***************************************************************** 01/26/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.24 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Yucca probe expansion sought 2 Millstone sale approved DPUC quickly gives blessing to $1.3 3 Cancer study of Haddam plant defended No link found between the 4 MIXED-WASTE LANDFILL MEETING 5 Appropriations panel chief joins GAO in questioning Piketon 6 USEC expects profits in future - 7 City maps strategy for Yucca suits against feds 8 PSEG Nuclear: Draft Salem Station Water Discharge Permit Is 9 Australia not protesting nuclear shipment 10 Nuclear sell-off moves a step closer 11 Energy NW exec only 'thinking' of finishing plant NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Lawmaker fans flame over U.C. lab pact 2 Violations at LANL Alleged 3 Y-12 plan for upgrade attracts flak, supporters 4 -Meeting attendees split on Y-12 modernization 5 SRS calls cleanup 'milestone' 6 UN: UNEP and IAEA exploring depleted uranium missions to Bosnia 7 RUSSIA BREAKS ITS WORD 8 U.N. Team To Study Depleted Uranium 9 NATO Says No Link Between Depleted Uranium, Cancer 10 Victims to mark NTS anniversary 11 Military sees no big uranium risks 12 Troops' DU risks 'trivial' compared with combat 13 At last, ministers take depleted uranium seriously 14 Government bows to pressure for DU inquiry 15 The uranium minefield 16 MANY SOLDIERS WERE NOT WARNED OF URANIUM 17 MPs urge scrapping of uranium shells 18 Safety all-clear after depleted-uranium plant blaze 19 NATO CHIEF REASSURES GERMANY ON URANIUM 20 South Africa unprepared for nuclear spill 21 NIF glass production reaches a milestone 22 Nuclear test site might draw thousands 23 Hanford downwinders seek answers 24 Downwinders to Celebrate Utah 'Day of Remembrance' 25 'Downwinders' to mark 50th anniversary **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Yucca probe expansion sought January 26, 2001 BY MARY MANNING LAS VEGAS SUN An investigation into possible bias in selecting a Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository by the Department of Energy should be expanded to include all contractors, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said today. There is additional evidence in documents that the DOE may have tainted the scientific studies of the mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the sole solution to the government's nuclear waste problem. Documents outlining how the repository would be designed prior to scientific studies being completed and DOE's use of a law firm who represented Yucca's chief contractor to review the contractor's work were cited by Berkley. The design documents were discovered by the Sun and published in an article in December. The Sun and the New York Times have both published stories about DOE's relationship with the law firm. The DOE's inspector general sent a team of investigators to Las Vegas at the request of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. A spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that the probe was under way. The inspector general's office plans to prepare a public report after the investigation is completed, spokeswoman Wilma Slaughter said. "I now ask that you expand the investigation to encompass all of DOE's and its contractors' prior actions concerning the Yucca Mountain project," Berkley's letter says. "I believe it is in the interest of the law that Nevada citizens, and the American people are ensured that the Yucca Mountain project has been based upon sound scientific research, rather than political foul play." The initial investigation focuses on the DOE's chief contractor. It was launched after the Sun obtained a 60-page overview suggesting Yucca Mountain is safe to store highly radioactive waste, even though lengthy studies of the Nevada site haven't been completed. Attached to the draft was a two-page memo suggesting that the overview could be used to help the nuclear industry sell Yucca Mountain to Congress. The overview and memo had been released to about a dozen DOE reviewers in October, DOE officials said, but the DOE did not agree with the tone of the memo. Reid said the documents appeared to show the DOE collaborating with its chief Yucca Mountain contractor, TRW Environmental Safety Systems Inc., to win approval for the Nevada site, the only one in the U.S. under study to keep 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste safe for 10,000 years. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 2 Millstone sale approved DPUC quickly gives blessing to $1.3 billion deal TheDay.com: Local and National News Published on 1/25/2001 WATERFORD — The state Department of Public Utility Control wasted no time Wednesday in approving the sale of Millstone Nuclear Power Station for $1.3 billion, acting just one day after hearing final arguments. The new owner of the nuclear station will be Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, which also received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to buy Millstone. The last major hurdle is Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, which is not expected to be difficult. The seller, Northeast Utilities, and Dominion plan to complete the sale by April 1. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut is a newly created subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., a Virginia company that operates four nuclear reactors in that state. Dominion Resources has pledged to spend up to $150 million to support Millstone station should it encounter financial or operational difficulties. The amount is mandated by NRC regulations and would be enough to support operation and maintenance expenses for a station outage lasting up to six months. Dominion said there will be few changes at Millstone. It is retaining the same workforce and management team. WORKERS CLAIMS DISMISSED A day earlier, the DPUC had rejected an attempt by the Millstone Station Employees Association to reopen the proceedings and delay approval of the sale. The group, which has no legal standing, claimed that workers had been misled about potential cuts in pension benefits as a result of the Dominion takeover. NU denied that charge, saying workers have been kept well informed on benefit issues and that Dominion has not finalized its pension package for Millstone. In its final decision the state regulatory agency said Dominion has thus far exceeded worker protection provisions contained in the law that governed the sale. “Dominion will not only retain all present Millstone employees for at least 12 months following the acquisition, it promises that after 12 months, for a period of up to five years, severance benefits will be offered to any employee terminated ... as a result of workforce reductions,” said a statement issued by the DPUC. Its decision approving the deal came on a 3-0 vote. The sale completes the breakup of the NU power generation monopoly in Connecticut, required by the state law deregulating electric retail sales. NU sold off its oil, gas and coal-fired power plants last year. Its subsidiary, Connecticut Light & Power, will continue to operate the electric distribution system in much of Connecticut, western Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Millstone station and its two operating reactors, Millstone 2 and 3, were sold at an auction managed by the investment banking firm J.P. Morgan. The names of the other bidders and their bid amounts were not released by the DPUC, which cited confidentiality agreements. Also sold in the deal was the Millstone 1 plant, which last operated in 1995 and has been permanently shut down. MERGER PENDING NU is the target of a $7.5 billion friendly takeover by Consolidated Edison Inc. of New York. ConEd has delayed the merger, however, because of its concern about provisions contained in the DPUC order approving it. ConEd contends the DPUC order entangles the company in too many financial commitments. Frank J. Poirot, an NU spokesman, said Wednesday that his company remains optimistic the merger will happen. Also on Wednesday NU reported that revenue increases tied to deregulation and lower operating costs resulted in big financial gains during the last quarter of 2000. In 2000 NU revenues rose to a record $5.9 billion, up 32 percent from 1999. It reported year-end earnings of $1.55 per share, up from 26 cents per share a year earlier. With the exception of the last-minute move by the Millstone employees association and the criticism of anti-nuclear groups, the sale of Millstone generated little opposition. After the DPUC decision was announced, the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone immediately issued a statement saying it planned to challenge the sale in state court. “Dominion is no more fit to run Millstone than Northeast Utilities, ”said the group's attorney, Nancy Burton. A problem Tuesday at Dominion's North Anna 1 plant in Virginia is evidence that the company is not ready to take over a Connecticut nuclear plant, Burton said. In a notice filed with the NRC, Dominion outlined how the warning alarms malfunctioned in the control room at the North Anna 1 plant. In response, Dominion beefed up staffing to closely monitor gauges, while the plant continued to operate. The alarms were back in operation in an about an hour. Overall, Dominion's operation of its plants in Virginia has been exemplary, according to the NRC. CONSUMER BENEFITS The DPUC characterized the pending sale as good news for state consumers. The sale will be used to offset so-called “stranded costs,” referring to the large debts NU assumed in building its nuclear plants and the costly contracts it entered into while regulated. When the deregulation law was passed, the legislature agreed to free NU of those debts so that it could compete in an open market. The stranded costs are passed along to consumers in a special surcharge, but proceeds from NU's power plant sales are being used to offset the total. With the consummation of the Millstone sale, CL&P's stranded costs will be less than half the $3.5 billion initially set by the state. The amount was also reduced by the more than $1 billion generated by the sale of NU's other, non-nuclear power plants. One point of controversy is the handling of huge trust funds that Dominion acquires as a result of the sale. At the time of the closing, there is expected to be about $1 billion in the trust funds, collected from consumers and set aside to decommission and cleanup the nuclear plants when they close. Under the final decision, if the trust funds are not enough to cover the eventual cost of decommissioning, Dominion will be responsible for funding the difference. Conversely, if it can do the cleanup for less than has been collected, it can keep the windfall. The trust funds can be expected to grow over the next 25 years, at which point the Millstone 3 license expires and the cleanup could begin. Yet that is not certain. A license extension could delay the closing 20 years, allowing the trust fund investments to grow larger. Dominion has pledged to begin decommissioning by 2050. The cost of cleaning up and decommissioning the Millstone nuclear plants has been placed at $1.7 billion.  [I] ***************************************************************** 3 Cancer study of Haddam plant defended No link found between the disease and nuclear plant's operation TheDay.com: Local and National News Published on 1/26/2001 HADDAM — In a presentation Thursday night, representatives of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering steadfastly stood by the conclusions of their recently released study showing no connection between cancer and the operation of the Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Station. David R. Miller, who chaired the study committee, called the study unique and said it may have been the most comprehensive to date looking into the potential connection between nuclear power and cancer. Connecticut has perhaps the best Tumor Registry in the country, recording 99 percent of every cancerous tumor reported in the state. Combing that data with radiation release statistics from Connecticut Yankee and weather information allowed for the detailed statistical analysis, he said. “There hasn't been a study like it and I don't think you'll find a better one,” said Miller, a professor of natural resources at the University of Connecticut. The study was released Jan. 15. While only about 10 people attended the presentation at the Haddam- Killingworth High School, some of those who did attend engaged in spirited discussions with the representatives of the study group. The committee, made up of all volunteers from the science and business community, found no association among cancers normally associated with radiation and proximity to the plant. It further determined that public exposures to radionuclides emitted from Connecticut Yankee plant were so low as to be negligible. So confident was the panel with its conclusions that it stated that any further, more in-depth study of the subject “is unlikely to produce any positive correlation” between the nuclear station and cancers. Among the most interesting exchanges came between Rosemary Bassilakis of Haddam, a member of the anti-nuclear group Citizens Awareness Network, and Gale F. Hoffnagle, technical director for the study and an environmental consultant with the TRC Environmental Corp. Bassilakis repeatedly challenged Hoffnagle on ways the study could have been approached differently, with more information gathered and analyzed in alternate fashions. “You're talking about the kind of epidemiological study that is a lot more sophisticated and a lot more time and effort than we gave here,” said Hoffnagle, who then alluded to the fact that the study was a volunteer effort. “I didn't have enough unpaid staff to go that far,” he said. But, Hoffnagle said, what the committee did have to time to look at was the best data available and no additional spending or further study is likely to reach a different conclusion. Bassilakis pointed to the high levels of the radionuclide Tritium emitted by the Connecticut Yankee plant during its nearly 30 years of operation. It was permanently closed in 1996. “They released more tritium into the river than any reactor in the country. The fact that they released so much tritium into the river is very significant,” Bassilakis said. “It doesn't appear to be significant,” responded Hoffnagle, “from the point of view of the observed cancer statistics from the tumor registry that we observed down river.” The state's Nuclear Energy Advisory Council requested the study and hosted Thursday's meeting. Mark Holloway of Waterford, a member of the council, questioned whether the group had gone too far in concluding further studies would be pointless. The researchers said they were comfortable with that conclusion. The study only looked at the potential effects of Connecticut Yankee and there are no plans to do a similar study in the vicinity of Millstone Nuclear Station in Waterford. While the study focused on emissions from Connecticut Yankee's 196- foot stack, it also took into consideration radiation released into the Connecticut River, Hoffnagle said. Any increased cancer rates tied to the water discharges would be expected to show up in communities located downriver, but no increased incidences of cancer were found, he said.  [I] ***************************************************************** 4 MIXED-WASTE LANDFILL MEETING Albuquerque Tribune Online: News Asecond public meeting is planned tonight to discuss the Sandia National Laboratories Mixed Waste Landfill. The meeting is from 6: 30 to 9 p.m. at the Mountain View Community Center, 201 Prosperity Road S.E., between Second Street and Broadway Boulevard. ANTI-NUKE GROUP OPPOSES CAPPING LANDFILL TRIBUNE REPORTER An anti-nuclear group today will propose that New Mexico consider alternatives to long-term monitoring of a highly toxic, federal landfill in Albuquerque and order additional environmental assessments. "There are no guarantees, and we believe stewardship is a flawed plan that will fail," Susan Dayton, director of Citizen Action, said. The Albuquerque group is fighting the government's plan to cap and monitor the 2.6-acre Mixed Waste Landfill at Sandia National Laboratories. The site contains nuclear and chemical wastes that were buried in seven unlined trenches and 36 pits between 1959 and 1988. The landfill is in a remote section of Kirtland Air Force Base. Sandia and the Department of Energy want to save $30 million they say it will cost to clean up the landfill today compared with $120,000 per year to monitor it. They say the landfill is "too hot" radioactively to clean up now, but that decaying radioactive elements mean it could be safely excavated and remediated in 14 to 40 years. That's not good enough, said Dayton, who insists that Albuquerque residents and the environment are at risk despite assurances to the contrary from Sandia, independent scientists, and federal and state regulators. State regulators said Tuesday that their technical recommendation currently is to have Sandia cap the landfill and closely monitor it. Dayton said she will formally propose options to the official plan tonight to New Mexico Environment Secretary Peter Maggiore at the second of two public meetings on the landfill. She said Citizen Action wants the state to: ; ˙Order Sandia to explore alternatives, such as encasing the landfill ˙with a high-tech solution that hardens into glass or excavating ˙the contents into a nearby lined and secure landfill. ˙Direct the nuclear weapons laboratory to conduct a comprehensive ˙sampling of soil, air and water around the landfill, splitting ˙samples with an independent scientific lab to assure public confidence. ˙Investigate the detailed contents of the classified section of ˙the landfill to specifically characterize its danger. The classified ˙section, which contains secret nuclear weapons components, covers ˙about 0.6 of an acre of the landfill. Dayton said the public has the right to know what is buried under the sandy soil. "Despite what they have been saying, " she said, "we don't know everything about this landfill." The public will have another opportunity to sound off on the plan tonight. About 150 people attended the first meeting Tuesday at the University of New Mexico, where many residents expressed their fears about the landfill and their distrust of Sandia and the DOE. Dayton said most people are not comfortable with simply allowing the government to monitor the landfill, because the DOE's history of environmental stewardship is strewn with failures. However, several professional engineers and scientists at Tuesday's meeting said Sandia's plan is appropriate and that it would be more dangerous to open the landfill and try to clean it up than to wait until most of the radioactive trash in it has safely decayed. ©The Albuquerque Tribune. Users of this site are subject ***************************************************************** 5 Appropriations panel chief joins GAO in questioning Piketon action Posted at 7:30 p.m. EST Thursday, January 25, 2001 BY KATHERINE RIZZO Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP)--The chairman of an influential House subcommittee on Thursday urged the Energy Department to find another way to pick up the tab for saving jobs at a soon-to-be-closed uranium plant in Ohio. Rep. Sonny Callahan, R-Ala., said he concurred with congressional auditors, who said the Clinton administration illegally went around Congress to obligate $630 million for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The first installment of that money was moved out last Friday, the last working day of the Clinton administration. On Monday, the new administration put the funds on hold. In a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Callahan, who heads the appropriations subcommittee in charge of the DOE's budget, said ``I urge you to act immediately to halt any further obligation of funds for this purpose.'' The sticking point for Callahan, as with the GAO, was the system then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson used to quickly come up with money to put the plant in standby condition and build a demonstration project there for another type of enrichment technology. Richardson declared the centrifuge demonstration and upgrades needed to keep the plant in a standby condition to be related to the privatization of what used to be government-run uranium enrichment operations. There was $725 million left over in a special fund after privatization, more than enough to keep the promise Richardson personally delivered in Piketon, Ohio. The GAO, however, said the privatization law was specific in declaring what were considered valid expenses for that fund, and the plan to help Piketon didn't qualify. In his letter, Callahan said: ``I am not in principle opposed to a modest amount of assistance to keep the Portsmouth Plant in cold standby,'' and he invited Abraham to submit a request to allocate for the Ohio plant money from some other account. Abraham's order had put in limbo the plan to spare some 1,000 layoffs by embarking on the cold standby plan, but his office said it would quickly examine the issue. President Bush intends to keep a campaign promise to help the the workers there, a spokesman for Abraham said. U.S. Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine, both R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, whose district includes the plant, jointly appealed to Bush on Thursday. They asked for quick action ``in the spirit of the Department's original plan and as allowed by law.'' ``We must work quickly to provide support for economic assistance efforts, site cleanup, development of new enrichment technology, and the preservation of our country's capacity to enrich uranium, '' they wrote. Production at the plant is scheduled to end in June. AP-CS-01-25-01 1912EST --> ***************************************************************** 6 USEC expects profits in future - By Joe Walker The Paducah Sun Friday, January 26, 2001 USEC Inc. still predicts nearly $35 million in earnings this fiscal year after showing marked declines in quarterly and six-month earnings compared with the same periods last year. The firm, which runs Paducah's 1,500-employee uranium enrichment plant, projects $40 million in earnings next fiscal year, based on weakened prices in the natural uranium market. USEC has dropped plant production and boosted sales of natural uranium to generate cash, a move criticized by the atomic workers' union and federal lawmakers. Comparing fiscal 2001 with 2000 performance: Quarter (ending Dec. 31): Enriched uranium sales, $351.7 million, down from $431.8 million; natural uranium sales, $35.4 million, up from $15.8 million; combined revenue, $387.1 million, down from $447.6 million; earnings, $20.9 million (26 cents per share), down from $32.6 million (36 cents per share). Six months: Revenue, $613.9 million, down from $678.5 million. Lower sales, aggressive pricing by European competitors and lower average prices billed to customers were key factors, USEC said. Earnings, $25.5 million (31 cents per share), down from $48.7 million (52 cents per share). USEC expects sales for the fiscal year ending June 30 to be 7 percent lower than projected, while average customer prices should be slightly higher. Because of soft spot-market prices for new uranium, USEC is reducing its uranium spot sales to focus on longer-term contract sales with higher prices. During the six-month period, USEC bought back another 2.6 million shares of stock, leaving more than 80 million shares outstanding. The stock is trading at roughly $6 per share, up so far this year but down from $14.25 when USEC was privatized in July 1998. USEC will pay a quarterly dividend of 13.75 cents per share March 15 to shareholders of record Feb. 23. USEC expects to sign an agreement this year to lower prices for Russian uranium now accounting for about 60 percent of USEC's enriched uranium sales, compared with 40 percent from plant production. The firm denies atomic workers' union claims that it could close the Paducah plant as early as 2003 to become solely a broker of Russian uranium. Instead, the Paducah plant upgrade to stand-alone status is on schedule for Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval by March, USEC says. Paducah's sister plant in Ohio will be closed this summer. ***************************************************************** 7 City maps strategy for Yucca suits against feds January 26, 2001 BY ERIN NEFF LAS VEGAS SUN Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said the city's initial examination of potential lawsuits against the federal government appears to merit bringing the case to court. But in exactly which court the city should try to fight the proposed high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain remains uncertain. "They're thinking about legal actions that aren't specific to the (1987 Nuclear Waste Police Act)," said Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency. "They're trying to think about how not to do that." Goodman, who met with Loux this week for a Yucca Mountain briefing, said the city is trying to think "outside the box." "We have some theories that have never been tried before," Goodman said. Eight previous lawsuits by the state, all filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in the late 1980s, were thrown out. In each case the court ruled the federal government would have to actually name Yucca Mountain the permanent site before Nevada had a valid case. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has been the only site nationwide under consideration to store 77,000 tons of high- level nuclear waste. The appellate court is designated as the proper venue to hear complaints related to nuclear waste, based on the 1987 act. But based on past results the city would not likely win any injunctions against the Energy Department in that setting, and would not be able to have evidentiary hearings there, Loux said. Loux will join Goodman on his Town Hall live call-in television program Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. to answer questions about Yucca Mountain. The show airs on the city's cable channel, KCLV Cox cable Channel 2. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 8 PSEG Nuclear: Draft Salem Station Water Discharge Permit Is Reasonable, Balanced Decision TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 1:28 PM EASTERN TIME Press Release SOURCE: PSEG Power PSEG Nuclear: Draft Salem Station Water Discharge Permit Is Reasonable, Balanced Decision Company and Team of Experts State at Public Hearing That Continuation of Innovative Environmental and Technical Conditions in New Permit Will Continue to Ensure the Protection of Aquatic Life And Enhance the Ecology of the Delaware Estuary NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/--Frank Cassidy, president and chief operating officer of PSEG Power, stated at a NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) public hearing today that the agency's proposed renewal of Salem Generating Station's water discharge permit represents a well-reasoned and properly balanced decision that will protect the environment and serve the public interest. PSEG Power is the parent company of PSEG Nuclear, the operator of Salem Station. Cassidy's testimony came during opening of public hearings on a draft water discharge permit issued by NJDEP on Dec. a diversified energy holding company with headquarters in Newark, NJ. Cassidy said the NJDEP's decision is based on an extensive body of evidence ``and supports the conclusion that Salem Station has not and will not have an adverse impact on the Delaware River, its ecology or its biological communities. We believe the provisions of the draft permit will be protective of the Delaware Estuary and provide permanent improvements to the ecology of the region in accordance with applicable law.'' Salem Station has been operating under a water discharge permit issued by NJDEP in 1994. Under the terms and conditions of this permit, PSEG implemented an Estuary Enhancement Program (EEP) that included: restoration, enhancement, and/or preservation of more than 20,000 acres (32 square miles) of degraded wetlands and uplands along the Delaware Estuary, which provide improvements to the Estuary that will continue long beyond the life of the Station; installation of eight fish ladders in New Jersey and Delaware; upgrades to the Station's cooling water intake screens to state-of-the-art standards; implementation of a comprehensive biological monitoring program; and the studies of sound deterrent technologies with the potential to deter fish from entering the water intake area. PSEG submitted a comprehensive permit renewal application to NJDEP in March 1999. The application included approximately 175 volumes of data and supporting information. PSEG's position on the NJDEP draft permit is supported by statements that were prepared by expert scientists and were entered into the record by Mr. Cassidy. These scientists are members of the team of expert advisers who have worked with the company in implementing the technological and conservation measures included in the existing permit and assessing the effects of the Station's cooling water system and the effectiveness of the measures in the existing permit. The experts include: Dr. Vaughn C. Anthony, former Chief Scientific Adviser for the National Marine Fisheries Services' Northeast Region, who addressed the cumulative effects of the Station's operation on fisheries resources; Dr. John Teal, an internationally recognized ecologist specializing in coastal wetlands, who described substantial progress and environmental benefits accruing from restored wetlands; and Dr. James F. Kitchell, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Center for Limnology (a branch of aquatic ecology) at the University of Wisconsin, who detailed the benefits to the ecosystem resulting from conservation measures implemented under terms of the existing permit. Salem Station, Cassidy noted, plays a major role in the effort to supply 26 million residents of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland with reliable and affordable electric energy. The Station provides 2,200 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity--enough to serve the needs of approximately 1.5 million households. The energy that Salem produces is essential for reliable and cost-effective supply, especially during periods of highest demand for electricity. Cassidy also noted that the operation of Salem contributed to improved air quality in the region. ``In this regard, it's important to note based on estimates for a typical year, replacing Salem Station's 2,200 MW of nuclear generating capacity with electricity generated by burning fossil fuels would result in putting into the environment an additional 20,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, 70,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 10 million tons of carbon dioxide.'' The terms and conditions of the draft permit, Cassidy said, will continue the innovative public policy direction set by NJDEP when it issued Salem Station's existing water discharge permit in 1994. ``I am proud and pleased to state unequivocally,'' Cassidy said, ``that PSEG has honored its commitment to the NJDEP and to the residents of NJ and the region. We have implemented all of the conditions of the 1994 permit; the ecosystem of the Delaware Estuary is healthy; and the measures we've implemented are producing the intended benefits.'' In summarizing these results, Cassidy said: * Modifications to the Station's cooling water intake screens, described as innovative and best technology available by NJDEP's consultant, have reduced losses of small fish that come in contact with intake screens by 50%. * Studies indicate that use of sound to keep fish away from the Station's water intake structure is promising for certain species. PSEG is committed to continuing these sound deterrent studies. The draft permit calls for additional work to determine whether installing this technology on a permanent basis is warranted. * The wetlands restoration project, which represents the largest privately funded effort of its kind in the U.S., and perhaps the world, is on schedule and on a trajectory to complete success. Restored salt marshes are providing nursery and spawning habitat for fish and shellfish and are serving as an important food resource that already is benefiting the ecosystem of the estuary. * Fish ladder installations have opened approximately 700 acres of impoundments and over 100 miles of streams as aquatic habitat, which are available to river herring. * The biological monitoring program is generating significant amounts of data and scientific information. The draft permit proposed by NJDEP would continue the policies and direction established in the existing permit and call for additional studies and protective measures that include continuation of existing limits on cooling water flow; additional studies to assess the fish return, fish sampling, and fish deterrent aspects of the station's cooling water structure; enhanced biological monitoring; continued implementation of the wetlands program to complete the successful restoration of the acres required under the 1994 permit; and establishment of an Estuary Enhancement Program Oversight Committee. ``We believe,'' Cassidy said, ``that the extensive body of evidence and scientific data generated by and included in the permit renewal application supports NJDEP's conclusion that Salem's cooling water system--with the measures it has proposed in the draft permit - - represents best technology available and will protect fish and aquatic life and enhance the ecology of the Delaware Estuary.'' Dr. Anthony's statement assessing the health of aquatic populations in the estuary and cumulative effects of Salem's operation on these populations, concluded that ``(t)he station's operations, as a whole, have not adversely affected, and will not adversely affect, the biotic community of the Estuary.'' In putting losses of organisms associated with the station in perspective, Dr. Anthony noted that compared to other representative species ``(o)ver 98% of all fish lost due to entrainment and impingement at Salem were bay anchovy ... of which over 99% were eggs, larvae and juveniles'' and that ``the losses of bay anchovy eggs, larvae and juveniles ... average roughly 1/50th of 1% of the number in the Estuary.'' In addressing the effects of Salem's operations on fish populations, Dr. Anthony referred to recent analyses conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service, which concluded that the numbers of juvenile and adult weakfish and striped bass have increased dramatically over the last decade and noted that ``(t)he evidence on striped bass and weakfish show that Salem is not having any discernible affect on stock changes.'' As further evidence of the health of the fish populations affected by Salem, Dr. Anthony cited data from three independent field surveys on long- term trends in fish abundance in the Estuary. He stated that ``(t)he trends in abundance from these survey(s) ... show that increases occurred in 7 of the 9 representative important species.'' ``Abundance of spot has probably decreased ... Only one species, blueback herring clearly decreased. This species, however, has been declining ... (coast-wide) for at least thirty years and the decline therefore, has no relation to operations at Salem, which began in 1977.'' In his statement, Dr. Teal said ``PSEG has successfully restored the natural and productive structure and function to over 10,000 acres of wetlands by selecting the right lands, implementing the right design, and pursuing the right follow up. Normal tidal inundation is largely present at all sites and natural geomorphology is developing rapidly. The sites have been colonized by expanding stands of desirable vegetation and productivity is comparable to that measured in nearby reference marshes. Clearly, all the restoration sites are on a trajectory for success. This is borne out by the fact that sites are being used by a diverse and abundant fish population and by the transition to a bird and wildlife community more typical of natural wetlands.'' Dr. Teal noted that PSEG has assured the long-term protection of these sensitive areas and guaranteed the preservation of this land as open space. ``One should not forget,'' he said, ``the restoration designs offer unique access opportunities to natural areas of the Delaware Bayshore at a scale and quality not found anywhere else in a region recognized by The Nature Conservancy as one of 'The Last Great Places' and by the Ramsar Convention as one of seventeen wetlands in the United States included in the list of wetlands of international importance.'' Dr. Kitchell, in his statement, said fish production resulting from marsh restoration ``has exceeded even the most optimistic predictions for success.'' He said, based on studies conducted under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Able of Rutgers University, that fishes were as abundant or more abundant in restored marshes than in the reference marsh. The restored salt hay farm restoration sites appear well on their way to becoming fully functional salt marsh systems that will produce additional fish and invertebrates in the Delaware Bay ecosystem. He also noted that among species of concern, productivity of bay anchovy, striped bass, white perch, and Atlantic croaker was higher in restored marsh sites than in a nearby natural salt marsh. Dr. Kitchell said the eight fish ladders are providing opportunities for increased production of river herring that, in turn, increase food resources available to predator species such as weakfish and striped bass. ``In summary,'' Dr. Kitchell said, ``evidence clearly shows that the marsh restoration program and fish ladder construction have made and will make significant and continuing contributions to the ecological processes that produce fishes and invertebrates in the Delaware Bay system. Those benefits will continue in the future in ways that provide natural resources and ecological services of sustainable value to the commercial, recreational, and aesthetic interests in the region. The restored salt marshes offer a demonstrated ecological benefit that likely exceeds any potential effects of Salem Station on populations of fishes and invertebrates in the Delaware estuary.'' In summarizing PSEG's position on the NJDEP's draft permit, Mr. Cassidy stated: ``the policy set forth in the draft permit will allow Salem Station to continue operating in a manner that protects aquatic life in the river while supporting the mission of PSEG and the station's co-owners to provide electric power in an economically and environmentally sound manner.'' SOURCE: PSEG Power ***************************************************************** 9 Australia not protesting nuclear shipment Australia is refusing to join New Zealand in its protest against a nuclear shipment set to sail through the South Pacific and Tasman Sea. New Zealand is lodging formal protests with the governments of Japan, France, and Britain over the shipment of of spent fuel from a nuclear plant in Sydney because of the risk of an accident. But a statement from the office of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says the Australian government is content with the safety standards in place. The Green Party says the Government must keep reminding Australia that its stance on nuclear waste is preventing the South Pacific from becoming an official nuclear free zone. Green party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimonssays that while New Zealand needs to keep up the pressure on Australia, it is not always best to do that publicly. Environmental organisation Greenpeace says Australia's refusal to join the protests is disappointing but no surprise. Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Bunny McDiarmid says the decision exposes Australia's real position on the issue. McDiarmid says Australia is part of the nuclear industry despite the strong anti-nuclear stance by other South Pacific nations. Published on Jan 26, 2001 ONE NEWS sourced from TVNZ, RNZ, Reuters and [*][I] ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear sell-off moves a step closer Ananova - AEA Technology has moved a step closer to selling off the first of its nuclear technology businesses. The former state-run Atomic Energy Authority has entered into exclusive talks with a preferred bidder for the sale of Nuclear Engineering, whose core activity is the decommissioning of nuclear plants. A deal is still likely to take several months to complete as AEA has to seek approval from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. AEA is selling off each of its four Nuclear Technology businesses in line with a decision to concentrate on developing its rail, environment and engineering software operations. The group revealed the strategy at its interim results last November, when it reported a sharp drop in pre-tax profits from £8.9 million in the first half of 1999 to £2.7 million. AEA is also considering a partial flotation of its Future Technologies intellectual property arm as part of the strategic review. Nuclear Engineering employs 600 people across five sites, from Dounreay in the north of Scotland to Harwell, which is near AEA's headquarters in Didcot, Oxfordshire. An AEA spokesman said: "We are looking for a buyer whose core activity is in the nuclear industry and who will be able to invest in the business and grow it further." The spokesman refused to comment on whether the bidder was based in the UK or overseas. AEA's share price was off slightly today, down 3.50p at 326.50p, following the announcement. Last updated: 12:02 Friday 26th Copyright c 2001 Ananova Ltd ***************************************************************** 11 Energy NW exec only 'thinking' of finishing plant This story was published Thu, Jan 25, 2001 BY CHRIS MULICK HERALD OLYMPIA BUREAU OLYMPIA--Energy Northwest CEO Vic Parrish told a legislative committee Wednesday that he was just being a "prudent utility executive" when he mentioned finishing a partially built nuclear power plant at Hanford. News stories last week about the idea didn't mix well with the political environment in Western Washington, creating a bit of a stir. On Wednesday, Parrish said it was just a thought. "I was a bit chagrined to find myself on the front page of newspapers last week," Parrish told the House Technology, Telecommunications and Energy Committee. "I hope you didn't come away with the perception, as most people did, that Energy Northwest is planning to resume construction of nuclear project 1. We have no plans to resurrect any nuclear projects, nor am I advocating or promoting the completion of WNP-1." Technically, Parrish didn't say anything different than he did last week. But he didn't go out of his way to dress up the idea, either. Last week, he and Vice President Rod Webring laid out a list of reasons why studying the feasibility of finishing the two-thirds-built plant would be a good idea. Those included the possibility of its power being competitively priced with other energy sources, given the suddenly high-priced markets, and that the plant could be licensed to run for as long as 60 years, among other benefits. Those arguments were not presented to the House committee Wednesday. "I'm not going to tell you it's a cost-effective option, because I don't know the answer," Parrish said. "What I am telling the region is there remains an option to complete a large generating resource in the Northwest." His testimony came the same day Gov. Gary Locke rolled out his nuclear- free plan to help address the West Coast energy crisis. "I'm not sure it's economical," Locke said of reviving the nuclear plant, echoing comments scores of others would make. Energy Northwest estimates it could take about $3 billion to $4 billion to finish the plant. Northwest ratepayers already have paid and continue to pay hundreds of millions for work to get the plant built to its current state. Plant No. 1 was the furthest along when construction stopped on four nuclear power plants in the early 1980s. Only Plant No. 2, now known as Columbia Generating Station, ever was finished. Energy Northwest is studying whether to use the generator from Plant No. 1 to help increase electricity production at the Columbia plant. Once that happens, any plan to finish No. 1 would be far less feasible. In the meantime, Locke's plan features tax breaks for pollution control equipment for power plants, for solar and wind projects and tax incentives for aluminum plants to produce their own electricity. It also includes state sales tax exemptions on the purchase of energy- efficient appliances and lighting. Locke also is expected to announce a provision that would require all electric utilities to get at least 10 percent of their power from environmentally friendly sources, such as wind and solar power. "At least we have a core package," Locke said, anticipating numerous calls from other lawmakers who said he didn't go far enough. Republicans also are proposing more tax breaks for power plant developers and a streamlined permitting process. "We have further to go," said Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient. Morton was among the few who also included nuclear power among a list of options that should be included. Rep. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, blamed environmentalists for " needlessly" scaring the public about nuclear power, and Sen. Pat Hale, R-Kennewick, credited the Columbia Generating Station with "keeping us out of hot water." "I think we owe it to (citizens) to look at all sources of generating power, and nuclear is one of them," said Sarah Casada, R-Puyallup. COPYRIGHT 2001 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Lawmaker fans flame over U.C. lab pact Security at nuclear sites under question January 25, 2001 By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON--The leader of a powerful House committee is blasting the University of California's recently renewed contract to manage America's nuclear weapons laboratories as "unacceptable, possibly unlawful and certainly a disservice to the nation." In a letter to Department of Energy officials, Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Louisiana, accused the Clinton Administration of pushing a flawed contract through the system at the 11th hour and possibly jeopardizing national security in the process. Tauzin, who heads the House Commerce Committee, vowed to investigate whether the unniversity's contract should have been renewed after security lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and other national laboratories. University leaders and California lawmakers largely dismissed Tauzin's letter. The new $125 million contract that allows UC to continue managing science and security at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until 2005 has been in the works several months, they noted, and questioned why Tauzin fired up his pen this late in the game. "It's a lot of hot air, but you have to take the chairman of the Commerce Committee seriously," said one university leader. The University of California has managed the Los Alamos lab ever since the facility was secretly established in 1943 to develop the first atomic bomb. The Livermore lab opened shortly after the war. Because of UC's long history with the labs and its academic prestige, the school's contract had been automatically renewed every five years without allowing other institutions to compete for the job. It's long been a controversial process, but this year it has been particularly heated. Under intense congressional scrutiny because of security problems like the mishandling of nuclear data by former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee and the temporary loss of two computer hard drives containing sensitive information about nuclear terrorism, then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson laid much of the problems at UC's feet. Several members of Congress also called for Richardson to tear up the university's contract. Ultimately he chose to keep the university on board, but demanded it hire security consultants and make other changes. The renewed contract was announced Jan. 10, just days before the Richardson regime left office. Tauzin this week questioned the security reforms and charged DOE with possibly violating federal law because officials didn't alert his committee that the lab's contract would not be competitively bid. However, the DOE did notify committees that oversee funding and operations of the labs. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, noted her colleagues on the Armed Services Committee at her request received "extensive and compelling documentation as to why the University of California was and remains the best contractor for the lab." Should Tauzin indeed call for a hearing, UC lobbyist Scott Sudduth said, "We think it was a tough negotiation and we'll be happy to share those views with the committee." ');}// --> [*][I] ***************************************************************** 2 Violations at LANL Alleged ˙˙˙ Thursday, January 25, 2001 Albuquerque Journal--> BY JENNIFER MCKEE Journal Staff Writer ; Los Alamos National Laboratory broke federal nuclear laws in the last two years with a string of worker accidents and near-misses, including one that left a worker so heavily dosed by plutonium he can never work with radioactive materials again, according to the head of the nation's nuclear security administration. ; John Gordon, administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy branch that manages the nation's nuclear defense machine, issued a preliminary notice Wednesday saying the lab broke the law with a series of five accidents and slip-ups between 1998 and 2000. ; The University of California, which manages the lab for the DOE, now has 30 days to respond to the allegations. If the preliminary notice becomes official, the university will face $605,000 in fines. Because the university is a nonprofit, it will not pay any actual money, but will face "phantom fines" instead. ; "Our institution will take the necessary steps to correct safety deficiencies," Los Alamos lab director John Browne said in a prepared statement Wednesday. "We have a moral imperative to protect the health and safety of our employees and our neighbors." ; A DOE team began investigating the lab last fall for several problems - all covered under federal laws outlining nuclear worker safety. ; In the most serious accident, a worker, who has not been publicly named, was helping to close down a plutonium lab for the weekend last March, said lab spokesman James Rickman. Workers handle the radioactive metal only through gloveboxes - special, reinforced containers with gloves screwed to their sides so workers can manipulate the metal without actually touching it. The boxes are filled with argon gas to prevent plutonium from being exposed to air, which sometimes causes it to burst into flames. ; Another technician noticed that argon wasn't flowing normally into the box. The first worker tried fixing the problem by jiggling the tube that feeds argon into the glovebox. The fixture was installed improperly, Rickman said, and the tube accidentally broke open in the worker's hand. He and seven other employees suffered plutonium contamination, some by inhaling it and others by absorbing it through their skin. The worker closest to the tube took several times the regulatory limit for contamination, Rickman said, and will never work with radioactive materials again. ; All the workers were treated immediately and returned to work shortly after the accident, Rickman said. ; Gordon announced the violations Wednesday, four weeks after DOE investigators concluded their probe and turned their findings over to Gordon's office. The administrator drew sharp criticism from both Congress and activists for waiting more than a month to issue any fines or announce the violation. ; Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the House Commerce Committee, demanded all the records behind the investigation this week and castigated Gordon for dragging his feet on punishment. ; "We're pleased some action has been taken," Pete Sheffield, a committee spokesman, said Wednesday. "The question is, why did it take so long?" ; Santa Fe activist Jay Coghlan of Nuclear Watch of Northern New Mexico also questioned Gordon's timing. Gordon waited until after the DOE had signed a recent contract with the University of California that extended the UC's management for another five years before announcing the investigation's results. ; "It's tantamount to a coverup," Coghlan said. "The lab folks know very well that it would be a very sensitive item to come up while (contract) negotiations were going on." ; Gordon spokesman Floyd Thomas dismissed such comments, saying his agency is a complicated bureaucracy that does nothing very quickly. ; "Fourteen people have to sign off on the investigation before it goes to Gordon," he said. ; Combine that with the holidays and you've got a time-consuming process, he said. ; Although the university faces no actual monetary punishment, UC spokesman Jeff Garberson said the institution takes the matter seriously. ; "It causes us all to pay attention," he said. "It is a reminder of the importance of doing the job well." ; Fortunately, none of the workers injured should suffer much from the contamination, said Mike Fox, a scientist at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, member of the American Nuclear Society and former head of a plutonium lab. ; Plutonium can only hurt you if the particles you breathe in are just the right size and just the right kind of plutonium, Fox said. Even then, people have taken in much more contamination than the injured Los Alamos worker and suffered no problems. The government has purposely set plutonium contamination standards very low to encourage nuclear workers to handle the metal safely. ; "Given the experience of other people, (the worker) is going to be kept busy with monitoring; but our experience shows the guy has a long life to live," he said. ; The worker was removed from his old job because he has taken in more plutonium than federal law allows, Rickman said, not because he was sickened by the plutonium. ; The other accidents, although not as serious as the plutonium contamination, include the widespread improper installation of fittings on gloveboxes and an accident in which a worker tried to fix a broken glovebox and ended up getting a dose of radioactivity. Copyright 2001 Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 3 Y-12 plan for upgrade attracts flak, supporters OAK RIDGE--A shopping mall may seem like an odd place to debate national security and nuclear weapons, but that was the scene Thursday in Oak Ridge. While shoppers browsed in the J.C. Penney next door, peace activists and defense supporters gathered in a vacant storefront to trade opinions on the government's proposed modernization of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Construction of new facilities at the Oak Ridge defense site ultimately could cost as much as $4 billion. Thursday's public hearings were held for comment on a Y-12 environmental impact statement, which addresses two of the proposed projects -- a new storage center for bomb-grade uranium and a processing plant for beryllium and other, unnamed "special materials." Although there was no official tally, the two sides appeared to be evenly split during an afternoon hearing. Another session was scheduled Thursday evening. Bill Brumley, who heads the National Nuclear Security Administration's Oak Ridge office, said new facilities are "absolutely essential" for Y-12 to safely conduct its production missions in the future. The NNSA is the quasi-independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that oversees the nation's nuclear weapons plants, including Y-12. Brumley said it's been more than 30 years since a new production facility was built at the Oak Ridge site. The modernization plan has drawn strong support from elected officials locally and across the state. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., whose district includes Oak Ridge, and the other eight members of Tennessee's congressional delegation sent a letter of support to DOE. "The Y-12 national security complex in Oak Ridge plays a major role in support of our nation's security, but is carrying out its role in facilities that are woefully out of date," said the delegation's letter, which was read at Thursday's proceedings. The lawmakers said it's clear the government must build "modern, safe, secure and environmentally sound manufacturing facilities" at Oak Ridge. "It is time to invest in security," the letter said. Similar letters were submitted by some of the individual congressman, including Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn.; state Rep. Gene Caldwell, D-Clinton; U.S. Sens. Fred Thompson and Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; state Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge; the mayors of Oak Ridge and Knoxville; county executives from Knox, Roane, Anderson and Loudon counties; and former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. Meanwhile, members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and other peace groups showed up in force to oppose continued production of bombs in the post-Cold War era and DOE's plans for a modernized Y-12. "The reality is we have no need for a new bomb-building plant," said Ralph Hutchison, leader of the peace group that regularly stages protests at the Oak Ridge plant. Hutchison said the Y-12 proposal is based on plans to maintain a U.S. arsenal of 6,000 nuclear weapons, but tentative agreements have already made that figure outdated. He termed Y-12 a "playhouse of death." Erik Johnson, a Presbyterian minister from Maryville, called it a "death camp." Mary Dennis Lentch, who lives in the Chattanooga area, said the modernization plan is "astronomically expensive," and she said the government's priorities are misplaced at a time when millions of Americans live in poverty. The money would be better spent on health care and education, she said. "Is Y-12 a national security complex or a national insecurity complex?" she asked. Carl "Bubba" Scarbrough, an Anderson County commissioner and president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, which represents hourly workers at Y-12, said the new facilities are important for the health and safety of workers. Scarbrough said the Oak Ridge plant, which produced the enriched uranium for the A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima, helped win World War II and has since protected the nation's freedoms. For decades, Y- 12 has produced parts for every weapon in the U.S. arsenal. "Only Y-12 can do it," Scarbrough said. Frank Munger can be reached at 865-482-9213 or twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. Copyright 2000 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 4 -Meeting attendees split on Y-12 modernization Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 3:20 p.m. on Friday, January 26, 2001 BY PAUL PARSON Oak Ridger staff The Atomic Trades and Labor Council believes the Y-12 National Security Complex will be a safer and more healthful place to work once the facility undergoes a proposed modernization, according to ATLC President Carl "Bubba" Scarbrough. The opinion of the ATLC, which represents hourly workers at the weapons plant, was shared by numerous elected state and local officials and the Citizens for National Security, a local group dedicated to preserving Y-12. However, several other Tennessee residents and environmental activists believe money would be better spent on health care, housing, education and cleaning up the environment rather than upgrading Y-12. These differing sets of opinions were voiced during two public meetings Thursday in the Cumberland Room of the Oak Ridge Mall. The meetings were held to hear public comments on the Y-12 draft site-wide environmental impact statement, which outlines alternatives for modernizing the facility. The environmental impact statement proposes constructing 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. Members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance said the special materials complex will serve as a bomb-building facility, adding that if built, it will violate international disarmament treaties. "I say stop. We say stop," said Ralph Hutchison, coordinator for the Peace Alliance. A spokeswoman for Gov. Don Sundquist's office told those attending the Thursday afternoon meeting that the governor "wholeheartedly" supports the modernization of Y-12. Interested parties have until Feb. 23 to submit comments on the Y- 12 environmental impact statement. Comments can be sent to Gary Hartman, document manager for the environmental impact statement, at the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations office, P.O. Box 2001, Oak Ridge, TN. 37831. A final environmental impact statement is expected to be released in July, while a record of decision on the Y-12 modernization is slated for August, according to Hartman. BWXT Y-12 manages Y-12 for DOE. [*][I] All Contents cCopyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 5 SRS calls cleanup 'milestone' Augusta Georgia: metro@ugusta: Web posted Friday, January 26, 2001 Staff Writer Savannah River Site workers have toiled for years to strip millions of pounds of hazardous solvents from ground water at the federal nuclear weapons site. Now SRS officials say they have reached a milestone in cleanup of one of the site's worst plumes of contamination. As of this month, SRS workers have treated more than 4 billion gallons of contaminated ground water in the 5.5-square-mile plume, which is located less than a half-mile from the site's northwest boundary in its ``A'' and ``M'' areas. Although the water cannot be returned to a pure state and will require many more years of treatment just to reach regulatory standards, SRS officials said this week that the 4 billion gallon mark was notable. ``We've made a substantial dent in the solvent inventory of the subsurface, '' said Christopher Bergren, who manages the cleanup project for SRS contractor Bechtel Savannah River Inc. ``We know we're not going to be able to walk away from here and say that it's pristine,'' Mr. Bergren said. ``There just aren't enough technologies at our disposal. We're still several years away from determining what the final cleanup standards are going to be.'' Mr. Bergren displays a Baro Ball, a device used to flush out potentially fatal solvents that have been found in ground water at areas of the site. JENNIFER FULLER/STAFF A local observer said cleanup of the plume is crucial, but that the site shouldn't call the 4 billion mark a ``milestone.'' ``Containing this pollution on government property is clearly a critical mission for SRS, and one that we greatly encourage,'' said Don Moniak, an Aiken resident and community organizer for Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. ``But SRS shouldn't be trumpeting the accomplishment of pumping and treating 4 billion gallons of water unless they can also say with confidence that the situation is improving. ``Public relations and science don't mix well.'' The cleanup project has removed about 1 million pounds of the plume's originally estimated 3.5 million pounds of tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, Mr. Bergren said. If inhaled or ingested in large amounts, trichloroethylene can harm the nervous system, liver, and lungs and even cause death. Exposure to high levels of tetrachloroethylene also can be lethal, and the chemical is suspected to be the cause of menstrual problems and spontaneous abortion in women. From the 1950s through the early 1970s, SRS workers often dumped the solvents into open air, earthen basins in A and M areas, believing that the compounds would evaporate harmlessly into the atmosphere. Instead, the chemicals seeped into the earth, polluting the soil and ground water below. The site's cleanup effort is intended to contain and treat the plume to prevent it from contaminating more soil and ground water, or reaching streams, from which the chemicals could flow off-site. The cleanup effort, which began in 1985, costs about $2.5 million per year, Mr. Bergren said. ***************************************************************** 6 UN: UNEP and IAEA exploring depleted uranium missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and Iraq JAN 26, 2001, M2 Communications - VIENNA/NAIROBI--Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), have agreed to consider requests for fact-finding missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Iraq where depleted uranium (DU) was used during military conflicts. The two organizations will coordinate their action with the World Health Organization, which has recently decided to send a team to study the health effects of depleted uranium in Iraq, as well as with other relevant United Nations system organizations. Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP's Depleted Uranium Assessment Team, is meeting today with United Nations officials in Sarajevo for consultations on a possible future mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Haavisto will visit Belgrade tomorrow to meet with officials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The IAEA is considering holding a training course to improve the understanding and skills of specialist staff from concerned countries. The main focus will be on measurement methods and the assessment of risks from depleted uranium and other radioactivity. The possibility of sending fact-finding missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Iraq follows last year's mission to Kosovo by the UNEP-led DU Assessment Team. UNEP will wait for the scientific findings of the report of the Kosovo mission, expected to be released in early March, before it embarks on new DU field assessments. Copyright 1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD CONTACT: Tore Brevik Tel: +254 2 623292 Copyright c 2001, M2 Communications Ltd., all rights reserved. p; ***************************************************************** 7 RUSSIA BREAKS ITS WORD Economist.com Jan 25th 2001 From The Economist print edition IF IT GOES AHEAD WITH ITS PLANS TO SELL NUCLEAR REACTORS AND URANIUM FUEL TO INDIA, RUSSIA WILL BE IN CLEAR BREACH OF ITS ANTI-PROLIFERATION PROMISES TO HEAR President Vladimir Putin tell it, Russia leads the world in its efforts to rein in weapons of mass destruction and—glaring hard at America and its proposed missile defences—to prevent a new arms race. Last year it ratified the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty that America’s Senate had rejected, and that China’ s parliament is still pondering. It also belatedly ratified the Start- 2 nuclear-reductions treaty with America. And, after a lot of American chivvying about dodgy nuclear- and missile-technology exports by Russian firms, new export controls were published. So why is Russia proposing to drive a nuclear-propelled coach and horses through the guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and its commitments to other members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by selling up to four nuclear reactors to India, plus uranium fuel for a fifth? If Russia goes ahead, it would break no actual treaties. In 1993 the NSG, an informal group that includes Russia and most major suppliers of nuclear equipment, decided to ban all nuclear trade with countries that did not have international safeguards on all their nuclear facilities, thus committing its members to action well beyond their existing export controls on goods that might help a country build nuclear weapons. Two years later, most NPT members reached a similar agreement. India refuses “full-scope” safeguards, has never joined the NPT, which legally requires them, and in 1998 conducted five nuclear-weapons tests. Russia claims that the “full-scope” rule does not apply to its proposed sale of nuclear reactors to India, since the idea had come up in the late 1980s—that is, before the NSG ban. That is wholly disingenuous. The contracts being negotiated break the rule. So does what is presumably the sweetener for the deal: the supply of uranium fuel for India’s Tharapur reactor. America stopped supplying its fuel after India’s first, supposedly “peaceful”, nuclear explosion in 1974; France pulled out to comply with the “full-scope” rule; only China, outside the NSG, has in recent years helped India find nuclear supplies it could not get elsewhere. FISSION FOR COMPLIMENTS Part of the explanation for Russia’s nuclear dalliance with India lies in the fissile nature of its own politics. Russian firms, following up old Soviet connections and often with the connivance of officials who are supposed to police them, have been implicated in illegal transfers of missile and nuclear technology to several countries. Russia’s minister for atomic energy has a foreign policy all his own: he wanted to sell laser enrichment technology that could help in bomb-making to Iran (which has signed the NPT but barely disguises its weapons ambitions). Already building one reactor in Iran, Russia hopes to build more. Foreign-ministry officials who see the dangers are overridden in the drive for contracts, as they were recently by the arms industry’s desire to sell conventional weapons to Iran, despite Russia’s promise not to do so. In their defence, Russia’s nuclear bureaucrats claim the best way to influence nuclear programmes in countries like Iran, and also India, is to work with them. More likely, when scientists sit down together, what gets passed on is not restraint, but skills and know- how of direct use in bomb-making. That is how India first got started on its bomb. Mr Putin seems intent, for now, on making life as uncomfortable for America as possible—in India, Iran or anywhere else. India would prefer nuclear help from France or America, and hopes the bait of its deals with Russia may eventually draw them in. But India could just as easily get caught in the crossfire on this issue between the bigger powers. If Russia is determined to go ahead, can anything be done to stop it? Another of Russia’s commercial wheezes is a plan to build an international repository for spent nuclear fuel. Already controversial, given the lousy safety record of Russia’s nuclear industry, this could be made a non-starter if Russia’s nuclear co-operation with countries like India and Iran causes America and others to lean hard on potential customers. But pressure must also be put directly on Russia itself. It is threatening to turn its commitments on nuclear export-controls into a cheater’s charter. Countries that care about proliferation should not let it get away with it. ***************************************************************** 8 U.N. Team To Study Depleted Uranium January 25, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS UNITED NATIONS (AP)--Responding to a request from Iraq, the World Health Organization will send a team to study the effects of depleted uranium from weapons used a decade ago during the Gulf War, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday. The heads of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Environment Program also announced Thursday that they will consider requests for fact-finding missions to Bosnia, Yugoslavia and Iraq. NATO's use of ammunition containing depleted uranium during the Balkans conflicts has sparked a scare across Europe that the residue may be blamed for serious illnesses among peacekeeping troops who served in Bosnia and Kosovo, as well as among civilians. In Greece, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Athens on Thursday to demand the return of Greek peacekeepers from Kosovo and the withdrawal of depleted uranium munitions from the country's arsenal. NATO has repeatedly denied that the ammunition could have caused cancer in soldiers. No evidence has yet been found linking depleted uranium munitions with any increase in illness, a NATO committee serving as a clearinghouse on the matter said this week. Iraq for years has insisted that there is a link between depleted uranium used in armor-piercing weapons during the 1991 Gulf War and an increase in the number of Iraqis suffering from leukemia and other kinds of cancer. In a recent letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf demanded a prompt scientific inquiry that he said would confirm that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been affected. Iraq's Health Ministry says the number of cancer cases nationwide rose from 6,555 in 1989 to 10,931 in 1997, particularly in areas heavily bombed by allied forces during the Gulf War. More recent figures were unavailable. The Geneva-based World Health Organization has decided to send a team to study the health effects of exposure to depleted uranium in Iraq but no dates have been set, said U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard. The requests for new fact-finding missions followed a UNEP-led visit to 11 sites struck by NATO munitions in Kosovo. Scientists found signs of radioactivity at eight sites. Results of an analysis of soil, water and vegetation samples taken from the sites was expected by early March. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power. U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and NATO fired the weapons during its 78-day bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in 1999. Scientists say depleted uranium has about 40 percent of the radiation of natural uranium, which itself is not a health hazard. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 9 NATO Says No Link Between Depleted Uranium, Cancer Environment News Service: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, January 25, 2001 (ENS) - There is no link between the depleted uranium munitions used in the NATO led Balkans wars and the rash of cancers that have been reported by soldiers who fought in the conflicts, according to the chairman of a multinational committee convened to study the matter. Daniel Speckhard, the U.S. Ambassador to Belarus and the chairman of NATO's ad hoc committee on depleted uranium (DU), said Wednesday that "based on the data today, no link has been established between depleted uranium and any forms of cancer." "To date, no nation has found evidence of an increase in incidence of illness among peacekeepers [who served] in the Balkans compared with the incidence of illness among armed forces not serving in the Balkans," Speckhard said at a news conference. "None of the nations reported finding a link between health complaints of personnel employed in the Balkans and depleted uranium munitions." NATO Spokesman Mark Laity, third from left, discusses the possible health effects of depleted uranium with several military experts at a recent news conference in Brussels, Belgium (Photo courtesy NATO) Speckhard's committee, which represents about 50 nations, was formed earlier this month to investigate the alleged link between the adverse health effects that have been reported by NATO soldiers and the DU munitions that were used in the wars waged in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Kosovo. Speckhard said on Wednesday that the committee intends to bring "maximum transparency" to the inquiry, which he said was undertaken to ensure that there is "no health risk to our troops or civilians in the Balkans" as a result of the DU munitions used there. The United States and a host of other allied nations have for years supplied their armed forces with machine gun rounds and rocket like projectiles tipped with depleted uranium, which by definition contains statistically insignificant amounts of radioactivity. The Pentagon and NATO both maintain that DU munitions are essential war fighting tools, because of their ability to pierce through armor plated tanks and other heavily defended targets. Depleted uranium munitions are effective at piercing heavily armored vehicles, such as this tank (Photo courtesy NATO) The Pentagon acquires much of its DU at no cost from nuclear weapons plants, which are generally eager to get rid of the tens of thousands of tons of wastes that are piling up at their facilities. Both the Pentagon and NATO have long denied that DU munitions pose any health risks from residual radioactivity. DU munitions were used widely in the Persian Gulf War as well as the more recent conflicts in the Balkans, and thousands of veterans who fought in those campaigns disagree with NATO's conclusions. Many of these veterans have been plagued by a rash of unexplained health effects, including chronic fatigue, paralysis and death. Gulf War veterans gathered in Washington, DC, last year to demand recognition and treatment for their illness (Photo courtesy American Gulf War Veterans Association) DU, which is regulated in the United States by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is supposed to contain no other radionuclides other than uranium. But critics charge that the substance often contains other dangerous elements associated with nuclear power plants, such as plutonium, radium and americium. That fear was at least partially borne out earlier this week, when a Pentagon spokesman acknowledged that traces of plutonium were inadvertently incorporated into DU munitions that were made some 30 years ago. The mistake came about because of contaminated equipment at a domestic power plant, the spokesman said. NATO spokesman Mark Laity, appearing at the Brussels news conference on Wednesday along with Speckhard, was quick to downplay the significance of the Pentagon's revelation. Laity said that it was "quite possible" that traces of plutonium or other radionuclides will turn up in soil samples now being taken in the Balkans. But such findings, he said, would not constitute a threat to public health or the environment. "These contaminants are known about and are in minute amounts," Laity said. "Those trace elements have been found to be too small to add to the existing low level health risk that there is." "If they find [traces of plutonium or other radionuclides], we will not be surprised, and I will not be worried," added Laity, who delivered his remarks with a DU round sitting nearby. That point was echoed by NATO's Supreme Commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston. Ralston, speaking in Athens, Greece, told reporters that he would not hesitate authorizing the firing of DU rounds "tonight," should such action be called for. U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston, NATO's Supreme Commander in Europe (Photo courtesy NATO) But a team of scientists at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday unveiled a study that found that DU of the type used by the U.S. military can cause cancer in laboratory animals. Fletcher Hahn, a senior scientist on the project, told the Reuters news organization that the study represents a "warning flag that we shouldn't ignore." Still, Hahn emphasized that the study "doesn't mean that [DU] is carcinogenic to humans." Meanwhile, two international organizations today announced that they may take action to assist the World Health Organization (WHO) team of researchers, which is currently studying the matter of DU use in the Persian Gulf. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may launch "fact finding missions" to the Balkan region, their respective officials said. UNEP officials will decide soon whether to dispatch a team of researchers to Bosnia Herzegovina for the purpose of studying the public health and environmental implications of the DU munitions used there, officials said. The IAEA is considering holding a training course to help researchers in the Balkan region to better understand the complex measurement and assessment methods associated with conducting analysis on depleted uranium, officials from the group said. That is of little comfort to Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois at Urbanna/Champaign. Boyle, who consulted on a 1994 documentary film that linked a host of health effects to DU, said that the IAEA was only getting involved in the project to do "damage control." "The IAEA is a front organization for the nuclear power industry, so you can't believe anything they say," Boyle said. "It is an unfortunate sign, in my opinion, that the WHO and UNEP would be coordinating anything with the IAEA. They're going to try and cover this whole thing up." Boyle, like many critics, maintains that DU poses far greater risks to public health and the environment than the Pentagon and NATO are letting on. He said that DU munitions are teeming with plutonium and other radionuclides that should not be exempted from regulatory oversight. When DU munitions hit their targets, Boyle noted, they typically release particles which can contaminate air and nearby water. "Even a speck of plutonium can kill you," Boyle noted. "But there's a lot more in DU munitions than just depleted uranium, and in any event, once it vaporizes . and people are breathing it and eating it, it kills people." Boyle, like many others, believes that DU played a causal role in mysterious "Gulf War Syndrome" that affected tens of thousands of veterans who fought in that war. The Pentagon flatly denies such charges. Boyle and other legal experts have also long maintained that DU munitions are illegal under a host of international laws, such as the Hague Convention of 1907. The U.S. government is party to the convention, which prohibits weapons that are "unnecessary," as well as those that cause cruel, long lasting or uncontrollable effects. Boyle argues that DU munitions are "unnecessary" because weapons made with another metal - tungsten - are equally as effective. The Pentagon does not use tungsten, Boyle said, because it would have to pay for it. "They get the DU for free, and this is basically a question of money, " Boyle said. "DU is an unnecessary weapon." The Geneva protocol of 1925, to which the U.S. is also a signatory, prohibits the use of radiation as a weapon, Boyle noted. And a protocol to the 1977 Geneva Convention contains a provision that bans weapons and techniques of warfare that cause severe, long term environmental impacts, he noted. The U.S. is not a signatory to that agreement. NATO has posted a detailed map on its website showing where DU munitions //www.nato.int ***************************************************************** 10 Victims to mark NTS anniversary January 26, 2001 Groups recall 50 years of testing nation's nuclear arsenal BY MARY MANNING LAS VEGAS SUN As Energy Department workers recall 50 years of nuclear weapons experiments at the Nevada Test Site on Saturday, residents and military veterans who lived and worked under the radioactive fallout plan demonstrations in Las Vegas and Utah. Nevada's role in the U.S. nuclear weapons buildup left a bittersweet trail. Residents of Nevada, Arizona and Utah--calling themselves "Downwinders" -- sued the government as family members suffered cancers and died after radioactive clouds drifted away from the Test Site. They lost their hard-fought case after the government appealed a judge's ruling in 1984. Utah ranchers lost more than 5,000 cattle after a series of atomic experiments in Nevada in 1953. Test Site workers also filed suit and lost their case after more than 15 years in court and an appeal in April 1996. Congress last year passed a bill that provides compensation for nuclear workers after the DOE admitted those building and testing nuclear weapons were harmed by radiation and toxic chemicals. Many Test Site workers and their families will spend Saturday recalling a half-century of testing the nuclear arsenal at the remote site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, where more than 1,000 above- and below-ground nuclear experiments exploded from 1951 until 1992. The first nuclear blast packed a punch equal to 1,000 tons of TNT. The nuclear device, codenamed "Able," was dropped from a plane 50 years ago Saturday onto Frenchman Flat in the southeast corner of the Test Site. It was the seventh U.S. nuclear test. The first U.S. atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico's desert in 1945, then experiments moved to the Pacific islands until President Harry Truman ordered the Nevada proving ground opened in 1951. Up to 100,000 people worked at the Test Site, with more than 12,000 of them there in the late 1970s. Today there are about 3,000 government and contract employees. The Test Site was considered the second largest employer, behind the mining industry, in those days, DOE records say. Workers labored in secrecy at the remote site, not even telling their families about nuclear activities, but others remember the radioactive fallout and its effects from the atomic mushroom clouds. The Nevada Desert Experience, an interfaith group opposed to nuclear weapons, and the Alliance of Atomic Veterans, representing military personnel who stood under the atomic mushroom clouds, kick off activities today. The alliance has a free forum at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 3616 E. Lake Mead Blvd., one block east of Pecos Road, said Anthony Guarisco, who helped found the alliance 19 years ago. A panel discussion with those exposed to fallout, including survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, is scheduled. Despite the government's apology and its openness in releasing millions of pages of formerly secret documents on the nuclear testing, Guarisco said not much has changed. "And it looks pretty bleak," he said, noting that the federal government could resume nuclear testing in Nevada, if necessary. "But we can never forget the men and women who gave their lives there, " Guarisco said. The Nevada Desert Experience scheduled a rally at noon Saturday at the entrance to the Nevada Test Site, where Operation Ranger, the first series of atmospheric nuclear tests in the United States, was triggered 50 years ago, said spokesman Charles Hilfenhaus. In Utah, Gov. Mike Leavitt and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson have declared Saturday a "day of remembrance," honoring residents who live downwind of the Test Site. Both Utah officials issued formal proclamations this week on behalf of nuclear fallout victims, Preston Truman, a founder of the Downwinders, said. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 11 Military sees no big uranium risks www.alliance-leicester.co.uk - Click Here! THURSDAY JANUARY 25, 08:30 PM By Mike Collett-White LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's military on Thursday defended its handling of the risks of exposure to ammunition coated with depleted uranium, following intense media criticism that it had ignored its own advice. But the Defence Ministry did concede that some key personnel involved in the 1990-91 Gulf War against Iraq, including tank crews, were not given advice on the potential dangers of the tank-busting weaponry. "It was discovered in 1993 that only certain groups had been given this advice," the ministry said. A review of the radiological and chemical hazards was commissioned in 1993 after reports that unusual ill health among British veterans of the campaign may have been caused by depleted uranium (DU). "The document reiterates the low radiological and chemical toxicity hazards associated with DU," the ministry said. The ministry analysed on its website documents reproduced in newspapers and used as evidence that the possible links between cancer and the ammunition used in the Gulf and Balkans wars had been ignored or concealed. "None of the documents released changes the MoD's position on DU (depleted uranium)," the ministry concluded. "We believe that there were no significant health risks posed to personnel who served either in the Gulf or the Balkans from exposure to DU." But an additional voluntary screening programme for veterans of the campaigns was being established, it added. Fears of the so-called "Balkans Syndrome" came to light after reports that six Italian soldiers who had served in the former Yugoslavia had developed leukaemia and died after exposure to spent ammunition. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has admitted there was "limited risk" associated with the ammunition, but added that there was no proven link between its use and any illness. DU is a dense waste product of the natural uranium enrichment process which is used to strengthen the tips of bullets and missile nose cones to help them pierce armour. MISTAKES WERE MADE IN GULF, REPORT SAYS The ministry's analysis goes back to a 1979 memorandum it published which found DU material to be "of low radioactivity requiring certain safety precautions" and "chemically toxic like other heavy metals." It moves to the 1990-91 Gulf War, the first occasion DU was deployed operationally and the only time British forces have fired it in action. The ministry explained that the ammunition was brought in to more effectively engage Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's ex-Soviet tanks, but concedes that safety advice had not been given to all of the personnel. It also studied five separate reports into DU carried out between 1997 and 1999, several of which were partially flawed or incomplete despite being commissioned by the ministry itself. The analysis added that guidance on DU risks was given to the relevant units in the Balkans after the ministry learned in mid-April 1999 that NATO forces had fired DU in Kosovo. The World Health Organisation has said it doubted leukaemia suffered by Kosovo veterans was caused by depleted uranium armoury, but warned parents of children in war zones that their offspring could be at a higher risk of developing the disease. Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Troops' DU risks 'trivial' compared with combat ISSUE 2072 Friday 26 JANUARY 2001 BY RICHARD EDEN THE health risks from depleted uranium to troops who served in Kosovo are "trivial" compared with those from combat, the Ministry of Defence said last night. The MoD released 30 documents at the heart of the depleted uranium (DU) weapons scare. The papers, with detailed commentary on each document, were posted on the department's website as the Government came under more pressure from MPs to suspend the use of DU weapons. Several of the documents discuss the possible cancer risks from exposure to DU dust, including current briefing advice given to troops in Kosovo. However, the commentary accompanying the files rejects claims that there is a significant danger to the health of veterans who served in the Gulf and in Kosovo. Those troops who served in Kosovo are advised that the hazard from DU "is trivial compared with combat risks". It says: "Even if a DU fragment were inhaled or embedded in your body, by whatever means, the risk of you developing cancer over the next 50 years would only be very slightly increased." is dismissed as containing "some scientifically incorrect information and assumptions". The MoD commentary attacked the document for not distinguishing sufficiently between soluble and insoluble DU dust and for overstating the health risks. The brief's claim that inhaling insoluble DU dust "through accumulation may cause damage by radiation" was not, however, rejected by the MoD. The MoD said: "The considerable majority of the oxides produced on the battlefield are insoluble." Summarising the health risks to troops, the brief stated: "Personnel involved in the reclamation of damaged vehicles will be most at risk and may exceed the annual radiation dose limit in 50 hours." In a Commons early day motion tabled yesterday, MPs voiced concerns over the "serious and long-term" health risks associated with DU weapons. They called on the Government to impose a moratorium on their use by the Armed Forces and to make a commitment to clean up the environmental damage they cause. Kosovo poisoning ***************************************************************** 13 At last, ministers take depleted uranium seriously Independent 26 January 2001 It has taken a while, but the Government is at last approaching the issue of depleted- uranium weapons, used in the bombing of Iraq and Serbia, in the way that it should have been approached from the start. Depleted uranium is used for the tips of armour-penetrating shells because it is so dense. There is plenty of research that has failed to find any link between it and cancers or other illnesses suffered by Gulf War veterans or civilians in the former Yugoslavia. There is research that suggests that troops serving in the Gulf suffered particularly from ill health, but no similar effects have been reported among Bosnia veterans, which might be expected if exposure to uranium were a factor. There is some evidence that the vaccinations given to troops in the Gulf War to protect them against biological weapons might be responsible for some illnesses. But ministers have reacted for years to the concerns of veterans and others about depleted uranium by simply dismissing them out of hand. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defence was forced to change tack when an internal report warning of the possible health risks of handling depleted uranium was leaked to The Independent. It tried to rubbish its own study, but then realised that it was making its public relations disaster worse. Instead, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, ordered that all services personnel who had been in contact with uranium should be screened. However, this was still only an internal Government investigation. What was still needed, and what the Government now seems prepared to commission, was an independent study of the issue. A rigorous review of the evidence, carrying out new research if necessary, is what is needed to explain the puzzling aspects of the issue. For example, there is confusion over the problem of uranium's radioactivity, which in the case of the "depleted" kind is low, and its toxicity, because like most heavy metals, uranium is poisonous if inhaled as dust. If this study had been commissioned as soon as concerns were raised, then, for all the difficulty of proving a negative, people might have accepted that the Government had a genuinely open mind on the subject, and thus might have been more inclined to accept its assurances. ***************************************************************** 14 Government bows to pressure for DU inquiry Independent By Steve Connor, Science Editor 26 January 2001 The government is to launch a wide-ranging investigation into the health risks of depleted uranium (DU) in the light of increasing public anxiety over its use in armour-piercing munitions. Ministers at the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are preparing to call in an independent committee of experts to evaluate the health risks to military personnel and residents living near army firing ranges where depleted uranium shells have been used since 1990. The British programme of test-firing DU shells took place mainly on MoD land at Eskmeals in Cumbria and at Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway. The Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (Comare) has already led powerful inquiries into allegations of cancers resulting from the radioactive emissions from nuclear reactors and atomic weapons plants. Comare is now viewed as the one independent body of scientists with sufficient clout and independence to review the evidence concerning the possible role of DU in the cancers and other serious illnesses occurring in veterans of the Gulf War and Balkans conflict. A source close to the committee said: "Comare is almost certainly going to be the body the Government chooses to look into this. An official announcement is expected soon." Comare's first step would be to set up a working group of specialists, academics and health advisers using the expertise of the National Radiological Protection Board, the government watchdog on radiation that has not so far been approached for advice on DU by the MoD. It will also call on the evidence compiled by the Royal Society in its own investigation into DU. The Royal Society is expected to report its finding this summer. "Comare will not want to replicate what the Royal Society is doing, but it will want to go much further. Such an investigation is likely to take at least a year and possibly much longer," the source said. Although the MoD has strenuously denied that there are any health risks associated with the DU dust left on battlefields or firing ranges, public concerns are growing because of reports of cancers and other illnesses among soldiers who served in the Gulf and the Balkans. The feeling, especially within the Department of Health - which is directly responsible for appointing the members of Comare - is that a full inquiry is the only way to demonstrate that the Government is not engaged in a cover-up. Professor Bryn Bridges, the chairman of Comare and a leading specialist in radiation damage at the University of Sussex, said an official approach to the committee has not yet been made. "The issue of radioactivity in the environment, for instance from firing ranges, would certainly come into Comare's terms of reference," he said. "It might well be a matter that is referred to Comare. "If firing ranges became a matter of public concern then it would be referred to Comare. It is the obvious body for the Government to turn to for advice," he added. ***************************************************************** 15 The uranium minefield Independent Scientists doubt that depleted uranium is behind the mystery illnesses of veterans of the Gulf War and Balkans conflict, but proving it is much harder By Steve Connor 26 January 2001 It is almost impossible for science to prove a negative, whether it's to show that mobile phones are not the cause of brain tumours, to demonstrate that the measles, mumps and rubella combined-vaccine does not cause autism or to prove that depleted uranium is not the cause of illnesses suffered by veterans of the Gulf war and Balkans conflict. Disproving something is about the hardest request that can be made of a scientist. In the case of depleted uranium, however, scientists at least have the benefit of several studies, some going back 50 years, to investigate the health risks. This research may not provide all the facts necessary to answer the depleted uranium question, but at least it is a start. It is by understanding what these studies can, and cannot tell us, that has led many scientists to be sceptical of the claims that the depleted uranium shells and bullets fired in the Gulf War and the Balkans have caused illnesses ranging from respiratory disease to leukaemia. Melissa McDiarmid, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, is more familiar with this scientific literature than most. She has studied the effects of depleted uranium first hand, having cared for some of the 60 US soldiers who became accidental victims of these deadly munitions as a result of "friendly fire" during the Gulf War. The irony of the questions being raised over depleted uranium are not lost on her: "This is a surreal situation. We are being asked 'what are the health risks of something that is supposed to blow you up?'." There are essentially two reasons why the military have chosen to make armour-penetrating bullets out of depleted uranium: it is cheap and highly effective. As a by-product of the nuclear industry, depleted uranium is abundant and freely available. Extremely dense, it packs an enormous punch as a "kinetic energy" penetrator, using its considerable momentum to crack open the toughest armour. Depleted uranium penetrators also self-sharpen during impact and are pyrophoric, meaning they ignite when slicing through several inches of toughened material. Britain's main battle tank, Challenger 2, and the American A1M1 tank, are both armed with 120mm armour-piercing, anti-tank rounds made with depleted uranium. During the Gulf War, about 300 tons of depleted- uranium rounds were fired--from 20mm bullets to 120mm shells -- from tanks, aircraft and ships. Depleted uranium is chemically identical to uranium, a natural element extracted from uranium ore mined since the beginning of the nuclear age. Uranium is radioactive but its three isotopes have relatively long half-lives, the time it takes for half of its mass to decay to something else. Generally speaking, the shorter an isotope's half- life, the more danger it poses. The isotope uranium-238 accounts for about 99.3 per cent of the natural uranium found in the ground and its half-life is 4,500 million years, whereas uranium-235 and 234 have half-lives of 710 million and 250,000 years respectively. This can be compared with one of the by-products of uranium decay, a gas called radon, which has a half life of 3.8 days and is some 10,000 times more radiologically active than its parent element. The nuclear industry extracts as much of the more active uranium- 235 and uranium-234 as it can from uranium ore to make the enriched raw material for nuclear fuel. What is left behind is therefore "depleted" and possesses only 60 per cent of the radioactivity of natural uranium, which is itself not very radioactive. Over the decades, many thousands of workers have been involved in the mining, processing and milling the uranium ore used in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs. Concerns over the risks of dealing with such material in a working environment are therefore not new. There have been 11 big studies of uranium miners who have been monitored for a range of cancers and other illnesses. In addition to the radiological hazard, scientists have also assumed that workers will be exposed to toxicological hazards. Uranium is a heavy metal and as such can cause serious poisoning problems if ingested in large enough doses. Heavy metals, for instance, are known to harm the kidneys. However, when the US Centers for Disease Control and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reviewed the evidence revealed by these studies, they concluded that "no significant differences in cancer [of the lungs] was found between workers who are occupationally exposed to uranium and control populations". A committee of the US National Academy of Sciences and Institutes of Medicine have also reviewed the scientific literature and again concluded that there is no evidence to prove that uranium exposure in these workers has resulted in cancer, but neither have the studies been able to rule it out unequivocally. The difficulty of "disproving" a health risk with depleted uranium was also highlighted in a study by Steve Fetter, from University of Maryland, and Frank von Hippel, an eminent nuclear scientist at Princeton University in New Jersey. Their review of the scientific literature was one of the most extensive undertaken, and they looked at both exposure to soldiers and civilians living in the area were depleted uranium was used. "Due to the low radioactivity of DU (depleted uranium), radiological hazards to individuals would become significant in comparison to background radiation doses only in cases of prolonged contact, for example, when shards of a DU penetrator remain embedded in a soldiers body," they wrote in a paper published in the journal Science and Global Security. "Although the radiation doses to virtually all civilians would be very low, the cumulative 'population dose' resulting from the dispersal of hundreds of tons of DU, as occurred during the Gulf War, could result in up to 10 cancer deaths." "Our tentative conclusion is that concerns about the public health and environmental effects of DU are overblown. The risks appear to be very low to surrounding populations and to persons who were not in direct, unprotected contact with vehicles struck with DU munitions or areas heavily contaminated by burning DU munitions. DU contamination is unlikey to have any measurable effect on public health in Iraq or Yugoslavia," they say. The ongoing study into the 60 American servicemen who were victims of friendly fire involving depleted uranium has also failed to identify a cancer risk, or any other illness not directly associated with being blown up by a deadly munition. Yet these people, about a quarter of whom still have DU shards embedded in their bodies, are known to have been exposed to the highest doses imaginable. "Thus, the argument for uranium being the cause of leukaemia in peacekeeping forces is thin," says Professor McDiarmid. This will hardly be of comfort to the many servicemen who became seriously ill after returning from the Gulf and the Balkans. Neither will it impress the low-level radiation campaigners who believe that particles of insoluble oxides created when DU burns become lodged in the lung, where they can emit dangerous alpha radiation to surrounding tissue or to the cells of the lymph glands. They have suggested that this could account for the half dozen cases of leukaemia in Italian soldiers, even though cancer specialists find it difficult to believe that these blood cancers could have arisen so soon after the apparent time of DU exposure in Kosovo. Professor McDiarmid is aware of the problems she and other scientific sceptics face: "You come off sounding as if you're dismissing what has happened to these young people. I am not. I think I do have an open mind and I don't want to miss something new that might be occurring but equally we cannot ignore what we already know." As the British Government prepares to call in its own high-level committee of radiation advisers to look once again at the depleted uranium question, the first item on the agenda will be to pull together everything we have already learnt about this much-feared element. ***************************************************************** 16 MANY SOLDIERS WERE NOT WARNED OF URANIUM The Times FRIDAY JANUARY 26 2001 BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR BRITISH forces sent to Saudia Arabia during the Gulf conflict were warned just before the start of Operation Desert Storm of “two potential risks” from depleted uranium dust, according to a restricted document released by the Ministry of Defence yesterday. A memorandum was sent to the commander of the medical units in Saudi Arabia where British troops were preparing for entry into Kuwait, in February 1991. It gave warning of the potential hazard from DU oxide dust, underlining that “ingestion and inhalation should be avoided”. The memo from the Army Logistic Operations Centre said: “Take care not to ingest dust on food by secondary contamination NBC (nuclear chemical and biological).” Yet despite the warning, which emphasised that radioactivity levels would be low, a letter dated July 13 1993, written by Jeremy Hanley, then Armed Forces Minister, admitted that advice about the need for protective clothing in a DU evironment did not reach many British Army units, including tank crews. Mr Hanley admitted in the letter to an MP that information given to parliament earlier about advice to troops had not been “entirely accurate”. The documents relating to advice to ministers concerning depleted uranium weapons were released on the MoD website yesterday after weeks of criticism over the way the ministry had handled the row. One of the documents said: “Troops deployed to Kosovo should be briefed on the hazard from DU munitions which may exist in any vehicles that have been hit by Nato aircraft or tanks.” It said vehicles hit by DU munitions might be spread with “a heavy toxic powder”. Copyright 2001 TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD. This service is ***************************************************************** 17 MPs urge scrapping of uranium shells MICHAEL SETTLE A GROUP of Labour MPs yesterday called on the government to halt the use of depleted uranium (DU) tank-busting shells by Britain's armed forces. The 14 back-benchers also urged ministers to begin "cleaning up the environmental contamination caused by their use in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and sites in Britain where testing and manufacture of DU weapons takes place". Among the testing sites is the Dundrennan range on the Solway Firth. Since 1982, about 6000 DU rounds have been fired from Kirkcudbright into the firth. The Ministry of Defence insists that, because the shells disappear into the silt on the sea-bed, retrieval is almost impossible. By last year, only one shell had been recovered and, to date, no more than five have been retrieved from the sea bed. The MPs' call for a moratorium on the use of DU shells follows a wave of international concern that depleted uranium causes serious long-term health problems. An army report had also warned of a heightened cancer risk from exposure to DU. The MoD dismissed the warning as a "discredited" piece of work from a junior officer and said there was no scientific evidence linking DU with cancer or the other symptoms associated with Gulf War syndrome. However, to allay the fears of Balkans veterans and their families the government performed a U-turn and agreed to set up a screening programme. Last week, peers called on the government to extend it to cover veterans of the Gulf War. The 14 MPs, whose number includes Nigel Griffiths, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South, and Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for Linlithgow, said in a Commons motion that they felt that the government should ensure British troops used "alternative munitions" in future, but welcomed the MoD's decision to screen UK soldiers for DU poisoning. - Jan 26 ***************************************************************** 18 Safety all-clear after depleted-uranium plant blaze Ananova - An investigation into a fire at a factory that processes depleted uranium has concluded there was no contamination of the surrounding area. Reports conclude there was no radioactive contamination after the fire at the Royal Ordinance Speciality Metals factory in Featherstone, Staffordshire. But an official at nearby Featherstone jail says several members of staff there are now suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses. Investigations by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and other agencies have concluded that there was no radioactive contamination in the area after the fire at the plant, which is run by RO Defence and owned by BAE Systems. Clive Richardson, managing director of BAE Systems RO Defence, says the safety of employees and neighbouring communities is the most important consideration. He results of the investigations had been made available to local residents. "The conclusion of the investigation was that no depleted uranium or combustion products of depleted uranium escaped from the designated area of the building. " But a spokesman for the Prison Officers' Association at Featherstone jail is still sceptical about the report's findings and has called for independent health checks to be carried on staff working in and around the Royal Ordnance site. "We've got two members of staff with cancer, two with lung problems and two with kidney problems. "At the end of the day, if they're so confident that depleted uranium isn't the problem, let them test us. We've been calling for tests for almost two years," he told BBC Radio WM. Last updated: 17:48 Thursday 25th January 2001 CHECK FOR MORE ON: Copyright c 2001 Ananova Ltd ***************************************************************** 19 NATO CHIEF REASSURES GERMANY ON URANIUM Handelsblatt.com Foreign politics Dow Jones BERLIN. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson issued reassurances Thursday that there is no proof depleted uranium ammunition poses health risks and repeated his pledges to make all information on the controversial ordnance public. "The data from the countries who are involved in peacekeeping is universally very clear – that is, that no scientific connection can be proved between illnesses that have been contracted and service in the Balkans," Robertson said after meeting in Berlin with German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping. The U.S. used the armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds during campaigns to stop fighting across the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. "We are not hiding anything, and as information becomes available then we will disclose it and we will explain it," Robertson said. "If it is disturbing or it is puzzling, then we will take appropriate action." Several nations including Germany have also said no health risk has been proven from the ammunition, but have nonetheless instituted test programs for soldiers. NATO said Wednesday that its special committee on depleted uranium has still has found no evidence to link it with cancer. Robertson also issued assurances about the new U.S. administration's intentions in the Balkans, in an attempt to dispel worries after pre-election talk of an American withdrawal from Bosnia and Kosovo. But Robertson said both new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told him Washington wants to remain involved in the region. "What they've done is to assure me privately, as indeed they have insured the world publicly, that they're not going to cut and run from the Balkans," he said. "They will look at their own troop contribution with other members of the alliance and no precipitous decisions will be taken." HANDELSBLATT, Donnerstag, 25. Januar 2001 ***************************************************************** 20 South Africa unprepared for nuclear spill Christi Coetzee Pietermaritzburg - No city in South Africa would be prepared for a nuclear spill, Msunduzi Council disaster manager John Guttridge has told a public meeting on a proposal to transport uranium oxide through KwaZulu-Natal. He expressed concern about the heat capacity of the containers, should a truck's burning brakes set the vehicle alight. "If it happened that the granule powder was spread all over the field in a bizarre accident, how would it be picked up?" asked Guttridge. He said no city or town would really be prepared for a nuclear disaster. "If the prescribed precautions pertaining to the transport and storage of the granules are strictly adhered to, then there should be very limited risk to the public. "However, should an accident occur or the vehicle is delayed en route, the risk to the public of released material is not entirely clear. This should be verified by the company." One of many questions asked by members of the public at the Symons Centre meeting was: "Why use Durban as a port of entrance for nuclear material and not Cape Town, Maputo or Richards Bay?" The proposed alternative routes, should the N3 not be available, were also questioned, as well as the use of road transportation. A concerned Pietermaritzburg citizen said: "The accident rate for rail is much lower than for road transport." The meeting, one of six public meetings to be held in the province, followed a licence application from Eskom for a pebble bed reactor at Koeberg Power Station in the Western Cape. An initial load of 3 500kg of raw enriched uranium oxide will be transported to Pelindaba, where the fuel will be manufactured, and then transported to Koeberg. One thousand kilograms will be imported annually after the initial fuel load. Other questions raised at the meeting, for which answers were not forthcoming, concerned the implications and consequences of exposure to radioactive material, the safeguards when people deviate from the set rules, the potential risk of hijacking, abuse of the mineral by political groups and the chance of the SABS-approved safety containers "popping" if someone drives into one of the uranium oxide trucks. A public meeting will be held in Durban on 30 January, while meetings have also been scheduled for kwaDakuza (formerly Stanger), Eshowe, Vryheid and Piet Retief. A scoping report will be compiled by the end of April and the end of the year has been targeted for the approval of construction, while the company hopes to start operating the reactor in 2007. ***************************************************************** 21 NIF glass production reaches a milestone January 25, 2001 FROM STAFF REPORTS LIVERMORE--About 40 percent of the glass slabs for the multi-billion- dollar National Ignition Facility laser project at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory are complete, lab officials said Wednesday. Hoya Corp. U.S.A., a Fremont glass manufacturer, has produced about 600 slabs of laser glass. The slabs are needed to guide NIF's planned 192 laser beams to a central target chamber. Schott Glass Technologies, another company that's producing glass for NIF, has crafted about 800 slabs. Hoya and Schott are expected to produce about 3,500 slabs for NIF -- including spares, said lab spokeswoman Susan Houghton. The two companies are also simultaneously producing laser glass for the Laser Megajoule project, a similar laser project in France. The National Ignition Facility, which federal officials say will cost $3.5 to $4 billion including related research and development costs, is a research tool that will simulate nuclear-weapons explosions and effects on a small scale by blasting radioactive fuel capsules with powerful ultra-violet lasers. The project is about $1 billion over its initial budget and six years behind schedule. ');}// --> [*][I] ');}// --> [*][I] ***************************************************************** 22 Nuclear test site might draw thousands January 25, 2001 By Glenn Roberts Jr. STAFF WRITER The cratered moonscape of the Nevada Test Site will receive the largest number of sightseers in its history Saturday as nuclear scientists and engineers bring their families to the most bombed place on the planet. The Family Day event, scheduled on the 50th anniversary of the first nuclear test at the desert site, will draw an estimated 3,100 guests, say Energy Department officials. About 500 current and former Lawrence Livermore Laboratory workers and their family members are expected to attend the Family Day event, said Steve Wofford, lab archivist and historian. Current employees and retirees from Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, the Energy Department and its contractors are also attending the event, along with family members who are 10 or older. Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico detonated the first Nevada Test Site blast, dubbed Able, on Jan. 27, 1951. It was the seventh U.S. nuclear test. The first nuclear test, called Trinity, was detonated in Alamogordo, N.M., on July 16, 1945. Other tests were conducted in the Pacific Islands before former President Harry Truman formally established the Nevada Test Site on Dec. 18, 1950. La Tomya Glass, an Energy Dept. spokeswoman, said a military flyover, a Marine Corps band performance and a portrayal of Truman's establishment of the test site will be featured during Family Day. Visitors will see Sedan, a nuclear crater created by a Livermore Lab experiment designed to test the earth-moving potential of nuclear weapons, and Frenchman Flat, an area at the 1,350-square-mile site where several atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted. MORE THAN 1,000 TESTS Lawrence Livermore Laboratory was established in 1952, and on March 31, 1953, Livermore workers conducted their first nuclear test, Ruth, at the Nevada site. Livermore and Los Alamos labs carried out a combined 928 nuclear tests at the test site--the last test was in 1992. About 90 percent of the 1,054 U.S. nuclear tests were conducted at the Nevada Test Site. ABUNDANCE OF WORKERS A nuclear moratorium was called just as Livermore Lab workers were preparing to detonate an underground nuclear experiment called Ice Cap. Darwin Morgan, an Energy Department spokesman, said that at its peak, as many as 11,000 workers were employed at the test site, though the average during the days of underground nuclear testing was 3, 000 to 5,000. There are presently about 1,800 workers at the site. "Other than the daily workforce back during the heyday of the ... testing program, this (event) will be the largest number of people out there," Morgan said. ');}// --> [*][I] ');}// --> ***************************************************************** 23 Hanford downwinders seek answers This story was published Fri, Jan 26, 2001 BY ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER Randall Pixton of Warden never used to think much about living downwind of Hanford, he said Thursday night. That was before his wife was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, he said, choking on the words and turning away from the microphone at a public forum to consider the health effects of living near the nuclear reservation. After his wife fell ill, he started thinking bout how many of his relatives--both biological and by marriage--living downwind of Hanford had thyroid problems. The Department of Energy has admitted releasing radioactive iodine, which concentrates in the thyroid, into the air during World War II and the Cold War. The Spokane surgeon who treated Pixton's wife didn't have to ask where they lived. "I know where you live--downwind from the area," Pixton recalled the doctor saying. About 100 people gathered for the forum in Kennewick, sponsored by the Hanford Health Effects Subcommittee and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The subcommittee, which advises the federal government on downwinder health issues, organized the forum after a similar hearing for workers last year drew a crowd of about 550 in Richland. The Department of Energy had just admitted that some nuclear workers' health had been harmed by exposure to radiation or hazardous materials on the job. The federal government since has agreed to give ill workers or their survivors at least $150,000 in compensation and provide needed health care. But downwinders who believe their health has been harmed by radiation or chemicals that drifted off the nuclear reservation say they haven't received so much as an apology. "What have they done for any downwinder yet?" demanded Kay Sutherland, a lifelong resident of Walla Walla who often speaks on downwinder concerns. "When are downwinders going to be included in free health care?" Sutherland said she has thyroid disease, a history of miscarriages and kidney and lung cancer. While the meeting was organized to collect evidence that might compel the federal government to provide compensation or health care to those exposed to radiation or chemicals off the site, at least half of those who signed up to speak had worked at Hanford. Jim Lake, a Hanford pipefitter, said he hadn't always taken radiation contamination as seriously as he should. Workers sometimes would get skin contamination but would scrub it off with toilet bowl cleaner so they wouldn't have to fill out paperwork, he said. A former worker, Ray Samson, who has cancer eating away at his nose where a contaminated particle was lodged years ago, said officials could not find the records to show where he'd worked. To be eligible for federal compensation "workers are going to have to prove they have been exposed," said Dr. Tim Takaro of the University of Washington. "Based on what I've heard tonight, that is going to be difficult." Takaro, who's studying the health of former workers, said he is concerned about the change from the Clinton to the Bush administration. David Michaels, DOE's assistant secretary for environment, safety and health, who headed the effort within DOE to get worker compensation, was a Clinton appointee. "We don't know who his replacement will be or if he will have (Dr. Michaels') passion for the program," Takaro said. This is a critical period for the nuclear worker's compensation initiative as the rules for how it will be implemented are being written, Takaro said. For more information about the compensation program, call 877-447- 9756. COPYRIGHT 2001 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** 24 Downwinders to Celebrate Utah 'Day of Remembrance' The Salt Lake Tribune-- FRIDAY, January 26, 2001 BY JUDY FAHYS Dave Timothy is making the long trip from Toquerville to Saturday's "Day of Remembrance" rally at the State Capitol. It is a short haul, though, considering the health hazards he says he has endured as the result of atomic-testing fallout. Toxic air began drifting over his family farm in southern Utah 50 years ago, and finally the government is acknowledging the harm it caused, said Timothy. "I'm hoping that people, especially the young people who may not know anything about it, will be able to understand what happened and what its impacts have been," he said. "My single biggest concern is that this will be repeated." Timothy will be among those attending the remembrance rally Saturday, beginning 1:30 p.m., in the Capitol Rotunda. Gov. Mike Leavitt and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson have declared the day, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of atomic testing at the Nevada Test Site, as the "Day of Remembrance." The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the group Downwinders and several other organizations that have served as advocates for victims of nuclear testing. The groups will gather after the rally at the University of Utah, Union Building 324, to view films about downwinders. One featured film will be "Return of Navajo Boy, " a documentary about a Monument Valley family's struggle with uranium mining's radioactive legacy. On hand will be Elsie Mae Begay, a central figure in the film. Timothy will be on hand, too. Since the age of 18, he has undergone surgery eight times for thyroid cancer, which is a common disease of people exposed to harmful levels of radiation. More information is available by calling 521- 6128 or at www.downwinders.org/launch.htm. ***************************************************************** 25 'Downwinders' to mark 50th anniversary January 24, 2001 By Daily Times staff SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah governor and Salt Lake City mayor have marked Saturday, the 50th anniversary of nuclear testing in Nevada, as Day of Remembrance for Cold War nuclear victims. Gov. Michael Leavitt and Mayor Ross "Rocky" Anderson made their announcement at the request of the Downwinders and Survivors of the Regions' Uranium Miners. Downwinders from the Four Corners area will gather in Salt Lake City for a variety of activities to commemorate the victims from 50 years of Cold War nuclear activities Saturday. The group will hold a news conference and rally at the Utah Capitol Rotunda at 1:30 p.m. followed by a viewing of the Jeff Spitz film, "Return of Navajo Boy," and other films dealing with the subjects of nuclear testing and uranium mining. Elise Mae Begay, of "Return of Navajo Boy," will answer questions after the film. Compensation issues will also be discussed, including information and assistance available for those interested in applying. The event is open to the public. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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