***************************************************************** 08/02/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.187 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Nuclear convoy crosses Germany 2 Senators seek probe of nuclear waste law firm 3 Editorial: Nuke waste dump oversight is intact 4 REID ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH IN SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES 5 Reid, Ensign seeking review of hazardous cargo shipments 6 Guinn seeks halt of Yucca work 7 Senate votes $1 million for Maine Yankee reuse 8 Nuclear experts urge more studies into quake risk 9 ADAMS: Items of Interest - Thursday, August 02, 2001 10 Letter from Kenny C. Guinn, Governor to Spencer Abraham, 11 Energy Secretary Praises House for Passage of Comprehensive Energy Bill 12 MICHAEL MEACHER ANNOUNCES NEW REVIEW OF RADIATION RISK MODELS 13 Energy Bill Glance 14 House Approves Bush Energy Bill NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Navy Begins Bombing on Vieques 2 Briton 'sent nuclear parts to Pakistan' 3 BUDGET AMENDMENT KILLED: Tight rein kept on Yucca spending 4 IAEA official plans to visit N. Korea this month 5 REID, ENSIGN INTRODUCE BILL TO COMMEMORATE THE "SILENT HEROES OF THE COLD WAR" 6 Editorial: Quicker detection is the key 7 Toxic Zones Are All Around Us 8 Nellis may not be safe in latest round of base cuts 9 IAAPxx/AP BOMBFALLOUT/Beryllium 10 Bechtel Jacobs designates WSMS-MK 'Best of Class' 11 Y-12 employees receive awards 12 Waste transportation poses no significant impact, says DOE 13 Meeting to address fate of K-25 buildings 14 Spotlight finds Y-12 during times of change 15 House Committee Backs Navy Training **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 BBC News | EUROPE | Nuclear convoy crosses Germany + [BBC] | | | | [BBC NEWS] Search BBC News Online "> You are in: World: Europe Front Page World Africa Americas Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East South Asia ----------- From Our Own Correspondent ----------- Letter From America UK UK Politics Business Sci/Tech Health Education Entertainment Talking Point In Depth AudioVideo [BBC Sport] [ BORDER=] SERVICES News Ticker News for PDA [ vspace=] Feedback Help [ vspace=] Low Graphics Wednesday, 1 August, 2001, 16:55 GMT 17:55 UK Nuclear convoy crosses Germany [Anti-nuclear protesters] Protests earlier this year caused widespread disruption Germany's biggest ever rail shipment of nuclear waste has arrived at the French border after crossing the country bound for reprocessing in France and Britain. So far it has not met any serious delays and protests by environmentalists have remained small-scale. The convoy is taking 21 spent fuel rods from five plants across Germany for reprocessing at La Hague in western France and Sellafield in northern England. Since Germany restarted shipments earlier this year trains have faced serious delays caused by hundreds of protesters chaining themselves to the train tracks along the route. Police on stand-by The first five containers of fuel from plants at Brunsbuettel and Stade in northern Germany were coupled together near Hamburg on Tuesday night. [Biblis nuclear plant] Germany has pledged to phase out nuclear power Anti-nuclear protesters held up the train for 20 minutes before it passed on unhindered. These containers will be joined to another convoy of seven at Woerth on the French border, bringing fuel from the Muelheim-Kaerlich, Philippsburg and Neckarwestheim plants in the south-west. Thousands of police are standing by in preparation for a repeat of the widescale disruption caused by protests earlier this year. Nuclear-free future Germany stopped transporting spent fuel in 1998 when containers were found to have leaked radiation. The decision to recommence the shipments angered many environmentalists, particularly as the Green party now forms part of the ruling coalition. Germany does not have the capacity to reprocess its spent fuel itself, but the waste is returned to Germany after processing abroad. In June Chancellor Schroeder signed an agreement with the nuclear industry to decommission the country's nuclear plants over the next 20 years, fulfilling the country's long-held ambition to be nuclear-free. See also: 16 Jul 01 | Europe Germany investigates plutonium theft 12 Jun 01 | Europe Germany signs end to nuclear power 09 May 01 | Europe Police guard German nuclear train 23 Apr 01 | Europe Germany's nuclear waste headache 28 Mar 01 | Europe Germany's anti-nuclear protesters 28 Mar 01 | Sci/Tech Nuclear waste: A long-lived legacy 26 Mar 01 | Europe Nuclear nightmare for Greens 15 Jun 00 | Europe Analysis: Germany's alternatives to nuclear Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Europe stories now: Bosnian Muslims to face Hague tribunal Car bombers rock west London Macedonia talks resume amid doubts Genoa violence claims police scalps Computing power on tap German nuclear waste crosses France Senator's threat to block 'Star Wars' General guilty of Bosnia genocide Links to more Europe stories are at the foot of the page. Links to more Europe stories In This Section Bosnian Muslims to face Hague tribunal Car bombers rock west London Macedonia talks resume amid doubts Genoa violence claims police scalps Computing power on tap German nuclear waste crosses France Senator's threat to block 'Star Wars' General guilty of Bosnia genocide Russia set to release US 'spy' Expats condemn Italian police Eurozone rates left unchanged French clean up their language Aircraft carrier 'trapped' in Black Sea Analysis: Albanian language demands Silverstone future 'secure' T-Online losses narrow Race row erupts in Hungarian football Kournikova issues marriage plea Connery 'could promote Skoda' European press review Serb TV boss charged over Nato deaths Srebrenica judgement: Excerpts Spotlight on Macedonia deal Q&A: Srebrenica massacre Survivors condemn 'lenient' verdict Doors open to Italy's royals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- News Sources + ***************************************************************** 2 Senators seek probe of nuclear waste law firm [Las Vegas Review-Journal] Thursday, August 02, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal By STEVE TETREAULT DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevada's senators on Wednesday urged the Energy Department to sever ties with a law firm contracted to work on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste program at the same time it was registered as a lobbyist for the nuclear power industry. Republican Sen. John Ensign and Democratic Sen. Harry Reid requested an investigation of the firm, Winston &Strawn, charging it had a conflict of interest. "We believe the conflict is so egregious that is merits the immediate termination of this tainted contract," the senators said in a letter to Gregory Friedman, the department's inspector general. Winston &Strawn was hired in 1999 to review the Energy Department's application for a Nevada nuclear waste repository before it is submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Earlier, in 1992, it was hired to perform the same job as a subcontractor under then-program manager TRW Corp. At the same time, the firm was registered as a lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade group seeking to ensure that Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is found suitable as a repository. The company has filed a disclosure form with Congress saying it stopped lobbying for NEI on July 11, according to published reports. Friedman was asked to determine whether Winston &Strawn disclosed its relationship with NEI when bidding for the government work, and what procedures the firm had in place to prevent personnel from sharing DOE information with its trade clients. The probe also should determine potential criminal violations in the contract award involving Winston &Strawn employees who might have been former officials with the Energy Department or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the senators said. Winston &Strawn executives in Washington and at firm headquarters in Chicago could not be reached Wednesday night. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Aug-02-Thu-2001/news/16679410.html ***************************************************************** 3 Editorial: Nuke waste dump oversight is intact Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 8:52:15 PDT It was a hopeful sign on Wednesday that the Republican House leadership yanked from its energy bill a provision that would have taken away Congress' spending oversight of the Yucca Mountain Project. The nuclear power industry's supporters in Congress wanted less scrutiny, especially since the federal government's study of Yucca Mountain's suitability to store high-level nuclear waste has been bungled terribly. Nevada Reps. Jim Gibbons, a Republican, and Shelley Berkley, a Democrat, lobbied their colleagues to oppose this measure. It worked this time, but the nuclear power industry won't meekly retreat. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who sponsored the measure, said he would bring it up again later this year. This was a temporary victory, but it still was key in the state's fight against this project, which threatens the health and safety of Nevadans. Las Vegas SUN main page All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 4 REID ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH IN SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES August 2, 2001 Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced today that a rural electric cooperative based in Ely, Nevada has successfully completed a geothermal well that could eventually generate enough power to supply more than two thousand people each year. Mt Wheeler Power drilled the well in Pershing County, Nevada with the help of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE is still analyzing the drilling results, but initial studies indicate that it will produce between two and four megawatts of power – more than scientists had expected before the project began. One megawatt of power is enough to provide for 1,000 people for a year. "I have been a supporter of geothermal power for years, and our success in Pershing County is proof that we need to continue developing this promising energy resource," said Reid. "Geothermal power is clean, renewable, and plentiful in Nevada. We have naturally occurring hot springs across our state. The pioneers noticed pools of boiling water when they traveled across Nevada one hundred years ago, but we're just now starting to harness the power of our natural resources." Reid and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced an initiative called GeoPowering the West in January, 2000. The project created and funded public/private partnerships to develop geothermal power in Nevada, California, New Mexico, and Utah. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to use geothermal power to provide 10% of the electricity needs of the western states by the year 2020. Last year, Reid won $43 million dollars for GeoPowering the West projects. $12 million of that funding will go to Nevada companies over the next three years. Mt. Wheeler Power received funding through the GeoPowering the West initiative to resume drilling at a geothermal site in Rye Patch, Nevada. Earlier development at the Pershing County site was postponed because of technical difficulties. Mt. Wheeler Power, the DOE, Sandia National Laboratory, and Geothermal Development Associates in Reno, Nevada all contributed to upgrading the equipment, fixing the technical problems, and successfully drilling the well. Energy from the well will eventually fuel a 12.5 megawatt power plant that is now under construction. Both the power plant and the well should be completed and ready for use by the end of this year. "The scientists and construction workers from Mt. Wheeler Power and the DOE have done a great job on this project," said Reid. "I'm looking forward to seeing the final numbers from the DOE's study, but I'm very hopeful that they'll be as good as the preliminary numbers. Now we need to expand on our success, and as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee's Energy and Water Subcommittee, I'll work to get more funding for geothermal projects that will be good for Nevada's future. ***************************************************************** 5 Reid, Ensign seeking review of hazardous cargo shipments Today: August 02, 2001 at 10:17:05 PDT By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN Nevada's U.S. senators are calling attention to the dangers of shipping hazardous materials after the discovery of a damaged nuclear waste container on a truck en route to the Nevada Test Site. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., want a national review of hazardous cargoes and the methods used to track their progress across the country. They will make their recommendations during a news conference today in Washington. On Monday an International Waste Removal Inc. truck carrying seven containers of contaminated scrap metal and other debris was detained in West Wendover after the driver discovered white foam near one of the shipping boxes. The Department of Energy checked the shipment for signs of radioactive contamination, and on Tuesday six boxes were sent on to the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The damaged container, which had an inch-long gash, was sealed and returned to DOE's West Valley, N.Y. reprocessing plant, its point of origin. Reid and Ensign are leading a congressional fight to keep 77,000 tons of high-level commercial and military nuclear waste out of Yucca Mountain, the only site under study as a permanent repository. The Nevada contingent was joined by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who displayed the route in which the low-level radioactive was shipped from New York to the Test Site. The driver passed through several states before he noticed the white foam near one of the containers. He had stopped in West Wendover to refuel. Reid said two incidents in less than two weeks brings to light the lack of a safety net for shipping hazardous and nuclear waste and demonstrates "the very real danger" of transporting such cargo. "Millions of people live along the route taken by this truck," Reid said. "The Department of Energy has suspended shipment for two weeks from the West Falls, N.Y. site, but I am concerned about the hundreds of trucks carrying dangerous materials from other sites across the country." Ensign said he questions whether emergency response crews are sufficiently trained and prepared to handle incidents such as the one that occurred in Wendover this week. "Do we have a proper procedure in place to handle these incidents of low-level nuclear waste, let alone high-level waste?" Ensign said. "There seems to be serious problems with a lot of people who are supposedly trained when they might not have the knowledge or equipment." Reid last week amended the Senate's transportation appropriations bill, calling for an analysis of the risks of shipping hazardous materials, a survey of the nation's transportation system that would include recommended upgrades and an assessment of emergency response systems, as well as the ability of crews responding to future disasters. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 6 Guinn seeks halt of Yucca work Today: August 02, 2001 at 11:22:21 PDT By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to stop work at the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain while an independent investigation is conducted into an alleged conflict of interest involving a Chicago-based law firm. Winston &Strawn was hired by the Energy Department to review licensing documents required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding Yucca Mountain while it also lobbied for the nuclear industry, Guinn wrote in the letter to Abraham, dated Wednesday. The DOE has spent $7 billion studying Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the sole site for a proposed high-level nuclear repository for 77,000 tons of radioactive waste over a 20-year period. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., also on Wednesday called for a DOE inspector general's investigation into the allegations. Inspector general spokeswoman Wilma Slaughter said the agency is independent and conducts fact-finding investigations. "We have no authority to suspend or cancel a contract," she said. Abraham or contracting officer Craig Frame could suspend the contract, Slaughter said. In a separate letter Wednesday, Ensign and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked the DOE to terminate Winston &Strawn's contract. "According to current law, the Department of Energy is required to make an unbiased, objective and independent assessment as to whether the proposed site at Yucca Mountain is safe to bury tons of highly radioactive waste," Reid said in the letter. "What troubles me and most Americans who face the potential of nuclear waste rolling through their communities is that this apparent conflict of interest jeopardizes the public trust in DOE's ability to make an unbiased, independent assessment," Reid said. The DOE hired Winston &Strawn for $16.5 million in September 1999 to complete legal work related to licensing issues involving Yucca Mountain. From 1996 to July 11 the 850-attorney firm also represented the Nuclear Energy Institute -- the nuclear power trade group -- before Congress, the NRC and the Environmental Protection Agency on various nuclear issues, according to congressional records. The law firm also represented former Yucca contractor TRW, a company managing the Yucca project for DOE from 1992 to 1999. "I believe this situation warrants an immediate halt to the site evaluation and suitability process pending a complete and independent investigation external to DOE of the entire program," Guinn wrote. "It might be that such a review will conclude DOE's entire program has been so prejudiced that any further consideration of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository must come to an end," Guinn wrote. DOE spokeswoman Jille Schroeder said the agency received Guinn's letter late Wednesday, but department officials had no comment. The inspector general recently completed an investigation into a conflict of interest charge against the DOE for attempting, in an anonymous two-page memo attached to a Yucca scientific report, to sell the idea for the repository to Congress. The inspector general in April ruled that there was no conflict. Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., on Wednesday successfully kept DOE's Yucca budget under annual congressional review. The DOE asked to take Yucca funding out of the routine budgeting process, an move that would have allowed the agency to finish its studies by spending the remaining $10 billion in a special fund set up in 1982. Reid has already slashed a $445 million DOE request for this year to $275 million, although a joint congressional committee must still approve DOE's budget. "The best way to delay the program is to cut the funding," Ensign said. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 7 Senate votes $1 million for Maine Yankee reuse [The Lincoln County News - Online Edition] Aug 02, 2001 Vol. 126-No. 31 Greg Foster Two major milestones that promise to contribute to Wiscasset's economic turnaround have taken place simultaneously in the past few days. One is a U.S. Senate vote to allocate $1 million to a newly-formed local partnership for reuse of the Maine Yankee site. The other is the federal approval of an application for the proposed Neptune Project, a unique power transmission proposal that may include a substation at the site (see related story). In its July 25 vote, the Senate included the money in the combined budget for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development to fund the Wiscasset Regional Economic Development Corp, whose focus is on the redevelopment of the Maine Yankee site. "This reconfirms our confidence in hiring Stafford (Business Advisors) and the town's commitment to moving ahead partnership with our neighbors through the Lincoln County Economic Development Office," First Selectman Ben Rines said. All members of the Maine congressional delegation supported the funding, which Sen. Olympia Snowe urged and now awaits House approval where Rep. Tom Allen and Rep. John Baldacci have agreed to push for the funding before President Bush reviews the final budget. Once approved, the funding will be available in 2002 for use in establishing and staffing a marketing office; developing a site survey, land use plan and marketing materials, and fund a sustained redevelopment effort. "This is an important step towards securing the Maine Yankee site?s future as an asset for the whole region," said Judy Foss, Stafford Business Advisors' project manager. "The funding is a mark of confidence in the regional public/private partnership the WREDC represents and in the cooperative relationship established between WREDC and Maine Yankee." Foss stated that the WREDC intends to become the first successful redevelopment effort of a nuclear power plant in the country. The news comes as an answer to the oft stated desire of the Lincoln County commissioners for a regional development plan. "From the county's perspective, our commitment to this effort reflects the fact that in the future, as in the past, Maine Yankee will benefit the entire region," Chairman Bill Blodgett said. "When the plant was in operation, its property taxes contributed as much as a quarter of the county budget and pumped millions of payroll and service dollars into the economy. We believe we can redevelop the site in an environmentally sensitive way so that it can do so again." WRDEC itself is made up of the commissioners board through the Lincoln County Economic Development Office, as well as Coastal Enterprises, Inc. and The Chewonki Foundation. Stafford, which the town contracted to provide community and economic development services, originally suggested the regional partnership idea a year ago. Although a start, the funding is just that, according to Stafford partner Chris Hall, who warns that expectations should be realistic. "If we get the full $1 million, it will not go far in terms of redevelopment." Comparing the redevelopment effort here to the reuse of the former Loring Air Force Base at Limestone, Hall noted that the project will receive $3.3 million in state and federal funding annually through 2004 for job creation and has generated $100 million of new investment and created 1,000 jobs so far. "Our challenge is a different one," Hall said, however. "We do not have widespread unemployment in Lincoln County. Instead we must create or attract other entrepreneurs. This funding does not solve the problem, but it gives us a starting point from which to go out and meet the challenge." Editor@LCNews.Maine.Com Lincoln County News PO Box 36, Damariscotta, ME 04543 Tel: 207.563.3171 http://lcnews.maine.com/2001-08-02/maine_yankee.html rev 2001-08-02 ***************************************************************** 8 Nuclear experts urge more studies into quake risk ABC News - Bulletin: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 An international team of nuclear experts has suggested further studies into the risk of an earthquake affecting the site of a proposed replacement nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney's south. The team has raised 22 issues about the Argentinian-designed proposal. Scientists from the International Atomic Agency examined a safety analysis report and found the information acceptable - allowing a licence application from the reactor operator to now be considered. But the team also raised questions to be addressed before the next stage in the approval process. It has recommended more information be gathered on the risks of earthquake affecting the site, including greater investigation of faults and fractures outside a three kilometre radius from the reactor. Dr John Loy from Australia's Nuclear Safety Agency says the question is - what is the strongest earthquake the building should be designed for? The worst earthquake that might occur is once every 10,000 years. "But of course we haven't been looking at earthquakes in Australia for 10,000 years, so we don't know," he said. border="0"> © 1999 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 9 ADAMS: Items of Interest - Thursday, August 02, 2001 ADAMS - Items of Interest Recent Released Documents Added - Thursday, August 02, 2001 These documents and others may be retrieved at the NRC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Item ID: 012130027 Accession Number: ML011990557 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:12:37 AM Title: 06/26/2001 Meeting with Entergy Operations, Inc., Re Planned Power Uprates Based on Revisions to 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD4 Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130292 Accession Number: ML011800278 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:14:06 PM Title: 07/17/2001 Closed meeting with Consumers Energy Re: Palisades-Licensee discussion of details of security program status. Author Affiliation: NRC/RGN-III Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130231 Accession Number: ML012050503 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:17:42 PM Title: 07/18/01 Letter to The Honorable John E. Sununu Regarding Correspondence Between the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League and the NRC. Author Affiliation: NRC/OCA Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130287 Accession Number: ML012130160 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:13:35 PM Title: 07/19/2001 Congressional Record on Nuclear Waste. Author Affiliation: US SEN Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130288 Accession Number: ML012130163 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:13:42 PM Title: 07/23/2001 Congressional Record on Railroad Disasters. Author Affiliation: US HR Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130092 Accession Number: ML012060350 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:27:43 AM Title: 07/24/01 Senate Consideration of H.R. 2299, Transportation Appropriations for FY 2002. Author Affiliation: NRC/OCA Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130253 Accession Number: ML012130057 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:20:15 PM Title: 07/26/01 Letter to The Honorable Jeff Bingaman Responding to Question asked at Price-Anderson June 26, 2001 Hearing. Author Affiliation: NRC/OCA Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130182 Accession Number: ML012120250 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:44:25 AM Title: 08/09/01 - Meeting Notice: State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection to discuss NJ-DEP comments and questions submitted by letter dated 07/27/2001, on the NUHOMS-61BT dry spent fuel storage system. Author Affiliation: NRC/NMSS/SFPO Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130251 Accession Number: ML012130048 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:20:03 PM Title: 08/13/01 Meeting With The Boiling Water Reactor Owners Group (BWROG) To Discuss Issues Regarding BWROG letter dated June 22, 2001, on Topical Report NEDO-33033, "Regulatory Relaxation For The H2/02 Monitors And Combustile Gas Control System," .... Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130189 Accession Number: ML012130041 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:45:08 AM Title: 08/16/01 Meeting With General Electric Re; Stability Reload Licensing Calculations. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130188 Accession Number: ML012130010 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:45:01 AM Title: 08/21/01 Meeting With General Electric To Discuss Stacked Disk ECCS Suction Strainers. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130241 Accession Number: ML012120152 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:19:04 PM Title: 08/28/2001 - 08/29/2001 Meeting with Entergy Nuclear to discuss various licensing-related processes. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD4 Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130093 Accession Number: ML012050239 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:27:47 AM Title: 09/16/1987 - 09/17/1987 Minutes of the HLW Licensing Support System Advisory Committee Meeting. Author Affiliation: NRC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130293 Accession Number: ML011860340 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:14:11 PM Title: Agenda: NRC Public Workshop on Risk-Related to Spent Fuel Pool Accidents for Decommissioning Plants. Author Affiliation: NRC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130276 Accession Number: ML011860386 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:12:28 PM Title: Agenda: Risk-Informed Decommissioning June 7, 1999 Public Meeting. Author Affiliation: NRC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130270 Accession Number: ML011860363 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:11:55 PM Title: Agenda: Risk-Informing Decommissioning Rules NRC/NEI/Public Meeting on May 5, 1999. Author Affiliation: NRC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130174 Accession Number: ML012070392 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:43:06 AM Title: Continuation of IAEA Trip Report - IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Minimizing Aging in Nuclear Power Plants - Technical Papers - Attachment 2. Author Affiliation: NRC/RES Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130173 Accession Number: ML012070390 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:43:00 AM Title: Continuation of IAEA Trip Report - Notification of an Agency Meeting re: Technical Committee Meeting on Minimizing Aging in Nuclear Power Plants (Components important to Safety) - Attachment 1. Author Affiliation: NRC/RES Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130275 Accession Number: ML011860378 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:12:21 PM Title: EDO and DEDO Briefing on the Preliminary Technical Assessment of Spent Fuel Pool Accidents for Decommissioning Plants. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DSSA/SPLB, NRC/NRR/DSSA/SPSB Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130049 Accession Number: ML012050322 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:15:28 AM Title: Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Registration of Spent Fuel Cask Use. Author Affiliation: Southern Nuclear Operating Company Inc Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130137 Accession Number: ML010510383 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:39:40 AM Title: Haddam Neck - NRC Staff's Response to Request for Hearing and Petitions to Intervene Filed by the Citizens Awareness Network and the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control Author Affiliation: NRC/OGC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130223 Accession Number: ML011790319 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:16:52 PM Title: MOX - NRC STAFF'S COMMENTS ON DRAFT PROTECTIVE ORDER Author Affiliation: NRC/OGC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130247 Accession Number: ML012130029 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:19:35 PM Title: Press Release-01-092: NRC Announces Availability of License Renewal Application for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. Author Affiliation: NRC/OPA Document/Report Number: Press Release-01-092 _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130248 Accession Number: ML012130038 Date Added: 8/1/01 2:19:39 PM Title: Press Release-01-093: NRC Announces Opportunity for Hearing for License Renewal .Applications for North Anna, Surry. Author Affiliation: NRC/OPA Document/Report Number: Press Release-01-093 _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130283 Accession Number: ML012130053 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:13:09 PM Title: Press Release-IV-01-040: NRC Plans Additional Inspection at Callaway Nuclear Power Plant Due to Performance Deficiency. Author Affiliation: NRC/OPA:RGN-IV/FO Document/Report Number: Press Release IV-01-040 _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130299 Accession Number: ML011870307 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:14:46 PM Title: Public Concerns Raised at the Decommissioning Workshop on July 15-16, 1999. Author Affiliation: NRC Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130068 Accession Number: ML012050396 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:22:02 AM Title: Publication of EMF-2361(P)(A) Revision 0, EXEM BWR-2000 ECCS Evaluation Model. Author Affiliation: Framatome ANP Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130079 Accession Number: ML012050313 Date Added: 8/1/01 10:24:00 AM Title: Submittal of the Maine Yankee Defueled Safety Analysis Report Revision 18. Author Affiliation: Maine Yankee Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130296 Accession Number: ML011860356 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:14:32 PM Title: Viewgraphs: Workshop on Risk Related to Spent Fuel Accidents at Decommissioning Plants, Heavy Loads Discussion Session. Author Affiliation: NRC/NRR/DSSA/SPLB, NRC/NRR/DSSA/SPSB Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130289 Accession Number: ML012130235 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:13:49 PM Title: XSNM03210 Export License Application for Enriched Uranium in the Form of UO2 Pellets, Powder, UF6, U3O8, for Use in Nuclear Reactors Within the EURATOM Community. Author Affiliation: Framatome ANP Richland Inc. Document/Report Number: _________________________________________________________________ Item ID: 012130282 Accession Number: ML012110271 Date Added: 8/1/01 4:13:05 PM Title: XSNM03210 Letter to Executive Branch regarding application for license for export of LEU for ultimate use as fuel in various nuclear power reactors within EURATOM commumity. Author Affiliation: NRC/OIP Document/Report Number: ***************************************************************** 10 Letter from Kenny C. Guinn, Governor to Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy, re: The recent incident involving a truck shipment of low-level nuclear waste OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR One Hundred One North Carson Street Carson City, Nevada 89701 KENNY C. GUINN Governor August 1, 2001 Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave S.W. Washington, D.C. Dear Secretary Abraham: I am writing to express my concern regarding the recent incident involving a truck shipment of low-level nuclear waste from the West Valley site in New York destined for the Nevada Test Site. As you know, on Monday, July 30, the truck was detained in West Wendover, Nevada, after the driver detected a foaming substance on the truck's bed. Upon investigation, the Department of Energy's (DOE) response team discovered a breach in one of the truck's containers. The team secured the container and moved it to the Envirocare site in Utah. While we are informed this particular incident did not result in detectable harm to human health and the environment, it created a great deal of anxiety in the Wendover community. This incident gives further credence to Nevada's long-time concerns over the transportation of radioactive waste through our state. This is the second incident where a truck shipment of low-level nuclear waste destined for the Nevada Test Site experienced a breach in transit. In 1997, a truck shipping radioactive waste from Fernald, Ohio, was stopped in Arizona when it was discovered that radioactive liquid material was leaking from the truck. This escape of radioactive material into the environment was serious enough that DOE suspended all further shipments from Fernald pending a system wide analysis of the transportation of radioactive waste. From this investigation came a report ("the Fernald Report") containing several recommendations for corrective action to ensure such an incident would not occur again. Given the recent incident at Wendover, and based upon our review of the Fernald Report, it appears that many, if not most, of the recommendations made were either ignored or simply brushed aside. It appears DOE's protocol for the transportation of nuclear waste is seriously ineffective in protecting public health and the environment. We believe DOE should engage in a fundamental study of the transportation of radioactive waste which includes a collective investigation and analysis of all incidents in which radioactive waste was released, or at risk of being released into the environment during the transportation process, rather than analyzing these accidents on a case by case basis. Therefore, I am requesting that DOE suspend all further shipments from West Valley until the completion of such a review and the preparation by DOE of a corrective action plan to address this very serious problem. Certainly, we would hope the investigation, review, and corrective action plan would include input from state regulators. I hope you share my belief that the health and safety risks inherent in the transportation of radioactive waste demand such action. I look forward to your commitment in addressing our concerns, and your timely response to our request. Sincerely: --s-- KENNY C. GUINN Governor ***************************************************************** 11 Energy Secretary Praises House for Passage of Comprehensive Energy Bill energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2001 [Print Friendly Version] Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today praised the House of Representatives action on the energy bill: "Tonight's House passage of comprehensive, balanced energy legislation is a tribute to President Bush's leadership and a tremendous victory for America, for the economy, and for the environment. Congressional action on the President's National Energy plan, just a few months after its unveiling, is an important step toward meeting our long-term energy needs and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. "America's energy challenges are long-term problems that cannot be solved with quick fixes. I congratulate the House Leadership and the members of the House of Representatives who supported passage for forthrightly addressing those challenges with solutions that will ensure America's energy security for generations to come." Media Contact: Jeanne Lopatto 202/586-4940 Release No. R-01-130 ***************************************************************** 12 MICHAEL MEACHER ANNOUNCES NEW REVIEW OF RADIATION RISK MODELS DEFRA, UK: 2001 News release: NEWS RELEASE Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR Tel: 020 7238 5609 Out of hours: 020 7270 8960 Fax: 020 7238 5529 31 July 2001 Environment Minister Michael Meacher today announced that the Government's independent advisory Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) has been asked to establish a new broad based working group to review the risks associated with internal radiation emitters and the need for further research. Membership of the working group will be announced soon and its remit will be "To consider the present risk models for radiation and health that apply to exposure to radiation from internal radionuclides in the light of recent studies and any further research that might be needed." The working group is the outcome of recent discussions between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and COMARE about the best way to evaluate the risks from radiation to ensure that the most valid risk models are used in radiation protection. The Working Group will produce and publish a report that will be considered by COMARE who will then advise the Government. Michael Meacher, Environment Minister, said: "There are significant differences of view among experts about the precise impacts of the internal ingestion of radionuclides and these need to be resolved. "This new Working Group will reach across all parties in the debate on risks of radiation, to assess the impact and reach a consensus on whether the current risk models continue to be valid." Professor Bridges, Chairman of COMARE welcomed the exercise. He said: "The Government has recently given Chairmen of Scientific Advisory Committees the responsibility of ensuring that all views are heard and taken into account when Committees formulate their advice. The risk from internal radioactivity is an area where, despite broad international consensus, there are several dissenting and sometimes mutually opposed viewpoints. "The working group will provide a real challenge to the holders of all viewpoints to argue their case and try and reach agreement. COMARE regards this as an important consultative exercise and will be listening carefully to the proceedings." Notes for editors 1. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) was established in November 1985 in response to the final recommendation of the report of the Independent Advisory Group chaired by Sir Douglas Black (Black, 1984). The Black Advisory Group had been commissioned by the Minister of Health in 1983 to investigate reports of a high incidence of leukaemia occurring in young people living in the village of Seascale, 3 km from the Sellafield nuclear site and the suggestion that there might be an association between the leukaemia incidence and the radioactive discharges from Sellafield. COMARE is an independent expert advisory committee with members chosen for their medical and scientific expertise and recruited from Universities and Research Institutes. Members are appointed by the Chief Medical Officer, but the Committee advises all Government Departments not just the Health Departments. The Committee offers Government independent medical and scientific advice on the health effects of ionising and non-ionising radiation in the environment, whether natural or man-made. COMARE's terms of reference are "to assess and advise Government and the devolved authorities on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation in the environment and to assess the adequacy of the available data and the need for further research". 2. Radionuclides are radioactive elements, some occur naturally but others are produced in processes such as nuclear power generation. People may be exposed to radiation from external sources, however radionuclides can also be ingested and inhaled. 3. Estimates of risks from radiation exposure are based mainly on the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These survivors include large numbers of men and women of all ages, who received a wide range of radiation doses and whose health has been studied over many years. The risk estimates also incorporate information from some groups of people who received radiation for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes; for example, those exposed to diagnostic x-rays in the womb. The atomic bomb survivors and some of the medically-exposed groups were exposed to external sources of radiation. To estimate risks for internal exposures due to intakes of radionuclides, doses are usually calculated to various parts of the body and combined with information on risks from the studies of external exposure. However, for some types of cancer, risk estimates are based directly on studies of people exposed internally to radionuclides. For example: + lung cancer from studies of uranium miners who inhaled radon; + liver cancer from studies of patients injected with Thorotrast, an x-ray contrast medium that contained thorium; and + bone cancer from studies of patients and dial painters exposed to radium. Press enquiries: 020 7238 5337 END ***************************************************************** 13 Energy Bill Glance Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 5:45:23 PDT Key provisions in energy legislation approved by the House early Thursday: - Provides $33.5 billion in energy tax credits and incentives over 10 years, about 80 percent to enhance energy production and the rest for conservation, energy efficiency and environment. - Directs oil and gas development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. - Expands research and development programs and tax incentives for clean-coal technologies to assure continued use of coal by power plants. - Orders a modest increase in fuel efficiency of sport utility vehicles, requiring that SUV gasoline use be reduced by 5 billion gallons over six years. - Expands energy assistance programs to help low-income families pay for home-heating and cooling costs and weatherizing homes. - Provides tax credits for buying solar panels, fuel-efficient hybrid gas-electric cars, and ultra-energy-efficient appliances and homes. - Gives tax breaks to extend operation of nuclear power plants. - Requires a check of public lands for their potential for coal and renewable energy development, other than monuments, national parks or wilderness areas. - Waives government royalty payments for deep-water oil and gas projects in the Gulf of Mexico. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 14 House Approves Bush Energy Bill Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 7:35:27 PDT WASHINGTON- President Bush scored a legislative victory as the House approved a package of proposals aimed at boosting energy development, conservation and drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge. Working past midnight, the House passed the energy bill by a 240-189 vote early Thursday after a spirited - at times testy - debate over whether to allow oil companies into the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. Bush has called the refuge the country's major untapped source of petroleum and insisted drilling can be done there without harming the environment. In the end, a majority of House members, including a handful of Democrats, agreed and rejected an attempt to strip from the 510-page energy legislation a provision that would allow exploration and drilling in the refuge's 1.5 million acre coastal plain. The vote on that provision was 223-206. Bush, savoring the victory as he entered the Capitol Thursday for a meeting with Republicans, declared: "We showed them last night how we can break Washington gridlock." Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called passage of the bill "a tremendous victory for America, for the economy and for the environment." "This moves America backward," countered Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri. He said the bill was "tilted to the energy lobby" with too little to get Americans to conserve energy and too many subsidies for oil, coal, nuclear and other energy producers. The Senate will not act on the bill until September at the earliest. The legislation includes: -Lifting the congressional prohibition against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, giving oil companies access to what is believe to be the biggest domestic oil find since the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay fields not far to the west. -A package of tax breaks and incentives totally $33.5 billion over 10 years, mostly earmarked to a wide range energy producers including coal, oil, and nuclear industries. -A modest boost in fuel economy for sport utility vehicles. -Tax incentives for buying hybrid gasoline-electric cars, solar panels, some high-efficiency appliances and improvements in building energy efficiency. - An increase in federal money to help low-income families pay heating and cooling bills. - Expansion of research into clean coal technology. "This bill is a giant step forward in securing America's energy future," said Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., calling it a balance between production and conservation. But Democrats charged that the ambitious set of tax benefits - broader than the Bush administration has recommended - would force Congress to break its budget agreement and unleash - as Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., proclaimed - "a budgetary train wreck." "They're about to build their oil rigs on top of the Medicare and Social Security trust funds," snapped Rep. Edward Markey. D-Mass. It was the debate over Arctic refuge drilling and automobile fuel economy that produced the most spirited debate. How can Congress call for drilling in the refuge - an annual haven for millions of migrating birds, thousands of calving caribou, polar bears and other wildlife - and at the same time do little about gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles? asked Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y. But Boehlert's proposal that would have boosted the fuel economy requirement for SUVs, minivans and pickups to 27.5 miles per gallon, the current requirement for passenger cars, was defeated 269-160. As for the refuge, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, a former trapper and school teacher, angrily denounced some of those who oppose drilling when they have never visited the refuge. Far from a pristine treasure, he said it was a hostile ground made for oil development. The refuge "was supposed to be drilled, explored for the American people," said Young. "This is no ordinary land," shot back Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., who said he had been there. "It's a cathedral of nature, an American heritage. And it's our responsibility to protect it." Pro-drilling forces have maintained that new drilling technologies will limit the "footprint" of any oil exploration or drilling to no more than 2,000 acres, a tiny fraction of the flat tundra that makes up most area where oil is to be found. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Navy Begins Bombing on Vieques Today: August 02, 2001 at 9:35:28 PDT VIEQUES, Puerto Rico- Plumes of smoke rose from warships as a fresh round of U.S. Navy exercises involving some 23,000 personnel began Thursday despite pleas from politicians and residents to stop using the outlying island of Vieques as a target. Even before the bombing started, seven protesters broke into Navy grounds and headed for the bombing range in an attempt to interrupt the exercises, according to the Socialist Workers' Movement. Vieques Commissioner Juan Fernandez said the exercises "will be an all-out war scenario" involving the "most complete and dangerous" maneuvers, though they are limited to dummy bombs. The Navy said there would be ship-to-shore shelling, air-to-ground bombing and beach assaults involving 23,000 sailors, marines and soldiers, making them the biggest since a civilian guard was killed by off-target bombs on the range in 1999. His death sparked island-wide protests that have drawn celebrities. The maneuvers began with the USS Vella Gulf, a guided missile cruiser, and another ship firing 70-pound shells at the range. The exercises are final training for the Norfolk, Va.-based Theodore Roosevelt battle group, which will likely head next to the Persian Gulf or Mediterranean. "If something were to happen in the Persian Gulf, this is the final step in training that prepares the troops to carry out an effective combat campaign," said Navy spokesman Bob Nelson. Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who served 30 days in prison for trespassing on federal land during an attempt to stop the Navy exercises in April and May, said he was embarrassed by the Navy's actions. Kennedy - whose father, the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, the late President John F. Kennedy, served in the Navy during World War II - was freed Wednesday from a federal prison outside of San Juan. He immediately flew to Vieques. "I grew up with the Navy and it's been painful for me to oppose a service that was really an icon of my childhood," said Kennedy. "But in this case, what the Navy is doing here is wrong, and it's arrogant and it's bullying and it's the worst face of America." Kennedy and New York labor leader Dennis Rivera, who also served a 30-day sentence for trespassing, encouraged protesters to do what they could to stop the bombing and exercises. "The experience was a good one, I would encourage other people to try it as well, as many as possible," Kennedy said, speaking partly in the Spanish that he said he learned in the San Juan prison. Last week, nearly 70 percent of Vieques residents voted in a nonbinding referendum for an immediate end to the bombing. The firing range is 3 to 4 miles from the inhabited areas. "We will keep mobilizing the forces of peace," said Rivera, a Puerto Rican who heads New York's 210,000 member health care union. Robert Rabin, an anti-Navy protest leader, said their resources had been drained by the referendum, but promised more civil disobedience. "This time the acts of civil disobedience will be carried out with a firm base of support among the people of Vieques," he said. Thirty percent of Vieques voters supported the Navy remaining indefinitely and resuming bombing with live munitions - a protest vote against the alleged anti-American policies of the U.S. territory's Gov. Sila Calderon, who called for the referendum. Only 1.7 percent of Vieques voters in Sunday's referendum backed President Bush's plan for the Navy to withdraw in 2003 and continue exercises with dummy bombs. Vieques has 9,100 residents. "We're not here to do anything other than to be a good neighbor and train our sailors and marines, and we try to do that with as little impact on the local community as possible," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Katherine Goode. Years of resentment over the Navy's appropriation of two-thirds of the 18-mile-long island in 1941 and decades of bombing exploded in anger and protests when two 500-pound bombs dropped off target killed a civilian guard on the range in 1999. Residents say the exercises have led to increased health problems on the island, a claim the Navy denies. The latest maneuvers could last until Aug. 10. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 Briton 'sent nuclear parts to Pakistan' BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Thursday, 2 August, 2001, 01:45 GMT 02:45 Pakistan's nuclear warheads are a cause for concern A court in London has heard allegations that equipment vital for the nuclear industry in Pakistan was exported there in breach of British customs controls. The accused, Abu Siddiqui, has denied fraudulently evading export regulations aimed at stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He is alleged to have exported items to Dr A Q Khan, a specialist in uranium enrichment, said to be the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme. The items included a furnace, an overhead gantry crane, a sophisticated measuring device and aluminium bars, with both military and civilian applications. Mr Siddiqui, a 38-year-old Briton, was arrested after British customs stopped a shipment of aluminium bars. He has been charged with seven counts of customs regulations violations, all of which he denies. 'Deliberate infringement' Prosecutor Mukul Chawla said that all the items he exported were covered by European legislation on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. A police search of Mr Siddiqui's offices revealed a booklet containing guidelines on items which could be potentially used in warfare, Mr Chawla said, suggesting that Mr Siddiqui knowingly broke the law. Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear test at the time the items were sent and Mr Siddiqui should have been suspicious about their possible use, the prosecutor said. Dr Khan pioneered Pakistan's first nuclear test in May 1998, shortly after a similar test by India. Both countries say they possess a minimum nuclear deterrent although neither has spelled out what that means. The case is continuing. ***************************************************************** 3 BUDGET AMENDMENT KILLED: Tight rein kept on Yucca spending [Las Vegas Review-Journal] Thursday, August 02, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal House leaders win fight to maintain strict fiscal oversight on nuclear waste repository project By STEVE TETREAULT DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project will stay on a slow track after House leaders on Wednesday refused to loosen budget rules to speed the program. As debate opened on a 510-page energy bill, Republican leaders proposed to strip out a provision that would have removed spending caps from the account that pays for radioactive waste studies. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., was designated to introduce the amendment keeping fiscal limits on Yucca Mountain. He said Congress should maintain "the strictest fiscal oversight" on the Energy Department's efforts to develop a radioactive waste repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It passed on a procedural vote. The action capped several weeks of lobbying by Gibbons and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., to build opposition to the budget change, which was sought by the nuclear power industry. The Nevadans argued that giving the Energy Department an open checkbook would speed spending at the proposed repository without Congress being able to put brakes on the program through the annual budget process. Others, including lawmakers who support progress in the repository program, said Yucca Mountain managers should be able to draw more from the fund, which has been built through assessments on utility ratepayers. It contains about $9 billion. In the end, senior members of the House Appropriations and Budget committees sided with the Nevadans. They complained that changing budget rules for nuclear waste would tie their hands in setting fiscal priorities for Congress. The White House Office of Management and Budget also opposed the provision. In a statement, it said setting aside the $9 billion nuclear waste fund would "significantly reduce the budget surplus." Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who supported loosening the purse strings for Yucca Mountain, said the White House's opinion carried particular weight. "The White House did not want us to be taking the nuclear waste fund off budget until they've made a determination on Yucca Mountain," he said. "They are being very conservative." Barton said it will be easier to pass nuclear waste bills after the president decides whether to designate the Nevada site for a repository, a decision that could come in months. "If and when we get a decision, people are going to have to find a way to build and operate it," he said of the repository. Barton and Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said the might try again to move a Yucca Mountain budget bill. later this year. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Aug-02-Thu-2001/news/16678737.html ***************************************************************** 4 IAEA official plans to visit N. Korea this month http://www.koreaherald.com A high-ranking official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reportedly plans to visit North Korea late this month to discuss North Korea's implementation of nuclear safety obligations. Olli Heinonen, director of IAEA's safeguards department, will visit the North before he attends an IAEA conference in Austria in September, Yonhap News Agency quoted IAEA Chief spokesperson David Kyd as saying. "The purpose would be to have an up-to-date picture of the DPRK (North Korea) situation just before the annual General Conference of the IAEA, which meets in mid-September and which, as usual, has this issue on its agenda," he said. North Korea and the international nuclear watchdog plan to hold working-level negotiations in October. The IAEA demanded last November that the North allow an early inspection of its past nuclear activities, which will last at least three to four years. Heinonen will be briefed on North Korea's position on the IAEA's request, Yonhap said. North Korea has insisted the nuclear inspection can begin only after a certain degree of progress is made in the construction of light-water nuclear reactors in the North, which the United States promised in the 1994 Agreed Framework. The North has demanded the United States compensate them for a delay in construction of the reactors. "Heinonen is ready to visit Pyongyang whenever the DPRK invites him to do so. Such an invitation is a prerequisite," the spokesman was quoted as saying. (jjhwang@koreaherald.co.kr 2001.08.03 (C) Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 REID, ENSIGN INTRODUCE BILL TO COMMEMORATE THE "SILENT HEROES OF THE COLD WAR" July 31, 2001 Washington, D.C.- U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign introduced legislation today to commemorate heroes of the cold war. The bill would provide funding to create historic landmarks and provide resources to help future generations better understand the Cold War. "Perhaps no other state in the Union has played a more significant role than Nevada in winning the Cold War," Senator Reid said. "This legislation will allow us to commemorate sites like Fallon Naval Air Station and Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site which helped to bring this nation safely through the Cold War conflict." Senator John Ensign said, "We have a responsibility to commemorate the Cold War and the many brave men and women who risked or gave their lives during the longest war in United States history. The heroism and patriotism of those involved are lessons that only grow stronger with time." The legislation authorizes $300,000 to conduct a study identifying different sites and resources associated with the Cold War, identify sites to become historic landmarks, prepare an interpretive handbook, and create a Cold War Advisory panel. Senator Reid and Senator Ensign identified four sites in Nevada as possible Cold War historic sites including the Nevada Test Site, the Naval Air Station in Fallon, the Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base and a site on Mount Charleston. ***************************************************************** 6 Editorial: Quicker detection is the key Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 8:52:15 PDT Scientists and researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in Fallon this week in an effort to find out what has caused an extraordinarily high rate of childhood leukemia in the Northern Nevada town. It is encouraging that investigators from the CDC and the state of Nevada are using sophisticated scientific testing techniques that can detect even trace amounts of chemicals and toxins, tests that weren't available a few years ago. But determining precisely what caused the sudden appearance of 14 childhood leukemia cases in just three years in Fallon may be difficult, if not impossible, in light of the time that already has elapsed. It's not that uncommon for medical researchers to be frustrated by what triggers leukemia clusters or, for that matter, what causes many other life-threatening diseases. Getting an early start in investigating these diseases is critical, because it can save lives, so that is why it is promising that Senate Assistant Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., are working together on legislation that would create a national tracking system for chronic diseases. Reid has said the establishment of a comprehensive system would be an important tool to alert scientists quickly to the development of disease clusters. Clinton recently traveled to Fallon where Reid held an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the leukemia clusters. And Clinton renewed national media interest in the creation of a disease tracking system two weeks ago when she spoke before the National Press Club. Not only are there problems in Fallon, Clinton noted, but all across the nation there are hidden hazards -- including toxins and chemicals found in our environment -- that can pose a threat to our health and safety. "A lot of the anxiety people express to me is based on their concern, but there is no factual basis to prove or disprove that concern, which is what I think we need the science to begin to prove so that we can answer the questions that people legitimately have," Clinton said. Congress should create a national database that pinpoints the early onset of mysterious diseases that scientists have difficulty assessing what their exact cause is. Not only can early detection lead to the possibility of limiting the spread of the disease itself, but moving fast also allows researchers to possibly identify what caused the disease in the first place. That knowledge hopefully can be used by medical researchers and public health officials so that they can take steps to prevent these diseases from recurring. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 7 Toxic Zones Are All Around Us Thursday, Aug. 2, 2001. Page 6 By Anna Badkhen The Moscow park where Tanya Kulenok goes swimming on weekends has no name. What it has is two ponds, an overgrown birch grove and an unknown amount of mustard gas seeping through the ground. For decades, the Soviet military used the park to test and dump chemical weapons of all sorts. It soaked the ground with arsenic and chloride. It dumped containers with poisonous mustard gas and lewisite into the ponds and sprinkled them with soil. But when the army retreated from the site in 1965, it took warning signs, barbed wire fences and security guards with it, leaving the haphazardly buried chemical weapons behind in unprotected, unmarked dumps. The military, which now nominally controls the site, does nothing to clean up the dump or seal it off from local residents. All that is certainly outrageous and emblematic of how the Soviet military — and later, the Russian army — couldn't care less about environmental safety. But there is something much more alarming than the military's negligence. It is that Tanya, who is 15, goes swimming in the park's pond on weekends. She's been coming here every summer for five years, she says. Tanya doesn't know for sure what's wrong with the park. She doesn't know that mustard gas, which was discovered in the soil there, can cause cancer, leukemia, lung damage and blindness. But she's heard rumors that the place is contaminated, and she doesn't care. "It's OK water," she says as she strips down to her underwear and dives into the pond, headfirst. The heat is too intense and the murky yellow swimming hole is too tempting. And it's just a five-minute walk from her apartment in southeast Moscow. "It's OK grass," echo villagers in Muslyumovo, 1,700 kilometers to the east of Tanya's pond as they send their cows across the rusted and torn barbed wire to graze in the floodplains of the Techa River. Actually, the grass is not OK. Ever since the nearby nuclear reprocessing plant dumped tons of radioactive waste into the river half a century ago, the grass emits 250 microrem per hour, about four times the maximum radiation level scientists consider acceptable. Unlike Tanya, Muslyumovo residents know about radiation — it's in their bread, in their bones, in their ailments and in the graves of their dead and dying children. And they know better than to let their cows graze in the radioactive floodplains. But the grass just looks too sweet. And it's in their backyards, too. Just what is it with people? I buy bottled drinking water in supermarkets. I try to eat healthy food. I'm not a vegetarian, but I avoid red meat. I would certainly not swim in Tanya's pond (in fact, after going there, I immediately washed the clothes I wore to the park and the soles of my shoes). But my imperfections are right here, in a chipped blue ashtray on the desk in front of me: the butts of three cigarettes that I've smoked while writing this column. Smoking is bad. It may cause complications during pregnancy. It may also cause cancer. Not like I've never heard that before — and even if I hadn't, it's written right there, on the pack of Gitanes. But it just feels so darn good to smoke sometimes. Especially when I'm writing my column. Anna Badkhen is a freelance journalist based in Moscow. ***************************************************************** 8 Nellis may not be safe in latest round of base cuts Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 11:13:40 PDT SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS The Pentagon is proposing an independent commission to consider military base closings and consolidations, and the head of the Air Force says Nellis Air Force Base should not be considered untouchable. Gen. Michael Ryan, the Air Force chief of staff, told reporters Wednesday he opposes excluding some high-profile bases from closure scrutiny. "There are those -- not necessarily me -- who say, 'You're never going to close Nellis Air Force Base (because) you've got ranges, you've got so much infrastructure there,' " Ryan said. "That may be, that could be true. I know this, though: We can't set aside bases in a way that we can't touch them at all because efficiency says, well, maybe we want to keep this particular base ... but maybe we want to realign things." Nellis Air Force Base, in the northeast valley, manages the 5,000-square-mile Nellis Range Complex for advanced pilot training. Mike Estrada, base spokesman, said Nellis agrees with Ryan's assertion that all bases should be considered on their merits, and he says Nellis is ready to meet such a challenge. "Nellis is unique in three areas -- advanced combat training, operational test evaluations and we're the only base that develops tactics," he said. "It would be extremely difficult to re-establish that mission elsewhere because of the size of our range." The advanced combat training includes Red Flag and Green Flag exercises that bring hundreds of military pilots together to train under combat situations. The operational test and evaluation program is responsible for testing all new and upgraded Air Force weapons, Estrada said. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said today that Nellis' long record of excellence and importance to the military gives it the strength to survive any such scrutiny. "Nellis is one of the best military institutions in the country," Reid said. "It has solid infrastructure, cutting-edge technology, some of the most talented personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces and it is one of the only air bases where planes have the ability to take off with live ordnances. "This March Nellis also will become the premier training base for our new F-22 Raptor pilots. That will make the base even more valuable. I will continue to spread the word about the strengths of Nellis Air Force Base. The base will avoid closure on its own merits." The Pentagon is proposing to Congress that the independent commission meet in 2003 to study base closings and consolidations. Since the last round of closures in 1995, Congress has refused repeated requests by the Pentagon for authority to close more bases, even though the services say they are wasting money on surplus installations. The Pentagon announced that Pete Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, would outline the proposal today. No details were provided in advance, but one official familiar with the proposal said Aldridge informed Congress of some details Wednesday. The official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon plans to review every military base and has established detailed criteria for measuring an installation's military value. Another official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said although no bases would be ruled out in advance for closure or consolidation, the Pentagon could intercede if the commission sought to close a facility the Pentagon deemed essential. Some in Congress had suggested excluding bases deemed essential, so that communities in those areas not be subjected to the uncertainties that come with the threat of losing sources of economic vitality. The Pentagon also intends to submit legislation today to amend the procedure followed during the 1995 base-closing review. The new legislation asks Congress to create a commission whose nine members would be appointed by President Bush in consultation with Congress, the official said. In previous rounds of base closures, a portion of the commission's members were chosen by the president, the rest by Congress. Under the new proposal, the Pentagon in March 2003 would submit to the commission its recommendations of which bases to close or realign. The commission would have until July to submit its decisions to Bush. The president would have until July 31 to accept or to reject the findings, but he could not alter them. If he were to reject the findings, the commission could revise them once. If Bush were to reject the revised findings, the process would be halted and no bases would be closed, the official said. If Bush were to accept the commission's findings, he would have until September to submit them to Congress, which would have 45 days to reject them. If Congress took no action, the findings would become law. Once the decisions were final, the Pentagon would have two years to implement them and six years to complete the closures and consolidations. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said repeatedly that the Pentagon needs to close bases to save money needed for other purposes such as new weapons and better troop housing. He recently told Congress that the military has 20 percent to 25 percent too much base capacity. Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah, predicted the House and Senate would approve the Pentagon's request for a round of base closings in 2003, but lawmakers of both parties on the House Armed Services Committee questioned administration arguments that base closings save money. "We shouldn't assume the savings are there," Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., said "We have done it four times, and it hasn't saved us any money." There have been four rounds of base closings since 1988. Associated Press military writer Robert Burns and Sun reporter Ed Koch contributed to this report. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 9 IAAPxx/AP BOMBFALLOUT/Beryllium The Hawk Eye Special: IAAP Thursday, August 2, 2001 [Unknown dangers at IAAP] Beryllium Exposure to beryllium happens mostly in the workplace, near some hazardous waste sites, and from breathing tobacco smoke. Lung damage has been observed in some people who have breathed contaminated air. Some people become highly sensitive to beryllium exposure. Beryllium has been found in at least 349 of 1,300 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency. What is beryllium? Pure beryllium (pronounced ber-il' le-um) is a hard, grayish metal. In nature, beryllium can be found in compounds in mineral rocks, coal, soil, and volcanic dust. Beryllium compounds are commercially mined, and the beryllium purified for use in electrical parts, machine parts, ceramics, aircraft parts, nuclear weapons, and mirrors. Beryllium compounds have no particular smell. What happens to beryllium when it enters the environment? ·Beryllium dust gets into air from burning coal and oil. ·Beryllium dusts settles from air to the soil and water. ·It enters water from rocks and soil, and from industrial waste. ·Some beryllium compounds dissolve in water, but most settle to the bottom as particles. ·Beryllium particles in ocean water may take a few hundred years to settle to the bottom. ·Most beryllium in soil doesn't move up to the surface or into the groundwater. ·Fish do not build up beryllium in their bodies from the surrounding water to any great extent. How might I be exposed to beryllium? ·Background levels in air, food, and water are low. ·Breathing contaminated workplace air (mining or processing ores, alloy and chemical manufacturing with beryllium, machining or recycling metals containing beryllium). ·Breathing tobacco smoke from leaf high in beryllium. ·Breathing contaminated air or ingesting water or food near industry or hazardous waste sites. How can beryllium affect my health? Beryllium can be harmful if you breathe it. The effects depend on how much you are exposed to and for how long. High levels of beryllium in air cause lung damage and a disease that resembles pneumonia. If you stop breathing beryllium dust, the lung damage may heal. Some people become sensitive to beryllium. This is called a hypersensitivity or allergy. These individuals develop an inflammatory reaction to low levels of beryllium. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease, and can occur long after exposure to small amounts of beryllium. This disease can make you feel weak and tired, and can cause difficulty in breathing. Both the short-term, pneumonia-like disease and the chronic beryllium disease can cause death. Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause effects in humans because little beryllium can move from the stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Beryllium contact with scraped or cut skin can cause rashes or ulcers. How likely is beryllium to cause cancer? The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that beryllium and certain beryllium compounds may reasonably be anticipated to be carcinogens. This determination is based on animal studies and studies in workers. None of the studies provide conclusive evidence, but when taken as a whole, they indicate that long-term exposure to beryllium in the air results in an increase in lung cancer. -- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk ' ' '| ' ' '319-754-6824 FAX ' ' '| ' ' ' 1-800-397-1708 Outside Burlington [this is a line and that's all that it is] ©' 2000 The Hawk Eye, all rights reserved. ' ' Updated daily ' 'Questions? - WebMaster ***************************************************************** 10 Bechtel Jacobs designates WSMS-MK 'Best of Class' Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2001 John Williams, facility engineer with Westinghouse Safety Management Solutions-Morrison Knudsen, left, is congratulated during a recent event by James Smith, also with WSMS-MK, as Dave Whitehead, Bechtel Jacobs Co., looks on. from staff reports Washington Group's Westinghouse Safety Management Solutions-Morrison Knudsen (WSMS-MK) has been recognized as "Best of Class" by their customer Bechtel Jacobs Co., officials said. WSMS-MK operates and maintains the eight waste treatment facilities at the Oak Ridge Y-12 National Security Complex. The responsibilities include surveillance and maintenance activities. Since being awarded the contract in January 2000, employees have worked 147,000 hours without a recordable injury/illness. At a recent awards luncheon, Dave Whitehead, Bechtel Jacobs Y-12 project manager of Waste Operations, stated, "you (contractors with zero accidents) are setting the bar of standards for everyone else to follow." Charlie Frye, Bechtel Jacobs manager of Projects, praised those who embody the zero-accident philosophy, pointing out that waste treatment operations milestones have been met from both production and environmental standpoints while maintaining the zero-accident goals. A press release from the Washington Group features J.R. Smith, a pipefitter, talking about the safety performance since WSMS-MK assumed the contract. "Everyone affiliated with it is safety-minded," Smith is quoted as saying. "To a small degree it feels like too much safety, but evidently it works." In addition to the application of new techniques, a labor/management safety committee is responsible for making decisions concerning job execution, reviewing and removing potentially hazardous work packages, and bringing employee ideas and concerns to the table. "I think it's a good thing we have both labor and management looking at safety. Both have equal say on the issues," said Rocky Whalen, chemical operator steward, in the press release. Risk screening and performance techniques unique to the Oak Ridge complex have been applied by the workforce to identify and mitigate hazards before the job starts. "Employee involvement and participation, both union and professional, have changed the culture to a disciplined, cost-effective, safe work environment" stated James Smith, project manager for Westinghouse Safety Management Solutions, in the press release. Jim Hall, regional vice president of Washington Group, said, "The safety record of WSMS-MK is remarkable and we are very proud of this record and the people who achieved this milestone." All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 11 Y-12 employees receive awards Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:31 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2001 Gen. John A. Gordon, Department of Energy under secretary for Nuclear Security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, recently presented more than 100 Y-12 National Security Complex employees with DOE Weapons Program Recognition of Excellence awards for their contributions to the nation's nuclear weapons program. The winners were: Mary Jeanne French, Michael Bell, Max Galyon, Jane Cohen, Eric Lane, Suzanne McDonald, Robert McGaffey, Teri Spradlen, Peter Kortman, Amy DeMint, Stan Morrow, Steve Caywood, Sherrie Dowling and David Gay; Peggy Dyer, Jim Plemmons, Alan Van Hull, Andrew Jackson, Diana Mabe, Ed Taucher, Thomas Dews, Bill Moyer, Dan Koerner, Zane Bell, Jane Gaby, Tim Hickerson, Arnetta Peters, Don Carver, Janelle Dunigan, Roger Lawson, Larry Mooney and Chris Pickett; Jim Younkin, Duncan Earl, Larry Seiber, Bart Smith, Joe Williams, Mike Miller, Gene Bird, Bob Bridges, Gerry Ludtka, Robert Krabill, Bruce Campbell, Bill Connell, Deborah Davidson, Vic Upchurch, Don Reynolds and Carl Cardwell; Robert Krabill, Alan Moore, Don Schechter, Stan Morrow, Carolyn Blakely, Glenn Bridges, Audrey Bryan, Jim Hackworth, Jerry Hartline, Rob Hughes, Charles Kee, Jerry Owens, Randy Treece, Mike Schlitz, Tony Vermillion, Phil LeVasseur, Gary Lovelace, Tony Chilcoat, Daryl Boyer, John Brown, Lisa Thompson, Mike Waldrop and Jim Rollins; Mark Shreeve, Fil Diaz, Paul Cookenour, Dave Ellison, Pam Fritts, Mike Henley, Sylvia Lawhon, Tom Paul, Jean Shelton, Tim Denton, Larry Masters, Bill Peek, Jim McCreary, Paul Rogers, Theresa McNeely, Bob Walker, Tom Barnard, Charles Hawkins, C.D. Hill, Doug Krause, Sam Lariviere and Tommy Northcutt; Ron Uglow, Doug Brill, Pat Porter, Todd Hawk, Neal Mowery, Gene Warrington, Barry Groth, Lynn Butler, Bill Bessom, Cheryl Chandler, Ronnie Jeffers, David Lind, George Simmons, Melvin Passmore, Ken Brown and Tommy True. The DOE Excellence Award was created to reward laboratory and plant employees directly associated with the Nuclear Weapons Program. The award was established by Maj. Gen. Bill Hoover, deputy assistant secretary for Military Applications at DOE in the early 1980s, to give special recognition to those people directly associated with the stockpile modernization program. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 12 Waste transportation poses no significant impact, says DOE Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:13 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The Department of Energy has issued a finding of "no significant impact" in regard to transporting low-level radioactive waste from Oak Ridge to off-site treatment or disposal facilities. The finding is based on an environmental assessment conducted earlier this year that stated the waste transportation posed no significant threats. "The proposed action is to package as needed, load and ship existing and forecasted [low-level radioactive waste] to existing or future facilities at other DOE sites such as the Nevada Test Site, the Hanford Reservation, the Savannah River Site and licensed commercial nuclear waste treatment or disposal facilities," according to the finding. According to DOE, the waste must be transported from Oak Ridge to treatment and disposal facilities because on-site disposal facilities are not available for the expected large volumes. Large quantities of low-level radioactive waste have been generated as a result of normal operations associated with research or manufacturing conducted at the Oak Ridge DOE facilities. "[The waste] will either be shipped directly from [the Oak Ridge Reservation] to a DOE or licensed commercial disposal facility or to a DOE or licensed commercial treatment facility and then to a DOE or licensed commercial disposal facility." According to DOE information, the waste will be transported by truck, but it may also be transported by rail or by a combination of truck and rail. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 13 Meeting to address fate of K-25 buildings Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff A public information session is scheduled Aug. 16 to discuss a Department of Energy report on the possible decontamination and demolition of two buildings at the Oak Ridge K-25 site. The engineering evaluation and cost analysis proposes four alternatives for dealing with buildings K-25 and K-27. The public meeting on this document will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Garden Plaza Hotel, 215 S. Illinois Ave. According to the report, DOE's "preferred alternative" for dealing with the buildings would be to demolish the facilities after removing and disposing of equipment at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, which is being built in Oak Ridge, and at the Nevada Test Site. The estimated cost for this eight-year project would be $294 million. The other alternatives for handling the two buildings include: * Taking "no action" on the buildings -- no cost is associated with this decision. * Leaving the facilities in place and continuing surveillance and maintenance on the structures -- estimated cost would be $361 million over 30 years. * Decontaminating the equipment, demolishing the building and disposing of the waste at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility -- estimated cost would be $434 million for the eight-year project. The massive, U-shaped K-25 building covers more than 40 acres at the K-25 site while K-27 takes up around 374,000 square feet. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 14 Spotlight finds Y-12 during times of change KnoxNews: Columnists In boosting the budget for nuclear weapons facilities earlier this summer, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the huge increase' was needed in order to get weapons refurbishment back on track and to address the crumbling infrastructure' in the production complex. Reid, the Senate's assistant majority leader who chairs the Energy and Water appropriations subcommittee, said he had a frank talk with Gen. John Gordon, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, about the expectations. "I am going to give him the resources he needs to do his job,'' Reid said. "However, I also told him that I am now holding him accountable for getting the job done over there.'' The nuclear weapons complex, of course, includes the Y-12 warhead factory in Oak Ridge, reportedly one of the most deteriorated of the production plants. A $4 billion modernization of storage and manufacturing capabilities is in the works at Y-12, and Gordon came to Oak Ridge last week to preside over dismantlement of a ramshackle guard house - a small project perhaps symbolic of the proposed transformation. The National Nuclear Security Administration was created in the wake of the spy scandal at Los Alamos National Laboratory. That was a political response to the perceived breakdown in nuclear security during the post-Cold War era. But it also was a response to other, long-standing concerns - such as the waste of taxpayer money in the name of national protection. That's an issue that won't go away. At the same time Congress is promising megabucks to revitalize the weapons-making capabilities in the United States, President Bush is talking with Russian President Putin about big-time cuts in their respective arsenals - perhaps bringing the warhead totals on each side down to 1,500 or even lower. The conflicting appearance of these events has not gone unheralded, particularly by peace activists. The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance last week called for the government to abort work on an environmental impact statement that supports modernization of Y-12, saying it is outdated, outrageous and makes no sense. "This document no longer speaks to the needs of the nation,'' Ralph Hutchison, the group's coordinator, said in a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "It is thought it has fallen out of time and hangs in space, separated from reality.'' The Y-12 report was supposed to be completed months ago, but it has yet to make an appearance. A spokesman said it should be released by late summer. Meanwhile, a series of events are planned this weekend to mark the anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945 A-bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Background: Y-12 extracted the U-235 used in the first atomic bomb dropped on a human population. Since then, the plant has manufactured parts for every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, and the Oak Ridge facility remains the nation's chief storehouse for bomb-grade uranium. The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance has been staging protests for years, but recent demonstrations have attracted new attention as Y-12 becomes a national target for peace activists. Organizers have predicted that participation in the "Stop the Bombs'' campaign will multiply - with a stated goal of having 7,000 demonstrators at Y-12 in August 2002. OREPA said hundreds are expected to take part this weekend, with a rally and demonstration at Y-12 scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 5. Other events are planned in Knoxville and Oak Ridge for Saturday and Monday. Pro-nuke hardliners, including some members of the Oak Ridge-based Citizens for National Security, are concerned that NNSA and the Y-12 contractor, BWXT, aren't taking the protests seriously enough. Is Oak Ridge ready for the type of aggressive demonstrations that have taken place at world economic gatherings, such as the recent G-8 Summit in Genoa, Italy? Some security analysts suggest that's a real possibility if the anti-weapons movement continues to gain momentum in the United States. Hutchison, OREPA's leader, earlier said, if there is violence at upcoming protests in Oak Ridge, it likely won't come from the anti-nuke protesters. Hutchison said demonstrators, especially those who plan to take part in acts of civil disobedience, will undergo nonviolence training in advance of the march on Y-12. Counter-protesters have been on hand in recent years, and that apparently won't change. Stacy Griffin, commander of the Citizens-Soldiers for the Atomic Bomb, recently announced her group would be back for a fourth year. "It is wrong for a handful of puny and unthankful anarchists who are by and large supported by government benefits and well-heeled benefactors to try to shame our brave veterans and make them feel guilty for winning World War II,'' the Rhea County woman said. The group last year published an indictment' that charged the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance with treason and concluded: "God Himself will execute the due penalties of banishment and death which you so richly deserve.'' This year the group plans to "play patriotic music'' and counter the protesters. Stay tuned. Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News-Sentinel. He can be reached at 865-482-9213 or at twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. This column is also available on the Web at www.knoxnews.com/editorsview/munger/ The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 House Committee Backs Navy Training Las Vegas SUN Today: August 02, 2001 at 2:30:22 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Armed Services Committee approved a $343 billion defense budget that includes a directive to the Navy that training should continue on a Puerto Rican island until an equal or better site becomes available. President Bush has ordered the Navy to pull out of Vieques by May 2003, without any conditions on a replacement site. Under the House bill, the alternative site must allow simultaneous large-scale tactical air strikes, naval surface fire support and artillery and amphibious landing operations. Such realistic combat-style training was conducted at Vieques before a civilian working for the Navy was killed by an errant bomb in April 1999. The Navy also cannot close the Vieques range until top Defense officials certify that such an alternative is immediately available, according to the provision passed during Wednesday's marathon committee meeting that began at 10 a.m. and lasted past 11 p.m. The Republicans also maintained a missile defense budget of $8.16 billion, still $135 million less than Bush had requested, by voting down a Democratic alternative. The Democrats wanted to divert nearly $1 billion from the missile shield money for uses including two aerial tankers for the Marine Corps, two transport planes for the Air Force, 11 Black Hawk helicopters for the Navy and ship depot maintenance. The $343 billion covers the Defense Department and the defense work of the Energy Department. The committee sent the bill to the full House by a vote of 58-1, with only Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., voting against it. In other areas, the committee voted to delay cuts in the B-1 bomber force, rejected a bid to allow abortion on demand at military medical facilities and discussed base-closing proposals but did not vote on any. As for Vieques, the panel also recommended canceling a November referendum, which Congress authorized last year, that would give Puerto Ricans a say in how long Navy bombing should continue. The vote would allow islanders to choose either the Bush plan and or having the Navy remain indefinitely, with live bombing resumed. Bush announced in June that he would pull the Navy off the island in 2003. Government officials have said the Pentagon will probably need the full two years to make the transition out. In a nonbinding referendum Sunday in Vieques, 68 percent of voters supported an end to the bombing and the Navy's immediate withdrawal. Bush's spokesman said Monday the president was sticking to his plans. The Vieques provision came from the committee chairman, Rep. Bob Stump, R-Ariz., and the lawmakers expressed their support by defeating, 35-20, an effort by Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, to delete it. Six Democrats joined 29 Republicans in voting it down. All 20 votes for the amendment came from Democrats. "It would set a dangerous precedent if we're going to let 3,000 Americans tell the other 2 million Americans in uniform that we're not going to allow you to train here anymore," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., contended the referendum was a way to give a voice to Puerto Ricans, who lack full representation in the House. The B-1 amendment, which passed 33-26, came from Reps. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Jim Ryun, R-Kan., whose states would lose bombers in the planned reduction from 93 to 60 planes. Idaho's Mountain Home Air Force Base also would lose its B-1s. The fleet is to be consolidated at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. The measure would require the Bush administration to complete a wide array of reports before it could spend money to retire, dismantle or transfer any of the bombers. On abortion, the committee rejected by a 35-23 vote an amendment Sanchez offered to let women in uniform and dependents of soldiers and sailors pay for abortions at military facilities. She said the amendment was important to women stationed in countries that outlaw abortion or have rudimentary off-base health facilities. Military medical facilities perform abortions only in cases of rape or incest or when the life of the mother is at risk. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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