***************************************************************** 12/05/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.286 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 South Korea: Energy consortium board meeting scheduled 6 December 2 India: Nuclear power units to be commissioned before time 3 India: Senior nuclear energy official says no threat of radiation 4 Sellafield controversy: Partial victory for Ireland, Minister says 5 British-Irish politicians to inspect security at Sellafield 6 Ukrainian nuclear plants make up for loss of Chernobyl capacity 7 Germany: Nuclear waste shipments leave two power plants 8 EU agrees over energy issue with Czech Republic 9 Ukrainian PM slams EBRD terms for completion of nuclear reactors 10 US firm negotiating to buy "40 mini nuclear reactors" from South 11 GAO report stirs YMP questions 12 NRC Proposes $3,000 Fine for Centennial Engineering &Research, 13 NRC to Receive Comments on Draft Decommissioning Document At 14 U.S. to Pressure Russia Over Iranian Relations 15 The Battle Over Nuclear Waste 16 Bypassed bidder again seeking Yucca Mountain law contract 17 Another round of Yucca Mountain Project hearings start next week 18 Nevada congressional delegation wants nuclear dump plan delayed 19 Feds Want More Data on N-Waste Rail Spur 20 NUCLEAR WASTE: Bush urged to delay Yucca decision 21 Nuclear Waste Ship Poised to Leave France for Japan 22 Peace Called in Temelin Reactor Struggle 23 Columnist Jon Ralston: Pols jockey for position in Yucca battle 24 Reid's release of GAO report did not break rules 25 Safety of Nuclear Plants Again Raises Concerns 26 Nominee to direct Yucca Mountain faces few questions 27 International tribunal turns down Irish bid to block nuclear reprocessing 28 Japanese power company begins dismantling country's oldest nuclear reactor - 29 Seabrook power plant expected to be sold by end of 2002 30 IAEA Daily Press Review Date 2001-12-05 Number 232 31 Security guard shot in foot at nuclear plant 32 Northern Assembly calls for closure of Sellafield 33 Security guard shot in foot at nuclear plant 34 Nuclear critics demand details and are worried about security at 35 Nuclear energy white papers to be issued soon - 36 Japanese power company begins dismantling country's oldest nuclear reactor - NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 No nuclear tech leakage: FO 2 Nuke scientists' case sent to larger bench 3 Musharraf ensures nuclear safety 4 India calls on Pakistan to act responsibly over nuclear programme 5 India maintaining "credible minimum nuclear deterrent" against 6 US fears 'dirty bomb' attack 7 Jacob takes swipe at 'pro-nuclear' EU Commissioner 8 ANALYSIS: Nuclear threat remains as warhead numbers fall 9 Spanish ecologists says US nuclear sub visiting Gibraltar is 10 Serbia: Nuclear institute director, PM's aide deny possibility of 11 Coalition rules out use of nuclear, biological weapons 12 The "Dirty Bomb" Scenario 13 Options sought for Rocky Flats plutonium 14 DOE gathers comments about toxic containers 15 Few ex-Hanford workers filing for compensation plan 16 No nuclear tech leakage: FO 17 S Korea: [Editorial] The Threat From The North 18 Compensation claims slow in coming from Hanford workers 19 Technology of 'Dirty Bomb' Simple, but Not the Execution 20 Senate panel OKs IAAP study funds 21 $500K spent on Health Effects Subcommittee 22 Western governors talk about homeland security 23 Trafficking of nuclear material: significant incidents 24 Timeline of nuclear security 25 Loose nukes 26 Dispute with S.C. means Colo. plutonium stays put 27 More realistic threat: radioactive Osama ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 South Korea: Energy consortium board meeting scheduled 6 December BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 5 December: The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) will hold its executive board meeting here Thursday [6 December] for a two-day run to discuss issues involving the construction of light-water reactors in North Korea, an official at the South Korean Light-Water Reactor Planning Office said Wednesday [5 December]. The KEDO meeting will discuss the 2002 KEDO budget bill, under which KEDO executive members - South Korea, the United States, Japan and the European Union (EU) - will distribute the financial burden for the project, the official said. "The KEDO spent 90.56m US dollars this year, and the 2002 budget will be set around next June or July through ongoing discussions," the official said. In particular, the board will discuss extending the EU's executive board membership for another five years as the EU intends to increase its annual contribution from 15m ECUs to 20m ECUs, the official said. The EU became a KEDO executive member in 1996. The meeting will also discuss two additional protocols that the KEDO and the North need conclude next year to advance construction of the reactors, protocols on indemnity for nuclear accidents and on the North's repayment of reactor construction costs, the official said. "The meetings that usually come every two months will also deal with changes in the turnkey contract signed between the KEDO and Korea Electric Power Corp," the official said. KEDO Executive Director Charles Kartman, who came here Tuesday [4 December] to attend the meeting upon completing his four-day visit to Pyongyang, said that the reactor project is proceeding and that the North is approaching the project in a pragmatic manner, the official said. During his stay in the North, the KEDO chief discussed with North Korean counterparts the establishment of a satellite telecommunications network in the reactor construction site in Sinpo and issues involving the workforce there, the official said. The KEDO has been funding the project under a 1994 agreement between Pyongyang and Washington which saw the North freeze its suspected nuclear weapons programme in exchange for the construction of two civilian-oriented nuclear reactors. Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0815 gmt 5 Dec /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 2 India: Nuclear power units to be commissioned before time BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 4, 2001 Text of report by Indian news agency PTI Tarapur (Maharashtra), 4 December: The country's first indigenous twin unit of 540 MW each nuclear power module, being billed as a technological marvel, is all set for commissioning almost a year ahead of schedule. The Tarapur Atomic Power Projects of units 3 and 4, have achieved several 'technological milestones' and would be commissioned by December 2004, 10 months ahead of time, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) project director R C Rawal told visiting newspersons here Monday. "The expected commissioning date initially was October 2005, thereby we are saving 10 months time and eight crore [1 crore = 10 million] expenditure per day," Rawal said. Planned around 1996 and having commenced the first drilling or grand break-work in mid-1998, for the first time in the history of nuclear power industry, 14 turbine towers have been erected at the central tomb area, said R. Sharan, Site Planning Engineer. With an expenditure of 19.54bn rupees, 35 per cent of work in the site is complete, they said, adding the cost of power generation would also be cheaper. "For power generation from Tarapur 1 and 2, operating since 1969, we are providing it at 80 paisa per unit. The 3 and 4 units generation will be at around three," Rawal said. The project work involves various technological excellence, including the use of uranium fuel instead of coal thereby saving the locality from environmental degradation. The work here also involved use of indigenous technology of pressurized heavy water reactor, Sharan said. Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 1313 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 3 India: Senior nuclear energy official says no threat of radiation from plants BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 Text of report by Indian news agency PTI Tarapur (Maharashtra), 5 December: There was no threat of nuclear radiation from the atomic power plants at Tarapur or elsewhere as the Department of Atomic Energy's safety system ensured inherent protection and the yardstick test was confirmed in the comity of nations, senior nuclear energy officials said. "Our system of safety and security on all fronts, including the radiation factor, is fool-proof and very transparent," senior Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) officials said. The Indian safety mechanism is "well accepted" even at the international level, multi-nation team do often visit various nuclear plants to verify this, they said. India is a member of World Association of Nuclear Operation (WANO). Under its norm, WANO nominates multi-national team to various nuclear sites to examine all safety measures. Such a team had visited India a couple of months back for three weeks and "convinced themselves" about the safety and security of the plants. While clarifying apprehensions about the effect of radiation on environment, the officials said, in 1980s some NGOs and locals in and around Tarapur had raised such doubts saying the radiation could harm the agriculture sector and bring in major health hazard in the area. "Any nuclear reactor has several in-built safety measures including radiation factor for workers," the officials said adding "as per international guidelines and national atomic policy vulnerable workers are kept on regular rotation to avoid any adverse fallout on individual or community health". NPCIL officials also said that since 1987, mock exercise is done every year to assess emergency preparedness to meet any eventuality. "Local people involved in the mock exercise and awareness campaign have helped to remove any misgivings from the public mind," they said. The mock drill is carried out in coordination with the civil administration and the collector is designated as the director of the exercise, whereas, the technical professionals here and various nuclear power plants give emphasis on the physical safety of the workers. zAccording to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) chairman, Prof S.P. Sukhatme, at least 56 per cent of man-days are lost in an average annually in various atomic energy units due to accidents like "falling from heights". During last fiscal year, there have been seven minor accidents including one fatal at Kaiga plant in southern state of Karnataka. However, the professionals participating in the three-day meet which concluded here Wednesday [5 December], unanimously felt that the accident figure should be brought to zero level. Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 0708 gmt 5 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 4 Sellafield controversy: Partial victory for Ireland, Minister says The Norway Post - Doorway to Norway 4. Desember 2001 -A partial victory for Ireland says Norway's Environmental Minister Boerge Brende (photo), after the International Maritime Court turned down Ireland's demand for a halt to the expansion of the British Sellafield nuclear plant. Brende believes there are positive signals in favour of the Irish in the apparent defeat in the court. The court has ordered the two nations to cooperate in order to prevent further pollution from the controversial plant. Brende points to the fact that the court has determined that Ireland has maritime rights under the Convention of Maritime Rights, and that these rights must be protected. The Hamburg court has also ruled that Great Britain is obliged to cooperate with Ireland in the dispute, and is also obliged to protect the ocean from pullution, Brende says. This may also be of importance to Norway in its dispute with Britain over the nuclear pollution from the plant, the Norwegian Environmental Minister says. Norway and other North Sea nations have repeatedly protested against the nuclear emissions from the Sellafield plant. Traces of nuclear pollution from Sellafield has been found in the waters of the North Sea and up to the polar regions. (NRK/Norway Post) Rolleiv Solholm ***************************************************************** 5 British-Irish politicians to inspect security at Sellafield online.ie : News The Irish Examiner 05 Dec 2001 By Mary Dundon, Political Reporter, Bournemouth A GROUP of Irish and British politicians are to visit Sellafield next month to investigate if security there complies with world standards. This follows the decision by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to allow the Sellafield MOX reprocessing plant to open on December 20. The British-Irish Interparliamentary Body decided on the final day of it's conference in Bournemouth yesterday to send a delegation to Sellafield to examine its security system. This decision followed a lengthy debate at the conference on the future of Sellafield. Fianna Fáil Deputy Seamus Kirk, said the people living on Ireland's east coast are now genuinely frightened about a terrorist attack at Sellafield. September 11 had proved that if fanatical terrorists wanted to, they could target anything. "If we were unfortunate enough to suffer a similar attack, then there would be horrendous consequences for Ireland," Mr Kirk added. He said if there was an accident or a terrorist attack at Sellafield, it would be a logistical nightmare to try and move the majority of the population into the middle of the country. "The bulk of the population is along the east coast including the main cities of Belfast and Dublin and other large urban areas. "I hope the adequacy of the National Emergency Plan will never have to be tested," Mr Kirk said. Labour Deputy Brian O'Shea called for an independent environmental impact statement to be carried out on Sellafield. Welsh Nationalist MP Elfyn Llwyd said his party had always been opposed to nuclear power. "I believe the stance taken by the Irish Government at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was taken for all the people of these islands - I hope common sense will prevail," he added. Labour MP Tony Colman called on the British government not to proceed with commissioning the MOX nuclear reprocessing plant. One of the British politicians who defended the Sellafield plant was Labour's Lord Dubs. He claimed the radiation emissions from the MOX plant would be the equivalent to one second of radiation in an aeroplane. Meanwhile, at a Council of Energy Ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday, Joe Jacob criticised Commissioner Loyola De Palacio over the future role of nuclear energy Europe. During a discussion on the Commission's Green Paper on Security of Supply, the Commissioner spoke positively of the role of nuclear energy. However, Mr Jacob challenged her about creating a link between nuclear energy, climate change and Europe's Kyoto obligations. "The long-term negative implications of the nuclear industry for the environment as well as the risks associated with nuclear installations mean nuclear energy cannot be seen as sustainable," he said. ***************************************************************** 6 Ukrainian nuclear plants make up for loss of Chernobyl capacity BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Kiev, 4 December: A larger efficiency of Ukrainian nuclear power plants this year has almost compensated the loss of electricity, which is caused by the shut down of Chernobyl's third unit in 2000, Chairman of the Ukrainian State Committee for Nuclear Regulation Vadym Hryshchenko has told the press. Ukrainian nuclear power plants have been running at 72.6 per cent of their capacity as compared to 68.2 per cent in 2000. Thus, the electricity output of nuclear power plants has been 3 per cent up in 2001, which is almost equal to the annual output of the Chernobyl third unit. The Rivne, Khmelnytskyy, South Ukraine and Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plants are working in Ukraine now. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is being removed from operation. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1606 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 7 Germany: Nuclear waste shipments leave two power plants BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 Text of report by German news agency ddp on 5 December Brunsbuettel/Stade: On Tuesday night [4 November] nuclear waste shipments left the nuclear power plants of Brunsbuettel (Schleswig-Holstein) and Stade (Lower-Saxony). The first destination is the Hamburg-Maschen loading and unloading station, as the Federal Border Police (BGS) in Hamburg confirmed to the ddp news agency. There the trains are put together to continue their journey to Woerth in southern Palatinate "early in the morning" [5 December]. Source: ddp news agency, Berlin, in German 2342 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 8 EU agrees over energy issue with Czech Republic (EU einigt sich uber Energiekapitel) Der Standard - Austria; Dec 5, 2001 Austria and the 14 other EU member states reached a speedy agreement on Tuesday over the energy chapter in EU entry procedures for the Czech Republic, which includes the agreement signed last week between Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schussel and Czech prime minister Milos Zeman over safety measures at Temelin, the Czech nuclear power plant. If the 15 EU ambassadors pass the energy chapter, it will then be passed on Monday by EU foreign ministers. The chairman of the EU council will then present the common EU position to the Czech Republic at a meeting on December 12 and seek a response from Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan. Abstracted from Der Standard All Material Subject to Copyright ***************************************************************** 9 Ukrainian PM slams EBRD terms for completion of nuclear reactors BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 [Presenter] The Russian Federation is prepared to grant a loan to Ukraine to finance the completion of two nuclear energy generating sets at Rivne and Khmelnytskyy nuclear power stations, Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh said in Moscow today, commenting on the results of the meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian cooperation commission... [Correspondent] One more energy issue is Russian participation in the completion of generating sets at Rivne and Khmelnytskyy nuclear power stations. Anatoliy Kinakh said that the position of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was unacceptable. Moscow agreed to do the same job at a cost which is three times lower. [Kinakh, in Russian] Ukraine found some of the conditions that are attached to the completion of the reactors on the basis of the participation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other organizations, unacceptable both in terms of the national economic interest and the real state of the economy. The main disagreement is over the project's costs, including the necessity to fulfil the project's condition to raise electricity tariffs. This would result in an average 30-35 per cent increase in energy tariffs in Ukraine, which is quite a drastic and shocking measure. [Mikhail Kasyanov, Russian prime minister, in Russian] We will issue a loan to cover the whole cost of Russian participation. How much? Our nuclear energy specialists are currently developing the project's structure. So far it has been estimated to cost about 60m dollars next year and the total construction cost is, I think, about 450-500m dollars for both stations, both for Russia and Ukraine. Russia will certainly pay its share and the work may start in the second quarter [of 2002]... Source: Ukrainian Television First Programme, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1900 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All ***************************************************************** 10 US firm negotiating to buy "40 mini nuclear reactors" from South Africa BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 One of the biggest power groups in the USA, Exelon, is negotiating to buy 40 of South Africa's mini nuclear reactors, potentially injecting billions of rands into the local economy. A feasibility study on the pebble bed modular reactor, which is being developed by [electricity utility company] Eskom, has been completed and a task team has been established by government to consider the outcome. The study showed the scheme was broadly viable. Exelon, which paid 7.5m [as published] for a 12.5 per cent stake in the reactor programme last year, wants to export the technology to the US. The USA has been hard hit by a shortage of generation capacity recently, evidenced by rolling blackouts in California. The total Exelon order could be worth as much as 6bn US dollars, of which between 30 per cent and 40 per cent would flow into South Africa. Exelon says the reactor meets many of the US's needs, being safe and small. It could also be ready for commercial operation by 2007... Source: Business Day web site, Johannesburg, in English 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 11 GAO report stirs YMP questions Pahrump Valley Times By HENRY BREAN, Managing EditorDecember 05, 2001 Draft of program review leaked in time for public hearings that start today Federal officials are choosing up sides over a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office that casts serious doubts on the cost, timeline and some of the technical aspects of the Yucca Mountain Project. The draft report was leaked late last week, just in time for the latest - and perhaps last - round of public hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository, about 70 miles northwest of Pahrump. The hearings, including two sessions in Nye County, begin today and continue Saturday and Dec. 12. Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy will be on hand at the community center in Pahrump from 3 to 9 p.m. today to take public comment. The other hearing in Nye County will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley. Among other things, the draft report by the nonpartisan U.S. General Accounting Office questions a plan by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to issue his site recommendation on Yucca Mountain this winter. "Making a site recommendation at this time is premature," the report states, because it could take another four years for DOE to collect all of the technical information it needs to for its repository license application. That estimate comes from DOE contractor Bechtel SAIC Company, which produced a timeline earlier this year that seems to contradict the department's own schedule. According to GAO, Bechtel officials believe it will take until 2006 for DOE to gather the information it needs to satisfy the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Delaying the license application until 2006 would all but kill the DOE's plan to opening even part of the repository and begin accepting waste shipments by 2010. It could take until 2010 for NRC to review the department's application and issue a license. The GAO report indicated that the repository likely would not be ready to open for another three to five years after that at the earliest. "It is difficult to see how by the end of 2001 DOE will be able to recommend the site for a license application if DOE will not be ready to file the license application for an additional four years," the report states. The report goes on to note, however, that DOE has not accepted Bechtel's timeline and is exploring other options for collecting the information in question and being ready to begin accepting waste by 2010. In its report, the GAO also indicates that a number of technical questions have not been answered to the satisfaction of the NRC or the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Many of those questions concern the integrity of the proposed waste canisters and the effect of heat generated by the waste on the movement of water through the mountain. The report also notes concerns by the technical review board and the NRC about the validity of the mathematical modeling on which much of the DOE's scientific findings are based. But the GAO's work is not without its critics. Abraham has condemned the report and what he called its "inappropriate, premature release." In a strongly worded letter to GAO head David Walker on Friday, Abraham described the GAO report as "fatally flawed" and argued that DOE should have been given an opportunity to "formally comment on its deficiencies." "While I have great respect for GAO, this kind of premature disclosure significantly, if not irreversibly, taints the work product of any inquiry by GAO or any other investigative body," writes Abraham. "Our interactions with your staff on this inquiry and the inappropriate, premature release of the draft report reinforce my concern that it was assembled to support a predetermined conclusion. "I well recognize how politically charged the Yucca Mountain Project is, but it is a shame that someone or some persons have marred GAO's integrity and undermined the validity of this inquiry." Predictably, perhaps, Gov. Kenny Guinn had the opposite reaction. In a statement Friday, Guinn said the GAO report mirrors the findings of the NRC, the NWTRB and "nearly every external review that has been looking at the project," and it provides further evidence that the repository is "doomed to failure." "The question is, when will the DOE and the administration recognize that Yucca Mountain can never be found suitable and certainly is not licensable by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?" said Guinn, an outspoken critic of the repository. "The time has come for DOE to face this reality and move to terminate the project." The GAO report was prepared at the request of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley (both D-Nev., both long-time opponents of Yucca Mountain). The GAO conducted its review from April through November at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at the department's Nevada Operations Office in North Las Vegas. The government accountants also met with officials from the NRC, the NWTRB and the State of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects. Located within Nye County, approximately 20 miles from the communities of Amargosa Valley and Beatty, Yucca Mountain is the only site being considered as a permanent repository for 77,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and federal reactor sites across the country. At the same time as today's hearing in Pahrump, DOE officials will be accepting comments in Las Vegas and Battle Mountain. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, hearings will be held in rooms 203-206 of the Cashman Field Center in Las Vegas, at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center in Reno and at the Bristlecone Convention Center in Ely. The Dec. 12 hearing in Amargosa Valley will go on at the same time as hearings in Las Vegas and Caliente. The current public comment period is slated to end on Dec. 14. Written comments can be submitted to: Carol Hanlon, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office (M/S #025), P.O. Box 364629, North Las Vegas, NV 89036-8629. ©Pahrump Valley Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 12 NRC Proposes $3,000 Fine for Centennial Engineering &Research, Inc. NRC: Press Release IV - 2001 - OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011 No. IV-01-052 December 4, 2001 CONTACT: Breck Henderson Phone: 817-860-8128 Cellular: 817-917-1227 e-mail: [bwh@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a fine of $3,000 against Centennial Engineering &Research, Sheridan, Wyoming, for violation of NRC administrative and radioactive material handling regulations. An NRC inspector identified three violations in early March. The inspector determined that Centennial failed to submit a license amendment request prior to designating a new radiation safety officer (RSO), used radioactive materials at locations not authorized by its license, and failed to ensure that radioactive material was transferred to a licensed entity. The violations did not result in radiation overexposure to any workers or members of the public. However, in failing to submit license amendment requests prior to appointing a new RSO and storing radioactive materials at a previously unauthorized location, company officials knew they were not in compliance with the regulations and failed to take action. This led the NRC to classify these issues as "willful" violations. The company has taken prompt corrective actions by sending the new RSO to a training course, submitting the required license amendment requests and committing to adhere to NRC regulations in the future. Centennial officials met with the NRC in Sheridan on October 4 to discuss the violations. The NRC has classified the two willful violations as a Severity Level III problem, which carries a $3,000 fine. The agency uses a four-level scale on which Level I is the most serious. Centennial is required to respond to the letter and Notice of Violation with actions the company is taking to assure future compliance with regulatory and license requirements. The company has 30 days to pay the fine or protest it. If the protest is denied, the company may request a hearing by the NRC. ***************************************************************** 13 NRC to Receive Comments on Draft Decommissioning Document At Public Meeting Scheduled for December 10 in Boston NRC: Press Release Region I - 2001 - OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 No. I-01-067 December 4, 2001 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: [opa3@nrc.gov] Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: [nas@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comments on its draft Supplement 1 to the "Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities, NUREG-0586." The agency will hold a public meeting in Boston on December 10 to discuss the document. The meeting will be held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., from 7 to 10 p.m. In conjunction with that session, NRC staff will host informal discussions for one hour prior to the start of the formal meeting. The informal discussion will not be part of the formal comment record. The Boston meeting is one of a series of sessions being held throughout the United States to discuss the draft supplement. At the meeting, the contents of the draft supplement to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement will be presented and interested parties will be given an opportunity to provide comments. Persons planning to attend or present oral comments at the meeting should contact Dino Scaletti at 1-800-368-5642 (toll-free), extension 1104, or by e-mail at [dgeis@nrc.gov] . Members of the public also may register to speak at the meeting prior to the start of the session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending upon the number of persons who register. The supplement was prepared because of technological advances in decommissioning operations, experience gained with shutdown plants and changes made to the NRC regulations since the GEIS was first published. It is a standalone document to be used to evaluate environmental impacts during decommissioning, which could lead to termination of an NRC license. The draft report is available electronically through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at www.nrc.gov as an Agencywide Document Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) document. Use the online "find" function to search for accession number ML013090364. It is also available at the NRC's Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. For help in accessing ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room staff at 1-800-397-4209 (toll-free), (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to [pdr@nrc.gov] ***************************************************************** 14 U.S. to Pressure Russia Over Iranian Relations Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001. Page 2 By Carol Giacomo Reuters WASHINGTON -- The United States will make fresh diplomatic efforts to get Russia to curb nuclear and missile cooperation with Iran and other countries, but if that fails it is ready to use sanctions, U.S. officials say. Undersecretary of State John Bolton is due to travel to Moscow this week for high-level talks that will include nonproliferation issues. He will prepare the ground for a Dec. 9 visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The U.S. government's desire to expand relations with Russia, the other major nuclear power, gained ground when the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States propelled the former Cold War rivals into an anti-terrorism alliance. But despite improving ties, the two sides remain at odds over Russia's willingness to assist Iran in developing nuclear reactors and missiles. If no way is found to limit the Russian-Iranian relationship, Washington is prepared to impose sanctions under U.S. law as it did on China on Sept. 1 for alleged provision of missile technology to Pakistan, a senior U.S. official said. "In the absence of cooperation [by Russia], this administration will implement the law. And I think the demonstration of that was on Sept. 1," the official said. Washington considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism and after the September assaults is even more concerned about the potential for extremists to acquire weapons of mass destruction and launch attacks. Experts estimate Iran could become a nuclear power in four to nine years' time. Russia is helping Iran to build a nuclear power reactor at Bushehr. Although the facility will be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, critics argue that the project benefits Iran's nuclear weapons program. The Powell and Bolton visits to Russia are due to focus largely on U.S. plans to develop a missile defense system and on U.S. and Russian plans to slash strategic nuclear arms. Still, "there's no doubt we need to get moving ahead on that [Russia-Iran issue] if we're going to have a new strategic framework," one senior U.S. official said. But the focus is broader. "We've got to deal not just with Iran -- the principal case -- but also with what Russia is doing on nuclear and missile questions with India," he said. Washington also wants help with other governments since Iran gets assistance from China and North Korea as well as from Russia. "Can the Russians, in addition to not doing it themselves, help us with the Iranians to stem proliferation from other sources too?" the official added. For Washington, the purpose of the Moscow talks will be "not to just pick at old scabs but rather to see if there are some issues on nuclear protection or a general set of plutonium issues or in terms of chemical-biological weapons cooperation, discussion of the IAEA and a set of regional issues" where progress can be made, another senior official said. ***************************************************************** 15 The Battle Over Nuclear Waste TIME - Douglas Waller - Douglas Waller on the fight over Nevada's Yucca Mountain, the proposed site to bury the nation's radioactive waste Tuesday, Dec. 04, 2001 The war in Afghanistan can unite politicians only so long. As the flag waving and patriotic speeches die down, bitter domestic squabbles are returning that will divide Congress and the White House. One of the most heated battles is over the question of where to bury 7,7,000 tons of highly radioactive waste generated by this country's nuclear reactors. Since 1987, Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert has been the only permanent repository the Department of Energy has considered to store the toxic garbage for at least the next 10,000 years. But Nevada's congressional delegation, led by the Senate's powerful majority whip, Harry Reid, has been fighting tooth and nail to keep the underground nuclear dump out of their state. Yucca Mountain is just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas and they fear radioactivity from an underground storage facility there would eventually leak, contaminating nearby ground water used for drinking. Late last week, Reid launched what amounted to a B-52 attack in his long-running legislative war to block the building of the Yucca repository. He released the results of a General Accounting Office report (that he and Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley commissioned) which concluded that the Energy Department can't stick to its timetable of recommending early next year that the Yucca site should be built "because it doesn't have all of the technical information needed for a recommendation and a subsequent license application." That's bad news considering that the Energy Department so far has spent a whopping $8 billion studying Yucca Mountain and other proposed repository sites. The GAO report, however, has even more pessimistic conclusions that have Reid cheering. The Energy Department has projected that the Yucca Mountain repository will end up costing $57.5 billion and it wants to finish the project by 2010. But the GAO report predicts that the Energy Department not only won't meet those goals but that it also "has no reliable estimate of when, and at what cost, such a repository could be opened." Getting the repository up and running by 2013 is even "questionable," the GAO concludes. Reid thinks he's struck the fatal blow. "This report could very well signal the beginning of the end of the Yucca Mountain project," he predicts. He and Berkely had ordered up the GAO probe after an anonymous whistleblower sent a letter to the Energy Department's inspector general charging waste, fraud and abuse in the Yucca project. The GAO findings also come on the heels of revelations that a Chicago law firm the Energy Department hired to help guide the project through the licensing process had been lobbying Congress on behalf of the nuclear industry. The firm denied a conflict of interest but has withdrawn from the program. Now the GAO report "has the potential to derail the Yucca project altogether," claims Congresswoman Berkley. "This is the smoking gun we've been looking for." Not so fast. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, who's furious that the GAO report was prematurely leaked, dismissed the study as "fatally flawed." Abraham appears intent on recommending to President Bush soon that the nuclear waste be located at Yucca. If Bush agrees, Nevada's governor and legislature can still veto the site. But Congress then has 60 days to override the state's disapproval. If it gets to that point, count on Reid to use all his powers as Senate majority whip to block the congressional override. But he'll have a fight on his hands. Bush needs the Yucca repository. His energy plan, unveiled last May, envisions building more nuclear power plants, which now supply 22% of the nation's electricity. But he can't expand nuclear power unless he finds a place to store its refuse for the long-term. Bush will push hard for Yucca and he'll have allies in Congress. Thirty-six states have the nation's 104 nuclear power plants. Don't bet on their congressional delegations standing with the Nevadans if it means radioactive garbage piling up in their backyards. So look for this war to heat up through next year. Copyright © 2001 Time Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Bypassed bidder again seeking Yucca Mountain law contract Las Vegas SUN December 04, 2001 LAS VEGAS (AP) - A law firm passed over two years ago for a job helping the Energy Department get a license to bury nuclear waste in Nevada is again seeking the federal contract. A partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene &MacRae in Washington, D.C., said his firm is entitled to the job after its competitor, Chicago-based Winston &Strawn, quit last week. "There were only two bidders," partner Michael McBride told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We both got perfect scores, and now Winston is off the scene and we are the only remaining bidder." LeBoeuf, Lamb filed a federal lawsuit in March 2000 challenging the DOE's 1999 decision to award Winston &Strawn the $16.5 million contract to help prepare the department's licensing application to build and operate a repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only place in the nation under study. LeBoeuf, Lamb officials said Winston &Strawn should have been disqualified because it also represented TRW Environmental Safety Services Inc., which at the time was the prime contractor of the Yucca Mountain project. McBride said he didn't know Winston &Strawn's withdrawal will affect court-monitored settlement talks that are under way. LeBoeuf, Lamb employs 750 lawyers in 14 U.S. cities and 10 foreign countries. Winston &Strawn withdrew from the contract after the Energy Department's inspector general concluded the firm neglected to inform the government that it had lobbied for the Nuclear Energy Institute. The pro-nuclear institute is promoting Yucca Mountain for the nation's nuclear waste burial ground. Winston &Strawn also is being investigated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after allegations that it leaked a confidential July 2000 NRC draft licensing document to the Energy Department. NRC chairman Richard Meserve said the leak investigation is not complete, but he decided to make the draft document public anyway. Meserve said the document could be misleading because it was not consistent with the latest repository site guidelines established by the commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 17 Another round of Yucca Mountain Project hearings start next week Pahrump Valley Times By HENRY BREAN, Managing EditorNovember 30, 2001 What good is a supplemental public comment period without some supplemental public hearings to go along with it? Not much, judging from a recent decision by U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. One week after he opened a 30-day supplemental comment period, Abraham has ordered nine hearings around Nevada to gather public input on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Abraham is closing in on a decision about the suitability of the site, which is located within Nye County, approximately 20 miles from the communities of Amargosa Valley and Beatty. He is expected to make a recommendation to President Bush in the coming months. Yucca Mountain is the only site being considered as a permanent repository for 77,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and federal reactor sites across the country. The hearings will be held three at a time on Wednesday and Dec. 8 and 12 and include two meetings in Nye County. The first will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the community center in Pahrump, and the second is slated to last from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley. At the same time as the Pahrump hearing, officials from the U.S. Department of Energy will be accepting comments in Las Vegas and Battle Mountain. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 8, hearings will be held in rooms 203-206 of the Cashman Field Center in Las Vegas, at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center in Reno and at the Bristlecone Convention Center in Ely. The Dec. 12 hearing in Amargosa Valley will go on at the same time in Las Vegas and Caliente. The current comment period is slated to end on Dec. 14. The DOE is seeking public comment on issues that could not have been addressed prior to the close of the last comment period, which lasted from May 7 to Oct. 19. The department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since then have released several key documents. Information on those documents and the site consideration process in general is available on the Internet at www.ymp.gov or by calling 702 794-1322. Those who do not attend the upcoming hearings can submit written comments to: Carol Hanlon, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office (M/S #025), P.O. Box 364629, North Las Vegas, NV 89036-8629. To date, DOE has held 57 public hearings on Yucca Mountain in Nevada's 17 counties and in Inyo County, Calif. Those hearings, totaling approximately 345 hours, are part of more than 170 days of public comment offered by the department. Despite all that, some have criticized the DOE for not holding enough hearings, particularly in Nye County, which arguably will bear the greatest burden should the repository be built. ©Pahrump Valley Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 18 Nevada congressional delegation wants nuclear dump plan delayed Las Vegas SUN December 04, 2001 LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada's congressional delegation wants President Bush to postpone a proposal to bury the nation's most radioactive waste in the Silver State. In a letter sent Tuesday to the White House, the Nevada lawmakers accuse the Energy Department of "systemic mismanagement" in studying whether Yucca Mountain is suitable to dispose of the nation's nuclear waste. The letter refers to recent revelations in General Accounting Office and Energy Department audits. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is scheduled to make a recommendation to Bush this winter about whether to go ahead with the Yucca Mountain project. The congressional delegation - Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., and Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. - is allied with state officials fighting the proposal. The lawmakers say in the letter that they expect Abraham's recommendation in February or March. The letter reminds Bush of campaign promises to make a decision on Yucca Mountain reflecting "sound science." It also reminds Bush of a pledge to oppose storing nuclear waste in Nevada temporarily until a permanent repository is built. The lawmakers point to the draft congressional accounting office audit and conclude that the Energy Department is unlikely to achieve its goal of opening a repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010. The project is expected to cost $58 billion and remain open for 17 years. Waste is currently being stored in casks at more than 100 reactor sites around the country. The Energy Department says it has enough scientific data to make a recommendation, although the Nevada lawmakers point to "293 crucial scientific and technical analyses (that) remain to be completed" over the next four or five years. The lawmakers also point to the withdrawal last week of Winston &Strawn, the law firm hired in 1999 to help the Energy Department obtain a license for the repository from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nevada officials had charged the Chicago-based firm had conflicts of interest with the Nuclear Energy Institute, a pro-nuclear lobbying group. The institute denied wrongdoing. "The best way to correct the systemic mismanagement of the Yucca Mountain project, which has wasted $8 billion to date," the letter said, "is to immediately postpone the site recommendation until the necessary scientific and technical information has been collected and analyzed, and shown to be impartial and unbiased." The Energy Department has acknowledged spending more than $7 billion studying Yucca Mountain since Congress called in 1982 for development of a permanent national repository. The proposal is at a crossroads. The site, at the western edge of the vast Nevada Test Site, is the only site being studied to entomb the nation's 77,000 tons of commercial, industrial and military nuclear waste. Nevada lawmakers sent the letter as a they devise a new plan to attack perceived flaws in the proposed project. Reid and Ensign met Tuesday and spoke with Gov. Kenny Guinn to map out options in the wake of developments last week. They did not disclose their plan. Guinn, a Republican, called last week for the Energy Department and Bush administration to suspend plans for the Yucca Mountain project. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 19 Feds Want More Data on N-Waste Rail Spur The Salt Lake Tribune -- Wednesday, December 5, 2001 BY JUDY FAHYS Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance often find themselves at odds over wildlands, but their shared opposition to storing nuclear-plant waste in Utah has put them on the same side of the fence -- or railroad tracks, in this case. Federal regulators have agreed with SUWA that a proposed 32-mile railroad spur between Interstate 80 and the planned waste-storage facility might have too great an impact on the environment, especially 18,000 acres of the North Cedar Mountains that could qualify for wilderness designation. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a division of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said it wants to hear more debate on the subject before deciding on whether to license the storage facility. "The board, in doing this, has said wilderness matters," said Joro Walker, the attorney who handled the case for SUWA. The Leavitt administration this year redoubled its efforts to fight the spent-fuel facility, which has been proposed by a consortium of out-of-state utility companies called Private Fuel Storage that has leased 125 acres of the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation, about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The $3.1 billion facility would be an above-ground cement pad for parking spent nuclear-plant fuel in steel-and-concrete casks for up to 40 years. The storage would only be temporary, until the fuel can find final disposal, probably 500 miles away at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In Private Fuel Storage's plans, the rail spur would cross a patch of the proposed wilderness area for less than two miles on its route south, then east, to a train-to-truck cask transfer building. The licensing board ruling Friday rejected Private Fuel Storage's assertion that the North Cedar Mountains roadless area lacks natural values worth preserving. But SUWA argued the consortium had given too little attention to rail routes that might be less environmentally harmful. The wilderness-impacts ruling adds some heft to the state's anti-storage arguments before federal regulators, even though the state has disagreed with SUWA's wilderness ideas for the North Cedars -- and millions more proposed wilderness acreage in Utah. The state and the environmental group are on opposite sides in federal court in a bitter argument about what parts of Utah really are roadless, thus qualified for wilderness designation by Congress. Assistant Attorney General Larry Jensen said it is too soon to say whether the NRC ruling will have much sway in the state's fight to stop the Skull Valley storage. But, he described the ruling as a positive development. "It's always nice not to be summarily thrown out on your ear, which is what SUWA did here," he said, saying the governor and SUWA disagree on where and how much wilderness there should be, not on the value of protecting wild places. "Here the interests align." © Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 20 NUCLEAR WASTE: Bush urged to delay Yucca decision Wednesday, December 05, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Senators cite questions raised by investigations By STEVE TETREAULT DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers kicked off a new campaign against nuclear waste burial in the state by urging President Bush on Tuesday to delay decisions on Yucca Mountain until they can get answers to questions raised by two recent investigations. Reminding Bush he had promised that decisions about nuclear waste would be based on "sound science," the delegation complained that the Energy Department is moving toward a key judgment on Yucca Mountain despite a draft report made public last week that concluded DOE is not ready. The Nevadans asked the president in a letter to postpone an upcoming decision on the site's suitability for nuclear waste storage "until the necessary scientific and technical information has been collected and analyzed and showed to be impartial and unbiased." Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has declared the report "fatally flawed," and the Energy Department is said to be preparing a rebuttal to it. Nonetheless, Nevada's senators said Tuesday the Bush letter launches a new drive against radioactive waste burial at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., met with their senior aides for 45 minutes to begin developing a game plan. They said Gov. Kenny Guinn also took part by telephone. Afterward, the senators declined to discuss the options they are considering. They said a strategy could emerge by Thursday, when they are scheduled to meet with Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. Nevada leaders believe they have been handed fresh ammunition by a draft General Accounting Office report made public last week and a Nov. 15 report by the Energy Department's inspector general. The GAO report criticized DOE's management of the nuclear waste program and challenged its stated timetable for readying a license application for a waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The report by DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman concluded that the Winston &Strawn law firm that was working through a $16.5 million contract to advise the department on Yucca Mountain licensing matters neglected to report a potential conflict of interest. Winston &Strawn withdrew from its contract Thursday. "Over the next few days, our staff will give us more scientific information we need to firm up our exact strategy," Ensign said. "We have a lot of arrows in our quivers," Reid said. "I can't recall a time that we had this many options." Abraham, complaining the draft report was made public without DOE comment, has indicated he would forge ahead toward making a site recommendation this winter. Meanwhile, the president of Bechtel SAIC, the managing contractor of the Yucca Mountain project, said the company was "astounded by the factual and legal inaccuracies" in the 28-page report. "We believe the draft report is factually wrong in its portrayal of BSC's work and its description of the site selection process," Kennon G. Hess said in a letter Monday to the GAO's head, Comptroller General David Walker. The GAO reported that Bechtel in September 2001 completed a detailed work plan estimating that technical questions about Yucca Mountain would be settled in time to have a license application ready by January 2006, four years later than what DOE projected in 1997. DOE has not accepted that estimate, the investigators said. Hess said GAO made wrong connections between Yucca Mountain being recommended for a repository and having it licensed. "We feel it is imperative to immediately correct the impression that it would take until 2006 before information would be available which we would be important to site recommendation," he said. Also Tuesday, Reid and Ensign held separate get-acquainted meetings with Margaret S.Y. Chu, who Bush has nominated to head the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, which runs the Yucca Mountain program. Chu, a physical chemist who has headed nuclear waste management programs at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., is scheduled for a confirmation hearing today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The senators said no decision has been made whether to allow Chu to be confirmed by the Senate, or block her nomination as part of an anti-Yucca campaign. webmaster@lvrj.com Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - ***************************************************************** 21 Nuclear Waste Ship Poised to Leave France for Japan Environment News Service: CHERBOURG, France, December 4, 2001 (ENS) - A cargo ship bound for Japan with a shipment of 61 metric tons of nuclear waste will sail from Cherbourg tomorrow night. The reprocessed radioactive waste, stabilized in glass, is being transported to Japan for storage. The French state owned nuclear reprocessing corporation Cogema announced the shipment date on Monday, but will not reveal the route of the ship, Pacific Sandpiper, or its estimated time of arrival until the ship sets sail. The radioactive cargo originated as nuclear fuel which powered Japanese power reactors. Sent from Japan to Europe for reprocessing, the residues are being returned to Japan for temporary storage at the Rokkasho-mura nuclear facility in northern Japan. The spent fuels were reprocessed at Cogema in France and in the United Kingdom at Sellafield. Cogema says processing of spent nuclear fuel makes it possible to recover 97 percent of the remaining energy which can be recycled and reused. The reprocessed fuel is separated from the three percent that remains - the ultimate residues. These residues are vitrified, a process in which they are incorporated in a matrix of stable glass. The Pacific Sandpiper will carry 152 containers of vitrified nuclear waste. [terminal] Reprocessed nuclear fuel is loaded onto a specialized cargo ship that is a sister to the Pacific Sandpiper. (Photo courtesy BNFL [http://www.bnfl.com/website.nsf/index.htm] ) Greenpeace condemned the nuclear industry of France, Japan and the UK for proceeding with the planned shipment at a time when terrorists might target the vessel. The environmental organization is not satisfied that the security of the Pacific Sandpiper has been assured. "Despite a major ongoing security alert worldwide around nuclear facilities involving anti-aircraft missile, army personnel and the implementation of no-fly zones the planned Japanese nuclear waste shipment will be transported by an unarmed British flagged cargo ship," Greenpeace said in a statement. "It is insane and unjustifiable to plan dozens of shipments of weapons usable plutonium around the globe," said Greenpeace International spokeperson Damon Moglen. "In its desperation to continue its business, the plutonium industry is making itself a global threat to the environment, to public health, and to the cause of nuclear non-proliferation." One possible route the Pacific Sandpiper could take from France is across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. In 1999, heads of government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) stated "their unwavering opposition and that of their peoples to the blatant and persistent use of the Caribbean Sea for the transhipment of highly toxic nuclear materials." They called on the governments of France, Japan and the United Kingdom to "respect the economic importance and ecological fragility of the Caribbean Sea and the well-being of the millions of people who depend on this unique resource for their very existence." Cogema says the processing and recycling and transport of spent nuclear fuels and vitrified waste are in conformity with national and international regulations. The first return of vitrified nuclear waste to Japan took place in 1995 and was followed by five other shipments in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL), which operates the specialized cargo ships, says they have "travelled over four million miles without a single incident involving the release of radioactive material." One shipment of vitrified nuclear waste has been scheduled per year, on average in the forthcoming years, according to BNFL and Cogema. ***************************************************************** 22 Peace Called in Temelin Reactor Struggle Environment News Service: BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 4, 2001 (ENS) - A long standing dispute between Austria and the Czech Republic over the Czech nuclear power plant at Temelín has been resolved after the Czechs agreed to be legally bound to introduce a series of safety improvements. In return, Austria said it would drop its threat to oppose the Czech Republic's entry into the European Union on environmental grounds. [Temelin] Protesters in front of the unfinished Temelin reactor, 1998 (Photo courtesy For Mother Earth) The Czech Republic is one of more than a dozen eastern European countries that are trying to meet the requirements to join the European Union's current 15 member states. Based on safety concerns, Austria was prepared to veto European Union (EU) approval of the Czech Republic's energy "chapter" in the EU accession negotiations. The deal was reached by Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Czech Premier Milos Zeman yesterday, at a meeting in Brussels brokered by EU Enlargment Commissioner Günther Verheugen. Prague appears to have come off better in the accord, with the political threat to commercial operation of the plant removed and the country's accession no longer endangered. Under the agreement, the Czech government will implement a series of changes recommended by the EU's Atomic Questions Group, which assesses nuclear safety in accession countries using reports from member states' nuclear regulators. It will also comply with the results of an environmental impact assessment of the site last February. The agreement will be transformed into a protocol to be attached tothe country's accession treaty with the EU. This means both countries will have recourse to the European Court of Justice if the agreement is broken. To become part of the treaty, the protocol must also be approved by other EU member states. ***************************************************************** 23 Columnist Jon Ralston: Pols jockey for position in Yucca battle Las Vegas SUN Today: December 05, 2001 at 8:44:52 PST Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or through e-mail at ralston@vegas.com [ralston@vegas.com] --- AS MISSIVES FLY like missiles, partisan waters begin to bubble and the elbowing for headlines begins, a few nuggets in the aftermath of the release of the report raising serious questions about Yucca Mountain: * Whose audit is it anyway? Most of the reports about the General Accounting Office draft audit have said that it was requested by Rep. Shelley Berkley and Sen. Harry Reid. But what's interesting is the behind-the-scenes (barely) jockeying for credit that the delegation's two Democrats have engaged in since the report was released last week. (Note to Reid: Berkley's the one up next year, so why not lavish all the hosannas on her?) The facts: Berkley actually requested the GAO probe on Feb. 12 after she and others received an anonymous letter replete with knowing allegations about the Yucca Mountain project's alleged mismanagement. Two weeks later Reid pushed the GAO to look into the matter, too. So Berkley was first and deserves the credit for stoking the engine. But, as even she acknowledged during an interview on "Face to Face" on Monday, without the Senate majority whip on board, the audit train may never have left the station. * Whose story was it, anyway? The Reid folks, who are ever-hoping to get their man into the national spotlight, pitched the story to the Washington Post before allowing the local Fourth Estate peons to have the audit. So it was the Post that actually broke the story in its Friday edition, which appeared on the paper's website late Thursday night and allowed Las Vegas One to actually be the first local outlet to report the breakthrough. If you don't believe it was the Reid folks who persuaded the Post to publish the story, guess who the national newspaper gave credit to for ordering the audit? Here's the paragraph from the Post: "Reid, who commissioned the GAO study, said yesterday that the findings will provide him and other opponents with powerful ammunition in the effort to defeat a project that has already cost the federal government $8 billion." Mission accomplished: Majority whip portrayed as powerful guy. Wonder how Berkley felt upon reading that in the Post. * Whose death knell is it, anyway? The Post account also contained a very strong quote from Reid about the future of the dump project in the wake of the critical GAO audit. Here's what he told the newspaper: "I think it's the beginning of the end of Yucca Mountain. This report is a damning indictment of a process Americans relied upon to protect their health and safety." Really? Now that hardly seems consonant with an interview the Senate majority whip provided for Business Week, in which he was much more equivocal about whether he can actually stop the repository. Here's some of that Q &A: BW: Do you have the votes to have this issue go your way? HR: It's going to be a real uphill battle. BW: So will you be able to block the Yucca project? HR: Well, we're going to do our best. You know, I don't like to say what we can do when I'm not sure. I'll just do the best I can. What Reid and others know is that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, as the Post and Berkley predicted, next year will still recommend Yucca Mountain as the permanent repository site. But, as the Post report said, "the GAO study has greatly complicated the administration's efforts, particularly because it reflects the views of Bechtel SAIC Co., the private contractor hired by the Energy Department to oversee the project." * Whose party is for the dump, anyway? That letter by the delegation to President Bush, asking him to delay the designation decision and a no-brainer move after the release of the audit, was a bipartisan epistle signed by all four members. But that was in stark contrast to the news release sent out the same day by the state Democratic Party, which attacked the president and Abraham for their decision to "ignore science" in their quest to build a Nevada waste dump. That, too, is S.O.P. for the Democrats in the dump fight since Bill Clinton wielded his veto pen and Bush waffled so badly during the campaign. But now the delegation letter will force Bush to either keep accelerating the dump siting process or slow it down. It is a beautiful set-up by the Democrats. And during a campaign year in which the economy will dwarf almost any other issue and perhaps level the playing field, a partisan divide on the dump could decide some races -- or so the Democrats hope. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 24 Reid's release of GAO report did not break rules Las Vegas SUN Today: December 05, 2001 at 10:06:44 PST By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., drew an angry response from Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham but broke no written rules or protocols of the General Accounting Office when he gave excerpts of a draft copy of a GAO report on Yucca Mountain to the media. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Reid requested the GAO report in February. The GAO gave Reid, Berkley and the Department of Energy an advance, draft copy on Nov. 28, according GAO protocols, GAO spokeswoman Laura Kopelson said. As a matter of practice, the GAO releases draft copies to report-requestors and involved agencies -- in this case Reid and the DOE. That allows both sides to respond to the study -- and correct or clarify any mistakes -- before the report is officially released. The Yucca draft report, set for official release Dec. 14, is critical of the Yucca Mountain plan, recommending an indefinite delay in the project. That makes it useful fodder for Nevada lawmakers in their attempts to kill the Yucca project. GAO officials prefer that lawmakers keep draft reports under wraps until the involved agencies respond and the final reports are issued, GAO spokesman Jeff Nelligan said. However, lawmakers on occasion give the draft reports to the press as Reid did, he said. Still, it was "unfortunate" that Reid gave the report to the media, Nelligan said. "It was a draft report -- not a final report," Nelligan said. The report said the DOE's own major contractor, Bechtel SAIC, has told government officials that scientific studies about the Yucca Mountain's suitability as a nuclear waste burial ground would not be complete until 2006. But Bechtel officials this week hotly disputed the GAO report, saying company officials "are astounded by the factual and legal inaccuracies." Reid had given excerpts of the summary of the draft report to the Washington Post Nov. 29 after the newspaper agreed to run a prominently placed story about it in exchange for an exclusive, congressional aides said. The Post ran a story, "GAO Challenges Plans for Storage of Nuclear Waste," the next day with a photo of the Yucca site on page 3. Reid gave the story to the Washington Post so that Nevada lawmakers could point to the story in their arguments with fellow lawmakers against the Yucca Mountain plan, congressional aides said. "This is the first time that light has been shone down the mineshaft of Yucca Mountain, and it's important that excerpts of this information get out," said Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor. After the story appeared, Abraham fired off a testy letter to the General Accounting Office. Abraham hinted at dirty politics, objecting to the report's "premature disclosure" in his Nov. 30 letter to GAO Comptroller General David Walker. "I well recognize how politically charged the Yucca Mountain project is, but it is a shame that someone or some persons have marred the GAO's integrity and undermined the validity of this inquiry," Abraham continued. "I note that the requestors of this report have a long history of strong opposition to the Yucca Mountain project." All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 25 Safety of Nuclear Plants Again Raises Concerns December 5, 2001 By MATTHEW L. WALD RATTLEBORO, Vt., Dec. 4 — Some people here never liked the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, worrying about accidents and radioactive waste. Others always thought it was a reliable, cheap and clean source of electricity. Over 30 years of arguing, they had mostly run out of new things to say and bored the general public with their arguments. But that was before Sept. 11. Now discussions about Vermont Yankee, and other reactors around the Northeast, are drawing big crowds. There were 600 people here on Monday night, in the auditorium of Brattleboro Union High School, not counting the 20 federal, state and local officials on stage to answer their questions. They were at it for four hours, and a while longer in the parking lot. "This is a small town, in a small state," said Representative Bernard Sanders, who convened the meeting, marveling at the turnout. "People are very, very concerned." Last month there were hearings near the Pilgrim plant, in Plymouth, Mass.; the Seabrook plant, in the New Hampshire town of the same name; and the undamaged reactor at Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pa. There was also a hearing near the Maine Yankee plant, in Wiscasset, Me., which was shut down five years ago, but where radioactive spent fuel is still stored. Next week in White Plains, a committee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators plans a hearing on whether to revoke approval of the emergency plan for the Indian Point reactors. A hearing about the dangers of spent fuel is planned for the Shearon Harris plant in North Carolina. "Sept. 11 has been the biggest challenge to nuclear power since Chernobyl," said David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit group that frequent criticizes government oversight of nuclear safety. "Congressmen who have had very little interest in nuclear power in the five years I've been at U.C.S. are suddenly competing with each other to examine security issues at the plants." Although it is not clear how seriously local governments or members of Congress can threaten the future of licensed reactors, the industry hardly welcomes the discussion. Until Sept. 11, the outlook for the nation's 103 nuclear power plants was improving. The years since the 1986 accident at Chernobyl have been mostly quiet, with no significant unusual radiation releases in the United States, and rising reliability. Reactors were beginning to look more attractive given the increasing demand for electricity. Several have recently won 20-year extensions on their 40-year licenses, and others have met the first challenge of deregulation of the electricity business, having sold at prices higher than analysts expected. But since Sept. 11, public officials have mused publicly about whether a nuclear plant would withstand the crash of a jet any better than the World Trade Center did, and the technology's opponents have found a wider audience. "We have handed our enemies a radiological weapon, a target of opportunity," said Ned Childs, one of dozens of people who spoke at the hearing last night. Mr. Childs lives in Dummerston, Vt., 10 miles from the plant in Vernon. State officials have voiced the same concern. Kate O'Conner, chairwoman of the Vermont Terrorist Task Force, said Sept. 11 had prompted Gov. Howard Dean, who is a doctor, to seek a stockpile of a drug to protect the public against radiation-induced thyroid cancer, something that has been debated nationwide for 20 years. The industry does not relish the attention. At the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, Angelina Howard, a spokeswoman for the industry's trade group, said some people in New York and New England had always shown "skittishness" about nuclear power. But elsewhere, she said, there were anecdotal reports that more tourists were stopping by the visitor centers at the plants, or at least those centers that were still open after Sept. 11. "When the public has a concern and they go look into it, usually they come off feeling better about it," she said. Opinion polls commissioned by her organization show growing approval of nuclear power since Sept. 11, Ms. Howard said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has defended the design of the plants. Hubert J. Miller, the commission's administrator for the Northeast, said that while Vermont Yankee's designers did not have an attack by a Boeing 767 in mind when they designed it, the building is "very robust," and that nuclear plants are among the strongest buildings of any kind. Defending Vermont Yankee's security preparations is somewhat harder. On Aug. 23, it was the plant's turn for a mock attack by federal agents playing terrorists, and the evaluators found so many deficiencies that they graded the plant "yellow," in a grading system that runs green, white, yellow and red. It was the lowest grade in the industry. But Mr. Miller said the problems had been corrected. At the town meeting, calls for conservation and renewable energy drew applause, although this being Vermont, at the mention of windmills, one strong voice shouted, "They're bird killers." Ross Barkhurst, the chief executive of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation, stood his ground on reasons of safety and economics. Speaking of wind power, he said: "As long as we have the ability to compete, bring it on. Right now my best friend is the renewable energy we have in the state — it costs about two and a half times what mine does." Public officials here and elsewhere have described the risk of terrorist attack on a reactor, especially by big planes, as remote, though some members of the public doubt the government's ability to pick what the next target might be. "I know the opinion of many of you is that the best thing to do is not to have a plant down here," said Edward von Turkovich, the director of Vermont Emergency Management, to loud applause. But he added, "We're going to coexist with a plant. The best thing to do is to have a plan in place." Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company | Privacy Information ***************************************************************** 26 Nominee to direct Yucca Mountain faces few questions Las Vegas SUN Today: December 05, 2001 at 11:00:13 PST By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- Senators had few questions today at a nomination hearing for the next likely director of the Yucca Mountain project. Margaret S. Y. Chu fielded only one tough query from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. He asked for Chu's assessment of a draft congressional audit that contained a critical assessment of the Yucca project. Nevada lawmakers leaked excerpts to the media last week. Chu said she had not been briefed on the General Accounting Office report, which has not been officially released. Chu said she would respond to the report quickly if the full Senate nominates her to be the next director of the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian and Radioactive Waste Management. The office manages the Yucca project. "All my knowledge (about the report) comes from the Washington Post," Chu said. "With my 20 years of experience, I am confident I can grasp the essence of the issues and give the (Energy) Secretary my candid advice and then advocate my opinion." Chu faces a difficult job if confirmed. Scientists have been studying Yucca Mountain since 1982, spent roughly $8 billion and they are still years from obtaining final approvals and constructing the repository. Budget and technical setbacks have beset the Yucca project, Bingaman stressed. By law the DOE was supposed to begin hauling nuclear waste away from the nation's 103 nuclear power plants for central, permanent storage at the Nevada site by 1998. Nuclear power companies have sued the DOE over the matter. The GAO draft report, which said the DOE should delay the project because scientific studies are still pending, was the most damning evidence yet that the project has been mismanaged, Nevada lawmakers said. They are plotting new strategies to kill the project. Chu met with Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., on Tuesday in separate private meetings -- courtesy sessions with the Senate's leading Yucca opponents. Neither Ensign nor Reid, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, would say if they plan to support her nomination. Ensign and Reid are still assessing whether Chu has pre-determined biases in favor of the Yucca plan, Ensign said. The senators have requested Chu to submit in writing a more precise answer to whether she supports a fair and objective Yucca review. Chu, who has a doctorate in physical chemistry, has been director of the Nuclear Waste Management Program Center at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque since 1998. She has worked for Sandia since 1980. Early in her career Chu helped the Environmental Protection Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission develop regulations for underground waste sites, she said. "We would debate late into the night the issues associated with regulating something for tens of thousands of years, speculating on future generations' behavior," she said. "We understood back then that designing a balance between the needs of this generation and the legacy we leave to those that follow would be the critical question facing future managers of the repository programs." Chu would replace long-time DOE manager Lake Barrett, who has been acting Yucca chief since January. Energy Committee member Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said his goal was to confirm Chu this month before Congress adjourns for the year. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 27 International tribunal turns down Irish bid to block nuclear reprocessing facility - 12/5/2001 - ENN.com Wednesday, December 05, 2001 By Associated Press HAMBURG, Germany — An international tribunal on Monday rejected a bid by Ireland to force Britain to suspend a decision allowing a contested reprocessing facility at the Sellafield nuclear site to start work. Britain's decision in October to authorize the Sellafield nuclear facility to begin production of mixed-oxide fuel at its MOX plant — a facility mothballed since 1996 because of financial and safety concerns — provoked fury in Dublin. The Irish government wants an international arbitration tribunal to be established under a United Nations provision to resolve the dispute. Last month, it asked the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order immediate suspension of the British decision pending conclusion of the arbitration. The tribunal ruled Monday, however, that "the urgency of the situation did not require the prescription of the provisional measures as requested by Ireland." Campaigners in the Irish east coast towns of Dundalk and Drogheda have alleged for years that citizens suffer a higher-than-average incidence of cancer, which they blame on Britain's Sellafield nuclear site. Irish Attorney General Michael McDowell told a two-day hearing last month in Hamburg that "this is about protecting the Irish Sea from further radioactive pollution." The British government argued in a written submission that the court "lacks jurisdiction in this matter." Copyright 2001, Associated Press Copyright © 2001 Environmental News Network Inc. ***************************************************************** 28 Japanese power company begins dismantling country's oldest nuclear reactor - 12/5/2001 - ENN.com Wednesday, December 05, 2001 By Associated Press TOKYO — A Japanese power company on Tuesday sealed a 35-year-old nuclear reactor, a first step in dismantling the country's oldest commercial power-generating nuclear plant. Japan Atomic Power Co., which took the Tokaimura plant off line in 1998, won't begin taking apart the reactor for another 10 years because extremely high levels of radiation remain inside, said spokesman Eichi Miyatani. It will completely dismantle the plant by 2017 and spend an estimated 92.7 billion yen (US$748 million), Miyatani said. Tokaimura is 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Fueled by uranium, the carbon-dioxide-cooled reactor began operating in 1966. But the plant was shuttered in 1998 after it proved too costly to run, Miyatani said. Much of the nuclear waste has already been sent to Britain for processing, he said. An additional 177,000 tons of radioactive waste, including graphite used in the reactor core, will be buried in the ground, Miyatani said. Japanese have become increasingly wary of nuclear power since a radiation leak at a fuel-reprocessing plant in Tokaimura two years ago killed two workers and affected hundreds of others. Japan relies on nuclear power to supply 30 percent of its electricity. Copyright 2001, Associated Press ***************************************************************** 29 Seabrook power plant expected to be sold by end of 2002 NEWS Tuesday, December 4, 2001 CONCORD (AP) — The investment firm J.P. Morgan will begin soliciting offers for the sale of the Seabrook nuclear power plant, which is expected to be sold by the end of next year. Electricity market deregulation in Connecticut and New Hampshire is driving the sale. The plant’s largest shareholder is Public Service Company of New Hampshire, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities of Connecticut. Public Service, with other affiliates of Northeast Utilities, owns about 36 percent of the plant. The state’s electricity deregulation plan requires Public Service to sell its generating assets. The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and Connecticut’s Department of Public Utility Control ordered 88 percent of the Seabrook plant’s shares to be sold. The plant is one of the largest generating facilities in New England. The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, smaller and older than Seabrook, sold for $180 million earlier this year. The Millstone nuclear plant in Connecticut sold for $1.3 billion this year. J.P. Morgan handled the sale of both plants. Public Service still owes about $100 million on the plant and was expected to receive about that for its share when it sells. If the utility receives more than it owes, the balance would be used to reduce the utility’s debt on other building costs. That would reduce costs for electricity consumers because the deregulation plan allows the utility to pass those costs on to consumers. Anti-nuclear protests and regulatory delays, combined with unforeseen construction costs and subsequent borrowing, made Seabrook one of the costliest nuclear plants ever built — $6.6 billion for one reactor. Public Service initially said it could build two reactors for less than $1 billion and Seabrook power might be "too cheap to meter." The second reactor never was built. Seabrook investments pushed Public Service and three other utilities into bankruptcy in the late 1980s. Seabrook was the last plant to receive a full operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March 1990. Since beginning commercial operation in 1990, the plant, which has a capacity of 1,160 megawatts, has operated at 81 percent of capacity. The plant is owned by 11 utilities. All of them but three — Hudson Light and Power Department, Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. and Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant — will be selling their interest. The other owners are North Atlantic Energy Corp., the consortium that includes Public Service; United Illuminating Co.; Great Bay Power Corp.; New England Power Co.; Connecticut Light and Power Co.; Canal Electric Co.; Little Bay Power Corp.; and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Inc. © 2001 Geo. J. Foster Co. ***************************************************************** 30 IAEA Daily Press Review Date 2001-12-05 Number 232 1. Non-proliferation Russia has fulfilled START-1 provisions, according to deputy chief of Russia's National Center for the Reduction of Nuclear Threat, commenting on results of past seven years that treaty has been in effect. (ITAR - 5/12) Russian Federation 2. Terrorism Member of al Qaeda network reportedly displayed cylinder at meeting of terrorist network and said it contained radiological material for possible use in so-called "dirty bomb"; experts say that finding enough radioactive material to make such weapon might be relatively easy, but effects of such weapon could never remotely approach those of a nuclear explosion. (CNN; WP - 4/12) Afghanistan; United States of America 3. Nuclear power More on Temelin NPP: Austria and its EU partners set to give provisional approval of Czech Energy Chapter; according to survey, nuclear energy is "one of the most popular" sources of energy in Czech Republic. Japan Atomic Power Co. begins dismantling nation's first NPP, located in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. (DP; JAP; NUC; R; S - 5/12) Austria; Czech Republic; European Union; Japan 4. Nuclear Safety Safety of US NPPs again raises concerns. (NYT - 5/12) United States of America 5. R &D Report: "Challenging Particle Physics as Path to Truth." ***************************************************************** 31 Security guard shot in foot at nuclear plant Newsday.com - December 4, 2001, 2:27 PM EST SCRIBA, N.Y. (AP)--A security guard at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant was accidentally shot in the foot, according to the Oswego County Sheriff's Department. Donna Reynolds, guard for power plant owner Entergy, was hit by the bullet at about 10:20 a.m. Monday at the east checkpoint guard shack, according to Undersheriff Robert Lighthall. Sheriff's deputy George Korthas, holding the Entergy-issued 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at the time, was discussing its use with Reynolds, Lighthall told The Palladium Times of Oswego in Tuesday's editions. Korthas was assigned to security detail at the guard shack as part of measures following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Scriba, by Lake Ontario, is about 50 miles north of Syracuse. Reynolds was treated at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and released. She returned to work Tuesday, Entergy spokesperson Bonnie Bostian said. The sheriff's department is reviewing the incident, which was termed an accident. No charges have been filed. Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press ***************************************************************** 32 Northern Assembly calls for closure of Sellafield ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND Wednesday, December 5, 2001 By Paul Tanney, in Belfast The Northern Ireland Assembly has called for the closure of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. On a motion calling for the closure, it was said the Northern Executive had not been consulted by the British government before it decided to license the new MOX reprocessing facility at the plant. The Environment Minister, Mr Sam Foster, said he had written to his Westminster counterpart, Ms Margaret Beckett, and the Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Stephen Byers on the security implications of the decision. Dr Ian Paisley (DUP leader) said "the Minister who is responsible to the people of Northern Ireland for this particular issue wasn't even told about it. I think that is absolutely ridiculous." Moving the original motion, which was superseded by an amendment by Mr Eddie McGrady of the SDLP, Mr Kieran McCarthy (Alliance Party) said the plant already had a terrible safety record and that in one incident "only action by staff narrowly averted disaste". Mr Jim Shannon (DUP) warned "the fallout from a nuclear explosion (at Sellafield) would wipe out all life in the Strangford constituency and a brave few other folk as well". Mr McGrady accused the British government of having flouted a number of conventions and agreements on radioactive discharges such as the 1998 OSPAR convention. . Mr Mick Murphy (Sinn Féin) described as evidence of "an attack on the innocent". EU research which said eight times higher then normal childhood leukaemia rates might be related to nearby reprocessing plants such as Sellafield. Mr Foster said that while he took members' concerns seriously, "we should not worry people unnecessarily". The motion calling for the plant's closure was passed without dissent. Renagh Holohan, in Bournemouth, writes: There would be horrendous consequences for Ireland if Sellafield suffered a terrorist attack, a Louth Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Seamus Kirk, told the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body here yesterday. He said that if Sellafield was attacked or if there was an accident "it would have disastrous consequences for the people of Cumbria, but it would also have very serious implications for us". Mr Conor Lenihan, a Fianna Fáil TD, said that next month a sub-committee of the BIIPB would visit Sellafield to investigate the security measures. Mr Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru MP, praised the stance taken by the Irish Government at the Law of the Sea Tribunal, which was of benefit to all people of the islands. Mr Tony Coleman MP, Labour, said there did not appear to be any economic or business case to be made for nuclear energy. Lord Dubs (Labour) supported the Sellafield plant. ***************************************************************** 33 Security guard shot in foot at nuclear plant Newsday.com - December 4, 2001, 2:27 PM EST SCRIBA, N.Y. (AP)--A security guard at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant was accidentally shot in the foot, according to the Oswego County Sheriff's Department. Donna Reynolds, guard for power plant owner Entergy, was hit by the bullet at about 10:20 a.m. Monday at the east checkpoint guard shack, according to Undersheriff Robert Lighthall. Sheriff's deputy George Korthas, holding the Entergy-issued 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at the time, was discussing its use with Reynolds, Lighthall told The Palladium Times of Oswego in Tuesday's editions. Korthas was assigned to security detail at the guard shack as part of measures following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Scriba, by Lake Ontario, is about 50 miles north of Syracuse. Reynolds was treated at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and released. She returned to work Tuesday, Entergy spokesperson Bonnie Bostian said. The sheriff's department is reviewing the incident, which was termed an accident. No charges have been filed. Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press ***************************************************************** 34 Nuclear critics demand details and are worried about security at Vermont Yankee in Vernon (12-04-01) [New Hampshire SentinelSource] Thursday, December 06, 2001 To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question many parents are asking (12-05-01) By CAROLYN MARTIN for SentinelSource ``I wouldn't want to harm him. He's smart, giggly, funny and cute." That's new mom Kristen Petricola talking about her baby son, Owen. Petricola, a Keene resident, is in a quandary. She's trying to figure out how to handle the vaccinations that are facing three-month-old Owen. She isn't sure getting all the shots is a good idea. Nor is she convinced the vaccinations are bad for him. "It's really hard. As a new parent, you can't imagine anything happening to your baby and you certainly don't want to be the cause of it," Petricola said. Petricola is swayed by her pediatrician who recommends the full complement of 16 shots before age 1, but she's also aware of those who discourage some vaccinations because of possible injurious side effects. "It's overwhelming. Who do you believe? A lot of people spew facts; you're not sure where the data's coming from," Petricola said. Physicians have differing opinions about vaccinations, but they agree it can be a daunting decision for young parents. "It looks black and white; in fact it's gray," said Dr. Mary Kelly Sutton, a Keene physician who practices alternative medicine. Sutton's advice to parents: "You have to get in there, educate yourself, see how you feel about each disease and vaccination, and decide what's right for your child." Keene pediatrician Dr. Gilbert L. Fuld empathizes with parents who are confused. He said they can be scared by the bad news of children who have serious side effects from the immunizations, and pass over the good news of controlled diseases. "The problem for parents is that the illness to a certain extent is imaginary, because with an immunized populace, that's what keeps the illness down," Fuld said. Critics of vaccinations argue there are risks for developmental and behavioral side effects -- even death. Vaccine supporters counter that the statistics of success outweigh the numbers of complications and adverse effects. "We in the vaccine world are almost a victim of our own success," said Dr. William J. Kassler, N.H. medical director. As the widespread depth of diseases is reduced by vaccinations, Kassler said people begin to think about whether to immunize at all. "When you stop immunizing, you never eradicate these diseases and they come right back," Kassler said. The N.H. Department of Health and Human Services recommends immunizations at birth, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 12 to 15 months, 4 to 6 years and 11 to 12 years. The state health agency recommends vaccines for chicken pox, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, rubella and tetanus. Beyond recommendations, there are laws governing which vaccinations are required for attending child-care centers, public and private schools. In New Hampshire, to enter school, children must be vaccinated against a variety of diseases -- diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella and tetanus. Students must present an official immunization record on the first day of school. Children can be exempted from the state requirements for medical or religious reasons. Beginning in the 2003-2004 school year, a chicken pox vaccination will be required of N.H. students entering day care, kindergarten, 1st and 7th grades. The new rule was recently approved by a joint legislative committee and will be carried out by the N.H. Health and Human Services Department. Kassler said the chicken pox vaccination is necessary to protect the public's health. "This decreases the presence of the virus in the community and causes what we call a herd immunity. If you decrease chicken pox in the population, the herd immunity means the vulnerable people aren't likely to be exposed. It protects not only the child who gets it but the whole community," Kassler said. Not everyone is pleased with adding a chicken pox requirement. "It's one less childhood illness the immune systems can't get the practice on," said Kim I. Makris, a homeopathic practitioner in Peterborough. Viruses and bacteria cause the diseases targeted in immunizations. The immunizations force the body to make disease-fighting cells called antibodies to fight the weak or dead germs in the vaccine. Health officials say the antibodies practice on the weak germs, so that when the real, strong disease germs invade the child's body, the antibodies know how to destroy them. Benefits and risks Some of Petricola's vaccination fears come from people she knows. She points to a friend with two autistic children whom she said weren't autistic until they had the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination at age 1. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most side effects from vaccines are mild. About 83 percent of reported adverse reactions are minor -- mild irritability or redness at the injection site. Another 17 percent of adverse reactions are serious -- hospitalizations, permanent disability or even death. Adverse reactions are reported through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is operated and monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fuld said the reports of autism and other complications can't be absolutely linked to the vaccinations. "There's no such thing as 100 percent safety," he said. "You can't prove the autism wasn't caused by the vaccination, but you can't prove it was, either." Fuld said statistics don't confirm the idea that vaccines cause autism and other disorders. "I think the medical profession has blinders on to the side effects of vaccines and is confusing what makes public health sense with what's the best individual health," Sutton said. Sutton isn't absolutely anti-vaccination. She advises all her patients to immunize for tetanus, and for polio if child care outside the home is used. For the other vaccinations, she recommends individualizing the immunization to the child. "With each disease, look at the possible exposure to it and the parents' fear around that disease. If a parent is very fearful of the disease, it's better to give the immunization," Sutton said. The National Vaccine Information Center is a consumer group that supports parents' rights to make their own independent vaccination decisions. The group urges parents to ask several questions before vaccinating, including: Is my child sick right now? Do I know if my child has a high risk of reacting? The group has called for a congressional investigation into federal vaccine licensing standards. It wants more scientific studies into reported links between vaccinations and autism, asthma, diabetes and learning disorders. Petricola considers the center's arguments, but she isn't persuaded the group's criticisms are completely valid. "I'm not someone who wants to think the world's out to get us. I don't think evil people are in a laboratory trying to make a baby sick. We need fair and open conversations about the problems, if they exist," Petricola said. Petricola turned to several people for guidance, including her physician and homeopathic practitioner Makris. Makris advises approaching vaccinations "cautiously, slowly and space them out." She said parents who keep children home and out of day-care centers can wait on the vaccinations if they keep the child away from large crowds where sickness can lurk. "If you can keep them home with you until 3 years old, I'd go with diphtheria, tetanus and meningitis after 1 year old, with nothing in the first year," Makris said. Children who go to child-care facilities are a different case, Makris said. "You're throwing them into a germ cesspool by throwing them into day care, so you've got to protect them." She recommends delaying polio and hepatitis vaccinations until the children are older. Petricola will vaccinate her son against meningitis, but she doesn't know how she'll deal with others, such as whooping cough and polio. "Meningitis really scares me more than the side effects of the possible vaccine," Petricola said. For now, she's delaying the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough combination vaccine. "I feel like diphtheria is nonexistent and Owen's not going to get tetanus in the middle of the winter," Petricola said. She's most concerned about Owen getting whooping cough, and she's annoyed that the vaccination can't be given on its own. Strengthened or weakened immunity? Another concern Petricola raised is whether exposure to many vaccinations during Owen's first year will overburden his young immune system. "If this is going to weaken his immune system, then why would we do it?" Petricola said. Physicians Fuld and Kassler adamantly disagree that the immune system is overtaxed by early vaccinations. "That has some kind of nice ring to it, but it has no scientific basis. We're constantly making antibodies to things -- we're doing it all the time. Immunizations are a way of causing antibodies to be made without causing disease," Fuld said. "It's a common anti-immunization fear that the immune system is like the cardiovascular system -- that you can tire it out. That has no basis in reality," Kassler said. Sutton is concerned that in the world of mandated vaccinations, the health of the whole child is lost. "We've become Wal-Mart physicians. We're not acting as real scientists. We're just acting as sales persons. We pick the vaccine off the shelf instead of thinking about what does this child really need," Sutton said. She urges parents to promote total health by keeping the child warm, well rested, fed nourishing foods and not overstimulated with noisy things, such as TV. "Then the child will have a strong immune system to meet an ordinary illness in the way it's meant to be met," Sutton said. "A child that's cold, fed junk food and handled by many people won't have the immune capacity to respond protectively, and an ordinary illness becomes a complicated illness." ***************************************************************** 35 Nuclear energy white papers to be issued soon - Japan Today Japan News - News - Tuesday, December 4, 2001 at 18:00 JST TOKYO Government white papers on nuclear energy which have remained unpublished for more than three years will likely be issued by next March, the head of the Atomic Energy Commission said Tuesday. Commission Chairman Yoichi Fujiie ordered its office in charge of publishing the papers to release it as soon as possible when a question was raised during a commission meeting as to why the papers have remained unpublished since June 1998. (Kyodo News) ***************************************************************** 36 Japanese power company begins dismantling country's oldest nuclear reactor - 12/5/2001 - ENN.com Wednesday, December 05, 2001 By Associated Press TOKYO A Japanese power company on Tuesday sealed a 35-year-old nuclear reactor, a first step in dismantling the country's oldest commercial power-generating nuclear plant. Japan Atomic Power Co., which took the Tokaimura plant off line in 1998, won't begin taking apart the reactor for another 10 years because extremely high levels of radiation remain inside, said spokesman Eichi Miyatani. It will completely dismantle the plant by 2017 and spend an estimated 92.7 billion yen (US$748 million), Miyatani said. Tokaimura is 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Fueled by uranium, the carbon-dioxide-cooled reactor began operating in 1966. But the plant was shuttered in 1998 after it proved too costly to run, Miyatani said. Much of the nuclear waste has already been sent to Britain for processing, he said. An additional 177,000 tons of radioactive waste, including graphite used in the reactor core, will be buried in the ground, Miyatani said. Japanese have become increasingly wary of nuclear power since a radiation leak at a fuel-reprocessing plant in Tokaimura two years ago killed two workers and affected hundreds of others. Japan relies on nuclear power to supply 30 percent of its electricity. Copyright 2001, Associated Press ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 No nuclear tech leakage: FO The Frontier Post From Peshawar Pakistan Updated on 12/5/2001 9:34:46 AM F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan took extraordinary security measures at 2500 km long Pak-Afghan border and further sealed the border for crossing in from Afghanistan without valid travelling documents. "In addition to the regular border security force including scouts and paramilitary force, the regular military troops have also deployed to observe extraordinary security measures at a porous Pak-Afghan border," Foreign Office Spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan Tuesday told a daily news briefing. He said only refugees of extreme humanitarian cases are being allowed inside the country after proper checking. Responding to a question, Aziz Ahmed Khan said that the government had sometimes back requested the UN and ICRC to find out the fact of the position regarding reports of killing of Pakistanis in Mazar-e-Sharif "and we are still awaiting the reply. He rejected the reports suggesting of nuclear arms technology leaks in Pakistan. Aziz said the government exercised maximum vigilance as far as inspection of cargo from Afghanistan into Pakistan was concerned and the impression of any nuke leakage had no validity. He said despite its own economic constraints, Pakistan would surely contribute its due share in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. The spokesman pointed out that Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan over the past two decades. The provision of asylum to over three million refugees has resulted in consequential and environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes, he maintained. Replying to a question, he said, "Islamabad has supported the idea of deploying multinational peace force in Kabul and declaring the Afghan capital as demilitarize." He also condemned Israeli strikes against Palestinian installations and administrative structures in Gaza and West Bank, particularly attacks targeting President Yasser Arafat's heliport,destroying two helicopters and damaging his nearby residence. Aziz Ahmed Khan said the subsequent attacks by Israeli tanks and armored vehicles against Palestinian offices and a police building in Jenin and occupation of Palestinian controlled areas in the West Bank including Gaza airport has further escalated tension. He was of the view that the latest military action is a part of deliberate Israeli policy of undermining the Palestinian Authority and its administrative structures. "Pakistan reiterates the urgent need for restraint and the resumption of peace negotiations, hopes for which were revived by the recent initiative of the US Secretary of State," the spokesman added. He denied presence of any foreign troops including the British troops in Pakistani territory. He was replying to a journalist who was insisting that a good number of British troops were present in Pakistani area near Chaman, Balochistan. Pakistan has felicitated United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his special representative Lakhdar Brahimi on the reports of successful conclusion on an agreement among Afghan leaders on the establishment of an interim authority at Bonn conference, he said. "We hope that the Bonn meeting will soon agree on the composition of the interim Administration", he said. He said mutual accommodation amongst the Afghan leaders was necessary for peace and stability and for return of normalcy after two decades of conflict and strife in Afghanistan. With the world community ready to provide generous assistance for humanitarian relief and reconstruction of Afghanistan, "this is a propitious moment for an end to the travails of the Afghan people." Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan over the past two decades, the spokesman said. The provision of asylum to over three million refugees has resulted in consequential environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes. He said despite its own economic constraints, Pakistan will join the world community and contribute to international programmes for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 2 Nuke scientists' case sent to larger bench The Frontier Post From Peshawar Pakistan Updated on 12/5/2001 9:34:46 AM LAHORE (Online): A judge of the Lahore High Court Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday Tuesday sent the applications, challenging the arrest of nuclear scientist Dr Sultan Basheeruddin and his colleagues to the Chief Justice with recommendation that a larger bench should be constituted for hearing in the case as it's a matter of pubic interest.Application to challenge the arrest of Dr Sultan Basheeruddin was filled by his mother Fazalit Bibi and by MD Tahir Advocate for the release of other nuclear scientists in Lahore High Court. Sultan Basheeruddin Mehmood, Abdul Majid and some other scientists were first taken into custody on October 2. The two retired Pakistani nuclear scientists suspected of having ties to suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden were detained again for questioning and are still in government custody. Government had said that the scientists were brought in for further interrogation. No charges have been filed against them, officials said. The judge after hearing applicant's counsels rejected the request of issuing notices to the government for arresting the scientists and demand to produce the detained scientists in the court. The judge observed that the case has been sent to the larger bench and this would not be appropriate to issue notice to any party at this time. "The larger bench will decide about the matter," the judge observed. The counsel for the applicant Fazilat Bibi Muhammad Ismail Qureshi referred to various court decisions in the similar cases however the judge directed him not to give reference of those cases as those were against politicians. He reminded the court that the government of Pakistan itself denied the charges of transferring nuclear technology to Taliban and had said that they (scientists) are in safe custody. But, later it said that they are in custody. So... he added, the government should made clear the situation. According to the law, any detained citizen must be produced in the court with in 24 hours of his detention, he maintained. "The government itself had sent Dr Sultan Basheeruddin to Afghanistan for the development of agriculture sector and he (Dr Basheeruddin) is not guilty for that," Qureshi argued. The counsel for the M.D Tahir, A.K. Dogar Advocate also requested the court to issue notices to the government and directed it to produce the detained scientists into court. The two senior scientists worked for Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission until retiring in 1999. Both subsequently made frequent trips to Afghanistan and met Osama Bin Laden on two occasions, government officials have said. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had also on one occasion said that authorities suspected the men of having links within Afghanistan. He did not elaborate, but said the two were not tied to Pakistan's atomic weapons program. The scientists say they visited Afghanistan on behalf of a charity organization that helped farmers and students. They deny passing nuclear secrets to Afghanistan's now-retreating Taliban regime or to Bin Laden. Officials in Pakistan, which conducted its first underground nuclear bomb tests in 1998, say there is nothing to suggest they revealed nuclear secrets to anyone in Afghanistan. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 3 Musharraf ensures nuclear safety Updated on 2001-12-05 11:54:02 SIALKOT, December 05 (PNS): President General Pervez Musharraf has said by assisting the international community in fight against terrorism the safety and security of Pakistan's core concerns including the safety of nuclear asserts and Indian held Kashmir issue has been ensured. Addressing troops and officers at Sialkot and Kharian garrisons the president said the timely decision to join international community against terrorism raised the stature of Pakistan as front-state as well as an important ally in the world community while the security of core issues of Pakistan has been ensured. The president dwelt at length on the prevailing situation in the region with particular reference to Afghanistan problem and its impact on Pakistan. Talking about the measure initiated by the government for preparedness of the Pakistan armed forces, he said with the grace of God the territory, integrity and sovereignty of the country are well guarded. He stressed upon the officers and men to concentrate on their professional training, as it would serve them well in the times of test and trial. He said all possible efforts are being made to provide Pakistan armed forces with latest weapons and equipments to meet any emerging challenges. Corpse commanders, Left Gen Ghulam Mustafa, Left. Gen Faiz Gillani, and other senor army officers were also president on the occasion. End. ***************************************************************** 4 India calls on Pakistan to act responsibly over nuclear programme BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 4, 2001 Text of report by Indian news agency PTI New Delhi, 4 December: Observing that there has been sufficient evidence of the "clandestine" nature of Pakistan's nuclear programme, India Tuesday [4 December] hoped Islamabad will act responsibly and prevent any untoward incident. "There has been sufficient evidence of the clandestine nature of Pakistan's nuclear programme and certain questions remain unanswered," an Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told reporters in response to questions. "It is our hope that Pakistan will act responsibly and ensure that there is absolutely no cause for any untoward happening," she said. The spokesperson said the US was well aware of New Delhi's concerns about Pakistan promoting cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and "where we stand on these issues". Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 1651 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 5 India maintaining "credible minimum nuclear deterrent" against Pakistan BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 New Delhi, 5 December: Efforts by Pakistan to enhance its nuclear capabilities are continuing and India is taking all necessary steps with a "credible minimum nuclear deterrent", Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said. "Government remains fully committed to taking all necessary steps to effectively safeguard India's security with a credible minimum nuclear deterrent, based on realistic assessment of the country's security environment", he told Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament) in a written answer. He said government is aware of media reports on Pakistan's nuclear and missile arsenal and it is assessed that efforts by Islamabad to enhance its nuclear capabilities continue... Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 1056 gmt 5 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 6 US fears 'dirty bomb' attack Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Al-Qaida might be ready to use radiological weapon 'Dirty bomb' claim coincides with warning Matthew Engel in Washington Wednesday December 5, 2001 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] The United States became decidedly nervous again yesterday as the administration's third post-September 11 terrorist alert coincided with a report that al-Qaida might be able to detonate a "dirty bomb" - an unsophisticated radiological weapon. Tom Ridge, the homeland security director, insisted the two events were unconnected. However, well-placed sources believed that different parts of the administration were sending out the same intelligence message via alternative routes. The official alert once again contained no specifics about where and how Americans might be attacked. But a leak to the Washington Post suggested that captured al-Qaida members have said, under interrogation, that the organisation has, or is close to having, the ability to set off such a radiological device. Radiological weapons represent a primitive form of nuclear technology that was largely abandoned in the early days of the atomic age because the major powers thought it too unsophisticated to be much use. They take many possible forms, but the most obvious would involve setting off a large car bomb. There would be no need for either uranium or plutonium; the radioactive waste from spent fuel rods could be used instead. Nuclear experts say the radiation would not be immediately obvious, even after the bomb went off. But such a device does require reasonably sophisticated manufacture and would not necessarily be very portable. Diagrams of dirty bombs have reportedly been found in captured hideouts in Afghanistan, but they could easily have been downloaded from the internet. The Post report claimed that the US vice-president, Dick Cheney, recently withdrew from a meeting with visiting foreign officials because of fears that they might be carrying a radiological weapon which could be detonated as part of a suicide mission. However, Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said he did not regard a dirty bomb attack as the most alarming threat: "It's not something to be dismissed or laughed at, but it would be qualitatively different from a nuclear attack. Mr Ridge insisted - as he did when the US was last put on alert in November - that he was telling people everything he knew and had no idea himself how the attack might come. There was "just a lot of noise", he said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 7 Jacob takes swipe at 'pro-nuclear' EU Commissioner Irish Newspapers - THE EU's Energy Commissioner was strongly attacked by Junior Minister Joe Jacob for her pro-nuclear stance and for ignoring the concerns of many countries, including Ireland. Mr Jacob launched his scathing broadside on the Spanish Commissioner, Loyola de Palacio while addressing a meeting of Energy Ministers in Brussels. His rebuke came just 24 hours after the Government lost its attempt to halt the start of operations at the new MOX plant in Sellafield later this month. "We disagree fundamentally with the Commissioner's constantly repeated support for the nuclear industry. We particularly disagree with the manner in which she creates a link between nuclear energy and climate change and Kyoto obligations," Mr Jacob told his colleagues. Representatives from other countries described Mr Jacob's comments as "extremely forceful" and said they had won support, particularly from Austria, which is also opposed to the nuclear industry. Mr Jacob added that Ireland is not alone on this issue and warned the Commissioner "not to ignore the very strong views of a significant number of member states over this matter". Ms de Palacio ignored his comments during the meeting. Her spokesman later denied she was one-sided in her support for the nuclear industry. Meanwhile the British Irish Inter Parliamentary body heard yesterday that residents living on the east coast of Ireland are really frightened about a terrorist attack on Sellafield. Fianna Fail's Seamus Kirk said Sellafield had always been an issue for Irish people, but there was genuine fear that the plant could be targeted: "I fully accept that if Sellafield was to be attacked, or if there was an accident there, it would have disastrous consequences for the people of Cumbria, but it would also have very serious implications for us." A sub committee of the parliamentary body will visit Sellafield next month to investigate security measures at the plant. Conor Sweeney and Lorna Reid © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 8 ANALYSIS: Nuclear threat remains as warhead numbers fall The Scotsman Online - IAN DAVIS ON 13 NOVEMBER, President George Bush announced a unilateral, two-third reduction in the US nuclear arsenal. This will reduce the number of warheads from over 6,000 to between 1,700 and 2,200 in the next ten years. In response, President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will take efforts to follow suit. It seems that the process of US-Russian nuclear disarmament, stalled throughout much of the 1990s, has been revived. Numbers alone, however, do not present a full picture of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Even with 1,700 warheads the US will still have the ability to annihilate the human race. More important than numbers is Washington’s shift towards a more aggressive targeting policy and an active opposition to multilateral arms control and disarmament. These policy shifts could overshadow the positive implications of the cuts. The Bush administration has made clear it wishes to pursue further reductions to the US arsenal without recourse to bilateral treaties with Russia. While the United States is making deep cuts in its nuclear arsenal, it is also keen to ensure that it retains the ability to return to previous force levels should it need to do so in the future. These developments also have serious implications for the British nuclear deterrent, closely linked with that of the US. The Trident warhead and missile system is a US design, and Britain’s access to the technology depends on the continued good will of Washington. If the Bush administration adopts a more aggressive nuclear posture, Tony Blair’s government may be forced to follow suit. The Pentagon is due to present its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to Congress this week. The review will consider the role of nuclear forces in US military strategy and the requirements for the US to maintain a safe nuclear deterrent, the first of its kind since 1994. There are strong indications that the report will recommend expanding the range of missions for the US nuclear arsenal. Several hard-line US think-tanks with the ear of the president have suggested the only way the US military can successfully deal with underground bunkers that may house biological or chemical weapons manufacturing facilities is with low yield nuclear warheads. Another recommendation is for nuclear weapons to be given a more overt role in deterring and responding to attacks from chemical and biological weapons. Previous US and British governments have been deliberately ambiguous over whether they would use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states. However, the post-11 September environment has strengthened the hand of those who want to take a more offensive line. Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary for example, has refused to rule out a role for nuclear weapons in the Afghanistan conflict. In addition to increasing the role of nuclear weapons in its military planning, the Bush administration is pursuing policies that threaten the ongoing health of international arms control and disarmament agreements. In November the US boycotted the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) entry into force conference in New York. If the CTBT collapses it could spell the end of the global moratorium on nuclear testing, with devastating consequences for international security. Washington has even indicated that its own nuclear testing moratorium may not last forever. In June 2001, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, raised the possibility that the US may contemplate resuming nuclear testing in the near future. These shifts in US policy are worrying news for Tony Blair and the British public. The erosion of multilateral arms control and disarmament measures runs counter to stated Labour Party goals and the wishes of the British people. In Scotland, of course, the issue is even closer to home, given that the Trident nuclear submarines are based at Faslane on the Clyde. However, at a time when British nuclear policy needs to be closely scrutinised, access to information and parliamentary scrutiny on this issue is now more difficult than it was under the Major and Thatcher governments - as confirmed earlier this year by the House of Commons defence committee. During his second term, Blair will have to address the questions of whether to replace Trident, embark on a programme to extend the life of the system, or phase Trident out, by engaging in international disarmament negotiations. Given the weight of these decisions, the potential costs involved and the UK government’s past record in concealing these developments from the British people, the restoration of full parliamentary scrutiny at both Westminster and Edinburgh is crucial. The proposals for deep cuts in US and Russian nuclear arsenals offer Tony Blair the opportunity to dramatically advance the cause of nuclear disarmament. Reciprocal cuts by the British government could pave the way for a new round of discussions by all five declared nuclear powers. It will not be easy to bring about global nuclear disarmament, but it is possible. Britain is well placed to take a lead. If Blair were to adopt this long-term vision and commitment to a nuclear-free world, he would be a true champion of the modern world. Dr Ian Davis is director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) These issues are examined in a new report from BASIC: Secrecy and Dependence: The UK Trident System in the 21st Century. It is released this week and is available at www.basicint.org ***************************************************************** 9 Spanish ecologists says US nuclear sub visiting Gibraltar is "terrorist target" BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 4, 2001 Text of report by Spanish national radio on 4 December [Presenter] Environmental groups are once against protesting at the presence of a US nuclear submarine in Gibraltarian waters. So far, the authorities on the Rock have not explained why the vessel is visiting the port. Antonio Real reports: [Real] Environmentalists from the [Gibraltar hinterland] district have today regretted the presence of the US nuclear submarine in the port of Gibraltar. The Agadem [Cadiz Environmental Defence Association] spokesman, Martin Caballero, is warning that even though the vessel is only making a technical stopover, the international conflict increases the risk of the area being targeted in a terrorist action: [Caballero] Yesterday, the USA declared a nationwide alert over the risk of a terrorist action. This thing is carrying nuclear weapons, is nuclear-powered and is flying a US flag. So it can be considered a terrorist target. [Real] The Gibraltar hinterland environmentalists regret that the protests which the district staged a few months ago over the presence of [British submarine HMS] Tireless, have served no purpose. Source: RNE Radio 1, Madrid, in Spanish 1800 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 10 Serbia: Nuclear institute director, PM's aide deny possibility of stealing waste BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 5, 2001 [Presenter] Sfor [NATO-led Stabilization Force] said that no radioactive material was confiscated during an operation by the local police in which four persons were arrested under a suspicion of having illegally traded with nuclear material. Sfor spokesman Darrell Morell [as received] says that the [Bosnia-Hercegovina] Federation police, aided by the international police, prevented a fraud attempt in the town of Kiseljak. However, after the arrests in Kiseljak, an Italian paper, Corriere della Sera, raised an issue of storing nuclear material in the Balkans as well as a possibility of its abuse. [Reporter Gabrijela Rimac] The Italian paper sees the Nuclear Institute in Vinca near Belgrade as the riskiest place in the Balkans. The International Agency for Nuclear Energy is apparently worried about the fact the Institute is poorly protected. This is precisely why, Corriere della Sera says, Europe and the USA fear that the nuclear material could end up in the hands of terrorists. Vinca officials are surprised about these accusations, given that it is the very International Agency for Atomic Energy that supervises the work of the institute and it was doing so during the time of the sanctions [against Yugoslavia]... [Srdja Popovic, Serbian premier's adviser for ecology] We can say with authority that there is a very high degree of safety of radioactive material in our country, that is, of that small portion of radioactive waste which we possess and which is being stored for special purposes in Vinca. [Reporter] Atomic weapons are made of the same material which is used as fuel in nuclear reactors and such material exists in the institute. [Subotic] There are two reactors in Vinca, that is, a big reactor with 6.5 mW of power and a testing reactor of zero power [Serbian: nulta snaga]. [Reporter] Beside the existing guards [who handle it] and a risk of handling nuclear material, they say in Vinca that the possibility of its getting into wrong hands is reduced to a minimum. [Subotic] This [the material] cannot be taken out [of the institute] in a concealed way in the first place, that is, what is needed is an organization say, at the level of some other state, and without some cooperation from within [the state] this is practically impossible. [Reporter] The very state itself, by closely controlling the institute, is trying to make sure that nobody attempts to do anything similar. [Popovic] Rigorous bans imposed by international conventions which our country - that recently became a member of the International atomic agency - respects and will respect are in being implemented here. [Reporter] Both scientists and politicians claim that the story about smuggling nuclear material in these regions is a figment of imagination of journalists who crave for sensations. A similar answer is given to a question as to whether the leaders of the former, Tito's Yugoslavia, wanted to make an atomic bomb. Source: BKTV, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1755 gmt 4 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 11 Coalition rules out use of nuclear, biological weapons The Frontier Post From Peshawar Pakistan Updated on 12/5/2001 9:34:46 AM F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The US-led coalition force Tuesday ruled out use of nuclear, chemical or biological arms at any level against Taliban or Al-Qaeda, an organization of Osma bin Laden, in Afghanistan to eliminate terrorism. "It is quite beyond imagination that Coalition forces will be using nuclear, biological or chemical weapons in Afghanistan'', Ambassador Kenton Keith, spokesman of the US-led coalition force told a daily briefing. He described the coalition forces' bombardment in Afghanistan as the tightest controlled one in the history. He said coalition air-power had been governed by tightest rules to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible. He said the military targets in Afghanistan "are selected and subject to strictest rules of military engagements. What I can assure you that what was hit was a military target." He pleaded that the pro Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants were putting military equipment in civilian areas. "Moreover surface to air missiles were fired upon the coalition planes from the areas came under the attack by the coalition," he said. He did not give any specific timeframe of ending the military operation in Taliban controlled areas saying, "the military campaign would continued until objectives are achieved." He did not give a direct answer when asked to comment on the reports that the US has provided satellite phones to anti-Taliban commanders, but said "We have cooperated with the Northern Alliance where our goals co-incised''. Clarifying a query that the US has intentions to maintain its presence in the region for a long time, he said the United States was not interested in the real estate in Afghanistan. He said the objectives of the coalition forces were well defined. "The target is to break Al-Qaeda network and destroy Taliban regime and on achieving the same, not a single troop of the coalition force would be staying in the area." Ambassador Keith said the situation in Afghanistna is changing fast adding that those who had supported the Taliban in the past are re-assessing their positions.He said negotiations are still under way and can lead to peaceful surrender of Kandahar. To a question, he said the person who identifies himself as John Walker is under US control now and has been provided medical treatment. "What will happen to him after the treatment is still being sorted out'', he added. Talking about Coalition plans to tackle the financing of terrorism , he said the fight against terrorist financial networks is an absolutely vital part of the Coalition's work. He said it involves the efforts of over 120 countries and it strikes at the heart of terrorists' capacity to execute their plans. "At the same tine as we pursue the military campaign to destroy Ai Qaida and the Taliban regime which has given it shelter and support, we are closing down financial networks and freezing bank accounts and other assets in order to cut off financing to terrorist organizations'', he stated. The Coalition Spokesperson said the United States so far has issued orders blocking the access of 150 individuals and organizations to the US financial system. The Financial Action Task Force- the 29-nation group promoting action tackle money laundering has adopted strict new standards to deny terrorist access to the world's financial system. He pointed out that following the atrocities of September 11th the US Security Council had passed resolution 1373 requiring all nations to keep their financial systems free of terrorist funds. This resolution includes specific requirements for reporting, compliance and promoting enforcement by member states. He said in addition to that resolution the United Kingdom is adopting specific legislation to freeze terrorist accounts. Ambassador Keith said the European Parliament has agreed to a further EU Money Laundering Directive. This extends the obligation to reports transactions where money laundering is suspected to a wider range of businesses and institutions. He disclosed that so far a total of $ 54 million connected to the Taliban and AI Qaida were ceased in the western countries and some accounts of same natured organizations were in addition to that amount. He said the war against terrorism was not a conventional but waged between armies on battlefields adding that the Coalition's tactics would be flexible and long term bases. "And we will pursue our efforts to tackle terrorist finance with every bit as much determination as we pursue our military and other objectives'', he added. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 12 The "Dirty Bomb" Scenario TIME.com: Talk of radioactive bombs and the safety of nuclear power facilities has raised fears of nuclear terrorism. Just how realistic is it? BY TONY KARON TIM SHAFFER/AP A target? The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant Friday, Nov. 02, 2001 Osama Bin Laden has made no secret of his ambition to join the nuclear club — he has even proclaimed it a "religious duty" for Muslim states to acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to attack the West. But intelligence officials believe that the best he has managed to achieve, thus far, is a limited membership of that club, in the form of radioactive material that could be dispersed using conventional explosives — the so-called "dirty bomb." WHAT IS A 'DIRTY BOMB'? TIME Pentagon correspondent Mark Thompson explains: "Dirty nukes are what you may choose to build if you're unable to create a real nuclear bomb, i.e. one whose explosion is based on a nuclear reaction. A dirty bomb is a conventional explosive salted with radioactive isotopes in order to spew out that nuclear material and contaminate a wide area. The military usefulness of such devices have always been in dispute. In fact, the TNT in such a bomb may still be more dangerous than the nuclear material. Its destructive power would really depend on the size of the conventional bomb, and the volume and nature of the nuclear material. "The assumption has been that forces who would build a dirty nuke would do so because it's far, far easier than to build a nuclear bomb. It's unlikely to kill 10,000 people, but any bomb that killed people and set off Geiger counters would terrify a whole city. It's ultimately a pure terror weapon." Speculation over a possible al Qaeda nuclear threat has mounted since the Times of London last Friday reported that Western intelligence officials believe bin Laden's organization has acquired nuclear materials, allegedly from Pakistan. Although the Pakistani government pooh-poohed the reports and insists its nuclear program is in safe hands, it had earlier placed two of its best-known former nuclear scientists in "protective custody." One had been an outspoken supporter of the Taliban. Concerns over Pakistan's nukes aren't limited to the possibility of small amounts of nuclear waste finding its way into the hands of Al Qaeda. Know-how remains an essential component of any nuclear weapons program, and Western intelligence services are plainly concerned over the possibility of bin Laden's network attracting sympathetic individuals from among Pakistan's nuclear scientists. Both Pakistan and the U.S. deny a report in this week's New Yorker magazine suggesting that American and Israeli commandos are already training for a scenario in which General Musharraf's government is overthrown by pro-Taliban elements and Pakistan's nuclear warheads have to be kept out of the hands of his successors. But even if Al Qaeda is in possession of nuclear material, it need not necessarily have come from Pakistan. Unsubstantiated rumors have abounded for much of the past decade about the possibility of small nuclear bombs being lost by Moscow during the breakup of the Soviet Union, and possibly being sold by criminals to terrorists. In the past eight years, 175 cases have been recorded worldwide of nuclear materials (not bombs) being smuggled out of former Soviet territories and other countries. Such material could have reached bin Laden through criminals — intelligence officials reportedly believe Al Qaeda operatives have been stung more than once by con men offering them relatively harmless spent fuel disguised as weapons-grade radioactive material — or by sympathizers in Chechnya. Bin Laden operatives reportedly also tried in 1993 to buy enriched uranium produced in South Africa on the black market. While it may be far from inconceivable that bin Laden's network may have the capability to create a dirty bomb, operating a nuclear program would be a Herculean challenge for an organization whose survival depends on its relative invisibility. Even fully-functioning states such as Pakistan have needed decades of research and the assistance of nuclear-capable allies to develop their bomb programs, and they haven't had to hide the extensive scientific and industrial infrastructure required to build nuclear weapons. And given that a dirty bomb's function is primarily to spread terror through contamination, terrorists may be inclined to view chemical and biological weapons as a more attractive investment. But just as the September 11 terrorists created fearsome weapons out of America's own civilian transport system, their successors may seek to do the same with the U.S. civilian energy infrastructure. The International Atomic Energy Agency warned this week that "we have been alerted to the potential of terrorists targeting nuclear facilities or using radioactive sources to incite panic, contaminate property, and even cause injury or death among civilian populations," and called for massive new investment in the security of the world's nuclear energy facilities. Indeed, the first order of business in defending against an Al Qaeda nuclear threat may simply involve rendering America's atomic energy plants safe from attack. Magazine All of TIME.com ***************************************************************** 13 Options sought for Rocky Flats plutonium Rocky Mountain News: Local South Carolina dispute has Energy Department scrambling to identify alternative destination By Berny Morson, News Staff Writer The Energy Department is looking at alternatives to sending Rocky Flats plutonium to South Carolina as a dispute continues with the governor of the Palmetto State. Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges will allow the plutonium to be stored at the Department of Energy's Savannah River site temporarily if the agency has a plan to eventually remove it. He has been threatening to lie down in front of the trucks unless that condition is met. Sending the plutonium to South Carolina is a key step in meeting a Dec. 15, 2006, target date to close Rocky Flats. The Energy Department had plans to either convert the highly radioactive material to reactor fuel or to immobilize it in molten glass. But those procedures have not been funded by Congress. Discussion of an alternative to South Carolina has been going on at least since September. Reference to an alternative appears in a Sept. 19 letter by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The letter, which was posted at the Energy Department's Web site, says some material could go to "an alternative site pending future use or disposition." Joe Davis, Abraham's spokesman, said an alternative for the pure plutonium hasn't been chosen. Some diluted stocks could go to the burial site near Carlsbad, N.M., where other Rocky Flats waste is going, he said. Sean Conway, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, said alternative sites have been under discussion. Conway said it doesn't matter to Allard where the plutonium goes as long as Rocky Flats closure remains on schedule. Rocky Flats officials met Monday in Washington with the Energy Department. The South Carolina issue was on the agenda, said Nancy Tuor, a vice president of Kaiser-Hill Co., the firm conducting the Rocky Flats cleanup. Rocky Flats workers are packing the plutonium in special containers for shipment, Tuor said. Plans call for the plutonium to be out of Rocky Flats by the end of 2002. But in addition to the dispute with Hodges, the shipments have been put on hold while the Energy Department studies how putting the plutonium in storage will affect discussions with Russia about nuclear-weapons reductions. A report to the National Security Council will be completed by the end of the year. December 4, 2001 ***************************************************************** 14 DOE gathers comments about toxic containers By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel senior writer OAK RIDGE - Thousands of cylinders containing a toxic uranium compound - a legacy of the government's Cold War nuclear program - must be removed from their Oak Ridge storage yard by the end of 2009, according to a state order issued a few years ago. In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Energy spends millions of dollars annually to survey and maintain the 4,700 containers at the K-25 Site and make plans for ultimately converting the uranium hexafluoride to a more stable form. DOE hosted an Oak Ridge meeting Tuesday night to gather comment for an upcoming environmental impact statement on the project. The current plan is ship the Oak Ridge canisters - some of them 40 years old and badly deteriorated - to Portsmouth, Ohio, where one of two facilities is to be built to convert the hazardous uranium compound - known as UF6 - to a chemical form more acceptable for long-term storage or disposal. John Owsley, who heads the state's environmental oversight office in Oak Ridge, said DOE's maintenance of cylinders at K-25 is "adequate,'' but he said the state remains concerned about possible ruptures that could pose an environmental hazard. A breach in one of the containers occurred last winter, and it took DOE months to fully address the situation, he said. Owsley said DOE provides a quarterly report updating the condition of the UF6 cylinders and maintenance plans. In addition to the potential for environmental releases, a measurable amount of radiation "shine'' emanates from the storage containers and poses a hazard that is unacceptable for the long term, the state official said. Having the cylinders stored at K-25 is incompatible with plans to convert the federal facility to a private industrial park, he said. Walter Perry, a DOE spokesman, said the agency spends about $2.5 million annually to survey and maintain the old cylinders. In addition, DOE will spent about $3 million this year to coat many of the cylinders with a protective paint, he said. DOE plans to award contracts for construction and operation of conversion facilities at Portsmouth and Paducah, Ky., and the contractor will have to address the care of the Oak Ridge containers - as well as transportation-safety issues. The depleted uranium hexafluoride is left from the uranium-enrichment activities that took place at K-25 from the 1940s until 1985, when the Oak Ridge operation was shut down. Copyright 2001 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 15 Few ex-Hanford workers filing for compensation plan This story was published Tue, Dec 4, 2001 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer Fewer former Hanford workers than expected are applying for a new program that would pay $150,000 to workers or their survivors if those workers suffered cancer caused by on-the-job radiation exposure. Nationally, the Department of Labor has received 14,500 claims from nuclear workers and some uranium miners in the first four months of the program. But the applicants include just 575 from Benton and Franklin counties. "We expected Hanford to be the largest single site for claims," said Pete Turcic, director of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Task Force for the Department of Labor. Labor officials aren't sure why more former Hanford workers are not filing claims, he said. During a visit here last week to consider the program's slow start, he heard several theories. One possibility is that some former workers, proud of the job they did at Hanford, consider applying for compensation unpatriotic. If that's the case, federal officials hope those people will reconsider and get the money they may be due. "This is an entitlement the government is providing for the patriotic people who worked at these sites for fighting and helping win the Cold War," Turcic said. Others may doubt the payments will actually be made. "We (need to) convince people this is not a paperwork exercise and benefits are going to be paid," he said. "We try to make it as easy as possible." The Energy Compensation Resource Center in Kennewick will complete the initial paperwork for applicants, either in person or by taking information on the phone and mailing it to them for a signature. However, applicants, some of them in their 80s or 90s, must apply for their medical records themselves. In some cases, doctors who made the initial diagnosis and would have records may be retired or deceased. The government also may want letters of explanation from the doctors. "The Department of Labor has assured us people need to make a diligent effort, but they realize records may no longer exist," said Eunice Godfrey, resource center manager. Medical records are used to determine whether there is at least a 50 percent chance that cancer was caused by radiation exposure, which would entitle former workers to compensation. To help make that decision, the government would like to have details such as how long after exposure the cancer was diagnosed and where in the body it first appeared. Although the Kennewick resource center cannot gather medical records for applicants, it has information on doctors and can suggest ways to get records that might be helpful. The office also is trying to reach more people who might be eligible. It has posted information in senior centers, pharmacies and grocery stores, and in a few cases visited the homes of people too frail to come to the resource center. It's also given information to current Hanford workers, knowing that some families have had two or three generations of workers at the site. The office also sent notices to 5,000 retirees of Fluor, Westinghouse, Rockwell and GE but got fewer than 50 responses. Most claims for compensation are coming from Oak Ridge, Tenn., another nuclear site, and some smaller sites that, like Oak Ridge, had gaseous diffusion plants. Workers at those plants fall under a looser set of rules for compensation because radiation exposure records there may be poor. However, because of the large number of employees who have worked at Hanford since 1943, federal officials expected more claims from workers here. A University of Washington former worker screening program estimates the number of former workers at Hanford at more than 100,000. Department of Energy budget records show most years more than 10,000 people were employed at Hanford, with twice that many during some years. A large number of them could be expected to have cancer, based on how common cancer is in the overall population. The American Cancer Society says one in two men and one in three women can expect to get cancer in their lifetimes. "If they worked at Hanford and had or have cancer, we encourage them to apply," Godfrey said. "We don't want to raise unrealistic expectations, but they won't know whether the reconstruction will determine that their cancer was caused by radiation if they don't file." While 575 claims have been filed from Benton and Franklin counties, many other former Hanford workers would have moved away and filed claims from elsewhere. But that still doesn't account for the apparently low number of claims from the West. The Western regional office in Seattle has received 2,211 claims, which would include not only Hanford claims, but also claims from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and workers exposed to nuclear bomb testing in Nevada and Alaska. In addition to claims for cancer, workers also can apply for compensation for lung diseases caused by beryllium or silica. Besides the $150,000, workers who are ill now would also get their medical costs paid retroactive to the date they filed a claim. No cancer claims for Hanford workers have been paid, but Turcic said the first ones could be paid as soon as this summer. Before claims can be considered, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health must finish formulas and procedures for determining if radiation caused cancer in individual cases. Information on the proposed rules is at www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/42cfr81.html on the Internet. Now only spouses of deceased workers and dependents -- such as children who were supported by the worker at the time of death -- may apply for compensation. However, Congress is expected to consider legislation to allow adult children to apply if there is no surviving spouse to claim the benefits. For more information on applying, call the resource center at 509-783-1500. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 16 No nuclear tech leakage: FO The Frontier Post From Peshawar Pakistan Updated on 12/5/2001 9:34:46 AM F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan took extraordinary security measures at 2500 km long Pak-Afghan border and further sealed the border for crossing in from Afghanistan without valid travelling documents. "In addition to the regular border security force including scouts and paramilitary force, the regular military troops have also deployed to observe extraordinary security measures at a porous Pak-Afghan border," Foreign Office Spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan Tuesday told a daily news briefing. He said only refugees of extreme humanitarian cases are being allowed inside the country after proper checking. Responding to a question, Aziz Ahmed Khan said that the government had sometimes back requested the UN and ICRC to find out the fact of the position regarding reports of killing of Pakistanis in Mazar-e-Sharif "and we are still awaiting the reply. He rejected the reports suggesting of nuclear arms technology leaks in Pakistan. Aziz said the government exercised maximum vigilance as far as inspection of cargo from Afghanistan into Pakistan was concerned and the impression of any nuke leakage had no validity. He said despite its own economic constraints, Pakistan would surely contribute its due share in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. The spokesman pointed out that Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan over the past two decades. The provision of asylum to over three million refugees has resulted in consequential and environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes, he maintained. Replying to a question, he said, "Islamabad has supported the idea of deploying multinational peace force in Kabul and declaring the Afghan capital as demilitarize." He also condemned Israeli strikes against Palestinian installations and administrative structures in Gaza and West Bank, particularly attacks targeting President Yasser Arafat's heliport,destroying two helicopters and damaging his nearby residence. Aziz Ahmed Khan said the subsequent attacks by Israeli tanks and armored vehicles against Palestinian offices and a police building in Jenin and occupation of Palestinian controlled areas in the West Bank including Gaza airport has further escalated tension. He was of the view that the latest military action is a part of deliberate Israeli policy of undermining the Palestinian Authority and its administrative structures. "Pakistan reiterates the urgent need for restraint and the resumption of peace negotiations, hopes for which were revived by the recent initiative of the US Secretary of State," the spokesman added. He denied presence of any foreign troops including the British troops in Pakistani territory. He was replying to a journalist who was insisting that a good number of British troops were present in Pakistani area near Chaman, Balochistan. Pakistan has felicitated United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his special representative Lakhdar Brahimi on the reports of successful conclusion on an agreement among Afghan leaders on the establishment of an interim authority at Bonn conference, he said. "We hope that the Bonn meeting will soon agree on the composition of the interim Administration", he said. He said mutual accommodation amongst the Afghan leaders was necessary for peace and stability and for return of normalcy after two decades of conflict and strife in Afghanistan. With the world community ready to provide generous assistance for humanitarian relief and reconstruction of Afghanistan, "this is a propitious moment for an end to the travails of the Afghan people." Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan over the past two decades, the spokesman said. The provision of asylum to over three million refugees has resulted in consequential environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes. He said despite its own economic constraints, Pakistan will join the world community and contribute to international programmes for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post PakCyber.Com Disclaimer--> ***************************************************************** 17 S Korea: [Editorial] The Threat From The North Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea 12/05(Wed)20:25 The United States Defense Department has defined North Korea, after Iran and Iraq, as the third greatest threat to security. This tells of how threatening North Korea is to world peace, and how serious the issue of security is for us, since we are in a state of direct confrontation with that entity. This classification was included as part of documentation relating to an evaluation of Bush Administration foreign policy in the area of preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but it applies equally to our situation. North Korea was assessed as a threat by a special task force of the Bush Administration that evaluated potential threats in six areas, specifically trajectory missiles, cruise missiles, biological weapons, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, and terrorism. North Korea possesses approximately ten varieties of germ weapons such as anthrax and smallpox that could be operable in a matter of weeks, and while it is the third greatest producer of chemical weapons, there are no means to keep this in check because it has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. Thanks to the 1994 Geneva Agreement, North Korea's current and future nuclear weapons development program is frozen for the time being, but there has been no verification of its nuclear past. In regards to the light water reactor being built in accordance with the Geneva Agreement, the US has for three years said there has to be verification of North's nuclear past in coordination with the delivery of the key parts for the reactor, but the North still refuses to cooperate. Then there is the question of terrorism; since the acts of terror in the US, the North has signed two anti-terrorism agreements. This gives the appearance that it is submitting to the new international order, but the North has done little in the way of concrete action. The immediate reason the North is on the US's short list of terrorism sponsoring states is because it continues to harbor members of the Japanese Red Army Faction who hijacked a Japan Air Lines flight to Pyongyang in 1970, and because it refuses to share with the rest of the world its rich knowledge about terrorist activities. Its record with trajectory missiles is also problematic. There has of course been progress, moves away from its closed and stubborn attitude of the past, since the North has indeed signed international counter-terrorism agreements and, while of no direct relation to its nuclear past, it did allow the International Atomic Energy Agency access to its nuclear research facilities at Yeonbyeon. There continues, however, to be no sign whatsoever that the North has changed in a substantial way. This will only accelerate the North's international isolation, and with its weapons of mass destruction already becoming a global concern, this, too, will be yet another issue difficult for it to maneuver around. The North Korean inner elite needs to realize that if it continues ignore how the world is changing, it will be hard for the state of North Korea to continue to exist. (December 6, 2001) [http://www.arirangtv.com/] Copyright (c)1995-2001, DIGITAL CHOSUN All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 Compensation claims slow in coming from Hanford workers Wednesday, December 5, 2001 By LINDA ASHTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS YAKIMA -- The federal government expected the largest number of claims for a sickened-workers compensation program to come from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, but so far, relatively few have been filed. Only about 620 claims have been made through the Energy Employees Resource Compensation Center in Kennewick, one of 10 in the country, office manager Eunice Godfrey said yesterday. The office, known informally as the Hanford resource center, opened in June as part of the federal program to provide medical care and payments of $150,000 to eligible defense workers made ill by exposure to cancer-causing radiation or silica and beryllium, two metals that can cause lung disease. If the workers have died, the survivors could eligible for the lump-sum payment. Godfrey said it's not clear why the claims have been slow in coming. "We did see a lot of activity the first couple of months, then it dropped off dramatically," she said. "Everyone's blaming Sept. 11 for everything, but since then, it has been very, very slow." She said there could be a number of reasons, including workers and their families who might be reluctant to appear unpatriotic. "A lot of them take a look at the paperwork, and they decide, 'I'm just not going to bother with it,'" Godfrey said. "We can help them through some of this." Hanford was established in the south-central Washington desert in 1943 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to produce plutonium for atomic bombs. About 100,000 people worked at Hanford over the years. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattle-pi.com [newmedia@seattle-pi.com] ***************************************************************** 19 Technology of 'Dirty Bomb' Simple, but Not the Execution (washingtonpost.com) By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 5, 2001; Page A12 Finding enough radioactive material to make a "dirty bomb" might be relatively easy, experts say, but the effects of such a weapon could never remotely approach those of a nuclear explosion. "The nuclear device is a weapon of mass destruction," said nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. "Dirty bombs are weapons of mass disruption, in terms of frightening people, the cleanup and the potential economic consequences." Interest in dirty bombs has deepened recently among U.S. intelligence officials because of mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network may be developing expertise in building them. But Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said yesterday that U.S. authorities had no information that bin Laden had made such a weapon. Ridge added that the Bush administration's latest anti-terrorist alert had nothing to do with the threat of a dirty bomb. Sources have told The Washington Post that concerns about al Qaeda's nuclear capabilities had played a role in the alert. The technology to make the bomb is relatively simple: Find some radioactive material, wrap it around a core of ordinary high explosive and detonate it so that contamination spreads over the widest possible area. This is not a nuclear explosion. That occurs when two subcritical masses of highly processed radioactive material are thrust suddenly together, triggering a violent chain reaction and release of energy. Blast effects and heat from a nuclear device can flatten city blocks and kill thousands of people; the only blast from a dirty bomb is provided by the explosive. Still, while fatalities may be light, a dirty bomb can cause a higher incidence of cancer in local residents even decades after the attack, and more immediately, provokes the same psychology of fear as a chemical or bioweapons threat. In that respect, Hecker said, a dirty bomb "would have an instant terrorist effect." But the bomb-maker must always contend with a Catch-22, for the more powerful the radiation source, the more dangerous it is to handle. The weaker the source, the less damage the weapon will cause. "The dirtiest spent fuel is from a nuclear reactor," said Lisbeth Gronlund, senior staff scientist of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It is very radioactive, and one reason to consider it proliferation-resistant is that the dose you get from stealing it would kill you pretty quickly." Even if the thief is prepared to die, making bombs from "hot" radioactive material and getting them to the target present dangers. "How do you figure out how much you need?" asked Tom Cochrane, nuclear program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "And how do you transport it?" The alternative is to pick a weaker radiation source. That means using plutonium or enriched uranium, which give off "alpha" particles that cannot penetrate the human body from outside, unlike the "gamma" particles or neutron radiation common in spent fuel waste or cobalt-60. If the terrorist chooses alpha, then the plutonium must be milled fine, like anthrax spores, because the only way it can hurt humans is through inhalation, Cochrane said. This adds another requirement for technical expertise. But as long as the maker can deal with the radioactivity, detonating the device is as easy as triggering a bomb in a car or arming it from the air. Damage could be problematic, experts say. In October, the nonprofit National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements estimated that contamination would spread over "only a small area of a few city blocks." The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War argued that a plutonium dirty bomb would have almost no immediate health consequences, and even though it could lead to cancer years after the attack, the effects "would probably not be dramatic." Still, the terrorist group that used a dirty bomb would garner immense prestige among its peers, said British political scientist Gavin Cameron in a paper prepared last month for the International Atomic Energy Association, and "the mere fact of being nuclear would almost certainly ensure that it had a considerable impact on the public's imagination and fear." © 2001 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 20 Senate panel OKs IAAP study funds The Hawk Eye Newspaper December 5, 2001 By Dennis J. Carroll The Hawk Eye • Money would go to extend U of I survey to non-nuclear army plant workers. A key Senate funding panel passed a measure Tuesday providing $1 million to study the health of IAAP weapons workers. The legislation, a small part of the Defense Appropriations bill, is expected to be taken up the full Senate later this week. Dozens of former ammunition plant workers and their families have complained of lifelong health problems and early deaths they believe may be related to their work. Many have charged that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears while former nuclear workers at the plant have been the focus of much attention over the past couple of years, including a University of Iowa medical survey. "As the health work with former workers at the nuclear facility at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant enters its second year, I'm proud to announce initial funding for similar health work with employees on the Army side of the plant," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. "We must not forget any of the workers who served us so well." "I think its great. It's what we need," said Paula Graham, 69, of Farmington, who worked at the plant during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Graham has been a vocal advocate for health studies that include former employees who worked on conventional weapons at the Middletown plant. Graham believes that exposure to hazardous materials contributed to the illnesses and deaths of her sister, mother and father, who also worked on the Army side. "People worked with mercury and lead and RDX and the whole gamut," Graham said. "They didn't have the protection for us." U of I researchers recently received a second year of funding -- $790,000 -- from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue surveying the health status of former atomic weapons workers at the plant. For the past year, the U of I team has been identifying thousands of former workers who helped build nuclear weapons at the plant from 1945 through 1975 under the authority of the Atomic Energy Commission. The Defense Appropriations bill is expected to be debated by the full Senate later this week. It also contains $24.7 million for the ARMS initiative, which is designed to bring commercial tenants to IAAP and other ammunition plants. The bill also includes a second year of funding for the Iowa National Guard Technology Center; $5 million to finish a memorial and museum at Fort Des Moines; and $2.75 million for completion of a bridge at the Rock Island Arsenal. 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 ***************************************************************** 21 $500K spent on Health Effects Subcommittee Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:31 a.m. on Wednesday, December 5, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff More than $500,000 has been spent on the Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee during its first fiscal year of operation, and some people question how effective the group has been thus far. Health clinic discussed by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Now is the time to start pressing for a health clinic -- but don't expect Oak Ridge to easily qualify. This two-edged message is from a representative with the Health Resources Services Administration, a federal agency that works to provide quality health care to low-income, uninsured, isolated and special-needs populations. Robert Jackson, associate director for primary care with the organization's Southeastern Regional Field Office, was in town Tuesday to address the Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee, during its two-day full committee meeting. Opening a health clinic to assist residents and workers who suffer ailments due to their association with the Department of Energy is being explored by the subcommittee. The Health Resources Services Administration has over 3,000 clinics across the country serving over 10 million people, according to Jackson, who gave a presentation on the programs covered by the agency. "It's hard to see how we could apply these different programs in Oak Ridge," said Jackson. "But that may be because I don't know enough about it (Oak Ridge)." According to Jackson, his agency has been given a directive to become more involved in ensuring that comprehensive quality health care is provided to all citizens. "The administration has been very aggressive and very vocal" about expanding health care services to those in need, said Jackson, who noted that President Bush had called for 200 new clinics and has "asked for a strengthened and expanded safety net." "We are going to be very busy for the next five years Š this is the time to generate dialogue," said Jackson. However, according to Jackson, to compete for grant money, residents would have to prove Oak Ridge has a need, and is a medically under-serviced area. Which, with Methodist Medical Center inside the city limits, might be a tough sale, indicated Jackson. Jackson said that one way to leverage resources is to become a satellite clinic of another area. "It is possible to become a clinic that is a satellite of another East Tennessee clinic," said Jackson. "That's much less competitive Š being part of a larger system." Jackson noted that Anderson County is considered a medically under-serviced area. Also, said Jackson, the Health Resources Services Administration would be available to assist Oak Ridge in opening discussions that would help enable resources for a health clinic. "Let's assume Š there is a need, and some response is indicated and desired," said Jackson. "Let's assume some amount of resources and money will come into play -- now is the time to start dialogue with those people. "We can very well facilitate that Š we want to be a player," said Jackson. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . The group consists of citizens primarily from the Oak Ridge area, including Knoxville and Roane County residents, who were selected by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its mission is to provide recommendations to agencies regarding health concerns in Oak Ridge. John Florence, a spokesman for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said the total program cost for the subcommittee for fiscal year 2001 was $530,672. Funding for the subcommittee comes from Department of Energy. Seven full subcommittee meetings have been held since the group officially started in November 2000 while numerous monthly work group sessions transpired during the same time period. A total of $84,016 was spent in FY 2001 on subcommittee member compensation. Subcommittee members are paid $250 a day for each full subcommittee meeting -- the majority of which have lasted for two days. For the work groups, they are paid for every eight hours they participate. According to Florence, other expenses for FY 2001 include the following: * $144,841 in compensation for staff and consultants not on the subcommittee, but associated with it. * $248,942 on various contracted services, including hiring a company to set up subcommittee meetings. * $16,654 for travel and transportation. * $14,844 for office supplies and start-up costs associated with the opening of an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry field office in Oak Ridge. * $5,256 for communications expenses related to the field office. * $1,044 for printing and publications. But what has all this money produced? When officials with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry were asked, the group produced a one-and-a-half-page fact sheet citing the subcommittee's activities and accomplishments. These include organizing the subcommittee and initiating a public health assessment, which entails reviewing information on local hazardous substances and determining whether exposure to them would cause public harm.. "We have made some progress, but not as much as I would like to have seen," said James Lewis, a subcommittee member. "We could have accomplished a lot more." Lewis said the subcommittee needs to focus more on technical issues. For example, he said the group needs to bring closure to its goal of developing a list of contaminants that are of the greatest concern to the Oak Ridge Reservation. He also said the full subcommittee should have shorter monthly meetings instead of two daylong meetings every so many months. Susan Kaplan, who's also on the subcommittee, agrees with Lewis that the group has had a slow start. "Things that should have been completed months ago are stalled in red tape and we argue endlessly over issues that seem obvious," Kaplan said. "For example, members had to fight with management over whether we should develop a mission statement to define in plain language rather than government-speak what we're trying to accomplish. Oddly, this argument took place despite the fact a consultant's report to the [Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry] indicated establishing a clear mission was essential and the lack of one was a problem for health panels in other communities." Although Kaplan says the subcommittee has its problems, she points out that it's a "wonderful opportunity" to attempt to reform a process that other communities have found inadequate. "We must keep in mind that our subcommittee is different than any of the others," Kaplan said. "It appears this is the Agency's first real attempt to bring a community along through the entire public health assessment process. Apparently, they usually do the assessment, dump a completed draft on the community for comments, and then hunker down to defend it. We're breaking new ground by giving our input throughout the process." In addition to Lewis and Kaplan, the subcommittee has about 15 other members who currently work or have worked as a toxicologist, a veterinarian, a physician and an engineer, among other fields. However, the makeup of the subcommittee is one of its biggest problems, according to Janice Stokes, who chairs the Roane County chapter of Save Our Cumberland Mountains and who has been an audience member at several of the subcommittee's meetings. Her group is a grass-roots citizens' organization that works for environmental, social and economic justice. Stokes said the subcommittee needs at least three or four local residents who have been affected by known off-site releases from DOE's facilities. She pointed out that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry should be willing to make a couple of exceptions for them because they would not be able to accept pay if they were on disability, and they might need an alternate to sit in for them due to their illnesses. Stokes also said the subcommittee needs to recommend a protocol for testing residents who may have been affected by off-site releases from the local facilities. Earlier this year, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry accepted nominations to appoint a member who suffers from illness related to his or her work at a DOE facility. However, a sick-worker member has yet to be chosen. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or [pparson@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com/contact/index.html] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 22 Western governors talk about homeland security Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyoming Wednesday, December 05, 2001 By CHRIS ROBERTS Associated Press Writer EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Arizona Gov. Jane Hull said Monday that Western governors want the federal government to pay for National Guard support when they are called up to protect people from terrorists. Hull said that was one specific message sent to Washington, D.C., by members of the Western Governors' Association during a Monday meeting on homeland security. The governors were in El Paso for the association's winter meeting. When the subject turned to energy, Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer said states should look beyond natural gas and hydroelectric power to diversify their energy sources. "Relying on gas only and hydro only is very shortsighted," he said. "You'll have a lot of short-term solutions ... and the next generation is going to be in the pits." Last month President Bush decided to expand the National Guard's role at airports to build confidence in the nation's air travel system before the busy holiday season. Hull, the association's chairwoman, and six other governors who attended the meeting said they were reassured by the increased communication between states and all levels of law enforcement as they work to protect their residents. "The phrase national defense for two centuries in the country has been about missiles, jets and generals," said Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt. "Now it has to be about homeland security. We are learning to communicate on an entirely different level (and) the communication has never been better." Montana Gov. Judy Martz said she learned Monday during the homeland security meeting that a dam in her state was identified as one that requires round-the-clock security. "We in the state of Montana had not been told," Martz said. New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said one thing that will change is the kind of information that is released to the public about hazardous waste shipments because of the possibility of terrorist attacks. "We're moving from a right-to-know to a need-to-know basis," Johnson said. The governors said people should feel safe, but should be at a higher level of awareness for things that don't seem right and should be reported to authorities. Earlier in the day, the governors talked about energy. They were warned by industry experts that the lack of transmission lines between states will cause major problems during regional shortages such as the ones in California last year. Donald Furman, senior vice president of PacifiCorp in Portland, Ore., said the existing transmission system creates bottlenecks that are stunting a "very liquid free-flowing market." Jack Davis, president of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Pinnacle West Capital Corp., said the United States should not depend solely on gas. Jacob Williams, vice president of generation and development for Peabody Energy, the nation's largest coal company, said states that use coal to generate power as part of an energy mix generally have lower electricity prices. Williams said more high-capacity transmission lines would allow states to diversify their energy bases by reaching out to energy producers in other states. Nuclear energy should be considered along with coal and other sources, Montana Gov. Judy Martz said. "Forty-eight percent of America say nuclear is not a bad thing," Martz said. "But do we hear it in our conversation? No, because it's environmentally touchy." New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson suggested that conservation should play a role in the region's energy policy. "The conservation part of this is not being played up," Johnson said. "What are we burning that we shouldn't be burning?" The panel of industry experts generally agreed that the best way to increase conservation would be to raise the price of energy. But Furman added: "There's a wealth of technology out there that we have not tapped into." Texas Gov. Rick Perry said transmission methods must be standardized so energy can be bought and sold across the borders with Canada and Mexico. An energy transmission plan which will include funding methods should be signed at the WGA meeting in June, Hull said. On the Net: Western Governor's Association: http://www.westgov.org/ ***************************************************************** 23 Trafficking of nuclear material: significant incidents csmonitor.com from the December 05, 2001 edition Compiled by Staff 1. Oct. 9, 1992 Russian police intercept 1.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium at the train station in Podolsk. A worker at the Luch Scientific Production Association in the same city had taken the material. 2. May 1993 Approximately 100 grams of highly enriched uranium are discovered in a bank vault in Vilnius, Lithuania. The cache, originally from the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering in Obninsk, Russia, is embedded in a shipment of 4 metric tons of beryllium. 3. July 29, 1993 Russian security forces arrest two naval servicemen before they can smuggle 1.8 kilograms of highly enriched uranium out of the country. The servicemen stole the material from a storage facility on the naval base in Andreeva Guba, Russia. 4. March 1994 Russian agents in St. Petersburg arrest three people attempting to sell about 3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. The material likely came from a machine-building plant in Elektrostal, Russia. Not much corroborating evidence of the incident is available. 5. May 10, 1994 As police in Tengen, Germany, investigate a businessman, they stumble upon about 6 grams of plutonium in his apartment. Its source is unconfirmed but is thought to possibly be a Soviet weapons lab at Arzamas-16, Russia. 6. June 1994 A naval officer at the Sevmorput Shipyard in Russia notifies authorities after a fellow officer asks about potential customers for nuclear material. The tip leads to the piecing together of a case involving two other officers and 4.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that had been stolen from the shipyard in 1993. 7. June 13, 1994 Undercover police in Landshut, Germany, act as potential customers in a sting operation involving the trade of 800 milligrams of highly enriched uranium. The material likely came from the Obninsk, Russia, institute. A Slovakian trader was convicted in the case. 8. Aug. 10, 1994 Undercover German police act as potential customers in a sting operation involving the trafficking of 560 grams of mixed oxide fuel and more than 360 grams of plutonium. The material, which likely came from the Obninsk, Russia, institute, was intercepted on a flight from Moscow to Munich. A Colombian national and two Spaniards were arrested. 9. Dec. 14, 1994 An anonymous tip to Czech police indicates that highly enriched uranium is in a parked car in Prague. Police arrest a Russian trader, a Czech physicist, and a Belarusian. The 2.7 kilograms of material are likely from the Obninsk, Russia, institute. 10. June 8, 1995 In a Moscow sting operation, Russian agents arrest three people trying to sell 1.7 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. One of the suspects is a worker in Elektrostal, Russia, where the material originated. 11. December 1997 A Russian inspection team visits the I.N. Vekua Physics and Technology Institute in Sukhumi, Georgia, which had been closed as a result of the Abkhazia-Georgia conflict. About 2 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that had been counted in a 1992 inventory are missing. The material has not been recovered. 12. Dec. 17, 1998 A Russian agency reports that it thwarted an attempt by workers at a nuclear facility in the Chelyabinsk Oblast region of Russia to steal 18.5 kilograms of uranium. 13. May 29, 1999 Bulgarian customs officers in Dunav Most discover 10 grams of highly enriched uranium hidden in a car crossing into Turkey. The driver says he obtained the material in Moldova, although authorities haven't determined the source. 14. April 19, 2000 Police in Batumi, Georgia, arrest four residents and seize 920 grams of highly enriched uranium. Its source is unknown. • Source: Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies Copyright © 2001 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights ***************************************************************** 24 Timeline of nuclear security | csmonitor.com from the December 05, 2001 edition Compiled by Staff 1989 Nov. 9 -- East Germany opens the Berlin Wall, signaling the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. 1991 July 31 -- US and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I. It cuts the number of nuclear weapons in each country's arsenal. Is effective as of December 1994. Dec. 8 -- The Slavic republics of Russia, Ukraine, and Byelorussia declare the Soviet Union dead and establish a new 'commonwealth.' Later in the month, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigns, and the country's legislature votes the Soviet Union out of existence. 1992 October -- Congress establishes the Cooperative Threat Reduction program - the largest US effort to secure or destroy weapons of mass destruction from the former Soviet Union. Nov. 27 -- The European Community, Japan, Russia, and the US establish the International Science and Technology Center, in Moscow, to employ weapons researchers from the former USSR in civilian science projects. 1993 Jan. 3 -- US and Russia sign START II, a treaty that calls for further reductions in nuclear weapons. It is not yet in force. Feb. 18 -- Under the Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement ('Megatons to Megawatts' program), the US agrees to buy 500 tons of HEU from Russia over 20 years. The US will dilute it to low-enriched uranium and sell it as fuel for nuclear-power plants. 1994 Jan. 14 -- US, Russia, and the Ukraine sign a trilateral statement that commits the Ukraine to rid itself of nuclear weapons and to transfer specified warheads to Russia over a 10-month period. 1996 Sept. 24 -- The US, Britain, China, France, Russia, and 50 other nations sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits all nuclear explosions. As of August 2001, 79 nations had approved the treaty, but 82, including the US, have signed but not ratified it. 1998 May 11 -- India announces it has conducted a series of successful underground nuclear tests, the country's first in 24 years. The event breaks an international de facto moratorium on nuclear testing. Later in the month, Pakistan announces that it has also exploded nuclear devices. 2000 May 20 -- At a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, more than 185 signatories approve Thirteen Practical Steps. The measures outline how the treaty's nuclear-disarmament provision can be implemented. For the first time, nuclear-weapons countries commit to eliminating their arsenals. June 4 -- President Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to set up a joint warning center for the exchange of information on missile launches. They also provide for the safe disposal of 68 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium. Fall/winter -- For fiscal year 2001, $1.5 billion is earmarked for nonproliferation programs run by the Departments of Defense, Energy, and State. The Bush administration's budget request for nonproliferation programs in fiscal 2002 drops slightly to $1.4 billion. 2001 Jan. 10 -- An expert panel urges the US to spend $30 billion over the next decade to help Russia secure its nuclear materials. That stockpile poses 'the most urgent unmet national-security threat' facing the US, the panel reports. • Sources: Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies; Council for a Livable World Education Fund; The Associated Press Copyright © 2001 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 Loose nukes csmonitor.com Peter Grier Staff writer--> from the December 05, 2001 edition PICKETING FOR SAFETY: Russian nuclear energy workers demand unpaid wages and increased plant funding at a 1997 protest. MISHA JAPARIDZE/AP/FILE Enough nuclear material is missing worldwide to make a 'dirty' bomb. Where is it? What is being done to prevent its use by terrorists? By Peter Grier | Staff writer Jamal Ahmad Al-Fadl said his role in the prospective purchase of nuclear material began with a call from a senior Al Qaeda official. A man in Khartoum, Sudan, supposedly had uranium for sale. At the time, Mr. al-Fadl was an operative in Al Qaeda's terrorist army. His job: Check out the deal. So in late 1993 or early 1994, he met with the first contact, then another, and then another, like a job applicant passing through corporate departments. Along the way, he noticed that at least one of them appeared to have been high in the Sudanese government at some point. Finally, one morning al-Fadl drove with two men to a house north of the city. They disappeared for a moment, and then came back with a large bag, from which they pulled a cylinder two or three feet tall. They handed him a piece of paper covered with English words al-Fadl couldn't read. He recognized one phrase: "South Africa." The demonstration phase of the sales pitch over, al-Fadl and his contacts returned to Khartoum in their jeep. He took the paper to an Al Qaeda boss. Osama bin Laden's operatives were impressed, or at least satisfied. They told Al-Fadl to pass the word that they would pay the cylinder's $1.5 million asking price. Then they gave him $10,000 and took over the deal themselves. "You did great job, we going to check it, and everything be fine," Al-Fadl said he was told. This story of nuclear shopping was offered as an aside by Al-Fadl during his testimony earlier this year in the trial of Al Qaeda associates accused of bombing US embassies in East Africa in 1998. Is it a tall tale? Maybe. Al-Fadl, a self-described Al Qaeda turncoat, is far from an unimpeachable source. Al-Fadl also said he didn't know whether this transaction ever went through. The "uranium" in the cylinder might have been a worthless prop in a radiological scam. But its details ring true to many nuclear experts. And the larger point is indisputable: The shadow army of terrorism, the force responsible for the deadliest day on American soil since Antietam, is trying, methodically, patiently, to acquire the most powerful weapon known to man. The US and its allies have known that intellectually for a long time. But after seeing jetliners turned into cruise missiles, perhaps the West better understands what that really means. Among Sept. 11's effects may be a phase-shift in imaginations. Few can doubt that if Mohammad Atta had access to a nuclear bomb, he would have used it. Once throw-weights and basing modes and other aspects of strategic weaponry were the crucial issues of US nuclear security. Now patching the holes in Russia's makeshift fissile material protections may be more important. Does bin Laden have the bomb? Is Iraq enriching uranium? How secure are Pakistan's nukes? "And so we find ourselves, at the dawn of the new century, in a new arms race," said former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia in a recent speech. "Terrorists are racing to get weapons of mass destruction. We ought to be racing to stop them." New terrorists, new lapses The old expert consensus used to be that terrorist groups were not terribly serious about getting nuclear weapons. They might try chemical or biological attack, but not nukes: They are highly dangerous, extremely expensive, and difficult to acquire. And their horror would overwhelm the essentially political nature of terrorist acts. Through history, most terrorists have wanted to maximize publicity - not casualties. That judgment had already begun to change before the events of this fall. The rise of a new generation of terrorists, their goals unclear, their commitment total, their address unknown, saw to that. A state such as Iraq is dangerous enough. But at least the US has some understanding of its weapons programs. A nation has assets and infrastructure that presumably even a leader such as Saddam Hussein might be loath to expose to US retaliatory attack. Al Qaeda and its ilk are different. "The problem is, we can't target them like states," says Kimberly McCloud, a researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies. Then add new opportunity to this equation. It's possible that South Africa could be the source of weapons material. Pakistan might be a proliferation danger, too, considering it is a nuclear-capable state with long-standing Taliban ties. But it is Russia and the former republics of the Soviet Union that are the "Home Depot" of fissile material, in the words of one expert. The collapse of the Soviet Union threw its nuclear programs into a chaos from which they have yet to completely recover. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the closed cities where the USSR's nuclear weapons were produced changed from islands of prosperity to sinkholes of poverty. The human misery this created - especially in the early years - led some scientists to attempt desperate actions. In 1992, a large group of ballistic-missile experts from the closed city of Miass tried to reach North Korea, apparently to work in Pyongyang's intercontinental-ballistic-missile projects. Authorities caught them as they sat in a plane at Moscow's Sheremetievo-2 airport, waiting to take off. Russian authorities insist that their estimated 30,000 actual nuclear warheads have remained under adequate control at all times. But the same cannot be said for its military and civilian fissile material. Over decades, the Soviet Union produced enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium to produce some 70,000 nuclear weapons. This was scattered at perhaps 100 sites throughout the territory of the former USSR. In the early '90s, some research sites were protected by nothing but padlocks and weeds. Dedicated scientists at times had to improvise defenses. When civil war broke out in the former republic of Georgia in 1992, scientists at one institute in Tbilisi took turns guarding 10 kilograms of weapons-grade HEU with sticks and garden rakes. Much of this material was later moved to Britain for safekeeping. A cache of similar uranium elsewhere in the former republic met a different fate. In 1993, scientists at the Sukhumi research center in the Abkhazia region of Georgia piled cinder blocks around a building containing 2 kilograms of HEU, and fled oncoming fighting. A Russian team entered the abandoned building four years later, and found the material gone. The Abkhazia affair remains the only confirmed case of missing weapons-grade fissile material in the world. To this day, no one knows where this HEU is. "It may be in the hands of the Abkhaz separatists, or it may have been stolen by or sold to others," says Matthew Bunn, of Harvard's Project on Managing the Atom. Overall, there have been 14 confirmed, significant cases of trafficking in fissile material from the former Soviet Union, according to the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The good news is that most of the cases date to the early and mid-'90s, before Russia stabilized and a US effort to help guard its material took off. The bad news is that there may be more significant cases the world doesn't know about. Most of the confirmed incidents took place in Europe or what used to be the western USSR. Yet a glance at a map shows that southern Russia, and the former republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc., are the logical place for a Middle Eastern group such as Al Qaeda to go nuke shopping. The US has been involved in cooperative programs with Russia to control its loose nuclear weapons and material for years. Since 1991, US money has paid for the deactivation of more than 5,000 Russian nuclear warheads. It has provided security equipment for dozens of facilities, helped construct a secure storage facility for fissile material, and paid for science and technology centers intended to provide ex-weapons scientists the means to work on civilian research. "These programs have made tremendous progress," notes Jon Wolfsthal, an associate But much more may need to be done. Almost half of Russia's fissile material is stored in facilities that have not received US-funded protection upgrades. Russia continues to add to its stockpile of plutonium - not for military purposes, but because the reactors that produce the material also produce desperately needed electricity. Earlier this year, a Department of Energy advisory group headed by former US Sen. Howard Baker and former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler surveyed the US effort - and found it wanting. The programs need a broader mandate, and they need more money, concluded the group. "The most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable material in Russia could be stolen or sold to terrorists or hostile nation-states," concluded the Baker/Cutler study. That was written before Sept. 11. Al Qaeda and the black market There is one point about Al Qaeda's nuclear program on which most experts agree: It does not yet have an actual atomic weapon. If it did, the chances are it would have exploded by now. It's less certain whether the group has any radioactive material at all. Al Qaeda has been a player in fissile-material markets for years, according to intelligence reports. In the early '90s, it allegedly scoured Kazakhstan for USSR-era material, in the belief that the high percentage of Muslims in this former Soviet republic might open doors. Apparently, the group came up empty. Since then, Al Qaeda may have been snared by its share of scams. They were dealing, after all, in a back alley of world commerce that makes drug-dealing look both honest and inexpensive. At least once, Al Qaeda operatives have been offered low-grade uranium reactor fuel unsuitable for weapons use without further enrichment. Along with other potential buyers, Al Qaeda also may have fallen for the widespread "red mercury" fraud. Clever criminals pitch this element as a crucial component of the Soviet weapons program. "In the case of Al Qaida, the 'red mercury' turned out to be radioactive rubbish," concluded Gavin Cameron, a professor of politics at Britain's University of Salford, in a paper on terrorist nuclear-proliferation activities. Al Qaeda may have been gullible, but at least the group was subtle. Contrast their approach with that of the apocalyptic Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo, whose members were responsible for the release of sarin nerve gas in five Tokyo subway trains on March 20, 1995. In the early 1990s, Aum actively recruited adherents from Russia's nuclear design facilities, as well as student physicists from Moscow State University. It purchased property in Australia from which it planned to mine natural uranium for enrichment - an arduous task beyond the resources of most nations. In 1993, Aum representatives sought a meeting with then-Russian Energy Minister Viktor Mikhailov for the express purpose of discussing the purchase of a nuclear warhead. (The meeting was denied.) But Al Qaeda's and Aum Shinrikyo's nuclear dealings share at least two similarities that experts find worrisome. One is ample funding. At the height of its influence, Aum had an estimated net worth of $1 billion, obtained largely from co-opting the assets of its members. Al Qaeda's operations have bin Laden's personal fortune - inherited from his construction-magnate father - as seed funds. The second similarity is persistence. Following Aum's path, Al Qaeda has apparently mounted a multinational, many-leveled effort to enter the nuclear club. In recent years, there has been a steady trickle of reports from experts in Europe and the Middle East who say they have been contacted by bin Laden associates and asked for help obtaining fissile material. Last year, a Bulgarian businessman said he had met bin Laden himself, and had been offered a role in a complex deal to transship nuclear waste to Afghanistan via Bulgaria. This month, Gul Nazir, head of organic chemistry at Kabul University, said he had turned down offers from Taliban delegations to provide substances that could be used to help make chemical weapons and mine uranium. Then there's the curious case of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. An architect of Pakistan's nuclear program, he has traveled back and forth between Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent years, allegedly to advise the Taliban on the construction of food-processing plants. At least one expert believes a radiological attack of a sort was part of Al Qaeda's original plan for Sept. 11. In a speech delivered to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in early November, Mr. Cameron of the University of Salford said that it is likely that the target of the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 was a US nuclear facility. The hijackers' intentions are essentially unknowable, he admits, because they were stormed by heroic passengers, leading to the plane's crash in rural Pennsylvania. But the plane made a sharp turn near the Pittsburgh area, and rapidly lost height, before the passengers acted. Combined with unspecific FBI warnings about threats to power plants, this evidence may point to the terrorists' intended destination. "It now appears that one of three nuclear reactors in southern Pennsylvania - Three Mile Island, Peach Bottom, or Hope Creek, Salem - may have been the real target," Cameron told the IAEA. When scientists conspire On Dec. 18, 1998, an official of Russia's successor agency to the KGB, the Federal Security Service (FSB), said that agents under his command had broken up a conspiracy by employees of a major nuclear facility in the Chelyabinsk region to steal 18.5 kilograms of weapons-usable material. If it had gone through, the theft would have caused "significant damage to the [Russian] state," local media quoted FSB Maj. Gen. Valeriy Tretyakov as saying. In the US, experts reeled. Chelyabinsk is home to some of Russia's most important nuclear facilities, including a nuclear-weapons assembly and disassembly plant at Trekhgorny, and a weapons-design lab at Snezhinsk. If a group of insiders at one of these sensitive sites had decided to steal fissile material - well, that would be a highly serious matter. Furthermore, the material involved was apparently not some useless radioactive slurry. It was weapons-usable - meaning 18.5 kilograms might be enough to make an entire nuclear weapon. This incident is not included on most lists of the most important nuclear trafficking incidents, for the simple reason that it was quashed in its initial phases. But it remains one of the most troubling apparent cases of attempted proliferation of all - because it matches almost exactly the US nightmare scenario for a fissile-material theft. It wasn't ancient history. It occurred in 1998, after many facilities in the region had received US money for protection upgrades. It involved lots of stuff. And it involved a conspiracy of the knowledgeable. "Multiple insiders are the hardest thing for any security system to address," says Mr. Bunn of the Managing the Atom project. Consider the ramifications. Russia has a "three-man rule" in regard to its nuclear weapons. Individuals are forbidden from working alone on warheads, as are twosomes. But if two scientists are in cahoots, they might be able to overpower the third. To guard against this, security might have to institute a four-man, or even five-man rule. Perimeter guards might need to be doubled. The cost and complexity of protection systems escalates exponentially. And what would be the genesis of such a conspiracy? Perhaps a group of disillusioned scientists or guards would try such a thing on their own, but that may be unlikely, given the difficulties of marketing the stuff. It's more likely that such a theft might come in response to an enticing overture. Such as Saddam Hussein, perhaps, offering enough money for everyone in the group to buy a South Seas island. "What I worry about is state intelligence agencies contacting these people," says Scott Parrish, an analyst at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute. If the Chelyabinsk conspiracy is the No. 1 worrisome incidence of potential trafficking in nuclear material, the Prague seizure might be judged No. 2. In December 1994, an anonymous tip led Czech police to a marked car. In it, they found 2.7 kilograms of HEU enriched to 87.7 percent. The amount and purity of the recovered material was highly troubling. Worse, in two instances in 1995, Czech authorities recovered small amounts of additional HEU that appeared to be from the same source. This suggests that there is a stock of weapons-grade HEU out there, of unknown quantity, in unknown hands. New worries about so-called "dirty bombs," conventional explosives used to spread deadly radioactive material over a wide area, are also making some incidents of trafficking seem important in retrospect. Earlier this year, for instance, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported the seizure of 5 kilograms of cesium 137 from Chechen rebels, who were allegedly loading the material into mortar shells. Most experts do not consider this incident confirmed, but the Chechens have threatened to use radiological material before. And cesium 137 is nasty stuff. Its radiation was the cause of many of the fatalities associated with the Soviet-era explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. In fact, once worries about dirty bombs multiply, the potential sources of dangerous material rapidly multiply as well. Radioactive material is used in many medical and industrial applications. Eastern Europe and the nations of the former Soviet Union even used trace amounts of plutonium in smoke detectors. "I used to joke that if Saddam Hussein placed an order in Russia for 500 million smoke detectors, we should get worried," says Dr. Parrish of the Monterey Institute. What the U.S. is doing Preventing a nuclear terrorist attack on the US will require a comprehensive effort far into the future, say US officials. It will be one part - arguably the most important part - of the overall commitment to homeland defense. More narrowly, it may necessitate redoubled cooperation with the most likely source of loose nukes in the world: Russia. Warming relations between President Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, today offer a window of opportunity for such an intensification, say its advocates. There is a decent foundation of mutual effort to build on. Initiated by Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana and former Sen. Sam Nunn (D) of Georgia in 1991, the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program has grown into a $1 billion-plus effort overseen on the US side by the Departments of Energy, State, and Defense. "These programs have achieved impressive results for a relatively minor investment," says Stephen LaMontagne, a nuclear analyst at the Council for a Livable World Education Fund. CTR funds pay for the destruction and dismantling of Russian ballistic missiles and submarines, for instance. Last year, $57 million of US funds went toward completion of the first wing of the Mayak Fissile Material Storage Facility, which will ultimately have the capacity to protect 6,250 dismantled warheads. The Department of Energy's Material Protection, Control, and Accounting program has so far improved physical security at 13 Russian Navy nuclear sites and 24 civilian nuclear installations. But there are some 58 more Russian nuclear sites that need security upgrades, according to DOE figures. A program to blend HEU down into less dangerous civilian reactor fuel is moving slowly. Efforts to replace three Russian nuclear reactors that produce both desperately needed energy and plutonium have stalled in a swirl of politics. And the Bush administration, in its first crack at drawing up a national-security budget, has slashed the funding of much of the non-proliferation effort. Bush's budget took $100 million out of the Department of Energy's side of the effort, alone. The needs, according to the Secretary of Energy's advisory board task force headed by Mr. Baker and Mr. Cutler, include: a real strategic plan; a high-level position within the White House devoted to the issue, perhaps within the National Security Council; more money, and more urgency. Concludes the report: "There is a clear and present danger to the international community as well as to American lives and liberties." LILIAN AKWISOMBE - STAFF For further information: • Combatting Nuclear Terrorism [http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Focus/Nuclear_Terrorism/] International Atomic Energy Agency (U.N.) • Reducing the Threat of Nuclear Theft and Sabotage [http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/BCSIA/Library.nsf/pubs/nucleartheft] • Center for Defense Information [http://www.cdi.org/] • A Guide to Nuclear Weapons [http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/] FAS • Nuclear Control Institute [http://www.nci.org/index.htm] • Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [http://www.ceip.org/files/nonprolif/weapons/weapon.asp?ID=3&weapon=nuclear ] Please Note: The Monitor does not endorse the sites behind these links. We offer them for your additional research. Following these links will open a new browser window. Copyright © 2001 The Christian Science Monitor. ***************************************************************** 26 Dispute with S.C. means Colo. plutonium stays put Augusta Georgia: Technology: Web posted Wednesday, December 5, 2001 By Berny Morson Scripps Howard News Service DENVER - The Energy Department is looking at alternatives to sending Rocky Flats plutonium from the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant to South Carolina as a dispute continues with the governor of that state. South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges will allow the plutonium to be stored at the Department of Energy's Savannah River site temporarily if the agency has a plan to eventually remove it. He has been threatening to lie down in front of the trucks unless that condition is met. Sending the plutonium to South Carolina is a key step in meeting a Dec. 15, 2006, target date to close Rocky Flats. The Energy Department had plans to either convert the highly radioactive material to reactor fuel or to immobilize it in molten glass. But those procedures have not been funded by Congress. Discussion of an alternative to South Carolina has been going on at least since September. Reference to an alternative appears in a Sept. 19 letter by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The letter, which was posted at the Energy Department's Web site, says some material could go to "an alternative site pending future use or disposition." Joe Davis, Abraham's spokesman, said an alternative for the pure plutonium hasn't been chosen. Some diluted stocks could go to the burial site near Carlsbad, N.M., where other Rocky Flats waste is going, he said. Rocky Flats workers are packing the plutonium in special containers for shipment, said Nancy Tuor, a vice president of Kaiser-Hill Co., the firm conducting the Rocky Flats cleanup. Plans call for the plutonium to be out of Rocky Flats by the end of 2002. But in addition to the dispute with Hodges, the shipments have been put on hold while the Energy Department studies how putting the plutonium in storage will affect discussions with Russia about nuclear-weapons reductions. A report to the National Security Council will be completed by the end of the year. AugustaChronicle.com ***************************************************************** 27 More realistic threat: radioactive Osama The Indian Express : Top Stories Wednesday, December 05, 2001 Intelligence that Al-Qaeda may have bomb that spreads radioactive material BOB WOODWARD & ROBERT KAISER WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 4: US intelligence agencies recently concluded that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network may have made greater strides than previously thought toward obtaining plans or materials to make a crude radiological weapon that would use conventional explosives to spread radioactivity over a wide area, according to US and foreign sources. Some of the conclusions come from interrogations of captured al Qaeda members or associates. Some come from evidence gathered in the past month on the ground in Afghanistan by CIA officers and US Special Forces. Recent US intelligence reports describe a meeting in the past year in which Osama was present, when one of his associates produced a canister that allegedly contained radioactive material. The associate waved the canister in the air as proof of al Qaeda’s progress in trying to build a nuclear device. The US last month asked a few key allies to assist in determining whether the associate may have entered their countries, perhaps with radioactive material. US intelligence agencies are looking not only for evidence that terrorists could be assembling a radiological bomb but also for any sign that al Qaeda could be trying to make a very crude and small atomic or fission bomb. A radiological bomb, also known as a ‘‘dirty bomb,’’ could be made by taking highly radioactive material and wrapping it around readily available l high explosives. The device is designed to kill by creating a zone of intense radiation extending several city blocks. (LA Times-Washington Post) © 2001: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. All ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************