***************************************************************** 06/20/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.156 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: Say No to Nuclear Power 2 Taiwan: Premier says he didn't ask Yu to resign 3 *Debate set to continue over nuclear energy* 4 US: Pact reached in suit over permits for TVA plants 5 China Develops Nuclear Powered Heating and Desalination System NUCLEAR REACTORS 6 Oversight blamed for nuclear scare 7 Earthquake fault line found underneath site of new nuclear reactor * 8 Taiwan Editorial: Cleaning up a nuclear disaster 9 Taiwan Editorial: Cleaning up a nuclear disaster 10 US: NRC Cites Point Beach Nuclear Station for Violation of Low to 11 US: NRC to Meet with Nuclear Management Co. To Discuss Safety 12 US: NRC investigating its handling of Davis-Besse damage 13 US: Millstone plans to seek renewal of licenses early 14 US: Seabrook plant expected to operate beyond 2026 15 Earthquake fault line found underneath site of new nuclear 16 N.B. board reserves decision on proposed refurbishment of Point NUCLEAR SAFETY 17 Ireland: Studies show mobile phone radiation can harm brain * 18 US: Potassium iodide needs to be stockpiled 19 NEW REPORT ON LEUKAEMIA RISK 20 US: Cesium case remains stalled 21 US: NRC: Dirty Bombs 22 US: *N.J. to Distribute Radiation Pills* NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 23 *Sellafield children have twice average leukaemia risk* 24 US: Nevada's anti-nuke dump campaign takes hit 25 US: Fight against Yucca Mountain takes monetary hit 26 US: AFL-CIO announces opposition to Yucca project 27 US: Just How Secure Is a Nuclear Waste Truck? 28 Sellafield 'increases cancer risk' 29 UK: Plutonium battle goes to court 30 Away with spent nuclear fuel! 31 US: Yucca: Where's the outrage? 32 US: Nevada AFL-CIO endorses Guinn 33 US: Senate vote on Yucca may not happen before holiday break 34 US: S.C. Governor Loses Fight Against Plutonium 35 ANTI-TERRORISM CREDIT CHECKS LIKELY 36 BNFL ACCOUNTS UNDER SCRUTINY 37 COMMITMENT OVER NUCLEAR WASTE EXPECTED 38 US: Three freight trains collide, burn along track line in Nebraska 39 US: NRC, nuclear industry admit Yucca Mountain not necessary 40 US: Reid Rebuffs Latest Republican Attempt to Approve Yucca Mountain 41 US: OP: We can't opt out of a national nuke-disposal plan 42 US: Documents show Savannah River Site safe for plutonium storage NUCLEAR WEAPONS 43 South Asia Nuclear Show Down - An American View 44 India was prepared for N-war, says Vajpayee 45 DRDO to give N-protection to troops 46 US ambassador warns that India-Pakistan conflict could have led to 47 Dirty Bomb Threat Is Real 48 Faulty torpedo sank Kursk, Russia decides 49 Kenya to Host Nuclear Ban Monitoring Centre 50 US Russia Fissile materials agreement 51 Program: New careers for Russian nuclear scientists 52 Asia Times: India/Pakistan 53 US ambassador warns that India-Pakistan conflict could have led US DEPT. OF ENERGY 54 Laboratory leaks not hazardous, report concludes Watchdogs 55 Lab dedicates center for supercomputer 56 Finding: Corrective actions taken following ORNL exposure 57 USEC plant safe until at least 2010 58 USEC deal lowers cost of fuel material - 59 Dick Smyser: Young blood runs strong as a 'Thoroughly Modern 60 Energy Department Implements Security Reforms Moves Will OTHER NUCLEAR 61 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 02.25 | 12 - 18 June 2002 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Say No to Nuclear Power AlterNet * Karl Grossman, AlterNet * June 13, 2002 The alleged al-Qaeda plot to build and denotate a "dirty" bomb is a grim reminder of the widespread proliferation of nuclear materials. Tens of thousands of pounds of "spent" nuclear are produced yearly at every atomic power plant -- fuel rods loaded with Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 and other lethal radioisotopes. Fifty or 100 pounds of this stuff is enough for a "dirty" bomb. Atomic power plants, meanwhile, remain sitting ducks for terrorists -- their "containments," the government admits, unable to withstand a strike by a big airplane or heavy weapon. But the Bush administration wants to build dozens more. How to deal with this threat? Trying to put the atomic genie back in the bottle might sound like an impossible proposition, but the alternative is equally daunting: to survive the 21st Century with atomic materials becoming ever more available. By "rebottling that [atomic] atomic genie, we could all move to energy and foreign policies that our grandchildren can live with. No more important step could be taken," says energy analyst Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Parts of the planet have already been designated by treaty as "nuclear free zones." It is time for us to work for the entire world to be a nuclear free zone. Alice Slater, president of the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) says what we need now is a "Bronx Project" ? the polar opposite of the Manhattan Project which produced nuclear technology. It would be a crash program to bring on the widescale use of safe, clean energy technologies and "end to the horrendous experiment with atomic technology." But the Bush administration is moving in the opposite direction. Nuclear plants typically are fueled by 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of uranium. The fuel is not very radioactive in the initial stage -- but as the Uranium-235 (3 percent of the fuel) is fissioned, it quickly splits into lethal poisons like Cesium-137 and Strontium-90. Uranium-238 ( 97 percent of the fuel) transmutes into Plutonium-239 -- raw material for atomic bombs. The administration would like to build 50 new nuclear plants to add to the 103 now operating in the United States. "It?s like reviving Frankenstein -- this is the sequel," says Robert Alvarez, executive director of the group Standing for Truth About Radiation. The terrorist threat further underlines the lethal folly of relying on atomic power. Harvey Wasserman, senior advisor to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service and Greenpeace U.S.A. notes that one of the jets, for instance, that flew into the World Trade Center passed over the Indian Point nuclear plant complex, 28 miles north of New York City. If Al-Qaeda had targeted the plant instead, the number of casualties would be somewhere around 3,000,000. The U.S. government has not dealt -- and still does not deal -- realistically with this threat. In 1982, a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Board, while considering an operating license for the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant in North Carolina, dismissed the argument by a plant opponent named Wells Eddleman that the safety analysis for the plant was deficient because it didn?t consider the "consequences of terrorists commandeering a very large airplane ... and diving it into the containment." The NRC board declared: "Reactors could not be effectively protected against such attacks without turning them into virtually impregnable fortresses at much higher cost ? The applicants are not required to design against such things as artillery bombardments, missiles with nuclear warheads, or kamikaze dives by large airplanes." Nuclear plant owners are still not asked to protect against such attacks because it is impossible. The three- to four-foot concrete containment of nuclear plants simply cannot withstand such assaults. But the Bush administration not only wants to build more nuclear plants, but also use Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a repository for nuclear waste. Trucks and trains carrying deadly nuclear material from around the nation to Nevada would be potential hijack targets. The truth is we don?t need atomic technology. Indeed, we now have fully-developed safe, clean, renewable energy technologies. Wind power, solar energy, hydrogen fuel technologies including fuel cells, and other renewable energy technologies are more than ready to use. Coupled with energy efficiency, they can be tapped and widely utilized, and render atomic power completely unnecessary. We need to stop sowing the seeds for terror and create instead a nuclear-free world where technology works in harmony with life rather than threaten it. /Karl Grossman is professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury and the author of "Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed To Know About Nuclear Power." He is also the writer and narrator of TV documentary "The Push To Revive Nuclear Power./ AlterNet Discuss AlterNet's online community awaits you: Get engaged, Reproduction of material from any AlterNet.org pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. © 2002 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Taiwan: Premier says he didn't ask Yu to resign * Thursday, June 20th, 2002* http://www.taipeitimes.com/news> DISMISSING RUMORS: The premier insists that China Shipbuilding Corp chairman Yu Chen-nan resigned of his own accord over flaws in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant *By Ko Shu-ling* STAFF REPORTER Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday dismissed speculation that he was behind the removal of China Shipbuilding Corp chairman Yu Chen-nan (§E¨°«n) from his post to take the responsibility for structural flaws in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Yu's replacement will come from public recruiting, since the premier has publicly announced that the presidents of state-run-enterprises will be selected by such means beginning July 1. Yu, along with the company's general manager Chiang Yuan-chang (¦¿¤¸¼ý), offered their resignations yesterday, which were accepted by Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (ªL¸q¤Ò). "My management philosophy has been 100 percent participation in the very beginning and then total authorization," the premier said. The premier's remark came after media reports that he was unhappy with the punishments meted out last Saturday, which the reports said he considered to be too lenient. On June 15, the ministry punished 22 officials of the two state-run firms responsible for the fiasco over structural flaws in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant -- the Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and China Shipbuilding Corp. The officials were punished for allowing inferior materials and shoddy workmanship that resulted in structural defects in the reactor pedestal of the plant. China Shipbuilding Corp is responsible for constructing the plant's reactor pedestal. The punishments -- in the form of demerits -- drew immediate criticism from both the media and the public because not one high-ranking official was asked to step down. Much of the speculation suggested that the punishments were light because some DPP lawmakers are involved in the project. The Ministry of Justice yesterday dismissed those reports. "So far the ministry has not found any lawmaker to be involved in the case," Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (²øºÓº~) quoted Minister of Justice Chen Ting-nan (³¯©w«n) as saying after the weekly closed-door Cabinet affairs meeting yesterday morning. The premier yesterday also requested both the public and the media to give Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (ªL¸q¤Ò) some time to follow up on the matter. "I'm well aware that both the media and the public are eager to see the matter come to an end, but please allow [Lin] some time to tackle the issue since he's currently out of the country," the premier said. He added that Saturday's punishments were for those who are directly involved in the project. The ministry will make public its further handling of the matter in the near future, including the punishment of more officials, he said. According to the premier, he was aware of the fiasco as early as March, when the Cabinet's Atomic Energy Council briefed him on the matter. "I told them to take necessary and appropriate measures and when the media disclosed the news, I told them to carefully handle the matter, including meting out punishments if necessary," he said. The premier also apologized for blocking the media from asking him questions regarding the issue earlier in the day. Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (³¯·ç¶©) announced in a press conference yesterday that before the new chairman is publicly recruited, a temporary chairman would be selected from among the 15 board members of the CSBC. This story has been viewed 446 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/06/20/story/0000141048] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 *Debate set to continue over nuclear energy* swissinfo: Swiss news and information The control centre at the Beznau nuclear plant [Keystone] Parliament has discussed the future of nuclear energy in Switzerland, but a consensus is still not in sight. The House of Representatives tackled the highly controversial issue on Thursday, debating a series of proposals. The arguments will continue during parliament's autumn session. Environmental organisations and centre-left political parties have called for the gradual shutdown of the country?s five nuclear power plants and an end to the reprocessing of spent fuel rods. The same groups also want to ban the construction of new reactors and to block any capacity upgrade over the next ten years. A previous moratorium ran out in 2000. *Nuclear option* The government has come out against these proposals, insisting it wants to retain the option of nuclear energy. According to a draft law presented to parliament, Swiss voters would be able to challenge the construction of new nuclear power plants. A ban would also be gradually imposed on the reprocessing of spent fuel rods. Last December, the Senate rejected the government?s draft law. Instead it voted to give the nuclear industry another ten years to reprocess spent rods. This decision was widely seen as the result of lobbying by the Swiss nuclear industry. Hans Rudolf Gubser of the Swiss power corporation, Axpo, argues that the Senate?s recommendation sent out a strong signal that there is political support for the nuclear industry. *Reprocessing* Anti-nuclear groups are concerned that the law will have no clout if the House of Representatives rejects the government?s proposals. In the past, Switzerland?s nuclear plants have sent their spent fuel rods to reprocessing plants in Britain and France, but protesters in Switzerland have often tried to block such transports for safety reasons. Environmental organisations are promoting renewable energy resources as a viable alternative to nuclear power. ?We are pushing solar and wind energy because Switzerland?s use of water power is still about 80 per cent,? says Kaspar Schuler from Greenpeace Switzerland. In 1997, electricity from nuclear power accounted for around 25 per cent of total energy supply in Switzerland, according to official statistics. Schuler dismisses suggestions that supplies generated by renewable energy resources could not replace nuclear power. ?It is a matter of investing in renewable energy,? Schuler told swissinfo. The nuclear industry, for its part, says it would welcome greater use of renewable energy sources, but it doubts whether the Swiss are willing to foot the bill. ?Voters last year overwhelmingly rejected the introduction of a new tax on non-renewable power to promote alternative sources of energy,? Gubser told swissinfo. *Waste storage* Switzerland does not have a permanent storage site for medium radioactive waste. The federal authorities have tried to mediate between environmental groups and the nuclear industry to try to find a suitable location for a long-term storage dump. Voters in central Switzerland rejected a plan for a storage site near Lake Lucerne in 1995. However, Axpo representative Gubser insists Switzerland should be allowed to follow international solutions for waste repositories. *European comparison* Switzerland?s neighbouring countries differ considerably in their stance towards nuclear energy. While Germany is planning to phase out the nuclear option, France generates about 70 per cent of its electricity with nuclear power plants. In a landmark vote in 1978, Austria decided against nuclear energy. There is continuing opposition against such plants in neighbouring countries, including Switzerland. Some observers say a decision by Finland in May to allow the construction of a new nuclear reactor could herald a new era for Europe?s nuclear industry. by Urs Geiser and Jonathan Summerton 20.06.2002 - 19:26 swissinfo: Swiss news and information ***************************************************************** 4 Pact reached in suit over permits for TVA plants The Oak Ridger Online -- Feature: Business -- 06/20/02 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board has agreed to issue proposed state permits for two coal-fired power plants near Great Smoky Mountains National Park, requiring them to publicize information about the air pollution they create. The agreement announced Wednesday settles a lawsuit filed in Davidson County Chancery Court last month by a tourism company and three environmental groups. Final action on the permits must be made by Sept. 16. The organizations were angry that more than three years after the state's deadline to issue permits for Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston and John Sevier power plants, the agency still did not have them. Federal and state law requires the board to issue the permits within 18 months of the date they are deemed complete. For the two TVA plants, that was in 1997. The permits require plants to abide by Environmental Protection Agency rules on compliance reporting, record keeping and monitoring. "This is a complete victory for the citizens of Tennessee," said Dave Muhly, associate regional representative for the Sierra Club, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "For over three years these TVA plants have been allowed to operate outside the law. "It's only unfortunate it took a court action to bring the state into compliance with federal and state law." The other groups participating in the lawsuit were the National Parks Conservation Association, Our Children's Earth Foundation and A Walk in the Woods, a Gatlinburg eco-tourism company. TVA has said that despite not having the permits, the plants were still complying with the Clean Air Act. A spokeswoman for the state attorney general had no comment on the settlement. On the Net: Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board: www.state.tn.us/environment/apc [http://www.state.tn.us/environment/apc] Sierra Club: www.sierraclub.org [http://www.sierraclub.org] National Parks Conservation Association: www.npca.org/flash.html [http://www.npca.org/flash.html] Our Children's Earth Foundation: www.ocefoundation.org [http://www.ocefoundation.org] A Walk in the Woods: www.awalkinthewoods.com [http://www.awalkinthewoods.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 5 China Develops Nuclear Powered Heating and Desalination System Xinhuanet 2002-06-20 19:31:48 DALIAN, June 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese scientists have developed atomic reactors to provide heating and desalinate sea water, by burning used fuel from nuclear power stations under normal pressure. Insiders say that the breakthrough is significant for the world 's most populous country which now faces water shortages. A cooperative memorandum of the project was signed here Thursday between the coastal city of Yingkou and China Beida Jadebird Group, a Beijing-based high-tech company. Professor Tian Jiafu, chief engineer of the group, described it as a more economic and safer way to apply nuclear power. "What makes the project distinctive is that it operates under normal pressure," said the former head scientist of nuclear power at Qinghua University, often called China's equivalent of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to the agreement, a deep-water reactor under normal pressure of 200 megawatts will be established in Yingkou. The initial phase with 35 million yuan (four million U.S. dollars) investment would provide heating for a building area of five million square meters during winter. It can also desalinate 3,000 tons of sea water daily when no heating is required. The daily capacity is expected to amount to 80,000 tons. He said north China's coastal areas had the facilities to develop the new technology. "It will be particularly useful for medium-sized cities," he added. Such reactors have already been tested in some cities and labs in other countries where they had proved safe, but only in trials. Professor Tian was optimistic that his team could ensure the safety and reliability of the reactor. The application of used fuel from nuclear power stations lowers the cost and a reactor under normal pressure was less expensive than under high pressure. The scientist and his company were upbeat about future applications. He said that besides the competitive cost, the energy would ease environment problems in north China where winter prevailed for four to six months. The reactor in theory is able to replace about 130,000 tons of coal burned every year, reducing immensely waste gases. In the meantime, the new project is being considered for water producing. China has the world's worst water shortages. More than 300 cities in this country face shortages with 110 reporting severe problems. Enditem Copyright © 2000 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 Oversight blamed for nuclear scare The Taipei Times Online: 2002-06-20 REACTOR SHUTDOWN: The country's nuclear regulator says poor documentation is to blame for the water leak that led to a mishap at the Third Nuclear Power Plant By Chiu Yu-Tzu STAFF REPORTER An unexpected reactor shutdown at the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County last Sunday can be to attributed an administrative oversight, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday. The shutdown has prompted the AEC to investigate other nuclear plants' documentation procedures, an AEC official told the Taipei Times. Last Sunday, a 1.5cm-long hairline crack in one of the pipes used to cool a generator -- which powers the plant's Unit 2 reactor -- caused water spillage, eventually leading to the shutting down of the reactor. The broken pipe was replaced on Sunday and a pressure test was carried out to ensure that the new pipe would perform well. On Tuesday, AEC officials gave the go-ahead for the company to restart the reactor, which had been on hot-standby status since the accident occurred. The green light came after Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, ¥x¹q), the plant's operator, conducted a "root-cause analysis" of the problem. Unit 2 restarted at 3am yesterday and reached full-operating status just hours later. The two 950-megawatt power-generating units at the plant are now functioning normally. Ni Maw-sherg (­Ù­Z²±), deputy director of the AEC's nuclear regulation department, said that the cracked pipe was a spare part installed as a temporary measure in 1994, when an annual overhaul of the plant was conducted. The pipe was a substitute for out-of-stock material, which is thicker and more pressure-resistant. Ni said that administrators forgot to file documentation at the time that would have mandated further inspection and eventual replacement of the part. "We will soon give a minor demerit to Taipower," Ni said. The AEC official said that Taipower should have paid greater attention to the use and control of such spare parts. "The accidents have prompted the AEC to investigate the plant's procedure for filing such documents," Ni said. The AEC will also carry out a similar investigation at two other nuclear plants in Taipei County within six months, according to Ni. Officials at the Third Nuclear Power Plant are also reported to be planning a thorough self-examination. Last Sunday's reactor shut down was the second reported scare at the plant since an annual overhaul of the facility was completed on June 1. On June 6, a reactor component failed, leading to a shutdown. The plant resumed normal operation on June 9, only to fail again last Sunday. This story has been viewed 338 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/06/20/story/0000141058] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 Earthquake fault line found underneath site of new nuclear reactor * * AP World Politics* /Thu Jun 20, 6:58 AM ET/ /By EMMA TINKLER, Associated Press Writer/ SYDNEY, Australia - Australian nuclear authorities said Thursday that an earthquake fault line has been discovered at the site of a new nuclear reactor being built in suburban Sydney. The fault was found by scientists during a routine examination at the reactor excavation site, said Don Macnab, director of the regulatory branch of the federal government's Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. "We don't know what the age of it is. There is further work going on to determine what the significance of that anomaly is," Macnab told The Associated Press. No further details of the fault were available. Sydney has never been struck by a serious earthquake, but a strong 5.6 magnitude quake shook the city of Newcastle, 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north, on Dec. 28, 1989, causing widespread damage and killing 13 people. And as recently as February this year a 3.8 magnitude quake hit Wollongong, only about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the reactor site and was felt in southern Sydney. No damage was reported. The new 300 million Australian dollar (dlrs 168 million) reactor was approved in April by the federal government, despite protests about safety from environmentalists and residents living nearby. The site is currently being excavated and foundations laid. The reactor will produce radioactive material for use in medicine and research but will not generate power. It is being built near an aging reactor at Lucas Heights in southwest Sydney that will be decommissioned once the new reactor starts work in 2005. Macnab would not comment Thursday on whether another site may need to be found for the nuclear reactor until scientists had delivered their final report on the likely activity of the fault line. It wasn't clear when the report would be finished, but Macnab said discovery of the fault was a worrying development. "Naturally people are concerned about what the implications might be, but that's the reason for ... carrying out the investigation," Macnab said. "We will call on our own expertise and engage some expert consultants to assist us in determining what the implications will be." But environmentalists called on the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, a federal government agency which is responsible for the Lucas Heights reactor, to rethink its construction plans. "The reactor project has been troubled all along, whether it's from the perspective of need, or waste, or security risk or safety risk," said Stephen Campbell, Greenpeace Australia's nuclear campaigner. "An increased earthquake risk means that ANSTO should scrap the design and go back to square one," he added. Copyright © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Taiwan Editorial: Cleaning up a nuclear disaster * Thursday, June 20th, 2002* www.taipeitimes.com/news> While attending the funeral of anti-nuclear activist Chen Ching-tang (³¯¼y¶í) on Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) wrote the statement, "We will surely succeed" on the activist's portrait. Chen did not explain what he meant, but it gave people plenty of room for imagination at a sensitive time when a furor was raging over revelations of shoddy construction at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Chen's message can be interpreted in two ways -- that even though construction of the plant has resumed, Taiwan society has already reached a consensus on a nuclear-free homeland or that the movement against the plant will surely succeed. Ever since the government was forced to resume the plant's construction, the DPP has continually tried to rekindle debate on the issue, demanding a halt to the construction and suggesting that the plant be turned into a nuclear energy museum instead of being made operational. Given the DPP's anti-nuclear-power stance, questions have been raised about the government's supervision of the construction. Four companies subcontracted by China Shipbuilding (¤¤²î) used substandard welding rods. Opposition lawmakers suspect the error might be connected to influence-peddling by four of their DPP colleagues and an investigation is now underway. Another uproar was sparked Sunday when the government announced the administrative penalties that those linked to the substandard construction would receive. China Shipbuilding's general manager Chiang Yuan-chang (¦¿¤¸¼ý) received a minor demerit while construction supervisor Chen Chih-kuang (³¯´¼¥ú) was handed a major demerit and that was the most severe penalty. Such light punishments for a case where shoddy work could potentially cause a major disaster is not only an insult, it has reinforced the conspiracy theories of those who think the DPP has been deliberately lax in supervising construction in the hopes that safety problems will cripple the plant. Public protests over the light punishments prompted the Presidential Office and the Cabinet to take stronger action, including replacing the chairman of China Shipbuilding. But the damage to both the government and the DPP's reputation will be harder to repair. The government should severely punish all officials who are found guilty of dereliction of duty, no matter who they are. The DPP must investigate whether its lawmakers were indeed involved in influence-peddling and mete out severe punishments to those found guilty. Even though the DPP is not happy about the plant, it must face reality. If the government tries again to halt construction, its credibility will go down the drain and the negative impact on domestic and foreign investment will be profound. The most responsible strategy for the government is to ensure the plant is built well and operates smoothly and safely. The government is already working to set up a cross-party task force to monitor the plant. Such a task force should include people from both sides of the nuclear divide in order to ensure the group operates objectively and fairly in overseeing construction, the awarding of future contracts, the plant's operation and the handling of nuclear waste. The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has already been a political disaster for the government and the DPP. Both must now do all they can to avert the possibility of a real nuclear disaster. This story has been viewed 392 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/06/20/story/0000141106] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Taiwan Editorial: Cleaning up a nuclear disaster The Taipei Times Online: 2002-06-20 While attending the funeral of anti-nuclear activist Chen Ching-tang (³¯¼y¶í) on Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) wrote the statement, "We will surely succeed" on the activist's portrait. Chen did not explain what he meant, but it gave people plenty of room for imagination at a sensitive time when a furor was raging over revelations of shoddy construction at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Chen's message can be interpreted in two ways -- that even though construction of the plant has resumed, Taiwan society has already reached a consensus on a nuclear-free homeland or that the movement against the plant will surely succeed. Ever since the government was forced to resume the plant's construction, the DPP has continually tried to rekindle debate on the issue, demanding a halt to the construction and suggesting that the plant be turned into a nuclear energy museum instead of being made operational. Given the DPP's anti-nuclear-power stance, questions have been raised about the government's supervision of the construction. Four companies subcontracted by China Shipbuilding (¤¤²î) used substandard welding rods. Opposition lawmakers suspect the error might be connected to influence-peddling by four of their DPP colleagues and an investigation is now underway. Another uproar was sparked Sunday when the government announced the administrative penalties that those linked to the substandard construction would receive. China Shipbuilding's general manager Chiang Yuan-chang (¦¿¤¸¼ý) received a minor demerit while construction supervisor Chen Chih-kuang (³¯´¼¥ú) was handed a major demerit and that was the most severe penalty. Such light punishments for a case where shoddy work could potentially cause a major disaster is not only an insult, it has reinforced the conspiracy theories of those who think the DPP has been deliberately lax in supervising construction in the hopes that safety problems will cripple the plant. Public protests over the light punishments prompted the Presidential Office and the Cabinet to take stronger action, including replacing the chairman of China Shipbuilding. But the damage to both the government and the DPP's reputation will be harder to repair. The government should severely punish all officials who are found guilty of dereliction of duty, no matter who they are. The DPP must investigate whether its lawmakers were indeed involved in influence-peddling and mete out severe punishments to those found guilty. Even though the DPP is not happy about the plant, it must face reality. If the government tries again to halt construction, its credibility will go down the drain and the negative impact on domestic and foreign investment will be profound. The most responsible strategy for the government is to ensure the plant is built well and operates smoothly and safely. The government is already working to set up a cross-party task force to monitor the plant. Such a task force should include people from both sides of the nuclear divide in order to ensure the group operates objectively and fairly in overseeing construction, the awarding of future contracts, the plant's operation and the handling of nuclear waste. The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has already been a political disaster for the government and the DPP. Both must now do all they can to avert the possibility of a real nuclear disaster. This story has been viewed 393 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/06/20/story/0000141106] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 NRC Cites Point Beach Nuclear Station for Violation of Low to Moderate Safety Significance NRC: Press Release Region III - 2002 - 37 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-037 June 20, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff issued its final determination that a violation of NRC safety regulations at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, should be characterized as "white," meaning that it is an issue of low to moderate importance to safety. The plant, which has two reactors, is operated by Nuclear Management Company. On February 20 a pump in the safety injection system, one of the Unit 2 emergency cooling systems, failed because of a build up of nitrogen gas in the associated piping. The nitrogen had leaked into the piping from the safety injection accumulators, another part of the plant emergency systems which could inject water into the reactor cooling system using pressurized nitrogen in the event of an accident. Under its safety significance determination process, NRC officials classify certain conditions at nuclear power plants as being one of four colors which delineate increasing levels of safety significance, beginning with green and progressing to white, yellow or red. A preliminary "white" determination for the pump failure was described in an inspection report issued May 14. The letter transmitting the report provided the company with an opportunity to request a regulatory conference to discuss this issue. Nuclear Management Company subsequently informed the NRC that it did not contest the "white" characterization of the safety significance of this finding and did not request a meeting with the NRC staff. In addition to the "white" determination, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Nuclear Management Company for failing to take prompt corrective action to prevent the pump failure. In April 2000 the utility, in response to an Information Notice issued by the NRC, found that the safety injection pumps were susceptible to damage in the event of nitrogen leakage from the accumulators into the safety injection piping. On two subsequent occasions, plant operators observed decreasing levels in the safety injection accumulators, indicating possible nitrogen leakage. Corrective actions, which might have precluded the February 20 pump damage, were not taken. The white finding will result in a future NRC inspection focusing on the plant's corrective action program and its response to the pump failure. The notice to the utility of the final safety significance is available on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html #reactor. ***************************************************************** 11 NRC to Meet with Nuclear Management Co. To Discuss Safety Significance Issue at Point Beach Plant NRC: Press Release Region III - 2002 - 38 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 www.nrc.gov No. III-02-038 June 20, 2002 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet June 25 in Lisle, Illinois, with representatives of Nuclear Management Company to discuss the safety significance of an inadequate critique of two issues during an emergency preparedness exercise at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station. The two-reactor facility is located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The NRC staff has completed a preliminary assessment of the problem and concluded that it is of "low to moderate" safety significance. The meeting, called a Regulatory Conference, will seek the utility's evaluation of its significance. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. (CDT) in the NRC's Region III Office, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle. Visitors should report to the Second Floor reception area. The public is invited to observe the business portion of the meeting and will have an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. NRC inspectors determined that the Point Beach staff offered inadequate critiques of two issues during an emergency preparedness exercise held on February 12. In the first instance, Point Beach staff offered a positive evaluation of participants' Protective Action Recommendation (PAR) to offsite government officials, while the NRC inspectors identified questions the staff's critique had not properly evaluated. In the second instance, NRC inspectors disagreed with the Point Beach staff's positive evaluation of the participants' decision making on the simulated removal of non-essential personnel, who were not members of the current shift of emergency responders, from the site. Emergency preparedness exercises are held to identify performance and procedural deficiencies through a critique process to ensure that corrective action takes place before these problems can occur during an actual emergency and have an adverse reaction on public health and safety. To make safety drills effective, the plant staff's critiques of emergency preparedness drills must be thorough and self-critical. Under its safety significance determination process, NRC officials classify certain conditions at nuclear power plants as being one of four colors which delineate increasing levels of safety significance, beginning with green and progressing to white, yellow or red. The NRC's preliminary evaluation determined the Point Beach emergency exercise evaluation problem to be a "white" finding. Information presented by the utility in the Regulatory Conference will be used by the NRC staff, along with its inspection findings, to determine the final safety significance of the problem. "White" inspection findings can lead to additional NRC inspections. The details of the NRC inspection findings are discussed in Inspection Report 2002-04 which is available online in the NRC's electronic reading room. This report -- with the accession number ML021210488 -- may be viewed in the NRC's ADAMS document system, accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The final significance determination will be available on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html #reactor. ***************************************************************** 12 NRC investigating its handling of Davis-Besse damage Las Vegas SUN: June 19, 2002 WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal agency that oversees nuclear power plants is investigating its role in missing warning signs of extensive corrosion at an Ohio plant to improve monitoring of reactors nationwide. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that its regulations and monitoring procedures may need changes. Inspectors from the NRC and the Davis-Besse plant near Toledo, Ohio, missed signs of corrosion caused by a buildup of boric acid from leaking reactor cooling water that dated to the mid-90s. "Was the ball dropped at some juncture when we should have kept a focus on things?" said Edwin Hackett, an NRC official serving on the agency's "lessons learned" task force. Inspectors discovered the acid nearly ate through a 6-inch-thick steel cap that covers the reactor vessel while the plant was shut down for maintenance in March. "Prior to this event, most people would say that you probably wouldn't need a focus on boric acid corrosion. This has obviously changed the playing field dramatically," Hackett said. FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the plant, is developing a plan to strengthen its internal inspections, and the NRC said it will release recommendations in September for improving its inspections. Davis-Besse has been closed since the hole was found and isn't expected to open until the end of the year. It was the most extensive corrosion ever found on a U.S. nuclear reactor and led to a nationwide review of all other similar plants. Reviews found no damage in other plants but did reveal a need for more in-depth inspections. Last August, the NRC asked Davis-Besse and 69 other plants with the same type of reactors to check for damage after boric acid leaks contributed to cracks found at two South Carolina plants. Boric acid crystals found at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Jenkinsville, S.C., tipped inspectors off in October 2000 to a cracked coolant pipe. Cracks near the reactor head were found at the Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca, S.C., in November 2000. Nuclear plants, including Davis-Besse, have had plans to prevent acid corrosion for more than a decade. But FirstEnergy officials say Davis-Besse inspectors could have done more to detect the corrosion earlier. "We should have done a better job with those inspections and we didn't do that," FirstEnergy spokesman Richard Wilkins said. There were other signs that something was wrong at Davis-Besse, including a clogged air cooler and a clogged radiation monitor filter. "Why were those missed?" Hackett asked. "Were we having our resident inspectors so involved in other things that they didn't have time to look at this?" David Lochbaum, nuclear safety engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said NRC guidelines on checking for boric acid could have helped inspectors discover the Davis-Besse corrosion sooner. "It would have better aided the resident inspectors on the importance of the boric acid," he said. "(NRC inspectors) are somewhat being blamed for what was the company's fault." On the Net: http://www.nrc.gov [http://www.nrc.gov] http://www.ucsusa.org [http://www.ucsusa.org] http://www.firstenergycorp.com [http://www.firstenergycorp.com] All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 13 Millstone plans to seek renewal of licenses early www.theday.com /Extensions would keep plants running for another 20 years / By Paul Choiniere Published on 06/20/2002 *Waterford* ? Officials from the Millstone Power Station outlined for federal regulators Wednesday their plans to seek 20-year extensions to the operating licenses for Millstone 2 and 3, a move that would keep the nuclear plants generating electricity until 2035 and 2045, respectively. It also became apparent at the meeting, held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., that the planned extension would face public opposition, which rarely has been the case for nuclear plants seeking extensions. ?We're here to nip these foolhardy plans in the bud,? attorney Nancy Burton told NRC officials. She represented the group Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone. She said Dominion, which owns Millstone, should not be making ?long-range plans to keep these terrorist targets operating,? but instead should ?channel its resources into capital improvements to increase the security of its site ... while it phases out nuclear generation.? Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the NRC, said the license renewal process generally takes two to two-and-a-half years, with contested applications taking the longest to complete. Twenty-year license renewals have been granted for 10 nuclear plants. No applications have been rejected. Applications for another 13 plants have been submitted. The company has until five years before its current licenses expire to apply for new ones. The Millstone 2 license expires in 2015; the license for Millstone 3 in 2025. But Dominion officials told the NRC they plan to submit the license renewal applications in January 2004. This follows an industry trend in which utilities try to sew up license extensions well in advance to facilitate long-term planning. Dominion is in fact asking for an exemption to apply for Millstone 3's license renewal early. Normally, a renewal can be sought only after a plant has operated for 20 years. Millstone 3 began generating power in 1986. But Dominion is making the argument that, from an efficiency standpoint, it makes sense to file the Millstone 2 and 3 applications at the same time. Last year Dominion filed an application to renew the licenses of its four nuclear plants in Virginia, North Anna 1 and 2 and Surry 1 and 2. Dominion noted that those plants are of a Westinghouse design similar to that of Millstone 3, another reason to move ahead with the Millstone 3 application sooner rather than later, because operating and engineering information can be shared. David Solorio, a senior reactor systems engineer at the NRC, said he expects to receive Dominion's request for the early submission exemption for Millstone 3 by the end of this year. The NRC already has granted several such early submission exemptions, he said. To receive the license extensions, Dominion will have to demonstrate that the nuclear plants are physically sound enough to operate safely for another 20 years. The company also said that as electricity demand continues to grow, the power the Millstone plants generate will become increasingly important. The third reactor at the facility, Millstone 1, has been permanently shut down. Burton said granting license renewals perpetuates a failed technology. ?We can't fault the Cold War generation for allowing the nuclear industry to invade our communities on its false promises of safe, clean, dependable cheap energy,? she said. ?However, there is no excuse for the current generation to allow perpetuation of this nuclear madness.? /p.choiniere@theday.com/ * * * * 1998-2002 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 14 Seabrook plant expected to operate beyond 2026 *News - June 20, 2002* *By BILL REGAN* Business Editor The prospective new owner of Seabrook Station nuclear power plant says the Seacoast generating facility could see operations extended beyond 2026, when its operating license expires. Officials of Florida Power and Light Co. told The Union Leader yesterday that Seabrook is safe, secure and in excellent condition. Art Stall, senior vice president of the Nuclear Division of FPL, said the 1,161-kilowatt generating facility is a ?strong candidate for license renewal.? FPL in April announced it will buy 88 percent of Seabrook for $836 million, to add to its diversified portfolio of power generating plants that include natural gas, wind, oil and hydro power in 17 states. It is the largest electric utility in Florida, serving about 4 million customers. FPL Energy, a wholly owned unregulated subsidiary of parent company FPL Group, will operate Seabrook. The company is working with regulators for approval of the purchase, which is expected to close by the end of the year. Public hearings before the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and federal regulators are planned this month and in July. Stall said the company is closely watching a pivotal U.S. Senate vote next month on approval of Yucca Mountain in Nevada for storage of spent nuclear fuel from the nation?s 103 nuclear power plants. Storage of spent fuel has become a critical issue as U.S. nuclear plants age and reach capacity. Stall said the Senate vote on Yucca Mountain is expected to be very close. He said Seabrook has sufficient storage of its spent fuel, packed in fortified containment rods, until 2009. After that, he said, plant modifications could easily extend storage capacity until 2011, and the addition of storage equipment and systems after that could add another three or four years. A 20-year extension of a nuclear plant?s generating license is about standard for a plant like Seabrook, officials said. FPL recently gained approval for a 20-year extension of the operating license for its Turkey Point facility in Florida, and Seabrook could easily be considered for a similar effort, Stall said. He said there were three major selling points for Seabrook. ?First, we looked at safety,? he said, ?and Seabrook?s conservative approach to operations and maintenance has ensured that safety. ?Next, we look at the condition of the plant, and Seabrook is in . . . superior operating condition.? He said Seabrook?s fitness could extend its life even beyond an extra 20 years. Third, the company looked at ?security and emergency preparedness? before proposing the buyout. Stall said FPL was considering Seabrook for more than a year before the deal was announced, and was able to examine security before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. He said the dual-vessel containment structure at the operating Unit 1 building is ?more robust? than other power plants and could withstand the impact of a fully-loaded jetliner. ?It would not penetrate the containment building,? Stall said, echoing a statement by Alan Griffith, company spokesman for Seabrook Station, immediately after hijacked airliners destroyed the World Trade Center towers in New York City and heavily damaged the Pentagon. Griffith said yesterday Seabrook remains confident. ?We are confident we can withstand such an attack,? Griffith said. ?We stand by that. We are confident we can repel attacks and protect the public health and safety.? Emergency preparedness continues at the highest level at all of the nation?s nuclear plants, as it has since Sept. 11, according to Stall, even though some military bases and operations have seen security and emergency measures scaled back one level. Stall said the unsightly Seabrook Unit 2 is being examined and steps to improve its aesthetic condition are being considered. He repeated FPL?s assertion that there are no plans to complete the second generating facility, but that parts of it and some of the equipment in Unit 2 remain usable. Rachel Scott, External Affairs Manager for FPL?s Treasure Coast group in Florida, said the $236 million the company expects to receive in decommissioning funds when the deal closes, plus the approximate $15 million per year FPL will contribute to the decommissioning fund until 2015 would be held for future decommissioning costs if Seabrook?s operations are extended beyond 2026. HOME Copyright © 2002 Union Leader Corp. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Earthquake fault line found underneath site of new nuclear reactor Yahoo! News - AP World Politics Thu Jun 20, 6:58 AM ET By EMMA TINKLER, Associated Press Writer SYDNEY, Australia - Australian nuclear authorities said Thursday that an earthquake fault line has been discovered at the site of a new nuclear reactor being built in suburban Sydney. The fault was found by scientists during a routine examination at the reactor excavation site, said Don Macnab, director of the regulatory branch of the federal government's Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. "We don't know what the age of it is. There is further work going on to determine what the significance of that anomaly is," Macnab told The Associated Press. No further details of the fault were available. Sydney has never been struck by a serious earthquake, but a strong 5.6 magnitude quake shook the city of Newcastle, 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north, on Dec. 28, 1989, causing widespread damage and killing 13 people. And as recently as February this year a 3.8 magnitude quake hit Wollongong, only about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the reactor site and was felt in southern Sydney. No damage was reported. The new 300 million Australian dollar (dlrs 168 million) reactor was approved in April by the federal government, despite protests about safety from environmentalists and residents living nearby. The site is currently being excavated and foundations laid. The reactor will produce radioactive material for use in medicine and research but will not generate power. It is being built near an aging reactor at Lucas Heights in southwest Sydney that will be decommissioned once the new reactor starts work in 2005. Macnab would not comment Thursday on whether another site may need to be found for the nuclear reactor until scientists had delivered their final report on the likely activity of the fault line. It wasn't clear when the report would be finished, but Macnab said discovery of the fault was a worrying development. "Naturally people are concerned about what the implications might be, but that's the reason for ... carrying out the investigation," Macnab said. "We will call on our own expertise and engage some expert consultants to assist us in determining what the implications will be." But environmentalists called on the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, a federal government agency which is responsible for the Lucas Heights reactor, to rethink its construction plans. "The reactor project has been troubled all along, whether it's from the perspective of need, or waste, or security risk or safety risk," said Stephen Campbell, Greenpeace Australia's nuclear campaigner. "An increased earthquake risk means that ANSTO should scrap the design and go back to square one," he added. ***************************************************************** 16 N.B. board reserves decision on proposed refurbishment of Point Lepreau June 19, 2002 N.B. board reserves decision on proposed refurbishment of Point Lepreau SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) -- The Public Utilities Board has reserved decision on the proposed $845-million refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant.  The hearings wrapped up Wednesday after four weeks of testimony and evidence presented by NB Power, Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. and opponents of the plan.  Both provincial lawyer Peter Hyslop and longtime NB Power critic Rod Gillis said the deal between the utility and AECL isn't good enough.  They suggested the contracts be reopened to secure better guarantees if the plant fails to work properly.  NB Power has asked Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., a federal Crown corporation and the designer of the current Candu 6 reactor at Point Lepreau, to refurbish the plant.  Guarantees contained in the proposed contracts would only see NB Power recover $187 million of the $845-million cost if the refurbished plant fails to work.  Hyslop said the future of the Canadian nuclear industry hinges on the proposal, and he's even suggesting Ottawa invest in the project.  NB Power maintains the refurbishment is the most cost-effective option available to meet future demands for electricity.  The nuclear plant will reach the end of its natural life in six years. The expensive upgrade would allow the plant to run for another 25 years.  NB Power estimates it would cost over $400 million to decommission Point Lepreau. Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc ***************************************************************** 17 Ireland: Studies show mobile phone radiation can harm brain * online.ie /The Irish Examiner 20 Jun 2002/ *By John von Radowitz* EVIDENCE that normal levels of mobile phone radiation can harm the brain emerged from a study yesterday. The research from Finland indicates that microwaves from cellphone handsets may increase leakage of the natural barrier that protects the brain from toxic substances. If backed up by studies on human volunteers, the findings will send shock waves through the mobile phone industry. An animal study by a French team is already believed to have lent further weight to the evidence, by showing that mobile phone radiation can promote leakage of the blood-brain barrier in rats. Results from both investigations are due to be presented at a conference in Canada this month. The Scandinavian study was led by Prof Darius Leszczynski, of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland. Cells from blood vessel walls in the brain were placed in culture dishes and subjected to mobile phone radiation in the lab. At a strength of two watts per kilogram, the radiation intensity was the maximum allowed internationally for mobile phones. After an hour's exposure biochemical changes were seen in the cells which could alter the activity of about 400 proteins. In particular one enzyme, called HSP 27, which helps to regulate blood-brain barrier permeability, was affected. "If the same thing happened in real life, in people, then it could affect blood-brain barrier permeability by increasing it," said Professor Leszczynski. As a result, molecules that cause damage to neurons may be allowed to invade brain tissue. Prof Leszczynski said HSP 27 affected structures in the cells called stress fibres. The distribution of stress fibres in turn affected leakage of the blood-brain barrier. He said a French team also presenting findings at the conference had shown that blood-brain barrier leakage was increased in rats exposed to mobile phone radiation. But he added it would be wrong to assume at this stage that mobile phones were hazardous to human health. "I would not yet say it is worrying, because we are not rats," he said. "But in my opinion this research does justify putting more money into human studies to find out whether this is a real danger or just the result of us using such sensitive methods." It was possible that the human body may be able to cope with the effects, he said, but no-one knew the answer to that question yet. The professor added that for the time being he had no qualms about using a mobile phone. The Federation of the Electronics Industry, which represents mobile phone manufacturers, declined to comment on the findings today. 1998-2002 The Day Publishing Co. FAQs ***************************************************************** 19 NEW REPORT ON LEUKAEMIA RISK [The Whitehaven News] NEW research by the North of England Children's Cancer Research Unit has re-opened concerns over whether Sellafield radiation workers could pass on a leukaemia risk to their children. However the authors say that their findings should be treated with caution as current radiation exposure is much lower than previously, and the principle cause of the higher than average number of cases of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LHNL) was "population mixing". The study by experts based at the University of Newcastle Department of Child Health looked at a quarter of a million births in Cumbria between 1950 and 1991. The study claims: "Children of radiation workers had a higher risk of leukaemia/non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than other children." It also found that: "The risk increased significantly with father's total preconceptional external radiation dose." The researchers compared the total numbers suffering from leukaemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma with the numbers suffering it from children fathered by radiation workers. BNFL has already made workers aware of the findings and it says: "The results of the study are overwhelmingly reassuring. Dr Parker stated that there is 'no evidence at all that radiation workers employed today and working under current radiological protection guidelines are putting their children at any increased risk'. Dr Louise Parker went on to confirm that the study had 'no relevance at all' for any current worker planning to start a family. "The study found a similar excess rate of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma amongst the children of radiation workers born in Seascale as previously observed. Dr Parker's latest study confirmed that this is largely due to the effects of population mixing and would be true of any highly mobile community and gave examples where similar excesses had occurred, for example in rural new towns and in children evacuated to rural areas in wartime. "The study also concluded that there was a small statistical association between the level of a father's exposure to radiation prior to conception (PPI) and the risk of LHNL in his children but that the excess risk reported in this study was much smaller than reported by Gardner from essentially most of the same cases.'' Authors Heather Dickinson and Louise Parker from the University of Newcastle confirmed that children of radiation workers born outside Seascale had a two-fold risk, but children under seven who were born in Seascale between 1950 and 1991 had a highly significant 15-fold risk of getting leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This risk was raised significantly as external parental preconceptional irradiation increased. This dose response could not be explained by population mixing. Dr Dickinson said the statistics showed a possible link to the father's radiation dose when the dose was over 100 milli Sieverts. However, the authors concluded that implications of these findings for the current nuclear industry workforce should be viewed cautiously since current occupational exposure was low compared to earlier decades. Dr Dickinson said that she thought the principle cause of the higher than average number of cases was "population mixing", the introduction of a virus from elsewhere as hundreds of families moved into the area in the 1950s as Sellafield developed. Anti-nuclear CORE campaigner Janine Allis-Smith welcomed the report and said: "We have always believed the late Professor Gardner was right about Sellafield. Gardner's work has withstood everything the nuclear industry has thrown at it in its attempt to discredit it. "It is deplorable and shameful that BNFL has consistently deceived workers into believing that Gardner was wrong and that radiation exposure could not harm their future children." Commenting on the latest study, Paul Thomas, BNFL's director of health said: "This study is very reassuring for our workforce and confirms that the excess risk of LNHL particularly in Seascale can be largely attributed to population mixing.' SRC="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk ***************************************************************** 20 Cesium case remains stalled [http://www.news-record.com] 6-16-02 By TAFT WIREBACK, Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- The recent arrest of an American Muslim for planning a terrorist "dirty bomb" has renewed interest in the still-missing radioactive cesium stolen from Moses Cone Hospital more than four years ago. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, state radiation supervisors, hospital administrators and local emergency officials remain painfully aware that the 19 steel tubes of cesium-137 were never found. Although some radiation experts doubt the cancer-fighting tubes would make an effective bomb, the theft made national and worldwide news last week after federal officials disclosed the arrest of Jose Padilla, also known as Abdullah al Muhajir. He is suspected of conspiring with al-Qaida terrorists to explode a bomb that would spew radioactive material in the United States. The 1998 Greensboro incident was recounted by the Washington Post, MSNBC, the International Herald Tribune and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. Two months ago, a draft report for a group affiliated with NATO -- the international military alliance -- listed the Moses Cone theft as one of several incidents globally that suggest "a terrorist radiological bomb scenario needs to be taken very seriously." New details are emerging about the investigation that sprawled across Greensboro immediately after the theft was discovered in March 1998, including a suggestion that police identified a "prime suspect" who once worked at the hospital but who was never charged for lack of evidence. According to previously unpublished commentary at an NRC meeting in October 1998, FBI leaders in Washington were so concerned about the Greensboro theft that they wanted to send in dozens of agents "to start kicking down doors." Ultimately, a smaller criminal investigation came to nothing. Authorities don't know what happened to the tubes. Cesium-137 is among radioactive materials often mentioned as potential ingredients in a so-called dirty bomb, a relatively crude weapon that uses dynamite or some other common explosive to blast a radioactive substance across a relatively small area. The resulting mayhem would be far less than an atomic bomb, which involves atomic fission with a lethal kick extending for miles in every direction. But a dirty bomb could spread fear and panic well beyond its immediate impact, often a terrorist's main goal. Its theft from a medical facility is "extremely rare," said Marion Eaddy, a health physicist with the N.C. Division of Radiation Protection in Raleigh. "In my work, this is one of those things that you never want to get a phone call about," Eaddy said. The stolen tubes contain relatively small amounts of cesium, but "it still is a sizable amount of missing radiation," said Marilyn Braun, director of the Greensboro/Guilford County Emergency Management Agency. The cesium in the stolen tubes is a powder, which might be suitable for bomb making, said Johnny James, emergency coordinator for the state Division of Radiation Protection. But he said it is encased in double layers of stainless steel, which would be hazardous for a terrorist to break open and which might withstand an explosion if detonated as is. "I don't think it was ever stolen to do any type of terrorism," James said. "I don't consider them (the stolen tubes) a big probability for a dirty-type bomb." Used at Cone Hospital to treat cervical cancer, the radioactive material was stolen from the hospital sometime between Dec. 22, 1997, and Mar. 4, 1998, when the loss was discovered. That discovery triggered a massive hunt for the missing tubes, including citywide surveillance by a special U.S. Department of Energy helicopter equipped with supersensitive radiation detectors. About 25 federal, state and local investigators spent days surveying parks, the hospital, the city landfill, Greensboro's water-treatment plants, the houses of potential suspects identified by the hospital, the NCAA basketball tournament taking place that month at Greensboro Coliseum -- all without success. At the time, they said the theft might be the work of a disgruntled employee, a theory bolstered by previously unpublished remarks by a former North Carolina radiation-safety official at the NRC meeting in October 1998. Aaron Padgett, former chief of North Carolina's radioactive-materials office, told the NRC meeting in New Hampshire that investigators believed at one point that they knew who did it. They simply were unable, he said, to make a case against that person: The prime suspect is "is a very well-educated individual, and I'll let it go at that," said Padgett, who died of cancer in 1999. "But again, whether or not enough information will ever be developed to charge the person, who knows?" Padgett told the NRC group. "The individual is not employed at Moses Cone, he has moved on, and he might not even be the right one." Investigators hoped to narrow the pool of suspects by testing radiation-monitoring badges worn by some hospital workers to keep track of their exposure. The thief's badge might have shown a suspicious spike in radiation from handling the tubes, some thought. But when word leaked out about the plans, all the badges "disappeared," and investigators never got the chance to test them, said Padgett. The cesium thief apparently sent notes bragging about the crime. "He's sent a couple notes in, either he or someone else in his place, (but) we think it's him," Padgett said. The Greensboro incident was a topic of discussion in the FBI's highest corridors of power, Padgett said at the NRC meeting. It caused tension, he said, between the agency's Washington headquarters and an unidentified, local field agent. "This thing was on (then-FBI director) Louie Freeh's desk, and people in the FBI were scurrying back and forth," Padgett said. "You know how it is in D.C.: Nobody wants to be left out of anything." "The local agent had a very difficult time keeping the FBI portion under control," Padgett said. "There were folks in D.C. who were telling him, 'No, you know, we need to send 100 agents down there and basically go out and start kicking down doors ...'" The unidentified local agent prevailed, which Padgett depicted as a good thing because it kept the investigation's major emphasis on searching for the lost material in a relatively calm environment. A highly visible criminal investigation might have panicked the public and set off a media frenzy, Padgett suggested. Donald Causey, senior resident agent in the FBI's Greensboro office, disputed some of Padgett's assertions. He said there was never a prime suspect, though many people were interviewed by investigators. "I would be remiss in saying that there was ever a prime suspect identified," he said. Causey, a supervisor, said he was familiar with the cesium incident but was not the "case agent" working on it. Hospital administrators thought from the outset the thief might be a current or former employee. The misdeed seemed to require a person with some technical expertise and access to the restricted area where the cesium tubes were kept, said Tim Rice, Moses Cone Health System's chief operating officer who was heavily involved in the 1998 search. The hospital opened its files for investigators to examine, Rice said. Names were passed along of current or former employees who might have an ax to grind, he said. "Everybody had their own little thought, 'Gee, I wonder about so-and-so," Rice said. "But to say that there was one suspect that everybody rallied around, no, I don't think that's accurate." The FBI's Causey said he doesn't recall any note from the thief, nor does Rice. But Grant Mills, an official with the state Division of Radiation Protection, does. Padgett showed him a copy: "(The original) was turned over to the FBI," Mills said. In a telephone interview Friday, Causey said he was unfamiliar with the disappearance of the hospital radiation badges. Braun, of the emergency-management office, remembers the badges vanishing. "That, to me, eliminated the idea that this (the missing cesium) was an accident," Braun said. Causey also said that Padgett had "mischaracterized" relations between local FBI officials and Washington headquarters during the incident. They were courteous, professional consultations involving agents in the Greensboro, Charlotte and Washington offices, he said. The focus was on making sure that local agents had sufficient resources at their disposal, Causey said. He said that an aggressive investigation was conducted into the missing cesium. "I think we followed every lead that was conceivable," Causey said, "in trying to locate someone who would have the motivation to bring about a theft or carry it out themselves." The case is listed as inactive both by the local FBI office and the Greensboro Police Department after their investigations reached a dead end. Nothing new has emerged recently to change that, said Causey. "There's been no leads developed," Causey said. "We don't have an active investigation under way. We exhausted all leads." Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or at [twireback@news-record.com] News &Record 2002 ***************************************************************** 21 NRC: Dirty Bombs Background A "dirty bomb" or radiological dispersal device (RDD) is a conventional explosive or bomb containing radioactive material. The conventional bomb is used as a means to spread radioactive contamination. It is not a nuclear bomb and does not involve a nuclear explosion. Any type of radioactive material could be used in a dirty bomb, but in general these devices would be unlikely to cause serious health effects beyond those caused by the detonation of conventional explosives. Impact of a Dirty Bomb In most cases, any immediate deaths or serious injuries would likely result from the explosion itself, rather than from radiation exposure. It is unlikely that the radioactive material contained in a dirty bomb would kill anyone. The radioactive material would be dispersed into the air and reduced to relatively low concentrations, resulting in low doses to people exposed. In addition, most people would be expected to run away from the explosion, further reducing potential exposure. A low-level exposure to radioactive contamination could slightly increase the long-term risk of cancer. However, a "dirty bomb" could potentially have a significant psychological impact, by causing fear, panic and disruption. Use of a dirty bomb could result in radioactive contamination of an area of a city, up to several city blocks, with low levels of contamination that would require cleanup. The extent of the contamination depends upon a number of factors including the size of the explosive, the amount and type of radioactive material used, and weather conditions. The detectability of radiation is a major asset in reducing health and safety impacts and in evaluating the accident. Cleanup of the contamination could be costly (conceivably running into the millions) and take weeks to months to complete. Sources of Nuclear Material There are millions of radioactive devices in the United States. The NRC authority is limited to radioactive material defined in the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 as amended. There are about 21,000 licensed organizations in the U.S. which use such material for medical, industrial, academic, and research purposes. There are other types of radioactive material used in similar activities but NRC authority is limited to radioactive material defined in the AEA. For AEA material, about 5,000 licensees have been issued by NRC and about 16,000 licenses have been issued by some states (referred to as Agreement States because they have an agreement with the NRC to regulate specific material under the AEA). Most of these licensees involve radioactive material which, because of the nature of the material or the size of the source, are not of particular concern in terms of their use in a dirty bomb. Control of Nuclear Material NRC and state regulations require licensees to secure radioactive material from theft and unauthorized access. They also require reports of lost or stolen material. NRC receives about 300 reports per year of lost or stolen radioactive material. Most of the reports of lost or stolen radioactive material involve small or short-lived radioactive sources. Moreover, the losses have not been concentrated in one or two localities. Therefore, it is unlikely that the material unaccounted for is being collected for use in a dirty bomb. To better account for all sources, NRC has initiated a program to register certain higher-risk devices. Further, NRC is considering additional measures to track down missing sources. Increased Security of Nuclear Material Following the attacks on September 11, the NRC and the States advised their licensees to increase the security of nuclear material and be alert for and immediately report any unusual activities which might indicate a terrorist threat. The NRC is evaluating additional security measures for radioactive sources. The NRC is cooperating with other Federal and State agencies to bolster contingency plans for dealing with a potential attack involving radioactive materials. The NRC Headquarters Emergency Operations Center is ready around the clock to respond to radiological emergencies. Response to a Dirty Bomb + Because a "dirty bomb" explosion could expose people to loose radioactive material in the air, which could be inhaled, people are advised to quickly move away from the immediate area, at least several blocks from the explosion, and tune in to local radio or TV broadcasts for instructions from emergency officials. + Emergency response officials will arrange medical treatment for those injured by the blast, evacuating people from the area, decontaminating those who were contaminated, and assessing any internal or external exposures. It should be noted that the use of potassium iodide would not necessarily be protective in these cases because radioactive iodine is not necessarily the isotope that would be used in these devices. + The affected area will be cordoned off from surrounding areas. Federal Role + If it was definitely known that the dirty bomb involved AEA material licensed by the NRC or an Agreement State, then the NRC would be the technical lead Federal agency for responding to the radiological aspects of the event. However, it would be highly unlikely at the time of the event (i.e., explosion) that the source of the radioactive material would be definitely known and the Federal Agencies involved would not quibble about which Agency had the technical lead. + In the event the radioactive source is unknown or it is definitely not AEA material licensed by the NRC or an Agreement State, the Environmental Protection Agency would be designated the lead technical Federal Agency. However, because it is a bomb, the Federal Bureau of Investigation would take the lead in handling crisis management and investigating the criminal aspects of the event. Other organizations that would be involved include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Energy, the Office of Homeland Security, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and various elements of the law enforcement and intelligence community. + In the event of a "dirty bomb" exploding, the NRC would be prepared to provide technical advice to local authorities for emergency response, including suggestions for protective measures and evaluation of radiological hazards. June 2002 ***************************************************************** 22 *N.J. to Distribute Radiation Pills* The Associated Press June 19, 2002 11:44 pm TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- People who live or work within a 10-mile radius of four nuclear power plants will be offered free potassium iodide tablets to help protect them from cancer if radiation is released during a nuclear accident or terrorist attack, officials said Wednesday. The pills offer only limited protection, however. The medicine prevents only thyroid cancer by shielding the thyroid from radioactive iodine. It blocks no other type of radiation, and no other part of the body. "In the unlikely event (of a nuclear accident), people should take the pills and get out," Health and Senior Services Commissioner Clifton R. Lacy said. Beginning in mid-July, the one-day supply of pills will be available to residents at designated locations. Last month, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began offering the pills to the 33 states with nuclear reactors. The commission supplied New Jersey with 722,000 pills. President Bush last week signed a bioterrorism bill that requires potassium iodide to be available to all residents living near nuclear power plants. URL for this article: http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/whatsnew.htm heraldsun.com is copyrighted by The Durham Herald Company and may ***************************************************************** 23 *Sellafield children have twice average leukaemia risk* Ananova The children of men exposed to radiation while working at Sellafield have twice the normal risk of some forms of cancer. A study has used leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma data from between 1950 and 1991. The cancer figures also found a disease rate 15 times higher in Seascale - a village next to the nuclear plant. The nuclear industry claims both figures are explained by people moving into the area from other parts of the country. Heather Dickinson and colleagues at Newcastle University compared 9,859 children fathered by men exposed to radiation at Sellafield, with those of 256,851 children born to other fathers in Cumbria. She says that despite the statistics, only 13 children of Sellafield workers contracted leukaemia over the 41-year period and workers now receive much lower doses than in the past. The results, published in New Scientist , appear to support the idea put forward by the late Martin Gardner, an epidemiologist from Southampton University. In 1990 he suggested there may be a link between the doses of radiation received by fathers and leukaemia. The idea was widely criticised by experts, who said population movements could account for the extra cases seen around Sellafield. Story filed: 20:25 Wednesday 19th June 2002 /Copyright © 2002 Ananova Ltd/ ***************************************************************** 24 Nevada's anti-nuke dump campaign takes hit Las Vegas SUN June 19, 2002 CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's fight against a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain took an unexpected hit when a legislative panel was told it could release only $434,000 to the anti-dump campaign. The state has raised $1.9 million in public and private donations that officials thought would be matched through a $3 million fund set up by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee. But the committee was told Tuesday by its attorney that it couldn't match the bulk of that money - a $1.5 million donation from Clark County - because that money was designated to pay for legal fees. The matching fund was designated to pay for a public relations and advertising campaign. "It sounds like the $1.5 million can't be used for the matching fund," said Senate Majority Leader and committee chairman Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Raggio had asked if it was legal to match the Clark County donation and said he was surprised by the opinion. Brenda Erdoes, legal counsel to the Legislature, said the $1.5 million could only be used as a matching fund if the finance committee changed its resolution that created the fund to allow Clark County's donation to qualify. The committee couldn't deal with that at Tuesday's meeting because the item wasn't on the agenda. The next meeting of the committee isn't until September, well after Yucca Mountain will be decided by the U.S. Senate. The nuclear dump issue is expected to come up for a U.S. Senate vote in the next few weeks, and opponents have tried to mount an advertising campaign to derail the proposal. The Senate's vote is the last step in the federal government approving the Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as a repository for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste. Gov. Kenny Guinn's spokesman Greg Bortolin said the legal opinion was disappointing. "From day one, we've been counting this as part of the match," he said. "We need every dollar against a foe that has a huge funding advantage." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 25 Fight against Yucca Mountain takes monetary hit [online@rgj.com] ASSOCIATED PRESS 6/20/2002 12:28 am Nevada’s fight against a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain took an unexpected hit when a legislative panel was told it could release only $434,000 to the anti-dump campaign. The state has raised $1.9 million in public and private donations that officials thought would be matched through a $3 million fund set up by the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee. But the committee was told Tuesday by its attorney that it couldn’t match the bulk of that money — a $1.5 million donation from Clark County — because that money was designated to pay for legal fees. The matching fund was designated to pay for a public relations and advertising campaign. “It sounds like the $1.5 million can’t be used for the matching fund,” said Senate Majority Leader and committee chairman Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Raggio had asked if it was legal to match the Clark County donation and said he was surprised by the opinion. Brenda Erdoes, legal counsel to the Legislature, said the $1.5 million could only be used as a matching fund if the finance committee changed its resolution that created the fund to allow Clark County’s donation to qualify. The committee couldn’t deal with that at Tuesday’s meeting because the item wasn’t on the agenda. The next meeting of the committee isn’t until September, well after Yucca Mountain will be decided by the U.S. Senate. The nuclear dump issue is expected to come up for a U.S. Senate vote in the next few weeks, and opponents have tried to mount an advertising campaign to derail the proposal. The Senate’s vote is the last step in the federal government approving the Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as a repository for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste. Gov. Kenny Guinn’s spokesman Greg Bortolin said the legal opinion was disappointing. “From day one, we’ve been counting this as part of the match,” he said. “We need every dollar against a foe that has a huge funding advantage.” Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a [http://www.gannett.com] ***************************************************************** 26 AFL-CIO announces opposition to Yucca project Thursday, June 20, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal By JANE ANN MORRISON REVIEW-JOURNAL The Nevada AFL-CIO, which had been silent for years on the Yucca Mountain Project, decided Wednesday to voice its opposition. But it also noted that if the proposed repository for the nation's nuclear waste is ultimately approved, "the facilities must be built with skilled union labor." Other unions, such as Teamsters Local 631 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 367, have supported the Yucca Mountain Project. Both say the repository will create jobs. At the AFL-CIO's convention in Las Vegas, union President Walt Elliot said one reason for the anti-Yucca position is that its previous silence on the matter could taint some of its endorsed candidates. Political foes could criticize the union's candidates for accepting money from the labor group if no specific opposition had been voiced, Elliot said. The resolution, which passed without opposition, said the AFL-CIO "and all its affiliated local unions oppose the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain." AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson noted that it was only recently that the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce took a position against the repository as well. Although a resolution is merely an expression of opinion, two of the state's leading politicians, Gov. Kenny Guinn and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, both welcomed the move. Guinn described it as "a step forward" and acknowledged that because the first priority of unions is jobs, opposing the project is difficult. "I think it has a big impact," said Perkins, D-Henderson, who was also endorsed by the AFL-CIO. The labor group also aligned itself with the trial lawyers on the issue of medical malpractice and tort reform, coming out against a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 27 Just How Secure Is a Nuclear Waste Truck? Opinion / Comment Thursday, Jun. 20, 2002. By Jim Hall With the arrest of Jose Padilla, our worst fears were confirmed: Al-Qaida was planning to build and detonate a dirty bomb containing nuclear material in an American city. A danger previously relegated to Hollywood screenplays is now a reality. At the same time, the Senate is in the process of making the most important transportation decision of the new century -- whether or not to move 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from power plants nationwide to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. For more than 20 years, debate on the Yucca Mountain project has centered on only half of the issue. The Energy Department has spent more than $7 billion and 24 years studying the geology of potential repository sites, but only 4 percent of that has been spent on transportation issues. Yet despite that spending, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said recently the department is "just beginning to formulate its preliminary thoughts about a transportation plan." Now, in light of Sept. 11, proceeding with the Yucca Mountain project without a fully secure transportation plan that takes into account terrorism threats is dangerous and irresponsible. Government officials believe al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations have sought to purchase uranium and the other necessary tools to make a dirty bomb. Experts say each truck container of spent nuclear fuel headed for Yucca Mountain would carry more radioactive material than was released by the nuclear bombs used in World War II. If one of these containers were breached, in an accident or a terrorist attack, the results would be catastrophic. Before Congress makes any decision on where to store the country's nuclear waste, it must first determine whether that waste can be safely transported on our highways, waterways and railroads. Congress must require that the Energy Department conduct a comprehensive risk assessment considering all potential hazards, including terrorist threats. Congress must also demand that the department develop a transportation safety plan that outlines steps to be taken in the event of terrorist acts and accidents. And there must be full-scale testing of the containers to be used for transporting this waste. Abraham has said there is plenty of time to create a transportation plan before Yucca Mountain begins receiving nuclear waste eight years from now. But safety issues will almost certainly get short shrift if they are not addressed before the repository site is approved. Congress needs to force the Energy Department to reassess the dangers of transporting high-level nuclear waste and develop a secure plan before proceeding with the Yucca Mountain project. Jim Hall, a member of the National Academy of Engineering's committee on combating terrorism, contributed this comment to The New York Times. [http://www.themoscowtimes.com ***************************************************************** 28 Sellafield 'increases cancer risk' BBC News | HEALTH | Wednesday, 19 June, 2002 Sellafield plant, Cumbria] Sellafield has long been controversial Children of men exposed to radiation while working at the Sellafield nuclear plant have twice the normal risk of developing certain types of cancer, research suggests. The increased risk relates to leukaemia and lymphoma - cancers of the blood and immune system. The question of whether radiation from the nuclear plant in Cumbria is to blame for a local cluster of childhood cancers has long been the subject of much debate. The theory that there was a link between the doses of radiation received by fathers and the incidence of leukaemia among their children was first postulated in 1990 by the late Martin Gardner, an epidemiologist from the University of Southampton. However, critics said an apparent increase in cases could equally be due to the large numbers of people moving in and out of the area, increasing the likely spread of cancer-causing infections. Comprehensive research The latest research from a team at the University of Newcastle, reported in New Scientist magazine, suggests that Dr Gardner may have over-estimated the effect by a factor of four. The researchers compared the records of 9,859 children fathered by men exposed to radiation at Sellafield with those of 256,851 children born to other fathers in Cumbria between 1950 and 1991. Throughout the whole of Cumbria, they found that the incidence of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was twice as high among the Sellafield children. The incidence was 15 times as great in Seascale, a small village next to the nuclear plant. The researchers also discovered that the risk to children rose in line with the radiation dose received by their fathers. Because a lot of people have moved in and out of Seascale, the researchers found that population mixing did account for most of the extra risk in that village. But mixing could not explain the two-fold increase in risk for Sellafield children throughout the county. Genetic link There is growing evidence from human and animal studies that radiation damage can be passed from one generation to the next. However, the Newcastle team stress that the additional risk is small. Only 13 children of Sellafield workers contracted leukaemia over the 41 years. And because workers now receive much lower doses than in the past, there are unlikely to be implications for the current workforce. The research was part-funded by the Westlakes Research Institute, which is sponsored by British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). Paul Thomas, BNFL health director, said: "This study is very reassuring for our workforce and confirms that the excess risk of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, particularly in Seascale, can be largely attributed to population mixing." However, Janine Allis-Smith, from the campaigning group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, disagreed. She said: "BNFL has tried to discredit Gardner's hypothesis for years. "This study vindicates him and it is irresponsible of BNFL to ignore it." The research was originally published in the International Journal of Cancer. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 29 UK: Plutonium battle goes to court BBC News | ENGLAND | Thursday, 20 June, 2002, 08:03 GMT 09:03 UK Plutonium battle goes to court [Irish politician John Gormley (left) and an environmental protester] Protesters have regularly picketed the Mox plant Greenpeace is due to go to the High Court on Thursday in its bid to stop radioactive mixed oxide (Mox) fuel being shipped from Japan to the UK. Lawyers for the environmental pressure group say the "faulty rejected plutonium" is due to be sent to Sellafield's Mox plant in Cumbria. Greenpeace is seeking an injunction to stop British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) from shipping the material until the Environment Agency (EA) decides whether Mox should be re-classified as "radioactive waste". The material is currently being stored at Takahama in Japan. 'Catastrophic accident' If it is re-classified by the EA, Greenpeace says the shipments need special authorisation before it could be brought to the UK. If the EA decides it is not radioactive waste, campaigners will challenge the decision in further legal proceedings. Greenpeace said in a statement that two armed British ships, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, arrived in Japan on 14 June to collect the Mox, originally supplied to the Japanese by BNFL. Terror attacks It said countries along the sea route the cargoes would take were "concerned by the lack of consultation, the vulnerability of the shipment to catastrophic accident, malicious attacks and issues of liability and salvage in the event of accident". Security concerns have been heightened after the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US. Greenpeace plans to argue in court that, as BNFL has not made any decision about what to do with the material, apart from storing it, it does not currently amount to radioactive waste under European and UK law. ***************************************************************** 30 Away with spent nuclear fuel! Pravda.RU Green Peace is against the importation of 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel to Russia ¹ Jun, 20 2002 Russia’s Green Peace is to hold the largest protest action of the year at the end of June. The press service of the Zashchita ecological organization reported that an international anti-nuclear protest will be organized between June 30 and July 6 in response to the government’s plans to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. Ecological, law enforcement, and other public organizations are to take part in the action. Up to forty public organizations from different regions of Russia are expected to join in. The anti-nuclear protest will be organized in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, where Mining Chemical Enterprise and Russia’s largest depository of spent nuclear fuel are located. To this very depository imported spent nuclear fuel is supposed to be delivered. Citizens of the region had no chance to voice their opinion via areferendum. In the town of Sosnovoborsk, situated near the Mining Chemical Enterprise, a mass protest meeting with the participation of 5,000 citizens was held in February. The people protested against the intention of the government to pollute the town were the environmental situation is already rather unfavorable. The international protest is believed to attract about 200 people from different regions of Russia and from abroad. It is the first action of this kind against intention of Russia’s Ministry for Nuclear Power to import nuclear spent fuel legalized in 2001. Public organizations are going to work on further activities directed against the import of spent nuclear fuel in Russia. Nastya Primakova PRAVDA.Ru Translated by Maria Gousseva ***************************************************************** 31 Yucca: Where's the outrage? Las Vegas SUN June 20, 2002 I AM DISAPPOINTED. Every Nevadan should be disappointed, too. That's because the enemy in our fight to keep the federal government from ramming Yucca Mountain down our throats is closer to us than we ever thought. We have looked him in the eyes and he is us! Actually, disappointed is a word I am using because that seems to be the best our leadership in the state can come up with at the eleventh hour of our fight to win enough votes in the United states Senate to stop this madness. Gov. Kenny Guinn's spokesman, Greg Bortolin, referred to a legal opinion from the legislative counsel's office as "disappointing." That, ladies and gentlemen, is the same word our good governor used when his fellow Republican, President George W. Bush, decided to ramrod the nuclear power industry's plan down our throat. And, if I am not mistaken, that is the same word our Republican junior senator, John Ensign, used when he heard the news from the White House. What is it with these guys? The White House, the Energy Department and, so far, the House of Representatives have all said "to hell with the people of Nevada" and all we can muster is some disappointment! At least our senior senator, Harry Reid, has the gumption to tell it like it is. He said President Bush flat out lied to Nevadans during the 2000 presidential elections. That is the truth and even though the truth can be a bit harsh sometimes, the fact is that the president lied to us. So now when the legislative counsel tells the state that it cannot use $1.5 million in Clark County funds to match the $3 million made available by the Interim Finance Committee -- a decision that could stop Nevada's momentum heading toward the crucial Senate vote in the next few weeks -- the best our leaders can be is "disappointed." How about "disgusted"? How about "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"? How about "outraged" and several other descriptions that probably wouldn't make it through a family newspaper's sensitivity checkers? How about anything other than disappointment? So where does all this leave the people of this state who have been counting on Sens. Reid and Ensign's campaign to stop the dump in the Senate? The answer is: not in nearly as good of a shape as we were in before the Legislature's counsel stuck her nose in this matter. And who asked her, anyway? The answer to that question may prove interesting. So now that everyone is disappointed, what are they going to do about it? Doing nothing is not an option because this vote appears likely to happen very soon and Nevada needs all the money it can find to keep the rest of the country engaged on this issue. As this is being written, there are senators who were steadfastly opposed to Nevada's plight who are starting to listen. They are doing so because of our senators' persuasiveness and because Americans across the country are letting their feelings be known. And what many of them are saying is that they don't want the federal government to start shipping this radioactive poison near their homes and schools for the next 30-plus years. I know our good governor has been reluctant to call a special session of the Legislature to fix this and other critical matters that face Nevadans. But this one is a no-brainer. Since the Interim Finance Committee affixed the terms for private funds to match the $3 million they appropriated for Nevada's survival fight, it can also change those requirements. If it is too late to get this matter on the next regular meeting agenda, then the governor should encourage, implore, plead, beg and cajole the legislative members of that committee to call a special session immediately to remedy their mistake. He can make it happen because he is the governor, right? It is clear none of them -- at least I hope that is clear -- wanted a lawyer to gum up the works this close to the vote. So, it is incumbent upon those legislators to fix their mess and allow the funds put up by Clark County to match the $1.5 million that the state needs to see this thing through. To do anything less would be to let down the people of this state who have put their faith in our elected leadership to protect themselves and their families. It would also be disappointing. Have you ever seen a disappointed Nevadan on his or her way to the voting booth? All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 Nevada AFL-CIO endorses Guinn Las Vegas SUN June 20, 2002 Few surprises emerged Wednesday as the Nevada AFL-CIO unveiled endorsements in major political races. Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, who received a standing ovation at the union's national convention in Las Vegas earlier this year, was endorsed in his re-election bid over Democratic state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas. The union stuck to tradition with its ties to Democrats by endorsing Dario Herrera over Republican Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional District race. It also endorsed Erin Kenny in her bid to unseat Lorraine Hunt as lieutenant governor and John Hunt's campaign for attorney general against Republican Brian Sandoval. Three key legislative races will also be the focus of the union's efforts this fall. The AFL-CIO backed John Hawk in the race for state Senate District 5 over Republican Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson. The union backed Terry Lamuraglia over Republicans Richard Bunker and Dennis Nolan running for state Senate District 9. And an endorsement went to Joe Carter in his attempt to upset state Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, in a key Northern Nevada race. The union also passed a resolution opposing the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, but stated that if the dump is approved, it should be built with union labor. Striking bus drivers in Las Vegas also won support from the union in a unanimous vote to support Local 1637 of the Amalgamated Transit Union. Bus drivers have been on strike since May 20 and have twice rejected contract offers from the company. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 33 Senate vote on Yucca may not happen before holiday break Las Vegas SUN June 20, 2002 By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- Saber rattling over Yucca Mountain intensified today in the Senate, but it remained unclear if senators will vote on the project before their weeklong July 4 holiday recess. Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Senate's most outspoken Yucca advocates, have publicly and privately urged Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to set a time for Yucca debate before the holiday break, which begins July 1. Daschle, a close ally of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he would not call for a vote at all. But Daschle cannot block a vote. Because of a unique provision in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, any senator can call for a motion to proceed on Yucca debate at any time. The Senate is now debating an important defense spending bill -- debate that is expected to stretch into next week. Republican Yucca proponents are exploring their options, including calling for a 10-hour Yucca debate in the middle of the defense bill debate, Craig spokesman Will Hart said. Meanwhile Reid and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., are quietly urging their colleagues to vote against the motion to proceed on Yucca, essentially a vote on whether to hold a vote. They say that calling a Yucca vote against the wishes of the majority leader breaks with Senate tradition. Craig and Murkowski are urging senators to reject the Nevadans' procedural maneuvering. They say the Nuclear Waste Policy Act allows them a unique opportunity to call for a vote against the wishes of the majority leader. For the second day in a row, Murkowski today urged senators to debate and vote on Yucca before the July 4 recess. "This matter is long overdue," Murkowski said. "It is an obligation of this body. The House has done its job. The Senate should do its job." Assistant Majority Leader Reid spoke in response, making familiar arguments that nuclear waste cannot be geologically isolated from the environment at Yucca because of earthquake faults and groundwater. Reid said people nationwide were awakening to the fact that waste would be hauled near their homes and that it cannot be shipped safely, an assertion the nuclear industry and Department of Energy officials flatly deny. Reid closed by saying that setting aside the debate on defense spending to debate Yucca would be "distasteful." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 34 S.C. Governor Loses Fight Against Plutonium (washingtonpost.com) By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Eric Pianin Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, June 19, 2002; Page A03 MIAMI, June 18 -- It was a brash pledge, the kind that easily could have defined a career. Few really expected him to do it, but South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges (D) kept saying he would -- kept insisting he would -- lie in the middle of the road to block U.S. government trucks from hauling plutonium into his state. For a time, the pledge took on a life of its own, but today it died. Hodges, who last week briefly sent state troopers to South Carolina's borders in search of plutonium haulers, declared an end to his plans for a blockade today after a federal judge sternly ordered him not to get in the way. Hodges's reluctant acquiescence clears a path for the U.S. Department of Energy to send 34 metric tons of plutonium from three obsolete nuclear weapons facilities to be reprocessed at the Savannah River nuclear power plant, 60 miles southwest of Columbia, S.C. "It is a sad day for South Carolina when the governor . . . who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution must be ordered by a court to obey it," U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said during a court hearing today. After Currie's ruling, Hodges vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying he is "not willing to let the federal government turn our state into the nation's nuclear dumping ground." But, knowing that trucks may begin the cross-country trip as soon as Saturday, Hodges also acknowledged that his fight has been lost, at least for now. "The bureaucrats at the Department of Energy have prevailed," Hodges said at a news conference, according to a transcript of his remarks. "I don't apologize for our efforts, our suit, our blockade. I make no excuses." Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham praised the ruling today, saying: "America's national security and the security and safety of South Carolina citizens is well-served by ensuring the plutonium arrives safely, without interruption, at the Savannah River site." The tense, year-long confrontation between Hodges and Abraham had threatened to jeopardize a complicated $3.8 billion federal plan for the cross-country shipment of weapons-grade plutonium to South Carolina from obsolete nuclear weapons plants in Colorado, Texas and Washington state. Hodges complained that the Energy Department changed the original plan for reprocessing the plutonium at the Savannah River site without the state's consent. He said he fears that if the government's new approach falls through, South Carolina will be stuck with piles of unwanted plutonium. "The federal government broke its promises," Hodges said. "If you or I give our word and then violate it, we get in trouble. But these rules apparently don't apply to the federal government." The squabble comes while Hodges, whose popularity has suffered during the economic downturn, is in the throes of a difficult reelection bid. He used campaign money to buy television advertisements urging residents to call the Energy Department to complain about the shipments. The tactic angered Energy Department officials, who accused him of breaking with tradition by politicizing a national security issue. Hodges's pledge to block shipments by lying in the road appeared to play well with voters initially, but the appeal seemed to be waning, said Neal Thigpen, a political scientist at Francis Marion University. "When the possibility became real that it might happen, then, I think perhaps, the snicker factor began to set in," Thigpen said. "Do you want to see the governor of your state lying in the road? It's not grown-up stuff." The plutonium comes from obsolete nuclear weapons facilities in Rocky Flats, Colo., near Denver; the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Tex.; and Hanford, Wash. The plutonium -- enough to make more than 4,200 nuclear weapons -- will be shipped from the plants to South Carolina for conversion into fuel that will be used to run nuclear generators. The controversy over the shipments arises from a 1996 agreement in which the United States and Russia pledged to take equal amounts of plutonium from their nuclear stockpiles to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. The Clinton administration provisionally planned to process the plutonium using two techniques: One would immobilize the plutonium by converting it into ceramic pellets; the other would convert the unwanted nuclear material into a mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, for use in two commercial nuclear reactors operated by Duke Energy Corp. in North Carolina and South Carolina. Immobilization is a far cheaper, quicker and safer process than MOX, according to the Nuclear Control Institute and other environmental groups challenging the government's plan. But the Department of Energy announced in January that it was canceling the immobilization program and relying solely on the MOX process, explaining later that the changes were necessary because of "budgetary constraints" and Russian objections to the immobilization process. "If you're going to have an international agreement you have to have a program that both countries can agree to," said Joe Davis, a department spokesman. Critics charge that the department is taking a big chance by relying solely on the costly MOX program. "DOE is trying to carry out this program in a haphazard and slipshod manner," said Edwin Lyman, president of the Nuclear Control Institute. Hodges said he worried that the conversion program would never be fully funded by the government and that the chemically unstable plutonium would be kept indefinitely at the Savannah River site. Last February, Duke Energy filed a memorandum with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledging that "the future use of MOX fuel" at its two nuclear reactors "is not a certainty" and that "substantial uncertainties and contingencies continue to surround the program." Duke Energy later said that it still intends to ask the NRC for permission within the next two years to use the MOX fuel at the two power plants. Abraham and other Energy Department officials say they have "gone the extra mile" in trying to address the governor's concern, including preparing a detailed agreement assuring that all plutonium sent to Savannah River would have "a clear path out of South Carolina." Pianin reported from Washington. © 2002 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 35 ANTI-TERRORISM CREDIT CHECKS LIKELY [The Whitehaven News] By Dave Siddall WORKERS at Sellafield may have their credit records checked as part of the ongoing anti-terrorism work of the security forces. Such checks could be made to see if staff had run up large debt problems which could make them a security risk. This is just one of the points explained by the Director of Civil Nuclear Security in his first report on the state of security in the civil nuclear industry and the effectiveness of regulation since his department transferred from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on October 1, 2000. The report says security organisations are reacting well to any potential security threats and the director states: "I am confident that stringent security precautions are being taken to protect civil nuclear sites and material in the United Kingdom, commensurate with current threats to national security. Moreover, activities promoted by the Office of Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) in recent years, with departmental support, enabled the regulated nuclear industry to respond promptly and effectively in strengthening security arrangements in response to last September's terrorist attacks in the United States. "Satisfactory arrangements have also been made with the Ministry of Defence to protect civil nuclear sites from attacks from the air.'' Commenting on the need for vetting workers the report states: "We have to assume that any attacks by proliferating states or terrorist groups will be planned carefully in advance. "Although most individuals working within the industry are reliable and trustworthy, those planning attacks may seek to use a disaffected or suborned insider with exploitable access. Attempts by criminals to obtain saleable material or information must also be circumvented. "In addition, individuals may pursue harmful or irresponsible activities on their own account, perhaps in ignorance of the possible consequences. For these reasons, OCNS supervises a comprehensive system of security vetting applicable throughout the industry. "The basis for security vetting for national security purposes was set out in a statement to Parliament by the Prime Minister on December 15, 1994. For OCNS, vetting is used as an element in controlling access to sites and nuclear material, as well as sensitive information. "As a vetting authority, OCNS has access to intelligence and criminal records. Depending on the level of clearance required, my staff may also undertake credit reference checks and conduct background enquiries, including interviews with supervisors and other referees.'' OCNS is currently 35 strong, with annual expenditure of around £1.6 million. Most of the security specialists are recruited from outside the DTI, after careers in the security and intelligence agencies, the armed forces and the police. The report praises the fact that the trade unions have accepted the need for security vetting. It is believed that Sellafield shop stewards were due to discuss the report today. [http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/onyx/passport.htm] ***************************************************************** 36 BNFL ACCOUNTS UNDER SCRUTINY [The Whitehaven News] A NATIONAL newspaper ran a full page article recently which said the government was concerned about "a growing black hole in the accounts of BNFL". The Guardian reported last Friday: "Ministers fear there is a growing black hole in the accounts of British Nuclear Fuels, the state-owned company which Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, last year conceded was bankrupt. "A 145-page report an-alysing the BNFL acc-ounts, and drawing att-ention to practices which allegedly obscure what has happened to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money, is sitting on ministers' desks. "It is causing concern in Whitehall, which once planned the company's part-privatisation. "The report, written by a leading consultant economist for an Irish MEP, raises embarrassing questions about the lack of control ministers have exercised over BNFL; and how cash which should have been invested for a future clean-up is apparently being used to prop up BNFL's annual acc-ounts." But BNFL deny any wrongdoing and the company specifically denies spending money earmarked for decommissioning nuclear plants on other projects. Last November, Ms Hewitt, in a surprise statement, announced the setting up of a liabilities management authority (LMA) to take on the nation's nuclear legacy. She conceded she had been forced into it by BNFL's "net asset deficit" - a euphemism for bankruptcy. The Guardian report stated: "How the government intended to deal with this difficulty was going to be outlined in a white paper this spring, a promise which has been set back months, as the scale of the problem and its implications for the taxpayer have begun to sink in." Janine Allis Smith, of Cumbrian anti-nuclear group CORE, said: "We've always known BNFL was technically bankrupt and the acc-ounts were a case of window dressing.' [http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/onyx/passport.htm] ***************************************************************** 37 COMMITMENT OVER NUCLEAR WASTE EXPECTED [The Whitehaven News] A FIRM commitment to ensuring any future nuclear waste in Cumbria will be retrievable, rather than abandoned forever, is expected to be made by union boss Sir Ken Jackson when he addresses shop stewards at Sellafield on Monday. Sir Ken Jackson is general secretary of the powerful AMICUS(AEEU) union, but he is also the chairman of the nuclear waste agency, NIREX. Sir Ken is due to address some 500 shop stewards from all the unions representing workers on the Sellafield site. NIREX has changed its membership since it made a failed bid to create an underground nuclear waste repository between Gosforth and Sellafield. That proposal was for caverns of waste to be backfilled and sealed off for centuries into the future. BNFL has become the first organisation to be accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry. BNFL was awarded the accreditation for its training scheme which allows employees to gain membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the award of Chartered Chemists. [http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/onyx/passport.htm] ***************************************************************** 38 Three freight trains collide, burn along track line in Nebraska * Yahoo! News /Wed Jun 19, 1:47 PM ET/ NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska - Three Union Pacific freight trains collided Wednesday, igniting a fire that forced the closure of a portion of a highway. The three Union Pacific trains collided five miles (eight kilometers) east of North Platte in southwestern Nebraska. No hazardous materials were involved in the fire, which may have been caused by diesel fuel from the train engines, railroad spokesman Mark Davis said. The fire burned for two hours after the 4:30 a.m. accident before it was extinguished. Four of the six crew members suffered minor injuries, Davis said. Authorities closed 13 miles (20 kilometers) of a two-lane highway near the accident site. According to Davis, an empty westbound coal train was rear-ended by another empty coal train. Then an eastbound train carrying auto parts on nearby track somehow got entangled in the wreckage, possibly by running into a derailed car, he said. Union Pacific runs about 130 trains each day on the stretch of track. On the Net: Union Pacific Railroad: http://www.up.com Copyright © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 39 NRC, nuclear industry admit Yucca Mountain not necessary From the office of Governor Kenny Guinn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2002 CONTACT: Greg Spent nuclear fuel at plant sites not threat to national security or public safety CARSON CITY - Despite assertions to the contrary, the nuclear industry does not need Yucca Mountain for safety or security reasons, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now admitting that spent fuel at the nation's nuclear plants does not pose any threat or safety concern to the public. Richard Meserve, Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, admitted last Wednesday that nuclear waste could remain safely stored at power plants for "decades" if Yucca Mountain does not go forward. "If Yucca Mountain were to fail because of Congressional action, that does not mean all of a sudden from a policy point of view that the country is at a stalemate and is confronting imminent disaster," Meserve said at an agency conference last Wednesday. "We do have the capacity to store the materials safely for a period of decades." "Meserve's conclusions have been affirmed for years", says Gov. Kenny Guinn, pointing to testimony before the Congress in 1981 by the former Chairman of Carolina Power & Light, Sherwood H. Smith, Jr.: The reason why the utilities have consistently urged the Federal Government to implement promptly a waste management program are principally neither economic nor technical. Spent fuel can continue to be stored safely and relatively inexpensively in spent fuel storage pools, both at reactor sites and at other locations. Both spent fuel and vitrified high-level wastes can be stored for centuries safely in above-ground or sub-surface "temporary" storage. "This candid assessment needs to be remembered today," Gov. Guinn said. "Contrary to industry assertions, there is remaining capacity in spent fuel pools, and the ability to utilize dry cask storage for years until a safe, suitable, and viable alternative for permanent storage can be found." In fact, the Surry plant in Virginia just submitted an application to the NRC to extend the permit for their dry cask storage for another 40 years," he added. "For utilities to suggest that they cannot use dry cask storage is untrue - it's being done right now, it is approved by the NRC and DOE, and it is simple. What the industry does not want to admit is that this is a viable, approved alternative to Yucca Mountain." "Historically Nevada has always fulfilled its national security obligations and no one needs to look any further than the Nevada Test Site or the number of military bases here," Gov. Guinn said. "We take national security very seriously, and this latest revelation is yet another example of how the Department of Energy and nuclear industry are inappropriately using false claims of "national security" to push this ill-conceived project forward." "As we have been saying for years, the risk of transporting nuclear waste is not only a Nevada issue but a national issue. This has become even clearer by the recent "dirty bomb" incident, and the real likelihood of accidents and terrorist attacks as thousands of tons of waste travels through this country. If we are truly concerned about national security and the safety of our citizens, the solution is not Yucca Mountain - we should utilize the safe, proven short-and long-term alternatives. Congress must not let the industry stampede it into making an unnecessary decision that will affect generations of American citizens negatively for centuries to come." ### ***************************************************************** 40 Reid Rebuffs Latest Republican Attempt to Approve Yucca Mountain For Immediate Release Thursday, June 20, 2002 Urges Senate colleagues to not let nuclear industry money influence their vote WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Harry Reid today countered the latest attempt by Republicans to move forward on Yucca Mountain. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) called on the Senate to vote quickly on passing Yucca Mountain. Senator Reid immediately rebuffed the attempt. Excerpts of Senator Murkowski’s and Senator Reid’s remarks from the Senate floor this morning follow. (MR. MURKOWSKI) I would hope the majority leader would bring this issue to the floor shortly. I and others are looking forward to working with him. Senator Lott and others, (will) try to come to an agreement to move the Yucca Mountain issue. However, should the majority leader choose not to bring this up and ask that the Republicans do it, well we are prepared to oblige. The process laid out is unique in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. It was intended to eliminate any opportunity -- any opportunity to delay, impede, frustrate or obstruct the Senate and House votes on this creating resolution. That is the reason that this expedited procedure was put into the act. And as Senator Craig pointed out last week, this was very specific language and it provides that any senator on either side may move to proceed to consideration of the resolution... This act is long overdue. It's an obligation of this body. The House of Representatives has done its job and the Senate... should do its job. (MR. REID) I've heard my friend, the distinguished Senator from Alaska, the junior Senator from Alaska speak as I've heard the senior senator from Idaho speak on several occasions the last few days. And I have chosen not to respond because what my friends have spoken is what we've heard many, many times. We have the situation that the American people are now focusing on. The focus for many years has been whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable site for repository. Scientifically, that has fallen apart for a number of reasons. One is that under the statute, Yucca Mountain and/or any other site was supposed to be a facility that would geologically protect the American people from nuclear waste. Well, Yucca Mountain didn't work. They learned that geologically, you couldn't do that because of fault lines, because of water tables and many other things. So they decided well, we'll use yucca mountain anyway but we'll build an encasement and we'll put it down in the hole and we'll have the waste be in this container in yucca mountain. Now people are no longer focusing on yucca mountain. They're not focusing on Yucca Mountain because they've come to the realization you have to get it there some way. We're not going to wake up one morning and suddenly you're going to find 77,000 tons -- that’s how much is around the country at this stage in the different reactors -- you're not suddenly going to find it there one morning. No, you're going to have to haul it. We've learned they're going to have to haul it by water. They're going to have to haul it by train. And they're going to have to haul it by truck. And, they can haul all they want, but about 50% of the waste is always going to be in these reactor sites. You can't get rid of it. Because of its life. It's going to there be for five years and then you have to determine how to move it. We've known since September 11 that you'd have a lot of difficulty moving anything dangerous on the highways of this country. The most poisonous substance known to man is plutonium. That's the product in these spent fuel rods. There's a web site up now that’s been up since last Tuesday. You can punch in an address, whether it's Georgia, whether it's Nevada, Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island and you will find instantaneously how close nuclear waste will travel next -- how close it will be to your home, the address you punch in here. Since Tuesday, they've had about -- over 100,000 people who have focused on that, who have made hits on that site. And people all over this country are now realizing that nuclear waste is not a Nevada problem, it's their problem. So, my friend from Alaska, my friend from Idaho can come here and talk all they want but people who are eminent scientists and are experienced in things dealing with transportation, for example, the former head of the National Safety Transportation Board, Jim Hall, has told a number of people that you shouldn't do this, you can't do it. People say okay what do you want to do with it? That's very easy. Leave it where it is. You can leave it in dry cask storage containers. You can encase them with lead. You can leave them in cement. You can do all types of thing on-site that you can't do when you haul, it's too heavy to haul. So the majority leader is absolutely right. He does not like this. He thinks it's wrongheaded. And the people that have for 20 years been wined and dined by the nuclear power industry -- one of the great trips they take is to Las Vegas. They say, come on, we'll show you Yucca Mountain. They whip them out to Yucca Mountain for a few hours and then they put them up in the fancy hotels of Las Vegas for a weekend or so. And so they've gotten hundreds of staff out there to look at this. And we know how powerful staff is. They come back and say, "oh, that's great, that repository out there." I acknowledge that my job is easier than my friend, the junior senator from Nevada. My job is easier because this battle's been going on for awhile. President Clinton vetoed a proposal to change environmental standards at Yucca Mountain. That veto was upheld by a vote of the Senate. 33 Democrats, two Republicans. They also tried to establish Yucca Mountain as a temporary place, an interim storage site. President Clinton interceded and that was soundly defeated. Now, the reason I say my job is easier than my friend from Nevada is I'm working with people who have not voted against this in the past. Senators who have voted for my position in the past. And we had a president that was --even though he had a nuclear repository in Arkansas, he understood that this wasn't the right thing to do. But my friends on this side of the aisle must do the right thing. Forget about -- and I don't say this negatively, because I take campaign contributions also. But there are times when you have to say, you know, I've taken campaign contributions from everybody but that isn't how I have to vote. They give me that money because they think I am an honorable person trying to do the right thing. And the fact that for 20-odd years millions of dollars have been given in campaigns around this country, people have to set that aside. They have to do the right thing. It's not easy to do but they have to do the right thing. And I'm not here in any way trying to demagogue the issue other than saying there are occasions when people have to do the right thing. And for my friend, John Ensign, and for the people of this country, my friends on the other side of the aisle must do what is fair and understand that the transportation of nuclear waste is not safe. The chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week if this bill does not go forward and the governor of Nevada's veto is upheld, he said it's no big deal, we can handle the nuclear waste where it is. This is what the chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission said last week. So this mad rush is because the nuclear power lobby is extremely powerful. But for the good of the people of this country, whether you have a nuclear reactor in your state or not, you can't haul it safely. It's better left where it is. So I -- I guess the reason I came down, I just had it up to here on all these do-good speeches about what a righteous thing they're doing bringing this forward. It's the wrong thing to do. It's not a Nevada-related issue. It's an issue that affects everybody in this country. And for anyone to even suggest intimate that the Defense Authorization Bill, should be set aside to take up this? We're talking about giving our men and women in the military additional resources to fight the war on terror, to make this country secure. To even think that we would set this aside for that is, to me, distasteful. ### ***************************************************************** 41 OP: We can't opt out of a national nuke-disposal plan Editorial: Yes, past our houses / Thursday, June 20, 2002 The "not in my back yard" approach to what America does with its nuclear waste focused first on Nevadans not wanting it stored permanently in Yucca Mountain. With that issue on the way to resolution by legislation passed by the House on May 18, the issue has now moved to a "not past my house" approach. That is the new theme of some anti-nuclear activists, including a group that came to Pittsburgh this week. They oppose the transportation of nuclear waste from where it is now stored to Yucca Mountain. Given the alternative -- and the impressive safety record of government transport of nuclear waste until now -- it's not a line of argument that Pittsburghers should embrace. The transfer to Yucca must be allowed to be completed, with great care but without demur. America currently has some 77,000 tons of nuclear waste stored at 131 sites in 39 states. Six of those sites are in Pennsylvania. A program under development for 24 years now would consolidate all waste at Yucca Mountain, a secure desert site. The U.S. Senate is expected to follow the House in endorsing that solution, and President Bush will sign the legislation. The persuasive argument for the Yucca Mountain solution is that it will be safer to store all of the country's nuclear waste in one easily defended, isolated place, as opposed to the vulnerability to accident as well as to terrorism constituted by its current distribution over many locations. Moving the nuclear waste to Yucca in reality is a problem of organization, not one of risk exceeding precautions. The United States has hauled some 2,500 tons of spent nuclear fuel across the country since 1960. Eight accidents have occurred, but no radiation has ever been released, due to the conditions under which the spent fuel is transported. Measures to assure safe shipment include containment of the nuclear waste in shock-proof canisters, the fact that the spent fuel is in ceramic -- not liquid or gas -- form, and that the trains and trucks carry armed guards. Some of the opposition to the Yucca project -- now crystallizing around the supposed dangers of transporting the spent fuel -- is still coming from Nevadans, including casino owners who fear that the location of the repository at Yucca, even at 90 miles from Las Vegas, might scare off tourists and gamblers. The casino operators have put together a $5 million war chest to flood the country with scare ads over the coming weeks to try to defeat the Yucca bill in the Senate. We suggest that Pittsburgh residents and other Americans simply weather the coming advertising assault on the Yucca solution and that the Senate proceed with passage of the bill, placing the spent fuel in secure storage deep in the Nevada mountain for the next 10,000 years, as planned. Copyright ©1997-2002 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 42 Documents show Savannah River Site safe for plutonium storage The Oak Ridger Online -- State News -- 06/20/02 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Federal documents released following a lawsuit by The Associated Press and other media organizations show the Savannah River Site for long-term plutonium storage is structurally sound and can withstand an earthquake. The media companies sued the Energy Department after the agency said hundreds of pages of documents should be sealed under a federal law limiting the release of nuclear information. Media attorney Jay Bender argued the materials failed to meet the standard for being kept secret. The two sides reached an agreement to seal only a few of the documents the DOE considered sensitive. Even though photographs showed cracks in at least five areas of the K Reactor building, a 2000 study concluded the present condition of the building "is acceptable without further evaluation or testing." Westinghouse Inc., which operates SRS for the Energy Department, conducted the survey and recommended a follow-up in 2005. Cracks and pieces of loose and fallen concrete found in other areas of the K Reactor complex, "were not active cracks, since readings taken about nine months apart showed no movement," Westinghouse said. A 1992 study of whether the reactor could withstand an earthquake concluded the building "will not suffer gross structural failure." Gov. Jim Hodges filed a lawsuit last month in an attempt to block the shipments of bomb-grade plutonium from the Rocky Flats weapons plant in Colorado to the Savannah River Site. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 43 South Asia Nuclear Show Down - An American View /Geoffery Cook / / Updated on 2002-06-19 19:07:18/ *The ultimate nightmare of nuclear proliferation is here: Two regional powers, India and Pakistan, both possessing nuclear weapons, are rattling their sabers over Kashmir, the disputed region abutting the northern boundaries of both countries. * Although India claims to be democratic, and Pakistan is currently a military dictatorship moving toward democracy, Washington should not underrate Pakistan's leadership in the Islamic World and South Asia. Pakistan was one of our strongest allies during the Cold War. More recently, we could not have conducted the current campaign across its eastern border in our "War Against Terrorism" without President Pervez Musharraf's courageous commitment to our cause. Recent suicide bombings in Pakistan, unusual before Musharraf threw support to American anti-terrorist efforts, attest to the danger that his commitment entails. If we abandon Pakistan in this period of distress, we shall never be trusted again in the moderate Islamic world. The current crisis between India and Pakistan can be traced to three historical decisions of the Indian Government. Fifty years ago the Indians were requested to hold a plebiscite under a United Nations resolution to determine the wishes of the Kashmiris. It has never been carried out. After the Third Indo-Pakistani War Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan's Zulfikar Bhutto signed the Simla Agreement in 1972. That agreement stated that all outstanding bilateral disputes would be settled without third-party mediation. This treaty has proved to be unworkable. India still persists in rejecting outside mediation, although it has accepted limited American shuttle diplomacy. Of paramount importance is the nuclear dimension. The Indians thrust the development of nuclear weapons upon the Pakistanis when in 1974 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi permitted her nuclear "establishment" to set off a low-level nuclear device for "peaceful purposes". Pakistan was forced to respond out of fear. Zulfikar Bhutto's Government, feeling insecure, began negotiating with the Chinese for appropriate technology. During most of the 1990s, after the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and the subsequent American departure from South Asia, it was no secret that it would take either regional power only a few weeks to nuclearize. Both responsibly held back on developing their potential weapons. Then in 1998 the Bharatiya Janata Party was able to pull together a government in India. As soon as it was technically possible the new government tested several bombs in India's western Thar Desert to solidify a politically shaky right-wing coalition. Pakistan, under severe financial constraints, was disinclined at first to follow, but domestic pressure proved irresistible. The present emergency can be traced back to 1989 when a spontaneous rebellion broke out in the Indian-administered area of Kashmir, where 90 percent of the population is Islamic. Since then India's attempt to hold on to its territory has been brutal. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have documented the excesses. Admittedly, the Pakistanis have helped the Kashmiris, though they did not create the struggle to aggrandize themselves. The insurrection began as an indigenous effort to achieve self-determination, and the Pakistan government has stated that it would respect the independence of Kashmir. As the rest of the world expresses its fear of a nuclear war, Prime Minister Vajpayee of India has shown signs of becoming more flexible. President Musharraf has publicly committed himself to direct talks with his counterpart without preconditions. Mediators are desperately required, and happily they are already in place. The Chinese and Russians talked separately to the two South Asian nuclear neighbors at the recent Almaty Conference on Asian Security. The United States must not abandon its traditional ally, Pakistan. It should also exploit its expanding economic clout with the India to encourage negotiations. All is in place. The time to act is now. The alternative is unimaginable! [The author, Geoffrey Cook, is an independent historian affiliated with the Independent Scholars of South Asia and a frequenty contributor to Pakistan News Service.] PNS ***************************************************************** 44 India was prepared for N-war, says Vajpayee *NEW* DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was quoted in a newspaper interview published on Monday as saying the nation was close to war and prepared even for a nuclear conflict with Pakistan some weeks ago. Senior government officials confirmed an interview given by Vajpayee to a reporter from the Dainik Jagran newspaper on Saturday in which the Indian leader referred to the possibility of a nuclear confrontation. "The nation was prepared for war," Vajpayee was quoted as saying in the Hindi-language newspaper. "Our forces on the border were awaiting orders. Their morale was also high. "India was prepared for an atomic war but we were confident that our neighbour would not commit such an act of madness." A foreign ministry spokeswoman said Vajpayee had made clear in the interview that it was Pakistan which had indulged in "nuclear blackmail" during the crisis. "It is very clear from this (interview) that it was Pakistan which indulged in irresponsible wayward talk about the use of nuclear weapons nuclear blackmail," Nirupama Rao said. "If Pakistan had not accepted the demand to stop cross-border infiltration and the United States had not conveyed to us Pakistan's guarantee to do so, then nothing could have stopped a war," Vajpayee was quoted as saying. Vajpayee rejected any possibility of resuming dialogue with Pakistan and said New Delhi expected it to honour its pledge to crack down on terrorism first. "There are clear indications that the situation on the border is improving," the newspaper quoted Vajpayee as saying. "But without proper verification, India is not going to take (Pakistan President Pervez) Musharraf's statement about stopping infiltration at face value. "India is not going to accept any Pakistani statement until infiltration is completely stopped and simultaneously terrorist training camps in Azad Kashmir and elsewhere in Pakistan are destroyed." "We have won a diplomatic victory over Pakistan and the entire nation is satisfied with it," Vajpayee was quoted as saying. "Nations around the world have categorically stated that whatever is happening in Kashmir is not a freedom struggle but terrorism in its worst form." But he added: "There is no possibility of talks between the two countries until Pakistan stops infiltration permanently and ends terrorism." Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. No part ***************************************************************** 45 DRDO to give N-protection to troops TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2002 THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIATIMES TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2002 10:34:12 PM ] NEW DELHI: After integrated field shelters, ensembles, suits and antidotes, the Defence Research and Development Organisation is undertaking regular production of some nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) decontamination systems to equip soldiers to fight in all kinds of battlefield scenarios. ??These NBC systems have already been introduced into the armed forces,?? said a defence ministry official. Apart from a personal decontamination kit (PDK), these systems include portable and mobile decontamination apparatus and systems. ??The PDK, for instance, has been designed to decontaminate chemical warfare agents through physical absorption,?? said the official. The portable decontamination apparatus, in turn, can be used to spray decontamination solutions over affected buildings, vehicles like tanks, and even ships. Comments on this article *Indiatimes Id:* ajogeorge *Posted:* Friday, June 21, 2002 11:35:04 AM *Comment* *:* Top Indian Defence Establishments like DRDO have highly competent scientists lan... *Indiatimes Id:* ragrao *Posted:* Thursday, June 20, 2002 2:34:51 AM *Comment* *:* Dr.Kalam knows the working of all the Defence establishments,Dept of Atomic Ener... 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[ width=] [Miriam Makeba in Concert] Study Guide Australia [http://www.studyguideaustralia.com/sga.asp?a_id=100022] ***************************************************************** 50 US Russia Fissile materials agreement Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 19, 2002 On June 21, 2000, the President issued Executive Order 13159 (the "Order") blocking property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereinafter come within the possession or control of United States persons that are directly related to the implementation of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons, dated February 18, 1993, and related contracts and agreements (collectively, the "HEU Agreements"). The HEU Agree-ments allow for the downblending of highly enriched uranium derived from nuclear weapons to low enriched uranium for peaceful commercial purposes. The Order invoked the authority, inter alia, of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., and declared a national emergency to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federation. A major national security goal of the United States is to ensure that fissile material removed from Russian nuclear weapons pursuant to various arms control and disarmament agreements is dedicated to peaceful uses (such as downblended to low enriched uranium for peaceful commercial uses), subject to transparency measures, and protected from diversion to activities of proliferation concern. Pursuant to the HEU Agreements, weapons-grade uranium extracted from Russian nuclear weapons is converted to low enriched uranium for use as fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. The Order blocks and protects from attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process the property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation that are directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements and that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons. The national emergency declared on June 21, 2000, must continue beyond June 21, 2002, to provide continued protection from attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process for the property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation that are directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federation. This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress. GEORGE W. BUSH THE WHITE HOUSE, June 18, 2002. # # # ***************************************************************** 51 Program: New careers for Russian nuclear scientists 06/20/02 The Oak Ridger Online -- Feature: Business -- The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will hold a workshop designed to help Russian nuclear scientists switch from weapons production to peaceful civilian employment. The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday in 409 Daugherty, the UT College of Engineering in Knoxville. The workshop is presented for the Department of Energy's Nuclear Cities Initiative, which seeks ways to promote civilian scientific entrepreneurship among the nuclear scientists of the former Soviet Union. Speakers will include Nuclear Cities Initiative project manager John Randolph of ORNL, George Smelcer and Lynn Reed of the UT Center for Industrial Services and Pete Counce of the UT Chemical Engineering Department. All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 52 Asia Times: India/Pakistan [http://www.asiatimes-chinese.com] South Asia's anti-nuke voice blowin' in the wind By Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI - No one on the subcontinent, called the world's most dangerous place, takes anti-nuclear activists seriously - certainly not A P J Abdul Kalam, India's main candidate for president and architect of India's very own strategic defense initiative, which includes missiles, nuclear warheads and satellites. At a well-attended press conference on Wednesday, the day after he filed his nomination for a job he is certain to get, Kalam's advice to peace activists was to "go and do something" about the nuclear-weapons stockpile on the other side of the Atlantic - and leave India to pursue its own path as its leaders see best. In Kalam's view, the reason behind the now de-escalating military confrontation with neighboring Pakistan, defused by intense British and US shuttle diplomacy, did not actually erupt into war was the South Asian neighbors' possession of nuclear weapons. "If we did not have a nuclear weapon, war would have taken place," he said. That is precisely the deterrence theory that leading peace activists on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, which is still bristling with a million troops and their missile batteries, have been trying to shoot down, with little success. "India's and Pakistan's eyeball-to-eyeball military confrontation, which has still not ended, highlights the special danger of a catastrophic nuclear conflict breaking out in South Asia," said Achin Vanaik, founder-member of the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament (MIND), which issued on Tuesday an appeal for nuclear-risk-reduction measures. Vanaik complained that the greatest difficulty for anti-nuclear groups such as MIND was that nobody - policy makers, ordinary people and, worst of all, the media - seemed to be taking them seriously. MIND is loosely made up of eminent people from different fields, such as medicine, academics, and journalism. In fact, Vanaik and other members of MIND were accused at a press conference they hosted on Tuesday of being "part of the lunatic fringe". The charge was made by a well-known television journalist who seemed to endorse the deterrence theory that possession of nuclear weapons would bring peace between the South Asian neighbors that have been struggling over possession of Kashmir for 55 years. As Vanaik, along with anti-nuclear activists in Pakistan, have pointed out repeatedly, the May 1998 tit-for-tat nuclear tests conducted by the two countries did not prevent them from fighting an undeclared but nevertheless ferocious war at Kargil on the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir into Indian- and Pakistan-controlled parts. Former US president Bill Clinton, whose intervention helped defuse the Kargil crisis after it threatened to turn into a nuclear war, said in 2000, before undertaking a visit to the subcontinent, that it was the "most dangerous place on Earth". "The evidence is unambiguous - since the nuclear tests of 1998 we have witnessed two full-blown Indian-Pakistan confrontations," Pervez Hoodbhoy, one of Pakistan's leading nuclear physicists, said in an interview to a forthcoming edition of the well-respected fortnightly magazine Frontline. "During the Kargil crisis in 1999, we now know, the Pakistan army - without the knowledge of prime minister Nawaz Sharif - had mobilized its nuclear-tipped-missile fleet. Presumably the Indians were also in a high state of nuclear readiness," Hoodbhoy told the Frontline interviewer at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. Hoodbhoy went on to say that historians would record that the Kargil war as the first that was actually caused by nuclear weapons: "Possession of nuclear weapons gave Pakistan a false sense of confidence and security, encouraging it into adventurism in Kashmir and initiating a war." Hoodbhoy added that the anti-nuclear lobby was far stronger in India that in Pakistan, going by the protests in major Indian cities following the 1998 tests. "I wish we [Pakistan] could mobilize a fraction of that. India has a more dynamic and vibrant civil society than ours." But Vanaik said that in India, anti-nuclear activists were often accused of being unpatriotic, and ungrateful that its leaders were working to secure for the country membership in the nuclear club and big power status. In contrast to what peace activists such as Vanaik and Hoodbhoy are saying, Kalam's explanation for why Indian needs nuclear weapons is deceptively simple. "For the last 3,000 years India has been invaded, invaded and invaded ... the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Afghans ... because when those guys [invaders] were holding guns, you were holding swords. When India's neighbor [Pakistan] was having nuclear weapons, the country could not afford to do tapas [sit in prayerful meditation]." Answering questions on the accidental use or misuse of nuclear weapons, Kalam said that India's nuclear weaponization program was bound by "principles and doctrines" under which the country was committed to a "no first use" of nuclear weapons. But MIND activist Satyajit Rath says the history of the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union showed that the risks were considerable - doctrine or no doctrine. "Between 1977 and 1984 alone, there were 20,000 false alarms, of which 1,000 were serious enough to put bomber and missiles on full alert." Rath said that while the world repeatedly came close to the brink of disaster, despite the billions invested by Washington and Moscow in command control systems, "the India-Pakistan situation is much, much worse". MIND activists believe that South Asia's potential for a nuclear catastrophe is the highest anywhere in the world since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, partly because of the primitiveness of their weapons. "The two countries' first-generation weapons lack adequate safeguards such as authorization locks and insensitive explosives" that set off a nuclear reaction in a bomb, Vanaik said. India and Pakistan have a notoriously poor safety culture and the rate of accidents in both countries is about 10 times the world average. Major accidents, caused by negligence often cited by peace activists, include the 1984 cyanide-gas leak from a pesticide factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal, which killed more than 3,000 people, and the Ojhri Camp tragedy in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where the explosion of an ammunition dump in 1987 killed more than 1,000 people. (Inter Press Service) ©2001 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd. Room 6301, The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong ***************************************************************** 53 US ambassador warns that India-Pakistan conflict could have led to nuclear war Yahoo! News - Thu Jun 20, 7:55 AM ET By LAURINDA KEYS, Associated Press Writer NEW DELHI, India - There was a chance, though a "rather small" one, that the conflict between India and Pakistan could have led to nuclear war, the U.S. Ambassador in New Delhi said in remarks released Thursday. It was the first time a U.S., Indian or Pakistani official publicly said that the dispute could have reached that level. Ambassador Robert Blackwill said the threat of nuclear war caused the United States to speed up a warning to its citizens to leave India early this month. Washington had long advised Americans to stay away from Pakistan. "It is no doubt that the nuclear dimension accelerated our decision making and did accelerate the departure of Americans from India," Blackwill said in remarks recorded for broadcast to the annual U.S.-India Business Council meeting in Washington, D.C. on June 17. Although the likelihood of nuclear war was small, Blackwill said, "the possible consequences were enormously catastrophic." He also said that despite an intense diplomatic effort by the United States, Britain and Russia, that has helped diminish the intensity of the crisis, the situation "remains extremely dangerous." The two nuclear-armed neighbors have 1 million soldiers faced off against each other along their 2,900-kilometer (1,800-mile) frontier. The main flash point is in Kashmir, which both nations claim as their own and which they have fought two of their three wars over. Tension escalated after a Dec. 14 militant attack on India's Parliament, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan's spy agency and Islamic militants based there. Daily cross-border artillery firing in Kashmir caused dozens of deaths and led to fears that Pakistan, which has a much smaller military than India, might respond to an attack by Indian conventional forces by using nuclear bombs. Washington in late May advised Americans not to travel to India and those already there to leave. Then on June 5, the United States issued an alert strongly urging all U.S. citizens to depart. Other countries, including Britain, Japan and New Zealand, did likewise. "This is not to say we thought there was going to be a nuclear war," Blackwill said. "In fact, I think the chances of there being a nuclear war — even if a conventional conflict had begun between India and Pakistan — were rather small." "We made the judgment that it was better to be cautious and prudent with respect to American citizens in India and those who might think of coming here," Blackwill said. He said the threat of war eased after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage came to the region earlier this month and was given an assurance from Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he would permanently halt Islamic militants from crossing the frontier in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, into India. "In our judgment, the infiltration rates across the Line of Control are substantially down in the last two weeks," Blackwill said. India's government has said the same thing and has withdrawn its warships from Pakistani waters and made other conciliatory gestures. A gunbattle in Kashmir on Thursday led to the deaths of an Indian soldier and two suspected Islamic militants, an Indian army officer said on condition of anonymity. The fight lasted several hours and was close to the Line of Control in Tanghat, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state. Also, three Indian soldiers were wounded when suspected Islamic rebels ambushed troops in Anantnag district, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Srinagar, police said. AM ET - (AP) ***************************************************************** 54 Laboratory leaks not hazardous, report concludes Watchdogs pushed for new tritium analysis Tri-Valley Herald Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 7:14:13 AM MST By Glenn Roberts Jr. Staff Writer LIVERMORE -- Accidental radiation releases from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in 1965 and 1970 "were never a public health hazard," says a draft report released this week by a federal toxic substances agency. These two accidents involving tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen that is an ingredient in nuclear weapons, accounted for about 80 percent of all tritium releases from the nuclear weapons research lab, the report states. "While some exposure probably did occur, those exposures are not likely to produce adverse health effects and are below levels of public health concern," concludes the report, prepared by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The report focused specifically on the short-term radiation doses from the two releases. Agency experts reported in August 2001 on the accidents and drew the same conclusions -- that the releases have not posed a health threat -- though the agency conducted a reassessment of those releases in response to community worries. Members of Livermore-based nuclear watchdog group Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, in concert with other community groups, had criticized the scientific merit of the agency's earlier report on the tritium releases. They called for the agency to provide grant money for an independent review of health hazards, though agency officials denied that request. Mark W. Evans, an environmental geologist for the toxics agency who prepared the latest draft report, said in April that the agency "completely revised the way we look at those exposures" to tritium in the latest draft report. Marylia Kelley, executive director for Tri-Valley CAREs, said the draft report released this week "basically reproduced the errors of the first draft that they took back." Though the public comment period on the draft document is scheduled to end Aug. 7, Kelley said that she intends to formally request an extension so that community groups can continue to pursue a grant to conduct an independent analysis of the health effects of the tritium releases. The researchers who prepared the report acknowledge that there was "insufficient historic sample available to adequately evaluate these past exposures" to the two major accidental tritium releases. They used models to estimate the concentration of past exposures, and they also used a 1971 Livermore Lab study that included tritium dose estimates based on samples of tritium in air, vegetations, milk and human urine. An estimated 55 people were in the area that was most exposed by the 1965 tritium release, the report states, and 52 people were in the area most exposed by the 1970 accidental release. There was more information available on the 1970 release than the 1965 release, the report states, though the 1965 release "has been estimated to be somewhat larger than the 1970 release," the report states. Also, a lab accident report on the 1965 tritium release remains classified, though lab spokesman Bert Heffner said it may soon become unclassified and available for inclusion in the agency's final report. "We should have it to them within the next couple days," Heffner said, adding that the release of the report shouldn't result in "any surprises." Heffner said that, "at first glance, (the agency) did a very good job" on the draft report. The report states that the agency will re-evaluate results and conclusions "if additional information becomes available." Copies of the draft report are available at the following sites: Livermore Public Library, 1000 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore. Christian Science Reading Room, 263 S. North St., Livermore. Livermore Lab Visitors Center, off of Greenville Road between Patterson Pass Road and East Avenue, Livermore. Comments on the draft report can be mailed to: Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch, ATSDR, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Mailstop E-56, Atlanta, GA 30333. ©1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers ***************************************************************** 55 Lab dedicates center for supercomputer Tri-Valley Herald Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 7:14:31 AM MST MCR Linux handles unclassified research FROM STAFF REPORTS LIVERMORE -- Lawrence Livermore Laboratory officials have dedicated a new center that will soon receive one of the most powerful supercomputers devoted to unclassified research. Dubbed the Multiprogrammatic Capability Resource, or MCR Linux cluster computer, the machine is expected to arrive this summer in the renovated building, which once served as a control room for a magnetic fusion facility. The cluster computer will have a theoretical peak speed of 9.2 teraflops, or 9.2 trillion calculations per second. Cluster computers are so named because they are composed of many of the same or similar type of machines that are tightly coupled by networking equipment and software. While the MCR Linux machine will be the fastest supercomputer used for unclassified research purposes, it is topped at Livermore by the ASCI White, which is the second-fastest supercomputer on the planet. ASCI White, with a theoretical peak speed of 12.3 trillion calculations per second, is a classified machine devoted to nuclear weapons research. ASCI, the Advanced Simulation and Computing program, is an Energy Department initiative to perform advanced nuclear weapons simulations using powerful supercomputers. "The growth of classified computing and (ASCI) has put pressure on unclassified computing space," said Mike McCoy, deputy associate director for computation programs at Livermore Lab, in a Friday announcement. "This provides the additional unclassified computing space we need." The Linux cluster is expected to take up about 2,500 square feet in the renovated facility. ©1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers ***************************************************************** 56 Finding: Corrective actions taken following ORNL exposure incident 06/20/02 The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The way in which Oak Ridge National Laboratory managers investigated and remedied problems associated with a series of unplanned radiation exposures at the federal facility appears to have satisfied a safety enforcing department. R. Keith Christopher, director of the Department of Energy's Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement, notified ORNL of his office's findings in a recent letter. "The letter says two things," said Billy Stair, spokesman for ORNL. "Management was told about a problem, acknowledged it and took corrective actions immediately. Second, no further investigation is warranted." The unplanned radiation exposures occurred on four separate occasions: Dec. 13, 19, 21 and 26. These exposures involved seven members of ORNL's Physics Division, but not all of those were present on all four occasions, according to the ORNL incident report. Five of these individuals received measured or calculated doses that were above "background levels," while the other two were not in the area long enough to record any measurable dose, the report indicated. The maximum total whole body exposure was 35 millirem and the maximum total extremity exposure was 145 millirem. A millirem is a measure of radiation absorbed by tissue, taking into account the difference in damage produced by various kinds of radiation. Americans, on average, receive 360 millirem of radiation exposure each year, most of it from radon gas and some from man-made sources, such as X-rays and airline flights. Radiation from a typical chest X-ray can be around 20 millirem, while radiation from airline flights is about 1 millirem per 1,000 miles flown; a round-trip cross-country airplane trip is close to 5 millirem. Due to the unplanned exposures, the Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement concluded that there were "potential violations" with two areas of the Code of Federal Regulations associated with quality assurance requirements for DOE nuclear facilities and occupational radiation protection rules. "What they're saying is our management system to identify the hazard did not pick up the problem in time to prevent it," Stair said. However, Christopher's letter stated: "Organizational and management concerns that may have contributed to the event were acknowledged by senior management. The developed corrective actions were found to address the identified concerns on multiple levels. OE (the Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement) has determined further investigation by our office is not warranted." Stair indicated that ORNL is pleased with the Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement's finding, which could have been accompanied by a fine. "This is a good-news letter," the lab spokesman said. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or pparson@oakridger.com [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 57 USEC plant safe until at least 2010 The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Wednesday, June 19, 2002 Under the terms of the new deal, if USEC fails to meet its end of the bargain, DOE would resume operation of the plant. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 Provided by USEC Safe for now: This is the gaseous diffusion cell arrangement at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. A long-awaited pact between USEC Inc. and the Department of Energy is designed to keep the 1,500-job Paducah uranium enrichment plant running until at least 2010 as USEC deploys new technology either at Paducah or Piketon, Ohio. If USEC fails to meet its end of the bargain, DOE would resume operation of the plant, where the outdated, 50-year-old gaseous diffusion process burns massive amounts of electricity. Under terms signed Monday night, USEC must: Run the plant at an annual production level of at least 3.5 million units of enriched uranium. It currently produces about 5 million units. The level may be reduced only after USEC is within six months of operating a replacement facility that uses gas centrifuge technology and has a 3.5-million-unit capacity. Provide quarterly historical production and annual projected production reports to DOE. If USEC falls short of the 3.5-million mark, it has a year to get back on track or waive its right to lease the plant from DOE. Give the department at least 120 days' notice of a plant closing or "mass layoff." DOE may replace USEC with another operator to avoid a shutdown. Have a replacement gas centrifuge plant operational by 2010 if it is located at Piketon, and 2011 if in Paducah. The reason for the time difference is that the closed gaseous diffusion plant in Piketon has a gas centrifuge building that has been out of commission since the 1980s, when the government abandoned the idea of using centrifuge. It would take an extra year to build a facility in Paducah. Paducah Mayor Bill Paxton praised the agreement but said a problem could arise if a competing consortium beats USEC's schedule by having a gas centrifuge plant partly running by 2006 and fully operational by 2011. The group includes Urenco, a European enrichment firm, and large USEC customers including the Exelon nuclear power company. The consortium has targeted Paducah among eight finalists for the plant and is expected to pick a site by the end of the month. "Then obviously the only thing USEC would have would be the deal with the Russians," he said. "There wouldn't be any excess uranium capacity for the plant to sell to anybody." The agreement gives USEC assurance of remaining the exclusive buyer of enriched uranium taken from dismantled Russian warheads. Although the Bush administration still has not approved USEC's contract for cheaper Russian prices, that is expected, perhaps as early as today, said Leon Owens, president of the Paducah plant's energy workers' union. "The exclusive agency is the prize," he said. "If USEC doesn't perform, there is a mechanism in place allowing the government to remove it as executive agent for the Russian uranium." The agreement was expected last fall before the events of Sept. 11 swung the federal government's attention to terrorism. USEC said it needed to continue buying the cheaper Russian uranium to keep the plant running by offsetting its higher-priced uranium. After protracted negotiations in which the union refused to have the Russian issue tied to the contract, the two sides reached a short-term contract in November pending approval of the agreement. "This is very positive for the Paducah plant and the workers," Owens said. "One of the main pieces we were looking for was that the agreement be transparent. By that, I mean USEC has to notify us of business failures that could lead to closure." He said he was hopeful the minimum operational level would be 4.5 million to 5 million units a year, "but 3.5 million is definitely a level we feel we can work with." Amid financial difficulty, USEC has cut about 350 jobs since 1998, and Owens said rumors persist of more layoffs. Considering that USEC will remain as exclusive Russian agent, the union hopes the company will provide enhanced severance benefits so that layoffs could be voluntary rather than forced. The agreement requires USEC to buy 30 million metric tons of Russian uranium annually. It also says DOE will back the company's exclusive agency as long as it meets its performance guidelines. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the pact "accomplishes two very important goals" of assuring the nation can produce enriched uranium for its own nuclear power plants and continuing nuclear disarmament. William H. Timbers, USEC president and chief executive officer, said the deal strengthens the firm and gives it "a clear path to developing what we believe will be the industry's best technology." First District U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield and U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning of Kentucky said the deal protects Paducah jobs and recognizes that the nation must develop new, cost-efficient technology. "The fact that Paducah is one of only two potential sites for this technology is a testament to the workers and their 50-year legacy of achievement," McConnell said. ***************************************************************** 58 USEC deal lowers cost of fuel material - The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Thursday, June 20, 2002 The U.S. and Russian governments approved the plan. USEC said a financial boost should come during the first half of the year. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 USEC Inc. has received governmental approval of a new contract to lower its prices for fuel material converted from bomb-grade Russian uranium, which the company says is another move to preserve the operation of the 1,500-employee Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The company announced Wednesday that the U.S. and Russian governments have approved the deal, which will take effect in January. USEC said the financial boost should be felt starting in the first half of the year. "Resolving price issues with Russia for about half our product supply is a key step in strengthening our core business," said William Timbers, USEC president and chief executive officer. He said the company now expects to earn "at the high end" of a range of $9 million to $12 million this fiscal year, ending June 30, and roughly the same next year. That is a significant drop from $41 million last fiscal year, which was down more than 60 percent from the previous year. USEC is the middleman for sales of the Russian material, accounting for about half the enriched uranium used by U.S. nuclear plants. About one-third comes from the Paducah plant and the rest from European competitors. A supplier of about 30 percent of the nation's nuclear fuel, the company says the cheaper Russian uranium helps offset the higher-cost uranium enriched in Paducah. USEC will pay a fixed price of $90.42 per unit of enriched uranium this year, about $15 less than plant-produced uranium. The announcement came a day after USEC and the Department of Energy disclosed that they had signed an agreement allowing the firm to remain the exclusive buyer of the Russian material. In return, USEC promised to run the outdated Paducah plant — the nation's only uranium-enrichment facility — until at least 2010 while it deploys more efficient gas centrifuge technology at either Paducah or Piketon, Ohio. News of the last two days prompted Standard and Poor's to improve its USEC outlook from negative to stable. It reaffirmed USEC's BB, or junk-bond, credit rating, noting the company had $500 million in debt as of March 31. "Although profitability measures are expected to remain weak, Standard and Poor's expects that these events will allow USEC's financial performance to be relatively stable over the next few years," S credit analyst Scott Sprinzen said. "USEC's large cash position, positive cash flow generation (about $200 million) and available bank credit afford adequate downside protection." USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said the developments "are very positive steps" for the company and its workers, as well as the Energy Department and nuclear industry. She said congressional and state officials, including U.S. Sens. Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell, 1st District U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield and Gov. Paul Patton, "were instrumental in securing these two successes." Leon Owens, president of the plant's energy workers' union, said the agreement and Russian deal are vital to the workers, nearly half of whom are union members. "We're by no means under the false assumption that the gaseous diffusion technology will continue for an undetermined period of time," he said. "The best case is that prior to full deployment of gas centrifuge, Paducah is still running and at levels needed for a significant number of workers at the plant." Nuclear power plants, including some USEC customers, fought the company's remaining as sole agent for the Russian uranium at cheaper prices. They argued that doing so would give USEC, their main supplier, too much price control. Some lobbied to replace or join USEC as agent. Last year, USEC won a federal trade battle alleging that Urenco, a competing European enrichment firm, was undercutting its prices via governmental subsidies. Urenco has now joined Exelon and other USEC customers in forming a group that plans to build a centrifuge plant about five years sooner than USEC. Paducah is among eight finalist cities, and a site decision is expected by the end of the month. Among the terms of the Russian agreement: A commitment through 2013 to buy at least 5.5 million units annually, derived from about 30 metric tons of highly enriched uranium, for a total purchase of 500 metric tons. A market-based formula resulting in long-term and spot-price discounts. An expectation that Russia will receive at least $7.5 billion over the 20-year nuclear disarmament agreement. In the eight years since the program began, USEC has paid Russia nearly $2.5 billion for the equivalent of 6,000 nuclear warheads. The total deal would eliminate about about 20,000 warheads. ***************************************************************** 59 Dick Smyser: Young blood runs strong as a 'Thoroughly Modern Y-12' takes shape 06/20/02 The Oak Ridger Online - Opinion - R. Cathey Daniels covered Bill Brumley's "State of Y-12" Community Lecture quite well in a front page piece in the Tuesday, June 11, issue of The Oak Ridger. Having heard a similar talk in March by Cynthia Hayes, I'm presuming here to respectfully supplement Reporter Daniels' fine report. Especially am I anxious to add my "Two cents worth," as Cathey titles her personal column, since both of these recent Y-12 public discussions have been so positive, especially in their emphasis on the influx of younger people on the Y-12 staff. Brumley, manager of the Y-12 site office for the National Nuclear Security Administration and speaking Monday night June 10 at the American Museum of Science and Energy, brought me joy as he described "tables full of youthful employees" in animated conversation over lunch at the plant cafeteria. "These are exciting times at Y-12," he said as he spoke as part of the lecture series now in its fifth year under the sponsorship of Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Jennifer Hill, labor union organizer and trainer, concludes the series tonight at 8 at the museum auditorium.) Exciting times at this historic original Oak Ridge installation that has suffered much bad news in more recent years (layoffs, safety problems, anti-weapons protestors) was also the message of Hayes, who is director of modernization at Y-12. She spoke March 20 at the Civic Center at the monthly luncheon discussions also sponsored by FORNL. She emphasized also all the new blood now surging through the now 60-year-old plant -- all "the bright, fresh faces just out of college." Much is happening to reduce the size of what both of these speakers referred to as the "Y-12 footprint." Relentlessly, unused old buildings are being eliminated. "If we don't need it, tear it down!" is the watchword, Brumley said. Only days ago, he said, "the hot dog stand," as an old guard shack had been affectionately known for decades, was zapped. At the same time, Brumley said, the modernization program recognizes the historical value in structures like the original change houses and guard towers and especially the calutrons, devices crucial to the first successful U-235 separation and now seen having historical value. But amidst all the modernizing nothing is being altered that would diminish Y-12's status as an "absolutely unique national asset," Brumley said. There simply is no other facility like it. Recent speculation that some of Y-12's operations might be shifted to another Department of Energy location -- Los Alamos among those specifically mentioned -- just isn't credible, he said. No place but Y-12 could handle them. Hayes said the same thing in March: "As a flexible manufacturing center, Y-12 is unmatched anywhere in the world." She also spoke of the "if nobody needs it, tear it down" attitude, noting 567 structures now gone -- these mostly shacks accumulated over years as Y-12, playing its crucial role in the nation's nuclear weapons program, "jes grew." Y-12 now has 7,300 retirees, Brumley said, the flip side of that figure those animated younger employees at lunch. Thus one of Y-12's current preoccupations is training -- mentoring -- these younger employees to do the jobs that those 7,300 retirees did so competently since 1943, when the plant began operations in the critical years of World War II. (Note: I've long been impressed with the pride and loyalty exuded especially by Y-12 retirees.) Brumley said that Y-12's priority mission, accentuated by intensified fear of nuclear terrorism, is safeguarding the nation's enriched uranium -- it's role as the "Fort Knox of U-235." And not just safeguarding, but accounting for it as well. "If it's not in a weapon, it's here at Y-12," he said. Other aspects of these dual optimistic Y-12 reports: + Y-12 people spend much time in Russia assisting and observing as enriched uranium is removed from weapons there and prepared for shipment for storage here. + No longer is hydrogen fluoride used in any Y-12 weapons fabrication operations, Hayes said. That, she said in her March talk, "makes Y-12 a better neighbor for Oak Ridge and East Tennessee." + There is a current paradox Y-12 vis-a-vis Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Brumley said. While emphasis is on moving ORNL operations physically out of the Y-12 area, like the"Mouse House," once a part of the famed ORNL Biology Division, both Y-12 and ORNL are simultaneously consciously working at strengthening their relationship. + An important aspect of the excitement of Y-12's younger workers, Hayes said, is their feeling that they are likely to advance more quickly. As retirements accelerate, there are fewer persons ahead of them. + A renewed Oak Ridge downtown -- the mall area -- would help Y-12's recruitment of these youthful workers, Hayes said. Oak Ridge schools are already an attraction for younger families, but enhanced retail facilities would be an added plus, she said. + Y-12 management encourages these younger people to live in Oak Ridge, Hayes said, but some tend to think of the community as historic -- not necessarily attractive to younger residents. Hayes characterized Y-12's modernization as an effort to make the "Fort Knox" for safeguarding the nation's enriched uranium as well established as Fort Knox, Ky., which safeguards the national gold stash. And its all like a giant chess game, she said: "Keeping the plant running while constantly planning the next move." -- RDS Richard D. Smyser is founding editor of The Oak Ridger. He can be reached by e-mail at rdsandmps@aol.com All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 60 Energy Department Implements Security Reforms Moves Will Strengthen Both Science and Security energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2002 Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today announced a number of security policy reforms that he has asked Under Secretaries John Gordon and Robert Card to implement throughout the Department and the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory complex. The Secretary's announcement came as the department released the Report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission of Science and Security. The report, commissioned by DOE, is the culmination of 18 months of study by a panel chaired by John Hamre, the President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It reviewed the intersection of the Department of Energy's security, counterintelligence and science programs to see where improvements could be made. "For the last 18 months, we have worked to improve and strengthen security throughout our laboratory system," said Secretary Abraham. "Soon after I arrived at the Department of Energy I met with Dr. Hamre about the work of the Commission and I urged him to reject the notion that science and security are necessarily conflicting goals. I believed then, and believe now, that to achieve our mission we need to demonstrate excellence in the performance of both science and security." Throughout the time the Commission was conducting its review, it was advising the department of its initial findings. The Department has begun to implement 39 of the 45 Commission recommendations, including recommendations involving integration of safeguards and security management across the Department, better coordination of science and counterintelligence programs and activities, and continued implementation of a new Departmental integrated, multi-year budget process (Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation System). Other recommendations track with changes or reforms already underway and a few recommendations will be reviewed in greater detail in the coming weeks. "I am pleased that the CSIS Report validates the approach we were taking in many areas," Secretary Abraham added. "For example, the reorganizations of the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Science to clarify roles and responsibilities and eliminate conflicting and duplicative layers of management directly address a key recommendation made by this report." Other changes already underway include implementation of an integrated safeguards and security program that ensures greater participation and cooperation between security and program personnel. The Department is also taking steps to improve cooperation between counterintelligence officers and scientists on Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and by revising the Foreign Visits and Assignments Policy and streamlining and simplifying policies for sensitive unclassified information. The Commission's findings and recommendations focus on five areas: + The need for clarification of lines of responsibility and authority within the Department's management structure; + The need to improve the collaboration between science and security to facilitate better cooperation and consensus as to what constitutes significant risk to national security; + The need for a system-wide approach for assessing risks to its assets and comprehensively determining priorities for protection of those assets; + The need for new tools and techniques that can facilitate the conduct of science while at the same time strengthening security; and + The need to strengthen cyber security. The Department has also been active in the area of new security tools and techniques and cyber security. The department has invested significant resources over the last 18 months in the latest cyber security methods, and the solutions DOE has developed are being used throughout the national security community. A copy of the report's executive summary is available on the Internet at www.csis.org [http://www.csis.org] and a copy of the full report is available by contacting CSIS at 202/887-0200. DOE's Accomplishments by Recommendation (PDF) The Department's actions or planned actions in response (PDF) Media Contact: Jeanne Lopatto, 202/586-4940 Lisa Cutler, 202/586-7371 Release No. PR-02-116 Back to Previous Page> ***************************************************************** 61 WNA NEWS BRIEFING 02.25 | 12 - 18 June 2002 A weekly summary of international news relevant to the nuclear energy industry. [NB02.25-1] Lithuania has agreed to close the Ignalina-2 nuclear power reactor by 2009. The agreement followed negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Lithuania in Luxembourg and clears the way for Lithuania's EU membership talks to proceed. Lithuanian foreign minister Antanas Valionis agreed to the closure date on condition that the EU provided 'adequate financial support' in the long term. Lithuania has already agreed to close Ignalina-1 by 2005. (NucNet News, 209/02, 14 June; Nucleonics Week, 13 June, p5; see also News Briefing 02. 24-9) Meanwhile, the World Council of Nuclear Workers (WONUC) and five union organisations at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria have asked the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to order the EU to drop its early closure requirement for two reactors at the plant. The move is designed to delay the shutdown of Kozloduy-3 and -4 until 2010. The EU, citing safety concerns, is calling for the units' closure by 2006. (Nuclear Market Review, 14 June, p2; see also News Briefing 02.24-8) [NB02.25-2] France: The centre-right coalition's victory in the final round of parliamentary elections marks an end to five years of Green Party influence over French nuclear policy. The Greens have had a direct say over the country's nuclear affairs through the Environment Ministry of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's left-green coalition government. The new centre-right UMP grouping and its allies won more than two-thirds of the 577 seats in parliament. (NucNet News, 215/02, 17 June; Nucleonics Week, 13 June, p2; see also News Briefing 02.20-3) [NB02.25-3] Nuclear energy is 'safe and clean … and a priority for sustainable development', the European Union (EU) research commissioner, Philippe Busquin, has said. He stated that nuclear energy 'can greatly contribute to meeting Kyoto treaty requirements, and there is a clear need for EU action to pool together know-how and resources in state-of-the-art nuclear research at a European level'. Mr Busquin's comments follow the European Commission's adoption of the Euratom Research Framework Programme for 2002-2006, with a total budget of 1.23 billion euros (US$1.16 billion). The Commission said the programme would 'address all the key issues to promote sustainable nuclear power in Europe'. Some 750 million euros (US$707 million) will go towards nuclear fusion research. (NucNet News, 216/02, 17 June; Financial Times, 18 June, p12; see also News Briefing 01.47-5) [NB02.25-4] Sweden: The parliament has approved a new energy policy bill that would phase out the use of nuclear energy in the country over the next 30 to 40 years. According to the energy proposal, Sweden should examine a German model, which would provide the energy industry with a fixed amount of nuclear energy production and give them the final decision on when to close the country's 11 reactors. Parliament has set a tentative date for closing Braseback-2 in 2003. The remaining plants - Forsmark, Ringhals and Oskarshamn - would be allowed to continue operating until the end of their 'economic lives'. (Nuclear Market Review, 14 June, p2; FreshFUEL, 17 June, p5; SpentFUEL, 17 June, p5; Nucleonics Week, 13 June, p1; see also News Briefing 02.12-4) [NB02.25-5] US: Production of uranium at US mines fell to 2.6 million pounds U3O8 (1000 tU) in 2001, compared with output of 3.1 million pounds U3O8 (1192 tU) in 2000, according to the 'Uranium Industry Annual 2001', recently published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Production of uranium concentrate also totalled 2.6 million pounds (1000 tU) in 2001. Of the 55.4 million pounds U3O8 equivalent (21 309 tU) purchased by US utilities in 2001, foreign-owned uranium accounted for 42.2 million pounds (16 232 tU). The publication is available on the EIA website (http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelnuclear.html). (Ux Weekly, 17 June, p1; see also News Briefing 00.23-4) [NB02.25-6] The US Department of Energy (DOE) and USEC Inc are expected to announce by the end of June a compromise on how to deal with a large portion of USEC's contaminated uranium inventory. The plan consists of several parts. Firstly, DOE will swap one-third of USEC's contaminated stock (some 3200 tU out of 9500 tU) and replace it with clean uranium. Secondly, DOE will take a significant portion of tails material off USEC's hands - a move that will relieve USEC of a large accounting liability. Thirdly, USEC will clean up one-third of the contaminated inventory at its Portsmouth plant, a process expected to take over a year to complete. The fate of the remaining one-third of the contaminated inventory has apparently yet to be decided. (FreshFUEL, 17 June, p1; Ux Weekly, 17 June, p3; see also News Briefing 01.05-3) [NB02.25-7] Japan Atomic Power Co plans to construct two new reactors at its Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture. Both reactors could start operation as soon as 2010 or 2011 at a total estimated cost of Y830 billion (US$6.7 billion). The new reactors would each have a generating capacity of 1530 MWe. The plan has already gained the support of the Fukui prefecture governor, Yukio Kurita, but requires approval from the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy. (Ux Weekly, 17 June, p5; see also News Briefing 01.45-11) [NB02.25-8] Czech Republic: Shortly after starting full 'trial' commercial operation, Temelin-1 has been reduced to minimal output levels due to further technical problems on the non-nuclear side of the plant. Power output has been reduced from 100% to 5%, following the detection of a leak on the electrical part of the turbine-generator. A faulty seal will be replaced. (NucNet News, 212/02, 14 June; Nuclear Market Review, 14 June, p2; see also News Briefing 02.23-5) [NB02.25-9] US: The Vermont Public Service Board has approved the sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to Entergy Corp for US$180 million. However, some of the conditions set by the board could cause Entergy or Vermont Yankee's owners to reconsider the deal. Entergy would be required to return any extra money remaining in the plant's US$300 million decommissioning fund to consumers after it has paid for the plant's eventual closure. The board also said that at some future date, it could change the terms of a deal that allows the plant's current owners to buy Vermont Yankee's power from Entergy. (Nuclear Market Review, 14 June, p2; Ux Weekly, 17 June, p4; see also News Briefing 02.21-9) [NB02.25-10] US: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) could restart its Browns Ferry-1 nuclear power reactor before the scheduled date of May 2007, according to restart manager John Rupert. The target date represents the latest possible date the reactor would be restarted, but TVA hopes to save time restarting unit 1 by using the experience gained in restarting unit 2 in 1991 and unit 3 in 1995. (Ux Weekly, 17 June, p5; see also News Briefing 02.21-8) [NB02.25-11] Japan: The estimated cost of decommissioning an average nuclear reactor in Japan is Y55 billion (US$443 million), including spent fuel disposal costs, according to studies conducted by Japan Atomic Power Co at the Tokai-2 and Tsuruga nuclear power plants. The study puts the cost of decommissioning all 52 of Japan's currently operating nuclear reactors at Y3 trillion (US$23 billion). However, in fiscal year 2000, Japanese utilities only had Y947.7 billion in decommissioning funds - enough to pay for 17 reactors. (Ux Weekly, 17 June, p5) [NB02.25-12] 92% of US adults believe it is 'extremely important' or 'very important' for the country to have a clear plan of action for disposing of high-level radioactive waste from both civil and military nuclear activities. A poll of 1000 US adults in June, conducted by Bisconti Research with Roper ASW, found that 57% supported construction of a permanent underground waste disposal facility, compared with 19% who favour long-term on-site storage at nuclear facilities. (Nuclear Energy Institute, 14 June; NucNet News, 211/02, 14 June; see also News Briefing 02.13-4) [NB02.25-13] Vattenfall of Sweden has completed its takeover of German power company HEW. Vattenfall will buy the city of Hamburg's 25.1% stake in HEW for 869 million euros (US$820 million), taking its total holding in the company to 98.9%. The deal must be approved at HEW's annual meeting in August. HEW is the joint operator, with E.On, of four German nuclear power plants (Brokdorf, Brunsbuttel, Krummel and Stade). Vattenfall plans to create a new holding company, Vattenfall Europe, in early 2003, which will bring together German power producers HEW, Bewag, Veag and Laubag. (NucNet Business News, 35/02, 12 June; see also News Briefing 01.40-15) [NB02.25-14] UK: British Nuclear Fuels plc announced a high-level restructuring of the company as part of its long-term business strategy. BNFL will be structured into two business units - a Nuclear Utilities Business Group will serve the company's nuclear utilities customers and a Government Services Business Group will meet the needs of BNFL's other main customer group, governments around the world. Charlie Pryor, currently CEO and President of BNFL subsidiary Westinghouse, will become head of the newly created Nuclear Utilities Business Group. The group will include the global fuel manufacturing and reactor services business (Westinghouse) and will provide commercial management of reprocessing and mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication contracts executed at Sellafield, together with international and marine transport services for the movement of spent fuel and MOX. The head of the Government Services Business Group - which will consist of the current Magnox Generation, Environmental Services and Sellafield M&O Services - has yet to be appointed. (BNFL, 13 June) [NB02.25-15] France: Transnucleaire - the nuclear materials transporter and designer of storage and transport equipment - has been renamed Cogema Logistics. (Cogema Logistics, 22 May) Previous News Briefing NB02.24 All news and views are those of the publications cited, whose staffs have undertaken the research to enable this compilation for WNA members. 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