***************************************************************** 03/08/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.61 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Council to use lobbying money toward Yucca suit 2 Bill Touts Nuclear Energy 3 Senator seeks more US reliance on nuclear power 4 Ex-Cop Tried to Enter Nuclear Plant 5 Blumenthal:Rescind DPUC approval of ConEd deal 6 World Wide Minerals: Federal Court Of Appeals Rejects Attack On 7 Leak shuts down New Brunswick nuclear plant 8 Nuke bill solicits funds to create waste option 9 Hau firm on nuclear plant issue 10 Nuclear plants to be built in UK 11 PRAISE FOR SELLAFIELD 12 BLOCKED PIPE HALTS SELLAFIELD CLEAN-UP OPERATION 13 Czechs to shut nuclear reactor for fixing valves 14 French EDF plans 13 pct nuclear cost cut by 2002 15 Russian nuclear minister corrupt 16 Yucca measure approved 17 Council balks at hiring Yucca lobbying firm NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Small fire at Hanford; building evacuated 2 Depleted uranium 3 A-bomb kin to be polled on feelings 4 Ex-Test Site workers getting tested for beryllium 5 Lawmakers cite ‘bias’ in Energy Department 6 Rocky Flats head could be energy chief 7 Hanford budget plans still hazy ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Council to use lobbying money toward Yucca suit March 08, 2001 By Diana Sahagun LAS VEGAS SUN The Las Vegas City Council decided Wednesday to direct money reserved for the fight against the Yucca nuclear waste project toward a lawsuit against the federal government. City attorney Brad Jerbic will use the $40,000 appropriated for lobbying efforts against the Yucca project to investigate legal options. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only nuclear waste disposal site under consideration. It would store about 77,000 tons of the country's nuclear waste. "If I were convinced that a lobbyist was able to change the minds of those who are proponents of Yucca Mountain ... I would feel much more comfortable saying, Yes, we need a lobbyist," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. "I don't see minds being changed." The city's contract with lobbyists Alcalde and Fay expires March 31. Clark County commissioners last month voted to end their agreement with Alcalde and Fay and instead sign a $60,000 contract with Washington, D.C.-based lobbyists Cassidy and Associates. The city could have followed the county's lead and discussed negotiating a new contract with Alcalde and Fay. It also could have submitted a request for proposals from other lobbyists. Goodman said the city won't file what he called a "copycat lawsuit." Eight lawsuits regarding the site filed in the 1980s by the state were ultimately thrown out by 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 dump site before Nevada has a valid case. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 Bill Touts Nuclear Energy Thursday, March 8, 2001 Albuquerque Journal--> Michael Coleman--> By *Journal Washington Bureau* WASHINGTON — Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., introduced ambitious legislation Wednesday aimed at encouraging more use of nuclear energy while reducing dangerous waste. Domenici said his bill, called the Nuclear Energy Electricity Assurance Act of 2001, could help prevent future American energy crunches by reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil. He also said power shortages in California, coupled with rising fuel prices and pollution from fossil fuels, give Congress a good reason to consider expanding nuclear energy sources. "It's just about an opportune time to bring this issue up," Domenici said at a Capitol Hill news conference. The bipartisan bill, on which Domenici has been working for several years, focuses on five areas related to nuclear power. They are: Supporting nuclear energy production, encouraging new plant construction, ensuring nuclear energy is given equal consideration in Congress to other power sources, minimizing waste and revising Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. "This bill will encourage new plant construction, ensure a level playing field for nuclear power and create waste solutions," Domenici said, adding that nuclear power is nearly emission-free. The legislation would provide $406 million toward meeting those initiatives. Some of the bill's big-ticket items include $60 million for a new Nuclear Energy Research Initiative and $32 million to create a Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee that would explore ways to bolster nuclear engineering education at American universities. The bill also contains $120 million for a program that finds ways to convert spent nuclear fuel into more energy instead of disposing of it in expensive and controversial repositories. That provision has some nuclear watchdogs concerned. Ed Lyman, scientific director for the Nuclear Control Institute in Washington, said so-called "reprocessing" of spent nuclear fuel creates weapons-grade plutonium, which could fall into the hands of rogue nations. "Reprocessing spent fuel is fundamentally misguided," Lyman said. "It only succeeds in building up huge inventories of weapons-usable plutonium." Lyman also said Domenici's bill should spark a public debate about whether the massive costs of building more nuclear power plants would justify the benefits. Currently, 103 nuclear power plants are in operation in the United States, and the reactors provide roughly 22 percent of the nation's energy supply, according to Domenici's office. New Mexico has no nuclear power plants, but the federal government spends billions of dollars on nuclear weapons research and management at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. Some research initiatives contained in the bill, including the science of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, would be conducted at the nuclear labs in New Mexico, a Domenici spokesman said. No expansion here New Mexico's largest utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico, owns part of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station outside Phoenix, but that's as far as it wants to go with nuclear energy, a company spokeswoman said. "PNM has no plans to build any nuclear generating power plants at this time," spokeswoman Julie Grey said in Albuquerque on Wednesday. PNM also has no plans at present to buy any more nuclear generating capacity. However, the utility will have a 550-megawatt share in a Kansas nuclear-powered generating station when its planned merger with Western Resources gets regulatory approval in late 2001 or early 2002. But if the price of natural gas continues to climb much higher, said Grey, "nuclear power may have a place in the future." The Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute hailed Domenici's bill as "visionary" and said it would help meet increasing demands for energy in the digital economy. Domenici said conservation and alternative forms of energy, such as solar or wind power, are important, but those programs cannot provide enough power for America's growing energy needs. "Even if we double, triple or quadruple (use of alternative energy sources), America can't solve its energy problems there," Domenici said. Sen. Frank Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, applauded Domenici's bill as a way to reduce America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil. He also said Europe and Japan are expanding their use of nuclear power and America should keep up. "We don't want to have that technology pass us by," said Murkowski, a co-sponsor of the bill. "If we ever hope to achieve energy security and energy independence in this country, we simply cannot abandon the nuclear option." Reliable energy source Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., another co-sponsor of the bill, said the bill would increase the efficiency and capacity of existing nuclear plants. She said a nuclear power plant in her state has been a good, reliable source of energy for her constituents. Domenici conceded that many Americans remain wary of nuclear power, in part because of the problems at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. But he said technology is vastly improved and public education should put many of those fears to rest. He also said members of Congress seem willing to consider the bill, and he is optimistic it will be approved. So far, eight Republicans, including Domenici, and three Democrats have co-sponsored the bill. White House spokeswoman Jeannie Mano said President Bush has not seen Domenici's bill. She said it remains unclear how much emphasis Bush will put on nuclear energy as he develops a comprehensive national energy policy. To see more details of the Domenici bill, visit the Web Journal staff writer Rosalie Rayburn contributed to this story. Copyright Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 3 Senator seeks more US reliance on nuclear power USA: March 8, 2001 WASHINGTON - New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici introduced legislation yesterday to spur use of nuclear power, saying the measure would promote new plant construction and expand technology funding for the "safe and environmentally clean fuel." Entitled the Nuclear Energy Electricity Assurance Act, the senator said the bill would complement a comprehensive national energy plan put forward last month by Republican leaders in the Senate and blessed by the Bush White House. The nuclear bill aims "to foster greater use of nuclear energy while supporting advanced research into technologies to minimize wastes created by this cost-effective and environmentally sound energy source," Domenici said. The bill has five major points: supporting nuclear energy production; encouraging new plant construction; assuring a level playing field for nuclear power; creating waste solutions; and improving Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. Domenici said national concerns over energy supplies - highlighted by power shortages in California in recent months - pointed to doing more for nuclear power, since alternatives like wind and solar could not pick-up the burden if nuclear production was lost. Currently, 103 commercial nuclear power plants operate in the U.S., providing around 20 percent of the nation's power. "Overall, you take fewer risks by doing nuclear power," Domenici said. Nuclear utilities have been frustrated in recent years by the lack of a federal plan to store some 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel, currently being stored on-site at plants. A separate measure to start storing the highly radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert failed last year, after the Senate came up one vote short in overriding a veto by then President Bill Clinton. Following are some key elements of Domenici's legislation: * Renews the expiring Price Anderson Law, providing liability coverage for nuclear activities. * Elevates directors for nuclear energy and science at the Energy Department to assistant secretary level. * Authorizes $60 million for Nuclear Energy Research Initiative and $15 million for Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization. * Authorizes $15 million to the Energy Department for funding to provide incentives to utilities to make efficiency-enhancing capital investments that improve electrical capacity by at least 5 percent. * Enables payment of NRC fees for individual projects and gives preferential treatment for projects that would enable one class of improvements to impact many plants. * Authorizes $18 million in funding to keep domestic mining and conversion industries viable, and funding to place the Portsmouth, Ohio, gaseous diffusion plant into "cold standby" at $36 million. * Authorizes $50 million for Energy Department research and development on Generation IV reactors and for development of a detailed road map recommending a path toward construction of a Generation IV reactor. * Develops national strategy for spent fuel, including study of reprocessing and transmutation. * Eliminates provisions that precluded any foreign ownership - "owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, a foreign corporation, or a foreign government" - of power and research reactors located in the U.S. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 4 Ex-Cop Tried to Enter Nuclear Plant Thursday, March 8, 2001 | Print this story Former Fountain Valley Councilman Chuck Conlosh was detained by San Onofre security and escorted out. By HECTOR BECERRA, Times Staff Writer A former Fountain Valley council member and ex-Huntington Beach police officer tried to get into the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant last month by telling employees he was on assignment for the FBI, power plant officials said. Chuck Conlosh allegedly told plant security officers he was investigating personnel complaints at the behest of the FBI when he tried to get access to the Southern California Edison Co.-owned plant after midnight Feb. 14. After being let in through a gate, Conlosh, 36, slowly drove through the parking lot, said Ray Golden, a plant spokesman. Conlosh passed through the nuclear plant's "security train"--an elaborate series of weapon and explosives detectors--but was stopped when he couldn't produce an employee badge, Golden said. Conlosh was detained for several minutes and then escorted back to his vehicle, Golden said. "He was polite. . . . He said he was working on an FBI project. . . . He was very understanding about having to leave," the spokesman said. After the incident, San Onofre security called the FBI in San Diego to report the incident but did not inform local police. Officials later informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "He didn't violate any of our security, but he made statements that didn't line up" regarding his involvement with the FBI, Golden said. An FBI spokesman confirmed the office knows of the incident but declined to say whether an investigation is ongoing. Since Dec. 19, Conlosh has resigned from the Huntington Beach Police Department--under pressure from top officials, he said--and lost his seat on the Fountain Valley City Council after not showing up for several meetings. Conlosh attorney Brad Gage said he was not aware of the incident at San Onofre but said his client is trying to move on with his life. Conlosh "is interested in reclaiming his council seat," Gage said. "He's still interested in both politics and being a police officer." [ ] Search the archives of the Los Angeles Times for similar stories about:  San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, Chuck Conlosh. Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 5 Blumenthal:Rescind DPUC approval of ConEd deal [Geoff Hausman] By Paul Choiniere Published on 3/8/2001 With the merger of Northeast Utilities and Consolidated Edison Inc. all but officially dead, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a motion Wednesday asking the state Department of Public Utility Control to rescind its approval of the deal. Beryl Lyons, a spokesman for the state regulatory agency, said the DPUC will take a look at the motion and make a decision, though she could not say when. Blumenthal has opposed the merger from the start, claiming it would not be good for consumers or NU employees. The DPUC approved the merger in October. Blumenthal has appealed that decision in Superior Court. The attorney general's action came one day after ConEd filed a federal lawsuit claiming that potential losses facing NU's subsidiary Select Energy violate the merger agreement between the two companies and allow ConEd to break the deal. That move came after NU demanded, but failed to receive, assurances from ConEd that it planned to go through with the deal. NU is also threatening to file a lawsuit, charging its would-be partner with violating the terms of the merger deal first announced in October 1999. The merger, having received all needed state approvals, fell apart just days before it was expected to receive final approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Blumenthal said Wednesday it makes no sense to keep the DPUC's approval in place. “By their own combative accusations, NU and ConEd have shown they are not the willing partners that presented themselves and defended the deal to the DPUC,” Blumenthal said. He said the DPUC approval should not be “like a blank check,” available if and when a new deal is worked out between the two utilities. “The DPUC needs to burn that blank check and eliminate the risk of cashing it,” said the attorney general. He said he would continue his court fight “until this merger has drawn its last breath.” Under the merger agreement, ConEd had agreed to acquire all common stock of NU for $25 per share, an amount that at the time of the merger collapse had increased to $26.71 per share, due to late penalties and the Millstone sale bonus. NU stock finished the day at $18.56, down 24 cents a share. © 1998-2001 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 6 World Wide Minerals: Federal Court Of Appeals Rejects Attack On U.S. Lawsuit Tuesday March 6, 12:54 pm Eastern Time Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2001--World Wide Minerals Ltd. (CDN:WWSS.) and Nuclear Fuel Resources Corporation announced today that the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. had rejected an attempt by the Kazakhstan government and its entities to dismiss their $1.0 billion lawsuit. After World Wide and Nuclear Fuel Resources had filed an appeal against a lower Federal Court decision, the defendants attempted to have the Court of Appeals rule that the appeal was not well founded in law and should be dismissed. However, the Court of Appeals rejected the defendants' assertions on the basis that it was ``not so clear'' to the Court of Appeals that the defendants would win the appeal. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals has ordered the parties to prepare formal briefs and to proceed with the appeal. Paul Carroll, Chairman of World Wide, stated ``This decision of the Court of Appeals is good news for World Wide. What happened to us was that the Kazakhstan government induced us to invest tens of millions of dollars in its uranium industry, despite apparently having a secret agreement with Nukem, Inc. that prevented the government from honouring its commitments to World Wide. When this was disclosed to us afterwards, they merely terminated our agreement. Can you imagine if the same thing happened to the major foreign oil companies that already have invested billions of dollars in Kazakhstan?'' *Contact:* World Wide Minerals Ltd. Paul A. Carroll, 416/369-7217 Fax: 416/369-6088 pcarroll@worldwideminerals.com Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy ***************************************************************** 7 Leak shuts down New Brunswick nuclear plant Thestar.com  > News > Canada Mar. 7, 2001. 06:23 PM FREDERICTON (CP) - A heavy water leak has shut down New Brunswick's Point Lepreau nuclear plant for an undetermined period. Plant officials said Wednesday the leak was in a reactor outlet feeder pipe, which moves hot heavy water from individual fuel channels in the CANDU reactor to the station's boilers. Marcella LeBlanc, spokesperson for NB Power, said the amount of the leak was small. ''We're talking about minimum, minimum amounts,'' she said. ''We're not talking large amounts. It's very small amounts.'' Still, LeBlanc called the shutdown a ''serious problem,'' and couldn't say when Lepreau would resume production. A similar feeder-tube leak forced officials to shut down the station for three months in 1997. LeBlanc said the tubes will have to be replaced as soon as the work can be approved. NB Power has been importing energy from Hydro-Quebec, along with power from in-province generating stations. LeBlanc said operating Point Lepreau saves $650,000 a day in oil replacement costs. However, critics say the plant is unsafe, obsolete, and should be shut down. Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers ***************************************************************** 8 Nuke bill solicits funds to create waste option March 08, 2001 By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., proposed a nuclear energy bill Wednesday that includes $120 million for technology to transform radioactive wastes into less harmful materials. The total $406 million bill is composed of five major parts: supporting nuclear energy, encouraging new plant construction, assuring a level playing field for nuclear power, creating new waste solutions and improving Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. Domenici's proposal offers an alternative to the current controversial solution for ridding the nation of its nuclear waste by burying it below Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The Energy Department is still studying the mountain, and a repository, if approved, won't open before 2010. Domenici's legislation authorizes the funds for research into transmutation technology, a way to destroy or change dangerous nuclear spent fuel from commercial reactors into products such as new reactor fuel or medical isotopes. Transmutation is technically feasible and destroys most of the radioactive wastes, leaving toxic and radioactive liquids behind. Newer technology using advanced accelerators to process the waste would allow scientists to speed up the radioactive decay process and produce tailor-made isotopes for medical purposes and tritium to keep the U.S. nuclear arsenal in good condition. Accelerators would reduce radioactivity, not eliminate the need for a repository. Last year Domenici and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., were successful in securing $34 million for advanced accelerator technology research at DOE and university laboratories, including $3 million for UNLV. Meanwhile, Reid said he is tracking previous Clinton administration orders that set strict limits on radiation exposure from 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste if it is buried in Yucca Mountain. The senator has set a deadline of March 12 to receive information on Clinton's environmental orders that were stalled by the Bush administration. Reid, Senate assistant Democratic leader and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter on Wednesday to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd Whitman about the Clinton actions. The senator urged more disclosure on what has happened to rules halted by the Bush administration. Clinton had approved the radiation standards and sent them for review to the Office of Management and Budget. The EPA has proposed an annual exposure limit of 15 millirems of radiation with a 4-millirem limit for the ground water. An average chest X-ray emits 10 millirems. "My concern continues to be that the administration is not providing timely and adequate information to the public and the Congress on the effect of the 'Card memorandum' on important rules and related activity," Reid wrote in the letter. At issue is a Jan. 20 order written by Andrew Card, President Bush's chief of staff that stopped the Federal Register from publishing new rules issued in the waning days of the Clinton administration, effectively halting their implementation. Card's order also delayed for 60 days regulations already published in the register but not in effect. The order was designed to give the Bush administration time to review the rules. Many groups are concerned that Bush may try to reverse or roll back major environmental initiatives written by the Clinton administration. After six weeks there has been no direction from the Bush White House on which rules have been affected by the memo, Reid noted. Reid has sent several letters -- dated Jan. 31, Feb. 7 and Feb. 21 -- to Whitman requesting information about the memo. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 9 Hau firm on nuclear plant issue The Taipei Times Online: 2001-03-08 Thursday, March 8th, 2001 CHANGE OF COMMAND: Hau Lung-bin assured DPP legislators that he will act according to the law when he makes a decision on the environmental impact assessment for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant By Chiu Yu-Tzu STAFF REPORTER The two new Cabinet appointees who will be most closely involved with the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (®Ö¥|) continued yesterday to demonstrate their strong support for the resumption of the project. Former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) head Lin Jun-yi (ªL«T¸q) yesterday handed over the reins of leadership to Hau Lung-bin (°qÀsÙy), saying that success in environmental protection work depended not on any particular individual but on a "professional team like the EPA staff." The decision on whether or not to redo the nuclear plant's environmental impact assessment (EIA) is now one of the big challenges facing Hau. Yesterday afternoon Hau visited the different party caucuses in the legislature to solicit support for himself in his new position as EPA head. DPP legislators, however, reminded Hau of the need to be impartial when he considers the assessment. When Hau announced that he would take the EPA post on March 4, he stressed that his support for the resumption of construction of the plant would not waver. Hau later responded to the DPP legislators' remarks at the New Party caucus office. He said he wanted to stress that "on the EIA issue, the EPA will behave in accordance with the law." It had previously been widely reported that Hau had said that he would not consider redoing the plant's assessment because he believed that calls for it to be redone were simply a delaying tactic on the part of the DPP. Since the Cabinet reshuffle was finalized, the DPP caucus in the Legislative Yuan has called upon both Hau and new Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Chairman Hu Chin-piao (­JÀA¼Ð) to take heed of censures related to the plant issued by the Control Yuan in 1999. That Taipower (¥x¹q) received a license to construct the plant despite changing the power output of its reactors from 1,000 megawatts each to 1,350 megawatts without redoing the EIA has been one of the most controversial issues surrounding the plant since 1999. The appointment of Cabinet figures in favor of the plant has further reduced the likelihood that the decision to resume construction will be reversed. AEC Chairman Hu said yesterday that a planned final repository for low-level radioactive waste on Wuchiu island (¯QËú¶m), Kinmen County, might be one solution to the waste problems. Hu said that AEC officials were confident in radioactive waste disposal technologies and that he would seek support for the plan from Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (±i«T¶¯). In terms of environmental protection, however, whether Taipower will receive approval for the repository remains to be seen. The EPA reviewed the assessment for the repository on March 5 for the first time. However, because the meeting was chaired by a former EPA political appointee, deputy administrator James Lee (§õ¬É¤ì), who was about to step down with former EPA head Lin, no final decision was made. The EPA's EIA committee members, however, told the *Taipei Times* yesterday that most of them were far from satisfied with the assessment proposal. They demanded that Taipower supply further information within one month. "Some of us actually suggested in the meeting that the report should have been killed," Yang Chao-yueh (·¨»F©¨), one of the committee members, told the *Taipei Times*. This story has been viewed 331 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2001/03/08/story/0000076652] Copyright © 1999-2001 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear plants to be built in UK By Mary Fagan BRITISH ENERGY is drawing up plans to build a chain of nuclear power plants. The nuclear generating company believes that rising natural gas costs and worries over future supplies from the North Sea have made atomic energy more attractive. British Energy is planning the replacement of its seven advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), the first of which are due to be shut down by around 2014. The first of the AGRs to be replaced could be at Hunterston in Scotland, Dungeness, Kent, and Hinkley, Somerset. A spokesman for British Energy, which was privatised in 1996, said it was keen to keep its 25 per cent share of the generating market. The company would need the approval of industry regulators, including the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. Sir Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher's former press secretary and the secretary of the Supporters of Nuclear Energy, said nuclear power was the only way forward. A spokesman for Friends of the Earth said: "Any attempt to build new nuclear stations will provoke fury." 4 March 2001: [City] The nuclear option 7 April 2000: [UK News] Sellafield is 'too costly to handle Dounreay fuel' 22 August 1999: [UK News] Nuclear fears on popular beach © CopyrightTelegraph Group Limited 2000. Terms & Conditionsof . ***************************************************************** 11 PRAISE FOR SELLAFIELD The Whitehaven News Thursday, March 08, 2001 BNFL has had an official pat on the back from the Government's Health and Safety Executive over the way it is cleaning up its Sellafield act. It has been praised for showing "vigour and commitment" in tackling a range of issues raised by the HSE's three critical reports about operations at Sellafield. One centred on the investigation into the falsification of Mox fuel data which led to the sacking of four process workers and the resignation of the company's then chief executive, John Taylor. Another followed concerns over the rise in Sellafield radiation incidents, the subsequent investigation highlighting failings in control and supervision of operations which led to poor safety performance. The third report was into high level radioactive waste and the need for BNFL to cut stocks of it held at Sellafield. On this, BNFL has met all 22 of the HSE's recommendations as well as putting in a new safety case for storage of the potentially dangerous liquid, an agreed programme of stock reduction and proposals for engineering improvements. All 15 of the MOX recommendations have also been met, but the demonstration plant in which fuel data was faked will only be allowed to start on the say-so of the nuclear installations inspectorate and after BNFL has submitted a safety report for re-opening. Systematic management failure is blamed officially for allowing process workers to falsify the fuel records. The rise in Sellafield incidents led to Sellafield's biggest safety review and HSE reports good progress on most of the 28 recommendations, although only three have been fully completed. These will take longer due to the time in implementing changes. Laurence Williams, the chief inspector for nuclear installations, said: "This has been a highly challenging year for BNFL and our inspectors. A considerable amount of work has been undertaken but more remains to be done." ***************************************************************** 12 BLOCKED PIPE HALTS SELLAFIELD CLEAN-UP OPERATION The Whitehaven News Thursday, March 08, 2001 An Unexpected blockage in pipework has brought a radiation clean-up plant at Sellafield to a halt. The SIXEP plant that is designed to remove radio-isotopes from the nuclear fuel storage ponds has had to stop work following the pipework blockage. The plant can only deal with a greatly reduced throughput and technical solutions to the problem are now the subject of investigation. BNFL spokesman, Ali Dunlop told the News yesterday: "We can confirm there is a blockage, but it is not causing any increase in radioactive discharges to sea. There is a reduced throughput and the regulatory authorities have been notified. It is expected to take weeks rather than months to clear the problem.'' The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate confirmed that urgent talks were taking place yesterday on the issue. ***************************************************************** 13 Czechs to shut nuclear reactor for fixing valves CZECH REPUBLIC: March 8, 2001 PRAGUE - Czech power utility CEZ said yesterday it would shut the reactor at its controversial Temelin nuclear power plant to repair vibrating steam valves on the plant's turbine. Temelin spokesman Milan Nebesar told Reuters the reactor would shut late on Wednesday and the work at the station would take about a week. The $2.5 billion plant, combining a Russian-designed reactor with a western control system, has run into repeated delays during construction and the startup process. The latest glitch was caused by vibrations and a crack in steam piping in the non-nuclear part of the plant. Connected repair works have already delayed the planned start of full operations by a month. It is fiercely opposed on safety grounds by environmental groups and neighbouring Austria. The Czechs say the plant is a state of the art project. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 14 French EDF plans 13 pct nuclear cost cut by 2002 UK: March 8, 2001 LONDON - French national electricity company, Electricite de France , plans to reduce nuclear production costs by 13 percent by the end of 2002, a spokesman said yesterday. "We had a cost reduction objective of 20 percent from 1998 to 2002, we've cut cost by seven percent already. We need to go further and reduce by another 13 percent," he said. He added the company was hoping to achieve its 20 percent cost reduction target through lower amortization costs, as some of the nuclear power plants built before 1980 were already 50 percent amortized, and through enhanced competition in uranium supplies. He said EDF was currently supplied by an alliance between French companies Framatome and Germany's Siemens , but competitors such as Westinghouse-British Nuclear Fuel Ltd (BNFL) could also enter the French market. "As far as I know, we have not signed any contract with Westinghouse-BNFL," he said. Regarding EDF's overall production costs, including hydroelectric and thermal production, the average cost was 15 to 18 centimes per kilowatt hour last year, he said. Part of the objective is also to improve plant availability from a current average of 80.4 percent. "We want to improve the availability of nuclear plants but we have no target figure," the spokesman said. He added that the latest generation of nuclear power plant of a capacity of 1450 megawatts (MW) had an availability rate of 95 percent, which could not be achieved by older 900 MW plants because they need maintenance every 12 months instead of 18 months for newer plants. Annual nuclear power production increased by 5.4 percent to 395 terawatt hour in 2000, representing about 75 percent of France's electricity production. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 15 Russian nuclear minister corrupt The Russian State Duma anti-corruption commission has issued a report about Russian nuclear energy minister’s illegal business activities which undermine nuclear safety. Report of the State Duma The Russian State Duma’s anti-corruption commission report about Adamov's activities is available on Bellona WEB. Vladislav Nikiforov, 2001-03-07 18:42 On March 2nd, Greenpeace-Moscow released a report from the Russian State Duma anti-corruption commission detailing the large-scale illegal business activities of the minister for nuclear energy, Evgeny Adamov. Adamov's attempts to commercialise Ministry for Nuclear Energy and use its resources for his private commercial projects are not only illegal but also undermine nuclear safety, Russian Nuclear Regulatory says. Duma's anti-corruption commission recommended that all information related to Adamov’s activities be submitted to the President, Security Council, Russian Federation Government, Federal Security Service (former KGB), and General Prosecutor’s office, Moscow Times writes. The 20-odd page document by its tone reminds an indictment and contains three chapters: Adamov’s entrepreneurial activity, Adamov’s personnel policy, Adamov’s financial policy. Family business While working as the head of secret NIKIET Institute in Moscow from 1986to 1998 Evgeny Adamov violated many security regulations and created “various commercial organisations in Moscow and abroad and continues to be actively involved in entrepreneurial activities”. As an employee of the Ministry for Nuclear Energy, Minatom, and previously director of NIKIET Institute, it has been forbidden for Adamov to have any private business interests, however, the report reveals a complex business portfolio since the early 1990s. For example, on August 24th 1994, he established consulting and management company “Omeka, Ltd”. Registered in Pensylvania, USA, however, according to the report, at the end of 1999, the company's $5 million in assets were controlled by Adamov ($3.15 million), his wife ($1.5 million) and his US partner Mark Kaushansky ($410,000). This is a violation of article 289 of the Russian Penalty Code (illegal participation in entrepreneurial activities). Mark Kaushansky is also the main actor in a number of other Adamov's commercial projects. In March 1998, in the speech to the Duma Adamov said he had not been engaged in business since his appointment as minister. "There have been no deposits to my personal [bank] account since I have been minister," Adamov said. The report, which says Adamov has admitted having a U.S. social security card, went on to say that when Adamov applied for a Diner's Club card in 1996, he stated his total annual income at over $120,000. The Commission believes no tax have been paid in Russia, what violates article 198 of the Russian Penalty Code (deviation from tax payment). The first chapter concludes that “The facts about Adamov’s engagement in commercial activity, while he worked as NIKIET director and being a minister of atomic energy, which were raised in the press, State Duma members' letters and statements addressed to the Russian leadership, have been fully confirmed”. Nuclear safety undermined The chapter about Adamov’s personnel policy lists numerous cases when Adamov appointed people with no experience in the atomic industry to key positions in the ministry and state companies controlled by the ministry. Some of these officials were also listed as shareholders of private companies formed by Adamov before he became minister. He also illegally tried to take control over all the branches of nuclear industry in Russia and monopolise it as well by eliminating competitors and seizing license functions from the Russian State Nuclear Regulatory, or GAN. GAN for its turn says that appointment of incompetent people to the key positions in the ministry have undermined the nuclear safety in the nuclear related industry. A disregard to the nuclear safety regulations has become an official stance of Minatom's top rank officials when Adamov became the minister, GAN states. Russo-American government deal on HEU involved The last chapter reveals some facts about Adamov’s financial policy. The ministry's international deals (about $2 billion annually) were channelled through the ministry-affiliated bank Konversbank. Then, according to the report, he ordered the bank's officials to sell the bank's controlling stake to MDM-Bank, an institution associated with Kremlin. Thereby, the report said, MDM got control over such lucrative deals as a $12 billion contract with the USA for processing weapons-grade uranium. "At the present time, the purchase of Konversbank stakes for the benefit of MDM-Bank continues," the report said. MDM has been reported to have assets worth $850 million, while Konversbank has some $400 million to $500 million on its books. Minatom rejects accusations Talking to the Russian daily Segodnya, Minatom rejected accusations saying that interpretation of the mentioned facts and episodes was tendentious and incomplete. “Some groups want to shake up the government, which supports the program of importing foreign spent nuclear fuel to Russia,” Minatom representatives said. Until recently Evgeny Adamov felt untouchable enjoying Kremlin’s absolute trust. But more and more competitors appear on the scene: managers of Unified Energy System of Russia, among them Anatoly Chubais, numerous top officials fired by Adamov as well as antinuclear lobby including some green activists and few State Duma deputies. Deputy chairman of the Duma Security Committee Sergey Yushenkov in an interview to Segodnya said that if this report is just the Duma members initiative, then examination of Adamov’s activities would be just a formal procedure without any result, if some people are not pleased with him, his illegal activity would be definitely confirmed. Spent fuel import a private business of Adamov? The currently most discussed business proposal to import spent nuclear fuel to Russia is one of the initiative being actively promoted by Adamov. The commercialised minister says Russia may earn up to $20 billion on importing 20,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from abroad. The required amendments to the Russia legislation to allow the project passed the first hearings in the State Duma in December 2000. The second hearing was scheduled for February 22nd but was postponed until March 22. The reason for postponement may well be the anti-corruption commission report. Commenting once on the fuel import project, head of GAN, Yury Vishnevsky, said that "money [earned] will be either stolen or eaten up." The first option seems to be quite true on the background of the report, which obviously shows only the tip of all Adamov's private business activities. Publisher: , President: Frederic Hauge Information: , Technical contact: Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway Reuse and reprint recommended provided source is stated ***************************************************************** 16 Yucca measure approved Thursday, March 08, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Lawmakers object to nuclear waste storage By SEAN WHALEY DONREY CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- A resolution calling on Congress and President Bush to reject any effort to make Yucca Mountain the final resting place for the nation's high level nuclear waste overwhelmingly passed both the Senate and Assembly on Wednesday. Senate Joint Resolution 6, which passed 19-2 in the Senate and 41-0 in the Assembly, could end up being Nevada's formal notification that the state objects to any recommendation from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a proposed high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The Energy Department could make a decision about Yucca Mountain's suitability as a dump early in 2002, after the 2001 Nevada Legislature has adjourned. "There are several reasons why taking this action today is more critical than ever," said Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, in arguing for the resolution. "There is a new administration in Washington with many new faces, and we need to be sure that they know our position in Nevada regarding Yucca Mountain has not changed; our opposition is unwavering." The only "no" votes came from Sens. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, and Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden. Jacobsen offered no reason for his vote, but Neal said the Legislature's time would be better spent dealing with the high electricity rates being paid by Nevada consumers. "The waste is going to come here," Neal said. Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, said having radioactive waste traveling on Nevada roads to Yucca Mountain over a period of 24 years is unacceptable, regardless of any scientific findings that may show the site is suitable for storage. "I don't think science should decide," he said. "I think Nevada should decide." The resolution has four parts: • It protests the "political manner" in which the Energy Department is promoting Yucca Mountain as the waste dump site; • It calls on President Bush to veto any legislation that would attempt to locate a temporary or interim storage site for nuclear waste in Nevada; • It admonishes U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to oppose efforts to develop new nuclear power facilities until a solution to the waste problem is found; and • It restates the Legislature's opposition to a permanent dump at Yucca Mountain without the state's expressed consent. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Mar-08-Thu-2001/news/15596126.html ***************************************************************** 17 Council balks at hiring Yucca lobbying firm Thursday, March 08, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal The Las Vegas City Council will let a legal challenge do its talking on nuclear waste. The council on Wednesday declined to hire a lobbying firm to pressure Washington lawmakers to oppose the storage of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. Instead, the council will spend the money that would have gone to a lobbying firm on a legal challenge to the project. Noting that Nevada's congressional delegation has made no secret of the state's vehement opposition to waste, Mayor Oscar Goodman questioned whether paying for a lobbyist would convert lawmakers who favor the dump. "I don't see minds being changed," he said. Since 1991, the city and Clark County have shared the cost of a contract with the firm of Alcalde &Fay to lobby on Yucca Mountain. That contract expires March 31. On Feb. 20, the county commission voted to hire the lobbying firm of Cassidy &Associates to campaign against the dump. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Mar-08-Thu-2001/news/15596912.html ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Small fire at Hanford; building evacuated This story was published Wed, Mar 7, 2001 By the Herald staff A building used by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Hanford's 300 Area was evacuated after a small fire started at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. No radiation or chemical levels high enough to be of concern were detected after the fire, said Greg Koller, spokesman for the lab. The 326 Building is classified as a low-hazard building. A flash fire started in the exhaust hood of a work area being used to prepare small samples of metal for testing. The testing process uses a solution of methanol and 5 percent perchloric acid, which contained radioactive metal ions from previous tests. A malfunction caused a spark that ignited the solution, but the fire was immediately put out by an employee with a hand extinguisher. No contamination was found on the worker, who was examined at Kadlec Medical Center in Richland as a precaution, said PNNL and Department of Energy officials. Employees were allowed to return to the building about 11 a.m., although the laboratory room where the fire occurred remained closed Tuesday. About 80 people work in the building. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 2 Depleted uranium News &Letters - The Journal of Marxist-Humanism - January/February 2001 [News and Letters Newspaper banner. ] Western Europe is in an uproar over the mounting death toll from "Balkan syndrome." Fifteen soldiers who served as peacekeepers in Kosova and Bosnia-where more than 40,000 rounds of U.S. munitions containing depleted uranium were fired-have died of leukemia, and thousands more suffer from a variety of disorders similar to the Gulf War syndrome. The U.S. and Britain shot down their NATO allies' demands for a moratorium on use of the radioactive ammunition. They proclaimed that depleted uranium never hurt anyone-aside from those who were blown to bits or burned alive inside tanks and buildings whose walls were vaporized by uranium-tipped shells. Experts were trotted out to "prove" that it was "biologically impossible" for depleted uranium to cause leukemia. This claim went up in smoke when a UN study found eight of 11 sites tested in Kosova to be "considerably contaminated," and emitting beta radiation. Unlike the alpha radiation given off by uranium 238-the only radioactive substance the experts assumed was in the munitions-beta particles can penetrate bones, causing leukemia. The UN study-which was delayed 18 months by NATO non-cooperation and whose full results will not be known until March-also found traces of uranium 236, which is far more hazardous than U-238. Soon the Pentagon was forced to admit that plutonium, which can kill even in minute amounts, and other highly dangerous elements were found in the supposedly depleted uranium. The Pentagon knew this a year ago and never warned its allies, or the public, until now! So great is the public outrage that after the NATO cover-up several European countries embarked on their own studies of the sweeping health problems of their former peacekeepers, and the European Parliament called for a halt in the use of depleted uranium munitions. Britain even had to reverse its refusal to screen its soldiers for medical problems. Still, what about the effects on people who live in the bombed areas of Bosnia and other countries? A UN study last May concluded that Kosova groundwater may be so contaminated as to be unfit for drinking. Children and adults have unwittingly collected bits of radioactive shells, and dairy cows graze in contaminated areas. And what about Iraq, where radioactive debris from the 1991 Gulf War still contaminates the land and water? Doctors there report a massive increase in leukemia, which they attribute to depleted uranium. The U.S.-led embargo denies Iraq the medicine to treat the illness. Also, U-236 has been found in the urine and bone tissue of some Gulf War veterans. And just as the military tried to deny there even is a Gulf War syndrome, there is not one word, much less a study, of what is happening to workers who produce, pack and load these shells. Capitalism's anti-human nature is revealed even in its technological advances, creating weapons that keep killing a decade after the shooting stops. -Franklin Dmitryev ***************************************************************** 3 A-bomb kin to be polled on feelings Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun The children and grandchildren of survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 will be asked for the first time to describe their feelings about the event and the lessons they have learned from speaking to their elderly relatives. Their comments will be used to draw up proposals to promote world peace, according to Fumio Kiyomasa, deputy secretary general of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, which will conduct the poll. Kiyomasa, whose father is a survivor of the atomic bombing (hibakusha), said the results would be used to encourage hibakusha to talk to young people, as well as to boost the worldwide movement to abolish nuclear weapons. "If people who did not actually experience the atomic bombing are unable to communicate the terror it caused, then our campaign to avoid a repeat of the tragedy of Hiroshima will disappear," he said. "I do not want our efforts to end up as mere ideals, so I hope this poll will be the first step toward increasing public awareness." Kiyomasa said 300 people would be questioned initially. After the summer, the organization will expand the poll to include all of Hiroshima Prefecture, and aims eventually to speak to relatives of hibakusha in the rest of the country. The Japan Confederation of A-Bomb and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and hibakusha groups have agreed to help. Pollees will be asked to complete a multiple-choice section and to write down their opinions. Copyright 2001 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 4 Ex-Test Site workers getting tested for beryllium March 08, 2001 By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN For more information about the screening program conducted four times a year in Las Vegas, contact Sandie Medina at (702)636-8777. Medical experts began screening 215 former Nevada Test Site workers today for signs of exposure to beryllium dust while they were employed in a North Las Vegas machine shop and underground tunnels at the Test Site, where nuclear weapons once exploded. Up to 100 of those workers undergoing screening might have been exposed to beryllium, a strong, lightweight but toxic metal used in the nuclear industry because it withstood high temperatures and conducted heat, health experts said. Hundreds of Test Site workers have been screened for medical problems from radiation and dust particles. This is the first screening that will look specifically for exposure to beryllium, which can cause lung disease. If evidence of beryllium exposure is found among the DOE workers, chronic lung disease from that exposure will become part of a compensation package proposed for former government workers and those employed by federal contractors at facilities such as the Test Site. Last year Congress proposed to compensate thousands of government workers for hazards on the job. The Bush administration currently has the legislation under review. Physicians from Boston University and the University of California, San Francisco are in Las Vegas today through Saturday to screen Test Site workers, said Sandie Medina, union program manager for the Nevada Test Site Medical Surveillance Project. The U.S. Department of Energy is paying for the cost of the screening. Scientists with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimate that 30,000 workers in the United States come in contact with beryllium every day, because it is used in everything from light bulbs to nuclear weapons. OSHA is tracking beryllium exposure as a potential health hazard. At the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, it was used in nuclear weapons parts, equipment placed in underground tunnels and in nuclear rocket experiments conducted in the southwest corner of the Test Site. Up to 6 percent of the Test Site's workers from 1951 through 1992 could have a chronic form of the disease, experts estimate. Among possible exposures was a nuclear rocket accident in June 1965 at the Test Site during the firing of Project Rover's Phoebus 1A rocket. Scientists are uncertain of the extent of the radioactive hazard and beryllium contamination as a result, a 1995 report by Raytheon Services said. One nuclear rocket worker recalled, according to the report, "that accident in '65 ... when -- all of us had to pitch in on the cleanup, with tongs and suits, so that nobody would go over the radiation limit. Maybe 500 or 600 of us helped out with cleaning this up." There is little information on soil, air or other samples from that year. When ground up, manufactured, machined, modified, heated or combusted in fuel, beryllium dust and fumes can be highly toxic to the respiratory system, said Dr. Lee Newman, a national beryllium expert at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. There is no treatment for chronic beryllium disease at this time, but medical measures can be taken to prevent it from getting worse, the experts said. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 5 Lawmakers cite ‘bias’ in Energy Department *Jennifer Crowe* Reno Gazette-Journal Thursday March 8th, 2001 Nevada lawmakers Wednesday called on Congress to stop the shipment of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain in light of recent revelations of bias within the Department of Energy. The resolution is similar to ones passed by the Legislature nearly every session since Congress voted Nevada the home to the nation’s high-level nuclear waste in 1982. But in Senate Joint Resolution 6 lawmakers say this year’s measure is different because of the “biased and blatantly political manner in which the Department of Energy has conducted its evaluation of the suitability of Yucca Mountain as the location of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste.” An internal DOE memo that came to light recently shows some possible bias by the department in its scientific study of Yucca Mountain as a safe home for nuclear waste. That prompted Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the rest of Nevada’s congressional delegation to call for an investigation. “There is a new administration in Washington with many new faces, and we need to be sure that they know our position in Nevada regarding Yucca Mountain has not changed,” Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said. Lawmakers also are concerned the recent energy crisis in California has prompted energy suppliers to look to nuclear power as a possible solution. Given the issue of waste disposal, Nevada lawmakers call that plan irresponsible. “This is a huge insult to Nevada,” said Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson. “It doesn’t belong here. We don’t want it.” Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, and Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Gardnerville, cast the only votes against the resolution. Neal said it’s a waste of the Legislature’s time to pass resolutions Congress will ignore. “I’d rather see a resolution speaking to the increasing cost of power,” Neal said. “I’d rather see us addressing those types of issues rather than playing games on an issue we have no control over and can’t do anything about.” While fighting the nuclear waste dump has been a statewide issue, southern Nevada lawmakers are particularly concerned about the possible economic impact the dump could have. Lost jobs and a drop in much-needed tourism dollars are just two of the possible negative impacts, said Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson. During the campaign President Bush promised any decision on a nuclear waste dump would be based on sound science, not politics. But that assurance isn’t enough, even for Nevada Republicans. “I don’t think science should decide,” Porter said. “I think the community should decide.” ©2001 Reno Gazette-Journal ***************************************************************** 6 Rocky Flats head could be energy chief [www.TheDailyCamera.com] *Associated Press * DENVER — President George W. Bush wants the president of the company cleaning up the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant to be undersecretary of energy. Bush plans to nominate Robert Gordon Card, president and chief executive officer of Kaiser-Hill Co., the White House announced on Wednesday. Card previously was executive vice president of CH2M Hill. Kaiser-Hill was hired by the U.S. Department of Energy to dismantle Rocky Flats and remove plutonium waste by 2006. A new federal report says the cleanup is several months behind schedule, making it likely the anticipated $7.5 billion cost will rise. *March 8, 2001* Copyright 2001 The Daily Camera. All rights reserved. Any ***************************************************************** 7 Hanford budget plans still hazy This story was published Wed, Mar 7, 2001 By John Stang Herald staff writer Right now, Hanford's master plan for its budget over the next two years is to cross its fingers and pray. That's because the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., has not provided a clue on what it wants to spend on cleanup at Hanford and elsewhere in fiscal 2002 and 2003. Hanford usually has a detailed breakdown of the cleanup budget submitted to Congress by early March each year, plus a detailed calculation of what DOE might request the following year. But not this March. DOE officials did not have any solid figures to discuss Tuesday at a workshop in Richland on Hanford's 2003 cleanup budget. A public meeting on the fiscal 2003 budget request is scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday at Richland's Red Lion hotel. For now, DOE's Richland office and Office of River Protection are gambling that their combined budget wishes -- $1.9 billion each in 2002 and 2003 -- will survive intact. That's because any trimmed budget would push Hanford further behind on its legal obligations. So far, Washington, D.C., is silent on the budget requests. Already, DOE's contracts with its main cleanup companies don't always correspond with the Tri-Party Agreement, the legal pact governing Hanford's cleanup. DOE is gambling it can renegotiate the pact's legal deadlines to fit the already-signed contracts. Hanford's regulators are not thrilled with the approach. Doug Sherwood, the Environmental Protection Agency's Hanford site manager, strongly criticized DOE's contract with Fluor Hanford. The bottom line, Sherwood said, is that DOE is telling Fluor to spend cleanup money on projects that it is not legally obligated to complete, taking money from river cleanup efforts. Even without that side issue, DOE's Richland office's best-case scenario for the 2002 budget falls $23 million short of meeting all of Hanford's Tri-Party Agreement obligations. Most of the haziness about Hanford's budgets can be traced to the fact that a new administration is taking over at the same time Hanford wants to kick its cleanup efforts into a higher gear. Currently, Hanford has $757 million allocated to the Office of River Protection, which manages the tank farms; plus $755 million allocated to the Richland office, which manages everything else. That totals approximately $1.5 billion. However, when fiscal 2002 starts in October, Hanford wants to increase its total budget to $1.9 billion to start building tank waste glassification plants and quicken the pace of cleanup along the Columbia River. Then after 2002, Hanford plans to keep its total annual budget requests about level at $1.9 billion. But new Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham requested $19 billion for all of DOE in 2002, which is $700 million less than DOE's 2000 budget. And he's had little to say on how the money will be divided among cleanup and other programs nationwide. About $400 million of the request would go to new projects that aren't included in existing budgets. That means DOE plans to spend $18.6 billion in 2002 on the same work that cost $19.7 billion in 2001. DOE headquarters expects to provide a more detailed 2002 budget in early April. No one knows when 2003 figures might materialize. While potential budget shortages are on Richland DOE officials' minds, they said Tuesday that they are sticking with their original requests until Washington, D.C., says otherwise. For now, they don't have enough information to create backup plans for smaller budgets. Here is what is known about Hanford's budget requests: -- DOE's Richland office is asking for $762 million for 2002. That includes about $50 million to speed up river cleanup. If DOE decides to keep Hanford's 2002 budget a current levels, that translates to $702 million plus several missed legal cleanup deadlines, DOE officials said. -- The Office of River Protection is spending $377 million on glassification and $380 million on maintaining the tank farms this year. But as the project gears up, it wants to spend $690 million on glassification each in fiscal 2002 and 2003, plus about $410 million on maintaining and working at the tank farms each year. If DOE trims those wish lists, a major question is if the cuts will come from the glassification or tank maintenance requests. DOE's new 10-year glassification contract with Bechtel-Washington already delays other Tri-Party Agreement deadlines, which will now have to be renegotiated with the state. The company's contract calls for the first glass from high-level radioactive wastes in 2009, which is 18 months after the Tri-Party Agreement's 2007 deadline. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************