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  NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
 
 1  Decision on U.S. Nuclear Dump Will Fall to Bush 
 2  More nuclear power needed
 3  Radioactive Iodine Safe For Thyroid Patients 
 4  Environmentalists seek 'do not resuscitate' order for N.B. 
 5  Taiwan Court Tiptoes Around Nuclear Debate 
 6  Justices call plant decision `flawed'
 7  Restart the plant, opposition says
 8  Costs mount with power plant's delay
 9  Experts discuss Nuclear issue: Measures for building confidence 
10  BRITISH MOX VESSELS BEGIN VOYAGE TO JAPAN
11  Criticality issue heats up 
12  Deputy Minister Opens Nuclear Power Reactor Course
13  Deal endangers plant: PACE - 

  NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS
 
 1  Mimicking the bomb: From The Tampa Tribune
 2  Worldwatch: Pesticides, Not Depleted Uranium, Linked to Gulf War 
 3  Depleted uranium shells kept by army
 4  DEADLY PLUTONIUM SHIPMENT SET TO LEAVE EUROPE THIS WEEK – 
 5  Greenpeace activists arrested in Gibraltar
 6  Britain "keeping nuclear sub data back from Spain"
 7  The Balts, NATO and the US worry about nukes in Kaliningrad 
 8  ACTIVIST DECRY USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM 
 9  NATO Studies Uranium Connections
10  Depleted uranium factory had a fire
11  The DU debate: what are the risks? - Jane's Europe News
12  TESTS FAIL TO SHOW AMMO, CANCER LINK 
13  NATO Finds No Links to 'Balkans Syndrome' 
14  Depleted uranium waste to be dumped on public tip
15  Spain spurns depleted uranium concerns
16  German defense chief says no uranium risk
17  NATO forces react to depleted uranium backlash - Jane's 
18  Minister accused of cover-up over uranium shells 
19  Blue Ribbon Panel raises questions about filters at INEEL - 
20  Hanford downwinders want share of payment
21  K-25 workers take steps to test for fluorine 
22  Smithsonian Manhattan Project tour to include two N.M. sites 

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   NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
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 1 Decision on U.S. Nuclear Dump Will Fall to Bush 

Tuesday, January 16, 2001 

Safety: Foes of a plan to bury radioactive waste at Yucca 
Mountain in Nevada fear the president-elect's leanings on the 
issue. 


[*][I]    For more than two decades, U.S. scientists have poked 
and prodded a hulking hump of rock in western Nevada known as 
Yucca Mountain, eyeing the desolate spot as the final burial 
ground for America's growing stockpile of nuclear waste. 

  But the long years of study, a flurry of court battles and 
repeated rounds of political wrangling in Washington over the 
barren ridge could be headed toward a final chapter with the 
election of George W. Bush. 

  The new president's leanings on nuclear issues and his choice 
for energy secretary, a longtime backer of a nuclear waste 
repository at Yucca Mountain, worry many Nevada residents who are 
weary of being the nation's atomic wastebasket. 

  Sitting astride the Nevada Test Site, ground zero for hundreds 
of nuclear explosions since the dawn of the Atomic Age, Yucca 
Mountain has galvanized the state like few issues. Politicians 
from both parties almost universally oppose the plan. 

[*][I]    As envisioned by backers, highly dangerous radioactive 
waste would be sheathed inside thick steel casks tucked in 
tunnels deep in the mountain. The enclosures are expected to 
survive 1,000 years at most. After that, the rock of the mountain 
would be counted on to encase the waste for the 10,000 years 
needed to reduce it to safe levels. 

  But foes say even this bone-dry mountain is too porous to 
shield the nuclear waste. Over the millenniums, they contend, 
surface water would trickle down to wash radioactive particles 
into the water table, causing untold problems. 

  What has Silver State residents worried recently are the links 
between Bush and the energy industry, as well as the unabashed 
support that Energy Secretary nominee Spencer Abraham showered on 
Yucca Mountain during his single term as a U.S. senator from 
Michigan. 

  "The future looks scary," said Kalynda Tilges, nuclear issues 
coordinator for Citizen Alert, a Nevada environmental group. "We 
made some headway with the Democratic administration. But I don't 
see anything but lip service from Bush." 

  Abraham, who failed to win Senate reelection last November and 
now will face a panel of former colleagues at a confirmation 
hearing Thursday, consistently sided with Republican- led efforts 
to open up Yucca Mountain despite lingering questions about its 
suitability. 

  "We're very concerned about what's going to happen under a Bush 
administration," said U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat 
who has led the charge in Washington against Yucca Mountain. 

  "Abraham voted against us on everything we did. Our best hope 
at this stage is to keep the nuclear power industry out of this 
and let the site be determined on good science." 

  Bush officials reject the notion of bias on the part of the 
president-elect and say the former Texas oilman will make a final 
decision on the nuclear repository grounded in science and 
policy, not politics or prejudice. 

  "I don't think it's a fair assumption that because the 
president-elect has a background in a particular industry, it 
means he's going to be favorable one way or another, " said 
Angela Flood, a Bush spokeswoman. "He's going to base his 
decisions on good policies." 

  In a September letter to Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican 
who steadfastly opposes nuclear shipments to his state, Bush 
promised to reject any attempt by Congress to push a final 
repository site unless it has been deemed "scientifically safe." 
He vowed to resist proposals to temporarily store nuclear waste 
at a spot near Yucca Mountain until environmental questions are 
resolved. 

  Abraham, meanwhile, will prove to be a team player savvy in the 
ways of Washington, Flood said. "It's not as if we'll have rogue 
Cabinet officials implementing policies of their own." 

  Though the current timetable calls for Bush to make a final 
decision on Yucca Mountain this summer, congressional insiders 
predict that nagging delays may allow the new president to 
sidestep the contentious issue during his freshman year. 

  The most notable battle this year could find Congress wading 
into the esoterica of radiation standards for the site, analysts 
say. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a 
standard about half as high as that proposed by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission. Environmentalists say the tighter 
restrictions could weaken the site's chances for passing muster. 

  Meanwhile, operators of the nation's nuclear power plants have 
been left to grumble about the growing stockpiles of nuclear 
waste. About 40,000 metric tons of highly radioactive spent 
nuclear fuel have piled up at the nation's more than 100 nuclear 
reactors. 

  Afederal law approved in the 1980s anticipated that Yucca 
Mountain would be up and running in time to accept spent nuclear 
fuel from power plants and waste from weapons labs by January 
1998. To finance the scientific studies, utility companies were 
tapped for billions of dollars. 

  Faced with the delays and mounting stockpiles, 14 utilities 
filed suit against the federal government alleging breach of 
contract, estimating that the total liability could be as high as 
$50 billion. 

  "Whether or not the ultimate site is Yucca Mountain, the 
industry's feeling is that the government has to fulfill its 
statutory requirement," Singer said. 

  But under the most ambitious timetable, the Energy Department 
doesn't expect to have Yucca Mountain ready to accept waste until 
2010. 

  Meanwhile, a simmering debate continues over how big the 
storage problem is at the nation's power plants. 

  Opponents of the Yucca Mountain project say the power plants 
have room for storage at each nuclear facility until a permanent 
solution is found. Utilities insist that they are running out of 
room, and that the mounting costs of adding storage space are 
being passed on to consumers. 

  Some utilities aren't waiting for the long-running dispute over 
Yucca Mountain to be resolved. Southern California Edison is 
seeking permission to store radioactive waste at its San Onofre 
nuclear power plant for as long as 50 years. 

  Delays have dogged the project. The latest came last month, 
when federal energy officials were expected to issue a final 
recommendation on Yucca Mountain's fate. 

  But the site recommendation report was put on hold while the 
Energy Department's inspector general launched a probe into 
allegations of bias brought by Nevada officials against the 
federal agency's staff and contractors. 

  "We operate in a fishbowl here," said Allen Benson, the Energy 
Department's Las Vegas-based director of institutional affairs 
for the project. "Everything sort of gets magnified." 

  Benson said scientists have "found nothing at this point which 
would prove the mountain unsuitable." 

  But others say questions remain. 

  Officials at the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, a 
watchdog agency set up to monitor the Yucca Mountain project, 
raised concerns in a December letter to key federal lawmakers. 

  The Energy Department, the letter suggested, has yet to 
"demonstrate a firm technical basis" for design of the repository 
and suggested that "scientific uncertainty" will inevitably 
shadow so monumental an undertaking. 

  Such conclusions only embolden opponents of the storage plan. 

  "We've been sacrificed for the nation's nuclear testing from 
the beginning of the nuclear age," Citizen Alert's Tilges said. 
"We're not willing to be a sacrifice zone anymore." 

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times 
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 2  More nuclear power needed

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

   The Titanic and Chernobyl: the parallels are strong. Both were 
engineered with too much confidence that no disaster could happen 
to them and thus with too little effort to build in safety 
features. Both were also operated recklessly.

The Titanic was built with too few lifeboats, the steel in the 
hull was too brittle, and the captain continued at full speed 
even when warned of icebergs in the North Atlantic shipping 
lanes. The resulting disaster claimed 1,500 lives.

Chernobyl-type reactors are unstable at low power levels, where 
the plant manager was running the plant at the time of the 
accident. In addition, against the advice of the reactor staff, 
while he himself had no nuclear training, he was conducting an 
experiment on the turbine and generator. To do his experiment, he 
shut off several control devices that would have automatically 
turned off the reactor. What was he thinking?

After the Titanic, U.S. and English maritime laws were tightened 
to ensure safer equipment and practices. There was no cry for 
shutting down all passenger ships or claims that ships could 
never be run safely. Likewise, after a reckless-driver accident 
there is no cry to ban all cars. Such illogic is only heard from 
activists against nuclear power.

Nuclear power plants, wherever U.S.-style plants are used, have 
an enviable safety record. They also save tens of thousands of 
U.S. lives yearly because they emit no smoke, and they are the 
only affordable source of more electricity that doesn't increase 
global warming. Are they not the gateway to a healthier 
environment?

STEVEN C. BARROWES member, Scientists for Secure Waste Storage 
Salt Lake City

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 3  Radioactive Iodine Safe For Thyroid Patients 

MONDAY JANUARY 15 03:13 AM EST

BY JOHN DILLON
HealthScout Reporter

FRIDAY, July 24 (HealthScout)--The most common and effective 
treatment for an overactive thyroid is radioactive iodine, but 
many patients -- wary of reports linking radioactivity and 
cancer--shudder at the very idea of drinking it. 

A new study in July 22 Journal of the American Medical 
Association should ease those fears somewhat. It said that the 
treatment doesn't cause cancer, and pronounced radioactive iodine 
"a safe therapy." 

"Patients are concerned," says Dr. Jerome Herschman, a Los 
Angeles endocrinologist and editor of the journal Thyroid. 
"They're concerned that radiation may increase cancer." 

The concerns come from stories that associate the two: the cancer 
rates of people who survived the atomic bombs in Japan; the 
elevated rates of thyroid cancer in people who lived near the 
ill-fated Chernobyl nuclear plant; and the fallout (particularly 
of radioactive iodine) from nuclear testing in this country in 
the 1950s, even though that link with cancer is unclear. 

Researchers tracked the fates of 36,000 people diagnosed with 
hyperthyroidism between 1946 and 1964. Seventy-nine percent of 
the patients were female; the disease strikes women much more 
frequently than it does men. Of the total test group, 65 percent 
were treated with radioactive iodine. 

In general, the study found, the patients who swallowed the 
radioactive iodine therapy were no more likely to die of cancer 
than anybody in the general population. It did find a higher 
incidence of thyroid cancer, although the absolute number of 
deaths were few, and thyroid cancer is rarely fatal. 

Hyperthyroidism strikes about one woman in 20. It happens when 
the thyroid gland, found in your neck, produces too much of a 
hormone that regulates your body's metabolism. 

There are three treatments available--radioactive iodine, anti- 
thyroid drugs, and surgery--and each has its pluses and minuses. 

The iodine "produces a permanent cure, whereas treatment with 
medicine will cure only about half of the patients," says 
Hershman. The treatment works because thyroid cells are the only 
ones in the body that absorb iodine, and the supercharged potion 
kills the cells. 

Surgery has a number of undesired complications--notably an 
under- active thyroid, Hershman says. 

But patients are still uneasy about radioactive iodine. Ilia 
Stacy, director of operations for the Thyroid Foundation in 
Boston, a support group for thyroid patients, says, "They're 
apprehensive. They need to avoid other people when they've taken 
it." (As a precaution, patients are advised to stay away from 
others in the few days after swallowing the treatment because 
their bodies contain the radiation.) But patients are more 
comfortable after the doctor tells them the benefits of the 
therapy, Stacy says. 

The iodine is used much less frequently in Japan, Hershman says, 
largely because of the psychological fallout from being attacked 
by nuclear weapons during World War II. 

WHAT TO DO:  Radioactive iodine has been in use since the 1940s. 
Despite the fears of cancer, this study shows it has a long and 
safe track record. For more information on hyperthyroidism, visit 
the 


FOR YAHOO! HEALTH
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 4  Environmentalists seek 'do not resuscitate' order for N.B. 
nuclear plant 

National - Ottawa Citizen Online

CHRIS MORRIS

FREDERICTON (CP) - Environmentalists are turning up the heat in 
New Brunswick to head off a possible multimillion-dollar overhaul 
of the aging Point Lepreau nuclear power plant, Atlantic Canada's 
only nuclear reactor. 

"We're urging New Brunswickers to tell Premier Bernard Lord they 
want a 'do not resuscitate order' posted on the Lepreau plant, " 
David Coon of the New Brunswick Conservation Council, an 
environmental watchdog, said Monday. "The nuclear power industry 
is in its sunset in most parts of the world. This isn't the time 
for heroic and costly measures to keep Lepreau operating." 

The Lord government is expected to decide next year whether it 
will give the go-ahead for a major refurbishment of the 
17-year-old Candu reactor located on the Bay of Fundy in southern 
New Brunswick. 

Cost estimates range from $500 million to $700 million. 

NB Power, the provincial Crown utility that owns and operates the 
plant in southern New Brunswick, is holding information sessions 
to gauge public reaction to the proposal, which could add 25 
years to Lepreau's life. 

"To extend the lifespan, we need a number of groups on board, " 
said Rod White, vice president of nuclear operations at NB Power. 

"Obviously, we need the government on board; we need our board of 
directors and, ultimately, I think you need the public on side. 
So far, reaction from the public seems neutral to positive. It's 
not an issue with them, basically." 

But it's a hot button issue with environmental groups in New 
Brunswick and in other parts of Canada. 

Tom Adams of Energy Probe, a national environmental organization 
based in Toronto, said it's time New Brunswick started looking at 
post-nuclear power sources. 

"Lepreau is old, it's in bad shape and the prospects for fixing 
it up, based on the track record, are not good," Adams said. 
"It's time for NB Power to start thinking about life without 
Lepreau." 

Adams said that around the world, nuclear power is becoming 
obsolete. Few new stations are being built and the ones already 
in operation are being mothballed or patched up to try and 
squeeze out a few more useful years. 

Ontario is the centrepiece of nuclear power in Canada, but only 
12 of the province's 20 reactors are still running. 

"There's a serious effort afoot to restart four of the eight 
Pickering reactors that are closed but if they are restarted, 
they'll just operate for a few years before they're forced to 
shut down again, " Adams said of the Ontario plant. 

"Without new reactors being constructed, we're really seeing the 
denouement of the industry. It's winding down." 

White said the obvious alternative to nuclear power in New 
Brunswick is natural gas, which is now being piped into the 
province from offshore Nova Scotia. 

But he said the cost of gas is rising and there are problems with 
pollution. 

"To generate electricity with oil or gas costs about six cents 
per kilowatt hour, just for the fuel costs," said White. " When 
you look at Lepreau, it costs you about .18 cents per kilowatt 
hour for fuel costs." 

Coon said the future of electrical generation lies in 
small-scale, microgenerators, not big, centralized power plants. 
He said Lepreau, with its history of breakdowns and expensive 
repairs, is a white elephant. 

"This is just the first step," Coon said of the conservation 
council's campaign to get people to write or phone Lord. 

"There are too many problems, too many costs and too many risks 
associated with Lepreau." 

Copyright 2001 Ottawa Citizen Group Inc. 
*****************************************************************
 5  Taiwan Court Tiptoes Around Nuclear Debate 

Tuesday, January 16, 2001  

  BEIJING--Taiwan's highest court, gingerly stepping through a 
political minefield, ruled Monday that the government's decision 
to scrap a controversial nuclear power project was flawed but not 
outright unconstitutional. 

  The careful ruling capped months of bickering during which the 
island's powerful political opposition, the Nationalist Party, 
sought to use the issue to topple the novice government of 
President Chen Shui-bian. 

  The Nationalists had argued that Chen's prime 
minister--Taiwan's No. 3 political official--overstepped his 
bounds in canceling the $5-billion project without the approval 
of the legislature, which the Nationalists dominate. 

  Taiwan's Grand Council of Justices appeared to accept that 
contention but avoided a constitutional crisis by sending the 
issue back to Prime Minister Chang Chun-hsiung. The 15- judge 
panel said Chang must now consult the legislature over the fate 
of the nuclear plant, on which construction is already one-third 
complete. 

  The decision to shelve the project infuriated the Nationalists, 
who approved the plant in 1980 during the party's 50-year-plus 
hold on political power. Bitter over their loss of the presidency 
last year to Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, 
the Nationalists initiated a now-stalled attempt to recall him 
over the issue. 

  "We hope that [the judges'] decision will calm the people and 
stabilize the political situation," Deputy Prime Minister Lai 
In-jaw told reporters. 

  The ruling gives the legislature room to take a vote of no 
confidence in the government if it wants. But that would be a 
tough political choice for the Nationalists because the 
parliament would probably then be dissolved and snap elections 
held. And their party--languishing in opinion polls--would very 
likely fare badly. 

  Currently, legislative elections are not due to be held until 
year's end. "We should seek a resolution to help bring political 
stability," said Wang Jin-pyng, the speaker of parliament and a 
high-ranking Nationalist Party official. 

  The confrontation over the power plant presented Chen with the 
most serious of several crises to hit his administration since it 
took office in May--Taiwan's first democratic transfer of power. 

  Scrapping the plant allowed Chen to fulfill one of his campaign 
pledges. His party had long opposed the project, which would be 
Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant, as unnecessary and 
environmentally unsound. 

  The Nationalists struck back by saying that reneging on the 
plan would cost the government billions of dollars in 
compensation to the companies involved in the project and 
seriously damage investor confidence. Taiwan's stock market 
plunged amid the controversy, fueling economic anxieties already 
rippling across the island. 

  The furor helped lead to the resignation of Chen's first prime 
minister, Tang Fei, a Nationalist stalwart who clashed with Chen 
over the fate of the power plant. Tang's successor, Chang, 
ultimately decided to go ahead with plans to scrap the project. 

  Taiwan's 23 million inhabitants had been waiting for weeks for 
the high court to rule on the government's actions. Polls show 
that many Taiwanese blame both major parties for ineptitude in 
running the island. 

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times 
*****************************************************************
 6  Justices call plant decision `flawed'

The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-16

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2001 

RULING: The Council of Grand Justices stopped short of calling 
the decision to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant 
unconstitutional, instead chastising both the Executive and 
Legislative Yuans for errors

BY IRENE LIN
STAFF REPORTER, WITH AFP AND REUTERS

The Council of Grand Justices yesterday delivered not only an 
interpretation on the Constitution regarding the Executive Yuan's 
decision to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (®ÖĄ|) but an 
opportunity for both the Legislative Yuan and the Cabinet to work 
through the contentious issue.

In wake of the decision it appeared unlikely that the plant would 
remain cancelled for long.

The debate over the decision nearly triggered a recall vote 
against the president and threw both politics as well as the 
stock index into a tailspin.

Instead of judging the decision unconstitutional, the Council of 
Grand Justices urged the Cabinet to deliver a report on its 
cancellation to the legislature.

"The legislature should make the final decision on the issue," 
Yang Ren-shou (·¨¤ŻąŘ), secretary-general of the Judicial Yuan, 
said yesterday while explaining the court's decision.

But the council stopped short of saying the Cabinet move had 
violated the Constitution.

"Under our Constitution, the Cabinet has to report to the 
legislature on proposed changes of major policies ... and the 
nuclear power project is considered a major policy," said Yang.

Yang pointed out that because the decision to scrap the project 
was a "major" reversal of policy, the council had decided that 
the Cabinet was obligated to report its decision first to the 
legislature and gain its approval before carrying out the changed 
policy.

The council pointed out that the Cabinet has not yet acted to 
give such a report was itself a procedural flaw and noted the 
Cabinet should remedy the situation as soon as possible following 
the council's ruling, Yang said. 

The council's report also blamed the legislature, namely 
opposition lawmakers, for preventing Premier Chang Chun-hsiung 
(±i«T¶Ż) from making a report just days after he announced the 
policy reversal on Oct 27.

The council said that under the Constitution the legislature 
shares the power to form and shape national policies with the 
Cabinet through reviewing the budget and supervising its 
implementation. The council also noted not only does the 
legislature have the power but it also has "obligations" to do 
so.

Therefore, the council determined the lawmakers' boycott of the 
premier was not correct procedure because the legislature is in 
fact obligated to listen to an Executive Yuan report.

It is unlikely, however, that the project could gain approval 
from opposition parties in the legislature. After hearing the 
decision, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (¤ýŞ÷Ą­) said 
that it was obvious that the decision was faulty and urged the 
government to immediately resume construction of the plant.

The government, however, said that since the council did not say 
its decision was unconstitutional it would take the council's 
advice and first deliver a report to the legislature.

Vice-Premier Lai In-jaw (żŕ­^·Ó) said the ruling would "help 
stabilize society and the political situation."

"The Executive Yuan respects and accepts the decision with 
pleasure, " Lai said.

Aside from making clear the distribution of powers between both 
sides, the council also took a further step by suggesting 
possible resolutions to the current deadlock between the Cabinet 
and the Legislature.

If the Executive Yuan's decision is later endorsed by the 
legislature, it follows that the nuclear power plant project can 
be scrapped. If not, however, the Executive Yuan will either 
continue implementation of the project or have to negotiate with 
the opposition parties to seek a resolution.

This story has been viewed 898 times. 

Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times.  All rights 
*****************************************************************
 7  Restart the plant, opposition says

The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-16

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2001 

INDECISIVE: Both the Cabinet and the Legislative Yuan said they 
were satisfied with the grand justices' interpretation, which 
they understand differently

BY LIN CHIEH-YU AND STEPHANIE LOW
STAFF REPORTERS

An alliance of opposition party leaders and legislators expressed 
their approval of the Council of Grand Justices' decision 
regarding the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant yesterday and urged the 
government both to take responsibility for its decision to scrap 
the plant and also to announce immediately a restart to the 
plant's construction.

"Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (±i«T¶Ż) was rash in making his 
policy, which has already brought about Taiwan's economic 
recession, a waste of the government's budget, and has even 
damaged Taiwan's reputation, " PFP Secretary-general Chung 
Jung-chi (Áéşa¦N) said.

"We appeal to Premier Chang to take both political and legal 
responsibility for his rash policymaking," Chung said.

New Party Secretary-General Lee Ping-nan (§ő¬±«n) and KMT 
secretary- general Lin Feng-cheng (ŞLÂץż), who accompanied 
Chung, suggested that Chang should "know what his next step 
should be."

Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (¤ýŞ÷Ą­) said the 
government should resume construction of the nuclear plant 
immediately, no matter if the government still insists on 
scrapping the project or not. "According to the spirit of the 
grand justices' interpretation, the Executive Yuan's arbitrary 
order to stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant 
is certainly invalid," Wang said.

Wang said the Executive Yuan is obliged to deliver a report to 
the Legislative Yuan on a change in any major national policies 
according to the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Exercise of 
Power (ĄßŞk°| ÂľĹv¦ć¨ĎŞk), and such a report is a necessary 
procedure prior to a resolution by the legislature.

The power plant project, as the grand justices have indicated, is 
a major national policy, Wang added. "Before the legislature 
makes a resolution, [the Executive Yuan] cannot enforce an 
arbitrary order to stop the construction." 

DPP lawmakers, however, argued that the government is not obliged 
to comply with the legislature's resolution even after delivering 
the report, because the Council of Grand Justices had not said 
so.

"The ruling and opposition parties should start a negotiation 
immediately to seek a resolution to their differences," said Chou 
Po-lun (©P§B­Ű), convener of the DPP legislative caucus.

The Presidential Office reaffirmed President Chen Shui-bian's 
(łŻ¤ô«ó) support for Premier Chang, saying it is not necessary to 
reshuffle the Cabinet.

"The interpretation has successfully established a good 
constitutional example for the future. We believe that the 
Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan will be able to act 
responsibly in accordance with the principles of democratic and 
constitutional politics," said Secretary-General to the President 
Yu Shih-kun in a statement last night.

The Executive Yuan expressed approval of the ruling, saying the 
council had found that the Cabinet's actions were neither 
unconstitutional nor in violation of any law.

"Premier Chang gladly accepts the interpretation and will be 
willing to make a report at the Legislative Yuan," said Vice 
Premier Lai In-jaw (żŕ­^·Ó).

Lai refused to comment, however, on questions of whether the 
premier should resign in the wake of the ruling by the council.

"If the Legislative Yuan still votes down the Cabinet's decision 
to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the future, the grand 
justices have suggested three possible directions in their 
interpretation, " Lai said. 

"One is that the ruling party can negotiate with opposition 
parties to find a means to solve their disputes. We would adopt 
this suggestion if necessary," Lai added. This story has been 
viewed 311 times. 

Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times.  All rights 
*****************************************************************
 8  Costs mount with power plant's delay

The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-16

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2001 

ADDED EXPENSE: Taipower officials say the delay in the 
construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has cost an 
additional NT$500 million in excessive interest payments on loans 

BY RICHARD DOBSON
STAFF REPORTER

The failure of the Council of Grand Justices to definitively 
resolve the row over construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power 
Plant will likely compound already mounting expenses to the 
state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, Ąxąq), executives claimed 
yesterday.

Taipower, which is building the plant, has already racked up more 
than NT$500 million in excessive interest payments on loans, 
retaining engineering consultants and maintenance of the site in 
Kungliao (°^Ľd) since the Cabinet halted construction of the 
plant last October, Taipower executives said.

"Taipower's daily expenses have amounted to around NT$6.5 
million, of which NT$5 million is for interest payments on loans 
taken to finance construction and another NT$1.5 million on other 
maintenance costs," said an executive.

Taipower will have to bear further expenses from continued delays 
in resolution of the matter following yesterday's ruling by the 
Council of Grand Justices that the Cabinet's cancellation of the 
plant fell short of being unconstitutional but had "procedural 
flaws."

The 15-member council, which had been asked by the Cabinet to 
judge whether cancelling the project was unconstitutional 
following opposition to the move in the the legislature, said 
major policy changes should be approved by the legislature.

In delivering their ruling, the justices advised the Cabinet to 
fully report on its decision to the legislature and work with 
opposition parties to resolve the issue.

But according to Taipower, the justices' failure to definitively 
rule on the issue "will no doubt lead to conflict between the 
Cabinet and the legislature that could drag on for a long time," 
further compounding expenses.

Added to the financial burden of further delay, Taipower must 
also try to dissuade the more than 20 domestic firms contracted 
to build the facilities that will house the two 1,350-megawatt 
reactors plant from walking away from the project.

Under agreements signed with Taipower, domestic contractors are 
permitted to annul their contracts and seek compensation for 
costs incurred by the delay if construction of the project is 
delayed for more than three months, which will be at the end of 
this month.

While the bigger contractors such as Hsin Ya Construction Co 
(·s¨Č«Řł]) can weather financial risks of extended political 
wrangling over the issue, some of the smaller firms have already 
indicating their desire to annul their agreements, Taipower said.

For the smaller contractors, the risks of the project are simply 
too great, Taipower said.

"Even if it is eventually decided to restart construction of the 
plant, the decision could be overturned again if the balance of 
power in the legislature changes in the December elections," 
Taipower said.

The KMT, which pushed through construction of the plant in 
October 1996 and is vehemently opposed to its cancellation, 
currently controls 113 seats in the 220-seat legislature compared 
to the DPP's 67.

The agreements signed with foreign contractors, on the other 
hand, allow for delays of up to 15 months. The plant, which is 
more than one-third complete, was budgeted to cost US$5.6 billion 
and was scheduled to be operational in 2005. This story has been 
viewed 287 times. 

Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times.  All rights 
*****************************************************************
 9  Experts discuss Nuclear issue: Measures for building confidence 
emphasized 

-DAWN - Top Stories; 16 January, 2001


20 SHAWWAL 1421 

ISLAMABAD, Jan 15: Pakistan and India need to negotiate 
confidence building measures (CBMs) to prevent nuclear 
confrontation in South Asia, analysts from the two countries said 
here on Monday. 

The defence and foreign policy experts of Pakistan and India 
warned of mass destruction in case a conflict erupted between the 
two countries both of whom tested their nuclear weapons three 
years ago. 

The experts spoke at a seminar titled," Nuclear restraint and 
risk reduction in South Asia, organized by Islamabad Policy 
Research Institute (IPRI). They called for moving towards 
"conflict resolution" to avert mass destruction by nuclear 
weapons. 

Dr Tanvir Ahmed Khan, former foreign secretary, in his 
presentation said, "It is reassuring that the command and control 
structure has been effectively placed. This is a reassuring 
confidence building measure." 

However, he said, whereas the global trend was towards arms 
reduction, in India the defence budget allocation was moving 
upwards. 

He said India could help push back the "arc of danger" which 
Pakistan perceives. 

Air Chief Marshal Mehra, an Indian panelist drew a parallel 
between nuclear conflict in Europe and South Asia. 

In Europe, he stated, the dispute was not territorial but 
ideological whereas Pakistan and India had "political, military 
and territorial problems," greatly increasing the risks of a 
nuclear showdown. 

In such a case, the Indian expert did not rule out the 
possibility of even "military interference" by major powers, 
saying, in case of a Pakistan-Indian nuclear conflict, "they will 
not sit idle." 

Given the situation, he said, negotiating CBMs for nuclear crisis 
management had strong merits. He also called for scaling down the 
"nuclear rhetoric" in order to reduce risks of an accidental 
nuclear conflict. 

Dr Riffat Hussain of Quaid-e-Azam University presented arguments 
to support why Pakistan was not agreeing to the "No- first-use" 
offer. 

He said Pakistan chose not to accept this offer in the face of 
imbalance and disparity in conventional weapons. Prof Mateen 
Zuberi spoke in favour of no-first-use as he said the conflict 
would be disastrous for both the countries.-APP 

*****************************************************************
 10  BRITISH MOX VESSELS BEGIN VOYAGE TO JAPAN

LONDON JAN. 16 KYODO -Two armed British cargo ships 
scheduled to transport a controversial shipment of nuclear fuel 
from Europe to Japan have left their northern England port en 
route for France, the environmental group Greenpeace 
International said Monday. 

The Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, due to carry mixed 
plutonium- uranium oxide (MOX) fuel from Cherbourg, France, to 
the western Japanese port of Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, 
set sail from Barrow-in- Furness on Monday afternoon, according 
to Greenpeace. 

They are due to arrive in Cherbourg on Wednesday morning and 
depart for Japan later that day after picking up their cargo, the 
environmental pressure group said. 

The two ships, especially fitted for the transport of nuclear 
fuel, are armed with machine guns as protection against piracy. 

There were between 40 and 50 police officers at the British port 
when the two ships departed but there were no protests or direct 
action, according to Greenpeace. 

The environmental group says that the ships will be carrying 430, 
000 MOX pellets. The consignment, which has been produced by the 
French nuclear company COGEMA, contains 230 kilograms of 
plutonium and 4 tons of uranium, according to Greenpeace 
campaigner Shaun Burnie. 

The shipment marks the first transportation of MOX fuel to Japan 
since September and December 1999, when British Nuclear Fuels PLC 
(BNFL) admitted that quality control data on two shipments of MOX 
fuel, one of which had already been delivered to Japan, had been 
falsified. 

BNFL, which has a majority stake in Pacific Nuclear Transport 
Ltd., the operator of the two ships, confirmed that the two 
vessels had left but refused to comment on their destination due 
to commercial confidentiality and security. 

A BNFL spokesman said that if there was going to be a voyage to 
Japan, an announcement would be made two days before the ships 
left European waters. 

The shipment has, as has previous consignments, drawn stinging 
criticism from the green lobby. 

''The nuclear industry has no credibility and its claims that 
these transports are safe lack credibility,'' Burnie said. ''A 
cargo of hundreds of kilograms of plutonium, high explosive 
ammunition and fuel oil is a recipe for environmental disaster.'' 

Despite the absence of protests and direct action in England, it 
is expected that the two ships will be met with a barrage of 
protests when they arrive in the French port. 

On the weekend, protesters from Greenpeace France were removed by 
anti-terrorist police after they built a concrete wall on the 
railway line used by COGEMA to transport nuclear material from 
its nearby facilities. 

The MOX cargo was produced by the Belgian company Belgonucleaire, 
from plutonium reprocessed by the French state-owned company 
COGEMA. 

It is owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and is to be loaded into 
the No.3 reactor of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata 
Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. 2000 Kyodo News (c) 
Established 1945. All Rights Reserved 

*****************************************************************
 11  Criticality issue heats up 

- By N.S. Nokkentved

[I] Original Publication Date - 01/15/2001

By N.S. Nokkentved 
Times-News writer 

TWIN FALLS--State and federal officials still disagree about the 
potential for a spontaneous nuclear reaction in buried 
radioactive waste at the Idaho National Engineering and 
Environmental Laboratory. 

Over the long term--hundreds of years--officials agree 
radioactive waste in eastern Idaho may spontaneously set off an 
uncontrolled nuclear reaction. 

Officials with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, 
however, have taken issue with recent statements by INEEL 
officials about the potential for such an event, known as a 
criticality. 

The effects of such a reaction would be long-lasting and could 
affect the land's suitability for any future uses, long after the 
INEEL is closed. 

Sue Stiger, head of environmental cleanup at INEEL, recently told 
The Times-News that state and federal officials at a meeting in 
December had agreed a criticality was not a concern at INEEL's 
burial ground. 

But the EPA officials and consultants who attended the meeting 
don't agree, said Wayne Pierre, of EPA's Region 10 in Seattle. 

They say INEEL doesn't have the data to back up that assertion. 
And a number of unresolved issues relating to the potential for a 
criticality were identified at that meeting--contrary to Stiger's 
assertion, Pierre said. 

Stiger was reached through a spokesman, who said INEEL officials 
don't disagree a criticality is a long-term concern. 

"You can't rule out a criticality over an extremely long period 
of time," INEEL spokesman Nick Nichols said. But INEEL officials 
maintain a criticality is not an immediate concern. 

"We're not ignoring the issue," he said. 

INEEL officials have said they have completed "extensive 
criticality analysis" for the buried waste. EPA officials would 
like to see it. 

Both sides agree it is an important consideration in any 
long-term decisions on how to deal with more than 2 million cubic 
feet of plutonium- contaminated waste buried willy-nilly in pits 
and trenches in the 1950s and 1960s. 

"We're not talking about the China syndrome," Pierre said, 
referring to the myth that an uncontrolled, runaway nuclear 
reaction would melt its way through the earth. 

A criticality in the pits and trenches would generate heat energy 
and gamma radiation--an intense, highly penetrating form of 
radiation, more intense than X-rays. 

The effects of such an event would last far into the future. And 
people forget, Pierre said. Someday long after INEEL is gone, 
people may use the area for a shopping mall or subdivisions, and 
they would be affected by the lingering radiation. 

In addition, the heat released by a reaction could breach an 
engineered cap over the waste. 

That doesn't mean all the waste must be dug up, Pierre said. But 
the hot spots should be identified and dug up. And EPA would like 
to see a study that identifies concerns, if any. 

"That can't be done by somebody giving their verbal opinion," he 
said. 

The complexity of the waste can't be assessed by inserting probes 
into the ground, Pierre said. 

"There is a need to collect physical data," said Kathleen Trever, 
head of the state's INEEL Oversight Program. Actual waste would 
allow better understanding and improved long-term decisions about 
the fate of the waste. 

Trever also is a little impatient with the apparent lack of 
progress with the buried waste. A project to dig up the one-acre 
Pit 9, which failed 2 1/2 years ago, was to have demonstrated how 
best to clean up the other 87 acres of buried waste. 

For the first dozen years, the waste trenches were scraped down 
to the basalt. That practice later was changed to leave two to 
three feet of soil over the rock. The waste in those pits and 
trenches now threatens the underlying Eastern Snake River Plain 
Aquifer. 

INEEL officials are working on alternative plans for the pit. 
Stiger said officials have submitted plans for a test excavation 
about 20 feet square for review by state and federal regulators. 

Officials expect to start digging sometime in 2002. But the test 
excavations are expected to take 10 years. 

Trever and others were hoping to see something before the final 
decision on all the pits and trenches is made. 

Times-News writer N.S. Nokkentved can be reached at 733-0931, 
Ext. 237, or by e-mail  at niels@magicvalley.com 


*****************************************************************
 12  Deputy Minister Opens Nuclear Power Reactor Course

allAfrica.com: 

Panafrican News Agency January 15, 2001 Cape Town Deputy Mineral 
and Energy Affairs Minister Susan Shabangu Monday opened the 
first post- graduate course in the Physics, Engineering and 
Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors at the University of the 
Witwatersrand. "In the safe and effective development of nuclear 
technology, education has a vital role to play. "Witwatersrand 
University is proud to be able to provide a course which is both 
academically significant and of direct importance to the 
development of an alternative power source in South Africa," said 
university professor John Watterson. The course will be part of 
the Faculty of Science Post- graduate diploma that can lead onto 
the MSc degree. It will consist of eight modules covering the 
basic science, engineering, technology and safety of nuclear 
power reactor design. The course will also focus on gas-cooled 
reactor technology and other issues of direct relevance to the 
evaluation of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). PMBR is a 
reactor design being developed in South Africa as a potential 
alternative electricity generation source. Candidates who have a 
four-year degree in science or engineering can do this six month 
extensive course leading to the postgraduate diploma in science. 
The diploma can be converted into an MSc degree by writing a 
short research report. The course has been developed by the 
university in collaboration with the National Nuclear Regulator 
and the PBMR company. 

Copyright c 2001 Panafrican News Agency. Distributed by 
allAfrica.com. For information about the content or for 
permission to redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact 
the publisher. 

*****************************************************************
 13  Deal endangers plant: PACE - 

By Joe Walker

The Paducah Sun
Tuesday, January 16, 2001   
Paducah, Kentucky 

Russian uranium  will make the Paducah plant uneconomic, the 
union says. USEC denies an import deal has been made. 

International atomic workers' union officials say they will go to 
court if necessary to try to prevent USEC Inc. from buying enough 
additional Russian uranium to make the 1,500-employee Paducah 
Gaseous Diffusion "largely uneconomic by 2003." 

Although senior USEC managers insist the long-sought deal does 
not jeopardize the plant, the union says it seriously threatens a 
shutdown. The union claimed Monday that the Clinton 
administration, through the Department of Energy, has reached a 
"last-minute decision" to approve USEC's importing 3 million more 
units of enriched uranium annually from dismantled Russian 
nuclear warheads during the next five years. 

That will make the plant unnecessary within two years because its 
unit production costs will rise far above the price USEC charges 
its utility customers, the union said, quoting two proprietary 
documents —aNuclear Regulatory Commission report issued last year 
and new utilities industry report. 

"We do not intend to stand by and allow the public interest in 
maintaining a reliable and economic domestic enrichment, 
conversion and mining industry, as required by Congress, to be 
systematically destroyed, " said James K. Phillips, vice 
president of government relations for the Paper, 
Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Union. 

Phillips, formerly of Marshall County, said no reasons given for 
the deal are legal grounds to amend a longtime agreement against 
"dumping" foreign uranium on the U.S. market, forcing slumping 
sales prices even lower. The Russian uranium, sought as part of 
nuclear disarmament, costs more than the Paducah plant's 
production costs. 

Phillips said the union "intends to take whatever legal action is 
necessary to halt this unwarranted move by the administration." 

In a news release, PACE said the Russian deal, opposed by Energy 
Secretary Bill Richardson all last year, "is suddenly being 
rushed through in the last few days of the Clinton 
administration." Besides having Energy Department approval, the 
deal requires the secretary of commerce to approve amending the 
anti-dumping agreement. PACE, an original party to the agreement, 
has consistently opposed such an amendment, the union said. 

PACE wants the change rejected by the incoming Bush 
administration, notably Secretary of Energy-designee Spencer 
Abraham and Secretary of Commerce-designee Don Evans. 

Charles Yulish, USEC communications vice president, said no 
approval had come from the Clinton administration and the news 
release was another union ploy "to call into question" the 
company's motives. 

"There is fear that any additional (units) coming in will cost 
jobs or jeopardize the plant, and it's not so," Yulish said. 
"There will be ample opportunity provided by the Department of 
Commerce to express those views, and this provision would have to 
be approved by Commerce before it's effective." 

Yulish said that if the Energy Department approves the deal, it 
must be signed by USEC and Tenex, Russia's USEC counterpart, 
before being reviewed by the Department of Commerce. He also said 
the agreement would require that for every additional unit of 
enriched uranium bought from Russia, the Paducah plant would have 
to produce an equivalent amount. 

"USEC is committed to providing and maintaining a domestic source 
of uranium enrichment, and we've chosen to consolidate those 
efforts at Paducah," Yulish said. "It will be our flagship 
production plant." 

USEC announced last year it will upgrade Paducah and close its 
sister plant at Piketon, Ohio, this June. That decision and the 
Russian deal are signs that USEC is pursuing being a uranium 
broker, rather than producing enriched uranium, the union claims. 

In the long run, the terms of the deal require USEC to maintain 
only a million units annually of enriched uranium from Paducah, 
which means USEC and U.S. utilities may need to import at least 
90 percent of the annual U.S. uranium fuel requirement of 10 
million units from foreign suppliers, most of it from Russia, the 
union claims. 

"If the Tenex deal does go through, it will make it more 
attractive for USEC to broker Russian enriched uranium imports 
than to enrich uranium in U.S. enrichment plants," the news 
release said. "Indeed, in the next fiscal year, USEC will be 
importing 6.5 million (units per year) from Russia and producing 
approximately 4.5 million (units) per year." 

David Fuller, president of the Paducah plant union, called the 
matching of Russian and Paducah plant enriched uranium "a shell 
game" because a million more units of production from Paducah 
annually are not needed. Instead, the million-unit match would be 
subtracted from Paducah's production, he said. 

"It's fakery, and smoke and mirrors, and they know it," he said 
of USEC management. "Frankly, I thought they had given up making 
this lame claim about matched production long ago." 

Fuller said DOE had staunchly opposed the deal until two weeks 
ago, when he and other union officials were summoned to 
Washington to meet with high-level Energy Department officials. 

"Until our last meeting, DOE verbally and in writing was finding 
fault with this deal and the negative impact on domestic 
production, " Fuller said. "Then suddenly they're trying to find 
ways to pull the trigger on the deal. I don't know why or what's 
happening, but the outcome is very predictable unless somebody is 
willing to step forward and make commitments to protect the 
industry." 

Richard Miller, a former Washington-based PACE policy analyst, 
said the NRC and utilities industry reports paint a dim picture 
for Paducah. Combined, the reports estimate USEC's per-unit 
production cost will rise from $94 to $105 per unit of enriched 
uranium by 2003, while its revenue will be about $95, he said, 
adding that the spot market price is only $84 now. 

"Whenever you displace production, that is a real cause for 
concern, " he said. "The Tenex deal will force that (production 
cost-revenue) line to cross even sooner." 
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
   NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES
*****************************************************************
 1 Mimicking the bomb: From The Tampa Tribune

Site List: Tampa Bay Online The Tampa Tribune WFLA Weather Center 
Hernando Today Highlands Today FloridaInfo.com    

Jan 15, 2001 - 12:19 AM 

MIMICKING THE BOMB  
KURT LOFT
of The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - What if we had a nuclear war and none of the bombs 
exploded? 

All those duds would disappoint Pentagon hawks who push the 
buttons and the folks at the Department of Energy who keep the 
nuclear stockpile ready for action - not to mention Americans 
hoping to avoid devastation. 

Malfunctioning or unreliable weapons concern officials who look 
after the 10,500 nuclear bombs in the U.S. arsenal. If they don't 
work, the argument goes, deterrence is worthless and the nation's 
security could be thrown in jeopardy. 

Problem is, a 1992 moratorium forbids traditional underground 
weapons tests. Without these tests, engineers say they can't 
guarantee the reliability of the old, and new, generations of 
weapons. 

Enter the world's largest laser. 

Known as the National Ignition Facility, this $3.5 billion, 
stadium- size machine being built at the Lawrence Livermore 
National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., is designed to simulate 
nuclear-weapons tests. At the same time, it would help push the 
envelope on the emerging field of fusion science. 

The facility will allow scientists to experiment with 
thermonuclear burn - critical to how nuclear weapons work - and 
other areas of high-energy, high-density research. 

Sixty times more powerful than any laser ever built, the 
instrument will focus the energy of 192 laser beams on a target 
the size of a pea. The resulting nuclear ``explosion'' will give 
scientists experimental access to tremendous forces without 
detonating bombs in the field. 

FACILITY has been controversial even before construction began in 
1997, and critics say its high costs and uncertain scientific 
goals need further review. The General Accounting Office, the 
congressional auditing agency, reported that the true cost of the 
project would be at least $4 billion, and it won't be finished 
before 2008 - six years late and $2 billion over budget. 

The facility is political pork designed to keep a post-Cold War 
weapons lab in business, argues Christopher Paine, a senior 
researcher at the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

``It's a facility that got the political fix in early and escaped 
serious peer review,'' Paine says. ``It's a preposterous fraud 
and a waste of money.'' 

But the Energy Department - which runs the nation's nuclear 
weapons labs - puts a high priority on better stewardship of the 
nation's nuclear stockpile. From the first atomic blast in 1945 
to the last in 1992, the United States conducted 1,030 tests. 
They provided information about weapons reliability and 
modification, safety features and quality of new designs and 
explored the effects of radiation on military hardware. 

With tests banned, Energy Department officials say efforts to 
maintain and refurbish aging weapons - some are 30 years old - 
will depend on data from the new facility. 

NIF is what scientists call an inertial confinement fusion laser. 
Fusion happens when light elements such as hydrogen or helium are 
``fused'' together, and the new arrangement unleashes tremendous 
energy. Fusion is cleaner and safer than fission - the process 
that runs nuclear power plants - but because of its extreme heat, 
fusion is much more difficult to create and sustain. 

Here's how the NIF system will work: 

1. Inside a target chamber, a gold cylinder the size of a dime 
receives energy from 192 separate lasers in a split second - 
about 500 trillion watts. This is a thousand times more energy 
than is produced in the United States at any single moment. 

2. The cylinder then produces X-rays that heat and compress a 
smaller capsule containing atoms of deuterium and tritium. 

3. When the capsule reaches temperatures above 100 million 
degrees Fahrenheit - equal to those in a nuclear explosion - and 
pressures 100 billion times that of Earth's atmosphere, it 
explodes. The system reaches a point of ``ignition'' when it 
obtains more fusion energy from the target than the laser puts 
into it - what scientists call breaking even. 

4. Sensitive diagnostic equipment and supercomputers allow 
scientists to mimic aspects of a nuclear explosion. They then can 
model, predict and resolve problems in the nuclear stockpile 
without resorting to actual weapons tests. 

GOAL is to get substantially above the break-even point,'' says 
John Lindl, fusion energy program leader at Lawrence Livermore. 
``But first you have to reach a critical physics milestone called 
ignition. What NIF will demonstrate is the physics involved in 
the process.'' 

Scientists are expecting more out of NIF than simulations. 
Ignition experiments could eventually lead to the development of 
commercial power plants running on laser fusion instead of highly 
radioactive fission. Research also could answer questions about 
the nature of stars, plasma physics and new materials designed to 
tolerate superhot temperatures. 

But critics say NIF won't deliver its proposed goods. After 
project costs more than doubled, the nonprofit Coalition to 
Reduce Nuclear Dangers said the Department of Energy oversold the 
facility to Congress. 

The nuclear watchdog group, based in Washington, D.C., says NIF 
promoters vastly overstated the technical importance of the 
facility and its relevance to the task of maintaining a reliable 
nuclear stockpile. Critics have called NIF more of a jobs program 
for weapons designers than a solution to testing the arms of 
Armageddon. 

``The controversy and problems are not yet over,'' says Daryl 
Kimball, director of the coalition. ``What NIF contributes to the 
stockpile program is keeping weapons designers involved and 
engaged in experimental work. But the facility isn't necessary to 
certify the safety and reliability of nuclear warheads. The 
Energy Department has exaggerated its importance.'' 

*****************************************************************
 2  Worldwatch: Pesticides, Not Depleted Uranium, Linked to Gulf War 
Illness

Environment News Service: 

WASHINGTON, DC, January 15, 2001 (ENS) - In his final report 
before the change of administration, the Defense Department's 
special assistant for Gulf War Illnesses, Dr. Bernard Rostker, 
told reporters that pesticides, but not exposure to depleted 
uranium (DU), may be "among the potential contributing agents" to 
illnesses among Gulf War veterans. 

Armed Forces personnel who served in the Gulf War in 1990 and 
1991 have been complaining of health problems ever since. Gulf 
War veterans have died, been paralyzed, had children with birth 
defects, have emitted semen which burns their wives, and have 
been disabled with nausea and chronic fatigue. 

The U.S. Armed Forces used depleted uranium munitions and tank 
armor for the first time during the Gulf War. The greatest 
potential for medically significant DU exposure occurred with 
those veterans who were in or on tanks and other armored vehicles 
when the vehicles were hit by DU munitions and in veterans who 
worked in or on U.S. vehicles or sites contaminated with DU, the 
Pentagon says. 

A study by the Rand Corporation commissioned by the Department of 
Defense, "did not find a plausible link" between depleted uranium 
and health problems, Dr. Rostker said Friday at a special 
Pentagon briefing. 


Gulf War Veterans Association)

The Institutes of Medicine, charged by Congress to review the 
possible causes of Gulf War illnesses, "reported on their first 
four potential risk factors, one of them being depleted uranium," 
Dr. Rostker said. "In their review of uranium and soldiers who 
have been involved with depleted uranium, we do not see a health 
risk," he said. 

The Institutes of Medicine reviewed the potential risk factors of 
depleted uranium, low levels of the nerve agent sarin, 
pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills used to guard against nerve 
agents, and vaccinations against biological weapons. 

The only thing the Institutes of Medicine were prepared to rule 
out was the impact of depleted uranium on lung cancers and on 
renal disease from heavy metal toxicity, Dr. Rostker said. 

DU is a substance licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
and the Defense Department abides by the license requirements by 
providing "certain safeguards in terms of handling and the like," 
he said. 

To help evaluate the possible health effects of exposure to 
pesticides on Gulf War veterans, Rostker's office commissioned 
Rand to conduct a survey of Armed Forces personnel to see how the 
average service member used pesticides. 


Explosions during the Gulf War may have released chemical and 
biological agents, some veterans say. 

Rand also reviewed the existing scientific literature on the 
health effects of pesticides used by service members during the 
Gulf War. Rand worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, 
and the Department of Defense in carrying out the survey of 2,005 
veterans selected to be statistically representative of the U.S. 
service population in the Kuwait. 

Rand's survey suggests that pesticides, specifically 
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as organophosphates and 
carbamates, could be among the potential contributing agents to 
some of the undiagnosed illnesses reported by Gulf War veterans. 
The Defense Department now says exposure to these pesticides 
cannot be ruled out as a potential contributing factor to some of 
these undiagnosed illnesses. 

Researchers identified 64 different pesticide products containing 
35 active ingredients that were used during the Gulf War. The 
survey considered 12 active pesticide ingredients that Gulf War 
veterans were exposed to - five organophosphates, three 
carbamates, two pyrethroids, one organochlorine, and one 
repellent, DEET. 

In addition to repellents, fly baits, pest strips, and area 
sprays, the general military population was exposed to pesticides 
applied in the field by professionally certified and trained 
applicators and field sanitation teams. Professional applicators 
applied pesticides as sprayed liquids, sprayed powders, or 
fogging pesticides. 

Dr. Ross Anthony of Rand said the both the survey and literature 
review point to pesticides in a class known as 
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors - both organophosphates and 
carbamates - as being linked to the symptoms of Gulf War illness. 

Dr. Ross Anthony of Rand said the both the survey and literature 
review point to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors - both 
organophosphates and carbamates - as being linked to the symptoms 
of Gulf War illness. 


Gulf War veterans gather in Washington, DC to demand recognition 
and treatment for their illnesses. Summer 2000.

"Acetylcholinesterase is critical to regulating nerve signaling, 
and we find that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors do present in 
the literature chronic symptoms that have been reported by some 
Gulf War veterans," Dr. Anthony told reporters. "You can find 
symptoms similar to those you see in Gulf War veterans - fatigue, 
muscle and joint pain, headaches, cognitive problems and sleep 
disruptions. Further, we note that there is a reported biological 
role of acetylcholinesterase in the symptoms that provide some 
plausibility for the illness that we see in Gulf War veterans," 
he said. 

Enzymes that metabolize acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are 
important in mitigating these effects, said Dr. Anthony, who 
pointed out that "individuals can differ in the activity or form 
of these enzymes" and these individual differences may have 
determined which veterans would become ill from exposure to these 
chemicals and which would remain symptom free. 

The survey found that 31 percent of the veterans questioned had 
used more than one pesticide, and nine percent of the population 
used three or more. One third of those surveyed did not use 
pesticides, and about another third used only one. 

Interactions between the pesticides and other chemicals to which 
veterans were exposed during the Gulf War, in particular to 
pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, used to guard against nerve 
agents, the nerve agents themselves, and solvents might also be 
responsible for the illnesses. 

"We did not actually look at interactions of these chemicals," 
Dr. Anthony said. 


Captain Joyce Riley 

But Captain Joyce Riley, a trained flight nurse who reentered the 
Air Force Reserve in 1991 after initial service in the 1970s, 
says Gulf War illnesses are the result of biological weapons 
provided by the United States to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 
as late as 1989. 

"They were used on our troops," says Riley, who became ill after 
six months of active duty missions on a C-130 aircraft. 

"The basic fact is that biological agents were used on our 
troops, " she says. "Chemical agents were used on our troops. 
Germ warfare was used on our troops - using biologicals that were 
made in the United States of America. It was made in Houston, 
Texas and Boca Raton, Florida. It was passed through the Centers 
for Disease Control (CDC) and through companies such as American 
Type Culture Collection (ATCC) in Maryland," she says. 

"Our troops did not know what to expect, nor were they protected. 
We later found out that we had no adequate biological/chemical 
detection capability," Riley says. 

The possibility that germ warfare was perpetrated on U.S. troops 
was not studied in these most recent reviews. 

The environmental exposure and health risk assessment report is 
available www.gulflink.osd.mil/ 

The American Gulf War Veterans Association website can be found 
at:

*****************************************************************
 3  Depleted uranium shells kept by army

The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-16

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2001 

SAFE STORAGE: The military says it maintains tens of thousands of 
depleted uranium shells in safe storage, which are being 
regularly checked for radioactivity

BY BRIAN HSU
STAFF REPORTER

The military yesterday confirmed that it has a considerable 
number of depleted uranium shells in its arsenal, but said the 
ammunition is safe in storage and will not be used until wartime.

The depleted uranium shells, estimated to number in the tens of 
thousands, are now being kept by the army, the Ministry of 
National Defense said yesterday.

The ministry said it will speak more on the matter today at its 
regular press conference, as international worries grow over the 
safety of such munitions.

Concerns have arisen over NATO's use of ammunition containing 
depleted uranium, first, in Bosnia and then on a much larger 
scale in the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia. Reports say 
NATO peacekeepers have fallen ill as a result of exposure to the 
ammunition, although NATO has denied the shells pose a health 
risk.

"We [the army] have not used any of the depleted uranium rounds 
since delivery of them from the US. All the shells are now in 
safe storage and subject to routine radioactive checks," said 
Lieutenant Colonel Li Hsiao-kuan (§őľĺĄú), a senior news officer 
with the army general headquarters.

The depleted uranium munitions were bought by the army and navy 
in recent years for use by its tanks and warships.

The army's rounds are mainly 105mm armor piercing shells used by 
the M-48H and M60-A3 tanks--the army's two main battle tanks.

"The munitions, around 10,000 rounds in total, have not been used 
since delivery. The armor piercing shells the army is now using 
are conventional shells. The depleted uranium munition is not 
allowed to be used unless in war," Li said.

But the depleted uranium munition owned by the navy was used for 
some time before the rest of the rounds were put into storage two 
years ago. The shells are used by the Phalanx anti-aircraft 
weapon system on every warship in the service.

"We [the navy] have replaced the depleted uranium shells for the 
Phalanx gun with tungsten alloys. All the depleted uranium rounds 
have been sent to the army for safe storage," a navy official 
said.

"It is current defense minister Wu Shih-wen (ĄîĄ@¤ĺ) who ordered 
the storage of depleted uranium rounds in the navy in October 
1998, as he was still the navy chief. The order was made on the 
basis of notifications from the US," the official said.

"It is not known what happened at the time. We followed Wu's 
order to store the depleted uranium rounds and were told not to 
use them until war," he said.

The navy official declined to reveal how many of the depleted 
uranium rounds the navy had fired before it stopped using them. 
He denied media reports that the number was as high as 50,000.

He also refused to comment on whether any suspected links between 
physical illnesses among sailors and use of depleted uranium 
munition has been found.

According to an army official familiar with the issue, there is 
not enough personnel and equipment to carry out radioactive 
checks on the sites where the depleted uranium munition is 
stored. This story has been viewed 228 times. 

Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times.  All rights 
*****************************************************************
 4  DEADLY PLUTONIUM SHIPMENT SET TO LEAVE EUROPE THIS WEEK – 
GREENPEACE WARNS EN-ROUTE COUNTRIES

15 January 2001

London - Greenpeace today warned coastal nations around the world 
to be on high alert for a deadly weapons-usable plutonium/MOX 
fuel shipment from Europe to Japan. The armed nuclear transport 
freighters the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal began to leave 
the British port of Barrow-in-Furness this morning bound for the 
French port of Cherbourg where they will load the plutonium cargo 
before an eight week 30, 000km journey to Japan. The ships, each 
have three 30mm canon and armed nuclear police onboard. The 
transport is expected to begin late on Wednesday January 17th.  

This will be the first transport of plutonium/MOX fuel to Japan 
since 1999 after which BNFL admitted irregularities in quality 
control records and previous shipments of MOX fuel have still not 
been loaded into reactors as a result of legal action in Japan. 

Last night special forces from the French anti-terrorist police 
(GIPN) arrested Greenpeace France protesters while they were 
blocking a railway line in Cherbourg. The line is used by Cogema 
to transport nuclear material to the port from its nearby 
facilities.   

The British, French and Japanese governments and the nuclear 
companies date, route to be taken or the amount of plutonium  to 
be transported. Despite strong international opposition to these  
potentially devastating transports there has been no prior 
consultation with en-route countries. An official announcement of 
the route is only expected 24 hours after departure. 

Three principal routes are possible: via the Caribbean Sea, 
Panama Canal, then across the Pacific; via South Africa/Cape of 
Good Hope, the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific; or via South 
America/Cape Horn,

The transport is one of an increasing number scheduled over the 
coming years. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry all 
three routes will be used in a 'well balanced manner'. In 
addition, it stressed it would be impossible not to use the 
Panama Canal route. 

"The nuclear industry has no credibility and its claims that 
these transports are safe lack credibility. A cargo of hundreds 
of kilograms of plutonium, high explosive ammunition, and fuel 
oil is a recipe for environmental disaster. The industry’s 
refusal to conduct an international environmental impact 
assessment and hold prior consultation and approval talks with 
the en-route nations, highlights the disregard they have for 
public health and the environment," said Shaun Burnie of 
Greenpeace International. 

The plutonium/MOX fuel cargo was produced by the Belgian company 
Belgonucleaire, from plutonium reprocessed by the French 
state-owned company Cogema. It is owned by the world’s largest 
electrical utility, Tokyo Electric Power, and is to be loaded 
into the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 3 nuclear reactor in the Niigata 
Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. Plutonium MOX fuel produced 
by Belgonucleaire for Tokyo Electric and delivered in September 
1999 has still not been loaded into a reactor. In August 2000 a 
court action was brought by nearly 1000 Japanese citizens against 
Tokyo Electric seeking an injunction against plans to load the 
MOX fuel. The case was based upon on evidence of irregularities 
in the quality control data for the Belgonucleaire MOX. The court 
is expected to rule on this case in February. 

The credibility of the plutonium industry is at an all time low 
following the falsification scandal. It led to Japanese 
government ministers and industry describing BNFL as 
untrustworthy and not a company they can do business with. Having 
deceived one of their most important clients for several years 
BNFL’s reassuring statement that their ships are some of the 
safest in the world are unconvincing. 

"Unfortunately, ships have accidents and so does the nuclear 
industry. The 1999 criticality accident at Tokai-mura in Japan 
was impossible according to the Japanese government. But it 
happened. Shipping plutonium around the planet across some of the 
most dangerous seas in the world is inherently dangerous and 
wholly unjustified," said Burnie. 


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

-Shaun Burnie – Greenpeace International +31 629 00 11 32 
(mobile) 

-Mike Townsley – Greenpeace International  +31 20 523 62 18 or 
+31 621 29 69 18 (mobile) 

Video footage of Greenpeace France protests at Valognes and 
Cherbourg is available from Michael Luze at Greenpeace France. 
Tel: +33 1 44 64 02 14  

Photos of the Greenpeace France protests available from GPI 
Picture Desk +31 20 524 9580 AMap of transport routes is 
available from Greenpeace International Picture Desk +31 20 524 
9580    


NOTES TO EDITORS: 

(1) British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), Cogema and Japanese utility 
Tokyo Electric Power 

(2) There is, in addition, a possible fourth route, past South 
Africa and the South China Sea, via the Malluca Straits.  

(3) The Nuclear Fuel Division of the Japanese Foreign Ministry 
issued its statement in response to a question from Diet Member 
Fukushima on December 18th.  

The Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal are operated by Pacific 
Nuclear Transport Ltd, in which British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) has 
a majority stake.  

A second nuclear shipment also bound for Japan left France at the 
end of December carrying high level nuclear waste. The highly 
radioactive waste is being carried on board the Pacific Swan, 
which has just rounded Cape Horn amidst a  storm of protest.  

Cogema has sought an injunction against Greenpeace France in a 
bid to prevent protest actions against the departure of the 
transports from Cherbourg. 

*****************************************************************
 5  Greenpeace activists arrested in Gibraltar

BBC News | EUROPE | 

Tuesday, 16 January, 2001, 11:24 GMT 

Police in Gibraltar have arrested at least seven activists of the 
environmentalist group, Greenpeace, who used speed boats to 
encircle a disabled British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless. 

The presence of the submarine has angered environmentalists, 
Spanish opposition politicians and local residents since it 
limped into port in Gibraltar last May with a crack in a cooling 
pipe near its reactor. 

The protestors, who want the submarine taken back to Britain for 
repairs, say that even a small leak of radioactive fluid from its 
nuclear reactor could contaminate an area with a radius of up to 
a-hundred kilometres. 

The British, Gibraltar and Spanish governments all say the 
submarine poses no threat to public safety. 

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service 
*****************************************************************
 6  Britain "keeping nuclear sub data back from Spain"

MONDAY JANUARY 15, 11:42 AM

MADRID (Reuters) - The Royal Navy is holding back information 
from Spain about the risks involved in repairing a nuclear 
powered submarine stranded in Gibraltar, the Spanish daily El 
Mundo said on Monday.

The report cited sources at the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council 
(CSN) as saying recent meetings between Spanish and British 
technicians had been "very tense".

Britain declined to answer the council's question about whether 
water in the submarine's reactor cooling system had come into 
contact with its nuclear fuel, the report said. The submarine, 
the Tireless, has been moored in the British colony of Gibraltar 
on the south coast of Spain since May while British technicians 
prepare to repair it.

The British, Gibraltarian and Spanish governments all say there 
are no health hazards from the sub.

But Spaniards living near Gibraltar are alarmed about the 
possibility of a radiation leak and are campaigning for the 
Tireless to be towed back to Britain for repair--a move the 
British government says would create risk.

El Mundo's report cited a CSN report warning of the risks implied 
in carrying out the difficult repair in Gibraltar.

The CSN said the risk of a spillage of cooling fluid was "not 
negligible", El Mundo said. The newspaper also cited a Ministry 
of Defence report saying such a spillage could contaminate the 
sea bed and the food chain.

No one was available to comment at the CSN or the British 
embassy. 

Copyright © 2001  Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 7  The Balts, NATO and the US worry about nukes in Kaliningrad 

CER | 

Vol 3, No 2 15 January 2001 

[I] Not in Our Backyard 

Mel Huang 

˙˙˙ If the Russians have placed tactical nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad,
˙˙˙ it would violate their pledge that they were removing nuclear 
˙˙˙weapons from the Baltics, and that the Baltics should be nuclear-
˙˙˙free. 

—PENTAGON SPOKESMAN KENNETH BACON

When the Washington Times published a report suggesting that 
Russia has moved tactical nuclear weapons into Kaliningrad, 
naturally the Baltic states—especially Lithuania, which shares 
a border with Russia's Baltic exclave—were especially 
concerned. 

The unnamed US intelligence official, quoted as saying there was 
"some movement of tactical nuclear weapons into Kaliningrad," 
sent shivers down the spines of Balts less than two weeks before 
the tenth anniversary of the bloody Soviet attacks in Vilnius and 
Riga. 

This is probably the worst "Not-In-My-Back-Yard" (NIMBY) 
situation possible for the Baltic states, as the alleged 
deployment of the tactical arms—which, if the reported specific 
armament details are true—would directly threaten parts of 
Poland and Lithuania. Reuters quoted another US official with a 
dire and frightening suggestion: "If you are worried about 
deterrence and your forces are deteriorating, nukes do wonders 
for your self-confidence." 

Immediately after the report hit the wires, Russian officials 
activated their denial machine. The newly elected Kaliningrad 
governor and head of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Vladimir Yegorov, 
said that the nuclear-free status of the exclave remains intact 
and called the report "a dangerous joke," according to Reuters, 
quoting the RIA news agency. Similar statements were made by 
officials in Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin, who 
called the allegations "rubbish." 

The Balts react 

Politicians and national defence officials in all three Baltic 
countries reacted at first with extreme caution, and many 
appeared stunned by the news. Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas 
Hendrik Ilves said, "We don't know whether it's true or not," 
adding that if the reports are true, "it is regretful, because it 
decreases the stability of the region." Lithuanian Defence 
Minister Linas LinkeviÄŤius called the report "alarming" but 
cautioned that he sees "no reason Russia should try to escalate 
the situation in Baltic region." 

Analysts quickly came up with several scenarios that could have 
led to the nukes being moved in, ranging from Governor Yegorov 
asserting his new office and the strength of the military in 
Kaliningrad to Moscow's continual reliance on tactical nuclear 
weapons as they restructure the military. 

Former Estonian Defence Forces Chief-of-Staff Major General Ants 
Laaneots, now an instructor at the Baltic Defence College, linked 
the move to Russian President Putin's new military doctrine on 
first- use of nuclear weapons. Some even suggested this was 
Moscow's welcoming gift for incoming US President George W Bush. 
However, one of the most likely scenarios for the move appears to 
be the continuous campaign by Moscow to derail the NATO 
integration aspirations of the Baltic states. 



Yet another own-goal?

Coincidentally, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, 
Lithuania and Poland met in Krakow the Sunday after the report 
surfaced to attend a seminar on Baltic integration into NATO. 
However, the reports of the nuclear deployment obviously factored 
into the talks, and the consensus reaction focused on the need 
for verification. Defence ministers Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis of 
Latvia, Linas LinkeviÄŤius of Lithuania and others joined the 
Polish call for an international inspection team to check the 
nuclear status of the neighbouring exclave. 

However, a vast majority of officials chose to remain cautious in 
their response, making little or no comment. Latvian President 
Vaira VÄ«Ä·e-Freiberga said it was "premature" to respond, while 
new Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis came up with yet 
another own-goal: "Similar reports have been appearing several 
times a year, but, after raising public concern, they are usually 
forgotten soon." 

The US Congress reacts 

On Capitol Hill in Washington, the report evoked memories of the 
Cold War, as members of the US Congress voiced very strong 
opinions on the possible nuclear build-up in Kaliningrad. Two 
issues dear to Washington—Russian military build-up and nuclear 
proliferation—returned in one stroke, invoking some of the 
strongest language offered by prominent congressmen about 
Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea region and the NATO aspirations of 
the Baltic states. 

The strongest of all comments came from the outgoing chairman of 
the International Relations Committee, Representative Benjamin 
Gilman (R-NY). Gilman told the Washington Times, "If Russia has, 
in fact, transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad, we 
would have to view that as an alarming development that threatens 
the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe." Gilman, 
though grandfathered out of the Committee's chairmanship by chair 
term-limit rules imposed during the Newt Gingrich "Contract with 
America," remains one of the most influential foreign policy 
voices in Washington. 

Most significantly for the Baltics, Gilman said in the same 
statement, "These reports underscore the need to promptly enlarge 
the NATO alliance to include the previously captive nations of 
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia." Gilman, always a Baltics 
supporter during his many years in Congress, issued this sharp 
statement at a time when others would argue for caution in US 
policy towards the Baltic states. 

If the intended outcome of the reported move was to derail the 
NATO aspirations of the Baltic states, especially in the eyes of 
the 16 NATO capitals, Representative Gilman provided a solid 
answer in rebuff. 



It's time to enlarge NATO


Other prominent congressmen also commented on the report of the 
Kaliningrad nuclear build-up. Representative Curt Weldon 
(R-PA)—best known for his work to help free American Edmund 
Pope from his Russian prison sentence—told the Washington Times 
that international inspection in Kaliningrad, as suggested also 
by Poland and the Baltic states, should be a "minimum 
requirement," adding that Russia "should have nothing to hide." 

Representative Weldon continued, saying that the movement "sends 
a very bad signal" and that he is "very troubled by the movement 
of these nuclear arms to the Baltics that the Russians had said 
they would not move forward on." 

It is clear that, if the report is true and the move is an 
attempt to sway momentum away from Baltic integration into NATO, 
it may be backfiring—especially in Washington, where many Cold 
War warriors remain in prominent offices and many more are 
returning with the incoming Bush administration. 

What next? 

It is hard to predict what will happen next, as the United States 
is embroiled in the difficult process of transition between 
administrations. Cabinet members will still need to be confirmed, 
while many top national security-related officials will still 
need to be appointed. 

On the issue of missile defence there have been enough 
indications that relations with Russia will be difficult in the 
coming years—although the implications and effects of 
US-Russian relations on the Baltics will be much harder to assess 
until the actions of the Bush administration towards the Baltic 
countries become apparent. That could still be months away. 

In any case, the calls for a verification process will continue 
from Capitol Hill, Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn and many other 
capitals. However, like in any realistic scenario, if any 
verification proceeds, there is absolutely no chance Russia would 
be caught red-handed in Kaliningrad. 



What is necessary is an enforceable agreement on international or 
multi-national monitoring, along the lines of the Conventional 
Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. Though the CFE, including its 
monitoring provisions, is weak and seriously flawed—especially 
towards the Baltics—it does build some mutual trust in the 
region. Kaliningrad is always viewed suspiciously by many for its 
ambiguous post-Cold War role and development, and this report 
does nothing to soothe the nerves of neighbouring countries. 

Russian military build-up and nuclear proliferation will always 
be headline-making issues in Washington. The longer suspicion 
looms on this issue, the more congressmen will be likely to make 
strong statements of alarm at the build-up and, in turn, 
statements of support for the Baltics. After all, the alleged 
nuclear deployment is now at NATO's border again, bringing 
memories of the Cold War to the fore once more. 

If the election of George W Bush was a shot in the arm for Cold 
War warriors, this report is the Viagra. 

*****************************************************************
 8  ACTIVIST DECRY USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM 

BY RALPH RANALLI, GLOBE CORRESPONDENT, 1/16/2001 

[I]ONCORD - Calling attention to an issue that they say has both 
international and local impact, about 70 peace activists used 
yesterday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to protest the 
manufacture and use of depleted uranium munitions by the 
military.

''Dr. King would have supported this kind of caring, the kind 
that brings us together out of our small little groups,'' said An 
Sokolovska of Cambridge, a retired sociologist and longtime 
activist. 

About 70 protesters stood in thick snowfall yesterday in the 
middle of a traffic circle in Concord Center to make their point, 
holding signs saying ''Depleted Uranium is Forever'' and ''What 
Would Dr. King Say?''

Depleted uranium, a heavy metal, has been used for two decades  
on the tip of various munitions, not because of its radioactivity 
- which military officials say is negligible - but because its  
high density allows it to penetrate even hardened steel armor.

A growing chorus of critics, particularly in Europe, has begun to 
question whether the material has caused cancer. 

Some protesters, members of the groups Grassroots Action for 
Peace and Veterans for Peace, were protesting the use of depleted 
uranium weapons by US-led forces during the Gulf War and the 
conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo.

''How can we say that getting our way in Iraq is more important 
than the lives of ... Iraqi children? There is something really 
uncivilized about that,'' said Carol Dwyer of Concord, a member 
of the steering committee for Grassroots Action for Peace. 

Other activists, meanwhile, focused on the problems associated 
with manufacturing the weapons, problems that Concord and its 
neighbors are still dealing with even though a defense contractor 
here stopped manufacturing depleted uranium weapons in 1999.

The Starmet Corp. plant in West Concord has been proposed as a 
federal Superfund hazardous waste site because of the tons of 
heavy metals dumped there in the 1980s and 1990s.

Protesters said they fear the contamination may leach into the 
Assabet River and into the water supply of nearby towns.  ''The 
half-life of depleted uranium is 4 billion years,'' activist and 
Billerica resident Kevin Gilligan said. ''This problem is not 
going away.'' 

This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 1/16/2001. 
*****************************************************************
 9  NATO Studies Uranium Connections

January 16, 2001 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)--An initial study of health records showed 
no connection between depleted uranium munitions and cancer among 
soldiers who served in the Balkans, NATO said Tuesday.

Based on data submitted by NATO members, experts did not find any 
increase in disease or mortality in Balkans veterans compared to 
other soldiers, said Maj. Gen. Roger Van Hoof of Belgium, head of 
NATO's Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services.

"On the evidence available, a causal link cannot be identified 
between depleted uranium and the complaints or pathologies" of 
the Balkans veterans, Van Hoof said.

Nonetheless, a "timely investigation" was necessary to allay 
public fears, he said. NATO says there is no evidence that 
remains of depleted uranium rounds pose a health risk, and Col. 
David Lam, NATO's medical staff officer, said the concern was 
affected "more by political and emotional aspects" than medical 
ones.

Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in 
anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power. U.S. 
forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 
1994 and 1995, and in 1999, NATO fired such weapons during its 
78-day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia.

Public concern has swept Europe in recent weeks as various 
nations have reported cancer cases among soldiers sent to the 
Balkans as peacekeepers.

Italy is studying the illnesses of 30 Balkans veterans, seven of 
whom died of cancer. In France, four soldiers are being treated 
for leukemia. Other nations have begun screening soldiers who 
served in the Balkans.

On Tuesday, Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo told 
Parliament that the use of uranium-tipped ammunition is not to 
blame for cancer cases among Spanish troops who served there.

Four Spanish Balkan veterans are being treated for leukemia and 
three have died, the ministry said.

"The soldiers who are ill do not show the same symptoms," Trillo 
said, suggesting that the cause of the illnesses is not the same 
in each case.

Trillo said 3,200 soldiers have undergone checks so far and no 
traces of depleted uranium have been found in their blood or 
urine.

Van Hoof said NATO members exchanged all the available 
information on complaints of military personnel, illness report 
data, risk assessments and preventive measures taken.

He said the medical committee created a work group to develop a 
strategy and procedures to identify and evaluate known and future 
health hazards.

Each nation, he said, should analyze and compare mortality rates 
for Balkan veterans, other soldiers and the general population.

NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson has given member countries 
a detailed map of areas in Bosnia where the 30mm depleted uranium 
weapons were fired, Italy's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Nearly 
all the rounds were fired in a 12-mile area around the city of 
Sarajevo.

The World Health Organization's European headquarters in 
Copenhagen confirmed Tuesday that a WHO mission will be sent to 
Kosovo to investigate depleted uranium.

Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, who was visiting Greece on 
Tuesday, criticized NATO for using the ammunition.

"We should be discussing the depleted conscience of those who 
used the notorious depleted uranium," he said.

ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC.
*****************************************************************
 10  Depleted uranium factory had a fire

ISSUE 6062 Tuesday 16 JANUARY 2001

BY MICHAEL SMITH, DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT AND MAURICE WEAVER

A POTENTIAL health threat caused by a fire in a factory producing 
depleted uranium ammunition has emerged in a Pentagon document.

Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, insisted to Parliament 
yesterday that there was "no significant risk" from DU ammunition 
and no evidence linking it to any cases of ill health. But a copy 
of the scientific study appears to indicate that there may be a 
much greater potential long-term danger where fire breaks out in 
an area where the material is stored.

Although the report deals with the subject in general terms, such 
a fire occurred at the Royal Ordnance Speciality Metals factory 
at Featherstone, Staffordshire, in 1999. Two unions which believe 
their members may have been exposed to DU during the fire are 
demanding investigations into possible health repercussions.

Firemen from two brigades fought to bring the blaze under control 
and potentially contaminated fumes drifted across nearby 
buildings including a 600-inmate jail. While initial scientific 
reports said there was no evidence of contamination among 
firemen, renewed concerns about the effects of DU have led the 
Fire Brigades Union and the Prison Officers Association to call 
for further tests.

Shane Rixom, the POA representative at Featherstone prison, wrote 
yesterday to Mike Pascoe, the governor, listing four cancer cases 
among the 160 staff during the past four years. He said 
Featherstone had the "second highest sick rate" in the Prison 
Service.

poisoning
*****************************************************************
 11  The DU debate: what are the risks? - Jane's Europe News

15 January 2001     

RUPERT PENGELLEY JDW Technical Editor 
LONDON 

WHAT IS DEPLETED URANIUM (DU)? 

Awaste product of the process of extracting the 235U isotope 
(used in nuclear weapons and power stations) from natural 
uranium. DU is chemically transformed into a uranium metal, 
suitable for further processing by ammunition manufacturers. 
Reports from the US Department of Defense (DoD) indicate that in 
this state it has about 0.002% 234U, 0.2% 235U and 99.8% 238U, 
and about 60% of natural uranium's radioactivity. 

MILITARY USES? 

DU is a heavy metal that, when alloyed with titanium (up to 0.75% 
by weight), becomes a material with a density (18,600kg/m3) and 
ductility suited to making penetrators for kinetic energy 
anti-tank munitions, or liners for shaped-charge warheads. Plates 
of DU also form part of the frontal armour of the US Army's M1A1 
and M1A2 tanks. It is planned to incorporate additional plates in 
the turret sides as part of the upgrade programme.     

IS IT RADIOACTIVE? 

Radiologically, DU emits types of ionising radiation similar to 
that of natural uranium, but DU is 40% less radioactive than 
natural uranium, whose specific radioactivity is about 0.67 
microCuries/ gm. 

Although DU emits Alpha and Beta particles and Gamma rays, the 
238U isotope - which by weight makes up almost 99.8% of DU - is 
an alpha emitter. Scientific research indicates most alpha 
particles are not energetic enough to penetrate skin and are not 
considered an external health hazard. Internally however, alpha 
particles can be a hazard if inhaled or ingested in sufficient 
quantities. 

IS IT POISONOUS? 

In common with tungsten, DU is toxic. DoD research shows that in 
combat environments, DU may enter the body through inhalation, 
ingestion, or wounds - in the form of uranium metal (from flying 
fragments and unoxidised DU) and uranium particles from DU 
impacts on target vehicles or fire). The kidney is particularly 
susceptible to damage from high doses of uranium. Uranium's toxic 
effects on the kidney resemble those caused by other heavy 
metals, such as lead or cadmium. As the target organ for uranium, 
medical experts would expect the kidney to show the most dramatic 
effects from uranium exposure. The US Veterans Association 
conducted extensive testing in 1993-94, 1997 and 1999 and 
documented no kidney abnormalities, even in 1990-91 Gulf War 
veterans with retained DU fragments who are excreting elevated 
levels of uranium in their urine. 

WHY USE IT? 

At the velocities of current kinetic-energy tank and aircraft 
munitions (1,000-1,800m/s), DU penetrators are superior to those 
of other heavy metal penetrators made of tungsten alloys because 
their flow- softening and adiabatic-shear failure modes inhibit 
the build- up of a large mushroom head on the penetrator. This 
results in narrower but deeper penetrations (10-20% greater). DU 
also has significant pyrophoric properties, normally setting the 
target on fire. DU is also cheaper than tungsten. 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DU ROUND HITS A TANK? 

When the penetrator hits the tank armour both the penetrator and 
the armour partially liquify under pressure, the molten materials 
initially flowing outwards. Once the armour has been perforated, 
the part of the penetrator that has not melted, together with the 
molten armour and fragments that break away from the inner 
surface, ricochet around the interior of the vehicle. These, in 
combination with pyrophoric particles from the DU penetrator, can 
cause flammable materials and ammunition charges to ignite, 
further disrupting the target. 

Studies in the USA, UK and France show that when an armoured 
vehicle burns at about 10,000řC, the resulting oxidisation of the 
materials aboard, including benzene products and depleted 
uranium, can create particulates that are harmful to the human 
body; ingested they can affect the lungs and kidneys. 

In US Army trials conducted after the 1990-91 Gulf War, it was 
shown that some 20% of the penetrator mass can be turned into an 
aerosol as a consequence of target impact. The aerosols contain 
respirable-sized DU particles. The concentration of airborne DU 
aerosol decreases with time, but measurable concentrations of 
respirable particles do remain suspended hours later. 

CAN TUNGSTEN PENETRATORS BE IMPROVED? 

The claim has been made that future tungsten alloy penetrators 
will perform as well as, or even better than DU penetrators, and 
at the same time will not be environmentally hazardous. However, 
this increased performance will only be gained by imparting a 
higher velocity to the penetrator than is possible with current 
tank guns.

©2001 Jane's Information   Group. All rights reserved     
*****************************************************************
 12  TESTS FAIL TO SHOW AMMO, CANCER LINK 

Copyright c 2001 The Seattle Times Company

Tuesday, January 16, 2001 

By Clar Ni Chonghaile
The Associated Press

PARIS - France cast doubt yesterday on claims that exposure to 
armor- piercing ammunition containing depleted uranium may have 
triggered cancer in French troops who served in the Balkans.

The fear that depleted-uranium ammo might be a health risk has 
swept Europe in recent weeks as various nations have reported 
cancer cases among their troops. NATO medical experts are 
studying the possible health risks.

The Defense Ministry in Paris said tests on five French soldiers 
who served in the Balkans and have cancer did not reveal any 
traces of depleted uranium. Tests on a sixth ill soldier were 
continuing.

The findings mirrored similar research from neighboring Germany.

Last week, German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said tests on 
soldiers sent to Kosovo and those never deployed there showed no 
differences. He said the incidence of two cancers - leukemia and 
lymphoma - among German soldiers was no higher than among the 
general population in 1999.

Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in 
anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power.

U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia 
in 1994 and 1995, and NATO fired such weapons in 1999 during its 
78- day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia.

Depleted uranium has not been widely studied, and experts say 
they don't know exactly how much must be absorbed to be harmful.

The lack of conclusive scientific evidence has only served to 
feed public concern. One European minister described the uproar 
as media- generated "hysteria," and NATO has said there is no 
evidence that remains of depleted-uranium rounds pose a health 
risk. Several European countries have introduced screening 
programs for Balkan veterans. 

And to be safe, Italy and Germany have called for a moratorium on 
use of depleted-uranium weapons until health experts can study 
possible risks, but last week NATO turned down that 
recommendation.

*****************************************************************
 13  NATO Finds No Links to 'Balkans Syndrome' 

TUESDAY JANUARY 16  9:24 AM ET

By Douglas Hamilton

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Analysis of health data from NATO's 19 
member countries shows no sign that debris from depleted uranium 
munitions causes cancer and no identifiable ``Balkans syndrome,'' 
the chairman of NATO's top medical committee said Tuesday.

After two weeks of mounting controversy, the Alliance said its 
chief medical officers had compared evidence and seen nothing 
that pointed to a serious health risk from depleted uranium 
munitions used in the Gulf War and the Balkans.

The report was NATO's most organized response to date in a sudden 
health row which erupted early in January and provoked some 
disarray in Alliance ranks as defense ministers struggled to calm 
what some called a wave of hysteria.

But it stressed that NATO soldiers would not face any unnecessary 
health risks during operations and more efforts would be made to 
determine what lay behind unexplained symptoms reported by some.

NO LINK TO CANCER

``We cannot identify any increase in disease or mortality in 
soldiers who have deployed to the Balkans as compared to those 
soldiers who have not deployed,'' General Roger Van Hoof said 
after a day-long meeting with his 18 counterparts Monday.

``On the evidence available, a causal link cannot be identified 
between depleted uranium and the complaints or pathologies,'' 
Hoof told a news conference at NATO headquarters.

``Based on the available peer-reviewed medical scientific 
studies, from both governmental and independent sources, any 
danger related to depleted uranium exposure is known to be 
quantity-dependent, and so far there is no evidence of possible 
exposure beyond the safe levels,'' he added.

``However, there are a number of military personnel reporting 
symptoms. While these symptoms are not linked to depleted uranium 
exposure, these should warrant further peer-reviewed scientific 
studies.''

TIMELY, TRANSPARENT, MUTLINATIONAL STUDIES

The preliminary findings were to be presented to NATO's 
newly-created Ad Hoc Committee on Depleted Uranium, which was due 
to meet later Tuesday.

Hoof said they would include recommendations for organized 
studies to determine if the health of Balkan peacekeepers was 
different from that of other soldiers.

The NATO surgeons general had agreed on a common NATO medical 
policy for handling the situation, he said.

Each nation agreed to analyze the crude mortality rates of its 
military personnel, related to age, and calculate separately for 
those who deployed in the Balkans and those who had not.

NATO fired about 40,000 rounds of armor-piercing DU ammunition in 
the Balkans and Kosovo during military interventions in 1994-95 
and 1999.

It has recently identified a total of 112 sites in Kosovo and 19 
sites in Bosnia where DU was used by United States A-10 
Thunderbolt tank-busting planes.

LISTEN TO TROOPS

NATO members also agreed to analyze the rates of malignancy among 
Balkans veterans and compare these with national statistics, as 
well as correlating death rates with known health hazards in the 
theater of operations.

The medical committee further proposed that, in future, and in 
view of today's increasingly common multinational deployments, 
NATO countries should work toward common policies and procedures 
for identifying and preventing health hazards.

The senior medical officers said they recognize ``that it is 
imperative to listen to the health concerns of the military 
personnel'' and that these ``concerns and problems are best 
served by scientific, peer-reviewed analysis including 
independent studies.''

This should include a timely investigation of all reports of an 
increased incidence of symptoms. 

Reuters

*****************************************************************
 14  Depleted uranium waste to be dumped on public tip

Guardian | 

PAUL BROWN,  ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
TUESDAY JANUARY 16, 2001
THE GUARDIAN

Thirty thousand bags of nuclear waste containing depleted uranium 
are to be dumped on a municipal waste tip three miles from 
Preston on the river Ribble in Lancashire. 

The uranium is in powder form and is more radioactive than the 
material used to make shells and missiles fired in the Gulf and 
Kosovo wars. 

British Nuclear Fuels yesterday confirmed that the uranium is 
mixed with PVC clothing, paper and other flammable materials, 
contaminated as a result of operations at its Springfields plant 
near Preston where fuel is manufactured for nuclear power 
stations.  

The bags weigh between 5kg and 15kg each and will total about 300 
tonnes. The uranium content will be limited to 0.2% by weight or 
about 20 grams per bag of natural uranium, BNFL has confirmed.  

This kind of waste used to be taken to the BNFL-owned tip at 
Drigg in Cumbria and buried in concrete, but the site   is 
filling up. The company says its operations are safe: "BNFL takes 
its environmental responsibilities seriously and operates 
strictly in accordance with the site licence and authorisations 
from the environment agency." 

The total uranium dumped will be about 600kg, but this will be 
sent to the tip over a period of more than a year. BNFL confirmed 
it would be packed in plastic bags.  

The company accepts the uranium present is 50% more radioactive 
than in normal depleted uranium because it contains active 
material normally only present in enriched uranium. This 
material, uranium 235, is stripped out of raw uranium ore for 
making nuclear weapons and is used in reactors to superheat 
steam. Some is left in the waste and dumped with the rest of the 
uranium oxide.  

A BNFL employee, who alerted the Guardian to the dumping, said 
yesterday: "The plastic bags will be the only form of containment 
used, and will be closed using just a cou ple of strips of 
adhesive tape. At the landfill site the bags are driven over by a 
large earth mover with spike metal wheels. The possibility of 
bags bursting is obvious." 

If the tip were to catch fire, uranium oxide could be carried in 
smoke to Preston, or to Blackpool 10 miles away, the source 
added. 

According to the source the decision to dump the waste on a 
municipal tip was driven by the chronic lack of official dumps - 
Drigg is the only low-level nuclear waste tip in Britain. BNFL 
charges universities and the NHS for dumping nuclear waste there. 
"The volume and activity of the [Springfields] waste 
could seriously affect the future of the Drigg site," the source 
said.  

BNFL accepts the company has a further 50,000 drums of similar 
waste at Springfields with "nowhere yet to dispose of them". The 
drums are not suitable for municipal disposal.  

The proximity of a large gas main to the uranium disposal site 
also concerns the BNFL employee, as does the tip's   long-term 
future. When uranium decays it breaks down into radon gas - a 
well-known cause of lung cancer.  

"What if some time in the future houses or factories are built on 
the site?" the employee asked. "This often happens on old 
landfills, what about the disturbance of the ground or radon from 
the decay of uranium?"  

Tony Brown, marketing manager for Lancashire Waste Services, 
which operates the tip, confirmed it took low-level radioactive 
waste from BNFL but said it was tested by both the waste company 
and the environment agency to check it was within limits. He was 
not aware it contained depleted uranium.  

The BNFL employee claimed the company had misled the agency about 
the dangers. But BNFL insisted the agency had been kept fully 
informed. 

An agency spokesman said: "We do not believe that a responsible 
company would try to mislead us but these allegations are serious 
and we will look into them."  

Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 

*****************************************************************
 15  Spain spurns depleted uranium concerns

BBC News | EUROPE | 

Tuesday, 16 January, 2001, 13:48 GMT 

Spain has followed Portugal and Britain in insisting there's 
nothing so far to link cancer among peacekeeping troops, with the 
use of armour-piercing shells containing depleted uranium. 

The Spanish defence minister, Frederico Trillo, said nothing 
unusually radioactive nor toxic had been found in more than 
three-thousand health tests which had been carried out. 

NATO, which is continuing to insist concerns about the weapons 
are unjustified, has meanwhile given Italy maps showing where 
depleted uranium weapons were used in Bosnia-Hercegovina. 

The weapons have also been used in Kosovo, and in the Gulf War 
against Iraq ten years ago. 

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service 3) {    

*****************************************************************
 16  German defense chief says no uranium risk

The Nando Times: 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

BERLIN (January 14, 2001 6:22 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) 
- Germany's defense minister Sunday dismissed concerns that 
weapons containing depleted uranium pose a radiation risk, saying 
the debate over the issue ignores expert opinion that there is no 
scientific evidence to support such fears. 

Interviewed on ZDF television, Rudolf Scharping also reiterated 
that he sees no link between reported leukemia cases among German 
soldiers and the deployment of German peacekeepers to Kosovo, 
where U.S. forces used armor-piercing shells containing depleted 
uranium. 

After consultations with health experts and military staff, 
Scharping last week stood by the finding of independent 
examinations in 1999 of German troops returning from Kosovo. 
Health tests on soldiers sent to Kosovo and those never deployed 
there showed no differences, he said. 

The Defense Ministry says the incidence of two cancers--leukemia 
and lymphoma--among German soldiers was no higher than among the 
general population in 1999. 

Scharping has called for a moratorium on use of depleted uranium 
weapons so more research can be carried out, but he also has 
criticized media-generated "hysteria" on the issue. 

A newspaper reported that a second German soldier is now blaming 
his leukemia on his service in the Balkans. The soldier was 
stationed in Bosnia in 1996, Welt am Sonntag reported. 

A Defense Ministry spokesman said he was not aware that the 
soldier had reported his allegations to the military. 

Depleted uranium weapons were used in the Balkans by U.S. Air 
Force A-10 aircraft against Serb armored vehicles. The Pentagon 
says 31, 000 rounds were fired during the 1999 war over Kosovo. 
In U.S.-led airstrikes in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, about 10,800 
rounds were fired around Sarajevo. 

Copyright c 2001 Nando Media
*****************************************************************
 17  NATO forces react to depleted uranium backlash - Jane's 
Defence News

15 January 2001     

NATO forces react to depleted uranium backlash

CLIFFORD BEAL JDW Editor
LONDON 

Despite the long-known health risks linked to depleted uranium 
(DU) munitions, European defence ministries and NATO headquarters 
appeared to have been caught off-guard last week by the 
groundswell of criticism from national legislatures concerning 
the use of DU during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. 


As the row intensified, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) relented 
on its earlier stance and announced on 9 January that it would 
begin a voluntary uranium screening programme for personnel who 
have served in areas where DU munitions have been used. Two days 
later NATO announced that it would set up a group to exchange 
information on possible health risks and pledged complete 
co-operation with any national investigations into DU risks. 

However, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson stated: "I do not 
believe the public should have been as excited as it has been. We 
are confident that there is little risk from DU munitions, but we 
refuse to be complacent." 

Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, 
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, 
Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine have all 
announced screening programmes for veterans. Italy and Germany 
have called for a moratorium on DU deployment pending further 
investigations. 


UK MoD studies on the risk associated with DU date back to at 
least 1979 and the toxic and radiological characteristics of DU 
are well-defined. What have been less easy to calculate are 
exposure levels in operational situations. Of the 1990-91 Gulf 
War veterans that carry DU fragments inside them, none has yet 
developed uranium poisoning or associated cancers, according to 
the US Department of Defense (DoD). US Defense Secretary William 
Cohen, said: "We intend to continue to use depleted uranium 
[shells] ... We believe they do not pose an unreasonable risk to 
our toops if they are properly handled." 

While the scientific questions remain to be settled, the issue 
has major political implications for western forces and for the 
NATO alliance. The controversy has created a public-relations 
crisis for NATO and its Balkans operation and highlights the 
yawning gap between government risk assessment and public 
perceptions of acceptable risk. It has also reactivated the Gulf 
War Syndrome debate, which itself has seen no resolution despite 
years of research. 

Attention may now turn to compensation damages to clean up sites 
in the former Yugoslavia and in Iraq that are contaminated by DU 
ammunition traces. This could prove politically damaging to NATO 
in its Kosovo Force operation and embarrassing to the USA in 
sustaining its containment policy against Iraq. On 10 January the 
Iraqi government asked the UN to investigate DU effects in Iraq 
and Yugoslavia and said it would reserve the right to seek 
compensation for damages. 

The UN Environment Programme office has called for all 112 DU 
contaminated sites in Kosovo to be cordoned off pending the 
results of recent UN radiological tests. Analysis of these 
samples is due in March. World Health Organisation officials have 
stated there is probably little risk of radiation-linked 
leukaemia occurring in the Balkans resulting from DU 
contamination.

***************************************************************** 
18  Minister accused of cover-up over uranium shells 

Independent

By Sarah Schaefer, Political Correspondent 

16 January 2001 

A Labour MP warned the Government yesterday of his fears over the 
risks to service personnel who have been exposed to depleted 
uranium. 

The concern was voiced despite assurances by Geoff Hoon, the 
Secretary of State for Defence, at question time. He said: "In 
the absence of any specific evidence whatsoever to link DU with 
any particular illness the reality is it is extraordinarily 
difficult for any government to prove a negative". 

Fresh medical tests into the health effects of depleted uranium 
shells were announced last Tuesday. 

But, during a series of exchanges, John McFall, the Labour MP for 
Dumbarton, said: "Given that the ministry was warned 10 years ago 
on this issue... is it not the fact now the burden of proof 
should be on the ministry and other Government rather than on 
individuals who are ill having to prove that their illness is a 
direct result of this DU?" 

Dafydd Wigley, the Plaid Cymru MP for Caernarfon, went even 
further in his attacks and claimed there had been a "cover up" by 
the Government because previous parliamentary answers had 
provided "misleading" information about the issue. 

Earlier, the Government was accused by the Tories of being 
divided over its support for the so-called Son of Star Wars, the 
American missile defence system, because of some ministers' links 
to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). 

Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow Defence Secretary, sought to 
reignite the argument over the defence plan, which has the 
support of President- elect George Bush, and the new American 
administration. 

Mr Duncan Smith told Mr Hoon: "You know that the MoD is advising 
you that there is a growing threat. Doesn't that explain why in 
the last year and a half, you and your colleagues have been going 
to Washington and letting them know, privately, you would be 
willing to upgrade Fylingdales, providing they did not ask that 
question before the next election? 

"If that is your private view, why has the [Foreign Office] 
Minister of State [Peter Hain] said in March last year, 'I don't 
like the idea of a Star Wars programme, limited or unlimited'. 

"Isn't that the public face of the Government's position, 
although privately they are pretending something else? The 
Government resembles more and more, Dr Doolittle's 
Push-me-Pull-you - hoping that something will turn up before the 
election." 

Mr Hoon said: "The Government have not yet reached a decision on 
this matter - nor should they do so because the Americans have 
not reached a decision. In the light of a new US administration, 
it hardly seems sensible to commit ourselves to something that 
the Americans may or may not decide to commit themselves to." 

He said that after security reviews, the Government "apprehend no 
immediate threat to the UK from so-called rogue states or the 
proliferation of nuclear weapons. It is obviously a matter we 
have careful regard to. But it is a matter that is equally under 
careful consideration in the US." 

*****************************************************************
 19  Blue Ribbon Panel raises questions about filters at INEEL - 

By N.S. Nokkentved


[I] Original Publication Date - 01/15/2001
By N.S. Nokkentved 
Times-News writer 

TWIN FALLS--The air filters that are supposed to keep radioactive 
particles from escaping into the air might not hold up during an 
accident, and a panel of scientists has recommended thorough 
tests. 

The filters are used at INEEL facilities to trap radioactive dust 
particles from the various processes at the eastern Idaho nuclear 
research site. 

After Energy Secretary Bill Richardson accepted the panel's 
recommendations for alternatives to incinerating radioactive 
waste at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory last week, Energy Department officials say they plan 
to look closer at the filters' effectiveness. 

Longtime INEEL critic Dr. Peter Rickards, a Twin Falls 
podiatrist, welcomed the news. 

"After 50 years of the nuclear business, it is time to come 
clean. This accurate type of testing has been avoided, because it 
probably would reveal that the DOE is emitting illegal and 
unhealthy amounts of plutonium into our air," Rickards said. 

He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of those filters 
and has pointed to government studies that show the filters may 
be less effective than some officials have claimed. 

Rickards cites existing studies by the Energy Department and 
other federal agencies that show the filters may be vulnerable to 
fire, to the water from sprinklers set off by fires, and the 
ability of plutonium to creep through multiple filters. 

These problems affect all alternatives to incineration, as well 
as almost all nuclear plants and projects, Rickards said. 

The Energy Department relies on so-called "HEPA" filters--short 
for high efficiency particulate air filters--at facilities at 
sites such as the INEEL. 

A blue-ribbon advisory panel, assembled to evaluate alternatives 
to incineration of radioactive waste, also recommended thorough 
testing of HEPA filters. 

"In particular, the panel urges rigorous evaluation of whether 
the reliability and efficacy of the various effluent control 
systems will be sufficient to protect workers, the public, and 
the environment, " the panel said in its final report. 

"We'll be taking a look at that," said Ellen Livingston, senior 
advisor to the secretary for environmental affairs. 

The technical development program that will be undertaken will 
include emission control systems. Development and testing would 
include taking a better look at the performance of the filters 
under accidents. 

The department already has a testing program for the HEPA filters 
at a federal facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Livingston said. And 
the department is responding to the recommendations of the 
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for testing HEPA filters. 

A May 1999 report by the Safety Board said: "When installed fire 
suppression systems are activated to protect systems, structures, 
and components inside confinement, the moisture-laden air carried 
downstream to the HEPA filters can seriously degrade filter 
performance -- at a time when high-efficiency filter performance 
is crucial." 

"In the even of a breakthrough of the filter during a fire, the 
particulate material deposited on the filters is readily lifted 
by buoyancy into the atmosphere, where it can be further 
dispersed in potentially unfavorable downwind patterns," the 
board wrote. 

The remote location of the INEEL, however, is the last line of 
defense if filters fail, INEEL spokesman Brad Bugger said. 

But remoteness is not always enough. In 1961, following an 
explosion in a small nuclear reactor, monitoring maps tracked a 
plume of radioactive iodine to the Magic Valley. 

Times-News writer N.S. Nokkentved can be reached at 733-0931, 
Ext. 237, or by e-mail niels@magicvalley.com 
*****************************************************************
 20  Hanford downwinders want share of payment

This story was published 1/16/2001 

HERALD STAFF WRITER 

Hanford downwinders are pressing the federal government to 
include them in an estimated $1.6 billion program to compensate 
nuclear workers for illnesses that may be linked to chemicals or 
radiation. 

"Emissions did not stop at the fence line," said Trisha Pritikin, 
who grew up in Richland and is now a Berkeley, Calif., attorney. 
"What we want to do is have the same rules of eligibility right 
now for workers applied to members of the public." 

A public forum is planned for 7 p.m. Jan. 25 in Kennewick to 
gather evidence that people living near the Hanford reservation 
or downwind of it were harmed. 

Organizers want a session similar to a Richland public meeting 
held by the Department of Energy a year ago to hear worker 
complaints of cancer and other illnesses they believed were 
caused by working at Hanford. That hearing drew more than 550 
people. 

Pritikin approached DOE officials then to ask that government 
help be expanded to include Hanford downwinders. They said 
downwinders needed to provide evidence of off-site exposure 
leading to illnesses and declined to hold similar hearings near 
nuclear sites across the nation, she said. 

However, Pritikin and other downwinders on the Hanford Health 
Effects Subcommittee proposed the subcommittee hold its own 
forum, similar to the DOE hearing. The downwinder forum is being 
organized by the subcommittee, which advises the federal 
government and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

"We are trying to present evidence to DOE of off-site community 
health problems due to exposures," Pritikin said. 

Congress passed legislation last year that would pay medical 
expenses and give $150,000 to former nuclear workers who could 
have developed cancer because of radiation or other illnesses due 
to exposure to hazardous materials. DOE is proposing that be 
amended to pay for lost wages if that amount is greater than 
$150,000. 

Pritikin believes some downwinders had as much risk of illness as 
some nuclear workers who could be compensated. 

Most data available on downwinder health effects concern exposure 
to radioactive iodine, which was released from the Hanford site 
during World War II and the Cold War. Iodine concentrates in the 
thyroid, and children are particularly susceptible. 

Children who grew up near or downwind of Hanford from the 
mid-1940s to mid-1960s would have been exposed not just to 
Hanford emissions, Pritikin said. They also would have been 
exposed to radioactive iodine released from nuclear tests in 
Nevada, from a large test at Marshall Islands in 1954 and from 
Chinese and Russian tests. 

"That all adds up if you're a kid," Pritikin said. Other 
biologically significant radioactive substances also were 
released at Hanford and in tests elsewhere, she said. 

However, Ron Kathren, professor emeritus at Washington State 
University at Tri-Cities and a member of the Columbia Chapter of 
the Health Physics Society, questions whether many downwinders 
would be eligible for compensation. 

"Except for a possible few individuals, there would not be a 
large enough dose to provide the risk of thyroid cancer that 
would warrant compensation," he said. 

Kathren also said the fallout dose from nuclear tests elsewhere 
would be very small. 

Pritikin said that although she's initially interested in getting 
downwinders with thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases 
included in the workers' initiative, she'd also like to see other 
cancers or illnesses possibly caused by downwind exposures 
included. 

"Our end goal is to try to expand the health care component of 
the nuclear workers' initiative to the off-site exposed 
community, " she said. 

She's encouraging anyone who believes they've suffered health 
problems because of off-Hanford radiation or chemical exposures 
to come to the forum. They may want to bring medical records, she 
said. 

The forum also will include a panel of scientists and medical 
researchers, who based on a preliminary agenda appear generally 
sympathetic to downwinder complaints, including Rudi Nussbaum, 
professor emeritus of physics and environmental sciences at 
Portland State University. 

The forum will be held at the WestCoast Tri-Cities Hotel at 
Columbia Center. For more information, call La Freta Dalton at 
888-422-8737. 
*****************************************************************
 21  K-25 workers take steps to test for fluorine 

Oak Ridger Online --> 

Story last updated at 11:05 a.m. on Monday, January 15, 2001

The Associated Press 

Tests will continue at the former K-25 uranium enrichment site 
where a mid-December fluorine leak forced a temporary shutdown 
and the evacuation of some 350 employees.

A sampling program is to resume on Wednesday. Officials believe 
only a small amount of fluorine gas remains in old storage tanks 
and piping in the K-1302 building, according to Mark Musolf, 
spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., the environmental manager in 
Oak Ridge for the Department of Energy.

If the new round of tests confirms that, workers will open valves 
and vent the gas, Musolf said. If workers find more gas than 
expected, additional steps will be taken to purge the old storage 
system and filter the emissions.

Employees on Dec. 13 smelled fluorine--a hazardous eye, nose and 
lung irritant with an odor of chlorine--coming from K-1302, a 3, 
200-square-foot structure erected as part of the Manhattan 
Project in World War II.

The building has five large tanks that once stored fluorine for 
use in enriching uranium for nuclear weapons and later for 
commercial reactor fuel.

Those operations stopped at Oak Ridge in 1987, and the tanks 
reportedly were emptied in 1992. DOE officials say it's possible 
there may have been some residue left.

As many as 350 workers in surrounding buildings on the 1,600-acre 
site, now an industrial development park called the East 
Tennessee Technology Park, were evacuated.

Investigators later found the leak in piping associated with one 
of the storage tanks. The leaks were sealed with Teflon patches.

Musolf said safety specialists now believe the amount of gas that 
leaked probably totaled less than half a pound, far below the 
release limit of 10 pounds in a 24-hour period that must be 
reported to regulators.

"It may have appeared that we overreacted to a relatively small 
chemical leak, but I'd certainly rather be safe than sorry," said 
Jim Thiesing, Bechtel Jacobs' crisis manager. "Once we were 
confident the situation was under control, we proceeded 
deliberately because my first concern was that we not put the men 
and women who were on the line in harm's way."

[*][I]   All Contents cCopyright The Oak Ridger 

*****************************************************************
 22  Smithsonian Manhattan Project tour to include two N.M. sites 

Oak Ridger Online --> 

Story last updated at 11:03 a.m. on Monday, January 15, 2001

BY AMY L. LEE 
Oak Ridger staff 

Travelers inevitably learn a few new things each time they reach 
a new destination--or even while getting there. But the 
Smithsonian Institution has designed a series of study tours 
geared specifically toward educational travel.

An upcoming tour, Entering the Atomic Age: The Manhattan Project, 
is scheduled for May 6 through 12. The tour will take travelers 
to Albuquerque and Los Alamos, N.M., where more than 50 years ago 
scientific achievements marked their place in history.

A group of America's top scientists and engineers trekked to a 
secret location atop a mesa in the Jemez Mountains, where their 
mission was to develop the world's first atomic bomb.

On July 16, 1945, less than three years after work began, a 
plutonium device was successfully detonated at the White Sands 
Testing Grounds. McAllister Hall, a physicist and one of the 
original participants, will trace the history of the Manhattan 
Project and lead travelers in exploring sites associated with the 
mission.

Participants will learn the scope of the Manhattan Project and 
how work was coordinated at 39 sites in the United States and 
Canada, including Oak Ridge.

They will also meet some of the family members who lived in Los 
Alamos during World War II. A visit to the Bradbury Museum and 
Bathtub Row, a group of log houses where the senior scientists 
lived during the Manhattan Project, is also included at the 
beginning of the tour.

On Wednesday, participants will learn about the 
Oppenheimer/Teller Controversy, an argument about how many atomic 
bombs to build. The next day will be spent visiting the National 
Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, which traces the development of 
nuclear weapons and where aircraft including a B-52 bomber are 
displayed.

Friday entails a daylong tour of the Trinity site. Participants 
will visit Ground Zero, the restored McDonald Ranch where the 
plutonium core was assembled, and the location where much of the 
filming of the explosion took place.

"Again, it just goes to show there's a market out there (people 
interested in heritage tourism); it's not just World War II 
veterans," said Joe Valentino, director of the Oak Ridge 
Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"But the Department of Energy says it has eight signature 
facilities -- two are in Los Alamos and three of them are here," 
Valentino said. "Oak Ridge has as much, if not more, to offer in 
terms of history, science and technology, and what we call 
'edutainment,' as the places they are going. They're just getting 
one part of the Manhattan story, and the total picture includes 
Oak Ridge," Valentino said.

"This is just another way to show this is bigger than just Oak 
Ridge ... it's on a national level. And if you can fill up a tour 
to go to Los Alamos, you can fill up a tour to go to Oak 
Ridge--and it's recognized by one of the great institutions of 
the U.S."

According to Valentino, the CVB is working in conjunction with 
the Heritage Division of the state Department of Tourism and has 
tentatively scheduled an "American War Tour (or Trail) of 
Tennessee, which potentially could be included in future 
Smithsonian Study Tour itineraries. The initiative is in the very 
early stages, and organizers hope to involve the University of 
Tennessee War and Society Department.

"What we've found is that Tennessee has some aspect of nearly 
every war America has been involved with, whether it be the Civil 
War, World War I or II, the War of 1812 ... .We just have to make 
sure it's educational enough to be included in the Smithsonian's 
program, " Valentino said.

Glenn Couvillon, managing director of Travel South USA, said 
during a recent conference on tourism in Memphis, "Ten years ago, 
who would have thought heritage tourism would be such a major 
force within our industry? As delegates to the White House 
Conference on Travel and Tourism in 1995, we learned that 
travelers were adding new elements to their vacations. Along with 
attractions, beaches and shopping, they were adding historic, 
cultural and nature-based components to their itineraries.

"Travel South supports the development and packaging of our 
Southern heritage tourism product. I don't know of any other 
region within our country that offers a richer and more diverse 
product than the South."

the Smithsonian Study Tours focus on educational travel programs 
reflecting interests and concerns of the Smithsonian Institution. 
The program offers 360 tours to 250 destinations worldwide each 
year.

Participation in the tours is offered as a membership benefit of 
The Smithsonian Associates. Annual membership dues are $28.

Study tours are designed to allow participants to select the 
travel/ educational experiences they find the most fulfilling to 
their specific interests. And in-depth tours allow tourists to 
gain a deeper understanding of the area and topic by providing an 
appropriate schedule and limiting groups to 24 to 30 members.

Tours are led by educators who are versed in the topics and 
region of interest. Their expertise is included with the cost, as 
are accommodations based on single or double occupancy, 
sightseeing, special activities and lectures, transportation 
while touring, admission fees, gratuities and most meals.

[*][I]   All Contents cCopyright The Oak Ridger 

    
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