***************************************************************** 09/14/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.235 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Taiwan: Cabinet pushes for nuclear-free home 2 Taiwan: Ex-DPP chairman to lead march against power plant 3 Japan: 6 TEPCO cases deemed 'serious' 4 Japan: Scandals a sign of deeper rot 5 Japan: TEPCO said malicious in nuke cover-up 6 Japan: 6 cases found on TEPCO violating law NUCLEAR REACTORS 7 US: Nuclear Reactor Guards Feel Vulnerable to Attack NUCLEAR SAFETY 8 US: Missile site accident cleanup a vast undertaking 9 US: Congressional Rejection of Nuclear Security Is Irresponsible* 10 US: Kentucky: Emergency teams to get $5 million 11 US: Michigan to receive nearly $9 million to respond to terrorism - 12 US: Montana: Grant helps fund search for nuclear material 13 US: Sick worker study's credibility questioned - 14 US: NYSE seeks floor at safe 'nuclear distance' NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 15 Cotter gets green light to test safety measures 16 US: Cotter gets green light to test safety measures 17 US: Nuke storage plan is safe and sound 18 US: Don't use S.C. site for nuclear waste 19 US: Utah: Nuclear Waste Opposition 20 UK: Boats parade in anti-nuclear protest 21 Canada: Activists fear proposed nuclear waste facility a terrorist 22 LORRY WITH RADIOACTIVE CARGO CRASHES ON M1 NUCLEAR WEAPONS 23 S. Korea Presses North on Weapons 24 India engaged in nuclear buildup 25 Iraq issue is world's problem 26 IAEA: Officials, nuclear experts say aluminum traced to Jordan may b 27 Ex-weapons inspector berates war plans 28 Fissile material remains key obstacle to Iraqi nuke: defense 29 Suspicious ship in Italy 30 India engaged in nuclear buildup 31 Koizumi tells U.N. diplomacy is way to deal with Iraq 32 US: Atomic testing site not ready US DEPT. OF ENERGY OTHER NUCLEAR ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Taiwan: Cabinet pushes for nuclear-free home The Taipei Times Online: 2002-09-14 Saturday, September 14th, 2002 ENERGY POLICY: The Cabinet said it will formulate laws to make Taiwan a country free of nuclear power and that it had the public's backing in taking such measures By Ko Shu-ling STAFF REPORTER The Executive Yuan yesterday pledged to present laws to phase out the existing nuclear power plants, regulate storage sites for nuclear waste and promote the use of cleaner sources of energy. A Cabinet official also suggested amending the Constitution to make Taiwan a nuclear-free country, a policy of the DPP. Also high on the government's agenda is to organize a national conference next spring on the establishment of a "nuclear-free home." Briefing the press after the first closed-door meeting of Cabinet's Council for the Promotion of a Nuclear-free Home («D®Ö®a¶é±À°Ê©e­û·|), Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (¸­«Tºa) quoted Premier Yu Shyi-kun as saying that the government will do its best to build a nuclear-free home because the public demand it. "When we and the Legislative Yuan signed an agreement to push for the establishment of a nuclear-free home last February, we promised to hammer out a comprehensive energy development plan that will take into account economic and social development and be in line with global trends and international treaties. This would, of course, have to provide sufficient energy," Yeh said. Cabinet Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (¼B¥@ªÚ) said a lot more work needed to be done on country's energy policy. "The energy development plan needs many supplementary measures to make it more complete, including enacting new laws and changing the Constitution," she said. Yu said that building a nuclear-free home did not mean passively boycotting nuclear power. Rather, he said, it meant aggressively developing green technology and using cleaner and more efficient alternative forms of energy. "When we talk about building a nuclear-free home, we're not just talking about the problem of nuclear power plants, but about how to end the intimidation of nuclear weapons, how to use nuclear power in a peaceful way, how to strengthen the use of renewable energy, how to liberalize and privatize the power industry and how to refuse nuclear pollution," Yu said. Although there is a long way to go before Taiwan can become a nuclear-free home, Yu said, the government's determination would prevail. "I know the road will be long and bumpy, but I believe we won't be alone because the public is on our side," he said. During yesterday's meeting, the 17-member commission reached a resolution to divide the organization into eight groups. The different groups will handle: adjusting the structure of the energy industry; the promotion of clean energy; the discharge of nuclear power plants; the storage of nuclear waste; the promotion of a nuclear-free home; education about creating a nuclear-free home; legislation for building a nuclear-free home and the supervision of nuclear power plants. To solicit opinions from the public and academic circles, the commission will start preparing for a national conference next spring to discuss the establishment of a nuclear-free home. Commission members also called on the public to participate in the 10th No Nukes Asia Forum 2002 on Taiwan, which will be held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 in Taipei. This story has been viewed 145 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/14/story/0000167984] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Taiwan: Ex-DPP chairman to lead march against power plant The Taipei Times Online: 2002-09-14 STAFF WRITER Former DPP chairman Lin Yi-hsiung (ªL¸q¶¯) plans to lead environmental activists on a 1,000km long march across Taiwan later this month to drum up support for a public referendum on the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the local Chinese-language media said yesterday. Lin, a long-time anti-nuclear activist, plans to pressure the DPP government to take the issue more seriously, the report said. President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó), who came to power on an anti-nuclear platform, made good on his promise in October 2000 when he halted construction of the controversial power plant. The decision prompted an opposition drive to recall him. The DPP government then relented in response to criticism in February last year and agreed to resume construction of the plant. Lin is critical of the way the DPP government has handled the issue, especially its caving in to opposition pressure. Lin will lead a number of environmental groups on the long march, which is set to begin from Taipei's Lungshan Temple on Sept. 21, the report said. Lin is scheduled to announce his plan on Sept. 18, the report said. Lin has long called for a public debate on the plant's future. Meanwhile, Taipower officials said construction plans for the power plant remain unchanged despite opposition from environmental groups. The company is working to correct problems of shoddy construction at the plant discovered earlier this year. The report quoted unnamed Taipower officials as saying the plant will become operational in July 2006 as scheduled. Despite setting a goal of creating a nuclear-free home, the commission has not reached a conclusion on whether to bring forward the date the three existing nuclear power plants are closed. According to a deal reached between the Cabinet and the legislature last year, the nuclear plants are expected to be phased out between 2011 and 2018. According to the TaiPower, the power generated by the three nuclear power plants combined accounts for 21.6 percent of the nation's total power. This story has been viewed 186 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/14/story/0000167985] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 Japan: 6 TEPCO cases deemed 'serious' Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Electric Power Co. may have violated laws, including one governing nuclear reactors and related facilities, in six of 29 cases in which company records were falsified, according to the findings of an investigation by the Economy, Trade and International Ministry's Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency. Details of the investigation were forwarded to a government panel for nuclear safety Friday afternoon. The agency analyzed information gathered during in on-site investigations into 29 cases involving falsified records, which were disclosed by a former employee of General Electric International Inc. (GEII), dragging TEPCO into a scandal. The ministry agency classed the instances according the following four categories, based on the seriousness of the falsification involved: -- Cases suspected of violating laws relating to the operation of power plants -- Cases that should have been officially documented and reported to the government -- Cases that may have contradicted the firm's safety management policy and business ethics -- Cases that do not require further investigation. According to the agency, six cases fell into the most serious category. Four of the cases took place at No. 1 Fukushima nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, where the company failed to report the replacement of core shrouds to the government, despite the fact TEPCO was aware of many cracks in the shrouds. The fifth case concerned the No. 3 reactor at No. 2 Fukushima nuclear power plant, where the core shroud was repaired and some damage was concealed. The sixth case concerned No. 1 reactor at No. 1 Fukushima plant, where the operator failed to report the replacement of a cracked steam dryer to the government. The agency believes the power plants in question reported the damages to TEPCO headquarters, sources said. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 4 Japan: Scandals a sign of deeper rot [Daily Yomiuri On-Line] Shigeo Masui It is a crying shame--no, it is more than that. The credibility of corporate integrity is at stake in Japan following the recent revelation of disgraceful incidents involving such leading companies as Tokyo Electric Power Co., Nippon Meat Packers Inc. and Mitsui & Co. The situation is so serious it gives the impression that the corporate sector, which contributed to the nation's postwar economic development and the building of an affluent society, is in meltdown. It turned out that TEPCO falsified records of inspections of its nuclear power plants and hid the facts for more than 10 years. More than 50 TEPCO employees are believed to have been involved. The case came to light only after a U.S. employee of a subsidiary of General Electric Co., who inspected nuclear reactors together with TEPCO engineers, tipped off the International Trade and Industry Ministry, the predecessor of the present Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, two years ago. There are even suspicions that MITI itself conspired with TEPCO to bury the information the whistle-blower revealed. A similar fraud involved the false labeling of beef by Nippon Meat Packers, one of the country's largest meat processing companies. It abused a state-funded beef-buying scheme so it could sell not only imported beef, but also beef that was almost rotten by wrongly labeling it as domestic. And then there is Mitsui, one of Japan's leading trading houses, which is suspected of bribing a Mongolian government official to win a project funded by official development assistance. The trading house's chairman and president have resigned to take responsibility for the case. In recent years, a host of similar disgraceful stories have emerged from Japan Inc. In August 2000, Mitsubishi Motors Co. admitted that for more than 20 years, it had systematically hidden data on users' complaints from the proper authorities. Since the bubble burst, major companies have hit the news again and again, covered in scandal. In effect, so-called top-notch companies that flourished when the economy was humming were actually being eaten away by termites. Every time a scandal unfolds, company executives hold press conferences to apologize and make excuses. "Communications between management and workers were bad," they say. "We must improve communications between employees." "We'll do our best to prevent a recurrence of this." However, executives who resign to take responsibility for scandals are simply replaced by younger henchmen, whose first job is normally nothing but the introduction of a third-party oversight committee. The scandals battering corporate Japan seem to imply a structural rot--but what kind of rot? Critics are fond of pointing to companies' blinkered pursuit of profit, their insularity and their focus on protecting their interests. These are all good places to look, but there could be a more fundamental problem here. For a start, corporate executives' pledge to "prevent a recurrence" of a scandal sounds strange because scandals do not just appear out of thin air. Looking at the endless procession of corporate scandals from the sidelines, the thought occurs that they hint at a malaise that runs deeper than a few corporate problems. Indeed, they make us wonder about what we Japanese are and about the history of postwar Japan's economic miracle. Sharply illuminating in this vein is "Aaron Shuyojo," a book by Yuji Aida, professor emeritus of Kyoto University, about his experience incarcerated in a British prisoner-of-war camp in Burma (now Myanmar) after World War II. Aida was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army during the war and sent to the Burmese front to fight British troops. He was imprisoned in the camp after Japan surrendered. The book relates, on the one hand, the cruelty and inhumanity with which the British soldiers treated the POWs. On the other hand, Aida was impressed to see that British troops refused to obey their superiors if they thought they were wrong. In one account, a British lieutenant asked the POWs why they thought Japan had lost the war and whether they intended to seek revenge. An officer among the POWs replied, in what was probably a spontaneous remark, that he was sorry for Japan going to war and that he would like to make friends with the British. The British officer's reaction, writes Aida, was unexpected. "Are you a slave?" the lieutenant demanded. The British officer, Aida writes, said he had fought Japan in the belief that Britain was doing the right thing and berated the Japanese officer for apologizing as soon as the war ended--evidence for the lieutenant of the POW's lack of strong belief. The British officer also asked if the case was that Japanese soldiers knew what they were doing was wrong, but carried on fighting simply because they were following orders. As Aida recalls in the book, he greeted the British officer's remark with bitterness. After two years in the camp, Aida returned to Japan--only to find to his dismay that Japanese citizens, who neither opposed the war nor were particularly persecuted by the government and the military during the war, had done a flip-flop and were now criticizing Japan's wartime mentality and militarism. In his book, Aida deplores the disposition of Japan's vulgar masses to blindly follow and mimic the powerful. About 20 years later, in 1975, as Japan continued to enjoy high economic growth, Aida wrote another book on the Japanese style of decision-making, in which he lambasted the Japanese inability to make a decision. The book opens: "Japanese people are so indecisive you get the feeling they're barely able to make the simplest choice." As he saw it, people were single-mindedly focused on producing and selling goods, but this was not a strategy that would last long and would indeed soon be rejected by the rest of the world. He urged Japanese to objectively take stock of the prevailing situation and change tack, but didn't hold out much hope for this. His pessimistic prediction was that Japanese would not be able to do so. Aida's prediction proved right, as economic growth continued recklessly until the bubble economy finally burst. On one of the key issues facing the economy--disposing of the mountain of nonperforming bank loans--decision-making typically has been postponed in a sea of vacillation. Even in the recent corporate scandals, indecisiveness ends up pushing the blade into companies' wounds even deeper. Two causes of the chronic symptoms plaguing Japan are the Japanese people's inability to make a decision and their inability to open their eyes to the crisis facing them. Masui is an editorial writer for The Yomiuri Shimbun. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 5 Japan: TEPCO said malicious in nuke cover-up asahi.com : ENGLISH Asahi Shimbun www.asahi.com [http://www.asahi.com/] The Asahi Shimbun A government review filed Friday said Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was ``extremely malicious'' in lies and deceptions used by employees to hide damage at two nuclear reactors. The report on coverups at the Fukushima First Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima Prefecture was from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) to two study panels. Those panels, one studying TEPCO's fabrication of inspection records and the other preparing recommended changes in regulations to prevent recurrences, are expected to conclude their interim findings by the end of the month. NISA categorized 29 instances of doctored records of reactor damage at TEPCO's nuclear power plants from 1986 to last year into five degrees of seriousness. The review determined that the two coverups at the Fukushima plant were ``extremely malicious'' and likely violated ministry regulations established under the Electric Utilities Law. The review said maintenance and repair teams at the reactor sites were key contributors to the plot to hide such damage as cracks in shrouds placed over reactor cores. In the Fukushima plant's first reactor, damage was detected in 1994 in a pipe that was part of the sprinkling system in the reactor's emergency core cooling system. Maintenance workers installed a metal cover over the damaged section, then camouflaged it to look like the surrounding equipment to deceive government inspectors. Again in 1994, TEPCO told government officials it had found cracks in welds of a metal shroud on the second reactor at the Fukushima plant. In fact, many cracks were found in another welding seam of the reactor. When TEPCO replaced some reactor components during fiscal 1998, repair workers placed a metal plate over the damaged section to hide the cracks from inspectors. Four other ``malicious'' acts involved whiting out parts of damage reports and deleting scenes on videotapes. NISA and other sources said the first of 29 cases of coverup efforts came in 1986 in the Fukushima plant's first reactor unit. There, maintenance workers concealed damage in bolt heads on the metal shroud of the reactor core. The investigation concluded that such deception had become routine.(IHT/Asahi: September 14,2002) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction or ***************************************************************** 6 Japan: 6 cases found on TEPCO violating law Saturday, September 14, 2002 at 10:00 JST TOKYO ? The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Friday that six of the 29 possibly false reports on defects at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) nuclear plants may have involved the utility's violation of law by failing to meet technical requirements. The preliminary results of its investigation also suggest problems with a further five reports stem from neglect or falsification of facility inspection results, and four from an inappropriate attitude toward safety, it said. (Kyodo News) Japan Today Discussion ***************************************************************** 7 Nuclear Reactor Guards Feel Vulnerable to Attack By Cat Lazaroff WASHINGTON, DC, September 12, 2002 (ENS) - Security guards protecting 24 of the nation's nuclear reactors, located at 13 power plants across the U.S., have little confidence that they could defeat a determined terrorist attack, finds a new report by a nonprofit nuclear watchdog group. The guards told interviewers that their morale is very low, and that they are under equipped, undermanned, and underpaid. The report, based on interviews conducted by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), warns that security guards at only one out of four nuclear power plants are confident their plant could defeat a terrorist attack. [tmi] In 1993, an individual with a history of mental illness crashed a car through the front gates at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, site of the nation's worst nuclear accident (Photos courtesy NRC [http://www.nrc.gov] ) "If an attack took place, most of the guards would run like hell," said one of the more than 20 guards interviewed for the report. Most of these guards asked that neither they nor the utility that runs their plant be identified so as not to expose ongoing vulnerabilities, and because of the fear of reprisal from their employers. The guards told the POGO interviewers that most nuclear power plants have increased the overtime hours worked by plant security personnel, rather than adding new personnel, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Some guards are now working up to six consecutive days of 12 hour shifts, and guards raised serious concerns about fatigue. Prior to September 11, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) required only five to 10 security guards on duty per nuclear reactor. Since then, the NRC has ordered the utilities to minimally increase the guard force, but many plant operators have opted to increase the hours of their existing guards instead. While a few guards said their plants have increased the guard force - one plant has tripled the number of guards - most interviewed believe that they are still below adequate levels to defeat a real terrorist attack. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's security requirements are totally inadequate to defend a nuclear power plant from terrorist attack," said Danielle Brian, executive director of POGO. "The vast majority of nuclear plants have done the least amount required to protect the American public from a suicidal terrorist attack." [reactor] Since September 11, many lawmakers, public interest groups and local residents have called for the permanent shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, located just 40 miles north of New York City (Photo courtesy New York Power Authority) Inadequate training and preparation was another concern raised by the guards interviewed by POGO. Nuclear industry executives have repeatedly claimed that guards receive 270 hours of training before being posted; 90 hours per year to requalify with their weapons; and 30 hours per year in antiterrorist tactical exercises. None of these claims appear to be true, POGO charges. Most guards interviewed train with their weapons only once per year for two to three hours during their annual weapons qualification. Most also have had no training or practice in shooting at a moving target. So called "tabletop" exercises, aimed at training guards to respond to theoretical attacks, are so rudimentary that utilities use red and blue colored clothes pins to depict locations and tactics of guards and terrorists. Low wages and inadequate health, disability and other benefits are causing high turnover in the guard force - at some plants as high as 70 to 100 percent over the 3½ year life of a labor contract. At six nuclear facilities identified by POGO, security guards were being paid $1 to $4 less per hour than custodians or janitors. Guards also often earn less than workers in their area who face substantially less risk such as funeral attendants, manicurists and aerobic instructors, the report notes. Many of the guards also believe they are not equipped with adequate weaponry. The power and range of weapons provided to many of the guards is vastly inferior to the weapons known to be used by terrorists, due in part to restrictive state laws. According to one guard, terrorists will come armed with automatic weapons, sniper rifles and grenades and the guard force "would be seriously outgunned, and won't have a chance." Even the weapons available to the security guards might be useless in the case of a sneak attack, as nearly all of the guards interviewed raised concerns about the lack of guidance on the use of deadly force. Guards are currently restricted from using deadly force unless an intruder is wielding a weapon or threatening the life of an individual. For example, if a suicidal terrorist with a backpack containing explosives jumped the fence and headed straight for a spent fuel pool, the guard could legally only observe and report the event. [fuel pool] Used nuclear fuel storage pools, like this one at Calvert Cliffs, could be vulnerable to a meltdown if their water was boiled away or otherwise drained during a terrorist attack. (Photo courtesy Nuclear Regulatory Commission) Spent fuel pools are temporary storage areas where depleted fuel rods from nuclear reactors are stored in water to keep them cool enough to avoid a nuclear reaction and radiation release. At nuclear plants that have boiling water reactors - about one third of existing U.S. reactors - spent fuel pools are located above ground, outside reactor containment buildings. POGO warns that terrorists could use explosives launched from outside power plant fences, or carried inside the fence in a backpack, to puncture the concrete walls of a spent fuel pool, draining the water and causing radioactive fires. Guards on patrol could not legally fire upon terrorists jumping the fence or preparing to launch explosives from the unprotected area outside the fence. The NRC requires utilities simply to delay attackers until outside help arrives from local sheriff departments, state police or the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). One guard summed up the problem stating, "If you pull the trigger, you're on your own and you'll need a good lawyer." The NRC is now recognizing the chasm between how long plant security can hold off an attack and when outside responders could arrive. Tabletop exercises begun by NRC in July indicate that it would take one to two hours for outside responders to arrive with SWAT capability. NRC's performance tests have shown that successful terrorist attacks are over in between three to 10 minutes. [plant] Missouri's Callaway Nuclear Plant, operated by the Union Electric Company, is 10 miles southeast of Fulton, Missouri. (Photo courtesy NRC [http://www.nrc.gov] ) Since the September 11 attacks, the NRC has failed to toughen security regulations. Current regulations reportedly only require nuclear plants to be prepared for an attack by three terrorists and one insider - a scenario that POGO calls clearly inadequate in light of the coordinated attack by 19 terrorists last September. The NRC has not conducted force on force performance tests since September 11, citing security risks, POGO noted. However, both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy (DOE), which are also at high alert status, have continued to test the performance of security over the past year. Prior to September 11, 2001, power plants failed the mock force on force tests almost half the time, according to closed door Congressional testimony by NRC officials. POGO charges that even those tests are "seriously dumbed down," and do not realistically represent a true terrorist attack scenario. In addition to security guards, POGO also interviewed Army and Navy Special Forces personnel who conduct force on force tests, current and former NRC and other officials, a National Guard commander, and civilian contractors. POGO's report is based on information and documents gathered from these sources. Improvements recommended by Congress and various watchdog groups have so far not been implemented by the NRC, POGO charges. POGO has briefed officials at the NRC on its own findings, which include evidence gathered before the September 11 attacks. In early 2001, POGO began its first investigation into nuclear security, after more than a dozen high level Department of Energy security experts came forward with concerns regarding inadequate security at the DOE's nuclear weapons facilities. Just prior to September 11, 2001, POGO completed that investigation, concluding that the nation's 10 nuclear weapons facilities, which house almost 1,000 tons of weapons grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium, regularly fail to protect this material during mock terrorist attacks. The resulting report, "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Security at Risk," was released in October 2001. Since the report's release, Congress, the General Accounting Office, and several federal agencies have undertaken ongoing reviews of POGO's findings. The DOE is now preparing to relocate tons of bomb grade nuclear materials from one of three facilities POGO profiled for immediate attention. The facility, known as Technical Area 18, is located in a canyon at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, that POGO called "indefensible." [Los Alamos] The facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory lie amid a series of ridges and canyons that experts make some sites highly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. (Photo courtesy Los Alamos National Laboratory) Because of this work at nuclear weapons facilities, several current and former guards from commercial nuclear power plants began contacting POGO in early 2002 with similar concerns about inadequate security at the nation's nuclear power plants. POGO then expanded its investigation, randomly contacting guards at additional facilities. POGO eventually interviewed more than 20 guards protecting 24 reactors at 13 sites, both active and decommissioning - 23 percent of the nation's total reactors. All the guards said they came forward hoping to help inform policymakers of the current security inadequacies by working with POGO. POGO is urging Congress to require that nuclear power plants be prepared to repel large numbers of attackers using conventional, chemical or biological weapons, attacks from multiple entry points, and diversionary tactics used to confuse the guards. POGO also recommends that plants be required to successfully pass tests of their security, and include potential attacks on spent fuel pools in these tests. To increase security, POGO says plants should upgrade their guard numbers, pay and benefits tactical training and weaponry. Congress should work to clarify when guards may use deadly force, and expand whistleblower protections to nuclear power plant employees who report their concerns to people other than Congress, such as watchdog groups like POGO. Senate action on legislation to improve power plant security, the Nuclear Security Act of 2002, is slated before Congress leaves in the fall. POGO says the bill would address many of the security inadequacies in the nuclear industry. The full POGO report, titled "Nuclear Power Plant Security: Voices from Inside the Fences," is available at: http://www.pogo.org/p/environment/eo-020901-nukepower.html [http://www.pogo.org/p/environment/eo-020901-nukepower.html] [editor@ens-news.com] for ***************************************************************** 8 Missile site accident cleanup a vast undertaking Asbury Park Press | Story   September 13, 2002 The Jersey Shore's News Source   Published in the Asbury Park Press 9/13/02 By KIRK MOORESTAFF WRITER PLUMSTED -- Amid a crumbling Cold War missile base, contractors are nearly one-third of their way toward removing thousands of tons of soil contaminated with traces of radioactive plutonium, left behind from an inferno that happened 42 years ago. The building where a nuclear-armed Bomarc missile burned that day, called Shelter 204, is already demolished, along with its neighbors on either side. In a deepening pit, workers yesterday dug soil into piles, or placed it into tightly sealed containers for a cross-country train journey to a landfill in Utah. "It's the equivalent of a football field being excavated to nine feet or 10 feet," said David Horton, a civilian project manager for the Army, who is supervising the work. In some locations, he said, the digging could go as deep as 20 feet to ensure that minute particles of plutonium -- remnants of fuel from the missile's melted warhead -- are removed and the soil meets cleanup standards. "The contractor is estimating 600 containers before all is said and done," said Col. James Pugh, vice commander of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire Air Force Base. Yesterday, he took news reporters and photographers to see the work that's going on behind a screen of trees on Route 539. At one end of the excavation area, soil is loaded into the containers -- portable bins, called intermodal containers because they are designed to be easily switched between trucks and trains. Workers in white Tyvek fabric coveralls wash down the containers -- the water is kept on site -- and then a tractor maneuvers each container, carried on a flatbed trailer, into a parking spot. Another worker with radiological detection equipment swipes her instrument around the exterior of the containers to check for contamination. When six to eight containers are prepared, they will be trucked over 11 miles of gravel road across neighboring Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station. Rail spur built When the work plan was first unveiled last year, mayors in nearby Lakehurst and Manchester balked at the transportation aspect, which would have trucked the soil through their towns to a Conrail siding in Lakehurst. Instead, the Air Force spent an additional $3 million on top of the estimated $9.3 million overall cost, building gravel roadways and a new rail spur, so the containers stay on federal land until they are loaded on flatbed train cars at the new Navy rail siding. When enough containers are collected for a shipment, the train rolls out at about 2 a.m., crossing Route 547 and going south on the 3,200-foot rail spur to connect with the Conrail line, Pugh said. "People heard about that and they said, "Ah, you're hiding something!' But no, it's just less traffic," Pugh said. The nighttime shipments saved the expense of building a road grade crossing with signals for the tracks, Air Force and Navy officials have noted. Motorists who happen upon the train are halted by watchmen with lights and flares. The new rail line could be a future benefit to the Navy base as well, said Manchester Mayor Michael Fressola. He thinks having a regional railhead available for military use will be one more plus in Lakehurst's favor when the Navy starts looking for where to reduce its costs during the next round of base closings in 2005. "I think it will help in presering the base," Fressola said. "It would be ridiculous to tear it up at this point." The cleanup, planned since 1992, could be complete by the end of this year, Air Force officials say. The first key ingredient -- an offer of relatively inexpensive disposal at the privately operated Envirocare of Utah facility -- became available about four years ago. Before that the Air Force was looking at a $20 million price tag and no telling when they might get space in government-affiliated waste sites. In all there are 12,500 cubic yards of soil and 440 cubic yards of building rubble, and about 30 percent has been removed so far, Pugh said. Some plutonium particles were carried by firefighting water out of the shelter, down a slope and into a grassy swale that crossed Route 539. But contamination levels in that soil are very low it it will be the last to be dug up this fall, Horton said. Most soil 'low-level' By agreement with federal and state environmental authorities, all soil with radiation levels above 8 picocuries per gram will be removed. According to Air Force documents, that level is associat-ed with 1 in 10,000 excess cancer risk -- meaning that after cleanup, if 10,000 persons were exposed to the soil over a 40-year period, there is a probability that one person would develop a cancer they would not get otherwise. All the soil readings so far "are consistent with the characteriza-tion report" used to develop the cleanup plan, Horton said. The hottest spot was 70,000 picocu-ries per gram in front of Shelter 204, but "most of it is under 2,000." At those levels, the soil is classed as the lowest of low-level radioac-tive waste. Plutonium is danger-ous only if particles are ingested by people, but its potency is ex-tremely long lived; it takes 24,000 years for the metal to lose half its radioactive energy. Back in the 1960s, this air de-fense base held the nuclear equiv-alent of dozens of Hiroshimas. Each 46-foot long Bomarc missile was housed in its own shelter, where the roof could be opened and the missile raised to fire with-in two minutes. Propelled by a booster rocket and ramjet engines, the Bomarc (named for the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center) was a long-range supersonic in-terceptor missile, designed to blow up Soviet bombers bound for attacks on New York, Philadel-phia and Washington. The Plum-sted missile base was one of eight such sites around the nation, op-erated by the Air Force until So-viet intercontinental ballistic mis-siles made the Bomarc obsolete. Inside one missile shelter, a gray steel launcher lay horizontally as it did on the day its Bomarc was removed. Electrical panels and lamps still hang from the wall, where a red-and-white painted sign advises that "Explosive and Personnel Limits" are six troops and one Mark 40 nuclear war-head. "There was a time when this Bomarc site was a pretty impor-tant part of our national history," Pugh said. The Air Force has promised state officials that at least two or three of these shel-ters can be preserved for the historic record, the colonel said. The military does not have any long-term use in mind for the property yet, Pugh said.Kirk Moore: (732) 557-5728 ***************************************************************** 9 Congressional Rejection of Nuclear Security Is Irresponsible* */Sept. 12, 2002/* */One Year After Sept. 11 Attacks, Energy Bill Conferees Opt Against Security Provisions in Price-Anderson Act/* WASHINGTON, D.C. ? Senate and House members of the energy bill conference committee who today rejected amendments to improve security at nuclear power plants acted irresponsibly, Public Citizen said. Conferees met to vote on the controversial Price-Anderson Act. The legislation, widely opposed by public interest and environmental organizations, extends insurance subsidies to the nuclear industry and caps the amount of monetary damages nuclear operators must pay in the event of an accident, leaving the government ? i.e., taxpayers ? to pick up the tab. Existing reactors are covered regardless of whether Price-Anderson is reauthorized; however, extending the act means that any new nuclear reactors will also get the liability protection. The House last fall reauthorized the Price-Anderson Act as stand-alone legislation (H.R. 2983) that included certain security provisions drafted by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The Senate never acted on the bill but agreed to include the Price-Anderson reauthorization as an amendment to the energy bill (H.R. 4), but without the security provisions. Both versions were on the table during today?s energy bill negotiations. "Reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act increases nuclear risks by encouraging the construction of new reactors," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen?s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "But having deciding to limit the nuclear industry?s liability, it is stunning that energy conferees refused to include even modest nuclear security provisions. This increases the potential liability of the taxpayer." U.S. Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and James Jeffords (I-Vt.) today introduced as an amendment the Nuclear Security Act, which was approved unanimously in July by the Environment and Public Works Committee. Among other provisions, the amendment would establish a task force to assess vulnerabilities at nuclear facilities and require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to conduct "security response evaluations" every three years using a mock terrorist team to test the ability of security forces to guard nuclear facilities. The Reid/Jeffords amendment was withdrawn due to opposition from a majority of the Senate conferees. Senate conferees had already rejected the House proposal to adopt security provisions contained in H.R. 2983 as "outside the scope of the conference." House Republican conferees, blaming Senate conferee opposition and citing a misplaced desire to expedite Price-Anderson reauthorization, then voted down additional safety and security amendments introduced by Markey and Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). The Senate?s Homeland Security Act, moving toward a possible vote next week, similarly fails to address the issue of nuclear security. "It is appalling that one year after the September 11 attacks, Congress has yet to enact legislation to address nuclear security," said Lisa Gue, senior energy analyst with Public Citizen. "In light of the recent revelations about terrorists targeting these facilities in the future, now is the time to pass strong security provisions. What is Congress waiting for? And why is it using procedural excuses to avoid enacting nuclear facility and material security when President Bush is pushing to go to war over Iraq?s effort to gain access to nuclear materials?" Following news reports earlier this week of terrorist plots against nuclear power plants, a coalition of national environmental and public interest organizations circulated a letter to energy conferees urging them not to reauthorize Price-Anderson and to consider issues of nuclear security. Click here Public Citizen ***************************************************************** 10 Kentucky: Emergency teams to get $5 million [http://cincinnati.com] [NATIONAL POST] Friday » September 13 » 2002 Must survive attack, says Grasso Peter Morton Financial Post, with files from Bloomberg Saturday, September 14, 2002 WASHINGTON - The New York Stock Exchange is looking at building a second trading floor far enough away from New York City to be able to survive a nuclear attack on the country's financial centre. Richard Grasso, NYSE chairman, told Bloomberg News the second trading floor has to be more than 40 kilometres from its Wall Street floor, which would put it outside New York proper. "The more we work at it, the more we realize that to do it right, you have to do it at a nuclear distance," Mr. Grasso said. "You can't be in the city if you can't be comfortable within a 25-mile distance." Also, Mr. Grasso talked for the first time yesterday about the possibility of building a trading floor underground where employees could live for days if necessary. The exchange decided after the Sept. 11 attacks to abandon a downtown expansion and split its operations. But, at the time, it said it could not be more than 40 kilometres away or it would no longer be in New York. Mr. Grasso yesterday did not clarify what he meant by nuclear distance. Ray Pellechia, a spokesman for the NYSE, said he could not offer any more clarification, except to say the concept of going underground has not been brought up before. A number of Wall Street financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley are planning to move at least part of their operations outside New York, mainly so they would be able to operate if there are future disruptions in Manhattan. "This is called business continuity planning," said Brett Galloway, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley. He said starting next year, 1,475 of the company's 12,000 New York employees will be moving to Harrison, N.Y. The first group of 775 will be from the individual investing division while the second 700 will be from international securities. He would not comment on Mr. Grasso's concerns. While few of those moving have mentioned the fear of nuclear attack, there is a concern about "dirty bombs" -- explosives wrapped around a small amount of radioactive material -- that would likely cause more panic than harm. "If there is a nuclear attack, there is no safe place," said Andrew Alper, president of the city's Economic Development Corp. "Where does he expect to go? Cheyenne Mountain?" Cheyenne is the underground site in Colorado for U.S. government defence computer operations. Myron Shuster, who runs the international department at Northeast Securities in New York, said modern technology gives the NYSE a lot of options in where to set up a second trading floor. "Theoretically, it could be anywhere in the world with the electronics," he said. pmorton@nationalpost.com © Copyright 2002 National Post ***************************************************************** 15 Cotter gets green light to test safety measures *Saturday September 14th, 2002* By TRACY HARMON /The Pueblo Chieftain/ *CANON CITY* - The Colorado Department of Public Health will allow Cotter Corp. to conduct limited processing to demonstrate whether new safety procedures are acceptable at the uranium mill. The health department announced Friday that Cotter will be permitted to process 1,500 cubic yards of uranium material from Cotter's Schwartzwalder Mine near Golden, and 825 cubic yards of calcium fluoride from the Metropolis facility in Illinois. Cotter remains barred from receiving any other shipments for processing pending the Tuesday deadline for public comment on worker safety issues and a review of those comments by the state health department. Cotter was directed to suspend processing July 9. "Cotter will not be allowed to go back into full production until we are reassured that workers and the public are protected," said Doug Benevento, acting executive director for the state health department. "They know they can expect frequent, unannounced inspections throughout the weeks to come and they must meet the department's standards or they won't be permitted to operate." State health workers will be looking specifically for improvement in calculation of accidental radiation doses to workers; worker biological health assessment testing; and providing of necessary respiratory protection for workers. "We are not comfortable with Cotter's past compliance history and we want them to demonstrate that they can comply with the worker safety standards that are necessary and required for this plant to operate. The facility (managers) now have an opportunity to prove to the department and a concerned community that they can safely process radioactive materials," Benevento said. Other provisions of the order signed Friday require Cotter to document within 60 days the accuracy of its calculations of the worker exposure data for both 2001 and the first two quarters of 2002. The public can view the Cotter-related documentation at the Canon City Public Library or log on to www.cdphe.state.co.us/lr/lrhom.asp. Written comments on worker safety issues can be sent to Jake Jacobi, manager, Radiation Services Program, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 8100 Lowry Blvd., Denver, CO 80230; or via e-mail to jake.jacobi@state.co.us. If Cotter is able to resume full production, the mill has been given the OK to receive radioactive materials from Li Tungsten, N.Y. Cotter also hopes to get the OK this fall to begin processing materials from the Maywood, N.J., clean up site in order to make ends meet while it works to finalize plans to process zirconium ore, which is relatively low in radioactivity. Delays in processing plans forced Cotter to lay off 45 workers May 1. An additional 10 workers were laid off in mid-August. ***************************************************************** 16 Cotter gets green light to test safety measures The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Saturday September 14th, [The Pueblo Chieftain] By TRACY HARMON The Pueblo Chieftain CANON CITY - The Colorado Department of Public Health will allow Cotter Corp. to conduct limited processing to demonstrate whether new safety procedures are acceptable at the uranium mill. The health department announced Friday that Cotter will be permitted to process 1,500 cubic yards of uranium material from Cotter's Schwartzwalder Mine near Golden, and 825 cubic yards of calcium fluoride from the Metropolis facility in Illinois. Cotter remains barred from receiving any other shipments for processing pending the Tuesday deadline for public comment on worker safety issues and a review of those comments by the state health department. Cotter was directed to suspend processing July 9. "Cotter will not be allowed to go back into full production until we are reassured that workers and the public are protected," said Doug Benevento, acting executive director for the state health department. "They know they can expect frequent, unannounced inspections throughout the weeks to come and they must meet the department's standards or they won't be permitted to operate." State health workers will be looking specifically for improvement in calculation of accidental radiation doses to workers; worker biological health assessment testing; and providing of necessary respiratory protection for workers. "We are not comfortable with Cotter's past compliance history and we want them to demonstrate that they can comply with the worker safety standards that are necessary and required for this plant to operate. The facility (managers) now have an opportunity to prove to the department and a concerned community that they can safely process radioactive materials," Benevento said. Other provisions of the order signed Friday require Cotter to document within 60 days the accuracy of its calculations of the worker exposure data for both 2001 and the first two quarters of 2002. The public can view the Cotter-related documentation at the Canon City Public Library or log on to www.cdphe.state.co.us/lr/lrhom.asp. Written comments on worker safety issues can be sent to Jake Jacobi, manager, Radiation Services Program, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 8100 Lowry Blvd., Denver, CO 80230; or via e-mail to jake.jacobi@state.co.us. If Cotter is able to resume full production, the mill has been given the OK to receive radioactive materials from Li Tungsten, N.Y. Cotter also hopes to get the OK this fall to begin processing materials from the Maywood, N.J., clean up site in order to make ends meet while it works to finalize plans to process zirconium ore, which is relatively low in radioactivity. Delays in processing plans forced Cotter to lay off 45 workers May 1. An additional 10 workers were laid off in mid-August. ©1996-2002 Chieftain.com [http://www.chieftain.com] The Star-Journal Publishing Corp. Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A. ***************************************************************** 17 Nuke storage plan is safe and sound ajc.com | Opinion | [ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 9/15/02 ] By CLINTON BASTIN Clinton Bastin, of Avondale Estates, was in charge of Atomic Energy Commission radioactive waste programs, plans and studies at the Savannah River Site from 1962 to 1972. Our view: The recommendation of Department of Energy Inspector General Gregory Friedman to immobilize the 35 million gallons of highly radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site in concrete and store it on-site in underground vaults is based on sound science. It offers the best means to isolate the waste from the biosphere for a period well in excess of that needed for full decay of the highly radioactive material. It avoids the challenges, controversy and cost of cross-country shipments to Nevada or elsewhere and provides closure for SRS high-level radioactive waste issues from 50 years of past operations. If the vaults are built in bedrock 1,500 feet beneath the site surface, additional barriers will ensure isolation. A layer of "saprolite" clay at the top of the bedrock would provide a formidable barrier, as would 500 feet of solid rock between the vaults and the top of the bedrock. Moreover, this disposal technique would be similar to that recommended in 1970 by the DuPont Co., then operating contractor at the site, after a 10-year study of alternative disposal options. The U.S. Geological Survey provided technical staff for consultation to DuPont throughout the study, and U.S. Atomic Energy Commission staff at SRS provided technical oversight. The study conclusions were endorsed by committees of the National Academy of Sciences and South Carolina officials after detailed reviews. This latter committee, appointed by South Carolina's then-Gov. John West and chaired by Leonard Baker, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina, included several South Carolina political leaders. Georgia's governor at the time, Jimmy Carter, and the National Academy of Sciences committee that was reviewing studies for disposal of wastes in salt formations near Lyons, Kan., expressed opposition to disposing waste in bedrock, but neither they nor their staffs participated in reviews or discussions with AEC, DuPont or USGS personnel carrying out the studies. Plans for this project were canceled in 1972 when U.S. Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D- S.C.) told AEC Chairman James Schlesinger that he did not want radioactive waste stored in his state and would block funding for an important AEC project if SchleÂsinger persisted. The waste planned for isolation/disposal is that remaining after removal by reprocessing of long-lived materials including uranium, neptunium and plutonium. The short-lived, intensely radioactive products have fully decayed in the 15 to almost 50 years since their production in SRS reactors. Strontium-90 and Cesium-137, both with about 30-year half-lives, are the only highly radioactive materials remaining in these wastes. The chemical conditions in concrete and SRS soils are ideal for isolation of these radioactive materials. The DOE has not responded to recommendations of its inspector general; it plans for now to continue encasing some of the waste in glass logs for indefinite storage at SRS pending possible shipment to another site. I hope this will change, and that leaders of Georgia and South Carolina will carefully consider the sound science and technology that support immobilization of SRS radioactive waste in concrete and long-term isolation in bedrock beneath a site that is excellent for work with nuclear technology and materials. Clinton Bastin, of Avondale Estates, was in charge of Atomic Energy Commission radioactive waste programs, plans and studies at the Savannah River Site from 1962 to 1972. © 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ***************************************************************** 18 Don't use S.C. site for nuclear waste ajc.com | Opinion | [ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 9/15/02 ] After years of neglecting our rivers, lakes and streams, Georgians are slowly realizing the importance of protecting these fragile natural resources. But just across the state line at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., an ominous nuclear shadow that has hung over Georgia's water supply for half a century suddenly looms larger than ever. The U.S. Department of Energy is considering a plan to permanently bury massive amounts of highly radioactive nuclear waste at SRS instead of cleaning it up and shipping it out as originally proposed. At stake is the disposition of 35 million gallons of strontium, cesium and tritium -- elements considered among the deadliest on the planet. Exposure to even tiny amounts of these substances can be lethal. The waste is a byproduct of Cold War nuclear bomb production, and had been pumped for decades into huge temporary storage tanks at SRS. Leaks in the storage tanks have raised concerns that radioactive materials have seeped into the Savannah River and the Floridan aquifer, the underground river system that supplies drinking water for Georgia and much of the Southeast. DOE officials had been moving quickly to implement a very expensive -- but workable -- plan that entailed mixing the most dangerous materials into sludge at a cost of about $1.4 billion. Afterward, it would be converted into glass logs and sent to the nuclear waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. But a report issued last month by the agency's inspector general now recommends immobilizing the waste in a cement grout that would remain at SRS forever. The IG's office cites somewhat conflicting environmental impact studies that show the grouting process would be just as safe as sludge conversion, but about $500 million cheaper. Although it sounds like a deal that's too good to pass up, it's a miserly shortcut that would create more problems than it solves. Any homeowner with a cracked driveway knows that even the hardest cement is extremely porous and prone to leakage. Likewise, Arjun Makhijani, a nuclear scientist who runs the nonprofit Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Maryland, says container leakage is a only a question of "when," not "if." "The record of cement as a container is spotty at best," Makhijani says. "To pretend that it won't crack and that water and ice won't get in is to do a great disservice to future generations who will be left to clean up the mess." Once the damage is done, there's no telling how long it would last, or exactly how it would affect human health. "Under no circumstances should we be leaving this kind of material near crucial bodies of water," Makhijani added. "In this case, you're dealing with shallow aquifers and highly contaminated soils. It's impossible to project health damage but we know this is a very bad course to follow. After all the money they've spent and the research that has gone into this, [DOE] is heading down the wrong road." Fortunately, it's not too late to change course, especially since the forces arrayed against the proposed DOE storage plan aren't backing down. South Carolina Gov. Jim Hughes, who has been criticized for his melodramatic statements and threats to block shipments of nuclear material from entering the state, has re-emphasized his strong objections to storing the wastes at SRS. In February, environmental advocates with the Natural Resources Defense Council and several Native American tribal organizations filed a lawsuit seeking to block an administrative maneuver by DOE to reclassify radioactive wastes at SRS and at its sister facilities in Idaho and Washington state. The group charges the agency is trying to circumvent public scrutiny to expedite its misbegotten storage strategy. Last week, a federal judge blocked DOE's effort to dismiss NRDC's lawsuit saying, "it is inconceivable that Congress intended to allow the DOE unfettered discretion in the management of radioactive waste . . . " Georgia environmental officials also disapprove of the storage plan, but their comments thus far have been disappointingly tepid. "We certainly would be concerned about any storage of nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site," remarked Jim Setser of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Before long, however, DNR and Gov. Roy Barnes must demonstrate some backbone on this issue that goes beyond half-hearted concern. Georgians cannot afford, nor will they abide, a penny-wise, pound-foolish compromise when it comes to preserving water and securing radioactive waste. © 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ***************************************************************** 19 Utah: Nuclear Waste Opposition The Salt Lake Tribune -- Saturday, September 14, 2002 Once again, let me set the record straight on Utah's opposition to high-level nuclear waste storage. In a recent article (Tribune, Sept. 8), John Parkyn, chairman of Private Fuel Storage (PFS), the limited liability company proposing to store 40,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste in Skull Valley, found Gov. Mike Leavitt's opposition disingenuous. According to Parkyn, because uranium was mined and milled in Utah by and for private industry and the federal government, and because residents now living near the (nuclear power) plants in other states have had to endure the risks of that power, it is Utah's turn to share the burden. I don't think John Parkyn is suggesting that Utah and its small mining communities made more money from uranium mining and milling than the public utilities and adjacent communities are now making by generating nuclear power. Nor do I think that Chairman Parkyn is so uninformed or insensitive as to imply that Utahns have not borne an unprecedented burden in the name of nuclear "testing." I doubt he is suggesting that the federal government and nuclear industry that licensed and built nuclear power facilities over the objections of nearby citizens (does this sound familiar?) are more culpable than federal government officials who "invited" Utahns and Nevadans to view the "tests" and endure the fallout. Surely this isn't about paying "the fair price" or bearing the "equal burden." There is no price or burden that can ever justify the pain and loss of Downwinders from nuclear testing. We are cleaning up the contamination from abandoned uranium mines and mills, and compensating uranium miners for then-unknown health risks. We have carefully identified and documented the risks and failures in the PFS plan. Our opposition to high-level nuclear waste storage is informed and genuine. And to anyone who might think us disingenuous, the answer is still no! DIANNE R. NIELSON Executive Director Utah Department of Environmental Quality Salt Lake City © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 20 UK: Boats parade in anti-nuclear protest BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Saturday, 14 September, 2002, 11:04 GMT 12:04 UK [The Rainbow Warrior] The Rainbow Warrior is to lead the protest flotilla A flotilla of ships protesting at the planned transport of radioactive fuel through the Irish Sea has set off on a parade around a north Wales harbour to highlight the cause. The flotilla of about 25 boats is being led by environmental campaigners Greenpeace's flagship vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, and includes vessels from Wales and Ireland. One group of boats have travelled up from Pembrokeshire to take part in the parade. [Jim Corr] Pop star Jim Corr is one of the protestors Latest reports from Greenpeace suggest that two ships transporting nuclear fuel to Sellafield in Cumbria may travel around the west coast of Ireland rather than through the Irish Sea off Wales. One of the protestors on board is the Irish pop star Jim Corr, from the group The Corrs, who is against nuclear transportation. He told BBC Wales: "I basically got involved to lend my support to the protest. "I think it's absolute madness to be transporting nuclear materials on our oceans. "I think it's intolerable that the Irish Sea should be allowed for the transport of nuclear materials." Rainbow Warrior anchored at Holyhead on Thursday night as campaigners worked out how the flotilla should confront two armed merchant ships en-route from Japan to Barrow in Cumbria. The ships are part of a purpose-built fleet on a voyage carrying more than 200 kilos of mixed oxide nuclear fuel destined for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) at the Sellafield reprocessing plant. We don't need BNFL to tell us how safe our protests are Greenpeace activist The cargo of fuel, which came from Sellafield originally,has been sent back from Takahama in Japan after safety records at the plant operated by BNFL were exposed as false in 1999 . BNFL called on the protestors to ensure that the flotilla did not endanger the ships' journeys. But Greenpeace campaigners said they do not plan to interfere with the vessels' safe navigation. Shaun Burnie from Greenpeace said: "We don't need BNFL to tell us how safe our protests are. "Greenpeace has been protesting for 30 years peacefully. "It's governments and industry that attack Greenpeace." The ships will need a high tide in order to reach the port of Barrow in Cumbria, but BNFL is not giving any details of their itinerary for security reasons. However protestors have estimated that the ships will reach Barrow on either Monday or Tuesday. [Nuclear fuel container being lifted] Container flasks like this carry nuclear fuel Greenpeace claims the ships are carrying enough plutonium waste to make 50 nuclear bombs, which make them a potential target for terrorists. BNFL denies this claim, insisting its cargo includes low-grade plutonium which would be of no use to terrorists. Ships tracked On Tuesday, Greenpeace confirmed the location of the two plutonium ships, the Pacific Pintail and Teal, off the west coast of Madeira, in international waters. The vessels have already faced protests by a 50-strong flotilla in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand after setting out from Japan on 4 July. Greenpeace said the protest was largely a symbolic one, and that it never expected the ships to stop. Mixed-oxide fuel is made by reprocessing spent uranium fuel rods from nuclear plants. The Sellafield plant separates the rods' plutonium radioactive waste from the remaining unused uranium. Recycled uranium and plutonium is made into ceramic pellets which can be used again in a nuclear power plant. BNFL said one fingernail-sized pellet could generate as much energy as a ton of coal. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 21 Canada: Activists fear proposed nuclear waste facility a terrorist 'bull's-eye' STEPHEN THORNE OTTAWA (CP) - An outdoor radioactive waste dump, a financially troubled company, and one of the world's primary freshwater sources are a lethal mix, environmentalists said Friday. They issued that assessment as they called for a public, international review of a proposal to store high-level nuclear waste at the Bruce nuclear power station on the shores of Lake Huron. "This facility . . . would be a primary terrorist target," said Kevin Kamps, an anti-nuclear activist from Michigan. "It would represent a radioactive bull's-eye in the heart of the Great Lakes, a terrorist's dream-come-true." British Energy Corp., the financially troubled parent company of Bruce Power, recently received a multibillion-dollar British government bailout. Now, Ontario Power Generation, the company that owns and leases eight reactors to Bruce Power and operates the waste storage facilities there, is asking the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for special status. If given, it would effectively grant the facilities public financial protection for what one activist called "the highest concentration of nuclear risk in the world." Under Canada's Nuclear Liability Act, insurance companies would have to cover only $75 million of liability in the event of a radioactive leak. By comparison, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster has cost the governments of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia more than $350 billion. Europe requires at least $600 million coverage for each nuclear facility. "The Canadian government is setting itself up for financial extortion," said Michael Keegan, chairman of the Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes. "Once that waste is in place, the Canadian government cannot say: 'We will not subsidize this any longer.' The corporation will go bankrupt, but the Canadian government will be left holding the bag." The coalition wants government to order nuclear facilities to set aside bankrupt-proof, segregated funds for decommissioning and waste management. A spokesman for Bruce noted that Thursday the Nuclear Safety Commission endorsed Bruce Power's safety record. "CNSC staff have not observed anything to indicate that the current financial problems being experienced by British Energy PLC have had an adverse impact on safe operations at the Bruce site," said the commission. John Earl, a spokesman for Ontario Power Generation, said his firm has followed a detailed approval process to expand its waste management facilities at Bruce. "We have to ensure we meet and we certainly do meet all the regulatory requirements," said Earl. "There have been a number of hearings and the hearings are open to the public. "People can express their concerns to the regulator and if the regulator believes there is opportunity for adjustment then they would ask . . . for those adjustments and we would, of course, oblige." The International Atomic Energy Agency has designated the Bruce facility the most concentrated nuclear site in the world. An accident or terrorist attack at the site could contaminate 20 per cent of the world's fresh water in the Great Lakes Basin "in a heartbeat," said Keegan. "Let's take a look at what we're doing. Let's slow down." Ontario Power Generation operates nuclear plants at Pickering and Darlington. It also owns the Bruce facilities, where it leases its plant to a consortium and continues to operate waste-management facilities for storage of low- and medium-level nuclear waste. It is awaiting approval for storage of high-level waste at Bruce. © The Canadian Press, 2002 ***************************************************************** 22 LORRY WITH RADIOACTIVE CARGO CRASHES ON M1 BY NIC RIDLEY 10:30 - 13 September 2002 A lorry carrying radioactive material crashed on the M1 in Leicestershire last night. Emergency crews were called to the scene after the vehicle, carrying around 20 lead-lined containers, overturned. Today, the fire service stressed the containers did not leak and there was never any danger to the public. The radioactive material is understood to be low-grade and was en route to hospitals, where it is used in the treatment of cancer. The accident happened just after 7pm. The Mercedes Sprinter van hit the central reservation and a crash barrier before coming to rest on the hard shoulder. Police, fire brigade and an ambulance crew were called to the scene on the southbound M1 between junctions 23a and 23, near Long Whatton and Diseworth. The motorway remained open throughout the operation, although two carriageways were closed, causing long tailbacks. Sub Officer Phil Louis, of Loughborough fire station, said: "When we learned what the vehicle was carrying, we proceeded with caution and carried out tests to check for leaking. "The lead canisters are designed to withstand an impact like this. The only leak from the vehicle was about half a litre of drain cleaner. "There was no leak from the lead canisters and there was not at any time any danger to the public." The driver of the Mercedes Sprinter van - who is believed to have started out from Coventry - suffered slight injuries in the impact, but did not need hospital treatment. A police spokesman at the scene said: "The van collided with the central reservation and hit the crash barrier on the hard shoulder and it turned over on its side. "It happened just after 7pm. A fire officer who deals with this sort of hazard made an inspection, and made sure it was safe. It was of low radioactivity and it was isolated quite quickly. "The material was to do with medical equipment at four hospitals. "The motorway stayed open as there was no danger to health." Officers closed two lanes of the southbound motorway, causing long tailbacks into Nottinghamshire. The motorway was fully reopened at 10.15pm. ThisIsLeicestershire ***************************************************************** 23 S. Korea Presses North on Weapons Las Vegas SUN: September 13, 2002 By PRISCILLA CHEUNG ASSOCIATED PRESS UNITED NATIONS- South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong urged North Korea Friday to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities, saying "the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction" was a key challenge in the peace process between the two Koreas. But Choi emphasized that South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's policies toward toward North Korea were bearing fruit. "After ups and downs along the way, the peace process is finally back on track," Choi said in an address to the annual U.N. General Assembly debate. "No one can deny that the Korean people on both sides of the peninsula today enjoy a stronger peace than ever, and that the risk of war is at an all time low since the end of the Korean War," he said. The Koreas were divided in 1945. The 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty, and the Korean border remains sealed and heavily fortified. Efforts to improve ties led to a historic summit in 2000 and various accords, including reunions for families separated by the war and projects reconnecting road and rail links. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is scheduled to make an unprecedented one-day visit to North Korea Tuesday. Washington remains skeptical of the communist North, with President Bush calling it a part of an axis of evil with Iran and Iraq. In his address, Choi urged the North to reopen its door to U.N. inspectors to remove "concerns over nuclear proliferation from the Korean Peninsula." Under a 1994 accord, North Korea has frozen its nuclear energy program, which U.S. officials suspect was used for clandestine weapons development, but has refused inspections of its facilities by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency. "It is now essential that the full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency begin without further delay for the implementation of safeguards requirements" of the 1994 accord, he said. -- All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 24 India engaged in nuclear buildup ©The Frontier Publications (Pvt) Ltd. BB concerned over ET decision Updated on 9/14/2002 5:57:36 PM NEW YORK: President Pervez Musharraf has said India was engaging in the most significant nuclear buildup of the post cold war era by deploying nuclear forces. Addressing a gathering at Asia Society in New York on Friday, he said that the semi official nuclear doctrine announced by India envisages a deployment of nuclear forces. The process was well underway in India and would lead to a new level of nuclear escalation in the region. He said the nuclearization of South Asia imposes great responsibility on both India and Pakistan to resolve their dispute peacefully and act with maturity and circumspection. We realize the need to reduce defense expenditure and divert resources towards social and economic development. President said that the India’s profession of no first use of nuclear weapons carried no credibility as in fact it intends to engage in the most significant nuclear build up of the post cold war era. Pakistan he said had established the most stringent controls over its strategic assets and there was no danger of any leakage or proliferation. Pakistan does not wish to enter into an arms race, nuclear or conventional, with India. We will continue to pursue nuclear restraint testing and our commitment not to be the first to resume testing. We will pursue a policy of maintaining credible deterrence at the minimum level”, he added. The president said it was also important to contain the conventional force levels in South Asia. Meanwhile, dozens of Pakistani political workers protested in New York during President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to the city to attend the 9-11 commemoration and the U.N. General Assembly. On Thursday, the country’s two main opposition parties Pakistan Muslim League and Pakistan People’s Party gathered outside the U.N. building while Musharraf was inside addressing the General Assembly. They were chanting slogans and holding placards that urge Musharraf to restore democracy and step down. They also urged the U.S. government to use its influence to allow former primers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return home and contest the forthcoming elections. A gathering of Pakistani Christians also protested outside the hotel where Musharraf addressed a large gathering of Pakistani nationals living in U.S. “We have done more than any previous government to protect minorities. We demolished the separate electorate system. We have arrested those involved in sectarian violence. We are doing more,” the President assured. Meanwhile, New York police arrested five people who were protesting outside the U.N. against President Bush’s plan to invade Iraq. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 25 Iraq issue is world's problem [Daily Yomiuri On-Line] Yomiuri Shimbun In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. President George W. Bush lashed into the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, saying "He has proven only his contempt of the United Nations," and "Saddam Hussein's regime is a grave and gathering danger." Bush then called on the United Nations to act in a resolute manner. His speech was aimed at pressuring Iraq to comply with all U.N. Security Council resolutions, including one concerning international inspectors who would check for weapons of mass destruction. It was an uncompromising warning that implied the United States would use force unilaterally if it was ignored. The Saddam regime should take this warning to heart and refrain from further deceptions and comply with the demands of the world community. Iraq should allow inspectors into the country immediately and unconditionally. On the other hand, Bush said the United States would work with the U.N. Security Council to adopt the necessary resolutions. === Preparations for military action With his public pronouncements that the Saddam regime must be ousted, the Bush administration has started to prepare for military action against Iraq. Alarmed, the international community is urging caution by saying that military action would damage international antiterrorism cooperation. In his talks with Bush, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the U.S. president to make further diplomatic efforts to win understanding from the international community on the use of military force against Iraq. By saying that he would follow U.N. procedures, Bush has indicated that he wants to maintain the framework of international cooperation. The U.N. Security Council should adopt effective resolutions to force Iraq to accept inspections and dispose of weapons of mass destruction. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Bush has said the biggest threat to the world is that terrorists would acquire weapons of mass destruction from "outlaw states." The president also emphasized that the Iraqi regime could possess nuclear weapons within one year after acquiring nuclear materials Baghdad's actions reprehensible If we look at Iraq's past actions, Bush's concerns are understandable. Iraq attacked Iran in 1980 and in 1990 invaded Kuwait. During the Gulf War, it launched missiles at neighboring countries, including Israel. It has also used chemical weapons to surpress the Kurds. Bush is not the only one who doubts whether the Saddam regime will accept the demands of the international community. However, it is important for the world community to take every possible measure to maintain the framework of international cooperation. In other words, the problems concerning Iraq should be resolved not from the viewpoint of U.S. justice, but from the standpoint of world justice. The Japanese government should come up with policies to deal with the Iraq problem. It is important for Japan not only to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but also to ensure stability in the Middle East as Japan depends on the region for most of its oil. (The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 14) Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 26 IAEA: Officials, nuclear experts say aluminum traced to Jordan may be linked to Iraqi atomic weapons program Yahoo! News Sun, September 15, 2002 AP World Politics By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - A shipment of specially configured aluminum tubing sent from China to Jordan may have been destined for Iraq's atomic weapons program, an international nuclear official said Friday. The shipment was found sometime in the last 14 months, said the official, who works for an international organization in Western Europe, and who demanded anonymity. Washington has charged that consignments of thousands of pieces of such tubing have been intercepted on their way to Iraq over the same period, and that the configuration of the tubes led its experts to believe they were meant for Iraq's centrifuge program. But U.S. officials have not provided details or say what about the tubing made them suspicious. Nor has the administration offered any details on the origin or number of any attempted shipments. The nuclear official said the tubing intercepted in Jordan fits a profile that would raise alarm bells in Washington, but he said it was not clear if U.S. officials were referring specifically to the shipment when they made their accusations. "The end user was never officially identified," the official told The Associated Press. "But this may be one of the shipments they are referring to." Administration officials charged earlier this week that Iraq was attempting to circumvent U.N. sanctions and smuggle in aluminum tubes for use as centrifuge components. On Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush warning that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction posed a threat to the world. While asking for international support, he suggested the United States be prepared to confront Iraq alone. A U.S.-based expert with close ties to the Bush administration who worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency during the 1990s to monitor Iraq's nuclear arms program, told the AP he had not heard of the China to Jordan shipment. But he said U.S. officials have told him of at least two attempts by Iraq to secure such tubing over the past 14 months. In one instance, Washington suspected the parts were meant for use as rotors for centrifuges that spin gaseous uranium and separate the heavier isotopes needed in nuclear warheads. In the other, more recent shipment, the aluminum parts intercepted appeared to be meant for use as the outer casing of such centrifuges, said the expert, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Before the 1991 U.S.-led attack on Iraq, plans by Baghdad called for 1,000 machines designed to produce 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of enriched uranium annually, half of what it would take to create a nuclear bomb. U.N. inspectors subsequently supervised the destruction of centrifuge components as part of international attempts to end Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Tim Brown of the nonprofit group Global Security.org, based in Alexandria, Virginia, said that if the tubes were meant as casings they would hold the centrifuges together at speeds of 1,000 revolutions per minute. He described the appearance of the centrifuges themselves as similar to "spinning Coke cans ... the size of two wastepaper baskets." But Garry B. Dillon, part of the IAEA Iraq nuclear inspection team from 1993 to 1998 — including a stint as head of the team — said the lack of information coming from the U.S. administration made it difficult to independently determine the significance of the alleged Iraqi attempts. "Aluminum tubes come in all shapes and forms, from crutches to centrifuge" parts he said in a phone interview from London. "Nobody has enough information to decide what was the objective of this piping." On the Net: IAEA, www.iaea.org [http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_wo_en_po/inlinks/*http://www.iaea.org] Global Security.org, www.thebulletin.org Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 27 Ex-weapons inspector berates war plans David Wallis, Special to the Chronicle [chronfeedback@sfchronicle.com] Saturday, September 14, 2002 To his admirers, Scott Ritter -- who turned up in Baghdad last week to blast the Bush administration's war plans before Iraq's parliament -- is something of a modern-day Daniel Ellsberg, who serves his country patriotically by protesting a government policy he considers misguided and immoral. To his detractors, Ritter is a shill for Saddam Hussein -- a deeper-voiced Tokyo Rose. Ritter "is a paid spokesman now for Iraq. The traitor bastard should be shot," one critic of the former U.N. weapons inspector fumed on the online forum Paratrooper.com. The decorated ex-Marine is used to the hostility. Once branded as a CIA agent by Saddam Hussein because he often surprised Iraqi intelligence with aggressive, no-notice inspections, Ritter claims he survived three assassination attempts during his days as a U.N. weapons inspector there. He resigned his U.N. post in 1998, publicly scolding the Clinton administration for undermining efforts to root out Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. A registered Republican, he voted for George Bush in 2000. But his 1999 book "Endgame: Solving the Iraqi Problem Once and for All" (Simon &Schuster will reissue the book next month) has since alienated many Republicans and Bush supporters because it advocates a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi standoff. "Ritter has many detractors for a reason," Stephen F. Hayes wrote in the the Weekly Standard. "He lies." Just before his trip to Baghdad, Ritter sat for an interview at his home outside Albany, N.Y. Q: What is the case against the Bush administration's Iraq policy? A: There is no case that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The weapons inspectors eliminated 90-95 percent of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capability . . . The indicators of Iraq's efforts to reconstitute are readily detectable, not only by U.S. intelligence but by Israel, France, Germany and Great Britain. No nation has brought any credible evidence to substantiate allegations that Iraq has reconstituted its weapons. This war is about political ideology. It's about a bunch of neo- conservatives in Washington, D.C., who have hijacked the national security of the United States for the pursuit of their own politically driven ideological objectives. Q: You believe that Saddam Hussein has done nothing to reacquire weapons of mass destruction? A: Saddam Hussein is a survivor, plain and simple. Therefore, he understands that weapons of mass destruction represent a suicide pill. Q: Assuming that there is a war and a U.S. military victory, what steps will America need to take to govern postwar Iraq? A: You assume victory. If Saddam Hussein fortifies his cities with Republican Guard troops, especially in the Sunni heartland, the fight will resemble Grozny (Chechnya). The Russians had no choice but to level the city. That's the kind of fight we are talking about. To go in with 250,000-plus troops you have to sell massive war to the American public. The Bush administration is not selling massive war, they are selling Shake-and-Bake war. Nothing about this war is Shake-and-Bake. We could win, but we will kill tens of thousands of Iraqis. We'll slaughter them -- not just [troops] but civilians. This war will be a race against time, a race against American casualties and a race against civilian casualties. Q: Won't Iraqis dance on the streets of Baghdad if the U.S. topples Saddam? A: He's more popular than any time since the Gulf War. Saddam has cynically manipulated the economic sanctions against the Iraqi people for his own political gain, transferring blame away from himself to the United States . . . The Iraqis, who have suffered egregiously, don't like Saddam, but they have rallied around him and his regime because they hate us more. We may be able to generate support for an invasion among some of the Shiites and some of the Kurds, but to get to Baghdad you must penetrate the "Sunni Triangle." Sunnis will not rise up against Saddam -- ever. They will fight tooth and nail. Q: Is there a chemical or biological agent that Iraqis had, or may have, that keeps you up at night? A: The most dangerous thing Iraq could have ever had was a nuclear weapon. The nuclear weapon Iraq was trying to build was not deliverable by bomb or ballistic missile. It was a large, bulky device that they hoped to bury and set off to let the world know they had a nuclear weapon. They never achieved that. As for biological weapons, Iraq never perfected the means to aerosolize anthrax. They never perfected the means to turn it into a dry powder. What they produced was crude. The only way an Iraqi biological agent would kill you is if it landed on your head. With chemical weapons they don't have the ability to produce precise, mist sprays to deliver a deadly agent over a wide area. Am I sleeping well? You're darned right I am. Q: During your trip to Iraq did you see things that horrified you? A: Yeah, but it had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. It was how Saddam Hussein brutally represses his people. The most horrific thing I saw was the children's prison in downtown Baghdad. Probably 200 kids from toddlers to 12 year olds. The stench was unreal -- urine, feces, vomit, sweat. The kids were howling and dying of thirst. We threw water in there, but the Iraqis probably took the water out afterward. They were the kids of political prisoners. Q: As a weapons inspector you traveled throughout Iraq. Did anything about the country appeal to you? A: The stark contrasts of the Iraqi desert. The Iraqi people are some of the warmest people you'll meet in your life. They are extremely receptive to strangers. Their hospitality is immense. Iraq has a tremendous amount of history. Everywhere you go there are ruins, ziggurats and mosques that go back in time. I warned my inspectors that they could not be caught up in the grandeur of Iraq. We had to be focused on our jobs as inspectors, because you could easily be distracted. Easily. David Wallis is editorial director of Featurewell.com, based in New York. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.   Page A - 12 ***************************************************************** 28 Fissile material remains key obstacle to Iraqi nuke: defense official Friday, 13-Sep-2002 2:46PM Story from AFP Copyright 2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (AFP) - Iraq could build a nuclear weapon in several months if it succeeds in acquiring fissile material from an outside source, but it would take Baghdad at least until mid-decade to produce it on its own, a senior US defense official said Friday. The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States did not know whether Iraq had any fissile material left over from its secret nuclear program before the 1991 Gulf War. But he said it has launched an aggressive effort to acquire fissile materials as well as components for a program to enrich uranium within the country. "They have been active in trying to get their hands on those kinds of things," he said, referring to fissile materials. "Plus, they have had their own program." The issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- and, in particular, the prospect of a nuclear-armed Baghdad -- are at the center of President George W. Bush's push for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's ouster. The US defense official offered no evidence that Iraq is closer to acquiring nuclear weapons than it was at the end of the Gulf War, when UN arms inspectors uncovered a highly advanced program. However, Iraq retained documentation, scientists and an aggressive procurement program, the official said. "The material is the issue," he said. If it obtained fissile material, he estimated that it would take Iraq "several months" to build a nuclear weapon. "The question is: Are they going to get it from the outside or are they going to produce it themselves?" he said. "Then your timeline tends to be slightly different. The actual production of fissile materials takes some time. That is why you get the idea of this being in the mid-decade if you're going to do it by means of internal production," he said. On other aspects of Iraq's weapons programs, the official said Iraq has flight-tested missiles and components for missiles with ranges greater than 150 kilometers (90 miles), in violation of UN Security Council limits. He said Iraq was believed to be dodging the limits by testing missiles with unusually heavy payloads. "That means you can take a very powerful rocket, load it down with a lot of weight and it will only go 150 kilometers. But if you take the weight off, it will fly a lot farther. The suspicion is that that is exactly what the Iraqis are up to," the official said. ***************************************************************** 29 Suspicious ship in Italy Friday, September 13, 2002 By PETER MAYER-- Associated Press ROME (AP) -- Thousands of lead bars -- found on a cargo ship on which 15 suspected Islamic extremists arrived in Sicily from Morocco -- will be tested to see if they contain materials to manufacture nuclear weapons, a police official said Friday. The men, described by Italian authorities as Pakistani citizens, were arrested Thursday and charged with having terrorist links. The lead bars weighing a total of some 800 tons would be inspected as a precaution, said police official Angelo Bellomo. Lead, because of its magnetic properties, can be used to conceal radioactive material by making it difficult to detect, he said. The suspects arrived in Sicily on Aug. 5 aboard the ship from Casablanca, Morocco. The vessel had been headed to Libya, but stopped off the coast of Sicily because it was running out of supplies. Authorities found that the men had fake passports and took them to a detention center for illegal immigrants in the central Sicilian town of Caltanissetta. After their arrest on Thursday, an American defense official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the cargo ship was on a U.S. Navy watch list and had been suspected of smuggling Islamic fundamentalists in the past. Authorities have not commented on newspaper reports that phrases and phone numbers on notes in the possession of some of the suspects linked them to Osama bin Laden's network. On Friday, the Pakistan government questioned whether the men were actually Pakistani citizens, insisting that the documents were forged and that the Italian government was informed of that. Police in Sicily had no immediate comment on the claim. "Claims that the detained individuals are Pakistani nationals and are linked with al-Qaida are unfortunate and premature," a statement from the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry said In the past year, Italian police have arrested more than 30 people with alleged links to al-Qaida, bin Laden's terror network. Seven Tunisians were convicted earlier this year in a Milan court of helping al-Qaida recruits get fake documents -- the first al-Qaida-related guilty verdict since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Among those convicted was Essid Sami Ben Khemais, the alleged head of bin Laden's terrorist operations in Europe. CANOE home [http://www.canoe.ca/home.html] ***************************************************************** 30 India engaged in nuclear buildup ©The Frontier Publications (Pvt) Ltd. BB concerned over ET decision * NEW YORK: President Pervez Musharraf has said India was engaging in the most significant nuclear buildup of the post cold war era by deploying nuclear forces. * Addressing a gathering at Asia Society in New York on Friday, he said that the semi official nuclear doctrine announced by India envisages a deployment of nuclear forces. The process was well underway in India and would lead to a new level of nuclear escalation in the region. He said the nuclearization of South Asia imposes great responsibility on both India and Pakistan to resolve their dispute peacefully and act with maturity and circumspection. We realize the need to reduce defense expenditure and divert resources towards social and economic development. President said that the India?s profession of no first use of nuclear weapons carried no credibility as in fact it intends to engage in the most significant nuclear build up of the post cold war era. Pakistan he said had established the most stringent controls over its strategic assets and there was no danger of any leakage or proliferation. Pakistan does not wish to enter into an arms race, nuclear or conventional, with India. We will continue to pursue nuclear restraint testing and our commitment not to be the first to resume testing. We will pursue a policy of maintaining credible deterrence at the minimum level?, he added. The president said it was also important to contain the conventional force levels in South Asia. Meanwhile, dozens of Pakistani political workers protested in New York during President Pervez Musharraf?s visit to the city to attend the 9-11 commemoration and the U.N. General Assembly. On Thursday, the country?s two main opposition parties Pakistan Muslim League and Pakistan People?s Party gathered outside the U.N. building while Musharraf was inside addressing the General Assembly. They were chanting slogans and holding placards that urge Musharraf to restore democracy and step down. They also urged the U.S. government to use its influence to allow former primers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return home and contest the forthcoming elections. A gathering of Pakistani Christians also protested outside the hotel where Musharraf addressed a large gathering of Pakistani nationals living in U.S. ?We have done more than any previous government to protect minorities. We demolished the separate electorate system. We have arrested those involved in sectarian violence. We are doing more,? the President assured. Meanwhile, New York police arrested five people who were protesting outside the U.N. against President Bush?s plan to invade Iraq. © Copyright 2001 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 31 Koizumi tells U.N. diplomacy is way to deal with Iraq Saturday, September 14, 2002 at 10:00 JST NEW YORK ? Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday stressed the need for the issue of Iraq to be resolved through enhanced U.N.-led diplomatic efforts while urging Baghdad to accept U.N. inspectors and destroy weapons of mass destruction. "It is important for the international community to continue to work together, and to engage more strenuously in diplomatic efforts through the United Nations," Koizumi said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly. Koizumi said the U.N. Security Council should adopt new resolutions as early as possible to further press Iraq to approve the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. "Iraq must allow immediate and unconditional inspections and dispose of all weapons of mass destruction," he said. U.S. President George Bush told the U.N. General Council on Thursday that "action will be unavoidable" if the U.N. fails to force Iraq to abandon its weapons of mass destruction. Koizumi, the first Japanese prime minister to deliver a U.N. General Assembly speech in English since Morihiro Hosokawa in 1993, said the U.N. should reform itself to respond to new situations in the world. He expressed Japan's desire to become a new permanent member of the U.N. Security Council through the organizational reforms. "Next year, the debate on Security Council reform will enter its 10th year. I believe that we should now focus our discussions on such questions as the number of seats on the enlarged Security Council," he said. Koizumi also called for dropping the so-called "enemy state clauses" from the U.N. Charter, describing them as "meaningless legacies of the 20th century." The clauses enable military action to be taken against the former enemies of World War II allied countries, such as Japan and Germany, without any endorsement from the Security Council. Koizumi also said Japan will continue to pursue its goal of making a peaceful and safe world free of nuclear weapons. "I believe that Japan, as the only country in human history to have suffered nuclear devastation, has a significant role to play in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation," he said. Koizumi said Japan will propose a draft resolution, titled "A path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons," at the current session of the U.N. General Assembly. He vowed to redouble efforts to achieve the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons. In addition to the U.N. reform and the nuclear weapons proliferation issue, Japan wants to play an active role in such fields as the fight against terrorism, post-conflict assistance for the consolidation of peace and nation-building, and the simultaneous achievement of environmental protection and development, Koizumi said. As part of its efforts to support nation-building in Afghanistan, Japan is preparing a program for assisting the demobilization and registration of former combatants under its proposed "Register for Peace" initiative, Koizumi said. (Kyodo News) Japan Today Discussion ***************************************************************** 32 Atomic testing site not ready Tri-Valley Herald Saturday, September 14, 2002 - 2:57:58 AM MST Inspector General says resuming explosions within 3years probably isn't possible By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Amid debate over whether the United States should test nuclear weapons for the first time since 1990, a government report has concluded that the atomic testing ground in Nevada is woefully unprepared for quick action. The report is likely to bolster a new Pentagon policy that calls for improving the readiness of the Nevada Test Site. The Bush administration maintains it has no plans to break the U.S. moratorium against exploding radioactive weapons in the desert. But Pentagon officials also argue that the country should be able to resume tests in less than three years -- just in case. But even three years is probably wishful thinking at this point, Department of Energy auditors said Friday, pointing to more than a decade of equipment deterioration and the exodus of experienced scientists at the Nevada Test Site. "If Nevada's testing challenges can't be overcome, the department risks losing its ability to ensure weapons reliability in a timely manner through underground testing," Inspector General Gregory Friedman wrote. The report comes as Congress debates the development of a nuclear weapon that can burrow deep into the ground before exploding, potentially destroying underground military installations. While administration officials maintain that the weapons -- often referred to as nuclear "bunker busters" -- are not new weapons and will not need to be tested, arms control advocates are skeptical. "My fear is that this Inspector General report is going to be seized upon by politicians who want to resume nuclear testing for its own sake," said Marylia Kelley, director of the Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment. "We should not be making preparations to resume nuclear testing," she said. But Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a nonpartisan defense think tank near Washington, D.C., said the United States needs to ensure it has a reasonable testing base. He argued showing the world that America has the capability to quickly test an atomic bomb would act as a deterrent to war. "It's a warning to the other side that you are taking appropriate measures," he said. "Given the speed with which events turn in the world, even a three-year capability is not necessarily optimum." Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, imposed a moratorium on underground nuclear testing in 1992, and the moratorium was upheld by President Bill Clinton. President George W. Bush has said since taking office that he would maintain the moratorium, but he has avoided ruling out testing in the future. The Pentagon made its recommendation to increase test readiness earlier this year in a broad outline of the administration's nuclear strategy. The Department of Energy maintains it is capable of resuming testing within 24 to 36 months. The Pentagon has urged Congress to spend $15 million more annually to enable scientists to be able to resume tests in an even shorter time period. Among the agency's biggest hurdles, the Inspector General reported, are a massive brain drain at the Test Site. More than half the employees in the Nevada Operations Office who are experienced in nuclear testing have left since the early 1990s, the report found. And, nearly half of the remaining employees are eligible to retire in the next five years. The audit also noted that processing plants and other facilities once dedicated to testing have long been shut down and technology at the Test Site is behind the times. Frank Gaffney, former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, said he believes, contrary to the reports' findings, that if the United States wanted to test it could do so quickly. But he also called the report a signal to Congress that "it is now time to appreciate the indispensable role that testing plays," in ensuring national security. Arms control advocate Kelley said she doubted the auditors' claims that testing would be difficult to resume and she fears the report will be used to flame fears that the United States is unprepared for nuclear testing. "Let's not go out and design a solution to a problem that doesn't exist," she said. "We stopped nuclear testing as part and parcel of saying we were going to restrain ourselves when it comes to new nuclear capabilities, and that's a good thing." ©1999-2002 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************