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NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS
1 NRC to Meet with Nuclear Fuel Services to Discuss Apparent
2 Geologist: Uranium contamination may extend into other states
3 Agency's report shows no link between cancer, material stored at Molycorp
4 Man visits Kansas City to protest nuclear waste shipment
5 Slim Yucca budget set to advance
6 Electricity from Perry nuclear plant flickers back on
7 House Panels Speed Up Work on Energy Bills
8 Cheney Records Demanded
9 Cutting the Nukes
10 NRC to Meet with Proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel Facility Applicant to
11 The Project on Managing the Atom
12 Roberson to oversee cleanup program
13 Nuclear Power Is Looking "Very Attractive"
14 Fuel Rods Estimate 'Wrong'
15 Energy Minister Visiting MOX Today
16 CROOK'S FORTUNE AT RISK
17 Protesters rally against nuclear waste dump
18 GAO Issues Demand Letter on Energy
19 WMC rules out nuclear power for SA
20 Nuclear power regaining steam
21 House Committee OKs Energy Package
22 Study: Nuclear waste accident would be costly
23 Analysis: Nuke waste budget cut will cause layoff...
NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS
1 Preliminary Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil
2 Subject: Preliminary Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition
3 Giant' mission to raise the Kursk -
4 Radiation victims urged to file claims
5 Russian critics fear plutonium conversion
6 Russia: No Ammo Found in Nuke Sub
7 Proposed road across Rocky Flats unneeded
8 Former nuclear workers seek help for ills
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NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES
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1 NRC to Meet with Nuclear Fuel Services to Discuss Apparent
Violation of NRC Requirements
Press Release 2001 - 089 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs
Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: Web
Site:
No. 01-089 July 18, 2001
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with officials
of Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) on Friday, July 20, in Rockville,
Maryland, to discuss an apparent safety violation at the
company's nuclear fuel cycle facility in Erwin, Tennessee.
The meeting will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. until about 12:30
p.m. in Room T8-E8 of the NRC's Two White Flint North Building,
11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville. It will be open to the public
for observation, and NRC officials will be available at its
conclusion to answer questions. Portions of the meeting may be
closed if classified information is to be discussed.
In March, the NRC conducted an inspection at the NFS plant after
the licensee reported to the NRC on March 6 that about 20
kilograms of high-enriched uranium stored in a building on site
were not covered by the required alarm system. Based on the
results of the inspection, an apparent violation was identified
pertaining to storage of the uranium.
The decision to hold a pre-decisional enforcement conference does
not mean that the NRC has determined that a violation has
occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. The purpose of
the meeting is to obtain information from NFS to determine
whether a violation occurred and to determine the significance of
the violation, and to obtain information related to corrective
actions taken or planned by NFS.
No decision on any apparent violation will be made at this
conference. A decision will be made by senior NRC officials at a
later time.
*****************************************************************
2 Geologist: Uranium contamination may extend into other states
GREENVILLE (AP) — Geologists studying how uranium could have
gotten into some Upstate wells say the contamination may be more
widespread than originally thought.
Tom Temples, a geologist at the University of South Carolina,
said he wants to see a study done from Georgia to North Carolina
to determine the extent of contamination.
"Based on what we know, it looks like it could be associated
with a geologic province from Alabama all the way up the
Appalachians," he said.
Meanwhile, the federal government has committed $2 million for
the extension of water lines to homes that have high levels of
uranium, said U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint. The money will be available
Oct. 1, said DeMint, R-S.C.
State officials asked for money for water lines after they found
94 out of 105 people in the Simpsonville-Fountain Inn area tested
had high levels uranium in their bodies.
Uranium is a radioactive metal naturally present in granite.
Research shows it can cause cancer and kidney damage with
prolonged exposure.
Some lawmakers want the state Department of Health and
Environmental Control to conduct uranium tests on wells
statewide, but DHEC said it doesn't have the money.
The public is overreacting to the health risks from uranium,
said Charles Jeter, a former administrator with the federal
Environmental Protection Agency.
"Everything we do each day has some level of risk," Jeter said.
"We have to put the risk in proper perspective. In my opinion,
there's a very minimal risk for the people drinking water out
there. The real risk is more of an emotional risk and scaring the
people to death down there."
Environmental officials knew as far back as the 1970s that
uranium was present in high levels in some parts of the Carolinas
and Georgia, Temples said.
"There have been some hints that it was a potential problem, but
I don't think anybody knew enough to be concerned," he said.
In August 1989, the EPA published a study of several wells in
Georgia and found the highest readings in the northeast part of
that state.
But the EPA never followed up to determine the extent of
contamination, Temples said.
"There's been no further research that we're aware of," Temples
said. "We've done a quick scan on data out there, and you see
spotty evidence that this could be occurring up the coast. If it
would have been me, it would have gotten my curiosity up. I would
have started snooping sooner."
EPA spokesman Carl Terry said he is not aware of any uranium
studies by the agency since the 1989 report.
Copyright 2001 The State-Record Company
*****************************************************************
3 Agency's report shows no link between cancer, material stored at Molycorp
Sunday, July 22, 2001
BY CHRISTIE CAMPBELL
THE OBSERVER-REPORTER
chriscam@observer-reporter.com
The final version of a health assessment for the Molycorp Inc.
site in Canton Township has been released.
In the assessment, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry, which earlier reported no link could be found between
low-level radioactive waste on Molycorp's property and human
health concerns, also addresses public comments raised earlier
this year.
Only about a dozen people attended the ATSDR's health assessment
review in March. By then Molycorp had announced its intention to
move its radioactive material out-of-state, abandoning plans to
build a storage cell in Canton Township. It was the company's
plans for encapsulating the material on its property that raised
a public outcry.
Molycorp produced ferrocolumbium, an ingredient to strengthen
steel, in the 1960s. A by-product of the process was low-level
radioactive slag, much of which was used as backfill around the
company's Caldwell Avenue plant.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requiring the company
to remove that low-level radioactive material.
The ATSDR prepared the public health assessment after it was
petitioned by Canton Township Supervisor Chad Smith to
investigate health concerns related to the site. Citizens were
concerned that waste on the site could be causing cancer and
might be contaminating an underground municipal water supply
line.
In its assessment, the ATSDR could find no pathway between the
material stored at the plant and cancer. It concluded there were
no health threats from the exposure to ionizing radiation in the
form of either gamma radiation or the incidental ingestion and
inhalation of on-site soils containing thorium. It also concluded
that estimated levels of past air emissions were below levels of
concern; there were no radiological contaminants in a municipal
water line running through the property, and the material posed
no public health threat.
A copy of the assessment is available for review at Citizens
Library in Washington. Copies also may be obtained directly from
the ATSDR.
George Dawes, Molycorp's project manager, said the mound of
radioactive material, which contained the greatest amount of
thorium, and the 194 roll-off boxes stored on the property are
now gone. The material has been shipped to Envirocare in Utah.
The company still has to submit a new decommissioning schedule to
the NRC for removal of the rest of the material. That schedule is
expected to be submitted in September.
Dawes said negotiations are continuing as to where the material
will be shipped.
Molycorp still must remove about seven buidings on its property
to dig up the rest of the radioactive waste for shipment
out-of-state. Dawes said the company is still identifying which
equipiment it plans to keep and which will be sold in preparation
for removal of the buildings.
© TO RECEIVE A COPY of the ATSDR's final heath assessment
version, contact the ATSDR at 1-888-422 8737 or atsdr@cdc.gov.
RELATED STORIES: Group home agency to appeal
zoning decision Adelphoi Inc. will appeal a decision by North
Franklin Township supervisors to revoke its building permit for a
home for troubled juveniles.
-->
PHOTO BY DON WRIGHT Elsie Hught of Eighty Four picks up her copy
of "Titanic" at the Wal-Mart in South Strabane Township Tuesday
morning.
Copyright ©2001 Observer Publishing Co.
*****************************************************************
4 Man visits Kansas City to protest nuclear waste shipment
By MICHAEL MANSUR - The Kansas City Star
Date: 07/18/01 23:01
Kansas City was on his way to Idaho, so Kevin Kamps decided to
hold a little anti-nuclear demonstration here Wednesday.
With a mock nuclear-waste canister (weighing more than 1,000
pounds, and 18 feet long) in tow, Kamps pulled through the
Country Club Plaza, accompanied by his wife, Gabriela Bulisova.
Their display -- set up at the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer
Survivors Park on Roanoke Parkway, then at Union Station -- was
meant to draw attention to a coming shipment of highly
radioactive wastes from nuclear plants. That shipment -- from
West Valley, N.Y., to a U.S. energy laboratory near Pocatello,
Idaho -- is expected to come by rail through the area this
summer.
Those parts of the country that show the least resistance, he
said, will be on routes receiving the most shipments. Energy
officials say the routes are determined partly by population. So
although a more direct route from West
Valley would run through Chicago, that city will be bypassed.
John Chamberlain, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Energy's
West Valley Demonstration Project in New York, said the agency
had made public its route, which cuts through Missouri and Kansas
City, skirting the St. Louis area.
All content © 2001 The Kansas City Star
*****************************************************************
5 Slim Yucca budget set to advance
July 19, 2001
Murkowski: Reduced funding would 'basically kill' project
By Benjamin Grove
<> and Mary Manning
<>
LAS VEGAS SUN
The U.S. Senate today was expected to approve a bill that contains the
smallest budget since 1992 for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository. Pro-Yucca lawmakers led by Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, said
the budget was so small it would "basically kill" the project.
Yucca budget wrangling continued Wednesday as Murkowski had sharp words for
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's efforts to strip $175 million in project money out of
the annual budget.
"If we reduce the funding, we're putting (Yucca) off indefinitely," Murkowski
said in a floor speech.
Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site under study
by the DOE as the suggested burial ground for the nation's high-level nuclear
waste. It is scheduled to open as early as 2010, but budget restrictions
threaten the project timetable, lawmakers say.
Nevada leaders strongly oppose the Yucca plan. Reid last week slashed Yucca
funding to $275 million from $445 requested by the Energy Department, which
manages the project. Reid wields some influence over the Yucca budget as the
No. 2 Senate Democrat and a member of the Appropriations Committee.
A DOE report Murkowski referenced Wednesday said that Reid's cuts could mean
650 layoffs on the 1,500-person Yucca work force, both in Nevada and
Washington.
The DOE's preliminary analysis said Reid's cuts would mean:
* The 2010 target opening date would be "unachievable."
* That 75 percent of federal oversight staff would be cut.
* There would be cuts for independent technical reviews.
The cuts also would hinder the DOE's efforts to finish a surface design for
the Yucca site, eliminate university involvement, cut computer support to
federal staff and cut "all quality assurance oversight," according to the
analysis.
The cuts would come at a critical time. The DOE is wrapping up studies of the
mountain and is planning to make a recommendation later this year to the
president about whether it is a safe site for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste.
The Yucca budget is wrapped in a $25.4 billion bill for energy and water
projects for the nation, which the Senate was deliberating again today. Reid
hoped to pass the bill today, aides said.
That would set up a showdown with the House, which approved $443 million for
Yucca. House and Senate negotiators would have to work out a compromise.
To be sure, negotiators will work out a Yucca budget larger than Reid's, Reid
spokesman Nathan Naylor said. But the number still gives Reid room to
negotiate for a much smaller budget than the DOE requested.
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., in an interview Wednesday also said he was
optimistic lawmakers negotiating behind closed doors in the conference
committee would keep Yucca funding low.
Each year, Congress sets a budget for the project, spending roughly $8
billion in the last 20 years.
To pay for Yucca, lawmakers mostly rely on cash in a national nuclear waste
fund, fed by utility ratepayers nationwide who use nuclear-generated
electricity and pay a special tax into the fund.
The fund now has about $9 billion. By law, 90 percent of overall Yucca costs
-- expected to soar to at least $58 billion -- are to be paid from the nuclear
waste fund.
The other 10 percent comes from the Defense Department's nuclear waste
account because Yucca would store defense waste as well as commercial reactor
waste. This year is an anomaly in that Defense Department money -- taxpayer
money -- is slated to pay for $250 million of the $275 million budgeted.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are still mulling a bill that would eliminate the
authority of Congress to set an annual budget for Yucca. The legislation would
give DOE unrestricted access to the federal Yucca fund.
Pro-Yucca lawmakers in the House have said they are weary of haggling over
Yucca budgets each year and have introduced legislation that would take
Congress out of Yucca budget setting. The proposal, touted by Rep. Joe Barton,
R-Texas, is part of a larger bill that outlines energy program initiatives
that Barton's Energy Committee was expected to pass today.
Nevada lawmakers are working behind the scenes to kill the proposal,
appealing to other key congressmen to retain the budget-setting authority. The
proposal has not been approved by the full House or Senate.
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
6 Electricity from Perry nuclear plant flickers back on
07/19/01
James Lawless
North Perry
- The Perry nuclear power plant, which has had a checkered
operating record since refueling was finished in March, was
supposed to be near full power yesterday.
But a valve that regulates cooling water in the reactor
acted up Tuesday, forcing the plant to shut for the fifth time
since April. The latest problem comes in a period of peak demand
for electricity.
The series of incidents have caused Perry to be down at
least 34 days since refueling:
The plant went down in late April for replacement of 105
cooling water tubes that service the generator.
In early May, seals on the reactor recirculation pump got
very hot and could have failed. The seals may have been damaged
during the first outage.
In late May, high vibrations developed in two pumps that
circulate water from the cooling tower to the condenser. Pump
motors were rebuilt and fanlike devices were replaced.
Last week the plant shut automatically when a blown fuse
interrupted power to control room instruments. The fuse was
replaced along with others, while workers investigated why backup
diesel generators started unnecessarily.
The automatic shutdown was a "scram." Paul Gunter, a
spokesman for the Nuclear Research Information Services, said
everytime the plant closes in a "scram," he worries about it,
"because it is like hitting the brakes to stop when you are
driving at 65 on an interstate. It puts a strain on the system."
The plant went down for refueling and upgrading in
February. When that was finished, FirstEnergy Corp. officials
ballyhooed the fact that it could produce 5 percent more power
and that the 34-day shutdown was the shortest ever for refueling.
Perry was the 10th most productive nuclear plant in the
country last year, but its record since the refueling is less
encouraging. "We expect plants to run well," said Jan Strasma,
spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Some plants operate smoothly after refueling, while
others do what Perry has done, Strasma said.
"These outages are not unique. They are not something
that concerns us, since they were problems on the non-nuclear
side of the house," Strasma said.
Perry watchdog Susan Hiatt was more cautious.
"They better be careful and make sure this is not an
adverse trend," said Hiatt, director of the Ohio Citizens for
Responsible Energy, which has followed Perry's operations since
its construction years ago.
After the refueling and the improvement of various
systems, Perry promised to make more money for its owner because
it would generate more power to sell. However, officials refused
to divulge what it cost to refuel and repair or the cost of the
outages.
The refueling was an enormous effort involving more than
1,750 contract employees and engineers hired by the utility.
Spokesman Todd Schneider would not say what the total cost was.
But it was earlier estimated that those workers contributed $2
million to the local economy.
Schneider said the first three outages involved
equipment that was repaired or replaced during the outages. Asked
if FirstEnergy would sue to recover expenses from contractors,
Schneider said the company would not announce that decision in
the newspaper.
Contact James Lawless at:
jlawless@plaind.com, 800-275-5253
Advertise With Us © 2001 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
7 House Panels Speed Up Work on Energy Bills
(washingtonpost.com)
By Eric Pianin and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 19, 2001; Page A02
Several House committees rushed yesterday to complete work on key
elements of President Bush's energy proposals by week's end, as
the administration for the first time received some good news
about its proposal for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee moved quickly to complete
work last night on a far-reaching package of energy initiatives,
including an increase in the fuel efficiency standard for
sport-utility vehicles, following a 29-to-10 vote Tuesday in the
House Resources Committee endorsing oil and gas exploration in
the wildlife refuge.
The proposal is strongly opposed in the Senate and in the House
among Democrats and moderate Republicans. However, Interior
Secretary Gale A. Norton and House Resources Committee Chairman
James V. Hansen (R-Utah) said yesterday that prospects for
passage in the House were increasing as lawmakers begin to piece
together energy production and conservation measures.
Norton said the administration is making headway with its
argument that the drilling can be done without seriously
threatening the environment. "The test case was in this
[Resources] Committee and the result is, they looked at it and
approved it," she said.
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has instructed key House
committees, including Resources, Energy and Commerce, Ways and
Means and Science, to finish work on their respective energy
proposals by Friday.
The Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday rejected language
that California lawmakers tried to add to an energy efficiency
and conservation bill that would have permitted states to sell
reformulated gasoline that is not blended with ethanol or MTBE.
Committee members voted 33 to 22 against a waiver of the federal
oxygen content requirement.
The committee also rejected several amendments offered by
Democrats that would have raised the fuel efficiency standards
for air conditioners and established first-time fuel efficiency
standards for commercial freezers and icemakers.
But the legislation would require the Transportation Department
to reduce gasoline consumption of SUVs and other light trucks by
5 billion gallons over a six-year period through higher mileage
standards.
Vice President Cheney, in an interview with public television's
"NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," said the administration may support
an increase in mileage standards for those vehicles after it
reviews a National Academy of Sciences report on vehicle fuel
efficiency.
The Ways and Means Committee, meanwhile, marked up a $33.5
billion bill providing tax incentives for energy research over
the next decade. The measure includes a $2 billion tax credit for
fuel cell-powered cars, for example, along with nearly $900
million in credits for oil and gas production from marginal
wells.
At the same time Ways and Means was providing tax relief for the
energy industry, the Science Committee considered legislation to
promote research and development through direct federal
investment. The bill, which has a price tag of between $14
billion and $15 billion, provides funds for renewable energy
projects, clean coal technology and nuclear power.
Some Republican leaders expressed cautious optimism that they
would be able to pass a provision allowing for drilling in the
Alaska refuge now that they had received backing from the
Teamsters as well as the seafarers, carpenters, steelworkers, and
laborers unions. DeLay spokeswoman Emily Miller said she expected
the measure would "be part of the final package" that makes it to
the floor, though she added some lawmakers would try to remove it
from the bill.
Opponents of drilling in ANWR on both sides of the aisle said
they were confident they could strip the provision from any bill
once it reached the floor.
Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) compared
ANWR to "vouchers and energy policy: much talked about, but after
deep thought and consideration it will not be part of the
ultimate package."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
8 Cheney Records Demanded
(washingtonpost.com)
Energy Task Force Papers Eyed by GAO
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001; Page A01
The investigative arm of Congress yesterday demanded that Vice
President Cheney release information on the development of the
administration's energy policy, an action that could lead to a
rare court showdown between the executive and legislative
branches.
The General Accounting Office, alleging that its requests for
records of the energy task force Cheney chaired were denied,
issued a "demand letter" requiring the vice president to supply
the information within 20 days. Of the 31 demand letters the GAO
has ever issued to an administration, this is the first to be
sent to a president or vice president, the agency said.
The GAO action, sought by Democratic lawmakers suspicious that
the administration's energy policy was shaped by industry
officials who contributed to President Bush's campaign,
represents the first significant probe of the Bush administration
after an investigation-plagued Clinton administration.
On Tuesday, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) called on the Justice
Department to investigate the stock holdings of Bush's senior
adviser, Karl Rove. Friday, Democratic congressmen will meet with
the GAO to discuss an investigation into the White House's
dealings with the Salvation Army over a regulation that would
protect religious charities from anti-discrimination laws.
"The Democrats have continued on their course of the politics of
personal destruction," said Mary Matalin, a top aide to Cheney
and Bush. "They ought to stop wasting taxpayer money on phony
investigations and start working on the energy policy we sent to
the Hill."
The dispute stems from the private meetings of the
administration's energy task force, about which little
information was released. The interagency, Cabinet-level task
force and its six staff members met with various interests before
issuing its report in May, but environmentalists complained that
more access was given to energy-industry views. The final
proposal included a range of ideas, including greater
conservation, but emphasized the need to produce more oil, gas
and other forms of energy.
Democratic Reps. John D. Dingell (Mich.) and Waxman, respectively
the ranking members of the Energy and Commerce and Government
Reform committees, asked the GAO in April to investigate the
meetings. The Democratic congressmen said they wanted to know
about the access the administration was giving to large donors.
In the GAO letter yesterday to Cheney, Comptroller General David
M. Walker said the "request for access to records necessary to do
our work has been denied by your office." Walker demanded "full
and complete access" to records about the task force's officials
and its meetings.
Cheney's office now has 20 days to provide the information, or to
provide a statement from the president or the director of the
Office of Management and Budget declaring that the information
sought is part of a "deliberative process" and releasing it would
"impair substantially the operations of the government." If
Cheney's office doesn't comply, the GAO can file a civil lawsuit
after another 20 days.
Cheney's lawyer had declined to provide much of the information
sought, questioning the GAO's authority and suggesting the GAO
action would require a majority vote of a committee or a
committee chairman's request. Any member of Congress can request
a GAO investigation, but the agency gives priority based on
members' seniority.
"The White House should simply try telling the truth on the task
force's activities and stop hiding information that Congress and
the public have a right to see," Waxman said yesterday. "The vice
president should tell his office to end this arrogant and
unnecessary confrontation with GAO and accept the fact that he
and the president are accountable to the Congress and the
American people."
The GAO had various discussions with the White House to resolve
the matter, including a meeting last week at the Justice
Department. Officials familiar with the matter say the White
House may be worried about a precedent that would allow the GAO
broader access to White House records.
The GAO is also seeking information on the matter from the Energy
and Interior departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bob Robinson, a senior GAO official, said the agency has had "a
very good start" collecting information from those sources. But
Robinson, a 28-year GAO veteran, said the standoff with the White
House "is more contentious than [ones] I've been involved with in
the past. We tried very hard not to reach this position, but we
can't negotiate away our basic authority."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
9 Cutting the Nukes
(washingtonpost.com)
Thursday, July 19, 2001; Page A26
I take exception to many of the conclusions in the July 15 news
story "Nuclear Arms Chief Questions Cut in Warheads." Although
The Post accurately quoted from the written statement I submitted
to the Senate on July 11, it took the quotations out of context.
As I said in my statement, the president is committed to
"achieving a credible deterrent with the lowest possible numbers
of nuclear weapons consistent with our national security needs
including our obligations to our allies." The defense strategy
reviews and the Nuclear Posture Review that the secretary of
defense has undertaken provide an opportunity to develop a
coherent, strategy-based approach to future defense needs that
will achieve the president's objective: a deterrent strategy with
lower nuclear salience, reduced warhead numbers and a less
adversarial character.
We sometimes forget how far we've already come since the end of
the Cold War. Our strategic forces no longer target other
countries during peacetime. Our strategic bombers and their
supporting tankers have not been on alert since 1991. Our
strategic command and control aircraft no longer maintain
continuous 24-hour airborne alert operations. We are on track to
remove four Trident submarines from strategic service. And now we
have proposed inactivating our entire Peacekeeper strategic
missile force. Clearly, we are not "drawing a line in the sand"
or resisting the president's initiative.
My written statement is available at www.senate.gov as a matter
of public record. I encourage people to read it in its entirety
and draw their own informed conclusions.
RICHARD W. MIES
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Commander in Chief,
U.S. Strategic Command
Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
10 NRC to Meet with Proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel Facility Applicant to
Discuss NRC Requests For Additional Information
Press Release 2001 - 090 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs
Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail:
opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA
No. 01-090 July 19, 2001
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with Duke Cogema
Stone & Webster on July 26, in North Augusta, South Carolina, to
clarify NRC requests for information regarding the consortium's
request to build a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility.
The Department of Energy is proposing to construct the facility
on its Savannah River site near Aiken, South Carolina, through a
contract with a consortium of Duke Engineering & Services,
COGEMA, Inc., and Stone & Webster (together known as DCS). If NRC
grants the license, DCS could build a MOX facility that would
convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium, supplied by the
Department of Energy, into fuel for use in a limited number of
commercial nuclear power reactors. Commercial nuclear power
plants in the United States currently use only uranium as fuel;
the mixed oxide fuel would be a combination of uranium and
plutonium. There would be no reprocessing or subsequent reuse of
the spent fuel. Converting weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel
helps advance the cause of nonproliferation by converting the
material into a form unsuitable for use in weapons.
The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the North
Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North Augusta,
South Carolina. It will be open to the public for observation.
Starting the last hour, the NRC will address questions and
comments from the public.
Persons planning to attend the meeting or who would like
additional information should contact Timothy Johnson at
301-415-7299 or Wilkins Smith at 301-415-5788.
Copies of the February 28 DCS construction application and the
NRC June 21 request for additional information are available
through the NRC's on-line Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) at Accession Numbers ML010650204 and
ML011860493, respectively. Help in using ADAMS is available
through the agency's Public Document Room (PDR) at 301-415-4737
or 1-800-397-4209. The PDR will also provide a paper copy for a
fee.
*****************************************************************
11 The Project on Managing the Atom
The Project on Managing the Atom
The harnessing of nuclear energy is one of the most significant
technological developments of the twentieth century, but nuclear
technology has proved to be both a resource and a threat.
Managing nuclear activities involves difficult scientific,
environmental, and security challenges that are interconnected in
complex ways. Major international developments -- such as the end
of the Cold War and increased concern about global warming -- are
forcing a re-thinking of virtually every aspect of current
nuclear policy. Nuclear policy debates in the United States and
other countries are sharply polarized and reflect growing public
mistrust of government, making it difficult to build consensus
for action.
Features
Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear,a new report rom the Managing
the Atom Project and the University of Tokyo's Project on
Socio-technics of Nuclear Energy
Let's Look Harder Before We Leap by Jennifer Weeks (May 13,
2001--Washington Post.
The Managing the Atom Project is a multi-year effort to address
two key aspects of these complex questions: (1) the intersections
between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, and (2) democratic
governance in nuclear decision-making. In addition to focused
studies in these two areas, MTA participates in collaborative
work with other groups in the Kennedy School and elsewhere to
integrate these issues with others that bear on the future of
nuclear energy and nuclear arms limitations.
Launched in the fall of 1996, Managing the Atom is a joint
venture of three standing research programs at the Belfer Center
for Science and International Affairs: Science, Technology, and
Public Policy; Environment and Natural Resources; and
International Security. It is designed to encourage
interdisciplinary thinking about nuclear problems, and to promote
exchanges and dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and
non-governmental organizations active on these issues. The
project's goal is to develop and promote sound, non-partisan, and
forward-looking recommendations for managing current and future
nuclear challenges. The Project provides its findings and
recommendations to policy makers and to the news media through
publications, as well as briefings, workshops, and other events.
MTA also provides a research framework for fellowshipsat the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Managing the Atom participants are focusing on the following
interconnected policy questions:
Nuclear weapons-energy linkages: Managing cold war
legacies, including securing, monitoring, and reducing nuclear
warhead and fissile material stockpiles, and reshaping nuclear
complexes, in the United States and the former Soviet Union;
limiting the proliferation risks of the civilian fuel cycle,
including management of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive
wastes containing weapons-usable materials; adapting U.S.
nonproliferation and nuclear trade policies for maximum
effectiveness in the post-Cold War period; and exploring the
links between the futures of nuclear energy, nuclear arms
reductions, and nonproliferation.
Nuclear decision-making: Improving the performance of key
agencies that make and oversee nuclear policy; reducing nuclear
secrecy that is no longer needed; increasing public input into
nuclear decision-making; finding ways to build consensus around
urgently needed actions; alternative approaches to improving
democratic governance of the nuclear enterprise.
Managing the Atom's work in these two areas is intended to help
U.S. and world leaders deal with a range of complex nuclear
decisions they now face. For example:
+ What steps should the world be taking to address the threats
of "loose nukes" and nuclear terrorism?
+ What can be done to verify the dismantlement of nuclear
weapons and lay a foundation for deep reductions in nuclear
arsenals?
+ What approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle involve least
economic, environmental, political, and security costs and risks?
+ Should U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy be adjusted to
reflect post-Cold War conditions, and if so, how?
+ Does nuclear power have a role to play in meeting future
energy demand and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and how
would different roles affect the risk of proliferation of nuclear
weapons?
+ How can nuclear nations develop a workable and acceptable
policy for managing nuclear waste?
+ How can democracies promote effective public participation in
the highly technical and restricted sphere of nuclear policy
decisions?The Project on Managing the Atom is neither for nor
against nuclear power. As an academic research initiative, we
take no institutional position on this question, and participants
in the project reflect a range of views. If, as seems likely, the
world will have to substantially reduce its emissions of
greenhouse gases in the 21st century while meeting steadily
growing energy demands, it is not yet certain that efficiency,
renewable energy sources, and carbon sequestration can do the job
without a contribution from nuclear power. But nuclear power only
has a chance of being broadly acceptable as a significant part of
the answer to this challenge if key issues related to economics,
safety, nonproliferation, and waste can be adequately addressed.
In particular, society is unlikely to be willing to expand
reliance on nuclear power unless it can be assured that doing so
will not contribute significantly to the spread of nuclear
weapons. In addition, decisions about nuclear power will have to
be made in a more democratic way than has often been the case in
the past in order to build the necessary long-term public
support. (See "Nuclear Decision-Making")
Please send technical questions and comments to atom@harvard.edu.
Last Modified: 07/13/2001 03:30:09 PM Copyright © 2001 The
President and Fellows of Harvard College.
*****************************************************************
12 Roberson to oversee cleanup program
Oak Ridger Online -->
Story last updated at 1:18 p.m. on Thursday, July 19, 2001
by Paul Parson
Oak Ridger staff
The Department of Energy announced Wednesday that a new assistant
secretary of environmental management, Jessie Roberson, has been
sworn in.
In her new role, Roberson will spearhead the efforts in cleanup
of inactive waste sites and facilities, waste management
operations, research and development programs and environmental
restoration. The Senate confirmed her appointment by unanimous
consent last week.
Roberson's appointment comes at a critical time for Oak Ridge.
As it stands, funding for local cleanup efforts could be reduced
by $90 million in FY 2002 when compared to the current fiscal
year. That's a drop from $423.7 million to $332.457 million.
If the budget for DOE is approved with this cut, it could mean
that out of 16 ongoing cleanup projects and 23 projects with new
phases planned to begin, 30 will be eliminated and two will have
seriously reduced efforts. Layoffs would most likely follow.
Roberson is a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety
Board, a federal watchdog agency, and was previously DOE's
manager of the Rocky Flats field office at the Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site in Colorado from 1996 to 1999.
She has also held positions with Georgia Power Co. and DuPont.
Originally from Evergreen, Ala., she is a graduate of the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger
*****************************************************************
13 Nuclear Power Is Looking "Very Attractive"
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sized without (1)
re-securing all of the newly sized Pu pieces, and (2) emptying
and verifying empty the partially filled can.
2. TRU Waste Container Loading Activities: Criticality Safety
Operating Limit (CSOL) RMS-19, revision 12, requires the Pu
content of each package be limited to 2500 grams when two
packages are placed in a single 10-gallon drum. However, on
December 21, 2000, KH identified in Building 707 that workers
loaded three 10-gallon drums with TRU waste that exceeded this
2500 grams per package CSOL limit. CSOL MVM-015-3 requires the Pu
content of certain 55-gallon drums not to exceed 200 grams.
However, on December 29, 2000, KH identified in Building 707 that
workers loaded a 55-gallon drum with several packages having
assay values, when totaled that exceeded the 200-gram limit. The
worker and a second verifier signed a data form listing the assay
values of the individual packages but failed to ensure the loaded
drum complied with the limit. Subsequent to the event, a re-assay
of the loaded drum established a new assay value below the
200-gram limit.
3. TRU Waste Storage and Handling Activities: Criticality
Incredibility Analyses for Building 440 (JP-410) and for Building
991 (BSM-583) require that only certain nuclear material assay
methods be used to verify fissile material content of containers
prior to their storage in Buildings 440 and 991, respectively.
However, on August 28, 2000, KH identified that 40 containers in
Building 440 and eight containers in Building 991 were being
stored without having the fissile material content verified,
using one of the required methods. Subsequent to the above
problems, KH issued Standing Order 71 and Operations Order
OO-MSWO-001 prohibiting the further shipment and receipt,
respectively, of drums without the required assay method.
However, KH identified on January 24, 2001, Building 569 shipped
a noncompliant drum to Building 664 which accepted it for
storage. This violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem.
Civil Penalty - $41,250
2. TRU Waste Facility Work Controls
10 CFR 830.120(c)(2)(i) requires that "[w]ork shall be performed
to established technical standards and administrative controls
using approved instructions, procedures, or other appropriate
methods."
Contrary to the above, work was not performed to established
technical standards and administrative controls using approved
instructions, procedures, or other appropriate methods in that
facility operations in Buildings 440 and 664 were not performed
in accordance with approved authorization basis (AB) documents
and technical specification requirements (TSRs). Specifically:
1. Building 440 Specific AB Issues: The Building 440 Basis
for Operation (BFO), Revision 7, required the following controls:
1. Ridged Liners for Drums stacked higher than the second
tier. 2. AB Surveillances within specified time frequencies. 3.
Minimum aisle spacing limits. 4. Protection of electrical panels
with concrete barriers.
However, KH identified in July and August 2000 that Building 440
routine waste handling and storage operations were not being
conducted in accordance with the above AB requirements for an
undetermined period of time.
2. Building 664 Specific AB Issues: The Building 664 AB
contains a TSR limit and corresponding Limiting Condition for
Operation (LCO) action statements on the amount of nuclear
material in radioactive waste containers.
However, KH identified in February 2000 that the facility was
storing 19 waste drums that exceeded the TSR limits. A second AB
violation occurred upon discovery of the drums when the facility
management failed to curtail all facility operations in
accordance with the above LCO action statements. These drums were
stored in Building 664 since August 1997 when the new AB for the
facility established requirements prohibiting storage of these
drums. Laboratory analysis of assay information, although
available, was not used to determine compliance during a 1997 AB
implementation inventory.
3. Container Re-assay Work Control Issues: KH did not develop
an effective work control process for timely notification to
facility management of changes in waste container assay values.
The container assay value affects the facility compliance with
the AB TSRs. TSR LCO actions require the facility operations to
be terminated and the facility returned to a compliant state
within three days. Specifically:
1. In Building 440, the re-assay of two drums in January
2001 identified higher nuclear material contents in excess of the
TSR limits. However, the facility continued to store the drums
until February 22, 2001, when the LCO action statements were
entered.
2. In Building 664, one drum was re-assayed in January 2001
with new material values in excess of the TSR limit. LCO action
statements were not entered until February 22, 2001.
3. In Building 991, the re-assay of three drums in December
2000 identified nuclear material contents in excess of the TSR
limits. LCO action statements were not entered until February 26,
2001. This violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem.
Civil Penalty - $41,250
3. Procurement
1. 10 CFR 830.120(c)(2)(i) requires, in part, that "[w]ork
shall be performed to established technical standards and
administrative controls using approved instructions, procedures,
or other appropriate means."
Contrary to the above, work was not performed to established
technical standards and administrative controls using approved
instructions, procedures, or other appropriate means in that–
1. The Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
Acquisition Procedure for Requisitioning Commodities and
Services, Revision 1, 1-W36-APR-111, requires that requisitions
for "closure commodity" procurements be reviewed and signed by
the Requisitioning Manager or Material Acquisition Member, the
WADLET Manager and the Customer Service Organization. Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) related procurements must also be
reviewed and signed by the TRU Waste Project Quality Assurance
Officer. However, on August 23, 2000, KH placed a telephone order
with Myers Container Corporation for 500 55-gallon replacement
waste drum lids without first obtaining all required quality
assurance reviews and approvals of the related requisition.
Specifically, KH ordered the drum lids after the TRU Waste
Project Quality Assurance Officer and the Customer Service
Organization withdrew their approvals of the requisition for the
waste drum lids. The drum lids are designated as "closure
commodity" and WIPP-related items and were intended for use in
the storage and movement of transuranic radioactive waste and
eventual shipment of the waste to WIPP.
2. The KH Procurement System Manual establishes procurement
procedures for the acquisition of items for the Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site. Revision 1 of Volume 1, Part 2,
section 1.201-2, requires that the buyer of items shall assure
that no subcontract shall be entered into, modified, or
terminated unless all required reviews, clearances, or approvals
have been obtained.
However, on August 23, 2000, KH failed to obtain all required
approvals before procuring 500 55-gallon replacement waste drum
lids. This violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem.
Civil Penalty - $82,500
2. 10 CFR 830.120(c)(2)(iii) requires, in part, that
"[p]rocured items and services shall meet established
requirements and perform as specified."
Contrary to the above, procured items and services did not meet
established requirements and perform as specified in that–
1. On August 23, 2000, KH procured 500 55-gallon
replacement waste drum lids to a specification that was not
designed for drum lid replacement parts and did not establish
requirements for drum lid replacement parts.
2. On or about August 28, 2000, KH received 500 55-gallon
replacement waste drum lids that did not meet requirements to
Subject Matter Expert criteria. Specifically, 83 percent of the
lids failed for nonconformance to convexity, for dents/bends, or
for gasket adhesion nonconformance. The remaining lids failed due
to markings, paint thickness, and paint coverage. This violation
constitutes a Severity Level II problem. Civil Penalty - $82,500
4. Building 771 Radiation Safety Program
1. 10 CFR 835.104 states that "[w]ritten procedures shall be
developed and implemented as necessary to ensure compliance with
this part, commensurate with the radiological hazards created by
the activity and consistent with the education, training, and
skills of the individuals exposed to those hazards."
Contrary to the above, written procedures were not developed and
implemented as necessary to ensure compliance with 10 CFR 835 in
that–
1. Manual MAN-102-SCRM, "Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site Radiological Control Manual," version 1, dated
October 15, 2000, requires in section 551.2 that "[m]onitoring
shall be performed only by trained and qualified individuals
using instruments that are properly calibrated and routinely
tested for operability."
However, equipment used for process monitoring or data collection
was not calibrated and maintained in that on October 16, 2000, a
DOE Facility Representative observed a low-volume air sampler
(low-vol) in the Building 771, room 186, tent that was in use
beyond its calibration expiration date. KH\rquote s broader
investigation of this finding in Building 771 resulted in the
identification of several survey meters and other low-vols in
this same situation, and discovery of an alpha radiation detector
in use despite that instrument having failed a performance check.
2. Procedure RSP-01.01, section 4.1.2[1] requires a RCT to
"[p]erform and properly document surveys." Section 7.6 of this
procedure requires that worker DAC-hr tracking be performed when
powered air purifying respirators are used. Such respirators were
used from the September 7 through October 17, 2000.
However, records were not specified, prepared, reviewed,
approved, and maintained in that during September 7 through
October 17, 2000, documentation of Radiological Work Permit
(RWP)-required airborne radioactivity measurements and worker
DAC-hr tracking was not performed for work evolutions occurring
in the Building 771, room 186, containment tent. Furthermore,
radiological contamination surveys within the room 186 tent were
required by RWPs 00-771-5216, -5218, and -5250 before, during,
and after the completion of a work activity. KH was unable to
locate contamination survey records for the period of September
15 through October 15, 2000, though radiological work activities
were occurring in the room 186 tent during that time.
3. Manual MAN-102-SCRM, "Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site Radiological Control Manual," version 1, dated
October 15, 2000, requires in section 322.7 that "[w]orkers shall
acknowledge by signature or through electronic means...that they
have read, understand and will comply with the RWP prior to
initial entry to the area and after any revisions to the RWP."
However, multiple instances were identified where several RCTs
entered Building 771 controlled areas during calendar year 2000
without acknowledging (by signature or electronic means) that
they had read, understood, and would comply with the applicable
RWP. This violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem.
Civil Penalty - $27,500
2. 10 CFR 830(c)(2)(i) states that "[w]ork shall be performed
to established technical standards and administrative controls
using approved instructions, procedures, or other appropriate
means."
Contrary to the above, work was not performed to established
technical standards and administrative controls using approved
instructions, procedures, or other appropriate means in that–
1. Manual MAN-071-IWCP, "Integrated Work Control Program,"
revision 2, dated March 30, 2000, states in section 4.3.6.3 that
"Pen and Ink changes SHALL be reviewed and concurred with by the
affected organization(s)\'85"
However, the original Building 771 berm removal work package,
Work Control Number #T0102407, was approved on February 25, 2000,
and was intended for the removal of 12 uncontaminated berms. The
work package was later modified by "pen and ink" changes, on May
17, 2000, to add additional berms including those for room 149,
and on August 21, 2000, to permit the use of an electric saw and
jackhammer for berm removal. These changes were not submitted to
all affected organizations for review and concurrence.
2. ALARA Job Review (AJR) 00-771-012 states the only
acceptable concrete demolition method for the removal of berms in
Building 771 are "\'85hammer, chisel, hammer drill or any
combination of the three."
However, an electric jackhammer was used to facilitate concrete
berm removal in Building 771 but its use was not authorized on
the controlling AJR.
No revisions were made to the AJR to allow its use, and no
approvals from Radiological Engineering were obtained to resolve
this conflict with the AJR.
3. Procedure 3-PRO-229-RSP-01.01, "Radiological Work
Permit," revision 0, dated March 10, 1998, states in section 3
that "[s]pecific RWPs are written to control work in a
radiologically controlled area." Section 2.1 of this procedure
requires that it is a RCT\rquote s responsibility to terminate
work activities if work "\'85is performed beyond the original
scope of work stated on\'85" the RWP.
However, radiological work within the Building 771, room 186,
containment tent was not always controlled by a specific or
applicable RWP or AJR. For example, drum repackaging activities
were conducted for several weeks using the RWP originally
developed for glovebox removal until the drum repackaging RWP was
finally approved on June 14, 2000. Pre-evolution briefing records
indicate piping was size-reduced in the room 186 tent on
September 27, 2000, though the RWP and AJR for that activity was
not approved until October 18, 2000. Work activities were not
terminated despite the lack of a work scope-specific RWP.
4. Procedure PRO-405-RSP-01.03, "Soft Sided Containment
(Plastic House)," revision 2, dated January 20, 2000, states in
section 3 that Radiological Engineering will design the
containment, and the Job Supervisor will ensure that all
prerequisites, assessments, and inspections have been performed.
However, during removal of one of the Building 771, room 149,
berms, the use of an electric saw generated sufficient quantities
of contaminated dust such that a nearby continuous air monitor
(CAM) would occasionally alarm. The work crew then independently
constructed a half-tent to aid in dust control. No pertinent
reviews and approvals were performed, and a Radiological Engineer
was not involved in the half-tent\rquote s design until after the
half-tent had been in use and CAM alarms continued to occur. This
violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem. Civil Penalty
- $27,500
3. 10 CFR 835.1001(a) states that "[m]easures shall be taken
to maintain radiation exposure in controlled areas ALARA through
physical design features and administrative control." Contrary to
the above, measures were not taken to maintain radiation exposure
in controlled areas ALARA through physical design features and
administrative control in that--
1. On September 11, 2000, construction workers breached a
contaminated instrument airline as part of a wall removal
conducted under a minor maintenance work package in room 114.
Hazards associated with the airline removal were not recognized
during the work activity and no physical design or administrative
radiological controls specific to the breach were utilized
(workers were wearing respiratory protection due to other work
activities in the room). The line breach resulted in an airborne
release of plutonium and the spread of plutonium contamination to
the immediate work area.
2. On August 21, 2000, personnel were swapping contaminated
hoses between two radiological air movers in preparation for
using one of the air movers. The work was conducted in an
informal fashion; no procedure was in place to control the
activity, and the work had not been formally reviewed nor
approved. No formally established and effective physical design
or administrative controls appropriate to the work activity were
utilized. The activity resulted in an airborne release of
plutonium, the spread of minor plutonium to the immediate work
area, and detectable uptakes of plutonium by four individuals
(two resulting in significant doses). None of the individuals
received a dose in excess of DOE regulatory limits.
This violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem. Civil
Penalty - $27,500
5. Quality Improvement 10 CFR 830.120(c)(1)(iii) requires that
"[p]rocesses to detect and prevent quality problems shall be
established and implemented. Items, services and processes that
do not meet established requirements shall be identified,
controlled, and corrected according to the importance of the
problem and the work affected. Correction shall include
identifying the causes of problems and working to prevent
recurrence."
Contrary to the above, correction [of items, services and
processes] did not include identifying the causes of problems and
working to prevent recurrence in that–
1. Criticality Safety KH corrective actions have been
ineffective in preventing the recurrence of long-standing and
repetitive noncompliances in the area of criticality safety.
Specifically, those criticality safety procedural noncompliances
described in section I of this PNOV are similar to criticality
safety infractions previously reported to DOE in 1996, 1997, and
1998. DOE elected not to pursue enforcement action based on
KH\rquote s commitment to implement corrective actions. In the
1998 report (NTS-RFO--KHLL-SITEWIDE-1998-0003), KH acknowledged
that corrective actions were not adequately comprehensive to
prevent the current problems. During 2000 and 2001, numerous
additional incidents of criticality safety problems have been
identified and reported, thereby demonstrating that prior
corrective actions have been ineffective in correcting problems
and preventing recurrence. For example, corrective actions taken
in response to the Building 707 Pu sizing event were limited in
scope and did not prevent the occurrence of similar deficiencies
during the later TRU waste container loading event.
2. TRU Waste Facility Work Controls
KH corrective actions have been ineffective in preventing the
recurrence of work control deficiencies similar to those
described in section II of this PNOV. Specifically, Building 440
deficiencies described in section II are similar to those
identified during the original 1997 Basis for Operation
Operational Readiness Review (ORR). The KH Cause Analysis, dated
September 28, 2000, indicates that line management\rquote s
corrective action process did not adequately address ORR
concerns.
3. Procurement
KH corrective actions have been ineffective in preventing the
recurrence of long-standing and repetitive noncompliances in the
area of Procurement. Specifically, those noncompliances described
in section III of this PNOV have been previously identified to KH
by DOE through multiple Enforcement Actions (EA-1999-06;
EA-2000-01) and an Enforcement Letter (September 11, 2000). This
violation constitutes a Severity Level II problem. Civil Penalty
- $55,000
Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 820.24, KH is hereby
required within 30 days of the date of this Preliminary Notice of
Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty to submit a
written statement or explanation to the Director, Office of
Price-Anderson Enforcement, Attention: Office of the Docketing
Clerk, P.O. Box 2225, Germantown, MD 20875-2225. Copies should
also be sent to the Manager, DOE Rocky Flats Field Office, and to
the Cognizant Secretarial Offices at Headquarters for the
facilities that are subjects of this notice. This reply should be
clearly marked as a "Reply to a Preliminary Notice of Violation"
and should include the following for each violation: (1)
admission or denial of the alleged violation, (2) any facts set
forth that are not correct; and (3) the reasons for the violation
if admitted, or the basis for denial if denied. Corrective
actions that have been or will be taken to avoid any future
violation will be delineated with target and completion dates in
DOE\rquote s Noncompliance Tracking System. In the event the
violations set forth in the Preliminary Notice of Violation are
admitted, this Notice will constitute a Final Notice of Violation
in compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR 820.25.
Any request for remission or mitigation of civil penalty must be
accompanied by a substantive justification demonstrating
extenuating circumstances or other reasons why the assessed
penalty should not be paid in full. Within the 30 days after the
issuance of this Notice, unless the violations are denied, or
remission or mitigation is requested, KH shall pay the civil
penalty of $385,000 imposed under section 234a of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, by check, draft, or money order
payable to the Treasurer of the United States (Account 891099)
and mailed to the Director, Office of
Price-Anderson Enforcement, Attention: Office of the Docketing
Clerk, at the above address. Should KH fail to answer within the
time specified, KH will be issued an Order imposing the civil
penalty. In requesting additional mitigation of the proposed
civil penalty, KH should address the adjustment factors described
in 10 CFR 820, Appendix A, section IX.
Sincerely, [Keith Christopher Signature] R. Keith Christopher
Director Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement
Dated at Washington, DC, this 17th day of July 2001
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enforcement Conference Summary
The Department of Energy\rquote s (DOE) Office of Price-Anderson
Enforcement (OE) held an Enforcement Conference with Kaiser-Hill
Company, L.L.C. (KH), personnel on June 5-6, 2001, in Germantown,
Maryland, to discuss the circumstances of the events described in
the OE Investigation Summary Report in addition to KH\rquote s
proposed and implemented corrective actions pertaining to the
various events. Mr. Keith Christopher, OE Director, began the
conference by explaining this meeting would be an opportunity for
KH to make its case for enforcement mitigation. Mr. Christopher
further stated that material provided by KH would be incorporated
into the docket file.
Mr. Alan Parker, KH President and CEO, in his opening statement
said that through schedule pressures personnel had lost focus of
the details associated with various work activities. Mr. Parker,
though, emphasized that KH\rquote s employees can follow
procedures. Mr. Parker then gave an overview of the timeline for
the various events and corrective actions.
Mr. Kelly Trice, VP and Building 771 Project Manager, spoke about
the Building 771 radiation safety program deficiencies. He
acknowledged that the continued use of the room 186 containment
enclosure was allowed by management, but also stated that the
necessary approvals were not obtained. Mr. Trice then described
the revision of the self-assessment program for Building 771;
this program is simpler to use, is now done on a scheduled basis,
and assessments will go beyond determining what procedures are in
place by also assessing procedure implementation.
Mr. Paul Kreitz, Manager, Procurement Systems, provided an
overview of the current procurement process at the site and spoke
of the previous enforcement actions concerning procurement
deficiencies. A discussion ensued between Mr. Kreitz and OE staff
regarding procedural noncompliances associated with the expedited
purchase of drum lids. Due to time constraints, Mr. Christopher
directed this discussion to be continued outside of the
conference. Mr. Christopher then adjourned the conference for the
day.
The conference resumed the following morning (June 6) with Mr.
Marvin Brailsford, VP and Project Manager for Material
Stewardship, discussing the criticality safety and authorization
basis deficiencies described in the DOE\rquote s investigation
summary report. Mr. Brailsford then followed this discussion with
an overview of the corrective actions taken to date. Mr. David
Del Vecchio, Deputy Project Manager for Building 707, provided a
similar overview and discussion regarding criticality safety and
authorization basis deficiencies in Building 707 activities.
Mr. Ken Powers, VP and Director for Safety, Engineering and
Quality Programs, addressed the management assessment
deficiencies.
Mr. Lincoln Hall, COO, provided his perspective of the events and
described the corrective actions to date as a basis for
enforcement mitigation. Mr. Hall further indicated the
procurement deficiencies were not as troublesome to KH as they
appeared to be to the DOE. Mr. Parker then gave the closing
remarks for the KH presentation.
Mr. Christopher stated that KH\rquote s presentation and other
information would be taken into consideration for the DOE\rquote
s enforcement deliberations. Mr. Christopher also asked that the
procurement issues discussed the day before be concluded within
ten days. The conference was then adjourned.
Referenced NTS Numbers NTS-RFO--KHLL-771OPS-2000-0002,
NTS-RFO--KHLL-771OPS-2000-0003, NTS-RFO--KHLL-D&DOPS-2000-0001,
NTS-RFO--KHLL-KHILL-2000-0001, NTS-RFO--KHLL-KHILL-2000-0002,
NTS-RFO--KHLL-PUFAB-2000-0002 NTS-RFO--KHLL-PUFAB-2001-0001,
NTS-RFO--KHLL-REGWSTOPS-2000-0001
NTS-RFO--KHLL-SITEWIDE-2000-0008, and
NTS-RFO--KHLL-SITEWIDE-2001-0002
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 5-6, 2001
Kaiser-Hill Company, L.L.C.
Criticality Safety, Authorization Basis,
Procurement, Building 771 Radiation Safety Program, and Quality
Improvement Deficiencies
Enforcement Conference List of Attendees
Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement R. Keith Christopher,
Director Sharon Hurley, Enforcement Officer Peter Rodrik,
Enforcement Officer Anthony Weadock, Enforcement Officer Steven
Zobel, Enforcement Officer Steven Hosford, Technical Consultant
Rocky Flats Field Office Barbara Mazurowski, Manager Paul
Hartmann, Assistant Manager Lisa Bressler, PAAA Coordinator
Office of Environmental Management Henry Himpler, PAAA
Coordinator M. Ellen Chitwood, EM-5 Maria Gavrilas-Guinn, EM-5
Marc Jones, EM-33 W. Alexander Williams, EM-33
Office of Environment, Safety and Health Bill Weaver, EH-3
Kaiser-Hill Company Alan Parker, President and CEO Lincoln Hall,
COO Frank Casella, PAAA Coordinator Steve Crowe, Manager Kelly
Trice, VP and Project Manager Ken Powers, VP and Director Marvin
Brailsford, VP and Project Manager David Del Vecchio, Deputy
Project Manager
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3 Giant' mission to raise the Kursk -
CNN.com - '
July 16, 2001
Twelve bodies were recovered from the submarine last year
By CNN's Tammy Oaks
MOSCOW, Russia -- The operation to attempt to lift the sunken
Kursk submarine will be a highly-complex mission.
A special pontoon, dubbed "the Giant," capable of lifting massive
weights will be used after an earlier attempt to lift the vessel
failed.
The Russian nuclear submarine sank on August 12 last year with
118 crew on board after a series of powerful explosions, which
Russian officials said were caused by the vessel's torpedoes.
Now a team of international experts have been contracted to raise
the submarine, and the Norwegian ship Mayo carrying Russian and
Norwegian divers, international experts and equipment arrived in
the Barents Sea on July 15.
• 'Giant' bid to raise Kursk • Russia's military plight • Kursk
namesake • Comparative sizes • Diagram: Last refuge • Damage to
the sub • Timeline of sinking • Sub position • Anatomy of Kursk •
News search • Message board • Quick vote •
In-depth: Sub disaster
The Russian government has contracted the Dutch salvage company
Mammoet and the Rotterdam-based marine services firm Smit
International to attempt to recover the Kursk.
The companies' joint web site says the special pontoon is 140
metres long and 36 metres wide (460 by 120 feet) -- bigger than
five tennis courts.
The pontoon, which has been fitted with 26 strand jacks --
special lifting cables -- and is capable of lifting up to 23,000
tonnes, will be used to hoist the submarine from the sea bed.
According to the web site, divers working in temperatures between
0 and 6 degrees Celsius will cut holes in the Kursk's hull using
water jets by means of high-pressure water and abrasives.
The Kursk's bow -- where the torpedoes were stored -- will be cut
free and left on the seabed so that the rest of the vessel can
later be lifted as a compact load.
The lifting cables will be lowered from the pontoon and anchored
in the holes in the Kursk using large steel plugs.
When the weather permits, the submarine will be raised to just
below the pontoon. Once it has been raised, the Kursk will be
towed to Murmansk. On arrival, the Giant/Kursk combination will
be lifted by auxiliary pontoons in order to sail it into a dry
dock.
Russian and Norwegian divers retrieved 12 bodies from the Kursk
in November but their mission was called off because of rough
weather and the danger from broken equipment inside the
submarine.
Officials found a note in the pocket of one of the recovered
submariners saying that 23 sailors had remained trapped alive in
the ninth compartment for several hours after the Kursk sank.
Eighteen divers -- half from the Russian military and half from a
Norwegian company -- worked around the clock in teams of three on
the operation.
The team cut a hole, 1.5 metres by 75cm (5ft by 2ft), through the
40cm (16-inch) hull after five days of work and pumped water into
the submarine under high pressure to eliminate silt and debris
that might have made the recovery process more difficult.
Remote-controlled cameras were also lowered inside the submarine
to measure radiation levels in case of any nuclear leaks.
Officials say the Kursk did not carry nuclear weapons and its
nuclear reactors were shut down to avoid radiation leaks.
The Kursk is lying at a depth of more than 100 metres (330 feet).
The salvage is expected to be completed in September.
The Mayo, a high-tech diving support ship which has seen regular
service in the North Sea oil industry, is owned by the
Norwegian-Scottish company DSND Subsea, based in Aberdeen.
*****************************************************************
4 Radiation victims urged to file claims
By
STAFF WRITER
Information session: Some children of victims upset they don't
qualify
WILLOWBROOK — Margaret Dennison was stonewalled before she even
got started. But others with the same concerns weren't.
Dennison, of Plainfield, was upset officials would not let
her read a statement at a public information session set up
Wednesday night to offer claim forms for those who may be
eligible for federal compensation because they, or a family
member, became ill from working with hazardous materials for the
government before and during the Cold War.
Dennison and many others of the nearly 300 who attended the
first session Wednesday night were upset that the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act excludes
many surviving children of the deceased victims.
Congress last year approved the compensation package, which
would provide $150,000 to each affected worker, as well as free
medical services for the workers' government work-related
illness.
Surviving spouses are eligible for the federal compensation
if they were married to the eligible worker when he or she died.
Surviving children are eligible if they were younger than 18 or
full-time students younger than 23 when their parent died, or
they were 18 or older but incapable of self-support when their
parent died.
'Not an inheritance program'
Dennison and others in the Willowbrook Holiday Inn conference
room said they didn't know their fathers were bringing hazardous
materials into their homes. In Dennison's case, her late father,
Kenny LeGare, worked in Building 55 at Blockson Chemical, now
Olin, south of Joliet.
In that building, workers extracted uranium from phosphorous
that was then shipped to the federal government for nuclear
weapons manufacturing and testing. The program at Blockson/Olin
ran from 1952 to 1962, but Herald News clips show many were
unaware of the uranium extraction since the government announced
it was contracting with Blockson, which developed tri-sodium
phosphate, for cleaning supplies.
Applause rang out every time the issue was brought up by
others, but the answer was the same. The way the act is written
now, most surviving children are not eligible.
"This is not an inheritance program," said Hal Glassman, a
U.S. Department of Labor spokesman said before the meeting. "This
is a workers' compensation program."
Several U.S. senators also upset about the issue of
compensation for surviving children are looking into amending the
act. But as of now, Glassman and fellow DOE representative Frank
James said the best thing for those people to do is petition
their congressmen and send comments to: Shelby Hallmark, acting
director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Room
S3524, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20210. The deadline for such comments is Aug.
23. Advice for claims
Otherwise, many in the audience seemed to be happy with what
they heard. The compensation forms, passed out at the meeting,
are easy to fill out, Glassman said. "All you need is a pen."
Medical records are helpful, Glassman and James said, but
more important are the victims' Social Security numbers, the type
of illness they have and when it was diagnosed.
Diseases covered include cancers caused by radiation, chronic
beryllium disease and chronic silicosis. The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services will establish guidelines for
estimating radiation doses and the likelihood that they caused a
worker's cancer.
Members of the audience also represented two other area
locales that were affected. From 1943 to 1946, some workers at
the former William E. Pratt Co., at Cass and Henderson streets in
Joliet, ground uranium rods for nuclear fuel for the government.
The compensation program also covers the 2,300 former workers
at the University of Chicago/Argonne National Laboratories who
could have been exposed to beryllium dust while producing casings
for atomic weapons produced elsewhere in the late 1930s and
1940s.
The victims had to be working at the specific plants during
the government contracts, James said. Those who believe they may
have been exposed to remnants of contamination after the
contracts are not covered at this point, but Department of Labor
officials suggested they, too, forward their comments in writing
by the Aug. 23 deadline.
One woman in the audience wondered whether officials knew
that the government had a pilot program in 1950-51 to determine
if uranium could be extracted from phosphorous. Brian Quirke of
the Energy Department said he would look into that.
People can begin filing claims immediately, James said, but
they will not be processed until the law takes effect July 31. He
said they already have 400 or 500 claims filed from more than 30
similar meetings held in other states, and sacks full of mail are
arriving every day.
Those found not to be covered by the federal program will be
referred to state workers' compensation programs, which the U.S.
Department of Energy will assist with. Those who want to find out
more about that program can call (877) 447-9756.
If workers or their eligible family members aren't sure
whether to file for the federal program, James said, "I urge you
to file a claim. Your investment: 34 cents."
And do it quickly, he added. While there is no deadline for
the program, eligible parties must be living to receive the
benefit. So if a widow files for the claim and dies before she
can receive the money, officials said, the claim is then
ineligible.
People who file claims should send in originals of the claim
forms, James said, but copies of medical records. They should
make copies of the claim forms, he added, however, so they can
keep track in case there is a problem. Obtaining forms
Another meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today at the
Willowbrook Holiday Inn, off of Illinois 83 (Kingery Highway)
north of Interstate 55. Claim packages will be available there.
For those who aren't able to attend the meeting, claim kits
and more information are available by calling (866) 888-3322 or
requesting one on the official Department of Labor Web site: .
A limited number of claim kits also will be available from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays beginning Monday at the front office of
The Herald News, 300 Caterpillar Drive, Joliet.
Completed claim forms can be mailed to the U.S. Department of
Labor, Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation, P.O. Box 77918, Washington, D.C. 20013-7918. Nick
Reiher, assistant city editor, can be reached at (815) 729-6050
or via e-mail at nreiher@scn1.com.
*****************************************************************
5 Russian critics fear plutonium conversion
[Thestar.com]
Sun Jul 22, 2001 - Updated at 01:03 AM
Jul. 19, 2001. 02:00 AM
Moscow to seek G-8 cash for plan backed by Canada
Paul Webster
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
MOSCOW - Canadian support for a Moscow proposal on processing
atomic material could significantly worsen pollution in Russia,
environmental activists here charge.
Russia is seeking a $2 billion (U.S.) donation from Group of 8
leaders to expand its giant Mayak nuclear reprocessing plant in
Ozersk, 2,500 kilometres east of Moscow.
G-8 leaders are to discuss financing conversion at Mayak of
plutonium from nuclear weapons into nuclear reactor fuel.
Nadejda Kutepova, 29, a nurse and environmentalist from Ozersk,
has helped rally 32 Russian environmental groups opposed to the
G-8 plutonium plan that Prime Minister Jean Chrétien helped
launch in 1996.
Last year, the United States and Russia each agreed to dispose
of 34 tonnes of plutonium from warheads by mixing it with uranium
into a high-potency kind of reactor fuel known as mixed oxide
(MOX).
The United States can afford its half of the deal. Russia says
it needs the $2 billion to create a MOX plant at Mayak.
After pledging $400 million to Russia, Washington called on
Canada and the other G-8 countries - Britain, France, Germany,
Italy and Japan - for the rest. In Genoa,, Russian President
Vladimir Putin hopes they will deliver.
Ottawa has spent millions promoting the plan with the hope that
Canada might benefit financially from contracts to burn U.S. and
Russian weapons plutonium as fuel in the Bruce station near
Kincardine.
In Moscow recently, Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley said
the G-8 plan is a safe way to destroy Russian plutonium and
reduce the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.
Russian environmentalists, particularly those like Kutepova who
live near centres that will convert plutonium to reactor fuel,
bitterly oppose the plan. They fear it will increase pollution in
Mayak, already responsible for the world's worst radioactive
contamination.
A recent Russian-American study describes the river running past
Mayak as ``essentially an open, radioactive,
liquid-waste-disposal sewer.''
If the G-8 leaders approve the plan, plutonium from as many as
18,000 warheads will be prepared for use in reactors.
Data from Canadian physicists suggests Russia's weapons-grade
plutonium, when diluted and combined with uranium in MOX, would
produce as much electricity as generated by all of Canada's
nuclear power plants in 2 1/2 years.
Paul Webster is a Canadian journalist based in Moscow.
Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved.
Distribution,
*****************************************************************
6 Russia: No Ammo Found in Nuke Sub
July 19, 2001
MOSCOW (AP) - Engineers preparing to raise the sunken nuclear
submarine Kursk have found no unexploded ammunition in the
vessel's damaged first compartment, a Russian Navy spokesman said
Thursday.
The first compartment was mangled in the explosion that sank the
Kursk and it was feared it could contain unexploded torpedoes. It
is to be cut off and left at the bottom of the Barents Sea when
the submarine is raised in September.
Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said cameras examining the first
compartment this week did not find any unexploded ammunition, the
ITAR-Tass news agency said. The Kursk sank on Aug. 12, 2000,
during a training exercise in the Barents Sea off northern
Russia, killing all 118 crew members.
An international operation to salvage the submarine began this
week, with engineers using an unmanned, remote-controlled vessel
to measure radiation levels and dig out the buried first
compartment.
After the compartment is cut off, a step tentatively set for Aug.
8, Russian and foreign divers will drill holes in the hull and
attach steel cables to lift the sub. The cables will be attached
to 26 hydraulic cranes anchored to a giant pontoon, which will be
towed to Murmansk.
The Norwegian ship Mayo, which so far has served as a base for
the operation, arrived Thursday morning in Norway's Arctic port
of Kirkenes, where it will change crews and pick up new
equipment, ITAR-Tass said, citing the Russian consul in Kirkenes,
Igor Bukharkin. The ship was to head back to the Kursk area about
12 hours later, it said.
Russia has maintained that no radiation has leaked from the wreck
but says it is raising it to ensure the Kursk's two reactors pose
no future danger.
All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
7 Proposed road across Rocky Flats unneeded
Rocky Mountain News: Opinion
Letters to the Editor, July 18
Thank you for your excellent July 11 editorial, "No highway for
Rocky Flats," which is consistent with previous studies and
strong public opinion in this region regarding the use of this
site.
It appears that Tom Norton, the director of the Colorado
Department of Transportation, and some of our local elected
representatives are so busy trying to spin a story that we need a
beltway link through northern Jefferson County that they are now
even promoting an expensive study of routes across the Rocky
Flats Superfund site and proposed wildlife refuge. Their claims
that the federal government will not assist in funding this
beltway without considering all possible routes through the site
are not accurate.
A crucial part of this story, which hasn't been reported, is the
ever growing waste of tax dollars to get this unneeded roadway on
the map.
After a previous defeat at the polls and several efforts that
didn't produce a beltway, citizens were promised that the
Northwest Quadrant Transportation Feasibility Study would
determine the issue, and all parties agreed to support the
outcome. After more than $400,000 was spent, the study showed a
beltway would not help transportation problems. At the same time,
decisions were being made about the future of Rocky Flats --
preservation as a wildlife refuge with no roads or development.
In order to assist in completing Norton's study, Jeffco
commissioners have offered $250,000 of public money. State
taxpayers will pick up the rest of the estimated several million
dollars needed. It is time for citizens to unite and insist that
known urgent transportation needs are met, and that projects not
in the public interest are discarded.
Tom Hoffman, President, Friends of the Foothills Golden
July 18, 2001
2001 © The E.W. Scripps Co.
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8 Former nuclear workers seek help for ills
IdahoStatesman.com
July 19, 2001
The Associated Press
IDAHO FALLS -- As oxygen devices chugged and bereaved spouses
wept in the background Tuesday, about 200 veterans of the Cold
War-era nuclear industry sought help for work-related health
problems.
Some wanted to know whether their illnesses were caused by
radiation or chemical exposures. Others described long battles to
get help that went nowhere.
Marty Mathamal, Department of Energy senior policy adviser, said
the government had changed its approach and wants to help.
"DOE must stop denying legitimate claims of work-related
illnesses, and instead we must help those we made sick," he said.
"The best thing we can do is to get compensation to everyone as
quickly as we can."
Darhl Hughes, 70, who retired after 39 years as an Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory laborer, said he came to
find out what he could do to about his medical problems.
"My first concern is to find out what's wrong. My body is screwed
up," the Blackfoot resident said.
He was diagnosed with throat and lung cancer last year, and is
trying to stave off an operation to remove his lung.
"They used to dose you up (with radiation). We were just a piece
of machinery," he said. "But it was a job and it needed to be
done. Radiation wasn't any worse than working in the potato
fields."
A new law would give $150,000 and medical benefits to DOE workers
who contracted radiation-related cancers or diseases. Spouses and
some children of deceased workers also are eligible. Claims work
will begin July 31.
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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:
*****************************************************************