***************************************************************** 02/08/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.36 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 City vows to battle nuke waste at Yucca 2 NRC to meet over concerns at Quad Cities, Ill. nuke 3 Nuclear power pushed as long-term energy solution 4 Woman contaminated after Lucas Heights accident 5 Nuclear reactor safety increased after accident 6 Japan's oldest nuclear reactor to resume power generation 7 Nuclear reactor resumes operation 8 To Taiwan DPP - Please Do Not Ignore the Wishes of Residents 9 DPP rebuffs opposition 10 Council OKs lawsuit to halt waste transport 11 India, China start talks on nuclear issues_ 12 Bulgaria to start new nuclear waste processing unit_ 13 German Greens aim to heal split on nuke waste in March_ 14 WALDO Stumpf, CEO of the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation, will 15 S.L. Leaders Adopt Measure Denouncing N-Waste in Utah 16 JS Online: Waukesha fears cost of radium removal 17 USEC says government may owe it for tainted uranium inventory NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 CIA CITES TERRORISM AS GREATEST THREAT 2 Documentary explores ills of the atomic age _ 3 Investigation of 'radiation deaths' refused 4 Troops 'not told' about uranium risks 5 Uranium Briefings Were Axed By Mod 6 Army vets demand depleted uranium probe 7 Troops 'not told' about uranium risks 8 Minister admits troops were not told of DU risk 9 Government finds no unusual radioactivity outside Nevada Test 10 Troops not told of shells' toxic risk 11 MoD didn't warn troops about uranium shells 12 Bin Laden Sought Uranium, Jury Told 13 Kuwait asks IAEA to test for DU radiation 14 ORR land study announcement set, then postponed 15 Depleted uranium: an update - Jane's Europe News 16 Terrorist Group Sought Uranium ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 City vows to battle nuke waste at Yucca February 08, 2001 _By Diana Sahagun _ LAS VEGAS SUN _TV call-in_ Mayor Oscar Goodman will host a live call-in television program at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to answer questions about Yucca Mountain. The show airs on the city's cable channel, KCLV Cox cable Channel 2. Hoping to succeed where other governments have failed, Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic promised Wednesday new arguments and a round of lawsuits to keep nuclear waste from coming to Yucca Mountain. "The Department of Energy and Congress can depend on the fact that there will be a flurry of legal activity in the coming months," Jerbic said. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has charged Jerbic and his office with finding a way to file a lawsuit against the Department of Energy for proposing a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site under consideration to store 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste. In the past month Jerbic has met with representatives of the state Agency for Nuclear Projects and the attorney general. They have sent him volumes of research material, he said. Jerbic said the federal government plans to collect nuclear waste from 77 sites around the country, in 35 states. The waste will travel through 43 states before landing in Nevada. If there were a high-speed impact with fire and fuel oxidation, Jerbic said, reports show 42 square miles would be contaminated. It would take 462 days to clean and the cost to taxpayers would be $620 million, he said, citing studies. Eight previous lawsuits filed in the 1980s by the state were ultimately thrown out in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In each case, Jerbic said, the court ruled the federal government would have to name Yucca Mountain the permanent site before Nevada has a valid case. "By only looking at our site, it sure looks like they've chosen it," Jerbic said of the Department of Energy. Jerbic said the official naming of Yucca as the permanent site could be a year away. Without giving away his strategy, Jerbic said the city will be making arguments the DOE hasn't heard before. He also said there is a possibility the city could wait until the site is named to go after the DOE. "When they drop the shoe and name Yucca Mountain, we're going to drop the boot and there is going to be significant litigation. The briefs will be ready to file if they go for it," he said. Jerbic said his office will continue to research the science and the issues surrounding the site, as well as developing legal theories. Goodman, a member of the National Conference of Mayors, said he would send a letter to all of the mayors around the county whose cities could be affected by the shipment of nuke waste. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 NRC to meet over concerns at Quad Cities, Ill. nuke [Reuters] _Wednesday February 7, 2:40 pm Eastern Time_ NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said Wednesday it will meet Feb. 13 with Exelon Generation Co. to discuss safety concerns raised by recent inspections at its 1,578-megawatt (MW) Quad Cities nuclear power plant in Illinois. The groups, to meet at NRC region 3 office in Lisle, Ill., will discuss possible problems with the two-unit plant's radiation protection that earned the facility a preliminary ``white'' safety assessment. The NRC uses a four-category color system - green, white, yellow and red - to rate plant safety based on what their inspectors find, with green indicating no safety concerns and white assigned when there are low to moderate concerns. The meeting will address NRC concerns that during a recent plant refueling, workers may have been exposed to higher levels of radiation than expected by the company, though still less than the levels permitted by the NRC's own safety standards. Exelon Generation Co. is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corp (NYSE:EXC - news). Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 3 Nuclear power pushed as long-term energy solution sacbee: Cal Report By LEON DROUIN KEITH Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Nuclear energy has a daunting list of negatives (AP) -- economics, fears about safety and waste disposal, and the potential to fuel the creation of nuclear weapons. But California's power crisis is prompting some to renew calls to expand the power source. State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, plans to introduce legislation in the next few weeks to move the state toward greater use of nuclear energy. The measure would seek the reopening of the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, which shut down in 1989 a day after Sacramento-area voters passed a referendum calling for its closure. "I'm told that with half a billion dollars and nine months we could refit the facility and generate 1,100 megawatts of power," McClintock said. "I don't think the support exists at present, But once there has been public debate on the issue, I believe the support will exist." California's two nuclear facilities -- Diablo Canyon and San Onofre -- are the state's two biggest power sources, generating more than 4,000 megawatts between them. State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-San Fernando, said the energy crisis has thus far produced little talk in Sacramento of expanding nuclear energy. But the topic seems much less divisive, he said. "The discussion is much more casual," he said. "In the past, it would conjure up automatic controversy." Alarcon also sees a cautious optimism among nuclear power providers that the energy crisis could make it easier for them to operate. Alarcon, however, believes options like solar energy and new natural gas plants are better ways to handle the state's long-term needs. Nuclear power provides roughly one-fifth of the nation's electricity needs, but no nuclear plants have been approved in this country for 23 years. Meanwhile, a number of plants have closed. That could hamper any effort to bring more plants on line. "The politics could be insurmountable; it's not clear," said John P. Holdren, director of the Program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy's School of Government. "There's a group in the middle I think are revisiting their views." Holdren is scheduled to speak Friday in Irvine at a National Academy of Engineering symposium on the future of nuclear power. He said nuclear energy should be re-examined as an alternative to fossil fuels, which provide about 75 percent of the world's energy but contribute to global warming. Holdren said he is "not an unabashed nuclear booster." He considers using more natural gas and developing renewable energy sources like wind as high priorities on the world's energy to-do list. "The question is will that be enough. We have to look at some of the more difficult" options, including nuclear energy, Holdren said. "There is no silver bullet out there, and that is what people need to get through their heads." Dan Jacobson, legislative advocate for the California Public Interest Research Group, said embracing a rebirth of nuclear power "would take us from one crisis and put us in the next." Nuclear power has proven to be a needlessly expensive and dangerous energy source, especially in earthquake-prone California, he said. In a state with the potential to meet about half of its energy needs with renewable sources, the long-term need for nuclear power is nonexistent, he said. Holdren said there are four primary obstacles to expanding nuclear power. It's more expensive than fossil fuels; safety must improve before a significant number of new plants can be built; long-term solutions for waste disposal are needed; and strategies to keep nuclear material from ending up in weapons must be developed. "The authorities have endorsed so many missteps that they have little credibility," Holdren said. Peter Lyons, science adviser to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said a project in South Africa may be the prelude to greater use of nuclear power. The 100-megawatt "pebble bed modular reactor system" is about one-tenth the size of a typical nuclear reactor and is designed to have zero chance of a meltdown, even if all coolant flow is lost. _Copyright © The Sacramento Bee_ ***************************************************************** 4 Woman contaminated after Lucas Heights accident Source: AAP|Published: Thursday February 8, 5:29 PM Operators of the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor have been forced to upgrade safety procedures after a worker suffered radiation contamination in a potentially life threatening accident. In an outline of the incident which took place last May, the nuclear safety watchdog said a female research officer was preparing to load a radioactive sample of plutonium into a "leaching vessel" when it fell. "The sample crumbled into the officer's hands and pieces fell onto tissue paper placed under it on the workbench," the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) said in its quarterly report. Contamination was detected on the officer's hand during personal monitoring and safety personnel isolated the laboratory. The woman was sent to ARPANSA's Yallambie facility in Melbourne where she was given the all clear from internal contamination following medical tests. A sample of her urine was sent to a facility in Britain to ensure she had not inhaled radioactive particles. ARPANSA's communications and policy manager Daniel Westall said one of their Melbourne scientists was sent to the plant to conduct an investigation into the incident, which was reported to them within 24 hours. "His assessment was there was some work to be done on procedures and some training for staff," Mr Westall told AAP. "There are processes in handling those sort of samples where it minimises the contamination in the first place. "(Staff) had training first on what they were doing...but it was suggested that they did specific training (on handling samples)." Other changes ordered by the scientist included installing monitoring equipment and updating documentation on procedures for handling radioactive samples. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which runs the plant in Sydney's south, said the incident involved the handling of a "less than one centimetre" solid ceramic disc. "Although minor, ANSTO reported the event promptly to ARPANSA, which has confirmed that the event had no health implications to any staff member," the company said in a statement. But Mr Westall admitted the incident was potentially life-threatening and said the agency had taken the matter seriously. "It's possible that plutonium could have entered the body through being inhaled or ingested. "But we weren't concerned that it was serious in terms of health effects or health hazards. "We suggested the person come to Melbourne to use our detection equipment as a precaution," the spokesman said. "It's serious in that it occurred at all and it's something we want to know about." The timing is unfortunate for ANSTO, with the organisation awaiting approval from ARPANSA for a license application to continue running the Lucas Heights laboratory where the accident occurred. ARPANSA said it was satisfied with ANSTO's handling of the incident which would be taken into account when making its licensing decision, expected by the end of the financial year. However Sutherland Shire Councillor Ken McDonell has criticised ANSTO's failure to publicly release details of the incident or include it in its annual report. "The reporting of this incident has been handled in the same clandestine and deceitful way as the project to build the new half-billion dollar nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights," Cr McDonell said. "To simply advise ARPANSA and then wash their hands of these sorts of accidents is not good enough." ANSTO said the councillor's remarks were a "total misrepresentation" of the incident, but refused to comment further. Copyright © 2000 The Age Company Ltd. Any unauthorised use, ***************************************************************** 5 Nuclear reactor safety increased after accident Independent Researcher suffers radiation contamination after dropping sample AP 8 February 2001 Authorities at Australia's only nuclear reactor tightened safety procedures after a researcher suffered minor radiation contamination when she dropped a plutonium sample, according to a report. The female research officer at Sydney's Lucas Heights reactor suffered no health problems as a result of the accident and nobody else was affected. The incident last May was reported in the nation's nuclear safety watchdog's quarterly report this week. The woman, whose identity was not released, was transferring a piece of plutonium when "the sample crumbled into the officer's hands and pieces fell onto tissue paper placed under it on the workbench," the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) reported. The researcher suffered slight contamination of her hands but tests revealed that she had not inhaled any radioactive material. ARPANSA communications and policy manager Daniel Westall said an investigation into the incident revealed that "there was some work to be done on procedures and some training of staff" necessary. The investigation also recommended installing monitoring equipment and updating documentation on procedures for handling radioactive samples. Westall said that while the incident did not pose a health risk, "it's serious in that it occurred at all." Ken McDonell a local town councilor in Sutherland, which takes in Lucas Heights, criticized nuclear authorities for handling the incident in a "clandestine and deceitful way" by not reporting it earlier. © 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd. ***************************************************************** 6 _Japan's oldest nuclear reactor to resume power generation _ _FUKUI, Japan Feb. 8 Kyodo - _The country's oldest nuclear power reactor will be reactivated Friday in a test after being off-line for 18 months, Japan Atomic Power Co. said Thursday. The Tsuruga No. 1 reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture -- a light-water generator with a capacity of 357,000 kilowatts -- will resume normal operations early next month, company officials said. In service for 30 years, the reactor was shut off after undergoing a periodic inspection in August 1999. Its core shroud was later replaced. The job was delayed for about 10 months after cracks were detected in December 1999 at about 300 spots in the reactor's base area, which supports the shroud. Japan Atomic Power said it is set to continue running the Tsuruga No. 1 reactor, the oldest still in operation, for up to 10 years, adding that it is also looking into decommissioning it. 2000 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945. ***************************************************************** 7 Nuclear reactor resumes operation Friday, February 9, 2001 FUKUI (Kyodo) Japan's oldest nuclear reactor will be reactivated today in a test after being off-line for 18 months, Japan Atomic Power Co. said Thursday. The Tsuruga No. 1 reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture -- a light-water generator with a capacity of 357,000 kw -- will resume normal operations early next month, company officials said. In service for 30 years, the reactor was shut off after undergoing a periodic inspection in August 1999. Its core shroud was later replaced. The job was delayed for about 10 months after cracks were detected in December 1999 at about 300 spots in the reactor's base area, which supports the shroud. _The Japan Times: Feb. 9, 2001_ ***************************************************************** 8 To Taiwan DPP - Please Do Not Ignore the Wishes of Residents Citizens' Nuclear Information Center_ To Taiwan DPP - Please Do Not Ignore the Wishes of Residents ] [ Japanese Government Should Not Promote Nuclear Energy For Global Warming Prevention ] [ DEMANDS FORAN IMMEDIATE END TO THE CIVIL AND MILITARY USE OF PLUTONIUM ] [ Demands on MOX Fuel Quality Control ] [ Cancel All MOX Contracts With BNFL ] [ Put a Complete End to the MOX Fuel Program! ] [ Coalition response to KEPCO/BNFL data falsification scandal ] [ Stop Pollution Export = Japanese Nuclear Cooperation Running Wild (20 Aug 1999) ] [ Requests Regarding the Revision of the Long-Term Program for Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy ] [ Common appeal against any plutonium extraction and utilization ] [ Statement Protesting the Use of Depleted Uranium Shells in Nato's Air Raid of Yugoslavia ] [ Japan's Plutonium Program Poses Threat to International Security ] [ CNIC demand US to cancel production of tritium in NPP ] [ Appeal from Scientists ] President Chen Shui-Bian Democratic Progressive Party members Please Do Not Ignore the Wishes of Residents Do Not Bend to the Pressure from the KMT and the Nuclear Industry Hideyuki Ban Co-director, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center Kotobuki Bldg. 3F 1-58-15 Higashi Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003, JAPAN 7 February, 2001 I respectively call on President Chen to recall that historical decision - the wise decisions made during September 30, 2000 and October 27. The Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) government judged that the canceling the construction of No 4 Nuclear Plant (NNP4) would be wise from the point of economics, that such decision would not result in electricity shortage, that the country should consider phasing-out nuclear energy because of the difficulties in regards to the disposal of radioactive waste. Such judgement was based on irrefutable facts. President Chen and DDP government declared that the construction of No 4Nuclear Plant would be cancelled for the sake of the people of Taiwan and the future generation. Now DPP is turning its head away from truth, bending on pressure from the Nationalist Party (KMT), and is about to make a decision which will have serious ill consequences in the future. However, DPP should not make such a rash decision. President Chen and DPP government should once again reflect on the fact that why it is Toshiba and Hitachi instead of GE. Domestically, no orders have been placed for new nuclear reactors in America since 1979 and it is fair to say that the American nuclear industry does not have the vigor to export at the moment. However, GE's decline is not the only reason why Toshiba and Hitachi are involved in the construction of NNP4. It is actually because Japanese nuclearindustry is in the decline as well. Nuclear industry is in the decline world-wide, and Japan is no exception from that trend. Japan's worst nuclear accident in 1999 at JCO plant can definitely be framed in the background of such decline of the industry. No one believes that Japan's plan to build additional 20 nuclear plants will actually materialize. Toshiba/Mitshubishi Group constructed four nuclear plants but has definitely not met the profit initially expected. The Japanese nuclear industry attempted to extend its business in Indonesia. However, this attempt failed due to changes made to the Indonesian government's policies. The Japanese industry also tried to extend its business to Turkey but gave up when the Turkish government stopped the construction of a nuclear plant in 2000. It seems as though the industry is now trying to move into Vietnam. Nuclear plant export to Taiwan is Toshiba and Hitachi's first full scale attempt in extending their nuclear business overseas. However, it is more of a result of the decline of the industry at home. Export to Taiwan is a survival scheme for the Japanese nuclear industry. In efforts to dispose radioactive waste, Taiwan Power Co. has sought contracts with North Korea for disposing low-level radioactive waste. The company is also looking into storing its spent fuel in Russia. It is trying to lay the burden of nuclear waste disposal on other countries because such problem cannot be resolved domestically. However, materials contaminated with radioactivity must be exported. Moreover, DPP must be aware of the South East Asia Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty which bans the removal of radioactive waste to other countries. It is a selfish rational to allow other countries to be contaminated in efforts to avoid contaminating its own country. DPP which has long fought for the people against the oppression of the KMT, and has an independent spirit, must not adopt such policy. I had a chance to meet residents of Kungliao, the construction site of NNP4. They declared to me that "President Chenwould never break his promise to us." Is President Chen capable of breaking such promise? I cannot forget the picture which captured the image of President Chen and Mr.Chen Qingtang, a leader of local movement, celebrating the outcome of the election. If the DDP turns its back to the people and goes ahead with the construction of NNP4, it will lead to the decline of the Party. On the day when the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr.Ling, declared the wise decision, I was actually visiting in Taipei and deeply impressed with his determination. Germany's decision for a specific nuclear phase-out plan established the path for nuclear phase-out in Europe. I believe that the path for nuclear phase-out in Asia will be set by President Chen and the DPP. The nuclear age in essence was concluded in the 20th century. The new century will mark the withdrawal from nuclear energy. President Chen and DPP government by nomeans should bend to the pressure of the KMT and the nuclear industry, and instead must lead the people of Asia who sincerely wish the region to be nuclear free. _*For a Nuclear Free World - http://www.cnic.or.jp/*_ 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003 Japan Tel: 81-3-5330-9520; Fax: 81-3-5330-9530 http://www.cnic.or.jp/
cnic-jp@po.iijnet.or.jp (C) Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC) ***************************************************************** 9 DPP rebuffs opposition The Taipei Times Online: 2001-02-08 _Thursday, February 8th, 2001_ NUCLEAR POWER: The ruling party dismissed in no uncertain terms an opposition demand to restart construction of the controversial nuclear power plant STAFF WRITER, WITH REUTERS The DPP yesterday bluntly rejected a demand by the opposition to resume construction of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (®Ö¥|) as the party's Central Standing Committee accused opposition deputies of blocking the way to resolve the dispute. In a strongly-worded statement, the DPP said the opposition's demand that construction of the US$5.5 billion project be resumed immediately before they restart negotiations was out of the question. "[This demand] is unacceptable and we condemn the opposition coalition," the DPP statement said. _"The dispute over whether Taiwan should be a nuclear-free country is small. It's Chen's style of policymaking that is the real problem." _ *Lin Yi-hsiung, former DPP chairman* Opposition parties stood their ground yesterday. "We regret that they feel this way," New Party lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (¿à¤h«O) said. "Whether to build the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is the Cabinet's problem to solve. Tough talk won't help," Lai said. One of the main disputes between the Cabinet and the opposition-dominated legislature was whether to let a newly elected legislature decide whether to budget more money for the project this year. The opposition coalition is opposed to the idea, arguing that the nuclear power plant is a done deal. Another proposal is for an energy law which would include the nuclear power plant, but the legislature and the government disagree over who should draft it. The government frowns on the idea of drafting an energy law that would call for a nuclear power station because it is opposed to nuclear power. Opposition legislators argue they lack the technical expertise to draft such a bill, which would encompass the island's future energy development needs. However, former DPP chairman Lin Yi-hsiung (ªL¸q¶¯), one of the party's strongest opponents to nuclear energy, broke his silence yesterday lashing out at President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) in a letter to the president and senior DPP leaders. "The dispute over whether Taiwan should be a nuclear-free country is small. It's Chen's style of policymaking that is the real problem," Lin said. This story has been viewed 391 times. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 Council OKs lawsuit to halt waste transport Thursday, February 08, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal _LAS VEGAS _As expected, the Las Vegas City Council unanimously authorized the filing of a lawsuit Wednesday to stop the transport of high-level nuclear waste through Las Vegas en route to Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of the city. The vote makes good on a promise made by Mayor Oscar Goodman at last month's State of the City address. No timetable was set on when a lawsuit might be filed, or what legal strategies might be employed to stop the transport of waste to the facility, which is awaiting approval from Congress. But Goodman said the lawsuit may not have to wait for the president's signature on a bill authorizing waste transport. Several lawsuits to halt the dump have been rejected by federal courts. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Feb-08-Thu-2001/news/15405545.html ***************************************************************** 11 India, China start talks on nuclear issues_ Expressindia.com _Thursday, February 8, 2001_ NEW DELHI: India and China began talks on Thursday aimed at reconciling differences over nuclear proliferation that have clouded relations between the world's two most populous nations. Wang Yi, the Assistant Minister in the Chinese foreign ministry, and Indian Additional Secretary T.C.A. Rangachari kicked off the second round of a security dialogue that was launched two years after India staged nuclear tests in 1998. The two sides, who are also at odds over a decades-old border dispute, will discuss regional and global security issues at the day-long meeting, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said. Beijing has repeatedly urged India to freeze and roll back its nuclear and missile development programmes which it says destabilise the subcontinent. New Delhi, which said the nuclear tests were prompted by regional threat perceptions, has committed itself to building a credible nuclear deterrent. Foreign affairs expert C.Raja Mohan said India remained "deeply troubled" over Chinese military help to neighbouring Pakistan which answered the Indian nuclear explosions with tests of its own. "The big question is whether New Delhi will try and find a way to manage their nuclear divergence better, which has cast a shadow on their ties," Raja Mohan said. A succession of bilateral visits including one by Indian President K.R. Narayanan last year have helped improve ties frayed by the nuclear tests. Chinese parliament chief Li Peng was in India last month, the highest ranking visitor since the tests. During Li's trip, the two countries agreed to make faster progress in resolving the 40-year-old border dispute that is considered central to relations. A separate group comprising Chinese and Indian diplomats and military officials have held several rounds of meetings to decide where precisely the 4,500 km (2,800 mile) long border lies. The two nations fought a brief border war in 1962. China holds about 20 percent of the disputed Himalayan territory of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. This comprises a small area which New Delhi says Pakistan ceded illegally and the Aksai Chin area further to the northeast, which India also claims. China claims large parts of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, both northeastern Indian states. Reuters ***************************************************************** 12 _Bulgaria to start new nuclear waste processing unit_ _SOFIA - Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant said on Wednesday it would start operating a new unit for reprocessing and conditioning low and intermediate level radioactive waste this week. _ The long-delayed $30 million project, to be opened officially on Friday, would process solid waste generated by Kozloduy's four 440-megawatt and two 1,000-megawatt water pressurised reactors of Soviet-design, an official said. Part of the equipment has been supplied by US Westinghouse, which signed a $12 million contract for designing the waste processing facility in 1991. Some 100,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste, including outfits, filters and materials used in the construction of the plant, are expected to be reprocessed in the next few years. The Kozloduy plant plans to start reprocessing liquid nuclear waste and operating a storage facility for the conditioned waste by year-end, said a plant's statement. The plant also starts operating this week an upgraded and enlarged storage for spent nuclear fuel after undergoing seismic studies, plant officials said. The Kozloduy plant produced almost half of the country's power last year hitting a record high annual output of 18 billion kilowatt hours against 15.8 billion in 1999. Bulgaria has pledged to the European Union to close two smaller and older reactors in 2002, earlier than planned, and is negotiating when to close the other two 440 MW units. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 13 _German Greens aim to heal split on nuke waste in March_ _FRANKFURT - Germany's Green Party said on Tuesday it will try to repair a split in its ranks over participation in planned demonstrations against the Castor transport of nuclear waste at its party conference in March. _ Nuclear waste has been building up in Germany since the French reprocessing plant at La Hague refused to take any more German fuel until it can return reprocessed waste for permanent storage. "There is hope of consensus at the March meeting on anti-nuclear demonstration activities," a Green Party source said. The party's chief Fritz Kuhn said on Monday it was "close to agreement" on the controversial transport from France to the permanent storage site in Gorleben, Lower Saxony. Speaking after a sitting of the party council in Berlin, Kuhn said: "It is normal that we clarify disputed questions at a national party meeting." While the Greens support Germany's nuclear compromise deal, they will demonstrate further for their energy and nuclear political goals, Kuhn said. But they should not block the transport of German nuclear waste from France to Gorleben expected at the end of March, he added. Germany's nuclear compromise deal followed commitments made by the industry last summer to gradually phase out atomic energy by the mid-2020s. "We shall demonstrate for our political goals, but not against the atom compromise," Kuhn said, adding that he wanted to clarify this position to those who thought the party council had previously called for the abandonment of non-blocking demonstrations as well. Kuhn and Environment Minister Juergen Trittin (Greens) have both said there should be no protest against the Castor transport of waste, which the government is committed to taking back as part of the compromise deal. "We stand by the atom compromise and will not block the measures it is committed to," Kuhn said. Greens in Lower Saxony have nevertheless planned protests against the Castor transport. But Kuhn said he was confident that a meeting with them on Friday would produce a mutually satisfactory solution. He added that he could imagine taking part in demonstrations against the use of Gorleben as a permanent waste disposal site. The Green Party conference will be held in Stuttgart on March 9-11. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 14 WALDO Stumpf, CEO of the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation, will leave with immediate effect after several years at the helm of the organisation. Stumpf was originally promoted to CEO of the Atomic Energy Corporation in 1990, but the new Nuclear Energy Act, which took effect in February last year, effectively demoted him to acting CEO with the requirement that the post of CEO be advertised. He decided not to make himself available for the post and the corporation yesterday issued a terse statement saying that Stumpf left on January 31 "to pursue other career interests". Stumpf refused to be drawn on his reasons for leaving yesterday, saying "you have to read between the lines of the first paragraph of the press statement". The first paragraph read: "His position as CEO since 1990 changed to that of acting CEO in February 2000 when the new Nuclear Energy Act was promulgated. It is against this background that he leaves." Sources at the corporation indicated that Stumpf would have stayed on had the act not required him to reapply for his position. Vusi Khoza, the corporation's public relations officer, said yesterday that the decision to leave was Stumpf's, which he made after having finalised the implementation of a strategy to transform and realign the entity. Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is expected to appoint a replacement for Stumpf. In the interim, Mphutumi Damane will act as CEO. Damane is a chemist by training and has significant business experience. Stumpf is credited with designing and implementing the AEC 2000 Plus Plan, a transformation strategy that realigned the corporation from being a supplier of nuclear fuel to Koeberg Power Station to a stateowned nuclear institution. Feb 08 2001 12:00:00:000AM Robyn Chalmers and I-Net Bridge Business Day 1st Edition © BDFM Publishers 2000 * ***************************************************************** 15 S.L. Leaders Adopt Measure Denouncing N-Waste in Utah The Salt Lake Tribune -- , February 7, 2001* Salt Lake City Council members, Mayor Rocky Anderson and Gov. Mike Leavitt can agree on one thing: They don't want high-level nuclear waste dumped and stored in Utah. Tuesday night, the City Council and mayor adopted a joint resolution against a proposal to store waste on the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The tribe has signed a deal with Private Fuel Storage, a group of eight out-of-state utility companies, to store up to 40,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel rods. The storage facility would require shipping the waste through Salt Lake City, the resolution states. The Tooele County operation could conflict with the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range. And the dump could hurt future tourism and economic development. "Locating any high-level nuclear waste in Utah would pose a risk of exposure for the people and the environment of Utah and Salt Lake City," the resolution states. "Utah has done its fair share in disposing of the nation's radioactive wastes." The nonbinding resolution is largely symbolic. But Anderson has pledged to do everything he can to stop the project. During his "State of the City" address last month, Anderson drew prolonged applause when he panned the idea. "There can be no good reason for exposing the people of Utah to the enormous risks of accidents, terrorist attacks, failure of the waste storage casks and natural hazards inherent in the transportation and storage of nuclear waste," he said. "If, as the consortium of out-of-state utilities maintains, the waste can be safely stored, let them keep it where it is -- and stay out of our city and our state." --Rebecca Walsh ***************************************************************** 16 JS Online: Waukesha fears cost of radium removal City may have to haul radioactive material to waste sites By ANA CABAN of the Journal Sentinel staff *Last Updated: Feb. 7, 2001* _Waukesha _- City officials fear that a federal agency's enforcement of strict standards for radium in drinking water will force the city to spend thousands of dollars a year to haul radioactive material from its water treatment plant to out-of-state nuclear waste sites. Mayor Carol Lombardi said Wednesday that the city learned recently of a community in New Jersey now facing that challenge because of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standards on radium in water. "What kind of unreasonable costs will be placed on the local water system as a result of enactment of a standard that we did not feel was an appropriate standard?" Lombardi asked. To meet the new EPA standard, which goes into effect Dec. 8, 2003, Waukesha would have to spend an estimated $50 million to upgrade its water treatment plant and would face an additional $1 million a year in operating costs. About 600 other communities in the country - including 50 in Wisconsin - also would be in violation of the radium limit. Last month, the Common Council voted unanimously to file a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to challenge the EPA's ruling. Since then, the mayor has worked to recruit other communities affected by the rules to join in the city's challenge. Mayor notes city's frustrations In a letter to EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, Lombardi expressed "the continued frustrations of our community in working with your agency and (on) radium standards for drinking water." The letter, dated Feb. 2, mentions New Jersey-American Water Co., which recently built a water treatment plant at its Jamesburg station in anticipation of the new EPA standards. New Jersey-American Water Co. is now dealing with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission because the radium may not be disposed of through the local wastewater treatment facilities at high concentrations, the letter says. The company has been told that it must build another plant that would consolidate the radium, a radioactive element that enters the water supply from natural sources, and transport it to a nuclear waste site North Carolina, the letter says. Waukesha Water Utility Director Robb Pattison said Wednesday that New Jersey-American's predicament is of concern to Waukesha. "We are just saying that it could add increased cost to treat the water in the first place," he said. Once the radium is removed from drinking water and the filters at the water treatment plant are flushed, the removed radium would be so concentrated that it could not be disposed of at the wastewater treatment facility, Pattison said. "It has to do with a federal law as to the allowed radioactive material that would go to the wastewater treatment plant," he said. The New Jersey company is "negotiating with the state as to how to deal with it," he said. Normally, residues from water treatment are sent to the wastewater facility for further treatment. Any remaining sludge is often sent to landfills or applied to farm fields, Pattison said. With high concentrations of radium, however the residual sludge may require special treatment or handling, Pattison said. Pattison said various techniques are available to treat the water for radium and that the Water Utility is beginning to explore those options in the event the legal challenge fails. Whether Waukesha would run into problems similar to those in New Jersey "depends on the technology and the amount of radium we would have to remove," Pattison said. "There may also be the ability to work out a settlement," he said. "We have to explore those things as well. We don't want to close any doors." In December, the EPA announced that it would begin enforcing a standard that was established in 1976 but never fully enforced - a radium limit of 5 picocuries per liter of water. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Feb. 8, 2001. Copyright 2001, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 USEC says government may owe it for tainted uranium inventory Posted at 6:02 p.m. EST Wednesday, February 7, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The company running the nation's two uranium enrichment plants wants the government to replace any contaminated uranium inherited in a 1998 transfer of operations. The U.S. Enrichment Corp. was given government uranium inventories as part of the deal to privatize the nation's uranium enrichment operations. The two plants are in Piketon, Ohio, and Paducah, Ky. The company notified the Energy Department in December that testing on ``limited samples'' of that uranium found some contamination with radioactive technetium. How much of the uranium may be tainted is still to be determined, but the amount could be more than 24 million pounds, a third of the 74 million pounds of raw uranium the government turned over in 1998. ``USEC expects DOE to replace any non-conforming material once the testing program is concluded,'' the company said in a written statement. The government intends to work with USEC to determine how much of its inherited uranium inventory is contaminated, the Energy Department said Wednesday. DOE spokeswoman Lisa Cutler said she could not address questions of whether the government would be required to reimburse USEC for tainted uranium. ``We just don't know the scope of it at this point,'' she said. The uranium enrichment plants were created to produce uranium for nuclear bombs and now produce fuel for nuclear power plants. USEC intends to cease operations in Ohio in June, to cut costs. AP-CS-02-07-01 1730EST -->_ _ ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 CIA CITES TERRORISM AS GREATEST THREAT Chicago Tribune | Print Edition -- _By Robert Burns_ Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Iran and Iraq are likely to pose major security challenges to the new Bush administration in their pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and in Iran's growing support for terrorism, the CIA director told Congress on Wednesday. Summarizing the agency's assessment of security threats around the world, George Tenet said international terrorism is the most immediate worry, and foremost among the threats is the Muslim extremist network of Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi who has declared holy war on America. "Osama bin Laden and his global network of lieutenants and associates remain the most immediate and serious threat," Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said bin Laden's organization is developing surrogates to carry out attacks "to avoid detection, blame and retaliation." Tenet also addressed other global threats: - Iran. It has one of the largest, most capable ballistic missile programs in the Middle East and could test an intercontinental-range missile capable of delivering a small weapon to the United States in "the next few years," he said. - Iraq. "We are likely to see greater assertiveness" by President Saddam Hussein over the next year. - India and Pakistan. Volatile relations between the South Asia rivals make "the risk of war between the two nuclear-armed adversaries unacceptably high." - North Korea. After nearly 10 years of decline in capability, the North Korean military has stabilized. It also is expanding its short- and medium-range missile arsenal, "putting our allies at greater risk." Tenet, who has been CIA head since 1997 and has been asked by the Bush administration to remain in the post, said terrorist groups are more decentralized, which makes them harder to identify. "Terrorists are also becoming more operationally adept and more technically sophisticated in order to defeat counterterrorism measures," he said, and they are seeking softer targets such as private businesses. ***************************************************************** 2 Documentary explores ills of the atomic age _ Daily Yomiuri On-Line Keiko Watanabe Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Aiming at a Nuclear-Free 21st Century--A Message From Hiroshima, a documentary that broadcast Dec. 29 in Hiroshima by RCC and aired nationwide Jan. 26 on Communication Satellite digital broadcasting, traces the history of the city that was destroyed by an atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. It documents Hiroshima's gradual rise from the ashes to its status now as a vibrant, modern city and a center for research on treating victims of radiation sickness. The film will be made available to schools as an educational tool and will also be screened at theaters around the nation. The first such showing will be held in Hiroshima on Feb. 28 and will be accompanied by a symposium. "We thought it would be better to describe Hiroshima in a broader, historical context rather than just throwing viewers straight into a presentation of the images of Hiroshima's suffering," said Hidetaka Ushio, President of Hiroshima Eiga Center, who coproduced the film. "We thought that would be the best way to judge the incident fairly." The film opens with a familiar scene of a memorial ceremony, but then takes viewers back with rare scenes of Hiroshima at the beginning of the 20th century. It is narrated by Sayuri Yoshinaga, an actress whose most important work includes the NHK television drama Yumechiyo Nikki, in which she portrayed an A-bomb survivor. She also has released a series of CDs in which she recites poems written by A-bomb victims. In an indication of the producers' intent to show both sides of the story, Yoshinaga points out early on that Hiroshima had served as a base for Japan's military expansion into Asia since the Sino-Japanese War (1894-5), when the Japanese Imperial Army had its headquarters in the city. The film touches on several important figures and events from "the century of war," as the 20th century has been called, such as the 1931 Manchurian Incident and the subsequent establishment of Japan's puppet regime in Manchuria, the ascensions of Hitler and Mussolini, Germany's invasion of Poland and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The film also takes a look at the workers on Tinian Island assembling the atomic bomb that would later be unleashed on Hiroshima, with illustrations used to explain the processes of an atomic explosion. The immediate physical effects of the bomb, as well as the mechanisms by which radiation is stored in victims' bodies, are also described in detail. One particularly haunting photo shows several badly burned victims wandering near Miyuki Bridge, slightly more than two kilometers from ground zero. At the center of the image, a man is bent over in pain as his family looks on helplessly. The image leaves viewers with a profound sense of the personal suffering victims of the bombing endured. Yoshinaga takes the opportunity to decry the inherent inhumanity of atomic weapons, saying: "Hiroshima, with 300,000 citizens, perished in an instant. Most victims were civilians. Such indiscrimination and cruelty are essential characteristics of atomic bombs." The film also includes rare footage showing the aftermath bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki that was shot from August to December 1945 by news production company Nihon Eigasha and a group of researchers organized by the government. The film was confiscated by U.S. Occupation authorities on grounds that it infringed upon press codes. It was sent to the United States for research into the effect atomic bombs had on humans. It was classified and was only later made available from U.S. archives. Aiming at a Nuclear-Free 21st Century examines not only the mass destruction of nuclear arms, but also the lingering effects of nuclear tests and the aftermath of accidents at nuclear power plants, such as Chernobyl and the Tokaimura plant in Ibaraki Prefecture. It also asks questions about the radiation emitted by depleted uranium used in the the 1991 Gulf War. "Opposition to nuclear arms is obvious," Ushio said. "Our goal is to question whether humans can coexist with nuclear power." Copyright 2001 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 3 Investigation of 'radiation deaths' refused Independent By Ben Russell 8 February 2001 The Government refused to launch an inquiry yesterday into the case of a family who claim their three daughters died after their father was exposed to radiation. Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley, said they would fight on to find the truth about the effect of radiation on Joe McMaster. Mr McMaster received a dose of uranium while working for the Atomic Energy Authority, now British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) in Preston, Lancashire, during the 1950s. Tests showed he had more than 18 times the radiation level that he normally registered at. Mr Evans said in a debate in Westminster Hall: "The company states the McMasters have been unlucky and that it was coincidence they have lost all but one of their children. I am asking the minister for a full and independent inquiry ... with no cover up or delay. The couple had their first daughter, Lynne, in 1950, Jill in 1955 and twins in 1958. The twins were born six months premature and one died at three days old. In 1964, Lynne developed kidney problems. She later died in 1988 suffering from anaemia, blindness, deafness and paralysis. Jill died from acute leukaemia in 1973. Mr McMaster retired in 1982, with a radiation count of 300 bequerels when it should have been five. Peter Hain, the Energy minister, insisted scientific evidence was not sufficient for the basis of an inquiry. He said: "BNFL ... honestly believe that in the light of all the evidence ... they cannot ... be expected to provide compensation." © 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd. ***************************************************************** 4 Troops 'not told' about uranium risks _Thursday February 8, 10:34 AM_ Defence ministers have revealed that briefings on the dangers of radioactive weapons were axed for 1,000 British servicemen who were sent to Kosovo. Balkan and Gulf War veterans have blamed debris from depleted uranium (DU) weapons, used extensively in both areas, for a host of serious health problems. Ministers insisted they had always been warned about the "minimal" risks posed by the tank-busting DU ammunition and told how to avoid them. But now defence minister John Spellar has acknowledged not all those sent overseas had received the warnings. _Briefings scrapped_ Mr Spellar said medical briefings, including warnings on depleted uranium, for troops heading abroad had been scrapped last August because of "pressure on the course programme". The MoD said around 1,000 troops had been sent to the Balkans before the briefings were reinstated on 12 January. The revelation brought immediate calls for an inquiry from shadow defence secretary Iain Duncan-Smith. A Ministry of Defence spokesman played down the significance of the axed briefings, saying they had simply duplicated information given during training already carried out by the units. Mr Spellar had previously assured MPs that all those sent to the Balkans had received the warnings. But officials realised that amid the pressure of deployment some had either not received the information or had not read it, the MoD spokesman said. _Scathing criticism_ Mr Duncan-Smith was scathing in his criticism and called on Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to face the Commons and explain why MPs had been misinformed. "Yet again this Labour government has treated the armed services withcontempt by putting cuts first and military personnel last," he said. "Our troops need to be satisfied that they are not at risk and the MoD mustimmediately instigate an inquiry to show our troops are not at risk. "The defence secretary must come back to parliament and inform us why the truth was not given to parliament the first time, " he said. _'I feel cheated'_ Former tank engineer Kevin Rudland, 41, of Hull, who says he suffers fromosteoarthritis, hair loss and post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Bosnia, called the government "pathetic". He said: "How can you possibly miss out something like that? Now they have got to put their hands up and admit they were wrong. "I think they let the upper ranks know about depleted uranium and they didn't pass it down to the normal squaddies. "I feel very much cheated and I think it's a disgrace to the country," he said. "You go out there to fight for your country and get shot maybe - but it turns out your own country is trying to kill you and you have been lied to andpoisoned by some unknown substance. "We had a conference before going to Bosnia, we had a brigadier there and he didn't say anything about depleted uranium problems." The issue was also being raised in the Commons in a late night debate on Wednesday, with MPs calling for an end to the test firing of radioactive weapons on British ranges. BBC News Online ***************************************************************** 5 Uranium Briefings Were Axed By Mod _Thursday February 8, 02:24 PM_ _Briefings on the dangers of radioactive weapons were axed shortly before British servicemen headed for the Kosovo, the Government has admitted._ In an embarrassing U-turn that is likely to re-ignite the debate on depleted uranium, defence minister John Spellar acknowledged the warnings were not given to troops because of the "pressure on the course programme". The Government had always insisted servicemen had been warned of the dangers. Shadow defence secretary Iain Duncan Smith called for an immediate public inquiry. _Health risk_ Many troops who served in the Balkans as peacekeepers and in the Gulf claim to have contracted cancers and suffered health problems because of depleted uranium. But scientists, and groups such as the World Health Organisation, say there is no firm evidence linking DU to a ill health. Mr Spellar admitted to the House of Commons the MoD had no idea how many of the thousands ofservicemen and women sent to the Balkans between August 2000 and last monthwere put at risk by the decision not to issue warnings. But the MoD said the information had already been given to troops in their basic training. _Contempt_ The revelation came following a question in the Commons by Mr Duncan Smith.He demanded Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon be called to the House explain why MPs had been misinformed. "Yet again this Labour Government has treated the armed services with contempt by putting cuts first and military personnel last," he said. "Our troops need to be satisfied that they are not at risk and the MoD mustimmediately instigate an inquiry to show our troops are not at risk. The Secretary of State must come back to Parliament and inform us why thetruth was not given to Parliament the first time." Former tank engineer Kevin Rudland, 41, of Hull, who says he suffers fromosteoarthritis, hair loss and post-traumatic stress disorder after serving inBosnia, called the Government "pathetic". He said: "How can you possibly miss out something like that? Now they havegot to put their hands up and admit they were wrong. Copyright © 2001 BSkyB. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 Army vets demand depleted uranium probe _Thursday February 8, 07:50 AM_ *By Michael Holden* LONDON (Reuters) - British war veterans are demanding a public inquiry after the government said that not all troops sent to the Balkans had been warned about possible risks from depleted uranium munitions. Ministers said last month that all British soldiers had been trained and advised about the possible dangers before their tours of duty in the Balkans, but Armed Forces Minister John Spellar said on Wednesday that had not been the case. "This is not acceptable", Shaun Rusling, spokesman for the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, said. "It's a complete U-turn on what they have said before. We again call for a public inquiry because the Ministry of Defence has not been telling the truth." Spellar said in a parliamentary written answer that a pre-deployment medical course that briefed soldiers on DU risks had been scrapped in August 2000. "Although instructions are in place for all troops in theatre to be briefed on the risks of DU, contrary to the impression I gave...my department is now aware that not all of them have actually been briefed," Spellar wrote. "It has not been possible to establish how many troops have not been briefed." The veterans association also said the government had misled parliament over an army report on the potential DU hazard leaked to the media last month. The Ministry of Defence had dismissed the report, prepared four years ago, as "flawed", "written by a trainee" and "never endorsed at senior level". The association said it was written by Major AH Lyall Grant whose documents it said would have been submitted "at the highest level". "The evidence clearly shows that this officer was not a junior officer," Rusling said. The government last month announced it would screen both Gulf War and Balkans veterans for the effects of DU exposure. Controversy over the use of depleted uranium weapons used by NATO in the Balkans in 1999 erupted after reports from Italy that six soldiers had died of leukaemia. Britain, along with NATO and the United States, insists there is no proof that DU weapons pose any health risk. Cases of cancer have also been reported among soldiers from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. The United States, Britain and France have already rejected calls by their German, Italian and Greek allies -- all of whom have to take account of strong anti-NATO constituencies -- to retire what commanders say is the best tank-busting weapon. Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 Troops 'not told' about uranium risks Wednesday, 7 February, 2001, 21:39 GMT [HMS Ark Royal] HMS Ark Royal: Believed to be carrying DU ammunition Defence ministers have revealed that briefings on the dangers of radioactive weapons were axed for 1,000 British servicemen who were sent to Kosovo. Balkan and Gulf War veterans have blamed debris from depleted uranium (DU) weapons, used extensively in both areas, for a host of serious health problems. Yet again this Labour government has treated the armed services with contempt by putting cuts first and military personnel last Iain Duncan-Smith Ministers insisted they had always been warned about the "minimal" risks posed by the tank-busting DU ammunition and told how to avoid them. But now defence minister John Spellar has acknowledged not all those sent overseas had received the warnings. _Briefings scrapped_ Mr Spellar said medical briefings, including warnings on depleted uranium, for troops heading abroad had been scrapped last August because of "pressure on the course programme". The MoD said around 1,000 troops had been sent to the Balkans before the briefings were reinstated on 12 January. The revelation brought immediate calls for an inquiry from shadow defence secretary Iain Duncan-Smith. A Ministry of Defence spokesman played down the significance of the axed briefings, saying they had simply duplicated information given during training already carried out by the units. [John Spellar] Mr Spellar had told MPs all troops received warnings Mr Spellar had previously assured MPs that all those sent to the Balkans had received the warnings. But officials realised that amid the pressure of deployment some had either not received the information or had not read it, the MoD spokesman said. _Scathing criticism_ Mr Duncan-Smith was scathing in his criticism and called on Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to face the Commons and explain why MPs had been misinformed. "Yet again this Labour government has treated the armed services with contempt by putting cuts first and military personnel last," he said. "Our troops need to be satisfied that they are not at risk and the MoD must immediately instigate an inquiry to show our troops are not at risk. "The defence secretary must come back to parliament and inform us why the truth was not given to parliament the first time, " he said. _'I feel cheated'_ Former tank engineer Kevin Rudland, 41, of Hull, who says he suffers from osteoarthritis, hair loss and post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Bosnia, called the government "pathetic". He said: "How can you possibly miss out something like that? Now they have got to put their hands up and admit they were wrong. I feel very much cheated and I think it's a disgrace to the country Kevin Rudland, Bosnia veteran "I think they let the upper ranks know about depleted uranium and they didn't pass it down to the normal squaddies. "I feel very much cheated and I think it's a disgrace to the country," he said. "You go out there to fight for your country and get shot maybe - but it turns out your own country is trying to kill you and you have been lied to and poisoned by some unknown substance. "We had a conference before going to Bosnia, we had a brigadier there and he didn't say anything about depleted uranium problems." The issue was also being raised in the Commons in a late night debate on Wednesday, with MPs calling for an end to the test firing of radioactive weapons on British ranges. ***************************************************************** 8 Minister admits troops were not told of DU risk Independent By Marie Woolf, Chief Political Correspondent 8 February 2001 The Government was last night forced to retract a House of Commons statement which said that British troops had been formally told about the dangers of depleted uranium. The Defence minister John Spellar said that an MP had been misled last year when he was told British troops "in theatre" had been briefed about the health risks. The Government further admitted that the Ministry of Defence did not know how many troops serving abroad, for example in Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Kosovo, had been briefed, and said it was "now aware that not all of them have actually been briefed". Mr Spellar, in a parliamentary reply, also confirmed that an MoD course for troops on medical issues including the risks of exposure to depleted uranium was cancelled last year. Mr Spellar said: "In August 2000, the pre-deployment course briefing on medical issues, including DU, was dropped because of pressure on the course programme and a perception that it duplicated training at units. Instructions to reinstate it were issued on 12 January 2001." Mr Spellar also said that inhaling a fragment of DU, used to pierce armour, would only very slightly increase the risk of developing cancer. The Tories called for a full explanation of why the Government had misinformed Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for Linlithgow, about information given to troops. "This is yet another example of the complacency of this Government in relation to the health of our troops," said Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow Defence Secretary. "The Government is putting the health of our troops at risk yet again by putting cuts first and safety last." The Government announced plans for a voluntary screening programme after fears surfaced that troops exposed to depleted uranium could later contract cancer and other serious illnesses. The MoD last night said only around 1,000 troops had been sent to the Balkans before the briefings were reinstated on 12 January. "All those currently serving in Kosovo should now have been personally briefed," a spokesman added. Former tank engineer Kevin Rudland, 41, of Hull, who claims he suffers from osteoarthritis, hair loss and post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Bosnia, called the Government "pathetic". He said: "How can you possibly miss out something like that? Now they have got to put their hands up and admit they were wrong. I think they let the upper ranks know about depleted uranium and they didn't pass it down to the squaddies." © 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd. ***************************************************************** 9 Government finds no unusual radioactivity outside Nevada Test Site February 08, 2001 LAS VEGAS (AP) - The federal government found no unusual air or groundwater radioactivity outside the Nevada Test Site in 1999. A Department of Energy annual report, compiled jointly with the Desert Research Institute, found only natural radioactivity levels in 23 wells and springs outside the Test Site. Some 1,700 air samples inside the site found no radioactivity above natural environmental levels, the agency said Wednesday. The Test Site is 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. More than 1,000 underground and surface nuclear experiments were conducted there from 1951 to 1992. Some data for the published report was gathered at monitoring stations on ranches, farms and schools in communities around the Test Site under the Community Environmental Monitoring Program that was established in 1981. --- On the Net: Department of Energy Nevada Web site: http://www.nv.doe.gov Department of Energy Community Environmental Monitoring Program Web site: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cemp All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 10 Troops not told of shells' toxic risk Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | [Depleted uranium] _Nicholas Watt and Richard Norton-Taylor Thursday February 8, 2001 The Guardian_ The government last night admitted that thousands of British troops serving in Kosovo were placed at risk from the deadly effects of depleted uranium, the substance linked to Gulf war syndrome, after a health warning failed to reach soldiers during the 1999 Nato conflict. The Ministry of Defence admitted that it failed to brief troops on the special health notice which warned that depleted uranium (DU) created a "heavy toxic powder". John Spellar, the armed forces minister, said a lengthy "mounting order" was sent to troops serving with Nato in Kosovo in 1999 which gave detailed instructions on how to avoid contact with the substance, which can lead to cancer. But he admitted the message did not reach all troops. In a written parliamentary reply, he said: "My department is now aware that not all [troops] have actually been briefed." Mr Spellar told MPs in a parliamentary answer last November that troops did receive health advice. In his reply last night he admitted he had created a misleading impression. Mr Spellar admitted the MoD withdrew a pre-deployment course last summer which was set up to brief troops on the danger of DU. The course was reinstated last month, days after Mr Spellar performed a u-turn and agreed to offer medical screening for troops who served in the Balkans. The breakdown in commu nication will embarrass ministers who were forced to admit last year that health notices about DU failed to reach troops serving in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf war. A message, advising soldiers how to avoid breathing in DU dust, never reached its destination. Mr Spellar said the medical screening programme was designed to provide reassurance because the government did not accept any link between DU ammunition and illnesses suffered by troops. The MoD advice to troops in Kosovo provides chilling reading of the dangers of DU, which is used to strengthen the tips of tank-busting shells. When a shell hits a tank, up to 40% of the shell is reduced to a fine dust which can be inhaled. Warning of a "heavy toxic powder" which may be invisible, the health notice told troops: "You are not to climb on to or into vehicles possibly damaged by fighter ground attack aircraft or tanks unless your duties require it." If troops had to do so they should wear special gloves and a face mask. •The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, yesterday appeared to open the door to eventual British acceptance of George Bush's plans to deploy American national missile defences in Britain and Europe. Such a plan is thought likely to include US moves to build a a ground radar station in North Yorkshire, which would draw Britain into the target area for any international retaliation against US missile defences. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 11 MoD didn't warn troops about uranium shells The Scotsman Online - Scotland's best selling quality national newspaper Jenny Percival Political Correspondent THE Ministry of Defence was forced to admit last night that some British troops had not been warned about the harmful effects of depleted uranium shells. John Spellar, the armed forces minister, had assured MPs that all servicemen and women were advised about the risks of DU before they were sent into action. But in an embarrassing and potentially costly correction, he admitted that not all of them had been briefed, nor could he establish how many troops had not received vital information about the dangers . In a parliamentary answer, he also said that, last August, a briefing for troops on medical issues, including DU, was "dropped because of pressure on the course programme and a perception that it duplicated training at units". Instructions to reinstate it were issued on 12 January, said Mr Spellar. His comments came in a reply to John Swinney, the Scottish National Party leader. Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory defence spokesman, said the revelation was an example of the government "putting defence cuts first and the safety of our armed forces second". He added: "The MoD must instigate an immediate inquiry into whether our troops have been exposed to dangers so that they can have peace of mind." Earlier the MoD said that testing of DU shells in Scotland will resume in ten days’ time, despite renewed warnings about the danger to health and the environment. In a Commons debate, MPs demanded an end to the test firing of DU shells from Kircudbright into the Solway Firth. The SNP’s Alasdair Morgan, who initiated the debate, said recent concern about exposure to DU had reinforced the 18-year campaign for firing to be halted. Campaigners in Mr Morgan’s Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency believe a high incidence of cancer in the area may be connected to the DU tests, which began in 1982. But the MoD insisted that the communities around the test sites were in no danger and said it planned to fire some 60 rounds at the Dundrennan range, starting on 19 February. Mr Morgan’s call for the 6,907 shells already fired into the Solway Firth to be recovered was also rejected by the MoD. The MP agreed there was no proven link between the shells and ill health among the communities near the range and said he had no intention of making cheap headlines at the expense of public confidence. But he went on: "Increasing international worries about DU do lead me to be concerned that if these thousands of shells are left in the Solway Firth, then we are storing up potential problems for the future. I am also concerned about any potential health implications for civilian and military staff who have worked at the base. "Many of us instinctively object to the Solway being used as a radioactive munitions dumping ground by the MoD." A spokesman from the ministry said yesterday that because the DU tests in Scotland involved firing shells into deep water, there was no danger to people living nearby or those working on the range. Nor, he insisted, were there any harmful effects on marine life. The MoD pointed to an independent environmental impact assessment on the Kircudbright range carried out in 1993 by consultants WS Atkins, which stated that the "radiation doses to members of the public and the associated risk from DU released into the environment were extremely low". ***************************************************************** 12 Bin Laden Sought Uranium, Jury Told washingtonpost.com: By Colum Lynch Special to The Washington Post Thursday, February 8, 2001; Page A02 NEW YORK, Feb. 7 -- A former member of Osama bin Laden's alleged terrorist network told a federal jury today that the Islamic extremist group tried to buy uranium in late 1993 but that he was not sure whether the deal was completed. Jamal Ahmed Fadl, 38, a Sudanese militant who claims to have served in bin Laden's organization for nine years, also testified he warned U.S. officials in 1996 that the group was planning to attack American targets. The warning came more than two years before the Aug. 7, 1998, truck bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people and wounded thousands. "They try to make war against your country, and they train very hard," Fadl said he told an American official in the summer of 1996. "Maybe they try to do something inside the United States and they try to fight the United States Army outside, and also they try to make bomb against some embassy." Fadl is the first government witness in the trial of four men accused of participating in the East African embassy bombings. The trial, which began Monday, is expected to last months. Speaking in heavily accented English, Fadl said he was ordered in 1993 by one of bin Laden's top lieutenants to try to buy uranium from a former Sudanese military officer named Salah Abdel Mobruk, apparently to make an atomic weapon. "I tell him we hear he's got uranium and we want to know if it's true," Fadl told the jury. "We want to buy it." Fadl said an associate of Mobruk had offered to sell some uranium for $1.5 million, plus a commission. At one point, he said, the associate showed bin Laden's agents a bag containing a two- to three-foot cylinder that purportedly contained uranium, along with documents saying the material came from South Africa, a former nuclear power. But Fadl said he was withdrawn from the negotiations a short time later. Although he never learned whether bin Laden's organization had bought the material, he said, he was paid a $10,000 bonus for arranging the deal. The testimony appeared to be aimed at supporting the government's contention that bin Laden's group -- known as al Qaeda, Arabic for "the Base" -- planned terrorist acts and sought to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons in a crusade to drive American forces out of the Islamic world. But U.S. weapons experts cautioned that there is no evidence that Sudan or al Qaeda has ever possessed nuclear materials. "The scary part is that they tried to get it," said Steven Dolley, research director at the Nuclear Control Institute, a Washington-based research group. "It sounds like it might have been a scam." In his second day of testimony, Fadl also said he had helped the organization transfer money and weapons to like-minded terrorist organizations in the Philippines, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Noting that the organization had purchased as many as 100 camels to carry rifles across the desert, he said, "We use camels to smuggle Kalashnikovs to Egypt." Despite a privileged position in the organization, Fadl said, he grew angry over disparities in wages paid to al Qaeda members. While Fadl was paid $300 a month by the organization and $200 by one of bin Laden's companies, other members, particularly senior Egyptian officials, were making as much as $1,500 a month, he said. Fadl handled the organization's payroll and complained to bin Laden that it was unfair that Egyptian members should be given greater responsibilities and wages than those who had served al Qaeda from its founding days in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. So he took about $110,000 in kickbacks from the sale of oil and sugar from one of bin Laden's companies, using the money to buy a car and land. "I feel I had to do something for myself," he explained. Fadl said that the theft was soon discovered and that bin Laden insisted he pay back all the money. Instead, Fadl fled Sudan for an undisclosed country. Some time between May and July 1996, he said, he walked into a U.S. embassy and got in line for a visa. "I don't want visa," he recalled telling a consular official when his turn came. "I have some information for your government about some people, they want to do something against your government." Within 20 minutes, Fadl was being questioned by American officials. The U.S. government put him up in a nearby hotel and began three weeks of intelligence debriefings. He was then transferred to an undisclosed location in Europe, where he was questioned by officials from the FBI and the Justice Department. Fadl said he was flown to the United States and placed in the custody of the FBI for about two years before entering a federal witness protection program. Although the United States refused to give him a reward for testifying against bin Laden, he said, the government brought his family from Sudan and lent him $20,000. In exchange, Fadl said, he pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges. The charges carry a maximum of 15 years in prison, but he said officials have promised to ask the judge for leniency. © 2001 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 13 Kuwait asks IAEA to test for DU radiation Gulf News Online : News _ Dubai:Thursday, February 08, 2001_ Kuwait |Reuters | 08-02-01 _ Kuwait asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday to check its territory for radiation because of the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons by U.S.-led forces in the 1991 Gulf War. "I am certain that Kuwaiti land is free of this radiation," Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahamd Al Sabah told the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) after talks with Mohammad el-Baradei, the visiting head of the IAEA. "But for my ease of mind and that of the country's residents I have asked Dr Mohammad to acertain that there is no such radiation." Fears of radioactivity resurfaced in Kuwait recently after an international media furore erupted over the use of DU weapons and reports that some NATO peacekeepers have died or fallen ill after being exposed to DU munitions in Bosnia and Kosovo in 1995 and 1999. U.S.-led multinational forces fired DU weapons at Iraqi forces whom they drove out of Kuwait during the Gulf War after a seven-month occupation. Kuwaiti officials have stressed in recent weeks that radiation levels are within the normal range. ***************************************************************** 14 ORR land study announcement set, then postponed Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 2:13 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, 2001 _by Paul Parson _ Oak Ridger staff Yes, no, maybe. That seems to be the Department of Energy's strategy concerning a pending announcement about land activities on the Oak Ridge Reservation. The federal agency on Wednesday scheduled and then quickly canceled a press conference for today at which Leah Dever, manager of DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office, was expected to announce plans to require an environmental impact statement on the 34,424-acre Oak Ridge Reservation. DOE spokesman Steven Wyatt this morning said Dever has recommended that an environmental impact statement be completed before proceeding with land-use plans in Oak Ridge. Dever's recommendation adheres to a request recently made by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation and the Tennessee Conservation League. The center is a nonprofit organization that works through legal advocacy to protect natural resources in the Southeast region of the United States. However, a reservation-wide environmental impact statement could freeze local industrial development for a number of years. "It can be a long process," Wyatt said, adding that it could take up to two years to complete. The environmental impact statement would not affect proposed activities involving Oak Ridge National Laboratory or the transfer of ownership of the 180-acre Boeing flood plain. But an area that would be impacted by the environmental impact statement is Parcel ED-3. The 450-acre parcel, which sits near the Oak Ridge K-25 site, is being considered for development into a business and light industrial park. Dever recently put an environmental assessment of Parcel ED-3 on hold, and the environmental impact statement could cause further delays, officials said. Wyatt said the official announcement of the reservation-wide environmental impact statement was canceled Wednesday because Dever had not had a chance to meet with senior-level officials at DOE headquarters on the matter. When asked if the senior level officials could negate the environmental impact statement, Wyatt stated that the Oak Ridge Operations office follows DOE headquarters' policies. And, as of this morning, the press conference to address the environmental impact statement had not been rescheduled. All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 15 Depleted uranium: an update - Jane's Europe News 7 February 2001 _Darren Lake _*JDW Staff Reporter*_ _Additional reporting by _Nicholas Blanford_* JDW Correspondent*; Beirut and _Radu Tudor_ *JDW Correspondent* Bucharest _ _European Union:_ On 17 January, the European Parliament called for a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions by EU and NATO members. _NATO:_ Chairman of the NATO Chiefs of Military Medical Services Committee, Maj Gen Roger van Hoof, said on 16 January that his committee "cannot find any increase in blood cancers or deaths in soldiers ... deployed to the Balkans". NATO says that there is no need for a moratorium on the use of DU as its members are not involved in any conflicts at present. A NATO working group has been established to act as an information clearing-house to include non-NATO contributors to Kosovo Force and Stabilisation Force operations. On 23 January, the Ad Hoc Committee on Depleted Uranium, established on 10 January, said that it had still not found any evidence to link illness among Balkans veterans to DU. However, the alliance has supplied detailed maps to concerned nations of where DU munitions had been fired in the Balkans and made them available on its website. In the NATO Stabilisation Force's (SFOR's) official publication, SFOR Informer, the force's commander Lt Gen Michael Dodson set out what information was available on the use of DU in Bosnia and its possible effects in an effort to reassure his troops and contributing nations. _United Nations:_ Chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carle Del Ponte, says that she would be willing to consider charges on the use of DU, but that there would need to be "concrete scientific evidence" that there had been a violation of an "article or convention". The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) says that the DU rounds fired in Kosovo also contained traces of more radioactive-enriched uranium. Responding to a request from Iraq, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on 25 January that it would send a team to study the effects of DU weapons used against the country during the 1990-91 Gulf War. On the same day, UNEP and the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a joint statement saying that they were considering sending fact-finding missions to Bosnia, Yugoslavia and Iraq to look into the issue. A four-strong team from WHO sent to Kosovo to look at the issue said on 31 January that they had found firm evidence to "link individual medical cases in Kosovo to exposure to depleted uranium", but said that much more analysis was necessary. On 5 February, WHO experts said that the health risks of DU would have to be reassessed in the light of evidence that the munitions may contain traces of other more radioactive substances such as plutonium. _Australia:_ The government said on 11 January that it would screen all armed forces personnel who had served in the Balkans. On 21 January, the Department of Defence said that each veteran would have blood and urine tests as part of the screening. _Belgium:_ The government will screen its veterans, but a group of military veterans said that they were planning civil action against the MoD. Lawyers acting for a group of Belgian veterans said on 18 January that they had filed the first of three suits against the government seeking compensation. _Canada:_ The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is compiling a database of the health of its personnel in an effort to dismiss the "false perception" that large numbers of them have been afflicted with Gulf War or Balkan syndromes. Col Scott Cameron the CAF's Surgeon General told the local Ottawa Citizen on 5 February that "with the huge amount of media attention that's been paid to this for the last 10 years, this has become a significant health-care issue for us to address as a military health-care service". _France:_ The government said that five of its Balkan veterans are being treated for leukaemia. It is also screening its veterans. France says that tests on cancer victims show no traces of DU. _Germany:_ After initial denials of any possible risk, the German MoD has also given in to pressure for a screening programme and on 9 January joined Italian calls for a moratorium on DU use while there is further investigation into the risks. However, Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping continued to emphasise that there was no established risk. After initially denying that DU rounds had ever been fired on German soil, the government said that it could no longer rule out the possibility that DU rounds had been fired either by US forces stationed in the country or by domestic armaments companies testing research products. German residents living near training grounds are demanding that the government make more efforts to investigate the possibility of contamination. Visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, on 20 January, Scharping criticised the USA over the use of DU, suggesting that it had held back information from its allies. On 27 January Scharping accused opponents of the 1999 NATO campaign of whipping up fears over the DU issue. On 3 February the GSF Research Centre for Environment and Health "completely" ruled out any dangers to the health of service personnel and the general population from traces of plutonium in DU rounds. _Greece:_ Screening its veterans, but has rejected domestic pressure to withdraw its troops from the region. The armed forces confirmed that one Balkans veteran has died from leukaemia. It also said on 8 January that it would withdraw DU ammunition from its inventory. On 22 January, about 70 Greek soldiers returned from peacekeeping duty in Kosovo, including an unspecified number who had been granted requests to cut short their six-month tours. The Greek government said that it had received 150 applications for early return from its 1,500 peacekeepers in the region. _Ireland:_ Will be screening peacekeepers who have served in the Balkans. There are currently 100 Irish soldiers in Kosovo and 50 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Around 700 have been on duty in the Balkans. _Italy:_ Italy instigated the current concerns over DU munitions when it was discovered that seven of its soldiers who had served in the Balkans had developed leukaemia. This resulted in calls from within NATO for an investigation into DU risks and, on 9 and 10 January, Italy called for a moratorium on the use of DU while an investigation takes place. On 18 January, Italian Defence Minister Sergio Mattarella told parliament that the number of cases of soldiers being investigated was 31, including eight who had died. The Chief of General Staff, Gen Mario Arpino, said on 19 January that the press had adopted an "offensive attitude" to the military command and attributed "diseases and deaths to depleted uranium without any proof whatsoever". On 1 February, about 40 experts from Rome's Institute for Radiology hired by the Italian armed forces began checking the 1,600 strong contingent of Italian peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia for potential health hazards related to DU. On 1 February Italy proposed that NATO set up a "code of communications" on the use of armaments by its member states. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson did not rule out the proposal. _Israel_ has denied accusations by Lebanon and the Palestine Authority that it used DU munitions in either South Lebanon or the West Bank and Gaza Strip. _Lebanon:_ The Lebanese government has ordered an investigation into the suspected use of ammunition containing DU by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) during its occupation of South Lebanon. If evidence emerges that the IDF used DU ammunition, it will be included in a future lawsuit claiming damages from Israel for its 22-year occupation. The investigation was announced amid indications of increased cases of cancer among Lebanese living in the south. "If we find evidence of uranium, we will inform the United Nations and the world and demand that Israel is held accountable," said the Lebanese Minister of Information Ghazi Aridi. _New Zealand:_ The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said in January that it would investigate whether any NZDF personnel had been exposed to DU during the Gulf War or in Bosnia and Kosovo. _Norway:_ On 5 January, the Norwegian armed forces said that it would send all personnel who had served in the Balkans a letter asking them to report any illnesses that could be related to DU exposure. On 8 January, the Norwegian government said that it would screen at least 20,000 soldiers. In January about 400 soldiers from the Telemark Battalion refused to sign contracts to start service in the region in June until they receive clarification of the risk from DU, but later reports said that all the troops had signed up to go. _Portugal:_ The country was among the first NATO members to begin screening its 10,000 military and civilian Balkan veterans after initial fears late last year. It has sent a scientific team to Kosovo to investigate. One Portuguese soldier has been diagnosed with cancer since returning from a tour in Kosovo. _Romania:_ Starting on 8 January, the Romania military began screening some 1,440 soldiers who had served as peacekeepers in Bosnia. _Russia:_ On 21 January, first deputy commander of the Russian airborne troops Lt Gen Nikolay Staskov said that 70% of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia and Kosovo had been tested and that there was no evidence of leukaemia. He also said that there was no evidence of leukaemia among veterans from the region. Russia has 3,600 troops serving in Kosovo according to Lt Gen Staskov _Spain:_ According to local press reports, seven Spanish soldiers and one civilian have been diagnosed with cancer since returning from tours in the Balkans; two of them have since died. The Spanish authorities were also quick to act on fears at the beginning of the year and offer screening to Balkans veterans. On 16 January, Minister of Defence Frederico Trillo told parliament that DU was not to blame for cases of cancer in the military. About 32,000 Spanish soldiers have served in the region. _Sweden:_ Government officials said on 8 January that all soldiers who had served in the Balkans would be informed of the possible health risks and asked to fill in a questionnaire about their health. About 10,000 Swedish peacekeepers have served in the Balkans since 1993. _Switzerland:_ The Swiss MoD said on 7 January that all 900 of its Balkan veterans would be screened after the local press reported that one veteran had died in 1998 from leukaemia. Swiss experts helping the UN Environment Programme investigation said that they have also found traces of highly radioactive plutonium in the debris of DU munitions fired in Kosovo. _Turkey:_ Screening its Balkan veterans, but the Turkish Armed Forces said that initial tests had showed no evidence of exposure to DU. _UK:_ The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has maintained that there is no evidence to link DU exposure to the health problems being reported by some 1990-91 Gulf War and Balkan veterans. However, reports in the UK press on 11 January reported the existence of a leaked MoD document written four years ago that warned of increased risk of radiation exposure for soldiers working in vehicles that had been hit by DU rounds. The MoD played down the report, saying that it was a draft written by a "trainee" and contained scientific inaccuracies. On 15 January, Secretary of State for Defence Geoffrey Hoon told parliament that the MoD had always acknowledged the low-level risk of DU, including the "risk to soldiers who go into the burned-out shell of a tank immediately after it has been hit by a depleted uranium shell". On 8 January, there were 2,265 UK service personnel in Bosnia and 3,351 in Kosovo. The government cited a Manchester University study that observed that only 64 of 53,000 armed forces personnel who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War have died from all causes, while 68 in a control group have died. On 25 January, the MoD released a number of documents that it said supported the government's opinion that DU did not provide a significant risk to the health of service personnel. _Ukraine:_ On 5 January the Ukrainian government announced that it would screen its Balkans veterans. On 8 January, President Leonid Kuchma called for a moratorium on the use of DU ammunition. On 19 January, Ukraine said that it would carry out additional testing on Balkan veterans and sent a team of experts to test soldiers stationed in the region. On 29 January specialists from the Ministry of Defence said that they had found no evidence of leukaemia in the country's peacekeepers nor areas of high radiation where they were serving. _USA:_ After studies conducted in 1999 and 2000, the US Department of Defense (DoD) maintains it has found no link between DU and health risks to military personnel. The DoD acknowledged that the Department of Energy had found that the US stockpile of DU munitions did contain trace amounts of transuranic elements, including plutonium, but that this only raised the "already negligible" radiation levels by less than 1%. Former US Army Col Asaf Durakovic who was tasked with examining US Gulf War veterans who had developed illnesses following their service says that some of those illnesses may be linked to the use of DU in the conflict and Uranium 236 isotopes that he says he found in their bodies. In late January Col Eric Daxon, the DU consultant to the Army Surgeon General, was sent to Europe to convince the USA's allies that there was no link between DU and leukaemia. During his visit he briefed the military medical chiefs of the other NATO members and said that there were 35 studies that supported his conclusions. _Bulgaria_, the _Czech Republic_, _Hungary_ and _Poland_: Also screening peacekeepers who have served in Bosnia and Kosovo. Chief of the Hungarian Army's medical section, Gen Laszlo Sved, said on 8 January that one soldier had developed leukaemia among the 7,000 who had served in the Balkans, but had first shown signs of the disease before his posting to the region. On 31 January a member of the Czech Army's chemical unit said that a link between DU used by NATO and cancer did not exist. A seven-strong team visited the Czech Republic's KFOR contingent to carry out radiation and chemical tests. _Jane's Defence Weekly_ _Online_ (frequent updates + archive ***************************************************************** 16 Terrorist Group Sought Uranium February 08, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) -- A former aide to Osama bin Laden testified in the embassy bombing trial he was dispatched in 1993 to try to buy uranium, which prosecutors say the terrorist leader wanted for a nuclear weapon. Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl told jurors Wednesday that bin Laden was prepared to spend $1.5 million for black-market uranium as part of his holy war, or jihad, against Americans. Al-Fadl described arranging a series of meetings with shadowy dealers, saying one bin Laden terrorist organization, al Qaeda, was "very serious" about the purchase. He said he did not know if the deal was ever completed. Testifying at the trial of four men charged in the deadly bombings of the U.S. embassies in east Africa, Al-Fadl also said that two years before the 1998 attacks he warned American officials that terrorists might strike. He claimed he told the officials that al Qaeda might "try to make bomb against some embassy." He did not name specific targets. Al-Fadl said he warned U.S. officials that attacks were possible within the United States, against U.S. military forces overseas and at American embassies. Prosecutors have portrayed the 1998 blasts at U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as part of a worldwide plot by bin Laden. Twelve Americans were among the 224 people killed. Wahid El-Hage, 40, and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, 35, could get life sentences if convicted of conspiracy. Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali, 24, and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, could face the death penalty if convicted of murder conspiracy. Al-'Owhali allegedly rode in the bomb-carrying truck to the embassy in Nairobi. Mohamed is accused of helping to pack explosives and riding in the bomb truck to the embassy in Dar es Salaam. In his second day on the witness stand, Al-Fadl said he decided to alert U.S. officials after he was kicked out of bin Laden's organization for stealing. Sometime in 1996, Al-Fadl said, he went to an unidentified U.S. embassy and told officials he had "information about people who want to do something against your government." Al-Fadl said he told embassy officials, and later the FBI, that militant Muslim followers of bin Laden were preparing to wage war against America. Federal authorities have acknowledged they were cautioned about terrorist threats and lax security before the nearly simultaneous embassy bombings. A commission appointed by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright criticized the State Department for better safeguarding U.S. missions. But Al-Fadl's testimony was a reminder that victims "weren't told we were in harm's way," said Sue Bartley, whose husband, Consul General Julian Bartley, and son died in the Kenyan blast. "That information had not been dispensed to our families." Al-Fadl, a Sudanese who lives in the United States, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a deal that required him to testify. He has already described the origins of al Qaeda and how the exiled Saudi millionaire declared a religious war on Americans in the early 1990s. He also has identified scores of bin Laden associates, including El-Hage, who allegedly worked as bin Laden's personal secretary. Prosecutors hope to show the embassy bombings were the work of well-trained Islamic militants who were given new goals of terror by bin Laden after they forced the former Soviet Union out of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Al-Fadl said bin Laden started construction companies and other businesses in Sudan to raise money for his jihad. After falling into disfavor with bin Laden for secretly pocketing $110,000 in "commissions" while trading oil and sugar for al Qaeda, Al-Fadl said he fled Sudan and approached U.S. officials. The trial resumes Tuesday, when Al-Fadl faces cross-examination. Federal court: http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov 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: *****************************************************************