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12/12/01 ****     RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL)       **** VOL 9.293
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   RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE
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                    NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
 
 1  Bill on plant guards attracts strong backers, opponents
 2  English pushing bill to stock iodide tablets near nuclear plants
 3  Standard & Poor's Assigns Listing To Nuclear Solutions, Inc. 
 4  Bulgaria: Repairs completed at nuclear power plant 
 5  Ukraine, European Bank to set up group to study reactor 
 6  Russian nuclear industry to increase capacity  
 7  Output cut at Russian nuclear station after coolant leak 
 8  South Africa's nuclear programme to seek China's help
 9  Nevada: N-Waste Decision a Sham
10  YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE weighing phased license application
11  English pushing bill to stock iodide tablets near nuclear plants 
12  Douglas County gives money to fight Yucca nuclear repository
13  Ling'ao nuke plant begins trial operation
14  Letter: World awaits Yucca decision
15  Chernobyl's Young Have High Rate of Thyroid Cancer 
16  President Jiang Greets China's Rocket Pioneer
17  Nine Romanian Workers Exposed to High Radiation 
18  U.S. nuclear plants face downtime for reactor cracks
19  NW Natural seeks Wash. state approval for PGE deal
20  Labor says no to dumps 
21  European company wants to compete with USEC uranium
22  Vermont Yankee to appeal failing grade in security test   
23  Nuclear Industry Faces Jitters
24  Nevada Nuke Waste Site Challenged

                    NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS

 1  [southnews] Russian call for nuke buildup after US decision on
 2  Kazakhstan: Experts Report Progress On Safeguarding Nuclear Site
 3  Kazakhstan to step up control over nuclear facilities, 
 4  Nuclear response team is suddenly silent
 5  Bush to Pull Out of 1972 Nuke Treaty
 6  Critics Say Colorado Radiation Cleanup Will Leave Overly 
 7  2 Nuclear Experts Briefed Bin Laden, Pakistanis Say (washingtonpost.com)
 8  The First Line Against Terrorism 
 9  Cold War fears are revisited 
10  Bio of Ernest Lawrence (DOE labs)
11  Safety agency to monitor Pantex after procedure faults 
12  Scientists concerned about Flats cleanup
13  SRS will test waste removal system 
14  IEER Report: Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations 
15  Officials begin cleanup of Berkeley tritium lab
16  U.S. puts off subcritical nuclear test - 
17  Memo renews concerns about Hanford cleanup
18  Critics: Nuclear Cleanup Falls Short

****************************************************************
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                     NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 Bill on plant guards attracts strong backers, opponents

Redding.com - 

Record Searchlight newspaper - News SHNS

Wednesday, December 12, 2001 

Bill Lambrecht 
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Barricaded in a marina shower room and threatening to shoot 
himself, Danny Dice surprised Michigan police when he said he was 
a security officer at a nuclear power plant.

In fact, Dice had been fired that day four months ago for failing 
to show up for work at the Big Rock Point nuclear plant, which no 
longer produces power but still stores radioactive waste. After 
the standoff, he was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to 
stop drinking.

That same month, August, an ex-guard walked into sensitive areas 
where he did not belong in another Michigan nuclear plant. And in 
Minnesota, a working guard abandoned his station during an 
electrical fire elsewhere in a plant, according to Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission records.

Problems such as these involving private guard forces will be 
discussed when Congress takes up new legislation, probably early 
next year, to federalize security workers at nuclear plants.

The debate could resemble the drive in Congress that led recently 
to the government taking over airport security. The bill grew out 
of concerns about nuclear plant safety that arose after 

Sept. 11. Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., chief sponsor, 
referred to the industry's security forces as a patchwork of 
"rent-a-cops."

"With something as important as nuclear power, I just don't think 
we should be doing it like this," he said.

David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer with the Union of 
Concerned Scientists and a supporter of the legislation, argued 
that it would "raise the bar" for safety. Beyond federalizing 
plant workers, it would require "force-on-force" tests every two 
years to test plants' capacity to repel terrorists. Those tests 
have been administered every eight years on average; about half 
of the plants routinely failed.

The nuclear plant legislation is generating stiff opposition. A 
spokesman for AmerenUE's Callaway Nuclear Power Station labeled 
it "an atrocious idea." The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also 
opposes federalizing workers, saying it could cost $1 billion.

The Wackenhut Corp., a Florida company that operates globally, 
provides security both at Callaway and at the Clinton, Ill., 
nuclear plant, which is operated by Exelon Corp. Gary R. Sanders, 
Wackenhut's president of global operations, argued that likening 
nuclear plant officers to airport screeners is like comparing 
apples to oranges.

Sanders described rigorous screening procedures that included 
background checks five years into the past and psychological 
evaluations. He said his company preferred hiring people from the 
military or with law enforcement experience.

The legislation is unnecessary, Sanders insisted, "because there 
hasn't been any viable threat. And even if there were an issue, 
the people we have are very qualified to respond."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, 
http://www.shns.com.)

Š 2001 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights 
*****************************************************************
 2  English pushing bill to stock iodide tablets near nuclear plants

Drug prevents the absorption of radioctive iodine 
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer 

In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent 
security threats, U.S. Rep. Phil English has revived a proposal 
to require federal agencies to develop a lifesaving plan to make 
potassium iodide tablets available in areas within a 50-mile 
radius of the nation's 103 nuclear power plants.

The Erie Republican's attempt yesterday to stoke interest in a 
bill he reintroduced in March comes a day after the Food and Drug 
Administration called for widespread availability of the drug to 
protect people -- especially children -- exposed to radiation 
from a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant or detonation of 
a nuclear device.

The drug, which is supplied to nuclear power plant workers in 
case of a nuclear accident, is available over the counter but not 
commonly stocked in drug stores. It works by preventing the 
thyroid gland from taking up radioactive iodine, which is a 
common component of nuclear fallout and can cause cancer.

"Our nuclear facilities were locked down on Sept. 11 and security 
has been even tighter as plants such as Three Mile Island have 
received 'credible threats,' " English said during a news 
conference at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of 
Public Health in Oakland.

"While none of us like to think about the possibility of an 
attack on a nuclear power plant, or even an accident, the 
possibility does exist."

English's bill, which has 19 cosponsors and an American Thyroid 
Association endorsement, would require the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other 
appropriate federal agencies to develop a plan for stockpiling 
potassium iodide tablets in easily accessible neighborhood 
locations near nuclear power plants. English said the best plan 
would be to distribute the tablets to people's homes. "That way 
they can be available to be administered quickly when they'll do 
the most good."

Dr. Niel Wald, a professor of environmental and occupational 
health at the public health school, said that following the 1979 
accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, it took four days 
to round up 60,000 doses of potassium iodide. 

A subcommittee hearing on the bill could be scheduled in the 
spring, but English said federal agencies or the Bush 
administration could order stockpiling without waiting for 
congressional action. He has also contacted the Office of 
Homeland Security headed by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

"It would take tens of millions of dollars to do what the bill 
mandates and substantially more to provide the tablets to the 
whole country, but the cost is chump change compared to the 
benefits."

Dr. Thomas Foley Jr., a professor of pediatrics at Pitt's School 
of Medicine and of epidemiology at the public health school, said 
studies of children exposed to radiation after the 1986 accident 
at Chernobyl in Ukraine show that ingesting potassium iodide 
tablets soon after exposure can almost completely block 
absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid.
 
 Copyright Š 1997-2001 PG Publishing. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 3  Standard & Poor's Assigns Listing To Nuclear Solutions, Inc. 
                      
Updated: Tue, Dec 11 9:05 AM EST

MERIDIAN, Idaho (BUSINESS WIRE) - Nuclear Solutions, Inc. 
(OTCBB:NSOL) announced today that it has received approval for 
listing in Standard & Poor's Corporation Records.

S&P will initiate financial coverage of Nuclear Solutions, Inc. 
as part of the S&P Market Access Program, including coverage of 
Nuclear Solutions, Inc. on S&P's Internet website, as well as S&P 
Marketscope and the electronic version of S&P Stock Guide 
database.

"Being listed in Standard & Poor's is yet another step in our 
plan to increase our exposure to Wall Street and to be listed on 
other exchanges," said Paul M. Brown, NSOL President and CEO. He 
added, "The S&P listing gives a manual exemption for registration 
in over 35 states and allows investment firms to begin making a 
market in the stock, which will give added liquidity to our 
shareholders." The initial description of Nuclear Solutions, Inc. 
will be published in the S&P Daily News Section prior to December 
25, 2001.

Additionally, Nuclear Solutions, Inc. will have its corporate 
description published in Standard and Poor's Daily News Section. 
Standard & Poor's Corporation Records is a recognized manual for 
the "Manual" exemption for non-issuer transactions contained in 
the Securities Acts of 35 regulatory jurisdictions. Nuclear 
Solution's listing in Standard Corporation Records should assist 
the brokerage and investment communities in making a market for 
Nuclear Solutions, Inc. stock.

It is recommended that brokers check with their compliance 
officers or legal counsel for applicable "Blue Sky" laws and 
regulations pertaining to them.

NSOL is currently engaged in the development and marketing of its 
patented and patent pending nuclear waste treatment technology to 
the nuclear industry.

This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking 
statements that could affect the financial condition and results 
of operations of the company and its subsidiaries. Further 
information on potential factors that could affect financial 
conditions, results of operations, and expansion projects of the 
company are included in filings with the U.S. Securities and 
Exchange Commission.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Nuclear Solutions, Inc. (NSOL) is pioneering the application 
of photonuclear physics for the treatment of nuclear waste and 
the safe, efficient generation of electricity. Development of 
this patented and patent-pending technology could result in the 
elimination of nuclear waste and a new generation of nuclear 
reactors that are able to burn their own waste.

The application of photonuclear physics to nuclear waste is 
called Photodeactivation (a term coined by the inventor, Dr. Paul 
M. Brown). Photodeactivation involves the irradiation of specific 
radioactive isotopes to force the emission of a neutron, thereby 
producing an isotope of reduced atomic mass. These resultant 
isotopes are characteristically either not radioactive or 
radioactive with a short half-life.

NSOL's technology works on the laboratory scale, and preliminary 
computer simulations suggest that this technology will also work 
on the industrial scale. NSOL is taking the steps necessary for 
commercialization of the technology. As for most of the advanced 
nuclear technologies developed today, computer simulation is one 
of the most important and necessary steps. NSOL will use and 
improve a series of nuclear simulation codes. The new set of 
simulation codes will allow the NSOL research and development 
team to design, test, improve, and develop experiments and 
commercial facilities through computer modeling.

NSOL plans to capitalize on its patent and patent-pending 
technology by forming strategy alliances and joint ventures with 
well-established leaders in the nuclear industry. Continued 
revenue streams are expected through licensing of the technology 
with both upfront fees and ongoing royalties.

2. NSOL's technology, the HYPERCON (TM) ADS process, is an 
electron accelerator-based photodisintegration process, 
incorporating the most recent advances in the photo-nuclear 
industry.

3. The technology could be developed into new applications for 
remediation of nuclear waste. Industrially, it would operate at a 
sub-critical level, so the heat produced by the process could 
also be used to generate electricity in a safe and 
environmentally benign manner.

Š2001 At Home Corporation. All rights reserved. Excite, @Home, 
*****************************************************************
 4  Bulgaria: Repairs completed at nuclear power plant 

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 11, 2001


Text of report in English by Bulgarian news agency BTA web site

Kozloduy (on the Danube), 11 December: 

Repair work of a 30 meter section of the cold canal 
hydrotechnical facility at the Kozloduy N-Plant has been 
successfully completed, the N-Plant's Press Office said.

A watertight barrier of the cold canal broke during scheduled 
maintenance on 19 August. This hydrotechnical facility which 
cools the turbines of the generating units, was built 28 years 
ago. An inquiry established that the incident was due both to the 
depreciation of the wall and to erosion caused by the 
overspilling of hot water from the hot canal into the cold canal 
in winter.

More than 2m leva (1 lev = DM1) have been invested into the 
rehabilitation of the cold canal, as well as on the repair and 
strengthening of the barrier. The reconstruction of the spillway 
will help save 5,000 MWh of electricity a year, the press release 
says. The construction of a stand-by facility has been planned 
for next year.

Source: BTA web site, Sofia, in English 11 Dec 01 /BBC 
Monitoring/ Š BBC. World Reporter
*****************************************************************
 5  Ukraine, European Bank to set up group to study reactor 
project 

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 10, 2001

Text of report by Ukrainian Inter TV on 10 December

Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 
[EBRD] are planning to set up a working group to discuss the 
EBRD's possible participation in the completion of construction 
of two nuclear reactors at Rivne and Khmelnytskyy nuclear power 
plants. This was agreed by EBRD representatives and members of 
the Ukrainian delegation led by the first deputy prime minister, 
Oleh Dubyna, during their talks in London today.

The sources of this information say that the parties discussed 
the project cost as well as electricity tariffs [which have been 
stumbling blocks in Ukrainian-EBRD loan talks]. I would like to 
remind you here that official Kiev believes the EBRD previous 
requirements are unacceptable, as [the price of] electricity 
would increase almost by one-third.

[Earlier Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma had said that his 
country would rely on Russian help to complete the reactors, 
describing EBRD loan conditions as "slavery", but adding later on 
that Ukraine was still ready for further talks with the bank.]

Source: Inter TV, Kiev, in Russian 1800 gmt 10 Dec 01 /BBC 
Monitoring/ Š BBC. World Reporter
*****************************************************************
 6  Russian nuclear industry to increase capacity  

Russia has 9 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation. The safety 
standards of the Soviet designed reactors have been highly 
questioned by international experts. During the last decade, the 
social issues at the Russian NPPs have become of major concern in 
line with the technical flaws. 

The Russian Ministry for Nuclear Energy extends the operation 
time for ageing nuclear reactors. The Western donors have 
provided millions of dollars for the safety of the Russian 
reactors in hope the most dangerous ones will be shut down before 
their operational lifetime is expired.

Vladislav Nikiforov, 2001-12-12 16:54

According to the plans of the Russian Ministry for Nuclear 
Energy, Russian nuclear power plants should generate 174 TWh of 
electricity in 2005 and 212 TWh in 2010 in comparison with 131 
TWh in 2000. This plan is stipulated by the new federal program 
Energy Efficient Economics in 2002-2005 and until 2010, Alyans 
Media reports. 

In 2005, the capacity of the Russian nuclear power plants should 
reach 25.24 GW and 30.05 GW in 2010. This can be achieved by 
extending the operational lifetime of the reactors for 10 extra 
years than the original design project suggests: 

1. Novovoronezh NPP's reactors no. 3 (30 years old), 4 (29 years 
old), 5 (21 years old) with total capacity 1834 MW; 

2. Kola NPP's reactors no. 1 (28 years old), 2 (27 years old) 
with total capacity 880 MW; 

3. Leningrad NPP's reactors no. 1 (28 years old), 2 (23 years 
old), 3 (22 years old) with total capacity 3000 MW; 

4. Kursk NPP's reactors no. 1 (25 years old), 2 (23 years old) 
with total capacity 2000 MW; 

5. Bilibinsk NPP's reactors no. 1 (28 years old), 2 (28 years 
old), 3 (26 years old), 4 (25 years old) with total capacity 48 
MW;

6. Beloyarsk NPP's reactor no. 3 (20 years old) with 600 MW 
capacity. 

Western technical aid was given to upgrade all the mentioned 
reactors, mainly their safety systems. The performed upgrade is 
going to be a serious argument in the application for the 
operational lifetime prolongation of the ageing reactors. 
Besides, the program stipulates the completion of Rostov NPP's 
second reactor, Kalinin NPP's third reactor, Kursk NPP's fifth 
reactor, Balakov NPP's fifth reactor. 

      Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge 
Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: 
webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 
38 38 62  * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
 7  Output cut at Russian nuclear station after coolant leak 

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 11, 2001


Text of report by Russian news agency RIA

Desnogorsk (Smolensk Region), 10 December: 

The capacity of the No.2 power set at Smolensk nuclear power 
station was cut by 50 per cent following a leak from a cooler 
filter in the No.3 turbogenerator on Monday [10 December]. The 
generator was shut down for repair work.

RIA-Novosti news agency was told by the station's public 
information centre that the generating capacity of the second 
power set is now 500 MW and that of the first and third sets up 
to 1,000 MW. Radiation levels on and around the station premises 
are normal.


Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1645 gmt 10 Dec 01 

/BBC Monitoring/ Š BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to 
*****************************************************************
 8  South Africa's nuclear programme to seek China's help

By James Lamont

Published: December 11 2001 19:24 | Last Updated: December 11 
2001 19:35

South Africa would enlist China's help in the development of its 
ambitious nuclear power programme, President Thabo Mbeki said on 
Tuesday. 

Eskom, South Africa's state-owned power utility, is developing 
110 megawatt pebble bed modular nuclear reactors in partnership 
with British Nuclear Fuels and Exelon, the US electricity 
utility. Export potential for the "mini" reactors is estimated at 
more than R18bn a year. 

China has joined the United Kingdom and north African countries 
in expressing an interest in buying the pebble bed reactors. 
Construction of the first reactor, at a cost of $120m, is 
expected to begin in South Africa next year. 

"They are researching in the same areas in which South Africa is 
researching, which is pebble bed nuclear power stations. There is 
cooperation already in this area," Mr Mbeki said on Tuesday 
during a four-day state visit to China. 

A co-operation agreement on peaceful uses for nuclear energy 
between the two countries could be signed as early as February. 

South Africa restored full diplomatic relations with Beijing in 
1998. The former apartheid regime had maintained strong ties with 
Taiwan. 
*****************************************************************
 9  Nevada: N-Waste Decision a Sham

The Salt Lake Tribune -- 

     Wednesday, December 12, 2001   

BY H. JOSEF HEBERT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

    WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials will ask the federal courts to 
block a decision on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, 
claiming the Energy Department has abandoned a congressional 
mandate that the site's natural geology must protect the public 
from radiation. 

    Instead, the Nevada officials say, the latest design for the 
waste burial ground, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, relies 
"nearly 100 percent" on engineered barriers to ensure the waste's 
isolation. 

    The design amounts to "a glorified waste package" that could 
be deemed scientifically suitable "even if sited on the shores of 
Lake Tahoe," Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican, wrote Energy 
Secretary Spencer Abraham. 

    The salvo is only the latest in the increasingly bitter 
confrontation between Nevada officials and the Bush 
administration over the proposed nuclear repository. It is 
supposed to hold thousands of tons of used reactor fuel now kept 
at nuclear power plants in 31 states. 

    If given the go-ahead, it is scheduled to open in 2010. 

    Early next year Abraham is expected to recommend to President 
Bush that the site be approved, although department officials 
emphasized Tuesday that no decision has been made yet. 

    Robert Loux, the Nevada governor's top adviser on the nuclear 
waste site, said in an interview that Nevada will file a lawsuit 
next week, possibly Monday, and ask the court to block Abraham 
from making a recommendation. 

    The Nevada lawsuit will argue that the Energy Department has 
failed to follow the legal requirement that the waste site rely 
almost exclusively on its natural geology to safeguard the waste, 
including radioisotopes that will remain highly radioactive for 
more than 10,000 years. 
    
  Š Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune 
*****************************************************************
 10  YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE weighing phased license application
 
Delays might force stepped approach to filing 
By STEVE TETREAULT 
DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU 

WASHINGTON -- Faced with possible delays in seeking to license a 
nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, the Energy Department 
is considering filing an application in 2003 with material it can 
have ready by then, and updating it as other issues are settled, 
a nuclear industry executive said Tuesday. 

Marvin Fertel, a senior vice president at the Nuclear Energy 
Institute, said DOE managers are thinking about prioritizing key 
technical issues to get an application submitted to the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission by its 2003 target. The application would 
then be updated as the NRC proceeds with a multiyear license 
review. 

The managing contractor at Yucca Mountain has told DOE that it 
will take until 2006 to settle technical questions about the site 
and have a license application ready. 

"I know they are looking at this now," said Fertel, whose group 
closely monitors and advocates for the Yucca Mountain program. 

"The question is, which key technical issues have to be done to 
file a license application?" Fertel said at a briefing. "When you 
license a power plant, you submit your license applications and 
continue to submit supplementals and

updates, and that's what you'll end up doing here. 

"You'll submit something that will allow the NRC to begin your 
formal review process, and then you supplement it." 

Barring legal delays, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is 
expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to recommend Yucca 
Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as a repository that 
would hold 77,000 tons of radioactive spent fuel from commercial 
power plants. He is widely expected to give the site a green 
light. 

If the president and Congress agree, the Energy Department then 
would seek licenses from the NRC to build and operate a 
repository at the site. 

The Energy Department had no comment on Fertel's remarks. "We are 
not there yet," spokesman Allen Benson said. "We have had no 
determinations on dates for filing. We're still looking at it. 
Our focus right now is on site recommendation." 

There are nine key technical areas where the NRC has requested 
further expla-

nations, documentation or analysis from Yucca Mountain 
scientists. The DOE and NRC have 293 "agreements" for more 
information to be provided in those nine areas, according to 
April Gil, Yucca Mountain senior geologist. Responses to about a 
third of those have been submitted since September, officials 
said. 

"Right now we're working on a regular basis with the NRC to 
respond to their needs and concerns," Benson said. 

Bob Loux, head of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Office, said he was 
unsure whether DOE could pursue a repository application in the 
manner described by Fertel. 

"It seems to me that the NRC has written a letter to DOE that 
makes clear all (technical issues) need to be resolved even 
before they submit a license application," he said. 

Fertel said the industry is "disappointed" in reports that 
Bechtel SAIC, the managing contractor at Yucca Mountain, had told 
the Energy Department that it will take until 2006 to settle 
technical questions about the site and have a license application 
ready. 


That information was contained in a draft report by the General 
Accounting Office made public two weeks ago. The GAO said DOE 
rejected the timetable because it would prolong the project, and 
asked the contractor to redo its work. 

A 2006 timeline for a license application is "unacceptable" to 
the nuclear industry, Fertel said. 

"It just keeps pushing things out," he said. "It's going to make 
lawsuits even higher. It's going to make accumulation of waste on 
site last longer, and it's probably gong to cost the project 
more. 

"I'm disappointed" with the contractor's estimate, Fertel said. 
"When Bechtel took over, we had a lot of confidence in Bechtel." 
The company was awarded the management contract a year ago. 

Fertel said he understood Bechtel came up with the 2006 timeline 
by estimating key issues would be settled in sequence, a bow to 
budget pressures facing the program. 

***************************************************************** 
11  English pushing bill to stock iodide tablets near nuclear 
plants 
                                        
   [http://www.post-gazette.com/] 

Drug prevents the absorption of radioctive iodine 
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer 

In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent 
security threats, U.S. Rep. Phil English has revived a proposal 
to require federal agencies to develop a lifesaving plan to make 
potassium iodide tablets available in areas within a 50-mile 
radius of the nation's 103 nuclear power plants.

 The Erie Republican's attempt yesterday to stoke interest in a 
bill he reintroduced in March comes a day after the Food and Drug 
Administration called for widespread availability of the drug to 
protect people -- especially children -- exposed to radiation 
from a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant or detonation of 
a nuclear device.

 The drug, which is supplied to nuclear power plant workers in 
case of a nuclear accident, is available over the counter but not 
commonly stocked in drug stores. It works by preventing the 
thyroid gland from taking up radioactive iodine, which is a 
common component of nuclear fallout and can cause cancer.

 "Our nuclear facilities were locked down on Sept. 11 and 
security has been even tighter as plants such as Three Mile 
Island have received 'credible threats,' " English said during a 
news conference at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School 
of Public Health in Oakland.

 "While none of us like to think about the possibility of an 
attack on a nuclear power plant, or even an accident, the 
possibility does exist."

 English's bill, which has 19 cosponsors and an American Thyroid 
Association endorsement, would require the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other 
appropriate federal agencies to develop a plan for stockpiling 
potassium iodide tablets in easily accessible neighborhood 
locations near nuclear power plants.

 English said the best plan would be to distribute the tablets to 
people's homes. "That way they can be available to be 
administered quickly when they'll do the most good."

 Dr. Niel Wald, a professor of environmental and occupational 
health at the public health school, said that following the 1979 
accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, it took four days 
to round up 60,000 doses of potassium iodide. 

A subcommittee hearing on the bill could be scheduled in the 
spring, but English said federal agencies or the Bush 
administration could order stockpiling without waiting for 
congressional action. He has also contacted the Office of 
Homeland Security headed by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

 "It would take tens of millions of dollars to do what the bill 
mandates and substantially more to provide the tablets to the 
whole country, but the cost is chump change compared to the 
benefits."

 Dr. Thomas Foley Jr., a professor of pediatrics at Pitt's School 
of Medicine and of epidemiology at the public health school, said 
studies of children exposed to radiation after the 1986 accident 
at Chernobyl in Ukraine show that ingesting potassium iodide 
tablets soon after exposure can almost completely block 
absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid.
 
[http://www.post-gazette.com/privacy.asp] 
*****************************************************************
 12  Douglas County gives money to fight Yucca nuclear repository
 
[RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL]
 			   			 
December 12, 2001   

   [tanderso@rgj.com]   

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
	
Douglas County has answered Gov. Kenny Guinns call for support 
in Nevadas fight to prevent nuclear waste from being buried at 
Yucca Mountain.

The countys contribution of $1,000 is the latest among local 
governments providing financial assistance to the Nevada 
Protection Fund. In the three months since calling on Nevadas 
cities and counties to contribute to the fund, seven have 
responded to push the total past $5 million.

After passing on the request the first time the issue came up 
because of a lack of information about the program, Douglas 
County commissioners last week approved the expenditure on a 3-1 
vote.

Commissioner Kelly Kite, the lone opponent, said Tuesday he 
doesnt believe the state can prevent Yucca Mountain from 
becoming the nations high-level nuclear waste disposal site.

Its either a foregone conclusion or close to it. So Im 
interested in seeing the state get the benefits that will 
result, Kite said. I really didnt think this was an 
appropriate expenditure for the county.

In the emotional debate over the proposed site, others have said 
the state stands to benefit a great deal from economic impacts 
and research grants. Recent public hearings, though, solidified 
the states view that most Nevadans remain opposed to the massive 
undertaking.

Meanwhile, the fight against the Department of Energys plans to 
bury radioactive waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas continued 
this week on another front. On Monday, Guinn and Attorney General 
Frankie Sue Del Papa told Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham the 
state is ready to go to court unless site suitability guidelines 
are postponed. The guidelines are scheduled to go into effect 
Friday.

Nevada officials have contended for years the Department of 
Energy has used flawed scientific data to justify placing the 
nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain -- and hasnt provided a 
fair and objective groundwork for debate.

Earlier this year, the Nevada Legislature appropriated $4 million 
to get the special fund started. Clark County followed up with a 
$1 million contribution.

The city of Mesquite has donated $50,000, and Mineral County and 
the city of Sparks $1,000 each. The city of Wells contributed 
$1,367 -- or $1 for each person residing in the community.

If Sparks can come up with $1,000, we should be able to do the 
same, said Douglas Commissioner Steve Weissinger.

He said a climate of uncertainty over when the proposed site will 
be completed is likely to continue for a long time.

The latest estimate I saw was 2015. Maybe it wont be built at 
all, Weissinger said.

In announcing the establishment of the defense fund in January, 
Guinn called the federal proposal for Yucca Mountain the single 
greatest threat to the health and safety of the people of this 
state. 

It is the only site under study, and many Nevadans have expressed 
concerns about the transport of nuclear waste to the site, and 
how it will be managed once it gets there.

The special state fund was created to mount legal challenges to 
the proposed federal action and to create a public awareness 
campaign to make residents of other states aware of the risks and 
impacts from the transportation of spent nuclear fuel.

The state Agency for Nuclear Projects is administering the fund.
 		   		   				
 		   		   			 
Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a  [http://www.gannett.com] 
*****************************************************************
 13  Ling'ao nuke plant begins trial operation
 
(12/12/2001) (xinhua)
 
Chinese workers loaded the reactor with fuel Saturday night on 
the first generating nuke island of the Ling'ao Nuclear Power 
Plant in Shenzhen, south China 's Guangdong Province. 

This is the first generating unit that has started a trial 
operation and the nuclear plant operator has taken over the 
responsibility for nuclear security. Construction of Ling'ao 
began in 1997. It is the second largest commercial nuclear power 
plant built in Guangdong, following the one on Daya Bay, and was 
one of the major power projects in China for the 1996-2000 
period. 

According to the construction plan, four nuclear generators with 
a combined generating capacity of one million kw, will be 
installed at the plant. For the first phase of construction, two 
nuclear generators will be installed at the plant at a cost of 
four billion US dollars. 

The first and second nuclear generators will start commercial 
operation in July 2002 and March 2003. The electricity generated 
will be brought into the local power grid in Guangdong Province, 
one of the country's economic powerhouses. 

At present, four nuclear power projects are being built in China. 
The other three are the second and third phases of the Qinshan 
Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Zhejiang Province, and the 
Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, a Sino-Russian joint venture, at 
Lianyungang on China's east coast. 
  
Copyright 2001 By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved.   
*****************************************************************
 14  Letter: World awaits Yucca decision
 
Las Vegas SUN
 
Today: December 12, 2001 at 8:45:48 PST 
 
We keep hearing how superior rock in Europe is to contain 
high-level radioactive wastes.

 Wonder why wastes have yet to be buried in that superior rock? 
The French keep saying how their granite mountains are the best 
barriers for radioactive materials, yet not the first pound of 
waste has found its way in them. The Russians claim the Ural 
Mountains will no doubt contain wastes for tens of thousands of 
years, yet they too hold no wastes. And Finland, which in 1982 
decided on an underground repository, has yet to build it.

 It's obvious everybody's afraid to be first. It's obvious 
everybody's waiting to see what the U.S. will do.

 So the decision about the inferior, leaky rock of Yucca Mountain 
will, in essence, be a decision followed by the entire world.

 RON BOURGOIN Rocky Mount, N.C.

 Editor's note: The writer was the consultant to the town of 
Rolesville in Wake County, N.C., in 1984 when a site in that area 
was being considered by the Department of Energy as a potential 
high-level radioactive waste repository. 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 15  Chernobyl's Young Have High Rate of Thyroid Cancer 
                                        
Monday December 10 5:17 PM ET 
 
By Alan Mozes

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fifteen years after the Chernobyl 
nuclear power plant accident, researchers have found that young 
children living in the vicinity at the time have a higher than 
normal chance of developing thyroid cancer.

``I'm not surprised at all,'' said Dr. Robert McConnell of 
Columbia University. ``This is what I would expect.''

Though not directly involved in a Japanese study published in the 
current issue of The Lancet, McConnell said he is familiar with 
the issue, having embarked on his own investigation of the impact 
of Chernobyl's radiation fallout on thyroid cancer rates as a 
consultant to the National Cancer Institute (news 
[http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?
p=%22National%20Cancer%0AInstitute%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw]  
- web sites 
[http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Nati
onal%20Cancer%20Institute&cs=nw] ).

McConnell said that the numbers of thyroid cancer cases diagnosed 
among children alive when the accident occurred were 
approximately twice what would be expected in a normal population 
group.

The nuclear incident, which drew worldwide attention, caused the 
release of radionuclides into the atmosphere of a region of the 
former Soviet Union that is now part of Belarus.

A team of researchers from Japan and Belarus examined over 21,000 
children born between 1983 and 1989 within a 150 kilometer radius 
of the plant. They uncovered 32 cases of thyroid cancer, for a 
rate of .15%. All but one of the cases occurred among children 
born prior to the accident, with the exception being a child born 
within 8 months afterwards.

McConnell told Reuters Health that the type of material released 
by the accident was principally a radioactive iodine known as 
iodine 131, and that this substance is most potent in the first 8 
days of its release. After one month has passed, he added, most 
of iodine 131's radioactive energy has been spent, supporting the 
conclusion that the individuals most likely to develop related 
health problems would be those alive and present within the first 
few weeks of the accident.

McConnell said children under the age of 18--especially those 
younger than 5--are particularly vulnerable to the kind of 
radiation released by Chernobyl and the subsequent development of 
thyroid cancer. However, he noted that the chances for a full 
recovery from thyroid cancer are reasonably good, if the disease 
is diagnosed early. Treatment is always surgical, he added, 
involving the removal of the thyroid gland.

The Japanese researchers concluded that children under the age of 
10 at the time of the accident are at a high risk for thyroid 
cancer. They called for the establishment of a global medical 
support system for treatment and follow-up.

SOURCE: The Lancet 2001;358:1965-1966. 

  Copyright Š 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 16  President Jiang Greets China's Rocket Pioneer
 
Xinhuanet 2001-12-12 06:39:49   
  		   
   BEIJING, December 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese President Jiang 
Zemin Tuesday morning paid a personal visit to rocket scientist 
Qian Xuesen at his home in Beijing.

   Jiang shook hands warmly with Qian, and inquired about his 
health and daily life.

   Though confined to bed at the age of 90, the scientist gets up 
very early in the morning, and starts to read newspapers at a 
special desk on his bed.

   Qian thanked Jiang for his third visit to him. The other two 
were in 1996 and 1999, respectively.

   Qian returned to China from the United States in 1955. He was 
one of the leading scientists in developing China's own nuclear 
bombs, missiles and satellites.

   Jiang and Qian exchanged views on how scientific and 
technological progress can contribute more to the country's 
reform and modernization.

   Jiang noted that China's remarkable achievements in economic 
and social development over the past two decades could not be 
separated from the efforts of the country's scientists and 
technicians.

   The reinvigoration of the Chinese nation could only be 
achieved through the development of education and science, Jiang 
said.

   He stressed the importance of innovations in science and 
technology, especially in fundamental and strategic areas.

   The president advocated greater respect for knowledge and 
science among the public, and pledged enhanced efforts by the 
government to protect the creative spirit and enthusiasm of 
scientists.

   Qian said he shared Jiang's idea. He also told the president 
that he will never cease his studies or his devotion to the 
service of the people.

   Upon leaving, Jiang urged Qian as well as his wife and 
children to take good care of his health and life. 

   President Jiang was accompanied on the visit by Vice-Premier 
Li Lanqing and other senior officials.      

  Copyright Š 2000 Xinhua News Agency.
*****************************************************************
 17  Nine Romanian Workers Exposed to High Radiation 
                                        
  Science - Reuters     

Wednesday December 12 6:32 AM ET 
 
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Nine workers have been exposed to serious 
levels of radiation while dismantling a smelting plant in western 
Romania, officials said Wednesday.

The men have been hospitalized since June, but the incident has 
been kept secret while police investigate, the National 
Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities (CNCAN) said.

``They wore no protective clothes. They got a huge dose of 
radiation from Cobalt 60 which could have killed them at once,'' 
CNCAN Director Anton Coroianu told Reuters by telephone.

Cobalt 60 is an artificially produced, radioactive isotope which 
serves a variety of medical and industrial uses.

The nine were employed to dismantle two furnaces at the 
mothballed Victoria Calan plant, which has been closed since the 
1989 fall of communist rule.

A 1,100-square-foot area around the furnaces has been closed off 
to all but authorized personnel, including investigators, who 
must wear special protective clothing before entering the site, 
the watchdog body said. 

  Copyright Š 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 18  U.S. nuclear plants face downtime for reactor cracks
                                        
[Reuters]   

Monday December 10, 6:01 pm Eastern Time
 
By Leonard Anderson

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission has identified 13 atomic reactors that are developing 
tiny cracks that could seriously damage plant equipment and cause 
lengthy shutdowns for repairs.
 
The NRC, which licenses and oversees the nation's fleet of 103 
nuclear plants, doesn't believe the cracks in gear that controls 
the rate of atomic fission in the reactors could release 
poisonous radiation into the atmosphere, said Victor Dricks, a 
spokesman for the NRC.

Instead, the chief headache is an economic one for the plant 
owners because complex inspections and repairs could idle a 
reactor -- and shut off sales of electricity -- for weeks, 
according to utility officials. Nuclear plants produce about 
one-fith of the nation's electricity.

The hairline cracks in the reactor heads are believed to be 
caused by stress and corrosion triggered by high temperatures and 
pressure inside the reactors combined with years of producing 
electricity, according to the NRC. Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy 
Corp.'s (NYSE:

[http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=fe&d=t]  - news) 935-megawatt Davis 
Besse nuclear plant in Ohio was one of the 13 units the NRC 
identified as having the cracks or being ``highly susceptible'' 
to them, said Dricks.

The plant was scheduled to shut in April for refueling and 
maintenance work, but the work was moved up to February at the 
NRC's request.

Richard Wilkins, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Nuclear Operations, 
said the company hoped to complete the work in 35 to 40 days.

CRACKS IN REACTOR NOZZLES

The NRC investigation focused on metal alloy nozzles on 69 
pressurized water reactors. Equipment known as control rods pass 
through the nozzles atop the ``head'' of the reactor.

By raising or lowering rods of neatly stacked cylindrical uranium 
pellets, the control rods regulate the intensity of the atomic 
reaction taking place inside the reactor core.

Pressurized water reactors typically have from 50 to 100 nozzles 
atop each reactor head.

Cracks have appeared in the past along the length of the nozzles, 
but the NRC did not consider they needed immediate attention. 
Inspections and repairs usually were made during routine 
maintenance outages.

Earlier this year, however, circular cracks around the nozzle 
width began to show up, raising a ``potentially significant'' 
safety concern, the NRC said in a bulletin sent to plant 
operators in August.

Circular cracks are difficult to find, and plants may need to do 
inspections with the help of fiber optic cameras to pinpoint all 
of them, according to the NRC.

The regulators' main worry is that a nozzle with circular cracks 
could separate from the reactor head, causing debris to fall into 
the fuel core and rupture cooling tubes and damage other power 
equipment, in turn allowing water to escape from the main plant 
cooling system.

``It's like a leak in your car radiator. The system is under high 
pressure, so a break will cause coolant to leak out. You have to 
shut down the plant to find out what's going on,'' said a utility 
official.

Exelon Nuclear's 786-megawatt Three Mile Island 1 unit in 
Pennsylvania, one of the 13 plants, had to extend a refueling 
outage expected to be finished in mid-November by about three 
weeks for more work, inspection and tests on the nozzles and two 
steam generators.

Three Mile Island owner AmerGen Energy is a joint venture between 
Exelon Corp. (NYSE: [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=exc&d=t]  - 
news), of Chicago, and British Energy Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & 
Ireland: [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BGY.L&d=t] ) of 
Scotland. The NRC's list also includes Virginia Power Co.'s 
800-megawattt Surry 1 and 921-megawatt North Anna 2 plants in 
Virginia. Virginia Power, a unit of Richmond, Virginia-based 
Dominion (NYSE: [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=d&d=t] - news), is 
making the repairs, Dricks said. 

*****************************************************************
 19  NW Natural seeks Wash. state approval for PGE deal
                                        
[Reuters]   

Tuesday December 11, 6:43 pm Eastern Time
 
OLYMPIA, Wash., Dec 11 (Reuters) - Northwest Natural Gas Co. 
(NYSE:NWN [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=nwn&d=t]  - news) said on 
Tuesday it has applied with Washington state regulators to 
acquire utility Portland General Electric, a unit of bankrupt 
energy giant Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE 
[http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ene&d=t]  - news) The company has 
already filed for approval with the Oregon Public Utility 
Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal must also be 
approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Northwest Natural Gas agreed on Oct. 8 to acquire PGE, the 
state's largest utility, for around $1.8 billion plus about $1.1 
billion in assumed debt and preferred stock.

PGE was excluded from Enron's bankruptcy filing earlier this 
month, protected by a ``firewall'' enforced by Oregon regulators 
which limited the flow of cash from the utility to its 
Houston-based parent.

Approval by Washington regulators is needed as Northwest Natural 
Gas has customers in the state. PGE does not serve any 
electricity customers in Washington. Both utilities are based in 
Portland, Ore. 

    Copyright Š 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 20  Labor says no to dumps 

news.com.au - 

  12 December 2001   
    
By Environment Reporter CATHERINE HOCKLEY

LABOR has pledged to ban low and intermediate-level waste dumps 
in SA if elected. 

It will also review the environmental impact of the acid in-situ 
leach process used to mine uranium at Beverley and Honeymoon in 
SA.

 Parliamentary Leader Mike Rann said yesterday a Labor government 
would extend the State Government's ban on medium and high-level 
dumps to include the national low-level repository proposed for 
Commonwealth land near Woomera.

 A Labor government would also: BAN the transport of radioactive 
waste into SA.

 HOLD a state referendum if the Federal Government proposed to 
place an intermediate-level dump in SA.

 EMPOWER the Environment Protection Authority to regulate 
low-level waste in SA.

 Opposition environment spokesman John Hill said Labor would push 
for each state to store its own radioactive waste. 

"Why should we take waste from hospitals in New South Wales and 
universities in Victoria?" he said.

 Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear campaigner David 
Noonan welcomed Labor's stance.

 "Lower level radioactive waste is not a low-level threat," he 
said.

 Environment Minister Iain Evans said Labor had "changed 
positions three times on this issue". 

"About 20,000 South Australians benefit medically through cancer 
treatments that create nuclear waste," he said. "Isn't it better 
to have low-level waste stored in a purpose-built facility?"

 Meanwhile, a coalition of groups from South American nations and 
New Zealand would push their governments to ban Australian 
nuclear waste travelling through their territorial waters.

 Nuclear waste from the Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor in 
Sydney's south is shipped overseas for reprocessing because 
Australia does not have its own disposal facilities. Waste will 
also travel to Argentina for reprocessing once a replacement 
nuclear reactor is built in Sydney by Argentinian company INVAP. 
Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (FUNAM), a 
French organisation of environmentalists, protested against the 
international movement of Australia's nuclear waste in Lille, 
France, yesterday. Meanwhile, the company behind the 
controversial Honeymoon project stated in a public document there 
was no chance of leakage from the mining aquifer  seven months 
after a leak occurred. In a June, 2000, document prepared by 
Southern Cross Resources, it says a 1981 environmental impact 
statement found "no likelihood of water from the lower aquifers 
migrating upwards". 

SCR said the updated 2000 EIS on Honeymoon provided confirmation 
of this.

 But SCR confirmed last week a leak of sulphuric acid solution 
used in the mining process had occurred during trials at 
Honeymoon in November, 1999. The solution moved upwards from the 
bottom aquifer, from where it was injected, into the middle 
aquifer.

 Honeymoon project manager Dr Phil Bush also told The Advertiser 
last week: "We expect that (excursions) will happen from time to 
time." Yesterday, Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear 
campaigner David Noonan said SCR's position was inconsistent.

 "Certainly it would be difficult for South Australians to 
believe in what the company is telling them about their 
operations and the impact on ground water," Mr Noonan said. 

"Reports for the company have shown there is a connection between 
the aquifers."

 But SCR project executive officer Tom Hunter said the document, 
Honeymoon Q  EIS Update, was "not intended to be a precise 
technical document".

 "This was basically put out to help journalists understand the 
original EIS," he said.

 "It is a dated document.

 "I don't see where there's been any inconsistency."

*****************************************************************
 21  European company wants to compete with USEC uranium

The Paducah Sun
Paducah, Kentucky
Wednesday, December 12, 2001

 European company wants to compete with USEC uranium Urenco Ltd. 
is looking at building a uranium enrichment plant using the gas 
centrifuge process in the United States. 

By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650
 
Urenco Ltd., a European supplier of nuclear fuel, wants to build 
a uranium enrichment plant in the United States in direct 
competition with USEC Inc., operator of the nation's only 
enrichment plant in Paducah. 

"We see it as a commercial opportunity to deploy our technology 
in the United States," said Peter Lenny, CEO of Urenco Inc., the 
company's U.S. subsidiary. "We have not made a final decision, 
but are very seriously considering it. It is looking very 
favorable at this point in time." 

Charles Yulish, a USEC spokesman, declined to comment on the 
Urenco reports. However, he said USEC is continuing its plans to 
develop more efficient technology to incorporate into a new 
plant. 

USEC currently supplies about 40 percent of the world's nuclear 
fuel, while Urenco supplies about 12 percent. 

Urenco's top officials from Europe visited Capitol Hill in recent 
days to make preliminary contacts with the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission and Bush administration. If meetings go well and there 
is a corporate decision to build a new plant, a partnership will 
be formed with U.S.-based companies to build a $1 billion 
facility, Lenny said. 

He expected it would be some of the same companies involved in a 
similar project seven years ago in Louisiana. Those plans were 
dropped for several reasons, including environmental objections. 

Two companies involved in that venture were Duke Energy and 
Exelon, two of the nation's leading suppliers of power. Those and 
other companies are promoting a revival of using nuclear power to 
produce electricity. 

"We are encouraged because this is a good business opportunity 
and because the major utilities want it (a new domestic supplier 
of nuclear fuel) to happen," Lenny said. He said utility 
companies' concerns include the price of domestic nuclear fuel 
and the reliability of the supply. 

USEC, which took over the domestic uranium enrichment operations 
from the federal government four years ago, has faced financial 
problems caused by increased competition and high production 
costs using the 50-year-old gaseous diffusion technology. 

Lenny said if plans are approved by Urenco executives, officials 
will begin meeting early next year with the NRC to discuss the 
licensing process. Late next year, a site would be selected and a 
formal NRC application would be filed. 

Lenny said it is premature to speculate on potential sites, but 
said one with a history of nuclear fuel production will likely be 
selected. 

"We learned a lesson in Louisiana that we must go where we are 
wanted," Lenny said. "And the sites where we think we will be 
wanted are those that have experience with the nuclear industry." 

He acknowledged that Paducah and Portsmouth, Ohio, would probably 
be on the site list, as well as locations of government-run 
nuclear facilities. USEC closed an enrichment plant in Portsmouth 
last summer. 

Lenny said many factors will be considered in selecting a site. 

The $1 billion plant would use the gas centrifuge process, which 
is more efficient because it uses a fraction of the Paducah 
plant's electricity. In Paducah, the cost of power accounts for 
about 70 percent of nuclear fuel costs. Urenco was formed in the 
1970s as a joint Dutch, German and British initiative to develop 
efficient methods of producing nuclear fuel. 

Earlier this year, USEC filed a complaint with the U.S. 
Department of Commerce accusing Urenco and others of violating 
trade regulations by dumping low-cost nuclear fuel on the U.S. 
market. It said the low price was the result of subsidies from 
foreign governments, which isn't allowed under U.S. import laws. 

USEC has asked federal officials to impose anti-dumping duties on 
the imported fuel. 

*****************************************************************
 22    Vermont Yankee to appeal failing grade in security test \ 

By Associated Press, 12/11/2001 12:26 

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. is 
going to appeal the failing grade it received last summer in a 
security drill in which the plant had to repel a mock terrorist 
attack. 

Vermont Yankee officials have asked the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission for a conference to discuss the security test. 

No date has been set, said Vermont Yankee spokesman Robert 
Williams. During the so-called Operational Safeguards Response 
Evaluation, mock terrorists from the NRC were able to penetrate 
not just Yankee's outside security fences, but gained entrance to 
key parts of the plant. 

Yankee received a ''yellow'' rating for the drill, which was the 
lowest of any nuclear reactor in the country since the NRC 
adopted the ''force-on-force'' drill in 2000, the NRC has said. 
The drill uncovered areas of ''substantial safety significance,'' 
according to the NRC. 

Even though the problems were significant, none was of such a 
severity that it couldn't be addressed and fixed immediately, the 
NRC has said. 

Hubert Miller, the NRC regional administrator, described Yankee's 
security last week during a hearing held by Rep. Bernard Sanders, 
I-Vt., as ''robust.'' 

Yankee immediately adopted improved security measures after it 
failed the terrorist drill. The plant has been on a heightened 
state of alert since the Sept. 11 attacks as well. 

Exactly how security has been improved since Sept. 11 is a 
secret, but the reactor has employed additional outside guards, 
most of them off-duty law enforcement officials from the region. 

Exactly what happened during the Aug. 23 drill is also a secret. 

Earlier this month, the NRC said that the low security grade 
would probably not result in a fine for Yankee, since it was not 
a deliberate act. 

The regulatory conference would be closed to the public, since it 
would include security information. 
*****************************************************************
 23  Nuclear Industry Faces Jitters
 
Las Vegas SUN
 
December 11, 2001 
 
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) - Diana Sidebotham attended her first 
public hearing as a critic of nuclear power when the Vermont 
Yankee plant's license application was pending in 1971. 

Some 30 years and scores of such forums later, Sidebotham went to 
yet another one last week at a Brattleboro high school and 
encountered the biggest crowd she had ever seen at such an event 
- more than 500 people. 

Worries about nuclear power - in particular, fears of a terrorist 
attack on a plant - have taken on new urgency since Sept. 11. 

"Now that a major disaster has occurred, people are beginning to 
understand that we are vulnerable," Sidebotham said. 

Around the country: 

- The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones around 
the nation's nuclear plants for two weeks in October. When a 
student pilot flew a small plane into airspace near a former 
nuclear plant in Colorado, two F-16s were scrambled and escorted 
the aircraft to a landing. 

- National Guardsmen were posted in recent weeks at nuclear 
plants in several states, and many installations have added 
private security guards. 

- Governors are clamoring for the federal government to open a 
long-delayed high-level waste-disposal site and take spent fuel 
now stored in pools considered more vulnerable to attacks than 
the reactors themselves. 

- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is co-sponsoring legislation that 
would make nuclear plant security a federal responsibility. 

- A panel that advises Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland 
recommended the nation consider arming nuclear plants with air 
defense systems. 

- Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a doctor, reversed his earlier 
position and said he wants the state to stockpile potassium 
iodide, a drug that can protect against one form of radiation. 

Defenders of nuclear power have given assurances about security 
at the nation's 103 reactors. 

"There has been no credible threat against any nuclear facility 
in this country, and if there was, we would be equipped to deal 
with it," Nils Diaz, a member of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, said last month in Florida. And at last week's 
meeting in Brattleboro, Hubert Miller, an NRC regional 
administrator, repeatedly told the crowd that security at Vermont 
Yankee is "robust." 

He said nuclear plants were not designed with an attack by a 
large passenger jet in mind. But he said the containment vessels 
that surround reactors are among the strongest buildings in the 
country. 

Some in the audience were skeptical because just the week before, 
preliminary results were released from a drill Aug. 23 at Vermont 
Yankee in which the plant failed to repel a mock terrorist 
attack. Vermont Yankee received the lowest grade in the industry. 
Improvements have been made since then, officials assured the 
audience, but they would not give specifics. 

In a measure of how jittery people are, a Brattleboro newspaper 
photographer was detained by Vernon police last month under a 
1917 treason law for taking pictures of Vermont Yankee. 
Prosecutors declined to press charges. 

The new wave of concern about nuclear power comes just as the 
industry's fortunes appeared to be improving. No new U.S. nuclear 
plant has been ordered since before the accident at Three Mile 
Island in 1979. 

But in the couple of years before Sept. 11, several utilities had 
won license extensions. Nuclear plants that are being sold in the 
newly deregulated electric market are fetching higher prices. And 
nuclear power has some supporters in the Bush administration, 
chief among them Vice President Dick Cheney. 

However, the call for a new round of nuclear plant construction 
has been muted since the September attacks. Instead, the 
discussion has focused on how to protect reactors and how 
effective emergency evacuation plans would be in a disaster. 

"In Vermont and throughout this country now there is very 
increased concern about the vulnerability of nuclear power plants 
to terrorist attacks and the huge consequences that an attack 
could bring forth," said Rep. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont 
independent who organized the Brattleboro meeting and was amazed 
by the turnout in the town of 12,000. 

Sidebotham recalled that when she and other nuclear opponents 
went before the NRC's predecessor, the Atomic Energy Commission, 
in 1971, "Concerns were raised about the possibility of sabotage 
at a nuclear plant. It was very much pooh-poohed." 

But Sept. 11, Sidebotham said, "made the incredible credible." 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 24  Nevada Nuke Waste Site Challenged
 
Las Vegas SUN
 
December 11, 2001 
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nevada officials will ask the federal courts to 
block a decision on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, 
claiming the Energy Department has abandoned a congressional 
mandate that the site's natural geology must protect the public 
from radiation. 

Instead, the Nevada officials say, the latest design for the 
waste burial ground, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, relies 
"nearly 100 percent" on engineered barriers to assure the waste's 
isolation. 

The design amounts to "a glorified waste package" that could be 
deemed scientifically suitable "even if sited on the shores of 
Lake Tahoe," Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican, wrote Energy 
Secretary Spencer Abraham. The salvo is only the latest in the 
increasingly bitter confrontation between Nevada officials and 
the Bush administration over the proposed nuclear repository. It 
is supposed to hold thousands of tons of used reactor fuel now 
kept at nuclear power plants in 31 states. If given the go-ahead, 
it is scheduled to open in 2010. 

Early next year Abraham is expected to recommend to President 
Bush that the site be approved, although department officials 
emphasized Tuesday that no decision has been made by Abraham so 
far. 

Robert Loux, the Nevada governor's top adviser on the nuclear 
waste site, said in an interview that Nevada will file a lawsuit 
next week, possibly Monday, and ask the court to block Abraham 
from making a recommendation. 

The Nevada lawsuit will argue that the Energy Department has 
failed to follow the legal requirement that the waste site rely 
almost exclusively on its natural geology to safeguard the waste, 
including radioisotopes that will remain highly radioactive for 
more than 10,000 years. 

Instead, the state argues, the Energy Department is incorporating 
numerous engineered barriers to counter shortcomings in the 
site's geology. "The notion that geological features must be the 
primary form of containment is ... explicitly required" by the 
1982 law that is the basis for developing a nuclear waste 
repository, Guinn wrote. 

Energy Department officials dismissed the state's latest threat 
of legal action and strongly defended the use of both geology and 
engineered barriers. 

"We're not relying specifically on engineered barriers to meet 
the regulations. We are looking at the scientific evidence of 
both the geological and engineered barriers together to determine 
the site's suitability," said DOE spokesman Joe Davis. 

"One doesn't outweigh the other. They both work hand in hand," 
said Davis. The department contends that Congress in 1992 cleared 
the way for use of a "total system performance" approach to 
safeguarding the waste. 

But Loux said that Congress also envisioned that the site's 
geology "be the primary barrier" to isolate the waste and that 
the approach by the Energy Department "does not even come close 
to being in compliance the law." 

In recent years, the scientists and engineers working on the 
Yucca Mountain project have incorporated more manmade protective 
devices. 

For example, after concern was raised about the possible effect 
of water moving through the rocks, stronger and more 
corrosion-resistant canisters were added to the design. "Drip 
shields" were added to keep water from hitting the waste once the 
containers begin to disintegrate hundreds of years from now. 

An alternative design spreads out the canisters to deal the 
impact of high temperatures on surrounding rocks. 

These improvements only add to the site's safeguards and do not 
detract from the fact that "the mountain performs pretty well" in 
protecting the waste, says Marvin Fertel, a vice president for 
the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's trade association. 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                     NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 [southnews] Russian call for nuke buildup after US decision on
 
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 18:17:41 -0600 (CST)

 
Stop Smoking Now
Nicotrol will help
http://us.click.yahoo.com/2vN8tD/_pSDAA/ySSFAA/7gSolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

  ----------

     Russia hears calls for nuclear buildup after US decision on ABM
  
     AFP Thursday December 13, 1:02 AM

     Top Russian lawmakers said Moscow was free to stock up on nuclear 
     warheads to Cold War-era levels following a US decision to scrap 
     the 1972 ABM treaty in the face of Kremlin efforts to save the 
     disarmament pact.

     Deputies argued that Russia now had little incentive to live up to
     other disarmament commitments and would likely rely on heavy
     multiple warhead missiles that offered a cheap alternative for
     preserving nuclear parity with the United States.

     "Now Russia's hands are untied concerning START I and START
     II," said State Duma lower house of parliament foreign affairs
     committee chairman Dmitry Rogozin Wednesday, referring to two
     key strategic arms reduction treaties.

     Russia will opt to "preserve and develop its heavy strategic rockets
     which will be loaded with multiple warheads, something that had
     been banned by START II," Rogozin told Echo Moscow radio.

     In Washington, US Senate Majority leader Thomas Daschle
     confirmed that President George W. Bush had informed
     Congressional leaders of his decision to withdraw from the
     Anti-Ballistic Missile pact after failing to find agreement with
     Moscow.

     Interfax cited Russian government sources as saying that Moscow
     has been notified that a US decision to pull out of the treaty in six
     months could be formally announced as early as Thursday.

     US press reports of the Bush decision came on a Russian public
     holiday and officialdom here met the news with stony silence. One
     government source told Interfax that diplomats "would not dramatize
     the situation and will wait to see how events unfold."

     But Russian parliamentarians argued that Bush's decision firmly
     proved that the interests of Moscow and Washington -- which have
     appeared to narrow since the September 11 terror strikes on the
     United States -- could never coincide.

     "The trust in our relations with America, which had recently
     improved, has certain limits and we have to keep that in mind," said
     the Duma's deputy speaker Vladimir Lukin, who has served as
     Russia's ambassador to Washington.

     Citing a threat to US security from "rogue states" like North Korea
     and Iran, Bush made a missile defense shield a key plank of his
     foreign policy even though such a system would require a major
     revision of ABM.

     Under the treaty signed on May 26, 1972, at the height of the Cold
     War, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to limit the
     number of anti-missile systems on their territory to two: one to
     protect the capital and the second 1,300 kilometers (780 miles) away
     to prevent a nationwide system.

     Russia took over the treaty commitment after the 1991 collapse of
     the Soviet Union.

     While mulling the missile system, Bush faced pressure from Europe,
     US Congressional Democrats and even Secretary of State Colin
     Powell, who all questioned the wisdom of dropping ABM and
     upsetting Russia and China at a time when Washington is seeking
     allies in its global anti-terror campaign.

     Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov confirmed Monday that he and
     Powell had been unable to breach their disagreement on missile
     defense and that Moscow has prepared a contingency plan.

     As early as last year, Putin threatened to counter a US withdrawal
     from the ABM by abandoning all existing nuclear disarmament
     agreements and loading up on multiple missile warheads as a
     defensive measure.

     Such threats have not been repeated in recent weeks and Ivanov
     and Powell even announced this week that they had been instructed
     to prepare terms of a new nuclear disarmament agreement for
     Bush's visit to the Russian capital next spring.

     Still, while seeming ready to accept further US testing of its futuristic
     missile shield, Russia had sought to preserve ABM in some form, the
     treaty representing one of the last vestiges of Moscow's Soviet-era
     superpower status.

     Some analysts however said that Russian talk of re-armament was
     only a show of bravado from military hawks who did not have the
     finances to back up their threats.

     "There is no way for Russia to react in a military sense," said
     military affairs analyst Alexander Golts. "It simply lacks the cash."

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 2  Kazakhstan: Experts Report Progress On Safeguarding Nuclear Site
 
 By Nikola Krastev

 The U.S. Department of Energy is reporting progress in its 
efforts to provide for the safe shutdown of the BN-350 nuclear 
breeder reactor in Aktau, Kazakhstan. At a time of heightened 
concern over the proliferation of nuclear materials, experts say 
the U.S.-led program is on track to eliminate a major source of 
weapons-grade plutonium production, while at the same time 
avoiding any possible environmental incident on the eastern 
shores of the Caspian Sea.

 New York, 11 December 2001 (RFE/RL) -- The BN-350 fast-breeder 
reactor in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan, was commissioned in 1972 
for the dual purpose of producing plutonium for the Soviet 
nuclear arsenal and providing electricity, heating, and water 
desalination.

 After a 1998 report from the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA) criticized safety at the reactor, Kazakhstan announced it 
would shut down the plant and secure it. It requested technical 
and financial assistance from the United States, which earlier in 
the 1990s removed a large quantity of weapons-grade uranium from 
another site in the country.

 The U.S. State and Energy departments in May 1999 initiated a 
project to provide assistance to Kazakhstan. This past summer, 
U.S. and Kazakh officials marked the completion of one phase of 
the project -- packaging spent fuel from the reactor. An 
international team of technicians placed the last of 478 
canisters of spent fuel in the BN-350 water storage pool under 
the seal of the IAEA, completing one of the largest such efforts 
ever undertaken.

 Other key accomplishments recently announced include the 
installation of extensive fire-safety equipment, the design and 
fabrication of "cesium traps" to decontaminate the reactor's 
radioactive sodium coolant, and the start of procedures for 
sodium coolant draining and processing.

 Douglas Newton, the project's manager, recently discussed the 
program at New York's Columbia University. Speaking later to 
RFE/RL, he praised the cooperation of the Kazakh government: "I 
don't think we can ask for very much more in terms of cooperation 
at a national level. On the individual day-to-day basis, the 
people at the Nuclear Technology Safety Center have been 
absolutely invaluable in organizing the various Kazakhstan 
organizations that have worked with us."

 The U.S. concerns about these kinds of old-fashioned nuclear 
reactors are as much about safety as they are about the ability 
of these reactors to produce weapons-grade plutonium. During its 
lifetime, Newton said, Aktau's BN-350 has produced several tons 
of so-called "ivory-grade," premium plutonium.

 Paul Josephson is an associate professor of Soviet history at 
Colby College in Maine and has written a book on Russian nuclear 
programs. He tells RFE/RL that the BN-350 type of reactor was 
long ago abandoned in the United States: "Breeder reactors were 
abandoned under President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s because 
he recognized that reactors that produce as part of their 
operation more plutonium than they start with contribute directly 
to proliferation. They make more plutonium available throughout 
the world. It's much easier to make a nuclear weapon out of 
plutonium than it is out of uranium."

 To make sure that Aktau's nuclear facility will never be able to 
restart plutonium production, the U.S. engineers have devised a 
plan that calls for "irreversible shutdown." Under this plan, the 
radioactive molten sodium coolant of the reactor will be 
gradually decontaminated (of Cesium-137) and then drained. Once 
the bulk sodium is drained, pockets will remain throughout the 
reactor's body. These pockets will be filled with an inert gas to 
corrode the steel and prevent the reactor from being used again.

 Newton tells RFE/RL that the U.S. Energy and State departments 
are discussing with Kazakh officials where to store the plutonium 
that has already been produced: "The Kazakhs have signaled their 
intention to store the fuel in northeastern Kazakhstan. But the 
[U.S.] State Department is still working with them in conjunction 
with the Department of Energy. And there are several options, and 
[there has been] a series of options studies. And, of course, our 
primary concern is the nuclear safety and security of the 
material that's coming out of the reactor."

 Professor Josephson, who has visited nuclear power plants in the 
former Soviet Union, tells RFE/RL that from a geographic and 
economic point of view, the best place to store the produced 
nuclear fuel would be in Russia: "Kazakhstan recognizes this, 
that it's best not to have any plutonium within your borders, but 
to have it somewhere where it can be safeguarded. And I would 
think that Russian facilities are the best place, given the 
geographic location and the long-term experience."

 The U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies have also been 
active in helping to secure Russian nuclear facilities but 
acknowledge there are still many sites that require safeguarding. 
One difficulty at a number of formerly secret sites is the 
unwillingness of Russian officials to give U.S. technicians 
access.

 But experts on nonproliferation issues say the experience in 
Kazakhstan has been very positive. Shutting down Aktau's BN-350 
reactor has been a collaborative effort involving technical 
personnel and financing from the United States, Kazakhstan, the 
European Union, Japan, and Britain. The IAEA has been 
instrumental in organizing much of the international cooperative 
effort.

 Andrew Weiss is a fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in 
New York and former director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian 
affairs at the U.S. National Security Council. He tells RFE/RL 
that the Aktau shutdown project could serve as a model for 
international cooperation on nonproliferation issues: "The work 
at Aktau, I think, is just an illustration of the kind of 
cooperation that's developed. We've seen even in more sensitive 
circumstances -- like Operation Sapphire, where the United States 
helped secretly airlift a load of very sensitive material out of 
Kazakhstan -- that they are willing to do the right thing. I 
think that this kind of cooperation is something that's going to 
be enduring and hopefully continuing into the future."

 Operation Sapphire involved the removal of 600 kilograms of 
weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan in 1994. Aside from 
collaborating on improving its nuclear facilities, Kazakhstan has 
also turned over all of its nuclear weapons. Since declaring 
independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has returned to Russia all 1,410 
nuclear warheads stored on its territory and closed the 
Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, where 456 tests had been 
performed in the previous four decades.
 
Š 1995-2001 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., All Rights 
Reserved. http://www.rferl.org 
*****************************************************************
 3  Kazakhstan to step up control over nuclear facilities, 
materials 

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 11, 2001

Text of report by Kazakh Commercial TV on 11 December

[Presenter] IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] experts 
familiarized the Kazakh power-wielding structures with up-to-date 
methods of physical protection of nuclear materials and 
facilities in Almaty today. The IAEA is holding a seminar on 
improving the protection of atomic industry facilities in 
connection with the tense situation in the world.

[Correspondent, over video of unidentified nuclear facilities, a 
meeting, an interview, train cars with metal scrap] The IAEA 
focuses special attention on Kazakhstan, which has five atomic 
reactors, plants producing nuclear fuel, millions of tonnes of 
radioactive waste and major uranium deposits.

There has been no terrorist attack on Kazakhstan's top-secret 
facilities so far, however thefts of various radioactive sources 
and nuclear [presumably, uranium] pellets take place almost every 
year.

[Timur Zhantikin, chairman of the Kazakh committee for atomic 
power engineering, captioned, interviewed in office] It is 
impossible to be protected from everything and it is equally bad 
to overestimate and underestimate the threat.

[Correspondent] Representatives of the all Kazakh power-wielding 
structures attended today's seminar. They agreed that the system 
of protecting and guarding the top-secret facilities should be 
improved. In particular, additional 2m dollars have been 
allocated for upgrading the protection facilities at the Ulba 
Metal Plant [in East Kazakhstan Region].

The experts see a solution to the situation in setting up a new 
special subunit to prevent illegal trafficking of radioactive 
substances.

[Timur Zhantikin] It is necessary to set up a special subunit 
within the customs service, as the Russian customs services have 
done, which should control radioactive and decomposing materials.

[Correspondence] There is only one customs post with equipment 
for detecting radioactive materials in Kazakhstan and the 
equipment has been given by the IAEA. Nuclear scientists do not 
rule out that the recently discovered four train cars with 
radioactive metal scrap is by far not the only case of 
trafficking particularly dangerous materials through Kazakhstan.

Source: Kazakh Commercial Television, Almaty, in Russian 1130 gmt 
11 Dec 01 /BBC Monitoring/ Š BBC. World Reporter
*****************************************************************
 4   Nuclear response team is suddenly silent

By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel Senior writer

In the three months since Sept. 11, much has been written about 
the future of terrorism - with speculation that the next big 
threat may come from crudely fashioned nuclear weapons or 
explosives that splatter radioactive debris all over the place. 

If there is a nuclear terrorism attack, you can bet the Radiation 
Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REACT) will be 
integrally involved in the response. But the Oak Ridge 
institution has been unusually low key this fall and that's by 
design, not wishing to draw attention to its work or potential 
role in terrorism response. 

Whatever discussions are taking place behind the scenes regarding 
strategies or preparations, the folks at REACTS aren't sharing 
those publicly. "Because of the heightened security, we're just 
being extra cautious," spokeswoman Pam Bonee said. 

The radiation experts have turned down interview requests from a 
number of major news organizations, including such notables as 
"60 Minutes" and - ahem - The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

REACTS is a part of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and 
Education and is funded largely by the U.S. Department of Energy. 
It also collaborates with the World Health Organization and the 
International Atomic Energy Agency. 

"The center's specially trained team of physicians, nurses, 
health physicists, radiobiologists and emergency coordinators is 
prepared around the clock to provide assistance on either the 
local, national or international level," according to info on the 
Web site for Oak Ridge Associated Universities, which manages the 
institute for DOE. 

In the event of an accident or attack, the Oak Ridge center would 
provide a medical response in support of other emergency units - 
such as NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team), RAP (Radiological 
Assistance Program) and FRMAC (Federal Radiological Monitoring 
and Assessment Center). 

The Oak Ridge staff, headed by Dr. Robert Ricks, has taught 
radiation-response courses for hundreds of physicians and other 
medical specialists at hospitals in the United States and many 
other countries. 


FEAR OF FLYING: Gene Hoffman, a retired Energy Department 
official, is concerned that DOE hasn't evaluated the potential 
consequences of a large airplane crash at sites where thousands 
of containers of depleted uranium hexafluoride are stored. 

About 14,000 cylinders of depleted UF6 are stored outdoors at 
DOE's K-25 Site in Oak Ridge, and even greater numbers are housed 
at facilities in Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio. 

Hoffman is pushing the government to include such a worst-case 
scenario in the environmental impact statement for a project that 
will convert the uranium compounds to a more stable chemical form 
for long-storm storage or disposal. He said he first raised the 
issue a couple of years ago and those concerns were amplified by 
the events of Sept. 11. 

An airplane crash would likely rupture many of the thin-walled 
containers and result in a massive release of fluorides and other 
toxic materials into the atmosphere, Hoffman said. 

"It would be a very serious problem," he said. 

BADGE OF COURAGE: Among the winners at Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory's Awards Night was Kathy Rosenbalm, executive 
secretary for the Spallation Neutron Source. 

Rosenbalm received the Secretarial Support Award for 
"unparalleled administrative competence, strong leadership and an 
unfailing cheerful attitude." 

I can testify to Rosenbalm's cheerful attitude because she's even 
pleasant to members of the news media, and that can be thankless 
effort. Here's an example: 

A couple of years ago, while I was visiting the SNS project 
office for an interview with then-Executive Director David 
Moncton, Rosenbalm inadvertently gave me a partial copy of a 
draft report - a report I apparently wasn't supposed to see. I 
returned that draft report in order to get the rest of another 
report I had actually requested, but I later - of course - 
requested the full draft report I had seen only briefly. 

This didn't sit well with the SNS leadership, and Moncton argued 
mightily that I shouldn't have access to a draft report on the 
project's progress. But eventually, after some prodding by DOE, 
he released the report. 

I don't know this for a fact, but I have every reason to believe 
that Rosenbalm got chewed out for the mix-up which led to a news 
story some folks didn't want to see. 

Whether she did or did not, her demeanor never changed in 
subsequent encounters. She was pleasant as ever, and it's hard 
not to applaud that kind of professionalism. 

I add my congratulations for the deserved award. 

Copyright 2001 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.               
*****************************************************************
 5  Bush to Pull Out of 1972 Nuke Treaty
 
Las Vegas SUN
 
Today: December 12, 2001 at 2:50:17 PST 
 
WASHINGTON- President Bush is set to inform Russia that the 
United States intends to pull out of a 1972 treaty that he has 
denounced as a relic of the Cold War and a roadblock to mounting 
a U.S. defense against missile attack. Not only is the 
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty outdated, Bush said Tuesday, but 
the Sept. 11 attacks, "made it even more clear that we need to 
build limited and effective defenses against a missile attack. 
... We must protect America and her friends against all forms of 
terror, including the terror that could arrive on a missile." 

The impact of a U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 treaty could be 
immense. It would give the Pentagon a green light to conduct 
tests outlawed by the treaty and make a sharper judgment on the 
kind of defense that might work. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned that unilateral 
U.S. withdrawal, which Bush has a legal right to do, could 
unravel the fabric of arms control woven over three decades of 
painstaking negotiations. 

Bush will announce the decision to notify Russia in the next 
several days, four government officials said Tuesday on condition 
of anonymity. It involves invoking a clause in the ABA treaty 
that requires the United States and Russia to give six months' 
notice before abandoning the pact. 

Once Bush informs Putin, the two leaders would have the six 
months to fashion a compromise that eluded them in talks in 
Washington in November. 

Bush told Putin during their autumn talks in China that he would 
withdraw from the ABM in January even if Russia had not agreed to 
a deal by then. Bush, in a telephone call last week with Putin, 
made his intentions clear again, one senior U.S. official said. 

A White House spokesman, Sean McCormack, said of a presidential 
decision: "The time is coming. The president said that he intends 
to move beyond the ABM treaty." 

The decision came after Secretary of State Colin Powell failed to 
bridge differences during meetings this week in Russia. It is a 
blow to Powell, who long had argued that Bush could agree with 
Putin to allow testing of the missile system without forcing the 
United States to pull out of a major international treaty. 

Bush's decision is a victory for Defense Secretary Donald H. 
Rumsfeld and administration allies who, pitted against Powell, 
said the ABM had to go. Bush's national security adviser, 
Condoleezza Rice, the president's closest foreign policy aide, 
tried to mediate the difference but in the end sided with 
Rumsfeld, associates said. 

Powell returned to Washington on Tuesday night after talks in 
Moscow and with allied leaders in Britain, France and Germany. He 
was due to report to Bush on Wednesday. 

From the outset, and before that, during his presidential 
campaign, Bush has made pursuit of an anti-missile shield a 
cherished goal. He maintains the treaty is outdated, with Russia 
no longer an enemy, while states like North Korea and Iran are 
ambitiously pursuing weapons of mass destruction that could in a 
few years threaten the United States. 

"We have allowed our hands to be tied behind our back," Deputy 
Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said in July. 

Some U.S. allies in Europe have been apprehensive of the impact 
of the president's anti-missile program. So have some members of 
Congress, and they have urged Bush not to go it alone. 

"Unilaterally abandoning the ABM treaty would be a serious 
mistake," Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday. "The administration 
has not offered any convincing rationale for why any missile 
defense test it may need to conduct would require walking away 
from a treaty that has helped keep the peace for the last 30 
years." 

"To rip up a treaty with Russia at this moment against the advice 
of our allies could have an unsettling effect on the whole 
coalition and the need to stick together against terrorism," said 
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee. 

Rep. Bob Stump, R-Ariz., chairman of the House Armed Services 
Committee, said: "I concur in his decision. There are all these 
questions about Russia upholding their end of the treaty anyway, 
and I just don't think we should penalize ourselves." 

Ariel Cohen, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said 
he did not believe that the United States and Russia would revert 
to confrontation. "The Russian decision will be, "We're going to 
live with this," Cohen predicted. 

Meanwhile, another major arms control pact, the 1993 START II 
treaty to reduce stockpiles of long-range nuclear warheads to 
between 3,000 and 3,500 by 2003, appeared to be in jeopardy. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Tuesday his 
government would not carry out the pact unless the Senate 
approved changes that gave the two sides until 2007 to cut back. 

The 1972 ABM treaty is based on the proposition that stripping a 
nuclear power of a tough defense against missile attack would 
inhibit launching an attack because the retaliation would be 
deadly. 

Past supporters of the treaty, such as former Secretary of State 
Henry A. Kissinger, support Bush in his view the world has 
changed over the past three decades. 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 6  Critics Say Colorado Radiation Cleanup Will Leave Overly 
Contaminated Soil
 
The Salt Lake Tribune -- 

Wednesday, December 12, 2001   

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

    WASHINGTON -- The government is spending $7 billion to 
decontaminate a former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and turn 
it into a wildlife refuge. But critics said Tuesday that the 
cleanup will still leave the soil too polluted. 

    Legislation before Congress would officially designate the 
Rocky Flats site, 15 miles northwest of Denver, a wildlife refuge 
after cleanup is completed. 

    Rocky Flats is contaminated with tons of plutonium and other 
radioactive materials, in buildings and in the soil, after years 
of weapons work. The Energy Department and its civilian 
contractor will decide early next year how clean the site should 
become. 

    A report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental 
Research contends that the residual contamination levels being 
considered by the government are 40 times greater than what would 
be allowed if the land is used for something other than a 
wildlife refuge. 

    The report by IEER, a research group long involved in nuclear 
watchdog activities, contends that designating the area a 
wildlife refuge will allow the cleanup to be less stringent. 

    Whatever the final standard, "We will provide a safe and 
effective cleanup of Rocky Flats," said Jeremy Karpatkin, 
spokesman for the Energy Department. 

    The government already has spent nearly $3 billion on the 
cleanup, and will spend another $4 billion over the next five 
years, he said. 
    
  Š Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on 
*****************************************************************
 7  2 Nuclear Experts Briefed Bin Laden, Pakistanis Say (washingtonpost.com)
 
By Kamran Khan and Molly Moore
 Washington Post Foreign Service
 Wednesday, December 12, 2001; Page A01 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 11 -- Two Pakistani nuclear scientists 
reportedly have told investigators they conducted long 
discussions about nuclear, chemical and biological weapons with 
accused terrorist Osama bin Laden in August in the Afghan capital 
of Kabul, according to Pakistani officials familiar with the 
interrogations of the men.
 
Pakistani intelligence officials said they believe that the two 
retired nuclear scientists -- who have been under questioning for 
more than two months -- used an Afghan relief organization 
partially as a cover to conduct secret talks with bin Laden.
 
The Pakistani officials characterized the discussions between the 
scientists and bin Laden as "academic" and said they have no 
evidence the information resulted in the creation or production 
of any type of weapon.
 
The reported admissions by Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, who held 
key appointments in each of Pakistan's three most important 
nuclear facilities, and his associate, Abdul Majid, represent a 
turnabout from their earlier claims that they met with bin Laden 
only to discuss their charitable endeavors in Afghanistan, 
according to the accounts provided by Pakistani intelligence 
authorities.
 
Mahmood and Majid, who are being detained at an undisclosed 
location, could not be reached to confirm the purported 
statements described by Pakistani officials. Because the 
interrogations are being conducted in secrecy, it is impossible 
to determine the nature of the investigatory techniques being 
used. Neither of the men has been charged with a crime.
 
Officials here said the Pakistani government is considering 
charging Mahmood and Majid with violating the national official 
secrets act, a crime that carries a seven-year jail term. It 
would be the first known case of a nuclear official charged with 
that offense, officials said.
 
Pakistani officials said Mahmood -- who had experience in uranium 
enrichment and plutonium production but was not involved in 
bomb-building -- had neither the knowledge nor the experience to 
assist in the construction of any type of nuclear weapon. The 
scientists were not believed to be experts in chemical or 
biological weaponry.
 
Pakistan has been under pressure from the U.S. government to 
pursue the investigation of the scientists' relationship with bin 
Laden at a time of heightened concerns by U.S. authorities that 
bin Laden may have acquired nuclear, biological or chemical 
materials, or weapons. The investigation was a major issue 
discussed during CIA Director George J. Tenet's recent visit to 
Pakistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.
 
Though neither U.S. nor Pakistani officials say they have 
evidence that bin Laden has obtained any such material, 
intelligence agencies for both countries have indicated they 
believe he has sought it.
 
Pakistani officials familiar with the investigation said 
representatives of the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services 
Intelligence agency are in contact almost daily concerning the 
investigation.
 
Pakistani authorities said Mahmood and Majid changed their 
accounts recently after they were presented with compelling 
evidence of their relationship with bin Laden. The evidence was 
provided to authorities here by the CIA, but Pakistani 
intelligence officials declined to describe it.
 
Mahmood and Majid reportedly met with bin Laden; his top 
lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman Zawahiri; and two other al Qaeda 
officials several times over two or three days in August at a 
compound in Kabul, the Pakistani officials said.
 
The scientists described bin Laden as intensely interested in 
nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
 
Mahmood and Majid said bin Laden indicated that he had obtained, 
or had access to, some type of radiological material that he said 
had been acquired for him by the radical Islamic Movement of 
Uzbekistan. The scientists said they left the meetings believing 
that bin Laden had some such material, but Pakistani officials 
said they have been unable to verify those claims.
 
The scientists reportedly said bin Laden asked how the material 
could be made into a weapon or something usable. They also said 
they told him it would not be possible to manufacture a weapon 
with the material he might have.
 
Pakistani officials noted that organizations and individuals 
throughout South and Central Asia have frequently approached 
Pakistani officials offering to sell nuclear materials smuggled 
from nuclear facilities in former Soviet republics.
 
The scientists have insisted they provided no material or 
specific plans to bin Laden, but rather engaged in wide ranging 
"academic" discussions, Pakistani officials said.
 
"They spoke extensively about weapons of mass destruction," one 
Pakistani official said. The official described the scientists as 
"very motivated" and "extremist in their ideas," but added they 
were "discussing things that didn't materialize, but fall under 
the breaking secrets act."
 
U.S. officials recently have expressed concerns that bin Laden 
could have access to radiological materials that could be 
combined with conventional explosives to create a "dirty bomb." 
Though far less potent than a nuclear weapon, such a device could 
nonetheless contaminate several city blocks with radiation if 
exploded, according to experts.
 
Mahmood, who received one of Pakistan's highest civilian honors 
for nearly three decades of work in the country's nuclear 
programs specializing in uranium enrichment, was largely forced 
out of his job through a demotion in 1999. Officials were 
concerned about his vocal advocacy of producing an extensive 
amount of weapons-grade plutonium and enriched uranium to help 
equip other Islamic nations with nuclear arsenals.
 
After his departure, Mahmood continued to espouse his views in 
public speeches, and one friend recalled that Mahmood said his 
knowledge about Pakistan's nuclear program was a state secret, 
but not his expertise on enriching uranium and producing 
weapons-grade plutonium.
 
Majid worked for Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission until 1999.
 
After Mahmood was forced out, he helped start an organization 
called Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (Islamic Reconstruction), which he 
described as a relief agency dedicated to construction and 
redevelopment projects in Afghanistan. The Pakistani government 
gave Mahmood and some of his associates, including Majid, 
permission to travel to Afghanistan three times this year, 
including one visit after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and on 
the Pentagon, according to Pakistani officials.
 
Mahmood reportedly told investigators he met several times with 
Mohammad Omar, leader of the Taliban militia that then ruled 
Afghanistan, during a long visit to Kandahar in mid-summer. He is 
said to have discussed a flour mill his agency operated in 
Kandahar, as well as the need for alternative agricultural 
programs to persuade farmers to stop growing poppies for opium 
production. At one point in that visit, Omar introduced Mahmood 
to bin Laden, officials said.
 
Mahmood said he did not discuss any issues related to nuclear, 
chemical or biological weapons in his first meeting with bin 
Laden, describing it as an introductory encounter in which he 
discussed his relief program.
 
Mahmood and Majid returned to Afghanistan in August, traveling to 
Kabul, where they held extensive meetings with bin Laden and his 
associates, the officials said. Omar was not present at any of 
the sessions, they said.
 
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the two scientists returned to 
Kandahar, where they met with Omar, but not with bin Laden, they 
said. The scientists said they never discussed nuclear, chemical 
or biological issues with Omar.
 
Pakistani authorities have detained or questioned at least seven 
members of Mahmood's relief agency in connection with the 
investigation, including two air force general officers, an army 
one-star general, a third nuclear scientist, a well-known 
Pakistani industrialist and at least one financial officer of the 
organization, according to Pakistani officials. The two air force 
officers, the third nuclear scientist and the industrialist have 
been released. The others remain in detention.
 
U.S. officials have long raised concerns about the safety of 
Pakistan's nuclear program and the reliability of some of its 
scientists. Pakistan is believed to have the materials to 
assemble between 30 and 40 warheads, and has test-fired 
intermediate-range missiles that potentially could be used to 
launch the warheads, according to intelligence reports and 
nuclear experts. Both Pakistan and neighboring India tested 
underground nuclear devices in 1998, and the two countries are 
viewed by many security experts as the globe's most worrisome 
nuclear flash point.
 
Khan reported from Karachi. Researcher Robert Thomason in 
Washington contributed to this report. 

Š 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
 8  The First Line Against Terrorism 

(washingtonpost.com)
 
By Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
 Wednesday, December 12, 2001; Page A35 

In the spring of 1946, J. Robert Oppenheimer was asked in a 
closed congressional hearing room "whether three or four men 
couldn't smuggle units of an [atomic] bomb into New York and blow 
up the whole city." The father of the atomic bomb answered, "Of 
course it could be done, and people could destroy New York."
 
When a nervous senator then asked how such a weapon smuggled in a 
crate or even a suitcase could be detected, Oppenheimer quipped, 
"With a screwdriver." A few years later, he persuaded the Atomic 
Energy Commission to write a top secret study on the dangers of 
nuclear terrorism. The document, known as the "Screwdriver 
Report," remains classified to this day. Our leaders realized 
then that there was no defense against such an attack and, 
because we were defenseless, chose to play down its possibility.
 
But on Sept. 11 Islamicist terrorists used knives and box-cutters 
to turn commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. And 
then there was anthrax. The next time they could use spent 
nuclear reactor fuel wrapped in explosives. And if they are 
determined to sacrifice their own lives, the assassins will 
achieve a high degree of success.
 
Oppenheimer understood a half-century ago that by unlocking the 
power of the atom he and his colleagues had suddenly made the 
world a smaller place. That's why in 1946 he proposed banning 
nuclear weapons.
 
The globalization of science and technology has now reached a 
point where weapons of mass destruction really can be wielded by 
a handful of individuals. In such a world, our military prowess 
is our very last line of defense.
 
To our own peril in this interdependent world, we are foolishly 
squandering our first and strongest line of defense: the 
imponderable that the venerable World War II secretary of war, 
Henry L. Stimson, called our reputation for fair play. In this 
sense Sept. 11 was the ultimate failure of a foreign policy that 
has systematically sullied our reputation.
 
For a half-century our foreign policy establishment complacently 
assumed that America could act with impunity in the Third World. 
We fought the Cold War on Third World battlefields; the list of 
our interventions is staggering: Iran, Korea, Guatemala, Congo, 
Cuba, Vietnam, Chile, Nicaragua and, of course, the entire Middle 
East. Millions died.
 
In the decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union, our 
policymakers have pursued a "triumphalist" stance based on 
America's invincibility as "the world's only superpower." They 
told us that the smoldering ethnic and tribal conflicts in 
Bosnia, Rwanda, East Timor, Congo, Sudan, Chechnya, Afghanistan 
and dozens of other places were not America's business.
 
They were wrong. America needs a radically new foreign policy. 
The artificial Cold War dichotomy between realism and idealism 
must be abandoned. No foreign policy devoid of sound moral 
principles is realistic today. Even a "victory" in Afghanistan 
will do little to protect us from terrorists if we once again 
become complicit with authoritarian regimes that abuse their own 
people.
 
We need a smart foreign policy that addresses the underlying 
grievances that foster suicidal rage. We need to go back as a 
nation to where we were in 1945 -- before Hiroshima, before we 
took the road to a permanent national security state. Most 
Americans have no memory of the designs Franklin D. Roosevelt's 
New Dealers had for postwar American foreign policy. Human 
rights, self-determination, an end to colonization in the 
developing world, nuclear disarmament, international law, the 
World Court, the United Nations -- these were all ideas of the 
progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
 
We need to return to this Rooseveltian vision of a foreign policy 
based on human rights. We need to encourage the weak and 
afflicted to take their grievances to the United Nations, the 
World Court and the new International Criminal Court. And that 
means we too must abide by U.N. and World Court decisions.
 
We desperately need to engage with the world -- and not just 
dominate it with dollars, cruise missile diplomacy and secret 
military courts. The billions we contemplate spending on missile 
defense should instead be invested to promote peace agreements 
and meet basic human needs in the world's poorest societies. And 
right now, we need to end our long illicit affair with nuclear 
weapons.
 
In 1948 Oppenheimer observed that nuclear weapons -- born in 
secrecy and designed as "unparalleled instruments of coercion" -- 
were by definition antithetical to a free society. And so 
paradoxically he insisted that even a nuclear-armed America must 
nevertheless remain loyal to two mutually interdependent ideals, 
the minimization of secrecy and coercion: "We seem to know, and 
seem to come back again and again to this knowledge, that the 
purposes of this country in the field of foreign policy cannot in 
any real or enduring way be achieved by coercion."
 
Kai Bird, a fellow at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson 
International Center for Scholars, and Martin Sherwin, a 
professor of history at Tufts University, are writing a biography 
of J. Robert Oppenheimer. 

 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
 9  Cold War fears are revisited 

'Dirty' bombs could spread radiation over wide area

 By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff and Michele Kurtz Globe Correspondent,
12/12/2001 

By the time the Cold War ended in 1989, the billions of dollars 
that taxpayers had spent preparing for nuclear war seemed good 
for one thing: a few good yuks. Cambridge Emergency Management 
director David O'Connor, in fact, maintains a sort of museum of 
the absurd from the age of fallout shelters, those rooms stocked 
with materials that once passed as preparation for the ultimate 
disaster. There's the 1960s-vintage protective tin hat, canisters 
of sodium bicarbonate for burns or upset stomachs, and his 
personal favorite: tin cans of pineapple-flavored candy sour 
balls labeled as emergency ''carbohydrates.'' 

Yet, amid news that terrorists have tried to obtain and use 
so-called ''dirty'' bombs that could spread radiation across 
entire cities, officials such as O'Connor aren't finding talk of 
radiation so funny anymore. 

Local emergency planners across Massachusetts are now drawing up 
new disaster strategies, replacing 40-year-old Geiger counters, 
meeting with community groups and, in general, starting to take 
the threat of nuclear attack seriously again. 

''It's a very serious situation we're in now,'' said Anthony 
Siciliano, acting director of Quincy's Emergency Management 
Agency. ''People are calling up all the time and asking, `Where 
is my bomb shelter?' and, `Where do I buy my mask?''' 

Siciliano last week said he met with dozens of day care 
operators, who were anxious to know how to protect their children 
in case of a nuclear attack. In Newton, Mayor David Cohen this 
month ordered his emergency planning committee to rework the 
city's disaster plan to include new contingencies for 
radiological attack. 

''We will develop a plan ... and come up with a thorough 
response,'' Cohen said. 

Unfortunately, officials said, even with their renewed focus on 
mitigating the effects of a radioactive assault, the words they 
can offer residents aren't particularly comforting. Part of the 
reason that the nuclear preparedness in the past seems so 
inadequate, they said, is that there is so little that actually 
can be done in the event of a nuclear attack. 

Of the two nuclear terrorism scenarios, the one city officials 
are most concerned about is the so-called ''dirty bomb'' - a 
relatively crude device that combines conventional explosives 
with radioactive material such as plutonium, uranium, or cobalt. 

While far less dangerous than a fission explosion, such a bomb 
would spread radiation that could cause death, long-term illness, 
and genetic damage, depending on a victim's proximity to the 
blast and level of exposure. 

If such a bomb were to go off, some communities no longer even 
have their own equipment to detect the radiation, and would have 
to rely on state hazardous materials teams instead. 

Newton is one of those places, Fire Chief Edward J. Murphy said. 
For years, his department had an annual ritual of sending its 
radiation detector to US Army experts at Fort Devens to be 
recalibrated. When the facility closed, the machines had to be 
sent to a facility in the Midwest instead. 

One year, they never came back, Murphy said, and since they were 
never used, nobody bothered to track them down. 

Siciliano said a dirty bomb blast would be treated like other 
localized toxic disasters. The immediate area would be cordoned 
off, triage stations would be set up for the injured, and 
residents within a designated danger zone would be relocated to 
above-ground shelters on the other side of town. 

The problem, officials said, would be the aftermath. Unlike other 
toxic spills, an area heavily contaminated with radiation might 
be unusable for tens, hundreds, even thousands of years. 

If terrorists got hold of even a small nuclear bomb, the scenario 
would be exponentially bleaker, the experts said. 

Though good-humored, O'Connor's impromptu museum - the remnants 
of what was once a vast system of hundreds of Cambridge fallout 
shelters tucked away in old subway tunnels, schools, and the 
basements of Harvard and MIT - is a study in the futility of 
nuclear disaster planning. 

When he became director in 1984, O'Connor discovered tons of 
supplies, unused medical kits, even a small portable hospital - 
amassed in the 1950s but stored for decades. The pineapple sour 
balls alone weighed 21/2 tons. 

Built in the '50s and '60s, the underground shelters in Cambridge 
could accommodate a total of 120,000 people. They were stocked 
with 30-pound drums of crackers, aspirin, penicillin, and 
5,000-tablet bottles of phenobarbital, a sedative for citizens 
stressed out by a nuclear war. 

By the mid-'70s, fallout shelters were no longer in vogue. 
Scientists found that they actually offered little more 
protection than buildings above ground. Cities such as Cambridge 
stopped replacing old supplies. The shelters became dusty storage 
areas and were eventually cannibalized by city departments hungry 
for office and storage space. Eventually, the city donated most 
of the sour balls to nursing homes and fire departments. A local 
pig farm got the crackers to use for animal feed and the medical 
supplies went to Ecuador. 

Officials think they recovered most of the medical kits, but warn 
people who might stumble upon one to call the Fire Department 
because they may contain ether, which could explode. 

In the late 1970s, the government began pushing ''relocation 
plans'' which called for entire Boston-area municipal populations 
to pick up and move en masse to small towns in New Hampshire and 
Western Massachusetts - and were virtually guaranteed to produce 
instant gridlock and chaos, O'Connor said. 

As the joke went, he said, it would be the responsibility of 
Cambridge officials to alert their citizens to flee, while the 
town fathers in Greenfield would rally citizens there to ''bomb 
all the bridges leading into town.'' 

Now, officials say that - in the unlikely event of a nuclear bomb 
threat - people should stay put in whatever shelter they can find 
close to home rather than trying to flee and create chaos. Or 
find a municipal shelter, but those are all gone, officials said. 

In fact, the only nonmilitary, working, hardened shelter in 
Massachusetts is the state's own emergency bunker in Framingham. 
But only high-ranking officials can count on getting in. 

In the end, the best preparedness for a true nuclear attack is to 
prevent one from happening in the first place. 

''It's one thing we're not planning for much,'' said Murphy, the 
Newton fire chief. ''Really, what would you do?'' 

This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 12/12/2001. Š 
Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company. 
*****************************************************************
 10  Bio of Ernest Lawrence (DOE labs)

Press & Dakotan - In Honor Of Genius 12/12/01
 
   Home [http://www.yankton.net] 
 	 	   	
In Honor Of Genius Member Of Famous Family Recalls Historic Legacy 

BY RANDY DOCKENDORF 
P Regional Editor 
BY RANDY DOCKENDORF
 
As Jim Lawrence looked at yearbook pictures, he noted his father 
and his uncle -- who ushered in the nuclear age -- were almost 
killed by enemies during World War II and the Cold War.

 His uncle, Ernest Lawrence, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 
for developing the cyclotron. The discovery led to the atomic 
bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An element, Lawrencium, 
is named for him.

 His father, John Lawrence, conducted pioneering medical research 
-- notably in cancer -- and became known as the "Father of 
Nuclear Medicine."

 Despite their humble roots in Canton and Springfield, the 
brothers became major players in world history, Jim Lawrence 
said.

 "During the Cold War years, they were important figures," he 
said. "And this was a period when science was not big time -- 
much of the work was done in garages."

 Jim Lawrence, who lives in California, returned this week for a 
University of South Dakota symposium on the Lawrence brothers' 
lives. A ceremony renamed a USD science building in their honor.

 Jim and his wife, Tori, also toured the Springfield home of his 
grandfather, Carl Lawrence, who served as president of Southern 
State Normal College from 1919-33. John attended the high school 
on campus, but the elder Lawrence later separated the two 
schools.

 Both Ernest and John graduated from the University of South 
Dakota before moving on to their groundbreaking -- but dangerous 
-- careers.

 "Ernest did a great deal for the war. His labs were federal 
military research centers, and he had high levels of influence in 
Washington," Jim Lawrence said. "Ernest needed an FBI agent 
because he was shot at."

 While John Lawrence was not an assassination target, he also had 
a harrowing experience.

 "My dad's ship was torpedoed during the war while he was going 
to England. They had secured a shipping lane, but the U-boats 
were patrolling the Atlantic," Jim Lawrence said.

 "They were getting into the lifeboat when the bartender ran back 
to lock up the bar. When they got to shore, they were greeted by 
John F. Kennedy -- the son of the ambassador who later became 
President."

 As World War II escalated, Ernest Lawrence pushed for more 
research to produce a uranium bomb. He kept his cyclotron running 
around the clock to supply plutonium for the Manhattan Project.

 The Lawrence brothers couldn't share their successes with anyone 
-- not even family members.

 "They never divulged a secret. Their wives didn't know about the 
Manhattan Project," Jim Lawrence said of the effort to develop 
the atomic bomb.

 After World War II, the Lawrence brothers continued their 
nuclear work. They even used radiation for successful cancer 
treatments on their mother, who lived an additional 18 years.

 "Dad worked with atomic medicine and made many trips to the 
State Department," Jim Lawrence said. "He even worked with it in 
India."

 In the 1950s, while also developing television in his garage, 
Ernest Lawrence was deeply involved in the "Atoms for Peace" 
campaign.

 In 1958, Ernest served on President Eisenhower's team 
negotiating with the Soviet Union for suspension of nuclear 
weapons tests. Ernest suffered a colitis attack during the Geneva 
conference, and he died a month later at 57.

 Jim Lawrence credited his grandfather's upbringing for the 
success of the Lawrence brothers.

 Carl Lawrence rode his bicycle from Wisconsin to Canton in 1894 
to teach at Augustana College. In 1898, he became superintendent 
of schools in Canton.

 In 1911, Carl Lawrence and his family moved to Pierre when he 
was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for South 
Dakota. After his four years in Pierre ended, Carl Lawrence 
returned as school superintendent in Canton where Ernest and John 
continued their education.

 However, Carl Lawrence resigned his position when the Canton 
public schools forbade him from teaching German during World War 
I. Students were forced to take German at Augustana Academy.

 However, another door opened when Carl Lawrence was offered the 
Springfield presidency. The school became USD at Springfield 
(USD/S) before closing in 1984 and becoming a minimum-security 
prison. The library still bears Lawrence's name.

 "Those were difficult years because South Dakota went through 
two depressions," Jim Lawrence said. "My grandfather had to lower 
salaries by 20 percent, and they were paid only $2,000 to $3,000 
a year."

 John McNeill, who worked at USD/S and remains with the prison, 
has researched Carl Lawrence.

 "There is hardly an issue of The Springfield Times where Carl 
Lawrence isn't giving a speech or serving as Master of Ceremonies 
for some event," he said. "He always wore a three-piece suit with 
a coat and tie, even when it was 95 degrees."

 Kent Scribner of the USD Foundation said the school is 
strengthening its bond with the Lawrences. "We are working to 
rekindle the ties with the Lawrence legacy. You can't overstate 
their importance to the world."

 Jim Lawrence said his ancestors did indeed leave a legacy, but 
the brothers might be amazed at today's world.

 "Dad died shortly after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, but I 
think he would be surprised at the collapse of the Soviet Union," 
he said.

 "Dad believed that nuclear weapons were part of keeping our 
defense strong and avoiding future wars. He hoped the United 
States wouldn't have to use it."

 To contact Randy Dockendorf, e-mail him at rdock@yankton.net.
 
The Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
*****************************************************************
 11  Safety agency to monitor Pantex after procedure faults 
 
By JIM McBRIDE

A nuclear safety agency plans to monitor Pantex weapons 
operations closely after a series of procedural failures this 
year.<P>

But BWXT Pantex and Energy Department officials say they have 
taken steps to correct problems cited by the Defense Nuclear 
Facilities Safety Board, a congressional watchdog agency that 
oversees nuclear weapons plants.<P>

The board issued an October report that cites more than 50 
"inadequate procedural compliance" incidents this year at the 
nuclear weapons assembly plant.<P>

Incidents included "missed steps, steps performed out of 
sequence, violations of procedural requirements, use of wrong 
procedures etc.," the report said. "Of particular concern is the 
fact that at least 10 of these incidents involved work directly 
on nuclear explosives."<P>

A.J. Eggenberger, the board's vice chairman, said the board was 
not completely satisfied with a recent briefing by Pantex 
officials.<P>

"As a result of that, several of us on the board were not 
convinced that what was said in the briefing would fix everything 
with respect to all the incidents," Eggenberger said. "There is a 
reason procedures are written and they are to be complied with 
because it helps in avoiding mishaps."<P>

Just because a procedure isn't followed doesn't mean that an 
accident would occur, Eggenberger said, but procedures provide 
various levels of safety.<P>

Defense Board Chairman John Conway said BWXT Pantex inherited 
many of the procedural problems when it took over the Pantex 
contract and that it has worked to improve safety.<P>

During one Pantex incident in May, two weapons technicians 
noticed that a test on one warhead had not been completed.<P>

"The PTs reviewed the procedure and discovered that two pages in 
the procedure were stuck together," according to another 
government report. "That part of the procedure was not 
completed."<P>

The report said the employees properly stopped work and notified 
plant managers. There was "no negative consequence to the unit," 
the report said, but it said workers should ensure all procedural 
steps are completed.<P>

BWXT President and General Manager Dennis Ruddy said quality 
control principles dictate that procedures leave a traceable path 
of records.<P>

"In that case, we were violating that principle. What we have 
done now is we've created permanent procedures that people will 
use and they will be archived," he said.<P>

Employees responsible for performing work now must stamp each 
procedure as it is completed, Ruddy said.<P>

Ruddy said most incidents cited by the defense board involved 
procedural errors in moving nuclear materials and high 
explosives. In the last 10 weeks, the plant has not had a similar 
incident, Ruddy said.<P>

"We have the whole thing under a microscope and I think we're 
making changes in all the areas that need to be changed," he 
said.<P>

Dennis Kelly, DOE's assistant area manager for oversight and 
assessment, said the contractor is working to correct the 
situation and that DOE will continue to review it.<P>

"I think we're definitely on an improving trend. We need to 
continue to monitor this and hold the contractor accountable for 
performance," he said.<P>

Ruddy said the plant also approached workers for solutions and 
received more than 700 suggestions on ways to improve procedures 
and reduce procedural problems.<P>

"We're in the process of changing our procedures and the 
objective there is to make them clearer and more precise," he 
said. "A lot of them have to be changed."<P>




Amarillo Globe-News: 

 
2001 Amarillo Globe-News [http://www.amarillonet.com/copyright.html]   
*****************************************************************
 12  Scientists concerned about Flats cleanup

Colorado Daily
 
Report says land should be safe enough to farm

By JESSIKA FRUCHTER/Colorado Daily Staff Writer

A report released Tuesday by the Institute for Energy and 
Environmental Research (IEER), a Maryland-based group, criticized 
the Department of Energy's procedure for establishing standards 
of clean-up for former nuclear sites nationwide, including Rocky 
Flats.

        The IEER report, which was commissioned by The Rocky 
Mountain Peace and Justice Center, called DOE policy on cleanup 
capricious and potentially dangerous. 

        Currently, there is not a universal standard for nuclear 
site remediation, which, according to the report, could result in 
high levels of plutonium being left behind in soil after a site 
has been declared cleaned up.

        "As it stands right now there are different standards for 
levels of residual plutonium at different sites," said IEER 
President and principal author of the report, Dr. Arjun 
Makhijani. "Whoever has more political muscle will get a cleaner 
site."

        In addition to non-uniform decontamination procedures, 
Makhijani also voiced concern that the recent proposal to turn 
Rocky Flats into a wildlife refuge would compromise clean-up 
standards.

        "It's not that we're opposed to the establishment of a 
wildlife refuge," he said. "But, we are very much against using 
that (designation) to establish clean-up standards."

        Makhijani said that setting standards based on the 
designation could result in more residual radioactivity in soil 
than if other criteria were used.

        "They (DOE) said they would use the safety of a wildlife 
refuge worker as a hypothetical standard to set action levels. We 
think it's inadvisable, they should use a more protective 
approach."

        Specifically, the report suggests that a more "protective 
approach" would be to set standards with the assumption that a 
subsistence farmer could work, live and eat off of the land that 
was once contaminated.

        Makhijani said that the subsistence farmer model is not a 
new concept.

        " It's based on a very basic principle . . . (eventually) 
people will forget what the land was used for," he said. "We're 
just reminding the DOE of the basics."

        Makhijani, along with Sriram Gopal, a staff scientist at 
IEER worked on the report, titled "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," for 
nearly six months.      

        The report was commissioned by RMPJC as part of an 
ongoing effort to educate the public of the intricacies of Rocky 
Flat's history and cleanup.

        Dr. LeRoy Moore, a RMPJC consultant, said that another 
motive for the report was to obtain a solid scientific analysis 
of the cleanup procedures to show citizen concerns are valid.

        "We need to pressure the government to do the right thing 
(in terms of cleanup," Moore said. "We had to have independent 
scientific research to do that."

        "We may have little control over what will happen with 
Rocky Flats in the future," Moore added, "but we need to remove 
contaminants to the best of our ability now."

        While DOE spokesman Pat Etchart said the government 
agency shared concern for a safe Rocky Flats cleanup, he noted 
that the report seemed premature and a bit alarmist.

        "It's pretty surprising that they're questioning soil 
levels when nothing has been determined yet," Etchart said. 
"We'll base our decision on sound science."

        Etchart called the DOE evaluation a risk-based approach 
that takes future land use into consideration when determining 
cleanup procedures. He added that the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency would be consulted and that public comment 
would also be a factor in the decision-making process. 

        "Right now we have different people saying different 
things, nothing has been decided," Etchart said. "Some people are 
saying that we should plan for a scenario where a farmer is 
living and eating off the land. If we took that approach, it 
could potentially cost hundreds of million dollars without 
providing any additional protection for public health.

        "We don't have unlimited funding," he said. "Right now, 
it looks like the land will be used for a refuge and so we would 
clean up to a level that supports that."

        "The bottom line," Etchart added, "is that we are 
committed to a safe and effective cleanup. Up until this point we 
have had a phenomenal amount of public input and that will 
continue."

        Proposed cleanup standards are expected to be released 
early next year.

*****************************************************************
 13  SRS will test waste removal system 

Augusta Georgia: Technology:

Web posted Wednesday, December 12, 2001
 
By Brandon Haddock [bhaddock@augustachronicle.com] 
Staff Writer 

Savannah River Site could receive a new machine that would help 
it accelerate shipments of some radioactive wastes off-site.

 The federal nuclear-weapons site is slated to test the U.S. 
Department of Energy's new HANDSS-55 system, said Dale Ormond, 
the agency's senior manager for the site's transuranic-waste 
program.

 Mr. Ormond spoke Tuesday to members of the SRS Citizens Advisory 
Board about the new system.

 The system, he said, is designed to allow workers to more safely 
and quickly repackage wastes that do not comply with rules set 
forth by the Energy Department's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 
New Mexico.

 WIPP is the nation's repository for transuranic wastes, which 
contain radioactive plutonium.

 Savannah River Site has 55,000 55-gallon drums worth of the 
waste. The waste is rags, tools, clothing and other debris 
contaminated during the site's Cold War operations.

 The site sent its first shipment of waste to WIPP in May; it is 
expected to send about 1,800 truckloads to New Mexico over the 
next 30 years.

 The HANDSS-55 system will expedite shipments of drums that do 
not meet WIPP criteria at first, Mr. Ormond said. Such drums 
might contain items not accepted by WIPP, such as aerosol cans, 
or they might contain more plutonium than WIPP will accept.

 Currently, such drums must be opened, inspected and repackaged 
by hand, at a rate of one per day, Mr. Ormond said. The HANDSS-55 
system can process up to four drums per day, he said.

 The system also is sealed and can be operated remotely, reducing 
the potential for workers to be exposed to plutonium, Mr. Ormond 
said.

 "It helps us to get more waste off sooner, because it's waste we 
wouldn't be able to ship because of the prohibited items," he 
said.

 The system is expected to be operational in late 2004 or early 
2005, Mr. Ormond said. Most of its $20 million cost will be 
funded by the Energy Department's headquarters, he said, but the 
site will have to spend about $5 million to retrofit an existing 
building to house the machine.

 Reach Brandon Haddock at (706) 823-3409 or 
bhaddock@augustachronicle.com [bhaddock@augustachronicle.com] . 

 1996 - 2001 The Augusta Chronicle. 
*****************************************************************
 14  IEER Report: Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations 

IEER [http://www.ieer.org/index.html] 

Setting Cleanup Standards to Protect Future Generations: The 
Scientific Basis of the Subsistence Farmer Scenario and Its 
Application to the Estimation of Radionuclide Soil Action Levels 
(RSALs) for Rocky Flats 
                                        
By: Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. and Sriram Gopal 

  A report prepared for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice 
Center, Boulder, Colorado by the Institute for Energy and 
Environmental Research December 2001 
  
           Press Release [http://www.ieer.org/reports/rocky/pr.html] 

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 

Summary and Recommendations
 Principal finding 
Principal recommendation 
Other findings 
Other recommendations 
1. Introduction
 
2. The concept of the critical group and the maximally exposed individual
 
3. Description of the subsistence farmer scenario
 
4. International use of the subsistence farmer approach
 
5. Reasonableness of the subsistence farmer scenario on occupational grounds
 
6. Relation of the subsistence farmer scenario to Radionuclide Soil Action
Levels (RSALs) at Rocky Flats
 
7. Erosion of the subsistence farmer scenario
 
8. The Radioactive Wildlife Refuge
 
9. Enforcement for the eons
 
10. Conclusions and Recommendations
 
11. References   

<em>Order this report</em> [http://www.ieer.org/pubs/puborder.html#rocky] 
Publications Main Page [http://www.ieer.org/pubs/index.html] 
IEER Homepage [http://www.ieer.org/index.html] 

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Comments to Outreach
Coordinator: ieer@ieer.org [ieer@ieer.org] 
Takoma Park, Maryland, USA
 December 2001 
*****************************************************************
 15  Officials begin cleanup of Berkeley tritium lab
 
ContraCostaTimes.com

Published Sunday, December 9, 2001 

 By Greg Cannon
 CONTRA COSTA TIMES 

BERKELEY -- With its federal funding dried up, the National 
Tritium Labeling Facility, a longtime target for local activists, 
has hosted its last researchers and is being shut down.

 But wrapping up decades of work with radioactive material is not 
simply a matter of turning out the lights and closing the door.

 A monthslong, $1 million-plus cleanup and decontamination 
project is under way. With the help of everything from 
out-of-state radioactive waste dumps to soap and water, it will 
rid the former tritium lab of most of its radioactive and other 
hazardous material.

 Lab officials are hoping for state approval to have the lab 
subject some of its mixed waste to a novel treatment process.

 The September announcement that the National Institutes of 
Health would stop paying for the tritium facility was a blow to 
lab officials but a blessing to longtime critics, who contend the 
lab posed an undue health risk.

 Critics claimed victory, brushing aside official explanations 
that shifting science and economic priorities, not community 
pressure, led to the closure.

 But their celebration is muted by continued concern over tritium 
that will linger for decades in the environment outside the 
laboratory's walls .

 "It's a big relief," Jean Bernardi of the Committee to Minimize 
Toxic Waste, said of the closure. "But we need to be concerned 
about all the contamination that's still there."

 Of particular concern to lab critics now are groves of 
eucalyptus trees behind the tritium lab. In the past, 
tritium-contaminated trees were felled for fire control and 
exported to Asian pulp mills. Lab officials say that has stopped, 
and felled trees now are chipped and left on site.

 But Councilman Kriss Worthington is not comforted by those 
assurances and points to the lab's request that the Department of 
Energy rule on acceptable tritium levels in trees that could 
again allow them to be shipped off site.

 Worthington wants the City Council to keep close watch on the 
lab to ensure that it and the surrounding environment are cleaned 
up and no more tritium-tainted trees are exported.

 The city must be vigilant because of what Worthington said is 
the lab's history of understating the extent of pollution.

 "They basically try to put this rosy picture on everything," 
Worthington said.

 Lab spokesman Ron Kolb said officials have always provided 
information "sufficient to make a rational judgment" about the 
facility's operations and impacts.

 In October, City Manager Weldon Rucker wrote a letter to lab and 
NIH officials asking that the cleanup be adequately funded, open 
to public review and scrutiny, and conducted in accordance with 
federal, state, and local environmental laws.

 Gary H. Zeman, the lab's radiological control manager, said he 
is preparing a letter to assure the city that he plans to speak 
in public about the closure and that it will be done with proper 
oversight.

 Zeman also assured the continuation of a program for monitoring 
tritium in surrounding trees, soil and ground water that is 
overseen by a task force that includes city and community group 
officials.

 "Those programs have been in effect and will continue to be in 
effect," Zeman said.

 While it was operating, the tritium facility was a relatively 
small part of the sprawling Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory complex. 
It accounted for $1 million of the overall lab's $415 million 
annual budget and employed just five of its 4,000 workers.

 But this tiny program drew significant protest thanks to its 
role as the lab's biggest single user of radioactive materials.

 During the tritium facility's 19 years of existence, researchers 
used the radioactive hydrogen material to label medicines' 
molecules, allowing scientists to track the medicines' paths 
inside the body.

 Now, Zeman leads a team charged with safely shuttering the 
tritium facility.

 The facility will be dismantled in three phases following 
guidelines of the DOE, the federal agency that oversees national 
labs, including the ones in Berkeley and Livermore.

 Money has been committed to remove the chemical and radioactive 
wastes and to dismantle the lab's research apparatus of stainless 
steel piping, uranium beds and radiation monitors.

 While research that produces tritium waste has ceased, officials 
hope to study a new method of treating some of it that could 
prove a cleaner alternative to traditional incineration. They are 
seeking permission to spend a couple of months subjecting 
chemical and radioactive mixed waste to a process called 
catalytic oxidation in hopes that it will enable them to destroy 
the chemical waste, leaving only tritium waste.

 Funds have yet to be budgeted for the final phase, in which the 
facility's four laboratories, heating and air conditioning 
system, and office furniture will be decontaminated. When the 
time comes, much of that final work will be accomplished with 
simple solvents such as soap and water and Windex, Zeman said.

 The more delicate work of shipping tritium and hazardous 
chemicals out of state for reuse or disposal is expected to be 
completed by year's end.

 It's nothing new for lab workers who routinely deal with 
chemical and radiological cleanups when research programs end, 
Zeman said.

 The process requires sampling various metals, poisons, organic 
and inorganic chemicals to ensure that bottles contain what their 
labels say they do. Chemicals are also randomly tested for 
radioactivity.

 The movement of tritium to and from the facility has been a 
regular occurrence during the life of the lab. A new supply 
arrived last spring from the DOE's Savannah River, Ga., site and 
the lab's spent supply was returned there.

 The remains of that spring shipment, however, will be sent to 
Livermore.

 Lab benches and office furniture contaminated with various 
levels of radiation will be cleaned for reuse or tossed out at a 
hazardous waste site, most likely the DOE's Hanford, Wash., 
facility, Zeman said.

 With space at the lab at a premium typical of Bay Area real 
estate, Zeman said the tritium facility's four laboratories will 
be quickly snapped up by other research programs.

 Greg Cannon covers Berkeley. Reach him at 510-262-2713 or 
gcannon@cctimes.com [gcannon@cctimes.com] .
*****************************************************************
 16  U.S. puts off subcritical nuclear test - 

Japan Today Japan News

Wednesday, December 12, 2001 at 17:15 JST




WASHINGTON &#8212; The United States will postpone its 15th 
subcritical nuclear test by one day to Thursday due to "site 
operational support issues," the Energy Department said Tuesday.


The department had announced Monday that the experiment, the 
second of its kind under the administration of President George W 
Bush, would be carried out Wednesday at an underground test site 
in Nevada. 





(Kyodo News)

*****************************************************************
 17  Memo renews concerns about Hanford cleanup

The Seattle Times: 

December 12, 2001 

By Linda Ashton
The Associated Press

YAKIMA  A U.S. Department of Energy memorandum on the treatment 
of radioactive waste has raised questions again about the federal 
government's commitment to cleaning up the Hanford nuclear 
reservation. 

"I think the jury's still out on this one," Sheryl Hutchison, a 
spokeswoman for the state Department of Ecology, one of Hanford's 
regulators, said yesterday. 

The Nov. 19 memo from Energy Department cleanup chief Jessie 
Roberson to the agency's budget officer was distributed last week 
at a meeting of the Hanford Advisory Board in Portland. 

In it, Roberson recommends eliminating plans to turn into glass  
or vitrify  at least 75 percent of the high-level radioactive 
waste targeted for vitrification at Energy Department complexes. 

It goes on to suggest that at least two "proven, cost-effective" 
solutions be devised for treating high-level radioactive waste. 

But it's not clear exactly what that would mean for Hanford, 
where the Energy Department is to begin construction next year on 
a huge complex to turn radioactive waste into glass cylinders for 
permanent storage. The Energy Department's Office of River 
Protection, which oversees the vitrification project at Hanford, 
referred questions to agency headquarters. 

Plans and deadlines for cleaning up 25 percent of radioactivity 
in the 53 million gallons of radioactive waste stored in 
underground tanks at Hanford already have been negotiated, 
Hutchison said. But the idea of having the 177 tanks emptied and 
all the waste vitrified by 2028 is still to be negotiated, she 
said. 

"So we're looking at this memo with a lot of questions," she 
said. "It could be the Energy Department is starting the planning 
process on the other 75 percent of waste. It might be a good 
thing, or it's a start of the war over that remaining waste." 

Vitrification is an important issue at Hanford because 60 percent 
of the nation's high-level radioactive waste is stored at the 
560-square-mile desert site, where plutonium was made for nuclear 
weapons for 46 years. The lethal waste is stored in aging tanks 
that have leaked more than 1 million gallons, contaminating 
groundwater and threatening the Columbia River. 

Hutchison said if the Energy Department is considering some other 
technology for treating the high-level radioactive waste, the 
Ecology Department needs more information on it. 

Nationally, the Energy Department wants to cut $100 billion and 
30 years from current estimates that it would take 70 years and 
$300 billion to clean up the waste at its nuclear sites. 

Just last month, President Bush signed a bill that would keep 
Hanford's cleanup plans on schedule through next fall. The $1.8 
billion allocated for Hanford is an increase from the 
administration's original budget proposal of $1.4 billion. 

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was "just absolutely livid" last 
week when she learned the Energy Department might try again to 
cut funding for Hanford cleanup after she fought this year to 
preserve the $400 million the administration wanted to cut out of 
the new budget, said her press secretary, Todd Webster. 

"This memo indicates that they are back at it," Webster said. 

In a subsequent statement, Murray said: "The people living near 
Hanford made a sacrifice to win World War II and the Cold War. 
Now, this administration wants to sacrifice the people living 
near Hanford. It is morally reprehensible." 

U.S. Rep. Richard "Doc" Hastings, R-Yakima, said he had been 
assured by senior Energy Department officials that the 
administration is committed to seeing Hanford's vitrification 
plant built and ready for processing waste by 2007. 

Hastings said he had "made clear to DOE officials that any delay 
is unacceptable and would violate the federal government's legal 
obligations in the Tri-Party Agreement," the 1989 pact by the 
state, Energy Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
governing Hanford cleanup. 

Copyright Š 2001 The Seattle Times Company 
*****************************************************************
 18  Critics: Nuclear Cleanup Falls Short
 
Las Vegas SUN
 
December 11, 2001 
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is spending $7 billion to 
decontaminate a former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and turn 
it into a wildlife refuge. But critics said Tuesday that the 
cleanup will still leave the soil too polluted. 

Legislation before Congress would officially designate the Rocky 
Flats site, 15 miles northwest of Denver, a wildlife refuge after 
cleanup is completed. Rocky Flats is contaminated with tons of 
plutonium and other radioactive materials, in buildings and in 
the soil, after years of weapons work. The Energy Department and 
its civilian contractor will decide early next year how clean the 
site should become. 

A report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research 
contends that the residual contamination levels being considered 
by the government are 40 times greater than what would be allowed 
if the land is used for something other than a wildlife refuge. 

"We have no control over what will happen at Rocky Flats in the 
future," said LeRoy Moore, a member of a citizens' group in 
Boulder, Colo., that is monitoring the cleanup. About 2.5 million 
people live within 50 miles of the facility. 

While the site stretches across more than 6,000 acres, less than 
200 acres are contaminated. While much of the soil will be 
trucked away, acres will remain contaminated. 

The report by IEER, a research group long involved in nuclear 
watchdog activities, contends that designating the area a 
wildlife refuge will allow the cleanup to be less stringent. 

"We don't oppose the designation of this site as a wildlife 
refuge as a short-term way to keep the public off the site," said 
Arjun Mahkijani, a nuclear physicist who heads the institute in 
Takoma Park, Md. But he said cleanup standards should take into 
account other likely uses of the land, including farming or 
residential development, where people are more likely to become 
exposed. 

Plutonium and other radioisotopes that will be left over in the 
soil would be expected to remain dangerous for thousands of 
years, he said. After the cleanup, the report said, the soil 
should be left with no more than 10 pico-curies of radioactivity 
per gram of soil, far cleaner than what the Energy Department has 
been considering. 

Jeremy Karpatkin, a spokesman for the Energy Department's Rocky 
Flats project office, said no decision has been made on the level 
of residual contamination. Meeting the level sought by Makhijani, 
though, "would involve spending hundreds of millions of dollars 
unnecessarily for very little risk reduction to the public," he 
said, even taking into account various uses for the land. 

Preliminary analysis from the department concludes that soil 
contamination could be as high as 490 pico-curies. It could still 
fall within acceptable risk levels of no more than one additional 
cancer per 10,000 individuals if the land becomes a wildlife 
refuge. 

The maximum contamination allowed would fall to 173 pico-curies 
if the land became "rural residential," according to the DOE 
analysis cited by Rocky Flats officials. 

Whatever the final standard, "We will provide a safe and 
effective cleanup of Rocky Flats," said Karpatkin. The government 
already has spent nearly $3 billion on the cleanup, and will 
spend another $4 billion over the next five years, he said. 

Makhijani said the use of wildlife designations is a way to cut 
cleanup costs at Rocky Flats and, possibly, at other contaminated 
weapons sites in South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho and Washington 
state. 

"This is a foot in the door for relaxation of cleanup standards," 
he said. 

On the Net: 

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: 
http://www.ieer.org [http://www.ieer.org] Rocky Flats 
Environmental Technology Site: http://www.rfets.gov/ 
[http://www.rfets.gov/] 

All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
    
*****************************************************************

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this 
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who 
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for 
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more 
information go to: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
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