***************************************************************** 07/25/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.181 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Indo-Russian nuclear power plant to be built at last 2 Court Orders US to Rewrite Standards 3 Watch Envirocare 4 Protester takes his view for a drive 5 Dounreay in golf club row 6 Ridge energy panel stresses nuclear power clean coal, conservation 7 Burning Coal Is No Answer 8 Editorial: Baltimore derailment a bad omen 9 Baltimore train wreck should be warning to nuke industry 10 Nuclear waste treatment plant to be built in Smolensk 11 LE MONDE: ANTI-NUCLEAR PROTESTORS SYMBOLICALLY BLOCK THE SITE 12 International Nuclear Forum: 13 Clinton plant shuts down unexpectedly 14 Neal bedfellows with dump proponents - 15 Scientists Closer To Producing Nuclear Fusion 16 Britain kept nuclear risks to itself: documents 17 Lack of graduates signals decline in nuclear industry 18 Congress Debates Nuclear Waste the Energy And Natural Resources 19 India, Russia Agree on Cost of Nuclear Power Plants 20 Czech Nuclear Plant Chief Backs Use of Nuclear Power in Energy Production NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Nuclear Experts Deny Kursk Danger 2 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Augusta, S.C. 3 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Richland,WA 4 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Tennessee 5 Effort aims to aid radiation victims 6 No Samples For Signs Of Radioactive Isotopes Taken From Kursk's 7 Bush signs bill to pay ill miners 8 DU Cover-up not right way to end disaster 9 Hanford contractor admits plutonium readings were in error 10 Nuclear-Weapons Workers May Be Part Of Settlement 11 Weapons workers qualify for federal aid 12 Harkin seeks money for broader IAAP health study 13 Weapons-grade uranium seized 14 Fire under control at K-25, no injuries 15 Y-12 rebuilding moving forward 16 US to compensate Cold War workers 17 Nuclear disaster medical network being introduced **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Indo-Russian nuclear power plant to be built at last Welcome to The PMA OnLine Power Report Agence France-Presse ( July 25, 2001 ) BANGALORE, India, July 25 (AFP) - India and Russia have finally agreed to build a three million dollar nuclear power plant -- 13 years after the two countries signed a pact for the project, an official said Wednesday. The pact, signed in 1988, was to set up a plant with two 1,000 megawatts units in Kundakulam in southern India's Tamil Nadu state, but the project ran into trouble with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The deal was resurrected when former Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited India in 1998. "We have arrived at the price of the project and fixed a date for the implementation," V.K. Chaturvedi, Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, a state-run firm, told AFP. The total cost of setting up both the units is estimated at 140 billion rupees (three million dollars). Russia will supply the design and 90 percent of the equipment for the plant and also provide 54 percent of the credit at four percent interest. India will have to repay the credit in 14 equal instalments, one year after the commissioning of the plant. The first unit of the plant is expected to be commissioned by December 2007 and the second by December 2008, he said. The two sides discussed the issue for two days until late Tuesday before coming to the final agreement. The Russian side was headed by E.A. Reshetnikov, deputy minister, department of atomic energy, Russian Federation. "The meeting gave us a chance to take important decisions for the project," Reshetnikov said. "There is total and complete understanding. There will be an increase in the Indian scope for cooperation." Chaturvedi said the cost of generating one megawatt of power was about 70 million rupees (1.5 million dollars), but both sides were trying to bring the price down. "We have told the Russian officials that we must understand the technology and the design and safety intricacies fully," he added. "India has also said that Russia needs to provide fuel for a minimum of five years and if due to some reasons there is no supply, they will have to ensure that it will come through other countries," he said. The plant will supply power to the four southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. COPYRIGHT 2001 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Court Orders US to Rewrite Standards ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 24, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court ordered the government Tuesday to rewrite standards for hazardous waste-burning incinerators and cement kilns, ruling that the nation lacks proper limits on airborne emissions of dioxins, mercury and metals. Since the standards "fail to reflect the emissions achieved in practice by the best-performing sources as required by the Clean Air Act," the justices ordered them scrapped and sent back to the EPA for another look. Environmental groups hailed the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as a victory toward protecting people and the environment from air toxins. They said incinerators and cement kilns that burn hazardous waste - the ruling lists dioxins, mercury, particulate matter, chlorine, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic and beryllium - are among the most dangerous sources of air pollution. "EPA refused to establish the strict controls for these polluters that the Clean Air Act requires," said James Pew, an attorney for the Earthjustice environmental law firm that filed suit on behalf of the Sierra Club to challenge the EPA over 1999 regulations. Under the ruling, EPA will now be required to come up with new regulations. The EPA had no immediate comment. The incinerators are used exclusively for burning hazardous waste. Cement kilns are the furnaces that produce Portland cement, the active ingredient in concrete. Operating at more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the kilns run on fuels such as coal, hazardous waste and scrap tires. Most of what cement kiln operators consider fuel-quality hazardous waste comes from industry paints, solvents and adhesives. More than 230 million tons of hazardous waste are generated by the United States each year and cement makers burn at least 1 million tons of that annually as an alternative to more expensive fuels such as coal, according to industry estimates. Jane Williams, chair of the Sierra Club's waste committee, said the dangers posed by the air pollutants come from settling in water, crops and gardens, where they persist for decades and accumulate in the food chain. Some of the health threats are believed to include cancer, birth defects and damage to the reproductive, immune and respiratory systems. An industry spokesman said the ruling would have almost no effect from an environmental standpoint, however. "Most of these facilities have been in business for a long time," said Mike Benoit, executive director of the Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition, which filed suit to overturn the standards. "They're already taking steps to meet the standards." The coalition, a Washington-based trade association representing about 100 facilities nationwide, filed suit complaining some of the regulations and other provisions were too stringent and the agency failed to properly base its standards on emission limits under the Clean Air Act. The EPA has been regulating incinerators for more than two decades and cement kilns for the past 10 years, soon after they came into use. In 1999, the agency issued standards limiting emissions from incinerators that destroy hazardous waste, cement kilns that use it as fuel to make cement and lightweight aggregate kilns that use it as fuel to produce concrete as a building material. They account for four-fifths of the hazardous waste burned in the United States each year. While the court ruled for industry, the justices said they based their decision on arguments supplied by the Sierra Club, which had intervened in the case. Dow Chemical Company had intervened on behalf of the EPA. "We believe the rule was significantly flawed in many ways," Benoit said. "The court decision gives everybody another bite of the apple." On the Net: Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org Earthjustice: http://www.earthjustice.org Cement Kiln coalition: http://www.ckrc.org All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 3 Watch Envirocare The Salt Lake Tribune -- July 25, 2001 We were all glad to hear (Tribune, July 10) that Envirocare has, for the moment, backed off on its efforts to flood the Wasatch Front with trucks full of toxic nuclear waste. We were also interested to read that this miracle had occurred just a nanosecond or so after the Utah Division of Radiation Control had granted a license for this activity, good for five years. The spin on this is that Envirocare withdrew because of the political climate and "the governor and the Legislature had no intention of approving it." This political climate was the result of the overwhelming public opposition to Envirocare's proposal. I am not from around here, and indeed spent a couple of decades in Washington, D.C., where I learned a lot about spin and double dealing. A cynic such as I views this Envirocare withdrawal as being merely an attempt to defuse the groundswell of public opposition -- as we all know, it was an informed public that torpedoed the infamous HB320! "Eternal vigilance" is the price of much that we hold dear, and with that five-year permit in its back pocket, Envirocare can bide its time until some sleepy afternoon up on the hill when we may find that in a matter of hours they have obtained the permissions they need to proceed to ruin the Wasatch Front. And by the way, even the Texas Legislature would have none of this, having rejected in May a proposal to establish a nuclear waste dump in that state. Utah more of a nuclear dumping ground than Texas? It is naive to assume that the permit would be granted if the governor did not want it to be granted. Checklists for approval and so forth are a nice theory, but state agency heads serve at the governor's will and politics governs everything. Five years and counting -- we must not let down our guard, and need to maintain constant pressure on the Legislature and the governor lest they forget what a "sleeping giant" the public is. There are many organizations mobilizing around this issue -- with more joining every day. Every citizen who cares about the health and safety of the community should find an organization they like, join it, and help to keep up the anti-Envirocare pressure. MARILYN T. WELLES Salt Lake City ***************************************************************** 4 Protester takes his view for a drive Michigan man brings anti-nuclear message to Idaho IdahoStatesman.com July 25, 2001 The Associated Press POCATELLO -- Kevin Kamps' rolling protest is a warning about tons of irradiated commercial nuclear fuel headed from New York to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. "Stop Mobile Chernobyl" is painted on the side of a metallic cylinder 18 feet long by 7 feet in diameter, lying on a flatbed trailer towed by a Dodge Durango. The dumbbell-shaped device is a mock spent-fuel cask. Kamps carried that message across the country in protest of 125 spent fuel assemblies to be shipped from a decaying nuclear plant shut down nearly two decades ago. It is the very last leg of a two-week trip, said Beatrice Brailsford of Snake River Alliance, the only Idaho-based group among the 40 who signed on to support the anti-nuclear road show. Kamps, who lives in Michigan and lobbies against nuclear energy for the Nuclear Information Research Service, completed his anti-nuclear pilgrimage at the INEEL on Monday, stopping on the way at the Pocatello rail depot. The shipment from West Valley, N.Y., was anticipated before the end of this month. But Kathleen Trever, who runs the state INEEL Oversight Office, said the federal government is apparently still negotiating with rail carriers to ship the material, and any movement is still several weeks away. The highly radioactive material was contemplated to be shipped to Idaho in the state's unprecedented 1995 court-enforced nuclear waste cleanup agreement for the INEEL. But Trever said the shipment is still contingent on the government meeting other requirements of the deal, particularly the mandate that it ship 15,000 drums of plutonium-contaminated waste from INEEL to a New Mexico dump by the end of next year. To date, only 63 percent of the scheduled shipments have been made. "Our analysis is that they are still physically capable for meeting that deadline," Trever said on Tuesday. "But that's something that we continue to review." Complying with the agreement will require the government to follow proscribed work procedures, she pointed out, and that is something that has been a problem recently, further delaying attempts to get the shipments back on schedule. Kamps' road trip began July 9 in West Valley, where the 26 metric tons of fuel are being prepared for shipment to Idaho. The waste from reactors in New York and Michigan has been stored in western New York for 30 years. Some call the protest a scare tactic to incite residents along the route of the actual shipment. The casks are actually quite safe, Department of Energy spokesman Tim Jackson said. Spent nuclear fuel is a solid metal. The fuel assemblies will be shipped by rail in casks certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are designed to withstand a drop of 30 feet onto a flat, unyielding surface. They can withstand a 1,475-degree fire for 30 minutes and submersion under three feet of water without leakage. The federal government offers emergency training for authorities along the route, Jackson said. "We have responders trained all along the route," he said. "Even in the highly unlikely circumstance of a breach, people would come clean it up without any lasting threat to the environment." ***************************************************************** 5 Dounreay in golf club row BBC News | SCOTLAND | 25 July, 2001, 11:52 GMT 12:52 UK [Sandside Beach] The golf course is next to Sandside Beach Bosses at the Dounreay nuclear plant have defended its radiation monitoring programme amid fresh concerns about contamination. The owner of a nearby golf course said he may be forced to shut it down because radioactive particles have been found on the adjacent beach. Geoffrey Minter demanded assurances from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which operates Dounreay. A spokesman for Dounreay said no contamination was found during a recent one-off survey of the course. Managers defended the monitoring programme He also voiced confidence that any migration of particles from the beach would be detected during monthly monitoring of the area. Mr Minter, who owns owns Reay Golf Course, has been involved in a long-running battle with the UKAEA over safety levels at the Caithness plant. An estimated 17 radioactive particles have been found on Sandside Beach next to the golf course since monitoring started in 1983. The particles, which are the size of a grain of sand, are believed to have come from the plant, although the exact source has never been identified. Mr Minter warned that play may have to be suspended at the golf club if he does not receive an indemnity from the UKAEA by the end of this month. Substantially increased After taking advice from an independent expert he is now concerned that radioactive particles on Sandside Beach could easily be blown onto the course. In the meantime, he has called for monitoring by Dounreay staff to be substantially increased in order to protect the public. The plant, which is storing 24 tonnes of radioactive fuel from Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor, is no longer to be used for reprocessing. The announcement last week by Energy Minister Brian Wilson has been welcomed by anti-nuclear campaigners. Search BBC News Online ***************************************************************** 6 Ridge energy panel stresses nuclear power clean coal, conservation July 25, 2001 By Frank Reeves , Post-Gazette Staff Writer The Ridge administration yesterday released a preliminary plan that it said was designed to ensure that Pennsylvania has adequate energy supplies by encouraging conservation as well as the use of clean-coal technologies and nuclear power. A final plan is not expected to be adopted until later this year, after the public has had a chance to comment. The plan is the handiwork of the Governor's Energy Task Force, which included representatives of principal state energy-related agencies like the Public Utility Commission and the Department of Community and Economic Development. "Gov. [Tom] Ridge feels strongly that a comprehensive, long-term energy policy is critical to the continued economic prosperity of this commonwealth and to the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians," said Fritz Bittenbender, the task force chairman and one of Ridge's top aides. "[The task force] developed recommendations that seek to do three things: assure adequate supplies of energy for the future; encourage energy efficiency and environmental quality; and help Pennsylvanians reduce their energy costs." The task force's 30 recommendations largely mirror President Bush's energy plan. Last week, Ridge accompanied Vice President Dick Cheney on a daylong swing through Pennsylvania to promote the president's plan, which Ridge said "rightly rejects the false choice that America must be either for energy or for conservation." The task force's plan would encourage development and use of clean-coal technologies so that coal could be used in a way that would not increase air pollution. It would also encourage the use of nuclear power by undertaking "a thorough analysis" of existing nuclear plants as well as the potential for new or enhanced ones. The task force called for more investments in renewable and alternative energy sources, like wind or solar, as supplements to traditional energy sources. In addition, the panel said the government should expedite permits for construction of new electricity transmission lines. The task force also recommended that federal programs to help low-income people with their utility bills be fully funded. Perhaps with the California energy crisis in mind, it said state officials should diligently monitor energy prices and market forces to make sure there is no price gouging or price manipulation. Finally, the panel said steps should be taken to encourage "green building technologies and designs," which use energy more efficiently. The task force's recommendations are being distributed by several state agencies. They are also available on the Web at http://www.paenergy.state.pa.us/. The task force will accept comments until Aug. 17. Staff writer Don Hopey contributed to this report. post-gazette.com ***************************************************************** 7 Burning Coal Is No Answer Welcome to The PMA OnLine Power Report The Cincinnati Post ( July 24, 2001 ) To the editor of The Post: Carl Zichella's letter (July 20) tells us that nuclear power is not on a comeback. His message probably tells more about the Sierra Club than about nuclear facts. If the Sierra Club really wants a clean environment, their goal should be supporting the cleanest way to produce electricity in quantities sufficient to satisfy the needs of our industrial society. Their method should be to investigate the current system, which relies on coal. Coal is dirty stuff. Mining it is a dangerous, dirty, expensive operation. Transporting it is dirty, and expensive. Have you seen the Ohio River lately? Have you seen it when there was no coal barge tow in sight? Burning that coal is another dirty, expensive operation. Technology has vastly improved it, but still there is the problem of millions of tons of carbon dioxide, as well as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and just plain dirt. How many tons of ash does Cinergy generate each day? Where does it go? Then Sierra should investigate existing nuclear plants. In Illinois there are 11 nuclear power plants, which produce half the state's electricity. No emissions. In France 80 percent of their electricity is nuclear. Where do they put their waste? In other words, compare what we have with what we should have. There is a better way. Support it. Everett DeJager Rossmoyne (C) 2001 The Cincinnati Post. via ProQuest Information and ***************************************************************** 8 Editorial: Baltimore derailment a bad omen Today: July 25, 2001 at 8:54:15 PDT The fiery train derailment in Baltimore happened thousands of miles away from here, but it illustrates perfectly why the federal government has no business trying to ship high-level nuclear waste clear across the nation to Yucca Mountain. The derailment of the 60-car freight train was terrifying. Not only did one of the cars rupture, allowing thousands of gallons of hydrochloric acid to spill, but the cars were on fire for six days, reaching estimated temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees. The accident effectively brought downtown Baltimore to a standstill. The fires fortunately have been extinguished, but it is imperative that the nation not forget how close Baltimore came to facing an even greater catastrophe, especially as it relates to Nevada's Yucca Mountain, which the federal government has targeted to be the dumping ground for the nation's high-level nuclear waste. The great majority of the nuclear waste is generated east of the Mississippi River, so that means this waste will either have to be sent by truck or rail, having to travel in some cases up to a couple thousand miles. The federal government has refused to say what routes the waste would travel to make its way to Nevada. This is an attempt to hoodwink the public into believing that the issue of nuclear waste storage would be a problem isolated to just Nevada. Of course, if the residents of big cities and small towns, who live near either rail routes or major interstate highways, were told that nuclear waste would travel nearby, all of a sudden Yucca Mountain might not seem as remote anymore. While evidence has been gathered that points to Yucca Mountain being a dangerous place to bury nuclear waste, the federal government still is hell-bent on selecting Yucca Mountain. If the federal government can get a designation soon, then it will make it that much tougher for people who live along the potential routes to marshal their opposition. It still isn't clear what caused the derailment, but National Transportation Safety Board investigators are considering the possibility that a break in the water main, which is above the train tunnel, may have caused the accident. Whatever the reason, it clearly shows how precarious it is to ship hazardous materials by rail. It is encouraging then that the Senate voted 96-0 to order a federal study of health, safety, environmental and economic risks from the transportation of hazardous and radioactive materials. The proposal was authored by Senate Assistant Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has been leading Nevada's opposition to a nuclear dump in Nevada. Another important issue is the financial damage from the derailment. The Associated Press reports that the city still hasn't yet figured out exactly how much it will cost to repair the track, clean up the hazardous materials, pay hundreds of firefighters overtime pay and to compensate local businesses downtown that lost revenues. This is a critical matter, an issue that Clark County is trying to address regarding Yucca Mountain. As the Sun's Mary Manning reported last week, a consulting firm for Clark County government projected that county government would have to spend more than $1 billion to adequately train emergency crews to respond to a possible accident. Property damage could total $2.5 billion for those who live near the transportation routes and hotel-casinos could lose 10 percent to 20 percent of their visitors, according to the report. Despite the rush to send 77,000 tons of man's deadliest substance to Nevada, it's still not too late. Congress should halt this insane haste to ship the waste to Nevada. Baltimore's experience should be reason enough to comprehend that Yucca Mountain isn't just Nevada's problem, it would be a land mine for any city or town that had the misfortune of being located near the path that would take nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 9 Baltimore train wreck should be warning to nuke industry RGJ.com - Reno Gazette-Journal Wednesday July 25th, 2001 The train accident that shut down much of Baltimore for several days last week — causing, among other events, the postponement of several Major League baseball games — sent ripples as far away as Nevada. Immediately, some opponents of the proposed railroad trench in Reno, seized on the incident as proof that the local project could seriously threaten residents here. The biggest problem for Baltimore, however, was that the train burned inside a century-old tunnel under the heart of the city, making if particularly difficult for emergency crews to put it out. Reno’s project will be open — or only partially covered — making it considerably easier for crews to reach a train if there is a problem on the tracks. More to the point, however, were Sen. Harry Reid’s comments tying the derailment, fire and leakage of dangerous hydrochloric acid to plans to ship nuclear waste to a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Certainly Reid knows as well as anyone that nuclear fuel will be packaged in better containers than the hydrochloric acid was. Most tests have shown the containers to be highly resistant to damage in the most severe accidents. However, Reid’s point is still right. As the Baltimore accident showed, transportation is always the weakest link in the system. Accidents happen, and it’s difficult to know the impacts in advance. That’s why it makes more sense to keep the nuclear waste right where it is now; protect it and take whatever precautions are necessary to keep it safe for the next few years. Then the government can use the time and the money to find a better way to dispose of it without shipping it across country. That would remove the biggest worry from the process. © Reno Gazette-Journal ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear waste treatment plant to be built in Smolensk [ITAR/TASS News Agency] Story Filed: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 9:44 AM EST MOSCOW, Jul 25, 2001 (Itar-Tass via COMTEX) -- The construction of a nuclear waste treatment plant will begin at the Smolensk atomic power station in September. A protocol to begin the work has been signed by Russian specialists and representatives of the international programme TACIS, the press service of the concern Rosenergoatom told Itar- Tass on Wednesday. The nuclear waste treatment plant is only one of the items in the ambitious TACIS project to be implemented at the Smolensk atomic power station during three years. Its purpose is to improve the station's radioactive safety and solve the problem of nuclear waste. There are three operating Chernobyl-type reactors at the station. Due to the shortage of funds, nuclear waste in Russia is made faster than it is processed. Last year, 807,900 tonnes of toxic waste was made in the nuclear industry, but most of them was put in temporary storage. Only about 60,000 tonnes were fully processed. By Veronika Voskoboinikova (c) 1996-2001 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 LE MONDE: ANTI-NUCLEAR PROTESTORS SYMBOLICALLY BLOCK THE SITE AT BURE ) -- (LES ANTINUCLEAIRES MURENT SYMBOLIQUEMENT LE CHANTIER DU SITE DE BURE (MUSE)) [Financial Times World Media Abstract Service: European] Story Filed: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 11:25 AM EST Jul 24, 2001, (Le Monde /FT Information via COMTEX) -- More than 1,000 protestors, opposed to the dumping of radioactive waste, totally took over the construction site of a laboratory for the national radioactive waste management agency on Sunday. The day of protest was the pinnacle of the 'Mouvements des Bure' actions, which drew militant ecologists from several regions of France but also Germany and Belgium. The construction of the laboratory on the 17 hectare site is officially supposed to test underground stocking options for radioactive waste. Abstracted from Le Monde bCopyright 2001: Financial Times Information, Dow Jones, Dialog ***************************************************************** 12 International Nuclear Forum: Story Filed: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 1:29 PM EST BONN, Germany, Jul 24, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The deal to salvage the climate change talks in Bonn failed to support greenhouse gas-free nuclear energy projects in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). These two mechanisms will allow industrialized countries to achieve emissions reduction goals through project based investments in less developed countries. Ministers at the Sixth Conference of the Parties agreed upon a compromise text outlining possible implementation of the Kyoto Protocol that discriminates against the single, most effective greenhouse gas control technology, according to members of the International Nuclear Forum (INF). "The political exclusion of nuclear electricity undermines the environmental integrity of this international effort to address global warming," said John Ritch of the World Nuclear Association. The INF also pointed out that there are only two ways to effectively deal with greenhouse gas emissions: avoid making them or capture and store them. Nuclear energy is a proven technology that avoids greenhouse gases as well as pollutants that can cause smog and acid rain. Opposition to the use of nuclear electricity in the mechanisms came primarily from the European Union where 35 percent of the electricity supply is generated from about 140 nuclear power reactors. "Frankly, we are astonished that Europe - which will rely heavily on nuclear electricity for compliance with the Kyoto Protocol - is trying to prevent other nations from using this important mitigation technology," said Dr. Wolf-J. Schmidt-Kuster of Foratom. Tom Gorman of the Canadian Nuclear Association noted that nuclear provides reliable, cost-effective and emissions-free electricity in virtually all the major developed nations that are planning to accept mandatory emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol. "We remain hopeful that the agreement will be revised so Canada can help developing nations use nuclear technology safely through CDM," said Gorman. "For nations like Japan, where sinks and other carbon controls may be limited, nuclear electricity is a particularly crucial mitigation tool," according to Kaoru Kikuyama of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. "An increase in electricity production will be essential to meet the expected significant population growth in Asia. Adequate living standards will require a growth in emission-free electricity," she added. The U.S. view - that nuclear energy is part of the solution to the threat of global climate change - was included in discussions although the United States did not directly participate in the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol. "President Bush has finally broken the silence and said what everyone at this process has long known," said Maureen Koetz of the Nuclear Energy Institute. "If nuclear technology is not effectively used today and in the future, achieving the goals of the climate change process is in jeopardy." Currently, nuclear electricity provides 17 percent of electricity around the world while annually avoiding the emission of over 1.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide. In some developed countries, nuclear electricity production accounts for up to 78 percent of total generation. In addition, nuclear technologies can contribute to climate change adaptation in the developing world. For decades, the developed world has transferred adaptive technologies such as research reactors, medical sterilization, diagnostic and treatment equipment, and food protection technology. The International Nuclear Forum is an alliance of the world's leading nuclear associations, sharing a common interest in the development and application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The nuclear associations that have come together to form the International Nuclear Forum all promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy as a means of supplying the world's growing energy demand while minimizing environmental risks. CONTACT: International Nuclear Forum Jack Ashton, +32 478 2341 48 or International Nuclear Forum Dr. Wolf-J. Schmidt-Kuster, +32 475 5196 78 URL: http://www.businesswire.com Copyright (C) 2001 Business Wire. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 Clinton plant shuts down unexpectedly Pantagraph.com - News - 07/25/01 The Pantagraph Online CLINTON -- The Clinton nuclear power station unexpectedly shut down early Tuesday as workers conducted routine testing. Plant officials expect the plant will resume generating power sometime today. --> Wednesday, July 25, 2001 By KELLY JOSEPHSEN Pantagraph staff CLINTON -- The Clinton nuclear power station unexpectedly shut down early Tuesday as workers conducted routine testing. Plant officials expect the plant will resume generating power sometime today. Illinois Power, which is partially supplied by the Clinton plant, did not have any trouble meeting customer demand despite the loss of output. Clinton station spokesman Bruce Paulsen said the station went off-line at 2:51 a.m. "During the test, the steam turbine shut down automatically, and as a result the generator shut down," Paulsen said. Steam produced by Clinton's reactor spins a turbine that makes the generator produce electricity for transmission lines, Paulsen said. He did not know why the turbine shut down. Workers have done maintenance work during previous shutdowns, but Exelon, which owns the station, wants it to return to service as quickly as possible, partly because of the hot weather. Paulsen said Exelon still can fulfill the contracts it has with power suppliers across the country. IP buys 75 percent of the plant's output under a power purchase agreement that was part of its sale of the Clinton station in December 1999. Mike Harrison, Bloomington-Normal regional manager for IP, said the utility still has plenty of power available to meet customer needs. "We're not having any power supply problems because we have contracts with multiple suppliers, and using that approach we're able to meet demand," he said. Harrison noted that, despite the heat, IP has not yet seen any demand records. Peak usage records typically come in August, he said. Copyright © 2001, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 Neal bedfellows with dump proponents - Louie Overstreet Las Vegas Sentinel Voice: July 19, 2001 Special to Sentinel Voice How many of you remember Senator Joe Neal's ill-fated campaign for governor a couple of years ago? If so, you may also recall that in his stump speeches he suggested that the State of Nevada should consider cutting the best deal it could with the Federal Government for having Yucca Mountain serve as a repository for spent nuclear fuel. Elected officials took perverse delight in suggesting that Joe was not sound of mind. In fact he took a proverbial "butt whuppin" for intimating that leveling with the citizens of the state about our chances of keeping nuclear waste out of Nevada would be the statesmanly thing to do. "While I do not agree with most of what the senator has to say, there is very good chance that "Crazy Joe" in the near future will become known as the "Prophet of the Mountain." While in-state politics dictate that elected officials oppose the storage of spent nuclear fuel in Yucca Mountain, the realities of economics, science and national politics all point to the fact that "Yucca Mountain is coming." Since 1982, the federal Government has spent nearly seven billion dollars on Yucca Mountain. The mountain is surrounded by thousands of square miles of federal land. The result of the scientific research., both past and ongoing, are due to be submitted to the President of the United States by the end of this year. Further, the site is the only one remaining under active consideration. The states of Washington and Texas were clever enough politically to tag Nevada as "it." The research is based on observing and measuring a multitude of physical phenomena and then extrapolating these data over geological time. Forecasting the probability of an, event occurring over geological time is something like the difference between what creates a nuclear explosion (infamous mushroom cloud) and what could occur at Yucca Mountain. There is no chance for a nuclear explosion occurring based on spent nuclear fuel reaching critical mass necessary to cause a catastrophic explosion. What could occur at Yucca Mountain is the remote potential of subsurface water being contaminated by leakage from vessels in which the spent nuclear pellets are stored. The rate of flow of radioactive material leaking into the surrounding nonporous rock and being transported an average of 11,000 feet down by water, to the water table anywhere from 500 to 1,200 feet below the stored fuel, is measured in geological time. Most of our understanding of time is measured in decades totaling less than one hundred years. This is basically the time spanning from the oldest grandparent to the youngest grandchild. Now contrast this with geological time. Yucca Mountain was formed by an eruption of a now, extinct volcano from 11 to 14 million years ago. While there are several volcanoes in the area, that by definition would not be considered extinct, the chance of one of these erupting in the next ten thousand years is one in 70 million per year. Speaking of ten thousand years, a period longer than recorded human history, the containers for the spent fuel are designed to remain intact well beyond that time frame. Only then, long after 10,000 years, could the spent fuel begin to dissolve, move out of its and migrate from them to the nearest well, presumed by the Environmental Protection Agency to be miles away. The whole process would take thousands of years more than 10,000. Ten thousand years, in our reference, is one hundred times the lifetime of a person who lived to be 100 years old. Now, let us deal with the, reality of national politics. Presently, over 40,000 metric tons of commercial spent nuclear fuel is being stored on an interim basis in 34 different states. (This amount could more than double by 2035 if all currently operating plans complete their initial 40-year license period.) Some of the fuel has been stored for over 50 years. When the issues comes before congress, how do you think elected officials from these states are going to vote on the issue of getting it out of their states and shipping it to Nevada? That is right, the yeas have it by a resounding margin! Moving thousands of tons of nuclear waste is going to take years. In fact, projections are that by transporting 3,000 tons a year, it will take 24 years to move all the spent fuel presently in existence. Nevada is in a similar position as the State of Alaska was 20 years ago. l served on a blue ribbon citizens' committee that was so naive that we thought we could go to Washington D.C. and sell our point of view to elected officials about it being a bad idea to make 217 million acres of federal land a virtual park. Designating this land as wilderness closed it to any development activities that could produce tax revenue for that state. Man, elected officials from other states ate our lunch, laughed us off. ***************************************************************** 15 Scientists Closer To Producing Nuclear Fusion NCPA - Federal Spending And The Budget - Daily Policy Digest Tuesday, July 24, 2001 Back during the energy crisis of the 1970s, scientists dreamed of the ultimate source of power -- nuclear fusion. It is the process which gives the Sun its heat and light. And harnessing it would provide an almost infinite supply of power at low prices and without pollution. But finding an economic way of harnessing it has proved for decades to be one of the most vexing problems in applied physics. Nevertheless, scientists have been quietly making progress. + This month, scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego nearly doubled the usual attainable pressure of hot gaseous fuel inside a doughnut-shaped "Tokamak" reactor -- a critical step in being able to reach conditions necessary to trigger and sustain a fusion reaction. + But the problem remains of maintaining the pressure for longer than a two-second pulse. + Fusion requires heat and pressure intense enough to force positively-charged nuclei from a mixture of hydrogen isotopes to overcome their natural inclination to repel each other -- and instead fuse to become helium, releasing energy in the process. + In order for the nuclei to overcome their powerful repulsive forces and collide, temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius must be obtained. Maintaining a reaction for more than an instant, however, continues to be the elusive step. The reason scientists continue their quest for this fusion "holy grail" is that it could ultimately produce 100 times more energy than it consumes. It takes 9,000 tons of coal to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity. But it would take only one pound of deuterium obtained from seawater to create the same amount of power from a fusion plant. Source: Guy Gugliotta, "Plans to Harness Fusion May Be Coming Together," Washington Post, July 23, 2001. For more on Energy http://www.ncpa.org/pd/budget/budget-7.html Dallas Headquarters: 12655 N. Central Expy., Suite 720 - Dallas, TX 75243-1739 - 972/386-6272 - Fax 972/386-0924 Washington Office: 655 15th St. N.W., Suite 375 - Washington, DC 20005 - 202/628-6671 - Fax 202/628-6474 ***************************************************************** 16 Britain kept nuclear risks to itself: documents [ninemsn home] The British government deliberately withheld information on the risks of atomic tests at the Maralinga range from the medical officer at the South Australian desert site, Labor said. Opposition defence, science and personnel spokesman Laurie Ferguson said further evidence had emerged the British Government sought to withhold vital information on the health risks facing Australians involved in atomic tests in the 1950s and 1960s. On Tuesday, Mr Ferguson released the text of a recently declassified British file note directing the medical officer not be informed of the risks involved in the Vixen tests. "This document of 16 October 1959 clearly shows that the United Kingdom Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) at Aldermaston in England directed its Australian-based staff to withhold from the Maralinga range medical officer details of the likely dangers involved in the Vixen series of tests," Mr Ferguson said in a statement. "The document asserts that the only conceivable risk of an accident would be through inhalations of the cloud at a short distance from its origin during a Vixen test. "It goes on to say: 'In any event there is no emergency treatment'." Mr Ferguson said earlier in the document the AWRE head office conceded the acute condition arising from exposure to the material was indistinguishable from pneumonia. "It is clear that the purpose of the memo was to obstruct any efforts by the range medical officer to monitor the health of any Australian personnel who might have displayed pneumonia-like symptoms," he said. "There is mounting evidence from recently released material that one element of the British atomic tests in Australia was to monitor the impact on military personnel of atomic blasts. "The bitter irony is that no proper health monitoring systems or follow up procedures were actually put in place." Mr Ferguson called on the government to fast track its promised mortality and cancer incidence study. "Veterans' Affairs Minister Bruce Scott was reluctantly forced into agreeing to the study in July 1999, after previously insisting that the personnel concerned suffered from no greater rates of illness or disability than the general population," he said. ©AAP 2001 ***************************************************************** 17 Lack of graduates signals decline in nuclear industry EducationGuardian.co.uk Joe Plomin Wednesday July 25, 2001 The nuclear industry in the UK is facing decline within five years because of a lack of trained graduates. The news could undermine plans floated by government ministers last month to rejuvenate this source of power. The Department for Trade and Industry's foresight energy futures taskforce report predicted "a partial revival of nuclear [power] from 2015", something that might not be possible if there is no one to build or make new plants safe. To try to tackle the problem, the DTI has commissioned a new steering group intended to improve training and increase graduate interest in the industry. The body has not yet been officially announced and ministers are still discussing its exact role, but the head of the new group has been chosen - Professor John Chesshire, Sussex University's specialist in science and technology policy. Professor Chesshire has said, although the nuclear industry has some of the world's top scientists and engineers, not enough young people are getting the training the industry needs, and those who are do not want to go enter into the field. Professor Richard Williams at Leeds University predicted that, within ten years, there will be a serious shortage of trained engineers. Staff are getting older, university facilities are crumbling and nuclear bosses are getting worried. The chief inspector of nuclear installations, Laurence Williams, and directors from key industry organisations, such as BNFL and BNIF, have all expressed concern. Liz Morrey, head of the government's skills action team, which looks at industry needs, said there are two issues. Graduates do not think nuclear has a future and so do not take courses in nuclear power and safety, and too few students go into mathematics, engineering and the sciences. "The worry is people see nuclear as a dying industry, where graduates cannot see a career. Currently, the workforce is in place, but in five years, it is not clear the industry will be able to replace the people that will be leaving," she said. Ministers have been talking about a return to nuclear energy after years of not allowing anyone to build new power stations because of concerns Britain could be running out of energy. A report last month suggested Britain could experience Californian-style blackouts, caused by the failure of the industry to meet the high demand. In five years, the UK will be a net importer of oil. EducationGuardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 18 Congress Debates Nuclear Waste the Energy And Natural Resources Committee Examined Several Bills That Address Spent Fuel Recycling. Welcome to The PMA OnLine Power Report York Daily Record ( July 23, 2001 ) WASHINGTON - As congressional committees debated President Bush's energy policy last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered the administration's pro posal that the government break its 25-year moratorium on recycling spent radioactive fuel from the nation's 103 nuclear power plants. Florida State University chemistry professor Gregory R. Choppin testified that unlike other countries' policies, U.S. practice calls for the enriched uranium fuel to be used once and then placed in special containers that store the dangerously radioactive rods at the nuclear power plants. Called the "nonproliferation policy," it was adopted in the mid- 1970s with the hope that other countries would follow America's lead and not recycle nuclear fuel or produce plutonium that could be used in nuclear weapons. Plutonium is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process. The administration's energy proposal, released in May, recommends that the U.S. should allow reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel as a potential way to reduce waste and the ability to produce plutonium. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is examining several Democratic and Republican bills that address spent fuel recycling. Proponents of reprocessing spent fuel say states like Pennsylvania could benefit, because unused uranium and plutonium that is now stored as waste could be extracted and used again in new fuel rods. With nine reactors at five plants, Pennsylvania is second to Illinois in having the most commercial nuclear power plants. Illinois has 13 commercial reactors at seven plants. The Three Mile Island plant near Middletown and the Peach Bottom plant in southeast York County are within 20 miles of York. Opponents of reprocessing say that it is expensive and risky because it produces poisonous, highly radioactive plutonium - an essential component of nuclear weapons. Experts testifying Wednesday told senators that France, Britain and Russia recycle spent nuclear fuel and create new fuel rods infused with plutonium that are then burned in specially designed power plants. Choppin told senators that recycling is preferable because it can ultimately reduce the amount of radioactive waste - and the level of plutonium in that waste - that could be used in the future to make weapons. "The nonproliferation policy was not adopted by any other nation," Choppin said. "The U.S. policy is a failure." But Natural Resources Defense Council nuclear program director Thomas B. Cochran disagreed. "In my view, implementation of the Bush plan and its policies would be a grave mistake," Cochran said. Cochran testified that the country's policies toward nuclear fuel since the Ford administration constitute a double standard, and that future policy should shun reprocessing and plutonium extraction. "The United States government has long taken the position that it does not encourage the civilian use of plutonium and accordingly does not itself engage in plutonium processing," Cochran said. "While the [country] has actively sought to limit reprocessing in some regions of proliferation concern, it regrettably has taken the position that it will honor its existing commitments regarding the use of plutonium in civil nuclear programs in Western Europe and Japan, leading to the stock piling of huge quantities of weapon-usable plutonium." Most senators on the committee expressed interest in reprocessing, both for its capability for recycling spent fuel rods and also for its poten tial to reduce the amount of radioactivity in the resulting waste. "There are large benefits to be gained from re-use and reclaiming spent nuclear fuel," said Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., added that nuclear power involves national defense as well as the civilian nuclear industry. "I think we are short-sighted if we focus just on rods coming from power plants," Burns said. "We've got a navy that's nuclear." But Cochran urged the committee to reject reprocessing because it is more dangerous and less economical than the current policy of burning fuel once and storing it as waste. "There are no known fuel cycles that rely on reprocessing that are cheaper and no known fuel cycles that are more prolife ration- resistant than the once-through cycle," Cochran said. "(Reprocessing systems) are dual-use technologies that can be used for both civil and for weapons use. There is not a shred of evidence that they are economical. France and the U.K. make money from (it) by reprocessing other countries' fuel." But Jacques Bouchard, director of the Nuclear Energy Divi sion of the French Atomic Energy Commission, disagreed that reprocessing was uneconomical. He said existing reactors burn only 1 percent of natural uranium, and if that continues, increasing energy needs will deplete much of the amount of uranium in a few decades. Bouchard testified that the French program does just what Bush's energy plan calls for, which is recycling spent fuel and burning plutonium to make electrical power - leaving none that could be converted into weapons. "We consider from the non-proliferation point of view that it is better to burn plutonium rather than keep it in store," Bouchard said. "We think it would not be easy to explain to French people that we should have to dispose of hundreds or thousands of tons of plutonium underground somewhere in the country." But that is exactly what the U. S. Department of Energy may do. Since 1987, the department has studied disposing of highly radioactive waste in a vault buried deep beneath Yucca Mountain about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas and just south of Nellis Air Force Range. A department report indicates that many scientists be lieve the characteristics of the rock and the deep water table would help contain spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Deputy Energy Secretary Francis Blake testified that even if the country adopts Bush's energy policy and begins burning recycled fuel, there will still be a need to dispose of highly radioactive waste. But Murkowski questioned the ability of the country to reuse spent fuel disposed of at Yucca Mountain. "We made a determination that this is a permanent repository. Some now say it would be retrievable?" Blake answered, "Yes, I agree that it would be retrievable." Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said that there is plenty of time to work out details of storage and reprocessing of spent fuel rods. The amount that exists, he said, is equal to the area of a football field and eight feet high. But Choppin warned against the practice of disposing of such highly radioactive waste without first recycling and burning the plutonium for electrical power. "We are leaving a mine where future generations can use it to build weapons and devastate the world," he said. "I don't think that is moral." (C) 2001 York Daily Record. via ProQuest Information and ***************************************************************** 19 India, Russia Agree on Cost of Nuclear Power Plants Welcome to The PMA OnLine Power Report Xinhua News Agency ( July 25, 2001 ) NEW DELHI, Jul 25, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Thirteen years after an inter-governmental pack was signed, India and Russia have now agreed on the cost of setting up of a two-unit nuclear power plant in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Wednesday. The agreement was reached Tuesday night after a two-day meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee, which was entrusted with the task to monitor the implementation of the project and take decision on key issues concerning the plants, in Bangalore, 2,060 kilometers south of here. At a press conference Tuesday night jointly held in Bangalore, with Russian Deputy Minister E. A. Reshetnikov, who is in charge of Department of Atomic Energy, chairman and managing director of Indian Nuclear power Corporation V. K. Chaturvedi said Russia would be responsible for the design, supply of material and key equipment. Chaturvedi told reporter that 90 percent of equipment for the power plants would come from Russia while 10 percent would be made in India or from third countries, PTI said. Russia would extended 54 percent of total expenditure of some three billion U.S. dollars by means of credit at four percent interest rate, which is repayable in 14 equal instalments one year after the commissioning of the plants, he said. The excavation for the plant at Kudankulam of Tamil Nadu has been planned to begin in the coming October and the major construction work for the main plant are expected to start in the first quarter of 2002. The firs unit of the plant is expected to be commissioned by December 2007 while the second unit by December 2008 Under an agreement signed in 1988 between the governments of India and the former Soviet Union, the two countries decided to set up a nuclear power plant of 2000 mw capacity on a technical cooperation. Copyright 2001 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY ***************************************************************** 20 Czech Nuclear Plant Chief Backs Use of Nuclear Power in Energy Production Welcome to The PMA OnLine Power Report BBC Monitoring European - Economic ( July 24, 2001 ) Excerpt from report by Czech newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes web site on 23 July ... [Question] Why are you such a champion of nuclear energy? [Frantisek Hezoucky, director of the Temelin nuclear power plant]... Do we want to have sufficient electric energy to facilitate [normal] living? If so, then we need power-generating plants. If we want a power plant whose power production would not lead to global warming of the planet, we have an obligation to limit the combustion processes as much as possible. If we say we are not afraid of melting the [world's] glaciers or of causing the levels of the world's oceans to rise and of the [resulting] migration of people from flooded coastal areas to regions situated farther inland, [we need to consider that] there will be nothing [left] to burn several decades from now anyway because coal reserves will have been exhausted. The choices then include renewable resources or nuclear power plants. It would also be well to realize that electric energy cannot be stored, that solar panels cannot deliver electric energy at night, [neither can] wind generators function when there is no wind, and that hydroelectric power plants must be located on water ways that have adequate supplies of water. I consider myself to be an advocate of renewable resources but I also have an additional criterion here - economic considerations. The CEZ [Czech Power Producing Company] corporation had some demonstration wind-powered generating plants that produced electric energy for 17 korunas per kilowatt-hour. Temelin will be producing electric energy for 0.98 korunas. Who will be willing to pay 15 korunas and more per kilowatt-hour? The choice we are left with is clear... [Question] You have absolutely no doubts regarding nuclear energy? Are there no disadvantages? [Hezoucky] Everyone should have doubts...Yes, I have doubts; every responsible person, every chemical engineer or physicist, as well as every nuclear power engineer must have doubts... Of course, nuclear energy has its disadvantages along with its advantages. There is a certain, albeit very minor, risk of a nuclear disaster. However, in modern electric power plants this risk is well managed. And then there is the radioactive waste. There is relatively little of this material and its storage is not an engineering problem but rather a psychological one. I think that people should be more afraid of heavy metals or carcinogenic substances... [Question] But the German government has decided that it will gradually attenuate nuclear energy. [Hezoucky] I am convinced that the next German government will change this decision. If Germany were to renounce nuclear energy, it would not be able to meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gasses... (C) 2001 BBC Monitoring European - Economic. via ProQuest ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Nuclear Experts Deny Kursk Danger July 24, 2001 MOSCOW (AP) - Russian nuclear engineers on Tuesday denied there was any danger of radiation leaking during the operation to raise the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk, even if an accident disrupted the salvage effort. The Kursk is to be lifted from the bottom of the Barents Sea on steel cables, connected through holes that divers are drilling in the submarine's hull. The cables will be attached to 26 hydraulic lifts anchored to a giant pontoon, which will be towed to the Arctic port of Murmansk. The main fears are that the cables could break, sending the Kursk slamming back into the sea bottom, or that the submarine would turn upside down during the towing. Some experts worry about the ability of the Kursk's two nuclear reactors to withstand such shocks. But Nikolai Ponomaryov-Stepnoi, deputy chief of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading nuclear research center, said that all possible accidents have been analyzed, and that experts concluded the reactors would remain safe. "We have reviewed all possible situations that can arise during these operations - the lifting, towing and placing in the dock - and we have come to the conclusion that not only under normal circumstances, but even under some kind of trouble, which could occur during any technical operation, the nuclear reactors will remain safe," Ponomaryov-Stepnoi told a news conference. The Kursk's reactors were designed to withstand enemy strikes, during which "the pressure on the reactor is tens of times stronger than during the most devastating earthquake," said Alexander Kiryushkin, head of the Mechanical Engineering Institute which designed the reactors. Still, any potential trouble would come on top of the already severe blow that the reactors suffered when the Kursk was ripped by an explosion and crashed into the sea floor last August. All 118 sailors aboard were killed. An emergency system shut down the reactors, Russian officials said, and no radiation leaks have been reported. A year after the disaster, its cause remains unclear. Russian officials have said the disaster was set off by a practice torpedo. But it is unclear whether the torpedo exploded because of an internal malfunction, as foreign experts believe, or whether it was triggered by a collision with another vessel, as Russian officials have claimed. The operation to raise the Kursk is scheduled for this fall. All contents copyright 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Augusta, S.C. U.S. Newswire 24 Jul 17:10 To: National Desk Contact: Michael Shields, 202-693-4650 Web site: www.dol.gov NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C., July 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A resource center designed to help sick nuclear weapons industry workers and their families receive compensation from the federal government will open at 592 W. Martintown Rd., in North Augusta, South Carolina on July 26, 2001. "Our goal is to take care of the men and women who were harmed as quickly as possible," said Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "These workers gave their labor -- and many of them gave their health - in the service and protection of our country during the Cold War." The Augusta resource center is one of 10 or more such centers opening around the country that will offer personal assistance in filing claim forms for the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), passed by Congress in October 2000. "I join Secretary Chao in supporting these centers that will help the workers who played a very important role in this country's defense mission," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "The resource centers are a visible sign of our commitment to put words into action, and will help our workers get benefits as quickly as possible." EEOICPA pays $150,000 lump-sum compensation and related medical expenses to workers who became seriously ill from exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working in the nuclear weapons industry for the Department of Energy, including its contractors and subcontractors. Compensation will also be available to some survivors and to uranium workers who are eligible for benefits under Section Five of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. DOE workers who have occupational illnesses due to toxic exposures will also receive assistance in applying for benefits that may be available through the state workers' compensation program. The Departments of Labor and Energy, which jointly operate the centers, have opened or will open centers in Rocky Flats, Colo.; Paducah, Ky.; Portsmouth, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nev.; Richland, Wash.; Espanola, N.M.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Anchorage, Alaska; and Oak Ridge, Tenn. Claimants can also receive assistance at the Department of Labor District Offices in Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Cleveland, Ohio; and Jacksonville, Florida. Claimants can call 803-279-2728 to set up an appointment with a caseworker. Claimants or their families can also pick up claim forms at the Resource Center. More information about the EEOICPA is available on line at www.dol.gov or by calling the Department of Labor's toll-free call center at 866-888-3322. --- U.S. Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this release will be made available in alternative format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202-693-7773 or TTY 202-693-7755. /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ ***************************************************************** 3 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Richland,WA U.S. Newswire 24 Jul 17:14 To: National Desk Contact: Michael Shields, 202-693-4650 Web site: www.dol.gov KENNEWICK, Wash., July 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A resource center designed to help sick nuclear weapons industry workers and their families receive compensation from the federal government will open at 7601 W. Clearwater, Suite 102 in Kennewick, Washington on July 25, 2001. "Our goal is to take care of the men and women who were harmed as quickly as possible," said Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "These workers gave their labor -- and many of them gave their health - in the service and protection of our country during the Cold War." The Richland resource center is one of 10 or more such centers opening around the country that will offer personal assistance in filing claim forms for the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), passed by Congress in October 2000. "I join Secretary Chao in supporting these centers that will help the workers who played a very important role in this country's defense mission," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "The resource centers are a visible sign of our commitment to put words into action, and will help our workers get benefits as quickly as possible." EEOICPA pays $150,000 lump-sum compensation and related medical expenses to workers who became seriously ill from exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working in the nuclear weapons industry for the Department of Energy, including its contractors and subcontractors. Compensation will also be available to some survivors and to uranium workers who are eligible for benefits under Section Five of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. DOE workers who have occupational illnesses due to toxic exposures will also receive assistance in applying for benefits that may be available through the state workers' compensation program. The Departments of Labor and Energy, which jointly operate the centers, have opened or will open centers in Rocky Flats, Colorado; Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; Espanola, New Mexico; Idaho Falls, Idaho; North Augusta, South Carolina; Anchorage, Alaska; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Claimants can also receive assistance at the Department of Labor District Offices in Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Cleveland, Ohio; and Jacksonville, Florida. Claimants can call 509-783-1500 to set up an appointment with a caseworker. Claimants or their families can also pick up claim forms at the Resource Center. More information about the EEOICPA is available on line at www.dol.gov or by calling the Department of Labor's toll-free call center at 866-888-3322. U.S. Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this release will be made available in alternative format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202-693-7773 or TTY 202-693-7755. Copyright 2001, U.S. Newswire * ***************************************************************** 4 Resource Center for Energy Workers to Open in Tennessee U.S. Newswire 24 Jul 17:18 To: National Desk Contact: Michael Shields, 202-693-4650 Web site: OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A resource center designed to help sick nuclear weapons industry workers and their families receive compensation from the federal government will open in at 800 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tenn., on July 27, 2001. "Our goal is to take care of the men and women who were harmed as quickly as possible," said Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "These workers gave their labor -- and many of them gave their health -- in the service and protection of our country during the Cold War." The Oak Ridge resource center is one of 10 or more such centers opening around the country that will offer personal assistance in filing claim forms for the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), passed by Congress in October 2000. "I join Secretary Chao in supporting these centers that will help the workers who played a very important role in this country's defense mission," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "The resource centers are a visible sign of our commitment to put words into action, and will help our workers get benefits as quickly as possible." EEOICPA pays $150,000 lump-sum compensation and related medical expenses to workers who became seriously ill from exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working in the nuclear weapons industry for the Department of Energy, including its contractors and subcontractors. Compensation will also be available to some survivors and to uranium workers who are eligible for benefits under Section Five of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. DOE workers who have occupational illnesses due to toxic exposures will also receive assistance in applying for benefits that may be available through the state workers' compensation program. The Departments of Labor and Energy, which jointly operate the centers, have opened or will open centers in Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; Rocky Flats, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; Richland, Washington; Espanola, New Mexico; Idaho Falls, Idaho; North Augusta, South Carolina; and Anchorage, Alaska. Claimants can also receive assistance at the Department of Labor District Offices in Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Cleveland, Ohio; and Jacksonville, Florida. Claimants can call 865-481-0411 to set up an appointment with a caseworker. Claimants or their families can also pick up claim forms at the Resource Center. More information about the EEOICPA is available on line at www.dol.gov or by calling the Department of Labor's toll-free call center at 866-888-3322. --- U.S. Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this release will be made available in alternative format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202-693-7773 or TTY 202-693-7755. /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ ***************************************************************** 5 Effort aims to aid radiation victims Buffalo News - COMPENSATION Effort aims to aid radiation victims By DOUGLAS TURNER News Washington Bureau Chief 7/25/01 WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. John J. LaFalce on Tuesday asked the Bush administration to set up an outreach office in the Buffalo area for victims of nuclear exposure in Western New York war industries, and their survivors. The closest one, they said in letters to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, is in Tennessee. At the same time, Clinton, D-N.Y., and LaFalce, D-Town of Tonawanda, also asked Abraham and Chao to interpret liberally the laws that determine who should get federal compensation for sickness and death inflicted by work-connected nuclear radiation. So far, the government is aiding only those who worked in defense-related atomic plants during the time the Department of Energy, or its predecessor agencies, were actively using the sites. Clinton and LaFalce listed more than 36 sites where workers suffered exposure. Among them were 12 factories in Western New York such as the former Ashland Oil Refinery, Town of Tonawanda; Bliss and Laughlin Steel, Buffalo; the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, Lewiston; Linde Ceramics, Town of Tonawanda; and Simonds Saw & Steel, Lockport. Their list also includes the West Valley Demonstration Project, Ashford, which did not perform any defense-related work. An aide in LaFalce's office said the list was provided by the Energy Department. They also asked the department to increase awareness of the program, and allow eligible workers to have access to needed medical records, often in corporate or government hands, as quickly as possible. Copyright © 1999 - 2001 The Buffalo NewsTM ***************************************************************** 6 No Samples For Signs Of Radioactive Isotopes Taken From Kursk's Engine Compartment Pravda.RU Jul, 24 2001 Experts of the Kurchatov Institute have taken water and soil samples for the signs of radioactive isotopes from the location site of the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk, directly from the submarine or between its light and solid hulls. As the center's experts emphatically object to touching the nuclear compartment, no samples have been taken from there, Kurchatov Institute Vice President Nikolai Ponomaryov Stepnoi told a press conference Tuesday. In his words, at present the Navy has a considerable number of nuclear submarines which have been withdrawn from combat duty and are waiting for utilization. Some of these submarines have nuclear fuel onboard. According to Ponomaryov Stepnoi, the technology of utilizing nuclear submarines withdrawn from combat duty is entirely Russian. But the US provides Russia with financial and technological assistance in utilizing them. In particular, the States gives special equipment for cutting nuclear submarines, compressing their hulls and extracting useful materials from them. In the words of the Kurchatov Institute Vice President, after the Kursk is lifted, transported and placed in a dry dock, the center's experts will examine it to make sure that its nuclear engines are safely shut down. RIA 'Novosti' Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials in whole or ***************************************************************** 7 Bush signs bill to pay ill miners Rocky Mountain News: Politics By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, News Washington Bureau President Bush has signed the supplemental appropriations bill that includes money to pay former uranium miners and others with radiation-related illnesses. Most of the money in the $6.5 billion spending bill is for military programs, but it includes language to replenish the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act trust fund, which has issued only IOUs since late last year. The Justice Department has said it will begin processing checks for former miners, nuclear test participants and downwind residents who have serious illnesses dating back to the Cold War era. "It is poetic irony that this spending bill which directs monetary compensation to people who mined uranium to help fight the Cold War was signed into law behind the former Iron Curtain," said Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell who lobbied for the money. Bush signed the bill Tuesday while traveling in Kosovo. July 25, 2001 2001 © The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 8 DU Cover-up not right way to end disaster China Daily Print Edition July 24, 2001 07/24/2001 Back in 1991, in the wake of the Gulf War, the UK Atomic Energy Authority produced a report estimating that if 50 tons of residual dust from depleted uranium (DU) shells was left in the Iraqi soil, it could cause up to 500,000 extra cancer deaths in the region over a 10-year period. At least 300 tons of DU-tipped shells - possibly much more - were used against Iraqi tanks. Pentagon scientist Doug Rokke has now claimed that in 1991 he warned the allied powers that these explosives could cause cancer, mental illness and birth defects - but that they chose to cover it up. Iraq has long claimed a steep rise in birth defects and other unexplained illness since the Gulf War. Rokke was head of the Pentagon's DU Project. Now suffering from reactive airway disease, nerve damage and kidney problems, he says: "DU is the stuff of nightmares. It causes lymphoma, neuro-psychotic disorders and short-term memory damage. In semen it causes birth defects and trashes the immune system." Recently leaked to the press, an unpublished British government document of 1997 warned that "inhalation of insoluble uranium dioxide dust will lead to accumulation in the lungs with very slow clearance - if any." It added: "All personnel should be aware that uranium dust inhalation carries a long-term risk ... (the dust) has been shown to increase the risks of developing lung, lymph and brain cancers." These warnings are seriously at variance with claims from Washington, London and NATO headquarters that there is nothing to worry about and no proven link between DU and leukaemia or other illnesses. For citizens' organizations and many other governments, as well as for military personnel who have been sick since serving in Kosovo or the Gulf, the "no proven link" argument deliberately avoids the issue. At a NATO meeting in January, Italy, Germany and Greece all pushed for a moratorium on DU, but they were overruled. DU continues to be produced in large quantities because it is the residual substance from making fuel for nuclear reactors and from reprocessing spent fuel. For nuclear states, storage of this waste is an increasing problem - Britain alone has 20,000 tons of it - so any opportunity to recycle is welcome. Apart from its re-use in ammunition, which is a perfect solution for the military-industrial complex, both the United States and Britain are planning to allow low levels in the manufacture of consumer goods. In this way they will be able to get rid of it - without the need for warning labels for consumers - and better yet, get paid for it. In the meantime, some nuclear companies cannot wait. After an employee tipped off a national newspaper, British Nuclear Fuels admitted it was dumping 30,000 bags of nuclear waste containing DU on a municipal waste tip near urban areas of Lancashire. Chris Busby, a specialist in low-level radiation has been invited to brief the European Parliament on his findings that the risk of leukaemia from depleted uranium ammunition may be 100 times greater than official estimates. His research has shown that actual leukaemia deaths after the Chernobyl disaster were much greater than those predicted by Britain's National Radiological Protection Board. The reason, which would apply equally in Iraq since the Gulf War, is that forecasts have been based on radioactive rays rather than the radioactive particles created when a uranium shell explodes and shatters. The European Parliament's Green Group has called for an investigation and a total ban on DU weapons. Only a month after the public furore over DU in January, the British military resumed test-firing of DU shells in Scotland. Since 1982, more than 7,000 shells have been fired at the range. They are meant to land in the sea, but attempts to retrieve them afterwards have failed, so 28 tons have gone missing. An independent nuclear consultant called this "a disaster waiting to happen: Sooner or later it will end up in the food chain." Furthermore, up to 24 shells have misfired and hit the ground, generating clouds of DU dust. In most cases these "malfunctioning penetrators" buried themselves in the ground and have not been recovered. copyright 2001 by chinadaily.com.cn. all rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Hanford contractor admits plutonium readings were in error Wednesday, July 25, 2001 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES A Hanford contractor acknowledged yesterday that portable detectors gave erroneous information about plutonium concentrations in waste sent to a Hanford Nuclear Reservation landfill. At least one package now at the landfill contains a higher level of plutonium than permitted, based on preliminary analysis, said Doug Sherwood of the Environmental Protection Agency. He called the Fluor Hanford work "sloppy," and a Fluor Hanford spokeswoman agreed. In a prepared statement, Fluor Hanford said two portable detectors used between May 1999 and May 2001 were incorrectly calibrated. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattle-pi.com ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear-Weapons Workers May Be Part Of Settlement KMBC TheKansasCityChannel.com | Kansas City Star Tuesday July 24 07:22 PM EDT Nuclear-Weapons Workers May Be Part Of Settlement The federal government wants to hear from anyone who worked in the nuclear-weapons industry because they could be part of a settlement agreement, KMBC's Brenda Washington reported. Washington reported that in the past 60 years, more than 250,000 people have worked in the nuclear-weapons industry. She said that the government is admitting that thousands of workers may have been exposed to radiation and other hazardous chemicals that may have affected their health. There is a list of more than 300 government facilities where workers may have been exposed to the chemicals. Washington reported that the the former Bendix/Allied Signal plant, where Beryllium was used for parts in nuclear weapons, is on the list. Washington reported that people who believe that they may have been exposed to the chemicals are urged to call the Department of Labor for information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program at (866) 888-3322. Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! and . ***************************************************************** 11 Weapons workers qualify for federal aid Tuesday, July 24, 2001 By STAN FREEMAN Two public meetings will be held in Boston Thursday to discuss federal compensation for workers sickened by doing nuclear weapons work in the 1940s at Chapman Valve in Springfield and elsewhere. Compensation can go to the workers or to the families of deceased workers. The meetings, which are intended to answer questions about the program, are hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor. They will take place at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Boston Marriott Copley Place at 110 Huntington Ave. The former Chapman Valve Co. is among 317 mills and factories nationwide where workers may have been sickened while doing nuclear weapons work during World War II and the Cold War. In the early 1940s, Chapman Valve, which was located in Indian Orchard, had a role in the Manhattan Project developing the first atomic bomb. And in 1948 and 1949, workers there machined radioactive uranium for the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, which was developing a nuclear power program. The plant closed in 1986. Workers in those programs who developed cancer or other illnesses that may have been related to the work can receive up to $150,000 as well as medical benefits starting from the date their claims are filed. Wives, husbands or children of workers who died of illnesses that may have been related to their nuclear work are also eligible for that compensation. Children, to be eligible, had to be younger than 18 or full-time students younger than 23 when the affected parent died. For more information on the program, people can call 1-866-888-3322, or they can go the Department of Labor Web page (www.dol.gov) where a link to the program can be found on the home page. For people interested in attending the hearings Thursday but with no means to get to Boston, the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health will provide transportation. Call the group at (413) 731-0760. © 2001 UNION-NEWS. Used with permission. ***************************************************************** 12 Harkin seeks money for broader IAAP health study The Hawk Eye Special: IAAP [The Hawk Eye Special Edition] Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Unknown dangers at IAAP] By Dennis J. Carroll The Hawk Eye Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin called on Defense budget drafters Tuesday to set aside $1 million to study the health of past and present employees at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant -- including those who worked with conventional munitions. Former Atomic Energy Commission workers at the Middletown plant currently are the focus of a health study by the Department of Energy, but the health of Army contract workers has been given scant attention. Many former Army employees have complained that over the past 50 to 60 years Army workers suffered life-long illnesses or even deaths from exposure to the hazardous chemicals and metals they worked with. "We must take the same care of the health of the Army workers at IAAP as we do the nuclear workers at IAAP," Harkin said. Harkin asked the Senate Appropriations Committee to include the money in the fiscal 2002-2003 defense funding bill. The Army study would be done in conjunction with the nuclear-workers survey, Harkin said. "Workers at IAAP on the Army ammunition side of the plant worked for the same contractor and used many of the same chemicals as those on the nuclear side," Harkin said. "They deserve the same consideration." The University of Iowa Department of Public Health is using a $500,000 Department of Energy grant to assess the health of those who worked for the AEC from the late-1940s to the mid-1970s. The AEC built, tested and in later years disassembled nuclear weapons or their components. Former atomic weapons workers are being offered a federal compensation package that includes a lump sum payment of $150,000 and some medical costs if they can show that exposure to beryllium, radiation or silica caused their illnesses. Harkin said the Army study would collect data to determine the most critical health concerns. The survey also would try to determine whether there is a greater incidence of cancer or premature mortality among IAAP workers than the general population. His request did not mention possible compensation. Harkin is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and also sits on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. One former IAAP Army worker praised Harkin's move. "I'm happy to hear it," said Paula Graham of Farmington. "It's about time." Graham said she, her mother and her father all worked on the Army side, and that a sister, who worked for the AEC, died at age 25, possibly from her exposure to hazardous materials. Graham suspects that sicknesses suffered by her mother and father also may have been connected to their work at the plant. "I have always felt that was the cause of their illnesses," she said. 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk ' ' '| ' ' '319-754-6824 FAX ' ' '| ' ' ' 1-800-397-1708 Outside Burlington [this is a line and that's all that it is] ©' 2000 The Hawk Eye, all rights reserved. ' ' Updated daily ' 'Questions? - ***************************************************************** 13 Weapons-grade uranium seized Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | 1.7kg of nuclear material found in Georgia may have been destined for a rogue state or terror group Special report: Russia Amelia Gentleman in Moscow and Ewen MacAskill Wednesday July 25, 2001 The Guardian Police officers in Georgia said yesterday that four men had been arrested trying to sell a large quantity of enriched uranium, raising the fear that it may have been destined for a terrorist group or country classified by the US as a rogue state. Although there has been an increased number of cases of smuggling nuclear material since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is rare for uranium of this quality and quantity of to appear on the black market. The men were arrested by local anti-terrorist police last Wednesday morning in a hotel room in the Black Sea port of Batumi, apparently finalising plans for selling the weapons-grade uranium. About 1.7kg of what is believed to be uranium-235 stood inside a large glass jar, wrapped in a plastic bag, on the hotel room floor. It is believed to have been heading for Turkey, which is often used as a transit point. The final destination is not known. The US says that the countries seeking uranium on the black market include North Korea and Iran. Iraq is not thought to be among the buyers in this instance, since it knows how to enrich uranium. There is no independent confirmation of the US claim that North Korea and Iraq have a nuclear capability. The US also lists 12 terrorist groups which it claims have tried to buy nuclear material, including that led by Osama bin Laden and the Japanese sect responsible for the Tokyo underground poisoning. Rizor Sakvarelidze, head of the anti-terrorist unit of the Georgian autonomous region of Adzharia, said: "We don't have any protective clothing, so we had to perform the arrest and the seizure of the material with our bare hands." The three unemployed men and a captain in the Georgian army were hoping to be paid $80,000 (£56,300) a kilogram. Officials believe that the haul may have been stolen from a Russian nuclear submarine. It is being analysed in Tblisi, and the results are expected to give a clearer idea of its origin. Hundreds of attempts to smuggle radioactive material out of Russia are made every year, but most cases involve relatively low-risk strontium isotopes in materials stolen from hospitals or the mining industry. These isotopes do not have nuclear bomb making potential. "Instances of uranium being stolen are much rarer; especially highly enriched uranium," Igor Kudrik, of the nuclear watchdog Bellona, said. "This kind of enriched uranium could be used to make a so-called 'dirty' nuclear bomb; not a sophisticated weapon, but powerful enough to wipe out a city." The 1.7kg would not have been enough to manufacture a whole bomb: at least twice as much would be needed. "But this is still a significant amount, and it is an extremely worrying case," Mr Kudrik said. "The know-how required to turn this material into a bomb is not that difficult. Anyone with a good education in physics should be able to do it." Ivan Safanchuk, director of the Moscow office of the Centre for Defence Information, said: "If this material does turn out, after analysis, really to have been highly enriched uranium, then it is very scary news, because the greatest difficulty rogue states or terrorists face if they want to make a nuclear bomb is finding weapons-grade plutonium [an alternative] available on the black market. "It is extremely unusual for highly enriched uranium to be found on sale." David Kyd, chief spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body based in Vienna, said that although lots of cases of smuggling appeared in the press, most of it was of small quantities and not sufficiently enriched for making nuclear weapons. He said most countries and terrorist groups were wary of buying on the black market because of stings by intelligence groups and criminal gangs. Enriched uranium is used as fuel on Russian nuclear submarines and the substance on sale could have been stolen from the base of the northern fleet near the Arctic port of Murmansk. In 1993, nuclear fuel rods thought to contain uranium-235 were stolen from a storage depot in Murmansk by two officers who simply walked past the old woman on duty. Since then a series of American-funded programmes have radically improved security at most of Russia's nuclear stores."If such programmes continue, then the nuclear materials will be much more secure," Mr Kudrik said. "But you still have to consider the current social problems in Russia. If the person who is supposed to be guarding these materials is unable to live on his salary, then no amount of sophisticated, hi-tech security equipment is going to offer any protection against theft." Terror trail uncovered A lot of uranium was smuggled in the mid-90s and there has been another surge in the past two years: July 2001 French police find five grams of enriched uranium in the possession of a French swindler in Paris. A man is arrested in Germany for allegedly stealing contaminated plutonium January-March 2001 20 cases of illegal trafficking in radioactive materials, with thefts in Germany, Romania, South Africa and Mexico. April 2000 Detectives in Colombia seize £1m-worth of enriched uranium from an animal feed salesman. 920 grams of enriched uranium found in Georgia July 1995-April 2000 13 seizures in western Europe and 41 along southern routes through Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East. May 1991-June 1995 53 seizures in western Europe and 11 along the southern routes. 1994 Colombian arrested in Frankfurt travelling from Moscow with plutonium in his suitcase. Turned out to be a sting by German intelligence. • Sources including the World Today, published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 14 Fire under control at K-25, no injuries Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:56 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 from staff reports A fire in the K-31 building at the Oak Ridge K-25 site was reported "under control" this morning, according to the Department of Energy. The fire started as equipment was being disassembled with a cutting torch. It was reported about 6:30 a.m. and DOE issued a brief press release just before 9 a.m. No injuries were reported and all personnel were accounted for and evacuated from the building, the DOE release says. Three people were working on disassembling the equipment where the fire started, Walter Perry, spokesman for DOE, said this morning. About 50 people were evacuated from the building. The fire department on site reported heavy smoke and fire visible inside the facility when firefighters arrived. No smoke was reported outside the building. The fire was reported at 6:32 a.m. and "was completely out" by 7:54, Perry reported. Work at the site is being done by BNFL, which has a contract with DOE for the cleanup of three buildings formerly used in the gaseous diffusion process to enrich uranium. "It is likely that BNFL will conduct an investigation" of the fire and surrounding circumstance, Perry said. Work in the immediate area will not resume until it is checked for potential hazards and to see what steps may need to be taken before work begins again. However, all BNFL workers are expected to be on the job, Perry reported. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 15 Y-12 rebuilding moving forward Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:57 a.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The under secretary for Nuclear Security was in Oak Ridge this week to witness the demolition of a 46-year-old former guard post at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The demolition is just one of many steps Y-12's manager, BWXT Y-12, is taking in modernizing the weapons plant. The guard post was located in an area of Y-12 where nuclear weapon components are manufactured. Gen. John Gordon, who also serves as administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has been a driving force behind the initiative to improve the infrastructure of the Department of Energy's nuclear weapon facilities. The NNSA is the quasi-independent agency within DOE that oversees the nuclear weapons complex. Matthew Guilford, a spokesman for BWXT Y-12, said the guard post was one of three buildings at Y-12 that have been taken down and removed this fiscal year. Another guard post and a water treatment facility were the other two structures. BWXT Y-12 has a goal to reduce Y-12's footprint by 500,000 square feet by September 2002. The modernization plan for Y-12 proposes the construction of a storage area for highly enriched uranium and a special materials complex as part of the plant's modernization. Existing Y-12 facilities for storage of highly enriched uranium are in buildings that are 35 to 55 years old and require significant maintenance and funding to maintain operations and security protocol. Funding for Y-12's modernization appears to be right on track. The House Appropriations Committee approved $536 million for the project for fiscal year 2002. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 16 US to compensate Cold War workers Boston Globe By 0, 7/24/2001 After years of secrecy, the US government yesterday said it plans to compensate thousands of Massachusetts workers who became ill from exposure to radiation or toxic materials while building nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Federal officials will be in Boston this week for meetings designed to identify ailing workers or their surviving spouses and children. Their cases will be reviewed to determine whether they are eligible for $150,000 each, plus medical costs. The meetings will be at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday at the Boston Marriott. Over 600,000 government and private employees in the United States, including current and former employees of 20 companies and institutions in Massachusetts, could be eligible for close to $1 billion in payments under the federal Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. DIANE E. LEWIS This story ran on page D2 of the Boston Globe on 7/24/2001. © Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company. ***************************************************************** 17 Nuclear disaster medical network being introduced The Taipei Times Online: 2001-07-25 July 25th, 2001 By Chuang Chi-ting STAFF REPORTER The Department of Health announced yesterday that an emergency medical network to cope with the aftermath of a nuclear disaster will be formed in three years. Eleven hospitals have been designated by the health department to take part in the network project. "The network is built primarily to control casualties in a nuclear containment scenario caused by an accident at a nuclear power plant," said a department official in charge of emergency medical services. "Although the Atomic Energy Council has reiterated that a nuclear power plant containment failure is highly unlikely, we should still be fully prepared," the official said. The council is the government's nuclear watchdog for all things nuclear, from radioactive medical waste to spent reactor fuel rods. The 11 medical institutions are all located close to the three existing nuclear power plants in Taipei County and Pingtung County. "All of these hospitals have equipment to deal with a containment accident," said Li Mao-hua (§õÀ·µØ), an official of medical affairs from the department. In turn, these hospitals have been rated into two classes according to how comprehensive their nuclear medicine services are. The official said the designated hospitals are responsible for providing related training to other medical institutions in the neighborhoods of the power plants. This story has been viewed 141 times. Copyright © 1999-2001 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************