***************************************************************** 04/05/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.86 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 AU: Lucas Heights N-reactor go-ahead 2 AU: Night vigil outside Lucas Heights reactor 3 Nuke fears ignored, say residents 4 AU: Anti-nuke groups slam decision 5 Bushehr Reactor Tops Iranian Talks 6 Green light for new Sydney reactor 7 Lucas Heights Reactor go-ahead sparks protests 8 Nuclear Pros and cons 9 AU: It will be safe, says regulator chief 10 Finland: Women Protest (proposed reactor) with Their Wombs 11 AU: A new hub for scientists, says Ansto 12 AU: Environment groups to hold all-night vigil 13 AU: Environmentalists threaten to block construction of new nuclear 14 Moscow's ties with Pyongyang back on track 15 Spain may need to use nuclear energy to meet future demand - NUCLEAR REACTORS 16 Belarusian president discusses Chernobyl problems with UN 17 US: Millstone gets a closer look in wake of 9-11 18 US: Ameren UE 1,150-MW Callaway Nuclear Plans Oct. '02 Outage 19 US: NRC Blasts Nuclear Plant Vigilance 20 Environmentalists threaten to block construction of new nuclear reac 21 Tepco To Shut 1,100-MW Reactor In N Japan Monday; Turnaround 22 US: NRC to Meet with Entergy to Discuss Indian Point 3 Plant 23 US: NRC Will Hold Public Meeting on April 8 in Rockville, Maryland, 24 US: NRC Names Victor H. Ransom to Advisory Committee on Reactor 25 US: NRC Forms Office of Security to Streamline Security, Safeguards 26 US: NRC says Ohio nuclear plant hole should have been found earlier 27 Possibility to buy Croatian share of power plant still open - 28 US: New fuel to increase Clinton plant's power 29 Watchdog approves new Lucas Heights reactor 30 US: NRC Blasts Nuclear Plant Vigilance 31 Tepco To Shut 1,100-MW Reactor In N Japan Monday; Turnaround 32 Russian power utility loses R8bn in fruitless competition with 33 Nuclear power sector set to expand in northwestern Russia - 34 Russia presents unique floating nuclear power plant project NUCLEAR SAFETY 35 U.N. nuclear experts inspect radioactive source discovered in 36 Lithuanian authorities recover part of stolen nuclear container 37 Lithuanian authorities recover part of stolen nuclear container 38 39 US: Chemist arrested for possession of radioactive material NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 40 US: Reid Told No Safety Tests Have Ever Been Done On Full Size 41 US: Too bad George cut class on Yucca Geology 101 42 US: New England Governors' Conference Urges Congressional Support fo 43 US: New England Governors' Conference Urges Congressional Support fo 44 US: NRC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule for Packaging and 45 US: Reid criticizes tests on nuclear waste casks as inadequate 46 US: Reid criticizes tests on nuclear waste casks as inadequate 47 US: Mayor: Yucca Mountain must come later 48 US: `West Wing' nuclear waste story line called Nevada `disinformati 49 US: Nuke cask test questioned 50 US: Goodman hopes city will add to fund 51 US: Where I Stand: Mike O'Callaghan: Not a security issue 52 US: State may hire experts to lobby U.S. senators NUCLEAR WEAPONS 53 Madness that keeps doomsday clock ticking despite end of the Cold Wa 54 N.Korea, in About Turn, Says U.S. 'Sworn Enemy' 55 Doubts linger over North Korea's real intentions 56 The creeping nuclear threat 57 US abandons treaties at its peril US DEPT. OF ENERGY 58 PNNL medical system being tested 59 2 CBC students start petition to save FFTF 60 Cleanup delays won't be accepted 61 Hanford eyes new technology for cleanup OTHER NUCLEAR 62 Contest Explores Creative Ways to Handle Excess US Plutonium ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 AU: Lucas Heights N-reactor go-ahead Herald Sun: [05apr02] news.com.au network Source: AAP A REPLACEMENT nuclear reactor will be built at Sydney's Lucas Heights, it has been confirmed. Science Minister Peter McGauran said today the $300 million project was the largest single investment in Australian science history. It would deliver medical, scientific and industrial benefits throughout the nation, he said. "The reliable delivery of radioisotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, along with providing for on-going research in various fields of medicine, is the primary role of the reactor," he said. More Australians would live longer and enjoy a better quality of life because of the reactor, Mr McGauran said. "The Government had a clear choice between saving lives and providing for more ground-breaking scientific and industrial research, or succumbing to minority groups and their protest actions." The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) had issued a licence for the construction of the reactor, he said. "ARPANSA has conducted a thorough review of safety and security measures and undertaken extensive community consultation before granting the licence. "As the independent regulating authority, ARPANSA has considered all of the issues and has now cleared the way for construction to start in the near future. "There has been an extensive review of safety and security arrangements in the wake of September 11 and I am confident these issues are being well managed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)." Mr McGauran said he was confident issues relating to waste management would also be resolved before the reactor came online in 2005. "The Government is well advanced on the two separate processes of establishing a low-level radioactive waste repository and a medium-level radioactive waste storage facility." © Herald and Weekly Times ***************************************************************** 2 AU: Night vigil outside Lucas Heights reactor The Australian: [April 05, 2002] news.com.au network Source: AAP A GROUP of demonstrators has camped outside Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor for an all-night vigil in protest against today's decision to build a new reactor at the site. About 100 protesters were at the southern Sydney facility and plan to stay until tomorrow morning, said Greenpeace campaigner James Courtney. There were representatives from Greenpeace, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth and People Against a Nuclear Reactor, Mr Courtney said. They have set up a makeshift movie screen and plan to have "a bit of a dance" later tonight, he said. "This reactor will put Sydney at risk for at least 40 more years, both as a terrorist target and as a nuclear waste producer," he said. The federal government today approved a $300 million replacement reactor for the southern Sydney facility. Construction of the replacement reactor at Lucas Heights will begin within days, Science Minister Peter McGauran said today. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 3 Nuke fears ignored, say residents Daily Telegraph: [05apr02] news.com.au network Source: News Interactive COMMUNITY concerns about a new nuclear reactor to be built in Sydney's south were ignored by the federal government, residents said. Science Minister Peter McGauran today announced a $300 million replacement nuclear reactor for Lucas Heights, in the Sutherland Shire. The new reactor would allow more Australians to live longer and enjoy a better quality of life, Mr McGauran said. However, at least two long-time locals disagree. Sutherland Shire mother-of-four Maria Psaltis joined the People Against a Nuclear Reactor (PANR) group when the idea of a new reactor was first floated. "Having a nuclear reactor in suburban Sydney, 1.6km from local schools, near a young community is a huge risk and I don't think that it's a risk that is acceptable," Ms Psaltis said. "Given the events of September 11 and the concerns about terrorism, I think it seems absurd to have something like the nuclear reactor that could be seen as a target for terrorist attacks on Sydney. "I don't think that the concerns of the people who have been informed on this ... have been taken into account at all." Ms Psaltis said the federal government's decision on the replacement reactor had shaken her faith in the system. "For me, it's been a really interesting experience because I believed in democracy until today," she said. "I feel really angry because there has been so much evidence and so much information that has really indicated that building a reactor in suburban Sydney is not a good idea. "We feel that the government has had lots and lots of money to present its argument, but the other side just hasn't had the resources to present its argument." Retired Sutherland grandmother Heather Rice said she too felt the decision was a foregone conclusion that ignored genuine, credible concerns. "I do not think it's fair. In fact, I think it's a sham," the 77-year-old said. "I think a decision was already made and the government has just gone through the motions of democracy." Mrs Rice said the decision to build a replacement reactor at Sutherland was disastrous for the shire's 200,000 residents. "It's just so unfair and unreasonable that the government didn't consider any other site," she said. "One would think in a country this large there could be an alternative site to one in a suburb of its largest city." privacy © Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications ***************************************************************** 4 AU: Anti-nuke groups slam decision Daily Telegraph: [05apr02] news.com.au network Source: AAP ANTI-nuclear campaigners have been locked out of a media conference called by Australia's peak nuclear body after a second reactor was approved for Sydney's south. After months of protest and speculation, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) today granted a construction licence for the Lucas Heights reactor project to go ahead. It will be built by Argentine company INVAP. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which has been granted the licence, welcomed the announcement. ANSTO said the reactor would ensure Australians continued to receive first-class medical services. "The new facility will have enormous potential for unlocking knowledge associated with biotechnology, engineering, materials, nanoscience and environmental science just to name a few areas of research and industrial application," ANSTO chief executive Professor Helen Garnett said. But protesters said the lockout from the media conference reflected ANSTO's approach to the whole process. "The attitude of the people on the door was like something out of Bulgaria in the 1950s," convenor of People Against A Nuclear Reactor Michael Priceman said. Greenpeace spokesman Stephen Campbell said approval of the new reactor was a bad decision. "Greenpeace believes this decision is shabby, incompetent and quite possibly negligent," he said. "There are too many problems with this project for a federal ... regulatory agency to be giving the green light for it to go ahead." Prof Garnett said the tender process had been long and involved. "The ARPANSA decision follows several years of exhaustive processes involving the public," she said. © Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications ***************************************************************** 5 Bushehr Reactor Tops Iranian Talks [http://www.themoscowtimes.com Friday, Apr. 5, 2002. Page 3 By Tim Vickery The Associated Press Misha Japaridze / AP Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov shaking hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi at a meeting Thursday. Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Russian officials on Thursday discussed the final phase of construction of a Russian-built nuclear reactor in Iran -- a project that has caused alarm in the United States and cast a continual shadow over U.S.-Russian relations. Moscow has dismissed U.S. warnings that the $800 million light-water reactor in Bushehr could help Iran develop nuclear weapons, and insisted the plant would remain under international control. The Bushehr reactor is set to be built by December 2003 and start up by 2005. Officials from the two countries have discussed plans for building a second reactor at the same plant. "Guided by the results of work on the first power unit, the sides are now discussing the possibility of completing construction of the second unit," said Viktor Kozlov, the head of Atomstroiexport company, which is building the Bushehr plant. Kozlov said that a total of 5,000 tons of equipment, including the reactor's body, had already been shipped to Iran. About 3,900 Russian and Iranian workers are building the reactor, Kozlov said, according to Itar-Tass. Alongside concern about the Bushehr plant, U.S. officials have alleged that some Russian companies were leaking missile technology to Iran. Speaking to reporters in Athens, Greece, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov reiterated Moscow's strong denial that Russia had assisted Iran's missile or nuclear weapons program. "Russia's alleged supply of nuclear or missile technologies to Iran has been discussed for a long time, but it is nothing but a myth," Ivanov said. At the same time, he said, Russia would continue selling conventional weapons to Tehran. Meanwhile, in a university speech Thursday, Kharrazi voiced concern about the U.S. military presence in Central Asia, which President Vladimir Putin has accepted calmly. "It's we, the countries of the region, who must take care of security in Central Asia," he said, according to Itar-Tass. In his talks with Russian officials, Kharrazi also discussed the status of the oil-rich Caspian Sea. Kharrazi predicted that Iraq's recent proposal to suspend oil exports to the United States as a lever to affect the Middle East conflict would work only if all oil-producing Islamic countries "make a unanimous decision," Interfax reported. ***************************************************************** 6 Green light for new Sydney reactor theage.com.au - Friday April 5, 2002 A replacement nuclear reactor will be built at Sydney's Lucas Heights, the federal government announced today. Science Minister Peter McGauran said the $300 million project was the largest single investment in Australian science history. It would deliver medical, scientific and industrial benefits throughout the nation, he said. "The reliable delivery of radioisotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, along with providing for ongoing research in various fields of medicine, is the primary role of the reactor," Mr McGauran said in a statement. More Australians would live longer and enjoy a better quality of life because of the reactor, Mr McGauran said. "The government had a clear choice between saving lives and providing for more ground-breaking scientific and industrial research, or succumbing to minority groups and their protest actions." The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) had issued a licence for the construction of the reactor, he said. "ARPANSA has conducted a thorough review of safety and security measures and undertaken extensive community consultation before granting the licence," he said. "As the independent regulating authority, ARPANSA has considered all of the issues and has now cleared the way for construction to start in the near future. "There has been an extensive review of safety and security arrangements in the wake of Sept 11 and I am confident these issues are being well managed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)." Mr McGauran said he was confident issues relating to waste management would be resolved before the reactor came online in 2005. "The government is well advanced on the two separate processes of establishing a low-level radioactive waste repository and a medium-level radioactive waste storage facility." AAP Copyright © 2002 The Age Company Ltd ***************************************************************** 7 Lucas Heights Reactor go-ahead sparks protests smh.com.au - April 5, 2002 The go-ahead for a second nuclear reactor for Luca Heights in Sydney's south is set to spark widespread protests. È Sutherland Shire councillor Genevieve Rankin said the council would continue its fight to block the development, starting today with protests starting at 5pm (AEST) today at the site. Meanwhile anti-nuclear campaigners were locked out of a media conference held by Australia's peak nuclear body to announce the decision today. After months of protest and speculation, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) today granted a construction licence for the Lucas Heights reactor project to go ahead. It will be built by Argentine company INVAP. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which has been granted the licence, welcomed the announcement. ANSTO said the reactor would ensure Australians continued to receive first-class medical services. "The new facility will have enormous potential for unlocking knowledge associated with biotechnology, engineering, materials, nanoscience and environmental science just to name a few areas of research and industrial application," ANSTO chief executive Professor Helen Garnett told reporters. But protesters said the lockout from the media conference reflected ANSTO's approach to the whole process. "The attitude of the people on the door was like something out of Bulgaria in the 1950s," convenor of People Against A Nuclear Reactor Michael Priceman said. Greenpeace spokesman Stephen Campbell said approval of the new reactor was a bad decision. "Greenpeace believes this decision is shabby, incompetent and quite possibly negligent," he said. "There are too many problems with this project for a federal ... regulatory agency to be giving the green light for it to go ahead." Prof Garnett said the tender process had been long and involved. "The ARPANSA decision follows several years of exhaustive processes involving the public," she said. Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. advertise ***************************************************************** 8 Nuclear Pros and cons Pros (according to ANSTO): smh.com.au - April 5 2002 · Will produce medical radioisotopes used in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer, brain diseases, coronary artery disease and arthritis. · Current ANSTO estimates indicate every Australian will use a reactor-based nuclear medicine procedure in his or her lifetime. · The facility will be used to identify and solve problems in a range of scientific disciplines. · Companies in sectors including aerospace, electronics, automotive, biotechnology, defence, food and telecommunications will also benefit. · Staff and students from 36 Australian universities will continue to have access for educational purposes Cons (according to Greenpeace): · ARPANSA's own expert panel found the reactor's construction plan included inadequate radioactive waste and spent fuel management. · The Sutherland Shire Council says, based upon ANSTO information, residents up to 80 kilometres away could be affected in the event of a catastrophic event at the reactor. · Argentinian construction company INVAP is suffering severe economic crisis, with claims its workers have not been paid in two months. · South Australia, selected by the federal government for waste dumps, has legislated against the importation of long lived intermediate level waste from the reactor. · Federal investigators in Argentina have filed a case to investigate legal irregularities in the contracts between INVAP and ANSTO. Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. advertise ***************************************************************** 9 AU: It will be safe, says regulator chief smh.com.au - April 5, 2002 The head of Australia's nuclear regulator today said he approved a replacement reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney because he believed it could be operated safely. Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) CEO John Loy said he issued the licence after carefully considering detailed technical assessments, public submissions and reports from the Nuclear Safety Committee. "After the process of assessment, I have reached the conclusion that this design would result in a reactor that could be operated safety," Dr Loy said in a statement. "Of fundamental importance is that the design is for a reactor, the ultimate safety of which does not depend upon human beings taking the right decision or on the workings of a complicated, technological system." The reactor had important safety features built into it that met international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety, Dr Loy said. ");document.write(" advertisement "); } } // --> "It has two separate and diverse shutdown systems that can operate to shut down the reactor in any abnormal occurrence," he said. "The ability of these systems to achieve the necessary shutdown in a whole range of potential accident scenarios was a central focus of the safety assessment that I have made." Dr Loy said the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) proposed to ship spent fuel to France for reprocessing. "The waste from this reprocessing would be returned to Australia as vitrified waste, suitable for long-term storage," he said. "This is a viable and acceptably safe strategy." He said impending legal action in France over the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in that country would not pose an obstacle. "I have discussed the issues with the French authorities and feel confident that the necessary authorisations for the processing of Australian fuel will be forthcoming," he said. The matter would be kept under review. Dr Loy said he was also satisfied that anti-terrorism measures were in place, particularly with regard to possible air attacks on the facility. "I am satisfied that even in the unlikely event that such an attack were attempted, that the probability of the attack being successful is now very small indeed," he said. "This follows from the size and location of the facility and also from its robust design and additional measures to be taken." Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 10 Finland: Women Protest (proposed reactor) with Their Wombs Yahoo! News - Fri Apr 5,10:38 AM ET HELSINKI (Reuters) - Hundreds of Finnish women are protesting with their wombs, vowing they will not give birth for the next four years unless parliament scraps plans to another nuclear power station. Some 700 Finns, mainly women, have so far signed an Internet petition started a year ago against the construction of a fifth nuclear reactor in Finland in a move that separates it from the rest of Western Europe. "This form of protest is logical because this issue doesn't concern just our generation," said Elina Venesmaki, 25, who was one of the founders of the petition (www.valvomo.org/lakko). "We want to remind everyone that this is an issue that concerns people, not just industry," she said, adding she eventually wanted children. Finnish industry says more nuclear capacity is a must to meet growing electricity demands and enable cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but opponents say the risks involved are too high and the question of nuclear waste disposal still unanswered. Venesmaki said she hoped the petition would sway members of parliament to reject the government proposal, which is due to be voted on in late May at the earliest. Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 11 AU: A new hub for scientists, says Ansto smh.com.au - April 5 2002 Australia's peak nuclear body said the new plant would become a hub for scientists. "The new facility will have enormous potential for unlocking knowledge associated with biotechnology, nanotechnology, new material science, environmental science, engineering, medicine, just to name a few," said Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation chief executive Helen Garnett. The new reactor will be built by Argentinian company INVAP, which has faced financial trouble in recent times. But Prof Garnett said she believed the company's financial position had been misunderstood. "I think there may be some misunderstanding there," she said. "Indeed, what's been provided is a drawdown facility similar to a banking facility, it's not an underpinning." Prof Garnett said she hoped anti-nuclear campaigners would not go ahead with reported protests plans for the construction period. "I recognise the right for people to voice their opinions," she said. "However, I do not think it's appropriate for people to interfere with processes that have been agreed upon and I would hope that people think again about undertaking this kind of action." The campaigners were today locked out of ANSTO's media conference, a move they claimed reflected the organisation's approach to the whole process. "The attitude of the people on the door was like something out of Bulgaria in the 1950s - they've got nothing to hide obviously," convenor of People Against A Nuclear Reactor Michael Priceman said. Prof Garnett also said concerns from environmentalists over what would happen to waste from the facility were the responsibility of the government. Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 12 AU: Environment groups to hold all-night vigil smh.com.au - April 5 2002 Anti-nuclear groups opposed to the development of a new reactor in Sydney's south will tonight hold a vigil outside the existing plant. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) today granted a construction licence to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) for the reactor, to be built by Argentine company INVAP. Science Minister Peter McGauran today said the $300 million project represented the largest single investment in Australian science history. The environment groups, united under the banner Reaction, said they would hold an all-night vigil from 5pm (AEST) outside the site at Lucas Heights. Greenpeace campaigner James Courtney said the decision made a mockery of ARPANSA's claim to protect the community from the harmful effects of radiation. "This reactor will put Sydney at risk for at least 40 more years, both as a terrorist target and as a nuclear waste producer," Mr Courtney said in a statement. Greenpeace has joined with the Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth (FoE) and People Against a Nuclear Reactor in the Reaction coalition, which today vowed to actively oppose construction of the reactor. The coalition said the licence granted today breached the conditions required by the project's Environmental Impact Statement. In particular, there were no ways to deal with spent fuel or nuclear waste from the replacement reactor. This had been highlighted in a recent ARPANSA review which recommended that no construction license be issued until nuclear waste issues had been resolved, the group said. "If ANSTO can't manage their waste they should not be licensed to make it", FoE campaigner Bruce Thompson said in a statement. "ANSTO faces serious legal and political barriers to reprocessing waste overseas and has no credible plan for storage in Australia." Greenpeace campaigner Stephen Campbell said initial plans to store long-lived intermediate-level waste in South Australia were prohibited by state law. There also were grave doubts over whether INVAP could build a safe and working reactor given the economic situation in Argentina, Mr Campbell said. Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 13 AU: Environmentalists threaten to block construction of new nuclear reactor in Australia Thu Apr 4,10:37 PM ET By PETER O'CONNOR, Associated Press Writer CANBERRA, Australia - Hours after the government announced it will begin building a new nuclear reactor in Sydney next week, environmental activists vowed to block the plant's construction. The Australian Radiation and Nuclear Protection Safety Agency said Friday it will allow Argentine company INVAP to begin building the 300-million Australian dollar (dlrs 159 million) research nuclear reactor. Greenpeace anti-nuclear campaigner James Courtney predicted a "massive public backlash" and said activists would start protesting at the site on Friday. "We will not stand by and quietly watch them go ahead with this," he said. The reactor will replace an existing one on the same site at Lucas Heights, a southwestern suburb of Sydney. The reactor produces radioactive material used in medicine and medical research. It does not generate power. The old reactor is being decommissioned after nearly 40 years of use. Federal authorities rejected the arguments of protesters who have for years opposed a replacement reactor because, saying that it poses risks to residents and that waste disposal problems remain unsolved. Science Minister Peter McGauran said the decision to proceed was based on a yearlong study and subsequent report by the nuclear safety agency. "This report puts paid to the long and organized campaign of disinformation and outright lies told about the replacement reactor by a number of extremist groups," McGauran said. McGauran said extra safety and security checks had been carried out on the plans in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. He added that a waste disposal plan would be ready before the plant is completed in 2005. (poc/mcc/dv) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 14 Moscow's ties with Pyongyang back on track [Asia Times Online] April 5, 2002 atimes.com By Sergei Blagov MOSCOW - As Moscow has pledged to restore cooperation with North Korea, one Russian high-ranking official became engaged in book writing arguably aiming at highlighting re-emerging close ties with Pyongyang. Konstantin Pulikovsky, President Vladimir Putin's special representative to the Far Eastern Federal District, who accompanied reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on his 24-day trip train ride to and fro across Russia last summer, has revealed details of the journey in excerpts from his upcoming book. Among other things, Pulikovsky claimed that "Kim Jong-il radiated strong personal energy." And, "I could constantly feel his powerful aura," Pulikovsky's manuscript was quoted by Vladivostok daily. Pyongyang's Dear Leader traveled 13,000 kilometers from the North Korean capital Pyongyang to Moscow and back along the famed Trans-Siberian Railroad. He undertook an unprecedented July 26-August 18 trip in a 21-car, Japanese-built armored express train. The train was preceded by separate locomotives some distance ahead, reportedly to detect mines. Despite the intense security precautions, the train was attacked twice by stone-throwing hooligans, once near the city of Ussurisk in the Far East and once near St Petersburg, Pulikovsky said. However, Kim rarely emerged from the train and the visit was closed to journalists. Kim was expected but failed to visit Vyatskoye village in Khabarovsk region. During World War II, the 88th "International Brigade" was based there. Kim's father Kim Il-sung served as lieutenant in the 88th brigade and Kim Jong-il was reportedly born in Vyatskoye. Yet according to North Korea official history, Kim Jong-il was born on Korea's soil as his father headed anti-Japanese resistance. Many Russians complained of the security measures that tied up railway traffic as more than 500,000 Russians were inconvenienced by Kim's trip. Subsequently, some Russians successfully sued the Russian Railways Ministry for inconveniences. Moreover, Komsomolskaya Pravda has run more excerpts from Pulikovsky's manuscript, including statements on drug-related issues. "If you detain North Korean drug addicts, just shoot them - I allow it," Pulikovsky quoted Kim as saying, adding that Kim said that he ordered the killing of drug dealers of Chinese origin in North Korea. The book, compiled by ghost-writers Olga Maltseva and Leonid Vinogradov, is due to be published in Russia in the fall. On April 2, Pulikovsky's spokesman Yevgeny Anoshin claimed that a number of overseas publishers, notably South Korean, were keen to acquire book rights. However, Pulikovsky opted to publish in Moscow his manuscript, tentatively entitled Across Russia with Kim Jong-il. Apart from book writing, Pulikovsky has been engaged in actual attempts to give ties with North Korea a much needed boost. For instance, Pulikovsky extended an invitation to North Korean Vice Premier Cho Ch'ang-tok, and he will visit Russia's Far East from April 4-14. Cho's itinerary includes trips to the region's major urban centers Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, and Blagoveschensk, as well as discussions on trade and investment in transportation projects. However, other Russian officials sounded less optimistic about a possible revival of links with North Korea. Rebuilding the Trans-Korean Railroad and linking it to the Trans-Siberian poses a "huge political risk" while requiring substantial investment, Railways Minister Guennady Fadeyev said on March 21. However, he reiterated Russia's support for the project, adding that the ministry was prepared to share involvement in the project with other participants. The project is estimated to cost about US$250 million. Completing the link is expected to significantly increase cargo transit via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It is an ambitious rail project that would open up the 9,000km Trans-Siberian Railway to South Korean exports, halving the time it currently takes Seoul to get goods to European markets by sea. Russia is also working on plans for a gas pipeline to South Korea, which could provide the North with energy and transportation fees. The Soviet Union was a close ally of Pyongyang during the 1950-53 war between the communist North and the United Nations-backed South. Yet relations have been less cordial since the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule. Russia, Pyongyang's neighbor thanks to a narrow land border near Vladivostok, has sharply downgraded its ties with North Korea. There has been a corresponding increase in Russian trade links with South Korea, which is still technically at war with North Korea. President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea in July 2000 to become the first Kremlin leader ever to visit Pyongyang. Also in 2000, Moscow and Pyongyang signed a new bilateral treaty to replace an outmoded Soviet-era accord in place since 1961. However, between 1992 and 2000, bilateral trade dropped from $600 million to $105 million a year. Moreover, the bulk, some 90 percent, of North Korean exports to Russia consists of a cheap labor force. North Korean workers are typically engaged in the forestry industry. Russia has promised to help in rebuilding North Korean enterprises launched during the Soviet era, including the power sector, although Moscow's aid was conditional on regular payments on Pyongyang's Soviet-era debt. That debt to Moscow is estimated to be between $1.7 billion and $5.5 billion (the discrepancy is caused by disagreements over exchange rates of the Soviet-era currencies). After US President George W Bush's inclusion of North Korea in an "axis of evil", Pyongyang seemingly turned to Russia for a shoulder to lean on. For instance, last month Choe Thae-bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, visited Moscow to ask for technical help in upgrading power plants built during the Soviet era. Moreover, in an apparent snub to Washington's "axis of evil" rhetoric, on March 21 Russia's Industry, Science and Technology Ministry spokesman said a high-ranking North Korean delegation had visited Moscow and "expressed a desire for Russia to build a nuclear power station in North Korea". But on March 22 the Atomic Energy Minister backed down, dismissed the statement and said that "no official discussions" had taken place. As Russia remains one of the few countries with extensive representation in Pyongyang, the Kremlin has said it intends to play a role on the divided peninsula. However, it remains to be seen whether Moscow could actually manage to profit from its rediscovered friendship with Pyongyang. ((c)2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please ***************************************************************** 15 Spain may need to use nuclear energy to meet future demand - Fenosa's Reinoso AFX Europe; Apr 5, 2002 MADRID (AFX) - Spain may need to use nuclear energy as an alternative power source to meet future demand, Union Electrica Fenosa SA chairman Victoriano Reinoso said in an interview with Expansion TV. While noting that natural gas "is a good solution" for boosting electricity generation through the construction of combined cycle plants, Reinoso said this method "will not be sufficient to fully cover (electricity) demand over the next 25 years." But he added that he does not expect any new nuclear plants to be constructed before 2010. Turning to the last month's EU summit in Barcelona and the advances made in the area of deepening the liberalisation of the European energy sector, Reinoso said the summit was "a success." But he said the process of interconnection between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe will be "a slow one." Reinoso ruled out further consolidation in the Spanish electricity sector in the short-term, adding that Fenosa is "of a sufficient size" to develop its business single-handed and be profitable. jdy/jad ***************************************************************** 16 Belarusian president discusses Chernobyl problems with UN official BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 5, 2002 Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Minsk, 5 April: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said that international financial institutions and donor countries should pay more attention to problems related to overcoming the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. At a meeting on Friday with the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian issues, Kenzo Oshima, Lukashenka said that over recent years the world community had become somewhat inattentive to Chernobyl problems. "It is the world community's duty to provide assistance to the Belarusian people who undeservedly suffered from this catastrophe," said the Belarusian president. He said that, according to experts' estimates, the damage inflicted on Belarus by the Chernobyl disaster is equal to 250bn US dollars. The country spent about 13bn dollars to minimize the accident's after-effects, whereas the world community - a mere less than 10m dollars, according to Lukashenka. He said that the Chernobyl problems are now treated one-sidedly. According to him, more funds today are spent to build, say, a new sarcophagus, while the population residing in polluted areas remains neglected. The Belarusian leader asked Kenzo Oshima to put forward an initiative in the UN to develop and finance permanent programmes for overcoming the Chernobyl accident consequences. Oshima, who yesterday visited Belarus's areas affected by the nuclear disaster, highly assessed efforts undertaken by the country's government to liquidate the tragedy's aftermath. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1109 gmt 5 Apr 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 17 Millstone gets a closer look in wake of 9-11 TheDay.com: Saturday | April 6 Attacks lead to changes in emergency planning By Paul Choiniere - More Articles Published on 04/05/2002 Waterford –– Emergency planning in the event of an accident at Millstone Power Station has changed in big ways and small since Sept. 11, reflecting changing attitudes about the potential for a terrorist attack on the nuclear facility. Connecticut has requested and received 450,000 doses of potassium iodide for use in warding off the damaging effects of radiation poisoning should an attack or an accident at the nuclear station endanger the public. The town has begun stationing buses at schools closest to the nuclear plant to facilitate an evacuation. It has also changed the destination for evacuees, from Wethersfield to East Hartford. Other changes are subtler. Waterford has upgraded its emergency communication system. Regional School District 18, which comprises Lyme and Old Lyme, is considering a plan to evacuate students to Lyme Consolidated School, just outside the 10-mile emergency planning zone, rather than automatically sending them to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. The local site could be used if a threatening situation at the plant calls for moving children but is not so serious as to require an immediate evacuation to New Haven. First Selectman Paul B. Eccard said the possibility that terrorists could attack Millstone caused officials to take a top-to-bottom look at their emergency plans. There have been no direct threats against Millstone, according to company officials, and the odds that it would be targeted are remote, said Eccard, but town and state officials have to be prepared. The biggest change is the state's decision to incorporate the use of potassium iodide, commonly known as KI, into emergency planning. In February, Connecticut notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it wanted 450,000 KI tablets. It is one of 11 states to make such a request since Sept. 11. The pills have since arrived and are being stored at the State Armory in Hartford. When taken within four hours of exposure to radioactive iodine from a nuclear accident, KI floods the thyroid with safe iodine and blocks the radioactive iodine from entering. The thyroid is particularly vulnerable to radioactive poisoning and associated cancers. The use of KI in Poland following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster was credited with greatly reducing the incidence of thyroid cancer. The next challenge is to decide how the KI will be utilized, said Brian Mattiello, under secretary for the state Office of Policy Management who chairs a special work group that is discussing a multitude of options. “This is a more complicated challenge than some of us appreciated,” said Mattiello. The work group includes town officials, representatives of the departments of Public Health, Emergency Protection and Correction, and the Office of Emergency Management. These officials face a wide range of options. The pills could be distributed directly to residents. But residents could lose pills, or take them when they move, leaving the KI unavailable when needed. Alternatively, the pills could be distributed only to those who request them, with the rest of the KI kept stored for distribution in the event of the emergency. Other options include distributing the KI to institutions that would face special challenges in evacuating, such as nursing homes, hospitals and prisons. Nuclear plant personnel and emergency rescue workers already have access to KI. Supplies for the general populace could then be kept at special locations, ready when needed, but distributing the medicine during an emergency would pose its own challenges. The fact that the population swells with tourists in the summer adds to the challenge, said Eccard, who serves on the work group. “At the end of the process, when we establish the protocols, we have to cover all these issues and it will not easy,” Eccard said. Already in place is Waterford's plan to use East Hartford as its new host community. Residents escaping the town would be directed to East Hartford High School, not Wethersfield High School, as was the case under the former plan. The change has been approved by the state Office of Emergency Management. Eccard said East Hartford offers easier highway access, better medical and radiological monitoring resources and has the facilities to handle more people. While East Hartford would be the primary reception center for evacuees, some residents could still be diverted from there to emergency shelters in Wethersfield, Eccard said. In another change, school buses are now stationed each day at the Great Neck, Southwest and Oswegatchie schools, the three Waterford schools closest to Millstone. Staff and faculty are being trained as bus drivers so that the vehicles could move out immediately in an emergency and not have to await the arrival of the regular bus drivers, Eccard said. Reid Burdick, director of Civil Preparedness in neighboring New London, said school bus transportation remains a major challenge. School systems do not have enough buses to move every child at once, he said. Normal school openings and closing are staggered so that a limited fleet of buses can be utilized to transport all students, he noted. “None of us has enough buses to evacuate all the students,” he said. In an evacuation situation the state would have to be notified to bring in buses from other communities and from public transit authorities, not only to move students but also other citizens who do not have access to cars, Burdick said. New London is sticking with an emergency plan for which it has received high grades during previous drills, Burdick said. No school is more than two miles from the school bus fleet, which is kept at the high school. “Dealing with an accident –– or an attack –– is something that the plant personnel would have to deal with,” Burdick said. “Our issue is getting people out of harm's way. We are all thinking a bit more about the potential for something happening than we were before Sept. 11, but that doesn't change our basic approach to planning.” Groton, the largest community in the emergency planning zone, is also standing pat with its plan, said Town Manager Ronald P. LeBlanc. “You don't change for the sake of change,” he said. “We have looked at our plan and it's a pretty good plan. It has been tested in the past and did well when evaluated.” How well the plan would work in Groton and elsewhere in an actual event is hard to judge, he said. “But I think we are as well prepared as you can reasonably be.” p.choiniere@theday.com © 1998-2002 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 18 Ameren UE 1,150-MW Callaway Nuclear Plans Oct. '02 Outage Yahoo! News - Fri Apr 5,10:24 AM ET CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- AmerenUE is planning to shut its 1,150-megawatt Callaway nuclear plant in Missouri for refueling in October, according to a document released by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. AmerenUE, a unit of St. Louis -based Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE - news) (AEE), sent the NRC a report dated April 1 detailing steps it's taken to scan for corrosion at the single- unit Callaway plant. The report noted plans for the generator's next refueling outage. The NRC asked 69 reactors in the U.S. for details about corrosion after a significant cavity was found last month in the reactor vessel head at FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE - news) 's (FE) Davis Besse nuclear plant in Ohio . All of the plants surveyed, including Callaway and Davis Besse, use a pressurized water reactor design with boric acid in their cooling systems. It's thought that boric acid leaking from a cracked control rod drive mechanism tube contributed to Davis Besse's corrosion, which ate a 6.5 inch hole into the reactor vessel head that displaced 40 pounds of carbon steel. AmerenUE said that it has not performed a 100% bare metal inspection of Callaway's vessel head, and said that it has had leaking of borated water as recently as Spring 2001. The borated water was cleaned off the vessel head, and there was no corrosion seen near the leak, the company said. AmerenUE also said that differences in Callaway's design make it less likely to cracked control rod drive mechanism tubes. Because of the significance of the Davis Besse damage, though, the utility said it would perform a 100% bare metal check of the reactor vessel head during the planned October outage. -By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4129; jon.kamp@dowjones.com Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 19 NRC Blasts Nuclear Plant Vigilance Fri Apr 5,10:07 AM ET By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer OAK HARBOR, Ohio - An acid leak that ate through a steel cap over a nuclear plant's reactor vessel should have been spotted as long as four years ago, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released Friday. Inspectors said there were many opportunities for the operator of the Davis-Besse plant to find the problem, which wasn't discovered until the plant was shut down in February for refueling. "It should have been recognized," said NRC spokesman Jan Strasma. The NRC said the damage did not pose a safety threat but did order operators of all 69 pressurized water reactors in the United States to submit information on the structural integrity of their plant's reactor head. The NRC said it was the most extensive corrosion ever found on top of a U.S. nuclear plant reactor. Inspectors spotted a second cavity two weeks later. Plant employees found leaking boric acid created a 6-inch hole in the steel cap near a cracked control rod nozzle. The hole was stopped by a steel layer impervious to the acid. Significant corrosion began at least four years ago, according to preliminary findings of an NRC inspection. Inspectors said it was caused by cracked control rod nozzles. FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the plant, said it was not surprised by the findings and that its own investigators came to the same conclusion, said company spokesman Richard Wilkins. The plant had visual inspections over the years, but corrosion was overlooked because plant staff and management for years did not realize the significance of boric acid deposits on top of the vessel head, according to FirstEnergy's findings. The company said similar corrosion can be found or avoided at similar plants if engineers know how to look for it. The acid is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process inside the reactor. The reactor has 69 control rods. The nozzles are vertical tubes that house the rods, which absorb excess neutrons in the reactor core. The damage to the reactor's steel cap will keep the plant shut down until at least June. The plant is along Lake Erie and about 25 miles east of Toledo. On the Net: http://www.nrc.gov http://www.firstenergycorp.com Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 20 Environmentalists threaten to block construction of new nuclear reactor in Australia Yahoo! News - Thu Apr 4,10:37 PM ET By PETER O'CONNOR, Associated Press Writer CANBERRA, Australia - Hours after the government announced it will begin building a new nuclear reactor in Sydney next week, environmental activists vowed to block the plant's construction. The Australian Radiation and Nuclear Protection Safety Agency said Friday it will allow Argentine company INVAP to begin building the 300-million Australian dollar (dlrs 159 million) research nuclear reactor. Greenpeace anti-nuclear campaigner James Courtney predicted a "massive public backlash" and said activists would start protesting at the site on Friday. "We will not stand by and quietly watch them go ahead with this," he said. The reactor will replace an existing one on the same site at Lucas Heights, a southwestern suburb of Sydney. The reactor produces radioactive material used in medicine and medical research. It does not generate power. The old reactor is being decommissioned after nearly 40 years of use. Federal authorities rejected the arguments of protesters who have for years opposed a replacement reactor because, saying that it poses risks to residents and that waste disposal problems remain unsolved. Science Minister Peter McGauran said the decision to proceed was based on a yearlong study and subsequent report by the nuclear safety agency. "This report puts paid to the long and organized campaign of disinformation and outright lies told about the replacement reactor by a number of extremist groups," McGauran said. McGauran said extra safety and security checks had been carried out on the plans in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. He added that a waste disposal plan would be ready before the plant is completed in 2005. (poc/mcc/dv) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 21 Tepco To Shut 1,100-MW Reactor In N Japan Monday; Turnaround Yahoo! News - Thu Apr 4,11:26 PM ET TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Tokyo Electric Power Co . (J.TER or 9501), or Tepco, said Friday it will shut its 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in northern Japan Monday for a regular turnaround. The No. 6 reactor is scheduled to remain shut for 121 days, Tepco said. At Fukushima Daiichi, Tepco is conducting adjustment runs on the No. 2 784-MW reactor following a regular safety checkup. The company's other four reactors at the site are operating normally. -By Maki Aoto, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; maki.aoto@dowjones.com Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 NRC to Meet with Entergy to Discuss Indian Point 3 Plant Performance NRC: Press Release Region I - 2002 - 31 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov No. I-02-031 April 5, 2002 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov [opa1@nrc.gov] Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., on Thursday, April 11, to discuss the results of the agency's annual assessment of safety performance at the Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant. The facility is located in Buchanan, N.Y., and operated by Entergy. The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Verplanck Fire House, Broadway and 8th Street (approximately 200 yards west of Broadway) in Verplanck. Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Indian Point 3 plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operation. The performance period to be discussed is April 1, 2001, to December 31, 2001. In addition, NRC staff will provide an overview of the agency's Reactor Oversight Process. A letter sent from the NRC Region I office to Entergy addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/inp3_2001q4.pdf Current performance information for the Indian Point 3 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/IP3/ip3_chart.html ***************************************************************** 23 NRC Will Hold Public Meeting on April 8 in Rockville, Maryland, to Discuss Post 9/11 Reactor Security Activities NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 44 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-044 April 4, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a public meeting on April 8 in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss agency activities with regard to security at the nation's nuclear power reactors since September 11. The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 14B6 of the agency's One White Flint North building, located at 11555 Rockville Pike. The session will begin with an overview of NRC activities since September 11, followed at 9:30 a.m. with a public overview of concerns. A roundtable discussion will follow, starting at 10:00 a.m., that will include representatives of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace, the Nuclear Control Institute and the Nuclear Information Resource Service. ***************************************************************** 24 NRC Names Victor H. Ransom to Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 45 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-045 April 4, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Victor H. Ransom to its independent Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). Dr. Ransom is retired from the Purdue University School of Nuclear Engineering, where he taught a variety of courses and headed the School for eight years. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering at the university and is performing consulting work for Information Systems Laboratory, Inc., where he has conducted research on two-phase flow modeling. While at Purdue, he led research on advanced simulation methods for two-phase flow, thermal hydraulics of advanced light water reactor concepts, and application of the RELAP5 code for simulation of light-water reactor systems. The RELAP5 code is used internationally and is considered Dr. Ransom's most significant engineering accomplishment. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Idaho and his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue. The ACRS was established in 1957 by Congress to advise the former Atomic Energy Commission and subsequently the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with regard to the safety aspects of proposed and existing nuclear facilities and the adequacy of related safety standards. The ACRS also performs other special assignments that the Commission may request, such as review of the NRC research program. Other Members of the ACRS are: CHAIRMAN: Dr. George E. Apostolakis, Professor, Nuclear Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. VICE-CHAIRMAN: Dr. Mario V. Bonaca, retired Director, Nuclear Engineering Department, Northeast Utilities, CT. MEMBER-AT-LARGE: Dr. Thomas S. Kress, retired Head of Applied Systems Technology Section, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. Members: Dr. F. Peter Ford, Consultant and retired Program Manager, General Electric Research and Development Center, Schenectady, N.Y. Mr. Graham M. Leitch, retired Vice President, Limerick Generating Station, PECO Energy; Vice President, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co.; Member, Offsite Safety Review Committee, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Dr. Dana A. Powers, Senior Scientist, Nuclear Facilities Safety Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. Mr. Stephen L. Rosen, retired Manager, Risk Management and Industry Relations, STP Nuclear Operating Company at South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Lake Jackson, TX. Dr. William J. Shack, Associate Director, Energy Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. Mr. John D. Sieber, retired Senior Vice President, Nuclear Power Division, Duquesne Light Company, Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Graham B. Wallis, Professor, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, N.H. ***************************************************************** 25 NRC Forms Office of Security to Streamline Security, Safeguards and Incident Response Activities NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 47 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-047 April 5, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is establishing an Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response to consolidate and streamline selected NRC security, safeguards, and incident response responsibilities and resources. The newly created office will report to the Deputy Executive Director for Reactor Programs. The move is effective April 7. The formation of the new office is one result of the Commission's ongoing top-to-bottom review of its safeguards and physical security program in the aftermath of last September's terrorist attacks. Until now, the assignment of security responsibilities has been determined by the type of facility requiring protection. For example, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) has been responsible for the security programs for protection of fuel cycle facilities, materials, transportation, disposal and certain waste-storage facilities, along with other regulatory activities relating to those facilities. Another organization, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), has been responsible for nuclear power plants and non-power reactors, decommissioning facilities, and certain spent fuel storage facilities. The NRC has concluded that a centralized security organization is a more effective and efficient way of organizing security activities. Among the intended benefits of the consolidation are improved communications and coordination both within the agency and with external entities, including Federal and State agencies. The change will streamline communications, improve the timeliness and consistency of information, and provide a more visible point of contact and effective counterpart to the Office of Homeland Security, as well as other Federal agencies. The consolidation will also integrate the NRC's management of classified information, unclassified but sensitive safeguards information, and secure communications facilities within one organization. The new office's responsibilities will include: + The current responsibilities of the Incident Response organization, which include managing the agency's operations center, developing and directing the NRC program for response to incidents, and interfacing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other Federal organizations; + Safeguards and security policy and oversight for nuclear reactors, decommissioning facilities, spent fuel storage installations, non-power reactors, uranium fuel fabrication facilities, mixed-oxide fabrication and processing facilities, other source material and use facilities, other special nuclear material facilities, enrichment facilities, associated waste processing facilities, and transportation activities; + Material control and accounting and international safeguards activities of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; + Technical support and coordination for safeguards licensing and rulemaking activities implemented by the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation; + Development and oversight of safeguards and security inspection programs carried out by headquarters and regional offices; + Development of contingency planning and emergency response activities for safety and safeguards events; + Coordination with intelligence and law enforcement communities; + Threat assessment; and + Administration of NRC counter-intelligence, secure telecommunications, and classification/declassification programs. Resources for the functions to be consolidated in the proposed office, including about 90 staff members, will be transferred from existing NRC offices without an increase in the agency's FY 2002 and FY 2003 budgets. ***************************************************************** 26 NRC says Ohio nuclear plant hole should have been found earlier Associated Press [online@rgj.com] 4/5/2002 07:10 am An acid leak that ate through a steel cap over a nuclear plant's reactor vessel should have been spotted as many as four years ago, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released Friday. Inspectors said there were many opportunities for the operator of the Davis-Besse plant to find the problem, which wasn't discovered until the plant was shut down in February for refueling. "It should have been recognized,"said NRC spokesman Jan Strasma. Plant employees found leaking boric acid created a 6-inch hole in the steel cap near a cracked control rod nozzle. The hole was stopped by a steel layer impervious to the acid. The NRC said it was the most extensive corrosion ever found on top of a U.S. nuclear plant reactor. Inspectors spotted a second cavity two weeks later. The NRC said the damage did not pose a safety threat but did order operators of all 69 pressurized water reactors in the United States to submit information on the structural integrity of their plant's reactor head. Significant corrosion began at least four years ago, according to preliminary findings of an NRC inspection. Inspectors said it was caused by cracked control rod nozzles. FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the plant, said it was not surprised by the findings and that its own investigators came to the same conclusion, said company spokesman Richard Wilkins. The plant had visual inspections over the years, but corrosion was overlooked because plant staff and management for years did not realize the significance of boric acid deposits on top of the vessel head, according to FirstEnergy's findings. The company said similar corrosion can be found or avoided at similar plants if engineers know to look for it. The acid is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process inside the reactor. The reactor has 69 control rods. The nozzles are vertical tubes that house the rods, which absorb excess neutrons in the reactor core. The damage to the reactor's steel cap will keep the plant shut down until at least June. The plant is along Lake Erie and about 25 miles east of Toledo. FirstEnergy plans to install a new reactor head during the plant's next refueling shutdown in 2004. The company said a new reactor cannot be installed now because it will take months to build. FirstEnergy will tell regulators next week about its plans to repair the original reactor head. The plan will need NRC approval. On the Net: http://www.nrc.gov http://www.firstenergycorp.com © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett ***************************************************************** 27 Possibility to buy Croatian share of power plant still open - Slovene minister BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 5, 2002 Within the last few days, the Environment Ministry has approved ratification of the law on the Slovene-Croatian agreement on ownership of the Krsko nuclear power plant. The Foreign Ministry has been carrying out all the remaining procedures. It needs to prepare a proposal for the government which, according to our information, has not yet discussed the agreement. Both [Slovene and Croatian] parliaments will have the last word on this matter. They are supposed to discuss [the agreement] by July 2002... [Janez Kopac, the environment minister] The agreement is completely in line with the starting points approved by the National Assembly for negotiations with Croatia. The Slovene negotiators tried to achieve a purchase of the Croatian share in the nuclear power plant and we had a special plan prepared for such a situation. Nevertheless, the Croatians did not want to discuss this and we could not make them do so. [Reporter] The public is still discussing the possibility of such a purchase. Will this possibility stay open even if both sides ratify the agreement? [Kopac] This possibility will always stay open... [Reporter] Some critics of the agreement warn that the Croatian side has not given any guarantees to meet all negotiated demands. Nevertheless, the states are supposed to give guarantees for implementation of the agreement. You have stressed that this is the strongest guarantee which can be offered by the state. [Kopac] There is no stronger guarantee than the state one. With this agreement, Croatia is taking its responsibilities for the first time in the history of the nuclear power plant. They will guarantee to pay for electricity regularly. There have been some problems with their payments. They are taking their responsibilities for dealing with [nuclear] waste and decommissioning [of the Krsko nuclear power plant] when it shuts down... [Reporter] When would it be wise for Slovenia to discuss ratification? Before it is discussed by the Croatian parliament or along with other open questions with which we have had some negative experiences because the Croatian parliament is not in favour of approving the border [agreement]? [Kopac] The agreement on ownership of the nuclear power plant is not in the same package with the border agreement. Negotiations on both have finished at the same time but with no particular intentions. I believe that it would be good if Croatia is the first to ratify the agreement. Source: Vecer web site, Maribor, in Slovene 5 Apr 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 28 New fuel to increase Clinton plant's power 04/04/02 Pantagraph.com - Business/Finance - By Eric Freehling Business editor CLINTON -- New fuel being added to the reactor at the Clinton Power Station should increase the nuclear facility's power output and lengthen the time between planned shutdowns. Workers took the station's reactor offline shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday for a planned refueling and maintenance period, said Bruce Paulsen, a spokesman for Exelon Nuclear which owns the Clinton reactor. Paulsen said roughly a third or 268 of the reactor's 624 uranium rods or fuel bundles would be replaced with rods containing the "next generation" of fuel. The rods, said Paulsen, will allow the reactor "to produce more steam and ultimately provide more power from the plant." Exelon is hoping that the addition of the new uranium rods will increase the reactor's present maximum power output of 980 megawatts an additional 60 to 70 megawatts. Also during the shutdown, work will be done in the turbine generator building to prepare the equipment for the expected increased power output. The utility began adding the new rods to the reactor during Clinton's last scheduled shutdown in 2000, when a third of the spent fuel bundles were replaced with the new fuel rods. The new generation rods should extend the length of time the reactor is in service, too, Paulsen said. After the latest installation, the time between planned shutdowns should grow from 18 months to approximately 21 months. After the last third of old rods are replaced in the next shutdown, Paulsen said, the reactor should be able to run almost two years between maintenance. During the shutdown, the plant's 700 workers will perform inspections and maintenance on the plant's components and systems. Many of the activities performed during a shutdown cannot be done while the reactor is operating. "Due to the competitive nature of the electric generation business, we are not able to say how long the shutdown will be," said Paulsen when asked when the reactor would go back online. © 2002, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 Watchdog approves new Lucas Heights reactor ABC Australia News - 05/04/02 : [Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online] Australia's nuclear watchdog has given the go-ahead for a replacement nuclear reactor to be built at Sydney's Lucas Heights. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) says it has issued a licence on the basis that the design would result in a reactor that could be operated safely. It says the core of the reactor will be cooled by water circulation, therefore not relying on human intervention in case of an accident. The agency's chief executive officer, John Loy, says the radioactive waste from the facility will be shipped to France for reprocessing, before being returned to Australia in a form suitable for long-term storage. The organisation behind the construction of the replacement reactor says facilities of the same kind are safely located on university campuses around the world. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has given the construction contract to an Argentinian company, INVAP, to build the reactor by 2005. The organisation's chief executive officer, Helen Garnett, says today's announcement is a significant hurdle and construction will begin almost immediately. "There is still a lot of work to do and as ARPANSA will make very clear, before an operational licence is granted, we have to go through a final safety analysis report," she said. Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran says the decision is a significant milestone in the long history of the project. He says every possible aspect of the reactor's design, construction and operation has been considered in a detailed report that took 12 months to compile. "Most importantly of all this report puts paid to the long and organised campaign of disinformation and outright lies told about the replacement reactor by a number of extremist groups," he said. He says a solution to dealing with the disposal of nuclear waste from the reactor will be in place by the time it opens in 2005. "In regard to low-level waste we have narrowed [it] down to three sites and we're expecting an environmental impact statement to be made available to [Environment Minister] Dr [David] Kemp shortly." Mr McGauran says an expert advisory panel now considering possible sites for intermediate waste is expected to finish its report at the end of the year. Safety fears Sutherland Shire councillor Genevieve Rankin says the licence does not properly address the health and safety of residents. "We have a licence given to construct a nuclear reactor with all the outstanding issues about safety and nuclear waste and somehow these are going to be magically fixed up during the process." Greenpeace says a number of environment and local community groups will stage a peaceful vigil outside the existing reactor tonight. Greenpeace's nuclear campaigner, Steve Campbell, says he is relatively confident construction of a new reactor can still be stopped. "There's so many problems with the project, financial, legal, environmental, that really even with the green light it's in danger of collapsing under its own lack of momentum," he said. Michael Priceman from People against the Nuclear Reactor says the reactor should not be built in a residential area because of the risks to public health and safety. He also raised questions about the financial viability of the Argentinian construction company INVAP. "If they did go ahead with this under these circumstances we'd be extremely worried that they [would not] produce a safe and sound nuclear reactor," he said. © 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 30 NRC Blasts Nuclear Plant Vigilance Fri Apr 5,10:07 AM ET By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer OAK HARBOR, Ohio - An acid leak that ate through a steel cap over a nuclear plant's reactor vessel should have been spotted as long as four years ago, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released Friday. Inspectors said there were many opportunities for the operator of the Davis-Besse plant to find the problem, which wasn't discovered until the plant was shut down in February for refueling. "It should have been recognized," said NRC spokesman Jan Strasma. The NRC said the damage did not pose a safety threat but did order operators of all 69 pressurized water reactors in the United States to submit information on the structural integrity of their plant's reactor head. The NRC said it was the most extensive corrosion ever found on top of a U.S. nuclear plant reactor. Inspectors spotted a second cavity two weeks later. Plant employees found leaking boric acid created a 6-inch hole in the steel cap near a cracked control rod nozzle. The hole was stopped by a steel layer impervious to the acid. Significant corrosion began at least four years ago, according to preliminary findings of an NRC inspection. Inspectors said it was caused by cracked control rod nozzles. FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the plant, said it was not surprised by the findings and that its own investigators came to the same conclusion, said company spokesman Richard Wilkins. The plant had visual inspections over the years, but corrosion was overlooked because plant staff and management for years did not realize the significance of boric acid deposits on top of the vessel head, according to FirstEnergy's findings. The company said similar corrosion can be found or avoided at similar plants if engineers know how to look for it. The acid is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process inside the reactor. The reactor has 69 control rods. The nozzles are vertical tubes that house the rods, which absorb excess neutrons in the reactor core. The damage to the reactor's steel cap will keep the plant shut down until at least June. The plant is along Lake Erie and about 25 miles east of Toledo. On the Net: http://www.nrc.gov [http://www.nrc.gov] http://www.firstenergycorp.com [http://www.firstenergycorp.com] Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 31 Tepco To Shut 1,100-MW Reactor In N Japan Monday; Turnaround Yahoo! News - Thu Apr 4,11:26 PM ET TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Tokyo Electric Power Co . (J.TER or 9501), or Tepco, said Friday it will shut its 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in northern Japan Monday for a regular turnaround. The No. 6 reactor is scheduled to remain shut for 121 days, Tepco said. At Fukushima Daiichi, Tepco is conducting adjustment runs on the No. 2 784-MW reactor following a regular safety checkup. The company's other four reactors at the site are operating normally. -By Maki Aoto, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; maki.aoto@dowjones.com [http://dowjones.com] Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 32 Russian power utility loses R8bn in fruitless competition with nuclear plants BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 5, 2002 Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Sochi, 5 April, RIA-Novosti correspondent Natalya Shmonova: The UES [Unified Energy Systems] of Russia has proved that it is not yet ready to compete with Rosenergoatom [Russian nuclear power utility] and has lost R8bn. This, as a RIA-Novosti correspondent reports, has been acknowledged by the head of the electricity holding company, Anatoliy Chubays. He cited figures which show that 4.6 per cent less electricity was generated this winter compared with the previous winter. This reduction was due both to the warm winter and to a reduction in the country's consumption of electricity, Chubays noted in a speech on Friday [5 April] to a nationwide energy conference in Sochi. Chubays said another reason for the reduction in the consumption of electricity produced by the holding company's power stations was increased production by nuclear power stations. Thus, while UES's output fell by 3.7bn kWh in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared with the same period of the previous year, nuclear power stations increased their output by 5.8bn kWh. A similar state of affairs obtained in the first quarter of 2002, when the electricity holding's power stations reduced their output by 13bn kWh, while the nuclear power plants, for their part, increased it by 2.8bn kWh. As Chubays himself acknowledged, this indicates that the holding company's power stations are not yet ready to compete and that they have lost some of their customers. Rosenergoatom, for its part, was entitled to occupy its niche on the electricity market. In this context Chubays stressed that one of the main tasks, especially when a competitive market in electricity services is being established, is "to win customers". The electricity holding is forecasting that consumption of electricity will not increase to any great extent in 2002. Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0818 gmt 5 Apr 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 33 Nuclear power sector set to expand in northwestern Russia - official BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 5, 2002 Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Moscow, 4 April, correspondents Vyacheslav Kalashnikov and Eduard Puzyrev: By the year 2006, Rosenergoatom [Russian state-run atomic energy concern] plans to finish construction of a floating nuclear power plant with a power unit KLT-40 and a usual nuclear power plant with two VVER-300 power units, Rosenergoatom deputy executive director for development, investments and construction, Mikhail Rogov, said on Thursday [4 April]. By the year 2020, the share of atomic power stations in the total energy output in the territory of the Northwestern Federal District will rise to 54 per cent. Mow it amounts to 40 per cent, while in other federal districts of Russia it does not exceed 15 per cent. To reach this target, new power units will be built and all eight reactors of the Leningradskaya Nuclear Power Plant and the Kolskaya Nuclear Power Plant will be modernized to extend their service lives. "We shall concentrate on this work in the next several years," Rogov said. "It will help us to guarantee stable energy supplies to the region and export of energy to Western Europe." Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1854 gmt 4 Apr 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 34 Russia presents unique floating nuclear power plant project BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 5, 2002 Russian scientists have staged a unique experiment on using a nuclear ice-breaker as an alternative energy source. [Unidentified engineer, speaking by portable radio in a control room] Power connected. Ready for work. [Correspondent Yelena Izvarina] Several phrases over radio and a short command sound very simple. However, a unique experiment has taken place. For the first time reactors of a nuclear ice-breaker have been connected to the power system on the ground. [Aleksandr Medvedev, captioned as Murmansk Shipping Company managing director] The ice-breaker is ready to generate up to 30 megawatts an hour, enough to provide electricity for the whole district of the city of Murmansk. [Omitted: several nuclear ice-breakers stay idle and can be used for generating electricity.] [Video shows a control room and the Sovietskiy Soyuz (Soviet Union) ice-breaker moored in Murmansk] Source: Russian Public TV (ORT), Moscow, in Russian 0500 gmt 5 Apr 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 35 U.N. nuclear experts inspect radioactive source discovered in Uganda Yahoo! News - Fri Apr 5, 7:58 AM ET VIENNA, Austria - Experts from the United Nations (news - web sites)' nuclear watchdog agency have inspected a radioactive source discovered by authorities in Uganda, a spokesman said Friday. Two officials from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency flew to Entebbe, Uganda, last Monday to inspect the source, which contained a significant amount of cobalt-60, agency spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. Gwozdecky said the nuclear experts left Uganda on Friday after determining that the source was safe. Ugandan authorities were still trying to determine the origin of the nuclear material. Cobalt-60 is commonly used in industrial machines and medical machines — such as those used in cancer treatment. Gwozdecky said it was not yet clear how the nuclear material "had fallen out of regulatory control." He provided no further details. (vg) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 36 Lithuanian authorities recover part of stolen nuclear container Fri Apr 5, 9:16 AM ET VILNIUS, Lithuania - Lithuanian investigators have found 34 empty radioactive zinc tubes, part of a nuclear fuel container stolen from the ex-Soviet republic's sole atomic power plant 10 years ago, officials said Friday. They unearthed similar tubes last month that were full, containing 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of low-grade radioactive uranium; experts said it could have been used to make crude radioactive explosives, so-called dirty bombs. "The tubes we found most recently are empty, but this finding is very important as it may lead to more significant finds," Lithuanian prosecutor Ramutis Jancevicius said. The materials were uncovered in a forest in eastern Lithuania, near the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant where the theft took place, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital, Vilnius. Authorities zeroed in on the location last month after special troops registered radiation levels at many times normal levels. The items were buried at depth of a half meter (1.6 feet). The discoveries are part of a long-term investigation of 270 kilograms (595 pounds) of uranium and casings, valued at dlrs 40,000, stolen from Ignalina in 1992. They had been strapped beneath a bus and smuggled out, the Baltic News Service reported. Plant workers involved in the theft were convicted in 1997 and have cooperated in locating the materials, reportedly buried across Lithuania. Some 80 kilograms (pounds 176) have been recovered. (ld-mt-krg) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 37 Lithuanian authorities recover part of stolen nuclear container Yahoo! News - AP Fri Apr 5, 9:16 AM ET VILNIUS, Lithuania - Lithuanian investigators have found 34 empty radioactive zinc tubes, part of a nuclear fuel container stolen from the ex-Soviet republic's sole atomic power plant 10 years ago, officials said Friday. They unearthed similar tubes last month that were full, containing 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of low-grade radioactive uranium; experts said it could have been used to make crude radioactive explosives, so-called dirty bombs. "The tubes we found most recently are empty, but this finding is very important as it may lead to more significant finds," Lithuanian prosecutor Ramutis Jancevicius said. The materials were uncovered in a forest in eastern Lithuania, near the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant where the theft took place, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital, Vilnius. Authorities zeroed in on the location last month after special troops registered radiation levels at many times normal levels. The items were buried at depth of a half meter (1.6 feet). The discoveries are part of a long-term investigation of 270 kilograms (595 pounds) of uranium and casings, valued at dlrs 40,000, stolen from Ignalina in 1992. They had been strapped beneath a bus and smuggled out, the Baltic News Service reported. Plant workers involved in the theft were convicted in 1997 and have cooperated in locating the materials, reportedly buried across Lithuania. Some 80 kilograms (pounds 176) have been recovered. (ld-mt-krg) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 38 U.N. nuclear experts inspect radioactive source discovered in Uganda Fri Apr 5, 7:58 AM ET VIENNA, Austria - Experts from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency have inspected a radioactive source discovered by authorities in Uganda, a spokesman said Friday. Two officials from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency flew to Entebbe, Uganda, last Monday to inspect the source, which contained a significant amount of cobalt-60, agency spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. Gwozdecky said the nuclear experts left Uganda on Friday after determining that the source was safe. Ugandan authorities were still trying to determine the origin of the nuclear material. Cobalt-60 is commonly used in industrial machines and medical machines — such as those used in cancer treatment. Gwozdecky said it was not yet clear how the nuclear material "had fallen out of regulatory control." He provided no further details. (vg) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 39 Chemist arrested for possession of radioactive material CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer Friday, April 5, 2002 (04-05) 10:58 PST SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Radioactive material has been found in the home of a chemist who pleaded no contest to possessing such materials after a 1997 laboratory explosion. Riad Mohamad Ahmed, 62, was taken into custody Thursday after items in his Westminster home tested positive. Ahmed was booked on one misdemeanor count of illegal possession of radioactive material, said Orange County district attorney spokeswoman Tori Richards. In Los Angeles, the district attorney's office was considering filing probation violation charges stemming from the 1997 explosion. "He was prohibited from possessing any radioactive materials," said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wright. "... We will review the case to determine what, if any, charges should be filed." Investigators say he is not suspected of any terrorist-related activities. His run-ins with authorities date back to the 1980s. The latest arrest resulted after federal and state officials conducted a routine probation search of his home on Feb. 6. The search included testing for radioactive material. Richards said at the time two items in his home tested positive for radioactive carbon 14. On Thursday, authorities seized three briefcases, a suit and a desk that tested positive for radiation, she said. Ahmed pleaded no contest last year to a misdemeanor count for the 1997 lab explosion. Wright, who prosecuted the case, said Ahmed was working with carbon 14 at his California Bionuclear Corp. lab in Gardena when a small explosion and fire occurred. The building was so badly contaminated the federal government labeled it a Superfund cleanup site. Ahmed also ran into trouble with a lab in Los Angeles' Sun Valley section in 1986. In that case he was charged with mishandling radioactive, flammable and explosives materials. He pleaded no contest to several counts of state radiation-control violations and was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. He also was sentenced to 60 days in jail. ©2002 Associated Press   ***************************************************************** 40 Reid Told No Safety Tests Have Ever Been Done On Full Size Nuclear Transportation Containers Senator Harry Reid Tuesday, April 2, 2002 WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has learned that no government tests have been conducted on full size containers intended to transport high level radioactive waste across America’s roads, railways and waterways. Senator Reid has also learned that testing for damage caused by fire has been largely preformed and analyzed by computer simulation alone. “The NRC is relying on small-scale tests of model truck and train containers, and on computer simulations rather than full-scale physical tests of these nuclear waste casks,” said Senator Reid. “Im shocked.” “I am stunned by this news,” said Senator Ensign (R-NV). “ It just goes to show that the NRC isn’t using real-world tests for real world scenarios. With something as deadly as nuclear waste, no one can depend solely on simulated fires on computer screens. The NRC has not done its job; it hasn’t done what it needs to do; and we’re not sure that, in real world situations, like the Baltimore tunnel fire, that the casks can remain intact.” Senator Reid asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a letter to provide all testing data and information on how the agency determines the safety of containers used for shipping nuclear waste. The NRC response indicates: • No tests were conducted by the NRC or the nuclear power industry on full size nuclear waste containers. The model containers ranged in size from 1/8 to ½ the size of actual nuclear waste transportation casks. • The NRC and nuclear power industry relied on computer simulations to determine the behavior of the nuclear waste transportation cask during a fire rather than submit actual casks to real life fires. • The NRC only requires the nuclear waste transportation cask to survive a simulated 30 minute fire at 1475 degrees. Recently several accidents involving hazardous materials have resulted in fires burning at higher temperatures and for longer periods than the government simulations. In July of 2001 a train carrying 12,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid - a hazardous material - derailed in Baltimore and was consumed in a fire that burned at temperatures greater than 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and took days to extinguish. The Baltimore tunnel incident, was referenced on last nights episode of the popular NBC drama “The West Wing”. Studies on the Baltimore tunnel incident indicate that a similar accident involving transported radioactive material would most likely compromise any nuclear waste transportation cask involved in such a fire. Furthermore, between 1978 and 1995, roughly 261,000 people were evacuated across the nation because of accidental releases of dangerous substances involving just railway transportation. “It looks to me like the NRC, DOE and the nuclear industry balked at paying the bill for a full-sized test of a nuclear waste cask,” said Reid. “However, testing the real thing is a bargain compared to the cost of replacing a highway, river, town or city. And who could put a cost on losing thousands of American lives.” “We have real concerns that these nuclear waste casks could survive a real fire, collision or attack,” added Reid. “Who would buy a car that had only been crashed tested on a computer screen or in on a model racetrack? The NRC’s lack of testing is another black eye for the nuclear waste plan and presents a very real threat to thousands of communities along the shipment routes.” Senator Reid is the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A copy of the NRC letter to Senator Reid follows this release. ### ***************************************************************** 41 Too bad George cut class on Yucca Geology 101 Nevada Appeal April 5, 2002 By Barry Smith I went to class on Thursday, but I didn't see George or Spencer there. The class was on the geology of Yucca Mountain, taught by Professor Winnie Kortemeier at Western Nevada Community College as part of a series on environmental issues in Nevada. There were about 25 people in the class, none of whom were George Bush or Spencer Abraham, his secretary of energy. Then I remembered George and Spencer already had done their homework on Yucca Mountain and decided based on "sound science" it was a swell spot to store the nation's nuclear waste. Maybe they slept through this part of the course. Anyway, Kortemeier appears to have some opinions on the safety of storing radioactive waste for 10,000 years inside Yucca Mountain, but her class on Thursday stuck to the facts. "I don't know anything about politics," she said. "I don't even like politics. But rocks are cool. Rocks don't lie." OK, so maybe that was a little bit of a political statement right there. But she's to be forgiven. And be assured I'm making some comments in this column that represent my interpretation of the facts. So don't hold that against the professor. Blame me. But if you've been swayed by the president's and energy secretary's comments about "sound science," then it's worth sitting through an hour-long basic geology course to be reminded of some of the facts surrounding Yucca Mountain. The first is that Yucca Mountain is located in one of the most unstable areas of Nevada, which is one of the most geologically unstable states. -- In a 30-mile radius of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, 10 micro-earthquakes (less than 1.0 magnitude) are recorded per day. -- The biggest quake within historical times occurred in 1992 at Little Skull Mountain, 12 miles from the site. -- One mile of tunnel bored into Yucca Mountain intersected 30 faults, seven of which were considered significant. -- There are seven dormant cinder cones within 27 miles. Those are some of the facts. How you interpret those facts -- especially when trying to predict the future -- is another thing. For example, a Los Alamos Laboratories report says "we have estimated the probability of a new volcano forming and disrupting the candidate Yucca Mountain repository: about 1 in 6,000 chance of a disruptive volcanic eruption within the next 10,000 years. The Department of Energy, however, calculates "The probability of a future volcanic eruption directly intersecting a repository at Yucca Mountain is estimated to be about one in 70,000,000 per year, as confirmed by an independent panel of experts." The numbers actually aren't that different. It's a matter of how you look at them. But as Kortemeier asked, "Which number are you gonna believe? I think you should just believe, 'They don't know.'" Why does it matter whether the casks storing radioactive waste would be located in a geologically active zone? It's in the water. The safety of Yucca Mountain was supposed to depend on the fact the casks would be buried deep inside a solid mountain. But if that mountain leaks, the casks would be exposed to moisture and the potential for carrying radioactivity into the water system. "Even if you have an earthquake," explained Kortemeier, "and even it breaks open a cask, and even if there's radioactivity inside Yucca Mountain, it doesn't get out unless water takes it out." And that's the kicker, as far as Nevada's argument against "sound science" goes. The ability of Yucca Mountain to protect radioactivity for 10,000 years is based on the government's estimate that water percolates through the mountain at 1 to 20 millimeters a year. The problem with that estimate is the discovery Chlorine 36, from above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s, has percolated to a depth of 300 meters. That translates into a rate of 6,000 millimeters a year. If radioactivity does get loose inside Yucca Mountain because of an earthquake, radioactivity would reach the water table in just 100 years -- a little short of the 10,000-year timetable. So that's what I learned in class on Thursday. If you see George or Spencer around anywhere, I'll be glad to share my notes. Barry Smith is editor of the Nevada Appeal. Copyright Nevada Appeal. Materials contained within this site may ***************************************************************** 42 New England Governors' Conference Urges Congressional Support for Yucca Mountain Proposal BOSTON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The New England Governors' Conference, Inc. has written New England's Congressional Delegation urging their support of the Bush Administration's selection of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the repository site for the nation's high-level radioactive waste. In a letter to the New England Congressional delegation, the governors of the six state New England region expressed their support for the Yucca Mountain proposal based on several factors including the fact that the selection of the site is the result of a detailed technical evaluation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and their belief that the insurmountable odds of selecting another site means that nuclear fuel will remain in storage on rivers and seacoasts in New England indefinitely. The governors voiced their agreement with Secretary of Energy Abraham that a repository is important to our homeland security and cautioned that the "up to 30 year stockpiles" of spent nuclear fuel at New England reactor sites are a security concern. They urged the delegation not to allow the issue of the transportation of nuclear fuel become a reason for not selecting Yucca Mountain. They noted that, while safe transportation of nuclear fuel to a repository at Yucca Mountain clearly requires the utmost care and planning, non-commercial spent fuel (university and research spent fuel, spent fuel from foreign sources, high level radioactive waste from US Department of Energy sites), and nuclear weapons materials currently move routinely through the United States. They warned that the alternative of "indefinite storage at our New England sites is not an acceptable policy solution." The letter from the governors, notes that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act allows the State of Nevada 60 days to object to Secretary Abrahams recommendation, after which both houses of the Congress must approve the site by a simple majority within 90 days or the 15 year consideration of Yucca Mountain is terminated. The governors have, therefore, urged members of Congress to "vote in a manner to avoid amendments and procedural delays." The New England Governors' Conference, Inc., an informal alliance dating back to colonial times, was formally established by the governors of the six state region in 1937 and incorporated as a non-profit, non-partisan organization in 1981. The Conference, which promotes New England's economic development, also provides the governors with a forum where they can meet to discuss, and ultimately resolve, problems and issues which are regional in nature. In 2002, Governor Lincoln Almond of Rhode Island serves as Chairman of the Conference. Governor Jane Swift, of Massachusetts is Vice-Chairman. SOURCE The New England Governors' Conference, Inc. Copyright © 1996-2002 PR Newswire Association Inc. ***************************************************************** 43 New England Governors' Conference Urges Congressional Support for Yucca Mountain Proposal BOSTON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The New England Governors' Conference, Inc. has written New England's Congressional Delegation urging their support of the Bush Administration's selection of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the repository site for the nation's high-level radioactive waste. In a letter to the New England Congressional delegation, the governors of the six state New England region expressed their support for the Yucca Mountain proposal based on several factors including the fact that the selection of the site is the result of a detailed technical evaluation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and their belief that the insurmountable odds of selecting another site means that nuclear fuel will remain in storage on rivers and seacoasts in New England indefinitely. The governors voiced their agreement with Secretary of Energy Abraham that a repository is important to our homeland security and cautioned that the "up to 30 year stockpiles" of spent nuclear fuel at New England reactor sites are a security concern. They urged the delegation not to allow the issue of the transportation of nuclear fuel become a reason for not selecting Yucca Mountain. They noted that, while safe transportation of nuclear fuel to a repository at Yucca Mountain clearly requires the utmost care and planning, non-commercial spent fuel (university and research spent fuel, spent fuel from foreign sources, high level radioactive waste from US Department of Energy sites), and nuclear weapons materials currently move routinely through the United States. They warned that the alternative of "indefinite storage at our New England sites is not an acceptable policy solution." The letter from the governors, notes that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act allows the State of Nevada 60 days to object to Secretary Abrahams recommendation, after which both houses of the Congress must approve the site by a simple majority within 90 days or the 15 year consideration of Yucca Mountain is terminated. The governors have, therefore, urged members of Congress to "vote in a manner to avoid amendments and procedural delays." The New England Governors' Conference, Inc., an informal alliance dating back to colonial times, was formally established by the governors of the six state region in 1937 and incorporated as a non-profit, non-partisan organization in 1981. The Conference, which promotes New England's economic development, also provides the governors with a forum where they can meet to discuss, and ultimately resolve, problems and issues which are regional in nature. In 2002, Governor Lincoln Almond of Rhode Island serves as Chairman of the Conference. Governor Jane Swift, of Massachusetts is Vice-Chairman. SOURCE The New England Governors' Conference, Inc. Copyright © 1996-2002 PR Newswire Association Inc. All Rights Reserved. A United Business Media [http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com] company. ***************************************************************** 44 NRC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule for Packaging and Transporting Radioactive Materials NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 46 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-046 April 5, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting public comment on proposed regulations regarding the packaging and transportation of radioactive material. The agency's current transportation regulations are based, in part, on those developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a worldwide standard-setting organization. The IAEA periodically revises its transportation standards to reflect scientific and technical advances, and the NRC accordingly updates its own regulations to be compatible with those of IAEA. This revision is being coordinated with the Department of Transportation, which is the lead federal agency for transportation regulations in the United States and the U.S. competent authority for interaction with the IAEA. Issues to be addressed in this rulemaking were published in the Federal Register for comment in July, and public meetings were held in Rockville, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; and Oakland, California. Representatives from the general public, environmental and public interest groups, various industries, as well as government officials, discussed their comments. There are 19 issues discussed in the proposed rule, 11 of which are designed for consistency with IAEA standards and the remainder were NRC-initiated. Four issues in the proposed rule attracted a high level of public interest during discussions at the meetings and through comments on the internet web site. The issues concern (1) radionuclide exemption values, namely, whether to adopt IAEA's uniform dose-based standard versus using the current concentration-based standard; (2) special package approvals, namely, whether NRC should propose a standard for review of large-object packages, such as the Trojan reactor vessel, rather than review each request on a case-by-case basis through exemptions; (3) change authority for Part 71 certificate holders, namely, whether such certificate holders can safely make limited changes to the design of a transportation package, as permitted for reactor and spent fuel storage facility licensees; and (4) single versus double containment requirements for plutonium packages. One issue recently added to the proposed rule involves event reporting requirements. The staff is particularly interested in public and industry comments related to costs and benefits resulting from the proposed requirements, as well as operational data on exposures that might result. The proposed rule will be discussed in detail at a series of upcoming public meetings, the dates and locations of which will be announced separately. Interested persons may submit comments within 90 days of publication in the Federal Register, expected shortly. The proposed rule is available on the NRC web site, at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov [http://ruleforum.llnl.gov] Comments may be submitted directly on the web site, or by mail to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemaking and Adjudications staff. ***************************************************************** 45 Reid criticizes tests on nuclear waste casks as inadequate Las Vegas SUN: April 04, 2002 RENO, Nev. (AP) - Federal assurances that the transportation of nuclear waste is safe are based on inadequate tests with scale models and computer simulations, not full-sized waste containers, Sen. Harry Reid said Thursday. Reid, D-Nev., said new information he received from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is more reason to scuttle plans to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and ship the nation's most dangerous waste to the site in southern Nevada. Reid said he was "shocked" when NRC Chairman Richard Meserve admitted that the nuclear power industry relies primarily on computer simulations to determine how nuclear waste transportation casks resist fire rather than testing casks in real fires. Neither the NRC nor the nuclear power industry has tested full-size nuclear waste containers, instead using models ranging in size from one-eighth to one-half the actual size, the senator said. "Who would buy a car that had only been crash-tested on a computer screen or on a model racetrack?" Reid said. "The NRC's lack of testing is another black eye for the nuclear waste plan and presents a very real threat to thousands of communities along the shipment routes." Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said it proves the NRC "isn't using real-world tests for real-world scenarios." "I am stunned by this news," Ensign said. "With something as deadly as nuclear waste, no one can depend solely on simulated fires on computer screens. Reid made public a three-page letter from Meserve and 15 pages of supporting documentation, which Reid said support his fears about safety. NRC officials did not immediately return telephone messages left at their headquarters in Rockville, Md., requesting comment. There was no answer at the Energy Department press office in Washington D.C. on Thursday night. A Department of Energy spokesman for the Yucca Mountain project referred questions to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. President Bush has designated Yucca Mountain to receive and store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste from more than 100 sites across the nation. The shipments would pass through 43 states. Reid said he asked Meserve on March 12 to provide information on all testing data regarding the way the agency determines whether waste containers are safe for shipping on highways, railways and waterways. He said Meserve's response indicates the NRC only requires nuclear waste transportation casks to survive a simulated 30-minute fire at 1,475 degrees Fahrenheit. However, accidents involving hazardous materials have resulted in fires burning at hotter temperatures for longer periods than the government simulations, Reid said. Reid said a train that derailed in Baltimore last summer carrying 12,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid burned at temperatures greater than 1,500 degrees and took days to extinguish. "We have real concerns that these nuclear waste casks could survive a real fire, collision or attack," he said. Officials for the industry's Nuclear Energy Institute were not immediately available to comment. But the Washington-based institute says on its Web site that "all containers must meet rigorous engineering and safety criteria and be able to pass a series of hypothetical accident conditions that create forces greater than the containers would experience in actual accidents." NEI said the container must, in sequence, undergo: - a 30-foot free fall onto an unyielding surface - a 40-inch fall onto a steel rod six inches in diameter - a 30-minute exposure to fire at 1,475 degrees Fahrenheit that engulfs the entire container - submergence under three feet of water for eight hours. NEI said waste containers survived the following tests intact in the 1970s and 1980s at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, but didn't indicate if the containers were full-sized: - a flatbed tractor-trailer carrying a container was run into a 700-ton concrete wall banked with 1,700 tons of dirt at 80 miles per hour - a container on a tractor-trailer was broadsided by a rocket-assisted 120-ton train locomotive traveling 80 miles per hour - a container was dropped 2,000 feet onto soil as hard as concrete, traveling 235 miles an hour at impact. - All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 46 Reid criticizes tests on nuclear waste casks as inadequate By Scott Sonner [online@rgj.com] ASSOCIATED PRESS 4/4/2002 11:38 pm Federal assurances that the transportation of nuclear waste is safe are based on inadequate tests with scale models and computer simulations, not full-sized waste containers that could be shipped through Reno, Sen. Harry Reid said Thursday. Reid, D-Nev., said new information he received from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is more reason to scuttle plans to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and ship the nation’s most dangerous waste to the site in southern Nevada. State officials have said such casks would be on railroad shipments that could cross up to 13 Nevada counties. Reid said he was “shocked” when NRC Chairman Richard Meserve admitted that the nuclear power industry relies primarily on computer simulations to determine how nuclear waste transportation casks resist fire rather than testing casks in real fires. Neither the NRC nor the nuclear power industry has tested full-size nuclear waste containers, instead using models ranging in size from one-eighth to one-half the actual size, the senator said. “Who would buy a car that had only been crash-tested on a computer screen or on a model racetrack?” Reid said. “The NRC’s lack of testing is another black eye for the nuclear waste plan and presents a very real threat to thousands of communities along the shipment routes.” Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said it proves the NRC “isn’t using real-world tests for real-world scenarios.” “I am stunned by this news,” Ensign said. “With something as deadly as nuclear waste, no one can depend solely on simulated fires on computer screens. Reid made public a three-page letter from Meserve and 15 pages of supporting documentation, which Reid said support his fears about safety. NRC officials did not immediately return telephone messages left at their headquarters in Rockville, Md., requesting comment. There was no answer at the Energy Department press office in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night. A Department of Energy spokesman for the Yucca Mountain project referred questions to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. President Bush has designated Yucca Mountain to receive and store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste from more than 100 sites across the nation. The shipments would pass through 43 states. A route through Reno and Sparks is one of five railroad line options, according to a preliminary state analysis made in February. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has eliminated the Feather Canyon route, leaving Donner Pass as a likely northern Nevada rail route from California and the Pacific Northwest, said Robert Halstead, a transportation adviser to Nevada’s Nuclear Projects Agency in the governor’s office. Reid said he asked Meserve on March 12 to provide information on all testing data regarding the way the agency determines whether waste containers are safe for shipping on highways, railways and waterways. He said Meserve’s response indicates the NRC requires nuclear waste transportation casks to survive only a simulated 30-minute fire at 1,475 degrees Fahrenheit. However, accidents involving hazardous materials have resulted in fires burning at hotter temperatures for longer periods than the government simulations, Reid said. Reid said a train that derailed in a Baltimore tunnel last summer carrying 12,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid burned at temperatures greater than 1,500 degrees and took days to extinguish. “We have real concerns that these nuclear waste casks could survive a real fire, collision or attack,” he said. Officials for the industry’s Nuclear Energy Institute were not immediately available to comment. But the Washington-based institute says on its Web site that “all containers must meet rigorous engineering and safety criteria and be able to pass a series of hypothetical accident conditions that create forces greater than the containers would experience in actual accidents.” NEI said the container must, in sequence, undergo: o A 30-foot free fall onto an unyielding surface. o A 40-inch fall onto a steel rod six inches in diameter. o A 30-minute exposure to fire at 1,475 degrees Fahrenheit that engulfs the entire container. o Submersion beneath three feet of water for eight hours. NEI said waste containers survived the following tests intact in the 1970s and 1980s at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, but didn’t indicate if the containers were full-sized: o A flatbed tractor-trailer carrying a container was run into a 700-ton concrete wall banked with 1,700 tons of dirt at 80 miles per hour. o A container on a tractor-trailer was broadsided by a rocket-assisted 120-ton train locomotive traveling 80 miles per hour. o A container was dropped 2,000 feet onto soil as hard as concrete, traveling 235 miles an hour at impact. © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett ***************************************************************** 47 Mayor: Yucca Mountain must come later Friday, April 05, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal By JAN MOLLER REVIEW-JOURNAL Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday that he would like to contribute more money to the state's fight against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, but the city's budget woes must be addressed first. So far, the city has given $100,000 to the cause, and has also filed suit in federal court seeking to block the project. Gov. Kenny Guinn said last week that the state needs $10 million to wage a public relations campaign that would warn residents of other states about the potential dangers of transporting high-level nuclear waste. Nevada officials hope a grass-roots campaign might influence some U.S. senators to vote against the Yucca Mountain Project later this year, when the repository proposal is expected to come up for a vote in that body. "I would like the city to contribute more, but right now I would like the city to take care of our obligations," Goodman said. Goodman said preliminary estimates show the city's 2002-03 budget is $1.2 million in the red. He did not specify which programs or services might be cut to make up for the shortfall, or how much he would like the City Council to contribute toward the anti-Yucca effort. The City Council will discuss the funding issue at its April 17 meeting. "You have to make choices, and it's never easy," Goodman said. On Tuesday, the Clark County Commission postponed a decision on whether to contribute $3 million to the state's Nuclear Protection Fund. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 48 `West Wing' nuclear waste story line called Nevada `disinformation' Friday, April 05, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal CORRECTION (4/6/02): This story incorrectly reported the home state of Nevada consultant Bob Halstead. He lives in Wisconsin. By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevadans differed Thursday whether this week's nuclear waste episode of "The West Wing" lived up to its hype, but the show drew an immediate and angry reaction from companies that transport nuclear materials. Officials from two nuclear transportation firms said Thursday they are inviting transport companies, emergency preparedness and security officials to join a coalition to combat a Nevada-led "disinformation campaign" about shipment safety. They said "The West Wing" was the final straw. "This film might as well have been produced in Las Vegas. It is part of a calculated campaign being waged by opponents of Yucca Mountain," said David Blee, a representative of Atlanta-based NAC International. "We felt it was time to get off the sidelines," Blee said. At a news conference, Blee and Jack Edlow, president of Edlow International, dissected a videotaped portion of "The West Wing" episode for inaccuracies. Industry officials said Edlow International and NAC International are among companies expected to bid on contracts to handle nuclear waste shipments to the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "We want policy-makers and the public to have an opportunity to hear from people who really know what they're talking about rather than guys like Martin Sheen who pretend to be things," Edlow said. Sheen portrays President Josiah Bartlet in "The West Wing." At points in Wednesday night's show, he and other characters seemed to be speaking from an anti-Yucca script. Near the program's conclusion, Sheen's character delivers a commentary on nuclear waste cask safety. "We pack this stuff in 2 inches of stainless steel, 4 inches of lead," he said. "We've rammed it with trains and dropped it from helicopters and it still isn't going to protect us from the thing we haven't thought of." Sheen referenced a nuclear waste cask that was blasted by a missile in a filmed test at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. "They showed me a video," he said. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., made public such a video earlier this month. Dee Dee Myers, former press secretary in the Clinton White House, was credited with forming the story, in which "The West Wing" fictional White House staff learns that a truck carrying spent uranium fuel has crashed in a tunnel in Idaho. Myers had discussed waste shipping scenarios with Nevada officials as she was developing a plot early in March. Overnight ratings showed "The West Wing" was the most watched show at 9 p.m., drawing 17.3 million viewers. But some pointed out the show was all talk; no accident was shown. And nuclear waste was only one of a half-dozen subplots. "We'll take any of the free media," Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said after viewing the program. "They said all the right things, but because it was one of the subplots, I don't think it had nearly as much effect. "It was a little bit disappointing," he said. Berkley, who watched the program with aides and environmental activists, said she was satisfied. "It got the message across in a very soft way, it was woven into the fabric of the show," she said. Nevada officials said they are considering how they could take advantage of whatever edge the television show might give the state. Nancy Todd Tyner, a Las Vegas political consultant, said Nevada officials need to strike quickly if they want to capitalize on free publicity. "The only way it would help is if people related (the episode) to Nevada," she said. "I would turn it into a real proactive campaign. I would have done that this morning." Meanwhile Thursday, Nevada's senators complained that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require full-scale physical testing of nuclear waste shipping casks for its certification process. Safety tests instead are conducted on scale-model casks as small as one-eighth of regular size, and testing for damage from fires is largely performed and analyzed by computer simulation, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after examining cask information he requested from the agency. "It looks to me like the NRC, Department of Energy and the nuclear industry balked at paying the bill for a full-sized test of a nuclear waste cask," Reid said. "I am stunned by this news," said Ensign. "It goes to show that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission isn't using real-world tests for real-world scenarios." NRC officials could not be reached Thursday night. Blee, the consultant for NAC International, said scale-model testing is an NRC-accepted practice and does not compromise safety. "Quarter-scale tests are as predictive as full-scale tests," he said. Bob Halstead, a Minnesota transportation official who is a Nevada consultant, said the model testing has been controversial for more than 20 years. "The NRC has never required full-scale testing," Halstead said. "I don't think there's a good reason." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 49 Nuke cask test questioned Las Vegas SUN April 05, 2002 Senators critical of NRC's use of computer models for testing By Erin Neff and Benjamin Grove A Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said this week that his agency has limited information on the safety of nuclear waste casks, giving Nevada officials more ammunition in their fight against a nuclear waste repository. According to a letter sent Tuesday to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., NRC officials test scale models of casks and "cask impact limiters" -- the materials used to protect the cask body during a collision. The letter from Richard Meserve of the NRC in response to questions from Reid showed that the NRC has not conducted tests on full-scale cask models or physically test casks for damage by fire. The NRC, which is responsible for regulating the nuclear industry, said those tests were performed by computer simulation. "I'm shocked," said Reid, who is chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the NRC. "The NRC is relying on small-scale tests of model truck and train containers." Nevada officials are fighting the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, which is 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, by arguing that the transportation of nuclear waste is dangerous. The issue over testing waste transportation casks has come under fire by state leaders who question the testing of the casks. The NRC's computer tests support nuclear industry arguments that say transporting nuclear waste is safe. But state leaders point to physical tests that show a cask could be vulnerable to a missile attack, and they say the casks could be penetrated or cracked in an accident or terrorists attack and release radioactive material. State leaders say they hope the message resonates in Congress, which will vote on the Yucca project in the next few months. "Who would buy a car that had only been crash tested on a computer screen or on a model racetrack?" Reid asked. Nuclear industry officials stressed that full-scale model tests likely would only serve a public relations purpose, not a scientific one. "It has been proven that computer modeling is sufficient," said Jack Edlow, president of Edlow International Co., a waste cask manufacturer. NRC officials have said they already have a deep understanding of how casks would perform in an accident from tests dating to the late 1970s at Sandia National Laboratories, plus modern computer modeling. NRC officials are planning more computer modeling and are considering a new round of physical tests, possibly full-scale tests, on waste containers in the next few years, NRC spokeswoman Rosetta Virgilio said. She said a final report on the new analysis may be complete by 2005, when Yucca Mountain could be well on its way to becoming the nation's nuclear waste repository. "That's what this whole study is about -- to make sure that these containers are robust," Virgilio said. "It's a work in progress." Nuclear industry officials say the test of time has proven casks safe, after thousands of shipments worldwide over millions of miles -- with no radiation leaks. "Internationally, more (spent nuclear) fuel has already been safely and successfully transported than is scheduled to be shipped to Yucca Mountain," Edlow said. "Spent fuel has and will be shipped in robust, state-of-the-art Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified containers with tons of steel and radiation shielding." The NRC has overseen cask tests involving crashes and fires in field tests years ago at Sandia in New Mexico, which proved that the casks are safe for waste transport, Sandia scientists said. But more recent tests have been simulated. Nevada officials say that recently released video footage of a 1998 test -- arranged by a private company, not the government -- call into question the government's plan to transport nuclear waste across the country to Nevada. The test conducted at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground shows an anti-tank missile penetrating an iron cask wall. "It just goes to show that the NRC isn't using real-world tests for real world scenarios," Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said. Critics discredit the video mostly because it featured an iron cask, not the steel models that are licensed for use in the United States. Last month Reid requested information from the NRC about which containers are used to transport spent nuclear fuel by rail and road, and which tests are conducted on the containers. In an April 2 response to Reid, the NRC's Meserve supplied a table of the physical tests conducted on the casks. The table shows no tests have been conducted on the full-size containers intended to transport the waste across the country to the proposed dump at Yucca Mountain. Ensign said last July's tunnel fire in Baltimore -- in which a train car carrying 12,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid derailed and burned for days -- is a prime example of why physical testing should be done on all full-size materials. The NRC's letter states: + Tests were conducted on model containers ranging from one-eighth to one-half the size of the actual transportation casks. + Computer simulations were used to determine the behavior of the nuclear waste transportation cask during a fire. + The NRC requires that waste casks can withstand a simulated fire burning at 1,475 degrees for 30 minutes. Reid notes that the Baltimore fire burned at 1,500 degrees for several days. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 50 Goodman hopes city will add to fund Las Vegas SUN April 05, 2002 Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is looking for support from his colleagues to help fund the campaign against Yucca Mountain. Goodman has asked City Manager Virginia Valentine to poll the six council members to see if they want to contribute additional funds toward the fight. The city has already provided $100,000 to the state's fund. Nevada has a $6 million fund to cover lobbying and legal expenses related to fighting the proposed dump, but state leaders say they need more to fight the nuclear energy's powerful lobbying efforts. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., have asked Gov. Kenny Guinn to call a special legislative session to appropriate $10 million for a television and grass-roots campaign. Guinn has said he will instead ask an interim legislative committee for a portion of the money, and has called on local governments to pitch in. Earlier this week, the Clark County Commission postponed contributing $3 million, because the members want to look at the budget and get a financial commitment from state legislators. Clark County has already given $1 million to the state's fund. Goodman said a preliminary look at the budget shows a $1 million shortfall next fiscal year, which begins July 1. But he said he would support putting more money toward the fight, even if it meant taking money from planned projects. "You have to make choices and it's never easy," he said. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 51 Where I Stand: Mike O'Callaghan: Not a security issue Las Vegas SUN April 05, 2002 Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor. MORE THAN FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED since Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, sent me a blistering letter because this column had defamed Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Well, Murkowski, a banker from Alaska now planning on going home and becoming governor, is still in the Senate and so is Craig. Both are still trying to push nuke waste down the throats of Nevadans and ripping up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Next week the Senate will probably have an amendment to open up ANWR for drilling. The only thing that has changed in five years are additional reasons the drilling will do more environmental damage than it will do good for any of us. Despite the claims that drilling will result in little, if any, environmental damage, studies show a different picture. Less than two weeks ago a new U.S. Geological Survey report warned us of the great harm it would do to wildlife. This report became public before Interior Secretary Gale Norton, a Jim Watt protege, could put her spin on it. This is exactly what she did on a previous report made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the effects drilling could have on the porcupine Caribou herd. Jim Carlton, a Wall Street Journal writer, after seeing the new report went on to say, "The report said other animals could be at risk, too. For example, it said displacement of snow geese by drilling activities could have adverse effects on them, because their feeding habitat is limited. A large portion of their feeding area is on the coastal plain. Moreover, the researchers said musk oxen in the refuge could be hurt by having to expend too much energy moving away from human activities, making it harder for them to withstand the severe Arctic winter." Any American in touch with reality knows that the ANWR belongs to all of us and not just Alaskans. It was declared our property when designated as a refuge for wildlife by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. So what is the latest excuse that will be used to drill in ANWR? The same one that was used more than 30 years ago to drill on the North Slope and build a pipeline across Alaska. That's right, national security. Not only was national security used for justification, Alaska's senior Sen. Ted Stevens said that the law should include an absolute prohibition on exporting North Slope oil to any foreign nation. There was a ban on exporting that oil for 22 years but seven years ago that restriction was removed. It was removed when Murkowski, as chairman of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, pushed it out of committee with a 14-4 vote. About 60,000 barrels of Alaska crude oil began finding its way to Asia almost every day following the ban removal. As I wrote, even before the Senate this year refused to approve a reasonable fuel efficiency requirement for vehicles, just an additional 3 miles a gallon per vehicle could save 51 billion barrels of oil. That's three times more than even the highest estimate of reserves believed held beneath ANWR. Also remember that it will take at least seven years before the first oil comes forth from that pristine area. Let's not forget exactly what ANWR means to the world and one of the world's oldest traditional native cultures, the Gwich'in people. Former Management and Budget Director Alice Rivlin, in a letter to Murkowski several years ago wrote, "The refuge is the last protected fragment of Alaska's Arctic Slope, comprising a pristine, unique ecosystem that is home to hundreds of plant and animal species. It contains 18 major rivers and is home to 36 species and land mammals, nine marine mammal species and over 30 fish species. This area is also the most important calving area for the international porcupine Caribou herd. Studies have shown, for example, that opening this area to oil and gas development would lead to serious threats to the caribou herd and to its habitat in the coastal plain. Those impacts would potentially violate a 1987 joint U.S.-Canada agreement to protect the porcupine caribou, its habitat and the native peoples who depend on the herd to live and maintain their cul! tural heritage." Is more money in the pockets of Alaskans and their new governor more precious than a protected ANWR? I don't think so. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 52 State may hire experts to lobby U.S. senators Las Vegas SUN April 05, 2002 Emergency allocation would fund positions By Cy Ryan SUN CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- State officials hope to use part of an emergency $3 million allocation to hire experts in terrorism to convince U.S. Senators to vote against a nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain. The state Board of Examiners is expected to give preliminary approval today to take the $3 million from emergency funds to beef up the effort to persuade U.S. senators to reject President Bush's designation of Yucca Mountain. In documents presented to the examiners board, state officials said many senators have not "fully considered the implications of their position." These senators, said the report need to understand that "their support for transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain amounts to asking their constituents to share the highways, the railways and waterways with hundreds of shipments and thousands of tons of high level waste for the next 3 or more decades." And delivery of the message is critical to its success. "Accordingly the plan proposes that the message could be conveyed by experts in the areas of terrorism, highway safety, and emergency response, as well as former directors of the DOE Yucca Mountain program, and former officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission." The plan does not have a breakdown on how the money would be spent. But it says the "principle focus of the plan is to develop and execute a national advertising campaign, focused on senators in specifically targeted states, concerning the risks associated with transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain." The recommendation of the examiners board will be forwarded to the Legislative Interim Finance Committee that meets next Wednesday to take final action. The proposal calls for $1.5 million coming from an emergency fund of the state Transportation Department and $1.5 million from the $8.9 million in the emergency fund controlled by the finance committee. Reducing the amount sought from the finance committee's fund from $3 million to $1.5 million has softened some of the opposition. Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, said cutting the general fund amount to $1.5 million "makes it more manageable," and "makes it more livable." But he insists he wants to see a plan how the money would be spent before approving any contingency allocation. Hettrick had been leaning against the allocation of the full $3 million from the IFC fund. The examiners board is composed of chairman Gov. Kenny Guinn, Secretary of State Dean Heller and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa. Guinn flies to Washington on Monday to personally deliver his veto to Congress. Congress will have 90 days on which to decide whether to override the veto. State officials say they do not have the 51 votes in the Senate needed to block the selection of Yucca Mountain. In documents to the examiners board, state officials say much of the material to be used in the campaign has been developed but "will need to be reformatted." The 2001 Legislature allocated $4 million to fight Yucca Mountain and some local governments, gaming casinos and others have donated additional money. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 53 Madness that keeps doomsday clock ticking despite end of the Cold War New Zealand News Dr Alexander Gillespie 05.04.2002 It is wrong to say that the world is safe enough for New Zealand to again place itself under the nuclear umbrella, writes ALEXANDER GILLESPIE*. Denis McLean's dialogue piece on Wednesday suggesting it is necessary to reverse New Zealand's nuclear-free policy misses all the main reasons it is essential that it be maintained. His main contentions are twofold. The first is that nuclear energy, which powers these ships, is a safe fuel and does not represent a serious risk through port visits. The second, more implicit, point is that the policy was much better suited to the Cold War when there was a clear threat between the two superpowers. With regard to his first contention, the debate about the safety of nuclear energy is far from certain, although his basic point about the overall safety of nuclear-powered vessels is correct so far. As an overall threat, the nuclear accidents from nuclear energy that have occurred have all been land-based, in Britain, the former Soviet Union, Japan and (almost) the United States. As such, the safety record of travelling nuclear vessels is good. Unfortunately, the waste these may create (and which may have to be housed for thousands of years) is more problematic, as is the fact that such vessels are, most probably, desirable targets for all those with opposing nuclear hardware or terrorist intentions. Post-September 11 analysis has already revealed the worst-case scenarios of targeting nuclear energy reactors. But this is not the real threat that nuclear visits represent, and to engage in such discussions is to accept the red herring that was put forward in Denis McLean's article. The real threat that nuclear visits from military forces represents is crawling back under the nuclear umbrella, which is much more fragile than Denis McLean would suggest. He implies that times have moved on, and the policy that may have once been well suited to the Cold War is unsuitable for the new century. Nothing could be further from correct, because nuclear safety in our increasingly globalising world is far from secure. One of the best indicators of this is the minutes-to-midnight clock set by the directors of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The clock symbolises how close humanity is to nuclear conflict and possible extinction. Extinction is probable if a full-scale nuclear exchange occurs. To strike midnight is the end point. This fictional clock, which was first set at seven minutes to midnight in 1945, is now back at the same place as when it started - seven minutes to midnight. This is not something to consider an achievement. At the end of the Cold War, the clock was significantly wound back, but since then it has moved forward, three times since 1991. The last move happened this month when the clock was moved from nine minutes to seven minutes. The reason the doomsday clock is moving back quickly towards midnight is only partly due to the fact that 31,000 nuclear weapons are maintained by the eight superpowers. Many of these have less than 30 minutes between firing and hitting their targets. The clock is also moving forward because of the failure of the US, and subsequently the international community, to accept the Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty, the failure of the international community to make the (nuclear) Non-Proliferation Treaty meaningful and tied to specific targets, the failure of the US to maintain the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the failure of the international community to agree on adequate verification procedures for chemical and biological weapons. In addition, there is the problem of nuclear terrorism (18 cases of theft of weapon-grade uranium or plutonium since 1991 from the former Soviet Union), madmen flying jet airliners into civilian targets, and continuing border skirmishes, including an attack on India's Parliament, between the nuclear powers of Pakistan and India. Of late, we may also throw the highly volatile situation of nuclear-armed, provocative and surrounded Israel into the equation. Any suggestion that the world is safe and that it is suitable for countries such as New Zealand to reacquaint themselves with the nuclear umbrella is mistaken. Denis McLean suggests that our nuclear-free policy should be traded because it is ultimately inconsistent with our vital national interests with the US. He is probably correct that it does not further our relationship with the United States. But New Zealand's considerations in the pursuit of global security, and a world free of the near unimaginable risk of nuclear war, must be a much higher consideration. Maintaining our nuclear-free status is an intrinsic part of that. * Dr Alexander Gillespie is the listed New Zealand expert on natural resource matters at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. ©Copyright 2002, New Zealand Herald ***************************************************************** 54 N.Korea, in About Turn, Says U.S. 'Sworn Enemy' Reuters Wire | 04/04/2002 | SEOUL - (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday that the United States was its ``most wicked sworn enemy'' in a series of diatribes issued less than 24 hours after Pyongyang dropped hints it might restart frozen dialogue with Washington. ``The U.S. is the most wicked sworn enemy of the Korean nation as it is not only hindering inter-Korean exchange and cooperation ... but also putting a stumbling block in the way of achieving Korea's reunification,'' the state media quoted the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee as saying. A separate KCNA report quoted a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman as demanding Washington pay compensation for what it said was a U.S. failure to uphold a key deal which froze Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program. Yet another statement, in the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops in South Korea, saying ``it is imperative to put an end to the presence in South Korea by the U.S. imperialist aggression troops.'' In what was taken in Washington as a possible sign North Korea was willing to talk, late on Wednesday, KCNA quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying Pyongyang would re-engage with an international consortium at the heart of the crucial nuclear agreement with the United States. ***************************************************************** 55 Doubts linger over North Korea's real intentions Asia Times: April 5, 2002 atimes.com By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING - As the two Koreas start a new round of talks and Asia anticipates a breakthrough on the divided peninsula, the grim tale of North Korean refugees in China casts a pall of doubt over whether Pyongyang is really moving toward change and genuine dialogue. It is customary behavior of Pyongyang to demonstrate willingness for dialogue and political concessions whenever the economic situation of the country has become desperate. With a starving population and an urgent need for foreign currency, North Korea can no longer cling to its closed-door mentality. Politically, the country has become even more isolated since US President George W Bush labeled it part of an "axis of evil" and the Pentagon designated it as a possible nuclear target. In March, Washington decided not to certify North Korea as being compliant with a 1994 accord that was to allow the country two proliferation-proof reactors in return for international inspections. Outwardly, North Korea responded with a similarly harsh rhetoric - it threatened to scrap the 1994 agreement with Washington to freeze its nuclear development scheme. Yet in the meantime, Pyongyang has agreed to reopen talks with Seoul and even hinted it was drafting plans for economic reforms. "It is necessary to improve trade and economic cooperation and widely conduct joint ventures and collaboration with different countries and international organizations," the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted North Korea's Prime Minister Hong Song-nam as saying last week. But this is not the first time Pyongyang has looked outward and promised to open up to trade. Back in the 1980s, late paramount leader Kim Il-sung considered copying China's model of land reform by allowing peasants to lease farming plots from the state and sow them privately. Taking inspiration from China's gradual opening up of its economy, Kim also authorized a special economic zone along the border with China at Ranjin-Sonbong aimed at attracting foreign investment. Both initiatives ended up as failures. The land reform was scrapped amid internal ideological debates, while the Rajin-Sonbong zone produced little more than a landmark casino built by Hong Kong investors. North Korea's record of attempting economic reforms is a cautionary tale for politicians and businessmen alike who consider approving business deals and aid packages in exchange for political concessions. As the March tale of the 25 North Korean refugees who defected here reveals, little has changed in the way Pyongyang treats its people. Numerous efforts to influence North Korea's leadership either by Seoul or by Beijing have earned little more than just promises. The refugees, who found shelter in the Spanish Embassy in Beijing last month, told stories of state terror and starvation, discrediting United Nations claims that famine in the country has abated thanks to millions of tonnes of outside humanitarian food aid. Instead, the people who came from different parts and walks of life in North Korea testified they had rarely seen this aid and have only seen it being sold at market. Among the refugees were children and elderly, or exactly those social groups who were supposed to be receiving the international aid. "We don't think humanitarian aid is reaching the most vulnerable groups," said Fiona Terry, director of research at Medecins Sans Frontieres in Paris. "There is no food and no hope in North Korea," said one of the asylum seekers, a factory clerk from Chongsong who escaped the North with his three children. However dramatic the stories told by North Korean refugees in Beijing, what followed in the aftermath of the successful asylum bid was even more revealing of the true face of the regime in the North. Teamed up with Chinese police, North Korean security agents launched a harsh crackdown on North Korean escapees hiding along the China-Korea border. Wire dispatches and witnesses' accounts described scenes of massive manhunts when refugees were arrested and taken away. Once sent back to their hardline state, the escapees are likely to face life-threatening persecution and prison. Nevertheless, many of the refugees said to be hiding in northeastern China have tried more than once to cross the border with China. Their testimonies, detailing the death and torture people face in North Korea, appear to contradict the stance held by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung that the North is changing and is ready to negotiate in earnest. While hopes are running high that reopened talks this week between Seoul and Pyongyang could create a positive momentum similar to that of the 2000 summit between Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the track record of Pyongyang's political conduct suggests the contrary. After a series of landmark inter-Korean talks in 2000 and 2001, the North announced it was calling off a planned reunion between relatives across the border who have not seen each other since before the 1950-53 Korean War. That marked the end of yet another dialogue between the two arch-rivals, and relations headed for a new low point. All the same, two years of roller-coaster diplomacy between Seoul and Pyongyang has made little difference to North Korea's people. During these conciliatory efforts, the living standards of the North Korean population have continued to deteriorate. They are still plagued by a lack of food, heat and medicine. This year the UN launched another appeal for massive donations worth more than US$600 million. (Inter Press Service) ©2001 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd. Room 6301, The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong ***************************************************************** 56 The creeping nuclear threat [Asia Times Online] COMMENT By Ehsan Ahrari The increasingly militant face of America's foreign policy since September 11 is a horrific development. Watching President George W Bush rightly expressing his anger over the scourge of global terrorism is one thing, but then watching him lower the nuclear threshold in his recently leaked Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is an entirely different matter. Even when one does not categorically reject the statement of the Bush officials that the NPR does not represent a policy, but only contingency planning, one wonders whether such contingency planning is only the product of the wild imagination of mid-level Pentagon staffers, or whether it really reflects the thinking of higher-level government officials. Mary McGrory, in her column "Nuts about nukes" (Washington Post, March 14), makes an excellent point that most military men do not think of "battlefield nukes" as an option. She goes on to quote a statement by Bush's Secretary of State Colin Powell in his autobiography, My American Journey, that is worth repeating. Powell was "disparagingly" narrating his experience of 1958, when he was assigned to guard a nuclear cannon. Regarding that experience, he wrote, "We are not talking about dropping a few artillery shells at a crossing. No matter how small they were ... we would be crossing a threshold ... using nukes at this point would mean one of the most significant policy and military decisions since Hiroshima." Now the same Powell is defending his president's NPR, by stating that the United States does not plan to use nuclear weapons. But there is also a dispatch of the Los Angeles Times of March 9 that reports, "Pentagon officials have said publicly that they were studying the need to develop theater nuclear weapons" for use against specific targets on a battlefield. At least in the thinking of US officials, the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in future wars is becoming much less than the "unthinkable" option that the late Herman Kahn used to talk about. But the most objectionable part of Bush's NPR is that it includes countries on its nuclear target list that are nonnuclear states and signatories of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty - Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya. The United States, the Soviet Union and Britain pledged in 1978 not to use nuclear weapons against such states - a pledge that is generally referred to as "negative security" assurance. The only exception was that such states should not be part of an attack in alliance with a nuclear weapon state. The People's Republic of China and France became parties to that pledge in 1995. However, that negative security assurance was violated by the United States prior to the initiation of Desert Storm in 1991, when president George H W Bush conveyed to Saddam Hussein of Iraq that if he were to use chemical weapons against the US-led international coalition of forces, his administration would consider "the strongest possible response". Even though Bush Senior has clarified many times since then that he never seriously considered the use of nuclear weapons during the Gulf War of 1991, it seemed that the nuclear threshold was tacitly lowered without any hue and cry from the friends or foes of the United States. Only the Indians made a public note of this reality, when India's Defense Minister George Fernandes is reported to have observed that if you want to tangle with the United States, make sure that you have nuclear weapons. The conventional wisdom within the US governmental and foreign-policy elite circles was that in the wake of a chemical-biological attack from an adversary, the potential use of nuclear weapons was indeed an option. Since the global environment was heavily clouded with uncertainty after the end of the Cold War, even the US Congress did not assert its foreign policy prerogative of participating in a decision of the magnitude of lowering the nuclear threshold. It appeared that the purposeful ambiguity related to the nuclear threshold was to put fear into the "bad guys" such as Saddam and Kim Jong-il of North Korea. Since the Russians and the Chinese were also actively proliferating nuclear and missile technologies to countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Syria, and North Korea, there was not going to be a critical examination of the rationale underlying that purposeful ambiguity. The post-September 11 developments took the genie of that purposeful ambiguity out of the bottle. Numerous reports that al-Qaeda was actively seeking the techniques to make the "dirty bomb" - that al-Qaeda was very much interested in the subject of nuclear weapons, and that there is absolutely no credible assurance that the Russian fissile or radioactive material has not fallen into the wrong hands - cumulatively created an environment within the US decision-making circles that it's better to be safe than sorry. And that frame of mind seems to be behind the Bush administration's NPR, and every single item related to the potential use of nuclear weapons. It seems that the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD) - the bedrock of nuclear competition during the Cold War years - if not shattered, has been turned on its head (it may also be stated that the MAD doctrine has gone "madder"). If the reports that al-Qaeda and such like groups are interested in the acquisition of techniques to make the "dirty bomb" are indeed true, then it is only reasonable (if not logical) to conclude that all nuclear capable states - five nuclear weapons states plus India, Pakistan, and Israel - may not have much of a choice but to develop and deploy tactical nuclear weapons, purely as a defensive mechanism. The most worrisome development (indeed the curse) of the post-September 11 era is that the use of tactical nukes has entered so casually into international public debates. Ehsan Ahrari, PhD, is a Norfolk, VA-based strategic analyst. (Copyright 2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 57 US abandons treaties at its peril Asia Times Online] By Danielle Knight WASHINGTON - By rejecting or ignoring a broad range of international treaties, the United States jeopardizes efforts by other nations to create a strong international rule of law, says a report released on Thursday by disarmament and human-rights activists. From the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Washington has moved away from backing worldwide agreements and instead shifted toward greater reliance on military force, says the report, "The Rule of Power or the Rule of Law? An Assessment of US Policies and Actions Regarding Security-Related Treaties". "The United States is setting itself above the rules and rejecting the notion that treaties are instruments among equals, in which all parties give up something and get something," said Nicole Deller, a lawyer and editor of the report. The document was prepared by two advocacy groups: the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP). The report details evidence that it says shows US policy is drifting away from regarding treaties as an essential element in global security to a more opportunistic stand of abiding by treaties only when convenient. This strategy, it says, could backfire on the United States and further weaken the Bush administration's coalition in its war against terrorism. "If the United States sets itself above the law, and bases itself on the rule of power instead, what's to stop other countries from doing the same?" said Deller. The report says the Pentagon's new Nuclear Posture Review violates the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which bars almost all states in the world from acquiring nuclear weapons, and commits parties that possess the weapons to negotiate their elimination. The nuclear review, leaked to the media last month, revealed Washington's contingency plan for using nuclear weapons against a range of countries, including some that do not have them. The plan suggested that nuclear weapons could be used under a variety of circumstances and it cited seven nations - China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Russia, and Syria - as possible targets. The "options for use of nuclear weapons, including by pre-emptive attack against non-nuclear weapon states, are contrary to a commitment to a 'diminishing role for nuclear weapons in security policy' made less than two years ago", said John Burroughs, executive director of the New York-based LCNP. The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, he said, underscore the urgent need to marginalize nuclear weapons and intensify global cooperation on disarmament. "Instead, the United States has adopted an irrational policy of elevating the role of nuclear weapons in its overall military strategy," said Burroughs. The United States also appears to be flouting the CTBT, which bars all nuclear testing and explosions. The treaty was signed by former president Bill Clinton, but the Senate has vowed not to ratify the accord. The report says the United States and France are each planning laboratory thermonuclear explosions in huge new laser devices. The devices would be used for experiments aimed at producing explosions of magnitudes greater than four pounds of TNT equivalent, a widely accepted limit of testing under the treaty, it says. President George W Bush's withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in December, says the report, further created a dangerous slide away from the international rule of law. The action was the first formal unilateral withdrawal of a major power from a nuclear arms control treaty after it had been put into effect. Bush has long argued the ABM Treaty was a Cold War relic that stood in the way of a needed national missile defense system. The administration's expensive plan for missile defense, estimated to cost about US$200 billion, includes air, sea, land, and space-based systems and the construction of a ground installation in Alaska - all of which violate provisions of the ABM Treaty. China and Russia have argued that Bush's rejection of the treaty will spark a new arms race. The US intelligence community and congressional opponents to missile defense, including Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the development and deployment of a national missile defense system would push China to rapidly expand its force of about two dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles into a massive arsenal. Critics worry that any move by Beijing to increase its strategic forces could spark an arms race in South and East Asia. The report also chastises the United States for refusing to support the Mine Ban Treaty, which bars all anti-personnel land mines without exceptions, and which went into force in March 1999. Although Clinton was the first world leader to call for the "eventual elimination" of land mines, during the negotiations of the treaty, the administration demanded that certain types of anti-personnel mines be permitted, that South Korea be exempted from the ban, and that an optional nine-year deferral period for compliance be established. But the US demands were rejected and Washington declined to sign the treaty. The United States possesses the third-largest stockpile of anti-personnel mines in the world - more than 11 million - and stockpiles at least 1.7 million other mines in 12 countries that are party to the treaty, says the report. It also warns that the United States is violating its commitments under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Washington ratified the agreement, which went into force in 1994. Bush, however, has rejected the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which was designed to be the first step toward specific binding limits and timetables for heat-trapping emissions. (Inter Press Service) [http://taipeitimes.com/] ***************************************************************** 58 PNNL medical system being tested This story was published Wed, Apr 3, 2002 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer A medical system developed in Richland for military use is getting its first commercial test to see if it can save babies born to mothers who live far from specialty health care. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed the three-dimensional imaging system to allow the Army to perform sophisticated diagnoses on the battlefield. The device can be used at a military field station during the critical hour after a soldier is injured to quickly scan a computerized image. The image is transmitted to a doctor, who may be in another country, to be used much like a conventional ultrasound for diagnosis. Because the image is three-dimensional, the doctor can manipulate the image on the computer screen to search for internal bleeding or imbedded shrapnel, then relay instructions back to the field. It was tested in Bosnia in 1996. But Richland researchers who developed the system believe MUSTPAC -- short for Medical Ultrasound, Three-dimensional and Portable with Advanced Communications -- has wide applications beyond the military. They are getting the chance to prove its usefulness on South Dakota Indian reservations, where infant mortality rates are more than twice the national average. The Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service has provided a grant to the Indian Health Service to monitor 100 women in their first trimester of pregnancy. "The ideal result of this study would be reduced fetal and newborn mortality through better treatment for women earlier in the pregnancy," said Deb Soholt, director of women's health for Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The women will be drawn from the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations, which are 240 to 350 miles from Sioux Falls. The city has the state's only obstetricians trained to care for women with high-risk pregnancies. Because women on the reservations have limited access to specialists, problems often aren't detected until late in the pregnancy when treatment is more difficult or complicated. Partly as a result, Pine Ridge has an infant mortality rate nearly triple that of the rest of the nation, and Rosebud's rate is more than double. In the study, nurses or other health care providers at clinics on the reservations will sweep the ultrasound probe over a pregnant woman's womb. Although nurses may use the equipment on the reservations, the system is designed to be used by operators with limited training and no diagnostic skills. Software developed by the Richland lab will translate the data collected into three-dimensional images to be transmitted by telephone line to Avera McKennan hospital for diagnosis. A medical specialist in Sioux Falls then performs his own scan of the three-dimensional data set by moving a virtual ultrasound probe through the air as though he were standing over the patient. Data collected on the reservations will be used to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval for MUSTPAC. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 59 2 CBC students start petition to save FFTF This story was published Thu, Apr 4, 2002 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer Wednesday morning two Columbia Basin College students posted a petition on the Internet calling for President Bush to save Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. By early evening, 95 people from 15 states, the District of Columbia and Canada had signed to show their support. "The FFTF has a public health benefit to play," wrote Steward Farber of Bridgeport, Conn., in a note beside his signature. "Domestic radionuclide production is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of U.S. medicine and industry," wrote Professor Joseph Silverman of the Materials and Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Maryland. By the end of the month Rachael Aeling and Brandie Didier, both 19-year-old CBC students, want to collect 5,000 signatures to deliver to Bush. They're using the Internet and traditional paper petitions in the Tri-Cities. Aeling lost both her grandfathers to cancer and wants the Hanford reactor restarted to make medicines to treat cancer more effectively and with fewer side effects than traditional therapies. But the federal government has decided that restarting the reactor for medical, research and industry use is too big a financial gamble. Local supporters, including a coalition of governments, are asking the federal government to allow them to find private or other government users for the reactor instead. But time is running out as decommissioning work on FFTF begins. It's an issue Aeling is familiar with from her job at Carol Darley Video of Richland, which has produced educational material for Citizens for Medical Isotopes. Aeling of Basin City was driving to work one day when the idea of a petition drive popped into her head. "I got fed up with the destruction of FFTF," she said. She presented her idea to the CMI board, which put Aeling in charge. She recruited Didier of Pasco, who was interested in medical isotopes after attending a CMI banquet, and the two came up a petition that emphasizes the need for United States sources of isotopes for medicine. "Over 90 percent of medical isotopes in use in the United States are currently only available from foreign sources with production limitations and stoppages," according to the petition. Isotopes commonly are used in diagnosis, but increasingly cancers are being treated with radiation from isotopes. In some treatments they can deliver a more lethal dose to cancer cells with less damage to healthy cells than traditional beam radiation. By midday Wednesday, Aeling and Didier had collected 89 signatures on paper petitions. Those petitions are available at the three chambers of commerce in the Tri-Cities, the Port of Benton, the Home Builder's Association, CMI and organized labor offices. But the real success of the petition drive may come on the Internet, with e-mails spreading word of the petition. It's posted on a site devoted to petitions, sharing space with drives for causes such as saving television shows and declaring Sept. 11 a national holiday. Aeling and Didier plan to deliver the petition to Washington, D.C., and CMI is considering reviving the Cancer Fighter's Train for the trip. Earlier the group traveled the West Coast by train to rally support for saving FFTF. Supporters of reviving the reactor also are working to get language damaging to FFTF removed from a Senate energy bill that will be voted on soon. Committee members include U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and one of FFTF's most outspoken critics, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. "We may be in the last two minutes of the game, but I've seen a lot of games change in the last two minutes," said Brandie Didier's father, Clint Didier of Eltopia. He's a CMI board member and a former pro football player with the Washington Redskins. To sign the petition, go to www.petitiononline.com/ansewbc/petition.html on the Internet. CMI may be reached at 737-8463. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 60 Cleanup delays won't be accepted This story was published Fri, Apr 5, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Plans to accelerate Hanford cleanup won't sacrifice established deadlines, a Department of Energy official said Thursday. The Tri-Party Agreement's cleanup schedules won't be altered, said Wade Ballard, Department of Energy assistant manager for planning and integration at Hanford. DOE wants to add $433 million to Hanford's 2003 budget to expedite the work. As a condition of accepting the plan, state regulators won't agree to any delays in the deadlines, said Mike Wilson, Washington Department of Ecology nuclear program manager. Ballard, Wilson and others discussed DOE's plans and budgets at a Hanford Advisory Board meeting in Richland. DOE asked Congress for $1.46 billion for Hanford cleanup in fiscal 2003, an amount below that needed to meet the deadlines. But DOE wants Congress to add an extra $800 million to $1.1 billion, to be distributed among its sites that produce plans for faster cleanup. Hanford is months ahead of other DOE sites in such planning. So DOE said it might provide the site with $433 million of the extra money, which would be enough to meet Tri-Party Agreement obligations and speed up some work. But DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., said it will provide the extra money only if DOE, the state and the Environmental Protection Agency agree to an acceleration plan. DOE's two Hanford offices are supposed to send their draft plans to the regulators on May 1. Then DOE's timetable calls for agreement on a final plan by Aug. 1. DOE is optimistic Hanford will get the extra $433 million because all parties have been discussing acceleration proposals for almost a year. But it's uncertain how far apart DOE and the regulators will be when they move from discussing broad concepts to negotiating specifics. For example, DOE's acceleration plan moves the end of Hanford cleanup from 2070 to between 2025 and 2035. But 2070 was solely DOE's date, which the state never accepted. The state's legal finish date has been 2028, which is in the Tri-Party Agreement. Another unknown is how Congress will view a $433 million addition to Hanford's budget. Congressional committees will haggle over the budget requests in May and June. Hanford's $433 million could spark resentment from congressional delegations for other DOE sites, which must scramble for the remaining $367 million to $667 million. "There's talk (in Congress that) 'Hanford got $433 million. What about the rest of us?' " Wilson said. Also, Congress traditionally does not appropriate money in large chunks without knowing specifically where it will go, Wilson noted. He speculated DOE wanted to get Hanford's extra $433 million on paper to counter congressional qualms about an open-ended allocation of $800 million to $1.1 billion. DOE told the state that it expects two other sites to present proposals to nail down two more chunks of the $800 million within two months, Wilson said. The Hanford Advisory Board expects to send a memo today to DOE outlining these concerns about the concept: -- Speed and cost-cutting could take priority over dealing with the most serious risks to people and the environment. -- DOE may consider not glassifying 75 percent of its radioactive tank wastes. In addition, no studies have been done on the risks of leaving some wastes permanently in Hanford tanks. -- The acceleration concept was created with little or no input from public constituencies at DOE sites. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 61 Hanford eyes new technology for cleanup This story was published Fri, Apr 5, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Hanford's push to make a 2028 deadline to get rid of its tank wastes depends on technologies that have not received green lights. The Department of Energy is looking at a new process called "steam reformation" to enable it to finish neutralizing Hanford's radioactive tank wastes by a 2028 legal deadline. DOE wants to speed up its efforts to get rid of 53 million gallons of Hanford tank wastes. And it hopes to nail down approved plans and guaranteed congressional funding for that effort this summer and fall. But DOE won't know until late 2002 or early 2003 whether steam reformation is viable. Hanford's biggest problem is its tank wastes, for which it is building a complex to convert those materials into much safer glass. DOE calculates that its current glassification plan won't finish that project until 2048 or later -- at least 20 years behind its legal timetable. On Thursday, Harry Boston, manager of DOE's Office of River Protection, briefed the Hanford Advisory Board on plans to make the 2028 deadline. Right now, DOE has hired Bechtel National to build and test plants to separate the tank wastes into high-level and low-activity wastes, and glassify them. One melter is to be built to convert the high-level wastes into glass. Three other melters would do the same to low-activity wastes. Extra melters would be added several years later. Under this plan, glassification would begin in 2007 and end in 2048 or later. To speed up this project, DOE proposes initially building two high-level melters, which would complete their work by 2028. Those melters would produce 10 percent of Hanford's expected glass, which would contain 97 percent of the tank wastes' radioactivity, according to DOE calculations. If all of the low-activity wastes are glassified, that would produce 90 percent of Hanford's expected glass, which would contain 3 percent of the wastes' radioactivity. This is the segment that would last to 2048 or beyond. Boston said DOE wants to replace one of the three low-activity waste melters with a steam reformation device. DOE also aims to start glassification in 2006 instead of 2007. Melters have problems glassifying wastes with high percentages of sulfur and organic chemicals -- conditions found in much of Hanford's low-activity wastes. That's a major reason why the low-activity wastes efforts are expected to last far beyond 2028. With steam reformation, the appropriate low-activity wastes and other chemicals would be put in a huge tube. The substances would be heated in the range of 1,500 degrees. That is supposed to destroy the organic materials, leaving steam, carbon dioxide and crystals of wastes. DOE is optimistic about steam reformation with initial studies showing good results. But DOE does not expect to start testing steam reformation in a lab with real Hanford radioactive wastes until this summer. Those studies probably won't produce results and recommendations until late this year or early 2003, Boston said. "If (the studies say no to steam reformation), we'll work on another plan," Boston said. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 62 Contest Explores Creative Ways to Handle Excess US Plutonium VOANews.com - Plutonium Contest Michael Leland Chicago 5 Apr 2002 Cutbacks in the number of nuclear weapons during the last decade have left the United States with an estimated 34 metric tons of radioactive plutonium that needs to be safely disposed of. Suggestions from scientists have ranged from burying it to converting it to fuel for nuclear power plants. Last year, the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists invited readers to come up with suggestions of their own. The winning ideas are on display in Chicago. The Bulletin's editor, Linda Rothstein, says the contest asked not only for ways to dispose of plutonium, but also to design that depository in the form of a monument to the nuclear weapons program. "I felt that we had edited and I had about enough of too many articles on burying plutonium," she says. "So, I was thinking of other things we could do and said at a casual dinner, "Maybe we should build a monument, put it all in there and people could come take a look at it." The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in Chicago in 1945 by a group of scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. Since then, The Bulletin has warned of the perils of nuclear war. It is the keeper of the so-called "Doomsday Clock," the publication's symbol of how close the world is to nuclear disaster. Ms. Rothstein says the United States' excess plutonium will probably eventually be buried, which she does not agree with. "I thought that burying it was hiding the problem, giving people an easy way out," she says. "We spent billions to make it; we are going to spend billions to bury it. That would make it too easy to forget about it." The plutonium memorial contest drew about 150 entries from 20 countries. Five architecture classes used the contest as a group project. One man from the state of Minnesota submitted a song titled, "Plutonium." "Plutonium, I've got to get me some, to brighten my day" The entrants had to keep in mind that plutonium remains radioactive for 240,000 years. One of the runners-up was architect Brantley Hightower of suburban Chicago. He proposed a series of sprawling memorials along the nation's highways. "It is kind of a circular form whose dimensions are given meaning," he says. "The outer radius is equal to that of the radius of complete destruction at Hiroshima. The circular pool you see in the center is equal to the fireball in that blast." Part of Hightower's entry, 'National Plutonium Memorial' Mr. Hightower's project calls for each of his memorials to be surrounded by 300 large concrete and fiberglass towers, which would house the excess plutonium. For security reasons, only about one-fourth of the towers would contain plutonium. Thinking that a plutonium memorial should be located someplace where millions of people could visit it, runner-up Michael Collins of California chose Orlando, Florida as his memorial site. Collins' entry, 'Memorial to Plutonium' His entry calls for plutonium to be housed in hundreds of shiny metal spheres placed in two reflecting ponds. Visitors would walk between the ponds on their way into a plutonium museum. "So that, as people are processing through to the exhibit areas where they would learn about the actual plutonium, they are reminded of what the size is, reminded of what man has done, through the reflection on the canopy above, on the water, they can not escape the fact that they helped create this element," he says. Winning entry, '24110' A man from San Francisco, California submitted the winning entry. It is called," 24-110", which is the number of years it takes for half the atoms in a mass of plutonium to decay: 24,110. This entry looks like a huge carpet made of grass, placed on the Ellipse, an expansive lawn just South of the White House in Washington. One edge of the carpet is lifted, suggesting sweeping the plutonium problem under a rug. Nobel laureate in physics Leon Lederman was one of the contest judges. "This is hysterical, right? This credits humor. I do not think it is very feasible, and the fact that it is not feasible is part of the humor," he says. Another entry depicted ice cube trays containing cubes of plutonium. Another suggested storing plutonium in enormous models of human bones, because released radiation accumulates in the core, or marrow, of bones. Bulletin publisher Stephen Schwartz says the contest was an attempt to get non-scientists to think about one effect of the nuclear arms race. "Who would come out to see something like this? Even for half and hour or an hour while they are here, to think about the problem of plutonium and the problem of the arms race, of radioactivity," he says. "If we do that and cause people to maybe reassess what the issue is and how to deal with it, then we have done our job." Winners and other entries to the plutonium memorial contest will be published in the May issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They will also appear on the Bulletin's Internet Web site by the end of April. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************