mahlich) © Reuters2007All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Reuters: Supervisors doubt quick Vattenfall reactor restart | Tue Nov 6, 2007 9:23am EST FRANKFURT, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Vattenfall Europe's (VTTG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) two closed northern German nuclear reactors may be able to restart in the short term, a report prepared by independent experts said on Tuesday, but the local government said they remained plagued by technical problems. The report, which Vattenfall distributed, stopped short of identifying a specific date for the restart, which Vattenfall has said will not be before the end of this year. The government of the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, where the two plants are located, issued its comment after the Vattenfall statement, stressing they were not ready to reopen. The German arm of the Swedish Vattenfall group [VATN.UL] had to shut both Kruemmel, a 1,400 megawatt unit, and Brunsbuettel, with 806 MW, on June 28 after a fire at Kruemmel caused a short circuit at Brunsbuettel as well. "The organisational and technical conditions for a safe further operation of the two nuclear plants...are in place," said the paper, signed by five German and Swiss experts. "Once short-term measures have been implemented, the immediate recommissioning of Brunsbuettel and Kruemmel will be possible." Vattenfall Chief Executive Hans-Juergen Cramer said in a weekend newspaper interview the standstill cost the company nearly 800,000 euros ($1.16 million) a day, but this was about 200,000 euros less than expected. Power traders need to know when they can factor in the supply from the two plants into their calculations again. Vattenfall is at pains to prove its reliability after the incidents forced top managers to step down and inadequate communication of the crisis lost the company 200,000 customers. It has implemented new security procedures and management and plans a reorganisation of its public relations unit. The experts said the firm's efforts made a repeat of the incidents in June avoidable, provided it kept its equipment up to date, shortened the intervals between security checks and communicated more with international nuclear networks. Checks into equipment holding cooling pipes continue at both plants and if swaps are necessary, this might take some time. (Reporting by Vera Eckert and Philipp Jarke; editing by James Jukwey) ((vera.eckert@reuters.com; +49 69 7565 1228; Reuters Messaging: vera.eckert.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ($1=.6916 Euro) Keywords: GERMANY NUCLEAR/VATTENFALL (C) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 17 SOLANCONEWS.com: NRC Commences Follow-Up Security Inspection at Peach Bottom November 6, 2007 KING OF PRUSSIA -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began a follow-up team inspection into security issues at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant earlier today. A four-member Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) is expected to be at the Exelon-operated facility in Delta, York County, throughout the week. A separate AIT review by the NRC occurred in late September. That inspection was launched by the agency promptly after video recordings of inattentive security officers at the plant came to light. Through that inspection, the NRC confirmed there had been multiple occasions on which multiple security officers were inattentive. However, the NRC also determined that the plant’s security program was not significantly degraded as a result. Given that the focus of the AIT was fact-finding, the purpose of the AIT follow-up review being conducted this week is to assess Exelon’s root-cause analysis of the inattentiveness issues and to determine if its corrective actions in response are sufficient to prevent a recurrence. The inspection team includes specialists from the NRC’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, its Region IV Office in Arlington, Texas, and its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. Other NRC reviews of the Peach Bottom security issues are continuing. Consideration of appropriate enforcement action will be undertaken upon completion of all of these reviews. “The follow-up inspection activity at Peach Bottom underscores our commitment to thoroughly evaluate any deficiencies that may exist in the plant’s security program and to ensure the issues are being properly addressed,” Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. “Let me emphasize again that we have zero tolerance for inattentiveness on the part of any nuclear power plant security officer.” On November 1, Peach Bottom transitioned from a security program run by a contractor, Wackenhut, to one operated by Exelon. SolancoNews.com is a division of Online Community News ISSN 1554-5415 © 2003-2007 ***************************************************************** 18 Reuters: Exelon sees nuke refueling weighing on 2008 | Tue Nov 6, 2007 10:47am EST ORLANDO, Fla., Nov 6 (Reuters) - Exelon Corp (EXC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects additional refueling outages at its nuclear plants to cut electricity output and earnings at its generation business next year, Chief Financial Officer John Young said on Tuesday. Output would decline by about 2,600 gigawatt hours in 2008 from 2007, pushing its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization down to $3.9 billion from the expected $4.1 billion this year, he told an industry conference. Exelon's PECO unit is expected to post net income between $360 million and $400 million in 2008, and its ComEd unit is expected to post net income between $220 million and $260 million. (Reporting by Lisa Lee, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) © Reuters2007All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 19 Baltic Times: Latvia, Russia to conclude nuclear deal Nov 06, 2007 In cooperation with BNS RIGA -- The Latvian government has endorsed an agreement to send used nuclear fuel from the decommissioned Salaspils nuclear research facility to Russia. The Environment Ministry proposal was given the green light at a government meeting on Nov. 6, meaning that a full agreement with russia can go ahead next week. At present used nuclear fuel is stored at the Salaspils reactor, which was closed in late nineties and is now maintained by the State Hazardous Waste Management Agency. Several shipments of spent nuclear fuel have already been sent to Russia after previous agreements were put in place. The return of the used nuclear fuel to Russia is provided by several international agreements. Specialists began drawing up the new agreement almost two years ago. The document determines the institutions responsible for resending the nuclear fuel, the management of the nuclear waste after recycling, the provisions of third party liability, and the requirements for storage, protection and transport. The Environment Ministry plans to claim 372,000 lats (529,311 euros) to cover the cost of the operation. The scientific research reactor inherited from the Soviet Union was shut down in 1998. The dismantling of the reactor is planned to be completed by 2010. developed by Julius Nalivaiko ***************************************************************** 20 UCLA Asia Institute: The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the US-India Nuclear Deal Event Calendar -- the comprehensive source for information about Asia-focused events in Southern California A Talk by Siddharth Varadarajan, award-winning journalist Once hailed as the cornerstone of the new strategic partnership between Delhi and Washington, the July 2005 nuclear agreement between the two countries has run into political trouble in India. Why do both governments consider the deal so important? What will be the consequences of it going through or failing? Siddharth Varadarajan, an award-winning journalist with many years experience covering foreign policy and nuclear issues, is the Strategic Affairs editor of The Hindu, India's leading English-language daily. He is currently on sabbatical, teaching at the Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley, and working on a book on Indo-U.S. relations. Date: Monday, November 19, 2007 Time: 11:30 PM - 1:00 PM 10383 Bunche Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095 For more information please contact Jyoti Gulati Tel: 310-206-2654 www.international.ucla.edu/southasia Lists of past Asia-focused SoCal exhibitions, from February 2003 © 1997-2007 UCLA Asia Institute. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 Reuters: Canadian vets threaten suit over Nevada nuke tests Tue Nov 6, 2007 12:30pm EST (Figures in U.S. dollars unless noted) By Randall Palmer OTTAWA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A group of Canadian veterans who endured Cold War-era nuclear explosions in Nevada from just 1,000 yards (meters) away, threatened on Tuesday to sue the Canadian government for compensation. The Canadian military had sent the young soldiers to the Nevada desert in 1957 to join in two months of U.S. tests, where they went through six explosions without any protection, to see what effect that would have on their ability to fight. Their trenches collapsed but they survived the explosions. Helicopters came and picked them up and in one case flew through a mushroom cloud and over ground zero, one of the vets, Jim Huntley, 68, told a news conference. "One day we were sitting there after the bomb went off," he recounted, "and these people with little white suits like space suits came walking around with Geiger counters, and we were ticking like clocks." Of the 40 soldiers from the Queen's Own Rifles regiment that were sent, 18 have died of cancer and five survivors have or have had cancer. Eight of the soldiers' children reportedly had birth defects. Others complain of other ailments. The trouble is trying to prove that it was from exposure to the nuclear radiation. The Canadian troops joined tens of thousands of Americans on the ground in Nevada, to be able to have access to the training and research from the explosions. The United States has offered $75,000 to American soldiers who were exposed to the bombs, Huntley said, but his Atomic Veterans Association is seeking C$150,000 ($163,000) from Canada, at least for the widows. Four hundred other Canadians were involved in various ways but some of them were observing from much further away and were not in as much danger, Huntley said. He said the government had promised to present a package deal in September and then October, but still nothing has arrived, and Huntley said the government had lied to the vets. "We recognize this as a serious issue," Jay Paxton, a spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay said. "Our government is working towards a fair and speedy resolution." Paxton would not say when a package would now be put together, but Huntley said that if were not soon his group would launch a class-action suit. ($1=$0.92 Canadian) (Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Rob Wilson) © Reuters2007All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 22 Rocky Mountain News: No help, 775 Flats workers learn Radiation cancers from Building 881 uncompensated Judy DeHaas The Rocky © Marlene Shannon's husband, Mike Shannon, died more than four years ago from cancer. For years he worked in Rocky Flats Building 881 where, according to records, workers were exposed to neutron radiation. But the 775 workers from the building were omitted from the list of those who will get help with their illnesses. By Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain News November 6, 2007 Workers from one of the largest and oldest production buildings at Rocky Flats have been left off the final list of workers who'll get immediate aid for radiation-related cancers. But data reviewed by the Rocky Mountain News indicate the presence in Building 881 of the very type of radiation that was supposed to earn a spot on the list. In all, 775 people were monitored for neutron radiation, one of the most dangerous kinds. "Maybe they left the building off the list because there were 775 workers involved and they didn't want to pay for that many people," said Marlene Shannon, the widow of a Rocky Flats worker. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees the compensation program, said the U.S. Department Health and Human Services was responsible for determining who could receive immediate benefits without having to document a link between a sickness and workplace exposure. Health officials earlier said the Labor Department would determine which buildings were included on the list that would make people who worked in them eligible for immediate aid. Being left off the list means people like Shannon will face a years-long struggle to prove which illnesses are linked to workplace exposures. Had Building 881 been included, Shannon would be granted compensation immediately because the kind of kidney cancer that killed her husband has known links to radiation. "It's really hard to deal with the government on this," Shannon said. "It's horrible." Building 881 might not be the only facility where crucial information has been overlooked or ignored. In a draft report sent to members of a White House advisory board in June, independent scientists said: "There are some areas and buildings where there was a potential for neutron exposure where there do not appear to be any dose measurements," a crucial piece of evidence in weighing compensation applications. "There may also be other such areas at Rocky Flats." The independent scientists said they had not attempted to determine such additional areas, but hoped that federal scientists would. The beleaguered aid program, called the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, was the subject of a Congressional hearing last month because so many claimants have faced delay and denial. This summer, workers from Building 881 pleaded with a White House advisory board to recommend those with radiation-induced cancers for immediate compensation. Despite worker testimony, scientific data, and repeated inquiries from worker advocates, the Labor Department did not include Building 881 on the list of nine Rocky Flats buildings where workers would qualify for streamlined aid. To make the list, workers had to be present between 1952 and 1966, and have been monitored or "should have been monitored" for neutron radiation. Data reviewed by the Rocky show nearly 2,700 neutron radiation monitoring records for 775 people during that time at Building 881. Neutron radiation can come from plutonium or certain kinds of uranium, both of which were present in Building 881, an enormous concrete structure built three stories underground before it was demolished with the rest of the Rocky Flats complex. The site officially became a federal wildlife refuge in July. In addition to the evidence of the neutron monitoring data, reports show levels of plutonium in the building's exhaust system high enough for it to be shipped to a plutonium production facility in Georgia. The Rocky reported in June that some of the federal officials who disputed the presence of plutonium in the building were the same officials who paid for a 10-year study that documented the contamination. When the compensation program started in 2001, Marlene Shannon's husband, Mike, proved to be a godsend to the widows of his fellow workers. He filled out forms and answered questions as the bewildered women tried to figure out how to meet the requirements for compensation. After her husband died, Marlene Shannon filled out the paperwork, talked to program officials, responded to letters and waited. After waiting several years, she finally received a letter saying her claim was denied. "I was going to refile," Shannon said. "But when I called my (claims examiner), she said 'Why are you calling me? There's nothing I can do to help you.' So I just gave up." frankl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5091 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 23 Canadian Press: Veterans of nuclear weapons tests to sue government Jack Aubry , CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 OTTAWA - A group of veterans exposed to radiation during atomic weapons tests in Nevada in 1957 will launch a class-action lawsuit against the federal government after receiving word that they will be offered a "pathetic" $24,000 each in compensation. Jim Huntley, who is one of the surviving soldiers from the tests, told a press conference on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning that the group is being ignored by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, with their phone calls no longer even being returned by officials in his office. He said the widows of veterans who have died from radiation exposure should be compensated $150,000 each. "We were sent there without knowing," said Huntley. "We can be training aids or guinea pigs but that's what we were. They were also trying to figure out how the soldier would react when that bomb went off. Whether he'd go forward and fight or quit and go the other way." "Now, I can't get a call from anybody for two or three weeks. I don't trust them, I don't like them, they've lied to us and it just keeps going and going. And I am tired of it, and frustrated, and I think lawyers will do a better job than I have done." He said the atomic veterans were told the government would announce the package last month but that promise appears to have been scrapped after Gordon O'Connor was shuffled out of the defence portfolio and replaced by MacKay. Huntley said the veterans, many of whom have had to deal with cancer and other ailments since the tests, have been fighting for more than 20 years to get the government to acknowledge that they were exposed to radiation during atomic blasts. He noted that the U.S. government decided in the 1980s to recognize the plight of its veterans who took part in the tests, granting $75,000-payments to veterans who have come down with any of more than a dozen types of conditions, mainly cancers. "There are widows who have lost their husbands from these tests and it's not right that they not only have received no compensation, but they haven't even been recognized," said Huntley, 68, of Balzac, Alta. A spokesman for the Canadian Atomic Veterans Association, he said he would be contacting the group's lawyers as soon as he returned to Calgary. A January 2007 report, produced for O'Connor, found that the levels of protection the men used were questionable during the tests and some personnel were "exposed to radioactive contamination on the testing grounds where they had to live, sometimes for months at a time." But Huntley said the government continues to ask the veterans to prove that their illnesses are related to the atomic weapons tests they were exposed to 50 years ago. (Canada's atomic veterans are the subject of a new documentary, Time Bombs, which airs on the Global Television on Nov. 10 at 10 p.m. local time.) Ottawa Citizen © CanWest News Service 2007 ***************************************************************** 24 DW: Vattenfall Scientists Call for German Nuclear Plants to Restart | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 06.11.2007 The KrĂŒmmel nuclear power plant has been offline since June 28 Scientists appointed by Swedish-owned Vattenfall Europe recommended that two of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants be put back online following a summer fire accident. Public concern after a June 28 fire at operator Vattenfall Europe's nuclear power station in KrĂŒmmel and months of repair work at the BrunsbĂŒttel station -- both near Hamburg -- have kept them off the grid. The company appointed what it called an "independent" panel to advise it on safety matters following the June incident. In a press release published on Tuesday, Nov. 6 on Vattenfall's Web site, the scientists said that organizational and technical conditions at the two plants are such that safe running of the plants could resume. However, the panel also recommended a series of improved safety measures. Vattenfall Europe, one of the four big power generation companies operating in Germany, said it would apply recommendations from the scientists to improve internal and public communications about safety. No apparent release of radiation Bildunterschrift: Reinhardt Hassa of Vattenfall Germany The panel of five scientists said no radiation had been released and that safety mechanisms were functioning correctly when a short-circuit hit BrunsbĂŒttel and the transformer at KrĂŒmmel caught fire, according to DPA news agency. However, the panel also said that there were technical and communication problems among staff involving the emergency shutdown of the KrĂŒmmel station. The scientists recommended that staff be better trained. The power transformer destroyed in the fire at the KrĂŒmmel station has meanwhile been replaced as well as faulty fastenings and cracked taps in the part of the station gutted by the fire. Neither the KrĂŒmmel reactor during the fire, nor the BrunsbĂŒttel reactor were damaged. Reinhardt Hassa, a member of Vattenfall Europe's German board, said the two plants would likely not resume operations until early next year. Germany has legislated the gradual phase-out of all its nuclear power stations by 2022. Currently, electricity generated from nuclear power satisfies about a quarter of the country's needs. * Report: German Energy Firms Colluded to Manipulate Markets The EU antitrust office has evidence that four German energy giants colluded in secret meetings to agree on strategy, markets and supplies, according to German newsmagazine "Der Spiegel." (05.11.2007) * More German Consumers Switching to Green Power Climate change is a matter of great concern for many people around the world, and Germans are not exception. They are increasingly trying to cut down on their carbon footprints by switching to green power. (10.08.2007) * German Nuclear Plant Operator Admits "Misunderstandings" The Swedish operator of a German nuclear plant hit by a fire two weeks ago admitted to a "misunderstanding" between senior staff on duty at the time Saturday. Police investigating the fire searched the facility Friday. (14.07.2007) WWW-Links © 2007 Deutsche Welle ***************************************************************** 25 Bradenton.com: Workers, attorneys tour Tallevast plant 11/06/2007 | PAUL VIDELA Former workers from the Loral American Beryllium Co. and Tallevast residents, accompanied by lawyers representing them in lawsuits against Lockheed Martin, meet in Tallevast Monday morning before visiting the site of the former Loral American Beryllium Co. PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com By DONNA WRIGHT dwright@bradenton.com TALLEVAST -- More than 30 residents and former workers toured the old Loral American Beryllium Co. with their attorneys Monday, looking for evidence of past contamination stemming from the plant's operations. They were accompanied by a video team that recorded the group's recollections of conditions at the plant prior to the discovery of a leak in 2000 that has spread pollutants over more than 200 acres of soil and groundwater surrounding Tallevast. As the former owner when the leak was found, Lockheed is responsible for cleaning up the contamination. "The idea is to record these buildings and their history before they are destroyed," said Garrett Smith, a member of the legal team representing more than 300 Tallevast residents in a property damage suit against Lockheed. Paul Calligan, Tallevast project manager for Lockheed Martin Corp., guided the group through the 5-acre site at the attorneys' request. "Today's site visit by the plaintiffs' attorneys and some of their clients was conducted strictly for the ongoing litigation." said Lockheed spokeswoman, Gail Rymer. "We are planning to take down two buildings on the site next year as part of our cleanup activities. Today's tour provided an opportunity for the attorneys to see the site prior to the demolition work beginning." Samples were taken by the attorneys' technical experts during the visit, said Rymer. Rubin Honik of the Philadelphia law firm of Golomb & Honik represents residents, former workers and their family members in a class action lawsuit that seeks funding for a medical monitoring program. The suit claims the community as well as workers were exposed to unlawful, dangerous and harmful levels of beryllium during the four decades the plant was in operation. Beryllium is a lightweight metal that was machined at the plant to make parts for nuclear weapon parts and missile guidance systems. Exposure to beryllium dust can, in some people, cause chronic respiratory disease that can lead to death if not treated. "We didn't expect to see much, but it is important to view the buildings where these operations took place," said Honik. "The tour helped us visualize the plant's operations. We were trying to identify potential routes of exposure." The roof was of particular concern, said Honik. Residents and workers have said that at times the beryllium dust blowing off the roof was so dense it looked like snow. Charlie Ziegler, former janitor at the plant, was responsible for gathering the bags off of a vacuum system that collected the dust. Today, Ziegler, who has been diagnosed with beryllium disease, struggles to breathe. His wife, Beatrice and his brother-in-law, Leroy Mazon, who lived with the Zieglers when Charlie worked at the plant, also have beryllium disease. "Walking into the plant brought back memories," he said. "The beryllium dust was so light, it would just fly all over the plant. I know that for a fact. ***************************************************************** 26 Charlotte Observer: Nuclear agency to update waste-storage guidelines 11/06/2007 | TIGHTER SECURITY REQUIREMENTS AHEAD S.C. landfill closure forcing revision of rules last modified in 1990 SEANNA ADCOX Associated Press COLUMBIA -- The federal agency that oversees low-level radioactive waste has said it will update its long-term storage guidelines and require tighter security because more power plants, hospitals and universities will store the hazardous material on their own property beginning next year. "The agency's existing guidance on LLW (low-level waste) storage is in some cases obsolete and may also have gaps in areas related to security," according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released Friday. The update is needed because an S.C. nuclear-waste landfill plans to close its doors to most of the country July 1. The commission said it will also issue guidelines for monitoring stored waste, preparing it for eventual disposal and sealing it from extreme temperatures, rain and humidity. The guidelines were last updated in 1990. Security requirements Some officials fear storing the waste in potentially hundreds of locations across the country could allow radiation to escape -- or that small, highly concentrated sealed sources, such as gauges, could be stolen to make "dirty bombs" that scatter radioactive debris.The update will include security requirements to guard against terrorism, said Jim Kennedy, senior project manager of the commission's low-level waste branch. The report comes less than a year before a landfill in Barnwell County, S.C., closes to all but three states, meaning many power plants, hospitals and other companies will be forced to store the more radioactive low-level waste onsite. As of July 1, nuclear waste generators in 36 states will have nowhere to dispose of that waste -- roughly an average of 20,000 cubic feet yearly, enough to fill six tractor-trailers. Only two other landfills exist nationwide for low-level nuclear waste. One, in Utah, takes only the least hazardous trash, such as slightly contaminated clothing that decays to nonhazardous levels within 100 years. It accepts waste from all states. The other landfill, in Washington state, receives such material, along with "hotter" waste that decays to non-hazardous levels within 500 years. But it accepts shipments from only 11 states, including Utah and Nevada. A private company hopes to open a landfill in Texas within a few years for all classes of low-level waste, but it would accept waste only from Texas and Vermont. Power industry's plans Though nuclear power plants account for less than 5 percent of the 22,000 companies licensed to handle radioactive materials, they generate most of the hotter low-level waste. That includes contaminated tools and water purifying filters. The commission expects to review and sign off on that industry's storage plans by next fall. Also by the end of 2008, the agency expects to clarify when it will allow very-low-level nuclear waste to be taken to federal or municipal landfills where other hazardous waste, such as mercury, is dumped. The agency allows that only a handful of times yearly on a case-by-case basis, Kennedy said. ***************************************************************** 27 London Free Press: Radioactive waste in landfill sites cause for concern Tue, November 6, 2007 By CP TORONTO -- Frequent alerts indicating that radioactive waste is turning up in Ontario landfills should spur the provincial government to more closely examine how such material is disposed of, the environmental commissioner and critics said yesterday. An annual report by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says alerts about radioactive waste went off 119 times across the country in the last fiscal year, up from 13 in 2005-06, and the majority of those alarms came from southern Ontario landfills. Although the report says more than 75 per cent of all the alarms were triggered by small quantities of short-lived radioactive substances of medical origin "which pose little or no risk," it does not elaborate on the threat posed by the other alarms. Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller said the ambiguity of the report highlights the fact little is known about the state -- and contents -- of Ontario's landfills. "We haven't had a comprehensive report on landfills in Ontario -- in terms of their size and what waste is going in and environmental problems -- since 1991," Miller said. "We don't have close enough control with what's happening in our landfill sites." Environment Ministry spokesperson John Steeles said the increase in alarms is simply a reflection of increased monitoring and doesn't signify a growing problem. Depending on the sensitivity of the alarms, they could be triggered by innocuous items with trace amounts of radioactive material such as smoke detectors and certain medical equipment, Steeles said. CANOE home | We welcome your feedback. Copyright © 2006, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved. Proprietor and Publisher - The London Free Press, P.O. Box 2280, 369 York Street, London Ontario Canada N6A 4G1 ***************************************************************** 28 RIA Novosti: Latvia approves draft deal with Russia on spent nuclear fuel 21:28 | 06/ 11/ 2007 RIGA, November 6 (RIA Novosti) - Latvia's government approved a draft deal with Russia on Tuesday on the removal and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, the Baltic country's environmental authorities announced. Environment Ministry officials said that under the deal, expected to be signed next week, spent fuel from the Salaspils nuclear reactor in central Latvia would be reprocessed in Russia, and that 370,000 lats (about $700,000) would be earmarked from Latvia's budget for the purpose. The Salaspils research reactor halted operations in 2004 and is to be dismantled by 2010. The Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Agency, Rosatom, said the reactor's fuel was produced by Russia. RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 29 SOLANCONEWS.com: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials to Meet in Rockville Solanco Area Online News November 6, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials (ACNWM) will meet November 13-15 in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss, among other items, a briefing to the Commission about the committee’s recent and planned activities, and the issue of post-emplacement drift degradation for the proposed high-level radioactive waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In addition, the committee will be briefed by Department of Energy officials on the final design (surface and subsurface facilities) proposed for the forthcoming Yucca Mountain geologic repository license application. The ACNWM reports to and advises the Commission on all aspects of nuclear waste and materials management. The meeting is open to the public; however, portions may be closed to protect information that is pre-decisional and are identified in the agenda. The meeting will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agency's Two White Flint North building, at 11545 Rockville Pike. Tuesday’s session will run from 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday’s session will run from 1 p.m. 3:30 p.m. and Thursday’s session will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone requiring the use of video teleconferencing to observe the meeting should contact Theron Brown at (301) 415-8066 to ensure availability. A complete agenda is available on the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/agenda/2007/coll ections/acnw/agenda/2007. Individuals interested in making a statement or those seeking more information should contact Antonio Dias at (301) 415-6805. SolancoNews.com is a division of Online Community News ISSN 1554-5415 © 2003-2007 ***************************************************************** 30 Reuters: No set deadline for Cigar Lake repairs -Cameco COO | Tue Nov 6, 2007 2:18pm EST By Cameron French TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Cameco Corp (CCO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) doesn't have a "fixed" deadline for the overhaul of its flooded Cigar Lake mine, the uranium miner's chief operating officer said in documents made available on Tuesday. At a hearing last week before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), which is considering extending Cameco's construction license to rehabilitate the mine, COO Tim Gitzel said Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, would not take shortcuts in the overhaul process. The mine, which should eventually produce 18 million pounds of uranium annually -- more than 10 percent of world output -- was to have started production in 2007. However, the company said last week it now expects output by 2011 at the earliest. Gitzel also said the company's forecast of production at the mine by 2011 was subject to several conditions. "So we're not fixed to any time," he said, according to the transcript of the Nov. 1 hearing. Gitzel was responding to a question about whether it was prudent to set production timelines, given the safety concerns about the mine, which flooded in 2006. "Shareholders... are looking for guidance and we say this date at the earliest, but it's subject to the many caveats and conditions we've put in the quarterly report," he said. Those conditions include timely completion of remediation activities and a second shaft, plus timely regulatory approvals. The timeline also depends on the condition of the underground operations once the water is pumped out. The delay, which comes as several countries are planning to build new nuclear reactors, has been cited as contributing to the rise of uranium prices to all-time highs this year. Cameco is in the process of pouring a concrete plug and sealing off the inflow area, and is hoping to get approval to begin pumping water out of the mine next year. CNSC staff, which operate independently of the CNSC tribunal hearing the case, have recommended approving a two-year extension that would include extensive oversight of the remediation process. The mine is located about 660 km (410 miles) north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and is 50 percent owned by Cameco and 37 percent owned by uranium producer Areva Resources, a unit of Areva(CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research). The CNSC is expected to deliver its decision within a month. ($1=$0.92 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; Editing by Bernadette Baum) ***************************************************************** 31 barrow in furness: Sellafield not suitable for long term n-waste Published on 06/11/2007 A TOP geophysics professor has warned against using West Cumbria for long term storage of nuclear waste. David Smythe of Glasgow University told the government it would be wrong and possibly illegal to choose Sellafield – understood to be the favoured site. Professor Smythe said: “There is clear evidence, after the expenditure of some ÂŁ400m, mostly directed to the Sellafield area, that West Cumbria possesses no suitable rocks in which to site such a repository. “To choose Sellafield yet again, by way of community voluntarism, and despite the lessons that have been learned, would be wrong and possibly illegal in international law,” He described the latest consultation exercise as “flawed” because it places the voluntarism of potential host communities ahead of scientific considerations. But Copeland borough councillor and chairman of the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group David Moore disagrees. He said: “I don’t believe there was enough work ever done to totally rule out the rock in this area.” West Cumbria could benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds if they gave their blessing to more nuclear waste being stored in the area. Cllr Moore also disagreed with the professor’s view that communities should only be consulted after the suitability of an area has been determined. He said there is no point spending money on geological research only to find local residents are opposed to the plans. Cllr Moore said: “Voluntarism is the way to go. The correct way is to find out which communities are really interested and then carry out the scientific research. The science would have to be right but voluntarism is the right starting point.” Nuclear Decommissioning Authority spokesman John Dalton said he expected the government to issue a white paper in the first half of 2008 and then invite potential host communities to give their views. Mr Dalton said: “We are talking about a process that is going to go on for probably a couple of decades. “This is very much the first step and talking about geology at this point in time is premature.” View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.nwemail.co.uk/digitalcopy ***************************************************************** 32 Morning News: Official Say Arkansas Has Enough Space For Low-Level Radioactive Waste Tuesday, November 6, 2007 6:18 PM CST BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas has enough space to handle its low-level radioactive waste that now goes to a storage site in South Carolina to close next summer, officials say. Beginning July 1, a landfill in Barnwell County, S.C., will be closed to most of the 39 states, including Arkansas, that now dump their low-level radioactive waste there. The site will then take waste only from South Carolina, Connecticut and New Jersey. In Arkansas, low-level nuclear waste is generated mostly from Entergy's Arkansas Nuclear One near Russellville, the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson County, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Those sites have assured the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission, formed in 1983 in response to federal law regulating the waste, that they have plenty of storage for the foreseeable future, said Laura Gilson of North Little Rock, who serves as Arkansas' representative on the commission. Rita Houskie, compact administrator, also said there is no urgent need to find alternate sites to the South Carolina landfill. Most of the radioactive waste in Arkansas is Class A waste -- the least radioactive such as paper products, gloves and clothing worn in radiation areas. Phil Fisher, a spokesman for Arkansas Nuclear One, said 92 percent of Entergy's waste is Class A and it is sent to a permanent storage site in Clive, Utah. Fisher said Entergy's Class B and C waste, primarily a solid resin used to filter radioactive contaminants from water used in plant operations, is currently shipped to South Carolina. He said when that landfill is no longer an option, Entergy will store the Class B and C low-level radioactive waste on site. Entergy has space to store the material for about 50 years, he said. "Right now we're not under any pressure," Fisher said. High-level radioactive waste, which is spent fuel from the nuclear reactor, also is stored at Arkansas Nuclear One, Fisher said. Bernie Bevill, chief of the radiation control section at the Arkansas Department of Health and an alternate on the commission, said radioactive waste produced at nuclear medicine departments in hospitals don't need to be stored off-site. That waste must be stored for 10 half-lives, and the half-life of the material, Technitium 99M, is only eight hours, Bevill said. After it has been stored for 80 hours, the material is no longer dangerous and can be disposed of, he said. Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Nebraska were the original members of the compact. Nebraska has since dropped out. Web Watch Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Compact Commission http://www.cillrwcc.org All content © The Morning News. Unauthorized distribution prohibited. ***************************************************************** 33 Press Trust Of India: US fears Pak's N-bomb may fall in wrong hands Published on Monday , November 05, 2007 at 11:10 in World » New York: Nuclear-armed Pakistan is teetering on the verge of chaos after the imposition of Emergency and US officials fear that the result could be every American's nightmare — nuclear material or know-how, or even a nuclear bomb, falling into the hands of terrorists. "If you were to look around the world for where al-Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard," the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council, Bruce Riedel, was quoted as saying by Newsweek. General Pervez Musharraf, who led a military coup in 1999, imposed a state of Emergency in Pakistan on Saturday in response to what he said was a hostile judiciary and the growing menace of al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants. US Senator Joseph Biden has said General Musharraf's decision to declare a state of Emergency and suspend the Constitution underscores the need for the United States to move from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy. "President George W Bush should make it clear to General Musharraf the risks to US-Pakistani relations if he does not restore the Constitution, permit free and fair elections and take off his uniform as promised. Then, we have to build a new relationship with the Pakistani people," he said. US postpones defence talks with Pak due to crisis Beijing: The United States has postponed defence cooperation talks with Pakistan, scheduled for this week, due to President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of Emergency, the Pentagon said on Monday. The Annual Defence Consultation Group talks between US and Pakistani officials had been due to take place in Islamabad on November 6 and 7, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters travelling with Gates. — Reuters News Service The dilemma facing the "democracy crusader" President Bush, Newsweek says, is that Washington is left not many friends to call in Pakistan — "perhaps the number one generator of terrorism in the world" — after propping up President Pervez Musharraf for six years. "There is perhaps no place on earth that more powerfully validates Bush's idea that democracy can be a cure for terrorism than Pakistan. And there is perhaps no place on earth that so powerfully exposes his occasional hypocrisy in failing to push for that policy," the magazine says. AMERICAN NIGHTMARE: US says it’s disappointed by Musharraf's action and will review aid to Pakistan. Slideshow Sunday, November 4, 2007 Copyright © IBNLive.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction of news ***************************************************************** 34 Spero News: Expanding the nuclear navy | Nuclear propulsion is safe and is not an indication of nuclear weapons Tuesday, November 06, 2007 By Jack Spencer and Baker Spring Congress is debating whether future naval ships should include nuclear propulsion. The House version of the Defense Authorization Act of 2008 calls for all future major combatant vessels to be powered by an integrated nuclear power and propulsion system; the Senate version does not. While Congress must be careful in dictating how America's armed forces are resourced, it also has a constitutional mandate "to provide and maintain a Navy." Although nuclear-powered ships have higher upfront costs, their many advantages make a larger nuclear navy critical for protecting national security interests in the 21st century. Nuclear Propulsion's Unique Benefits As the defense authorization bill is debated, Members of the House and Senate should consider the following features of nuclear propulsion: Unparalleled Flexibility. A nuclear surface ship brings optimum capability to bear. A recent study by the Navy found the nuclear option to be superior to conventional fuels in terms of surge ability, moving from one theater to another, and staying on station. Admiral Kirkland Donald, director of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, said in recent congressional testimony, "Without the encumbrances of fuel supply logistics, our nuclear-powered warships can get to areas of interest quicker, ready to enter the fight, and stay on station longer then their fossil-fueled counterparts." High-Power Density. The high density of nuclear power, i.e., the amount of volume required to store a given amount of energy, frees storage capacity for high value/high impact assets such as jet fuel, small craft, remote-operated and autonomous vehicles, and weapons. When compared to its conventional counterpart, a nuclear aircraft carrier can carry twice the amount of aircraft fuel, 30 percent more weapons, and 300,000 cubic feet of additional space (which would be taken up by air intakes and exhaust trunks in gas turbine-powered carriers). This means that ships can get to station faster and deliver more impact, which will be critical to future missions. This energy supply is also necessary for new, power-intensive weapons systems like rail-guns and directed-energy weapons as well as for the powerful radar that the Navy envisions. Real-Time Response. Only a nuclear ship can change its mission and respond to a crisis in real-time. On September 11, 2001, the USS Enterprise--then on its way home from deployment--responded to news of the terrorist attacks by rerouting and entering the Afghan theater. Energy Independence. The armed forces have acknowledged the vulnerability that comes from being too dependent on foreign oil. Delores Etter,Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, said in recent congressional testimony, "[We] take seriously the strategic implications of increased fossil fuel independence." The Navy's use of nuclear propulsion for submarines and aircraft carriers already saves 11 million barrels of oil annually. Using nuclear propulsion for all future major surface combatants will make the Navy more energy independent. Survivability. U.S. forces are becoming more vulnerable as other nations become more technologically and tactically sophisticated. Expanding America's nuclear navy is critical to staying a step ahead of the enemy. A nuclear ship has no exhaust stack, decreasing its visibility to enemy detection; it requires no fuel supply line, assuring its ability to maneuver over long distances; and it produces large amounts of electricity, allowing it to power massive radars and new hi-tech weaponry. Force Enhancement. Though effective, modern aircraft carriers still depend on less capable fossil-fueled counterparts in the battle group. Increasing the number of nuclear surface ships would increase the capability of U.S. naval forces to operate both independently and as part of a battle-group. Superiority on the Seas. Policymakers have taken for granted the United States' superiority on the seas for many years. This has led to a decline in America's overall naval force structure and opened the door for foreign navies to potentially control critical blue-water regions. Expanding the nuclear navy will allow the United States to maintain its maritime superiority well into the 21st century. Environmentally Clean Source of Energy. Congress is considering placing CO2 restrictions on all federal government activities, including the Pentagon's. This mandate would be highly detrimental to the armed forces. More people are starting to realize the often-overlooked environmental benefits of a nuclear navy. Expanding nuclear power would help to achieve many of the objectives of a CO2 mandate in addition to increasing America's military capability. Unlike a conventionally powered ship, which emits carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere, a nuclear ship is largely emissions-free. America's Nuclear Shipbuilding Industrial Base Some have erroneously argued that America's industrial base is inadequate to support a nuclear cruiser. Additional nuclear shipbuilding can not only be absorbed by the current industrial base but also will allow it to work more efficiently. That said, Congress could consider the option of expanding the infrastructure at a later date by licensing additional nuclear production facilities and shipyards should further expansion be necessary. America's shipyards are not operating at full capacity. Depending on the vendor, product, and service, the industrial base is currently operating at an average capacity of approximately 65 percent. Additionally, Navy leaders have testified that without further investments, their training infrastructure is adequate to handle the influx of additional personnel necessary to support an expansion of nuclear power. Construction of additional ships would not be limited to the nuclear shipbuilding yards. Modules could be produced throughout the country and assembled at nuclear-certified yards. Another alternative might be to build the ship in a non-nuclear yard and then transport it to a nuclear yard where the reactor can be installed. The work would be spread throughout the aircraft carrier and submarine industrial bases. Today, the aircraft carrier industrial base consists of more than 2,000 companies in 47 states. Likewise, the submarine industrial base consists of more than 4,000 companies in 47 states. Economic Viability The Navy recently did a cost analysis of nuclear ships versus conventionally powered ships. Delores Etter on March 1 said: [M]edium surface combatants [like cruisers], with their anticipated high-combat system energy demands, th[e] break-even point is between $70 and $225 per barrel [of oil]. This indicates that nuclear power should be considered for near-term applications for those ships. At the time of that statement, the price of a barrel of crude oil was about $65; oil is currently trading at nearly $100 per barrel. The Navy pegged the cost premium for a nuclear cruiser at between zero to 10 percent with the oil price at $74.15. That premium would obviously be much lower with today's prices. Given that every $10 hike in the price of oil costs the Department of Defense $1.3 billion, policymakers must consider nuclear propulsion for future ships. Furthermore, the Navy's cost comparisons do not even consider the savings that would result from additional volume going through under-utilized shipbuilding infrastructure. Economies of Scale Savings Increasing construction of nuclear ships and submarines yields significant cost reductions. For example, increased workloads could save the Navy 5 percent to 9 percent on propulsion plant component costs. Building two Virginia-class submarines annually would result in approximately $200 million in savings per submarine. Adding a nuclear cruiser every two years to the workload would reduce the price of other nuclear ship power plants by about 7 percent. This equates to savings of approximately $115 million for each aircraft carrier and $35 million for each submarine. Furthermore, the cost of a nuclear ship includes its life-cycle costs. While nuclear ships can cost more up front, policymakers should consider lifetime costs, which include operations and maintenance, fuel, and decommissioning. Cost-comparison studies have not considered many of the costs unique to fossil-fueled ships, such as the cost of protecting fuel supply lines, which the Navy will protect as primary combat ships or the environmental costs of emissions. Correcting Misperceptions About Nuclear Propulsion Despite multiple official studies and numerous hours of congressional testimony, specific misunderstandings continue to persist about nuclear propulsion. The following facts address these misperceptions: * Nuclear propulsion is not an indication of nuclear weapons. According to Ron O'Rourke, an analyst for the Congressional Research Service, "A military ship's use of nuclear power is not an indication of whether it carries nuclear weapons--a nuclear-powered military ship can lack nuclear weapons, and a conventionally powered military ship can be armed with nuclear weapons." * A shipyard does not have to be nuclear-certified to contribute to nuclear ship construction. According to Vice Admiral Sullivan, "[You could] build modules of this ship in different yards and put it together in a nuclear-certified yard..., and we do that today with the Virginia Class." Today, approximately 6,000 companies in 47 states contribute to nuclear shipbuilding. * The United States has ample experience in nuclear shipbuilding. The United States has built and operated nine nuclear-powered cruisers, 10 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and nearly 200 nuclear-powered submarines. The Navy's Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has trained more than 100,000 officers and technicians. * Nuclear power is safe. The Navy operates 103 reactor plants in 81 nuclear-powered ships, the NR-1 submarine, and four training and test reactors. Over more than half a century, the Navy has operated for over 5,800 reactor years and steamed over 136 million miles without accident or radioactive release. * Foreign countries welcome America's nuclear ships into their ports. U.S. nuclear-powered ships are welcomed into more than 150 ports in more than 50 countries. Other countries have nuclear navies. Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France all maintain nuclear ships. Other countries, such as India, are seeking the capability. Conclusion With the defense authorization bill, Congress is on the threshold of making a generational decision on the future of the Navy. Nuclear-powered ships have a proven record of safety, cost-effectiveness, and strategic value. With the industrial capacity already in place, Congress must seriously consider the unique benefits of providing and maintaining a larger nuclear navy. Jack Spencer is Research Fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, and Baker Spring is F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy for the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. © Copyright Spero, All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 Reuters: US faces dilemma with Pakistan aid, security | Tue Nov 6, 2007 4:32pm EST By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The United States faces a dilemma trying to find a way to press Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to reverse emergency rule without undermining his army's critical fight against Islamic militants. The State Department said on Tuesday that after Mushurraf's broad crackdown on opposition, it was committed to a thorough review of U.S. aid to Pakistan, which has reached nearly $10 billion since the Sept. 11 attacks. Senior lawmakers who head congressional committees that control the U.S. foreign aid budget are condemning the Bush administration for coddling Musharraf and demanding tougher steps against the military officer who has run the nuclear-armed country since a 1999 coup. "The United States will continue its support to the Pakistani people," said Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for U.S. assistance to Pakistan. "But U.S. aid to the Musharraf government should stop until constitutional order, civil liberties and judicial independence are restored, until political prisoners are released, and until free and fair elections are allowed," he said. Leahy was echoed in the House of Representatives by his counterpart New York Democrat Rep. Nita Lowey, who heads the appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations. "In light of President Musharraf's disturbing actions, Congress and the Department of State should review all relevant economic and military aid from which Pakistan currently benefits in order to ensure that taxpayers' money is advancing American interests in the region," she said. U.S. legislators will have a fresh chance to vent and grill Bush administration officials on Wednesday, when Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte testifies to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "HORNS OF A DILEMMA" At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said officials would be "absolutely faithful" in upholding U.S. laws conditioning military aid to Pakistan and were doing an inventory of aid programs and related laws. He indicated how much Pakistan's role in the war against Islamic extremism would weigh on the debate. "I don't think that anybody expects that the president or the government is going to take a step that might make the United States less safe or might diminish our capabilities to fight terror," McCormack said. President George W. Bush urged Musharraf to lift the emergency, hold elections and quit as army chief. But asked what he would do if U.S. pleas do not, Bush said: "Obviously we'll deal with it if something other than that happens." Daniel Markey, a South Asia expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said U.S. clout with Pakistan is not as large as the aid budget would suggest. Washington has more leverage in Islamabad than anyone but the Chinese, "but not enough leverage to really get them to rethink what they believe to be in their fundamental national interests or in this case in Musharraf's personal political interests," he said. Markey, a former diplomat, suggested sanctions could target Musharraf without alienating the army or endangering the wider war in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "It's a possibility that you could structure sanctions in such a way that they were Musharraf-linked rather than really cutting off aid to the Pakistani army," he said. Author and commentator Shuja Nawaz said the United States should avoid a "blanket cutoff that hurt all of the Pakistani people, not just the army" but be willing to brave some resentment at higher levels in the Pakistan military. "This might be the only lever the U.S. has to pull that might force the military to put pressure on him to basically live up to his own promises," said Nawaz, author of forthcoming book on the Pakistan army. Heritage Foundation analyst Lisa Curtis said the United States could not afford to jeopardize the fight against al Qaeda and Taliban elements in Pakistan's tribal areas. "But there could be delays in the pipeline if we're looking at military items that wouldn't particularly be used in the war on terrorism, such as the F-16 aircraft," she said. Bush's critics would reach conclusions similar to the president when they studied U.S. options on Pakistan, Curtis said. "The Congressional officials who are complaining about the Bush administration policy, when it comes right down to it and they start looking at what can be done, I think they are going to understand quite clearly the horns of the dilemma that the Bush administration is on." (Editing by Chris Wilson) © Reuters2007All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 36 MSNBC: Pakistan's nuclear history worries insiders - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com 'Nuclear coup' in 1990 and bin Laden meeting offer two chilling precedents ANALYSIS Robert Windrem Senior investigative producer It is the most disturbing element in the mix that makes Pakistan the most dangerous country in the world: its stockpile of at least 30 and perhaps as many as 45 nuclear weapons.  And it is always the element that captures the most attention from US intelligence officials. The United States has essentially let Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal grow over the past three decades, as succeeding governments in Islamabad have supported US policies in neighboring Afghanistan, first in thwarting the Soviet occupation and then in driving out the Taliban and al-Qaeda.  Still, the fear is that in the chaos that regularly afflicts Pakistan, al-Qaeda or other jihadis will somehow gain control of one of the weapons, some of the highly enriched uranium that forms the core of a bomb or the technology to make a bomb -- or even gain control of the government. “It’s always been easier to steal a government in Pakistan than to steal a bomb,” said one former senior US intelligence official. It is not an abstract concern, one driven by war game scenarios.   There have been two incidents in the past 20 years that call into question who controls the weapons, controls the technology. Indeed, the incidents offer chilling precedents to what could happen now in a chaotic Pakistan.  One is what Benazir Bhutto called a “nuclear coup” in 1990, while the other is knowledge from intelligence that al-Qaeda’s top leaders, including Osama bin Laden, met with Pakistani nuclear scientists in Afghanistan just before September 11 and offered the terrorist group advice on how to build a crude nuclear device. For better or worse, the US is confident that it knows where the Pakistani nuclear arsenal is located and that it is secure.   And in 2003, the US secretly provided technology and training to Pakistani nuclear scientists so they could develop “permissive action links”—codes that prohibit unauthorized detonation.  Prior to US intervention in this area, none of the Pakistani warheads were protected, say US and Pakistani officials. Moreover, military and intelligence officials have told NBC News that should the need arise, the US is prepared to take out—or simply take—the weapons from Pakistani control.  As Condoleezza Rice said at her confirmation hearings in January 2005,  “We have noted this problem, and we are prepared to try to deal with it.  I would prefer not in open session to talk about this particular issue.” “There wasn’t much concern about physical security, but a high degree of angst that the government would fall into the hands of bad guys and they would be in charge,” said the former official, who added that there were “some in the nuclear program who are sympathetic to the radicals”.  As laid out in “Critical Mass: The Dangerous Race for Superweapons in a Fragmenting World," a 1994 book by Robert Windrem and William E. Burrows, the first incident unraveled in the summer of 1990 when India and Pakistan were in one of their seemingly innumerable crises. For the first time, the US had detected that Pakistan had actually put together a nuclear weapon without the knowledge of the country’s prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.  And not long after Bhutto learned what her military had done, she was deposed by the same men who had kept the weaponization secret from her. The CIA had determined that in May 1990 Pakistani scientists had succeeded in converting highly enriched uranium from a gas into a heavy metal.  The uranium had undergone successive changes, going from gas to pellets to the mold and machined spheres—perfect spheres—that constituted the cores of atomic bombs.  The CIA knew that the cores were then stored near the other components needed to make a complete weapon so the Pakistani bomb could be assembled in as little as three hours at Dalbandin, an airbase in the Baluchistan desert well out of reach of Indian jets.  There was enough metal to make between six and eight nuclear weapons, each with the explosive capability equivalent to the bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The United States later learned the final number of cores was seven.  Two cores had been machined in May, and five more were turned out by the end of July.  The first two used about 40 pounds of uranium while the last used about 26 pounds each.  Like most other things, a learning curve improves efficiency. The Pakistanis had not only “crossed the line” as the saying went in Washington’s nuclear precincts.  They had actually prepared bombs for delivery.  More importantly, in relation to the current crisis, the whole scenario had been carried out without Bhutto even knowing what had happened.  “I think it is criminal that the Prime Minister, who is ultimately responsible in the eyes of the people and in the eyes of history, should not be taken into confidence on such a major issue.” She told NBC two years later.  “I did not know.” Bhutto in fact had not just been Prime Minister.  She was Defense Minister and Atomic Energy Minister as well. The decision had been taken by the Army chief of staff, Mirza Aslam Beg, and the country’s president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan.  The presidency then, unlike now, was more of a ceremonial post.   Both had been proponents of the Pakistani bomb program, which ironically had been started by Bhutto’s father when he had been prime minister.  Khan in fact had run the program.  Bhutto also found out in a most unorthodox way.  In late June, two long time American friends of hers had come to Islamabad to tell her what happened.  Peter Galbraith, then the south Asia specialist on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mark Siegel, her Washington lobbyist, took her to a garden outside her offices in the Pakistani capital to inform her.  The news Galbraith and Siegel had delivered took Bhutto by surprise, but she knew the consequences.   The United States now had the proof it needed to cut off aid to Pakistan under a law called the Pressler Amendment, and ultimately the US did just that.  A few weeks later, the US ambassador delievered the news to her.  Robert Oakley informed her that US law required a cutoff in aid to Pakistan if it possessed a “nuclear explosive device” and demanded that Pakistan reverse the process.  Around the same time, US officials flew to Islamabad while Bhutto was on a state visit to the Gulf States to warn Ishaq Khan and Beg there was no way Pakistan could win a war with India and that continued nuclear brinksmanship would risk a catastrophe.   Bhutto, unaware of the US meeting, contacted Ishaq Khan to relay Oakley’s warning and three times called for a meeting of the top-secret committee that ran the nuclear weapons program.  Each time Ishaq Khan said he would get back to her.  She also asked Beg for an explanation as well and he promised one would be forthcoming.  Neither happened, but on Aug. 6, less than three months after Pakistan had begun the process of building a bomb, Bhutto was deposed.  With the world’s attention then focused on Saddam Hussein’s four-day old occupation of Kuwait, Ishaq Khan went on Pakistani television to denounce Bhutto’s government as corrupt and incompetent.  “I have no proof of this,” Bhutto later told NBC News, “but I feel that someone may have turned on the switch in the spring of 1990 to justify the dismissal of my government.”  She called it a “nuclear coup.” More troubling was what former CIA Director George J. Tenet wrote about in his memoir, “At the Center of the Storm” about al-Qaeda’s attempt to obtain nuclear know-how from Pakistani scientists. CONTINUED: A meeting with bin Laden in Afghanistan ====================================================================== 1 | 2 | Next > © 2007 MSNBC.com ***************************************************************** 37 MOTHER JONES: New Mexico's Strange Love By Michelle Nijhuis Carlsbad, New Mexico, was ready the day Department of Energy (DOE) officials came to town in the fall of 2002. All along the city's main drag, American flags fluttered in the desert breeze to mark the occasion. Mayor Bob Forrest and other civic leaders were on hand to extend a warm welcome—and to make the case that Carlsbad, already home to the nation's largest underground nuclear-waste dump, should also host the Bush administration's new nuclear-bomb-making plant. "The United States needs this facility. Carlsbad wants it," the city's development officer Lorraine Allen told an enthusiastic audience at a public meeting last June. "It's a perfect match." For Carlsbad and other towns vying for the plant, the lure, pure and simple, is jobs. The Bush administration plans to spend as much as $4 billion to build the proposed "modern pit facility," which would produce plutonium "pits," the hollow grapefruit-size spheres of plutonium that trigger fusion reactions in thermonuclear bombs. This spring, the DOE plans to pick a site from a short list of five candidates, including Carlsbad; Amarillo, Texas; and North Augusta, South Carolina, home to the Savannah River weapons complex. Outside those towns, the administration's plans for the new pit facility aren't going over quite as well. Critics contend the proposed plant—one of the largest additions to the U.S. nuclear-weapons complex in 40 years—would mark a radical shift in U.S. nuclear-arms policy, and even inspire a whole new arms race, by putting the United States in the business of building tactical, or "usable," mininukes. Indeed, the DOE says the new facility is needed not just to make replacement pits for existing weapons, but to provide the "flexibility to produce pits of a new design in a timely manner." To some observers, that actually means the ability to make pits for nuclear weapons that can be fired in battle—such as deep-penetrating "bunker busters" that can destroy underground command centers. "In order to have mininukes, you need to mass-produce them, and the United States does not currently have the capacity to do this," says Robert Alvarez, a former top DOE policy adviser in the Clinton administration. "The modern pit facility is part of a bigger effort [to reconstitute] the nuclear production and testing complex." There's no question that the Bush administration has been taking U.S. nuclear policy in a fundamentally different direction. In a report to Congress two years ago, the Pentagon called for a "revitalized nuclear weapons complex" that would be less bound by nonproliferation and nuclear test-ban treaties and more focused on the "agility" and "flexibility" needed to meet current U.S. security threats. The report, among other things, argues for speedier scheduling of underground nuclear tests and states that tactical nuclear weapons "might provide important advantages for enhancing the nation's deterrence posture" by posing a more "credible" threat to rogue nations and terrorist groups. (See "Building a Better Bomb," May/June 2002.) So far, Congress has largely gone along with the Pentagon's program: In 2002, it handed out $15 million for new research on the so-called bunker busters. Last fall, Congress eased a decade-long ban on the development of new types of low-yield, battlefield-ready mininukes, and set aside another $13.5 million for research into new nuclear-weapons designs. Still, in order to produce those weapons, the United States would need to churn out large numbers of plutonium pits. Now that Rocky Flats, the former pit production site outside Denver, is out of commission, the DOE says there's no longer a U.S. weapons plant that can do that—a problem a new pit facility would fix. Yet, even if the new plant only produces replacement pits for existing weapons, environmentalists and peace groups opposing the project still don't see the need. The United States already has some 10,000 pit-equipped warheads, 5,000 ready-to-use pits in strategic reserve, and another 7,000 functional pits left over from dismantled warheads, according to a recent Natural Resources Defense Council study. This massive arsenal would get a huge boost from the pit facility, which would pump out as many as 450 pits each year—a number that by itself "exceeds the entire current arsenal of China," as California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, a plant opponent, recently noted in a Senate speech. That kind of output would seem to be a clear violation of the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "It's an extremely provocative step," says former DOE adviser Alvarez. "The administration would be literally thumbing its nose at [the treaty]." The project has also raised a broad array of worker- and environmental-safety concerns. While the DOE promises the proposed facility will produce only negligible risks for workers and the surrounding community, the agency's record at Rocky Flats is hardly reassuring: Today, some 15 years after it was shut down, the Colorado site remains an environmental disaster area, with estimated cleanup costs of up to $7.3 billion. Some in Congress have been working to undercut the DOE's plans for the project. Last fall, opponents in the House and Senate succeeded in slashing more than half of the $22.8 million the Bush administration requested for the pit facility's planning and design. And Senator Feinstein has promised to continue the fight to block funding for new weapons research. "The pit facility hasn't received the level of public attention that, say, bunker busters have," contends Jim Bridgman, program director for the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. "But I think more and more people are going to realize the connection between new nukes, nuclear testing, and the pit facility and [ask], 'How much of this do we need, and why do we need it now?'" This article has been made possible by the Foundation for National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and gifts from generous readers like you. © 2004 The Foundation for National Progress ***************************************************************** 38 DOE: Secretary of Energy in Georgia to Attend Groundbreaking Ceremony for Range Fuels’ Commercial-Scale Biorefinery November 5, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman will attend a groundbreaking ceremony in Soperton, Georgia, for one of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefineries. Secretary Bodman is expected to discuss the Administration’s comprehensive plan to support accelerated commercialization of scientific breakthroughs on biofuels, and specifically, the Department of Energy’s announcement in February to invest up to $385 million for six biorefinery projects – including Range Fuels’ - over the next four years. WHO: U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue Range Fuels CEO Mitch Mandich WHAT: Groundbreaking ceremony for commercial-scale biorefinery WHEN: 2:00PM EST Tuesday, November 6, 2007 WHERE: 111 Range Fuels Drive Soperton, Georgia The six biorefinery projects selected by the Department of Energy to receive funding to accelerate the production of biofuels also furthers the President’s Twenty in Ten Plan, which aims to increase the use of clean, renewable fuels in the transportation sector to the equivalent of 35 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2017. When fully operational, these biorefineries are expected to produce more than 130 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. Funding for these projects is also an integral part of the President’s Biofuels Initiative that will lead to the wide-scale use of non-food based biomass, such as agricultural waste, trees, forest residues, and perennial grasses in the production of transportation fuels, electricity, and other products, by 2012. Read more information on the six biorefinery projects the Department of Energy selected in February to receive DOE funding to help accelerate the production of cellulosic ethanol at the Biomass Program website. Media contact(s): Jonathan Shradar, (202) 586-4940 U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 ***************************************************************** 39 Tri-City Herald: Hanford Advisory Board skeptical about proposed cleanup deadlines Published Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER Long delays in emptying leak-prone underground tanks at Hanford and treating their radioactive wastes don't appear to be justified, according to the Hanford Advisory Board. The Washington State Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency entered high-level negotiations with the Department of Energy this spring as it became clear that key deadlines in the Tri-Party Agreement would not be met, particularly those linked to the Waste Treatment Plant. The Waste Treatment Plant, or vitrification plant, is not expected to begin treating millions of gallons of high-level radioactive wastes now held in underground tanks until eight years past the Tri-Party Agreement deadline. "Does an eight-year delay in the Waste Treatment Plant justify a 22-year delay in emptying leaky single-shell tanks?" asked Gerald Pollet, who represents Heart of America Northwest on the advisory board. His statement came Friday during the board's November meeting. The three agencies are discussing extending the deadline for emptying wastes from single-shell tanks from 2018 to 2040. The vitrification plant was supposed to start treating waste already transferred to sturdier tanks in four years, which would free space in the newer tanks to allow more emptying of older tanks. The agencies also are considering delaying completion of treatment of wastes and cleanup of the tank farms until 2052, which is 24 years past the current deadline of 2028. Those delays could jeopardize money for Hanford cleanup, the board said. "Congress may view such agreements for lengthy delays as a tacit admission that the urgency claimed for these efforts was false," the board wrote in advice sent to the negotiating agencies. In the past Congress has repeatedly given Hanford more money than DOE requested if the dollars were necessary to meet legal cleanup deadlines, the board said. The board is concerned the delays have more to do with anticipated budget shortfalls than technical obstacles. DOE's tentative budget will fall billions of dollars short of paying for required work over the next decade, the board said. One of the concessions regulators would require for extending cleanup deadlines is a new life-cycle report due next fall that would give a complete look at the cleanup work to be done and its cost and timing. "It would be an important step forward by providing analyses of what is possible to accomplish if DOE's inadequate funding plans were not the basis for scheduling," the board wrote. Negotiations on major schedule delays should be deferred until the EPA, the state and the public have seen a life-cycle report voluntarily prepared by DOE, the board said. The three agencies also are looking at an accelerated schedule for addressing contaminated ground water at Hanford and protecting ground water from further contamination. But the advisory board said it should broaden the scope of negotiations to include more issues. That includes bringing no more waste to Hanford until waste already there is cleaned up or contained. The board also wants the agencies to add deadlines for cleanup of certain types of waste not yet fully addressed by the Tri-Party Agreement. These could cover deadlines for cleanup of reprocessing canyons, deadlines for cleanup of reactors that are being allowed to radioactively cool for 75 years and deadlines for digging up certain long-lived wastes. The board also wants the agencies to consider requiring new tanks be built to allow the faster emptying of leak-prone single-shell tanks. The board's advice makes a push for an early start to low-activity waste treatment at the vitrification plant, which will not be ready to treat high-level waste until 2019. Long term, the board favors being prepared to expand the vitrification plant to treat more low-activity waste rather than relying on a supplemental technology, such as bulk vitrification. The main vitrification plant is designed to treat only 50 percent of the low-activity waste now held in underground tanks. Too little time likely remains to test bulk vitrification if a treatment plant for a supplemental technology is to be operating by 2019 or 2021, the board said. It called for the Tri-Party Agreement to require that DOE start construction in 2014 on expanding capacity for the main vit plant to have it operating in 2019. The public will live with any new cleanup deadlines for decades, Pollet said. "It is the benchmark for success or failure of cleanup for years to come," said Jerry Peltier, who represents West Richland on the board. © 2007 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press & Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 40 Hanford News: GAO criticizes DOE efforts to consolidate plutonium This story was published Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Department of Energy has been slow to make plans and begin consolidating the nation's stores of nuclear weapons materials to improve security, according to a Government Accountability Office report to Congress. But as the report was being prepared, DOE may have begun to ship weapons-grade plutonium from the Hanford nuclear reservation to Savannah River, S.C., where similar material is to be consolidated. The report was released Monday, but dated Oct. 4, and DOE had made comments on a draft of the report nearly a month earlier. DOE announced in early September that it planned to begin shipping Hanford plutonium off site as soon as early October. But to maintain security, it will not discuss any possible shipments under way, and no announcement about any progress has been made. Sending weapons-grade plutonium to Savannah River will clear the way for demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant, where plutonium has been stored in a vault under armed guard. The plutonium was made into metal buttons the size of hockey pucks at the plant to be shipped offsite for conversion for weapons use. By removing the plutonium, DOE would "avoid spending several hundred million dollars for security upgrades," the GAO reported. It put the costs of continued storage and the required security improvements at $831 million through 2018 if the plutonium remains at the PFP. Hanford has 2,300 canisters of plutonium, each the size of a large coffee can. Most of it will be mixed with molten glass, or vitrified, to produce a stable glass form for permanent disposal at Yucca Mountain, Nev., according to the GAO. DOE has made plans only for disposing of weapons-grade plutonium not yet converted for weapons use and uranium 233 in two years of planning by a committee chartered by DOE, said the GAO. But that leaves six other plans yet to be developed for materials such as plutonium already converted to weapons form and plutonium 238, including some at Hanford. Plutonium 238 is used for projects such as a power source in deep space flights rather than weapons. In the consolidation plans DOE has completed, it has not included performance measures such as target dates for the amount of plutonium packaged and shipped while the work continues, the GAO report said. The shipments from Hanford and other DOE sites are expected to take about 21/2 years. DOE disagreed with that criticism, saying individual DOE programs have performance measures in place such as quarterly project reviews and milestone reports. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 41 Hanford News: CH2M Hill lab group receives safety star This story was published Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 the Herald staff The 222-S Laboratory team for CH2M Hill Hanford Group has received the Star of Excellence award for its safety performance as a Voluntary Protection Program site. The Department of Energy safety star program recognizes contractors that demonstrate sustained good safety performance and continuous improvement far above the norm for similar industries. CH2M Hill's Analytical Technical Services group achieved a safety and health record that is 73 percent better than the average of similar U.S. businesses to win the Star of Excellence. The group has about 180 employees and has worked for a year without an injury significant enough to require medical treatment beyond routine first aid. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 42 Hanford News: PNNL scientist gets award, 5 years of research funding This story was published Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 John Trumbo, Herald staff writer A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientist has earned a presidential award and guaranteed funding for five years to continue research into how large molecules react with each other. Julia Laskin received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers last week in Washington, D.C. The recognition comes with a guarantee of continued funding for five years for her research. Laskin is a senior research scientist at PNNL's Chemical and Materials Sciences Division in the Fundamental and Computational Sciences Directorate. She came to the lab in 2000 as a postdoctoral research associate and became a research scientist in 2003. Laskin works in the field of gas-phase ion chemistry and mass spectrometry of complex molecules. The research helps scientists understand the chemistry of synthetic and natural polymers, petroleum, biofuels and other complex samples in biology, environmental science, drug discovery and counter-terrorism. Seven other PNNL scientists received honors last week for their career achievements. Wassana Yantasee and Wei Jun Qian received the Ron Brodzinski Early Career Achievement Award. Brodzinski was a lab fellow who died in 2006. Yantasee's work involves water treatment and development of sensors for toxic heavy metals. Qian studies how cells communicate, which is important in discovering protein biomarkers for human diseases. Laboratory Director's awards went to Steven Miller for his engineering achievements on work in dosimetry and optically stimulated luminescence, and to Jarek Nieplocha for his scientific achievements with programming scientific simulations on high-performance computers. Morris Bullock has been named a laboratory fellow, PNNL's highest designation, for research into the behavior of hydrogen with metal complexes. Jim Thomas and Ned Wogman each were honored with the Laboratory Director's Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science and Technology. Thomas directs the Department of Homeland Security's National Visualization and Analytics Center, which is the culmination of 30 years of leadership in that discipline. He developed a computational science that can process information in a visual format for detailed analysis. Wogman is a leader in developing analytical techniques for radionuclide detection and analysis. He also served as director of homeland security programs for six years following Sept. 11, 2001, and is director of the science and technology programs for PNNL's National Security Directorate. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 43 Hanford News: Board skeptical about proposed cleanup deadlines This story was published Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Long delays in emptying leak-prone underground tanks at Hanford and treating their radioactive wastes don't appear to be justified, according to the Hanford Advisory Board. The Washington State Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency entered high-level negotiations with the Department of Energy this spring as it became clear that key deadlines in the Tri-Party Agreement would not be met, particularly those linked to the Waste Treatment Plant. The Waste Treatment Plant, or vitrification plant, is not expected to begin treating millions of gallons of high-level radioactive wastes now held in underground tanks until eight years past the Tri-Party Agreement deadline. "Does an eight-year delay in the Waste Treatment Plant justify a 22-year delay in emptying leaky single-shell tanks?" asked Gerald Pollet, who represents Heart of America Northwest on the advisory board. His statement came Friday during the board's November meeting. The three agencies are discussing extending the deadline for emptying wastes from single-shell tanks from 2018 to 2040. The vitrification plant was supposed to start treating waste already transferred to sturdier tanks in four years, which would free space in the newer tanks to allow more emptying of older tanks. The agencies also are considering delaying completion of treatment of wastes and cleanup of the tank farms until 2052, which is 24 years past the current deadline of 2028. Those delays could jeopardize money for Hanford cleanup, the board said. "Congress may view such agreements for lengthy delays as a tacit admission that the urgency claimed for these efforts was false," the board wrote in advice sent to the negotiating agencies. In the past Congress has repeatedly given Hanford more money than DOE requested if the dollars were necessary to meet legal cleanup deadlines, the board said. The board is concerned the delays have more to do with anticipated budget shortfalls than technical obstacles. DOE's tentative budget will fall billions of dollars short of paying for required work over the next decade, the board said. One of the concessions regulators would require for extending cleanup deadlines is a new life-cycle report due next fall that would give a complete look at the cleanup work to be done and its cost and timing. "It would be an important step forward by providing analyses of what is possible to accomplish if DOE's inadequate funding plans were not the basis for scheduling," the board wrote. Negotiations on major schedule delays should be deferred until the EPA, the state and the public have seen a life-cycle report voluntarily prepared by DOE, the board said. The three agencies also are looking at an accelerated schedule for addressing contaminated ground water at Hanford and protecting ground water from further contamination. But the advisory board said it should broaden the scope of negotiations to include more issues. That includes bringing no more waste to Hanford until waste already there is cleaned up or contained. The board also wants the agencies to add deadlines for cleanup of certain types of waste not yet fully addressed by the Tri-Party Agreement. These could cover deadlines for cleanup of reprocessing canyons, deadlines for cleanup of reactors that are being allowed to radioactively cool for 75 years and deadlines for digging up certain long-lived wastes. The board also wants the agencies to consider requiring new tanks be built to allow the faster emptying of leak-prone single-shell tanks. The board's advice makes a push for an early start to low-activity waste treatment at the vitrification plant, which will not be ready to treat high-level waste until 2019. Long term, the board favors being prepared to expand the vitrification plant to treat more low-activity waste rather than relying on a supplemental technology, such as bulk vitrification. The main vitrification plant is designed to treat only 50 percent of the low-activity waste now held in underground tanks. Too little time likely remains to test bulk vitrification if a treatment plant for a supplemental technology is to be operating by 2019 or 2021, the board said. It called for the Tri-Party Agreement to require that DOE start construction in 2014 on expanding capacity for the main vit plant to have it operating in 2019. The public will live with any new cleanup deadlines for decades, Pollet said. "It is the benchmark for success or failure of cleanup for years to come," said Jerry Peltier, who represents West Richland on the board. © 2007 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 44 Knoxville News Sentinel: Bechtel Jacobs getting new chief By Frank Munger (Contact) Tuesday, November 6, 2007 OAK RIDGE - Bechtel Jacobs Co., the Department of Energy's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, is changing leadership. Mike Hughes, the president and general manager for the past four years, is leaving to work on unspecific projects for Bechtel National, and he is being replaced by Paul Divjak - another veteran Bechtel executive. The transition of leadership is expected to take about two months, Bechtel Jacobs said in a statement released Monday to the news media. Neither Hughes nor Divjak was available for an interview. Divjak is a principal vice president in Bechtel and currently is president and general manager of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project in Idaho. Before that, he held a number of project management roles. He has worked for Bechtel for 37 years. Bechtel Jacobs, a partnership of Bechtel National and Jacobs Engineering, has been the federal agency's cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge since 1998. The current contract was established in 2003 to complete a long list of cleanup actions, including the demolition of the former K-25 uranium-enrichment facilities, by the end of 2008. The work, however, is running significantly behind schedule, and DOE and Bechtel Jacobs are reportedly in negotiations regarding the contract. John Shewairy, DOE's public affairs chief in Oak Ridge, said federal officials did not dictate a leadership change at the contractor. "Absolutely not," Shewairy said. "That is something corporations do all the time. Certainly, we were consulted, as (Bechtel Jacobs is) our major environmental management contractor. Mike (Hughes) has done a bang-up job." Gerald Boyd, DOE's Oak Ridge manager, said in a prepared statement, "The environmental cleanup work in Oak Ridge presents challenges at every turn, and Mike has earned our respect and admiration for what he has accomplished. We wish him the best and look to his successor, Paul Divjak, to raise the bar even higher." Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 45 Oak Ridger: DOE testing siren system Wednesday - Story last updated at 12:06 am on 11/6/2007 On Wednesday, the U. S. Department of Energy’s Public Warning Siren System will be tested in the areas surrounding the Department’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The sirens will be tested between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. People in these areas during the test will hear a siren for three to five minutes. The sirens are located near DOE’s East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The sirens are intended to provide immediate notification of an emergency to people who are within an approximate two-mile radius of DOE’s ORR. The 33,725-acre ORR is located in Anderson and Roane Counties. In the event of an actual emergency, the sirens will be sounded. When citizens hear the sirens they should go inside, close all windows and ventilation systems, and listen to radio or television for public health and safety-related information. The DOE Public Warning Siren System is tested on the first Wednesday of each month. This effort is consistent with testing of warning systems around the Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear power plants. DOE has established a Web site that provides information to the public on what to do in case of an emergency at the DOE’s ORR. The Web site is located at: http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/emergency. More information is available by calling the DOE Public Affairs Office at (865) 576-0885. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** 46 KOB.com: Santa Fe seeks lab assurance on water supply safety Posted at: 11/06/2007 02:14:05 PM By: The Associated Press SANTA FE (AP) - Santa Fe city and county officials are asking Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to protect the region's drinking water. They've sent a letter outlining the measures to prevent any nuclear waste contamination from affecting a planned project to divert water from the Rio Grande. They're seeking a commitment that Los Alamos lab will stop what they call "continued migration of LANL-origin waste to the environment." They also want the lab to mitigate impacts of waste already outside lab property. No one can say that lab contaminants will ever seriously affect the water supplies. Still, there's been a push for more monitoring and measures to make sure contaminants are stopped or removed before river water reaches taps. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************