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05/10/01 ****     RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL)       **** VOL 9.114
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                    NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
 
 1  YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Water questions explored
 2  Cheney: Nation needs to push nuke power
 3  Board OKs emergency procedures
 4  Stock Watch Man Inc. Expands Letter of Intent for Agreement 
 5  Bruce Power wins Ontario nuclear licences
 6  Nuclear chief brings a switch in fortunes
 7  Belgium and Russia: Nuclear cooperation?
 8  Temelin, closed, is assailed anew
 9  Nuclear Waste Transport Goes Smoothly
10  Swedish Order Adds To German Boost For MOX
11  REID QUESTIONS NRC MEMBERS AT NUCLEAR OVERSIGHT HEARING 
12  REID AND ENSIGN MEET WITH VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY TO DISCUSS 

                    NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS
 
 1  Groups try to 'clean up' OR image 
 2  Bell unhappy with possible delay of sick-worker appointment 
 3  Others join Hansen fight to protect training ranges
 4  Report spurs questions about lab's laser project
 5  Russia's plutonium
 6  Radioactive materials 'stolen by terrorists'
 7  DOE vs. Joseph Carson
 8  Bush 'Will Restart Nuclear Tests'
 9  NGO calls for Korean nuclear-free zone 
10  German School Damaged by Rounds
11  Downwinders, miners plan to sue over delayed compensation
12  Native groups to sue Ashcroft over miners' IOUs
13  New Scientist: Nuclear boom
14  Unknown dangers at IAAP   
15  Hanford pipefitters appeal termination case
16  State balks at cleanup delay
17  Fluor's Ron Hanson leaves needed stability
18  DOE: SSAB vote does not count 

****************************************************************
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                     NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Water questions explored

   LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: NEWS: 

Thursday, May 10, 2001
 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal 
 
UNLV, Geological Survey teams present competing studies 

By STEVE TETREAULT 
DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU 

WASHINGTON -- The debate on whether hot water once rose within 
Yucca Mountain and might someday flood a nuclear waste repository 
received an airing Wednesday before a high-ranking science 
advisory panel. 

Jean Cline, a UNLV associate professor who led a two-year mineral 
study, presented evidence that hot water once existed at Yucca 
Mountain, but it was probably caused by gradual temperature 
changes over millions of years. 

The findings of her government-funded team of federal, state and 
university scientists were largely matched by work performed by 
the United States Geological Survey. 

Geologist Yuri Dublyansky presented an opposing case that the 
mountain ridge was invaded from below by thermal waters created 
by a volcanic surge, raising questions about whether a repeat 
occurrence might flood a repository, corrode nuclear waste 
canisters and carry off radioactive contaminants into the 
environment. 

The competing studies on key questions surrounding water within 
Yucca Mountain were presented to the 11 members of the Nuclear 
Waste Technical Review Board, the panel created by Congress to 
examine the government's science as it studies whether nuclear 
waste can be safely buried at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest 
of Las Vegas. 

Although the science board has no decision-making power, its 
opinions carry weight in the science and political communities. 

Review board members were expected to discuss the studies at 
closed work sessions later in the week, and may choose to make a 
public comment in the form of a letter to the Department of 
Energy within four to six weeks, according to Executive Director 
William Barnard. 

Board watchers said it is unlikely the panel will take a side. 
Instead, it could comment on whether the issue had received 
adequate study and let the Energy Department determine how the 
information should play into policy. 

William Boyle, a senior policy adviser on the Yucca Mountain 
Project, said the Energy Department will embrace the findings of 
the UNLV study and continue moving ahead with the program. A site 
recommendation is expected later this year or early next year. 

In the studies, researchers focused on "fluid inclusions," tiny 
bubbles of fluid trapped in deposits of calcite and opal found 
throughout the repository. Federal scientists believed the 
inclusions formed from water seeping from above. 

Cline said fluid-carrying calcites were found in the oldest 
portions of rock samples, dating more than 1.9 million years ago 
and some as far back as 5.7 million years. She said evidence of 
hottest temperatures were found in oldest rock, supporting a 
theory that the mountain cooled over time. 

"The potential repository block has been at or near present-day 
temperatures for at least the past 2 million years and likely the 
past 3 to 4 million years and probably longer," said Joseph 
Whelan, principal investigator of the Geological Survey team that 
agreed with the UNLV findings. 

Whelan also said the placement of mineral deposits doesn't 
support the idea that the repository level was ever flooded. 

Dublyansky, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences whose 
work was funded by the state of Nevada, argued that the size of 
the calcite crystals indicates they were formed in a submerged 
state, and not from thin films that would have resulted from 
rainwater seepage. He also said that minerals expected to form 
from rainwater were not observed. 

The UNLV findings were bolstered by Robert Bodnar, a consultant 
from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, who also challenged the 
thermal upwelling theory. 

webmaster@lvrj.com Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 
*****************************************************************
 2  Cheney: Nation needs to push nuke power

The San Francisco Examiner

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's turn to nuclear power as 
a long-term energy strategy will necessitate a permanent nuclear 
waste dump, Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday. 

"Now, with the gas prices rising as dramatically as they have, 
nuclear power looks like a pretty good alternative from an 
economic standpoint, if the permitting process is manageable and 
if we find a way to deal with the waste question," said Cheney, 
who is developing energy policy recommendations for President 
Bush. 

In a CNN interview, the vice president said his recommendations 
would include changes meant to speed federal permits to utilities 
seeking to build nuclear power plants. The industry has not 
sought a government permit to build a new plant in more than 20 
years, since before the accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile 
Island spread fear about nuclear power. 

Nuclear power provides 20 percent of the nation's electric 
capacity today. As to the thorny question of nuclear waste, 
Cheney said: "Right now we've got waste piling up at reactors all 
over the country. Eventually, there ought to be a permanent 
repository. The French do this very successfully and very safely 
in an environmentally sound, sane manner. We need to be able to 
do the same thing." 

He did not say where the government might put such a site but 
Nevada officials fear it would almost certainly be built in their 
state. 

In 1987, Congress passed a law designating Nevada's Yucca 
Mountain as the nation's only high-level nuclear waste 
repository. Such a site would receive waste from nuclear power 
plants and from defense uses. 

Nevadans have been bitterly fighting the proposal for 14 years. 

Shedding more light on the energy policy that Bush is scheduled 
to unveil next week, Cheney left open the possibility that Bush 
will seek the so-called "power of eminent domain" to construct 
new electrical transmission lines. Such authority allows the 
government to appropriate private property for public use. The 
federal government already has such authority with respect to 
laying gas pipelines. 

"The issue is whether or not we should have the same authority on 
electrical transmission lines, that's never been granted 
previously. That's one of the issues we've looked at. We'll have 
a recommendation when we release the report next week," Cheney 
said. 

He defended his energy-policy work against critics who say he has 
focused too much on increased production ---- boosting coal 
burning and drilling for oil and natural gas. 

"You'll find that most of the financial incentives that we 
recommend in the report go for conservation or renewables, for 
increased efficiencies. Now, we don't have a lot of new financial 
incentives in here to go out and produce more oil and gas, for 
example, so, we believe in conservation, we believe in 
renewables, we believe in wind and solar and all of those other 
technologies," Cheney said. 

He said renewable forms of energy provide just 2 percent of 
national electric generating capacity and cannot solve the 
nation's problem of demand exceeding supply. 
  
*****************************************************************
 3  Board OKs emergency procedures

 *May 09, 2001*
 By TOM MARSHALL
Reformer Staff

 BRATTLEBORO -- Revised emergency plans for a nuclear accident at 
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant were approved Tuesday by the 
board of selectmen, in the first comprehensive overhaul of those 
preparations since 1998.

 "We went page by page through the document," said Dave Hannum, 
local coordinator for Vermont Emergency Management. "While it's 
geared for Vermont Yankee, it's actually an all-hazards plan."

 The 2-inch thick manual details emergency classification levels 
-- from "unusual event," the lowest, to "alert," "site area 
emergency," and the highest, "general emergency" -- along with 
evacuation plans, checklists, and the chain of communications.

 Public awareness is critical, said Town Manager Jerry Remillard 
in an interview before the meeting. That means tuning a radio to 
the designated emergency frequency if the sirens blow -- WTSA 
radio 1450 AM or 96.7 FM -- and listening for further 
instructions.

 "I can't stress too much, it might not be an evacuation," he 
said. "(The order) might be a shelter-in-place in an emergency."

 Shelter-in-place is one of the state-approved responses to a 
radiological emergency, according to the manual.

 "Sheltering involves remaining inside, closing all doors and 
windows, turning off all ventilation systems that draw in outside 
air, extinguishing all unnecessary combustion, and sealing, to 
the extent possible, all other access to the outdoor air," the 
plan reads. Basements or spots away from windows provide added 
protection.

 "The main reason sheltering is a valuable protective action is 
that it can be implemented quickly, usually in a matter of 
minutes," the plan continues. "The dose reduction from which an 
individual benefits by sheltering is a function of how well the 
structure is sealed and how long the plume takes to travel over 
the area."

 Remillard noted that emergency sirens may signal an impending 
severe storm or chemical spill -- not just a radiological 
accident -- in which case mass evacuation could increase the 
public danger or slow emergency vehicles.

 "Everyone assumes if those sirens go off, it's a problem with 
Vermont Yankee," he said. Turning on the radio for more 
information should therefore be everyone's first response -- "not 
just jumping in the car and taking off."

 Following instructions becomes even more critical in the event 
of an evacuation, Remillard suggested, since wind direction would 
carry radiation and rule out certain evacuation points. A 1993 
evacuation study estimated the time for evacuating Brattleboro at 
anywhere between 1 hour 50 minutes and 3 hours, depending on the 
time of day, season, and weather conditions.

 Bellows Falls Union High School in Westminster is identified as 
a primary evacuation destination for those in the 10-mile 
emergency zone from the plant in Vernon, unless another 
evacuation destination is named by Vermont Emergency Management. 

"These plans, by their very nature, are very fluid things," 
Remillard noted.

"Things change. The plans certainly are not static plans."

 In the case of Vermont Yankee, emergency planning is complicated 
by the involvement of three state governments -- Vermont, New 
Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Alerts must be coordinated so that 
residents across each border receive consistent, timely 
information.

 "I believe this is the only plant (in the United States) that 
has three states involved," Hannum said.

 The board sat quietly through much of Tuesday's presentation, 
absorbing the weighty information. Though all but one have 
participated in drills with the plan, a version of which has been 
in existence since Yankee went on-line in the early 1970s, their 
emergency role as the top local officials is key.

 "At Three Mile Island, what level of alert was that?" asked new 
board member Sarah Edwards, who was elected in November. "How did 
the plan go? Did it work well?"

 Without going into depth on that 1979 accident, the worst in 
American history, Hannum noted that effective communication and 
public awareness has played a key role in disaster response. In 
one recent incident at a plant in another state, he said, 
official statements about a radiation leak were unclear. The 
state said there had been no leak, and plant officials said there 
had been. So people panicked.

 "There's always a little radiation coming out of the stack. 
There's radiation coming from your chimney," he said. "The 
correct answer was 'yes.'"

 Brattleboro officials participate in periodic drills and checks 
of their equipment, including "fast-breaker" drills that involve 
testing the pagers and communications links of every person in 
the chain of command, Remillard said. State and sometimes federal 
officials monitor the results.

 At least one drill will be held this spring, with a graded 
exercise at Vermont Yankee scheduled for Sept. 5, Hannum said.

 The emergency plan was in use recently with last July's floods 
and the April 9 derailment of a train in Westminster, which 
resulted in an oil spill and led Brattleboro officials to 
activate the emergency operations center in the basement of the 
municipal center. Using the center provided both good 
communications and vital practice, Remillard said.

 "I think one of the things we have that gives us an advantage is 
that a lot of people (in Brattleboro) are full-time staff," he 
said. "We really feel that's an active plan. It's not something 
that gets dusted off once a year".

*****************************************************************
 4   Stock Watch Man Inc. Expands Letter of Intent for Agreement 
Regarding Photodeactivation of Radioactive Waste
                                       
Wednesday May 9, 11:02 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
 
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001--Stock Watch Man Inc. 
(OTC BB: SWCH- news) Wednesday announced the signing of a letter 
of intent to acquire the License and Technology Information 
Agreement for Photodeactivation of Radioactive Waste by 
Stimulated Radioactive Decay. 

The technology uses a process of photodisintegration whereby 
gamma rays are used to induce molecular transformations that 
change radioisotopes simply by using applied textbook physics. 
This transmutation develops non-radioactive stable elements in a 
matter of days. 

The photodeactivation process involves transferring the target 
material to a reaction vessel bombarding it with gamma rays from 
an electron accelerator. The bombardment causes the target 
material to eject neutrons thereby causing a transmutation that 
causes the material to become stable and non-radioactive in a 
matter of days. 

This granting of a license and technology information agreement 
requires a capital-intensive collaboration process for licensed 
countries and Stock Watch Man Inc., who will cooperate with plans 
to complete the commercial feasibility demonstration of the 
photodeactivation process and construct an initial 
test/demonstration facility within the next 30 months. 

*Contact:* Stock Watch Man Inc., Las Vegas Steve Yeich, 
702/737-0963
 
  Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy 
*****************************************************************
 5  Bruce Power wins Ontario nuclear licences

Yahoo! Finance - 
                                       
May 10, 07:40 AM
       
 OTTAWA, May 9 (Reuters) - Canada's Nuclear Safety Commission 
said on Wednesday it had approved an application by energy 
supplier Bruce Power to operate nuclear power stations in 
southwestern Ontario.

 Bruce Power, a partnership between British Energy Plc (LSE: 
BGY.L- news) and Canadian uranium supplier Cameco Corp. , said 
the licences applied to four Bruce B reactors with a capacity of 
3,140 megawatts and four Bruce A reactors which are presently not 
in operation. They expire in October 2003.

 "We are delighted that this important milestone has been 
reached," Robin Jeffrey, Chairman Designate of British Energy plc 
and Chairman of Bruce Power, said in a statement.

 "The licence application process provided us with an opportunity 
to highlight our commitment to safety and commercial success. As 
a result of today's decision, we are one step nearer to financial 
close of the Bruce transaction."

 Bruce Power said last week it would spend C$340 million ($218 
million) over the next two years to restart nuclear reactors at 
its Bruce nuclear power plant, provided the deal to lease the 
reactors was completed and regulators approved its plans.

 It said it would spend C$30 million over the next three months 
in the first phase of the plan.

 Ontario -- Canada's most populous province and the nation's 
economic engine

-- has already pushed back a November 2000 deadline to deregulate 
its power sector by one year. Deregulation is now expected to 
start this fall, although the Ontario government has not 
confirmed this.   

                                       
  + BRITISH ENERGY PLC (London: BGY.L, News, Chart, Profile, 
Research)   
*****************************************************************
 6  Nuclear chief brings a switch in fortunes

*by The City Interview, Daily Mail*

THINKING about power cuts in California gives Norman Askew a warm 
glow as he leaves his home in the Peak District and heads for his 
office at nuclear fuel group BNFL.


The electricity crisis gripping one of the world's most affluent 
regions could switch on a new wave of investment in nuclear 
power. 


The industry is emerging from under the cloud cast by the Three 
Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters and is increasingly seen by 
the Bush administration as key to overcoming America's energy 
shortage. 


US vice-president Dick Cheney has made it clear he is ready to go 
nuclear and that suits Askew fine. As chief executive of 
state-owned BNFL, which both generates power and reprocesses the 
fuel, he sees huge opportunities if the US gives the green light 
to a new generation of atomic stations. 


'Energy conservation is important and renewable sources like wind 
power do have a part to play, but you need large generating 
stations to run a modern economy,' he says. 


'You can live without them, but you've got to accept that the 
lights might go out half a day a week, or accept a lower standard 
of living. The most important thing in electricity is not the 
price, but supply. When you press the switch you want the lights 
to work.' 


The industry claims it pumps much less pollution into the 
atmosphere than fossil fuels. But clearly a big debate lies ahead 
before the public is persuaded that new-look nuclear is 
acceptable. 


Askew believes the US could sanction a new plant within five 
years, but thinks it will take longer in the UK, where there is 
excess electricity capacity and the political hurdles are higher. 


As well as new stations, the hunger for power could prolong the 
life of existing stations around the world. Askew reckons BNFL is 
ideally placed to benefit, through reprocessing work at 
Sellafield in Cumbria and reactor design work for its 
Westinghouse Electric arm in the US. 


He is very optimistic about the future. Yet just 12 months ago 
some questioned his sanity when he accepted the task of rescuing 
the company after the 1999 scandal over falsification of data on 
fuel bound for Japan. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate 
condemned BNFL for 'a lack of safety culture' and blamed 
systematic failures in management at Sellafield. 


Instead of being groomed for privatisation, BNFL looked in danger 
of a corporate meltdown. Urgent action was needed. Chairman Hugh 
Collum began a boardroom cull and headhunted Askew - formerly 
boss of privatised East Midlands Electricity - as £350,000-a-year 
chief executive to sort out the mess. 


Some thought his brief was a mission impossible, but after a year 
at the helm, the cheery Lancastrian believes he has steered the 
group back on course. 


Stamps of approval He wielded the axe among managers, promoting 
talented insiders and bringing in fresh blood from the commercial 
world, as he set about tackling the inspectorate's 43 
recommendations. 




The result was a largely positive follow-up report from the 
inspectorate in November. BNFL has now also landed crucial 
contracts with Germany's E.ON and Sweden's OKG. 'These are two 
major outside stamps of approval,' he says. 'The NII is as 
independent as you can get. I'm very pleased for the staff that 
we have got that endorsement, but the best endorsement is sales.' 


Some critics thought nobody would want the job. Askew, old enough 
at 58 to be winding down for retirement, jumped at it. 'My 
attitude was - I can do this, I've done it before,' he says. 


After studying geography at Durham University, the former Preston 
Grammar School boy began his career with engineer TI, where he 
established a reputation as a transatlantic troubleshooter. 


He returned to the UK in 1994 to run East Midlands, but moved 
back to the States following its takeover by Dominion Resources 
to head sister company Virginia Power, which operates two nuclear 
plants. 


Civil service mentality On his arrival at BNFL he set about 
changing the culture, dragging it away from a civil service 
mentality in which individuals avoided taking responsibility. 


One of his biggest criticisms at the start was the slow pace of 
change and the fact that everything was 'very process orientated' 
- a rare slip into corporate jargon for the plain- speaking 
Askew. He explains that he really means there were lots of 
back-breaking procedures to go through - 'and still are'. 


There is a huge amount of paperwork and bureaucracy, but he 
detests meetings that revolve around hefty documents and says his 
style is to 'talk personally and look into their eyes'. 


Holding his thumb and forefinger three inches apart he explains: 
'If you have to rely on briefing notes this thick, it means you 
either don't know the subject or have too much on your plate.' 


He was impressed by the calibre of those left after the 
reshuffles and believes that management and staff in many other 
companies would not have survived the criticism and commercial 
uncertainty heaped on BNFL. 


'You need people who understand the industry and its issues, but 
you also need a few from outside who see things in a different 
way,' he says. 'Management will come up with ideas, you don't 
need consultants. It's not rocket science, it's the simple things 
that are important in business.' 


He is pleased with progress so far, but is quick to warn: 'My job 
is to make sure people don't get fat or complacent. A lot is 
behind us, but there are still a lot of problems to be tackled.' 


One priority is to continue the culture change he began with 
Collum, winning back business and restoring profitability, while 
ensuring that safety is paramount. In its last financial year, 
BNFL made pretax losses of £337m, after £411m of one-off costs, 
including £113m relating to the falsification scandal. Previously 
profits were £218m. 


Part privatisation in the pipeline BNFL's next major hurdle is to 
secure approval for its £460m MOX recycling plant at Sellafield, 
boosted by the contracts it has won recently. 


The group is being groomed for part-privatisation through a 
public private partnership and the sale of 49% of the 
Government's stake, but it needs to show it has a long-term 
future if it is to attract private investment. 


After the data crisis, the PPP was put back until late 2002, 
though industry experts think Askew will have a tough job meeting 
that deadline. 


He is reluctant to criticise Railtrack, but says its experience 
shows how crucial it is to get a business into the right shape 
before a float is even considered. 'People forget what British 
Rail was like,' he comments. 'It isn't as if there were never any 
crashes, the trains always ran on time and the porters always had 
a smile.' 


Askew's Derbyshire home is an hour's drive from BNFL's 
headquarters at Risley in Cheshire. Off-duty he likes nothing 
better than walking in the Dales with his wife, Dorothy. 'We live 
in a part of the country that is a walker's paradise,' he says 
contentedly.


The signs are growing that after its trauma, people are taking 
BNFL seriously again. Askew chuckles that even Dorothy, who 
thought he was 'nuts' to take the job, has at last begun to come 
round to the idea. 

• Interview by Peter Cunliffe

© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 10 May 2001 Terms and Conditions 
*****************************************************************
 7  Belgium and Russia: Nuclear cooperation?

UPI News Article: 

9 May 2001 19:21 (ET)
 
By CAROL TIEGAN

 BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 9 (UPI) -- Inside and outside government, 
debate has focused on a declaration of cooperation signed April 
10 between Belgium and Russia -- which would help Russia recycle 
its plutonium into electricity and strengthen its nuclear 
infrastructure.

 The five-page "memorandum on cooperation in use of nuclear 
energy in pacific purpose" signed in Moscow authorizes scientific 
and industrial exchanges in the civil nuclear sector between 
Moscow and Brussels. The agreement is part of the framework to 
dismantle atomic armaments, which has raised issues concerning 
the disposition of tons of plutonium contained in bombs and 
missiles.

 Russia has opted to use its radioactive elements as nuclear 
reactor combustibles to create electricity. Russia, greatly in 
need of energy, is counting on Western technology and know-how.

 The Belgian help has raised eyebrows since the Belgian 
government recently decided to abandon the use of nuclear energy 
between 2015 and 2025, when its seven nuclear stations near 
retirement age.

 "Belgium is still the third most important country to produce 
nuclear energy. Between 55 and 65 percent of our electricity is 
derived from this source of energy," said Jean-Paul Samain, 
general director of the Belgian Federal Nuclear Control Agency, 
which was created in 1994, and only just nearly fully 
operational.

 The government is divided on the issue. Louis Michel, foreign 
affairs minister, and Antoine Duquesne, the interior minister in 
charge of nuclear security, are both in favor of the memorandum 
of cooperation.

 The ecologists in the government, on the other hand, are not too 
pleased about the idea, and have called for alternative and 
renewable sources of energy.

 As for Greenpeace, it strongly believes plutonium is not a 
combustible, but nuclear waste, and therefore strongly opposes 
Western help in promoting the use of nuclear energy in Russia.

 Belgium is one of the few European countries able to condition 
plutonium to re-use for energy. This process involves producing 
Mixed Oxyde (Mox), a new experimental and costly nuclear fuel 
that can be used in any standard nuclear station.

 Mox, a mix of uranium and slightly more than 5 percent 
plutonium, is produced in France (140 tons a year), Belgium (35 
tons/year) and Great Britain (4 to 8 tons/year), and is used in 
Europe. Had the Tokaimura accident not taken place, Japan would 
have begun using it in 2000.

 The Belgian company, Belgonucléaire, in Dessel, produces Mox, 
using plutonium coming from Le Hague (France), Tihange and Doel 
(Belgium), Switzerland and Japan.

 "Belgium has the necessary know-how to produce Mox. Until two 
years ago, we were the world leaders in this area," said Samain.

 "I'm all for the use of renewable energy, but our waterfalls 
aren't all that impressive," added Samain. "I'm waiting for 
ideas. It's not up to me to judge an idea good or not."

 The issue is expected to continue in the public eye. Even if the 
text has already been signed bilaterally, it still has to be 
approved by the European commission and then adopted by the 
Belgian Parliament, which will take at least a year. -- Copyright 
2001 by United Press International. --
*****************************************************************
 8  Temelin, closed, is assailed anew

News: The Prague Post Online
 		 		 			
May 9, 2001
 				
*Rotor fault shuts nuclear plant for 60 days; Austria is angered*

By James Pitkin                                                        

The Austrian government has seized on a 60-day shutdown of the 
Temelin nuclear reactor to renew demands that the Czech Republic 
review the future of the contested facility. 

According to the state energy utility, CEZ, problems with a 
turbine rotor forced a complete shutdown of the reactor May 3. 
Officials said it would not be restarted until July at the 
earliest. 

The rotor problem was the latest in a series of glitches that 
have haunted the plant -- built under communism but modernized in 
recent years -- since it went into operation last October. 

Anti-nuclear activists in Austria, which is 60 kilometers (37 
miles) from the south Bohemia facility, have staged repeated 
border protests in an effort to force the closing of the plant, 
which critics claim is unsafe. 

While CEZ minimized the turbine incident, noting that it had 
intended to shut down the plant in June for routine maintenance, 
Austrian officials swiftly went on the offensive. 

"Current events confirm our assumptions that the turbine problems 
are far more serious than were previously made public," said 
Austrian Environment Minister Wilhelm Molterer. 

Radko Pavlovec, the Upper Austrian commissioner for nuclear power 
plants, said Prague should "end this experiment" and "shut 
Temelin down for good." 

After months of bickering, Austrian and Czech officials hammered 
out an agreement last December intended to mend bilateral ties. 
Part of the pact called for an independent environmental impact 
study to be carried out under the auspices of the European 
Commission. 

The Czech-led study, finished last month, concluded that Temelin 
posed no safety hazard. 

Before the agreement, Vienna had threatened to use its veto power 
to keep the Czech Republic out of the European Union. Austria 
does not use nuclear power. 

But in the wake of the latest reversal, the EU's enlargement 
commissioner, Gunter Verheugen, a German, insisted Prague was 
behaving responsibly. 

He called for "more composure" in the aftermath of the shutdown. 

"[The Czech side] has been acting exceptionally constructively up 
to now," he said. "I know of no case where neighboring countries 
have been granted full access into sensitive technical areas." 

The entire situation was especially embarrassing to CEZ, which 
announced May 4 that it would reschedule a 600 million Kc ($15.8 
million) penalty payment owed by general contractor Skoda Praha 
for construction delays. 

CEZ estimates it is losing 20 million Kc a day in unsold 
electricity. 


James Pitkin's e-mail address is jpitkin@praguepost.cz

*****************************************************************
 9  Nuclear Waste Transport Goes Smoothly

F.A.Z. - English Version
 	 	 	 	 	 
[Frankfurter Allgemeine] 
 
*By Frank Pergande 

*RHEINSBERG. The first and also the last transport of spent fuel 
rods to pass through eastern Germany went according to schedule 
and without incident, observers said on Wednesday. 

The four reinforced nuclear waste containers, built specially to 
hold Russian fuel elements, carried more than 200 spent fuel rods 
from the shut-down nuclear power station at Rheinsberg in 
Brandenburg on their way to the interim storage depot in Lubmin 
near Greifswald in Western Pomerania. The load required a train 
some 500 meters (550 yards) in length hauled by four engines, and 
an escort of several hundred border guards. 

The day started at 3 a.m. when the engine was coupled to freight 
wagons at the former nuclear power station. The gates opened at 
6.30 a.m. By 7 a.m., the train had reached Rheinsberg station, 
where the works line ends, and was shunted on to the German 
national railway network.

Contrary to the original plans, the stop there lasted only a few 
minutes, and the rest of the several hundred kilometer journey 
went according to plan. The train arrived in Lubmin at 1 p.m. 
with no significant disruption. 

The Rheinsberg nuclear power station, located by the lake 
Stechlin, went into operation on May 9, exactly 35 years ago. The 
experimental nuclear power station, modeled on Soviet nuclear 
power plants, was the first such station anywhere in Germany.

The plant had only one reactor with an output of 70 megawatts. 
Plans to build a second reactor were dropped because output was 
too low. Instead, another nuclear power station was built in 
Lubmin, but after the collapse of communist East Germany, this 
too was taken out of commission because it had serious safety 
faults. 

On Wednesday, Rheinsberg, one of the most attractive towns in the 
Mark Brandenburg region, resembled an army camp. Opposite the 
thousands of police officers, who had advanced with water cannons 
and armored bulldozers, was a small, peaceful look-out post on 
the station. The roads were largely cleared of traffic, the 
railroad line's vulnerable spots secured with barbed wire, while 
helicopters circled overhead. Two attempts were made to block the 
track, but police and border guards quickly foiled the 
protesters. Altogether less than 100 nuclear power opponents 
faced the major contingent of 6,500 police officers in 
Brandenburg alone, and a further 1,500 police in 
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. No fewer than 12,000 police 
officers and border guards were involved in the operation.

Unlike the recent Castor transport to Gorleben in Lower Saxony, 
Wednesday's transport proceeded without disruption. In 
Rheinsberg, journalists were given the opportunity to film the 
transport at close quarters and camera crews even shot some 
sequences for a feature film here.

Brandenburg Interior Minister Jörg Schönbohm, a Christian 
Democrat, said ahead of the transport that any attempt to disrupt 
it would be handled without compromise. Demonstrations were 
banned on stations and along the tracks. Even after the transport 
of the Castor containers, Mr. Schönbohm defended the massive 
police presence. 

Until the day of the transport, it had not been possible to say 
how many troublemakers were likely to join the protest beside the 
track, he said, adding that, when planning the operation, the 
authorities had taken into account experience gained from the 
demonstrations in the Wendland region at the end of March. 

The power station in Rheinsberg, which was shut down in June 
1990, is due to be completely demolished by the end of the 
decade. May 9, 2001

© Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000 All 
*****************************************************************
 10  Swedish Order Adds To German Boost For MOX
 
The Whitehaven News
 
Thursday, May 10, 2001
 
By Alan Irving
 
Another boost has come the way of the Sellafield Mox plant which 
awaits a government licence before it can operate.
 
BNFL has now taken on board a Swedish order on top of the major 
German contracts announced last week.
 
In Sweden, Framatome ANP has signed up with BNFL to have Mox fuel 
manufactured from plutonium at Sellafield and sent to the 
Oskarshamm site for re-use in the nuclear reactor there.
 
It follows hard on the heels of the huge German deal which gives 
the Mox plant its biggest single contract so far and which BNFL 
hopes will encourage the government to grant an operating 
licence.
 
The plant was built four years ago and costs have spiralled to 
more than £400 million.
 
BNFL hope to get the go ahead to put the plant into production 
following the latest round of public consultations into the 
plant's economic viability.
 
The company says the German and Swedish deals "strengthens an 
already robust case for the operation of the plant."
 
It also discloses that the plant "now has contracted\reserved 
business close to the break even sales level."
 
Chief executive Norman Askew said: "This is yet another contract 
showing that our customers want Mox fuel. These new orders signal 
strong support for the plant. What we look forward to now is the 
plant opening so we can start to fulfil these orders."
 
The fourth round of public consultations started on March 28 and 
will be completed by May 23.
 
BNFL is anxious to get the go ahead by the end of July - the cut 
off point for at least one of the existing Mox contracts.
 
Meanwhile, there is renewed confidence that Japan will place 
vital new orders after having its confidence shaken by the Mox 
fuel data falsifications scandal which occurred in the Sellafield 
plant used to demonstrate BNFL's ability to recycle the plutonium 
material. 

n Public representations should be made to Claire Herdman, 
Radioactive Substances Division, DETR, 4\F6 Ashdown House, 123 
Victoria St., London SW1 E 6DE.
*****************************************************************
 11  REID QUESTIONS NRC MEMBERS AT NUCLEAR OVERSIGHT HEARING 
[Sen. Reid Press Release] 
                                       
May 9, 2001 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Ranking Democrat on 
the Environment and Public Works Committee, today questioned 
members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) about the 
future of nuclear power, waste disposal, and its role in 
undermining the issuance of a groundwater standard at Yucca 
Mountain. 

"We cannot discuss the future of nuclearpower in this country 
without addressing the issue of nuclear waste disposal and how 
that will impact residents in my home state of Nevada," said 
Reid, the Assistant Democratic Leader. "As the agency that 
regulates nuclear power and waste disposal, the NRC will play a 
role in determining whether or not to relicense existing plants 
or to allow construction of new reactors. The Commission also 
will make key decisions in moving forward with Yucca Mountain, so 
it is critical to Nevadans that we fully understand their 
position to date on this highly controversial proposal." 

During Tuesday's hearing of the Subcommittee on Clean Air, 
Wetlands, Private Property and Nuclear Safety, Reid accused the 
NRC of lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and 
White Houseofficials to abandon proposed radiation exposure 
standards for Yucca Mountain. 

"The EPA clearly has the authority under the law to establish 
radiation exposure standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain 
repository. While a final rule was sent to the Office of 
Management and Budget in January, the Bush Administration has put 
this proposal on hold. In the meantime, NRC has been pressuring 
EPA and the White House to abandon its proposed radiation 
standards. I do not believe that is proper behavior by the 
Commission or its members," said Reid. "The law gives the NRC no 
say in this issue and they should not spend taxpayer resources to 
try to convince EPA that tough radiation standards, including 
groundwater protections, are not necessary." 

On January 18, 2001, then EPA Administrator Carol Browner issued 
a proposed overall radiation exposure standard for Yucca Mountain 
as well as a separate groundwater protection. The rule was then 
sent to the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) where it remains 
to this day. 

"OMB should not be allowed to sit on this important rule while 
there are lobbying efforts now underway to undue the EPA's 
proposal. Both Vice-President Cheney and EPA Administrator 
Christine Todd Whitman have declared EPA should take the lead on 
this issue. I hope the Administration will live up to that 
commitment and stop the foot dragging now taking place,"said 
Reid. 

During a speech in Reno, Nevada in October of 2000, Cheney 
indicated that a Bush Administration would support EPA's 
authority to establish health and safety rules for the proposed 
Yucca Mountain repository. The pledge was repeated by 
Administrator Whitman following her confirmation hearing before 
the EPW Committee earlier this year.               

*****************************************************************
 12  REID AND ENSIGN MEET WITH VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY TO DISCUSS 
NUCLEAR POWER ISSUES
 
[Sen. Reid Press Release] 
                                       
May 9, 2001 

Washington, D.C. – NevadaSenators Harry Reidand John Ensigntoday 
met with Vice President Dick Cheneyto discuss nuclear policy as 
it relates to Nevada.

 "After this meeting, I am pleased Vice President Cheney 
recognizes the importance of this issue to Nevadans, and I am 
optimistic the president and vice president intend to follow 
through on the commitments they made during the campaign," 
Senator Reid said. "At this point, I am relieved that the 
Administration is living up to its promise not to pursue interim 
waste storage at Yucca Mountainand appears committed to allowing 
the EPAto set the ground water standards. I look forward to 
continued discussions with the White Houseto ensure the concerns 
of Nevadans are heard in Washington."

 "Our meeting with Vice President Cheney was very positive. He 
recognizes our strong opposition to storing high-level nuclear 
waste in Yucca Mountain," Senator Ensign said. "We are going to 
continue the dialogue in the future about alternatives to 
bringing nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain."   

*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                     NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 Groups try to 'clean up' OR image 

Oak Ridger Online --> 

Story last updated at 1:20 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2001

by Paul Parson 
Oak Ridger staff 

The Oak Ridge Site-Specific Advisory Board discussed Wednesday 
night its involvement in a paper to help "clean up" the 
community's image.

 The purpose of the document is to improve public awareness of 
the environmental situation within the city of Oak Ridge, said 
SSAB member Bill Pardue.

 "Oak Ridge needs all the help it can get to have a positive 
image," said Pat Rush, SSAB member and Oak Ridge City Council 
member.

 Several groups, according to Pardue, are interested in 
participating in the document. Those include the Citizens' 
Advisory Panel of the Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight 
Committee, the Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation, New 
Century Alliance and the Community Reuse Organization of East 
Tennessee, among others.

 All writing for the document is expected to be on a volunteer 
basis and the content would come from existing, published 
information.

 "Our real desire is not to use DOE money," Pardue said.

 Several of the groups participating in the paper will meet to 
discuss the issue at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the UT-Battelle 
Information Center, 40 New York Ave.

All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger *
*****************************************************************
 2  Bell unhappy with possible delay of sick-worker appointment 

Oak Ridger Online --> 

Story last updated at 1:21 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2001

by Paul Parson 
Oak Ridger staff 

A possible delay in appointing a sick worker to the Oak Ridge 
Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee isn't a good sign, says a 
local community member who may be vying for the position.

 During a phone interview Wednesday evening, Glenn Bell told The 
Oak Ridger that a nomination for him to be appointed to the 
subcommittee was sent to the Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry, which selects subcommittee members. A 
spokeswoman for the agency confirmed that three nominations were 
received for the position, but she declined to release their 
names.

 Whether or not he's chosen, Bell, who was diagnosed with chronic 
beryllium disease in 1993, says he's not happy that the sick 
worker appointment may be postponed due to a federal hiring 
freeze. He said it's a blow to the credibility of the program and 
it has generated more distrust about the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry.

 Bell provided The Oak Ridger with a copy of the letter he is 
sending to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
about the matter.

 "The hiring freeze did not preclude the hiring of staff to 
implement the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 
Program, now under way," his letter states. "If precedent was set 
with this program, could the same not be done for the 
[subcommittee]?"

 Bell's letter also addresses a number of problems he sees with 
the agency and the subcommittee.

 Bell points out that some of the best resources for the 
subcommittee and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry are ill former workers, many of whom are on disability 
because of ailments that could be work-related.

 Because of that, these people can't accept payment for services 
rendered, but Bell says "it would be grossly unfair to deprive 
them of the opportunity to contribute and to collect." His letter 
asks the agency to see if an exemption be made for these 
individuals.

 "There are problems, even at best, with both present and former 
workers attending the panel," Bell's letter states.

 "In my own case, if I were accepted, there could be a conflict 
between wages and compensation from the meetings. Also, an 
already damaged attendance record could suffer from the absence 
from work. Vacation or a request for personal time off would be 
an option, but this could involve 'double dipping,' or being paid 
from two sources for the same service, which I do not feel would 
be ethical."

 Bell says these issues need to be addressed, and communication 
developed to better gain public trust, especially from the ill 
workers.

 "Trust is a valuable resource, and, I believe, an attainable 
one," Bell's letter states. "I pray that this input will be 
received constructively, and help in gaining that trust."

 The Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee consists 
of citizens primarily from the Oak Ridge area, including 
Knoxville and Roane County residents, who will work with 
community members and advocacy groups to offer advice and 
recommendations to several federal agencies regarding health 
concerns in Oak Ridge.

All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger *
*****************************************************************
 3  Others join Hansen fight to protect training ranges
 
[deseretnews.com] 

May 10, 2001

By Lee Davidson
Deseret News Washington correspondent

       WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Hansen once was a lone voice warning 
that military training ranges are being elbowed out of existence 
by encroaching development and environmental lawsuits.

       But on Wednesday, the Utah Republican was joined by a 
booming chorus of Pentagon officials and virtually the entire 
House Government Reform Committee who expressed similar, growing 
worries.

       "The availability of realistic training is eroding," said 
Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind. "Training ranges here and 
overseas are under siege from the land, the water, the air and 
the airwaves. . . .

       "It's being hemmed in by commercial development, 
environmental regulations, airspace restrictions and conflicts 
over use of the radio frequency spectrum," he said.

       Similar worries were echoed by representatives of the 
Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. For example, Air Force Gen. 
John P. Jumper, head of Air Combat Command, said if trends 
continue, "America will soon lose its only edge in combat 
proficiency," namely realistic training.

       Burton invited Hansen — who is not a member of his 
committee — to join in a hearing on the problem, saying it was 
"largely a result of his efforts that the Pentagon began to focus 
on encroachment issues."

       Hansen said during the hearing that the vast Utah Test and 
Training Range has faced less encroachment than most ranges — but 
even it faces challenges.

       He complained of "huge encroachment from the environmental 
community because they found the slimy slug or the ringtailed 
rufus or something out there" and said lawsuits have been filed 
to limit activities and overflights there.

       Hansen complained of efforts by the Goshute Indians 
seeking to establish a nuclear waste repository in Skull Valley. 
He said that according to UTTR officials, avoiding flying over 
such a nearby repository could "cut back the range 30 or 40 
percent all by itself."

       Hansen, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, 
said encroachment elsewhere is more serious, such as on Vieques 
Island near Puerto Rico. Protests by residents have often stopped 
testing there — even though it is the only live-fire range on the 
East Coast where air and water maneuvers may be combined.

       "I'm somewhat amazed we are now going through this 
exercise on whether we will train there," Hansen said. "I'd be 
curious where you Navy people think you are going to go. I've 
heard Jordan . . . to Scotland, to Italy and other areas. I 
seriously doubt any of those are going to work."

       Hansen said, "National defense that benefits all Americans 
is not a luxury. . . . It requires access to realistic training. 
Therefore our military ranges must be treated as the national 
assets they are and must be preserved for the security of the 
nation."

       Burton said he plans a series of hearings on how military 
readiness may be affected by encroachment on test and training 
ranges and how it should be addressed.
 
 © 2001 Deseret News Publishing Company 
*****************************************************************
 4  Report spurs questions about lab's laser project

Editor's note: Due to press problems, a shortened version of this 
story appeared in Tuesday's Times.

BY PETER 
FELSENFELD

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LIVERMORE -- A report drafted by a local environmental group 
concludes the Lawrence Livermore lab's giant laser project is 
unlikely to accomplish its mission, even though operating costs 
could top $32.4 billion over 30 years.
 
The review also states the U.S. Department of Energy's most 
recent cost estimate for construction of the National Ignition 
Facility is more than $1 billion short.

 
Tri-Valley Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment, a longtime 
NIF critic, sponsored the report and plans to release it today.

 
Dr. Robert Civiak, a physicist who authored the study, said he 
compiled the report largely from internal DOE documents obtained 
through the Freedom of Information Act. Civiak studied NIF while 
working in the White House Office of Management and Budget from 
1988 to 1999.

 
"The DOE's operating budget had no basis in reality," Civiak 
said. "And we didn't even take a worst-case scenario approach; we 
used figures very generous to the DOE."

 
However, laboratory spokeswoman Susan Houghton said  a draft 
version of the report presents an inaccurate picture of NIF and 
its operating costs.

 
"For example, NIF is a small part of a National Nuclear Security 
Administration's High Energy Density Physics Program," Houghton 
said. "The entire ... program's 30-year cost is approximately 
half of the $32.4 billion attributed to NIF alone by Tri-Valley 
CAREs."

 
The National Ignition Facility is designed to simulate nuclear 
reactions by converging 192 laser beams onto a BB-sized target. 
Proponents say data from NIF will help researchers maintain and 
monitor the nation's aging nuclear stockpile.

 
According to a draft of the Tri-Valley CAREs report, DOE cost 
projections failed to include $525 million identified by the 
General Accounting Office as needed to design and build the 
target. In addition, replacing damaged optics caused by the 
high-intensity laser near the target could cost more than $100 
million per year above and beyond NIF's projected budget.

 
Overlooked staffing costs could add $98 million to NIF's price 
tag, the report states.

 
The report urges the federal government to stop funding NIF and, 
as a preliminary step, encourages Congress to "commission a fully 
independent technical and cost review of the NIF."

 
Houghton said NIF has been reviewed extensively over the past two 
years, and new studies would be a waste of time and money.

 
"These reviews have continued to validate NIF, the costs and 
schedule, and the project's ability to perform ... "she said.

 
Houghton disagreed with Civiak's figures regarding the target 
costs and said the lab resolved issues involving stress on the 
optics. Overhead costs, including staffing, were studied and 
approved by the DOE, she said.

 
A recent lawsuit mounted by Tri-Valley CAREs and the Natural 
Resources Defense Council partially blocked the DOE from citing 
two NIF reviews when seeking Congressional funding. <I>

 
Reach Peter Felsenfeld at 925-847-2184 or <A 
HREF="mailto:pfelsenfeld@cctimes.com">pfelsenfeld@cctimes.com</A>.</I>

ContraCostaTimes.com
*****************************************************************
 5  Russia's plutonium

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | 

                                        
Thursday May 10, 2001
The Guardian 		
 		
Your report that Bush may cut funding for nuclear safety projects in
Russia is worrying, but an end to the current plans for dealing 
with surplus weapons-grade plutonium by converting it into a fuel 
for nuclear reactors known as MOX, will be welcomed by 
environmentalists (Bush threatens to slash spending on nuclear 
safety aid to Russia, May 7). The US rejected the plutonium fuel 
cycle in the 70s as being too proliferation prone, yet is now 
proposing to fund such a cycle in Russia. This will put plutonium 
on Russian roads, increasing the risk of theft. The use of MOX 
also compromises reactor safety and the consequences of an 
accident are likely to be considerably greater than one involving 
conventional uranium fuel. 

The Clinton-Putin agreement involves converting 34 tonnes of 
weapons-grade plutonium into MOX. Russia would also be allowed to 
re-extract plutonium once the MOX had been used in reactors. The 
agreement does not address Russia's 30 tonnes of weapons-useable 
civil plutonium. Russia would be allowed to continue extracting 
plutonium from its civil spent nuclear waste fuel and use the 
infrastructure, set up with western finance, to convert this to 
MOX. 

An alternative is plutonium immobilisation. This means converting 
the plutonium directly into a waste form, which is resistant to 
proliferation. This is the kind of technology British Nuclear 
Fuels should be developing rather than seeking to take the UK 
along the MOX route. It would then be well-placed to gain work in 
Russia once the west realises that immobilisation meets its goals 
of ensuring safety, non-proliferation and sustainable development 
far better than the use of MOX.

Pete Roche Greenpeace UK
 
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
*****************************************************************
 6  Radioactive materials 'stolen by terrorists'

UK: Independent News
 	 		
   &copy; 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.

 14 May 2001 04:12 GMT+1 Home > News  > UK  > Science 
 
By Charles Arthur Technology Editor
 
10 May 2001
 
International terrorist groups are making renewed efforts to 
smuggle radioactive materials to make nuclear bombs, new figures 
released this week indicate.
 
The number of attempts to steal potentially fissile materials has 
doubled in the past five years, said the International Atomic 
Energy Authority, the nuclear industry watchdog. In the first 
three months of 2001 there were 20 confirmed cases of illegal 
trafficking of radioactive materials, with thefts in Germany, 
Romania, South Africa and Mexico, it said.
 
Morten Bremer Maerli, of the Norwegian Institute of International 
Affairs in Oslo, told *New Scientist* magazine that the risk of 
nuclear terrorism was "the worst of all nightmares". He also 
noted that two of the most notorious terrorist groups ­ Osama bin 
Laden's Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and the Aum Shrinrikyo cult in 
Japan ­ had for some years been trying to obtain nuclear 
materials.
 
The United Nations' Terrorism Prevention Branch suggests that up 
to 130 terrorist groups worldwide could pose a nuclear threat. Mr 
Maerli noted that the end of the Cold War had left the world with 
three million kilograms of fissile material, which would be 
enough to make 250,000 bombs. Also from the Science section If 
you can't stand the heat... Lewis Wolpert: Science improved by 
design Radioactive materials 'stolen by terrorists' Michael 
Frayn: The writer and the appliance of science MPs condemn GM 
baby doctors
 

*****************************************************************
 7  DOE vs. Joseph Carson

April 2001
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
 

JOSEPH CARSON, Appellant
 
versus
 
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, Agency
 
DOCKET NUMBERS
 

AT-1221-96-0948-X- 1 AT-1221-98-0250-X-1 AT-1221-98-0623-X-1
 
 
 
DATE: April 26, 2001
 

Joseph Carson, Knoxville, Tennessee, pro se.
 
Gus Goldberger, Washington, D.C., for the agency.
 

BEFORE
 

Beth S. Slavet, Chairman Barbara J. Sapin, Vice Chairman Susanne 
T. Marshall, Member
 

OPINION AND ORDER
 

This case is before the Board on the appellant's petition for 
enforcement of the Board's final order in *Carson v. Department 
of Energy*, 85 M.S.P.R. 171 (2000). For the reasons set forth 
below, we find the agency in compliance.
 

BACKGROUND
 

The Board's final order directed the agency to cancel the letter 
of admonishment, cancel the directed reassignment from Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee to Germantown, Maryland, and return the appellant to 
the full range of duties and work assignments consistent with his 
position description and past assignments. 85 M.S.P.R. at 175. On 
March 2, 2000, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of 
the Board's February 3, 2000 order.* See Carson v. Department of 
Energy*, MSPB Docket No. AT-1221-96-0250-C-2.(1) Compliance File 
2 (CF2), Tab 1. The petition was dismissed without prejudice. 
CF2, Tab 6. Upon refiling, the appellant alleged that the agency 
was not in compliance because, after it abolished his former 
position by a reduction-in-force action, it again directed his 
reassignment to Germantown, Maryland.* Carson v. Department of 
Energy*, MSPB Docket No. AT-1221-98-0250-C-3,(2) Compliance File 
3 (CF3), Tab 5 at 3.
 


The administrative judge rejected the agency's argument that it 
had treated the appellant no differently than the other employees 
whose positions with the agency's Office of Environment, Safety 
and Health (EH) Site Resident Program were abolished.(3) CF3, Tab 
14, Recommendation at 7. The administrative judge noted that nine 
of the 17 employees affected by the abolishment of the EH Site 
Resident Program were provided jobs within their commuting area 
and that the agency even acknowledged that there were positions 
at Oak Ridge to which the appellant might have been reassigned.* 
Id.* Further, the administrative judge found unacceptable the 
agency's offer to allow the appellant to telecommute to 
Germantown, Maryland, from his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. 
Accordingly, the administrative judge concluded that the agency 
had not made a good faith effort to place the appellant in a 
position within his commuting area. *Id*. at 8. The 
administrative judge directed the agency to identify all GS-14 
positions in the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, commuting area which are 
currently vacant or which were vacant and filled on or after the 
date that the EH Site Resident program was abolished. *Id.* The 
administrative judge also directed the agency to assign the 
appellant to the position that most closely complies with the 
Board's February 3, 2000 Final Order, notwithstanding that the 
position so identified is currently filled by another employee. 
*Id*. at 8-9.
 


The agency notified the Board that it would comply with the 
administrative judge's recommendation but requested a 15-day 
extension of time to allow for full implementation. Compliance 
Referral File (CRF) Tab 1. The agency attached a list of the 
positions in the Oak Ridge, Tennessee commuting area and stated 
that additional time was necessary to examine the positions to 
determine whether they were commensurate with the appellant's 
position description and past assignments. The Board granted the 
request.(4) CRF, Tab 2. The agency subsequently submitted 
evidence of its assignment of the appellant to the position of 
GS-14 Technical Facility Representative (FR) in the Oak Ridge 
Operations Office (ORO). CRF, Tab 6, Exs. 4, 6 and 8.
 


The appellant responded that the agency had not complied with the 
Board's order because the position to which he was assigned is a 
newly created position, not a vacant or existing position, and he 
must complete a training period. CRF, Tab 7. He also alleged that 
the agency improperly rejected his applications for GS-15 
positions. The agency responded to the appellant's objections and 
the appellant moved to strike the agency's allegedly improper 
response. CRF, Tabs 8 and 9.
 


ANALYSIS
 


It is the agency's burden to establish compliance with a final 
Board order. *Spates v. U.S. Postal Service*, 70 M.S.P.R. 438, 
441 (1996). The Board will excuse precise compliance with the 
terms of its order, if the agency can establish that overriding 
circumstances precluded compliance.* See, e.g., Currier v. U.S. 
Postal Service*, 72 M.S.P.R. 191, 199 (1996) (abolishment of a 
position is a compelling reason for not reinstating an appellant 
to his former position). The Board's order here directed the 
agency to place the appellant in a position with the full range 
of duties and work assignments consistent with his position 
description and past assignments.* Carson*, 85 M.S.P.R. at 175. 
While the order does not specifically require the appellant's 
placement in his former position, it does contemplate placement 
in a position with the same duties and assignments as those of 
his former position of EH Site Resident.(5) At the time of the 
order, however, the appellant had not been affected by the RIF. 
See CF3, Tab 13, Subtab T;. We find that the agency has 
demonstrated that overriding circumstances precluded it from 
placing the appellant in the same type of position that he had 
previously occupied because the entire EH Site Resident Program 
was abolished. Under these circumstances, we also find that the 
agency's assignment of the appellant to the position of GS-14 
Technical Facility Representative in ORO constitutes compliance 
with the Board's order.
 


The appellant is a professional engineer specializing in 
occupational and nuclear safety. *See Carson v. Department of 
Energy*, MSPB Docket No. AT-1221-98-0623-W-1, Tab 1, Second 
Declaration of Joseph Carson at 4. The position description of 
his now abolished former position, safety engineer in the EH Site 
Resident Program in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, states that the purpose 
of the position was to serve as the EH oversight presence and 
authority in the technical areas of general engineering, conduct 
of operations, maintenance, construction safety, environmental 
protection, and quality assurance. CRF, Tab 6, Ex. 5.  One of the 
primary duties of that position was to conduct surveillance at 
Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear and non-nuclear facilities 
and laboratories to evaluate DOE line management's implementation 
of safety programs. In addition, the incumbent was expected to 
generate reports to EH management concerning line management's 
performance in safety-related activities. *Id. *



The new position to which the appellant has been assigned, 
Technical Facility Representative (FR), is also located in Oak 
Ridge, Tennessee and is part of the Environmental Management 
Program of the Oak Ridge Operations Office. CRF, Tab 6, Ex. 4. 
One of the purposes of the new position is to serve as line 
management's on-site technical representative with responsibility 
for identifying and evaluating environmental, safety and health 
issues, diagnosing root causes and recommending short-term 
compensatory measures and ultimate solutions. *Id.* As was true 
of the appellant's former position, the appellant will be 
required to conduct evaluations of facilities and operations from 
the standpoint of public/worker health and safety, industrial and 
nuclear safety, and environmental protection. *Id.* at Subtab 6. 
The new position, however, may require more responsibility for 
high hazard facilities. *Id.* Thus, it appears that the range of 
duties and work assignments that the appellant can expect in his 
new position are similar, though not precisely the same, as his 
former responsibilities and assignments.
 


The appellant has argued, however, that the agency is not in 
compliance with the instructions in the Recommendation because it 
has created a new position for him rather than placing him in an 
existing or vacant position. In the appellant's view the position 
is in reality a GS-13 because it requires a qualification period. 
CRF, Tab 7. The appellant argues further that the Board should 
reverse the agency's rejection of his application for a GS-15 
position in order to restore him to the status quo ante. *Id.*
 


Despite the appellant's claim that the agency has placed him in a 
position inconsistent with the Recommendation, he has not 
suggested that any of the positions listed as existing or vacant 
at the time of the abolishment of his former position would be 
more suitable. Additionally, to the extent that the appellant 
suggests that the agency created an unnecessary position to 
subvert the Board's compliance order, the agency's evidence shows 
the need for an additional FR on a decontamination project at the 
East Tennessee Technology Park.(6) CRF, Tab.6, Ex.4, Tab 8, Ex.3. 
Further, the requirement of additional training for the FR 
position does not, without more, require a finding that the 
appellant's assignment to this position is improper. Certainly if 
the assignment were to change the appellant's tenure sp that he 
would be viewed as a probationer, the assignment would not 
establish compliance with the Board's February 3, 2000 order. We 
do not, however, view the training period described by the agency 
here as equivalent to a probationary period. We expect the agency 
to make every effort to assist the appellant in completing the 
training and reject, as speculative, the appellant's assertion 
that the training program will provide the agency with a pretext 
for reprisal.(7) *See LaChance v. White*, 174 F.3d 1378, 1381 
(Fed. Cir. 1999) (there is a presumption that public officials 
perform their duties in good faith).
 


The appellant's additional claim that the agency is in 
noncompliance because it rejected his applications for GS-15 
positions is not appropriately before the Board in this 
compliance proceeding. The appellant himself stated that he filed 
an Individual Right of Action appeal with regard to three 
rejected applications for GS-15 positions.(8) Accordingly, we 
will not consider the matter here.
 


ORDER
 


For the reasons set forth herein, we find the agency in 
COMPLIANCE and DISMISS the petition for enforcement as moot. This 
is the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board in 
this enforcement proceeding. Title 5 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, section 1201.183(b)(3) (5 C.F.R. 1201.183(b)(3)).
 


NOTICE TO THE APPELLANT REGARDING YOUR FURTHER REVIEW RIGHTS
 


You have the right to request the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit to review this final decision. You must 
submit your request to the court at the following address:
 

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 717 
Madison Place, N.W. Washington, DC 20439
 

The court must receive your request for review no later than 60 
calendar days afer your receipt of this order. If you have a 
representative in this case and your representative receives this 
order before you do, then you must file with the court no later 
than 60 calendar days after receipt by your representative. If 
you choose to file, be very careful to file on time. The court 
has held that normally it does not have the authority to waive 
this statutory deadline and that filings that do not comply with 
the deadline must be dismissed. *See Pinat v. Office of Personnel 
Management*, 931 F.2d 1544 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
 


If you need further information about your right to appeal this 
decision to court, you should refer to the federal law that gives 
you this right. It is found in Title 5 of the United States Code, 
section 7703 (5 U.S.C. 7703). You may read this law as well as 
review other related material at our web site, 
http://www.mspb.gov
 


FOR THE BOARD:
 

Robert E. Taylor Clerk of the Board
 

Washington, D.C.
 

ENDNOTES
 

1. This appeal was consolidated with two other appeals,* Carson 
v. Department of Energy,* MSPB Docket Nos. AT-1221-98-0623-C-2 
and AT-1221-98-0948-C-2.
 
2. This appeal was consolidated with two other appeals, *Carson 
v. Department of Energy*, MSPB Docket Nos. AT-1221-98-0623-C-3 
and AT-1221-98-0948-C-3 .
 
3. The appellant filed a separate complaint with the Office of 
Special Counsel alleging that the agency's decision to abolish 
the EH Site Resident Function and direct his reassignment to 
Germantown was in retaliation for his whistleblowing. CF3, Tab 
13, Subtab B. The administrative judge expressly declined to 
address the agency's motivation in abolishing the appellant's 
function and directing his reassignment. Recommendation at 6 n.5. 

4. The appellant objected to the agency's request for an 
extension of time. CRF, Tabs 4 and 5. It appears, however, that 
the appellant's objection to the request was not received prior 
to the Board's grant of the extension. Moreover, assuming that 
the Board had received the appellant's objection prior to 
granting the extension, we find that the objections lack merit. 
The appellant's suggestion that he would be prejudiced by an 
extension of` time because it would limit his 20-day time period 
in which to respond to the agency's submission on compliance is 
based on a misinterpretation of 5 C.F.R. 1201.183(a)(7). See CRF, 
Tab 4. In any event, the appellant's objection is moot because he 
has responded to all of the agency's submissions on compliance. 
While the appellant is correct that 5 C.F.R. 1201.183(a)(2) 
requires the agency to submit the name of the agency official 
charged with complying with the Board's order, the agency's 
failure to supply the name does not in and of itself require that 
the Board deny an extension of time request.
 
5. The administrative judge noted that the Board's final order of 
February 3, 2000 did not specifically order the appellant be 
returned to the status quo ante. CF3, Tab 14, Rec. at n.4. 
Nevertheless, he discussed the agency's obligation to comply with 
a status quo ante order or show that overriding circumstances 
precluded reinstatement according to the terms of Board's order.
 
6. The appellant requested that the Board reject the agency's 
response to his arguments of noncompliance on the basis that the 
Board did not specifically request the response and the 
regulations do not provide for such a response. CRF, Tab 9. The 
Board has held, however, that it is permissible for an agency to 
offer a supplemental explanation of its compliance efforts. 
*McDonough v. U.S.. Postal Service*, 60 M.S.P.R. 122, 125 (1993).
 
7. Given the cost of the training it is in the agency's interest 
to ensure that the appellant successfully completes it. CRF, Tab 
8, Subtab 3. Additionally, the leader of the FR Group states that 
to his knowledge all of the individuals who have entered the FR 
training program have successfully completed it. *Id.* The 
appellant is well aware of his appeal rights in any event.
 
8. *Carson v. Department of Energy*, AT-1221-01-0025-W-1
   
      
Questions or comments?  Contact Joseph P. Carson, P.E.

*****************************************************************
 8  Bush 'Will Restart Nuclear Tests'
 
May 9, 02:00 PM
       
Must resume testing

Teams of high-level US officials are in Europe and Asia this week 
trying to sell Bush's new approach to the nuclear weapons issue, 
in particular his Son of Star Wars programme.

The president has said the national missile umbrella will allow 
him to make cuts in America's huge stockpile of nuclear weapons, 
even if Russia or other countries are not willing to reciprocate.

But Gaffney, a former defence official and prominent conservative 
analyst, said the US needed to make sure its nuclear forces were 
"modern, safe and reliable... Toward that end, we're going to 
have to resume on a limited basis underground testing of our 
nuclear arms".
 
Covert tests

The United States has not tested nuclear weapons since 1992, and 
China, Britain, France and Russia are publicly committed to a 
moratorium. But Gaffney said he believed Russia and China had 
"covertly tested."

The US has blocked efforts to draw up a formal agreement based on 
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In 1999 the Senate voted 
against ratifying the pact. 

Bush opposes the treaty, but has said he will not test, and says 
he will cut the nuclear arsenal to the "lowest possible number 
consistent with our national security".

But Gaffney said: "I think you're going to find that (Bush's) 
nuclear posture review is going to conclude that this (testing) 
has to be part of a revised approach." He added that missile cuts 
would be no more extensive than those promised by Bill Clinton.
 
Copyright © 2001 BSkyB. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination
Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.   
*****************************************************************
 9  NGO calls for Korean nuclear-free zone 

[The Japan Times Online]       

May 11, 2001   
  	
Japanese delegation hopes to establish sister cities in North Korea 

By ERIKO ARITA 
Staff writer 

A group of people trying to increase the number of "nuclear-free 
municipalities" in Japan is planning to visit North Korea in 
August to promote exchanges at a grassroots level and discuss the 
possibility of establishing a nuclear-free zone on the Korean 
Peninsula.

 They hope their effort will rev up the effort to normalize ties 
between Japan and North Korea and bring the two countries closer 
together on a more personal level.

 "The normalization talks seem stalled at the central government 
level," said Masaru Nishida, chairman of the Nuclear-Free Zone 
Citizens Network Japan. "If people directly talk with each other, 
they would know that everybody loves peace," he said.

 Nishida believes that local governments should have their own 
diplomacy and that the delegation can help break the political 
deadlock.

 The delegation being arranged by the Tokyo-based nongovernmental 
organization includes people from nuclear-free municipalities 
across Japan -- 30 prefectures and 2,525 cities, towns and 
villages have made declarations aimed at abolishing nuclear 
weapons.

 During the six-day trip scheduled to start in early August, the 
group plans to visit Pyongyang, Kesong and Panmunjom and meet 
with a group called Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of 
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which meets with 
private citizens from other countries.

 Nishida, a 72-year-old literary critic and former professor at 
Hosei University in Tokyo, took a similar delegation to North 
Korea in 1987 and has been active in expanding and networking 
nuclear-free municipalities in Japan and abroad since the 1980s.

 He hopes the second visit will lead to a sister-city arrangement 
between the two countries, which he believes will help pave the 
way to normalized bilateral relations and eventually eliminate 
the threat of a nuclear war in Northeast Asia.

 However, some question whether local autonomy exists in North 
Korea, which is known for its centralized administrative 
framework and inscrutable power structure. In addition, there is 
some doubt about whether a sister-city tie can be formed with a 
city in North Korea if there are no official diplomatic ties 
between the countries.

 Nishida also thought it might be difficult to discuss the issue 
with North Koreans, but he said that he has been encouraged by an 
official of the city of Kesong whom he met on his first visit and 
who was enthusiastic about the sister-city program.

 In a separate diplomatic move, the city of Sakaiminato, Tottori 
Prefecture, linked up with the city of Wonsan in what is the sole 
sister-city relation between the two countries, according to the 
Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, an 
organization jointly run by local governments in Japan.

 The ties are growing stronger thanks to marine trade, the city 
said.

 "Now is a time of 'global localism.' " Nishida said. "I am 
talking with chiefs of Japanese municipalities who believe that 
municipalities should be involved in peace-building, and asking 
them to form sister-city relations with cities in North Korea."

 Nishida emphasized that personal exchanges could prove to be a 
powerful bilateral security measure.

 In discussing the building of a nuclear-free zone covering the 
Korean Peninsula and Japan, the delegation is planning to hold a 
forum with the Korean Anti-nuke Peace Committee, an organization 
that communicates with foreign antinuclear groups.

 "In the forum, I want to confirm a joint declaration of North 
and South Korea (made in 1992). Then I want to ask them what they 
think of the idea of building a nuclear-free zone and how to 
establish it," Nishida said, acknowledging that some Western 
countries suspect North Korea has developed a nuclear bomb.

 In 1992, North and South Korea announced the Joint Declaration 
on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. A decade before, 
the late Kim Il Sung, the North's founding father, made a joint 
declaration with the then Social Democratic Party of Japan in 
1981 on establishing a nuclear-free zone in northeast Asia. 

Currently, every country in the Southern Hemisphere is covered by 
at least one of several nuclear-free treaties. Although these 
treaties would not be fully effective unless states possessing 
nuclear weapons sign relevant protocols, there are growing voices 
in the international community to expand the zones to cover the 
Northern Hemisphere.

 "By expanding nuclear-free zones, where countries neither own 
nor produce nuclear weapons, I believe we can take firm steps 
forward toward eliminating nuclear weapons from our planet," 
Nishida said.

 Following a rapid decrease in tension on the Korean Peninsula 
after the historic meeting in June between South Korean President 
Kim Dae Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Nishida hopes 
building a nuclear-free zone in the area will contribute to 
eliminating the remnants of the Cold War in Northeast Asia.

 During the visit, the delegation is also planning to meet with 
North Korean survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and 
Nagasaki. Japanese government researchers said in March that more 
than 900 Koreans who were exposed to radiation in the bombings in 
August 1945 now live in the North.

 "We should urge the Japanese government to pay compensation to 
the victims. But to do this, we need to form diplomatic 
relations," Nishida said.
 
*Interested people can join the delegation. For more information, 
call Katsuaki Kimura (Japanese only), the secretariat of the 
delegation, at (03) 3338-3718.

Peace Boat cruise A Japanese nongovernmental organization 
promoting peace, human rights and environmental issues will 
launch a cruise in August to both North and South Korea, 
according to tour organizers.

 Officials of Peace Boat, which has sponsored global cruises on 
chartered passenger ships since 1983, said this joint visit to 
both North and South Korea will be the first ever.

 Organizers said the ship in this voyage, with a capacity of 600, 
will leave Kobe port on Aug. 27 and call at Nampo in North Korea 
and then South Korea's Inchon before sailing back to Tokyo on 
Sept. 8.

 Participants in the cruise plan to visit and observe the 38th 
parallel from both the North and South Korean sides. The parallel 
is the demarcation line between North and South Korea, which are 
still technically at war.

 Organizers said they plan to conduct exchanges with students at 
Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies.

 They also plan to hold an international conference on board 
about producing history textbooks common to Asia, and invite 
educators from countries that include the Philippines, China and 
Vietnam.

 "Such citizen-level exchanges are crucial, precisely at a time 
when big issues such as history textbooks are being taken up," 
said staff member Daini Nakahara.
 
The Japan Times: May 11, 2001
*****************************************************************
 10   German School Damaged by Rounds
 
May 09, 2001 

BERLIN- The U.S. Army admitted Wednesday that it had misfired two 
training rounds, which hit and slightly damaged the roof of a 
southern German elementary school where children were playing in 
the yard. 

Classes were over for the day Tuesday when the rounds hit in the 
town of Kirchenthumbach, said Mayor Johann Kleber, and no one was 
injured. The town is a half-mile from the edge of the Army's 
largest European training range at Grafenwoehr. 

The Army apologized for the incident and launched an 
investigation. "This is really a rare incident, and it's bad," 
said Capt. Jeff Settle, public affairs officer for the 7th Army 
Training Command. "That it hit a school, of all things, is 
terrible." 

The incident occurred during live-fire training. The rounds 
involved were 25 mm aluminum training rounds. 

"They were not high explosive, they were not depleted uranium," 
Settle said. It remained unclear Wednesday how the accident 
occurred, Settle said. But the rounds, fired about two miles from 
the school, "went in the wrong direction." 

"It's the first time I know of that there's been a misfire by the 
U.S. Army," Kleber said. "It's in the interests of both sides to 
clear this up" and discuss ways to prevent future accidents. 

Although relations between the Army and town residents remain 
predominantly good, there is growing concern about military 
safety standards. It was revealed last year that depleted uranium 
rounds - which is alleged to have caused illness among several 
former soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Balkans - had been 
fired at the training grounds. 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 11  Downwinders, miners plan to sue over delayed compensation
 
*Wednesday, May 9, 2001*
 
By ROBERT GEHRKE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- Sick uranium miners and residents exposed to 
fallout from the Cold War nuclear weapons tests plan to ask a 
federal judge to order the Justice Department to make good on 
promised compensation.
 
Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990 
to make lump-sum payments to the miners and "downwinders" 
suffering from a variety of ailments as a result of radiation 
exposure.
 
The program was expanded in 2000 to cover more workers and more 
illnesses, but Congress didn't appropriate enough money to cover 
the additional claimants. Last summer, the Justice Department, 
which administers the RECA program, began issuing IOUs to those 
qualifying for payments. Many have died while awaiting payment.
 
Now, Dine Citizens Against Ruining the Environment and several 
groups representing Navajo uranium miners are preparing a lawsuit 
asking a judge to force the Justice Department to speed payment 
of approved claims and to put together rules to implement the 
broadened program. "Dine" is the Navajo word for "the people," 
the term the Navajo use to refer to themselves.
 
"Unfortunately, the DOJ has dragged its feet ... so there is a 
large number of individuals who would now be eligible for a 
payment who are not able to pursue that payment," said Steve 
Sugarman, the attorney preparing the case.
 
The suit may be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., 
as early as Thursday, Sugarman said.
 
Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said he could not 
comment until the lawsuit is filed.
 
"If and when it is filed we'll have to take a look at it," he 
said.
 
The budget proposed by President Bush includes $710 million over 
the next 11 years to cover the claims, but that money wouldn't be 
available until October, when the new fiscal year begins.
 
Several members of Congress are pushing for $84 million in 
supplemental funding for this year.
 
To qualify for RECA, miners must have worked for at least four 
years in uranium mines between World War II and 1971 and have 
lung cancer or one of several other ailments linked to radiation 
exposure.
 
Many of the mines were in the Four Corners area where Utah, 
Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet, and many of the miners 
were Navajo Indians from the area.
 
The act also covers "Downwinders" -- those who lived in areas of 
Nevada, Utah and Arizona where radioactive fallout from nuclear 
weapons tests in southern Nevada settled.
 
Those who do qualify can receive payments of $100,000. Under a 
defense bill passed last year, ill miners can receive an 
additional $50,000.
 
Through mid-March, the Justice Department had approved 3,637 
claims, most of them former miners, and awarded more than $270 
million.
 
"As far as I know we have expended almost every dime we were 
given for 2001," Miller said.
 
Justice Department's Radiation Exposure Compensation Program: 
www.usdoj.gov/civil/torts/const/reca/index.htm

DINE Care: dinecare.indigenousnative.org/

©1999-2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
*****************************************************************
 12  Native groups to sue Ashcroft over miners' IOUs

KnoxNews.com - News - Latest Washington News
 
 *By M.E. SPRENGELMEYER*
 *Scripps Howard News Service*
 *May 08, 2001*

 WASHINGTON -   Native American groups plan to sue Attorney 
General John Ashcroft to end what they call "coordinated neglect" 
of former uranium miners and others who are dying with unpaid 
government IOUs.

        A coalition of groups from Western states plans to file a 
lawsuit in U.S. District Court this week accusing the Justice 
Department of violating the law by delaying payments under the 
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

        The program's trust fund ran out of money last year and 
the Justice Department began sending IOU letters.

        Although President Bush has proposed full funding 
starting next fiscal year and several members of Congress have 
proposed $84 million in emergency funding, it could take until 
the fall before 179 current IOU holders and hundreds more with 
pending claims can be paid.

        "We see deliberate stalling here, and meanwhile people 
are dying," said Lori Goodman of Durango, Colo., spokeswoman for 
Dine C.A.R.E. (Citizens Against Ruining the Environment), a 
Navajo rights group that is joining the lawsuit. "We've lost 
hope, just as the victims themselves have lost hope. We feel 
nothing is going to happen and they need to be pushed harder."

        "Dine" (pronounced DEE-nuh) is a term that Navajo use to 
describe themselves.

        A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the 
expected lawsuit.

        Goodman said it would be filed later this week by Dine 
C.A.R.E., Utah Navajo Downwinders, Northern Arizona Navajo 
Downwinders, Eastern Navajo Agency Uranium Workers and individual 
plaintiffs from New Mexico and Arizona.

        Plaintiffs want a judge to declare the Justice Department 
in violation of the law for not paying the already approved 
claims, and for delaying implementation of amendments to the law 
that Congress approved last year.

        Those changes expanded the number of people who could 
apply for benefits, letting uranium millers and transporters 
apply for the first time, and including areas of Utah and Arizona 
where people downwind of nuclear tests contracted illnesses.

        The Justice Department was supposed to publish 
regulations by Jan. 6, but even with a change in presidential 
administrations would-be applicants are still waiting.

        Plaintiffs want a judge to set firm deadlines for paying 
the IOU holders and getting the new regulations in place so 
others can apply, said plaintiffs attorney Bruce Baizel.

        "The longer they delay, the more people die off," Baizel 
said. "In the world of Washington, delay is the normal course of 
events."
 
              (Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service.)
 
  [E.W. Scripps]     Copyright © 2000 Scripps Howard News Service 
Copyright © 1999-2000, The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. All Rights 
*****************************************************************
 13  New Scientist: Nuclear boom
 		
Attempts to smuggle radioactive materials have doubled over the 
past five years, boosting fears of nuclear terrorism Exclusive 
from New Scientist magazine 
			 			
 			 				 
Attempts to smuggle radioactive materials have doubled over the 
past five years, according to figures released this week by the 
UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. The revelations bolster 
fears that the threat of nuclear terrorism is increasing.
 
The IAEA's database on trafficking in nuclear materials has 
logged more than 550 incidents since 1993, it revealed at a 
conference in Stockholm. The rate of incidents in 1999 and 2000 
was twice that in 1996. In the first three months of 2001, there 
were 20 confirmed cases, including thefts in Germany, Romania, 
South Africa and Mexico.
 
The majority of cases involved the movement of materials which 
could not be made into bombs, such as contaminated scrap metal or 
radioactive sources. But 15 instances since 1993 involved 
plutonium or enriched uranium, which could be used in bombs. 

No single consignment has so far contained enough for a bomb, but 
the most worrying to the IAEA was the seizure of nearly a 
kilogram of enriched uranium in April last year in the former 
Soviet republic of Georgia.
 

Staggering legacy
 

The risk of nuclear terrorism is "the worst of all nightmares", 
says Morten Bremer Maerli of the Norwegian Institute of 
International Affairs in Oslo. The cold war has left the world 
with "a staggering legacy" of 3 million kilograms of fissile 
material, he says - enough for a quarter of a million bombs.
 
Maerli says two of the most notorious terrorist groups - Osama 
bin Laden's Al-Qaida in Afghanistan and the Aum Shrinrikyo cult 
in Japan - -have been trying to acquire a nuclear capability. 

Alex Schmid of the UN's Terrorism Prevention Branch suggests that 
there could be as many as 130 terrorist groups that pose a 
nuclear threat. "Vigorous efforts need to be made to keep the 
nuclear genie in the bottle and out of the hands of terrorists," 
he says.
 
1900 GMT, 9 May 2001 Rob Edwards, Stockholm                                                                           
*****************************************************************
 14  Unknown dangers at IAAP   

The Hawk Eye Special: IAAP
 
May 10, 2001

Grassley joins call for Army plant flyover 

By Dennis J. Carroll 
The Hawk Eye 

nÊDetection equipment in a low-flying aircraft could identify 
radiation that might be present. 

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, added his voice Wednesday to the 
call for a low-level flyover of the Middletown munitions plant to 
determine whether there are any hidden dangers from radiation. 

"If it's as simple as having a flyover and the equipment is 
available, it would be idiotic not to do it, in other words a 
no-brainer," Grassley said. The senator's remarks come in the 
wake of a March report by the federal Department of Health and 
Human Services that was unable to determine whether Atomic Energy 
Commission operations at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant pose a 
current risk to public health at the plant or in areas around it. 

From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, the AEC assembled, tested 
and later disassembled components of nuclear weapons. 

The report, conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry, reaffirmed that the AEC released radioactive 
materials into the environment in the late '60s and early '70s. 
The report noted that workers handled such radioactive materials 
as plutonium, enriched uranium, radium and tritium. Poring over 
documents supplied by the Army, the health investigators said 
there were too many gaps and inadequate information to determine 
the impact on public health. 

Grassley, speaking by phone with Iowa reporters, said he 
supported calls by Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin and Donald 
Flater of the Iowa Department of Public Health for a flyover of 
the plant's entire 19,000 acres. 

Harkin has demanded that Army officials "find and clean up" all 
contamination. Flater said the Army and Department of Energy have 
been approaching the problem backwards by trying to determine 
what dangers may exist by attempting to reconstruct the history 
of AEC operations rather then using available technology to 
determine possible dangers. 

"We don't know what's out there," Flater has said, citing several 
surprise findings by Army Corps of Engineers cleanup crews -- 
including tons of highly toxic barium at a waste disposal site 
and depleted uranium at a weapons testing location. 

Flater has said special radiation-detection equipment in a 
low-flying aircraft would be able to isolate different forms of 
radiation that might be present. The cost of the flyover has been 
estimated at between $500,000 and $1 million. Said Grassley: "We 
ought to be finding out if it's a safe place to work. I think we 
ought to take extraordinary action. 

"I think (the flyover) is a perfectly legitimate thing to 
request, a perfectly legitimate thing to do, and I don't see any 
reason why it isn't done already." He also said the private 
contractor that operates the plant, American Orndance, "might 
have some responsibility to make sure it's a safe place." 
Grassley said if there is a question of safety "then workers 
themselves are going to have to make up their minds (whether) 
they want to work there or not." 

800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk ' 
' '| ' ' '319-754-6824 FAX ' ' '| ' ' ' 1-800-397-1708 Outside 
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 15  Hanford pipefitters appeal termination case
 
This story was published Wed, May 9, 2001
 By John Stang Herald staff writer 

Eleven former Hanford pipefitters are appealing a judge's 
decision to move their case from a jury trial to an arbitrator.
 
They filed their appeal Tuesday in the state Court of Appeals in 
Spokane to try to overturn Judge Carolyn Brown's ruling Thursday 
in Benton County Superior Court.
 
A trial was scheduled to begin this week on whether Fluor Federal 
Services wrongfully fired the pipefitters in retaliation for 
raising safety concerns in 1997.
 
Fluor Federal Services, which was Fluor Daniel Northwest in 1997, 
denies the allegations.
 
If the pipefitters, represented by the Government Accountability 
Project, lose the appeal, their case will go to an arbitrator 
selected from a federally sponsored panel.
 
This is the latest development in a see-saw legal battle between 
the pipefitters and Fluor Federal in which both sides have won 
and lost rounds in the federal administrative law arena.
 
The clash originated in May 1997 at Hanford's 200 Area when a 
pipefitting crew balked at participating in a hydraulic pressure 
test with a pipe valve they feared was unsafe. The crew members 
also raised concerns about possible overexposure to X-rays from 
tests on pipe welds. And they questioned a trench's safety 
classification being based on a phone conversation, instead of an 
on-site inspection.
 
The pipefitters and some supporters were later laid off, and they 
contend it was in retaliation for raising their concerns.
 
Fluor Federal says the layoffs were part of job fluctuations of 
construction work at Hanford. Fluor denies any retaliation was 
involved, said company spokesman Jerry Holloway.
 
The pipefitters filed a lawsuit in Benton County Superior Court 
in August 1999, seeking lost pay and unspecified damages.
 
The case originally was scheduled to go to trial in September 
2000, but a lack of courtroom space postponed it. Meanwhile, 
Fluor Federal's attorneys have long argued this case should go to 
arbitration because the collective bargaining agreement between 
Fluor and the pipefitters' union.
 
Last week, Brown ruled that a March 21 U.S. Supreme Court 
decision on an unrelated California case backed Fluor's 
contention to send the case to arbitration.
 
That is what GAP wants to appear, arguing Hanford's union 
employees should not be banned from taking their legal grievances 
and complaints to court, said Tom Carpenter, a GAP attorney.
 
Randi Walli, one of the former pipefitters, said: "Without a 
trial, we're left swinging in the wind, and workers will be 
afraid to report safety problems that could turn into nuclear 
disasters." 

Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 16  State balks at cleanup delay
 
This story was published Wed, May 9, 2001
 By John Stang Herald staff writer 

The state recently told Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham it won't 
accept any delays in Tri-Party Agreement deadlines when the 
Department of Energy overhauls its cleanup programs and 
timetables.
 
Tom Fitzsimmons, director of Washington's Department of Ecology, 
sent an April 24 letter to Abraham repeating that long-held state 
stance after DOE hinted it might want to modify its cleanup 
agreements with Washington and other states.
 
The state's letter came after Abraham sent an April 4 letter to 
Gov. Gary Locke that said DOE wants to join the states in finding 
"ways to improve the compliance framework that governs much of 
our (cleanup) work."
 
Abraham wants to do a "top-to-bottom" review of DOE's nationwide 
cleanup programs to trim the 70-year, $300 billion estimate to 
take care of all of DOE's contaminated old Cold War production 
sites.
 
So far, DOE has released no details or timetables on how it wants 
to tackle such a review.
 
In the past, Abraham also has mentioned meeting with the 
governors of states with DOE sites on how to coordinate and 
overhaul the states' and federal government's approaches to 
nationwide nuclear cleanup.
 
Many of these states and the Environmental Protection Agency have 
legal cleanup agreements that are similar to the Tri-Party 
Agreement among Washington state, the EPA and DOE for Hanford's 
cleanup.
 
On April 4, Abraham wrote that he directed Carolyn Huntoon, DOE's 
acting cleanup czar, who is scheduled to be replaced soon, to 
lead a study on how national cleanup projects can be done safely, 
on schedule and within budget.
 
However, Abraham's first DOE budget request to Congress proposes 
trimming Hanford's 2002 budget by $56 million to $1.4 billion, 
which would be at least $469 million less than what the site 
needs to meet its legal obligations.
 
That proposed budget includes $500 million for Hanford's key tank 
waste glassification project, which is $190 million short of what 
is needed to meet its Tri-Party Agreement deadlines.
 
Meanwhile, Fitzsimmons wrote on April 24 that the state already 
has cut DOE a lot of slack on meeting its legal obligations. He 
said the Tri-Party Agreement and similar pacts in other states 
already give DOE extra time to meet federal and state laws "that 
everyone else has had to comply with for many years. Compliance 
is not discretionary."
 
The state's letter blames much of the current cleanup delays on 
DOE underfunding projects and routinely changing the directions 
of its efforts. 

Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights 
*****************************************************************
 17  Fluor's Ron Hanson leaves needed stability
 
Published May 9, 2001
 
In mid-1998, Fluor Hanford had been Hanford's primary contractor 
for about 18 months, a period racked with operational problems, 
talk of Fluor moving out of the government business and 
unsettling turnover in the company's CEO spot.
 
That's when Ron Hanson arrived. After Fluor Hanford's first 
president moved on after 17 months and the second left after six 
weeks, Hanson moved up from his position as deputy president to 
take over the helm.
 
Now, Hanson is leaving his post to take over the Fluor Corp. 
Washington, D.C., office. This month, he's handing off the 
Hanford job to E. Keith Thomson, a senior vice president with 
Fluor Corp.
 
When Hanson took over the Hanford job, he knew he would have 
something to prove. And he has.
 
Quickly, he rededicated himself and Fluor Hanford to the job, 
making promises of stability to employees and the community, and 
shook up the company's approach to meeting its contract 
obligations for new job creation. 

Although Fluor has encountered some problems with its massive 
responsibilities of spearheading cleanup on Hanford's central 
plateau, including the troublesome K Basins, overall the company 
has found its foothold.
 
Eschewing rumors it wanted out of the government business, Fluor 
Corp. recommitted itself to government work and expanded its 
business.
 
And Fluor Hanford's performance was good enough for the 
Department of Energy to extend its contract, set to expire Sept. 
30, through 2006. Its 2000 performance, which included the first 
shipment of spent nuclear fuel out of the K Basins, received 
overall good marks, earning the company about 58 percent of its 
award fee - or about $19.9 million.
 
Meanwhile, Hanson redirected the company's approach to its 
economic development promises, which were key to the Fluor-led 
group's successful bid for the Hanford contract in 1996. 

While some in the community quibble with Fluor and the Energy 
Department over which jobs to count, Fluor claims that as of last 
September, it had helped to create about 2,600 of the 3,000 jobs 
it had promised under its original contract. Although the 
contract extension contains no specific targets for new job 
creation, Hanson had pledged to continue to work toward that 
goal. It's a commitment Thomson also should embrace.
 
If Hanson stepped into turmoil in mid-1998, Thomson is stepping 
into relative calm, but not an easy job. Fluor Hanford's 
challenge is great, and Thomson will have to continue - and 
expand on - the company's success. We wish him the best of luck.
 
As for Hanson, we commend his record at Hanford and wish him 
success in his new job. What's your opinon? 

Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This 
*****************************************************************
 18  DOE: SSAB vote does not count 

Oak Ridger Online --> 

Story last updated at 1:19 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2001

by Paul Parson 
Oak Ridger staff 

It appeared to those attending Wednesday night's Oak Ridge 
Site-Specific Advisory Board that the group's vote to endorse a 
series of recommendations dealing with workforce restructuring 
issues passed.

 But Department of Energy officials have determined the vote did 
not count.

 The Site-Specific Advisory Board is a federally appointed 
citizens' panel that provides advice and recommendations to DOE 
on its Oak Ridge environmental management program. The group was 
formed in 1995 and chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act.

 During its meeting at the Garden Plaza hotel, the advisory group 
voted 5-4 to endorse the recommendations, while six people 
abstained due to various reasons. The breakdown of votes is as 
follows:
 
* Voting to support the recommendations -- Jake Alexander, John 
Kennerly, David Mosby, Scott Vowell and Charles Washington.
 
* Voting not to support the recommendations -- Steve Lewis, John 
Million, Lorene Sigal and Kerry Trammell.
 
* Abstaining -- Luther Gibson, Steve Kopp, Bill Pardue, Pat Rush, 
Peery Shaffer and Corkie Staley.

 Several of those voting "no" said the recommendations were out 
of the realm of the SSAB's mission.

 However, Pat Halsey, federal coordinator for the SSAB, said this 
morning that the vote did not count due to the SSAB's 
decision-making policy.

 The policy states SSAB recommendations to DOE "shall require a 
majority vote of the entire board membership or a two-thirds vote 
of those present and voting, whichever is larger. The majority 
rule (10 members voting) would have applied to Wednesday night's 
vote, but only nine people actually voted.

 The workforce restructuring recommendations, for the most part, 
are similar to those endorsed in March by the Oak Ridge 
Reservation Local Oversight Committee.

 The SSAB's recommendations call for DOE and its contractors to 
assist laid-off workers in locating new jobs internally 
consistent with their experience, to set standards for 
"consistent" treatment of laid-off workers, including a proper 
notification period, and to enforce the Cold War Worker 3161 
hiring preference.

 The 3161 hiring preference is a federal law that gives laid-off 
workers preference for job openings.

 Also, the recommendations state DOE should provide detailed data 
relating to layoffs, including an analysis of trends relating to 
age, company service and eligibility for retirement.

 The recommendations were drafted by Susan Kaplan, a member of 
the Citizens' Advisory Panel of the Oak Ridge Reservation Local 
Oversight Committee, and several laid-off workers, who have 
formed the Organization for Retired and Displaced Employee Relief 
committee.

 The committee serves as an advisory panel to Kaplan's nonprofit 
agency, the Institute for Technology, Social and Policy Awareness 
Inc.

 Kaplan said this morning she was disappointed that Wednesday 
night's vote did not count. She said ORDER is working out the 
details of a planned Freedom of Information Act request for 
layoff data.

 "It really is a very complex subject and I've had to do a lot of 
research to understand the issues enough to know what to ask for 
and to tell DOE exactly how I want the data presented," she said.

 "In addition, I am in the process of writing letters requesting 
certain specific high-priority actions that need to be taken for 
those forced out of their jobs, such as bridging the health 
insurance benefit for those who are bridged for their pension 
benefit."

 For more information about the SSAB, visit its Web site at 

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