***************************************************************** 10/03/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.233 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 REPOSITORY FOR WORLD'S NUKE WASTE MAY BE BUILT IN........... 2 GROUNDBREAKING SR-90, LOW-LEVEL RAD EPIDEMIOLOGY FROM DR GOULD, RPHP 3 Closed Nuclear Plant in Hematite Will Be Cleaned ; Westinghouse 4 Afghan men held over 'N-plant plot' 5 Mie town to vote on nuclear power plant Nov 18 - 6 Japan tightens security at nuclear plants 7 Mystery of missing fuel rods still unsolved 8 Officials hope to clean up Windsor nuke waste by 2008 9 Fusion power 'within reach' 10 N.K., KEDO talks on nuke parts expected this year 11 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector At Paducah Gaseous 12 Nuclear Plants May Get Military Role 13 USEC Tells NEI's Nuclear Fuel Conference That the Company Is 14 Letter: DOE refuses to hear people 15 Guinn, Del Papa rip Yucca process 16 Daily Events Report 17 Criticism of TVA tritium plan rises in wake of attacks 18 The Committee on Energy and Commerce: Schedule 19 Commissioner Dr. Nils J. Diaz to be sworn in for second term 20 NRC Proposes $2,750 Civil Penalty Against Puerto Rico Laboratory 21 Gov, AG protest more hearings on Nevada nuclear dump NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 People vs. Siberian Chemical Combine 2 Works on Kursk go quite slow 3 Report suggests new mission for Hanford test reactor 4 Weather delays Kursk operation - 5 Senate OKs expanded IAAP benefits 6 Watchdog questions need for SRS plutonium plant 7 Nuclear or chemical attack 'our biggest threat' 8 Flats likely to become a refuge after cleanup 9 Fallon well tests: radiation but no chemicals 10 Nuclear espionage talk spurs a controversy on UH campus 11 'Suitcase bomb' allegedly sought ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 REPOSITORY FOR WORLD'S NUKE WASTE MAY BE BUILT IN........... Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 07:01:47 -0400 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal >But this scandalous activity of Minatom can be stopped using >democracy mechanisms - combining protests, work to change legislation >and >finally national referendum", said Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman for >ECODEFENSE!, environmental group working internationally to stop the >import >of waste to Russia. From: "Vladimir Slivyak" To: "Bill Smirnow" PRESS-RELEASE Moscow/Russia, October 3, 2001 For more information: +7(095) 2784642, 7766546, (902)1473361 - Vladimir Slivyak or Alisa Nikulina e-mail: ecodefense@online.ru http://www.ecodefense.ru REPOSITORY FOR THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR WASTE MAY BE BUILT NEAR RUSSIAN KRASNOYARSK Ministry of atomic power is silently researching new site for the high-level radioactive waste since 1998, green activists said Today, ECODEFENSE! disclosed documents confirming the intend of Russian Ministry of atomic power (Minatom) to set up the geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste - spent nuclear fuel - accumulated in Russia and internationally. Since 1998, nuclear industry specialists are actively researching the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif as possible site for repository located near Krasnoyarsk city in Middle Siberia, says the report by the Khlopin Radium Institute, research branch of Russian nuclear industry. Information on this research never appeared in Russian press or in the official statements of Minatom, local population was never informed on this intend. At the same time, it was advertised internationally. (9th International High-level Radioactive Waste Management Conference - HLRWM - April 29-May 3, 2001 - Alexis Park Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada) The Nizhnekansky site located in approximately 25-30 km from the Krasnoyarsk-26, closed city - one of the nuclear facilities built in USSR for military purposes such as plutonium production. The research of this site through the past 3 years was funded jointly by Finland, Japan and USA. According to document produced by the main researcher (Khlopin Radium Institute of Minatom), about 20 areas were selected amongst the most ancient gneiss bedding and massifs of granitoid rocks at the territory about 22,000 km 2. Each of these areas was then evaluated and the granitoids of the Nizhnekanskiy massif were chosen. By Summer 2001 Russian authorities approved new legislation allowing Minatom to import spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing or storage. But documents describing the research of the Khlopin Radium Institute show that intend of the industry is not to reprocess or store foreign spent fuel, but to dump it in Siberia forever. According to reports distributed by environmental activists and even Minatom itself earlier in 2001, there are plans to transport several thousands of ton of spent nuclear fuel from Taiwan and other countries to Krasnoyarsk-26 facilities. The storage for 6,000 t already exists in K-26, but it doesn't solve the problem of final disposal of the spent fuel. "Minatom prepares to set up repository for the world's nuclear waste which it hopes will be imported to Russia through next 10 years. It didn't care about the opinion of people when new legislation allowing the import of waste was approved, why should they pay attention to the opinion of people when setting up the geologic repository near city with over million of population? But this scandalous activity of Minatom can be stopped using democracy mechanisms - combining protests, work to change legislation and finally national referendum", said Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman for ECODEFENSE!, environmental group working internationally to stop the import of waste to Russia. "There are over 80% of Russians opposed to the import of nuclear waste to their country and we should not give Minatom an opportunity to ignore it. Next year environmental groups will make one more attempt to organize national referendum on the issue, hopefully it will effectively prevent Russia from becoming the world' radioactive dump site. Also, environmental groups will try to block any attempt to set up geologic repository for waste as long as legislation allowing the import of waste exist", said Alisa Nikulina, anti-nuclear campaigner for the Socio-Ecological Union. ***************************************************************** 2 GROUNDBREAKING SR-90, LOW-LEVEL RAD EPIDEMIOLOGY FROM DR GOULD, RPHP Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 14:27:07 -0400 http://www.radiation.org From: To: The more $20 contributions we get for each babyboomer questionare[see below], that would greatly impress a large foundation when we have enough to begin the far more expensive testing of each baby boomer tooth for its Sr90 content. We have been given the largest cohort for epidemiological analysis since the famous Framingham study of 3000 men born in the 1920's who have since been studied periodically for heart disease. Finally there are 80 million baby boomers born from 1945 to 1965 who should be vitally interested in this study. And that is why we think with plenty of publicity on the part of all anti-nuclear web sites we may indeed get sufficient small donations to make a big start on this exciting project. All checks should be sent to RPHP, Box 330, Unionville NY10988---JMG A story in the NY Times,Oct.1,2001 entitled "British Secretly Used Babies Bones in Tests:Parents of Dead Infants Not Told of a Cold War Atomic Program" reveals the great concern shared with the US of the carcinogenic effects of nuclear fallout which led to the Partial Test Ban of 1963. But the Radiation and Public Health has just received 85000 untested baby teeth of children mainly born in period 1957-1965 from the Washington U in St Louis, where the first baby teeth study led by Barry Commoner revealed that there had been a 100-fold increase in the bone-seeking radioactive strontium (called Sr90) levels of children born in 1964 over those born in 1950. This means that we will now be able to discover the health effects of overexposure to low-level radiation, as explained in the following message now being sent to all those concerned about the vulnerability of all nuclear facilities to terrorist attacks, as well as the health effects of the ominously high levels of Sr90 we have found in the baby teeth of 3000 American children born since 1980. ----Jay M. Gould, Director, Radiation and Public Health Project (www.radiation.org) Past supporters of our Tooth Fairy Study of radioactive strontium (called Sr90) in the baby teeth of children born in recent years should know that we will soon be able to demonstrate beyond any doubt that high exposure levels have immediate and delayed health effects such as early diagnoses of cancer. We have had considerable media coverage (including BBC TV) of the fact that for about 3000 children born since 1980 we are now finding Sr90 levels as high as those found in the late 1950's in the first baby teeth study begun by Barry Commoner in St Louis in 1958. That study demonstrated that there had been a 100-fold increase in the Sr90 baby teeth levels of children born in 1964 over children born in 1950. This was an important factor in President Kennedy's decision to terminate above-ground nuclear tests in 1963 after asking Dr. E.J. Sternglass (now our scientific director) to address Congress on radiation-induced childhood cancer. As a result we have just received from Washington University, where the first baby teeth study was performed, a priceless gift in the form of 85,000 fully identified untested baby teeth of baby boomer children mainly born from 1958 to 1965. Since the equipment of that time was not capable of measuring the small amounts of radioactivity in a single tooth, of the 200,000 teeth collected about half were tested in batches for each year after 1950. For each baby boomer tooth not used in the study we have index cards with the birth name, date and place of birth, along with parent names clipped to a baby tooth. We have now found that it is amazingly cheap to use Internet databases to get current addresses of these baby boomers ( now in their forties) and query them by mail on their medical histories since birth. (I enclose a test letter that is already producing over a 50 percent return). Thus for a sum as small as $50,000 we hope to raise soon we think that we can get such histories for as many as 3000 baby boomers, which may be sufficient to prove that baby boomers were born in the worst time in history. For example we may discover that the percentage of young women diagnosed with breast cancer significantly exceeds the percentage expected based on women born before the nuclear age began. We would have similar information on all rare childhood diseases like asthma, learning problems, childhood cancer etc. We will then have enough unassailable evidence of the true damage to baby boomers born in those bomb test years to approach large foundations to raise an additional $300,000 to test each tooth, so that we can ascertain precisely the medical significance of each above-average Sr90 level in a child born at any time and place exposed to low-level radiation, including the 3000 children born in recent years, for whom we already have more than 600 whose Sr90 levels are more than twice the annual average. I am confident, that just as the Long Island STAR Foundation (Standing for the Truth About Radiation, led by such celebrities as Alec Baldwin and Christy Brinkly) helped launch the Tooth Fairy project in East Hampton four years ago to discover why there were such high cancer rates in Long Island, that we will continue to enjoy the financial support necessary to make this information available to scientists and to humanity. A tax-deductible contribution made out to the Radiation and Public Health Project of $1000 would pay for sending and analyzing 500 letters as shown below; $100 for 5 such letters; $20 for one such letter. And if you copy this letter to send to your friends who share our concern about children's health this letter may have a hoped-for chain effect. Jay M. Gould, Director, Radiation and Public Health Project (Jaymgould@aol.com) Test letter to baby boomers with current mail addresses, also on RPHP letter head. John Doe born January 1, 1960 1 Main St. Anywhere, US Dear Mr. Doe: Your help with a once-in-a-lifetime study is needed. Nearly 40 years ago, your parents, concerned about atomic bomb test fallout, donated your baby tooth to Washington University in St. Louis. Teeth were studied to show rising levels of radioactive Strontium-90 (Sr90) in the body. Results influenced President John F. Kennedy's decision to end above-ground bomb tests, but no study on health effects of testing was ever done. This summer, university officials transferred 85,000 untested baby teeth, mainly from persons born 1957 to 1965, to our research group. We are currently studying Sr90 in baby teeth of today's children. Your tooth is secured in a small envelope, paper-clipped to a 3 x 5 card containing your name, place and date of birth, and parents' names. Using this information, we have performed a computer search of public data files to obtain your current address. We wish to measure, at our expense, the Sr90 level in your baby tooth. In addition, we hope you would answer a short written questionnaire on your medical history, focusing on whether you have ever been diagnosed with diseases such as cancer. All individual information will be kept completely confidential. Overall results will be published in medical journals; for more information about the kind of studies we perform, please visit our web site (www.radiation.org). You now have a chance to help scientists better understand long term effects of atomic bomb tests. If you wish to help, please check "yes" at the bottom of this letter and return it to us. If you have any questions, you can email us at odiejoe@aol.com. ____ Yes, please send me a brief written health questionnaire ____ No, I would prefer not to participate in the questionnaire For example: Have you ever been diagnosed with cancer? _____Yes _____No If so when?____________ Cordially Joseph J.Mangano National Coordinator, RPHP Tooth Fairy Study (www.radiation.org) ***************************************************************** 3 Closed Nuclear Plant in Hematite Will Be Cleaned ; Westinghouse Electric Will Submit Plan by The End of The Year St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( October 01, 2001 ) A plan outlining how Westinghouse Electric Co. plans to identify and deal with radioactive and chemical wastes left behind when the company closed a nuclear fuel-rod processing plant in Hematite should be completed by the end of the year, says a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Westinghouse acquired the facility last year after its parent company, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., bought the nuclear fuel holdings of Swiss-based ABB, which had operated the plant since 1989. The plant made nuclear fuel-rod assemblies for commercial power plants and refined about 270 tons of uranium a year. It is west of Festus on Highway P. Westinghouse ceased production at the plant in July to consolidate operations at the company's plant in Columbia, S.C. Officials have said the cleanup is expected to cost several million dollars and take several years to complete. Jan Strasma, a spokesman for the NRC, says the plan, which is due in December, is the first step in the process and will outline how the company plans to proceed. After that, he says, the company will conduct a study of records, soils and water around the plant. He says a cleanup and decommissioning of the plant should begin by sometime in 2004. "One of the reasons why this is taking a little bit longer than it might have is because of the recent change in ownership," Strasma said. "They're starting to develop a plan. The plant is now shut down. Any potential hazards or any cleanup activities are being developed now. What they are doing is thoroughly studying the site so they know what's there and how to go about cleaning it up." Westinghouse owns 228 acres in Hematite, about 7 acres of which were committed to the plant's operations. Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. opened the facility in 1956. Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert says the study will involve core drilling of 40 unlined pits on the property where waste materials and chemicals used in the manufacturing process were dumped between 1956 and 1972, before federal regulations banned such practices. Gilbert says the tests will help company officials identify what is stored in the pits before presenting a cleanup plan to state and federal regulators. He says residents will be notified before the work begins. "We will be knocking on doors and having personal conversations with residents and will make the plant as open as it can possibly be," Gilbert said. "I don't want somebody a year from now or eight months from now to see a truck going down the road with a radioactive waste placard on it and not know what's going on." The fuel-rod manufacturing process involved the handling of uranium, anhydrous ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid and nitrogen. State and federal officials have expressed concern about the presence of techn etium-99, a radioactive fission product believed to have come to the plant in the Cold War. Low levels of the contaminant turned up in the plant's monitoring wells in the early 1990s. Later tests on drinking-water wells around the plant showed no contamination. "Right now everything is pretty much static," Strasma said. "The decommissioning plan will spell out how they plan to go about cleaning it up." Increased security Some low-enriched uranium and chemical solvents still remain at the Hematite facility. Westinghouse officials stepped up security at the plant to protect the materials in the wake of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11. But officials say that what remains there would be of little use to terrorists. No specific threats have been made against the nuclear plants or fuel-processing facilities, but Strasma said officials were taking no chances and had placed the facilities on the "highest level of security." "The concern is that because it is a nuclear-fuel facility, even though it is now shut down, it might be perceived as a possible target," Strasma said. Strasma said the low-enriched uranium that remained at Hematite would have no potential for use in a nuclear weapon until it had gone into a nuclear reactor. Kevin Hayes, manager of environmental health and safety at the Hematite plant, said the material that remained there was not in a readily dispersible form. "It's not in a form that anybody would have a use for," Hayes said. "It's bound up in other things and basically processed for disposal." Hayes is part of a group of about 20 employees who are working to shut down the plant and develop a site cleanup plan. Neither he nor Strasma would say what security measures had been taken. (C) 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch. via ProQuest Information and ***************************************************************** 4 Afghan men held over 'N-plant plot' by Frank Thorne Two Afghans have been detained after a closed court hearing in New Zealand over a suspected plot to attack a nuclear reactor in Australia. The judge who ordered their detention last week to await a full trial, cited national security as the reason. Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported that a source inside the closed hearing said the judge told the court police had information that the two men were senior commanders in the Taliban. The men were originally released on bail after being charged months ago with offences relating to fraudulent use of documents to obtain refugee status in New Zealand and were free to move about the community until their second court appearance last week. Detectives who raided a house in Auckland in March last year discovered what was believed to be a plot to attack the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympic Games. Judge Arthur Thompkins made his decision to detain the men after he shut the Auckland District Court on Friday. He used a section of the Criminal Justice Act. The judge said if the police summary of offences was to be believed, then the charges potentially had some relation to recent world events. The men are due back in court next week. © Associated Newspapers Ltd., 03 October 2001 ***************************************************************** 5 Mie town to vote on nuclear power plant Nov 18 - Japan Today Japan News - News - Wednesday, October 3, 2001 at 18:30 JST MIYAMA The town of Miyama in Mie Prefecture will hold a plebiscite Nov 18 on whether to ask a power company to build a local nuclear power plant, Mayor Tatsuo Shiotani said Tuesday. The western Japan town will be the third municipal government to hold a legally nonbiding vote on a nuclear power plant, following two plebiscites in Niigata Prefecture. (Kyodo News) ***************************************************************** 6 Japan tightens security at nuclear plants Planet Ark Environmental News: JAPAN: October 3, 2001 TOKYO - Japan's coastguard service said yesterday it had taken unprecedented steps to tighten security at nuclear reactors around the country in response to last month's devastating attacks on the United States. A spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said undisclosed numbers of coastguard patrol vessels had been mobilised in waters near the country's 51 nuclear reactors on a round-the-clock mission to guard against possible "terrorist attacks". "We had done nothing like this before the terrorist attacks on September 11," the spokesman said. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week called for tighter security at nuclear reactors, most of which are on the coast. Japanese officials have voiced fears that the country's reactors could become targets of terror attacks. Trade Minster Takeo Hiranuma, whose ministry is in charge of energy policy, plans to hold drills later this year on the northern island of Hokkaido on how to respond to attacks. "It is difficult to deal with attacks by trained terrorists," he told reporters last week. Resource-poor Japan has 51 commercial nuclear reactors which provide a third of the nation's power supply. Japan imports almost all its crude oil, 80 percent or more of which comes from the Middle East. Nuclear power is being pushed as the solution to Japan's energy needs, but a series of accidents and mishaps has heightened public concern over its safety. The memory of Japan's worst nuclear accident in 1999, which killed two plant workers, is still in peoples' minds. Hundreds of workers, nearby residents and emergency personnel were exposed to radiation when an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction was triggered at a uranium processing plant in Tokaimura, northeast of Tokyo. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 7 Mystery of missing fuel rods still unsolved TheDay.com: Local and National News By Paul Choiniere - More Articles Published on 10/03/2001 Waterford — It appears the two nuclear fuel rods first reported missing from Millstone Nuclear Power Station nearly a year ago cannot be found. If they have been located, the utility isn't saying so. A 10-month internal investigation to determine what became of two missing and highly radioactive spent fuel rods has been completed and there were no indications from the company Tuesday that they were able to trace their location. A spokesman for Millstone Nuclear Power Station said management is not ready to release the report or comment on its content or conclusions. Northeast Utilities, the former owner of the plant, handled the investigation. It turned over its findings to the current owner, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, on Monday, according to a Dominion spokesman. Dominion is reviewing the findings and should make them public within a few days, said the spokesman, Peter Hyde. The fuel rods had been stored at the Millstone 1 nuclear plant, which has been permanently shut down. NU has reviewed thousands of documents, interviewed scores of former employees and expended millions of dollars during the investigation. Nancy Burton, an attorney for the anti-nuclear group Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, said it appears the effort was in vain. “I think that if they had located them they would have issued a public notice by now, at least I hope that's what they would have done,” she said. The two fuel rods could not be accounted for when an inventory of the Millstone 1 spent fuel storage pool was conducted last November. Dominion took ownership of Millstone station five months later. Plant records last refer to the two fuel rods back in 1980. Plant officials have said in the past that they believed the fuel rods were either moved to a different spot in the pool and could not be found or were inadvertently shipped off site in an insulated container to a low-level radioactive waste facility, which would be a federal violation. Diane Screnci, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said there has been no indication that the fuel rods were stolen. Their high radioactivity would make them dangerous objects to handle, she said. The agency is also awaiting the results of the NU investigation, Screnci added. The Long Island and Connecticut Coalitions Against Millstone have challenged a license amendment that would allow Dominion to place more spent nuclear fuel into the storage pool at the Millstone 3 plant, one of two operating reactors at the Millstone facility. The failure to keep track of the spent fuel at Millstone 1 plant demonstrated “a gross failure of administrative control” and is grounds for denying the license amendment to allow more fuel storage at Millstone 3, Burton contends. Dominion needs to store more spent fuel in the pool because it has a license to operate Millstone 3 for another 24 years. The pool does not have to be physically expanded to accept more nuclear waste. Fuel rods are cylindrical in shape, 10 to 14 feet long and the thickness of a man's thumb. They are filled with uranium fuel pellets and, once used in a reactor, they remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board initially approved the amendment for additional storage at Millstone 3, but agreed to reconsider the matter in light of the problems in keeping track of the spent fuel at Millstone 1. It is the first time in the history of commercial nuclear operation in this country that a plant has lost track of spent nuclear fuel. Burton has been blocked in her efforts to gain more documentation and other information about spent fuel handling practices at Millstone, a process known in legal terms as “discovery.” During a telephone conference on Tuesday, Burton again pressed for access to information, but the licensing board said it would not allow discovery until various investigations are complete. That process now appears to be nearing a conclusion. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Investigations has completed its own investigation into the legal questions raised by the missing fuel rod issue, NRC attorney Ann P. Hodgdon told the licensing board. That report has to be reviewed internally by the NRC before it is released, probably some time around the end of the month, she said. The five-member NRC, which leads the agency, has received an informational summary from the staff about the missing fuel rod issue. Hodgdon said that document will be released soon as well. The Day has made a request for the document under the federal Freedom of Information Act. p.choiniere@theday.com © 1998-2001 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 8 Officials hope to clean up Windsor nuke waste by 2008 Journal Inquirer By John Annese, Journal InquirerOctober 02, 2001 WINDSOR - Officials from Combustion Engineering and the Army Corps of Engineers say they hope to clean up nuclear contamination at the company's Day Hill Road industrial property before 2008. "We know what the contamination is. We know what the extent of the contamination is," Combustion Engineering spokesman Ronald C. Kurtz told members of the Town Council Monday night. Representatives from the Corps of Engineers long have stated that the highly enriched uranium contaminating the site won't harm town residents. Kurtz said this morning the federal Environmental Protection Agency declared the site "stabilized" last month, meaning that all the contamination is accounted for and doesn't pose a threat to people on or off the site. Much of that contamination stems from government operations to create nuclear materials for submarine reactors during the Cold War. Combustion Engineering - which was acquired by the Swiss-based Asea Brown Boveri, or ABB, in 1990 - made nuclear fuel for the federal Atomic Energy Commission from 1955 to the mid-1960s. The company also conducted nuclear research and development on the site, built and operated a prototype reactor, and manufactured nuclear assemblies. Bud Taylor, a project manager for the Corps of Engineers, said Combustion Engineering and the Corps plan to start the design phase of the company's cleanup within a year. That phase will include coming up with a plan to remove the radioactive material and getting input from the public at hearings, he said. Part of the cleanup's cost, including a state and federally monitored plan, will be covered by Combustion Engineering, Kurtz said. The cleanup relating to the government's activities on the site will be conducted under FUSRAP, the federal government's Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. In the 1980s and 1990s, officials from Combustion Engineering and the federal government found contamination in three buildings, drain pipes, sewer lines, a brook, and a drum burial pit at the 600-acre, 30-building industrial complex. Taylor said the contamination includes residual amounts of Uranium 235 and Cobalt 60. According to Kurtz, many of the drums buried in a shallow 40-foot-by-80-foot pit on the site contain irradiated clothing, gloves, and miscellaneous material discarded by the company workers. "At the time, that was acceptable," he said. Although Kurtz couldn't say exactly how many drums are buried in the pit, a state Department of Environmental Protection report suggests the company may have buried as many as 400 barrels. The three buildings, which housed the company's fuel manufacturing operations, will likely have to be taken down completely, Taylor said. "They'll be demolished, and the debris will be disposed of," Taylor said. Kurtz said this morning, though, that the company won't simply take a wrecking ball to the buildings. "It's going to be a very tedious process of scraping off wall surfaces," he said. ©Journal Inquirer 2001 Copyright © 1995 - 2001 PowerAdz.com LLC. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Fusion power 'within reach' BBC News | SCI/TECH | Controlling the "naughty child": The plasma reaches millions of degrees in the Mast experimental reactor By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse Fusion power is "within reach", according to atomic scientists in the UK. There are still very many difficulties but perhaps in a few decades we could have commercial fusion reactors in cities providing cheap pollution-free power Dr Alan Sykes Fusion is the form of nuclear energy that powers the stars. Although, it has many advantages over conventional nuclear power, it has been technically difficult to develop. The best approach appears to be to confine a superhot gas, called a plasma, in a magnetic field. Some success has been achieved this way using huge experimental fusion reactors. But now, according to United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) scientists, making smaller versions of the same equipment may be technically easier, cheaper and swifter to develop. The most recent experiments show promise, they claim. Leaner and swifter "I believe that if our experiments are successful, and they are promising, we could be designing the forerunner of the first commercial fusion reactor," said UKAEA's Dr Alan Sykes, as he showed BBC News Online around his laboratory at Culham, near Oxford. Dr Alan Sykes in the Mast control room Called Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokomak), the new equipment could be the design breakthrough needed to make fusion power a reality - at long last. It is a leaner version of a prototype fusion reactor that has already solved many technical problems. "Building Mast is like building a fighter aircraft when you have already built an airliner. It could be faster and more efficient at reaching our goal of significant fusion power," said Dr Rob Akers, of the UKAEA. Star power Few would argue that fusion power holds great promise. It is the energy that allows the Sun to shine. But taming the power that lights up the Universe is not proving easy. For almost 50 years, scientists have been trying to harness star power in the laboratory. As nuclei fuse, a vast amount of energy is released To make nuclear fusion happen atoms must first be broken down into electrons and atomic nuclei. This produces an electrically charged gas called a plasma. The bare nuclei must then be forced together so that they merge. Because like charges repel, this is difficult. At the heart of our Sun, fusion takes place at a temperature of 15 million degrees and a pressure of 100,000 atmospheres. Because it is not possible to reproduce these conditions on Earth, terrestrial fusion reactors must operate at lower pressures and higher temperatures - about 100 million degrees. There is also the major problem of confining the plasma. 'Naughty child' "A plasma is a form of gas that has a great deal of free energy that is just looking for a way out," explained Dr Akers. "You could say that plasmas are like naughty children." Mast is smaller and leaner than previous tokomaks The best way to control the plasma is to "bottle" it, corralling the electrically charged gas in powerful magnetic fields. So far, the most successful magnetic bottle is a "tokomak", a doughnut-shaped device invented by the Russians. In a tokomak, two magnetic fields are combined to confine the plasma. The world's largest tokomak is called Jet, the Joint European Torus. It is also at Culham. Using the Jet, scientists have heated plasma to 300 million degrees - more than is needed to achieve fusion ignition. But magnetic confinement is easier if the prototype reactor is small. Smaller is better "That is where Mast comes in," said UKEA's Dr Chris Warwick. "Mast keeps the plasma in a tighter configuration that is more energy efficient." A plasma dances inside the larger Jet tokomak Controlling the eddies and whirls of the writhing plasma so that it can burst into life as a miniature Sun has been a formidable, and so far only partially met, engineering challenge. "If we follow the Mast idea and not the Jet one, we could imagine a string of medium-scale fusion reactors instead of a few very big ones," said Dr Sykes. "There are still very many difficulties but perhaps in a few decades we could have commercial fusion reactors in cities providing cheap pollution-free power," he added. ***************************************************************** 10 N.K., KEDO talks on nuke parts expected this year welcome to Korea Herald!!_National http://www.koreaherald.com North Korea and the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) are expected to hold negotiations within this year on the delivery of key components for light-water nuclear reactors under construction in the North, Seoul officials said yesterday. "KEDO is due to complete a draft for the protocol on the delivery of key nuclear components no later than the end of this year," a ranking South Korean government official was quoted as saying. KEDO is a U.S.-led international consortium financing the $4.6 billion nuclear reactor project in North Korea. Other major players in the organization are South Korea, Japan and the European Union (EU). In its landmark nuclear deal with the United States in 1994, North Korea promised to freeze its old but weapons-grade nuclear reactor in return for the U.S. provision of two safer light-water reactors to the communist state which suffers from severe energy shortages. But it remains yet to be seen whether the North and the KEDO will be able to conclude the delivery protocol easily because of Pyongyang's refusal to allow an international inspection of its past nuclear activities. Under the 1994 Agreed Framework, North Korea is supposed to comply fully with its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before the delivery of key nuclear components. KEDO had planned to complete the construction of two light-water reactors in the North in 2003. But the work had been delayed because of the political controversies Pyongyang had been involved in with both Washington and Seoul. According to last year's deal signed between the KEDO and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) in South Korea, the prime contractor of the nuclear project, the construction of the first reactor is due to be finished by early 2008. But the North has been demanding that the United States compensate for the delay of the nuclear project. (shinyb@koreaherald.co.kr) By Shin Yong-bae Staff reporter (C) Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector At Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Region III -- 2001 - 046 -- UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 No. III-01-046 October 3, 2001 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630)829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov Pam Alloway-Mueller (630)829-9662/e-mail: pla@nrc.gov Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in Lisle, Illinois, have announced the assignment of Bruce Bartlett as Senior Resident Inspector at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Kentucky. Bartlett, who began his duties at the Paducah plant September 23, joined the NRC in 1984 as a Resident Inspector at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station, northeast of Burlington, Kansas. In January of 1988, he was promoted to Senior Resident Inspector at Wolf Creek, and two years later he was assigned to the Callaway Nuclear Power Plant near Fulton, Missouri, as the Senior Resident Inspector. In August 1995, he moved to the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station near Bridgman, Michigan, where he worked as a Senior Resident Inspector until assuming his new assignment in Paducah. Prior to joining the NRC, Bartlett worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority as a pre-operational test engineer at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant and as a licensing engineer in Chattanooga for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. Bartlett earned both a bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri in Rolla. Bartlett and his wife Donna live in the Paducah area. Bartlett joins Resident Inspector Mary Lynne Thomas at the Paducah plant. They can be reached at (270) 442-7118. ***************************************************************** 12 Nuclear Plants May Get Military Role NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday Oct. 3, 2001 DALLAS -- The Bush administration is advancing a plan to use commercial nuclear plants to produce tritium to boost the power of nuclear weapons, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday. The project was proposed in 1998 during the Clinton administration, reversing a long-standing U.S. policy that urged other nations not to use civilian nuclear power plants to manufacturer bomb-making materials. In recent weeks, the Bush administration has proposed using one or more commercial nuclear plant reactors in Tennessee to produce the tritium, the News reported. The Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Plant, south of Spring City, Tenn., is the first plant designated for the project. The United States needs the tritium to restore old weapons and make new ones, according to the newspaper. The material has not been produced since an outmoded federal facility closed in 1988 and the Clinton administration decided against building a new plant to produce it. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve the project. The TVA on Aug. 20 asked the commission for a license amendment that would allow the Watts Bar plant to begin producing tritium along with power, its normal function. The TVA's Sequoyah plant, northeast of Chattanooga, also could become a tritium factory. Tritium is used to boost a conventional nuclear bomb into a more powerful hydrogen bomb but it decays at a rate of 5.5 percent per year. The supply in older weapons must be restored over the years. Every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal contains tritium. Critics of the plan say the project will undermine U.S. support of separate commercial and nuclear programs, encourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weaken confidence in international nuclear treaties. "Pakistan has nuclear weapons now, and North Korea, Iraq and Iran are on the edge of that decision," said physicist Kenneth Bergeron, who worked for 25 years at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico on nuclear weapons research. "They might just say that if the United States is doing this, then the nuclear nonproliferation treaty is history." Copyright 2001 by United Press International. ***************************************************************** 13 USEC Tells NEI's Nuclear Fuel Conference That the Company Is Paving the Way for Advanced U.S. Uranium Enrichment Technology Tuesday October 2, 1:04 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: USEC Inc. BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001--USEC Inc. (NYSE: - news) described to a nuclear fuel industry group today the steps that it is taking to move forward with an advanced uranium enrichment technology. Speaking before the Nuclear Energy Institute's International Uranium Fuel Seminar 2001, Dennis Spurgeon, USEC executive vice president and chief operating officer, said, ``We have a strategic vision for where we are going and the path to get there. We are improving the productivity and efficiency of our existing gaseous diffusion plants in order to establish a solid foundation of financial strength and vitality that will enable us to embark on a program of new technology.'' Spurgeon said that after evaluating U.S. centrifuge technology over the past two years, USEC stands ready to go forward with the demonstration of this already proven second-generation technology. Meanwhile, the Company will continue to develop third-generation SILEX laser enrichment technology at a prudent pace. ``This strategic view on technology has been a central and consistent position of USEC since its formation,'' Spurgeon told the industry group. U.S. centrifuge technology was developed by the U.S. government and demonstrated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 1985. But the program was discontinued when it was believed that it would not be needed. For the last year, USEC and UT-Battelle (University of Tennessee-Battelle) have conducted further centrifuge development work at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge under a DOE-approved Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, that was funded exclusively by USEC. ``We made significant progress during this private sector and government partnership,'' said Spurgeon. ``USEC designed a new centrifuge machine, taking advantage of the earlier government development work and commercial advances in construction materials and manufacturing methods.'' With new materials and manufacturing processes, USEC expects its centrifuge production costs will be less than competing centrifuges it has evaluated. The Company believes that U.S. centrifuge technology promises high performance and reliability. Deploying this technology would also help assure national security and energy security, and would create jobs. Spurgeon explained that USEC is working with DOE to extend the CRADA and to obtain the necessary assurances from DOE to enable USEC to move forward with the demonstration program. The Company expects to take a step-wise approach to the ultimate deployment of its advanced technology driven by an appropriate return on investment and strong program economics. As part of its implementation of this approach, USEC will also maintain an open, watchful posture in terms of the full range of alternative opportunities for new or related technologies that may be available in providing low-cost nuclear fuel. ``We are continuing our evaluation of SILEX, a laser-based enrichment technology being developed by USEC and Silex Systems Limited in Australia,'' said Spurgeon. SILEX is in the early stages of development. The Paducah gaseous diffusion plant, the only operating uranium enrichment plant in the United States, was built in the early 1950s, extensively refurbished in the 1970s and 1980s, and was recently upgraded. ``USEC is committed to pursuing the deployment of an economical enrichment technology in the United States that would ensure that a domestic supply of enriched uranium is available to our customers,'' said Spurgeon. ``USEC intends to take the actions necessary to remain the world's leading enrichment company, positioning itself to be part of the growth of nuclear power -- a vital and environmentally friendly source of electricity for America.'' Spurgeon's complete remarks appear in the News section of USEC's website, . This release contains certain forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainty, including certain assumptions regarding the future performance of the Company and events outside the Company's control. Future events and actual results may differ materially depending upon a variety of factors, including, without limitation, obtaining necessary agreements with DOE regarding use of the technology and facilities, satisfactory performance of the technology at various stages of demonstration and deployment, approvals from the Company's Board of Directors, the availability of funds, and the actions of regulatory authorities, as well as market demand for the Company's products, pricing trends in the uranium and enrichment markets, implementation of the market-based pricing arrangement and deliveries under the Russian contract, the availability and cost of electric power, and the Company's ability to execute successfully its internal performance plans. Additional information regarding the foregoing factors is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. USEC Inc., a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Contact: USEC Inc., Bethesda Elizabeth Stuckle, 301/564-3399 or Charles Yulish, 301/564-3391 ***************************************************************** 14 Letter: DOE refuses to hear people Las Vegas SUN Today: October 03, 2001 at 8:46:02 PDT I read with interest about the newly scheduled Yucca Mountain meetings around the state and only have one question. Why are there two Yucca Mountain site recommendation hearings in each of the outlying counties, yet there was only one in Clark County, where the largest population in the state resides? If Lander County gets two separate meeting dates, Clark County should get at least that. What about a hearing time for the people who will be affected along the routes? They deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard as well. Hey, DOE, it's time to schedule another Las Vegas public hearing (not the dog and pony show of Sept. 5, where 75 percent of the people left disgruntled and unheard). The point of a public hearing is just that -- to be heard, by DOE, neighbors and the country. I've submitted pages and pages of questions to these people and never get a response -- come on, DOE, show us you're at least listening! GREGOR GABLE , Pahrump All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 15 Guinn, Del Papa rip Yucca process Las Vegas SUN Today: October 03, 2001 at 10:07:16 PDT By Cy Ryan SUN CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa are complaining that the public has been given neither adequate information nor sufficient time to comment during the latest round of public hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The Energy Department agreed to schedule 29 additional public hearings. The first meetings were scheduled today in Carson City and Virginia City. The governor said the state has received from the DOE only a preliminary report, which contains "questionable findings regarding the safety and suitability of Yucca Mountain." He said he was pleased the DOE scheduled additional hearings, but Guinn and Del Papa said that a final environmental impact statement has not been released, nor have final siting guidelines that provide evidence the location is suitable to bury 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste. Without these documents, a proper evaluation cannot be made, the two said in separate news releases. Guinn also said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not established its licensing requirements for the proposed project. In addition, the governor said the state is challenging in federal court radiation standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Del Papa said the public notice for the new hearings did not appear in the Federal Register until Monday. The hearings are scheduled to run today through Oct. 12. "Once again, DOE will be conducting public hearings prematurely and without sufficient advance notice to the public to afford an adequate opportunity for people to attend the hearings and provide comment," Del Papa said. "Under the guise of seeking public input, DOE is making a mockery of the public participation process and denying the public an opportunity for meaningful input," Del Papa said. Guinn said he was "concerned and disappointed that the DOE has scheduled these hearings when the country is grieving and working through the many challenges resulting from the horrific events of Sept. 11." Hearings in Reno and Gardnerville are scheduled Thursday. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 16 Daily Events Report U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Operations Center Event Reports For 10/02/2001 10/03/2001 ** EVENT NUMBERS ** 38332 38339 38340 Power Reactor Event Number: 38332 FACILITY: PALO VERDE REGION: 4 NOTIFICATION DATE: 09/30/2001 UNIT: [] [] [3] STATE: AZ NOTIFICATION TIME: 20:28[EDT] RXTYPE: [1] CE,[2] CE,[3] CE EVENT DATE: 09/30/2001 EVENT TIME: 14:00[MST] NRC NOTIFIED BY: STEVE BANKS LAST UPDATE DATE: 10/02/2001 HQ OPS OFFICER: LEIGH TROCINE PERSON ORGANIZATION EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY GREG PICK R4 10 CFR SECTION: JOHN ZWOLINSKI NRR ADEG 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) DEGRADED CONDITION UNIT SCRAM CODERX CRITINIT PWR INIT RX MODE CURR PWR CURR RX MODE 3 N N 0 Cold Shutdown 0 Cold Shutdown EVENT TEXT EVIDENCE OF REACTOR COOLANT SYSTEM PRESSURE BOUNDARY LEAKAGE DISCOVERED WHILE IN COLD SHUTDOWN. The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the licensee: "The following event description is based on information currently available. If through subsequent reviews of this event, additional information is identified that is pertinent to this event or alters the information being provided at this time, a follow up notification will be made via the ENS or under the reporting requirements of 10CFR50.73." "On September 30, 2001, at approximately 1400 MST, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Unit 3 discovered evidence of reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure boundary leakage. PVNGS Unit 3 was shut down in Mode 5 conducting cooldown and depressurization in its [ninth] refueling outage at the time of discovery. Current RCS temperature is approximately 135 degrees Fahrenheit and RCS pressure is approximately 20 psia." "The leakage was discovered at two [Inconel] alloy 600 nozzle locations during inservice inspection (ISI); one in a RCS hot leg temperature detector nozzle and another in a pressurizer heater sleeve. The RCS hot leg leakage is located in the RTD nozzle for an inservice temperature [detector] (Loop #1, Equipment ID: 3JRCETW112HD). The pressurizer heater sleeve leakage is located at pressurizer heater B17. The leakage was identified in the form of small deposits of boron accumulation around the circumferences of the hot leg nozzle and that of the pressurizer sleeve. PVNGS has conducted inspections of these nozzles [and] sleeves during each refueling outage since the discovery that Inconel alloy 600 nozzles are susceptible to axial cracking. No evidence of leakage was identified when inspected during the last refueling outage approximately 18 months ago." "The timing of this ENS report was based on the determination at 14:00 MST on September 30, 2001, that the boron accumulation represented a serious of a principle safety barrier. PVNGS Unit 3 Technical Specification Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.4.14 (RCS Operational Leakage) permits no reactor coolant system pressure boundary leakage. It was therefore conservatively concluded that any evidence of pressure boundary leakage, regardless of magnitude, represents serious degradation of a principle safety barrier. Technical Specification [LCO] 3.4.14 is applicable in Modes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Unit 3 was in Mode 5 in a planned refueling outage at the time of discovery; therefore, LCO 3.4.14 is currently not applicable. The hot leg nozzle and pressurizer sleeve will be repaired prior to re entering Mode 4. It is anticipated that the repair will be utilizing the Mechanical Nozzle Seal Assembly (MNSA). No ESF actuations occurred and none were required. No structures systems or components were inoperable that contributed to this event particularly the fuel cladding and the containment fission product barriers. The event did not result in the release of radioactivity to the environment and did not adversely affect the safe operation of the plant or the health and safety of the public." The licensee notified the NRC resident inspector. ***** UPDATE FROM DAN MARKS TO LEIGH TROCINE AT 1304 EDT ON 10/02/01 ***** The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the licensee: "The following event description is based on information currently available. If through subsequent reviews of this event, additional information is identified that is pertinent to this event or alters the information being provided at this time, a follow up notification will be made via the ENS or under the reporting requirements of 10CFR50.73." "This is a follow up notification from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Unit 3 to remove the references to reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure boundary leakage at a pressurizer heater sleeve. The notification of pressure boundary leakage from a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) nozzle remains as identified in the original ENS report #38332 of September 30, 2001 at 1728 ET. Chemistry and radiological analysis of the residue located in the vicinity of the pressurizer heater sleeve and engineering personnel review of the analysis results determined the residue was not evidence of pressure boundary leakage." "On September 30, 2001, at approximately 1400 MST, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3 discovered evidence of RCS pressure boundary leakage. PVNGS Unit 3 was shut down in Mode 5 conducting cooldown and depressurization in its ninth refueling outage at the time of discovery. Current RCS temperature is approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit and RCS pressure is approximately 18 psia." "The leakage was discovered at one Inconel alloy 600 nozzle location during inservice inspection (ISI), in a RCS hot leg temperature detector nozzle. The RCS hot leg leakage is located in the RTD nozzle for an inservice temperature [detector] (Loop #1 Equipment ID: 3JRCETW112HD). The leakage was identified in the form of small deposits of boron accumulation around the circumference of the hot leg nozzle. PVNGS has conducted inspections of these nozzles during each refueling outage since the discovery that Inconel alloy 600 nozzles are susceptible to axial cracking. No evidence of leakage was identified when inspected during the last refueling outage approximately 18 months ago." "The timing of the Initial ENS #38332 report at 1428 MST (1728 ET) on September 30, 2001, was based on the determination at 1400 MST that the boron accumulation represented a serious degradation of a principal safety barrier. PVNGS Unit 3 Technical Specification Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.4.14 (RCS Operational Leakage) permits no reactor coolant system pressure boundary leakage." "It was therefore conservatively concluded that any evidence of pressure boundary leakage, regardless of magnitude, represents serious degradation of a principle safety barrier. Technical Specification [LCO] 3.4.14 is applicable in Modes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Unit 3 was in Mode 5 in a planned refueling outage at the time of discovery; therefore, LCO 3.4.14 is currently not applicable. The hot leg nozzle will be repaired prior to re entering Mode 4." "No ESF actuations occurred and none were required. No structures systems or components were inoperable that contributed to this event, particularly the fuel cladding and the containment fission product barriers. The event did not result in the release of radioactivity to the environment and did not adversely affect the safe operation of the plant or the health and safety of the public." The licensee notified the NRC resident inspector. The NRC operations officer notified the R4DO (Claude Johnson) and NRR EO (Tad Marsh). General Information or Other Event Number: 38339 REP ORG: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH NOTIFICATION DATE: 10/02/2001 LICENSEE: HI TECH TESTING SERVICE, INC. NOTIFICATION TIME: 11:44[EDT] CITY: LONGVIEW REGION: 4 EVENT DATE: 09/25/2001 COUNTY: STATE: TX EVENT TIME: 09:16[CDT] LICENSE#: 05021 AGREEMENT: Y LAST UPDATE DATE: 10/02/2001 DOCKET: PERSON ORGANIZATION CLAUDE JOHNSON R4 FRED BROWN NMSS NRC NOTIFIED BY: LELEN WATKINS (facsimile) HQ OPS OFFICER: LEIGH TROCINE EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR SECTION: NAGR AGREEMENT STATE EVENT TEXT AGREEMENT STATE REPORT REGARDING A RADIOGRAPHY CAMERA THAT WAS LOST AND FOUND IN LONGVIEW, TEXAS (Texas Incident #7806) A logging source was found at the intersection of Eastman Road and Cotton Street in Longview, Texas. The Longview Fire Department responded to the scene, and the licensee, Hi Tech Testing Service, Inc., was contacted. A licensee representative also responded to the site and performed a complete survey of the exposure device using a calibrated survey meter. There were no abnormally high readings observed during this survey. The IR100 exposure device was also visually examined for any damage to the body, locking mechanism, and outlet port. There was no physical damage seen during this examination. The exposure device was returned to the licensee's shop, thoroughly inspected, and locked inside a radioactive storage area. This subsequent detailed inspection revealed that all mechanical components were functioning properly, and there was no apparent damage to the exposure device body. One transport label was replaced because some of the information was illegible. It was later determined that the exposure device had unknowingly fallen onto the highway from the bumper of a pickup truck. NOTE: Exposure Device S/N 4573, Source S/N 00564B, Type and Activity of Source Material Not Reported Power Reactor Event Number: 38340 FACILITY: HOPE CREEK REGION: 1 NOTIFICATION DATE: 10/02/2001 UNIT: [1] [] [] STATE: NJ NOTIFICATION TIME: 16:20[EDT] RXTYPE: [1] GE 4 EVENT DATE: 10/02/2001 EVENT TIME: 15:57[EDT] NRC NOTIFIED BY: KENNETH KLASS LAST UPDATE DATE: 10/02/2001 HQ OPS OFFICER: LEIGH TROCINE PERSON ORGANIZATION EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY RICHARD CONTE R1 10 CFR SECTION: NONR OTHER UNSPEC REQMNT UNIT SCRAM CODERX CRITINIT PWR INIT RX MODE CURR PWR CURR RX MODE 1 N Y 95 Power Operation 95 Power Operation EVENT TEXT 24 HOUR REPORT REGARDING AN OPERATING LICENSE CONDITION VIOLATION (POTENTIAL MAXIMUM POWER LEVEL VIOLATION) The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the licensee. "General Electric (GE) report titled, 'Impact of Steam Carryover Fraction on Process Computer Heat Balance Calculations, September 2001,' documents a non conservative assumption for moisture carryover used in the calculation of core thermal power. The assumed carryover fraction of 0.1% was discovered to be closer to 0.0% (non conservative) in later model GE BWRs. Hope Creek Generating Station may be affected by the non conservative core thermal power calculation with an estimated bias of less than 4 MWt. As a result, there is a potential that Hope Creek Generating Station has operated at power levels in excess of Operating License condition 2.C(1) which requires that the facility be operated at reactor core power levels not in excess of 3339 MWt." "This notification is being made in accordance with Hope Creek Operating License Condition 2.F, as a potential violation of Hope Creek Operating License Condition 2.C(1)." "An administrative shift average power limit of 3335 MWt has been implemented when the Crossflow ultrasonic flow measurement system is available. If Crossflow is unavailable, shift average power will be administratively limited to 3289 MWt." "PSEG Nuclear is continuing to evaluate the effect of the moisture carryover term on the heat balance calculation." The licensee notified the NRC resident inspector. (Refer to event #38330 for a similar event at Fermi and event #38337 for a similar event at Perry.) ***************************************************************** 17 Criticism of TVA tritium plan rises in wake of attacks Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:29 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, 2001 The Associated Press KNOXVILLE -- The government's plan to produce the bomb material tritium in a Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear reactor is getting renewed criticism in the wake of the terrorist attacks. The Department of Energy has yet to place an order for more tritium, a short-lived hydrogen isotope that boosts the power of nuclear warheads. But the TVA, a federal corporation, has agreed to make its Watts Bar nuclear reactor in Spring City and its twin-reactor Sequoyah nuclear station near Chattanooga available. "There has been no decision at this point to produce tritium, but TVA has an agreement to produce it if such a decision is made," TVA spokesman John Moulton said Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sponsored a public meeting Tuesday night near the Watts Bar station in Evensville to discuss the tritium production program and TVA's request to amend its operating license to permit it. Military officials have said they will need new tritium to restore old weapons and make new ones. The government has not produced the material since it shuttered production reactors at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina 1988. Critics argue that abandoning the long-standing separation of commercial and military nuclear programs could encourage other countries to put weapons in more hands, increasing the risk of nuclear theft and terrorism, and destroying international confidence in nuclear-weapons treaties. Since the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, security concerns have increased, with nuclear facilities on heightened alert against possible terrorist assaults. "Pakistan has nuclear weapons now, and North Korea, Iraq and Iran are on the edge of that decision," physicist Kenneth Bergeron told The Dallas Morning News in Tuesday's editions. "They might just say that if the United States is doing this, then the nuclear nonproliferation treaty is history," said Bergeron, who spent 25 years at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and retired in 1999. Bergeron formerly researched reactor safety and tritium production for the federal laboratory that researches national security. Mark Padovan, NRC project manager, said nuclear regulators will ask only narrow technical questions. Under an agreement with DOE, the NRC will not raise any questions about the broader policy questions. Opponents say the spread of technology for producing tritium in nuclear power plants could help fledgling nuclear powers build more dangerous bombs. "We know that Pakistan is trying to boost its weapons," said Bergeron. "India is probably doing it, too. This accelerates that process." He said a so-called "boosted" bomb can be lighter and smaller, making it easier to transport and deliver -- or pilfer. "It's also true that terrorists might steal an old, poorly guarded weapon and obtain tritium and boost it," he said. On the Net: Tennessee Valley Authority: http://www.tva.gov/ Department of Energy: http://www.doe.gov/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/ All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 18 The Committee on Energy and Commerce: Schedule [Chairman Tauzin] Schedule of Events The Committee on Energy and Commerce W.J. "Billy" Tauzin Chairman Wednesday, October 3, 2001 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building The Full Committee will meet in OPEN MARKUP SESSION at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 3, 2001 in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, to consider the following measures: H.R. ____, a Committee Print, to amend the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 with respect to the responsibilities of the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding biological agents and toxins, and to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to such agents and toxins; H.R. ____, a Committee Print, to strengthen security at certain nuclear facilities, and for other purposes; and, H.R. ____, a Committee Print, to clarify the application of cable television system privacy requirements to new cable services. 1:00 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will meet in an open markup session on Wednesday, October 3, 2001, and subsequent days if necessary, at 1:00 p.m. or 30 minutes after conclusion of the Full Committee markup, whichever is later, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building to consider H.R. ____, the American Spirit Fraud Prevention Act. Thursday, October 4, 2001 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality will meet in an open markup session on Thursday, October 4, 2001, and subsequent days if necessary, at 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building to consider H.R. 2983, the Price-Anderson Reauthorization Act of 2001, and H.Res. 250, a Sense of the House of Representatives resolution urging the Secretary of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 1:00 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building The Subcommittee on Health will meet in an open markup session on Thursday, October 4, 2001, and subsequent days if necessary, at 1:00 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Energy and Air Quality markup,in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building to consider H.R. 2887, The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act. Note on Audio Broadcasting: The audio of all Committee hearings are broadcast via the Internet. The Committee's webcasting capacity is limited, so please visit http://www.house.gov/commerce 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the event. The free Real Player is also required. (http://www.real.com) Please note that Committee markups are not currently broadcast. Accessible Facilities: The Committee endeavors to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, or have any questions regarding special accommodations generally, please contact the Committee in advance of the scheduled event (4 business days notice is requested) at (202) 225-2927; TTY# (202) 225-1904; or 2125 Rayburn House Office Building. The Committee on Energy and Commerce 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-2927 Feedback ***************************************************************** 19 Commissioner Dr. Nils J. Diaz to be sworn in for second term Press Release - 2001 - 118 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No. 01-118 October 3, 2001 Dr. Nils J. Diaz will be sworn in for a second term as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on October 4 by the Honorable Mel Martinez, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in a ceremony at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. By a voice vote on September 26, the Senate confirmed Dr. Diaz to serve a second term as an NRC Commissioner through June 30, 2006. Dr. Diaz was first sworn in as a Commissioner in 1996, after a distinguished career spanning a quarter century as an educator, research scientist, consultant and entrepreneur in such fields as nuclear engineering, nuclear power sources in space and medical and industrial applications of radioisotopes. Before joining the NRC, Dr. Diaz was a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Florida and Director of the Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute, a national consortium of universities and industry. Dr. Diaz received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Villanova, in Cuba, and both a Master of Science and Ph. D. degrees from the University of Florida in nuclear engineering sciences. ***************************************************************** 20 NRC Proposes $2,750 Civil Penalty Against Puerto Rico Laboratory For Violation of Nrc Radiological Safety Requirements Press Release Region II - 2001 - 40 - UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No. II-01-040 October 3, 2001 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416/e-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov Roger D. Hannah (404)562-4417/e-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $2,750 civil penalty against El Senorial PSI, Nuclear Medicine Laboratory of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, for a violation of NRC safety requirements related to the use of radioactive material at the laboratory without the use of proper dose monitoring devices. NRC officials said an investigation by the agency's Office of Investigations substantiated earlier inspection findings that the laboratory and its Radiation Safety Officer deliberately permitted the conduct of operations at the facility for approximately six weeks without proper radiation dose monitoring devices required by the laboratory's NRC license. The NRC determined that the laboratory began using licensed radioactive material on August 17, 2000, but that required personal radiation monitoring badges were not received until October 10 of that year. Based upon the low dose rates the workers were exposed to during the period they were unmonitored, as well as the low number of patients who were treated during that time, NRC officials said it is unlikely that workers received any significant exposures. The NRC said corrective action has been taken by the laboratory to correct the violations and to prevent recurrence. ***************************************************************** 21 Gov, AG protest more hearings on Nevada nuclear dump Las Vegas SUN October 02, 2001 CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Tuesday they're opposed to the latest round of federal hearings on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. The governor said public comment is being sought "when as of today the state has only been provided with preliminary reports that contain questionable findings regarding the safety and suitability of Yucca Mountain." Guinn added he's "concerned and disappointed that DOE has scheduled these hearings when the country is grieving and working through the many challenges resulting from the horrific events of Sept. 11." Del Papa said the federal Department of Energy is holding the hearings "before it has finalized the environmental impact statement and before it has issued its siting guidelines for the proposed dump." "Under the guise of seeking public input, DOE is making a mockery of the public participation process and denying the public an opportunity for meaningful input." The DOE has said it's widening its net to collect comment about the proposed dump from every county in Nevada and in neighboring Inyo County, Calif. The additional field hearings will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and Oct. 10-12. They're in addition to public hearings scheduled Oct. 10 in Amargosa Valley and Oct. 12 in Pahrump. "We've been hearing that we're not offering enough opportunity for comment," said Allen Benson, DOE spokesman in Las Vegas. "Well, we're offering opportunity to comment." The DOE last month hosted a marathon public hearing in Las Vegas on a scientific report that identifies no major obstacles to entombing the nation's 77,000 tons of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain. The volcanic ridge is at the western edge of the Nevada Test Site, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It is the only site in the nation being studied as a nuclear dump. On the Net: Yucca Mountain Project: www.ymp.gov All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 People vs. Siberian Chemical Combine Seversk The Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk still has two plutonium-producing reactors in operation. The reprocessing facility and storage of radioactive waste and nuclear warheads are also covered in this section. People vs. Siberian Chemical Combine (St Petersburg:) Georgievka inhabitants, who suffered from the accident at a Siberian Chemical Combine plant in western Siberia in April 1993, filed a lawsuit. The court permitted the combine to continue dumping of radioactive waste into underground geological formations. The River Tom near the Siberian Chemical Combine is off-limits for the local population photo: Thomas Nilsen Rashid Alimov, 2001-10-02 13:16 On July 23rd a court decision was voiced on the suit of 26 claimants from the village Georgievka against the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises (SGCE, also known as the Siberian Chemical Combine). Georgievka, situated in Tomsk county, western Siberia, suffered from the accident at a SGCE plant on April 6th 1993, which caused radioactive contamination of the area. During the court hearings 14 claimants died. The aggrieved claimants demanded indemnity for moral damage from SGCE and the Tomsk county administration. Furthermore, they demanded that SGCE would cease to dump liquid radioactive waste into underground geological formations. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a radioactive waste release on April 6th 1993 was caused by French spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, under the contract with the French nuclear company Cogema, because isotopic composition of the fuel fell beyond the plant's technical capabilities designed solely for Russian fuel. The surrounding territory was contaminated within a radius of 25 km. The county court admitted that the accident was a serious moral injury, as it caused radioactive contamination of Georgievka and its outskirts. After the accident measurements were taken resulting in farms being decontaminated, signs indicating radioactive danger were put up at the village boundaries and pasture and harvesting were banned. The Tomsk administration was not found responsible, but the court made SGCE pay each claimant an indemnity of $860. At the same time however, the court permitted the combine to continue underground disposals of liquid radioactive waste. Both parties disagree with the court, and are going to appeal the decision. Several days before the trial was over, the Nuclear State Regulatory (GAN) granted SGCE license for dumping liquid radioactive waste in geological formations. The claimants said, the large-scale dumping in the underground, water-bearing injection wells of between 280 to 400 meters deep, contradicts with the Russian legislation (articles 7 and 104 of the Russian Water Code, art. 54.3 of the Law on Environmental Protection). More on Siberian Chemical Combine The Siberian Chemical Combine (Sibkhimkombinat) consists of five military production reactors, a chemical separation plant, a reprocessing facility for uranium and plutonium, a uranium enrichment plant, and storage facilities for radioactive waste. There is also a facility to store retired warheads. Read more more in Bellona WP no 4:1995, chapter 2 » The case was first examined by the court of the closed city of Seversk, but was in February 2001 transferred to the Tomsk County Court, because the defendants referred to some classified documents regulating dumping of radioactive waste underground. The cases, which are related to state secrets, can be examined either by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, or by a county court. The lawyer pleading for the Georgievka inhabitants, Konstantin Lebedev, commented upon the current situation for the Bellona Web: - The sides are examining the motivation behind the verdict, and may lodge a complaint within 10 days. The claimants are going to appeal the decision allowing SGCE to continue its illegal and dangerous activities. Furthermore, we will appeal the court decision relieving the Tomsk administration of responsibility. The verdict, which includes strange inaccuracies like calling the signs of radioactive danger “signs of radioactive safety”, provokes us to lodge complaints. In an additional writ from April 13th 1999, the claimants said the radiation release of April 6th 1993 did not have the most significant impact on the radioactive and chemical contamination of the area. The accident only partly lifted the veil of secrecy, surrounding the SGCE activities. Under normal operation the combine releases 10 grams plutonium into the atmosphere annually, whereas one millionth of a gram may cause serious diseases if consumed by humans. The soils and waters contain chemicals, and the level of beta-activity in the atmosphere is four to ten times higher than the natural level. During the 30 years that the Siberian Chemical Combine has been in operation, the production of weapons grade plutonium and the enrichment of uranium have resulted in large amounts of radioactive waste. Solid and liquid waste are either stored or placed into permanent repositories at various sites within the enclosed areas of the Combine. There are 50 different storage areas within the borders of SCC that receive solid and liquid waste generated by the plant's activities. The two forms of waste together have a total activity of 4,6 million TBq (125 MCi). There is also a great deal of liquid waste which has been either deposited down into sandy beds 320-460 m deep or else pumped into open holding pools. There have been about 30 accidents during the combine’s 50-year history. The last major accident happened on June 14th 1999, when an operator’s fault caused contamination of the plant, and two workers were exposed to a radiation dose exceeding the annual radiation tolerance three times. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 2 Works on Kursk go quite slow Background information and news about the numerous accidents and incidents that involve the nuclear vessels in the Northern Fleet. (Murmansk:) However, it is decided to go on. The Russian deputy premier, Ilya Klebanov, and vice-admiral Mikhail Motsak have disagreed concerning the person who should make a decision about lifting the Kursk. The TV-link connected the journalists in Murmansk and the Russian deputy premier, Ilya Klebanov, who is onboard the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great. photo: Viktor Khabarov Viktor Khabarov, 2001-10-02 19:58 Today at 17:30 local time the TV-link again connected Ilya Klebanov in the Barents Sea with the press-centre in Murmansk. The Russian deputy premier said that the divers began to install grappling devices on the fourth compartment in the evening. The work goes slow and hard due to the weather conditions, but after meeting with the specialists onboard Mayo barge it was decided to go on, Mr. Klebanov added. The Russian vice-admiral Mikhail Motsak said that the Mammoet general manager Michael Deli should make the decision about the precise date and time. Ilya Klebanov added that despite the responsibility of one person the decision itself would be made together with the others. He also said that despite the weather conditions they would try to lift the submarine on October the 4th, and transport it to the dock on October the 7th. The chiefs of Mammoet and Smith International arrived at Murmansk today in order to visit Mayo barge. However, the weather conditions do not allow the helicopter to reach the salvage area. The Rubin specialists and the military also have failed to reach Mayo. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 3 Report suggests new mission for Hanford test reactor Wednesday, October 3, 2001 By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER For years the debate over the future of the Fast Flux Test Facility has raged as hot as the core of a nuclear reactor. Those who want to restart the reactor on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation dream of a future in which the FFTF produces life-saving medical isotopes for treatment of cancer and other diseases. Those who want to see the reactor closed forever point to experts who say that the isotopes can be produced more cheaply elsewhere and that the $40 million spent annually keeping the reactor on standby would be better invested in research labs. A much-anticipated announcement of the fate of the reactor is expected in the next couple of weeks, but a U.S. Energy Department report obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer under the Freedom of Information Act suggests that the reactor won't be mothballed any time soon. The July 2001 report encourages Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to consider a proposal to privatize and restart the reactor for production of medical isotopes. The report's authors also suggest further exploration of a government proposal to use the reactor for experiments to improve nuclear power-reactor fuel efficiency. In short, the 23-year-old reactor seems likely to remain in multimillion-dollar limbo for months. A decision to continue exploring uses of the reactor would sustain the hopes of some Tri-Cities residents eager to save the reactor and develop a nuclear industry separate from the efforts to clean up the highly contaminated Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In addition to the "humanitarian" benefits of creating medical isotopes, the restart proposal "provides a future for this community outside waste cleanup," said Bill Stokes, president of Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems, the Richland-based company that proposed privatization. Many concerns have been raised in response to this plan, and two Hanford watchdog groups say the report is not valid because one of its authors was previously affiliated with Stokes' company. An organization of companies that use medical isotopes said in a letter to Abraham that it "does not believe the FFTF is the best-suited DOE facility to produce commercial and research radioisotopes for nuclear medicine." The letter, from the non-profit organization called the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., also said the cost of making the FFTF capable of medical isotope production appears to approach the cost of building a new reactor specifically designed for this purpose. It said that the FFTF was poorly suited geographically for "rapid distribution of short-lived radioisotopes, which are commonly used today in nuclear medicine procedures" and that FFTF does not have the ability to make many medical isotopes. Kenneth Krohn, a professor in the University of Washington's Department of Radiology, said there are other reactors that can produce the isotopes. His department uses a cyclotron, a machine that is smaller than a reactor and less expensive to operate, to produce some of the isotopes used in his lab. Supporters counter that the FFTF has great potential. "Once you've got it running you can do a whole lot more with it," said Darrell Fisher, a scientist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "It's the right tool for certain jobs." The use of isotopes in medicine is growing. The radioactive compounds can be used to detect cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and heart disease and for brain and bone scans. Isotopes can be attached to proteins and other compounds that guide them to cancerous targets where the radiation kills specific cells. Supporters of restarting the FFTF say there are not enough different isotopes available for scientists to discover new treatments and that there are shortages of the isotopes when therapies are approved. "I'm trying to buy isotopes for research, and it's amazing," Fisher said. "I can't get what I need." But privatization would not necessarily alleviate that need. Isotopes used for research are needed in small quantities and thus are expensive to produce. It is unclear how many research isotopes would be produced at the reactor if Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems takes over operation. Commercial isotopes used for medicine, agriculture and industry would constitute the bulk of the company's production. Supporters of the FFTF restart argue that people are dying because of the lack of isotopes, also called radionuclides. But others say the isotopes used for diagnosis and treatment appear to be available. "We're not aware of any shortages of radionuclides," said Roy Brown, board chairman for the non-profit radionuclides council, which is based in California. Krohn agreed that he does not have any difficulties getting the isotopes needed for his nuclear medicine research. Located on the Hanford reservation, the FFTF operated from 1982 to 1992 as a research facility. In 1993, the Energy Department decided there was no longer a mission for the reactor and ordered it shut down. It was later placed on standby, not operating but capable of restart. Various missions have been contemplated for the reactor, which was originally created to test fuels and components of nuclear power plants. In the late 1990s, the FFTF was considered for production of tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is used to boost the potency of nuclear weapons. It was later decided that commercial reactors could produce the isotope more cheaply. In January, in its waning days, the Clinton administration ordered the shutdown of the reactor, but in April, the new Bush administration halted the shutdown and ordered another look at the reactor. The Energy Department solicited proposals for the operation of the FFTF, and Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems came forward with a plan focused primarily on medical isotope production. Energy chief Abraham was supposed to decide what to do with the FFTF by the end of last month, after taking time to study the July report. Because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that decision is now expected by mid-October. Tom Carpenter, director of the West Coast office of the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, said the report is flawed because of conflicts of interest. "This is a really biased, overly optimistic review," he said. Stokes, the president of Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems, said one of the authors had been associated with his company, but had terminated relations years ago. Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems is asking for a 35-year lease to use the reactor. In return, the company promises to create a $400 million fund to pay for the cleanup and dismantling of the site when it is finished with it. It's an expense the Energy Department would otherwise have to cover. The government "can't afford to shut it down," Stokes said. If the reactor were deactivated today, it would cost an estimated $249.7 million and take more than five years to complete. "If the FFTF is privatized, DOE is going to save a lot of money," Fisher at the Pacific Northwest National Lab said. But the taxpayers don't get a free ride. The proposal from Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems asks the Energy Department to continue paying standby costs while the company finishes securing funding and modifies the reactor for isotope production. The company proposes to take over the site at the end of 2005, costing the government about $160 million to maintain the reactor between now and then. And there are no guarantees that the company will survive long enough and earn sufficient funds to cover shutdown costs. If the company were to fail before it raised the money to pay for shutdown, "the (Energy) Department would be right back where it started from," Stokes acknowledged. Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems is trying to secure $215 million to pay for the restart and modifications of the reactor and to cover the first three years of operation. The Compass Group, a Spokane company that manages labor union pensions and investment funds, has expressed an interest in providing the money. Final approval of the loan could come by next summer, Stokes said. Once the company passes the scrutiny of its lenders, "the probability that our business is going to fail is going to be very low," he said. In the July report to Abraham, the authors also encouraged further examination of a proposal by Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, which has facilities in Illinois and Idaho, to conduct experiments to improve the efficiency of nuclear power reactor fuel. These studies could be done in conjunction with medical isotope production. Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems is partnering with a multitude of companies for the project and would essentially manage the whole operation. Partners include Duke Engineering &Services Inc., Fluor Federal Services Inc., Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. and Science Applications International Corp. Inc. The corporations would play different roles in modifying and operating the reactor, handling the reactor fuels and marketing the isotopes. In its business projections, the company anticipates losing money from 2006 to 2008. By 2009 earnings are expected to reach about $50 million, which is slightly less than the estimated cost of operations. Fisher, who supports restart, acknowledged that Advanced Nuclear &Medical Systems faces an uphill journey. "This is going to be a real challenge for this company to pull this off and be profitable. On the other hand, they have some really good people working for them." At the same time, he said, "the future needs an FFTF. That's pretty clear." P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 ***************************************************************** 4 Weather delays Kursk operation - October 3, 2001 CNN.com - The plan: A barge will raise the Kursk, leaving the nose on the seabed MOSCOW, Russia -- Bad weather is pushing back the timetable for raising the wreck of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. Rough seas have slowed down the progress of divers attaching cables to the Kursk from a barge that will be used to winch the submarine to the surface. The Dutch-led team had hoped the winching could begin this week but now it will not be possible to begin the operation until next week. And the divers are in a race against time with winter weather closing in on the Barents Sea where the Kursk sank. The Barents Sea storm season, which begins during October, could rule out further attempts to raise the submarine until after the winter. Bad weather and technical problems have already seen the first deadline -- September 15 -- for raising the submarine pass. Frans van Seumeren, president of the Mammoet company which is working to raise the Kursk with another Dutch company, Smit International, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "I think we must more think about the beginning of next week, or the weekend." The Kursk -- one of Russia most modern nuclear-powered submarines -- sank in August 2000, killing all 118 sailors on board, while on exercises in the Barents Sea. Divers have attached six of the 26 cables needed to raise hoist the Kursk to the surface. Russian officials have said the Kursk sank after a faulty torpedo set off a series of explosions last August -- but what caused the initial blast remains a mystery. Once it is raised, the Kursk's body will be transported to a dry dock, where experts are to examine the wreck for clues as to what caused Russia's worst naval disaster. ***************************************************************** 5 Senate OKs expanded IAAP benefits The Hawk Eye Newspaper October 3, 2001 Local News : 10/3/2001 By Dennis J. Carroll • Long-sought survivors' compensation still must past conference committee. The U.S. Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would expand compensation to survivors of nuclear weapons workers who died because of exposure to hazardous materials at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. The measure, an amendment to the Defense Department authorization bill, would eliminate a Labor Department rule that restricts survivor compensation only to those children of workers who were younger than 18 when their parent died. The Energy Department is offering former nuclear weapons workers, or their survivors, who were made ill or died from exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica a $150,000 lump sum payment and coverage of some medical costs under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The compensation is being administered by the Labor Department. The expanded measure, pushed by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and others, would apply to thousands of former nuclear weapons workers and their survivors around the country. At the IAAP, which for 25 years was a linchpin in the nuclear weapons industry, many workers suffered lifelong sicknesses from their exposure to radiation and other hazardous materials, but often did not die until later in life, when their children were well into adulthood. "I would be thrilled (if the measure becomes law) because common sense and logic have finally entered into the situation," said former IAAP security supervisor Bob Anderson of Burlington. "The suffering that these people were under when they were sick put a hardship on the families," he said. A letter by Anderson to Harkin about three years ago, in which he speculated that his lymphoma and that of other workers may have been caused by exposure to hazardous materials, unleashed a flood of revelations about working conditions and environmental hazards at the plant . "I am pleased that more Iowans can now be justly compensated for their loss of family members resulting from the ammunition plant in Middletown," Harkin said. "This measure corrects a critical flaw in the Department of Labor Rule." The measure still must be approved by a conference committee because the House version of the defense authorization bill does not contain the nuclear workers amendment. Other former IAAP workers have argued that the legislation should be expanded even further to cover non-nuclear workers who were made ill or died from exposure to hazardous materials. The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk · 319-754-6824 FAX · 1-800-397-1708 Toll Free ***************************************************************** 6 Watchdog questions need for SRS plutonium plant Augusta Georgia: Technology: Web posted Wednesday, October 3, 2001 By Brandon Haddock Staff Writer Savannah River Site might be able to use existing and future plants to treat plutonium, instead of building a new $1.5 billion plant for the work, according to a federal watchdog. But the idea, published in a report from the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general, isn't drawing kudos from observers. ''I thought the document really didn't merit attention or comment because it's deceptive,'' said Tom Clements, the executive director of the nonprofit Nuclear Control Institute in Washington. ''It didn't thoroughly analyze anything. It just threw something out there with no technical basis. ''It shouldn't be used at all for any decision-making on what happens with the plutonium disposition program.'' The report raises the concept of using the federal nuclear-weapons site's FB Line facility, or using a ''melt-and-dilute'' plant planned for the site, to treat about 9.24 tons of plutonium at SRS. The Energy Department is looking at both possibilities, the report states. The department once planned to bake the plutonium into ceramic pucks at a $1.5 billion ''immobilization'' plant. But the agency suspended work on the design of that plant in the spring, saying it was too expensive. As much as $650 million could be saved by renovating FB Line or the melt-and-dilute plant for the work, the inspector general's report states. The report hasn't won over South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, his spokeswoman said. Mr. Hodges has vowed to block any shipments of plutonium to SRS until the treatment issue is resolved. The governor wants the Energy Department to stick to its original, ''dual-track'' plan, Courtney Owings said. That plan, which includes the immobilization plant, also would involve turning some plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. ''Right now, there are too many questions about the inspector general's plan for immobilization,'' Ms. Owings said. ''The governor maintains that we should have a dual-track process. That is the plan that the Energy Department committed to.'' Reach Brandon Haddock at (706) 823-3409 or bhaddock@augustachronicle.com All contents ©1996 - 2001 The Augusta Chronicle . All ***************************************************************** 7 Nuclear or chemical attack 'our biggest threat' - smh.com.au - World Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Mr Annan. By Mark Riley, Herald Correspondent in New York The threat of terrorists acquiring nuclear, biological and chemical weapons is the "greatest danger" facing the world, the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has warned. "It is hard to imagine how the tragedy of September 11 could have been worse," Mr Annan said. "Yet the truth is that a single attack involving a nuclear or biological weapon could have killed millions." Editorial No exceptions Mr Annan made the remarks when he opened a week-long session of the UN General Assembly, which hopes to forge a united global front against terrorism. He said such catastrophic terrorist attacks could be prevented, but only through true international co-operation. "Terrorism will be defeated if the international community summons the will to unite in a broad coalition, or it will not be defeated at all," he said. However, the General Assembly's recent record on fighting terrorism has been marked by fierce words and feeble actions. Of the 12 anti-terrorism measures passed by the assembly since 1963, only five have become law. The other seven remain noble words filed in the UN archives. Not enough countries have ratified them to give them the effect of law. The most recent was the 1999 Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. It is wallowing for lack of support. Fifty - not including Australia - of the 189 member nations have signed the treaty but only four have ratified it so far. Mr Annan said he hoped the terrorist attacks on America would now make it a "point of honour" for nations to support the treaties. "There is much we can do to help prevent future terrorist acts carried out with weapons of mass destruction," he said. "The greatest danger arises from a non-state group - or even an individual - acquiring and using a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon. Such a weapon could be delivered without the need for any missile or any other sophisticated delivery system." Treaties alone would not prevent such actions, but they would provide a vital legal framework to support the international war on terrorism, he said. The New York City Mayor, Mr Rudolph Giuliani, told the assembly that "this is not a time for further study or vague directive". "You're either with civilisation or you're with terrorism," he said. "The evidence of terrorism, brutality and inhumanity is lying beneath the rubble of the World Trade Centre less than two miles from where we meet today." Mr Giuliani issued a challenge to delegates, while recognising that several of the diplomats there represented governments which, either through their actions or inaction, supported terrorist organisations. "Let those who say that we must understand the reasons for terrorism come with me to the thousands of funerals we're having in New York City - thousands - and explain those insane, maniacal reasons to the children who will grow up without fathers and mothers and to the parents who have had their children ripped from them for no reason at all," he said. "Instead, I ask each of you to allow me to say at those funerals that your nation stands with America in making a solemn promise and pledge that we will achieve unconditional victory over terrorism and terrorists." Australia's new Ambassador to the UN, Mr John Dauth, was due to deliver his address to the session early today. Copyright © 2001. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Flats likely to become a refuge after cleanup [www.TheDailyCamera.com] By Katy Human Camera Staff Writer Rocky Flats, an infamous former nuclear bomb plant, will likely become a 6,000-acre national wildlife refuge after the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to approve a bill authorizing the move. Staff members from the cities and counties surrounding Rocky Flats applauded the decision, which they've been pushing since January. "That's great news," said Hank Stovall, Broomfield's representative with the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments. "It means a great deal to the local and surrounding communities." In January, the coalition wrote a letter of support for turning Rocky Flats into a wildlife refuge, a proposal crafted by U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Boulder. The refuge bill was wrapped into the Senate's defense spending measure, approved Tuesday in a 99-0 vote. A joint committee will now merge the Senate and House versions of the defense bill, and both lawmakers said they're optimistic the refuge provision will survive. "There are no real stumbling blocks," Udall said. If President Bush signs the measure, the bill would turn Rocky Flats into a national wildlife refuge only after the site has been cleaned up and closed, possibly as soon as 2006. The former bomb plant's 6,000 grassland acres represent some of the last undeveloped land on the Front Range available for protection, Udall said. The land supports deer, raptors and a handful of endangered Preble's meadow jumping mice. In recent years, some nearby cities have eyed the land for development. Udall said the Department of Energy, which currently owns Rocky Flats, would maintain ultimate liability for Rocky Flats, which is now a Superfund cleanup site. That's something of a relief for Broomfield's Stovall, who has concerns about who would take responsibility if, for example, a contaminated spot of soil was discovered in the future. The new refuge bill does not affect cleanup levels at Rocky Flats, Stovall said. "They left it out so that the local community could negotiate the best cleanup possible," he said. State and federal regulators will make final decisions about cleanup levels at Rocky Flats, with some input from local community members. Stovall said he remains concerned about future stewardship of the site. Some highly contaminated sites at Rocky Flats may be fenced off for protection in the future, he said. To keep visitors and Rocky Flats neighbors safe, "What level of monitoring and maintenance will it take?" he asked. "The better the cleanup, the less we have to worry." Neither Allard nor Udall could come up with a cost to the federal government for creating and maintaining the refuge. The cost would depend on how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decides to regulate the refuge, Allard said. The agency may decide to use it exclusively as open space, or to run educational programs on the land. But visitor centers will not be allowed, Allard said. "We don't allow for buildings," he said. Contact Katy Human at (303) 473-1364 or humank@thedailycamera.com. October 3, 2001 Copyright 2001 The Daily Camera. All rights reserved. Any ***************************************************************** 9 Fallon well tests: radiation but no chemicals RGJ.com - By Frank X. Mullen Jr. Reno Gazette-Journal Wednesday October 3rd, 2001 Tests of 100 Fallon-area wells show the groundwater is nearly free of fuels, pesticides and other man-made pollutants but many rural wells contain radioactivity, according to preliminary results released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Fallon well tests are part of the search for clues to the cause of town’s leukemia cluster. Since 1997, 14 Fallon-area children have been diagnosed with leukemia and two have died. Investigators said the high concentration of leukemia in the town of 7,500 people in a county of 24,000 people probably isn’t a coincidence and they suspect an environmental cause for the outbreak. State health officials have declined to say which patient families use or formerly used the rural wells, and they have played down the possibility of radioactive water as a cause of leukemia cases. But earlier state-sponsored tests also detected radiation in some private wells used by the families. Those test results, obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal, showed one rural well had Uranium-238 at three times the safe drinking water standard and 11 times the standard for gross-alpha radiation. The USGS tests at least suggest that chemicals in drinking water are not a source of the illnesses. “In the vast majority of results, we’re not seeing solvents, fuels or any volatiles in the water,” said Terry Rees, Nevada district chief at the USGS office in Carson City. “We are seeing some heavy metals, but aside from the arsenic, the magnesium and molybdenum are still below federal drinking water standards.” Federal and state health officials are scheduled this week to collect air, soil and water samples in Fallon. The scientists will test for many elements, chemicals and compounds, including radiation and uranium isotopes, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The well tests conducted during the last four months detected high levels of naturally occurring radiation in many of the private rural wells, confirming results of USGS tests done in 1994. Those tests showed high levels of radiation in 31 of 73 rural wells tested. Totals for the recent tests weren’t available Tuesday. Radiation is among the known triggers for leukemia, experts said. But state health officials reported that the leukemia patients’ families in Fallon got their drinking water from different sources, including the municipal supplies, bottled water and rural well water. They said some of the patients may have been exposed to radiation-laced water, but the rural wells aren’t a common thread for all 14 families. In addition, the radiation has been in the aquifers for eons. State health officials said if the leukemia outbreak is due to a pollutant, it may be something that changed in the mid-1990s rather than a long-standing contaminant like naturally occurring uranium or arsenic. State officials won’t release the location of the patients’ wells, but said they notified each well owner of the tests’ results. The USGS also will notify the well owners of recent test results and hold an open house where residents can ask questions about the water, Rees said. “These wells are all in use and providing water to homes, but whether or not they drink it or just use it for other purposes, we don’t know,” he said. Rees said the high radiation levels have been found in some of the privately owned wells tapping the shallow and intermediate aquifers. The municipal water supply comes from four city-owned wells sunk into the deeper basalt aquifer and that underground supply doesn’t have high uranium levels, Rees said. The wells used by the Fallon Naval Air Station, which also tap the basalt aquifer, had no uranium or radiation, he said. Environmental officials said the radiation in the private wells has nothing to do with a 1963 nuclear bomb test 28 miles from Fallon. Radiation from that test stays beneath Sand Mountain where the underground test was conducted, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Reno-based Desert Research Institute. Instead, the uranium found in the Churchill County wells originates from deposits in the Sierra and is washed into the Lahonthan Valley by the Carson River, the USGS said. “That’s not unusual for this kind of geography,” Rees said. “What we found is consistent with what the state saw in tests of patients’ wells.” He said the USGS is still getting test results back from labs and will publish the complete data on its Web site by the end of the year. He said a hydrological report should be completed sometime next year. The test results will also be shared with the state Division of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will probably issue a health report, he said. HOW TO HELP: Fallon Families First is a support/community fund for Fallon families affected by leukemia. Donations may be made to: The Mayor’s Youth Fund, 55 Williams Ave., Fallon, NV 89406, Attention: Fallon Families First/city clerk. Details: 775-423-5104 © Reno Gazette-Journal ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear espionage talk spurs a controversy on UH campus HoustonChronicle.com Oct. 2, 2001, 10:02PM By ERIC BERGER Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Science Writer A flier promoting a lecture by a key figure in the Wen Ho Lee spy case sparked controversy among University of Houston students Tuesday by associating Chinese espionage with the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. The visit of Robert M. Henson, whose 1995 study of data gathered on advanced Chinese nuclear weapons prompted an investigation into the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets, was controversial enough, given the U.S. government's condemnation of Lee as a spy. Amid much public outcry, largely fueled by Chinese-Americans, Lee was acquitted of spying charges last year. What caused more ire, however, was a flier posted in physics and chemistry labs Monday titled "Chinese Nuclear Espionage????????" that promoted the talk, in part, by suggesting that "the events of September 11 make the issue of nuclear espionage even more important." Chinese students and some professors urged the physics department to cancel the speech, questioning the flier's tone and the talk's purpose, especially in light of Lee's acquittal. "The language on the flier is inflammatory," said Steven Pei, an electrical engineering professor. "This is no longer a scientific talk." Although it apologized for the flier, the physics department held the lecture, citing the university's place as a forum for all types of discussion. Lin Shao, former president of the UH Chinese student union, said the timing of the talk, so close to Sept. 11, was inappropriate. Shao led a group of students who asked hostile questions during the talk, Henson's first public lecture on his role in the Lee case. Henson's message was that all countries spy, and that the Chinese government did benefit from U.S. secrets. A main goal of nuclear weapons programs is to develop smaller warheads, making it easier to set them atop a missile. The Chinese gathered enough information on this country's premier warhead technology, the W-88, to allow its scientists to make a similar device faster than they might otherwise have done, Henson said. Henson made this discovery in 1995, and reported the finding to Notra Trulock, director of the Department of Energy's intelligence office. He said the technical documents he reviewed suggested that only a super-spy, or group of spies ferreting out U.S. secrets, could have produced the Chinese technological leap. On Tuesday, Henson sought to distance himself from accusations against Lee. He portrayed Trulock as the official most responsible for the federal pursuit of Lee. Henson said he had no idea whether Lee, whom he called a "reasonably good" mechanical engineer and a friend, was a spy. Before Trulock fired Henson in 1996, as the Lee investigation heated up, Henson said, he asked Trulock why he had zeroed in on Lee when there were several sources for the leak. "He told me," Henson recalled, " `I don't want to hear anything else you have to say. I caught my bastard.' " ***************************************************************** 11 'Suitcase bomb' allegedly sought The Seattle Times: Nation &World: By Bob Port and Greg B. Smith New York Daily News RAHIMULLAH YOUSAFZAI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In May 1998, terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden issued a statement calling for "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam." NEW YORK — In a 10th-floor high-security jail cell a few blocks from the ruins of the World Trade Center sits a man Osama bin Laden was counting on in his quest to buy a nuclear bomb. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim is the only member of bin Laden's inner circle in custody, and in many ways, he's one of the most frightening figures in bin Laden's terrorist confederacy, al Qaeda. Last November, Salim briefly made headlines when he allegedly stabbed a Metropolitan Correctional Center guard in the eye with a carefully sharpened plastic comb. But the most disturbing allegations concern Salim's participation in bin Laden's long and serious effort to acquire a nuclear device. Experts agree that bin Laden probably has not yet acquired the ability to set off a nuclear bomb in his effort to drive America and Israel from what he views as Muslim holy land. But law-enforcement sources and experts on nuclear weapons agree that bin Laden has certainly made a sustained effort to buy the enriched uranium that is the essential ingredient of any nuclear effort. Could bin Laden make an A-bomb? "It's much harder than hijacking an airplane with a knife," said Leonard Spector, of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "(But) it's probably true that with enough time and effort, one could make a bomb. It is a big challenge, though. People have debated this for a long time." There have also been reports — none confirmed — that the terrorist leader was seeking to buy a small nuclear device. Details of bin Laden's nuclear efforts first came to light after Sept. 14, 1998, when German authorities apprehended Salim, a 41-year-old Iraqi-trained engineer. Days after the Aug. 8, 1998, bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, Salim traveled from Khartoum, Sudan, to Istanbul to Majorca, Spain, to Stuttgart, Germany. A friend then took him by car to Munich, where German police detained him. He was held there for days while first German and then U.S. law-enforcement officials grilled him. Since then, evidence gathered by the FBI makes clear that Salim was an elite member of bin Laden's organization. He allegedly controlled bank accounts for al Qaeda and ran one of bin Laden's construction companies. In extradition papers filed in Germany, Manhattan Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Karas listed Salim as a member of bin Laden's majlis al shura, a council that advises terrorist groups from Egypt, Iran, Sudan, Algeria and elsewhere affiliated with al Qaeda. One of Salim's most frightening missions involved a joint operating agreement between al Qaeda and the Islamic governments of Iran and Sudan. The three agreed to produce weapons in Sudan, including "an effort to develop chemical weapons," Karas alleged. Salim — who says he trained as an electrical engineer at the University of Baghdad — has been linked to the pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum that was bombed by U.S. forces on Aug. 20, 1998. The bombing took place shortly after the Aug. 8 attacks on the two U.S. embassies in East Africa. The Clinton administration said the plant was manufacturing chemical weapons — an allegation plant management denied. But a chemical attack was only part of the plan. As long ago as 1993, bin Laden's network began trying to make or acquire nuclear weapons, according to FBI informers and U.S. intelligence reports. By 1998, bin Laden acknowledged his effort openly. In May that year, he issued a statement titled "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam," translated by the U.S. State Department as declaring "it is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God." In testimony during the embassy-bombing trial last year, informant Jamal Ahmed Mohamed Al-Fadl vividly recalled Salim's involvement in bin Laden's 1993 effort to buy a nuclear device. Al-Fadl — who left al Qaeda in 1996 after he was caught embezzling money — claimed he met with a former high Sudanese official to discuss buying enriched uranium. He described meeting with intermediaries who demanded $1.5 million, then driving in a jeep to an anonymous address in a Khartoum neighborhood called Bait al Mal. There, inside a house, a bag was brought out and opened. Inside, Al-Fadl said, was a 2- to 3-foot-long metal cylinder with South African markings. He said he was instructed to go to Salim with a document spelling out this transaction, and that Salim reviewed the document and approved it. Though Al-Fadl never saw money change hands, he got $10,000 and praise for arranging an inspection of the uranium before it was shipped to Cyprus for quality testing. Al-Fadl said he later learned, secondhand, that the uranium was good and the deal was consummated. It's unclear what became of the uranium. To make an atomic bomb, at least 7 pounds of an extra-radioactive form of uranium that exists as a small fraction of mined uranium is needed. This highly purified U-235 is enriched, or weapons-grade, uranium. Enriched uranium, which is hard to make, is placed in a container that implodes, compressing the uranium to a critical mass and triggering an atomic chain reaction that releases a blast equal to thousands of tons of dynamite. A crude device might likely resemble Little Boy, the bomb crafted by America's secret Manhattan Project during World War II and dropped on Hiroshima. Little Boy was 10 feet long and weighed nearly 10,000 pounds. Since the 1993 effort to buy uranium, bin Laden has focused on acquiring a bomb from the former Soviet Union's arsenal, according to an October 1998 article in the Arabic magazine Al Watan Al Arabi. The magazine claimed that at a meeting between bin Laden followers and Chechen mobsters, $30 million cash and 2 tons of opium were exchanged for about 20 nuclear warheads. It quoted sources as saying bin Laden planned for his scientists to convert the warheads to small "suitcase nukes." A month earlier, Israeli intelligence sources told Time magazine that bin Laden paid $2 million in British pounds to a man in Kazakstan who promised to deliver a suitcase bomb within two years. Ever since, a spate of alarming, unconfirmed and exaggerated news reports have played off those original news items, which remain unconfirmed. The mere mention of "suitcase bomb" caused speculation bin Laden might acquire one of some 80 1-kiloton tactical nuclear weapons allegedly made by Russia in the 1970s, as claimed in a 1997 "60 Minutes" interview with former Russian Security Council Secretary Alexander Lebed. "My impression was that this issue was checked out pretty thoroughly," said Spector, of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "Nobody inside the U.S. government became alarmed once they did some investigating. ... This did not lead to an enormous amount of anxiety. Nobody was losing sleep over it." For years, the United States has been buying Russia's stock of weapons-grade uranium to remove it from the market, but the purchases are a fraction of what exists. "The threat is taken very seriously because the quantities of uranium in Russia are enormous. ... We've been worried for some time that security there is a problem," said one defense source. "Nobody wants to talk about it." seattletimes.com home ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************