***************************************************************** 12/10/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.291 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Armenian nuclear plant may be scrapped in 2008 says official 2 Russia looking to build nuclear power stations abroad 3 Nuclear takes bigger share of Ukrainian electricity output 4 Kazakhstan completes experiment on thermonuclear reactor safety 5 Revived Kazakh engineering plant hopes to enter world market 6 Studsvik signs disposal agreement with EnviroCare 7 UK: energy minister pushes for nukes 8 TVA still studying restart of reactor 9 DOE extends time for Yucca comments 10 Columnist Jon Ralston: Reid, Ensign now buddy-buddy 11 Nevada pulls Yucca audit off Internet 12 Audit: DOE withholding key Yucca data 13 Urenco plans $1bn uranium enrichment plant in US 14 Safety Plan for Calvert Plant Under Study 15 Yucca: Waste Away (spent fuel ponds, terrorists solutions) 16 Gov. Guinn applauds Las Vegas Chamber decision to redirect dues 17 'SAFETY RECORD OF INDIAN NUCLEAR PLANTS BEST IN WORLD': EXPERT 18 Government set for new wrangle over Sellafield plant 19 Nuclear safety fear spreading to West, says poll 20 Scotland 'can power Britain' NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Spallation director's early success is surprising, but not unique 2 Uranium Seized Near Moscow not Weapons-Grade Material 3 Pakistan Ups Probe of Nuke Workers 4 Al Qaeda's nuclear agenda verified -- The Washington Times 5 DOE chief to visit proposed site of anti-terrorism school 6 Powell Says Nuclear Deal Is Close 7 IEER Report: Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations 8 BNFL resumes K-25 work ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Armenian nuclear plant may be scrapped in 2008 says official BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 9, 2001 The head of the Armenian State Energy Supervision, Ashot Martirosyan, has said that the country's nuclear power plant might be phased out in 2008. Speaking to the newspaper Ayots Ashkhar, Martirosyan said that this hinged on satisfactory alternative energy sources. He said that a report by the Austrian Ecology Institute describing the Armenian nuclear plant as the most dangerous in Europe was frivolous and groundless. The following is the text of a report by Armen Akopyan, published in the Armenian newspaper Ayots Ashkhar on 8 December under the headline "Security at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is on a satisfactory level": An interview with the chief of the Armenian State Energy Supervision, Ashot Martirosyan, who comments on the "investigation" conducted by the Austrian Ecology Institute, which published a provocative report saying that the Armenian nuclear power plant was one of the most dangerous in Europe. [Ayots Ashkhar correspondent] What do think of the investigation by the Austrian Ecology Institute that said that the ANPP is the most dangerous in Europe and in this sense has 13 black points? [Ashot Martirosyan] I am sorry, but the information published by the Austrian Ecology Institute is frivolous. What are these black points? What standards were used to define them? This is simply a statement, which is groundless, and I can say nothing about such statements. As for security in general, the ANPP is a plant of the first generation, and it is natural that today it does not fully satisfy suggested security requirements. There are strictly defined shortcomings, which are also registered in the relevant documents of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. It is necessary to note that these are common shortcomings, shared by all nuclear power plants of the first generation in the world: in the USA, England, Germany, France. We should also note that our ANPP fully satisfies the norms and rules covering construction and exploitation. The question is about the provision of satisfactory systems in compliance with today's security requirements. [Correspondent] According to the Armenian State Nuclear Supervision, is the ANPP dangerous or not? What are the radiation levels in the surrounding environment? [Martirosyan] No, it is not. From the point of view of its influence on the environment the ANPP fully meets today's international requirements. These levels are even lower than proscribed by the mentioned norms. As for the first part of the question, there is no absolutely safe nuclear power plant in the world. They all carry a certain degree of risk, the older ones are more and the newer ones less dangerous. The Armenian State Nuclear Supervision determines the safety level of ANPP, whether it is satisfactory for continued exploitation or not. Our department revises the ANPP ever week, and our inspector is on duty there all the time. Today the safety level of the ANPP is satisfactory and acceptable. [Correspondent] The Austrian ecologists say that the black points they gave concern the age of the ANPP. Could you comment on this? [Martirosyan] The second bloc of the plant was put into operation in January 1980. The term of its project exploitation is 30 years. The second bloc functioned from 1980-89, and since restoration, from 1995-2001. That means that it was exploited for only 15 years, and may be exploited for another 15 years. So the note on the age is incorrect. [Correspond] How much money is necessary to bring our NPP fully into line with world safety standards? [Martirosyan] There are no such estimates, but stemming from the experience of countries that have such nuclear power plants, we can say, specifically in the case of the Slovak nuclear power plant, that about 200m dollars were spent over several years. As a result, its safety was raised to a level which corresponds to most modern systems. One reactor is functioning in our NPP. But we should also take into account that the Slovaks applied for aid to Western companies whose services and equipment are more expensive. We can use Russian technical support, so it is possible to achieve the same results with less money. [Correspondent] There has been much talk recently that the European Union wants the exploitation of the ANPP to stop by 2004. Where did this term come from? [Martirosyan] The decision to close the ANPP by 2004 was adopted only on a political level, while there are no technical grounds for such a term. When in 1993 Armenia said it intended to restore the ANPP, the European Union appealed to the leadership of our country. In 1994 the Armenian president and the European Union exchanged letters which had the authority of an agreement. Our side particularly noted that the ANPP would stop working if there was a substitute plant of a satisfactory capacity. At that time there were no plans to construct a new power plant within the next ten years. That is why the year 2004 was taken. This agreement is still in force, but the mentioned year is not, and today it is the subject of negotiations between the Armenian government and the European Union. They are mentioning 2008 as the year when exploitation of the ANPP could stop, as it is foreseen that new alternative sources for electric power production will begin functioning. But our side has set a number of preconditions for this. Source: Ayots Ashkhar, Yerevan, in Armenian 8 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 2 Russia looking to build nuclear power stations abroad BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 10, 2001 Moscow, 7 December: Russia hopes to build nuclear power plants in Finland, Vietnam, Egypt and Kazakhstan. Preliminary negotiations are under way, but contracts may be signed approximately in five years, Atomstroyeksport General Director Viktor Kozlov told ITAR-TASS on Friday [7 December]. Atomstroyeksport is a subsidiary of the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry. The four countries have asked Russia for information about its atomic energy industry and possible construction of nuclear power plants abroad. The information has been supplied, and the possible clients are considering it... Larger exports to the world atomic energy market support domestic producers, because 80 to 90 Russian plants are taking part in the production and supplies of equipment for nuclear power plants under construction abroad. The price of one nuclear power plant is 1.5bn dollars on the average. "The technical servicing of power plants also brings stable revenues," Kozlov said. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 2020 gmt 7 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 3 Nuclear takes bigger share of Ukrainian electricity output BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 10, 2001 Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Kiev, 7 December: Ukrainian nuclear power plants increased electricity production 11.1 per cent month-on-month from 6.557bn kWh in October to 7.287bn kWh in November, a source in the PR department at the national atomic generating company Enerhoatom told Interfax. Production in November was up 0.5 per cent in comparison with the same month last year. The share of nuclear power plants in total electricity production in the country in November amounted to 46.2 per cent (45.7 per cent in October). Average capacity utilization at nuclear power plants last month amounted to 85.5 per cent, compared with 78.5 per cent in November last year. In November, there were three incidents, registering zero on the International Nuclear Event Scale. These incidents did not represent a threat to the public or to the environment. Production of electricity at Ukrainian nuclear power plants in the first 11 months of this year amounted to 68.895bn hryvna, which almost amounts to the target for the year. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1341 gmt 7 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 4 Kazakhstan completes experiment on thermonuclear reactor safety BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 9, 2001 Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Almaty, 9 December: Kazakhstan has completed another experiment on the IVG.1.M atomic reactor at the National Nuclear Centre located on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test range. The experiment was part of a research programme in the sphere of thermonuclear reactor safety. The IVG.1.M is employed for studying characteristics of construction materials to be used for making a protective covering of the vacuum chamber in future thermonuclear reactors, the National Nuclear Centre press service has told Interfax. In particular, the researchers are studying what materials can be used for constructing the blanket for a thermonuclear reactor, in which reactor fuel tritium will be conversed, the centre said. Scientists are trying to create a barrier layer that would prevent tritium from leaking out of the reactor during its operation. The experiment has provided new information capable of improving the safety of future reactors. Kazakh scientists have been conducting these experiments for 10 years, using various materials, regimes and coverings. The experiments are being conducted within the framework of the state-ordered national special-purpose scientific technical programme "Development of nuclear power industry in Kazakhstan" with the support of an international project on designing an international thermonuclear reactor, in which EU member states, Japan, Russia, and Kazakhstan, are involved. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1453 gmt 9 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 5 Revived Kazakh engineering plant hopes to enter world market BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 10, 2001 [Presenter] The Almaty machine-building plant is making attempts to win foreign markets: for the first time in many years the enterprise has carried out a major foreign order and the plant's output will be sent to Japan. [Correspondent] The assembling of a cold-rolling mill for pipes is being completed at the Almaty machine-building plant. The order was placed by a major Japanese corporation, Matsui. Special containers bearing the inscription "Made in Kazakhstan", in English, are now ready. The new mill will be sent to Osaka in pieces in these containers. This is the first time in the past 10 years that the Almaty machine-building plant's produce has been on demand outside the former Soviet republics... According to its specifications, the new product goes far beyond the conditions put forward by the Japanese customers. The mill is designed to make high-strength steel pipes for use in the nuclear industry. They must be able to resist heavy pressure... Recently, the flagship of Kazakhstan's heavy machine-building was 60-years-old. The Almaty machine-building plant basically specializes in producing mills and complex technological equipment for plants ... It is just reviving after the drawn-out crisis of the mid-1990s. The plant has recently received many orders from Kazakhstan and Russia and the management is thinking of introducing a second shift... The plant is now mastering a new trend i.e. production of equipment for the oil sector. The plant has already begun making oil-pumping units for Kazakhoil [the national oil and gas company]. It plans to produce oil-pipeline pumps next year. The plant's workers regard talk that Kazakhstan's machine-building has been completely ruined as highly exaggerated... Source: Khabar Television, Almaty, in Russian 1500 gmt 5 Dec /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 6 Studsvik signs disposal agreement with EnviroCare bitWeb CONTACT2001-12-10 11:01 Studsvik 611 82 NYKÖPING SE Tel +46 (0)155 22 10 00 info@studsvik.se www.studsvik.se Studsvik has signed a disposal agreement with Envirocare of Utah Inc., the owner and operator of the disposal site for radioactive waste in Utah. The agreement enables Studsvik to dispose of the process residue from its radioactive waste processing facility in Erwin, TN at competitive prices. For further information please contact: Hans-Bertil Håkansson, President and Chief Executive Officer, phone +46 155 22 10 26 or Jerry Ericsson, Chief F... ***************************************************************** 7 UK: energy minister pushes for nukes The energy minister Brian Wilson continued to champion nuclear power yesterday despite reports that a prime ministerial review was about to recommend wind, wave and solar alternatives. Brian Wilson said the door to a future generation of nuclear power stations remained open, despite the policy review. Speculation that the review, due later this week, will close the option of a new wave of nuclear stations was dismissed by the minister as "little more than green spin". He confirmed that the nuclear industry will not be given everything it wants, but said there will be important concessions, including exemption from the climate change levy - a tax on carbon emissions. However, the review will be favourable towards a British energy future based heavily on the exploitation of renewable sources: wind, wave and tide in the first instance, with other, longer-term technologies exploiting solar and hydrogen energy. Mr Wilson said: "The green spin lobbyists appear to have seized on this recognition of the enormous potential for the development of renewables to suggest that it spells death for nuclear power in this country. This is a completely false conclusion. "The report will be very pro-renewables, but it certainly will not shut the door on nuclear. "I can state also that although this report is the PIU's (the Cabinet's Performance and Innovation Unit's) it also happens to be a very close reflection of my personal position." This latter point was clearly aimed at unsourced reports that Mr Wilson had been at war with the unit's experts who, it was claimed, wanted to downgrade the future role of nuclear power. The stance of the Scottish Executive, disclosed four months ago and due to be reinforced today by Ross Finnie, the environment minister, is, however, unequivocally pro-renewable energy and clearly against the replacement of our two, ageing, nuclear power stations - Torness and Hunterston. With the pace of the drive for green energy hotting up almost daily, Mr Wilson has already commissioned a study into the feasibility of a 400-mile subsea cable along the western seaboard, starting at Stornoway on Lewis. If built, it would eliminate the need for a new generation of pylons across the Highlands and through areas of England and Wales. The energy minister will be in Stornoway later this week, along with directors of two major British firms, AMEC and British Energy, to formally conclude arrangements to create a joint company to develop the world's largest wind farm. This will be sited on Lewis on land owned by the Stornoway Trust, Scotland's biggest community landowner. The site, however, is subject to high EU and national designations for its wildlife value. In Glasgow today, Mr Finnie will unveil the result of a review of the National Grid in Scotland, undertaken by outside consultants and the executive's energy team, which will paint an optimistic view for the wind, wave and tidal technology companies. The entire renewables industry is dependent to a great degree on gaining access to the grid at points on the periphery where the network is weakest - the north and west coasts, for example - and there had been fears that the cost of grid strengthening work would be prohibitive. Mr Finnie is expected to announce that the current Scottish target, 18% of electricity needs generated from renewable sources by the year 2010, can comfortably be handled by the grid as it stands. To meet the executive's further ambitions - Scotland as Europe's renewables powerhouse - the grid will have to be upgraded at a cost of around £200m, less than some sources had anticipated. A second study, by outside consultants assessing Scotland's potential for generating renewables, indicates far greater resources than most of the industry had dared anticipate. Mr Finnie is expected to describe the potential as "breathtaking", vindicating the executive's belief that Scotland is ideally placed to benefit from the sustainable energy revolution. There is enough potential energy from onshore windfarms alone to meet Scotland's peak winter demand for electricity twice over, and the study indicates that total renewable resource equates to 75% of existing UK generation capacity. - Dec 10th ***************************************************************** 8 TVA still studying restart of reactor By Dennis Sherer Staff Writer December 10, 2001 A year after Tennessee Valley Authority officials announced they were considering restarting the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, the study continues. TVA officials said last December the move would be considered to meet expected growth and demand for electricity. Unit 1 was shut down in 1985 because of safety concerns. It was never restarted. Browns Ferry spokesman Craig Beasley said a decision on the fate of Unit 1 is expected next year. "Everything is still on track with the study," he said. "The TVA board will meet sometime next year after the study has been completed and make a recommendation on restarting Unit 1. "The board will be looking at many things when it makes a recommendation, including the estimated cost of a restart and the expected demand for electrical power in the valley." Numerous local, state and federal elected officials in north Alabama have asked TVA to restart the reactor to ensure there is enough electrical power to meet the needs of the region and help boost the economy of the Shoals and Decatur area. As many as 2,000 skilled construction workers would be needed to prepare the plant for restart, TVA officials said. The plant is on the banks of the Tennessee River just west of Athens. Construction jobs would last about five years because of the extensive renovation that would be needed before the reactor begins producing electricity again. Many parts from Unit 1 were used to start the Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors. About 200 employees would be needed to operate the reactor if it is returned to service, officials said. About 950 people now work at Browns Ferry. All Browns Ferry reactors were shut down in 1985. Unit 2 and Unit 3 underwent major renovation and returned to service in 1991 and 1995, respectively. Each reactor can produce enough electricity to supply power to about 200,000 homes. Restarting Unit 1 would cost TVA about $1.2 billion. Opponents of restarting the unit, such as the Knoxville, Tenn.,-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, argue that the cost of a restart will outweigh the benefits. Stephen Smith, executive director of the alliance, contends TVA should offer incentives to encourage its customers to conserve electricity rather than looking for ways to produce more power. Smith said TVA customers are among the top users per capita of any in the United States. He said if customers would reduce their consumption of electrical power, TVA could use the money elsewhere. The customers would be the ultimate beneficiaries of TVA's savings, he said. The cost of increasing capacity would be passed on to the customers. TVA spokesman Gil Francis said the utility is going to take a close look at the cost of restarting Unit 1 before making a decision. Francis said a specific time frame has not been set for making the decision. But he expects it will come sometime in 2002. After a TVA board meeting in Decatur in August, Chairman Glenn McCullough Jr. said the utility is not in a hurry to make a decision on Browns Ferry Unit 1. An environmental impact statement on extending the life of the Browns Ferry reactors by 20 years will not be completed until January. The operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Unit 1 is scheduled to expire in 2013. The Unit 2 license expires in 2014, with Unit 3's license expiring in 2016. The reactors were designed to operate for 30 years. Smith said the reactors were designed to operate for a specific number of years and extending that period could cause problems. TVA officials said engineers and scientists have learned since Browns Ferry began producing electricity in 1973 that the reactors can operate safely much longer than originally expected. Other utilities around the country have asked the regulatory commission to extend the license for their reactors. McCullough said the outcome of the environmental impact statement study will play a big role in the decision to restart Unit 1. If TVA opts not to seek an extension of the operating license for Unit 1, it will remain idle. TVA officials said it would not be wise to spend more than $1 billion to restart a reactor that will only be used for about 10 years. McCullough said the decision to restart Unit 1 will be a business decision. A new issue for the board members to consider when making their decision is the impact the economic slowdown is going to have on growth in the Tennessee Valley. If the slowdown stalls growth, less electrical power will be needed. McCullough said the decision on the fate of Unit 1 will be driven by a comprehensive study of the facts. "The board is going to take its time and evaluate all the factors before making a recommendation on Unit 1," Beasley said. Dennis Sherer can be reached at dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com [dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com] or 740-5746. TimesDaily | Privacy Statement [ BORDER=] ***************************************************************** 9 DOE extends time for Yucca comments [Las Vegas Review-Journal] Monday, December 10, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Department of Energy officials have extended the time for public comments at Wednesday's Yucca Mountain Project hearings, the last in a series on the government's plans to build a nuclear waste repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The hearings at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas, the Longstreet Inn in Amargosa Valley and the Olson Senior Citizens Center in Caliente will all begin at 1 p.m. and run through 9 p.m. The department had previously set the hearings to begin at 5 p.m. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Dec-10-Mon-2001/news/17634074.html [http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Dec-10-Mon-2001/news/17634074.html] ***************************************************************** 10 Columnist Jon Ralston: Reid, Ensign now buddy-buddy Las Vegas SUN December 07, 2001 Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or through e-mail at [ralston@vegas.com] --- MY DAUGHTER watches this goofy cartoon show called "CatDog," featuring this half-feline, half-canine creature. The premise is how entertaining it is to watch two natural enemies coexist in the same body, with their contrasting desires and outlooks often causing the drama (and inevitable happy ending) that makes for compelling viewing -- for a 6-year-old, at least. I am reminded of my daughter's show as I think of our own political CatDog on Capitol Hill, the creature known as Harry Ensign that has managed not just to coexist after nearly one year but to thrive. As 2001 ends, Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign have morphed into this single entity, forging a productive partnership that has dried up the saliva glands of pundits whose mouths were watering at the prospect of having these two mortal enemies together on Capitol Hill. Gone are any vestiges of the two men who engaged in one of the closest Senate races in history in 1998, which Democrat Reid won by 428 votes and during which he sneered that as a veterinarian, Republican Ensign couldn't possibly know anything about the Constitution. Now, they are one, they are indistinguishable, they are: Harry Ensign. It was demonstrated again recently as they parroted each other on the Yucca Mountain audit, jointly lambasted the Department of Energy and signed the same letter (along with Reps. Shelley Berkley and Jim Gibbons) to President Bush asking him to postpone the dumpsite recommendation. But that was merely emblematic. Whether it's on minor items such as the designation of a Mexican consul or the confirmation hearing of soon-to-be federal Judge Jim Mahan (and Ensign even has ceded some of his appointing authority to Reid) or on some pork coming the state's way, Harry Ensign has put out more joint releases in a year than Reid and his Democratic colleague Richard Bryan did in the eight years they were together. And contrast Harry Ensign with Gibbons and Berkley, who last put out a joint release on .... well, never. Even when they are at odds, they are so damn pleasant about it. When I interviewed them together recently about the different partisan views on the economic stimulus package, they were positively fraternal. Ensign trotted out some practiced line he had undoubtedly shared with his other half about how "Harry and I are going to have our disagreements ..." Conflict? Can't find it, so we have a pundit's nightmare become real. But has it been a dream for the state? Hard to argue otherwise, although the partisan frothing types surely are queasy over the arrival of Harry Ensign. Whether it's been on the dump or the NCAA betting bill, the synergy has been obvious and potent. In fact, a few months ago, Ensign quietly working the Republicans and Reid whispering to the Democrats almost resulted in the NCAA wagering legislation being entombed in committee. With Reid able to work the Democrats and Ensign to lobby his GOP colleagues, it won't matter who is in control of the Senate. And Reid's leadership position only makes the partnership stronger. The natural question is: Can it last? As a vet, Ensign must realize that CatDogs can't live forever. And as the man who recently defined himself by his declaration, "I believe in vengeance," Reid must know that partisan imperatives will out. Or will they? There is a real personal component to the relationship, observers say. It's hard to believe Ensign the Rookie actually trusts Reid the Ruthless. But this marriage of convenience could be convenient for some time to come -- for the senators and for the state. The critical test will come not in Campaign '02, when Ensign will back the GOP contenders and Reid the Democratic contenders. Neither of them is on the ballot next year, so there should be few problems. But what about the day after next year's balloting, when Reid's re-election campaign begins? The pressure on Ensign -- both at home and on Capitol Hill -- will be enormous to help the party recruit and fund a successor. Will Ensign seem co-opted or cooperative. In "CatDog," the cat is the smart, cunning one and the dog is the slightly benighted but generally goodhearted one. I'll leave it to you to figure out which is which in Harry Ensign. But it will be up to the senators to show that they have the same kind of commitment to stay together (and have that same happy ending) as the cartoon creation. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 11 Nevada pulls Yucca audit off Internet Las Vegas SUN December 10, 2001 By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials briefly posted the unofficial draft copy of a General Accounting Office audit of the Yucca Mountain project last week, then pulled it off their website at the GAO's request. The draft report is critical of the Department of Energy's cost and schedule estimates for the Yucca project, an intense study of the mountain to determine if it is a suitable site to bury the nation's nuclear waste. The GAO report recommends that the DOE put off a recommendation about the site to President Bush, although Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to make his recommendation as planned in the coming weeks. Nevada lawmakers leaked excerpts and a summary of the 28-page draft report to the media after they got a copy from the GAO Nov. 28. The Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, a state watchdog of the DOE's Yucca project, received the report by fax, although director Bob Loux said today he wasn't certain who had initially sent it to the office. Loux's office posted it on the nuclear projects agency website (www.state.nv.us/nucwaste) Wednesday, Loux said. "Copies are everywhere," Loux said. "It seemed like it was a public document." But draft copies of GAO reports are only intended to be seen by lawmakers who request them as well as officials at the agencies that are subjects of the report, GAO officials said. The lawmakers and agencies are encouraged to suggest revisions to the GAO for the final report -- not make the drafts public, GAO officials said. On the front page of the draft report is a warning: "Recipients of this draft must not, under any circumstances, show or release its contents for purposes other than official review and comment. It must be safeguarded to prevent publication or other improper disclosure of the information it contains. This draft and all copies of it remain the property of, and must be returned on demand to, the General Accounting Office." GAO officials on Friday asked officials in Gov. Kenny Guinn's office to take the report off the website. So the governor's office asked Loux to take the report down, which he did. "I'm still not sure why," Loux said. The final, official GAO report on Yucca Mountain is scheduled for release to the public later this week or next week, GAO spokeswoman Laura Kopelson said today. The GAO does not plan to pursue any action against Loux's office or Nevada lawmakers, Kopelson said. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 12 Audit: DOE withholding key Yucca data Las Vegas SUN December 10, 2001 GAO report says lawsuits could hit $50 billion By Benjamin Grove < [grove@lasvegassun.com] > and Mary Manning < [manning@lasvegassun.com] > WASHINGTON -- Senior managers of the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project are withholding realistic costs and completion schedules for the proposed high-level nuclear waste dump, according to the first draft of a congressional audit. The DOE managers are reluctant to revise the schedule beyond a 2010 completion date in part because nuclear power companies are suing the department, the report says. The Energy Department could owe the companies between $2 billion and $50 billion for not hauling the companies' waste to Yucca Mountain by 1998, the report says. The longer the DOE delays opening Yucca, the more money it could owe in damages. Those details are found in the 28-page draft report by the General Accounting Office that summarizes the status of the Yucca Mountain project. The project is an intensive study to determine if the Nevada mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas is a suitable site to permanently bury the nation's 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste. The GAO on Nov. 28 gave a draft copy of the report to Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who requested the GAO study. The lawmakers promptly released excerpts and a report summary to the media. The Sun obtained the full 28-page report after it was posted -- and later removed -- last week on a state of Nevada Internet website. DOE officials and its major contractor, Bechtel SAIC, have criticized the draft report and hope to correct what they say are errors for the final report, which could be released as early as this week. They allege Nevada lawmakers improperly leaked the unofficial draft report for political gain. Details in the report explain why the GAO concluded that the Yucca Mountain repository could not be completed by the DOE's target date of 2010. The report says DOE managers since March 1997 have not followed the department's own rules for routinely re-establishing the project's "baseline" -- its estimated schedule, cost and technical requirements. For example, in November 1999, the Yucca Mountain site investigation office recommended that the DOE extend its target date for applying for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to bury waste at the Yucca site. The office recommended delaying the date from March 2002 to December 2002 because Congress gave the DOE $57.8 million less than the DOE requested for the 2000 fiscal year. In September 2000 DOE project managers proposed another new license application target: July 2003; in February 2001, they proposed a December 2003 date. But the secretary of energy and Yucca Mountain project director did not officially approve any of the changes, which means they did not officially adjust the project's estimated schedule and cost to reflect more realistic timelines and budgets. While DOE officials still say they can complete Yucca by 2010, the GAO report says it would be more like 2013 or 2015. The criticism echoes what Nevada officials, who oppose the project, and independent scientific panels such as the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, have been saying in reports -- that scientific information about the site is incomplete. The state of Nevada plans to file a lawsuit later this month against the DOE for failing to follow its own guidelines, said Bob Loux, executive director of the state Agency for Nuclear Projects. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1998 ruled that nuclear power plant owners are entitled to money from the DOE for not hauling their nuclear waste away while Yucca Mountain is still undergoing analysis. That means the DOE could owe nuclear plant operators a lot more money in damages. "In part, DOE's desire to meet the 2010 goal is linked to the court decisions that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act ... obligated DOE to begin accepting spent fuel from contract holders not later than Jan. 31, 1998, or be held liable for damages," the report says. A major point of controversy has developed between DOE officials and anti-Yucca forces in Nevada that centers on whether the DOE has enough scientific data amassed to make a recommendation about the site to President Bush in the coming weeks. DOE officials say they have enough. But the GAO draft report recommends putting off the site recommendation until 293 specific scientific questions about the site are answered. The report says the DOE's major contractor, Bechtel SAIC, has said those issues won't be resolved until 2006. But DOE officials say that is no reason to put off recommending the site. DOE officials argue they can make the site recommendation and then resolve the 293 issues before they apply for the license to bury the waste at Yucca. But the GAO recommends making the site recommendation closer to the time the DOE applies to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the construction license, the first of three permits necessary. "Doing so would improve the technical soundness of, and public confidence in, the site recommendation without delaying the license application," the report says. Federal law requires that both the site recommendation and the license application are to be based on similar technical information, the report says. "As a result, we believe that deferring the site recommendation until DOE obtains the technical information needed for a license application would improve the technical soundness of the site recommendation," the report says. The report also says NRC officials contend there are three general areas of uncertainty about Yucca Mountain: how long metal waste containers would last, the physical properties of Yucca and the mathematical and computer models used to predict how well the site would keep waste away from humans over thousands of years. Questions about the nickel-chromium alloy waste containers are key because DOE officials "depend heavily on the waste containers, rather than the natural features of the site, to meet NRC's licensing regulations," as well as Environmental Protection Agency radiation exposure standards, the report says. Similar criticism on these same issues came from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, created in 1987 to independently oversee the DOE's studies at Yucca Mountain. Nevada officials argue that the waste containers have become too important to the repository's ability to isolate the waste, suggesting the waste could be stored anywhere if the containers -- not the tunnels under the desert mountain ridge -- are so key to isolating the waste. Remaining uncertainties about the site itself include changes to faults in the mountain over time; flow of water through the mountain; earthquakes; how radiation might move through the mountain if released from containers; and potential volcanic eruptions, the report says. Another issue centers on how the repository would be designed, the report says. Waste would be stored in tunnels roughly 1,000 feet under Yucca Mountain. The waste would emit intense heat, and temperatures inside the repository would vary depending on how the tunnels were designed and spaced. The independent Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and the NRC are concerned about the DOE's evaluations of high- and low-temperature repositories, the report says. The DOE has not provided enough answers about that issue, according to an October 2001 letter authored by the Board, the report said. Technical Review Board Chairman Jared Cohon said in an Oct. 17 letter that the DOE has not yet done "a complete comparison" of either repository design. The report also outlines how the DOE is considering a plan that would involve constructing the Yucca repository in stages, so that waste could be moved into the site as it was being built. The DOE plan also would involve shipping more waste to the site for temporary storage on the surface until room is made inside the mountain. The DOE has enlisted the National Research Council to study the plan, the report says. Among other topics, the council is studying "societal objectives and risks" of such a plan, the safety and security of a surface facility and the "public acceptance of such a facility." Nevada lawmakers strongly oppose any sort of temporary storage in the state and federal law prohibits interim storage in a state that has a site under study as a permanent repository. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 13 Urenco plans $1bn uranium enrichment plant in US By Nancy Dunne in Washington December 10 2001 10:35 Urenco, a European uranium enrichment supplier, is seeking regulatory approval to build the first new enrichment facility in the US in half a century. Its partners in the project, estimated to cost $1bn, will be Duke Power and Excelon, the US energy conglomerates that are leading the campaign to revive the nuclear power industry in the US. Other partners may be added as Urenco forms a worldwide syndicate to raise the financing, said Klaus Messer, Urenco's chief executive, who is in Washington this week for preliminary meetings with regulators. It plans to apply for regulatory approval next month. UK-based Urenco, developed from a joint Dutch, German and British initiative set up in the 1970s, supplies more than 12 per cent of worldwide enrichment requirements. Its shareholders are state-owned British Nuclear Fuels, the Dutch government and German utilities Eon and RWE. Urenco's proposed venture brings it into a highly political process. Its lone US-based competitor is Usec, a corporation created from a government entity. Struggling to survive, with expensive ageing technology, Usec earlier this year pressed an anti-dumping and countervailing duty suit against Urenco and Cogema-Eurodif of France. The Commerce Department found little dumping by Urenco in its initial inquiry, but Usec's lawyers say they are confident that a final decision will raise the level of anti-dumping duties to be imposed. Usec is currently the exclusive US executive agent in the US-Russian high-enriched uranium deal, under which fuel from old Russian missiles is blended down and delivered to the US. Corbin McNeill, Excelon chairman, and Michael Tuckman, Duke executive vice-president, last month wrote to President George W. Bush asking him to "reconsider the current monopoly status" granted to Usec. This prevents Russia from other access to the US market and "provides an annual subsidisation on the order of $125m". They said they were hoping to build a new enrichment plant in the US, because the US "simply must have available more than a single source of supply for enriched uranium". Phil Potter, the lead attorney for Usec's union, said the administration wants efficient new plants brought on line. "Urenco wants to build a new plant, but $1bn is a lot of money to raise, and this is an uncertain marketplace." Mr Messer and his potential partners have been discussing their plans on Capitol Hill and with administration officials. The company expects to locate its new facility on current nuclear sites. It is considering Portsmouth, Ohio, where Usec has closed down one of its two plants, and Paducah, Kentucky, the site of Usec's lone remaining facility. ***************************************************************** 14 Safety Plan for Calvert Plant Under Study UPDATE (washingtonpost.com) Monday, December 10, 2001; Page B02 The Coast Guard does not expect to develop a safety plan until next year concerning a Tulsa company's proposal to ship liquefied natural gas via foreign tankers to the firm's southern Calvert County plant off the Chesapeake Bay. Thursday marked the conclusion of a two-day meeting with state and federal officials in Portsmouth, Va., on the Williams Co.'s Cove Point project, which federal regulators are also reconsidering at the urging of Tom Ridge, the homeland security director. The Coast Guard will now study such issues as whether to require moving safety zones around the tankers and escorts for the vessels when they move into the bay, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Gordon A. Loebl said. The decisions concerning the Cove Point project will also serve "to create a blueprint" for handling the importation of liquefied natural gas along the eastern seaboard in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Loebl added. "I think we're willing to take as much time as we need to get it right," Loebl said. Ridge's involvement came at the urging of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), who had publicly criticized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision in October, a month after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, to reopen and expand the liquefied natural gas plant. Mikulski said in letters sent to the federal energy panel, the Coast Guard, the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as Ridge, that the project "could create a new vulnerability to terrorism." She also pointed out that the facility is three miles from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Nov. 9 -- just two days after Mikulski criticized the commission's original approval -- that it would reconsider the plan. A week later, the commission's staff conducted a closed technical conference, during which interested parties and regulatory agencies discussed "any national security issues" raised after Sept. 11. -- Raymond McCaffrey © 2001 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 15 Yucca: Waste Away (spent fuel ponds, terrorists solutions) [the new republic] ON THE HILL by Michael Crowley Post date 11.15.01 | Issue date 11.26.01 In the weeks since September 11, the United States has frantically inventoried every conceivable target of terrorist attacks. Few seem as tempting as the nation's nuclear power plants--103 potential Chernobyls from coast to coast. But, as terrifying as an attack on a nuclear reactor would be, there's something that worries public safety experts even more: the 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel stored at plants around the nation. While reactor cores are housed in fortified casings designed to withstand earthquakes, tornadoes, and maybe even plane crashes, most nuclear waste is stored in flimsy buildings that are often little more than simple concrete warehouses. There's no good reason why: Spent nuclear fuel is just as deadly as a reactor core--and it's often deadlier. Last year a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report concluded that a major explosion of spent fuel could lead to a lethal radiation dose far worse than the fallout from the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, rendering the surrounding area uninhabitable for thousands of years. But don't blame malevolent nuclear power barons for this sorry state of affairs. The federal government long ago vowed to store America's nuclear waste in a safe and secure location far from large populations. For the past 20 years, however, textbook NIMBY politics on Capitol Hill have stymied that effort. One nuclear expert calls it a tale of "social Darwinism" in which powerful members of Congress have repeatedly protected their own states, shunting off the problem onto those represented by weaker colleagues. In 1987 it was determined that the shuntee would be Nevada, whose Yucca Mountain would hold all the nation's nuclear waste. But, since then, the state's senior senator, Harry Reid, has become the number-two Democrat in the Senate. And he has used every ounce of his clout to send the waste debate back to square one. Which is where--national security be damned--it seems likely to stay. The government has been worrying about how to dispose of nuclear waste since the 1950s. Early ideas included dumping canisters of waste at sea, freezing them in Arctic ice, or firing them into space. For a time there were plans to recycle spent fuel through special reactors, but the Carter administration rejected the procedure, fearing that it would create masses of plutonium, which could be used to build nuclear weapons. Finally, the government decided to simply bury the waste deep underground. In 1982 Congress passed a law authorizing a search for sites, with disposal to begin by 1998. The legislation was possible only thanks to a wary regional compromise that ensured one waste site in the East and one in the West. But once the Department of Energy began sniffing around specific states, the fragile deal quickly fell apart. In the early 1980s, for instance, when then-Democratic Senator John Stennis discovered that a storage site was being considered in Mississippi, he convened a special committee hearing to berate Energy Department officials. According to nuclear waste specialist Robert Alvarez, who attended the hearing, it turned out that the site that so upset Stennis was located near property owned by his sister. The plan was abandoned. That was only the beginning. In 1986 Energy Department scientists named Texas, Washington, and Nevada as possible Western burial grounds, and announced that they were also exploring the benefits of storing waste in granite, which is especially prevalent in Northeastern states like Maine and New Hampshire. On Capitol Hill, primal self-preservation instincts quickly kicked in. Maine's George Mitchell, who would become Senate majority leader the next year, pushed an amendment in 1987 barring even the consideration of granite storage. New Hampshire had no equivalent powerhouse congressman, but the Granite State does hold the nation's first presidential primary, making Mitchell's amendment politically unstoppable. Meanwhile, House Speaker Jim Wright of Texas and his soon-to-be successor, Tom Foley of Washington, helped to bump their states off the list. The result was legislation, crafted with what The New York Times called "stunning abruptness" and tucked into a $600 billion budget bill, that singled out Nevada's barren Yucca Mountain as the only site the government could consider. Nevadans understandably dubbed the measure the "Screw Nevada" bill, complaining that their political impotence had been exploited. The state's then-little-known junior senator, Harry Reid, fumed that the process amounted to "base, raw power politics." And, ever since, he has made defeating Yucca his holy mission in Washington--vowing, at one point, to be "on top of the Capitol doing a full body dive" before giving up the fight. He hasn't had to. Instead, Reid has turned to the same power politics he denounced in 1987. In 1992 he and his former colleague Richard Bryan stalled a Senate energy bill for days with the first of many filibusters to come, complaining that Nevada was getting "shafted" by pro-Yucca language. Another filibuster in 1996 grew so bitter that Senate leader Trent Lott fumed at Reid and Bryan in an unusual floor speech. "[Nuclear waste] is all over America. What about the other 48 senators that are directly involved in this nuclear waste issue?" railed an exasperated Lott, who finally had to calm himself down: "Sorry to get carried away there." When lack of progress at Yucca led Congress to consider setting up an interim, aboveground waste dump at the site, Reid killed the idea year after year. With the threat of a Clinton veto overhead, Reid used a combination of arm-twisting and doomsday warnings that transporting waste across the country to Nevada could cause riots and disaster in his fellow senators' states. Indeed, Reid has mounted a skillful public relations campaign to convince Americans that the project is their problem, too. In 1998 he toured the country--stopping in Denver, St Louis, Indianapolis, and Chicago--to warn of a possible "mobile Chernobyl" if waste were transported to Nevada by truck or train. Reid's Senate website includes a map showing several possible routes, complete with state-by-state detail. By 1998 Reid had so firmly identified himself with the anti-Yucca crusade that when then-Representative John Ensign challenged his seat, Reid declared, "You send Ensign to the Senate, you send nuclear waste to Nevada." But it was the Democrats' recapture of the Senate last spring that may have sealed Yucca's fate forever. Reid played a central role in convincing Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords to abandon the GOP--even heroically ceding the Environment Committee chairmanship he would have inherited to Jeffords. The switch did, however, make Reid chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, with direct power over the Yucca budget--which Reid has already begun to slash. Reid has also used his new perch to stall three Bush Energy Department nominees whom he considered pro-Yucca. (Last year, Bush was considering former Louisiana Senator J. Bennett Johnston--who oversaw Congress's 1987 choice of Yucca--to be Energy secretary; when Reid heard the news, he said he couldn't wait to get to the office to call Johnston, whose nomination he vowed to kill.) And in coaxing Jeffords across the aisle, Reid also won the deep gratitude of his Democratic colleagues and, in particular, Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Within days of the Senate changeover, Daschle showed up at a fund-raiser for Reid, saying of the Yucca project, "As long as we're in the majority, it's dead." Which is unfortunate. Because while Yucca Mountain may have been a political choice, it wasn't a bad one scientifically. After years of study, a Department of Energy report completed last summer determined that the mountain, which rises from the desert about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is safe for long-term waste storage. The mountain rock, produced by ancient volcanoes, is especially stable and dry, minimizing the risk that radioactive material might seep into water streams. Federal scientists project very low levels of radiation exposure for the area's small population, vastly less than what an average person is exposed to from the sun and from the potassium in bananas. And, even when radiation levels peak from leakage in the year 622010 (no, that's not a typo), they'll still amount to less than one-third of average background radiation, which causes no harm. As storage concerns have receded, Reid has increasingly focused on transportation risks. But the Energy Department says waste can be transported in nearly indestructible containers. And it says there are no good alternatives. Reid has proposed keeping radioactive material in specially designed concrete casks at their current sites. But such casks are only a short-term solution; the waste will remain deadly for much longer than the man-made containers are destined to last. Casks also mean the waste will stay in populated areas with diffuse oversight. The Bush administration hasn't given up the fight for Yucca and is expected to give it an official go-ahead later this year. In Nevada some heretic politicos have even suggested the state stop fighting and make the best of the situation. As Democratic state Senator Joe Neal bluntly put it to National Journal in 1998, "We should demand large amounts of cash." But Reid--though wary of acting with "a heavy hand" in the wake of September 11, according to Alvarez--is unmoved. And he has one more card to play. Assuming Bush approves the Yucca site, the decision will face one last vote by Congress. Reid can count on his friend Daschle's political muscle, along with the deep pockets of the casino industry, which fears that if Nevada becomes the nuclear waste state, Las Vegas tourism will suffer. It's quite possible, therefore, that in a lightning-swift, dead-of-night maneuver, some other poor, defenseless state will be volunteered in the name of national security. Best of luck, Arkansas. MICHAEL CROWLEY is an associate editor at TNR. Copyright 2001, The New Republic ***************************************************************** 16 Gov. Guinn applauds Las Vegas Chamber decision to redirect dues to state efforts against Yucca Mountain FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: December 6, 2001 CONTACT: Greg Bortolin PHONE: 775-684-5670 FAX: 775-684-7198 CARSON CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn today applauded the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for its decision to redirect the $3,000 in dues formerly paid to the U.S. Chamber to the state effort to fight the establishment of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository. "Symbolically this should send a strong message to the U.S. Chamber on how Nevadans overwhelming feel about this issue," Guinn said. "I commend the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for taking this strong stand to protect the business interests in Nevada." The LVCC withdrew its membership from the U.S. Chamber on November 20, in response to the U.S. Chamber's lobbying campaign in support of the use of Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste. "This issue is one that could seriously impact the future of business in Nevada," said Chamber president Pat Shalmy. "This contribution is one more way of demonstrating our resolve to keep this process from going forward." On January 31, 2001, the LVCC Board of Trustees adopted a resolution opposing the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada. The resolution states that the health of Southern Nevada's economy, so heavily reliant on the tourism industry, could be jeopardized by the perception that Las Vegas is an unsafe destination due to its proximity to Yucca Mountain. The Nevada Protection Fund will serve to support a legal defense team representing the state of Nevada on this issue. Additionally, the fund will pay for a public information effort in states through which nuclear waste would be transported en route to Nevada. The aim of the campaign will be to educate the public about the number of shipments of nuclear waste that would pass through their areas and the possible health and safety risks that would be posed by these shipments. ***************************************************************** 17 'SAFETY RECORD OF INDIAN NUCLEAR PLANTS BEST IN WORLD': EXPERT Asia Pulse; Dec 10, 2001 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, South India, Dec 10 Asia Pulse - The safety record of Indian nuclear plants was the best in the world and none need have any fears over setting up of such plants, managing director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Dr B Bhattacharjee, said Friday. He told reporters here that the International Atmomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had recognised this fact and the nation's capability to maintain nuclear plants. Bhattacharjee also advocated setting up of nuclear plants to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power. He said apprehensions over the health of people in mineral rich deposit areas between Neendakara and Kayamkulam in Kerala were unfounded. Studies in this regard was a continuing process and no report had so far pinpointed health hazards to people as a consequence of radiation, he said. Bhattacharjee said BARC was ready to set up a central board with the state government's co-operation to undertake a study in these areas on a permanent basis. He also said there was nothing wrong in leasing out sand mining rights to private parties. "There is no point in holding back the mining rights", he said. Bhattacharjee said the AEC had taken a policy decision to allow private parties in mineral mining, but they would be involved only in physical separation. "There is no threat to national security if thorium mining is leased out to private agencies". The Opposition had recently questioned the government move to lease out sand mining rights to private parties in the Neendakara-Kayamkulam stretch. (PTI) World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright ***************************************************************** 18 Government set for new wrangle over Sellafield plant Irish Newspapers - Date: Mon December 10th 01 THE Government is set to clash with Britain over Sellafield again tomorrow, when EU heads of State and governments meet in Belgium. The move follows a statement from the European environment commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, supporting an Irish challenge to the Sellafield complex at the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The commission would enthusiastically back Ireland's case in the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, she said in an interview published in the Sunday Independent yesterday. Tomorrow the government is to support Austrian proposals for EU-wide nuclear safety standards at the Laeken Council meeting in Belgium. "The Government welcomes and supports the Austrian proposals at the Laeken Council meeting for a common nuclear safety standard to be established in the European Union," a government spokeswoman said. "But we will have to see the exact terms of the proposals on Tuesday before we fully commit to them," she added. The move follows the Government's failure to prevent British Nuclear Fuels from starting production at its st£475m MOX (mixed oxide) plant in Sellafield earlier this month. The United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that the British government could begin operations at the new MOX nuclear reprocessing plant. But the tribunal also ruled that the British government must provide the Irish Government with details of the risks and effects to the environment from the operations. The Austrian Chancellor, Dr Wolfgang Schssel, will propose that member states pursue a common nuclear safety standard across the Union. At present nuclear safety standards are conducted at national level. The Taoiseach told a Young Fianna Fail meeting in Cork in November that Ireland would use every avenue available to have Sellafield shut down. Earlier this month Fianna Fail made a direct appeal to the British public, taking out full-page advertisements in British newspapers, calling for the closure of Sellafield. The issue was also raised at the British-Irish Council summit held at Dublin Castle between the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month. Jas Kaminski © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 19 Nuclear safety fear spreading to West, says poll Irish Newspapers - Date: Mon December 10th 01 FEARS about Sellafield have emerged as a surprise concern for west of Ireland voters in an MRBI opinion poll, the findings of which will be revealed later today. Sligo-Leitrim is the latest constituency to attract the attention of the Market Research Bureau of Ireland on behalf of Nuacht TG4. TG4 will reveal the results of the survey in main evening bulletins, tonight and tomorrow night. The poll, which examines voting intentions and voter satisfaction in what promises to be a highly contested constituency, also addresses questions on the upcoming abortion referendum and voter views on the future prospects of the west of Ireland. Among the more surprising findings was the level of concern among voters about British plans to extend Sellafield, according to a spokesperson for TG4. The comprehensive survey was conducted last week among 400 voters in the constituency where John Ellis (FF), Matt Brennan (FF), John Perry (FG) and Gerry Reynolds (FG) are the four sitting TDs. So far, seven candidates have announced their intention to contest the elections. They include John Ellis, Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon for Fianna Fail, Gerry Reynolds, John Perry for Fine Gael, Declan Bree for Labour, Sean MacManus for Sinn Fein, and Marian Harkin as an Independent. The constituency was originally selected by TG4 last November, primarily because of the performance of independent candidate, Marian Harkin in the European elections, and the rise in the political profile of Sinn Fein. Former Labour TD, Declan Bree will also be fighting for a one of the four seats. Constituencies which have been the focus of TG4 polls in the past include Tipperary North and South and Kerry North. Anita Guidera © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 20 Scotland 'can power Britain' The Daily Telegraph (UK Abstracts); Dec 10, 2001 A Scottish Executive study to be released today is expected to reveal that Scotland can provide for most of Britain's power needs. Assessing the amount of energy that can be generated from wave, tide and wind sources, the study found that Scotland has the capability to generate 75% of the UK's current power generating capacity. The findings will come as a significant boost to groups opposed to the construction of new nuclear power plants. Energy minister Brian Wilson has advocated the construction of 15 nuclear power stations, although an energy review called by Prime Minister Tony Blair is said to have made recommendations against such a proposal. Abstracted from: The Daily Telegraph Copyright 2000: Financial Times Information. ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Spallation director's early success is surprising, but not unique By Frank Munger News-Sentinel senior writer ['picture' hspace='6' vspace='3' border='0'] Thom Mason is distinctive in many ways. For instance, he was probably the first (male) executive at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to wear an earring. But mostly he's known for his scientific brilliance and his many accomplishments at an early age. Mason is only 37 years old, which doesn't even qualify as mid-career for a scientist, and yet he is director of the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source - one of the largest research ventures in the world. More recently, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science - an honor usually bestowed on top scientists toward the end of their careers. Mason was cited for "distinguished contributions to condensed matter physics using neutron scattering and for leadership in the development of neutron-scattering sources and instrumentation.'' A spokeswoman at AAAS did not have detailed statistics on the fellowships, but she estimated that fewer than 20 of the association's 8,500 fellows are under 40 years old. I was impressed by Mason's early advancement, but I had difficulty finding someone who could put it into perspective. Finally, I called Herman Postma, a former ORNL director, who - as usual - was able to burst my bubble and provide a little clarity. "What you're forgetting,'' Postma said in that chiding tone of his, "is there were a lot of people who were a lot younger than that who achieved mighty things during the Manhattan Project. Why should it be unusual?'' Indeed, Alvin Weinberg was only 26 years old when he joined the World War II project that developed the first atomic bombs. "But all of us were young then,'' Weinberg once said of the wartime effort. "We were under enormous pressure. People were dying. Americans and others were being killed at an enormous rate. We knew if we succeeded then, then the war would be over. I never worked so hard in my life.'' Weinberg later became ORNL's research director at age 32 and assumed the laboratory's helm at 40, a leadership position he held for nearly two decades. Postma, of course, knows firsthand about achievement at an early age, earning such nicknames as "Boy Scientist'' as he rose rapidly through the ranks of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He became director of ORNL's Fusion Energy Division at age 35 and - like Weinberg - became laboratory director at 40. He, too, was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in his 30s, but he can't remember (forgive him) exactly when. The good thing about the current situation, Postma said, is that young people such as Thom Mason are being recognized as talented and resourceful and capable and not being held back simply because of their age. Although wisdom may come only with time, Postma said there are advantages in having young people in leadership positions. "They're generally not too encumbered by things that 'can't be done.' They're willing to try a new approach. That's very important,'' he said. They also have an opportunity to do important things over a long period, and that was more than a passing consideration early this year when ORNL Director Bill Madia chose Mason to succeed David Moncton as head of the Spallation Neutron Source. Mason joined the SNS in 1998 as its scientific guru and director of experimental facilities and, by the time the research complex becomes operational in 2006, he'll have the invaluable experience of having been through all of the project's critical life stages. He'll still be a relatively young director at the point and conceivably could lead the scientific effort for many years if he so chooses. Copyright 2001 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 2 Uranium Seized Near Moscow not Weapons-Grade Material Monday, Dec. 10, 2001. Page 3 The Associated Press The Interior Ministry said Saturday that the uranium seized last week when police arrested a half-dozen men allegedly trying to sell it was low-grade material that would have been useless to a nuclear terrorist. Police seized more than one kilogram of uranium from six suspects, who allegedly tried to sell it for $30,000 to an organized-crime group. The Interior Ministry moved quickly to say that it appeared to be a low-level deal between mob groups and not a bid to sell the material to a terrorist group. Nuclear experts were called in to analyze the seized uranium, contained in a safe capsule, to determine the exact level of its enrichment and origins. Officials said Saturday that the results of the analysis showed that the material was relatively low-grade. The suspects had "uranium tablets ... of the kind used in heat-releasing elements of power reactors at nuclear power plants," Bulat Nigmatulin, deputy nuclear power minister, told Interfax. "Those tablets have nothing to do with weapons-grade uranium even theoretically." Viktor Zakharov, head of the Moscow region's Federal Security Service, said the material could even be handled with bare hands. Police arrested the six suspects overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday near a roadside cafe on the Gorky highway 19 kilometers southeast of Moscow. Investigators said the suspects allegedly belonged to the Balashikha criminal gang. [http://www.moscowtimes.ru ***************************************************************** 3 Pakistan Ups Probe of Nuke Workers Las Vegas SUN December 09, 2001 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan has broadened its investigation of nuclear scientists suspected of having links to Osama bin Laden after receiving new information from the CIA, a senior Pakistani official said Sunday. Two nuclear scientists are already in custody, and Pakistani officials are questioning at least two others about their possible links to bin Laden, the official said on condition of anonymity. Suleiman Asad and Mohammed Ali Mukhtar have been ordered to report for questioning but are not in custody, the official said. Two others, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood and Abdul Majid, were detained after CIA Director George Tenet visited this month. They had been in custody since October but were released without charges before Tenet's visit. Both worked for Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission until retiring in 1999. Afterward, they managed a charity organization, Tameer-e-Ummah, or "Nation Builder," and had made several trips to Afghanistan, where they met bin Laden. Both Mehmood and Majid, however, denied transferring any nuclear-related information in Afghanistan and said they only ran education programs and helped poor Afghan farmers. Authorities said they defied service rules that apply to government scientists even after retirement, and violated travel restrictions. The Pakistani official said the issue of nuclear scientists was a major point of discussion during a meeting between Tenet and Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. Tenet told them that information obtained inside Afghanistan indicated that other Pakistani scientists - including Asad and Mukhtar - may have been involved with the charity organization run by Mehmood, the official said. The official refused to give further details since the investigation is in the early stage. Pakistan was the closest international ally of the Taliban until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which bin Laden allegedly orchestrated. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf then joined the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism and changed the leadership of the spy agency, which had been close to the Taliban. However, the ranks of the ISI and other Pakistani agencies are believed filled with Taliban and bin Laden supporters. That has led to increased concern in the United States about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and the possibility that al-Qaida could have obtained expertise of nuclear materials from the Pakistanis. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 4 Al Qaeda's nuclear agenda verified -- The Washington Times December 10, 2001 By Arnaud de Borchgrave THE WASHINGTON TIMES ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani intelligence officers were assisting Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization to develop the ability to build a "dirty" nuclear device, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies have concluded. Intelligence officers in Washington and Islamabad, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they are now convinced that al Qaeda was attempting to put together a "nuclear device in the dirty bomb category." Documents uncovered in Kabul and the interrogation of nuclear scientists who were frequent visitors to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan — ostensibly to perform humanitarian work — have produced conclusive evidence of the fact, the officers said. One Pakistani general who has seen the evidence described the device as a "dirty nuclear weapon," meaning one in which radioactive materials are wrapped around conventional explosives. Such a device can contaminate an area of several square blocks with radiation. The general said he also believes bin Laden obtained such materials on Russia's nuclear black market. The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna is aware of 175 cases of trafficking in nuclear materials since 1993, including 18 that involved highly enriched uranium and plutonium pellets the size of a silver dollar. There are 18 million potential delivery vehicles that could be used to smuggle a nuclear device into the United States. That is the number of cargo containers that arrive in the country annually. Of them, only 3 percent are inspected, and bills of lading do not have to be produced until the containers reach their destination, according to current regulations. Radioactivity is invisible, as was the case in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. There is no way of knowing in advance the impact on health 10 years hence. It is more a weapon of mass disruption than mass destruction. An unidentified former chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency is believed to be the man who coordinated bin Laden's nuclear ambitions. One local intelligence source speculated that before September 11, a dirty bomb could have been smuggled out of Afghanistan in a truck all the way to Karachi and then shipped out in a cargo container. That could be the weapon Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar was referring to when he said, after the U.S. bombing started Oct. 7, that America would soon have to face extinction. Allowing for hyperbole, he may have known what bin Laden was planning next. Another ex-ISI chief, retired Gen. Hameed Gul, predicted after September 11 that one day there would be a single Islamic state that would stretch from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and Afghanistan and that would have nuclear weapons, as well as control of the Gulf's oil resources. The general is an ISI legend, and still popular among the agency's present crop of leaders who were his junior officers in the late 1980s. Gen. Gul, a Muslim fundamentalist, is vehemently anti-American. He acts as "strategic adviser" to Pakistan's extremist religious parties, and spent two weeks in Afghanistan just prior to September 11. Gen. Gul is slowly emerging as the spokesman for the combined opposition of Islamic fundamentalists. In Urdu-language newspapers on Friday, he was quoted as saying: "No one can tell us how to run our nuclear facilities and nuclear programs. This is being done in the interest of Pakistan, not the United States. Taliban will always remain in Afghanistan, and Pakistan will always support them." He was presumably referring to the Taliban in its guerrilla mode, following the fall of Kandahar. Gen. Gul's only daughter runs VARAN, the public transportation bus company that enjoys a monopoly in Islamabad and its twin military garrison city of Rawalpindi. Gen. Gul himself lives in "Pindi" in an army compound housing development earmarked for retired generals. Officially, the Pakistani government has accepted the explanation of three nuclear scientists about their "innocuous" relationship to the Taliban. Privately, however, some Pakistani officials, working closely with U.S. colleagues, said their activities "cannot be described as innocuous by any stretch of the imagination." On a brief visit to Islamabad early this month, George Tenet, director of CIA, conferred with President Pervez Musharraf on what was described as the need for "more and better intelligence" from ISI. The CIA has reportedly submitted a list of six more nuclear scientists whom it wants to probe for suspected links to al Qaeda. Two of them, Dr. Suleiman Asad and Dr. Muhammad Ali Muktar, are now in Burma doing undisclosed research with local scientists. Apparently anxious to avoid further U.S. probes into Pakistan's ultrasecret nuclear weapons program, these two scientists have been advised by the government to remain in Burma until further notice. Dr. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmud, former director of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), and Chief Engineer Dr. Chaudry Abdul Majeed have been questioned by a joint FBI-ISI team. According to PAEC sources, the CIA wishes to conduct a separate interrogation based on documents seized in Kabul. Dr. Mahmud is a close associate of Gen. Gul. They were colleagues when Gen. Gul ran ISI. Dr. Mahmud is one of three scientists who befriended Taliban leaders. He is an expert in enriched uranium and plutonium, having lectured all over Pakistan with odes to the Taliban as "the wave of the future for Pakistan." Dr. Mahmud and two of his colleagues were detained in late October as a result of U.S. questions about Pakistani "relief" organizations active in Taliban-run Afghanistan, including an agricultural project near Kandahar. They admitted to meeting with al Qaeda associates of bin Laden and were officially cleared of passing on nuclear secrets. Dr. Mahmud says publicly that plutonium production is not a state secret, and advocates increasing plutonium output to help other Islamic nations build nuclear weapons. After the start of the U.S. bombing campaign, Gen. Musharraf ordered an immediate redeployment of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal to six new secret locations, including separate storage facilities for uranium and plutonium cores and their detonation mechanisms. Army colleagues now say privately that Gen. Musharraf was fearful of assassination by extremists who were already accusing him of betraying Islam and selling out to the United States. There were also rumors of a coup by hard-liners in the military. The officer corps is 20 percent fundamentalist, according to a post-September 11 confidential survey by military intelligence separate from ISI. Pakistan's community of nuclear scientists is held to be "profoundly fundamentalist" and anti-American. They are particularly resentful of U.S. economic and military sanctions against Pakistan as punishment for their country's nuclear weapons program. The community's guru is Abdul Qadir Khan, the scientist who devised Pakistan's first nuclear weapon. Pakistan now has an estimated 20 such weapons in its arsenal. ISI is still widely distrusted by Western intelligence agencies and by all levels of Pakistani society, from people in the street to top political leaders. An ISI general who is regional director in one of the tribal areas told an important tribal leader known to this reporter that "after Afghanistan, Pakistan is next on America's list of countries to be conquered, and after Pakistan, Iran will be next. All that war talk about Iraq being next is just a smokescreen." Gen. Gul has been touring FATA (Federally-Administered Tribal Areas) along the border of Afghanistan with much the same message about Washington's plans for conquest in the region. ISI is undergoing a traumatic shock in the wake of the Taliban's defeat, according to knowledgeable secular political party leaders. "They have lost thousands of operatives in Afghanistan," said one key politician who asked not to be named. ISI also facilitated the transfer to Afghanistan in the past two months of thousands of young religious school students who had been proselytized by their clerical teachers to volunteer to fight with the Taliban. Gen. Musharraf had a dangerous precedent in mind: Six years ago, a group of Pakistani army officers was arrested for plotting to kill Army Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Waheed. He had fired the ISI chief for secretly assisting Muslim rebels in several countries. Distributed by United Press International ***************************************************************** 5 DOE chief to visit proposed site of anti-terrorism school Las Vegas SUN December 10, 2001 By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to visit the Nevada Test Site on Jan. 7 with Nevada lawmakers who continue to push for a national counterterrorism school at the site. Nevada lawmakers have long argued that the Test Site's remote and secure 1,375-square-mile expanse makes it perfect for a permanent anti-terrorism training ground. The Sept. 11 attacks gave the proposal momentum, they said. Nevada officials are planning to give Abraham an up-close tour of the site's features, including tunnels, barracks and other facilities, although a trip itinerary has not been finalized, Nathan Naylor, a spokesman for Sen. Harry Reid, said today. The site is already home to counterterrorism weapons-of-mass-destruction training, and Nevada officials hope to view a live demonstration. The Test Site was home to nuclear weapons tests until a ban in 1992. Nevada lawmakers plan to stress the point to Abraham that the site could easily and quickly be converted into an established, year-round academy offering courses for emergency responders as well as military from around the nation. Abraham has not committed support for the plan, but is intrigued, DOE officials have said. Lawmakers from several other areas of the nation are lobbying to increase terrorism training centers in their districts. Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Reid, D-Nev., pitched the plan to Abraham in person during a meeting Nov. 15. Nevada lawmakers also have invited Tom Ridge, director of the Office of Homeland Security, to visit the site with Abraham if his schedule permits. Nevada lawmakers likely would need the support of Abraham, Ridge, President Bush, and Congress before a national academy could be established at the site, Naylor said. Abraham's visit will fall at a time when Nevada lawmakers have bolstered their fight against Abraham's department on another matter: the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Abraham two weeks ago criticized the Nevada delegation for giving the media excerpts of an unofficial draft General Accounting Office report that questioned the DOE's timeline and cost estimates for the Yucca project. But the lawmakers and Abraham are keeping the two issues separate, Naylor said. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 6 Powell Says Nuclear Deal Is Close (washingtonpost.com) Verification Measures to Be Discussed at Meeting With Putin U.S., Russia Want Arms Agreement by Mid-2002 From Reuters at 9:59 AM MOSCOW, Dec 10—Russia and the United States said on Monday they hoped to tie up a new strategic arms agreement in time for a visit to Moscow by President Bush in the middle of next year. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the two sides were closer to agreeing on numbers for nuclear warhead cuts. Appearing with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Powell told a Kremlin news conference: "Both of our presidents have charged us...to find ways to formalize this agreement at lower levels of strategic offensive numbers and to try to get the work concluded in time for when they meet in Moscow." Ivanov said Bush, who held summit talks with Putin at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, last month, was expected to make his first visit to Moscow in the middle of 2002. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/world/world_daalder050201.ht m] • Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Ivo H. Daalder [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/world/world_daalder050201.ht m] discussed the argument against President Bush's missile defense plan. • Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis Senior Defense Analyst David Tanks [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/world/world_tanks050201.htm] discussed the argument in favor of President Bush's missile defense plan. • National security analyst Anthony Cordesman [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/00/world/cordesman050300.htm] discussed the possibilities of a national ballistic missile defense system. • Reporter Bradley Graham [http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/zforum/00/graham1211.htm] discussed his Post magazine article on a failed test of the national missile defense system. Documents Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/abm/abm2.html] • Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/ctb.html] Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/balist1.html] • START I Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/starthtm/start/treatytc.html#TREATYTOC] START II Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/starthtm/start2/stiitoc.html#TREATYTOC] SALT I Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/salt1.html] • SALT II Treaty [http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/salt2-2.html] By Alan Sipress Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, December 10, 2001; Page A19 MOSCOW, Dec. 9 -- A deal between the United States and Russia to sharply reduce nuclear weapons is "just about done," and the two countries are now looking for ways to verify that they abide by the proposed limits, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today. Powell, who is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, said discussions were focusing on how to apply verification measures included in the earlier START I and START II arms control treaties to the new limits proposed for offensive weapons. The Bush administration has said it was willing to reach a written agreement extending these measures, such as mutual inspections and technical reconnaissance. Asked by reporters whether this agreement could take the shape of a formal treaty, a senior State Department official said today the administration was not ruling out any option. At a meeting with Putin in the United States last month, President Bush announced he was prepared to reduce the U.S. stockpile to between 1,700 and 2,200 long-range nuclear warheads. Putin said he was willing to cut his weapons to about a third of their current level, or roughly 2,000 warheads. U.S. officials have been waiting to be informed of the exact total Russia envisions. "The offensive weapons are just about done. All we have to do is hear a number from them and then talk through the verification and other issues," Powell said on his airplane en route to Moscow, the sixth stop on his tour of European and Central Asian countries. There will be a "big concentration on transparency so both sides know what the other is doing [and on] exchange of information on our various programs." Powell sounded less optimistic, however, about an imminent breakthrough in talks on the ABM Treaty that could allow the Bush administration to proceed with testing a missile defense system, now barred by the 1972 accord. U.S. officials consider the treaty outmoded, but Putin has called it central to maintaining stability between the nuclear powers. "There is still this disagreement with respect to our missile defense programs," Powell said. "Increasingly, the ABM Treaty constrains what the president feels we must do in order to get our missile defense systems. We haven't found yet a way to get through that by their accepting the testing we have to do." While U.S. officials want to scrap the treaty, many in the administration have been willing to reach an interim understanding with Russia that could allow testing to proceed while putting off a final decision about withdrawing from the accord. Powell said he would be seeking "new ideas" in talks with Russian officials about how to permit the Pentagon's test program to move ahead. The United States is eager to proceed in the coming months with tests that could violate the treaty. Powell's visit to Moscow is his first since 1992 and his first as secretary of state, but his discussions with Russian officials have become almost commonplace. He met this evening with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, their 16th get-together this year and the third just within the last week. In addition to talks on strategic weapons systems, Powell said he intended to speak with Putin about the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan and the NATO decision last week to integrate Russia more closely into the alliance. Although missile defense remains one of the administration's top foreign policy priorities, the most noticeable progress in talks with Russia has been in the realm of reducing offensive weapons, which has become Moscow's priority in nuclear talks. Although Bush has also called for sharp reductions in warheads, U.S. officials have consistently said they want to avoid a new, cumbersome arms control treaty. But in response to Putin's insistence on written commitments, Bush said last month he would be willing to put a new agreement on paper. "We're willing to do this in written form," a senior State Department official repeated today. "Not necessarily a treaty." Part of that agreement would provide for means to "carry forward" the safeguards included in the earlier arms control treaties, administration officials said. "What we don't want to lose is the verification and notifications and other provisions of START I and some of the provisions of START II," Powell said. "What we will be discussing is how to bring these features forward and to codify them, formalize them [in] a document in a way that both sides find satisfactory." In a statement released Friday, the State Department said, "A significant aspect of the START Treaty's regime lies in its use of rigorous, equitable and verifiable methods to monitor its implementation." These include "the right to do on-site inspections and other verification measures." The treaty also calls for "data exchanges and notifications on each side's strategic systems and facilities as well as exchanges of telemetry data from missile flight tests." The department released the statement to mark the Dec. 5 completion of reductions in offensive nuclear arms required by the START I Treaty, signed 10 years ago. The United States and Russia now have cut the number of strategic warheads to no more than 6,000 each. © 2001 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 7 IEER Report: Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations For further information contact: Arjun Makhijani [ ieer@ieer.org] : (301) 270-5500 Bob Schaeffer: (941) 395-6773 Sriram Gopal [sriram@ieer.org] : (301) 270-5500 LeRoy Moore: (303) 447-2779 M E D I A A D V I S O R Y Cleanup of Nuclear Weapons Sites May Leave High Levels of Residual Plutonium Levels in Soil Precedent-Setting Estimation Process at Colorado's Rocky Flats Plant Nearing Completion Could Cause National Setback for Sound Cleanup Rules, New Study Finds WHAT:: News conference to release report, Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations: The Scientific Basis of Subsistence Farmer Scenario and Its Application to the Estimation of Radionuclide Soil Action Levels (RSALs) for Rocky Flats. The report shows the scientific necessity of using a conservative approach for setting cleanup standards in general and for residual plutonium in the soil in particular. It discusses the risks of using designations of contaminated sites as wildlife refuges to set cleanup standards. The report was prepared by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Boulder, Colorado. WHERE: Zenger Room, National Press Club 13th Floor, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC WHEN: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 at 10 AM WHO: + Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) and principal author of the report. + Sriram Gopal, Staff Scientist at IEER and co-author of the report. + LeRoy Moore, Consultant, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. WHY: There is growing sentiment in some quarters to designate nuclear weapons sites that are highly contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive materials as wildlife refuges. The first site proposed to be so designated is the Rocky Flats Plant site near Denver, Colorado. Setting standards for cleanup based on such a designation could result in residual radioactivity in soil dozens of times higher than under similar risk criteria using the traditional approach that assumes that a subsistence farmer may use the site in the distant future. The abandonment of this "subsistence farmer" approach to health protection at Rocky Flats would be deleterious to the local environment and could set a precedent for other sites and a more widespread and unprecedented relaxation of cleanup rules in the US nuclear weapons complex. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Comments to Outreach Coordinator: ieer@ieer.org [ieer@ieer.org] Takoma Park, Maryland, USA Posted December 7, 2001 ***************************************************************** 8 BNFL resumes K-25 work Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:02 p.m. on Monday, December 10, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff Now that some safety-related issues have been remedied, a BNFL Inc. official says the company has been giving approval from the Department of Energy to resume operations, including work involving fissile materials, or uranium, at the Oak Ridge K-25 site. "We're very glad that we're back in full removal operations," said Norman Hammitt, spokesman for BNFL. Neither BNFL nor DOE would provide The Oak Ridger with a copy of the letter authorizing the resumption of work. Based on safety-related concerns, DOE halted work at K-25 involving fissile materials in early November. As a result, BNFL threatened to suspend around 350 of the 900 workers involved in its three-building K-25 cleanup project. Hammitt said DOE's safety concerns have been remedied. This has included adding air horns to inform workers of an emergency situation and removing obstructions that prevented the warning devices from being heard in certain areas. "We had constant communication with each other," Hammitt said. "We have addressed everything DOE has asked us to." DOE and BNFL signed a $238 million, six-year contract in 1997 to decontaminate and decommission three buildings, K-33, K-29 and K-31, at the Oak Ridge K-25 site. K-25 was formerly used to separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 through a gaseous diffusion process. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or pparson@oakridger.com [pparson@oakridger.com] . ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************