***************************************************************** 11/20/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.274 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 FLORIDA SENATOR WORRIED ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TERRORISM 2 Demand Integrity in the Yucca Mountain Project! 3 Bank Freezes ATG's Operating Funds of $3.5 Million 4 Spent nuclear fuel vulnerable to attack - US lawmaker 5 South Korea says 695m US dollars spent so far on reactor 6 MOX plant puts Ireland at risk, UN hearing told 7 Irish govt claims Sellafield potential terrorist threat 8 Battling to lift the menacing nuclear shadow of Sellafield 9 NRC Issues Draft Supplement to Final Environmental Statement on 10 NRC Invites Nominations for Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of 11 NRC Staff Proposes $3,000 Fine Against a Missouri Company for 12 NRC Names New Resident Inspector At Byron Nuclear Power Plant 13 Vegas chamber quits national chamber over Yucca Mountain 14 ATG closes; 120 workers laid off 15 Government bid to halt MOX plant 16 Nuclear plant is 'terrorist target' 17 U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Yucca Mountain causes split 18 Chamber seeks unity in opposition to shipping nuke waste 19 Probe: Nuclear dump law firm worked with both energy department and lobbyists - 20 Factory Delivers Reactor to Iran 21 Firepower, surveillance help improve Seabrook Station security 22 Irish application on MOX plant starts today 23 Czechs: EU accession treaty not right place for nuclear plant 24 McDowell leads Irish case against MOX plant 25 USEC, union reach tentative deal - 26 Jabiluka's traditional owners campaign against contamination. 27 Greens slam plans to extend uranium output. 28 Pu-reactors to remain intact 29 Nuclear waste processing facility to be built in northern Russia 30 Engineers meet in Russia to discuss safety of nuclear power NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Nuclear warheads to change hands in Russia by 2003 2 Kursk reactor poses no danger, say Russian investigators 3 Nevada test site: One owner, great fixer-upper 4 Norwegian environmentalists satisfied about safety of Russian sub 5 Nuclear security lapses aid terrorists, experts say 6 Washington Group to seek Hanford work 7 Many Respond to Teeth Donor Study 8 Man Faces Charges on Nuclear Exports 9 DOE issues site report 11/20/01 10 Devouring OR's history 11 DOE oversight officials meet with Roane man 12 Nuclear warheads to change hands in Russia by 2003 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 FLORIDA SENATOR WORRIED ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TERRORISM Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 16:20:50 -0500 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2919.6700 Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida raised concerns about a suicide plane plowing into nuclear power plants along the Florida coast and some lawmakers are considering positioning Stinger missiles on Humvees to protect their power plants. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011118/HSSA0 05 ) http://news.excite.com/news/pr/011118/ny-nwswk-hun t-alqaeda Cover: 'The Hunt for Bin Laden' Updated: Sun, Nov 18 10:55 AM EST Top Officials Worried About Nuclear Weapon Threat, Bombing of Nuclear Power Plants; Some Consider Mounted Stinger Missiles for Protection 'He's Going Out in a Blaze of Nuclear Glory,' Expert Says; Bin Laden's Death May Embolden Others Down The Line To Seek Revenge NEW YORK, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- With U.S. forces stepping up the hunt for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, his threat to use nuclear weapons and the fear of a crude radiological bomb -- blown up by conventional explosives so the radioactive core could be spread around an area of several blocks -- is worrying some top officials. Vice President Dick Cheney is moving back into what the Secret Service calls "an undisclosed location" believed to be outside the fallout range of a small nuclear weapon, Newsweek reports in the current issue. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida raised concerns about a suicide plane plowing into nuclear power plants along the Florida coast and some lawmakers are considering positioning Stinger missiles on Humvees to protect their power plants. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011118/HSSA0 05 ) But if bin Laden is captured or killed, intelligence officials are split on whether his terror network, Al Qaeda, would still be capable of a bold stroke like a nuclear attack. A Justice Department official who has been investigating the terror network for a decade tells Newsweek that if you think of Al Qaeda as a "highly centralized organization and its operatives take orders from the top, then this may be a death blow. But the majority of intelligence experts still think it's much more diffuse than that -- more of a movement than an organization. If you kill the most visible leadership you might embolden the people further down to act in revenge." Newsweek examines whether bin Laden will die a martyr or fight to the end and the fate of his terror network in the November 26 cover story, "The Hunt for Bin Laden" (on newsstands Monday, November 19). Bin Laden's boast of possessing nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the West's nuclear arsenal should be taken seriously, says Peter Bergen, author of "Holy War, Inc.," and a CNN commentator who has interviewed him. He tells Newsweek it is "naively optimistic not to take him at face value," when he threatens to use nuclear weapons. "I think he's going out in a blaze of nuclear glory." Newsweek also reports in the cover story: a.. The massive crackdown on Al Qaeda's global financial network will strap but not shut down dependent terrorist organizations. "There's no question the money is important," says the Justice Department official who has been investigating the network. "But remember, we're not talking about a lot of money here. It's seed money. Mostly these guys support themselves and their missions with odd jobs and petty thievery." b.. Worried Al Qaeda watchers are encouraged that the Arab "street" has so far not erupted in the kind of riots and demonstrations that many had feared. According to sources close to British intelligence, some of the radical Muslim organizations in Britain which traditionally served as mouthpieces and recruiting organs are visibly shying away on the grounds that bin Laden's over-the-top behavior has discredited legitimate causes, like the plight of Palestinians or Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir. They figure, says one British investigator, "there's no point going down with a sinking ship." c.. As the Taliban regime appears to collapse and bin Laden is hunted, close observers of Middle Eastern sensibilities are already sensing an important psychological shift in the region. Bin Laden may be relegated to a list of leaders who have raised Arabs' hopes, only to send them crashing down. A market researcher in the United Arab Emirates tells Newsweek: "People are too jaded, they are too tired. They were willing to celebrate [bin Laden] for a little while, and then 'Enough! There goes another one.'" d.. Although all of the hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks are dead, there are dangerous foot soldiers still on the lam. Last week the FBI identified Ramzi Binalshibh as the missing "20th hijacker" meant to be the fifth hijacker United Flight 93, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought back. He never made the flight because he failed several times to get a visa. Newsweek has learned that Binalshibh, a member of the Hamburg, Germany cell who was close to hijacker leader Mohammed Atta, attended a key terrorist summit with two of the September 11 hijackers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in January 2000, where he was surreptitiously videotaped by Malaysian security. One senior law enforcement official tells Newsweek that Binalshibh couldn't get a visa because of suspicions that he was tied to the bombing of the USS Cole. Binalshibh disappeared from Germany six days before September 11 and investigators believe he flew to the United Arab Emirates before vanishing for good on September 10. e.. A smuggler interviewed by Newsweek said that bin Laden would have "no trouble" slipping into Pakistan, though Pakistanis are stepping up border patrols. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld speculated that bin Laden might try to escape Afghanistan in one of several helicopters he has supposedly hidden away -- or on a mule, crossing the long and mostly unguarded border with Pakistan. (Read Newsweek's news releases at http://www.Newsweek.MSNBC.com. Click "Pressroom.") MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X42486279 ***************************************************************** 2 Demand Integrity in the Yucca Mountain Project! RADIOACTIVE ROADS AND RAILS ACTION OF THE MONTH: November 2001: Public Citizen | Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program | Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program - RADIOACTIVE ROADS AND RAILS ACTION OF THE MONTH: November 2001: Demand Integrity in the Yucca Mountain Project! è Background On November 14, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a supplemental public comment period on the Secretary of Energy s intention to recommend that a nuclear waste dump be developed at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The comment period closes on December 14, 2001. A 1987 amendment to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 directed the DOE to assess the suitability of Yucca Mountain located about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas for a proposed nuclear waste repository. 77,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste from commercial nuclear reactors and the DOE weapons complex would be shipped to the proposed dump, which lies in an earthquake zone and above a freshwater aquifer. Routing projections indicate that high-level radioactive waste shipments would likely pass within half a mile of the homes, schools, and workplaces of 50 million Americans in as many as 45 states en route to Yucca Mountain. If the Secretary of Energy issues a favorable review of the Yucca Mountain dump proposal, the president will likely refer the recommendation to Congress where the State of Nevada s objections could be overridden by majority vote. The DOE is required to consider public comments before formally recommending the Yucca Mountain site. The initial comment period, which closed on October 19, was widely criticized as inadequate since several key documents and regulations were not available to the public at that time. In response, the DOE has initiated this supplemental 30-day comment period. Some supplemental information is now available, but the DOE has still not released the final Environmental Impact Statement for the repository project or specified plans for transporting waste across the country. Concerns about security in light of the new terrorist threat have not been adequately addressed either. The DOE should not be considering a site recommendation with these public health and safety issues unresolved. Furthermore, a recent report by the DOE Inspector General pointed to a potential conflict of interest that suggests a pro-industry bias within the Yucca Mountain Project. According to the report, the law firm Winston & Strawn, counsel to the DOE s Yucca Mountain Project since 1992, was simultaneously registered as a member of and lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry association that advocates in favor of the proposed nuclear waste dump. The public cannot be expected to have confidence in a site recommendation issued by an agency that so obviously fails to maintain impartiality. è Take Action! Send comments to the DOE urging the Secretary to shelve all site recommendation activities and initiate a thorough review of the causes and consequences of contractor conflict of interest within the Yucca Mountain Project. Be sure to copy your comments to your Members of Congress. See other side for sample letter and addresses. To receive Radioactive Roads and Rails "Action of the Month" alerts by e-mail, send your name and address to cmep@citizen.org SAMPLE LETTER to DOE and CONGRESS Carol Hanlon, DOE Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office (M/S #205) P.O. Box 364629 North Las Vegas, NV 89036-8629 E-mail: YMP_SR@ymp.gov Fax: 1-800-967-0739 Dear Ms. Hanlon: I am writing to urge Energy Secretary Abraham to abandon the Yucca Mountain Project. The DOE s efforts to revise the Siting Guidelines and rely on "engineered barriers" indicate a dangerous departure from the concept of geologic containment and do not mask the many problems that should disqualify the repository proposal. At best, the Secretary s consideration of site recommendation is premature. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission s Sufficiency Review comments make it clear that additional research and analysis are required to substantiate the repository proposal. In addition, the DOE has not yet detailed a scenario for transporting waste to Yucca Mountain, finalized the Environmental Impact Statement, or addressed security concerns in the context of the new terrorist threat. Furthermore, indications of contractor conflict of interest and pro-industry bias within the Yucca Mountain Project, as reported recently by the agency s own Inspector General, seriously undermine the integrity of the DOE s process. The public cannot be expected to have confidence in a site recommendation issued by an agency that so obviously fails to maintain impartiality. The DOE should indefinitely shelve all site recommendation activities and initiate a thorough review of the causes and consequences of contractor conflict of interest within the Yucca Mountain Project. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] cc. The Honorable [NAME OF SENATORS] United States Senate* Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable [NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE] United States House of Representatives* Washington, DC 20515 * With some Congressional offices still closed and continuing delays in Capitol mail delivery, it helps to contact district offices, too. For addresses and fax numbers call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 244-3121 or visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Go To: Articles Statements Fact Sheets Background Information Reports Action Alerts Press Releases Related Topics Articles:(6/21/01) Colorado (6/21/01) Georgia (6/21/01) Idaho (6/21/01) Illinois (6/21/01) Indiana (6/21/01) Iowa (6/21/01) Louisiana (6/21/01) Minnesota (6/21/01) Missouri (6/21/01) Nebraska (6/21/01) Nevada (6/21/01) Utah (6/21/01) Wyoming (7/3/00) Michigan Statements:(6/20/01) Proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Dump Demonstrates Flawed Approach to Radioactive Waste Problem Fact Sheets:(10/3/01) Radioactive Roads and Rails Fact Sheets (6/21/01) Radioactive Roads and Rails: Get the Facts on the History of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Shipments (8/1/99) RADIATION BASICS Background Information:(8/22/01) Pennsylvania Public Workshop Announcement (6/21/01) California Itinerary (6/21/01) Colorado Itinerary (6/21/01) Colorado Map (6/21/01) Colorado Media Coverage (6/21/01) Illinois Pictures (6/21/01) Indiana Itinerary (6/21/01) Indiana Map (6/21/01) Indiana Media Coverage (6/21/01) Indiana Photographs (6/21/01) Iowa Itinerary (6/21/01) Iowa Media coverage (6/21/01) Louisiana Media coverage (6/21/01) Louisiana Photos (6/21/01) Lousiana Map (6/21/01) Michigan Photographs (6/21/01) Missouri Photographs (6/21/01) Ohio Itinerary (6/21/01) Ohio Media Coverage (6/21/01) Radioactive Roads and Rails Yucca Mountain Links (4/26/01) Georgia Public Workshop Announcement (8/7/00) Louisiana Itinerary (7/19/00) Colorado Photographs Reports:(11/1/00) Radioactive Roads and Rails Campaign Report 2000 Action Alerts:(10/26/01) ACTION OF THE MONTH- October 2001 (9/4/01) ACTION OF THE MONTH- August Tell the DOE and Congress to Keep Yucca Mountain Nuclear-Free! (6/21/01) Action Alert: Postcard (6/21/01) Action of the month March: Stop Nuclear Trains in their Tracks! (6/21/01) Radioactive Roads and Rails Take Action! (6/21/01) Who is my Congressperson? (5/1/01) ACTION OF THE MONTH - MAY 2001 (2/1/01) Action of the month February: Pass a resolution in your community! (2/1/01) Action of the Month: February- Sample Resolution (1/1/01) Action of the Month January: Members of the 107th Congress: Do not approve Yucca Mountain nuclear repository! Press Releases:(6/27/01) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Pennsylvania (5/21/01) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for High-Level Nuclear Waste Transport Through New Mexico (4/25/01) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Georgia (10/4/00) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Ohio (9/28/00) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through California (9/6/00) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Iowa (7/19/00) Citizen Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Colorado (7/6/00) Public Citizen, Consumer Groups Denounce Proposal for Nuclear Waste Transport Through Northern Indiana (7/7/99) Legal Loophole Opens Floodgates: Radioactive Metal Can Be Used in Household Products ***************************************************************** 3 Bank Freezes ATG's Operating Funds of $3.5 Million FreeRealTime.com November 20, 2001 HAYWARD, Calif., Nov 19, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ATG Inc. (Nasdaq: ATGC), a leading provider of low-level radioactive and low-level mixed waste treatment services, today announced that it has been forced to shut down all of its operations due to the fact that its funds of approximately $3.5 million have been frozen by its Bank. Because of lack of access to its funds, ATG, Inc. is no longer able to continue operations at its facilities and has initiated orderly and safe shut-down of all of its operations effective immediately while conducting negotiations with the Bank.  About ATG Inc. ATG Inc. is a radioactive and hazardous waste management company that offers comprehensive thermal and non-thermal treatment solutions for low-level radioactive and low-level mixed waste generated by commercial, institutional and government clients such as nuclear power plants, medical facilities, research institutions and the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy. This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors set forth under "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and such other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. CONTACT: ATG Inc.  Doreen Chiu, 510/490-3008  URL: http://www.businesswire.com Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page. Copyright (C) 2001 Business Wire. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 4 Spent nuclear fuel vulnerable to attack - US lawmaker USA: November 20, 2001 WASHINGTON - A U.S. lawmaker yesterday warned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that depleted radioactive fuel stored at the nation's 103 nuclear power plants is "extremely vulnerable" to attack. Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat and longtime critic of the nuclear industry, warned in a letter to NRC Chairman Richard Meserve that an aircraft attack on spent nuclear fuel depots could release the same amount of radiation as a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb. "These facilities are extremely vulnerable and yet the consequences of a terrorist attack ... could release enough radioactive material to make entire communities uninhabitable for years," Markey said in a statement. U.S. nuclear plants have come under increased scrutiny since the deadly Sept. 11 attacks, in which hijackers crashed airliners into the the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Some state governors have ordered National Guard troops to guard nuclear plants as an extra precaution. Markey asked the agency to analyze the impact that a potential fire, caused by the crash of a Boeing 757 or Boeing 767 carrying over 20,000 gallons of fuel, would have on spent fuel stored at a nuclear plant A previous letter from the agency to Markey said an airplane crash into spent fuel casks would have "minimal" consequences, Markey wrote. But that judgment was based on about 200 gallons of burning fuel, not the amount carried by a freshly fueled commercial jet, he wrote. Nuclear power plants use radioactive fuel rods to produce steam within a generator, which creates electricity. Once the rods are depleted, they must be removed and new ones installed. Old rods are still radioactive, and are usually stored on the secured grounds of operating nuclear plants. Markey specifically referenced a proposed spent fuel storage facility in Skull Valley, Utah. About 40,000 metric tons of nuclear waste would be "concentrated in one location ... that will be easily visible from the air and from a nearby road" and could be vulnerable to attack, he warned. The lawmaker's 10-page letter contained a series of questions on nuclear safety. Markey gave no deadline for the agency to respond. Government and private industry officials say all nuclear power plants have been on high alert since the Sept. 11 attacks and have adopted stricter security measures. Story by Chris Baltimore REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 5 South Korea says 695m US dollars spent so far on reactor construction in North BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 20 November: A US-led international consortium building two light water nuclear reactors in North Korea spent 695.47m US dollars between early last year and last month, officials said Tuesday [20 November]. According to the Unification Ministry, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) spent the money since the main turnkey contract with the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) took effect in February last year. Of the total cost, South Korea bore 486.38m dollars and Japan, 286.4m dollars, according to the Unification Ministry. Under a 1994 accord, North Korea agreed to freeze its suspected nuclear weapons programmes in return for two civilian-oriented nuclear reactors by 2003. The United States also promised to supply the North heavy fuel oil until the reactors go on line and has spent about 350m dollars to supply oil since 1995. So far, the government has issued bonds worth 667.2bn won (520m dollars) to finance the reactor construction. A total of 1,241 workers are building reactors in the North: 715 are South Korean, 96 North Korean and 430 Uzbek. Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0501 gmt 20 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 6 MOX plant puts Ireland at risk, UN hearing told Irish Newspapers - The Sellafield reprocessing plant THE Controversial new MOX nuclear plant at Sellafield would make an "attractive" terrorist target, the Government warned a UN Tribunal yesterday. One pellet of MOX was enough to kill 5,000 people yet there had been no UK assessment of the terrorist threat at Sellafield, the State warned. The new plant would also increase the radioactive pollution of the Irish Sea from harmful discharges. Launching a legal bid to stop the development of the mixed oxide fuel facility, Attorney General Michael McDowell called on the Hamburg-based Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to suspend Britain's approval. The Government claimed there would be extra discharges into the Irish Sea from the MOX plant and said the argument from the British side was that, while there was damage, this was "tolerable" and must be accepted by those adversely affected by it. "This is a terrible and, indeed, frightening argument for a government to rely upon to support a commercial activity which is technically unnecessary," a member of the Irish legal team, Eoghan Fitzsimons, SC, told the tribunal. Referring to the events of September 11 which, he said, had brought nuclear risks of terrorist attack sharply into focus, Mr Fitzsimons himself a former Attorney General said: "Ireland has not been informed of, and therefore is not aware of, any measures taken by the UK to establish an adequate security regime at Sellafield. "Certainly, no missiles have been placed around the perimeter of the plant in an effort to protect it from air attack as at Cap de la Hague in France," he said. "To this day, anyone can walk along the beach adjacent to the Sellafield site." The Tribunal was told that a MOX pellet, smaller than a coin, would contain 0.4 grammes of plutonium and, if this plutonium was released and evenly distributed, it could kill 5,000 people. At the start of a two-day hearing, Mr McDowell pointed out that a crucial component of the Irish challenge was based on the need to protect the Irish Sea from further radioactive pollution from Sellafield. And he warned: "Manufacture is also vulnerable to accident and the MOX plant can only serve to increase the attractiveness of subjecting Sellafield to terrorist attack." The Government has also accused the UK of withholding crucial information in relation to the running of the MOX plant, which is due to start production next month. It also hit out at the UK for ignoring Irish Government concerns and complained there has been no proper environmental assessments made of the project and that earlier assessments are now hopelessly outdated. Ireland is seeking British guarantees that there will be no movement of radioactive material through Irish waters. As part of the MOX plan shipments of nuclear waste would be transported by ship to and from the Cumbrian plant via the Irish sea. Campaigners in the east of Ireland have alleged for years that the Cumbrian site is responsible for a higher-than-average cancer rate. The State wants the tribunal to issue injunctions to prevent the start of operations at the MOX fuel plant and to stop ships transporting nuclear material to and from it pending arbitration. "The manufacture of MOX fuel at Sellafield involves significant risks for the Irish Sea. Such manufacture will inevitably lead to some discharges of radioactive substances into the marine environment, via direct discharges and through the atmosphere," it said. Following the September 11 attacks on US cities, Britain and other European countries imposed no-fly zones over nuclear plants. France installed surface-to-air missiles at a reprocessing plant at Cap la Hague. In early November, Britain scrambled two fighter jets over Sellafield, following an alert which turned out to be a false alarm. In a response to yesterday's Irish plea, Britain asked for the application to be dismissed. Gene McKenna and Treacy Hogan © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 7 Irish govt claims Sellafield potential terrorist threat online.ie: Business Business & Finance 19 Nov 2001 The Irish government today claimed that a nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield in northern England could pollute the Irish Sea and would be liable to terrorist attack. The statement was made at the beginning of a two-day hearing at the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The government wants the United Nations body to issue injunctions to prevent the start of operations at the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel plant and to stop ships transporting nuclear material to and from it pending arbitration. The legal action in Hamburg is based on what the government said are breeches by Britain of the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC). Ireland has branded the process used to authorise the MOX plant as "badly flawed" and inconsistent with the LOSC. The manufacture of MOX fuel at Sellafield involves significant risks of radioactive pollution for the Irish Sea, the government also said in a statement. In a response also released by the tribunal, the UK asked for the application to be dismissed. www. .ie.com.net.org.co.uk.org.uk ***************************************************************** 8 Battling to lift the menacing nuclear shadow of Sellafield Irish News and Analysis IRELAND IS making world legal history by its unprecedented UN battle to prevent a new Sellafield nuclear plant opening next month. The Dublin government is convinced the proposed plant will be a terrorist target and a dangerous new source of pollution. For the first time ever a nuclear free State is challenging the right of another government to put its citizens at risk from terrorist attack or accident, either at the nuclear facility or by shipping lethal waste to and from the plant. The lack of a proper assessment by the UK government of a terrorist attack at the new MOX facility or on ships carrying deadly nuclear cargoes through the Irish sea have all underpinned the Dublin government's case. Britain has been accused by Ireland of effectively turning a blind eye to the now very real possibility of a terrorist related explosion at Sellafield which would have catastrophic consequences for the Irish population. Regardless of the outcome of the David and Goliath contest it is certain to heighten growing Anglo-Irish strains over Sellafield. With the disclosure that the UK government ignored repeatedly Irish government concerns, both written and verbal. A senior Government source told the Irish Independent that there was deep frustration and anger that Tony Blair's government has not bothered to listen to the reasoned objections and protests that a new nuclear plant would increase pollution of the Irish Sea and be liable to terrorist attack. Legal experts believe the government has produced compelling reasons at the Hamburg-based UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea as to why the facility should be mothballed entirely. An Irish victory in the case would have massive ramifications throughout the ailing nuclear industry. The Nordic countries which are also alarmed at radioactive pollution of their North Sea fisheries are waiting in the wings to join the fray. The case presented yesterday by a team led by the Attorney General Michael McDowell and the Chief State Solicitor David O'Hagan left the 21 judges in no doubt that Ireland is determined to fight the UK approval for MOX all the way. At the heart of this country's objections are concerns that Britain has not properly assessed the risk of a terrorist attack on Sellafield and has failed to offer any reassurances. Essentially, the Irish government is deeply unhappy and worried about security at the plant which is less than 60 miles from our coast. The US Energy Secretary has already warned the International Atomic Energy Agency that Sellafield and its French equivalent in Cap de la Hague are now major terrorist targets. Ireland is also arguing that Britain will be breaking a number of binding international maritime, EU and UN conventions relating to pollution or the marine environment by allowing allowing new radioactive discharges into the Irish sea when the MOX plant becomes operational. The radioactive discharges from Cumbria into the Irish sea, the source of much of this country's fish supplies, would have a half-life of 1,000 years and would be irreversible. This at a time when the Irish Sea is officially the most radioactive body of water in the world and is affecting both aquatic life and water quality. The UK government has also been accused of deliberately withholding vital information on the MOX plant and by doing so has violated numerous international laws. Despite this the Irish government has been able to independently establish that British Nuclear Fuels has markets for just a small amount of the deadly MOX fuel - just 11pc - and the rest will have to be stored or sent elsewhere for storage. The last environmental assessment at Sellafield was carried out some eight years ago and there had been absolutely no assessment of the environmental risk attached to the MOX plant or the imminent spectre of armed ships carrying radioactive waste through our waters. An Irish victory would mean that shipping states can be held to account for risks and threats to the environment caused by their activities. It would also mean that states worried about the increased risk of terrorism, especially following the threats which followed the September 11 atrocities, would have some means of redress. Ireland's insistence that the terrorist attacks warrant a security review surrounding the MOX facility and international transports has been backed by a range of official bodies and non-governmental organisations. So far, no such reassurance has been forthcoming. The tribunal has the power to order an immediate suspension of the UK government's authorisation to start up MOX pending the outcome of a full hearing and crucially an injunction would be legally binding on Britain. It is worth remembering that the only assignment of MOX fuel made in a small demonstration at Sellafield was returned from Japan because it was subjected to data falsification by BNFL workers. BNFL initially denied at the time that the falsified data had affected the fuel on its way to Japan but shortly afterwards had to admit it had misinformed both its customers and the public. Opponents of the MOX plant argue that its operation is uneconomical as well as a major danger to the environment and this is being pointed out to the tribunal by the Irish legal teams. Two recent major reports warned that an explosion from an aircraft attack or accident at above ground highly volatile tanks storing liquid radioactive waste would release 44 times more radiation than Chernobyl exposing the Irish public many of the predicted three million cancer cases. A favourable decision by the UN tribunal would put on hold its December 20 opening date until a full hearing next year. If the government loses it will continue with other legal cases under the OSPAR maritime agreement and in the EU. British Nuclear Fuels for its part plans to start up the MOX plant before Christmas. The bottom-line for many groups opposed to Sellafield is the belief that Britain is very reluctant to jeopardise the thousands of workers who depend on the plant for their livelihoods irrespective of the possible disastrous consequences. © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 9 NRC Issues Draft Supplement to Final Environmental Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities Press Release - 2001 - 130 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov No. 01-130 November 20, 2001 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking public comments on its draft Supplement 1 to the "Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (GEIS), NUREG-0586." The agency will hold four public meetings in December to discuss the document. The Supplement was prepared because of technological advances in decommissioning operations, experience gained with shut down plants, and changes made to the NRC regulations since the GEIS was first published. It is a stand-alone document to be used to evaluate environmental impacts during decommissioning, which could lead to termination of the NRC license. The draft Supplement finds that of the environmental issues assessed, most of the impacts are generic and small. The draft report is available electronically through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at www.nrc.gov as an Agencywide Document Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) document and can also be viewed at the NRC's Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. For help in accessing ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the draft Supplement and the proposed action by December 31, to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T- 6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Comments may also be submitted electronically to the NRC to the e-mail address dgeis@nrc.gov . NRC staff will also hold four public meetings, at the following locations and dates, to present an overview of the draft Supplement to the GEIS and to accept public comments on the document: December 4 December 6 The Argent Hotel The Drake 50 Third Street 140 East Walton Place San Francisco, CA 94103 Chicago, IL 60611 December 10 December 12 Boston Marriott Copley Place Marriott Marquis 110 Huntington Avenue 265 Peachtree Center Avenue Boston, MA 02116 Atlanta, GA 30303 The meetings will be held from 7 until 10 p.m. The contents of the draft Supplement to the GEIS will be presented and interested parties will be given an opportunity to provide comments. Additionally, NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour prior to the start of each session. No comments on the draft Supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. Persons planning to attend or present oral comments at any or all of the meetings should contact Dino Scaletti at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1104, or by e-mail at dgeis@nrc.gov, no later than November 27. Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending upon the number of persons who register. ***************************************************************** 10 NRC Invites Nominations for Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of Isotopes Press Release - 2001 - 131 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov No. 01-131 November 20, 2001 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking qualified candidates for a new position of Interventional Cardiology Physician on its Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). Nominees should be interventional cardiologist physicians with experience in intravascular brachytherapy use of radiation sources. Committee members serve a 3-year term, with possible reappointment to an additional 3-year term. The ACMUI was established July 1, 1958, and advises NRC on policy and technical issues related to the regulation of the medical use of radioactive byproduct material. Responsibilities include providing comments on changes to NRC rules, regulations, and guidance documents; evaluating certain non-routine uses of byproduct material; providing technical assistance in licensing, inspection, and enforcement cases; and bringing key issues to the attention of NRC for appropriate action. ACMUI members possess the medical and technical skills needed to address evolving issues. The current membership is comprised of the following 12 professionals: (a) nuclear medicine physician; (b) nuclear cardiologist; (c) medical physicist specializing in the use of unsealed byproduct material; (d) therapy physicist; (e) radiation safety officer; (f) nuclear pharmacist; (g) two radiation oncologists; (h) patients' rights advocate; (i) Food and Drug Administration representative; (j) State representative; and (k) health care administrator. Nominees must be U.S. citizens and be able to devote approximately 80 hours per year to committee business. Members who are not Federal employees are compensated for their service. In addition, members are reimbursed travel expenses and are also reimbursed secretarial and correspondence expenses. Members who are full-time Federal employees are reimbursed travel expenses only. Nominees will undergo a security background check and will be required to complete financial disclosure statements to avoid conflict-of-interest issues. Interested candidates should submit four copies of their resume to the Office of Human Resources, ATTN: Ms. Joyce Riner, Mail Stop T2D32, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Applications will be accepted until January 19, 2002. For further information, contact Angela R. Williamson, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-5030; e-mail arw@nrc.gov [ arw@nrc.gov] . ***************************************************************** 11 NRC Staff Proposes $3,000 Fine Against a Missouri Company for Loss of Nuclear Gauge Region III -- 2001 - 052 -- UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 No. III-01-052 November 19, 2001 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630)829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov [rjs2@nrc.gov] Pam Alloway-Mueller (630)829-9662/e-mail: pla@nrc.gov [pla@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $3,000 fine against SCI Engineering, Inc. of St. Charles, Missouri, for violating NRC requirements associated with the loss of a portable moisture density gauge containing two sealed radioactive sources. The gauge, which is used to measure soil conditions at road and building sites, was later recovered. The gauge was not damaged in the incident and, consequently, there was no immediate health or safety concern. On July 7, the company notified the NRC that a portable moisture density gauge had been stolen on July 6 along with the truck in which it had been stored. The gauge and truck were stolen from a residence in House Springs, Missouri, when the key to the truck was left in the vehicle's ignition. The keys to the gauge were attached to the key ring in the truck's ignition. The gauge was recovered after the truck later was involved in an accident. The gauge contained 11 millicuries of cesium-137 and 44 millicuries of americium-241 in two sealed sources. In notifying the company of the proposed fine, NRC Regional Administrator James E. Dyer noted that SCI Engineering, Inc. had taken corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the situation including communicating with its staff regarding the importance of ignition key control and periodic checks of vehicle security. However, he said, a newly adopted enforcement policy provides that a fine be proposed to reflect the significance of the violation and emphasize the importance of maintaining control of licensed material. The specified fines included in the enforcement policy were developed to correspond to roughly three times the cost of proper disposal of a gauge. SCI Engineering Inc. has 30 days to pay the fine or protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the company may request a hearing. ***************************************************************** 12 NRC Names New Resident Inspector At Byron Nuclear Power Plant Region III -- 2001 - 053 -- UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 No. III-01-053 November 20, 2001 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630)829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov [rjs2@nrc.gov] Pam Alloway-Mueller (630)829-9662/e-mail: pla@nrc.gov [pla@nrc.gov] Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in Lisle, Illinois, have announced the assignment of Peter Snyder as the agency's resident inspector at the Byron Nuclear Power Plant in Byron, Illinois. Snyder replaces Brian Kemker who had been the resident inspector at Byron since June 1998. Kemker recently accepted a position as the NRC's senior resident inspector at the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station near Bridgman, Michigan. Snyder joined the NRC in August as a reactor engineer in the Lisle regional office. Prior to joining the NRC, he worked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, for 13 years, most recently as a shift refueling engineer. Snyder earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1988. Snyder, his wife and two children will live in Oregon, Illinois. Snyder, who began his duties at Byron November 19, joins NRC Senior Resident Inspector Richard Skokowski at the plant. They can be reached at the plant by calling (815) 234-5451. ***************************************************************** 13 Vegas chamber quits national chamber over Yucca Mountain Las Vegas SUN November 19, 2001 LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce quit its national organization Monday, protesting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's support for burying the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada. The move by the traditionally business-friendly chamber demonstrated the depths of opposition in southern Nevada to the Yucca Mountain proposal and hinted at a lobbying fight in months ahead. "Effective immediately, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is severing its affiliation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce," President Pat Shalmy said in a letter to U.S. Chamber President Thomas Donohue. Linda Rozett, spokeswoman for Donohue in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. chamber regretted the Las Vegas chamber move. "We hope they will reconsider at some time in the future," she said. Shalmy had referred to the flap with the U.S. chamber as "power politics." He also issued a statement Monday calling the national chamber's support for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository "unacceptable." "This is a final act," said Kami Dempsey, Las Vegas chamber government affairs director. She said no board ratification vote was needed. The chamber passed a resolution in January "strongly" opposing the massive project 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. That's despite predictions that it would have the federal government spending $58 billion over 17 years in southern Nevada. Rozett said the national organization takes positions on hundreds of issues every year, and that with a membership of 150,000 businesses in 2,000 state and local chambers, "it would be unrealistic to expect all members to agree on every issue." Dempsey said the Las Vegas chamber has 6,900 members and is the third-largest in the nation. Rosett could not confirm those numbers. Chamber leaders in Las Vegas were outraged that they were left out of the decision-making before the national chamber announced last week it would push for making Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear waste dump. The lobbying effort is headed by John Sununu and Geraldine Ferraro and funded by the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth. Rozett declined Monday to say how much it will cost. After 17 years of study and months of public hearings, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is expected this winter to recommend to President Bush whether Yucca Mountain is suitable for burying the nation's 77,000 tons of radioactive waste. It is the only site under study. The schedule has gained added urgency since Bush's call in May for a national nuclear waste repository as part of his federal energy plan. If the recommendation goes forward, Nevada is expected to formally oppose it - sending the question to Congress. The state also is threatening lawsuits. The names of Sununu, a Republican former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff, and Ferraro, a Democratic former New York congresswoman and vice presidential nominee, add more weight to endorsements from former Clinton administration Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and former Nevada Gov. Robert List. List, a Republican, in August became the highest-profile Nevada official to align with the nuclear power industry. Most politicians in the state oppose the proposal, including Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic party whip, and Nevada's other three congressional delegates. Las Vegas chamber officials expressed surprise that the national organization joined the Yucca Mountain fray. "We don't understand why this is a U.S. chamber issue, or why this became a priority with them," said Catherine Levy, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas chamber. "And we don't understand why we weren't consulted." All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 14 ATG closes; 120 workers laid off This story was published Tue, Nov 20, 2001 By John Stang Herald staff writer Allied Technology Group Inc. shut down its Richland and Oak Ridge, Tenn., plants Monday, laying off most of its employees. That's more than 120 workers in Richland, plus 70 to 80 at Oak Ridge. The Richland plant had already laid off 55 employees in late September. The shutdown also throws into doubt whether Hanford can meet legal deadlines to neutralize and dispose of 780 cubic yards -- equal to 3,000 55-gallon barrels -- of mixed radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes. It is unknown whether financially troubled ATG will try to revive the plants. Don Mazur, ATG's Richland manager, said its headquarters in Hayward, Calif., told him Monday to shut down the plant into a safe standby mode, to lay off most of the employees and to keep a skeleton crew of nine people to look after the site. State Health Department employees were checking the site Monday to ensure the equipment -- which handles dangerous wastes -- was in a safe condition. Mazur said his top priority is personnel matters, including ensuring the laid-off workers receive the pay owed to them. He said ATG's headquarters has not told him if the plant will be permanently closed. Vik Mani, ATG chief operations manager, could not be reached Monday for comment. ATG issued a one-paragraph news release Monday that said it must shut down operations because its working funds of about $3.5 million had been frozen by a bank to which ATG is deeply indebted. ATG said it is trying to negotiate with the unnamed bank. The publicly traded company has flirted with bankruptcy for about a year, according to its federal Securities Exchange Commission filings. ATG had at least $12 million in overdue debt in September, the latest figures available. That debt does not include $1.9 million the Department of Energy -- through Fluor Hanford -- advanced to ATG last spring to help it recover. ATG's main business in Richland and Oak Ridge has been taking commercial and federal hazardous and low-level radioactive wastes from across the nation then filtering, crushing, incinerating or glassifying them into safer forms and into smaller volumes. The wastes are shipped back to their original owners or to permanent disposal sites. All waste shipments headed toward Richland have been turned back, Mazur said. The Richland site also has low-level radioactive and hazardous wastes either awaiting treatment or sitting after being treated. Information on the amounts of those wastes was not available Monday. Mazur said one of his tasks is to plan how ATG will deal with the remaining wastes. The shutdown also stops work on fixing ATG's "GASVIT" operation designed to convert mixed wastes -- a combination of radioactive wastes and dangerous chemicals -- into glass. ATG has had the nation's only mixed waste glassification plant in place with a chance to get permits in time to meet some Hanford deadlines for glassifying mixed wastes. State and federal regulatory agencies have not yet approved the GASVIT facility. A much-delayed test run to get that approval was supposed to occur a year ago. The GASVIT facility was supposed to get ATG out of debt. ATG has a dozen contracts worth at least $67 million with companies wanting to use the facility. But a series of setbacks left ATG with $9 million in overdue debt. ATG also has not paid 10 contractors -- including six Tri-City companies -- $2.8 million for work on the GASVIT facility, according to Benton County records. And ATG owes $189,964 in unpaid county taxes. Fluor had planned to use the GASVIT facility to glassify or incinerate 312 cubic yards of Hanford mixed wastes by Dec. 31, 2002, and an additional 468 cubic yards by Dec. 31, 2005. Fluor advanced ATG the $1.9 million, which originally was intended to pay for glassifying the wastes, and also filed a lien against ATG last spring to safeguard that money. Fluor is still sorting out what happened Monday at ATG and does not know yet what it will do, said Fluor spokesman Jerry Holloway. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 15 Government bid to halt MOX plant online.ie : News The Irish Examiner 20 Nov 2001 By Mark Sage THE Government yesterday launched a legal bid to stop the development of a new nuclear reprocessing facility at Sellafield, claiming it would make a terrorist target. Attorney General Michael McDowell called on the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to suspend Britain's decision to allow the mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant to go ahead. At the start of a two-day hearing he told the panel in Hamburg, Germany: "This is about protecting the Irish Sea from further radioactive pollution. "Manufacture is also vulnerable to accident and the MOX plant can only serve to increase the attractiveness of subjecting Sellafield to terrorist attack." The Government legal action is based on what it says are contraventions by Britain of the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC). But Britain hit back, claiming in a written submission that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction in this matter. The Government is asking for an international arbitration tribunal to be set up under a UN provision to resolve the dispute. In the meantime, it has called on the Hamburg tribunal to order the immediate suspension of the British decision, pending the conclusion of the arbitration. Ireland is also seeking British guarantees that there will be no movement of radioactive material through Irish waters. Campaigners in the east of Ireland have alleged for years that the Cumbrian site is responsible for a higher-than-average cancer rate. An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has attacked the decision and many protesters have pointed out that Sellafield is closer to Dublin than to London. At the High Court in London last week, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth failed to have the MOX plant's commissioning declared unlawful. The tribunal in Hamburg is expected to deliver its decision by December 9. Meanwhile, Fine Gael Senator Fergus O'Dowd said he was setting up a coalition to bring together members of the European Parliament who are opposed to Sellafield in a joint campaign to have the plant shut down. Senator O'Dowd said greater international pressure is the only way to prevent the MOX plant from going ahead. "Initial contacts are very encouraging," he said. "Parliamentary pressure applied in an organised and planned way right across Europe would significantly increase the pressure on the British Government to close Sellafield." "Increasing pressure at an international level is the only way in which the British Government will rethink its policy on Sellafield. Clearly, Bertie Ahern and his Government are having little effect to date," he added. ***************************************************************** 16 Nuclear plant is 'terrorist target' BBC News | EUROPE | 19 November, 2001, 23:26 GMT [Sellafield nuclear processing plant in Cumbria] Ireland hopes to stop the Mox plant from going ahead The development of a controversial nuclear fuel recycling plant at Sellafield would make an "attractive" terrorist target, the Irish Government has said. The Mox plant can only serve to increase the attractiveness of subjecting Sellafield to terrorist attack Michael McDowell Irish Attorney General Attorney General Michael McDowell called on the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to suspend Britain's decision to allow the £470m mixed oxide fuel (Mox) plant to go ahead. At the start of a two-day hearing on Monday, he told the panel in Hamburg, Germany: "This is about protecting the Irish Sea from further radioactive pollution. "Manufacture is also vulnerable to accident and the Mox plant can only serve to increase the attractiveness of subjecting Sellafield to terrorist attack." 'Lacks jurisdiction' But in a written submission the UK argued that the tribunal "lacks jurisdiction in this matter". The Irish Government is asking for an international arbitration tribunal to be set up under a UN provision to resolve the dispute. Ireland is also seeking British guarantees that there will be no movement of radioactive material through Irish waters. Cancer fears Campaigners in the east of Ireland have alleged for years that the Cumbrian site is responsible for a higher-than-average cancer rate. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has attacked the decision to go ahead with the Mox plant and many protesters have pointed out that Sellafield is closer to Dublin than to London. But UK Government ministers argue that the scheme was justified because it would provide "significant economic benefits" and had a "net present value of £216m". At the High Court in London last week, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth failed to have the Mox plant's commissioning declared unlawful The tribunal in Hamburg is expected to deliver its decision by 9 December. Meanwhile, Irish Senator Fergus O'Dowd said he was setting up a coalition to bring together members of the European Parliament who are opposed to Sellafield in a joint campaign to have the plant shut down. ***************************************************************** 17 U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Yucca Mountain causes split LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: (The U.S. Chamber is) a great lobbying organization, and they have made an effort in recent years to get closer to local chambers, but they made no effort on this. PAT SHALMY LAS VEGAS CHAMBER PRESIDENT Tuesday, November 20, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Nuclear waste plan endorsement angers Las Vegas Chamber By STEVE TETREAULT DONREY WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on Monday quit its affiliation with a national business group that wants nuclear waste to be buried in Nevada. The organization withdrew its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a major trade association and an influential voice in Washington on business issues. The head of the 6,800-member Las Vegas Chamber said locals were stung at not being consulted when the U.S. Chamber developed a stand on nuclear waste and then announced Thursday that an energy coalition of hundreds of business groups was going to lobby for a waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "We understand that decisions are made that we disagree with, but for us not to be given the courtesy of a discussion or a courtesy call, that's very disappointing," said Las Vegas Chamber President Pat Shalmy. Shalmy informed U.S. Chamber President Thomas Donohue in a letter to "consider our membership withdrawn and our affiliation terminated." Last week, Las Vegas Chamber officials said they would wait for an upcoming board meeting to vote on the pullout. Shalmy said he didn't have to wait. "As chief executive, I know the board, I know the members, and I know what our resolution stated," he said referring to a Jan. 31, 2001, proclamation the group adopted opposing nuclear waste storage in the state. "They are a great lobbying organization, and they have made an effort in recent years to get closer to local chambers, but they made no effort on this," Shalmy said of the U.S. Chamber. He said he had not been in touch with chamber officials from Washington. Shalmy said Las Vegas membership in the U.S. Chamber has cost $5,000 a year. Clarifying information given out last week, another official said that, before this issue arose, the Las Vegas group had downgraded its membership for 2002 to a $3,000 dues level. In any case, the national organization will get nothing now. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce was polling its 15-member executive committee Monday to determine whether it will follow suit. "The U.S. Chamber did not notify any of the Las Vegas Valley chambers" about its nuclear dump move, said Gayle Rogers, executive assistant. The chief executive officer of the Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce said Southern Nevada counterparts may be overreacting. "There are a lot of benefits to belonging to the U.S. Chamber," said Larry M. Osborne. "Frankly, it would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face. "My feeling is if you withdraw from the organization you obviously have no possibility of working for change from within," Osborne said. While the Carson City Chamber has not adopted an official position, Osborne said most of its members oppose nuclear waste disposal in Nevada. Rather than withdraw from the U.S. Chamber, Osborne said, the Carson City group would be more likely to drop its association with the energy coalition that will lobby for Yucca Mountain. U.S. Chamber officials said they would be sorry to see their Las Vegas counterparts depart, but there was no indication it would lead the Washington group to change its position. "The chamber has been around for well over 100 years," spokeswoman Linda Rozett said. "Local chambers have been unhappy with our positions or threatened to resign as the chamber has occasionally endorsed candidates or taken political positions in states or cities that were opposed by the local chamber." Shalmy said he harbored no belief that the national chamber could be turned around on nuclear waste. He referred to the announced lobbying effort featuring former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu and former Congresswoman Geraldine Ferrarro. "If they're holding press conferences and writing letters to the secretary of energy, they've made up their minds and we have made up ours," he said. The U.S. Chamber's position on Yucca Mountain was developed by an environment policy committee. Rozett said the chamber as a trade group is not required to disclose its internal committee membership and declined to do so. "Our 150,000 business members, 2,800 local chambers and 830 associations all have the ability to make policy through our policy committee structure," said J.P. Moery, vice president of the chamber's federation division that services local and state chambers. Las Vegas officials said they were not given the chance for input. They learned of the U.S. Chamber's pro-repository stance in an e-mail newsletter from Washington on Oct. 23, said Kami Dempsey, government affairs director. Shalmy said he couldn't say whether the Las Vegas Chamber still would have quit if the national group heard the local views but backed Yucca Mountain development anyway. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is expected to decide within a few months whether to recommend Yucca Mountain for the repository to entomb the nation's most lethal nuclear waste. Most of the 77,000 tons of waste is in the form of spent nuclear fuel pellets now stored at commercial power reactor sites. webmaster@lvrj.com Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - ***************************************************************** 18 Chamber seeks unity in opposition to shipping nuke waste Las Vegas SUN November 19, 2001 By Erin Neff Last week's decision by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to back a nuclear waste repository in Nevada could lead local chambers of commerce to pull out of the group and encourage their counterparts nationwide to follow their lead. Henderson Chamber of Commerce President Ron Meek met Friday with other chamber representatives and discussed the possibility that "we should all notify all the chambers about the transportation of waste through their areas." Meek said the Henderson chamber had just renewed its membership and sent dues when he picked up the newspaper Friday to learn of the national group's decision. "We're very, very disturbed about it," Meek said. "We're definitely part of what will probably be a group of chambers here that will withdraw" from the national group. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce -- the third biggest in the nation -- has sent a letter to U.S. Chamber President Thomas Donohue to discuss its displeasure over the decision to back a repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The group's board of directors will wait for a response before voting to withdraw membership, said Kami Dempsey, government affairs director for the Las Vegas Chamber. Meek said he would like local chambers to encourage their counterparts outside Nevada to withdraw from the national group to widen the blow any loss of membership would cause the U.S. Chamber. The U.S. Chamber's Donohue said Thursday that his group runs the risk of losing members over such tough decisions. Boulder City Chamber of Commerce Director Beth Walker has plenty she would like to say about the chamber's decision but cannot issue any statements without first gauging the mood of the roughly 250 to 300 businesses that belong to her group. "First I'll have to take things up with our membership," Walker said, who sounded unhappy about the decision. The North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce said it does not belong to the national chamber. Meek and Las Vegas Restaurant Association President Van Heffner are trying to make the best of the decision by working to alter it. Heffner said that for the time being he would remain a member of the U.S. Chamber's Alliance on Energy and Economic Growth to try to "work within the system to change it." Meek believes building momentum against the decision by enlisting other chambers is the way to go -- a move similar to the tactics employed by Nevada's congressional delegation. Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., have been highlighting the route that 77,000 tons of nuclear waste would likely travel through the nation. They hope to persuade officials along the route that transporting the material could be as dangerous as storing it. "Nobody wants it in their back yard," Meek said. "We should ask if they want it in their back yard." All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 19 Probe: Nuclear dump law firm worked with both energy department and lobbyists - 11/19/2001 - ENN.com Monday, November 19, 2001 By KEN RITTER LAS VEGAS--A law firm hired to help the Energy Department get a license for a nuclear waste dump in Nevada failed to disclose a relationship with a pro-dump lobbying firm, the department's inspector general found. At least 14 members of the Chicago-based law firm Winston & Strawn working on the $16.5 million government contract also worked for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying firm that supports the Yucca Mountain project, reported DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman, who stopped short of declaring the relationship a conflict of interest. But Nevada's two U.S. senators, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign, said the report documents "rampant conflict of interest violations" that contaminated 17 years of study of the Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. State officials and the Nevada congressional delegation oppose the proposed dump, which would store radioactive waste from about 100 nuclear sites nationwide. The Nuclear Energy Institute, based in Washington, D.C., has lobbied to promote the use of nuclear power and favors the Yucca Mountain site. It is the only site under study by the government to dispose of the nation's nuclear waste. In his report, Friedman said Winston & Strawn denied a conflict of interest and denied it compromised work on the Yucca Mountain project. James Thompson, Winston & Strawn chairman and former Illinois governor, referred questions to spokesman Chuck Connor at the Dilen Schneider Group in Chicago, who wouldn't comment. Connor also wouldn't comment on recent allegations that Winston & Strawn leaked to the Energy Department a confidential document outlining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's standards for approving the project. Reid called last week for Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector General Hubert T. Bell to investigate that allegation. It was not addressed in Friedman's report. Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said Thursday that Winston & Strawn is still working for the Energy Department, and the department would study Friedman's findings. "It's important to note," Davis said, "that the report found no evidence that the work performed by Winston & Strawn created an improper bias in the department's scientific evaluation of Yucca Mountain." The site selection process is in its final weeks, but officials said Friedman's report opens the licensing process to a possible legal challenge. Copyright 2001, Associated Press All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2001 Environmental News Network Inc. ***************************************************************** 20 Factory Delivers Reactor to Iran The St. Petersburg Times. General #723, Tuesday, November 20, 2001 By Irina Titova STAFF WRITER Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky / AP On Friday, the Izhorskiye Zavody metallurgical plant shipped the first component for a reactor that is to be built at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Station in Iran. The 317-ton reactor body, which is being delivered under a $1-billion contract with the power station signed in 1996, is the first that Russia has made for Iran. "We are happy that the three-year-long construction of the reactor has been completed and wish to thank the plant's workers for the work they have done," Mohammed Reza Zahertar, a representative of the Iran Atomic Energy Organization, said at a ceremony at the plant marking the shipment of the new reactor body. The reactor body is the first to be completed at the Izhorskiye plant since 1987. In the 40-year period leading to the pause, the plant had built 200 reactor bodies. The reactor built for Iran will have an energy-production capacity of 1,000 megawatts once it is operational. The reactor body is 13.7 meters in height, with a thickness of more than 20 centimeters, and is able to withstand internal pressures equal to 160 atmospheres and an average temperature from the thermal carrier located at the exit of the reactor of 322 degrees-celsius. The reactor body is just one item for the reactor being manufactured under contract for Iran, and Izhorskiye Zavody will provide 34 other items, including fuel-cycle equipment and other support-system items. The deal with Iran is not the only nuclear project in which the plant is presently involved, as it is also under contract to construct two similar reactor bodies for a nuclear-power station in China. The first is to be shipped in December and the second in the middle of next year. Yevgeny Sergeyev, the general director of Izhorskiye Zavody, said that the plant also has orders to construct two 1,000 megawatt reactors for the Indian nuclear power plant at Kudankulam. Work on that project is to begin soon. Officials from both the plant and the Iranian government refused to comment on thefinancial terms of the agreement. St. Petersburg Governor Vladimir Yakovlev, who attended the ceremony, said that local participation in the reconstruction of Slovakia's nuclear- power plants was discussed when he met with Slovakia's president, Rudolf Schuster, last week. [Copyright] copyright The St. Petersburg Times 2001 ***************************************************************** 21 Firepower, surveillance help improve Seabrook Station security © 2001 George J. Foster Co. Monday, November 19, 2001 By DAN TUOHY N.H. Statehouse Writer SEABROOK — Six armed guards monitor orange concrete barricades at the entrance to the Seabrook nuclear power plant. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, more armed officers patrol Seabrook Station entrance. Foster's Daily Democrat photo - Tuohy When vehicles line up, it’s a familiar drill in a post-Sept. 11 world: State your business. Furnish identification. Negotiate an S-turn set up by the barriers and wait for safety gates to be raised to allow further access. Inside the perimeter, Seabrook Station’s security force is bolstered by officers from Seabrook, Hampton, Greenland and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office. There are roving patrols and a high visibility of serious fire power, from shotguns to automatic rifles. But some of the best security measures are ones that are deployed year-round — and they are ones that are not so visible. There is motion detection, video cameras and other surveillance equipment that officials decline to discuss because of safety concerns. All told, even during the FBI’s heightened alert and brief no-fly zone over the nuclear plant earlier this month, Seabrook Station officials had confidence in their security. There may not be National Guard troops, like at some nuclear plants in other states, but Seabrook remains on high alert and is prepared to defend against terrorism, said Alan Griffith, a plant spokesman. Despite the notable security upgrades, and the orange cones leading up to the traffic barricades, there’s little glitz to the facility being on high alert. "It’s business as usual," Griffith said during a tour of the grounds Friday — the first press examination of the new security. "The job of generating our electricity remains our focus. It’s been very smooth and quiet." After the initial barricades, there is a second vehicle trap for cars and trucks seeking entrance within a second perimeter. Once the vehicle in question enters the designated area, a chain-link fence with barbed wire closes, and a detailed inspection occurs. Beyond that year-round checkpoint, Seabrook’s greatest landmark — the nuclear reactor dome — looms high above. There is strict access into the second perimeter. There are three basic lines of defense before the inner protective area. There is a plastic explosive detection scan, a check by security guards with a metal detector, and a hand geometry post, where a person must match his or her ID badge with a palm print. These security measures provide a virtual lockdown for the protected area. The heightened security overall forced the closure of a south entrance to the 900-acre tract of land, and The Science & Nature Center on the grounds is closed indefinitely. The center, which is free of charge, sees 20,000 to 30,000 visitors a year. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., Gov. Jeanne Shaheen created a task force to examine the state’s ability to respond to terrorism. The Commission on Preparedness and Security is reviewing all aspects of New Hampshire’s response, including the value of having a no-fly zone over Seabrook Station, said Donald Bliss, the state fire marshal who is chairman of the panel. Bliss is scheduled to file a report with Shaheen by Nov. 27. Until then, the governor ordered that security measures be taken immediately, including state police patrols from Seabrook to Newington. In addition, the state Marine Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard are patrolling Seacoast waters and the Brown River near Seabrook Station. Seabrook Station, which has a dozen owners, started operating in 1990. It provides enough electricity for 1 million homes, and 64 percent of New Hampshire’s needs. The plant has roughly 900 employees, including contractors and security personnel. The dome over the reactor is a dome within a dome, which is 6.5 feet of steel-reinforced concrete. Engineers designed it to withstand the crash of a fighter bomber jet because the former Pease Air Force Base is nearby. Despite the increased security measures, the plant still has its critics. The Seacoast Anti-Pollution League has urged Shaheen to call out the National Guard to augment security forces. Jenn Hicks, the executive director of the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, said the military muscle is in order because of the federal no-fly zone previously in place. In response, Shaheen has said that security is at its highest level and that there has been no specific threat to the nuclear plant or to any New Hampshire asset. Griffith said Seabrook Station officials routinely re-evaluate security levels in concert with local, state and federal authorities. "We’re confident that we are now appropriately defended by our security team," he said. N.H. Statehouse Writer Dan Tuohy can be reached at 226-3633 or dtuohy@fosters.com [dtuohy@fosters.com] ***************************************************************** 22 Irish application on MOX plant starts today ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND November 19, 2001 From Derek Scally, in Berlin The Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, will lead the Government's legal team today in an application for an injunction to prevent the MOX fuel production plant at Sellafield from going into operation next month. At the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, the team will also call for a stop to shipments in and around the Irish Sea of radioactive materials associated with the MOX plant. The team will accuse the British government of failing to take adequate measures to prevent pollution from the plant, thereby breaching provisions of the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea. The 17-part convention establishes a legal framework to regulate all ocean space and related disputes. A five-member tribunal will consider a Government request for an injunction to prevent the plant from starting operations. This injunction would be binding until a full hearing, not expected to reach a conclusion until the end of next year at the earliest. The MOX plant is designed to produce mixed oxide fuel pellets for nuclear reactors by combining uranium with plutonium. Built in 1996, the plant was last month given British government permission to go into operation on December 20th. It will produce both solid and liquid wastes, some of which would be discharged into the Irish Sea. Central to the case is likely to be article 194 of the convention which deals with "the release of toxic, harmful or noxious substances" into the sea from "land-based sources". It obliges states to ensure that pollution arising from activities under their control "does not spread beyond the areas where they exercise sovereign rights". Article 210 of the convention establishes the right of states to "permit, regulate and control" dumping of waste into the sea, but this must be done "after due consideration of the matter with other states which, by reason of their geographical situation, may be adversely affected thereby". In its submission today, the Irish legal team will also accuse Britain of not properly assessing the risk of terrorist attack on the Sellafield plant. The Government will call for a British-Irish strategy to prevent terrorist attacks or to respond to any terrorist attacks. The British government will present its preliminary submission tomorrow. [http://www.ireland.com ***************************************************************** 23 Czechs: EU accession treaty not right place for nuclear plant agreement BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 Brussels, 20 November: Foreign Minister Jan Kavan confirmed today that he can see no possibility of making a possible Czech-Austrian agreement on Temelin [nuclear power station] more binding by incorporating it into the Czech Republic's EU accession treaty. "I am sure that Temelin will be discussed within the energy chapter. I am prepared to provide the European Commission with detailed information concerning Temelin's safety...At the moment I cannot imagine that the issue of one specific nuclear power plant could be dealt with in the accession treaty," Kavan said... Kavan said that the Czech side met all demands ensuing from the Melk agreement. However, bilateral talks still continue and are difficult, Kavan said, partly due to the domestic political situation in Austria... Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1502 gmt 20 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 24 McDowell leads Irish case against MOX plant ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND Tuesday, November 20, 2001 By Derek Scally The Government opened its historic case against the United Kingdom yesterday, seeking an injunction to prevent the MOX fuel production plant at Sellafield from going into operation next month. The Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, said the facility would cause "irreparable harm" to Ireland and would violate Irish rights under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. "It will expose us to risks of accidents from the plant and from nuclear tranports. And, we also believe, MOX will expose us to even greater risk of terrorist attacks," he said. Mr McDowell was speaking at the first day of a two-day hearing at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg. "We say Ireland has rights under the 1982 convention which will be violated by the authorisation of the MOX plant," said Mr McDowell. "First and foremost, we have the right not to be subjected to further radioactive pollution," he said. He added that the authorisation of the MOX plant would support the continued operation of - and more radioactive discharges from - the existing THORP plant at Sellafield. This would violate Ireland's rights under the convention to require the United Kingdom to prevent radioactive pollution "to the fullest extent possible". Mr McDowell accused the British government of being deliberately and unacceptably secretive about the MOX plant, scheduled to begin producing plutonium fuel pellets from next month. Despite numerous requests dating back to 1999, the Government still has no information about how many shipments of nuclear material will travel to and from Sellafield trhough the Irish Sea. It has not received information about the quantity and type of discharges of radioactive waste from the MOX plant, or information about the operating life of the plant. The British government was, he said, "essentially uninterested in our views and interests, was not willing to take them into account \ saw no need for co-operation". However, the "shared" nature of the Irish Sea obliged Britain to co-operate with Ireland under Articles 123 and 197 of the convention, said Mr McDowell. Mr Eoin Fitzsimons SC also criticised the British government. He accused Ms Margaret Beckett, the British Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs, of misleading the Irish Government as to the date Britain planned to authorise the MOX plant. [http://www.ireland.com ***************************************************************** 25 USEC, union reach tentative deal - The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Tuesday, November 20, 2001 USEC, union reach tentative deal After 17 hours of negotiating, the union will put the deal before its members today at three ieetings and vote Monday. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 USEC Inc. and negotiators for its largest union reached a tentative contact agreement early this morning after working frantically to avoid a strike. The agreement with the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Local 5-550 was reached at 1 a.m. after 17 hours of negotiations at J.R.'s Executive Inn. Union leaders will hold informational meetings today at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to explain the agreement to its approximately 700 members. The meetings will be held at the union hall on Cairo Road. A vote will be held on Monday. The union had threatened to strike at midnight Monday if an agreement wasn't reached, but delayed the strike call while negotiations continued. The frantic efforts to reach an agreement began at 10:45 p.m. Monday when USEC negotiators returned to the bargaining table at J.R.'s Executive Inn after spending two hours reviewing the union's latest proposal. The two sides met for 20 minutes after which a union spokesman said negotiators rejected a counteroffer made by USEC. USEC was told it had 10 minutes to "submit its best and final offer." USEC bargainers huddled privately and returned to the bargaining table at 11:25 p.m. The meeting broke up shortly before midnight when USEC officials took a break to make copies of what one source said was a company counterproposal. The talks resumed after about 5 minutes. At 12:45 a.m., USEC negotiators left the meeting room. A few minutes later, they were called back into the room and the union told them they would accept the latest offer that was on the table. Officials on both sides refused to reveal terms of the agreement. The union has been working under the old contract since Aug. 29 when negotiators reached a temporary no-strike agreement. That agreement, which was extend once, expired at midnight Monday. Significant progress was made on Monday after Russian uranium, one of the key reasons why Paducah contract talks broke off three months ago, was take off of the table by USEC. With that issue removed, Monday's talk at J.R.'s Executive Inn centered on pocketbook issues. "Pension and insurance are the biggest issues," said Jerry Johnston, vice president/regional director of PACE. The August agreement not to strike was designed to buy time for the Bush administration to resolve several major industry issues integral to the long-term viability of the plant. White House officials have been studying whether the 1,500-employee Paducah plant — the nation’s only uranium enricher — should remain in business and if USEC should continue acting as sole agent to buy uranium derived from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads. USEC says mixing the cheaper Russian material with the higher-cost material produced at Paducah is critical to extending the life of the plant, whose technology is outdated. The union agrees, but has balked at attempts by USEC to tie the contract to the Russian deal. Leon Owens, vice president of the local, said USEC received state department "direction" Oct. 8 saying the Russian contract, set to expire Jan. 1, would pend for a year to give the company extra time to resolve issues such as whether USEC can get cheaper prices for the material. Although the Russian deal "is not part of the negotiations," it has not been resolved, said USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle. "We are in continuous conversations with the administration to resolve the Russian issue and we still believe that it can be resolved before the end of this year." A recent union memo indicated the administration's main plan would give USEC the option to remain exclusive agent for the Russian uranium in return for a business plan with specific milestones. Those include running the Paducah plant for as long as 10 years at minimum production and deploying replacement gas centrifuge technology. The old, five-year union contract expired July 31. The two sides deadlocked Aug. 2 when the union soundly rejected an offer whose wage and benefit provisions it called substandard. Union officials staunchly opposed language that the contract would expire after a year if USEC did not achieve any of three major goals related to buying Russian uranium. The temporary agreement, calling for no strike or layoffs, included a 4 percent hourly wage increase retroactive from July 31, and for wages to revert to the old contract if a new pact is not reached. Although the agreement was set to expire Thursday, both sides agreed to extend it until midnight Monday. ***************************************************************** 26 Jabiluka's traditional owners campaign against contamination. 19/11/01. ABC News Online Monday, November 19, 2001 . Posted: 07:55:50 (AEDT) Traditional owners of the Jabiluka uranium mine site in the Northern Territory are planning further action to highlight their concerns about the potential overflow of contaminated water at the site. Representatives of the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation and environment groups have inspected the site and are concerned storage ponds could overflow during the wet season. A spokesman for Energy Resources of Australia says the ponds can withstand a one in 10,000 year wet and are constantly monitored. But Gundjehmi representative Justin O'Brien says the concerns will be taken to the Northern Land Council and the Office of the Supervising Scientist. He says the return of the Coalition does not help the cause. "They have tried by hook or by crook to bend and break the Mirrar into accepting the inevitable as they regard Jabiluka mine, however the resolve of the traditional owners to oppose the Jabiluka mine remains very solid and steadfast," he said. © 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 27 Greens slam plans to extend uranium output. 19/11/01. ABC News Online Monday, November 19, 2001 . Posted: 10:27:09 (AEDT) The Australian Greens Party has condemned plans to expand South Australia's uranium output, predicting the issue will help them win a seat in the State's Upper House at the next election. The operator of the controversial Beverly uranium mine, Heathgate Resources, will undertake a joint-venture survey aimed at boosting production in the far north region. Greens candidate Brian Noone says any expansion of the controversial "in-situ" method of mining, in which acid is injected into the underground aquifer, would create further degradation. "The issue of uranium is very crucial to both city people and the rural areas," he said. "The rural people and the Aboriginal people do not want South Australia used as a uranium dump...and we don't want more expansion of a very, very dangerous industry, especially this one which is actually pouring its wastewater into one of the most crucial environmental areas in Australia." © 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 28 Pu-reactors to remain intact Section on international co-operation covering nuclear waste imports to Russia and exports of Russian nuclear technology. The US wants to scrap project for conversion of three plutonium-producing reactors in Siberia. 1.5 tonne of weapons plutonium will be produced annually on the unsafe reactors. Igor Kudrik, 2001-11-20 18:03 In June 1994, the United States and Russia signed an agreement under which Moscow would shut down the three plutonium-producing reactors by the year 2000. Two of those reactors are located in Tomsk-7, now Seversk, and one in Krasnoyarsk-26, now Zheleznogorsk. Russia, however, would not allow the accord to enter into force until alternative sources of energy had been found. Moscow argued that the "dual use" reactors provide most of the heat and electricity for the surrounding cities. After completing an alternative feasibility study in 1995, the United States and Russia determined that conversion of the reactor cores was the best way to meet civilian energy needs while also halting the production of weapons grade plutonium. In September 1997, a formal agreement was signed by vice president Al Gore and prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin which required Russia to modify the three reactors by December 31st 2000. The agreement also prohibited the United States and Russia from restarting any plutonium producing reactors that have already been shut down. The USA shut down all 14 of its plutonium producing reactors by 1989, while Russia has ceased operating 10 of its 13 reactors. The agreement also stipulated that any plutonium produced from the day it was signed could not be used in nuclear weapons. The Russian Ministry for Nuclear Energy (Minatom) and the US Department of Defence (DOD) were the state agencies on both sides to implement the agreement. In fiscal year 1997, Congress appropriated $10 million in Co-operative Threat Reduction (the program under DOD) assistance for the project. The total cost of the project, which was to be divided between the United States and Russia, was expected to be about $150 million. No shutdown by deadline But as the shutdown deadline neared it became clear that the project was not to be implemented. In February 2000, Minatom informed its American counterpart that the conversion project was inexpedient. Instead, Americans were proposed to build fossil fuel substitutes for the reactors - a project with a price tag of up to $300m. The most part of the funds, according to the Russian plan, was to be provided by the US. Americans took a timeout. But in March the same year, Minatom officials came with a proposal to modify the cores of the three reactors in a way they can burn RBMK type fuel. The plutonium reactors have uranium-graphite design and in principle could me redesigned for RBMK fuel. Later the same year, the director of the Mining and Chemical Combine in Zheleznogorsk, which operates one plutonium reactor, Vasily Zhidkov, said the reactor could continue to produce plutonium but would be set under the control of the US. Today the lifetime of the reactors in Seversk was extended until December 31st 2005, while the reactor in Zheleznogorsk will operate until December 31st 2006. Funding scrapped According to the latest report published in Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pentagon and House Republicans are trying to scrap the whole agreement. The Pentagon and its congressional allies say that while they support a shutdown of the three reactors, US defence dollars are too precious to be used on the project. Such reaction is understandable since the project has not move any further since it was launched. The Russian Nuclear Regulatory, GAN, was sceptical to the core conversion from the very start. The Combine in Zheleznogorsk had troubles to renew its operation licence for the reactor, which exceeded its operational limits by two folds. The same is true for the reactors in Seversk. The result of the almost seven-year process will be, thus, continued production of 1.5 tonne of plutonium annually on unsafe reactors at least five years more into the future. on 2000-06-23 Zheleznogorsk Plutonium reactor continues operation without conversion 2000-04-11 Seversk Russian position on Pu-production reactors shifted again 2000-02-15 Seversk Pu-production reactors to be shut down Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway Menu ***************************************************************** 29 Nuclear waste processing facility to be built in northern Russia BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Archangel, 20 November: The construction of a mobile facility for the initial processing of solid radioactive waste will be completed by late 2000 at the state-owned enterprise Zvezdochka in the Archangel Region of northern Russia. Zvezdochka's press secretary Nadezhda Shcherbinina reported this to Interfax on Tuesday [20 November]. She said the construction of the mobile facility is the third project under a joint Russian-American-Norwegian programme. Earlier, Zvezdochka manufactured containers for the transportation and storage of solid radioactive pollutants with a low radiation level. According to Shcherbinina, the mobile plant has been ordered for Russia's navy for use at nuclear submarine bases where insignificant amounts of radioactive waste accumulate. Designed at the scientific and technical design bureau Onega (Severodvinsk, Archangel Region, northern Russia), the plant has been patterned on a French-made stationary installation that was built at Zvezdochka. Shcherbinina emphasized that the mobile facility had been designed to conform to the working conditions in Arctic areas. "Such installations are without parallel in the world: its obvious merit is that on completing the processing of solid radioactive pollutants in one place, it can be taken apart, moved by any means of transportation to another site, and pieced together there," she added. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1211 gmt 20 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 30 Engineers meet in Russia to discuss safety of nuclear power plants BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 Text of report by Russian Ren TV on 19 November [Presenter Anna Fedotova] An international conference of nuclear power engineers has opened in Moscow Region. This is the first such meeting after the terrorist attacks in the USA. From now on, the security of nuclear power plants is to be provided at the new level. [Correspondent Alevtina Polyakova] All over the world, the development of the nuclear facilities security system starts with determining the parameters of the possible threat. After the September terror attacks in the USA, it was decided to revise the security concept at the international level. This relates to nuclear power plants in the first place. In Russia, the stores of nuclear warheads have been hidden underground since Beriya's times [Stalin's Interior Minister Lavrentiy Beriya was in charge of Soviet nuclear projects]. They were built to last. Experts say that these structures may stand a direct hit from a 40-kiloton bomb. Moreover, they are protected by air-defence umbrellas. Nuclear power plants were never protected at such a level. Nevertheless, Russian experts say that the engineering safety parameters were designed to stand possible acts of sabotage. [Viktor Krushelnitskiy, captioned as first deputy general director of the Atomenergoproyekt design institute] We have sufficiently powerful double protection casing designed to stand an aircraft hit. Our reactor is protected from the blast. [Correspondent] The list of critical nuclear power plant equipment requiring additional protection includes the central control room, power cables, electric switchboards and water-cooling system. These facilities are the most vulnerable. In the event of an act of sabotage, it would take less time to destroy them than to seize nuclear materials. If the terrorists get as far as the reactor, that will mean complete success for their operation. At the conference under way in Podolsk, foreign representatives have been trying not to advertise security measures taken in their countries now to boost nuclear power plants' safety. We have learned that in China additional army units have been deployed near nuclear facilities. Moreover, the Chinese are installing extra physical barriers. [(?Huan Mind Chuan), captioned as deputy chief engineer of the Tianwan nuclear power plant, speaking in Russian] The so-called physical barriers are sufficient to combat terrorism. [Correspondent] An international commission is going to check security measures at the Bulgarian nuclear facilities. Additional air defence systems have been deployed around nuclear power plants, including the one at Kozloduy that was built by Russian engineers. [Dimitr Angelov, captioned as chief engineer of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, speaking in Russian] We even have a special air command patrolling and controlling the air space. [Correspondent] Many experts believe that air defence missile systems should be deployed around major power facilities in Russia. And it should be done in the immediate future. It may take years to introduce new [engineering] systems. [Video shows archive footage of Russian nuclear power plants, a wide corridor in an unidentified underground facility, and conference participants speaking to camera] Source: Ren TV, Moscow, in Russian 1600 gmt 19 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Nuclear warheads to change hands in Russia by 2003 BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 19, 2001 Moscow, 19 November: All nuclear warheads in Russia will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Defence Ministry's 12th main directorate by the year 2003. The chief of the directorate, Col-Gen Igor Volynkin, said that "the process of accepting technical bases for storing nuclear warheads from the Russian Strategic MissileTroops has got under way, and this will ensure centralized control over nuclear facilities and warheads, as well as their protection, the training of personnel and the implementation of a single technical policy". "The Defence Ministry is taking additional measures to ensure safety of nuclear facilities and step up their protection. Additional organic mobile units, with reinforced armaments and better trained personnel, have been deployed at nuclear warhead storage facilities. They are capable of holding out against terrorist groups. Improved security measures and physical protection of the facilities make it impossible for terrorists to penetrate them," Col-Gen Volynkin said... Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1303 gmt 19 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 2 Kursk reactor poses no danger, say Russian investigators BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 Text of report in English by Russian AVN Military News Agency web site St Petersburg, 19 November: Representatives of the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office and the Northern Fleet military prosecutor's office have confirmed the safety of the nuclear reactor of the nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000. "Chemical analysis and examination of the fifth compartment, where the reactor control board is located, indicate that the reactor shut down after the accident on the Kursk." "The submariners that were in charge of the control board in the fifth compartment did everything to prevent a tragedy," he said. On third-generation submarines, to which the Kursk belongs, the reactor "shuts down when de-energized." "I think that after they made sure the reactor was shut down and it was impossible to do anything using remote controls, the guys tried to leave the compartments, but did not have time," the investigator said. "The second explosion prevented them from doing so," he said. Source: AVN Military News Agency web site, Moscow, in English 1541 gmt 19 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All ***************************************************************** 3 Nevada test site: One owner, great fixer-upper Nevada Appeal November 20, 2001 By Jeff Ackerman It's not too late to get your Preservation of the History of Atomic Testing in Nevada license plates in time for Christmas. The Nevada DMV says it will start mailing out new 2002 license plates after Thanksgiving and there are lots and lots of license plates to choose from. Anyone wanting to save anything, including radiation, can get the Nevada Legislature to pony up a commemorative plate. My buddy said he'll soon be asking for a plate to raise money for the Committee to Pave Over Lake Tahoe. It's a grassroots effort that seems to be gaining momentum. Silver State cops must love playing a guessing game as they try to figure out which state the suspected murderer with the Appreciation for Animals commemorative license plates they are chasing is from. "We are in pursuit of a blue and white Chevy animal lover wanted in connection with last night's shooting at a library!" they shout into their car radios. I am particularly fond of the Atomic Testing plate. Not because I want to preserve atomic testing, mind you. I just think it would be very cool to have a mushroom cloud on my rear bumper. Much cooler than a 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the City of Las Vegas plate, which probably features a bullet-riddled Mafia figure. If you weren't around then to appreciate it, the Nevada Test Site was a beautiful thing to behold. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't want to preserve 1,000 square miles of radiation just down the road from Vegas? Take one look at the DOE (Department of Energy Nevada) web site and the description of the Nevada Test Site reads like a real estate brochure. "Located within the boundaries of the Nevada Test Site, the base camp of Mercury has many of the amenities found in a typical small town. Housing, medical services, fire protection, law enforcement and security, and a cafeteria are all on site. There are more than 1,000 buildings valued at more than $700 million. There is housing for more than 1,200; offices, laboratories, warehouses, and training facilities; a hospital, post office, fire station, and sheriff's substation; and a large motor pool complete with repair facilities." They didn't want to brag too much, but it also stays light 24 hours a day at the base camp and the residents simply glow about it. Literally. "There are 400 miles of paved roads and 300 miles of unpaved roads, two airstrips, and 10 heliports," continued to description, "as well as several active water wells and an electric power transmission system." As if you'd need electricity. Best of all, new homeowners at the Nevada Test Site would be just minutes from downtown Las Vegas, the "Entertainment Capital of the World." And in the event the radiation doesn't provide a good enough tan, there are 310 days of sunshine each year at the Nevada Test Site. If you want to look before you buy, there are quarterly tours of the site that was established by President Harry Truman 51 years ago next month. "Take a walk through Doom Town, realistic sets constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to measure effects of atomic weapons on animals and various types of buildings," reads the promotional piece that wouldn't sit well with the "Appreciation of Animals" license plate holders. You have to be at least 14 to go on the tour and the cafeteria is no longer open (they didn't say why). The site was selected much for the same reason Yucca Mountain was selected as home for a nuclear waste dump site. Truman and his guys took one look at the area and said, "This place could use a little nuking." Besides, it was getting boring blowing up the Pacific Ocean every week and they wanted to see what an A-Bomb would do to a lizard. Future Test Site residents will need to pay careful attention to the road signs. One, for example, reads: "RADIATION HAZARD. TOUCHING OR REMOVING SCRAP OBJECTS IS PROHIBITED. THIS INCLUDES BLASTED DEBRIS, FUSED METAL FRAGMENTS, ETC." Even though the sellers say radiation levels are acceptable for human consumption, I noticed a press release indicating that a DOE chopper recently flew, "an aerial radiological survey over several 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games sites." The survey was requested by the FBI, according to the press release. If the Nevada Test Site was so safe, why would they be checking levels all the way to Salt Lake City? "The National Nuclear Security Administration routinely conducts these surveys over towns and facilities across the United States as part of its on-going research and environmental monitoring program," read the press release. That explains the black helicopters. Just a routine check for nuclear radiation exposure. Nothing to worry about. So there it is. Be the first on your block to get a nuke plate. Or, better yet, be the first to own an entire nuke test site block and your own commemorative plate. Jeff Ackerman is publisher and editor of the Nevada Appeal. Copyright Nevada Appeal. Materials contained within this site may ***************************************************************** 4 Norwegian environmentalists satisfied about safety of Russian sub BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001 St Petersburg, 20 November: Norwegian environmentalists have no doubts about the safety of the nuclear reactor on the Russian submarine Kursk, the head of the Murmansk office of the Norwegian environmentalist organization Bellona, Andrey Zolotkov, has told a news conference in St Petersburg. "We have no reason to think that the situation may change for the worse," he said. "Even though the reactor is a potentially hazardous object, it has multiple safeguards designed to neutralize the dynamic impact of the explosions that sank the submarine, among other factors." Zolotkov regretted that Bellona representatives were not permitted in the Kursk lifting area in the Barents Sea, or on the floating dock in Roslyakovo, where the submarine was examined. However, he admitted that the study of water and soil samples taken by the Norwegian radiation protection agency "did not indicate any presence of radionuclides that would originate from the submarine reactor. The radionuclides discovered are of natural origin and their amount does not exceed background figures for the Barents Sea." "All the data at the disposal of Bellona indicates that the reactor was shut down and was not filled with contaminated water," Zolotkov added... Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1224 gmt 20 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** 5 Nuclear security lapses aid terrorists, experts say Chicago Tribune | November 20, 2001 By Sam Roe Tribune staff reporter While discounting the latest reports of Osama bin Laden's nuclear capability, weapons experts warn that the United States is doing far too little to safeguard bombmaking materials around the world, heightening the risk of a nuclear terrorist attack against America. Security gaps, poor inventory records and excess plutonium production are not being fully addressed, they say, particularly in Russia and other republics that were once part of the Soviet Union. For years government reports have warned of such deficiencies. But concerns have intensified since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, well-planned suicide missions that have many experts rethinking whether terrorists have the money, technical expertise and willingness to die to carry out a nuclear strike. "The U.S. has been complacent," said Matthew Bunn, an expert on nuclear theft and a White House adviser in the mid-1990s. "We need to be moving as rapidly as humanly possible to make sure that all the nuclear material worldwide is secure and accounted for." In recent days, there has been considerable speculation over whether bin Laden, the alleged mastermind in the terrorist attacks, has a nuclear bomb. He told a Pakistani reporter that he possesses nuclear weapons, according to an account of the interview in Pakistan's English-language paper Dawn. And a Times of London journalist reported finding papers in an abandoned house in Kabul, Afghanistan, said to contain instructions on how to build a nuclear device. U.S. experts and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors nuclear programs, said they have long believed it is highly unlikely bin Laden or other terrorists have nuclear arms. What is more likely, they said, is that terrorists could make a "dirty bomb"--a conventional explosive packaged with radioactive material to contaminate a portion of a city and cause wide panic. Officials also believe that bin Laden wants to acquire nuclear bombs and that there is an active black market for the materials needed to make the weapons. In January, an Energy Department task force said the most urgent unmet national security threat was the risk of nuclear weapons or material in Russia falling into the wrong hands. `An unacceptable risk' While the U.S. has spent millions of dollars on the problem, resulting in significant improvements, the effort has not been enough, leaving "an unacceptable risk of failure and the potential for catastrophic consequences," the task force said. The General Accounting Office, Congress's investigative arm, has come to similar conclusions. In February, it reported that hundreds of tons of nuclear material in Russia was inadequately protected. "At one nuclear facility that we visited, an entrance gate to a building containing nuclear material was left open and unattended by guards," the report stated. Experts expressed doubt, however, that terrorists have nuclear bombs for several reasons. Despite some security concerns, ready-to-launch warheads are well-secured by the nations that own them, they said. The materials needed to make nuclear weapons are easier to obtain, but building a bomb from scratch is expensive and extremely difficult. "Saddam Hussein couldn't succeed with almost unlimited resources in a 10-year effort, so we don't see how in the caves of Afghanistan you would be able to do that," said David Kyd, a spokesman for the atomic energy agency. If terrorists did possess a nuclear weapon, they would have to find a way to deliver it and detonate it--again, no easy matter. Making a nuclear bomb requires about 50 pounds of highly enriched uranium or 16 pounds of plutonium. To date, authorities have never caught smugglers with that amount of material, Kyd said. "What we have been seeing is typically just a few ounces," he said. Since 1993, 175 cases of trafficking in highly enriched uranium and plutonium and 201 cases of trafficking in medical and industrial radioactive materials, such as cobalt, have been reported to the agency. "That may be only the tip of an iceberg," Kyd said. Rose Gottemoeller, the Energy Department's assistant secretary for non-proliferation and national security in the Clinton administration, cautioned that the nuclear trade is not like the huge drug trade, where only a fraction of the contraband is intercepted. "We are looking at a kind of boutique market with very few interested customers and a relatively small amount of material moving illicitly," she said. Accurate inventories not kept Most seizures have been in the former Soviet Union, where the breakup of the superpower in 1991 and the subsequent economic troubles have left independent republics with vulnerable nuclear material. One result, experts said, is that the countries do not have accurate inventories of their nuclear material. Moreover, the countries have been slow to modernize their security systems. Gottemoeller said that when she was in the Clinton administration she visited several nuclear facilities in the former Soviet Union and witnessed the lack of basic security, such as bars on the windows. "We need to first concentrate on what I call quick fixes, getting to all the sites in the complex and making sure we have bars on the windows [and] blast-proof doors," she said. The Energy Department task force, headed by Republican Howard Baker, a former senator and White House chief of staff, and Democrat Lloyd Cutler, a former White House counsel, visited nuclear sites in Russia last year and found them to be in a "dire state." The task force report cited delays in payments to guards, breakdowns in command structures and the lack of money to protect stockpiles and laboratories. The officials cited several close calls. In 1998, conspirators at an energy facility in Chelyabinsk were caught trying to steal material "just short of that needed for one nuclear device." That same year, a worker at a nuclear laboratory in Sarov was arrested for trying to sell documents on nuclear weapons designs to agents of Iraq and Afghanistan for $3 million. In January 2000, authorities arrested four sailors at a submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula for stealing radioactive material. Experts, however, doubt reports that Russia is missing any of its "suitcase bombs," or small nuclear weapons. In the mid-1990s, Gen. Alexander Lebed, former secretary of the Russian Security Council, said that dozens of the weapons were unaccounted for. He later retracted his statement, and Russia now says the bombs are not missing, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which said it has no evidence to the contrary. Russia upgrades security The agency also noted that a suitcase bomb is a misnomer. The weapons are about the size of a foot locker and weigh between 240 and 300 pounds. With U.S. help and money, progress has been made in Russia. Security has been upgraded at many nuclear sites, new jobs have been found for nuclear scientists, and uranium has been blended down to concentrations too low to be used in nuclear weapons. Perhaps the greatest immediate concern is that terrorists might obtain a small amount of radioactive material and create a dirty bomb. The weapon probably wouldn't kill many people, but it might contaminate a section of a city and sow fear for many years. "Even if you decontaminated the area," said Kyd, the atomic energy agency spokesman, "you would have one heck of a time persuading people they could go back to live or work there." Copyright © 2001, Chicago Tribune ***************************************************************** 6 Washington Group to seek Hanford work This story was published Sat, Nov 17, 2001 By John Stang Herald staff writer A former Westinghouse Hanford Co. official is now in charge of all of Washington Group International's work for the Department of Energy. And Washington Group expects to pursue work at Hanford more aggressively. Ralph DiSibio has been named president of Washington Group's energy operating unit, which primarily focuses on working with DOE. DiSibio spent 1982-1993 with Westinghouse Electric Corp., including six years in the Tri-Cities. He was head of Westinghouse's Tri-Cities Investment Management Co. in the late 1980s. Later he was Westinghouse Hanford's executive vice president from 1990 to 1993, making him the No. 2 man at Hanford's lead contractor at that time. He left Westinghouse in 1993 to become a vice president at Parsons Corp. in Washington, D.C. DiSibio later became president of Parsons Power Group. He joined Washington Group last March as its executive vice president of business development for power operations. DiSibio's promotion is part of an overall reorganization of Washington Group, which is trying dig itself out of bankruptcy. DiSibio said Boise-based Washington Group expects a federal bankruptcy court judge to approve the corporation's reorganization next week. DiSibio is now in charge of Washington Group's dealings with Hanford, but another Washington Group division is in charge of the corporation's work at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Right now, Washington Group employs about 220 people in Bechtel National's team that is designing and building Hanford's tank waste glassification complex. Washington Group employs another 500 at Umatilla. Washington Group's energy operating unit is also in charge of DOE's waste glassification projects at Savannah River, S.C., and West Valley, N.Y., as well as DOE's massive manmade underground storage facility for transuranic wastes in New Mexico. The energy operating unit employs 14,000 to 15,000 of Washington Group's 30,000 employees. About 10,000 work at Savannah River, with the energy operating unit being headquartered in nearby Aiken, S.C. The corporation wants to expand its presence at Hanford and other DOE sites. DiSibio said Washington Group currently is bidding on some tank farm infrastructure work in central Hanford. He also said the company will decide soon if it will compete for DOE's proposed contract to clean up most of Hanford's river corridor by 2012. Bechtel Hanford now handles river shore cleanup at Hanford and is considered the front-runner for the new contract. DOE expects to send out its final request for proposals early next year. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 Many Respond to Teeth Donor Study Las Vegas SUN Today: November 20, 2001 at 7:05:39 PST ST. LOUIS (AP) - Scientists in New York said they are overwhelmed by the response from adults who once donated their baby teeth for a survey about radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb tests and now wish to participate in a follow-up survey. Close to 1,000 people have called or e-mailed the scientists since the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story Nov. 9 about a new study trying to determine whether teeth donors developed cancer and other health problems years later as a result of the fallout. "We're all very stunned by this," said Joseph Mangano, national coordinator with the Radiation and Public Health Project. The study began after 85,000 teeth were found in an old bunker at Washington University where they'd been stored since the 1970s. The teeth were part of the St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey, in which thousands of children from the region sent their teeth to science instead of the tooth fairy. The study called for anyone born and living in St. Louis from the late 1940s through the 1960s - especially if they believe they submitted teeth - to contact his group. If matched with any of the baby teeth, the person would be mailed a health questionnaire. The original project helped scientists determine that children were absorbing radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb tests. It received international attention and helped to persuade the United States to adopt a 1963 treaty banning atmospheric bomb tests. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 8 Man Faces Charges on Nuclear Exports Las Vegas SUN Today: November 20, 2001 at 2:10:24 PST LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man who eluded authorities for 16 years was back in a U.S. courtroom to face charges of illegally exporting nuclear weapons triggers to Israel. The brief hearing Monday was the first court appearance for Richard Kelly Smyth since he and his wife fled before his 1985 pretrial hearing. He was arrested in Spain in July and extradited to the United States on Friday. Smyth, 72, was charged in a 30-count indictment with illegally exporting about $60,000 worth of krytrons - two-inch triggering devices that can be used in nuclear weapons. Krytrons can't be exported without a license or written approval from the State Department. Smyth, who had been president of Milco International Inc., is accused of preparing false documentation for the export of roughly 800 of the tubelike devices, which authorities say were sent abroad in 15 shipments between January 1980 and December 1982. During Monday's hearing, Smyth told U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin he understood the charges against him. He was ordered to return to court for another hearing next Monday. His attorney, James Riddet, declined comment. Smyth, who faces up to 105 years in jail, pleaded innocent in 1985 before fleeing while free on $100,000 bail. Although he had surrendered his passport, he managed to leave the United States for Spain, where he and his wife had lived in the same Malaga apartment since the mid-1980s. "We weren't going to have him go to jail for 105 years," his wife, Emilie, said Monday. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 9 DOE issues site report 11/20/01 Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 10:01 a.m. on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 An overwhelming volume of facts, figures and other information pertaining to environmental monitoring activities on the Oak Ridge Reservation for calendar year 2000 is available in the Department of Energy's recently issued annual site environmental report. Yes, the document is full of all those wonderful acronyms that I personally detest. And, as for all those "big words," well, readers can rest assured that there is a glossary. I know I was glad for that. Now, on to the actual information. Environmental monitoring consists of the collection and analysis of environmental materials -- air, soil, vegetation and water -- and samples of liquid and gaseous waste material prior to release into the environment. The report states that, except for a few minor instances, all of the reservation's sites were in compliance with all applicable environmental regulations in 2000. The same fact was reported in the 1999 report. Emissions of radionuclides from operations at the Oak Ridge K-25 site were well within the allowable limits and were similar in most respects to 1999 emissions. In comparison, the 1999 emissions were similar to 1998 emissions. You can obtain a copy of the 2000 environmental report via the Internet at www.ornl.gov/aser [http://www.ornl.gov/aser] or www.ornl.gov/Env_Rpt/ [http://www.ornl.gov/Env_Rpt/] FACT OR FICTION: Recently, a little bug was put in my ear that Oak Ridge National Laboratory might be experiencing up to 100 layoffs come January. So, I decided to run this little piece of gossip by Lab Director Bill Madia to see if there was any truth to it. "No," was his reply. SILENCED: The Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News reported Saturday that the Department of Energy has shut down the Pantex Plant Citizens Advisory Board. The two groups have been at odds since DOE told the advisory board this year that it could no longer provide recommendations pertaining to Pantex's nuclear operations. IT'S OFFICIAL: Thanks to President Bush signing off on it last week, DOE officially has a fiscal year 2002 budget for cleanup activities in Oak Ridge. Rod Nelson, assistant manager for DOE's Oak Ridge Environmental Management program, says the budget should allow DOE to meet all of its regulatory milestones. NOMINATIONS: President Bush has nominated Margaret Chu to head DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established the office to develop and manage a federal system for disposing of all spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear reactors and high-level radioactive waste resulting from atomic energy defense activities. Paul Parson is the science and technology reporter for The Oak Ridger. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 10 Devouring OR's history The Oak Ridger Online -- Tuesday, November 20, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff Ray St. Claire is tapping into Oak Ridge's history and revealing some of the city's secrets with his new business. For example, the menu for St. Claire's Secret City Catering Co. reveals the tools for creating an "Atomic Reactor," which include ham, turkey, garlic sauce, cheese, lettuce, onions and olives. And the menu also points out that a "Nuclear Cleanup" is actually a massive combination of ham, roast beef, turkey, salami, bacon, sweet roasted red peppers, spinach, tomato, onion, cucumbers and olives. "It's something to carry on the history and tradition of this town, said St. Claire, who runs the Secret City Catering Co., which opened this month. Another notable menu item is the "Manhattan Project" sandwich, which includes tuna mixed in a French garlic mayonnaise sauce, topped with cheese, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced onions. St. Claire also fixes salads -- named for each of DOE's major local facilities -- including the "K-25," which consists of ham, turkey and salami atop a bed of lettuce and spinach with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, olives and roasted red peppers. Currently, the Secret City Catering Co., located at 182 Midway Lane, operates on a takeout or delivery basis. However, St. Claire says he plans to change that. St. Claire says he hopes to move the business to a new location that will enable customers to dine at the facility. One of those locations he is looking at is the Jackson Square building that formerly housed The Daily Grind. To place an order, call 927-FOOD (927-3663). Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 11 DOE oversight officials meet with Roane man Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 10:31 a.m. on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff Four federal officials made a brief visit to Oak Ridge Monday afternoon for one specific reason: To meet with a Roane County man who's spent the last seven years trying to get the Department of Energy to improve its Occupational Medicine program. Going into the meeting at the Magnolia Tree restaurant, one of the questions Lester Raby wanted answered was why he wasn't allowed to attend a mid-September accreditation review of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's medical clinic by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc., despite being promised by DOE officials that he could do so. Although no one specific answer was given, officials with DOE's Office of Independent Oversight cited a couple of reasons that may have contributed to the mishap, including the "chaos" caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and problems with travel arrangements that actually caused officials with DOE's Office of Independent Oversight to be late for the review. Glenn Podonsky, director of the Office of Independent Oversight, did admit Monday that Raby should have at least been present to talk with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. team that conducted the review. Raby wanted to identify several areas he felt the reviewers should check on, including the long periods of time that sometimes pass between different phases of an physical exam. "This isn't damage control," Podonsky said during the meeting, which The Oak Ridger was allowed to attend. "It's looking a man straight in the eye and telling him what we're going to do." Podonsky said he has seen the results of the ORNL review, adding that Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. has recommended that the clinic be accredited. However, the oversight chief said the accreditation report won't officially be released until his office can verify that the areas Raby was concerned about were checked during the review. Raby started seeking changes in the medical program after his wife, Mary, died of cancer in 1994. Mary Raby worked as a secretary in the Safeguards and Security Division at DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office. Her death, according to her husband, might have been prevented had she received "adequate care" at ORNL's medical clinic, where her annual physical examinations were conducted. Despite significant decreases in his wife's red blood cell and platelet counts between 1986 to 1990, Lester Raby said the staff at ORNL's medical clinic did not inform his wife that something might be wrong until 1991. She then went to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge and was diagnosed with refractory multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 12 Nuclear warheads to change hands in Russia by 2003 BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 19, 2001 Moscow, 19 November: All nuclear warheads in Russia will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Defence Ministry's 12th main directorate by the year 2003. The chief of the directorate, Col-Gen Igor Volynkin, said that "the process of accepting technical bases for storing nuclear warheads from the Russian Strategic MissileTroops has got under way, and this will ensure centralized control over nuclear facilities and warheads, as well as their protection, the training of personnel and the implementation of a single technical policy". "The Defence Ministry is taking additional measures to ensure safety of nuclear facilities and step up their protection. Additional organic mobile units, with reinforced armaments and better trained personnel, have been deployed at nuclear warhead storage facilities. They are capable of holding out against terrorist groups. Improved security measures and physical protection of the facilities make it impossible for terrorists to penetrate them," Col-Gen Volynkin said... Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1303 gmt 19 Nov 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. World Reporter All Material Subject to ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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