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NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
1 US energy facilities vulnerable to attack - report
2 FAA to lift ban on general aviation near Zion plant
3 Questions surround Limerick plant
4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reprimands Exelon Generation in
5 1st intergov'tal confab on nuke fusion plant to open Thurs.
6 South Korea to create nuclear no-fly
7 CBS News | Nuclear Terror? |
8 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reprimands Exelon Generation in Pennsylvania
9 Court order sought to halt N-plant project
10 Taking Scientists Out of Nuclear Equation
11 NRC STAFF PROPOSES $3,000 FINE AGAINST PALMERTON &PARRISH, INC.
12 No stopping polluters, report says
13 Modifications proposed to Tri-Party Agreement
14 Report Underscores Major Energy Security Concerns
15 Audit Finds Imprecise Nuclear Records
16 Hearing of Sellafield action 'in months'
17 Palo Verde Unit 3 Completes Ninth Refueling
18 Nuke panel adopts tougher Yucca licensing regulations
19 Berkley wants D.C. bar to probe Yucca lawyers
20 Report Finds 'Weakness' In Nuclear Controls
21 Pickering A nuclear reactor to be reactivated after four years
22 Hewitt 'baffled' by nuclear power expansion reports
23 Lawyers for anti-nuclear activists seek trial postponement
24 Text: IAEA on Threat of Nuclear Terrorism
25 Letter from Gov. Guinn to Sen. Reid, re: report entitled,
26 - Hope Creek's Tenth Refueling Outage Best Outage Ever
27 Austrian minister: Stopping Czech nuclear plant no longer
28 Decision due on radioactive discharges
29 Tree Coring is Cheaper, Quicker Method to Measure Radiation
30 Sellafield, terrorism and us
31 Senator and film crew 'barred from nuclear plant'
32 International experts inspect Russian nuclear power station
NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS
1 Netanyahu: Terrorists Will Nuke New York
2 Nuclear terror a genuine threat - Bush
3 Bush warns of nuclear terror
4 TEST SITE RADIOACTIVITY: Berkley requests cleanup
5 Annan To Preside Over Start Of Meeting On Nuclear Test Ban Accord
6 Bush Says Al Qaeda Seeking Nuclear Weapons
7 Letter to DOE over NTS groundwater conditions
8 Six cruise missiles to be unloaded from Kursk later
9 Israel Moves Closer to Admitting Nuclear Option
10 Slight gain in cleanup funds for Oak Ridge
11 Open campus would not decrease security at ORNL
12 Nuclear expert's Taliban link cited
13 US nightmare: broken arrow from Pak N-arsenal
14 View: Rep. Wamp delivers on promised cleanup funding for Oak
15 Admiral with odd testimony
16 Russia, India urge nuclear states to join universal disarmament
17 Russia to renew nuclear submarine fleet in 2002
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NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
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1 US energy facilities vulnerable to attack - report
Planet Ark Environmental News:
USA: November 6, 2001
WASHINGTON - From the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to the Golden Gate
Bridge and Boston Harbor, there is no shortage of energy-related
facilities vulnerable to attack, according to a report sent
yesterday to Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge.
"America's energy infrastructure is, as a whole, highly
vulnerable to ... terrorist threat," the Texas law firm Bracewell
& Patterson said in a 42-page analysis on the nation's energy
infrastructure. The report underscores the Herculean task before
federal agencies in guarding the nation's energy installations,
including nuclear reactors, oil and natural gas pipelines, and
maritime tanker facilities.
It reads like a potential laundry list of targets for saboteurs,
and includes the massive pipeline that moves Alaskan oil, the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Panama Canal.
Marc Racicot, a partner in the firm and the former governor of
Montana, sent the report to Ridge yesterday, and was set to brief
Energy Department officials. The firm represents many energy
firms, but said its report was done "independent of client
advice."
REGULATORY ROLLBACKS EYED
Private companies can't go it alone in the security effort, and
need federal help in the form of tax incentives, low-interest
financing and regulatory relief, the report said.
"No private sector company has the wherewithal to defeat a
terrorist threat on the order of a hijacked airplane turned
missile or a weapon of mass destruction," it said.
On the regulatory front, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Energy Department and Interior Department should cut red
tape for firms that want to upgrade security, said report
co-author Rob Housman, Bracewell Patterson lawyer.
Such roll-back requests are not new. Energy firms for years have
clamored for relaxation of guidelines imposed by EPA and other
agencies which they view as too costly and burdensome. Those
requests have gained a fresh urgency after the Sept. 11 aerial
attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.
Regulatory changes, which would require legislative approval,
should include relaxing EPA rules that require power plant and
refineries to add expensive pollution controls when updating
their facilities, the report said.
SPOTLIGHT ON NUCLEAR SECURITY
Security of the nation's 103 nuclear plants has been in the
spotlight since the Sept. 11 attacks, because the facilities
"present obvious potential for a terrorist attack of immense
magnitude," the report said.
Over 280,000 people live within a 10-mile radius of the Indian
Point 2 plant in New York, and radiation released in an attack
there could reach New York City, it warned.
National Guard fighter jets scrambled after the Sept. 11 attacks
to guard airspace over the plant. But since then, security has
fallen to "pre (Sept. 11) normalcy, if not outright complacency,"
the report said.
The report urged the U.S. Department of Defense to cooperate with
state governors to create specially trained National Guard units
to counter nuclear plant threats.
Results from mock-attack exercises organized by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission are not encouraging, the report said. Some
27 of 57 tests conducted between 1991 and 1998 allowed breaches
big enough to damage the reactor core and release radioactive
materials into the air, the report said.
On the cyber front, the report urged the government to crack down
on information on nuclear waste shipment logistics available on
the Internet.
The NRC on Oct. 11 halted Internet postings of market-sensitive
plant status reports citing concerns terror groups might try to
use the data to plan attacks.
Some U.S traders have expressed concern that without the
information report, the electricity market may be liable to
rumors and price manipulation.
MARITIME ATTACK A PRESSING CONCERN
Maritime port security is also a pressing security concern,
Housman said. The report recommended more U.S. Coast Guard
officers to guard ports with fast, heavily armed ships.
Meanwhile, over 750 oil-laden tankers pass beneath San
Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge each year, giving "ample targets
for a terrorist seeking to do harm," the report said.
A repeat on U.S. shores of the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the USS
Cole in Aden, Yemen, could have "devastating consequences," it
said, including environmental damage and disruption of shipping
routes. Vulnerable seaports are the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the
Panama Canal, Great Lakes shipping channels and Boston Harbor's
Distrigas facility for offloading liquefied natural gas.
The U.S. Coast Guard fleet "is limited in number, antiquated and
lacks the technology required to effectively protect shipping ...
against terrorism," the report said.
Housman said he did not think the security analysis presented a
laundry list of attack targets. "Do we bury our heads and pretend
that the threat isn't there ... or do we act to do something
about it?" he said.
Story by Chris Baltimore
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
*****************************************************************
2 FAA to lift ban on general aviation near Zion plant
Chicago Tribune |
November 6, 2001
By John Flink
Special to the Tribune
Published November 6, 2001
General aviation flights are scheduled to resume late Tuesday at
Waukegan Regional Airport when the Federal Aviation
Administration lifts a ban on flyovers near the closed nuclear
power plant at Zion.
Commercial and charter flights were not affected by the ban,
which was issued last week and drew criticism after two flight
schools and more than a dozen corporate customers were forced to
move their fleets to other airports, mostly in Wisconsin.
"The FAA hasn't imposed this restriction or any other
restrictions since Sept. 11 haphazardly, or even on its own
initiative," FAA spokesman William Schumann said Monday. "These
restrictions have been in the interest of national security."
The non-profit Stick and Rudder Flying Club, which offers
lessons and plane rentals to members, shifted its fleet, which
has 18 planes, to Sylvania Airport in Sturtevant, Wis., said
Chuck Henkel, the club's chief mechanic.
The flight ban has exacerbated the financial hit the club
took after the Sept. 11 attacks when the FAA restricted small
aircraft flights for nearly two weeks, Henkel said.
"We created a special fee that our members will have to pay
in addition to their regular dues just to keep us going," he
said. "It's the `in-case-the-FAA-shuts-us-down-again fee,' as I
call it."
The Waukegan airport was closed Friday because of an FAA
order that prohibited general aviation except emergency-related
flights within a 10-mile radius of the deactivated power plant at
nearby Zion.
Earlier last week, the FAA issued a weeklong flight ban
over 86 nuclear sites.
Restrictions prohibiting private aircraft from operating
near the plants have affected about 460 airports nationwide, said
Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman for the FAA's Great Lakes
region office in Des Plaines.
The Zion plant--located about 120 yards from Lake
Michigan--produced nuclear waste from two reactors for more than
20 years before it was shut down in 1998. More than 1,100 tons of
spent nuclear fuel are stored there.
Waukegan Wings, which also operates a commercial flight
school at the Waukegan airport, moved five planes to Kenosha
Airport to stay in business. Not all of the runways at that
airport can be used, however, because part of the property is
within 10 miles of the Zion plant.
DB Aviation, a charter company and the largest business
based at Waukegan airport, has seen its charter business grow by
more than 30 percent since Sept. 11, said company President David
Brittsan.
But that only puts the company back where it was a year
ago, before a slowing economy drove customers away, he said.
And DB Aviation's fuel sales are down about 80 percent. An
important part of the company's mix of services, demand dried up
when the corporate fleets based in DB Aviation-owned hangars
moved to other airports.
"We all support the logic behind the FAA's decision, but
it's very frustrating," Brittsan said. "But to suggest that these
private aircraft aren't as safe as charter aircraft doesn't make
sense."
Copyright © 2001, Chicago Tribune
*****************************************************************
3 Questions surround Limerick plant
The Times Herald
Tuesday 6 November, 2001
By JOHN GENTZEL, For The Times Herald
LIMERICK -- Officials say that a nuclear power
plant's containment buildings are designed to withstand direct
hits from tornadoes, hurricanes -- or even a 707 jetliner -- but
what about an attack from something much larger? Yes, the
building that contains the facility's nuclear reactors is
ensconced in reinforced steel and cement, but what if an aircraft
- say something like the 757s that toppled the World Trade Center
buildings in New York - were to slam into a facility similar to
the one in Limerick with a full tank of fuel and explode?
The results could be cataclysmic.
There would be no nuclear explosion and accompanying
mushroom cloud (the uranium used to create bombs similar to the
ones that destroyed parts of Japan during World War II was more
pure than what is used to generate electricity in a nuclear power
plant).
A very real scenario, however, would be the massive
escape of radioactive material into the air - similar to what
happened in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the
Ukraine.
It would have to be an explosion of monumental
proportions to trigger the release of Chernobyl-type radiation
levels, as nuclear plants' containment buildings are "some of the
strongest, sturdiest structures in the world," according to
Exelon Energy spokesman Ralph DeSantis. Exelon Nuclear operates
many nuclear plants, including the one off Sanatoga Road in
Limerick.
Security measures are in place essentially limiting
all unauthorized access by land to many of the facilities,
including Exelon's Limerick and Three Mile Island nuclear plants.
At Limerick, long windy roads, multiple checkpoints
and miles of fencing keep any unauthorized vehicles at bay, while
a river - and accompanying security measures - help to keep the
peace at Three Mile Island, which is located just outside of
Harrisburg.
On site, highly trained and heavily armed security
personnel patrol the plants, while licensed monitors keep track
of the facility's reaction process to ensure things run smoothly.
There are redundant backup systems in place to support
practically every accident or situation imaginable, DeSantis
said.
Unfortunately, nuclear facilities were not designed
with "acts of war" in mind, DeSantis conceded.
The unimaginable is here
Since the Sept. 11 tragedies that spurred thoughts of
the previously unimaginable, new procedures and precautions -
many of them secretive - have been implemented by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, the federal agency in charge of monitoring
the county's nuclear facilities, DeSantis explained.
Increased security details have been dispatched,
nearby military bases provide support from the air, small
aircraft flight near nuclear plants has been curtailed and public
access to the facilities has been limited even further.
But it's impossible to prevent all situations.
Chernobyl by comparison
A terrorist-guided airplane, full of fuel, will
generate an explosion regardless of the reactor's design
resulting in something similar to the intense fires that burned
for days at Chernobyl, where emergency personnel helplessly
watched radioactive materials seep away into the Russian
countryside.
Site of the world's worst nuclear accident to date,
the Chernobyl meltdown killed more than 30 people, caused
countless illnesses (reports of thyroid cancer are still rolling
in) and essentially turned the land in more than a 100-mile
radius surrounding the facility into an uninhabitable wasteland,
as it remains today.
The Chernobyl facility was designed differently than
the more sophisticated reactors found in the United States, and
the meltdown arose primarily from system flaws now accounted for
in nuclear plants.
And to add to the concern, the plant's reactors are
not the only dangerous targets in a nuclear plant.
Since the first one became operational, spent fuel -
rods containing the uranium used in the reaction process - is
kept on site. This is done primarily because there is no better
place available yet (the federal government is in the final
stages of testing and examining a Nevada mountain range as a
location for the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel) to
store the waste material.
At nuclear facilities, spent fuel rods are usually
kept at the bottom of large holding tanks, or pools of water.
Roughly 30-feet deep, the water serves to both control the heat
generated by the rods and limit the amount of radiation escaping
into the air.
If the water were to be drained from the pools for
any given reason, the rods could overheat, triggering a massive
release of radiation. Unlike the reactor building, the holding
tanks are much smaller targets, and unlikely to be struck
directly in the event of an attack,
How much is too much radiation?
Nearly every day, humans come in contact with
radiation.
Whether it's flying (which brings people closer to
dangerous atmospheric radiation levels), living in different
types of housing structures (stone, brick and adobe have natural
radioisotopes in them), smoking (the tobacco leafs are highly
absorbent, collecting airborne isotopes of radon, for example),
or sleeping next to someone overnight (exposure comes from the
naturally radioactive potassium in the other person's body),
there is plenty of radiation to be absorbed.
Annually, a person absorbs approximately 360 mrem (a
mrem is a measure of radioactivity; 1 mrem is estimated to
increase one's risk of dying from cancer by about 1 in 4 million)
of radiation. The federal government establishes 5,000 mrem per
year as the legal limit for radiation exposure for nuclear plant
workers.
Looking only at acute doses, those received in a
short amount of time, the biological effects of radiation begin
to show at exposure to 10,000 to 25,000 mrem, with
life-threatening doses starting at 100,000 mrem and above.
The radiation is dangerous as acute doses at high
levels can damage tissues and cells to the point where
regeneration is all but impossible. At Chernobyl, enough
radiation escaped into the air to kill people shortly after the
accident and cause thousands of problems with cancer in the days,
months and years that followed.
If Chernobyl levels of radiation seep into the air,
all the security procedures, safety precautions and secretive
measures in the world could not prevent the cataclysmic changes
to our community and way of life.
John Gentzel's e-mail address is
jgentzel@pottsmerc.com. ©The Times Herald 2001
*****************************************************************
4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reprimands Exelon Generation in
Pennsylvania
Sean Adkins , York Daily Record, Pa.
Knight Ridder/Tribune ( November 06, 2001 )
Nov. 6--Exelon Generation Co. has received a black mark on its
permanent record from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the
company will not be required to pay a $55,000 civil penalty.
In a letter to Exelon released on Oct. 23, the NRC stated that
the company was responsible for violations regarding falsified
siren maintenance records for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station
and Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County.
"It will be a black mark on their record that will be taken into
consideration if a similar violation occurs," said Neil Sheehan,
spokesman for NRC.
"But no fine will be assessed because of the actions taken by the
company soon after the problem."
Residents who live close to the plants rely on the sirens to
alert them to nuclear-related emergencies.
On Oct. 1, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that the
company had violated the public's safety after two former Exelon
Infrastructure Services maintenance technicians did not complete
required steps in checklist reports.
A September 2000 NRC investigation determined that between
November 1999 and September 2000 the two contracted technicians
performed inadequate siren tests while claiming that all
activities on the siren maintenance checklists were properly
done, Sheehan said. One of the technicians admitted to installing
jumper wires in nearly 10 of the siren boxes surrounding both
plants. The jumper wires worked to give false signals that the
boxes were functioning properly.
The company reacted to the problem by firing the contracted
workers, notifying the NRC and taking corrective measures to fix
the problem, Sheehan said.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station and Limerick Generating Station
will not be subject to increased inspections, Sheehan said. Since
the investigation, Exelon has repaired the siren boxes and
initiated a rigorous program for the hiring of contractors, said
Ralph DeSantis, spokesman for the company.
The company has instituted a program that requires additional
testing and monitoring of siren boxes that surround both plants.
"We are pleased the NRC recognized our quick actions in
addressing the situation," he said. "But, we are disappointed
that it happened at all."
----- To see more of the York Daily Record, or to subscribe to
the newspaper, go to http://www.ydr.com
(c) 2001, York Daily Record, Pa. Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Business News.
*****************************************************************
5 1st intergov'tal confab on nuke fusion plant to open Thurs.
KYODO NEWS
TOKYO, Nov. 6, Kyodo - The first international conference on a
planned experimental nuclear fusion plant will open Thursday in
Toronto, Canada, about a month after it was originally scheduled
to be held, Japanese government officials said Tuesday.
The conference on the International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor (ITER) project was postponed following the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks in the United States.
Government officials from Japan, Russia, Canada and the European
Union (EU) will take part in the two-day confab to discuss the
framework of an international accord to build and operate the
planned fusion plant, the officials said.
Engineering schematics for the plant's design were completed in
July.
Participating countries aim to reach a conclusion by next year as
to where the plant should be built and how the construction costs
should be divided, the officials said.
The reactor will generate electricity through nuclear fusion,
using a method similar to how the sun generates energy. Japan,
Russia, Canada, Kazakstan and EU countries are members of the
project to jointly develop the reactor.
Canada has announced its proposal for hosting the ITER plant,
while Japan is in the process of choosing a site.
A group of experts at Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology have named the village of Rokkasho
in Aomori Prefecture and the town of Naka in Ibaraki Prefecture
as candidate sites.
Among EU members, France is widely expected to put in a bid to
host the plant, but countries in the region have not yet decided
how to share the costs for the facility among themselves, the
officials said.
Participants will not discuss selection of a host site at the
Toronto conference, but will instead talk about how to proceed
with the project, they said.
2001 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945.
*****************************************************************
6 South Korea to create nuclear no-fly
online.ie : News: World News
online.ie 06 Nov 2001
South Korea is to ban planes from flying over its nuclear power
plants and increase its military presence at and around them to
prevent potential terrorism.
A Government committee, chaired by prime minister Lee Han-dong,
also decided to spend 2.3 bn won (£1.1m) next year on working out
measures to cope with biochemical terrorist attacks.
The new measures include the imposition of no-fly zones over 20
nuclear power plants either in operation or under construction in
South Korea.
*****************************************************************
7 CBS News | Nuclear Terror? |
Mon, 05 Nov 2001 19:35:12 EST
CBS News |
Explore the world's nuclear weapons powers, how the National
Missile Defense system would work and a history of the age of
nuclear weapons.
The terror attacks in the U.S. and air strikes on Afghanistan
have forced the nation to toughen its national security. Find out
what actions are being taken to protect our nation in the air,
water and on land.
"I know from intelligence information that he (bin Laden) has
obtained several devices from former Soviet Union, technical
nuclear devices."
Stanislav Lunev former Soviet military intelligence officer
+ A chronology of nuclear weapons
[http://www.ask.ne.jp/~hankaku/english/chronotbl.html]
AP
(CBS) U.S. Customs agents have something fairly new in the fight
against nuclear terrorism: hidden radiation detectors that go off
if anyone tried to smuggle in any radioactive material. But if
some of America's one-time enemies are correct, the threat may
already be here.
"Unfortunately, some of these devices are still located on
American soil," said Stanislav Lunev.
Lunev is a former Soviet military intelligence officer, a
defector who's now in the federal witness protection program. He
claims that before the Cold War ended a decade ago, Soviet agents
planted so-called "suitcase nuclear bombs" in the United States
and other Western countries — nuclear bombs that could be
triggered if war broke out.
"They were designed to destroy extremely highly protected
American targets," he said.
Lunev, his identity protected, told the same story to Congress
and a former Soviet general told CBS's 60 Minutes that the
suitcase bombs existed.
But, reports CBS News Correspondent Jerry Bowen, many U.S.
defense analysts are convinced Russia actually retrieved and
dismantled all the small nuclear devices.
"Our view is that it is not a major worry. If those devices ever
existed, they were under the control of the Soviet state, and not
available to terrorists," said Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings
Institution.
But the Soviets weren't the only ones to create a so-called
suitcase nuke. A recently declassified film shows how the United
States had them in its arsenal in the early '60s. Defense experts
dismiss the possibility that terrorists can build one themselves.
"To do something like that in the mountains of Afghanistan would
be extremely difficult," said John Lepingwell of the Center For
Nonproliferation Studies.
But four years ago, bin Laden was named in a federal indictment
for attempting to buy enriched uranium — nuclear material which
experts say could be put in a conventional explosive.
"But it's very difficult to get that much radioactive material
into the bomb and disperse it in such a way as to cause major
casualties," explained Lepingwell.
But might bin Laden have gotten some larger nuclear warheads?
"I know from intelligence information that he has obtained
several devices from former Soviet Union, technical nuclear
devices," said Lunev
Reports like this are unsubstantiated, and whether al-Qaida could
handle and smuggle such things is thought to be highly
improbable. Still, U.S. Customs agents are training border guards
from countries surrounding Afghanistan to detect nuclear material
— one more small front in a very different kind of war where
nothing is being taken for granted.
©MMI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
8 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reprimands Exelon Generation in Pennsylvania
Sean Adkins , York Daily Record, Pa.
Knight Ridder/Tribune ( November 06, 2001 )
Nov. 6--Exelon Generation Co. has received a black mark on its
permanent record from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the
company will not be required to pay a $55,000 civil penalty.
In a letter to Exelon released on Oct. 23, the NRC stated that
the company was responsible for violations regarding falsified
siren maintenance records for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station
and Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County.
"It will be a black mark on their record that will be taken into
consideration if a similar violation occurs," said Neil Sheehan,
spokesman for NRC. "But no fine will be assessed because of the
actions taken by the company soon after the problem."
Residents who live close to the plants rely on the sirens to
alert them to nuclear-related emergencies.
On Oct. 1, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that the
company had violated the public's safety after two former Exelon
Infrastructure Services maintenance technicians did not complete
required steps in checklist reports. A September 2000 NRC
investigation determined that between November 1999 and September
2000 the two contracted technicians performed inadequate siren
tests while claiming that all activities on the siren maintenance
checklists were properly done, Sheehan said.
One of the technicians admitted to installing jumper wires in
nearly 10 of the siren boxes surrounding both plants. The jumper
wires worked to give false signals that the boxes were
functioning properly.
The company reacted to the problem by firing the contracted
workers, notifying the NRC and taking corrective measures to fix
the problem, Sheehan said. Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station and
Limerick Generating Station will not be subject to increased
inspections, Sheehan said.
Since the investigation, Exelon has repaired the siren boxes and
initiated a rigorous program for the hiring of contractors, said
Ralph DeSantis, spokesman for the company.
The company has instituted a program that requires additional
testing and monitoring of siren boxes that surround both plants.
"We are pleased the NRC recognized our quick actions in
addressing the situation," he said. "But, we are disappointed
that it happened at all."
(c) 2001, York Daily Record, Pa. Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Business
*****************************************************************
9 Court order sought to halt N-plant project
online.ie : News
The Irish Examiner 05 Nov 2001
By Cormac O'Keeffe
THE Government will seek a court order on Friday to halt the
controversial new MOX nuclear plant at Sellafield if the British
Government insists on going ahead with it.
Minister of State Joe Jacob said Ireland had sought the
establishment of an international arbitration tribunal under a UN
convention to resolve the dispute.
He said this would take some time and that the Government would
seek an injunction in the meantime. "In the event that the UK
does not voluntarily suspend the authorisation of the MOX plant
on November 9 2001, Ireland will ask the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea to order an immediate suspension of the
authorisation of the MOX plant and international transports,
pending any decision of the arbitration tribunal," he said.
Speaking at a Fine Gael-organised conference in Drogheda, he said
the tribunal, which is based in Hamburg, Germany, had the power
to order a binding injunction. Conference organiser and Fine Gael
senator Fergus O'Dowd called for an immediate no-fly zone, as
opposed to a restricted flying zone, over Sellafield.
Government advisor and head of the Radiological Protection
Institute of Ireland Dr Tom O'Flaherty said there were grounds
for concern over two plants at Sellafield if targeted by
terrorists.
He said the old high-activity storage tanks contained very large
quantities of radioactive substances, and feared that a failure
in the cooling systems or an external impact could lead to their
release.
A spokesman for BNFL, which operates Sellafield, said it had
invited the Radiological Protection Institute to discuss the
company's re-examination of its safety systems, following the
September 11 terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Enterprise has nearly
completed an updated National Emergency Plan, to deal with
nuclear accidents. A full mock National Emergency Plan exercise
will take place on Saturday.
*****************************************************************
10 Taking Scientists Out of Nuclear Equation
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2001. Page 1
By [ewolfe@imedia.ru]
Staff Writer
They understand the physics behind creating weapons of mass
destruction and some could cobble together blueprints for a
nuclear bomb.
But since the mid-1990s, thousands of scientists and engineers
from former Soviet weapons facilities have been trained to
produce wheelchair seats, 3-D cameras and prosthetic legs, all
courtesy of the U.S. government, which is spending money in the
name of nonproliferation.
The latest project from the U.S. Department of Energy's
Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program has 17
scientists -- most from Moscow's Kurchatov Institute, the chief
center for nuclear research in Russia -- learning how to produce
commercial software products.
It is another step by the United States to harness Russia's
nuclear weapons knowledge before it gets exported to so-called
rogue states -- although many throw doubt on the risk these
scientists actually pose to global security.
The project is the first time the IPP, run by the U.S. National
Nuclear Security Administration, a branch of the DOE, has tapped
Russia's growing market for offshore programming. It expects to
eventually convert 500 scientists and engineers -- 120 a year --
now working in institutes across the country into gainful
employees in the global IT industry.
In the first year, most of the allotted $525,000 will go to
Kurchatov and Russian software firm Luxoft -- divided 70/30, the
DOE stated -- to run a training center at the Kurchatov
Institute. U.S. company CTG Inc., which also participates in
training and will employ some of the scientists, is expected to
fund as much or more by the end of the program. The classroom
opens this week.
The Kurchatov Institute, named for Igor Kurchatov, regarded as
the father of the Soviet nuclear weapons program, has worked with
the DOE on nonproliferation projects since the mid-1990s.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the institute saw its payroll
halved as military orders fell. Of its current 4,000 to 5,000
employees, about a third work on state-funded projects, as
opposed to almost 100 percent in the 1980s, while others have to
find outside work.
Andrei Pimenov, a senior computer specialist who has been at
Kurchatov since 1979, and one of the 17 to start training this
week, is using the program as a chance for a career change.
For nine months, Pimenov, 43, will learn how to capitalize on his
present skills. With two children in school, the former nuclear
weapons scientist is looking for a way to earn more than $250 a
month.
Others at the institute earn 1,000 rubles ($33) a month.
At a Washington news conference in early October, with the Sept.
11 attacks still very much on everyone's minds, speakers billed
the training as a way to reduce potential terrorism threats.
"Our primary goal is to ensure that former weapons scientists and
engineers remain gainfully employed in meaningful, sustainable,
peaceful civilian endeavors," said Sarah Lennon, an NNSA
official, in an e-mail interview.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government proposed budget cuts for
the DOE's nonproliferation programs in Russia, but these have not
been as big as expected. As part of a larger energy bill, the
House of Representatives and Senate approved last week $804
million for all NNSA's nuclear nonproliferation programs in 2002,
$69 million down on 2001 funding, but $30 million more than the
amount requested by the administration. The bill is expected to
be signed by the White House any day now.
There is a smattering of examples -- some proven, some not --
throughout the 1990s to support nonproliferation funding. Lennon
recalled an instance in 1992 when a group of Russian scientists
were stopped "on the tarmac" as they were leaving for North
Korea.
Yet many have questioned the success rate of such programs in
warding off the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Assessing the actual risk of nuclear proliferation is difficult
as it is impossible to count how many poorly paid scientists did
not sell secrets to terrorist organizations, Iraq, North Korea or
other states the United States has branded rogue, said Gary
Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms
Control in Washington
"I think the risk so far has not been very well defined,"
Milhollin said. "A scientist can give help to a rogue nuclear
program without leaving home and while doing other work."
At the institute, Alexei Vertiporokh, the deputy director of
Kurchatov's 3-year-old commercial arm, Technopark, said he
doubted that one of theirs could sell out to North Korea.
Pimenov also views it as unlikely that a colleague could go to
the other side for want of money, but he doesn't rule it out.
"It could happen. But we wouldn't know about it," Pimenov said.
However, Vertiporokh, who earlier studied nuclear physics, said
it's not his place to gauge the risks.
"I can't speak for the DOE about whether something's dangerous or
not," he said. "I studied that and don't think it's dangerous,
but maybe they [the DOE] have different ways to judge."
Making weapons also requires much more than just recruiting
weapons knowledge -- the process relies on hard materials and the
capability to actually produce.
"The problem always is that getting a scientist is not enough,"
said independent defense analyst Pavel Felgenhauer. "He needs a
Soviet industry."
Another criticism of the programs is that money has been
mismanaged or misallocated. A report a few years ago by the U.S.
General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress,
found that 37 percent of IPP program funds were going to the
former Soviet Union, with the rest given to U.S. national labs.
The report's recommendations have been acted upon, Lennon said.
Milhollin questioned whether the programs are worth it. "I think
we're just throwing money into the shadows and hoping that it
prevents something bad from happening," he said.
Unsurprisingly, Russian participants in the latest project are
grabbing the opportunity for free job training.
"It can cost us $8,000 to $10,000 to train one employee," said
Anatoly Karachinsky, CEO of IBS group, which created Luxoft.
However, Pimenov and Vertiporokh cast doubt on the DOE's
projection of training 120 scientists a year, saying it was hard
enough to gather 17. They estimated that only half that was
feasible -- partly because not all scientists and engineers are
lured by better paychecks to leave their respective institutes
and enter a daily work routine.
"There are two categories of people -- those sitting happy
earning $100 a month and those who look for work," Vertiporokh
said.
[http://www.moscowtimes.ru
*****************************************************************
11 NRC STAFF PROPOSES $3,000 FINE AGAINST PALMERTON &PARRISH, INC.
OF MISSOURI FOR FAILING TO CONTROL LICENSED MATERIAL
Region III -- 2001 - 049 --
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III
801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
No. III-01-049 November 6, 2001
CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630)829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov [rjs2@nrc.gov]
Pam Alloway-Mueller (630)829-9662/e-mail: pla@nrc.gov [pla@nrc.gov]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $3,000
fine against Palmerton &Parrish, Inc., of Springfield, Missouri,
for violating NRC requirements associated with the loss of a
portable moisture density gauge containing two sealed radioactive
sources.
The gauge, which is used to measure soil conditions at road and
building sites, was later recovered. The gauge was not damaged in
the incident and consequently there was no immediate health or
safety concern.
On July 31, the company notified the NRC that a portable
moisture density gauge had been left unattended on the bed of an
open-bed pickup truck and was not checked when the driver
proceeded to a second job site. Consequently, the gauge had
fallen from the truck and was lost along a highway. A member of
the public subsequently found the gauge and returned it to the
company.
The gauge contained 8 millicuries of cesium-137 and 40
millicuries of americium-241 in two sealed sources and was being
used at a temporary job site in Green County, Missouri.
The NRC staff identified four violations involving the
incident including: failure to maintain control of radioactive
material that is in an unrestricted area and that is not in
storage; failure to transport the gauge in its proper container;
failure to brace the gauge during transportation; and failure to
lock the gauge while being transported.
In notifying the company of the proposed fine, NRC
Regional Administrator James E. Dyer noted that Palmerton
&Parrish had taken corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence
of the situation, including additional training for employees.
However, he said, a newly adopted enforcement policy provides
that a fine be proposed to reflect the significance of the
violation and emphasize the importance of maintaining control of
licensed material. The specified fines included in the
enforcement policy were developed to correspond to roughly three
times the cost of proper disposal.
Palmerton &Parrish has 30 days to pay the fine or protest it. If
the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff,
the company may request a hearing.
*****************************************************************
12 No stopping polluters, report says
November 5, 2001
By LOUISE ELLIOTT -- Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) -- Ontario's nuclear and industrial plants have gone
largely unpunished for dumping increasingly lethal amounts of
water pollutants into the Great Lakes, government records show.
A report tabled by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund shows more than
10,000 violations of provincial wastewater laws since 1995,
including more than 3,000 violations in 1999.
Despite the increasing violation numbers, the government has been
unwilling to prosecute in an "abysmal enforcement record," says a
lawyer for the fund which released the study, Ontario: Yours to
Pollute, on Monday.
"From 1995 to 1999, pollution violations have quadrupled in
Ontario," said lawyer Jerry DeMarco.
"At the same time the Ministry of the Environment has cut staff,
cut budgets and cut enforcement."
Ontario Power Generation's eight nuclear facilities were among
the province's "filthiest four" violators in 1999, the most
recent year for which data was available, the report states.
"These eight facilities violated Ontario's wastewater discharge
limits 187 times in 1999," DeMarco and co-author Dr. Elaine
MacDonald wrote.
Only six of 168 industrial and municipal facilities that violated
pollution limits in 1999 have been prosecuted for those
violations, the report added.
Since 1995, only 11 out of 480 facilities -- less than three per
cent -- have been prosecuted, DeMarco said.
The Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants on Lake Ontario, and
the Bruce on Lake Huron, make up three of the top five industrial
facilities in Ontario that dumped toxic wastes into the water
that were powerful enough to kill fish and other aquatic life,
the report found.
"What is perhaps most shocking is the lengths to which the
government goes to try to withhold this information from public
interest groups," De Marco added, citing government delays under
the Freedom of Information Act and "exorbitant fees to find out
who is violating pollution laws."
"A proper government agency would make this data available to the
public," he said.
The Toronto environmental law clinic filed the request nearly two
years ago, and before the Walkerton, Ont., tainted-water tragedy.
In tests performed on waste-water discharges from the plants, the
Darlington nuclear facility discharged lethal chemicals 33 times
in 1999. It happened 11 times at the Pickering plant and six
times at the Bruce plant on Lake Huron, said the report.
Sierra wants the ministry to enforce water pollution laws more
stringently and to bring more of the offending industries to
court, where fines can run into millions of dollars and corporate
officials can be jailed.
The four top polluters, according to the report, are:
+ Chinook Group Ltd., a Sarnia chicken-feed manufacturer with 557
water pollution discharge violations, the highest number for the
second year;
+ Stepan Company, a chemical manufacturer near Orillia with 537
violations;
+ Praxair, a chemical manufacturer with 228 violations at four
facilities in Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Maitland and Mooretown;
+ Ontario Power Generation, with 187 violations at three nuclear
plants and five coal-burning facilities.
Five companies and municipalities were listed as discharging
wastewater that exceeded allowed limits of E. coli.
Those violators were Ontario Power's Lambton generating station
near Sarnia, Horizon Poultry in St. Mary's, Cold Spring Farms in
Thamesford, a Ford Motor Co. plant in St. Thomas and Acton's
sewage-treatment plant.
An Environment Ministry spokesperson on Sunday disputed claims
it's not doing enough to curb pollution and pointed to increased
enforcement activity since 1999.
"We have seen a dramatic increase in charges and fines," said
John Steele.
He said fines rose 118 per cent in the first half of this year,
compared with the first six months of 2000, and the number of
cleanup orders against polluters increased by more than 300 per
cent between 1999 and last year.
But DeMarco said the government only stiffened its enforcement
procedures after the E. coli drinking-water disaster which killed
seven people and sickened 2,300 in Walkerton, Ont. in May of
2000.
"Only since Walkerton have we seen a renewed emphasis on
compliance," he said.
"We only wish that we didn't need a tragedy to spur the
government into enforcement action on water pollution."
Copyright [http://www.canoe.ca/copyright.html] © 2001,
Canoe Limited
*****************************************************************
13 Modifications proposed to Tri-Party Agreement
This story was published Sat, Nov 3, 2001 By John Stang Herald
staff writer An attempt will be made to mesh the terms of the
Tri-Party Agreement with a future Hanford contract to accelerate
cleanup along the Columbia River.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency
officials briefed the Hanford Advisory Board late this week on
the upcoming talks.
The Tri-Party Agreement is the legal pact that governs Hanford's
cleanup goals and timetables. The EPA, DOE and the state
routinely modify it to reflect changing conditions at Hanford.
Meanwhile, DOE wants to award a long-term contract next year to
speed up cleanup along Hanford's Columbia River shore so most of
it is done by 2012.
DOE expects to issue a detailed final request for proposals by
Jan. 23, and to award the contract three to six months later.
Right now, the Tri-Party Agreement's river shore goals and
timetables are different from what DOE wants to accomplish with
the proposed accelerated cleanup.
Consequently, the state, EPA and DOE will negotiate modifications
to the Tri-Party Agreement and the draft river shore proposals so
they mesh by April 30.
These new negotiations will cover decontaminating and demolishing
the complexes around D, DR, F, H, KE, KW and N reactors plus the
sealing of the reactors' cores' chambers.
Also, the talks will cover the removing contaminated soil along
the Columbia River's shore plus the cleanup and demolition of
numerous contaminated buildings in the 300 Area.
And the negotiations will address how studies will be conducted
on the highly radioactive 618-10 and 618-11 waste burial grounds
in southeastern Hanford. There has been little study and no
environmental fix-it work mapped out on these two sites. Site
618-11 is leaking a narrow but highly radioactive plume of
tritium toward Energy Northwest's complex and the Columbia River.
The tentative cleanup deadline on these two sites is 2018.
This new river shore contract will replace Bechtel Hanford's
current contract, which will expire July 31.
Bechtel is eligible to bid on the new contract. DOE is seeking as
many bidders as possible on the new project. Copyright 2001
Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be
*****************************************************************
14 Report Underscores Major Energy Security Concerns
U.S. Newswire
5 Nov 14:40
Report Underscores Major Energy Security Concerns;
Recommendations Sent to Gov. Ridge To: National Desk, Energy and
Security reporters Contact: Frank Maisano, 202-466-7391 or Rob
Housman, 202-828-7637
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A new report by the
security experts at Texas-based law firm Bracewell & Patterson
underscore major areas of concern regarding the security of our
energy and transportation infrastructure.
The report, authored by national security experts in Bracewell &
Patterson's homeland security practice Robert F. Housman and E.
Dee Martin, was forwarded to former Pennsylvania Governor and
current White House Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge this
morning by former Montana Governor Marc F. Racicot, a Bracewell &
Patterson partner.
"Our security experts at Bracewell & Patterson have provided a
comprehensive, in-depth look at our energy and transportation
infrastructure," Racicot said. "It is my hope that the analysis,
research and recommendations will be valuable to Gov. Ridge and
the Administration as they formulate America's path forward on
protecting our homeland."
The report analyzes the threats to:
-- The Trans-Alaska pipeline: supplies 20% of US crude and is
largely unguarded, authorities say you can't secure it, a single
gunshot in October caused 285,600 gallons of crude to spill from
it
-- shut it down with a bomb and we have a real energy crisis,
particularly in California.
-- Nuclear plants: during 2000 and 2001, more than 50% of the
mock attacks/drills at these nuclear plants resulted in the
terrorists succeeding -- despite the fact the facilities are
warned before the drills.
The report also raises other real threats that aren't being
talked about yet:
-- An attack on an oil tanker in a major seaport could easily
shut the port down and disrupt energy flows, jobs, the movements
of goods, and the like
-- California's power grid is dependent upon an unguarded 84-mile
stretch of transmission line called Path 15.
-- In NSA drills, cyber terrorists were able to shut down the
power grids of NY, LA, DC and Chicago.
The report lays out ways to help protect these facilities. It
also provides five important recommendations for Governor Ridge
and President Bush, including:
1. Provide incentives for critical infrastructure companies to
truly harden their operations against attack (e.g., tax credits,
low cost financing).
2. Fund the development and deployment of new technologies that
can be used to better protect our homeland.
3. Streamline the regulatory impediments to a more secure
domestic infrastructure. There are substantial regulatory
impediments that stand in the way of American companies being
able to build systems that are capable of withstanding a
terrorist attack. It is imperative that we develop ways to reduce
these impediments where there is a clear security need.
4. Address the looming liability and insurance issues.
5. Provide security from the types of threats that only
government is capable of protecting against at critical
facilities.
Housman is a former advisor to Gen. Barry McCaffrey in the White
House Drug Policy office and served as consultant the National
Security Council and Council on Environmental Quality. He also
taught national security courses for Syracuse University's
Maxwell School. Dee Martin is a recent graduate of the University
of Virginia School of Law, where she studied at the U.S. Army's
Judge Advocate General's School and produced several research
papers related to national and international security issues.
Bracewell & Patterson has expertise in energy issues and has a
homeland security practice group, lead by former FBI agent and
Arkansas Congressman Ed Bethune. They were authors of an
influential report that was a key element in the re-opening of
Ronald Reagan National Airport in October.
http://www.usnewswire.com [http://www.usnewswire.com]
*****************************************************************
15 Audit Finds Imprecise Nuclear Records
Las Vegas SUN
Today: November 06, 2001 at 20:50:14 PST
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission are not keeping an accurate inventory of nuclear
materials loaned out for domestic research, investigators say.
An audit by the Energy Department's inspector general between
April and August found that 119 locations handling
government-owned enriched uranium, plutonium and other nuclear
materials had returned more to the department than had been
loaned out or leased.
While finding no evidence of nuclear materials being diverted or
misused, the government's inaccurate records could undermine its
ability to detect stolen or lost materials, said Gregory H.
Friedman, the department's inspector general. The records entered
into a federal electronic database run by the Energy Department
and the NRC "are not logical and almost certainly incorrect,"
said Friedman in the Oct. 26 report, released this week.
He warned that a proper inventory must be done if the government
is to keep "the strictest possible control over materials that
could, in the wrong hands, threaten national security."
The report showed an excess of 4.2 million kilograms of depleted
uranium, 1.3 million grams of enriched uranium and 2,500 grams of
plutonium in the department's inventory.
Some of the record-keeping problems were found as early as 1994
but the department did not try to correct them until this year,
the audit says. "The department did not provide adequate
oversight of the system," Friedman said in his report to Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham. He added that the department should
not assume that the public is protected until all records have
been explained and corrected.
Security officials within the department also told auditors that
it was "unlikely" more material had been returned than was loaned
or leased, the audit says. Those officials said a more probable
explanation was that the wrong ownership codes were entered into
the records when the radioactive materials were transferred to
another location.
Other inaccuracies included records showing "a significant
quantity" of plutonium existed at two facilities, despite NRC
officials saying those facilities had not held plutonium for
years. Officials said one facility had not housed plutonium since
1996 and the other facility likewise had no plutonium since its
license had expired in 1993.
To its credit, the Energy Department had accounted for all 2,500
grams of plutonium by September, five months after being notified
of a problem, the audit says. Security officials believe the
plutonium was washed away during decontamination and
decommissioning of the facilities, the audit says, though there
was no documentation at the time of the audit to show what
happened to the material.
The department's security and emergency operations director,
Joseph S. Mahaley, said he had met with NRC officials in
mid-October to begin accounting for all the loaned or leased
inventories of department-owned nuclear materials. The NRC
licenses the research institutions.
On the Net: Energy Department Office of Inspector General:
http://www.ig.doe.gov [http://www.ig.doe.gov]
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
16 Hearing of Sellafield action 'in months'
Irish Newspapers -
Mary Kavanagh of Dundalk, one of the four Co Louth residents who
are taking legal action against the THORP reprocessing plant at
Sellafield.
LEGAL proceedings taken by four Co Louth residents aimed at
closing the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield may finally
open at the High Court early next year.
The proceedings, initiated in 1994, are against the State and
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, operator of the THORP plant,
construction of which was completed in 1992. Proceedings were
initiated against the State because of its failure to take a
legal challenge to THORP.
In 1996, the Supreme Court rejected BNFL's claim that the
residents could not sue the company in the courts here. The
proceedings were initiated prior to the Cabinet's recent decision
to take an international case against the UK claiming it violated
the UN Convention on Law of the Sea by authorising the MOX
nuclear fuel production plant at Sellafield.
In court yesterday counsel Donal O'Donnell, for BNFL, told Mr
Justice Finnegan there was agreement a date should be fixed for
hearing BNFL's motion for directions as to how the case should
proceed.
Expressing concern the action should advance more speedily, the
judge directed that he receive a number of legal documents before
the end of this month and listed for January 22/23 BNFL's motion
for directions.
Legal sources suggested this could lead to the action opening in
March.
The proceedings have been taken by Constance Short, Mary
Kavanagh, Mark Dearery and Ollan Herr, who claim the THORP plant
has severe environmental and health implications for the Irish
people, particularly east coast residents, and want injunctions
halting its activities.
BNFL admits it makes radioactive discharges but denies any
significant adverse impact. It also denies a significant history
of accidents and malfunctions from negligence at the Sellafield
site and further denies any breaches of EU directives. It also
denies misinformation or concealment of accidents.
John Maddock
*****************************************************************
17 Palo Verde Unit 3 Completes Ninth Refueling
Monday November 5, 4:46 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: APS Energy Services
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2001--Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station's Unit 3 began producing electricity for the
western power grid early this morning, barely 37 days after
operators shut down the unit's reactor for refueling.
This refueling -- the unit's ninth since Palo Verde began
commercial operations in 1986 -- was one of the shortest ever for
Unit 3. The unit's next refueling will be in the spring of 2003.
``Our steady, consistent operations between refueling outages
depend on executing large amounts of quality work during very
aggressive refueling schedules,'' said Gregg Overbeck, senior
vice president of nuclear operations for APS, which operates Palo
Verde. ``Palo Verde plays a major role in meeting the growing
energy needs of the people of the Southwest. It's up to us to
make sure our power is reliable and low-cost.''
Concurrent with the Unit 3 refueling, employees at Palo Verde
worked vigilantly to complete tasks during a maintenance outage
on Unit 2, which is expected to return to service by
mid-November. Unit 1 continues to operate at full power. Palo
Verde's three identical units generated a combined 30.4 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2000, more than any other power
producer in the United States.
Palo Verde is jointly owned by APS, Salt River Project, Southern
California Edison Co., El Paso Electric, Public Service Co. of
New Mexico, Southern California Public Power Authority and the
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.
APS, which operates Palo Verde on behalf of the station's six
other owners, is Arizona's largest and longest-serving electric
utility and serves more than 857,000 customers in 11 of the
state's 15 counties. APS, with headquarters in Phoenix, is the
largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW
[http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=pnw&d=t] - news).
Contact: APS Energy Services, Phoenix Jim McDonald, 602/250-3704
-- office 602/321-3738 -- cell Sheri Foote, 602/250-2363 --
office 602/684-1332 -- cell Web site: www.aps.com
[http://www.aps.com]
*****************************************************************
18 Nuke panel adopts tougher Yucca licensing regulations
Las Vegas SUN
Today: November 06, 2001 at 8:53:05 PST
By Mary Manning
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adopted new licensing
regulations -- including tougher limits concerning radiation in
ground water -- that apply to a proposed high-level nuclear waste
repository at Yucca Mountain.
The most significant rule change involves stricter limits on
potential radiation exposure from Yucca, expected to be
recommended by the Department of Energy to store 77,000 tons of
the nation's radioactive waste.
In June 2001 the Environmental Protection Agency limited total
public radiation exposure to 15 millirems annually. The standards
included a separate 4-millirem annual ground water exposure
limit. In comparison, an average chest X-ray produces about 5
millirems.
Prior to the EPA standards the NRC had proposed its own general
limit for radiation exposure -- 25 millirems annually, with no
separate standard for ground water. The commission, however,
promised to adopt the EPA rules.
Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., said the NRC
had followed the law, but that they were concerned with the
timing of the NRC's new regulations, which appeared in Friday's
Federal Register.
"I am concerned that the focus is on publishing regulations
instead of improving our understanding of the complicated geology
of Yucca Mountain," Reid said.
"Yucca Mountain has not even been found suitable by the
Department of Energy as a possible waste repository," Reid said.
The DOE is expected to recommend to President Bush and Congress
the mountain as the nation's repository for high-level nuclear
waste either later this year or early next year.
Ensign said he was pleased that the NRC's rules complied with
standards outlined in the national Safe Drinking Water Act,
although he added a disclaimer.
" ... I will never be satisfied if these regulations lead to
nuclear waste being shipped to Nevada," Ensign said. "The most
important thing here is to ensure that we can do everything that
is possible to keep the families of Nevada safe."
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
19 Berkley wants D.C. bar to probe Yucca lawyers
Las Vegas SUN
Today: November 06, 2001 at 9:38:01 PST
LAS VEGAS SUN
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., is asking the
District of Columbia Bar Association to investigate whether the
law firm that handles legal work for the Yucca Mountain nuclear
waste project improperly obtained a key, leaked document.
Winston &Strawn is already a focal point of two federal
investigations. The Department of Energy's inspector general is
investigating conflict-of-interest charges against the firm.
In a separate matter, last week the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission confirmed it is investigating whether the firm
obtained a confidential NRC Yucca review plan.
Yucca Mountain is the proposed site of the world's first
high-level nuclear waste repository. If approved by Congress and
the president, the NRC would review an application submitted by
the DOE for a license to dump waste at the site 90 miles
northwest of Las Vegas.
The DOE hired Winston &Strawn for $16.5 million in 1999 to help
develop the license application. Nevada lawmakers last week fumed
at allegations that the firm -- and DOE -- may have obtained the
NRC's Yucca review plan before the document was released
publicly.
Winston &Strawn has not responded to the charges.
"The premature release of this document undermines the
credibility of the NRC's mandatory independence from the DOE,
further corrupting the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain
project," Berkley wrote to the D.C. Bar in a letter dated today.
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
20 Report Finds 'Weakness' In Nuclear Controls
(washingtonpost.com)
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 6, 2001; Page A07
Government records about plutonium and uranium loaned to U.S.
academic institutions, private companies, hospitals and other
government agencies cannot account for "substantial" amounts of
the material, according to a report released yesterday by the
Energy Department inspector general.
The investigation into the matter, which began before the Sept.
11 terrorist acts, did not conclude that the radioactive
materials were lost or stolen from the facilities. Instead, it
said there was "a weakness in controls over potentially dangerous
materials" in record-keeping by a private contractor used to
track the materials.
Although one official said the lapse might turn out to be only
"sloppy bookkeeping," officials said the Energy Department is
taking the report seriously because of concerns that terrorists
may be trying to acquire radioactive materials.
The Energy Department has called for an early meeting with the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which licensed the research
institutions, and the private contractor whose job it is to keep
track of the materials. The identity of the contractor was not
disclosed.
Although some of the record-keeping problems were discovered
before 1994, "It was not until 2001 when, in response to our
report . . . [that Energy's] security operation was tasked to
correct these problems," the report said.
In one case, a Sept. 30, 2000, management record showed a
"significant quantity of plutonium" at a facility that the NRC
said "had not held plutonium since 1966," the report said.
Energy Department officials said the unaccounted-for plutonium
may have been washed away during decontamination and
decommissioning of the facilities, according to the report.
At another site, the report said, management records show
significant amounts of plutonium while the NRC said the
facility's license was terminated in 1993 and "no material was at
this location."
In neither case, the report said, could the NRC or Energy
Department security operations explain the discrepancies in the
records.
In the case of 119 locations, the management records showed
licensees returned to the Energy Department substantially more
nuclear materials than originally loaned or leased. In those
cases, Energy officials believed the original transfer of the
material was incorrectly reported. In 35 instances where more
than 2,500 grams of plutonium were reported returned, Energy
Department security officials resolved all the discrepancies five
months after being notified of the problem.
As the result of this inquiry, the department's inspector general
may have to conduct a similar audit of records of nuclear
materials held by the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories,
"where significantly greater numbers are involved," an Energy
Department official said.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
21 Pickering A nuclear reactor to be reactivated after four years
in mothballs
November 5, 2001 Pickering A nuclear reactor to be reactivated
after four years in mothballs TORONTO (CP) -- The Pickering A
nuclear power plant is to be reactivated at a cost of $1.3
billion after four years in mothballs, Ontario Power Generation
announced Monday.
However, approval to restart the reactor's four units comes with
a long list of conditions set by the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission.
"The plan was always to bring it back into service," said Ted
Gruetzner, a spokesman for Ontario Power Generation (OPG).
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of
enhanced shut-down system and stuff like that and just kind of
bring it up to current specs." The power plant, just east of
Toronto on Lake Ontario, comprises four 540-megawatt Candu
reactors.
Activated in the 1970s, OPG shut the reactor down in 1997 after
management decided against making costly upgrades, not because of
any "safety issues in terms of the equipment," Gruetzner said.
The company initially applied for the restart in November 1999.
An environmental assessment was finally completed in February,
and licensing hearings concluded early last month.
The safety commission said it is satisfied that OPG complies
with all current security regulations.
The aim is to restart the first reactor next March, with the
three remaining units activated at intervals of about six months,
the company said. Before it can do that, OPG has to complete
improvements and upgrades specified by the safety commission.
The dozens of conditions include modifications to deal with a
large loss of coolant, seal checks and enhancement of the
emergency shutdown system.
"After they have done a list of maintenance and upgrades, they
must report back to the commission every six months or before
restarting each unit, depending on which comes first," said
commission spokeswoman Sunni Locatelli. Those reports will be
made public.
The company will also require approval of the agency's safety
staff before each increase in reactor power.
In deciding to allow the restart, the commission said OPG can
run the facility safely and "is not likely to cause significant
adverse environmental effects."
The improvements and upgrades will ensure "protection of the
environment, the health and safety of persons, and the
maintenance of national security and measures required to
implement Canada's international obligations," the commission
said.
OPG currently operates four other reactors at its Pickering B
facility.
The amended licence for Pickering A is valid until June 30,
2003.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates the use of
nuclear energy and materials in Canada.
b> [http://www.canoe.ca/copyright.html] © 2001, Canoe Limited
*****************************************************************
22 Hewitt 'baffled' by nuclear power expansion reports
Sunday November 4, 01:36 PM
Trade and industry Patricia Hewitt is "baffled" by reports that
up to 15 new nuclear power stations could be built in Britain.
A review of Britain's energy needs over the next half century by
the Cabinet Office's performance and innovations unit is set to
conclude that extra nuclear plants will be required as
"insurance" for a time when Britain becomes a net importer of oil
and gas, reported the Sunday Times.
But speaking on GMTV's Sunday Programme, Hewitt said she had not
been informed of any plans for an increase in nuclear power
generation.
"I saw the headline and I was a bit baffled by it frankly,"
Hewitt said. "I saw the team a couple of weeks ago who are doing
this review of energy policy out of the Cabinet Office and they
certainly did not mention that to me."
"What we are looking at is the whole of our energy policy,
looking ahead 50 years to make sure that we can deliver a
sustainable economic policy, a sustainable energy policy, that
will meet our economic needs, but will also of course meet our
environmental needs," she explained.
The energy policy review, which is to be published later this
month, will say that Britain's existing nuclear reactors should
be replaced - fourteen of them are due to be decommissioned by
2011. Nuclear power would continue to provide just under a
quarter of Britain's energy needs.
The nuclear industry could also be exempted from the Climate
Change Levy, a move which could make nuclear power more
competitive than coal or gas. Friends of the Earth said the
reports indicated the government was "pro-nuclear" following a
report that 15 new power stations could be built in Britain. The
environmental campaign group pointed to sustainable energy as a
means of meeting Britain's energy needs. Greenpeace also
condemned as "disastrous" any moves that would create more
nuclear waste.
[http://uk.yahoo.com/epolitix/?http://www.epolitix.com/]
Copyright © 2001 ePolitix. All rights reserved. Republication or
*****************************************************************
23 Lawyers for anti-nuclear activists seek trial postponement
ABC Australia News - 06/11/01 :
Tue, Nov 6 2001 7:20 AM AEDT
Lawyers representing Australian anti-nuclear activists Stuart
Lennox and Nick Clyde this morning are seeking a postponement of
their trial in the United States.
The two were part of a group of 17 arrested off the Californian
coast in July for attempting to stop US missile defence tests.
They have pleaded not guilty to charges of trespass and violating
a safety zone.
If a 'continuance' is granted, it would mean a delay of six
months in the trial which is set to begin on November 20.
Lawyers are arguing the atmosphere in the United States following
the September 11 terrorist attacks, is not conducive to a fair
trial.
© 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
*****************************************************************
24 Text: IAEA on Threat of Nuclear Terrorism
News from the Washington File
[International Information Programs]
Washington File
[Washington File]
05 November 2001
(September 11 attacks make potential of nuclear terrorism more
likely) (2550)
The head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
says the ruthlessness of the September 11 attacks against the
United States shows the potential for terrorist targetting of
nuclear facilities, nuclear material and radioactive sources
worldwide.
According to a November 1 press release, IAEA Director General
Mohamed ElBaradei said that the willingness of terrorists to
sacrifice their lives to achieve their aims creates a new
dimension in the fight against terrorism.
"We are not just dealing with the possibility of governments
diverting nuclear materials into clandestine weapons programs,"
he said. "Now 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." ElBaradei released the
statement as experts from around the world met at an
international symposium on nuclear safeguards at IAEA
Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
Although terrorists have never used a nuclear weapon, ElBaradei
said reports that some terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaeda,
have attempted to acquire nuclear material is a cause of great
concern. The IAEA said that there have been about 375 cases of
nuclear smuggling over the past decade, but none have involved
anything close to enough fissionable material to construct a
nuclear weapon.
"However, any such materials being in illicit commerce and
conceivably accessible to terrorist groups is deeply troubling,"
ElBaradei said. He said that while the level of security at
nuclear facilities is generally considered to be very high,
security of medical and industrial radiation sources is
disturbingly weak in some countries. At the same time, IAEA
experts evaluating the risks of nuclear terrorism point out that
the potential damage of an intentional crash of a large, fully
fuelled jetliner into a nuclear reactor or other nuclear
facilities is still being analyzed.
To prevent a terrorist nuclear attack, IAEA is proposing a number
of initiatives, including strengthening border monitoring and
bolstering the capabilities of the IAEA Emergency Response Center
to react to radiological emergencies following a terrorist
attack. The agency estimates that at least $30-$50 million each
year will be needed in the short term to strengthen and expand
its programs to meet terrorist attacks.
ElBaradei also called on countries to actively reinforce nuclear
safeguards, expand systems for combating smuggling of nuclear
material and upgrade safety and security services.
Following is the text of the IAEA press release: (begin text)
United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency November 1,
2001
Calculating the New Global Nuclear Terrorism Threat
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says
that the ruthlessness of the 11 September attacks has alerted the
world to the potential of nuclear terrorism - making it "far more
likely" that terrorists could target nuclear facilities, nuclear
material and radioactive sources worldwide.
Experts from around the world are meeting at the IAEA on 29
October to 2 November at an international symposium on nuclear
safeguards, verification, and security. A special session on 2
November focuses on the issue of combating nuclear terrorism.
"The willingness of terrorists to sacrifice their lives to
achieve their evil aims creates a new dimension in the fight
against terrorism," says Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA Director
General, whose Agency sets world standards for nuclear safety and
security. "We are not just dealing with the possibility of
governments diverting nuclear materials into clandestine weapons
programs. Now 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."
"An unconventional threat requires an unconventional response,
and the whole world needs to join together and take
responsibility for the security of nuclear material," says Mr.
ElBaradei. "Because radiation knows no frontiers, States need to
recognize that safety and security of nuclear material is a
legitimate concern of all States. Countries must demonstrate, not
only to their own populations, but to their neighbors and the
world that strong security systems are in place. The willingness
of terrorists to commit suicide to achieve their evil aims makes
the nuclear terrorism threat far more likely than it was before
September 11."
The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog agency based in Vienna, helps
countries around the world to prevent, intercept and respond to
terrorist acts and other nuclear safety and security incidents.
It has the only international response system in place that would
be in a position to immediately react to assist countries in case
of a radiological emergency caused by a nuclear terrorist attack.
Although terrorists have never used a nuclear weapon, reports
that some terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaeda, have attempted
to acquire nuclear material is a cause of great concern.
According to the IAEA, since 1993, there have been 175 cases of
trafficking in nuclear material and 201 cases of trafficking in
other radioactive sources (medical, industrial). However, only 18
of these cases have actually involved small amounts of highly
enriched uranium or plutonium, the material needed to produce a
nuclear bomb. IAEA experts judge the quantities involved to be
insufficient to construct a nuclear explosive device. "However,
any such materials being in illicit commerce and conceivably
accessible to terrorist groups is deeply troubling," says Mr.
ElBaradei.
There has been a six-fold increase in nuclear material in
peaceful programs worldwide since 1970. According to IAEA
figures, there are: 438 nuclear power reactors; 651 research
reactors (of these 284 are in operation) and 250 fuel cycle
plants around the world, including uranium mills and plants that
convert, enrich store and reprocess nuclear material.
Additionally, tens of thousands of radiation sources are used in
medicine, industry, agriculture and research.
While the level of security at nuclear facilities is generally
considered to be very high, security of medical and industrial
radiation sources is disturbingly weak in some countries. "The
controls on nuclear material and radioactive sources are uneven,"
says Mr. ElBaradei, "Security is as good as its weakest link and
loose nuclear material in any country is a potential threat to
the entire world."
The Risks Involved
IAEA experts have evaluated the risks for nuclear terrorism in
these three categories:
Nuclear facilities: IAEA experts believe the primary risks
associated with nuclear facilities would involve the theft or
diversion of nuclear material from the facility, or a physical
attack or act of sabotage designed to cause an uncontrolled
release of radioactivity to the surrounding environment.
From its inception, the nuclear industry has been keenly aware of
the dangers of nuclear material falling into terrorist's hands.
At all levels - operator, State and international - there is a
complex infrastructure at work to ensure nuclear material is
accounted for; safeguarded from diversion; and protected from
theft and sabotage. Billions of dollars per year are already
being spent to protect and defend nuclear facilities. Indeed, no
other industry in the world has such a sophisticated level of
security. Nuclear facilities are protected by well-trained
security forces and are extremely robust, designed to withstand,
for example, earthquakes, tornado-force winds and accidental
crashes of small aircraft. Although it is not automatic that any
attack would result in a release of radioactivity, they are
however industrial facilities and as such are not hardened to
withstand acts of war.
The extent of damage that could be caused by the intentional
crash of a large, fully fuelled jetliner into a nuclear reactor
containment or other nuclear facilities is still a matter for
analysis. Nuclear facility designs vary from country to country,
so studies will have to take specific plant designs into account.
"After September 11, we realized that nuclear facilities - like
dams, refineries, chemical production facilities or skyscrapers -
have their vulnerabilities," Mr. ElBaradei says. "There is no
sanctuary anymore, no safety zone."
Countries around the world with nuclear facilities have
heightened security since the 11 September attacks, and are
conducting urgent analyses of their safety and security systems.
The IAEA plans to strengthen and tailor its existing safety and
security services to address the terrorism threat, by assisting
countries in upgrading the security and safety of their nuclear
facilities.
Nuclear Material: According to IAEA experts, terrorists obtaining
nuclear weapons would be the most devastating scenario. "While we
cannot exclude the possibility that terrorists could get hold of
some nuclear material," says Mr. ElBaradei, "it is highly
unlikely they could use it to manufacture and successfully
detonate a nuclear bomb. Still, no scenario is impossible."
Beyond the difficulty for terrorists to obtain weapon usable
material - scientists estimate that 25 kg of highly enriched
uranium or 8 kg of plutonium would be needed make a bomb -
actually producing a nuclear weapon is far from a trivial
exercise. Scientific expertise and access to sophisticated
equipment would be required. However, when the Cold War ended,
thousands of highly knowledgeable scientists and engineers
previously involved in the Soviet Union's weapons program were
laid off or found their incomes drastically reduced. Another
legacy of the Cold War is the disturbing reports, albeit
unsubstantiated, of missing nuclear weapons.
Nuclear material has traditionally been subjected to extensive
national protection measures. To prevent theft of nuclear
material, nuclear facilities employ a range of protection
measures, including site security forces, site access control,
employee screening and co-ordination with local and national
security authorities. In some States, national security forces
provide back-up to facility security. The IAEA offers countries
around the world assessments and advice on physical security. It
also maintains a database on incidents of trafficking in nuclear
material, although the IAEA considers the information States
provide on incidents and on follow-up to be inadequate.
In non-nuclear weapon States, the IAEA carries out international
safeguards to verify that nuclear material has not been diverted
to non-peaceful uses. These safeguards, the verification tool
entrusted to the IAEA in the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), also play an important role in reducing
the risk that terrorists could acquire nuclear material without
detection. But when the NPT was drafted, nuclear terrorism was
not perceived as a significant threat.
However, safeguards require that a state account for all its
nuclear material and serve as a "burglar alarm" against a
terrorist. A well-designed system will also help to pinpoint the
origin of missing material, identify individuals who had access
to it, and facilitate recovery of the material.
The nuclear weapon programs in the five Nuclear Weapon States -
China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the
United States, as well any that may exist in India, Pakistan and
Israel, the three non-NPT countries known to have nuclear
programs - are not under the purview of IAEA safeguards.
"Although I understand there is a high level of security for
nuclear weapons," says Mr. ElBaradei, "I hope that all of these
countries are urgently reviewing the safety and security of their
nuclear weapons."
"There have been two nuclear shocks to the world already - the
Chernobyl accident and the IAEA's discovery of Iraq's clandestine
nuclear weapons program," says Mr. ElBaradei. "It will be vital
we do all in our power to prevent a third."
The IAEA plans to significantly expand its advisory services and
help States upgrade protection of their nuclear materials.
Radioactive Sources: IAEA experts are concerned that terrorists
could develop a crude radiological dispersal device using
radioactive sources commonly used in every day life. The number
of radioactive sources around the world is vast: those used in
radiotherapy alone are in the order of ten thousand. Many more
are used in industry; for example, to check for welding errors or
cracks in buildings, pipelines and structures. They are also used
for the preservation of food. There is a large number of unwanted
radioactive sources, many of them abandoned, others being simply
"orphaned" of any regulatory control. Such a weapon, sometimes
referred to as a "dirty bomb", could be made by shrouding
conventional explosives around a source containing radioactive
material, although handling the nuclear material could well be
deadly.
"Security of radioactive materials has traditionally been
relatively light," says Abel Gonzalez, the IAEA's Director of
Radiation and Waste Safety. "There are few security precautions
on radiotherapy equipment and a large source could be removed
quite easily, especially if those involved have no regard for
their own health. Moreover, in many countries, the regulatory
oversight of radiation sources is weak. As a result, an
undetermined number of radioactive sources has become orphaned of
regulatory control and their location is unknown." "Certainly,
the effects of a dirty bomb would not be devastating in terms of
human life," says Mr. Gonzalez. "But contamination in even small
quantities could have major psychological and economic effects."
The accidental contamination of Goiânia, a major city in Brazil,
with a medical radiation source exemplifies the potential for a
terrorist group to wreak havoc on an urban center. In September
1987, scrap scavengers broke into an abandoned radiological
clinic and stole a highly radioactive caesium 137 source and
moved it to a junkyard for sale as scrap. Workers broke open the
encasement and cut up the 20-gram capsule of caesium 137 into
pieces. The valuable-looking scrap was then distributed to
friends and family of workers around the city. Fourteen people
were overexposed, and 249 contaminated. Four subsequently died.
More than 110,000 people had to be continuously monitored. To
decontaminate the area, 125,000 drums and 1470 boxes were filled
with contaminated clothing, furniture, dirt and other materials;
85 houses had to be destroyed.
"We are dealing with a totally new equation since September 11,"
Mr. Gonzalez said. "These terrorists demonstrated before our eyes
their willingness to give up their lives. The deadliness of
handling intensely radioactive material can no longer be seen as
an effective deterrent."
The IAEA is proposing a number of new initiatives, including
strengthening border monitoring, helping States search for and
dispose of orphan sources and strengthening the capabilities of
the IAEA Emergency Response Center to react to radiological
emergencies following a terrorist attack.
"September 11 presented us with a clear and present danger and a
global threat that requires global action," says Mohamed
ElBaradei. "Many of our programs go to the heart of combating
nuclear terrorism, but we now have to actively reinforce
safeguards, expand our systems for combating smuggling in nuclear
material and upgrade our safety and security services."
"At a minimum," Mr. ElBaradei says, "national assessments of
security infrastructure for all types of nuclear and radioactive
material should be required. Countries will have something to
gain from allowing international assessments to demonstrate to
the world that they are keeping their nuclear material secure."
In the short term, the IAEA estimates that at least $30-$50
million annually will be needed to strengthen and expand its
programs to meet this terrorist threat.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), based in Vienna,
has 132 Member States. It has 2200 employees and an annual budget
of about $330 Million. The IAEA, a UN agency, serves as the
world's intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical
co-operation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It is also the
international inspectorate for the application of nuclear
verification measures to ensure that nuclear programs are
peaceful.
(end text) (Distributed by the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
This site is produced and maintained by the U.S. Department of
State's Office of International Information Programs
(usinfo.state.gov). Links to other Internet sites should not be
construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.
*****************************************************************
25 Letter from Gov. Guinn to Sen. Reid, re: report entitled,
''Radiological Consequences of Severe Rail Accidents Involving
Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments to Yucca Mountain: Hypothetical
Baltimore Rail Tunnel Fire Involving Spent Nuclear Fuel''
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR One Hundred One North Carson Street Carson
City, Nevada 89701
KENNY C. GUINN Governor
November 1, 2001
The Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
U.S. Capitol - S 208
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Reid:
Enclosed is a report entitled, "Radiological Consequences of
Severe Rail Accidents Involving Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments to
Yucca Mountain: Hypothetical Baltimore Rail Tunnel Fire Involving
Spent Nuclear Fuel."
The report, which was prepared by [http://www.rwma.com] , under
contract to the [http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/] , examines
the circumstances surrounding the July 18, 2001 rail accident
that occurred in Baltimore's Howard Street tunnel, igniting a
fire that burned for five days. The report assesses the
consequences of this accident had the train been carrying a
shipment of spent nuclear fuel. The report utilizes actual data
on the accident itself, the temperature and duration of the
ensuing fire, meteorological conditions at the time of the
accident, and population and land use patterns in the area.
As evidenced by the report, the consequences of such an accident
involving spent nuclear fuel would be devastating. Due to the
duration of the fire and the extremely high temperatures, the
accident would have resulted in a significant release of
radiation from the transportation container.
Please feel free to use the report as you see fit.
Sincerely,
--/s/--
KENNY C. GUINN Governor
Enclosure
+ Radiological Consequences Of Severe Rail Accidents Involving
Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments To Yucca Mountain: Hypothetical
Baltimore Rail Tunnel Fire Involving SNF (pdf-4.41MB)
[http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html]
*****************************************************************
26 - Hope Creek's Tenth Refueling Outage Best Outage Ever
Monday November 5, 2:31 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: PSEG Power LLC
HANCOCKS BRIDGE, N.J., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Saturday afternoon,
PSEG Nuclear operators 'closed the breaker' at Hope Creek Nuclear
Generating Station, reconnecting the unit to the PJM
interconnection and ending the unit's tenth refueling outage. The
outage lasted only 24 days, a new site record in duration for
PSEG Nuclear. In addition, PSEG Nuclear set several site-wide
safety records during this outage in areas of radiological and
industrial safety.
``While duration records are a sign of our improved performance,
the real indicator is our stellar safety performance,'' said
Harry Keiser, PSEG Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer.
``I am very proud of our team, including our contractors that
assisted with the outage. I commend all of them for maintaining a
relentless focus on safety, particularly at a time when the
events unfolding in our nation demand so much attention. Our
performance this outage should also reinforce to the local
community that nuclear safety and the health and safety of the
public remains our top priority.''
PSEG Nuclear operates Salem Units 1 and 2, two 1,106 megawatt
pressurized water reactors, and Hope Creek, a 1,031 megawatt
boiling water reactor. The three units are located on one site in
Salem County, NJ, and together comprise the second largest
nuclear site in the country, generating enough electricity for
approximately 2 million homes.
PSEG Nuclear is a subsidiary of PSEG Power, one of the largest
independent power producers and energy trading companies in the
U.S., and an affiliate of Public Service Electric and Gas Company
(PSE&G), New Jersey's largest electric and gas utility. PSEG
Power currently has more than 17,000 megawatts of electric
generating capacity in operation, construction, acquisition, or
advanced development. In addition to PSEG Nuclear, PSEG Power's
subsidiaries include PSEG Fossil, which owns and operates
fossil-fueled generating facilities and PSEG Energy Resources and
Trade, one of the nation's largest (by volume) energy trading
companies. PSEG Power and PSE&G are subsidiaries of Public
Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE: PEG
[http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=peg&d=t] - news), a diversified
energy holding company with headquarters in Newark, NJ. SOURCE:
PSEG Power LLC
More Quotes and News: Public Service Enterprise Group Inc
(NYSE:PEG [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=peg&d=t] - news) Related
News Categories: oil/energy, utilities
Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy
*****************************************************************
27 Austrian minister: Stopping Czech nuclear plant no longer
realistic
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 6, 2001
Text of report by "sitt": "Molterer: Stopping Temelin is no
longer realistic" by Austrian newspaper Die Presse on 6 November
While the Freedom Party of Austria [FPOe] still does not rule out
a veto against the Czech Republic's EU entry, Austrian
Environment Minister Wilhelm Molterer has found clear words
regarding the Temelin problem: "Each country has the sovereign
right to decide on its energy sources," he said in an interview
with Die Presse. Although phasing out nuclear energy in the Czech
Republic basically remains an issue for Austria, this "objective
must be dealt with at the European level".
Thus, Molterer for the first time left no doubt that it was
obvious that Prague had made it clear that Prague cannot be
pushed to phase out nuclear energy in bilateral talks with the
Czech Republic ("Melk process").
Molterer, who briefed the heads of the four parliamentary groups
on the state of the negotiations, nevertheless, regards Austria's
strategy in the talks as a success: After all, it has been
possible to establish nuclear safety as a relevant issue within
the framework of the Czech Republic's EU entry. The difference to
the FPOe's veto policy is "that we discuss the issue in a
considered way".
It is now necessary to conclude the Melk process quickly and
reach a binding agreement on the security standards in Temelin
with the Czech Republic before the end of the year, Molterer
said. If we fail to achieve that, the energy chapter will not be
closed, which is also "absolutely clear" to the Czech side,
Molterer concluded.
Source: Die Presse, Vienna, in German 6 Nov 01 p 1 /BBC
Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to
*****************************************************************
28 Decision due on radioactive discharges
a decision is due within days on plans to increase radioactive
discharges from Devonport Dockyard
BBC - Devon - News -
Monday 5 November 2001
[Trident submarine]
One of the Trident submarines due to be refitted at Devonport
A decision on whether or not to allow increased discharges of
radioactivity into the waters off Plymouth could be announced
this week.
Permission for the discharges has been requested by Devonport
Dockyard because of the need to refit Trident submarines.
The company that owns Devonport dockyard, DML, is in the final
stages of preparing to receive Britain's Trident-carrying
Vanguard submarines.
These submarines accumulate more radioactive material between
refits than previous types.
[Trident dock] The new Trident dock at Devonport Dockyard
When they are worked on, DML plans to increase certain
radioactive discharges into the River Tamar.
Levels of Tritium in particular could go up significantly.
There has been a stream of protests from people worried about the
impact on the environment. The company insists even the increased
levels would still be very low.
The Environment Agency has to decide the matter - and soon -
because the first Vanguard submarine is due in dock early next
year.
It is thought a decision could be announced within a few days.
Visit our feedback section [devon.online@bbc.co.uk] to give your
*****************************************************************
29 Tree Coring is Cheaper, Quicker Method to Measure Radiation
Science News
November 6, 2001 7:00 CDT
Geologists currently monitor uranium contamination by drilling
wells, which is costly, but a new study suggests that a possible
alternative could be to core trees on potentially radioactive
sites.
Dr. Drew Coleman, assistant professor of geologic sciences at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his graduate
student Michael Bulleri conducted the study. The results were
presented November 5 at a national meeting of the Geological
Society of America in Boston.
"Based on work I did earlier, we set out to determine if we could
monitor near-surface water contamination around a depleted
uranium weapons manufacturing site outside Concord, Mass., by
measuring uranium concentrations in the living parts of trees
growing nearby," Coleman said. "Mike's results have been
fantastic. By testing the sapwood - the living parts of oak trees
he cored close to the site -- he has found a definite bull's-eye
pattern around the site where the concentration goes up the
closer one gets to it."
Bulleri took the samples on public and private lands around the
facility, which was once owned by Nuclear Metals Inc. and has
been owned by the Starmet Corp. since 1997. They tested the
samples with a thermal ionization mass spectrometer at UNC using
a technique called isotope dilution. They were able to
distinguish between natural uranium from the soil and depleted
uranium contamination by measuring the ratios of uranium 238 to
uranium 235 in each sample.
Natural uranium has a ratio of 137.88 atoms of 238 for every one
atom of 235, Coleman said. The depleted form -left over after an
enrichment process used for making nuclear fuels and bombs - has
a ratio of about 500 to one. Trees absorb water beneath the
ground and store the radioactivity it contains for many years, he
said. Comparing isotopes is a way for the researchers to pinpoint
the radioactive contamination's source and level. "We found
there's not much contamination outside the Concord site, and
there's never been very much, which we know from looking at
earlier water samples," the geologist said. "What's interesting
and potentially very important is that we don't have to drill
wells, which are extremely expensive, to determine what the
uranium concentrations are in the ground."
The researchers found depleted uranium in tree bark that was
several kilometers away from the site, which could only have been
deposited as airborne particles, Coleman said. They cannot say
whether the radiation in the bark might present a health hazard.
"Assuming we have trees to look at, we know we can apply this
method of investigation to many other contaminant sites in the
United States and abroad," Bulleri said. "This is exciting."
Coleman said the method promises to be reliable as well as
economical. "There are many nuclear sites and radioactive sites
in the United States that need to be monitored," he said.
"Instead of going out and doing a lot of expensive testing, you
can just core a few trees and get the answer over a huge area
very quickly. This potentially could boost safety by enhancing
monitoring."
The core samples are taken with a hand-held device screwed into
the tree through the bark, sapwood and heartwood. The simplest
use is to learn how old a tree is by counting rings in the
resulting core.
Source: Press Release Cosmiverse Staff Writer
© 1999-2000 Cosmiverse.com. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
30 Sellafield, terrorism and us
Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Limited
PUBLICATION DATE:Tuesday, 6 November 2001
The 'timebomb' on Ulster's doorstep
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
TONY Blair's Government could hardly have picked a worse time to
approve a major extension to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing
plant.
There were always going to be deep environmental and economic
concerns about a new Mixed Oxide (MOX) production facility
involving plutonium, one of the most toxic substances known to
mankind.
But, in the wake of September 11, there are also very real fears
about the consequences of a terrorist attack on either the
Cumbrian nuclear waste operation, or shipments being transported
there.
Sellafield lies just a short sea crossing from Northern Ireland -
it's closer to the Ards Peninsula than Derry is.
Who now would dare dismiss the possibility of a terror strike on
the plant, with the holocaust it could potentially bring on both
sides of the Irish Sea?
Certainly not the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the
organisation which sets world standards for nuclear safety and
security.
It held an international symposium at the end of last week, at
which experts from across the globe focused on the issue of
combating nuclear terrorism.
"The willingness of terrorists to sacrifice their lives to
achieve their evil aims creates a new dimension in the fight
against terrorism," Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA Director General,
warned in words that many will find chilling:
"Because radiation knows no frontiers, states need to recognise
that safety and security of nuclear material is a legitimate
concern of all states.
"Countries must demonstrate, not only to their own populations,
but to their neighbours and the world that strong security
systems are in place.
"The willingness of terrorists to commit suicide to achieve their
evil aims makes the nuclear terrorism threat far more likely than
it was before September 11."
The reference to "neighbours" will doubtless be echoed in the
Republic, where the Government is planning legal action against
the MOX operation go-ahead.
Leading environmental groups Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace
have also vowed to go to court.
The approval for a new Mixed Oxide production plant was issued by
the Blair administration on October 3.
It was not the type of decision which could, in the notorious
words of Government spin doctor Jo Moore, be "buried" in the
aftermath of September 11.
MOX production involves taking plutonium and uranium from spent
nuclear fuel and mixing it into pellets to make new fuel for
reactors.
The nuclear industry believes that "recycling" the used fuel and
turning it into MOX can help reduce the world's growing stockpile
of plutonium.
The MOX plant at Sellafield was completed in 1996, but permission
for commercial operation was withheld because of doubts over
financial viability.
There were also concerns about past data falsification incidents
- a report by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear
Installations Inspectorate last year revealed that individual
workers had faked safety records.
THE Government watchdog body judged that "systematic management
failure" allowed records for reprocessed plutonium destined for
Japan to be falsified.
Some workers were sacked and the chief executive of British
Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), Sellafield's owners, subsequently
quit his job.
No fewer than five public consultations were held prior to the
Government's MOX plant go-ahead announcement of last month.
The pro-nuclear power lobby welcomed the news, and said it would
safeguard several hundred jobs at Sellafield.
BNFL's chief executive Norman Askew expressed his delight,
saying: "Our customers have been extremely patient with us and we
can now get on with the business of manufacturing fuel for them
and to repay the commitment that they have shown us."
Environmentalists have traditionally been most concerned about
discharges and radiation from Sellafield - the Irish Sea has been
described as the most radioactively contaminated sea in the
world.
However, the MOX legal challenge is likely to focus primarily on
economics.
Under European Union law, the Government must be able to show
that the economic benefits of the plant outweigh the health and
environmental detriments.
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace claim that predictions of
profitability for the MOX plant are based on distorted figures,
which disregard the £472m of taxpayers' money spent on the
project so far - mainly on construction.
That will be for the courts to decide but, for the present, it is
the terrorism fear that is most exercising the public debate.
Announcing the legal action, Stephen Tindale, executive director
of Greenpeace in the UK, said: "Expanding the global trade in
plutonium is dangerously irresponsible, especially at a time of
huge global insecurity.
"Some may think this is the end of the MOX controversy. In
reality, it is just the beginning."
Likewise, Charles Secrett, director at Friends of the Earth,
argued: "It beggars belief that the Government can give the
go-ahead to a process involving the use and transportation of
plutonium that could be used to make weapons. Producing MOX at
Sellafield will make the world a less safe place."
British Nuclear Fuels in recent days confirmed that it had
increased security at Sellafield and its other sites. But it
declined to go into details about the measures.
In a statement, the company said: "Whilst there is no real
evidence to suggest that any BNFL facilities are a likely target,
we take the safety and security of our sites very seriously.
"Major nuclear facilities including, for example, reactors and
highly active waste stores, are constructed to extremely robust
engineering standards and incorporate large quantities of
reinforced concrete as an integral part of the construction.
"These facilities are resistant to many terrorist threats
including aircraft impact. Safety cases and contingency plans
take these events into account."
The company also said: "Security around BNFL's sites has been
increased but we do not feel it appropriate to discuss these
measures."
To date, there has been a relatively muted debate in Northern
Ireland about the major extension to Sellafield that the MOX
plant will represent.
But South Down MP and Assemblyman Eddie McGrady is hoping to
change all that.
A long-time campaigner for the closure and decommissioning of
Sellafield, he is lobbying for concerted action to overturn the
MOX plans.
He has made representations to the Environment Ministers in the
Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Assembles, as well as the
authorities in the Republic and the Isle of Man.
"I have requested actions through the British/Irish
Inter-Governmental Council, British/Irish Council, British/Irish
Inter-Parliamentary Body and the North/South Ministerial Council
to have the licence issued to British Nuclear Fuels in respect of
the MOX plant removed as soon as possible," Mr McGrady said.
This is clearly one controversy that is not going to be resolved
in a hurry.
Edition [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/copyright.html]
*****************************************************************
31 Senator and film crew 'barred from nuclear plant'
Ananova -
An Irish Senator has been denied entry into the Sellafield
nuclear power plant.
Fergus O'Dowd was denied entry just two days after being invited
by British Nuclear Fuels bosses.
But when he turned up with a Channel 4 television crew he was not
allowed in.
Officials at the plant say there was not enough notice given by
the film crew and another documentary team was inside the
facility.
However, a spokesman for Mr O'Dowd, of the main opposition party
Fine Gael, says the television crew applied last week for
permission to film.
The Senator's visit followed a meeting in Drogheda, Co Louth, on
Saturday, in which BNFL head of safety John Clarke said the best
way to reassure people living across the Irish Sea from the plant
was by such a fact-finding mission.
Fears have escalated in Ireland since the British Government gave
the go-ahead for a new mixed oxide fuel (MOX) processing plant at
the site, which would lead to radioactive cargos travelling
through the Irish Sea.
Many people in the east of Ireland are also afraid of the
consequences of a terrorist attack.
Ireland has set a deadline of Friday for Britain to postpone the
operation of the MOX plant, otherwise it will seek an injunction
from the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the
Sea.
Speaking outside Sellafield after being denied access, Mr O'Dowd
said: "To issue an invitation and then withdraw it once accepted
is an extremely worrying and cynical exercise. If they are
confident about the safety of their plant, they should be
welcoming interest from the media and public in their operation."
Story filed: 17:44 Tuesday 6th November 2001 RELATED STORIES: +
Irish pledge legal challenge to Sellafield 20:13 Wednesday 3rd
October 2001 +
Copyright © 2001 Ananova Ltd
*****************************************************************
32 International experts inspect Russian nuclear power station
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 6, 2001
Text of report by Russian news agency RIA
Murmansk, 6 November: An inspection of the Kolskaya nuclear power
station in Murmansk Region, conducted within the framework of the
partnership programme of the World Association of Nuclear Power
Plant Operators, has been completed. The inspection was carried
out with the help of six international experts led by Jaroslav
Vokurek, the deputy director of the Czech Republic's state energy
production company.
Spokesmen for the Kolskaya power plant told a RIA-Novosti
correspondent that the inspection was carried out on a voluntary
basis at the plant's own request. Six aspects of the operations
were inspected: Organization and administration, operation,
maintenance, radiation protection, and experience in power plant
operation. The aim of the inspection was to assess the outcome of
efforts by the plant's management to implement the 46
recommendations which were made during the course of the first
inspection conducted by the partnership in 1999.
At the inspection's concluding meeting it was emphasized that the
major part of the recommended changes had been carried out by the
Kolskaya plant's management, and that the remaining ones were in
the process of being implemented.
Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0839 gmt 6 Nov 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to
*****************************************************************
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NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
1 Netanyahu: Terrorists Will Nuke New York
NewsMax.com:
November 06, 2001
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday
night that Mideast terrorists are determined to obtain nuclear
weapons, and when they do, they will use them on New York City.
"They're going to attack America again and again," Netanyahu told
Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."
And the great danger that we face is ... if they acquire nuclear
weapons - if any part of this terror network acquires nuclear
weapons - they will use it. And history as we know it will come
to pass."
In an exchange with Sean Hannity, the one-time Israeli chief said
there is no doubt which city would be first on the terrorist nuke
target list.
HANNITY: America needs to understand, if they get nuclear weapons
they already have the willingness to use them. If we allow that
to happen, if we don't win that race, [then] the world is a much
more dangerous place for our children.
NETANYAHU: Not a more dangerous [world] - they'll drop it in New
York. They'll drop it right here - right in the place where we
sit.
"Hannity & Colmes" is telecast from FNC's Manhattan studios.
NewsMax.com Privacy Statement
*****************************************************************
2 Nuclear terror a genuine threat - Bush
Independent News
© 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
Home > News > World > Americas
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Andrew Grice
George Bush for the first time accused Osama bin Laden and his al
Qa'ida network yesterday of attempting to develop nuclear,
biological or chemical weapons "to try to harm civilisation as we
know it".
As he launched new efforts to increase the pressure on wavering
allies five weeks into the bombing campaign, the US President
compared the fight against terrorism to a new Cold War, and
Afghanistan's Taliban leaders to the totalitarian rulers who
controlled much of Europe a half century ago. "We have seen the
true nature of these terrorists, and the nature of their
attacks," he said in a satellite broadcast to leaders of former
Soviet bloc states gathered in Poland. "They're seeking chemical,
biological and nuclear weapons. Given the means, our enemies
would be a threat to every nation and eventually, to civilisation
itself."
Delivering some of his fiercest rhetoric yet, he declared that it
was not enough for countries to voice their support, and that it
was "time for action".
Mr Bush also came closer to blaming al-Qa'ida for the spate of
anthrax attacks in the US. In the latest outbreaks, the US
consulates in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and the Pakistani
city of Lahore confirmed that mail sent from Washington was
positive for anthrax spores.
Mr Bush said: "This is an evil man we're dealing with and I
wouldn't put it past him to develop evil weapons to try to harm
civilisation as we know it. He announced that this was his
intention and I believe we need to take him seriously."
The President, who will address the UN General Assembly in New
York on Saturday, said it was important that all countries joined
the so-called war against terrorism and must be seen to do so.
Without singling out any country for failing to act, he said:
"Over time, it's going to be important for nations to know they
will be held accountable for inactivity. You're either with us or
you're against us in the fight against terrorism."
With President Jacques Chirac of France by his side, Mr Bush
thanked him for his support and added: "A coalition partner must
do more than just express sympathy. A coalition partner must
perform."
Washington is mounting a determined effort to shore up faltering
support for a campaign which has yet to produce any obvious
results but has worried some allies because of the level of
civilian casualties. While the Pentagon again said yesterday it
was continuing to strike targets at the heart of the Taliban as
well as its troops, the campaign appears no nearer to breaking
the regime, or finding Osama bin Laden.
The meeting with Mr Chirac, followed by a meeting with the
Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, marked the start of an
intense 10-day period of negotiations for Mr Bush and American
diplomats that will continue today when Tony Blair briefs the US
President on his recent less-than-successful trip to the Middle
East when he met several leaders, including President Assad of
Syria. The Prime Minister, on the eve of his visit to Washington
tonight for talks with Mr Bush, ruled out negotiations with the
Taliban and made clear his determination to eliminate them. He
told interviewer Larry King on the American network CNN: "You
can't negotiate with them." He described Osama bin Laden as "a
man who talks about killing all Jews, about eliminating the state
of Israel, about killing Christians or Americans who oppose what
they stand for". Mr Blair added: "You don't negotiate with that
kind. You just defeat them."
He is unlikely to push Mr Bush for concessions, despite
suggestions that he might ask for a bombing halt during Ramadan.
But he will press for greater humanitarian efforts, including a
possible secure aid corridor from Pakistan. He will also discuss
the make-up of a future Afghan government as well as the Middle
East.
*****************************************************************
3 Bush warns of nuclear terror
BBC News | EUROPE |
6 November, 2001, 18:08 GMT
[George Bush in Warsaw in June 2001]
Bush: Hoping for tighter security against terrorists
US President George Bush has said Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
organisation is seeking to acquire nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons. Speaking by videolink to 17 eastern and
central European leaders meeting in Warsaw, Mr Bush said the
al-Qaeda network was trying to export "terror throughout the
world". The European leaders applauded warmly when he thanked
them for supporting the US-led campaign against al-Qaeda - which
Washington blames for the 11 September attacks in the United
States - and the group's Taleban protectors in Afghanistan.
World leaders are concerned that Europe's less stable half does
not become the continent's 'soft underbelly'
The BBC's Ray Furlong
"We stand by the American nation just as they supported us in our
struggle for freedom," they said in a declaration after the
meeting. They adopted an anti-terrorism plan including tighter
border controls, better coordination of intelligence services and
closer scrutiny of the banking sector to combat money laundering.
Many of the 17 leaders are eager to bring their former communist
countries into the western military alliance Nato, analysts said.
In other developments
+ Anthrax is found in post at the US consulate in the Russian
city of Yekaterinburg
+ Pentagon officials deny reports that a US helicopter crashed
in Pakistan after being fired on by the Taleban
+ Opposition Northern Alliance forces say they have captured
three villages near Mazar-e-Sharif, but the Taleban say they
fought them off
+ The UN says the Taleban is hindering humanitarian efforts
inside Afghanistan
+ The US transport secretary says there was a security failure
of dramatic dimensions at Chicago's O'Hare airport
+ More US special forces move into Afghanistan to co-ordinate
air strikes, the Pentagon says
+ India's prime minister visits Russia to ensure a key role in
any Afghan administration after the Taleban "Al-Qaeda operates in
more than 60 nations including some in Central and Eastern
Europe. These terrorist groups seek to destabilise entire nations
and regions," Mr Bush said. "They're seeking chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons. Given the means, our enemies would be a
threat to every nation and eventually, to civilisation itself."
'With us or against us'
Speaking at the White House later after meeting French President
Jacques Chirac, Mr Bush said he was unsure whether Bin Laden and
his al-Qaeda organisation already had such weapons. "He announced
that this was his intention and I believe we need to take him
seriously," Mr Bush said.
All nations, if they want to fight terror, must do something...
You're either with us or you're against us
President Bush
Mr Bush also increased pressure on US allies to take an active
part in the campaign, saying: "It is time for action." "A
coalition partner must do more than just express sympathy," Mr
Bush said. "A coalition partner must perform." But he did not
single out any country for failing to support the US-led
campaign.
Mr Chirac pledged continued French support, but opinion polls
show growing doubts about the military action in Afghanistan
among the French public. The BBC's Central Europe correspondent
Ray Furlong says world leaders are concerned that eastern and
central Europe does not become the continent's "soft underbelly",
vulnerable to terrorist penetration.
Money-laundering fears
Eastern Europe is also featuring in the investigation into the 11
September attacks on America.
[Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Miller with Tony Blair] Western
Europe has overshadowed Eastern Europe in the war on terror
Poland has revealed that suspects in the attacks on the World
Trade Center travelled across its territory, and the Czech
Republic has said that Mohammed Atta, suspected of piloting one
of the hijacked planes, met an Iraqi agent in Prague.
There are also fears about the region being used for
money-laundering, and as a route for drug-smuggling.
Support falling
Some east European leaders have said the 11 September attacks
underline the need for the accelerated entry of their countries
into Nato and the European Union.
Mr Bush said he stuck to his vision of Europe as a "house of
freedom" - outlined in a visit to Poland earlier this year.
Continued expansion of Nato and the European Union were part of
that vision. Latest opinion polls in Poland show support for
military action is falling. Only 30% would favour sending their
troops into Afghanistan, compared to 60% immediately after the
attacks on the US. So far, the Czech Republic is the only country
in the region that says it is preparing forces for action - an
anti-chemical warfare unit.
*****************************************************************
4 TEST SITE RADIOACTIVITY: Berkley requests cleanup
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: NEWS:
Tuesday, November 06, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Letters say nuke dump would add to problem
By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., wants the Environmental Protection
Agency to list the Nevada Test Site as a Superfund cleanup site
and has said in letters to officials Monday that contamination
from below-ground nuclear weapons tests could affect plans to
bury radioactive waste inside Yucca Mountain.
But government scientists argue cleaning up groundwater layers
tainted by hundreds of underground atomic bomb detonations at the
test site would cost trillions of dollars and put workers at
risk.
The result, an Energy Department environmental manager said,
would be enormous amounts of contaminated material stored as
low-level nuclear waste at the test site, 65 miles northwest of
Las Vegas.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, Berkley
asked whether the Yucca Mountain Project would be halted if
contamination from the test site and a high-level nuclear waste
repository in the mountain would violate the EPA radiation safety
standard.
Berkley also wrote Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and said the
test site's existing contamination "has significant repercussions
for the Yucca Mountain Project."
She asked Abraham to have his staff start studying how and when
contamination from some 260 nuclear tests detonated below or near
the water table will affect the groundwater system at Yucca
Mountain, which straddles the southwest corner of the test site.
Government scientists estimate that roughly 130 million curies,
units of radioactivity, were in the test site's groundwater
layers in 1994, mostly as tritium, an isotope that will decay to
insignificant levels after 1,000 years.
Earlier this year, the EPA set a 4 millirem per year standard for
radiation measured in groundwater around Yucca Mountain that
would be tapped for crops and dairy cattle over a 10,000-year
regulatory period. A chest X-ray exposes a person to about 5
millirems of radiation.
"What has been overlooked in those standards is the possibility
that the groundwater radiation from the Nevada Test Site might
contaminate the Yucca Mountain groundwater system," Berkley said
in her letter to Abraham.
Abraham spokesman Joe Davis said the department received
Berkley's letter "and will be considering it and getting back to
the congresswoman in some way shape or form."
A 1997 analysis by researchers for the National Nuclear Security
Administration, which oversees the test site, said an attempt to
clean up remnants from past nuclear weapons tests would be
impractical. The cleanup would cost $7.2 trillion for open pit
mining of the test cavities, the most effective method, while
posing great health risk to the workers involved, the analysis
said.
Bob Bangerter, the administration's project manager, said the
1997 study showed a cleanup worker would receive in just one hour
the maximum exposure level that safety regulations allow for a
whole year.
Monitoring the test site's contamination, he said, is projected
to cost $1.5 billion from 2030 to 2130. The monitoring effort,
which began in 1989, will cost more than $700 million through
2030.
Berkley said the projected high costs for cleanup and monitoring
makes her case stronger for dealing with the problem now.
"Their numbers demonstrate to me that we have a potential
environmental catastrophe on our hands. Couple that with the
proposal to store 77,000 tons of toxic nuclear waste at Yucca
Mountain, and you now have a potential monumental environmental
disaster," she said in a telephone interview.
"What you have is a site that does not comply with EPA standards.
Consequently, Yucca Mountain should not be the site for the
nation's nuclear waste," she said.
Designation as a Superfund site would place the test site among
the most contaminated locations in the nation and would make its
cleanup a higher priority.
webmaster@lvrj.com Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 -
*****************************************************************
5 Annan To Preside Over Start Of Meeting On Nuclear Test Ban Accord
[http://www.middleeastwire.com/world]
Posted Monday November 5, 2001 - 04:33:52 PM EST
United Nations - A meeting aimed at promoting the entry into
force of a nuclear test ban accord is slated to begin this
weekend at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with
Secretary-General Kofi Annan expected to lead the opening events,
a UN spokesman said today.
The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test- Ban Treaty (CTBT) will begin on
Sunday, with Mr. Annan expected to preside over the election of a
President for the meeting, spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva
said.
Mexico's Foreign Minister, Jorge Castaneda, is expected to be
elected to the post.
Afterwards, the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission
for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization,
Wolfgang Hoffmann, will brief the delegates on that body's work.
The Conference will end on 13 November and is expected to
conclude with the adoption of a final report, the spokesman said.
So far, 161 countries have signed the CTBT, while 84 have
ratified it, including three nuclear-weapon States: France, the
Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The Treaty will only
enter into force once all 44 countries listed in its Annex II
have ratified.
© 2001 United Nations. This news item is distributed via Middle
East News Online (MiddleEastWire.com).
*****************************************************************
6 Bush Says Al Qaeda Seeking Nuclear Weapons
World - Reuters - updated 7:48 PM ET Nov 6
President Bush accused Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network on
Tuesday of seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and
called on Afghans fed up with Taliban rule to help locate the
elusive accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. In a speech
via satellite to a conference of Eastern European leaders in
Warsaw, Poland, Bush compared the al Qaeda network to the
``fascists and totalitarians'' of the past half century.
``We see the same intolerance of dissent, the same mad global
ambitions, the same brutal determination to control every life,
and all of life. We have seen the true nature of these
terrorists, and the nature of their attacks,'' Bush said.
For the first time, Bush accused bin Laden's group of seeking
nuclear weapons and came close to tying it to the anthrax attack
in America that has killed four people.
``Al Qaeda operates in more than 60 nations including some in
Central and Eastern Europe. These terrorist groups seek to
destabilize entire nations and regions,'' Bush said.
``They're seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Given
the means, our enemies would be a threat to every nation and
eventually, to civilization itself,'' he said.
He said America was fighting the war at home.
``We face a second wave of terrorist attacks in the form of
deadly anthrax that has been sent through the U.S. mail,'' he
said.
The United States was determined to fight ``this evil ... until
we're rid of it,'' he said.
``We will not wait for more innocent deaths. We will not wait for
the authors of mass murder to gain the weapons of mass
destruction. We act now, because we must lift this dark threat
from our age and save generations to come,'' he said. Bush also
made an appeal to Afghan citizens to help find bin Laden, who is
said to be constantly on the move trying to evade U.S. air
strikes.
``I've seen some news reports that many Afghan citizens wish the
Taliban had never allowed the al Qaeda terrorists into their
country. I don't blame them. And I hope those citizens will help
us locate the terrorists, because the sooner we find them, the
better the people's lives will be,'' Bush said. BUSH VOWS TO GET
AL QAEDA
He said ``it may take a long time'' but that the United States
was prepared to bring al Qaeda to justice and end the use of
Afghanistan as ``a training ground for terror.'' Bush also
painted a vivid picture of what he called repression by the
Taliban militia in control of much of Afghanistan, which the
United States has been attacking since Oct. 7 in an attempt to
punish bin Laden and his supporters for the Sept. 11 attacks in
New York and Washington that left some 4,800 dead. ``Children are
forbidden to fly kites, or sing songs, or build snowmen. A girl
of 7 is beaten for wearing white shoes,'' the president said.
``Our enemies have brought only misery and terror to the people
of Afghanistan and now they are trying to export that terror
throughout the world.''
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
7 Letter to DOE over NTS groundwater conditions
November 5, 2001
The Honorable Spencer Abraham
Secretary
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue Southwest
Washington, D.C. 20585-0002
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I am writing on a matter of urgent importance. As you
know, for 35 years, the United States Government detonated over
900 nuclear bombs at the Nevada Test Site. Around 260 of these
nuclear bombs were detonated either below the water table or
close enough to the water table to significantly contaminate the
groundwater at the Nevada Test Site and surrounding areas. At
this time, the Nevada Test Site (NTS) has, perhaps, some of the
most contaminated groundwater conditions in the United States
with an estimated 130 million Curies of radioactivity presently
in the aquifer.
The impacted areas of groundwater contamination encompass
more than 300 square miles and potentially involves 8.6 X 1017
cubic feet of mixed radioactive waste material. Each bomb,
ranging from a few kilotons to greater than 1.0 megaton in
explosive yield, was designed differently, and the production of
radionuclides per kiloton varies considerably from site to site.
As of today, much of this waste continues to leach radioactivity
to the groundwater system that flows unimpeded from the NTS to
public and private aquifers in the States of Nevada and
California. The Department of Energy's own modeling shows that
water from the NTS flows toward Oasis Valley and Amargosa Valley
and ends up in the Death Valley groundwater system.
1) Yucca Mountain Project
Groundwater contamination at the Nevada Test Site has
significant repercussions for the Yucca Mountain Project. As you
are aware, the Environmental Protection Agency recently
promulgated regulations on the radiation standards for the Yucca
Mountain Project, including a groundwater radiation standard.
This standard was designed to protect human and ecological
health.
However, what has been overlooked in these standards is
the possibility that the groundwater radiation from the Nevada
Test Site might contaminate the Yucca Mountain groundwater
system. Using DOE computer models of the NTS groundwater system,
it appears to me that the radionuclide contamination from nuclear
detonation sites will flow down gradient to the Yucca Mountain
groundwater flow system. This contamination has the potential of
violating the EPA's groundwater standard for the Yucca Mountain
Project. As such, I respectfully request that the Department of
Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
immediately begin studying how and when the potential groundwater
contamination from the underground NTS nuclear tests will impact
the Yucca Mountain groundwater system. This testing should be
done prior to the Secretary making a site recommendation.
2) Additional Department of Energy Monitoring and Testing
To realistically understand how badly these explosions
contaminated Nevada's aquifers, we must have accurate data on the
location, size, concentration and consistency of the radioactive
particles found in at least some of the underground water plumes.
We also need to know the direction and speed that the
contamination is flowing. So far, neither the State of Nevada nor
the federal government has sufficient data to determine these
characteristics. More research must be done. As such, I
respectfully request that the Department of Energy formally
request a record of decision from the Environmental Protection
Agency as to whether the Nevada Test Site should become a
Superfund site. Designating the NTS as a Superfund site will help
expand the federal government's ability to clean up this
contamination.
You should also know that local scientists have
approached me to recommend several commonsense steps the
Department could take to get a better handle on this
contamination. Specifically, they recommend that the DOE should
begin investing in drilling monitoring wells near the Test Site's
northwestern boundary in the direction that groundwater moves
from Pahute Mesa. That is where the largest bombs were detonated
closest to water-supply wells off the Test Site. They also
recommend that DOE modify its computer models for forecasting
where contamination would migrate at the Test Site to correct
substantial flaws. These models could be refined based on new
data from better positioned monitoring wells which could also
serve as an early warning system. They also recommend that
exploratory wells be drilled to characterize the aforementioned
contamination parameters for at least one radioactive
contamination plume from a detonation cavity. These ideas make
sense to me. I would like you to follow up on their
recommendations.
3) Citizen Involvement
I would also like to point out that there has been very
limited citizen involvement with the DOE's monitoring and cleanup
process of the NTS weapons tests. Some of my constituents have
complained that the Department of Energy is trying to avoid and
minimize public involvement in matters pertaining to the
remediation of the NTS. This perception must change. I would like
to discuss ways in which the Department of Energy can become more
open to citizen involvement in matters pertaining to the risk and
protection of the southern Nevada rural drinking water supply.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look
forward to your response.
Sincerely,
B
SHELLEY BERKLEY
Member of
Congress
*****************************************************************
8 Six cruise missiles to be unloaded from Kursk later
(Murmansk:) Six damaged cruise missiles are filled with special
solution and will be unloaded during decommissioning.
Granit missiles
Granit missiles in 12 missile tubes on each side of the hull.
These missile tubes are mounted outside the pressure hull of the
submarine.The Granit has a 750kg high explosive warhead. It is
10m long, 0.88m in diameter, and weighs 7t. Granit missiles have
a range of 550km. The missile is launched by solid fuel booster,
which is jettisoned, and then cruises at an altitude of over
20km, followed by a terminal dive onto the target.
Viktor Khabarov, 2001-11-06 16:40
16 cruise missiles were unloaded from Kursk. The remaining six
missiles of Granit type will be unloaded at the Nerpa shipyard in
Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk region. According to the Northern fleet
press secretary, Vladimir Navrotsky, this decision has been made
due to severe damages of the missile tubes after powerful
explosion onboard the Kursk. The missiles should be cut out
together with the tubes. Before transporting the Kursk to the
shipyard all the wholes and openings should be plugged and
welded.
The shipyard Nerpa in Snezhnogorsk has all the necessary
equipment for decommissioning and missiles extraction. Missiles
shafts are filled with special foamed polyurethane now in order
to fix the missiles position during transportation to the
shipyard, the missiles are safe for transportation, Navrotsky
said.
The second compartment contains a lot of explosives While
cleaning the debris in the second compartment the investigators
found big quantities of the explosives, equal to 150 kg of
trotyl. They are the parts of unexploded missiles, which were
thrown from the first compartment by the explosion.
The explosives were taken away by the specialists and terminated.
It was decided to work in the second compartment only during day
light to minimise the risk for the investigators, who work there.
They believe, it will take 3-4 months to clean all the debris on
the submarine.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge
Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact:
webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22
38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway Menu
*****************************************************************
9 Israel Moves Closer to Admitting Nuclear Option
-- 11/05/2001
By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief November 05,
2001
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Israel moved a 'step closer' to
admitting that it has an atomic bomb when it aired an
independently funded and directed documentary on the development
of Israel's nuclear option, the film's director said on Monday.
For years, Israel has maintained a policy of "opacity" or
ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying that it had a nuclear
bomb. Israel always maintained that it would not be the first
country to introduce nuclear weapons into the region.
Broadcast on Israel's channel two on Sunday evening prime time
television, "The Bomb in the Basement" followed the development
of Israel's quest for the nuclear bomb, which started with its
first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, the program said. The
program left it up to viewers to conclude if Israel had succeeded
in its quest.
The documentary aired at a time of great agitation in the Middle
East, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict turning more violent
and concerns about terrorism heightened by the Sept. 11 attacks
in the U.S. and the subsequent anthrax outbreak. But the film's
director Michael Karpin and a government spokesman nonetheless
said the timing of the broadcast was merely coincidental.
Research on the film began a year ago out of purely "journalistic
curiosity," said film director Karpin.
No one had any intention of sending a message, Karpin said, but
the filmmakers decided to break the taboo of not speaking about
Israel's nuclear option.
"It has nothing to do with September 11," Karpin said in a
telephone interview in reference to the terror attacks on the
U.S. The documentary had independent producers, an independent
director, private funding and nothing to do with the government,
he added.
Nevertheless, the logical conclusion is that "it is a
message...especially after September 11," he said. He said he
believed that Israeli officials understood this point and
therefore allowed the film to be aired at this time.
"The most significant thing [about the film] is that it appears,"
said Karpin. It broke more than a taboo, journalists didn't even
try to approach the topic previously, he added.
(In February 2000, an unprecedented debate in the Knesset on
Israel's policy of ambiguity disintegrated into a shouting-match
and ended abruptly, never again to be repeated.)
But government spokesman, Daniel Seaman, downplayed the
significance of the film, saying that no new information or
revelations were contained in it.
"I hope everything in it is true," Seaman said. Nevertheless, he
added, since the government had nothing to do with the film there
was "no relevance" to the timing of the release.
The Hebrew-language film opens with a compelling series of
"imaginary" worse case scenarios, suggesting four events, which
could trigger Israel's retaliatory launching of an atomic bomb -
if it indeed has one.
Using real and computerized footage, it suggests that Israel
would use the bomb, if Arab armies penetrated into Israeli
population centers inside Israel proper; if the Israeli air force
was destroyed; if Israeli cities came under chemical or
biological attack; or if Israel was attacked first with a nuclear
bomb.
According to Karpin, the film was submitted to the Israeli army
censorship and was changed very little, he said. Three or four
sentences in the piece were edited out; the rest appeared as is.
Interviewed in the film are some of the central participants in
the nuclear project, including Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who
was in charge of the development of the nuclear program from the
beginning.
It also incorporates numerous photos seen in Israel for the first
time, filmmakers said in a press release.
"The development of the nuclear project was the most complex,
costly and secret project ever carried out by Israel," the
release continued.
Ben-Gurion's biographer Michael Bar-Zohar said that the prime
minister began to contemplate Israel's "ultimate deterrent" in
the early years of the state.
The film details the process whereby Israel and France signed a
nuclear treaty and Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona was
constructed. It also tells of a decade long dispute between
Israel and the U.S. over the reactor.
"The tension eased only when [the late Israeli Prime Minister
Levy] Eshkol persuaded President Lyndon Johnson to approve
tacitly the existence of the Israeli nuclear option. In return
Israel guaranteed to maintain nuclear opacity.
"Over the years the strategy of opacity was streamlined by Israel
into a highly effective deterrent weapon," the press statement
said.
The film does not plainly say that Israel has a nuclear bomb and
Karpin declined to elaborate.
"I would say that everyone would decide after watching the
documentary, if Israel has a bomb," Karpin said. Nevertheless, he
added, it was "one step forward" in the process.
Israelis Interested
The 80-minute film, produced in France, the U.S. and Israel,
received very high television ratings for a documentary shown in
Israel.
Michal Kizelstein, spokesperson for Reshet, Israeli commercial
television, said the documentary, which ran two hours with
commercials achieved an overall rating of 11 percent.
That is an "outstanding" number she said, but the station was not
surprised because "good stuff makes good ratings," she said. The
management, she added, could see that Israelis would be
interested in the "news it delivered."
*****************************************************************
10 Slight gain in cleanup funds for Oak Ridge
Oak Ridger Online -->
Story last updated at 12:08 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, 2001
by Paul Parson
Oak Ridger staff
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge cleanup efforts gained $4
million for fiscal year 2002 rather than losing $90 million like
some speculated, according to U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd
District.
"When it was all said and done, we didn't get a cut at all," the
congressman said during a phone interview Monday afternoon.
In fact, Wamp insisted that only $60 million of the $90 million
feared loss was for work in Oak Ridge. He said the other $30
million was for cleanup efforts in Paducah, Ky., which falls
under the Oak Ridge Operations office.
The congressman said both the $60 million and $30 million feared
losses were restored during last week's conference committee
meeting of House and Senate members.
In addition, Wamp pointed out that toward the end of fiscal year
2001, the House and Senate approved a $12 million supplemental
bill that was earmarked for use in Oak Ridge during the current
fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.
When asked if he thinks DOE's cleanup projects will face funding
problems in FY 2003, Wamp said the federal agency's "top to
bottom" review of its environmental management program should
determine future priorities. That review is not yet complete.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced the environmental
management review in April in order to determine more effective
cleanup methods that could be accomplished in shorter time frames
and to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently.
During the interview, Wamp also offered some criticism of those
groups who expressed concern publicly that Oak Ridge's cleanup
efforts would sustain cuts in FY 2002. He said people shouldn't
speculate about budgets or layoffs nor should they use the media
to create a sense of fear that "the sky is falling."
"We want a community that doesn't overreact," he said.
All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger
*****************************************************************
11 Open campus would not decrease security at ORNL
Oak Ridger Online -->
Story last updated at 11:02 a.m. on Tuesday, November 6, 2001
by Paul Parson
Oak Ridger staff
Transforming Oak Ridge National Laboratory into an open campus
doesn't mean people would have free rein to go wherever they want
at the federal facility. In fact, Lab Director Bill Madia says
the concept would make ORNL a much more secure facility.
However, it could be awhile before the plan becomes a reality.
Officials at ORNL and all other Department of Energy facilities
are dealing with maintaining heightened security measures in
light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the warning that more
could occur.
"We're still trying to evaluate how much security and for how
long," Madia said during an interview Monday. "We're still in
response mode here. For a prolonged period of time, we expect to
be at a heightened level of security."
One of the security measures recently taken at ORNL was last
week's closure of Bethel Valley Road to trucks. UT-Battelle, the
lab's manager, has also asked DOE to place permanent travel
restrictions on portions of the road so that only ORNL employees
and those people doing business at the lab could travel it.
Madia said he appreciates the support ORNL has gotten from Gov.
Don Sundquist and the state regarding security measures.
Though Madia said he'd still like to see ORNL as an open campus,
he indicated that depends a lot on what the future holds,
specifically relating to terrorist attacks.
"When we return to a level of normalcy, then we are going to
reevaluate how we can open the campus up," Madia said. The open
campus strategy is part of ORNL's modernization effort.
UT-Battelle had already implemented an important part of the
open campus plan when it began using proximity card readers last
month to allow personnel access to buildings. Madia said even he
would not have been able to get into his building without his
proximity card.
However, only time will tell if changes concerning the removal
of fences and a reduction in the number of guards actually take
place.
All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger
*****************************************************************
12 Nuclear expert's Taliban link cited
By Juan O. Tamayo
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The recent arrest of a top Pakistani
nuclear expert was triggered by U.S. intelligence reports that he
had repeatedly telephoned the supreme Taliban leader after Sept.
11.
According to the expert's relatives, the calls were
philanthropic - to discuss building a flour mill in Afghanistan -
but last week's detentions of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and two
other nuclear experts sparked speculation that Pakistani
officials suspected they might be helping Osama bin Laden obtain
nuclear weapons.
U.S. officials have been concerned that bin Laden, a Taliban
ally and suspect in the terror attacks, could get his hands on a
nuclear bomb or radioactive material.
Pakistan has declined to explain the detentions of Bashiruddin,
Abdul Majeed and Mirza Yusuf Baig, all retired senior officials
of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission. But relatives of
Bashiruddin said Sunday that Pakistani investigators told them
U.S. officials say he telephoned Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed
Omar several times after Sept. 11.
"We were told the calls were monitored, and that the Americans
apparently found something mysterious in them," said one of the
relatives, all of whom asked not to be named.
Bashiruddin was in contact with Omar in recent weeks, the
relatives acknowledged, but only to discuss a charity group's
plans to build a flour mill in Kandahar.
Pakistani investigators, apparently from the country's
Inter-Services Intelligence agency, seized Bashiruddin's home
computer last week and questioned relatives about his views on
bin Laden, they said.
Bashiruddin is regarded as a founder of Pakistan's nuclear
weapons program, primarily in managing the development of
uranium-enrichment plants rather than working directly on weapons
designs.
He also is considered something of an eccentric - a Muslim
fundamentalist who believes that Islam's holy book, the Koran,
contains Allah's hidden instructions for all scientific
knowledge.
Bashiruddin has had contacts with the Taliban since it took
power in 1996. Several years ago, the relatives said, he founded
a philanthropic organization to promote agriculture there.
"He is not a terrorist," one relative said. "He is a peaceful
man who condemns the killing of innocent people whether they are
Americans or Afghans."
Pakistan's 30-year-old nuclear weapons program culminated in
1998 with its first successful test of an atomic bomb. The
country now has about 20 nuclear devices that can be fitted to
missiles or airplanes.
Washington is concerned about the ability of Pakistan -
perennially at odds with neighboring nuclear rival India - to
maintain control of the weapons. Gen. Pervez Musharraf,
Pakistan's president, has assured the Bush administration the
weapons remain secure despite his policy about-face, which almost
overnight after Sept. 11 switched the country from strong support
of the Taliban to a front-line U.S. ally in the war on terror.
U.S. counterterrorism experts say the bigger danger may be
leakage of Pakistani nuclear technology or radioactive materials
to bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
Bin Laden told an interviewer in 1998 that obtaining chemical
and nuclear weapons "is a religious duty" for Muslims because of
"aggressions" against Islam by the West.
"How we use them is up to us," he said.
*****************************************************************
13 US nightmare: broken arrow from Pak N-arsenal
The Indian Express : Op-Ed
Op-Ed Tuesday, November 06, 2001
STEVEN MUFSON
About two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a group
of medium-level Bush administration officials met with experts on
South Asia for a discussion of whether war in Afghanistan might
detonate bigger problems in Pakistan — including the loss of
control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. That arsenal holds about
30 nuclear weapons and perhaps as many as 50, according to
experts on Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
There has been mounting concern in the United States that those
weapons, their plans or some of the radioactive materials could
fall into the hands of terrorists or their allies should the
Pakistani government fall as a result of its decision to support
the US-led war in Afghanistan. ‘‘If domestic instability leads to
the downfall of the current Pakistani government, nuclear weapons
and the means to make them could fall into the hands of a
government hostile to the United States and its allies,’’ said
David Albright, a South Asia expert at the Institute for Science
and International Security. Those fears were fanned a week ago
when Pakistan detained two retired nuclear scientists, including
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, the former chief designer and
director of the country’s Khoshab Atomic Reactor who for the past
three years has run a relief organisation and travelled
frequently to Afghanistan.
Mahmood was a pioneer in Pakistan’s efforts to enrich uranium, a
key ingredient for nuclear weapons, and held a patent on a
technique for stopping leaks of heavy water from enrichment
plants. Later he helped manage the construction of a reactor that
produces plutonium.
Mahmood has made no secret of his political views. After Pakistan
exploded a nuclear device in May 1998, Mahmood said the country
should not give in to international pressure to sign the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Instead, he said, Pakistan should
enhance its capability to ‘‘at least match our enemy,’’ India,
‘‘in order to safeguard our independence.’’
The other scientist, Abdul Jajid, worked in Pakistan’s Atomic
Energy Commission.
Pakistan has asserted that its nuclear arsenal is safe. Pakistani
Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar said on Friday that ‘‘Pakistan has
an impeccable record of custodial safety and security free of any
incident of theft or leakage of nuclear material, equipment or
technology.’’
Though the United States usually supports civilian control of
nuclear weapons around the world, it has endorsed continued
military control of the weapons in Pakistan because the military
is seen as more professional and stable than other elements of
Pakistani society.
Experts say the military chain of command appears intact despite
turmoil and reshuffling at the top of the government, and most of
the sympathisers of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia in the
government are believed to be in the intelligence service.
But Bush officials remain anxious. John R. Bolton, undersecretary
of state for arms control and international security, without
singling out Pakistan, said Thursday that since September 11 ‘‘my
concern about nuclear weapons everywhere has gone up.’’ He said
he worried that a hostile state, or nonstate organisation, might
acquire such a weapon.
Defense Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld said on Thursday that the
United States had ‘‘certain knowledge’’ that the al-Qaeda
terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden ‘‘had an appetite for
acquiring weapons of mass destruction of various types, including
nuclear materials.’’ A recent article in the New Yorker magazine
alleged that the US military had a secret plan to destroy
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, and that a special team hd trained
with Israeli advice and assistance. The State Department and
Pentagon have denied the report.
Experts doubt such plans could succeed in any case. Because of
Pakistan’s long-standing fear that Israel, India or the United
States might seek to destroy its nuclear-weapons programme,
Pakistan’s weapons are probably spread among several sites.
Experts say Pakistan might keep its warheads separate from
missiles, for safer storage. ‘‘People talk about getting the
nuclear weapons. I don’t know how you would do that,’’ Albright
said. ‘‘I think it would be very dangerous right now. The
Pakistanis are very paranoid about what US intentions are right
now.’’
Officials are eager to increase the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear
arsenal, but in in a way that would not give it greater
confidence to deploy the weapons or fan fears in Islamabad that
the United States simply wants to collect information about the
weapons so they could be destroyed.
Some officials have raised among themselves the possible transfer
of ‘‘permissive action links,’’ devices that would prevent
warheads from being armed unless a number of people punched in
codes. But many experts worry that such devices would encourage
Pakistan to deploy weapons now kept for safekeeping.
Robert Einhorn, the Clinton administration’s top nonproliferation
official, said the US should limit aid to improvements in the
physical security around nuclear weapons sites through better
surveillance equipment. ‘‘We should pursue a program of
cooperation that does not contribute to the operational
capability of Pakistan’s nuclear force,’’ said Einhorn, a fellow
at the Center of Strategic and International Studies.
That, however, might not help if the government falls. ‘‘The real
threat is not that some guys with beards are going to run through
and capture these things but that, with a change in government,
control will change hands. That’s not something better fences is
going to solve,’’ said George Perkovich, author of a book on
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
Most experts say the greatest terrorist danger comes from the
possible theft of nuclear material, such as enriched uranium or
plutonium. That material could be given to Iraq, which has sought
to make its own N-weapons. Gary Milhollin of the Wisconsin
Project said an even-greater danger would be that a terrorist
could obtain nuclear waste from a Pakistani plant and use it in a
conventional explosion to spread hazardous radioactive material.
(LA Times-Washington Post)
Can terrorists handle nukes?
Experts feel that the Al Qaeda network has the ability to steal a
nuclear warhead or obtain enriched uranium or plutonium. Roger L.
Hagengruber, senior vice president for national security and arms
control at Sandia National Laboratories, said the skills shown by
the al-Qaeda network in putting together the September 11
operation demonstrate ‘‘the potential is there.’’ But he noted
that US weapons have built-in locks to prevent their being
exploded, a secure system that he said would take outside
scientists years to break.
Bin Laden or others obtaining highly enriched uranium is the
second-greatest threat, according to the International Atomic
Energy Agency. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said,
‘‘while we cannot exclude the possibility that terrorists could
get hold of some nuclear material, it is highly unlikely they
could use it to manufacture and successfully detonate a nuclear
bomb.’’
Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute, a
research and advocacy centre on nuclear proliferation and
terrorism, disagreed. He said a team of five former US weapons
designers ‘‘found that terrorists indeed would be capable of
making an effective, first-generation nuclear weapon if they
could obtain enough reactor-grade plutonium or highly enriched
uranium.’’ But designers said terrorists working with the
material would have to be trained in physical, chemical and
metallurgical properties of nuclear materials, the
characteristics of their fabrication, high explosives, chemical
propellants, hydrodynamics and electrical circuitry.
Hagengruber said if an aspiring bomb builder had enough pure,
highly enriched uranium, and had some fundamental understanding
of nuclear-weapons design, he ‘‘could create a situation with a
10 percent chance of having a sizable explosive yield.’’ But
obtaining the roughly 30 kilograms — or 65 pounds — of highly
enriched uranium required is a difficult task, according to
counterterrorism experts.
If a terrorist group succeeded in obtaining enough fissile
material, it would need a place to work ‘‘uninterrupted for a
significant period of time,’’ according to David Albright at the
Institute for Science and Security. ‘‘The necessary weaponisation
facilities can be small,’’ he wrote in September, noting that
South Africa’s ‘‘initial nuclear-weapons effort in the 1970s used
small, rudimentary facilities that were extremely difficult to
detect by overseas intelligence agencies.’’ — (LA-Times
Washington Post)
*****************************************************************
14 View: Rep. Wamp delivers on promised cleanup funding for Oak
Ridge
Oak Ridger Online -->
Story last updated at 12:16 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, 20
Say at least two things on behalf of Rep. Zach Wamp, our Third
District representative to Congress: He fights for what he
believes in, and he typically delivers what he promises.
Many months ago, when questions first arose as to whether Oak
Ridge would receive the monies it had been pledged under previous
agreements for environmental cleanup efforts, Rep. Wamp said the
city would not only get the pledged amount, but would probably do
even better.
That was one heck of a promise at a time when other voices, and
this page joined that nervous chorus, were decrying the proposed
reduction locally by $90 million for environmental cleanup
efforts.
Last week, Oak Ridge learned that instead of a $90 million
cutback, we would receive sufficient funding to place the city $4
million above current funding levels for fiscal year 2002.
Joe Nemec, president of Bechtel Jacobs Co., which serves as
DOE's environmental manager, says that added funds allow cleanup
projects to continue while reducing or eliminating the need for
any layoffs.
Rep. Wamp is driven by a clearly recognized need and commitment
to permit cleanup efforts to continue without interruption. His
important seat on the House Energy and Water Subcommittee and
also the House and Senate conference committee places Rep. Wamp
in a key position to get things done, and he has proven again
just how adept he is at getting things done for Third District
constituents.
The restored, even boosted, environmental management funding is
just one part of the equation. As science-technology staff writer
Paul Parson notes on today's business page, Rep. Wamp continues
to steer critical funding for the Spallation Neutron Source and
the Mouse House, two major projects which will greatly advance
Oak Ridge's role in neutron and genetic science.
These are clearly important developments for Oak Ridge. But, as
we have noted here so many times before, they are also of great
importance to a nation's scientific endeavor and inquiry, and the
payoffs will extend greatly beyond the city limits of Oak Ridge.
Rep. Wamp has earned great praise from this city, his district
and the nation.
All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger
*****************************************************************
15 Admiral with odd testimony
Last week the Pacific Fleet interrogated the first deputy
commander of the Russian Navy and former head of the Pacific
Fleet, admiral Zakharenko. His testimony did not impress the
defence.
Jon Gauslaa, 2001-11-05 21:05
As previously reported on Bellona Web, the phonetic experts have
caused almost a month's delay in the proceedings of the Pasko
case. It was officially announced today that the trial first will
resume on November 29. The delay of the experts is, however, not
the only event that has disturbed the defence-team lately.
A man with bad memory
The first deputy commander of the Russian Navy and former head of
the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Zakharenko was flown in from Moscow to
testify on October 30. Zakharenko has apparently been summoned to
the Court on the order of the chairman of the Pacific Fleet
Court, General Volkov. The admiral's testimony turned out to be
rather odd.
In 1997 the admiral issued various documents so that Pasko could
travel to Japan in order to make research on an article related
to the graves of Russian sailors on Japanese soil. The admiral
did not remember much about these documents.
His bad memory did however, not prevent him from giving his views
regarding the alleged presence of state secrets in the materials
that Pasko is charged with.
'Secret' notes
Admiral Zakharenko focused particularly on one episode in the
indictment. Pasko attended a meeting of the Military Council of
the Pacific Fleet in September 1997 as correspondent for
"Boyevaya Vaktha". He took some notes at the meeting for the
possible use in a later article. In November 1997 the FSB
searched Pasko's flat and confiscated his notes.
The FSB then made up charges against Pasko and accused him with
having kept the notes at home and subsequently transferred them
to Japan and thus, disclosed state secrets.
How he could have transferred the very same notes that he
according to the charges still kept at home, is not explained in
the indictment. Thus, the FSB is not even close to prove that the
notes were transferred or that this was Pasko's intention, which
the Pacific Fleet Court actually acknowledged at the first trial
against Pasko in 1999.
Beyond the experts
Neither the allegation that the notes contain state secrets is
anywhere near being proven. The state secret experts claim that
the notes reveal secret information about "the real names of
military units" and "the activity of radio-electronic warfare
units during exercises", but could not to substantiate this
allegation when the Court interrogated them in September.
It then became clear that their conclusion is based on decree
055:96, which have been neither registered nor officially
published and thus, can not be used as the basis for filing
criminal charges. Besides, the notes are completely
incomprehensible for any other persons than the one who made
them, and can as such hardly reveal any information at all.
Nevertheless, the admiral went way beyond the conclusion of the
experts and claimed that the notes were bubbling over with state
secrets. They did not only reveal the secret plans of the
commanders of the Pacific Fleet regarding the strategic use of
its forces, but also how the commanders planned to carry out the
plans of the supreme Commander-in-chief (the Russian President).
Zakharenko also tried to convince the Court that it had been
necessary for the Fleet to change its battle plans because of
Pasko's notes.
Lying all the time
Neither Pasko's attorney Anatoly Pyshkin nor his public defender,
Aleksandr Tkatcheno were impressed by the admiral's testimony. --
The admiral gave a very sad impression, said Pyshkin. He was not
able to answer any of our questions concretely. His answers were
full of slogans regarding the glorious tasks of the Navy, and did
only contain assumptions and guessings and no substantial facts.
Tkatchenko characterisation was more merciless. -- When I saw the
admiral I had to ask myself why a generation of false patriots,
whose heads are crammed with empty phrases about the defence of
the motherland, have flourished in our country. He was lying all
the time, probably because he was afraid of loosing his spot in
the sun, said the former Locomotive Moscow forward, turned poet
and human rights advocate.
Despite of the harsh judgments passed on him, Zakharenko seemed
to be pleased with his effort. When leaving the courtroom the
admiral was humming 'Katyusha' - a kind of Russian answer to "the
Battle Hymn of the Republic"…
Grigory Pasko was arrested on November 20, 1997 on charges of
espionage on behalf of the Japanese TV-channel NHK. He was
acquitted in July 1999, but convicted of 'abuse of official
authority' and freed under an amnesty. Seeking a full acquittal,
Pasko appealed, but so did the prosecution, insisting he was a
spy. On November 21, 2000 the Russian Military Supreme Court sent
the case back for a re-trial at the Pacific Fleet Court. The
re-trial started on July 11, 2001, and after the latest
postponement, it seems unlikely that the Court will be able to
determine the case before the end of the year.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge
Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact:
webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22
38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
16 Russia, India urge nuclear states to join universal disarmament
process
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 6, 2001
Russia and India have signed a joint statement on strategic
issues. They expressed support for the 1972 ABM treaty,
reiterated adherence to the nuclear disarmament process and urged
all nuclear states to join it. Russia and India also spoke
against the militarization of outer space. The following is the
text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.
Moscow, 6 November: Russia and India support the preservation of
the existing agreements in the field of arms control and
disarmament, including the 1972 ABM treaty, says a joint
statement on strategic issues which the Russian Federation and
India adopted today.
The document says that Russia and India "attach priority
significance to the issue of strengthening regional and
international security". They also support the movement towards
universal and complete disarmament, in particular disarmament
"through systematic and consistent efforts to reduce nuclear
weapons throughout the world with a view to achieving the final
goal, that is liquidating such weapons".
Having welcomed the readiness of the Russian Federation and the
USA "to continue reducing their strategic offensive weapons",
India urged other nuclear states "to join the process of nuclear
weapons reduction at a certain stage".
"Russia and India are determined to continue consolidating their
systems of national control over the export of dual-purpose
materials and technologies in line with the set objectives of
nonproliferation in all its aspects, without affecting their use
for peaceful purposes," the statement points out.
"To prevent space militarization and, at the same time, ensure
that outer space is used for the implementation of most different
kinds of activity aimed at strengthening cooperation, peace and
development, Russia and India urged the international community
to apply efforts in a bid to ensure that relevant legally-binding
treaties were concluded for that purpose. In particular, Russia
and India urged the international community to reach a
comprehensive agreement on the nondeployment of weapons in outer
space and nonuse of force or threat of force in relations to
space objects," the document points out.
Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1312 gmt 6 Nov
01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to
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17 Russia to renew nuclear submarine fleet in 2002
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 6, 2001
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax
Moscow, 6 November: Russia plans to renew its nuclear submarine
fleet as part of a national defence contract for 2002, according
to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who is also
industry, science and technology minister.
He told journalists on Tuesday [6 November] that "these will be
fourth-generation subs", including the newly built Gepard, which
is at a Sevmazhzavod dock "after completing all its navigational
trials".
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1650 gmt 6 Nov
01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to
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