***************************************************************** 02/22/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.49 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Official: New route needed to ship waste 2 Groups Release Landmark Nuclear Power Industry Report 3 Student Receives International Grant for Chernobyl Work 4 Energy Groups Release Wish List 5 Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc. Signs Contract With Waste 6 Nuclear reactor in doubt amid fuel concerns 7 Russia to continue N-fuel supply despite US protest 8 N Korea threatens to scrap nuclear deal - 9 Nuclear waste dumped on Greece's borders 10 Nuclear Storage Meeting 11 Waste Not, Want Not: Lawmakers Target Company, Goshutes 12 Envirocare: Disposer cuts deal on tax increases 13 Trojan Nuclear Plant Terminates Operating License NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Flats touted as wildlife refuge 2 Bunning: Congress will reject DOE cut - 3 SSAB accuses agencies of backpedaling 4 Mason named director of SNS 5 Our View: 'Atomic Research Casts Shadow on Tennessee Town' 6 Pakistan considers arming subs with nuclear missiles 7 Mixed Messages From Pakistan 8 DOE report on NIF lands in lawyers' hands 9 Hanford health foundation contract extended 2 years ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Official: New route needed to ship waste February 22, 2001 By Cy Ryan SUN CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- If Nevada is chosen as a site for nuclear waste, the Energy Department should build a rail route around Las Vegas to Yucca Mountain, Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, says. O'Donnell introduced a resolution Wednesday calling on Gov. Kenny Guinn to take action under federal regulations that allows him to designate alternative highway and train routes to "avoid the Southern Nevada metropolitan area." "In order to get the railroad, we have to ask for it right away," O'Donnell said. "It will cost billions of dollars, and it should be paid by the federal government," O'Donnell said, adding that rail shipments are the preferred alternatives to using trucks. There are several routes that could be designated, he said. One calls for the train coming in from California to Ivanpah, then up to Pahrump and then to Yucca Mountain. The train would then continue north up to Carlin, all the way up through the middle part of the state. "This will change the entire economic commerce of the state of Nevada. Not only will we be able to use the railroad for transportation of nuclear waste, but we could use the railroad for economic purposes, business purposes," he said. Another possible route, he said, is from Apex around the north part of the valley through the range area of Nellis Air Force Base to Yucca Mountain. He said he doesn't want the waste to be moved by truck through the "Spaghetti Bowl" and the urban area of Clark County. "One thing we can't afford is that these trucks are going to move about 25 mph," O'Donnell said. "They are over 200 feet long. We can't afford on a two-lane highway trucks 200 feet long going 25 mph on a Friday or any kind of a holiday. It would bring the economy of our state to its knees." He said the governor has to invoke a section of the federal law to get the ball rolling on designating these alternate routes. Senate Joint Resolution 4 was referred to O'Donnell's Transportation Committee. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 Groups Release Landmark Nuclear Power Industry Report U.S. Newswire 21 Feb 7:30 Groups Release Report: 'How The Nuclear Power Industry Destroys Endangered Marine Wildlife And Ocean Habitat To Save Money' To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor, Environment Reporter Contact: Linda Gunter of the Safe Energy Communication Council, 202-483-8491, ext. 13; or Howard White of The Humane Society of the United States, 301-258-3072 News Advisory: WHO: -- Scott Denman, Safe Energy Communication Council -- Linda Gunter, Safe Energy Communication Council -- David Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists -- Dr. Naomi Rose, Humane Society of the United States -- Eric Glitzenstein, Meyer & Glitzenstein WHAT: Press conference to announce release of landmark report authored by Safe Energy Communication Council, Nuclear Information and Resource Service and Standing for Truth about Radiation on damage to endangered marine life and ocean habitat due to nuclear power industry use of an ecologically destructive cooling technology in nuclear power plants nationwide. WHEN: Thursday, February 22 12 noon-1:30 p.m. WHERE: National Press Club Lisagor Room 14th and F Streets NW Washington, D.C. Media Note: Press unable to attend the news conference are invited to take part in a simultaneous two-way teleconference that will include opportunities to question the speakers. To participate, call 888-673-1412 shortly before 12N EST and specify that you are calling for the nuclear reactor press conference. The news conference is also available for real-time viewing on-line at: http://www.ConnectLive.com/events/humanesociety Copyright 2001, U.S. Newswire ***************************************************************** 3 Student Receives International Grant for Chernobyl Work EarthVision Environmental News* AIKEN, SC, February 21, 2001 - Sigma Xi, an international honor society of scientific and engineering research, has approved a small grant to Olga Tsyusko, of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, in support of her research project entitled *Radiation Induced Mutations in Cattails from Chernobyl*. Ms. Tsyusko, a graduate student in Interdisciplinary Toxicology at the University of Georgia, is studying the influence of long-term radiation on populations of aquatic plant, cattail, in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine. "I am interested in genetic and morphological effectsthat occur in cattail populations living under stress conditions in a radioactively contaminated environment," said Ms. Tsyusko regarding her work. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) is a research unit of the University of Georgia working under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy on the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. Ms. Tsyusko’s academic advisor, Dr. Michael Smith, is a senior ecologist at SREL and a director at the International Radioecology Laboratory in Chernobyl. EarthVision Stories ***************************************************************** 4 Energy Groups Release Wish List February 21, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- Getting the jump on Congress and the Bush administration, energy industry groups released a wish list Wednesday that pleads for more oil and gas drilling on public lands and greater reliance on nuclear energy. "Economic efficiency, energy security, energy technology and regulation and incentives are the four core principles we believe a sound national energy strategy should be anchored by," said Barry Worthington, the U.S. Energy Association's executive director. In recommending increased supply and more efficient use of affordable energy resources and more technology development, the energy association recommended a national policy that looks to 2050 and beyond and can "meet several challenges, including overly burdensome environmental regulations that prevent access" to new sources of energy. The "cornerstone of a sound national energy strategy is reliance on competitive markets to allocate energy supply and demand," the report says. "As time and technologies change, so also should restrictive energy policies" for domestic resources such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and uranium, it says. Environmentalists quickly denounced the report as an example of self-serving corporate interests who blame environmental regulations for unrelated problems such as the energy crisis in California. "It's kind of a roadmap of what the lobbyists want," said Patricio Silva, a specialist in energy issues for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, which released its own energy recommendations earlier this month. "They want massive subsidies for exploration, new transmission lines, streamlined environmental oversight." The energy association's strategy says the government should consider "the adverse national security implications of rising oil imports" and wants the electricity transmission network and the nation's energy delivery infrastructure updated. Other recommendations are to: -Recognize no single source of energy can meet growing needs. -Allow environmentally sound access to domestic resources. -Spur capital investment through tax reform. -Increase allocations for low-income home energy aid and weatherizing. Given that 80 percent of the nation's electricity needs are met by sources other than the U.S. nuclear energy industry, the energy association wants a policy that "brings nuclear energy back into favor," the report says. But the resources council's Silva said the call for more nuclear energy comes as the nation is "still grappling with long-term storage questions" for nuclear fuel. In its report, the National Resources Defense Council emphasized increased energy efficiency through raised fuel economy standards and tax credits for buying hybrid vehicles, reduced use of oil and coal and increased reliance on natural gas "as a bridge to renewable and environmentally sound energy sources in the future." The energy association, representing the United States in the World Energy Council, released its report in advance of a comprehensive energy bill that Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, is expected to release next week. On the Net: U.S. Energy Association energy report: http://www.usea.org/useatoday.htm Natural Resources Defense Council energy report: http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/rep/repinx.asp All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 5 Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc. Signs Contract With Waste Control Specialists [PR Newswire] Wednesday February 21, 10:50 am Eastern Time Press Release First Fixed Site Facility Contract for Mixed Waste Disposal ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc. (Amex: - news, - news), announced today that its 100% owned subsidiary, Commodore Solution Technologies, Inc., has signed a contract with Waste Control Specialists, LLC (WCS), a hazardous, TSCA, and mixed waste treatment, storage, and disposal company based in Andrews, Texas. The multi-year contract with WCS calls for the use of CXI's proprietary Solvated Electron Technology (SET(TM)) at the WCS site. ``Commodore's relationship with WCS will be the cornerstone of our Company's emphasis on mixed waste cleanup, in bringing the SET technology to market promptly, and generating operational cash flow in the near term. We believe that the WCS facility will be one of the premier mixed waste treatment and disposal facilities in the U.S. and will make Commodore Applied Technology well known in the industry,'' said Shelby T. Brewer, Commodore's new Chairman and CEO. ``SET will be an economic engine for the company.'' Pete Harrod, President of Commodore's subsidiary, Commodore Solution Technologies, Inc., said, ``This is a moment that we have looked forward to for some time, the harnessing of the SET(TM) technology to work on the very large U.S. inventory of mixed and hazardous wastes.'' SET(TM) can safely and effectively treat mixed waste, a mixture of radioactive materials and hazardous wastes, by destroying the hazardous elements. Commodore utilizes SET(TM) to remove Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulated compounds from low-level mixed waste, making the waste acceptable for on-site disposal. Waste Control Specialists, a majority-owned subsidiary of Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: - news), operates a broad-based waste treatment, storage and disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas. The WCS facility includes 11.2 million cubic yards permitted disposal, a 5,000-drum capacity warehouse, a 150-bin container storage building, truck and rail unloading capabilities, and laboratory facilities. Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc. is a diverse technical and financial solutions company focused on high-end environmental markets. The Commodore family of companies includes subsidiaries Commodore Solution Technologies, Commodore Advanced Sciences and Dispute Resolution Management, and a joint venture, Teledyne-Commodore, LLC. The Commodore companies provide negotiated financial solutions, technical engineering services and patented remediation technologies designed to treat hazardous waste from nuclear and chemical sources. More information is available on the Commodore web site at . These materials contain forward-looking statements based on a series of projections and estimates regarding economics within the company's markets, the industries in which the company operates, the effects of legislation and regulations, as well as business and competitive outlook. *SOURCE: Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc.* - - Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of ***************************************************************** 6 Nuclear reactor in doubt amid fuel concerns The future of the proposed new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights is in doubt after federal bureaucrats today admitted concern over the type of fuel it would use. The federal government's environment department is not yet satisfied the company selected to build the new reactor in Sydney's south, INVAP, or the national nuclear authority, ANSTO, have provided enough information about the fuel type. "We don't have sufficient information from either ANSTO or the company about the fuel types and fuel management strategy," assistant secretary of the Environment Assessment Branch, Gerry Morvell, told a Senate committee. "We would expect that that would be coming forward when the detailed design of the reactor is presented. "The concerns really relate to the lack of certainty of what fuel mix the new proposed reactor will be using." The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA) needs to be satisfied that Australia has plans in place to store or transport nuclear waste overseas before it can approve the new reactor. INVAP has been contracted to build the $280 million reactor in 2002, to replace the existing installation at Lucas Heights, once ARPANSA is content it will be safe. Mr Morvell today confirmed the fuel mix related directly to waste management, saying ARPANSA shared the same concern. When questioned by Labor's environment spokesman Nick Bolkus, he said the issue must be clarified when reactor design plans were finalised. "There is some uncertainty about which fuel mix they will use and that in itself is not a necessarily an environmental concern," Mr Morvell said. "But as I said it's the fuel mix (that) drive(s) some of the waste management and reprocessing strategies at the end. "And therefore it has to be resolved at least to the point where there is some certainty because then that will allow the government to understand what's going to happen with the waste at the end. "Or what strategies might have to be put in place." ©AAP 2001 1997-2001 ninemsn Pty Ltd ***************************************************************** 7 Russia to continue N-fuel supply despite US protest 22 February 2001 : www.timesofindia.com/ By Arun Mohanty MOSCOW: Russia's nuclear fuel supply to India will not be stopped under any outside pressure, a top Russian diplomat here has asserted. Alexander Alekseyev, director of the Third Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Russia would continue its nuclear fuel supply to India's Tarapur power reactors despite American protest. "Russia, as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, is bound by certain international obligations and we have not violated any of our obligations and explained our position to US," Alekseyev said. "Russia changed its internal legislation on the issue and made its position clear to everybody," he said. "We would definitely continue our cooperation with India in this area." The US has expressed regret over Russia's shipment of low enriched uranium fuel to India's Tarapur nuclear station and said Moscow's action is in direct violation of its commitments to preventing nuclear proliferation as a member of the Nuclear Supplies Group. Members of the 39-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which does not include India, are committed not to provide any nuclear material to facilities in countries whose programs are not under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervised safeguards. While the Tarapur reactors in Mumbai are under international safeguards, other facilities in India are not. Indo-Russian cooperation on the sensitive issue has come under heavy fire from Washington's new administration, with the U.S. practically clubbing India with the "rogue states" of North Korea and Iran. Alekseyev clarified that while the US did club India with North Korea and Iran on the issue it did not describe India as a "rogue state." Russia will not swallow such a description of India easily, said Alekseyev.*(IANS) ***************************************************************** 8 N Korea threatens to scrap nuclear deal - CNN.com - February 22, 2001 SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has warned it may scrap a moratorium on its nuclear program and long-range missile tests if the Bush administration continues its "hard line" policy. A statement from the country's foreign ministry Thursday said Washington was attaching unacceptable conditions by demanding the North disarm before agreeing to develop relations. The angry statement referred to comments by senior Bush administration officials that they would review policy toward the communist country and that they expected reciprocity from Pyongyang. Koreans on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone interpreted those remarks as an indication that Washington might take a tougher approach toward Pyongyang in the wake of improved U.S.-North Korean ties under former President Bill Clinton. North Korea agreed to suspend missile tests in September 1999 while talks continued with Washington on resolving concerns over Pyongyang's missile program. In turn, the United States eased some sanctions. "We promised not to test-fire long-range missiles during the duration of talks on the missile issue, but we cannot do so indefinitely," the North said in a statement. "The new U.S. foreign and security team is making a fuss by saying that it will take a hardline stance on us," the ministry said. "But this is an attempt to reverse the past course of conciliatory and cooperative relations between us and the United States, and break our will with force." Nuclear reactors behind schedule North Korea also said it was unhappy with the slow progress of the construction of two nuclear power plants being built in the communist country under a 1994 agreement with the United States. The two reactors, originally scheduled to be completed by 2003, are several years behind schedule. After talks in Geneva in 1994, the North agreed to halt and eventually dismantle its nuclear program, which Western nations feared was aimed at trying to develop nuclear weapons. In exchange, the United States, Japan and South Korea agreed to build two light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea and provide interim supplies of fuel oil to keep North Korea's ailing industries going. South Korea and Japan are financial contributors to the U.S.-led program. "If the United States continues to fail to honor the agreement, we don't feel that we should cling to it," the North said. An official at South Korea's unification ministry said it was the first time North Korea's foreign ministry had made such an official statement against the Bush administration. However, he said the position itself was not out of character with the North's stance so far. Steps toward reunification Relations between the two Koreas have improved dramatically since the South's President Kim Dae-jung traveled in June to Pyongyang for an unprecedented summit with leader Kim Jong Il. The two sides have stopped border propaganda broadcasts, are now working on the reconnection of a cross-border railway, and have held two temporary reunions of separated family members. A third round of reunions is scheduled for Feb. 26-28. On Thursday a delegation of South Korean officials arrived in Pyongyang for talks on cooperation in flood control efforts along the Imjin River, which crosses the border between the two countries, the North's media reported. Washington, which backed the South against the North in the 1950-53 Korean War, has been a firm supporter of Seoul's policy of trying to engage the North in order to reduce tension on the divided peninsula. Washington's approach is not expected to change in any fundamental way as long as it perceives that Pyongyang is responding with concrete gestures of reconciliation. Kim Dae-jung plans to meet President Bush in Washington on March 7 to discuss North Korea policy. North Korea is still listed by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of terrorism, a label that prohibits virtually all but humanitarian aid to Pyongyang. *CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae and The Associated Press contributed to this report.* RELATED STORIES: IN-DEPTH Special: Korea at 50 Two Koreas exchange lists for family reunion Seven North Koreans defect N Korea burns birthday candles at both ends North Korea threatens to cancel nuclear agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RELATED SITES: U. S. State Department policy - Global Affairs Yonhap News Agency (South Korea) Korea Central News Agency (North Korea) Note: Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. ***************************************************************** 9 Nuclear waste dumped on Greece's borders Professor draws attention to Albanian plans and problems in Bulgaria *For every 1,000 megawatts of electric power produced at a nuclear station, 27 tons of highly dangerous waste are produced.* By Yiannis Elafros Kathimerini Every 1,000 megawatts of electric power produced at a nuclear power station generates 27 tons of high-risk , 300 tons of medium-risk and 50 tons of low-risk waste. Since 1960, more than 200,000 tons of radioactive waste has been produced, and every year thousands more tons are added to the pile. These figures do not include leaks of radioactive gas and liquid. Reactors themselves, after 30 years of life, become so much radioactive waste themselves. The entire planet is in danger of becoming a radioactive dump. This is a problem that has re-emerged since the furor over the use of depleted uranium in NATO warheads during the bombing of Yugoslavia. This is a material that is itself a by-product of the extraction of uranium 235 from uranium ore at nuclear power stations. For every kilo of uranium 235, about half a ton of uranium ore is needed. The rest remains as waste. That is how entire mountains of uranium 238 (depleted uranium) are produced. "More than 700,000 tons were produced in uranium depletion units in the US. Dealing with them proved too expensive and therefore it was decided to use them in the armaments industry and also in parts of airplanes and ships or for other purposes," said assistant professor of nuclear physics at Athens University, Thanassis Geranios. Far more dangerous waste is also produced after combustion within the reactor. "The problem is an explosive one. In meetings of the seven most powerful countries in the world, the first issue on the agenda is what to do with nuclear waste," underlined the professor. Radioactive waste is stored and transported in special containers, but is still a public health hazard. For many years, Germany transported radioactive waste to reprocessing plants in France, leading to several battles to try and prevent these transports from passing through. In 1998, after revelations that there had been considerable radioactive leakage, the transports stopped, although 10 days ago the German and French governments agreed to resume them. "The companies and governments had not foreseen the strength of people's opposition and had underestimated the problem itself," emphasized Geranios. "These days, managing one kilo of spent nuclear fuel costs more than buying a kilo of uranium for a reactor," he said. Of course there are fears that large quantities of nuclear waste have been stored carelessly or have been tossed into the oceans, often by means of deliberate shipwrecks. In the past, the imagination of the nuclear lobby was literally unbridled. There were those who proposed sending the waste out into space; others suggested burying it between the Earth's tectonic plates! Nowadays proposals are more practical, but very expensive and of doubtful effectiveness. The Swiss company ODM Inc. suggests disposing of radioactive asbestos by means of a "torpedo" stuffed with waste, which becomes lodged in the sea bed. The company claims that for that very reason it would not corrode. However, it is hard to accept that conventional storage materials would outlast radioactivity, which hangs around for thousands of years. Of course there are still cheaper solutions. "Albania has made an agreement with Germany for the use of its old mines as storage facilities. But that can by no means considered safe," said Geranios. "In the event of an earthquake, if the water table level changes and covers the storage areas, the corrosion process would be speeded up and radioactivity could then spread out everywhere," he added. Another significant threat to the Balkans is the Kozloduy nuclear reactor in Bulgaria. "The problem is not only the operation of the two aged reactors, but the accumulation of waste. Previously, Bulgaria sent its waste to be processed for free in the former Soviet Union. Nowadays Russia is demanding huge amounts of money that Bulgaria just doesn't have, and so the waste is mounting up right next to the nuclear plant," he said. Rather than a nuclear power, Russia is at risk of turning into a nuclear dump. At the end of December, the Duma decided by a broad majority to accept over 20,000 tons of waste within the next 10 years in exchange for 21 billion dollars. The countries who will be sending their waste are Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea and China. The waste is to be collected in two old nuclear plants at Mayak and Krasnoyarsk, already considered nuclear crematoria. The signatures of over 2.5 million Russians have been submitted to Parliament in protest, demanding a referendum on the issue. Parliament, questioning the validity of 700,000 of these signatures, rejected the petition. ©1999-2000 IHT-KATHIMERINI English Edition. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear Storage Meeting Wednesday February 21 09:19 PM EST A public meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. in San Clemente will discuss the creation of the first dry storage facility for used fuel rods at the San Onofre nuclear power plant. The meeting at the San Clemente Community Center, 100 N. Calle Seville, will begin with an informal open house and cover a number of issues related to dry storage of the used nuclear fuel, also called spent fuel. At 8 p.m., Southern California Edison Co. (AMEX: - news), which operates the plant, and commission officials will present a discussion and a series of graphics and models, followed by a question-and-answer session. Three separate, but similar, temporary storage facilities are planned, according to San Onofre Power Plant spokesman Ray Golden. The first one, expected to be finished in 2004, will be for fuel from the Unit 1 reactor that was retired in late 1992 and is now being demolished. Southern California Edison also has proposed dry storage facilities for the still-running Units 2 and 3. Those are expected to be available about 2006. Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! and . All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 Waste Not, Want Not: Lawmakers Target Company, Goshutes The Salt Lake Tribune -- February 22, 2001* BY DAN HARRIE Don't dump on us. That was the battle cry in the Senate on Tuesday as members overwhelmingly approved a trio of bills intended to block a proposed nuclear-waste repository about 45 miles west of Salt Lake City. The three pieces of legislation were the brainchild of Gov. Mike Leavitt, who has vowed to use every means available to keep highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods out of the state. That's no easy matter given the proposed facility's location on land of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes, a sovereign nation. Senate Bills 81, 198 and 199 are the state government's latest salvo at the project pushed by the Goshutes and Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a consortium of eight utilities in the East and California. SB81 is the centerpiece of the anti-nukes strategy. It bans high-level radioactive waste from the state. As a backup should the federal government override the state prohibition, the bill would require an estimated $150 billion in upfront cash from PFS. It would also impose a 75 percent tax on any individual or company providing goods or services to the project. And it would bar Tooele County from providing police and fire protection or other municipal services to the facility. SB198 appropriates $1.6 million in public monies to fund a legal fight against the project, and SB199 would allocate $2 million for economic development initiatives for the Goshutes, many of whom live in poverty. "We have tried to find everything that we could possibly find to stop this from coming in, and we have put it in nice handy bill form," said sponsoring Republican Sen. Terry Spencer, of Layton. The bills all are a way of telling out-of-state utilities: "We don't want your garbage here," said Spencer. "I don't want to see garbage coming from Massachusetts or Minnesota or other places." Now headed to the House, the trio of bills appear greased and they will certainly be signed by Leavitt. Opponents complain that little attention is being given to what they say are clearly unconstitutional provisions, or to the steps required to ensure the safety of the project. "We knew that it was going to be a political monster," said Leon Bear, chairman of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. A handful of senators sided with the tribe and PFS. ***************************************************************** 12 Envirocare: Disposer cuts deal on tax increases The Salt Lake Tribune -- Thursday, February 22, 2001* BY JUDY FAHYS The House's top budget-maker went into the 2001 Legislature's final hearing Wednesday with a proposal that would have raised about $37 million in tax revenue annually from radioactive-waste disposers, and the sole target of the tax, Envirocare of Utah, was bent on stopping it. By the hearing's end two hours later, the opposing sides both left with at least something of what they wanted. Envirocare's customers would still be subject to a brand-new tax on disposal at the company's Tooele County landfill, but the tax would be dramatically lower than originally proposed. "In its current form, it is still going to have a severe impact on the company," said Charles Judd, Envirocare's president. "It will have a severe impact on Tooele County." Rep. Jeff Alexander, a lawmaker from Lindon and co-chairman of the Executive Appropriations Committee, rejected the notion his bill had been gutted. Even at the lower rate, it protects the state, he said. He did, however, lament the committee's move to slash one tax he had proposed: the $2 million a year he wanted the state to have to ensure Envirocare's 640-acre facility can be cared for during the century after the company quits it. The panel had reduced that tax to $200,000. "We don't know what kind of catastrophe could happen out there that the state would have to take care of," said Alexander, sponsor of House Bill 370. The full House is expected to take up the bill. It was unclear even after the House Revenue and Taxation Committee passed the bill, 10 to 2, exactly how much waste generators might be contributing to Utah's revenue stream and when. The panel decreased all the fees Alexander had suggested, some by three-quarters and others by one-quarter or one-third. Also making revenue estimates elusive were provisions that impose the taxes only with new contracts (Envirocare's contracts range from months to years) and a July, 2002, implementation date. Envirocare crammed the hearing room with supporters, including some of the facility's 400 employees. The measure would drive the company out of business and put them out of jobs, said Jesse Garcia. The bill's supporters argued the state has effectively given Envirocare a nationwide monopoly in certain kinds of waste, and Utah should begin taxing this unwanted material, just as other states do. ***************************************************************** 13 Trojan Nuclear Plant Terminates Operating License KGW.COM - NEWS - OREGON/WASH February 21, 2001, 07:45 AM By AP The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Portland General Electric's plan for terminating the operating license of its Trojan Nuclear Plant. The plant, located on the Columbia River in Rainier, just north of Portland, is the only nuclear plant ever built in Oregon. It began commercial operation in 1976 and was shut down in 1993 after Portland General Electric decided not to make costly repairs to steam-generating equipment. PGE sought to recover its investment in Trojan, and any future profits the power plant would have generated. A settlement last summer between PGE and the Citizens' Utility Board, a ratepayers' watchdog group, allows PGE to recoup its investment but not the lost profits. In November, voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have allowed utilities to make profits on plants that are no longer in service. The plant currently is being dismantled and decontaminated. (Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Flats touted as wildlife refuge DenverPost.com - News: Colorado and Denver By Theo Stein Denver Post Environment Writer Feb. 22, 2001 - An effort to turn Rocky Flats into a national wildlife refuge will receive a renewed push from two U.S. lawmakers from Colorado. Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and Democratic Rep. Mark Udall will re-introduce their Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge Act in Washington this week. A similar bill introduced during the election campaign last fall failed to attract sufficient support. The plan would convert the former bomb-making plant, one of the most polluted sites in the country, into a refuge only after the cleanup is complete sometime after 2006. It would be the second metro Denver refuge established around a polluted former weapons plant. The 27-square-mile Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a chemical weapons and pesticide manufacturing site, was made a federal refuge in 1992. During a news conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Allard acknowledged that passage of the bill "would require some heavy lifting." But with the full two-year session to work with, the lawmakers said, the bill has a shot. "This is the second year," Allard said. "So we're telling them, "Now you need to be considering this more closely.' " Changes in the new version would increase the role of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for oversight of resources, create a 300-foot setback along Indiana Street for highway improvements, and allow access to owners of water easements to do any needed surveys. About 250 species of wildlife use the 6,400-acre expanse of high plains grasslands, streams and ponds that make up the weapons plant and its buffer zone. The site is particularly rich in birds, with 20 species of sparrows, 19 species of ducks and 13 species of neotropical warblers documented. Birds and an abundance of rodents provide food for bald and golden eagles, falcons, owls, weasels, foxes, coyotes and badgers. Herons stalk the pond shores for fish, while shorebirds probe exposed mud for invertebrates. Herds of elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer dodge mountain lions and bear. If successful, the refuge would compliment 5,000 acres of existing open space, creating an 11,000 mosaic of protected lands at the foot of the Flatirons. But environmentalists are concerned that a refuge designation will simply mean lower cleanup standards. "Our concern is that it's likely that this bill will be used to drive a dirty closure at Rocky Flats," said Tom Marshall of the Boulder-based Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. "We see this as a fatal flaw in the legislation." Marshall said it's "inconceivable" that the Flats will remain a refuge in perpetuity, and he noted that plutonium will remain deadly for 240,000 years. Our feeling is we should clean up to the most protective level we can." But Jeremy Karpatkin, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, said those fears are misplaced. "We think the best way to ensure future use restrictions on this land is with an act of Congress," he said. "But with or without the Allard-Udall bill, we will stay around to make sure cleanup is complete and the land stays protected." Karpatkin said a refuge designation might drive a tougher cleanup standard than one developed for simple open space because of the need to protect refuge workers. "We will come up with a set of solutions that meets broad community acceptance," he added. The plant closure requires destroying more than 700 facilities totaling about 3.5 million square feet. The cost is estimated at $4 billion. Copyright 2001 The Denver Post. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Bunning: Congress will reject DOE cut - By Bill Bartleman The Paducah Sun Thursday, February 22, 2001 Paducah, Kentucky *He said he thinks the rumor that Bush is going to cut cleanup at the plant is just a trial balloon that will get shot down.* By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--*270.575.8650* If President Bush recommends a cut in federal funds to clean up the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning says Congress will soundly reject any reduction. Bunning said he has no firsthand knowledge of plans to cut the U.S. Department of Energy budget next year by $1 billion, other than what he has read in news accounts quoting unnamed administration officials. The budget includes $400 million to clean up nuclear weapons plants in Paducah and at other locations throughout the country. "If they think they are going to cut money out of the energy budget that is used to ... reduce the damage done to Paducah and the surrounding area, and at other locations throughout the country where nuclear weapons were produced, they have another thing coming," Bunning said Wednesday. "My gut feeling about this rumor is that it is a trial balloon that will be shot down in a hurry, and if it is real and proposed to Congress, it is not going to pass," he said. Bunning made the comments during a meeting with the Sun editorial board. Congress approved a budget for the 2001 fiscal year that included $90 million for cleanup work in Paducah. Concerning the 2002 budget, "I think the senators will feel very strongly ... and will continue to fund it at least at the same level if not a higher level," Bunning said. DOE officials contacted by the Sun said they had been instructed to withhold any official comment about next year's budget until it is delivered to Congress in early April. Bunning, R-Southgate, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, and other lawmakers with weapons plants in their states worked last year to increase funding for cleanup work. "That was the toughest issue we had to deal with," Bunning said. He added that last year's hard work should make it easier to approve funding this year, even if it means going against the president. "The fewer dollars that we spend now, the longer it will take to decontaminate not only the plant in Paducah but others throughout the country," Bunning said. DOE has signed a commitment with the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet to have the plant cleaned of major groundwater and soil contamination by 2010. Estimates are that the cleanup would cost $1 billion to $1.7 billion. Gov. Paul Patton has said that if funding is cut or reduced to a level that would indicate the 2010 deadline will not be met, the state will file legal action against DOE. Bunning said he has more confidence in Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham than he had in former Secretary Bill Richardson, who Bunning said made a lot of promises that were not kept. "Spencer won't say much, but when he does, he'll follow though with what he promises," Bunning said. On another matter, Bunning predicted that the first big fight in the Senate will come next month when debate begins on campaign finance reform legislation. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., have filed a bill that is intended to curb the influence of money in political campaigns. It would outlaw large, unregulated "soft money" donations from corporations, labor unions and individuals, and it includes other provisions intended to curtail the influence of money in politics. Bunning said that for the bill to gain support from Republicans, it would need to have strong protections for union workers who don’t want their membership dues spent on campaign activities. He acknowledged that the reform measure is gaining support and could be approved, but predicted there will be sufficient opposition to sustain a presidential veto if it came. Overturning a veto requires 67 votes in the Senate. Bunning said campaign finance reform debate will be followed by debate on Bush's proposed tax cut, which he predicted would be approved by June and made retroactive to Jan. 1. Bunning said Bush's proposed 10-year, $1.7 trillion budget cut is opposed by Democrats but has strong support by a majority of taxpayers. He said the key provisions are that it would reduce the top income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, and the lowest rates from 15 percent to 10 percent. It also would eliminate the estate tax and reduce the marriage penalty that results in married couples paying more than single taxpayers filing separate returns. "I think the people really want this reduction ... and that it will be approved by June," he said. The tax cut and anticipated additional cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board should be enough to head off a recessionary trend that began in November, Bunning said. He blames the current economic situation on Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan for not acting sooner to cut interest rates. "They should have been cut in November, not January," said Bunning, who has been a constant critic of Greenspan. Earlier Wednesday, Bunning spoke to hospital administrators and doctors in a meeting at Lourdes hospital in Paducah. "Any Medicare reform that we do should include a prescription drug benefit," Bunning said. "I think everyone supports those benefits, but there is disagreement on what the benefit should be." Bunning favors a program that bases the level of benefits on income. He also said Congress is slowly correcting what he called mistakes made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in interpreting the intent of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. He said the federal agency wrote regulations that cut $230 billion from the health care benefit program when the intent of Congress was to cut $120 billion. He said Congress worked last year to restore some of the "overcuts," and will work this year to restore the rest. He said the cuts hurt hospitals and other medical providers because reimbursement levels were reduced and some rural hospitals became ineligible for some federal programs. Bunning also said he hopes Congress passes legislation to speed the time it takes for hospitals and other providers to be paid for services covered by private insurance companies and federal programs, such as Medicaid. In some cases, he said, it is taking five or six months for providers to be paid for services. The limit should be 90 days, he said, although he favors a shorter time period. Bunning told the 30 medical professionals that he thinks the Bush administration will be friendlier to medical providers than the Clinton administration. Bunning also spoke at the Paducah Rotary Club luncheon. ***************************************************************** 3 SSAB accuses agencies of backpedaling Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 1:23 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The Oak Ridge Reservation Site-Specific Advisory Board says the Department of Energy and two other agencies appear to be "backpedaling" on a successful approach to cleaning up local contaminated areas. In a press release issued Tuesday, the SSAB requests that DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation "provide their specific reasons for not taking the watershed approach" with the cleanup of Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. Those reasons should be addressed during a public meeting on the cleanup project scheduled for Thursday night, the release stated. The SSAB is also requesting that a transcript of the meeting be included in the administrative record on Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. The watershed approach is a strategy for protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems and guarding human health, according to information from the Environmental Protection Agency. This strategy has as its premise that many water quality and ecosystem problems are best solved at the watershed level rather than at the individual body of water. Watersheds are nature's boundaries. They are the areas that drain to surface bodies of water and generally include lakes, rivers, wetlands, streams and the surrounding landscape. According to the SSAB press release, the watershed approach to remediation has been applied successfully to Bear Creek Valley, Melton Valley and soon to Bethel Valley, but it appears to have met a roadblock with regard to Upper East Fork Poplar Creek and also the Oak Ridge K-25 Site. The Upper East Fork Poplar Creek characterization area encompasses the Y-12 National Security Complex and is bounded by the base of Pine Ridge to the north, the base of Chestnut Ridge to the south and Bear Creek Valley to the west. To the east, the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek area extends to DOE's Oak Ridge Reservation boundary along Scarboro Road and includes a contaminated groundwater plume. Key contaminants in the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek characterization area include uranium-238, polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury. Mercury contamination is widespread at Y-12 and has been identified as a contaminant in soil, sediment, surface water, groundwater, buildings and drains. Mercury enters Upper East Fork Poplar Creek from direct erosion of contaminated soil and migration of dissolved mercury from storm drains and from several springs that discharge into the creek. DOE's preferred alternative for cleaning up the area includes flushing contaminated sediments from storm sewers, and relining or replacing them as needed; removing contaminated sediments from Upper East Fork Poplar Creek and Lake Reality; and building a 300-gallon water treatment system to remove mercury from a contaminated spring that discharges into Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. However, the SSAB press release states that DOE's cleanup plan lacks commitment to long-term stewardship of contaminated sites. "Oak Ridge stakeholders cannot accept any decision that leaves waste material or residual contamination in place unless we can be assured that reliable measures are available to ensure that the remedy will remain protective of human health and the environment for as long as the waste material or residual contamination remains a threat," the press release states. The SSAB, which was formed in 1995, is a federally appointed citizens' panel that provides advice and recommendations to DOE on its Oak Ridge environmental management program. The public meeting on the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek plan is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Jacobs Technical Center, 125 Broadway. All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 4 Mason named director of SNS Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:27 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2001 Mason named director of SNS by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The search is over. Thomas Mason has been named the new leader for the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source project, according to Bill Madia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Mason's appointment ends an eight-week search to replace David Moncton, who in January announced he was stepping down from his SNS duties. "I have conducted an extensive international search and interviewed numerous highly qualified candidates to lead the SNS project," said Madia in a press statement. He added that he is confident Mason will help keep the SNS project on course. Among the candidates also considered for the SNS position were Jay Marx, who directs the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California; Satoshi Ozaki, director of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York; and Andrew Taylor, who directs the ISIS Facility at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in England. Mason's new SNS assignment begins March 1 when Moncton is officially scheduled to vacate his duties. Moncton, who came to Oak Ridge in February 1999 to prepare the SNS for construction, decided to quit splitting his time between his SNS duties in Oak Ridge and his job at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, choosing to return full-time to the latter. He said his decision will allow him to spend more time with his family and resume his research at Argonne. As for Mason, he is no stranger to the SNS. He joined the project in 1998 and has been serving as the SNS director of the Experimental Facilities Division. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, in a press statement, said, "[Mason's] background and experience make him ideally suited to lead the effort to build the SNS." Mason's appointment is accompanied by several other key assignments within the SNS project. Tony Gabriel is replacing Mason as acting director of the Experimental Facilities Division, and Carl Strawbridge will replace Ed Temple as acting project director. Temple completed his two-year assignment and is returning to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. "We will undertake immediately formal searches to fill these key positions," Madia said. "These assignments come as we move toward integrating the SNS project more fully into the laboratory." The integration will alter the SNS leader's title from executive director to associate lab director for the SNS. Currently, the head of the SNS project reports to Madia in his role as chief executive officer of UT-Battelle, which manages the lab for the Department of Energy. But when the integration occurs, the SNS executive director will report to Madia as the lab director. SNS' initial independence from ORNL was due to the fact that the Department of Energy contract to manage the lab was up for grabs, officials said. To design and construct the SNS, a partnership was organized among six national laboratories -- Argonne, Brookhaven in New York, Jefferson in Virginia, Lawrence Berkeley in California, Los Alamos in New Mexico and ORNL. The SNS, located on Chestnut Ridge between Oak Ridge National Lab and the Y-12 National Security Complex, will consist of a linear accelerator that will produce proton beams that scatter neutrons by bombarding a liquid mercury target. Neutron scattering research has been responsible for improvements in jets, credit cards, pocket calculators, compact discs, computer disks, shatterproof windshields, satellite information for weather forecasts and stronger, lighter plastics. Neutrons have also been used in medical research for such studies as determining how bones mineralize during development and how they decay during osteoporosis. Congress appropriated $278 million for the current fiscal year to begin construction of SNS, and the budget request for fiscal year 2002 is expected to be $291 million. SNS is scheduled for completion in 2006. All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 5 Our View: 'Atomic Research Casts Shadow on Tennessee Town' Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 1:01 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2001 "Atomic Research Casts Shadow on Tennessee Town," screamed the headline in Sunday's editions of The Chicago Tribune, one of the top 10 newspapers in circulation across America. Oak Ridge is receiving the notoriety it might wish had passed it by. The Tribune story outlines the efforts in a lawsuit to bring the University of Chicago to heel for its role in winning the war against the Axis power and charting a course for democracy in the second half of the century. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by a Nashville firm, are apparently hoping that with the court's assistance, history can be rewritten. As The Tribune story notes, "In some ways the suits seem to be a complaint against history itself ­ against World War II, against the atomic era, against the segregated society of the South half a century ago." Of course, to the "victims of disease" attributed to atomic weapons production in Oak Ridge, the story allows, the issue is more than mere ideology. By its own plans to climb aboard the plaintiff's bar bandwagon and seek a piece of the action, we have to wonder which side of this issue the City of Oak Ridge is coming down on. City fathers are plannning to hire a law firm to go after the Department of Energy for damages largely unspecified having to do with economic development difficulties. It seems the city too is less inclined toward ideology in favor of cash settlement to boost its sagging coffers. The question, as we haved posed it here previously. is at what high price might those funds be won? All Contents ©Copyright* The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 6 Pakistan considers arming subs with nuclear missiles By ZAHID HUSSAIN, Associated Press KARACHI, Pakistan (February 22, 2001 7:07 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - In what could indicate that Pakistan is ready to deploy nuclear weapons, its navy said Thursday it may put nuclear missiles on its submarines. Such a move would increase tension with nuclear neighbor India. Both exploded nuclear devices in 1998 and declared themselves nuclear powers. "Pakistan may equip its submarines with nuclear missiles to defend its key naval installations," said navy spokesman Roshan Khayal. It's not known how many nuclear weapons or the type that India and Pakistan possess. But Pakistan recently added three French submarines to its fleet - all capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Khayal said. Most analysts do not believe either country has yet deployed nuclear weapons or developed nuclear warheads for their missile systems. Both have, however, tested medium- and long-range missiles capable of hitting deep within each other's territory. Pakistan did not offer a time frame for putting nuclear missiles on submarines. On Wednesday, Rear Admiral Afzal Tahir, deputy chief of naval staff, said India has ambitions to nuclearize its submarine fleet and Pakistan has to keep pace. "Nuclear weapons have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the military equation in the region and Pakistan has to prepare itself to meet any aggression," Tahir said. "The threat primarily emanates from Indian submarines which are capable of striking shore targets with missiles," he said. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since British rule of the Asian subcontinent ended in 1947. The development of nuclear weapons on the subcontinent raised fears among the international community that another war in the region could result in the use of nuclear weapons. Both countries have been pressed by a worried world to halt their nuclear programs and not develop nuclear weapons. The two say they want a minimum nuclear deterrent, but neither country has spelled out what that would mean and how many weapons that would involve. India earlier released proposed plans for its nuclear development, which also called for the deployment of submarines equipped with nuclear weapons. The two countries share access to the Arabian Sea. Karachi is Pakistan's biggest city, manufacturing and industrial hub and a major port on the Arabian Sea. ***************************************************************** 7 Mixed Messages From Pakistan CBS News | "It is only on the basis of sovereign equality and justice that we can usher in an era of peace and stability in this region." Pakistan Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq *KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb. 22, 2001 AP (CBS) On the same day Pakistan's foreign secretary said that his country could develop economic ties with India if the two old enemies settled their dispute over Kashmir and halted their arms race, Pakistan's navy said that it may put nuclear missiles on its submarines. The statement Thursday by the navy appeared to be the first indication that Pakistan was ready to deploy nuclear weapons, a move that would almost certainly aggravate tension with nuclear neighbor India. India responded in kind, announcing its intention to deploy nuclear armed submarines. "We are also fully prepared for the deployment of nuclear missiles by them. We are equal to it," India's defense ministry spokesman P.K. Bandopadhyay said in New Delhi. Both countries exploded nuclear devices in 1998 and declared themselves nuclear powers. "Pakistan may equip its submarines with nuclear missiles to defend its key naval installations," said navy spokesman Roshan Khayal. It's not known how many or which nuclear weapons Pakistan possesses. But Pakistan recently added three French submarines to its fleet - all capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Khayal said. India Extends Cease-Fire India extended its unilateral cease-fire against Islamic separatists in Kashmir for another three months to give peace efforts another chance, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Thursday. A Pakistan government spokesman dismissed the cease-fire extension as "an effort to hoodwink world opinion" and gain time to prolong the Kashmir problem. And Pakistan's Foreign Minister Inamul Haq said the cease-fire had not reduced violence in Kashmir, where Muslim guerrillas are fighting India's rule over about 45 percent of the former princely state for more than 11 years. The Indian move was also rejected by the main guerrilla alliance, which said it would go on fighting. *(AP, Reuters)* Most analysts do not believe either country has yet deployed nuclear weapons or developed nuclear warheads for their missile systems. Both have, however, tested medium- and long-range missiles capable of hitting deep within each other's territory. "There is already a nuclear arms race in the region and this will only further fuel that race," said analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. Pakistan did not offer a time frame for putting nuclear missiles on submarines. Nor did Pakistan Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq offer a timeline for economic cooperation with India. Haq said in a speech Thursday that there could be no lasting peace in South Asia without a settlement on Kashmir, the official APP news agencyreported. "If Kashmir issue is settled according to the wishes of Kashmiri people and if a strategic restraint regime on nuclear and conventional matters is in place, then I believe both countries can work together to develop bilateral economic cooperation," he said at the state-funded Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Pakistan has responded to international calls for a halt to arms race in the subcontinent by proposing that Islamabad and New Delhi agree to a "strategic restraint regime" to limit their nuclear and conventional arsenals. Haq blamed India for a deadlock in peace talks over Kashmir since fighting along a military control line in the region in 1999 brought the two countries to the brink of a fourth war, and said New Delhi aspired to dominate the region. "I am not sure when these talks will begin, but as long as the Kashmir dispute is not resolved according to the wishes of Kashmiri people, this region will find it difficult to have a durable peace," he said. New Delhi regards whole of Kashmir is an integral part of India, but Islamabad wants the predominantly Muslim Kashmiris to decide in a U.N.-mandated plebiscite whether to join Islamic Pakistan or Hindu-majority India. Some of the guerrilla groups seek to reunite Kashmir as an independent state. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since British rule of the Asian subcontinent ended in 1947. The development of nuclear weapons on the subcontinent raised fears among the international community that another war in the region could result in the use of nuclear weapons. Haq urged the international community to impress upon India to live at peace with neighbors and "more importantly recognize the fact that all of its neighbors are sovereign and equal." "There can be no question of domination by India or any other country in this region," he said, adding: "It is only on the basis of sovereign equality and justice that we can usher in an era of peace and stability in this region." ***************************************************************** 8 DOE report on NIF lands in lawyers' hands Document, as stands, may be ruled out of debate *February 21, 2001* By Glenn Roberts Jr. STAFF WRITER Lawyers have one month to try to resolve a dispute over the Energy Department's use of a report to validate the cost and schedule of a stadium-size laser project at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. A federal court judge is expected to rule March 22 whether to grant an injunction to bar the Energy Department from publicly promoting the report as an independent assessment of the National Ignition Facility project. Technical troubles and management errors on NIF have led to a six-year delay and a $1 billion cost overrun. The project will cost an estimated $3.5 billion to $4 billion when completed, say lab and department officials. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental group, and Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, a nuclear watchdog group, requested the injunction Feb. 1. A court hearing was held Feb. 16 and the judge asked litigants to try to resolve the matter, said Energy Department spokesman Darwin Morgan. Another hearing is planned Feb. 26. Howard Crystal, a lawyer who is representing Natural Resources Defense Council and Tri-Valley CAREs, said Tuesday, "The parties are discussing whether there is any way that the preliminary injunction request can be resolved." Crystal said the groups he is representing are seeking "appropriate limitations" on the use of the review team's report. The groups would accept the department's internal use of the report, he said, but would not accept the department using the report to justify project progress to Congress. The injunction is tied to a larger case filed against the Energy Department by the two groups. In a November lawsuit, the groups allege that the department failed to comply with federal openness laws in a department review of the NIF project at Livermore Lab. An August 2000 report, prepared by investigators for the U.S. General Accounting Office, requested an independent review of the NIF project. Livermore Lab and Energy Department officials insist that a subsequent review of the project was independent, though project opponents insist in the November lawsuit and the February request for an injunction that many members of the review team were too close to the project to provide an independent assessment. The August review included about 40 members, led and selected by Energy Department officials. Most of its members were employed by the department and its labs. In addition, the review included 20 corporate observers and about 30 workers who assisted the review team. The entire review process was closed to the public. In the meantime, the Energy Department has announced plans to conduct an internal review this month as a mandatory follow-up to the August review of the NIF project. The findings of this review team will be submitted to Congress as a part of a mandated update on the project's cost and schedule. NewsChoice.com ***************************************************************** 9 Hanford health foundation contract extended 2 years This story was published Wed, Feb 21, 2001 By the Herald staff Hanford Environmental Health Foundation's contract to provide occupational health and medical monitoring services to Hanford workers has been extended two years. The current contract, which began Oct. 1, 1998, had a three-year base period with an option for the Department of Energy to extend it two years. The contract now will run through Sept. 30, 2003. Its estimated value over all five years is about $49 million, according to DOE. DOE's Richland office exercised its option to extend the contract after reviewing the foundation's performance in the first years of the contract and DOE's anticipated needs in the next two years. "We concluded that HEHF has provided us with quality health screening and occupational health services during its tenure at Hanford," said Shirley Olinger, assistant manager for safety and engineering. The foundation provides an occupational health program to assist employees and employers in preventing work-related illness and injury. The foundation's medical monitoring services provide occupational medicine and nursing, medical surveillance and evaluations, health education and wellness promotion, among other programs. "HEHF has proven over the years that they have the expertise and talents to provide quality service, and I expect them to continue giving our employees the type of health monitoring and occupational health services they've grown to expect," Olinger said. The foundation, a private nonprofit corporation, has provided health services at Hanford since 1965. It's the smallest of about six main contractors at Hanford. Copyright 2001 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************