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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
1 The Hindu: Basu favours compromise to end nuclear deadlock
2 The Hindu: Deal may make India an easy victim of U.S. blackmail
3 The Hindu: Nuclear deal: Supreme Court rejects PIL
4 US: Fredericksburg.com: Dominion to move toward third reactor
5 US: SFE: Federal loan guarantees for nuclear development should help
6 Canadian Press: Private meetings with industry dull nuclear
7 US: York Daily Record: NRC to discuss security at Peach Bottom tomor
8 Reuters: France's EDF eyes 4 UK nuclear plants from 2017 
9 Reuters: Britain ends consultation on new nuclear power | 
10 US: Reuters: APS Arizona Palo Verde 2 reactor shut
11 Reuters: IAEA chief arrives in India as nuclear row rages 
12 US: Reuters: Southern Ala. Farley 2 reactor back at full power 
13 US: UPI.com: Nuclear power preps for comeback - 
14 US: Vermont Public Radio: Vermont's new point man on nuclear power h
15 AFP: Political tensions mount in India over US nuclear deal - 
16 Independent.ie: Radioactive leak at nuclear plant worse than we firs
17 Guardian Unlimited: Nuclear Watchdog Chief Arriving in India 
18 US: ENS: Federal Loan Guarantees Open to 16 Clean Energy Projects
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
19 AFP: 'War on terror' has been a 'disaster' - British think tank - 
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
20 US: newsobserver.com: Nuclear disaster pills to be replaced
21 US: Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Considered Radiological Weapon 
22 barrow in furness: Hero who battled nuke fire tells tale on TV
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
23 BBC NEWS: Radioactive testing cost concerns
24 ReviewJournal: Study details scope of rail project needed for Yucca
25 ReviewJournal: Yucca Mountain Project has DOE seeing double
 
                           PEACE
 
26 [infowarsnews] UK Green Lights Iran Strike
27 US: StratCom Hides Offensive Mission Behind Search for WMD
28 The Hindu: More progress needed on core disputes - Pakistan
29 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korea Sure of Early Nuclear Settlement 
30 Korea Times: US Sends Nuke Experts to NK
31 The Hindu: Deal detrimental to non-proliferation regime
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
32 Knoxville News Sentinel: ORNL reactor poses conversion challenge 
*****************************************************************
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 The Hindu: Basu favours compromise to end nuclear deadlock

Monday, October 8, 2007 : 2045 Hrs

Kolkata (PTI): Amid continuing deadlock over Indo-US nuclear deal,
veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu on Monday struck a conciliatory
note, saying he did not favour a snap poll unless 'forced' by
Congress and asked his party leadership to see if it was possible to
work out a compromise.

Referring to his meeting on Sunday with External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee, Basu told reporters here that "after the meeting I
spoke to Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechuri. Pranab has something to
say. I have asked them to listen to what Pranab has to say and to
see if it is possible to work out a compromise and if we can work
together for some more time."

Basu said, "He (Mukherjee) expressed his desire that it (UPA-Left
committee on nuclear deal) does not break up. But how it will be
possible, I do not know."

On Congress President's Sonia Gandhi's attack on the opponents of
the nuclear deal, which was perceived to be against Left parties,
Basu said "Sonia had made a good speech in New York. I don't know
why she has changed her tone now."

"She is now talking of elections and collpase of the government. If
elections are forced on us, we are ready for it," Basu said.

However, the CPI-M partriarch said he did not favour elections at
the moment.

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the
*****************************************************************
 2 The Hindu: Deal may make India an easy victim of U.S. blackmail

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) working
committee has noted with “serious concern” the government’s
insistence on going ahead with the India-U.S. nuclear deal despite
widespread opposition to it by the Left parties and other political
forces.

The opposition has come from a majority in the country’s Parliament,
a resolution passed at the end of the three-day working committee
meeting that concluded here on Monday said.

The committee was of the firm opinion that the deal in its present
form in the context of the Hyde Act may make India an easy victim of
U.S. ‘blackmail’ not only in the matter of nuclear projects but also
in the wider area of the U.S. ‘imperialist hegemonistic design.’
“Imperialistic trap”



Falling into such an ‘imperialistic’ trap will affect our economic
independence and political sovereignty, which the working class
movement can ignore only at its peril, the resolution said.

Briefing reporters about the meeting, CITU president M.K. Pandhe
said the government would have to face the consequences if it
decided to go ahead with the deal.

Another resolution passed at the meeting expressed concern over the
attempts being made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners to ‘sabotage’ the
Sethusamudram project. Sethu project survey



The survey of the project was carried out during the NDA period, and
now the same political partners were opposing it on “baseless
grounds” exposing their hypocrisy.

Their objections are based on myth and faith but certainly not on
any archaeological, geological or oceanic studies which have proved
beyond question that the bund was not man made but a natural one,
the resolution said.

While congratulating the working class and the people of Tamil Nadu
for a successful strike throughout the State on October 1 demanding
the implementation of the project, the resolution urged the
government to “do everything possible to overcome obscurantist
obstacles and ensure time-bound completion of the same in the
interest of the entire nation.” The working committee called for a
countrywide agitation and campaign against the “anti-people,
anti-national” policy of the UPA that would culminate in a general
strike.

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
*****************************************************************
 3 The Hindu: Nuclear deal: Supreme Court rejects PIL

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007

Legal Correspondent


New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed at the admission
stage a public interest litigation petition to restrain the Union
Government from executing the India-U.S. nuclear deal without
Parliament’s approval.

As it was a policy matter, the court would not interfere with it, a
Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices R.V.
Raveendran and V.S. Sirpurkar told petitioner M.N. Ramamurthy of
Mumbai.

When the petitioner asked it to give reasons for dismissing the
petition, the Bench said: “We do not give reasons. It is the
discretion of the court to entertain a petition.” “Advise Parliament”

Mr. Ramamurthy, who himself argued the matter, said the agreement
was detrimental to the security of the country and the decision to
go ahead with the deal was taken by a handful of executives, headed
by the Prime Minister who could not claim supremacy over Parliament.
The court should advise Parliament to discuss the matter before
finalising the agreement.

The Bench said, “It is the prerogative of Parliament to discuss a
matter. We cannot advise Parliament that a particular matter be
discussed. We cannot go into all these issues. In a democratic
society, Parliament will take care of your concern.”

Mr. Ramamurthy said: “We have two hostile neighbours. The next
generation will be under threat if this agreement is given effect
to. While the genesis of the agreement is that India needs uranium,
the Chairman of the Nuclear Power Corporation has reportedly said
the country has enough of uranium.”

He said Parliament had not taken up this matter for discussion and
before “it is discussed the agreement will become a fait accompli.”
Immediate need

The petitioner said there was an immediate need to examine its
implications for national security, sovereignty and dignity of the
country. Direction sought

The petitioner sought a direction to the Centre to refrain from
hurriedly executing the agreement until it was thoroughly examined
by a court-appointed committee on issues of its immediate need,
essentiality and legality and its implications for national
security, and until the matter was passed in Parliament.

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
*****************************************************************
 4 Fredericksburg.com: Dominion to move toward third reactor

Mon, Oct. 08, 2007

NRC to review process for expected Dominion application to build new
reactor at North Anna plants

By RUSTY DENNEN

Sometime this fall, Dominion power is expected to take the next step
in plans for a third nuclear reactor at North Anna Power Station.

The utility will apply for a combined operating license that, if
approved, would allow it to build Unit 3 at the Louisa County plant
on Lake Anna.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting Oct. 24
at 7 p.m. at Louisa County Middle School to review the application
process.

"The NRC is ready to review this application and the others we're
expecting over the next couple of years. Communities near these
sites need to know what's ahead," said David Matthews, director of
the Division of New Reactor Licensing.

The review includes safety and environmental assessments, as well as
how the public can take part in the process. A combined operating
license would allow Dominion to build and, with conditions, operate
Unit 3. Baltimore Gas & Electric's Calvert Cliffs plant on the
Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Md., was the first to apply for a
combined operating license, though nearly a dozen utilities are
preparing them.

Meanwhile, Dominion's early site permit application--the first step
in the review process--is wending its way through the regulatory
process. The NRC is expected to make a decision on that by early
next year.

The early site permit allows Dominion to resolve environmental and
safety issues, and to complete preliminary site work.

Dominion officials say they have not yet decided whether to build a
new reactor at North Anna, but that they want that option. If the
early-site permit and the combined operating-license applications
are approved, construction could begin as early as 2015.

The applications are opposed by several environmental groups. They
say another reactor is unnecessary at a time when utilities should
be exploring alternative energy sources, and would present a new
target for terrorists.

A citizens group on the lake has expressed concerns about increased
water temperatures and how that would affect aquatic life and
recreational use.

Dominion plans to use a 1,600-megawatt General Electric Economic
Simplified Boiling Water Reactor for Unit 3. The NRC is reviewing
that design.

The Lake Anna area, where the North Anna Power Station is situated,
is in Fredericksburg's backyard, and is bordered by Spotsylvania,
Louisa and Orange counties. Surrounded by thousands of homes, it is
a recreational draw in central Virginia.
For more information, nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactor-licensing.html
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com

Date published: 10/8/2007

Copyright 2007, The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. of
Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA -
*****************************************************************
 5 SFE: Federal loan guarantees for nuclear development should help
Constellation Energy, investors - Examiner.com

San Francisco, California 

Oct 8, 2007 12:00 AM (17 hrs ago)

by Andrew Cannarsa, The Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Constellation Energy has already proved to
be quite profitable for investors this year, and a recent decision
by the Department of Energy could lead to future nuclear development
opportunities for the Baltimore firm.

The DOE last week issued final regulations for the loan guarantee
program authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, paving the way
for billions of dollars in future federal support of clean energy
products using innovative technologies.

Constellation commended the DOE for its efforts to improve a federal
loan program designed to support the potential development of new
nuclear power plants in the United States.

“We have consistently maintained that a workable loan guarantee
program is essential to ensure nuclear power delivers on its promise
as the only safe, reliable, emission-free technology that can meet
the nation’s energy needs in the 21st century,” Michael J.
Wallace, executive vice president of Constellation Energy, said in a
statement.

“This new rule is a positive step forward in helping bring about a
nuclear renaissance,” Wallace added.

The DOE’s final regulations provide guarantees for 100 percent of
the amount borrowed, up to 80 percent of a project’s total costs.

In a previous interview with The Examiner, George Vanderheyden,
president of UniStar, a joint venture between Constellation and
Europe’s EDF Group focused on the development of U.S. nuclear
power plants, said a workable federal loan program was the greatest
obstacle in the path of the development of nuclear plants.

Vanderheyden said there is a possibility UniStar would construct a
third reactor at Constellation’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant. At the earliest, a decision to build could be made by 2009,
with a new U.S. nuclear plant online by 2015.

The average nuclear plant, which costs about $4 billion to build,
generates total state and local tax revenue of almost $20 million
each year.

Constellation, with 2006 revenues of $19.3 billion, has already had
a positive 2007, with its share price increasing almost 30 percent
from the beginning of the year, as reported in The Examiner’s
series “Power Struggle” on Sept. 24 and 25.

Constellation is part of The Examiner Top 10, a portfolio of some
the largest publicly traded companies in the Baltimore region.

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com

*****************************************************************
 6 Canadian Press: Private meetings with industry dull nuclear
watchdog's teeth: critics

OTTAWA - Canada's nuclear-safety watchdog appears to be too cozy
with the industry it's supposed to monitor, suggests an independent
report.

The study ordered by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)
cites long-standing complaints that the regulator focuses far more
on the companies it licenses than on concerned lobby groups or
citizens.

The commission "has in the past put more focus on communicating with
licensees than with non-government organizations and the broader
public," says the report by the Institute on Governance.

"And this may have contributed to the perception among NGOs that the
(commission) has too close a relationship with industry. Recent
efforts to more effectively engage NGOs are aimed at addressing this
issue."

Critics have gone further, saying the commission's closed-door
sessions with nuclear interests should raise alarms that the
regulator is being co-opted.

A spokesman dismissed those concerns. Marc Leblanc said president
Linda Keen, who also serves as the commission's CEO, will continue
to privately meet with licensees and potential applicants.

While it may be necessary for the commission to know those it
regulates, Keen also chairs a seven-member quasi-judicial
administrative tribunal that sets regulatory policy and makes
licensing decisions for major nuclear facilities across Canada.

The institute report, dated March 31, was obtained by The Canadian
Press under the Access to Information Act. The commission also
recently posted the document on its website in an ongoing effort to
improve procedures, said Leblanc.

"Sometimes just looking at ourselves is not enough."

The document notes that the commission has no formal policy
governing informal meetings with industry interests, for example.

"While there are many good practices in this area, at the moment
this balancing is very much a matter of judgment on the part of
senior staff, the president and CEO, and the (commission)
secretariat," says the report.

"More formal documentation and-or guidelines would be useful."

The Ottawa-based institute is a non-profit organization that studies
use of power and how public-interest decisions are made.

Leblanc welcomed its findings but said there's no need to change
course. Parliament set out the act and regulations under which the
watchdog and other tribunals similarly operate, he noted.

"The president will periodically meet with the boards of directors
of licensees or potential licensees or interested persons," he said
in an interview. "We are very careful as to when these take place
and the matters to be discussed.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with a commission head
addressing those groups to tell them what are her expectations in
terms of our regulatory mandate and explaining what it's all about."

Leblanc stressed that Keen refuses to meet with boards of directors
of corporations that have matters to be aired at a tribunal hearing
within 60 days, and sometimes longer.

"There may be instances where we won't speak to anyone at any time
for at least 150 days given the nature of matters that may come
before the commission."

It's not the regulator's job to release minutes or transcripts of
meetings that Keen attends "as an invited guest," said Aurele
Gervais, another commission spokesman. However, the CNSC keeps its
own "records and notes" which can be requested under Access to
Information, he said.

Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch says there's no need for Keen to
risk even the perception of unfairness by seeing applicants who may
later seek favourable rulings.

"Holding meetings outside of a formal commission hearing, that's
like a judge meeting with a plaintiff or the defence and saying:
'Here's how it's likely to go, and what I need from you in order to
give you the decision that you want."'

Potential applicants who need information can read statutes online
or public records of past decisions, he added.

David Martin, energy co-ordinator for Greenpeace, says his group has
never had the benefit of a private audience with Keen.

"Oh, never. No. The only time we've had any direct contact with
Linda Keen has been through the regulatory processes where she's sat
on the commission."

The watchdog only recently started a consultation process with
public interest groups in the face of growing pressure, Martin said.

That said, there's legitimate concern over the extent to which Keen
and senior staff are privately meeting with nuclear interests, he
said.

This is all happening as the industry holds a "full court press" to
expand operations - while pushing for more lenient environmental
assessments - in several provinces, Martin said.

"When you understand that they're conducting these meetings
effectively in secret, and you combine that with the increasing
regulatory leniency that the (commission) is showing to the nuclear
industry, I think two and two make four. This is an agency that has
been seriously co-opted, and is in serious need of reform."

Tom Adams, former long-time executive director of Energy Probe, says
it's routine in Canada "for regulated entities to lunch with the
regulators."

Access of lobbyists to such decision-makers in the U.S. is much more
restricted, he says.

He acknowledged that "regulators need to understand the regulated
industry in a way that's different than the way a civil or criminal
court would need to understand the parties that are appearing before
them."

That said, "we should have much better transparency rules for
starters," Adams said. "Any time there's a meeting between a
representative of a regulated entity with a regulator, I think the
public should have the right to know about that."

Copyright © 2007 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 7 York Daily Record: NRC to discuss security at Peach Bottom tomorrow

Daily Record/Sunday News

Article Last Updated: 10/08/2007 04:49:57 PM EDT

Oct 8, 2007 — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will discuss
with Exelon Nuclear at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday the findings of a special
inspection that reviewed security issues at the Peach Bottom Atomic
Power Station.

The public meeting will be held at the Peach Bottom Inn at 6085
Delta Road in Peach Bottom Township.

The goal of the nearly week-long inspection was to investigate an
incident in which on-duty security guards had been spotted sleeping
inside a secure area of the plant.

Members of the public will have a chance to ask questions of the NRC
before the meeting is adjourned.

Copyright &copy York Daily Record
1891 Loucks Road
York, PA 17408, (717) 771-2000



*****************************************************************
 8 Reuters: France's EDF eyes 4 UK nuclear plants from 2017 

Mon Oct 8, 2007 12:18am BST

By Pete Harrison

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's biggest nuclear operator, France's
EDF, is considering building four new reactors in Britain if given
the go ahead and says it can have the first of them running by the
end of 2017.

The government is close to deciding whether to approve a new
generation of reactors to avoid a looming power crisis as ageing
power stations are retired and climate change fears hold back gas
and coal plants.

"We are looking at the possibility of building four nuclear power
plants in the UK on our own or in partnership with others before
2025," EDF's UK division said in its response to a government
consultation on new nuclear capacity.

"We believe that new nuclear can be on line in the UK by 2017 ...
allowing the public to be fully consulted at all relevant stages,"
it added.

The government has signalled its support for nuclear power, which is
virtually CO2 free and would help Britain meet EU-wide goals of
cutting CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

Environmentalists say nuclear power stations are too risky following
the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl and the spent fuel remains
radioactive for generations, but power companies say alternatives
like wave or tidal power are still far from viable and wind is not
sufficiently reliable.

EDF Energy, whose parent company runs the fleet of reactors
supplying 80 percent of France's electricity, said it would need no
subsidies from the UK government for new reactors.

"The private sector should cover the full costs of new nuclear,
including the costs of decommissioning and waste management," it
added.  Continued...


© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters
*****************************************************************
 9 Reuters: Britain ends consultation on new nuclear power | 

Mon Oct 8, 2007 4:16pm BST

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - The government's legally forced public
consultation on whether it should give the green light to a new
fleet of nuclear power stations to fight global warming ends on
Wednesday with the process deep in controversy.

By coincidence, Wednesday is also the 50th anniversary of Britain's
worst nuclear accident when the reactor core at the Windscale plant
in north western England caught fire sending a plume of radioactive
material across the country.

Greenpeace, which earlier this year won a court case forcing the
government to embark on a new public consultation process, has
already lodged a formal complaint about the way it has been
conducted and is contemplating going back to court again.

And a group of leading British academics have put their names to a
report to be issued shortly complaining the process was biased in
favour of new nuclear plants from the outset with slanted
information and key facts missing or deeply buried.

"There is deep disquiet about the form and function of the
consultations," said report author Paul Dorfman of Warwick
University.

"We are being asked to buy a pig in a poke -- to make a decision on
the validity of new nuclear build when questions on key issues of
waste, siting, reactor design and safety have not been resolved."

Environmentalists also note that new nuclear plants would only cut
the country's carbon emissions by four percent which, they say, is
far too small a benefit compared to the problem of nuclear waste
that remains deadly for thousands of years.

FUNDING  

The government has repeatedly said the country needs to replace 
its ageing fleet of nuclear reactors to help fight climate 
change, help meet its obligation to cut carbon emissions and help 
guarantee security of energy supplies.

Nuclear power plants currently provide 18 percent of the 
Britain's electricity. But all bar one of the plants is due to 
close within 15 years.

French utility EDF Energy -- whose parent company runs France's 
fleet of nuclear power plants supplying 78 percent of the 
country's electricity -- says it wants to build four nuclear 
plants in Britain.

Optimistically it also says that if it gets the green light from 
government later this year it could have the first plant 
functioning by 2017.

The government has said no public money will be involved in 
nuclear new build but it is already in the process of stripping 
away planning laws that delayed for years Sizewell B, Britain's 
newest nuclear power plant.

In 2003 the government promised it would sample public opinion 
before giving the nuclear go-ahead, and it did conduct a 
superficial public consultation earlier this year when it came 
out in favour of nuclear new build.

Greenpeace lodged a legal complaint and in February a High Court 
judge ruled in favour of the group, describing the process as 
deeply flawed.

This time round there have been nine one-day public consultation 
events run for the government by public research firm Opinion 
Leader.

It is these events that Greenpeace has already complained about 
to the Market Research Standards Board, claiming that the 
information presented and tone used was deliberately skewed.

However, the group has undermined its own moral authority by not 
immediately going back to court despite its condemnation of the 
consultation process, choosing instead to wait to see if the 
government changes its mind on new nuclear.

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters
*****************************************************************
 10 Reuters: APS Arizona Palo Verde 2 reactor shut

Mon Oct 8, 2007 4:37pm BST

NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Arizona Public Service's 1,314-megawatt
Palo Verde 2 nuclear reactor in Arizona was shut on Saturday to
repair a leak, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

The unit is expected to return to full power by the end of the week
after it was manually tripped on Saturday morning to fix a leak in
the plant's cooling system, the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, the adjacent 1,247-MW Unit 3 remained shut for planned
refueling and maintenance. Unit 3 is expected to return by the end
of the year following steam generator and turbine replacement.

The 1,314-MW Unit 1 continued to run at full power on Monday, the
NRC report said.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, along with other government
offices, was closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday, but the
agency issued its plant status report to the media.

The Palo Verde station is located in Wintersburg, Arizona, about 50
miles west of Phoenix.

One MW powers about 400 homes in Arizona.

APS, a subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp (PNW.N: Quote,
Profile, Research), operates the station for its owners. 

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters

*****************************************************************
 11 Reuters: IAEA chief arrives in India as nuclear row rages 

Mon Oct 8, 2007 8:47am BST

By Krittivas Mukherjee

MUMBAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog head begins a
long scheduled trip to India on Monday that has turned into a
political flashpoint as a nuclear energy deal with the United States
threatens to spark snap elections.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), is ostensibly on a technical visit to speak at
an energy conference, visit a nuclear research facility in Mumbai
and meet with Indian nuclear officials.

But the trip comes just as India faces an informal end-October
deadline to begin securing clearances from the IAEA and others to
clinch the nuclear energy deal -- opposed by its communist allies
who say the deal would enslave New Delhi to U.S. policy.

The deal would be a milestone in India-U.S. relations, not the best
of friends during the Cold War. It would allow India to import U.S.
nuclear fuel and reactors, despite having tested nuclear weapons and
not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Critics say the deal unfairly rewards India and undercuts a U.S.-led
campaign to curtail nuclear ambitions of nations like Iran. A week
before the IAEA visit, U.S. lawmakers introduced a non-binding
resolution in the House of Representatives questioning if the deal
complied with U.S. law.

In India, the communists have warned the government against
negotiating with the IAEA to place India's civilian nuclear reactors
under U.N. safeguards, one of the first steps towards making the
deal operational.

But Sonia Gandhi, ruling Congress party head and India's most
powerful politician, sharpened the rhetoric on Sunday in a statement
widely seen as hinting she was ready for a snap vote, calling
opponents of the nuclear deal enemies of development.  Continued...

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 12 Reuters: Southern Ala. Farley 2 reactor back at full power 

Mon 8 Oct 2007 | 20:56 EDT

NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Southern Co's (SO.N: Quote, Profile,
Research) 860-megawatt Farley 2 nuclear power unit in Alabama was
back at full power early Monday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
said in its power plant status report.

The unit, in Dothan, Alabama, in Houston County about 95 miles
northwest of Tallahassee, Florida, automatically shut from full
power on Oct. 3,

The NRC, along with other government offices, was closed Monday for
the Columbus Day holiday, but the agency issued its plant status
report to the media.

Meanwhile, the adjacent 815-MW Unit 1 remained shut for planned
refueling and maintenance likely to last until the end of October.

One MW powers about 600 homes in Alabama.

Separately, the NRC in March 2005 renewed the plant's original
40-year operating licenses for both units for another 20 years until
2037 and 2041.

Southern, of Atlanta, owns and operates more than 42,000 MW of
generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and
distributes electricity to more than 4.3 million customers in
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.


© Reuters2007All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
 13 UPI.com: Nuclear power preps for comeback - 

Published: 8, 2007 at 5:31 PM

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. nuclear power industry is
attempting a comeback against natural gas prices' volatility and
climate concerns, the nation's nuclear watchdog says.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it expects applications to
build as many as 32 new nuclear reactors during the next two years
as utilities and independent power companies plan for the next wave
of U.S. nuclear plants. the Washington Post reported Monday.

But nuclear plants are expensive to build, have long lead times and
historically have cost overruns, the newspaper reported. Also, the
price of uranium has risen in recent years, as have the costs of
construction materials and skilled labor.

To ease financial concerns, the nuclear power industry sought help
from Congress, which included tax breaks, loan guarantees and other
subsidies in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

For nuclear plants seeking federal approval before the end of next
year, the act will provide tax credits of up to $125 million for
eight years, loan guarantees for up to 80 percent of a plant's cost,
shared application costs and insurance that covers costs of
regulatory delay.


© Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 14 Vermont Public Radio: Vermont's new point man on nuclear power has
history in Maine

Monday October 8, 2007

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)

The man newly hired to advise the Douglas administration and
lawmakers on issues at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant previously
held a similar job in Maine.

Fifty-three-year-old Uldis Vanags was nuclear adviser to the state
of Maine when the Maine Yankee nuclear plant went through an
independent safety assessment and then ended up being shut down a
decade ago.

Vanags -- who works in the Department of Public Service -- says from
what he's seen so far, Vermont Yankee does not share the problems
that cropped up suddenly at the Maine plant in the mid-1990s.

Vanags has had a busy first few weeks on his new job. He started on
August 20, the day before a cooling tower at Vermont Yankee
collapsed in a pile of rubble.



© Copyright 2007, Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
*****************************************************************
 15 AFP: Political tensions mount in India over US nuclear deal - 

Mon Oct 8, 7:52 AM ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Tensions in India over a civil nuclear pact 
with Washington that threatens the survival of the country's 
ruling coalition took a turn for the worse ahead of a visit by 
the UN's atomic energy chief.

The head of the ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, said opponents
of the deal were "enemies of progress," prompting a furious response
from left-wing legislative allies who could bring down the
government.

The nuclear deal, if implemented, would allow energy-hungry India to
buy civilian nuclear technology while possessing nuclear weapons,
despite not having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

But India's Communists say it would also pull traditionally
non-aligned India uncomfortably close to the United States and
compromise New Delhi's military programme.

In a public meeting on Sunday, Gandhi said opponents of the pact
"are not only the enemies of Congress but they are also enemies of
progress and development."

"We have to give them a strong and befitting reply," she said.

The four-party Left bloc, which props up Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's government in parliament, responded Monday with a statement
repeating its view that Congress was going "against the interests of
India."

"Those who advocate the deal should know that India is capable of
developing nuclear energy primarily on a self-reliant basis," the
statement said.

A 15-member panel set up to iron out differences between the two
sides has had little success despite a string of meetings, and in
recent days the Indian press has been brimming with speculation over
the possibility of snap polls.

The increase in tensions also threatens to overshadow a visit
beginning later Monday by the UN's atomic energy chief Mohammed
ElBaradei.

To make the deal operational, New Delhi has to negotiate an
agreement with ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency
pledging to place some of its nuclear plants under safeguards before
being allowed access to new technology.

India also has to clinch a deal with the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers
Group, which controls global atomic commerce. Further approval is
also required from the United States Congress.


Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 16 Independent.ie: Radioactive leak at nuclear plant worse than we first feared -

Monday October 08 2007

THE radioactive fallout from a major accident at Sellafield 50 years
ago was underestimated, with scores more falling ill with cancer as
a direct result than previously thought.

In 1957, a fire at the Windscale nuclear reactor in Cumbria -- which
has since been renamed Sellafield -- led to a release of radioactive
material that spread across the UK and Europe.

New research claims the incident generated twice as much radioactive
material and caused dozens more cancers than was previously thought.

However the findings - which were made by analysing weather patterns
- show Ireland was not at risk because the radioactive cloud was
carried over mainland Europe.

But residents of Dundalk, Co Louth, which was the nearest Irish
town, point out that people in the immediate area had higher
instances of cancer than other regions. It has been claimed that a
cluster of Down Syndrome births and cancer cases in the area were
caused by radiation.

The cancer rate in the area was estimated to be more than 12pc above
the national average.

Fergus O'Dowd, Fine Gael TD in Louth, said the new research shows
that the nuclear industry cannot be trusted.

"Up until now we were repeatedly told we were overplaying our
concerns (about cancer) but now it's clear we weren't," he said.

"I'd be very concerned about the lack of truthfulness, and we
clearly haven't been told the full truth until now."

He also pointed to a leakage of highly radioactive nuclear fuel two
years ago, warning that problems still exist at Sellafield. About 20
tonnes of uranium and plutonium -- enough to make 20 nuclear weapons
-- dissolved in concentrated nitric acid, escaped through a cracked
pipe into a huge stainless steel chamber which is too dangerous for
humans to enter.

Deputy O'Dowd has called for the setting up of an independent body
to oversee the plant to ensure another disaster doesn't happen.

The new research, which was published in the journal Atmospheric
Environment, claims the radioactive cloud spread further than just
Cumbria.

On October 10, 1957, a failure to properly control the temperature
of graphite control rods within the reactor sparked a devastating
fire, which caused radioactive contamination to spew into the
atmosphere. The fire was eventually put out with water -- an act
which could have caused an explosion -- but a radioactive cloud had
already spread.

At the time of the accident the levels and spread of the radioactive
materials was estimated, and measures were put in place to limit
contamination.

The study by John Garland, formerly of the UK Atomic Energy
Authority, and Richard Wakeford, a visiting professor at the
University of Manchester, suggests the contamination of the
environment may have been much higher.

The team carried out a re-analysis of data taken from environmental
monitoring of air, grass and vegetation and combined this with
computer models that revealed how the radioactive cloud would have
spread from the reactor with the meteorological conditions at that
time.

They confirmed radioactive iodine and caesium were released, as well
as polonium and a very small amount of plutonium, but found that the
levels would have been higher than previously thought.

This would have also impacted the numbers of cancers that the
accident would have caused, said the authors. Previously, it was
thought that the radiation would have eventually led to about 200
cases of cancer, but the new contamination figures suggest it could
have caused about 240.

Prof Peter Mitchell, the author of another study, has also said the
radioactive plume did not pass across Ireland.

Irish Met Office measurements in Dublin from the time of the
Windscale fire gave no indication of any trace of the plume.

In the past the State's nuclear watchdog, the Radiological
Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), warned the plant will pose a
major threat to Ireland for another 150 years

powered by Unison.ie
*****************************************************************
 17 Guardian Unlimited: Nuclear Watchdog Chief Arriving in India 

From the Associated Press

Monday October 8, 2007 12:16 PM

NEW DELHI (AP) - The head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog
arrives in India on Monday amid a heated political feud over the
future of India's landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal with
the United States.

The visit by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed
ElBaradei is long-planned, and officials say it is routine. He's
scheduled to speak at an energy conference, tour a nuclear medicine
research facility and meet with Indian nuclear officials during his
five days in India.

But the timing of the trip is potentially explosive with India's
governing Congress party, the driving force behind the nuclear deal,
engaged in a war of words with its communist political allies over
the pact. The verbal sparring between the two sides has led to open
speculation about the possibility of the government falling and
early elections being held.

The deal reverses three decades of American anti-proliferation
policy by allowing the U.S. to send nuclear fuel and technology to
India, which has refused to sign international nonproliferation
accords and tested nuclear weapons.

Hailed by Indian and American leaders as the foundation of a budding
strategic partnership, the deal would also open up international
nuclear markets to India and allow the energy-starved South Asian
country to expand its nuclear power program.

But American critics say that by providing fuel to India, the U.S.
would free up India's limited domestic supplies of nuclear material
for use in atomic weapons. That, they argue, could spark a nuclear
arms race in Asia.

Opponents in India, led by the powerful communist political parties,
say the pact would undermine New Delhi's nuclear weapons program and
allow the U.S. to dictate Indian foreign policy.

That opposition has kept Indian officials from going to the IAEA to
work out a deal on international inspections of India's civilian
reactors, a major step in finalizing deal.

The communists, who are key to the Congress party's parliamentary
majority, have threatened to pull their support for the government
if New Delhi opens discussions with the IAEA, and officials insisted
Monday that no such talk were planned during ElBaradei's visit.

``There are no talks or discussion planned on safeguards,'' said
Department of Atomic Energy spokesman, S. K. Malhotra.

But many here nonetheless saw the visit as a sign that the
government is determined to push ahead with the deal, even if it did
not hold formal talks with ElBaradei in New Delhi.

Such speculation was fueled on Sunday when the leader of the
Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, said in a speech that those who oppose
the deal were ``enemies'' of India's progress - a clear jab at the
communists.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 18 ENS: Federal Loan Guarantees Open to 16 Clean Energy Projects

Environment News Service (ENS)

WASHINGTON, DC The federal government is supporting clean energy
projects using innovative technologies with a loan guarantee program
finalized Thursday by the Department of Energy. The program is based
on the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has invited 16 project sponsors, who
submitted pre-applications last fall, to submit full applications
for loan guarantees.

These projects include advanced technologies involving the uses of
biomass, fossil energy, solar, industrial energy efficiency,
electricity delivery and energy reliability, hydrogen, and
alternative fuel vehicles.

"Loan guarantees aim to stimulate investment and commercialization
of clean energy technologies to reduce our Nation's reliance on
foreign sources of energy," Bodman said. "Finalizing this regulation
for the Department's Loan Guarantee program puts Americans one step
nloser to being able to use new and novel sources of energy on a
mass scale to reduce emissions and allow for vigorous economic
growth and increased energy security."

The final regulation provides that the Department may issue
guarantees for up to 100 percent of the amount of a loan, subject to
the EPAct limitation that DOE may not guarantee a debt instrument
for more than 80 percent of the total cost of an eligible project.

Under the final rule, if DOE issues a guarantee for 100 percent of a
debt instrument, the loan must be issued and funded by the Treasury
Department's Federal Financing Bank.

Bodman says DOE's intent is to only issue loan guarantees if
borrowers and project sponsors pay the "credit subsidy cost," that
is the long-term cost to the federal government of the loan
guarantee. So, DOE does not plan to use taxpayer funds to pay for
the credit subsidy costs of these loan guarantees. Also, the
borrower must have a "significant equity stake" in the project.

The final rule is the result of a public rulemaking process, which
began May 16, 2007.

Congress currently is considering the Energy Department's Fiscal
Year 2008 Budget request for $9 billion in loan guarantee authority
and $8.4 million to run the Loan Guarantee office.

Today's announcements build on months of action by DOE to implement
its loan guarantee program. In August 2006, DOE issued a
solicitation inviting pre–applications for up to $2 billion in loan
guarantees. By the December 31, 2006 deadline for this solicitation,
DOE received

The 16 pre-applicants invited today to submit full loan guarantee
applications for review were selected from among 143
pre–applications requesting more than $27 billion in loan guarantee
protection for project costs estimated at more than $51 billion.

The 16 projects and sponsors invited to submit full applications are:
* Coal Gasification

  Mesaba Energy Project (MEP-I, LLC): Integrated Gasification
  Combined Cycle, IGCC, Plant - Minnesota This state-of-the-art IGCC
  plant would allot space in its design for carbon dioxide, CO2,
  capture and storage.

  Mississippi Power Company: IGCC Plant that is the
  first-of-its-kind application.

  The Energy Department says these two IGCC projects would allow for
  potential CO2 capture in the future, would provide
  state-of-the-art emission controls exceeding the emissions
  requirements specified in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and would
  help reduce cost and increase fuel flexibility of IGCC technology.

  TX Energy, LLC: Coal to Synthetic Gas IGCC Plant - Texas A new
  polygeneration gasification facility that can isolate a
  concentrated stream of CO2 while producing large amounts of power
  and methanol.

* Energy Efficiency

  GR Silicate Nano Fibers and Carbonates - Washington An energy
  efficient process for manufacturing paper.

  Sage Electrochromics: Electrochromic Window Manufacturing Project
  - Minnesota A manufacturing facility that would produce
  energy-efficient windows for the commercial and residential
  building sectors.

* Solar Energy

  Luz II - Nevada An efficient large-scale power project using
  concentrated solar-thermal technology.

  Solyndra, Inc. - California Manufacture of efficient thin-film
  photovoltaic modules.

* Electricity Delivery

  Beacon Power - Massachusetts Development of a system that will
  enhance peak performance of electric generation over the power
  grid.

* Hydrogen Fuel Cells

  Bridgeport Fuel Cell Park, LLC - Connecticut Plans to build the
  largest single-site installation of fuel cells in the world.

* Alternative Fuel Vehicles

  Tesla Motors - New Mexico Battery-electric powered vehicle with
  enhanced range that can be produced for the consumer market.

* Cellulosic Ethanol

  Alico, Inc. - Florida First-of-a-kind commercial-scale cellulosic
  ethanol plant that would use multiple feedstocks and produce
  multiple products.

  Blue Fire Ethanol, Inc. - California Commercial-scale cellulosic
  ethanol plant using an array of low-cost feedstocks.

  Choren USA - Southeast An industrial-scale biomass gasification
  facility for clean synthetic diesel fuels

  Endicott Biofuels, LLC - Virginia Second generation biodiesel and
  bio-derived products plant that would feature a high level of
  feedstock flexibility allowing for the production of a broad range
  of biodiesel fuels.

  Iogen Biorefinery Partners, LLC - Idaho Biorefinery to produce
  ethanol from a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks and byproducts

  Voyager Ethanol, LLC - Iowa Cellulosic ethanol plant that can
  accommodate multiple feedstocks in the production of ethanol and
  byproducts.
Following funding and authorization for the program in February
2007, DOE established a Credit Review Board to make recommendations
to the Secretary of Energy on loan guarantees; named an office
director and technical and financial experts to work in the Loan
Guarantee program office; and developed guidelines for the financial
and technical review of loan guarantee applications.

 Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 19 AFP: 'War on terror' has been a 'disaster' - British think tank - 

Mon Oct 8, 1:56 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - The US-led "war on terror" has been a "disaster" 
and Washington and its allies must change their policy in Iraq 
and Afghanistan to defeat Al-Qaeda, an independent global 
security think tank said.

The Oxford Research Group (ORG) said in a report that Western
strategy since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States
had failed to extinguish the threat from Islamist extremism and even
fuelled it.

"Every aspect of the war on terror has been counterproductive in
Iraq and Afghanistan, from the loss of civilian life through mass
detentions without trial. In short, it has been a disaster," report
author Paul Rogers said.

"Western countries simply have to face up to the dangerous mistakes
of the past six years and recognise the need for new policies."

Rogers, professor of peace studies at the University of Bradford,
northern England, also warned that any military action against Iran
over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme would further
aggravate the situation.

"Going to war with Iran will make matters far worse, playing
directly into the hands of extreme elements and adding greatly to
the violence across the region," he added.

"Whatever the problems with Iran, war should be avoided at all costs
-- the mistakes already made will be completely overshadowed by the
consequences of a war with Iran."

Chief among the report's criticisms is that the US-led invasion of
Iraq in March 2003 was a "grievous mistake", which had created a
combat training zone for extremist elements linked to or inspired by
Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.

The report, "Towards Sustainable Security: Alternative Approaches to
the War on Terror", said the situation was comparable to the rise of
the mujahedin that rose against the Russian occupation of
Afghanistan in the 1980s.

On Afghanistan, the ORG said ousting the hardline Taliban from power
in late 2001 had been of "direct value" to Al-Qaeda and militia
sympathetic to its violent Islamist ideology were now
re-invigorated, it added.

In addition, mass detentions of suspected extremists, torture,
prisoner abuse and the "extraordinary rendition" of suspects for
questioning in third countries outside US legal jurisdiction was a
useful propaganda weapon.

Rogers said the United States and its allies needed to better
understand the roots of the Al-Qaeda movement and its support base
and systematically undercut it through policy changes at every level.

But he said even if that were successful, it would still take at
least a decade to make up for mistakes so far.

Among the ORG's recommendations are the withdrawal of foreign forces
from Iraq and an increase in diplomacy, including with Syria and
Iran; greater civil aid to Afghanistan, a scaling down of military
action and talks with militia.

"Extraordinary rendition", detention without trial and prisoner
abuse should stop immediately; countries should commit to advancing
the stalled Middle East peace process, because of its central role
in anti-Western sentiment, it said.

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 20 newsobserver.com: Nuclear disaster pills to be replaced

Monday, October 8, 2007

From staff reports

Triangle residents living within 10 miles of the Shearon Harris
nuclear plant in southern Wake County will receive a new supply of
potassium iodide pills by the end of next year to use in the case of
a nuclear disaster, state officials said today.

Residents in parts of Wake, Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties fall
were first issued the pills in 2002, and the reissue of pills next
year will replace those as they expire.

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the shelf life of the
2002 pills by two years, so residents should not discard pills that
appear to be expired, according to the N.C. Office of Public Health
Preparedness and Response.

The pills will also be distributed to residents near two other plans
in the Carolinas.

Potassium iodide protects the thyroid from a form of radiation that
was a major cause of death after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in
Russia. The pills will not prevent side effects other than thyroid
cancer.

People living within the 10-mile range who have not received an
initial supply of the pills may obtain them before next year by
contacting their local health departments.

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published,

© Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
 21 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Considered Radiological Weapon 

From the Associated Press

Monday October 8, 2007 3:46 PM

By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - In one of the longest-held secrets of the Cold
War, the U.S. Army explored the potential for using radioactive
poisons to assassinate ``important individuals'' such as military or
civilian leaders, according to newly declassified documents obtained
by The Associated Press.

Approved at the highest levels of the Army in 1948, the effort was a
well-hidden part of the military's pursuit of a ``new concept of
warfare'' using radioactive materials from atomic bombmaking to
contaminate swaths of enemy land or to target military bases,
factories or troop formations.

Military historians who have researched the broader radiological
warfare program said in interviews that they had never before seen
evidence that it included pursuit of an assassination weapon.
Targeting public figures in such attacks is not unheard of; just
last year an unknown assailant used a tiny amount of radioactive
polonium-210 to kill Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London.

No targeted individuals are mentioned in references to the
assassination weapon in the government documents declassified in
response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the AP in
1995.

The decades-old records were released recently to the AP, heavily
censored by the government to remove specifics about radiological
warfare agents and other details. The censorship reflects concern
that the potential for using radioactive poisons as a weapon is more
than a historic footnote; it is believed to be sought by present-day
terrorists bent on attacking U.S. targets.

The documents give no indication whether a radiological weapon for
targeting high-ranking individuals was ever used or even developed
by the United States. They leave unclear how far the Army project
went. One memo from December 1948 outlined the project and another
memo that month indicated it was under way. The main sections of
several subsequent progress reports in 1949 were removed by censors
before release to the AP.

The broader effort on offensive uses of radiological warfare
apparently died by about 1954, at least in part because of the
Defense Department's conviction that nuclear weapons were a better
bet.

Whether the work migrated to another agency such as the CIA is
unclear. The project was given final approval in November 1948 and
began the following month, just one year after the CIA's creation in
1947.

It was a turbulent time on the international scene. In August 1949,
the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb, and two
months later Mao Zedong's communists triumphed in China's civil war.

As U.S. scientists developed the atomic bomb during World War II, it
was recognized that radioactive agents used or created in the
manufacturing process had lethal potential. The government's first
public report on the bomb project, published in 1945, noted that
radioactive fission products from a uranium-fueled reactor could be
extracted and used ``like a particularly vicious form of poison
gas.''

Among the documents released to the AP - an Army memo dated Dec. 16,
1948, and labeled secret - described a crash program to develop a
variety of military uses for radioactive materials. Work on a
``subversive weapon for attack of individuals or small groups'' was
listed as a secondary priority, to be confined to feasibility
studies and experiments.

The top priorities listed were:

- 1 - Weapons to contaminate ``populated or otherwise critical areas
for long periods of time.''

- 2 - Munitions combining high explosives with radioactive material
``to accomplish physical damage and radioactive contamination
simultaneously.''

- 3 - Air and-or surface weapons that would spread contamination
across an area to be evacuated, thereby rendering it unusable by
enemy forces.

The stated goal was to produce a prototype for the No. 1 and No. 2
priority weapons by Dec. 31, 1950.

The 4th ranked priority was ``munitions for attack on individuals''
using radioactive agents for which there is ``no means of therapy.''

``This class of munitions is proposed for use by secret agents or
subversive units for lethal attacks against small groups of
important individuals, e.g., during meetings of civilian or military
leaders,'' it said.

Assassination of foreign figures by agents of the U.S. government
was not explicitly outlawed until President Gerald R. Ford signed an
executive order in 1976 in response to revelations that the CIA had
plotted in the 1960s to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro, including
by poisoning.

The Dec. 16, 1948, memo said a lethal attack against individuals
using radiological material should be done in a way that makes it
impossible to trace the U.S. government's involvement, a concept
known as ``plausible deniability'' that is central to U.S. covert
actions.

``The source of the munition, the fact that an attack has been made,
and the kind of attack should not be determinable, if possible,'' it
said. ``The munition should be inconspicuous and readily
transportable.''

Radioactive agents were thought to be ideal for this use, the
document said, because of their high toxicity and the fact that the
targeted individuals could not smell, taste or otherwise sense the
attack.

``It should be possible, for example, to develop a very small
munition which could function unnoticeably and which would set up an
invisible, yet highly lethal concentration in a room, with the
effects noticeable only well after the time of attack,'' it said.

``The time for lethal effects could, it is believed, be controlled
within limits by the amount of radioactive agent dispersed. The
toxicities are such that should relatively high concentrations be
required for early lethal effects, on a weight basis, even such
concentrations may be found practicable.''

Tom Bielefeld, a Harvard physicist who has studied radiological
weapons issues, said that while he had never heard of this project,
its technical aims sounded feasible.

Bielefeld noted that polonium, the radioactive agent used to kill
Litvinenko in November 2006, has just the kind of features that
would be suitable for the lethal mission described in the Dec. 16
memo.

Barton Bernstein, a Stanford history professor who has done
extensive research on the U.S. military's radiological warfare
efforts, said he did not believe this aspect had previously come to
light.

``This is one of those items that surprises us but should not shock
us, because in the Cold War all kinds of ways of killing people, in
all kinds of manners - inhumane, barbaric and even worse - were
periodically contemplated at high levels in the American government
in what was seen as a just war against a hated and hateful enemy,''
Bernstein said.

The project was run by the Army Chemical Corps, commanded by Maj.
Gen. Alden H. Waitt, and supervised by a now-defunct agency called
the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. The project's first chief
was Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves, the Army's head of the Manhattan
Project that built the first atomic bombs. The radiological project
was approved by Groves' successor, Maj. Gen. Kenneth D. Nichols.

The released documents were in files of the Armed Forces Special
Weapons Project held by the National Archives.

Among the officials copied in on the Dec. 16 memo were Herbert
Scoville, Jr., then the technical director of the Armed Forces
Special Weapons Project and later the CIA's deputy director for
research, and Samuel T. Cohen, a physicist with RAND Corp. who had
worked on the Manhattan Project.

The initial go-ahead for the Army to pursue its radiological weapons
project was given in May 1948, a point in U.S. history, following
the successful use of two atomic bombs against Japan to end World
War II, when the military was eager to explore the implications of
atomic science for the future of warfare.

In a July 1948 memo outlining the program's intent, before specifics
had received final approval, a key focus was on long-lasting
contamination of large land areas where residents would be told that
unless the areas were abandoned they probably would die from
radiation within one to 10 years.

``It is thought that this is a new concept of warfare, with results
that cannot be predicted,'' it said.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 22 barrow in furness: Hero who battled nuke fire tells tale on TV

Published on 08/10/2007

HEORIC: Tom Tuohy was the man in charge of the firefighting 
operation at Pile Number 1 reactor at Windscale, 50 years ago 
this week


THE story of how a group of men battled for two days to stop
Britain’s first nuclear accident 50 years ago is being screened on
TV this week.

The Men Who Saved Cumbria chronicles how they fought the fire in
Pile Number 1 reactor at Windscale on October 10 and 11 1957.

Tom Tuohy was the man in charge of the firefighting operation, half
a century ago.

He got more than four times as much radiation that night as he
looked down into the burning reactor, as Sellafield workers were
allowed in a year.

Mr Tuohy said: “We were pioneers. I never thought about my own
safety.

“I just knew there were things I could do, and I got on and did
them.”

The programme uses archive pictures and interviews from those
involved first hand to relive those 24 hours and the weeks that
followed as Cumbria faced the reality of a radiation fallout.

Neville Ramsden spent weeks working flat out analysing milk from
farms thought to be radioactive in a 200 mile radius.

Mr Ramsden grew up in Barrow and remembers the blaze being the talk
of the town.

He says no one thought of the danger to themselves.

Mr Ramsden said: “We’d been trained to do a job, and that’s
what we did.”

Alan Daugherty, a former Mayor of Whitehaven, and health physics
monitor at Windscale in 1957, said: “We just didn’t know what
would happen.

“We just did what we could.”

He believes Mr Tuohy should have been given a medal for his actions.

Paddy Merrall, managing director of ITV Border, said: “We felt we
had to mark the anniversary of such an important event.

“We are indebted to these courageous and heroic men who literally
saved Cumbria and this programme pays tribute to them.”

The fire drama was at the time Britain’s worst nuclear emergency.

The Pile One reactor was built to make nuclear material for
Britain’s atomic weapons. It is still being decomm-issioned and
will be for many years to come.

The Men Who Saved Cumbria is being screened on Thursday at 7.30pm on
ITV Border.


View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital
reproduction, just like the printed copy at
www.nwemail.co.uk/digitalcopy

*****************************************************************
 23 BBC NEWS: Radioactive testing cost concerns

Last Updated: Monday, 8 October 2007, 15:53 GMT 16:53 UK

Sellafield Ltd is in talks about its monitoring programme

Environmental experts have expressed "frustration" at funding 
issues which have held up tests for radioactive particles on the 
Solway coast.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency hoped to test for 
pollution from Cumbria's Sellafield plant in August.

However, it has been unable to secure full funding from the 
agencies responsible for the English site.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - which owns the site - has 
offered to meet 60% of the Ł100,000 costs.

This is extra monitoring on top of the normal monitoring we have
conducted

NDA spokesman


Sepa has approached Sellafield Ltd - which runs the plant - to meet
the funding shortfall but without success.

The environmental group's radioactive monitoring expert Dr Paul Dale
said he believed these additional checks were necessary.

Earlier this year Sepa was alerted by its English counterpart - the
Environment Agency - about an increase in the number of radioactive
particles on beaches in North Cumbria.

It wants to check for any similar problems in Scotland and has
identified sites at Powfoot, Southerness and Kirkcudbright to carry
out the tests.

Mr Dale said it was import to assess if there was "any identified
risk to public health and the environment from any
Sellafield-originated radioactive particles".


Sepa wants to carry out additional checks on the Solway


"To enable this, we had all the essential preparation completed by
early August, so our contractors could begin later that month," he
said.

"However, due to funding issues, this has not been possible, and
Sepa is frustrated that these funding issues have continued to delay
this necessary work."

Dr Dale said that radioactive monitoring was funded under the
"polluter pays" principle.

He said Sepa was working with the EA to try to force Sellafield Ltd
to meet the funding requirement.

"The important point is that monitoring should not be delayed
further, and any risks identified are assessed," he said.

An NDA spokesman stressed that regular monitoring already took place
in the area due to the proximity of the Chapelcross plant in Annan.

"What they are talking about is using a particular type of vehicle,"
he said.

"This is extra monitoring on top of the normal monitoring we have
conducted."

'In discussions'

He confirmed that the group had offered Ł60,000 towards the total
costs of the monitoring.

A spokesperson for Sellafield Ltd said it was currently in talks
about the situation.

"Sellafield Ltd carries out a comprehensive annual monitoring
programme in line with that which is required by our regulators,"
she said.

"We are currently in discussions with the EA as to whether there
will be an extension to this programme."


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 24 ReviewJournal: Study details scope of rail project needed for Yucca

Oct. 07, 2007

By STEVE TETREAULT and KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Department of Energy has scheduled eight public hearings to
field comments on two draft documents related to rail corridors and
the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Hearings will be:

? Nov. 13 in Hawthorne at the convention center, 932 E St., from 4
p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Nov. 15 in Caliente at the youth center on U.S. 93, from 5:30 p.m.
to 8 p.m.

? Nov. 19 in the Reno-Sparks area at the convention center, 4590 S.
Virginia St., from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Nov. 26 in Amargosa Valley at the Longstreet Inn and Casino off
Route 373, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Nov. 27 in Goldfield at the school gym, Hall and Euclid streets,
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Nov. 29 in Lone Pine, Calif., at Statham Hall, 138 N. Jackson St.,
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Dec. 3 in Las Vegas at the Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd.,
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

? Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C., at the Marriott at Metro Center, 775
12th St. N.W., from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Written comments should be sent to the EIS Office, U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, 1551
Hillshire Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89134.

Written comments can also be submitted by fax, 1-800-967-0739, or by
accessing www.ocrwm.doe.gov.

An average of 17 trains would chug across rural Nevada each week for
50 years carrying nuclear waste, construction materials and scraps
to and from the Yucca Mountain repository being developed by the
U.S. Department of Energy.

During a railroad construction period that could take anywhere from
four to 10 years, as many as a dozen construction camps 30 miles
apart would be set up for workers in the Nevada outback.

The crews, drawn largely from Clark County and some from Nye County,
would build up to 240 bridges, 138 large culverts and up to five
highway crossings along the line running from Caliente and heading
west and then south to the repository.

At locations along the roughly 330-mile route, a total of 176 wells
would be drilled to provide water for the effort. Coarse rock needed
for rail bed ballast would be excavated from four new quarries.

Some details of what the largest U.S. railroad construction project
in 80 years might look like emerged from an environmental impact
study the department released late Thursday.

The rail study, and an associated report on the potential impacts of
how nuclear waste containers would be handled once they arrive at
the Yucca site, are steps forward in the DOE's campaign to establish
a repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Information within the 1,263 pages of the repository report will be
incorporated into a construction license application that department
officials said they plan to file with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission in June.

The environmental impact statement analyzing the so-called Caliente
railroad corridor totals 2,544 pages, including discussions of
alternative routes through Nevada that were studied and rejected.

For the first time, DOE indicated it would be wiling to share the
railroad with commercial shippers for general freight, a decision
that had been sought by Nevada farmers.

Rail cars carrying commercial freight would not be included on
nuclear waste trips but could share a ride with cars carrying
repository construction material, water and fuel, the department
said.

The DOE announced a series of hearings in Nevada and California for
November and December for the public to comment.

The reports, available at www.ocrwm.doe.gov, were issued without
fanfare.

"The documents speak for themselves," DOE spokesman Allen Benson
said.

The release of the voluminous materials triggered officials for the
state of Nevada, as well as environmental advocates and industry
officials, to begin their own analysis on Friday.

"We and other parties are going to have to take the time to look at
it," said Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear
Projects.

Robert Halstead, a transportation consultant for the state, said at
first glance he identified a half dozen issues that Nevada probably
will challenge, including a mention that more nuclear waste might
travel through the state on truck.

He said he is concerned that DOE officials think "they can ram this
Caliente rail route through. I know for sure we're going to fight
them to the mat on the Caliente route," Halstead said late Friday.

While most radioactive material would travel by rail under DOE's
plan, some 9,600 rail casks, the number of truck shipments was
increased from 1,110 to 2,700 in the new report.

DOE said it assumes that trucks will be needed to haul waste from
the 22 to 26 reactors that don't have rail access. Previously it was
assumed rail spurs would be built.

"We need to know what they mean when they say that," Halstead said.

The consultant also said the state might question DOE on "regions of
influence," the land surrounding the rail line that might be
disrupted by construction and operations. Halstead said the
department's quarter mile wide areas might be too narrow in some
valleys.

Special canisters for transporting, aging and disposing waste would
be loaded with spent nuclear fuel assemblies at reactor sites and
sealed after arriving at an above-ground receipt facility. From
there, canisters would be put in aging casks and moved to concrete
pads.

Once the thermal heat output "decayed to an acceptable level" the
canisters would be repackaged and hauled to a 41-mile maze of
tunnels for entombment, according to a summary of the documents.

Surface facilities would be constructed in phases. That means "for
several years, radiological operations would be occurring while
construction" is ongoing, the summary reads.

Waste transfer operations would be conducted "using mostly remotely
operated equipment.

Thick, reinforced concrete shield walls, shielded canister transfer
and controlled access techniques would protect workers from
radiation exposure," project planners wrote.

They estimated that about 80 percent of the doses to workers would
occur during operations "principally from surface handling of spent
nuclear fuel and subsurface monitoring and maintenance activities."

State consultants have said the aging pads and surface facilities
make for an interim storage site that is not allowed in the same
state hosting the repository.

Changes would have to be made to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to
address the surface facilities issue as well as DOE's draft plans
for doubling the repository's capacity to hold 135,000 metric tons
of spent fuel and other highly radioactive waste.

"This requires congressional approval, which I don't think they can
get," Halstead said.

Other issues that need to be resolved, according to DOE officials,
include the need for Congress to withdraw land from public access
for the repository, surface facilities and a buffer zone.

In addition the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission must finalize their two-tiered radiation
safety standards for covering both a 10,000-year period for the
repository and a 1 million-year period during which peak doses would
occur.

"Water use and water development projects will continue to be a
major concern in the region of influence regardless of the water
demands associated with the proposed repository or railroad," the
summary notes.

"Growth in water demand in Nevada has been very rapid: water use
against the backdrop of regional water transfer plans remains an
over-arching controversial issue."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at
stetreault@ stephensmedia.com or (202) 783-1760. Contact reporter
Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0308.

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
Stephens Media, LLC   Privacy Statement
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 25 ReviewJournal: Yucca Mountain Project has DOE seeing double

Oct. 07, 2007

Nevadans who fear the Yucca Mountain Project might have twice as
much to worry about now.

The Department of Energy is almost doubling the size of the proposed
repository as it completes new environmental studies and long-term
cost estimates of burying nuclear waste in Nevada.

The department on Thursday issued a draft study that the project's
director said analyzes the potential environmental effects of a
repository built to hold up to 135,000 metric tons of used nuclear
fuel and other highly radioactive waste.

Energy Department officials also are finalizing long-range cost
estimates for Yucca Mountain on the assumption it could be expanded
at some point, project Director Ward Sproat said.

The repository project's price tag could total in the range of $77
billion, a 35 percent increase from a 2001 estimate.

"Doubling the size of Yucca Mountain will only double the danger,"
said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "This is not a bad dream; it's a
nightmare."

A federal law passed in 1982 set the Yucca Mountain capacity at
70,000 metric tons.

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007
Stephens Media, LLC   Privacy Statement
*****************************************************************
 26 [infowarsnews] UK Green Lights Iran Strike
 
Resent-Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 14:41:55 -0500 (CDT)

UK Green Lights Iran Strike Brown gives backing to Bush for tactical
strikes as "counter-terrorism"

Steve Watson Infowars.net Monday, Oct 8, 2007

Reports in the British press this weekend have suggested that Gordon
Brown's government has promised to back U.S. led strikes on Iranian
military bases but not on the country's nuclear facilities.

http://infowars.net/articles/october2007/081007UKIran.htm

-------------------------------------

Prison Planet.tv: The Premier Multimedia Subscription Package:
Download and Share the Truth!

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 27 StratCom Hides Offensive Mission Behind Search for WMD
 
Resent-Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 10:01:05 -0500 (CDT)

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10151654

Omaha World Herald Published Sunday  |  October 7, 2007 StratCom
guides network of agencies in WMD fight BY TIM ELFRINK WORLD-HERALD
STAFF WRITER

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - The nightmare scenario for U.S. military planners
starts simply.

A small amount of nuclear, biological or chemical material slips
through security in a foreign country and passes unnoticed across
international borders.

Any such slip-up anywhere in the world could put that dangerous
material - the building blocks of a weapon of mass destruction -
in the hands of a terrorist hoping to use it against the United
States.

"The most serious strategic threat to the U.S. today is the threat
of non-state terrorist groups gaining control of and using weapons
of mass destruction," said Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, the new
head of the U.S.

Strategic Command.

In 2005, Offutt Air Force Base's StratCom [in Omaha, Nebraska] was
assigned to coordinate all of the Defense Department's far-flung
efforts to prevent the nightmare scenario.

The hub of that mission is StratCom's Center for Combating Weapons
of Mass Destruction, headquartered at the Army's Fort Belvoir,
southwest of Washington, D.C.

StratCom's traditional role is head of U.S. nuclear forces. Its
missions have expanded since 2002 to include overseeing the military's
space, missile defense, computer network warfare, global strike
capabilities, combating weapons of mass destruction, and global
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work.

To do all that, StratCom officials established separate commands
around the country for each major mission, including the Center for
Combating WMDs. Each command reports directly to StratCom.

While the WMD center has filled only about 30 of its 50 staff
positions since it began operating in January 2006, it's making
progress in uniting all Defense Department groups combating weapons
of mass destruction.

"Between crawl, walk and run, we're somewhere between crawl and
walking," said Army Col. Michael Holland, the WMD center's chief
of staff. "But we've accomplished a lot."

Work continues to find staff members from within the military service
branches. Projections are that the center will be fully staffed and
fully operational by September 2009.

With only 50 staffers of its own, the center won't directly lead
the complex job of preventing WMD attacks.

Rather, its role is to act as a central hub for more than 40 armed
forces agencies dealing with the problem.

The center's focus is on synchronizing those efforts, compiling the
agencies' information on WMD threats and sharing it with all branches
of the military.

"Even fully staffed, I don't anticipate (the center) actually leading
anything. But we generate the momentum, we jab the right muscles
so people do the right things," said Rear Adm. William P. Loeffler,
the WMD center's deputy director.

Some of the center's staff also will work with civilian government
agencies to more closely align their WMD efforts and the military's
programs.

"This is a huge, complex mission . . . and the number of (military
and civilian) people involved in it is huge. The center's mission
is to gain awareness of what everyone is doing, so we can move
toward a coherent national strategy," Loeffler said.

Key elements of the center's work:

. At a high-tech operations center, specialists compile global WMD
intelligence reports - about who is seeking weapons material and
where - to offer a "one-stop shop" for military agencies needing
the information.

. Staffers work with Defense Department agencies and commands around the world
to draft action plans for dealing with WMD threats.

. If the United States needs to quickly locate and dismantle a WMD anywhere in
the world, the center pulls together a special 30-person joint
military team that could deploy quickly to coordinate such an effort.

"This whole concept . . . came about because of (Operation Iraqi
Freedom),"

Holland said. "When we went into Iraq and started looking for WMDs,
we didn't have an organization that could do this."

. It represents StratCom at the Proliferation Security Initiative, a group of
about 80 nations working to prevent the transporting of WMD materials
across their borders.

The goal of it all, Loeffler said, is to foster cooperation between
all Defense Department groups and international partners working
on the WMD problem.

"It's vital that we get all the stakeholders around the table to
work on this
. . . so we have a unified approach, instead of a bunch of different
organizations out there doing their own thing," Loeffler said.

So many organizations worldwide are involved because combating the
WMD threat requires a range of actions - everything from diplomacy
to military interdiction, Loeffler said.

The easiest way to prevent a WMD attack is to make sure terrorists
can't get their hands on such potent weapons. Defense Department
agencies work with international partners to help build better
security around nuclear, chemical and biological stockpiles and to
police international borders.

Should such efforts fail, the military has a range of more active
options:

from deploying teams to safely disarm WMDs or intercepting those
seeking to buy and sell the weapons, to bombing raids or ground
attacks.

Defensive options, including the fledgling U.S. missile defense
system and the deterrence of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, also fall
under the broad mission of combating WMDs.

Finally, if a terrorist or rogue nation managed to launch a WMD
attack, a host of military and outside agencies have plans and
personnel ready to respond.

It's probably too early to judge how much StratCom's efforts have
improved cooperation among the dozens of Defense Department agencies.
But WMD experts say it's a worthy goal.

"Anything that improves interagency coordination . . . is a welcome
step, especially six years after 9/11, when we know that terrorist
groups like al-Qaida have been seeking nuclear weapons-useful
material," said Leonor Tomero, a nuclear nonproliferation expert
at the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

If the United States did face a terrorist group with WMDs, the
difficulty of disarming them makes interagency coordination within
the Defense Department vital, said Baker Spring, a research fellow
at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.

On all its projects, the center uses the expertise of the Defense
Threat Reduction Agency, a 1,900-person Defense Department group
that researches and develops technology for combating WMDs and helps
train military specialists.

StratCom's center is located in the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's
headquarters, and Dr. James Tegnelia, a physics expert who once led
the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., serves at
head of both organizations.

"Thanks to the partnership, we are now StratCom's premier agency
for these abilities and assessments on combating WMDs," said Holland,
the center's chief of staff.

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011 (207) 443-9502 http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Our blog)
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 28 The Hindu: More progress needed on core disputes - Pakistan

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007

ISLAMABAD: Pointing to the regularity with which talks with India
have continued despite political uncertainties in both countries,
and to the meetings scheduled for later this month, the Pakistan
Foreign Ministry on Monday sought to dispel the impression that the
peace process had slowed down, but reiterated that there had to be
more progress on “core disputes.”

Experts from both sides will meet again in New Delhi on October 18
and 19 for talks on conventional and nuclear confidence-building
measures (CBMs), while the joint anti-terror mechanism is to hold
its second meeting on October 22, also in the Indian capital.

“There’s no slowing down of the composite dialogue process because
of any event either in Pakistan or in India. Of course there have
been reports of what all has been going on in India,” said
spokesperson Tasnim Aslam, when asked at the weekly foreign office
briefing if the re-election of President Pervez Musharraf would
inject new life into the process.

“What is not happening is forward movement on the core disputes, and
we have repeatedly emphasised that while we are putting in place
confidence-building measures, constantly improving them — the
atmosphere has significantly improved — what we need to do now is to
take advantage of the improved climate and move towards resolving
the core disputes that have caused conflict and tension in the
region,” she said.

The talks on conventional confidence-building measures are to focus
on the quick return to their respective countries of “inadvertent
line crossers” from both sides. The spokesperson said an agreement
on this had already been negotiated and expressed the hope that it
would be finalised, as also an agreement on preventing incidents at
sea.

The two sides had signed an agreement in February on reduction of
the risk of nuclear accidents.

The spokesperson said the talks would review the implementation of
agreements already reached and discuss new proposals if any.

Ms. Aslam, who said last week there was evidence of Indian
involvement in terror incidents in Pakistan, declined to say if this
would be brought up during the anti-terror meeting. Nor did she
comment on what issues Islamabad expected India might put on the
table. An opportunity



She said the establishment of the mechanism was an opportunity for
both sides to be in direct contact to prevent terrorist incidents
and help in investigation, but said neither government wanted media
attention focussed on the mechanism.

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
*****************************************************************
 29 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korea Sure of Early Nuclear Settlement 

Monday October 8, 2007 8:16 AM

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The South Korean president said Monday the
global standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs will
soon be resolved, as U.S. experts prepared to travel to Pyongyang to
form a plan for disabling the country's reactors.

``I'm confident the North Korean nuclear issue will rapidly arrive
at a complete resolution,'' South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun
said, citing a detailed multilateral agreement aimed at the North's
denuclearization that was approved by the leaders of the two Koreas.

Roh's speech was read in the National Assembly by Prime Minister Han
Duck-soo.

The president traveled to Pyongyang last week for talks with Kim
Jong Il for the first inter-Korean summit in seven years.

The leaders signed an accord pledging to make ``joint efforts to
ensure the smooth implementation'' of agreements made at a new round
of six-nation talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China,
Russia and Japan.

In those talks, held at the end of September in Beijing, North Korea
agreed to disable its main nuclear facilities and declare all its
programs by the end of this year.

At the three-day meeting the leaders also agreed to cooperate in
ending military hostility - highlighted by efforts to replace a
Korean War-ending armistice with a peace treaty - and boost
cross-border economic projects.

``Inter-Korean relations have entered a new phase,'' Roh said in the
speech to lawmakers.

Separately, a team of U.S. nuclear experts, led by the State
Department's top Korea expert, Sung Kim, prepared to depart for the
North on Tuesday to create a plan for future teams to begin
disabling the North's Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

The team, which includes technical experts from various U.S.
government departments, will put in place a plan for its
disablement, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said earlier.

Other teams would then go to North Korea to disable it, he said.

A U.S. team of nuclear experts led by Sung Kim surveyed the North's
main nuclear facilities last month.

The Yongbyon nuclear complex is believed to have produced enough
plutonium for perhaps more than a dozen bombs - including the device
North Korea detonated a year ago to prove its long-suspected nuclear
capability.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Sunday, without citing
sources, that the North will likely start disabling its nuclear
facilities in mid-October and that the process would take about 45
days.

The North is also likely to agree to removing core parts from its
nuclear facilities and placing them under the oversight of the
International Atomic Energy Agency to meet the deadline, Yonhap also
said.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
*****************************************************************
 30 Korea Times: US Sends Nuke Experts to NK

10-08-2007 18:38 

By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter

The second phase of denuclearization of North Korea will get on
track as the United States is to send a team of nuclear experts to
North Korea today, the first action of implementing the agreement
reached in the six-party talks last Wednesday.

The group, led by Sung Kim, head of Korean affairs at the U.S. State
Department, will discuss ways of disabling nuclear facilities in
Yongbyon with North Korean officials.

The Oct. 3 agreement states the group's visit to Yongbyon as the
first activity for the disablement, and their visit means the
official kickoff of the second-phase denuclearization.

``This team is going to be putting the roadmap in place, so that you
get from where we are right now to a disabled Yongbyon facility at
the end of this year,'' Sean McCormack, spokesman of the U.S. State
Department, told reporters.

After North Korea shut down the Yongbyon nuclear complex last July
as the first phase of denuclearization, the communist country is
required to disable the nuclear facilities and declare all nuclear
weapons programs by year-end in return for economic aid and
political concessions.

Pyongyang will receive one million tons of heavy fuel oils or the
equivalent and the normalization of relations with Washington and
Tokyo for abandoning the nuclear program.

The U.S. team will finalize a technical plan for the disablement
based on the report by another nuclear team of the United States,
China and Russia, which visited Yongbyon last month.

The group will submit a report to chief negotiators of the six-party
talks after the visit to North Korea. Once negotiators approve the
report, a U.S. organization will conduct the disablement process
while negotiators will supervise it by forming an inspection team,
according to sources.

The disablement will be made to the five megawatt experimental
reactor, the reprocessing plant and nuclear fuel rod fabrication
facility in Yongbyon, according to the agreement.

North Korea will likely declare its nuclear program at the end of
this month when an early stage of disablement process is done.

Meanwhile, experts say that the declaration will be a more difficult
process than the disablement process as details of the declaration
are not written in the Oct. 3 agreement.

``North Korea was sure to conduct the disablement but the
declaration can be a stumbling block because the United States and
North Korea can have a different definition of it,'' said Sheen
Seong-ho, an international relations professor at the Graduate
School of International Studies at Seoul National University.

Though North Korea will declare nuclear weapons programs, it is
unclear that the Stalinist country would include literally all
programs such as uranium-based ones, he added.

Government officials also hinted that the declaration would take
longer than expected.

``The declaration is not an one-time event but a process,'' an
official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on
condition of anonymity. ``North Korea's declaration requires
verification process, which can take place several times.''

The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, the United States,
China, Russia and Japan.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr

*****************************************************************
 31 The Hindu: Deal detrimental to non-proliferation regime

Monday, Oct 08, 2007

Beijing: A veteran Chinese diplomat has described the India-U.S.
nuclear deal as “detrimental” to global nuclear non-proliferation
regime.

“China is fully aware that India is in dire need of energy for its
economic development,” the former Ambassador to India, Zhou Gang,
told PTI here while describing the nuclear deal as “rather
complicated.”

Mr. Zhou, who interestingly was the Ambassador in New Delhi when
India conducted the nuclear tests in 1998 citing apparent China
threat, said India should first overcome some “obstacles” to the
nuclear deal, including opposition from within the country. “It
seems that India has to overcome some obstacles. — PTI


Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the
contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written
consent of The Hindu


*****************************************************************
 32 Knoxville News Sentinel: ORNL reactor poses conversion challenge 

By Frank Munger (Contact)

Monday, October 8, 2007

OAK RIDGE — Three times within the past year, the Bush
administration trumpeted projects that had successfully converted
U.S. research reactors to use low-enriched uranium fuel — instead
of material that could be used in nuclear bombs.

These were small reactors on the campuses of Texas A&M University,
the University of Florida and Purdue University, but each conversion
was supposed to help dim the threat of nuclear terrorism. And the
precedent was important as the United States encouraged other
countries to remove their weapons-usable materials as part of the
Global Threat Reduction Initiative.

Bigger tasks lie ahead as U.S. officials try to convert the fuel
packages in five high-performance research reactors, and the biggest
challenge of all will come in Oak Ridge.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
currently operates with fuel plates that contain weapons-grade
uranium — 93 percent U-235, the fissionable isotope of uranium.
Anything above 20 percent is considered of potential use in weapons.

Because of unique technical difficulties associated with its fuel
plates, the ORNL reactor apparently will be the last civilian
reactor in the United States to operate with highly enriched
uranium. (The Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft
carriers will continue to use HEU for the foreseeable future.)

The proposed schedule for converting the Oak Ridge reactor recently
was bumped from 2014 to 2017, according to Trent Primm, a staff
nuclear engineer at ORNL who serves on a Department of Energy team
studying the fuel conversions. He said the revised schedule was
discussed at a late-August meeting at the University of Missouri.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor is among the world’s finest reactors
for doing experiments with materials and producing radioisotopes for
medicine and industry. The top-level research performance depends on
massive concentrations of neutrons, and production of those neutrons
requires the availability of many U-235 atoms to fission.

That’s why the reactor uses highly enriched uranium.

Kelly Beierschmitt, ORNL’s director of nuclear operations and
executive director of the High Flux Isotope Reactor, said the lab
won’t change until there’s assurance that the new low-enriched
fuel — below 20 percent U-235 — can safely meet all research and
operational needs.

“We’re holding firm. We cannot afford to compromise the reactor
performance,” he said.

Beierschmitt had indicated that he wasn’t optimistic about meeting
the earlier schedule, which called for the ORNL reactor to be
converted by 2014. A number of different fuel models are still being
considered, he said.

In addition to maintaining the needed flux of neutrons, the
low-enriched fuel has to have the same thermal behavior and meet a
series of other technical parameters, Beierschmitt said.

Oak Ridge engineers and scientists are working with counterparts at
DOE’s Argonne and Idaho national labs to develop and test
replacement fuels that don’t pose a weapons concern. Primm said
the team is evaluating a high-density fuel that’s an alloy of
uranium and molybdenum.

The nation’s commercial power reactors typically use uranium fuel
with a low enrichment — 3 percent to 5 percent U-235 — so they
don’t require any conversion.

All but a couple of the nation’s low-power research reactors have
already been converted to new fuel or will be soon. That puts the
emphasis on high-powered research facilities.

In addition to the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge, the other
research reactors are at the University of Missouri, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Idaho National Lab and the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Primm said the latest plan calls for conversion of the Missouri and
MIT reactors in 2010-12 and the ORNL reactor by 2017. The reactors
at Idaho and NIST would be converted sometime in between, he said.

The same type of fuel would be used for all of them, but the Oak
Ridge fuel plates have a different design — thin at the edges,
slightly thicker in the interior — and require special attention,
Primm said. That’s why it’s been given more time for conversion,
he said.

Although the schedule is getting stretched, that doesn’t diminish
the significance of getting nuclear materials out of harm’s way,
the ORNL engineer said.

“It’s absolutely a worthwhile thing to do,” Primm said. “A
relatively small amount of money can remove a potential problem.
And, not only that, you create an awareness around the world.”

Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
    
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