***************************************************************** 10/21/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.271 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 N. Korea May Negotiate Nuke Program 2 France: No Iraq Resolution Yet 3 U.S. Distributes New Iraq Resolution 4 Russia 'Disappointed' in Iraq Draft 5 North Korea tells Bush to back off - 6 US: Texas, New Mexico sites compete for federal nuclear plant * 7 U.S. and South Korea Weigh Response to North Korea 8 Nuclear issue raises stakes for Japan-North Korea talks 9 Moscow and Beijing hold key to Korean pact 10 India: States can invest in nuclear power projects soon 11 Havel's Forum seeks end to farm subsidies* 12 Iran got nuclear know-how from North Korea 13 Ministerial Talks Stall over Nuclear Issue 14 Ambassador Hubbard Says US Will Not Attack NK 15 U.S. informed Koizumi of North Korean threat in Aug. 16 N Koreans offer America talks on nuclear fears 17 UK: Power firms brave pricing turmoil 18 Concern over new draft Iraq resolution 19 N Korea: Disputes occur on DPRK nuclear issue 20 Outsider Green Wants Inside 21 Chinese FM Spokesman on DPRK Nuclear Issue 22 US: Economic muscle may be Washington's main weapon 23 China reiterates opposition to N Korea's nuclear programme 24 Resolving NK Nuke Problem NUCLEAR REACTORS 25 US: Watchdogs warn more repairs at US nuclear plants 26 US: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Statement for Proposed 27 US: Coast Guard seeks permanent security zone near Calvert Cliffs 28 Canada: Bruce and Cameco co. investment level to increase 29 US: NRC says no to third party review at Davis-Besse 30 AU: Green light for new reactor 31 Australian officials okay nuclear reactor despite earthquake NUCLEAR SAFETY 32 US: [radiation-survivors] Ohio Nuke Plant Rapped on Radiation 33 Enewetak: Mike Shot 50 years later* 34 Japan EDITORIAL: Shield whistle-blowers 35 US: NRC Announces Availability of Guidance on Licenses for Medical NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 36 US: Yucca project misses deadline 37 US: Hartsville Tennessee Citizens Say No to LES! 38 Ottawa facing cleanup bill for toxic sites 39 The UN court of Arbitration has been told that the Irish Sea is 40 *Government launches EU action over Sellafield* 41 BNFL's Sellafield nuclear plant faces legal action from Irish govt* 42 Irish bid for UK's reports on Sellafield 43 Irish bid for UK's reports on Sellafield 44 Court Hears Irish Challenge to UK Nuclear Plant 45 Irish fight for Sellafield 'secrets' 46 Sellafield accident is 'unthinkable' 47 Rann attacks Federal Govt over nuclear waste plans 48 Watchdog to target toxic sites for cleanup 49 NETHERLANDS: Court hears Irish challenge to UK nuclear plant NUCLEAR WEAPONS 50 Moscow Hosts High-Level Iraq Talks 51 Pak N-scientists in touch with Al-Qaeda: US expert 52 Owls are wiser about Iraq than hawks 53 US: *To Nuke, Or Not to Nuke?* 54 US: *Speakers warn about nuclear war * 55 Pasko's Transition to Prison Camp Eased by Inmates 56 Israel's nuclear arsenal "useless" 57 Pakistan says N-plan under strict safeguards US DEPT. OF ENERGY 58 Lab, DOE to Fight N.M. Over Cleanup* * 59 Sandia manager defends nuclear research efforts 60 Post-Nuclear Weapons Research in the United States 61 Berkley demands DOE tell state of NRC meetings 62 Resurgence for nuclear labs / Scientists designing weapons for 63 'Rad-ical' collection: Badlands babes to 'Le Radium' 64 Wamp's crystal ball: Bechtel Jacobs in, ORO plan out 65 Officials of city, two counties work to get more DOE 66 Accelerated cleanup may force layoffs OTHER NUCLEAR 67 Northeast Utilities Profits Rise 40 Percent 68 Online offering causes a boom in UT nuclear engineering roll ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 N. Korea May Negotiate Nuke Program Las Vegas SUN October 21, 2002 By PAUL SHIN ASSOCIATED PRESS SEOUL, South Korea- North Korea said Monday that it was willing to negotiate over its nuclear weapons program if the United States withdraws its "hostile policy" toward the communist country. The comments by Kim Yong Nam, the North's ceremonial head of state, were unlikely to mollify the United States, which has said North Korea's nuclear program is a nonnegotiable issue and must be dismantled immediately. Kim made the remarks in a meeting with South Korean delegates in Pyongyang, the North's capital, according to South Korean pool reports. The comments were the North's first official response to a U.S. announcement last week that the communist country had admitted to having a nuclear weapons program in violation of international agreements. "We consider the recent situation seriously," pool reports quoted Kim as telling the chief South Korean delegate, Jeong Se-hyun. "If the United States is willing to withdraw its hostile policy toward the North, the North also is ready to resolve security concerns through dialogue." North Korea has repeatedly accused the United States of plotting to overthrow its government, and has long called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. In Washington, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush was "concerned" by the North's admission to having the weapons program. "The president is concerned about this revelation and the fact that North Korea is pursuing a program in violation of their given word and in violation of an agreed framework that North Korea committed itself to," Fleischer said Monday. "And it is a source of concern, and we continue the talk with our allies in the region about it." South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, whose policy of engaging North Korea is under severe pressure because of the revelation about the nuclear program, said the South's national security was at stake. "The danger of North Korea's nuclear weapons development and other weapons of mass destruction should be eliminated completely," Kim said in Seoul. The meeting with Kim Yong Nam took place before the two sides reconvened another round of talks. After receiving five South Korean delegates as a group, the leader met the chief South Korean delegate privately for 50 minutes, according to reports by South Korean journalists. No foreign reporters were allowed to cover the three-day, inter-Korean talks, which opened Sunday. "Both sides were in agreement that the issues raised recently should be resolved expeditiously through dialogue," the reports quoted Rhee Bong-jo, a South Korean spokesman, as saying. The talks in Pyongyang, the eighth since a historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, were meant to discuss inter-Korean reconciliation, but the nuclear issue took priority. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly met Kim Yong Nam when he visited Pyongyang Oct. 3-5. During Kelly's trip, North Korean officials admitted that they have a uranium-enriching program to make nuclear weapons. The North's admission violates a 1994 agreement it signed with the United States, promising to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program in return for construction of two modern, light-water reactors and 500,000 tons of fuel oil a year until the reactors are completed. In talks with Kelly, North Korea said it considered the so-called Agreed Framework invalid because the reactors were not expected to be completed by 2003 as promised. But on Monday, North Korea's Pyongyang Radio urged the United States to honor its commitments under the deal, and said the most pressing issue was compensation for loss of electricity caused by the delay. "Eight years after the Agreed Framework was adopted, the U.S. is still shifting around at the starting line," the radio said in a broadcast monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "The framework is at crossroads - whether it should be scrapped or not - because of the delay in providing the light-water reactors," the radio said. Kelly, in Tokyo to meet with Japanese officials Monday, said Washington has not yet decided to abandon the agreement. Kelly and other U.S. officials have been working to coordinate an effort among Washington's allies to press North Korea to give up its nuclear program. But Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Washington on Sunday that the U.S. government considers the agreement effectively dead because of the North's secret nuclear weapons development. North Korea "blamed us for their actions and then said they considered that agreement nullified," Powell said on NBC television. "When you have an agreement between two parties, and one says it's nullified, then it's hard to see what you do with such an agreement." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 France: No Iraq Resolution Yet Las Vegas SUN October 21, 2002 By EDITH M. LEDERER ASSOCIATED PRESS UNITED NATIONS- France's U.N. ambassador put a damper on prospects for a new U.N. resolution on Iraq on Monday, saying he didn't think the five permanent Security Council members were close to an agreement on the next moves toward Saddam Hussein's government. Ambassador Jean-David Levitte spoke to reporters as he headed into the U.S. Mission to the United Nations for a meeting of the five veto-holding council nations, which remain divided on how tough a new resolution should be. The United States and Britain want a single resolution that would allow the use of force if Saddam does not comply with U.N. weapons inspectors. Last week, Washington backed down from its demand that the resolution authorize "all necessary means," but it is still demanding language stating that Baghdad would face "consequences." France, backed by Russia and China, favors a two-stage approach that would give Iraq a chance to cooperate and only authorize force in a second resolution if Baghdad fails to comply with inspections. The five council members with veto powers are Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. On Sunday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he expected formally to introduce a resolution to the entire 15-member Security Council early this week, and he said he expects it to be adopted. Council diplomats said the United States distributed a complete new text to the four other permanent members at Monday's meeting, but aside for some initial reactions there were no negotiations. The United States had previously only given out language on some key sections of the draft resolution. The 10 other council members, who are elected for two-year terms, are expected to get the text on Tuesday, diplomats said. Levitte said there was no agreement on a text, and when asked if an agreement was close, he replied: "I don't think so." In Moscow on Monday, a top Russian diplomat warned that Moscow would oppose any new resolution on Iraq that would allow "automatic use of force" or contain "unfeasible" demands. As Levitte was speaking, about 10 protesters held placards across the street from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations saying "No Mass Murder of Iraqis" and "Hands Off Iraq," and shouting "1-2-3-4, We Don't Want Another War." A passing taxi driver slowed down and shouted out the window: "Why don't you join the army?" Later, six protesters chanting anti-war slogans were arrested after they sat down outside the mission, blocking its main entrance. They held a banner saying: "VETO. Hands off Iraq! No Blood for Oil Profits." Inside the United Nations, 13 protesters opposed to a new war with Iraq tried to disrupt the General Assembly where the 191 member states were voting for new judges for the International Court of Justice. Chanting anti-war slogans, the protesters were lifted and half-dragged out of the visitors gallery and handcuffed by U.N. security guards. They will be turned over to New York police for prosecution for disorderly conduct, said General Assembly spokesman Richard Sydenham. The Iraq crisis began five weeks ago when President Bush told the General Assembly to confront the "grave and gathering danger" posed by Iraq - or stand aside as the United States acts. Iraq responded to the escalating threat of U.S. military action by suddenly inviting U.N. weapons inspectors to return after barring them for nearly four years. The inspectors left Baghdad in December 1998 ahead of U.S. and British air strikes punishing Iraq for obstructing their work. Inspectors must certify that Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs have been destroyed before sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait can be lifted. Iraq has been pushing for an advance party to arrive in Baghdad but chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said he will wait for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution. Blix, meanwhile, was continuing his visits to the permanent council members. He is expected to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday for official talks, including a meeting with Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov. He will attend a workshop on reducing nuclear threats that is sponsored by the Russian Academy of Sciences on Wednesday and Thursday. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. + ***************************************************************** 3 U.S. Distributes New Iraq Resolution Las Vegas SUN October 21, 2002 By EDITH M. LEDERER ASSOCIATED PRESS UNITED NATIONS- The United States on Monday distributed a revised U.N. resolution on Iraq to the other veto-wielding members of the Security Council that it said would toughen weapons inspections and ensure there will be "consequences" if Iraq fails to comply. But France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-David Levitte, whose country has been pressing to give Iraq a last chance to comply with inspectors without a threat of military action, put a damper on prospects for quick agreement on a new resolution. Levitte said there was no agreement on a text, and when asked if one was close, he replied: "I don't think so." U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte distributed the revised text at a meeting of the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - who have been divided on how tough a new resolution should be. The United States and Britain want a single resolution that would allow the use of force if Saddam did not comply with U.N. weapons inspectors. Last week, Washington backed down from its demand that the resolution authorize "all necessary means," but it is still demanding language stating that Baghdad would face "consequences." France, backed by Russia and China, favors a two-stage approach that would give Iraq a chance to cooperate and only authorize force in a second resolution if Baghdad failed to comply with inspections. In Moscow , a top Russian diplomat on Monday warned that Moscow would oppose any new resolution on Iraq that would allow "automatic use of force" or contain "unfeasible" demands. The United States had previously only given out language on some key sections of the draft resolution to the permanent members. On Sunday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he expected to formally introduce a resolution to the entire 15-member Security Council early this week. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that, along with the revised document, "We're also making clear it is time to wrap this up." The 10 other council members, who are elected for two-year terms, are expected to get the text on Tuesday, diplomats said, and negotiations will then begin in the full council . Boucher said the new text "will accomplish our goals, identifying the violations of U.N. resolutions by Iraq, mandating and giving the inspectors authority to carry out strong and unrestricted inspections, and making clear that the council is determined to ensure that there will be consequences if Iraq fails to comply." The United States made some changes to take into account "the ideas that were raised by our partners," he said. The five permanent council members met at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, across the street from U.N. headquarters. About 10 protesters held placards across the street from the U.S. Mission saying "Hands Off Iraq" and shouting "1-2-3-4, We Don't Want Another War." A passing taxi driver shouted out the window: "Why don't you join the army?" Later, six protesters chanting anti-war slogans were arrested after they sat down outside the mission, blocking its main entrance. Inside the United Nations, 13 protesters opposed to a new war with Iraq tried to disrupt the General Assembly where the 191 member states were voting for new judges for the International Court of Justice. Chanting anti-war slogans, the protesters were lifted and half-dragged out of the visitors gallery and handcuffed by U.N. security guards. They were turned over to New York police for prosecution for disorderly conduct, said General Assembly spokesman Richard Sydenham. The Iraq crisis began five weeks ago when President Bush told the General Assembly to confront the "grave and gathering danger" posed by Iraq - or stand aside as the United States acts. Iraq responded to the escalating threat of U.S. military action by suddenly inviting U.N. weapons inspectors to return after barring them for nearly four years. The inspectors left Baghdad in December 1998 ahead of U.S. and British air strikes punishing Iraq for obstructing their work. Inspectors must certify that Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs have been destroyed before sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait can be lifted. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 4 Russia 'Disappointed' in Iraq Draft Las Vegas SUN Today: October 22, 2002 at 8:55:17 PDT By SARAH KARUSH ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW- Russian officials were "disappointed" with a new U.S. draft resolution to disarm Saddam Hussein, Russian news agencies reported, while the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector said Tuesday that war with Iraq could be avoided. The ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies quoted unidentified "informed" sources in Moscow on Monday as saying that the revised U.S. draft of the U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq "differs little from previous U.S.-British proposals" that Russia and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council didn't accept. The reports came a day after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, gave the complete U.S. draft to envoys of the four other permanent council members - France, Russia, China and Britain. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said he thought war with Iraq could be avoided if Baghdad proves it does not have weapons of mass destruction. France and China remained guarded about using force against Hussein. "They may have evidence, I am not brushing it aside, but in our archive there is no clear-cut evidence. There are many questions, however, that we would like to have answered by them (the Iraqis) and there are also many places we would like to visit," Blix said. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov held separate meetings with U.S. State Department Undersecretary John Bolton and Blix that focused on Iraq. Bolton said that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell would discuss the wording of the resolution with Ivanov. The Russian news reports quoted the same sources as saying that the new version didn't make good on Washington's promises to take other nations' opinions into account and reach a "mutually acceptable compromise." The Kremlin sometimes uses such anonymous sources to air its positions on important issues via ITAR-Tass and Interfax. Russia, which holds veto power in the Security Council, has opposed unilateral military action against Iraq. It criticized an earlier version of the draft that would have envisaged the use of force if Baghdad failed to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said the United States would continue to push for one resolution. "It's a fact that they don't have forever. The United Nations is entering the final stages on this and we'd like to see a resolution reached," he said. "Our position remains the same - one resolution is appropriate." China "will take seriously" any measure supporting U.N. weapons inspections and leading to a peaceful settlement of the standoff between Iraq and the United States, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regularly scheduled briefing. However, he added: "We have always held that the U.N. weapons inspectors should return to Iraq as soon as possible and the Security Council should consider its next move according to the result of the inspection." French President Jacques Chirac did not react directly to the draft but suggested the French were not close to supporting it. "We have our own appreciation of things, and we tell (the United States) that," Chirac said, even if "we don't say it in an aggressive way." He spoke to reporters after a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency. Earlier, before seeing the draft, French U.N. Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said he did not think an agreement was close. Washington's staunchest ally on the council, Britain, voiced its support. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he hoped the U.S. draft would be approved. At the same time, Ivanov said Friday that the Security Council could consider authorizing the use of force against Iraq if the inspectors report "problems" in searching for weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, Blix, who said he thought a team of weapons inspectors could be in Iraq within two weeks, issued his assessment as U.N. Security Council members studied the revised U.S. draft of a resolution on Iraq. "I think that if Iraq helps create confidence that there are no weapons of mass destruction, then I think there will be no war," Blix said. Blix said he would like to see the inspectors go to Iraq as soon as possible, but that it was best for them to wait for the expected U.N. Security Council resolution rather than receive new instructions after they had started work. He said it was important for the inspectors to travel to Iraq to provide a clearer picture of the state of its weapons programs. Some countries, including the United States and Great Britain, have said that Iraq has made strides in developing weapons of mass destruction that pose a grave threat to mankind. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 5 North Korea tells Bush to back off - smh.com.au By Shane Green, Herald Correspondent in Tokyo and agencies October 23 2002 North Korea's official newspaper has warned the communist state will respond with "tougher counter-action" if the United States continues to pressure it, amid growing international concerns about the country's nuclear weapons program. The warning of the unspecified action comes a day after president Kim Jong-il's administration offered talks on the program, which the White House has demanded "immediately and visibly ends". In its first response since the clandestine nuclear program was admitted, North Korea's daily, Rodong Sinmun yesterday called on Washington to "opt for reconciliation and peace, not strong-arm policy". "If the US persists in its moves to pressurise and stifle the DPRK (North Korea) by force, the latter will have no option but to take a tougher counter-action," the newspaper said in an editorial. It did not specifically mention the nuclear issue but the warning appears to be in direct response to US demands that the nuclear program be dismantled. North Korea's Government is notorious for its saber-rattling rhetoric, which sometimes runs counter to the policies it pursues. " The White House yesterday responded to North Korea's offer for talks by reaffirming a determination for a peaceful solution. However, the US ambassador to South Korea, Thomas Hubbard, expressed doubt about the success of any talks. "We have very little basis for trust in North Korea, very little basis for confidence that further dialogue will lead to a solution," he said. But Mr Hubbard also said there was no dissent in Washington over President George Bush's push for a peaceful solution and that the US had "no intention of taking military action". In the first sign that it may be prepared to deal with international concerns over its nuclear weapons program, North Korea said this week it was ready for dialogue if the US dropped its hostile attitude. North Korea admitted the existence of the program after being confronted by the US in talks in the capital Pyongyang earlier this month. In stark contrast to its threat of a strike against Iraq, Washington is instead pursuing a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis, lobbying for support from China, Russia and regional allies Japan and South Korea. Mr Bush said: "This is a chance for people who love freedom and peace to work together to deal with an emerging threat." The future of the 1994 agreement under which North Korea froze its nuclear program in return for international support for its energy needs is also hanging in the balance. The US reportedly shipped oil to North Korea under the agreement last Thursday - two weeks after Pyongyang confessed to its nuclear weapons program to US envoy James Kelly. An unnamed US official said the shipments might stop. [Top] Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. advertise [http://adcentre.fairfax.com.au/online/contact.htm] | contact us ***************************************************************** 6 Texas, New Mexico sites compete for federal nuclear plant * Staff Report The Associated Press 10/18/2002 * *CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO (AP) -* The federal government's nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico is last on the list of possible sites for a new nuclear weapons factory. * That's according to a review by the US Department of Energy. But the agency rated Los Alamos National Laboratory the best site in the country for the factory - which would manufacture plutonium parts for U.S. nuclear weapons. Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory say they don't want the project. But Carlsbad, New Mexico, community leaders are enthusiastically courting it. The Pantex plant near Amarillo ranks fourth on the list. The report is based on the analysis of ten unnamed Energy Department officials who were asked to numerically rate possible sites for the plutonium factory. The document was completed prior to the formal announcement in September of the five sites that are candidates for the project. /©MyWestTexas.com 2002/ ***************************************************************** 7 U.S. and South Korea Weigh Response to North Korea The New York Times *October 20, 2002* *By DON KIRK* SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 19 - James A. Kelly, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said today that the United States wanted "to bring maximum international pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions" but avoided hinting that South Korea supported a tough stand on North Korea. Mr. Kelly, stopping here on his way from Beijing, where he had talks with Chinese leaders, to Tokyo, is seeking to build a unified response to the North Koreans from South Korea, Japan and the United States. Mr. Kelly talked to reporters after a lengthy meeting with Lim Dong Won, the architect of South Korea's policy of reconciliation with North Korea. He said only that he and the South Koreans "discussed all aspects" of North Korea's nuclear program, but had reached "no decisions" about what to do next. President Kim Dae Jung, who relies on Mr. Lim for advice on dealing with North Korea, has taken the position that North Korea's admission that it has a nuclear weapons program - made during a visit by Mr. Kelly to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, earlier this month - might provide the basis for more dialogue. "We all agree there could be a sunny disposition of this," said Mr. Kelly, adding the qualifier, "if in some fashion the program were dismantled." But Mr. Kelly spurned the view expressed by some South Koreans that North Korea, by acknowledging its nuclear program, was actually showing its willingness to keep the talks going. "I don't agree with that opinion," he said in blunt contrast to the measured tones of the rest of his remarks. "There are many ways he could have signaled for dialogue other than that." Mr. Kelly did not indicate whether the United States might suspend the program for building twin light-water reactors as called for in the 1994 Geneva framework agreement under which North Korea was to stop developing nuclear warheads. President Bush, he assured the South Koreans, "has not made any decision" on what to do next. Mr. Kelly's meeting with the South Koreans today came two weeks to the day after he stopped in Seoul to report on his visit to North Korea. John R. Bolton, under secretary of state for arms control, who was with Mr. Kelly in the talks in Beijing, flew to Moscow and planned to go on to London, Paris and Brussels for talks on the new North Korean nuclear threat. Mr. Kelly was scheduled to fly to Tokyo on Sunday. His talks here and in Japan are aimed at preparing the groundwork for Mr. Bush's meeting with President Kim and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan on Oct. 26 in Mexico at the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group. Mr. Kelly did not specifically discuss his talks in China, but he suggested the breadth of the support the United States is seeking, saying North Korea's "covert nuclear weapons program is something important not only to our allies but our friends as well." China's support is regarded as crucial in view of Beijing's influence as North Korea's only strong ally. Mr. Kelly, whose trip to Pyongyang two weeks ago was the first by a high-level American official since the Clinton administration, made clear that there was no room for compromise on the basic issue of getting North Korea to halt its program of enriching uranium for use in nuclear warheads. The North Koreans "did not make any demands" during his visit, he said, but "did suggest there were measures that might be taken" to induce them to comply with the American demand. North Korea, for example, has repeatedly accused the United States of delays in building the nuclear reactors. "They indicated when all these good things were done, we might be able to talk about their covert enrichment program," Mr. Kelly said. The North "got it upside down," he added, meaning the United States would do nothing until the North had stopped all nuclear activity. Mr. Kelly indicated the prospect of a prolonged process in which the United States would have to convince both South Korea and Japan of the need for a tough position. "There is no deadline," he said. "This is a difficult, complex problem." He added, however, there would not be a "replay" of the talks in 1993 and 1994 in which negotiators sought to persuade North Korea to stop building nuclear warheads with reprocessed plutonium after it refused to comply with the nonproliferation treaty and rejected inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. After a crisis in which William J. Perry, then the defense secretary, has said the United States was on the verge of military action, North Korea finally assented to the terms of Geneva agreement. It was only last summer, Mr. Kelly said, that the United States learned of another program under way in which North Korea hoped to use enriched uranium rather than plutonium for warheads. Copyright The New York Times Company ***************************************************************** 8 Nuclear issue raises stakes for Japan-North Korea talks 21 October, 2002 18:35 GMT+08:00 By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Monday that North Korea's nuclear arms programme would be a top priority in talks with Pyongyang this month, a clear sign that the communist state's confession it was pursuing such a programme in secret has raised the stakes for Tokyo's dialogue. But despite the cloudy outlook, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said it was too early to be pessimistic. "To preserve the Pyongyang Declaration, various issues need to be resolved in the normalisation talks, he told reporters. "But one must not assume they are doomed from the start." Earlier, Kyodo news agency quoted Katsunari Suzuki, Japan's top negotiator for the talks on establishing diplomatic ties, as saying Japan would halt the dialogue if there were no progress on issues including Pyongyang's nuclear arms programme. "Of course the negotiations would halt," Kyodo news agency quoted Suzuki as saying in an interview, adding that an international project to build two light-water reactors for Pyongyang could also be suspended or cancelled. Pyongyang's admission that it was pursuing a nuclear arms programme in violation of a 1994 agreement with Washington has pushed the nuclear issue up Japan's agenda in the talks, formerly expected to be dominated by the emotional issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents decades ago. "Japan does not intend to push for progress in talks with North Korea on normalising diplomatic ties without progress on security-related issues," Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi was quoted as telling U.S. special envoy James Kelly on Monday. A first round of talks is set for October 29-30 in Malaysia. Kelly's visit follows similar consultations in China and South Korea aimed at raising international pressure on Pyongyang -- which U.S. President George W. Bush has dubbed an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran -- to abandon the arms programme. Kelly was also quoted as telling Japanese officials that the United States had made no decision on the 1994 Agreed Framework, under which Pyongyang promised to halt such activities in exchange for a supply of fuel oil and two nuclear power stations. HEAVY LOAD Koizumi agreed at a summit with Kim Jong-il last month to resume talks on establishing diplomatic ties after the North Korean leader apologised for the abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago to teach Japanese to its spies. Kim also pledged to respect international agreements regarding its nuclear programme, a pledge seen as a commitment to stand by the 1994 Agreed Framework and to let international inspectors into the country to check its nuclear programme. South Korea and Japan have said engaging North Korea in dialogue was the best way to persuade Pyongyang to abandon the weapons programme, while some hardliners in U.S. President George W. Bush's team favour a more confrontational approach. In their meetings on Monday, Kelly and Japanese officials agreed that Tokyo, Washington and Seoul should cooperate in seeking a peaceful solution to the problem of North Korea's nuclear programme, Foreign Ministry officials said. Kelly also told Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba there was a need to expand those discussions to include China and Russia. BIGGER ROLE FOR TOKYO Analysts said North Korea's nuclear confession had complicated prospects for negotiations and had boosted the significance of Tokyo's diplomatic initiative. "Japan knows it can't proceed with normalisation without resolving the nuclear issue," said Masao Okonogi, a Korea specialist at Keio University. But he added: "With the U.S. State Department saying it wants a diplomatic resolution, the role for the Japan-North Korea talks has been expanded." Japan would be reluctant to break off the talks for fear of escalating tensions on its regional doorstep and of scuttling chances of resolving the abduction issue. Five surviving abductees came home for an emotional visit last week for the first time in a quarter century, but are expected to return later this week to North Korea, where they have children and, in one case, an American spouse. Japan is also eager to get more information about another eight abductees who Pyongyang says are dead. North Korea, however, might well be equally keen for progress in the talks given its fear of being targeted for attack by the United States and its appetite for economic aid, analysts said. North Korea's number two leader, Kim Yong-nam, told a visiting South Korean minister on Monday that the North wanted talks on nuclear arms with the United States provided Washington stopped branding it an enemy, a Seoul television report said. ***************************************************************** 9 Moscow and Beijing hold key to Korean pact FT.com Monday Oct 21 2002. All times are London time. By Andrew Ward Published: October 21 2002 5:00 | Last Updated: October 21 2002 5:00 When James Kelly, US undersecretary of state, flew to Asia last week for emergency talks about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, it was not South Korea or Japan, Washington's strongest Asian allies, that he visited first. Instead, Mr Kelly started his tour in Beijing. John Bolton, another US undersecretary, then headed to Moscow. It was only after two days in China that Mr Kelly arrived in Seoul, before moving to Tokyo yesterday. The itineraries reflected Washington's belief that it may be North Korea's traditional allies - China and Russia in particular - that hold the key to disarming Pyongyang. Pakistan, suspected of supplying components for North Korea's uranium enrichment programme, is another country with close ties to Pyongyang that the US will be relying on to isolate the communist regime. Although North Korea was named by President George W. Bush alongside Iraq in an "axis" of evil rogue states, Washington is taking starkly different approaches toward the pair. While the US is prepared to act alone with military force against Iraq, Washington is making clear it wants international help in imposing "maximum international pressure" on the more heavily armed North Korea. Washington hopes China and Russia will be its most effective partners in imposing that pressure. Beijing and Moscow retain strong ties with Pyongyang dating back to the trio's cold war alliance. Diplomatic and economic support from China and Russia are all that prevents North Korea and its ravaged economy from total isolation. Pyongyang is more likely to take advice from its friends, analysts say, than its cold war enemies in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. The incentive for China and Russia to act as Washington's agents in Pyongyang would be improved relations with the US and greater stability in north-east Asia - a quid pro quo that Beijing, at least, appears ready to accept. Mr Kelly said he discussed North Korea's nuclear activities "in great detail" with China. "The Chinese made it very clear that they strongly oppose any nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula." Washington's wooing of China, ahead of President Jiang Zemin's visit to Mr Bush's Texas ranch this week, suggests the US increasingly sees Beijing as an ally in dealing with North Korea, after decades spent on opposite sides of the cold war divide. Chinese co-operation with Washington could deepen the tensions that have emerged recently between Beijing and Pyongyang. Analysts say China has tired of its neighbour's belligerent behaviour and has been irritated by an influx of North Korean defectors. However, while China appears ready to support the US, Russia may be less keen. Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have blossomed recently, with Vladamir Putin, Russia's prime minister, twice meeting Kim Jong-il, his North Korean counterpart, in the past 18 months. Analysts say Russia has cultivated a role as North Korea's mentor, helping it reform its economy and advising it on how to deal with Washington. In return, Russia hopes to benefit if and when North Korea's economy opens up. Moscow's close relationship with Pyongyang is one of its few remaining sources of influence in east Asia and it would be reluctant to end that. Russia may be more likely to act as Pyongyang's advocate in Washington than Washington's advocate in Pyongyang. Pakistan's relationship with North Korea is the most central to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. The US suspects the country supplied components for North Korea's uranium enrichment project in return for ballistic missile technology. Islamabad denies the allegation, but will nonetheless come under pressure from Washington, its ally in the war on terror, to sever links with Pyongyang. Washington hopes that if trusty allies such as China and Pakistan turn their back on North Korea, with Russia possibly lending a friendly word of advice, Pyongyang will realise the game is up. /Additional reporting by James Kynge in Beijing and Robert Cottrell in Moscow/ ***************************************************************** 10 India: States can invest in nuclear power projects soon *Mumbai, Oct 21* The country's nuclear power programme is all set to receive a big boost with the State Governments to be allowed to invest in nuclear projects in the near future. Currently, only the Centre is allowed to invest in nuclear power in the country in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. However, according to Dr V K Chaturvedi, the Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), State Governments will be allowed equity participation in nuclear power projects. He revealed this to a group of visiting journalists at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot laid the foundation stones for two nuclear power stations recently. Dr Chaturvedi said amendments in the 1962 act had been proposed and it will be tabled in Parliament soon. He said besides the State Governments, private companies, public-sector enterprises and other institutions will also be allowed to participate in projects of the Government-owned nuclear power production facilities. ''There could be joint ventures too,'' he added. According to Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chief Dr Anil Kakodkar, the NPCIL has set a target to produce 20,000 MW by the year 2020 using nuclear resources and this will require huge investments. / UNI/ ***************************************************************** 11 Havel's Forum seeks end to farm subsidies* United Press International By Martin Walker UPI Chief International Correspondent PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The farewell meeting of Czech President Vaclav Havel's Forum 2000 global think tank closed with a call to scrap rich world farm subsidies and tariff barriers, and for international corporations and their top executives and directors to be personally liable for the environmental damage they cause. It was "logically insane" for the United States, Europe and Japan to spend $350 billion a year subsidizing their own farmers, seven times more than they send in aid to the developing world, when those farm subsidies keep out lower-priced food exports from poor nations, the Forum argued. The Forum also called for all media organizations, including satellite TV channels, to provide and publish a "Letters to the Editor" system under which readers and viewers could have a right to reply and to challenge the reporting. "We have to create a level playing field, in trade and in global finance and corporate behavior and in the new global media," said former South African premier Frederik Willem De Klerk as the conference closed Sunday. But even a call to establish a global monitoring system for corporate behavior under U.N. auspices was too tame for some radical spokesmen who refused to support the proposal. "If I sign this, I lose my job," said Ricardo Navarro, chairman of Friends of the Earth International. "This proposal is like repairing the doors and windows when the whole house is collapsing. Our liberal economic system is making life on Earth unsustainable." But the call for more stringent controls on corporate behavior, along with the dismantling of farm subsidies and tariff barriers against poor countries was strongly endorsed by World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials, corporate chiefs and other non-governmental organizations. At the same time, they demanded more reforms from the developing world. "Of course bad government, corruption and the absence of the rule of law in many countries is not the whole problem, but you cannot ignore it," said the EU's Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten. "Whether as governor of Hong Kong or before that as a Development minister in a British government, I found that the countries most worth investing in were those that treated their own people best." Founded Havel three years ago, the Forum 2000 group has brought together global figures like Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton and Jordan's Prince Hassan with corporate and financial leaders and NGOs to foster a "global civil society." Although the Forum will continue, this was the last time Havel would preside as Czech president, after 12 years in office that have seen the "velvet divorce" of the Czech and Slovak Republics, and the Czechs join the NATO alliance and now the European Union. This year's Forum focused on "Bridging Global Gaps" between the industrialized and developing worlds, particularly in the fields of trade, finance, corporate behavior and the role of the media. After heated criticisms of the role of the global media, dominated by a handful of groups mainly based in the United States and Europe, the Forum, after long debate, recommended that "freedom of the press is fundamental and non-negotiable." The most far-reaching proposal was for: "A concentrated strategy to implement the goals of accountability, transparency and environmental protection, that would involve corporations, civil society, and NGOs under the same umbrella in a U.N.-structured framework to establish benchmarks to independently monitor compliance from industry to industry." The Forum also demanded a new system of global accounting, not simply to end such accounting disasters as the Enron scandal, but to require corporations to assess the full environmental and other "externality costs" of their operations. This would mean, for example, nuclear power stations having to assess future nuclear clean-up costs, or that hydro-electric dams figure in the costs of lost farmland and human relocation. The Forum recommended that "legal requirements that corporations publish as part of their disclosure requirements the scale and extent of their externality costs, and that they be legally liable for disclosure." There should also be "international binding agreements on corporate accountability, with corporations being made liable for damage generated, including individuals in posts of responsibility." Copyright © 2002 United Press International ***************************************************************** 12 Iran got nuclear know-how from North Korea Back Home The American discovery that North Korea has successfully developed a nuclear munitions device, despite its international commitments to non-proliferation, has a Middle Eastern aspect. By Ze'ev Schiff The American discovery that North Korea has successfully developed a nuclear munitions device, despite its international commitments to non-proliferation, has a Middle Eastern aspect. Part of the country's efforts to produce enriched uranium, as well as tests on its long-range missile engines, are being conducted in Iran, in exchange for Pyongyang aid to Tehran in these two areas as well as the concealment of such efforts from the United States' and North Korea's neighbors. Many American experts assume that the basic aid for the development of centrifuges for enriching uranium was provided to North Korea by Pakistan in exchange for Pyongyang aid in developing missiles - a nuclear know-how for missile know-how trade. Those deals were made in the early 1990s, before Pakistan's current president, General Pervez Musharaf, took power. Since then, North Korea has made significant progress in developing its nuclear munitions. However, its dealings with Iran are much more recent. The North Korean move toward Iran is different. Apparently, Pyongyang entered the deal with the intention of hiding its activity from the spying eyes of the United States' and North Korea's neighbors. American intelligence, and the intelligence services of Japan and South Korea, have long been watching Pyongyang's nuclear and missile technology. North Korea's violation of its nuclear commitments put an end to the 1994 agreement it signed with the United States, South Korea and Japan, which promised Pyongyang modern nuclear power plants based on light water and to provide it with fuel for several years, in exchange for ceasing operations of nuclear plants in which plutonium was being produced. The Iranians are getting know-how from North Korea on building centrifuges for producing enriched uranium as well as know-how on developing engines for long-range missiles. Foreign sources say the North Korean centrifuges in Iran have reached the operational stage for production, but they do not know when the stage was reached and how much of the processed uranium Iran will get from North Korea's centrifuges. In any case, however, the deal will certainly advance Iran's nuclear ambitions. As for North Korea's activities in Iran regarding missiles, the foreign sources said that Pyongyang has already tested the engines of Taepo Dong missiles. The first version of the missile was built in 1998, while the more advanced version came out less than a year later. The missile is believed to have a range of between 3,500-5,000 kilometers. Early testing of the missile in North Korea prompted vehement criticism by its neighbors. The Iranians have begun planning a Shihab-5 on the basis of the Taepo Dong missiles. North Korea's involvement with Iran is not its only activity in the Middle East. The country helped Syria develop a production line for improved range Scud missiles, including advanced Scud D missiles. Egypt also has a missile connection with North Korea. Under American pressure, Cairo was forced to forgo a deal to purchase 50 Nodong missile engines from Pyongyang. Nodong missiles have a range of 1,300 kilometers and form the basis of the Shihab-3 missile developed by Iran and the mid-range Pakistani missile. Israel now must determine how much Pyongyang help to Tehran has advanced Iranian ambitions considering the failure to block the Russian technology leak to Iran. Furthermore, if Washington now applies pressure on North Korea, forcing it back into isolation, how will that affect Pyongyang weapons development activity in other Arab countries. There is also the question of how the new crisis with North Korea will affect Washington's plans for Iraq. With North Korea joining the nuclear club and Iran on its way, there will be severe regional implications for Asian countries like Japan and South Korea as well as for various Middle Eastern countries. © Copyright 2002 Ha`aretz. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 13 Ministerial Talks Stall over Nuclear Issue Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea by Kim In-ku (ginko@chosun.com) Representatives from South and North Korea held working-level meetings in Pyongyang continued negotiations Tuesday to iron out differences and reach agreements on a number of issues. Reports out of the North Korean capital indicate the key sticking point was the issue of the North's covert nuclear weapons development program being included into a joint press release. South Korean delegates urged their North Korean counterparts to abide by all of its nuclear-related agreements, but the North was unwilling to state any commitments, vaguely mentioning instead, that it is willing to discuss the issue with the United States on condition that the Bush administration withdraw its hostile policy towards the Stalinist state. A source said North Korea refused to include any direct nuclear development reference, but wanted to include it as a peripheral issue. He continued South Korean delegates had said that they would consider the talks a failure if the North continues with its refusal. Other issues addressed during the four-day Cabinet-level talks include that of South Koreans kidnapped by the North since the Korean War, and a proposal to hold a second round of military contacts, but no agreement was made on these due to the failure in addressing nuclear concerns. ***************************************************************** 14 Ambassador Hubbard Says US Will Not Attack NK Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea by Lee Kil-sung (atticus@chosun.com) US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard said Tuesday the US government seeks a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear weapons issue through dialogue and that Pyongyang must suspend development to show it was following international agreements. Ambassador Hubbard said Washington has no intention to attack and destroy North Korea and would approach the matter in close cooperation with allies South Korea and Japan. Hubbard was speaking at a conference sponsored by the World Economic Institute at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Hubbard noted that the North only acknowledged of its clandestine nuclear weapon development program, after US Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelley told his counterpart, Kang Suk Ju of Washington's evidence. He said Kelly immediately reported Pyongyang¡¯s acknowledgment to the Korean and Japanese governments on his way back to the US. However, in consideration of North-South dialogue underway at the time an official announcement was postponed. Hubbard commented Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi also knew about Pyongyang¡¯s acknowledgement before his visit to Pyongyang and Washington had no intention to interrupt his visit to North Korea. The ambassador said that North Korea was mistaken if it thought it would acquire some economic benefit from its acknowledgment, and should know its nuclear development would only be another obstacle producing more economic difficulties. He added so far, Washington has not made any decision about suspension of its light-ware reactor program and that member states of KEDO would make a decision regarding this matter. In regard of arguments that President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" helped Pyongyang in its nuclear development, Hubbard remarked that despite controversy about the policy among US government officials at the beginning of the Bush administration, Washington has continuously supported it since it was the right approach for peace and reconciliation between North and South Korea, adding there was no need to make negative statements about it. Regarding anti-US sentiment among some in Korea, Hubbard said it was up to Korean people to think about how the US-Korea military alliance has influenced South Korea's existence and prosperity. It they reach a consensus that the alliance is necessary for a more secure and more prosperous Korea, the old generation must persuade the younger one. ***************************************************************** 15 U.S. informed Koizumi of North Korean threat in Aug. Mainichi Interactive - Top News The United States notified Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in August that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons well before he visited Pyongyang on Sept. 17 to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The revelations are expected to stir controversy over Japan's response to Pyongyang's nuclear program, as a joint statement that Koizumi and Kim issued following their meeting fails to clearly mention their agreement on the nuclear weapons and missiles program. It also fuels speculations that Washington urged Japan to attach particular importance to not only the abduction of Japanese nationals but also the nuclear weapons program during its upcoming normalization talks with Pyongyang. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage secretly told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Aug. 27 Pyongyang was developing nuclear weapons targeting Japan, according to the sources. The move came before Tokyo announced on Aug. 30 that Koizumi would visit Pyongyang. Moreover, James Kelly, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs accompanying Armitage, also informed former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in Tokyo on Aug. 26 of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. When Koizumi voiced grave concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons program during the summit meeting, Kim, who had just offered sincere apologies for the abduction of Japanese nationals, reacted angrily, government sources said. Kelly and North Korean officials also exchanged angry words in Pyongyang earlier this month over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, the sources said. (Mainichi Shimbun, Oct. 22, 2002) Related stories: Japan to scrap talks unless N.Korea cans nuke program © 2002 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under ***************************************************************** 16 N Koreans offer America talks on nuclear fears [Guardian Unlimited] John Gittings, East Asia editor Guardian Tuesday October 22, 2002 North Korea said that it wished to continue talks with the US as East Asian diplomats scrambled to try to prevent a new nuclear crisis on the divided peninsula yesterday. "If the US is willing to stop its hostile policy towards us, we are prepared to deal with various security concerns through dialogue," Pyongyang's second in command, Kim Yong-nam, told a visiting South Korean delegation. The crisis arose after the US said last week that Pyongyang had confirmed that it was running a secret uranium-enrichment project, in spite of having agreed in 1994 to stopping its nuclear programme. Yesterday the South Korean government, desperate to keep its policy of detente with the North alive, tried to dispel the atmosphere of gloom after the US claim that Pyongyang had said it had "nullified" the 1994 agreement. The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, had said that as a result the US considered the pact effectively dead. The South's unification minister, Jeong Se-hyun, told Kim Yong-nam in Pyongyang that the revelation had darkened the mood, and urged the North to end its programme. The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, who has opened his own dialogue with the North, also tried to keep the process going yesterday. The nuclear issue would have to be dealt with as a top priority, he said, but "one must not assume that [the talks] are doomed from the start". North Korea's neighbours, while unhappy, believe that they, unlike the Americans, cannot enjoy the luxury of writing off North Korea as part of the "axis of evil". Senior White House officials say that the US has decided to scrap the 1994 agreement, according to reports this weekend. But some aides are said to advising that this could provoke Pyongyang into speeding up its programme. Many experts believe that the North is using the nuclear issue to lever out Washington's agreement to lift its sanctions and give it diplomatic recognition, and that the crude tactic has misfired. In a startling development, the South Korean defence ministry said that it had acquired intelligence about the North Korean effort to obtain uranium-enrichment abroad as long ago as "early 1999". The information was passed to the US, a defence spokesman said. This revelation underlines the southern president Kim Dae-jung's determination at that time to focus on opening a dialogue with the North. His efforts paid off a year later with the June 2000 summit in Pyongyang, but diplomatic progress since then has been slow. President Kim, who leaves office at the end of the year, is now under attack by South Korean conservatives for "soft-pedalling" on the North's nuclear programme. The crisis has had wider diplomatic consequences since leaked US allegations that Russia and China have contributed technology to Pyongyang's nuclear programme. The claim has been angrily dismissed by Moscow and Beiijng, but the subject may be raised during President Jiang Zemin's visit to the US this week. China has already issued new regulations tightening its controls on the export of hi-tech military products. · A US official handed Russia a secret dossier on North Korea's nuclear programme yesterday, saying that both powers were concerned by Pyongyang's breach of non-proliferation accords. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 17 UK: Power firms brave pricing turmoil BBC NEWS | Business | Tuesday, 22 October, 2002, 07:36 GMT 08:36 By Briony Hale BBC News Online business reporter You could be forgiven for thinking that the UK power industry is in the middle of a crisis. Powergen has warned that the market is "bust", US firms are deserting the market in droves, and wholesale electricity prices have fallen through the floor. If you open the market, you've got to expect that there will be casualties Nick Holland, Energy Consultant But the so-called crisis is not worrying customers, nor even the industry regulator. And analysts say that the troubles are due to markets behaving as free markets are meant to do. That is because the problem is a simple one - there is just too much electricity for sale. Cash-strapped The National Grid Company has 68 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity available this winter, but peak demand is only expected to reach 55 gigawatts. That significant over-capacity of about 22% has led prices to almost halve from the value of 10 years ago. Many companies have also blamed the structure of the new electricity trading agreement (Neta) for the sharp fall in prices. Either way, the fall in prices has left many of the generation firms in a tight financial squeeze. Selling out TXU Europe, part of an American utility, warned that it was facing bankruptcy before selling its business to Powergen. There are also concerns about the solvency of the US-owned AES Drax plant, the UK's largest coal-fired power station. And British Energy, the nuclear generator, is being propped up by a controversial government loan and is facing an uncertain future. On the supply front, all nine US firms which once owned regional supply businesses have sold out. Survival of the fittest Low gas prices and a market system rigged heavily in favour of the generators enticed a wealth of firms into the marketplace. This is a direct result of a market that for 10 years has been loaded in favour of the generators Ofgem A deregulated electricity market appeared to be an attractive new money-maker, and US firms rushed to sign up. But increased competition and adverse market conditions have caused the newcomers - unable to weather the storm - to jump ship. "This is a direct result of a market that for 10 years has been loaded in favour of the generators," said a spokesman from Ofgem, the industry regulator. "If you open the market, you've got to expect that there will be casualties," said Nick Holland, an energy consultant at John Hall Associates. Boom and bust Many experts have also said that the mass exodus is an expected pattern of consolidation after the post-liberalisation boom days. Powergen's chairman Ed Wallis predicted years ago that the industry would consolidate down to four or five key players who both generated electricity and supplied the regional networks. "It's akin to the dot.com scenario when loads of firms rushed to be a part of the latest craze without waiting to work out how they would make money," said Stephen Hall, an industry expert at Energy Argus. And the Enron affair has also played its part. The US utilities - facing weak shareholder confidence on the home front - have been unable to maintain money-draining arms overseas. In search of a martyr While the consolidation is now well underway, the problem of over-capacity still needs to be solved. Someone somewhere is going to have to shut down all or part of its generation business. Many fingers are already pointing at British Energy since the firm is already close to bankruptcy due to expensive commitments to process nuclear waste. But the British government may chose to intervene as nuclear generation helps meet environmental commitments. On the rise Other solutions are also being mooted. Stuart Gray, Wood McKenzie's power expert, suspects that Powergen has bought up TXU's plants in order to remove them from the supply equation and boost prices again. Meanwhile, wholesale electricity prices are already starting to rise on the expectations that a martyr will soon be found. The rebound is yet more proof that this "crisis" is a simple case of the forces of supply and demand at work. And the open market is simply fulfilling its purpose. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 18 Concern over new draft Iraq resolution BBC NEWS | Europe | Tuesday, 22 October, 2002, 14:55 GMT [Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television at his swearing-in ceremony] Saddam: Could avoid military action if complies with UN Key members of the United Nations Security Council have criticised a new American draft resolution on disarming Iraq. Russian officials are reported to have voiced disappointment with a new US draft, while the French foreign minister said much work remained to be done on the new proposal. Some progress is still needed and we therefore still have much work to do Dominique de Villepin French Foreign Minister The US submitted the new draft resolution to the four other permanent members of the security council - China, Britain, France and Russia - on Monday. The wording of the draft resolution has not been disclosed. Moscow criticised the new draft, saying it was not very different from previous proposals aimed at compelling Baghdad to disarm. [Hans Blix] Blix: Counting on Iraqi co-operation to avoid war A "reliable source" in Moscow quoted by the Russian news agencies Itar-Tass and Interfax said that the document was a "serious disappointment, particularly since US officials have said a lot in recent days about being ready to take into account the positions of other countries and to find a mutually acceptable compromise". French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said: "Some progress is still needed and we therefore still have much work to do." If he [Saddam] were to meet all the conditions of the UN, the conditions that I've described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed President Bush The Russian and French reaction came as the chief United Nations weapons inspector, Hans Blix, was due to meet the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, in Moscow to discuss efforts to send weapons inspectors back to Iraq. "I think that if the Iraqis help and co-operate to create confidence that there remain no weapons of mass destruction, then I think there will be no war," Mr Blix said. US pursues diplomacy US President George W Bush has said he believes that Iraq can be disarmed peacefully and that he is willing to give diplomacy one more try. His comments appeared to suggest that Saddam Hussein might be allowed to stay in power if he complied with the UN. [UN weapons inspectors destroying sarin gas rockets in Iraq] Weapons inspectors were pulled out of Iraq in 1998 But the BBC's Jon Leyne in Washington describes Mr Bush's formulation as a tactical change of emphasis designed to reassure other members of the security council. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington wanted to wrap up negotiations with the new draft resolution - signalling that Washington was unlikely to compromise further. A senior State Department official said Washington had made concessions regarding the consequences of Iraqi non-compliance with UN arms inspectors and the actual inspection regime. France and Russia have been pushing for a two-step approach, in which a first resolution would set out new guidelines for the weapons inspections. A second would allow for force to be considered only if Iraq was deemed to have violated the first resolution. According to US officials, the revised US text allows but does not require the Security Council to consider using force if and when the UN weapons inspectors report that Baghdad is not in compliance. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 19 N Korea: Disputes occur on DPRK nuclear issue China Daily 10/22/2002 SEOUL: The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan appeared to be at odds with the United States yesterday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear programmes, working to keep afloat an arms control pact pronounced dead by Washington. The ROK called for consultations with allies to keep alive the so-called 1994 Agreed Framework under which the DPRK vowed to freeze its nuclear programme. Under the 1994 deal, a consortium is building safe, light-water reactors in the DPRK, as well as shipping fuel oil for the country. The consortium, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), has been funded mainly by the ROK, Japan, the United States and the European Union (EU). The South's efforts drew support from Japan and gained momentum when the DPRK hinted it was ready to discuss halting its nuclear drive in return for US support. "I hope Japan, the United States and South Korea (ROK), through close consultation, will utilize KEDO and bring about a solution," Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said. Koizumi characterized KEDO as "a realistic framework" to stop the DPRK's nuclear development. The apparent policy rift was prompted by remarks by US officials that Washington views the 1994 deal as "nullified," following Pyongyang's alleged admission it has facilities to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. "As far as we are concerned, it's nullified," US Secretary of State Colin Powell told NBC television on Sunday. But he stressed Washington would "not take immediate, precipitous" steps. In response to Pyongyang's reported admission of its enriched uranium programme, the EU has said it may review its participation in KEDO's multibillion dollar project. The ROK media pool reports yesterday quoted Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, as telling the South's visiting Unification Minister, Jeong Se-hyun, that the DPRK is ready for dialogue. "If the United States is prepared to abandon its hostile policy toward us, we are ready for dialogue to resolve security issues of concern," Kim was quoted as saying. Agencies via Xinhua Copyright 2002 by chinadaily.com.cn. all rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 Outsider Green Wants Inside The Salt Lake Tribune -- Tuesday, October 22, 2002 BY DAN HARRIE Craig Axford is running for election as hard as he can, but he doesn't consider himself a politician. "I pride myself on telling people what I actually think rather than what they want to hear," says the Green Party hopeful for Utah's 1st Congressional District. Axford is upset that he is being shut out of most of the televised debates in the campaign because he doesn't register high enough in public-opinion polls. That is bad for voters, says the 33-year-old Salt Lake City resident, because the major-party candidates are similar on lots of issues. "There's an entire perspective to the [political] left that is just completely ignored," he says. At the top of the list of undebated issues is the possible invasion of Iraq. Axford opposes the plan and rejects the Bush administration's proposed policy of pre-emptive military action. "I am very horrified about the policy this government seems to be adopting," Axford says. "We urge other countries not to attack their neighbors in the name of self-defense." He also points to the different treatment being given to Iraq compared with North Korea, which recently admitted conducting a nuclear-weapons program. "The hypocrisy to me is just glaring." Axford also takes strong stands in favor of a national health care plan, calling it "reprehensible and shameful" that some Americans are in a position of "choosing between prescription drugs and dinner." The Green candidate is the only one of the three in the race who supports ballot Initiative 1, which would increase taxes on low-level radioactive waste being disposed of at the Envirocare facility in Tooele County. The measure also would ban "hotter" types of waste. "Utah has historically been either downwind or a dumping ground for the last half century," Axford says, "and it's time we just said, 'Enough!' " © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 21 Chinese FM Spokesman on DPRK Nuclear Issue Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 22, 2002 China has always held that dialogue and negotiation are the most effective way to resolve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). China has always held that dialogue and negotiation are the most effective way to resolve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remark in Beijing Tuesday at a regular press conference, saying that China hoped the countries concerned would resolve the issue peacefully. Liu acknowledged that the framework agreement reached between the United States and the DPRK in 1994 had played an important role in keeping the Korean Peninsula nuclear free and maintaining peace and stability there. The agreement, which was not easy to achieve, should be observed faithfully by all related parties. China has always been dedicated to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and supported it being nuclear free, he said. China hoped the agreement would be observed, and the problems between the two sides could be properly settled through dialogue and negotiation. Moreover, Liu noted the DPRK nuclear issue concerned not only the United States but China at well. Not long ago, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John Bolton visited China, and held discussions with his Chinese counterparts on the related issues. Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 22 Economic muscle may be Washington's main weapon [http://www.ft.com] By Andrew Ward Published: October 22 2002 5:00 | Last Updated: October 22 2002 5:00 Washington has said that it is not prepared to enter negotiations about North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. Yet it has also made clear that the US does not favour military action against Pyongyang. The only other weapon available for Washington to use against the communist state, say analysts, is economic sanctions. While North Korea's 1m-strong army and formidable arsenal of weaponry serves as an effective deterrent against military attack, the country's fragile command economy is vulnerable. However, any attempt by the US to strangle the crumbling economy would be controversial, risky and not guaranteed to succeed. The most obvious step the US could take to put economic pressure on North Korea would be to scrap the energy aid promised as part of a 1994 agreement between the two countries. The 1994 Agreed Framework committed the US to supplying 500,000 tons of fuel oil each year to energy-starved North Korea in return for Pyongyang halting its nuclear weapons programme. Washington and its allies also agreed to build two "safe" nuclear reactors in North Korea to replace ones that were being used for military purposes. Colin Powell, US secretary of state, said over the weekend that the Agreed Framework was dead, following North Korea's admission that it had continued to develop nuclear weapons. However, he said that no decision had been made about whether to halt energy aid. An intense debate is under way within the US administration and between Washington and its allies, to decide what to do next. Hawks within the Bush administration are arguing for the aid to be halted. They were always queasy about providing aid and nuclear technology to a hostile regime. North Korea's confession has provided them with the excuse they were looking for to scrap the deal. However, more dovish voices in Washington sympathise with South Korea's concerns about the impact of withdrawing aid. North Korea's economy was isolated when barter trade with the Soviet Union vanished at the end of the cold war. Since then, its once-formidable industrial sector has ground to a halt and famine has killed at least 1m people. Economic output shrank by a third during the 1990s. The economy has grown a little each year since 2000 but remains dependent on foreign aid for its survival - North Korea does not produce enough food to feed its 22m people. Washington has insisted that its contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme's relief effort in North Korea would continue on humanitarian grounds even if economic support was scrapped. However, the reality is that international food aid to North Korea is dropping as donors become frustrated with Pyongyang's failure to help itself. The WFP will fail to feed nearly half the 6.4m people who rely on it this year because of the shortage. Withdrawal of US energy aid would worsen the plight of North Koreans and put the economy at risk of collapse. Visitors to North Korea report that rural towns rely on candlelight at night because of electricity shortages. Factories suffer regular shutdowns because of power failures. Seoul is nervous about any US actions that might increase the chance of sudden state collapse in North Korea. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's "sunshine" policy of inter-Korean engagement is designed to encourage gradual reform in the north over many years to reduce the cost and risks involved in eventual reunification. A US attack on North Korea's economy would undermine this strategy. ING, the investment bank, calculates that sudden reunification following economic implosion in North Korea could cost up to $3,000bn (£1,935bn, 3,085bn) in the first 10 years, leading to a "precipitous drop in the south's living standards". Nobody in Washington is publicly advocating state collapse as an objective of withdrawing aid - though some policymakers privately believe such an outcome would be the quickest way to free the North Korean people from their suffering and rid the world of its last Stalinist regime. Instead, economic sanctions would be designed to force North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, to abandon his weapons programme in order to save his regime. Japan appears ready to join any effort to target North Korea's economy. In September, Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese prime minister, agreed to grant billions of dollars of aid to North Korea as part of normalisation of relations. However, Yoriko Kawaguchi, Japan's foreign minister, yesterday said Tokyo would not push the process forward "without progress on security-related issues". Even South Korea could join an economic blockade if, as expected, Lee Hoi-chang, presidential candidate of the conservative Grand National party, wins December's election. Mr Lee wants to make aid conditional on Pyongyang's good behaviour. However, analysts say the US and its allies should not underestimate North Korea's resilience. Some even warn that Pyongyang could lash out with military force if backed into a corner. "If North Korea can survive the economic difficulties it faced in the mid-1990s when famine was killing hundreds of thousands, it can survive anything," says one diplomat. ***************************************************************** 23 China reiterates opposition to N Korea's nuclear programme Channelnewsasia.com [http://www.channelnewsasia.com] China Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has reiterated his country's opposition to the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Speaking during a visit to Colombia, Mr Tang told reporters: "China has always insisted that the Korean peninsula be a peninsula free of nuclear weapons. "North and South Korea subscribed and agreed before to make this zone free of nuclear weapons and China supports this proposal and agreement," he added. Mr Tang also said he hoped a diplomatic and political solution to the Iraq problem could be negotiated through the United Nations. "The five permanent members of the Security Council follow a consulting and debating process and the final decision is based on this. "China has always hoped that the problem with Iraq can be solved by diplomatic political means through the United Nations." Copyright © 2002 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd ***************************************************************** 24 Resolving NK Nuke Problem KoreaTimes : By Oh Young-jin Staff Reporter Is there a solution to the problem created by North Korea¡¯s recent admission to having an ongoing nuclear program in apparent violation of an agreement it signed with the United States eight years ago? If so, what is it? Efforts to find ways to resolve a problem that has yet to fully materialize may be premature, or even prove to be counterproductive. But the pressing nature of Pyongyang¡¯s nuclear program may somehow justify them. The solution-finding endeavor should start with a careful stocktaking effort, to see where the pertinent parties stand. The Bush administration has made clear its stance that Pyongyang¡¯s admitted nuclear program is not subject to negotiation. The rationale behind the United State¡¯s tough stance is that Pyongyang¡¯s confession proved that it has cheated Washington by running a secret nuclear program in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework in which the Stalinist state promised to freeze its suspected nuclear activities in return for the provision of two light-water reactors. According to U.S. officials, the North should first declare its intention to do away with its nuclear program and let the outside world verify whether it follows its declaration with action. By many indications, Washington thinks that it has an upper hand over the North this time, being determined not to let Pyongyang take the initiative. The U.S. seems to be convinced of the effectiveness of its hard-line method, pointing at a recent series of moves by the North to open itself up to the outside. In other words, there is no place for the North, as it has been known, in the Utopian world Bush dreams of creating following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans on their soil. One¡¯s Utopia, however, often proves to be another¡¯s Distopia. From Pyongyang¡¯s point of view, Washington¡¯s demand for Pyongyang¡¯s renunciation of its suspected nuclear program is tantamount to an unconditional surrender. The likelihood is that Pyongyang had intended to use it as a bargaining chip when it made a confession to a visiting U.S. official about its nuclear program. The question is whether the North is willing to accept the U.S. demand without putting up a fight to get something in return. The Stalinist nation is seeing its hand weakened significantly compared with the nuclear crisis leading up to the Geneva pact. Its economy is in worse shape, which apparently played a part in its recent diplomatic ``coming-out.¡¯¡¯ Kim Jong-il, surprisingly, admitted to having kidnapped Japanese nationals during Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi¡¯s Sept. 17 visit to the North Korean capital, while allowing work to resume in efforts to reconnect severed cross-border railroads. These moves came amid reports that Kim was entertaining the idea of introducing market elements in his cloistered centrally controlled economy. Signs indicated the North had owned up to the flaws in its system and was trying to find a way out of its troubles, an experiment that guarantees no successful outcome. All signs considered, it still remains difficult to imagine that Pyongyang will take the bait, however hungry it may be, because it tends to believe that any hint of weakness may invite a tougher challenge not only from the inside but from the outside as well. A Seoul diplomat admitted that the Bush administration will not likely settle for the verification of the nuclear program Pyongyang has just acknowledged but wants to take this opportunity to have it account for its past nuclear activities. Although it is not a signatory to the bilateral Geneva agreement, Seoul, which has an equal stake in the ongoing standoff, feels obligated to bridge these seemingly ``irreconcilable¡¯¡¯ differences between the two parties. The motives for Seoul¡¯s intention to keep itself involved lies in the threat to its security posed by a potential standoff between the two rivals and its intention to maintain a say in the decision of its fate to the level it had enjoyed for a couple of years prior to the Bush administration¡¯s inauguration. The solution to this new equation with countless variables may be one or more, simple or complicated, depending on a series of actions and reactions among the parties concerned. Standing at a threshold that may lead to another crisis on the peninsula, one may as well hope that Pyongyang¡¯s nuke admission and Washington¡¯s tougher rhetoric in return may end up being saber-rattling to sound each other out in the initial stage of negotiations that will be wrapped up at an early date through dialogue. oh@koreatimes.co.kr ÀԷ½ð£ 2002/10/22 17:34 ***************************************************************** 25 Watchdogs warn more repairs at US nuclear plants October 21, 2002 04:46 PM ET By Leonard Anderson SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear power business, forking out millions of dollars to fix corroded "lids" atop several reactors, likely faces more big repair jobs, industry watchdogs warn. An aging fleet of 103 reactors - about 20 percent of the nation's power supply - needs to overhaul or replace a host of complex systems, among them giant transformers, circuitry, insulating systems and other costly gear, they said. Repair bills, however, may soar if the industry's inspection programs don't do a better job of detecting problems at an early stage, a criticism raised by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nuclear watchdog group. The biggest price tag is for downtime, which can cost a plant owner nearly $500,000 a day just to buy electricity the plant would have generated otherwise. The bill for an extended outage at FirstEnergy's FE.N badly damaged 25-year-old Davis-Besse reactor in Ohio, for example, is expected to approach $400 million. While public safety appears to be in no immediate danger, the same cannot be said for the earnings of utilities forced to shut plants for lengthy repairs. The challenge is that utilities may not be able to pinpoint plant problems because inspections by the industry's chief federal regulator have been cut back, David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer at the UCS told Reuters. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must have more resources for inspections," Lochbaum said. A scathing "lessons learned" report issued Oct. 9 by the NRC said the commission failed to carry out inspections that could have found the acid leak that shut Davis-Besse in March. The acid nearly ate a hole through a 6-inch (15-cm) thick, 150-ton steel lid bolted down on top of the reactor, leaving only a 3/8-inch (1-cm) thick stainless steel liner to contain the enormous pressure inside the reactor. PREVENTABLE The NRC's report said the whole mess could have been avoided but was not because, among other things, Davis-Besse's owner "failed to assure that plant safety issues would receive appropriate attention." Davis-Besse's woes have forced FirstEnergy to replace the damaged lid, delay restart of the idled plant to early next year, and cut its 2002 earnings forecast. Other operators are scrambling to detect any similar leaks at their own plants, among them Richmond, Va.-based Dominion D.N , which is replacing lids on its four Virginia reactors. Duke Energy DUK.N also plans to put new caps on the three reactors at its Oconee nuclear plant in South Carolina in 2003-2004. Meanwhile, the company will plug leaks on the lid atop Oconee Unit 2, now shut for refueling. Despite NRC criticism, nuclear industry officials are confident their inspection programs are in good shape. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group, noted that at least two NRC inspectors are stationed full time at each plant to ensure they meet NRC regulations. Additional NRC inspectors are brought in when needed. John Vincent, a senior project manager at NEI, said the NRC may conduct 10 to 25 inspections a year at a plant, not counting special NRC team inspections and inspections conducted by the utility's own engineers. INSPECTIONS REDUCED Critics, however, accuse the NRC of not being tough enough, of cutting the number of on-site inspectors, and reducing inspection hours by 25 percent over the past five years. Lochbaum said the cuts reflect "intense pressure to reduce costs due to utility deregulation, and the result is they are cutting back the safety net, which is the NRC." The NRC acknowledged the cuts but said adding inspectors at its regional offices has given it "more flexibility." The commission also said fewer inspection hours partly reflect completion of earlier projects, including lengthy safety reviews at the big Millstone plant in Connecticut. A new reactor oversight process lets the NRC do "more focused" safety inspections, the commission said, adding: "There will always be budget pressures to be more efficient; however, working smarter and more focused does not equate to a cutback of the 'safety net.'" Lochbaum said, however, that inspectors should do more to examine circuit breakers and outside transformers at nuclear power plants. "This seems to be the next problem on the horizon. They're not tested as frequently," he said. He cited two incidents involving electrical fires in 2001 at the San Onofre plant in Southern California, 75 percent owned by Edison International's EIX.N Southern California Edison unit, plus transformer fires at other locations. Insulation to control heat loss from the maze of pipes and tubes in a reactor building is a concern, Lochbaum said. A broken pipe might cause insulating material to fall into a water tank and get recycled into the reactor, clogging filters and, in turn, overheating cooling water pumps. "We hope the the lessons learned from Davis-Besse will lead to better oversight and knowledge, both for the NRC and plant owners," Lochbaum said. ***************************************************************** 26 NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Statement for Proposed R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal NRC: News Release - Region I - 2002-063 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov No. I-02-063 October 21, 2002 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov [opa1@nrc.gov] Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will accept public comments on Wednesday, November 6, regarding an application submitted by Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E) Corp. to renew the operating license for the R.E. Ginna nuclear power plant in Wayne County, N.Y. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on environmental issues they believe the NRC should consider in its review of the application. There will be two sessions held on November 6 in the Betty Rissberger Community Room of the Webster Public Library, 980 Ridge Road, Webster, N.Y. The first session is scheduled for 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. The second session is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. The NRC will host an open house beginning one hour before the start of each meeting to provide members of the public with an opportunity to talk informally with agency staff. Both sessions will begin with identical overviews. The NRC staff will provide a presentation on the license renewal and environmental review processes, the proposed scope of the environmental review for the R.E. Ginna application and the proposed timeframe for the review. Interested government agencies, organizations and individuals will then have an opportunity to offer comments or suggestions on environmental issues they believe should be reviewed or on the proposed scope of the review. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating license for the R.E. Ginna plant is due to expire on Sept. 18, 2009. RG&E submitted its license renewal application on July 30. As part of its application, the company submitted an environmental report. Copies are available for review at the NRC Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., 1-800-397-4209, or through the NRCs web site at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, or at the following locations: + The Ontario Public Library, 1850 Ridge Road, Ontario, N.Y. 14519; and + The Rochester Public Library, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. 14604. An existing NRC document, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants (NUREG-1437), assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. The document for which the NRC will gather information at the November 6th sessions will be a supplement to that generic environmental statement that is specific to the R.E. Ginna plant. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action. At the conclusion of the information-gathering process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the conclusions reached and significant issues identified. A copy will be sent to each person who participated. The summary will also be available at the agencys Public Document Room and at the previously mentioned libraries. The NRC staff will then prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) supplement for public comment and will hold a public meeting to solicit comments. After consideration of comments on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final EIS supplement. Interested individuals may register to attend or present oral comments at the November 6th sessions by contacting Robert G. Schaaf of the NRC at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 1312, or by e-mail at GinnaEIS@nrc.gov [GinnaEIS@nrc.gov] no later than October 30. Members of the public may also register to speak at the meetings within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. In addition, members of the public may send written comments on the environmental scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail stop T-6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Written comments should be postmarked by December 11. Comments can also be sent via e-mail to GinnaEIS@nrc.gov [GinnaEIS@nrc.gov] no later than December 11. Monday, October 21, 2002 ***************************************************************** 27 Coast Guard seeks permanent security zone near Calvert Cliffs /* Wants area near Bay near nuclear plant closed/* By: HEATHER COPPLEY, Capital News Service October 21, 2002 **WASHINGTON - *The Coast Guard wants to establish a permanent security zone in the waters surrounding the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, a direct response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11.* A temporary zone was set up Feb. 28 because of the "increased risk that subversive activity could be launched by vessels or persons in close proximity" to the plant. But that zone, roughly 300 by 500 yards, is only closed to boats and swimmers until March 2003. The Coast Guard on Friday published notice of its intent to make the zone permanent, opening a 90-day public comment period on the plan. Operators of the nuclear power plant said they supported both the original closing and the move to make it permanent. "We totally support a permanent buoy and any other measures that the Coast Guard may take to ensure the security of the plant," said Angela Walters, a spokeswoman for Constellation Energy Group, which owns the plant. Walters said that the plant "works in close cooperation and communication with all enforcement agencies." Coast Guard Lt. Dulani Woods said that there have been no reported violations of the security zone since it was established in February. No one is allowed to enter the zone without prior permission from the Coast Guard captain or the captain of the Port for Baltimore. The Maryland Natural Resources Police are helping to patrol the area. The Natural Resources Police commander for the Southern Region, which includes Calvert County, where the plant is located, said the waters around the plant were popular with fishermen and charter boats before the security zone was put in place. But Lt. Richard Gardner also said that a public awareness campaign by the Coast Guard appeared to have successfully alerted boaters to the security zone. He said that the zone is heavily marked with "restricted area" buoys to deter anyone who was not already aware of the closure. Not only have there been no violations of he security zone, but both Woods and Gardner said that they have received no negative feedback from those who may have fished or boated in the waters before the area was restricted. That may be because they support the measure. Trevor Richards, president of the nearby Spring Cove Marina, said none of his customers have complained about the security zone. "I think everybody's pretty supportive," he said. /©The Star Democrat 2002/ ***************************************************************** 28 Canada: Bruce and Cameco co. investment level to increase globeinteractive.com: Making the Business of Life Easier Monday, October 21, 2002 ? Page B6 *Cameco Corp. *could end up increasing its stake in the Bruce Power nuclear facilities as a result of the financial crisis faced by the controlling shareholder *British Energy PLC*,an investment dealer says. In a report, UBS Warburg speculated that Saskatoon-based Cameco, which already owns a 15-per-cent stake in the facility, could be among the bidders interested if British Energy reduces its 82.4-per-cent interest in the long-term lease agreement. A union owns the balance. UBS said Exelon Corp. of Chicago, Dominion Resources Inc. of Richmond, Va., and Entergy Corp. of New Orleans could also be potential bidders for stakes in Bruce Power LP. "Yes, we are interested in an opportunity like this," a spokesman for Cameco said. Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, reported a profit in the first half of 2002 of $21.8-million or 31 cents a share on revenue of $319-million. "From a Cameco perspective, we take the view that an ultimate ownership of between 15 per cent to 50 per cent in Bruce Power would be ideal for Cameco, as greater than 50 per cent may put too much leverage on its balance sheet," UBS said. UBS also said that the proposed restart of the Bruce A nuclear facilities and a higher price for uranium could help push the shares of Cameco to $40, up from Friday's closing price of $30.34 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Once the Bruce A reactors are restarted in 2003, Cameco's profit could increase 55 cents a share on an annual basis, UBS said. Higher energy prices could push the profit to $1 a share, the investment dealer said. ***************************************************************** 29 NRC says no to third party review at Davis-Besse AP Wire | 10/22/2002 | [http://www.krwashington.com] BEACON JOURNAL OAK HARBOR, Ohio - Federal regulators have turned down a request to allow a third-party team of experts to look into reactor head damage at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant. Citizen groups had asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an outside review. Sam Collins, NRC nuclear reactor regulation director, formally rejected the request last week. Viktoria Mitlyng, an NRC spokeswoman, said the request was denied because issues that were raised are being addressed by NRC investigators. The decision did not surprise those who helped submit the petition, said Paul Gunter, of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington, D.C. A boric acid leak at the Davis-Besse plant found in March was the most extensive corrosion ever on a U.S. nuclear reactor and led to a nationwide review of all 69 similar plants. A second, smaller hole was found later at Davis-Besse. The plant near Toledo has been shut down since the corrosion was spotted. ***************************************************************** 30 AU: Green light for new reactor The Australian: [October 22, 2002] By Natalie Davison October 22, 2002 THE independent nuclear reactor watchdog has given the go ahead for a new reactor to be built at Sydney's Lucas Heights. The independent nuclear reactor watchdog has given the go ahead for a new reactor to be built at Sydney's Lucas Heights. Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) chief executive Dr John Loy today found the presence of a geological fault at the site of the replacement reactor would not pose a problem for construction. In June, fault lines were exposed by the foundation excavation at the replacement reactor site and construction was halted. But after three months of analysis Dr Loy today ruled the fault lines were no cause for concern and construction of a replacement reactor could go ahead. He said studies of the site showed the fault lines were at least five million years old and were consistent with general faulting in the Sydney basin. "I find that the faulting on the site of the replacement research reactor is not capable of resulting in surface displacement," Dr Loy ruled. ANSTO chief executive officer Helen Garnett said similar faults existed all over the Sydney basin, including under NSW Parliament House and buildings in Darling Harbour and those near the Opera House and Circular Quay. "According to international criteria, such ancient faults are not considered as being of any significance for the sitting of considerably larger power reactors, let alone research reactors," ANSTO said. Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran said the fault had been independently assessed and the decision to allow construction to go ahead was welcomed. "The study determined conclusively that the last movement of the fault was five million years ago, but it is probably more like 50 million," he said. But the local council said it was disappointed with the ruling. Sutherland Shire Council Mayor Phil Blight said further investigation of the faultline was needed. "ANSTO's own seismic advisers recommended further assessment - this has been disregarded, and we now have a new nuclear reactor under construction in one of Sydney's fastest growing residential areas, directly above an earthquake faultline." Mr Blight and a delegation of community representatives attempted to meet with ANSTO officials earlier today to discuss the faultline but were turned away. Among the delegation was a former Federal Science Minister's chief of staff, Dr Michael Selly, who has called for the reactor to be shut down due to current terrorist concerns. ANSTO said it was prepared to meet with Sutherland councillors but not other individuals, which included a journalist. Construction on the replacement reactor would resume as soon as possible, ANSTO said. The Australian ***************************************************************** 31 Australian officials okay nuclear reactor despite earthquake concerns Oct 22, 2002 AP World Politics SYDNEY, Australia - Australia's nuclear watchdog said Tuesday it did not believe earthquake fault lines found under the site of a new nuclear reactor being built in Sydney posed a problem and ordered the project to continue. Scientists discovered two fault lines in June during a routine examination of the reactor's excavation site at Lucas Heights in southwest Sydney, triggering calls for construction to stop. The federal government ordered an investigation by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, or ANSTO, which issued a report in September saying the last movement of the fault lines was between 5 million to 13 million years ago. After examining the report, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency said Tuesday it would allow construction of the reactor to continue. The agency's chief executive Dr. John Loy said the fault lines were consistent with others in the Sydney region, including lines under the Opera House and other buildings around the city's famous harbor. "I find that the faulting on the site of the replacement research reactor is not capable of resulting in surface displacement," Loy said in a statement. However, the local council said it was disappointed with the ruling. Sutherland Shire Council Mayor Phil Blight said further investigation of the fault line was needed. "ANSTO's own seismic advisers recommended further assessment — this has been disregarded. And we now have a new nuclear reactor under construction in one of Sydney's fastest growing residential areas, directly above an earthquake fault line," Blight said. The government approved construction of the new 300 million Australian dollar (US$165 million) reactor in April, 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 that will be decommissioned once the new reactor starts work in 2005. 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, in 1989, causing widespread damage and killing 13 people. Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information ***************************************************************** 32 [radiation-survivors] Ohio Nuke Plant Rapped on Radiation Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 00:24:19 -0500 (CDT) From: lona A must read, they forgot? gimme a break. -------------------- Ohio Nuke Plant Rapped on Radiation -------------------- By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Writer October 16, 2002, 1:17 PM EDT OAK HARBOR, Ohio -- Operators of a nuclear power plant didn't adequately check five workers who left the facility with specks of radioactive material on their clothing, federal inspectors said Wednesday. The radioactive particles were later found in hotel rooms and homes in Ohio, Texas, South Carolina and Virginia, according to FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the Davis-Besse power plant. There was no threat to the public, said Tom Kozak, a federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector. The five workers are being retested for any possible health effects, officials said. The plant staff did not properly assess how much radiation the workers were exposed to inside the plant's steam generator, Kozak said. The five workers and two others were performing maintenance in February during a routine shutdown at the plant near Toledo in northern Ohio. One of the other workers was not contaminated; the second had to be decontaminated. Akron-based FirstEnergy did not dispute the NRC findings. "We did not handle the issue as good as we could," said Lew Myers, head of the company's nuclear division. The company said it has made changes to how it judges radiation levels inside the plant and now requires all workers who go inside the steam generator to wear respirators. Regulators have yet to determine the significance of the problem and decide whether FirstEnergy should be penalized. In an unrelated issue, the NRC is investigating leaks that allowed boric acid to eat a 7-inch-wide hole almost through the 6-inch thick steel cap that covers the Davis-Besse reactor vessel. The leak was discovered in March. * __ On the Net: NRC: www.nrc.gov FirstEnergy: http://www.firstenergycorp.com Copyright (c) 2002, The Associated Press -------------------- This article originally appeared at: http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-nuclear-plant-radiation1016oct16,0,2181253.story Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Home Selling? Try Us! http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/jd3IAA/6xSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: radiation-survivors-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ----- Together we can make a difference.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 33 Enewetak: Mike Shot 50 years later* By Joshua Gefroh Ka Leo Staff Writer October 21, 2002 The 50th anniversary of the world's first hydrogen bomb test, which occurred on Nov. 1, 1952 on an atoll 2,500 miles southwest of Honolulu, is being observed amidst a global debate over Iraq's potential nuclear threat and as nuclear development programs in China, India, Pakistan and North Korea continue to flourish. While these may be new kinds of nuclear threats, the first hydrogen weapon test, code named "Mike Shot," remains a bellwether in demonstrating the dangerous and persistent ill effects of weapons of mass destruction. What happened on Enewetak Atoll, which is only a 5-hour flight from Hawai'i, "and the devastating consequences of the world's first hydrogen bomb to the land and to the environment of Enewetak is a timely discussion and worth considering when we are now considering what to do with Iraq," Davor Pevec, an attorney representing the Enewetak people, said during an Oct. 8 presentation at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The 10.4-megaton "Mike Shot" created an explosion 750 times more powerful than that which annihilated Hiroshima in 1945, Pevec said. It kept the United States ahead of the Soviet Union in nuclear ability, leading to a policy of terms that kept the two countries at bay and ultimately helped the United States win the Cold War. But it left behind a legacy of suffering and unresolved promises. "We have to bear in mind that if we affect other peoples by engaging in this kind of activity, the price we need to pay is to make them whole," Pevec said. "For the people of the Marshall Islands, the social consequences were severe and deep, and they have yet to be properly compensated," he said. "They have yet to be able to live the lives that they could have been living had this not occurred. Their land is not fully usable, and they can't live a traditional lifestyle because of that." A Department of Energy report, released in 1982, described a slice of that severity: "The immense ball of flame, cloud of dark dust, evaporated steel tower, melted sand for 1,000 feet, 10 million tons of water rising out of the lagoon, waves subsiding from a height of 80 feet to seven feet in 3 miles, were all repeated in various degrees, 43 times on Enewetak." While South Pacific nuclear testing began in 1946 with "Operation Crossroads" at Bikini Atoll, also in the Marshall Islands, Enewetak was better situated to accommodate the large aircraft needed to move the materials and 11,000 people involved in setting up the "Mike Shot." It was the ideal ground zero for a hydrogen bomb with a 3-mile-wide fireball, except it was inhabited. So, in December 1947, the entire population of Enewetak waved what they thought would be a temporary goodbye to the home that generations of Enewetakese had labored to make habitable. The U.S. Navy moved the 145 inhabitants of the atoll 120 miles southwest to the smaller, resource-poor Ujelang Atoll. At the time, they were told that they would be able to return to Enewetak fairly soon after the tests were completed ? perhaps in three to five years ? according to an affidavit, written nearly 30 years after the Enewetakese had been moved from their island by Capt. John P.W. Vest, the U.S. military governor for the Marshall Islands who was partly responsible for relocating the Enewetakese. "It certainly was not in my mind that it would be longer than that, or the taking of Enewetak for the testing program was permanent," Vest wrote. Three years passed, then five, then 33, as the Enewetakese waited in exile. According to Vest's affidavit, he was assured that the U.S. Navy would provide the Enewetakese with food, health care and education, which were included in the special privileges afforded them as wards of the United States, while on Ujelang Atoll. But the hardship and suffering for the Enewatakese began around 1950, following the Navy's departure from maintaining a weather station there, and to some degree still exists, according to anthropologist Laurence M. Carucci. Carucci spent two years in the late 1970s living among the Enewetak people on Ujelang and described their lives in the report "Ien Entaan im Jerata: Times of Suffering and Ill Fortune." "On Ujelang, they (the Enewetak) came to feel that they had been totally abandoned," he wrote. *Truman ordered atoll evacuation* A top-secret executive directive signed by President Harry Truman on Nov. 25, 1947 ordered "the evacuation of the natives of Eniwetok (sic) Atoll." But, the directive also included a memorandum by the Atomic Energy Commission that said of the Enewetakese: "They will be accorded all rights which are the normal constitutional rights of the citizens under the Constitution, but will be dealt with as wards of the United States for whom this country has special responsibilities." It went on to say that their displacement "will be kept to a minimum required for their own safety and well-being, and will not be accomplished merely for considerations of convenience." Finally, it stated that their displacement will be upon "agreements reached with them regarding resettlement, including fully adequate provisions for their well-being in their new locations." An Enewetak woman in her 40s told Carucci in 1978: "In those days, the wailing across the village was constant. Many children and old ones died as a result of those times of danger." Indeed, epidemics of polio and measles spread through the village, and they lived among a rat infestation, Carucci said. Renny Robert, an Enewetak council member, said at a Honolulu news conference at the Capitol building in 2000 that when the Enewetakese woke up in the morning, rats would be biting at their fingers and toes. "It was unimaginable," she told reporters, according to the Asia Times. "It was inhumane." end of article dingbat ***************************************************************** 34 Japan EDITORIAL: Shield whistle-blowers asahi.com : ENGLISH Asahi Shimbun www.asahi.com [http://www.asahi.com/] JAPANESE Prompt legislation could deter wrongdoing. The nation's business community has never been shaken more badly by exposure of wrongdoing than it has in recent months. Senior executives at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the nation's biggest electric power utility, resigned after reports the company had concealed reports of cracks in equipment at its nuclear reactors. A former employee of a company that repaired such damage for the utility provided the tip that brought the coverup to light and was a key factor in finding the truth. Information from within also tore away the shroud on mislabeling and other dubious practices by food companies and an earlier recall coverup by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. A corporation can be irreparably harmed by revelations of misconduct. Constant awareness that insiders might blow the whistle can be a healthy check against a company and can serve as an effective deterrent against illegal acts. A Cabinet Office council has recommended legislation to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation such as dismissal or spiteful transfer. Such legislation is needed now. And it would be more effective if it provides protection for government, as well as corporate employees. Some business executives have expressed skepticism about the legislative proposal. They argue that they can and should respond effectively to any whistle-blowing employee. Indeed, more companies are forming organizations to receive employee complaints of questionable actions by their coworkers. And the Japan Business Federation, the country's leading business organization, is urging members to open the channel for tips on wrongdoing. Companies deserve praise for trying to establish more responsible corporate governance and set higher ethical standards. But it takes a lot of courage to blow the whistle on wrongdoing by one's employer to the management, knowing that there is a huge risk of serious personal consequences. Japanese corporate culture is traditionally quite hostile to in-house informers. It is not unusual for such informants to be tracked down and forced to resign or be reassigned or subject to other forms of revenge. Proposed legislation to protect whistle-blowers would provide a much-needed legal safeguard for employees who try to stop their companies from doing things that could be harmful to society or damage their company's reputation. Regulation of nuclear power plants included such protective measures even before the TEPCO cover-up was exposed. In the TEPCO case, however, the nuclear safety authorities were very slow to respond after being informed of the coverups and foolishly leaked information to the utility that could help identify the person who had told the authorities about the utility's subterfuge. A reporting system is meaningless if it is not used effectively. Great care must be taken in handling information and protecting those who provide it. It is equally important to prevent a flood of disclosures based on revenge. Certainly, only wrongs that carry social implications should be involved in the legislation. In the United States, where consumer protection has traditionally been treated as one of the main responsibilities of antitrust authorities, whistle-blowers have received a great deal of support and encouragement. Our own Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the antimonopoly watchdog, has much to learn from the U.S. approach to protecting consumers and promoting fair competition among businesses. The antimonopoly clause would be better served by cooperative FTC effort with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and other relevant organizations to encourage disclosure of wrongdoing and protect employees who make such disclosures. When lies and wrongdoing are rampant in a company, it is impossible to hide forever. Such a company will eventually expose itself and lose faith with its customers. Whistle-blowing should be a safety valve to keep companies from moral bankruptcy. --The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 21 (10/22) ***************************************************************** 35 NRC Announces Availability of Guidance on Licenses for Medical Uses of Radioactive Material NRC: News Release - 2002-123 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-123 October 22, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is making available final guidance for obtaining a license, under newly revised regulations, to use radioactive materials in medical diagnosis, treatment and research. The document, Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses: Program-Specific Guidance About Medical Use Licenses (NUREG-1556, Volume 9), is a result of significant staff effort and public review, including several public workshops. A summary of public comments on the guidance and NRC responses will be published as a separate document, Appendix BB to NUREG-1556, Volume 9. The comments and responses will also be available in electronic form on CD-rom. Revised regulations, effective October 24, focus on medical procedures that pose higher risks to workers, patients, and the public from a radiation safety aspect. The guidelines for these regulations provide a single, comprehensive source of information for use by applicants, licensees and NRC staff and consolidate guidance found in 15 other NRC documents. A copy of NUREG-1556, Volume 9 and Appendix BB - on paper or CD-rom - may be requested in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Mrs. Carrie Brown, Mail Stop T 9-C24, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by email at CXB@nrc.gov [CXB@nrc.gov] ; or by telephone at 301-415-8092. Single copies of the documents are also available for inspection and/or copying for a fee in the NRC Public Document Room, located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. These documents will also be available on the NRCs web site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/miau-reg-initiatives/by-product.html. For additional information about the guidance, contact Roger W. Broseus, Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Mail Stop T 9-C24, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by telephone at 301-415-7608; or by e-mail at RWB@nrc.gov [RWB@nrc.gov] . Tuesday, October 22, 2002 ***************************************************************** 36 Yucca project misses deadline reviewjournal.com -- News: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Energy officials shrug off filing license application By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Another deadline has come and gone for the Yucca Mountain Project. A 1982 federal law gave the Energy Department 90 days to prepare and submit a detailed construction license application after designating a site to bury 77,000 tons of radioactive spent fuel and nuclear waste. According to nuclear industry and environmental officials, Monday marked the 90th day after President Bush signed a resolution on July 23 choosing Nevada's Yucca Mountain for such a repository. But, as they had long conceded, DOE managers acknowledged in recent days they wouldn't come close to the 90 days described in law to file a license request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Current plans call for an application to be prepared by December 2004, with DOE still needing to develop a repository design and construction plan and resolve 232 remaining technical issues among other tasks. Nevada officials and other opponents of the Yucca program marked the occasion Monday by issuing new blasts of criticism, but they have not determined how much more they might do. "We have not landed on a strategy for what we're going to do yet," said Bob Loux, head of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which set blueprints for the government to pursue radioactive waste disposal, contains no penalties for missed deadlines. The Energy Department already has missed a January 1998 deadline to take possession of thousands of tons of nuclear waste at power plants and government facilities in 39 states. Overseeing a program years behind schedule and facing legal challenges and budget obstacles ahead, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he viewed the 90-day period as a guidepost and not a deadline. Timetables in the 1982 law "have proven to be optimistic," Abraham said in February, when he recommended the Yucca site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Abraham said DOE would comply with the law's "central function, to move along as promptly and as responsibly as possible." "I do not believe that the 90-day time frame here is in any way a prohibition on us moving forward to seek a license at a date beyond 90 days," Abraham said in May during testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Asked for comment Monday, DOE spokesman Joe Davis referred to Abraham's previous statements. J. Bennett Johnston, the former Louisiana U.S. senator who helped write the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, said its authors intended the 90 days as a signal for the DOE to move expeditiously to find a site and build a repository. "Of course, we thought it was going to be much faster than it was," said Johnston, who retired from the Senate in 1996 and now is a lobbyist with nuclear industry contacts among his clients. Johnston said he could not recall whether there was a particular reason to set a deadline at 90 days. "You just pick a time that was reasonable, and we happened to pick 90 days," he said. "The act doesn't specify what to do if you don't meet a deadline. It doesn't say you have to start over." Nevada officials said the government's wide disconnect with the law shows the Bush administration pushed Yucca Mountain long before a proposed repository could be proved safe and effective. Loux said attorneys are studying possible new legal measures, notices of complaint to Abraham or action in Congress. Weighing a new lawsuit, Loux said it's unlikely a judge would stop the major project over a missed deadline. "Federal courts have been pretty lenient on these agencies, and DOE misses deadlines all the time," he said. A leading anti-Yucca group, the Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy and Environment Project, plans no legal action. "We're not intending to launch any kind of lawsuit charging DOE with failure to more speedily open up Yucca Mountain," nuclear waste specialist Lisa Gue said. DOE officials said Congress must share responsibility for the delay. They said lawmakers have underfunded the program and directed Yucca managers through budget legislation to make site studies a priority over license preparation. "We had directions from Congress to defer licensing activities and concentrate on site characterization activities," project manager Russ Dyer said when asked about the matter at a management meeting last week in Las Vegas. "They're making excuses," said U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. "Its not like we cut the budget for them to miss by three months. They are just not going to make it." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 Stephens Media ***************************************************************** 37 Hartsville Tennessee Citizens Say No to LES! LES Forcing a Radioactive MESS in Tennessee Citizens for Smart Choices and other concerned residents from middle Tennessee oppose plans for a uranium enrichment plant in Hartsville, Tennessee. Louisiana Energy Services (LES) is attempting to bypass state and local authorities and the public by going directly to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to get a license to build the facility. The standard procedure is to have public hearings in the community where such a facility is proposed. LES, however, is asking the NRC to approve their license and not allow citizens to have hearing(s) on this vital issue. LES, a multi-national nuclear energy consortium, is trying to forego public hearings and force the building of a Uranium Enrichment Plant in Tennessee. In the late l990's, citizens in Louisiana stopped LES from building a similar plant near Homer, so the company set it sights on other locations around the country and chose 250 acres in Hartsville, Tennessee. Read more... [Federal Register: October 2, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 191)] [Notices] [Page 61932-61933] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr02oc02-135] SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting comments from members of the public concerning a series of "white papers" presented to the NRC by the Louisiana Energy Services addressing licensing issues for a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility to be located in the area of Hartsville, Tennessee. The Commission will consider comments received in response to this notice in developing its position on the issues raised in these "white papers." Read more... <1002nrcdocktno70-3103.htm> Contact Us *Hartsville:* Citizens for Smart Choices 218 Broadway Hartsville, TN 37074 Phone: (615) 374-0520 CSCTN@yahoo.com *Nashville:* Will Calloway Executive Director of the Tennessee Environmental Council One Vantage Way, Suite D-1, Nashville, Tennessee 37228-1587 telephone: 615.248.6500 fax: 615.248.6545 will@tectn.org Join our Listserve < Return to Stop LES Home :: Last updated 10/22/2002. Questions or comments about this site? Citizens for Smart Choices News/Action Alerts Nuclear Facts Links Video, Audio, Photo Press Releases What is LES Donate Calendar Site Search Website Design by the MeDiA Co-op ***************************************************************** 38 Ottawa facing cleanup bill for toxic sites /Last Updated Mon, 21 Oct 2002 22:40:51 / URANIUM CITY, SASK. - A new report from the auditor general is expected to place hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs for toxic waste sites across the country squarely on the shoulders of the federal government. * INDEPTH: The Sydney Tar Ponds People living in two of the worst sites ? the Sydney tar ponds and Saskatchewan's Laredo Uranium mine ? hope the report will generate some action. But federal Environment Minister David Anderson warned Monday that money could be a problem. "We're talking about a number of $2 billion ? I can see it going well above that." Residents with homes near the old Sydney coke ovens site in Cape Breton say they're frightened for their health. The area has higher than average cancer rates. // Ann Ross calls the toxic ooze seeping in her basement "very, very scary." She wants the government to move her away from the tar ponds. The sentiment is echoed by thousands of Canadians living next to toxic sites. Although the old Laredo Uranium mine near the Northwest Territories-Saskatchewan border closed 40 years ago, it's still radioactive. A recent government report showed radiation levels 208 times higher than established limits. * INDEPTH: Arctic pollutants Arsenic and sulphur from the mine still seeps into Nearo Lake. Margaret Powder, a 17-year resident of nearby Uranium City, accuses the government of ignoring the issue. "I'd like to see it cleaned up and it should have been done a long time ago," said Powder. She says it never would have been allowed to happen in areas such as Toronto or Vancouver. /Elizabeth May (file photo)/ Environmentalists are also hopeful the report will draw attention to the sites. * FROM OCT. 1, 2002: Toxins pose threat to Arctic health, environment: report Elizabeth May, head of the Sierra Club of Canada, said Canada is lagging behind. "We're at the point where the United States was several decades ago," said May. While the cleanup bill could cost more than $1 billion, May says the risks to the environment and health are far more costly. Written by CBC News Online staff ***************************************************************** 39 The UN court of Arbitration has been told that the Irish Sea is one of the most radioactive in the world. /21/10/2002 - 10:33:20/ The Attorney General, Rory Brady has opened a legal action for the Government to force the British authorities to release concealed information from two recent reports about the Mox plant at Sellafield. He said two sections of the report were edited out and called on the Government to highlight these sections. * Cheer up your phone with the Latest Ringtones and Logos from MyMobile * Irish News | Print Version <#> | Email to friend <#> | Previous Page © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2002. IRISH NEWS ***************************************************************** 40 *Government launches EU action over Sellafield* /21/10/2002 - 06:02:17/ Ireland is today taking the British government to a tribunal in The Hague in a bid to gain access to information on Sellafield?s MOX plant. Ireland is today taking the British government to a tribunal in The Hague in a bid to gain access to information on Sellafield?s MOX plant. The country is seeking full disclosure of two key reports commissioned by the British government on the economic and environmental aspects of the Cumbrian plant, in a case opening today and expected to last a week. It is arguing for access to additional information which it claims was withheld. The reports were prepared before the British authorities approved the plant for reprocessing mixed oxide fuel (MOX) from nuclear reactors. A spokesman for environment minister Martin Cullen said parts of both reports were ?blacked out? and that the Irish Government only saw a percentage of the information. He described it as a ?landmark case?, and the most senior legal case the Irish Government had ever taken. Ireland?s case before the Ospar Convention?s arbitration tribunal will be led by the Attorney General, Mr Rory Brady SC, with Mr Cullen heading the delegation. Hearings at The Hague are expected to last around a week, but there may not be a final decision for a number of months, Mr Cullen?s spokesman said. The tribunal comes just weeks after Greenpeace?s Rainbow Warrior intercepted two nuclear freighters in the Irish Sea as they made their way back to Sellafield. The five-tonne cargo of plutonium mixed oxide fuel was sent back from Takahama in Japan after safety records at Sellafield, operated by British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), were exposed as false in 1999. That journey provoked widespread anger throughout the Irish Republic. © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2002. ***************************************************************** 41 BNFL's Sellafield nuclear plant faces legal action from Irish govt* Ananova The Irish government is taking legal action to secure access to partially suppressed reports on British Nuclear Fuels Ltd's mixed plutonium and uranium oxide (MOX) nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield. A court official at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague confirmed that the hearings in the Sellafield case started today. Ireland wants the Sellafield complex in Cumbria on Britain's west coast closed down, saying the 1950s-era plant pollutes the Irish Sea. In addition, after the Sept 11 attacks in the US there are fears Sellafield may be a target for a terrorist attack. An Irish environment ministry spokesman said: "The crux of our case is that we are looking for information. We have very legitimate concerns about the existence of the MOX plant." The spokesman said the Irish government had been unable to get full access to two reports about the MOX plant that had been made to the British government. "We could only gain access to a certain amount of the information. The UK side will argue that the information is commercially sensitive material. But we are arguing that we have extremely legitimate concerns as a government and a people about this plant." The case is being taken under the OSPAR (Oslo/Paris) Convention, a UN agreement on marine pollution and discharges, signed in July 1998 by North Atlantic countries. The convention requires signatories to take all possible steps to prevent and eliminate marine pollution. Last year, Ireland unsuccessfully attempted at a UN maritime tribunal to block the opening of the MOX re-treatment plant at Sellafield. The hearing is expected to take about a week and judgment is expected from the court chairman within six months. © AFX News Story filed: 14:24 Monday 21st October 2002 Copyright © 2002 Ananova Ltd ***************************************************************** 42 Irish bid for UK's reports on Sellafield Scotsman.com Mon 21 Oct 2002 IRELAND was today taking the UK government to a tribunal in The Hague in a bid to gain access to information on Sellafield?s Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) plant. Ireland is seeking full disclosure of two key reports commissioned by the Government on the economic and environmental aspects of the Cumbrian plant, in a case opening today and expected to last a week. It is arguing for access to additional information which it claims was withheld. The reports were prepared before British authorities approved the plant for reprocessing MOX from nuclear reactors. A spokesman for Irish environment minister Martin Cullen said parts of both reports were "blacked out". He described it as a "landmark case", and the most senior legal case the Irish government had ever taken. The tribunal comes just weeks after Greenpeace?s Rainbow Warrior intercepted two nuclear freighters in the Irish Sea as they made their way back to Sellafield. The five-tonnes of plutonium MOX was sent back from Japan after safety records at Sellafield, operated by British Nuclear Fuels were exposed as false in 1999. ©2002 scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 43 Irish bid for UK's reports on Sellafield Scotsman.com Mon 21 Oct 2002 IRELAND was today taking the UK government to a tribunal in The Hague in a bid to gain access to information on Sellafield?s Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) plant. Ireland is seeking full disclosure of two key reports commissioned by the Government on the economic and environmental aspects of the Cumbrian plant, in a case opening today and expected to last a week. It is arguing for access to additional information which it claims was withheld. The reports were prepared before British authorities approved the plant for reprocessing MOX from nuclear reactors. A spokesman for Irish environment minister Martin Cullen said parts of both reports were "blacked out". He described it as a "landmark case", and the most senior legal case the Irish government had ever taken. The tribunal comes just weeks after Greenpeace?s Rainbow Warrior intercepted two nuclear freighters in the Irish Sea as they made their way back to Sellafield. The five-tonnes of plutonium MOX was sent back from Japan after safety records at Sellafield, operated by British Nuclear Fuels were exposed as false in 1999. ©2002 scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 44 Court Hears Irish Challenge to UK Nuclear Plant October 21, 2002 02:20 PM ET By Paul Gallagher AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ireland opened its latest legal challenge to a British nuclear fuel manufacturing plant on Monday when an international court began hearing a dispute that has long been a source of friction between the two countries. Ireland is concerned about safety and pollution from the Sellafield MOX plant, 110 miles across the Irish Sea on England's northwest coast. Concerns about safety were heightened after last year's September 11 attacks on the United States. In June, Ireland asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague for access to information about the plant's viability that Britain says is commercially sensitive. "The information we are seeking is necessary to allow Ireland to form an independent assessment of the impact of the MOX plant on the Irish Sea," Irish Environment Minister Martin Cullen said during a visit to The Hague. The plant mixes plutonium with uranium oxides to produce MOX (mixed oxide) for use in nuclear reactors. It was idle for years after completion in 1996 because of legal wrangles and concerns it would not make money. State-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) started operating the facility last December after seeing off a series of legal challenges from the Irish government and environmental groups. In the latest dispute, Ireland wants to see unedited reports commissioned by BNFL on the plant's viability. Britain said it edited the reports to remove commercially sensitive information. VIGOROUS FIGHT Ireland also wants to determine if Britain has complied with its obligations to ensure the plant was legally justified, Cullen said. Britain is obliged under international law to ensure the plant is commercially viable. Britain says the plant meets the highest international safety standards and has vowed to fight the case vigorously. "The very small amount of information being held back is commercial information. It's not about safety at all. We fully believe we are in the right about this and will let justice take its course," said a spokesman for the British embassy in Dublin. The Hague court started to listen to arguments from the two countries Monday and is expected to rule on the issue within months. The plant has already weathered many a legal storm. Ireland applied unsuccessfully to the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for an injunction to block the opening of the $728 million plant. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth say that apart from the pollution concerns, the MOX fuel will find few customers because it is more expensive than conventional uranium reactor fuel. The two groups have lost a court action in Britain to prevent the plant's opening. An international furor erupted in 2000 when it came to light that data on a pilot batch of MOX fuel sent to Japan had been falsified. The ensuing row and canceled orders prompted the British government to shelve plans to part privatize BNFL. ***************************************************************** 45 Irish fight for Sellafield 'secrets' BBC NEWS | UK | England | Tuesday, 22 October, 2002, 10:35 GMT [Sellafield Nuclear Processing Plant] Highly radioactive material is stored at Sellafield A UK delegation will give evidence on Tuesday on the second day of a two-day hearing brought by the Irish government over the Sellafield plant. The Irish Government has taken the UK to an international tribunal in The Hague to gain access to information on the Mox plant at Sellafield. On Monday, Ireland's Attorney General Rory Brady said Dublin needed the information to assess the impact of radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea. However, Sellafield plant operators BNFL has refused to reveal the information because it says it is too sensitive. 'Commercial information' The UK government says the plant meets the highest international safety standards and has vowed to fight its case vigorously. A spokesman said: "The very small amount of information being held back is commercial information." Ireland is seeking full disclosure of two key reports commissioned by the British Government on the economic and environmental aspects of the Cumbrian nuclear plant. It is arguing for access to additional information which it claims was withheld. The case is being held in front of a panel of the Ospar Convention, a body of European nuclear countries brought together by agreements made in Oslo and Paris. Nuclear freighters The two key reports were prepared before the UK authorities approved the Sellafield plant for reprocessing mixed oxide fuel (Mox) from nuclear reactors. A spokesman for Irish environment minister Martin Cullen said parts of both reports were "blacked out" and that they only saw a percentage of information. Ireland's case before the Ospar Convention's arbitration tribunal will be led by Mr Brady, with Mr Cullen heading the delegation. The tribunal comes just weeks after Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior intercepted two nuclear freighters in the Irish Sea as they made their way to Sellafield from Japan. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 46 Sellafield accident is 'unthinkable' Examiner 22/10/02 By Ann Cahill, Europe Correspondent THE Irish people could cease to exist if there was a major accident at Sellafield, an international tribunal hearing Ireland's case against the British Government was warned yesterday. The Government was in fact left with no way of evaluating the risks to the Irish people or to the environment from the MOX nuclear plant at Sellafield because of Britain's refusal to give them relevant information, Environment Minister Martin Cullen said. Instead, they have to rely on the word of the state-owned company that manages the plant, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, about what is happening at the plant just across the Irish Sea in Cumbria, he told the tribunal in The Hague. Even the environmental statement before the plant was built did not include any assessment of the consequences of an accident at the plant. More worrying, it did not deal with the result of accidental releases of radiation if there was a fire or other accident at the plant and its effect on people living near Sellafield or in Ireland. Minister Cullen, attending an Arbitration Tribunal where the Government is seeking access to information about Sellafield which BNFL is withholding because it claims it is commercially sensitive, said: "The worst-case scenario is unthinkable that we would cease to exist if something went cataclysmically wrong." The case is the first of its kind under the OSPAR Convention, which sets out internationally agreed rules on the protection of the marine environment. It is expected to go on for the week and is the first step in what the Irish Government hopes will be the final chapter in the life of the MOX nuclear plant at Sellafield. If they win access to the information dealing with the environmental effects of the plant and on whether the plant is economically viable, it could have major consequences for the nuclear industry throughout the world. "If this tribunal takes the attitude that neighbouring countries have a right to full information and disclosure, then nobody would be able to do what the British did here in setting up the MOX plant," said Mr Cullen. The Government wants to see Sellafield closed and are working towards that, he said. "We have another case coming up next year and a number of actions in the EU. Irrespective of the outcome here, we are building towards closing this and we will doggedly pursue this now. "But we are shooting in the dark because we do not have all the information. We need the hard facts to make a real judgement," he said. "We cannot accept any longer that we cannot see and inspect this information. Up to now, we have been talking about this whole industry without core facts." Attorney General Rory Brady told the three-man tribunal that states adjacent to those with nuclear plants must have the right to information to allow them to carry out their own assessments. The plant began operating in December 2001 but every Irish request for information, even at the planning stage, was denied on the basis that it was commercially sensitive. Jonathan Cook of the British Department of Trade and Industry said a very lengthy and transparent operation into the harmful effects of the MOX plant was carried out in which Ireland participated fully. "We have demonstrated to the public that the environmental impact is virtually non-existent", he said. The Tribunal is expected to take six months before issuing its decision. © Irish Examiner, 2002, Thomas Crosbie Media, TCH ***************************************************************** 47 Rann attacks Federal Govt over nuclear waste plans Wed, Oct 23 2002 9:14 AM AEST The South Australian Premier Mike Rann has released confidential documents that show the Federal Government plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote its plans for a nuclear waste dump. A leaked document from the Federal Science Department outlines plans for a $300,000 dollar public relations program to promote a proposed low-level waste dump in South Australia's north. Mr Rann claims it is a political campaign to prepare South Australians for a forthcoming announcement about a medium-level waste dump. "Here we have a Federal Government that's going to basically try to use Federal Government money, taxpayers' money, to soften up South Australians to support a high level waste," Mr Rann said. "I mean, otherwise they wouldn't be bothering with this ... this is ludicrous." But the Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran says the Commonwealth is considering funding an information campaign to provide the public with more information about the proposed low-level nuclear waste dump. He has accused the South Australian Government of deliberately distorting many of the facts concerning the need for a national repository. © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 48 Watchdog to target toxic sites for cleanup [The London Free Press News] Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Environment commissioner Johanne Gelinas reports today. By CP OTTAWA -- Ann Ross has a thin layer of toxic orange goo in her basement. "It bubbles," she said yesterday from Sydney, N.S., where her two-storey home is within view of Canada's most famous contaminated site. Sydney's tar ponds hold a noxious 700,000 tonnes of reeking chemicals including PCBs, now banned and linked to cancer. The twin pools are the most stark evidence a century of steelmaking in the now run-down town was a very dirty business. And it's just one of more than 1,200 contaminated sites the federal environment commissioner will highlight today in a report to Parliament. Environmental activists hope the report by environment commissioner Johanne Gelinas will be a stern call for action. Toxic sites and abandoned mines are little known disasters racking up environmental and health costs across Canada, they say. Ross, 42, hopes Ottawa is called on to explain why millions of dollars spent on endless tests and consultants haven't cleaned up the mess that still seeps into her home. "It was funded and run by the federal and provincial governments," she said of the closed coke ovens and steel mill that were once a major employer. Ross turned down a government offer to seal her basement and remove contaminated topsoil, calling it "a band-aid solution." She's fighting for compensation to relocate. "I didn't ask the government to put all these chemicals in my basement." Cleanups are too often stalled as provincial and federal governments pass the buck back and forth, said Daniel Green, a toxic chemicals specialist who advises the Sierra Club of Canada. "It's a shell game. Who's responsible? Somebody has to take leadership." The environment commissioner can recommend measures, but lacks teeth to order action, Green said. In northern Saskatchewan, the Yukon and Northwest Territories, abandoned mines foul the earth and groundwater with cyanide, arsenic and acids. A report last month raised alarms about the Lorado Mill site, about eight kilometres south of Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan. A human exposed to unconfined tailings from the mill, used to treat uranium ore, would exceed the maximum allowable dose of gamma radiation in about two days. "These are horrific sites," said Joan Kuyek, national co-ordinator of MiningWatch Canada, a watchdog group that promotes responsible practices. "It's on the news all the time in the North, but no one picks it up in the south." Federal Environment Minister David Anderson was direct when asked Monday why such hazards are left to fester. "Money. Simple as that," he said. It's extremely expensive to clean up contaminated sites. "We're talking a minimum of probably $2 billion." Anderson said Ottawa will take action on the most urgent cases. "Most of these sites are inherited from the Conservative regime." Copyright © 2002, The London Free Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 49 NETHERLANDS: Court hears Irish challenge to UK nuclear plant Planet Ark : : October 22, 2002 AMSTERDAM - Ireland opened its latest legal challenge to a British nuclear fuel manufacturing plant yesterday when an international court began hearing a dispute that has long been a source of friction between the two countries. Ireland is concerned about safety and pollution from the Sellafield MOX plant, 110 miles (180 km) across the Irish Sea on England's northwest coast. Concerns about safety were heightened after last year's September 11 attacks on the United States. In June, Ireland asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague for access to information about the plant's viability that Britain says is commercially sensitive. "The information we are seeking is necessary to allow Ireland to form an independent assessment of the impact of the MOX plant on the Irish Sea," Irish Environment Minister Martin Cullen said during a visit to The Hague. The plant mixes plutonium with uranium oxides to produce MOX (mixed oxide) for use in nuclear reactors. It was idle for years after completion in 1996 because of legal wrangles and concerns it would not make money. State-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) started operating the facility last December after seeing off a series of legal challenges from the Irish government and environmental groups. In the latest dispute, Ireland wants to see unedited reports commissioned by BNFL on the plant's viability. Britain said it edited the reports to remove commercially sensitive information. VIGOROUS FIGHT Ireland also wants to determine if Britain has complied with its obligations to ensure the plant was legally justified, Cullen said. Britain is obliged under international law to ensure the plant is commercially viable. Britain says the plant meets the highest international safety standards and has vowed to fight the case vigorously. "The very small amount of information being held back is commercial information. It's not about safety at all. We fully believe we are in the right about this and will let justice take its course," said a spokesman for the British embassy in Dublin. The Hague court started to listen to arguments from the two countries yesterday and is expected to rule on the issue within months. The plant has already weathered many a legal storm. Ireland applied unsuccessfully to the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for an injunction to block the opening of the 472-million pound ($728 million) plant. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth say that apart from the pollution concerns, the MOX fuel will find few customers because it is more expensive than conventional uranium reactor fuel. The two groups have lost a court action in Britain to prevent the plant's opening. An international furore erupted in 2000 when it came to light that data on a pilot batch of MOX fuel sent to Japan had been falsified. The ensuing row and cancelled orders prompted the British government to shelve plans to part privatise BNFL. Story by Paul Gallagher REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 50 Moscow Hosts High-Level Iraq Talks Las Vegas SUN Today: October 22, 2002 at 4:15:25 PDT By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW- Russia's foreign minister played host Tuesday to a senior U.S. diplomat and the chief U.N. weapons inspector for talks on Iraq, while news reports said that Moscow was "disappointed" with a new U.S. draft resolution on disarming Saddam Hussein. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was to have separate meetings with U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton and chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix that will focus on Iraq, the foreign ministry said. The ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies quoted unidentified "informed" sources in Moscow on Monday as saying that the revised U.S. draft of the U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq "differs little from previous U.S.-British proposals" that Russia and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council didn't accept. The reports quoted the same sources as saying that the new version didn't make good on Washington's promises to take other nations' opinions into account and reach a "mutually acceptable compromise." The Kremlin sometimes uses such anonymous sources to air its positions on important issues via ITAR-Tass and Interfax. Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov said Monday after talking to Bolton that the U.S. warnings about possible use of force against Iraq "don't help to create a constructive atmosphere in the world for solving military security issues." Interfax quoted Bolton as saying that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell would discuss the wording of the resolution with the Russian Foreign Minister. Russia, which holds veto power in the Security Council, has opposed unilateral military action against Iraq. It criticized an earlier version of the draft that would have envisaged the use of force if Baghdad failed to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors. At the same time, Ivanov said Friday that the Security Council could consider authorizing the use of force against Iraq if the inspectors report "problems" in searching for weapons of mass destruction. Along with Iraq, Bolton's two-day consultations in Moscow focused on ways to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons following Pyongyang's surprise acknowledgment that it had a nuclear weapons program. Bolton said Monday that the Kremlin shares U.S. concerns about North Korea's nuclear bid and its desire to resolve the issue "peacefully and through diplomatic pressure." The New York Times reported last week that U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Pakistan was a major supplier of equipment to North Korea needed to restart the country's nuclear program, while China and Russia were less prominent contributors. The Russian Foreign Ministry has angrily denied the allegations of Moscow's involvement. Mamedov expressed bewilderment about the fact that the U.S. administration waited for two weeks after hearing Pyongyang's acknowledgment to make it public, and said that Moscow would like to hear Pyongyang's version of the events. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 51 Pak N-scientists in touch with Al-Qaeda: US expert HindustanTimes.com Tuesday, October 22, 2002 | Updated: 15:37 IST Judith Smelser (ANI) Washington, October 22 There is some ground to suspect that former scientists of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission may have had talks with Al-Qaeda at some stage. In fact, it is believed that two Pakistani N-scientists were in touch with the militant outfit. This was stated by Robert Einhorn, Senior Advisor, Centre for Strategic and International Studies and former Assisitant Secretary of State for Non-proliferation, during an interview with ANI on the subject of the alleged Pak-North Korean barter deal on the nuclear weapons front. He added that, with a note of caution, that nuclear scientists always possess a lot of know-how which are of interest to "states of proliferation concern and to terrorist groups." According to Einhorn, "apparently there was some admission that these former Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission scientists had discussions with Al-Qaeda. Now they claim to have been involved only in humanitarian kinds of projects. I don't know whether there was more to that or not, but I think it simply illustrates that Pakistan needs to have very tight control on its nuclear scientists, on its nuclear laboratories and even on former and retired nuclear scientists." There have been media reports that Pakistan was a vital contributor to North Korea's secret nuclear weapons programme. But Einhorn feels Washington possibly knows more about the secret pact than it is willing to let out, dependant as it is on Islamabad for war against terrorism and the rounding up of Al-Qaeda elements. The point is that the White House, which has cosied up to Pakistan since the September 11 terrorist attacks, has refused to discuss anything about Pakistan's role in North Korea's nuclear programme, Einhorn remarked. Hence the suspicion that it knows more than it wishes to divulge. Early this year, President George Bush said North Korea was part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq. But criticising Pakistan for its alleged role in helping the communist country create a nuclear programme might upset the partnership between Washington and Islamabad. The US is counting on Pakistani help to round up leftover elements of Al-Qaeda who are believed to have fled across the border from Afghanistan. Under the circumstances, America should insist that Pakistan keep a tighter lid on its nuclear knowhow, the expert said. The New York Times had reported over the weekend that some US officials believe that Pakistan and North Korea were engaged in a barter arrangement in the late 1990s, in which Pakistan supplied nuclear technology in exchange for ballistic missiles. News of the clandestine programme has rocked Washington since the White House announced last week that Pyongyang had admitted to its existence. Said Einhorn: "In the late nineties, here was a sensitive trade relationship between North Korea and Pakistan. North Korea was selling Pakistan No-Dong missiles. At that time, Pakistan was not in very good shape economically. "And questions were raised  how is Pakistan paying for these No-Dong missiles. Well, speculation arose as to whether Pakistan had something North Korea might want, namely the technology to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons." He further said that "Secretary of State Colin Powell said he spoke to President Musharraf on Friday, and President Musharraf told him that there was no such cooperation between North Korea and Pakistan. The reporter asked Secretary Powell, "Well, what about in the past - was there such cooperation in the past?" And Powell responded that he's not talking about the past, he's looking toward the future. Well, you could draw your own conclusions about what Secretary Powell may believe happened in the past." Einhorn explained it this way. "I think it means that Pakistan needs to be encouraged very strongly and repeatedly to make sure it has the tightest controls on the export of sensitive materials, including nuclear materials, and very tight controls on nuclear scientists who possess a lot of know-how that could be of interest to states of proliferation concern as well as to terrorist groups." "And so," he added, "Pakistan needs to make sure it has the strongest possible controls on the interactions of companies or nuclear scientists with foreign elements. This is critical, and presumably the US administration will be urging this of Pakistan." © Hindustan Times Ltd. 2002. ***************************************************************** 52 Owls are wiser about Iraq than hawks FT.com Monday Oct 21 2002. All times are London time. By Joseph Nye Published: October 20 2002 21:51 | Last Updated: October 20 2002 21:51 bush iraq The debate over whether the US should go to war with Iraq is often cast as one between hawks who urge the prompt use of force and doves who oppose it. But a third position - let us call it that of owls - makes more sense. Owls would use force to back up the United National Security Council resolutions violated by Saddam Hussein but take the time necessary to develop a broad, multilateral coalition. Now that the US Congress has authorised the use of force, the crucial choice is between hawks and owls. Impatient hawks who ask why the US should let other countries decide what is in the national interest miss the point. A patient, multilateral approach to Iraq is in the country's best interest. Unilateralism and multilateralism are not religions, but tactics, and can sometimes reinforce each other, as President John F. Kennedy showed during the Cuban missile crisis. Indeed, owls could accept a move to unilateral pre-emption if Mr Hussein were planning a terrorist attack, or just about to obtain nuclear weapons. But in the current situation, multilateralism is essential. The long-term danger we face is the trap set by Osama bin Laden. Portraying the US as the enemy of Islam was his recipe for recruitment of a next generation of terrorists. So far, we have prevented the war on terrorism from becoming a clash of civilisations. The real clash is a civil war within Islam between extremists and moderates. President George W. Bush ably avoided Mr bin Laden's trap after September 11 2001 by bringing Muslim clerics to the White House and educating the American public about Islam. The US also deployed force carefully in Afghanistan, minimising the American presence on the ground and avoiding disproportionate civilian casualties. But Iraq is different from Afghanistan. It would be tragic if impatience now created a self-inflicted clash of civilisations. Hawks paint a rosy picture of how US liberators of Iraq could stay on in the country as welcome tutors in democracy and create an instant modern state. But this ignores Iraq's deep internal divisions and the absence of institutions that protect human rights and the rule of law. We should also be wary of projecting our rosy images upon the Middle East region. A recent Gallup poll of people there shows a very different picture. Even in Kuwait, there is great distrust of US motives. Moderate Arab governments such as Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have no love of Mr Hussein and are likely to allow us access to their bases; but a unilateral approach will be costly in public opinion. As the head of the Bahrain Human Rights Society said recently: "It will create more than one bin Laden. From the ruins of the war, feeling against the US will increase." Owls point out that if we enter Iraq, and are serious about democracy, we will not be able to exit quickly. If we are there largely alone, we are more likely to appear to some portion of the population in Iraq and the Islamic world to be a colonial or imperial power. The position will be doubly difficult if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon follows through on his threats of military involvement if Mr Hussein strikes out at Israel. And if the US is perceived as an imperialist power in the region, we shall encounter an anti-imperial reaction that could breed a new generation of terrorists. We can reduce this risk somewhat if a war is short and involves few civilian casualties; but we cannot be confident that will be the case and even a short war still leaves the problem of occupation. So owls argue that the best way to reduce the risks is to gain the legitimacy of multilateral approval and assistance, both when going in and after getting there. That is why multilateral action does not simply amount to letting others determine the interests of the US. It is instead the best way to pursue the country's interests. Hawks say that the country cannot afford to wait for slow, cumbersome, multilateral diplomacy that could take many months. But the benefits of delay are higher than the costs. As Mr Bush has himself said, Mr Hussein is at least a year away from achieving nuclear capability. And the Iraqi leader already has the capability to produce biological weapons, which he could have smuggled into US cities if he wanted to. The threat that he poses to the US will not be changed by delaying. The administration could use the additional time to improve the still woefully inadequate state of homeland preparedness, advance the fight against al-Qaeda's clear and present danger and build a multinational coalition for the time when it may have to move against Mr Hussein. Recent polls show that two-thirds of the American public are willing to use force if Mr Hussein presents an immediate threat but support for action without the support of America's allies falls to well below half the public. American people seem to understand that the issue is more complicated than doves versus hawks and that the crucial choice the US faces is between impatient, unilateral hawks and patient, multilateral owls. /The writer is dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard/ /university and author of The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone/ ***************************************************************** 53 *To Nuke, Or Not to Nuke?* Monday, October 21, 2002 20:56:36 By James D. Miller 10/21/2002 Defense Department In war, against threats or only in retaliation, when should the U.S. strike with atomics? America wants to deter other nations from acquiring atomic weapons and to prevent U.S. troops from being attacked by mass-killing devices. Unfortunately, these two objectives conflict. If Saddam uses chemical weapons against U.S. troops, should the U.S. respond atomically? We certainly don't need to go nuclear to crush even a chemically-enhanced Iraqi army, so the goal of our response strategy should be to deter other adversaries. Answering a chemical attack with atomics would certainly deter countries like Iran from striking us with chemical weapons. Unfortunately, it would also create incentives for future foes to acquire and use nuclear weapons, for if they know they would pay the atomic penalty for chemical attacks, why shouldn't they go all the way once they decide to cross the chemical threshold? Our deterrence dilemma parallels the legal problem of marginal deterrence. Should a criminal who has killed once fear murdering again? If we impose the death penalty on all captured murderers, multiple murderers face no additional marginal punishment. Indeed, the higher the punishment for killing once, the lower the extra marginal punishment that can be imposed on multiple murderers. To deter multiple murderers we therefore need to set a low punishment for one murder to allow for significant enhanced punishments for those who kill repeatedly. Of course, the lower the punishment for single murders the greater their occurrence. We must therefore decide if it's more important to deter those considering killing one or many. To determine our optimal response to chemical weapons we need to estimate the relative damage chemical and atomic weapons could cause our troops. I imagine we will always be vulnerable to atomic assaults, but I suspect we either already have or could develop protective gear that effectively shields our troops from chemical weapons. If so, we should respond only conventionally to chemical attacks. If, however, fear of chemical attacks would seriously limit our future military ability, we should use nuclear weapons to strike at foes who hit us with chemical weapons, even though such a nuclear response would limit our ability to marginally deter atomic attacks. We could mitigate our marginal deterrence dilemma by having different levels of atomic response. We could perhaps answer a chemical attack with limited tactical nuclear strikes and engage in full-scale strategic nuclear assaults only against those who hit us with atomic weapons. Still, the higher the punishment we impose on those who use chemical weapons, the lower the additional punishment we can inflict on those who strike us with atomics. Similar considerations manifest when deciding whether to execute a first-strike atomic attack. Imagine that after deposing Saddam Bush moves to defang North Korea, the nuclear-armed member of the Axis of Evil. Should we consider a preemptive atomic assault? Doing so would provide the maximum deterrence against countries considering acquiring atomic weapons, for it would signal to rogue states that merely possessing atomic weapons makes them likely to face nuclear attack. Of course, under such a response doctrine, once a rogue state acquires atomic weapons they would have greater incentives to use them before losing their weapons to a U.S. nuclear strike. Consequently, when determining when we should strike with nuclear weapons, the U.S. must decide what is more important: to deter their use or acquisition. /James D. Miller is an assistant professor of economics at Smith College./ © 2002 Tech Central Station : About Us ***************************************************************** 54 *Speakers warn about nuclear war * By REBECCA BYERLY Eagle Contributing Writer /Monday, October 21, 2002/ A forum on ?The Growing Nuclear Threat Applying Lessons of History to Today's Nuclear Crisis" was held by Professor Peter Kuznick last Wednesday as part as his American history class. Koko Tanimoto Kondo, atomic bomb survivor, and AU graduate was one of three speakers in a forum held in Ward. The other speakers included Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, and Jonathan Schell, an authority on nuclear issues, and the author of numerous books on nuclear disarmament. Fifty-seven years have passed since atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Akiba wonders what the world learned from the experience, he said. There are more than 30,000 nuclear weapons in eight nations and the threat of nuclear war is growing, according to Akiba. He asked AU students to take a stand in the fight for the elimination of nuclear weapons. In addition to talking with AU students, the mayor also visited the White House. Akiba had hoped to talk with the D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and encourage him to join Mayors for Peace. Mayors for Peace began 20 years ago in Hiroshima. The organization is a voice for people who do not support the use of nuclear weapons from cities around the world. There are currently 533 cities worldwide in the organization. "It would be a powerful statement to the world if the capital of the United States joined Mayors for Peace," Akiba said. Kondo the youngest survivor of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima told AU students of the suffering she saw as a result of the atomic bomb. "There were so many people that lost all hope in humanity after the war," Kondo said. Kondo said her hope was restored after seeing Robert Lewis, the copilot of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A reporter asked him how he felt after the bombing. Lewis replied: "I looked down at the mushroom cloud and thought, ?Oh my God, what have I done??" ?I realized that I could not hate man but must hate war itself,? Kondo said. "The people of Hiroshima and I would like to live, we would like to know, we would like to share what we know. It is our hope that the children of the 21st century will turn away from nuclear weapons in the future." The United States advances on Iraq are not going to solve the problem of new clear weapons, according to Schell. Schell, an expert on nuclear weapons and author of a book on the subject, "The Fate of the Earth," spoke out against military action. "History has taught us that you can't stop the spread of scientific knowledge by force, can't bomb ideas and formulas out of people's minds with B-52 bombers, but you can make an awful mess of the world trying," Schell said. Kuznick, professor of History and director of AU?s Nuclear Studies Institute, has been taking students to Japan each summer since the nuclear program began in 1995. He was delighted when his students at AU were able to engage in part of the overseas experience, he said. © Copyright 2000-2002 ***************************************************************** 55 Pasko's Transition to Prison Camp Eased by Inmates Gregory Pasko, an investigative journalist who worked for the Pacific Fleet's newspaper, was arrested on 20 November 1997 by the FSB and charged with high treason for his writing about the nuclear safety issues in the Russian Pacific Fleet. MOSCOW - Having for the past five years battled against — and lost — groundless treason charges lodged against him by Russia's secret services, Vladivostok-based military reporter and environmental whistleblower Grigory Pasko has finally stepped into the blue numbered overalls and jacket that distinguish him as an inmate in hard labour prison camp 267/41 in the town of Ussuriysk, some 100 kilometres north-east of Vladivostok. Charles Digges, 2002-10-22 00:27 The guilty verdict handed down for Pasko, 40, on December 25th last year, was a shock — even some members of the prosecution team had sought to reduce the charges against him. Others who watched the case — and were nonplussed by its outcome — were The International PEN Club, The International Helsinki Federation, Bellona, which has covered Pasko's defence, and Amnesty International, which named Pasko Russia's third prisoner of conscience since Andrei Sakharov and Bellona's Alexander Nikitin. Pasko has also been nominated for the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov Award for freedom of thought. But these honours have added up, in Russia, so far, to a 4-year-jail term and the branding of a state traitor. Alexander Tkachenko, secretary general of Moscow's PEN Center — who was granted special privileges by the court to participate in the defence — has visited Pasko nearly 40 times while the reporter was incarcerated during the investigation and trial, and has been to nearly every hearing concerning the case. Moscow's PEN Center is an international writers' organization, which also supports those writers who have suffered persecution. "The PEN Center has several cases, similar in nature, going on at any given time," noted Tkachenko disturbingly. "But it was the colossal unfairness of the Pasko case that drew me to take on this case, which involves frequent trips across the country." Tkachenko's outrage at the case often prompted him to unorthodox behaviour in the courtroom. "I recall standing up in court and yelling, 'You are trying one of your own! These are your people — you are engaged in suicide,'" Tkachenko recounted what he told the court that day. "I told them that they are trying a man who wishes them well. The conditions in the Primorsky region [where much of the Pacific Fleet is based] are such that it won't be long before we see a serious accident. And they were trying him because they'd prefer to wait for the disaster — and maybe we won't see it, but our kids will." "Political decisions are being made with a man's life," he said. The conviction A court session in Pacific Fleet's Court in Vladivostok. Several months before Pasko was convicted. photo: Victor Tereshkin On December 25th, Pasko, reporter for the Russian Navy's Boyevaya Vakhta newspaper, was convicted of treason in a Pacific Fleet military court and sentenced to four years of hard labour in prison for attending a meeting of naval brass and possessing notes he made there. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, maintained that Pasko had intended to pass this information, which allegedly concerned "secret naval manoeuvres," to the Japanese media — though he was never accused of actually having done so. In 1999, the same court had acquitted Pasko for treason, but convicted him of abuse of his official authority for his negligent contacts with Japanese media, which included the passing of 1993 footage to Japanese TV journalists of Russian Pacific Fleet ships illegally dumping nuclear waste in the Sea of Japan. Pasko was subsequently amnestied, but he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court based on the notion that an innocent man cannot be amnestied. The unexpected result was a new trial and a conviction on the same charges of treason that Pasko earlier had been acquitted for. His attorneys, Bellona and rights groups throughout the world maintain that these charges were fabricated by the FSB and relied heavily on two now-cancelled secret Defence Ministry decrees — Nos. 010 and 055. Even members of the government of ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin — which was dragged through the sawmill of editorials in the Western press — were uncomfortable with the verdict, and Federation Council Speaker, and Putin ally, Oleg Mironov floated an amnesty offer for Pasko. Similar hints came from Valentina Matvienko, deputy prime minister for social problems. However, these innuendoes were rebuffed by Pasko and his wife, Galina Morozova, on the grounds that amnesty could only be offered to guilty men. Pasko, to the contrary, is innocent. Indeed, Pasko's 4-year sentence — though atrociously unfair — falls well short of the mandatory 12 to 20 years stipulated by law for treason. There is a theory, therefore, among his defence and in special security circles, that Pasko's sentence was a compromise with the FSB, who, in 1999 — after five years of prosecutorial harassment — saw Nikitin slip away when he was acquitted of similar charges. Pasko's move to the prison camp. His health and living conditions Alexander Tkachenko, poet and writer, secretary general of Moscow's PEN Center, Pasko's public defender. Charles Digges Two weeks ago, Pasko, 40, was moved from the detention centre where he had been kept during trial in Vladivostok to the Ussuriysk hard labour prison camp and assigned to a 60-man carpentry brigade. Like any other prison camp carpentry brigade across Russia, Pasko's makes household items, and it is likely that most stools found in standard Russian kitchens were fashioned in one of these prison workshops. "We took a tour of the camp, which is given to visitors and lawyers, and I would describe it as very provincial," said Tkachenko, who just returned from a visit with Pasko. Both the detention center and the prison colony are unjust incarceration for an innocent man, but Tkachenko noted the clean air and an opportunity to mix with people in the camp, which helps to overcome the feeling of isolation. "[In the detention center], you understand, there is no one to talk to — here [in the camp] he can make some steps to the left and to the right, be in the fresh air, and socialize a little bit," Tkachenko said. In his new prison barracks that sleeps 60, Pasko, characterized by the state as a dangerous traitor and spy, is sharing living space with a convicted thief, who is serving a five-year hard labour stretch for stealing a cow, apartment burglars, muggers, recidivist "hooligans," car thieves, and other petty criminals, said Tkachenko. "He is not in with any of the murderers or rapists," said Tkachenko in an interview with Bellona Web late last week. Tkachenko said Pasko is "thinner than usual, not because he is sick, but rather because the camp work regime has him constantly active; the [camp] food is usually just a water soup with some bones — prison food is, after all, prison food." In fact, Tkachenko and Anatoly Pyshkin, Pasko's Vladivostok-based lawyer, brought Pasko a load of groceries. Groceries, according to camp rules, are allowed to be brought by relatives, legal counsellors and friends who appear on an official visitation list. The provisions brought that day by Tkachenko and Pyshkin — in accord with the prisoners' etiquette Pasko is learning — were shared among his barracks mates, giving the day a somewhat celebratory air. And cause for celebration may be near at hand: By law, the time Pasko has spent waiting in detention, while the trial dragged on, was counted as part of the conviction term. Additionally, proceedings for his early release on good behaviour will begin on December 25th this year, Pasko's St Petersburg-based lawyer Ivan Pavlov said. On that day, the prison administration is to pass a request for release to the courts, who then have a month to decide. In the best scenario, as Pavlov explained, the court could convene on December 26th and stamp Pasko's walking papers. What will likely complicate matters, Pavlov said, are briefs that will be submitted by the FSB that could delay Pasko's release, or sink it altogether. "But we intend to be right on top of this whole process and fight every ridiculous brief [the FSB] submits," said Pavlov in a telephone interview from St Petersburg. In November, Pasko will also be allowed one of the three visits permitted by the camp authorities a year — four if he is on good behaviour status — with his wife and family. On such visits, which last three days, Tkachenko said, the prisoner and his family are given private quarters to stay in. In the meantime, said Tkachenko, the schedule is rigorous: Prisoners are awakened at 6:00 and a count is conducted by guards. When the count is complete, prisoners are sent to callisthenics and the shower. By 7:00 a.m. they are to be in the dining hall for breakfast, which is finished by 7:30. After that, they tidy up their breakfast dishes, and by 8:00 they are at their work posts, where they will remain until a one-hour lunch break at 1:00 p.m. At 2:00 p.m., they are back at work until 5:00. Dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. and after that, until lights out, they are expected to tidy the barracks and clean and mend their overalls, which may have been ripped or dirtied during the day. Lights out is at 10:00 p.m. A prominent prisoner In a recent interview in Vladivostok, Pyshkin and Morozova spoke in an informal strategy meeting about possible attempts by guards to booby-trap Pasko's chance for early release on good behaviour — possibly the last remaining chance for this innocent man to avoid serving a full sentence. "Smoking is prohibited, so a guard could place cigarettes — or other contraband — among Pasko's possessions," said Pyshkin. "There also may be guards who could try to pick a fight with him — all of these things could hurt his chances for early release on good behaviour." But Morozova broke in that her husband would not give in to such provocations. "He is a cultured man, an educated man, and would never allow himself this sort of behaviour." Indeed, in a world of prisons where education, cultured behaviour and the lack of a criminal history can prove fatal, Tkachenko said it is precisely Pasko's lack of rough edges that has assured not only his survival but adoration among fellow inmates, if not the prison administration itself. "These prisoners and guards were expecting him — they watch TV too — and it is universally accepted among them that he is innocent of these charges," said Tkachenko. "Plus, the prisoners understand they have a journalist in their midst — someone who knows the language [of the courts], someone who can help them." And so, many nearly illiterate prisoners, who wouldn't have a chance of piecing together a legal complaint or an appeal have turned to Pasko, Tkachenko said, and now the reporter spends most of his Sundays — the one free day the prisoners have — writing legal documents for his fellow inmates. "They respect him for that," said Tkachenko. Tkachenko added that each prisoner in the colony is working toward his own freedom and, hopefully, early release. "I don't think any of them are going to want to jeopardize that by causing harm to the colony's most famous, and by all accounts, well-liked prisoner," Tkachenko added. Danger in the colony? "Everything that is happening [with Pasko in the prison colony] is happening according to law — we have not arranged any special treatment," said Tkachenko. As such, Pasko is exposed to the same dangers as any other prisoner in the colony. "Anything could happen," said Tkachenko. "But my impression is that he is not threatened by any serious danger and that violence will not be an issue." While saying this, Tkachenko peppered his speech with generous portions of "tfu, tfu, tfu!" a Russian equivalent for "knock-on-wood." According to Tkachenko, the greatest danger does not lie in the camp at all, but in Moscow, 10,000 kilometres to the West, where it may be decided to "remove" Pasko from this embarrassing legal equation altogether — but Tkachenko admitted himself this was far-fetched. "There is only one danger — that someone from the top decides to get rid of him," he said. "But why would they decide to get rid of him? They've already punished him so much, how much farther can they go? He never knew any secrets and doesn't know any now. The only danger is from the top, from evil minds." As for dangers from other prisoners, Tkachenko said: "They have their own law and they know who he is. Nothing will happen to him because of other prisoners." Hope for a political prisoner WRITE TO GRIGORY PASKO You may write to Grigory Pasko at the following address: Pasko Grigory UTs 267/41 2-oy otryad 21 brigada 692526 Ussuriysk RUSSIA One thing that has helped Pasko adjust to life in the camp, according to Tkachenko, is his 17 years of military service. "The kind of schedule they impose at the camp would drive me crazy, but the routine is something he is used to. He can wake up at six in the morning," Tkachenko said. "It's not so much that the routine suits him, though, it's that he's made peace with it, even though it is baffling to him. There are horrifying and cruel things in the camps — but he has made peace with this and understands that he has to live through it with dignity, and that it will end soon. Such is fate." The worst for a political prisoner, Tkachenko said, however, is "the thought that people on the outside have forgotten about you, that they are no longer working for your cause and helping you gain freedom". "As I told him at parting, 'No one you have become friends with during this, no one you have helped during this or whose life you have touched will refuse you. Remember that.'" Publisher: Bellona Foundation [bellona@bellona.no] , President: Frederic Hauge [frederic@bellona.no] Information: info@bellona.no [info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no [webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 56 Israel's nuclear arsenal "useless" The Jerusalem Post Newspaper : Online News From Israel Rashid abughanem Amman Kingdom of Jordan (22 Oct 2002) Rashdo@hotmail.com [Rashid abughanem <Rashdo@hotmail.com>] Israel will never use its nuclear arsenal because Europe and the USA will never allow it. Even if Saddam sends Skuds with Chemicals and bacteriological weapons, Israel will be curbed by the world who will never accept any nuclear device thrown in the midst of oil fields. All the threats coming from Sharon are pure Bluff and he knows it! Americas' self interests will collide with Israel's and Israel will be sacrificed as the lesser of two evils. [http://www.jpost.com/MediaKit/] . ***************************************************************** 57 Pakistan says N-plan under strict safeguards Pakistan Link Headlines ISLAMABAD: Strongly rejecting a report appearing the New York Times alleging that Pakistan has supplied nuclear material to North Korea, Pakistan Monday categorically stated that it is a responsible country and its nuclear programme is under strict safeguards. In a weekly briefing newsmen here Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan termed as totally baseless and tendentious a report appearing the New York Times alleging that Pakistan has supplied nuclear material to North Korea. Pakistan is a responsible country and its nuclear programme is under strict safeguards. Pakistan never supplied nuclear material or technology to any other country including North Korea, Aziz Ahmad Khan maintained. About relations with India, he said that Pakistan wanted good neighborly relations with India and resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir through negotiations. He emphasized that talks were the only way to resolve problems and hoped that good sense will prevail and New Delhi would come to the negotiating table for their resolutions. The spokesman said Pakistan would respond positively to all steps by India for reduction of tension between the two countries. He said the withdrawal of troops from international border will begin soon while Pakistan will announce its response to grant of over flying rights. To a question, he said Pakistan welcomes the statements emanating from New Delhi suggesting Prime Minister Vajpayee's participation in the forthcoming SAARC summit. He said as for as Pakistan is concerned, the summit will be held on schedule from 11th to 13th January next year. He said Pakistan has always played a positive role in the functioning of the SAARC. To another question, the spokesman said the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has completed its operation and doesn't feel the need to renew contract for use of facilities in Pakistan for supply of equipment and material to Afghanistan. To yet another question he said Pakistan's embassy in Italy is in contact with the host Government about the fate of 15 Pakistanis detained for having fake documents. He made it clear that these Pakistanis have no links with Al-Qaeda. About elections in Pakistan, the spokesman said a statement released by the EU Presidency has expressed satisfaction over electoral process in Pakistan. He, however, said the EU Observers passed on comments beyond their mandate. To a question the spokesman expressed the confidence that there would be continuity in the country's foreign policy even after change of the Government. He said religious parties that have returned to assemblies are not extremists. They are mainstream political parties and have remained part of the Government in the past as well. ***************************************************************** 58 Lab, DOE to Fight N.M. Over Cleanup* * October 21, 2002 By JEFF TOLLEFSON | The New Mexican 10/21/2002 * Los Alamos National Laboratory is asking a federal judge to throw out a state cleanup order and severely limit the state's ability to require cleanup of a host of contaminants at the laboratory. * The University of California, which contracts with DOE to manage the laboratory, filed the lawsuit challenging the New Mexico Environment Department's draft cleanup order along with the state's determination that pollution at the laboratory might represent an "imminent and substantial endangerment" to human health or the environment. The lawsuit also initiates a four-pronged attack on the state's cleanup authority. If successful, the lawsuit could prevent the state of New Mexico from requiring cleanup of everything from waste dumps - containing both hazardous and nuclear materials - to groundwater, canyon bottoms, explosives sites and such toxins as polychlorinated biphenyls. "Los Alamos National Laboratory is trying to get out of any kind of governance whatsoever in the state of New Mexico," said Ruth Prokop, an attorney in Washington, D.C., who consults for the Los Alamos Study Group. "Everybody seems to be bowing their heads and ignoring the fact that this is happening." For Prokop, a former White House attorney who served as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the lawsuit represents a substantial threat to state oversight. She notes that DOE won a lawsuit using similar arguments regarding state regulation of nuclear materials at a uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Ky. The issue has been brewing for years. Citing the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, DOE asserts sole jurisdiction over all nuclear materials from cradle to grave. Alternatively, state officials claim authority under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, for not only hazardous wastes but also "mixed wastes" buried at various nuclear waste dumps where hazardous materials are mixed with plutonium and other radioactive materials every bit as dangerous as those shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Project today. "The DOE feels that they are right, and NMED feels that they are right," said Scott Gibbs, deputy associate director for operations. "And so the appropriate way in our democracy to sort this out is to go to the legal branch." U.S. District Judge Martha Vasquez will hear the case. No hearing date has been set. In the suit, the lab challenges the Environment Department's underlying determination that pollution at the lab might represent an "imminent and substantial endangerment" to human health or the environment. Environment Department officials say that determination laid the legal groundwork for the cleanup order. The lab asks for an injunction halting state intervention on any radioactive waste issues. Moreover, the lawsuit claims the draft cleanup order is in many cases illegal even with regard to hazardous wastes because the state's efforts to regulate the hazardous waste portion of mixed waste would interfere with the lab's management of radioactive materials. But the lawsuit doesn't stop there. UC argues that the state has no legal authority to require investigations or cleanup of any pollution that originated in liquid-waste discharges - stemming to 1948. Aside from solid rubble that was dumped over hillsides, much of the pollution in the groundwater and canyon bottoms throughout the laboratory stems from liquid discharges. Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues permits for such discharges under the Clean Water Act, the lab argues that EPA must be responsible for cleanup of pollution caused by such discharges. The lawsuit also contends the state cannot regulate munitions-related waste, including contamination from explosives at Technical Area 16 and other sites. Additionally, PCBs and perhaps other chemicals are the sole responsibility of the EPA and are thus exempt from state regulation, according to the lab's complaint. PCBs cause numerous health problems and are suspected carcinogens. The chemicals were once common in a variety of industrial processes but the United States stopped using them in 1977. Although the laboratory has answered questions and in some cases followed orders regarding contaminants, the lawsuit asserts that the lab did so voluntarily in the spirit of cooperation. Facing the Environment Department's cleanup order, however, the lab is invoking its legal privileges. The Environment Department is preparing to release the final cleanup order in coming weeks. Department counsel Paul Ritzma said the state is aware that certain materials might fall outside the state's jurisdiction, most notably radioactive materials. Nonetheless, he said, hazardous-waste laws require regulators to consider "cumulative" impacts, which means the radioactive portion of contamination should not be separated from other toxins. "I don't know that it does anybody any good to divide those out," Ritzma said, noting that the DOE agreed to treat all waste coming WIPP in Carlsbad as mixed waste rather than argue about the contents of each individual waste drum. "I would think that would be the way the lab would ultimately want to go." Ironically, in some instances the lab and the Los Alamos Study Group have voiced similar criticisms of the draft cleanup order. Both say the state's "cleanup order" is actually a revision to the lab's general hazardous-waste permit. The process for permit modifications includes hearings, where citizens and the lab alike can object or make official comments. Under the process, which incorporated an unofficial public comment period, no such hearings were held. Both the lab and the study group also argued that the state's order contains too much investigation and not enough cleanup. The lab would need to spend $207 million to comply with the investigation requirements in the cleanup order - before cleanup of the legacy waste sites could begin, according to James Holt, the lab's associate director for operations. On the other hand, the lab claims that the state's proposed cleanup requirements are overly cumbersome; cleanup standards for water and soil are too stringent and do not allow for a "risk-based" approach. Risk-based remediation allows more contamination to be left in the ground under the assumption that contaminated areas will be used for industrial purposes - as opposed to residential housing, schools or day-care centers. In place of the state's cleanup order, the lab proposes to replace it with its own cleanup plan. A product of a departmentwide plan to overhaul and expedite cleanup throughout the national nuclear complex, the lab's Performance Management Plan would complete cleanup of legacy waste by 2015, the lab states. Local nuclear activist groups, however, say even less cleanup would take place under the lab's proposal, which was pushed through with no public involvement. Although it will be up to a court to decide, regional EPA officials support the state in most of its legal arguments. While PCBs alone fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act, which EPA enforces, the state can regulate sites where PCBs are mixed with hazardous wastes, said Rich Mayer, EPA's senior environmental project manager for the laboratory. Although EPA issues discharge permits to the laboratory under the Clean Water Act, the state can regulate the same chemicals if they become pollutants in soil or groundwater, Mayer said. This supports the state's position that it can require cleanup of contaminants in soils and groundwater stemming all the way back to the Manhattan Project that started during World War II. The issue is a little more complex with regard to munitions testing sites, which the lab has used to test various explosives over the decades. Although EPA policy grants a waiver to federal testing sites that remain active, those sites remain under state regulatory control once they close, according to Mayer. Even as far as radioactive materials are concerned, Mayer said, the state is not without authority in cleanup under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. "RCRA does have a provision in it called the omnibus provision, which basically says you can do anything to protect human health and the environment," Mayer said. "When we are doing a risk assessment of a cleanup, our policy is that we do have to take into account ... cumulative effects of the radiation constituents and the chemical constituents. And the state has been doing that." On the other hand, the lab argues that the state's efforts to regulate mixed wastes conflict with requirements under the Atomic Energy Act. Because the latter supersedes the former, any state requirements, including those that target hazardous wastes, are null and void, the lawsuit said. For some nuclear watchdogs, the lawsuit also should be targeted at lab's hazardous-waste permit, which acts as a general operating permit for all hazardous-waste facilities at the 43-square-mile facility, and ultimately the waste dump at Area G. The Environment Department is preparing to issue a hazardous-waste permit as soon as next month. In the case of the gaseous diffusion plant at Paducah, state regulators had required DOE to submit a waste characterization plan before placing radioactive materials in a new landfill. DOE successfully argued in federal court that the state of Kentucky did not have the legal authority to place any requirements on the DOE regarding radioactive materials. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling. Siding with the study group, the New Mexico attorney general believes the lab has been illegally operating its waste dump at Area G, which has never received permits for hazardous wastes. Environment Department officials say the upcoming permit will address Area G and set requirements for closure of the hazardous-waste portion of the site. Today, the lab says it is no longer dumping hazardous wastes at Area G. In all, Area G contains 39 pits, of which four are active, and 139 vertical shafts, of which 16 are active, according to the lab. Of those, the lab maintains that only one pit and one shaft at Area G contain hazardous materials that could be regulated by the state, but Environment Department officials aren't ready to concede the point. Everybody agrees that the hazardous-waste portions of Area G need to close, said James Bearzi, chief of the department's Hazardous Waste Bureau. "It's unlined. It's unmonitored. Something like that would never get permitted today. Because of that, they have to close it." But the records are so poor that it's tough to tell what kind of waste went where, he said. If hazardous wastes were buried in other pits and shafts, then the state will have a hand in how those are handled, too. Moreover, the state could assert authority over an investigation and potential cleanup at Area G if hazardous wastes are found in the vapor plume that has polluted the ground at Area G. Gibbs, deputy associate director for operations, says the lab is waiting to see what the state does before making a decision to expand the lawsuit to include the hazardous waste permit. Santa Fe New Mexican ***************************************************************** 59 Sandia manager defends nuclear research efforts (Daily Texan Staff) October 21, 2002 A Sandia National Laboratories manager spoke Friday at the College of Engineering about nuclear energy research at the national facility. Gary E. Rochau, who has worked at Sandia for 26 years, said Sandia researches all aspects of nuclear energy, from creation and use to disposal. "Our first responsibility is to provide the research necessary to innovate the operations of nuclear facilities," Rochau said. The UT System is expected to enter a bid to manage the labs this year. Rochau said the labs test the safety of nuclear energy receptacles and find ways to operate nuclear power plants safely. "We run through all kinds of scenarios of what might happen. Since nuclear power plants could be considered a target, we are actively looking so that there will only be one Three Mile Island," he said, referring to the 1979 partial meltdown of a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa. Rochau also spoke about his research on Direct Energy Conversion. "The promise is that we can harness energy from the atom more efficiently - without boiling water," he said. Only 33 percent of the energy of an atom is harnessed through the use of heat. Rochau said many researchers have tried to find a way to harness more of the energy, but at Sandia they have not made much progress yet. "But, what we're excited about is making the system more safe," he said. Sandia National Laboratories is a government facility currently managed by Lockheed Martin. The company's contract ends in September 2003, and the Department of Energy may open up the managerial contract to competitive bidding. The UT System has been anticipated to place a bid. Charles Sorber, vice-chancellor for special engineering programs, said the UT System expects the Department of Energy to ask for bids soon. "One would expect something in the next few weeks," he said. Kevin Witt, president of the UT American Nuclear Society and a mechanical engineering graduate student, said Rochau's lecture illustrated the wide variety of research done at the facility. "They're kind of multi-faceted," Witt said. "They do research in a number of areas." He said that if the University receives the bid to manage the labs, students would benefit. "It would be a good way to get students involved with research going on around the nation," Witt said. Bob Libal, University Green Party member, said that in addition to Sandia's development of every non-nuclear aspect of the nation's nuclear weapons, such as delivery systems and containers, the company is developing "mini-nukes" that are for actual use rather than a deterrent. "We should be working on ways to make the world safer, decreasing conflict, and decreasing the amount of nuclear weapons, not increasing the likelihood of using them," he said. Los Alamos, New Mexico -- The nation's nuclear weapons laboratories, dismissed until recently as a relic of the Cold War, have become a critical element in the Bush administration's more forceful security and military policies, moving into areas of research and development considered virtually taboo. The labs, operated by the University of California, are designing advanced bunker-busting weapons, manufacturing a new generation of nuclear components to update old warheads and are quietly preparing for renewed nuclear testing deep under the Nevada desert. With their budgets at the highest level in years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Alameda County and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are also on the cutting edge of 21st century war work, like combatting bioterrorism, protecting the nation's infrastructure from crippling terrorist attacks, and developing a laser that simulates the intense heat of a nuclear explosion. "I would call this a new chapter," said John Browne, director of the Los Alamos laboratory, which oversaw the design and testing of the first atomic bomb in 1945. "Our mission is shifting as we enter the 21st century." The resurgence at the weapons labs is not being welcomed in all quarters. Some experts worry that the expanded mission, primarily focusing on the most lethal weapons ever created, could escalate the already dangerous proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the age of terrorism. "The key question is whether the labs are suffering from mission creep," said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association and a critic of the new policies. "The counterterrorism mission has not changed the labs, it's the Bush administration's nuclear posture." But the change in fortune at the labs, though hardly noticed, has been little short of remarkable. Just two years ago, the weapons labs, owned by the Department of Energy, hit the lowest point in their storied half century histories. With a series of security and management scandals tattering their can-do reputation, including the bungled case of Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee -- there were calls for drastic reductions in the labss' budgets and a major shrinking of staff and facilities. "I actually had a fear for the future viability of the lab," said Michael Anastasio, a nuclear weapons designer who was recently named Livermore's director. "It just feels very different now. It's a positive tone as opposed to a going out of business tone." BUDGETS CLIMB With barely a whisper of dissent, budgets for weapons work have soared to roughly $6 billion in the current fiscal year from their low of about $3.2 billion in fiscal 1995. With numerous construction projects under way, new hiring and expanded programs, that number is expected go even higher in coming years. (In addition to Los Alamos and Livermore, the third government weapons lab is the Sandia National Laboratory, based in New Mexico, which focuses on weapons related engineering, and is operated by Lockheed Martin Corp.) And the budgets appear likely to continue their rapid growth if, as proposed, the Department of Homeland Security begins to fund some lab programs directly. UC, which was in danger of losing its management contract after the disasters of the Wen Ho Lee nuclear secrets case, the mysterious discovery of hard drives packed with nuclear secrets behind a copying machine, and massive cost overruns on a laser project, has had its entire contract renewed for five years and is receiving its largest financial bonuses ever. "They took their blows, but at the end of the 10 rounds they came out victorious," said Harold Agnew, a former director of Los Alamos, who is now an influential government weapons adviser favoring nuclear testing. "They gritted their teeth and they got through it." Lab officials point with pride to some of their recent work, including the development of an extensive data base on strains of anthrax which helped identify the exact form used in the deadly attacks last year. During the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the labs provided special sensors to detect any biological attacks. And, though the labs will not confirm this directly, their research is believed to have played an important role in producing the evidence, confirmed by Pyongyang two weeks ago, that North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons in defiance of a previous accord. "A lot of our people felt all our research and development is not just nice to have but critical to our country now," said Browne, the current director at Los Alamos. More controversial are the earth penetrating "bunker-busting" bombs that are intended to burrow 100 feet into the ground before detonating. Lab scientists say they are simply old warheads encased in new missiles. Critics, however, argue that the modifications required to make them work under such extreme conditions effectively make them new kinds of weapons, and well beyond the labs' mandate -- called "stockpile stewardship" -- which is to maintain existing weapons, not develop new ones. Los Alamos is also designing and manufacturing a critical weapons component known as a "pit," a melon-size plutonium core that creates the primary explosion in a hydrogen bomb. Those pits will eventually be installed as replacements in aging weapons already in the stockpile, extending their lives and preventing them from being withdrawn from active deployment. This is referred to by officials as "remanufacturing," though some critics have argued that it, too, goes beyond the mandate of the labs, since the "pits" will be updated and are not just replicas. One congressional staff member said the effort is like "replacing carburetors in old Corvettes with fuel injection." NUCLEAR TESTING Old or new, such research and development raises the likelihood of renewed nuclear testing, 10 years after President Bush's father signed a law stopping the practice. At the behest of the administration, Congress has agreed to spend millions of dollars to accelerate the preparedness of the Nevada Test Site. The spending will reduce the time it takes to put together a nuclear test from the current time period, three years, to perhaps six months. The White House has yet to ask Congress for approval of a test, but many regard the higher level of preparedness as a major step in that direction. The issue is fraught with international implications. The United States never ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, considered a cornerstone of the international nonproliferation regimen, but America's adherence to the prohibition, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, acts as a brake on other countries, particularly Russia. While not publicly arguing for new weapons testing, lab officials stress that the more the military demands, the greater the need to test. "My view right now is there is no need to go back to testing," Anastasio said. "But if the country demands more of us, the need for testing goes up." Agnew, the government adviser, said that introducing even a reworked weapon without testing is unthinkable. "Certainly, you have to test whether it's going to survive after it goes into the ground," he said. "No amount of computer testing can do the job." Don McCoy, a senior weapons scientist at Los Alamos, said that if the new plutonium "pits" are deployed, even if it is in old warheads, "it would be the first weapon put into the stockpile without a test," which he said carries a great risk. ENTREPRENEURS At the same time, the labs have received millions of dollars to develop ways of preventing other nations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction and detect and plan responses to an attack with biological weapons. Many of those programs have been in place for years, but now they are being expanded, which some critics have described as opportunistic. "They have a lot of good scientists, but they're also great entrepreneurs," said Bob Civiak, who was a specialist on the lab budgets for a decade at the Office of Management and Budget. "When they sensed the mood was changing, that's when the entrepreneurship side of the labs took over, and they did pretty good." Sidney Drell, a professor emeritus of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and a highly regarded nuclear weapons adviser to the government, said the security fears since Sept. 11 had been seized on by the labs in many ways typical of how they operate. "There's no doubt it gives them more ways to touch the till," as well as expanding security research, Drell said. "The two go hand in hand." There is nothing hidden about all this growth. On a recent morning, George Miller, a senior Livermore lab official and former weapons designer, led a visitor around the lab's $4 billion laser project, whose enormous cost overruns two years before had nearly crippled the lab. Now, busy workers have nearly completed the facility, known as the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and Miller spoke not of past management snafus but of how the most powerful laser in the world will advance weapons research by creating bursts of heat similar to those when a nuclear bomb explodes. The primary function of the facility is to simulate how a nuclear blast affects the materials inside a bomb, thus determining whether aging weapons in the nuclear stockpile still function as originally designed. The size of a football field, NIF is already the most powerful laser in the world, although just four of its 192 laser beams are operational at this point. The new environment is an illustration of how the whole definition of national security has changed, to the great benefit of the UC labs. With nuclear weapons seen as one kind of deterrent in a world where states along the "axis of evil" possess weapons of mass destruction, weapons research will likely remain the single largest budget item for the labs. RATIONALE But with the nation aware that it is vulnerable to terrorist attacks involving a variety of destructive weapons, national security can mean everything from developing stockpiles of vaccines to preventing attacks on the power grid, natural gas pipelines or even crops and livestock -- all of which the labs are involved with. As a further endorsement of the labs' role, the Bush administration last month issued its first "National Security Strategy," a philosophical rationale for pre-emptive military attacks which dismissed the old anti-ballistic missile and nuclear test ban treaties as failures. In lieu of nuclear nonproliferation, the document called for "counterproliferation" by, for example, developing powerful new weapons to eliminate stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of enemies. That's another area of research and development being worked on by UC labs. "The fundamental restraints are diminishing on this work," said Gary Resnick, the new head of bioterrorism research at Los Alamos, who was in the wing of the Pentagon hit by the terrorist attack one day earlier. "This is not about today's bandwagon," he added. "It's a long-term challenge about the interaction between humans and society." E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com [jsterngold@sfchronicle.com] . ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.   Page A - 1 ***************************************************************** 63 'Rad-ical' collection: Badlands babes to 'Le Radium' The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Monday, October 21, 2002 Paul Frame, health physicist and program manager for professional training programs for Oak Ridge Associated Universities, shows off some of the facility's vast collection of artifacts found at ORAU's building on Laboratory Road. Frame shares the collection on a rotating basis with the American Museum of Science and Energy. -- Staff photo by Marie Moffitt by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Where in Oak Ridge can one find a box of radium condoms, stolen reactor equipment from Chernobyl (with Alvin Weinberg's name somehow attached), a radiation detector straight out of Nobel Prize winner (physics, 1923) Robert A. Millikan's laboratory and the inaugural issue of "Le Radium" (1904), the first journal devoted to the measurement of radioactivity? Look no further than the heart of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities building on Laboratory Road, where about a thousand "rad-related" artifacts have been gathered since 1986 by a health physicist with a passion for history. "There's no collection on this subject as comprehensive or extensive as this one," says Paul Frame, who not only is program manager for professional training programs for ORAU, but also artifact collector, curator and tour guide rolled into one. "It's fun," he notes, pointing to a 1955 movie poster that reads: "And boy how their Geiger counters click when they meet those babes from the Badlands." Frame has traveled far and wide, shopped eBay, and talked many a hold-out into handing over the goods to bring his prizes home to Oak Ridge. "You have to sweet-talk them, sometimes twist their arms, and sometimes pay them," says Frame. "But many, many gladly donate -- they don't want to see history disappear." The result of Frame's efforts is about 15 large glass cases full of history, deemed the official repository for historical radiological instruments by the Health Physics Society, which helps fund the collection. A large portion of the collection comes from the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Richland, Wash. Actually, the artifacts came straight out of Ron Kathren's garage. Kathren is currently the official historian for the Health Physics Society. Frame sat for hours in Kathren's garage in Richland cataloguing the items. "It's not just getting the collection that's the fun part," says Frame. "But it's talking to these people, swapping stories, building a rapport. They know if they pass away, their stuff will likely be junked." Frame says many folks -- and yes, even at Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- see items in the discard pile and take them home, sometimes illegally. Beneath a light cover from a reactor control room in Chernobyl reads: "Stolen by an unnamed physicist during a tour Š later provided by Alvin Weinberg." There's a hand-built electroscope donated by Art Snell, who headed up the cyclotron operation for the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge; another sent from Robley Evans, a founding father of the field of nuclear medicine. There are civil defense instruments from the 1950s, an X-ray tube from the late 1800s, a Lifetime Radium Vitalizer from the 1920s. There are many "quack medicine" items thought in the early part of the 20th century to be life-enhancing, such as radium condoms, radon pillows and radium emanators which add radioactivity to water. Many items proved harmless, but some caused horrific deaths, one of the most famed being that of U.S. Amateur Golf Champion Eben Byers in the 1920s, says Frame. On a rotating basis the artifacts are shown off at the American Museum of Science and Energy, and Frame has given several presentations there. "Paul makes science live," says Lissa Clark, public information officer for museum. "He is so passionate about his work, he enjoys people so much, and because he has so many artifacts there he wants to bring them out by thematic levels, and that makes it just that much more personal." Currently, in honor of the 509th Composite Group's recent 57th reunion here in Oak Ridge, the museum is showing artifacts from the dropping of the atomic bomb and the Trinity test, the first nuclear explosion. At Christmastime Frame will ship toys from the atomic age to the museum. Frame also takes the pieces on tour, and uses them in training courses for ORAU. "They make very good teaching tools," notes Frame. And he's still collecting, though with so much in stock he can now afford to be a bit choosy. But when he gets just the right call: "It's like you struck gold over the phone." For more information on the collection, visit the Web: www.orau.com/ptp/museumdirectory.htm. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 64 Wamp's crystal ball: Bechtel Jacobs in, ORO plan out The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Tuesday, October 22, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Congressman Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said that he fully expects Bechtel Jacobs to take home a contract extension through fiscal year 2008; and that he fully expects the Oak Ridge Operations Office restructuring plan to go south. Wamp visited The Oak Ridger offices for an interview Monday afternoon. He is up for re-election Nov. 5. The environmental management contract: "I can only assume one of the hold-ups is Congress," said Wamp, of the long-awaited announcement on whether the cleanup contractor, Bechtel Jacobs, will be awarded an extension or face a rebid. Wamp pointed out that without passage of the appropriations bill, there is no funding yet for accelerated cleanup. "That affects the EM contract," said Wamp. "The extension on the EM contract hinges on accelerated cleanup going forward, and the accelerated cleanup money is in this budget so we can't go forward until the Energy and Water bill is passed Š likely the first week in December." Wamp said he expects the contract will be extended at that time. "Part of that (accelerated cleanup) plan I believe would be a contract extension for the current manager of environmental missions here." He said the contract would run through closure of the bulk of the accelerated cleanup plan, slated for 2008. "The extension would be under Š a closure contract under an accelerated agreement, with more money in the short run," said Wamp. He said he is "confident" the Energy Department has "dotted its 'i's and crossed its 't's on the competitive nature of this contract. They have the prerogative to extend the existing contract, I believe." Bechtel Jacobs has been operating under a management and integration contract. The DOE's Oak Ridge Operations Office restructuring plan: "I continue to take a bullish position that we can't let the Department of Energy restructure the Oak Ridge Operations Office without long-term damage to our site," said Wamp. "We are a multi-purpose site with incredible synergy through a strong central management." He said that in the "coming days" he expects an announcement from the Energy Department that the original plan, which proposed running the local office by committee and sending local authority to headquarters in Washington, D.C., has been "abandoned." Wamp said he thinks the department has heard the message that reorganization "must start at (headquarters) with a clean sweep of reorganization of the bureaucracy in DOE, before any site is restructured," and that a strong central manager is needed locally. He noted that interviews currently under way for the Oak Ridge position are for that type of management structure. "If they want to come up with a subcommittee under that strong central manager Š and have people report to that manager, that's perfectly within their prerogative," said Wamp. "I think Dr. (Ray) Orbach (director, Office and Science) has heard us loud and clear, and he committed to me that we would not be rolled, and I hope the DOE will make the announcement that they will come up with a different solution." The ORO this week came under the leadership of its second interim manager since April. A manager is expected to be named by year's end. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com. [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 65 Officials of city, two counties work to get more DOE in-lieu-of-tax funds The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Tuesday, October 22, 2002 by Donna Smith and Heather McCoy Oak Ridger staff Oak Ridge Mayor David Bradshaw and county executives from both Anderson and Roane counties are working together to obtain more in-lieu-of-tax money from the Department of Energy. Speaking to the County Commission at its Monday meeting in the Anderson County Courthouse, County Executive Rex Lynch said he'd hoped to bring them more information on their collaboration but the timing wasn't right. He said he expects he and the other two officials will be ready to talk publicly about the matter within the next two weeks. Lynch said this is part of his yearly announcement to commission concerning how much money he's requesting from DOE. Earlier this year, he asked the DOE for $482,400 in lieu of taxes. Lynch said he expects the next amount he'll request to be more than the $482,400 he asked for this year, but the question is how much more. Because it is a government entity, DOE does not pay property taxes on the nearly 35,000 acres it holds in Oak Ridge. Its contractors do not pay taxes on services they render in relation to their DOE contracts. This in-lieu-of-tax payment is designed to help compensate the local governments for this loss in revenue. However, local governments contend that the amount is not enough. At Monday's commission meeting, Commissioner David Bolling, who preceded Lynch as county executive, said the amounts he's heard mentioned in rumors are much too low. He said he hopes that Lynch would bring the amount to commission before submitting it to DOE and Lynch said he would. The County Commission took action Monday to keep its DOE In-Lieu of Taxes Committee active. A question arose as to how the commission's committee would work with Oak Ridge on the matter. Bolling said they need to work together, but he wants the commission committee to "stand on its own legs," too. The committee for the Enhancement of DOE-Related Remuneration will meet at 7 a.m. Wednesday in the Mayor's Office Conference Room in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building. Donna Smith and Heather McCoy can be contacted at (865) 482-1021 or oakridge@oakridger.com. [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 66 Accelerated cleanup may force layoffs This story was published Sat, Oct 19, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Fluor Hanford is considering laying off employees so more money can be shifted to cleaning up the Hanford site. If Fluor makes that choice, the company has not decided how many people would be cut or when, said company spokesman Michael Turner. Right now, Fluor Hanford employs 4,150 people, plus its permanent subcontractors have 200 to 250 employees. Fluor manages all of Hanford's cleanup efforts, other than the tank farms and river shore work. Fluor also runs Hanford's administrative and support activities. The Department of Energy wants to accelerate cleanup nationwide. At Hanford that means Fluor is looking at ways to centralize some operations and trim money from secondary work to shift more cash to cleanup efforts, Turner said. Layoffs are one possible cost savings. Another possibility is closing a Hanford fire station at the Fast Flux Test Facility and cutting 17 firefighters. And Turner said Fluor is examining its entire operation for potential cuts and transfers. Complicating the issue is that Fluor does not know yet how much money it will get for fiscal 2003, which began Oct. 1. So the company does not know how much money to trim or shift, or how fast to act, Turner said. DOE's and Hanford's 2003 budgets are stalled in Washington, D.C. The full House and Senate have not addressed those proposed budgets because other legislation is stalled ahead of those bills. Also, the federal Office of Management and Budget has not said if it will approve DOE's accelerated cleanup plans that need extra money. Right now, DOE and the House's and Senate's appropriations committees are pushing a $1.893 billion Hanford budget for 2003. Congress has passed temporary legislation to continue operations at 2002 levels. Both the House and Senate are expected to meet briefly next week before recessing for the Nov. 5 election. The House is scheduled to return to work on Nov. 11. The Senate will return Nov. 12. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 67 Northeast Utilities Profits Rise 40 Percent 11:23 AM EDT,October 21, 2002 Associated Press BERLIN, Conn. -- Northeast Utilities' profits rose 40 percent in the third quarter, buoyed by high power sales because of the hot summer. NU reported earnings of $48.5 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with earnings of $34.6 million, or 26 cents a share, in the third quarter of last year. Revenues for the three months ending Sept. 30 were down 11 percent to $1.36 billion. Sales in the third quarter of 2001 included a gain of $124.8 million from the sale of the Millstone nuclear power complex in Waterford. NU operates New England's largest utility system, serving more than 1.8 million electric customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and 191,000 natural gas customers in Connecticut. Power sales during the summer increased 10.9 percent for residential customers and 6 percent for commercial customers over power sales last summer. Industrial sales were down 1.6 percent, mostly due to changes in paper production businesses in New Hampshire. The hot weather boosted profits for subsidiaries Connecticut Light & Power by 60 percent, to $27.9 million, and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. by 9.3 percent, to $4.7 million for the quarter. The Public Service Company of New Hampshire and the North Atlantic Energy Corp. together earned $36.4 million for the quarter, a 67 percent increase due primarily to the sale of Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant reserves. NU's natural gas subsidiary, Yankee Energy System, lost $5.8 million in the quarter. The unregulated subsidiaries, including Select Energy, continued to post losses of $9 million, or 7 cents a share, for the quarter. The loss was blamed on market volatility and Connecticut regulators' refusal to raise a rate cap for Connecticut Light & Power customers. The unregulated subsidiaries have lost $39.9 million so far this year, compared with nearly break-even results a year ago. Earlier this month, NU downgraded its earnings estimate for the year because of continuing losses in the unregulated businesses and because of a continuing effort to repurchase shares. The earnings estimate is now projected to be between $1.10 and $1.30 per share. For the first nine months of the year, NU had net earnings of $96 million, or 74 cents per share, on revenues of $3.7 billion. ctnow.com is Copyright © 2002 by The Hartford Courant ***************************************************************** 68 Online offering causes a boom in UT nuclear engineering roll By J.J. Stambaugh, News-Sentinel staff writer October 22, 2002 You can now earn an advanced degree in nuclear engineering while surrounded by all the comforts of your own home, thanks to an online course offered by the University of Tennessee. You can take the course, that is, if you can prove you've got the required academic credentials, such as an undergraduate degree from a recognized college and the right test scores. UT officials say they believe it's the only program of its kind in the United States. They also believe it's the cause of a 50 percent enrollment increase in its nuclear engineering graduate program over the past two years. According to UT, a recent "critical U.S. shortage" of nuclear engineers prompted the school to look for different ways of attracting students. "We have seen an opportunity to expand our programs off our campus to workers presently on-site at nuclear facilities, thus we've created a new program," said Dr. Fred Tompkins, interim dean of the UT College of Engineering. "The response has been quite good." While the online course has been a boon for UT's program, some people are concerned about potential national security hazards that may be created by the worldwide dissemination via the Internet of material related to nuclear engineering and safety. Tompkins said foreign students theoretically can enroll in the program but added he wasn't sure how their admissions are handled. "I don't know the specific rules," he said. "Obviously, we are sensitive to admissions from sensitive areas in the world. We are bound by whatever rules and laws that are imposed on us Whatever the government tells us the rules are, those are the ones we will abide by." Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said he's concerned about any program that could contribute to nuclear proliferation. "It would be better if nobody knew how to make nuclear weapons," Hutchison said. "We think that applies not only to Saddam Hussein, but also to the United States Our concern is that if UT is putting this out, that it's subject to safety (precautions)." But David Lochbaum, a UT nuclear engineering graduate and safety engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said terrorists probably couldn't use the information taught in the course. All of the information taught in the classes is also available at public libraries or is otherwise in the public domain, he explained. Also, nuclear engineering courses tend to focus more on "fundamentals and theory, not Plant Design 101," he said. "The information presented in the classroom or in a virtual representation is limited to the information the authorities have determined is public," said Lochbaum, whose group is a national scientific coalition that focuses on safety and environmental issues. "The things that cross the line in terms of building a bomb or developing the materials to do so are not eligible for classroom discussion." J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307 or stambaugh@knews.com. Copyright 2002, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************