***************************************************************** 12/17/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.326 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 'Defector leaked details of N. Korea's N-program' 2 Iraqi samples under the microscope 3 US: Bush gives go-ahead to missile defence 4 Russia says no violations in Iranian nuclear plans* 5 Pak says it is not helping N Korea nuclear programe: Rocca 6 Japan Says Nuclear Effort in Korea Merits Hard Line 7 [OUTLOOK]Three ways to handle the North* 8 Defector vital in uncovering nuke program* 9 Russia prepared to ease tensions over North Korean problem - Losyuko 10 China ships North Korea ingredient for nuclear arms -- NUCLEAR REACTORS 11 Fact Sheet on DPRK Nuclear Safeguards 12 US: NRC Staff Proposes $60,000 Fine Against Nuclear Management Co. 13 ForUm: Ukraine reckons on Russian nuclear fuel 14 Chernobyl Atom Station Dangerous Again? 15 US: FirstEnergy refutes worker's retaliation claim concerning safety 16 Hydro-Quebec Nuclear Plant Gets 4-Year License 17 Czech government satisfied with Temelin safety declaration 18 Lithuania gets added EU aid for nuclear closure 19 Thousands of Ukrainians demand reopening of Chernobyl nuclear 20 US: Expert Warns of Nuclear Horror at Indian Point Fueling Fears 21 US: Prairie Island nuclear plant fined $60,000 NUCLEAR SAFETY NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 22 Reid denies Yucca vote payback 23 Representative says Reid blocked bid as payback for Yucca vote* 24 US: Wash State makes deal on radioactive trash 25 Democratic Party in Nevada faces leadership change 26 US: NRC: Trojan Spent Fuel Storage installation NUCLEAR WEAPONS 27 US: Statement Of Senator Harry Reid On President Bush's Plan to Cut 28 US: Canon City agrees on radioactive test sites 29 Nuclear Winter: 30 UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq US DEPT. OF ENERGY 31 Energy Secretary Announces Appointment of New Chief of Staff For 32 Secretary Abraham Establishes Task Force on the Future of Science 33 DOE, State of Washington Reach Agreement on Management of Waste 34 DOE Names Gerald Boyd New Manager for Oak Ridge Operations Office 35 Secretary of Energy Appoints Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy 36 U.S. to negotiate faster cleanup of Hanford waste OTHER NUCLEAR 37 Repairs completed on nuclear icebreaker Lenin ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 'Defector leaked details of N. Korea's N-program' Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun The United States learned of Pyongyang's covert nuclear weapons development program through a tip by a North Korean defector to South Korea, according to Japanese government sources. The sources said the defector belonged to the technical division of North Korea's highly classified uranium enrichment facility. The man reportedly defected to South Korea late last year. He told South Korean authorities details about the facility's location and the technology used there, the sources said. The defector reportedly said Pyongyang started its nuclear development program in 1998. At that time, the international community did not think North Korea had the advanced technology needed to develop nuclear arms with enriched uranium. Therefore, South Korean authorities initially found the information suspect. The information was so detailed, however, that Seoul finally decided in January to report it to the United States, according to Japanese and U.S. diplomatic sources. In light of this information, Washington started reviewing various photos its spy satellite had already taken of the suspected district and strengthened its monitoring of North Korea in January, the sources said. In July, Washington concluded the facility actually was for the development of nuclear weapons. While it kept the information on North Korea's nuclear development project classified, Washington secretly investigated how North Korea procured a gas centrifuge, which is essential for uranium enrichment, finally concluding that Pakistan had sold the apparatus to Pyongyang. Following that, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly visited Pyongyang for talks with high-ranking officials in October. It was during those talks that North Korea admitted it was continuing its nuclear arms development project. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 2 Iraqi samples under the microscope BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Tuesday, 17 December, 2002, [UN weapons inspectors, AP] UN weapons inspectors continue to collect samples Detailed analysis on samples taken at suspected nuclear sites in Iraq is underway at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) laboratories. Even if they paint the walls, and they completely change the floor - and they've tried this - we still find the traces in this kind of sample David Donahue, IAEA Eight samples are reported to have arrived at Seibersdorf in Austria and another 20 are expected at the weekend. The samples are being collected by wiping sterile swabs across walls and other solid surfaces in factories, palaces and warehouse throughout Iraq. If the scientists find traces of uranium that could be used in a weapons programme, the samples will be sent to other laboratories around the world to confirm their results. Other samples of water, air and soil will also be analysed by the Agency. The process is fairly long, but results are expected at the earliest in the middle of January. Testing samples The weapons inspectors are equipped with specially designed kits. These contain 10-centimetre-square cotton swabs which they use to collect tiny particles of dust from suspected buildings. Several samples are collected from each site so tests can be repeated and the IAEA's results can be independently verified. These are then carefully sealed in two plastic bags to ensure they are kept clean. Although initial analysis of the samples can be done on site, further tests need to be carried out in the laboratory, so samples are sent on to the scientists in Austria. On arrival the bags are screened using gamma-ray spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence, which can detect particles of uranium or plutonium - two elements that can be used to make atomic bombs - that are only a thousand millionth of a gram. If the scientists find traces of these elements, the bags will then be opened and the swabs looked at more closely. According to David Donahue, the operational head of the IAEA's laboratory, if there is something to find then they will find it. "Even if they paint the walls, and they completely change the floor - and they've tried this - we still find the traces in this kind of sample." Enriched uranium Finding traces of uranium or plutonium will not be evidence of a weapons programme. Radioactive materials can be used for other purposes, such as medicine. But finding enriched uranium - an unusual ratio of particular types of atoms - in large amounts would be significant. David Donahue told the BBC: "Uranium is a natural element, it's present in all nature. But then people who want to make nuclear weapons have to enrich it, to enrich the U-235. And so we look for uranium which has been isotopically altered." According to David Donahue, the Iraqis have produced this material previously. "What the Iraqis did before '91, the first Gulf War, is that they had an enrichment programme that took the material up to about 5%. And this was just the start of their programme. They were obviously aiming to go much higher. "The agency inspectors went back and confronted them with this and they finally admitted that they had this programme, and they showed us all the equipment they had taken away and buried in the desert." © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 3 Bush gives go-ahead to missile defence BBC NEWS | Americas | Tuesday, 17 December, 2002, [Test launch from Vandenberg AFB, Ca] There have been eight tests so far President George W Bush has ordered the American military to begin deploying a limited system to defend the United States against ballistic missiles. The plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles to be ready by 2004 - a "modest" capability that would serve as a starting point towards better defence, Mr Bush said in a written statement. The United States will take every necessary measure to protect our citizens The decision comes days after the latest failure of an anti-missile test over the Pacific Ocean. Despite this, the programme is gathering pace, with Mr Bush also requesting the use of facilities in the UK and Denmark on Tuesday. In June, the US withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty it signed with the Soviet Union, a constraint on its ability to test new anti-missile defences. Washington has insisted that a missile defence system could significantly reduce that threat from what it calls "rogue states" - including Iraq, Iran and North Korea. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the announcement had nothing to do with North Korea's reactivation of its nuclear programme, but was part of a well-known plan and was based on scientific progress. Getting started The initial deployment of 10 interceptors in 2004 is to be followed by another 10 a year later. They will include ground-based interceptors, sea-based interceptors, additional Patriot (PAC-3) units, and sensors based on land, at sea, and in space. Mr Bush described these facilities as a "starting point for improved and expanded capabilities later as further progress is made in researching and developing missile defence technologies and in light of changes in the threat". There have been eight tests of interceptor missiles so far. Three have failed. There has been considerable scepticism that the eventual goal - a comprehensive shield capable of protecting the US from any missile attack - will ever be achievable. But Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld said the US was not going to wait until something was completely done "in 20 years". It had to put in an initial capability, and then learn through both successes and failures. "When it finishes some day... it very likely will look quite different than it begins. And it very likely will have layers. And it very likely will involve a variety of different locations. And it will very likely involve the participation of a number of countries," Mr Rumsfeld said. [Map of missile defence shield plans] The missile shield is well beyond the planning stages Some experts say that, given the variety of threats facing the US, the money could be better spent on countering terrorism rather than missile attack. But BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says that, with sufficient time and money, the Americans will come up with a working system. The US has requested to update two early-warning radar stations for the programme - the Fylingdales base in Britain and the radar station at an American Air Force base in Greenland. "The government will now consider the US request very seriously, agreeing to it only if we are satisfied that it will ultimately enhance the security of the UK and the Nato alliance," UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a statement. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 4 Russia says no violations in Iranian nuclear plans* daily environment news RUSSIA: December 17, 2002 MOSCOW - Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant, said on Sunday Tehran was violating no international rules by developing two other nuclear sites despite U.S. fears they could be used for military aims.* Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev was also quoted as telling Itar-Tass news agency in an interview that efforts should be made to persuade North Korea to ease its tough stand on resuming its nuclear programme. Russia has faced heavy U.S. criticism for helping Iran build a reactor at a nuclear plant at Bushehr but Rumyantsev said Moscow was proceeding with the project. He dismissed as unfounded U.S. suggestions last week that two other facilities under construction could enable Iran to produce nuclear weapons. He told the agency Iran had never concealed its intention to build a complete nuclear cycle and the facilities "do not violate any commitments" the country had undertaken. Tehran has denied U.S. assertions that the two sites near the towns of Natanz and Arak were of a type that could be used for making a nuclear weapon. It says it is determined to meet its growing demand for electricity with nuclear power. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the facilities, seen in commercial satellite photographs, had generated "grave concerns". Washington has labelled Iran as part of an "axis of evil" bent on developing weapons of mass destruction. But Rumyantsev was quoted as saying: "You cannot assume anything from the published photographs." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been discussing the sites with Tehran since August, with Iranian authorities agreeing to submit to IAEA monitoring. Rumyantsev said Russia had no connection with either facility, but predicted that Washington could increase pressure on Moscow to halt its participation in the Bushehr project. "We have no intention of doing so, as there is no proof that we are committing any violations of any sort," he told Tass. Rumyantsev's press service told Tass Moscow's continued participation in the Bushehr project was contingent on Iranian assurances that all spent fuel would be returned to Russia - a demand advanced by U.S. experts. The press service said it was uncertain whether Russia would pursue plans to build up to five more reactors at the site. On North Korea, which said this week it intended to restart a nuclear reactor shut down under a 1994 deal with the United States, Rumyantsev said attempts should be made to discuss the matter with Pyongyang's secretive leadership. "North Korea has taken a specific stand, which has to be understood with efforts made to tone it down," he told Tass. Russia, he said, had ceased all nuclear cooperation with Pyongyang in 1993 and had no intention of reviving it. "If North Korea decides to seek our help, this is possible only through the IAEA," he told Tass. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 5 Pak says it is not helping N Korea nuclear programe: Rocca *Kim Kyung-won* December 18, 2002 What is the U.S. strategy to prevent North Korea from reactivating its nuclear facilities? The following three tactics could be devised on the premise of ruling out any military options. The first would be regime change. This course entails disarming the North of its nuclear arsenal by either ousting the regime outright or inducing significant changes to its basic nature. It is a rather charming approach in that along with the nuclear issue, a host of other themes such as human rights, famine and democratic reforms can be resolved simultaneously by igniting changes to the fundamental characteristics of the reclusive state. So the problem is whether changes can indeed be brought about. Totalitarian dictatorships have an enduring record of extending their lease on life against such tides as international isolation and economic devastation. The trick is to find measures to impede Pyeongyang's nuclear weapons development program while at the same time the country resists implosion. The second strategy is resolution through dialogue. The North Korean position is that it is willing to once again freeze the disputed facilities if the United States assures the North of its security. In short, its contention places the ball entirely in Washington's court. But the United States maintains that discussion with Pyeongyang is futile given the country's outstanding record of backtracking on numerous prominent international agreements, including the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework by secretly developing nuclear weapons. Put simply, the American stance presses North Korea to tread the "first renunciation, then dialogue" route if the country is to secure a seat at the negotiations table with Washington. The second option would mean that the United States give up this position. It seems highly unlikely that Washington will drop its distrust of the North Korean leadership any time soon. Moreover, it will decisively part from the Clintonian approach of creating a precedent which rewards a country that brandishes nuclear weapons in order to achieve nuclear nonproliferation. Plan C is implementing in a limited fashion both the engagement and embargo strategies by maintaining the status quo. It would mean continuing civilian exchanges while temporarily suspending official economic contacts. Economic and diplomatic pressures would remain without forcing North Korean isolation. Yet that isolation seems unavoidable given that every leading player in international politics, including the United States, the European Union and the North's Chinese and Russian allies, has opposed and warned the North Koreans against nuclear weapons. The third strategy entails dragging out the issue, considering that the United States is in no hurry to reach a resolution. Needless to say, extending indefinitely the limited engagement and embargo option would only further aggravate North Korea's economic and political woes. Efforts to improve the country's economic administration policies being attempted since last summer would likely run aground. Prolonging Pyeongyang's diplomatic isolation may even undermine its domestic political security. Such bleak prospects are driving the North to place maximum pressure on the United States to accept the negotiations card, even as the country threatens to reactivate its nuclear facilities. However, the more the North feels impatient, the longer the United States is willing to wait. The Bush administration's choices boil down to the three mentioned above. The lingering question is what to do if North Korea refuses to give up its nuclear cache regardless of which cards Washington chooses to play. The South Korean government has reiterated its commitment not to tolerate nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. Still, we are led to ponder if indeed our officials clearly understand the ramifications of such announcements. What would Korea's ultimate choice be if forced to confront the North Korean nuclear threat? The crisis is not yet here, so instead of reiterating an obscure commitment to a peaceful resolution, we need to embark on the task of finding the common denominator of the North Korean and American positions. To do so would require a strategic dialogue with our American counterparts. The lack of a common appreciation of a North Korean policy may lead to misunderstandings between the two allies. * The writer is the president of the Institute of Social Sciences. ¨Ï 2002 JoongAng Ilbo , Joins.com . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Defector vital in uncovering nuke program* *by Oh Day-young * December 18, 2002 TOKYO -- The testimony of a North Korean defector was vital in revealing the North's covert nuclear development program, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Yomiuri said that a North Korean technician who worked at the North's uranium enrichment facility told South Korean intelligence officials that the program started in 1998. The man, who defected to the South last year, reportedly provided the specific location of the nuclear facility. Seoul officials put little trust in the information at first, assuming that the North did not have the means to acquire the technology needed for the project. But given the specificity of the information, they informed the United States in January. The Americans reviewed photos taken by reconnaissance satellites and strengthened surveillance. Washington later concluded that the facilities in question were nuclear sites and that Pakistan provided the centrifuges to enrich the uranium. ¨Ï 2002 JoongAng Ilbo , Joins.com . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Russia prepared to ease tensions over North Korean problem - Losyukov* 17.12.2002 17:42:02 MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) - Russia is prepared to make steps to ease tensions caused by reports that North Korea is running a nuclear program. "We are prepared to make such steps and we have instruments no other country has - our rather strong contacts with the North Korean leadership," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Interfax ahead of Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's visit to Japan. He said Russia is not offering to mediate. "It's not mediation. We wouldn't like to cruise between the parties with ultimatums and ask them who blames whom for what. Our job is to create an atmosphere in which these problems could be settled and, using the instruments available to us, to help the parties in the dispute settle mutual claims and concerns," Losyukov said. "Russia has an approximate list of proposals," but would not like to announce them now, he said. "This must go through a stage of quiet diplomacy. One must understand to what extent these proposals may be implemented, which depends on the position of the countries with which we are holding negotiations," Losyukov said. He said all of these issues will be discussed during talks between the Russian foreign minister and Japanese officials in Tokyo. Concerning North Korea's recent refusal to receive inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Losyukov said that "at the current stage it is obviously just impossible to begin from IAEA inspection missions." For details, see the Diplomatic Panorama for December 17. [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG KP POL DIP PRO] sd aw <> © 1991-2002 *Interfax, All rights reserved* News and other data on this ***************************************************************** 10 China ships North Korea ingredient for nuclear arms -- The Washington Times December 17, 2002 By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES  North Korea has purchased a large shipment of chemicals from China that can be used to make nuclear-weapons fuel, U.S. intelligence officials say.      North Korean procurement agents succeeded in buying 20 tons of tributyl phosphate, known as TBP, a key chemical used to extract material for nuclear bombs from spent nuclear fuel, said officials familiar with intelligence reports of the transfer.      The officials said the chemical also can be used in commercial processes, such as making plastics, ink and paint.      U.S. intelligence agencies, however, believe North Korea will use the TBP for its plutonium-based nuclear-weapons program, based on sensitive intelligence information, the officials said.      The chemical is used in a process known as plutonium-uranium extraction, or purex, which produces plutonium from spent reactor fuel.      North Korea announced last week that it planned to restart its plutonium reactors at Yongbyon.      "The fact that North Korea is importing tributyl phosphate right now is rather ominous," said Gary Milhollin, director of the private Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. "It's evidence that North Korea plans to extract more plutonium."      The chemical also can be used to prepare uranium for the weapons process, Mr. Milhollin said in an interview.      North Korea has a large supply of spent reactor fuel that is under international surveillance. The reprocessing of the spent fuel means Pyongyang could produce more bombs "in fairly short order, a matter of months," he said.      The TBP transfer, which happened earlier this month, highlights the Chinese government's failure to control the export of goods related to nuclear-weapons production.      The disclosure of the transfer also followed appeals from senior Bush administration officials in recent months for Beijing's help in halting North Korea's nuclear-weapons program.      The transfer itself is an indication that China's government, contrary to some public statements, is unwilling to support U.S. efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem, said administration security officials.      Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a summit in Beijing this month that both favored a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.      Mr. Jiang also said during an October meeting with President Bush in Crawford, Texas, that China favored a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, but stopped short of condemning Pyongyang's nuclear program.      The two presidents agreed at the summit to discuss curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.      However, senior administration officials said China continues to export nuclear, chemical and biological weapons material and missile goods, despite claims of curbing exports by Chinese companies to rogue states or unstable regions.      White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told a visiting Chinese general last week that Beijing's help in stopping the North Korean nuclear program would be important to U.S.-China relations.      North Korea's government revealed to a State Department official in October that it was secretly developing uranium-enrichment capability to make fuel for nuclear weapons.      Pyongyang then announced it planned to restart three reactors at the Yongbyon nuclear complex that were shut down under a 1994 agreement.      White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters yesterday that he did not believe China was helping North Korea's nuclear program and that Beijing was being helpful in U.S. efforts to curb North Korea's drive for nuclear arms.      "China is working with the United States to make certain that we can resolve the situation with North Korea peacefully and diplomatically, and that is being done in concert with South Korea, and Japan and Russia, as well," Mr. Fleischer said.      A White House spokesman had no comment on the Chinese-North Korean chemical transfer.      The TBP purchase is expected to lead to sanctions on the Chinese and North Korean companies involved in the sale. U.S. officials said the company was located in Dalian, a Chinese seaport, but they did not name the company.      U.S. intelligence officials first disclosed North Korea's effort to purchase tributyl phosphate in China to The Washington Times earlier this month.      Henry Sokolski, head of the private Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said the transfer of the nuclear arms-related chemical shows the Chinese "don't understand how important this is to us."      "If China thinks this is a good way to restrain North Korean nuclear activities, they need to talk to us," Mr. Sokolski said. ***************************************************************** 11 Fact Sheet on DPRK Nuclear Safeguards [www.iaea.org] [-] Media Advisory 2002/52 (16 December 2002) 1980s: Origins of Nuclear Safeguards. On 12 December 1985 the DPRK became a party to the NPT. On 10 April 1992 the NPT Safeguards Agreement entered into force (INFCIRC/403). Before that, in 1977, the country had concluded an INFCIRC/66 type Safeguards Agreement (INFCIRC/252) for two nuclear research facilities (the IRT research reactor and a critical assembly). Two phases are to be distinguished in the DPRK's nuclear programme. The first started at the end of the fifties and was set up with Soviet assistance. In that period a nuclear complex was constructed at Nyongbyong, where in the 1960s a number of facilities were built. The second - indigenous - phase started in 1979 with the construction of a 5 MW(e) natural uranium, graphite moderated reactor in Nyongbyong. In the same period an ore processing plant and a fuel rod fabrication plant were built. By the time the 5 MW(e) reactor became operational in 1986, construction of the first of two larger gas-graphite reactors began and around 1987, also in Nyongbyong, the construction of a Radiochemical Laboratory with a sizeable reprocessing capacity started. 1990s: IAEA Inspections Start. After the DPRK had submitted its initial report to the IAEA under its Safeguards Agreement in May 1992, inspections began. Shortly thereafter inconsistencies emerged between the DPRK's initial declaration and the Agency's findings, centring on a mismatch between declared plutonium product and nuclear waste solutions and the results of the Agency's analysis. The latter suggested that there existed in the DPRK undeclared plutonium. In order to find answers to the inconsistencies detected and to determine the completeness and correctness of the initial declaration provided, the IAEA requested access to additional information and to two sites which seemed to be related to the storage of nuclear waste. The DPRK, however, refused access to the sites. + Special Inspection. Thereupon, the Director General invoked in February 1993 the special inspection procedure provided for in the Safeguards Agreement. The request for a special inspection was refused by the DPRK and the Board of Governors concluded that the DPRK was in non-compliance with its Safeguards Agreement and, in line with Article XII.C of the IAEA Statute, referred this non-compliance to the UN Security Council. On 11 May 1993, the Council called upon the DPRK to comply with the Agreement. In parallel with these developments, on 12 March 1993, the DPRK announced its decision to withdraw from the NPT, but in June 1993 "suspended the effectuation" of that withdrawal. Prelude to Security Council Action. During 1993 and 1994 the IAEA was permitted by the DPRK to conduct safeguards activities with a limited scope only (containment, surveillance and maintenance) with the sole purpose of ensuring, as the DPRK phrased it, the "continuity of safeguards" versus "full implementation" demanded by the Agency. The Director General reported as early as December 1993 to the Board that the kind of limited safeguards permitted by the DPRK could no longer be said to provide any meaningful assurance of the peaceful use of the DPRK's declared nuclear installations. Based on the Director General's report, the UN Security Council, on 31 March 1994, again called upon the DPRK to enable the inspectors to complete their required activities. In the context of the special inspection request it was vital for the Agency to ascertain whether the core of the DPRK's 5 MW(e) Experimental Nuclear Power reactor was the first core as claimed by the DPRK. However, in May 1994, the DPRK hastily discharged the fuel from the 5 MW(e) reactor in such a way that the IAEA was not able to conduct the verification activities that could have clarified the history of the core. On 30 May 1994, in his statement, the President of the Security Council called for immediate consultations between the DPRK and the Agency in connection with the further discharge of the core, and, on 10 June 1994, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution which concluded that "the DPRK is continuing to widen its non-compliance with its safeguards agreement by taking actions which prevent the Agency from verifying the history of the reactor core and from ascertaining whether nuclear material from the reactor had been diverted in past years". The Board also decided to suspend all non-medical technical assistance to the DPRK. On 13 June 1994, the DPRK, which had been an IAEA Member State since 1974, withdrew from its membership in the Agency. Although the withdrawal did not affect the DPRK obligations under its Safeguards Agreement, which in the Agency's view remains binding and in force, the DPRK took the position that it was in a special position with regard to the Safeguards Agreement and that it was no longer obliged to allow the inspectors to carry out their work under the Safeguards Agreement. US-DPRK Agreed Framework. The mid-1994 crisis was defused by the visit of former President Carter in June 1994 and in the subsequent negotiations that led to the Agreed Framework between the US and the DPRK on 21 October 1994. Under the Agreed Framework the US commits itself to make arrangements for the provision of a LWR generating capacity of approximately 2000 MW(e) in exchange for a DPRK freeze of its graphite-moderated reactors and related facilities. The arrangements for the LWR project led to the creation of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). + IAEA Monitoring of Freeze. The Agreed Framework stipulates that the IAEA will be allowed to monitor the freeze. At the request of the Security Council (in a statement by the President of the Council of 4 November 1994), and as authorized by the Board of Governors on 11 November 1994, the IAEA has maintained a continuous presence in Nyongbyong to verify the freeze. In the Agency's view, the activities under the Agreed Framework are a subset of activities to be performed under the Safeguards Agreement. The facilities subject to the freeze are the 5MW(e) reactor, the Radiochemical Laboratory (reprocessing), the fuel fabrication plant and the partially built 50 and 200MW(e) nuclear power plants. IAEA-DPRK Technical Talks. Notwithstanding the continuing difference between the Agency and the DPRK as to the status of the Safeguards Agreement, regular technical meetings, about twice a year, have taken place since 1994 in Vienna and the DPRK to resolve outstanding issues. Initially the discussions focussed on preserving the relevant information. However, despite 17 rounds of technical consultations, no progress has been achieved on key issues. After the Secretariat had determined, in September 2000, that it would need 3 to 4 years to carry out all the activities required to verify the correctness and completeness of the initial report, the focus has shifted to obtaining full DPRK cooperation to carry out these activities. So far the DPRK has not agreed to even discuss such a programme of work. The last technical meeting was held in November 2001. Repeated efforts in the course of 2002 to convene a technical meeting with "verification of the correctness and completeness of the initial report" on the agenda have not yet been successful. KEDO Nuclear Plant Project. Factors relevant to the DPRK position are its relations with the US and the progress in the KEDO Project. The conclusion of an internal US review in June 2001 was that improved implementation of the Agreed Framework should be sought. The Agreed Framework aimed at the completion of the first reactor in 2003, but the project has suffered delays for a number of reasons. However, since the start of the construction phase in February 2000, the project has been on schedule. The concrete for the first reactor was poured on 7 August 2002. According to the Delivery Protocol to the 1995 KEDO-DPRK Supply Agreement, which was handed over to the DPRK (and brought to the attention of the Agency) at the end of April 2002, the first key nuclear components will be delivered in mid-2005. This is relevant to the Agency because the Agreed Framework specifies that the DPRK has to come into full compliance with its safeguards agreement before key nuclear components can be delivered. October 2002 Disclosures. A new phase started on 16 October 2002 with the announcement by the US that the DPRK side had acknowledged, in talks with Assistant Secretary Kelly in early October that it had a "programme to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons". Subsequently in a number of statements, by the US, by the US together with Japan and the Republic of Korea (28 October 2002), and by KEDO (14 November 2002), the conclusion was drawn that the DPRK's programme was a violation of the Agreed Framework, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the DPRK-IAEA Safeguards Agreement and the North-South Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In light of those violations the KEDO Board decided to suspend heavy oil deliveries as of the December shipment. + November 2002: IAEA Seeks Clarification, Talks. The IAEA, in faxes of 17 and 18 November, requested information about the alleged programme and offered "to dispatch a senior team to the DPRK or to receive a DPRK team in Vienna, to discuss recent information and the general question of the implementation of IAEA safeguards in the DPRK". No reply to these faxes was received. On 28 November the Board of Governors adopted a resolution without a vote in which the Board insisted that the DPRK should reply and cooperate with the Agency. The Board recognized that the programme to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons "or any other covert nuclear activities, would constitute a violation of the DPRK's international commitments, including the DPRK's safeguards agreement with the Agency pursuant to the NPT". December 2002: Exchanges of Letters. In his reply to the IAEA Director General (dated 2 December, received 4 December) the DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun expressed his disappointment about the Agency's unilateral and unfair approach. The DPRK Government could not accept the resolution, he said. On 12 December the Director General received a further letter, from Mr. Ri Je Son, Director General of the General Department of Atomic Energy in the DPRK, conveying the DPRK decision on that day to lift the freeze on its nuclear facilities as of 13 December in light of the US suspension of the heavy fuel oil supply pursuant to the Agreed Framework. The Director General replied the same day urging the DPRK not to take unilateral steps related to seals or cameras and to agree to an urgent meeting of technical experts to discuss practical arrangements involved in moving from the freeze to normal safeguards operations. No Complete Picture. In conclusion, the Agency has never been able to verify the completeness and correctness of the initial report of the DPRK under the NPT Safeguards Agreement. Since 1993 it has drawn the conclusion that the DPRK is in non-compliance with its obligations under the Agreement. In other words, the Agency has never had the complete picture regarding DPRK nuclear activities and has never been able to provide assurances regarding the peaceful character of the DPRK nuclear programme. ***************************************************************** 12 NRC Staff Proposes $60,000 Fine Against Nuclear Management Co. For Failing to Provide Complete and Accurate Information NRC: News Release - Region III - 2002-066 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-066 December 17, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $60,000 fine against Nuclear Management Company for failing to provide the agency with complete and accurate information in April 2001 on a problem involving the emergency diesel generators at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Station. The two-reactor facility is located at Red Wing, Minnesota. In April of last year the company discovered a problem with one of two Unit 2 diesel generators during testing. The diesel generator would be needed to supply power to plant safety systems in the event of a loss of offsite electrical power to the plant. The companys NRC license requires that the unit be shut down if an inoperable diesel generator cannot be returned to service within seven days. Plant management requested that the NRC permit operation for several additional days which were needed to complete the repair and testing of the diesel generator. The NRC issued a Notice of Enforcement Discretion (NOED) to permit the continued operation. A subsequent investigation by the NRC Office of Investigations found that the company had not provided complete and accurate information to the NRC in support of the request for the NOED. The company had information from several sources that an incompatibility between the fuel oil and the lubricating oil used in the diesel generator could have caused the problem but did not provide this information to the NRC. NMC later determined that the diesel generator could have performed its safety function. The oil incompatibility was subsequently found to be the cause of the diesel generator damage. The incompatibility issue also affected a second, identical diesel generator at the plant. In notifying the company of the proposed fine, NRC Regional Administrator Jim Dyer said, Your failure to provide complete and accurate information affected the NRCs ability to perform its regulatory function in that the NRC granted the NOED with an incomplete understanding of the potential safety impact to the plant. He said that if the agency had received complete information on the oil compatibility issue, it might have required additional compensatory actions by the company or might have decided not to issue the NOED, which would then have required the plant to shut down. The fine was proposed because of the companys poor performance leading up to and during the diesel generator degradation, during the request for an NOED, and during the time period the NOED was in effect. The company subsequently shut down both units of the Prairie Island plant the following month to correct the oil incompatibility problem and make necessary repairs. In a related matter, during an NRC inspection of the diesel generator issue in May of last year, a document was removed from a group of documents about to be given to the NRC inspectors. The company discovered that the document was being withheld and supplied it to the inspectors within the requested time. While this withholding of information was not found to constitute a violation by the company, the NRC determined that it was a deliberate violation of NRC regulations by the individual. The agency issued a Notice of Violation to the individual. There was no fine associated with this violation. Nuclear Management Company has until January 13 of next year to pay the fine or to protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the company may request a hearing. The individual involved is not required to reply to the notice of violation unless the individual chooses to contest it. The letter notifying the company of the proposed fine, the associated Notice of Violation, and the Notice of Violation to the individual will be available on the NRCs web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions /materials/ and from the NRCs Region III Office of Public Affairs. It will also be available in the agencys ADAMS electronic reading room at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Tuesday, December 17, 2002 ***************************************************************** 13 ForUm: Ukraine reckons on Russian nuclear fuel December, 17th, 2002 The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant Ukraine expects Russia to supply nuclear fuel worth $95 million to fill two compensating reactors at the Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants [NPP], according to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Meeting with Russia’s Parliament Speaker Gennadiy Seleznev on Monday, Yanukovych said, “It is a complex problem, but I hope that we will reach a consensus with Russia and solve it.” Seleznev congratulated Yanukovych on his recent appointment as the premier, saying that this post implies great responsibility, especially now that Ukraine’s government is drawing up the next year budget. According to RIA Novosti, the Russian parliament speaker said that the parties had a candid conversation and discussed a set of issues related to the bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine. http://for-ua.com. Edition: mail@for.com.ua. ***************************************************************** 14 Chernobyl Atom Station Dangerous Again? Pravda.RU Dec, 17 2002 Chernobyl Atom Station which was closed two years ago still constitutes a serious menace. According to the agency Ukrainskiye Novosti, Chernobyl Atom Power Station could be declared under emergency situation regime. The emergency situation is real because the station administration was informed about possible gas and electricity cut-off, as well as about stopping railway transportation of the power station workers from the Slavutich town. The power station owes 6 million grivnas (approximately $ 1.2 million) for gas and electricity, 2 million grivnas (approximately $ 0.4 million) for the staff transportation, over 9 million grivnas (approximately $ 1.8 million) to contractors for fulfilled work, and about 7 million (approximately $ 1.4 million) to the station workers. According to the station information service, Chernobyl Atom Station did not receive 94 million grivnas which are necessary for keeping the station in save state, 7 million grivnas which are necessary to turn the object Ukrytie (shelter) into an environmentally secure system. Having closed the station, the Ukrainian leadership started to consider the Chernobyl issue to be “closed” as well. Though, this is not so. According to the TV channel Inter, while digging a foundation pit at a distance of 500 metres from the object Ukrytie, “hot particles” were found. Ex-chief of the object, Valentin Kupny said journalists that “alpha-activity” had been registered there. There is americium, europium. This signifies presence of “hot particles.” The territory is polluted, while builders work in this polluted area as if they are somewhere in the city of Kiev, they simply dig a foundation pit. While in the object Ukrytie, there is now a danger of fire, which could appear during any welding works. Forest fire in the polluted area is very dangerous, too. According to the TV channel Inter, during such fires, radioactive aerosols are being spread to 100-250 km. This is why, Kiev cannot be guaranteed from new radioactive troubles. It should be remembered that the West still has not fulfilled its financing promises to Ukraine in exchange to closing the station. In particular, to finish the building of atom stations in the cities of Rovno and Khmelnitsk, Ukraine has received $ 44-million credit from Russia, however the seven industrial powers were supposed to help Ukraine. The Chernobyl Atom Station resource was intended to be exploited till 2011, so the decision to close the station was purely political. Though, the West did not properly evaluated this “gesture of good will.” Apropos, these days, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich is going to visit Chernobyl Atom Station and the Slavutich town, where the station workers live. According to the Interfax-Ukraina agency, the Prime Minister plans to study the situation in the object which is being built to prepare waste nuclear fuel for storing, to visit the object Ukrytie, and Slavutich international centre of nuclear security, radioactive waste and radioecology. Morbid questions of Chernobyl Atom Station will be considered at a special sitting. Hopefully, the possible decisions will be adequate to the Chernobyl new challenges. Andrei Lubensky PRAVDA.Ru Translated by Vera Solovieva Read the original in Russian: http://world.pravda.ru/world/2002/5/73/207/4408_chernobyl.html Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials ***************************************************************** 15 FirstEnergy refutes worker's retaliation claim concerning safety issues - portclintonnewsherald.com Tuesday, December 17, 2002 PC man was part of reactor head replacement process By RICK NEALE Staff writer D-B contractor injures hand News Herald reports CARROLL TOWNSHIP -- A Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station contract worker was hospitalized Monday afternoon after his hand was pinched between two sheets of metal. The victim, whose name was not released, suffered a finger injury, FirstEnergy spokesman Richard Wilkins said. The incident took place at 1:10 p.m. in the reactor containment building. "It was a very minor injury," Wilkins said. "Just to be conservative about it, they took him to the hospital to have it checked." The man was transported by Carroll Township EMS to Magruder Hospital. Information on his condition was not available. PORT CLINTON -- FirstEnergy is refuting a Port Clinton man's allegations that he received retaliation for reporting safety concerns. In a response filed Monday in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court, the parent company of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station denied claims filed by Timothy Tackett of 320 W. Fourth St. Tackett filed a lawsuit against FirstEnergy in mid-October, in which he accused the company of unsafe working conditions. He asked the court for more than $25,000 in compensation. FirstEnergy spokesman Richard Wilkins declined comment on the matter, citing pending litigation. Tackett, an advanced nuclear technologist in the maintenance support department, was placed on administrative leave Sept. 19. Some of his allegations stem from a Sept. 17 public meeting in which FirstEnergy officials met with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Davis-Besse has been out of operation since February. Workers discovered an unprecedented amount of acid-chewed corrosion on the reactor head, sparking a series of ongoing investigations from the NRC and other organizations. FirstEnergy bought an unused, replacement reactor head from a nuclear plant in Midland, Mich., and installation procedures took place in August and September. Tackett helped supervise work on a polar crane during that process inside the plant's containment building. During the Sept. 17 public meeting, Davis-Besse plant official Mike Stevens said he determined the polar crane was in unacceptable condition during a personal inspection. On Sept. 18, Tackett had an hour-long meeting with the plant's resident NRC inspector at the plant, during which he brought up his safety concerns, according to the suit. He was placed on administrative leave the next day while management investigated his claims. Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or rneale@fremont.gannett.com. Originally published Tuesday, December 17, 2002 ***************************************************************** 16 Hydro-Quebec Nuclear Plant Gets 4-Year License MONTREAL (Reuters) - The license of Hydro-Quebec's Gentilly-2 nuclear power plant in Becancour, Quebec, has been renewed until late 2006, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said on Monday. The approval until Dec. 31, 2006, was given after public hearings held earlier this fall. "The commission concluded that Hydro-Quebec is qualified to carry out the activities authorized under the license and, in doing so, will make adequate provision for the protection of the environment, the health and safety of persons," the commission said. Hydro-Quebec is one of North America's largest electricity producers and distributors. The Gentilly-2 plant is located half way between Quebec City and Montreal and has been in operation since 1983. It is a 675 megawatt nuclear reactor fueled with natural uranium. | Canada | Europe ***************************************************************** 17 Czech government satisfied with Temelin safety declaration Radio Prague - the international service of Czech Radio Radio Praha [17-12-2002] By Pavla Horakova ListenReal The Czech delegation returned home from the Copenhagen EU summit with a satisfactory deal on the Temelin nuclear power station which has for years been a thorn in the eye of neighbouring anti-nuclear Austria. In recent years some pressure groups in Austria have threatened to try and block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Temelin is shut down. Austria's far-right Freedom Party went as far as to launch a nation-wide referendum in January this year in an effort to make the shutdown of Temelin a condition for Czech EU entry. Although local anti-Temelin protests are still frequent in Austria, the Czech Republic no longer needs to fear its membership in the European Union could be jeopardised by the existence of the controversial plant. Anti-Temelin protests in Austria, photo: CTK The Czech Republic and Austria signed a bilateral declaration, which will be attached to the Accession Treaty. It will include a single sentence stating that the two countries will fulfil obligations from previous agreements, that is the conclusions of the "Melk agreement" and the subsequent process. The agreement committed the Czech side to clearing up a number of security concerns linked to the power station and producing an environmental impact study before putting Temelin into commercial operation. Speaking in Copenhagen, the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda welcomed the fact that the Austrians failed to push through any mention about the jurisdiction of the European Court or a reference to the Euratom treaty, which Prague did not agree with. / "It was a mutually acceptable solution because for us it is very important to exclude the jurisdiction of the (European) Court, so this is very important for us. And we just signed a political declaration that we are capable of fulfilling all the obligations and commitments which are incorporated in the Melk process and the Brussels treaty. So there is nothing new and I think for us the good result is the political declaration."/ After the Copenhagen summit the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel admitted it had not been possible to push through Austria's goal of having the bilateral safety agreement enshrined in the Czech Republic's EU membership accords and put under the jurisdiction of the European Court. EU countries operating nuclear plants such as Britain, Sweden and Finland were against it. / "Today, because of the fact that some nuclear energy producers, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, did not agree to include the protocol in the final act, we set a joint declaration to make it crystal clear that the Czech Republic and Austria would fulfil the Melk conclusions. The European Council welcomes this agreement and expects the comprehensive implementation."/ Radio Prague, Vinohradska 12, 120 99 Prague 2, Czech Republic tel: +420-2-2155 2931-7, fax: +420-2-2155 2903 (c) Copyright 2002 Radio Prague, All Rights Reserved E-mail: cr@radio.cz ***************************************************************** 18 Lithuania gets added EU aid for nuclear closure Planet Ark : LITHUANIA: December 17, 2002 VILNIUS - The European Union has offered Lithuania more money to help close its Soviet-era Ignalina nuclear plant under the Phare 2003 programme besides aid that the EU pledged last week when closing accession talks, the former ex-Communist state said on Monday. "Up to 30 million euros of Phare 2003 support will be allocated in addition to the 285 million euros which the EU has committed for the special Ignalina programme in 2004-2006," the Lithuanian government's Europe Committee said in a statement, quoting a letter from the European Commission. For the sake of EU entry, Lithuania has pledged to close one of Ignalina's reactors by 2005 and the other in 2009. The EU considers the facil ity unsafe as it shares the same design as Ukraine's ill-fated Chernobyl plant. It has agreed to guarantee in a special protocol to the country's accession treaty that the EU will continue to help finance the decommissioning work also after 2006. Lithuania estimates the effort will cost more than 3 billion euros over a 30 year period, and so far has set aside 46 million euros of its own and amassed 216 million euros in an international donor fund. The government said the Phare money was for waste management and storage projects. In 2001, Ignalina accounted for 77.6 percent of all electricity produced in the ex-Soviet state, making it the world's most nuclear-reliant country. Lithuania was one of 10 countries to complete EU accession negotiations on Friday, and expects to join the bloc in 2004. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE www.radiant.com.au ***************************************************************** 19 Thousands of Ukrainians demand reopening of Chernobyl nuclear power plant Tue, Dec 17, 2002 KIEV, Ukraine - Braving freezing weather, thousands of Ukrainians gathered in a central square in the capital Kiev to call for the reopening of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and demand that Western governments provide funding that was promised when the plant was closed in 2000. Some 8,000 to 10,000 people, including hundreds of pensioners and children who suffered health damage from the Chernobyl accident 16 years ago, stood in Sofia Square. Some waved banners reading "Give Chernobyl a second life" and "No money, no safety." They demanded that the Ukrainian government and Western governments restore benefits to some 3 million people who were affected by the accident. "We want to restore everything that has been taken from these kids' lives — medicine is not provided, there's no rehabilitation, no food. Everything has been taken from the kids," said Nadezhda Matyesh, director of the Chernobyl Children's Fund for Survival in Korosten, a city 60 miles west of Chernobyl whose 65,000 residents were all affected by the accident. After the one-hour protest, demonstrators broke into seven groups to picket the embassies of the Group of Seven richest nations, demanding that their governments finance programs to meet Ukraine's energy needs and solve the social problems caused by Chernobyl's closure. Ukraine shuttered Chernobyl's last reactor in December 2000 and appealed for Western help in completing the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi reactors to compensate for the lost electricity capacity. Chernobyl was the site of world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, when one of the reactors there exploded, sending a radioactive cloud over much of Europe. (tv/ji) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 20 Expert Warns of Nuclear Horror at Indian Point Fueling Fears The Village Voice: Features: by Rita Ferrandino December 18 - 24, 2002 hat Gordon Thompson says about the Indian Point nuclear power plant could keep half of New York and New Jersey up at night. Thompson, author of a new report on safety at the facility, argues that the greatest danger is not from hijackers dive-bombing the reactors but from terrorists armed with weapons as simple as buckets and hoses. That's because Indian Point, like most nuclear plants in the U.S., stores its spent fuel rods in covered pools. Drain the water—by breaching the wall or displacing the liquid with another object or just siphoning it off—and you'd have an apocalypse on your hands. Even a partial loss of fluid, Thompson says, could cause the rods to ignite and release cesium 137, a lethal radioactive isotope, into the air. "Once a pool fire gets going, nobody could approach it. It would be a smoky, slow-burning fire, giving off this cloud of smoke. It would probably hug the ground and drift downwind," he says. He talks in terms of epic time, describing a landscape that would remain uninhabitable for generations. This month, Thompson completed his study, "Robust Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel," for the Westchester County chapter of Citizens Awareness Network, a group based within what's known as Indian Point's 10-mile "Evacuation Planning Zone," a small circle inside the 17-and-a-half-mile "Peak Fatality Zone," nestled within a 50-mile "Peak Injury Zone." More than 20 million people live within this double bull's-eye. Testimony and research from Thompson—director of the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Institute for Resource and Security Studies—have led to significant changes elsewhere. Plants in Germany, for instance, now store old fuel rods in special vaults known as "dry casks," a method that is safer but more expensive. Working on an array of sustainable-energy issues, his firm claims a client list that includes the U. S. Department of Energy, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank. His push for dry-cask storage is less welcome at Indian Point. Just as Thompson is certain a partial loss of water in the cooling pools would result in a fire, officials there are certain he's wrong. "We are very confident in the safety of the pools," says Jim Steets, a spokesperson for Entergy Nuclear, which owns the Buchanan, New York, facility and nine other plants. "The danger of a pool fire is so low, it's almost nonexistent. Even if you take the water out, pool fire is not necessarily an automatic consequence. It's possible, given a variety of conditions. Gordon Thompson is not an expert. He is not qualified to make that judgment." Thompson, for the record, studied science and mechanical engineering in Australia and holds a doctorate in applied mathematics from Oxford University. He has spent decades assessing hazards associated with nuclear facilities and identifying alternative designs and modes of operation that can reduce risks. Those dangers have only increased with the rise of Al Qaeda, for whom a place like Indian Point could be a prime target. A recent poll conducted by Entergy Nuclear Northeast found that 19 percent of guards at the plant believe it remains vulnerable to terrorists, even after security was upgraded. A majority of guards polled described the environment for raising concerns as "chilled," and 12 percent said they'd suffered reprisals for speaking up. Steets says Indian Point has always emphasized security, adding that "enhancements" have been made in security, staffing, surveillance, barriers, and communications. But there's a limit to how far Entergy can be forced to go in protecting its facilities. Diane Screnci, spokesperson for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, points out that her agency doesn't require private companies to shield themselves from acts of war. The NRC considers Indian Point's high-density pools—so called because the rods are packed tightly together—to be as safe as dry casks. Still, Screnci says, the NRC is re-assessing existing rules about guarding the grounds. "It's not like walking through a supermarket," she says. "It's far more secure than that. The guards are well trained to deal with the possibility that someone may not want to wait around for clearance." Much of the detailed information about security, Screnci says, can't safely be made available to the public. Thompson is quick to point out that he also conceals details that could be useful to terrorists. "I bend over backwards to make it that way," he says. Some information needs to be kept confidential, he contends, but complete secrecy runs counter to democracy. "Experience shows that secrecy breeds incompetence, complacency, and conflicts of interest within the organizations that are shielded from public view," Thompson says. Likewise, the push for profits may counter the drive to use the safest possible technology. Cooling fuel rods in pools is cheap, compared to sorting them out into separate, dry units. "Dry-cask storage maximizes protection," says David Lochbaum, nuclear safety engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists and a former consultant at Indian Point. "The spent fuel rods are harder to attack when stored that way, [and] the amount of radioactivity released would be far less in a successful attack." Some would argue a glitch as simple as a power loss could render a high-density pool unsafe. That kind of event turns out to be not uncommon at Indian Point, according to Steets. Three weeks ago, in fact, the main generator quit when a switch shorted. (The generator is backed up by two off-site sources and three diesel generators.) Steets insists the setup at Indian Point is safe, arguing that the water doesn't have to be kept cool to prevent disaster and that the electricity used to regulate the temperature has occasionally been shut off without trouble. Sure, critics complain about the pool being covered only by a warehouse-style metal roof, but he says the water alone is enough to keep the rods safe. Further, the pool can't easily be emptied because it has no drain, he says, and it's surrounded by six-foot-thick reinforced concrete walls. In the same way the Founding Fathers never imagined the AK-47 when they created the right to bear arms, Thompson contends, the NRC failed to anticipate the threats we now face. He believes the current reliance on cooling pools is behind the times, but hasn't been updated because workers in the field fail to understand that it's potentially harmful. He also blames the closure of nuclear departments at universities through the 1970s for a dramatic decrease in research. "You've got what can politely be called an immature industry, not particularly curious or creative," he says. "The ones in it now are not capable of making the leap. For most people in it, it's their meal ticket. The idea that there's something they can't understand . . . a clever scientist faced with a mystery says, 'Ooooh, ooooh, tell me more.' A person who is less of a scientist doesn't want to be bothered. "Complacency is really very amazing," he adds. "The bottom-line attitude is, 'We don't have to do anything about high-density pools because the danger of a pool fire is so low.' " What troubles Thompson, and many of the people who have to live within 50 miles of Indian Point, is that the consequences would be so grave. The Village Voice's ongoing coverage of terrorism in the U.S. ***************************************************************** 21 Prairie Island nuclear plant fined $60,000 Pioneer Press | 12/17/2002 | [pioneerpress.com - The pioneerpress home page] BY DAVID HANNERS Pioneer Press The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will fine the operators of Xcel Energy's Prairie Island nuclear power plant $60,000 for withholding information from the agency when the company sought a special waiver to run the reactor without key backup safety equipment. The NRC said that if plant managers had revealed the full extent of what they knew about the equipment, it would have required extra precautions or required the plant to shut down to make repairs. The NRC fine is the largest ever against Prairie Island, though it's far from the largest in the industry. Within the past five years, regulators slapped an Illinois nuclear plant with a $650,000 fine. The firm that runs the nuclear plant, Nuclear Management Co., said it wouldn't contest the fine, which it said closes an issue "that no longer reflects the excellent human and operational performance demonstrated by our work force." Minneapolis-based Xcel said it is satisfied that NMC, which it partly owns, "has taken appropriate steps." Both companies declined requests for interviews on the NRC's decision. Also on Tuesday, the commission said it had found that a former worker of the plant violated government regulations when he removed a document from a stack of records that were to be given to special NRC inspectors as part of their investigation. The NRC said despite the former employee's "deliberate misconduct," it wouldn't take enforcement action against him because he no longer works at Prairie Island. The employee subsequently accepted a promotion within Xcel, he told the Pioneer Press, although he declined to elaborate. The violation is the fifth NRC "escalated enforcement action" at Prairie Island since 1997, and it is the third at an NMC-managed nuclear station since July. Not all violations have involved fines. An NRC official who asked not to be named said the action against Prairie Island stemmed not from willful misconduct at the plant, but rather, "stupidity." "I'm having trouble saying it differently. It was stupidity. They just had trouble putting things together," said the official. But a longtime critic of Xcel's nuclear plants, George Crocker of the North American Water Office, an environmental group, said the stupidity excuse didn't wash with him. "These people are highly trained, and they're supposed to be highly competent," Crocker said of the plant's managers. "To have a regulator say that they (managers) knew something and didn't know they should've reported it, that's not credible." Plant operators failed to report all they knew about problems with the emergency diesel generators, or EDGs, supplying backup power to Prairie Island's Unit 2 reactor, the NRC concluded. NMC officials had long been aware of the problems because they had been the subject of several industry and government warnings since the issue was first identified at another nuclear plant in 1996. Prairie Island's problem began on April 9, 2001, when workers ran a routine test on one of Unit 2's two EDGs. The French-made generators would power the reactor's cooling system if the plant had to shut down and was cut off from outside power. The cooling system prevents the reactor core from meltdown. Four hours into the test, workers noticed the generator wasn't working properly. They declared it inoperable, leaving Unit 2 with only one generator. Under the terms of Prairie Island's NRC license, it can only run the reactor for seven days with one generator. NMC officials decided it would take longer than a week to fix the generator, so they asked the NRC for a special waiver, known as a Notice of Enforcement Discretion, or NOED, to run the plant longer with only one generator. "The plant was asking us to let them violate the conditions of their license for a couple of days. It's OK, as long as there is no increased risk. But if we don't get all the information we need to make the judgment, it's a real problem," said Viktoria Mitlyng, a spokeswoman for the NRC's regional office in Chicago. Based upon the information NMC managers gave it, the NRC granted the waiver. In May, workers at the plant concluded that the problem had been caused by an incompatibility between the generator's fuel oil and lubricant, an issue first identified in 1996 at a reactor in Maryland. The earlier discovery prompted a number of industry notices and warnings about the compatibility issue, and the NRC later determined that workers at Prairie Island were aware of them. NMC officials didn't mention the compatibility issue to the NRC because they thought — wrongly, the NRC said — that the problems didn't apply to their generators. J.E. Dyer, the NRC's regional administrator, told NMC officials in a letter that failing to mention the compatibility issue when it asked for the waiver was a serious omission. "Your failure to provide complete and accurate information affected the NRC's ability to perform its regulatory function in that the NRC granted the (waiver) with an incomplete understanding of the potential safety impact to the plant," Dyer said in a letter to Mano Nazar, who is NMC's site vice president at Prairie Island. If the NRC had known the full extent of Prairie Island's problem, it might have required additional safety measures at the plant or required it to shut down, Dyer said. When the cause of the problem was determined, both of Unit 2's generators were declared inoperable and the reactor had to be shut down. It was out of action for a month while repairs were made. In press releases issued at the time, NMC said the reactor was shut down "for maintenance" and to make "improvements" to the generators. The company didn't mention that NRC regulations forced the shutdown. In a special inspection conducted in May 2001, the NRC found that plant officials had noted the generators' deteriorating performance in tests for two years, but "the results were not adequately reviewed for trends," it said in a 23-page report issued in June 2001. The NRC also issued a "notice of violation" involving Scott Hiedeman, the employee who removed a document from a pile of records that were to be turned over to the NRC's special inspection team. Hiedeman, 38, of Hastings, declined to be interviewed but sent a written statement to the Pioneer Press in which he said he was "very disappointed" in the NRC's actions. "I never intended to mislead the NRC or to withhold accurate or reliable information," he wrote. "I was only trying to assist the investigation." He said the document he removed was a magazine article "because it was misleading and had not been relied upon by Prairie Island staff." "I removed the article in plain view of others. I had nothing to hide," he wrote. A co-worker reported the removal to the NRC, which launched an investigation. David Hanners can be reached at dhanners@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5551. ***************************************************************** 22 Reid denies Yucca vote payback reviewjournal.com -- News: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Congressman says senator upset at Utah colleagues By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., helped kill a bill aimed at keeping nuclear waste out of Utah but denies that he did so to avenge Utah senators' embrace of the Yucca Mountain Project. Reid complained after Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah, arranged for 500,000 acres of the Utah Test and Training Range to be declared protected wilderness in a defense authorization bill earlier this year. The wilderness designation was part of a strategy by Utah lawmakers to block construction of a rail spur to a proposed nuclear waste storage site on the west Utah reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. Hansen, who is retiring from Congress, said in an interview published over the weekend that Reid blocked the wilderness provision as payback to Utah's senators for their votes this summer to designate Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the site of a permanent nuclear waste repository. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, both R-Utah, voted to send nuclear waste to Nevada after being promised that President Bush would help them fight the Goshute plan in return for their Yucca support. ''It was because he was so doggone mad at Hatch and Bennett. I couldn't believe how vitriolic he was when he talked to those guys,'' Hansen told The Associated Press. ''You feel bad about it just because there was a spat between three senators, but they've got big egos over there, and I guess we do, too.'' Hansen could not be reached Monday, but his spokeswoman, Marnie Funk, said she was present at the interview and confirmed his comments. Spokeswomen for Hatch and Bennett told The Associated Press the senators would not comment. Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen on Monday confirmed Reid wrote a letter to Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., opposing Hansen's plan. Hafen maintained Reid's opposition was not linked to Yucca Mountain. "It was terrible wilderness policy. There's a lot there that would have been bad," she said. "It would have let the secretary of the Air Force have jurisdiction over the area," which Reid believed should be controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. "There's really no payback to be had," Hafen said. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 23 Representative says Reid blocked bid as payback for Yucca vote* RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL December 17, 2002 By Robert Gehrke ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON ? Rep. James Hansen says U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada killed Hansen?s bid to block storage of high-level nuclear waste in Utah?s west desert to pay back Utah?s senators? for their votes to build a nuclear dump in Reid?s home state. The Utah Republican had quietly slipped language into a Defense Department bill that would have created 500,000 acres of wilderness in Utah?s west desert, beneath the Air Force?s Utah Test and Training Range. The wilderness designation would have blocked shipments of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants to a proposed temporary storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation. But Reid, the assistant majority leader of the Senate, led the opposition to the provision, writing to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich, urging him ?to reject any attempts to include this provision? in the final bill. Hansen says Reid?s furor was revenge for Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voting in favor of building a nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. ?It was because he was so doggone mad at Hatch and Bennett. I couldn?t believe how vitriolic he was when he talked to those guys,? Hansen said recently. ?You feel bad about it (failing) just because there was a spat between three senators, but they?ve got big egos over there and I guess we do too.? Larry Young, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, one of the most vociferous opponents of Hansen?s wilderness bid, said the Yucca spat was part of the equation. ?His analysis is not far off,? Young said, but other factors were at play, too. Reid?s spokeswoman, Tessa Hafen, disputed Hansen?s characterization. ?Reid objected because this is just bad wilderness policy,? she said. ?This wasn?t about payback on nuclear waste or Yucca Mountain vote.? Hatch spokeswoman Heather Barney said that her boss ?will not speculate on Senator Reid?s motives.? Bennett spokeswoman MaryJane Collipriest, said, ?We?re not going to accuse Senator Reid of retribution.? On the eve of the Yucca Mountain vote, Hatch and Bennett met with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and President Bush?s chief of staff Andrew Card and received assurances the administration would oppose federal funding for the Goshute plans in exchange for the senators? votes for Yucca Mountain. Reid/Yyy From 1C The 60-39 vote in July was a bitter defeat for Reid, who argued that Hatch and Bennett should have opposed storing waste in Nevada to keep it from being shipped through populated areas of Utah on its way to Yucca Mountain. Reid was just one of the forces that opposed Hansen?s measure. Environmentalists, led by SUWA, argued the wilderness language was too weak and gave too much power to the Pentagon. Key Democrats ? including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Senate Energy Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who is also on armed services ? objected to Hansen bypassing the normal committee process. And the nuclear-powered utilities that produce the waste lobbied against it. With time running out before Congress adjourned, Hansen?s staff scrambled to keep the wilderness provision in the defense bill, giving ground on several key points, including water issues, public access and military usage. The final offer was to direct the Pentagon to study the potential impacts of locating high-level nuclear waste beneath an Air Force bombing range, but it was still blocked. ?We gave environmentalists everything they wanted, but they still wanted something else,? Hansen said. Young said that by the time Hansen modified his proposal, too many opponents had dug in. ?He just created a scenario where he had multiple opponents, so even if we said, ?We?re OK with that,? he had to contend with those other people,? said Young. ?He got out of the gate the wrong way.? Hansen said he is disappointed that the bid to block the nuclear waste failed and could hurt Utah in the upcoming base closure process if the Air Force has to curtail flights to avoid the nuclear waste. ?It was a huge loss for Utah if it puts Hill Air Force Base on the closure list if we lose a big part of our test and training range,? he said. © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal , a Gannett Co. Inc. ***************************************************************** 24 Wash State makes deal on radioactive trash / South Sound -The Olympian The Olympian, Olympia Washington Tuesday, December 17, 2002 OLYMPIA -- Washington state has agreed not to sue to block shipments of as many as 170 barrels of radioactive trash from other states to the Hanford nuclear reservation. In return, the state gets assurances that at least twice as much waste will be shipped out of Hanford. The state was considering a lawsuit to block shipments of contaminated items such as clothing, tools and rags -- called transuranic waste -- from sites in California and Ohio. The shipments are set to begin Wednesday. The outgoing waste would go to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a federal underground repository at Carlsbad, N.M. The Associated Press ©2002 The Olympian ***************************************************************** 25 Democratic Party in Nevada faces leadership change Las Vegas SUN: Today: December 17, 2002 at 11:17:39 PST By Erin Neff <> Nevada State Democratic Chairman Terry Care said Monday he will resign from his party position prior to next year's legislative session to concentrate on his role as a state senator. Care, D-Las Vegas, has been conducting meetings with Democrats around the state in the wake of last month's election, considered a fiasco for his party. But he said his decision to step down prior to his term's expiration in late April was made only so that he can work unencumbered in the state Senate. "I don't want to be saying something and voting some way and have someone say, 'Oh, is that the Democratic position?' " Care said. "I just want to do my job as a state legislator." Care's resignation is the latest in a string of post-election departures of key Democratic officials. State Party Executive Director Pam Egan's last day on the job was Friday. Egan, a Montana native, will remain in Nevada to work for the state AFL-CIO. Communications Director Jeff Burbank left what was a temporary position shortly after the election. The party will also lose its voter registration administrator, Shweta Bhatnagar, at the end of the month when she moves to Washington to work on a master's degree in public administration at George Washington University. Care has been talking with Democrats across the state about rebuilding the party after the November elections. In the general election, Republicans swept all six statewide offices, won the new congressional seat and made gains in the Legislature. Mary Conelly, who serves as state director for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is the current vice chairwoman of the state Democratic Party. Care said it is possible Conelly would simply be tapped to fill out the remainder of Care's term. It is also possible, he said, that the state Democratic Central Committee will hold a special election to replace him. Care said he will remain chairman until the Legislature convenes Feb. 3 in Carson City. In the weeks following the Nov. 5 election debacle, Democrats have held four informal meetings to rehash the election and determine ways to rebuild the party to avoid a similar result in 2004. The state central committee also held one of its four regularly scheduled meetings earlier this month in Tonopah. Care said Democratic candidates in Nevada suffered because of a national trend toward Republicans and the lack of a complete ticket for statewide office. "We were big in voter registration, but people just didn't come out to vote," Care said. At the start of the election year, Democrats trailed Republicans statewide by 11,000 voters. They closed the gap to 8,000 voters, but failed to pick up any of the state's six constitutional offices. Democrats also failed in their bid to retake the majority in the state Senate and lost four seats in the Assembly to narrow their control to 23-19. Republicans won two of Nevada's congressional districts, including the new seat in the 3rd district, which went to newly elected Republican Jon Porter. Care said the immediate priority for the party is finding an executive director. After that is accomplished the party must rebuild from the precinct level up, Care said. "We have to make Democrats feel as though they really are appreciated," Care said. Democratic volunteers were angered, at times, when party leaders failed to contact them about additional ways they could help or about additional work they could do. Losing Democratic candidates expressed concerns about the way the party conducted its campaigns this year. Some Assembly and Senate candidates, for example, ran in districts that straddled two congressional districts. "I've heard from more than one person that you can't have more than one coordinated campaign," Care said. "That's an oxymoron." Since the party was coordinated by congressional district, some Senate and Assembly candidates said they got more exposure in one district over another, or complained that they slipped through the cracks in both. Those who ran clubs or caucuses complained about the lack of message and the inability of the party to identify voters. "There was some finger-pointing, but most of that was over within the first 48 hours," said Dan Hinkley, president and founder of the Stonewall Democratic Club of Las Vegas. "I think we're making progress now." Hinkley said the party has created local ad-hoc committees to work on different trouble spots. Committees will work on message, targeting voters and organization. Lindsey Jydstrup, director of the Democratic Legislative Caucus, said she was impressed at the level of discourse at the meetings she was able to attend. "One thing that has really struck me is the commitment and enthusiasm and energy in the wake of what was a horrible election night," Jydstrup said. "Instead of people complaining a lot, you have this incredible energy." Jydstrup said she thinks one key move Democrats should make is to start earlier. "Preparing for the next election has got to be a continuous process," Jydstrup said. Care said he plans to have one or two more meetings to let Democrats vent their frustrations and offer suggestions. "I want everybody to see what the others are saying," Care said. As for rumors about him thinking about running for Congress in 2004, "no way," Care said. "This is the first time I've ever gotten to see firsthand what people go through to run for Congress. "I don't have the time and I don't want to put my family through it," Care added. "It's just brutal." Care said that while it is "never too early to start" seeking candidates for the 3rd Congressional District, he reminded, "Porter hasn't even been sworn in yet." Care said the search for an executive director has turned up about nine candidates, whom he declined to name. The state party has no specific regulation dealing with the search for a director, and he said he is uncertain how that process will proceed. Care also declined to identify any of the candidates. One name bandied about is Mike Slater, the executive director of the Nevada Interfaith Council for Worker Justice, who made an unsuccessful bid for state Assembly District 13 this year. Whomever is chosen will likely have to be approved by Reid. Reid had a hand in approving Egan and the previous executive director, Liz Carrasco. Egan was on the job for eight months and Carrasco worked as director for less than a year before Egan. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 26 NRC: Trojan Spent Fuel Storage installation FR Doc 02-31663 [Federal Register: December 17, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 242)] [Notices] [Page 77290-77291] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17de02-65] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 72-17] Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Materials License SNM-2509; Trojan Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) has issued Amendment 3 to Materials License No. SNM-2509 held by Portland General Electric Company (PGE) for the receipt, possession, storage, and transfer of spent fuel at the Trojan Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located in Columbia County, Oregon. The amendment is effective as of the date of issuance. By application dated October 18, 2002, PGE requested an amendment to its ISFSI license to increase the Technical Specification for the Holtec International Multi Purpose Canister (MPC) helium backfill upper pressure limit from 33.3 psig to 39.3 psig at a reference temperature of 70[deg]F. This amendment complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment. An Environmental [[Page 77291]] Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact regarding this amendment has been issued (67 FR 75865; December 10, 2002). In accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2), a determination has been made that the amendment does not present a genuine issue as to whether public health and safety will be significantly affected. Therefore, the publication of a notice of proposed action and an opportunity for hearing or a notice of hearing is not warranted. Notice is hereby given of the right of interested persons to request a hearing on whether the action should be rescinded or modified. For further details with respect to this amendment, see the application dated October 18, 2002, which is available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, One White Flint North Building, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD or from the publicly available records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML022970061. The NRC maintains ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301- 415-4737 or by email to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of December 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Christopher M. Regan, Project Manager, Licensing Section, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 02-31663 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 27 Statement Of Senator Harry Reid On President Bush's Plan to Cut Jobs at the Nevada Test Site [News from U.S. Senator Harry Reid] Today the Bush Administration announced that it plans to cut 60-percent of the jobs from Nevada's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) work force. The President's plan is unacceptable. It punishes hard-working employees who have devoted their lives to making our country safer, and it puts our entire nation's security at risk by severely curtailing our counter-terrorism abilities. The Nevada Test Site is the premier site in the world for counter-terrorism training and research, and it makes no sense to me that the Administration would diminish the role the Nevada Test Site plays in our war on terrorism. The Bush Administration actively works to dump deadly radioactive waste in Nevada while taking nuclear security jobs out of the state. What a wonderful gift, just days before Christmas, from the Bush Administration to the people of Nevada. As usual, the Administration decided on this dangerously wrong course of action unilaterally. The President did not consult with either Democrats or Republicans in Congress. The Administration decided to slash jobs on its own, and the White House should answer for it. During this time of terrorist threats against our country, we should be expanding on the vital programs at the Nevada Test Site - not eliminating them. In this shaky economy, we need more good jobs - not more people thrown into unemployment through no fault of their own. George W. Bush thinks Nevada is a place to explode nuclear bombs and dump nuclear waste. Unfortunately, it appears that he does not appreciate the loyal and patriotic people here. ***************************************************************** 28 Canon City agrees on radioactive test sites News First Online Colorado Springs/Pueblo State health department officials and concerned community members have agreed on locations to test for the presence of radioactive waste near the Cotter Corporation's uranium mill at Canon City. Tom Harrison is an environmental protection specialist for the state and says the idea behind this sampling is to see what's in the area and to find out if the community is at risk for plutonium exposure. Nearly two dozens sites will be tested for plutonium, lead and molybdenum. Harrison says he hopes to do the tests in January and have results six weeks after. *****************************************************************