LAS VEGAS SUN
A jet-fuel pipeline is being tested in the wake of 14 cases of
childhood leukemia diagnosed over the past three years in Fallon.
A Houston company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, owns the fuel
line leading into Fallon, a rural community 50 miles east of
Reno. The company's vice president, Bill White, said Monday that
a portion of the line is being checked for leaks.
White said his company has hired Tracer Research Corp. of
Tucson, Ariz., to look for leaks or seeps of jet fuel in a
15-mile segment of the 63-mile-long pipe leading into the Fallon
Naval Air Station.
Jet fuel is a suspect in the 14 cases of leukemia in children
ranging in age from 2 to 19 years old. Other suspected causes
range from pesticide exposure to radiation and even household
products, Nevada health officials have said.
Tracer Research crews were injecting a nontoxic, nonradioactive
tracer into the gas line late Monday, Pierce said. The test,
which poses no danger to the public, can detect very small leaks.
It will take about two weeks to complete the test and results are
expected at the end of the month.
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection approved the
inert substance inserted into the pipeline.
Kinder Morgan purchased the Fallon pipeline in March 1998. Since
then, the company has not discovered any leaks, and a search of
past records does not indicate a fuel leak, spokesman Larry
Pierce said.
"What we are doing is something above and beyond what we
normally do for pipeline maintenance," Pierce said.
A minor spill did occur at the air station during routine
maintenance in December 1998, when jet fuel was being transferred
from the pipeline to a truck. About 20 to 40 gallons of the fuel
spilled onto the ground. The contaminated soil was removed
immediately.
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
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4 ORNL's military research role could be on the rise
July 9, 2001
By Frank Munger News-Sentinel senior writer
Al Trivelpiece, former director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
used to get irritated when people (such as myself) referred to
ORNL as a non-defense lab in order to differentiate it from the
weapons labs -- Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia.
Trivelpiece thought it was inappropriate to define the laboratory
by what it isn't. He preferred, as I recollect, that ORNL be
called a multipurpose research lab or something like that.
Anyway, with that disclaimer out of the way, I now can begin
today's column. ORNL is not a defense laboratory, but it does
some work for the military. In fact, it would be surprising if
that military involvement didn't grow in the years ahead.
As the Pentagon talks about revising its strategy for military
preparedness, the emerging plan will depend heavily on science
and technology. The national laboratories, with ORNL near the
forefront, are likely to be important players.
The Oak Ridge lab, of course, doesn't design advanced weaponry
(at least not that I know of), but it's one of the world's top
research centers for advanced materials -- including the strong,
lightweight materials that will be required for the battlefields
of tomorrow.
ORNL has hosted Army brass on a number of occasions in the past
few years, shown off the lab's broad-based capabilities and
discussed specific projects or collaborations.
"It all relates to the Army's transformation program, trying to
modernize facilities and equipment," said Dick Davis, a program
manager in the lab's national security directorate. "That
involves finding a replacement for heavy armored vehicles, like
tanks, and going to a much more decentralized, flexible,
responsive force that can be moved anywhere in the world via air
transport and still be a lethal force."
Besides ORNL's work on lightweight ceramic armor, other likely
contributions include new-generation fuel cells, telerobotics and
advanced sensors to minimize the need for human personnel on the
battlefield, and computer modeling and simulation.
The Army spends about $6 million annually to co-sponsor some
projects at ORNL, but that could ramp up in the years ahead,
Davis said.
"I certainly think we're helping them with the overall vision of
where they're going, making sure they understand the availability
of technology and how that impacts everything," he said.
* * *
About 1,500 people turned out for four "town hall" meetings
recently in Oak Ridge to learn about the compensation program for
those with illnesses linked to working at the government's
nuclear facilities.
The U.S. Labor Department, which co-hosted the meetings and which
will process the compensation claims, is pretty much an unknown
entity in the Atomic City, and there are plenty of questions to
be answered.
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao initially balked at administering the
complicated, high-profile program, which so far seems to have
satisfied no one.
Still there is some hope that the Department of Labor will be
better than the Department of Energy, which is generally
distrusted because of its historic role in disputing work-related
illnesses.
Perhaps the smartest move by Labor was hiring David Michaels, the
epidemiologist hired by DOE during the Clinton administration to
head the safety and health program and try to forge a
relationship with sick workers and the legion of critics.
Michaels was unable to deliver help in a timely way, but he
listened to the stories of workers and former workers and became
their forceful advocate. Not coincidentally, the DOE acknowledged
for the first time that the workplace conditions at the federal
nuclear facilities made people sick.
It's not terribly clear, at this point, what role Michaels will
play as the Labor Department sorts through the claims process and
attempts to decide who is eligible for $150,000 lump-sum payments
and long-term medical care.
Officially, Michaels will be a consultant and that could mean
anything, a little or a lot. Perhaps, at a minimum, he can
contribute a much-needed boost of credibility to the program.
The next round of Oak Ridge meetings on the compensation program
will be held July 12. The public sessions will begin at 1 and 7
p.m. at the American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 S. Tulane
Ave.
Senior writer Frank Munger can be reached at 482-9213 or by
e-mail at twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. This weekly column on science
and technology also is available on our Web site at
http://www.knoxnews.com/science/munger/.
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5 Activists, residents tour weapons facility
Web posted Tuesday, July 10, 2001
11:13 p.m.
By Brandon Haddock
Staff Writer
Savannah River Site opened its gates Monday to some people
concerned about plans for its future.
More than 20 activists and interested residents toured the
federal nuclear-weapons site to learn more about plans to
manufacture plutonium-based nuclear-reactor fuels there.
''Normally, what we hear is from the U.S. Department of Energy's
headquarters, and we would like to hear directly from SRS on the
ground floor about what's going on with the plutonium-disposition
program,'' said Tom Clements, the executive director of the
Nuclear Control Institute in Washington.
Mr. Clements was an organizer of Monday's tour, which also
included representatives from Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League, Georgians Against Nuclear Energy, Carolina Peace Resource
Center, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Alliance for
Nuclear Accountability.
Cheryl Jay wasn't a member of any of those groups. The Savannah
resident came to investigate the site on her own.
''I'm very interested in what's going on at SRS,'' said Ms. Jay,
who said she began monitoring the site after it spilled
radioactive tritium into the Savannah River in 1991. ''I wanted
to come here to get a better grasp of the issues.''
Ms. Jay said she wasn't impressed by plans to build a
multibillion-dollar mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel-fabrication
facility at SRS. The plant is intended to rid the nation of at
least 36 tons of dangerous weapons-grade plutonium by using it in
fuel for nuclear-power plants.
But some observers, including Ms. Jay, regard the plan as
dangerous and too expensive.
''I think it's kind of a taxpayer ripoff,'' she said.
Many of Ms. Jay's fellow site tourists shared her view.
''I'm not against the site or against work being accomplished
here,'' said Harry Rogers, the nuclear issues coordinator for the
Carolina Peace Resource Center in Columbia. ''They could have
gone after responsible missions, but instead went after something
that's going to make it worse here.''
The site often gives tours to people who oppose the site or its
work, an SRS spokesman said.
''It's always good to hear different perspectives on site
operations and activities,'' spokesman Rick Ford said.
A botched stop on the tour did little to help the site's case.
SRS workers failed to monitor the group for radiation exposure
when they left the site's F-Area ''tank farm,'' where highly
radioactive liquid waste is stored in underground tanks.
The group was checked at the tour's end, and no one tested
positive for radioactive contamination. But the incident, which
Mr. Clements called ''appalling,'' caused concern among many
members of the group.
Site officials acknowledged their error.
''It was a mistake in our logistics plan,'' Mr. Ford said. ''We
did not intend for them to get off the bus.''
Reach Brandon Haddock at (706) 823-3409 or
bhaddock@augustachronicle.com.
All contents ©1996 - 2001 The Augusta Chronicle. All rights
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6 New Zealand DNA testing on servicement
NZOOM - ONE News - National
New Zealand servicemen are hoping cutting edge DNA testing will
prove they have suffered radiation poisoning when witnessing
British nuclear tests nearly 50 years ago.
Hundreds of Kiwi veterans witnessed nuclear weapons tests in the
Pacific and the Australian outback - now, for the first time,
their DNA will be examined to see if it helps their compensation
case.
The vets have been fighting for compensation for years, and hope
the outcome of the DNA tests will help their case by proving once
and for all their health has suffered from exposure to radiation.
Dr Al Rowland, of Massey University's Molecular Biosciences, is
one of the scientists conducting the tests.
"There is a strong correlation between radiation exposure,
genetic damage and ill-health and we are going to do a range of
tests to try to gauge any damage that's been done to the
veterans," Rowland says.
On ONE's Breakfast, Rowland told Liz Gunn that the research will
look at any damage done to DNA repair systems.
"The research we're doing will have ramifications actually beyond
just the veterans. It will extend beyond that to other cancer
patients and other radiation workers and the long-term effects as
a result of radiation exposure," he says.
The vets have been tested before - the difference this time is
scientists will be looking at the vets' DNA for damage.
Massey University is at the forefront of chromosonal research,
but the researchers claim the British government is unhappy about
it.
"I think they are very scared of what we might find - they've
been very antagonistic towards the study," says Sue Rabbitt-Roff
of Dundee University, Scotland.
But it's been a long time coming for veterans such as Roy Sefton.
"It's part of what we've been waiting for and to be honest it's
something I never really thought I would see in my lifetime," he
says.
Some 50 nuclear test vets will be tested against a controlled
group of 50 men who did not witness the bombs.
The study will take about two years to complete - and may be just
what the vets need to finally prove their case against the
British government.
Jul 09, 2001
ONE News sourced from TVNZ, RNZ, Reuters and ['Bridge']
*****************************************************************
7 Health package available for radiation sicknesses
Explanation of compensation
Amarillo Globe-News: Local News:
2001 Amarillo Globe-News
By Jim McBride
jmcbride@amarillonet.com
Pantex's Cold War casualties will stand up and be counted
Thursday during a hearing for nuclear workers sickened by
radiation or beryllium exposure.
Droves of Pantex workers will attend meetings Thursday when Labor
Department officials will explain a new compensation package for
sick workers or their survivors. The meetings will be at 1 p.m.
and 7 p.m. Thursday at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Last summer, dozens of Pantex workers told of deaths, cancers and
other unexplained illnesses they link to working on atomic
weapons.
A federal law, passed in October, will provide $150,000 in lump
sum compensation and related medical expenses to weapons workers
who became seriously ill from exposure to radiation, beryllium or
silica.
Compensation also will be available to some survivors who are
eligible for benefits under a section of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act.
Pete Lopez, a 51-year-old production technician, has worked at
Pantex for nearly three decades. He now has chronic beryllium
disease, an irreversible and sometimes fatal scarring of the
lungs.
"For years, we worked on these weapons so our country could be
free. Now, we are slaves to these diseases," said Lopez, who
often feels a dull pain across his chest, rashes and pain in his
joints.
Lopez wants others to attend the meeting and get blood tests for
possible beryllium exposure.
"I would like to encourage everybody who has worked at the plant
or who works at the plant to get tested because we're talking
about a dust," he said.
Lopez said a Denver housewife also has chronic beryllium disease
apparently linked to dust from her husband's clothes, which he
wore at Colorado's Rocky Flats weapons plant.
David Pompa, a Pantex production technician who works with a
Pantex beryllium support group, praised Pantex contractor BWXT
for working to speed up beryllium blood-testing programs for
workers.
"BWXT comes in and they do it in three months, four months," he
said. "We have met with Larrie Trent from BWXT industrial
hygiene. He's been very positive in dealing with certain issues
that we have concerning beryllium."
Pompa now hopes the federal government will put a Pantex benefits
center here to help workers or others claiming benefits. The
closest benefits center now is in Espanola, N.M.
"It will be interesting to see how difficult the government will
make it for the employee or the claimant to receive that fund,"
Pompa said. "Some have colon cancer. Some have experienced kidney
cancer, thyroid cancer. There are different types of cancer. It's
going to be interesting to see how supportive the government will
be."
Pompa said five Pantex workers have been diagnosed with chronic
beryllium disease and another 21 have tested sensitive to the
lightweight metal used in nuclear weapons components.
"If you're sensitive at this time, that means your body hasn't
reacted or is not reacting to the beryllium," he said. "But maybe
five years from now or 10 years from now, the body will go into
the chronic beryllium disease."
Duane Smith, a diesel mechanic who is a Pantex Metal Trades
Council safety officer, urged Pantex workers to attend the
meeting.
"All current and former employees should attend and participate,"
Smith said. "There needs to be extensive support not only from
those people but also all of the people in Amarillo to get the
center here."
He also praised BWXT for working to clean up beryllium dust
inside the Pantex Plant.
"The facility cleanup is almost complete," he said. "The cleanup
is just like doing a good dust job at your house."
According to information from the DOE, about 1 to 3 percent of
all people exposed to beryllium develop chronic beryllium
disease. In machinists closely involved in beryllium operations,
the number grows to as many as 10 to 14 percent.
*****************************************************************
8 Bush moves to stymie firearm cuts -
smh.com.au - World
July 10, 2001
By Ewen MacAskill in London
A United States delegation to a United Nations conference aimed
at reducing the number of small arms has been ordered to block
key proposals because President George Bush fears inflaming the
gun lobby.
The UN conference, which was to open in New York overnight, is
aimed at reducing the 500-million world stockpile of Kalashnikovs
and other small arms that kill millions of people each year.
The US delegation has been ordered to stymie the proposals
because Mr Bush is sensitive to the National Rifle Association's
insistence that international regulations on small arms may
infringe the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms. The
NRA heads the US gun lobby, and is one of the most powerful
vested interests in the country.
Mr Bush's move will anger European Union countries that support
the attempt by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to reel
in the arms trade.
A UN document published for the conference blames small arms for
4 million deaths in 46 conflicts since 1990, about 90 per cent of
them civilians, and 80 per cent of them women and children. ');
document.write(''); document.write('![[advertisement]](http://campaigns.f2.com.au/image.ng/Params.richmedia=no&site=smh&cat=world
&subcat=daily&ctype=story&adspace=300x250&loc=top)
');
document.write(' advertisement
'); } } // --> The UN and the EU are pressing
for:
+ A legally binding UN resolution or treaty on the export of
small arms;
+ Proper regulation of arms sales to stem the flow of illegal
weapons;
+ Incentives to encourage destruction of the arms stockpile;
+ An internationally recognised system for marking weapons so
they can be traced back.
But the conference looks set to end with empty statements of
intent that will not be legally binding.
Failure will add to the deterioration in relations between the US
and Europe, strained since Mr Bush dumped the Kyoto protocol to
reduce carbon emissions and decided to press ahead with the
missile defence program.
US opposition to the small-arms plan took European and other
diplomats by surprise, and earlier optimism about the conference
has vanished.
Mr Annan, announcing the conference, said curbing the
proliferation of small arms was "one of the key challenges in
preventing conflict" in the 21st century.
A diplomat from one EU country preparing for the summit said
there had been a feeling only a few months ago that the world was
ready to deal with the proliferation of small arms.
"It was a noble ambition to try to disarm or destroy these
weapons. I think now it was too much to hope for."
Mr Bush will be able to block the gun control plan with ease
because there is also opposition from African and Latin American
countries. The European diplomat said some African countries were
suspicious because the impetus was coming from Europe, and they
saw a smack of imperialism about it, and some Latin American
countries were hesitant because of their internal security
problems.
Mr Ed Cairns, a policy adviser with Oxfam, one of the bodies
consulted on the proposals, said: "There are only a few days left
to prevent this from being a stunning disappointment which won't
stop a single person being killed.''
The Guardian
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9 Road across Rocky Flats studied
Rocky Mountain News: Local
Highway chief shocks local officials by saying he's still
considering Broomfield-Golden link
By Berny Morson, News Staff Writer
BROOMFIELD -- Jaws dropped among local elected officials Monday
as the state highway chief said he is still considering a highway
across Rocky Flats.
State transportation director Tom Norton said the defunct nuclear
weapons plant is among options he'll study for a road linking
Broomfield to Golden even though the area is being considered for
a wildlife refuge.
With support for a wildlife refuge coming from the state's top
elected officials in both parties, the local leaders had assumed
a road across the plant was dead.
"What on earth was that all about?" asked Boulder County
Commissioner Paul Danish shortly after the meeting with Norton.
Broomfield City Councilman Hank Stovall predicted a "firestorm of
criticism" if the highway department recommends a road through
Rocky Flats.
But Norton said all alternatives should be on the table in
deciding how to connect the end of the soon-to-be-built Northwest
Parkway in Broomfield with U.S. 6 in Golden.
"When you predetermine something, you're not doing a study,"
Norton said. Excluding a Rocky Flats alternative from such a
study will raise questions among federal agencies, Norton warned.
"Every time we discard something, we have a major battle with the
feds, because someone says, 'Why didn't you consider this?' "
Norton said.
Norton said he will also consider other alternatives, including
one being put forth by Arvada. That route would follow Indiana
Avenue along the eastern edge of Rocky Flats, then veer to the
west near Leyden to join Colorado 93.
Norton said he wants to do the study as soon as possible, but set
no date. A panel of local leaders will decide which part of Rocky
Flats that the road should be assumed to cross for purposes of
the study, Norton said. Soil on some parts of the 6,000-acre site
is highly contaminated from years of weapons production.
"It's an issue of how much Rocky Flats soil you want to toss up
into the air," said Boulder Mayor Will Toor.
A bill to make Rocky Flats a wildlife refuge is sponsored in the
Senate by Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican, and in the House by
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a Democrat. The bill would bar roads within
the refuge.
Allard spokesman Sean Conway noted that the bill was drafted only
after two years of discussions among local elected leaders.
Conway said Allard is unlikely to change the bill without the
consent of those same leaders.
Udall said he was "very disappointed" by Norton's comments. He
said numerous transportation studies have been conducted in the
area over the years.
"A wildlife refuge and a road are mutually exclusive," Udall
said.
July 10, 2001
2001 © The E.W. Scripps Co.
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10 Nuclear veterans to be DNA tested
news.com.au
10 July 2001
From AP
RETIRED New Zealand servicemen exposed to the effects of British
nuclear tests in the 1950s will have their DNA examined for
possible damage caused by the blasts, a veterans' group said
today.
The study will check the DNA of 50 test veterans for possible
links between the bomb blasts and the poor health suffered by
many of the now-retired servicemen, Nuclear Test Veterans'
Association chairman Roy Sefton said.
The veterans worked on the tests or took part in exercises to
determine the effect of fallout on humans or equipment.
"This is a hands-on, clinical, definitive approach, completely
individualised," Sefton said. He added he had not expected to see
such extensive testing "in my lifetime."
Sefton said the project's importance was that the results would
be specific to the individual.
Broader, statistics-based New Zealand studies have been
inconclusive about the health effects of the nuclear tests, which
were carried out by Britain on Australian territory.
Sefton said though the study could add weight to veterans'
demands for compensation from the British government, that was
not its purpose.
The aim was to gain more definitive information about possible
genetic damage to test veterans generally, he said.
The research, led by Dr Al Rowlands of Massey University's
Institute of Molecular Biosciences, will use 100 subjects; 50
test veterans and 50 people who will form a control group.
The subjects will provide blood and saliva samples.
src="http://www.news.com.au/images/headlines_icon.gif" width="24"
Australian IT
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