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                    NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
 
 1  American Ecology Announces Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Ward 
 2  U.S. says Calif. utility's woes not to hurt nuke safety
 3  Officials seek ways to get waste out of town
 4  Chem-Nuclear plant's budget debated 
 5  Mox for converting plutonium into commercial fuel 
 6  NUCLEAR POWER   
 7  Bruce Power plans to restart reactors
 8  Salem Unit 1 Enters 14th Refueling Outage; Ends Three-Unit Record Run for
 9  Nuclear dump a year away
10  Delay on nuclear waste decision under fire
11  Germany to Ship Atomic Waste to France Next Week 
12  Germany to ship N-waste to France - 

                    NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS
 
 1  Russian Rules Out Kursk Theory
 2  DOE request rejected
 3  Senator says he has White House promise program won't be run by Justice
 4  Weapons Plants-List
 5  AG Pressures Lab on Pollution Data
 6  Local News: 'Leak' really just shadow in Hanford tank
 7  Russia to start tests on Kursk raising
 8  Amendment would boost cleanup funding
 9  Senate passes Crapo amendment to boost nuclear cleanup
10  DOE site vicinity not risky: agency 
11  Paducah plant may get more cleanup funding 
12  Justice Department won't assume control 
13  Radiation dose from depleted uranium can now be measured 
14  Senator: Benefit Program Not Moving
15  Senator Assured on Sick Workers

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                     NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1  American Ecology Announces Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Ward 
Valley Damages Suit
                                       
Friday April 6, 4:09 pm Eastern Time
Press Release

American Ecology Reaffirms Commitment to Seek Recovery of Damages 
from State of California in Pending State Court Litigation
 
BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2001-- Jack K. Lemley, 
Chairman, President and CEO of American Ecology Corporation 
(Nasdaq:ECOL - news), today announced that a lawsuit filed by 
subsidiary US Ecology, Inc. to recover damages from the federal 
government for its failure to complete the land transfer for the 
Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste (``LLRW'') disposal 
project had been dismissed on appeal. 

The ruling, issued on March 30, 2001 by the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit, held that sufficient evidence was not 
presented to establish that the federal government intended for 
any third party -- such as US Ecology -- to have rights under an 
alleged contract between the federal government and the State of 
California to purchase the Ward Valley site. The Court did not 
rule on the issues of contract formation or US Ecology's standing 
to appeal. 

``While we are disappointed in the ruling, American Ecology 
believes its case against the State of California remains 
strong,'' Lemley commented. ``US Ecology intends to vigorously 
pursue completion of the land acquisition by California or 
recovery of monetary damages in State Court,'' Lemley added. 

In May 2000, US Ecology filed suit against the State of 
California in Superior Court for the County of San Diego seeking 
to compel the State to resume efforts to acquire the Ward Valley 
site. This pending suit also seeks recovery of costs incurred, 
interest, lost profits and certain legal expenses exceeding $162 
million. 

In October, 2000, California Superior Court Judge S. Charles 
Wickersham issued an Order granting California's motion to 
dismiss the case. US Ecology appealed that ruling, and briefing 
is now underway. Oral argument has not been set.

``The State of California still has a contractual obligation to 
US Ecology and nothing in the recent federal court ruling changes 
that,'' Lemley concluded. American Ecology Corporation, through 
its subsidiaries, provides a variety of radioactive, PCB, 
hazardous and non-hazardous waste services to commercial and 
government customers throughout the United States, such as 
nuclear power plants, medical and academic institutions and 
petro-chemical facilities. The company provides scientific 
solutions that protect people and the environment. Headquartered 
in Boise, Idaho, the Company is the oldest radioactive and 
hazardous waste services Company in the United States. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are 
based on our current expectations and beliefs regarding pending 
litigation. There can be no assurance that the Company will 
recover its investment or earn a return on the Ward Valley 
project, since the outcome of litigation cannot be predicted.

Failure to recover deferred site development costs would have a 
material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition. For 
further information, please refer to American Ecology 
Corporation's Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission. 

*Contact:* American Ecology Corporation Stephen Romano, 
208/331-8400 info@americanecology.com www.americanecology.com
 
  Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy 
*****************************************************************
 2   U.S. says Calif. utility's woes not to hurt nuke safety
                                       
Friday April 6, 5:21 pm Eastern Time
 
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear regulators said on 
Friday the bankruptcy filing by California's largest utility, 
Pacific Gas &Electric, would only increase their attention to 
safety monitoring at the firm's two nuclear plants in the state.

Pacific Gas &Electric operates two Diablo Canyon plants in Avila 
Beach, Calif. Each are rated at 1,100 megawatts.

In a letter to California Gov. Gray Davis, the head of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission said safety remained the highest 
priority, and if need be, the agency would increase its oversight 
of the two plants ``if circumstances warrant.''

``Our inspectors are particularly sensitive to signs of 
curtailment of required activities that may impinge on safety,'' 
said NRC Chairman Richard Meserve in his letter to Davis.

Meserve also told Davis that NRC inspectors have not found any 
decrease in safety at the plants.

``Our ongoing regulatory oversight and our inspections to date 
confirm that the present financial situation has had no impact on 
PG&E's ability to operate its units safely and in accordance with 
our requirements,'' Meserve wrote to Davis.

The utility, which is a unit of PG&E Corp (NYSE:PCG - news), 
filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, blaming the move on the 
failure of the political process to fix the California power 
crisis.

Meserve said the utility has assured the NRC it has sufficient 
funds to pay for nuclear plant safety needs.

In bankruptcy, the NRC said, it would seek to ensure that money 
be protected for such safety requirements.

Also to be protected in court proceedings would be the 
decommissioning funds set aside by the utility for the time when 
it decides to shut its nuclear units, the agency said. 


  Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy 
*****************************************************************
 3  Officials seek ways to get waste out of town

IdahoStatesman.com
 
    Saturday, April 7, 2001   
  
 Delayed, tainted shipments must go to New Mexico
 
The Associated Press 

  Statesman file photo   

  The first shipment of non-mixed radioactive waste started 
leaving the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory in 1999, bound for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 
near Carlsbad, N.M. Energy Department officials are looking for 
other ways to get plutonium-contaminated waste shipments out of 
Idaho back on schedule following a regulatory setback by the 
state of New Mexico.
   
IDAHO FALLS -- Energy Department officials are looking for other 
ways to get plutonium-contaminated waste shipments out of Idaho 
back on schedule following a regulatory setback by the state of 
New Mexico. 

The development could also complicate federal plans to bring two 
train-car loads of highly radioactive waste from New York to the 
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory this 
summer. 

In a bid to expedite waste shipments to the federal underground 
dump near Carlsbad, N.M., the federal government wanted to 
dramatically reduce the time between closing up a drum of 
plutonium-contaminated material and testing it for accumulated 
gases. 

The New Mexico Department of Environment rejected the proposal 
because the Energy Department inadequately explained how it would 
be enforced. While not disputing the calculations proposed by 
federal officials, the state regulators indicated the 
shortcomings in the proposition could be resolved. But that would 
require further review, delaying any reduction in the wait for 
gas analysis. 

"What this does is delays our ability to recover from our 
shipping schedule this year," Lori Fritz, Idaho waste operations 
director for the Energy Department, said. 

Under the 1995 agreement between the state and federal 
governments, 3,100 cubic meters of plutonium-contaminated waste 
must be moved to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico by 
the end of next year. The government should have moved nearly 600 
cubic meters by now, but bad weather and other delays have 
limited shipments to barely 350 cubic meters. 

Two weeks ago, Kathleen Trever, who runs the state INEEL 
Oversight Office, said the federal government will have to show 
that it can get waste shipments from INEEL to New Mexico back on 
schedule before the high-level waste shipments from New York 
would be permitted. 

While the failure to shorten the time for analyzing gases was a 
setback, Fritz said more critical to the INEEL shipping schedule 
is New Mexico approval of a broader array of waste types for 
storage at the Carlsbad facility. 

The INEEL had been limited to shipping only contaminated debris 
-- work clothing, tools and other garbage packed in drums. The 
change now being evaluated by New Mexico regulators would extend 
the waste eligible for burial at the Carlsbad facility to 
material tainted with other contaminants, making drums of solids 
and sludge eligible. 

That accounts for about 80 percent of the above ground waste now 
stored at INEEL. Idaho officials hope for a decision later this 
month since they will run out of the debris waste in another two 
weeks.
*****************************************************************
 4  Chem-Nuclear plant's budget debated 

By DAVE L'HEUREUX   *Staff Writer *

A state agency will argue Monday that Chem-Nuclear Inc. should 
cut its operating costs and pay millions of dollars more to 
public education.

 Arguments will begin Monday before the S.C. Public Service 
Commission, which must for the first time set Chem-Nuclear's 
operating costs.

 The State Budget and Control Board claims Chem-Nuclear 
consistently inflated its reported costs of running a 235-acre 
low-level nuclear waste dump in Barnwell County.

 Should the PSC order Chem-Nuclear to cut its operating costs, 
state law would oblige the company to contribute a greater part 
of its estimated $60 million in total revenues to public 
education.The precise determination of Chem-Nuclear's yearly 
operating costs in South Carolina is key as the state allows the 
company a 29-percent profit margin, based on the operating costs.

 Chem-Nuclear, which has operated the site since 1971, had 
claimed in pre-hearing testimony that its operating costs were 
$13.5 million a year.

 The company recently cut its operating cost estimates to $11.2 
million after a PSC audit found its original estimate was too 
high.

 "The (PSC) audit found the true costs of our actual experience 
in operating the landfill," said attorney Robert T. Bockman, who 
will argue Chem-Nuclear's case before the PSC.

 That's not good enough for Budget and Control, which claims 
Chem-Nuclear's true costs should run no more than $6.8 million a 
year.

 Kevin Hall, a private attorney who will represent the Budget and 
Control Board, based the reduced costs on the experience of a 
low-level nuclear waste site in Richland, Wash. 

"That site is larger and takes on more waste, yet its yearly 
operating costs are only $4.8 million," he said. "What's the 
likelihood that Chem-Nuclear runs a more efficient site? Not 
much." 

Millions of extra dollars in funds for public education are at 
stake, depending on the PSC determination of Chem-Nuclear's 
operating costs.

 Assuming $60 million in total yearly revenues for Chem-Nuclear, 
and a $13.5 million cap on operating costs, multiplied by the 29 
percent profit margin, would mean the remaining $42.6 million in 
funds would go to the state for public education.

 A $6.8 million cap on operating costs (--) again assuming $60 
million in total company revenues for a full year and multiplied 
by the 29 percent profit margin (--) would send $51.2 million 
into the state education fund. 

"The quality of public education is the top issue in South 
Carolina," Hall said. "We're looking to increase the amount of 
money this company contributes to public education, which is good 
news in a tight budget year." Hall accused Chem-Nuclear, which 
Maryland-based Duratek Inc. acquired last year, of deliberately 
inflating its operating costs.

 "This (hearing) will be the first time anyone has ever been 
authorized to see if they run an efficient site," he said.

 Hall claimed Chem-Nuclear had no incentive to cut costs because 
the state allows the 29-percent profit margin, based on operating 
costs.

 The commission had set aside five days for the hearing, but PSC 
Executive Director Gary Walsh said the PSC and Chem-Nuclear 
settled all but two of their 43 differences Thursday.

 The major issue is whether the PSC should allow a 29-percent 
return on the estimated $920,000 value of its corporate expertise 
in running the Barnwell site, Bockman said.

 Yet Hall expects a series of heated exchanges next week as he 
presents the state's arguments against Chem-Nuclear's claims.

 Hall is a lawyer with the Nelson Mullins law firm in Columbia; 
Bockman is a lawyer with the McNair firm.

 The Budget and Control Board, Chem-Nuclear and PSC staff 
attorneys will present their respective panels of experts to 
offer testimony.

 The PSC hearings will start at 11 a.m. Monday at the Synergy 
Center (formerly the Koger Executive Center) off Interstate-20 
and Bush River Road. Back 

 © Copyright 2001 The State-Record Company 	        	   	 	
*****************************************************************
 5  Mox for converting plutonium into commercial fuel 

7 April 2001 : 

                                       
The Times of India 

 WASHINGTON: The US nuclear regulatory commission has said that 
it is considering an application for the construction of a mixed 
oxide (Mox) fuel fabrication facility, according to the media 
reports. 

The Mox facility to be developed at the Savvanah river site of 
the department of energy, would convert surplus weapons-grade 
plutonium, supplied by the department into fuel for use in 
commercial nuclear reactors. 

In another development, a team of aerospace contractors 
developing the air force's space-based laser integrated flight 
experiment (SB L-IFX) successfully completed the experimental 
satellite's system requirements review. 

This is a major step forward in the ongoing design and 
manufacturing development process. 

A joint venture comprising TRW, Lockheed Martin and Boeing 
reviewed SBL-IFX's system-level specifications and key 
development milestones with the air force and Ballistic Missile 
Defence Organisation on March 28 and 29 in El Segundo, 
California. (PTI) 

*****************************************************************
 6  NUCLEAR POWER   

Chicago Tribune | Print Edition -- NUCLEAR POWER
 
Special reports 

April 6, 2001           *
Mario Caruso.

 Chicago --      It was so refreshing to learn that utilities are 
seriously taking steps to expand the use of nuclear power ("Power 
woes put nuclear in new light," Page 1, April 1). I have always 
felt that nuclear was the way to go, and now with the 
skyrocketing cost of natural gas and the blackouts in California, 
nuclear energy has to be expanded.

 According to the article, 50 percent of the power in Illinois 
comes from nuclear generation. In the Chicago area, we have not 
experienced a shortage of power. To me, this is a positive.

 With nuclear power, we would not be dependent on the cost or 
availability of natural gas. Of course, there are risks, but 
there is risk in everything. There is risk in mining coal; there 
is risk in burning coal and dirtying the atmosphere. With the 
experience of nuclear behind us and safeguards in place, along 
with new technology, the risks have been minimized.

 Now if we can only get the U.S. Congress off its duff and decide 
how to handle nuclear waste, that would go a long way toward 
resolving many of the problems.
 		 
*****************************************************************
 7  Bruce Power plans to restart reactors
                                       
[Reuters]   

Friday April 6, 12:08 pm Eastern Time

 (*UPDATE: Adds detail throughout. Includes Cameco quotes*)

TORONTO, April 6 (Reuters) - Bruce Power said on Friday it will 
spend C$340 million ($218 million) over the next two years to 
restart two nuclear reactors at its Bruce A nuclear power plant 
in southwestern Ontario, which could supply about 1,500 megawatts 
of electricity to power hungry users.

Bruce Power, a partnership between British Energy Plc (*quote 
from Yahoo! UK & Ireland*: BGY.L) and Canadian uranium producer 
Cameco Corp. (Toronto:CCO.TO - news), said it will spend C$30 
million over the next three months in the first phase of the plan 
to bring units 3 and 4 of the station back into service by the 
summer of 2003.

All four units, leased by Bruce Power from Ontario Power 
Generation, have been laid-up since 1997.

Restarting the two reactors is conditional on a number of 
factors, including closing of the Bruce transaction, expected by 
summer 2001, obtaining regulatory approvals and meeting 
performance targets for the four operational reactors at the 
Bruce B plant, Bruce Power said.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Cameco, which supplies about 25 
percent of the world's uranium, stands to benefit handsomely from 
the startup, Bernard Michel, the company's chairman and chief 
executive, told Reuters.

Cameco owns a 15-percent stake in Bruce Power and will benefit 
from both the direct sale of the power and from being the 
exclusive supplier of uranium. "It is important because it will 
increase the profitability of our transactions with British 
Energy. It will be good for Cameco.

The announcement of the Bruce plant startups comes as Ontario 
readies for the deregulation of its electricity market.

Ontario -- Canada's most populous and the nation's economic 
engine -- has already pushed back its previous deadline of 
November 2000 by one year. All indications now point to 
deregulation starting this fall, although there has been no 
confirmation from the Ontario government.

In midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Cameco was off 5 
Canadian cents at C$31.70. It has traded in a 52-week range of 
C$14.80 to C$32.00. ($1 equals $1.56 Canadian) 

  Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy 
Policy - Terms of
*****************************************************************
 8  Salem Unit 1 Enters 14th Refueling Outage; Ends Three-Unit Record Run for

World Oil.com - Industry News
 	 
PSEG Nuclear 

    HANCOCK'S BRIDGE, N.J., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- PSEG Nuclear 
plant operators took Salem Unit 1 off line Friday morning, at 
12:01 a.m., beginning the 14th Refueling Outage.  For the last 
117 consecutive days, PSEG Nuclear's three units, Salem Units 1 
and 2 and Hope Creek, have been safely on line, generating 
electricity for the businesses and residents in the northeast.

    "I am pleased with our performance through the first quarter 
of this year," said Harry Keiser, PSEG Nuclear President and CNO.  
"We have set aggressive targets for 2001 and we are on track to 
exceed them.  In our first quarter of this year alone, we have 
exceeded our safety targets, exceeded our cost targets, and 
operated at 100% capacity, generating approximately seven million 
megawatt hours of electricity.  This performance is a result of 
our employees' commitment to excellence."

    Salem Unit 1 had a 94% capacity factor during its past 
operating cycle, one of the best in its history, and generated 
approximately 13 million megawatt hours of electricity.  Major 
work in the outage includes replacing approximately 1/3 of the 
193 fuel assemblies and performing other testing and maintenance 
to ensure a safe, reliable run during its next operating cycle.

"I am confident in our team, in our plan, and in our ability to 
safely execute this outage," said Keiser.  "A safe successful 
outage, coupled with our first quarter performance, will put us 
further in our journey to excellence."

    PSEG Nuclear operates Salem Units 1 and 2, two 1,100 megawatt 
pressurized water reactors, and Hope Creek, a 1,050 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.

    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), 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 are subsidiaries of Public Service 
Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE: PEG), a diversified energy 
holding company with headquarters in Newark, NJ.
 
 Copyright ©2000 WorldOil.com Inc. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 9  Nuclear dump a year away

news.com.au 

By Political Reporter SUSIE O'BRIEN 
07apr01

CONSTRUCTION of a low-level nuclear waste dump in the state's 
north would begin in 12 months if environmental standards were 
met, Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

 He revealed the possible start date when releasing the dump's 
draft environmental impact statement guidelines – the first step 
in the environmental assessment process.

 "The EIS will identify the likely environmental impacts of the 
national low-level radioactive waste repository so that these can 
be taken into account when I consider whether or not to approve 
construction of the repository," Senator Hill said.

 The guidelines assess all three proposed sites near Woomera and 
cover waste transport and containment, construction of the 
repository, and rehabilitation of the site.

 The benchmark would be "best international standards", Senator 
Hill said.

 "It's a thorough process that involves significant public 
participation," he said.

 Green groups and the state Opposition yesterday restated their 
opposition to the dump. Opposition environment spokesman John 
Hill said people should use the consultation period to "tell the 
Liberals the dump is not welcome here".

 Australian Conservation Foundation campaign officer David Noonan 
said Senator Hill needed to give an additional guarantee that a 
separate medium-level dump would not be built.

 "When will he respect SA legislation over this issue?" he said.

 Senator Hill defended the need for the proposed low-level dump, 
which would also accept short-term medium-level waste. 

"We do think it's important to gather up this waste, which is 
located in the major cities," he said.

 "It's waste that's arisen from medical, industrial and 
scientific processes so it's there in drums in universities and 
hospital facilities."

 Senator Hill said a change of Federal Government would not 
affect the assessment process.

 Public comment can be made on the draft guidelines until May 23. 
The draft EIS will then be released, and is expected to have an 
eight week consultation period. 
*****************************************************************
 10  Delay on nuclear waste decision under fire

The Scotsman Online - Scotland's best selling quality national newspaper
 	 	 	 	
John Ross                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

ANTI-nuclear protesters last night accused the government of 
delaying a decision on how to deal with a stockpile of more than 
20 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel at Dounreay until after the 
election. 

It is a year since the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 
launched a two-month consultation exercise. A decision was 
expected last September. 

The DTI said yesterday it has still to decide. However, it is 
believed it will be put off until after the general election, at 
least two months away. 

Lorraine Mann, convener of Scotland Against Nuclear Dumping, 
believes the delay means the government wants reprocessing to 
re-start at the Caithness plant but is reluctant to announce the 
move in the run-up to the election. 

She said: "At the time everyone was outraged about how quickly 
they were trying to push this consultation through. We were told 
this was so urgent and that they had to take a decision by 
September." 

The DTI launched its consultation paper last April to obtain 
views on the management of 24.7 tonnes of fuel from the prototype 
fast reactor which was shut down in 1994. It includes 3.6 tonnes 
of commercial fuel and 14.3kg of fuel accepted by the government 
from Georgia in 1998. 

*****************************************************************
 11  Germany to Ship Atomic Waste to France Next Week 
                                       
Friday April 6 12:04 PM ET
 
By Emma Thomasson

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany plans to send nuclear waste to France 
next week for the first time since Berlin banned the return of 
its reprocessed waste from France three years ago after massive 
protests, a French official said on Friday.

Yves Gauthier, spokesman for the French nuclear reprocessing firm 
Cogema, told Reuters the reprocessing plant at La Hague expected 
a German shipment of waste to arrive on Wednesday.

Anti-nuclear activists clashed with police last week when Germany 
took back the first cargo of reprocessed waste from France since 
Berlin banned the shipments in 1998 over concerns about 
radioactive leaks and huge anti-nuclear protests.

France agreed in January to take more material from Germany's 
nuclear power plants for reprocessing if Germany accepted back 
waste already reprocessed in La Hague for long-term storage.

German nuclear energy sources confirmed a report by the 
environmental group Greenpeace that some 30 tons of waste would 
be shipped on Monday or Tuesday from three power stations in 
southwest Germany to the La Hague reprocessing plant.

The sources said the transport was due to begin on Tuesday, 
although German police said a week-long train strike in France 
could delay the shipment. German officials declined to give 
timings of the shipments for fear of attracting demonstrators.

Greenpeace spokesman Veit Buerger said last week's transport to 
the Gorleben storage plant in northern Germany, which activists 
delayed for a day by chaining themselves to rail tracks, had 
opened the floodgates for shipments to France.

``The government is treating France as the atom toilet of 
Germany,'' he said, adding that Greenpeace planned peaceful 
protests against the transports next week.

Another anti-nuclear group plans a demonstration on Sunday at the 
Philippsburg nuclear power plant in southern Germany from where 
some of the waste is due to come.

Buerger said the government planned 40 more waste shipments to La 
Hague this year. The deployment of some 15,000 police officers 
last week to guard the first transport to La Hague since 1997 
cost the state around $50 million. Greenpeace would not give any 
details about its planned protests, but many activists say they 
hope that by driving up the cost of policing such transports they 
will persuade the government to withdraw more quickly from 
nuclear energy.

Meanwhile, the nuclear news agency NucNet reported on Friday that 
a German nuclear cargo company had applied for permission from 
authorities in the state of Lower Saxony to transport another 
cargo of waste back to Gorleben from La Hague. 

  Copyright © 2001 ., and Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 12  Germany to ship N-waste to France - 

CNN.com - 

April 6, 2001
 	 	
BERLIN, Germany -- Germany is to send a shipment of nuclear waste 
to France next week for the first time in three years, a French 
official said. 
		 
Yves Gauthier, spokesman for the French nuclear reprocessing firm 
Cogema, said the reprocessing plant at La Hague expected the 
German shipment to arrive on Wednesday. 
		 
Anti-nuclear activists clashed with police last week when Germany 
took back the first cargo of reprocessed waste from France since 
a 1999 ban on such movements of nuclear cargo. 
		 
Berlin implemented the ban over concerns about radioactive leaks 
and massive anti-nuclear protests. 
		 
France agreed in January to take more material from Germany's 
nuclear power plants for reprocessing if Germany accepted back 
waste already reprocessed in La Hague for long-term storage. 
		 
German nuclear energy sources confirmed some 30 tonnes of waste 
would be shipped from three power stations in southwest Germany 
to the La Hague reprocessing plant. 
		 
The sources said the transport was due to begin on Tuesday, 
although German police said a week-long train strike in France 
could delay the shipment. 
		 
Greenpeace spokesman Veit Buerger said last week's transport to 
the Gorleben storage plant in northern Germany -- which activists 
delayed for a day by chaining themselves to rail tracks -- had 
opened the floodgates for shipments to France. 
		 
"The government is treating France as the atom toilet of 
Germany," he said. 
		 
Buerger said Greenpeace is planning peaceful protests against the 
transports next week. 
		 
Another anti-nuclear group plans a demonstration on Sunday at the 
Philippsburg nuclear power plant in southern Germany from where 
some of the waste is due to come. 
		 
Greenpeace would not give any details about its planned protests, 
but many activists say they hope that by driving up the cost of 
policing such transports they will persuade the government to 
withdraw more quickly from nuclear energy. 
		 
The deployment of some 15,000 police officers last week to guard 
the first transport to La Hague since 1997 cost the state around 
$50 million. 

Reuters contributed to this report.
 
RELATED STORIES: Showdown over German nuclear waste March 27, 
2001 Germany faces anti-nuclear clashes March 24, 2001 Nuclear 
protest at Berlin rail office March 21, 2001 Dutch nuclear 
activists arrested March 1, 2001
 
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                     NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 Russian Rules Out Kursk Theory

Las Vegas SUN: 

April 06, 2001

MOSCOW (AP) -

A member of a government committee investigating the sinking last 
summer of the nuclear submarine Kursk dismissed the theory that a 
collision caused the disaster, saying Friday it was "science 
fiction."

Russian officials had earlier cited a collision as a likely cause 
of the Aug. 12 sinking, which killed all 118 men on board.

Grigory Tomchin, a member of parliament on the committee, also 
ruled out friendly fire during a Russian military exercise or an 
enemy torpedo as a cause of the disaster.

"I consider a collision from the sphere of science fiction," 
Tomchin told a news conference.

Tomchin said several technical malfunctions may have caused the 
Kursk to sink, but added that engineers would have to study the 
wreckage more closely, most likely after the submarine is raised 
in an operation now in the planning stages.

His comments were at odds with official statements. The 
government has not released an official explanation of how the 
submarine sank, and has not officially ruled out the theory that 
the Kursk collided with another vessel, possibly a foreign 
submarine.

Most foreign experts say the most likely cause was an internal 
malfunction, such as a torpedo misfiring, which caused an 
explosion in a forward compartment.

Meanwhile, Tomchin on Friday again denied he told Norway's TV-2 
television station that the Kursk was carrying nuclear devices 
when it sank.

He said the station, which aired an interview with Tomchin on 
Wednesday, misunderstood when he referred to missiles or 
torpedoes capable of carrying atomic warheads as "nuclear 
weapons," but that he never intended to say there were atomic 
warheads on board.

"Were there nuclear weapons onboard? My answer was that this 
class of submarine is a carrier of nuclear weapons. There was no 
talk ... of two nuclear warheads," he said.

In transcripts of the interview on the TV-2 website, Tomchin is 
asked in Russian specifically whether there were nuclear weapons 
aboard. He answers: "Yes. That is known to everybody."

The station said Thursday it stood by its report. The station 
also quoted a Norwegian engineer involved in plans to raise the 
Kursk as saying he had seen secret Russian documents confirming 
two nuclear missiles were on board.

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.<BR>
*****************************************************************
 2  DOE request rejected

Elko Daily Free Press: Content
 	 		 	 		 			 	
 Apr 6 2001 12:00AM  By Submitted by Rep. Jim Gibbons    
    
  The DOE wanted an additional four years of access to the land 
and requested a seven-year permit instead of the current 
three-year agreement. Gibbons, a former Air Force combat pilot, 
actively encouraged the Air Force to deny the seven-year 
extension request.
 
"There is absolutely no reason for the DOE to receive 
preferential treatment and be granted an extension on its permit 
to access Air Force land near Yucca Mountain," said Gibbons, a 
member of both the House Resources and Armed Services Committees. 
"The request of the DOE to extend its access to land near Yucca 
Mountain shows, yet again, that the agency is relentlessly 
committed to creating a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. I am 
pleased that the United States Air Force understood the 
importance of this matter and did not agree to a special permit 
deal."
 
Currently, the DOE has a Right-of-Way (RoW) permit to Air Force 
land for the specific purpose of continuing site characterization 
of the Yucca Mountain area. The DOE's RoW is valid for a 
three-year period only, and the present permit agreement came up 
for renewal this month.
 
In applying for a permit renewal, the DOE also sought to change 
the agreement to allow the DOE access to the land for a 
seven-year period. Gibbons expressed his serious concern 
regarding the possible permit change to Air Force officials. 
Consequently, the Air Force rejected the DOE request and agreed 
to maintaining the current permit agreement.
 
----------------
 
Submitted by Rep. Jim Gibbons
		 		
*©Elko Daily Free Press 2001*                    
*****************************************************************
 3  Senator says he has White House promise program won't be run by Justice
 
  Posted at 12:39 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 7, 2001 

Senator says he has White House promise program won't be run by Justice
 Eds: PMs. With BC-Weapons Plants-List --> BY KATHERINE RIZZO
 *Associated Press Writer *

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House has rejected Labor Secretary 
Elaine Chao's request to make the Justice Department distribute 
money and medical care to sick nuclear workers, but has yet to 
decide whether to force Chao to do it, according to one of the 
program's congressional parents.

 Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said Friday he was given a top-level 
assurance that the new entitlement program will not be run out of 
the Justice Department.

 Bingaman and many other critics had bombarded the White House 
with calls and letters objecting to Chao's proposal to do that.

 The critics all said Justice was ill-equipped to make decisions 
about which medical bills to pay for seriously ill nuclear 
workers, and said they worried a Justice-run program would take 
too long to process the workers' claims.

 Chao said she believed the Justice Department was best suited to 
run the program because it already handles requests for lump-sum 
payments from other people harmed by radiation exposure.

 She got backing from House Judiciary Chairman James 
Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, 
R-Utah, and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who heads the committee 
that oversees the Labor Department.

 She was opposed by the chairmen of the Senate Governmental 
Affairs Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, and the 
Senate committee that oversees the Energy Department. All either 
called, wrote strong letters of objection, or did both.

 But Bingaman also played some quiet hardball.

 Without publicly revealing his strategy, he used his right under 
Senate rules to block pending nominations to Labor Department 
posts.

 The senator said he didn't even know the names of the nominees 
whose confirmation he threatened to sidetrack, but let the White 
House know he ``didn't want to go forward with any nominations 
there in the Department of Labor until we got some assurance that 
this wouldn't be going to Justice, where the history of efforts 
like this has been miserable.''

 The Justice Department runs a program that gives one-time 
payments to former uranium miners and people who lived downwind 
of nuclear test blasts who later became sick as a result of their 
unprotected exposure.

 Its small claims staff and lack of branch claims offices were 
two of the reasons the new program's authors said they preferred 
it to be run from the Labor Department.

 The new program offers $150,000 and lifetime medical care to 
Cold War-era workers exposed to health-robbing levels of 
radiation, silica or beryllium, and payments alone to the 
survivors of workers who already died from workplace 
contamination.

 Bingaman did not claim credit for the administration's apparent 
change of heart, saying ``I don't know at what stage 
decision-making was at in the White House before I spoke to 
them.''

 At the lobbying office of the union representing many of the 
nuclear workers, Bingaman's news was greeted with tempered glee.

 ``We take that as wonderful news,'' said Lowell ``Pete'' Strader 
of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers.

 ``We knew Justice wasn't prepared to handle the program,'' he 
said. ``We still stick to our position that Labor is the one 
that's best qualified.''

 Bingaman said the administration had not decided whether the 
Labor Department or some other agency would head the new program.

 ``They are still uncertain what exactly will be done with the 
program to make it work, but they are committed to making it 
work,'' the senator said. ``They will meet with us here when 
Congress returns after this recess to let us know what their plan 
is.''

 The White House had no comment.

 The new program is for workers who contracted cancer or lung 
disease because of exposure while on the payrolls of private 
companies that did work for the bomb program. Some worked on 
federal property, others at factories that had government 
contracts.

 The Energy Department preliminarily identified 317 sites in 37 
states where exposed workers might qualify for benefits.

 A toll-free number set up by that department to field requests 
has logged more than 19,000 calls. ------

 The toll-free information line is 1-877-447-9756.

 Energy Department's original announcement of new program: 
Justice Department program's claims summary: AP-CS-04-07-01 
0002EDT --> 

*****************************************************************
 4  Weapons Plants-List
 
Posted at 6:14 p.m. EDT Friday, April 6, 2001 

Weapons Plants-List

 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
The Energy Department's preliminary list of facilities that 
handled beryllium or radioactive materials for the government 
during the Cold War. This list includes some facilities that were 
managed by the Energy Department but not involved in nuclear 
weapons production. Exposed workers who subsequently contracted 
beryllium disease, silicosis or certain kinds of cancer may 
qualify for government compensation under a benefit program.

 ALABAMA

 Southern Research Institute, Sylacauga
 Speed Ring Experimental &Tool Company, Culman
 Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals

 ALASKA

 Amchitka Island Nuclear Explosion Site, Amchitka Island
 Project Chariot Site, Cape Thompson

 CALIFORNIA

 Arthur D. Little Co., San Francisco
 Atomics International, Canoga Park
 Burris Park Field Station, Kingsburg
 Ceradyne, Inc., Santa Ana
 Dow Chemical Co., Walnut Creek
 Electro Circuits, Inc., Pasadena
 Energy Technology Engineering Center, Santa Susana
 General Atomics, La Jolla
 General Electric Vallecitos, Pleasanton
 Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp., Riverside
 Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research, Davis
 Laboratory of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, Los Angeles
 Laboratory of Radiobiology and Environmental Health, San Francisco
 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley
 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore
 Sandia Laboratory, Salton Sea Base, Imperial County
 Sandia National Laboratories -- Livermore, Livermore
 Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Palo Alto
 Stauffer Metals, Inc., Richmond
 University of California, Berkeley

 COLORADO

 Coors Porcelain, Golden
 Project Rio Blanco Nuclear Explosion Site, Rifle
 Project Rulison Nuclear Explosion Site, Grand Valley
 Rocky Flats Plant, Golden
 Shattuck Chemical, Denver
 University of Denver Research Institute, Denver

 CONNECTICUT

 American Chain and Cable Co., Bridgeport
 Anaconda Co., Waterbury
 Bridgeport Brass Co., Havens Lab., Bridgeport
 Combustion Engineering, Windsor
 Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engine Lab. (CANEL), Middletown
 Dorr Corp., Stamford
 Fenn Machinery Co., Hartford
 New England Lime Co., Canaan
 Seymour Specialty Wire, Seymour
 Sperry Products, Inc., Danbury
 Torrington Co., Torrington

 DELAWARE

 Allied Chemical and Dye Corp., North Claymont

 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 National Bureau of Standards, Van Ness Street
 Naval Research Laboratory

 FLORIDA

 American Beryllium Co., Sarasota
 Armour Fertilizer Works, Bartow
 C.F. Industries, Inc., Bartow
 Gardinier, Inc., Tampa
 International Minerals and Chemical Corp., Mulberry
 Pinellas Plant, Clearwater
 University of Florida, Gainesville
 Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corp., Nichols
 W.R. Grace Co., Agricultural Chemical Div., Ridgewood

 IDAHO

 Argonne National Laboratory-West, Scoville
 Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Scoville

 ILLINOIS

 Allied Chemical Corp., Metropolis
 American Machine and Metals, Inc., E. Moline
 Argonne National Laboratory-East, Argonne
 Armour Research Foundation, Chicago
 Blockson Chemical Co., Joliet
 C-B Tool Products Co., Chicago
 Crane Co., Chicago
 ERA Tool and Engineering Co., Chicago
 Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., North Chicago
 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia
 Granite City Steel, Granite City
 Great Lakes Carbon Corp., Chicago
 GSA 39th Street Warehouse, Chicago
 International Register, Chicago
 Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Dalton
 Lindsay Light and Chemical Co., W. Chicago
 Madison Site (Speculite), Madison
 Midwest Manufacturing Co., Galesbury
 Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
 National Guard Armory, Chicago
 Podbeliniac Corp., Chicago
 Precision Extrusion Co., Bensenville
 Quality Hardware and Machine Co., Chicago
 R. Krasburg and Sons Manufacturing Co., Chicago
 Sciaky Brothers, Inc., Chicago
 Swenson Evaporator Co., Harvey
 University of Chicago, Chicago
 W.E. Pratt Manufacturing Co., Joliet
 Wycoff Drawn Steel Co., Chicago

 INDIANA

 American Bearing Corp., Indianapolis
 Dana Heavy Water Plant, Dana
 General Electric Plant, Shelbyville
 Joslyn Manufacturing and Supply Co., Ft. Wayne
 Purdue University Van der Graaf Lab., Lafayette
 Washrite, Indianapolis

 IOWA
 
Ames Laboratory, Ames
 Iowa Ordnance Plant, Burlington
 Titus Metals, Waterloo

 KANSAS
 
Spencer Chemical Co., Jayhawks Works, Pittsburg

 KENTUCKY
 
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah

 MARSHALL ISLANDS
 
Eniwetok Test Site, Marshall Islands

 MARYLAND
 
Armco-Rustless Iron &Steel, Baltimore
 W.R. Grace and Company, Curtis Bay

 MASSACHUSETTS

 American Potash &Chemical, West Hanover
 C.G. Sargent &Sons, Graniteville
 Chapman Valve, Indian Orchard
 Edgerton Germeshausen &Grier, Inc., Boston
 Fenwal, Inc., Ashland
 Franklin Institute, Boston
 Heald Machine Co., Worcester
 La Pointe Machine and Tool Co., Hudson
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
 Metals and Controls Corp., Attleboro
 National Research Corp., Cambridge
 Norton Co., Worcester
 Nuclear Metals, Inc., Concord
 Reed Rolled Thread Co., Worcester
 Shpack Landfill, Norton
 Ventron Corporation, Beverly
 Winchester Engineering and Analytical Center, Winchester
 Woburn Landfill, Woburn
 Wyman Gordon Inc., Grayton, North Grafton

 MICHIGAN

 AC Spark Plug, Flint
 Baker-Perkins Co., Saginaw
 Carboloy Co., Detroit
 Extruded Metals Co., Grand Rapids
 General Motors, Adrian
 Gerity-Michigan Corp., Adrian
 Mitts &Merrel Co., Saginaw
 Oliver Corp., Battle Creek
 Revere Copper and Brass, Detroit
 Speed Ring Experimental &Tool Company, Detroit
 Star Cutter Corp., Farmington
 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
 Wolverine Tube Division, Detroit

 MINNESOTA

 Elk River Reactor, Elk River

 MISSISSIPPI

 Salmon Nuclear Explosion Site, Hattiesburg

 MISSOURI

 Kansas City Plant, Kansas City
 Latty Avenue Properties, Hazelwood
 Mallinckrodt Chemical Co., Destrehan St. Plant, St. Louis
 Medart Co., St. Louis
 Roger Iron Co., Joplin
 Spencer Chemical Co., Kansas City
 St. Louis Airport Site, St. Louis
 Tyson Valley Powder Farm, St. Louis
 United Nuclear Corp., Hematite
 Weldon Spring Plant, Weldon Spring

 NEBRASKA

 Hallam Sodium Graphite Reactor, Hallam

 NEVADA

 Nevada Test Site, Mercury
 Project Faultless Nuclear Explosion Site, Central Nevada Test Site
 Project Shoal Nuclear Explosion Site, Fallon
 Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project, Yucca Mountain

 NEW JERSEY

 Aluminum Co. of America (Alcoa), Garwood
 American Peddinghaus Corp., Moonachle
 Baker and Williams Co., Newark
 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill
 Bloomfield Tool Co., Bloomfield
 Bowen Lab., North Branch
 Callite Tungsten Co., Union City
 Chemical Construction Co., Linden
 Du Pont Deepwater Works, Deepwater
 International Nickel Co., Bayonne Laboratories, Bayonne
 J.T. Baker Chemical Co., Phillipsburg
 Kellex/Pierpont, Jersey City
 Maywood Chemical Works, Maywood
 Middlesex Municipal Landfill, Middlesex
 Middlesex Sampling Plant, Middlesex
 National Beryllia, Haskell
 New Brunswick Laboratory, New Brunswick
 Picatinny Arsenal, Dover
 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton
 Rare Earths/W.R. Grace, Wayne
 Standard Oil Development Co. of NJ, Linden
 Tube Reducing Co., Wallington
 U.S. Pipe and Foundry, Burlington
 United Lead Co., Middlesex
 Vitro Corp. of America, West Orange
 Westinghouse Electric Corp., Bloomfield
 Wykoff Steel Co., Newark

 NEW MEXICO

 Chupadera Mesa, Chupadera Mesa
 Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos
 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
 Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque
 Project Gasbuggy Nuclear Explosion Site, Farmington
 Project Gnome Nuclear Explosion Site, Carlsbad
 Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque
 South Albuquerque Works, Albuquerque
 Trinity Nuclear Explosion Site, White Sands Missile Range
 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Carlsbad

 NEW YORK

 Allegheny-Ludlum Steel, Watervliet
 American Machine and Foundry, Brooklyn
 Ashland Oil, Tonawanda
 Baker and Williams Warehouses, New York
 Bethlehem Steel, Lackawanna
 Bliss &Laughlin Steel, Buffalo
 Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton
 Burns &Roe, Inc., Maspeth
 Colonie Site (National Lead), Colonie
 Columbia University, New York City
 Electro Metallurgical, Niagara Falls
 General Astrometals, Yonkers
 Hooker Electrochemical, Niagara Falls
 International Rare Metals Refinery, Inc., Mt. Kisko
 Ithaca Gun Co., Ithaca
 Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, Niagara Falls
 Ledoux and Co., New York
 Linde Air Products, Buffalo
 Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda
 New York University, New York
 Peek Street Facility, Schenectady
 Radium Chemical Co., New York
 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy
 Sacandaga Facility, Glenville
 Seaway Industrial Park, Tonawanda
 Seneca Army Depot, Romulus
 Separations Process Research Unit (at Knolls Lab.), Schenectady
 Simonds Saw and Steel Co., Lockport
 Staten Island Warehouse, New York
 Sylvania Corning Nuclear Corp., Hicksville
 Sylvania Products Corp., Bayside
 Titanium Alloys Manufacturing, Niagara Falls
 Trudeau Foundation, Saranac Lake
 University of Rochester Medical Laboratory, Rochester
 Utica St. Warehouse, Buffalo
 West Valley Demonstration Project, West Valley

 NORTH CAROLINA

 Beryllium Metals and Chemical Corp., Bessemer City
 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 OHIO

 Air Force Plant 36, Evandale
 Ajax Magnathermic Corp., Youngstown
 Alba Craft, Oxford
 Associated Aircraft Tool and Manufacturing Co., Fairfield
 B &T Metals, Columbus
 Baker Brothers, Toledo
 Battelle Columbus Laboratories, Columbus
 Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus
 Beryllium Production Plant (Brush), Luckey
 Brush Beryllium Co., Elmore
 Brush Beryllium Co., Cleveland
 Brush Beryllium Co., Lorain
 Cincinnati Milling Machine Co., Cincinnati
 Clifton Products Co., Clifton
 Clifton Products Co., Painesville
 Copperweld Steel, Warren
 Du Pont-Grasselli Research Laboratory, Cleveland
 Extrusion Plant, Ashtabula
 Feed Materials Production Center, Fernald
 General Electric Company, Cincinnati/Evendale
 Gruen Watch, Norwood
 Harshaw Chemical Co., Cleveland
 Herring-Hall Marvin Safe Co., Hamilton
 Horizons, Inc., Cleveland
 Kettering Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati
 Magnus Brass Co., Cincinnati
 McKinney Tool and Manufacturing Co., Cleveland
 Mitchell Steel Co., Cincinnati
 Monsanto Chemical Co., Dayton
 Mound Plant, Miamisburg
 Painesville Site (Diamond Magnesium Co.), Painesville
 Piqua Organic Moderated Reactor, Piqua
 Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon
 R. W. Leblond Machine Tool Co., Cincinnati
 Tech-Art, Inc., Milford
 Tocco Induction Heating Div., Cleveland
 Vulcan Tool Co., Dayton

 OKLAHOMA

 Kerr-McGee, Guthrie

 OREGON

 Albany Research Center, Albany
 Wah Chang, Albany

 PENNSYLVANIA

 Aeroprojects, Inc., West Chester
 Aliquippa Forge, Aliquippa
 Aluminum Co. of America (Alcoa), New Kensington
 Babcock &Wilcox, Parks Township
 Beryllium Corp. of America, Hazleton
 Beryllium Corp. of America, Reading
 Birdsboro Steel &Foundry, Birdsboro
 C.H. Schnoor, Springdale
 Carnegie Mellon Cyclotron Facility, Saxonburg
 Carpenter Steel Co., Reading
 Chambersburg Engineering Co., Chambersburg
 Foote Mineral Co., East Whiteland Township
 Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia
 Heppenstall Co., Pittsburgh
 Jessop Steel Co., Washington
 Koppers Co., Inc., Pittsburgh
 Landis Machine Tool Co., Waynesboro
 McDaniel Refractory Co., Beaver Falls
 Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp., Apollo
 Penn Salt Co., Philadelphia
 Philadelphia Naval Yard, Philadelphia
 Shippingport Atomic Power Plant, Shippingport
 Superior Steel Co., Carnegie
 U.S. Steel Co., National Tube Division, McKeesport
 Vitro Manufacturing, Cannonsburg
 Westinghouse Atomic Power Development Plant, East Pittsburgh

 PUERTO RICO

 BONUS Reactor Plant, Punta Higuera
 Puerto Rico Nuclear Center, Mayaguez

 RHODE ISLAND

 C.I. Hayes, Inc., Cranston

 SOUTH CAROLINA

 Savannah River Site, Aiken

 TENNESSEE

 Clarksville Facility, Clarksville
 Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (K-25), Oak Ridge
 Oak Ridge Hospital, Oak Ridge
 Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education, Oak Ridge
 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (X-10), Oak Ridge
 Vitro Corp. of America, Chattanooga
 W. R. Grace, Erwin
 Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge

 TEXAS

 AMCOT, Forth Worth
 Mathieson Chemical Co., Pasadena
 Medina Facility, San Antonio
 Pantex Plant, Amarillo
 Sutton, Steele and Steele Co., Dallas
 Texas City Chemicals, Inc., Texas City

 VIRGINIA
 Babcock &Wilcox Co., Lynchburg
 Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News
 University of Virginia, Charlottesville

 WASHINGTON
 Hanford, Richland
 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland

 WEST VIRGINIA
 Huntington Pilot Plant, Huntington

 WISCONSIN

 Allis-Chalmers Co., West Allis, Milwaukee
 Besley-Wells, South Beloit
 LaCrosse Boiling Water Reactor, LaCrosse
 Ladish Co., Cudahy
 
AP-CS-04-06-01 1806EDT --> 

*****************************************************************
 5  AG Pressures Lab on Pollution Data

ABQjournal: 

Friday, April 6, 2001 

Albuquerque Journal--> By Jennifer McKee
 *Journal Staff Writer*

     The state Attorney General has not ruled out going to court to force Los
Alamos National Laboratory to produce information about its radioactive waste
and how the Cerro Grande Fire might have spread it around — 10 months after
the office submitted a federal request for the information.

     "We're keeping all of our options open," said Michael Bryce, director of
the Environmental Enforcement Division of the Attorney General's Office.
"They're not giving us full information. We are hopeful they are not going to
continue this negligent course."

     The office filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department
of Energy in May 2000. In it, Bryce requested a long list of information about
the variety and locations of wastes the lab either stored or dumped in its
53-year history. Bryce also requested the lab's estimations on how the fire
and fire-caused erosion or flooding might wash the waste off lab property and
potentially harm New Mexicans.

     The department replied last spring that time was of the essence on
cleaning up after Cerro Grande and that it would not immediately respond to
Bryce's request.

     Six months later, however, Bryce still hadn't received anything and sent
DOE another letter, this time threatening to seek a "court-ordered schedule"
on producing documents if DOE didn't move on its own.

     That got the ball rolling, Bryce said, but as of Thursday he has only
received "six or seven" boxes of information, not all of which is helpful or
answers his questions. Specifically, he said, the lab still has not produced a
complete list of old wastes and their locations nor the lab's scientific
estimations of where that waste might end up after the July monsoons.

     "The attorney general is very concerned about the disposal that's taken
place and the potential that it will be washed off lab property," Bryce said.
"(Lab Director John) Browne said that even if everything washed off the site,
there would be no risk."

     Bryce said he wants proof to back up that claim.

     Joe Vozella, assistant area manager in the Department of Energy's Los
Alamos office of the environment, however, said DOE has cooperated.

     "We've given them 16,000 pages," he said, "and have a minimum of 30,000
identified that are in the process of being copied."

     Vozella said the lab studied last year's rainstorms and, based on those,
removed contaminated soils and built a small flood dam to catch any waste. In
addition, he said, the lab also gave those models to the Attorney General's
Office.
     Those models will be relevant for this year's storms, too, he said.

     Furthermore, Vozella said, the Attorney General's Office met with lab and
DOE scientists "almost weekly" last summer and helped create those models.

     The lab is currently in the process of tweaking last year's models and
working on new models for sediment deposition, which would show where dirt and
other debris are likely to end up after being washed away from the lab, he
said.

     Those models will take longer to complete, he said, because they are very
difficult studies.

     But Bryce countered that the lab has already had a year to do this
modeling and decades to figure out where the old contamination is.

     "What have they been doing?" he said.

     The department has refused to dig out all the records of the lab's
historic pollution, Bryce said, because it said doing so would take too long.
In addition, he said, DOE recently told his office it no longer considers the
attorney general's request covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

     "That's their rationale for them not having to give us the documents from
back in the '40s, '50s and '60s," he said.

     Bryce's original May 25, 2000, letter to DOE states in the first
paragraph that the office is requesting the information under the Freedom of
Information Act.

     "The attorney general wants proof that there is not going to be a hazard
and a danger when the July monsoons come," Bryce said. Instead, he said, they
have been given "a lot of paper," and he's concerned the lab won't get the
information to him by July, when the monsoons come and whatever potential
damage they bring is already passed.

     Despite the fury over documents, Vozella said he believes the monsoons
pose no risk.

     "We're ready for the summer season," he said. "We believe the (flood dam)
structures we put in place and the maintenance we've done are proactive
attempts."
 
Copyright 2001 Albuquerque Journal 
*****************************************************************
 6  Local News: 'Leak' really just shadow in Hanford tank

Seattle Times: 

 
Saturday, April 07, 2001, 12:00 a.m. Pacific 

 by The Associated Press
 
RICHLAND - That shadowy something inside a Hanford nuclear-waste 
storage tank is not a crack but a shadow, the U.S. Department of 
Energy concluded yesterday. 

Officials had been concerned about the integrity of the tank, 
which contains wastes left over from the production of plutonium 
for nuclear weapons. Engineers concluded the image picked up by 
cameras inside Tank C-107 was a shadow cast by irregular concrete 
on the surface of the tank's ceiling. The tank has not leaked. 

"The age of this 54-year-old tank and the potential harm to the 
environment and public health and safety required us to take a 
very conservative approach to this potential situation," said 
Harry Boston, manager of the Energy Department's Office of River 
Protection. 

Last month, a video camera picked up the feature during routine 
sampling inside the 530,000-gallon tank, which contains about 
257,000 gallons of radioactive sludge. 

The tank is one of 149 single-shell tanks constructed at Hanford 
in the early 1940s for temporary waste storage. Although Tank 
C-107 is considered sound, 67 of the single-shell tanks have 
leaked. 

Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company --> --> 
*****************************************************************
 7  Russia to start tests on Kursk raising

ST.PETERSBURG - Feasibility tests on an operation to raise the 
nuclear submarine Kursk will begin at the state unitary 
enterprise of the Academician Krylov Scientific Research 
Institute after the conclusion of a contract between the central 
maritime equipment design laboratory Rubin and an international 
consortium.

Institute Direct or Valentin Pashin told Interfax on Friday that 
the unique experimental facilities at the institute make it 
possible to carry out hydro-and aerodynamic tests of ships of all 
types and designs at a high level.

The institute has a deep-water pool to test surface vessels and 
submarines in tugging and self-propelled modes deep under water 
and close to the surface. The pool is 15 meters wide, seven 
meters deep and 600 and 670 meters long.

Each part of the pool is equipped with tug-carts allowing the 
testing of ships of up to ten meters long with speeds of up to 20 
m/s. The maximum depth of a sub's submergence is two meters.

On the whole, the institute specializes in designing naval and 
civilian equipment in the field of shipbuilding development 
planning and perfection of power supply, including nuclear and 
electromagnetic emissions and processes as well as in nuclear and 
ecological safety.

www.russiajournal.com

*****************************************************************
 8  Amendment would boost cleanup funding

IdahoStatesman.com
 
  Sen. Mike Crapo R-Idaho
   
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said Friday that he and like-minded members 
of the Senate were able to pass a $1 billion amendment that would 
provide additional money for nuclear-waste cleanup nationwide. 

Crapo spokesman Susan Wheeler said the bill has passed the House 
and now goes to a joint conference committee.The money would be 
earmarked for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory in eastern Idaho and the Hanford nuclear site in 
Washington. 

"This is particularly important in Idaho, where there are 
court-ordered deadlines for meeting nuclear waste cleanup goals," 
Crapo said. "The federal government must take responsibility for 
its legally binding agreements to bring federal facilities into 
compliance with environmental laws and focus resources on the 
highest-priority cleanup challenges."
 	 
*****************************************************************
 9  Senate passes Crapo amendment to boost nuclear cleanup
 
By Megan Scully
 States News Service
 
WASHINGTON -- In its whirlwind of budget votes this week, the 
Senate passed an amendment penned by Sen. Mike Crapo to boost 
spending for nuclear waste cleanup, potentially saving hundreds 
of jobs at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory. 

The amendment, which must be considered by the House, would 
increase by $1 billion the funding for the U.S. Department of 
Energy's Energy Management program proposed in President Bush's 
budget blueprint. 

If passed in the House, Crapo's amendment would bring federal 
spending for nuclear waste cleanup to $6.6 billion, raising 
INEEL's own budget 10 percent from last year's figures. 

Increased funding for the laboratory could be key to the future 
of the INEEL cleanup, which has looked shaky in recent months. 
According to Associated Press reports, INEEL exceeded this year's 
budget by $37 million when it tried to meet a deadline to ship 
nuclear waste out of the state. As many as 370 jobs could still 
hang in the balance. 

"The proposed budget jeopardized the Department of Energy's 
ability to meet their milestones," Crapo, R-Idaho, said. "This 
amendment ensures that the DOE can meet its milestones in Idaho." 

In 1995, the federal government gave INEEL a court-ordered 
removal all of its buried waste by 2018. If its budget gets 
slashed, Idaho's congressional delegation has argued, the 
laboratory would be faced with an unfunded mandate. 

"The federal government must take responsibility for its legally 
binding agreements to bring federal facilities into compliance 
with environmental laws," Crapo said. "This funding increase ... 
is appropriate because it makes certain the government complies 
with its promise to clean up these sites." 

A congressional report released last year said INEEL would not 
meet its 2003 deadline for operating a 
plutonium-contaminated-waste treatment plant. The laboratory is 
also falling behind schedule on removal of 15,000 barrels of that 
contaminated waste from Idaho by the end of 2002. 

The cleanup program is responsible for storing, treating or 
eliminating contaminated groundwater, soil, debris, nuclear fuel 
and liquid waste from more than 100 sites around the country. 

*****************************************************************
 10  DOE site vicinity not risky: agency 

- By Joe Walker

The Paducah Sun
Paducah, Kentucky
Saturday, April 07, 2001

*Lawsuits filed in Paducah claim past and current exposure to 
neighbors. The report admits some danger in the past.* 

By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--*270.575.8650*
 
Despite multibillion-dollar lawsuits alleging the contrary, a 
federal health agency says environmental exposure around the 
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant poses "no apparent public health 
hazard." 

A new report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, says that while people in the area may be exposed to 
hazardous substances, "those substances are not at levels which 
would cause illness." 

The report says past groundwater exposure to lead and the 
cleaning solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) threatened children who 
routinely drank from four residential wells near the plant. But 
those wells are no longer used, so the contamination "should not 
pose a hazard in the future unless new wells are drilled," the 
report said. 

Exposure to vinyl chloride, possibly created when TCE breaks down 
in groundwater, and to large quantities of airborne uranium and 
hydrogen fluoride during past accidental releases from the plant 
are "indeterminate public health hazards" because data are not 
available to assess the risk, the agency said. 

The findings disagree with arguments made in federal lawsuits 
filed in Paducah two years ago, claiming past and current 
exposure to workers and the public. Since then, the Department of 
Energy, which owns the plant, has admitted former practices that 
may have threatened workers and the public. 

TCE, widely used at the plant for many years, has contaminated 
huge amounts of groundwater beneath the facility, and traces were 
found in a few residential wells in 1991. As a precaution, the 
Energy Department has replaced about 100 wells with city water 
around the plant. 

The plant enriches uranium for use in nuclear fuel. DOE reports 
say tons of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas were released from 
process buildings during the first few decades of operation, 
although releases are minuscule now. Hazardous uranium and 
hydrogen fluoride are contained in the gaseous releases. 

Federal law mandated the public assessment because the plant is a 
Superfund site. An agency news release said the work reviewed 
chemical and radioactive materials, their known health effects 
and potential pathways to humans, and community reports of 
injuries, disease and death. 

The agency said the reports will be available starting about next 
Friday at the Paducah Public Library, Paducah Community College 
library, Metropolis Public Library and Murray State University's 
Waterfield Library. The assessment also is available at the 
agency Web site at www.atsdr.cdc.gov. A public comment period 
ends May 14. Written comments should be sent to Chief, Program 
Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch, ATSDR, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE, Mailstop E-56, Atlanta, GA 30333. 

For more information, contact Carol Connell toll-free at 
1-888-422-8737 or by e-mail at cconnell@cdc.gov. Callers should 
refer to the "Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site" and ask to 
speak to a health assessor in the Division of Health Assessment 
and Consultation. 

*****************************************************************
 11    Paducah plant may get more cleanup funding 

courier-journal.com » The Courier-Journal » Louisville, KY » Local and

, April 7, 2001     
  
Senate backs $1 billion boost for DOE sites 

By James R. Carroll, The Courier-Journal 

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has passed a budget resolution calling 
for a $1 billion spending increase on environmental cleanup at 
Department of Energy facilities, including the Paducah Gaseous 
Diffusion Plant in Kentucky. 

The spending boost was proposed by Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell 
and a handful of other senators and was added to the Senate 
budget resolution, a blueprint for federal spending in fiscal 
2002. The resolution is separate from the appropriations bill, 
which will be considered later. 

The $1 billion addition to the Energy Department's environmental 
management program would bring total spending nationwide to $6.6 
billion. No amount was specified for radioactive and hazardous 
chemical contamination at the Paducah plant, where $90 million is 
being spent this year on cleanup. 

On Monday, the Energy Department is expected to release the 
details of its budget proposals for fiscal 2002, a package that 
may include a cut in cleanup spending. Kentucky lawmakers learned 
in February that the White House's Office of Management and 
Budget was recommending a $400 million reduction in spending on 
environmental and health hazards at Energy Department facilities 
around the country. 

McConnell, fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning and Rep. 
Ed Whitfield, a Republican who represents Kentucky's 1st District 
-- which includes the Paducah plant -- met with Energy Secretary 
Spencer Abraham on March 12 to make their case against cutting 
the cleanup budget. Whitfield said afterward that Abraham was 
''receptive'' but made no commitments. 

In a statement released yesterday, McConnell said he proposed the 
budget resolution amendment, which was passed Thursday night, 
because removing the ''environmental nightmare'' at Paducah 
''remains a top priority for me.'' 

The plant, where uranium was processed for use in nuclear weapons 
during the Cold War, has a variety of radiation and chemical 
contaminants. McConnell has told Abraham he would use ''every 
tool at my disposal to secure the resources needed to continue 
cleanup at the Paducah facility.'' 

Other Senate sponsors of the proposal to increase cleanup 
spending were Michael Crapo and Larry Craig, both Idaho 
Republicans, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both Washington 
Democrats, and Oregon Republican Gordon Smith. Whitfield and 
House colleagues from other states with contaminated sites have 
told Abraham that any cuts delaying cleanup will increase 
longterm costs to taxpayers, make dealing with environmental 
hazards more difficult and expose the federal government to 
lawsuits from the states. 

The sprawling Paducah facility is fouled by radioactive 
plutonium, technetium, neptunium and uranium, as well as by 
chemicals such as PCBs, trichloroethylene and beryllium. The site 
stores tons of contaminated scrap metal, cylinders of spent 
uranium, dioxin-contaminated soil and radioactive waste. 

An investigation by The CourierJournal last year found that 
surface and underground water, soil, plants and animals around 
the facility show evidence of contamination. Current and former 
workers are being tested for potential job-related health 
problems. 

Sen. Mitch McConnnell said in a statement that removing the 
''environmental nightmare'' at Paducah is a top priority. 

src="http://ads.courier-journal.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/www.courier-j
ournal.com/localnews/newsstories@Right1?x" border="0">  

Copyright 2001 The Courier-Journal.
*****************************************************************
 12  Justice Department won't assume control 

  [Las Vegas Review-Journal] 
    
Saturday, April 07, 2001
 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal 

Program won't be moved

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has decided against giving 
the Justice Department control of a benefit program for sick 
nuclear workers, a senator who represents some of the ailing 
workers said Friday. 

"We got an assurance from the White House that they are not going 
to transfer it there," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. 

Bingaman was one of the authors of the new entitlement program 
which, later this year, is supposed to start offering $150,000 
and lifetime medical care to Cold War-era workers exposed to 
risky levels of radiation, silica or beryllium, including many 
who worked at the Nevada Test Site. 

He was among many worker advocates on Capitol Hill who 
strenuously objected when the White House circulated a proposed 
executive order transferring the new program from the Labor 
Department to the Justice Department. 

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao insisted her department was not the 
one best suited for the job. 

But Bingaman had a few tricks up his sleeve. Without publicly 
revealing his strategy, he blocked pending nominations to Labor 
Department posts. 

The senator said he didn't even know the names of the nominees 
whose confirmation he threatened to sidetrack, but let the White 
House know he "didn't want to go forward with any nominations 
there in the Department of Labor until we got some assurance that 
this wouldn't be going to Justice, where the history of efforts 
like this has been miserable." 

The Justice Department runs a program that gives one-time 
payments to former uranium miners and people who lived downwind 
of nuclear test blasts. But the program's small staff and lack of 
branch offices were two of the reasons the new program's authors 
didn't want Justice to run it. 

Lowell "Pete" Strader, legislative director for the union that 
represents workers at 11 sites in the nuclear weapons complex, 
welcomed Bingaman's announcement. "We take that as wonderful 
news," said Strader. "We knew Justice wasn't prepared to handle 
the program." 

Bingaman said the White House is "still uncertain what exactly 
will be done with the program to make it work, but they are 
committed to making it work."
 
This story is located at: 
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Apr-07-Sat-2001/news/15822128.html
*****************************************************************
 13  Radiation dose from depleted uranium can now be measured 

 7 April )
 
Letters

EDITOR[---] In her editorial about depleted uranium McDiarmid 
agrees that there is no justification for any claims of radiation 
induced lung cancer and leukaemia in veterans of the Gulf war.1 
She makes no mention, however, of how individual radiation doses 
can be measured in any screening of Gulf war and Balkan veterans. 

This is important not only for veterans' peace of mind but also 
for medicolegal purposes. For due process of law in the courts of 
the United States and the United Kingdom, where some veterans are 
currently taking legal action for possible radiation induced 
illnesses, depleted uranium must first be ruled in before being 
ruled out if the doses are found to be too low. Global dose 
estimates or results of mathematical modelling are too inaccurate 
to be used as dose values for an individual veteran. To date no 
practical method has been proposed for measuring the expected 
small doses received by veterans. 

I suggest that electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry using 
tooth enamel would be an appropriate method. It has already been 
used after the 1986 accident at Chernobyl for some of the 
clean-up workers and evacuees from the 30 km exclusion zone.2 
Electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry using tooth enamel has 
also been used for some of those exposed in the Techa river area 
and Mayak facility in the eastern Urals, where Soviet nuclear 
warheads were produced for many years, resulting in widespread 
contamination. This was reported by a group at the Institute of 
Metals in Ekaterinburg.3 The research at Ekaterinburg has 
continued at the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
of the United States Department of Commerce in Gaithersburg, 
Maryland, to which some of the Ekaterinburg scientists have 
relocated.4 

The national institute's group can now measure electron 
paramagnetic resonance dose estimates down to a level of 20 mSv.2 
The institute is organised such that, if requested, it can 
undertake electron paramagnetic resonance tooth enamel dosimetry 
for any source, including European veterans. This was confirmed 
to me by the chief of the ionising radiation division at the 
institute (B Course, personal communication, 1999). Hence at 
least one centre can be incorporated into any screening programme 
for veterans; as the technology becomes more widely available 
more facilities can be expected to be suitable for this form of 
low level radiation dosimetry. 

Richard F Mould, *radiation scientist*. Sanderstead, South 
Croydon, Surrey CR2 0DH richardfmould@hotmail.com


Competing interests: None declared. RFM is not employed as a 
consultant to the National Institute of Standards and Technology; 
he only corresponds and exchanges academic papers with the 
institute. He is a consultant in radiation oncology. 

  1.   McDiarmid MA. Depleted uranium and public health. *BMJ* 
2001; 322: 123-124[Full Text]. (20 January.) 2.   Mould RF. 
*Chernobyl record: the definitive history of the Chernobyl 
catastrophe.* Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing, 
2000:158-164. 3.   Romanyukha AA, Ignatiev EA, Degteva MO, 
Kozheurov VP, Wieser A, Jacob P. Radiation doses from the Ural 
region. *Nature* 1996; 381: 199-200[Medline]. 4.   Desrosiers MF, 
Romanyukha AA. *Technical aspects of the electron paramagnetic 
resonance method for tooth enamel dosimetry. Biomarkers: medical 
and workplace applications.* Washington, DC: Joseph Henry, 
1998:53-64. 


Related editorials in BMJ: Depleted uranium and public health. + 
Melissa A McDiarmid BMJ 2001 322: 123-124.                  [Full 
 	 
*****************************************************************
 14  Senator: Benefit Program Not Moving
 
April 06, 2001 
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has decided against 
giving the Justice Department control of a benefit program for 
sick nuclear workers, a senator who represents some of the ailing 
workers said Friday. 

"We got an assurance from the White House that they are not going 
to transfer it there," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. 

Bingaman was one of the authors of the new entitlement program 
which, later this year, is supposed to start offering $150,000 
and lifetime medical care to Cold War-era workers exposed to 
risky levels of radiation, silica or beryllium. 

He was among many worker advocates on Capitol Hill who 
strenuously objected when the White House circulated a proposed 
executive order transferring the new program from the Labor 
Department to the Justice Department. 

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao insisted her department was not the 
one best suited for the job. She was backed by from three 
influential congressmen: House Judiciary Chairman James 
Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, 
R-Utah, and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who heads the committee 
that oversees the Labor Department. 

But Bingaman had a few tricks up his sleeve. Without publicly 
revealing his strategy, he blocked pending nominations to Labor 
Department posts. 

The senator said he didn't even know the names of the nominees 
whose confirmation he threatened to sidetrack, but let the White 
House know he "didn't want to go forward with any nominations 
there in the Department of Labor until we got some assurance that 
this wouldn't be going to Justice, where the history of efforts 
like this has been miserable." 

The Justice Department runs a program that gives one-time 
payments to former uranium miners and people who lived downwind 
of nuclear test blasts. But the program's small staff and lack of 
branch offices were two of the reasons the new program's authors 
didn't want Justice to run it. 

Lowell "Pete" Strader, legislative director for the union that 
represents workers at 11 sites in the nuclear weapons complex, 
welcomed Bingaman's announcement. "We take that as wonderful 
news," said Strader. "We knew Justice wasn't prepared to handle 
the program." 

Bingaman said the White House is "still uncertain what exactly 
will be done with the program to make it work, but they are 
committed to making it work." 

--- The toll-free information line is 1-877-447-9756. 

Energy Department's original announcement of new program: 
http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/janpr/pr01009.htm -- All 
contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 15  Senator Assured on Sick Workers
 
April 06, 2001 
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has decided against 
giving the Justice Department control of a benefit program for 
sick nuclear workers, a senator who represents some of the ailing 
workers said Friday. 

"We got an assurance from the White House that they are not going 
to transfer it there," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. 

Bingaman was one of the authors of the new entitlement program 
which, later this year, is supposed to start offering $150,000 
and lifetime medical care to Cold War-era workers exposed to 
risky levels of radiation, silica or beryllium. 

He was among many worker advocates on Capitol Hill who 
strenuously objected when the White House circulated a proposed 
executive order transferring the new program from the Labor 
Department to the Justice Department. 

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao insisted her department was not the 
one best suited for the job. She was backed by from three 
influential congressmen: House Judiciary Chairman James 
Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, 
R-Utah, and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who heads the committee 
that oversees the Labor Department. 

But Bingaman had a few tricks up his sleeve. Without publicly 
revealing his strategy, he blocked pending nominations to Labor 
Department posts. 

The senator said he didn't even know the names of the nominees 
whose confirmation he threatened to sidetrack, but let the White 
House know he "didn't want to go forward with any nominations 
there in the Department of Labor until we got some assurance that 
this wouldn't be going to Justice, where the history of efforts 
like this has been miserable." 

The Justice Department runs a program that gives one-time 
payments to former uranium miners and people who lived downwind 
of nuclear test blasts. But the program's small staff and lack of 
branch offices were two of the reasons the new program's authors 
didn't want Justice to run it. 

Lowell "Pete" Strader, legislative director for the union that 
represents workers at 11 sites in the nuclear weapons complex, 
welcomed Bingaman's announcement. "We take that as wonderful 
news," said Strader. "We knew Justice wasn't prepared to handle 
the program." 

Bingaman said the White House is "still uncertain what exactly 
will be done with the program to make it work, but they are 
committed to making it work." 

--- The toll-free information line is 1-877-447-9756. 

Energy Department's original announcement of new program: 
http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/janpr/pr01009.htm

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
    
*****************************************************************

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this 
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who 
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for 
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more 
information go to: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
*****************************************************************