***************************************************************** 05/16/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.120 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 REID CRITICIZES INCREASED BUDGET FOR OFFICE OF CIVILIAN 2 Meeting set on nuclear waste standards 3 You are leaving a nuclear-free zone 4 In Going Nuclear, Bush and Cheney Face the Waste 5 National Geographic Launches ''National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' 6 NRC Schedules Meetings in Pahrump, Las Vegas to Explain Hearing 7 Uranium Institute becomes World Nuclear Association 8 WNA News Briefing 01.20 | 9 - 15 May 2001 9 Bruce Power closes lease of two nuclear power stations near Kincardine, Ont. 10 Agencies discuss radiation limits for Yucca 11 Japanese Approve Nuclear Plant 12 REFERENDUM ON MOX FUEL TO BE HELD ON 27 MAY 2001 13 FUKUSHIMA TO SET UP ITS OWN REVIEW COMMITTEE ON MOX USE 14 TAIWAN'S GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG ISSUES CENSURE OVER NUCLEAR PLANT 15 Meetings on Yucca licensing process set 16 Nuclear Reactor Shut Down in London 17 Nuclear profits crash again -- Government must heed warning 18 Editorial: Show some sense on nuke waste 19 Columnist Jon Ralston: Will Bush's energy report have Yucca 20 Bush plan includes transmutation research 21 NUCLEAR WASTE: Reid seeks to cut Yucca research funds NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Nuclear Defense 2 Hanford budget raises worries 3 Watchdog groups urge shutdown of test reactor 4 Army plant survey team to give update 5 Science guy sits at DOE's Oak Ridge helm 6 IG critical of Bechtel Jacobs' incentive fees 7 The Man Inside China's Bomb Labs 8 Settlement of Claims Totals $8 Million 9 DOE Announces Brookhaven Manager To Lead Review of Fast Flux Test Facility 10 Nuclear test no danger for troops 11 Greenpeace Presents Evidence On Nuclear Free Zones 12 Officials press for A-bomb answers 13 Nuclear India backs nuclear-free Asean - 14 India's military wings squabbling for control: Nuclear button 15 NKorea threatens pull out of nuclear weapons accord with U.S 16 Bill introduced to increase nuke fallout compensation **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 REID CRITICIZES INCREASED BUDGET FOR OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT [Sen. Reid Press Release] POINTS TO MISMANAGEMENT AND COST OVER RUNS OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT May 15, 2001 WASHINGTON, D.C. - At a Senate appropriations hearing today, Nevada Senator Harry Reid criticized the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management for its continued cost over runs and mismanagement of the Yucca Mountain Project. "This project is currently at double the originally estimated cost. The $30 billion estimate of the early 1990's has become the $58 billion estimate of 2001. This includes a $12 billion increase in just the last three years," Reid said. "Completion of the characterization report has been repeatedly delayed and all of the other milestones have also slipped." Reid is the ranking member on The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the Yucca Mountain project. At today's hearing on the DOE FY 2002 Budget Request for the Offices of Environmental Management and Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Reid sharply questioned the Administration's budget priorities. "At a time when program after program at DOE has been slashed or, at best, held at last year's level - despite having been given far more to do - I am not sure what to think when the budget for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Nuclear Waste is given a double digit percentage increase," said Reid. Senator Reid's full statement follows. SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND WATER Oversight Hearing: Office of Environmental Management and Office of Civilian Radioactive Nuclear Waste Management Senator Harry Reid May 15, 2001 Good Afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for scheduling this final budget oversight hearing as we prepare to begin writing the FY 2002 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. Representatives of two DOE programs have joined us today: + Mr. Lake Barrett, the Acting Director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management + Carolyn Huntoon, the Assistant Secretary of the Environmental Management Program I would like to welcome both of you to today's hearing. I have read each of your statements and have a number of questions for all of you. Unfortunately, most of these questions must be for the record. As you know, I am the Ranking Member of the Full Committee on Environment and Public Works and I am expected upstairs for a hearing. However, I hope you will not take my absence as a sign of a lack of interest on my part in what is going on in each of your programs. Quite the contrary. Ms. Huntoon, I am very concerned that the President's budget has not given you nearly enough money to perform the enormous amounts of work we have entrusted to you. Mr. Barrett, I worry that perhaps we are giving you too much. At a time when program after program at DOE has been slashed or, at best, held at last year's level (despite having been given far more to do), I am not sure what to think when the budget for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Nuclear Waste is given a double digit percentage increase. Is it because your program is running ahead of schedule or even on-time? NO. Completion of the characterization report has been repeatedly delayed and all of the other milestones have also slipped. The current external rumor is that the report will be completed in December, although there certainly are signs that it will be later than that. Is it because your program has achieved significant cost efficiencies and you are being rewarded for such good stewardship? NO. If the Department succeeds in foisting this program off on the citizens of Nevada, it will do so at about double the originally-anticipated cost. The $30 billion estimate of the early 1990's has become the $58 billion estimate of 2001. This includes a $12 billion increase in just the last three years. I needn't remind anyone in this room that we are a LONG ways away (both in terms of time and policy) from actually moving any nuclear waste in this country ANYWHERE. What are the chances that these costs will continue to spiral out-of-control? Pretty good chance. So, I ask my rhetorical question again? What makes this program different? It costs twice as much as DOE thought. Sounds like a typical big DOE project to me. It rarely, if ever, meets its critical path milestones. Sounds like a typical big DOE project to me. The answer is there is really nothing different about the Yucca Mountain Project. It is plagued by the same management and budget problems that torment every major program at the Department. It is no different from the National Ignition Facility or the pit production process, or even some of the clean-up efforts. There is nothing going on in this program that is so special that it needs or deserves such a large increase when so many other worthy activities are being left on the floor at OMB The only difference seems to be on this side of the table. There is no shortage of outrage from Members (including me) when projects like NIF or Pit Production spiral out of control. "Kill NIF!" we cry. "Send pit production back to the drawing board until they get it right!" we shout. The yelling and screaming and hand-wringing is a sight to behold. $30 BILLION over budget at Yucca Mountain? The Silence is Deafening. I am the first to admit that I am opposed to Yucca Mountain. Always have been. Always will be. However, I would like to think that any casual observer would be concerned about what is going on here. If the work of the desperately under-funded Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and some university scientists that we have thrown pocket change to over the years has been enough to get the Department to re-think some of their fundamentals at Yucca Mountain, just think what some adequately funded external oversight might un-earth. On top of that, the DOE just released a giant 1000 page science and engineering report on Yucca Mountain. Unfortunately, nowhere -- in any of those 1000 pages -- did they find a response to the issues the Technical Review Board asked the DOE to address. With all the money DOE has, you would think they would have the courtesy -- let alone the responsibility -- to address those issues with the full science and engineering report. On the off-chance that no one else is as upset about this as I am at the moment, I will simply have to bear the bad news to you myself, Mr. Barrett: there will be no huge increase for the Yucca Mountain Program this year given the current funding profile. You and your staff may not agree, but I feel that I have been more than fair to your program over the years, all things considered. However, I am not going to sit idly by while your program absorbs one of the only substantial increases in the DOE budget. Even you would have to agree, Mr. Barrett, that it is as least as important, for example, for the US to meet its legal and moral commitment to major clean-up activities throughout the nation's cold war weapons complex, as it is to make a little progress in your area. Which brings me to you, Ms. Huntoon. I won't beat around the bush. There is no way that the amount of funding the Administration has provided for clean-ups, particularly at Washington, South Carolina, and Idaho, will fulfill the legal and/or Departmental promises to those three states (and probably several others, including Nevada). I think you and I both know that your budget is shy hundreds of millions of dollars. While I appreciate the enormity of the task and the scarcity of dollars in this year's budget, the program you have outlined represents backsliding. Worse, I think, if enacted, it will subject the Department to legal jeopardy. Other states may need to line up behind Washington and Idaho at the courthouse door, but line-up they will. Congress is going to need to find additional resources to keep that from happening. That said, my other concern is this: The Department needs to get some of these sites closed. When Congress created a closure account a number of years ago, it was done to give a certain number of sites priority and additional resources to get the clean-up done prior to 2006. My staff informs me that a fair number of these sites now have closure dates after 2006. Obviously, this is not what we had in mind. If a site is really a post-2006 site, Congress may need to consider treating it as such. Hopefully, some more realistic resources will get these sites back on track. Again, thank you to both of our witnesses for appearing today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. ***************************************************************** 2 Meeting set on nuclear waste standards [Las Vegas Review-Journal] Wednesday, May 16, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal REVIEW-JOURNAL Gov. Kenny Guinn today is sending his chief of staff to Washington, D.C., to reinforce Nevada's position that the Environmental Protection Agency should follow through with stringent radiation standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. Chief of Staff Marybel Batjer said she will meet Thursday and Friday with officials in the White House and the Office of Management and Budget about the state's concerns. Her visit follows a letter that Guinn sent to OMB Director Mitchell Daniels on the agency's review of the proposed final EPA standard. Batjer has meetings scheduled with OMB General Counsel Jess Lefkowitz and Don Arbuckle, deputy administrator for information and regulatory affairs. She will also meet with an EPA representative and an adviser to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. The EPA has proposed tougher guidelines than what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has suggested. Such exposure to the environment and groundwater could occur during the 10,000 years that a repository will have to hold the waste. The NRC has said its 25 millirem annual dose standard is adequate to protect public health, but the EPA has suggested a 15 millirem standard, plus a 4 millirem guideline for groundwater. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/May-16-Wed-2001/news/16106364.html ***************************************************************** 3 You are leaving a nuclear-free zone U.S. News: New technology promises safer nuclear power *New technology promises safer nuclear power* By Michael Satchell Fifteen years ago, after the meltdown of the Soviet Union's primitive Chernobyl nuclear reactor killed 31 and exposed thousands to potentially dangerous radiation levels, the disaster threatened to take the entire nuclear energy industry down with it. A scare from an overheated reactor at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island seven years earlier already had the public nervous about the risks of nuclear fission as a power source. Suddenly, what had seemed a promising alternative to fossil fuels had a radioactive reputation. Antinuclear activists campaigned against the energy source with everything from "no nukes" rock concerts to street demonstrations that promised to "shut them down cold." By the mid-1990s, plans for more than 100 new plants in the United States had been canceled. Today, this once moribund industry is showing signs of stirring. In the past two years, rolling brownouts, a shortage of natural gas, rising energy prices, and concerns about air pollution and global warming have reawakened interest in refurbishing existing plants and building new ones. Even environmentalists concede that renewable energy sources like wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass are unlikely–at least in the near future–to light entire cities or keep industry humming. The Bush administration, soon to announce its national energy plan, will call for renewed emphasis on nuclear technology as a cleaner and cheaper alternative to coal, oil, and natural gas. Hot pebbles. If the nuclear industry is to revive, the single most important spark will very likely come from new technology that advocates claim improves not only safety but also efficiency. All of the nation's nuclear plants now use water-cooled reactors that produce steam to generate electricity. They utilize a complex system of pipes, tubes, pumps, and electric motors that are subjected to extreme stress and corrosion. Reactors require steel-lined, reinforced concrete containment in case of a radiation leak or a Chernobyl-style meltdown. But new, simpler, and more cost-efficient technology known as "pebble bed" promises to revolutionize nuclear power generation and avoid the threat of catastrophe. The Exelon Corp., which operates 17 nuclear reactors in the United States, is planning to build the world's first commercial pebble bed reactor in South Africa. Construction outside Cape Town is scheduled to begin a year from now with the plant going online within three years. The new technology uses helium instead of water to cool the nuclear fuel, absorb heat, and spin the turbines to generate power. Instead of bundled uranium fuel rods, the new design uses "pebbles" made up of thousands of uranium particles, each enclosed in a mix of ceramic materials. These coated particles are then encased in graphite spheres the size of billiard balls. The fuel balls theoretically won't melt even at the highest temperatures, precluding the possibility of a radiation leak or a runaway nuclear reaction. This obviates the need for containment, complex safety systems, and redundant backup equipment that make the current water-cooled plants so expensive. The fuel balls will also produce less high-level waste and, because of their ceramic protection and small size, will be easier and safer to store. If the South African prototype performs as hoped, planners envision building small pebble-bed plants generating 110 megawatts of power–about the same as a small plant fired with natural gas–instead of the 1,000 megawatts produced by conventional reactors. Three of the pebble bed units could fit onto a football field, so utilities could place them close to where power is needed. Because their design is modular, additional units could be added as power demand increased. Despite these claims, and evidence of improved safety at conventional reactors, critics are unswayed. Disposal of spent uranium fuel that will remain hazardous for tens of thousands of years remains a vexing problem. And nuclear opponents insist that water-cooled reactors–despite design improvements–will always pose potential hazards. Nuclear plants are safer, concedes David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists, but he still likens them to "driving through a school zone at 70 mph instead of 90 mph." Burn, baby, burn. There's no secret to this energy plan. (5/14/01) The nuclear wasteland. Russia's plan to import spent nuclear fuel risks making a bad situation worse. (2/26/01) Power surge. Do nuclear reactors have the juice? (2/12/01) Pumped for more drilling: GOP defectors, though, might snuff out parts of Bush's controversial energy plan. (2/12/01) --> Strange bedfellows below the desert. Will cosmology and nuclear dumping mix? (6/26/00) The Department of Energyis moving forward with the fourth generationof nuclear energy systems. The Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committeeapproved the the Department of Energy's nuclear energy programs. The International Nuclear Safety Center. The INSC's mission is to improve nuclear reactor safety worldwide. The Department of Energykeeps citizens briefed on its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Nuclear Power and Energy Security in Russia. The Uranium Instituteprovides this report on the future of Russia's energy security. © 2001 U.S.News &World Report Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 4 In Going Nuclear, Bush and Cheney Face the Waste Capital Journal: [Wall Street Journal Abstracts] President Bush’s energy policy, which was developed by Vice President Cheney and a special panel, calls for an increase in nuclear power. More nuclear power generation, however, results in more nuclear waste, which could present the Bush administration with a political problem. Cheney has acknowledged, “Probably the key public policy issue on nuclear power is the waste problem. There has been a lot of work done on Yucca Mountain, and there are some other ideas floating around, but clearly if we expect to generate significant amounts of power from nuclear we are going to have to solve the waste problem ... Some things you just have to keep banging away at.” One question is which agency will set safety standards for nuclear waste, the Environmental Protection Agency or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For additional information refer to *The Wall Street Journal* or go to http://www.wsj.com. *Copyright © 2001 by Northern Light Technology Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 5 National Geographic Launches ''National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' -- a Major Multi-Media Initiative Linked to Hollywood Feature Films Wednesday May 16, 7:12 am Eastern Time Press Release National Geographic Launches ''National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' -- a Major Multi-Media Initiative Linked to Hollywood Feature Films First ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' is a Companion to ``Pearl Harbor'' WASHINGTON, D.C.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 16, 2001-- National Geographic Television (NGT) launched its newest programming initiative, ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie,'' it was announced today by Tim Kelly, president, NGT. Anchored by a series of all-new television documentaries, ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' is an innovative multi-media initiative created to complement today's feature films and explore the most compelling real-life questions that movies inspire. In addition to television, ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' will draw upon the vast resources of the National Geographic Society, including the heralded photography archives, print publications, , maps, posters, home video, DVD and classroom materials, to deliver a one-stop shop for movie-going audiences who want to know more about the topics covered in the movies. ``National Geographic is the world's largest non-profit educational and scientific organization,'' said Kelly. ``Our mission is to excite people's curiosity and imagination about the world around us.'' He further explained, ``Popular movies spark interest in topics and we're uniquely suited to reach out to movie audiences everywhere in an entertaining and informative way.'' National Geographic launches this initiative with Touchstone Pictures on the summer event film, ``Pearl Harbor,'' from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and producer/director Michael Bay, opening May 25, 2001. ``We are delighted to be working with Touchstone Pictures as they release this epic film,'' stated Kelly. Commenting on the announcement, Dick Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, said, ``National Geographic is the leader in producing entertaining documentary programming for television and all of us at Touchstone are thrilled to be working with them in launching their new series. ``With its historic themes and bold filmmaking approach, `Pearl Harbor' is an ideal subject for this exciting new multi-media project and it will give movie-goers an opportunity to learn more about the film and the event itself. This is a great way to educate and entertain and we're proud to be associated with National Geographic.'' ``We designed 'National Geographic Beyond the Movie' to give people a whole new way to enjoy movies. It's the ideal companion resource for audiences of today's Hollywood feature films,'' said Catherine Hagney, senior vice president at NGT and the creator of ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie.'' ``Today, many movies touch on topics that National Geographic is known for -- adventure, science, cultures, nature and history. 'National Geographic Beyond the Movie' will provide people with fun tools to explore, enhance and extend their movie-going experience. It is truly for people who love movies and the real stories that inspire them,'' explained Hagney. National Geographic Television will collaborate with the Hollywood studios on excerpts from the movies, interviews with the talent and movie-makers paralleled with the real stories, the `real-life' experts and witnesses, and documentary archives to show how fiction and fact come together to make a fascinating story. Written by Randall Wallace, ``Pearl Harbor'' stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale and Cuba Gooding, Jr. ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor'' examines the story behind the U.S. entry into World War II, the subject of the Hollywood film. It expands on the major issues identified by the movie and provides audiences with ways for them to explore their questions about what really happened at Pearl Harbor. Why did the Japanese attack? Why was the United States caught off guard? How did Americans respond to the attack? Were Americans involved in the war in Europe before the attack on Pearl Harbor? The relationship between National Geographic and Touchstone Pictures has generated many ground-breaking collaborations. Touchstone Pictures provided National Geographic with access to footage from the film, talent interviews, and links between and . Additionally, National Geographic is producing a classroom guide for teachers, sponsored by Touchstone Pictures, which will be distributed free to high schools in May. A unique movie poster/map combination will be given away free in select theaters on opening weekend featuring a ``Pearl Harbor'' one-sheet on one side and a National Geographic commemorative map of the attack on Pearl Harbor on the other. This far-reaching initiative was developed with the help of Fireworks Enterprises Inc., a Los Angeles-based entertainment consulting firm. Coinciding with the release of Touchstone Pictures' ``Pearl Harbor'' on Memorial Day weekend, ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor'' premieres on the National Geographic Channel in the United States on Sunday, May 27, at 10 p.m. ET, immediately following ``Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack,'' a two-hour National Geographic documentary that presents the first-ever images from inside the sunken battleship USS Arizona. National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence discoverer Dr. Robert Ballard and noted historian Dr. Stephen Ambrose explore the still unsolved mysteries and startling true stories behind this day of infamy. Internationally, the National Geographic Channels will broadcast ``Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack'' and ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor'' worldwide to coincide with the global release of the film. ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor'' will also be distributed on home video. A special featured section of the www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor Web site dedicated to ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' debuted earlier this month. ``National Geographic Beyond the Movie'' will collaborate with the productions of Los Angeles-based National Geographic Feature Films, beginning with the Cold War submarine thriller ``K-19: The Widowmaker,'' starring Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson and Peter Sarsgaard, and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. ``K-19: The Widowmaker'' tells a story inspired by the real-life reactor malfunction and ensuing crisis heroically braved by the Soviet crew aboard the U.S.S.R.'s first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine in 1961. ``K-19: The Widowmaker'' is produced by Joni Sighvatsson's Palomar Pictures, National Geographic Feature Films' Christine Whitaker in partnership with Bigelow's First Light Productions and Edward S. Feldman. Intermedia is financing the film, which is currently in production. Regency Enterprises will release the film domestically through 20th Century Fox. Building on its reputation for remarkable visual and compelling stories, National Geographic Television augments its award-winning documentary production (winner of 109 Emmys and more than 800 other industry awards) with feature films, large-format and long-form television drama programming, as well as international broadcast and video distribution. At present, NGT's programming can be seen in the United States on the National Geographic Channel, CNBC and PBS, as well as on home video and DVD, and internationally through video distribution and broadcast syndication in more than 100 different outlets in some 90 territories. The National Geographic Channel in the United States is a business enterprise of National Geographic Television (NGT) and Fox Cable Networks Group. Abroad, those partners are joined by NBC, and the Channel reaches 129 countries and over 100 million households in 18 languages. More information about NGT is available on www.nationalgeographic.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Contact:* National Geographic Television Melissa Montefiore, 202/857-7627 or Jeremy Walker & Associates Jeremy Walker, 212/595-6161 ***************************************************************** 6 NRC Schedules Meetings in Pahrump, Las Vegas to Explain Hearing Process for Considering Possible Waste Repository Press Release 2001 - 059 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No. 01-059 May 16, 2001 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings in Nevada on May 22 and 23. The purpose of the meetings is to explain the hearing process that the agency would use to decide whether to issue a construction authorization for a possible high-level radioactive waste repository, if the Department of Energy submits an application to build such a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The May 22 meeting will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. (PDT) at the Mountain View Casino and Bowl, 1750 Pahrump Valley Boulevard, Pahrump. The May 23 meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. (PDT) at the Regional Transportation Commission Building (next to the Clark County Government Center), Room 108, 600 South Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas. The meetings will begin with an overview of the events that would have to take place before NRC would initiate a formal hearing, together with a general description of the NRC's licensing role and its hearing process. These presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. Francis X. (Chip) Cameron, Special Counsel for Public Liaison, NRC Office of the General Counsel, will serve as facilitator for both meetings. ***************************************************************** 7 Uranium Institute becomes World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Association Media Release Thursday 10 May 2001 The Uranium Institute, the London-based organisation subtitled heretofore as the International Association for Nuclear Energy, today updated its public profile by becoming the World Nuclear Association (WNA). The UI began in 1975 as an association of uranium producers but over time developed wider scope. Today the WNA’s membership comprises companies and other organisations involved in all aspects of the nuclear industry in Europe, Asia, and North America. Members decided on the name change at a biannual meeting held in Toronto. John Ritch, the WNA’s Director General, described the change as ‘symbolic but valuable. The new name reflects this organisation’s evolution and our intent to widen membership in concert with the robust expansion we expect to see in the nuclear industry worldwide. Our aim is to serve as a pre-eminent global forum and commercial meeting place for those who will be engaged in providing the world’s largest source of environmentally friendly energy in the century ahead.’ The WNA’s Chairman, Mrs Agneta Rising, emphasised the WNA’s dual functions: ‘While our twice-yearly meetings and ongoing working groups will retain a strong commercial focus, the WNA will also champion the nuclear cause among policymakers and opinion leaders and in UN bodies focused on climate change and sustainable development. To support new growth in the nuclear industry, we need new growth in public understanding.’ The UI’s well-attended Annual Symposium, held in London each September, will this year become the Inaugural Symposium of the World Nuclear Association. Hans Blix, for 16 years the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a highly respected figure in the international nuclear community, will serve as the World Nuclear Association’s honorary Chairman. Ritch, who served as US Ambassador to the IAEA and other UN agencies in Vienna during the Clinton Administration, placed the WNA’s expansion plans in context during the Toronto session: ‘Today the combination of burgeoning world energy needs and accumulating greenhouse gases constitutes a global crisis without precedent. Nuclear power must be at the centre of any rational policy response. The ideological dogma that has offered windmills, solar panels, and conservation as the sole substitute for substantial worldwide growth in electricity is a dangerous fantasy. Such nostrums will not meet the real needs of much of the world, including China and India.’ A WNA priority will be broadening membership in non-OECD countries, Ritch said. ‘In nations where energy demand is rising rapidly, building on the foundation of an already established nuclear industry offers a valuable alternative to the construction of a vast greenhouse gas-producing infrastructure.’ WNA Chairman Rising welcomed the greater forthrightness of American policymakers about the need for greater deployment of nuclear energy. ‘In the face of stark energy shortages, new need will help to overcome old ideology,’ she said. ‘Factoring in environmental concerns will only bolster the case for nuclear power everywhere.’ Contact: London office +44 (0) 20 7225 0303, ui@uilondon.org John Ritch +44 (0) 7881 62 6561 mobile ***************************************************************** 8 WNA News Briefing 01.20 | 9 - 15 May 2001 A weekly summary of international news relevant to uranium and the nuclear energy industry. [NB01.20-1] The Uranium Institute (UI) has become the World Nuclear Association (WNA). Members voted in favour of the name change on 10 May at a biannual meeting held in Toronto. WNA's Director General, John Ritch, said the new name 'reflects this organisation's evolution and our intent to widen membership in concert with the robust expansion we expect to see in the nuclear industry worldwide'. The WNA's chairman, Mrs Agneta Rising, emphasised the WNA's dual functions: 'While our twice-yearly meetings and ongoing working groups will retain a strong commercial focus, the WNA will also champion the nuclear cause among policymakers and opinion leaders and in UN bodies focused on climate change and sustainable development. To support new growth in the nuclear industry, we need new growth in public understanding'. A media release is available at http://www.uilondon.org/namechange.htm. (World Nuclear Association, 10 May) [NB01.20-2] Canada: Bruce Power was awarded an operating licence by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on 9 May for the eight reactors at Ontario Power Generation's (OPG's) Bruce nuclear power plant. The new operating licence comes into effect on the closing day of the lease agreement and expires on 31 October 2003. Bruce Power is 80% owned by British Energy (BE), 15% by Cameco Corp and the remaining 5% is owned by unions. *(Nuclear Market Review, 11 May, p2; Nuclear Canada, 11 May, p1)* British Energy announced on 14 May that it had successfully completed the deal under which it would lease the Bruce A and B nuclear power plants from OPG. Separately, Cameco announced that it had also finalised the agreement relating to its 15% interest in Bruce Power and has become the exclusive supplier of fuel to the Bruce plants. *(NucNet Business News, 43/01, 14 May; see also News Briefings 00.49-10 and 01.15-3)* [NB01.20-3] The US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a preliminary ruling on 8 May that European producers of enriched uranium imported into the US are being unfairly subsidised by their governments. The DOC has preliminary determined that countervailing duties should be imposed on future imports of enriched uranium produced by Eurodif SA of France and UK-Dutch-German consortium Urenco Ltd. The DOC estimated countervailing duty rates for each of the producers. In the case of Eurodif, the rate is 13.94% of the value of imported low-enriched uranium (LEU) from France. For Urenco, the rate is 3.72% for imports from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. There will be no import quota set by the US government. A final determination is expected later in 2001. *(USEC, 8 May; Nuclear Energy Overview, 14 May, p6)* Klaus Messer, Urenco Chief Executive, said the company was pleased that the DOC 'upheld Urenco's position on nearly all of the subsidies alleged by USEC' and was confident that Urenco would be 'fully vindicated' of any unfair practices. He also acknowledged the support that Urenco's position had received from the UK, Dutch and German governments, as well as the European Commission. (Urenco, 9 May) The European Union (EU) expressed 'disappointment and concern' over the DOC's decision to impose import duties on uranium imports from Europe, warning that it may take legal action. *(NucNet Business News, 42/01, 11 May; see also News Briefings 01.05-4 and 01.04-2)* [NB01.20-4] The bill setting out the terms of Germany's phasing-out of nuclear power has been drawn up and is now ready for signing. The German government and nuclear industry reached an agreement in principle in 2000. The accord, which permits a total life span of 32 years for nuclear power plants and sees an end to reprocessing in 2005, will be signed on 22 May or 11 June, according to the Environment Ministry. *(Handelsblatt Online, 14 May)* However, German utilities said they were not yet ready to endorse the nuclear phase-out bill. Friedrich Kienle, head of the German Electricity Association (VDV), said the industry still has doubts about the text of the proposed measure. *(Reuters, 15 May)* The head of E.On Energie, Hans-Dieter Harig, told a meeting of the Swedish industry group Svensk Energi that he predicts that national decisions to phase out nuclear power will be reversed by future generations. He said that 'mankind will not give up nuclear power forever'. *(Nucleonics Week, 10 May, p4; see also News Briefing 00.24-3)* [NB01.20-5] US: Niagara Mohawk Power Corp has filed a 'proposal of settlement' over the sale of its interests in the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant to Constellation Nuclear LLC. The settlement found the sale price for Niagara Mohawk's share (all of unit 1 and 41% of unit 2) and the power purchase agreement to be a fair value and in the public's interest. Constellation Nuclear has agreed to pay US$815 for unit 1 and 82% of unit 2. The proposed settlement - subject to approval by the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) - would reduce by US$123 million the amount of stranded costs that Niagara Mohawk would be allowed to recover. *(Nucleonics Week, 10 May, p1; see also News Briefings 00.51-10 and 00.44-9)* [NB01.20-6] US: There is no reason to block the proposed operating licence renewal for unit 1 at Entergy Corp's Arkansas-1 nuclear power plant, a final environmental impact statement (EIS) written by US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has concluded. Entergy has applied to extend the 836 MWe PWR's current operating licence, which expires on 20 May 2014, for a further 20 years. *(Nuclear Market Review, 11 May, p2; see also News Briefing 00.13-1)* [NB01.20-7] The safety aspects of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) should be thoroughly reviewed before the design is certified and construction of a PBMR prototype is started in South Africa, members of the IAEA's International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (Insag) have recommended. The group 'expressed some misgivings' about the current direction of safety review, saying that a 'rushed' safety evaluation could compromise the design's chances worldwide, including a crucial certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). *(Nucleonics Week, 10 May, p1; see also News Briefings 01.13-3 and 00.35-9)* [NB01.20-8] Romania: The operating licence of Nuclearelectrica's Cernavoda-1 has been renewed until 2003 by the National Committee for the Control of Nuclear Activities. *(NucNet News, 170/01, 9 May; see also News Briefing 01.04-9)* [NB01.20-9] Electricite de France (EDF) was awaiting approval from French nuclear safety authorities for proposed temporary modifications to recirculation systems at twelve 1300 MWe PWRs. The modifications are designed to prevent gate valves on emergency core cooling system piping from being blocked shut under certain accident conditions. *(Nucleonics Week, 10 May, p4; see also News Briefing 01.14-14)* [NB01.20-10] US: Some vital nuclear research could be moved to Russia under plans being considered by the Bush administration. US universities may shut down at least three of the 28 small research reactors in the US, partly due to federal budget cuts, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) official. The University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cornell University have all announced plans to decommission their research reactors unless the government contributes more. *(Associated Press, 10 May; see also News Briefing 00.40-16)* [NB01.20-11] Netherlands: Two transports of spent nuclear fuel, postponed because police needed to escort the cargo were helping to fight foot and mouth disease, were due to be carried out on 9 May. One consignment of spent fuel left the Borssele nuclear power plant en route to Cogema's reprocessing plant in La Hague, France. A flask of spent fuel was also to be moved from the closed Dodewaard nuclear plant to the port of Flushing, where it was to be shipped to BNFL's reprocessing facility at Sellafield, UK. *(NucNet News, 169/01, 9 May; see also News Briefing 01.15-15)* [NB01.20-12] Russia approved a treaty to turn weapons-grade plutonium into civilian reactor fuel, but has called for more funds from US and other western partners to make the 'swords-to-ploughshares' programme a reality. The US and Russia signed a memorandum in 2000 to each turn 34 tonnes of plutonium into reactor fuel over 25 years. However, analysts have suggested that the Bush administration may cut funding for Russia's nuclear clean-up. The Russian government has approved the agreement and has passed it to parliament to become law. Russia said the agreement foresees large-scale international funding, including the US paying at least US$200 million towards building plants to store and salvage the plutonium. *(Reuters, 11 May; see also News Briefings 01.12-3 and 01.16-2)* [NB01.20-13] UK: British Energy (BE) announced it was cutting 400 jobs as a result of the new electricity trading arrangements (Neta) introduced by the government. The company said that Neta had added to downward pressure on electricity prices and made it imperative that overheads were reduced across its nuclear power business. The job reductions are part of a plan to reduce costs by UK pounds 150 million (US$213 million). A spokesman said that no cutbacks would be made without the approval of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII). The job losses will primarily be made in the generating division, with cuts at BE's eight nuclear power plants. The company is also hoping to reduce overheads by shelving a commitment to reprocess at BNFL's Sellafield plant. *(Guardian, 15 May, p24; see also News Briefing 99.51-16)* [NB01.20-14] DNA of children born to 'liquidators' at the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine shows a significantly higher-than-normal mutation rate, according to a research paper published by the UK Royal Society. The study, conducted by three teams of scientists (two in Israel and one in Ukraine), compared the findings for a group of 41 liquidators' children conceived after the 1986 accident with those for a separate group of 22 children born to liquidators before the accident. It also compares the findings to those for an 'external control' group of 28 children from uncontaminated regions of Ukraine and Russia. The researchers suggest that a significant proportion of the world's population doing jobs where even low-level radiation is present are exposing their unborn children to increased risk. *(NucNet News, 170/01, 11 May; Guardian, 9 May, p15; see also News Briefing 01.17-3)* [NB01.20-15] Taiwan: In a minor government reshuffle, Hu Chin-piao has been reappointed as chairman of the Atomic Energy Council. He replaces Der Yu-Hsia. Dr Hu had been chairman of AEC until May 2000, when the democratic Progressive Party won the national elections. *(NucNet Insider, 13/01, 11 May)* Previous News Briefing NB01.19 *Prepared by the WNA Information Service. All news and views are those of the publications cited.* ***************************************************************** 9 Bruce Power closes lease of two nuclear power stations near Kincardine, Ont. TIVERTON, Ont. (CP) - Bruce Power announced Saturday that it has closed a deal making it the licensed operator of two nuclear power stations near Kincardine, Ont. In a transaction worth more than $3.2 billion, Bruce Power will lease the Bruce A and Bruce B stations from Ontario Power Generation until 2018, with an option to extend the lease for up to another 25 years. "This agreement injects private equity into the Bruce facilities and represents a major step towards opening the Ontario electricity marketplace to competition." said Ontario Power Generation president and chief executive officer Ron Osborne in a press release. Bruce Power is a partnership between British Energy, Britain's largest electricity generator, Cameco Corp., the world's biggest uranium supplier, and the two unions at the Bruce plant - the Power Workers' Union and the Society of Energy Professionals. "This transaction represents a major step forward in our North American strategy, enabling us to deploy both our existing nuclear operating skills and our experience of trading in competitive markets," said British Energy chairman Sir John Robb. The two power stations include four operating reactors at the Bruce B station, with a capacity of 3,140 megawatts, and four laid-up reactors at the Bruce A station. After a condition assessment, Bruce Power decided to start a $340-million program to restart two of the four Bruce A generators, with an operating capacity of 1,500 megawatts. The restart, to be completed by 2003, is conditional on obtaining regulatory approvals and achieving performance targets for the four working reactors at Bruce B. About 3,000 Ontario Power Generation employees also transferred to Bruce Power effective Saturday. Bruce Power is honouring the current collective bargaining agreements of those workers and will safeguard existing pensions and benefits, the company said in a press release. All the output from the Bruce stations will be sold into the new Ontario electricity market, which is scheduled to open to competition by May 2002, Bruce Power said. Until then, the output will be sold to Ontario Power Generation under transitional arrangements. © The Canadian Press, 2001 ***************************************************************** 10 Agencies discuss radiation limits for Yucca Today: May 16, 2001 at 11:09:26 PDT By Benjamin Grove LAS VEGAS SUN WASHINGTON -- Two high-ranking federal officials on Tuesday declined to discuss ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiating over controversial radiation release limits for the proposed nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman said she is working actively with the Energy Department so they can keep moving this summer on Yucca Mountain. Whitman declined to tell reporters after a Senate hearing on the EPA's budget if she stood firmly behind the standards set by her predecessor, Carol Browner. At issue is Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, which Congress has proposed developing as the world's first high-level nuclear waste burial ground. The DOE has been studying it since 1987 and is expected this year to recommend it is a safe place to bury 77,000 tons of nuclear waste. But a key concern centers on how much radiation could safely be released into the environment by the waste. Browner's EPA submitted its radiation release limit to the White House in the final days of the Clinton administration. The Bush administration is still reviewing it. Nuclear power industry officials are worried the EPA standard is so strict it would be impossible to meet, and could effectively kill Yucca. Officials with the EPA, DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been meeting privately to discuss setting a less strict standard, officials at the agencies confirmed. At a separate hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, one of the DOE's top Yucca administrators also declined to say what a new proposed standard might be, or when it would be finalized. "Hopefully, soon," Yucca's Acting Director Lake Barrett said. In theory, if the current EPA standard is adopted, DOE could be forced to abandon Yucca, Barrett said. "If we conclude that we cannot meet the standard, it is our responsibility to declare the site not suitable," Barrett said in an interview after a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Yucca budget. Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff, Marybel Batjer was scheduled to meet Thursday with Mitch Daniels, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to deliver a plea for the tougher limits. Nevada officials, including Guinn, oppose a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The governor has pledged $5 million in state funds to fight it in court. Batjer said she would meet with Daniels and other OMB officials to deliver the governor's concerns face to face. In April Guinn sent a letter to President Bush urging adoption of the tougher radiation standards. While in Washington, Batjer also plans to talk to leaders at the White House, officials at the EPA and top aides to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham about Nevada's opposition to a Yucca Mountain repository. Sun reporter Mary Manning All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 11 Japanese Approve Nuclear Plant Today: May 16, 2001 at 2:20:27 PDT TOKYO (AP) - A government panel on Wednesday approved a plan to build a new nuclear power plant in southern Japan, the first since the nation's worst nuclear accident in 1999. The electric power panel of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry endorsed the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kaminoseki in Yamaguchi state, about 390 miles southwest of Tokyo, ministry spokesman Koichi Sakamoto said. The panel's decision is expected to be formally approved by the ministry in June, he added. The local government and Chugoku Electric Power Co, which will run the plant, have obtained consent from residents, Sakamoto said. Under Chugoku's proposal, two reactors, each with an output capacity of 1.37 million kilowatt, will be completed in 2012 and 2015 respectively. The company currently owns one nuclear plant, which has three reactors. The new plant will be the first since Japan's worst nuclear accident in September 1999, when an uncontrolled nuclear reaction at a fuel reprocessing center in Tokaimura killed two workers and exposed hundreds of nearby residents to radiation. Tokaimura is located 70 miles northeast of Tokyo. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 12 REFERENDUM ON MOX FUEL TO BE HELD ON 27 MAY 2001 CNIC cnic.jca.apc.org Citizens' Nuclear Information Center 16 May 2001 CNIC In Kariwa Village, Niigata Prefecture, a proposal to hold a referendum on mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel use -- once vetoed by the Mayor in January 2001 -- was once again passed in the Village Assembly on 18 April 2001. Kariwa Village is the site of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 3 is second in line in plans to burn MOX fuel. Fukushima I-3, located in Fukushima prefecture, is currently scheduled to be the first one to burn MOX fuel. However, in February 2001, the Fukushima governor postponed the loading of MOX fuel and announced his intentions to set up a review committee on the nuclear fuel cycle which involves reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, and then use the plutonium as fuel. Both pro- and anti- nuclear sides have been campaigning fiercely in the village. People are daily visiting households, distributing fliers, holding lectures, and preparing newspaper insert ads. Local newspapers are refusing to publish opinion ads. Residents will select from three choices. They will vote "Yes", "No" or "Defer" on the question, "Should MOX fuel be used at Kashiwazaki 3." The result of the referendum will be posted in this web-site as soon as it becomes available. *For a Nuclear Free World - http://www.cnic.or.jp/* 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15 Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003 Japan Tel: 81-3-5330-9520; Fax: 81-3-5330-9530 http://www.cnic.or.jp/
cnic-jp@po.iijnet.or.jp (C) Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC) ***************************************************************** 13 FUKUSHIMA TO SET UP ITS OWN REVIEW COMMITTEE ON MOX USE CNIC cnic.jca.apc.org Citizens' Nuclear Information Center 16 May 2001 CNIC In February 2001, Fukushima governor postponed the loading of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel at Fukushima I-3. The governor also announced in February his intentions to set up a committee to review the nuclear fuel cycle within May 2001. After the loading was cancelled at Takahama 4, Fukui Prefecture, due to the revelation of British Nuclear Fuel plc (BNFL)'s falsification of quality control data for the MOX fuel it manufactured for Takahama 3 and 4, Fukushima I-3 became the first one in line with plans to burn MOX fuel. Nuclear fuel cycle involves the extracting of plutonium by reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, and use that plutonium as fuel. It is a costly option compared to burning uranium fuel and directly disposing of spent nuclear fuel and even nuclear promoters have began to look into other options for spent fuel management. The committee will mostly be composed of experts from the prefecture, though it will also include outside experts. Details on the committee, including its members, will become available once it is set up. The governor has mentioned that he is considering the possibility of making suggestions to the central government on the results of this reviewcommittee. We will report in this web-site on details of the committee as soon as it is set up. *For a Nuclear Free World - http://www.cnic.or.jp/* 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15 Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003 Japan Tel: 81-3-5330-9520; Fax: 81-3-5330-9530 http://www.cnic.or.jp/
cnic-jp@po.iijnet.or.jp (C) Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC) ***************************************************************** 14 TAIWAN'S GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG ISSUES CENSURE OVER NUCLEAR PLANT [Asia Pulse] Story Filed: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 2:53 AM EST TAIPEI, May 16, 2001 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Taiwan's Control Yuan issued a censure Tuesday against the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) for their halting of the construction of Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant late last year. Citing Article 520 of the Council of Grand Justices, a Control Yuan investigation report says that the Executive Yuan and the MOEA committed "noticeable procedural flaws" by having failed to respect the process designated in the Constitution. According to the article, any change to major national policy or investment projects on energy, electricity supply, or economic development must be made through the "adequate procedures" set forth in the Constitution to maintain a power balance between different government organizations, the report says. Despite the fact that there might be a Cabinet reshuffle or power transition in the central government, which is not rare in a democratic country, the succeeding administration is still required to abide by the legal process when planning to make changes to major policies, the report points out. The unilateral decision by the Executive Yuan and the MOEA to halt construction of the fourth nuclear power plant without first discussing the issue with the Legislative Yuan, the report says, sparked tension between the government's executive and legislative branches, causing tremendous damage worth more than NT$3 billion (US$91 million) to the country. A five-member task force set up last year filed a compliant with the Control Yuan after conducting a thorough investigation into the controversial issue. The Control Yuan's censure requires the two government agencies to reexamine their measures and take corrective action. The Executive Yuan is also required to submit a report every three months detailing the pace of the plant's reconstruction. Control Yuan member CC Huang said in the investigation report that the October 27 announcement by the Executive Yuan, which ignored all relevant government regulations in accepting the MOEA's proposal to halt the construction, constituted a "marked procedural flaw" under the country's constitutional framework. Meanwhile, a coalition of opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan called a news conference later the same day to express their regrets about the Control Yuan's failure to institute impeachment proceedings against Premier Chang Chun-hsiung and Economic Affairs Minister Lin Hsin-yi. Chen Yung-chin, legislative whip of the Kuomintang (KMT), which controls a majority of the seats in the Legislative Yuan, said that in accordance with the law, the legislature will insist on scrapping the NT$3.1 billion allocated for the state-run Taiwan Power Company in compensation because of the suspension of the plant's continued construction. (CNA) (C) 2001 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd ***************************************************************** 15 Meetings on Yucca licensing process set Today: May 16, 2001 at 9:25:17 PDT LAS VEGAS SUN The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding two meetings to explain how it will conduct hearings to license a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain if one is approved. Executive Director William Reamer will lay out the licensing process to residents in Pahrump and Las Vegas. The commission licenses nuclear reactors and other activities related to radioactive materials. If Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is found suitable for a repository, the commission will hear evidence for up to four years before granting the Department of Energy a license. On April 15 the commission announced any permitting process will be conducted in a formal hearing, allowing sworn testimony and cross-examination of witnesses. Reamer plans to explain how the public can participate if future hearings are scheduled. The public meeting schedule is: Tuesday, May 22, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Mountain View Casino and Bowl in Pahrump. Wednesday, May 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Regional Transportation Commission Building, next to the County Government Center, 600 S. Grand Central Pkwy., Las Vegas. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 16 Nuclear Reactor Shut Down in London Today: May 16, 2001 at 2:35:31 PDT LONDON (AP) - One of the reactors at the Sizewell B nuclear power station has been shut down following an acid leak, managers said Wednesday. The reactor at the plant in Suffolk in eastern England was closed after sensors in the main containment area picked up a leak of boric acid, officials said. They said the acid is believed to have corroded a number of metal seals, which had been replaced just 18 months ago. Work has begun to repair them. "There is no cause for alarm," said spokesman John McNamara. "It has all taken place within the containment area and nothing gets out of there. McNamara said it was unclear when the reactor, which was closed on Friday, will be brought back into operation. A government safety spokesman said there had been leakage for some time, but there was no danger to anyone working there. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 17 Nuclear profits crash again -- Government must heed warning FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: [M2 Communications Ltd.] Story Filed: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 9:40 AM EST May 16, 2001 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Friends of the Earth said today that nuclear energy "remains wholly uneconomic", after news that British Energy's latest annual profits have dropped to an all time low of just GBP10m.The results follow record losses of GBP337M reported by the state owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) last September. British Energy operates Britain's eight privatised nuclear power plants, and was finally floated in 1996 following the abandonment of similar plans in 1989. The eight stations were sold together for the knock-down price of just GBP1.5 billion. This is significantly less than theGBP2.6 billion construction cost of the Sizewell B reactor in Suffolk - one of the eight stations sold - which had been completed only a year before the sale. Mark Johnston, Energy Analyst at Friends of the Earth said: "The privatised nuclear industry still cannot make a reasonable profit, even after effectively getting eight nuclear power stations for less than the price of one.Today's results show that, while existing reactors can just about continue to survive, no one in their right mind would sink billions of pounds into new nuclear generating plant. "Today's results should be a lesson for the Government which will have to face down requests from BNFL to subsidise new UK nuclear power plants to deal with Britain's growing stockpile of plutonium waste. BNFL is believed to be planning new nuclear power stations within its draft Corporate Plan but the Government is refusing to publish this to avoid embarrassment during the Election campaign. Friends of the Earth will vigorously fight any call to subsidise new nuclear power stations. M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.neton the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com. Copyright 1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD ***************************************************************** 18 Editorial: Show some sense on nuke waste Today: May 16, 2001 at 9:03:10 PDT In the past week Vice President Dick Cheney has been making the media rounds, putting his spin on an energy task force's recommendations that will be formally unveiled on Thursday. Cheney, who is in charge of the task force, has said the report will promote more use of nuclear power. In an interview with CNN last week, the vice president spoke with a sense of urgency in building a permanent repository to store the waste generated from nuclear power. That obviously is alarming to Nevadans since our state is the only one under consideration for a nuclear waste dumpsite. Cheney also added this assessment about nuclear waste storage: "The French do this very successfully and very safely in an environmentally sound, sane manner." Unfortunately for Nevada, the United States is not handling this the way France does -- in fact, it's quite the opposite. As Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., pointed out, a local community in France can veto a move by the national government to select it as a repository site. Here in the United States, a state targeted for a repository can have its disapproval overridden by Congress. It also should be noted that in France there isn't the same kind of false panic to develop a repository. Berkley mentioned that in France they are willing to take as long as 100 years to find a suitable site -- a site, by the way, that will have stricter safety standards than what is being proposed here. The irony is that if this nation actually employed France's nuclear waste policies, Nevada's Yucca Mountain would no longer be under consideration in light of the overwhelming public opposition and the unsafe conditions for storing waste here. It's not just France, either, that has a much different view on nuclear waste storage. As the Sun's Mary Manning noted in a story earlier this year, mayors in Sweden's cities also are given the right to veto a repository and, as is the case with France, their nation is taking a more deliberate, thoughtful policy on this matter. Unlike the United States, Sweden actually is asking cities and towns whether they would like to be considered. In our nation, Congress gave no deference to Nevada and decided in 1987 that this state alone would be studied, which was the politically expedient course to take at the time. Instead of trying to force Nevada to take 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste, President Bush instead should try a more collegial approach, one that would actually heed the views of Nevadans. This week the current confrontational approach played itself out again, this time in a federal courthouse in San Francisco. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments involving a dispute between the state of Nevada and the federal government over Nevada's refusal to issue water permits to build and operate a repository proposed for Yucca Mountain. If there is any optimism that can be gleaned from Cheney's comments -- and in many ways it is like looking for a needle in a haystack -- it is that the Associated Press reported Monday that advisers to the vice president said the task force's report won't commit the administration to a position on the dumpsite. It is hoped that the administration will do more than just keep an open mind, and will actually discard the ludicrous notion that the development of nuclear power must somehow be contingent on settling the repository issue as soon as possible. There is no need to rush this process. After all, the waste has been stored safely at the sites of commercial nuclear reactors for decades now. On the campaign trail last year Bush had a lot to say about the federal government having too much say in the decisions that affect the lives of Americans. If there ever was an issue that cried out for letting a state have a say in its future, it certainly would be the storage of man's deadliest waste. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 19 Columnist Jon Ralston: Will Bush's energy report have Yucca surprise? Today: May 16, 2001 at 9:03:10 PDT Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or by e-mail at ralston@vegas.com --- IS THIS the week the Bush administration finally comes clean on its nuclear waste policy? When the president unveils his energy report Thursday, it's pretty clear he will advocate more nuclear plants. That we know. But what to do about all that waste piling up, that waste the industry doesn't want to store on site, the waste now slated for the only extant solution: Yucca Mountain? Here's what isn't so clear: If, as was revealed this week by Vice President Dick Cheney, the Nevada site will not be mentioned in a task force report in a nuclear waste disposal section, and if the administration's energy point man says "certain technologies" will be recommended to dispose of the detritus, might we have a friend on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, after all? Well, not so fast. Here's what we know: * Fact One: Cheney and Bush love nuclear power. And it's mutual. The nuclear industry loves Bush and Cheney -- remember all that money the power companies gave to the campaign last year and recall that a few of those folks had Bush's ear, too. * Fact Two: Bush and Cheney danced all around the waste issue during their campaign as the presidential contender dodged the Nevada media and Cheney did the gratuitous stuff. Sound science, not politics. You know the drill. * Fact Three: Cheney met with a whole gamut of people during the last few weeks in advance of the release of the power manifesto. Among those whispering in Cheney's ear were major energy companies -- Enron and Edison Electric, the company whose chief is a key Bush intimate and who wants Yucca Mountain built and now. Cheney also granted a 15-minute audience to Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, who would not disclose what was said at the meeting, which would not seem to be a good sign. That is, if Cheney had told them, "Fellas, we are going to take Yucca off the table," I think we might have heard Ensign and Reid tell us about it. Loudly. * Fact Four: Before he gave an interview to Reuters, in which he made those comments about Yucca Mountain not being in the report and hinted about those technologies, Cheney told the Associated Press something somewhat different. Here's what he said: "The Yucca Mountain (in Nevada) is the one that's most, that's farthest along and most advanced. ... It's been drawn out for a long time and if we want to promote the use of nuclear energy, then clearly we've got to address the waste question and get it resolved." Get it resolved, eh? That's code for Yucca Mountain, isn't it? * Fact Five: Reid has suggested that if the administration is so gung-ho on nuclear power, perhaps that could be, ahem, transmuted from a death knell to the battle against the dump to a deus ex machina to take Nevada out of the picture. Yes, the Senate minority whip (a powerful position, I understand, with his party) says that he might be willing to trade the support of Democrats to build more power plants in exchange for the administration disqualifying Yucca Mountain from consideration. That, for Nevada, would be the deal of the millennium. Maybe, just maybe, Reid broached that deal with Cheney during his sit-down last week. (Wonder if his fellow Democrats know about their support being bartered for killing Yucca Mountain.) It seems unfathomable that the same administration that is encouraging more nuclear plants into construction, that wants to renew a law that shields the companies from unlimited liability if accidents occur, and that has no connection whatsoever to Nevada of any significance (certainly not like ex-Gov. Bob Miller's relationship with Bill Clinton), would now save Nevada from the repository. But why wouldn't Yucca Mountain be mentioned in the Bush energy policy? And what are those "new technologies?" We'll find out Thursday. And with those answers, we'll know more about whether those billions of dollars invested 90 miles north of Las Vegas will have just been an expensive experiment or the prelude to a nuclear waste dump. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 20 Bush plan includes transmutation research Today: May 16, 2001 at 11:09:26 PDT By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN President Bush's energy plan to be unveiled Thursday includes research into transforming high-level nuclear waste into something less harmful, Nevada officials learned on Tuesday. Included in the energy package to prevent a nationwide power crisis is a proposal to add research into accelerators and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in addition to the option of burying the waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The overall strategy is expected to call for more exploration for natural gas and coal, development of some renewable sources and new nuclear power plants. Key to building new nuclear plants is figuring out what to do with the spent fuel from them. Nevada officials did not receive details on the extent that a proposed Yucca Mountain repository plays in the Bush plan, but they noted that transmutation techologies and reprocessing the spent fuel pellets are mentioned. "I'm sensing it's a pretty big change," Bob Loux, executive director of the state's Agency for Nuclear Projects said. Such technologies, if they turn out to be successful, would not eliminate the need for a high-level nuclear waste repository, but would likely greatly reduce the amount and toxicity of the waste that would need to be buried. Yucca Mountain is the only site being studied to store 77,000 tons of commercial and defense radioactive waste. Aides of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said there are indications the Bush administration doesn't have a sure solution to nuclear waste. "It may not mean Yucca Mountain goes away, but they are admitting they don't have a solution," David Cherry, a Reid spokesman, said. Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff, Marybel Batjer, was more subdued. "At least we are going to be a voice at the table," she said. Guinn was briefed on the president's energy plan on Tuesday, Batjer said. In turn, she briefed Loux, who will accompany her on a lobbying tripo to Washington Thursday. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 21 NUCLEAR WASTE: Reid seeks to cut Yucca research funds [Las Vegas Review-Journal] Wednesday, May 16, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada senator says project should not be rewarded By STEVE TETREAULT DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Government budget requests for nuclear waste disposal have been cut by Congress each of the past seven years. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday he plans to stretch that to eight years. Reid complained that the program studying Yucca Mountain in Nevada for nuclear waste burial is one of the few energy initiatives that enjoyed an increase in the 2002 budget proposal the Bush administration sent to Congress last month. The request of $444.9 million is up 14 percent over last year, according to budget documents. Reid, a longtime critic who perennially advocates Yucca Mountain budget cuts, put program managers on notice that "there will be no huge increase for the Yucca Mountain program this year given the current funding profile." Reid questioned why Yucca Mountain managers should be "rewarded" with a budget hike when the anticipated repository cost has grown from $30 billion to $58 billion in the past decade and it "rarely if ever meets critical path milestones. Sounds like a typical big DOE project to me." "I am not going to sit idly by while (the) program absorbs one of the only substantial increases in the Energy Department budget," he said. "There is nothing going on in this program that is so special that it needs or deserves such a large increase when so many other worthy activities are being left on the floor." Reid was prepared to deliver his remarks in person to acting program director Lake Barrett at a Senate subcommittee hearing on the Yucca Mountain budget, but the Nevadan arrived late and left early to attend another hearing. Instead, he placed his statement in the panel's transcript after distributing copies. At the session, subcommittee chairman Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., told Barrett the budget hike "is quite remarkable. You probably deserve both commendation and fair warning" that it may be reduced. Domenici, a supporter, said he would try to protect the Yucca Mountain budget. Congress has cut the Energy Department's budget request for nuclear waste disposal by varying amounts every year since 1994, according to DOE statistics. For this year, it had requested $437.5 million and received $391 million. Last year it asked for $409 million and got $351 million. Barrett said over the past four years, the Yucca Mountain budget has been cut by $140 million. As a result, program managers have deferred engineering and design work to support a license application in favor of scientific experiments to determine whether the site can be declared suitable to hold 77,000 tons of nuclear waste safely for 10,000 years. This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/May-16-Wed-2001/news/16107579.html ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Nuclear Defense Wednesday, May 16, 2001* Having read Stanley Holmes' "Star Wars Fraud" (Forum, April 23), I believe the era has arrived that this country needs to be prepared in the event of all-out nuclear attack. It can happen one day, and I would hate to think that this great nation of ours did not prepare itself against such an attack. Far too many nations now possess a nuclear arsenal. True, there needs to be a reduction in the numbers of nuclear weapons around the world, but then again, such weapons of mass destruction will not disappear. It will only take a few intercontinental ballistic missiles to destroy a country. Today there exist enough nuclear weapons to destroy the Earth. Once a warhead has been dismantled, then comes the problem of storing the plutonium 239 for at least 10,000 years. It is not a subject that is pleasant to ponder over these days, but it can become real! DONALD E. EVETT Bountiful © Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 2 Hanford budget raises worries This story was published 5/16/2001 By Les Blumenthal Herald Washington, D.C., bureau WASHINGTON -- A top Department of Energy official admitted Tuesday that the Bush administration's proposed budget for cleaning up Hanford may fall short of what's needed to meet current deadlines and changes in the schedule may have to be negotiated to avoid a lawsuit from Washington state. "The danger in meeting the commitment we have is real," Carolyn Huntoon, the department's assistant secretary for environmental management, told the Senate energy and water development appropriations subcommittee. "We do have challenges. We will work with the regulators." Under questioning from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Huntoon said she hoped the $500 million included in the administration's budget would be enough to get started on a plant to solidify the highly radioactive waste stored in leaking underground tanks at Hanford. But Huntoon said the department may also have to renegotiate the contract for constructing the so-called vitrification plant. "The funding level could mean we have to renegotiate," Huntoon said. "But we haven't heard from the contractor yet." Murray said the current contract for the vitrification plant was based on a funding level of $690 million in the coming fiscal year, not $500 million, and that almost $880 million will be needed for the plant in the following fiscal year. "I fear (this budget) jeopardizes the progress we have made at Hanford," Murray said. Overall, the Bush budget proposal slices more than $56 million from the Hanford cleanup program, at a time when a funding increase is needed to meet the deadlines in the Tri-Party Agreement. The agreement, among the Department of Energy, Washington state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, governs Hanford cleanup. State officials have threatened to sue if adequate funding is not provided. The budget plan adopted last week by the House and the Senate includes $1 billion in additional funding to clean up Hanford and other DOE sites. Huntoon conceded the Bush proposal, if adopted, would cause problems at Hanford. "There is tension there," she said. "I think the tension is healthy." Huntoon, a Clinton administration appointee, will be out of a job soon. The Bush White House has nominated Jesse Roberson to take her place. Roberson's confirmation hearing is scheduled today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Washington state's other senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell, is a member of that committee. Back to top stories Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 3 Watchdog groups urge shutdown of test reactor They say further delay wastes millions needed for Hanford cleanup *Wednesday, May 16, 2001* By LINDA ASHTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RICHLAND -- The Energy Department is wasting millions of dollars by again delaying plans to deactivate an experimental reactor at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, seven citizen groups said yesterday. The groups, from Washington and Oregon, have sent a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham asking him to halt the review and proceed with the permanent shutdown of the Fast Flux Test Facility. That shutdown was ordered by the Clinton administration. "It is a waste of money that we need for Hanford cleanup," Gerald Pollet, director of the Seattle-based Heart of America Northwest, a Hanford watchdog group, said at a news conference. No one at the Energy Department in Washington, D.C., returned a call for comment. The 560-square-mile nuclear reservation is the most contaminated nuclear site in the nation after 40 years of making plutonium for nuclear weapons. The letter to Abraham was signed by seven activist groups: Heart of America Northwest, the Government Accountability Project, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper, Hanford Action and Washington Peace Action. On April 26, the Energy Department said the shutdown order had been suspended for 90 days for review of potential private sector interest in restarting the reactor, possibly for making medical isotopes for research, diagnoses and treatment. The decision was announced the same day the Energy Department was to submit its proposed timelines to the state -- under the 1989 cleanup pact known as the Tri-Party Agreement -- for shutting down the fast flux facility under the order issued in January, said Cheryl Reid, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office. The Energy Department has four months from April 26 to negotiate those timelines with regulators, but Mike Talbot, a spokesman for the Energy Department in Richland, said the department decided to wait to negotiate the changes until after the 90-day review is completed. Pollet contends that the delay is illegal. Reid said it's unclear. "Quite frankly, we're waiting for more information," Reid said. The Fast Flux Test Facility, though more than 20 years old, is the Energy Department's newest reactor. It was designed to research advanced forms of nuclear fuel for breeder reactors, which produce as much plutonium fuel as they consume or more. The federal government scrapped its breeder reactor program in the 1980s after deciding it had misjudged the nation's electricity needs. The 400-megawatt flux facility became surplus and, in 1992, was placed on standby. The nuclear fuel was removed from the core, but the sodium-cooling system has been maintained to permit a possible restart. It costs about $40 million a year to keep the facility on standby. Robin Klein, a spokeswoman for the Portland-based Hanford Action, also read a letter, dated Monday, from that city's Commissioner Charles Hale, opposing any delay in deactivating FFTF. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 ***************************************************************** 4 Army plant survey team to give update [Unknown dangers at IAAP] The Hawk Eye Special: IAAP Wednesday, May 16, 2001 By Dennis J. Carroll The Hawk Eye nĘSummer public meeting and victim compensation to be discussed with local board. University of Iowa health experts will brief the Burlington-area community advisory board Thursday on the status of their survey of former nuclear workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. The U of I team, led by Dr. Laurence Fuortes, an epidemiologist with the College of Public Health, has scheduled the meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the union hall on U.S. 34 in Middletown. The advisory board is composed of area health experts, former plant workers and supervisors and members of the community. Among the topics to be addressed are a planned public meeting in Burlington later this summer by Labor Department officials to discuss a nuclear-workers compensation package approved by Congress last year. The legislation, signed by former President Clinton, allocates up to $150,000 for former nuclear-weapons workers, or their survivors, who suffered health problems because of their exposure to hazardous materials. Recent disclosures have revealed that many former IAAP employees, while working for the Atomic Energy Commission, handled such radioactive materials as plutonium, enriched uranium, radium and tritium. One of the goals of the U of I survey is to determine whether former workers' illnesses may be related to the materials they worked with. Other topics for the Middletown meeting include updates and reviews of: ·Beryllium testing of former workers. Beryllium, lighter than aluminum but stronger than steel, is used in the production of nuclear weapons to boost the nuclear chain reaction. ·Medical screening plans. ·A health and job history questionnaire. Also planned is a discussion of activities for the second year of the health survey. The U of I is conducting the survey with a $500,000 grant from the Department of Energy. The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk ' ' '| ' ' '319-754-6824 FAX ' ' '| ' ' ' ***************************************************************** 5 Science guy sits at DOE's Oak Ridge helm May 16, 2001 By Frank Munger News-Sentinel senior writer Ed Cumesty, acting manager of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations, keeps a chart on his wall that details the fundamentals of matter, and he's not unwilling to discuss quarks and neutrinos or engage in other bits of scientific small talk. Cumesty is not your normal DOE manager. He really likes science. During my 20 or so years on the Oak Ridge scene, most DOE officials couldn't fake a knowledge of science any better than I could. In fact, DOE's Oak Ridge leaders have sometimes treated basic research like a stepchild, showing more interest in practical matter that produced something. Joe La Grone, for instance, had an academic upbringing in history and, of all the federally funded work under his purview in Oak Ridge, he seemed most comfortable when discussing activities at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Some observers thought he gave short notice to the research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Jim Hall, who succeeded La Grone at the Oak Ridge helm, was a lawyer by training, but his DOE career took shape in the uranium-enrichment program, and he had a special affinity for the work at the K-25 Site -- even after the gaseous diffusion operation went cold. Hall's claim to fame as Oak Ridge manager was developing the reindustrialization effort, which involved finding new uses for the shutdown facilities at K-25. Leah Dever, the current Oak Ridge manager who's on a temporary assignment at agency headquarters in Washington, has science in her background -- earning degrees in biology-ecology -- but her career has been built in environmental cleanup. That was her background when she arrived in Oak Ridge two years ago, having been involved in the rehab of DOE nuclear sites in several states, and that's arguably the area where's she had the most impact during her time in Tennessee. Cumesty is a science guy from the get-go, and that's an interesting change of pace, even if it's only for a short time until Dever returns to Oak Ridge in June. Before coming to Oak Ridge, he was DOE's project director on the Superconducting Super Collider and earlier served as a top executive in the agency's Chicago office -- overseeing activities at seven research laboratories. Before assuming the position of deputy manager in Oak Ridge, he was the assistant manager for laboratories -- directly overseeing work at ORNL and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. In a recent interview, Cumesty provided little news of note and no revelations, but he did share some insights from the manager's chair. Here are a few: * On UT-Battelle's first year as ORNL manager: "What UT-Battelle is doing that's refreshing is finding ways -- innovative ways -- forward, like revitalization. They have an image of themselves and of the laboratory that is refreshingly optimistic. I'm trying not to necessarily kick dirt on Lockheed Martin, and I've known Al (Trivelpiece, the former lab director) for years and have a lot of respect for him. But they (UT-Battelle) decided to focus on different things with different thoughts." Cumesty praised UT-Battelle for its approach to modernizing the lab -- including private financing of some facilities -- and the contractor's work to strengthen partnerships with DOE and other Oak Ridge contractors. * On the land-use controversy on DOE's Oak Ridge reservation: Cumesty dodged a question on whether DOE will conduct an environmental impact statement, which Dever proposed earlier. "I can't tell you if there's a plan to do an EIS.... When she comes back, we will find a path forward on that. We're going to find a way to go forward to involve people. Now, whether it's an EIS or some other process, we are committed to getting everybody's voice in it and then moving on." * On the relationship between DOE's Oak Ridge office and Y-12, given the emergence of the National Nuclear Security Administration -- the agency created within DOE to run the nuclear weapons complex: Although semi-autonomous, the NNSA still purchases some services from DOE. "We're looking at Y-12 differently than we have in the past. They're now a customer. They're somebody who we're committed to serve. We also have to accept that, if we don't serve them well, they may have options." Regarding those options, Cumesty said the NNSA could choose to establish its own capabilities -- in areas such as procurement and personnel -- instead of buying those services from DOE. "We'd like to keep them as a customer," he said. Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News-Sentinel. He can be reached at 865-482-9213 or at twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. ***************************************************************** 6 IG critical of Bechtel Jacobs' incentive fees Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 10:32 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff About $15.3 million of the fees paid to Bechtel Jacobs Co. between fiscal year 1998 and FY 2000 were for work that either had no associated performance objectives or for which expectations had been reduced. The reason is because the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations office did not follow procedures relating to incentive fees, according to a just-released audit from DOE's Inspector General's office. The audit was conducted to determine whether the Oak Ridge Operations office required Bechtel Jacobs to meet performance objectives that were established before the start of the performance period. Bechtel Jacobs was awarded a $2.5 billion contract in 1997 to do cleanup work in Oak Ridge, Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio. Under the agreement, the Oak Ridge Operations office would pay Bechtel Jacobs incentive fees for accomplishing specific objectives that are negotiated at the start of each fiscal year. At the end of each fiscal year, Bechtel Jacobs' performance is evaluated in relation to the performance objectives. For example, the company was awarded $18.5 million and $16.2 million in incentive fees for work performed during fiscal years 1999 and 2000, respectively. But the audit states the Oak Ridge Operations office did not require Bechtel Jacobs to meet performance objectives that were established before the start of the fiscal year. More specifically, the audit states, the Oak Ridge Operations office: Did not "incentivize" performance objectives in FY 1998; did not finalize performance objectives before the start of fiscal years 1999 and 2000; and did modify performance objectives to reduce expectations during each year. To prevent further problems, the audit recommends the Oak Ridge Operations office: Finalize performance objectives before the beginning of each performance period; ensure that incentive fees are not increased after the start of the period without requiring increased performance; ensure that incentive fees are decreased or not paid when performance requirements are decreased or not met; and develop plans for reallocating incentives fees when performance requirements change. DOE's Oak Ridge managers concurred with the audit's findings and stated in the document that the agency is revising its evaluation plan. Two months ago, an Inspector General audit indicated that DOE could have saved $44 million in FY 2000 if Bechtel Jacobs had subcontracted more work and reduced staffing levels as proposed by the company in its bid for the cleanup contract. Originally, Bechtel Jacobs stated that it would subcontract 93 percent of the work and reduce staffing by about 82 percent within the first two years. However, as of Sept. 30, 2000, nearly three years after the contract was awarded, Bechtel Jacobs had subcontracted less than 60 percent of the original work and reduced staffing through transition to the subcontractors by only 58 percent. All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 7 The Man Inside China's Bomb Labs washingtonpost.com: U.S. Blocks Memoir of Scientist Who Gathered Trove of Information By Steve Coll Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 16, 2001; Page A01 Between the spring of 1990 and the summer of 1999, nuclear weapons scientist and intelligence analyst Danny B. Stillman made nine trips to China. He visited nearly all of its secret nuclear weapons facilities and held extensive, authorized discussions with Chinese scientists and generals. In all, Stillman said he collected the names of more than 2,000 Chinese scientists working at nuclear weapons facilities, recorded detailed histories of the Chinese program from top scientists, inspected nuclear weapons labs and bomb testing sites, interviewed Chinese weapons designers, photographed nuclear facilities -- and then, each time he returned home, passed the information along to U.S. intelligence debriefers. Now Stillman, 67, who worked for 28 years at Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory before retiring in late 1993, is locked in a dispute with the U.S. government over whether he can publish a 500-page memoir detailing his and other little-known contacts between U.S. and Chinese nuclear scientists during the 1990s. The case involves complex First Amendment issues and reveals the extent to which both countries have used scientific exchanges to keep tabs on each other's nuclear programs. Stillman submitted his manuscript, "Inside China's Nuclear Weapons Program," to the Defense Department and the Department of Energy 17 months ago for prepublication clearance required by a secrecy agreement he signed at Los Alamos. Both agencies have so far denied Stillman permission to publish, citing a Pentagon memo that says the memoir could "reasonably be expected to damage the security concerns of the United States" and "could also damage American foreign relations with China." Stillman has hired an attorney and intends to file a lawsuit to reverse that finding. Stillman's disclosures could provide new context for allegations that China used contacts with U.S. scientists during the 1990s to steal U.S. nuclear secrets, showing that China also provided unprecedented access to its own nuclear program to visiting U.S. intelligence officials and scientists. Stillman said in an interview that he believes the Chinese nuclear program made its important advances without resorting to espionage. While the Chinese looked for ways to steal secrets during their contacts with him and other U.S. scientists, he said, they also were "looking to brag about what they had done" on their own, while "trying to bring their program out into the open." China invited Stillman to its closed nuclear facilities while seeking to rebuild ties disrupted by American outrage over the massacre of Chinese students around Tiananmen Square in 1989. At the beginning of the 1980s, China had authorized intelligence-sharing with the United States to help contain the Soviet Union. These programs included smuggling arms to Afghan rebels and operating joint listening posts along the Soviet Union's southern borders. In the nuclear arena, China had been slower to engage, but as Stillman began his travels, Beijing signaled a desire to enter arms control agreements such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Chinese scientists wanted to exchange information about how to maintain their nuclear stockpile after testing ended. They also repeatedly pressed Stillman to transmit requests to U.S. officials for safety locks that would make it harder for Chinese bombs to be detonated without authorization. "They wanted me to bring information to the U.S. government," Stillman said. "If you want to weigh what we got versus what we might have said -- well, we got a whole lot." Colleagues familiar with Stillman's work concur. "We saw things no outsider had ever seen before," said Robert Daniel, who traveled to China with Stillman in 1991, when Daniel was an assistant energy secretary in charge of intelligence programs. "We went to the test site in the Gobi Desert and saw them getting ready to place a [nuclear explosive] device down a 600-meter hole. . . . I think we learned a lot, and I would emphasize: We didn't give anything away." "Danny's approach was disarmingly simple: You just go to China, find the guys who designed the bombs and ask them questions," said Robert Vrooman, former director of counterintelligence at Los Alamos. Added Jay Keyworth, a former science adviser to President Ronald Reagan: "I would say the whole activity that he was involved in was extraordinarily successful for the United States." But skeptics of the scientific exchanges argue that on balance, the United States has given up much more than it received, in part because the U.S. nuclear program is ahead of China's. "There's just absolutely no way to do these exchanges without showing your hand in a way that there's security problems," said Gary Schmitt, a former White House and Capitol Hill intelligence analyst who is executive director of Project for the New American Century. "You had a cocktail of a large policy goal [to engage China] combined with the natural instincts of scientists to share everything. . . . I think what happens is you just kid yourself about what you're doing." Stillman and his lawyer argue that the best way to resolve such debates is to allow publication of his memoir. But it isn't clear whether or when the U.S. government will do that. Last year, after conducting an initial manuscript review, the Department of Energy proposed a few changes to remove what it said was sensitive information about nuclear weapons. Stillman agreed to the changes but soon learned that the Defense Intelligence Agency, backed by the CIA, had decided that none of his manuscript could be released. A Pentagon spokesman said yesterday that the DIA's recommendations were not final and that a further Defense Department review was underway. A DOE spokesman also said its review "is ongoing." Mark S. Zaid, Stillman's attorney, said the government's rulings have been overly broad because Stillman merely recorded in the book what he saw and heard during visits made at the invitation of Chinese officials, and in some cases was traveling as a private citizen after his retirement. "Essentially, what the government has done is classify his postcards home," Zaid said. There are few clear guidelines for Stillman's case, lawyers specializing in First Amendment issues said. The most relevant precedent, they said, was a 1972 dispute in which courts held that a former CIA agent, Victor Marchetti, had a right to publish unclassified information but that the government also had wide authority to deny clearance for any material that was properly classified. "There's enormous ground for battle about what is properly classified," said Mark Lynch, a partner at Covington &Burling and former attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. Stillman joined Los Alamos in 1965 as a specialist in devices used to simulate and measure nuclear explosions. In 1978, he was promoted to run the lab's Division of International Technology, which contracted with the DIA, CIA and other U.S. agencies to analyze foreign nuclear programs. As part of this work, Stillman met with visiting Chinese scientists whenever possible. Playing off the intelligence community's fondness for acronyms such as "SIGINT," or signals intelligence, and "HUMINT," or human intelli- gence, Stillman called his method "ASKINT," as in "Just ask them." When five Chinese scientists visited New Mexico in 1988, Stillman invited them on a picnic. Later he learned they were all from the Chinese nuclear program. Stillman kept in touch and pressed for an invitation to China. In April 1990 he made his first trip, and with two U.S. colleagues he visited China's equivalent of Los Alamos, the Southwest Institute of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics at Mianyang. On this and subsequent trips, the Chinese talked extensively about their program's history and operations, including how they had developed a neutron bomb. "I had videos and cameras, and I was always taking notes," Stillman said. Even after retiring from the lab in October 1993, Stillman continued to travel to Chinese facilities, sometimes escorting senior Los Alamos officials. More recently, he has traveled to China with John Lewis, a Stanford University political scientist who specializes in the history of China's nuclear program. Before each trip, Stillman obtained permission to travel from the Department of Energy. Each time he returned, a U.S. intelligence debriefer came to his Los Alamos office for an interview, and Stillman said he voluntarily provided detailed diaries about everything he had seen and heard in China. Stillman said Chinese scientists offered details that seemed to contradict a select congressional committee headed by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.). The committee alleged in 1999 that China had stolen U.S. secrets that helped it to miniaturize nuclear weapons for use on intercontinental missiles. Stillman said Chinese physicists told him that they had begun research on miniaturization during the 1970s, but could not complete it because they lacked the computing power to carry out massive calculations. When the Chinese physicists got access to supercomputers, they pulled out their old research, ran the numbers and designed the new devices. On a visit to China in the summer of 1999, Stillman said, Hu Side, one of China's leading weapons physicists, delivered an angry speech over dinner about distortions he ascribed to the Cox committee and the prosecution of Taiwanese American scientist Wen Ho Lee for security violations. As for miniaturization, "We did not need you," Hu Side said, according to Stillman. "These allegations must have been made for political reasons." Cox said yesterday that Chinese scientists provided a mixture of accurate insights and disinformation to their U.S. colleagues. "I think we were all in agreement that [the exchanges were] not a black-and-white question." From his first visit, the Chinese asked Stillman to press U.S. officials for help with nuclear bomb locks known as permissive action links, or PALs. The Chinese said that splits in their military during the Tiananmen crisis brought home the potential danger of unauthorized control of nuclear weapons, and they wanted the United States to provide older PAL technology that would make Chinese bombs safer but not jeopardize U.S. bomb security. "Every trip, they asked for that," Stillman said. "I always thought the world would be a safer place if they got that." In Washington, after Stillman transmitted the Chinese request, "There was a big debate in the United States about how far we should go to assist them with that technology," said Kurt Campbell, a former Pentagon official during the Clinton administration, now senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "I think they [the Chinese] truly were interested in what they called positive control." Ultimately, however, U.S. authorities declined to help, and by the mid-1990s China had turned to Russia for PAL technology as well as for other nuclear weapons assistance. Stillman said that after years of maintaining a low profile, he decided to write his memoir because he had a great deal of information to add to the record about how the Chinese built their nuclear program. "I retired and I couldn't find a job, frankly, and I had all this unique experience," Stillman said. "More Americans have walked on the surface of the moon than have walked on the surface of the Chinese nuclear test site." © 2001 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 8 Settlement of Claims Totals $8 Million Wednesday May 16, 3:07 am Eastern Time Press Release FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2001--ATG Inc. (Nasdaq: - news), a leading provider of low-level radioactive and low-level mixed waste treatment services, today announced that it had reached agreements with two federal government customers and an insurance company in the settlement of contract claims and a business interruption insurance claim in the aggregate amount of $8.0 million. The company has reached agreements with two federal customers to settle its undisputed contract claims in the amount of $6.05 million. In addition, the company has received and accepted a $1.94 million insurance settlement offer for its business interruption as a result of the September 1999 SAFGLAS unscheduled shut-down. Under the term of the agreements, the company agrees not to disclose the terms of the settlement agreements nor the individual customers. About ATG Inc. ATG Inc. is a leading provider of environmental technologies, hazardous and radioactive waste management services. The Company offers comprehensive thermal and non-thermal treatment solutions for hazardous, radioactive and mixed wastes. The Company's Fixed Facilities Division and Engineering and Construction Division provide waste management and environmental restoration services for commercial, institutional and government clients such as nuclear power plants, medical facilities, research institutions, and the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy. This news release may contain forward-looking statements pursuant to the ``safe harbor'' provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's new products and services, LLMW vitrification process, competition, collection of claims settlement, and various factors set forth under ``Factors Affecting Future Operating Results'' in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and such other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. *Contact:* ATG Inc. Doreen Chiu, 510/490-3008 Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy ***************************************************************** 9 DOE Announces Brookhaven Manager To Lead Review of Fast Flux Test Facility energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2001 [Print Friendly Version] *Outlines Scope of Activity* WASHINGTON, DC - The Department of Energy announced today that Michael Holland, manager of its Brookhaven Area Office, will lead the review of the decision to permanently deactivate the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) to ensure that all relevant factors affecting the decision to close the FFTF are addressed. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham decided to suspend for 90 days a previous administration decision to shut the FFTF down in order for qualified personnel led by Holland to review all available information that might have an impact on the future of the FFTF. The scope of the review will encompass the following: + A review of all existing studies, reports, assessments and environmental reviews related to the FFTF’s original mission of medical isotope production, Pu-238 production for space missions and nuclear energy study; + A well-defined forum for the submission of public and private sector interest in the continued operation of the FFTF for original and potential missions; and + Additional opportunities for stakeholder input through open public meetings. The results of the review will be documented in a report and submitted back to Secretary Abraham’s office upon completion of the review. Holland has 25 years experience in the conduct of operations of nuclear reactors and large facilities. He has been with the Department of Energy for ten years overseeing the operation of research reactors, facility decommissioning, and environmental restoration. In addition, Holland has led teams in the completion of complex projects such as the shipment of spent nuclear fuel, community outreach programs, and large facility commissioning and decommissioning. The FFTF is a 400-megawatt sodium-cooled nuclear reactor located in Washington state as a part of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site that operated from 1982 until 1992 to test advanced fuels and materials in support of the national Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor Program. The plant also produced a variety of medical and industrial isotopes, including tritium, and provided research and testing of components and systems for advanced power systems. Media Contact: Joe Davis or Jessica Morris, 202/586-4940 Release No. R-01-074 ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear test no danger for troops 16/05/2001 10:54 - (SA) Wellington, New Zealand - Servicemen ordered to walk and crawl through a nuclear test site shortly after British authorities set off an atomic bomb were not endangering their health, a top radiation scientist said on Wednesday. Wellington has called for reports on whether the health of seven New Zealand officers involved could have been damaged by their participation in bomb tests at Maralinga, southern Australia, in 1956 and 1957. Australian and British servicemen also were involved in the tests, which came to light last week in Australian government papers dug out of Canberra's national archive. National Radiation Laboratory director Andrew McEwan said fears that the New Zealanders were exposed to damaging radiation are groundless. McEwan said the danger of radiation to the men who were near ground zero - the points directly above or below where a nuclear bomb is detonated -depended on the time they were in the area. "It's a time-and-exposure type of exercise. If they stayed there for days they would get a significant dose ... if they rushed through they wouldn't necessarily get an enormous dose," he said. "I'd be surprised if any of the men involved had anything wrong with them, as a direct results of the tests ... the radiation doses they received wouldn't have any connection with subsequent health effects." New Zealand Defence Minister Mark Burton has asked whether the men took part in the protective clothing experiments as guinea pigs, or whether they had given their informed consent. Several of them walked through the fallout zone after atomic bomb blasts, to within about 800m of ground zero for short periods. They were 8km away when a 20-kiloton device was exploded from a tower, and 3km away when they observed the second test, a 2-kiloton device exploded at ground level. McEwan's comments confirmed those of one of the men, retired Brig. John Burns, 84. Burns said he had suffered no ill effects from the trials, which included walking and crawling through the fallout dust and having it billow over them from moving vehicles. McEwan said radiation exposure risks from atomic blasts at such distances would be negligible. "Standing at that distance there'd be a zero dose of radiation; (the men) wouldn't even need protective clothing," he told National Radio. Burton said military records had revealed low levels of radiation exposure were recorded from the protective clothing tests in which the men had taken part. "A key outstanding question is the nature of specific activities after the explosions involving the use of protective clothing, and the degree of informed consent," he said. - Sapa-AP ***************************************************************** 11 Greenpeace Presents Evidence On Nuclear Free Zones Press Release by Greenpeace at 2:40pm, 16th May 2001 16th May 2001, Wellington - Greenpeace has brought John Large from the UK to New Zealand to appear before the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee hearings on the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone Extension Bill on May 17th. Greenpeace is making submissions in support of the Greens bill to extend New Zealand's nuclear free zone from 12 miles out to the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). John Large is an independent nuclear engineer with expertise in the area of the risks and hazards associated with the sea transport of nuclear materials, specifically plutonium MOX. He will be giving evidence to the Committee on the specific risks that an accident involving plutonium MOX fuel poses for both the health of New Zealanders and their environment. John Large will be suppporting Greenpeace's submission that proposes a legal regime to protect New Zealand's EEZ from the threat posed by the increasing number of nuclear fuel shipments transiting the Tasman en route from Europe to Japan. During his career John has worked for a number of government agencies including the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the Russian Minatom as well as working with NGOs such as Greenpeace. He has consulted on a number of accidents at sea involving nuclear propelled and armed vessels and is currently advising the Gibraltan authorities on the status of the UK nuclear submarine, the Tireless, when a structural design fault forced it to dock in Gibraltar last May. New Zealand and Australia have no off site emergency plans in place if an accident involving the nuclear fuel shipments, particularly a release of plutonium into the atmosphere, occurred off our coast. John Large's experience with the nuclear industry spans thirty years and covers most areas from nuclear reactor safety, through to the transport of nuclear materials, nuclear weapons and the decommissioning of facilities. John Large will appear before the select committee Thursday 17th May, 9.30 in room GOO5, Old Parliament House He will be in Wellington till Saturday morning, and is available for media interviews. ENDS wapnews.co.nz ***************************************************************** 12 Officials press for A-bomb answers New Zealand News - NZ - 16.05.2001 By NAOMI LARKIN Defence officials from Australia and New Zealand will continue to press the British Government for answers on whether troops were used as guinea-pigs during nuclear tests in the 1950s. The New Zealand Minister of Defence and Veterans' Affairs, Mark Burton, said yesterday that he had instructed his officials to focus on the "question of consent and informed consent" in their inquiries into radiation tests in the Maralinga desert, South Australia. "It clearly is a central question that is yet to be resolved." Mr Burton said the involvement of the New Zealanders was never a secret and was initiated by Defence officials in this country. But it appeared that few details had been provided about what they would actually do at the test site. "Work continues to establish a full account of the facts." A furore has erupted over claims last week by Scottish researcher Sue Rabbitt Roff that five New Zealand officers, with 19 other servicemen from Britain and Australia, were forced to crawl, march and drive through a fallout zone three days after a nuclear bomb had been detonated. The object was to test what types of clothing would give the best protection against radioactive contamination in conditions of warfare. Two of the surviving New Zealanders said they suffered no ill-effects from the tests. One of the five has died. The two survivors said they wore protective clothing but other servicemen wore only shorts and short-sleeved shirts. One of the men, Flight Lieutenant Roger Peart, told the Herald that the men knew they were going to experience the effects of an atom bomb. In 1997, the British Government claimed in the European Court of Human Rights that no humans had been used in experiments in nuclear weapons trials. Since the release of Sue Rabbitt Roff's research, the British Ministry of Defence has admitted that it used Commonwealth servicemen but has repeatedly denied that the men were used as guinea-pigs, saying every man had given his consent to the experiments. The ministry also insists that the men's skin was covered at all times. The New Zealand Defence attache in London, Brigadier Richard Ottaway, was continuing to meet British Defence officials in a bid to establish the facts, a spokesman for Mr Burton said yesterday. It was still too early to say if the men or their families would receive compensation, Mr Burton said. Britain's Guardian newspaper yesterday reported that the Australian veterans' minister, Bruce Scott, was in London to "urgently investigate" the Maralinga tests. Mr Scott said he had been assured by John Spellar, British Minister for the Armed Forces, that the ministry would make available all relevant documents. Sue Rabbitt Roff told the Herald those controlling the tests were fully aware of the health implications of nuclear radiation. She said all of the Governments had a duty of care to compensate their servicemen. ©Copyright 2001, NZ Herald ***************************************************************** 13 Nuclear India backs nuclear-free Asean - CNN.com - May 16, 2001 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Nuclear power India has said it respects Southeast Asia's nuclear-weapons-free status and pledges to support any move to formalize the bloc's security position. Winding up his four-day visit to Malaysia, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said the world now had a better understanding of India's security imperatives and reiterated his country's decision to maintain a nuclear arsenal. "The security of India and that of Asean are closely interlinked," Vajpayee said in Kuala Lumpur in a speech. The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) groups Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. It has declared itself a nuclear weapons free zone. "We believe that a multi-polar world order would provide the best guarantee of equal security for all states," Vajpayee said. "We respect the status of Southeast Asia as a nuclear Weapons Free Zone and, as a nuclear weapons state, we are willing to convert this recognition into a de jure commitment." Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said he welcomed India's support for Asean's stand. Potential threat India, which was generally seen as on the side of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, conducted nuclear tests in 1998 triggering U.S. sanctions. Its rival Pakistan carried out tests shortly afterwards, also provoking U.S. sanctions. Vajpayee said India's tests were based on its evaluation of its security environment and did not violate any treaty. India justified its tests in 1998 by pointing to potential threats from nuclear-armed neighbors, China and Pakistan. "We have proved that India is neither a proliferation threat nor an exporter of sensitive nuclear or missile technology. This cannot be said to be true of all parties to the NPT," Vajpayee said. India, which has ducked global pressure to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says it is still seeking a broad domestic consensus on the signing of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a key element in NPT. India recently welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's new vision of nuclear disarmament, but stopped short of openly endorsing his controversial plan to build an anti-missile shield. Vajpayee, leading a 75-member business delegation to Malaysia, urged for a comprehensive India-Asean dialogue to boost economic and security ties. India is a member of the Asean Regional Forum, a broader 37-member security grouping. Reuters contributed to this report. ***************************************************************** 14 India's military wings squabbling for control: Nuclear button -DAWN - International; 16 May, 2001 NEW DELHI, May 15: The three wings of India's military are locked in a showdown for control of the country's nascent nuclear arsenal, prompting the government to delay its choice, according to defence sources. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's government earlier this year opened up competition for the new post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The office would have its hand on the actual nuclear button under an intricate system with ultimate control in civilian hands at the defence ministry. The 1.3-million-strong army argues the array of nuclear-tipped guided missiles are currently rightly under its command and wants the CDS post for itself. But the air force insists its capacity to launch nuclear strikes entitles it to control the arsenal. The 137-ship navy, which is striving to extend its reach in the Indian Ocean, has also launched a campaign for the CDS post, and Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar had been viewed as Vajpayee's preferred choice. But unnerved by the military dogfight, Vajpayee's cabinet decided last Friday the third anniversary of India's nuclear tests to temporarily suspend naming the CDS, and instead unveiled plans to integrate the armed forces. On Monday night, the government went a step further and tried to save face by saying the establishment of the CDS was not even broached in the cabinet meeting. After its 1998 string of nuclear test blasts, India claimed it possessed only a minimum credible deterrent, and pledged itself to the principle of no-first-use. It was then that it unveiled the plan for a command-and-control system under the watchful eye of the CDS. But critics said there may not even be a need for the new post. "Fundamentally, the CDS concept is flawed because there is no need for a fourth chief when three commanders of the army, navy and the air force have been operating without a hitch since the past 50 years," said retired air vice marshal Kapil Kak. Kak, a prominent Indian military analyst, noted that Britain, France, Germany and the United States all integrated their armed services before appointing a CDS. "What our government has done is to put a scorpion in the system," he said, decrying the government's proposal to unify the forces. "And in any case, it is an unsound principle to hand over the CDS job to anyone else as it is the air force which has the capability to deliver nuclear weapons." the former air vice marshal argued. The Indian Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis (IDSA), an independent think-tank, said India's adoption of nuclear weapons had made the creation of the CDS post inevitable. "The air force has some doubts and they have expressed them but that does not distract us from the inevitability of a CDS," said IDSA deputy director Uday Bhaskar, who is also a naval officer. But Bhaskar argued the nuclear button belonged with the navy since it had "both maritime and aviation roles." Retired army major general M.M. Lakhera scoffed at both the navy and the air force for vying for the top job, and blamed the government for dragging its feet in finding an umbrella mechanism for the services.-AFP ***************************************************************** 15 NKorea threatens pull out of nuclear weapons accord with U.S AFX World news - Story Filed: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 10:40 AM EST SEOUL, May 16, 2001 (AFX-UK via COMTEX) -- North Korea has threatened to pull out of an accord with the U.S. that stipulates it will not develop the capacity to build nuclear weapons, according to news reports. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an article "released upon authorization" that delays in building a nuclear power plant for Pyongyang may lead to the country abandoning the 1994 agreement. ANKARA (AFX) - Latest reports state that all passengers and crew on the Turkish military aircraft that crashed today in the eastern province of Malatya, believed to be carrying 37 people, have died, a local official was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. GAZA CITY (AFX) - The Israeli army has launched its fifth incursion into Palestinian-ruled land in the Gaza Strip, seizing a building owned by the Palestinian housing ministry, Palestinian security officials said. BOGOTA, Colombia (AFX) - At least 150 farm workers have been abducted by an armed commando in northeastern Colombia, a town mayor said. Hildebrando Leon, mayor of the town of Villanueva, 280 kilometres northeast of Bogota, said the incident took place there late yesterday as workers were returning to town on buses from their jobs on palm plantations in Casanare department. Leon said the gunmen first rounded up as many as 800 people before opting to select a group of younger men and women and kidnapping them. CAIRO (AFX) - Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the worsening situation in the Palestinian territories, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said. The meeting of the seven-member follow-up committee was requested by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Mussa said during a joint news conference with Arafat on his first day at the helm of the League. WASHINGTON (AFX) - President George Bush has invited ministers from 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to visit Washington for talks in October, on economic and social reforms. The president also announced the establishment of a U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa trade forum, as stipulated under a law passed last year during the Clinton administration, to promote U.S. relations with the region. LONDON (AFX) - The Duchess of York's former aide Jane Andrews has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering her boyfriend, the BBC reported. Andrews, 34, had denied murdering Tom Cressman, 39, in bed at their 400,000 stg home in Fulham, west London, in the early hours of 17 September last year. ims/ Copyright 2001. AFX News Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Bill introduced to increase nuke fallout compensation Today: May 16, 2001 at 9:25:17 PDT By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Pete Domenici of New Mexico introduced amendments today to strengthen radiation compensation to residents living downwind of radioactive fallout from the Nevada Test Site. The amendments would grant downwinders and others exposed to radioactive fallout an extra $50,000 and lifetime medical benefits. The proposal would cost $710 million over the next 10 years. Between 2,000 and 4,000 claims have been paid since the original compensation bill was passed in 1990 to residents living under radioactive fallout, military personnel exposed to the fallout and uranium miners. The amendments would also remove compensation funding from annual congressional review by making it a permanent and indefinite appropriation. People had complained that instead of checks, the Department of Justice was sending them IOUs after the annual fund ran dry late last year. Domenici, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, was prepared to ensure the bill received funding, a spokesman said. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a major supporter of radiation compensation for Energy Department workers and downwinders, was reviewing the bill, a spokesman said. Last year Congress had voted to expand compensation to hundreds of nuclear workers who risked their health to build the U.S. weapons arsenal during the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. The first checks from the new legislation were expected later this year. However, an executive of the Downwinders, a 25-year-old organization that represents people affected by nuclear weapons radiation that drifted across the country from the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, said the amendments might trigger a fight between worker groups. The amendments would definitely help downwinders, uranium miners and other groups exposed to the radiation, said Preston Truman, executive director of the Downwinders based in Idaho. However, by adding an extra $50,000 and permanent medical benefits to people who have already been paid, the amendments could create problems, Truman said. "The proposal could pit one victim's group against another," he said. 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