***************************************************************** 03/29/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.79 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 Tell your Rep. to support strong radiation standards 2 Nuclear Energy Promoted 3 TVA to convert uranium for fuel 4 Oak Ridge National Lab Collaborates on Six Energy Efficiency Grants 5 Low-Level Mixed Waste Treatment System Shows Good Performance 6 Judge dismisses appeal to block Millstone sale 7 Millstone's chief nuclear officer leaving 8 Browns Ferry to use surplus nuclear weapon uranium in its two 9 Don't let N-industry police itself 10 Historical Studies of Recycled Uranium 11 TEPCO to delay use of MOX fuel at Fukushima nuclear plant 12 Petition filed for ordinance to hold plebiscite over MOX fuel 13 TOKYO ELECTRIC DECISION AGAINST PLUTONIUM MOX USE DEVASTATING 14 Tepco delays MOX debut due to opposition in Fukushima 15 Fukushima nixes spent fuel project 16 Campaigners say AEC's nuclear regulation lax 17 Norwegian Anger Rising at Sellafield Radioactive Pollution 18 Dounreay criticised 19 Review of BNFL mixed oxide plant revived 20 Move on Mox Urgent 21 Sellafield's MOX plant - Meacher announces further consultation 22 Preparing People for the Castor Transports 23 Police Power Play Ends German Atom Waste Odyssey 24 Russia Replaces Corrupt Minister of Nuclear Power 25 Adamov sacked for unprofitable proliferation 26 Radioactive tumbleweeds 27 DOE site transition going well: NRC 28 South Florida's children's teeth show high radiation, study says 29 Environmental group faults CP storage practice NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Military's next maneuver: Going green Environmental hazards 2 Use of uranium criticized Proper handling of munitions cuts 3 Baker seeks funds for Russia plan 4 Japan should share expense of disarming Russia: Baker 5 Court Blocks Reviews of Controversial Nuclear Research Site 6 Kursk's mangled torpedo compartment to be 'left on seabed' 7 Pollution Study at Lab Resumes 8 DOE sites' cleanup wasting funds under bidding plan: report ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Tell your Rep. to support strong radiation standards Urgent Action Alert* What's Happening: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to set radiation protection standards for the proposed high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This process is now in its last stages and a rule could be finalized within the next few days. The Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are pressuring the administration to further weaken the already inadequate proposed rule. The DOE and NRC want to eliminate groundwater protection standards and increase the "acceptable" individual radiation exposure limit from 15 millirems to 25 millirems annually. What's at stake: + Health and Safety -The DOE is expected later this year to recommend the Yucca Mountain site for development as a permanent repository for high-level radioactive waste generated by U.S. commercial reactors and weapons facilities. A favorable recommendation is contingent upon an assessment of whether a Yucca Mountain repository could meet EPA radiation protection standards. An artificially weak standard would skew the suitability assessment and threaten public health and safety near America's fastest growing city (Las Vegas). + Precedent - Although this rule is "site-specific" to Yucca Mountain, it will set an important precedent for radiation protection at DOE and NRC-licensed sites. At stake is the EPA's authority in regulating radiation exposures, and the application of Safe Drinking Water Act standards for groundwater protection at Yucca Mountain, nuclear reactor sites, and the DOE weapons complex. What you can do: + Representatives Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Jim Gibbons (R-NV) have initiated and circulated a joint letter to the President in support of a strong standard that includes groundwater protection and does not weaken individual exposure limits. Signatures will be collected through Tuesday, April 3, at 12pm. Call and e-mail your Representative today. urge him/her to co-sign this letter. Call the Capitol Switchboard to be connected to your Representative's office: (202) 225-3121 E-mail your Representative. Locate the address at: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html Please contact Public Citizen for more information: Phone: (202) 454-5130 - e-mail: Lisa_gue@citizen.org- website: www.citizen.org/cmep * ***************************************************************** 2 Nuclear Energy Promoted Michael Coleman Wednesday, March 28, 2001 Albuquerque Journal--> Michael Coleman--> By Michael Coleman *Journal Washington Bureau* WASHINGTON — Two members of New Mexico's congressional delegation told a House subcommittee Tuesday that nuclear power could help America prevent future energy crunches. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., said nuclear energy is efficient, clean and safer than ever. Wilson, who sits on the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, said no new nuclear power plants are expected to open before 2020, yet America's demand for electricity keeps growing. "In the context of rolling blackouts, high prices, growing demand for power and continued concern for environmental protection and global warming, America is taking a second look at nuclear power," Wilson said. "And we should." Domenici, a longtime proponent of nuclear power who has introduced a bill to encourage greater use of it, was invited to speak to the subcommittee. Domenici said other nations are beating America in the race to develop clean, efficient nuclear power. He said the U.S. government's reluctance to embrace the potential of nuclear energy, especially with the current energy concerns in California and elsewhere, is "borderline lunacy." Currently, 104 nuclear power plants are licensed to operate in 31 states. The plants have produced about 20 percent of the nation's power supply over the past several years, but some of those plants' licenses will soon expire. With no new nuclear power plants expected to open before 2020, nuclear power could drop to only 11 percent of the U.S. energy supply, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Five existing plants have received federal approval for license extensions of up to 20 years, and others have recently applied for such extensions. Anna Aurilio, legislative director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, told the committee that nuclear power remains dangerous and expensive and could pose serious ground-water problems in the western United States and elsewhere. "We believe nuclear power is unsafe, uneconomic and generates long-lived radioactive wastes for which there is no safe solution," Aurilio said. "It should not be promoted as an energy source." Domenici argued that nuclear power, properly contained, is much less harmful to the environment than fossil fuels. Copyright Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 3 TVA to convert uranium for fuel Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:55 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2001 by Duncan Mansfield Associated Press KNOXVILLE -- In a post-Cold War effort to beat swords into plowshares, uranium once used to make bombs will be converted into fuel to make electricity at the Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA Board of Directors, meeting in Muscle Shoals, Ala., agreed Wednesday to enter into the unique relationship with the Department of Energy. The federal utility intends to convert into commercial fuel some 33 metric tons of highly enriched uranium that once powered the shuttered weapons production reactors at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. By 2005, this reprocessed material could be generating power for homes across the Tennessee Valley through TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala. The deal represents a potential cost-savings windfall both for DOE and TVA, but some critics worry about the message it sends the world about mixing commercial and military nuclear activities. Of the 33 tons of uranium, which DOE declared surplus from the weapons program in the early 1990s, two-thirds is stored at the Savannah River Site and the other third at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Diluting the material into low-enriched uranium "to where it is considered a waste and could be disposed of would be extremely expensive. We are talking in the range of about $1 billion," said Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office TVA gets the uranium free. But it will pay $90 million to $100 million to have it diluted at the Nuclear Fuel Services plant in Erwin, Tenn., and then repackaged into reactor fuel at a Siemens Power Corp. facility in Washington state. "The savings are derived in a reduction in future fuel expenses over what the market conditions would be," said Jack Bailey, TVA vice president for nuclear engineering. Assuming uranium prices stay unchanged, TVA could break even around 2010. The DOE material, once converted, could fuel Browns Ferry's two operating reactors for 14 years. No other utilities expressed interest when DOE first proposed the giveaway in the early 1990s as a way to reduce the amount of weapons-grade material in its nuclear stockpile. Bailey said TVA's history of involvement in the country's defense programs -- ever since it supplied massive amounts of electricity for the top-secret bomb-building Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge in World War II -- "made it easier for us" to take up DOE's offer. TVA, the country's largest public power producer, more recently has agreed to supply the bomb material tritium to DOE from its Watts Bar and Seqouyah commercial nuclear plants in Tennessee, beginning in 2003. TVA had planned to use the reformulated DOE fuel in the Sequoyah reactor near Chattanooga, and even tested a fuel sample there in 1999. But Bailey said the tritium production at Sequoyah could present a conflict. When DOE agreed to take the uranium out of its stockpile, it also agreed the material would never again be used for weapons production. Stephen Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy environmental group in Knoxville, said that conflict still remains. "The downside is clearly this continued blurring of lines between the commercial and the military applications of nuclear power," he said. "I think it sets a bad precedent and we lose some of our credibility as an international broker (to discourage similar actions abroad)." TVA is a self-financing government corporation that provides electricity to 158 distributors serving some 8 million people in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama. All Contents.©Copyright *The Oak Ridger * ***************************************************************** 4 Oak Ridge National Lab Collaborates on Six Energy Efficiency Grants EarthVision Environmental News* OAK RIDGE, TN, March 27, 2001 - The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has announced that out of 13 university-led projects that have received funding from the Energy Department's Energy Efficiency Science Initiative, it is collaborating on six of them. The Energy Efficiency Science Initiative looks to promote more-efficient production and use of energy. The projects, their total budgets (combined university/laboratory awards) and their ORNL collaborators include: + New Processing and Characterization Approaches for Achieving Full Performance of High Temperature Superconducting Tapes, University of Wisconsin. The university will address key issues needed to improve the performance of superconducting tapes to increase their energy efficiency and make them more economical. Estimated grant amount is $350,000. Eliot Spect of the Metals and Ceramics Division is the ORNL collaborator. + Atomic Scale Investigations of the Structure and Dynamics of Complex Catalytic Materials, Drexel University, Philadelphia. Drexel University is performing research to advance the understanding of atomic-scale structure and dynamics of complex catalytic materials that produce reactions to improve energy efficiency. Estimated grant amount is $599,922. Steve Pennycook of the Solid State Division is the ORNL collaborator. + Adaptive Full-Spectrum Solar Energy Systems, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada. The university will conduct research to demonstrate that solar energy systems can be made at an affordable cost for commercial buildings. In addition, the university will demonstrate that complex hybrid reactors used for emissions reduction at power plants can be made to compete favorably with existing technologies. Estimated grant amount is $1,824,574. The University of Nevada will provide $355,391 in matching funds. Jeff Muhs of the Engineering Technology Division is the ORNL collaborator. + High Temperature Ceramic Coatings for Energy Efficient Heat Engines, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern will conduct research that enables high temperature ceramic coatings to be used in energy efficient heat engines, such as microturbines and industrial gas turbines. Estimated grant amount is $814,215. Northwestern will provide $143,215 in matching funds. Matt Ferber of the Metals and Ceramics Division is the ORNL collaborator. + Enhancement of Closed Chamber Reactors in Agriculture. Washington University, St. Louis. The university will conduct work to promote energy efficiency through design, scale-up and operation of anaerobic digesters (closed chamber reactors) that convert animal manure into chemicals and energy for use in agriculture and other industries. Estimated grant amount is $737,150. Dave DePaoli and Tom Klasson of the Chemical Technology Division are the ORNL collaborators. + High Temperature Fiber Optic Sensor for Energy Intensive Industries, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. The university will develop and demonstrate the application of self-calibrating temperature and pressure sensors for several energy-intensive industries where conventional, commercially available sensors fail prematurely. This emerging technology will provide for improved reliability and durability in commercial applications. Estimated grant amount is $647,417. Mark Janney of the Metals and Ceramics Division is the ORNL collaborator. EarthVision Stories ***************************************************************** 5 Low-Level Mixed Waste Treatment System Shows Good Performance EarthVision Environmental News* FREMONT, CA, March 28, 2001 - The waste management company ATG, Inc., a leading provider of environmental technologies, hazardous and radioactive waste management services, especially in the thermal non-incineration field, announced that its one-of-a-kind vitrification facility has reached record performance. The company said as of March 25, 2001, its Gasvit™ low-level mixed waste vitrification system in Richland was used to treat US Department of Energy wastes continuously for 35 hours of processing - a record-breaking event in the waste processing industry. The low-level mixed wastes, which are wastes that contain both radioactive and hazardous components, were generated during the cold war operations of the production facilities in the US. "This is a record performance for any thermal Mixed Waste facility in the US," said Doreen Chiu, the Chief Executive Officer of ATG, Inc. The treatment was performed on activated carbon and contaminated soil from the Department of Energy's Hanford Site. ATG says its treatment technology is proving to be the most effective alternative to incineration for these wastes the US has seen in nearly a decade. Additionally, the company notes that the Department of Energy is also providing the critical funding necessary to enable ATG to conduct a series of regulatory demonstrations to show that in addition to mixed waste processing, its technology could be used for the destruction and stabilization of transuranic waste from Department of Energy weapons production facilities. These wastes are comprised largely of tools, gloves, protective clothing, and other materials contaminated with plutonium and are the Energy Department's most challenging waste stream resulting from the legacy of the cold war production era. EarthVision Stories ***************************************************************** 6 Judge dismisses appeal to block Millstone sale By Paul Choiniere Published on 3/29/2001 Waterford — A Superior Court judge has dismissed an appeal that sought to block the Department of Public Utility Control decision approving the sale of Millstone Nuclear Power Station to Dominion of Virginia. Superior Court Judge Peter Emmett Wise ruled that the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone failed to establish legal standing. The anti-nuclear organization had asked the judge to hold up the sale while its appeal was pending. But Wise not only refused to issue the stay, he dismissed the appeal entirely. Wise concluded that the organization did not have legal standing to appeal because it had failed to prove that it would be harmed in a financial sense by the sale of Northeast Utilities to Dominion. The DPUC decision Jan. 24 to OK the sale was a financial matter, the court found. The coalition, in contrast, presented evidence and testimony that focused primarily on safety, health and environmental issues, Wise wrote in his 20-page decision. He also concluded that concerns that the plaintiffs raised about the ability of Dominion to run the nuclear plants did not stand up to scrutiny. “Rather, these claims constitute generalizations, fears and speculation,” Wise ruled. “With respect to the testimony concerning incidents of cancer, the court is not persuaded such testimony relates to the sale of Millstone.” Dominion will operate in this state as Dominion Nuclear Connecticut. The company bid $1.3 billion to acquire Millstone station, which has two operating and one closed reactor. The legislature required that Millstone be auctioned as a means of breaking up the Northeast Utilities monopoly and introducing competition in electric-power sales. The DPUC approved the sale Jan. 24, and the closing could happen as soon as this week. Connecticut and Long Island anti-nuclear activists, including the coalition, still have one court challenge pending. The plaintiffs are challenging the state Department of Environmental Protection's decision to transfer the discharge permit for Millstone from NU to Dominion. The permit to dump chemical discharges into Long Island Sound expired three years ago. Millstone has been operating under emergency authorizations. Witnesses called to the stand by activists have testified about potential links between Millstone reactors and local cancers and about the negative impact the plants are having on the marine environment. Both Dominion and NU have taken the position that the permit transfer was appropriate and have denied any link between the nuclear plant and health and environmental problems. Joseph H. Besade, a Waterford resident and a member of the coalition, said the court system should not allow the permit transfer. “The credibility of the DEP and our judicial system are on trial,” Besade said. “If the DEP is permitted to perform the illegal act of transferring an expired and illegal permit ... the Constitution State will become known as the pushover state by the nuclear profiteers.” © 1998-2001 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 7 Millstone's chief nuclear officer leaving *Dominion had hoped Olivier would stay on * By Paul Choiniere Published on 3/29/2001 Waterford — Hoping for a smooth transition of power, Dominion of Virginia had planned to make no changes in leadership when it took control of Millstone Nuclear Power Station, but those plans changed Wednesday when Chief Nuclear Officer Lee J. Olivier announced he was leaving. Olivier is resigning to take a position with Entergy, which has been expanding its nuclear holdings in the Northeast. Sources at NU said Dominion offered Olivier an increase in pay and benefits to stay, but was unsuccessful. In a statement to Millstone employees Dominion said: “We certainly tried to convince Lee to stay on.” “We are disappointed that Lee has decided not to remain at Millstone, but we wish him well,” said Thomas F. Farrell, chief executive officer of Dominion Energy, in a statement issued by the company. Dominion is set to take control of Millstone as early as this week. Olivier said his decision to leave at this time has nothing to do with Dominion's takeover of Millstone, but rather was the result of a good opportunity. Olivier will be given the title of senior vice president of the Entergy Nuclear Northeast office, based in White Plains, N.Y. He will be responsible for operations at Entergy's four nuclear plants in the region. “This is a big opportunity to take a lot of the things we have done at Millstone and bring it there,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “And personally it offers the opportunity for further growth and promotion.” Olivier had established himself as a popular leader among the workforce at Millstone since he arrived in October 1998 from Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth, Mass., where he had served as chief nuclear officer. It was a time when Millstone was just coming out of a difficult period that saw its nuclear plants shut down for an extended time during the mid-1990s. Under his leadership Millstone performance continued to improve and its two operating reactors, units 2 and 3, operated without interruptions or serious problems. “Lee is the most wonderful leader I have ever seen in my life and I sincerely mean that. He is really going to be missed,” said Paul Blanch, a consultant to Millstone. Blanch resigned from Northeast Utilities in the early 1990s after being harassed by management for the safety concerns he raised. He was later brought back as a consultant to help the station recover from its regulatory problems and rebuild its image. Blanch said Olivier had built up a lot of credibility with the workforce at Millstone, goodwill that Dominion hoped to build on when it took control of the station. The closing of the $1.3 billion purchase is expected any day. Olivier said he is leaving as soon as the sale becomes official. Northeast Utilities was forced to sell the plant at auction as part of the state's plan to breakup the NU monopoly and introduce competition to the electric power industry. Dominion chose William R. Matthews, one of its top nuclear executives, to take control of Millstone and carry out the ownership transition. Matthews is vice president of nuclear operations for Dominion Energy and has been responsible for operations at the company's two nuclear stations in Virginia: North Anna and Surry. Both facilities have two operating reactors. Matthews has been with Dominion for 25 years. Olivier will face his own challenges at Entergy. In the Northeast, Entergy currently owns Pilgrim station, James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Station near Oswego, N.Y., and Indian Point 3, just 24 miles north of New York City. It is expected to soon finalize a deal to take control of Indian Point 2 as well. The Indian Point reactors have been plagued with many of the same self-inflicted performance and management problems that Millstone suffered during the mid-1990s, said Blanch, who is acting as a consultant at Indian Point as well. Olivier's success at Millstone probably made him an attractive candidate to attack the problems at Indian Point, Blanch said. “I'm surprised Lee wants to jump into the fire again after Millstone,” Blanch said. “But I guess he likes the challenge.” NU also announced that Millstone Business Manager Rick Kacich will stay with the company and not transfer to Dominion in the Millstone sale. He will work at the company's Berlin headquarters and will be involved in planning the sale of Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, a NU nuclear reactor in New Hampshire. © 1998-2001 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 8 Browns Ferry to use surplus nuclear weapon uranium in its two reactors c 2001 Alabama Live, LLC 03/29/01 KENT FAULK News staff writer MUSCLE SHOALS - Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant will become the first to use surplus uranium from the nation's nuclear weapons program in its two reactors. The Tennessee Valley Authority board Wednesday approved an agreement with the Department of Energy to turn 33 metric tons of highly enriched uranium into fuel for the Athens area nuclear plant beginning in 2005. The uranium is part of a surplus from Energy's nuclear weapon materials program. During its meeting at TVA's Environmental Research Center auditorium, the board also donated TVA land for a center to house at least two northwest Alabama economic development groups. The meeting was the last for board chairman Craven Crowell, who retires next month. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Online: Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Board members also approved entering into contracts with Framatome Cogema Fuels and Siemens Power Corp. to dilute the nuclear weapons-grade uranium into a fuel that can be used by the plant. The Energy Department is providing the uranium for free, said TVA spokesman John Moulton. It will cost TVA up to $750 million to turn it into reactor fuel. TVA and Energy stand to save money with the plan. The 33 metric tons will provide enough fuel to run Browns Ferry's reactors for 14 years, saving TVA an average of $10 million to $15 million a year in fuel costs, Moulton said. That's about a 20 percent savings off their regular fuel costs, he said. Energy officials expect to save more than $1 billion the department would have had to spend just to dilute the uranium where it couldn't be used in nuclear weapons, said Steven Wyatt, a spokesman in Oak Ridge, Tenn. "It's a good arrangement for us," he said. Moulton said TVA successfully completed a test at its Sequoyah Nuclear Plant last fall to show "blended-down" uranium could work in nuclear power reactors. Although Sequoyah will use up some of its remaining test material, Browns Ferry is the only TVA nuclear plant that will use the blended-down uranium on an ongoing basis. It also will be the first plant in the nation to use the blended down material, Wyatt said. Jack Bailey, vice president of TVA nuclear engineering and technical services, told the board the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to review and approve a license amendment for Browns Ferry to use the material. TVA and the Energy Department have completed environmental impact studies on the material's use, he said. Board members also approved granting 2.5 acres on TVA's Muscle Shoals reservation for the proposed Shoals Center for Business and Economic Development. The land is just south of the Renaissance Tower in Florence. The center is a joint project between the Shoals Area Chamber of Commerce and the Shoals Economic Development Authority. It would include at least 11,000 square feet - 8,000 square feet for the chamber and about 3,000 square feet for the authority, said Steve Nesbitt, building committee chairman. It can be larger if other area economic development groups want office space inside it, he said. The center is designed to pull together Shoals area economic development activities under one roof. c The Birmingham News. Used with permission. ***************************************************************** 9 Don't let N-industry police itself [deseretnews.com] Thursday, March 29, 2001 By Joan Claybrook Scripps Howard News Service Twenty-two years ago this week the United States experienced the worst commercial nuclear reactor accident in the brief history of its atomic experiment. That's when the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania experienced a meltdown and spewed an undetermined amount of radiation into the environment and surrounding communities. Now, the nuclear industry is claiming that it is so "safe" that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should rewrite nuclear safety requirements to reduce the regulatory and financial burden on the industry. Essentially, the industry wants to police itself and allow the agency to step in only when a problem is so significant that it threatens the public health and safety. Unfortunately, the government already has given the industry much of what it is seeking. The agency has cut the number of inspectors at reactor sites from four to three at sites with three reactors, and from three inspectors to two at sites with two reactors. The agency has slashed by 40 percent its list of safety-related reasons to shut down a reactor and is hard at work to find ways to reduce the remaining 60 percent. This should concern everyone in America. There are 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states, many in highly populated areas. The states with at least half a dozen reactors include Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina and Illinois. But reactors also put other large states at risk, including California, Texas and Minnesota. Further, the nuclear industry is seizing on the electricity crisis to push to build more reactors. Most U.S. reactors have passed their 20-year mark, which means they need more oversight, not less. In fact, an internal agency survey published last year showed that almost 45 percent of the agency's regional staff did not believe that reducing on-site inspectors would catch safety performance failures before there was "a significant reduction in safety margins." If agency insiders are worried about agency's hare-brained plan, we certainly should be, too. Further, a Public Citizen study found that between October 1996 and May 1999, 102 of the 111 reactors then online were operated outside the safety parameters established in their licenses. Clearly, it is unwise to let the industry police itself. Already, we have seen what can happen when safety rules are relaxed. In the mid-1990s, the agency didn't issue safety rules governing steam generator tubes, as planned. Instead, it decided to rely on the industry to voluntarily monitor the tubes. But we can't afford to skimp when we're dealing with radioactive materials. The Arthur Andersen Co., hired by the agency, recognized this in December 1996 when it concluded that "the threat exists that nuclear utilities, in their desire to cut costs and increase competitiveness, will be forced to impair their operational safety and increase risk." The industry argues that loosening standards is acceptable because there hasn't been a meltdown since Three Mile Island. However, that doesn't prove an operation is safe. So what are we left with? Fewer inspectors, aging reactors and an industry keen on cutting costs. There is no better recipe for disaster. The agency needs to reverse course now, before we face an accident that would cause tens of billions of dollars in damage and cost untold number of lives. *Joan Claybrook is president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy © 2001 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 10 Historical Studies of Recycled Uranium energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2001 [Print Friendly Version] Energy Department Releases *Differing Operational Practices Result in Data Inconsistencies Among Studies* The Department of Energy (DOE) today released nine site-specific studies that examined the historical movement of recycled uranium throughout the Department's complex. The studies represent the fifth installment of a comprehensive effort begun by the department in September 1999 to address worker concerns associated with the historical use of recycled uranium at the Gaseous Diffusion Plants in Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The nine reports cover the following 12 sites: Hanford, Wash.; Savannah River, S.C.; Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho; Fernald, Ohio; (including West Valley, N.Y.; Weldon Springs, Mo.; and RMI Inc. Ohio); the Gaseous Diffusion Plants in Paducah, Ky.; Portsmouth, Ohio; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; the Y-12 Plant, Tenn.; and Rocky Flats, Colo. The reports, as well as a project overview that describes the approach used to prepare the reports, are available on the web at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/legacy/. The reports provide a general understanding of the flow and characteristics of recycled uranium at individual sites. They identify where recycled uranium and trace amounts of other radioactive contaminants could have concentrated or been released, including historical periods, activities and concentrations, which may be useful for identifying potential worker exposure. Thousands of historical records were retrieved and analyzed to compile the data used in these studies. Based on this information, DOE has a good preliminary understanding of the characteristics and trace contaminants in the major streams of recycled uranium. However, because of differing operational practices, different designations for recycled uranium used by the sites in historical records dating back to 1952, and the extensive blending operations used by the sites, there are data inconsistencies among the reports. Because of these inconsistencies, the numeric totals of the sites cannot be calculated to yield an accurate accounting of the amount of recycled uranium across the DOE complex. To resolve these inconsistencies, and build on historical records, the Department's Office of Plutonium, Uranium, and Special Materials Inventory has been charged with conducting a follow-on study to develop a historical mass balance for uranium -- including recycled uranium. The nine recycled uranium reports will be used in the study. A brief press conference call will be held today at 3 p.m. for interested media who would like more specific information on the recycled uranium project. Please call (202) 586-5806 to receive the call-in number and to confirm your participation by noon today. Media Contact: Dolline Hatchett, 202/586-5806 Joe Davis, 202/586-4940 Release No. R-01-045 ***************************************************************** 11 TEPCO to delay use of MOX fuel at Fukushima nuclear plant TOKYO March 29 Kyodo - Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has decided to postpone the launch of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at its nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan because of opposition from the governor, company sources said Thursday. The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was scheduled to become the first nuclear plant to use MOX fuel in April. However, Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato said last month that the prefecture will not allow the use of MOX fuel on the grounds that residents are against it. MOX, a pellet mixture of uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide, is designed to be burned in light-water reactors, a process known as plutonium thermal use. Plutonium is obtained by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants. Sato has said the government must review its energy policy, including the use of MOX fuel. TEPCO is also planning to start using MOX fuel at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, and Kansai Electric Power Co. intends to do the same at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui. Both plants are on the Sea of Japan. The electric power industry plans to carry out the ''pluthermal'' project, which uses MOX fuel in a thermal reactor, at 16 to 18 reactors by 2010. Originally, the project was scheduled to be launched in 1999. 2001 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945. ***************************************************************** 12 Petition filed for ordinance to hold plebiscite over MOX fuel NIIGATA, Japan March 29 Kyodo - Residents and assembly members of the village of Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture filed an official petition Thursday requesting that the village establish an ordinance to allow a plebiscite over a plan to use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a local nuclear plant. Village officials said the petition was filed with village chief Hiroo Shinada, and that the Kariwa assembly is expected to deliberate an ordinance bill during an extraordinary session convening in April. The move follows the submission by a group of Kariwa residents and assembly members on March 2 of a similar petition bearing the signatures of 1,540 eligible voters, 37% of total voters in the village, and calling for a plebiscite over the so-called ''pluthermal'' project at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. The plant on Saturday received 28 containers of MOX fuel from France, but it has not yet been officially decided when the project will be launched. In March 1999, the assemblies of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa on the Sea of Japan coast rejected a petition calling for a plebiscite over the issue. The Kariwa assembly last December passed a similar bill submitted by assembly members, but Shinada vetoed it and ordered the assembly to revote. The bill was then rejected in January. The pluthermal process entails using MOX fuel -- made by mixing uranium with plutonium chemically extracted from spent nuclear fuel -- to power a thermal reactor. The power company plans to introduce the system at the plant's No. 3 reactor. 2001 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945. ***************************************************************** 13 TOKYO ELECTRIC DECISION AGAINST PLUTONIUM MOX USE DEVASTATING BLOW AGAINST BNFL/COGEMA BUSINESS 29 March 2001 Tokyo - Greenpeace today welcomed news that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) tomorrow (Friday) will inform the Japanese government that it will not load the controversial plutonium MOX fuel into its Fukushima-1-3 reactor during the next year. TEPCO's decision to be explained to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), is a major set-back for Japan's plans to use plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in nuclear reactors, and has severe consequences for European manufacturers, such as British Nuclear Fuels Ltd and the French government-owned Cogema, seeking to secure large MOX supply contracts. The 32 assemblies of MOX fuel at Fukushima, manufactured by Cogema/Belgonucleaire MOX Group, were intended to be loaded in early 2000. "This is good news for the people of Fukushima and Japan, very bad news for BNFL and Cogema, " Kazue Suzuki of Greenpeace Japan."There is every chance that no MOX will be loaded in Japanese reactors, once the dangers of using plutonium MOX fuel, and the fundamentally poor standards of BNFL and Cogema will end this program." Japan's plans to MOX fuel have been continually delayed over the last few years, in particular following the 1999 British Nuclear Fuels MOX quality control scandal, and subsequent doubts over the quality and safety of French/Belgian MOX fuel delivered to Fukushima. Another shipment of MOX arrived only last weekend, March 24th, also at a Tokyo Electric reactor this time in Niigata. Plans to load that MOX fuel were already in severe doubts before today's news. The decision by Tokyo Electric follows a seven month legal battle by Greenpeace Japan and local residents, to prevent the loading of the MOX fuel in the reactor. On March 23rd the Fukushima District Court issued its decision turning down an injunction request against loading, which had been based upon demands for Tokyo Electric to release vital quality control data for the MOX fuel. In its decision, however, the court stated that refusal by Tokyo Electric and the European companies not to release data was 'inexplicable.' The court case in Fukushima launched in August 2000, has also helped focus political opposition by the Fukushima Governor against MOX loading. Last week, Governor Sato said that, "Although I had previously given approval for MOX use, the conditions under which I had given them have now been blown to bits." March 29th, it was reported that the Governor will conduct a complete review of Japan's MOX program. One of the most directly affected by Tokyo Electric's decision will be British Nuclear Fuels. It is seeking to open a new US$ 500 million MOX plant in the UK largely to produce MOX fuel for Japan. However it has no Japanese MOX contracts. On March 28th the UK government announced a new public consultation to help decide whether it should grant an operating license to the MOX plant. BNFL has signed contracts for less than 7 per cent of its capacity. Cogema of France is also desperate to increase MOX production in France for Japan. "BNFL should give up on its plans to ever open the Sellafield MOX Plant. It should never have been built, has no prospects of securing business with Japan , and the only option for the UK government is not to give it a license," said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace International. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: - Kazue Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan +90 2249 1502 - Shaun Burnie, Greenpeace International +90 2253 7306. Briefings on MOX issues are available on the Greenpeace International web site: www.greenpeace.org/~nuclear/transport/mox00 ***************************************************************** 14 Tepco delays MOX debut due to opposition in Fukushima [The Japan Times Online] Tokyo Electric Power Co. will postpone the launch of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at its nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture because of opposition from the governor, company sources said Thursday. In April, the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was scheduled to become the first nuclear plant to use MOX fuel. However, Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato said last month that the prefecture will not allow MOX to be used because residents are against it. MOX, a pellet mixture of uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide, is designed to be burned in light-water reactors, a process known as plutonium thermal use. Plutonium is obtained by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from nuclear plants. Sato has said the government must review its energy policy, including the use of MOX fuel. Tepco also plans to start using MOX fuel at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, and Kansai Electric Power Co. intends to do the same at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui. Both plants sit along the Sea of Japan coast. The electric power industry plans to carry out the "pluthermal" project, which uses MOX fuel in a thermal reactor, at 16 to 18 reactors by 2010. The project was originally scheduled to be launched in 1999, but a safety-data falsification and coverup scandal put things on hold. Plebiscite petition NIIGATA (Kyodo) Residents and assembly members of the village of Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, filed an official petition Thursday requesting the village establish an ordinance to allow a plebiscite to be conducted on a plan to use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a local nuclear plant. Village officials said the petition was filed with village chief Hiroo Shinada, and the Kariwa assembly is expected to deliberate on an ordinance bill during an extraordinary session convening in April. The move follows the March 2 submission by a group of Kariwa residents and assembly members of the signatures of 1,540 eligible voters, 37 percent of the total voters in the village. The petition calls for a plebiscite over the so-called pluthermal project at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. The plant received 28 containers of MOX fuel Saturday from France, but it has not yet been officially decided when the project will be launched. In March 1999, the assemblies of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa on the Sea of Japan coast rejected a petition calling for a plebiscite over the issue. The Kariwa assembly in December passed a similar bill submitted by assembly members, but Shinada vetoed it and ordered the assembly to deliberate the issue again and revote. The bill was rejected in January. The pluthermal process entails using MOX fuel -- made by mixing uranium with plutonium chemically extracted from spent nuclear fuel -- to power a thermal reactor. The utility plans to introduce the system at the plant's No. 3 reactor. The Japan Times: Mar. 30, 2001 ***************************************************************** 15 Fukushima nixes spent fuel project asahi.com news Asahi Shimbun March 29, 2001 In a major setback to the government's nuclear-generation policy, the governor of Fukushima Prefecture declared Wednesday he will not approve, at least until the summer of 2002, plans for the use of uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. ``We will take at least one year to examine the plan and there is no way that I am going to give my approval during that time,'' Governor Eisaku Sato told The Asahi Shimbun in an interview. The governor does not have the legal authority to actually block the project. But the central government and the power industry in practice cannot ignore the governor who represents the citizens of Fukushima Prefecture. During the interview, Sato also said the government should conduct a thorough review of its energy policy. ``Most of Fukushima's citizens oppose it (the pluthermal plan),'' he said. Sato added that he plans to set up a prefectural task force to look into the controversial issue. He said the task force will explore other options which would not require spent fuel. The governor said he will invite representatives from the government and power plant officials to take part in discussions. This seems to suggest that Sato is determined to try to force the government to abandon its nuclear fuel-cycle ambitions, and require the government to introduce alternative power-generating methods that do not use spent nuclear fuel. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was originally scheduled to use the MOX fuel from May. TEPCO also has plans to introduce pluthermal power generation at Niigata's Kahiwazaki-Kariwa plant. But Niigata Governor Ikuo Hirayama said he would wait for Sato's handling of the matter before he takes action. In February, TEPCO unexpectedly announced it was suspending plans to construct several thermal power plants in Fukushima. ``Suddenly, they decided to suspend the thermal plants. That's the second time this has happened. I felt like I had been betrayed,'' Sato said. Copyright 2001 Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction or ***************************************************************** 16 Campaigners say AEC's nuclear regulation lax The Taipei Times Online: 2001-03-29 Thursday, March 29th, 2001 SAFETY: Environmentalists slammed government agencies, especially the Atomic Energy Council, for the poor way they handled a recent fire at a nuclear plant By Chiu Yu-Tzu STAFF REPORTER On the 22nd anniversary of the US's worst ever nuclear accident -- the Three Mile Island incident -- anti-nuclear activists in Taiwan yesterday released the results of an independent investigation into Taiwan's most recent and worst nuclear accident, the fire at the Third Nuclear Power Plant (®Ö¤T) in Pingtung. The investigation raised serious questions about the ability of the government's energy departments to handle and prevent mishaps at Taiwan's nuclear power plants. The fire on March 18 at the plant was triggered in part by transmission problems which occurred on March 17. The malfunction, said to have been caused by a buildup of salt crystals on transmission wires, led to a short circuit that sparked the blaze. Although the accident caused neither release of radiation nor damage to electrical generators, it was still rated by the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) as the worst of its kind in Taiwan's history. Activists of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU, ¥xÆWÀô«OÁp·ù) said yesterday that when they first inspected the plant after the accident, Taipower (¥x¹q) officials were unable to provide them with any clues as to why the fire had occurred. "We doubt that they have been trained professionally because they could not give us reasonable answers," said TEPU Chairman Shih Shin-min (¬I«H¥Á). Activists said that the malfunctions of backup power generators, which caused the fire, should have been avoided. Wang San-chi (¤ýÄm·¥), a former Taipower engineer, said that the AEC should be responsible for the accident. "The design of electrical systems at the plant is inadequate and the AEC is unaware of the systems' weaknesses," Wang said. Wang attributed the malfunctions of electrical systems to the AEC's lax regulations. A report written by Komura Hiroo (¤p§ø¯E¤Ò), an engineering professor at Japan's Shizuoka University, was also released by TEPU yesterday. Komura said that the incident would have caused a severe situation -- a loss of coolant accident -- if the backup power supply system had not eventually taken over. On March 28, 1979, a cooling system malfunction led to a partial meltdown of one of Three Mile Island's reactor cores and caused the release of nearly a million gallons of radioactive coolant water into the nearby Susquehanna River. A radiation leak alert was broadcast, prompting the evacuation of about 140,000 people from neighboring areas. The US government spent US$1 billion on a cleanup program following the incident. The accident brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors, engineering, radiation protection and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. National Science Council Chairman Wei Che-ho (ÃQ­õ©M), also the leader of a Cabinet task force established to investigate the fire, denied that the design of electrical systems at the plant was at fault. "If we look at the plant in terms of electrical engineering, its backup power supply systems are sufficient," Wei said. Wei said that two US electrical engineering professors will join his team this weekend to carry out an investigation at the plant immediately. Wei said that a conclusion would be reached by next Wednesday, when he will submit a report to the premier, Chang Chun-hsiung (±i«T¶¯). This story has been viewed 226 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2001/03/29/story/0000079497] Copyright © 1999-2001 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Norwegian Anger Rising at Sellafield Radioactive Pollution Environment News Service: OSLO, Norway, March 26, 2001 (ENS) - Norway's environment minister has reiterated calls for Britain to close its nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield after a report that levels of Sellafield derived radioactivity along the Norwegian coast have increased six-fold since 1996. Norway depends heavily on the utilization of marine resources and the quality of the marine environment. Radioactive contaminants which are transported from UK reprocessing facilities to Norwegian waters is therefore an issue of considerable public concern in Norway, said Norwegian Environment Minister Siri Bjerk. [Bjerke] Norwegian Environment Minister Siri Bjerk. (Photo courtesy Office of the Minister) In an interview with Bergen's "Tidende" newspaper, Siri Bjerke said, "The Sellafield plant should be closed." "Reprocessing is a poor way of dealing with radioactive waste. Such materials are better kept in long term, secure storage facilities," Bjerke said. Norway, which derives nearly all of its electricity from hydropower, has no nuclear reactors or nuclear reprocessing facilities. "From experience we know that the international seafood markets are extremely susceptible even to rumours of radioactive pollution. We are therefore concerned that continued pollution from Sellafield may taint the public perception of our seafood and other marine products," said Turid Sand, acting director general in a letter from the Norwegian Ministry of Environment to the UK's Sellafield Review Environment Agency in February. The government of Norway will be expressing its "grave concern" to the British authorities, Bjerke said, in part through a meeting scheduled for later this year between Norway's prime minister and his British counterpart. [Sellafield] British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. Sellafield facility (Photo courtesy BNFL) Concentrations of technetium 99 in Norwegian seaweed have risen from 100 to 600 becquerels per kilogram dry weight over the five year period, according to figures from the Institute for Energy Technology released Saturday. The isotope has been discharged by the UK plant since 1994, but was first detected off Scandinavia only three years ago. The finding sparked deep concern in Nordic countries, and Norway has previously called for an 80 percent cut in technetium emissions as a "minimum solution" pending Sellafield's closure. The Norwegians are especially worried that public fears about radioactivity could affect its fisheries. At the ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic, held in Sintra, Portugal in July 1998, 15 governments and the European Commission signed an agreement to end the discharge of radioactive substances into the sea and air. Nuclear reprocessing involves the extraction of plutonium from nuclear waste fuel after it has been used in nuclear reactors. Reprocessing is the major source of radioactive discharges to both sea and air in the OSPAR region. The 1998 Sintra agreement says that concentrations in the environment should reach "close to zero" by 2020. Most reprocessing discharges must be stopped now if they are to result in concentrations in the environment by 2020 that are no higher than they are now. This is because many radioactive substances, such as plutonium or technetium-99, last for far longer than 20 years. If any of these substances are discharged to the Irish Sea or English Channel today they will still cause an increase in concentrations in the environment in 2020. © Environment News Service ***************************************************************** 18 Dounreay criticised The Scotsman Online - Scotland's best selling quality national newspaper John Ross DOUNREAY managers were accused yesterday of stalling on work to solve the problem of radioactive particles which continue to be found on and offshore near the nuclear site. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has estimated it will be well into 2003 before a detailed plan is devised to tackle the issue - 20 years after the first particle was discovered. The criticism comes as a new report acknowledges that "substantial progress" has been made on quantifying the extent of contamination, but raises some concerns about UKAEA’s offshore monitoring work. The report, published today by the Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG), supports efforts by UKAEA to find and quantify particles but adds: "DPAG is concerned about a number of aspects of UKAEA’s offshore survey work and concludes that less information can be drawn from the 1997-1999 surveys than might be the case." ***************************************************************** 19 Review of BNFL mixed oxide plant revived ISSUE 2134 Thursday 29 March 2001 By Sophie Barker THE Government yesterday announced the fourth public consultation on the future of BNFL's delayed £460m mixed oxide processing plant, in a move that the nuclear company hopes will secure the plant's future. The plant was completed in 1996, but has yet to be given official authorisation, after three botched Government reviews of the project. The delay has been a thorn in the Government's side, creating tensions between environment and trade ministers. Norman Askew, BNFL chief executive, said: "Customers will see this as a good sign and we are hopeful of closing a few more orders in the next few weeks." The company hopes that the new plant will enable it to begin regaining customers' confidence after . Mr Askew said he would "like to be putting plutonium in the plant by July". BNFL submitted its economic case for the processing plant to the Government in January. About 1,800 jobs depend on the Mox plant. ***************************************************************** 20 Move on Mox Urgent The Whitehaven News By Alan Irving Thursday, March 29, 2001 A HUGE jobs crisis is looming at Sellafield if BNFL fails to get the go ahead to operate its new Mox plutonium production plant in the next four months. However, The Whitehaven News believes that an announcement on the start of the consultation process is imminent. Brian Watson, head of operations at Sellafield, has spelled out his worst fears to Copeland councillors. The meeting was held in private and many of the 30 councillors left concerned about the potential numbers of jobs on the line. They were told July is the critical month. Unless the government finally gives approval by then BNFL will not be able to meet its existing contractual obligations for the plant. Hundreds of jobs hinge on having the plant ready in July to recycle plutonium from Thorp into new fuel and without the licence BNFL could see the end to reprocessing. This would have catastrophic longer-term effects. The worse-case scenario is that only 2,000 jobs - 4,000 less than at present - would be needed to look after the site's nuclear waste. David Moore, chairman of the Sellafield Local Liaison Committee, said: "Brian Watson wasn't pulling his punches. My understanding was there would be job losses on site if there is no licence for Mox. If it doesn't come by July, it could stop a Swiss order which could go elsewhere. It was spelled out quite clearly to the council. He was saying if there is no Mox licence they would have to look at the justification for Thorp and nuclear fuel reprocessing. The implications for the site are very serious in manpower because of the knock-on effects." But council leader Robin Simpson said: "I am optimistic, not pessimistic. I think the government will give the green light and that will remove the doom and gloom but it has to be sooner than later. I understand the new consultations will take six to eight weeks leaving enough time to get a postive decision for July." Fellow labour councillor and Sellafield worker Brian Cottier, who works in Magnox reprocessing, was also at the meeting. He said: "It is extremely serious and very worrying. Anybody who thinks it isn't must be burying their head in the sand." Coun Geoff Blackwell, another BNFL worker, said: "We had a hard-hitting discussion with Brian Watson. We know the situation is pretty desperate. It is only right that people should be aware of it. The factory can't go on as it is and BNFL has a number of key dates to be met, July is one of them for the Mox plant. It seems as if the Japanese are standing back and not willing to make a commitment until such time as Sellafield demonstrates it can carry out the job. If things go well there is a long secure future for the industry and some job creation at Sellafield; if not there will be severe consequences. "I specifically asked Brian Watson for the worst case scenario so we can consider appropriate action, lobbying and extra funding to offset the potentially catastrophic consequences, the job losses that would follow. It would mean the workforce being drastically reduced" Tory group leader Mike Graham said: "It was a warts and all meeting. The message I took away was that unless this plant is licensed as soon as possible it will have serious job implications. At the end of the day Mox is a £400 million plant and over 600 jobs depend on it. It is absolutely crucial that Mox gets licensed in July or sooner otherwise it will be touch and go. I can't understand why BNFL has to go through yet another consultation." ***************************************************************** 21 Sellafield's MOX plant - Meacher announces further consultation UK Government: [M2 Communications Ltd.] Story Filed: Thursday, March 29, 2001 6:52 AM EST Mar 29, 2001 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- BNFL's proposals for the operation of its Sellafield MOX plant were published for consultation by the Government today. In a written Answer to Llew Smith MP (Blaenau Gwent), Environment Minister Michael Meacher announced that he and Alan Milburn, Secretary of State for Health, were inviting further public comments on BNFL's proposals for operating the Sellafield Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Plant. British Nuclear Fuels PLC - Sellafield MOX Plant: a consultation paper includes a copy of the BNFL's revised economic case for the plant and the company's latest review of the market for MOX fuel. Mr Meacher said: "DETR and MAFF invited public comments on the company's plans in 1999. Further consideration of the case is needed to take into account the consequences of the data falsification incident at BNFL's MOX Demonstration Facility. "BNFL have now submitted a revised economic case and it is right to give people a further opportunity to comment. "Independent consultants are also being appointed as a parallel procedure to evaluate the economic case put forward by BNFL. The consultation will last 8 weeks and consultants will report in around 10 weeks. The consultees will not therefore see the consultants' report, but the consultants will take account of the responses to the consultation exercise in reporting back to the Departments. "When the Deputy Prime Minister and the Health Secretary have considered all relevant information, including the consultants' report and the responses to today's consultation, they will then decide whether the proposed MOX manufacture is justified." Notes to Editors: 1. The MOX Plant at Sellafield is valued by BNFL at a cost of around GBP460 million. Its purpose is to manufacture a mixed oxide fuel for use in nuclear power station. The fuel would be made from uranium and plutonium material separated from spent fuel which is reprocessed mainly at the THORP (Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant) plant at Sellafield. 2. Before the plant can start operations it needs to pass a test of justification required by European law: the benefits of a practice involving ionising radiation need to outweigh any environmental or other detriments. BNFL initially applied to the Environment Agency in November 1996 for approval to operate the plant. The Environment Agency, after two rounds of public consultations, concluded its consideration of the application in October 1998. 3. The Agency published draft decisions at that time that uranium commissioning, plutonium commissioning and the full operation of the plant should be given the go-ahead. The issue was referred to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in November 1998 because of their statutory responsibility to consider requests that had been made to them to decide the application themselves. The Government's provisional view during the 1999 consultation was that full operation of BNFL's MOX Plant would be justified, but a final decision would depend on the outcome of further consultation on the economic assessment of the practice and on the market for MOX fuel. 4. In 1999 the Food Safety Act established the Food Standards Agency and amended the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. As a result justification decisions that used to be taken jointly with the Minister of Agriculture are now taken jointly with the Secretary of State for Health. 5. The revised BNFL Economic Case takes into account developments since its original application in 1996, including the 1999 data falsification incident at the MOX Demonstration Facility at Sellafield. 6. The DETR and DoH have published today British Nuclear Fuels PLC - Sellafield MOX Plant, a consultation paper and BNFL's The Economic and Commercial Justification for the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) and the Second MOX Market Review for DETR. Comments are requested by 23 May Media copies of the documents are available from the DETR press office on 020 7944 3041. Other copies are available from Radioactive Substances Division, Ashdown House, London SW1E 6DE. The Consultation Paper will shortly be available on the DETR website at: http://www.detr.gov.uk/consult.htmA full copy of the parliamentary answer is attached. House of Commons Llew Smith MP (Labour - Blaenau Gwent) To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions pursuant to his reply on the Sellafield MOX Plant, 18 January, Official Report column 296, if he will place a copy of the revised economic case for the MOX plant prepared by BNFL. [148659] Michael Meacher My Department and the Department of Health have today published a consultation paper inviting public comments on BNFL's proposals for operating Sellafield MOX Plant. This includes a copy of BNFL's latest evaluation of the economic case for the plant. The DETR and MAFF invited public comments on the company's plans in 1999 and the further consideration of the case needed to take into account the consequences of the data falsification incident at BNFL's MOX Demonstration Facility. BNFL have now submitted a revised economic case and it is right to give people a further opportunity to comment. Independent consultants are being appointed to evaluate the economic case put forward by BNFL. The consultation will last 8 weeks and consultants will report in around 10 weeks. The consultees will not therefore see the consultants' report, but the consultants will take account of the responses to the consultation exercise in reporting back to the Departments. When the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Secretary of State for Health have considered all relevant information, including the consultants' report and the responses to today's consultation, they will then decide whether the MOX manufacture, which it is proposed should be carried out at the Sellafield MOX Plant, is justified. The DETR and DoH are inviting comments until 23 May, and hope that people will take advantage of the opportunity to comment on this important proposal. Wednesday 28 March 2001 148659/00/01 Tuesday 6 February 2001 Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.neton the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com. Copyright 1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD ***************************************************************** 22 Preparing People for the Castor Transports [Frankfurter Allgemeine] *By Bernd Steinle *DANNEBERG. After half an hour of waiting, the short, abrupt command finally comes. "We're off," cries the police officer. "We're going to Dahlenburg." The radio message says there is a road blockade, probably involving radical anarchist groups. Once again, Horst Brandt and two colleagues leave the Dannenberg base north of Bremen in Lower Saxony and head off to the northwest, to some point on the 50-kilometer (31-mile) track in the direction of Lüneburg, on which the Castor transport with the nuclear waste from the French reprocessing plant at La Hague is expected. For 10 days now, Mr. Brandt has been working in shifts around-the- clock. If there is work to be done, it gets done, whether it is day or night. Yet he in fact has very little to do with the actual police deployment. "When the police operation begins and the time comes for people to be removed, our work will be over," he says. That is because Mr. Brandt is a conflict manager and, as such, is part of a strategy devised by the police especially for the massive Castor transport operation. The concept was developed by Eckhard Gremmler, director of the social sciences unit at Lower Saxony's police department. For five weeks, the conflict managers -- professional behavioral trainers who help the police handle conflicts -- have been traversing the Wendland region and knocking on doors. They explain to the local people what the police's plans are, appeal for peaceful rallies, and try to break down prejudices and anxieties. Concerned citizens often ask to see the conflict managers, says Mr. Gremmler. And they are usually assuaged: "We have found this tactic of approaching people goes down very well." The aim of such conflict management, says Mr. Gremmler, is to keep the violence on both sides to a minimum. That is why he tried to discover the roots of the confrontations of 1997, when the last transport to Gorleben took place. He talks of "emotionally charged" demonstrators and police, of adversarial images and selective perceptions, of differing value patterns, of anonymity and anxieties on both sides. The conflict manager's job is to build a bridge between activists and police across which information can pass, contact can be established with the police or personal details can be exchanged when complaints are made against individual police officers. During the police operation, the conflict managers work in 12 mobile teams. Each one has three officers: two press officials whose job is to keep the press off their backs, and, dressed in a bright red jacket, the conflict manager. Operations management determines their scope for negotiation. "Conflict managers can work within the agreed negotiating parameters, but no more," says Mr. Gremmler. "They must also make that clear to the demonstrators." But this is not easy. "The demonstrators always try to undermine the police measures," says Mr. Brandt. But the command structure for conflict managers is clearly defined and their influence limited. They are the "extended arm of operations management," says Mr. Gremmler. Whether conflict management is successful -- this is also stated in Mr. Gremmler's plan -- will depend on "how far we manage to convince the citizens' initiative that this is not just some PR stunt." But that precisely is not so certain. The police slogan goes: "We can also do things differently." "That will backfire," says Mathias Edler, from the Lüchow-Dannenberg Environmental Protection Citizens' Initiative. "This means the police admit they got it wrong in 1997." The nuclear power opponents, however, are not just into semantic hair-splitting. "What use are 12 conflict managers against thousands of protesters," asks Jochen Stay of the group X-Thousand Times Against. But, according to Mr. Gremmler, there would only be "a few scattered conflict points." "And we'll be there on-the-spot when they happen," he adds. Establishing contact with the environmental groups during the preparatory phase also proved difficult. Mr. Edler recalls two public meetings in which the concept was presented. And that was it, he says. The first exchange of opinion with the civil campaigners, says Mr. Gremmler, ended after 15 minutes with the conflict managers being banned from the premises. Shortly afterward, however, a member of the citizens' group came to the police and discussed the matter with them for an hour, after which the ban was lifted, Mr. Gremmler says. At least both sides can talk to each other, he adds. Mr. Edler says he has just heard this story for the first time and rules out such contacts for all the initiative's speakers and committee members. "But after all, we have 1,046 members, so it could have been a private visit," he says. Opinions are also divided on Mr. Gremmler. "He is the best-trained police psychologist in Lower Saxony," says Mr. Edler, "trained to negotiate with hostage-takers. You might think that is paranoia, but, of course, the police establish personality profiles during such talks, research our arguments and conduct investigations." Descriptions and arguments from police and protesters diverge on practically every subject raised. Deep distrust prevails between them, an irreconcilability generated by the experience of 1997 and by the positions now set in stone on either side: the police, who have to get the nuclear waste shipment into the Gorleben storage site, and the protesters trying to prevent or at least delay that event. "This conflict cannot be arbitrated by the police because they are not neutral," says Mr. Stay. "The police only have to bear the brunt of the situation. They are not our real adversary," says Mr. Edler. "The government and its nuclear policy are." For this reason, both "X-Thousand Times Against" and the grassroots initiatives reject roundtable discussions of the kind the police would like to see. "The police are working according to the motto, 'Let's all get this shipment over in as socially acceptable a way as possible, '" Mr. Edler says. "For us the situation is entirely different." Mr. Stay says that the police have learned from earlier mistakes in conveying their message to the public. "This PR campaign is the result," he adds. Rebecca Harms, the Greens' parliamentary leader in Lower Saxony, calls conflict management a "sales strategy" that might present a nice image on the outside but actually accomplishes little. Mr. Gremmler justifies the joint activities of conflict managers and media-liaison officers by pointing out that "the press can always be found where conflicts are brewing." He thinks the nuclear opponents' intransigence is caused by fear that their protest front could soften. "The front is crumbling at the rear because political support is waning, and in the front from the police efforts," says Mr. Gremmler, adding that it was " indeed a curious situation if an outstretched hand is seen as a threat." The two sides can at least agree on one thing. "The real test will come during the police operation," says Mr. Gremmler. "We will judge the police by their deeds, not by their buttons and fliers," says Mr. Stay. As of Tuesday, the demonstrators' activities remained relatively manageable. When conflict situations did emerge, the police moved in quickly and cleared the area. The police strategy will have to prove its worth mainly during the expected sit-down protests at the exit to the Dannenberg train station, which was the scene of street fighting in 1997 during which water cannons and police batons were used against protesters. Thousands of demonstrators will probably have to be carried away, possibly leading to a delay in the transport schedule. That could be when the aggression that has so far remained absent is finally sparked. Wednesday is the day of reckoning.Mar. 27, 2001 © Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000 All ***************************************************************** 23 Police Power Play Ends German Atom Waste Odyssey Thursday March 29 6:40 AM ET Nuclear Waste Reaches Destination Despite Protests - (Reuters) By Alastair Macdonald GORLEBEN, Germany (Reuters) - German police staged a massive show of force on Thursday to thwart planned blockades by anti-nuclear activists and deliver a cargo of radioactive waste to a storage site after a four-day odyssey from France. Following skirmishes all along the 500 km (300 mile) rail route from the French frontier, the last short stretch by road to the Gorleben store, south of Hamburg, was completed in a dawn raid that caught the weary and outnumbered eco-activists by surprise. The water cannon and tear gas deployed at times this week and familiar from earlier shipments of reprocessed German waste from France were not needed, though mounted officers and the odd baton were used to keep some of the several thousand at bay. A few demonstrators wept in front of the massed ranks of the law as trucks bearing the six containers reached their goal. Yet as they straggled off in the cold morning rain from the woodland site near the river Elbe, there was also a sense of achievement. In delaying the cargo for a day with their sit-ins and occasionally violent assaults on police lines, tying up as many as 15,000 officers in what has been one of the biggest peacetime security operations Germany has seen, they say they are swinging the economics of electricity generation away from nuclear power. ``It has been a great success,'' a Greenpeace spokesman said. ''They have to accept that (it is) not politically viable.'' ``I'm sorry we couldn't stop it. The police were everywhere,'' said 18-year-old Rangna from Hamburg, shivering with cold and fatigue as she stared over high wire fences at the ``Castor'' waste container wagons drawn up at the warehouse. ''But it's been a success. We're making it too expensive for them.'' Police estimated their costs at some $50 million. Ready For Next Time The government coalition, which includes the Greens, said this first transport since a ban on safety grounds three years ago was a vital part of last year's deal with industry to phase out nuclear power by around 2025. Without facilities of their own, German reactors must send spent fuel to France for reprocessing. Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, a Green who once led protests at Gorleben, called the shipments ``unavoidable.'' But the phase out plan is taking far too long for many activists. Photos By Jennifer McKee *Journal Staff Writer* A federal study into 50 years of radioactive pollution at Los Alamos National Laboratory resumed last month — almost a year after security fears at the lab forced out the team of government investigators conducting the project and nearly canceled the study altogether. The extensive study, though, is still years from completion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started digging through old records at the lab two years ago in an attempt to map all radioactive releases — both planned and accidental — in the weapons lab's entire 59-year-history. The study is called a "document retrieval." The agency hired California environmental research firm McClaren-Hart/Jones to do the study. At first, said Tom Widner, leader of the McClaren-Hart/Jones team, the investigators had wide access to the lab's extensive records and the project was proceeding as planned. The Cerro Grande Fire last May temporarily closed the lab and halted the CDC study. But before investigators could get their hands on many more documents, a security scandal broke out over a pair of hard drives that disappeared from a top-secret part of the lab. The tapes later resurfaced behind a copy machine, but the issue prompted stringent security clampdowns that kept the investigators out of all top-secret areas for months. Leaders of the project at the CDC repeatedly said they might have to cancel the study if the lab didn't open up its records soon. That opening came in February, Widner said. "It's a little bit more restricted than it had been," he said, but overall both Widner and the CDC said they are relieved the project has resumed and pleased with the lab's cooperation. "We actually have been getting good cooperation now," said Paul Renard, the CDC's overseer of the Los Alamos lab study. "We feel very good about that." The hang-up was increased security protocols at the Department of Energy in response to both the hard drive debacle and other security problems at Los Alamos. According to Renard, the lab would not let the CDC investigators back in to places where lab documents are stored with the same access they had before. The CDC and lab had to agree on exactly how the investigators would return to such sensitive areas and that process ate up time. As it stands now, Renard said, investigators have access to most of the lab's documents, but they must be escorted by a lab worker at all times. Any document the contracted investigators cannot see must be viewed by a CDC staff member to make sure the document really does contain information unrelated to the pollution study. "Public credibility will be jeopardized if we don't," Renard said. The study will probably take several years to complete. With resumed access to documents, Renard said the team is only now discovering exactly how many records the lab has. "Fasten your seat belts," he said. "We don't know how long this will take." The agency's contract with McClaren-Hart/Jones will expire in December. Renard said it will be extended until the project is finished. For now, he couldn't say exactly how long the project will take because the lab has not told investigators exactly how many records it has or where they are located. Renard said he expected LANL administrators to share that information with the agency as investigators continue the study. As part of the study, many lab documents will be de-classified and copies made available to the public at two "reading rooms" — one at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and one to be established at Northern New Mexico Community College in Española, he said. Documents also will be available at the CDC's Web site. The first shipment of such public-ready documents, some 14 boxes, already has been delivered to Albuquerque and are available on-line. Steven Aftergood, head of the project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists, said the lab was right to let the study resume. "It's a positive sign the lab has recognized its obligations," Aftergood said. "It's good to know they are capable of changing their mind and behavior when circumstances warrant." Lab spokesman James Rickman said LANL is committed to seeing the project through. "There's pages and pages of documents," he said. "Everyone recognizes this is a substantial task." Copyright 2001 Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 8 DOE sites' cleanup wasting funds under bidding plan: report - By Bill Bartleman Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--*270.575.8650* The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Thursday, March 29, 2001 *Bechtel Jacobs replies that it isn't possible to subcontract all work on a bid basis, especially during a transition period.* By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--*270.575.8650* The Bechtel Jacobs Co. wasted $44.1 million in public funds last year by failing to subcontract most of the cleanup work at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and two other Department of Energy sites, according to the DOE inspector general. The company has a $2.5 billion contract to clean up waste at the sites. Inspector General Gregory Friedman's 15-page audit report said Bechtel Jacobs Co. was awarded the contract in 1997 because it promised that within two years, staff would be reduced by 80 percent and 93 percent of the cleanup and management work would be subcontracted. As of last September, Friedman said, 58 percent of the work was being done through competitive bidding. DOE concluded that using a competitive-bidding, fixed-price method would speed cleanup work in addition to saving money. The other method is to pay contractors unlimited amounts based on expenses. Under the traditional method, there is no incentive to save money or do the work in a timely manner, the report said. Friedman based the $44.1 million potential savings on the estimates that competitive bidding would save 29.7 percent. The audit report gave no breakdown of how much work was being done by competitive bidding at Paducah, Portsmouth, Ohio, or Oak Ridge, Tenn., the three facilities covered under the contract. A problem cited by Friedman is that DOE officials did not incorporate the savings commitments made by Bechtel Jacobs into the contract. Failure to put the commitments into writing limits DOE's ability "to hold the contractor accountable for achieving these goals," Friedman said. DOE officials in Oak Ridge who oversee the cleanup work disagreed with the conclusions about savings and Bechtel Jacobs' commitment. Oak Ridge officials said the inspector general, who works independent of DOE managers, failed to take into account that this is DOE's first contract for cleanup work on the fixed-price method. The managers also cited a difficult transition to change contractors on some projects. "Also, management believed that the audit should have focused on compliance with the actual contract provisions rather than statements made during the selection process," Friedman's report said. DOE managers said that because of the complexity of the cleanup work, the 93 percent subcontractor requirement was not mandated by the contract. Bechtel Jacobs officials in Oak Ridge issued a statement late Wednesday: "We agree with DOE-Oak Ridge Operations Office that the audit would have painted a truer picture of our performance if it were focused on our compliance with the contract, rather than statements made during the selection process. We have and continue to meet the commitments of our contract." Bechtel Jacobs said it would "evaluate opportunities to competitively bid additional work when it is in the best interest of the government." Bechtel Jacobs also said it has continued contracts with firms that were involved in cleanup work before 1997. An example is work at the Paducah plant to treat contaminated groundwater. "The firm that has been doing that work has experience and is doing a good job," said Mark Musoff, Bechtel Jacobs spokesman in Oak Ridge. "We saw no need to make a change." He said keeping that firm was "a sound business decision." ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************