***************************************************************** 08/16/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.209 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 UK: Nuclear meltdown: nuclear privatization 2 Minatom Says Binding Plans for Return of Iranian SNF Ready to be 3 US: NUCLEAR REACTORS 4 US: Davis-Besse admits it put production before safety 5 US: FirstEnergy admits mistakes 6 China-built Nuclear Generator Unit Operational 7 Earth Summit to Spur Ukraine to Action: Chernobyl 8 US: NRC probes safety at aging power plant NUCLEAR SAFETY 9 US: [generalnews] NRC urges US nuclear plants be checked for leaks 10 US: Common questions about potassium iodide pills 11 UK: City terror attack survival plan 12 US: Defense adviser says full-scale nuclear tests needed in Nevada 13 US: PA: Anti-Radiation Pills Distributed 14 US: Radioactive Device Falls Off Truck, But Is Returned 15 US: Nuclear precaution 16 US: Nuclear Regulators: Attack Risk Low 17 US: Cleanup at base under way * NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 18 Overall Files Formal Request With NRC Seeking Local Hearing On NFS P 19 Taipower scraps Hsiaochiu nuclear waste dump plan 20 US: State Files Its Appeal To Halt Goshute Plan 21 US: Welcome to Yucca Mountain 22 DOE Letter to NRC on the LES Gas Centrifuge Project 23 AU: nuclear dumping law 24 US: A federal judge took away the U.S. Department of Energys magic NUCLEAR WEAPONS 25 [generalnews] UPDATE - North Korea warned as atomic project 26 Iraq Ready for Return of Inspectors 27 Protesters Greet U.S. Ship in Japan 28 US: NUCLEAR DETONATIONS: No need yet for more tests, lawmakers say 29 ISRAEL'S NUKE REVENGE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 30 Tribes seek input on Hanford Reach 31 U.S. computing comeback slated to start at ORNL 32 DOE's Oak Ridge National Lab to Test New Cray Supercomputer for 33 Health: Rocketdyne officials insist that only safe materials from 34 Livermore Lab Readies Tools to Shore Up Port Defense* OTHER NUCLEAR 35 U.S. disappoints sinking Pacific - ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UK: Nuclear meltdown: nuclear privatization [A part of canada.com] [NATIONAL POST] Friday August 16 2002 British Energy was supposed to prove the power of privatization. Instead, it's shown that nuclear energy can't compete in a free-market environment Tom Adams National Post An illustration of a hand about to flush a toilet -- which is in the form of a nuclear reactor -- that has piles of money in it. The meltdown in the stock price of British Energy -- down 92% from its peak -- demonstrates that nuclear power is not remotely economic. Here is a corporation -- the world's only listed nuclear generating company operating in a competitive arena -- that seemingly has everything going for it, most recently a windfall in Ontario, where it leases eight Candu reactors. And still this company's stock performs more like a vanishing dot-com than the asset-rich, low-debt company that it is. When Margaret Thatcher privatized the U.K.'s electric power sector in 1990, she created close to 20 power companies where one had stood. British Energy, formed in 1996 by investors who cherry-picked the best of the government's nuclear assets, is the one economic catastrophe among them. In the privatization, British Energy acquired 15 reactors, including the spanking new Sizewell B, the country's most advanced reactor. For this impressive fleet -- the 9,600 megawatts of nuclear capacity it acquired then exceeds the entire nuclear fleet operating in Ontario today -- the company paid just half the cost of constructing Sizewell B alone. Not a bad start in life. British Energy also benefitted from massive insurance subsidies in the form of legislation that absolves it of financial responsibility. In the U.K. and Canada, the company and its suppliers enjoy almost complete legal exemption from third-party liability in the event of a serious reactor accident. In the United States, where British Energy has a stake in three states, its third-party liabilities are also capped by law, albeit at a higher level than in Canada and the U.K. British Energy -- known for its solid management, strong work force, and good industrial worker safety record -- performed superbly, astounding the energy world with the improvements that it squeezed out of its fleet. The company has consistently increased production from its nuclear units -- a total of over 10% from 1996 to the present. Meanwhile, it lowered its costs from those same 15 reactors by a full 30%. But the 30% wasn't enough to overcome nuclear power's inability to compete in a free-market environment. Nuclear power's operating costs remained high relative to its competitors, particularly high-efficiency gas generation, which has driven down the cost of power to levels that eroded profits from British Energy's nuclear plants. Neither can it count on Ontario to remain a money machine. When British Energy first acquired its stake in the Ontario reactors, in July, 2000, it only expected to reap high revenues for a few months, until Ontario's power sector was scheduled to become competitive. But Ontario's then premier Mike Harris delayed the market opening until May of 2002, allowing British Energy to charge monopoly prices for another year. The upshot of all these events has been a five-year profit slide. For the year ending in March, 2002, the company declared a loss of 527-million (about $1.2-billion). Early euphoria over the company's prospects had led to a run-up in the stock price, from 105 pence per share at its launch to 749 pence per share in early 1999. Then reality set in, and the stock began to tumble. Starting this May, fresh operational problems at three reactors in the U.K. and one in Ontario further weakened investor confidence. The stock ended the day yesterday at 60 p/share. In the last year, British Energy's stock declined by 78%, compared to 23% for the broader Financial Times index. British Energy's nuclear assets, when they were owned by the U.K. government, were valued at over 10-billion ($24-billion). British Energy's current market capitalization is a mere 366-million ($880-million), and that includes stakes in 11 North American nuclear reactors. British Energy's response to its declining fortunes has been to ask for government aid. Last November, the company told the U.K. government that "New nuclear is uneconomic against gas-fired combined cycle plants in the present and foreseeable U.K. market." The outlook for British Energy, and the U.K. nuclear industry, was glum, it explained. Most of its U.K. generators have graphite reactor cores that deteriorate with use, putting a finite limit on reactor life. Worried about the implications of being nothing more than a custodian for a dwindling rump of unwanted assets but also mindful that without protection from market forces new nuclear investment is impossible, the company began lobbying for fresh government subsidies to fuel another round of nuclear expansion. For example, British Energy wants the government to force U.K. electricity customers to take 25% of their power from nuclear sources, and it wants taxpayers to take on various costs, including liabilities for radioactive waste. It also wants relief from business and production taxes. And it claims environmental benefits -- such as an absence of greenhouse gases -- as a rationale for government aid. At the end of the day, the U.K.'s privately owned nuclear company is behaving much as its publicly owned predecessor did -- asking for bailouts while producing high-cost power. When it was a government-run enterprise, politicians repeatedly complied, largely because the state-run utility managed to convince the politicians that nuclear power was economical . Now the chance of a government rescue, and the bankrolling of a new generation of reactors, is remote. The marketplace has pronounced on the economic viability of nuclear power. Copyright 2002 National Post ***************************************************************** 2 Minatom Says Binding Plans for Return of Iranian SNF Ready to be Signed International Co-operation Section on Russia's nuclear industry international co-operation and exports of Russian nuclear technology. MOSCOW - Russia's Nuclear Energy Ministry, Minatom, is finally drawing up legally binding documents to insure the return of spent nuclear fuel from the reactor it is building in Bushehr, Iran, that it expects will be signed by the end of August, top Ministry officials have said. The controversial nuclear power plant in Bushehr is in full swing construction. www.iranian.com Charles Digges, 2002-08-15 14:39 The issue of reclaiming the spent nuclear fuel from the $800 million reactor on the Persian Gulf which is expected to go into service in 2003 or 2004 became a heated issue last month when Ministry documents leaked to Greenpeace and shown to Bellona Web revealed that Minatom had no legally binding agreement for the spent fuel's return in place. When SNF is reprocessed, it yields plutonium that can be used in making nuclear weapons, and the United States has long contended that Russia's construction of the civil plant is cover for the development of a nuclear weapons program in Iran. Western concerns reached a fever pitch late last month when Russia announced sketchy plans to build another five reactors in Iran over the next ten years plans Minatom has somewhat toned down after scathing criticism from US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, who visited Moscow days after the plans were revealed. First Deputy Atomic Minister Lev Ryabev on Thursday told Bellona Web that Minatom has drawn up a packet of documents that will insure the fuel's return to Russia "so that Iran cannot use the SNF for any other purposes." "This is a civilian project, as we have said many times, and we are doing everything possible to guarantee that no possibility for manufacturing weapons can be realized," he said. But neither Ryabev nor First Deputy Atomic Minister Valery Lebedev would provide any more specifics about the plan for instance, whether Iran will be charged to return the fuel to Russia as part of Minatom's plan to reap billions in SNF imports, or precisely when the contract would be signed. "We expect it will be signed by the end of August, but whether we will be charging or not we cannot say," said a spokesman for Lebedev. Ryabev was equally vague, saying: "There is still much to be discussed regarding this power bloc." A spokesman for the US Department of State told Bellona Web that the announcement of binding documents on the fuel's return was "a positive step." But the spokesman emphasized that the United States is "still opposed to this project and we will be monitoring it carefully." Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, Ryabev repeated the non-committal stance on building more reactors in Iran that Minatom adopted after a dressing-down by Energy Secretary Abraham, who, while visiting Moscow, became the highest ranking US official to publicly suggest a tie between the Bushehr plant and a possible nuclear weapons program in Iran. "I would not like to say that we will build only one reactor. But I also would not like to say that we will certainly build six or any other number of reactors, since any such statements would be premature," said Ryabev to reporters, according to Interfax. He added, however, that "the most realistic follow-up of the cooperation would be to complete the second power generating unit of the Bushehr plant. But, so far, there are no corresponding agreements or documents." Ryabev repeated that there was "no military cooperation between Russia and Iran in the nuclear area," Interfax reported. But he criticized the American stance on the reactor project as unfounded, saying: "There is only criticism, and when you ask for documents to prove this concern, no such documents are made available. Only an emotional call to stop this cooperation follows," the agency quoted him as saying. Read on 2002-06-27 Non-Proliferation Leaked Minatom Documents Show No Plan For Iranian SNF 2002-08-05 International Co-operation Minatom Cools on Heated Iranian Reactor Plan 2002-07-29 International Co-operation Russia Outlines Plans for Five More Iranian Reactors, Stoking Weapons Programme Fears 2002-05-10 International Co-operation Russian Nuke Minister Says US Tensions Easing Over Iranian Nuke Plant Publisher: [bellona@bellona.no] , President: [frederic@bellona.no] Information: [info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: [webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 3 Limestone sheriff seeks funds to quell nuke protests USA WEEKEND [http://www.usaweekend.com/partners/decaturdaily.html] Buy one meal and get one free! Click here for details. [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/special/dine/] News from the Tennessee Valley [State, Local and National news] HOME PAGE [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml] NEWS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/index.shtml] SPORTS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/sports/index.shtml] LIVING TODAY [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/livingtoday/index.shtml] CLASSIFIEDS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/classifieds/index.shtml] OBITUARIES [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/obituaries/index.shtml] WEDDINGS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/weddings/index.shtml] WEATHER [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/weather/index.shtml] BOOKS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/books/index.shtml] BUSINESS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/business/index.shtml] COLUMNISTS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/columnists/index.shtml] CURRENT [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/current/index.shtml] DIVERSIONS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/diversions/index.shtml] FOOD [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/food/index.shtml] HAPPENINGS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/happenings/index.shtml] HEALTH [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/health/index.shtml] OPINION [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/opinion/index.shtml] RELIGION [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/religion/index.shtml] TEEN PAGE [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/teenpage/index.shtml] ABOUT THE DAILY [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/thedaily/index.shtml] ARCHIVES [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/archives/index.shtml] COMMUNITY [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/community/index.shtml] FEEDBACK [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/feedback/index.shtml] FORUMS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/forums/index.shtml] ONLINE POLLS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/polls/index.shtml] SUBSCRIBE [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/subscribe/index.shtml] TV LISTINGS [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/tv/index.shtml] THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2002 HOME | NEWS | FORUMS | ARCHIVES | OBITUARIES | WEATHER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Limestone sheriff seeks funds to quell nuke protests By Holly Hollman DAILY Staff Writer hhollman@decaturdaily.com ATHENS -- Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely told the County Commission on Wednesday that he needs more money for banging down doors and quelling potential nuclear protests. In his plea for money to buy ballistic helmets and entry shields, Blakely told commissioners that his officers not only break down doors, but would be responsible for crowd control if Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant's Unit 1 restart drew protesters. "TVA police told us they're expecting a large group of protesters over the opening of the reactor," Blakely said Wednesday during a budget hearing. "We need this if passive protesters turn violent." TVA plans to restart the reactor in May 2007. It is TVA's oldest reactor and has been idle since 1985. The unit currently is undergoing license renewal. Browns Ferry spokesman Craig Beasley said the plant hasn't received indications that there will be protests. "We do prepare for it, just in case," he said, "but that's more for the protesters' safety. We try to designate a safe area for them. We also have to look at plant safety since we're under heightened security." The 10 ballistic helmets and two entry shields the sheriff wants would cost $5,500. Blakely said his officers are "kicking down doors from time to time" and need this extra protection. People can barricade themselves in their homes or take hostages, he said. "Being able to force an entry is important," he said. "I've spent 20 years doing it, and a lot of times not wearing a vest. It's not good business anymore if officers don't have adequate protection." Blakely also wants the county to hire a training officer, two patrol deputies, a warrant clerk and a communications supervisor. If approved, a COPS grant would pay for two patrol deputies. Blakely did not have an estimated cost for the additional positions. The sheriff said his jailers and dispatchers also need a raise. Blakely said that on average, they make $2 an hour less than Athens Police Department dispatchers. This is his main priority for the 2002-2003 budget year, he said. His department has lost 19 jailers and dispatchers to the city in the last 20 years, he said. These are other equipment needs he included in his jail and sheriff's office budget request: + Two new patrol cars, $50,000 + Two digital cameras, $1,400 + Uniforms, $7,000 additional for a total of $28,000 + 17 walkie-talkies for patrol deputies, $10,200 + One camcorder to replace one in investigations, $1,000 + Southern Linc contract for radios, $6,000 + 25 mini Maglites to replace large flashlights, $2,5000 + Printer for new finger printing equipment, $9,000 The sheriff's overall budget request is for about $3 million, not including the cost of additional personnel. The 2001-2002 combined total for sheriff's office and jail budgets was $2.8 million. Copyright 2002 THE DECATUR DAILY. All rights reserved. AP contributed to this report. --> Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. --> SEE ALSO: + --> Leave feedback on this or another story. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE DECATUR DAILY 201 1st Ave. SE P.O. Box 2213 Decatur, Ala. 35609 (256) 353-4612 webmaster@decaturdaily.com [webmaster@decaturdaily.com] www.decaturdaily.com ***************************************************************** 4 Davis-Besse admits it put production before safety The Plain Dealer Ohio News 08/16/02 John Funk and John Mangels Plain Dealer reporters Chicago - A chastened team of FirstEnergy nuclear division officials yesterday admitted to federal regulators that the Davis-Besse plant in the last three years slid into a routine in which electricity production mattered more than safety. Teamwork declined, clues to major equipment problems were overlooked, and managers rarely went into the reactor build ing. crippled the plant and shaken the nuclear industry. In a four-hour presentation, the new Davis-Besse leaders described to Nuclear Regulatory Commission members how the former management failed. And they detailed the steps the reformers are taking to overhaul the plant's culture and rebuild its commitment to safety and excell- ence. The presentation and report are a required step in gaining the NRC's permission to restart the plant. "As an organization, we're very humble and, in fact, embarrassed," said FirstEnergy nuclear's chief operating officer, Lew Myers. When it came to diagnosing the problems that hinted at the corrosion simmering on Davis-Besse's reactor lid, "we often jumped to the first conclusion, that was in many cases production-oriented," Myers said. While NRC officials overseeing repairs at the plant said the inch-thick management analysis seemed at first glance to hit the right themes, they were not yet ready to judge its adequacy. And they had strong words about the need for change at Davis-Besse. "I think you might be beyond humble, you might be into humiliation," said Jim Dyer, who heads the NRC's regional office in Chicago. "Maintaining that humble outlook is going to be critical to going forward. This cannot happen again." The management changes are crucial to the NRC's decision on when to restart the plant, said Jack Grobe, who heads the special panel overseeing FirstEnergy's restoration of Davis-Besse. "This is the most complicated and difficult area to get your arms around," Grobe said. FirstEnergy earlier had analyzed and reported to the NRC the technical reasons why the milk jug-size hole formed undetected for six years, corrosion eating its way through the 6-inch-thick lid that covers the reactor core. Only a thin, stainless-steel liner, bulging from the strain, kept the high-pressure coolant from spewing out of the reactor vessel and causing a major accident. Workers found the hole in March while fixing cracks that had formed in nozzles on the lid. Leaks from those cracks and elsewhere formed the caustic sludge that eroded the lid. The management troubles at Davis-Besse began after top officials who had helped the plant near Toledo achieve a good operating record in the late 1980s left during the next decade for opportunities at other utilities. They also occurred while the NRC office responsible for overseeing Davis-Besse was stretched thin, its inspection efforts focused more on serious problems at several other nuclear plants in the Midwest. From 1997 to 2000, "we provided a minimal amount of inspection" at Davis-Besse, Dyer said, "and as a result of that, the quality [of oversight] degraded." Plant officials knew of the potential for the boric acid used in the reactor's coolant water to cause damage if it was allowed to build up in powdered or solid form on the hot reactor lid. They also knew of the potential for the hollow nozzles in the lid - which serve as pathways for the reactor's control rods - to crack under high temperature and radiation, and for those cracks eventually to leak coolant. But plant executives didn't take the appropriate actions to keep the lid clean and to stop other sources of coolant leaks so that inspectors might have easily and quickly spotted the residue from leaking nozzles, the analysis says. Also, Davis-Besse workers at all levels wrongly assumed that there was little chance of nozzle-cracking at the plant because it was relatively young compared with other reactors. "Low probability meant low concern," said FirstEnergy's Steve Loehlein, who led the 11-member management review team of outside consultants and the company's engineers from its Davis-Besse, Perry and Beaver Valley nuclear plants. Davis-Besse workers repeatedly found clues that should have helped them and their bosses figure out that the nozzles were leaking. Machinery inside the reactor building was being coated and fouled by airborne acid from the leaking coolant. There was an unexplained jump in the leakage rate that the plant's instruments were recording. But plant personnel at all levels didn't put the puzzle's pieces together, the report says. Top managers weren't directly involved in plant problem-solving, relying on subordinates to notify them of concerns rather than recognizing them firsthand. The managers allowed Davis-Besse to run for long periods with degraded machinery and parts. Workers had the philosophy that problems weren't serious until they were proved to be. The plant's efforts to police itself declined at the same time that the threat of damage to the reactor lid increased, because of its age and high operating temperature of 605 degrees. Workers cleaning the reactor lid during each refueling shutdown weren't adequately trained, the report says. The lid inspection program didn't take into account that it might be the nozzles, and not less critical parts, that were leaking. Reports detailing the individual problems that pointed to nozzle leakage were left unresolved by managers for long periods while damage occurred unchecked. "It was a site loss of focus," Loehlein said. To address the problems, the company has replaced many of its Davis-Besse managers. It is retraining its new ones and those who remain. Managers are reconnecting with the plant, joining with personnel from many departments to "walk down" the reactor from top to bottom while repairs are under way. "In summary, we're committed to doing the job right the first time," Myers said. "We know we have a lot of work to do." Just meeting the NRC's standards to get the plant restarted won't be enough, the agency's Dyer said. "You cannot base your get-well program on what you expect the NRC to inspect. You need to set your own standards. It's going to be quite a challenging period for both you and us." complete coverage of Davis-Besse go to www.cleveland.com/davisbesse/ To reach these Plain Dealer reporters: jfunk@plaind.com, 216-999-4138 jmangels@plaind.com, 216-999-4842 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. ***************************************************************** 5 FirstEnergy admits mistakes Beacon Journal | 08/16/2002 | Its probe of Davis-Besse finds power generation topped safety as priority By Jim Mackinnon Beacon Journal business writer Electricity production, not safety, became the top priority at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in the 1990s, ownerFirstEnergy Corp. admitted Thursday. As a result, boric acid seriously damaged the reactor at the plant on the Lake Erie shore. ``We gave away the margin of safety,'' said Steve Loehlein, who headed a FirstEnergy team that examined what led to the Davis-Besse damage. The Akron utility also is investigating conflicts it has found on work orders and condition reports relating to the damaged part, a company official said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it has found inaccurate information provided by FirstEnergy but has not determined if there have been any willful violations of regulations. The NRC's Office of Investigations, which can look into criminal matters, is reviewing the documents. FirstEnergy executives made those disclosures as they met with NRC officials at the agency's Illinois regional office -- which covers Ohio -- to provide their analysis of how management failed to do its job in running the plant, which is closed for repairs. Plant management also failed to follow and enforce regulations that would have prevented the unprecedented creation of two cavities on top of the steel reactor vessel head, which covers the radioactive fuel core, utility executives acknowledged. In addition, plant staff glossed over signs that the reactor was slowly being damaged, they told the NRC. ``As an organization, we are very humble and very embarrassed,'' said Lew Myers, chief operating officer for FirstEnergy's nuclear power plant subsidiary. The Akron utility's executives came under severe criticism and pointed questions at the end of the four-hour meeting; one nuclear power critic wondered whether FirstEnergy could be trusted to tell the truth. Jim Dyer, regional administrator of the NRC's Chicago-area office, said FirstEnergy has to exceed the commission's expectations for the plant to be restarted. The utility cannot rely upon the NRC to set proper safety values, Dyer said. ``The utility needs to get out ahead of it,'' Dyer said. If First-Energy takes action based solely on what it thinks the NRC expects, ``it will be a long, hard restart process,'' he said. Barb from NRC official After FirstEnergy's Myers at one point referred to how much pride Davis-Besse staff had in the plant, Dyer said: ``It went beyond pride. It went into arrogance. I think you might be beyond humbled. I think you're into humiliation.'' But Dyer also said the NRC shared in the blame, noting that it did only a minimal number of inspections of the plant from 1997 to 2001 because the commission diverted resources to looking into what it thought were more troubled nuclear plants. FirstEnergy's report concluded: Plant management decided that taking minimum actions to meet regulatory requirements was adequate for nuclear safety. The management's style was to be less involved in details of day-to-day operations. Davis-Besse was allowed to be restarted and run for extended periods with degraded components. Staffers' philosophy was that issues weren't serious unless proven to be. As the threat of vessel-head damage increased over the years, Davis-Besse staffers were less rigorous in applying processes that would have warded off problems. Also, in the late 1990s, when FirstEnergy was created and the plant was acquired, a new incentive program for senior management rewarded them more for meeting or exceeding production goals than for safety measures, the report said. Safety incentives remained in place at lower management levels, Loehlein said. While the company's investigation did not find that the change in incentives affected decisions made by top managers, the company needs to look at the disconnect in the incentive program, Loehlein and Myers said. FirstEnergy's report listed numerous ways it has taken corrective action, including installing a new senior management team at Davis-Besse, which is in Oak Harbor about 25 miles east of Toledo. In `complete denial' Jack Grobe, the NRC's director of reactor safety who heads the agency panel that will say when Davis-Besse can restart, said plant personnel were in ``complete denial'' that something was wrong with the reactor over a period of years. ``The evidence was clear something was going on,'' Grobe said. Although industry studies showed a low probability that boric acid could damage a nuclear reactor vessel head, Davis-Besse's management apparently believed it would not happen, he and others said. Plant management allowed dry boric acid deposits to remain on top of the vessel head even though federal regulations required that the acid be removed. The acid damage to Davis-Besse was found in March after the reactor was powered down in mid-February for refueling and a safety inspection. Boric acid, part of the reactor coolant, leaked through tiny cracks on top of the vessel head. The acid, over a period of four to six years, created two cavities into the 6-inch-thick carbon steel part. The largest cavity ate through all 6 inches of the vessel head, stopping only when it hit a thin stainless-steel inner lining. FirstEnergy will replace the damaged vessel head with an unused head it bought from a nuclear plant in Michigan. The Akron utility said Davis-Besse will be ready to be restarted by the end of the year, although many analysts think the NRC won't consider giving a go-ahead until sometime in 2003. FirstEnergy could pay as much as $300 million for repairs and buying replacement electricity this year. Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com [jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com] ***************************************************************** 6 China-built Nuclear Generator Unit Operational (Beijing Time) Friday, August 16, 2002 A China-built nuclear generator with a 650,000 kilowatt capacity has begun operating at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Zhejiang Province. A China-built nuclear generator with a 650,000 kilowatt capacity has begun operating at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Zhejiang Province. Produced by the Harbin power station company, the unit is the first of its kind designed and made by China specially for the second phase project of the plant. Construction on the second phase of the project at Qinshan began on June 2, 1996, with an investment of 14.8 billion yuan (1.8 billion US dollars). Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant was the first nuclear power plant built with China's own technology. Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 7 Earth Summit to Spur Ukraine to Action: Chernobyl CIS [http://www.tmtmetropolis.ru/index.html] [http://www.sptimesrussia.com] Friday, Aug. 16, 2002. Page 4 Gleb Garanich / Reuters A man riding his bicycle through a field in Ukraine, overshadowed by the Rivne nuclear power plant's cooling facilities. KIEV -- Chernobyl, rusting industrial relics of the Soviet era, heavy pollution and mountains of waste -- Ukraine has one of the world's bleakest environmental landscapes. But Environment Minister Serhiy Kurykin said Thursday he hoped the Johannesburg Earth Summit later this month would bring changes by helping Ukraine fight widespread public indifference toward environmental issues. "Ecological problems in Ukraine are very serious. We inherited from the Soviet Union piles of industrial waste and ecologically dangerous companies. We also inherited a negligent attitude toward nature," Kurykin said. "But I hope the summit will give a powerful boost for a better understanding of ecological problems at the national level and more active practical steps. Currently, Ukraine is doing less than it could and must do." President Leonid Kuchma plans to attend the United Nations summit on the environment and development. One of the worst problems is radioactive contamination after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986, the world's worst civil nuclear accident. Ukraine closed the Chernobyl plant in December 2000. But the surrounding land remains contaminated, Kurykin said. Ukraine's government announced Thursday that it will increase funding by more than $80 million annually over the next three years to alleviate the human consequences of Chernobyl, The Associated Press reported. Total funding for the program is expected to reach $657 million by 2006, up from $400 million, the level reached this year, said Vasyl Lutsko, state secretary of the Emergency Situations Ministry, AP reported citing Interfax. Kurykin said the country had made some progress in tackling the issues of air pollution and safely securing dumps of chemicals across the country. But a lot remains to be done as the country's environmental problems rarely receive proper funding. "Ecological problems are not local, they are global. We should coordinate efforts and I hope for a positive outcome from the summit and a massive impulse for action in Ukraine and other countries," Kurykin said. TheMoscowTimes.com ***************************************************************** 8 NRC probes safety at aging power plant Intelligencer Journal LancasterOnline.com Friday, August 16 REBECCA J. RITZELIntelligencer Journal Staff Peach Bottom must address several issues, commission says, but it's on the path to license renewal. DELTA --Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station isn't yet in sufficient shape to continue operating for another 30 years, officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday. NRC inspectors revealed their findings at a public meeting at Peach Bottom Inn. For two weeks last month, the inspectors toured the plant looking for equipment that could pose safety hazards as it ages. NRC engineer Wayne Lanning compared the inspection to looking at the body of an automobile --routine maintenance keeps the motor running, he said, but sometimes you have to check the fender to see if it's rusting. Exelon Nuclear, which operates the plant, has applied for licenses to continue running two of Peach Bottom's reactors into the 2030s. The company's license to operate the Unit 2 reactor expires in 2013. Its Unit 3 license expires in 2014. The Unit 1 reactor was permanently shut down in 1974. The NRC split the relicensing study into two parts --safety hazards that could occur as the power station ages, and the plant's continuing effects on the environment. If approved, Peach Bottom's reactors would be among the first of the nation's 103 commercial units to receive license extensions. The NRC plans to announce its decision on Peach Bottom in July 2003. Earlier this month, the NRC hosted a public meeting to release the results of its environmental review. Extending Exelon's licenses for the southern York County plant, officials said, would have few negative effects on the surrounding environment. At Thursday's safety meeting, Michael Modes, the NRC's inspection team leader for Peach Bottom, cited three safety issues Exelon needs to address before the plant can get the extended licenses: First, Exelon must consider replacing, or must be ready to replace, clips that hold all electric fuses in the plant. Second, Exelon must remove from its application references to an anti-aging plan. Exelon has said it will follow an anti-aging plan agreed on by several utility companies that run boiling-water nuclear reactors like Peach Bottom. The problem with that, Modes said, is that the NRC has yet to approve the plan. Exelon shouldn't have included it in the relicense applications, he said. Third, and perhaps most crucial from a safety perspective, Exelon must address concerns about electric cable used in the plant. In its application, Exelon incorrectly listed the types of cable at Peach Bottom. NRC inspectors found polyethylene-covered cables, although Exelon said there was none on-site. If exposed to moisture, those cables likely will wear out in the next 30 years, Modes said. "They have now had to go back and look at every single cable in the plant to see what it's made of," he said. He commended Exelon, however, for completing a thorough application. Fred Powlaski, director of license renewal for Exelon, said Peach Bottom came through the inspection as he expected. "We're going to work very hard to address these last couple of issues that you've identified," he told Modes. After the inspection team members finished their report, they opened the floor to questions. Residents came armed with questions, but were told many of their concerns weren't germane to the safety inspection. Delta resident Kip Adams asked how well prepared Peach Bottom is to continue storing nuclear waste. The waste, NRC engineer Mohamed Shanbaky said, is an ongoing concern, not an issue specific to the inspection. However, he said he hopes Peach Bottom's spent fuel will soon be headed for Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Lanning said NRC regulations address ongoing issues like nuclear waste. "Our review is based on the extended period of 40 or 60 years," he said. Anti-nuclear activist Sandy Smith, who lives near Exelon's Three Mile Island power station, said she was frustrated because neither the safety inspectors nor the environmental experts had taken her pleas to shut down Peach Bottom seriously. "Why are we getting (potassium) iodide pills if it's so safe?" Smith said. "The NRC is saying, "Tough, it's going to stay open, get your iodide pills.' " The state Thursday started handing out the pills to people living within a 10-mile radius of its five nuclear plants. Shanbaky said he was one of the NRC's inspectors dispatched to Three Mile Island after the plant leaked radiation in 1979. By distributing potassium iodide pills, the state is just adding an extra layer of precaution to the NRC's already vigilant efforts, he said. "Thank God this is the United States, not the Soviet Union," Shanbaky said. "(Peach Bottom) is not Chernobyl." 2001 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 9 [generalnews] NRC urges US nuclear plants be checked for leaks Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 10:44:32 -0500 (CDT) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> 4 DVDs Free +s&p Join Now http://us.click.yahoo.com/pt6YBB/NXiEAA/RN.GAA/7gSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> NRC urges US nuclear plants be checked for leaks USA: August 12, 2002 WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Regulatory Commissilast week urged operators of U.S. nuclear power plants with pressurized water reactors to further inspect the top of their reactors for possible cracks and leaks. The NRC said it issued the bulletin in response to cracked and leaking nozzles found at several reactors and significant corrosion discovered in the reactor vessel head at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Instead of relying only on visual inspections to find any problems, the agency said reactor operators should also use ultrasound, electric currents and liquid dyes to check for cracking and corrosion in a reactor's metal head. "Inspection programs that primarily rely on visual examinations may need to be supplemented," the NRC said in a statement. The NRC asked plant operators to file their future inspection plans with the agency within 30 days. During a scheduled refueling outage at the Davis-Besse plant last February, the plant's engineers found boric acid had leaked at the base of several of the control rod nozzles that penetrate the reactor. The plant has been shut down since then. Boric acid is used in the primary coolant bath surrounding uranium rods in the reactor core. At one of the nozzles, the acid had eaten all the way through the vessel head, which was 6 inches (15-cm) thick. The vessel head is a massive piece of carbon steel 17 feet (5.2 meters) wide that is bolted down on top of the reactor to prevent any radioactive material from escaping. The corrosion was so severe that a stainless steel liner 3/8-inch (1 cm) thick inside the reactor was the only barrier left between the reactor core, which operates under enormous pressure, and the metal shroud surrounding the reactor vessel. The 25-year-old Davis-Besse plant is owned by FirstEnergy Corp. Of the 103 nuclear reactors operating in 34 states, 69 facilities are of the pressurized-water type. With a pressurized reactor, water is kept in the reactor under high pressure so it does not boil. The heated water flows from the reactor through pipes to a nearby steam generator. The pipes are surrounded by a second water supply that boils and produces steam to spin the turbine generator and produce electricity. The water then returns to the reactor, where it is reheated and sent back to the steam generator in a continuos loop. Agency staff will meet at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland on Aug. 23 with the Nuclear Energy Institute and power plant operators to discuss the new inspection guidelines. The meeting is open to the public. Story by Tom Doggett REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ________________________________________________ Grassroots International News Association (GINA) 4909 El Molino Ave Riverside CA 92504 media@ccsi.com http://www.geocities.com/rootmedia *Articles forwarded by GINA are for informational purposes only. Any views expressed in any article is that of the interviewer or/ and person being interviewed and not the views of GINA or any of it's members. Join our news lists for daily news articles: To subscribe: Send a message to media@ccsi.com with your name, and e-mail address and the name of the list(s) you would like to be added to. 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Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 10 Common questions about potassium iodide pills 101 North 6th St. Allentown, PA 18101 (610) 820-6500 Local: (610) 820-6601 Toll-free: (800) 666-5492 From The Morning Call -- August 16, 2002 People flocked to clinics in communities surrounding Pennsylvania's five power plants Thursday, the first day the state made available pills of potassium iodide, known as KI. Commonly asked questions about KI pills include: How can potassium iodide, or KI, prevent thyroid cancer? It saturates the thyroid gland with a natural form of iodine that prevents it from absorbing radioactive iodine. Can it prevent other cancers? A Pennsylvania Department of Health pamphlet says KI is not a ''magic anti-radiation pill and will only protect the thyroid gland.'' Who's eligible to receive free potassium iodide, or KI, tablets? People living, working or going to school within 10 miles of a nuclear plant. But the pills are available for purchase. There's even an online site called nukepills.com. When should a KI pill be taken? Only when public health officials or the governor recommend it during a nuclear emergency. What about side effects and people who are ill or taking medications? ''Side effects are unlikely,'' according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and KI is safe for ''pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding and people on thyroid medicine.'' Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health and Morning Call archives. Copyright 2002, The Morning Call ***************************************************************** 11 UK: City terror attack survival plan /by Joe Murphy and Patrick Sawer, Evening Standard/ MAJOR emergency plans have been drafted to protect London in the event of a terrorist attack. Tens of thousands of people will be evacuated from the capital in the aftermath of a nuclear or biological attack, while a special nerve centre has been opened by City authorities to keep financial services running following a major terrorist strike. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has opened its centre which is designed to be operational within an hour of an attack. 'After the attack on the World Trade Centre we realised it was key that the FSA has to be able to operate if its headquarters have been disrupted,' said FSA spokesman John Fryer. Both initiatives are in direct response to the 11 September attacks and underline how seriously the Government believes the capital could be in danger from terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. The London Evening Standard can reveal that City authorities and emergency services are drafting the first blueprint to transport thousands - or even millions - of people within hours of a crisis. It follows the Standard's revelation that London health chiefs are stockpiling anti-radiation pills in case of a terrorist attack spreading nuclear debris over the city. Nick Raynsford, the local government minister, is in charge of a Cabinet sub-committee charged with reviewing London's emergency planning in the wake of the 11 September attacks. The exodus plan was revealed in a letter from Judith Mayhew, the City of London Corporation's chairman of policy and resources, to the all-party Commons Defence Committee as part of an inquiry into civil emergency preparations. She wrote: 'London is currently looking at methods of mass evacuation in certain geographical areas. This required very precise communication methods as does the message allowing the return of those evacuated.' She proposes arrangements with radio and television stations to broadcast instructions 'in a manner which did not overdramatise the situation'. The logistical problems of an evacuation are immense. The Square Mile alone has 5,500 residents plus 280,000 workers who travel to offices each day. Other areas have much denser housing and worse transport links, making mass movement of people more difficult. Whitehall security experts fear a terrorist incident would cause such panic that people would try to flee the city anyway, causing gridlock on roads. Planners aim to co-ordinate trains, buses and taxis to move people safely. Train drivers would be issued with protective clothing while hundreds of police would be needed to prevent public disorder at railway stations. Whitehall insiders say the Army would be called in to protect homes and offices from looters. The London Ambulance Service is training 150 staff in specialist procedures to cope with a major CBRN - short for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear - crisis. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 16 August 2002 Terms and Conditions This Is London ***************************************************************** 12 Defense adviser says full-scale nuclear tests needed in Nevada Las Vegas SUN: August 15, 2002 ASSOCIATED PRESS NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AP) - A Defense Department adviser on nuclear weapons programs said Nevada will need to begin hosting the country's full-scale nuclear tests again in the coming years. The tests will be done to see how some materials in stockpiled nuclear weapons are aging. Dale Klein, assistant to the secretary of defense for nuclear and chemical and biological defense programs, said during a visit to Nellis Air Force Base Wednesday that corrosion issues have turned up in experiments on materials used in nuclear warheads. Resuming tests will be difficult politically, he said, noting that anti-nuclear activists and some politicians "will make the debate very loud." Watchdog groups said Klein's reasons for wanting to resume testing amount to a smokescreen for developing new nuclear weapons or modifying others. Resuming nuclear testing would also send the world spiraling into a new arms race, they said. "It will be an international disaster," said Jacqueline Cabasso, executive director of Western States Legal Foundation, a nuclear disarmament advocacy group based in Oakland, Calif. "It will be a slap in the face to most of the other countries in the world who have stuck with their obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty not to acquire nuclear weapons," she said. "If the United States resumes full-scale testing, other nuclear weapons states are going to resume full-scale nuclear testing and possibly new countries." Former Department of Energy defense chief Troy Wade shrugged off the anti-nuclear grumblings, saying he was encouraged by the comments. As the enduring stockpile gets older, its reliability and safety becomes an issue, said Wade, now chairman of the Nevada Alliance for Defense, Energy and Business. Wade said some U.S. nuclear weapons are 20 years old and that some haven't been tested in 15 years or more. Full-scale U.S. tests were put on hold indefinitely after the last one on Sept. 23, 1992. In 1997, DOE scientists launched the first series of U.S. subcritical nuclear experiments, in which small amounts of plutonium are detonated in underground caverns at the Nevada Test Site to gather data on how the stockpile ages. Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Energy Department agency responsible for the stockpile, said the Stockpile Stewardship Program is designed to ensure U.S. warheads are safe and reliable in the absence of full-scale tests. Klein was scheduled to tour the test site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, on Thursday. Longtime anti-nuclear activist Kalynda Tilges said government officials will have to face throngs of protesters who will remind them of contamination that still lingers if they try to resume nuclear tests. "I don't think we're going to trust them any more this time than we did last time," Tilges said. "Rest assured, there will be no more full-scale testing in the state of Nevada. The people won't let it happen." Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 13 PA: Anti-Radiation Pills Distributed Las Vegas SUN Today: August 16, 2002 at 4:25:25 PDT By GEORGE STRAWLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - The little white pills designed to protect against cancer weren't deemed necessary after the reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island, but area residents are happy to have them now. A few miles from the site of America's worst commercial nuclear accident, residents Thursday picked up potassium iodide pills that could make a difference if the plant has a catastrophe in the future. Since Sept. 11, the risk of that happening feels higher to many people living near Three Mile Island and other nuclear power plants. Jennifer Albright picked up two pills each for herself, her husband and two sons at a school near the plant. "If the government's going to provide it to us as a safeguard, we might as well take advantage of it," said Albright. More than 650,000 people who live and work within 10 miles of one of the state's five nuclear plants are eligible to get the pills, which are being distributed free by the state Health Department. About 42,000 pills had been distributed statewide as of midafternoon Thursday, the department said. The tablets, which are to be taken only upon instruction by the governor - and then, one tablet a day for two days - protect the thyroid gland against cancer in the event of a nuclear accident. "The most important message we're giving residents is that evacuation is the No. 1 protection they can use," said Michael K. Huff, director of the Health Department's Bureau of Community Health Systems. "But potassium iodide is an additional layer we're providing." Fifteen states have ordered the pills through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which initiated the distribution project, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. Pennsylvania is handing out pills to people living near its Beaver Valley, Limerick, Peach Bottom, Susquehanna and Three Mile Island nuclear plants. While the pill can help protect the body against one hazard, Huff said it is not a cure-all in a nuclear accident. "Potassium iodide is not a magic anti-radiation pill," he said. People living in the shadow of Three Mile Island say the added precaution can only help. "If something happens like the towers in New York and there's no warning ... at least everybody has the pill now," said Doug Gellatly, chairman of the board of supervisors in Londonderry Township, the municipality that encompasses Three Mile Island. "We've been bombarded since Sept. 11 with talk of an attack." At the elementary school here, a steady trickle of residents picked up pills and listened to precautions from nurses. The school is just a few miles down the road from Three Mile Island, where one reactor is still used. The plant's other reactor was the site of the 1979 nuclear accident, in which the reactor's core partially melted. Potassium iodide was stockpiled at evacuation sites but was not distributed during the accident. Charlene Brinser of Middletown recalled how nervous she was when it happened. "I had a child in the eighth grade," said Brinser, 66, who worked in the school cafeteria at the time. "It was a little nerve-racking to think that I might not be able to come back home again." The pills serve as an added security blanket, however slight, Brinser said. "If I have to leave and pack up some things, I at least have a couple of hours," she said. On the Net: State health agency: http://webserver.health.state.pa.us/health/site [http://webserver.health.state.pa.us/health/site] All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 14 Radioactive Device Falls Off Truck, But Is Returned The Salt Lake Tribune -- Friday, August 16, 2002 A "mildly" radioactive gauge -- about the size of a 50-quart cooler -- bounced from the back end of a construction truck near Redwood Road in south Salt Lake County on Monday. The missing instrument prompted a rare public warning from the state Division of Radiation Control, which remains on post-9/11 nuclear security alert. "We wanted to do whatever we could as a regulatory agency to make sure the property was returned to its rightful owner," said Craig Jones of Radiation Control. Fortunately, a motorist scooped the gauge up from the pavement soon after it fell off a truck owned by GEO-TEK, Inc., a Sandy building inspection company. The motorist, in turn, gave the instrument to a state Transportation Department worker who returned the device, on Tuesday, to GEO-TEK. The device measures moisture density and contains radioactive cesium-137 and americium-241. Radiation officials said the gauge presented a health danger, but only if opened. According to Jones, Monday's incident is not isolated. Radioactive equipment has disappeared at least three other times in recent memory, he said. On two occasions, radioactive equipment was stolen from parked vehicles -- Judy Fahys Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 15 Nuclear precaution PittsburghLIVE.com - [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] + Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/ki.htm] Maria Bloom James E. Knox/Tribune-Review By Bill Zlatos [bzlatos@tribweb.com] TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, August 16, 2002 Maria Bloom picked up eight anti-radiation pills for her family Thursday during the first day of a statewide program to help protect residents against a terrorist attack on nuclear plants. Bloom, 38, of Center Township in Butler County, concedes the possibility of a terrorist attack against a nuclear plant such as Beaver Valley Power Station. But like many yesterday, she showed up not from fear, but from precaution. "This is one way I can protect us," she said after obtaining pills for her husband, Michael; her children, Jessica, 11, and Caulin, 8; and her mother, Tina Gerace, 62. "I never really thought Sept. 11 could happen, and it did," Bloom said. Nine people lined up an hour early at the Beaver County State Health Center in Beaver. By the end of the first hour, local health officials had handed out 500 pills of potassium iodide, a salt compound that helps reduce the risk of thyroid cancer from radiation. By the time the center closed at 7 p.m., 3,582 pills had been distributed, said Anita Lukacs, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. As part of the distribution program, health officials told residents how to use the pills. Adults take one pill a day for two days. Children take a half tablet for two days. Receptors in the thyroid gland, located in the throat, pick up iodine and use it to make a hormone necessary for cells. During a nuclear release, the thyroid will absorb the radioactive iodine produced in the process of making energy from nuclear fuel. The radioactive iodine can cause cancer. Pills available The Pennsylvania Department of Health is distributing potassium iodide pills today through Wednesday to people who live within 10 miles of the state's five nuclear power plants. In western Pennsylvania, the distribution site is the Beaver County State Health Center, 300 S. Walnut Lane, Beaver. Residents may pick up two pills for each member of their family and other people who cannot get the pills themselves. The pills may be obtained from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekend. But the potassium iodide tablets fill the receptors with cold or harmless iodine so they do not pick up the radioactive iodine. "The most vulnerable individuals are children," said Helen A. Burns, deputy secretary for health planning and assessment in the state Department of Health. Pregnant mothers and those who are nursing also are at risk. The state accepted a federal offer to give the pills away free to the estimated 1 million people who live, work or attend school within 10 miles of the state's five nuclear power plants. The current program targets the 640,000 who live near a nuclear power plant, including the 89,000 near the plant in Shippingport. Burns said the state of Maryland's experience showed that about one-third of the affected people will get the pills. "We've had a very positive response this morning," she said. "We've had a steady stream of individuals coming into the state health center to pick up pills for themselves and some for families." Lukacs said the pace continued throughout the day. "We didn't know what to expect," she said. Cynthia Jamison, 42, of Hopewell, picked up tablets while her daughters, Amanda, 8, and Sarah, 4, squirmed on the same chair and sucked grapefruit lollipops. Jamison said she doesn't worry about a possible terrorist attack, but is just playing it safe. "You think about it, but hopefully nothing will ever happen," she said. Karyn Jacobson, 35, of Beaver, toted her sons, Zachary, 5, Preston, 4, and 18-month-old Andrew, to the center for pills. "I'm not really concerned or frightened of that at this time," she said. "I feel better we have them." Bloom praised the state's effort. "They're doing a good job. It might get a little crazy, but they're pretty well organized." Harry Wallace, 64, of Beaver, said the state could have done a better job with directions. Officials posted small signs labeled KI the chemical symbol for potassium iodide in the town. "Everybody not familiar with this area would have had a hard time finding it," he said. Ozzie Scassa, 70, of Beaver, showed up for the pills after hearing about them yesterday morning at a fast-food restaurant. But after working 20 years inside the plant, he's not concerned about a radioactive release. "I know how it's built," he said. "Nobody could come with anything big enough to blow it up. "The concrete is so thick they could never penetrate it." Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com [bzlatos@tribweb.com] or (412) 320-7828. [ekost@tribweb.com] ***************************************************************** 16 Nuclear Regulators: Attack Risk Low Las Vegas SUN: August 15, 2002 By JOHN HEILPRIN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says controlling the airspace over atomic power plants is the best available way to prevent a terrorist attack. The agency also again acknowledged that the plants were not built to withstand a fully fueled jetliner crashing into them. "The commission believes that the nation's efforts associated with protecting against terrorist attacks by air should be directed toward enhancing security at airports and on airplanes," the director of the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation wrote a whistle-blower group. Samuel J. Collins said the NRC, the Federal Aviation Administration and Defense Department have discussed the idea of protecting air space over the power reactors and other sensitive sites. In the meantime, the FAA's post-Sept. 11 warning to pilots not to circle or loiter over those areas remains in effect, he wrote in an Aug. 10 response to a petition by the National Whistleblower Center for security upgrades. NRC officials have concluded the probability of terrorists using a large airliner to damage a nuclear power plant "remains acceptably low," Collins said. He said there have been "no specific credible threats against any NRC-licensed facility since Sept. 11" and Congress is moving to strengthen aviation security. In January, the NRC alerted nuclear power plants that terrorists could be planning an attack on a power reactor using a hijacked commercial airliner. But the information from an al-Qaida operative turned out to be months old and was eventually deemed not to be credible. "No existing nuclear facilities were specifically designed to withstand the deliberate high-velocity direct impact of a large commercial airliner such as a Boeing 757 or 767," Collins wrote. "Prior to Sept. 11, such a scenario was not considered to be a credible threat." Constructed of thick exterior walls and interior barriers of reinforced concrete, nuclear power plants "afford a measure of protection against deliberate aircraft impacts" - mostly smaller planes - and can withstand tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods and earthquakes, Collins said. The NRC also has ordered nuclear power plant operators to come up with other new lines of defense. Michael Kohn, an attorney for the whistle-blower group, said the commission has not identified the true level of risk posed by a terrorist threat. On the Net: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov [http://www.nrc.gov] National Whistleblower Center: http://www.whistleblowers.org [http://www.whistleblowers.org] All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 17 Cleanup at base under way * By: Scott Morgan , Staff Writer 08/15/2002 * Long-awaited $9.6-million effort to clear contaminated soil starts at McGuire. * McGUIRE AFB ? Forty-two years and two months after a fire destroyed an Air Force missile shelter, military and civilian crews are cleaning out the contaminated soil. On June 7, 1960, a fire demolished BOMARC Missile Shelter 204 and cracked the shell of the 46-foot nuclear warhead within. When the fire was out, 7 acres of ground were contaminated by plutonium-239. Immediately afterward, the ground was sealed in concrete, where it has remained unused and dormant for four decades. Last month, Air Force, Army and civilian crews began the long-awaited, $9.6 million remediation efforts, first announced in January, which ultimately will shuttle the contaminated ground to a permanent storage facility in Toole County, Utah. Lt. Diane Weed, public information officer at McGuire, said cleanup crews so far have shipped nearly 1,300 cubic yards of material (roughly 10 percent of the total amount to be removed) to Utah. Officials from all sides have stated there is little to no risk of contamination. Cleanup was slow going in the beginning, Lt. Weed said. The concrete casing set over the contaminated soil was much thicker than anyone had anticipated, she said. In addition, the recent high temperatures caused a few "heat stress" incidents, in which workers in white contamination suits have been slowed by exhaustion. But now that the few minor bugs have been worked out, Lt. Weed said, everything "is a matter of routine." So far, she said, Shelter 204, as well as the other shelters of the long-defunct BOMARC program, have been demolished. The cleanup involves transporting contaminated material in sealed metal containers from McGuire, through Lakehurst Naval Air Station, and along national highway routes designated as transport lines by the Department of Defense. Plumsted Committeeman Joe Przywara said he is happy the project is finally under way and that he personally has witnessed truckloads of material leaving the area. Mr. Przywara added, however, that he is awaiting word on whether the Restoration Advisory Board, of which he is a member, will meet with Air Force officials to check on the progress of the project. The Restoration Advisory Board is a committee of local civilian officials of Lakehurst, Plumsted and Manchester ? municipalities affected by the cleanup. There is no set date or time at which the advisory board will meet, Mr. Przywara said. Despite early delays, Lt. Weed said the cleanup is "pretty typical" and moving along at a good clip. Having achieved the first two goals (shelter demolition and removal of the concrete casing), the lieutenant said the cleanup is on target to finish by year's end. /Packet Online 2002/ ***************************************************************** 18 Overall Files Formal Request With NRC Seeking Local Hearing On NFS Permit * By: /By BILL JONES/Staff Writer/ Source:/ The Greeneville Sun / 08-15-2002 Environmental groups, including one led by actress Park Overall, are clashing with Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., of Erwin, over that firm?s plans to begin ?down-blending? highly enriched uranium for processing into fuel for a TVA nuclear power plant. Last week, Overall filed a formal request with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on behalf of a coalition of East Tennessee environmental groups. The request is for a local hearing on a Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) request pending before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an amendment to its nuclear materials license. The NRC had indicated in a notice published on July 9 in the Federal Register that the regulatory agency had found that ?no significant impact? would result from the proposed NFS uranium down-blending operation. The notice stated, however, that anyone who wished the NRC to hold a formal hearing on the NFS license amendment request had 30 days to do so. Overall, who currently resides in North Hollywood, Calif., but owns property along the Nolichucky River in Greene County and visits here for up to two months a year, filed such a hearing request with the NRC last week on behalf of herself and other petitioners, including the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), the Tennessee Environmental Council, the State of Franklin Group of the Sierra Club and the Friends of the Nolichuckey River Valley. During a telephone interview this week, Overall said she, and other environmentalists, are concerned about the ?cumulative effect? of the proposed uranium down-blending operation and decades of NFS? nuclear-submarine fuel manufacturing operations in Erwin. In the hearing request document she filed with the NRC, Overall says she is worried about what impact the NFS uranium down-blending operation may have on the Nolichucky River, which her Ripley Island Road farm borders. Overall?s filing with the NRC also contends that the NRC should require that a full Environmental Impact Study (EIS) be completed before NFS is allowed to proceed with down-blending highly enriched uranium for subsequent processing into fuel for a TVA nuclear power plant. NFS Claims EIS Already Completed But NFS spokesman Tony Treadway said during another telephone interview this week that the U.S. Department of Energy had completed an EIS on the proposed TVA project several years ago. ?The U.S. Department of Energy, in 1997, performed an extensive Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on the TVA project, including the operations planned for Erwin,? stated a news release furnished by Treadway. ?Public hearings on the project were held in 1996. Since that time, the EIS has been reviewed by the TVA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). ?Yet, petitioners now are seeking that a new EIS be carried out and that the NRC hold hearings on requested minor modifications to NFS? existing license to store and process highly enriched uranium (HEU) and low-enriched uranium (LEU) for the project.? NFS: River Not Impacted Treadway maintained during an interview that the proposed uranium down-blending operation won?t affect the quality of the Nolichucky River. ?The impact of this important project in no way poses a risk to the public or the environment,? states an NFS news release quoting Marie Moore, the company?s safety and regulatory vice president. ?In fact, no modification to our existing permit for liquid effluents is necessary at all. Thus, any claims that the project will somehow negatively impact the Nolichucky River are completely unfounded.? NFS spokesman Treadway said the TVA uranium down-blending project will require the construction of two buildings in Erwin ? one located ?inside the fence at the NFS plant site? and a second on adjacent property. Down-blending of highly-enriched uranium will be conducted in the building ?inside the fence,? while operations to convert the resulting low-enriched uranium into a uranium oxide powder will be conducted in the building ?outside the fence.? The uranium oxide powder is to be shipped to another location for processing into ?fuel pellets? for subsequent installation in ?fuel rods? destined for a TVA nuclear power plant. Fuel deliveries to TVA are not expected to begin until 2005, according to Treadway. Local Hearing Asked But Overall and other environmental activists remain unconvinced about NFS claims about the benign nature of the uranium down-blending operations the company hopes to begin in early 2003. The environmentalists want the NRC to hold a hearing in Northeast Tennessee about the project. ?Petitioners request that any aspect of this hearing that is held as a public meeting be conducted locally. It should also be conducted in the evening so that working people can attend,? Overall?s hearing request states. ?The petitioners have representational standing to participate in this proceeding. All of the petitioner organizations are environmental groups with an interest in protecting the quality of the environment of East Tennessee and the Nolichucky River. ?All of the petitioner organizations have members who live in and/or own property and/or recreate in the area of the NFS Erwin facility and/or the Nolichucky River. As demonstrated by the attached declarations of petitioners' members, these members? health and property interests, and their interests in a clean and healthful environment, would be injured by the unsafe operation of the NFS-Erwin facility.? In addition to Overall, those filing notices of intent to appear at the requested hearing include: ? Dean Whitworth, on behalf of the State of Franklin Group of the Sierra Club; ? Will Callaway, on behalf of the Tennessee Environmental Council; ? Steven A. Broyles, on behalf of the Friends of the Nolichuckey River Valley, Inc.; ? Ralph Hutchison, on behalf of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. Hazardous Discharges Alleged The NFS-Erwin facility chemically processes hazardous and radioactive chemicals, and produces hazardous and radioactive effluents, Overall?s hearing request alleges. ?As acknowledged in the Environmental Report, it poses a hazard of accidental releases to the human environment of substances that may be hazardous to petitioners? health and safety and to the environment in which they live and which they enjoy.? Overall says in a personal declaration filed with the NRC, that she lives along the Nolichucky River, ?into which the NFS-Erwin plant discharges its chemical and radioactive effluent.? While she does not swim or raft in the river now because it is highly sedimented, she would like to do so in the future if the sedimentation is cleaned up, according to the filing. However, she will not be able to do so if levels of chemical and radioactive effluent from the NFS-Erwin facility are unacceptably high, according to her filing. In addition, Overall is concerned that the municipal drinking water supply will become contaminated by chemical and radioactive effluent from the NFS-Erwin plant, the hearing request stated. Finally, Overall is concerned about the effect of chemical and radioactive contamination of the river on plants and wildlife, which she enjoys, according to the hearing request. Other declarations attached to this hearing request express similar concerns, the filing notes. ?The hearing may result in the denial of a license amendment to NFS, in which case the health and safety risks and environmental impacts about which petitioners are concerned would not occur,? Overall?s hearing request states. ?Alternatively, the NRC Licensing Board may impose conditions on the issuance of the license that mitigate or avoid environmental impacts or reduce health and safety risks. Therefore, petitioners? participation in the proceeding could result in changes to the application that would provide better protection to petitioners? interests.? Concerns Sited Overall and the other petitioners cite several concerns in their request for an NRC hearing, including a contention that an Environment Assessment prepared by the NRC?s staff is ?not sufficient ... because the potential impacts of the three activities to be licensed are significant and therefore warrant preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.? Another concern cited in Overall?s filing is that ?the handling and processing of high-enriched uranium, along with hazardous chemicals, poses hazards of explosions and accidental chemical and radiological releases that could have significant adverse impacts on workers, the public, and the environment.? Yet another allegation is that NFS-Erwin has a long history of ?contaminating the environment, thus raising significant questions about whether it can operate under the amended license in a manner that protects the environment.? Overall?s hearing request also points out that the owners of a business near the NFS plant site in Erwin have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville that alleges NFS ?has contaminated ground water on neighboring properties.? The hearing request filed by Overall also contends that the potential adverse environmental impacts of transporting highly enriched uranium to the NFS-Erwin site ?are significant.? All things considered, the hearing request claims, the NRC staff ?acted unreasonably? when it issued a finding of ?No Significant Impact before taking a hard look at the safety of NFS?s proposed highly enriched uranium down-blending operation ... .? The NRC, according to Overall?s hearing request, should not permit NFS to undertake any new operations at the Erwin site, nor to accumulate increased amounts of radioactive material, until it has completed a comprehensive site investigation into the extent of environmental contamination that NFS has already caused, the cost of cleaning it up, and whether NFS has sufficient resources to clean it up, according to the hearing request. NFS spokesman Treadway maintains, however, that down-blending of highly enriched uranium is not a ?new operation? because the company pioneered down-blending operations and has conducted down-blending for other customers for several years.? 2002 East Tennessee Network - R.A.I.D. ***************************************************************** 19 Taipower scraps Hsiaochiu nuclear waste dump plan The Taipei Times Online: 2002-08-16 CNA, TAIPEI The Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has decided to scrap its plan to build a nuclear waste dump on the islet of Hsiaochiu, which is part of the Kinmen island group located close to China, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. As a substitute measure, the ministry said, Taipower is now planning to build a temporary storage facility inside each of its three nuclear power plants. The storage facilities would be able to store the low-radioactive nuclear waste now being kept on Orchid Island as well as that which is expected to be produced over the next 40 years. Taipower's plan to build a nuclear waste dump on Hsiaochiu has met with strong opposition from residents on the frontline islet from the very beginning. Due to its proximity to China, both the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council and Beijing authorities have voiced disapproval with the plan. The Commission of National Corporations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Administration asking it to stop an environmental impact evaluation of the Hsiaochiu dump plan. Taipower said the storage facilities to be built inside its three nuclear power plants are provisional. "We'll continue searching for a new site for accommodating a permanent radioactive waste dump in Taiwan in line with the Atomic Energy Council's instructions," said a Taipower executive. All of Taipower's three nuclear power plants now in operation have provisional waste dumps. The storage capacity of the dump at the first nuclear power plant is 35,000 barrels, the capacity at the second plant is 59,000 barrels and that of the third plant is 10,000 barrels. The three plants have produced a total of 180,000 barrels of nuclear waste. While 97,000 of them have been stored on Orchid Island off Taiwan's southeastern coast, the remaining barrels have been kept at the plants. Taipower said the three new dumps will mainly be used to store radioactive waste to be generated over the next 40 years. As Taipower has introduced cutting-edge technologies to process nuclear waste, its annual nuclear waste production has fallen below 1,000 barrels. The annual waste production at its third nuclear power plant is less than 30 barrels. In the face of repeated protests from aboriginal Tao citizens, the MOEA promised in May to remove the nuclear waste from Orchid Island. Taipower said if it can't find a suitable location, it may move Orchid Island nuclear waste to its new storage facilities inside its nuclear plants. Besides Hsiaochiu, Taipower also once studied the feasibility of building a permanent nuclear waste dump at several other domestic locations, including Tungchi Isle of the Penghu island group and Pengchiayu off the northern Taiwan coast. Taipower will have to renew its search for a location after scrapping its Hsiaochiu plan. Hsiaochiu residents expressed jubilation over Taipower's decision to shelve the nuclear waste dump construction plan on their homeland. The village chief said he will seek central government support for developing the isle into a tourist attraction as it has rich marine resources and beautiful scenery. Over the past decade, Taipower has made strenuous efforts to find a permanent nuclear waste dump, but all those efforts have so far turned out to be futile. The company has signed either cooperative agreements or memorandums of understanding on cooperation with the Marshall Islands, North Korea, Russia and even a Chinese institute for handling its low-radioactive waste. None of these overseas storage plans has succeeded due to strong opposition from their neighboring countries or domestic environmental activists. Moreover, international law has banned the outbound shipment of toxic waste. This story has been viewed 175 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/08/16/story/0000160504] Copyright 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 State Files Its Appeal To Halt Goshute Plan The Salt Lake Tribune -- Friday, August 16, 2002 BY JUDY FAHYS State lawyers hustled to a federal appeals court Thursday in hopes of salvaging a package of laws intended to block aboveground storage of high-level nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes' reservation in Utah's west desert. Two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell struck down the laws as unconstitutional, ruling that Utah did not have the legal authority to interfere with the federal government's right to govern nuclear waste, the ability of businesses to pursue a federal license and the rights of a sovereign nation to conduct business. The state's appeal is no surprise, but proponents of the Skull Valley waste facility sounded comfortable about winning before Denver's 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "We believe that Judge Campbell gave a very thorough ruling," said Sue Martin, spokeswoman for Private Fuel Storage (PFS), the consortium of eight utilities that is behind the Goshute deal. "It was very well-reasoned." If PFS eventually is successful, it would lease 680 acres of the reservation to store up to 44,000 tons of used power-plant rods. The $3.1 billion project would be built about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The laws Campbell struck down ban spent nuclear fuel in the state, require a $150 billion bond and establish a $10,000 fine for anyone who does business with the spent-fuel business. One law would impose a 75 percent tax on the project and its business partners. Assistant Utah Attorney General Monte Stewart said he was confident the appeals court would be more receptive to the arguments Campbell dismis- sed. At the heart of Utah's case was an issue Campbell refused to consider: that the state's high-level waste ban, in the state's view, could not be unconstitutional because Congress never explicitly has authorized a private waste facility. "It's the kind of case that merits oral argument because of its complexity," said Stewart. The state filed its appeal Thursday just hours after the final housekeeping order in federal district court. Stewart said he wanted to put the case on a fast track. "I've already started on the brief," he said. Meanwhile, the utility consortium's spokeswoman wondered whether the state's efforts would be better spent elsewhere. "It's frustrating to us," said PFS' Martin, "that the state continues along these lines of defending laws that we believe to be unconstitutional, and to continue to take an over-my-dead-body position, when we would be willing to sit down and begin discussing issues of common interest." fahys@sltrib.com Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 21 Welcome to Yucca Mountain DISCOVER Vol. 23 No. 9 (September 2002) Table of Contents Where a computer model has determined it's safe for America to bury its nuclear garbage By Jeff Wheelwright Once there was a mountain in the desert of Nevada. Brown and bare, the mountain wasn't much to look at. It was an ugly duckling of a mountain, longer than it was high, a ridge rather than a peak. It was hardly distinguishable from the mesas and buttes around it. The material of this mountain had been created 15 million years earlier, when the ash from a series of tremendous volcanic explosions solidified. Though laced with fractures, the rock of the mountain conducted hardly any water from the surface, because the rainfall in the region was so slight. Most of the moisture flowed off the mountain or evaporated before it could penetrate the ground. The water table, known as the Amargosa aquifer, lay 1,400 feet below the desert floor and 2,400 feet below the mountain crest. Full text of this article can be found in the current issue of Discover Magazine. RELATED WEB SITES: The Yucca Mountain Project Web site has fact sheets on everything from its own reclamation program to radioactive waste management programs worldwide: [http://www.ymp.gov] . The Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Web site includes a list of recent articles and news about Yucca Mountain: [http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste] . The National Safety Council publishes a booklet about radiation, with a chapter devoted to radioactive waste. Understanding Radiation in Our World. National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center, Washington, D.C. Order it online at [http://www.nsc.org/ehc.htm] . Copyright 2002 The Walt Disney Company. Back to [http://www.discover.com] . ***************************************************************** 22 DOE Letter to NRC on the LES Gas Centrifuge Project August 5, 2002 Mr. Martin J. Virgilio Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Dear Mr. Virgilio: Thank you for inviting the Department of Energy to comment on the general policy issues raised by the Louisiana Energy Services (LES) in preparation for its enrichment plant license application. Given the proximity to the deadline, the Department is constrained to comment only on the overarching issues. We would, however, welcome the opportunity to address these or other subjects in greater detail if given more time to respond. With regard to: Issue 1: Analysis of Need and No Action Alternative under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): The Department has concluded that nuclear energy will continue to play a critical future role in powering the American economy. The National Energy Policy estimates that electric utilities must increase capacity by at least 50 percent to keep up with demand in the next 2 decades. Nuclear utilities must increase proportionately if we are to maintain a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment from greenhouse gases. Uranium enrichment is a critical step in the production of nuclear fuel. Within the past two years, domestic uranium enrichment has fallen from a capacity greater than domestic demand to a level that is less than half of domestic requirements. If the trend continues, 80 percent of projected demand in 2020 for nuclear power could be fueled from foreign sources. In interagency discussions, led by the National Security Council, concerning the domestic uranium enrichment industry, there was a clear determination that the United States should maintain a viable, competitive, domestic uranium enrichment industry for the foreseeable future. The recent agreement between the Department and USEC Inc. reflects that policy objective of encouraging private sector investment in new uranium enrichment capacity. The Department firmly believes that there is sufficient domestic demand to support multiple domestic enrichers and that competition is important to maintain a healthy industry. Having said the above, however, it is not the Department's intent to opine on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's responsibilities under NEPA. Issue 5: Foreign Ownership: In its dialogue with the three Allied government partners in Urenco, Ltd. (Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Germany), the U.S. Government has expressed support for consideration by Urenco to partner with a U.S. company or companies for the purpose of transferring Urenco technology to new U.S. commercial uranium enrichment facilities. The following six talking points document the U.S. Government's concerns and are a matter of record.(*) -- ''Maintaining a reliable and economical U.S. uranium enrichment industry is an important U.S. energy security objective. -- The U.S. Government supports the deployment of Urenco gas centrifuge technology in new U.S. commercial uranium enrichment facilities as a means of maintaining a reliable and economical U.S. uranium enrichment industry. -- Existing Department of Energy nuclear sites could be made available to facilitate timely licensing of a new U.S. commercial uranium enrichment facility and the facilities to build Urenco centrifuge in the U.S. The U.S. would place a high priority on ensuring nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards are in place and that protections for public health, safety, and the environment are maintained. -- The U.S. Government has encouraged USEC Inc. and other U.S. companies to explore with Urenco mutually viable economic terms or partnership arrangements for the purpose of transferring Urenco technology to a new U.S. commercial uranium enrichment facility. -- The U.S. Government would appreciate (The three Allied governments') support and encouragement for partnerships between U.S. companies and Urenco Limited to provide technology on economically viable terms for a new, economically competitive and reliable uranium enrichment plant in the United States utilizing Urenco gas centrifuge technology.'' Issue 6: Tails Disposition: There has been no formal determination by NRC that depleted uranium is low-level radioactive waste for purposes of Section 3113 of the 1996 USEC Privatization Act. Consequently, the Department is not obligated to accept it for disposal unless and until NRC makes such a determination. However, in view of the Department's plan to build depleted uranium disposition facilities and the critical importance the Department places on maintaining a viable domestic uranium enrichment industry, the Department acknowledges that Section 3113 may constitute a ''plausible strategy'' for the disposal of depleted uranium from the private sector domestic uranium enrichment plant license applicants and operators. The procedures and costs for this potential service are yet to be determined. The Department notes that Section 3113 (3) provides for reimbursements in an ''amount equal to the Secretary's cost, including a pro rata share of any capital costs.'' Unlike Section 3113 (2), the reimbursement for the recovery of the costs for disposal of depleted uranium is not capped by the amount charged by commercial, State, regional or interstate compact entities for disposal services. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on these very important issues. The Department is committed to working with NRC, industry, and other key stakeholders to facilitate the commercial deployment of advanced uranium enrichment technology in the United States. If you have any additional questions, please contact me or Mr. Larry Brown of my staff, at (202-586-0843). Sincerely, William D. Magwood, IV, Director Office of Nuclear Energy, Scienceand Technology * Unclassified excerpt from U.S. Department of State cable SECSTATE WASHDC 212326Z DEC 01 (NOTAL) ***************************************************************** 23 AU: nuclear dumping law The World Today - 16/8/2002: ELEANOR HALL: The South Australian government has thrown down the gauntlet to the federal government in a last ditch effort to stop it building a controversial national radioactive waste dump in South Australia. The federal government is currently into its sixth week of consultation about the waste repository, and has sent a team of government scientists on a road trip through South Australia, in an effort to build support for the proposal. However, the state government is doing all it can to block the project. And as Nance Haxton reports, its introducing legislation into parliament next week which would ban the importation of radioactive waste into the state. NANCE HAXTON: Although the federal government still refers to the national radioactive waste repository as a proposal, there is no doubt it considers it a fait accompli. It has allocated $9.9 million in this year's federal budget to build the shallow burial facility, and has also chosen a preferred site, 52A, on defence land near Woomera in South Australia's north. Regardless of current public consultation on the dump's Environment Impact Statement, the government plans to start construction of the facility sometime in 2003. Current consultation is simply the latest round in a long-winded process that started back in 1992, when the federal government identified the need for a national coordinated approach to Australia's radioactive waste. However South Australian parliament has thrown a legislative spanner in the works and looks likely to pass a bill next week banning the storage of national radioactive waste. MIKE RANN: It's our nuclear deterrent. As such, that if any future federal government moves to override the state laws banning a nuclear waste dump by using its constitutional powers, that will immediately trigger a referendum of all South Australians. And given of course that the polling shows about 90% of South Australians are totally opposed to a national nuclear waste dump being established. That would be one hell of an embarrassment to a federal government seeking to impose one on us. NANCE HAXTON: He says they are doing an audit of the state's waste, but do not see why they should bear the responsibility for everyone else's. MIKE RANN: It seems that the Commonwealth's vision for outback South Australia in this year of the outback is two detention centres. One at Woomera and one at Baxter, and a nuclear waste dump in between and we're prepared to look after our own waste but we don't see why we have to take care of Sydney's waste or Melbourne's, Brisbane's or Perth's, and as I say, we did our bit with Maralinga and we think we've, South Australians, have had enough of it. NANCE HAXTON: Constitutional lawyer and professor of law at Bond University, Gerard Carney, says the legislation could prove an interesting challenge to federal authority over the states, as it may not be as easy to override as many believe. GERARD CARNEY: If the state then has a fairly good chance of validly enacting the legislation it wants to put in place to protect itself then the ball actually goes over to the Commonwealth court to see how it can flex its muscles, constitutional muscle, to override that state law. And under the constitution, the commonwealth has exclusive jurisdiction and authority over that area, but the problem is getting the radioactive waste from outside that area, that is from the rest of Australia into that commonwealth place and the commonwealth would need to enact legislation to override restrictions on that importation. NANCE HAXTON: A spokesman for federal Science Minister Peter McGauran says the Minister is not spoiling for a fight on the issue. He says while he hopes it doesn't come to a legislative challenge, the minister won't rule out such an approach to ensure that a safe storage facility for Australia's radioactive waste, is established. JOHN HIGHFIELD: Nance Haxton with our story. [ABC Online] Policy [http://www.abc.net.au ***************************************************************** 24 A federal judge took away the U.S. Department of Energys magic wand this week. idaho mountain express : No disappearing act : Aug 14 - 20, 2002 Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express, Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 208.726.8060 Voice 208.726.2329 Fax Copyright 2002 Express Publishing Inc. No disappearing act The department had planned to reclassify one million gallons of highly radioactive nuclear waste to "incidental" waste. It looked like an unprecedented disappearing act. Reclassification would allow the DOE to duck its agreement with Idaho to remove the waste from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory to a permanent storage facility. Instead, the DOE wants to enclose tanks of radioactive sludge in cement and leave them stored 500 feet above the Snake River Aquifer. The aquifer is a key source of water for southern Idaho. Its underground waters eventually emerge near Twin Falls. The DOEs magic didnt work on a federal judge. The judge this week told the DOE that it couldnt just wave its magic wand and make highly radioactive waste disappear by changing its name. The judge ordered the DOE to defend its decisionor rescind the sleight of hand. Good for the judge. Disappearing acts are best left to professional magiciansnot to government agencies who are supposed to be in the business of protecting the public. www.mtexpress.com the Idaho Mountain Express ***************************************************************** 25 [generalnews] UPDATE - North Korea warned as atomic project Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 00:06:13 -0500 (CDT) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> 4 DVDs Free +s&p Join Now http://us.click.yahoo.com/pt6YBB/NXiEAA/Ey.GAA/7gSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> UPDATE - North Korea warned as atomic project enters new phase NORTH KOREA: August 8, 2002 KUMHO, North Korea - A U.S. envoy attending a ceremony in North Korea to mark the start of work on two western-financed nuclear reactors told Pyongyang on Wednesday it must now honour its side of the bargain. Pouring concrete for the power plant foundations had symbolism well beyond the remote construction site at Kumho, on North Korea's east coast. The multinational KEDO consortium is building the two light-water reactors under a 1994 U.S.-North Korean deal which froze the North's suspected nuclear weapons programme in exchange for the reactors and annual supplies of fuel oil. "Today's concrete-pouring is a milestone which shows that this project, essential to establishing peace on the Korean peninsula, is firmly set on its course, despite having faced many difficulties and setbacks," Chang Seung-sup, chairman of KEDO's executive board, said in a speech. U.S. delegate to KEDO Jack Pritchard, the most senior Washington official to visit the North since then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright in late 2000, said it was now North Korea's turn to deliver. Pritchard said in a speech that Wednesday's ceremony and the work completed were hard evidence of U.S. seriousness, and that of KEDO (the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation), in keeping their end of the 1994 Agreed Framework. "It is now time for us to see the same kind of tangible progress by the DPRK in meeting its commitments," Pritchard said. The DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official title, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The path is clear, and the schedule is demanding," he said in points made by the European Union and Japanese delegates." Under the 1994 agreement North Korea undertook to allow in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors but has yet to do so. DIPLOMATIC FLURRY KEDO will only deliver key nuclear components to the plant in mid-2005, under the $4.6 billion project, if North Korea has fulfilled its obligations to allow inspections of frozen sites and atomic material. Wednesday's event - complete with fireworks and ceremonial lowering of a hopper of wet cement into the cavernous foundations - came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity on the peninsula, which has been bitterly divided since the 1950-53 Korean War. There is the additional unspoken irony of a U.S.-based agency building nuclear reactors in a country U.S. President George W. Bush has branded part of an "axis of evil" for trying to develop and proliferate weapons of mass destruction. The deal was struck under the Clinton administration but Bush has continued to allow funding despite his reservations about North Korea's Communist leadership. Pritchard said there was continuity rather than contradiction in the Bush administration supporting the project. Pritchard said the IAEA estimated its checks would take at least three to four years. "That means the DPRK must start meaningful cooperation now," he said. "This is vital for the health of the project. "It makes no sense, for KEDO or for the DPRK, to push forward to completion of the first reactor just to stop work for years as the DPRK only then begins to deliver on their safeguard obligations under the Agreed Framework," Pritchard said. MOVING A MOUNTAIN The ceremonial concrete-pouring marked a key step after years spent removing a mountain and digging a deep bed. South Korea, which produces some 40 percent of its electricity using nuclear power, is providing its technology for the two reactors, which could eventually account for a similar proportion of the North's needs. KEDO's executive board has representatives from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States. Representatives of the board and other contributing countries watched the ceremony, along with several North Korean officials, who made no speeches and declined to speak to reporters. Charles Kartman, KEDO's executive director, said the ceremony underscored the importance of an agreement that had "defanged" a big threat on the peninsula. "Let's not forget that in 1994 the two sides were drifting in the direction of a bloody war," he told reporters. Story by Martin Nesirky REUTERS NEWS PICTURE SERVICE ________________________________________________ Grassroots International News Association (GINA) 4909 El Molino Ave Riverside CA 92504 media@ccsi.com http://www.geocities.com/rootmedia *Articles forwarded by GINA are for informational purposes only. Any views expressed in any article is that of the interviewer or/ and person being interviewed and not the views of GINA or any of it's members. Join our news lists for daily news articles: To subscribe: Send a message to media@ccsi.com with your name, and e-mail address and the name of the list(s) you would like to be added to. General News News for general broadcast and distribution. Environmental News News about environmental issues and causes. Immigrant News News articles about immigration and migration. Labor News News about Union struggles and labor issues. Latino News News about Latino issues and stuggles. Queer News Articles about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Trans issues. Anti-Racism News Articles about racism and struggles against oppression. World Black News World news about African peoples and issues. Women's News Articles about Women's liberation. *Caution: News lists may have heavy traffic. Grassroots International News Association http://www.geocities.com/rootmedia o unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: generalnews-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 26 Iraq Ready for Return of Inspectors By Associated Press August 15, 2002, 10:56 PM EDT ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Iraq is ready to discuss the return of U.N. weapons inspectors -- provided talks take place without conditions, a top Iraqi official said in a broadcast Thursday. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan told Abu Dhabi Television that Baghdad was willing to discuss the return of inspectors who left in December 1998 ahead of U.S. and British airstrikes and have been barred from returning. "Iraq is ready to discuss the return of the U.N. weapons inspectors, provided that any dialogue with the United Nations takes place with no preconditions," he said in an Aug. 10 interview aired in full Thursday. "At the same time, Iraq is ready for the worst," he added, an apparent reference to U.S. threats of possible military action to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and of unspecified consequences if inspectors are not allowed to return. Iraq invited chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix to visit Baghdad for technical talks on Aug. 1. However, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Iraq that it must accept the U.N. Security Council's terms for the return of weapons inspectors before such talks take place. Iraq has not yet replied to Annan's letter. U.N. sanctions imposed on Baghdad after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait cannot be lifted until inspectors certify that Iraq's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons have been destroyed. On Monday, Iraq's information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, said there was no need for weapons inspectors to return to Iraq. He called U.S. claims that Saddam still has weapons of mass destruction a "lie." But Ramadan's comments appeared to back down from his strong opposition to the return of inspectors. Copyright 2002, The Associated Press ***************************************************************** 27 Protesters Greet U.S. Ship in Japan Las Vegas SUN Today: August 16, 2002 at 6:10:22 PDT ASSOCIATED PRESS SASEBO, Japan- The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln pulled into port in southern Japan on Friday flanked by Japanese escort ships and a dozen boats filled with protesters. Among the nearly 200 demonstrators at Sasebo Navy Base were student peace activists, anti-nuclear groups and right-wingers chanting "America out of Japan!" The Lincoln, based in Everett, Wash., was stopping in Japan as part of its "scheduled overseas deployment," U.S. Navy spokesman Minoru Toyoshima said. The aircraft carrier, with its crew of 5,500, is scheduled to depart Monday. Toyoshima would not comment on its next destination. Accompanying the Lincoln were the missile cruiser USS Shiloh, based in San Diego, and the destroyer USS Fletcher, from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They were scheduled for other ports of call in Japan. Sasebo, on Japan's main southernmost island of Kyushu, is located 610 miles southwest of Tokyo. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 28 NUCLEAR DETONATIONS: No need yet for more tests, lawmakers say Friday, August 16, 2002 Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal Subcritical blasts called satisfactory By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- After a Defense Department adviser's statement this week that nuclear tests will need to resume at the Nevada Test Site, two Nevada lawmakers said Thursday they are open to the idea but do not see a need for more tests yet. "The experts have told us that, at this stage, the subcritical testing being done is enough to keep our (nuclear) stockpile safe and reliable," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. "But anytime the president feels we should begin underground testing again, we'll take a look at that," Reid said. The subcritical tests Reid referred to are experiments that do not cause nuclear chain reactions. Seventeen subcritical experiments have been conducted at the test site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, since 1997. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said the United States should continue non-nuclear testing and review the data to determine whether nuclear detonations are necessary. If a need exists, Gibbons said, the United States should not hesitate to resume nuclear testing. "To be utterly blinded to the reality that the nations that pose the most threat to us are developing nuclear weapons would be foolish," Gibbons said. "The only way to deter nuclear weapons is through a strong nuclear deterrent." Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said through spokesman Michael O'Donovan, that she does not see a need for a resumption of nuclear tests at the test site. "These explosions create nuclear waste sites, and we are still struggling today to figure out how to clean up contaminated soil and water from previous tests," O'Donovan said. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., declined to be interviewed. Dale Klein, assistant to the secretary of defense, said Wednesday that nuclear testing will need to be resumed perhaps in the next five to 10 years because experiments on nuclear weapons materials show some warheads are corroding. Klein on Thursday visited the test site to see stockpile stewardship facilities and a tunnel where the former Defense Nuclear Agency, now the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, conducted nuclear weapons tests. A spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration in North Las Vegas said Klein toured also the Device Assembly Facility, where nuclear devices can be assembled and disassembled. The spokesman said Klein was briefed on subcritical materials experiments. "No one (in Congress) has said testing has to be done or will be done," Gibbons said. "But we are trying to shorten the time frame for testing if it becomes necessary." Gibbons is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which approved a defense bill May 1 that would require the test site to be ready by 2004 to resume nuclear tests within one year. Currently, the test readiness requirement is two to three years. Meanwhile, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the test site, has conducted a study on test readiness. The study has not been released, but Everet Beckner, who oversees defense programs for the Energy Department, said earlier this month that one year would not be enough time to prepare the test site for another underground nuclear explosion. Frank Von Hippel, a Princeton professor who served from 1993 to 1994 as President Clinton's assistant director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology, scoffed at Klein's comments. "I know Klein, and I know he doesn't know anything about nuclear weapons, or at least I don't think he does," Von Hippel said. Klein, a former University of Texas mechanical engineering nuclear programs professor, has had a stake in Nevada nuclear issues. In 1991, he appeared in a pro-Yucca Mountain nuclear waste commercial sponsored by the American Nuclear Energy Council. Regarding Klein's comments on nuclear weapons, Von Hippel said, "This is just like missile defense. Even if it doesn't work, this administration is still beating the drums. It's a Republican thing." Aging nuclear weapons can be checked for corrosion without being detonated, Von Hippel said. Review-Journal staff writer Keith Rogers contributed to this report. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 29 ISRAEL'S NUKE REVENGE NYPOST.COM World News: By MARSHA KRANES August 16, 2002 -- A massive Iraqi strike against Israel with non-conventional weapons could trigger a devastating nuclear response that would end Iraq's existence as a country. That chilling assessment was presented last week to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by military expert Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, according to report yesterday in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. Israeli officials have suggested that they would respond to a conventional Iraqi attack with airstrikes and ground attacks by airborne forces - and not hold back as they did during the 1991 Gulf War. But they haven't said how they would respond to a chemical or biological attack - which is not out of the question, since Iraq is now believed to be armed with biological weapons capable of causing massive casualties. Ha'aretz said Cordesman tackled this grim possibility in his report to the Senate panel - painting the following grim scenario: * If Tel Aviv or another key urban area were threatened with a lethal biological attack, Israel would threaten nuclear retaliation against Iraqi cities and military forces. * If Iraq ignored the warning and carried out a devastating non-conventional attack, Israel would launch nuclear strikes against Iraqi cities - as long as they had not already been seized by American forces. Cordesman, contacted by The Post, distanced himself from the remarks attributed to him in Ha'aretz, but refused to elaborate. Israeli officials, apparently fearing an Iraqi-Israeli clash similar to the one detailed in the report, have asked Washington to neutralize Scud missiles in western Iraq if and when the U.S. military launches an offensive against Saddam Hussein. Israeli officials have indicated that the circumstances in the potential conflict with Iraq are different than they were in 1991 - when the United States feared its Arab coalition would collapse if Israel intervened. In the Gaza Strip yesterday, Palestinian demonstrators chanted "Dear Saddam, bomb Tel Aviv" as they burned U.S. and Israeli flags in a refugee camp. [http://www.nypost.com] ***************************************************************** 30 Tribes seek input on Hanford Reach The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA [Tribnet.com] The Associated Press KENNEWICK - Northwest Indian tribes are demanding a bigger role in management of the Hanford Reach National Monument, which contains former tribal lands and religious sites. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation on Wednesday demanded to be made co-managers of the 200,000-acre national monument adjacent to the Hanford nuclear reservation in south-central Washington. The tribes argued treaties oblige the U.S. government to acknowledge American Indians' decision-making authority on former tribal lands. "The tribes are going to anticipate and expect no less than co-managers," Armand Minthorn, a member of the Umatillas' board of trustees, told the advisory committee for monument planning. "My future generations are going to expect to exercise their rights within the Reach. Period." Jim Watts, chairman of the advisory committee, said the daylong session on tribal issues was an attempt to get Indian complaints out in the open. "We are not consulted with in a manner that is worthy of a government," said Russell Jim, a Yakama Nation environmental official and veteran of Hanford issues. "For some reason or another, there has been a reluctance to recognize this relationship." Minthorn promised to be "very aggressive" in raising the profile of tribal interests on the Hanford Reach. Greg Hughes, monument manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said he has talked with tribal authorities about Indian concerns. He predicted "it will take a lot longer than the two-and-a-half years it will take to get the plan developed to sort that all out." Even though there is a tribal representative on the citizens advisory committee, tribal leaders said they expect more. The tribal officials said there is a feeling committee members do not understand their connection to the land, which includes ancient wintering grounds, annual fishing spots, burial areas and sacred sites. Indian leaders said their management concerns include cleanup of contaminated Hanford groundwater, limiting public access to sacred areas and altering fish-killing water fluctuations caused by dam operations upstream. "We can help you create a plan," Minthorn said. "We want to help you. This is an opportunity to partner with the tribes." The region's most prominent co-management model comes from salmon fishery management, on which Northwest states and tribes collaborate. "It's the next level to talk about the land itself," said Jeff Tayer, regional manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and vice chairman of the advisory committee. (Published 12:30AM, August 16th, 2002) Tacoma News, Inc. 1950 South State Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405 253-597-8742 Fax Machines: Newsroom, 253-597-8274 Advertising, 253-597-8764 Send comments to the Webmaster [webmaster@tribnet.com] at webmaster@tribnet.com [webmaster@tribnet.com] . ***************************************************************** 31 U.S. computing comeback slated to start at ORNL The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Friday, August 16, 2002 Ray Orbach, director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science, was in town this week to announce a new super computing initiative at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Shown here symbolically connecting a new computer link to Atlanta that is 200,000 times faster than the fastest dial-up connections typical of home computers, Orbach pledged to push the Bush administration to support the approximate $1 billion project. by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff The teraflop race is on. And Japan is winning. Ray Orbach, director of the Office of Science for the Department of Energy announced Thursday that the Oak Ridge National Laboratory would be the "test bed" for what he hopes will lead a come-from-behind victory in the high speed/high efficiency computing race within the next five years. To that end, Orbach pledged to push the Bush administration to fund the estimated $1 billion super computer project on a fast track, with about half that amount slated for Oak Ridge over the next several years. "This would be of the same magnitude of the SNS," said Orbach prior to a press conference at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Thursday afternoon. "Oak Ridge National Laboratory does not just fit into the national (DOE) complex, it leads the national complex." Orbach termed the Japanese leg up on the U.S. through it's development of the 40-teraflop Earth Simulator computer a "catastrophe." The Japanese model, with a 50 percent efficiency rendering it 20 times faster than any U.S. computer, takes computing to a new level and will draw scientists around the world to Japan for basic research, said Orbach. "The Department of Energy has responsibility for scientific leadership, and if we're not first in the world, we've failed," said Orbach. "And right now, we've lost that leadership. We need to turn around how we go at scientific computing, and DOE is committed to that turn-around." Orbach called for approximately $300 million per year to be funneled to the project in the next few years. About $2 million to $3 million of fiscal year 2003 funds would jump start the program that would eventually build an approximate 60 teraflop computer running at 50-percent efficiency. Currently the fastest U.S. computer is 12 teraflops at about 10-percent efficiency. The Japanese Earth Simulator is 40 teraflops at 50-percent efficiency, but two other Japanese models are expected out soon. One teraflop equals about one trillion calculations per second. Bill Madia, director of ORNL, said that the Lab is up to the challenge. "You've certainly laid down the challenge we are so grateful Oak Ridge is going to lead the comeback and we're going to do it." Madia said the first step would be to bring in new Cray Inc. supercomputer architecture and begin testing it. The program would entail the acquisition of a 32-processor Cray XI supercomputer system, and contracts are expected to be completed in about a month. Then the Lab's Center for Computational Sciences and Cray will evaluate the system's suitability. Congressman Zach Wamp, R-3rd-District, said there's a reason Oak Ridge was chosen for the test site. "I know first hand this is a crises that there's a need for quick and decisive action," said Wamp. "And that action begins here because of the reputation and capabilities of the people at Oak Ridge National Laboratory." Orbach said he hopes the nation is up to the challenge. "I don't know if the U.S. will decide if it wants to cede scientific leadership to Japan but I hope it won't. I hope we will do everything we can to regain leadership, and that starts right here." R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 32 DOE's Oak Ridge National Lab to Test New Cray Supercomputer for U.S. Science --> energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: August 15, 2002 OAK RIDGE, TENN. - The Department of Energy today announced that its Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been selected to test the effectiveness of a new Cray Inc. supercomputer architecture in solving important scientific problems in climate, fusion, biology, nanoscale materials and astrophysics. "This program is one of the first steps in an initiative designed to provide U.S. scientists with the computational power that is essential to 21st century scientific leadership," said Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, director of the department's Office of Science. The program is part of an effort to provide the U.S. scientific community with computing resources to match or exceed those of the new Japanese "Earth Simulator," which has an effective speed more than 20 times that of the fastest U.S. civilian supercomputer. Dr. Orbach made the announcement following an annual, onsite review of the laboratory. Under the program, ORNL will acquire a 32-processor Cray X1 supercomputer system. Contract negotiations are expected to be completed within about one month. The lab's Center for Computational Sciences and Cray will evaluate the processors, memory and scalability of the design and software environment of the system to determine its suitability for the solution of complex scientific problems. The Cray X1 system, currently in development, is the first U.S. computer to offer vector processing and massively parallel processing capabilities in a single architecture. It is designed to scale to deliver performance for scientific applications greater than the performance of currently available U.S. computers. Japan's Earth Simulator computer also employs an advanced vector processing design. "Oak Ridge National Laboratory is proud to be part of this extraordinarily important initiative," said ORNL director Bill Madia. "We are committed to working with Cray and the scientific community to make this initiative a success." The lab's Center for Computational Sciences was established in 1991 to evaluate new computer architectures for science. "We are excited at the prospect of providing the next generation supercomputer to help solve the most demanding classes of scientific and engineering problems," said James Rottsolk, Cray Chairman and CEO. "We are pleased to enter into collaboration with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in this important endeavor." Media Contact: Jeff Sherwood (DOE), 202/586-5806 Ron Walli (ORNL), 865/576-0226 Release No. PR-02-163 ***************************************************************** 33 Health: Rocketdyne officials insist that only safe materials from the lab near Simi Valley were sent to two L.A. County landfills. Los Angeles Times - latimes.com August 16, 2002 By KARIMA A. HAYNES, TIMES STAFF WRITER Radioactive material from Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley has been dumped in two Los Angeles County landfills that lack appropriate safeguards, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday. But Rocketdyne officials flatly reject those assertions, saying the company has never dumped radioactive waste in local landfills. The California Democrat said radioactive material from the hilltop lab has been shipped to the Calabasas Landfill and the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills as part of an ongoing federal cleanup effort. The Department of Energy has acknowledged that waste with a level of radioactivity deemed safe for general disposal was sent to the Bradley Landfill in Sun Valley, Boxer said. "These landfills, often situated near neighborhoods and without sophisticated monitoring systems, are not suitable for disposal sites for radioactive materials," Boxer said. "Radioactive waste collected from highly contaminated sites must not be handled like the trash collected from our kitchens." The senator said she learned radioactive waste had been dumped in Calabasas and Granada Hills from Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham in his response to her letter requesting information on Rocketdyne's radioactive waste-disposal process. In the letter, dated June 28, Abraham said soil and debris from the Rocketdyne lab are shipped off site for disposal. Radioactive materials with levels above federal and state safety standards are shipped to facilities in Utah, Nevada or Washington, the letter stated. If the material's level of radioactivity is below federal and state standards it is disposed of in local sanitary or hazardous waste landfills, according to Abraham's letter. Soil and debris, as well as trash from the lab's office areas, have been shipped to the Bradley, Calabasas and Sunshine landfills, Abraham said, adding, "The level of radioactivity is so low, the equivalent of about two chest X-rays, that disposal in these types of landfills is protective of public health and the environment." Boxer maintains any level of radiation is too much, spokesman David Sandretti said. "Radioactive waste should be disposed of in a proper setting, and a local landfill is not a proper setting," he said. Rocketdyne officials don't dispute that the waste went to the landfills, but they say it was not radioactive or dangerous. "Any cleanup at the site has met all release criteria; only normal trash from office areas has been sent to the three landfills," said Steve Lafflam, Rocketdyne's division director for safety, health and environmental affairs. Lafflam said the aerospace giant takes public health issues seriously and would not do anything to violate its trust with the community, but that "a few individuals with a broader agenda want to use Santa Susana as a pivot point for a national debate" on environmental regulatory issues. Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 34 Livermore Lab Readies Tools to Shore Up Port Defense* Devices Tested to Detect Radioactive Materials The Daily Californian *By MIKE MEYERS* Daily Cal Staff Writer Friday, August 16, 2002 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory tested nuclear detection technology used to protect U.S. seaports from terrorist attack, lab officials announced yesterday. Using an actual ship cargo container, lab researchers tested 18 hand-held devices and one crane-mounted scanner over a three-week period in June. Lab officials declined to comment on specific results for national security reasons, but researchers said many of the devices performed well. "I am encouraged," said project leader William Dunlop. "There is equipment available to inspect our cargo." In the wake of Sept. 11, U.S. politicians have repeatedly raised the possibility of a terrorist group smuggling radioactive material into the nation's seaports. Several bills aimed at boosting port security are pending in the House of Representatives and Senate. Livermore lab has in recent months become increasingly involved with the war on terrorism. In July, the lab released plans for a new bioterrorism research facility. But unlike that plan, lab critics met yesterday's announcement with cautious praise. "It is an appropriate activity for Lawrence Livermore to engage in," said Marylia Kelley, executive director of lab watchdog group TRI-Valley CAREs. "What we're objecting to is what 90 percent of their money goes to, which is the further development of nuclear weaponry." The devices tested were mostly developed for health-safety reasons, and all are available commercially. Dunlop said it was "only natural" that better devices would be developed specifically for weapons detection. In major U.S. ports, giant cranes remove cargo containers from ocean-going ships and place them on trucks and trains. A crane-mounted device similar to the one tested by the lab could potentially be mounted on all cranes and perform radiation testing on all inbound containers, Dunlop said. The Port of Oakland has been improving its security since last October, said Ray Boyle, general manager of maritime operations. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., inspected the port's security Monday. The port added video surveillance, perimeter fencing and automatic pedestrian controls. Customs inspectors at the port carry radiation detection devices, Boyle said. He added that the lab tested the particular device Port of Oakland customs officials carry. But smuggling nuclear material into the port is "conceivably still possible," Boyle said. In a further effort to ensure seaport security, the U.S. Customs Service has launched the Container Security Initiative. The initiative posts U.S. customs inspectors at foreign ports to inspect U.S.-bound containers. Several of the world's largest ports have already agreed to participate. (c) 2002 Berkeley, California Email: dailycal@dailycal.org ***************************************************************** 35 U.S. disappoints sinking Pacific - CNN.com - August 15, 2002 [Fijian soldiers] Fourteen of the South Pacific Forum nations are also Commonwealth members SUVA, Fiji (CNN) -- Low-lying Pacific nations have chided the United States for not signing the Kyoto Protocol and have urged Australia to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The leaders of Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, and the Marshall Islands released a joint statement in Suva Friday, expressing profound disappointment in the United States' rejection of the Kyoto Protocol. The statement did not specifically criticize Australia, which also refuses to sign the accord, but is a large aid donor to the region. The annual meeting of 16 Pacific nations, which began in the Fijian capital Suva on Thursday, is one of the few international forums for the small, scattered island nations to air their grievances. Tuvalu leaders say the reality of rising sea-levels through global warming is already apparent in their nation with many formerly dry areas now submerged. http://asia.cnn.com] from our Asia edition A former leader of the nation predicted the Pacific could submerge Tuvalu within the next 50 years. Tuvalu says Australia should be championing the cause of the Pacific nations instead of siding with the United States over global warming. But Australian Prime Minister John Howard denies there are serious tensions between Australia and its Pacific neighbors, despite the difference of opinion on climate change. Speaking from Suva Thursday, Howard said he was unconcerned. "There will be some areas where we differ, but overall the relations are good and there's a lot of work to be done," he said. Zimbabwe issue Along with the United States, Australia -- a major global exporter of fossil fuels such as coal -- is one of the few developed nations to refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He also denied there was disquiet among island nations over Australia's policy of shipping asylum seekers to detention centers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. "Suggestions that there's going to be a concerted attack, or even a sporadic attack, on Australia over this issue, I don't see borne out in what I've been told," Howard told television viewers. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, meanwhile, is eager to have the contentious issue of Zimbabwe's land reforms discussed by the forum. Nuclear waste Fourteen of the forum nations are Commonwealth members and Clark will use the meeting to drum up support for having Zimbabwe suspended from that grouping over its policy of expelling white farmers from their land. The Commonwealth consists of 54 nations most of which formerly constituted the British empire. The recently re-elected Clark will also push for the forum to issue a statement on the transporting of nuclear waste by ship through Pacific water. New Zealand has a strict anti-nuclear policy and ban nuclear powered or armed ships, or ships carrying nuclear waste, from entering its territorial waters. 2002 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************