***************************************************************** 10/17/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.244 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 "CREDIBLE THREAT" AT 3 MILE ISLAND, AIRPORT CLOSED, HIGH STATE OF ALERT, PLANES SCRAMBLED 2 Is Bear or Moon Real Leader of Goshutes? 3 Security Review Urged For Nuclear Plants 4 Nuclear power stations might not survive terrorist attack 5 French conclude radioactive waste agreement (Dechets 6 Bulgarian nuclear reactor switched off to eliminate "fault" 7 Sweden says wants to delay close of B2 reactor 8 USEC Conference Call to be Webcast October 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET 9 Nuclear security fears mushroom 10 Fired nuclear worker seeks to clear his name 11 New York stations troops at nuclear power plants 12 Carbon dioxide can clean radioactive soil - 13 IAEA Daily Press Review Date 2001-10-17 Number 199 14 U.S. Coast Guard joins nuclear power plant patrol 15 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 01.42 | 10 - 16 October 2001 16 Las Vegas Science Center Open to Midnight, October 19th to 17 Department of Energy To Hold Second Public Hearing to Receive 18 $88K fine proposed for TVA in whistleblower case 19 Coast Guard dropping 24-hour patrol near nuclear power plants 20 Anxiety for the record 21 YMP decision Congress bound? 22 Yucca Comment period closes on Friday 23 More security urged for Millstone 24 Fired nuclear worker seeks to clear his name NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Isn't It Time to Nuke Trenton? 2 FACTS ON DEPLETED URANIUM - PRAGUE- CONFERENCE 3 FACTS ON DEPLETED URANIUM - PRAGUE- CONFERENCE 4 India to lease Russian nuclear bombers 5 'Al Qaida tried to buy nuclear material from Russian mafia' 6 Spain approves emergency measures to combat bacteriological, 7 Kazakh proposal to ban nuclear weapons finds support at UN 8 KURSK Docking delayed 9 Brookhaven National Laboratory Meets International Environmental 10 Police suspect bin Laden making 'dirty' nuclear bombs 11 Security upgrades coming at Oak Ridge plant 12 India to lease Russian nuclear bombers 13 BWXT Y-12 to hold safety expo ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 "CREDIBLE THREAT" AT 3 MILE ISLAND, AIRPORT CLOSED, HIGH STATE OF ALERT, PLANES SCRAMBLED Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 06:08:18 -0400 http://www.tmia.com/sabter.html http://www.nci.org http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-attack-ai rport.html?searchpv=reuters October 18, 2001 'Threat' at Three Mile Island, Airport Shut Down By REUTERS Filed at 4:11 a.m. ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania was shut down for four hours on Wednesday night because of a security alert at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear plant, police and local media reported. A Harrisburg airport police spokesman said all flights in and out of the airport were stopped for about four hours until about 1 a.m. EDT on Thursday morning. ``We were closed because of security concerns for four hours, but we reopened at around 1 a.m.,'' the spokesman said. Local television stations said that Three Mile Island had received ``a credible threat,'' causing temporary flight restrictions to be put into effect for a 20-mile radius around the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI could not be reached for comment. The United States has been on a high state of alert since the FBI issued a warning last week about additional terrorist acts following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington by hijacked commercial airliners. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Nuclea r-Plant-Threat.html?searchpv=aponline October 18, 2001 Three Mile Island Placed on High Alert After Receiving Threat By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 3:06 a.m. ET HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant received a ``credible threat'' on Wednesday, prompting officials to shut down two nearby airports and dispatch military aircraft to protect the facility. The plant was placed on a high state of alert as the FBI, state police and military planes scrambled to protect the facility. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Diane Screnci declined to discuss the type of threat, or how the agency received it. The commission told Three Mile Island about the threat between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the airports were shut down about 9 p.m., she said. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said a ``temporary flight restriction'' extended to a 20-mile radius around the Harrisburg airport after the threat. Three Mile Island is located just outside Harrisburg, which is 35 miles northwest of Lancaster. Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for Three Mile Island, confirmed the plant's high state of alert, but also declined to discuss the type of threat or the additional security measures. He said Three Mile Island was the only nuclear power plant threatened. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the power plant had already taken additional security measures, but Wednesday's alert tightened security further, DeSantis and Screnci said. ***************************************************************** 2 Is Bear or Moon Real Leader of Goshutes? The Salt Lake Tribune -- Wednesday, October 17, 2001 BY BRENT ISRAELSEN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Utahns generally have cared little about the internal politics of the state's American Indian tribes. In the case of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes -- whose small reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City could become a site for high-level nuclear waste -- the question of who is in charge has now become an important one. So, who is in charge of the Skull Valley Goshutes? It depends on whom you ask. Leon Bear, who has been tribal chairman since 1996, continues to cling to power, saying that a general tribal membership meeting he called Saturday reaffirmed his chairman- ship. That meeting also reportedly reaffirmed the office of Vice Chairwoman Lori Skiby, who was elected in November, and resulted in the new election of Shareen Wash as tribal secretary, said Beverly Slack, a non-Indian who has worked for Bear as an office manager. Saturday's meeting, however, is in direct conflict with a similar meeting of tribal members Sept. 22 in which a completely different slate of tribal leaders claim to have been elected. In that meeting, organized largely by Rex Allen, a former tribal secretary disaffected with Bear's leadership, tribal members voted Marlinda Moon, Sammy Blackbear and Miranda Wash as chairwoman, vice chairman and secretary, respectively. The trio planned to meet today with the U.S. attorney's office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, ostensibly to gain legitimacy as the tribe's new leadership. Allen said the Sept. 22 meeting was valid because it was attended by 38 Goshutes, a number that would constitute a majority of the tribe's 72 adult members. By contrast, only about two dozen Goshutes attended Saturday's meeting, said Allen's mother, Violet Allen, who was in attendance. Independent verification of tribal elections are impossible because they are closed to the non-Goshute public and news media and are not overseen by any outside organization. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs observes tribal matters, but its superintendent, David Allison, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Many tribal members, such as Rex Allen, have accused Bear of corruption and mismanaging tribal funds, which have mushroomed in recent years as a result of undisclosed payments from Private Fuel Storage for nuclear waste disposal. Allen says Bear has been secretive about the PFS payments and about what they have been used for. "Leon Bear and [Allison] should be worried about where these funds are being spent," Allen said. "They are looking bad right now in my view and in the view of the [Goshute] people." Bear did not return phone calls or e-mails from The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday. Telephone numbers at the tribe's business offices in South Salt Lake are no longer in service. © Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 3 Security Review Urged For Nuclear Plants F.A.Z. - English Version HUSUM. Members of Germany's Social Democrats urged the government on Monday to conduct an emergency review of security measures for the country's 19 nuclear power plants. The plants that have serious security deficits and that lie in the flight paths of large airports should be shut down if a growing threat emerges, said the members who were meeting in Husum, a town in north Friesland. At the least, the plants must be reequipped to face the new situation, the politicians said. Despite fears about further terror attacks, a shipment of nuclear waste to a dump in northern Germany will go ahead next month under heavy police protection, a top security official said on Monday. About 18,000 police officers will be deployed to protect the transport from a reprocessing plant in the French port of La Hague, said Heiner Bartling, the interior minister of Lower Saxony. The exact date for the shipment of six containers of waste to the Gorleben dump has been set, but will not be released for security reasons, Mr. Bartling said. Anti-nuclear activists have announced that they will conduct protests during the first week of November. (dpa, AP) Oct. 15, 2001 © Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000 ***************************************************************** 4 Nuclear power stations might not survive terrorist attack ("Kernkraftwerke wurden wie Wurfelbecher geschuttelt") Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany; Oct 17, 2001 Rapidly shutting down nuclear power stations in the event of a targeted terrorist attack with a large aeroplane would possibly not be enough to prevent a disaster, according to the German nuclear reactor safety commission, RSK. It is not certain whether an aeroplane would knock through the protective cover on reactors, although scientists believe newer nuclear power stations would be able to bear the mechanical strain. However, it is not known if electricity cables and cooling systems could survive a kerosene fire. In addition, the plants would be shaken about after an attack, and there would be a risk of the release of radioactive substances and meltdown. RSK said it would take at least half a year to be able to reduce the potential for damage. Abstracted from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ***************************************************************** 5 French conclude radioactive waste agreement (Dechets radioactifs : premier contrat quadriennal entre l'Etat et l'Andra) Les Echos - France; Oct 17, 2001 The French state and France's national radio-active waste management agency (ANDRA) yesterday concluded an unprecedented four-year agreement. This accord, which was signed by the French budget, environment, industry and research ministers as well as by the president of ANDRA, is intended to "clarify the agency's missions and strengthen its resources". ANDRA will be responsible for several projects over the next few years. These include the creation of a storage centre for waste with a low level of radio-activity and preliminary work on storage premises for waste containing either radium or graphite (produced by the first generation of nuclear reactors). Abstracted from Les Echos ***************************************************************** 6 Bulgarian nuclear reactor switched off to eliminate "fault" BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Oct 16, 2001 Text of report by Bulgarian radio on 16 October [Announcer] The second reactor of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant was switched off at 0000 [2100 gmt] last night in order to eliminate a fault [[Bulgarian: propusk] in the equipment around the reactor. This has been announced by the Nuclear Plant Information Centre. Iva Antonova reports: [Antonova] The second reactor will not function until 1800 on 18 October. This has been coordinated with the Central Control Administration. The fault was discovered at about 1500 on 15 October during a routine check related to the upcoming stoppage of the reactor. An automatic regulator of the reactor's capacity has been activated and the reactor's capacity has been reduced gradually to 50 per cent. The Kozloduy Nuclear Plant press service points out that the 15 October event and switching off the reactor for repairs are not related to any hazard to radiation safety. This is Iva Antonova reporting from live from Vratsa. Source: Bulgarian Radio, Sofia, in Bulgarian 0800 gmt 16 Oct 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 7 Sweden says wants to delay close of B2 reactor Planet Ark Environmental News: SWEDEN: October 17, 2001 STOCKHOLM - Sweden suggested postponing the closure of a reactor at nuclear power plant Barseback by 2003 because of a failed requirement to meet the lost power with renewable energy. "The government's judgement is that the conditions for a shutdown should stand fast and that these conditions have not been met," Sweden's Industry Ministry said in a statement. According to a 1997 agreement, Sweden aims to phase out its nuclear power if electricity prices stay stable and the lost power can be replaced with electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and small hydropower. Sweden closed its first reactor at the Vattenfall -owned two-reactor Barseback plant in 1999 in line with the phase out plan. The statement suggested the issue should be re-examined in 2003. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 8 USEC Conference Call to be Webcast October 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday October 17, 9:39 am Eastern Time SOURCE: USEC Inc. BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001--USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU - news) will broadcast its next conference call with the financial community over the Internet on Thursday, October 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The call follows the release of USEC's first quarter fiscal 2002 earnings at the close of the market on Wednesday, October 24, 2001. The regularly scheduled call with shareholders and analysts will be open to listeners who may login through the Company's website, www.usec.com. A link to the call will be located in the Investor Relations section and will be available through November 9. Those interested in listening via the Internet should test their audio software in advance of the call to assure access. USEC Inc., a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. USEC Internet site: www.usec.com Contact: USEC Inc. Ron Seeholzer, 301/564-3225 or Steven Wingfield, 301/564-3354 ***************************************************************** 9 Nuclear security fears mushroom Measures to keep weapons from terrorists found to be weak By John Emshwiller, Michael Orey, Daniel Machalaba and Rebecca Smith THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Oct. 17 — In February, Jamal Ahmed Mohamed al-Fadl, a longtime member of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization, gave some unsettling testimony in New York federal court: He helped arrange meetings in Khartoum, Sudan, in the early 1990s with the aim of helping al-Qaida acquire uranium. AL-FADL, WHO testified that he was told that “it’s easy to kill more people with uranium,” said he didn’t know whether the deal ultimately went through. His testimony came in connection with the federal indictment against bin Laden and others for their alleged roles in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. The evidence that bin Laden’s group has tried to obtain weapons-grade nuclear material is sketchy and unverified. But it has sent authorities around the world rushing to shore up security measures that are in some cases surprisingly weak. The armed guards at nuclear-weapons depots often lose in exercises with mock assailants. Materials for making a nuclear bomb are accessible enough to support a black market. The first reaction after Sept. 11 was to tighten security. Kansas officials are keeping fishermen off a lake near the Wolf Creek nuclear plant. Japan ordered round-the-clock patrols of the waters near its nuclear plants. France, which even encouraged school trips to its many nuclear-power plants to promote acceptance, has severely restricted access to facilities. Authorities in the Czech Republic tightened airspace restrictions over nuclear power stations. Republican Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania recalls that in hearings held in 1997, retired Russian Gen. Alexander Lebed testified that Russian authorities couldn’t account for dozens of portable nuclear bombs once in the Soviet arsenal and designed for use behind enemy lines to blow up specific objects, such as tunnels or power stations. Weldon said other top Russian military officials, including former Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev told him directly that such devices existed. More recently, both U.S. and Russian officials have issued statements denying the Soviets ever built such weapons. Portable atomic demolition devices produced by the U.S. military were all dismantled by 1989, a Defense Department official adds. Watchdog groups such as the nonprofit Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif., which attempt to verify reports of nuclear proliferation, keep track of various incidents in which nuclear materials may have escaped the grip of governments. In the Monterey files is an example from 1998 when the Russian Federal Security Service announced that it had thwarted an attempt by employees at a facility in the Chelyabinsk region to steal around 40 pounds of nuclear material. Matthew Bunn, a nonproliferation expert at Harvard University, says an official with the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy told him the material had been highly enriched uranium. Vladislav Petrov, a spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Atomic Energy, maintains that this incident “did not happen.” Some bomb-grade material does seem to have made its way out of Russia. In 1994, Czech officials seized nearly six pounds of enriched uranium from a car in Prague. Investigators in that case believed that the material came from one of two Russian facilities. Petrov, however, says the Czechs never allowed Russia to test the material to determine its origin. The information about the theft “was created by their special services,” he says, “to show that Russia isn’t in control of its uranium.” One of the suspect facilities in the Czech case is the Mayak nuclear materials production complex in the Chelyabinsk region, which is home to a number of nuclear facilities. In a visit to Mayak last year, former Energy Department official Rose Gottemoeller says she found several tons of plutonium “stored in simple bucketlike containers.” It would be “easy to carry,” she notes, “if you could get through the wooden door or nonbarred window.” Although a joint Russian-U.S. venture was in the process of upgrading security at Mayak during her visit, Gottemoeller notes, it was just starting to install a perimeter fence. That fence has now been completed, according to Sarah Lennon, a DOE official. She also says windows have been bricked up and that other security improvements are in progress. Gottemoeller also visited Russian Naval facilities in 1999 and 2000, where she said that nuclear weapons being moved on and off of ships were kept in shacklike buildings on the base. The DOE’s Lennon says there is an “aggressive program under way” to improve security measures for the Russian Navy’s weapons. BEHIND ON UPGRADES For the past eight years, the U.S. government has been helping the Russian government shore up security at its nuclear installations. So far, though, upgrades have been completed for less than 40 percent of the more than 660 tons of enriched uranium and plutonium not contained in Russia’s nuclear-weapon stockpiles, says Bunn, who is also a former Clinton adviser on nuclear proliferation. In a Sept. 19 letter to President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bunn wrote that “over the past five years, many of the major U.S.-Russian cooperative nuclear security programs have slowed” and “had their timelines unnecessarily extended into the future.” Jonathan Kiell, a spokesman for the DOE, insists that major strides have been made in helping Russia secure its nuclear material and in redirecting the activities of Russian weapons scientists. However, he says, “following the attacks of Sept. 11, [the DOE] is evaluating possibilities of accelerating its [security program], based on guidance from the administration.” • U.S. might converging on Central Asia As the U.S. has pondered the post-Cold War nuclear threat, attention has focused on a “rogue” nation attacking the continental U.S. with a missile. But many national-security experts worry about a much simpler scenario, particularly now that the efficacy of suicide attacks in the U.S. has been proven. If overseas terrorists wanted to get a nuclear weapon into the U.S., the most likely means would be by ship, they say. About nine million shipping containers, typically 20 or 40 feet long, enter American ports each year. For years, U.S. Customs Service inspectors have worn small devices to detect radiation in containers. So far, the searches have found radioactive cheese from Ukraine’s Chernobyl region and medical devices that use radioactivity for diagnostics. Officials also routinely review shipping documents looking for suspicious cargo, which are then subject to X-ray or physical searches. But tearing apart containers is time-consuming and labor-intensive. On Oct. 5, for example, two customs inspectors in a warehouse at the port in Elizabeth, N.J., strained to lift and heave bags of birdseed out of a container that had arrived from Ethiopia. Another inspector removed boxes of sweatpants from Pakistan. An X-ray check had showed an oddly shaped object near the trailer door. “It could be a booby trap or a trigger for a device,” said Kevin McCabe, chief inspector for the Port of New York and New Jersey. It turned out that one of the pants boxes had fallen and wedged itself against the door. Since Sept. 11, the Customs Service has increased the number of inspectors and inspections nationally. At the New York/New Jersey port, the inspection force has expanded by more than a third to 100. The number of containers X-rayed has had an “appreciable increase” to about 500 daily, says McCabe. • Bin Laden: Alleged targets, operations, and colleagues However, more than 5,000 containers enter that port daily. Given this river of cargo, officials admit something could slip by. “If you can smuggle heroin in containers, you may be able to smuggle a nuclear bomb,” says Charles Raymond, chief executive officer of CSX Lines, the container-shipping subsidiary of Richmond, Va.-based CSX Corp. Some people argue that would-be nuclear terrorists can find what they need at U.S. weapons plants. With the end of the Cold War, security budgets shrunk at the weapons facilities, which are operated by the Department of Energy. Since 1992, the number of guards at DOE facilities nationwide dropped about 40 percent to around 3,500, according to Edward McCallum, former director of the DOE’s Office of Safeguards and Security, in a statement last June to a congressional committee. The reductions have made it “questionable at some facilities whether the DOE Protective Force could defeat an adversary,” wrote McCallum, whose outspoken criticism of security measures contributed to his departure from the Energy Department in 1999. For years, the DOE has used mock terrorists in simulated attacks to test security at weapons plants. Often, U.S. military personnel and plant guard forces do battle with harmless laser weapons as the attackers try to make off with objects that represent containers of plutonium or uranium. In a Sept. 13 letter to Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Peter Stockton, a former top Energy Department security consultant, said the DOE guard forces “lose well over 50 percent” of the time in these mock battles — “a clear indicator that a number of facilities cannot protect” their weapons and weapons-grade material. In one case cited by Stockton, attackers at the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory brought along a garden cart to haul off their booty. The Project on Government Oversight, a private watchdog group, issued a report earlier this month recommending that the government consolidate the tons of bomb-grade material from the 10 sites in two underground facilities, possibly to be protected by the U.S. military. Currently, the Energy Department contracts with private security firms. Glenn Podonsky, a senior DOE security official, says the agency believes its weapons-grade material is adequately guarded. While there have been some reductions in guard forces, these partly reflect changing government security requirements and the closing of some facilities, Podonsky says. As for the mock attacks, “we don’t track the results on a win/lose basis,” he says. Rather, they are used to evaluate protection strategies and individual responses by guards. After the Sept. 11 attacks, DOE facilities went to a heightened state of alert and the agency is reviewing what further steps might be needed. “Sept. 11 changes a lot for everybody,” says Podonsky. At commercial nuclear-power plants, the main worry is that terrorists would turn a reactor into a sort of giant radiation-dispersal device. Disabling a plant’s safety systems could lead to a catastrophic radiation release, similar to the one caused by the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. There, radiation releases contaminated a huge swath of land, quickly killed several dozen people and exposed tens of thousands of others to dangerous doses of radioactivity. Like the Energy Department, the NRC runs mock terrorist raids against power plants. The NRC won’t reveal specific results, but “there have been instances where infiltrators have gotten far enough inside and stayed long enough where they could have planted bombs,” says an agency spokesman. But the NRC has halted the mock terrorist attacks, at least temporarily. “This is not a wise time to be holding exercises,” says Meserve, the NRC chairman. “It could be used as the cover for an actual attack.” Guy Chazan in Moscow contributed to this article. Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. ***************************************************************** 10 Fired nuclear worker seeks to clear his name October 17, 2001 Fired nuclear worker seeks to clear his name Man with similar name found with bomb in car: police Andrew McIntosh National Post Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen Mohamed Attiah, fired from Atomic Energy of Canada last month, wants the RCMP and Canada's spy agency to re-examine his dismissal. OTTAWA - A man branded a security risk and fired by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. last month wants the RCMP and Canada's spy agency to take a new look at his case after police in Toronto arrested another man with an almost identical name who allegedly had a bomb in his car. Mohamed Attiah, 54, was fired from the AECL Chalk River Laboratories on Sept. 20, nine days after the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon and killed more than 5,000 people. Mr. Attiah, an Egyptian-born father of four who came to Canada 27 years ago, was dismissed after he was questioned by RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers at a police detachment in Deep River, Ont. Mr. Attiah, who was not taken into custody, arrested or charged with any offence, has since repeatedly denied any links with terrorists. He has urged AECL and security authorities to let him refute claims to the contrary. But AECL, the RCMP and CSIS have refused repeated public calls to share any evidence that suggests Mr. Attiah was a potential security risk. The federal agencies have also declined to comment when reporters asked why they had set Mr. Attiah free if he was indeed a security risk. Now, Mr. Attiah wants authorities to re-examine his dismissal following the arrest last week of Mohamed Attia -- the two are unrelated -- in the Toronto area after police allegedly found a homemade gunpowder bomb in a car. Halton Regional Police Constable Alan Bonner said Mohamed Attia, 23, of Scarborough, was stopped before 4 a.m. last Thursday in the Toronto area after an officer saw a car with an expired licence tag. The officer then noticed marijuana inside the car and decided to perform a full vehicle search. A homemade gunpowder bomb allegedly was found in the trunk. The device found was a 26-ounce liquor bottle filled with black gunpowder and a wick, Const. Bonner told the National Post. Mr. Attia is facing charges of unlawfully being in possession of an explosive device and of possession of marijuana. He also faces charges of driving without a licence and driving an uninsured vehicle, Const. Bonner said. If convicted for the explosives offences, he faces up to five years in jail. Halton Regional Police have alerted both the RCMP and CSIS about the case. Mr. Attia, described as a factory worker, applied for bail, but his request has been denied and he will stay in custody until his trial. Mr. Attiah, the dismissed nuclear worker, was not aware of the Toronto case until informed by the Post and he emphasized he does not want to point the finger at Mr. Attia. Mr. Attiah said the RCMP and CSIS officers who questioned him asked about another Mohammed Attiah who they claimed had died a few years ago. "It was very strange," he said. Asked whether there might be a case of mistaken identity, CSIS spokeswoman Chantal Lapalme replied: "We cannot comment on operational matters." AECL, a federal Crown corporation, did not return telephone calls. Copyright © 2001 National Post Online | Privacy Policy | ***************************************************************** 11 New York stations troops at nuclear power plants Reuters Company News Tuesday October 16, 09:49 PM NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. National Guard troops on Tuesday patrolled six nuclear power plants in New York after Gov. George Pataki ordered their deployment to protect against potential attacks. Already posted at tunnels, bridges, train stations, and airports, members of the National Guard will be stationed at the nuclear plants "as long as needed" to help state and local police guard the facilities, Pataki said. The deployment comes as government officials and the public have become concerned about the safety of the nation's 103 nuclear power plants in the wake of the Sept 11. hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington. As a precaution, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has temporarily shut down its Web site to review its contents and remove anything that might prove a safety risk. New Jersey has also ordered National Guardsmen to protect its reactors. But other states have yet to deploy troops at their reactors, experts said, warning that a successful attack on a plant could kill thousands and spread radioactive contamination over hundreds of miles (km). Steve Dolley, the research director at the Nuclear Control Institute, a research center specializing in problems of nuclear proliferation and safety, said such an attack could come from a hijacked airplane, a truck bomb or a "commando style raid." "It's very difficult to determine how safe these plants are right now, based on information in the public domain," he said, adding "we hope that governors in other states will take similar measures." New York's troop deployment was not connected to any specific threat. But given "general threats being made by terrorist groups, it is a prudent action to augment and enhance the high level of security that is currently being maintained," Pataki said. At the Indian Point nuclear plant, located about 20 miles (32 km) north of New York City on the Hudson River, the troops come in addition to a series of security measures taken since last month's hijacked airplane attacks on the United States. Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Corp. which owns the Indian Point plant, would not comment on details of the additional security. But he said, "Imagine every possible way you can get into this plant, as authorized personnel, a visitor, a member of the media, and understand that every way you could have gotten into the plant in the past has changed." Along with Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Reactors 2 and 3, troops are stationed at Nine Mile 1 and 2 Nuclear Power Plants, the James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant and Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. Pataki ordered the deployment of troops from the National Guard's 27th Brigade over the weekend. Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Carbon dioxide can clean radioactive soil - Tuesday, October 16, 2001 By Environmental News Network Supercritical Fluid Extraction apparatus at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Even dirt can be dirty. It can become contaminated with toxic chemicals or infused with radioactivity. Now, researchers have found a way to clean soil contaminated with two radioactive elements produced by past nuclear weapons development and nuclear energy research. The method takes advantage of an industrial process called supercritical fluid extraction to clean up long-lived radioactivity that could persist long into the future. Researchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) used pressurized, heated carbon dioxide and an added metal binding chemical compound to clean radioactively contaminated soil. The method removed more than 69 percent of the plutonium and americium from spiked, local soil, report two INEEL chemists in the October issue of the journal "Radiochemica Acta." "Our follow up experiments removed almost 100 percent of the americium and plutonium," said INEEL chemist Robert Fox. "Someone needs to give us a harder problem or a harder sample." Supercritical fluid extraction is already used to decaffeinate coffee, purify spices and dry clean clothes. It has been shown to remove plutonium from stainless steel, but this is the first time it has been used to remove plutonium from soil. The method is safe and environmentally friendly, the researchers say. For these experiments, carbon dioxide and soil were mixed, heated and pressurized. Under these conditions, carbon dioxide flows like a gas, dissolves like a liquid, but behaves with chemical properties unlike gases or liquids. A chemical agent added to the carbon dioxide flowed through the soil and grabbed the plutonium and americium, whisking the compounds back into the fluidized carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide was then shunted out of the soil and depressurized, dropping the compounds into a vial on its way back into the atmosphere. In an industrial scale setting, the carbon dioxide could be recycled. Also, the researchers added ethanol and can add different chemical agents to improve the efficiency of extraction. The efficiency of the process on the INEEL soil surprised the researchers. "We didn't think we'd get such high percentages right off the bat. Plutonium is fairly difficult to remove sometimes. I thought we'd get the easy plutonium. We perhaps got the plutonium that migrated into the mineral lattices of the soil, where it's almost impossible to get out," said INEEL chemist Bruce Mincher. "The obvious next step is to obtain real world samples and demonstrate the method is effective on all manner of soils," said Fox. "We also want to have a fundamental understanding of the chemistry that occurs -- why does it work that way, and what is inhibiting it from working faster and better." INEEL's Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center provides plenty of opportunity to clean up radioactively contaminated soils. The INTEC facility, which began operations in 1952, reprocessed defense related spent nuclear fuel until 1992. Liquid wastes generated from this activity were stored in an underground tank farm until they were treated using a calcining process, which converts the liquid to a more stable granular form. The current mission of INTEC is to receive and temporarily store spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste for future disposition, manage waste, develop technologies and clean up past contamination. Forty areas in and near the facility involving contaminated soils and groundwater will require cleanup actions to reduce the risk to human health and the environment. Supercritical fluid extraction is attracting attention around the world, and projects are underway in India and in Czechoslovakia. Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network ***************************************************************** 13 IAEA Daily Press Review Date 2001-10-17 Number 199 1. Illicit trafficking Interpol says transit route of smuggling nuclear material from Dniester Region passes through Romania. Romania 2. Terrorism US government offers insurance plan: US would pay up to 90% of claims from terrorist attacks. Germany may join US military action soon. Investigators look for links between anthrax and terrorism; WHO tries to calm anthrax fears. Germany seeks ways to make NPPs 'terrorist-proof'. US coast guard joins NPP patrol. Risk of attack on trains carrying nuclear waste through London to be re-evaluated. (CNN; DAW; HAN; R - 16, 17/10) Germany; United Kingdom; United States of America; WHO 3. Nuclear power Shortage of safety inspectors could disrupt decommissioning programmes, prevent construction of new NPPs next years, Nuclear Installations Inspectorate warns. Japan's three largest NPP manufactures form alliance in bid to win projects in Vietnam. (NUC - 12/10) Japan; WORLDWIDE 4. Nuclear safety US needs contingency plan for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal; IAEA could advise and provide assistance despite lack of Pakistan membership in Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. NRC considers amendment to regulations that would clarify use of entombment for power reactors. (R - 16/10) IAEA; Pakistan; United States of America; WORLDWIDE 5. Chernobyl Considerable part of territory affected by Chernobyl accident cleaned in natural way; Belorussian border guards hold exercise in Chernobyl fallout zone to test radiation exposure in the area. (R - 16/10) Ukraine 6. Radiation, health WHO states mobile telephones safe to use. (R - 17/10) WHO 7. UN UN envoy urges UN Security Council not to 'rush' with sending peacekeepers to Afghanistan. (WP - 16/10) UN 8. Miscellaneous Docking operation for 'Kursk' postponed. (IHT - 17/10) Russian Federation ***************************************************************** 14 U.S. Coast Guard joins nuclear power plant patrol [Reuters] Tuesday October 16, 7:25 pm Eastern Time By Leonard Anderson SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Moving to tighten security at the nation's nuclear power plants, the U.S. Coast Guard has set up security zones off plants on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts and the Great Lakes. The nuclear off-limits zones are part of 94 marine security areas established since the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The intent is ``to protect the infrastructure of the nation's marine interests,'' said Petty Officer Patrick Montgomery, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area headquarters in Portsmouth, Virginia. Government officials and the public have become increasingly concerned about the safety of the nation's 103 nuclear stations since the attacks. Nuclear power plants, which provide about a fifth of the nation's electricity, are typically built along a lake, river or ocean where they have ready access to huge volumes of water needed to cool down their reactors. National Guard troops patrolled six nuclear plants in New York state Tuesday after Gov. George Pataki ordered their deployment to protect against potential attacks. New Jersey has also ordered the National Guard to protect atomic reactors in that state. The nation's utilities have beefed up security at the plants, but there is a heightened level of concern because a successful attack on a reactor could spread deadly radioactive contamination over hundreds of miles or knock the plant off the grid for months. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which licenses and oversees the plants, shut down its Web site last week to review its contents and remove anything that might prove a safety risk, including a daily report on the operating status of each atomic reactor in the power fleet. The nuclear security zones, like the troop movements in New York, were not linked to any specific threat, Coast Guard officers said. BIG CALIFORNIA PLANT ``We looked at specific situations. We can't go into the decision-making process but we established zones where warranted,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Pacific Area in Alameda, California. One of the Pacific zones extends up to one mile offshore California's biggest nuclear plant, the 1,300-megawatt Diablo Canyon station operated by PG&E Corp.'s (NYSE:PCG - news) Pacific Gas &Electric utility at Avila Beach, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Fishing, recreation and other vessels are barred from the plant's zone without the permission of the Coast Guard's marine safety office in Los Angeles, Carter said. The Coast Guard will warn off boaters who venture into the zone, but anyone who willfully violates the order is subject to a minimum $5,000 fine and possible felony prosecution by a U.S. attorney, according to Carter. The Coast Guard also operates patrol vessels in the vicinity, he added. The Coast Guard broadcasts information about the nuclear off-limits zones to fishing and other vessels over marine radio and in local newspapers and other media, said Lt. Cmdr. Bryan Emond, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Coast Guard station has set up security zones in Lake Michigan up to 1,000 yards offshore WPS Resources Corp.'s (NYSE:WPS - news) 500-megawatt Kewaunee nuclear plant in Carlton, Wis., and Wisconsin Energy Corp.'s (NYSE:WEC - news) 1,017-megawatt Point Beach plant in Two Rivers, Wis. ``These zones enable the Coast Guard to protect the plants from harm. We're working closely with the security staffs at the plants, and so far there have been no threats,'' said Emond. The Coast Guard patrols 361 ports and 95,000 miles of U.S. coast line, including the Great Lakes of Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario, said Montgomery at the Atlantic Area. ***************************************************************** 15 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 01.42 | 10 - 16 October 2001 A weekly summary of international news relevant to the nuclear energy industry. [NB01.42-1] US: A record number of Americans are in favour of the use of nuclear energy and consider nuclear power plants safe, the results of a nationwide opinion poll conducted in October for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) suggest. Of the 1000 adults questioned, 65% said they approved of the use of nuclear energy as one way to provide electricity, and 66% consider nuclear power plants are safe. 59% of those surveyed said they 'definitely' support the future construction of new reactors. 66% of respondents said they would agree with adding new reactors to existing plant sites, while 84% believe plants should have their licences renewed if they meet federal safety standards. (NucNet News, 303/01, 12 October; Ux Weekly, 15 October, p4; NEI InfoWire, #01-28, 11 October; see also News Briefing 01.18-2) [NB01.42-2] UK: A call for the revival of nuclear power to ensure that the UK has diverse and economic supplies of electricity over the next 20 years has been made by the Major Energy Users' Council (MEUC), a leading lobby group whose members include top manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co, Rolls-Royce, and Anglesey Aluminium Metal. The group said the nuclear option alone would be able to guarantee such security in the medium- to long-term and avoid increases in greenhouse gas emissions. MEUC's chairman, Hugh Conway, said that nuclear power's 'safe development must be encouraged by government'. (The Engineer Online, 11 October; see also News Briefing 01.38-7) [NB01.42-3] Australia: The Olympic Dam project produced 1409 tonnes U3O8 (1195 tU) during the third quarter of 2001, according to Western Mining Corp (WMC). At the project's current production rate, uranium production for the whole of 2001 could reach almost 5000 tonnes U3O8 (4240 tU). (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p4; Ux Weekly, 15 October, p4; Nuclear Market Review, 12 October, p2; see also News Briefing 01.29-5) [NB01.42-4] South Africa: Uranium production at Anglogold's gold by-product project (NUFCOR) during the first three quarters of 2001 totalled 1.64 million pounds U3O8 (630.8 tU). The company expects total uranium output in 2001 to reach 2.2 million pounds U3O8 (846.2 tU), almost 20% more than in 2000. Uranium derived from the Palabora copper mine and processed by NUFCOR is expected to contribute an additional 129 000 pounds U3O8 (49.6 tU) in 2001. (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p5; see also News Briefing 00.10-2) [NB01.42-5] New nuclear plant designs promise to overcome some of the commercial and safety barriers of nuclear power, according to a new study by the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. However, new designs are still burdened by poor public perception, the risk of rogue states using nuclear power construction and refuelling as a cover for nuclear weapons proliferation, and nuclear waste problems. According to the study, worldwide nuclear generation currently produces some 2200 billion kWh per year of electricity, which would produce 550 million tonnes of carbon if replaced by fossil fuel combustion. This is about 8.5% of total carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion (6500 million tonnes per year). (Ux Weekly, 15 October, p5) [NB01.42-6] Russia possesses 35 designs for low-capacity nuclear reactors, five or six of which are floating reactors, according to Alexander Polushkin, deputy director of Rosenergoatom. Russia plans to construct several floating reactors, including a 70 MWe floating reactor at Severodvinsk, which is expected to be licensed to begin construction in early 2002. The country plans to build low-capacity reactors in 33 northern regions over the next 10-15 years. Small reactors pay for themselves in just 10 years, compared with 14-20 years for larger reactors, Polushkin said. (Ux Weekly, 15 October, p5; see also News Briefing 01.14-17) [NB01.42-7] Belgium: Plans to develop the legislation necessary to phase out the use of nuclear energy in the country were announced by energy minister Olivier Deleuze. The phase-out plan was originally agreed to in July 1999 by the liberal-led government and its coalition partners. The plan - which will call for the phase-out of nuclear reactors before the end of their 40-year operating lives - will be announced by the end of 2001. There are seven operating reactors in Belgium. (Ux Weekly, 15 October, p4; FreshFUEL, 15 October, p4; SpentFUEL, 15 October, p4; see also News Briefing 99.27-6) [NB01.42-8] China: Qinshan-2 has reportedly entered operational testing. The 575 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR) is the first fully indigenously designed and built reactor in China. It is scheduled to be connected to the grid by June 2002. (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p5; see also News Briefing 99.14-9) [NB01.42-9] US: A new world record for the refuelling of a boiling water reactor (BWR) has been reached by Entergy Nuclear's River Bend plant. The reactor completed a refuelling outage in just 17 days. (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p5; Ux Weekly, 15 October, p5; see also News Briefing 00.41-17) [NB01.42-10] Austria: The revival of a three-year-old legal action by Green member of parliament Eva Glawischnig over alleged 'low safety levels' at the Mochovce nuclear power plant in Slovakia has been ordered by the high court in Vienna. She claims that major issues concerning the plant are the lack of a concrete reactor containment and the fact that the plant is located in an area that may be at risk of seismic activity. The high court ruled that the proceedings should go ahead, despite the case being dismissed earlier by the Vienna regional (lower) court. The first public hearing was held last week, with a further hearing planned for mid-November. (NucNet News, 301/01, 10 October; see also News Briefing 98.38-16) [NB01.42-11] Japan's three largest nuclear power plant manufacturers - Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd - have formed an alliance in a bid to win projects in Vietnam. The move is part of an attempt to counter growing competition from rival foreign nuclear plant suppliers and is the first time the top three domestic companies have made joint efforts to win a project overseas. The development of a pre-feasibility study for the possible introduction of nuclear power into Vietnam was ordered by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in May 2001. (Nikkei Weekly, 8 October, p18; see also News Briefing 01.34-3) [NB01.42-12] Japan: Plans to dismantle Tokai-1 - the country's first commercial nuclear power reactor - have been submitted by Japan Atomic Power Co (JAPC) with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). JAPC estimates the decommissioning project will last about 17 years, starting this fiscal year. The proposed plan includes 10 years of preparatory work and removal of auxiliary facilities, followed by the start of full-scale dismantling and removal of the 159 MWe, gas-cooled reactor (GCR) in 2011. The project is expected to cost a total 93 billion yen (some US$7.6 million). (NucNet News, 302/01, 10 October; see also News Briefing 98.14-15) [NB01.42-13] US: The long-term, market price-based agreement that USEC Inc reached with Russia's Tenex in May 2000 will not be approved as proposed, US government officials have reportedly told USEC. That includes a separate contract for 3 million, low-cost Russian commercial SWU. US officials are believed to have told USEC to go back to the negotiating table with Tenex and try to reach an agreement on a one-year contract. USEC said that it had not received any 'approval, instructions, or guidance from the administration. (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p1; Ux Weekly, 15 October, p2; see also News Briefing 01.03-4) [NB01.42-14] Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) has denied reports about the final phase of negotiations on spent fuel imports to Russia, according to the Interfax news agency. Minatom said that it had not held any negotiations with foreign partners about importing spent fuel, and had not authorised any Russian or foreign organisations to hold such negotiations. Minister of Atomic Energy, Alexander Rumyantsev, said that 'it will take several years for signing contracts on imports of spent nuclear fuel to Russia'. (Nuclear Market Review, 12 October, p2; see also News Briefing 01.39-17) [NB01.42-15] UK: British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) expects the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) to grant it a licence to commence active commissioning of the third line at its Waste Vitrification Plant (WVP) at Sellafield in October. The start of operations of the 320 million UK pound (US$470 million) line would enable BNFL to meet its commitment to speed up the conversion of liquid high-level waste (HLW) to borosilicate glass blocks for better storage. The company has been told top reduce its backlog of 1450-1500 cubic metres of liquid HLW currently stored in 21 tanks at the Sellafield reprocessing facility to a more manageable 'buffer' of 200 cubic metres by 2015. (Nuclear Fuel, 1 October, p15; see also News Briefings 94.23 and 99.49-1) [NB01.42-16] Czech Republic: A shortlist of companies qualified to bid for the government's 67.6% share in utility CEZ has been drawn up by the government. The list includes Electricite de France (EdF), Electrabel of Belgium, NRG Energy of the USA, International Power of the UK, and a joint venture between Enel of Italy and Iberdrola of Spain. British Energy (BE) of the UK has expressed interest in the future acquisition or operation of CEZ's Temelin nuclear power plant. (FreshFUEL, 15 October, p5; see also News Briefing 01.37-13) [NB01.42-17] UK: A shortage of safety inspectors could disrupt decommissioning programmes and prevent new nuclear power plants being constructed in the next few years, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) has warned. Fewer engineering graduates are entering the nuclear industry. (Financial Times, 10 October, p11) The NII has reached an agreement with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to recruit more inspectors. The NII hopes to have 163 inspectors by the end of 2001, and aims to reach its target of 179 inspectors in 2002 with the launch of a new recruitment campaign in January. (NucNet News, 304/01, 12 October) Previous News Briefing NB01.41 ***************************************************************** 16 Las Vegas Science Center Open to Midnight, October 19th to Accommodate Public Input on Yucca Mountain Project energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2001 [Print Friendly Version] Easy-to-use guides detail automobile fuel efficiency, emissions and safety information for consumers ---> WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that the Las Vegas Science Center's hours will be extended Friday, Oct. 19, to accommodate those persons who would like to submit comments on the site recommendation consideration for a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. The comment period, which began May 4, 2001, was extended to Friday, Oct. 19, 2001, to provide citizens with additional time to comment. The Las Vegas Science Center, located at 4101-B Meadows Lane (across from the southeast end of Meadows Mall) is open this week on Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Friday from 10 a.m. until midnight. Since Sept. 26, 2001, the Las Vegas Science Center has served as an extended hearing facility to receive official testimony from Nevada citizens. A DOE official and a court reporter have been available to record public comments. As a reminder, citizens are encouraged to reserve time slots to offer testimony by calling 1-800-967-3477. Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes, in order to provide proper consideration to all individuals wishing to testify. Walk-in testimony will be accepted as the schedule permits, with priority given to those citizens who have reserved time in advance. Under normal hours, citizens also can visit DOE Science Centers located in Pahrump, 1141 South Highway 160, and Beatty, 100 North E Avenue, to submit comment cards on the project, until the close of the comment period. The DOE is also accepting comments via electronic mail (), facsimile (1-800/967-0739) and mail submitted to: Carol Hanlon, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office (M/S#25), P.O. Box 30307, North Las Vegas, NV 89036-0307. Letters should be marked with "Possible Site Recommendation for Yucca Mountain." There also is a comment form on the Yucca Mountain Project's website at . Media Contact: Joe Davis 202/586-4940 Gayle Fisher 702/794-1322 Release No. R-01-174 ***************************************************************** 17 Department of Energy To Hold Second Public Hearing to Receive Comments on Program to Assist Nuclear Workers energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: October 17, 2001 [Print Friendly Version] WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a second public hearing on proposed procedures to help workers under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The meeting will be held at 4:00 p.m. on October 25, 2001, at the Radisson Hotel Cincinnati Airport (adjacent to the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky). DOE held a previous public hearing in Washington, D.C., on October 10, 2001. The purpose of the meetings is to obtain input from the public on how to structure a program at the Department of Energy for workers who have illnesses not covered by the federal Department of Labor (DOL) program under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act. Eligibility under the DOL program is limited to workers with certain cancers and lung diseases. For workers with other illnesses, the legislation directs the Department of Energy to help workers apply for state workers' compensation benefits. Worker medical records will be reviewed by an independent panel of physicians. If the physician's panel finds the worker's illness meets criteria based on employment at an Energy Department facility, DOE must assist the applicant in filing the claim. In addition, DOE may, to the extent permitted by law, direct its contractor not to contest the claim. Those wishing to speak should contact Ms. Judy Keating at 202/586-7551 and fax a copy of their statements to her at 202/586-6010 in advance of the meeting. Speakers are also encouraged to bring copies of their statements to distribute to the media and the public. Speakers who have not preregistered will be allowed to speak once all registered speakers are heard. Written comments can be addressed to Ms. Loretta Young, Office of Advocacy, EH-8, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,Washington, D.C. 20585, "PHYSICIAN RULE COMMENTS." The deadline for receiving written comments is November 10, 2001. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and additional information on the program can be found on the DOE Office of Advocacy website at http://www.eh.doe.gov/advocacy. Media Contact: Dolline Hatchett 202/ 586-5806 Release No. R-01-176 ***************************************************************** 18 $88K fine proposed for TVA in whistleblower case Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:34 a.m. on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 The Associated Press KNOXVILLE -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed an $88,000 civil penalty against the Tennessee Valley Authority, finding it discriminated against an employee who raised safety concerns at a nuclear facility. NRC officials informed TVA of the proposed fine in a letter Monday for discriminating against Curtis Overall, who in 1995 was removed from his job after he exposed problems at the Watts Bar facility in Spring City, Tenn. Overall was shifted from his job overseeing the ice condenser containment system at Watts Bar after he found nearly 200 screws were either broken or missing from the system and asked that the problem be inspected. TVA arranged for Overall's transfer to TVA Services but did not rehire him once he had been transferred, which led to his eventual layoff. A judge sided with Overall in 1998 and ordered that he be rehired and receive back pay. In May, a Labor Department review board ordered TVA to pay $50,000 in compensatory damages to Overall, and the NRC said in June it would consider a civil penalty. TVA appealed the Labor Department decision to the U.S. Department of Appeals in June and may defer paying the fine until the appeal has been completed, NRC officials said. The agency maintains the Labor Department's findings are incorrect. "We believe that the Department of Labor's decision is in error and not supported by the record," TVA spokesman John Moulton said Tuesday. Overall's attorney, Lynne Bernabei, wrote the NRC in July urging them to levy a large fine to send a signal to TVA. "The amount of the fine is not insignificant, however, we continue to think the NRC should be stronger given TVA's record of sort of ignoring NRC penalties in the past for harassing whistleblowers," she said Tuesday. "That's good but not great." "The money they save by harassing whistleblowers and not fixing safety problems is literally a million dollars a day per nuclear plant." The NRC gave credit to TVA for what it considered "corrective action," which included assurances that "this matter was not having a chilling effect on the willingness of other employees to raise safety and compliance concerns within TVA," according to the NRC letter to TVA. Overall no longer works in the nuclear department. He has a job in the fossil fuel division, Bernabei said. TVA is the nation's single largest producer of electricity, providing power to 159 distributors serving some 8 million people in Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. On the Net: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/ Tennessee Valley Authority: http://www.tva.gov/ All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 19 Coast Guard dropping 24-hour patrol near nuclear power plants upstream from New York The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) Despite concerns about terrorism, the Coast Guard is planning to drop its 24-hour security patrol on the Hudson River near the Indian Point nuclear power plants north of New York City. "We no longer have the resources to provide 24-hour security and will be conducting only random patrols in the near future," Rear Admiral R.E. Bennis said in a letter to Entergy Nuclear, owner of the power plants. The letter, written last week, was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. In an interview, Bennis said the cutback would begin Monday, with equipment and personnel returning to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. "This started Sept. 11 as a sort of first-day first-strike, to make sure everything was protected while others came up with a plan," he said. "Any waterfront facility like a nuclear plant has to have a security plan and they have an excellent one. I don't think the plant will be less secure." Entergy spokesman Jim Steets said the company was "confident in our ability to protect the plant. We were before the Coast Guard came, while they were there and we will continue to be." Rep. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., whose district includes the two plants, called the Coast Guard's decision misguided and unwise. Her spokesman said she would ask Tom Ridge, the new director of homeland security, to urge the Coast Guard to continue 24-hour patrols. The nation's nuclear power plants 103 reactors at 64 sites in 31 states have been under heightened alert since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. National Guard troops are guarding some reactors, and some plants along Lake Erie and Lake Michigan are being patrolled by the Coast Guard. The Indian Point plans are just 35 miles north of Times Square. Some experts have said their concrete containment domes could not withstand the impact of airliners like the ones that hit the World Trade Center. The Coast Guard presence is meant to prevent intrusions from the Hudson River. Other security measures include National Guard troops and Entergy's own security force, which Steets would not describe. In his letter to Entergy, Bennis recommended "additional security around water intakes" and "full time, armed security on the facility's waterfront, either on foot or in small boats." Bennis said the Coast Guard would discuss its cutback with law enforcement agencies and local government officials to be certain a satisfactory waterfront security plan is in place. Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 20 Anxiety for the record Pahrump Valley Times By HENRY BREAN, Managing EditorOctober 17, 2001 Below: two staff members from the U.S. Department of Energy watch testimony from an overflow tent set up behind the community center. Fewer than 140 people signed in and 55 offered comments for the record during the hearing, which is expected to be the last before Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham offers his recommendation on the proposed nuclear dump site about 50 miles northwest of Pahrump. (PVT photos by Henry Brean) A public hearing in Pahrump on plans to bury thousands of tons of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, about 50 miles away, was delayed twice in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks. And when it was finally held Friday, it was dominated by the events of Sept. 11. A total of 137 people signed in at the hearing, and 55 offered testimony for the record. Nearly all of them made at least a passing reference to the increased threat of terrorism in America. Pahrump resident Laurel Duffy referred to the waste shipments destined for Yucca Mountain as a "convoy of moving bomb sites, slowly descending on Nevada from the East. "Why are we in such a hurry to make this decision now?" Duffy said. Bill Green of Pahrump also questioned the safety of waste shipments. Specifically, he wondered if DOE has tested its waste casks - he called them "caskets" - against "those hand-held rocket launchers the Afghanis used against the Russians that we gave them during that war." John Weisser, who serves on the Pahrump Public Lands Board, detailed another doomsday scenario. He said terrorists could target waste shipments coming over the Hoover Dam, using explosive charges to push the trucks over into Lake Mead, jeopardizing any community that gets its water from the Colorado River. But others used the threat of terrorism as an argument for the repository. "Leaving the stuff where it is now is inviting disaster," said Pahrump resident Art Ball. "I think we found that out a month ago." Much of the waste destined for Yucca Mountain is currently stored at individual nuclear power plants across the country, most of them east of the Mississippi River. Some of the reactor sites and their temporary waste storage areas are located in densely populated areas along the East Coast. Antinuclear activist Russell Hoffman made the trip from Carlsbad, Calif., to testify against the repository. He made an argument similar to Ball's but to prove the opposite point. Hoffman called on the Department of Energy to close down every nuclear power plant in America for security reasons he outlined with a list of "25 simple ways terrorists could destroy San Onofre (Calif.) Nuclear Generating Station, kill millions of people, and destroy the land for hundreds of thousands of years for under $100,000 and with less than 20 people." "The only way to prevent this," said Hoffman, who ran out of time before getting even halfway through his list, "is to shut these reactors down." Clearly, the security issue was on the minds of department officials as well. Among the DOE displays at the hearing was one dedicated to "Safeguards and Security." It stated that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will set the safety and security regulations for any repository that is built, is "assessing the implications of these attacks." The department "will comply with any additional safeguards and security requirements put in place by the NRC." The display went on to list the protections offered by the existing rules, including a "robust" storage cask design that offers "inherent protection against sabotage and terrorism." The current regulations also require armed escorts of waste transports in heavily populated areas, shipment tracking and "integrated planning with law enforcement." Friday's public hearing will likely be the last before a site recommendation is issued by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Energy has been studying Yucca Mountain as permanent repository for 77,000 metric tons of the nation's high-level radioactive waste. First to testify Friday was Pahrump Town Board Chairman Tim Leavitt, who read a prepared - and decidedly negative - statement from Gov. Kenny Guinn. The Governor railed against the repository and the department itself, which he accused of violating the public trust and safety in Nevada for the last 50 years. "I don't have to remind anyone here today that it was not long ago that Nevadans and all Americans were assured that nuclear testing was safe," Guinn's statement reads. "And we just learned for the first time that germ warfare testing - imagine, germ warfare testing - was conducted at that same test site without any knowledge whatsoever by our own congressional delegation or my office. "Given the history, I trust you can understand why I view this proceeding as morally illegal, if not technically so." Mary Wilson, vice-chair of the Pahrump Town Board, followed Leavitt to the podium. She commented on the inadequacy of DOE's groundwater-flow studies at Yucca Mountain and its apparent failure to test its waste storage casks "to the breaking point." "DOE must assure people that they have done their job thoroughly, by finding out just what that limit is," Wilson said. "And using the excuse that they have tested according to logical scenarios is unacceptable. Events on Sept. 11 proved once and for all that we don't live in a logical world." Much of Wilson's speech concerned the economic impacts of Yucca Mountain, which she described as the "probable choice" for a repository in light of the money spent so far and the fact that it is the only site being studied. With that in mind, she said the department must make good on its pledge to mitigate the impact of the project by sending as many of its "support contracts" as possible to firms in Nye County. "It is the communities in Nye County that will have to assume the liabilities, if Yucca Mountain is selected. Yet it is Las Vegas that reaps the overwhelming majority of the financial benefits," Wilson said. "I have asked DOE and its contractors to not be blinded by the lights of Las Vegas." Wilson went on to recommend that Nevada receive a surcharge of $10 per pound on all nuclear waste brought into the state. DOE should also fund a research program at UNLV with the goal of finding a way to reprocess and reuse spent nuclear fuel, she said. Pahrump resident Paul Willis agreed with Wilson's assessment of the inevitability of the Yucca Mountain Project. He labeled the hearing a "dog and pony show" and said that as far as the federal government is concerned, all of the local residents gathered in the community center Friday are expendable. "We are the acceptable risks." And no amount of debate or opposition will stop the repository from being built in Nye County, Willis said. "I wish I could be more optimistic, but I've lived in this state all my life, and I've never seen the federal government not get its way." Virtually every possible opinion was represented at the hearing. Though the bulk of comments were negative, several people did speak out in favor of the repository and the use of nuclear power in general. And in a few cases, groups or individuals with seemingly similar interests ended up on opposite sides of the issue. There was no better illustration of that, perhaps, than the testimony given by representatives of different American Indian tribes. Members of the Paiute and Western Shoshone tribes spoke out against the repository, which they characterized as an assault against land they consider theirs and a violation of long-standing treaties between their people and the U.S. government. But Doreen Hagen, tribal council member of the tiny Prairie Island Indian Tribe in southeastern Minnesota, was on hand to speak out in favor of Yucca Mountain. The roughly 550-member Prairie Island tribe wants the repository built so federal officials can remove high-level waste currently being stored at a nuclear power plant located just 600 yards from its community. "We did not ask for a nuclear neighbor, and we know the people of Nevada have not asked for one either," Hagen said. "But we believe that storing nuclear waste in a remote, militarily secure location, in a facility designed for permanent storage is a better solution than leaving it where it is, virtually unguarded and only yards away from a vulnerable community with limited evacuation options." There is only one permanent evacuation route off of Prairie Island, and it is subject to flooding. Pahrump resident and antinuclear activist Susi Snyder expressed sympathy for the plight of the Prairie Island people - at one point she even had to fight back tears - but she argued that Yucca Mountain would not solve the nation's nuclear waste problem. Even with the repository, power plants like the one on Prairie Island "would not shut down and would not be cleaned up; they would continue to be a danger to the communities that house them," Snyder said. "We have to shut that faucet off before we can clean up the spill on the floor." Friday's hearing came two days after the only other hearing held in Nye County. Sixty people signed in at the Oct. 10 hearing in Amargosa Valley, and 28 of them gave formal testimony. The department also held 29 small field hearings over the past two weeks in every Nevada county and in Inyo County, Calif. But that effort was not nearly enough for some. Andrew Remus, staff to the project coordinator of the Inyo County Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository Assessment Office, was among those critical of DOE's hearing process. He said the field hearings were hastily scheduled and wholly inadequate to address the concerns of communities threatened by possible contamination from the repository or through which many waste shipments are expected. ©Pahrump Valley Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 21 YMP decision Congress bound? Pahrump Valley Times By HENRY BREAN, Managing EditorOctober 17, 2001 Recommendation will launch process that should end up on Capitol Hill For the past 15 years, the U.S. Department of Energy has been studying Yucca Mountain as a permanent repository for 77,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste from reactor sites around the country. It is the only site being studied, and by year's end, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham hopes to be able to provide President Bush with a recommendation on its suitability. In reality, though, Bush may be among the last to hear Abraham's recommendation - at least officially. The process was detailed at the start of Friday's public hearing in Pahrump, and one thing appears clear: The ultimate fate of the Yucca Mountain Project will almost certainly rest with Congress. If Abraham decides to recommend the site for a repository, he must first notify Gov. Kenny Guinn and the Nevada Legislature, then wait 30 days before passing his recommendation on to the President. Guinn and the Legislature will have 60 days to counter Abraham's recommendation with a letter of disapproval - something they are virtually guaranteed to do. That will send the process to Capitol Hill, where a joint resolution of Congress will be needed within the first 90 days of continuous session after the letter of disapproval is issued to designate the repository site. That joint resolution will meet bitter opposition from Nevada's congressional delegation, including Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid. If the unlikely happens and Abraham decides not to recommend the site, he must notify Guinn and immediately stop site characterization activities at Yucca Mountain. The secretary then must report to Congress within six months with a recommendation on further action. If the even more unlikely happens and the governor or the Legislature decline to submit a letter of disapproval on the recommendation Abraham is expected to make, the site designation becomes effective. Since 1987, well over $1 billion has been spent on the site characterization effort. Some of those who testified during Friday's hearing pegged the amount at between $7 billion and $8 million. With a site in hand, DOE will begin work on the license application it will eventually submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ©Pahrump Valley Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 22 Yucca Comment period closes on Friday Pahrump Valley Times By:October 17, 2001 The hearings are over, but the time to comment is not. The public comment period on the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a high-level radioactive waste dump is set to expire Friday. Until then, comment cards can be submitted at the YMP Science Centers in Pahrump and Beatty. The Pahrump center is located at 1141 S. Highway 160 in the Pahrump Station shopping center. The Beatty center is located at 100 E Ave. N. Those wishing to comment in person can do so in Las Vegas at the YMP Science Center at 4101-B Meadows Lane, across from the Meadows Mall. A court reporter will be on hand to record comments from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Thursday. The hours for Friday have been extended from 10 a.m. to midnight. Walk-in testimony will be accepted time permitting, but appointments are recommended. They can be made by calling 1-800-967-3477. DOE is also accepting comments by email at (YMP_SR@ymp.gov), fax (1-800-967-0739) and mail (Carol Hanlon, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office [M/S#25], P.O. Box 30307, North Las Vegas, NV 89036-0307). Letters should be marked with "Possible Site Recommendation for Yucca Mountain." There is also a comment form on the project website at www.ymp.gov. All comments submitted prior to Friday will be considered by DOE in a comment survey document. Comments submitted after the deadline will be considered to the extent possible. When it ends on Friday, the comment period will have been open for 168 days. ©Pahrump Valley Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 23 More security urged for Millstone TheDay.com: Local and National News October 17 By Paul Choiniere - More Articles Published on 10/17/2001 Waterford — A local state senator and representative have asked for a meeting with Gov. John G. Rowland to discuss the possible use of National Guard troops to augment security at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station. Sen. Melodie Peters, D-Waterford, and Rep. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, urged Rowland to take a second look at whether the use of National Guard troops would be appropriate. So far Rowland has rejected the proposal, saying he is satisfied with the level of security provided by Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, owner and operator of the plant. Stillman said she too has met with Dominion officials and is satisfied with their security, but still sees a need for additional security by the National Guard to “increase the comfort level of Connecticut's citizens.” The letter read: “Due to the events of the past month, we feel compelled to write and ask for a meeting with you and your staff concerning the placement of the National Guard at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford. It is most imperative that if you are in agreement to post the National Guard at the plant they be trained to handle situations as they arise. “The residents of Waterford and the surrounding communities are notably concerned about safety at the plant, due to any potential terrorist activity. We share in the concern of our constituents and believe that we are facing new times with new concerns. The perception of deterrence is vital to making the public feel as secure as possible.” Peters said people living near the Millstone nuclear plants would appreciate the governor giving consideration to additional security. Peters' district includes East Lyme, Ledyard, New London, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, as well as Waterford. Much of the district is within the emergency-planning zone that could be evacuated in the event of a major accident at Millstone station. The governors of both New York and New Jersey have called on the National Guard for added protection of nuclear plants in those states. p.choiniere@theday.com © 1998-2001 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 24 Fired nuclear worker seeks to clear his name NATIONAL POST ONLINE October 17, 2001 Man with similar name found with bomb in car: police Andrew McIntosh National Post Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen Mohamed Attiah, fired from Atomic Energy of Canada last month, wants the RCMP and Canada's spy agency to re-examine his dismissal. OTTAWA - A man branded a security risk and fired by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. last month wants the RCMP and Canada's spy agency to take a new look at his case after police in Toronto arrested another man with an almost identical name who allegedly had a bomb in his car. Mohamed Attiah, 54, was fired from the AECL Chalk River Laboratories on Sept. 20, nine days after the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon and killed more than 5,000 people. Mr. Attiah, an Egyptian-born father of four who came to Canada 27 years ago, was dismissed after he was questioned by RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers at a police detachment in Deep River, Ont. Mr. Attiah, who was not taken into custody, arrested or charged with any offence, has since repeatedly denied any links with terrorists. He has urged AECL and security authorities to let him refute claims to the contrary. But AECL, the RCMP and CSIS have refused repeated public calls to share any evidence that suggests Mr. Attiah was a potential security risk. The federal agencies have also declined to comment when reporters asked why they had set Mr. Attiah free if he was indeed a security risk. Now, Mr. Attiah wants authorities to re-examine his dismissal following the arrest last week of Mohamed Attia -- the two are unrelated -- in the Toronto area after police allegedly found a homemade gunpowder bomb in a car. Halton Regional Police Constable Alan Bonner said Mohamed Attia, 23, of Scarborough, was stopped before 4 a.m. last Thursday in the Toronto area after an officer saw a car with an expired licence tag. The officer then noticed marijuana inside the car and decided to perform a full vehicle search. A homemade gunpowder bomb allegedly was found in the trunk. The device found was a 26-ounce liquor bottle filled with black gunpowder and a wick, Const. Bonner told the National Post. Mr. Attia is facing charges of unlawfully being in possession of an explosive device and of possession of marijuana. He also faces charges of driving without a licence and driving an uninsured vehicle, Const. Bonner said. If convicted for the explosives offences, he faces up to five years in jail. Halton Regional Police have alerted both the RCMP and CSIS about the case. Mr. Attia, described as a factory worker, applied for bail, but his request has been denied and he will stay in custody until his trial. Mr. Attiah, the dismissed nuclear worker, was not aware of the Toronto case until informed by the Post and he emphasized he does not want to point the finger at Mr. Attia. Mr. Attiah said the RCMP and CSIS officers who questioned him asked about another Mohammed Attiah who they claimed had died a few years ago. "It was very strange," he said. Asked whether there might be a case of mistaken identity, CSIS spokeswoman Chantal Lapalme replied: "We cannot comment on operational matters." AECL, a federal Crown corporation, did not return telephone calls. Copyright © 2001 National Post ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Isn't It Time to Nuke Trenton? Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 15:37:18 -0500 (CDT) Isn't It Time to Nuke Trenton? Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Isn't It Time to Nuke Trenton? As reported in the Arizona Daily Star, on September 29, Jon Kyl, US Senator from Arizona said that the United States should respond with nuclear weapons if terrorists ever launched an attack on America with chemical or biological weapons. Senator Kyl stated that the United States should consider launching nuclear missles even if it wasn't clear who launched a chemical or biological attack. He did concede that response would kill innocent civilians. Most members of Congress agree with Kyl's approach to "take nothing off the table" in terms of our nuclear response, but many have since indicated that such drastic action should only come if and when we can identify specific targets where the biological or chemical attacks were coming from. This past week (the 3rd week of October) envelopes containing deadly anthrax were opened by the newsroom at NBC Studios in New York and by the office of Senator Tom Daschle in Washington, D.C. Both envelopes were postmarked "Trenton, New Jersey." So, what is it we are waiting for? We have a serious biological attack and we know exactly where it came from, at least in terms of our ability to take it out with nuclear weapons. So when are we going to bomb Trenton and eliminate once and for all the anthrax threat emanating from that city? Wayne Sumstine Tucson, AZ orblink@yahoo.com ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcov-10.18.01-16:20:00-25092 ***************************************************************** 2 FACTS ON DEPLETED URANIUM - PRAGUE- CONFERENCE Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 07:52:01 -0500 (CDT) Reply-To: du@publica.cz Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 13:49:48 +0100 From: Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic, publica@publica.cz Further information about conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium", Prague, Czech Republic, November 24-25.2001. We are informing you that the conference on depleted uranium shall take place in Prague, Czech Republic on November 24-25.2001. Please, pay attention to the enclosed letter and participation form. Please, fill kindly the participation form and send it as soon as you can to the organizing institution. First participants summary will be on October 31.2001. Dissemination of information about this conference is appreciated. in ten days time further information will follow. Please, forward this message to your friends. *************** 3 Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic, publica@publica.cz The civic association, Res publica, association for information, the preparing for the date 24 and 25 November 2001 in Prague, the Czech Republic, a conference dedicated to the problems of depleted uranium "Facts on Depleted Uranium". We consider it necessary to comment on the reason leading us the organization of this conference. In reply a letter pointing out the gravity of using Depleted Uranium in war operations in Persian Gulf and in Balkans, sent to the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel by the vice-chairman of our association Res publica Jiri Horak, it was stated that the problem of using arms with depleted uranium is becoming ever more relevant and that V. Havel has been perceiving susceptibly all possible perils making possible with the deployment of arms of this type to endanger the health of all peoples. In organizing this conference we wish to contribute to the realization of the idea, supported also according to the mentioned reply by Vaclav Havel, that the whole problematic would be subjected to a proper expert opinion and on this basis relevant conclusions would be deduced as well as urgent steps resulting in the security of the protection of human lives. It is just this reason that we are laying the central point of this conference on an expert level. We are interested in hearing at this conference technical, military, political, juristic, health, ecological and other expert's views on this problem. We have requested Prof. Jiri Matousek from the Institute of Environmental Chemistry and Technology Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology from Czech Republic, to be an expert moderator at this Conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium". From quite natural reasons we consider it correct to invite also members of various humanitarian, health, ecological and peace organizations. For your information we mention that in view of the nature of the conference we calculate with the participation of the approximately fifty persons. Contributions from this conference will be published in a conference volume. Results of the conference "Facts on depleted uranium", information and comments presented at the conference will be forwarded also to the president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel. On this occasion we wish to inform you that by thist conference we take up from our preceding actions, which had been for instance our international meeting dedicated to security problems of central Europe, the question of the nature of OSCE and the importantce of Charter on European Security and particularly the problems of Yugoslav crisis in 1999 In case you are interested in aspects related to depleted uranium, it would be a great pleasure to welcome you at the conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium" in Prague. We would appreciate very much too, to recommend us for invitation those of your friends who could address the conference on aspects connected with depleted uranium! We are convicted that also with your help we may be able to contribute to a good case. We are also attaching a simple registration form to the conference and we would appreciate your decision as to whether you would wish to participate and particularly to present a contribution. Certainly you will understand that your concrete response will be important for our steps in the conference preparation. We are sending our greetings and look forward to your response. *************** 4 Participants fee: None for participants who send filled participation forms not later than October 31.2001. USD $10 for those who send their participation form until November 10.2001. USD $20 for those whose participation forms will be received later. *************** 5 Reply slip Res publica, association for information I would like to participate in the Conference Facts on Depleted Uranium, Prague, Czech Republic, November 24.-25. 2001 I would like to submit a paper on................................................. Name............. Organisation.................... Address.......................... Phone............. Fax............ E-mail.............. Web site.............. Please complete this slip and return it to the Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic: du@publica.cz ***************************************************************** 6 FACTS ON DEPLETED URANIUM - PRAGUE- CONFERENCE Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 10:27:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic, publica@publica.cz Keywords: Depleted Uranium, Facts, Prague, Czech Republic, Further information about conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium", Prague, Czech Republic, November 24-25.2001. We are informing you that the conference on depleted uranium shall take place in Prague, Czech Republic on November 24-25.2001. Please, pay attention to the enclosed letter and participation form. Please, fill kindly the participation form and send it as soon as you can to the organizing institution. First participants summary will be on October 31.2001. Dissemination of information about this conference is appreciated. in ten days time further information will follow. Please, forward this message to your friends. *************** 7 Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic, publica@publica.cz Facts on Depleted Uranium The civic association, Res publica, association for information, the preparing for the date 24 and 25 November 2001 in Prague, the Czech Republic, a conference dedicated to the problems of depleted uranium "Facts on Depleted Uranium". We consider it necessary to comment on the reason leading us the organization of this conference. In reply a letter pointing out the gravity of using Depleted Uranium in war operations in Persian Gulf and in Balkans, sent to the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel by the vice-chairman of our association Res publica Jiri Horak, it was stated that the problem of using arms with depleted uranium is becoming ever more relevant and that V. Havel has been perceiving susceptibly all possible perils making possible with the deployment of arms of this type to endanger the health of all peoples. In organizing this conference we wish to contribute to the realization of the idea, supported also according to the mentioned reply by Vaclav Havel, that the whole problematic would be subjected to a proper expert opinion and on this basis relevant conclusions would be deduced as well as urgent steps resulting in the security of the protection of human lives. It is just this reason that we are laying the central point of this conference on an expert level. We are interested in hearing at this conference technical, military, political, juristic, health, ecological and other expert's views on this problem. We have requested Prof. Jiri Matousek from the Institute of Environmental Chemistry and Technology Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology from Czech Republic, to be an expert moderator at this Conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium". From quite natural reasons we consider it correct to invite also members of various humanitarian, health, ecological and peace organizations. For your information we mention that in view of the nature of the conference we calculate with the participation of the approximately fifty persons. Contributions from this conference will be published in a conference volume. Results of the conference "Facts on depleted uranium", information and comments presented at the conference will be forwarded also to the president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel. On this occasion we wish to inform you that by thist conference we take up from our preceding actions, which had been for instance our international meeting dedicated to security problems of central Europe, the question of the nature of OSCE and the importantce of Charter on European Security and particularly the problems of Yugoslav crisis in 1999 In case you are interested in aspects related to depleted uranium, it would be a great pleasure to welcome you at the conference "Facts on Depleted Uranium" in Prague. We would appreciate very much too, to recommend us for invitation those of your friends who could address the conference on aspects connected with depleted uranium! We are convicted that also with your help we may be able to contribute to a good case. We are also attaching a simple registration form to the conference and we would appreciate your decision as to whether you would wish to participate and particularly to present a contribution. Certainly you will understand that your concrete response will be important for our steps in the conference preparation. We are sending our greetings and look forward to your response. *************** 8 Participants fee: None for participants who send filled participation forms not later than October 31.2001. USD 10 for those who send their participation form until November 10.2001. USD 20 for those whose participation forms will be received later. *************** 9 Reply slip Res publica, association for information I would like to participate in the Conference Facts on Depleted Uranium, Prague, Czech Republic, November 24.-25. 2001 I would like to submit a paper on................................................. Name............. Organisation.................... Address.......................... Phone............. Fax............ E-mail.............. Web site.............. Please complete this slip and return it to the Res publica, association for information, Prague, Czech Republic: du@publica.cz ***************************************************************** 10 India to lease Russian nuclear bombers BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Oct 16, 2001 India is to lease from Russia four TU-22 bombers which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Indian Doordarshan TV reported on Tuesday. The two countries will sign an agreement on the lease in November, the TV reported. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov refused to comment on the possibility of also leasing nuclear submarines to India, the TV said. Source: Doordarshan television, New Delhi, in English 0840 gmt 16 Oct 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 11 'Al Qaida tried to buy nuclear material from Russian mafia' [Yahoo! India - News] Home - Yahoo! - Help Tuesday October 16, 6:03 PM By Arun Mohanty, Indo-Asian News Service Moscow, Oct 16 (IANS) Terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden's group Al Qaida has tried to buy nuclear material through the Russian mafia, reports here said. Al Qaida had made several attempts to procure nuclear material for military purpose from Russian mafia, Russian news agency Interfax reports. For this purpose bin Laden had reportedly established contacts with representatives of Russian organised criminal gangs in Germany, Belarus and Russia. "A German state-run TV company will reveal this in its popular evening programme 'Report,'" Interfax said quoting the news agency EFE. American and European specialists are trying to trace contacts made by Al Qaida financial director Makhmud Salim in this connection. Salim has been in a German prison since 1998. Al Qaida member Jamal Ahmed Fadl had also confirmed that the group was trying to buy nuclear material from the Russian mafia early this year. Fadl reportedly said he, on bin Laden's behest, had established contact with the representatives of Russian organised crime for procuring nuclear material. In the chaotic years that followed Soviet collapse, Russian mafia, which has its tentacles in different industrial branches, was reported to have control over many nuclear installations Copyright © 2001 IANS India Private Limited. All rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Spain approves emergency measures to combat bacteriological, chemical and nuclear attack (Espana aprueba planes de emergencia ante ataques bacteriologicos, quimicos y nucleares) El Pais - Spain; Oct 17, 2001 In Spain yesterday, the national commitee for civil emergency planning, a body dependant on the Spanish government's crisis cabinet, was made aware of new emergency contingencies put in place to combat the threat of nuclear, chemical and bacteriological attacks. In line with European Union recommendations following the 11 September terrorist attacks, the civil protection directorate has updated its nuclear and chemical emergency plans, while at the same time creating a strategy against biological warfare; a measure which did not exist in the country previously as a result of the lack of a perceived risk. Abstracted from El Pais World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright ***************************************************************** 13 Kazakh proposal to ban nuclear weapons finds support at UN BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Oct 17, 2001 Text of report by Kazakh Commercial TV on 16 October Some countries' reaction to Kazakhstan's proposal that the use of nuclear weapons should be banned become known today. At a sitting of the UN First Committee for Disarmament and International Security, most African UN member states supported our republic's stance. Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Tanzania have expressed their agreement that a universal ban should be imposed on the use of nuclear weapons . Qatar has also expressed support for Astana's proposal. It should be noted that Australia came out against the proposal, and stated that measures aimed at reducing weapons of mass destruction should be taken against those countries which should not possess any nuclear weapons in line with international agreements. Source: Kazakh Commercial Television, Almaty, in Russian 1030 gmt 16 Oct 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 14 KURSK Docking delayed Background information and news about the numerous accidents and incidents that involve the nuclear vessels in the Northern Fleet. Jump to section Viktor Khabarov, 2001-10-17 16:33 The operation on placing of the Kursk into the dock is delayed due to the emerged problems with the pontoons, designed by Mammoet and built at shipyard Sevmash in Severodvinsk, deputy command of the Northern Fleet, vice-admiral Anatoly Smolyakov, said. The Mammoet design had some technical faults, he said. The specialists concluded that the pontoons lifting capacity is not enough to keep the required draft of the barge and the submarine. It is decided to apply four extra pontoons of the Northern Fleet rescue team to provide additional floatability. Two small pontoons will be fastened to the big Severodvinsk pontoons, so the lifting capacity will be increased with extra 800,000 tonnes. The assembling of the pontoon system with the barge has started today. According to Anatoly Smolyakov, this operation will be completed by the weekend. During the weekend the Kursk will be placed in the dock of Roslyakovo shipyard. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 15 Brookhaven National Laboratory Meets International Environmental Standard UPTON, New York, October 16, 2001 (ENS) - The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has achieved ISO 14001 registration for the entire site, becoming the first national laboratory to obtain third party registration to this globally recognized environmental standard. ISO 14001 is an international environmental standard under which independent auditors evaluate environmental processes and system performance. Major corporations such as Ford Motor Company, IBM, Johnson &Johnson and Xerox have received the ISO 14001 designation, but Brookhaven is the first national laboratory to win certification for all its operations. "In a time of ever increasing appreciation of the fragility of our environment, Brookhaven Lab has set a gold standard of operations for all large institutions," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "If we want to continue producing the great science that is the hallmark of the national laboratory system, we must all do our part to ensure we are operating at the highest level of environmental awareness." The International Organization for Standardization's ISO 14001 includes international standards for manufacturing, communication, trade and management systems. More than 100 countries have national standards bodies that are members of ISO. [ions] A computer generated image of a high energy impact between gold ions in Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (Photos courtesy Brookhaven National Laboratory) ISO 14001 requires an organization to identify potential environmental impacts and establish controls needed to minimize those impacts, to monitor and communicate environmental performance, and to establish a formal process for continually improving the system. In 1999, Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider project became the first Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory and Long Island based organization to obtain third party registration to the ISO standard. In 2000, eight additional Brookhaven facilities were registered to the standard. In order to achieve registration, Brookhaven National Laboratory underwent an independent audit of its environmental management system to verify that the system conformed to all ISO requirements and that it was implemented effectively. The certification also requires Brookhaven to undergo annual audits by an accredited firm to assure that the system is maintained. In its recommendation for certification, NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd., an independent third party environmental review firm from Ann Arbor, Michigan, singled out14 aspects of Brookhaven's program as being particularly noteworthy. These included Brookhaven's comprehensive use of computer technology to help provide environmental guidance, the thoroughness of the Laboratory's experimental project reviews, and its systems for identifying environmental protection priorities and tracking issues. NSF reviewers also noted that Brookhaven's environmental management system was the most thoroughly and systematically implemented program they had encountered to date, and that this was particularly noteworthy for such a unique and complex organization. Brookhaven's environmental management system recently received a DOE Pollution Prevention Award for "Excellence in Management," the first organization ever to receive this award. [Marburgur] Brookhaven laboratory director John Marburgur "People across the DOE complex and at other research institutions are looking at Brookhaven's environmental management system as a model program," said Brookhaven director John Marburger. "This registration demonstrates the progress we have made at Brookhaven, and an understanding that our ability to produce great science is closely tied to our dedication to environmental stewardship." To gain registration to the standard, an organization must comply with a set of 17 ISO 14001 requirements. These include: + Development of an environmental policy with a commitment to compliance, pollution prevention and continual improvement. + Identification of environmental aspects and impacts of an operation and any legal requirements, setting goals and objectives consistent with policy and implementing programs to achieve the goals. + Establishment of a support structure to administer environmental training, communication, documentation, operational control and emergency preparedness. + Implementation of checking and corrective actions that include monitoring and auditing functions, and senior management review of overall system effectiveness. + Completion of annual audits by independent auditors to ensure continued conformance to requirements and to maintain registration. Brookhaven and the DOE have taken a number of steps over the years to improve environmental performance at the laboratory and on the Brookhaven grounds. In the year 2000, Brookhaven's pollution prevention programs, recycling programs, and conservation initiatives saved more than $2 million and supported the recycling or reuse of more than 1,683 tons of industrial materials. For example, 330 tons of concrete shielding block were reused on site, saving about $1.3 million. The Laboratory also reduced its water use by 63.5 million gallons compared to 1999 levels, and used 26 percent less energy per square foot than in 1985. In November 2000, the DOE set aside 530 acres of pine barrens at Brookhaven as the new Upton Ecological and Research Reserve, to protect more than 220 species of plants and 162 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. [catalysts] Brookhaven National Laboratory's Morris Bullock (right) and Prasenjit Ghosh prepare for an experiment to test a new class of catalysts which can turn plant wastes into useful industrial materials In April 2000, Brookhaven installed a state of the art fuel cell power system, including three seven-kilowatt fuel cells. In August 2000, scientists at Brookhaven announced they have devised a way to combine chemical treatment with bacteria to remove cadmium from contaminated soil. But Brookhaven has also had its share of environmental problems, including allowing radioactive tritium to seep into groundwater beneath the lab for years. A massive cleanup effort is now underway to decontaminate the water around the lab. Monitoring in 2000 showed that deer and fish on and near the site still contain low levels of Brookhaven related radionuclides. The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization. Environmental Press Releases ***************************************************************** 16 Police suspect bin Laden making 'dirty' nuclear bombs October 17, 2001 By David Pugliese Ottawa Citizen Police in Canada, Britain and Bulgaria are urgently investigating suspicious activity involving atomic energy research facilities as fears grow that Osama bin Laden may be attempting to build crude nuclear weapons. Terrorists could build a "dirty" radiological bomb with little effort capable of killing 2,000 people and contaminating thousands more, according to a report from the Center for Defense Information, a think tank in Washington. A U.S. defence official has said bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorists had developed chemical and biological weapons and possibly nuclear-related arms. "If there's any nuclear capability, it is liable to be more radiological than fissile," the official said, according to The Washington Times. Radiological weapons -- or dirty bombs -- combine radioactive material with conventional explosives to increase their deadliness. A fissile nuclear device produces a nuclear blast. British intelligence officials are reportedly tracing the activities of a Pakistani scientist, connected to bin Laden, who is believed to have tried to obtain nuclear waste materials in England. Also being investigated is a scheme by the bin Laden organization to set up a fake environmental company to obtain radioactive material from a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. In Canada, police continue to follow leads on a Kuwaiti man found with sensitive documents about Canadian atomic energy facilities. In a report, Mr. Blair says a radiological bomb is an expedient weapon, in that radioactive waste material is relatively easy to obtain and not as well guarded as nuclear weapons. He estimated the worst-case calculation for a noon-hour explosion in downtown Manhattan to be more than 2,000 deaths. "There's a potential for that type of action," said John Thompson, who studies terrorism trends for the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank. "I don't think you would create a large number of casualties, but you would certainly generate a lot of panic." Canadian defence analyst David Rudd notes bin Laden would be courting the demise of his cause if he used a nuclear weapon against the United States. Such an action would turn supporters among the Arab establishment against him and spark massive retaliation from the U.S. government against any country to give him sanctuary. "All bets would be off if he used nuclear weapons," said Mr. Rudd, director of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. Bin Laden has voiced his desire to have a nuclear bomb. In May, 1998, he issued a statement arguing it was necessary to obtain nuclear weapons and that it was the duty of Muslims "to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God." In a 1998 interview with Time, bin Laden dodged the question of whether he actually had such a device. "If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so," he said. One of his former aides, Jamal al-Fadl, testified during a terrorism trial this year he was directly involved in an attempt to purchase uranium for bin Laden in 1993. He was instructed to meet a Sudanese military officer, who supposedly possessed radioactive material to sell for $1.5-million. Mr. al-Fadl arranged for the purchase of a device to determine whether the material was radioactive, but he was taken off the job. Mr. al-Fadl testified he did not know if the purchase was completed. Earlier this year, customs officers from Uzbekistan seized 10 lead-lined containers at a remote border crossing with Kazakhstan. Intelligence analysts say they were filled with enough radioactive material to construct dozens of crude radiological weapons. The containers were being shipped to a company in Quetta, Pakistan, but since Pakistan already has an arsenal of nuclear weapons, most analysts believe it would have no need for such material, prompting speculation it was destined for bin Laden. There is also the possibility bin Laden has built or obtained a nuclear bomb, stolen from the stockpile of the former Soviet Union. In 1998, an Arabic news magazine reported bin Laden's organization paid Chechen gangsters US$30-million for 20 Russian nuclear warheads. The plan, according to the magazine, was to detonate the bombs in U.S. cities. The Russian government denies any of its warheads are missing. But according to Republican Congressman Curt Weldon, the former Soviet Union cannot account for 48 of its 10-kiloton suitcase nuclear weapons. ***************************************************************** 17 Security upgrades coming at Oak Ridge plant By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel senior writer The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant expects to share in the $40 billion emergency fund approved by Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We certainly hope so," Bill Brumley, the top federal official at the Oak Ridge plant, said this week. Brumley said Y-12 and other nuclear weapons installations were asked to submit requests to Washington based on their needs to enhance security and respond to recent events. "How much of that we will get back, we'll just have to wait and see," he said. Y-12 already was hoping to make security improvements, even before U.S. vulnerabilities were showcased last month, and there was a request for some funds in the 2002 budget. Oak Ridge security police have complained about their armaments for years, and one guard recently said Y-12's equipment was clearly inferior to that at other facilities under the auspices of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Brumley promises that's about to change. The Y-12 guard force, managed by Wackenhut, is in the process of phasing out the M16 machine-gun and MP5, a submachine-gun, in favor of the M4 - a more modern weapon, Brumley said. And, he noted, "Everybody's getting new handguns this year." Guards have said handguns currently used are 15 years old. Brumley said "a lot of other, smaller things" will be added to Y-12's arsenal of security hardware, including night-vision and thermal-imaging capabilities. Guards are pushing for better tools to deal with possible chemical and biological threats. "We do have masks," Brumley said, but the NNSA official acknowledged the respirators are not the type fully protective of chem-bio hazards. "People across the complex are looking at what we ought to do to protect against that," he said. Current capabilities are not adequate - that's obvious - but Brumley said Y-12 and other federal facilities do not want to respond to terrorist threats in a knee-jerk fashion and end up wasting millions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, a long-anticipated security inspection is underway at Y-12, but it, too, has been affected by fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks. Typically, as part of a major security evaluation, there would be one or more exercises to test the response of the Y-12 security force to physical threats. But that was scrapped because of the heightened state of security, according to Brumley. "There was a collective decision that we did not want to conduct any more force-on-force (exercises)," he said, noting that six or seven of those drills were done over the summer. While they are good tests for security, the exercises apparently can make the plant more vulnerable during the actual event. Such drills also require extraordinary safety precautions. Brumley reiterated that Y-12 is the nation's chief repository for weapons-usable uranium and noted, "We can never, ever not protect it." At the same time, some observers have suggested that training exercises heretofore may not have been tough enough to ensure preparedness. One Oak Ridge guard said there's a certain amount of cheating that takes place, because the threat is typically known in advance. "In any drill or scenario, there is always some degree of artificiality," Brumley responded. "We work as hard as we can to minimize that." * FOREIGN FLAVOR: Last week, I wrote about the world campus at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, noting there currently are about 1,500 foreign nationals visiting the research facilities despite the heightened state of security. Some assignments last up to two years. A recent visitation list at ORNL showed 84 countries represented - some of which may surprise you. Here's the list in alphabetical order: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia &Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, PRC, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Zaire. 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. This column is also available on the Web at www.knoxnews.com/editorsview/munger/ Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 18 India to lease Russian nuclear bombers BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Oct 16, 2001 India is to lease from Russia four TU-22 bombers which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Indian Doordarshan TV reported on Tuesday. The two countries will sign an agreement on the lease in November, the TV reported. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov refused to comment on the possibility of also leasing nuclear submarines to India, the TV said. Source: Doordarshan television, New Delhi, in English 0840 gmt 16 Oct 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** 19 BWXT Y-12 to hold safety expo Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:16 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 from staff reports BWXT Y-12 is planning to "Celebrate Safety." The company, which manages the Y-12 National Security Complex for the Department of Energy, is scheduled to do so during an all-day expo scheduled for Oct. 24 at the Oak Ridge Mall. When announcing the safety expo, BWXT Y-12 officials said the event will be a way for employees, their families and the community to increase their knowledge of safety. The expo, which is open to the public, is scheduled to run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 24 with activities for children and adults held inside the mall and in its parking lot. More than 75 exhibitors are expected to be on hand. Events planned for Oct. 24 include the following: + Safety expo kick-off -- between 7 and 7:45 a.m. in the Crown Court + Protective equipment training for electricians, safety professionals and management -- 8 to 9 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. in the Community Room. + Jaws of Life demonstration -- 8 to 10 a.m., noon and 2 to 4 p.m. in the parking lot. + Physical therapy demonstration -- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Booth 45, which will be located near the entertainment stage. + Winter cold stress training -- 8 to 8:30 a.m., 2:30 to 3 p.m. and 7:30 to 8 p.m. in the Crown Court. + Climbing wall activity -- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot. + Fork lift rodeo -- 10 to 11 a.m. and noon to 1 p.m. in the parking lot. + Fire extinguishing demonstration -- 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the parking lot. + Self defense training -- 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. in the Community Room. + A fashion show focusing on dressing warm in winter -- 4 to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 7 p.m. at the entertainment stage. In addition, a silent auction for two basketballs autographed by Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt and a football signed by UT Vols Coach Phillip Fulmer is planned. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Y-12 fire department's fund-raiser to support New York City firefighters in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************