***************************************************************** 05/03/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.113 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 UK: Sizewell is safe says watchdog 2 USA lifts limits on Kazakh uranium imports, set to monitor 3 US: New NRC Region III Public Affairs Officer NUCLEAR REACTORS 4 Slovak nuclear plant off line over safety overhaul 5 Chernobyl cancer claim 6 Chernobyl cancer risk revealed 7 US: NRC Names Scott Schwind Senior Resident Inspector At Cooper 8 US: NRC Davis-Besse Oversight Panel to Hold First Meeting May 9 in NUCLEAR SAFETY 9 US: Nuclear plants' security touted 10 US: Big Visions for Security Post Shrink Amid Political Drama NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 11 Taiwan premier says he "fully understands" aboriginal opposition 12 Taiwan: Official confirms nuclear-waste deal 13 Taiwan: Lin cajoled into a visit to Orchid Island dump site 14 Taiwan: Lawmakers warn against waste deal's hidden risks 15 Taiwan: Official confirms nuclear-waste deal 16 Taiwan: Lin cajoled into a visit to Orchid Island dump site 17 Taiwan: Lawmakers warn against waste deal's hidden risks 18 US: County wants special consideration in Yucca Mountain issue - 19 US: Berkley to speak on radio against Yucca Mountain 20 US: Yucca: Chu can't assuage anti-nuclear fears 21 UK 'neglects' nuclear waste 22 US: Editorial: Another revelation of nuke waste follies 23 UK: Scientists urge new approach to nuclear waste 24 BNFL on its way to completing cleanup project 25 Workforce agency also needs to know if USEC plans layoffs 26 Developing UK policy for the management of radioactive waste 27 US: Berkley Statement on Nuke Waste Shipment Security Breach 28 US: U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board - Reports 29 US: Hodges Republicans try to end dispute with legislation 30 US: Textron pledges cleanup at base 31 UK: Policy failures may cause nuclear waste crisis, say scientists 32 UK: Nuclear waste 'could soon turn to crisis' 33 Ger: Construction of Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Could Finally Ha NUCLEAR WEAPONS 34 A Reward Approach to N. Korea 35 Israel may cause environmental disaster 36 US: Penny-Wise, Dirty Nuke Foolish 37 Russia Optimistic on Nuclear Cuts 38 Powell, Russian to Talk Nuke Pact 39 UK lists Kazakhstan as country posing a nuclear threat - 40 Iraqi weapons experts continue talks at UN 41 US: Nuclear ambiguities US DEPT. OF ENERGY 42 BWXT Y-12 jointly working on training system for machinists 43 Bomb threat at K-25 05/03/02 44 DOE public tours to resume OTHER NUCLEAR 45 'Enrob Report' Makes Enron Scandal Laughing Matter 46 Nuclear Energy Institute Re-Elects Poindexter Chairman, Adds Two 47 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 02.18 | 24 - 30 April 2002 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UK: Sizewell is safe says watchdog East Anglian Daily Times newsSEARCH Friday May 3, 2002 THE UK nuclear safety watchdog has rejected a call from a Suffolk campaign group for the closure of the Sizewell B power station while safety checks are carried out. The call, from the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign, followed the discovery of serious corrosion in a similar pressurised water reactor (PWR) in the United States. Boric acid - used in the reactor coolant water - leaking into the head of the pressure vessel "heart" of the Davies-Besse plant is being blamed for the corrosion. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) has been in touch with its equivalent agency in the United States over the cause of the problem. The inspectorate has now told the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign that it is satisfied Sizewell B can continue to operate safely. "The possibility of leaks through the top head of a PWR pressure vessel has been recognised for some time and was considered during construction of Sizewell B," it says in a letter to the group. As a result of these considerations an inspection programme had been put in place with the aim of identifying – at an early stage - any possible leakages. Inspections had been performed during the last refuelling shutdown in September 2000 and no defects were found. During an inspection of the outer surface of the reactor pressure vessel head in May 2001 no deposits of boric acid had been detected. "There is consequently no concern that such leakages could develop in the foreseeable future," says the NII. Further inspections were due to be performed during the next scheduled reactor shutdown and, in the light of the corrosion discovered at the Davies-Besse plant, officials would be taking a special interest in the test results. However, Charles Barnett, chairman of the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign, said he was not satisfied with the NII assurance. "The corrosion at the Davies-Besse plant was discovered only a relatively short time after an inspection had concluded there were no problems," he said. Mr Barnett added that he was also concerned the inspections were left to British Energy staff and were not witnessed and checked by NII personnel. david.green@eadt.co.uk Copyright © 2002 Archant Regional. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 USA lifts limits on Kazakh uranium imports, set to monitor customers BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 3, 2002 [Presenter] The USA has lifted the limits imposed on imports of Kazakh natural uranium. The court proceedings between Kazakhstan and the USEC [US Enrichment Corp] that have been going on for over 10 years have now been completed in full. [Correspondent over video of street scenes] Kazakhstan has annually been incurring tens of millions of dollars of losses because of the restrictions imposed on Kazakh uranium exports to the USA. The limits on Kazakh [uranium] imports were imposed on Kazakhstan as successor of the [former] Soviet Union which used to be the USA's main competitor on the uranium market. Following the break-up of the USSR, the limits were automatically imposed on all the former Soviet uranium-extracting republics. [Markhaba Barguzhina, captioned as director of the judicial department of the national atomic company Kazatomprom (Kazakh nuclear industry) closed joint-stock company] Then our lawyers started presenting proof that Kazakh uranium is not part of Russian uranium i.e. that the amount of [Kazakh] uranium exported is not as great as it was during the Soviet Union, that we are an independent state and that we have our own uranium. [Kazakh lawyers also said that] the proportion of our uranium on the Kazakh [presumably, the US] market was so small that this had no influence on prices on the US market. It was this argument that had carried weight in the entire court proceedings. [Correspondent] Experts consider that in addition to [ensuring that] Kazakh [uranium]-extracting companies have no relations with Russia, Washington intends to ensure that [Kazakh] uranium does not fall in the hands of its potential enemies. The USA hopes that Kazakhstan, which will from now on have an opportunity to work freely on the US market, will not sell nuclear raw materials to Iraq or North Korea. Source: Kazakh Commercial Television, Almaty, in Russian 1030 gmt 3 May 02 /© BBC Monitoring ***************************************************************** 3 New NRC Region III Public Affairs Officer NRC: Press Release Region III - 2002 - 25 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-025 May 3, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Pam Alloway-Mueller (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] Viktoria T. Mitlyng, an experienced international journalist and public affairs specialist, has joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III as a public affair officer. She replaces Pam Alloway-Mueller, who left the agency in January. The regional office, located in Lisle, Illinois, covers eight states in the midwest. For the past four years she has been a public relations consultant and account supervisor for two Chicago-based firms, the Millenson Collabrative and Public Communication, Inc., working with health, educational and arts organizations. Her work also included managing communications programs for such Chicago area institutions as the Shedd Aquarium, the Brookfield Zoo and the Morton Arboretum. She was senior media advisor to the press attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, in 1997-98. She previously was a reporter for the Moscow Times, an English-language daily in Moscow. Between 1992 and 1994, she ran a journalism program for writers from nuclear and near-nuclear countries, coordinated coverage of international security issues and wrote about politics, the military and nuclear complexes in the former Soviet Union for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists magazine. Mitlyng has a master's degree in French and Russian literature from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in French and Russian literature from Amherst College. Mitlyng, her husband, son and daughter live in Naperville. She can be reached by telephone at (630) 829-9662, by fax at (630)515-1096 or by e-mail at vtm@nrc.gov. ***************************************************************** 4 Slovak nuclear plant off line over safety overhaul BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 3, 2002 Bratislava, 3 May: An extended overhaul at the second unit of the Mochovce nuclear power station (EMO), a branch of the Slovenske Elektrarne power producer, will last from 4 May to 20 July. EMO spokesman Rastislav Petrech said that the preparations for the overhaul had been completed. Within the regular overhaul which takes place every four years, all nuclear fuel will be removed from the active zone of the reactor in order to perform a standard check of the pressure tank. The plant's steam generator will also undergo checks as well as the heat exchangers of three emergency systems. To lower activity of the refrigerant of the active zone, the overhaul staff will check hermetic fuel cassettes. EMO's second reactor generated 1,118m MWh of electricity in the first quarter of 2002. The first one produced just 739,000 MWh in the given period due to overhaul. The first unit was shut down on 23 February and re-started on 11 April. Results from the check were very good, EMO said. At 5 per cent of tolerated leak, its measured value was only 1.66 per cent. Source: SITA news agency web site, Bratislava, in English 0803 gmt 3 May 02 /© BBC Monitoring ***************************************************************** 5 Chernobyl cancer claim UK: UTV NEWS ON AIR THURSDAY 02/05/02 17:24:55 Investigators claimed today there was good evidence that the Chernobyl disaster is responsible for increased cancer rates in children. They said there was good evidence that children across a wide expanse of eastern Europe suffered increased rates of thyroid cancer. But scientists who reviewed previous research into the health effects of Chernobyl said there was nothing to suggest a link between the world`s worst nuclear accident and cancers in adults. They said the evidence of a connection between the disaster and childhood leukaemia was ``less conclusive``. The explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear power station on April 26, 1986, produced a massive plume of radioactive dust that was blown by the wind across a vast area. Contamination spread over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Bulgaria. Milk, meat and potatoes became particularly rich sources of radioactive caesium. People living in rural and forested areas received ``considerable doses`` of radiation from mushrooms and wild berries, which concentrated the radioactive particles. The review scientists, led by Kirsten Moysich from the Rosewell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York state, said studies revealed an upsurge of thyroid cancer cases among children in contaminated areas several years after the explosion. One report from Ukraine showed a five-fold increase in the number of children with the disease in 1992 compared with 1986. Another study found ``substantial increases`` after 1990 in the most contaminated areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia among children under 15. The tumours caused by these cancers were characteristically more aggressive than normal. But the researchers said there was no convincing evidence of a link with childhood leukaemia. Although the number of leukaemia cases for 1987 to 1988 exceeded the expected figure, no associations between the extra cases and radiation dose could be found. ``The existing evidence does not provide support for the suggestion that childhood leukaemia rates in Europe have risen as a result of the Chernobyl accident,`` the researchers wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology. Among adults, there was no strong evidence to suggest that the risk of thyroid cancer, leukaemia or other malignant disease had increased as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. ***************************************************************** 6 Chernobyl cancer risk revealed news.com.au - 03 May 2002 From correspondents in Paris RADIOACTIVE fallout from Chernobyl led to a rise in thyroid cancer among children, but probably caused fewer cases of adult cancer than is widely believed, a study says. The report - based on studies of the incidence of cancer in several countries - is published today in the British journal The Lancet Oncology. "There is good evidence to suggest that rates of thyroid cancer in children from the countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union have risen as a result of the Chernobyl accident," it says. But, "the findings for childhood leukaemia are less conclusive. Overall rates for this disease do not seem to have been affected". As for adults, "there is no strong evidence to suggest that risk of thyroid cancer, leukaemia or other malignant disease has increased as a result of the Chernobyl accident". It adds, however, that it may take time for any long-term risk of adult thyroid cancer to become apparent. The report gives an overall look at all the published research into the incidence of cancer among populations in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Scandinavia and central Europe that were affected by Chernobyl. Most of these epidemiological studies focussed on thyroid cancer and leukaemia. The subjects were primarily children, who are more at risk from ionising radiation than adults, and the thousands of Soviet workers sent to Chernobyl to clean up the stricken nuclear plant. The blast at Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor on April 26 1986 disgorged a massive plume of radioactive debris into the atmosphere, principally caesium, strontium and iodine. Agence France-Presse ***************************************************************** 7 NRC Names Scott Schwind Senior Resident Inspector At Cooper Nuclear Station NRC: Press Release Region IV - 2002 - 23 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011 www.nrc.gov No. IV-02-023 May 2, 2002 CONTACT: Breck Henderson Phone: 817-860-8128 Cellular: 817-917-1227 E-mail: [opa4@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has named Scott Schwind Senior Resident Inspector at Cooper Nuclear Station, a nuclear power plant near Brownville, Nebraska. He joins Michael Hay, the resident inspector at the plant. Mr. Schwind graduated from West Texas State University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1989. Following graduation he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy aboard nuclear powered submarines until 1994. He then worked as a systems engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant in Amarillo, Texas, until 1997. In 1997, Mr. Schwind joined the NRC at its Region I office in King of Prussia, Penn., as a reactor engineer. He has served as resident inspector at the Indian Point Nuclear Station, Unit 2, in Buchanan, N.Y., and at Comanche Peak, near Glen Rose, Texas, prior to his assignment as senior resident inspector at Cooper. Mr. Schwind will reside in Nemaha. Each U.S. commercial nuclear power plant has at least two NRC resident inspectors. They serve as the agency's eyes and ears at the facility, conducting regular inspections and monitoring significant work projects. ***************************************************************** 8 NRC Davis-Besse Oversight Panel to Hold First Meeting May 9 in Oak Harbor, Ohio NRC: Press Release Region III - 2002 - 24 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-024 May 3, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Pam Alloway-Mueller (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight panel, set up to coordinate the agency's activities associated with the corrosion damage to the reactor vessel head at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, will hold its first meeting with utility officials on Thursday, May 9, in Oak Harbor, Ohio. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight panel, set up to coordinate the agency's activities associated with the corrosion damage to the reactor vessel head at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, will hold its first meeting with utility officials on Thursday, May 9, in Oak Harbor, Ohio. The meeting, open to the public, will be at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Oak Harbor Junior High School, 315 Church Street in Oak Harbor. The meeting will include time for public comments and questions. The Davis-Besse plant, operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, is located near Oak Harbor. It has been shut down since mid-February for refueling and maintenance. While repairing cracks in control rod tubes which penetrate the reactor vessel head, plant personnel discovered significant corrosion damage to the reactor vessel head. The purpose of the meeting is to introduce the panel members and to discuss the process to be followed by the panel in its review of the company's response to the corrosion damage and restart of the plant once the damage has been resolved. The oversight panel includes NRC management personnel and staff from the Region III office in Lisle, Illinois, the NRC Headquarters office in Rockville, Maryland, and the NRC Resident Inspector Office at the Davis-Besse site. The oversight activities will be conducted under the agency's Inspection Manual Chapter 0350, which establishes the procedures to be followed for the oversight of utility performance for plants that are shut down as a result of significant performance problems or events. Documents on the Davis-Besse corrosion issue are posted on the NRC's web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head- degradation.html [http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head -degradation.html] ***************************************************************** 9 Nuclear plants' security touted PalmBeachPost.com: By Deborah Circelli, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, May 3, 2002 NAPLES -- Lew Hay, chairman and chief executive officer of FPL Group Inc., urged nuclear power industry leaders Thursday to band together as vocal advocates to drown out fear of terrorism from anti-nuclear groups. Hay, who is also president of the Juno Beach-based company, told more than 300 nuclear experts from around the United States and abroad that nuclear opponents have stepped up efforts since Sept. 11 to scare the public about the vulnerability of nuclear plants. But Hay said the public needs to realize that nuclear power, which makes up 20 percent of the nation's energy supply, is safe and that security officers at the plants are highly trained. He also said security had been "rigorous" even before the attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and is even stronger today. However, he said, these efforts threaten to go unnoticed because of the anti-nuclear groups who have moved beyond voicing concern about potential radiation leaks from nuclear plants. Now, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the groups believe the plants are prime targets for terrorist attacks and support a congressional bill federalizing nuclear security officers as has been done with airports. FPL opposes the bill, saying that responsibility is better managed by the energy companies. "We need to redouble our efforts in communicating to people how safe, reliable, clean and economical nuclear power is," Hay warned a the meeting of the Nuclear Energy Assembly here at the Ritz Carlton at Tiburon. "We must be partners. We are all in this together." Hay, who on Thursday opened the annual two-day meeting sponsored by the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute, pointed to the rise in global terror and ongoing violence in the Middle East as evidence that nuclear power is more important than ever. Art Stall, FPL's chief nuclear officer, said the industry is eager for the federal government and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to finalize security changes that companies will need to make. FPL and others have until Aug. 31 to make interim changes, but Stall said that's just the beginning. "We want to have some finality so we'll know what we need to do and we can get on with it," Stall said before the conference. Hay said FPL's recent announcement to buy majority interest in the Seabrook Station nuclear plant in Seabrook, N.H., is an example of the big utility's commitment to nuclear energy. Today the conference will hear from NRC Chairman Richard Meserve, whose agency oversees the nation's 103 nuclear reactors. The session will also focus on urging congressional leaders to approve Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a permanent storage facility for the nation's used nuclear fuel. The fuel is now stored on-site at nuclear plants, including the FPL plant in St. Lucie County and at Turkey Point near Homestead. [deborah_circelli@pbpost.com] ***************************************************************** 10 Big Visions for Security Post Shrink Amid Political Drama May 3, 2002 By ELIZABETH BECKER Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Tom Ridge, the domestic security director, yesterday in his office with a top aide, Ashley Davis. Mr. Ridge's duties have still not crystallized. WASHINGTON, May 2 — He was the "true patriot, a trusted friend" chosen by President Bush nine days after Sept. 11 to create a grand strategy for deterring terrorist attacks. But instead of becoming the pre-eminent leader of domestic security, Tom Ridge has become a White House adviser with a shrinking mandate, forbidden by the president to testify before Congress to explain his strategy, overruled in White House councils and overshadowed by powerful cabinet members reluctant to cede their turf or their share of the limelight. When the Pentagon moved to suspend air patrols over New York, Mr. Ridge was not consulted. "We don't tell the Office of Homeland Security about recommendations, only about decisions," said Peter F. Verga, special assistant to the secretary of defense for domestic security. When the administration received warnings last month of a possible terrorist threat against banks, it was Attorney General John Ashcroft who made the announcement. Since the moment Mr. Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania, arrived in the capital, he has been the focus of an increasingly bitter battle between the White House and Congress over the shape and scope of the new Office of Homeland Security. That battle was on display today in three dramas on Capitol Hill. Republicans and Democrats from the House and the Senate introduced legislation to create a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, saying seven months of experience had convinced them that as a presidential adviser Mr. Ridge lacked the authority he needed to be effective. Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, opened a hearing to which he had summoned four cabinet officials with a complaint that Mr. Ridge, "the single figure with the responsibility to protect the lives and property of the American people from attack," refused to testify, forcing Mr. Byrd to obtain his information piecemeal. The administration's position is that as an adviser Mr. Ridge has no obligation to testify before Congress. In an appearance in the Capitol's richly paneled Mansfield Room, Mr. Ridge tried to defuse the criticism by speaking in public to senators for the first time, answering questions about border security. He quickly found himself accused of holding an elaborate news conference. It is not just Congress that has caused problems for Mr. Ridge. At times, he has been undercut by others in the executive branch. When Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham asked for $379.7 million to improve security for nuclear weapons and waste, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., cut the request 93 percent. It was Mr. Ridge, however, who made himself the butt of late-night television jokes in March, when he announced a system of color-coded rankings for terrorist threats. "This is a tough town, and once you don't succeed it's even harder to regain your footing," said Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat who is a sponsor of the bill to expand the power of the office. "We have to give Tom Ridge a real job. Never has a person been given so much responsibility with so little authority." Mr. Ridge said that he would accept more authority but that he was not sure that the power would solve all the problems. His job for now, he said in an hourlong conversation in his compact quarters down the hall from the Oval Office, is to be an "enabler" for federal, state and local officials and to convince Congress that this is the best approach. "We're not Pac-Man trying to gobble up power, money and responsibility," he said. That attitude is one reason members of Congress, as well as governors, mayors, firefighters and academics, have not attacked Mr. Ridge personally. On the contrary, critics, as well as supporters, praise Mr. Ridge for having the right ideas, an open mind and a confident manner. "Everybody thinks the world of Tom Ridge," Gov. Gary Locke of Washington, a Democrat, said. "When problems have arisen, he jumps on them." But Mr. Locke complained about inadequate strategies to improve border security and added: "The administration has failed to think outside the box. In terms of everything else, it has been frustrating." Mr. Ridge said such backhanded compliments were off the mark, as were the growing complaints in Congress. "We've achieved quite a bit in the first six months," Mr. Ridge said, citing the $38 billion budget that he put together in six weeks as chief among the accomplishments. "It is unprecedented in terms of federal involvement at the local level. In that sense, the budget document is the best synopsis of homeland security." In addition to the budget, Mr. Ridge assembled a 105-member staff and is stitching together a network of firefighters, police officers, state officials and health officers in what would be the first truly national domestic defense system. The farther from Washington, the higher the opinion of Mr. Ridge. State and local officials say he has ensured that their voices are heard here and that the federal bureaucrats respond to their concerns. Perhaps that is what he had in mind when he was asked whether he had a role model. "Maybe Copernicus," he said, referring to the 16th-century astronomer-physician who argued — against contemporaneous wisdom — that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe. Mr. Ridge said he had a similar problem trying to convince Washington that small towns and communities — not federal agencies — were at the center of domestic security. "If the hometown is secure, then the homeland is secure," he said, repeating a favorite aphorism. Mr. Ridge reviewed what he said would be the foundation of a strategic plan that his office would complete by July 1. He will build up the public health system, finance programs to fight bioterrorism, improve border security and give new technology and training to the police, fire and other officials at the front lines of trying to protect the public. The plan, he said, has to streamline communications among thousands of agencies, departments and offices across the country to coordinate resources and intelligence. It has to impose safety standards and detail how to protect vital private installations like banks and skyscrapers. As the executive branch officer who has worked most closely with him, Mr. Daniels, the budget director, has observed him firsthand. "He is a seasoned executive," Mr. Daniels said. "It came naturally to him, even under the time pressure, to try to craft a strategy to define major goals and then move to dollars and the budget. In this town, it's normally the other way around." A report this week by the Brookings Institution, a liberal Washington research group, praised Mr. Ridge for specific steps he had taken. But in what the authors called "a friendly but firm critique," they said he had focused too much on air safety without recognizing other vulnerabilities; that he had not given enough help to the Coast Guard, Customs Service or Border Patrol; and that plans to secure private buildings and other sites were too scattershot. "This is one of the hardest jobs in government in decades, and while capable I'm beginning to worry that Tom Ridge may not have enough experience with difficult national security issues," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert who was an author of the report. Being underestimated has been the hallmark of Mr. Ridge's career, said Stuart Stevens, a Republican consultant who worked for him in his successful 1992 campaign for governor. "He was a super long shot then and he won easily," Mr. Stevens said. "He may not play well with the Washington intelligentsia. But when he walks into a Lions Club in Sioux Falls or a union hall in Oakland, they stand up and applaud." Republican strategists no longer mention Mr. Ridge as a possible replacement for Vice President Dick Cheney in 2004, should he choose not to run again. They say Mr. Ridge is developing a national profile and the skeleton of a national organization through his local and state contacts that would help him in a race for president or vice president. "Initially, it was tough sledding for him, and I think there is a potential this could hurt him," another Republican strategist, Bill Dal Col, said. "But now he is getting experience putting a national organization together, ingratiating himself with the locals. And his political skills are impeccable." In the showdown with Congress, Mr. Ridge has little room to exercise those skills. Even at the briefing today, he had to defend a weakened version of his recommendation for radically stronger border control. The president overruled him in March in favor of a smaller border control agency in the Justice Department. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company | Privacy Information ***************************************************************** 11 Taiwan premier says he "fully understands" aboriginal opposition to nuclear waste BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 3, 2002 Taipei, 3 May: Premier Yu Shyi-kun said Friday [3 May] he fully understands aboriginal Thao [or Tawu] tribesmen's feelings about the continuing storage of nuclear waste in their homeland - Orchid Island, which is located some 44 km off Taiwan's southeastern coast. Fielding questions at a Legislative Yuan plenary session, Yu said the government will do its utmost to move the 97,000 barrels of low-radiation waste from Taiwan's three nuclear power plants out of Orchid Island eventually. Yu said he has apologized for the government's failure to resolve the thorny issue over the past years. "Although it's no easy task to find a suitable alternative dump site, we'll try our best to settle the issue anyway." Hundreds of Thao tribesmen have been staging a sit-in at state-owned Taiwan Power (Taipower) Co.'s current nuclear dump since Wednesday in an effort to push the government to outline a definite timetable for removal of the nuclear waste out of their homeland. Yu said Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu will travel to Orchid Island Saturday to hold face-to-face talks with Thao tribesmen about the nuclear waste issue. "And I myself will also travel to the offshore scenic island later to meet with Thao people," Yu told lawmakers. Asked about the possibility of shipping Taipower's nuclear waste to mainland China for permanent disposal, Yu said the government will not oppose any possible option for settling the issue. A local newspaper reported Thursday that a Taiwan-based technology consulting organization has signed a pact with a mainland Chinese research institution on shipping Taipower's nuclear waste to the mainland for disposal. Responding to the report, Yu said the government must look into details of the reported accord before making any comments. In the past, many private individuals and organizations have negotiated with mainland China over the issue. But none of them have so far achieved concrete results. Taipower has been dumping nuclear waste on Orchid Island since 1982. As its storage contract with the "Orchid Island Land Reclamation Committee" will expire at the end of this year, Taipower has been endeavouring to seek an alternative dump either at home or abroad in recent years. Such efforts have been futile, however, due to a combination of complicated factors. In the face of the looming deadline, Taipower is now seeking to extend its contract with the Orchid Island committee for another nine years. The negotiations are still going on. Source: Central News Agency web site, Taipei, in English 1156 gmt 3 May 02 /© BBC Monitoring ***************************************************************** 12 Official confirms nuclear-waste deal The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03Friday, May 3rd, 2002 UNWELCOME CARGO: Taipower's chairman says China had long ago agreed to store nuclear waste for Taiwan, but the plan had been unworkable because of political strife By Lin Miao-Jung STAFF REPORTER Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, ¥x¹q) Chairman Lin Wen-yuan (ªL¤å²W) said yesterday that Taipower had signed an agreement with China several years ago, under which China was to store nuclear waste for Taiwan, but that the plan had proven to be unworkable because of cross-strait political problems. Lin was speaking in response to a Chinese-language newspaper report that a Taiwanese consulting company had recently signed an agreement with China's Ministry of Nuclear Industry (¤¤°ê®Ö¤u·~³¡) to allow China to store nuclear waste for Taiwan A Chinese-language newspaper report published yesterday stated that China signed an agreement with Taiwan Technical Consultants Inc (¥xÆW§Þ³NªA°ÈªÀ) at the end of April for the removal of Tai-wanese nuclear waste to a storage site in China's Guangdong Province. The report also stated that, as long as the Taiwanese government and Taipower agreed, the nuclear waste currently stored on Taiwan's outlying Orchid Island could be removed to China within 45 days of the agreement's enactment. Lin, however, said that although Taipower had signed a similar agreement with China, cross-strait cooperation on the transportation of radioactive waste to China involved "sensitive and complicated" problems, regarding which there had been no major breakthrough in recent years. "I doubt whether a private organization could make such a breakthrough," he said. In addition, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (³¯©ú³q) said yesterday that the MAC has not evaluated the possibility of moving the waste to China, saying that yesterday's news report was all he knew of the matter. "We can't make policy based simply on a newspaper report." "We will try to understand the situation," he added. "If necessary, we will hold a cross-ministry meeting to evaluate whether it is feasible to transport the waste to China." Chen made the statement in the Legislative Yuan while answering questions from KMT lawmaker Kwan Yuk-noan (Ãö¨U·x). Kwan asked whether the government had contacted Chinese officials on the matter. Chen responded that he was "not sure." "We can't give a concrete response since we don't have further information," Chen said. "Since the DPP government took office, we have had no requests from other ministries to evaluate the possibility of sending nuclear waste to China." The nuclear waste issue has been very prominent recently, particularly because of protests by residents of Orchid Island, especially members of the Aboriginal Yami tribe. President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) and Taipower have promised to remove the waste from the island by the end of this year, but the company has said that it will be very difficult to meet the deadline. The company still has to find an alternative repository to the one in Orchid Island. Sending the waste to other countries is one solution that the company has mooted. This story has been viewed 361 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134366] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 Taiwan: Lin cajoled into a visit to Orchid Island dump site The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03Friday, May 3rd, 2002 ENVIRONMENT: The minister of economic affairs was persuaded by Aboriginal lawmakers to go to the island in order to show that his concern over the radioactive waste there is genuine By Crystal Hsu STAFF REPORTER Bowing to pressure from Aboriginal lawmakers, Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (ªL¸q¤Ò) yesterday agreed to visit Orchid Island tomorrow to show his sincerity in wanting to deal with the nuclear waste dumped there. But local residents said they would not end the protest until they saw a concrete plan stating when and how the government would remove the radioactive waste. Seeking to put pressure on the authorities, Aboriginal legislators from across party lines called on Lin at noon, asking him to personally visit Orchid Island, where residents have been protesting since Wednesday to demand the removal of nuclear waste."The government must quit thinking it can treat Aborigines as second-class citizens." May Chin, independent legislator The island, with a population of 3,100, has received some 98,000 barrels of low-level radioactive waste produced by the three nuclear power plants and from medical, industrial and academic institutions. "The minister acquiesced to fly to the island Saturday, though he at first regarded such a trip as unnecessary," said independent legislator Walis Pelin (¥Ë¾ú´µ¨©ªL) after emerging from the closed-door meeting. He added that Lin, who took office in March, appeared at a loss over what to do about the radioactive waste. The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), under the ministry's supervision, promised in 1990 to relocate all the waste by the end of this year. But Premier Yu Shyi-kun has admitted publicly it will be impossible for his Cabinet to honor the pledge made by the then KMT administration. Taipower has sought unsuccessfully to find alternative repository sites at home and abroad since the promise was made. May Chin (°ªª÷¯À±ö), another independent legislator, had vowed to boycott the full meeting of the legislature today if the minister refused to meet with representatives of her tribe on the island. Scores of residents from the Yami tribe have been staging their protest in the scorching sun at the site where the nuclear waste has been deposited. "They may burn down the [nuclear waste] repository if the authorities continue to ignore their grievances," Chin said. "The government must quit thinking it can treat Aborigines as second-class citizens." The lawmakers demanded, among other things, the establishment of a task force to handle the relocation of radioactive waste from the island, where most of the residents earn their living from fishing. Lin promised to set up a panel, but didn't commit to a timetable. Pastor Steven Chang (±i®üÀ¬), who has helped organize the protest, said the islanders would contemplate more drastic measures if the government continued to deny them a safe living environment. Some residents claim that the government built the storage facilities under the disguise of a canning factory. But the Atomic Energy Council insists it never masked its intentions when building the site in the 1970s. This story has been viewed 273 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134353] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 Taiwan: Lawmakers warn against waste deal's hidden risks The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03Friday, May 3rd, 2002 By Lin Mei-chun STAFF REPORTER TSU lawmakers questioned the feasibility of the agreement signed between China and Taiwan to transport nuclear waste from Orchid Island to a disposal site in China's Guangdong province. The lawmakers called the proposal "unreliable and unfeasible" and cautioned the government to think twice before taking action so as to avoid becoming the victim of a scam. They added that, if the government doesn't handle the matter properly, Taiwan's international reputation may be harmed. Reports said yesterday that a contract was signed at the end of April between privately owned Taiwan Technical Consultants Inc (¥xÆW§Þ³NªA°ÈªÀ) and China's Ministry of Nuclear Industry. According to the contract, the Chinese ministry has promised to remove 98,000 barrels of low-grade nuclear waste -- each of which weighs 208kg, from Orchid Island and to dispose of it in Renhua County, Guangdong Province. The operation was estimated to take 45 days, and the fee to handle the material was set at US$18 per kilogram. The contract states that the deal is aimed at promoting cross-strait exchanges, and to foster friendship between the two sides. TSU lawmakers Huang Chung-yuan (¶À©v·½) and Chien Lin Whei-jun (¿úªL¼z§g) said that Taiwan may later become the target of protest actions by Chinese residents -- when they become more environmentally aware as their economy improves. Taiwan may then become the target of international scorn, they said. "As a developing country, China's biggest concern at this stage is money. They will do anything to make money to finance the nation's progress," said Chien Lin. "But in a few years their residents might say Taiwan lured China with money to turn Chinese soil into a dump for Taiwan's nuclear waste." If that happens, it will be an international fiasco and Taiwan's reputation will be hurt, she said. The lawmakers also questioned the motive of the proposal. They said that it is illogical for China to initiate the project as an ice-breaker for the frozen state of cross-strait relations. "It's hard not to think that China has some other intentions," Chien Lin said. It also needs to be clarified whether the Chinese signatories have the authority to make the decision for the Chinese government. According to the report, the Chinese side is represented by the chairman and general manager of "Institute No. 745" of the Chinese Ministry of Nuclear Industry. The TSU lawmakers cautioned that the Chinese government may later refuse to honor the agreement and use the excuse that the signatories were not qualified to make the decision -- or China could claim that the officials had colluded with businessmen to reach the agreement. "Taiwan may lose a lot of money, and China may ask us to take the nuclear waste back home. It would be a big loss for Taiwan if that happens," Chien Lin said. This story has been viewed 209 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134367] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Official confirms nuclear-waste deal The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03 Friday, May 3rd, 2002 UNWELCOME CARGO: Taipower's chairman says China had long ago agreed to store nuclear waste for Taiwan, but the plan had been unworkable because of political strife By Lin Miao-Jung STAFF REPORTER Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, ¥x¹q) Chairman Lin Wen-yuan (ªL¤å²W) said yesterday that Taipower had signed an agreement with China several years ago, under which China was to store nuclear waste for Taiwan, but that the plan had proven to be unworkable because of cross-strait political problems. Lin was speaking in response to a Chinese-language newspaper report that a Taiwanese consulting company had recently signed an agreement with China's Ministry of Nuclear Industry (¤¤°ê®Ö¤u·~³¡) to allow China to store nuclear waste for Taiwan A Chinese-language newspaper report published yesterday stated that China signed an agreement with Taiwan Technical Consultants Inc (¥xÆW§Þ³NªA°ÈªÀ) at the end of April for the removal of Tai-wanese nuclear waste to a storage site in China's Guangdong Province. The report also stated that, as long as the Taiwanese government and Taipower agreed, the nuclear waste currently stored on Taiwan's outlying Orchid Island could be removed to China within 45 days of the agreement's enactment. Lin, however, said that although Taipower had signed a similar agreement with China, cross-strait cooperation on the transportation of radioactive waste to China involved "sensitive and complicated" problems, regarding which there had been no major breakthrough in recent years. "I doubt whether a private organization could make such a breakthrough," he said. In addition, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (³¯©ú³q) said yesterday that the MAC has not evaluated the possibility of moving the waste to China, saying that yesterday's news report was all he knew of the matter. "We can't make policy based simply on a newspaper report." "We will try to understand the situation," he added. "If necessary, we will hold a cross-ministry meeting to evaluate whether it is feasible to transport the waste to China." Chen made the statement in the Legislative Yuan while answering questions from KMT lawmaker Kwan Yuk-noan (Ãö¨U·x). Kwan asked whether the government had contacted Chinese officials on the matter. Chen responded that he was "not sure." "We can't give a concrete response since we don't have further information," Chen said. "Since the DPP government took office, we have had no requests from other ministries to evaluate the possibility of sending nuclear waste to China." The nuclear waste issue has been very prominent recently, particularly because of protests by residents of Orchid Island, especially members of the Aboriginal Yami tribe. President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) and Taipower have promised to remove the waste from the island by the end of this year, but the company has said that it will be very difficult to meet the deadline. The company still has to find an alternative repository to the one in Orchid Island. Sending the waste to other countries is one solution that the company has mooted. This story has been viewed 360 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134366] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Taiwan: Lin cajoled into a visit to Orchid Island dump site The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03 Friday, May 3rd, 2002 ENVIRONMENT: The minister of economic affairs was persuaded by Aboriginal lawmakers to go to the island in order to show that his concern over the radioactive waste there is genuine By Crystal Hsu STAFF REPORTER Bowing to pressure from Aboriginal lawmakers, Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (ªL¸q¤Ò) yesterday agreed to visit Orchid Island tomorrow to show his sincerity in wanting to deal with the nuclear waste dumped there. But local residents said they would not end the protest until they saw a concrete plan stating when and how the government would remove the radioactive waste. Seeking to put pressure on the authorities, Aboriginal legislators from across party lines called on Lin at noon, asking him to personally visit Orchid Island, where residents have been protesting since Wednesday to demand the removal of nuclear waste. "The government must quit thinking it can treat Aborigines as second-class citizens." May Chin, independent legislator The island, with a population of 3,100, has received some 98,000 barrels of low-level radioactive waste produced by the three nuclear power plants and from medical, industrial and academic institutions. "The minister acquiesced to fly to the island Saturday, though he at first regarded such a trip as unnecessary," said independent legislator Walis Pelin (¥Ë¾ú´µ¨©ªL) after emerging from the closed-door meeting. He added that Lin, who took office in March, appeared at a loss over what to do about the radioactive waste. The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), under the ministry's supervision, promised in 1990 to relocate all the waste by the end of this year. But Premier Yu Shyi-kun has admitted publicly it will be impossible for his Cabinet to honor the pledge made by the then KMT administration. Taipower has sought unsuccessfully to find alternative repository sites at home and abroad since the promise was made. May Chin (°ªª÷¯À±ö), another independent legislator, had vowed to boycott the full meeting of the legislature today if the minister refused to meet with representatives of her tribe on the island. Scores of residents from the Yami tribe have been staging their protest in the scorching sun at the site where the nuclear waste has been deposited. "They may burn down the [nuclear waste] repository if the authorities continue to ignore their grievances," Chin said. "The government must quit thinking it can treat Aborigines as second-class citizens." The lawmakers demanded, among other things, the establishment of a task force to handle the relocation of radioactive waste from the island, where most of the residents earn their living from fishing. Lin promised to set up a panel, but didn't commit to a timetable. Pastor Steven Chang (±i®üÀ¬), who has helped organize the protest, said the islanders would contemplate more drastic measures if the government continued to deny them a safe living environment. Some residents claim that the government built the storage facilities under the disguise of a canning factory. But the Atomic Energy Council insists it never masked its intentions when building the site in the 1970s. This story has been viewed 272 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134353] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Taiwan: Lawmakers warn against waste deal's hidden risks The Taipei Times Online: 2002-05-03 Friday, May 3rd, 2002 By Lin Mei-chun STAFF REPORTER TSU lawmakers questioned the feasibility of the agreement signed between China and Taiwan to transport nuclear waste from Orchid Island to a disposal site in China's Guangdong province. The lawmakers called the proposal "unreliable and unfeasible" and cautioned the government to think twice before taking action so as to avoid becoming the victim of a scam. They added that, if the government doesn't handle the matter properly, Taiwan's international reputation may be harmed. Reports said yesterday that a contract was signed at the end of April between privately owned Taiwan Technical Consultants Inc (¥xÆW§Þ³NªA°ÈªÀ) and China's Ministry of Nuclear Industry. According to the contract, the Chinese ministry has promised to remove 98,000 barrels of low-grade nuclear waste -- each of which weighs 208kg, from Orchid Island and to dispose of it in Renhua County, Guangdong Province. The operation was estimated to take 45 days, and the fee to handle the material was set at US$18 per kilogram. The contract states that the deal is aimed at promoting cross-strait exchanges, and to foster friendship between the two sides. TSU lawmakers Huang Chung-yuan (¶À©v·½) and Chien Lin Whei-jun (¿úªL¼z§g) said that Taiwan may later become the target of protest actions by Chinese residents -- when they become more environmentally aware as their economy improves. Taiwan may then become the target of international scorn, they said. "As a developing country, China's biggest concern at this stage is money. They will do anything to make money to finance the nation's progress," said Chien Lin. "But in a few years their residents might say Taiwan lured China with money to turn Chinese soil into a dump for Taiwan's nuclear waste." If that happens, it will be an international fiasco and Taiwan's reputation will be hurt, she said. The lawmakers also questioned the motive of the proposal. They said that it is illogical for China to initiate the project as an ice-breaker for the frozen state of cross-strait relations. "It's hard not to think that China has some other intentions," Chien Lin said. It also needs to be clarified whether the Chinese signatories have the authority to make the decision for the Chinese government. According to the report, the Chinese side is represented by the chairman and general manager of "Institute No. 745" of the Chinese Ministry of Nuclear Industry. The TSU lawmakers cautioned that the Chinese government may later refuse to honor the agreement and use the excuse that the signatories were not qualified to make the decision -- or China could claim that the officials had colluded with businessmen to reach the agreement. "Taiwan may lose a lot of money, and China may ask us to take the nuclear waste back home. It would be a big loss for Taiwan if that happens," Chien Lin said. This story has been viewed 208 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/05/03/story/0000134367] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 County wants special consideration in Yucca Mountain issue - Friday, May 03, 2002 - Las Vegas View Neighborhood Newspapers By MARK WAITE VIEW STAFF WRITER Nye County Commissioners on passed a resolution April 16 on Yucca Mountain, asking that if Congress decides to ship nuclear waste there, it should give special consideration to the site county. The vote was 4-0, with Commissioner Dick Carver absent. The Nye County resolution outlines the contributions the county already made to the nation, in pressing its case. The resolution states Nye County is the location of the Nevada Test Site, where, for more than 40 years, the U.S. government conducted nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons tests that contaminated large tracts of land and groundwater. It notes, "Recent studies reveal that radiation released in 828 underground nuclear detonations is migrating in poorly understood regional groundwater systems." The county added that low-level nuclear waste already arrives by truck on two-lane roads traveling through four Nye County communities. The county states in 2001 there were 600 shipments containing 750,000 cubic-feet of waste. Nye County is also the location of Nellis Test and Training Range, a primary training range for the best fighter pilots and home of the Tonopah Test Range, where the military has developed new-technology combat aircraft. Both made major contributions to national defense. Federal agencies occupy 98 percent of Nye County's land base and contribute very little to the economic tax base, the resolution states. "It is clear that the Yucca Mountain Project, if implemented as proposed, will achieve the expected benefits for others by the transfer of the nation's highly radioactive wastes, along with all its attendant risks and uncertainties, from 80 sites in 35 states to a single community in Nevada -- Nye County," the resolution states. Nye County has a responsibility to protect local health, safety and welfare, the resolution states. It notes the studies Nye County conducted since 1985 on the geology and hydrology downgradient from Yucca Mountain to study the potential for contamination. "These independent investigations have identified uncertainties and contingencies -- in science, design and in implementing organization and funding -- that require continued independent inquiry and confirmation." Nye County outlines three points in its concluding remarks. "Now therefore, it hereby is resolved as follows: 1. Nye County has not sought to provide the site to which the federal government would transfer the nation's highly radioactive wastes for permanent disposal. 2. The nation and the various parties who stand to benefit have a special obligation to the single local jurisdiction to which they desire to transfer their unwanted radioactive wastes." A third point mentions an obligation of legislators to support the Nye County Community Protection Plan. The plan's main points include: empowering Nye County to conduct independent oversight of Yucca Mountain for 50 to 300 years of repository operations; locating the headquarters of federal activities to confirm the repository performance and possible research on reuse of the waste in Nye County; transporting the waste by rail with minimal risk to Nye County communities; and special federal actions to develop a viable economic and revenue base in the county, like at other DOE facilities. "Nye County Board of County Commissioners intends to vigorously communicate situs county perspectives, concerns, and aspirations to officials in federal and state government and to other parties who have an interest in the Yucca Mountain repository decision and to advocate its proposed protections in the event that the federal government decides to transfer the nation's highly radioactive wastes to Yucca Mountain," the resolution concludes. "Nye County opposes any program for repository implementation that does not fully and forthrightly address its situs county concerns and aspirations." Nye County Commission Chairman Jeff Taguchi said, "I find it adequately addresses the need for us to advocate our community protection plan before Congress." Commissioner Joni Eastley said she particularly liked the wording that federal activities should be headquartered in Nye County and suggested the radioactive waste not be called waste but "a potential resource." Commissioner Cameron McRae told DOE Institutional Affairs Specialist Bob Lupton to emphasize, in his presentations to others on Yucca Mountain, that it's located in the heart of Nye County, not 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "Transportation is the big decision looming on the horizon," Lupton told commissioners. The schedule to ship nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain by 2010 Lupton described as "very aggressive; it assumes no litigation would forestall that timeline." Taguchi asked Lupton if the DOE had plans to try to raise the 77,000-ton limit of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain set by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Lupton said there's indications from scientists there's room for more storage at Yucca Mountain or the DOE would have to find another location. Nye County Commissioners approved a $25,000 contract plus travel expenses with consultant Jim Williams to present the county's case to federal legislators. That amount will be paid out of the county's general fund. Williams is already under an $86,000 county contract funded by U.S. Department of Energy oversight money this year to plan mitigation actions for the impact of Yucca Mountain; help develop policies and implementation planning for the project; analyze and plan for transportation and emergency response issues; and other similar projects. Williams has been the author of numerous studies on the economic impacts of Yucca Mountain in Southern Nevada. In an annual report given to all 10 counties surrounding Yucca Mountain, DOE funding to Nye County for oversight has totaled $22.6 million since 1989, including $2.01 million this year. When combined with the other nine counties surrounding Yucca Mountain, DOE awarded $67 million in oversight money in the past 12 years. "I think citizens have benefitted greatly from these grant programs, like the early warning drilling program," McRae said. "We're doing everything to validate the safety concerns and any issues that may arise." In addition, Nye County collected $65.9 million in Payments Equal to Taxes (PET) since 1992, the lion's share of the $73.3 million total. The DOE also provided $82 million in funding to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Harry Reid Center, University of Nevada, Reno, Desert Research Institute and Community College System of Nevada. [http://www.lasvegas.com] ***************************************************************** 19 Berkley to speak on radio against Yucca Mountain Friday, May 03, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- House Democratic leaders have granted Rep. Shelley Berkley five minutes of airtime this weekend to outline opposition to the Yucca Mountain Project to a national radio audience. Berkley, D-Nev., was selected to deliver the Democrats' response to President Bush's weekly radio address. The party uses the time to promote its agenda. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate oppose plans to establish a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Berkley recorded a five-minute address Thursday to be aired Saturday in most parts of the country. It will be Berkley's second radio speech; she spoke about the economy Nov. 10. "I'm telling (the audience) that nuclear waste is bad," she said. "I urge people to contact their members of Congress and their senators, and tell them they don't want Yucca Mountain." The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would support President Bush's selection of Yucca Mountain for a repository by overriding a veto cast by Gov. Kenny Guinn on April 8. With Nevada leaders scrambling to raise money to spread a message that Yucca Mountain is unsuitable for waste storage and that accidents will result from shipping nuclear waste across country, Berkley said the free national airtime was welcomed. "I did not request this and I was not expecting it," she said. "I was invited to use that time." Both the president's address and that of the Democrats are distributed to major radio networks on Saturday mornings. About 13,000 stations can receive the feed, but because it is not a commercial product, no figures are kept on how many choose to air it or how many people listen in. For comment or questions, please email webmaster@lvrj.com ***************************************************************** 20 Yucca: Chu can't assuage anti-nuclear fears Friday, May 03, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Director of radioactive waste management concludes Yucca Mountain-related meetings By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL Margaret Chu, the nation's new director of civilian radioactive waste management, wrapped up her first official visit to Las Vegas on Thursday but wasn't able to convince anti-nuclear activists that a repository planned for Yucca Mountain will be safe. Judy Treichel, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, and Peggy Maze Johnson of the statewide environmental group Citizen Alert said they were unswayed in their opposition to putting the nation's spent nuclear fuel inside the mountain. Chu discussed the government's plan with them privately for about 45 minutes. Maze Johnson described Chu's pitch for the repository "like the tobacco industry saying there's nothing wrong with cigarettes." In essence, she said Chu claimed there should be nothing to worry about with the Yucca Mountain site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, because there's nothing wrong with nuclear waste. Chu, who was sworn in as the nation's civilian nuclear waste chief on March 20, spent two days meeting behind closed doors with Yucca Mountain Project staff members and representatives of local governments in addition to talks with Treichel and Maze Johnson. Chu did not address the local media. Treichel said she asked Chu for a bound copy of the project's final impact statement, one she has requested through the Freedom of Information Act, but was told by Department of Energy officials that her request would be processed in due time. "All I want is the actual four volumes, and they had it sitting right there," Treichel said. She said Chu talked about setting up a new science program aimed at answering questions that project scientists expect the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will ask in a license review. Treichel said she asked Chu, "Why go through with doing all these final tests if the answers don't matter, if you've already determined the site is fine?" Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 21 UK 'neglects' nuclear waste BBC News | SCI/TECH | 3 May, 2002, [Bradwell-on-Sea, Nuclear Power Station, PA] Waste will multiply by 50 times in next few decades An urgent safety review of nuclear waste disposal policy is needed, says the UK's premier independent scientific body. The Royal Society has delivered a damning indictment of successive governments and the nuclear industry, accusing them of neglecting the "serious and urgent" problem of disposal. We believe that today's problems are more serious than currently acknowledged Royal Society The problem is worse than previously thought and now so great it may cost £85bn to dispose of existing waste, according to the Royal Society. The institutions and processes set up to deal with nuclear waste disposal "do not command public confidence", it added. And the problem has worsened because research has been neglected. The society, Britain's national academy of sciences, makes the criticisms in a report on developing UK policy for managing radioactive waste. Waste multiplying Professor Geoffrey Boulton, who chaired the society's working group on radioactive waste, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme of his concerns. With the events of 11 September, 2001, in mind, we advocate an urgent safety review Royal Society He said there was already 10,000 tonnes of nuclear waste and this was set to multiply by 50 times in the next few decades as existing power stations were decommissioned. Not only does short term waste storage need to be improved but there is an urgent need for further research into storing problematic waste such as plutonium, he said. "One of the most difficult problems is the failure to recognise the need for public consent on policies related to toxic waste," he told the programme. He argued that institutions that had lost public confidence needed to be changed. "People are unsure about the relative safety of waste disposal." The society said recent events had made the need for a safety review all the more essential. "With the events of 11 September, 2001, in mind, we advocate an urgent safety review which should take into account the possibility of extreme terrorist intervention," it said. Secondary consideration The report is the society's submission to a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). [German waste, AFP] Nuclear waste is a topical issue across Europe It says: "The problem of disposal of existing radioactive waste is serious and urgent". The report said: "The industry seems to have regarded treatment of waste as of secondary importance, and to have focused its efforts on countering what it saw as unfounded hostile public opinion and on economic concerns. It continued: "We believe that today's problems are more serious than currently acknowledged." Even so, the report said: "The current waste management regime falls short of that which could be achieved through the use of currently available technologies". It recommended the creation of an independent waste management commission to foster public consultation and debate. Replace agencies It wants a separate executive body to implement policy. And it warned that there could be a human cost to this neglect. "The present hazard is real and the risk only maintained at acceptably low levels by very active management systems. "These are costly and inevitably bring some risk of worker exposure." It says the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) and Nirex, the nuclear waste management agency should be replaced. Chris Murray, managing director of UK Nirex, accepted the report was an indictment of his company's past actions and of the system. "However over the past four years we have tried to learn these lessons," he said. He agreed that the long term consequences of the waste had to be considered and that Nirex had to operate independently from the industry. ***************************************************************** 22 Editorial: Another revelation of nuke waste follies Las Vegas SUN May 03, 2002 Supporters of a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain always scoff at concerns that transporting the deadly cargo would be a dangerous undertaking, one vulnerable to accidents or terrorist attacks. Well, Yucca Mountain supporters should take off their rose-colored glasses and take a look at a scary moment that occurred March 6: Two men who escaped from a North Carolina prison labor camp boarded a train carrying high-level nuclear waste. The men, who jumped off the train after a security guard pointed a gun at them, ultimately were apprehended. But if these men had been armed terrorists and had overwhelmed the security detail, there's no telling what they could have done. For the most part, Sept. 11 caused a dramatic shift in how we defend ourselves against terrorist attacks, which is why it is so outrageous that the federal government won't recognize that transporting nuclear waste would be an open invitation to terrorists. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 23 Scientists urge new approach to nuclear waste Financial Times; May 3, 2002 By CLIVE COOKSON The "serious and urgent" problem of radioactive waste storage and disposal requires an entirely new approach from the government, the Royal Society says today. A report by the society, Britain's senior scientific academy, accuses the government of failing to recognise the urgency of the issue. It says the five-year consultation period - launched by ministers last September to find the best way of managing the huge legacy of radioactive waste left by 50 years of nuclear power and weapons production - is too leisurely. The society wants the government to set up an independent Nuclear Waste Management Commission to lead public debate and provide technical advice and research to government. It would have a more broadly based membership than the existing Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, which it would replace, and would be less dominated by "experts". A new executive body should implement policy in place of Nirex, it says. "The institutional framework does not presently command public confidence and needs radical change before processes of public consultation are undertaken," the report says. "Without this, the deep public mistrust that has undermined processes of rational policy formation is likely to recur." Britain has more than 10,000 tonnes of dangerously radioactive waste - mainly stored at Sellafield in Cumbria with some at Dounreay on the north coast of Scotland - and future operations and decommissioning of nuclear plants will add another 500,000 tonnes, even if no new reactors are built. Geoffrey Boulton of Edinburgh University, who chairs the society's working group on radioactive waste, said nuclear waste storage in Britain over the past 50 years had caused no significant damage to the environment or human health - but that was no reason for complacency. "It could be that we are living on the edge of a volcano," he said. But Prof Boulton said decisions on building new nuclear plants - designed to generate far less waste than their predecessors - "need not necessarily be delayed until acceptable ways have been found for long-term management of existing waste". The Royal Society also calls for more research into waste treatment. Copyright: The Financial Times Limited 1995-2002 ***************************************************************** 24 BNFL on its way to completing cleanup project Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:52 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2002 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff One Department of Energy cleanup contractor is halfway complete with its job while it's still unknown how much longer another one will be doing its work. Joe Davis, a spokesman for DOE headquarters, said Thursday that the federal agency is taking a "hard look" at all aspects of its cleanup program, including Bechtel Jacobs Co.'s contract. "Everything's on the table," Davis said. DOE initially awarded Bechtel Jacobs a five-and-a-half-year, $2.5 billion contract in December 1997 to oversee cleanup activities in Oak Ridge, Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Ky. This March, Bechtel Jacobs was awarded an $18 million paycheck for its work last fiscal year. DOE earlier this year released a comprehensive review of the program that labeled Oak Ridge's cleanup efforts as "mediocre." Oak Ridge has focused on the "easy work," not on higher-risk activities, according to the review, which essentially spawned the accelerated cleanup program. Chuck Jenkins, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, said Thursday afternoon that the company has received no word on whether its contract would be extended. Davis said a decision is usually announced about 18 months before a contract ends. That's roughly the amount of time Bechtel Jacobs has left on its contract. In the meantime, DOE's Oak Ridge field office boasted about the success of one of its contractors this week with the announcement that BNFL Inc. is well on its way toward completing one of the world's largest environmental cleanup projects. BNFL signed a six-year contract with DOE in August 1997 to decontaminate and decommission three large processing buildings at the Oak Ridge K-25 site, which was formerly used to separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 through a gaseous diffusion process. The three buildings are K-33, which totals 2.8 million square feet; K-29, 586,880 square feet; and K-31, 1.4 million square feet. According to DOE, cleanup and removal of process equipment and millions of pounds of metals have been completed in the K-33 building. With this achievement, the three-building cleanup project is about 61 percent complete. At the peak of its material removal work in K-33, BNFL and its 900 workers were clearing out 6,000 square feet of space a day and 2 million pounds of material a week. This is equivalent to an eight-story steel structure that is one city-block square. To date, 72,000 tons of material have been cleared from the site. To handle all the giant pieces of materials coming out of the building, BNFL brought in a one-of-a-kind supercompactor that is powered by 2,200 tons of hydraulic force. The supercompactor processes up to 58 tons of metal per hour. It can take items that are up to 26 feet long, 14 feet wide and 6 feet high and compact them into material that is less than 10 inches thick in any one dimension, dramatically reducing the volume of scrap metals and other wastes. In a statement to the press, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said BNFL's three-building cleanup project is "truly a reindustrialization success story in the making." K-25 is part of DOE's reindustrialization program, which allows the federal agency to lease underutilized assets, ready-to-use industrial and manufacturing space, and reusable equipment to private businesses. "The K-33 workers should be commended for their hard work," said Wamp. "I have seen firsthand the progress being made on this massive cleanup project -- the largest in the country. Once this work is complete, the city of Oak Ridge and the East Tennessee region will have a unique anchor facility that will attract industries from all over the nation." Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or pparson@oakridger.com [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 25 Workforce agency also needs to know if USEC plans layoffs The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Friday, May 03, 2002 No firm plans of cuts in Paducah have been revealed, but companies are required to give 60 days' notice. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 State employment officials are watchful of persistent rumors that USEC Inc. is considering laying off hundreds more workers at the Paducah uranium enrichment plant. Although USEC says there are no firm plans for cuts, the rumors languish as the company continues to look at ways to reduce costs. Layoff talk increased after the company reported last week that profits dropped by nearly $62 million during the past nine months. "We don't have any official notification of anything," said Sheila Clark, director of the Hopkinsville-based West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board. "We've been hearing for months there might be some changes at USEC, but we're not on any greater alert of that today than we were two months ago." Companies are required to give state and federal employment agencies 60 days' notice of planned permanent layoffs. There was no notification of periodic layoffs during the 18 months before the closure of VMV Enterprises locomotive shop last month because those cuts "were thought to be temporary," Clark said. The board receives state funding to oversee employment and training activities under the Workforce Investment Act. It has distributed $1.5 million to help more than 2,000 people who lost jobs because of closings at Mattel, Ingersoll-Rand and other plants in western Kentucky, and is seeking funding to help former VMV workers. "We're putting final figures together for VMV," Clark said. "If there are USEC job cuts being contemplated, it would be very critical for us to know that information now so that I can ask for more dollars." Clark said she could not confirm that 300 to 400 USEC job cuts are contemplated for July. If that were decided, it would be vital to know immediately because the state budget starts July 1, she said. USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said the rumors are an outgrowth of company efforts to improve its bottom line. "As we have said for months, we continue to look for ways to increase efficiency, but we have no concrete plans (for job cuts) on the table right now." Leon Owens, president of the plant's energy workers' union, said in March that USEC was planning more job cuts in a couple of months. Asked Thursday about the rumored July cuts, he said, "I have not been notified of anything remotely like that." Others familiar with the USEC situation speculate the cuts could be less than rumored and involve many incentive-based early retirements. Many of the several hundred workers laid off from USEC in the past several years have found work as consultants or employees of plant environmental cleanup firms. Clark said there are some projections that another 800 to 900 people will be needed for Paducah plant environmental work during the next few years, even though the Department of Energy is scrutinizing cleanup budgets at plants nationwide. "We're interested in that for the long-term projections of what our needs would be for training dollars," she said. "We've been discussing it with Department of Labor representatives in Washington, trying to determine the impact on our technical and community college system down the road. You don't have the kind of money to train 800 people just lying around." ***************************************************************** 26 Developing UK policy for the management of radioactive waste The Royal Society - Science Policy - Reports and Statements May 2002 Ref: 12/02 PDF File The problem of disposal of existing radioactive waste is serious and urgent. It needs to be resolved regardless of whether a new generation of nuclear power stations produces fresh volumes of waste. The DEFRA consultation document appears to assume that the principal problems of radioactive waste management concern public presentation and acceptance, and the formulation of long-term policies for ultimate storage and disposal. But, meanwhile, the management of wastes while they are awaiting disposal needs to be improved by adopting currently available waste management technologies and addressing uncertainties about appropriate solutions for some problematic existing waste streams. We also need new research into waste treatment, leading to new techniques that will ensure that existing and new wastes from both civil and military nuclear activities are conditioned to forms that are passively safe and robustly stored. Unfortunately, the relevant scientific and technological research base has been seriously diminished, and needs urgently to be reinvigorated to address these pressing issues. Whilst a public debate about radioactive waste management is important, public confidence will not be restored unless there is confidence in the institutions that manage consultation and debate and develop policy. ***************************************************************** 27 Berkley Statement on Nuke Waste Shipment Security Breach Congresswoman Shelley Berkley - Legislation: Press Releases 2001 (Washington, D.C.) U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley offered the following statement on hearing reports of a nuclear waste shipment security breach. Reports of the breach detail how escaped convicts illegally boarded a train carrying spent nuclear fuel. "If prisoners on the run can hop on board a nuclear train, how can anyone possibly suggest that these trains would be defensible from committed terrorists. This event proves that we can't protect these shipments of nuclear waste. They cannot be defended and they pose a tremendous security risk to the entire country. If we are serious about the health and safety of the American people, we need to immobilize the waste immediately and construct reinforced storage facilities near the reactor sites themselves. By storing the waste on-site, we minimize security risks posed by the transportation of nuclear waste." ***************************************************************** 28 U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board - Reports NWTRB Reports Updated April 26, 2002 Note: The list provided below is in reverse chronological order listing the most recent reports first. These files are provided in PDF format for reading by Adobe Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded free from Adobe [http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html] File sizes are provided.. --- [ height=12 src=] Report to the Secretary of Energy and the Congress. April 2002 This report summarizes the Board's major activities between February 1, 2001, and January 31, 2002. During this period, the Board focused on evaluating the technical basis of the DOE's work related to a site recommendation, including the DOE's characterization of the Yucca Mountain site, the DOE's design of the repository and waste package, and the DOE's estimates of how a repository system developed at the site might perform. The report includes a description of activities undertaken by the Board in developing its assessment of the technical basis for the DOE's current performance estimates. Available as: Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Report (388K) Appendicies A thru D (200K) Appendix E (1.8M) Appendix F (764K) Appendicies G thru J (372K) --- Letter report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy January 24, 2002 Letter report summarizing the Board's evaluation of the DOE's technical and scientific investigation of the Yucca Mountain site. Available as: Letter report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy (135K) --- Report to the Secretary of Energy and the Congress. April 2001 In this report, the Board summarizes its major activities in calendar year 2000. During 2000, the Board identified four priority areas for evaluating the potential repository at Yucca Mountain. The areas are the following: + meaningful quantification of conservatisms and uncertainties in the DOE's performance assessments + progress in understanding the underlying fundamental processes involved in predicting the rate of waste package corrosion + an evaluation and a comparison of the base-case repository design with a low-temperature design + development of multiple lines of evidence to support the safety case of the proposed repository, the lines of evidence being derived independently of performance assessment and thus not being subject to the limitations of performance assessment. The report summarizes the Board's views on each priority area. A more detailed discussion of the priorities can be found in letters to the DOE included among the appendices to the report. Available as: Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Report (201K) Appendicies A thru D (58K) Appendicies E thru F (6M) Appendicies G thru J (92K) --- Report by letter to the Secretary of Energy and the Congress. December 2000 This report, in the form of a letter, presents a brief update of the Board's views on the status of the DOE program. Available as: 2000 Letter Report - PDF Format --- Report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy. April 2000. In this report, the Board summarizes its major activities in calendar year 1999. Among the activities discussed in the report is the Board’s 1999 review of the DOE’s viability assessment (VA) of the Yucca Mountain site. The Board’s evaluation of the VA concludes that Yucca Mountain continues to warrant study as the candidate site for a permanent geologic repository and that work should proceed to support a decision on whether to recommend the site for repository development. The Board suggests that the 2001 date for a decision is very ambitious, and focused study should continue on natural and engineered barriers. The Board states that a credible technical basis does not currently exist for the above-boiling repository design included in the VA. The Board recommends evaluation of alternative repository designs, including lower-temperature designs, as a potential way to help reduce the significance of uncertainties related to predictions of repository performance. Available as: Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Introduction, and Executive Summary (640K) Report (1.5M) Appendicies (138K) Appendix H - NWTRB/OCRWM correspondence (6.8M) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy. April 1999. In this report, the Board summarizes its major activities during calendar year 1998. The report discusses the research needs identified in the DOE’s recently issued Viability Assessment of the Yucca Mountain site, including plans to gather information on the amount of water that will eventually seep into repository drifts, whether formations under the repository will retard the migration of radionuclides, the flow-and-transport properties of the groundwater that lies approximately 200 meters beneath the repository horizon, and long-term corrosion rates of materials that may be used for the waste packages. The report describes other activities undertaken by the Board in 1998, including a review of the hypothesis that there were hydrothermal upwellings at Yucca Mountain, a workshop held to increase understanding of the range of expert opinion on waste package materials, and a review of the DOE’s draft environmental impact statement for the Yucca Mountain site. Available as: Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Introduction, and Executive Summary (127K) Chapter 1 - Board Oversight of DOE's Activities at Yucca Mountain (1.5M) Chapter 2 - Other Board Activities (89K) Appendicies (107K) Appendix F - NWTRB/OCRWM correspondence (2.4M) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy: Moving Beyond the Viability Assessment. April 1999. In its report, the Board offers its views on the DOE’s December 1998 Viability-Assessment of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada. The Yucca Mountain site is being characterized to determine its suitability as the location of a permanent repository for disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The Board discusses the need to address key uncertainties that remain about the site, including the performance of the engineered and natural barriers. The Board addresses the DOE’s plans for reducing those uncertainties and suggests that consideration be given to alternative repository designs, including ventilated low-temperature designs that have the potential to reduce uncertainties and simplify the analytical bases for determining site suitably and for licensing. The Board also comments on the DOE’s total system performance assessment, the analytical tool that pulls together information on the performance of the repository system. Available as: Moving Beyond the Viability Assessment (36K) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and The Secretary of Energy. November 1998. In its report, the Board offers its views on the direction of future scientific and technical research under way and planned by the DOE as part of its program for characterizing a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a potential repository for spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The Board discusses some of the remaining key scientific and technical uncertainties related to performance of a potential repository. The Board’s report addresses some of these uncertainties by examining information about the proposed repository system presented to it in meetings and other technical exchanges. The Board considers and comments on some of the important connections between the site’s natural properties and the current designs for the waste package and other engineered features of the repository. Available as: Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Executive Summary (104K) Chapter 1 Overview (329K) Chapter 2 Unsaturated Zone (101K) Chapter 3 Engineered Barrier Systems (68K) Chapter 4 Saturated Zone (176K) Abbreviations and References (39K) --- Board Completes Review of Material on Hydrothermal Activity. July 24, 1998. This series of documents concerns the Board’s review of material related to Mr. Jerry Szymanski’s hypothesis of ongoing, intermittent hydrothermal activity at Yucca Mountain and large earthquake-induced changes in the water table there. The series includes a cover letter, the Board’s review, and the reports of the four consultants the Board contracted with to assist in the review. Available as: Cover Letter and Board Review (15 pages) - PDF format (42K) Consultants' Reports (46 pages) - PDF format (5.2Mb) --- 1997 Findings and Recommendations. April 1998. This report details the Board’s activities in 1997 and covers, among other things, the DOE’s viability assessment, due later this year; underground exploration of the candidate repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; thermal testing underway at the site; what happens when radioactive waste reaches the water table beneath Yucca Mountain; transportation of spent fuel; and the use of expert judgment. The Board makes four recommendations in the report concerning (1) the need for the DOE to begin now to develop alternative design concepts for a repository, (2) the need for the DOE to include estimates of the likely variation in doses for alternative candidate critical groups in its interim performance measure for Yucca Mountain, (3) the need for the DOE to evaluate whether site-specific biosphere data is needed for license application, and (4) the need for the DOE to make full and effective use of formally elicited expert judgment. Available as: 1997 Findings and Recommendations - PDF format (543K) 1997 Findings and Recommendations - Appendix- PDF format (247K) --- Report by letter to the Secretary of Energy and the Congress. December 23, 1997. This report, in the form of a letter, addresses several key issues, including the DOE’s viability assessment of the Yucca Mountain site, design of the potential repository and waste package, the total system performance assessment, and the enhanced characterization of the repository block (east-west crossing). Available as: 1997 Report by letter - PDF format (14K) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and The Secretary of Energy: 1996 Findings and Recommendations. March 1997. This report summarizes Board activities during 1996. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Department of Energy’s high-level nuclear waste management program from the Board’s perspective, including the viability assessment, program status, and progress in exploration and testing. The chapter ends with conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 2 examines the three technical issues-hydrology, radionuclide transport, and performance assessment-and provides conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 3 deals with design , including the concept for underground operations, repository layout and design alternatives, construction planning, thermal loading, and engineered barriers. The Board also makes conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 4 provides an overview of recent Board activities, including the international exchange of information, the Board’s visit to the River Mountains tunnel, and a presentation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Appendices include information on Board members, the organization of the Board’s panels, meetings held in 1996 and scheduled for 1997, the DOE’s responses to previous Board recommendations, a list of Board publications, references for the report, and a glossary of technical terms. Available as: 1996 Summary Report - PDF format (777K) --- Nuclear Waste Management in the United States - The Board's Perspective. June 1996. This publication was developed from remarks made by Dr. John Cantlon, Chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, at Topseal ’96, an international conference on nuclear waste management and disposal. The meeting was sponsored by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) and the European Nuclear Society. The publication highlights the Board’s views on the status of the U.S. program for management and disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and provides a brief overview of the program’s organization. It summarizes the DOE’s efforts to characterize the Yucca Mountain site and to develop a waste isolation strategy for the site. The publication also outlines legislative and regulatory changes under consideration at that time and the Board’s views on the technical implications of those possible changes. Available as: Nuclear Waste Management - PDF format (40K) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy: 1995 Findings and Recommendations. April 1996. This report summarizes Board activities during 1995. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the DOE's high-level waste management program, including highlights, current status, legislative issues, milestones, and recommendations. Chapter 2 reports on Board Panel activities and Chapter 3 provides information on new Board members, meetings attended, interactions with Congress and congressional staff, Board presentations to other organizations, interactions with foreign programs, and a review of the Board’s report on interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. Appendices include Board testimony and statements before Congress, Board correspondence of note, and the Department of Energy’s responses to recommendations in previous Board reports. Available as: 1995 Summary Report - PDF format (587K) 1995 Summary Report Appendix - PDF format (1MB) --- Disposal and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel - Finding the Right Balance. March 1996. This special report caps more than two years of study and analysis by the Board into the issues surrounding the need for interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel and the advisability and timing of the development of a federal centralized storage facility. The Board concludes in the report that the DOE’s efforts should remain focused on permanent geologic disposal and the site investigations at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; that planning for a federal centralized spent fuel storage facility and the required transportation infrastructure be begun now, but actual construction delayed until after a site-suitability decision is made about the Yucca Mountain site; that storage should be developed incrementally; that limited, emergency backup storage capacity be authorized at an existing nuclear facility; and that, if the Yucca Mountain site proves unacceptable for repository development, other potential sites for both centralized storage and disposal be considered. Available as: Disposal and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel - PDF format (217K) --- Report by letter to the Secretary of Energy and the Congress. December 13, 1995. This report, in the form of a letter, addresses the DOE’s progress in underground exploration with the tunnel boring machine, advances in the development of a waste isolation strategy, new work on engineered barriers, and progress being made in performance assessment. Available as: 1995 Report by letter - PDF format (16K) --- Report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy: 1994 Findings and Recommendations. March 1995. This report summarizes Board activities during 1994. It covers aspects of the DOE’s Program Approach, their emerging waste isolation strategy, and their transportation program. It also explores the Board’s views on minimum exploratory requirements and thermal-loading issues. The report<->focuses a chapter on the lessons that have been learned in site assessment from projects around the world. Another chapter deals with volcanism and resolution of difficult issues. The Board also details its observations from its visit to Japan and the Japanese nuclear waste disposal program. Findings and recommendations in the report centered around structural geology and geoengineering, hydrogeology and geochemistry, the engineered barrier system, and risk and performance analysis. Available as: 1994 Summary Report - PDF format (659K) 1994 Summary Report Appendix - PDF format (1.1MB) --- Report to The U.S. Congress and The Secretary of Energy: January to December 1993. May 1994. This report summarizes Board activities primarily during 1993. It reviews the nuclear waste disposal programs of Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom; elaborates on the Board’s understanding of the radiation protection standards being reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences; and, using “future climates” as an example, examines the DOE’s approach to “resolving difficult issues.” Recommendations center on the use of a systems approach in all of OCRWM’s programs, prioritization of site-suitability activities, appropriate use of total system performance assessment and expert judgment, and the dynamics of the Yucca Mountain ecosystem. Available as: 1993 Summary Report - PDF format (605K) 1993 Summary Report Appendix - PDF format (624K) --- Letter Report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy. February 1994. This report is issued in letter format due to impending legislative hearings on the DOE’s fiscal year 1995 budget and new funding mechanisms sought by the Secretary of Energy. The 8-page report (ninth in the NWTRB series) restates a recommendation made in the Board’s Special Report, that an independent review of the OCRWM’s management and organizational structure be initiated as soon as possible. Also, it adds two additional recommendations: ensure sufficient and reliable funding for site characterization and performance assessment, whether the program budget remains level or is increased, and build on the Secretary of Energy’s new public involvement initiative by expanding current efforts to integrate the views of the various stakeholders during the decision-making process-not afterward. Available as: Letter Report - PDF format (245K) --- Underground Exploration and Testing at Yucca Mountain A Report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy. October 1993. This report (eighth in the NWTRB series) focuses on the exploratory studies facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada: the conceptual design, planned exploration and testing, and excavation plans and schedules. In addition to a number of detailed recommendations, the Board makes three general recommendations. First, the DOE should develop a comprehensive strategy that integrates exploration and testing priorities with the design and excavation approach for the exploratory facility. Second, underground thermal testing should be resumed as soon as possible. Third, the DOE should establish a geoengineering board with expertise in the engineering, construction, and management of large underground projects. Available as: Underground Exploration and Testing - PDF format (160K) --- Special Report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy. March 1993. The Board’s seventh report provides a nontechnical approach for those not familiar with the details of the DOE’s high-level nuclear waste management program. It highlights three important policy issues: the program is driven by unrealistic deadlines, there is no integrated waste management plan, and program management needs improvement. The Board makes three specific recommendations: amend the current schedule to include realistic intermediate milestones; develop a comprehensive, well-integrated plan for the overall management of all spent nuclear fuel and high-level defense waste from generation to disposal; and implement an independent evaluation of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management’s (OCRWM) organization and management. These recommendations should be implemented without slowing the progress of site-characterization activities at Yucca Mountain. Available as: Special Report - PDF format (70K) --- Sixth Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. December 1992. The sixth report begins by summarizing recent Board activities, congressional testimony, changes in Board makeup, and the Little Skull Mountain earthquake. Chapter 2 details panel activities and offers seven technical recommendations on the dangers of a schedule-driven program; the need for top-level systems studies; the impact of defense high-level waste; the use of high capacity, self-shielded waste package designs; and the need for prioritization among the numerous studies included in the site-characterization plans. In Chapter 3, the Board offers candid insights to the high-level waste management program in five countries, specifically those areas that might be applicable to the U.S. program, including program size and cost, utility responsibilities, repository construction schedules, and alternative approaches to licensing. Appendix F provides background on the Finnish and Swiss programs. Available as: Sixth Report - PDF format (528K) Sixth Report Appendix - PDF format (1.1M) --- Fifth Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. June 1992. The Board’s fifth report focuses on the cross-cutting issue of thermal loading. It explores thermal-loading strategies (U.S. and others) and the technical issues and uncertainties related to thermal loading. It also details the Board’s position on the implications of thermal loading for the U.S. radioactive waste management system. Also included are updates on Board and panel activities during the reporting period. The report offers fifteen recommendations to the DOE on the following subjects: ESF and repository design enhancements, repository sealing, seismic vulnerabilities (vibratory ground motion and fault displacement), the DOE approach to the engineered barrier system, and transportation and systems program status. Available as: Fifth Report - PDF format (572K) Fifth Report Appendix - PDF format (275K) --- Fourth Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. December 1991. The fourth report provides update on the Board’s activities and explores in depth the following areas: exploratory studies facility (ESF) construction; test prioritization; rock mechanics; tectonic features and processes; volcanism; hydrogeology and geochemistry in the unsaturated zone; the engineered barrier system; regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the DOE; the DOE performance assessment program; and quality assurance in the Yucca Mountain project. Ten recommendations are made across these diverse subject areas. Chapter 3 offers insights from the Board’s visit with officials from the Canadian nuclear power and spent fuel disposal programs. Background on the Canadian program is in Appendix D. Available as: Fourth Report - PDF format (425K) Fourth Report Appendix - PDF format (310K) --- Third Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. May 1991. The third report briefly describes recent Board activities and congressional testimony. Substantive chapters cover exploratory shaft facility alternatives, repository design, risk-benefit analysis, waste package plans and funding, spent fuel corrosion performance, transportation and systems, environmental program concerns, more on the DOE task force studies on risk and performance assessment, federal quality assurance requirements for the repository program, and the measurement, modeling, and application of radionuclide sorption data. Fifteen specific recommendations are made to the DOE. Background information on the German and Swedish nuclear waste disposal programs is included in Appendix D. Available as: Third Report - PDF format (361K) Third Report Appendix - PDF format (388K) --- Second Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. November 1990. The Board’s second report begins with the background and framework for repository development and then opens areas of inquiry, making 20 specific recommendations concerning tectonic features and processes, geoengineering considerations, the engineered barrier system, transportation and systems, environmental and public health issues, and risk and performance analysis. The report also offers concluding perspectives on DOE progress, the state of Nevada’s role, the project’s regulatory framework, the nuclear waste negotiator, other oversight agencies, and the Board’s future plans. Available as: Second Report - PDF format (450K) Second Report Appendix - PDF format (213K) --- First Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. March 1990. The first report sets the stage for the Board’s evaluation of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) program to manage the disposal of the nation’s spent fuel and high-level waste. The report outlines briefly the legislative history of the nation’s spent fuel and high-level waste management program including its legal and regulatory requirements. The Board’s evolution is described, along with its protocol, panel breakdown, and reporting requirements. The report identifies major issues based on the Board’s panel breakdown, and highlights five cross-cutting issues. Available as: First Report - PDF Format (394K) ***************************************************************** 29 Hodges Republicans try to end dispute with legislation Augusta Georgia: Technology: Web posted Friday, May 3, 2002 By Brandon Haddock [bhaddock@augustachronicle.com] Staff Writer South Carolina Republicans have introduced federal legislation in their own attempt to end the dispute over plutonium shipments to Savannah River Site. U.S. Rep. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond introduced bills in the U.S. House and Senate on Thursday, one day after South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges sued to stop the shipments. The Republican bills did not include measures requested by Mr. Hodges, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C. But Mr. Graham urged the governor to support the legislation. "A bipartisan solution is the best way to protect South Carolina," Mr. Graham wrote in a letter to Mr. Hodges. "It is imperative that we all rise to the occasion to solve this crisis. I hope we can continue to work together for the benefit of our state and nation." South Carolina politicians had split along party lines over the Republican bills, which would fine the U.S. Department of Energy $1 million per day if it failed to reach milestones for treating plutonium at SRS in 2011 and 2017. Fines would be capped at $100 million a year. Mr. Graham said the bills contained unprecedented concessions by the federal government. But Mr. Hodges and Mr. Spratt had said any bills must include more measures, including additional deadlines in 2013 and 2015, to ensure that the Energy Department lived up to promises not to turn South Carolina into a permanent storage site for plutonium. A spokesman for Mr. Hodges said the governor's staff was reviewing the Republican legislation to see whether it included provisions requested by Democrats. "The legislation Mr. Graham proposed earlier simply didn't have the teeth in it that we needed," Jay Reiff said. "That's question No. 1: Does this legislation have the teeth in it?" The Energy Department has announced that it intends to begin shipping the radioactive metal to SRS as soon as May 15. New plants slated to be built at SRS would turn 34 tons of plutonium, once intended for use in weapons, into fuel for nuclear-power plants. South Carolina officials want a binding agreement that those plants will be built, with a pledge that all plutonium be removed if the facilities are shelved. "The legislation Mr. Graham proposed earlier simply didn't have the teeth in it that we needed." - Jay Reiff, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Hodges Reach Brandon Haddock at (706) 823-3409 or bhaddock@augustachronicle.com [bhaddock@augustachronicle.com] . [http://augusta.com] . ***************************************************************** 30 Textron pledges cleanup at base (May 3, 2002) The contractor takes responsibility for contamination at its former weapons test site at Camp Edwards. By KEVIN DENNEHY STAFF WRITER CAMP EDWARDS - As the National Guard pours more than $300 million into the Camp Edwards cleanup, one of the base's longtime tenants has agreed to pay its share. Officials from Textron Systems, one of several Defense Department contractors on the base from the 1970s to the 1990s, have signed a consent order with the federal Environmental Protection Agency taking responsibility for their former site on the base. The Wilmington-based company tested tactical weapons on a series of ranges near the Sandwich border, an area called the J-Ranges. The company also briefly stored weapons loaded with depleted uranium there, a revelation that has raised concerns among Upper Cape residents and officials. "We're doing our part to make sure, from the ground up, we clean up the J-3 Range and go from there," said Joanne Tingle, an environmental official for Textron. "We're being forthcoming and we're actively assisting in whatever we can do to help." Textron has tested for chemical contamination and traces of radioactive waste in a series of old storage bunkers and administrative buildings. They are also testing an area where investigators found several abandoned 55-gallon drums, which were once filled with wastewater and were left outside so the water could evaporate. Results of those tests should be ready by the end of the month, Tingle said. The EPA, which ordered a massive cleanup at Camp Edwards, will monitor Textron's findings. "We want to know what they did," said Bill Walsh-Rogalski, an attorney for the regional EPA offices. "Part of it is a liability question, and part is wanting to know where the skeletons are buried." That has become a primary question on Camp Edwards. In essence, it will be easier to clean the tainted groundwater that flows beneath the base if cleanup crews know what the sources of pollution are. So far, military crews have found evidence that the water beneath the old J-Ranges contain a cocktail of chemical pollutants. A plume of materials used to make explosives is creeping off the post, toward Sandwich, though it does not currently threaten the town's water supply wells. Tests have also shown very high levels of the chemical perchlorate, a component of rocket propellant that has closed three water supply wells on the other side of the base, in Bourne. The sources of the contamination, and the responsible parties, have been difficult to trace. Textron on Camp Edwards Textron, part of a multi-industry giant based in Providence, R.I., signed a license in 1968 to operate on the J-3 Range, which is located about a mile from Camp Good News in Forestdale. They also conducted testing on the nearby J-1 Range, according to military documents. During the 1980s and 1990s, Textron's primary mission was developing sensor-fused weapons, which are launched from airplanes. In particular, the company developed the BLU-108 skeet component - a heat-seeking copper dart that moves so fast it can burn through 8 inches of steel and disable a tank. Textron engineers also developed Wide Area Munitions, mine-based weapons that can launch similar darts into the most vulnerable parts of a tank. Several depleted uranium warheads were also on the base, but they were loaded with explosives, sealed, then shipped to New Mexico, Textron officials said. They were never fired. Indeed, National Guard tests conducted on the military ranges last year yielded no evidence that nuclear material was ever fired on post. Still, federal officials said some Textron activities likely contributed to widespread base contamination that prompted the EPA to order a massive cleanup. While the EPA has been focused on making the National Guard clean up the base, it was Textron officials who approached the EPA this spring in hopes of resolving their responsibility. "My take is they're trying to do the right thing," Walsh-Rogalski said this week. Recouping some funds The National Guard has already allocated at least $300 million for the Camp Edwards cleanup, but military officials have said they may go after defense contractors to recoup some of the money. To that end, the Guard continues to comb through archives to determine which contractors used the base ranges, what activities were conducted and where, said Major Bill Myer of the Impact Area Groundwater Study Office, which runs the cleanup. Some digging has led back to the Picatinny Arsenal, a historic Army center for research, development and production of explosives and propellants in New Jersey, where many of the Camp Edwards contracts were issued. Following several leads, investigators have also interviewed former employees from a variety of military contractors. The search has turned up a number of contractors that used the ranges, including Raytheon, Atlantic Research and MIT. Textron officials have conceded that they were on the base, and that some disposal activities were inappropriate. But they insist they were not alone, and that they should not bear the entire burden of environmental cleanup on the contractor ranges. While the initial Textron work will be focused, EPA officials said there may be more conducted later. "We drafted an order that could be used again and again if we saw more work was appropriate," Walsh-Rogalski said this week. Copyright © 2002 Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 31 UK: Policy failures may cause nuclear waste crisis, say scientists Independent News © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd By Steve Connor, Science Editor 03 May 2002 Britain's nuclear waste problem could soon develop into a full-blown crisis if the Government fails to formulate a viable long-term policy on how to tackle the problem, senior scientists warned yesterday. A report by the Royal Society says that Britain has failed over a period of several decades to address an issue that is going to get far worse as existing nuclear power plants are decommissioned. The Royal Society scientists found that some nuclear waste is not stored as safely as it should be and that the public has lost confidence in the supposedly independent bodies that are charged with overseeing its safety. "There is a serious and urgent problem of how to manage and dispose of the legacy of 50 years of nuclear waste production by the nuclear weapons programme and the civilian nuclear industry," said Professor Geoffrey Boulton, a geologist from Edinburgh University who chaired the inquiry. "There are now more than 10,000 tons of waste mainly stored at Sellafield in Cumbria but also at Dounreay in Scotland. Even if there is no further construction of nuclear power generation plants, the decommissioning of existing plants would produce a fiftyfold increase in waste over the next few decades. So the issue is serious, and it is large," Professor Boulton said. Successive governments have postponed the politically contentious decision on what do with the high-level and medium-level waste that has accumulated since Britain began its nuclear programme in the early 1950s. At present, the waste, which can remain radioactive for many centuries, is stored above ground in waste tanks but many scientists would like it buried deep underground in long-term repositories after it has been safely "encapsulated" in ceramic or glass blocks. Professor Boulton said: "For 30 years the UK has singularly failed to create a publicly acceptable policy for the management and ultimate disposal of these potentially harmful wastes. It is time we broke out of this weary merry-go-round. "One of the most, possibly the most, immediate and difficult problem is not a scientific or technological one. There has been a failure to recognise the need for the public understanding of policies related to toxic wastes with a lifetime far in excess of the lifetime of current generations and indeed of many generations to come." The report by the Royal Society, which was produced in response to a government consultation exercise, found that the nuclear industry had assumed that the problem of waste was one of simple engineering. It also assumed that the disposal of waste could be achieved rapidly while the waste was still being accumulated, the society says. "The industry therefore seems to have regarded treatment of waste as of secondary importance, and to have focused its efforts on countering what it saw as unfounded hostile public opinion and on economic concerns," the report says. "We believe that today's problems are more serious than currently acknowledged and that a fundamental cause of them has been the error of the above assumptions." It is estimated that it may now cost more than £85bn to tackle the waste products accumulated from the civilian and military nuclear programmes. The liabilities may increase still further if power plants start to burn mixed oxide fuel (Mox) since there is still no proven method of safely encapsulating spent Mox fuel for long-term storage, the Royal Society says. Professor Boulton said: "We recommend as a matter of urgency that the best available technologies are applied to the 90 per cent of the waste that is still unencapsulated so as to improve safety in storage." The Royal Society criticised the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which is responsible for formulating the Government's policy on nuclear waste. "We believe that a much more radical approach is needed than that identified by Defra. The first thing to recognise is that the current institutions do not command the public confidence that is required," Professor Boulton said. "They are perceived as over-secretive and over-confident in making claims about benefit, cost and safety which has subsequently been proved false. We suggest that an independent, authoritative, transparent and accountable waste management commission is needed." ***************************************************************** 32 UK: Nuclear waste 'could soon turn to crisis' Irish Newspapers BRITAIN'S nuclear waste problem could soon develop into a full-blown crisis if the government fails to formulate a viable long-term policy on how to tackle the mounting problem, senior scientists warned yesterday. A report by the Royal Society says that Britain has failed over a period of several decades to address an issue that is going to get far worse as existing nuclear power plants are decommissioned. The Royal Society scientists found that some nuclear waste is not currently stored as safely as it should be and that the public has lost confidence in the supposedly independent bodies charged with overseeing its safety. "There is a serious and urgent problem of how to manage and dispose of the legacy of 50 years of nuclear waste production by the nuclear weapons programme and the civilian nuclear industry," said Professor Geoffrey Boulton, a geologist from Edinburgh University who chaired the inquiry. "The issue is serious, and it is large," Professor Boulton said. ( Independent News Service) Steve Connor in London © Copyright Unison ***************************************************************** 33 Ger: Construction of Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Could Finally Happen F.A.Z. - English Version By Stefan Dietrich FRANKFURT. Progress in obtaining approval for the Schacht Konrad permanent nuclear waste storage facility could be compared at present with the cross-channel tunnel: Twenty years of planning, research, political arguments and administrative wrangling between federal and state authorities have been successfully wound up. The government of Lower Saxony has acknowledged with approval that the state's Social Democratic environment minister, Wolfgang Jüttner, intends to grant permission for the construction of a permanent storage facility near Salzgitter for nuclear waste releasing low levels of heat. The rest is a formality: the Lower Saxony parliament is expected to approve the decision on May 15. By the end of May, that decision will be formally notified to the BfS -- the federal office for radiation control -- that made the application 20 years ago. But at the BfS, there was no sound of champagne corks popping. And the event has barely struck any chord in the public consciousness. It was doubtful for a long time whether permission would ever be granted -- especially after 1990, when a Social Democratic-Alliance 90/The Greens coalition came to power in Lower Saxony promising to block the Konrad nuclear waste site. For many years, then Environment Minister Monika Griefahn of the Social Democrats battled federal government directives and court rulings, all the way up to the Constitutional Court, to prevent the decision from being imposed. The project's prospects dimmed again when nuclear power opponents joined the federal government. However, neither federal environment minister Jürgen Trittin, a member of the Greens, nor Mr. Jüttner could afford to end the process inconclusively. The applicant had a legal right to demand a final decision. Moreover, the federal government can only charge development costs, currently put at euro 800 million ($720 million), to the energy utilities, if the approval procedure is concluded in a proper legal manner. There were apparently no good reasons for a denial of the approval and the safety aspects of the former Konrad iron ore mine were unshakable. So the government included the Konrad mine shaft in its accord with power station operators on phasing out nuclear energy over the next 32 years. The government committed itself to concluding the procedure while agreeing with its partners to put it on the back burner. The original application for immediate enforceability of the approval was withdrawn. The filling up of the storage galleries, which will itself take about five years, will now start only when the expected administrative challenges from adjoining local authorities and from environmental groups have been legally settled. That will be at least three years from now. That suits the power companies well. The longer it takes to complete a permanent storage depot, the longer they can apply the billions they are obliged to set aside in financial reserves for waste disposal to other business ends. The energy companies' temporary storage sites should probably last until 2015. They took the opportunity in the 1990s to lodge low-heat-releasing waste in the shut-down of the East German storage site at Morsleben. Things are different for the large-scale research facilities and the state-owned gathering sites. Their storage facilities are reaching capacity and would, in addition, require high-cost investments unless permanent storage is available quickly. But precisely those politicians who for years raised public alarm about the supposed health dangers of transport and storage are not in the least concerned that radioactive waste is being held in light-construction buildings in Braunschweig and elsewhere in containers that are gradually rusting away. Officially, Mr. Trittin is still insisting that Konrad is not needed at all because it is still the federal government's aim to construct a permanent storage site for all types of radioactive waste: not in Gorleben, where feasibility tests are well advanced, but at some other site yet to be identified, and according to newly developed scientific criteria of its suitability. The search does not seem to be urgent. As things stand now, it will not yield any result before 2030. It is doubtful whether any other government would show more commitment: the opposition Union parties fear burning their fingers on the waste disposal issue. But nuclear policy, under the Social Democratic/Green coalition has become neither safer nor more transparent.May 2, 2002 © Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000 ***************************************************************** 34 A Reward Approach to N. Korea May 3, 2002 COMMENTARY Only societal change will yield genuine peace. By JAMES E. GOODBY, James Goodby, a special representative of the president for nuclear security and dismantlement during the Clinton administration, is affiliated with the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at th The White House has announced that the North Korea government is finally ready to sit down for talks with the Bush administration. But the administration does not appear geared up to wage diplomacy on the Korean peninsula. We need a multi-pronged approach that confronts the political and economic issues in North Korea, as well as the military threats. It is clear what the administration does not like about North Korea: nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and heavily armed troops within range of Seoul, all made more ominous by the repressive character of the North Korean regime. And over these threats looms another specter: North Korea's erratic regime could give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. Removing these dangers is a high priority. Succeeding in doing so will require a concerted and coherent U.S. strategy--one so far not in evidence--pursued across a broad front for as long as it takes. North Korea's military threats are real, both in its conventional component and in the dangers posed by its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs. But the scope of U.S. strategic thinking about North Korea should not be defined only by the military threats. We also should try to induce societal change. Only that will yield genuine peace. The regime in Pyongyang will resist it. It saw what happened to East Germany. Still, the U.S. position should be to reward North Korean policies that promote positive change. These are likely to be in the economic sphere initially. To succeed in this ambitious overall agenda, Washington needs to improve the process it uses to deal with North Korea. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, while a private citizen, urged that "the U.S. point person should be designated by the president in consultation with congressional leaders and should report directly to the president.... This step also aims to move the issue to the highest possible level of decision-making in North Korea." He was right. We also need a new policy track that focuses directly on the threat of missiles and weapons of mass destruction. Previous attempts have produced results. But they are running out of steam. It should not be impossible to get North Korea to end its missile program. Pyongyang already has announced a missile flight-test moratorium until 2003 and proposed giving up its long-range missile program altogether if another country would launch its satellites. China or Russia could do this. The United States has a well-tested method of encouraging dismantlement of nuclear weapons. Three U.S. administrations and successive U.S. Congresses have strongly supported the Nunn- Lugar cooperative threat reduction program, which provides assistance for weapons dismantlement and blocks the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This program has been confined to the former Soviet Union, but Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) has introduced a bill that would expand it. Such a program in North Korea could be used to redirect technological efforts to civilian purposes and to dismantle facilities related to weapons of mass destruction. It could be used to block North Korea's dangerous missile exports and its missile development work. Our ally South Korea needs a new policy track to promote peace on the Korean peninsula, and so does the U.S. In the near term this should consist of military measures to deal with miscalculations by either side and to enhance crisis management. Over the longer term, South Korea and the U.S. should move toward achieving a stable balance, with reduced force levels that accentuate nonoffensive postures and that reduce the heavy concentration of North Korean firepower just north of the demilitarized zone. The all-important context would be an eventual peace settlement, not a demand for unilateral concessions. The outlook for this is not bright at the moment. But South Korea and the U.S. should have a shared vision for achieving peace and reunification, even if there were no prospect of negotiating with North Korea, because our diplomatic campaign would be weakened if we were not seen to be standing for something positive. Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 35 Israel may cause environmental disaster Gulf News; May 3, 2002 BY DOAA ZEITOUN The U.S.-based International Action Centre (IAC) has warned against an inherent environmental disaster posed by Israel's use of weapons that contain radioactive elements against the Palestinians. The IAC has based its warning on Israeli reports, which indicated that the Israeli army has been loading Apache and Kobra helicopters with depleted uranium tipped missiles. They were fired in the recent incursions in the Palestinian town of Ramallah. Israel also used internationally banned bullets, which contain uranium and penetrate the human body faster than the ordinary ones. They explode inside causing severe damage. The IAC report, which was recently published by the Arab Family Organisation in Sharjah, stated that Israel's military operations to strike the Intifada would bear serious consequences on the environment. This is represented in the existence of radioactivity and toxic substances in the areas shelled, which would possibly extend to other places. The results could match those created by the use of nuclear bombs. Commenting on this report, Dr Shubbar Al Wedae, head of the Environmental Awareness Section at the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah, told Gulf News that Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been leading the region to an "environmental catastrophe." Dr Wedae condemned "Israel's flagrant violation of intentional human rights conventions and its total disregard to humanitarian considerations. "Sharon with his gang has been inflicting harm not only on the Palestinians, but also on his own people for his own personal interest. Those internationally prohibited arms that Israel has been attacking the defenceless Palestinians with, will also spread their danger onto the Israelis," Wedae said. He explained that in the aftermath of the damage caused by the use of nuclear weapons in the Second World War, international agreements were made to ban the use of such weapons. "We must all recall the devastation and lingering risks caused by the nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan," he said. The whole world also witnessed the environmental calamity, which resulted from the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. "I know Ukrainian couples who are afraid to have children because they do not want to have them born disabled or deformed," he said. He warned against the prolonged and atrocious results that the use of nuclear arms could lead to. However, he added, Sharon has defied all international agreements and applied uranium tipped weapons and banned bullets against the Palestinian civilians. Wedae lamented that the U.S. ,for all its talk about democracy and protection of human rights has, been supporting Israel's barbaric actions in occupied territories. Where do the U.S. principles of freedom and democracy stand as far as the situation in the Middle East is concerned? The U.S. has not been practising what it preaches. Apparently it has kept an eye on its own personal interests, he said. Wedae emphasised that Israel's breaching of human rights and international laws is a major setback to global efforts that aim to secure a healthy and safe environment for everyone who lives on this planet. He urged the international community headed by the UN to stop Israel's aggression on humanity before it gets out of control. Financial Times ***************************************************************** 36 Penny-Wise, Dirty Nuke Foolish Filed May 2, 2002 If President Bush's goal is to make the United States a safer country, he's got an odd way of doing it. In a desperate attempt to trim the budget and minimize the projected $100 billion deficit, the Bush administration has slashed by 93 percent a Department of Energy (DOE) request for $379 million to better secure America's storehouse of nuclear weapons and waste -- the number one item on every terrorist's shopping list. What makes this latest bit of budgetary bloodletting particularly confounding is that it strikes at the heart of the president's highest priority. "Nothing," he proclaimed, "is more important than the national security of our country. Nothing is more important." Well, apparently something must be. Otherwise how can one explain the White House's massive reduction of funds that Bush’s own Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham, called "a critical down payment to the safety and security of our nation and its people"? The money had been earmarked for such essential front line items as fortifying protective barriers and fences at atomic storage sites, ramping up cyber security on Energy Department computers, and installing equipment to detect explosives being smuggled into nuclear facilities. We know from the diagrams, computers, and "Jihad for Dummies" manuals found in the bombed out caves of Tora Bora and Mazar-e-Sharif that the madmen of Al-Qaeda have their black hearts set on unleashing weapons of mass destruction on the people of America -- and would love nothing better than turning our own nuclear materials against us. The vast amounts of nuclear weapons and radioactive waste stored at Energy Department facilities are enough to make a terrorist's mouth water, but, evidently, not enough to stay the red pens of Mitch Daniels and the ruthless number-crunchers in the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who clearly have a very different definition of homeland security than the rest of us. The Bush administration has been shameless in its willingness to play the national security trump card to promote the things it most cherishes -- from tax cuts to drilling in ANWR to the drug war to subsidies for corporate fat cats. So it's more than a little ironic that when it comes to doing something that will actually protect us, the president is suddenly unwilling to put our money where his mouth is. "I have submitted a budget that prioritizes homeland defense and our national security," he announced grandly. "A budget that puts ample amounts of money in place…to respond should the enemy hit us again." Unless, of course, the enemy decides to hit us again by stealing enough weapons-grade plutonium to cook up a suitcase nuke. Imagine the devastation if suicidal terrorists were able to break into a DOE facility, quickly construct a down-and-dirty homemade atomic bomb, and set it off inside the lab, blasting tons of radioactive material into the atmosphere. "These labs," OMB director Mitch Daniels told me in defending his decision, "are probably the most secure sites we have. This was one place where Gov. Ridge and others have established that we are in pretty good shape. There are other places where more catching up has to be done." If the labs are in such good shape, why did the energy secretary, who after all has jurisdiction over the labs, not know about it? And if things are so peachy, how come, according to government documents unearthed by the Project on Government Oversight, federal agents posing as terrorists made it past security forces guarding nuclear labs more than half the time? Even though security officials were often notified that the mock attacks were coming, they still weren't able to keep the "terrorists" from claiming their deadly prize. Such sieve-like security is eerily reminiscent of the woeful results airport screeners chalked up for years in similar tests, routinely failing to detect knives, guns, and bombs before the horrors of September prompted Washington to finally get serious about airport security. Are we going to have to wait until we have a nuclear 9-11 before our leaders do all that they can to protect our nuclear sites? It's not like we're talking about an outrageous amount of money: $379 million to keep the ingredients of nuclear devastation out of the hands of mass murderers. That's only a few million more than the $250 million rebate the president's beloved rollback of the alternative minimum corporate tax would have given to Enron alone. And it pales beside the billions Bush wants for Star Wars. "The administration," says Rep. Ed Markey, a longtime critic of the security at nuclear facilities, "has requested almost $8 billion for missile defense, which won't do anything to prevent suicidal terrorists from attacking nuclear facilities and blowing up dirty bombs or homemade nuclear weapons." Since the mid-90s, there have been over 50 reports, commissions and congressional hearings highlighting the vulnerability of America's nuclear facilities. It's well past time to stop the studying -- and start the spending. "We are storing vast amounts of materials that remain highly volatile and subject to unthinkable consequences if placed in the wrong hands," warned Spencer Abraham in goading the White House to loosen the purse strings. "Failure to support these urgent requirements is a risk that would be unwise." To say the very, very least ARIANNA ONLINE 1158 26th Street, P.O. Box 428 Santa Monica, CA 90403 email: [arianna@ariannaonline.com] Copyright © 1998-2002 Christabella, Inc. Developed and hosted by [http://www.bnw.com] ***************************************************************** 37 Russia Optimistic on Nuclear Cuts Las Vegas SUN May 03, 2002 WASHINGTON- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Friday there was a "very high probability" of securing a nuclear arms reduction agreement in time for President Bush's talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin in three weeks. But with differences remaining, the Bush administration played it close to the vest, not venturing a prediction as Ivanov met with Bush and twice with Secretary of State Colin Powell. "These are good signs, but the work needs to be done ... and the president remains hopeful," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. Bush and Putin are committed to reducing U.S. and Russian arsenals of long-range warheads to no more than 1,700 to 2,200 each within 10 years. But the Russians want to make sure the dismantled warheads are destroyed, not stored, and there may or may not be references to anti-missile defenses in the agreement. Determined to proceed with an elaborate anti-missile shield, Bush opted out of a 1972 treaty that outlawed national defenses against missile attack. Russia objected, but has muted its criticism to the point that some sort of compromise language may be in the offing. In the midst of the day's discussions, Ivanov said there was a "very high probability" of an agreement in time for the Bush-Putin talks. "We will be prepared. We will be ready for that," Ivanov said after talking to Bush at the White House. The Bush administration long ago deferred to Russia's insistence on a formal agreement. Powell has said it could be a treaty or an executive order, about five or six pages long. A treaty would require approval of two-thirds of the Senate. An executive order would need the approval of a majority of the House and Senate. "Any codification of this type has a lot of t's to be crossed and i's to be dotted. And that's what the lawyers and negotiators are working on now," Fleischer said. Aides to Bush and Putin are making plans for a signing ceremony in Moscow. "We proceed from the premise that there is a very high probability for that and we will do everything we can to achieve that," Ivanov said. An administration official said broad outlines of an agreement are already in place, but differences remain and bargaining could continue right up to the eve of the May 23 summit. Bush has said he intends to reduce the U.S. long-range nuclear arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads over the coming decade, regardless of whether Russia reciprocates. Putin has said Moscow would be willing to cut the Russian arsenal even more - to 1,500 warheads. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 38 Powell, Russian to Talk Nuke Pact Las Vegas SUN May 03, 2002 WASHINGTON- Facing lingering obstacles, the United States and Russia are attempting to agree on a reduction in their nuclear arsenals in time for a Moscow summit in less than three weeks. Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, hoping to nail down what would be an arms control breakthrough for the two former rivals. An administration official said broad outlines of an agreement are already in place, but differences remain. While an agreement Friday is not ruled out, the official said bargaining could continue right up to the eve of the May 23 summit. Bush will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 23. He planned to discuss the summit with Ivanov during a late-morning meeting Friday. Bush has said he intends to reduce the U.S. long-range nuclear arsenal from 6,000 to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads over the coming decade, regardless of whether Russia reciprocates. Putin has said Moscow would be willing to reduce to 1,500 warheads. The two sides are at odds over the nature of reductions. The United States wants to put weapons cut from its arsenal in storage, to be available in an emergency. Russia believes the only serious weapons reduction process involves destruction of armaments. Ivanov said on arrival Wednesday night that Moscow and Washington have two major documents in preparation. One involves nuclear arms reductions, and the second would set terms for new strategic relations between the United States and Russia. The U.S. official said the first document is closer to completion than the second. Ivanov and Powell focused Thursday on the Middle East, joining with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and foreign policy chiefs of the European Union. They sought ways to end the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians. Washington and Moscow have made intense efforts to reach a nuclear agreement. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov discussed the arms cuts Monday in Moscow. Chief U.S. arms negotiator John Bolton, who made two trans-Atlantic negotiating trips to Moscow last week, will make another soon regardless of whether an agreement is reached Friday, the official said. If an agreement is reached, the official said Bolton's trip would involve drafting precise wording. If a breakthrough should elude Powell and Igor Ivanov, Bolton would attempt to overcome remaining obstacles, the official said. Ivanov would not offer predictions. He said there was a "real possibility" the agreement would be ready in time for the summit talks. "The levels have been set by the presidents. The goal has been set by the presidents," Ivanov said. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 39 UK lists Kazakhstan as country posing a nuclear threat - Kazakh TV BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 3, 2002 [Presenter] The United Kingdom has put Kazakhstan on the list of countries posing a potential nuclear threat. Although the country [Kazakhstan] announced that it had completely scrapped its [nuclear] arsenal last year, Kazakh military officials say that there are still short-range ballistic missiles left. [Correspondent, over video of exercises at the Saryshagan training ground] Kazakhstan is one of the 28 countries listed by the British Ministry of Defence as possessing ballistic missiles, even though official Astana [the Kazakh capital] announced last year that no nuclear weapons are left in the country. According to the republican centre for monitoring arms reduction [under the Kazakh Defence Ministry], all the 1,040 warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles and the 370 warheads for strategic bombers were sent to Russia, as the successor to the USSR, back in 1995. But the UK Ministry of Defence guarantees the reliability of the list, which has already been passed on to the Defence Select Committee of the British parliament for review. Kazakh Defence Ministry officials have confirmed that the country still has ballistic missiles. [Asylbek Mendygaliyev, chief of the centre for monitoring arms reduction under the Kazakh Defence Ministry, over the phone] Speaking about ballistic missiles, the UK possibly meant those missiles, the missile systems that we have in Kazakhstan. Specifically, the missile complex that we demonstrated during the recent exercises at Saryshagan [military training ground in the central Karaganda Region between 2 and 16 April]. [Correspondent] According to some information, several space satellites were hovering over the Saryshagan training ground on the day the exercises were held. Kazakh military officials say that the British intelligence service has simply overestimated the situation, since the Tochka-U complex [tactical cruise missile system], with all its power, is not considered to be a nuclear weapon. [Mendygaliyev] These ballistic missiles belong to the class of missiles that have a tactical radius of action. Their range is no more than [words indistinct], whereas the destructive range of intercontinental ballistic missiles that might carry nuclear charges is 11,000 km or more. It is not yet known whether Kazakhstan, following the announcement by the [UK] Ministry of Defence, will review its status as a state that is free of weapons of mass destruction. The country's leaders are making no comment on the situation for the time being. Source: Kazakh Commercial Television, Almaty, in Russian 1300 gmt 2 May 02 /© BBC Monitoring ***************************************************************** 40 Iraqi weapons experts continue talks at UN (05/03/2002) (Agencies) Iraqi experts on weapons of mass destruction held technical talks with UN officials Thursday before a final session, due to take place Friday, on the possible return of United Nations arms inspectors. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri were due to meet Friday at 10:00 am (1400 GMT) with their full delegations. Neither man took part in the expert-level discussions, since Annan was in Washington to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian crisis with other members of the so-called international quartet: the United States, Russia and the European Union. Annan was due to brief the Security Council late Friday on the outcome of his talks with Sabri, which followed a three-hour encounter on March 7, the first contact between the two sides for a year. The Iraqi team was led on Thursday by two of President Saddam Hussein's advisers: Jafaar Dhia Jafaar, reputed to be an expert on nuclear weapons, and General Amir al-Saadi, a specialist on chemical and biological warfare. Iraq claims to have dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programme as demanded by UN Security Council resolutions which imposed crippling sanctions on it after it invaded Kuwait in August 1990. But the UN arms commission set up to verify the claim was unable to complete its work before being withdrawn in December 1998 and Iraq has refused to allow the new inspectorate to set foot in the country. The former commission, known as UNSCOM, was accused by Iraq of spying for the United States and was withdrawn on the eve of a US and British bombing campaign. Another Iraqi expert, Hussam Amin, was well known to UNSCOM from his time as head of Iraq's national monitoring directorate, UN officials said. Amin, a specialist in missiles, was particularly well versed in the intricacies of inspection procedures, they said. All five permanent members of the Security Council agree that Iraq must let inspections resume but disagree on what else is required of it before the sanctions can be suspended. In Baghdad on Thursday, the newspaper Babel, run by Saddam's son Uday, said that "before dictating new conditions on Iraq," the council "must start by putting in place the mechanisms for lifting the embargo." Annan said Wednesday that he hoped the talks would focus on the return of the inspectors, but Sabri told reporters as he left the UN building: "We are discussing all the issues related to the Iraq-UN relationship." The UN was represented at the expert talks by Hans Blix, chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), and by senior aides. The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad el-Baradei, who took part in Wednesday's session, was not present on Thursday but was represented by legal experts. The IAEA carries out routine checks of Iraq's one declared civilian nuclear installation as required by the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has emphasised that these are no substitute for a thorough disarmament investigation. Copyright 2002 By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights ***************************************************************** 41 Nuclear ambiguities | csmonitor.com Commentary > Daniel Schorr from the May 03, 2002 edition By Daniel Schorr WASHINGTON – WE LIVE WITH nuclear perils of several kinds. Russia and the United States agree on reducing nuclear stockpiles, but disagree on whether to destroy them or store them, as the Bush administration proposes to do. Many observers say that Iraq may be on its way to developing a nuclear bomb, and periodic leaks from the Bush administration suggest military intervention to abort it. A captured terrorist leader says that Al Qaeda is close to having a crude nuclear device that could be smuggled into the United States. We are told that one dirty bomb – nuclear fuel wrapped around a conventional detonator – could affect half of Manhattan. Even peaceful nuclear energy can set people on edge. April 16 happened to be the 16th anniversary of the Chernobyl atomic-energy-plant explosion in Ukraine. And today, children are being born with genetic mutations. Half a world away, people in south Nevada battle against depositing nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain. A Brookings Institution report says that a successful attack on a nuclear power plant could result in 10,000 fatalities. The Bush administration has a peculiarly ambivalent attitude about the nuclear danger. On the one hand, the president is devoting his energies to protecting us against the "axis of evil" and weapons of mass destruction. On the other hand, his administration is moving closer to the edge of the nuclear abyss. The most recent Nuclear Posture Review called for developing a small hydrogen bomb – an "advanced-concept nuclear weapon." To that end, initial studies are already in progress on something called the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator that could reach deeply buried targets. The administration seems unconcerned about possibly becoming the first since Hiroshima and Nagasaki to explode a nuclear weapon in anger. But the most mystifying of all is the way the White House is skimping on protection from nuclear danger. According to The New York Times, the Energy Department complained that budget director Mitchell Daniels cut 93 percent of the money that Secretary Spencer Abraham had wanted for nuclear security. The $380 million request was part of a $27 billion emergency bill, and it covered such items as security for weapons storage and cleanup, security for nuclear science facilities, and a National Center for Combating Terrorism. Administration officials are quoted as saying that nuclear security is at a high level and adequate to meet the nuclear threat. Well, maybe, but you would think that an administration spending billions for tanks that the military doesn't want might put a little extra effort into nuclear protection. • Daniel Schorr is a senior news analyst at National Public Radio. Copyright © 2002 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights ***************************************************************** 42 BWXT Y-12 jointly working on training system for machinists Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:52 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2002 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff BWXT Y-12 is jointly working on a computer-based training system for machinists. According to a news release from the Oak Ridge company, the goal is to bring the Applied Instructional System for Machinists from its current state of development into a fully functional system that can be used with or without an instructor. It will use computer-based simulation in place of actual machine tools to teach skills. BWXT is working on the project with Immersive Engineering, a computer-based training development company in Bloomfield, Mich., through what's known as a cooperative research and development agreement. These agreements are a tool to transfer technology from the Department of Energy's facilities to U.S. businesses and other organizations. The prototype training system was developed at the Y-12 National Security Complex through an earlier research effort. Y-12, which is managed by BWXT, is nationally recognized for its expertise in precision machining and has extensive expertise in machinists' training. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 43 Bomb threat at K-25 05/03/02 Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:55 a.m. on Friday, May 3, 2002 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff A bomb threat at the Oak Ridge K-25 site resulted in the evacuation of the plant this morning. The threat was made around 5:50 a.m. from a pay phone on state Highway 58. The male who made the call, described in the police account as "foreign-speaking," said: "K-25 gonna go boom." Steven Wyatt, a Department of Energy spokesman, said this morning that employees were either sent home or told not to come into work as a precaution. Though Wyatt didn't know the exact number, he said around 2,000 people are employed there. DOE was considering this morning calling in bomb experts. "We are evaluating the situation," said Wyatt, adding that he couldn't share any more details about the situation. The K-25 site began operations in World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. Its original mission was to produce enriched uranium for use in atomic weapons. K-25 is now undergoing cleanup, and some facilities are being leased to the private sector. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or [pparson@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 44 DOE public tours to resume Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 12:51 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2002 Construction will soon wrap up on permanent checkpoints that will allow admittance into Oak Ridge National Security Complex. The checkpoints are a security measure resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. -- Staff photo by Marie Moffitt by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff Officials are planning to resume next week the highly successful and hugely popular public tours of Oak Ridge's Department of Energy facilities, including the historic Graphite Reactor. The tours were halted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks forced DOE to boost its security measures. Marilyn McLaughlin, visitor relations coordinator for ORNL, said although people understood that increased security measures had to be put in place, the curtailing of the tours was still upsetting to some. "We had a lot of disappointment," said McLaughlin, adding that she wasn't surprised by that. "We know that this is an important visitor attraction." Since the tour program began in 1995, approximately 15,000 visitors have participated in 793 tours. These visitors represented all 50 states and 53 foreign countries. However, due to the events of Sept. 11, the tours will be restricted to only U.S. citizens when they resume Tuesday. Although the tours will highlight each of DOE's three major Oak Ridge facilities, participants will not be able to go inside the Y-12 National Security Complex -- a nuclear weapons plant. One aspect of the tour that should please many people, according to McLaughlin, is a visit to the Graphite Reactor -- a National Historic Landmark -- which produced the first electricity from nuclear energy. In addition, it was the first reactor used to study the nature of matter and the health hazards of radioactivity. And for years after World War II, it was the world's foremost source of radioisotopes for medicine, agriculture, industry, and other purposes. Oak Ridge was created as part of World War II's Manhattan Project. In late 2000, the Mooresville, N.C.-based Randall Travel Marketing released the results of a six-month study showing that visitors to Oak Ridge were very interested in the city's legacy and that historical tours would be a major tourism draw in bringing visitors to Oak Ridge. Tuesday through Friday there will be one tour a day that runs from noon to 2:30 p.m. The tour, which begins and ends at the American Museum of Science and Energy, costs $2 per person, and the bus in limited to 23 passengers. "We tend to pretty much fill the bus," McLaughlin said. For more information, call McLaughlin at (865) 574-4163 or the American Museum of Science and Energy at (865) 576-3200. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or pparson@oakridger.com [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 45 'Enrob Report' Makes Enron Scandal Laughing Matter Thu May 2, 7:57 PM ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thought the Enron scandal was no laughing matter? Meet Enrob -- the global leader in supplying "smoke, mirrors and hot air" to "media, government and the financial community" whose annual report is filled with bewildering graphs and whose slogan runs "endless impossibilities." "The Enrob Annual Report 2001" by humorists Charles Platt and Erico Narita, is the latest strike by comics and satirists against the collapsed energy giant Enron Corp. and its tarnished auditors Andersen [ANDR.UL]. The "Enrob Annual Report" (published by Regan Books), which boasts divisions like the "Financial Complexity Enhancement Division," comes hot off the press in May. The wickedly satirical report follows the "Totally Unauthorized Enron Joke Book" which made its Internet debut (http://www.enronjokebook.com) in April in what was thought to be the first published bid to make light of America's biggest corporate disaster. Enron and Andersen have been the butt of jokes cracked by everyone from late night chat show hosts to President Bush (news - web sites). Bush quipped at a dinner in March that the White House has just got a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). "The good news is that he's willing to have his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons counted. The bad news is that he wants Arthur Andersen to do it." Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. ***************************************************************** 46 Nuclear Energy Institute Re-Elects Poindexter Chairman, Adds Two Members to Executive Committee Thursday May 2, 5:04 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Nuclear Energy Institute NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2002--The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has re-elected Christian H. Poindexter, chairman, Constellation Energy Group, chairman of its board of directors for a one-year term, effective immediately. Donald C. Hintz, president, Entergy Corp., was elected vice-chairman of NEI. NEI also elected one new member to its board of directors, re-elected six members and elected two new members to the board's Executive Committee. Newly elected members of NEI's Executive Committee, which sets broad policy for the industry, are: + Alan J. Fohrer, chairman and CEO, Southern California Edison Co.; and + Michael B. Sellman, president and CEO, Nuclear Management Co. Re-elected to the Executive Committee for three-year terms are H. Peter Burg, chairman and CEO, FirstEnergy Corp., W. George Hairston III, president and CEO, Southern Nuclear Operating Co.; and Donald C. Hintz, president, Entergy Corp. The newly elected board member is Robert E. Prince, president and CEO, Duratek Inc. Prince will serve a three-year term. The re-elected board members, who also will serve three-year terms, are: + Michael A. McMurphy, president and CEO, COGEMA, Inc.; + Charles W. Pryor Jr., president and CEO, Westinghouse Electric Co.; + Mark T. Savoff, president, General Electric Nuclear Energy; + William H. Timbers, president and CEO, USEC Inc.; + George D. Turner, president and CEO, American Nuclear Insurers; and + Paul L. Wattelet, chairman, president and CEO, Sargent & Lundy, L.L.C U.S. nuclear power plant licensees and representatives of other companies involved in nuclear technologies are members of the NEI board of directors. Members of the board and its Executive Committee typically serve three-year terms, and officers are elected annually. The following NEI officers were re-elected: + Joe F. Colvin, president and chief executive officer; + Angelina S. Howard, executive vice president; + Ralph E. Beedle, Marvin S. Fertel and John E. Kane, senior vice presidents; + Robert W. Bishop, Linda L. Nahin, J. Scott Peterson, and Phyllis M. Rich vice presidents; and + Robert W. Bishop, secretary; and + Linda L. Nahin, treasurer. The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's Washington-based policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available at http://www.nei.org [http://www.nei.org] Contact NEI's media relations staff at 202/739-8000 during business hours or 703/644-8805 after hours and weekends. Contact: Nuclear Energy Institute Melanie Lyons, 202/739-8000 Copyright © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. ***************************************************************** 47 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 02.18 | 24 - 30 April 2002 A weekly summary of international news relevant to the nuclear energy industry. [NB02.18-1] The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has appointed Gerald Grandey, president of Cameco, as its new chairman of the board. Mr Grandey succeeds Agneta Rising, corporate senior advisor at Vattenfall AB of Sweden, who chaired the WNA for the past two years. Newly elected members of the WNA board also include David Woods of Exelon, Masatoshi Asao of Mitsui & Co and Ralf Gueldner of Framatome ANP. (NucNet Insider, 34/02, 24 April) [NB02.18-2] Germany's new atomic law came into force on 27 April. The new law will enshrine the provisions of the agreement signed in 2001 by the German utilities and the coalition government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroder for the long-term phase out of nuclear energy in the country. The legislation also includes a ban on reprocessing of spent fuel after 1 July 2005, a commitment by utilities to build and use on-site 'interim storage' facilities and an undertaking by government to guarantee the undisturbed operation of nuclear power plants as well as the management of nuclear waste. The law also includes a 10-fold increase - to 2.5 billion euro (US$2.25 billion) - of mandatory liability cover for nuclear power plants. (NucNet News, 155/02, 25 April; see also News Briefing 01.37-6) [NB02.18-3] Italy: New draft energy legislation being finalised by industry minister Antonio Marzano, is expected to stress the need for Italy to rethink its current non-nuclear policy. Italian nuclear officials say a document calling for the need to 'reconsider' the use of nuclear power in Italy has now been approved by parliament. The document will form the basis of an energy reform package, which Mr Marzano is due to present in May, and which is expected to call for the adoption of new Italian energy policy that includes a 'fundamental role' for both nuclear power and 'clean coal' technologies. The legislation would encourage Italian nuclear companies to dedicate substantially more resources to nuclear research and to become more actively involved in nuclear operations abroad. The use of nuclear power was prohibited in Italy following a referendum in 1987. (NucNet News, 150/02, 23 April; see also News Briefing 01.41-3) [NB02.18-4] The US Senate voted 88-11 in favour of approving an energy bill that includes several nuclear power provisions, including renewal of the Price Anderson Act. The bill also calls for more funding for joint research by the Department of Energy (DOE) and private industry into advanced nuclear reactor technologies. The bill must still be reconciled with a bill that passed in the House of Representatives that is different in a number of important aspects. (Ux Weekly, 29 April, p4) [NB02.18-5] Kazakhstan: Kazatomprom plans to spend US$22 million in 2002 to increase uranium production. In future years, the company plans to produce 2500 tonnes of uranium annually. Based on current plans, Kazakhstan's share of world uranium output should increase to 7% from the current 5%. (Ux Weekly, 29 April, p2; see also News Briefing 02.01-2) [NB02.18-6] US: FirstEnergy has submitted a plan for repairing the reactor pressure vessel head at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant. The plan involves cutting out the corroded area of the reactor head and welding in a 15cm thick, corrosion-resistant nickel alloy plate. The plate will be about 45cm in diameter and cover the control rod drive mechanism nozzle opening adjacent to the corroded area, as well as another nozzle opening near the corrosion. The repair would cost an estimated US$25 million. FirstEnergy now expects Davis-Besse will return to service by September at the earliest, pending approval for the repair plan by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). (NucNet News, 162/02, 30 April; Ux Weekly, 29 April, p4; see also News Briefing 02.17-4) [NB02.18-7] China's fifth nuclear power reactor, Ling Ao-1, reached full power on 21 April. The start date for full commercial operation is now likely to be brought forward from mid-July to June, officials said. Ling Ao-2 is scheduled to begin commercial operation in March 2003. (NucNet News, 157/02, 26 April; see also News Briefing 02.09-16) [NB02.18-8] US: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has released its final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) on relicensing Browns Ferry-2 and -3, and possibly unit 1. The company expects to issue a record of decision in May, rather than April, as originally planned. Comments on the final report are due by 6 May. TVA is awaiting detailed financial assessments and power planning forecasts before deciding whether to pursue the restart option. The SEIS is available on TVA's website [http://www.tva.gov/environment/reports/brownsferry/index.htm] . (Nucleonics Week, 18 April, p4; see also News Briefing 02.03-4) [NB02.18-9] US: Consultants studying the feasibility of Energy Northwest completing the 1300 MWe WNP-1 nuclear power reactor consider it very unlikely that the reactor will ever be completed. Consulting company Goldschmidt Imeson found the costs of completing the reactor would probably exceed the previously estimated US$3.3-4.2 billion and that there were no customers interested in it. (Nucleonics Week, 25 April, p2; Ux Weekly, 29 April, p4; see also News Briefing 02.08-10) [NB02.18-10] US: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is on track to approve power uprates in June for Carolina Power & Light Co's (CP&L's) Brunswick-1 and -2 nuclear power reactors. The NRC issued a draft environmental assessment in March that concluded that the uprates, which would increase the thermal power of both units by 14.3% - from 2558 MWt to 2923 MWt - would result in no significant radiological impacts. Meanwhile, South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co has been authorised by the NRC to uprate the two reactors at its nuclear power plant by 18 MWe each. The 1.4% uprate will be implemented at unit 1 in the summer and unit 2 in the autumn. (Nucleonics Week, 25 April, p3; Ux Weekly, 29 April, p3) [NB02.18-11] South Africa: The ongoing feasibility study into the viability of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) has not yet reached a conclusion. Work continues to match the design to particular market requirements. (Ux Weekly, 29 April, p4; PBMR, 30 April; see also News Briefing 00.16-6) [NB02.18-12] Indian scientists are ready to start construction work on a 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), according to principal scientific advisor to the government, R Chidambaram. The prototype - a pool-type, sodium-cooled, plutonium-uranium-oxide-fuelled reactor - has been designed indigenously at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. The start of construction of the PFBR will mark the beginning of the second of three stages in its thorium program. (Nucleonics Week, 18 April, p4; see also News Briefing 01.16-9) [NB02.18-13] Spain: The Vandellos nuclear power plant site has been proposed as an 'official European offer' for siting the planned International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. The ITER would be the largest fusion device ever built and would be capable of generating 500 MW of fusion power for hundreds of seconds. (NucNet News, 160/02, 30 April; see also News Briefing 02.01-18) [NB02.18-14] Ukraine: The Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) is 'in progress as planned', despite a 'slight' delay in the work schedule, according to the deputy state secretary for fuel and energy, Mykola Steinberg. He said that the main focus of the project was now the construction of a new 'envelope' over the existing sarcophagus, which covers the remains of the ruined fourth reactor unit. A feasibility study for the new structure, whose construction is set to start in mid-2005, is near completion. The new structure is expected to be finished in 2007, at a total cost of some US$758 million. (NucNet News, 158/02, 26 April; see also News Briefing 02.02-11) [NB02.18-15] US: The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 41-6 on 25 April to approve a joint resolution that would approve the Yucca Mountain location as a repository site. Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La) plans to bring the resolution before the House of Representatives the week of 6 May. The joint resolution would essentially override Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn's disapproval of the Yucca Mountain site. (Nuclear Energy Overview, 29 April, p1; SpentFUEL, 29 April, p1; Nuclear Fuel, 29 April, p7; see also News Briefing 02.16-14) [NB02.18-16] A public opinion poll examining European attitudes towards radioactive waste within the 15 European Union (EU) members states has been published by leading market research organisation, INRA. The survey was conducted during October and November 2001, during which time some 16 000 interviews were conducted with about 1000 people being interviewed in each EU member state. A similar survey was conducted in 1998. 91% of respondents knew that nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste, with only 2% saying they did not and 6% unsure. When asked whether 'all radioactive waste is very dangerous', 75% said yes (compared with 79% in 1998) and 14% said no (compared with 10% in 1998). 29% of respondents were 'very worried' about how radwaste is managed in their own country (down from 41% in 1998). However, 48.5% of people are greatly concerned about radwaste management in EU-accession countries. The report can be downloaded from here [http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/nuclear/pdf/eb56_radwaste_en.pd f] . (NucNet News, 154/02, 24 April) [NB02.18-17] France: Cogema's new R4 plutonium purification and conversion facility at its La Hague reprocessing plant has started operations. The facility is designed to facilitate reprocessing of mixed-oxide (MOX) and other new types of fuel. R4, with a reprocessing capacity of 80kg of Pu per day, replaces the original plutonium purification workshop at La Hague. (NucNet News, 156/02, 25 April; see also News Briefing 02.02-13) Notice: Due to the public holiday in the UK on Monday, 6 May, next week's News Briefing (NB02.19) will be produced and distributed on Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday. Previous News Briefing NB02.17 ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************