***************************************************************** 01/20/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.18 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 EPA issues tighter Yucca guidelines; Reid fears Bush will scuttle 2 Paducah cleanup to cost $82 million - 3 Coolant leak shuts down nuclear power plant 4 Coolant leak forces reactor closing - 5 TWO SHIPS CARRYING NUCLEAR FUEL LEAVE FRANCE FOR JAPAN 6 MOX SHIPMENT TO JAPAN TO PASS THROUGH S. AFRICA, NZ STRAITS 7 SHIPS CARRYING NUCLEAR FUEL LEAVE FRANCE FOR JAPAN 8 EPA suggests tougher Yucca guideli... 9 Loaded transport 10 Nuclear cargo to pass SA 11 Night move for radioactive waste 12 Taipower hopes to avert nuclear contract bailout 13 DPP lays down bottom line on nuclear power plant 14 Editorial: No-confidence a no-win 15 What does Ruling 520 actually mean? 16 Toxic soil will be trucked 17 Envirocare wins exemption for N-waste dump 18 UPDATE - NUCLEAR TRAIN MOVES DESPITE GREENPEACE PROTEST 19 C&Csays it mistakenly dumped radioactive waste 20 Radioactive canister still missing 21 Public opposition against nuclear waste import grows in Russia 22 Austrians Gather to Condemn Controversial Czech Nuclear Plant 23 NEW NUCLEAR PLANTS IN STATE UNLIKELY 24 Energy Northwest mulls Plant 1 revival NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Richardson signs paperwork for FFTF shutdown 2 Expert on chronic beryllium disease sees 'good news' for Hanford workers 3 Michaels still helps on sick workers program - 4 JACKSONVILLE RESIDENTS RECALL THE TERROR DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE 5 'I'm sure we've been exposed' to depleted uranium, soldiers say 6 Defence forces focus on threats of NBC warfare 7 NATO told to back up plutonium claims - 8 "DAY OF REMEMBRANCE" FOR ITS NUCLEAR VICTIMS 9 German Official Cites Uranium Papers 10 Yugoslavia: Germans Upset Over Possible Plutonium In Weapons 11 Release of depleted uranium suspected in Germany 12 RFI: "Balkan Syndrome" - symptoms of the illnesses from the west 13 UN Security Council raises the question of depleted uranium 14 German Official Says U.S. Used Depleted Uranium 15 Suspend use of DU shells, says Glenys Kinnock 16 DU scare will not go away easily 17 Depleted Uranium Shells Detonated In Germany 18 UN checking Nato ammo health scare 19 DU pollution in Greece negligible, experts reassure Parliament 20 Protest planned against UK sub - 21 Spaniards protest at stranded British nuclear sub 22 DU depletes Greek Kosovo troops 23 Russia and France Will Study Depleted Uranium 24 B Cell cleanup expected to be done by July 31 25 Hanford workers honored for cleanup work **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 EPA issues tighter Yucca guidelines; Reid fears Bush will scuttle rules January 20, 2001 BY SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS RENO, Nev. - The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed tougher health and safety standards than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada. But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he's worried the incoming Bush administration will try to scuttle the EPA's proposed radiation standards and resort to NRC guidelines that provide no protection for groundwater. "I would hope that President Bush will carefully review the standards recommended by the EPA and that he put the health and safety of Nevadans first in making any final determination," Reid said Friday. Outgoing EPA Administrator Carol Browner issued the draft rules for Yucca Mountain as one of the final acts of the Clinton administration. They would set an annual radiation exposure limit at the high level waste repository at 15 millirem, significantly lower than the 25 millirem standard the NRC has recommended. The EPA rules would establish a separate standard of 4 millirem for the groundwater beneath Yucca Mountain. The NRC has recommended no specific groundwater protection. "I am hopeful that the Bush administration will not attempt to soften these guidelines which are designed to protect people and the environment from exposure to deadly radiation," Reid said in a statement Friday. EPA officials did not immediately return telephone messages at the agency's media office late Friday in Washington. Browner said in a letter to Reid Thursday that radiation exposure no greater than 15 millirem "corresponds to a lifetime risk of approximately 3 chances in 10,000 of contracting fatal cancer. "It is also at the upper bound of what EPA considers to be an acceptable risk," Browner said in a copy of the letter obtained by The Associated Press. The limit also is consistent with the risk range recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, Browner said. "We believe that the citizens resources of Nevada deserve at least the same level of protection as any other area of the U.S.," she said. "As you know, the repository is situated directly above a substantial groundwater aquifer that currently supplies water for human consumption, livestock and irrigation in that area. "Therefore, we have included a separate ground protection standard consistent with regulations developed under the Safe Drinking Water Act," Browner said. Reid, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, presided over a confirmation hearing this week for Bush's nominee to replace Browner, New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman. Whitman indicated to Reid at the hearing and in a conversation afterwards that she advocates "shared responsibility" among the EPA and the NRC for Yucca Mountain, Reid's spokesman David Cherry said Friday. But Cherry said Reid continues to be concerned about the fate of the EPA's proposal. He said Bush's picks for energy and interior secretary, Spencer Abraham and Gale Norton, respectively, have indicated support for moving ahead with the waste dump in Nevada. "Our concern is all of these agencies will conspire to move ahead on Yucca Mountain," Cherry said. Reid and other Democrats characterized Bush as a supporter of the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain during the presidential election. But Bush said he had not made up his mind and would base any decision on the scientific evidence. President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore both advocated the more stringent oversite of the EPA for Yucca Mountain while some congressional backers of the site have argued it should be under the jurisdiction of the NRC. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 2 Paducah cleanup to cost $82 million - By Bill Bartleman The Paducah Sun Saturday, January 20, 2001 Storage areas were found in violation of Kentucky environmental laws, and some contain nuclear waste. Work will start next month at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to clean up 160 material storage areas, some of which contain nuclear waste that under certain conditions could cause an uncontrolled nuclear reaction accident. The cleanup by the U.S. Department of Energy will take five years and cost at least $82 million. "DOE is committed to cleaning up the material storage areas at the Paducah site," said DOE spokesman Walter Perry. "This project is a high priority to DOE ... and also with regulators." The Kentucky Natural Resources Cabinet in September issued a Notice of Violation against DOE, claiming that the DOE material storage areas, known as DMSAs, violate state environmental laws. The violation notice said hazardous and mixed radioactive waste had been stored for more than 90 days in the C-400 building without a permit, and that material in some of the areas had not been fully characterized. "DOE has submitted a cleanup plan that is under review," said Mark York, spokesman for the state agency. "We also are still putting together enforcement action against DOE." York said the enforcement action is likely to include a fine and may be issued within three weeks. Many of the storage areas are in the plant's huge process building and contain old parts and equipment taken out of service in the 1980s and earlier. Although many of the DMSAs are inside the uranium enrichment plant, which is leased to the United States Enrichment Corp., they remain the responsibility of DOE because the material accumulated when the government operated the plant prior to 1993. Since some of the material has not been characterized, there is concern that under the right conditions, there could be a nuclear criticality, which is an uncontrolled nuclear reaction. DOE has said that 73 of the sites represent a slight risk of such an incident. The 160 areas are roped off and marked as radiation zones. While some are inside buildings, such as the C-400 building, others are in and near landfills, and in and near the huge scrap pile that until last fall included "drum mountain." The initial work will include setting up trailers for workers and characterizing and managing all of the material storage areas, Perry said. The state has given DOE until June 30 to complete the characterization work. The cleanup plan prepared by DOE says more than 60 workers will be involved in the characterization, management and cleanup activities. The plan also said that the 160 sites have been prioritized for cleanup, with those with the greatest risk of a nuclear criticality having top priority. Thirty-three sites have been labeled as having Level A priority. There are two other priority levels. Perry also said that work will begin next month to actually clean up some of the Level A areas. The cost for the 2001 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, is $14 million. Perry said DOE estimates annual costs of $18 million in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and $14 million in 2005. The Level A sites consist of three in the C-400 building, two in the C-409 building, 11 in the process buildings and 17 that are outside. Perry said the work will be done under the direction of Bechtel Jacobs Co., DOE's environmental contractor at the Paducah plant. ***************************************************************** 3 Coolant leak shuts down nuclear power plant HAMPTON ROADS, Virginia, News January 19, 2001 c2001, Associated Press MINERAL--Dominion Virginia Power shut down a nuclear generator at its North Anna station because of a coolant system leak inside the containment building, the utility said Friday. ``There was no increase in radiation detected inside the containment building, which is airtight,'' said spokesman Richard Zuercher. He added that there never was any danger to the public or employees at the Louisa County plant about 45 miles northwest of Richmond. The leak in Unit 2 was about 10 gallons a minute, the threshold under plant guidelines for shutting down a reactor, Zuercher said. The outage will not affect the utility's ability to deliver power to its 2 million residential and commercial customers in Virginia and North Carolina, Zuercher said. ``We have plenty of reserve margin to provide power,'' he said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, state officials and surrounding counties were notified of the leak, he said. A leak of about one-half gallon per hour was detected Thursday afternoon, Zuercher said. The leak increased to one gallon Friday morning, then to eight gallons and 10 gallons. The water flowed into collection sumps inside the containment building. It will be purified by machines called demineralizers and polishers and reused to cool the reactor, Zuercher said. He said the leak appeared to be in a valve. North Anna Unit 2 began generating electricity in December 1980. Unit 1, which remains operating at full power, went on line in June 1978. The utility operates two other nuclear generators in Surry County. ***************************************************************** 4 Coolant leak forces reactor closing - The Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 20, 2001 MINERAL - Dominion Virginia Power yesterday shut down one of its two reactors at the North Anna power plant in Louisa County because of a reactor coolant system leak, officials said. The emergency shutdown was required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because of the quantity of the leak. The leak did not endanger the public or employees of the plant, said Richard Zuercher, a spokesman for the utility. "No one was affected. There was no leak of radiation outside the containment building and no increased level of radiation found in the containment building," he said. The containment building houses the nuclear reactor. Zuercher said plant officials first noticed a small leak at an 8- inch valve in the coolant system Thursday afternoon. But by early yesterday morning, the leak in Unit 2 eventually reached 10 gallons a minute, which is the NRC guideline for shutting down reactors at a plant. About 300,000 gallons a minute flow through the coolant system. The radioactive water that leaked from the valve area was caught by a cache system in the containment building and will be purified and reused. The NRC, state officials and surrounding counties were notified of the problem. Zuercher, citing the competitive nature of the business, declined to give the exact duration of the shutdown but said it should not affect customer demand for power. North Anna's other nuclear reactor is at full power as are the two units at the Surry nuclear power station. - Carlos Santos Virginia DAILY NEWS FROM THE TIMES-DISPATCH us ©2001, Richmond Newspapers Inc. ***************************************************************** 5 TWO SHIPS CARRYING NUCLEAR FUEL LEAVE FRANCE FOR JAPAN BRUSSELS JAN. 19 KYODO - France's state-owned nuclear fuel company COGEMA said two armed ships carrying uranium and plutonium mixed oxide fuel (MOX) bound for Japan left the northwestern French port of Cherbourg on Friday. The two British-flagged vessels--the 5,087-ton Pacific Pintail and the 4,648-ton Pacific Teal--are carrying COGEMA fuel bound for the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. COGEMA officials said the two ships left port shortly after 5 p.m. They are scheduled to arrive in Niigata within two months, officials of the utility said Thursday. The environmental group Greenpeace said earlier Friday that they will pass through the Tasman Sea separating New Zealand and Australia on their way to Japan, after sailing around South Africa into the Indian ocean. COGEMA is expected to announce the shipping route in the next 24 hours. The two ships are equipped with machine guns as a security measure against hijacking. According to Greenpeace, the MOX fuel, extracted from spent nuclear fuel shipped from Japan for reprocessing in France, contains 230 kilograms of plutonium, the key ingredient for nuclear weapons. On Thursday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff condemned the shipment calling it a cause of concern for Pacific states which pride themselves on being nuclear-free. This is the second shipment of MOX fuel from France to Japan. A similar shipment by COGEMA in 1999 attracted strong criticism from New Zealand when it entered the Tasman Sea. Six members of Greenpeace were arrested Friday after engaging in attempts to prevent the MOX fuel from being loaded onto the ships. 2000 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 6 MOX SHIPMENT TO JAPAN TO PASS THROUGH S. AFRICA, NZ STRAITS BRUSSELS JAN. 19 KYODO - Two armed ships carrying recycled nuclear fuel due to leave France on Friday will pass through the Tasman Sea separating New Zealand and Australia on their way to Japan, the environmental group Greenpeace said. The two British-flagged ships, carrying uranium and plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel processed by France's state-owned company COGEMA, will sail around South Africa into the Indian Ocean, after leaving the northwestern French port of Cherbourg, the group said. COGEMA has yet to announce the route, but is expected to do so within 24 hours after the ships' departure. The vessels, carrying the fuel for the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, are scheduled to arrive in Niigata within two months, officials of the utility said Thursday. On Thursday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff condemned the shipment calling it a cause of concern for Pacific states which pride themselves on being nuclear-free. A similar shipment by COGEMA in 1999 attracted strong criticism from New Zealand when it entered the Tasman Sea. Six members of Greenpeace were arrested Friday after engaging in attempts to prevent the MOX fuel from being loaded onto the ships. 2000 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 7 SHIPS CARRYING NUCLEAR FUEL LEAVE FRANCE FOR JAPAN Welcome to The Japan Times online January 21, 2001 BRUSSELS (Kyodo) Cogema, France's state-owned nuclear fuel company, said two armed ships carrying uranium and plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bound for Japan left the northwestern French port of Cherbourg on Friday. The two British-flagged vessels--the 5,087-ton Pacific Pintail and the 4,648-ton Pacific Teal--are carrying Cogema fuel bound for Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. Cogema officials said the two ships left port shortly after 5 p.m. They are scheduled to arrive in Niigata within two months, officials of the utility said Thursday. In Tokyo on Saturday, Tepco confirmed that the vessels will pass through the Tasman Sea that separates New Zealand and Australia on their way to Japan, after sailing around South Africa and across the Indian ocean. The two ships are equipped with machine guns as a security measure against hijacking. According to the environmental group Greenpeace, the MOX fuel, extracted from spent nuclear fuel shipped from Japan to be reprocessed in France, contains 230 kg of plutonium, the key ingredient for nuclear weapons. On Thursday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff condemned the shipment, describing it as a cause of concern for Pacific states which pride themselves on being nuclear-free. This is the second shipment of MOX fuel from France to Japan. A similar shipment by Cogema in 1999 attracted strong criticism from New Zealand when it entered the Tasman Sea. Six members of Greenpeace were arrested Friday after attempting to prevent the MOX fuel from being loaded onto the ships. THE JAPAN TIMES: JAN. 21, 2001 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 8 EPA suggests tougher Yucca guideli... LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: NEWS: Saturday, January 20, 2001 Copyright c Las Vegas Review-Journal Reid says he's worried Bush administration will try to scuttle proposed THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RENO--The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed tougher health and safety standards than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada. But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he's worried the incoming Bush administration will try to scuttle the EPA's proposed radiation standards and resort to NRC guidelines that provide no protection for groundwater. "I would hope that President Bush will carefully review the standards recommended by the EPA and that he put the health and safety of Nevadans first in making any final determination, " Reid said Friday. Outgoing EPA Administrator Carol Browner issued the draft rules for Yucca Mountain as one of the final acts of the Clinton administration. They would set an annual radiation exposure limit at the high level waste repository at 15 millirem, significantly lower than the 25 millirem standard the NRC has recommended. The EPA rules would establish a separate standard of 4 millirem for the groundwater beneath Yucca Mountain. The NRC has recommended no specific groundwater protection. "I am hopeful that the Bush administration will not attempt to soften these guidelines which are designed to protect people and the environment from exposure to deadly radiation, " Reid said in a statement Friday. EPA officials did not immediately return telephone messages at the agency's media office late Friday in Washington. Browner said in a letter to Reid on Thursday that radiation exposure no greater than 15 millirem "corresponds to a lifetime risk of approximately 3 chances in 10,000 of contracting fatal cancer. "It is also at the upper bound of what EPA considers to be an acceptable risk," Browner said in a copy of the letter obtained by The Associated Press. The limit also is consistent with the risk range recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, Browner said. "We believe that the citizens resources of Nevada deserve at least the same level of protection as any other area of the U.S.," she said. "As you know, the repository is situated directly above a substantial groundwater aquifer that currently supplies water for human consumption, livestock and irrigation in that area. "Therefore, we have included a separate ground protection standard consistent with regulations developed under the Safe Drinking Water Act," Browner said. Reid, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, presided over a confirmation hearing this week for Bush's nominee to replace Browner, New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman. Whitman indicated to Reid at the hearing and in a conversation afterwards that she advocates "shared responsibility" among the EPA and the NRC for Yucca Mountain, Reid's spokesman David Cherry said Friday. But Cherry said Reid continues to be concerned about the fate of the EPA's proposal. He said Bush's picks for energy and interior secretary, Spencer Abraham and Gale Norton, respectively, have indicated support for moving ahead with the waste dump in Nevada. "Our concern is all of these agencies will conspire to move ahead on Yucca Mountain," Cherry said. Reid and other Democrats characterized Bush as a supporter of the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain during the presidential election. But Bush said he had not made up his mind and would base any decision on the scientific evidence. President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore both advocated the more stringent oversite of the EPA for Yucca Mountain while some congressional backers of the site have argued it should be under the jurisdiction of the NRC. Copyright c Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2001 ***************************************************************** 9 Loaded transport The Scotsman Online - Scotland's best selling quality national newspaper An Argentinian aircraft shadows the British Pacific Swan in the South Atlantic Matt Warren Somewhere near Cape Horn last week, a 60ft racing yacht called Kingfisher and a 340ft cargo vessel, Pacific Swan, passed in the night. Kingfisher is carrying solo yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur towards the finish of the 24,000-mile Vendée Globe Race, 4,500 miles away in France. The Pacific Swan is steaming west, transporting 90 tons of vitrified nuclear waste from Cherbourg to the Japanese port of Rokkasho- Mura. But although both boats fly the Red Ensign, their aims are oceans apart. While French crowds wait to welcome the British yachtswoman and hail her as a sailing heroine, countries in the path of the Pacific Swan and its sinister cargo will greet its passing with concern, rather than celebration. With its exact location still a closely guarded secret, the Pacific Swan has now left its Argentinian naval escort behind. But as it finally draws away from the turbulent waters of the Southern Ocean, its presence is still being felt on the streets of Buenos Aires. Carrying enough nuclear waste to give off twice the amount of radiation as Chernobyl - the largest shipment ever - the Pacific Swan is one of a fleet of five vessels used to ferry radioactive material between Japan, France and Britain. Under a long-standing agreement, Japan transports used fuel to Europe, where British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) and the French equivalent, COGEMA, reprocess 97 per cent of the waste into reusable MOX fuel and the remainder into vitrified residue. These recycled products are then returned to Japan. Since the 1960s, the ships have covered more than 4.5 million miles without incident, but with the Pacific Swan recently charting a course through the treacherous seas of Cape Horn and two more vessels, the Pacific Teal and the Pacific Pintail, armed and each carrying MOX fuel, scheduled to leave Cherbourg in France on an undisclosed course yesterday, environmentalists are concerned that a catastrophe is just around the corner. The Pacific Swan saga began in late December when it was announced that the freighter was to round Cape Horn carrying 90 tonnes of waste vitrified in 192 glass blocks. In response, the combined governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay issued a statement on 22 December, "to reiterate their concern about using the Cape Horn route for the shipments because of the risks posed by the region’s physical and meteorological characteristics and the vulnerability of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems." As the ship sailed on, environmental groups moved into action, breaking into the British embassy and replacing the Union Jack with a Jolly Roger bearing the words "No Plutonium". But the situation came to a head when the Argentinian federal court of appeal in Buenos Aires ordered the government to expel the Pacific Swan from its waters, stating that it posed a grave risk to the nation’s shoreline in the event of a spill. "It was a landmark decision," says Emilino Ezcurra, a Greenpeace representative in Buenos Aires, "but then time just slipped by. President Fernando De la Rua should have acted on the decision, but he didn’t." Sending the navy to intercept the freighter, the Pacific Swan was shadowed through the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone waters - which run to 200 miles offshore - but was never expelled. As she slipped around the Cape, it seemed the debate would draw to a close. But for many people in Argentina, the issue is far from over. "The debate has just begun in Argentina and the president is at the centre of it," says Ezcurra. "Essentially, he has disobeyed the ruling of a court of law. This is no longer a minority issue. People in Argentina feel very strongly about the South Atlantic and people see the passage of this ship as an act of aggression. Whether you talk to a taxi driver, or a teacher, or a lawyer, this is an issue close to the people’s hearts." For British Nuclear Fuels, the issue is a flash in the pan. Greenpeace supporters have hindered the ship’s passage before, most famously boarding the Pacific Swan as it passed through the Panama Canal - another of the routes used by the freighters - in 1998. And only this week, protesters were arrested after trying to prevent the loading of the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal in France. But while protests in Argentina and Europe reflect wider discomfort over the ship’s passage, former captain Graham Bates considers the danger posed by the transports to be negligible. "I’ve sailed on these ships for years and as far as I’m concerned, they’re the safest and most reliable ships in the world," he says. "I simply don’t know of a single marine accident that would cause these materials to disperse into the environment." As well as a double-hull, which is strengthened to withstand the impact of a 24,000-ton ship doing 15 knots and can be completely flooded in the event of a fire, the freighters also have all essential systems duplicated. Furthermore, the cargo is stored in massive steel containers, called flasks. "There is no such thing as an unsinkable ship," continues Bates. "It’s a simple statement of science to say that if a ship takes on enough water, it will inevitably go down. That said, the controls put in place make the risk of that happening incredibly small." Nor is there any reason why the Pacific Swan, Pacific Pintail or Pacific Teal shouldn’t pass through another country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, with current maritime legislation securing the right of ships to pass through another nation’s EEZ. In fact, when questioned as to why the Argentinian government didn’t comply with the finding of the federal appeal court, an embassy spokesperson said: "The government is obliged by the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 56 establishes that a ship of any flag has a right to ‘innocent’ passage through the 200-mile EEZ. We only have the right to exploit and conserve the resources within that area." The government of President De la Rua has yet to admit it officially, but the debate in Argentina, it seems, is now over whether domestic law can challenge this international legislation. Ezcurra is determined that it shall. "Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina are united on this issue," he explains. "All four countries are acutely linked to the sea and there is widespread concern about the threat posed by the passage of this cargo. Ultimately a leak of any kind, no matter how small, would at the very least impact our fisheries. Argentina alone exports $1,000 million of fish products every year, with more than half of that going to Europe. Would you buy fish from the Southern Cone if one of these ships went down?" But even if it lost a ship, BNFL is confident that the damage caused to the environment would be minimal. While the flasks are tested to withstand depths of 200 metres for eight hours and fires of 800°C for 30 minutes, BNFL also claims that both the MOX, which is transported as insoluble pellets, and the vitrified residue, which is conditioned into a solid glass form, could never disperse radiation into the environment with anything like the voracity of the Chernobyl meltdown. "Likening the ship to a ‘floating Chernobyl’ is a classic piece of Greenpeace misinformation," says Bates. "In the case of Chernobyl, a reactor exploded, dispersing small particles over a wide area. The Pacific Swan is carrying a solid, glass-like material which simply cannot disperse in that way." Agreat many independent experts agree. "The upshot is that an accident of any kind is unlikely to happen," says Professor HW Lewis, professor emeritus of the University of California and a former member of the president’s nuclear safety oversight committee. "The environmental damage done by any conceivable accident would be thousands of times less than that done by a single oil spill." Greenpeace is not convinced. "So, the flasks can withstand submersion at 200 metres for eight hours," says Townsley. "Do you think they can raise those casks from the bottom of the Southern Ocean in eight hours? First, there are countless places where the sea drops to depths greater than that. Second, a report commissioned by the Channel Islands into the shipment of containers, assumed that a flask going down in the English Channel would stay there for a year. We may not be talking about a Chernobyl-like dispersion, but we are talking about a slow, sustained release. No-one knows what the effects of that would be." Back in France, Greenpeace is now facing hefty penalties after three protesters were arrested for breaking an injunction which prevented them from interfering with the loading of the Pacific Teal and the Pacific Pintail. Chaining themselves to the gates of the railhead at Valognes and building a wall over the tracks between the French reprocessing plant at La Hague and the docks at Cherbourg, environmental groups were again trying to hamper the freighters’ departure. And there were further protests yesterday, when Greenpeace put three inflatables, two canoes and four swimmers into the secure compound. They also have been arrested. But while the fines are a blow to Greenpeace, the group views the cargo of the Pacific Swan’s sister ships as posing a particular threat. Containing plutonium, Greenpeace claims that MOX fuel can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, stating that each of the two ships is carrying enough to make 60 nuclear bombs. But while the BNFL has stated that this is not the case, guidelines laid down by the US-Japan agreement for cooperation concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy require that ships transporting MOX must be armed and travel in a two-ship mutual escort system. "As well as carrying as many as 20 armed police from the UK Atomic Energy Authority constabulary, these ships are also armed with two 30mm cannons," says Townsley. "That equates to an armed ship, carrying the raw materials for a nuclear weapon alongside seven tons of high-explosive ammunition. I’m not sure that qualifies for ‘innocent’ passage." Either way, as the two ships head off on a route which will only be announced today, dozens of countries on the ships’ course will again be holding their breath. "There’s no prior consent, there’s no prior consultation, there’s no international environmental impact assessment and there’s no credible international liability regime should one of these things go down, " says Townsley. "It’s an insult to the nations in the freighters’ path." Panama has been highlighted as being particularly at risk. With the Panama Canal used as a potential routing for the ships, recent reports suggest that an accident there could bankrupt the tiny, Central-American state. While responsibility for ships using the waterway still lies with the pilots employed by the Panama Canal Authority, environmental groups are concerned that liability for any accident could too easily be laid at the doors of the Panamanian government. It has also been noted that the Suez Canal - where the system of liability is more stringent - is not used for shipments. But the BNFL maintain that they will be held fully accountable for an accident, wherever it takes place. "Our policy on liability is crystal-clear," says a BNFL spokesman. "In the extremely unlikely event of a leak, claims for compensation will go through the Paris and Vienna Conventions. If the country affected is not a part of either convention, then claims will be considered by their own courts and we have the assets to meet them. We take our responsibilities extremely seriously." Townsley adds: "So many of these things rely on individuals sitting at desks and making decisions. Unfortunately, history is littered with the catastrophes that came out of those individuals getting it wrong." Put another way, if the young yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, racing for her life aboard Kingfisher gets it wrong, the consequences are limited to the individual. The rescue authorities would be searching simply for a courageous young woman. If the Pacific Swan foundered, it could wipe out the ecology of an entire ocean. ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear cargo to pass SA 20/01/2001 13:50 - (SA) Tokyo - Two British cargo ships carrying a shipment of reprocessed nuclear waste will sail past South Africa's Cape of Good Hope to Japan, where they are expected to arrive in late March, a Japanese power company said on Saturday. The ships, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, will arrive at a port of a nuclear power plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO), the world's largest private electric power company. "The ships left Europe on January 19. They will pass by the Cape of Good Hope and are scheduled to arrive in Japan in late March, " the company said in a statement. En route to Japan, the ships will pass through the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, according to Kyodo News agency. A TEPCO spokesman declined to confirm the report. "I have nothing to say about the report. Due to security reasons, all I can say at this moment is the ships will sail by the Cape of Good Hope," the spokesman said. The cargos carrying MOX fuel, a mixture of plutonium and spent uranium, left the northwestern French port of Cherbourg on Friday. The environmental group Greenpeace said the ships contain some 230kg of plutonium, the quantity it said was enough to build around 20 atomic bombs. But French nuclear group Cogema SA, which produces MOX fuel, insists the material is not weapons-grade. - Sapa-AFP ***************************************************************** 11 Night move for radioactive waste - smh.com.au - National Saturday, January 20, 2001 BY ANDREW CLENNELL Highly radioactive nuclear waste from Sydney's nuclear reactor is expected to be transported through Sydney's suburbs on Monday night in a police convoy. The spent fuel from the reactor will be taken by truck from the reactor at Lucas Heights to a wharf, believed to be Port Botany, and will be shipped to France for reprocessing. It will be the first shipment of the spent fuel since 1999 and only the fourth such expedition. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which runs the Lucas Heights reactor, would not confirm the timing of the shipment for Monday night, as widely believed by environmental groups and others, but said the shipment posed no dangers. Shipments such as these had occurred "worldwide for more than 35 years with no significant impact on the environment", an ANSTO spokeswoman said. "The spent fuel is packed in special purpose-designed and built transport casks which meet the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Australian and French transport authorities." The requirements meant the casks were stringently tested to withstand extremely high temperatures and were fire-proof and leak-proof, she said. Similar transports have occurred in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The removal of used fuel from ANSTO follows a decision by the Government not to establish a reprocessing facility at Lucas Heights but to ship overseas all used fuel from the reactor. It will be reprocessed in France to reduce radioactivity then returned to Australia to be stored at a site yet to be determined by the Federal Government. A letter from ANSTO's chief executive, Professor Helen Garnett, to Sutherland Shire Council, said the consignment would consist of 360 used fuel elements to be packed in five stainless steel packages to be loaded into freight containers which will be placed on semi- trailers. "The transport within Australia will be covered by an indemnity provided by the Commonwealth Government covering the extremely remote possibility of any nuclear related damage arising from the shipment.'' The NSW Greens MLC Ms Lee Rhiannon said the shipment would leave Lucas Heights at 9pm on Monday and be shipped from the P&O terminal at Port Botany at 11.30pm. She said there would be 1,300 spent uranium fuel rods involved, weighing 100 tonnes in total, and the convoy would travel through Kogarah, Rockdale, Botany and Sutherland. ANSTO would neither confirm nor deny her statements. The Mayor of Sutherland, Councillor Tracie Sonda, said ANSTO was acting without adequately consulting the local community. ***************************************************************** 12 Taipower hopes to avert nuclear contract bailout The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-20 SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2001 TIME IS MONEY: As Taipower scrambles to hold the nuclear construction team together, the clock ticks down for the government to either proceed with the controversial project or face huge financial losses BY RICHARD DOBSON STAFF REPORTER The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, ¥x¹q) yesterday pleaded with the domestic contractors building the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (®Ö¥|) not to bail on their contracts, in a last-ditch attempt to stave off a potential meltdown of the project. Taipower cannot afford to let even a few of the contractors-- irked over the extended suspension of work--to cut their losses and walk. If this happens, finding replacements could take up to a year, seriously hobbling efforts to revive construction and compounding the NT$500 million Taipower has already lost since the project was halted. Hoping to avoid this outcome, Taipower yesterday met with 12 major local contractors at the Kungliao (°^¼d) site to "request they temporarily hold off from annulling their contracts," said Lin Ju-wan (ªL©~¸U), director of Taipower's Lungmen Construction Office at the plant's site in Kungliao. Under the terms of the agreement with Taipower, domestic contractors have the right to annul their contracts and seek compensation if the project is delayed for more than three months. Jan. 27 will mark three months to the day that Premier Chang Chun- hsiung (±i«T¶¯) ordered the plant be cancelled and local builders will be eligible to exercise their right to compensation. Lin said there was no sign from any of the contractors on what their intentions would be after next week. Foremost in the minds of contractors will be the losses endured during the delay and the chances of a speedy resolution to the stand-off over the matter between the Cabinet, which axed the plant, and the largely pro-nuclear opposition parties which dominate the legislature. But according to Chuang Shih-ming (²ø¥@©ú), director of policy and international affairs at the Energy Commission (¯à·½·|) the ruling DPP's strong anti-nuclear platform meant a total backdown by them would be unlikely. Although the legislature has slated a provisional session on Feb. 2 in an effort to resolve the matter and consider a compromise offer extended by the administration yesterday, Chuang said that "After Lunar New Year, it's war." This would certainly trouble Chu Tai-sheng (¦¶¥x´Ë), president of lead contractor New Asia Construction and Development Corp (·s¨È«Ø³]), which is constructing the structures that will house the nuclear reactors and turbines under a contract worth NT$10.5 billion. "My subcontractors have said if the government can't settle it in the short-term, then they may have to cancel," said Chu, who emphasized the cooperative nature of work carried out by contractors at the site. "If, for example, my concrete supplier pulled out, how could we continue to build?" said Chu. A pull-out of any of the other main contractors at Kungliao would hamper the ability of other companies to complete their work during the time it would take to replace them, said Chu. "Construction of the utility is about teamwork," said Chu. "If other contractors can't work, we can't either--even if we wanted to -- because we have to collaborate with each other," he added. According to Hsu Yung-hua (®}¥ÃµØ), project engineer at Taipower's Department of Nuclear and Fossil Power Projects, finding companies to replace those that pull out would take a "very long time." "The original bidding process was conducted in two stages because of the size of the project and took two years to complete," Hsu said. "It would take at least six months and perhaps as long as one year to complete the process again now," he added. Other Taipower executives stressed the difficulties that would be encountered by a new company picking up a project, which in some cases may already be half finished. "There are specific regulations governing the construction of nuclear plants ... ensuring a smooth continuation of construction of partially completed facilities is extremely important ... and it is not a simple undertaking," he said. Besides urging the companies to stay on, Taipower can only hope for a speedy decision by the cabinet to avert a wholesale collapse of the construction team and further spectacular losses from compensation payouts. "Regardless of whether the decision favors completion or cancellation, it must be made quickly," said Huang Shou-ching (¶À¹Ø²M), head of Taipower's nuclear power department. This story has been viewed 324 times. Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times. All rights ***************************************************************** 13 DPP lays down bottom line on nuclear power plant The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-20 SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2001 BY LIN CHIEH-YU STAFF REPORTER The DPP government yesterday revealed its bottom line for resumption of construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant: a new "National Energy Law" to be passed at the upcoming provisional meeting of the legislature. The government said, however, that it would not allow Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (±i«T¶¯) to be forced from office. "If the Legislative Yuan acts in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) and the government would respect the result," said sources in the Presidential Office yesterday. "The Grand Justices' ruling, published on Monday, had already pointed out that passing a new law to regulate the government's energy policies would be an appropriate means of solving the dispute between the ruling and opposition parties," the sources said. DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (§d¤D¤¯) also said that the government would not resume construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant unless the Legislative Yuan passed a law to force it to do so. Senior DPP officials have said that by opting for enactment of a new energy law, the premier will not need to resign even if the Legislative Yuan votes down the Executive Yuan's proposal to scrap the plant. The Council of Grand Justices suggested three measures to resolve the dispute over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant: that the premier resign, that negotiations be conducted between the Executive and Legislative Yuans, or that construction of the plant simply be resumed. The Council of Grand Justices also said that if negotiations fail, three further options could be considered: the premier's resignation, a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet, or the enactment of a new energy law. The Presidential Office source said that the last step the president would contemplate would be continuing construction of the plant if new legislation were enacted. "Then the DPP government can be said to have been responsible to its supporters," said the source. The KMT has already proposed a draft Energy Law in the legislature, which advocates that the fourth plant should be Taiwan's last nuclear facility and that the first second and third nuclear power plants should be shut down earlier than originally scheduled. This story has been viewed 232 times. Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times. All rights ***************************************************************** 14 Editorial: No-confidence a no-win The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-20 SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2001 To those Taiwanese politicians completely absorbed in their political bickering, the ruling of the Council of Grand of Justices is nothing but a legal formality. The ruling is incapable of resolving the controversy over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant or ending the duel between the opposition and the ruling party. Even the motion for a presidential recall and a vote of no-confidence are on a comeback. DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (§d¤D¤¯) indicated yesterday that the ruling party will "stand by [its position] on the power plant and fight until the end." The opposition alliance, on the other hand, are proposing a temporary legislative session for Jan.30 to accept Premier Chang Chung-hsiung's (±i«T¶¯) report. They do not rule out the possibility of taking a vote or even passing the power industry law on the very same day. Supposedly, some 60 lawmakers have endorsed the motion for a vote of no-confidence. It is absurd that 40 of them are DPP members. Although independent lawmakers are leading the motion, however, it is crazy that DPP lawmakers are supporting a vote of no-confidence against a DPP premier. The move has completely disrupted the order of party politics, and confused political accountability. The DPP is supporting the vote of no-confidence as part of a strategy to "end war with war." If the opposition alliance supports the motion, and Chang is forced to step down, the president could then dissolve the parliament and call for a legislative re-election. The opposition alliance will then divide as a result of different interests. The ruling party could then profit from the election, possibly facilitating a victory over the power plant in the newly elected legislature. If the opposition alliance opposes the vote of no-confidence, they would in fact be supporting the Executive Yuan on the power plant. The motion for a vote of no-confidence is a clever yet terrible strategy. It highlights political trickeries, and a lack of character for the politicians. People don't seem to care about what's right and what's wrong. The ruling party or the opposition may be able to win on the motion, but they will lose people's trust. Among the various methods of resolving the power plant controversy, recalling the president is the worst option. Political, ideological, and ethnic polarizations worse then those in the last presidential election will take place in Taiwan. It will take a long time before Taiwan recuperates from the injuries incurred in the election. The re-election resulting from the vote of no-confidence will trigger a nationwide division on the issue. Not only will it consume social resources, but it will also delay the revival of Taiwan's economy. In the end, Taiwan will be the loser. The most peaceful manner of resolving the standoff is through negotiation. However, if negotiations could resolve the power plant controversy, things never would have gotten this far. Even if the legislature votes to oppose the Executive Yuan's power plant policy, the Executive Yuan has already questioned the legitimacy of the vote. Having the legislature determine the fate of the power plant through legislation is the most practical option. The motion for a vote of no-confidence is the product of those without political principles and integrity, dwelling on political interests, and lacking real political wisdom. They will turn Taiwan politics into an international laughing stock, and turn Taiwan's legislature into a mental asylum. Other Taiwanese politicians are still trying their best to squeeze through the narrow gate of the legislature. What a big joke. This story has been viewed 256 times. Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times. All rights ***************************************************************** 15 What does Ruling 520 actually mean? The Taipei Times Online: 2001-01-20 SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2001 BY WANG YEH-LI ¤ý·~¥ß After the Council of Grand Justices's interpretation of the Constitution (Ruling 520) was released on Jan. 15, the ruling has become the subject of various interpretations. One controversy is this: does the ruling sufficiently explain the constitutionality of the Executive Yuan's decision to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (®Ö¥| )? Within academic circles, some very polarized views have emerged. Some believe that the decision was unconstitutional, while others believe that a procedural flaw is not the equivalent of unconstitutionality. The latter group further believe that the Executive Yuan acted unconstitutionally only if the ruling explicitly says so. While the ruling does not explicitly state that the Executive Yuan's act was unconstitutional, it clearly states that "as ceasing the implementation of a legally-mandated budget has the function of changing the direction of the administration or important policies, [taking such an action] without the participation of the Legislative Yuan is inconsistent with the constitutional mandate to have the legislative branch participate in policymaking." The question then becomes: is inconsistency with the constitutional mandate a violation of the Constitution? Looking back at the rulings of the Council of Grand Justices over the years, we discover that "inconsistency with the constitutional mandate" is not an innovative, ambiguous term. Rather, it appears frequently in various rulings. Ruling 384, for example, states that certain articles of the regulations on the prosecution and eradication of "black gold" are "inconsistent with the mandate" of Article 8 of the Constitution. In Ruling 392, certain articles in the criminal prosecution law are also deemed "inconsistent with the mandate" of Item 2, Article 8 of the Constitution. Ruling 443 also finds regulations on circumstances in which males eligible for military service may leave the country to be "inconsistent with the mandate" of Article 10 of the Constitution. Do those who hold that the Executive Yuan's decision was not "unconstitutional" because the ruling does not explicitly state it to have been so, also think that the above-described rulings did not find the relevant regulations or laws unconstitutional for the same reason? The biggest difference between Ruling 520 and most of the previous rulings is that the past rulings typically state when the relevant regulations or laws lost their legal force. In Ruling 520, although the justices also state that the decision to halt construction was inconsistent with the constitutional mandate, it does not clearly state whether the decision thereby loses its legal force. The ruling simply goes on to state that the decision was procedurally flawed and the Executive Yuan must make up for the skipped procedural step immediately. As a result, the ruling has led to another controversy over whether construction of the plant should be resumed first. It is by now meaningless to continue debate over whether the language of the ruling indicates "unconstitutionality." As the Council of Grand Justices has made its interpretation, the remaining issues must be dealt with through political means. We can only hope that both the opposition and ruling parties will be able to demonstrate the magnanimity of political statesmen, and leave behind the baggage of political hatred and ideology. Attach top priority to the welfare of the people, and the protection of the constitutional order. Begin inter-party negotiations as soon as possible and exercise collective wisdom in the resolution of political standoffs. This would be a result that most Taiwanese would be happy to see. Professor Wang Yeh-li is chairman of the Department of Political Science of Tunghai University. This story has been viewed 192 times. [* Copyright c 1999, 2000, 2001 The Taipei Times. All rights ***************************************************************** 16 Toxic soil will be trucked Saturday, January 20, 2001 BY ERIK N. NELSON STAFF WRITER SIMI VALLEY--Nearly 800 truckloads of chemically and radioactively tainted soil will be transported from Rocketdyne's former nuclear facilities in Simi Valley through West Valley residential neighborhoods to a Kern County dump beginning Monday. Under the plan approved by state and federal officials, trucks will carry the contaminated dirt and rubble in 20-minute intervals between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. through West Hills, Canoga Park and Chatsworth. Residents and anti-nuclear activists said the dirt is more dangerous than acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Energy and Boeing, Rocketdyne's parent company. They say the dirt should instead should go to a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Utah. "They need to realize that they can't just cart this stuff off site willy-nilly," said Lorraine Scott, a member of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Work Group, who will be among a dozen protesters at the Rocketdyne site Monday morning. "They need to take it to a legal dump site." The main controversy is over the destination site, the Safety-Kleen Buttonwillow Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility, which is 27 miles west of Bakersfield. The landfill is licensed for hazardous, or chemical waste, but not for radioactive waste. Officials at the U.S. Department of Energy, which is overseeing cleanup of a portion of the Rocketdyne site, said the contaminated material has such a low level of radioactivity that it's not classified as radioactive waste. "There's an extremely low amount of radioactivity in the shipments, so I don't think the public has any reason to be concerned," department spokesman John Belluardo said. "It will not be harmful to either the public or the environment." A spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services, which oversees the disposal of radioactive waste statewide, also said the hazardous waste facility is the best place for the contaminated soil. "The material is hazardous waste, not nuclear waste," said Lea Brooks, spokeswoman for the state Health Services department. "Our department oversaw cleanup of radioactive waste at the site several years ago, and that waste was shipped to a low-level radioactive waste disposal site in the state of Washington." Working under an Energy Department contract, Rocketdyne conducted nuclear research at the Energy Technology Engineering Center until 1989, when it was closed after Daily News articles exposed chemical and radioactive contamination on the site. The contaminants are left over from decades of washing down mechanical parts, some from a nuclear reactor, at an open area known as the Sodium Burning Pit that became one of the hilltop nuclear and rocket engine research lab's most polluted sites. But State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said she has reservations about the state Department of Health Services' assurances about the safety of the material being shipped. "Different measurements at different times have shown that at least some of this material may be three or four times background levels, " Kuehl said of uranium and thorium found in the soil. "They have to really clarify so that we know that there is absolutely no danger." Kuehl said she will ask health services director Diana Bonta to reconcile those reports with the agency's determination that the soil is not low-level radioactive waste. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer has also questioned the shipment plan and on Friday was still "very concerned by the decision to proceed with these shipments" and is still reviewing state and federal agencies' responses to her questions about the shipments, said Matthew Kagan, Boxer's Southern California director. ***************************************************************** 17 Envirocare wins exemption for N-waste dump Saturday, January 20, 2001 Several more OKs needed before waste is shipped Deseret News staff writer Envirocare of Utah's plan to store "hotter" radioactive wastes at its remote landfill in Tooele County inched a step forward Friday. The Utah Division of Radiation Control Board voted 7-4 to grant privately owned Envirocare an exemption from a state rule that allows radioactive waste disposal only on government- owned sites. But in doing so, the board made its approval contingent on a litany of conditions the Legislature would have to consider when giving its approval. "We're obviously pleased with the decision," said Envirocare President Charles Judd. "Yet with so many conditions, we've overcome one hurdle and now have six others. But we're glad the board gave us an opportunity to move forward." The land-use exemption is just one of several obstacles Envirocare must overcome to store class B and C wastes, which are mainly contaminated materials from nuclear power plants, research labs and hospitals. Those wastes are thousands of times more radioactive than the class A waste, which is mainly contaminated soils that the company is licensed to accept. Envirocare still faces two political obstacles: convincing the Legislature and governor to approve the project. Board Chairman Stephen Nelson voted against the land-use exemption because he wanted the Legislature to consider it first. That was the recommendation of the nuclear Regulatory Commission's staff. NRC's primary concern was assurances that someone would be responsible for the wastes after Envirocare closes. "Although NRC staff has not reviewed this specific exemption request or rationale in detail, the staff does not believe that NRC would grant a similar exemption request in the absence of clear evidence that the level of land-term control and protection afforded by Envirocare's proposal is essentially equivalent to that which would be provided by government ownership," stated an NRC letter to Bill Sinclair, director of Division of Radiation Control. "This letter gives me a bit of pause," Nelson said. It was troubling to Cindy King of the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club. "I am very disappointed in the board," she said. So the board attached several conditions, including transferring ownership of the site to the state or federal government at the end of 100 years. Another condition is to establish a perpetual fund to help take care of the facility for another 400 years while the hotter wastes remain radioactive. Also, Envirocare would have to pay more money, perhaps as much as $800,000 a year, to pay the increased costs of regulating the hotter waste. That money would go primarily for additional employees at the Department of Environmental Quality to oversee the disposal and to implement a program whereby the generator of the waste would be required to seek a state permit before it could send the waste to Utah. That gave Tooele County Commission Chairman Teryl Hunsaker a bit of heartburn. "We want adequate oversight. But I want an itemized cost as to what the money will go for," he said. Envirocare's proposal has generated heated debate. About 100 people packed a hearing in Salt Lake City to condemn Envirocare's plan and another hundred showed up in support of it in Tooele. The public still will have its say during a series of hearings in February on Sinclair's tentative decision to approve Envirocare's license. The first hearings will be at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 at Department of Environmental Quality offices. Others will be held in Layton, Tooele and Provo. E-mail: [*]donna@desnews.com ***************************************************************** 18 UPDATE - NUCLEAR TRAIN MOVES DESPITE GREENPEACE PROTEST NETHERLANDS: January 19, 2001 BORSELLE, NETHERLANDS - GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS ON WEDNESDAY CHAINED THEMSELVES TO RAIL TRACKS IN AN UNSUCCESSFUL BID TO HALT A TRAIN CARRYING RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM LEAVING THE NETHERLANDS FOR A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN FRANCE. Police, with the help of railway workers, managed to prise off protesters who were locked by their arms into a so-called rail-lock - a yellow box about a metre square - which in turn was chained to the track. Wearing red Greenpeace boiler suits, emblazoned with the message "Stop nuclear testing", four activists were arrested along with five supporters. The environmental group has objected to the decision to allow six containers loaded with spent fuel to leave the Borselle plant - the Netherlands' only nuclear plant - for a French reactor where the waste will be processed. "This processing plant is very dirty. It's unnecessary to take the waste there because we don't need the plutonium. All it is doing is creating more pollution," said Greenpeace spokeswoman Annamiek van der Moolen. A Reuters photographer said a further five anti-nuclear demonstrators - not necessarily from Greenpeace - had used chains to strap themselves to the track. Some of the 30 to 40 police at the scene freed them with a chainsaw and portable generator before bundling them into a police van. The protesters' efforts, however, were in vain. The nuclear train - accompanied by another train carrying police - started its slow journey from the south of the Netherlands, towards Belgium and then onto France. "We're disappointed of course. We did the best we could but we're not defeated," Van der Moolen said. "I would not be surprised if Greenpeace in France finds time to take some kind of action to stop the train arriving at Le Havre in France, " she said, adding her French colleagues would likely find a "new and creative" way of protesting. Earlier on Wednesday Greenpeace failed to get a Belgian court to block the transport across Belgium. 22 ARRESTS SO FAR Police spokesman Jan van Moureck said 22 activists had been arrested at or near the Borselle plant. Apart from the nine detained in connection with the rail lock, seven demonstrators were arrested in the nearby village of Heinkanszand. Earlier six protesters were arrested after they leapt over security barriers and raced past plant security. Three of them scaled the reactor building and unveiled a banner in Dutch proclaiming "Stop nuclear processing". (Additional reporting by Karen Iley in Amsterdam). Story by Jerry Lampen REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 19 C&Csays it mistakenly dumped radioactive waste ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND Saturday, January 20, 2001 BY NUALA HAUGHEY Radioactive material from the drinks company C & C (Ireland) Ltd has mistakenly been disposed of in a landfill site, according to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII). The institute says it is deeply concerned that radiation sour ces should be unaccounted for. C & C, of Kylemore, Dublin, reported that three gauges were inadvertently removed from its premises and disposed of as refuse in October 1999. The institute says the location cannot be established. It says the most serious risk is that the gauges might come into the hands of unsuspecting members of the public who might force open their protective casing and expose themselves and others to the risk of serious injury. The missing radioactive material, which has a half-life of 432 years, is in ceramic form inside a stainless steel capsule about the size of a 20p coin. This is further encased in stainless steel. C & C said last night that systems had been established to prevent a recurrence. It was working with the RPII to achieve a speedy conclusion. ***************************************************************** 20 Radioactive canister still missing ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND Saturday, January 20, 2001 The canister containing radioactive material which disappeared from the Irish Ispat steel plant in Cobh after last Monday's fire is still missing, according to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) - despite earlier assurances that it had been found. In a statement last night the RPII said: "Regrettably, this information was incorrect. While a canister was found which was similar to that which held the missing radiation source, it later transpired that it was not in fact the one which contained the source. The missing source has not yet been found. A further search of the laboratory is scheduled to take place early next week. "The canister in question contains a caesium-137 check source and it is used to check that radiation detectors in use at the plant are working correctly. "The activity level of the source is 3,700 Bq (becquerels), which is below the limit of 10,000 Bq at which a licence would be required for a caesium-137 source." ***************************************************************** 21 Public opposition against nuclear waste import grows in Russia SPENT FUEL IMPORT Russian Ministry of Nuclear Energy (Minatom) is actively promoting the project to import spent nuclear fuel to Russia from foreign countries for storage/reprocessing. The project may turn Russia into an international nuclear dumpsite. A wave of public protests against spent nuclear fuel import bills paced across Russia. The bills were approved by the State Duma in the first reading in late December. Vladislav Nikiforov, 2001-01-18 00:00 The Russian environmental groups organised the first day of actions against the plans of the Russian Ministry for Nuclear Energy, Minatom, to import spent nuclear fuel on January 15th. The campaign named Antinuclear Resistance took place in more than 20 cities in the western and central parts of Russia, Ural and Siberia. Environmentalists protested the Duma’s vote in favour of the amendments to the laws on December 21st, allowing Minatom to store and reprocess foreign spent nuclear fuel in Russia. Now the amendments will have to pass the second and the third readings in the Duma. Then the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, will evaluate them as well. The final judgement will come from the Russian President. The second reading will be reportedly held in the Duma on January 22d, but the date can be altered. Tomsk Environmental Student Inspection, Siberian Nature Protection Alliance and Tomsk Youth Yabloko held a rally against the plans to import nuclear waste into Russia. They collected signatures and send the appeal to each Duma member calling on them to condemn the amendments. A meeting dedicated to this issue with the participants representing science, environment protection, NGOs, local council and city council and press took also place in Kemerovo, Western Siberia. On January 12th the Commission on environment of the Sakhalin Duma in the Russian Far East examined the amendments and expressed its protest against the possible approval. Besides, similar actions took place in Kostroma, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Cherepovets, Chelyabinsk, Samara etc. The protesters sent appeals to the Duma calling the initiative of Minatom a “dangerous nuclear venture”. Russian environmental groups collected around 2.5 million signatures in support of a national referendum to restore state environmental agencies and to ban nuclear waste/materials import into the country in Autumn 2000. The Russian Central Electoral Committee rejected around 600,000 signatures and declared that 127,000 lacked to meet the required 2 million criteria for starting the vote. The decision of the Electoral Committee is believed to be authorised by the Kremlin. INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR DUMPSITE Countries, which operate nuclear power plants, will be glad to take the spent nuclear fuel away from their territories and are ready to pay for it. And here comes Minatom with a good business proposal difficult to resist. Minatom has always stressed in its PR-campaign that Russia will benefit from the project as well. The promised $20 billion look tempting indeed, but one has to always remember that spent nuclear fuel contains materials, which has to be managed with great care for 200,000 years. Thus, it will cost Russia much more to in the long run, than the immediate earnings. Head of the Russian State Nuclear Regulatory, Yury Vishnevsky, said about the fuel import project that money earned would be “either eaten up or stolen”. The agency opposed the Minatom’s plans but its weak position in the Russian state hierarchy did not lead to any change. The representatives of the regulatory were even not invited to the Duma when the discussion of the amendments and the pro-voting took place. The dramatic downgrade of the agency’s status also proves that no effective nuclear safety control will be in place should Minatom start shipping foreign spent fuel into Russia. [I][*]www.bellona.no Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway Reuse and reprint recommended ***************************************************************** 22 Austrians Gather to Condemn Controversial Czech Nuclear Plant Central Europe Online Daily News - VIENNA, Jan 20, 2001--(Agence France Presse) Hundreds of Austrians who turned out at the Czech border Friday to protest a controversial Czech nuclear plant and threatened further action if their objections went unheard, officials said. About 500 people gathered at the Austro-Czech checkpoint Wullowitz for a three-hour protest, local police said. The demonstrators believe the nuclear plant, which lies just over the Austrian border, is unsafe. The Czech government approved a safety and environmental study of Temelin last Wednesday, as part of an agreement struck with Vienna last month. It is due to be completed in May or June, before the plant starts commercial operations. But the anti-nuclear campaigners' chief spokesman Josef Puehringer told AFP: "You cannot carry out a serious, thorough study of a plant like Temelin in less than six months. "They think they can commission this and that's their duty over with. It's very unsatisfactory." He acknowledged he had not seen the details of the study, but added: "We are disappointed with Prague, but also with Vienna, and the EU, for just letting Temelin go on. "Something needs to be done, and today's demo is just a taster of what is to come," he warned. Last November, demonstrators blocked border crossings between Austria and the Czech Republic to protest last year's start-up of the plant. Austrians voted in a 1978 referendum to be nuclear free, and feel themselves under great threat. Temelin began some operations in October and was connected to the Czech national power grid in December, but it has not yet started producing power commercially. Construction of the plant, designed to comprise four Russian-style VVER-1000 megawatt reactors, was started in the 1980s, but was totally reviewed after the collapse of communism, and updated with new technology. The plant is currently shut for three weeks for an overhaul. Czech authorities say experts are to service various parts of the first reactor. It has suffered a series of technical problems since starting up, the latest on January 12 when an oil leak caused a fire. ((C) 2001 AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE) ***************************************************************** 23 NEW NUCLEAR PLANTS IN STATE UNLIKELY Copyright c 2001 The Seattle Times Company Local News : Saturday, January 20, 2001 By Linda Ashton The Associated Press YAKIMA - Energy Northwest is about as likely to resurrect an abandoned nuclear power plant soon to produce more electricity as it is to fill in the Grand Canyon, a company spokesman said yesterday. The ultimate decision for any new power plant in the state rests with Gov. Gary Locke. "I don't see nuclear power being considered, at least in the short- term future - in the next year or two - as part of the solution to the energy shortfalls and price increases that we're seeing now," said Carol Jolly, the governor's acting policy director. Still, no one is quite willing to say never again. Energy Northwest, known as the Washington Public Power Supply System until 1999, operates the region's only commercial nuclear power plant, the 1,200-megawatt Columbia Generating Station at the Hanford nuclear reservation. Once derided as an expensive white elephant in the Bonneville Power Administration's hydropower system, it was the only one of five nuclear plants built in an energy-planning boondoggle that led to a $2.25 billion municipal bond default in 1983. But today, the plant, which started generating power in 1984, is more than earning its keep in the high-price, high-demand energy market. On Thursday, the Columbia Generating Station produced for the BPA the equivalent of $16 million worth of power on the open market, compared with $783,000 a year earlier. With money like that to be made, at least two private companies have approached Energy Northwest with interest in a two-thirds-finished plant, also at Hanford, called Washington Nuclear Project 1, which was mothballed in 1982. The project eventually was abandoned. "They came and looked at the concrete plant, and they walked away, " said Don McManman, a spokesman for Energy Northwest, a 13-utility public power consortium. Energy Northwest will talk to anyone interested in increasing the amount of electricity available in the Northwest and California, McManman said, but it hasn't done any studies on whether to resume construction. "Most importantly, the people of the state would have to approve it," he said. "This is not going to be finished, if it ever is, unless there is a strong commitment of the people of the Northwest." The nuclear project could be finished under the right circumstances, however remote, he said. "If we had the will and the money, we could also fill in the Grand Canyon," McManman said. No applications for new nuclear generation have been made in Washington state since the collapse of the supply system's five-unit project, made up of three plants at Hanford and two at Satsop in Grays Harbor County, said Mike Mills, compliance manager for the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. The council and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission would consider such applications in tandem, and the final decision would be made by the governor. Jolly said it's doubtful whether public interest in nuclear power could ever be re-established in this state. "The term I'd use is improbable," she said. "Nuclear power worldwide has been fraught with so many public-health and safety concerns from Three-Mile Island through Chernobyl and some problems experienced in Japan.'' Add to that the supply system's bond default, and "I think we're ... more of the sense, `once bitten, twice shy,' " Jolly said. The energy council staff has been working with Energy Northwest on site-restoration plans and future uses for the site, Mills said. That work suggests "they've abandoned the possibility that it would ever become a nuclear plant," he said. One possibility is an electronic server farm or data-storage site. "Some companies are looking for extremely safe areas to store information, " McManman said. "Why not store it behind walls that are 16 feet of concrete and steel that can survive a direct impact of a 747?" ***************************************************************** 24 Energy Northwest mulls Plant 1 revival This story was published Fri, Jan 19, 2001 BY CHRIS MULICK HERALD STAFF WRITER Energy Northwest said Thursday that it may revive plans to finish one of four nuclear power plants it started building in the 1970s but never finished. However, no one's ready to cut any ribbons or smash any champagne bottles. The obstacles standing in the way of finishing Plant No. 1 north of Richland could prove to be enormous. "It has a huge up-front cost, and it has a huge political risk, " said Rod Webring, Energy Northwest's vice president for operations support. "The region may never be ready." But with electricity prices jumping like never before, the price of power out of a nuclear plant doesn't look so bad. "Maybe the dollar numbers that seemed so ridiculous are not that ridiculous," Webring said. Energy Northwest began building five nuclear plants in the 1970s to meet what was expected to be rapidly rising energy demands. That demand never materialized, perhaps until now, and rising costs forced four of the projects to be canceled. The consortium of public utilities, then known as the Washington Public Power Supply System, also defaulted on $2.25 billion in bonds sold to build the last two of those projects. Only Columbia Generating Station, formerly known simply as Plant No. 2, was ever finished. But with the price of power on spot markets at times tenfold and more what they are normally, the value of the power it has produced since July has topped $750 million. That's money Northwest ratepayers would have had to pay to buy as much energy as the plant produces. It is believed it would cost about $3 billion to $4 billion to finish Plant No. 1, which was two-thirds completed when work stopped in the early 1980s and was later canceled. Not much has changed since the mammoth 1,300-megawatt project was canceled. The monolith is the centerpiece of a nuclear ghost town of sorts, surrounded by a chain link fence and weathered roads. Energy Northwest has been exploring ways to redevelop the project for other industrial uses. It's not clear exactly how much power from Plant No. 1 would cost, but Webring figures it's worth finding out just in case anyone is interested. Energy Northwest has had a few nibbles in the past year from private utilities interested in finishing the project but no bites. "I would not be surprised if that interest is rekindled," he said. Energy Northwest doesn't have the ability to finish the project by itself because it has no money. The Bonneville Power Administration effectively buys all of Energy Northwest's power and pays all its bills, including millions annually on debt payments for Plant No. 1 on bonds the federal power marketer backed. For the project to materialize, another party would have to sign a contract to buy the plant's power or be willing to finish the project. "It would be almost like a new construction project," said Vic Parrish, Energy Northwest's chief operating officer. "If there's any interest in unit 1, we will do some irreversible damage to that facility in the next three to four years." That's because the agency plans to use the Plant No. 1 generator to help increase the output of the 1,150-megawatt Columbia Generating Station by another 175 megawatts. Rising power prices wouldn't be the only reason stimulating interest in finishing the project. While there are issues with finding places to store radioactive spent nuclear fuel, the plant wouldn't produce harmful air emissions like gas or coal plants or kill fish like hydroelectric dams. Also, nuclear plants now are being licensed to run for 60-year intervals, making them a guaranteed resource for a generation. All that still may not be enough to get the project going again. For now, Energy Northwest is just preparing itself to answer questions about the possibility if they are asked, Webring said. "We're not going to build that plant unless the region wants it," he said. COPYRIGHT 2001 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Richardson signs paperwork for FFTF shutdown This story was published Sat, Jan 20, 2001 BY ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER Outgoing Energy Secretary Bill Richardson signed the paperwork Friday ordering Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility permanently shut down and dismantled. He'd said for months he planned to make the decision before the end of the Clinton administration and met that deadline with about 24 hours to spare. It came as no surprise. Richardson announced in late November that he had decided to order the reactor closed, but then had to wait 30 days for public comment after notice was published in December. Earlier this week, his spokesman announced that public comment hadn't swayed Richardson, and he planned to sign the decision before leaving office. The government invested $1 billion in the reactor, but building a similar facility today would cost more than $2.5 billion, according to the Department of Energy. However, Richardson has said DOE officials have been unable to find enough uses to justify operating the facility, although it's one of DOE's largest and most modern reactors. It was built in 1978 as part of a program to test plant equipment and fuel for new breeder reactors. A predicted increase in the need for electrical power had generated interest in those reactors, which can produce both power and nuclear fuel to supply other reactors. FFTF was started in 1982 and operated for 10 years, testing advanced nuclear fuels, materials and safety designs, until DOE decided to discontinue its liquid metal reactor development program. FFTF also made isotopes for medicine. Since then, several uses have been considered for the reactor. Most popular has been making more medical isotopes, as demand for their use in nuclear medicines has increased. The United States imports 90 percent of the medical isotopes it uses. The isotopes are widely used to diagnose illnesses now but are increasingly being used to treat cancer. Clinical trials have successfully paired radioactive isotopes with proteins that seek out cancer cells within the body. As the proteins latch onto the cancer cells, the isotopes bombard the cells with deadly radiation with minimal harm to healthy nearby cells and minimal unpleasant side effects for the patient. DOE had been considering using the reactor not just to produce medical isotopes, but also for research and to produce isotopes for the space program. Shutting down the reactor will cost about $281 million. How quickly that occurs will depend upon how much money Congress allocates for the project, but the timeline has been estimated at five years. Once the liquid sodium is drained from its cooling system, the reactor cannot be restarted. However, until that happens, supporters, including U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., plan to appeal to the Bush administration to reverse Richardson's decision. Several Tri-City agencies and governments, led by Benton County, also are considering filing a lawsuit to keep the government from dismantling the plant. COPYRIGHT 2001 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** 2 Expert on chronic beryllium disease sees 'good news' for Hanford workers This story was published Sat, Jan 20, 2001 BY ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER The number of cases of chronic beryllium disease diagnosed among Hanford workers appears smaller than expected compared with the number of workers found to have the potential for developing the disease. "That is good news," said Dr. Lee Newman, an international expert on the disease who spent the week lecturing in the Tri-Cities. "They are not out of the woods, but I think they should be guardedly optimistic." The first step in diagnosing the disease is a blood test that shows whether a worker has had an allergylike reaction to the metal. About half of those who test positive would be expected to have chronic beryllium disease, Newman said. However, just three of 22 current Hanford workers who showed a sensitivity to beryllium in that blood test have developed the chronic respiratory illness. In addition, more than 50 former workers have tested positive for sensitization. While the number of sensitized people is small to be drawing conclusions, Newman said several possibilities might play a factor in explaining the potentially low rate. Perhaps ventilation systems were better at Hanford than other nuclear sites, or work processes generated dust particles too large to be easily breathed in, he theorized. A good deal of what is known about chronic beryllium disease at nuclear sites is because of Newman's research at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. Workers at nearby Rocky Flats nuclear reservation who show a sensitivity to beryllium have developed chronic beryllium disease at a much higher rate than Hanford workers. Newman said some jobs in the nuclear industry are known to produce greater numbers of workers who are either sensitized to beryllium or who develop chronic beryllium disease. They include metal machining, research and development jobs and chemical operators who worked with a lot of dust and powder. Both the total amount of beryllium dust and possibly smaller particle sizes that are easier to breathe in increase the risk of disease, Newman said. However, "in every work force where we've found beryllium disease, it's in not only the most heavily exposed workers but a few people who seemingly have very low exposures," Newman said. That may include people such as janitors, who would be likely to disturb dust, and others who should have little exposure to the dust such as secretaries and security guards. At Hanford, the metal was used until 1986 in an alloy developed to close the ends of uranium fuel rods. The metal is strong, lightweight and resistant to corrosion. Hanford officials have identified 55 buildings where beryllium work may have been done. Newman praised the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation's program to identify workers who may develop chronic beryllium disease, calling it state of the art. The foundation brought Newman to the Tri-Cities to speak with Hanford workers and management and doctors in the community. Before the blood test was developed that indicates beryllium sensitivity, the disease could have been misdiagnosed as lung fibrosis, asbestosis or sarcoidosis, he said. Because the disease is not common and may be mistaken for other respiratory illnesses, people who have been exposed to beryllium should tell their doctors they're at risk if they have respiratory problems, Newman said. In the 1950s, about 30 percent of people diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease died from the illness, Newman said. But now that the diagnosis is usually made fairly early, the disease is not often fatal. Doctors can use low doses of steroids to control symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and fatigue, Newman said. Past and present workers concerned about chronic beryllium disease have several resources: -- Current Hanford workers may call the HEHF beryllium hot line at 372-0137. -- Former Hanford production workers may call 946-4716. -- Former Hanford construction workers may call 543-2090. -- Information is available through the Beryllium Awareness Group. Call 376-6005. More information is available at www.njc.org/medfacts/ beryllium_medfact.html on the Internet. COPYRIGHT 2001 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** 3 Michaels still helps on sick workers program - By Bill Bartleman The Paducah Sun Saturday, January 20, 2001 The DOE aide wasn't asked to remain at his political appointment, but says he will be active in working out the payments. Associated Press--Testifies on Paducah risks: Dr. David Michaels testifies at a Senate Energy Committee subcommittee hearing in March 2000 about health risks of Paducah plant workers. Listening is Dr. Carolyn Huntoon, DOE assistant secretary for environmental management. Dr. David Michaels said he will continue to be involved in planning and drafting the final details of the federal compensation program for nuclear plant workers who became sick or died because of work- related exposure to radioactive materials and other chemicals. At noon today, Michaels ends his two-year tenure as the U.S. Department of Energy's assistant energy secretary for environment, safety and health. He was one of the main forces behind the successful effort to convince the Clinton administration and Congress to approve the compensation program that includes workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and the Honeywell Plant in Metropolis, Ill. Michaels is leaving the DOE position because it is a political appointment that expired with the end of the Clinton presidency. Some members of Congress had hoped the Bush administration would ask him to stay on, at least until Aug. 1, when the program is to be implemented. "I have not been asked to stay on, but I will stay involved from the outside," Michaels said Friday in a telephone interview from Washington as he was cleaning out his desk. "I'll be involved either as a consultant or on advisory committees." Michaels said he will stay in Washington and join the faculty of the George Washington School of Public Health. Before joining DOE, he was professor of community health at the City University of New York Medical School for eight years. Michaels expressed confidence that the worker compensation program will have the same high priority with the Bush administration as it had with the Clinton administration. "The program received such widespread bipartisan support from members of Congress and communities all around the country that I am confident it will be a priority with the new administration," he said. Although he said career employees who have worked under him will still be around and continue their work to implement the program, he added that there may be delays as new Bush appointees take over and get acclimated. The Department of Labor will administer the program and process claims. Eligible workers will receive either a lump sum payment of $150,000 or projected future lost wages. Officials say they should begin taking applications in August and that the first checks would be issued by the end of the year. Over the next five years, the program is expected to cost $1.6 billion and pay benefits to as many as 10,000 workers throughout the country. Michaels visited Paducah five times, beginning in August 1999 when a lawsuit was filed by current and former plant workers who claimed past environmental practices at the plant risked the lives of workers. The suit contended that companies hired to operate the uranium enrichment plant for DOE lied about environmental conditions in an effort to earn millions of dollars in operating bonuses. After investigations indicated that past management practices did expose some workers to contaminated conditions, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson made compensating current and former workers and their families a high priority, Michaels said. He said Richardson was sincere in his commitment that the federal government should take responsibility for its past mistakes. In the fall of 1999, Richardson came to Paducah and acknowledged publicly for the first time that the government was negligent in its past operations of the plant here and nuclear weapons production plants in other states. "Secretary Richardson made a number of commitments to the workers and made sure they were fulfilled," Michaels said. He also said that the benefit program was approved in a relatively short period of time, just 18 months after his first visit to Paducah. Michaels said he worked during his tenure to be open, honest and responsive to the public and to current and former plant workers. "That's what government is supposed to do," he said. ***************************************************************** 4 JACKSONVILLE RESIDENTS RECALL THE TERROR DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS Ground Zero 01/20/01 SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2001 Story last updated at 4:56 a.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2001 Sharon Heberling peers into the shaft that leads to a bomb shelter her father built in their back yard during the 1960s.-- Will Dickey/Staff GROUND ZERO BY PAUL PINKHAM TIMES-UNION STAFF WRITER Susan Alexander was frantic. The young mother stared at the police officer who stopped her car in Fernandina Beach as dozens of schoolchildren ran by, sweating in the hot October sun. No, he told her. She couldn't drive to the church where her son attended kindergarten. The streets needed to be clear so the students could practice their drills in case the missiles came. The missiles. Her daughters would be able to run the three blocks home from school, but how on earth would she get her son if the Communists lobbed nuclear bombs at Northeast Florida? "I was very distraught," she said. "I could not get there if I had to." "It was very, very scary." President Kennedy signs the Cuba Quarantine Proclamation on Oct. 23, 1962, authorizing a military blockade of Cuba.--National archive Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on [Cuba]. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide nuclear strike capabilities against the Western Hemisphere. . . . This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base ... constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas. . . . Should these offensive military preparations continue . . . further action will be justified. I have directed the armed forces to prepare for any eventualities. -- PRESIDENT KENNEDY ANNOUNCING U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA, 6 P.M. OCT. 22, 1962 Doug Griffin holds the dog tag he was issued in elementary school in the 1960s.--Bob Mack/Staff The Soviet Union reacted harshly to the quarantine announced last night by President Kennedy, accusing the United States of "taking a step along the road of unleashing a thermonuclear war." The Kremlin said, 'If the aggressors unleash war, the Soviet Union will deliver the mightiest retaliatory blow.' -- WIRE REPORT FROM MOSCOW, OCT. 23, 1962 Something was up. For 9-year-old Susan Williams, watching the news with her dad at 6:30 was a nightly ritual around their Green Cove Springs home. Now he sent her and her brother out of the room when the news came on. Sharon Heberling remembers the steel-encased bomb shelter of her family's, which had room for six people.--Will Dickey/Staff In fact, ever since the president was on TV, she noticed her mom and dad whispering a lot and her mom crying. "I had never seen my parents so serious before," she recalled. "I vividly remember sneaking up to the door in the dining room and listening in as my parents made plans to possibly evacuate. "My father worked in Jacksonville. I heard them discussing the fact that he would not make it back to us because Cuba would target Mayport, NAS and Cecil Field." Her parents explained what was happening. "We were very frightened," Williams said. "I just remember hearing people say that Florida would be wiped off the map." Throughout Northeast Florida, families took different approaches to the "Cuba crisis." In Riverside, high school sophomore Hugh Carithers discussed Kennedy's speech with his parents. The Communists were the bogeyman then and would have no compunction about killing Americans, most people believed. "I remember asking my parents if we were going to live," Carithers said. Will Henley, 10, said his father, the Times-Union's chief photographer, brought home aerial photos showing the missile buildup in Cuba. His family lived across the river from Jacksonville Naval Air Station. "You could hardly look up at the sky and not see a military aircraft flying out of there," Henley recalled. In Springfield, fifth-grader Doug Griffin learned about the crisis at Corinne Scott Elementary school. He and his classmates--including his Cuban friend, Miguel, who lived down the street--combed their Weekly Readers for information. "We were shown a big chart that showed ground zero being NAS, with all the circles coming out, and they said this is why we're going to have to leave," Griffin said. "My parents never talked about it. I guess they didn't want to scare me. "Being 10 years old, it didn't mean a whole lot," he said. "We knew there were bad guys and good guys. That's it." Then there were the neighborhood debates about bomb shelters and whether families who had them should let their neighbors in if the missiles came. Near the Gator Bowl, James Moore taught his family how to use the underground shelter he built in the back yard. The steel-encased shelter held six people--enough room for his family and his parents -- and was filled with canned goods, quilts, gas masks and bunkbeds. There was a thick metal door, bulletproof glass and a secret escape hatch. It had a shower, an air pump and a Geiger counter--even checkers and a dartboard to keep the kids entertained. "It felt very safe," said Moore's daughter, Sharon Heberling, 12. Still, she worried about being able to take the keepsakes that were most important to her, especially her late grandmother's Bible. The shelter was equipped with body bags, and Moore taught Heberling and her 8-year-old brother how to dispose of the bodies if anyone died. "He told us to take the body out and leave it there in the back yard, " Heberling said. Heberling's teachers at Kirby-Smith Junior High had told her class to hop on any moving train out of Jacksonville if the bombs came. Her dad told her to run home. "We had a special knock to get in because they used to do tours from Fairfield Elementary, and he was afraid people would be trying to get in," Heberling said. If an enemy attack hits Jacksonville, forget about your children in school. Most schools here are far better trained, equipped and ready to care for their students than the children's' own parents. A mad, disorganized rush to grab Johnny before the bomb falls is one of the best ways to kill him, yourself and your younger children." -- JACKSONVILLE JOURNAL, OCT. 25, 1962 The longer Hugh Carithers waited for the train, the more worried he got. He and 30 other students from Lee Senior High School--one from each homeroom--had walked the five blocks to the tracks at McDuff and Roosevelt to wait for the train that would whisk them to a secret location if Russian missiles were launched toward Jacksonville. This was a drill, but if a nuclear attack was imminent, Carithers and the other kids were expected to help lead their classmates onto the waiting train. Now they'd been waiting for an hour, and there was no train in sight. Finally someone in charge concluded it wasn't coming, and the group walked back to school. "What if this had been the real thing . . . and we had been left out in the open?" Carithers thought. "Wouldn't we have been better off staying in our class and ducking under our desks like we'd been practicing?" Trains were a key component of the School Board's evacuation plan. Children were to be taken to Camp Blanding, Gold Head Branch State Park, Marineland or Brunswick. The whole idea scared the daylights out of 10-year-old Doug Griffin. If the air raid siren sounded, he and his classmates were supposed to walk single file to the tracks five blocks from Corinne Scott Elementary in Springfield to be loaded onto boxcars. "I didn't fully comprehend the ramifications of a global nuclear war. I was, however, terrified at the thought of being separated from my parents and sent off on a train to some undisclosed destination for some undermined amount of time with no guarantee that I would ever see them again," he said. At Cedar Hills Elementary, trains were settled on after Eilene Fails, a 36-year-old PTA member, walked next door to the armory and asked if the school could use its trucks to transport the children to Camp Blanding. "No, I'm sorry, but we really have other uses for those trucks," a man there told her. Fails wasn't convinced Camp Blanding was much safer than Jacksonville, but that was the plan. "It was one of those things that we kept hearing about and kept hearing about, and then we were told to prepare," she said. "We were afraid to not do this, and yet it seemed kind of unreal to us." But trains weren't the only mode of escape. One school planned to use all the trailers from a nearby rental service, hitch them to faculty cars and drive the children to safety. Cafeteria workers were told to bring all the food on hand. At San Jose Elementary, teachers loaded all the kids onto buses one morning and took them on a field trip to Hastings. "It wasn't like a fun field trip," recalled Will Henley, a fourth- grader. "They got us all out and marched us into these potato barns, showed us where we would stay until the radiation dissipated. We had enough food and water to last a week." All Duval County schoolchildren were issued a stainless steel dog tag with their names, addresses and phone numbers. The tags also had one of three letters--P for Protestant, C for Catholic or J for Jewish--so authorities could contact the appropriate clergy if the child's body was found. At most schools, each child had a designated hook in the cloakroom where they were instructed to hang a survival pack of emergency rations -- canned food, hard candy, toothpaste and brush, Band-Aids and washcloth. Some used mesh citrus bags; others could purchase old gas mask containers for a quarter at school. Each child also had to bring in a Clorox bottle with a little bleach in the bottom to decontaminate water they might have to drink after a nuclear attack. "We thought it was pretty cool because everybody had their little knapsacks," said Max Marbut, a second-grader at Oak Hill Elementary, whose dad was stationed at Cecil Field. "It was like we were going into the Army." When an alarm went off by accident here last week, it was 20 minutes before a repairman could get it shut off. During this time some people thought an attack was on the way. -- JACKSONVILLE JOURNAL, OCT. 31, 1962 In the end, the Communists blinked and the Cuba crisis faded from the headlines. But few recall a defining moment when the state of fear ended in Jacksonville. Susan Alexander and Hugh Carithers both remember feeling a sense of relief watching news reports of Russian ships turning back. But others, like Susan Williams, said their fright eased more tentatively as the Americans--including sailors from Mayport--continued to monitor Cuban military bases. "I just recall Dad said, 'I think we're OK. I think everything's all right. I think we're not going to have to worry about it anymore.' '' Slowly, Jacksonville tried to restore a state of normalcy. The county fair went on as planned, though the crisis was blamed for low attendance. More than 3,000 people turned out for the debut of the Jacksonville Symphony as an 80-instrument orchestra and spontaneously sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Civil Defense officials used the crisis to bolster their cause. "When you think about it now, it's kind of hard to imagine," Eilene Fails said. "No place else in the United States went through what we went through. . . . Nobody else was so vulnerable." Times-Union staff writer Diana Marrero and library director Jennifer O'Neill contributed to this report. ***************************************************************** 5 'I'm sure we've been exposed' to depleted uranium, soldiers say National - Ottawa Citizen Online [I] Saturday 20 January 2001 Migraines and other ailments plague Canadian 'Highway to Hell' veterans involved in Kuwait cleanup after the Gulf War, Douglas Quan reports. DOUGLAS QUAN, WITH FILES FROM DAVID PUGLIESE, CHRISTOPHER GULY AND RYAN BAKER FRANK WAGNER VIDEO / THE BLAST SOLDIERS SAY MADE THEM SICK: EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE FROM CANADIAN SOLDIER FRANK WAGNER'S VIDEO OF THE 1991 EXPLOSION AND FIRE AT A U.S. AMMUNITION DUMP IN DOHA, KUWAIT, THAT SENT HUNDREDS OF DEPLETED URANIUM ROUNDS UP IN FLAMES. Canadian soldiers who served in Kuwait after the Gulf War and handled spent depleted uranium ammunition weren't informed of the possible risks until after the mission ended. The soldiers routinely handled the ammunition--some with their bare hands--and now fear they may have been exposed to radiation that is making them sick. In interviews with 18 soldiers who served in the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in 1991, 10 reported suffering from some kind of health problem. Five complained of mind-blowing and persistent headaches. Two complained of memory loss, lethargy and having troubles sleeping. One veteran recently had a thyroid gland in his neck removed due to cancer. Another was diagnosed late last year with emphysema. And another said he has had abdominal pains for the last two years, in addition to headaches. Even many of those soldiers who didn't report any health problems said they were concerned about their health, and felt the government was not doing enough to investigate. "I'm sure we've been exposed to it," said Harry Poile, the regimental sergeant major at the time, "but nobody seems to have bothered to worry about us." As the Citizen reported earlier this week, at least 50 soldiers may have been exposed to DU debris and ashes after a massive explosion and fire at an American ammunition dump in Doha, Kuwait. According to a report to the President Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in 1996, as many as 660 DU ammunition shells may have gone up in flames. Another 14 tanks, which may have been outfitted with depleted uranium armour, were also destroyed in the blast, sending thick plumes of smoke over the U.S. base and adjacent Canadian base. The Citizen has now also learned that many of those soldiers and others in the regiment, possibly as many as 200 in all, may have come into direct contact with the DU while they were working in the field. For three to four months, the troops were assigned to clear routes to allow United Nations observers to set up posts in the demilitarized zone near the Kuwait-Iraq border. This included clearing parts of the infamous "Highway to Hell," which was littered with explosives, artillery rounds and the remnants of bombed-out Iraqi vehicles and tanks. "We were climbing in and out of these tanks to pick up whatever ammunition might be left behind," recalls Mike Hartling, a troop warrant officer in charge of Explosive Ordinance Disposal. Mr. Hartling says he remembers going to the Americans and asking them about a slug he had come across that was foreign to him. It was bullet-shaped, sharp on one end, flat on the bottom, and greyish in colour. "It's classified information," he was told. When he asked if it was safe to handle, they told him to treat it like it was an "inert" object. This lack of information was pervasive, according to the soldiers, and provided little comfort for troops on the ground. "We weren't called the Lost Boys for nothing," says Joe Bisson, then a master corporal and now a sergeant with the same regiment. It was only nearing the end of their mission, after having cleared countless numbers of these objects, that the soldiers were informed by the Americans that those objects were the cores of DU ammunition rounds, and should be avoided. "It was a big shock--especially when we went to look up what depleted uranium was," Mr. Hartling said. Mr. Hartling, who says he now suffers from severe memory loss and lethargy, estimates that at least half of the 30 members of his troop alone would have had some direct contact with the DU slugs. Mr. Bisson, who suffers from persistent headaches, wonders how much of it he and his troops came into contact with. He worries about the countless ordnances that he had to work around, and the dust that might have been picked up or carried by the wind. "How much we've ingested, I can only guess." DU is mildly radioactive and is used in tank ammunition. When a projectile hits an armoured vehicle, it explodes and burns, producing a fine dust. Some scientists believe that inhaling these particles could be linked to cancer. Depleted uranium ammunition has come into the spotlight recently after it was alleged that there is a link between the deaths of 20 NATO soldiers who served in the former Yugoslavia and their exposure to DU. The Department of National Defence has started a voluntary testing program for DU, but it has not found any indication the substance has been absorbed by those tested. Col. Ken Scott, the Defence Department's director of medical policy, said the veterans of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment have nothing to worry about as far as adverse health effects from depleted uranium. A health survey sent in 1997 to almost 10,000 Canadian military personnel, including Gulf War veterans, showed that there were no unusual rates of illnesses such as cancer or leukemia, Col. Scott said. "We've had these post-deployment clinics and we're not certainly being flooded by 1CER people," said Col. Scott. "We have no evidence there is a higher rate of leukemia or cancer in this group." It is the position of the Canadian Forces that stress is probably behind the health problems among soldiers. "But not knowing (whether DU makes you sick) causes stress," counters Fred Kaustinen, the deputy commander of the regiment at the time. "We need to get the bottom of it." Mr. Kaustinen said he was never given any information about where or how DU was used, or what potential health risks it carried. DU ammunition has been linked to the death of Capt. Terry Riordan, a Canadian Forces military police officer who served in the Gulf during the war. He died at his home in Yarmouth, N.S., in 1999. His family blamed DU for his death after conducting medical tests on his body that revealed levels of depleted uranium in his bones. Several of the soldiers contacted by the Citizen said they wanted a more systematic screening program, and rejected the government's position that the troops from the Combat Engineer Regiment could not have come into contact with DU. "That's where we spent six months, disarming explosives. Whatever they used in the war, we've touched it. How can you not be exposed to it?" asked sapper Wayne Williams, who now suffers from constant migraines. Some, like Tom Walton, who also served as regimental sergeant-major, even said a formal inquiry might be appropriate. "If there's even the slightest suspicion that this depleted uranium is doing something, they should be investigating it." Regimental Quartermaster Frank Wagner, who now suffers from impaired vision, agreed: "Look after us, that's all I ask." Only one of the soldiers interviewed said he didn't feel the military needs to probe the matter further. Despite a recent bout with cancer, Warrant Officer Tim Nieradka dismissed the notion that his disease may have been caused by exposure to depleted uranium. And Mr. Nieradka said if it were proven that exposure to the depleted uranium in Kuwait caused his cancer, he would not blame the military. "I've been a soldier long enough to know that stuff happens," he said. "It was part of the mission. As far as I'm concerned, I consider it part of the job." Copyright 2001 Ottawa Citizen Group Inc. ***************************************************************** 6 Defence forces focus on threats of NBC warfare 20 January 2001 BY ABHAY VAIDYA THE TIMES OF INDIA NEWS SERVICE LONAVALA: The establishment of a ``quick reaction team'' and a ``quick reaction medical team'' to face the eventuality of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare is among the initiatives planned by the armed forces to tackle emerging threats of NBC warfare. Senior defence officials who participated in the nation's first tri- services seminar on defence against NBC warfare here, discussed various initiatives to face the threat of NBC warfare. The officials and scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and a number of defence laboratories discussed various aspects of NBC warfare. They also expressed the need for India to unite the strengths of the Army, Navy, Air Force, defence labs and indigenous industries to meet the challenge of NBC warfare. The two-day seminar on ``Strategies and Doctrines for training in NBC defence and acquisition of modern equipment'', organised by the Naval Headquarters and inaugurated by Vice Admiral Singh, is a part of the defence forces' initiative to step up the nation's preparedness against NBC warfare. The seminar being conducted at the premier naval training institute, INS Shivaji, Lonavala, is significant in the context of chief of Army staff, General Sunderajan Padmanabhan's recent statements on NBC warfare. Senior naval officers at the seminar said that while a draft NBC policy for the Navy has already been prepared, an effort was now on to create a combined tri-services body for the training and operations of NBC Defence. Southern Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral Harinder Singh said that while India possessed a credible nuclear deterrence capability, there was a need to examine India's preparedness to tackle threats of chemical and biological weapons emerging from the low- intensity proxy wars. Pointing out that NBC defence equipment was currently being imported at prohibitive costs, the vice admiral called for ``a workable connectivity'' between the training, field units and laboratories of the armed forces whereby, a combined approach to tackle NBC warfare could be worked out. He emphasised that the armed forces were required to be not only alert but also prepared ``to operate in adverse conditions in fallout zones, contaminated areas, be able to face biological and chemical attacks and yet survive and retain the will to fight and win.'' Singh said that while NBC awareness levels were ``fairly high'' at all levels in the Army and the Navy, he stressed on the need for regular interaction by these two services with BARC and DRDO laboratories to upgrade their NBC training standards. Vice Admiral A S Krishnan, chief of materials, Naval Headquarters who delivered the keynote address said that chemical and biological warfare appeared to be gaining ``a slow but steady foothold'' in their use against military and civilian groups. He said that given the low cost of production and easy availability of chemical and biological weapons know-how, biological and chemical attacks by terrorists and enemies during low-intensity conflicts was a distinct possibility. Vice Admiral Krishnan said that combined, interactive sessions on NBC warfare between the three services and defence laboratories would help enhance knowledge levels and quality of training imparted at the defence training bases. Commodore C M Belliappa, commanding officer of the INS Shivaji said that the NBC Defence school at the INS Shivaji was planning to expand the scope of NBC training in the coming months by undertaking a number of tri-services workshops on defence against NBC warfare. Papers presented at the seminar on Thursday included, ``NBC threat perceptions in a war scenario and contingency solutions for the armed forces'', ``aerial survey system for management of nuclear emergencies'', ``effects and disaster management in an NBC attack'' and ``meeting NBC threats at sea.'' ***************************************************************** 7 NATO told to back up plutonium claims - January 19, 2001 CNN.com - A Bosnian Serb soldier checks radiation levels in Bratunac LISBON, Portugal--Portugal has told NATO it must back up its assurances that traces of plutonium, found in shells and bullets used in Yugoslavia, pose no risk to health. Prime Minister Antonio Guterres believes the credibility of the military alliance is at stake, with public opinion already inflamed over the issue of depleted uranium ammunition. And he has written to Secretary-General George Robertson warning NATO must demonstrate that the plutonium, even in the "negligible quantities" admitted by the alliance, posed no special danger. "For the credibility of the alliance, it is of the utmost importance ... that the explanations I am asking fully demonstrate that the use of such ammunitions could not cause any health hazards both in NATO troops and the local population," he wrote. -=- [TABLE] NATO confirmed on Thursday that faint traces of radioactive uranium 236 and plutonium could be present in some depleted uranium (DU) ammunition fired during the Balkans conflicts of the 1990s. But spokesman Mark Laity said independent experts agreed the levels found were so low as to be meaningless in health terms. The admission that plutonium had been detected has added to the furore surrounding the use of DU ammunition. Some ailing soldiers and anti-nuclear campaigners say the armour- piercing rounds, used in Bosnia and Kosovo, have caused cancer and death. NATO insists there is no scientific evidence to back up those claims and no evidence of any group of symptoms among former peacekeepers that could describe a common "Balkans Syndrome". But Portugal and other NATO members have called for a full investigation into the health issues surrounding DU ammunition and some alliance states want a moratorium on its use until all the implications are clear. Portugal, where a soldier died of brain disease after service in Kosovo, sent a team of experts to Kosovo and Bosnia to test for radiation in areas where its peacekeeping troops are stationed. And Germany has begun its own investigation. Defence Minister Rudolph Scharping has demanded that the United States come forward with all the information it has on the composition of the DU weapons. Italy has urged the United Nations to expand its investigation on the issue after raising from seven to eight the number of people it believes may have died after possible exposure to depleted uranium ammunition. Italian Defence Minister Sergio Mattarella told parliament that illnesses suffered by a further 23 soldiers are also being looked at. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armour munitions because of its high penetrating power. U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and in 1999, NATO fired such weapons during its 78- day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. The [*]Associated Press & [*]Reuters contributed to this report. [*]No risk in plutonium shells NATO January 18, 2001 [*]Kostunica: NATO's 'depleted conscience' January 16, 2001 [*]Call to test Balkans soldiers January 16, 2001 [*]Uranium missile health fears deepen January 15, 2001 [*]NATO casts doubt on DU-cancer link January 15, 2001 [*]Use of DU weapons could be war crime January 14, 2001 c 2001 CABLE NEWS NETWORK. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 "DAY OF REMEMBRANCE" FOR ITS NUCLEAR VICTIMS UTAH DECLARES JANUARY 27, 2001 COMMEMORATION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATOMIC TESTING IN NEVADA JANUARY 27, 1951 - JANUARY 27, 2001 UTAH'S GOVERNOR LEAVITT AND SALT LAKE CITY MAYOR ROSS "ROCKY" ANDERSON PROCLAIM "DAY OF REMEMBRANCE" AT THE REQUEST OF DOWNWINDERS AND SURVIVORS OF THE REGIONS' URANIUM MINERS, JANUARY 27, 2001 HAS BEEN DECLARED A "DAY OF REMEMBRANCE" FOR COLD WAR NUCLEAR VICTIMS. JANUARY 27 MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF NUCLEAR TESTING AT THE NEVADA TEST SITE. DOWNWINDERS AND THE SURVIVORS OF URANIUM MINERS FROM THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WILL GATHER IN SALT LAKE CITY THAT DAY TO COMMEMORATE THE VICTIMS FROM 50 YEARS OF COLD WAR NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES. A PRESS CONFERENCE AND RALLY WILL BE HELD AT THE UTAH CAPITOL ROTUNDA AT 1:30 TO 2:30 P.M. ON JANUARY 27TH. AFTERWARD WE WILL MEET AT THE GOULD AUDITORIUM IN THE MARRIOTT LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAVAJO BOY" AND OTHER FILMS ON THE 50 YEAR LEGACY OF NUCLEAR TESTING AND URANIUM MINING. (PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOCATION FOR SCREENING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE GOULD AUDITORIUM). MS. ELISE MAE BEGAY OF JEFF SPITZ'S "RETURN OF NAVAJO BOY" WILL BE PRESENT FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AFTER THE FILM. DISCUSSIONS WILL ALSO BE HELD ON COMPENSATION FOR THE VICTIMS AND INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN APPLYING. THE PUBLIC IS URGED TO ATTEND! IN ADDITION TO DOWNWINDERS, THE WESTERN STATES RECA REFORM COALITION, NAVAJO RECA REFORM WORKING GROUP, UTAH NAVAJO DOWNWINDERS, NORTHERN ARIZONA NAVAJO DOWNWINDERS, COLORADO PLATEAU URANIUM WORKERS, COLORADO URANIUM WORKERS COUNCIL, AND DINE' CARE ARE ALL SUPPORTING THIS MOST IMPORTANT EFFORT AND HISTORIC EVENT. IN ADDITION, WE WILL ALSO HAVE BOTH OF THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE WESTERN STATES RECA REFORM COALITION PRESENT. CO-CHAIR BEN SHELLY IS ALSO A NAVAJO TRIBAL COUNCIL DELEGATE AND THE MCKINLEY COUNTY COMMISIONER OF NEW MEXICO. ÿNOTICE: SCREENING LOCATION HAS BEEN CHANGED! NOTE: SCREENING OF JEFF SPITZ'S "RETURN OF NAVAJO BOY" WILL BE IN THE "GOULD AUDITORIUM" IN THE MARRIOTT LIBRARY. IT HAS BEEN RESERVED FROM 3:00 TO 7:30 P.M. ON SATURDAY. IT IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE, DESIRABLE ROOM ON CAMPUS. IT IS A VERY NICE, NEW, LARGE AUDITORIUM - BUILT- IN VIDEO PROJECTION ON A BIG SCREEN. DIRECTIONS: THE GOULD AUDITORIUM IS ADJACENT THE MAIN (WEST) ENTRANCE OF THE MARRIOTT LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. ENTER THE LIBRARY AND THE AUDITORIUM IS TO YOUR RIGHT. UTAH GOVERNOR MICHAEL LEAVITT'S DAY OF REMEMBRANCE DECLARATION ***************************************************************** 9 German Official Cites Uranium Papers January 19, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS BERLIN (AP)--Germany's Defense Minister said Friday that U.S. Army documents show there have been numerous incidents involving depleted uranium ammunition held by U.S. troops stationed in Germany. Rudolf Scharping told parliament the documents showed incidents took place between 1981 and 1990 at U.S. Army installations at Grafenwoehr in the south, and near Schweinfurt in the center of the country, among other locations. He said U.S. authorities were checking "to what extent there were possible accidents" involving the ammunition, which sparked a European scare over possible links to illnesses in peacekeeping troops. Scharping had called in the top U.S. diplomat in Berlin on Wednesday to request that Germany get all possible information about depleted uranium. The United States has complied, although the ministry is still waiting to receive more files, Defense Ministry spokesman Detlef Puhl said earlier. In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States has been open and clear about its use of depleted uranium ammunition and will continue extensive discussions on the issue. It was unclear whether the incidents were already known to German authorities. U.S. Army officials previously have said the depleted uranium ammunition is not used in training, but admitted that at least one depleted uranium shell was fired by mistake. "Standard practice is to release information when we have an incident and to notify the host nation officials," U.S. Army Europe spokesman Jim Boyle said. Parts of the documents were released to the media by the U.S. Army Europe and include the following incidents: -Three rounds of depleted uranium ammunition were burned when a U.S. Army tank caught fire at Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt in 1985. -One round of the ammunition was fired at a practice range in Grafenwoehr in 1996 or 1997. Pieces of the shell and soil from the impact point were sent for safe disposal. -At least five other "suspected DU incidents," including other possible firing of tank rounds and fires in which the ammunition may have been destroyed. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor ammunition because of its high penetrating power. U.S. forces used the ammunition both in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in 1999. NATO and many countries including Germany have insisted there is no scientific evidence linking cancer to depleted uranium. However, many countries with peacekeeping troops in the Balkans have launched testing programs to determine if their soldiers are ill. In Geneva on Friday, the World Health Organization said it was sending a team of experts to Kosovo to investigate the health effects of depleted uranium on the local population. Also Friday, WHO said it had received an official request from Iraq for an investigation into the effects of depleted uranium used during the Gulf War 10 years ago. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 10 Yugoslavia: Germans Upset Over Possible Plutonium In Weapons By Roland Eggleston A new dispute has erupted in Germany over the presence of radioactive material in shells fired by U.S. forces in Kosovo and Bosnia. The latest row involves the possibility that shells hardened by depleted uranium may also contain small traces of highly-toxic plutonium. German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping says Germany did not know this and has complained to the U.S. Munich, 19 January 2001 (RFE/RL)--Concern that weaponry incorporating depleted uranium may have caused disease in NATO some soldiers stationed in the Balkans has strained relations in recent days between the U.S., which uses the weapons, and many of its allies, which do not. Now, new reports suggest minute traces of highly-toxic plutonium may also have been present in the DU weapons, posing a possible danger to soldiers and civilians in areas where the weapons were used. The possibility the weapons may have released small particles of plutonium became generally known only this week as scientists were investigating the use of depleted uranium, which makes weapons harder, in shells. Several NATO peacekeepers have died of leukemia since serving in the Balkans, fueling concern that depleted uranium may have been the cause. Many scientists reject a link between DU and disease, saying the amount of radioactivity in DU weapons is too small to pose a significant hazard. NATO has said it will investigate the matter. Earlier this week, German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping summoned the acting U.S. ambassador in Berlin, Terry Snell, to protest. He told the ambassador his government knew nothing about the possible presence of plutonium and was outraged. Scharping said afterward that he had protested the lack of detailed information about the manufacture of the shells, which originate in the U.S. He said he insisted that each member of the NATO alliance is entitled to receive the same information as others. "I called in the acting American ambassador and told him of the fears associated with the word 'uranium.' It cannot be allowed to happen that there is not a completely open exchange of opinions within NATO on this matter. Every member must have access to the same amount of information about these shells and the same quality of information." The Defense Ministry tells RFE/RL the U.S. has agreed in the future to share detailed information about munitions containing DU with its allies. The U.S. embassy in Berlin declined to comment. The Defense Ministry said it first heard about the possible presence of plutonium in the weapons from scientists at the Technical University in Zurich, which is analyzing shells fired in Kosovo war at the request of the UN. During the investigation, scientists reportedly found traces of the uranium isotope 236. The university said because of this it was "very probable" that plutonium particles were also present, if only in minute traces. NATO headquarters in Brussels has since acknowledged that small particles of plutonium might be contained in shells using depleted uranium. But a NATO spokeswoman tells RFE/RL that the particles would be so small they could not be damaging to health. German newspapers said today the U.S. had earlier disclosed the possibility the shells might contain plutonium particles. They point to a Pentagon statement in 1999 noting that depleted uranium was being used to harden U.S. battle tanks. It said then that it was "possible" the uranium contained particles of what was called "trans-uranium," another word for plutonium. The Vienna newspaper "Der Standard" reported this week that the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington said last year it was possible that small particles of plutonium could be found in depleted uranium. In a statement to the German parliament yesterday, Scharping said he recognizes the need for secrecy about weapons. But he said secrecy has to play a secondary role to the health of soldiers. He said a lack of information about such things as the composition of shells could lead to a situation where Germany and other countries might be wary about joining the U.S. in joint combat missions. P; BSP;REALAUDIO c 1995-2001 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., All Rights Reserved. http://www.rferl.org ***************************************************************** 11 Release of depleted uranium suspected in Germany Published Saturday, January 20, 2001 Los Angeles Times BERLIN--German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping told parliament on Friday that the U.S. Army has informed Berlin of nine incidents of known or suspected releases of depleted uranium by U.S. forces at German bases over the past two decades. No Germans have reported illness from suspected exposure to the substance, however. That means the political fortunes of opposition lawmakers whose party was in power until two years ago could be in more danger than people in the areas where ammunition containing the slightly radioactive heavy metal accidentally exploded. In the nervous atmosphere enveloping Germans already confronting one environmental crisis--mad cow disease--the incidents involving depleted uranium are likely to intensify the current health panic and feed political squabbling over leaders' failure to protect and inform the public. Scharping insinuated during his appearance before the Bundestag that the 16-year government headed by Helmut Kohl, whose Christian Democrats are now in opposition, failed to tell the public about the incidents, which date back as far as 1981. "One has to ask what my predecessors knew about this," Scharping said during his testimony. German news media quickly recalled queries made of Kohl's government in 1995 and again in 1997 by the now-ruling Social Democrats about risks posed by the presence of U.S. munitions containing depleted uranium. The Defense Ministry responded to the first of those inquiries with a categorical denial that any depleted uranium was contained in weapons used for training and exercises. Two years later, it said it was unable to answer because of the need for military secrecy. The U.S. Army report listed four known releases of depleted uranium through accidental firings of tank rounds or during fires on tanks that detonated ammunition. Five other incidents were also detailed in which release of depleted uranium was suspected to have occurred but no records could be located to confirm them. Most, if not all, of the accidents detailed in the report delivered to Scharping on Wednesday were reported to German authorities at the time they occurred, and German firefighters or ordnance disposal experts assisted in some of the responses, according to Jim Boyle, spokesman for the U.S. Army Europe headquarters in Heidelberg. Many Europeans suspect that depleted uranium has caused or contributed to cases of leukemia suffered by alliance troops deployed in the Balkans. The leukemia deaths of several European soldiers who served in Kosovo or Bosnia-Herzegovina prompted the U.S. Army report, Boyle said. ***************************************************************** 12 RFI: "Balkan Syndrome" - symptoms of the illnesses from the west Serbia Info News / WWW.SERBIA-INFO.COM/NEWS January 18, 2001 Paris, January 18th - "Humanitarian propaganda" was very important in NATO actions in the Balkans, but now, after the "Balkan Syndrome" affair, credibility of NATO and of the western governments is strongly shaken, commentator of the French International Radio (RFI) marked. "Balkan Syndrome", the name which was given to the possible illnesses caused by the use of depleted uranium as a weapon, is a symptom of illness of the society which presents itself as moral and humane, and at the same time uses that kind of weapons, RFI says. Pointing out that the whole affair about the depleted uranium turned into a testimony on western society and the time in which the modern world lives, commentator of the radio emphasizes that it "takes off the wail which covered many truths on the existing society". So far, thirty soldiers - participants in peace forces in the Balkans died, and according to NATO and Pentagon, is not a great number, it is even relatively small number of victims regarding the achieved results, RFI states and adds "such NATO logic could probably be right considering that the risk which depleted uranium represents for soldiers and civilians was less important than the benefit that could be gotten". However, such logic can be useful for army experts, but it does not sound good for the public. There is no humanity, or moral in it and therefore NATO officials turn to another kind of defense which cost them dearly and which embittered the public, it is emphasized in the comment and added that "now they simply deny that such uranium infects health". That is an obvious lie, French radio claims, giving the example of Iraq, where that weapon was widely used and western soldiers were not warned and therefore several hundreds of them got ill, especially American soldiers. It is further stated that depleted uranium is extremely dangerous and it caused real catastrophe in Iraq. Detail researches have already been made about it in the West, with astonishing results: It was proved that such weapons cause illnesses, genetic deformations and death even decades after it was used. RFI emphasizes that such situation imposes the taboo question in all states. The question about the relationship between military industry and army logic, which think only on the efficiency in destroying the enemy and civilian authorities and society, which are terrified of the military complex's power, even though they dream about the invincible army and the war in which the enemy will perish without any risk for their own side. "Military power and significance given to it in the USA is not the reason that the affair with depleted uranium in the Balkans gained huge proportions, especially in the West", the radio claims and adds that the key is in the fact that "NATO forces in the wars in the Balkans should have been not the forces for efficient elimination of the opponent, but the forces that came to the Balkans for humanitarian reasons, to bring some good to little people". "That is how these forces should have been seen and accepted in the West, and among local citizens", French radio observes. Every government and every army have always had this logic, but nowadays, governments are more sensitive to propaganda then ever, because their proper survival depends on the media, RFI marks. Reminding that "humanitarian propaganda" was very important in NATO actions in the Balkans and that NATO and western governments credibility is strongly shaken, RFI says that it now looks as though NATO takes more care about protection of its soldiers than about the future of the civilians in the country in which has actions. According to the French radio the fact that politicians in the West and those who plan wars care more about achieving the strategic aims than about the health of their own soldiers is even worse. The use of depleted uranium was not even known in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). Even if soldiers were discreetly informed, civilians were not at all warned, French radio gives this example and emphasizes that "exactly at that point something even worse than humanitarian propaganda starts - the story about racism". French commentator asks, how come that no warning was given to civilians in BiH, in Kosovo-Metohija, how come that great scandal breaks out in the West only after it was found out that there are thirty dead soldiers who served in the Balkans, and that no one has so far asked what was happening with local citizens that were surely more affected than soldiers, and with all that, the West claims that it wanted to help. RFI pictures the hypocrisy of the western governments by giving the example of "authorized" representatives of the local population in Kosmet and in BiH, who, depending on western governments were willing to hush up the possible danger: Albanians in Kosmet in fear that they might lose western powers protection are attacking those who speak about dangers from uranium. Both Albanians and Bosnian Muslims are trying to prove that criticisms directed to NATO are malicious and that depleted uranium did not do any harm to anyone, nor it will, RFI marks. Copyright c 1998, 1999, 2000 Ministry of Information ***************************************************************** 13 UN Security Council raises the question of depleted uranium ammunition Serbia Info News / WWW.SERBIA-INFO.COM/NEWS January 19, 2001 New York, January 18 (Tanjug) - At its open session on Kosovo and Metohija, the UN Security Council raised the question of depleted uranium ammunition NATO had used in the aggression on Yugoslavia. Some Council members, among them two permanent ones - Russia and China - raised this question as crucial and unavoidable in a debate on Kosovo and Metohija. They asked the United Nations to take steps to investigate the matter, establish the facts and protect the population and the peacekeepers in Kosovo and Metohija as much as possible from the adverse consequences of the use of depleted uranium ammunition. The FRY charge d'affaires to the UN Vladislav Mladenovic said the international community was obliged to take urgent measures in order to forestall harmful consequences. According to him, the responsibility for the use of the ammunition should be shouldered by those who authorized its use, whether or not they were aware of its potentially harmful consequences. Copyright c 1998, 1999, 2000 Ministry of Information ***************************************************************** 14 German Official Says U.S. Used Depleted Uranium (washingtonpost.com) Associated Press Saturday, January 20, 2001; Page A23 BERLIN, Jan. 19--Germany's defense minister, Rudolf Scharping, said today that U.S. Army documents show there have been numerous incidents involving depleted uranium ammunition held by U.S. troops stationed in Germany. Parts of the documents that were released to the media by the U.S. Army indicated three rounds of depleted uranium ammunition were burned when a U.S. Army tank caught fire at Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt, in 1985, and one round was fired at a practice range in Grafenwoehr in 1996 or 1997. Pieces of the shell and soil from the impact point were sent for safe disposal. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor ammunition because of its penetrating power. U.S. forces used the ammunition in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995 and during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in 1999. c 2001 The Washington Post Company '); document.write('[*]'); ***************************************************************** 15 Suspend use of DU shells, says Glenys Kinnock Independent By Stephen Castle in Brussels 20 January 2001 Glenys Kinnock, one of Labour's most senior and best-known MEPs, has called on the Government to suspend use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions, saying Nato's safety assurances have not convinced the public. "I don't think we can talk just about the technical reasons why a moratorium should not apply to weapons," she said. "Children in the Balkans are playing where there is a possibility that radioactivity may have effects. I have no scientific background, only a gut feeling that, as a politician, I have a responsibility to try to respond." Nato has rejected the idea of a link between the arms and cases of leukaemia among European servicemen who spent time in the Balkans, saying there is no evidence. Mrs Kinnock and six other Labour MEPs defied the party's official line and supported a call in the European Parliament on Wednesday for a suspension of the use of DU munitions pending further research. She told The Independent that the Government had been "wrong-footed" by the furore and called on it to switch tack and support a temporary ban. The World Health Organisation is sending a fact-finding mission to Kosovo next week to study the effects of DU ammunition on civilians. Mrs Kinnock said: "I am sufficiently concerned to feel that it does need more exploration. I cannot put my hand on my heart and say there is no need to be worried. 'No evidence' is what people said about BSE." Mrs Kinnock said she was concerned both about reports of the so-called "Balkan syndrome" among servicemen and about the threats to health in Bosnia and Kosovo. She praised The Independent which reported that, of the 5,000 Serbs who fled from Hadjici in Bosnia after Nato's bombing in 1995, at least 300 have died of unexplained cancers. ***************************************************************** 16 DU scare will not go away easily RUSSELS: Despite its efforts to reassure the public with stacks of independent, factual reports denying a serious health risk, NATO may have to accept that the scare over depleted uranium (DU) is here to stay. The trick will be to make it lie dormant while allies tackle core issues: a NATO-European Union deal on crisis management; uneasy relations with Russia; controversial US plans for a missile shield and Kosovo Albanian separatist gunmen. Beyond that challenge, some NATO diplomats worry that the so-called "precautionary principle" favoured by the EU is slowly bleeding from troubled transatlantic trade disputes into the domain of security. This holds that if you suspect something, such as genetically modified foods, may be harmful, you don't need to show scientific proof in order to ban their import. The principle is rejected by the United States and it could deal a severe blow to NATO's efforts to achieve higher military efficiency among the 19 allies if it ever seriously infected decision-making on weapons and standards. After three weeks of allegations and explanations, the depleted uranium row is now at what a NATO official on Wednesday called "the needle- in-a-haystack stage, where you're always going to find an extra question." While insisting there is no link between DU ammunition and cancer and no evidence of any mystery "Balkans Syndrome," the allies this week solemnly pledged to check again. The last thing they want is to appear complacent. That may move the story off the front pages for now, but its potential to snap back to the top of Europe's news agendas cannot be underestimated, NATO insiders acknowledge. "It's like the ''X-Files,'' or the Roswell Incident," said one alliance diplomat, comparing the suspicions whipped up by the alleged cancer risk to the belief in alien landings and abductions. "It has become quite simply an urban legend," said another NATO source. Realizing that its own hand-on-heart assurances would not be enough for some, NATO is urging doubters to read the independent scientific literature on depleted uranium. "It's all out there on the Web," said the official. But the alliance is aware from the suspicion it faced over the bombing of Yugoslavia that some people will always be swayed by the "terrible secret" version of a story, especially if top alliance politicians themselves seem ambivalent. German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping, denying any evidence of a cancer risk, put up a strong argument for calm and reason in a Sunday television interview. But on Wednesday, plutonium was the "extra question." When reports surfaced that US-made DU munitions may contain tiny traces of the highly toxic isotope, Scharping called in a US diplomat "to express the concerns that are triggered by the word plutonium." It was not the fact but the word, and its known certainty to alarm many German voters, that worried the minister. A NATO official declined comment but noted it was no secret that DU is indeed made from nuclear waste and typically contains very small quantities of plutonium, which do not, however, significantly increase its low radioactivity. As for persistent charges that DU has caused hundreds of cancer deaths in Iraq and Bosnia, the NATO official said such assertions "should be put through the same mill as ours." "What we need is more evidence and less assertions," he added "Calm science works ... people are believing us. The allies are pleased with the way they have faced up to the issue last week and we're getting to grips with it." A majority of the European Parliament, however, was clearly not convinced. Undeterred by NATO's weighty assurances, the deputies on Wednesday voted in favour of a moratorium on DU ammunition and an independent study. The United States, Britain and France have already rejected calls by their German, Italian and Greek allies - all of whom have to take account of strong anti-NATO constituencies - to ditch what commanders say is the best tank-busting weapon. Not only NATO is seeing its agenda for 2001 set back by the furore over depleted uranium. The EU's ruling Council in Brussels also says it is working overtime on the issue while other matters go on the backburner. EU Foreign and Security Policy Chief Javier Solana tried in vain on Wednesday to head off the European Parliament moratorium vote, which is not binding but can only add pressure on opinion-led governments to cut and run. Citing all the steps taken to ensure no clues are overlooked and all the science already published showing no health risk, Solana urged deputies to remember what the stakes had been when NATO used the munitions in Bosnia and Kosovo in 1995 and 1999. Agencies via Xinhua Date: 01/19/2001 Author: Copyrightc by China Daily ***************************************************************** 17 Depleted Uranium Shells Detonated In Germany F.A.Z. - English Version F.A.Z. BERLIN. The German defense minister admitted on Friday that U.S. forces had "inadvertently" detonated depleted uranium munitions a number of times in Germany during the 1980s. The announcement came two days after Rudolf Scharping called in a top U.S. diplomat and demanded the documentation following reports that U.S. military officials may have suppressed information concerning the makeup and possible health effects of the munitions. Amid continuing concern in Europe that the tens of thousands of uranium- tipped shells fired by the Americans in the Balkans may ultimately have caused cancers among some troops there, Mr. Scharping briefed German parliamentarians on incidents involving the munitions in Germany. He told the Bundestag that in several cases, mostly in the 1980s, depleted uranium munitions had been mistakenly discharged or destroyed when the U.S. tanks carrying them caught fire. All information about the incidents came from U.S. officials and had been reviewed, he added. Mr. Scharping identified incidents during U.S. military exercises in Fulda, Lampertheim, Schweinfurt, Grafenwöhr, Garlstedt and other centers since 1981. He said that, in light of the new information, answers given on the matter between 1995 and 1997 by the Christian Democratic Union-led government at the time would have to be reevaluated. In response to two separate questions posed by Mr. Scharping's Social Democrats during that period the government declined to say if such munitions had been used in Germany. Meanwhile, a Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed that an arms company had tested depleted uranium munitions in Germany, but apparently not since the early 1970s. The spokesman, Detlef Puhl, said the firing had taken place on property belonging to the Rheinmetall firm, and that the ministry had no information on such munitions being fired on Bundeswehr lands. Officials in Lower Saxony, where the Rheinmetall property is located, said they were investigating whether laws on radioactivity had been violated. According to the Defense Ministry, the customer was the German Office for Weapons Technology and Procurement in Koblenz. As a result of the tests, the company opted to use tungsten and not uranium technology, said a Rheinmetall spokesman. Angelika Beer, the defense policy spokeswoman for Alliance 90_The Greens, charged both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and earlier German governments with concealing facts to head off political pressure for a ban on the munitions. Mr. Scharping had "been perhaps too willing to trust statements made by the former government" as regards the munitions tests, Ms. Beer said. NATO on Thursday admitted that it had known for years that depleted uranium could contain traces of plutonium, but that the concentration levels were so low as to be "irrelevant."Jan. 19, 2001 ;Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000 All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 UN checking Nato ammo health scare Nato's use of ammunition containing armour-piercing depleted uranium has sparked a scare across Europe that it may have caused serious illnesses in peacekeeping troops who served in the Balkans. The World Health Organisation is sending a team of experts to Kosovo to investigate the health effects of depleted uranium on the local population. Nato's use of ammunition containing armour-piercing depleted uranium has sparked a scare across Europe that it may have caused serious illnesses in peacekeeping troops who served in the Balkans. Nato has repeatedly denied that the ammunition could have triggered cancer in soldiers. WHO said it believed the doses of radiation given out by the remains of depleted uranium ammunition were far too low to cause cancer, but it said the sites where the ammunition was fired should be cordoned off until more research had been completed. The one-week mission is taking place at the request of Bernard Kouchner, the former UN administrator for the province. "The purpose of the mission is to find out what is the state of the public health system there. Is there any increase in health abnormalities or consequences," said Dr Mike Repacholi, WHO's co-ordinator for occupational and environmental health. "Effectively they are going to determine what plan of action should occur for subsequent missions so we can consolidate the infrastructure of the health system there and look at further studies of populations that may have been exposed to depleted uranium." Repacholi said the four experts would be looking not only at depleted uranium but also at other possible causes of ill-health in Kosovo. After the visit, WHO will advise UNMIK - the UN mission in Kosovo - on short-term measures to prevent further exposure as well as longer-term measures to clear up contamination and improve health care. It will also advise what information should be given to the general public. Repacholi said he did not know when the WHO report on the mission would be completed. The UN environment program, which is analysing specimens from bomb sites, expects to report back in early March. Also, WHO said it had received an official request from Iraq for an investigation into the effects of depleted uranium used during the Gulf War 10 years ago. ***************************************************************** 19 DU pollution in Greece negligible, experts reassure Parliament Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 01-01-19 Athens, 19/01/2001 (ANA) Greek experts reassured Parliament on Thursday that pollution in Greece by depleted uranium from the NATO bombings in former Yugoslavia was negligible. During a session of the Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee, experts reassured Parliament deputies that effects of the depleted uranium pollution in Greece were minimal to non-existent. Greece was very lucky that the war lasted only 78 days. If it had lasted another 100 days the pollution would have spread throughout the Balkans, President of the Chemists Union of Greece Nikos Katsaros said, addressing the committee. On his part, Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said that monitoring of Greek rivers and of another 20 areas in Greece for traces of uranium did not show increased radioactivity or any other form of environmental pollution. Greek Atomic Energy Committee President Leonidas Kamarinopoulos said that the measurements that were taken showed no signs of pollution in Greece, concurring with the minister. Scientists testified that the possibility of future contamination was negligible, as Yugoslavian rivers do not contribute water to Greek rivers or aquifers, with only exception the river of Axios in Macedonia, where, however, no dangerous elements were found to date. They pointed out that the river Danube was polluted heavily, but river dams held pollution in check and did not allow it enter the Black Sea, which in turn is connected with the Aegean Sea, via the Bosphorus Straight. Xanthi University Air Pollution Prof. Spyros Rapsomanikis said that the danger for Greece is minimal as radioactive dust created after the bombings soon settled with the first rains, adding, however, that the danger was not all together negligible as winds could drive dust from Yugoslavia to Greece in the future, as it is done with dust from the Sahara Desert. He requested for an airplane to be allocated to the university for further and more comprehensive measurements throughout the country, noting that several non-radioactive pollutants from the bombings were found in Xanthi. Main opposition New Democracy (ND) deputy Dora Bakoyianni expressed her reservations over the results of measurements for pollution from DU, questioning the belayed reaction of the Greek government, as constant monitoring for radioactivity begun only this year. Raspomanikis, a member of the Focus scientific team that includes Greeks, Russians, Austrians and Swish scientists that studied the results of the bombings, claimed that reports by the group in 1999 showed the existence of uranium 238, result of nuclear reaction, while later reports did not include the find. Responding to the remarks, Tsohatzopoulos said, "we do not intend to hide anything. We chose transparency, because we have the means and the ability to confront such situations". He also said that the Greek Armed Forces do not have weapons, or armor containing DU, while all training DU containing ammunition has been replaced with non-radioactive shells. Foreign ministry, New Democracy spokesmen battle it out over Balkans Syndrome: Foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis on Thursday launched a counterattack on the main opposition New Democracy press officer's recent criticism of the government's Balkans policy and on the depleted uranium (DU) scare. "Certain quarters apparently have still not realized Greece's active presence in the Balkans through political initiatives and the activities of foreign ministry officials, and are attempting to denigrate individuals and policies for their own purposes," Beglitis said early Thursday in a written statement. "But the events speak for themselves, and reality has belied them, and that is why they resort to disinformation as we continue the difficult task of realizing our Balkans policy and reinforcement of our country's international and regional presence," Beglitis said in response to criticism by ND spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos. In a lengthy statement late Wednesday, Roussopoulos accused foreign minister George Papandreou and the government of premier Costas Simitis of "lying to the Greek people" in claiming that the minister had not been aware of the effects of the use of depleted uranium (DU) in NATO ammunition used in the 1999 war on Yugoslavia and an earlier NATO campaign in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Roussopoulos said that according to information made public over the last 10 days, foreign ministry senior director for international developmental relations Alexandros Rondos, a close associate of Papandreou, had been a member of the international scientific team FOCUS that had carried out radiation readings in Yugoslavia in 1999 and which had warned of serious health hazards from exposure to uranium. In his reply, Beglitis said that Roussopoulos' reaction to the issue was very much delayed in comparison with the initiatives undertaken by Greece during the Yugoslav crisis and afterwards, and accused the ND spokesman of "curiously suppressing or distorting" the facts. Beglitis explained that the FOCUS program was set up on a joint initiative of the foreign ministers of Greece (Papandreou), Russia and Switzerland and was later joined by Austria and Canada. "Under truly difficult conditions, we succeeded in forwarding substantial humanitarian aid to Kosovo and Serbia. And a decisive role in this humanitarian operation, which met with international support, was played by Mr. Rondos on the part of Greece. With his invaluable international experience, he succeeded in elevating Greece's presence in the Balkans," Beglitis said. But beyond the dispatch of humanitarian assistance, the FOCUS program also extended to other activities, including the study of the environmental repercussions caused by the bombings, the foreign ministry spokesman continued. He noted that foreign minister Papandreou had warned of the ecological problem arising from the destruction of petrochemical plants and refineries by the bombings, adding that that problem was one of the arguments used by Greece against the bombings and in favor of seeking a diplomatic solution to the Yugoslav crisis. Papandreou repeatedly brought up the issue of the environmental consequences during the EU discussions on setting up the Stability Pact, and he had also proposed specific Community actions and the financing of relevant programs, Beglitis continued. He said that all the studies submitted by the FOCUS program scientists pointed out the wider environmental finds in Yugoslavia and the region, "but in none of those reports is there a substantiated reference to any significant effects from the existence of depleted uranium" "Not only did we not conceal these facts, but on the contrary we brought them up inside the European Union and the Balkan Cooperation" groups, Beglitis added. "The attempted linking and confusion of the DU problem with the FOCUS program studies on the wider ecological repercussions may serve other purposes, but can in no way invalidate the significant humanitarian and scientific accomplishments of the Greek representatives who took part in that program," Beglitis said. Communist party claims PASOK deceived the people on existence of nuclear weapons in Greece: The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on Thursday attributed responsibilities to the government on the existence of nuclear weapons in Greece, claiming the ruling PASOK party " was deceiving the people in the past just as it is now." "All that the government allowed to leak to the press on the removal of nuclear weapons from Araxos and the admission of Deputy Defense Minister Dimitris Apostolakis that weapons with radioactive material were also used by the Americans in Aghialos in 1984, while Greek soldiers collected spent shells with their bare hands afterwards, say one thing: That the government has no right to say it did not know. It did know," an announcement by KKE said. It further said "nuclear weapons existed at Araxos and the government concealed the fact from the people", adding that there is no assurance that the Araxos nuclear weapons will not be sent back modernized since Araxos continues to be US territory. Defense ministry comments on threat of DU contamination at firing ranges The government on Thursday reiterated that there is no evidence of DU contamination at the country's 14 military firing ranges, in reply to a tabled question by a KKE deputy. Deputy Defense Minister Dimitris Apostolakis noted in his reply that the Athens-based "Demokritos" nuclear research center has conducted tests at the firing ranges, finding no signs of contamination. However, he did mention that during an air force bombing demonstration in 1984 at the Aghialos air base, outside the central city of Volos, only seven out of some 500 DU-coated shells fired hit the designated target. "We sent Demokritos (personnel) to conduct one of the first tests there. They proceeded with taking measurements, and until now there has been no indication of (uranium) contamination," Apostolakis said. He was responding to a question by Communist Party of Greece (KKE) deputy Antonis Skyllakos, who referred to the use of depleted uranium- coated shells at the Greek armed forces' firing ranges. Finally, Apostolakis noted that no warnings to take safety precautions vis-a-vis DU contamination were issued until December 1999. " Now (the issue of) plutonium has arisen," he added, saying the defense ministry will proceed with an in-depth investigation that hides nothing. HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc. ana2html v2.01 run on Friday, 19 January 2001 - 15:53:42 UTC ***************************************************************** 20 Protest planned against UK sub - January 20, 2001 CNN.com - GIBRALTAR, Gibraltar--A protest march is planned against a British nuclear submarine that has been moored in Gibraltar harbour since last May awaiting the completion of repairs. The submarine Tireless developed a leak in the cooling system of its nuclear reactor while on duty in the Mediterranean. A string of protests against the submarine have been held since Tireless limped into Gibraltar. Environmentalists, Spanish opposition politicians and local residents have demanded the submarine be taken back to Britain for repairs. But Britain's Ministry of Defence has refused, saying it would be risky to move the Trafalgar-class submarine, which is capable of firing Tomahawk missiles. The British, Gibraltar and Spanish governments have all given assurances that the sub poses no threat to public safety. The case has rekindled friction between London and Madrid over Gibraltar, a tiny but disputed colony of about 30,000 people. Spain seeks to regain sovereignty over Gibraltar, which was signed over to Britain nearly 300 years ago. The main repairs to the sub, which involve soldering in a replacement for a piece that developed cracks, were due to begin any day. Last Tuesday police in Gibraltar arrested seven Greenpeace activists after they encircled the disabled submarine in a protest. c 2001 CABLE NEWS NETWORK. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 Spaniards protest at stranded British nuclear sub SATURDAY JANUARY 20, 12:50 PM MADRID (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Spaniards have gathered in the southern coastal city of Algeciras to demand the departure of a stranded British nuclear submarine awaiting repairs in Gibraltar, local media reported. Carrying placards reading "Get the nuclear sub out" and "For our future," and headed by the leader of the Socialist regional government, the crowds marched through the centre of the city on Saturday to call for HMS Tireless to return to Britain for repairs. The presence of the vessel, moored in the British colony since last May after it developed a leak in the cooling system of its nuclear reactor, has angered local residents who say it is dangerous. The British government says moving the vessel would be too risky. Both the Spanish and British authorities have assured the public that the submarine poses no danger and that repairs are due to start soon. Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 DU depletes Greek Kosovo troops BBC News | EUROPE | Friday, 19 January, 2001, 17:02 GMT [I] Reports of illness among Balkan veterans are running rife across Europe The Greek army has issued an urgent appeal for volunteers to join its peacekeeping force in Kosovo, after more than 200 soldiers asked to be sent home. GREECE'S K-FOR MEN 1,500-strong 199 shortfall 220 requests to go home 232 requests for transfer at end of tour 200 applications withdrawn The soldiers fear the effects of depleted uranium, and the army is offering high salaries to those prepared to replace them. Another 200 officers and men who applied for a posting to Kosovo have withdrawn their applications. The Greek Minister of Defence Akis Tsochatzopoulos promised that any military personnel seeking an early return to Greece will be granted permission to do so. [I] Major efforts are under way to measure Balkan radiation levels Most of the Greek troops serving in Kosovo are conscripts and must stay in the field for six months. So far, 220 soldiers stationed in Kosovo have applied for an early return, while another 232 have chosen to return to Greece at the end of their tour. And out of a list of 375 officers and men who had originally put themselves down for the Kosovo posting, there are now only 175 left. The Greek Government has come under strong criticism from oppositon parties for its handling of the matter. We are interested in having members of the armed forces who feel they are safe [I] Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos Meanwhile, Mr Tsochatzopoulos has accused the United States of being slow to warn Nato allies in Kosovo about its use of depleted uranium weapons in the former Yugoslavia. The Greek Government assured soldiers on Thursday that all necessary action had been taken to protect their health. According to officials, preliminary measurements by a team of nuclear scientists and army doctors sent to Kosovo earlier this week have failed to show any sign of contamination among the Greek troops. Search BBC News Online[I]
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