***************************************************************** 07/01/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.167 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: Fallout continues over atomic plate design 2 Egypt set to build nuclear energy plant 3 Croatian gov't risks rift over Slovenian nuclear plant agreement NUCLEAR REACTORS 4 87,000 liters of 'mildly radioactive' liquid overflow at French 5 US: Demonstrators Demand Closing of Indian Point NUCLEAR SAFETY 6 Former Taliban chief describes ignorace of radioactive material 7 Georgia nuclear hunt draws a blank 8 Nuclear leakage from ex-Soviet Union raises question: What gets 9 US: Coast Guard increases security; Seattle will get SWAT team NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 10 US: Nuclear waste dump reduced to matter of procedure 11 US: State cites company for radioactive trash -- 12 Grove: Canadians' nuke waste bid a long shot 13 US: Resident turns Yucca fight into civil rights suit 14 US: Editorial: Hypocrisy not getting in their way 15 US: Nuke train raises fear of disaster 16 US: Hillary Clinton: What about Yucca Mountain? 17 US: Environmental groups oppose Yucca plan 18 US: Plan to ship N-waste stirs concern along route 19 US: Bush Slashing Aid for E.P.A. Cleanup at 33 Toxic Sites 20 US: Report: 5,400 Iowans face nuclear wreck exposure 21 US: High-level nuke waste could wind through Alpine NUCLEAR WEAPONS 22 Businessman adds up the toll of nuclear war -- 23 US: Letter: Nuke rods to be worth a fortune 24 US: Daschle, Reid man phones to solicit 'no' votes 25 Russia Wraps Up Kursk Investigation 26 Kursk Report: Russia Blames Blast US DEPT. OF ENERGY 27 Firefighters take course with SRS 28 DOE Vendors by date 29 Secretary Abraham Submits Detailed Letter on Energy Legislation 30 DOE misses deadline on national lab report 31 Agreement near on Hanford cleanup plan, officials say OTHER NUCLEAR 32 Link to Irradiated Mail, Health 33 Reid Files Brief to Compel Disclosure of Secret Cheney Meetings, ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Fallout continues over atomic plate design [rhagar@rgj.com] RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 6/30/2002 09:19 pm Officials of the Nevada Test Site Historical Society say they will continue to fight for a special license plate to raise money for a new museum in Las Vegas. The Department of Motor Vehicles rejected the society’s proposed mushroom cloud design for the custom license plate designed by real estate agent Rick Bibbero of Douglas County. DMV Director Ginny Lewis said in a letter last month that the design would be confusing and could be perceived as having links to terrorism, Yucca Mountain and the threat of nuclear war between India and Pakistan. Each plate sold would have returned $25 to the historical society, which wanted to use the money to help pay rent on its new 10,000-square-foot museum in Las Vegas. Groundbreaking for the museum, which will be housed in the Southern Nevada Science Center in Las Vegas, was Saturday. “The whole purpose of the design was to help us with our fund raising,” Bruce Church, 61, the historical society president said Friday. “We’re considering our options.” The 2001 Legislature authorized a license plate design that would honor the history of the test site in the desert north of Las Vegas from 1952 to 1992 and its role in the Cold War. Atmospheric nuclear tests took place at the site from 1952 to 1963. The DMV asked the historical society to submit another design when it rejected Bibbero’s design. That and other options will be considered at the group’s meeting July 10, Church said. “We may choose to do nothing at all rather than have some half-baked design go up there,” Church said. “Many of us feel that if we can’t use that design, we want nothing.” Tom Jacobs, the DMV’s director of public information, would not comment on any legal issues, adding that the option to submit another design “seems like the wisest course of action.” Lewis told the historical society the design “would likely offend many of our citizens.” The plate has received extensive media coverage, sparking debates on national radio talk shows and letters to the editor in Nevada newspapers. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., used a photo of the license plate design as he argued in favor of putting a nuclear waste plant in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, Jacobs said. “From square one, Yucca Mountain and this design has been linked by politicians and the media,” Jacobs said. “We are asking the society to submit another design that isn’t so easily misinterpreted and misunderstood.” The option of submitting another design also has its problems, society vice president Bob Agonia said. Bibbero’s design was selected after it won a society design contest. “We have a dilemma because of the 37 designs that were submitted in the contest, the vast majority included a mushroom cloud of one form or another,” Agonia said. Bibbero said he has not yet been asked to submit another design and would not oppose any legal action by the society. “If they want to continue with the fight, that’s fine,” Bibbero said. “I’m just along for the ride.” Bibbero said he felt the design was rejected “because it was a matter of timing.” “It got all intermingled with Yucca Mountain,” he said. “The DMV got the heat and the governor got the heat. If this would have come up two years ago, it would have just gone through. But timing is everything.” Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a [http://www.gannett.com] ***************************************************************** 2 Egypt set to build nuclear energy plant Monday, July 08, 2002 Tamuz 28, 5762 Israel Time: 05:56 (GMT+3) Iran and Iraq the main spur to development, Israel is also a consideration. By Daniel Sobelman Electricity and Energy Minister Dr. Hassan Ahmed Yunes has announced that Egypt will build a nuclear energy plant, the first such electricity generating facility in the country. It will be on the coast northwest of Alexandria. Yunes announced the plant during a visit to the city on Saturday and said funds will also be allocated to repair and modernize the local electricity network. The minister's statement on the nuclear plant came a few days after a report in the German daily Die Welt said Egypt wants nuclear weapons. The German report on June 22, quoting well-placed intelligence sources, said Egypt intended to manufacture enriched uranium with Chinese help. Cairo has not confirmed or denied the Die Welt report, but its official news agency said China had no intention of helping Egypt to produce enriched uranium. The news agency interviewed China's ambassador in Cairo, who said his country has signed the non-proliferation treaty (NPT), and operates according to it. The agency report alluded to the Die Welt article, without denying its contents. Yunes' statement two days ago also came less than a year after the previous electricity and energy minister Ali el-Saiedi said Cairo intended to produce energy from nuclear power. But he said emphatically last August that Egypt had no plans to produce electricity from nuclear sources. El-Saiedi told Al-Wafd: "Thank God we have large quantities of gas and so we have the option of choosing between using these gas sources or building nuclear power facilities. The decision is based on economic considerations and in this respect, gas is a better option." But el-Saiedi added that should Egypt decide to go ahead with plans for a nuclear plant, it would succeed "because we have no problem in terms of personnel and capabilities." El-Saiedi made his statement after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak had signed an agreement in Moscow (on 27 April 2001) for Egyptian-Russian civilian nuclear cooperation. Emily Landau, from the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, last night said "if Egypt intends to develop nuclear military capabilities, there would be no surprise in reports from Egypt that they also want to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes." Egypt's statements on nuclear matters are influenced by its signing of NPT, Landau said. She said if it were true that Egypt had decided to go for nuclear capabilities "its main motivation would derive from developments in the Gulf - that is, Iran and Iraq - and less from Israel." But Landau said "Israel is not out of the picture" Egyptian officials look at when they consider nuclear possibilities. © Copyright 2002 Ha`aretz. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 3 Croatian gov't risks rift over Slovenian nuclear plant agreement Jean-Pierre Altier, AFP - 7/1/2002 ZAGREB - Croatia's governing center-left coalition may be on the brink of a political rift, with one party threatening to resign over a long-standing row over the ownership of a nuclear power plant in Slovenia. The Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), the country's second largest party, has begun to break with the country's main party, the Social Democrats, over an accord signed between Croatia and Slovenia in December 2001 over ownership of the Krsko plant, 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. The agreement stipulates that the plant -- built jointly by the then Yugoslav republics in 1983 -- will supply equal energy amounts to both countries. HSLS deputies stormed out of parliament when the chamber heard debate on the agreement's ratification on Friday, six months after it was signed. "Regarding the HSLS, the five party governing coalition still exists -- but if our partners decide to kick us out, they have the right to do that," said Drazen Budisa, HSLS chief and the country's deputy prime minister. The rift comes just a few days before Croatia was scheduled to be connected to the power station on July 1 for the first time since July 1998, when Slovenian authorities decided to turn the plant into a public company and stopped supplying power to Croatia following the two countries' independence from the Yugoslav Federation. The HSLS has said it will not drop out of the governing coalition, but if Prime Minister Ivica Racan decided to kick out the country's second largest party, the coalition could find itself a minority within the government. Croatian press has reported that Racan has two options: he can censure HSLS party chief Budisa, thus throwing the party into the opposition, or he can dissolve parliament and call early elections. Parliament is to debate ratification again on July 3. © Copyright 2002 AFP ©Copyright 2002 TheNewsMexico.com ***************************************************************** 4 87,000 liters of 'mildly radioactive' liquid overflow at French nuclear plant AP World Politics Mon Jul 1, 6:55 AM ET PARIS - About 87,000 liters (22,600 gallons) of "mildly radioactive" liquid spilled into the ground at a nuclear power plant in southeastern France after a reservoir overflowed, state-owned power supplier EDF said. Preliminary analysis of ground samples taken from the affected area showed that radioactive levels were "well below allowable limits set for health safety," Electricite de France said in a statement Sunday. The accident occurred during a transfer of liquid between two reservoirs at the Saint-Alban/Saint-Maurice nuclear powered electricity plant, EDF said. "The emptying (of the reservoir) went too quickly," said Claudine Cezard-Pons of the Saint-Alban/Saint-Maurice plant. "It was a human error." (parf-kh-ad) More from > AP World Politics Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 5 Demonstrators Demand Closing of Indian Point The New York Times *July 1, 2002* GARRISON, N.Y., June 30 ? Waving American flags and speaking in tones that alternated between playful and passionate, more than 100 demonstrators called today for the closing of the Indian Point nuclear plant. Organizers chose the site for the protest, the parking lot of a Metro-North railroad station five miles upriver from the nuclear plant on the banks of the Hudson in Buchanan, because it is near the home of Gov. George E. Pataki. "It's the end of the legislative session," said Stephen Kent, who runs the Nuclear Free Hudson, which is based in Garrison and which sponsored the event with the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, "and we anticipated that the governor might be home." Mr. Pataki was traveling and not home this afternoon, said Jennifer Farina, a spokeswoman for the governor. Several dozen demonstrators took turns on a makeshift stage to address the crowd. John Cross, 38, who teaches sociology and Latin American studies at Vassar, delivered his message in song, accompanying himself on a guitar. He captured the crowd with his chorus: "If something happens, it won't be pretty/ We'll have to vacate New York City." Referring to the much-talked-about prospect of thyroid cancer in the event of a radiation leak, Maureen Ritter, who lives in Rockland County, urged demonstrators to tell politicians, "You have a thyroid, and you vote." Although the event was peaceful, officers from the local and state police and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority stood between the demonstrators and several dozen Indian Point supporters. Arlene Sweeney, 56, a housewife from nearby Verplank and a self-described "pro-Pointer," said she took the afternoon to support the plant because it is safe and employs a lot of people. Thomas Clegg, an Indian Point employee who was also demonstrating in support of the plant, said he had worked there for 26 years and had such confidence in the plant that on Sept. 11 he stayed at his post as a nuclear mechanic. Back on the other side, Mr. Cross turned serious after stepping off the stage. He pointed out that Indian Point is only about a half hour from densely populated Manhattan. He shook his head and added, "It's just the craziest place in the world for it." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ***************************************************************** 6 Former Taliban chief describes ignorace of radioactive material -- The Washington Times July 1, 2002 By Charles J. Hanley ASSOCIATED PRESS KABUL, Afghanistan — With 10 capsules of "uranium" stuffed into a sock, Taliban officials once drove off in search of buyers or ideas for what to do with the smuggled material, a former Taliban intelligence chief says. "The Taliban had no experience with such things. They were simple mullahs," said Mohammed Khaksar, himself a mullah, or Muslim cleric. In an interview, Mullah Khaksar told of former colleagues in the 1996-2001 government selling supposed uranium to one another, and said he advised supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to stay out of the trade because the goods appeared fake. Mullah Khaksar, a former deputy interior minister, painted a picture of Afghan ignorance and bumbling in the business of nuclear weapons. Other reports suggest a more serious pursuit: In October 2000, a Russian Security Council official told an international conference the Taliban had tried but failed to hire a former Soviet nuclear specialist. •The U.S. indictment of Osama bin Laden, who was shielded by the Taliban in Afghanistan, said his al Qaeda network had sought the elements of nuclear weapons since 1993. Captured al Qaeda lieutenant Abu Zubaydah told U.S. interrogators the Afghanistan-based terror group was working on a "dirty bomb," a conventional bomb that would scatter radioactive material, U.S. officials said. Only sketchy evidence has emerged inside Afghanistan: a crude diagram of how a nuclear weapon works, said by U.S. intelligence officials to have been found in an al Qaeda location in Kabul; and the travels of two Pakistani nuclear scientists to Afghanistan during Taliban rule. Mullah Khaksar recalled mullahs passing around capsules of something they believed to be uranium, material weighing 4 to 5 pounds that he understood came from ex-Soviet Central Asia. The former Taliban aide said one government official bought a capsule of the material for the equivalent of $55 in local currency, and then sold it to his own higher headquarters for many times that amount. "I don't think it was real uranium," Mullah Khaksar said. Even if it was, it would need to have been highly enriched with the uranium-235 isotope — a rare commodity — and weigh several times that amount to be of likely weapons use. At one point, Taliban officials "put 10 capsules into a sock and drove to Kandahar," Mullah Omar's base, Mullah Khaksar said. "I think they wanted to sell it. I think Mullah Omar was intent on selling it. One day I told him: 'Don't spend money on this stuff. I don't think it's real.'" Another circumstance suggests less than intense interest: Cobalt-60 and other radioactive substances, potentially useful for a "dirty bomb," sat at a hospital and a university physics lab in Kabul throughout the Taliban period, without being tampered with. International authorities secured the substances three months ago. ***************************************************************** 7 Georgia nuclear hunt draws a blank BBC News | EUROPE | 1 July, 2002 [Radioactive analysts in protective suits] The IAEA experts found no trace of the generators Two Soviet-era nuclear generators which sparked a huge international hunt in Georgia may not exist, authorities admitted on Monday. The Strontium 90 generators were believed to be hangovers from the Soviet military presence in Georgia. Dozens of experts took part in a two-week search of 550 square kilometres (200 square miles) of land in the west of the country, some of it so remote that they had to travel on foot or on horseback. But now officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency say new evidence has come to light which suggests the generators may not be there. It was supposed there were two generators out there, but it is not clear now whether they are there to be found Mark Gwozdecky IAEA spokesman Another search planned for later this year will focus on looking for other materials, Mark Gwozdecky, the IAEA's public information director, told BBC News Online. "It was supposed there were two generators out there, but it is not clear now whether they are there to be found," he said. The nature of the new evidence, or when it came to light, is not being disclosed, but Mr Gwozdecky insisted it had been right to press ahead with the search. "We felt there was certainly a strong possibility (of finding them)," he said. "It was something that needed to be done." "The search was completed and people in that area can be reassured." Experts say will return to Georgia in September to search another part of the country for nuclear material, but will not be specifically looking for the Strontium generators. Helicopters fitted with sensitive monitoring devices will criss-cross the search area, looking for sources of radiation. It's incredibly important to keep searching, but the IAEA does not have the resources to do this John Large Nuclear engineer Three minor sources of radiation were found during the first search, but Georgian officials stress they were far to weak to have been the Strontium generators. The search was conducted by 80 experts from Georgia, India, France, Turkey and the US. Four months earlier, two Georgian forestry workers suffered severe radiation sickness and burns when they found other Strontium 90 sources abandoned in woodland. The men are still being treated in France and Russia for the injuries they suffered. The generators would have been used to power communication stations in remote areas, and the IAEA describes them as "highly radioactive". More than 280 other radioactive sources have already been recovered from Georgia since the mid-1990s. Some were from abandoned Soviet military bases. Experts say abondoned nuclear materials abound in the former Soviet countries. "It's incredibly important to keep searching," nuclear engineer John Large told BBC News Online. "But the IAEA does not have the resources to do this. "You are talking about the accounting collapse of an entire superpower, and the Soviets were not good at paperwork." Dirty bombs Georgia was a centre for much of the Soviet-era nuclear research and development, he added, making the problem particularly serious there. Many of the technicians themselves were Russians, who left Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, making the region's radioactive materials particularly vulnerable to being "misplaced" or mishandled. The IAEA has been working with the Georgian authorities since 1997 to try to recover missing material, and to upgrade safety. Last week the IAEA revealed that substances to build a so-called "dirty bomb" laced with radioactive material could be found in almost every country in the world. More than 100 countries may have inadequate control and monitoring programs necessary to prevent or even detect the theft of these materials, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says. Strontium 90 could also be used for this purpose, but there is no suggestion that the mystery generators of Georgia have fallen into the wrong hands. ***************************************************************** 8 Nuclear leakage from ex-Soviet Union raises question: What gets through? AP World - General News Sun Jun 30, 8:33 PM ET By The Associated Press Some significant reported cases of trafficking in highly enriched uranium (HEU), fissionable material used in nuclear bombs: WHEN: December 1994. WHERE: Prague, Czech Republic. WHAT: 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds) of HEU seized from car; apparently from Russia's Obninsk nuclear institute. WHO: Czech nuclear scientist, Russian and Belarussian arrested. ___ WHEN: January 1996. WHERE: Zurich, Switzerland; Yalova, Turkey. WHAT: 12-gram (half-ounce) sample intercepted in Zurich from 1.2-kilogram (2.6-pound) cache seized in Turkey; traced back to ex-Soviet Georgia; reported bound for Libya. WHO: Three Turks arrested. ___ WHEN: Reported in December 1998. WHERE: Unidentified nuclear facility, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. WHAT: 18.5 kilograms (41 pounds) of HEU and second unspecified nuclear material; attempted theft foiled on site. WHO: Two staff members working with outsiders. ___ WHEN: May 1999. WHERE: Turkish-Bulgarian border. WHAT: 10 grams (one-third) of ounce of HEU, apparent sample, traced back to ex-Soviet Moldova. WHO: Turk arrested. ___ WHEN: April 2000. WHERE: Batumi, ex-Soviet Georgia. WHAT: 920 grams (2 pounds) of HEU, origin unreported. WHO: Four Georgians. ___ WHEN: July 2001. WHERE: Paris. WHAT: 5 grams (0.18 ounce) of HEU, apparent sample, found in van, believed of ex-Soviet origin. WHO: Frenchman and two men from Cameroon arrested. NOTE: Official agencies say 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of HEU needed to make nuclear weapon. But some specialists say could be done with as little as 3 kilograms (7 pounds) of material enriched to 90 percent U-235. More from > AP World - General News Next Story: Royal Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 9 Coast Guard increases security; Seattle will get SWAT team The Seattle Times: Monday, July 01, 2002, 12:00 a.m. Pacific By Michael Fabey Newport News (Va.) Daily Press NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — "Dirty" radioactive bombs hidden in ship containers. Terrorist divers sneaking up on a bridge or ocean liner. Hostages taken on the high seas. These are the growing concerns of the Coast Guard. And the country's maritime sentinels are developing new elite SWAT teams — called Marine Safety and Security Teams — to deal with terrorist threats. The first four teams start duty this summer in Seattle; Portsmouth, Va.; Long Beach, Calif.; and Houston. The Coast Guard expects to deploy two more teams next year and as many as six more in 2004. Seattle gets the first SWAT team Wednesday, while the second is scheduled to start in Portsmouth Aug. 1. The remaining teams are scheduled to start Sept. 1. Each team will run 30-foot boats, with top speeds of more than 40 knots, that are designed to be quickly placed on trailers and flown by military C-130s to other ports, where suspicious ships can be intercepted before they reach inner waters. "The idea is, we're pushing the borders offshore," said Cmdr. Jim McPherson, Coast Guard spokesman in Washington, D.C. "If you have a vessel with a suspicious cargo — with chemical or nuclear or biological materials onboard — you don't want to bring it to port and open it up there." He said the teams would be deployed to potential trouble spots based on intelligence information. Coast Guard intelligence workers will check the cargo, passenger and crew lists of the 10,000 vessels that make U.S. port calls each year. If the intelligence officers find something suspicious enough, a security team will fly in. The teams will be equipped with bomb-sniffing dogs. The dogs, along with their handlers, will be flown by helicopter to ships at sea and will be lowered by cable to check for explosives. The Coast Guard is responsible for security at 361 U.S. ports, as well as the country's 95,000 miles of coastline. The Coast Guard already has some port-security teams, but those are primarily made up of reserves who, when they are called up, are sent to guard port facilities overseas, McPherson said. "This is going to be the opposite," he said. "We're going to take the term 'guarding the coast' literally now." Last weekend, the Coast Guard contacted port officials nationwide to warn of possible attacks from scuba divers equipped with explosives. The FBI had issued a similar warning May 23. FBI agents continue to interview owners of dive shops nationwide. The agency is trying to determine whether al-Qaida operatives have been taking scuba training in order to blow up ships at anchor, as well as power plants, bridges, depots or other waterfront targets. Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company ***************************************************************** 10 Nuclear waste dump reduced to matter of procedure Jon Ralston [online@rgj.com] SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 6/30/2002 09:52 pm Only in the U.S. Senate, that haughty Club of 100, could advocates of a nuclear waste dump reduce a ruthless, predatory political process (four electoral votes is pretty weak, five ain’t much better) to a matter of procedure. But that’s what has happened in the run-up to what is expected to be a historic vote next week to officially rubber-stamp a congressional decision set in motion 20 years ago,- or 15 if you start counting at Screw Nevada in 1987. And what is most amazing about the Republicans who have been taking to the Senate floor for the last 10 days to make the case for a vote is that they see no precedent being set. That brazenness, that amazing chutzpah caused the ex-Senate parliamentarian hired by Nevada to help with the political machinations in the U.S. Senate to write a confidential memo to the state’s law firm. That memo, which is about to become something less than confidential (sorry, guys), is a response to arguments for the so-called expedited procedure set forth by ex-Senate Energy Chairman Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska. The missive, written by Robert Dove, is a point-by-point refutation of Murkowski’s arguments to his fellow members of the U.S. House of Lords. Murkowski, in explaining the process whereby any senator can bring up the Yucca Mountain veto override bill, said last month that it was “intended to eliminate any opportunity to delay, impede, frustrate or obstruct the Senate and House votes.” Not so, argued Dove in the memo, which could be the basis for some procedural gumming up of the works by Team Nevada next week. “The procedure is not unique, nor is it required,” Dove wrote, “it is merely permitted.” He then went on to cite other statutes that have expedited procedures, including an executive reorganization plan and, of all things, the War Powers Act. Each of these requires certain time frames and is designated in law as privileged motions, just as the dump bill was in the 1982 act. Later in the memo, Dove responds to Murkowski’s assertion that any senator can bring up the measure and that this does not undercut the tradition of the majority leader being the only one who can move to another bill. But, Dove argues, “no one other than the majority leader, or his designee, has ever moved successfully to go to any resolution, or bill, which has expedited procedures written into law. Any successful attempt to do that now would change forever the way the Senate sets its agenda.” That is, as Dove sums up later, if any senator subverts the supremacy of the majority leader, the Senate “will have undergone a dramatic sea change in the way it operates.” So let Murkowski &Co. all but argue that this is business as usual -and politically speaking it may be. But if they are successful, at least according to Dove, they will have turned this screw in an unprecedented way. Jon Ralston, who publishes The Ralston Report, works for Greenspun Media Group. He welcomes comments and questions. Write him at ralston@vegas.com. Or call (702) 870-7997. Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc. ***************************************************************** 11 State cites company for radioactive trash -- The Washington Times July 1, 2002 By Stephen Manning ASSOCIATED PRESS Maryland has cited a company that makes medical products containing radioactive materials after particles of cobalt-60 were found in a load of company trash sent to a waste-transfer station. bag of paper towels and rags in a trash truck from Dickerson-based Neutron Products Inc. set off radiation detectors at the Shady Grove facility, according to Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman John Verrico. The amount of radiation from the cobalt-60 found in the trash was low, about 1,000 times less than that emitted by a dental X-ray, Mr. Verrico said. But the incident Thursday prompted the state to send a citation to the company and move the trash back to Neutron. "It is a clear violation of the regulations that govern the disposal of radioactive waste and materials that come into contact with it," he said. Neutron Products President Jack Ransohoff said the trash came from an area of the plant where radioactive material is processed. He said the person who was supposed to check the trash apparently missed the cobalt-60. But he said the amount was too small to pose a threat. "There was absolutely no threat to anyone," he said. "This was not a big event." Investigators from the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration also opened a review of workplace procedures at Neutron because of the incident, according to spokeswoman Gail Owen. Neutron makes devices from cobalt-60 for cancer therapy, sterilization and food irradiation Meanwhile, the company lost an appeal Thursday in Montgomery County Circuit Court to ease the terms of a state order to shut down manufacturing of cancer-treatment devices that contain cobalt-60. The state environmental department told the company to stop manufacturing the equipment because it hadn't met requirements that it set aside $750,000 to pay for the cleanup and removal of radioactive material from its plant when it closes. Neutron appealed, saying that it was bound by less stringent federal regulations, and that shutting down its operations would be unfair. State appeals courts rejected that argument. Last December the company was given a 180-day period to use the cobalt-60 it already had and sell products to existing customers. That period ended this month. Neutron sought to extend the term, but the state believed the company had no intention of shutting down operations, according to Assistant Attorney General Frank Levi. "We didn't see any effort on their part to do what they were supposed to be doing," he said. Circuit Judge William H. Rowan denied Neutron's appeal for an extension. The decision affects Neutron's cancer-therapy devices, not its irradiation business, Mr. Levi said. Residents living near the company's Dickerson plant say it has practiced shoddy safety measures since it opened in 1968. Montgomery County Council member Nancy Dacek, who represents the region, said the incident Thursday was another sign of "carelessness." "After all these years and after all these violations, they can't get it right," she said. ***************************************************************** 12 Grove: Canadians' nuke waste bid a long shot Las Vegas SUN June 28, 2002 Benjamin Grove covers Washington, D.C., for the Sun. He can be reached at grove@lasvegassun.com [grove@lasvegassun.com] or (202) 662-7245. A CANADIAN company is quietly pitching its radical alternative to Yucca Mountain: burying America's high-level nuclear waste in a remote, uninhabited expanse in Canada. Officials with the secretive company called Securad Inc. say the safest place to bury nuclear waste is not the desert mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, but in an uninhabited, Texas-size area of northeastern Canada. And despite the momentum behind the U.S. government's 20-year, $7 billion investment in Yucca, Securad is determined to launch a private venture offering an alternative underground waste dump at the remote -- thus far undisclosed -- Canadian site. Of course, Securad faces numerous, seemingly impossible obstacles -- not the least of which would be getting Canada's government, whose nuclear regulatory agency hasn't heard of the company, to agree. Then there's the matter of convincing the U.S. Congress to re-write its nuclear waste laws and put the brakes on Yucca. It's a little late -- the Senate is poised to approve it next month. But long-shot odds have never deterred nuclear waste dreamers. Entrepreneurs of all kinds -- from two-bit hucksters to more legitimate, high-finance executives -- have schemed since nuclear energy was born. One early idea was blasting waste into space. Other proposals include: + Burying waste in the ocean. An outfit called Permanent RadWaste Solutions proposes slipping waste into the earth via "subduction faults," essentially earthquake faults, in deep ocean trenches. The goal: over thousands of years, the waste would slip below the earth's crust into the planet's mantle, never to be seen again. The cost, according to the group's website: half of Yucca's $60 billion price tag. + Cover waste with foam. Virginia-based Eurotech, Ltd., is promoting a product it calls Ekor that could seal waste away from the environment for thousands of years -- and never erode. The silicone polymer composite, available in a foam and even a paint-like form, is already in use at Chernobyl. It could be used in shipping -- or storing -- waste, company leaders say. They say Ekor could safely seal away waste stored as it now sits on-site at nuclear power plants, eliminating the need for burial at Yucca. + Detoxify waste. Former well-respected Arizona State University nuclear physicist Dr. Radha Roy was a founder of the theory of transmutation, a still undeveloped waste-treatment process that speeds the decay of radioactive isotopes. Roy first unveiled his theory, dubbed the Roy Process, to much acclaim and media attention in 1979, saying it could eliminate the need for a waste dump. But three years later Congress committed itself to burying waste, and Roy never got the backing he believed his idea deserved. Government scientists still study transmutation, although they favor a different approach than Roy advocated, and they say the expensive technology is a long way from being developed. But Roy's longtime friend Dennis Nester of Phoenix is still trying to convince scientists, reporters and government officials that the Roy Process is the answer. Nester has written to many senators and each president in the last 20 years. Roy died of cancer in 1994. "Before he died he told me, 'Keep trying. They will see someday that my method is the best way to do it.' " Nester said. "So I keep doing it. I keep hoping." As for Securad, company officials say that unlike Yucca Mountain, the cold, flat Canadian site has no fissures, earthquakes or volcanic risks, and no water table beneath it. It's also isolated enough that barges could haul much of America's nuclear waste up the Atlantic coast, off-load the waste for rail transport to the site -- and pass virtually no inhabited areas. "All I am saying is: why not at least take a look at this alternative?" company spokesman Lou Grasso said. "Maybe there is something wrong with it, but we can't find it." Company officials are pitching the project to the Canadian government, Grasso said. They have kept the project under wraps to avoid sparking widespread opposition. "Canadians would not want to become the dumpsite for the United States, that's clear," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, coordinator for Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, a coalition of Canadian anti-nuclear groups. Securad has hired a leading Washington law firm, along with Maryland-based consultant Grasso, to help shepherd the project in this country. Grasso has spoken with staffers in the offices of 20 members of Congress, and raised eyebrows, he said. The Canadian site could be developed within just a few years, if it ever managed to obtain numerous approvals, Grasso said. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, similar to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, would have to license and regulate the site. But the Canadian commission has not seen any proposals from Securad, commission spokesman Jim Leveque told the Sun. He had never heard of the the company. Neither had the Canadian Nuclear Association, the industry's trade group, spokeswoman Claudia Lemieux said. In good time, that will change, determined Securad officials said. "There must be a lot of fruitcakes out there who say they have the answer to what to do with nuclear waste," said one Securad board member. "This is not a fruitcake idea." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 13 Resident turns Yucca fight into civil rights suit Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 By Jace Radke and Christina Littlefield A Clark County resident has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Energy Department has purposely designed nuclear waste shipment routes through minority neighborhoods. The civil rights suit, filed Friday by Jonathan Galaviz, 25, calls for an immediate injunction to keep the Energy Department from storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the proposed dump site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The suit states that the routes described in the Energy Department's economic impact study were set to take the dangerous materials through heavily populated minority areas. "High-level nuclear waster shipment routes have been intentionally selected to travel through predominately minority communities ... in order to reduce majority opposition to this flawed $100 billion project," said Galaviz, who is Hispanic and running for Clark County assessor. Of the 150 million Americans who will be impacted by the transportation of nuclear waste, Galaviz said that 60 to 65 percent are minorities, who represent 25 percent of the population. "That is a disproportionate figure," Galaviz said. He added that railroad tracks -- a major mode of transportation for the nuclear waste -- typically run through minority neighborhoods. "High-level nuclear waste shipments will not be transported through Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., or in the posh areas of Georgetown in Washington, D.C., but there will be thousands shipped by truck and rail through predominantly minority and low-income communities for the next 40 years," Galaviz said. Galaviz' suit also alleges that Congress violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment when it altered the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1987 to single out Yucca Mountain as the only site to be studied. "The other sites were off the list without any scientific evaluation whatsoever," Galaviz said. "Nevadans are not getting the same protection under the law as other states." Along with the Energy Department, the suit names Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and President Bush as defendants because, Galaviz said, they used "the fraudulent and misinformed environmental impact statement on Yucca Mountain" to recommend the site to Congress. Galaviz claims in the suit that the DOE failed to conduct an analysis to determine whether proposed waste routes would have an adverse effect on blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and American Indians. He also states that Clark County is a "predominantly minority community." The 2000 Census shows that 72 percent of Clark County's population is classified as white, and that can include some of those of Hispanic/Latino origin. According to the Census, 60 percent of the county population is white and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. Overall, the 2000 Census said 22 percent of Clark County's population had Hispanic or Latino origins. Galaviz, a Republican who works in technology business strategy for Mandalay Resort Group, said he didn't file the lawsuit because of politics or as an environmental crusade. He is currently representing himself in the civil suit but said he is talking with environmental and civil rights groups that may join the case as plaintiffs or take on the case as primary counsel. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 14 Editorial: Hypocrisy not getting in their way Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 The year was 1998. The U.S. senator was worried about the Energy Department's plan to truck plutonium through his state. So he wrote a letter to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, demanding a public hearing in his home state because his constituents weren't familiar with the transportation plan. "To not do so would be irresponsible and offensive to Michigan residents," he wrote. The senator's name: Spencer Abraham. That's right, he's the same man who now, as the Energy Secretary, says it's perfectly safe to ship 77,000 tons of nuclear waste cross-country to Nevada. My, how times change when you switch jobs. Abraham shouldn't feel too lonely in his hypocrisy, though. The nuclear power industry's point man on Yucca Mountain, John Sununu, could teach Richardson a thing or two. In 1986, when Sununu was governor of New Hampshire, he waged a campaign against a plan to bury high-level nuclear waste in his state. But now Sununu, a highly paid pitchman for the nuclear power industry, has the gall to accuse Nevadans of being unpatriotic if we don't roll over and accept nuclear waste. Sununu proves that anyone can be bought -- if the price is right. The Yucca Mountain project's fate rests in the hands of 100 U.S. senators. Many of these senators have been the beneficiaries of handsome contributions from the nuclear power industry. But even for senators whose states have nuclear power reactors, it's much more dangerous to put that nuclear waste out on the road or on rails where it can be the target of a terrorist attack or where an accident could threaten the lives of their states' residents. Shipping and burying radioactive garbage is dangerous, as both Abraham and Sununu once acknowledged in more candid times. The Achilles' heel of the Yucca Mountain project always has been the inherent dangers associated with shipping nuclear waste hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles cross-country to Nevada. We can only hope that the senators vote their conscience and do what's right to protect their residents f rom needless transportation accidents involving man's deadliest waste. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 15 Nuke train raises fear of disaster 07/01/02 metro 2 Jacksonville.com As a U.S. Senate vote approaches on plans for hauling spent nuclear fuel cross-country, nuclear safety concerns are drawing new attention in Northeast Florida. --> Monday, July 1, 2002 Last modified at 10:34 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, 2002 By Steve Patterson Times-Union staff writer As a U.S. Senate vote approaches on plans for hauling spent nuclear fuel cross-country, nuclear safety concerns are drawing new attention in Northeast Florida. Days after an anti-hauling protest in Jacksonville last week, an environmental group said government computer models suggest a train crash involving nuclear waste could cause more than 200 cancer deaths in Duval and St. Johns counties. As activists debate the hauling plan, public health agencies are preparing new measures to monitor and respond to potential radiation illnesses. Those preparations were planned months ago as part of national anti-terrorism efforts. But the head of Duval County's health system said nuclear waste transported along local rails or highways would raise health issues that have not been fully addressed. "The issue is extremely valid," said Jeffrey Goldhagen, director of the Duval County Health Department. While saying Jacksonville is well-prepared for many disaster scenarios, Goldhagen said those preparations have been geared toward addressing chemical or biological hazards more than radiation. Goldhagen said three public health employees will be hired this summer to improve disaster training in Jacksonville and surrounding counties. Additionally, at least $250,000 of federal funding is expected to be allotted in September for Duval County officials to step up surveillance programs that could spot radiation-related illnesses. Goldhagen said he didn't know whether scenarios of train-wreck damage were realistic. The Environmental Working Group, a Washington lobbying group, predicted last week that a moderately serious train wreck could release enough radiation to cause 209 people to begin developing fatal cancers within a year. Jacksonville sits along rail and interstate highway routes the U.S. Department of Energy listed as potential routes for shipping waste from nuclear power plants to a national repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Senate could vote this month on letting the Energy Department seek Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for the Nevada project. The House of Representatives has already voted to do so. The approaching debate prompted a demonstration in Riverside last week where opponents of the Nevada storage plan urged Florida's senators to vote no. In a different bid to drum up opposition, the Environmental Working Group released predictions of accident casualties in 20 cities. "The question is, what if? What if we have an accident?" said Richard Wiles, Environmental Working Group senior vice president. Wiles said the group used Energy Department computer models to estimate how radiation would spread across the city if a train carrying waste derailed traveling 30 mph to 60 mph. He said the results could vary enormously depending on weather and location, but said the group tried to offer a realistic forecast. The prediction put the derailment in Northwest Jacksonville's Pickettville area. It assumed winds about 8 mph were coming from the northwest, and predicted a cloud carrying minute amounts of radioactive cesium would spread south past County Road 210 in St. Johns County. About 64,000 people live within the cloud's theoretical plume. If the scenario ever happened, most of the area would never be cleaned because the contamination would be considered too limited to pose a threat, Wiles said. But the contamination would take a toll on people living in that area, he said, and would gradually cause cancer among a tiny fraction of residents. An Energy Department spokesman, Joe Davis, dismissed the forecasts, saying they were designed to serve a political agenda. "We don't think any of the work the Environmental Working Group has done to date has been credible," Davis said. Mayor John Delaney said he was unaware the waste could be transported through the city. He said he wanted to consider the issue further, but initially offered no opposition. Delaney said he expected the waste would be well-protected and slow-moving. Firefighters, police and other public safety agencies would likely undergo specialized training if waste were shipped regularly in the area, said Chip Patterson, chief of Jacksonville's emergency preparedness division. Staff writer Steve Patterson can be reached at (904) 359-4263 or at spatterson@jacksonville.com [spatterson@jacksonville.com] . Times-Union staff writer David DeCamp contributed to this report. This site, and all its content, © The Florida Times-Union ***************************************************************** 16 Hillary Clinton: What about Yucca Mountain? Idaho State Journal 06/30/02 Our View: Politicians like the New York senator want nuclear waste out of their states, but won’t take a stand on a permanent facility. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, made a perfectly reasonable request of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, last week when he asked her to support approval of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility in Nevada. Clinton, after all, is all for ridding New York of its spent nuclear fuel but she hasn't yet displayed a stance on the storage facility. If built, Yucca Mountain would house much of the nuclear waste currently on site at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, including waste from New York earmarked for temporary storage at the Idaho site. In order for the storage facility to be constructed, the U.S. Senate must vote to override a veto by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn. (According to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1987, the legislation that determined a storage facility would be built, the governor of the state where the storage depot would be located could veto the proposal, but that veto could be overturned by a joint vote of Congress — the House overturned the veto earlier this month, now it's the Senate's turn.) We're about down to the wire. The Senate has less than a month to act. Guinn signed his veto order April 25, and according to NWPA, if 90 days lapse between the veto and any vote to overturn it, the veto becomes impregnable. That would mean the process to find a new site must begin anew, and keep in mind that it was 15 years since the NWPA was signed and Yucca Mountain was chosen as the best site. In the meantime, Simpson has been prompting the Department of Energy to live up to its commitments here in Idaho. That list is long and includes the removal of most of the waste currently stored at the INEEL. Still, waste from other sites around the country is scheduled for arrival in Idaho (including spent nuclear fuel rods from a nuclear power plant in West Valley, N.Y.). If the Senate fails to take up the Yucca Mountain vote before July 25, the DOE would be hard pressed to meet removal deadlines (the year 2018 for low-level, and 2035 for spent fuel and high-level waste). "If they don't vote to override the veto, that's it," said Simpson's Boise press secretary Lucinda Willits. "It's do or die. It'll be 20 years before another site is found." Last week, when the Journal learned of Simpson's correspondence with Sen. Clinton, a newspaper staff member called the senator's Washington office hoping for a public response. We're still waiting — it's not clear how Clinton or dozens of other legislators will deal with the Yucca Mountain legislation that's before the Senate right now. What's clear, though, is that there's no apparent sense of urgency among our lawmakers. Most of the Senate appears happy to continue shipping nuclear waste to places like the INEEL, just so long as the materials are removed from their states. The Yucca Mountain legislation is of the political-hot-potato ilk — for many legislators, this is the type of bill that's best ignored. Voting to approve a single, solitary site for nuclear waste storage is bound to be tricky, no matter what the location. But what we hope Sen. Clinton, and others who might otherwise fret over the creation of such a controversial project, will decide is that a site like Yucca Mountain is desperately needed. Storing waste in places like the INEEL just won't work for the long term. Here in Idaho, as you read this, nuclear waste rests above the Snake River Aquifer (precious to a region, not just Idaho), and more appears to be on the way. True, the state and the DOE have an agreement to rid the site of the waste, but in order for that to happen successfully, there must be a permanent location devoted to the safe housing of this hazardous material. Good for Simpson for pushing the issue. We now need some forward-thinking lawmakers in the Senate to take up the cause, use their voices, and provide some leadership. As it stands now, we're taking nuclear waste from temporary storage in one state and moving it to temporary storage in another. That's not an acceptable solution. It's no solution at all. [http://www.mywebpal.com] ***************************************************************** 17 Environmental groups oppose Yucca plan [The Concord Monitor online edition] Maine waste could travel through state Monday, July 1, 2002 [http://wire.ap.org] Portsmouth PORTSMOUTH - Opponents of the plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada fear it would put thousands of New Hampshire residents at risk from accidents or terrorist attacks. "Nuclear waste would be shipped through the heart of this town, past the residences, the schools, the businesses," said Jim Sconyers of Dover, a Sierra Club member. "The potential to impact everyone here in the Seacoast is just very frightening." Sconyers and others worry that nuclear waste from the Maine Yankee and Seabrook nuclear plants would be carried through the region by train or trucks on the way to Nevada if the project eventually is approved. Sconyers is calling on residents to write their senators in opposition to the plan. The House in Washington already has approved a plan to send waste to Yucca Mountain. The proposal is pending in the Senate, which is expected to approve it. Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a U.S. Senate candidate, and U.S. Sens. Bob Smith and Judd Gregg, both Republicans, are behind it. Nuclear waste now stored at the Seabrook power plant and others across the country need to be stored in a permanent, secure facility, Shaheen said. "Federal officials must work with state and local officials to ensure that the process of transporting waste to the permanent repository is safe and secure," she said. The Department of Energy is at least a year away from providing any detailed plan on how waste shipments will get to Nevada. It plans to meet with affected states over the next eight years to discuss routes and shipment plans as well as train local police forces. Once the project is licensed and underway, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy will set the routes. Governors of 45 states through which the waste will pass can suggest state and local preferences but will have no authority to determine timing or routes. Mayors and other officials will have no say whatsoever. Various national and local environmental groups are at a loss for finding a better alternative to shipping spent nuclear fuel, but many involved say it is another detraction of nuclear power. Doug Bogen, New Hampshire program director for Clean Water Action, said the most obvious option is to wait. "If you don't have a really good plan for the ultimate storage of the waste, perhaps you shouldn't produce more of it," he said. "The only answer is to phase out nuclear power. We have no safe way to deal with the waste." Transporting nuclear waste from storage at nuclear plants will cause hundreds of thousands of more individuals to face potential exposure, Bogen said. Fifty million Americans live within a half-mile of potential routes. Jim Van Dongen of the state Office of Emergency Management said officials have been through training exercises for such situations. "On the one hand, it's nothing new," he said. "Radioactive waste has been shipped out of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard since the 1950s." [http://www.adone.com/concord/index.html] ***************************************************************** 18 Plan to ship N-waste stirs concern along route Activists see danger as waste from the Maine Yankee and Seabrook nuclear plants passes through by truck or train. --> [http://www.mainetoday.com] Monday, July 1, 2002 The Associated Press ©Copyright 2002 Associated Press. The Department of Energy is at least a year away from providing any detailed plan on how waste shipments will get to Nevada. It plans to meet with affected states over the next eight years to discuss routes and shipment plans as well as to train local police forces. Once the project is licensed and under way, the Department of Transportation and the Depart- ment of Energy will set the routes. Governors of 45 states through which the waste will pass can offer state and local preferences, but will have no authority to determine timing or routes. Mayors and other officials will have no say at all. PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Opponents of the plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada fear it would put thousands of New Hampshire residents at risk from accidents or terrorist attacks. ''Nuclear waste would be shipped through the heart of this town, past the residences, the schools, the businesses,'' said Jim Sconyers of Dover, a Sierra Club member. ''The potential to impact everyone here in the Seacoast is just very frightening.'' Sconyers and others worry that nuclear waste from the Maine Yankee and Seabrook nuclear plants would be carried through the region by train or trucks on the way to Nevada if the project eventually is approved. Sconyers is calling on residents to write their senators in opposition to the plan. The House in Washington already has approved a plan to send waste to Yucca Mountain. The proposal is pending in the Senate, which is expected to approve it. Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a U.S. Senate candidate, and U.S. Sens. Bob Smith and Judd Gregg, both Republicans, are behind it. Nuclear waste now stored at the Seabrook power plant and others across the country needs to be stored in a permanent, secure facility, Shaheen said. ''Federal officials must work with state and local officials to ensure that the process of transporting waste to the permanent repository is safe and secure,'' she said. Various national and local environmental groups are at a loss for finding a better alternative to shipping spent nuclear fuel, but many involved say it is another detraction of nuclear power. Doug Bogen, New Hampshire program director for Clean Water Action, said the most obvious option is to wait. ''If you don't have a really good plan for the ultimate storage of the waste, perhaps you shouldn't produce more of it,'' he said. ''The only answer is to phase out nuclear power. We have no safe way to deal with the waste.'' Transporting nuclear waste from storage at nuclear plants will cause hundreds of thousands more individuals to face potential exposure, Bogen said. Fifty million Americans live within a half-mile of potential routes. Jim Van Dongen of the state Office of Emergency Management said officials have been through training exercises for such situations. ''On the one hand, it's nothing new,'' he said. ''Radioactive waste has been shipped out of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard since the 1950s.'' Low-level waste is transported from the shipyard by train to a location in Idaho. [http://www.mainetoday.com/copyright.shtml] © Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. ***************************************************************** 19 Bush Slashing Aid for E.P.A. Cleanup at 33 Toxic Sites The New York Times *July 1, 2002* *By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE* WASHINGTON, June 30 ? The Bush administration has designated 33 toxic waste sites in 18 states for cuts in financing under the Superfund cleanup program, according to a new report to Congress by the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency. The cuts, imposed because the cleanup fund is hundreds of millions of dollars short of the amount needed to keep the program on schedule, mean that work is likely to grind to a halt on some of the most seriously polluted sites in the country, confronting the surrounding communities with new uncertainty over when the work will resume, how quickly it will proceed and who will pay for it. Among the sites that for now would receive less money ? in some cases, none ? are a manufacturing plant in Edison, N.J., where the herbicide Agent Orange was produced, several chemical plants in Florida and two old mines in Montana. The report to Congress is the first public listing by the environmental agency of where it intends to cut Superfund spending. It was provided to The New York Times by Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee who oppose the cuts. The administration had already indicated it would scale back spending from the special fund that pays for cleaning up sites where the original polluter has gone out of business or is otherwise unable to pay for remediation. The fund has been running out of money since Congress refused several years ago to extend the taxes on industry that had replenished it each year. It once contained billions of dollars from those taxes. The administration wants to reduce the payments from the fund by covering fewer sites. To do that it would shift the costs of further work to the government's general accounts, paid for by all taxpayers. Congressional critics have said this amounts to abandoning the precept that "the polluter pays," on which the Superfund program was founded. While Congress theoretically could override the administration's plan and impose a different approach, Congress has failed in past years to resolve bitter, often partisan, differences among lawmakers on how to revamp the program, and no consensus on it has emerged this year. Regional offices of the environmental agency had asked for $450 million for remedial action at the 33 sites, but the administration has allocated only $228 million, the inspector general's report says. Like all sites covered by the Superfund program, the 33 that are targeted for reductions are among the most contaminated grounds in the country and pose some level of health and environmental hazards to their communities. The documents provided by the inspector general did not indicate how these sites were chosen for cuts. The report makes clear that under the administration's approach the costs of cleaning up these sites would eventually shift to all taxpayers, and that in the meantime the whole program would be slowed down. It also shows that the administration is putting less money into continuing 54 long-term remediation projects around the country. Regional offices of the Environmental Protection Agency had requested $46.7 million, but the administration is giving them $33.2 million. Two Congressional Democrats, Representatives John D. Dingell of Michigan and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, asked the environmental agency's inspector general for the report in April and provided a copy to The Times. Both represent states with heavy concentrations of Superfund sites. Businesses have long complained about the Superfund program. At one time, chemical and oil companies, among others, were required to pay a special tax that cost them collectively about $1 billion a year. The tax went into the fund to clean up contaminated sites, but businesses said the system of allocating the money was unwieldy and badly managed. The report identifies five sites for spending reductions in New Jersey, five in Florida, three in Texas, one in New York and one or two in several other states as well as in the Virgin Islands. The sites have been in various stages of cleanup over decades. For example, in Edison, the Chemical Insecticide Corporation, which made pesticides and defoliants like those used by the military in the Vietnam War, including Agent Orange, contaminated soil and groundwater with chemicals until 1972, when the company went bankrupt. The E.P.A. stepped in and for 11 years has been working with community and environmental groups to have the site cleaned up by contractors. The agency spent $8 million for initial remedial work but eventually determined that the best response would be to cart away 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil at a cost of $40 million. In February, agency officials told the local groups that removal would begin in November. The new report says that no money will be available for the project. Robert Spiegel, executive director of the Edison Wetlands Association, an environmental group formed to monitor the cleanup, said that the environmental agency was under a binding agreement with the community to pay for the cleanup. If the Superfund does not allocate money, he said, the government's general funds will have to do so. "They are required by law to do the remedy even if they don't have the money," Mr. Spiegel said. "Someone will have to pay, and the Bush administration wants the American people to do it." It would take new Congressional action to spend federal funds other than Superfund reserves for cleanup. Because the owner of Chemical Insecticide, Arnold Livingston, went bankrupt and then out of business, the cleanup money was supposed to come from the Superfund trust fund. The fund was set up in 1980 with a special tax on chemical and oil companies to clean up so-called orphan sites, or those where the polluter could not be identified or would not pay, as well as for recalcitrant companies and emergency action. But the trust fund is running out of money. Congress let the corporate taxes expire in 1995. Without them, the fund has dwindled from a high of $3.8 billion in 1996 to a projected $28 million next year. President Bush's budget made clear that he did not intend to reauthorize the tax. The orphan sites, whose cleanup may now shift from the trust fund to general taxpayers, account for about 30 percent of the 1,551 sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's national priority list of toxic sites in pressing need of remediation. The total budget for the Superfund is $1.27 billion, which covers investigations, enforcement, litigation and engineering studies as well as cleanup. Mr. Spiegel said of residents near the sites, "These people have no idea that all the time and energy they put into getting their sites listed and cleaned up has now been discarded because there is no money." He said that the administration was reluctant to release the information on the specific sites because "they know there will be some serious problems with their voters because they will be called to task on this." Scott Stoermer, a spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters, said that shifting cleanup costs from industry to taxpayers was already a potent political issue in certain Congressional districts and was likely to become more so in the current atmosphere of corporate scandals. "This is all about government letting corporations get away with things that hurt average Americans and leave taxpayers to foot the bill," Mr. Stoermer. "It's not just about cleaning up toxic waste, it's about fairness and which side are you on." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ***************************************************************** 20 Report: 5,400 Iowans face nuclear wreck exposure Omaha.com Published Saturday June 29, 2002 DES MOINES (AP) - More than 5,400 Iowans could be exposed to radiation and at least 11 could die of cancer if a moderately severe nuclear waste accident occurred in Des Moines, a study suggests. "I think we do need to be concerned about accidents with this material, no matter how rare they may be," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, which released a report on the study Thursday. The study used government data and computer models to project what could happen in major cities along the route from nuclear power plants to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote soon on a plan that would send at least 175 waste shipments a year across the nation by truck or rail over a 38-year period. The Department of Energy has developed computer models to show the general effects of accidents. The Environmental Working Group adapted the models to suggest what would happen in Des Moines if a truck carrying waste on Interstate 35/80 north of the city were involved in an accident and radiation escaped. The model suggests that a plume of cesium gas would drift north toward Saylorville and Ankeny. The primary health risk, the group indicated, is an elevated long-term risk of cancer for those who are exposed, although "groundshine" - or longer-term radiation exposure - could extend far beyond the immediate exposure zone. Police and firefighters who respond in the minutes after the crash could be exposed to a radiation dose equal to 30,000 X-rays or more, the study indicated. The model suggested that 11 people could eventually die of cancers caused by a year's exposure to residual radioactivity in the contaminated area. Possible truck routes for the waste extend across large rural tracts of Iowa. Livestock or crops that might be exposed from an accident probably would have to be destroyed to keep contamination out of the food chain, Cook said. The risk of widespread exposure was much higher in other cities where train accidents were projected because trains carry larger casks. Leaders of the nonprofit group said their models do not represent a worst-case scenario, but rather an accident of "moderate severity" in which a truck is traveling 30 mph to 60 mph in clear weather, and cesium escapes from a broken seal in the shipping cask. The model also assumes a subsequent small fire that does not damage the cask. The group used a National Academy of Science analysis of atomic bomb survivors from World War II to assess cancer risk. The government projects a much lower risk of cancer using different assumptions, the group said. There have been no harmful releases of radiation in 2,700 shipments of nuclear waste in the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. "The established record of transportation of spent nuclear fuel overwhelmingly indicates that it is safe," an agency statement says. "The shipment of nuclear waste is highly regulated and subject to the utmost scrutiny." The Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group for the nuclear power industry, says waste-transport containers are built to withstand severe accidents. They use multiple layers of lead and other shielding. Containers on trucks weigh 25 to 40 tons. But the Environmental Working Group says the government projects there will be 100 accidents over the life of the project. AZ wrote: These environuts have destroyed more than a half million acres of our beautiful forests in this state alone by blocking reasonable maintaince by the forest service. I wonder what their agenda is now. They are apt to create a danger much higher than what they are attempting to sensationalize. ©2002 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. Copyright ***************************************************************** 21 High-level nuke waste could wind through Alpine Alpine Observer June 27, 2001 Nevada disposal project still years away, if approved. Daniel T. OMelia, Observer Staff Debate over the President Bushs proposed high-level nuclear waste disposal site at Nevadas Yucca Mountain has intensified in recent months. To many in Alpine, however, the issues raised by the multi-billion dollar project seemed just as remote as many of Washingtons efforts. Distant as the community may be from both Washington and Nevada, the issue may well find its way to Alpines very doorstep. The City of Alpine is situated directly in the path of a transit line expected to bring high-level nuclear waste from power plants and government sites to the Yucca Mountain location, according to an analysis completed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit activist group. We kind of did what we feel the government should have done, said EWG spokesperson Laura Chapin. Were popping the myth balloon about the project. Though Yucca Mountain would not begin operations until 2010 at the earliest, local emergency preparedness would have to start gearing up pretty quickly, according to Nevadas republican Senator John Ensign. "The federal government is treating every community in America with the same contempt as they are the people of Nevada," Ensign said in April in written Congressional testimony. "At least they have had the decency to tell us that we Nevadans will be exposed to radioactive material -- the rest of the country will just have to wait for disaster before they find out." When interviewed, at least one local authority confirmed the Nevada senators position. This is the first Ive heard of it, said Alpine Police Chief Russell Scown, who described the response to hazmat train accidents as being, currently, a matter for the railroad company and, potentially, the Alpine Fire Department. Right now, what we do is contain the situation and wait for the train company to come on out and take care of any mess, said Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson. Im sure that by the time they start bringing nuclear waste through town we  Sheriffs, Fire Department, Police Department  will have gotten training in how to deal with it. Even now, hazardous material pose a risk that the fire department is ill-equipped and trained to manage. Theres a desperate need for training at all levels and  with this stuff  training and hazmat suits for the folks responding. Right now, they tell us that most of the hazardous stuff thats coming through by train is gasoline, petroleum. The EWGs report, released online this month via the website www.mapscience.org, took the form of an interactive address locator, which matches up visitors physical addresses with the government-planned truck and train routes for the radioactive by-products. When entered into the GPS-based locator, any address in downtown Alpine is within a half-mile of the proposed route: the train tracks running through the city. Chapin, in a telephone interview from Washington, said that though the routes have not yet been finalized, the transit system wouldnt differ significantly from the EWGs projections. These routes wont change a lot. They have to go on DOT approved routes, said the spokesperson, who added that the sheer tonnage of the train-borne nuclear casks narrows the governments choices. The group based their projections on the Department of Energys (DOE) Environmental Impact Statement, the product of 15 years of scientific study. The routes are designed to remove high-level nuclear waste, which typically refers to extremely radioactive core material, from the four nuclear power plants in Texas Additionally, waste from Louisianas two nuclear plants could find its way through Alpine, according to DOE projections. Weve heard a lot of complaining (about the websites impact), said Chapin, but nobodys disputing the accuracy. Though the environmental impact study (EIS) has been released in recent months, the Department of Energy has removed the plan from many online outlets citing terrorist-based security concerns. The message detailing the EIS removal indicated that specific questions be made of the DOE directly. The EIS is over 5,000 pages long, said Chapin. It would be a fulltime job trying to find any particular element buried in that thing. Work to date, including the voluminous impact statement, came with a $15 billion price tag. After submitting to the White House the environmental study (EIS), which was the result of 8 years and $15 billion worth of work, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that work on the site proceed. On Feb. 15, Bush approved the site and signaled his intention to push the Yucca Mountain plan through congress. However, while delivering congressional testimony on Yucca Mountain in May of 2002, Secretary Abraham said that the DOE was just beginning to formulate its preliminary thoughts about a transportation plan. Responding to Abraham and the lack of a thoroughly-planned routing system, Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said, What I find most shocking about the Yucca Mountain Project is that DOE has no plan to transport spent nuclear fuel to its proposed repository. House approval came by a margin of 306-117 in May, and approval from the Senate is expected, though a considerable campaign staged by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn and others state leaders has made the prospect less likely than once thought. Congressman Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, voted to approve the Yucca Mountain Project. A vote is expected after the Senate breaks for Independence Day, and if approved, the site could begin scaling up for construction within the year. The DOE has promised that shipments of high level nuclear waste are among the most secure cargo in the US. However & two inmates from a North Carolina prison illegally boarded a train carrying spent nuclear fuel last month (April), Nevada Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Reno, said on the floor of the House last month. Gibbons went on to say, (A)lthough estimates anticipate over 400 nuclear waste shipping accidents to occur during the next 38 years of delivery to Yucca Mountain, there is absolutely no way to estimate that a terrorist will not board a train carrying spent fuel--and present our country with another tremendous tragedy. With approval on Yucca Mountain looming in the Senate, the EWG said that they are keeping an eye on things. We havent even taken a position on Yucca, said Chapin, but this should have been public knowledge. ***************************************************************** 22 Businessman adds up the toll of nuclear war -- The Washington Times July 1, 2002 By Ralph Joseph THE WASHINGTON TIMES KARACHI, Pakistan — A lone campaigner who says he wants to "restore sanity" among political and military leaders beating war drums in South Asia believes that at least 2.8 million people would die in the first hours of an all-out nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan. Ardeshir Cowasjee, a 73-year-old Pakistani businessman spending his own money in his campaign, is not reluctant to blast leaders of both nations for making irresponsible statements about using nuclear weapons. "They are mad," he said in an interview, and pointed out that with most targets less than five minutes from their launch sites, there is no possibility of an early warning system. Both sides would probably unleash their entire nuclear arsenals within minutes of the first missile being launched, he said. A self-written and well-researched pamphlet that Mr. Cowasjee has begun circulating quotes U.S. physicist David Albright as saying Pakistan has 30 to 50 nuclear weapons and India has 50 to 100. The nuclear weapons on the South Asian subcontinent are of the same destructive power as those used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the equivalent of 10 to 15 kilotons of TNT. Five cities on either side that would probably be targeted include Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and New Delhi in India, as well as Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi in Pakistan. All 10 are high-density population centers. The total population within 3 miles of grounds zero is estimated at 14.63 million on the Indian side and 9.41 million on the Pakistani side. His estimated figures for the deaths in the first hours of the strikes total 1.65 million on the Indian side and 1.17 million on the Pakistani side. Another 892,000 would probably be seriously injured on the Indian side, along with about 615,000 on the Pakistani side. These would perish shortly after their injuries or from nuclear poisoning, but the fallout from the radioactive clouds created by the explosions would affect millions of others, and slow deaths from diseases such as cancer would continue for years. Those who were vaporized in the first flashes would be the luckiest, he says. They wouldn't even know they had been hit. Mr. Cowasjee does not believe American diplomacy has ended the threat of war. He argues that the spirit of adventurism among political leaders and generals on both sides is too high, and he suggests that India's recent decision to de-escalate the tension was not the result of U.S. diplomacy, but the weather. "It's the monsoons," he said, referring to the season of heavy rains that begin in late June or early July and continue through to September on the subcontinent. Once the monsoons are over, tension could rise again. In a separate interview, Pakistani military analyst Ikram Sehgal made light of India's announcement that it was withdrawing its warships from strategic positions in the Indian Ocean. "During the monsoons, the Indian Ocean is the worst place for the navy, so they have an interest in getting their navy back to base," he said. As for allowing Pakistan to resume civilian flights over Indian territory, he said, the move primarily served to benefit Indian civil aviation. "For every two flights that Pakistan sends over India, India sends 30 flights over Pakistan," he said. However, a high-ranking retired naval officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the monsoons did not necessarily rule out a conflict: "If they want war, they can start one. How can the monsoons stop them?" Mr. Cowasjee also rejects the idea that the deployment of nuclear weapons will serve to deter a war on the subcontinent. ***************************************************************** 23 Letter: Nuke rods to be worth a fortune Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 State Sen. Joe Neal, a Democrat running for governor, seems to be the only political candidate who has the guts to tell it like it is. Neal says that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump is inevitable and that we should be negotiating for benefits. I think that he is 100 percent right. We could get billions of dollars for the state of Nevada. We should also claim ownership of the spent nuclear rods. Sometime in the future they are going to find a use for them and they will be worth a fortune. Do you really believe that the government will not use this project after spending billions of dollars on it? If you believe this I would like to sell you some stock in my tapioca mine. ALLEN TOOLEY All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 24 Daschle, Reid man phones to solicit 'no' votes Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 By Benjamin Grove < [grove@lasvegassun.com] > WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and his top deputy, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will make phone calls to their Democratic colleagues this week in a final-hour effort to secure "no" votes on Yucca Mountain, Daschle said. Congress is taking a week-long holiday break, but lawmakers are expected to take action on the nuclear waste project when they return next week. Most observers expect the Senate to approve the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Between 58 and 62 senators will vote for it, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, a Yucca advocate, predicted. A simple majority, 51 senators, is needed to pass the resolution approving Yucca Mountain as the site of the nation's nuclear waste dump. While Reid has said 30 or 35 Democrats would vote "no" on the controversial waste dump plan, a number of Democrats have not told their top two leaders how they intend to vote, Daschle told reporters Friday. Daschle offered no predictions of the vote outcome. "I really don't know the degree to which we'll get Republican support," Daschle said. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., also will be talking to senators during the July 4 break, spokeswoman Traci Scott said. "We're still lobbying," she said. Ensign has been working overtime in recent months, seeking GOP allies. But so far only Ensign and Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., have openly opposed Yucca. Reid last week said three Republicans may be leaning against Yucca, but GOP critics doubt that's true. The most recent "undecided" senator to publicly announce a position was Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., who on Friday said she would not support Yucca because she doesn't want the nation's waste hauled through her state. "I don't want Missouri to become the nation's nuclear waste superhighway," she said. Outside the Senate both advocates and critics of the project are expected to continue pressuring senators. Anti-Yucca environmentalists and other activists plan small events around the country, while pro-Yucca nuclear industry officials are running advertisements in favor of the dump. A nuclear industry coalition group called Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy is sponsoring radio spots in Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas and Vermont, said alliance director Sherry Reilly. The ads urge people to call their senators in support of Yucca. Meanwhile officials with the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry lobby group, will meet with "anybody that we can," this week, although senators and many key staffers are out of town, said Mitch Singer, NEI spokesman. Environmental groups plan to step up their grassroots efforts, urging people to contact their senators while they are back in their states, said Lisa Gue, an activist with Public Citizen, which has led a charge against Yucca. Activists plan to meet with several senators, Gue said. An anti-Yucca media event featuring the Indigo Girls, a rock duo, is planned in Chicago for Wednesday, Gue said. And activists towing mock nuclear waste containers are traveling in Indiana, Georgia, Florida and Connecticut, to tout the potential risks of hauling nuclear waste cross-country to Yucca. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 25 Russia Wraps Up Kursk Investigation Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 MOSCOW- The Russian government said Monday that leaky torpedo fuel caused the explosions that destroyed the Kursk nuclear submarine, wrapping up nearly two years of sensitive investigation into one of the country's worst post-Soviet disasters. The announcement that the vessel was destroyed by an internal malfunction - and not a foreign submarine as had once been theorized - was an uncomfortable admission for Russia's struggling military. The Kursk was one of the navy's most advanced submarines when it sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000, killing all 118 men aboard. Industry and Science Minister Ilya Klebanov, who led the commission investigating the disaster, said a leak of hydrogen peroxide used to fuel the 65-76 Kit (Whale) torpedo was at fault, according to the Interfax news agency. The conclusion was reached unanimously at the commission's last meeting Saturday, Klebanov said. "The reason for the accident was a thermal explosion of torpedo fuel components. It occurred as a result of a leak of hydrogen peroxide and the ignition of materials in the torpedo apparatus," Klebanov was quoted as saying. The torpedo fuel caused one explosion that killed all crew members in the submarine's first compartment and some in the next compartment, another commission member, parliament member Vice Admiral Valery Dorogin, was quoted by Interfax as saying. Then the fire and increase in pressure caused other ammunition on the submarine to detonate, resulting in a huge, second explosion, signaling doom for the entire craft, he said. Outside observers, including U.S. and Russian experts, had long ago reached the same conclusion about what destroyed the Kursk. But the Russian government investigation dragged on, and Russian officials refused to rule out the theory of a collision with a foreign submarine - possibly American or British - until recently. Klebanov's office refused to comment Monday on the announcement, and calls to Dorogin's office went unanswered. "We knew this a long time ago," said Igor Kudrin, a former submarine officer who heads the Submariners' Club in St. Petersburg, a relief organization of mostly retired officers that has lobbied on behalf of the victims' families. While Kudrin said it was some comfort that the commission agreed with other experts' findings, he added it "will not put an end to the Kursk story for the relatives." Russia has already pulled from service all torpedoes of the type that malfunctioned, which use highly volatile hydrogen peroxide for a propellant and have reportedly been used since the early 1970s. The torpedoes have a higher speed and range than conventional torpedoes powered by electric engines - advantages that, according to Russian news reports, prompted the Navy to neglect concerns about its unstable fuel. President Vladimir Putin's handling of the Kursk disaster was considered his first major blunder in his presidency. He stayed on vacation after it happened and did not comment on it publicly for several days. The government hesitated for several days before accepting foreign offers of help, while Russian submersibles were unsuccessful in attaching themselves to the Kursk's escape hatch. When foreign divers reached the Kursk a week after the catastrophe, it took them only hours to open the hatch. The public later learned with dismay that the navy had dismissed its own deep-sea divers years before the disaster as a money saving measure. The commission's investigation was largely based on study of the bulk of the Kursk's wreckage, which was lifted in an international operation last October. During the salvage effort, the front section of the Kursk was cut off out of fear it could break off while being raised, and it remains on the floor of the Barents Sea. Dorogin told Interfax that the commission had decided that the remains of the submarine should be blown up. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 26 Kursk Report: Russia Blames Blast Las Vegas SUN July 01, 2002 MOSCOW- The Kursk submarine tragedy that killed 118 crew members was caused by fuel exploding in one of its torpedoes, the governmental commission investigating the accident has found, according to a news report Monday. The announcement indicated that the investigation into the explosion and sinking of the nuclear submarine was complete, closing a chapter on one of the nation's biggest recent disasters. The Kursk, one of Russia's largest and most advanced submarines, exploded and sank during naval maneuvers in August 2000. The bulk of the wreckage was lifted in an international operation last October, allowing prosecutors to retrieve remains of 115 of the crewmen and search the carcass for clues to the disaster's cause. The Interfax news agency quoted a member of the commission - identified only by his last name, Dorogin - as saying that the fuel in the 65-76 Kit (Whale) torpedo used in the Kursk was at fault. It was not immediately possible to confirm the report. Repeated calls to Dorogin's office went unanswered. Dorogin said there were two blasts, the first one being the exploding torpedo, which he said killed all crew members in the submarine's first compartment and some in the second. The second explosion signaled doom for the entire craft, he said. That blast occurred when other ammunition on board the submarine went off as a result of the fire and increase in pressure caused by the first blast, he told Interfax. The commission decided on its final findings at a meeting Saturday and members have signed a document marking the completion of their work, Dorogin said. Russia has already put out of service all torpedoes of that type, which use highly volatile hydrogen peroxide for a propellant and have reportedly been in navy service since the early 1970s. The torpedoes have a higher speed and range compared with conventional torpedoes powered by electric engines - advantages that, according to reports, prompted the Russian navy to neglect concerns about its unstable fuel. Earlier reports have said the torpedo was damaged while being loaded into the Kursk before its final journey and the crew reported trouble with the weapon to superiors. Russian officials denied those reports. Officials initially claimed that the Kursk's sinking might have been caused by a collision with a Western submarine or a World War II mine. They later pointed to a flawed practice torpedo as the likely cause. During the salvage, the front section of the Kursk was cut off for fears it could break off while being raised, and it remains on the floor of the Barents Sea. Dorogin told Interfax that the commission had decided that the remains of the submarine still at sea should be blown up. The failed operation to rescue the Kursk crew drew heavy criticism at home and abroad. The government hesitated for several days before accepting foreign aid, while Russian submersibles were unsuccessful in attaching themselves to the Kursk's escape hatch. When foreign divers reached the Kursk a week after the catastrophe, it took them only hours to open the hatch. The public later learned with shock that the navy had dismissed all of its own deep-sea divers years before the disaster. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 27 Firefighters take course with SRS The Beaufort Gazette: Firefighters take course with SRS Mon, Jul 1, 2002 Staff report While local firefighters might not deal with plutonium on a daily basis, Beaufort Fire Department firefighters learned about responding to emergencies involving radioactive contaminants this week. Beaufort firefighters participated in a U.S. Department of Energy program for emergency responders who may have to respond to radiological incidents, according to Beaufort Fire Department spokesman Dan Byrne. "This training teaches us to stabilize the situation as best we can and save lives, and that's what's important," said firefighter John Robinson. With the federal government preventing Gov. Jim Hodges from stopping shipments of radioactive material though South Carolina, and the revelation that terrorists might be planning strikes against Americans using "dirty bombs" designed to spread radiation, the Beaufort Fire Department is preparing for any contingency involving radioactive materials. Freddie Bell and Jeff Hoefs, both of the Savannah River Site, conducted the four-hour training course at the Port Royal Fire Station, which was attended by all Beaufort Fire Department personnel. The purpose of the course was to train firefighters to recognize situations that might involve radioactive material and the proper steps to take to protect the populace and notify the proper authorities. Firefighters are required of having a minimum of four hours of radiation training per year. Byrne said the course was a success, with some firefighters requesting to go on to become instructors themselves. In the U.S. every year, 2.8 million packages with radioactive material are shipped, with ground transportation being the most common means of shipment. Though there hasn't been a recorded death involving the transportation of radioactive material, the potential is always there, and Byrne said the Beaufort Fire Department wants to be prepared. The program, called Transportation Emergency Preparedness, is provided free of charge to address the radiological emergency response concerns of state and local officials, according to Byrne. Though the program deals with non-weapons grade material, the training for firefighters is applicable for a wide range of scenarios. The program is available nationwide, and the Beaufort Fire Department is the first emergency agency in Beaufort County to take it, Byrne said. The course supplements the hazardous materials training the department conducted last year. Though their level of training allows Beaufort firefighters to mitigate certain incidents involving hazardous materials, when it comes to a radiological incident, this program provides training for recognition, isolation and evacuation and lifesaving treatment only. Copyright © 2002 The Beaufort Gazette • Use of this site ***************************************************************** 28 DOE Vendors by date Synopsis and Solicitation Grouped by Posted Date [http://www.energy.gov/] DOE - Jul 03, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:B--PARTICIPATION IN OCEAN DRILLING PROGRAM LEG 204 SOL:DE-RQ26-02NT04455 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:Y--TRACY-YGNACIO 69-KV TRANSMISSION LINE REMOVAL SOL:DE-FB65-02WN60135 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:74--Notice of Intent SOL:DE-RQ01-02AD23853 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:J--Condor crane repairs SOL:DE-RQ65-02WC60566 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A--International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative SOL:DE-RP06-02RL14400 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:66--Proposed Sole Source Remanufactured Acterna OC3/Sonet Telecommmunication Test Set SOL:DE-RQ65-02WE60410 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:99--MVCOMM software and installation SOL:DE-RQ65-02WN60232 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:61--PowerOne chargers SOL:DE-RQ65-02WC59124 Office:Los Alamos National Laboratory (DOE Contractor) Location:Los Alamos [red arrow] Posted:Jul 03, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:B -- Los Alamos National Laboratory Site-Wide Transportation Plan SOL:9999-REQ-02 Jul 02, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:99--Cyber-Security Password Management Software SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL68139 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:R--Expert Performance Module and Measurement Specialist SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL68187 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:T--TRANSMISSION AERIAL PATROL SOL:DE-AP75-02SW11111 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:J--Condor crane repairs SOL:DE-RQ65-02WC60566 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:66--Proposed Sole Source Remanufactured Acterna OC3/Sonet Telecommmunication Test Set SOL:DE-RQ65-02WE60410 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:D--Altiris Licenses and EMS Solutions SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL67799 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:70--Software and Consulting Services SOL:DE-AC70-02SP11081 Office:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor) Location:PNNL Licensing [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Self-assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports?SAMMS SOL:Reference-Number-11429 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Glow Discharge Plasma: Treatment of Organic Wastes in Water SOL:Reference-Number-11192 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Exposure to Risk Monitor SOL:Reference-Number-11042 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Conductive Metal Oxide Films SOL:Reference-Number-11694 Office:Wackenhut Services, Inc. (DOE Contractor) Location:Wackenhut Services, Inc. - Albuquerque [red arrow] Posted:Jul 02, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:V -- STUDENT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES PROGRAM SOL:TRANS Jul 01, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jul 01, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A--Nevada Solar Dish Power Project SOL:DE-SC04-02AL67972 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 01, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:59--CCVT's &CT's for Lone Butte Substation SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG60147 [red arrow] Posted:Jul 01, 2002 Type: Amendment 01 Title:55--Wood Poles SOL:DE-RQ65-02WC60493 Office:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor) Location:PNNL Licensing [red arrow] Posted:Jul 01, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Ultrasonic Treatment of a Liquid SOL:Reference-Number-12372-E [red arrow] Posted:Jul 01, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Protein Extraction from Cell Membranes SOL:Reference-Number-13569-E Jun 30, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 30, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:59--CCVT's &CT's for Lone Butte Substation SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG60147 Jun 28, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Amendment 02 Title:R--Classification and Sensitive Unclassified Document Review Services SOL:DE-RP01-02SO20138 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:56--Wiggins Tap and Line Rebuild SOL:DE-FB65-02WJ60475 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Y--MARICOPA-CASA GRANDE TRANSMISSION LINE 230-KV UPGRADE SOL:DE-FB65-02WG60007 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Z--Install Fiber Optic Overhead Ground Wire, Phase 4, Transmission Lines, North Dakota and South Dakota SOL:DE-FB65-02WC60477 Office:CH2MHill Hanford Group, Inc. (DOE Contractor) Location:Office of River Protection [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- Solid-Liquid Separations Technology SOL:Reference-Number-CHG01 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- TRU Tank Waste Solidification for Disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant SOL:Reference-Number-CHG06 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- Cesium and Technetium Separations Technology SOL:Reference-Number-CHG02 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- Containerized Grout Technology SOL:Reference-Number-CHG04 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- Bulk Vitrification Technology SOL:Reference-Number-CHG05 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:11 -- Sulfate Removal Technology SOL:Reference-Number-CHG03 Office:National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Midwest Research Institute (DOE Contractor) Location:National Renewable Energy Laboratory [red arrow] Posted:Jun 28, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- DOE/NREL Distributed Power Program - Distribution and Interconnection Research and Developmente SOL:RAT-2-32616 Jun 27, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 27, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:R--Expert Performance Module and Measurement Specialist SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL68187 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 27, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:Y--RAMP AND DOOR AT THE DESERT SOUTHWEST REGIONAL OFFICE WAREHOUSE SOL:DE-FB65-02WG59805 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 27, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Y--Re-Roof Casper, Dunlap Lyman, Torrington, Sterling and Weld Substations SOL:DE-FB65-02WJ60611 Office:Idaho Nat'l Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (DOE Contractor) Location:Idaho National Engineering &Environmental Laboratory [red arrow] Posted:Jun 27, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Flow-Through Reactor for the In Situ Assessment of Remediation Technologies in Vadose and Saturated Zones SOL:S--19 Office:National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Midwest Research Institute (DOE Contractor) Location:National Renewable Energy Laboratory [red arrow] Posted:Jun 27, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:23 -- Licensing Opportunity - ADVISOR (ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR) Software SOL:Advisor Jun 26, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:58--MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG60394 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:F--PEST CONTROL SERVICES EAST SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG59880 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:66--WAVE FAULT LOCATOR SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG60169 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:F--PEST CONTROL SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG59872 Office:Fluor Fernald, Inc. (DOE Contractor) Location:Fernald Environmental Management Project [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:71 -- IFB FY020010 Miscellaneous Furniture SOL:Fy020010 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 26, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:99 -- IFB FY020011 SOL:FY020011 Jun 25, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Y--PEACOCK-PINNACLE PEAK 230KV TRANSMISSION LINE INSET STRUCTURES SOL:DE-FB65-02WG60631 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:76--WELL LOGS FROM SCHLUMBERGER OF CANADA SOL:DE-RQ26-02NT20560 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:R--National Border Technology Partnership Program SOL:DE-RP04-02AL67392 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:D--Altiris Licenses and EMS Solutions SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL67799 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:58--MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG60394 Office:Bechtel Nevada Corp (DOE Contractor) Location:Bechtel Nevada [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:D -- Telephone Maintenance, Operations and Support at Nevada Test Site and other locations SOL:Reference-Number-30133 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:67 -- CCD camera (2084 x 2084 photosensitive pixels), large format, thermoelectrically cooled with 24 um x 24 um pixels with a 1:1 plug bonded to CCD sensor. SOL:95841-EM-02 Office:Kaiser-Hill Company, LLC (DOE Contractor) Location:Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Y -- Decontamination and Demolition of Building 371 Complex SOL:KH022960 Office:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor) Location:PNNL Licensing [red arrow] Posted:Jun 25, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Chiral Separations SOL:Reference-Number-13182 Jun 24, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 24, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:Q--Hanford Occupational Health Services SOL:DE-RP06-03RL14383 Office:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor) Location:PNNL Licensing [red arrow] Posted:Jun 24, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Environmental Remediation: Six Phase Soil Heating and In Situ Corona SOL:Reference-Number-10756 Jun 21, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:99--Cyber-Security Password Management Software SOL:DE-RQ04-02AL68139 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Modification 01 Title:Y--Concrete Foundations, New Underwood Substation, SD SOL:DE-RQ65-02WC60513 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:F--PEST CONTROL SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG59872 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:F--PEST CONTROL SERVICES EAST SOL:DE-RQ65-02WG59880 [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Amendment 01 Title:R--Classification and Sensitive Unclassified Document Review Services SOL:DE-RP01-02SO20138 Office:Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor) Location:PNNL Licensing [red arrow] Posted:Jun 21, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:A -- Solid State Electro Chemical Devices SOL:Reference-Number-1740-E Jun 20, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 20, 2002 Type: Amendment 01 Title:A--FY2002 Joint Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of Fossil Energy Science Initiative SOL:DE-PS26-02NT41432_MASTER_SOLICITATION [red arrow] Posted:Jun 20, 2002 Type: Solicitation 01 Title:A--Pre-Solicitation Notice for Financial Assistance Applications for Advanced Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) On-Board Storage System SOL:DE-SC02-02CH11108 Jun 19, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 19, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:D--Search Engine for the Professionals Page SOL:DE-RP02-01ME11111 Jun 18, 2002 Agency:Department of Energy Office:All Departmental Locations Location:Office of Procurement and Assistance Management [red arrow] Posted:Jun 18, 2002 Type: Synopsis Title:61--61--Sole Source Requirement for JEMstar revenue meters SOL:DE-RQ65-02WJ60532 Find Business Opportunity [http://vsearch2.eps.gov/servlet/SearchServlet] Email: fbo.support@gsa.gov Phone: 877-472-3779 (Toll Free) ***************************************************************** 29 Secretary Abraham Submits Detailed Letter on Energy Legislation to House and Senate Conference energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2002 WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today released the text of a letter sent to Congressman Billy Tauzin who serves as chairman of the House-Senate Conference committee that will meet to reconcile differences in the two versions of the energy legislation currently before Congress. Secretary Abraham's letter explains that the Administration seeks a balanced, comprehensive energy bill that improves the nation's energy security, creates jobs and benefits consumers while reducing our reliance on foreign sources of energy, protecting the environment, increasing conservation, improving energy efficiency and expanding the use of new technologies and renewable energy sources. Letter to Congressman Tauzin Media Contact: Jill Schroeder, 202/586-4940 Drew Malcomb, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-132 Back to Previous Page> ***************************************************************** 30 DOE misses deadline on national lab report This story was published Sat, Jun 29, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer The Department of Energy has missed a deadline to tell Congress how it plans switch to outside safety regulators at its 10 national laboratories. A General Accounting Office report, released Wednesday, said DOE was supposed to submit a proposal to congressional appropriations committees by May 31. "DOE has, however, not completed its plan," the GAO document said. The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress. Currently, DOE handles nuclear and other safety inspections for its 10 national laboratories, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In 1993, DOE recognized the conflict of interest inherent in the arrangement, and began off-and-on efforts to turn those responsibilities over to outside agencies. Although details of the plan are still being worked out nearly a decade later, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had been expected to supervise nuclear-related safety matters at the labs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration would handle all other safety issues. Officials with the NRC and OSHA believe they can assume those safety oversight duties with little trouble, and cheaper than Energy Department's own inspectors, the GAO report said. Officials with the national laboratories appear to support a move to NRC and OSHA oversight, too. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 31 Agreement near on Hanford cleanup plan, officials say This story was published Sat, Jun 29, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Agreement on an accelerated cleanup plan for Hanford is expected within two to three weeks. "We're just that close to a new and different day at Hanford," Tom Fitzsimmons, director of Washington's Department of Ecology, said Friday, holding his right thumb and forefinger an inch apart. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon officials agreed with Fitzsimmons on Friday after various Hanford agencies met in Richland with Jessie Roberson, the Department of Energy's cleanup czar. The main topic was plans to speed up environmental cleanup at Hanford and other DOE sites nationwide. The proposed acceleration plans are tied to individual sites, including Hanford, getting extra money for 2003 and beyond. DOE and the federal Office of Management and Budget have set an Aug. 1 deadline for individual DOE sites and their regulators to sign off on acceleration plans. Then DOE is to submit the plans and budget numbers to OMB, which writes President Bush's budget, by Aug. 8. Sometime after Aug. 8, OMB will submit a revised and expanded budget request to Congress. The U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees traditionally nail down DOE's annual cleanup budget in June and July. However, Roberson said DOE has kept OMB and Congress up to date on the agency's still-evolving cleanup budget needs, so she believes DOE can get an extra budget request into the congressional appropriations deliberations. The budget situation is this: DOE received $6.7 billion for nuclear cleanup in 2002, including $1.776 billion for Hanford. For 2003, DOE made a basic request to Congress for $5.9 billion nationwide, including $1.46 billion for Hanford. But DOE also asked for another $800 million to be distributed among sites that come up with accelerated cleanup plans. If the $800 million is insufficient, DOE and OMB say they will request an additional $300 million from Congress in early August. So far, DOE has tentatively earmarked $757 million to several sites, including $433 million to Hanford. If that survives Congress, Hanford would receive a total of $1.893 billion for 2003 -- which would be an actual increase of $117 million over 2002. Right now, DOE still has available $343 million in proposed incentive money -- if the extra $300 million is requested. One site looking at that final $343 million is Savannah River, S.C., which is close to Hanford's size. Roberson said Savannah River already has a waste glassification plant in place, however, so it won't need as much acceleration money as Hanford. Meanwhile, cleanup efforts at Fernald, Ohio, and Rocky Flats, Colo., are falling behind schedule and appear to need more money, despite being the sites that DOE has targeted to finish first. Those sites, plus some others, also want some of the final $343 million. Roberson said she's confident that DOE's and OMB's proposed request for another $300 million in August will be enough to meet all of DOE's yet-unresolved accelerated budget needs. So far, Hanford is the furthest along of all DOE sites in nailing down an acceleration agreement with its regulators, Roberson said. Roberson and Fitzsimmons said the current acceleration proposal has changed from the draft proposal that DOE unveiled May 1. The May 1 draft called for expanding and speeding up construction of a glassification complex so that 10 percent of Hanford's radioactive tank wastes could be converted into glass by 2014, four years ahead of schedule. But recently, glassification contractor Bechtel National submitted a plan to accelerate the 10 percent target to 2013 by spending more money now to speed cleanup and save cash in the long run. Harry Boston, the recently departed DOE manager in charge of that project, liked that idea. Boston and Roberson recently traded dueling memos on the subject. Boston pushed spending more now to speed up the project; Roberson countered that Bechtel's figures exceeded DOE's budget schedules. On Friday, Roberson said she supports both philosophies in that she believes more money needs to be spent, but she added any extra expenditures must be kept under control. "I'm going to fight for both," she said. She declined to comment on Bechtel's figures, saying they still need to be studied. "To support it, I have to understand it." Fitzsimmons said the state is agreeing to DOE exploring ways to deal with some Hanford tank wastes besides glassification. Also, the state agrees to DOE finding a way to dispose of 1,936 capsules of cesium and strontium without glassifying them. The state also appears receptive to DOE shipping some barrels of transuranic wastes from other sites to Hanford to be checked, repacked and temporarily stored before eventually being sent to a permanent disposal site in New Mexico. That's because several small DOE sites don't have Hanford's capabilities for this work so it would be cheaper to use existing facilities at Hanford. Transuranic wastes are highly radioactive junk with extremely slow radiation decay rates that are stored in barrels. Hanford will not accept new low-level radioactive wastes and chemical-laced wastes from other DOE sites, Fitzsimmons said. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 32 Link to Irradiated Mail, Health Tue Jul 2,12:06 AM ET By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A substantial number of congressional employees may have experienced long-term health problems linked to the handling of irradiated mail, including headaches, burning eyes and nausea, says a report being made public Tuesday. "We believe these symptoms are not insignificant, both in terms of the number of complaints and in the effect on employee health and work performance," the general counsel of the Office of Compliance said in the report. The congressional office cautioned that the study had not established a definitive cause of the broad range of symptoms reported, and it did not have enough information to judge whether there is a serious health risk. It recommended further studies and precautionary steps such as limiting the time employees spend handling mail. In January, after a three-month suspension of deliveries following the detection of anthrax spores in 16 congressional offices, the U.S. Postal Service began treating all mail addressed to Congress and federal agencies with large doses of irradiation. Shortly after the resumption of deliveries, congressional offices and postal offices began reporting health problems among workers exposed to the irradiated mail. The report said 215 congressional employees responded to a written survey in February and March that they or others in their office had health problems. Of 148 contacted by phone in March and April, 72 percent said they were still experiencing ill health. Among all those responding, half said they got headaches when handling mail, 32 percent said they had itching skin, 23 percent burning and red eyes and 21 percent nausea. Of 168 people who participated in a follow-up survey in May, 55 percent said they were still experiencing symptoms. However, 61 percent of those still experiencing systems said they were getting better. Sen. Charles Grassley ( news [http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/Dail yNews/politics/news/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22Sen.%20Charl es%20Grassley%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw] , bio [http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/Dail yNews/politics/bio/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/yahoo/bio/?id=248] , voting record [http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/Dail yNews/politics/voting/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/yahoo/bio/keyvotes/?id=248] ), R-Iowa, who requested the investigation, said irradiating mail "was and is a big experiment." In light of the report, he said, the office of "the Senate sergeant at arms and its Legislative Mail Task Force may have been too quick to conclude irradiated mail was harmless, and they may not have taken employees' health concerns seriously enough." The report stressed it surveyed only those who elected to respond and thus the results were not a scientifically valid sampling. But it said scientists who analyzed air samples from House and Senate mail rooms found low levels of irritant chemical byproducts caused by irradiation of the mail. The report speculated that the byproducts probably emanated from the cellulose contents of the paper mail which is broken down in the irradiation process. It noted that the Postal Service believed there was a problem with some "overdoses" of irradiation, a common practice in disinfecting food and medical devices, at the beginning of the process, but that problem was corrected. Health problems were also reported at post offices handling irradiated mail. Mail deliveries to the Capitol were halted after an anthrax-tainted letter was found in the Senate office building containing the office of Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Mail heading for federal offices in Washington is now sanitized with radiation at postal facilities outside the capital. On the NET: Office of Compliance: http://www.compliance.gov/ [http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/inlinks/*http://www.compliance.go v/] Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 33 Reid Files Brief to Compel Disclosure of Secret Cheney Meetings, Protect Congressional Oversight News From Sen. Harry Reid - Assistant Democratic Leader From Nevada Monday, July 1, 2002 WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) today filed a brief supporting the General Accounting Office (GAO) lawsuit to compel the release of information concerning the Administration's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), lead by Vice President Cheney. By supporting GAO, Senator Reid hopes to learn if the secret meetings held by Cheney and the NEPDG influenced the President's decision to abandon his campaign promise to base any decision on a national nuclear waste repository on "sound science". "There is no question that Vice President Cheney met on several occasions with nuclear power executives," said Senator Reid. "The Administration needs to stop hiding the truth. They should tell the public which executives the Vice President met with and when he met with them." Shortly after energy executives met with Vice President Cheney, the Administration began to pursue a nuclear energy policy contrary to promises made by then Governor Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign. While campaigning in Nevada in May of 2000, the President stated: "I believe sound science, not politics, must prevail in the designation of any high-level nuclear waste repository. As President, I would not sign legislation that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it's been deemed scientifically safe." President Bush reversed this position on February 14, 2002 by approving a plan to store the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting such a decision. The GAO, the Inspector General of the Department of Energy, the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board have raised concerns about conflicts of interest, poor scientific standards and an unsafe and unnecessary rush to approve the Yucca Mountain project. The President's plan calls for roughly 100,000 nuclear waste shipments to travel on American roads and rails by the end of the decade. Senator Reid's amicus or "friend of the court" brief underscores the critical role GAO fills in assisting Congress exercise its Constitutional right to conduct oversight of the executive branch. As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Chairman of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Reid has the duty to oversee the implementation of programs reviewed by the NEPDG, the cost of those programs, and how those costs would be affected by the NEPDG recommendations. Reid noted that "the GAO suit aims to protect the rights and prerogatives of the legislative branch in our Constitutional system to conduct executive branch oversight. The GAO helps Congress and the public understand how laws that affect their lives are implemented, upholding the fundamental values of transparency and accountability in government. This Administration is systematically pursuing a policy of hiding this information from the people - something which should not be tolerated in a democracy," Reid concluded. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************