***************************************************************** 12/15/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.324 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Red Cross Meeting to Address Nuclear Issue 2 Wake up, Pyongyang 3 Iran nuke program under IAEA supervision: Yunesi* 4 U.N. Teams Re-Examine Iraqi Nuclear Site 5 U.N. Arms Experts Search Four Sites in Iraq* 6 Time to Expose the Mullahs 7 N.Korea boasts "burning hatred" for U.S. in nuke row 8 IAEA says months before conclusion on Iraq dossier 9 US to claim Iraqi report a total failure 10 US accuses Iran of bid to hide nuclear program* 11 Press slam US charges of hiding nuclear program* 12 NK [EDITORIALS]Spinning our wheels* 13 Blix Is Too Late 14 Kharrazi dismisses nuclear concealment charges 15 Russia's nuclear fuel exports to Iran conditional on return 16 Iran defiant on nuclear plans 17 N Korea warns UN nuclear agency 18 New EU inquiry into British Energy 19 Pyongyang challenges nuclear inspectors 20 Bush and Seoul Call North Korea Nuclear Plan 'Unacceptable' 21 N. Korea Defends Nuke Plant Reactivation 22 IAEA Warns NK Over Demands NUCLEAR REACTORS 23 US: Nuclear doubter going strong after 30 years 24 Russia says no violations in Iranian nuclear plans 25 British Energy sells Bruce in cut-price deal 26 Canada: Bruce refuelling delay sought* 27 US: Davis-Besse Workers* 28 Russia to go ahead with Bushehr nuclear plant project - minister 29 Temelin nuclear power plant's second unit to resume testing next 30 US: Indian Point evacuation plan analysis plan to appear NUCLEAR SAFETY 31 Bush, Blair warned of bin Laden nukes 32 India: Greenpeace identifies 25 TIP spots NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 33 NRC to Meet With United States Enrichment Corp. To Discuss 34 YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE sets sights on new research 35 More doubts surface about Yucca site - Opinion - 36 US: Dry cask storage opponents may still get their day in court* 37 Group against uranium plant searches background records 38 US: PG&E pressed to maximize dry-cask safety 39 Hazards of nuclear fuel cycle 40 US: Reid Blocked N-Waste Ban as Payback, Hansen Says NUCLEAR WEAPONS 41 US: [toeslist] U.S. WOULD CONSIDER NUCLEAR RETALIATION 42 Iraq - message from Iraq Peace Team 43 Nuclear woes rattle U.S. 44 IAEA Chief to NKorea: Don't Expel Nuclear Monitors* 45 UK: BAE is staring down a barrel 46 Indians prepare for nuclear holocaust 47 Nuclear catastrophe test descends into farce as services fail to cop 48 Documents expose farcical response to nuclear attack 49 Friendly fire downs BAE 50 US: The man who gave the world the bomb 51 INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ: A PRIMER US DEPT. OF ENERGY 52 LANL Fraud Inquiry Expands * * 53 DOE will extend Sandia management contract 54 Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham Announces 5-Year Contract OTHER NUCLEAR ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Red Cross Meeting to Address Nuclear Issue Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.15,2002 19:03 KST by Kwon Kyung-bok (kkb@chosun.com) Administrative representatives of North and South Korea's Red Cross will meet at Mount Kumgang in North Korea from Sunday to Tuesday to discuss in particular North Korea's nuclear program, the construction of visiting stations for separated families, and to confirm the whereabouts and status of people missing from the Korean War. Special Assistant Lee Byung-woong said the North's nuclear program was an issue that threatened peace and stability on the peninsula. The head representative of the South added he would point out that the current nuclear situation was no help in resolving humanitarian issues. Another representative meeting will hold the third series of talks regarding the opening of the temporary Donghae railroad. Cho Myung-gyun, director of exchange and cooperation at the Ministry of Unification and Park Jung Sung, director of the North Korean Railroad will participate as head representatives. ***************************************************************** 2 Wake up, Pyongyang Mainichi Interactive - Top News North Korea recently announced that it would immediately resume the operation and construction of nuclear power plants, frozen under the 1994 framework agreement with the United States. The decision was made, it contended, because the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), an international consortium established by Japan, South Korea, the United States, and several European countries, had stopped supplying fuel oil to North Korea. The cutoff of oil was induced, though, by Pyongyang's own admission that it was developing nuclear weapons using enriched uranium in violation of not only the framework agreement but also the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and the declaration issued following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent visit to North Korea. Washington has promised a peaceful resolution and a resumption of oil supplies if Pyongyang would agree to a verifiable abolition of its nuclear program. North Korean leaders assert that Washington is misleading popular opinion, but if it wants to disprove U.S. claims, it should come out and disclose the truth. This would set the stage for a restart of U.S.-North Korean dialogue. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution late last month calling for the disclosure and inspections of Pyongyang's nuclear program. It also proposed senior-level talks during which experts would be dispatched for a fact-finding mission. These overtures have been summarily dismissed by Pyongyang. A North Korean transport ship carrying 15 Scud missiles was seized off the coast of Yemen. Some 40 nations around the world now have developed or possess ballistic missiles, and their proliferation around the world is a growing global security threat. North Korea claims that it has a legitimate right to export missiles and regards such trade as a valuable source of foreign currency. It fails to see that there is a worldwide clampdown on the spread of such weapons and is totally oblivious to its responsibilities as a member of the international community. It will find itself increasingly backed into a corner if it continues with this attitude. Tokyo should consult closely with Seoul and Washington and pursue a levelheaded policy. If Pyongyang thinks it can force concessions from the international community with threats, it needs to think again. Even the leaders of China and Russia agreed during their summit earlier this month to prevent a proliferation of nuclear and other mass-destruction weapons on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang's decision to restart its nuclear energy program will no doubt have an impact on South Korea's presidential election. Even if Pyongyang reactivates its nuclear power facilities, it will take one to five years to produce weapons-grade plutonium. The IAEA has been monitoring North Korean facilities under the direction of the U.N. Security Council. If Pyongyang forcibly removes the surveillance cameras or withdraws from the NPT, the issue is likely to be brought up for discussion by the Security Council. This will immediately pit the United Nations and the world community against North Korea and deepen the nation's international isolation. Snubbing global opinion and blindly moving down its own path will only invite destruction. It is Pyongyang that is turning its back on dialogue and conciliation, not the international community. It should realize quickly that making threats is not a viable foreign policy. (From the Mainichi Shimbun, Dec. 14, 2002) © 2002 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under the ***************************************************************** 3 Iran nuke program under IAEA supervision: Yunesi* * HOMEPAGE | Main News Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 2002 IranMania.com TEHRAN, Dec 15 (AFP) - Iran's nuclear activities are "transparent" and under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran's intelligence minister insisted Sunday. Intelligence Minister, Ali Yunesi. "There are no obscure points," Ali Yunesi was quoted as saying by state television in reaction to US fears voiced Friday that the Islamic republic had a secret nuclear weapons programme. "We don't have any hidden activities, but others are trying to pretend that Iran's nuclear activities are out of the framework and supervision of the IAEA," he added. After satellite images of two Iranian nuclear facilities near the towns of Natanz and Arak were aired on television Thursday, the White House said it had strong suspicions about the two sites. Iran has already vigorously denied it is secretly seeking to produce weapons-grade enriched uranium, and on Saturday Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi invited the IAEA to inspect the two nuclear sites in question. Kharrazi insisted the two centres are aimed at producing fuel for civilian power plants. And the IAEA, the UN's nuclear monitoring agency, said it would send a team led by its director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, to conduct an inspection of the facilities in February. Until now the only widely-known Iranian nuclear facility was a Russian-built power plant in the southern city of Bushehr expected to come online in June 2004. Two more reactors are planned at Bushehr, and authorities are mulling construction of a second power plant at Ahwaz in the west. Russia's agreement to construct a nuclear energy facility at Bushehr neither violates international agreements nor threatens to violate non-proliferation accords. *©2002 Spaceimaging.com* A space photograph of the Bushehr nuclear reactor. It is currently expected to be operational by September 2003. Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the US fears were groundless, arguing that "one cannot say anything definite on the basis of the photographs". But he said he believed the United States would step up pressure on Russia to sever its Bushehr contract. Iran regularly defends itself against US charges that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons research and could use Bushehr as a source of fissile material. US President George W. Bush has placed Iran, Iraq and North Korea on an "axis of evil", while US ally Israel says that Tehran will have nuclear weapons by 2005. *©2002 IranMania & AFP* *Goto :* Homepage . Webs ©1999-2002 IranMania Copyrights ***************************************************************** 4 U.N. Teams Re-Examine Iraqi Nuclear Site Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Saturday December 14, 2002 1:50 PM BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.N. inspectors returned to an infectious diseases center Saturday to examine rooms they were locked out of a day before, and a second team re-examined the main Iraqi nuclear center where nearly two tons of low-grade enriched uranium are in storage. Iraqi officials said the inspection teams also went to a Scud missile facility that had been used to make bomb casings for chemical weapons in the days before the end of the 1991 Gulf War. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, opening the Al-Merbad Poetry Festival Saturday in Baghdad, lashed out at the United States and Israel, saying they were bent on the destruction of Muslims. ``Imperialism as represented by the center of evil, America and its Zionist ally are waging an oppressive aggression that targets the existence of the Islamic community and its future,'' said Aziz, who was dressed in a military uniform. ``The imminent goal is Iraq and Palestine, the ultimate goal is the whole Islamic community.'' U.S. jets, meanwhile, used ``precision guided weapons'' against three air-defense installations Saturday morning south and east of Baghdad after Iraqi military jets violated the southern no-fly zone, the U.S. Central Command said. ``They (the Iraqi warplanes) went south. I cannot begin to ascertain what their motivation was in doing so other than plainly violating the zone,'' Central Command spokesman Maj. Pete Mitchell told The Associated Press in Washington. U.S. and coalition aircraft have patrolled the southern and northern no-fly zones since the Gulf War ended. The zones were established to prevent Saddam Hussein from attacking the Kurdish minority in the north of the country and the Shiites in the south. The inspection of the Scud complex, the government-owned al-Nasr company, 30 miles north of Baghdad, was a re-examination of the facility that also houses sophisticated machine tools that can, for example, help manufacture gas centrifuges. Such centrifuges are used to ``enrich'' uranium to bomb-grade level - a method favored by the Iraqis in their bomb program of the late 1980s. The al-Tuwaitha nuclear facility 15 miles southeast of Baghdad, contains 1.8 tons of low-grade enriched uranium and several tons of natural and depleted uranium. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose inspectors were at the site Saturday, have said the materials are of such low radioactivity that they could not easily be turned into weapons. The uranium has been in storage at the facility since the end of the Gulf War. Iraqi officials said the site at al-Tuwaitha was destroyed twice, first by the Israelis in 1981 during the Iran-Iraq war and a second time by the U.S.-led coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait during the Gulf War. Recent satellite photos show four new buildings at the site that the west claims could house new nuclear projects. The Iraqis deny the allegations and say the buildings are for environmental, medical and agricultural research. On Friday, teams carried out their first inspections on the Muslim day of prayer since returning to work Nov. 27 after a four-year break. They were held up two hours at the newly declared site - the Communicable Disease Control Center - forcing inspectors to use their hot line to higher Iraqi authorities for the first time since returning to the country last month. The U.N. team got access to the site but found several rooms locked and no one with keys. The Iraqis said the rooms were locked because Friday was a day off for doctors and other workers and no one else had keys. The locked rooms were sealed until the inspectors returned on Saturday. It was not clear what they found on the return visit. Also Saturday, Iraqi officials said, the U.N. teams visited a medical storage facility and a hospital in the capital. The U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) under Hans Blix is searching for evidence of chemical or biological weapons and the means to deliver them. It was one of Blix's teams that returned Saturday to the infectious diseases center. In the first round of inspections in the 1990s, after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War, the United Nations destroyed tons of Iraqi chemical and biological weapons and dismantled Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Recently published British and U.S. intelligence reports said new construction at old weapons sites and other activities suggest the Iraqis may have resumed making weapons of mass destruction. The inspections are being conducted in conjunction with economic sanctions imposed on Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990. The Iraqis have said they hope the inspectors would be finished and sanctions lifted within eight months. Under U.N. resolutions, the sanctions will only be removed after inspectors report full Iraqi cooperation in their disarmament work. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 5 U.N. Arms Experts Search Four Sites in Iraq* / Sun December 15, 2002 12:27 PM ET / BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Scores of U.N. arms inspectors revisited four suspect sites Sunday in their quest to track down any Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spent around two hours at the Um al-Maarek (Mother of Battles) military complex, once a nuclear research center, at Yusoufiyya, some nine miles south of Baghdad. Um al-Maarek, named after Iraq's term for the 1991 Gulf war, is an arm of the state Military Industrialisation Commission. Iraqi officials say it produces light machinery. "They checked cameras and tagged equipment and took samples of our production and swaps from all the departments they visited," the plant's director, Hussein Attiya Hammoudi, told reporters after the U.N. inspectors had left. IAEA experts visited the company on November 30. U.N. inspectors had placed it under monitoring in the 1990s. A chemical team from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) spent more than six hours at al- Qaqa complex, about 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad. Its director, Sinan Rasim Saeed, said the experts had focused on the facility's sulphuric acid concentration plant. He said the company, which produces explosives for ammunition, was under U.N. monitoring until 1998 when the inspectors left ahead of a U.S.-British bombing blitz. Saeed said the UNMOVIC team had asked about the company's procurement, production rate and capacity. "They said they will come again to visit the remaining sites of the company," he added. Another UNMOVIC team went back to al-Nasr (Victory) complex in the Taji area, some 16 miles north of Baghdad. Components for long-range Scud missiles were once produced at the sprawling site, bombed during the Gulf War and in 1998. Inspectors also went to the Mu'tassim missile plant in Jurf Sakhr, 25 miles south of Baghdad. The plant occupies the grounds of the former al-Atheer nuclear facility. Iraq, which denies having banned weapons, gave the United Nations a huge dossier on its arms programs a week ago in line with a Security Council resolution threatening serious consequences if it fails to cooperate with the inspectors. U.N. teams visited around a dozen sites Saturday -- the heaviest day of inspections since they resumed their search last month after a four-year gap. Reuters The Company Products & ***************************************************************** 6 Time to Expose the Mullahs [MSNBC.com] [IMG: Fareed Zakaria] Students are protesting in Tehran by the thousands. But this is not an equal fight. The ruling clerics have the money and the power Dec. 23 issue — What country in the Middle East supports a flourishing terrorist network and is steadily acquiring weapons of mass destruction? If you said Iraq, you’re one letter off. It’s Iran, which the State Department has long branded “the most active state sponsor of terrorism in the world.” LAST WEEK WASHINGTON produced satellite photographs to demonstrate that Iran was “actively working on a nuclear-weapons program.” Why is a state with vast oil and natural-gas reserves investing so heavily in nuclear power? (The only other oil state that said it needed nuclear reactors was ... Iraq.) It would be like Saudi Arabia’s building windmills. Iran is also a vigorous exporter of Islamic fundamentalism. For two decades now Tehran has funded radical Islamic movements, scholars and centers around the world. At its worst Iran is Iraq plus Saudi Arabia, all in one country. And yet many observers look at Iran and see it as the most hopeful place in the Middle East. They point out that it holds elections, has a reformist president, and its women have more political rights than in many Arab countries. But Iran’s democracy is a sham. The president, Mohammed Khatami, is a figurehead, allowed to give high-minded speeches and do little else. Almost three quarters of the way through his reign, he has accomplished virtually nothing by way of political reform. In some ways Iran is more closed today than it was when he was elected in 1997. For example, more than 80 reformist newspapers have been shut down in the last few years. The fundamental mistake people make about today’s Iran is to assume that the reformers—who speak in tones that the West can understand—wield power. There have always been such figures. The first president of the Islamic republic was Abolhassan Bani Sadr, a Paris-educated liberal. He lasted a year. Iran is a theocracy; the reformers and moderates are window dressing. Real power rests with a tiny clerical establishment. That power is now under serious challenge. Students are protesting in Tehran by the thousands. The middle classes have expressed their disgust with the regime by voting in every recent election for the most anti-regime candidate on the ballot. Most important, leading clerics are criticizing the regime and distancing themselves from it. A brave professor, Hashem Aghajari, has dared the regime to execute him for his “crime”—which was to advocate publicly the separation of mosque and state. But this is not an equal fight. The mullahs have all the money and power. The clerics have created a network of supporters and enforcers who keep things tightly under control. There are several shadowy gangs of thugs—the largest of them a Hitler Youth-type group called the Basij—that go around terrorizing people. They operate above and beyond the law, breaking up demonstrations, even those that have been approved by local authorities. Then there is the secret police. One of the ironies of Iran today is that the mullahs came to power riding a wave of fear over the shah’s dreaded Savak. But the only institution of the old regime that has been maintained, indeed fortified, has been the Savak, now called the Savama. Despite having run the economy into the ground, there is a powerful minority in Iran that has greatly benefited from the revolution. The clerics use their oil loot to keep happy a cadre of religious leaders, corrupt bureaucrats, student revolutionaries and Army officers. These people will not suddenly mellow into liberal democrats because they watch students protesting. The mullahs must be pushed. The strategy for reforming Iran will have to be quite different from that for Iraq. Iraq requires a hard (military) strategy, Iran a soft (political) one. The most hopeful aspect of Iran’s tragedy is that it has dimmed the allure of Islamic politics. Iranians now have a visceral disgust with clerics in power, a backlash that is more likely to produce the separation of mosque and state than scholarly writings about an Islamic reformation. Washington should make a major effort to publicize the mullahs’ greed. It can obtain—from Switzerland, Luxembourg, wherever—the hard evidence that will show Iranians that their sainted leaders are as corrupt as Africa’s worst tin-pot tyrants. Iranians already suspect this, but they cannot know the extent of the damage. Washington should also fund the satellite-television stations, many beaming out of Los Angeles, that have become manna for information-starved Iranians. Most of their programs are not particularly political, but news, entertainment, fashion—all harmless windows into the modern world—are the slow killers of a closed society. Many of these stations are struggling for lack of money. Small sums could make a big difference. Gilles Kepel, France’s leading scholar of the Middle East, was in Tehran recently. At a dinner party an Iranian woman came up to him in utter exasperation and said, “Can you believe that those peasants in Afghanistan have been liberated and we have to keep wearing this ridiculous higab [veil]?” The lady might have to wait. Unlike Afghanistan, Iran will have to liberate itself. But we can help. © 2002 Newsweek, Inc. ***************************************************************** 7 N.Korea boasts "burning hatred" for U.S. in nuke row 14 December, 2002 16:15 GMT+08:00 SEOUL (Reuters) - Shrugging off widespread international condemnation of its pursuit of nuclear weapons, North Korea declared on Saturday it was ready to deal "bitter defeat and death" to a threatening United States. North Korea raised the stakes on Thursday in a nuclear row with the United States and its allies when it said it would restart a nuclear reactor idled under a 1994 agreement that averted a nuclear crisis on the peninsula. The North's declaration fuelled concern over a secret uranium enrichment programme which Washington said in October Pyongyang had admitted to operating in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework. "The DPRK remains unfazed as it has made full preparations to cope with the confrontation and clash with the Yankees," a commentary in the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said. "The army and people of the DPRK with burning hatred for the Yankees are in full readiness to fight a death-defying battle," said the commentary, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK is the acronym for the communist North's official title, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. With more than one in 20 of its 23 million people in military uniform, North Korea is the most heavily militarised country on earth. U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung put new pressure on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, with Kim telling Bush by telephone a revived atomic programme was "unacceptable" and agreeing there could be no business as usual with the communist state. "President Kim noted that North Korea's statement on unfreezing its nuclear programme is unacceptable. And then the two leaders agreed to continue seeking a peaceful resolution while not allowing business as usual to continue with North Korea," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. The United States, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the European Union have all called on North Korea to give up its nuclear program, so far to little avail. The Rodong Sinmun said Pyongyang had shown "maximum patience and self-restraint" in the face of U.S. pressure and threats, epitomised by Bush's description of North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq. "The U.S. should be mindful that this is not an expression of the feeble-mindedness and weakness of the DPRK at all," it said. ***************************************************************** 8 IAEA says months before conclusion on Iraq dossier 14 December, 2002 21:52 GMT+08:00 By Peg Mackey VIENNA (Reuters) - The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that the United Nations would need a few months to reach a conclusion about Iraq's declaration on its weapons programme. "By January, we should have a status report which should move us forward," Mohamed ElBaradei told Reuters in an interview. "We still need a few months before we come to a conclusion on the Iraqi declaration," he said. U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats have said an early review of the 12,000-page weapons declaration which Iraq submitted a week ago appears to fall short of the full disclosure required by a tough U.N. Security Council resolution, which demanded Iraq disarm or face severe consequences. The United States, which seeks to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, could try to use any perceived violation of the November 8 resolution - such as an incomplete weapons declaration - as a justification for war. ElBaradei and U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix are expected to give preliminary findings to the Security Council in New York on Thursday. ElBaradei has said a complete assessment will be "time-consuming", especially since 300 pages of the documents were in Arabic and needed to be translated into English. "It is important in light of Iraq's past record to come forward with exonerating evidence, especially in areas of chemical and biological weapons where there are a lot of missing documents," ElBaradei told Reuters. "I hope in their chemical/biological declaration, they have moved forward in bringing some open issues to closure." He said there had been nothing substantially new in the nuclear file and that it would be several months before a "credible conclusion" could be reached on it. "We need to do inspections, environmental sampling, make checks with various countries and interview people," he said, adding that inspectors had made good progress so far in terms of access and sites but that it was still too early to judge. The United Nations has asked Iraq for a list of scientists linked to arms programmes and Washington wants Blix and ElBaradei to take the scientists out of Iraq to interview them. Iraq recently permitted the return of U.N. inspectors after a four-year hiatus under threat of a U.S.-led military attack. Many believe if the United States does attack Iraq it would rather do so before March when the weather begins to get hot. ***************************************************************** 9 US to claim Iraqi report a total failure Scotsman.com Saturday, 14th December 2002* /FOREIGN STAFF/ THE United States is expected to declare next week that Iraq?s flawed declaration of its arms programmes is in "material breach" of UN resolution 1441, diplomats said. The 12,000-page document Iraq submitted to the UN fails to account for all of its chemical and biological agents, US officials now say. They cited as examples Iraq?s failure to explain what happened to 550 shells filled with mustard gas, plus 150 bombs filled with biological agents that the UN could not trace in the late 1990s. The document also failed to provide answers as to why, as claimed in the British government?s dossier on Iraqi weapons, Iraq made renewed attempts to acquire nuclear materials and technology. The early judgment on the Iraqi declaration - that it is mostly old material and leaves many unanswered questions - will not be used by the US as an immediate excuse for war, diplomats said. Indeed, Washington appears to be playing down the military rhetoric, for now. George Bush, the US president, was reported as saying in a television interview to be broadcast last night that "war is my last option, not my first option". He added: "I don?t want to prejudge the report. But my gut feeling about Saddam Hussein is that he is a man who deceives, denies. He?s a man who states his power through torture and murder." There is still no sign of a stampede to build up overwhelming military forces in the Gulf region, analysts say, and Britain has yet to commit troops. The US wants to be seen giving the UN time to reach its own conclusions. But equally, the US, by challenging the dossier, could be laying the ground for military action early in the New Year, after UN inspectors have returned their official verdict in January on Iraq?s claims it has no banned weapons. The preliminary US assessment of the Iraqi document was backed yesterday by some UN staff, though Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, has yet to deliver an official verdict. "There doesn?t seem to be an awful lot in there that?s new. And a hell of a lot of it seems much the same in a 1996 declaration when Iraq gave a full declaration," said a UN diplomat. In Vienna, Mohamed El-Baradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said 2,100 of the dossier?s 2,400 pages that dealt with nuclear programmes "is material we already had before". Mr El-Baradei said only 300 pages - in Arabic and still being translated - are of any real interest, and even "a good part" of those contain information familiar to the agency. The other 2,100 pages amount to a rehash and cover "material we already had before", he said. "Iraq claims they have not been involved in any proscribed activities in the last four years. We cannot take that statement at face value," he said. But despite the IAEA?s push for preliminary findings and a quick analysis of Iraq?s declaration, "it will take us something like a year before we can come to any credible conclusion", he warned. The more than 100 inspectors in Iraq yesterday searched a missile plant and a disease control centre in Baghdad, the first time they have operated on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, since returning to the country. They were delayed for two hours from entering Iraq?s Communicable Disease Control Centre, requiring the team to use its hotline to top Iraqi officials for the first time. The delay was blamed on the fact that Friday is not a working day for most people. The UN team tagged doors at the site to ensure they could not be entered unnoticed, and left. "There is no problem," General Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi monitoring body, said outside the building. But in Washington, frustration seems to be rising that the inspections have yet to produce the so-called "smoking missile" - proof that Iraq is still hiding nuclear, chemical, biological or missile weapons programmes. The US particularly wants the UN team to persuade Iraqi scientists to talk by offering them asylum with their families. Richard Perle, a US hawk and head of a Pentagon policy review board, blamed Jacques Chirac, the French president, for weakening the inspection regime in the talks that preceded UN resolution 1441. "We wanted a lot more inspectors. But ask Chirac why there?s such a reduced number," Mr Perle told the French newspaper, Le Figaro. In Washington, Richard Lugar, a key Senate spokesman on foreign policy, echoed that sentiment. "We?re just sort of missing, like strangers passing in the night right now," he said. GEORGE Bush yesterday ordered members of the US military in high-risk areas to take the smallpox vaccine and said he will be inoculated as well. "Our government has no information that a smallpox attack is imminent, yet it is prudent to prepare for the possibility that terrorists who kill indiscriminately would use disease as a weapon," Mr Bush said. He said the vaccines will be made available to civilian emergency workers, but strongly suggested the general public not take the inoculations, which come with health complications. He said his family would not be vaccinated. "As commander in chief, I do not believe I can ask others to accept this risk unless I am willing do to the same," Mr Bush said. "Therefore, I will receive the vaccine along with our military." ©2002 scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 10 US accuses Iran of bid to hide nuclear program* ***************************************************************** 11 Press slam US charges of hiding nuclear program* ***************************************************************** 12 NK [EDITORIALS]Spinning our wheels* December 16, 2002 North Korea's nuclear issue is a life-and-death matter for us, so our voice must be reflected in any resolution of the issue, whatever the settlement is. But neither the government nor the presidential candidates have said anything that would increase our confidence in them after Pyeongyang declared that it would reactivate its frozen nuclear programs. We are also worried at the lack of concern here about the North's actions. The North's nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully. The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan repeatedly cite that principle, but there has been no talk of how to do so. "Peaceful resolution" is just diplomatic rhetoric without any visible substance. The closest thing that anyone is thinking of seems to be persuading Pyeongyang's allies, Russia and China, to put diplomatic pressure on the North. The Kim Dae-jung administration, which has persisted in its engagement policy toward the North, seems too preoccupied with winding up its affairs to think about leverage on the North. Indeed, Seoul may have nothing realistic to offer the North to make it give up its nuclear program, so it simply repeats the rhetoric. We have left everything to Washington during the two months since North Korea admitted that it has an ongoing nuclear weapons program. The current crisis is rooted in the inability of the two Koreas and the United States to understand one another. It is South Korea's role to urge the United States and the North to talk -- it is also our role to enter those talks at an appropriate time. Seoul and Washington must act in concert, and Seoul should be aggressively twisting Washington's arm to come up with a joint program to pressure the North. And there seems to be a sense of confidence here, groundless in our view, that the North's nuclear program is not a danger to us. Whether we like it or not, the South Korea-U.S. alliance is a pillar of our security. Criticizing that alliance and stimulating anti-American sentiment will simply lead us farther away from reality. This government's last mission is to lighten a bit the burden of relations with North Korea and with the United States that is on the shoulders of the next administration. ¨Ï 2002 JoongAng Ilbo , Joins.com . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 Blix Is Too Late DEBKAfile Mr Kim and Mr Bush agreed in telephone talks on Friday to stick with diplomacy as a means of resolving the nuclear crisis. The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, called the Russian Foreign Minister, Ivan Ivanov, and Chinese Foreign Minister, Tang Jiaxuan. He is also trying to persuade Japan and South Korea to bring pressure on North Korea to reverse course, his spokesman, Richard Boucher, said. However, North Korea appears unfazed by the international backlash, hinting in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Saturday that it would remove seals and surveillance cameras from its nuclear facilities if the IAEA did not do so immediately. The continuing presence of two agency inspectors on site was apparently not addressed in the letter, and the agency's director, Mohamed ElBaradei, said it was important that North Korea let them stay. "If they throw out the inspectors, this will trigger a serious crisis," Mr ElBaradei said. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency confirmed the request had been made. It quoted Ri Je-son, director-general of the Government's atomic energy department, as saying the letter told the IAEA "to take necessary measures to remove the seals and monitoring cameras from all of our nuclear facilities at the earliest possible date". The letter warned that if the "IAEA fails to expeditiously take measures to meet our request, we will take necessary measures unilaterally". Under the 1994 Agreed Framework pact with Washington, North Korea agreed to freeze operations at the Yongbyon complex in exchange for supplies of heavy fuel oil and the construction of two light-water reactors less likely to yield weapons-grade fuel. When Pyongyang told an American envoy in October that it had been pursuing a separate, clandestine uranium-enrich- ment program, the US and its South Korean, Japanese and European Union allies decided to stop fuel oil shipments from this month. This is turn prompted Pyongyang's latest defiant move. As the country faces another harsh winter, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Pyongyang had no choice but to revive the Yongbyon complex for critically needed power. Analysts said Pyongyang could crank up the mothballed plant in a couple of months, but firing up the tiny five-megawatt reactor was hardly a solution to a grave energy shortage that has shut down factories and condemned most of North Korea's 22 million people to huddling in dark, cold homes this winter. Associated Press, The Boston Globe Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. | contact us ***************************************************************** 20 Bush and Seoul Call North Korea Nuclear Plan 'Unacceptable' The New York Times Fri Dec 13, 3:05 PM ET By DAVID STOUT The New York Times WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 President Bush (news - web sites) agreed with South Korea (news - web sites) today that North Korea (news - web sites)'s decision to reactivate an idle nuclear reactor is "unacceptable," his chief spokesman said. But in contrast to the administration's more aggressive approach to Iraq, the White House is emphasizing that it wants a peaceful solution with North Korea. Mr. Bush's deep dismay over North Korea's decision was conveyed this morning in his telephone conversation with President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea, according to Ari Fleischer (news - web sites), the White House spokesman. "President Kim noted that North Korea's statement on unfreezing its nuclear program is unacceptable," Mr. Fleischer told reporters. "And then the two leaders agreed to continue seeking a peaceful resolution while not allowing business as usual to continue with North Korea." Similar expressions of dismay coupled with a determination that the situation be resolved short of war came from the European Union (news - web sites). "North Korea's nuclear issue must be resolved promptly, and in a peaceful manner," said Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller of Denmark, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency. "The European Union calls on North Korea to fulfill all its international commitments," chief among them being the abandonment of its nuclear program "in a visible and verifiable mannner," Mr. Moeller said in Copenhagen. Mr. Moeller said North Korea's decision to restart the reactor, idled since 1994, could only aggravate the already deep tensions on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions. "We urge North Korea to consider what the impact of these actions will be, particularly in light of the unanimous international condemnation of their nuclear programs," he said. North Korea said it was restarting its nuclear reactor because it needed to generate more electricity, now that several nations, including the United States and South Korea, have cut off fuel deliveries to the North as punishment for North Korea's secret nuclear-weapons program that came to light in October. But intelligence analysts from several nations believe that North Korea built one or two nuclear bombs before the reactor was idled in 1994 and that a resumption of the nuclear program could quickly result in the assembly of several more bombs. The Bush administration's stance toward North Korea condemnation, coupled with an emphasis on resolving differences peacefully contrasts sharply with its approach toward Iraq. Mr. Bush has spoken so forcefully about Iraq in recent months that many who follow politics and diplomacy in Washington think that war is all but inevitable. A senior administration official had a succinct explanation for the different approaches to the countries. "One rogue-state crisis at a time," the official said on Thursday, meaning that the administration does not want to contemplate hostilities with North Korea until the situation with Iraq is resolved. South Korea's national security adviser, Lim Sung-joon, told reporters in Seoul today that Mr. Bush expressed confidence that the crisis involving North Korea could still be resolved peacefully, and that Mr. Bush wanted to convey to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, that the United States had no intention of invading his country. The incendiary situation on the Korean Peninsula poses especially complicated problems for Washington. Long hostile to the United States, North Korea has hinted recently that it wants more normal relations with Washington. But many people who have followed the history of the North insist it is not to be trusted as demonstrated by its secret nuclear program and that it is an even more serious threat than Iraq. Moreover, there is considerable anti-American sentiment in South Korea. Some people in that country resent the presence of thousands of American military people. The resentment was fanned when an American armored vehicle struck and killed two Korean children in June. The acquittal in an American military court of the two servicemen operating the vehicle further fueled South Korean anger. (The New York Times) ***************************************************************** 21 N. Korea Defends Nuke Plant Reactivation Las Vegas SUN: Today: December 15, 2002 at 5:40:17 PST ASSOCIATED PRESS SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea defended as "just" its decision to reactivate nuclear facilities frozen under a 1994 agreement with the United States, saying Sunday that the facilities do not pose a threat. North Korea said last week that it will resume operation and construction of its reactors, which U.S. officials suspected were being used to make atomic bombs. Under the 1994 deal, North Korea froze its graphite-moderated reactors in return for two safer light-water reactors and 500,000 tons of heavy oil annually until the reactors are built. "It is preposterous to assert that our nuclear power bases pose a threat while nuclear power plants in other regions and countries raise no problems," ," said a spokesman from North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a communist party organ. Washington and its allies halted oil shipment to North Korea after U.S. officials said in October that the communist country had admitted having a uranium enrichment program to build atomic weapons. "North Korea's measure to lift the nuclear freeze is a just measure taken to make up for the loss of electricity caused by the U.S. unilateral halt to the supply of heavy oil," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official news agency, KCNA. The statement also said the interception and release of a cargo ship carrying North Korean Scud missiles bound for Yemen was a U.S. plot to impede inter-Korean relations. In a separate KCNA report, North Korea said economic talks with South Korea last week ended without results because the United States pressured the South to halt projects with the North unless the nuclear issue is solved. "The U.S. should be wholly accountable for having rendered the meeting fruitless and obstructed the efforts to re-energize economic cooperation," the North's chief delegate to the talks said. The United States keeps 37,000 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 22 IAEA Warns NK Over Demands Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.15,2002 17:12 KST by Rhee Yong-soon (ysrhee@chosun.com) International Atomic Energy head Mohamed El Bareidi told CNN, Saturday, that if North Korea removed surveillance cameras and seals at its nuclear facilities, it would be a serious Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) problem, which he would raise at the United Nation's Security Council. El Bareidi said the situation was "tense," and he had requested the North to reconsider its position and was waiting for a response. He noted that North Korea was the closest country to possessing nuclear weapons out of President Bush's "axis of evil" and had the technical know how to produce them from plutonium, adding Iran and Iraq were running a distant second and third. At a news conference the previous day El Bareidi said if North Korea released details of its uranium enrichment program and halted it, South Korea, the United States and Japan were prepared to seek solutions through dialogue. He continued that Pyongyang had yet to demand the removal of IAEA monitoring teams, and insisted they would stay there even if the North started up its nuclear program again. ***************************************************************** 23 Nuclear doubter going strong after 30 years PalmBeachPost.com: Sunday, December 15 By Jim Reeder, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer FORT PIERCE -- It's been more than 30 years since Florida Power & Light won 40-year licenses to operate two nuclear reactors on South Hutchinson Island. FPL and federal officials had fielded many questions from a handful of people who doubted the proposed plants' safety and whether they should be allowed here. The cast of characters at FPL and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has changed, but one questioner is still at it as the utility seeks approval to operate the reactors for an additional 20 years. "I always seem to have a question, don't I?" Betty Lou Wells, a petite retired schoolteacher, said as she raised her hand at a recent public hearing on the request for new licenses. She's been asking questions for more than 30 years and isn't likely to stop anytime soon. She's a regular at county meetings and other forums to ask questions and voice opinions about comprehensive plans, port development and other topics. Thirty years ago there was little development on Hutchinson Island. Fewer than 6,000 people lived within 5 miles of the proposed plant site, and an FPL consultant said it was "virtually impossible" that high-density development would occur on the island in the next 30 years. Martin Hodder, an attorney representing plant opponents, warned the area could become "another Miami Beach." Today the island is lined with high-rise condominiums, and Nettles Island has hundreds of manufactured houses within the 5-mile radius. A generating plant in a deserted area sounded good to many. "They told us that with nuclear power they wouldn't even have to put meters on the houses because it would be so cheap they could just charge a standard fee," the late County Commissioner Everett Green recalled in a 1988 newspaper article. "I think FPL really believed that." Wells didn't intend to devote 30 years of her life to nuclear power when she started. "The National League of Women Voters was studying nuclear power plants and was very critical," Wells said. "They concluded the country should rely more heavily on conservation." "I went to my first hearing to see what information I might send to the national office," she said. She found herself one of only five local residents who attended the session held by the Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But why is she still at it 30 years later when others have retired from activism or moved to other topics? "I had six hard years as a mother and wife," she said. "My husband threatened to pull the phone out of the wall." Wells was at a hearing in Jensen Beach when she got a call to go to the hospital. Her husband, Raymond, had suffered a stroke. "I spent a big chunk of my life on nuclear power and feel I have a vested interest," she said. St. Lucie was a rural area in those days. Port St. Lucie was a village of 330 people in the 1970 census, a mere fraction of today's nearly 100,000. Martin and St. Lucie counties combined had fewer than 60,000 people, while today they have more than 300,000. Most people looked forward to a multimillion-dollar investment that would bring jobs and tax money to an area that needed both. People who asked questions weren't popular in some circles. "Many people called me a communist," said Judy James, president of the League of Women Voters in those days. "Several of my husband's law clients told him he should keep his wife at home and pregnant and threatened to leave him. He told them to leave if they preferred." James, a founder of the Children's Services Council, among other things, lives in North Carolina now. She spoke at many meetings, using technical information provided by Wells and others. "They had tried to have the courts remove me from the hearings for practicing law without a license and failed," James said. She and Wells are still concerned that some of those issues haven't been addressed adequately. Radioactive waste continues to stack up at the plant, waiting for the federal government to build a depository in Nevada. That depository once was promised by 1980 but is still at least 10 years in the future. They still wonder about the long-term health effects and whether a number of childhood cancer cases might to connected to the plant. And they're glad they started asking questions 30 years ago. "We were outmanned, out-moneyed, out-lawyered and they had too many scientists and experts on their payroll," James said. "Needless to say, they ruled against us, but we did get the issues out there." Staff researcher Michelle Quigley contributed to this story. jim_reeder@pbpost.com Copyright © 2002, The Palm Beach Post. All rights reserved. By using PalmBeachPost.com, you accept the terms of our visitor ***************************************************************** 24 Russia says no violations in Iranian nuclear plans Reuters 15 December, 2002 20:44 GMT+08:00 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant, said on Sunday Tehran was violating no international rules by developing two other nuclear sites despite U.S. fears they could be used for military aims. Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev was also quoted as telling Itar-Tass news agency in an interview that efforts should be made to persuade North Korea to ease its tough stand on resuming its nuclear programme. Russia has faced heavy U.S. criticism for helping Iran build a reactor at a nuclear plant at Bushehr but Rumyantsev said Moscow was proceeding with the project. He dismissed as unfounded U.S. suggestions last week that two other facilities under construction could enable Iran to produce nuclear weapons. He told the agency Iran had never concealed its intention to build a complete nuclear cycle and the facilities "do not violate any commitments" the country had undertaken. Tehran has denied U.S. assertions that the two sites near the towns of Natanz and Arak were of a type that could be used for making a nuclear weapon. It says it is determined to meet its growing demand for electricity with nuclear power. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the facilities, seen in commercial satellite photographs, had generated "grave concerns". Washington has labelled Iran as part of an "axis of evil" bent on developing weapons of mass destruction. But Rumyantsev was quoted as saying: "You cannot assume anything from the published photographs." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been discussing the sites with Tehran since August, with Iranian authorities agreeing to submit to IAEA monitoring. Rumyantsev said Russia had no connection with either facility, but predicted that Washington could increase pressure on Moscow to halt its participation in the Bushehr project. "We have no intention of doing so, as there is no proof that we are committing any violations of any sort," he told Tass. Rumyantsev's press service told Tass Moscow's continued participation in the Bushehr project was contingent on Iranian assurances that all spent fuel would be returned to Russia -- a demand advanced by U.S. experts. The press service said it was uncertain whether Russia would pursue plans to build up to five more reactors at the site. On North Korea, which said this week it intended to restart a nuclear reactor shut down under a 1994 deal with the United States, Rumyantsev said attempts should be made to discuss the matter with Pyongyang's secretive leadership. "North Korea has taken a specific stand, which has to be understood with efforts made to tone it down," he told Tass. Russia, he said, had ceased all nuclear cooperation with Pyongyang in 1993 and had no intention of reviving it. "If North Korea decides to seek our help, this is possible only through the IAEA," he told Tass. ***************************************************************** 25 British Energy sells Bruce in cut-price deal Independent.co.uk By Jason Nissé 15 December 2002 The Lowdown on Brian Wilson: So much energy, he can never rest British Energy is within days of announcing the sale of its Canadian operation, Bruce Power, to a group of three local businesses for £300m. The deal should be finalised this week and will give the troubled nuclear generator breathing space while it negotiates with creditors, owed £1.9bn, in an attempt to avoid going into administration. The sale price is about £200m less than City analysts believe British Energy's 82 per cent stake is worth. The purchaser is a consortium of Cameco, the Saskatchewan-based uranium group, which already owns 15 per cent of Bruce, TransCanada Pipelines and investment group Borealis Capital. The disposal was given extra urgency last week when the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission refused to sanction the planned restart of two of Bruce's nuclear reactors until the question of Bruce's ownership could be resolved. A sale will allow British Energy to pay back a large part of the £650m emergency loan extended by the Government earlier this year when British Energy faced administration. The loan, twice extended, is due to be paid back in early March. The Government lent the money on condition that the company sold Bruce, was well on its way to selling its US business AmerGen, and agreed a financial restructuring with its creditors. Last week the full extent of British Energy's financial problems were revealed when it unveiled a £337m pre-tax loss for the six months to the end of September. Adrian Montague, the former City banker who last month replaced Robin Jeffrey as chairman, warned that the group could still go into administration. Even if the restructuring goes through, this may not end British Energy's woes. Finance director Keith Lough has warned that the nuclear group may have to write down the value of its UK reactors, plunging it into further losses. The group's future is dependent on two different groups: bondholders owed more than £400m and trade creditors owed £365m. Both have asked investment banks to assess whether it is worth backing a restructuring. The Bruce sale is expected to lead to Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce's chief executive, returning to the UK where he will be a strong candidate to be British Energy's new chief executive. He is seen as the leading internal candidate. /globeandmail.com By PAUL WALDIE Saturday, December 14, 2002 ? Page B6 *Bruce Power LP *may have to delay the restart of two nuclear power plants because of concerns expressed by nuclear regulators about the company's ownership. Staff at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission recommended yesterday at a licensing hearing in Ottawa that Bruce Power not be allowed to refuel the two reactors until the company's ownership is sorted out. Bruce Power officials have been planning to restart the reactors next spring and hoped to begin refuelling soon. A commission panel is considering the staff recommendation to prohibit refuelling, but Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's chief executive officer, expects it to be accepted. "The track record being what it is, it's kind of hard for the commission to ignore a recommendation made by staff," he said after the hearing. He added that refuelling was to start immediately after the hearing but would now be pushed back. He could not say how long the delay would last. "To the extent that we are ready to refuel now, it has the potential to hold us back, yes," he said. The Ontario government has been counting on the two reactors to be on-line to help meet the province's supply demands. Last summer, power demand peaked at 25,400 megawatts and Ontario needed to buy power from outside the province to meet the demand. The Bruce reactors would supply about 1,500 megawatts. The commission said it is gravely concerned about Bruce Power's inability to meet key financial guarantees required under its licence. Those guarantees, including $220-million in emergency shutdown money, have been provided by *British Energy PLC*,which owns 82 per cent of Bruce. British Energy is facing possible insolvency and has put its stake in Bruce up for sale. Bruce officials have said they hope to conclude a sale within weeks to a group of buyers. Those buyers are believed to be *Cameco Corp.* of Saskatchewan, which owns 15 per cent of Bruce Power, *TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.* of Calgary and *Borealis Capital Corp.*, a merchant bank funded by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board. Yesterday, the commission acknowledged Bruce Power's efforts to find a buyer but said a solution to the financing must be found soon. "We do know that there are several parties involved in this [sale] discussion and we do urge these parties to take this matter very seriously and to move forward with it." Mr. Hawthrone said he hopes the sale will be concluded within the next few weeks. He also said he is still confident the company will bring the two reactors on-line by next summer. "I don't believe the delay would be as significant as to impact in any way our ability to have these units on in time for the summer." However, Tom Adams of Energy Probe, a Toronto-based environmental group, said the refuelling delay is significant because it could lead to other delays in the restart process. He also noted the importance of these reactors to Ontario's power supply. "These units were being counted on heavily by [the energy market] for reliability purposes. Secondly, the units were being counted on by the provincial government to mitigate the financial impact of the rate freeze," he said, referring to a decision last month by the province to freeze retail electricity rates. Wholesale prices could soar if the Bruce units do not come on-line, forcing the government to spend more on subsidies, he said. © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 27 Davis-Besse Workers* CLEVELAND -- A citizens' group is complaining that workers at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant are logging too many hours to get the plant back on line. "At a nuclear power plant, you need workers well-rested and attentive, particularly at Davis-Besse, where they're trying to fix a plant that's such a mess," said Amy Ryder, director of the Cleveland office of Ohio Citizen Action, which wants the plant closed permanently. FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the plant, said workers are within the guidelines of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and do not pose a safety risk. The commission had not yet received the complaint, which was filed on Friday. The agency is required to determine whether there is merit to the complaint, spokesman Jan Strasma said. Ryder said the complaint is based on concerns raised by relatives and friends of workers. Commission guidelines recommend employees at nuclear plants work no more than 16 hours straight, 16 hours in 24 hours and 24 hours in 48. Employees should not work more than 72 hours in seven days. However, the guidelines allow flexibility when extensive work has to be done. During a maintenance shutdown, investigators in March found that boric acid had nearly eaten through a 6-inch steel cap on the reactor vessel. The plant, near Toledo along Lake Erie, has been closed since. "We certainly take into account personal considerations to work schedules," spokesman Todd Schneider said. "If employees feel tired, we give them time off. We certainly don't want to put employees at risk from working too many hours." Posted 9:45 PM Saturday, December 14th vfiorello@wtol.com All content © Copyright 2000 - 2002 WorldNow and WTOL. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 Russia to go ahead with Bushehr nuclear plant project - minister Islamic Republic News Agency ( I R N A )HeadLines News Moscow, Dec 15, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- Russia will not sever its contract with Iran for building the Bushehr nuclear power plant, because the deal neither violates any international agreements, nor poses a threat in terms of nuclear technologies proliferation, Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told Tass in an interview. He described as groundless the United States' concern over Iran's project for building a research laboratory in Natanz and a heavy water production plant in Arak. "One cannot say anything definite on the basis of the photographs that have been published," Rumyantsev said. Iran has never concealed its intention to create its own nuclear fuel cycle, for which it needs both the laboratory and the heavy water plant. These plans do no run counter to Teheran's commitments, the more so, since Iran is prepared to put both facilities under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA and invited the agency's specialists to hold an inspection, the Russian atomic energy minister said. Rumyantsev specifically emphasized the fact that Russia has no 'special attitude' to the construction of facilities in Natanz and Arak. He does not rule out that in the wake of the row over controversial photographs the United States will step up pressure on Russia in a bid to make it sever the Bushehr contract. "We are not going to do this, because there is no proof we have violated anything. For such pressure to be justified they've got to present evidence of abuse. So far there has been none," Rumyantsev said. AH/AH last Update Sunday, 15-Dec-2002 22:01:43 PST ©2000 Islamic Republic News Agency ( IRNA). All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 29 Temelin nuclear power plant's second unit to resume testing next week Fri Dec 13,12:05 PM ET PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Testing at the second unit of the troubled nuclear plant near the border with Austria is to resume next week after a monthlong shut down, an official said Friday. "We are taking steps to renew fission reaction some time at the beginning of the next week," spokesman for the Temelin plant, Milan Nebesar, said. This is the third time testing was halted in five months due to problems in the non-nuclear part of the plant. Testing of the plant's second unit was briefly interrupted in June, late August and for the third time on Nov. 10. Initial tests on the 1,000-megawatt second unit, scheduled for commercial use in 2004, started in May. Tests on the first unit of the 2,000-megawatt plant — based on Russian design and upgraded with U.S. technology — started in November 2000. Its testing was also plagued by frequent non-nuclear malfunctions. Commercial use of that unit is scheduled to begin in 2003. The plant, located just 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of the Austrian border, has been a source of friction between the two countries. While critics in Austria insist that the plant is unsafe and demand that it be shut down, Czech authorities argue the plant poses no safety risks. Temelin is also an issue at the European Union (news - web sites) talks underway in Copenhagen, where the Czech Republic is likely to be invited to join in 2004. Austrian activists seeking the plant's shutdown want issues related to nuclear energy to fall under EU control once the Czech Republic joins the union. Such plans, however, are opposed by influential EU states such as France, one of Europe's biggest nuclear energy producers. Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 30 Indian Point evacuation plan analysis plan to appear THE JOURNAL NEWS: A Gannett Suburban webpaper By ROGER WITHERSPOON THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: December 15, 2002) The emergency evacuation plan for the Indian Point nuclear power plant has been the focus of intense public debate for the past year, caught between defenders who say it is comprehensive and effective and critics who deride it as unrealistic and outdated. The issue will be back in the spotlight tomorrow when James Lee Witt, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, presents Gov. George Pataki with the results of his five-month analysis of the plan and the issues swirling around it. Pataki, who commissioned the $804,000 study in August, said during his re-election campaign he will use the report to help him decide if the plant in Buchanan poses too great a public risk to keep operating in an era of terrorism. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, there has been intense public focus on safety issues affecting Indian Point and the ability of residents to safely flee in the event of a nuclear emergency. More than 30 municipal bodies — including the Westchester, Rockland and Putnam county legislatures — have passed resolutions calling for the plant to close. Pataki, who earlier this year sent FEMA a form certifying that the emergency plan is effective, said Witt would conduct an "independent review" of the Indian Point plan, which deals with the 10 miles surrounding the plant. But the selection of Witt, who has extensive experience in emergency management on the national and local levels, and the scope of his review have generated controversy, and it may be difficult for him to resolve many of the contentious issues surrounding the evacuation plan. "Mr. Witt seems to be a bright man and a well-meaning man," said state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, a critic of the evacuation plan. "But he was FEMA director in 1996 when the agency approved the plan he is now examining. And he knows the plan has not been changed since then. Witt is now being asked to criticize the policies of the person who hired him, and criticize his own policies when he was director of FEMA. That is something to be concerned about." Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, a staunch backer of the plan who recently proposed that Westchester take over Indian Point and convert the site to natural gas, said he remained comfortable the plan would work. "The plan is designed to be flexible, to help us move people out of danger in a disaster," he said. "I know people worry about small roads and large crowds, but all of those factors have been taken into account. Any scenario we meet, we can deal with." The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began requiring all of the nation's 103 nuclear power plants to have emergency evacuation plans in the wake of the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The plants have to develop plans in conjunction with counties that have territory within a 10-mile radius to evacuate people who may be in the path of escaping radiation. Witt's contract calls for a review of the existing plan for Indian Point to determine its effectiveness within the 10-mile zone. Critics say his evaluation will be useless if he does not look at other, post-9/11 scenarios, including the possibility of an out-of-control release of radiation within two hours and a shadow evacuation affecting the entire region. Pataki's office declined to comment last week on Witt's ability to go beyond the letter of his contract. Witt met with scores of officials and residents, including the 300-member Chappaqua Against Nuclear Generated Energy, while studying the plan. Elise Cooper, a member of the group, said she hoped Witt's analysis would be realistic. "When people look at the evacuation plan, they see there is no way any of us are getting out of here," she said. "We feel the only way to make the place safe is to close the plant down. There are just too many people." Ray Williams, project manager for Witt, said the review would look at "all the scenarios that inform the plan and see if they make sense to us, too." "We are not taking anything as a bottom line given to us by anyone else," he said. Brodsky said he hoped Witt's group went beyond the contract and looked in depth at all issues raised by plan critics during the past year. "A failure to address these issues," he said, "would be an admission that these are problems so big that no one wants to look at them. The last thing we want to hear is for him to say his mandate wasn't to look at those issues. He should have been given free reign, but I don't think he was." The NRC's emergency scenario for nuclear plants deals with accidents that develop over several hours or days and last only a few hours before the situation is controlled. Brochures sent to all residents and businesses within 10 miles of Indian Point this fall state that "the federal government selected 10 miles because it is about twice as far as the distance from the plant that would probably receive radiation doses." As a result, the plan calls for the limited evacuation of small zones directly in the path of any radioactive "plume" escaping the plant. Other residents are expected to stay in their homes unless they are explicitly told to evacuate. In addition, schoolchildren would be bused in shifts to relocation centers outside the zone, where parents would meet them. The plan does not anticipate parents' ignoring the call to stay away from local schools or the result of shadow evacuations, in which thousands of people would flee without being told. The plan's essential premise, that radiation would be of limited duration and develop over a long time, has been criticized as unrealistic and is at odds with NRC documents that state radiation from a meltdown could begin escaping in as little as two hours and cause thousands of deaths from cancer among people living as far as 500 miles away. "The evacuation plan was unrealistic before 9/11," said Marilyn Elie, co-founder of the Westchester Citizens Awareness Network. "There is no way it can be applicable at a time when terrorists have demonstrated their ability to stage multiple, coordinated attacks with commercial jets converted into guided missiles. A plan which assumes you have a day to leisurely get out of town is ridiculous." The role of Entergy Nuclear Northeast, Indian Point's owner, is to keep the four counties around the plant and the State Emergency Management Office informed of developments inside the plant during an emergency. SEMO and the counties are responsible for moving people out of harm's way. "It is a good, solid plan, and we look for Mr. Witt to make recommendations as to how to improve the plan...," Entergy spokesman Larry Gottlieb said. http://www.thejournalnews.com Copyright 2002 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. ***************************************************************** 31 Bush, Blair warned of bin Laden nukes WorldNetDaily Al-Qaida purchased 20 suitcase arms from former KGB agents, says report Posted: December 14, 2002 President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been warned Osama bin Laden has 20 suitcase nuclear weapons obtained for cash from former KGB agents, the London Sunday Express reports. Last October, WorldNetDaily broke the story of bin Laden?s suitcase nukes, detailed in a new book by an FBI consultant on international terrorism. The book,''Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror,'' by Paul L. Williams, says bin Laden purchased 20 suitcase nuclear weapons in 1998 from former KGB agents for $30 million. The deal is reportedly one of three in the last decade in which al-Qaida purchased small nuclear weapons or weapons-grade nuclear uranium. Williams says bin Laden's search for nuclear weapons began in 1988 when he hired a team of five nuclear scientists from Turkmenistan. These were former employees at the atomic reactor in Iraq before it was destroyed by Israel, Williams says. The team's project was the development of a nuclear reactor that could be used ''to transform a very small amount of material that could be placed in a package smaller than a backpack.'' ''By 1990 bin Laden had hired hundreds of atomic scientists from the former Soviet Union for $2,000 a month ? an amount far greater that their wages in the former Soviet republics,'' Williams writes. ''They worked in a highly sophisticated and well-fortified laboratory in Kandahar, Afghanistan.'' This work continued throughout the 1990s, the author says. In 1993, according to the book, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, a bin Laden agent who turned into a Central Intelligence Agency source, purchased for al-Qaida a cylinder of weapons-grade uranium from a former Sudanese government minister who represented businessmen from South Africa. The purchase price was $1.5 million and the uranium was tested in Cyprus and transported to Afghanistan. Al-Fadl reported that, at the time of this transfer, al-Qaida was already working on a deal for suitcase nukes developed for the KGB. Williams says the Russian Mafia made another mysterious deal with ''Afghani Arabs'' in search of nuclear weapons in 1996. The Russians who sold the material now live in New York. Then again in 1998, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim was arrested in Munich and charged with acting as an al-Qaida agent to purchase highly enriched uranium from a German laboratory. That same year, according to Williams, bin Laden succeeded in buying the 20 suitcase nukes from Chechen Mafia figures, including former KGB agents. The $30 million deal was partly cash and partly heroin with a street value of $700 million. ''After the devices were obtained, they were placed in the hands of Arab nuclear scientists who, federal sources say, 'were probably trained at American universities,''' says Williams. Though the devices were designed only to be operated by Soviet SPETZNAZ personnel, or special forces, al-Qaida scientists came up with a way of hot-wiring the bombs to the bodies of would-be martyrs, according to the book. Suitcase nukes are not really suitcases at all, but suitcase-size nuclear devices. The weapons can be fired from grenade or rocket launchers or detonated by timers. A bomb placed in the center of a metropolitan area would be capable of instantly killing hundreds of thousands and exposing millions of others to lethal radiation. Yossef Bodansky, author of ''Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America,'' and the U.S. Congress' top terrorism expert, concurs that bin Laden has already succeeded in purchasing suitcase nukes. Former Russian security chief Alexander Lebed also testified to Congress that 40 nuclear suitcases disappeared from the Russian arsenal after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Williams quotes an anonymous federal official as saying: ''The question isn't whether bin Laden has nuclear weapons, it's when he will try to use them.'' In addition to the suitcase nukes, Williams reports that al-Qaida has also obtained chemical weapons from North Korea and Iraq. Williams says the FBI confirmed to him that Saddam Hussein provided bin Laden with a ''gift'' of anthrax spores. Williams says al-Qaida also includes in its arsenal plague viruses, including ebola and salmonella, from the former Soviet Union and Iraq, samples of botulism biotoxin from the Czech Republic, and sarin from Iraq and North Korea. In 1996, the late Alexander Lebed, Russia's former chief of national security, asserted that Russia may have ''lost'' up to 100 one-kiloton ''suitcase-sized'' bombs, which he called ''ideal weapons to conduct nuclear terrorism.'' The Russian government immediately denied the weapons ever existed, but Alexei Yablokov, a former senior adviser to Yeltsin, told a U.S. congressional hearing that the weapons had been developed by the KGB in a project kept secret from the Russian military. © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 India: Greenpeace identifies 25 TIP spots Sunday, December 15, 2002|Updated at hrs IST Advanced search PTI[ SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2002 11:15:44 PM ] JAMSHEDPUR: Greenpeace, an international environmental organisation having its base in 40 countries including India, has identified 25 toxic industrial pollution (TIP) hotspots which threaten to create Bhopal-like situation in the country. Munnu Gopalan, leader of the Greenpeace's 'Thousand Bhopals Jatha', which has launched its 2nd phase of campaign from Kolkata to Hyderabad to spread the message 'No More Bhopals', told newsmen here today that after years of investigations the organisation had come to the conclusion that most of these places were waiting for Bhopal-like incidents. The 20-member Jatha (group), which arrived here yesterday, visited Jadugora in East Singhbhum district where the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) operated. Gopalan claimed that UCIL had been dumping radioactive wastes in the area posing danger to the lives of the people there. Terming the Jadugora as 'Radioactive dustbin of India', Gopalan alleged that Bhopal incident was being repeated in Jadugora in slow-motion as people were being maimed and killed daily due to radioactive exposure. He said the plights of some victims was observed and documented by the team and those would likely to be included in their Indian corporate crime report to be placed before its world forum. Criticising UCIL's proposed open cast mining of uranium in Turamdih, near here, Gopalan said nowhere in the world, open cast mining was done near densely populated area and expressed apprehension that the open cast mining at Turamdih would largely affect the surrounding areas including the steel city. Greenpeace would strongly oppose this move of UCIL, Gopalan said his organisation had already conducted a survey on the impact of radioactive exposure in the area in September last. A report was being prepared to including it in their Indian corporate crime report. Xavier Dias, convenor of Mines Mineral and People, a national network of mining affected communities, said large number of marine animals like the hilsa fish, lobsters used to go to the river Subarnarekha from Digha to breed but due to tons of radioactive material spread in the riverbed, the breeding cycle of certain fish had been stopped. Dias alleged that a stretch from Sundernagar to Jadugora had been badly affected by radioactive materials as the uranium waste was being used even in building construction in the area affecting school children in particular. Copyright � 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. | ***************************************************************** 33 NRC to Meet With United States Enrichment Corp. To Discuss Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Performance NRC: News Release - Region III - 2002- 065 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-065 December 13, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with U. S. Enrichment Corp. officials in Piketon, Ohio, on Thursday, December 19, to discuss the results of the agency’s assessment of performance at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The plant formerly processed uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants and is currently on a standby status. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. (EST) at Ohio State University, South Center, 1864 Shyville Road, in Piketon, Ohio. The public is invited to observe the meeting and will have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. This performance review, which covers the period of October 1, 2000, through September 30 of this year, focused on four major areas: safety operations, safeguards, radiological control and facility support. The review concluded that the performance of Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in the area of safeguards was adequate and needed no improvement. The plant's performance in the areas of safety operations, radiological controls and facility support was evaluated as adequate but needing improvement in the quality of procedures and adherence to procedures, contamination control practices, configuration control and the implementation of the corrective actions program. The meeting will focus on details of NRC's review, USEC's evaluation of the same major areas of performance and the company's plans to address the NRC's concerns. The outline of the performance review and the performance review letter are available from the NRC's Region III Office of Public Affairs, the NRC Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 and in the agency's ADAMS electronic reading room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Last revised Friday, December 13, 2002 ***************************************************************** 34 YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE sets sights on new research reviewjournal.com -- News: Saturday, December 14, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Federal officials say technological advances might cut costs at nuclear repository By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has begun to gather ideas for new research that officials said could improve operations and possibly cut costs at the nuclear waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain. Nuclear waste director Margaret Chu has formed a panel to help a new science and technology initiative get off the ground, according to a consultant. Robert J. Budnitz said the effort is being slowed because Congress has not yet set an Energy Department budget for 2003. While some research might be funded in the coming year, plans are for a full launch in 2004, he said. "We are trying to feel our way to what would be sensible ideas in the first year," Budnitz said in a presentation Thursday to a National Academy of Sciences board on radioactive waste. Budnitz said the program will focus on longer-term research, beyond DOE's preparations for a 2004 license application to build and operate a repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "The philosophy is to initiate projects with a perspective and results on the three-to-five-year horizon," Budnitz said. The DOE wants to cement ongoing science not just on the repository but on nuclear materials handling and transportation, he said. Advances developed through new science could be incorporated into the Yucca project in coming years, he said. If licensed, a repository could be operational in 2010 and receive spent fuel and radioactive waste for burial until 2035 or beyond. "None of us believes that technology won't run along and we'll be using different methods" in 2035 than in 2004, he said. Budnitz said Yucca Mountain scientists have been solicited for ideas, while some have come from outside the program. Initial proposals include work to deepen understanding of the geologic zones below the 1,000-foot deep repository and improvements to casks that will contain highly radioactive waste. Bob Loux, head of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects, said state leaders are skeptical. He said the DOE appears to be looking for ways to tie up loose ends in its Yucca science. "It appears to us what's going on here is they're using this science and technology program to deal with the stuff that should have been part of the site characterization program and what's left of it," Loux said. Loux also questioned research expenditures when the DOE is struggling for funding to prepare a repository license and develop a nuclear waste transportation plan. Budnitz said this week he did not know how much the DOE was requesting the Bush administration set aside for the work in a 2004 budget request now being reviewed by the White House. Chu, who heads the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and DOE undersecretary Robert Card announced the initiative in May. Card said then that "tens of millions" of dollars would be needed each year to support research into new technologies that could advance the handling and storage of nuclear waste. In a July presentation, Chu said stepped-up research could help project managers find cost savings in the $58 billion nuclear waste program, possibly as much as $10 billion. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 35 More doubts surface about Yucca site - Opinion - thespectrum.com Sunday, December 15, 2002 Opinion IN OUR VIEW The closer we get to nuclear waste being shipped to Yucca Mountain, the more questions seem to arise. On Thursday, researchers for the state of Nevada said tests show that heated, mineral-rich water seeping into the nuclear waste dump could corrode the supposedly impenetrable canisters, which would lead to a leak of radioactivity. Those same researchers plan to provide more evidence of their findings next month to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. The Department of Energy, a taxpayer-funded arm of the federal government, doesn't seem interested. The agency dismissed the report Thursday with what appears to be little thought, saying the researchers only were trying to bolster the state of Nevada's case against having more than 77,000 tons of nuclear waste shipped to the mountain located just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The study could be considered suspect because the researchers are, after all, working for the state of Nevada, which vehemently opposes the dumping of radioactive waste there. But that isn't all that different from the federal government relying on the findings of researchers paid with tax dollars to show that Yucca Mountain is a safe place to store the waste. At the very least, the findings of the Nevada researchers deserve to be tested, in cooperation with the federal government's scientists, to determine if such conditions do currently, or could at some point in the future, exist. After all, it will be about 10,000 years before this stuff is no longer considered dangerous. Another question that surfaced last week was whether nuclear waste would be shipped, at least in the interim, to the Goshute Indian Reservation in Skull Valley just 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voted in favor of Yucca Mountain last summer because they had assurances from Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of nuclear-powered utilities, that the organization's members would not put waste in Skull Valley. Bennett, in a guest editorial published in July in The Spectrum and Daily News, said he had written assurances from six of the eight member companies that once the licensing phase was finished, they would no longer push to store waste on the reservation. They simply needed a place to store the casks in case Yucca Mountain wasn't ready on time to comply with regulations in states where the waste is being produced. The U.S. Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has pushed back its decision on licensing for Skull Valley until next month because of motions filed by Private Fuel Storage and opponents. Is that a good or a bad sign that waste could be coming to Utah? We won't have the answer now for more than a month. With all the delays and questions, the fear all of us should have is that our government could rush into storing waste at Yucca Mountain or Skull Valley without having the answers. How big of a problem could rushing into this storage issue be for the people living in our state and in Nevada? Just ask the "downwinders," the ones who survived, who were exposed to nuclear fallout from weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s. They already know what can happen if things are rushed when it comes to radioactive materials. Originally published Sunday, December 15, 2002 Copyright ©2002 The Spectrum. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 Dry cask storage opponents may still get their day in court* By MATTHEW HIGBEE, Staff Writer December 15, 2002 *HADDAM -- Several cases against Connecticut Yankee protesting the location of its nuclear waste storage site will likely head back to state court since a November Supreme Court ruling held that a federal court lacks jurisdiction over a case removed from state court unless it involves a federal question.* Originally filed in state court this spring, the cases were removed by Connecticut Yankee attorneys to the U.S. District Court, where they were assigned to Judge Alan H. Nevas. After hearing one case, Nevas filed a permanent injunction against Nancy Burton, the plaintiffs? attorney, barring her from filing further cases. After the other two cases reached Nevas, he ruled Burton in contempt for instituting cases in violation of the permanent injunction. Now, it appears, the cases will have their day in state court. In Syngenta Crop Protection vs. Henson, the Supreme Court justices held that the All Writs Act, which Connecticut Yankee used to justify their case transfers, did not supersede a federal statute that requires removals from state court to involve a federal question. According to motions filed by Burton, the ruling means that Nevas had no jurisdiction over the cases transferred to his bench. "This is a bombshell," said Burton. One of the cases involves abutting property owners and the activist group Neighbors Opposed to Residential Atomic Dumps. The plaintiffs seek a judgment against the Haddam Board of Selectmen for signing a consent order that went against the decision of the local zoning authorities to deny the energy company a permit to construct an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation in a zoned residential area. The second case, filed by NORAD and the Connecticut River Watershed Council, contends that Connecticut Yankee failed to obtain a valid wetlands permit to construct a road from the plant footprint to the ISFSI site. The third case impacted by the Supreme Court ruling involves the descendant and a historian of Broteer-Venture Smith, an 18th century slave who bought his freedom and became a local legend for his feats of strength, ingenuity, and business acumen, and whose homestead and land holdings encompassed over a hundred acres now owned by Connect-icut Yankee. The plaintiffs charge the company with installing a nuclear waste dump on a site of national historical significance, which is being considered for the National Register of Historic Places. "We have asked and hoped that CY would reevaluate its position. I understand something needs to be done about the waste, but not on a land with such historical significance," said historian Douglas Jones of Essex, a plaintiff in the suit. Connecticut Yankee spokeswoman Kelley Smith said Burton would have to win a successful appeal of her contempt order and the permanent injunction before proceeding with the cases in state court. To contact Matthew Higbee, call (860) 347-3331 ext. 223, or email mhigbee@middletownpress.com. /©The Middletown Press 2002/ ***************************************************************** 37 Group against uranium plant searches background records Saturday, 12/14/02 | Middle Tennessee News & Information The Tennessean By KELLI SAMANTHA HEWETT Staff Writer A Trousdale County residents group that organized to fight a uranium enrichment plant proposed for Hartsville is scouring public records for hints of whether their local officials may have known about the possibility of the plant before the Aug. 1 election. Members of Citizens for Smart Choices are searching records of the local economic recruitment group, Four Lake Regional Industrial Development Authority, whose members include county executives from five area counties. Collectively, the counties own about 250 acres being considered for the uranium enrichment plant. Leaders will likely vote in March on selling the land for the plant. ''Did they know it before the elections and were they withholding information?'' asked Terry Sweeten, co-chairman of the residents group. Last week, other opponents with the Tennessee Environmental Council filed for copies of similar public records from the offices of Gov. Don Sundquist and the state Economic and Community Development Department. Those records have produced no new evidence of prior negotiations with Louisiana Energy Services, a consortium of U.S. and foreign companies looking to build the uranium plant. Some local leaders say they don't expect the Four Lake records to turn up anything new, either. Newly elected Trousdale County Executive Jerry Clift said he found out after the election that Trousdale County was on the LES short list. He said the media informed him in early September that Hartsville was a top site. ''I didn't know anything about it, personally'' before being elected, Clift said. Clift was one of the many new faces voted in around the five-county area in the August election. Clift's predecessor, Pat Fergusson, who didn't seek re-election, said he doesn't know of any early links between Trousdale County and LES. Local leaders got wind that an unspecified industry was checking things out, but as is often the case the company remained anonymous and worked through a consultant. ''We knew in the latter part of June that it was somebody _ but we didn't know what they did,'' Fergusson said. The Four Lake Authority gets some of its operating money through the state's Economic and Community Development office, but essentially operates independently of state supervision, said state ECD spokeswoman Amy Bunton. The Four Lake Authority was created by a private act of the state legislature to help the five-county area of Macon, Smith, Trousdale, Wilson and Sumner recruit industry to the 500-plus acres left largely unused after TVA halted plans on the Hartsville nuclear power plant in the 1980s. c Copyright 2002 The Tennessean A Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper Use ***************************************************************** 38 PG&E pressed to maximize dry-cask safety San Luis Obispo Tribune | 12/14/2002 | [sanluisobispo.com - The sanluisobispo home page] More than 70 attend briefing on plan for nuclear-waste storage David Sneed The Tribune SAN LUIS OBISPO - County Supervisor Peg Pinard said she is losing sleep over a proposal to build an above-ground storage facility for highly radioactive spent fuel at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Pinard, whose district includes the power plant, urged more than 70 people who attended a county briefing Wednesday on the proposal to demand that the storage installation be designed to be as safe as possible. The county is in the process of preparing an environmental analysis of the facility, which must be built by 2006. If approved in its present form, the facility will consist of 138 huge concrete and steel cylinders, called dry casks, bolted to a thick concrete pad behind the plant. Pinard said she finds the issue of storing spent fuel in this age of terrorism to be very worrisome. She wants the environmental analysis to look at both hardening the protection around the pools where the spent fuel is currently stored and requiring that the dry casks be stored underground. PG&E officials deny that the facility will be unsafe. The cask system being used is state-of-the-art, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to approve its design to ensure that it protects public health and safety. Planners expect that a draft version of the environmental analysis will be made public in May or June 2003. This will start a 60-day public comment period, said James Caruso, the county planner in charge of the project. The final document will be published in September 2003. It will look at a range of options for storing the spent fuel. These include: • PG&E's proposed project. • No action. This would force the plant to close down by 2006 when the spent fuel pools are full. • Reracking. Stacking the spent fuel assemblies closer together in the pools to create more room. • Offsite storage. While the proposed federal storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is years away from opening, other locations could be available including one in Skull Valley on an Indian reservation in Idaho. • New cask design. Other options for storing the fuel in casks exist, including burying the casks or storing them at several locations rather than just one. David Sneed covers environmental issues for The Tribune. E-mail story ideas or comments to him at . ***************************************************************** 39 Hazards of nuclear fuel cycle Boston Globe Online: Print it! LETTERS Compiled By Globe Staff, 12/15/2002 Charles Stein wrote that nuclear plants don't emit greenhouse gases (''Seabrook battleground fades to background,'' Economic Life, Business, Nov. 10), but as Wenonah Hauter, director of the Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program at Ralph Nader's Public Citizen, said at the recent Nuclear Renaissance conference (where she was the lone dissenter invited to speak): ''An elaborate energy-intensive process of uranium mining, milling, and enrichment must take place before the fuel rods can even be fabricated. All of these processes use massive quantities of fossil fuels. The manufacture and construction of reactors require more fossil fuels. And [as to] the back end of the fuel cycle, if the industry is successful in dumping waste on the unwilling citizens of Nevada, it will take more fossil fuel to move thousands of shipments. ''And even if nuclear energy didn't use fossil fuel,'' she went on, ''the regular radiation releases from plants would way offset any benefit.'' This seems to me to be a cogent point. How much of the various greenhouse gases are produced as a byproduct of the nuclear fuel cycle, from mining to disposal, and how much greenhouse gas will be produced to protect all of us living beings from the plutonium and other radioactive materials that will be hazardous for so many years, decades, and centuries? George Mokray, Cambridge The Globe Business section welcomes letters from readers. E-mail letters to ; fax to 617-929-3183; or mail to Business Letters, c/o Cheryl A. Appel, The Boston Globe, P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378. Letters intended for publication should include the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number. All letters are subject to editing. This story ran on page H4 of the Boston Globe on 12/15/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. ***************************************************************** 40 Reid Blocked N-Waste Ban as Payback, Hansen Says The Salt Lake Tribune -- December 14, 2002 BY ROBERT GEHRKE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen says Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., killed Hansen's bid to block storage of high-level nuclear waste in Utah's west desert to punish Utah's senators for their votes to build a nuclear dump in Reid's home state. The Utah Republican had quietly slipped language into a Defense Department bill that would have created 500,000 acres of wilderness in Utah's west desert, beneath the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range. The wilderness designation would have blocked shipments of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants to a proposed temporary storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation. But Reid, then the assistant majority leader of the Senate, led the opposition to the provision, writing to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich, urging him "to reject any attempts to include this provision" in the final bill. Hansen says Reid's furor was revenge for Utah GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voting in favor of building a nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles from Las Vegas. "It was because he was so doggone mad at Hatch and Bennett. I couldn't believe how vitriolic he was when he talked to those guys," Hansen said recently. "You feel bad about it [failing] just because there was a spat between three senators, but they've got big egos over there, and I guess we do, too." Larry Young, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, one of the most vociferous opponents of Hansen's wilderness bid, said the Yucca spat was part of the equation. "His analysis is not far off," he said, but other factors were at play, too. Reid's spokeswoman, Tessa Hafen, disputed Hansen's characterization. "Reid objected because this is just bad wilderness policy. This wasn't about payback on nuclear waste or the Yucca Mountain vote." Hatch spokeswoman Heather Barney said that her boss "will not speculate on Sen. Reid's motives." Bennett's spokeswoman, MaryJane Collipriest, said, "We're not going to accuse Sen. Reid of retribution." On the eve of the Yucca Mountain vote, Hatch and Bennett met with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and President Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card and received assurances the administration would oppose federal funding for the Goshute plans in exchange for the senators' votes for Yucca Mountain. The 60-39 vote in July was a bitter defeat for Reid, who argued that Hatch and Bennett should have opposed storing waste in Nevada in order to keep it from being shipped through populated areas of Utah on its way to Yucca Mountain. Reid was only one of the forces opposing Hansen's measure. Environmentalists argued the wilderness language was too weak and gave too much power to the Pentagon, and key Democrats objected to Hansen bypassing the normal committee process. The nuclear-powered utilities that produce the waste also lobbied against it. With time running out before Congress adjourned, Hansen's staff scrambled to keep the wilderness provision in the defense bill, giving ground on several key points, including water issues, public access and military use. The final offer was to direct the Pentagon to study the potential impacts of locating high-level nuclear waste beneath an Air Force bombing range, but it was still blocked. Hansen said he feels bad that the bid to block the nuclear waste failed and could hurt Utah in the upcoming base closure process if the Air Force has to curtail flights to avoid the nuclear waste. Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 41 [toeslist] U.S. WOULD CONSIDER NUCLEAR RETALIATION Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 01:35:27 -0600 (CST) http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/4714101.htm Posted on Wed, Dec. 11, 2002 Strategy stresses first use of force U.S. WOULD PRE-EMPT WEAPONS USE, CONSIDER NUCLEAR RETALIATION By Mike Allen and Barton Gellman Washington Post WASHINGTON - A Bush administration strategy announced Tuesday calls for the use of pre-emptive military and covert force before an enemy unleashes weapons of mass destruction, and underscores U.S. willingness to retaliate with nuclear weapons for chemical or biological attacks on U.S. soil or against American troops overseas. The strategy introduces a more aggressive approach to combating weapons of mass destruction, and comes as the nation prepares for a possible war with Iraq. A version of the strategy that was released by the White House said the United States will ``respond with overwhelming force,'' including ``all options,'' to the use of biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear weapons on the nation, its troops or its allies. However, a classified version of the strategy goes even further: It breaks with 50 years of American counterproliferation efforts by authorizing pre-emptive strikes on states and terrorist groups that are close to acquiring weapons of mass destruction, or the long-range missiles capable of delivering them. The policy aims to prevent the transfer of weapons components or to destroy them before they can be assembled. In a top-secret appendix, the directive names Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya among the countries of central focus in the new American approach. Administration officials said that did not imply that Bush intends to use military force, covert or overt, in any of those countries. He is determined, they said, to stop transfers of weapons components in or out of their borders. The policy sets out practical ramifications of Bush's doctrine of pre-emption, contained in a national security strategy released in September, which turns away from Cold War doctrine based on deterrence and containment in favor of taking on hostile states before they can strike. It reiterates in more universal terms a warning that was made to Iraq, in much more general terms, on the eve of the Persian Gulf War of 1991. A letter from then-President Bush promised ``the strongest possible response'' if Iraq were to use chemical and biological weapons against U.S. and allied troops. But the new policy is more specific, detailing the consequences for an enemy's use of weapons of mass destruction. ``The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force -- including through resort to all of our options -- to the use of WMD against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies,'' the document says. Although the document does not mention Iraq by name, the timing of its release sent an unmistakable message to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein about the potential consequences of using non-conventional weapons in a future war. A senior administration official, briefing reporters on the new strategy, said those options include nuclear force. The official said the 1991 letter had its intended effect. ``He didn't cross the line of using chemical or biological weapons,'' the official said. ``The Iraqis have told us that they interpreted that letter as meaning that the United States would use nuclear weapons, and it was a powerful deterrent.'' In the past, U.S. officials have seen some advantage in keeping the world guessing about how the United States would respond to evidence that a country or a terrorist group was hiding weapons of mass destruction deep underground. And Bush administration officials were at pains Tuesday to insist there was nothing new in their formulation. Under Bush, however, Pentagon officials also have appeared to take a step closer to the possible limited use of nuclear weapons by pursuing new and more usable ones. A review of nuclear policy completed by defense officials a year ago put added emphasis on developing low-yield nuclear weapons that could be used to burrow deep into the earth and destroy underground complexes, including stores of chemical and biological arms. This has raised questions about whether the administration is lowering the threshold for using nuclear arms. Officials deny that they are doing so. But they also argue that the strategic calculations necessary for combating terrorism and hostile nations must inherently be different from those used during the Cold War, when deterrence meant simply convincing the Soviets that the United States could and would wipe them out if attacked. Against today's new enemies, the administration has argued, it may be necessary to strike pre-emptively and with nuclear weapons that would keep fallout to a minimum. To deter such an enemy, the strategy says the United States must have a strong, declared policy of retaliation, effective military forces and a ``full range of political tools.'' These include treaties, restrictions on use and distribution of uranium and plutonium, controls of technology exports and sanctions. But because deterrence may not succeed, the United States ``must have the capability to defend against WMD-armed adversaries, including in appropriate cases through pre-emptive measures.'' The new strategy also expresses support for international treaty regimes, including the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention. It also integrates missile defense into non-proliferation policy by describing it as an ``active'' defense against weapons of mass destruction. It urges tougher action against ``secondary proliferation'' by countries such as Pakistan and Ukraine that have been known to pass on restricted weapons technologies. And it calls for ``targeted strategies'' against ``dedicated proliferators'' -- a reference to the administration's different approaches to weapons programs in Iraq and North Korea. The six-page strategy released by the White House was a declassified extract of a top-secret directive signed by Bush in May after resolving interagency disputes dating back to January. It is among the first major policy collaborations of the National Security Council and the new Homeland Security Council chaired by Tom Ridge. The classified version is identified jointly as National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 17 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 4. Bush hinted at the new approach in a Dec. 11, 2001, speech at the Citadel, speaking of active counterproliferation. The intention, in theory, is not fundamentally new. The Clinton administration's Presidential Decision Directive 62, ``Protection Against Unconventional Threats to the Homeland and Americans Overseas,'' had classified language that one former official summarized as: ``If you think terrorists will get access to WMD, there is an extremely low threshold that the United States should act'' militarily. The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report. (C) 2001 mercurynews and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.bayarea.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: toeslist-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 42 Iraq - message from Iraq Peace Team Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 10:20:04 -0600 (CST) Please network this far and wide MichaelP ========= Reply-To: swann@activist.ca Friends, Dec 14/02 We (Iraq Peace Team - of which I have now become a part) held a press conference at a local water treatment plant here in Baghdad today -bombed in 1991 and now one of the 50% that are putting out good water in the county. (Incidentally actor Sean Penn was no small contribution to our media attraction but humbly stayed in the background, taking pictures of us - now there's an irony!) What a travesty, that 12 years after the assault we have still not allowed the full rehabilitation in Iraq of this essential to life with continuing deaths due to enteric disease ! We are all complicit in this ongoing crime against humanity. To consider a war on people and infrastructure, both much weaker than in 1991, is to dehumanize all of us even further. There can be no shrinking from our full culpability, including any new war and the predictable terrorist response against the West, if not immediate, then against our children and grandchildren. This is the issue and this is the time for people of conscience to stand and speak and take whatever action is required to stop the slide to global anarchy as well as a holocaust in Iraq. Please consider your personal response as if your own life depended on the outcome: it does. This can be prevented if enough people simply care. The next two months are critical for the non-violent activist community and I will be focusing my attention on public and politicians in Canada to add our voices to those of the global community against war here. I will be available to participate in speaking and action to assist individuals and groups to educate others on the issues. I have finalized a brief report for Physicians for Global Survival (attached) on our investigation of the IN-capacity for medical response to war in Iraq and welcome comment and criticism. My new friendships with the Iraq Peace Team, led by Kathy Kelly and Voices in the Wilderness has been awe-inspiring and I would encourage everyone who feels called to consider a week or more in Baghdad with this humble and courageous group. We meet daily to reflect on what is happening in and out of the country and try to support struggling Iraqi families, as well as to plan public events such as the water treatment plant today. Explore the Voices website and learn about the Peace Team. Join the Canadian Network to End Sanctions, where a Canadian Peace Team, led by Irene McInnes of Vancouver, is active and in Baghdad with me now. There are many ways to support this movement that's inspiring the world. In this Holy Season we need to do more than pray for peace. We need to wage peace with every non-violent thought and action in our "arsenal". Blessings All and I look forward to seeing you soon. Asalaam weleikum, David Dying for Peace in Iraq - Disaster Preparedness on the Brink of War David Swann MD, FRCP; Physicians for Global Survival, Canada Amir Khadir MD, FRCP; Medecins du Monde, Canada Dec.12/02 "First you tell me I have a headache, and then, to relieve me, you decide to chop off my head!" (Retired engineer in Baghdad) PREAMBLE Two Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGO), Physicians for Global Survival and Medecins du Monde, represented by two physicians, collaborated in a four week assessment of disaster preparedness in Iraq in November /December, 2002. The purpose was to identify areas of need and report back to these organizations and to the Canadian people on the situation and opportunities to prevent unnecessary disease, injury and death through disaster preparedness. We fully acknowledge the constraints inherent in working in a short time period in a country essentially at war with few extra resources to assist in our investigation. Despite this we experienced an extraordinary cooperation and assistance by Iraqi officials in meeting with individuals and organizations we chose. In addition we acknowledge that some of the statistics, while produced by credible organizations, could not be verified from primary sources. We accept full responsibility for any errors or omissions and submit this report as an honest reflection of our best efforts and findings. This is based on background reports including literature from the UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, and WHO) and non-governmental organizations (NGO) and committee meetings. In addition there were numerous interviews with International Red Cross, CARE, Medecins du Monde, Enfants du Monde, Premier Urgence and Architects for People in Need, relating to disaster preparedness in Iraq and with many citizens and health workers, including physicians and nurses in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul (see below). BACKGROUND CONTEXT The living and working situation in Iraq at the end of 2002, based on personal observations, interviews with health professionals and ordinary citizens, is very difficult. Following 8 years of Iran-Iraq conflict, a very destructive Gulf War, and 12 years of sanctions, this cannot be surprising. What is surprising is the level of hospitality from the average citizen and the extraordinary tenacity and commitment of people to work together for survival. The toll from the Gulf War, including some 200,000 military and civilian deaths and 30,000 refugees, is well documented (MedAct Report, Nov./02) and suggests the likelihood of much greater casualties in a new war. Sovereignty and survival are key elements of Iraqi people who are however, much weakened physically and in their support systems due to sanctions. The comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq, described by some experts "as a weapon of mass destruction" continue to undermine all efforts at human and material development and is compounded even further by frequent bombings in the US-UK imposed "no fly zones", north and south. This has been particularly painful for a people who, before the 1990 War had free access to a modern health system, free education, through university, for all, and low cost food and transportation. Completely cut off from the world, the present situation stifles human development at all ages, providing, through their primary resource, oil, the minimum of basic foodstuff and medicines for survival. The psychological toll, while unmeasurable, was evident in all our interactions, and surely contributes to massive increases in medical demands. Our focus here is primarily on the measurable and physical threats to health and to life. SPECIFIC INDICATORS 1) Environment: The physical environment (air, water quality and sanitation, vehicle and building safety) is poor and places extra risk to all, but especially the most disadvantaged. UNDP (2002) reports 60% access to safe drinking water but this assumes a functional pumping system with consistent electricity. Electricity is very inconsistent outside Baghdad. Official reports indicate 50% access to functioning sanitation system but does not take into account the aging systems, some of which are breaking down. Garbage is seen everywhere - streets, parks, empy lots and playgrounds - attracting rats, packs of wild dogs and poor people, young and old. Garbage collection occurs where there are businesses or individuals who can pay but public service is extremely limited due to lack of trucks and cash to pay employees. Cash has recently been extended from the Oil for Food Program. Vehicles are abysmally maintained, except for the wealthy, missing door handles andlights; marginal braking systems, yet travel at high speeds. Roads have not been maintained during this decade and, especially outside Baghdad, multiple hazards exist. Vehicle-related injury is commonplace, as would be expected and there is minimal evidence of traffic control. Lack of vehicle maintenance also contributes to appalling levels of emissions and related respiratory disease. 2) Economy: The economic conditions for over 50% of the population are desperate and cause widespread anxiety and stress, particularly when unexpected expenses arise such as home maintenance and health problem. With the Sanctions since 1990, the Dinar, formerly equivalent to $2 (US), has been devalued by 2000-fold, forcing people to sell personal possessions to survive. Many people, especially young people, give up school or career in order to feed their families. Some of the monthly UN (Oil for Food Program) rations are sold in order to meet such pressing needs. Some aspects of the Program are functioning reasonably: 94% of funds for food, housing, and oil spare parts were made available. Other sectors such as water, sanitation, education, electricity, agriculture and health received only 57-77% of funds allocated due to "holds" by the UN 661 Committee,which argues that goods could be used for military purposes. The total of these "holds" reached $5.4 billion in July/02. The Report (UN Humanitarian Program, September/02) reports satisfactory distribution of commodities by the Iraqi government, given the limitations in communications and transportation in Iraq. The UN reported a bumper crop of wheat and barley in 2002. Electricity repair has rehabilitated 20 -40% of gas, thermal and water generation units. This has meant that gas-fired electric generators have not been needed as often in the large cities. Power outages are still common, especially in rural areas, placing perishable food and biological supplies at risk. 3) Health: The entire health sector has been profoundly degraded over this decade: lack of manpower and training, particularly in nursing; breakdown of infrastructure and inability to replace or repair equipment and acquire new technology; intermittent drug shortage; lack of transportation and weak communications. This has contributed to many professionals leaving the country and meant an impoverished and demoralized workforce. Salaries (physicians earn $20/month and nurses similarly) and working conditions discourage entry into the health professions, raising serious questions about the future of health care in Iraq. Private practice has now replaced much of the free medical care prior to 1990 and patients have reduced access to care, incomplete investigations, and more expensive treatment options. Preventable conditions are still common, due to a combination of marginal nutrition and poor water/sanitation. Diarrhea, typhoid fever, hepatitis, influenza and TB are common and chronic conditions such as mental illness, heart disease and cancer are increasing. International organizations, including Red Cross, CARE, and Premiere Urgence have assisted in some refurbishing of infrastructure in institutions, including water systems, but these remain unreliable due to power outages and drops in water pressure. Certain drugs (20% of essential drug lists) and much electronic and imaging technology continue to be blocked from entry by the UN 661 Committee. Health status (see indicators below) has improved in some cases since the Oil For Food Program of the UN increased its supplies of commodities and medicines in 2000 and immunization programs have been strengthened. Yet child health particularly remains precarious, with 24% low birth weight (under 2500 grams). The UN Report of 2002 indicates over 20% malnutrition - a reduction in malnutrition under age 5 between 2000 and 2002 surveys. There is still a shortfall of 10-15% in calories and protein in the average Iraqi allocation. Depleted uranium used in the Gulf War armaments continues to be a plausible cause of the large increase in childhood cancers reported by physicians in many hospitals, particularly in the Basra area. This has been noticed especially for leukemias and lymphomas, which appear to also be more aggressive and difficult to treat than in the past. The lack of any systematic review of increased incidence of cancers is a matter of urgency and should be addressed in objective epidemiologic studies, especially in light of its continued use by the US and other countries. WHO has expanded water testing (both chemical and bacteriological) and contributes to the training of nurses who have been in short supply since 1991. 900 new ambulances have improved basic emergency transport but this remains at one-half of the country's needs. Further data include (WHO Report - 2002) * 24% low birth weight, a reflection of maternal nutrition and general health, continues to be four times higher than before the Gulf War maln. * 17% of mothers exclusively breastfed their babies under 4 months of age. * Under five-year mortality has increased over 160% compared to 1989 (UNICEF report on the Situation of Children;2002), due to malnutrition and exposure to contaminated water and food and, in urban areas, severe air pollution. * Fully immunized infants - Polio - 82% (last polio case identified in 2000); DPT - 74%; HBV - 64%. This has resulted in better control of some communicable diseases. Measles and DPT shortages continue due to approval and delivery problems, setting the stage for new outbreaks of disease. * 71% of pregnant women were attended by trained personnel. . * 294 deaths/100,000 live births maternal mortality (three times higher than 1990), due to maternal malnutrition, iron deficiency, unaffordable or inaccessible care, and inadequate emergency and health care services. * 70% of water exceeds safe turbidity limits at 10 NTU (UNICEF 2002). * Mental illness due to stressful living conditions, early childhood trauma, frustration at the lack of meaningful learning and recreation, and fear of war (no data available). 1) Social problems have increased this decade in association with declining employment (43% for men; 10% for women) and falling literacy rates (from 90% in 1985 to 57% in 1997 - UNDP/2002) as people focus on meeting basic needs. Sanctions include textbooks, computers, and all communications with the outside world, leaving teachers with low morale along with the lack of salary. 83% of schools are in disrepair and over 5,000 new schools are needed for the current population (UNDP -2002). There are presently 26,000 internally displaced persons in Iraq requiring housing. Other problems include theft, street children, prostitution, and violence which were rare prior to 1990. DISASTER PREVENTION A number of organizations including the United Nations are engaged in the critical work of preventing war. Indeed the UN purpose is to "protect future generations from the scourge of war", in part through its Charter which clearly identifies war as legal only where a country is being invaded (Article 51). Disaster planning generally assumes the worst-case scenario, designs a strategy to mobilize human and material resources before disaster strikes to minimize injury and death. However, in the case of Iraq, we are dealing with a deliberate, man-made event (war) and the real possibility of prevention. Among other factors, this hinges on a willingness to invest equal time, energy and resources toward constructive resolution of conflict, as that invested in preparations for war. The prevention of war would require, among other elements, a sincere commitment from the public, the media and politicians to invest themselves in a) a comprehensive and objective understanding of the roots of the conflict b) a discussion of interests and options for the antagonists c) an honest examination of the short and long term cost and benefit of war and peace. All organizations and individuals with commitment and skills in international conflict resolution should engage themselves in this critical issue to avert not only the avoidable slaughter of both civilians and combatants (generally in a ratio of 4:1 deaths) but also to strengthen the vital role of the UN and supporting international law. DISASTER PLANNING IN IRAQ Four major players have provided important material assistance to the citizens of Iraq over the past decade or more. They have identified the need for planning and extra resources and services needed in a disaster such as that triggered by war: 1) Iraq government through all ministries, including Ministry of Health and Red Crescent Society. 2) UN agencies - World Health Organization (WHO), UN Development Program, Food and Agricultural Organization, UNICEF. 3) The International Red Cross, with a wide capacity and resources both in the country and in surrounding countries. 4) Non-governmental organizations including CARE International (focusing on water and sanitation rehabilitation); Premiere Urgence ( rehabilitating health institutions); Enfants du Monde (working in education and health for children); Medecins du Monde-France (providing equipment and nursing training to set up specialized pediatric surgery, ICU and post-operative care in pediatric hospitals) and others. INTERSECTORAL JOINT PLANNING IN IRAQ* ( * confidential working document from UN-NGO Emergency Management and Response Team, 2002) It is very clear that, after 20 years on a war footing in this country, all citizens and organizations in Iraq have an awareness and at least rudimentary plans in place to cope with a great deal of upheaval, violence and distress. What is less clear is their willingness or ability to work in a concerted fashion to achieve an optimal result for civilians and combatants in a war. For example, key questions in disaster/war planning cannot be answered at this time, including: i) What will be the nature of any invasion and what centers will be targeted? ii) What is the existing reserve capacity of medical and essential services (food, water, shelter, sanitation, housing, transportation, and communication) to respond to an increase of 100-1000% in emergency needs? iii) How can these resources be coordinated in Iraq? There is much uncertainty about possible war scenarios, from conventional air and ground operations to biological, chemical and even nuclear weapons, openly considered by President Bush. Given the immense scope of damage in any major offensive here it is clear from local experts that many people will be vulnerable to injury from both weapons and ensuing civil strife. In addition, polluted water supplies and breakdown of sanitation systems, many recently repaired, will be the second level of risk, contributing to widespread infectious disease outbreaks. The food distribution system for 24 million people is extremely vulnerable and will likely break down quickly after attack, especially for a large number of displaced people. It is equally clear that hospitals will be quickly overwhelmed, particularly in dealing with major trauma - chest, abdomen, head and limb injury. Medical supplies are said to be sufficient for up to 4 months, depending on the needs, and immunizing agents for 10 months. Only 50% of needed ambulances are available at the present time, suggesting serious inadequacy in the event of war. Four centers in the country have been designated as storage sites for medical and logistic support materials. Rapid Assessment Teams have been identified and trained to respond to critical areas and deploy needed resources and leadership. There is open debate about how well the four sectors (government, non-government, Red Cross and UN agencies) can work together in the event of war, given the following further constraints: 1) The government of Iraq is not participating in discussions and planning with the other organizations. 2) The UN may not be considered neutral by Iraq and it may not be safe for any UN-staff during a conflict. 3) UN and most foreign NGO's will leave the country in the event of war, though some existing national employees may be able to function. 4) The International Red Cross, with a separate agreement and mandate, operate independently in planning and operations for disaster relief. It has offered some coordination of relief. CONCLUSIONS- Prevention is the Only Appropriate Disaster Response While the political and international dimensions of the current conflict have not been addressed in this paper they are obviously key to what scenarios will unfold and what capacity there is for prevention. A continuing humanitarian disaster is unfolding as agencies and the government of Iraq, over the past 12 years, provide symptomatic relief. Nothing short of economic recovery and integrated planning and development is needed for the realization of human potential and environmental protection. In the context of human and environmental degradation in Iraq for the past twelve years, a US invasion of Iraq would create an unprecedented human catastrophe for which no meaningful response is possible. All possible avenues of prevention must be pursued as a matter of great urgency, from individual citizens through organizations(religious and secular), states and international bodies, particularly the UN. New initiatives must be found to ensure the long term interests of humanity and the planet, particularly in light of the massive destructive potential of new technology.. From a medical, moral and humanitarian viewpoint the following conclusions are self-evident: 1) Existing health and essential services are marginal, at best, in meeting present needs of 23 million Iraqis, following on 20 years of war and sanctions. Medical support is extremely variable in each part of the country, to some extent depending on ability to pay. The extra demands of war will mean dramatic loss of access to care for those with existing chronic disease as well as those in acute need during conflict. 2) Government staff and infrastructure, UN organizatoins and non-government aid organizations (including the International Red Cross) have contingency plans to address, to a limited extent, medical, water and sanitation, nutritional and logistics needs in the event of another war in Iraq. 3) Depending on the nature of the conflict and weapons used (including the possibility of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons) the scope of human and environmental destruction cannot be predicted and cannot be adequately prepared for. This was also the conclusion of the independent group - Medical Action UK (MedAct) in their report - Collateral Damage; November /2002). Living conditions in and around Basra are especially difficult with the continued intermittent bombing in the south. Children are particularly vulnerable. 4) There is a high probability of a major loss of life, including that due to a spiral of civic violence both in Iraq and in the surrounding countries if there is war. This would quickly overwhelm the existing resources and capacity to support life in Iraq. 5) All possible efforts of government, health and citizen groups should be aimed at preventing war on Iraq. 6) Areas for Canadian Support to Iraq In light of the uncertain future there is a need to invest heavily also in humanitarian support from all possible sources in Canada as well as the international community. Two major areas should be explored: 1) Education and action to reduce the chance of war. This should be a top priority for peace and human rights organizations, including religious organizations, across the world, and must recognize the continuing destructive sanctions and arbitrary bombing by the US and UK. This work should include advocacy for dialogue and willingness to step back from the brink of war to explore all possible alternatives.War on Iraq poses a threat to not only the Iraqi people but also to the stability of the Gulf Region and to the world. International law and the effectiveness of the United Nations would be a major casualty of war on Iraq. Given the expressed willingness of the US to use nuclear weapons, this conflict could trigger not only a disaster in Iraq but lead to a more aggressive international arms race and contribute to increased risk of terrorism. Citizens and political leaders need to be aware of the unique moral and legal violations of this situation and assist in moving dialogue forward to increase international pressure directly on the US and indirectly, through the UN, for peaceful resolution. 2) Initiatives to prepare for, and assist with the humanitarian situation in Iraq in the event of war. Financial and in-kind contributions are needed through existing humanitarian organizations (eg. International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors of the World ) with a presence in Iraq. Faith-based organizations should explore their capacity to provide direct service to displaced persons, the ill, injured and the poor. REFERENCES: 1. UNDP: Humanitarian Program in Iraq (Sept/02); Living Conditions in Iraq (Sept./02); Country Brief for Iraq; and UN Representative Francis Dubois.. 2. UNICEF: The Situation of Children in Iraq; 2002 3. WHO Representative Office; 2001 Annual Report 4. International Committee of the Red Cross. Dr George 5. Collateral Damage: The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq; MedAct (IPPNW), November/02. 6. Malnutrition in Iraq - What the New UNICEF Study Shows; Ramzi Kysia (Common Dreams.Org Nov./02) 7. Cool War - Economic Sanctions as a Weapon of Mass Destruction; Joy Gordon - Harper's Magazine, November/02 8. Dr. Baian Hassam, pediatric surgeon -Basra Maternity and Children's Hospital 9. Hennie Van Essen -Medecins du Monde Nursing Coordinator in Iraq, Baghdad Office. 10. Dr. A. Hallam -Uzzarah Cancer Hospital, Baghdad 11. Dr. Mona Khomass, Dean, College of Science, Baghdad University.. 12. Dr. Radh Tawalha, Medical Director -Iben Seena Hospital, Mosul. 13. Dr. Abduraman Suliyaman, pediatric surgeon -Mosul Jamhuri Pediatric Hospital. 14. Ahmed Al-Hadithi, Dean,College of Veterinary Medicine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you Then they fight you Then you win. ..... Gandhi ***************************************************************** 43 Nuclear woes rattle U.S. Saturday, December 14, 2002 Back The Halifax Herald Limited Ahn Young-joon / The Associated Press South Korean protesters rally against North Korea in downtown Seoul on Friday. Asian nations added their voices to an international outcry against communist North Korea's sudden announcement it will reactivate a mothballed nuclear reactor suspected of developing weapons-grade plutonium in the 1990s. Bush faces fresh crisis with North Korea, Tehran considers building second power plant By Abdul Latheef / The Canadian Press U.S. President George W. Bush was facing a diplomatic nightmare Friday over the alleged nuclear weapons programs of North Korea, Iran and Iraq, the countries he has labelled the "axis of evil." While North Korea has threatened to reactivate its nuclear facilities, both Iran and Iraq have denied they have any nuclear ambitions. Washington is, however, concerned about Tehran's announcement that it is planning to build another nuclear plant. It also argues that the arms dossier Iraq presented to the United Nations is "full of holes." On Friday, Bush told his South Korean counterpart, Kim Dae-jung, during a telephone conversation that the North's decision to reactivate its nuclear program was "unacceptable." Bush said he won't allow "business as usual to continue" with North Korea but still seeks a peaceful resolution. He called Kim to discuss renewed fears over the Communist country's suspected nuclear weapons program. North Korea, accusing the Bush administration of taking a hardline policy toward it, said Thursday it will reactivate nuclear facilities that have been frozen under a 1994 deal with Washington. "The two heads of state agreed that they cannot accept North Korea's decision to lift its nuclear freeze, and they agreed to urge North Korea to withdraw its decision," said Kim's national security adviser, Lim Sung-joon. But the two leaders also "agreed to continue their efforts to seek a peaceful resolution," he said. The emphasis on seeking a peaceful solution suggested the two leaders were trying to prevent the situation from escalating into a crisis similar to one in 1994 that nearly led to war on the Korean peninsula and prompted South Koreans to stock up on food and other supplies. Security analysts believe North Korea built one or two nuclear bombs before it froze its nuclear facilities in 1994. If reactivated, the program can quickly yield enough plutonium for several more bombs, they say. North Korea says its facilities were built to generate electricity. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Friday urged North Korea not to move ahead with its nuclear program, saying he would not hesitate to go to the UN Security Council if Pyongyang violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "We need to continue to look for agreed solutions, a diplomatic solution to the problem," ElBaradei said in Vienna. He later told CNN that North Korea was the closest to building a functional nuclear weapon of the three "axis of evil" countries. Iran would be second on the list, followed by Iraq, ElBaradei added. In Tehran, however, the government of President President Mohammad Khatami rejected U.S. claims that it was developing a clandestine nuclear program and said all its atomic power plants were open to international inspection. "We have no nuclear activity or study without the knowledge of the International Atomic Energy Agency," government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told reporters Friday. "All our nuclear sites are for peaceful purposes and open to IAEA inspection." Ramezanzadeh spoke a day after U.S. officials endorsed claims made by an armed Iranian opposition group this summer that two construction sites in central Iran may be used for a clandestine program to develop nuclear weapons. Washington was also rattled by an announcement by the Iranian government Thursday that it was considering construction of a second major nuclear power plant. Iran's Atomic Energy Council ordered a feasibility study on a second plant as the country's first nuclear-power station at Bushehr prepares to go on line next year with Russian help. U.S. intelligence officials do not believe Iran has made any nuclear weapons. But they fear byproducts from the power plants could be used to manufacture weapons. Meanwhile, Bush was pondering his next step in the standoff with Iraq amid U.S. accusations that Baghdad had failed to account for a number of missing chemical and biological weapons in its arms declaration. Copyright © 2002 The Halifax Herald Limited ***************************************************************** 44 IAEA Chief to NKorea: Don't Expel Nuclear Monitors* / Sat December 14, 2002 07:28 AM ET / VIENNA (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday any move by North Korea to expel its inspectors from a controversial reactor site would seriously worsen the crisis over Pyongyang's atomic weapons ambitions. North Korea said on Thursday it was reactivating a Soviet-built nuclear energy research complex closed eight years ago under a pact with the United States aimed at stopping the reclusive Stalinist state from developing nuclear arms. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which had been monitoring the mothballed complex, said Pyongyang had asked it to unseal the plant and remove surveillance cameras. The continuing presence of the two IAEA inspectors on site was apparently not addressed, and agency director Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday it was important that North Korea let them stay. "If they throw out the inspectors, this will trigger a serious crisis," ElBaradei told Reuters. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency confirmed on Saturday Pyongyang made the request in a letter to the IAEA. It quoted Ri Je-son, director general of the government's atomic energy department, as saying the letter told the IAEA "to take necessary measures to remove the seals and monitoring cameras from all of our nuclear facilities at the earliest possible date." The letter warned that if the "IAEA fails to expeditiously take measures to meet our request, we will take necessary measures unilaterally." Under the 1994 Agreed Framework pact with Washington, North Korea agreed to freeze operations at the Yongbyon complex in exchange for supplies of heavy fuel oil and construction of two light-water reactors less likely to yield weapons-grade fuel. OIL SHIPMENTS HALTED When Pyongyang told an American envoy in October that it had been pursuing a separate, clandestine uranium-enrichment program, the United States and its South Korean, Japanese and European Union allies decided to halt fuel oil shipments to the impoverished North Asian nation from this month. This is turn prompted Pyongyang's latest defiant move. Facing another harsh winter, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday, the country had no choice but to revive the Yongbyon complex for critically needed power. Analysts said Pyongyang could crank up the mothballed plant in a couple of months, but firing up the tiny five-megawatt reactor was hardly a solution to a grave energy shortage that has shut down factories and condemned most of North Korea's 22 million people to huddling in dark, cold homes this winter. Before the 1994 freeze of the Yongbyon complex, North Korea's apparent storage of spent fuel that can be reprocessed into plutonium had sparked a crisis that brought then U.S. President Bill Clinton close to ordering military strikes against the site. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said that year that North Korea was estimated to have already produced one or two nuclear weapons. President Bush angered North Korea early this year by grouping it together with Iraq and Iran in an "axis of evil." Asked on Saturday about the nuclear capabilities of the three so-called "axis" states, ElBaradei told Reuters the North Koreans were the most capable of delivering a nuclear device. Reuters The Company Products & ***************************************************************** 45 UK: BAE is staring down a barrel Independent.co.uk As deals backfire, Heather Tomlinson asks if casualties may be claimed at the defence giant 15 December 2002 The Ministry of Defence are bastards," whispers a City analyst, referring to the MoD's negotiating tactics when buying arms, warships and tanks. "They drive a hard bargain and drive down costs. But it is good news for taxpayers." It isn't quite so good for the pension funds and individuals who hold shares in BAE Systems, the UK's largest arms manufacturer. Last week the share price dived towards a nine-year low when the company announced that two of its key contracts with the MoD would cost more and take longer to fulfil than it had expected. The problems threaten the future of one of Britain's largest employers. One of the projects, to build new versions of Nimrod surveillance aircraft, has already cost the company £300m more than it had budgeted for. The other troublesome contract is to build three Astute nuclear submarines for the Navy. BAE was scant on detail on why the delays have occurred or by how much its profits will be hit. As the MoD is encouraging foreign companies to compete for its billion-pound orders, it is suggested that BAE might have been too keen to win. "They have been over-ambitious in their bids. I believe they were so eager for contracts they have been prepared to cut things to the bone," says Mike Witt, the deputy editor of "Defence Analysis", an industry newsletter. Investment bank Goldman Sachs describes the Nimrod fiasco as "alarming" and estimates that BAE could have to fork out a further £800m for the two contracts and halve its dividend to shareholders. Goldman talks of a lack of confidence in the management and predicts that £1.5bn of cash will leave the company between now and 1995. It has called for radical action to stem the outflow. The bleed of cash could be connected to well-publicised problems with some of BAE's products. The British Army's SA80 rifle malfunctioned in desert conditions and required an expensive overhaul. There have also been delays in the delivery of new Storm Shadow long-range missiles, Sting Ray torpedoes and Type 45 destroyers. The last two of these, along with Astute, were deals that BAE took on when it bought GEC Marconi in 1999. These problems may weigh on the minds of ministers when they decide who will win a £10bn contract to build two enormous aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. BAE is head-to-head with Thales, a French defence company, for the lucrative deal, and the competition is fierce. BAE declares that its ships will be better and that it will secure British jobs. But Thales says it will be able to do the job more efficiently, and claims it will also build the craft entirely in the UK. Alongside these negotiations, BAE and the MoD will be talking about how to alleviate the financial problems of Nimrod, so the reminder of BAE's poor performance may further focus the minds of government advisers. Although the problems faced by BAE are principally in the UK, the company is now a global arms supplier. It sells more goods to the US than it does to the UK. The Middle East as a whole and Europe also spend more on BAE goods than the UK Government. In fact, Saudi Arabia was a significant factor in the rescue of British Aerospace, as BAE was known in the early 1990s. The company avoided going bust by a whisker, and needed £432m from investors to stay afloat. It was helped in this by a deal to sell King Fahd £5bn worth of Tornado aircraft ? a contract personally brokered by the then Prime Minster John Major in 1993. But now the cash flows from the lucrative contract are drying up, and New Labour, despite its "ethical foreign policy", has taken up the mantle of international arms dealer. Tony Blair himself has tried to encourage India to buy BAE's Hawk jets, despite loud protests about the morals of selling arms to a country at risk of war with its neighbour, Pakistan. The defence minister Lewis Moonie said earlier this month: "I can assure ... that we are working hard, as we have done continuously, to try to help BAE to secure orders for Hawk abroad." Shareholders can't change the Government's ministerial sales people. However, they can change the management of BAE. John Weston was dumped as chief executive in March this year. And if the new man, Mike Turner, and the former chief executive and current chairman, Sir Richard Evans, are seen to be responsible for this new trauma, more scalps could be taken. The sense of fury in the City can be gleaned from the tough talk of investment bank analysts, who are usually very backwards in coming forwards with their views. But French bank BNP Paribas described BAE's contract execution as "disastrous", while Goldman Sachs states: "We believe that it is now appropriate to assess BAE both with far more radical management options and, potentially, under new management and or ownership." Investors might hope for a bid but the only possible buyers will be foreign and require the Government's approval. According to Mr Witt at "Defence Analysis", two potential bidders are the US companies Boeing and General Dynamics. "That's the only way out I can see," he says. A rescue by the Americans might be embarrassing for the Government, which could have to fall back on increasing the political sales patter. In these times of high political tension around the world, that could be both difficult and highly controversial. *BAE's problem projects* *Sting Ray torpedo* A contract to increase the capability and length of service for the lightweight torpedo was won in 1996. However, the original cost of £147m has ballooned to £190m, and delivery is delayed. *Storm Shadow missile* The new long-range bombs were due in service in August, ready for any action in Iraq, but the delivery has been delayed until November next year. A BAE engineer tried to sell its secrets to the Russians but was trapped in an MI5 sting. *Nimrod aircraft* BAE won the £2.8bn contract to upgrade the Nimrod surveillance aircraft in 1996. It has already cost BAE £300m and will cost more. It was originally to be delivered in April but is now unlikely to be completed before 2006. *Astute submarines* In 1997 GEC Marconi won the contract to build three new nuclear-powered subs for £2.7bn. Last week BAE said they would be delayed in delivery and cost more, but it is not known by how much. *Eurofighter* BAE is one of the contractors on the project. The plane's original delivery date was the end of 1998, but the Royal Air Force has yet to receive them. *Future aircraft carriers* Fighting French group Thales for a £10bn deal, BAE fears the problems on Nimrod and Astute will encourage the MoD to look across the Channel. /Source: National Audit Office./ ***************************************************************** 47 Nuclear catastrophe test descends into farce as services fail to cope Independent.co.uk By Geoffrey Lean and Severin Carrell 15 December 2002 Documents expose farcical response to nuclear attack Nuclear catastrophe test descends into farce as services fail to cope It was like a day-long episode of The Keystone Cops when Britain's elite emergency nuclear squad struggled to cope with the simulated effects of a 747 cargo jet being flown into a nuclear reactor, setting it alight. Operation Isis ? specifically ordered "at the highest political level" to reproduce a terrorist attack, and the biggest exercise for five years to address the effects of a nuclear catastrophe on the public ? began at 6.40am on Friday 10 May, when Essex police reported "a major incident at Bradwell power station". However, the confidential official report admits, "there was no information on the type of incident, wind direction, wind speeds, etc", all vital for working out how to tackle the accident and to protect the public. Five minutes later, further notification was received from the Essex ambulance service but "the on-call doctor could not contact the ambulance paging service to confirm the veracity of the information". Another alert "left an incomplete message" on an automatic system at the Department of Trade and Industry, the owner of British Nuclear Fuels which operates the reactor. Confusion descended into farce when yet another alert to the Food Standards Agency led officials to concentrate on the wrong nuclear power station, thinking that the disaster was at Sizewell, 45 miles away. Yet another alert turned up, "not for the first time", at "the wrong place". It got no better when around 50 emergency experts ? from government departments, key official agencies, local authorities, the nuclear industry and the police, fire and ambulance services ? had trouble in finding their way to the "main strategic co-ordinating centre" at Essex police headquarters at Springfield, in Chelmsford. "The direction maps were difficult to follow," says the report. "When the HQ was found, it was not clear where anyone was supposed to go." Alarmingly for security, "there was no identification check on entering". Once there, the experts were soon caught up in a shambles in "very cramped" and "noisy" conditions, where people had difficulty even finding the lavatories. Some key officials were not allocated phonelines and other telephones "kept being cut off". Fax messages "were not picked up" and "some replies from the fax machine were not getting through until several hours after they had been sent". Papers "became disorganised", notice boards "were not updated frequently enough", and lettering on the computer screens was in white, making it "invisible when printed". The quality of the operation reflected the chaos in the control room. A direction from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate caused "a considerable delay in putting out the reactor fire. There was "very little information about the nature of the release" of radioactivity, and meteorological information, particularly vital to determine where the fallout would go, was "lacking until late in the day". There was "little communication" with the health authority early in the day, and it was often advised too late that radioactive emissions from the reactor had increased. But most alarming of all, there was a delay of more than five hours before the public could be given potassium iodate tablets, which must be taken immediately to protect the thyroid against radioactivity. The report says: "Decisions to protect the public were made by the health authority at 0900 hrs when Essex ambulance service requested to order stocks of potassium iodate from the Department of Health/ NHS Logistics. "Significant delays in the response from the DoH/ NHS Logistics resulted in access to the tablets being agreed at 12.20 hrs, with their despatch at 12.30 hrs and their delivery to Ambulance HQ at 14.20hrs." But there was some good news. The report says: "There were plenty of refreshments throughout the day". The report, written by BNFL, concludes that the exercise was "a successful demonstration of the ability to extend existing detailed emergency arrangements". ***************************************************************** 48 Documents expose farcical response to nuclear attack Independent.co.uk By Geoffrey Lean and Severin Carrell 15 December 2002 A top-level exercise to simulate a jumbo jet crashing into a nuclear power station ended in high farce, an unpublished report obtained by the Independent on Sunday reveals. Designed to test Britain's readiness to respond to a large-scale terrorist attack, the operation focused on Bradwell atomic power station in Essex, and exposed an astonishing series of failures in emergency responses. Warnings about the disaster were incomplete, key staff could not find the control room, phones did not work, there were long delays in controlling the catastrophe and protecting the public. At one stage, officials were even dealing with the wrong power station. It was found planning was based on "assumptions", and there was little data on the nature of the release of the radioactivity. Instructions from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate caused "a considerable delay in putting out the reactor fire" and there was a delay of more than five hours before the public was given potassium iodate tablets to protect against radioactivity. The failure to cope with the simulated attack further undermines confidence in the Government's ability to handle a catastrophic terrorist attack. As reported in last week's IoS, confidential Downing Street documents disclosed that the nation's civil defence "effectively no longer exists". The power station simulation, codenamed Operation Isis, supposed a 747 cargo plane crashing into the reactor, 30 miles north-east of London, setting it alight and causing many deaths and evacuation of the public. The ordering of the simulation over-rode opposition from the owners of the reactor, British Nuclear Fuels,who claimed that the scenario was unrealistic. Yesterday BNFL confirmed that a thousand people from 60 organisations had been involved, in 20 different locations around the country. The report on the exercise, however, describes it as a chaotic shambles. Last night, Stewart Kemp, chief executive of the Nuclear Free Local Authorities, group blamed the fiasco on "decades of underfunding" of the emergency services. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman, called the exercise a "grotesque farce". ***************************************************************** 49 Friendly fire downs BAE Guardian Unlimited Observer | Business | Leaked classified documents, Anglo-French rivalry and billions lost in the market. Oliver Morgan unravels the story behind last week's attempt by the MoD to bring its prime contractor into line Sunday December 15, 2002 The Observer Robert Gillespie, co-head of global investment banking at UBS Warburg and one of the Square Mile's heaviest hitters, took an urgent call last Tuesday evening. On the line was an equally high profile City figure, Simon Robertson, president of Goldman Sachs Europe. Robertson, acting for one of Goldman's most important UK clients, defence group BAE Systems, wanted to know if the Ministry of Defence was planning to clarify its position on alarming cost overruns on troublesome defence contracts involving BAE. The issue boiled down to this: if the contracts overran, who would pick up the tab - the contractor (BAE shareholders) or the customer (the taxpayer)? The conversation took place after two fevered days in the City in which BAE's shares plummeted because of rumours that it was about to issue a profits warning. While the shares slid, analysts who contacted BAE's investor relations department were told that no warning would be issued and that nothing new would be said on troublesome contracts. Robertson's call came on the eve of a critical BAE board meeting. Gillespie, who the previous week had been hired to advise the MoD on the two most troublesome deals - a £2.8 billion contract to upgrade Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft and a £2.3bn one for three new Astute-class nuclear submarines - told Robertson that a letter from the Ministry would arrive at BAE Systems the following morning in time for the board meeting. He would not discuss its content. When the letter dropped, BAE's senior executives, headed by combative chairman Sir Dick Evans and chief executive Mike Turner, realised they had a problem. It effectively said that whatever time and cost overruns had occurred were BAE's responsibility and the Government would not pick up the bill. And it indicated that BAE should not use the fact that negotiations over these deals were still going on to avoid telling the market what was up. At 4.22pm, just before the London market closed, BAE issued a three-paragraph statement that 'additional issues' had arisen on Astute and Nimrod which involved 'substantial schedule and cost implications'. The statement was seen as perfunctory. The assumption was that BAE would take the pain, and shares dived to record lows. One analyst said: 'It was a terrible statement. There is no clarity over what the issues are, and they have not indicated the extent of the hit they will take.' By the end of the week, analysts estimated the costs over six to seven years would range between £300m and £1bn . Nick Cunningham, analyst at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, believes that BAE will have to write off £1bn on the contracts. This, he thinks, will translate into a £600m pre-tax loss this year and a £100m next year. He says the dividend is bound to be cut. In one respect BAE was clear about the MoD's position. A company source said: 'They took this very hard line with us, which was those things which are down to you in terms of the failure to meet the fixed price contracts you have signed in good faith, you will pay.' But BAE argues a significant proportion of the hit should be taken by Government, and that it is not able to quantify the costs. It points out that the Government had hired City PR firm Financial Dynamics, and had forced BAE to put out a statement that said little and weakened its negotiating hand. BAE suspected the MoD was trying to manoeuvre it into making a provision last week. 'I get the impression that they were pretty cheesed off with us that we did not,' says one source. The reason was simple: if BAE did produce a figure, 'the MOD would make sure we never got it back. Remember, we're still negotiating.' With the markets reacting savagely, regulators began to take an interest. On Thursday the Financial Services Authority said it was 'having a look' at the circumstances surrounding the wild share price falls before the statement. One Government adviser says: 'I gather they did say they might make a trading statement towards the end of the week, but that there would be nothing new in it. But if they did not have anything new to say, why make the statement? 'I do think that for some reason, they had convinced themselves that the Government would allow them to do something more than they are now intending to do. But, given the fact that this happened shortly after the Pre-Budget Report, it is surprising that they could be surprised by the line that has been taken.' BAE has become notorious for its overbearing manner. With the MoD, which represents 28 per cent of its business, this has translated into open warfare. Earlier this year, BAE's urbane chief executive, John Weston, was ousted. A key reason was that relationships with the MoD, in particular the chief of defence procurement, Sir Robert Walmsley, had broken down. Under Weston, BAE had argued that its role as a 'one-stop shop' for the MoD should allow it prime contracts on major projects, in conflict with the 'smart procurement' processes at the MoD, designed to increase competition and which, says Walmsley, reduce costs by 30 per cent. Weston's replacement has, if anything, escalated matters. Through the summer Turner publicly argued that it was vital BAE had a leading role in major projects in order to keep expertise and investment in the UK. BAE's approach has been seen clearly in the £10bn battle to build two new aircraft carriers for the UK. Faced with competition from French defence group Thales, it has frequently expressed its 'incredulity' that such an order could go to its rival. BAE's strong arm tactics may be nothing new. But they follow the development of the company into a defence leviathan capable of building ships, planes and missiles and designing complex electronic systems to deal with new 'asymmetric' warfare. Its last financial crisis in the early Nineties saw BAE making writedowns and shedding assets such as property and Rover cars. But as a pure defence group, it was always lacking scale. In 1999 it merged with GEC, acquiring the advanced electronic warfare and avionics systems that many now see as its future. Experts remember that both of the problem contracts are the legacy of the fevered bidding that preceded the eventual consolidation. The foundation of the problem was the switch from the lucrative 'cost plus' contracts of the 1980s to fixed cost deals in the Nineties - which BAE now wants to see changed. With the GEC deal, BAE got three British shipyards - Govan, Barrow and Scotstoun. And it got the 'legacy contracts' that went along with it: Astute, along with other problematic projects such as an auxiliary oiler vessel and a landing platform dock. These last two, worth £700m, contributed a £54m loss to pre-tax profits announced in September. BAE maintains that the latest delays to Astute are caused by 'slower progress in the detailed design'. But it adds that this has been known since July, when a delay of a year on the in-service date of 2005 was announced. A BAE source says: 'We always knew there would be problems with these legacy contracts. But we decided, because of the prospects we had with Type 45 destroyers [which looks profitable] and the carrier, it was worth it.' The Nimrod problems date back to 1996 when BAE was chosen. Since then there has been a stream of bad news - escalation of project costs by £400m in 1999, a £300m charge in January 2001 due to development problems which prompted another share rout, and a cut in the order from 21 to 18 planes earlier this year. Cunningham says: 'Defence contracts overrun all the time. BAE was just hubristic enough to believe that it could take fixed price contracts and make money on them.' The question now is, with the MoD's hard line, what does BAE think there is to talk about. BAE believes it can reduce its exposure 'significantly'. The company says there are 'a range of issues - changing the timescales and changing the numbers, there is plenty to negotiate on'. MoD sources indicate there will be difficulties. 'On Astute, for example, BAE think there is a much longer list of things they can negotiate about than we do.' But there are other problems. With the Government's decision on the carrier looming, BAE and Thales this week meet the Treasury to state their case. Reports have suggested the latest run-in has damaged BAE's chances. Its chances have undoubtedly not been helped, and Cunningham believes an award to Thales would send positive signals about competition. The other question is would it be good for BAE to win? One City source said: 'The last thing BAE shareholders want is another major contract with all the possibilities of it going wrong.' But if BAE can't make money on tight UK contracts to build 'platforms' such as ships, should it focus on its higher value electronic systems operations? Cunningham thinks it should. A foreign merger is another option. There's a problem there, too. It's those UK contracts. No one will touch them. And, with calls in the City for the heads of Evans and Turner, it may be that untouchability that saves them - for now. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 50 The man who gave the world the bomb Jon Else Sunday, December 15, 2002 --> At just the moment when the United States contemplates home-grown A- bombs in Iraq and communist North Korea, newly released documents have rekindled the debate over whether J. Robert Oppenheimer, "the father of the atomic bomb," was himself a secret Communist in the 1930s. As we dance toward war in the Middle East, we should remember how half a century ago Oppenheimer, perhaps against his better judgment, helped set in motion an arms race from which we may never escape. Whether or not the enigmatic physicist, chosen by President Franklin Roosevelt's generals in 1942 to oversee the pioneering nuclear weapons work at Los Alamos, lied about being a member of a secret Communist cell, as reported in Gregg Herken's recent book, "The Brotherhood of the Bomb," is an intriguing question. If true, it casts dark light on Oppenheimer's endlessly puzzling character and suggests he committed perjury by repeatedly testifying that he was not a member. But against the snarled and exhausted debates over Whittaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, the receding Cold War, and the wreckage of lives brought low by McCarthyism and loyalty oaths, his party membership matters less in retrospect. What mattered then, and what matters now, is the atomic bomb Oppenheimer built. Early in World War II, high on a remote mesa at Los Alamos, he assembled what was certainly the greatest concentration of very smart people ever brought together for a single task. Many of them were brilliant young left- wing intellectuals, many had escaped Nazi occupied Europe, or like Oppenheimer, had Jewish relatives fleeing the Germans. Their task was to build a weapon to stop Hitler's unstoppable wave of systematic murder, and they built it well. If they hadn't forged that first atomic bomb and urged that it be dropped on Japanese civilians (even after Hitler's defeat), someone else probably would have. But they are the ones who did it, and we are the ones who have lived ever since with that bomb and its ever-multiplying descendants. Oppenheimer's Hiroshima bomb was about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Pound for pound, it was the most expensive man-made object ever constructed, but it was fluff compared to the multimegaton savagery soon to be concocted by others with stronger stomachs. By 1952, Los Alamos scientists had exploded a bomb 500 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb; in 1961 the Soviets exploded a 58-megaton bomb, with 3,000 times the force of the Hiroshima explosion. Edward Teller, who had argued against dropping the first bomb on a city, was by 1954 proposing a 10,000-megaton bomb . . . and by 1960 they had figured out how to mass produce little A-bombs the size of cantaloupes and were laying plans to explode a hydrogen bomb on the surface of the moon. Since 1945, something like 100,000 nuclear bombs have been manufactured. Long ago we passed that milestone in history when it became possible to exterminate all life on Earth. That probably won't happen in our lifetimes. But if you can get together a coffee can of enriched uranium, the Hiroshima- sized bombs designed at Los Alamos are relatively cheap and easy to build -- in Iraq, in Israel, probably in Idaho or Paraguay if you're passionate and determined enough. Getting the fuel is the only really hard part. Today, Saddam Hussein apparently dreams of building a uranium hydride bomb (designed by Teller at Los Alamos in 1941), and is apparently separating weapons-grade uranium on simple, old-fashioned machines called "Calutrons," so named for UC Berkeley, where they were designed by Ernest Lawrence in 1942 for the Manhattan Project. In the 1950s, Oppenheimer was the most influential scientist in the U.S., but his fibs, fabrications and duplicity got him in a world of trouble. Late one night in 1979, on a gravel road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I met his friend, the French novelist Haakon Chevalier, about whom Oppenheimer had concocted a bizarre tale for Los Alamos security investigators, falsely claiming that Chevalier was part of an imagined plot to steal the secret of the atomic bomb. The fabrication ruined the unwitting Chevalier's career. Oppenheimer, who died in 1967, may or may not have been a clandestine Communist, but Chevalier's claim that the scientist briefly belonged to a special unit of the Communist Party in Berkeley in the late '30s offers nothing we didn't already know about him. There has been absolutely no evidence that the celebrated physicist ever spied for anyone. What also struck me in 1979 was that the CIA, the Army, the House Un- American Activities Committee, and the FBI, in 20 years of interrogating Oppenheimer and Chevalier, their families and friends, reading their mail, wiretapping their phones (and their lawyers' phones), shadowing them with agents, hauling them before tribunals, had, to the government's unending consternation, failed to confirm the information Chevalier had so casually passed on to me. The truly astonishing intelligence failures had happened in 1943, even before the first bomb was exploded, when a real Communist spy, the English physicist Klaus Fuchs, had easily slipped detailed drawings of the bomb's plutonium core assembly out the front door of Los Alamos Labs to Stalin. Again in 1949, Fuchs, still a Soviet spy, still employed at Los Alamos, secured a classified U.S. patent on the hydrogen bomb. Before Hiroshima, barely a handful among those thousands of people feverishly working on what they knew to be a near-genocidal weapon paused to question what unintended consequences they might set in motion with "the gadget." I fear that I myself might not have paused. But after his bombs nearly blew two entire Japanese cities off the face of the Earth (in about nine seconds each), Oppenheimer knew he could never get the genie back in the bottle. After the war, he first supported and then opposed development of the hydrogen bomb, on moral grounds. He and many others from wartime Los Alamos spent the rest of their lives working to effect a lasting peace, to bring all nuclear weapons and all nuclear secrets under international control so that future generations -- our generations -- would not have to live under their cloud. They nearly succeeded. Oppenheimer's political activism on the Berkeley campus in 1939 pales in significance compared with the lasting bargain that UC and other major universities first struck with big weapons research programs around that same time. Herken's "Brotherhood" traces how the wartime urgency of secret Manhattan Project contracts signed in Berkeley's LeConte Hall in 1943 had become so routine by 1950 that President Robert Sproul and the regents unanimously authorized a classified $11 million Atomic Energy Commission contract without knowing what it was for -- construction of the first hydrogen bomb. Now, half a century later, as President Bush signs into law the largest military budget since the Cold War, UC has just renewed a five-year contract to run the weapons laboratories at Los Alamos and Livermore. Serious talk about the resumption of nuclear testing in Nevada has surfaced within the administration and the labs. Now the Bush administration is hinting at nuclear retaliation to chemical and biological terrorist attacks. Stalinism, fascism, Maoism, liberal democracy, Islamic fundamentalism and the Bush Doctrine may ebb and flow, but we will live with atomic bombs until the end of time. The Los Alamos scientists are almost all gone now. They were mostly humanist bomb builders, nearly all liberals, living in the miracle years of particle physics. The best and the brightest of them spoke half a dozen languages, read the classics in Greek or, like Oppenheimer, the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit, and wrestled with moral demons. But they were filled with hope. They were people like you and me, only much smarter, who, in a fight against evil, designed and built the most savage weapon in history, and they did it in an effort to save civilization. When I interviewed physicist Frank Oppenheimer, Robert's brother, who also worked on the bomb at Berkeley and Los Alamos. Frank had openly joined the Communist Party in the 1930s, then openly lied about it, and paid dearly. After refusing to name names, he was blacklisted from physics in the 1950s and forced into internal exile high in the mountains of Colorado, only to emerge as the beloved founder of San Francisco's Exploratorium, one of the finest science museums in the world. After a long conversation about the '30s and the war years, Frank offered a final thought on the heady triumphs at Los Alamos: "So far, nothing has turned out quite the way we hoped." Jon Else teaches at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and is the director of "The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb." · Printer-friendly version · Email this article to a friend ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.   Page E - 1 ***************************************************************** 51 INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ: A PRIMER Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Since the first Gulf crisis in 1991, the Bulletin has closely followed the efforts of arms inspectors to uncover Iraq's illicit weapons programs. By David Albright, May/June 1998 By 1998, many believed that Iraq’s nuclear program had been dismantled and most if not all of the program's materials and equipment destroyed. But in a seven-year-plus effort, inspectors from the U.N. Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency Action Team had to work through so many layers of deception, and received so many different “full, final, and complete declarations” from the Iraqis, that they had no doubt Iraq was still hiding important information. The Hijacking of UNSCOM
By Susan Wright, July/August 1999 The work of the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) charged with disarming Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs came to an untimely end in December 1998. According to Wright, "UNSCOM's downfall resulted not only from the use of its work to justify . . . the bombing of Iraq by the United States and Britain, but also because of the gradual blurring of organizational and operational boundaries that needed to be kept pristinely clear." Inside Saddam's Secret Nuclear Program
By Khidir Hamza, September/October 1998 Has Iraq Come Clean at Last? By David Albright & Robert Kelley, November/December 1995 Iraqi defectors, including weapons scientists and military officials, have been a key source of information for weapons inspectors over the years. In 1994, the nuclear scientist Khidir Hamza escaped, eventually revealing to the world how Saddam Hussein had systematically hoodwinked the International Atomic Energy Agency. A year later, Gen. Hussein Kamel, the former head of the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Military Industrialization, fled to Jordan. He revealed that in the spring of 1991, Iraq had decided to embark on a crash program to build a single nuclear weapon. Kamel's defection prompted Iraq to release a massive cache of documents, which according to Albright and Kelley ("Has Iraq Come Clean at Last?") showed that if Iraq had not invaded Kuwait, "thus touching off retaliatory measures, Iraq's long-range nuclear weapons program might have produced enough highly enriched uranium by 1996 for a small nuclear arsenal." Iraq's Shop-Till-You-Drop Nuclear Program
By David Albright & Mark Hibbs, April 1992 Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, announced on December 10, 2002, that he would not reveal the names of foreign arms suppliers listed by Iraq on its weapons declaration because it might cause the suppliers to clam up when interrogated. Blix told the U.N. Security Council that if the inspectors "were given the names publicly, then they would never get another supplier to give them information." In this 1992 article, Albright and Hibbs discuss what was learned about Iraq's foreign suppliers during inspections that followed the Gulf War. "Western companies and governments, particularly Germany, do not want to be embarrassed by public revelations about their involvement with Iraq's nuclear program," the authors wrote. "Firms fear that commercial secrets will leak out. But exposing the way Iraq tried to buy itself a nuclear weapons program is critical to determining where export controls failed—or worked—and what improvements are needed if the Iraqi experience is not to be repeated." Iraq and the Bomb: Were They Even By David Albright & Mark Hibbs, March 1991 The current U.S. administration claims that it has evidence that Iraq is close to building a nuclear bomb. But the evidence revealed to the public so far—like Iraq's attempts to purchase specially designed aluminum tubes—seems to point in the opposite direction: that the country is still years away from having a nuclear capability. This wouldn't be the first time that the United States has made exaggerated claims regarding Iraq's weapons capabilities: In the months leading up to the 1991 Gulf War, then–President George H. W. Bush argued that military force was necessary because of "Saddam Hussein's nuclear bomb potential." But according to Albright and Hibbs, at the time of the U.S. attack in January 1991, Iraq was still "many years away from developing usable nuclear weapons." © 2002 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ***************************************************************** 52 LANL Fraud Inquiry Expands * * December 14, 2002 *Santa Fe New Mexican* *_home_* By ROBERT GEHRKE | The Associated Press 12/14/2002 * WASHINGTON?A House committee is expanding its inquiry into fraud and credit-card abuse at Los Alamos National Laboratory, saying it is apparent the abuse is more widespread than first thought. * The committee issued a sweeping demand for new documents, including reports to lab Director John C. Browne on the alleged irregularities, and a breakdown of whether computers missing from the nuclear lab contained classified information. Ken Johnson, spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said three investigators are being sent to the lab and will begin their work on Monday. "It is apparent that the amount of fraud and abuse at LANL is much more extensive and includes many more employees than we had originally at first believed," said the letter, signed by committee Chairman Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-La., and other senior members. The letter to Richard C. Atkinson, president of the University of California, which runs the lab, expressed frustration at "the apparent failure of the University of California and LANL to sufficiently address these issues over the past several years." In the letter, which was sent Tuesday and released publicly Friday, the committee also requested documents regarding the firing of two investigators. The two were dismissed after blowing the whistle on the lab's management practices and materials from the lab's auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Lab spokeswoman Linn Tytler said late Friday: "We will fully cooperate with the committee and supply all of the requested documents." Johnson said the expanded request for documents was a result of questions raised by documents received from an earlier request by the committee, press reports and information from Los Alamos employees "suggesting that the problems are more prevalent than first reported." Danielle Brian, executive director of the Washington-based watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, which has worked with Los Alamos whistleblowers, said the letter was an encouraging sign. "We think it's a great start. It's obviously a serious investigation," she said. The Los Alamos lab grew out of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II and has been a key part of the country's nuclear-energy and -weapons programs since. The FBI, the Energy Department's inspector general and the Senate Finance Committee are also investigating the allegations of fraud, theft and cover-up at the nuclear-weapons lab. Three lab employees are on administrative leave following initial phases of the investigation. Two investigators, Glenn Walp and Steven Doran, who sounded alarms about misuse of the credit cards and missing equipment were fired. Walp submitted a report to LANL authorities in March that listed 263 computers as missing since 1999, many of them presumed stolen. About $2.7 million worth of equipment is unaccounted for, according to Walp's reports. On Oct. 31, FBI agents armed with search warrants scoured the homes of Los Alamos employees Peter Bussolini and Scott Alexander and found thousands of dollars worth of goods that may have been acquired by abusing lab purchase orders. A third employee may have used her government credit card to buy a Ford Mustang. /©Santa Fe New Mexican 2002/ ***************************************************************** 53 DOE will extend Sandia management contract The Current Argus Friday, December 13, 2002 - 10:25:57 PM MST By Leslie Hoffman Associated Press Writer ALBUQUERQUE - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced a five-year contract extension Friday for Sandia National Laboratories a day after raising doubt about the future of Los Alamos National Laboratory's management. "Your performance has been outstanding, and I think it should be rewarded," Abraham told Sandia workers to thunderous applause. The current Sandia contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. to manage the Albuquerque lab expires next Sept. 30. The extension continues from there through September 2008. Lockheed Martin has managed Sandia since 1993. Abraham, in announcing the extension, was joined by members of New Mexico's congressional delegation and lab President C. Paul Robinson. Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., called Abraham's decision a vote of confidence for Sandia. Abraham said Domenici, Bingaman and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., had urged him to extend the contract. "They're all so subtle on these matters, especially the guy sitting right over here," Abraham joked, gesturing to a smiling Domenici. There had been discussion about the Department of Energy possibly putting Sandia's contract out to bid. The University of Texas had expressed interest in it. Domenici said the DOE had been contemplating a one- to two-year temporary extension. He said Lockheed Martin deserved a full five-year extension without resubmitting the contract to bidding. Robinson said the extension provides continuity for Sandia and benefits the nation. "This is very welcome news," he said. "It is good to know that we will not face the distractions of a contract competition at this time of critical national challenge." Abraham's visit to Albuquerque's nuclear weapons laboratory was part of a two-day visit to New Mexico. His trip came amid federal scrutiny at Los Alamos National Laboratory where the DOE, FBI and two congressional committees were investigating allegations of fraud, theft and cover-up. Robinson said knowing that Los Alamos was battling such problems made him even more grateful for Friday's "report card day" by Abraham. The energy secretary commended Sandia for its role in national security, citing recent work on anthrax decontamination foam, computer security systems and biological and chemical weapons detection tools. Under Lockheed Martin management, Sandia consistently has received outstanding performance ratings from the DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration. "Without Sandia's work, we would not be as strong a country as we are today," Abraham said. In contrast, he had said Thursday that his agency takes the Los Alamos problems "extremely seriously" and that the University of California, which runs the lab for DOE, had better fix them. "The federal government pays that university to run this lab. We expect them to run it the right way, to address all of these issues," Abraham said Thursday in Santa Fe. "We've made it very clear to them that they are responsible here, and we will hold them to that responsibility," he said. Domenici, who will head the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year, said he found it difficult to understand how some of the alleged incidents could have occurred. Among other things, investigators have reported that as many as 263 computers had disappeared at Los Alamos, many of them brand new and never used. © 1999-2002 MediaNews Group, Inc. ***************************************************************** 54 Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham Announces 5-Year Contract Extension for Sandia National Labs energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2002 [Print Friendly WASHINGTON, D.C. - Speaking to employees at the Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today announced his intent to extend Lockheed Martin Corporation's contract for five-years noncompetitively, contingent on successful negotiation of contract terms. Lockheed Martin holds the contract through the Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary. The current contract expires in September 2003. The new contract extension is valued at more than $8 billion over the next 5 years. "Sandia has performed among the best in class, if not the best, in managing its national security laboratories during a very challenging period for nuclear weapons laboratories," Abraham said. "The employees and management of Sandia have done a superb job and I commend them for it. Good work, experience, and dedication should be recognized and rewarded." The extension will provide continuity for the laboratory and its employees as they fulfill their critical roles in homeland security and in managing America's nuclear weapons stockpile. NNSA Acting Administrator Linton Brooks said, "Sandia is one of our national laboratory gems. It is involved with the important tasks of keeping our nuclear weapons stockpile safe, secure and reliable, while creating new technologies to aid homeland security and law enforcement." Martin Marietta, since merged into Lockheed Martin Corporation, won the original contract in 1993. Sandia National Laboratories has earned high performance reviews and won numerous awards since then. Sandia National Laboratories has been involved in U.S. national security since 1945, when it was a part of our first nuclear weapons program. President Harry Truman established Sandia as an independent national laboratory in 1949. Media Contact: Joe Davis / Jeanne Lopatto, 202-586-4940 Anson Franklin / Bryan Wilkes, 202-586-7371 ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************